SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
us all to a state of discomfort, as our only shelter was another abandoned transport station. The road on which we were travelling was that commenced by the Indian Government during the Tibet Mission, leading from Gangtak to Chumbi via the Natu-la, and is without doubt the best and easiest route between Sikhim and Chumbi, a fact recognised by the military authorities. The greater portion of this excellent road had been finished at an expense of several lacs of rupees, when, on the signing of the Lhasa Treaty, Government, in spite of my repeated remonstrances, decided to abandon the undertaking, ordered work to be immediately stopped, and rather than incur the small extra expenditure threw away the large amount already expended, by leaving uncompleted a few miles in the middle of a road, the greater part of which had already been finished and was well aligned the whole way to Chumbi.
We had great difficulty in crossing the Natu-la, 14,780 feet, next day, owing to the deep, soft snow, and although I had every one on the road before six in the morning it was 12.30 before I reached the top of the pass with the first few coolies, it having taken us three hours to do the last 1½ miles; but that year was an exceptionally severe and late one, with 65 inches of snow registered at Chumbi, against 20 the year before. During the year of the Mission I used to cross 450 maunds of stores daily with my Sikhim Coolie Corps, which, at the special request of General Macdonald, I had organised under Captains Souter and Muscroft, who, one or other, almost daily crossed with their men. On many other occasions I have always ridden across the pass, but this time I had to walk the whole distance, and had such weather occurred in 1904 the consequences might have been disastrous. From the pass we reached Pema, 9600 feet, in the Chumbi Valley, halting for a night at Champitang, without further misadventure than that nearly one-third of my coolies were suffering from snow-blindness, and Major Rennick also, as he had incautiously taken off his smoked glasses.
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