|
Alcesti de Righi Diary Entry Saturday, 12 August 1905
In continuation of my last letter I received orders to march, and by 5-45 p.m. I was en route and stopped out to make the 6˝ miles to Chaubaugan as quickly as possible; the night was very favourable the moon shining through the clouds making the road clearly visible. The rain luckily held off the whole time so that I had a fair journey all the way. My bedding and food I sent on ahead and in about a quarter of an hour I reach the "Chorten" on the summit of Phalloot hill the work of pious Tibettans, who use this road. It is erected to gain merit (by affording work to Lamas who are stone cutters), appease the local Demon, and offer devotion by the inscribed prayers to the less feared Divinity. The road as far as Singalela is in very good condition, and I get along pretty quickly. Daylight gradually fades away, the clouds open a little and give me a glimpse of the surrounding hills. I have no time to stop and admire them. By 8 o'clock I am well over the ridge and among a forest of Dwarf Rhododendrons. The last time I gained this summit was in November, 1902, and not a cloud marred the view of the snowy range, which is by far the finest obtainable anywhere excluding Sandakphu. Now there is nothing but clouds, and darkness makes itself felt by the moon hiding itself deeper in the clouds. As we get lower down we meet larger trees and have to light our lantern. We, the chowkidar and I, are now walking down what a climber would call an excellent mountain path, and a city man a beastly torrent bed. Our steps must be carefully chosen, as we are walking over ancient landslides, and slip and fall might be serious.
A good hour's walk brings us within hail and sight of the little camp fires of the 109 coolies who are to take our stores on to Jongri. I soon rouse out the Sirdars and Baiders, and ask them why things have been brought here from Chakung instead of Jongri. They do not know; the Chakung Dewan has given them orders to collect labour from the different villages under their control, and here they are. None of them, so they say, has ever been to Jongri, and they do not know how many days' march there are or anything about this road, but they have a man with them who has been before. They also put forward an excuse that they have not enough food with them to carry them through. This I cannot believe and tell them that it is their own look-out, and they must be off by 8 o'clock the next morning, as it is of vital importance to us that these stores should arrive intact at Jongri, for we have eight hungry mouths to feed daily, and we sent off this same convoy of rice on the 24th and 25th of last month. It ought to have reached Jongri on the 30th and 31st of the same month, but through the fault of the Dewan of Chaking here is the food, where it is useless as far as the expedition is concerned. It is very lucky we found this out a day before we started or we should have found ourselves in a difficult position. The ground roundabout the bungalow, now simply four walls, is swampy. The only available dry ground is taken up by the hundred or so coolies, and I find no alternative but to camp alongside of them and am in for no sleep owing to their chattering the whole night through. This is the first night I pass in a mummery tent, and very comfortable it is—warm and thoroughly waterproof. It rains very hard during the night but I am as dry as I can wish.
|