John Claude White

“ The road was reported to be very bad, and it certainly was, and I was glad I had not brought my own animals, but had borrowed mules from the Jongpen for all our party. The road to the top of the spur was very steep, with frozen slippery patches where it was shady and very hot in the sun. It ran in one place in a narrow path across a precipice, with a tremendous drop below, and in another became a series of steep stone steps. On reaching the top of the ridge we first came in sight of the monastery buildings, grouped on an almost perpendicular hillside in the most picturesque manner. ”

“ Wilton returned to India from Lingmathang, as he was obliged to meet some Chinamen in Calcutta, and Hyslop came on by himself to rejoin us in the bungalow at Gautsa, where we were waiting for him. He found the road very bad and difficult, as the wind had covered it with the trunks of fallen trees.
We in the bungalow had not fared much better than the men in tents. We were a good deal higher, and the cold—26° below zero—was so intense that the river, usually a roaring torrent, was frozen absolutely solid during the night, and there was not a sound of water to be heard. ”

“ He said he had been in many bad places, but never such a bad one as this, and he turned back to where the mules were waiting. Natives, as a rule, have good heads and do not mind bad roads, so that speaks for itself.
Across the gorge a rope of little coloured prayer-flags was stretched, which fluttered out prayers for the benefit of those who had put them up, and this added to the picturesqueness of the scene. ”

“ Each building is two stories high, and is painted, like all monasteries, a dull light grey on the lower story, with a broad band of madder-red above, and shingle roofs, on the top of which are gilded canopies. ”

“ Rennick, who could hardly put foot to the ground, was carried on the back of a Bhutanese orderly, with two or three men to help, and as he weighs over fifteen stone he was no light load. However, with occasional knocks against projecting rocks, which did not improve his temper, he was safely deposited at the bottom, where mules sent by the Jongpen and the Paro Penlop were waiting for us, as the road into camp was said to be quite good. ”

“ I took Hyslop with me and made an inspection of the hall in the Jong where the ceremony was to be held. It was very suitable, as it was a large room on the ground floor, with a gallery running all round, and capable of holding many hundreds of spectators, and by removing part of the roof they could let in both light and air. At the main entrance to the Jong quite a little bazaar was in progress, cloth-merchants selling Bhutanese cloths and cheap down-country cottons and sweetmeats, and pan-sellers doing a roaring trade, as the Bhutanese are always chewing pan. ”

“ The Bhutanese estimated their loss at about 11⁄2 lacs of rupees, or £12,000, and that it would take four years to rebuild the fort. There were flocks of pigeons flying about the ruins, and Hyslop and I did a little shooting.
Our next camp was in a village called Pemithang, crossing on our way the Be-la Pass (10,500 feet) , from where we had a magnificent view of Chomolhari to the north. The road was fairly good, except that in a few places it was covered with ice for several hundred yards; but it was easy to have earth thrown on it, and the mules crossed safely. ”

“ The rebuilding of such a fort is a very great tax on the people, and is generally borne by those close at hand, but in this case, by an arrangement of the Tongsa’s, the whole of Bhutan was contributing either in money or labour, thereby saving much hardship to the neighbouring villagers and expediting the work of reconstruction. ”

“ At Phari, Bailey, my assistant from Gyantse, was waiting to see me, and Morgan, of the 62nd, who had taken on the escort, was also there, and, with Campbell, we made a large gathering in the Dak bungalow. We left Phari on December 5, our party finally consisting of myself, Rennick, Hyslop, Campbell, Rai Lobzang Chöden Sahib, my confidential clerk, twenty-five sepoys of the 62nd, with three pipers and two drummers under a native officer, and 264 loads of baggage, in addition to a string of our own ponies and mules, personal servants and dooly-bearers. ”

“ Unfortunately I contracted a chill, and was obliged to remain in bed for a few days, so I sent Campbell on with
the escort and heavy baggage to Phari, and Hyslop having by this time arrived, we left Chumbi on December 2. Rennick and I went straight to Gautsa, while Wilton and Hyslop camped at Lingmathang in hopes of getting a shau of which my shikari had brought us news. It was a very cold day when we started, with the thermometer at zero and the high wind that always blows up the valley, and this shortly turned into a veritable hurricane, so the two in tents had a bad night of it. ”