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

B OOT AN. 59laboured over the sides of the mountains, on which there are nothing nowbut pines and firs.We Iiad proceeded about five or six miles, when, ata small distance from the road, my eye was caught by a bridge for footpassengers^ of an extraordinary construction. It was composed of twochains stretched parallel to each other across the river, distant lourfeet from each other, and on either side resting upon a pile of stonesraised upon each bank about eight feet high : they were carried downwith an easy slope and buried in the rock, where, being fastened rounda large stone, they were confined by a quantity of broken rock heapedon them. A plank about eight inches broad, hung longitudinally,suspended across the river with roots and creepers, wound over thechains with a slackness sufficient to allow the centre to sink to thedepth of four feet below the chains. This bridge, called Selochazum,measured from one side of the water to the other seventy feet. Thecreepers are changed annually: the planks are all loose; so that ifthe creepers give way in any part, they can be removed, and that particularpart repaired without disturbing the whole.At a distance fromhence we passed Durbee castle,built upon the crown of a very steeprock, which stands on the road to Paro, and within itsdistrict.The foot of the rock is washed by the Tehintchieu-Patchieu, over/which, is thrown a wooden bridge, constructed of long beams of fir, /reaching from side to side, with deal planks placed crossways on them,[and bound down with bands of bamboo. Although these bridges arc'strong, yet they are of a most simple structure ; and there is this peculiaradvantage in them over heavy masses of masonry, that intimesof commotion, they can be very quickly removed on the slightestI