550 Notes upon a Tour in tie SUckirn Himalayan Mountains. [No. 6. 



of ginger, a clove of garlic, and the hard seeds of a forest tree, all 

 strung upon a cotton thread. All the men, women and children 

 who could afford it had the small silver current British Government 

 coins, eight, four, and two anna pieces soldered on to brass rings, 

 and worn either on the fingers or round the neck. To those who 

 had no silver coins, I made a present of a quantity. 



4rth August. — Left the Goompa at 6.30 A. m. passed some good 

 Limboo huts and clearances principally sown with cotton and 

 murrooa, and commenced a stiff ascent. On passing the Limboo 

 huts, we found men, women and children all hard at work, husking 

 grain ; fine English looking cows, pigs and poultry were lying about 

 or strolling round the neat houses, which are built of split bamboo 

 roofed with the long and broad leaves of the wild ginger and carda- 

 mom which abound in the forests at this elevation, the roofs are 

 guyed to the ground with long rope-like rattans, to enable them to 

 resist the powerful blasts of wind that descend the mountains with 

 enormous power, and that without one moment's notice. 



The ascent of Syrioong Burpung, such is the name of this portion 

 of the Hee mountain, occupied us an hour ; the ascent the whole 

 way being through fine fields of Indian-corn and three kinds of 

 murrooa. On the crest of Syrioong the heavy forest commences, 

 and at this spot is a small cairn of stones, marking the boundary 

 between the Jageer or estate of Lepcha Pongring, who resides at 

 Tullam on the banks of the Eummam, and of the lands of the Rajah 

 of Sikkim. At 10 A. M. we halted to breakfast at a beautiful water- 

 fall, with a fine body of water dashing down the side of the forest- 

 clad mountain by eight or nine leaps. A small portion of this 

 waterfall is seen from Darjeeling as a white speck on the face of the 

 mountain. 



After crossing Syrioong the footpath runs through a dense under- 

 wood of rose bushes, stinging nettles, black mud, and running 

 streams, through which we were obliged to wade ; our legs and feet 

 getting covered with numerous leeches, and our hands and faces 

 stung by nettles and peepsas. 



The peepsa is a small dipterous fly of a black and metallic green 

 colour with spotted legs and a small head. It bites without any 

 pain, attacking any available part of the body, upon which it feeds 



