Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921 — John Shaqi
Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921Howard-Bury, Charles
History
Mount Everest, the Reconnaissance, 1921
Howard-Bury, Charles
Everest, Mount (China and Nepal); Mount Everest Expedition (1921)
boxes were fastened; before leaving, he made me a present of one of
these locks.
[3] Dzong means fort.
June 7 saw us still at Khamba Dzong, as the transport would not be ready
till the following day. Raeburn, who for some time had been suffering
from the same complaint as Dr. Kellas, was unfortunately getting no
better and was getting weaker every day. We were therefore reluctantly
compelled to send him back again into Sikkim to Lachen, where he could
be taken charge of by the lady missionaries and properly looked after.
Wollaston and Gyalzen Kazi were to accompany him down to Lachen, and if
possible to rejoin us by the time that we got to Tingri. This break-up
of our climbing party was most annoying and seriously weakened our
party, obliging us to alter our plans for reconnoitring in a thorough
manner the various approaches to Mount Everest. The following day, after
a good deal of delay and argument about the loads, we got everything
loaded up and started off for Lingga, a march of about 16 miles to the
West. For the first few miles we rode across a great plain on which were
several small herds of goa, but these were very wary and kept well out
of shot. The path then took us alongside a small isolated rocky hill in
which we kept putting up numerous hares who often got up right under our
ponies' feet. We crossed the Yaru River, now only a small stream, at the
picturesque village of Mende with its fine willow trees, and then after
passing over a spur, formed of slaty rock, we descended into another
great plain which extended all the way to Tingri. Five miles across this
plain was the village of Lingga, surrounded by marshes and ponds, with
barley fields and rich grass growing between the patches of water. There
were several other villages in sight, so that the plain was evidently
fertile and could support a considerable population. This was the first
place where we became bothered by sand flies, which in the morning were
very troublesome; but when the wind got up, as it always did in the
afternoons, it blew them away, and for once was welcome. The villagers
were very hospitable; they produced tea and beer brewed from barley for
us as soon as we arrived there. The latter is quite a pleasant drink on
a hot day, but it did not agree with my inside at all. The people here
had never seen a European before, and though at first inclined to be
rather shy, they soon became very friendly and curious. Some pieces of
silver paper from chocolates quite won the hearts of the children who
flocked around and did not in the least mind being photographed. To the
South extended the chain of snows of the main range of the Himalayas,
and on the way we had several clear and distinct views of Mount Everest.
Morshead, who had left the day before, was camped at a small monastery a
few miles to the North of us in order to follow the crest of the ridge
of hills and to survey both sides, but was to join us again at Tinki.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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