Continue the ascent of Tonglo—Trees—Lepcha construction of
hut—Simsibong—Climbing-trees—Frogs—Magnolias,
etc.—Ticks—Leeches—Cattle, murrain amongst—Summit of
Tonglo—Rhododendrons—Skimmia—Yew—Rose—Aconite—Bikh poison—English
genera of plants—Ascent of tropical orders—Comparison with south
temperate zone—Heavy rain—Temperature, etc.—Descent—Simonbong
temple—Furniture therein—Praying-cylinder—Thigh-bone trumpet—Morning
orisons—Present of Murwa beer, etc.
Continuing the ascent of Tonglo, we left cultivation and the poor
groves of peaches at 4000 to 5000 feet (and this on the eastern
exposure, which is by far the sunniest), the average height which
agriculture reaches in Sikkim.
Above Simonbong, the path up Tonglo is little frequented: it is one of
the many routes between Nepal and Sikkim, which cross the Singalelah
spur of Kinchinjunga at various elevations between 7000 and 15,000
feet. As usual, the track runs along ridges, wherever these are to be
found, very steep, and narrow at the top, through deep humid forests of
oaks and Magnolias, many laurels, both 1 _Tetranthera_ and
_Cinnamomum,_ one species of the latter ascending to 8,500 feet, and
one of _Tetranthera_ to 9000. Chesnut and walnut here appeared, with
some leguminous trees, which however did not ascend to 6000 feet.
Scarlet flowers of _Vaccinium serpens,_ an epiphytical species, were
strewed about, and the great blossoms of _Rhododendron Dalhousiæ_ and
of a Magnolia (_Talaunaa Hodgsoni_) lay together on the ground. The
latter forms a large tree, with very dense foliage, and deep shining
green leaves, a foot to eighteen inches long. Most of its flowers drop
unexpanded from the tree, and diffuse a very aromatic smell; they are
nearly as large as the fist, the outer petals purple, the inner pure
white.
Heavy rain came on at 3 p.m., obliging us to take insufficient shelter
under the trees, and finally to seek the nearest camping-ground. For
this purpose we ascended to a spring, called Simsibong, at an elevation
of 6000 feet. The narrowness of the ridge prevented our pitching the
tent, small as it was; but the Lepchas rapidly constructed a house, and
thatched it with bamboo and the broad leaves of the wild plantain. A
table was then raised in the middle, of four posts and as many cross
pieces of wood, lashed with strips of bamboo. Across these, pieces of
bamboo were laid, ingeniously flattened, by selecting cylinders,
crimping them all round, and then slitting each down one side, so that
it opens into a flat slab. Similar but longer and lower erections, one
on each side the table, formed bed or chair; and in one hour, half a
dozen men, with only long knives and active hands, had provided us with
a tolerably water-tight furnished house. A thick flooring of bamboo
leaves kept the feet dry, and a screen of that and other foliage all
round rendered the habitation tolerably warm.
At this elevation we found great scandent trees twisting around the
trunks of others, and strangling them: the latter gradually decay,
leaving the sheath of climbers as one of the most remarkable vegetable
phenomena of these mountains. These climbers belong to several orders,
and may be roughly classified in two groups.—(1.) Those whose sterns
merely twine, and by constricting certain parts of their support,
induce death.—(2.) Those which form a network round the trunk, by the
coalescence of their lateral branches and aerial roots, etc.: these
wholly envelop and often conceal the tree they enclose, whose branches
appear rising far above those of its destroyer. To the first of these
groups belong many natural orders, of which the most prominent
are—_Leguminosæ,_ ivies, hydrangea, vines, _Pothos,_ etc. The
inosculating ones are almost all figs and _Wightia_: the latter is the
most remarkable, and I add a cut of its grasping roots, sketched at our
encampment.
[Illustration: Clasping roots of Wightia]
Except for the occasional hooting of an owl, the night was profoundly
still during several hours after dark—the cicadas at this season not
ascending so high on the mountain. A dense mist shrouded every thing,
and the rain pattered on the leaves of our hut. At midnight a tree-frog
(“Simook,” Lepcha) broke the silence with his curious metallic clack,
and others quickly joined the chorus, keeping up their strange music
till morning. Like many Batrachians, this has a voice singularly unlike
that of any other organised creature. The cries of beasts, birds, and
insects are all explicable to our senses, and we can recognise most of
them as belonging to such or such an order of animal; but the voices of
many frogs are like nothing else, and allied species utter totally
dissimilar noises. In some, as this, the sound is like the concussion
of metals; in others, of the vibration of wires or cords; anything but
the natural effects of lungs, larynx, and muscles.[56]
[56] A very common Tasmanian species utters a sound that appears to
ring in an underground vaulted chamber, beneath the feet.
