SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
beer, and I could show no more severe displeasure with the
villagers than by refusing to accept their hospitality,.
During this time the Phodong Lama and the Shoe Dewan,
one of whom always accompanied me, became my best
friends, and I found they were men to whom I could turn
for advice as well as assistance and for whom I had the
most sincere regard. Unlike natives of the plains of India,
with ideas on most subjects more nearly approaching our
own, these hill men in reply to inquiries told you the truth,
and made no attempt to find out first what answer was
likely to please you, and consequently it was possible to
make friends and companions of them in a way not often
feasible in the case of natives.
The monasteries and the lamas were a great power in the land, but in their case also certain settlements and arrangements had to be made with the assistance of the Phodong Lama, Chief Priest in Sikhim, and Lari Pema of the Pemiongtchi Monastery. Many of the head lamas were men to be liked, and although they were not given entirely their own way, their just rights were carefully observed, and I have always been supported by them throughout my time in Sikhim. Years later, when I accompanied the Tibet Mission to Lhasa, the lamas of the important monasteries of Sera and Debung sent me an invitation to visit them, saying they would be glad if I would come as they had always heard from the Sikhim lamas that in my dealings with them I had treated them well, and this I looked upon as a great compliment.
My readers will have seen that when I first came to Sikhim there were no roads, only a few bad and difficult tracks. As the revenue increased and money was available this was one of the first improvements to be taken in hand, and soon the country was opened up by a system of roads, the torrents were bridged, and in a few years time it was possible to ride from one end of Sikhim to the other. Later on, before I left, it was possible to cart goods from Siliguri, the terminus of the Northern Bengal State Railway, 64 miles
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