road up to Tonglo. On the ascent of Punkasari some miles further on, we passed through one of the most beautiful and remarkable oak forests I have ever seen in the Himalayas, where the ground was fairly clear under the trees; yet the greater part of the immense tract of forest through which we passed was too much encumbered by a dense undergrowth of bamboo and shrubby brambles to have much terrestrial plants of interest.
Water is scarce on the road, but after a succession of short sharp ascents and occasional descents of a few hundred feet, during which we kept due north along the ridge, which leads over the top of the hill called Punkasari, about 8,500 feet in height, we came to a place where two or three decaying huts had been built in the forest. Finding water a little way below the track here, we halted for breakfast and enjoyed a half- hour’s rest. The coolies, who were lightly loaded and all Nepalese, came on very well; but though one of their number had been over the ground last year we could not make out how far we should have to go before finding another good camping ground. This place, which is marked on the map, is perhaps the best camp between Laba or Pashiteng and the top of the Rishi-la, as water might not be found further on in the dry season. After a short ascent we came over the top of the ridge, and turning rather to the left descended steeply for eight or nine hundred feet. Then we wound along for some miles either on the ridge or close to it through very dense forest, gradually ascending till we came to a place where a small herd of elephants had come on to the track and followed it up to the top of the mountain. Their marks and the broken bamboos, which were freshly twisted and bent in all directions, showed that they had passed within four or five days, and added much to the difficulty of forcing a passage. On the road we met two wild-looking Nepalese, the only human beings we saw all day, who were bringing down a few wretched sheep from the pasture above. About 2 p.m,, as rain appeared imminent and the chance of reaching the top that day was doubtful, we took advantage of a good spring close to the track to camp. Our men drew their kukries and speedily cut down a quantity of bamboo stems, with which they built a level floor or machan, resting on two forked sticks, over which to fix our tent. In the rainy season this is usually necessary on account of the wetness of the ground and the leeches, which, however, were not so bad there as usual. The men also erected shelters for themselves by breaking the joints of a number of bamboos in several places so that they would open out flat; when placed close together and lashed down tight with strips of the outer bark on a light frame-work, bamboos form a really watertight roof. Constant practice has made all these hill-men wonderfully handy in erecting shelters for themselves in the forest, but the hill bamboo is indispensable for the purpose, and all the mats which are used for roofing the temporary dwellings of the Nepalese are made of it. Higher up in the pine forests split shingles are used, and in the hot valleys grass thatching forms a very durable and watertight roof; but bamboo of one sort or another is a sine qua non in all Himalayan houses, and is used for every imaginable purpose. We got a comfortable dinner and turned in early. During the night there was a sudden alarm in camp caused by the ponies breaking loose in terror, which made the sleeping natives jump up and yell in
