ALIVE WITH LEECHES.

Taranaki Daily News, 31 December 1921, Page 10

ALIVE WITH LEECHES.

PAINFUL EVENING ON MOUNT EVEREST. In his account of the Everest expedition in the Times Colonel Howard Bury describes a visit to the lower valley of the Kamachu. At the end of August, he says, we started off from Kharta, crossed the Samjunla (15,000 feet), and, after passing through the Valley of the Fourteen Lakes, crossed the Cliogla (16,000 ft. camping by the side of. a lake of deep color on the far side of the pass. , This lake, which is called Ruddamlamsto, is looked upon as holy, and the people make annual pilgrimages to it, walking round the lake, burning incense, and throwing spice into its waters. Six miles below we crossed the Kamachu by a bridge at a height of 10,200 ft. There was a fine open space for camping here, but the grass was long, and, on having it cut, we found it alive with leeches. Dry bamboos were quickly collected and burnt over the spots on which we were to pitch our tents; but, despite these precautions, the whole evening was spent in picking oft’ leeches from our clothes and hands, necks, and even plates of food, as they climbed the tent walls and dropped down on us. They seemed an especially hungry genus, and had never before tasted European blood. They also hold the record for height, being found up to 21,000 ft.