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 ray abode at Penip4 the ha,^ 
