Himalayan Journals | Page 4

official
leave to proceed to India; and from the hour of my accepting the

Borneo commission with which he honoured me, he displayed the most
active zeal in promoting its fulfilment. He communicated to me his
views as to the direction in which I should pursue my researches,
furnished me with official and other information, and provided me with
introductions of the most essential use.] was dead; the interest in
Borneo had in a great measure subsided; H.M.S. "Maeander," to which
I had been attached for service in Labuan, had left the Archipelago;
reports of the unhealthy nature of the coast had excited alarm; and the
results of my researches in the Himalaya had proved of more interest
and advantage than had been anticipated. It was hence thought
expedient to cancel the Borneo appointment, and to prolong my
services for a third year in India; for which purpose a grant of £300
(originally intended for defraying the expense of collecting only, in
Borneo) was transferred as salary for the additional year to be spent in
the Himalaya.
The portion of the Himalaya best worth exploring, was selected for me
both by Lord Auckland and Dr. Falconer, who independently
recommended Sikkim, as being ground untrodden by traveller or
naturalist. Its ruler was, moreover, all but a dependant of the British
government, and it was supposed, would therefore be glad to facilitate
my researches.
No part of the snowy Himalaya eastward of the northwest extremity of
the British possessions had been visited since Turner's embassy to Tibet
in 1789; and hence it was highly important to explore scientifically a
part of the chain which, from its central position, might be presumed to
be typical of the whole range. The possibility of visiting Tibet, and of
ascertaining particulars respecting the great mountain Chumulari,* [My
earliest recollections in reading are of "Turner's Travels in Tibet," and
of "Cook's Voyages." The account of Lama worship and of Chumulari
in the one, and of Kerguelen's Land in the other, always took a strong
hold on my fancy. It is, therefore, singular that Kerguelen's Land
should have been the first strange country I ever visited (now fourteen
years ago), and that in the first King's ship which has touched there
since Cook's voyage, and whilst following the track of that illustrious
navigator in south polar discovery. At a later period I have been nearly
the first European who has approached Chumulari since Turner's
embassy.] which was only known from Turner's account, were

additional inducements to a student of physical geography; but it was
not then known that Kinchinjunga, the loftiest known mountain on the
globe, was situated on my route, and formed a principal feature in the
physical geography of Sikkim.
My passage to Egypt was provided by the Admiralty in H.M.
steam-vessel "Sidon," destined to convey the Marquis of Dalhousie,
Governor-General of India, thus far on his way. On his arrival in Egypt,
his Lordship did me the honour of desiring me to consider myself in the
position of one of his suite, for the remainder of the voyage, which was
performed in the "Moozuffer," a steam frigate belonging to the Indian
Navy. My obligations to this nobleman had commenced before leaving
England, by his promising me every facility he could command; and he
thus took the earliest opportunity of affording it, by giving me such a
position near himself as ensured me the best reception everywhere; no
other introduction being needed. His Lordship procured my admission
into Sikkim, and honoured me throughout my travels with the kindest
encouragement.
During the passage out, some days were spent in Egypt, at Aden,
Ceylon, and Madras. I have not thought it necessary to give here the
observations made in those well-known countries; they are detailed in a
series of letters published in the "London Journal of Botany," as written
for my private friends. Arriving at Calcutta in January, I passed the
remainder of the cold season in making myself acquainted with the
vegetation of the plains and hills of Western Bengal, south of the
Ganges, by a journey across the mountains of Birbhoom and Behar to
the Soane valley, and thence over the Vindhya range to the Ganges, at
Mirzapore, whence I descended that stream to Bhaugulpore; and
leaving my boat, struck north to the Sikkim Himalaya. This excursion
is detailed in the "London Journal of Botany," and the Asiatic Society
of Bengal honoured me by printing the meteorological observations
made during its progress.
During the two years' residence in Sikkim which succeeded, I was laid
under obligations of no ordinary nature to Brian H. Hodgson, Esq.,
B.C.S., for many years Resident at the Nepal Court; whose guest I
became for several months. Mr. Hodgson's high position as a man of
science requires no mention here; but the difficulties he