He is a good lad," replied Mr. Larkin. "You can anyhow take him as far
as the frontier, but I would not advise you to take him into Tibet."

Mr. Larkin counselled Chanden Sing to be diligent and attentive, and the
ex-policeman beamed all over with joy when I told him definitely that he
might accompany me to Bhot. He turned out to be the one plucky man among
all my followers, and he stood by me through thick and thin.

[1] See Appendix. Letter by Dr. H. Wilson.

CHAPTER III

Pithoragarh--Fakir women--A well-ventilated abode--Askote--The
Rajiwar and his people.

THE country up to Bhot is comparatively well-known, therefore I will not
dwell at length on the first portion of my journey.

On May 9 all my baggage, accompanied by two _Chaprassis_, left on its way
to the frontier, and I followed on the next day. Two days' marching, at
the rate of twenty-five miles a day, brought me to Shor, otherwise called
Pithoragarh.

The road is good all the way, running through thick forests of pine and
fir trees, and you get here and there pretty views of wooded mountain
ranges. Nevertheless, it is tiring owing to the many ascents and
descents, as will be seen from the following figures showing the
principal elevations. From 5510 feet we climbed to 7650 feet, descended
to 2475 feet, climbed again up to 6020 feet at Gangoli Hat, and
re-descended by a steep incline to 2500 feet. The intense heat prevented
me from walking at my usual pace, and I did not, therefore, reach my
destination before sundown. Walking on in the dark, we saw the distant
flickering forest fires crawling here and there like incandescent snakes
along or up the mountain-side: these are caused by the igniting of the
grass, shrubs, and undergrowth by the natives, the flames not
unfrequently spreading and playing havoc among the finest trees of the
forest.

At Pithoragarh (6650 feet) there is the old London Gourkha fort to be
seen, on a hilltop, also a well-kept leper hospital, a school, and a
mission-house. The soil is fertile and there are many stretches of
well-cultivated land dotted with habitations. Water is plentiful, and
though the scenery certainly lacks trees except in the immediate
neighbourhood of the villages and houses, it has, nevertheless, a
certain picturesqueness on account of its background of wooded mountains.
I started from Pithoragarh at 6.30 A.M.; leaving the road to Tal on the
left, I followed the track at a medium elevatio