12 TEESTA VALLEY. Chap. XVIII. 



suffer from fever or accident, were all urged to induce 

 me to return, or at least only to follow the west branch of 

 the Teesta to Kinchinjunga. These reasons failing, I was 

 threatened with Chinese interference on the frontier. All 

 these objections I overruled, by refusing to recognise any 

 instructions that were not officially communicated to the 

 Superintendent of Dorjiling. 



The Gorh Lama here took leave of me : he was a friend 

 of the Dewan, and was rather surprised to find that the 

 Rajah had sent me a guide, and now attempted to pass 

 himself off as my friend, pompously charging Meepo with 

 the care of me, and bidding me a very polite farewell. 

 I could not help telling him civilly, but plainly, what I 

 thought of him ; and so we parted. 



Meepo was very glad to join my party again : he is a 

 thorough Lepcha in heart, a great friend of his Rajah and 

 of Tchebu Lama, and one who both fears and hates the 

 Dewan. He assured me of the Rajah's good wishes and 

 intentions, but spoke with great doubt as to the probability 

 of a successful issue to my journey : he w r as himself igno- 

 rant of the road, but had brought a guide, whose appearance, 

 however, was against him, and who turned out to be sent 

 as a spy on us both. 



Instead of crossing the Teesta here, we kept on for two 

 days up its west bank, to a cane bridge at Lingo, where the 

 bed of the river is still only 2000 feet above the sea, though 

 45 miles distant from the plains, and flowing in a valley 

 bounded by mountains 12,000 to 16,000 feet high. The 

 heat was oppressive, from the closeness of the atmosphere, 

 the great power of the sun, now high at noon- day, and 

 the reflection from the rocks. Leeches began to swarm as 

 the damp increased, and stinging flies of various kinds. 

 My clothes were drenched with perspiration during five 



