CHAPTER III 
WORK AND SPORT IN THE NORTH-WESTERN 
PROVINCES 
In 1880 I was transferred from Oudh to the Ganges 
forests of the North-Western Provinces, and pro- 
ceeded in July from Naini Tal to the Bhagarathi 
Valley. It was seven years since I had seen the 
mountains save at a distance, when the snow-peaks 
of Nepal were lighted up with the rosy tints of 
evening or stood deathly white when touched by 
the dawn. From Naini Tal to Srinagar, ‘and thence 
onwards to Tehri and Gangotri, is an arduous march 
of over a fortnight, and intensely hot and damp in 
the valleys, where alone there are conveniences for 
pitching camp. Speaking generally, the Himalaya 
present a configuration of parallel mountain ranges 
running north-east and south-west, each range in- 
creasing in height till the Thibet plateau is reached ; 
but the immensity and grandeur implied by the 
imposing statistics of their elevation are discounted 
by the fact that in order to see a high mountain 
from close at hand the spectator stands at a con- 
siderable height above the sea. There are, indeed, 
exceptions to this rule, one being where the traveller 
views Kinchinjunga from Darjeeling, but such ad- 
vantageous positions are, I think, rare. The Bhaga- 
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