_May 21._—Early this morning we proceeded upwards, our prospect more
gloomy than ever. The path, which still lay up steep ridges, was very
slippery, owing to the rain upon the clayey soil, and was only passable
from the hold afforded by interlacing roots of trees. At 8000 feet,
some enormous detached masses of micaceous gneiss rose abruptly from
the ridge, they were covered with mosses and ferns, and from their
summit, 7000 feet, a good view of the surrounding vegetation is
obtained. The mast of the forest is formed of:—(1) Three species of
oak, of which _Q. annulata?_ with immense lamellated acorns, and leaves
sixteen inches long, is the tallest and the most abundant.—(2)
Chesnut.—(3) _Laurineæ_ of several species, all beautiful forest-trees,
straight-holed, and umbrageous above.—(4) Magnolias.[57]—(5)
Arborescent rhododendrons, which commence here with the _R. arboreum._
At 8000 and 9000 feet, a considerable change is found in the
vegetation; the gigantic purple _Magnolia Campbellii_ replacing the
white; chesnut disappears, and several laurels: other kinds of maple
are seen, with _Rhododendron argenteum,_ and _Stauntonia,_ a handsome
climber, which has beautiful pendent clusters of lilac blossoms.
[57] Other trees were _Pyrus, Saurauja_ (both an erect and climbing
species), _Olea,_ cherry, birch, alder, several maples, _Hydrangea,_
one species of fig, holly, and several _Araliaceous_ trees. Many
species of _Magnoliaceæ_ (including the genera _Magnolia, Michelia,_
and _Talauma_) are found in Sikkim: _Magnolia Campbellii,_ of 10,000
feet, is the most superb species known. In books on botanical
geography, the magnolias are considered as most abounding in North
America, east of the Rocky Mountains; but this is a great mistake, the
Indian mountains and islands being the centre of this natural order.
At 9000 feet we arrived on a long flat covered with lofty trees,
chiefly purple magnolias, with a few oaks, great _Pyri_ and two
rhododendrons, thirty to forty feet high (_R. barbatum,_ and _R.
arboreum,_ var. _roseum_): _Skimmia_ and _Symplocos_ were the common
shrubs. A beautiful orchid with purple flowers (_Cælogyne Wallichii_)
grew on the trunks of all the great trees, attaining a higher elevation
than most other epiphytical species, for I have seen it at 10,000 feet.
A large tick infests the small bamboo, and a more hateful insect I
never encountered. The traveller cannot avoid these insects coming on
his person (sometimes in great numbers) as he brushes through the
forest; they get inside his dress, and insert the proboscis deeply
without pain. Buried head and shoulders, and retained by a barbed
lancet, the tick is only to be extracted by force, which is very
painful. I have devised many tortures, mechanical and chemical, to
induce these disgusting intruders to withdraw the proboscis, but in
vain. Leeches[58] also swarm below 7000 feet; a small black species
above 3000 feet, and a large yellow-brown solitary one below that
elevation.
[58] I cannot but think that the extraordinary abundance of these
_Anelides_ in Sikkim may cause the death of many animals. Some marked
murrains have followed very wet seasons, when the leeches appear in
incredible numbers; and the disease in the cattle, described to me by
the Lepchas as in the stomach, in no way differs from what leeches
would produce. It is a well-known fact, that these creatures have
lived for days in the fauces, nares, and stomachs of the human
subject, causing dreadful sufferings, and death. I have seen the
cattle feeding in places where the leeches so abounded, that fifty or
sixty were frequently together on my ankles; and ponies are almost
maddened by their biting the fetlocks.
Our ascent to the summit was by the bed of a watercourse, now a roaring
torrent, from the heavy and incessant rain. A small _Anagallis_ (like
_tenella_), and a beautiful purple primrose, grew by its bank. The top
of the mountain is another flat ridge, with depressions and broad
pools. The number of additional species of plants found here was great,
and all betokened a rapid approach to the alpine region of the
Himalaya. In order of prevalence the trees were,—the scarlet
_Rhododendron arboreum_ and _barbatum,_ as large bushy trees, both
loaded with beautiful flowers and luxuriant foliage; _R. Falconeri,_ in
point of foliage the most superb of all the Himalayan species, with
trunks thirty feet high, and branches bearing at their ends only leaves
eighteen inches long: these are deep green above, and covered beneath
with a rich brown down. Next in abundance to these were shrubs of
_Skimmia Laureola,_[59] _Symplocos,_ and Hydrangea; and there were
still a few purple magnolias, very large _Pyri,_ like mountain ash, and
the common English yew, eighteen feet in circumference, the red bark of
which is used as a dye, and for staining the foreheads of Brahmins in
Nepal. An erect white-flowered rose (_R. sericea,_ the only species
occurring in Southern Sikkim) was very abundant: its numerous inodorous
flowers are pendent, apparent as a protection from the rain; and it is
remarkable as being the only species having four petals instead of
five.
