BATTLING WITH NATURE 163 



Besides British officers and a few British troops, 

 there were among the soldiers Sikhs, Pathans, 

 Gurkhas, a few Bengahs, a few Rajputs and 

 Dogras ; and among the followers were Bhutias and 

 Lepchas from Sikkim, Baltis from Kashmir, 

 Bhutanese from Bhutan. There were thus Chris- 

 tians, Mohammedans, Hindus, and Buddhists : 

 men from an island in the Atlantic, and men from 

 the remotest valleys of the Himalaya. And our 

 destination had been a sacred city hidden two hun- 

 dred miles behind the loftiest range of mountains 

 in the world. , 



On our way we had had to battle with the 

 elements of Nature in very nearly their extremest 

 forms and in every variety. We started in the 

 sweltering heat of the plains of India in the hottest 

 season. We passed the lower outer ranges of the 

 Himalaya in the midst of torrential rain, like the 

 heaviest thunder-shower in England, continuing all 

 day long and day after day, with scarcely a break, 

 and penetrating through a waterproof coat as if it 

 were paper. Following this we had to cross the 

 main axis of the Himalaya in January, to pass the 

 winter at an altitude of 15,000 feet above sea-level, 

 and face blizzards which cut through heavy fur 

 coats and left us as if we were standing before it in 

 our bare bones * 



We had also had to battle with the Tibetans — 

 not only in actual fighting, but in diplomacy as well. 

 I had deliberately risked my life in order to effect 

 a settlement by persuasion and without resort to 

 arms. Officers and men at my request had done 

 the same. Subsequently we had both attacked and 



