74 



of his journey to Thibet, has given us the plan of 

 the bridge of Tchintchieu, near the fortress of 

 Chuka, lat. 27° 14', which is one hundred and 

 forty feet in length, and which may be passed on 

 horseback. This chain bridge in Boutan is 

 composed of five chains covered with pieces of 

 bamboo. 



All travellers have spoken of the extreme 

 danger of passing over these rope bridges, which 

 look like ribands suspended above a crevice or 

 an impetuous torrent. This danger is not very 

 great, when a single person passes over the bridge 

 as quickly as possible, with his body leaning for- 

 ward : but the oscillations of the ropes become 

 very strong, when the traveller is conducted by 

 an Indian who walks quicker than himself ; or 

 when, frightened by the view of the water which 

 he sees through the interstices of the bamboos, he 

 has the imprudence to stop in the midst of the 

 bridge, and lay hold of the ropes that serve as a 

 rail. A bridge of hamac lasts generally in good 

 condition only twenty or five and twenty years. 

 It is necessary, however, to renew some of the 

 ropes every eight or ten years. But in these 

 countries the police is so negligent, that we often 

 see bridges in which most of the pieces of bam- 

 boo are broken. On these old bridges travellers 

 must proceed with great circumspection, to avoid 

 holes, through which the whole body might slip. 

 A few years before my abode at Penipe, the, ha* 



