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Excursion from Dorjiling to Great Rungeet Zones of vegetation Tree-ferns Palms, upper limit of Leebong, tea plantations Ging Boodhist remains Tropical vegetation Pines Lepcha clearances Forest fires Boodhist monuments Fig Cane bridge and raft over Rungeet Sago-palm India-rubber Yel Pote Butterflies and other insects Snakes Camp Temperature and humidity of atmosphere Junction of Teesta and Rungeet Return to Dorjiling Tonglo, excursion to Bamboo flowering Oaks Gordonia Maize, hermaphrodite flowered Figs Nettles Peepsa Simonbong, cultivation at European fruits at Dorjiling Plains of India.
Ticks Leeches Cattle, murrain amongst Summit of Tonglo Rhododendrons Skimmia Yew Rose Aconite Bikh poison English genera of plants Ascent of tropical orders Comparison with south temperate zone Heavy rain Temperature, etc. Descent Simonbong temple Furniture therein Praying-cylinder Thigh-bone trumpet Morning orisons Present of Murwa beer, etc.
Above Simonbong, the path up Tonglo is little frequented: it is one of the many routes between Nepal and Sikkim, which cross the Singalelah spur of Kinchinjunga at various elevations between 7000 and 15,000 feet.
Our host only begged us not to disturb his people, nor to allow the Hindoos of our party to smoke inside. Simonbong is one of the smallest and poorest Gumpas, or temples, in Sikkim: unlike the better class, it is built of wood only. Within the cylinder are deposited written prayers, and whoever pulls the string properly is considered to have repeated his prayers as often as the bell rings.
By dark we arrived at Simonbong, having descended 5000 feet, at the rate of 1000 feet an hour; and were kindly received by the Lama, who gave us his temple for the accommodation of the whole party.
Leaving Simonbong, we descended to the Little Rungeet, where the heat of the valley was very great; 80 degrees at noon, and that of the stream 69 degrees; the latter was an agreeable temperature for the coolies, who plunged, teeming with perspiration, into the water, catching fish with their hands.
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