[59] This plant has been lately introduced into English gardens, from
the north-west Himalaya, and is greatly admired for its aromatic,
evergreen foliage, and clusters of scarlet berries. It is a curious
fact, that this plant never bears scarlet berries in Sikkim,
apparently owing to the want of sun; the fruit ripens, but is of a
greenish-red or purplish colour.
A currant was common, always growing epiphytically on the trunks of
large trees. Two or three species of Berberry, a cherry, Andromeda,
_Daphne,_ and maple, nearly complete, I think, the list of woody
plants. Amongst the herbs were many of great interest, as a rhubarb,
and _Aconitum palmatum,_ which yields one of the celebrated “Bikh”
poisons.[60] Of European genera I found _Thalictrum, Anemone, Fumaria,_
violets, _Stellaria, Hypericum,_ two geraniums, balsams, _Epilobium,
Potentilla, Paris_ and _Convallariæ,_ one of the latter has
verticillate leaves, and its root also called “bikh,” is considered a
very virulent poison.
[60] “Bikh” is yielded by various _Aconita._ All the Sikkim kinds are
called “gniong” by Lepchas and Bhoteeas, who do not distinguish them.
The _A. Napellus_ is abundant in the north-west Himalaya, and is
perhaps as virulent a Bikh as any species.
Still, the absence or rarity at this elevation of several very large
natural families,[61] which have numerous representatives at and much
below the same level in the inner ranges, and on the outer of the
Western Himalaya, indicate a certain peculiarity in Sikkim. On the
other hand, certain tropical genera are more abundant in the temperate
zone of the Sikkim mountains, and ascend much higher there than in the
Western Himalaya: of this fact I have cited conspicuous examples in the
palms, plantains, and tree-ferns. This ascent and prevalence of
tropical species is due to the humidity and equability of the climate
in this temperate zone, and is, perhaps, the direct consequence of
these conditions. An application of the same laws accounts for the
extension of similar features far beyond the tropical limit in the
Southern Ocean, where various natural orders, which do not cross the
30th and 40th parallels of N. latitude, are extended to the 55th of S.
latitude, and found in Tasmania, New Zealand, the so-called Antarctic
Islands south of that group, and at Cape Horn itself.
[61] _Ranunculaceæ, Fumariæ, Cruciferæ, Alsineæ, Geranicæ, Leguminosæ,
Potentilla, Epilobium, Crassulaceæ, Saxifrageæ, Umbelliferæ, Lonicera,
Valerianeæ, Dipsaceæ,_ various genera of _Compositæ, Campanulaceæ,
Lobeliaceæ, Gentianeæ, Boragineæ, Scrophularineæ, Primulaceæ,
Gramineæ._
The rarity of Pines is perhaps the most curious feature in the botany
of Tonglo, and on the outer ranges of Sikkim; for, between the level of
2,500 feet (the upper limit of _P. longifolia_) and 10,000 feet (that
of the _Taxus_), there is no coniferous tree whatever in Southern
Sikkim.
We encamped amongst Rhododendrons, on a spongy soil of black vegetable
matter, so oozy, that it was difficult to keep the feet dry. The rain
poured in torrents all the evening, and with the calm, and the wetness
of the wood, prevented our enjoying a fire. Except a transient view
into Nepal, a few miles west of us, nothing was to be seen, the whole
mountain being wrapped in dense masses of vapour. Gusts of wind, not
felt in the forest, whistled through the gnarled and naked tree-tops;
and though the temperature was 50°, this wind produced cold to the
feelings. Our poor Lepchas were miserably off, but always happy: under
four posts and a bamboo-leaf thatch, with no covering but a single thin
cotton garment, they crouched on the sodden turf, joking with the
Hindoos of our party, who, though supplied with good clothing and
shelter, were doleful companions.
I made a shed for my instruments under a tree; Mr. Barnes, ever active
and ready, floored the tent with logs of wood, and I laid a “corduroy
road” of the same to my little observatory.
