STORMS. 
227 
CHAPTER XXII. 
In the mountainous regions of Boutan the accom- 
modation for travellers is very uncertain. Occa- 
sionally is found in the passes erected for that pur- 
pose, a small empty hut, which affords a welcome 
shelter from the violent storms that frequently 
take place in those alpine solitudes. Sometimes 
the clouds appear suddenly to roll towards one com- 
mon centre, and condensing into a thick mist, in- 
volve every object, investing the whole landscape with 
a general hue of sickly grey, rendering the air damp 
and chilly, and adding greatly to the natural diffi- 
culties of the route. Upon these occasions the Bou- 
teas invaribly maintain a profound silence, in order 
that their voices may not disturb the elements ; for 
they gravely assert that even so slight a concussion of 
the air as that produced by the voice in ordinary con- 
versation would open the gathered reservoirs above, 
and cause them immediately to void their stores in 
torrents of rain. 
The violence of the storms which so often occur in 
these hills can scarcely be imagined by those who 
have never witnessed them ; they far exceed any- 
thing ever seen in the more mountainous districts 
of Europe. The thunder rolls down the precipices 
