486 Journal of a trip to Sikim. [May, 



water rushes through it, and over it too ; but it is quite safe. It is 

 pulled to and fro across the river by a party on either bank. Strips of 

 the large bamboo are used instead of rope for this purpose. Horses 

 are badly and cruelly used in ferrying by the Lepchas, who give this 

 noble beast no credit as a swimmer. They take him along side of the 

 raft, holding his head high on the bamboos, and thus tow him across. 

 The following is a much more simple plan, and causes little delay to 

 the traveller. Take a log-line in your hand and cross on the raft ; let 

 it be long enough to stretch across the river, leave one end on this side, 

 and pay it out as you proceed. When you have landed look out for a 

 good landing place for the horse some yards lower down. With the 

 log-line tied to his bit let him be pushed into the stream, and you can 

 with perfect ease guide him to the spot you have fixed for landing him 

 and he swims all the way unhampered and unchoked. My Lepchas 

 never saw ponies swim alone before. They greatly praised the nata- 

 tory performances of mine to-day. 



When across the Rungeet you find a road running parallel to the 

 stream S. E. and N. W. ; the turn to your left leads to Namgialachi ; 

 the right one via Chadam to the Teesta and Dukeeling. After ^ a 

 mile or so of level road you ascend in an easterly direction along a steep 

 path through long grass, and Sal trees, for a couple of miles, when you 

 cross a bubbling brook running rapidly down the hill from the south of 

 you. Beyond this brook the hillside is a fine open expanse of small 

 bamboo grass with Fir* and Sal trees ; the soil, whitish clay, dry and 

 hard ; and it continues so for 3 or 4 miles, when you top the ridge of 

 Meksneeoo. Here the road takes a northerly direction, you lose the 

 Sal, Pines and grass, and have the vegetation of 3000 feet. I have 

 noted bearings from this spot, which are appended. The road con- 

 tinues to skirt the south face of Meksneeoo and Silukfoke, which is 

 rocky and precipitous, until you come to an open space at the west 

 end of a ridge, which running east connects Namgialachi with Siluk- 

 foke and Tendong. Namgialachi is about half way between Silukfoke 

 and Tendong, and about 3000 feet I think lower than Tendong. Not 

 being able to reach Namgialachi on the 5th, we halted at a spring 

 of pretty good water, about 4 miles short of it. There was scant 

 room to pitch the tent, but my bed and table were levelled with stones, 

 * Cheer, or Pinus longifolia. 



