TN THE TEEAT 289 
Sikkim, were * reported Iron Hills ' ; inspection, however, 
showed that ' the Iron is, I believe, only Manganese, which will 
disappoint Mr. Campbell ; but I have found a small (useless) 
seam of coal and vestiges of coal fossils.' Other observers 
had seen in the alluvial plains of the Ganges and the liat- topped 
terraces of gravel along the foothills the sure sign of a deep 
sea that in geologically recent times had washed the base of 
the mountains as they were gradually upheaved ; Hooker 
himself confesses that he could never look at the Sikkim 
Himalayas from the plain without seeing in them the weather- 
beaten front of a mountainous coast, while the deep valleys 
he explored seemed essentially long fiords with terraced pebble 
beds and transported blocks such as could be seen on the 
raised beaches of our Scotch sea lochs exposed by the rising 
of the land. 
For the rest, other picturesque episodes of ^he trip may 
be read in the ' Journals ' ; the elephant fair at Titalya, 
where Dr. Campbell joined them, on business as a buyer for 
the Government ; the coolness of shooting the rapids of the 
Teesta after the heat and haze of the plains ; the carnival 
at the young Eaj ah of Jeelpigoree's Durbar, wdth its battle, not 
of confetti, but of small paper bombs of red powder ; the 
weariness of riding elephants, and the fierce storm of hail as 
they returned which cut to pieces Dr. Campbell's experimental 
tea garden and lay unmelted there for four days. 
Now began preparations for the second and longer Hima- 
layan journey, through eastern Sikkim. The plan was parallel 
to that of the former trip. As formerly they had ascended 
the Tambur river, so now the party was to follow the river 
Teesta to its head- waters ; then ascend either fork to the pass 
at its head leading into Tibet. The western fork was the 
Lachen, its pass the Kongra Lama ; the eastern the Lachoong, 
leading to the Donkia pass, under the great mountain of that 
name. These passes were far to the northward of the passes 
visited in 1848, for the barrier chain trends north-east from 
Kinchinjunga, and the line now taken was some fifty miles to 
the eastward. Thus it was expected that the direct route 
would take no less than twenty-five to thirty marches. 
