1853.] Notes upon a Tour in the Sihhim Himalayali Mountains. 545 



rocky bed, the eye wanders over a dense and beautiful forest. The 

 huge buttresses thrown down from Singaleelah shut in the view 

 looking up the valley, and on the opposite side of the Eummam, the 

 steep Chakoong gneiss mountain exhibits numerous land-slips of 

 great beauty. Chakoong is noted for its travertine lime deposits, 

 which appear in the small streams flowing from its steep sides. Our 

 entire march for to-morrow is in view, and a formidable-looking route 

 it is. The Burpung mountain on the Heeloo range was pointed out 

 to us as the spot for our next encampment, which cannot be less 

 than 8,000 feet in height and distant five miles ; but these five miles 

 we have to traverse in the hot, dark, and miasmatic valley of the 

 Eummam. 



In the evening I observed several of those strange insects, bocy- 

 dium, that are covered with snow-white and downy quill-like pro- 

 cesses radiating in all directions from their backs. Any attempt to 

 secure the pretty creatures for observation, even supposing they did 

 not escape by hopping away, was a failure ; as all their beauty was 

 speedily destroyed with even the most gentle treatment, the slight- 

 est touch being sufficient to destroy all their snow-white covering. 



The noise of the cicadas a thousand feet below us in the hot tro- 

 pical valleys was quite deafening ; their peculiar cry is quite distinct 

 from the cicadas of Darjeeling, being louder, more metallic and of 

 longer duration ; much more cheerful and more pleasing to the ear. 

 Two Buceros were seen flying over Little Eungeet ; these curious 

 birds build their nests in hollow trees, and defend them with great 

 bravery. The Lepchas secure the living birds by putting a net over 

 the orifice of their nests, and sell them at Darjeeling. 



From the guard-house looking south, a fine cascade is seen dash- 

 ing down the Tuqvor spur. 



Cultivated plants observed at Goke were tobacco, tomato, stramo- 

 nium, banghun, sem bean, Indian corn, red spinach, kuddoo, chillies, 

 and French marigold. Wormwood and black pepper were seen wild. 

 Before the doors of several of the houses were baskets containing 

 the new shoots of the bamboo gathered before they force themselves 

 above ground. The shoots are collected, put into baskets, the mouths 

 of which are laden with heavy stones, and placed in the sun for 

 several days, when fermentation takes place ; the shoots are then 



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