1853.] Notes upon a Tour in the Sik/eim Himalayah Mountains. 563 



Two miles north from the Sirdar's house, and several thousand feet 

 below us, the Nyu and Kullait rivers unite, our route lay up the 

 Nyu, the true Kullait valley from whence the river rises being too 

 precipitous to attempt to reach Singaleelah by. 



7th August, 1852. — Started at 7.30 a. m. up the valley of the JNTyu 

 with Cheeoong Lethoo, Sirdar, and an old merry Limboo with a long 

 white beard, as our guides. The ascent was very steep, and the path 

 had to be cleared the whole way, not having been used for three 

 years; the principal underwood was ferns, polygona and a plant 

 whose leaves are eaten as a spinach by the Lepchas. At 9 we 

 reached a spot in the forest where stood the remains of an old guard- 

 house built by our Sirdar's father, for the purpose of watching the 

 movements of the G-oorkas. From this spot, the greater part of 

 the valley of the Kullait is visible : as we stood to take breath, the 

 merry old Limboo, who was armed with a bow and quiver full of ar- 

 rows and a very long and handsome knife, presented me with a 

 pinch of snuff deliciously scented with pounded cloves, and contained 

 in a neat horn mull. At 9.30 we entered a fine open forest of 

 noble birch trees, the ground was free from underwood and nearly 

 level. At the foot of many of the trees we saw the marks of wild hogs, 

 deer, bears and wild dogs ; green pigeons (koklah) we heard cooing 

 overhead in the trees, and high over a neighbouring mountain a 

 black eagle was seen soaring, and beneath him numerous swallows 

 were flitting to and fro. In this forest we passed the remains of a 

 hut in which Dr. Hooker had put up for the night in 1 849, and 

 close to which is another stone breastwork thrown right across the 

 road. The denseness of the foliage of these forests, may be imagined 

 from the fact that although a fine clear sun was shining overhead, 

 not a ray could reach the ground along which we were travelling. 



Our road now lay along the banks of the Nyu, a feeder of the 

 Kullait, which rises at the Tumbook Pass, a foaming hill torrent 

 about fifty feet broad with a cataract or miniature waterfall every 

 twenty paces ; the earth literally shook beneath the weight of the 

 falling water. 



Crossed the Tiksee at its junction with the Nyu, fording it with 

 much difficulty from the fearful rapidity and strength of the de- 

 scending water. The method of crossing these rapid streams, is to 



