THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 103 



Curiously, too, this was the only place in the 

 Himaliya where I ever heard of there being ser- 

 pents ; but long serpents there were six feet long 

 gliding before my open tent at night. This was 

 no dream of delirium, for one was killed quite close 

 to it and brought to me for examination ; and a few 

 weeks after, Mr Pagell killed another in his ver- 

 andah. I was far too ill to examine whether my 

 serpent had poison-fangs or not, and was fain to be 

 content with an assurance that the people of Pii were 

 not afraid of these long snakes ; but the Moravian 

 found that the one he killed had fangs, and at all 

 events it was not pleasant, even for a half-dead man, 

 either to see them in moonlight, or hear them in 

 darkness, gliding about his tent. One end of the 

 field in front of me touched on a small forest, which 

 ran up a steep valley and was likely to harbour wild 

 beasts. The position was lonely, also, for I had to 

 make my servants camp a little way off, on the side 

 away from the forest, in order not to be disturbed 

 by their talking and disputing, or by their visitors ; 

 and so, weak as I was, they were barely within call 

 even when awake. But I was much disturbed by 

 the singing and howling of a number of Chinese 

 Tartars who had come over the border on a pilgrim- 

 age to the Lama temple in Pu. These pious persons 

 were silent all day till about two or three in the 

 afternoon, when they commenced their infernal revels, 

 and (with the aid of potent liquor, I was told) kept 



