of thousands of pounds. The Untadhura Pass is
responsible for over £23,000 annually, and the whole of
Kumaon, including all the passes, for £67,000 annually.
The figures are not large, but let us remember that
sixty years ago £2300 represented the entire trade
over our easiest pass, viz., the Lipu Lekh, and that the
BLIND MAN WHO WAS CARRIED ACROSS THE T.TPTT LEKH PASS (16,780 FT.)
ON A c o o l i e ’s SHOULDERS FOR HALF A CROWN
increase since then has been more than elevenfold.
There is every reason to hope that there is plenty of
scope for the future extension of trade, as Tibet is
rich in gold (which has been hitherto very little
worked), wool from innumerable goats and sheep,
borax and salt, whereas we can supply tea, grain,
manufactured goods, sugar and solid cash, the last of
which is much appreciated. So easy is the Lipu Lekh
Pass that it will be ideal for pilgrims. I even photographed
a blind man last year who had made so little
of the pass that he had been carried over on a coolie’s
shoulders from his village to Taklakot, a distance
of about twenty miles, and who had paid the munificent
sum of half a crown for the treat. It is quite
easy to ride from Garbyang to Taklakot in one day,
the distance being about twenty-six miles.
•N