the: picturesque summer residence oe sir ugyen's sister at sangachoieing : 

 situated about eour miles north oe byagha 



Presently we came to Gangyul (13,600 

 feet), a little village in a narrow, flat val- 

 ley close under the eastern glaciers of 

 Cho-mo-Lha-ri. While our camp was 

 being got ready, I rode two or three miles 

 up the valley in the hope of seeing a re- 

 markable cave which we were given to 

 understand was in the locality. We soon 

 discovered, however, that our guide was 

 much more anxious to show us a large 

 flat rock of slate situated between two 

 branches of the Tsango-chu, at the head 

 of which was a wooden axle forming a 

 rack. 



DEVOURED BY EAMMERGEIERS 



It was carefully explained to us that 

 this was a holy spot on which human 

 corpses, the head and shoulders tied to 

 the axle to keep the body in place, were 

 exposed, to be eaten by lammergeiers and 

 other ravenous birds and beasts of prey. 

 In perfectly solemn and earnest good 



faith we were told that the birds were 

 fastidious and would not touch low-caste 

 bodies, and that only three families in 

 the valley were entitled to be thus dis- 

 posed of. 



The Thimbu excused himself from ac- 

 companying me, as the memories con- 

 nected with this spot w r ere very painful to 

 him, his daughter only a few years be- 

 fore having been laid on the slab. 



One of our guides lay down on the 

 slab, while another lit a smoky fire, de- 

 vices which, they said, would be sure to 

 attract the lammergeiers from their ey- 

 ries ; but the deception failed and no birds 

 appeared. In another respect the little 

 valley was very remarkable, as the gla- 

 ciers seemed to completely close in the 

 head, and I saw two avalanches and 

 heard several more, caused by the in- 

 creasing power of the sun's rays on the 

 snow. 



447 



