were obliged to encamp at the common source of the
Balasun, which flows to the plains, and the Little
Rungeet, whose course is northwards.
The contrast between the conduct of the Bhotan men
and that of the Lepchas and Nepalese was so marked,
that I seriously debated the propriety of sending the
former back to Dorjiling, but yielded to the remonstrances
of their Sirdar and the Nepal guard, who
represented the great difficulty I should have in
replacing them, and above all, the loss of time, at this
season a matter of great importance. I accordingly
started again the following morning, and still keeping
in a westerly direction, descended into the Myong
valley in Nepal, through which flows a river of the
same name, a tributary of the Tambur. This valley is
remarkably fine : it runs south-west from Tonglo, and
its open character and general fertility contrast strongly
with the bareness of the lower mountain spurs which
flank it, and with the dense, gloomy, steep, and forest-
clad gorges of Sikkim. At its lower end, about twenty
miles from the frontier, is the military fort of Ilam, a
celebrated stockaded post of the Ghorkas: its position
is marked by a conspicuous conical hill. The inhabitants
are chiefly Brahmins, but there are also some
Moormis, and a few Lepchas who escaped from Sikkim
during the general massacre in 1825. Among these is
a man who had formerly much influence in Sikkim; he
still retains his title of Kazee,* and has had large lands
assigned to him by the Nepalese Government: he sent
* This Mahometan title, by which the officers of state are known in
Sikkim, is there generally pronounced Kajee.
me the usual present of a kid, fowls, and eggs, and
begged me to express to Dr. Campbell his desire to
settle at Dorjiling.
The scenery of this valley is the most beautiful I
know of in the lower Himalaya, and the Cheer Pine
(P. longifolia) is abundant, cresting the hills, which are
loosely clothed with clumps of oaks and other trees,
bamboos, and common English bracken. The spurs
separate little ravines luxuriantly clothed with tropical
vegetation, through which flow pebbly streams of
transparent water. The villages, which are merely
scattered collections of huts, are surrounded with fields
of rice, buckwheat, and Indian com, which latter the
natives were now storing in little granaries, mounted
on four posts; men, women, and children being all
equally busy. The quantity of gigantic nettles (Urtica
heterophylla) on the skirts of the maize fields is quite
wonderful: their long white stings look most formidable,
but though they sting virulently, the pain only lasts
half an hour or so. These, however, with leeches,
mosquitos, peepsas, and ticks, sometimes keep the
traveller in a constant state of irritation.
However civilised the Hindoo may be in comparison
with the Lepcha, he presents a far less attractive
picture ; he comes to your camping-ground, sits down,
and stares, but offers no assistance; if he brings a
present he expects a return on the spot, and goes on
begging till satisfied. I was amused by the cool way
in which my Ghorka guard treated the village lads,
when they wanted help, taking them by the shoulder,
pulling out their knives for them, placing them in their