468 Journal of a trip in the Sikkim Himalaya. [No. 5, 



pointed in the principal object of our trip, which was to endeavour 

 to trace a practicable route by which to reach the snow peaks in that 

 direction. The surrounding hills were totally obscured, and in com- 

 mencing our descent, the guide wanted to take us down the wrong 

 side of the hill ; but preferring to trust to our compass we were not 

 misled. 



With splitting headache and quite knocked up, we reached our 

 hut at 5 p. m. 



The night was very cold, but being well provided with warm cloth- 

 ing, we were all right ; but the coolies, although well-housed, suffered 

 a good deal. 



The thermometer at sunrise stood at 18° . The small streams 

 were all frozen. At this early hour the snow appeared so close 

 that it seemed to tower above us. The sky was cloudless and 

 the cold very keen, After breakfast we went on a reconnoitring 

 expedition to the summit of Thonja, a hill immediately to our front, 

 at the foot of G-ubroo, in the direction of Kanchunjingah. It is a 

 fine grassy mountain affording excellent pasturage, about 14,500 feet 

 high. Dr. Simpson took some beautiful photographs of this wild 

 region . 



When on the crest of the hill, which is precipitous to the north 

 side, we witnessed a very beautiful and perfect sun bow. It was seen 

 in a mist a few feet down the precipice and remained visible for a 

 long time. We reached our hut at 2 p. m., some of us feeling very 

 queer from the rarified state of the atmosphere, having headache 

 and nausea. On our return we flushed two covies of birds at from 

 12,000 to 13,000 feet, closely resembling Ptamagan, probably the 

 " Tetragallus JHmalayensis''' of which I have since seen some specimens 

 in the Society's Museum. I shot one with a bullet which immediately 

 concealed itself under the rocks, and occupied us a long time getting 

 it out. In the evening the men who had been sent down in the 

 morning to bring up the yak purchased from the Doobdee Llama 

 returned, bringing a fine black animal with an uncommonly bushy tail, 

 about the size of a Highland bull. 



The morning was very fine, but the night had been intensely cold. 

 Shortly after sunrise the thermometer stood at 17°. The first object 



of the hill side caused apparently by the strong blasts of wind which constantly 

 blow up the hill. 



