54 
BOOTAN. 
the clouds: abrupt precipices, deep dells, and the river dashing its 
waters with astonishing rapidity, over the huge stones and broken 
rocks below, composed the sublime and variegated picture. 
Near the top of the mountain we passed through a chasm in the 
solid rock, of the depth of eighteen or twenty feet, just wide enough 
to admit a man on horseback. It was by this way, tradition tells, that 
the dewta Tehuptehup, in his flight from Bootan to the country of 
the Racusses, (whose ruler he put to death, and assumed the govern¬ 
ment himself,) took his course; and in scrambling over the rock, he 
left here a deep impression of his hands and feet upon the stone. My 
conductor, who firmly gave faith to the story, pointed out to me the 
vestiges. 
A very curious and simple bridge, for the accommodation of single 
passengers, communicated between this and the opposite mountain. 
It consisted of two large ropes made of twisted creepers, stretched 
parallel to each other, and encircled with a hoop. The traveller, who 
wishes to cross over from hence, has only to place himself between the 
ropes, and sit down on the hoop, seizing one rope in each hand, by 
means of which he slides himself along, and crosses an abyss on which 
I could not look without shuddering. Custom, however, has rendered 
it familiar, and easy to those who are in the practice of thus passing 
from one mountain to the other, as it saves them, by this expedient, 
a laborious journey of several days. 
We descended the mountain, and crossed the chain bridge called 
Chuka-c'ha-zum, stretched ever the Tehintchieu river, a short distance 
above the castle of Chuka, which is reckoned eighteen miles from 
