rose no more than it usually does towards 10 p .m ., and
though it clouded again, with the temperature at 17°,
the wind seemed steady, and I went to bed with a
relieved mind.
On the following morning I ventured on a wait
towards Gubroo, carefully taking hearings of my
position. I found a good many plants in a rocky
valley close to that mountain, which I in vain attempted
to ascend. A strong and damp south-west wind blew,
and the cold was so piercing, that two lads who were
with me, although walking fast, became benumbed, and
could not return without assistance. A thick fog soon
obliged us to retrace our steps : it was followed by
snow in soft round pellets like sago, that swept, across
the hard ground. During the afternoon it snowed
unceasingly, the wind repeatedly veering round the
compass. The flakes were large, soft, and moist with
the south wind, and small, hard, and dry with the
north. Glimpses of blue sky were constantly seen to
the south, under the gloomy canopy above, but they
augured no change. As darkness came on, the temperature
fell to 11°, and it snowed very hard.
The night was very cold and wintry : I sat for some
hours behind a blanket screen (which had to be shifted
every few minutes) at my tent-door, keeping up a sulky
fire, and peering through the snow for signs of improvement,
hut in vain. The clouds were not dense, for the
moon’s light was distinct, shining on the glittering
snow-flakes that fell relentlessly : my anxiety was
great, and I could not help censuring myself for
exposing a party to so great danger at such a season.
I found comfort in the belief that no idle curiosity had
prompted me, and that with a good motive and a
strong prestige of success, one can surmount a host of
difficulties. Still the snow fell; and my heart sank
as the fire declined, and the flakes sputtered on the
embers; my little puppy, who had gambolled all day
amongst the drifting pellets, now whined, and crouched
under my thick woollen cloak ; the searching wind
drifted the snow into the tent, whose roof so bagged in
with the accumulation that I had to support it with
sticks, and dreaded being smothered, should it sink
upon my bed during my sleep. The increasing cold
drove me, however, to my blankets, and taking the
precaution of stretching a tripod stand over my head,
so as to leave a breathing hole, by supporting the roof,
if it fell in, I slept soundly, with my dog at my feet.
At sunrise the following morning the sky was clear,
with a light north wind; about two feet of snow had
fallen, the drifts were deep, and all trace of the path
obliterated; while the minimum thermometer had
fallen to 3f°.
My light-hearted companions cheerfully prepared to
leave the ground; they took their appointed loads
without a murmur, and sought protection for their eyes
from the glare of the newly fallen snow, some with as
much of my crape veil as I could spare, others with
shades of brown paper, or of hair from the yaks’ tails,
whilst a few had spectacles of woven hair; and the
Lepchas loosened their pig-tails, and combed their
long hair over their eyes and faces. I t is from fresh-
fallen snow alone that much inconvenience is fe lt;