SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
not to the best of my abilities striven to do my duty to both Governments and consulted their interests alone, let the divine vengeance fall on me. But if I were honest and true, let it be meted out to my traducers. Sir, Durkey Sirdar and his two wives died within a short time of each other, and their house knows them no more. That has been my answer to the Council at Lhasa; they have accepted it, and I am free to go to the Holy City. What my Indian masters will do is their own good pleasure.”
At Rinchengong the road crosses the Am-mo-chhu by a substantial bridge, and our path opened out most lovely views, with splendid timber. But unfortunately the track, which is capable of great improvement at little cost, had been much neglected of late, and opposite Assam-Ro-tsa a rock nearly stopped us altogether, though after the expenditure of much time and labour we got all our transport safely across, with the exception of one pony, whose leg was broken and who had to be shot. That, with the loss of two of the mules, who died on the way from eating the poisonous leaves of a small rhododendron fatal to animals, was a heavy toll for the first day’s march. After passing Assam-Ro-tsa we got on fairly well, but I found the map was wrong, and that the stream marked Langmarpu-chhu is really the Kyanka, a second stream which we had already crossed higher up being the Langmarpu-chhu. Over the Kyanka there was a good new bridge, which we crossed, and passed under a cave, or rather two overhanging rocks, named Tak-phu, which were pointed out as being in Bhutanese territory. At the head of the Langmarpu-chhu there is said to be a large lake and good shau (Cervus sinencis) shooting. Turning up the Kyanka, the narrow track ran some way above the stream, and, gradually ascending, brought us to our camp, which was pitched in a somewhat confined glade close to the stream at a place called Lha-re (height 9900 feet), in Bhutan. After a fine night, with the thermometer registering only 30°, we started early, and found the path improved as we ascended the Kyanka, which
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