impressive scenes is very seductive, and withal very
dangerous, for the temperature was at freezing-point,
my feet and legs were wet through, and it was well
that I was soon roused from my reveries by the
monosyllabic exclamations of my coolies. They were
quite knocked up, and came along grunting, and halting
every minute to rest, by supporting their loads, still
hanging to their hacks, on their stout staves. I had
still one bottle of brandy left, which, having been
repeatedly begged for in vain, and being no longer
expected, was received with unfeigned joy. Fortunately
with these people a little spirits goes a long way, and
I kept half for future emergencies.
We camped at 13,290 feet, with the air calm and
mild to the feeling, though the temperature fell to
22f°. On the following morning we saw two musk-deer,
called ‘Kosturah” by the mountaineers. The musk,
which hangs in a pouch near the navel of the male, is
the well-known object of traffic with Bengal. This
creature ranges between 8000 and 13,000 feet, on the
Himalaya, often scenting the air for many hundred
yards. I t is a pretty grey animal, the size of a roebuck,
and something resembling it, with coarse fur,
short horns, and two projecting teeth from the upper
jaw, said to be used in rooting up the aromatic herbs
from which the Bhoteas believe that it derives its odour.
This I much doubt, because the animal never frequents
those very lofty regions where these herbs are found,
nor have I ever seen signs of any having been so rooted
up. An Alpine Larkspur {Delphinium glaciate) smells
strongly and disagreeably of musk, but it is one of the
w
most alpine plants in the world, growing at an elevation
of 17,000 feet, far above the limits of the Kosturah.
The female and young male are very good eating, much
better than any Indian venison I ever tasted, being
sweet and tender, Mr. Hodgson once kept a female
alive, but it was very wild, and continued so as long as
I knew it. Two of my Lepchas gave chase to these
animals, and fired many arrows in vain after them:
these people are fond of carrying a bow, but are very
poor shots.
I descended 3000 feet to the deep valley of the
Yalloong river: the path was very bad, over quartz,
granite, and gneiss, which cut the shoes and feet
severely. The bottom of the valley was filled with an
immense accumulation of angular gravel and debris of
the above rocks, forming on both sides of the river a
terrace 400 feet above the stream, which flowed in a
furious torrent. The path led over this deposit for
several miles ; it varied exceedingly in height, in some
places being evidently increased by landslips, and at
others apparently by moraines.