SIKHIM AND BHUTAN
it as a sort of intermediary. On the 11th the Mission reached Dalingkote, and was detained there till the 29th. It had great difficulty in procuring provisions; many of the coolies, seeing the questionable manner in which the Jongpen received the Mission, ran away; the Deb sent evasive answers to Eden’s letters; every attempt was made to detain the Mission indefinitely, and when Eden finally moved on on the 29th he was compelled, for want of transport, to leave most of his tents, stores, and baggage behind and nearly half his escort. At Sipchu further obstruction and difficulties in obtaining transport were experienced, and he had to consider whether to move on with a further diminished escort or to return. In view of the orders he had received from Government at Darjeeling, and its evident desire that the Mission should push on, and thinking that it was unlikely that the Bhutan Government would dare to treat a British envoy with insult or violence, Eden determined to proceed, taking with him only fifteen Sikhs and ten Seebundy sappers, and leaving the rest of his escort, all his heavy baggage, his assistant, Mr. Power, and the commissariat sergeant, moonshi, native doctor, and all the camp-followers that could be spared behind.
Sipchu was left on February 2, the ascent of the pass from Saigon commenced on the 3rd, and the party halted for the night in the snow at an elevation of 8798 feet. The next day the pass was crossed at 10,000 feet, and the descent to Donga-chhu-chhu (8595 feet) made through snow with much difficulty. The party halted the next day on the banks of the Am-mo-chhu, and Eden draws attention in his narrative to the advantage of a route into Tibet through Bhutan up this valley. The next halt was made at Sangbay, and there further obstruction was met with.
The Jongpen refused all help, as he had received no orders to allow the Mission to pass. A good many of the coolies were found to be frost-bitten. Eden had to abandon all idea of bringing on the escort he had left behind, and sent orders to Mr. Power to return to Darjeeling, taking
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