Chhidamoo, Topidunga, and at such heights as the Kungr
Pass, 17,000 ft., marine fossils are found lying broadcast,
and many are s of the most beautiful shapes, all
of which add an additional interest to the other
wonders of nature.
There is a pretty story told of the first advent of
the Shokas, or Sokpas, into Johar, where they followed
a people who were covered with hair even to their
tongues. In those early days there lived a great bird
of prey on the Gori glacier, which daily fed on one of
these hairy inhabitants, and by its ravages reduced
their number to a mere handful. To free them from
this curse a holy Lama, who with hiß magic powers of
flight used to flit to Lapthal and other places, sent his
servant with a bow and arrows to kill the evil bird, and
gave him for a guide a man who ever changed his form.
This guide took the form of a dog, hence the pass Kungri
Bingri, the former word meaning a dog ; then he became
a stag, hence the name Dol-Dunga; then a bear, hence
Topi-Dunga; then a camel, hence the pass of Unta
Dhura; then a tiger, hence Dung-Udiyar; and finally
a hare, at Samgaon. Thus the route from India to
Tibet was first shown, for up till then there was no
way known and there was no communication between
the inhabitants of the two countries. The servant
killed the bird of prey, but by this time all the hairy
inhabitants were dead, and the servant, although
wishing to make a colony there himself, demurred to do
so owing to the want of salt. The holy Lama then took
salt and sowed it over the land like grain, sufficient
to provide to this day herbage so saturated with salt
that there has • never been any want for the Bhotia
flocks. The Lama then flew away out of sight, but
when Buddhist priests visit the valley they still ask for
alms in the name of the Lama who gave the people
salt. As a matter of fact, at the present day Bhotias do
not feed their flocks on the salted grass, as they have
THE ASCENT TO THE KUNGR PASS (17,000 F T .) FROM THE NORTH
Note the easy slopes of the approach
become so rich as to use the ordinary salt of commerce,
but the practice is still to be found among the Tibetans,
who march large herds over the border for the sole purpose
of feeding them on the salted grass in British
territory.
On our return journey from Tibet after crossing the
Untadhura Pass we entered Johar, the country of some
of the Western Bhotias, who are obviously not pure