During the night, I was startled from my sleep hy a
blaze of light, and jumping up, found myself in presence
of a party of most sinister-looking, black, ragged
Tibetans, bearing huge torches of pine, that filled
the room with flame and pitchy smoke. I remembered
their arriving just before dark, and their weapons
dispelled my fears, for they came armed with bamboo
jugs of Murwa beer, and were very drunk and very
amiable: they grinned, nodded, kotowed, lolled out
their tongues, and scratched their ears in the most
seductive manner, then held out their jugs, and besought
me by words and gestures to drink and be happy too.
I awoke my servant (always a work of difficulty), and
with some trouble ejected the visitors, happily without
setting the house on fire. I heard them toppling head
over heels down the ladder, which I had afterwards
drawn up to prevent further intrusion, and in spite of
their drunken orgies, was soon lulled to sleep again by
the music of the roaring river.
On the 29th November, I continued my course up
the Yangma valley, which after five miles opened considerably,
the trees disappearing, and the river flowing
more tranquilly. The Guobah of Wallanchoon overtook
us on the road ; on his way, he said, to collect
the revenues at Yangma village, but in reality to see
what I was about. He owns five considerable villages,
and is said to pay a tax of 6000 rupees (600Z.) to the
Rajah of Nepal: this is no doubt a great exaggeration,
but the revenues of such a position, near a pass
frequented almost throughout the year, must be considerable.
Every yak going and coming is said to pay
Is., and every horse 4s. ; cattle, sheep, ponies, land,
and wool are all taxed : he exports also quantities of
timber to Tibet, and various articles from the plains of
India.. He joined my party and halted where I did,
had his little Chinese rug spread, and squatted cross-
legged on it, whilst his servant prepared his brick tea
with salt, butter, and soda, of which he partook, snuffed,
smoked, rose up, had his traps repacked, and was off
again.
We encamped at a most remarkable place i the
valley was broad, with little vegetation but stunted
tree-junipers : rocky snow-topped mountains rose on
either side, bleak, bare and rugged ; and in front, close
above my tent, was a gigantic wall of rocks, piled—as
if by the Titans—completely across the valley, for
about three-quarters of a mile. This striking phenomenon
had excited all my curiosity on first obtaining
a view of it. The path, I found, led over it, close under
its west end, and wound amongst the enormous
detached fragments of which it was formed, and which
were often eighty feet square : all were of gneiss, schist,
and granite. A superb view opened from the top,
showing it to be a vast moraine, far below the influence
of any existing glaciers, but which at some antecedent
period had been thrown across the valley by a glacier descending
to 10,Q00 feet, from a lateral gulley on the east
flank. Standing on the top, and looking south, was the
Yangma valley (up which I had come), gradually contracting
to a defile, girdled by snow-topped mountains,
whose rocky flanks mingled with the black pine forest
below. Eastward the moraine stretched south of the