grass, and Arenaria; the most curious was Saussurea
gossypina, which forms great clubs of the softest
white wool, six inches to a foot high, its flowers
and leaves seeming uniformly clothed with the warmest
fur that nature can devise. Generally speaking,
the alpine plants of the Himalaya are quite unprovided
with any special protection of this kind; it is the
prevalence and conspicuous nature of the exceptions
that mislead, and induce the careless observer to
generalise hastily from solitary instances; for the
prevailing alpine genera of the Himalaya, Arenarias,
primroses, saxifrages, fumitories, Ranunculi,
gentians, grasses, sedges, etc., have almost uniformly
naked foliage.
We descended to the foot of the pass in about two
hours, darkness overtaking us by the way; the twilight,
however, being prolonged by the glare of the snow.
Fearing the distance to Tuquoroma might be too great
to permit of our returning thither the same night;
I had had a few things brought hither during the day,
and finding they had arrived, we encamped under the
shelter of some enormous boulders (at 13,500 feet),
part of an ancient moraine, which extended some distance
along the bed of the narrow valley. Except an
excruciating headache, I felt no ill effects from
my ascent; and after a supper of tea and biscuit,
I slept soundly.
On the following morning the temperature was 28 degrees
at 6.30 a.m., and rose to 30 degrees when the sun
appeared over the mountains at 8.15, at which time
the black bulb thermometer suddenly mounted to 112
degrees, upwards of 80 degrees above the temperature
of the air. The sky was brilliantly clear, with
a very dry, cold, north wind blowing down the snowy
valley of the pass.
CHAPTER X.
Return from Wallanchoon pass — Procure a bazaar at village — Dance
of Lamas — Blacking face, Tibetan custom of — Temple and convent —
Leave for Kanglachem pass — Send part of party back to Dorjiling —
Yangma Guola — Drunken Tibetans — Guobah of Wallanchoon — Camp at
foot of Great Moraine — View from top — Geological speculations —
Height of moraines — Cross dry lake-bed — Glaciers — More moraines
— Terraces — Yangma temples — Jos, books and furniture — Peak of
Nango — Lake — Arrive at village — Cultivation — Scenery —
Potatos — State of my provisions — Pass through village — Gigantic
boulders Terraces — Wild sheep — Lake-beds — Sun’s power — Piles
of gravel and detritus — Glaciers and moraines — Pabuk, elevation
of — Moonlight scene — Return to Yangma — Temperature, etc. —
Geological causes of phenomena in valley — Scenery of valley
on descent.
I returned to the village of Wallanchoon, after collecting
all the plants I could around my camp; amongst them
a common-looking dock abounded in the spots which
the yaks had frequented.
