1847.] Notes of an Excursion to the Pindree Glacier. 255 



Croyez-vous, dit Martin, que les eperviers aient tonjours mange des 

 pigeons quand ils en ont trouve 1 Oni, sans doute, dit Candide. Eh 

 bien, dit Martin, si les eperviers out tonjours en le meme caractere, 

 pourquoi voulez-vous que les hommes aient change le leur V s My com- 

 panions, however malicious, were intelligent enough, and listened eager- 

 ly to my details of railways, steam-vessels, electric telegraphs, &c. the 

 last a difficult matter to explain to them ; they were also very curious 

 to know what the " Sahib-log" did with the sacks and boxes of stones 

 which they carry down to the plains with them ! They must surely 

 contain gold, silver, precious jewels, or very probably the Philosopher's 

 stone, in the reality of which they implicitly believe, may be amongst. 

 them ! In the uses of plants they are more at home, but as to anything 

 beyond tangible and present utility in the way of food or medicine, 

 every man of them is another Jeremy Bentham. Ramsingh informed me 

 that if the honey of the upper Himalaya be eaten fresh or unboiled, it 

 produces continued intoxication, severe griping, &c. Can this be caused 

 by the abundance of Rhododendrons, and the bees feeding on their 

 rlowers ? The Ten Thousand in Pontus were apparently affected from 

 this cause. 



September 25th. — Clear morning and the snows of Pindree in full 

 view ahead, called two pukka kros, about four miles. Leaving Dooglee 

 at 6 a. m. I reached the base of the glacier in two hours ; the ascent 

 very gradual, and for the most part over sloping lawns, bounded on 

 the east by high crags, and covered with Geranium Wallichianum, 

 Potentilla atrosanguinea and other species, Ligularia arnicoides, Morina 

 longifolia, Primula glabra, Parochetus communis, Cyananthus, Saxifraga 

 spinulosa, Polygonum Brunonis, and others, Sibbaldia procumbens, 

 Ephedra Gerardiana, several species of Gentian and Pedicularis, &c. The 

 only bushes beyond Dooglee are the Rhododendron campanulatum, Lo- 

 nicera obovata, Willow, Birch, Rowan, all diminutive, and ceasing wholly 

 about a mile short of the glacier, except the Juniper and the Cotoneaster 

 microphylla, both of which nourish on its edges ; the latter hardy little 

 shrub seeming equally at home here as on the hottest banks at Al- 

 morah. The west bank of the Pindur is precipitous for about two 

 miles above Dooglee, where a Gopha or cave is pointed out, said in 

 days of yore to have been tenanted by the Pandoo, Bheemsing, not, 

 however, till after the manner of St. George and St. Patrick, he had 



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