354 SIKKIM HIMALAYA. Chap. XV. 



trade-wind of Sikkim, and meeting in strife over the great 

 upper valley of the Ratong. Stately masses of white 

 cumuli wheeled round that gulf of glaciers, partially 

 dissipating in an occasional snow-storm, but on the whole 

 gradually accumulatiu g . 



On my arrival the thermometer was 32°, with a powerful 

 sun shining, and it fell to 28° at 4 p.m., when the north 

 wind set in. At sunset the moon rose through angry 

 masses of woolly cirrus; its broad full orb threw a flood of 

 yellow light over the serried tops south of Pundim ; thence 

 advancing obliquely towards Nursing, " it stood tip-toe " 

 for a few minutes on that beautiful pyramid of snow, 

 whence it seemed to take flight and mount majestically 

 into mid-air, illuminating Kinchin, Pundim, and Kubra. 



I sat at the entrance of my gipsy-like hut, anxiously 

 watching the weather, and absorbed in admiration of the 

 moonrise, from which my thoughts were soon diverted by 

 its fading light as it entered a dense mass of mare's-tail 

 cirrus. It was very cold, and the stillness was oppressive. 

 I had been urged not to attempt such an ascent in 

 January, my provisions were scanty, firewood only to be 

 obtained from some distance, the open undulating surface 

 of Jongri was particularly exposed to heavy snow-drifts, 

 and the path was, at the best, a scarcely perceptible track. 

 I followed every change of the wind, every fluctuation of 

 the barometer and thermometer, each accession of humidity, 

 and the courses of the clouds aloft. At 7 p.m., the wind 

 suddenly shifted to the west, and the thermometer instantly 

 rose from 20° to 30°. After 8 p.m., the temperature fell 

 again, and the wind drew round from west by south to 

 north-east, when the fog cleared off. The barometer rose 

 no more than it usually does towards 10 p.m., and though 

 it clouded again, with the temperature at 17°, the wind 



