Himalayan Journals — Volume 1: Or, Notes of a Naturalist in Bengal, the Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas, the Khasia Mountains, etc.Hooker, Joseph Dalton
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Himalayan Journals — Volume 1: Or, Notes of a Naturalist in Bengal, the Sikkim and Nepal Himalayas, the Khasia Mountains, etc.
Hooker, Joseph Dalton
Himalaya Mountains -- Description and travel; Natural history -- Himalaya Mountains
The name of Dhamersala is applied, in the mountains as in the plains
of India, to a house provided for the accommodation of travellers,
whether it be one of the beautiful caravanserais built to gratify the
piety, ostentation, or benevolence of a rajah, or such a miserable
shieling of rough stone and plank as that of Tuquoroma, in which we
took up our quarters, at 13,000 feet elevation. A cheerful fire soon
blazed on the earthen floor, filling the room with the pungent odour
of juniper, which made our eyes smart and water. The Ghorkas withdrew
to one corner, and my Lepchas to a second, while one end was screened
off for my couch; unluckily, the wall faced the north-east, and in
that direction there was a gulley in the snowy mountains, down which
the wind swept with violence, penetrating to my bed. I had calculated
upon a good night's rest here, which I much needed, having been
worried and unwell at Wallanchoon, owing to the Guobah's obstinacy. I
had not then learnt how to treat such conduct, and just before
retiring to rest had further been informed by the Havildar that the
Guobah declared we should find no food on our return. To remain in
these mountains without a supply was impossible, and the delay, of
sending to Mywa Guola would not have answered; so I long lay awake,
occupied in arranging measures. The night was clear and very cold;
the thermometer falling to 19 degrees at 9 p.m., and to 12 degrees in
the night, and that by my bedside to 20 degrees.
On the following morning (Nov. 26th) I started with a small party to
visit the pass, continuing up the broad, grassy valley; much snow lay
on the ground at 13,500 feet, which had fallen the previous month;
and several glaciers were seen in lateral ravines at about the same
elevation. After a couple of miles, we left the broad valley, which
continued north-west, and struck northward up a narrow, stony, and
steep gorge, crossing an immense ancient moraine at its mouth. This
path, which we followed for seven or eight miles, led up to the pass,
winding considerably, and keeping along the south-east exposures,
which, being the most sunny, are the freest from snow. The morning
was splendid, the atmosphere over the dry rocks and earth, at 14,000
feet, vibrating from the power of the sun's rays, whilst vast masses
of blue glacier and fields of snow choked every galley, and were
spread over all shady places. Although, owing to the steepness and
narrowness of the gorge, no view was obtained, the scenery was wild
and very grand. Just below where perpetual snow descends to the path,
an ugly carved head of a demon, with blood-stained cheeks and
goggle-eyes, was placed in a niche of rock, and protected by a glass.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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