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
_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 Dalhousiae_ 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 hamboo
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--_Leguminosae,_ 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.* [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) _Laurineae_ of several species,
all beautiful forest-trees, straight-holed, and umbrageous
above.--(4) Magnolias.* [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 _Magnoliaceae_ (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.]--(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.
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 (_Caelogyne
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* [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.] also swarm below 7000
feet; a small black species above 3000 feet, and a large yellow-brown
solitary one below that elevation.
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,_* [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.] _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.
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.* ["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.]
Of European genera I found _Thalictrum, Anemone, Fumaria,_ violets,
_Stellaria, Hypericum,_ two geraniums, balsams, _Epilobium,
Potentilla, Paris_ and _Convallariae,_ one of the latter has
verticillate leaves, and its root also called "bikh," is considered a
very virulent poison.
Still, the absence or rarity at this elevation of several very large
natural families,* [_Ranunculaceae, Fumariae, Cruciferae, Alsineae,
Geranicae, Leguminosae, Potentilla, Epilobium, Crassulaceae,
Saxifrageae, Umbelliferae, Lonicera, Valerianeae, Dipsaceae,_ various
genera of _Compositae, Campanulaceae, Lobeliaceae, Gentianeae,
Boragineae, Scrophularineae, Primulaceae, Gramineae._] 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.
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 degrees, 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.* [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.] 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.
During the whole of the 22nd, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., the thermometer
never varied 6.5 degrees, ranging from 47.5 in the morning to 54
degrees, 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 degrees and
6 degrees 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,* [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.] 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.* [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--TRUMPET 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.* [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.] 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.
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 degrees at noon, and that of the
stream 69 degrees; 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 degrees in a bracing
wind, to a hot close jungly valley at 75 degrees, 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.