ABSTRACT
The severity of the winter began to abate with the opening of the Tibetan new year, which coincides more nearly than own with the natural division of the calendar. In December and the early part of January, until the bitter winds set fully in, the lower part of the Chumbi Valley was quite pleasant during most of the day. The very low temperatures were found, as in North China, to be quite bearable until the wind set up, when, although the temperature rose slightly according to the thermometer, the pain from the cold became intense. The supernatural power with which they credited their white invaders certainly contributed to overawe the superstitious Tibetan. Several ducks, geese, gosanders, and other waterfowl began passing up the Chumbi Valley in the end of February, migrating from the Indian plains to their breeding-grounds in Tibet.
