An Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet - Prajna Quest

j54 BOOTAN.the clouds : abrupt precipices, deep dells, and the river dashing itswaters with astonishing rapidity, over the huge stones and brokenrocks below, composed the sublime and variegated picture.Near the top of the mountain we passed through a chasm in thesolid rock, of the depth of eighteen or twenty feet, just wide enoughto admit a man on horseback.It was by this way, tradition tells, thatthe dewta Teiiuptehup, in his flight from Bootan to the country ofIthe Racusses, (whose ruler he put to death, and assumed the governmenthimself,) took his course ; and in scrambling over the rock, heleft here a deep impression of his hands and feet upon the stone. MyIconductor, who firmly gave faith to the story, pointed out to me theivestiges.A very curious and simple bridge, for the accommodation of singlepassengers, communicated between this and the opposite mountain.It consisted of two large ropes made of twisted creepers, stretchedparallel to each other, and encircled with a hoop.The traveller, whowishes to cross over from hence, has only to place himself between theropes, and sit down on the hoop, seizing one rope in each hand, bymeans of which he slides himself along, and crosses an abyss on whichI could not look without shuddering.Custom, however, has renderedit familiar, and easy to those who are in the practice of thus passingfrom one mountain to the other, as it saves them, by this expedient,a laborious journey of several days.We descents d the mountain, and crossed the chain bridge calledChukacha-zum, sketched over the Tchintchieu river, a short distanceabove the castle ol Chuka, which is reckoned eighteen miles from