ny tracts in the Himalayan
hills, thousands of square miles in extent, where no human being
dwells--where no chimney sends up its smoke. Indeed, there are vast
tracts, especially among the high snow-covered summits, that have either
never been explored, or only very rarely, by the adventurous hunter.
Others there are quite inaccessible; and it is needless to say, that the
highest peaks--such as Chumulari, Kinchinjunga, Donkia, Dawalghisi, and
the like--are far beyond the reach of even the most daring climber.
Perhaps no one has ever ascended to the height of five miles above the
level of the sea; and it is a question whether at that elevation a human
being could exist. At such a height it is probable that animal life
would become extinct, by reason either of the extreme cold or the rarity
of the atmosphere.

Though the Himalaya mountains have been known from the earliest historic
times--for they are the _Imaus_ and _Emodus_ of the ancient writers--it
is only within the present century that we in Europe have obtained any
definite knowledge of them. The Portuguese and Dutch--the first
European colonists of India--have told us very little about them; and
even our own Anglo-Indian writers were long silent upon this interesting
theme. Exaggerated accounts of the hostility and cruelty of the
Himalayan highlanders--more especially the Ghoorkas--prevented private
explorations; and with the exception of some half-dozen books, most of
them referring to the western section of the Himalayas, and
comparatively valueless, from the want of scientific knowledge on the
part of their authors, this vast tract has remained almost a _terra
incognita_ up to the present time.

Of late, however, we have obtained a better acquaintance with this
interesting portion of the earth's surface. The botanist, lured thither
by its magnificent _flora_, has opened to us a new world of vegetation.
Royle and Hooker have ably achieved this task. The zoologist, equally
attracted by its varied _fauna_, has made us acquainted with new forms
of animal life. Hodgson and Wallich are the historians in this
department. Scarcely less are we indebted to the sportsman and hunter--
to Markham, Dunlop, and Wilson the "mountaineer."

But in addition to these names, that have become famous through the
published reports of their explorations, there are others that still
remain unrecorded. The _plant-hunter_--the humble but useful
commissioner of the enterprising