During the night the rain did not abate; and the tent-roof leaked in
such torrents, that we had to throw pieces of wax-cloth over our
shoulders as we lay in bed. There was no improvement whatever in the
weather on the following morning. Two of the Hindoos had crawled into
the tent during the night, attacked with fever and ague.[62] The tent
being too sodden to be carried, we had to remain where we were, and
with abundance of novelty in the botany around, I found no difficulty
in getting through the day. Observing the track of sheep, we sent two
Lepchas to follow them, who returned at night from some miles west in
Nepal, bringing two. The shepherds were Geroongs of Nepal, who were
grazing their flocks on a grassy mountain top, from which the woods had
been cleared, probably by fire. The mutton was a great boon to the
Lepchas, but the Hindoos would not touch it, and several more sickening
during the day, we had the tent most uncomfortably full.
[62] It is a remarkable fact, that both the natives of the plains,
under many circumstances, and the Lepchas when suffering from
protracted cold and wet, take fever and ague in sharp attacks. The
disease is wholly unknown amongst Europeans residing above 4000 feet,
similar exposure in whom brings on rheumatism and cold.
During the whole of the 22nd, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., the thermometer
never varied 6·5°, ranging from 47·5 in the morning to 54°, its
maximum, at 1 p.m., and 50·75 at night. At seven the following morning
it was the same. One, sunk two feet six inches in mould and clay, stood
constantly at 50·75. The dew-point was always below the temperature, at
which I was surprised, for more drenching weather could not well be.
The mean dew-point was 50·25, and consequent humidity, 0·973.
These observations, and those of the barometer, were taken 60 feet
below the summit, to which I moved the instruments on the morning of
the 23rd. At a much more exposed spot the results would no doubt have
been different, for a thermometer, there sunk to the same depth as that
below, stood at 49·75 (or one degree colder than 60 feet lower down).
My barometrical observations, taken simultaneously with those of
Calcutta, give the height of Tonglo, 10,078·3 feet; Colonel Waugh’s, by
trigonometry, 10,079·4 feet,—a remarkable and unusual coincidence.
_May 23._—We spent a few hours of alternate fog and sunshine on the top
of the mountain, vainly hoping for the most modest view; our inability
to obtain it was extremely disappointing, for the mountain commands a
superb prospect, which I enjoyed fully in the following November, from
a spot a few miles further west. The air, which was always foggy, was
alternately cooled and heated, as it blew over the trees, or the open
space we occupied; sometimes varying 5° and 6° in a quarter of an hour.
Having partially dried the tent in the wind, we commenced the descent,
which owing to the late torrents of rain, was most fatiguing and
slippery; it again commenced to drizzle at noon, nor was it till we had
descended to 6000 feet that we emerged from the region of clouds. By
dark we arrived at Simonbong, having descended 5000 feet, at the rate
of 1000 feet an hour; and were kindly received by the Lama, who gave us
his temple for the accommodation of the whole party. We were surprised
at this, both because the Sikkim authorities had represented the Lamas
as very averse to Europeans, and because he might well have hesitated
before admitting a promiscuous horde of thirty people into a sacred
building, where the little valuables on the altar, etc., were quite at
our disposal. A better tribute could not well have been paid to the
honesty of my Lepcha followers. Our host only begged us not to disturb
his people, nor to allow the Hindoos of our party to smoke inside.
[Illustration: Simonbong Temple]
Simonbong is one of the smallest and poorest Gumpas, or temples, in
Sikkim: unlike the better class, it is built of wood only. It consisted
of one large room, with small sliding shutter windows, raised on a
stone foundation, and roofed with shingles of wood; opposite the door a
wooden altar was placed, rudely chequered with black, white, and red;
to the right and left were shelves, with a few Tibetan books, wrapped
in silk; a model of Symbonath temple in Nepal, a praying-cylinder,[63]
and some implements for common purposes, bags of juniper, English
wine-bottles and glasses, with tufts of _Abies Webbiana,_ rhododendron
flowers, and peacock’s feathers, besides various trifles, clay
ornaments and offerings, and little Hindoo idols. On the altar were
ranged seven little brass cups, full of water; a large conch shell,
carved with the sacred lotus; a brass jug from Lhassa, of beautiful
design, and a human thigh-bone, hollow, and perforated through both
condyles.[64]
[63] It consisted of a leathern cylinder placed upright in a frame; a
projecting piece of iron strikes a little bell at each revolution, the
revolution being caused by an elbowed axle and string. Within the
cylinder are deposited written prayers, and whoever pulls the string
properly is considered to have repeated his prayers as often as the
bell rings. Representations of these implements will be found in other
parts of these volumes.
[64] To these are often added a double-headed rattle, or small drum,
formed of two crowns of human skulls, cemented back to back; each face
is then covered with parchment, and encloses some pebbles. Sometimes
this instrument is provided with a handle.
