Above 11,000 feet the valley expands remarkably, the mountains recede, become less wooded, and more grassy, while the stream is suddenly less rapid, meandering in a broader bed, and bordered by marshes, covered with _Carex, Blysmus,_ dwarf Tamarisk, and many kinds of yellow and red _Pedicularis,_ both tall and beautiful. There are far fewer rhododendrons here than in the damper Zemu valley at equal elevations, and more Siberian, or dry country types of vegetation, as _Astragali_ of several kinds, _Habenaria, Epipactis,_ dandelion, and a caraway, whose stems (called in Tibet "Gzira") are much sought for as a condiment.* [_Umbelliferae abound here; with sage, _Ranunculus, Anemone,_ Aconites, _Halenia,_ Gentians, _Panax, Euphrasia,_ speedwell, _Prunella vulgaris,_ thistles, bistort, _Parnassia,_ purple orchis, _Prenanthes,_ and _Lactuca._ The woody plants of this region are willows, birch, _Cotoneaster,_ maple, three species of _Viburnum,_ three of _Spiraea, Vaccinium, Aralia, Deutzia, Philadelphus,_ rhododendrons, two junipers, silver fir, larch, three honeysuckles, _Neillia,_ and a _Pieris,_ whose white blossoms are so full of honey as to be sweet and palatable.] The Singtam Soubah and Lachen Phipun received me at the bridge (Samdong), at Tallum, and led me across the river (into Cheen they affirmed) to a pretty green sward, near some gigantic gneiss boulders, where I camped, close by the river, and 11,480 feet above the sea. The village of Tallum consists of a few wretched stone huts, placed in a broad part of the valley, which is swampy, and crossed by several ancient moraines, which descend from the gulleys on the east flank.* [I have elsewhere noticed that in Sikkim, the ancient moraines above 9000 feet are almost invariably deposited from valleys opening to the westward.] The cottages are from four to six feet high, without windows, and consist of a single apartment, containing neither table, chair, stool, nor bed; the inmates huddle together amid smoke, filth, and darkness, and sleep on a plank; and their only utensils are a bamboo churn, copper, bamboo, and earthenware vessels, for milk, butter, etc. Grassy or stony mountains slope upwards, at an angle of 20 degrees,* [At Lamteng and up the Zemu the slopes are 40 degrees and 50 degrees, giving a widely different aspect to the valleys.] from these flats to 15,000 feet, but no snow is visible, except on Kinchinjhow and Chomiomo, about fifteen miles up the valley. Both these are flat-topped, and dazzlingly white, rising into small peaks, and precipitous on all sides; they are grand, bold, isolated masses, quite unlike the ordinary snowy mountains in form, and far more imposing even than Kinchinjunga, though not above 22,000 feet in elevation.