On re-ascending from Punkabaree, the rocks gradually
appear more and more dislocated, the clay-slate less
so than the quartz and mica-schist, and that again
far less than the gneiss, which is so shattered and
bent, that it is impossible to say what is in situ,
and what not. Vast blocks lie superficially on
the ridges; and the tops of all the outer mountains,
as of Khersiong spur, of Tonglo, Sinchul, and Dorjiling,
appear a pile of such masses. Injected veins
of quartz are rare in the lower beds of schist and
clay-slate, whilst the gneiss is often full of them;
and on the inner and loftier ranges, these quartz
veins are replaced by granite with tourmaline.
Lime is only known as a stalactitic deposit from various
streams, at elevations from 1000 to 7000 feet; one
such stream occurs above Punkabaree, which I have
not seen; another within the Sinchul range, on the
great Rungeet river, above the exit of the Rummai;
a third wholly in the great central Himalayan range,
flowing into the Lachen river. The total absence
of any calcareous rock in Sikkim, and the appearance
of the deposit in isolated streams at such distant
localities, probably indicates a very remote origin
of the lime-charged waters.
From Khersiong to Dorjiling, gneiss is the only rock,
and is often decomposed into clay-beds, 20 feet deep,
in which the narrow, often zigzag folia of quartz
remain quite entire and undisturbed, whilst every
trace of the foliation of the softer mineral is lost.
At Pacheem, Dorjiling weather, with fog and drizzle,
commenced, and continued for two days: we, reached
Dorjiling on the 24th of March, and found that the
hail which had fallen on the 20th was still lying
in great masses of crumbling ice in sheltered spots.
The fall had done great damage to the gardens, and
Dr. Campbell’s tea-plants were cut to pieces.
Illustration—POCKET-COMB USED BY THE MECH
TRIBES.
