310 SIKKIM HIMALAYA. Chap. XIII. 



opposite the setting sun, and paling over it into a peach 

 colour, and that again near the horizon passing into a 

 glowing orange-red, crossed by coppery streaks of cirrhus. 

 Broad beams of pale light shot from the sun to the 

 meridian, crossing the moon and the planet Venus. Far 

 south, through gaps in the mountains, the position of the 

 plains of India, 10,000 feet below us, was indicated by a 

 deep leaden haze, fading upwards in gradually paler bands 

 (of which I counted fifteen) to the clear yellow of the sunset 

 sky. As darkness came on, the mists collected around the 

 top of Mainom, accumulating on the windward side, and 

 thrown off in ragged masses from the opposite. 



The second night we passed here was fine, and not very 

 cold (the mean temperature being 27°), and we kept our- 

 selves quite warm by pine- wood fires. On the following 

 morning the sun tinged the sky of -a lurid yellow-red: to 

 the south-west, over the plains, the belts of leaden vapour 

 were fewer (twelve being distinguishable) and much lower 

 than on the previous evening, appearing as if depressed on 

 the visible horizon. Heavy masses of clouds nestled into 

 all the valleys, and filled up the larger ones, the mountain 

 tops rising above them like islands. 



The height of our position I calculated to be 10,613 

 feet. Colonel Waugh had determined that of the summit 

 by trigonometry to be 10,702 feet, which probably includes 

 the trees which cover it, or some rocky peaks on the 

 broad and comparatively level surface. 



The mean temperature of the twenty -four hours was 

 32° 7 ( ™ x " 2r2 ), mean dew-point 29*7, and saturation 0'82. 

 The mercury suddenly fell below the freezing point at 

 sunset ; and from early morning the radiation was so 

 powerful, that a thermometer exposed on snow sank to 

 21° 2, and stood at 25° 5, at 10 a.m. The black bulb 



