Nov. 1848. FERRY AND SUPERSTITIOUS CUSTOMS. 195 



than sticks of sugar-cane, which when peeled form a 

 refreshing morsel in these scorching marches. They have 

 few and poor oranges, citrons, and lemons, very bad plan- 

 tains, and but little else ; — eggs, fowls, and milk are all 

 scarce. Horned cattle are of course never killed by Hindoos, 

 and it was but seldom that I could replenish my larder Avith a 

 kid. Potatos are unknown, but my Sepoys often brought 

 me large coarse radishes and legumes. 



From the junction of the rivers the road led up theTambur 

 to Mywa Guola ; about sixteen miles by the river, but fully 

 thirty -five, as we wound, ascended, and descended, during 

 three days' marches. We were ferried across the stream in a 

 canoe much ruder than that of the New Zealander. I 

 watched my party crossing by boat-loads of fifteen each ; the 

 Bhotan men hung little scraps of rags on the bushes before 

 embarking, — the votive offerings of a Booddhist throughout 

 central Asia; — the Lepcha, less civilised, scooped up a little 

 water in the palm of his hand, and scattered it about, 

 invoking the river god of his simple creed. 



We always encamped upon gravelly terraces a few feet 

 above the river, which flows in a deep gorge ; its banks are 

 very steep for GOO feet above the stream, though the 

 mountains which flank it do not exceed 4000 to 5000 feet : 

 this is a constant phenomenon in the Himalaya, and 

 the roads, when low and within a few hundred feet of 

 the river, are in consequence excessively steep and 

 difficult; it would have been impossible to have taken 

 ponies along that we followed, which was often not a 

 foot broad, running along very steep cliffs, at a dizzy height 

 above the river, and engineered Avith much trouble and 

 ingenuity : often the bank was abandoned altogether, and 

 we ascended several thousand feet to descend again. 

 Owing to the steepness of these banks, and the reflected 