[Illustration: rumpet made of a human thigh-bone]
Facing the altar was a bench and a chair, and on one side a huge
tambourine, with two curved iron drum-sticks. The bench was covered
with bells, handsomely carved with idols, and censers with
juniper-ashes; and on it lay the _dorge,_ or double-headed thunderbolt,
which the Lama holds in his hand during service. Of all these articles,
the human thigh-bone is by much the most curious; it is very often that
of a Lama, and is valuable in proportion to its length.[65] As,
however, the Sikkim Lamas are burned, the relics are generally procured
from Tibet, where the corpses are cut in pieces and thrown to the
kites, or into the water.
[65] It is reported at Dorjiling, that one of the first Europeans
buried at this station, being a tall man, was disinterred by the
resurrectionist Bhoteeas for his _trumpet-bones._
Two boys usually reside in the temple, and their beds were given up to
us, which being only rough planks laid on the floor, proved clean in
one sense, but contrasted badly with the springy couch of bamboo the
Lepcha makes, which renders carrying a mattress or aught but blankets
superfluous.
_May 24._—We were awakened at daylight by the discordant orisons of the
Lama; these commenced by the boys beating the great tambourine, then
blowing the conch-shells, and finally the trumpets and thigh-bone.
Shortly the Lama entered, clad in scarlet, shorn and barefooted,
wearing a small red silk mitre, a loose gown girt round the middle, and
an under-garment of questionable colour, possibly once purple. He
walked along, slowly muttering his prayers, to the end of the
apartment, whence he took a brass bell and dorge, and, sitting down
cross-legged, commenced matins, counting his beads, or ringing the
bell, and uttering most dismal prayers. After various disposals of the
cups, a larger bell was violently rung for some minutes, himself
snapping his fingers and uttering most unearthly sounds. Finally,
incense was brought, of charcoal with juniper-sprigs; it was swung
about, and concluded the morning service to our great relief, for the
noises were quite intolerable. Fervid as the devotions appeared, to
judge by their intonation, I fear the Lama felt more curious about us
than was proper under the circumstances; and when I tried to sketch
him, his excitement knew no bounds; he fairly turned round on the
settee, and, continuing his prayers and bell-accompaniment, appeared to
be exorcising me, or some spirit within me.
After breakfast the Lama came to visit us, bringing rice, a few
vegetables, and a large bamboo-work bowl, thickly varnished with
india-rubber, and waterproof, containing half-fermented millet. This
mixture, called _Murwa,_ is invariably offered to the traveller, either
in the state of fermented grain, or more commonly in a bamboo jug,
filled quite up with warm water; when the fluid, sucked through a reed,
affords a refreshing drink. He gratefully accepted a few rupees and
trifles which we had to spare.
Leaving Simonbong, we descended to the Little Rungeet, where the heat
of the valley was very great; 80° at noon, and that of the stream 69°;
the latter was an agreeable temperature for the coolies, who plunged,
teeming with perspiration, into the water, catching fish with their
hands. We reached Dorjiling late in the evening, again drenched with
rain; our people, Hindoo and Lepcha, imprudently remaining for the
night in the valley. Owing probably as much to the great exposure they
had lately gone through, as to the sudden transition from a mean
temperature of 50° in a bracing wind, to a hot close jungly valley at
75°, no less than seven were laid up with fever and ague.
Few excursions can afford a better idea of the general features and
rich luxuriance of the Sikkim Himalaya than that to Tonglo. It is
always interesting to roam with an aboriginal, and especially a
mountain people, through their thinly inhabited valleys, over their
grand mountains, and to dwell alone with them in their gloomy and
forbidding forests, and no thinking man can do so without learning
much, however slender be the means at his command for communion. A more
interesting and attractive companion than the Lepcha I never lived
with: cheerful, kind, and patient with a master to whom he is attached;
rude but not savage, ignorant and yet intelligent; with the simple
resource of a plain knife he makes his house and furnishes yours, with
a speed, alacrity, and ingenuity that wile away that well-known long
hour when the weary pilgrim frets for his couch. In all my dealings
with these people, they proved scrupulously honest. Except for
drunkenness and carelessness, I never had to complain of any of the
merry troop; some of whom, bareheaded and barelegged, possessing little
or nothing save a cotton garment and a long knife, followed me for many
months on subsequent occasions, from the scorching plains to the
everlasting snows. Ever foremost in the forest or on the bleak
mountain, and ever ready to help, to carry, to encamp, collect, or
cook, they cheer on the traveller by their unostentatious zeal in his
service, and are spurs to his progress.
[Illustration: Tibetan amulet]