IIIFカラー高解像度
国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
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| IIIFカラー高解像度 |
| India and Tibet : vol.1 | |
| インドとチベット : vol.1 |
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引用情報
160 DARJILING TO CHUMBI
last campaign against us. Many of our camp-followers
deserted, and local men in our employ brought in stories
of the numbers and prowess of the 'Tibetans, and how
they would attack us in the night and swamp us.
These were the circumstances in which we set out,
now in the extreme depth of winter, to cross over the
main range of the Himalayas into 'Tibet.
On January 7 we encamped at the foot of the pass,
the thermometer that night falling to 18° below zero. As
1 looked out of my tent at the first streak of dawn the t
next morning there was a clear cuffing feel in the atmo-
sphere, such as is only experienced at great altitudes.
The stars were darting out their rays with almost super-
natural brilliance. The sky was of a steely clearness, into
which one could look unfathomable depths. Behind the
great sentinel peak of Chumalhari, which guards the
entrance to 'Tibet, the first streaks of dawn were just
appearing. Not a breath of air stirred, but all was gripped
tight in the frost which turned buckets of water left out
overnight into solid ice, and made the remains of last
night's stew as hard as a rock. Under such conditions
we prepared for our advance over the pass, and as the
troops were formed on parade, preparatory to starting, it
was found that many of the rifles and one of the Maxims
would not work, on account of the oil having frozen.
The rise to the pass was very gradual, and the pass
itself, 15,200 feet above sea-level, was so wide and level that
we could have advanced across it in line. But soon now
the wind got up, and swept along the pass with terrific
force. At this altitude, and clad in such heavy clothing,
we could advance but slowly, and the march seemed in-
terminable. The clearness of the atmosphere made the
little hamlet of Tuna appear quite near ; but hour after
hour we plodded wearily over the plateau, and it was late
in the afternoon before we reached it, and even then, for
the sake of water, we had to go a mile or more beyond,
and encamp in the open.
A Tibetan force was near at hand, and as they were
credited with a habit of attacking at night, General Mac-
donald took special precautions against such an even-
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