222 EAST NEPAL. Chai\ IX. 



herd of yaks, which were grazing close by. They looked 

 miserably cold and haggard, and their little upturned eyes, 

 much inflamed and bloodshot, testified to the hardships they 

 had endured in their march from the salt regions : they 

 were crouched round a small fire of juniper wood, smoking 

 iron pipes with agate mouthpieces. A resting-house was 

 in sight across the stream — a loose stone hut, to which we 

 repaired. I wondered why these Tibetans had not taken 

 possession of it, not being aware of the value they attach to a 

 rock, on account of the great warmth which it imbibes from 

 the sun's rays during the day, and retains at night. This 

 invaluable property of otherwise inhospitable gneiss and 

 granite I had afterwards many opportunities of proving ; and 

 when driven for a night's shelter to such as rude nature 

 might afford on the bleak mountain, I have had my blankets 

 laid beneath "the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." 

 The name of Dhamersala is applied, in the mountains as 

 in the plains of India, to a house provided for the accom- 

 modation of travellers, whether it be one of the beautiful 

 caravanserais built to gratify the piety, ostentation, or 

 benevolence of a rajah, or such a miserable shieling of 

 rough stone and plank as that of Tuquoroma, in which we 

 took up our quarters, at 13,000 feet elevation. A cheerful 

 fire soon blazed on the earthen floor, filling the room with 

 the pungent odour of juniper, which made our eyes smart 

 and water. The Ghorkas withdrew to one corner, and my 

 Lepchas to a second, while one end was screened off for 

 my couch ; unluckily, the wall faced the north-east, and in 

 that direction there was a gulley in the snowy mountains, 

 down which the wind swept with violence, penetrating to 

 my bed. I had calculated upon a good night's rest here, 

 which I much needed, having been worried and unwell at 

 Wallanchoon, owing to the Guobah's obstinacy. I had not 



