466 Journal of a trip in tJie Sikkim Himalaya. [No. 5, 



assisted in cooking dinner. Cooking has become quite a pastime 

 with us. We are now at an elevation for that troublesome and 

 loathsome parasite, the Himalaya tick, which we have found rather 

 abundant. 



Started at 8.46 ; and after going over five or six miles of difficult 

 road, reached the Eatong which is here the same foaming, boiling tor- 

 rent. We crossed immediately above a water-fall, over three very 

 primitive constructions which served for bridges. The bed of the 

 river at this spot has an elevation of 7,790 feet, and we found the 

 temperature of the water to be 42°, too cold for bathing. After a 

 very steep and fatiguing ascent of four or five miles, we reached our 

 halting-place at Chockachaine at \ before 2 p. M. There is a pool of 

 indifferent water here, and a hut erected by the yak herdsmen who 

 often reside here during winter. The height of the encampment, as 

 ascertained by boiling water, was 10,300 feet. The hill sides were 

 perfectly covered with forest trees and tangled underwood, the same 

 as yesterday. As we ascended, the changes in the flora were very 

 remarkable. We were now in the region of rhododendrons, of which 

 we observed several kinds ; also of oaks, whose acorns were scattered 

 along our path in great profusion, holly ; walnut, chesnut, long and 

 short-leafed scarlet barberry ; many beautiful varieties of ferns ; moss- 

 es pendent from trees, besides other kinds, including the stag moss 

 so well known at Darjeeling ; creepers of all kinds and sizes, epiphy- 

 tical and parasitical plants of various kinds ; and towards the end of 

 our day's journey we were well amongst tall firs. We saw a few 

 leeches, but found the ticks most abundant and voracious. 



Thermometer at sunrise 28° , but not so cold to the feeling. We 

 ascertained that all the yaks had left Jongli and were in the vicinity 

 of Chockachaine. We sent a man to drive the yaks to our camp for 

 inspection, but we quitted before his return. Left at 8 o'clock and 

 after a steep ascent reached Mon Lepcha at 11.15 a. m. and Jongli 

 at 1 P. M. From Mon Lepcha the road is easy, but we found the 

 first part of the road very trying, all of us suffering more or less from 

 shortness of breath and headache. There are no huts at Mon Lep- 

 cha : it is the name given to the locality, which is a feeding ground 

 for yaks at an elevation of about 14,000 feet. Dr. Simpson took 

 some photographic views of the snow which is very imposing from 

 the spot. Between this and Jongli we passed several frozen rivulets. 



