560 Notes upon a Tour in the Sikkim Himalayah Mountains. [No. (T. 



water, the forests, the strange attire of our party, every member of 

 which was bleeding profusely from both legs from the leech-bites, 

 formed a strange, unpleasant, though curiously wild picture. Both 

 streams are crossed by trimmed trees ; between the two streams a 

 stone wall pierced with embrasures crosses the road, flanked by the 

 Nyu river on one side and by the steep and wooded mountain on 

 the other. This defence was erected by the Sirdar's father to repel 

 the Groorkas, who more than once have threatened Sikkim with inva- 

 sion, since their great invasion of 1787 A. D. 



Close to the stone wall above-mentioned is a Mendong, a solid 

 stone edifice resembling a wall ; they are found all over Sikkim ; they 

 are generally about twelve or fifteen feet in length, six feet high and 

 two deep, with a centre distinguished by being thicker and higher 

 than the sides ; on the faces near the top are inserted large tablets 

 with the mystic words: "Om mane pemi horn," carved in high 

 relief. As the inscription of course begins at opposite ends on each 

 side, the Bhooteahs are careful in passing, that they do not trace the 

 words backwards ;* the left hand is always kept next to the Mendong 

 when passing one. 



An hour's walk along the banks of the Nyu river brought us to 

 the ascent that leads to the last houses in the Kullait valley, 6,500 

 feet above the sea ; at the houses we halted for the night, sending 

 our men ahead to clear away the jungle, as the path from long disuse 

 is reported as overgrown and impassable. 



The path to-day passed over much gneiss rock, and occasionally 

 large detached slabs of the same rock were seen ; some of the blocks 

 have minute garnets disseminated. 



We had a neat little granary assigned to us as our quarters ; the 

 house stood upon high posts and was well stored with baskets full 

 of ripe barley and wheat in the ear, also cotton ; the walls were open 

 mat work, and the heavens were visible through a scanty reed thatch ; 

 the whole room was nevertheless comfortable, dry and redolent of 

 harvest. At sunset we had an audience of the Sirdar and of the 

 villagers in general : we sat upon nice soft cushions provided by the 

 Sirdar, stuffed with musk-deer hair and placed upon the bare rocks. 

 We conversed through interpreters for some hours, principally about 

 * See Turner's Embassy to Tibet, pages 97, 98. 



