220 EAST NEPAL. Chap. IX. 



fluctuated with the state of the fire, from 26° at night to 

 58° when the sun beat on it ; but the only choice was 

 between cold and suffocating smoke. 



After a good many conferences with the Guobah, some 

 bullying, douce violence, persuasions, and the prescribing 

 of pills, prayers, and charms in the shape of warm water, 

 for the sick of the village, whereby I gained some favour, 

 I was, on the 25th Nov., grudgingly prepared for the trip 

 to Wallanchoon, with a guide, and some snow-boots for 

 those of my party whom I took with me. 



The path lay north-west up the valley, which became 

 thickly wooded with silver-fir and juniper ; we gradually 

 ascended, crossing many streams from lateral gulleys, and 

 huge masses of boulders. Evergreen rhododendrons soon 

 replaced the firs, growing in inconceivable profusion, 

 especially on the slopes facing the south-east, and with no 

 other shrubs or tree-vegetation, but scattered bushes of rose, 

 Spiraa, dwarf juniper, stunted birch, willow, honey-suckle, 

 berberry, and a mountain-ash [Pyrus). What surprised 

 me more than the prevalence of rhododendron bushes, was 

 the number of species of this genus, easily recognised by 

 the shape of their capsules, the form and woolly covering 

 of the leaves ; none were in flower, but I reaped a rich 

 harvest of seed. At 12,000 feet the valley was wild, open, 

 and broad, with sloping mountains clothed for 1000 feet 

 with dark-green rhododendron bushes ; the river ran 

 rapidly, and was broken into falls here and there. Huge 

 angular and detached masses of rock were scattered about, 

 and to the right and left snowy peaks towered over the 

 surrounding mountains, while amongst the latter narrow 

 gulleys led up to blue patches of glacial ice, with trickling 

 streams and shoots of stones. Dwarf rhododendrons with 

 strongly-scented leaves (11. anthopogon and setosum), and 



