the general name given to a large Tibetan province that embraces the
head of the Machoo river, and includes Phari, Eusa, Choombi, and
about thirteen other villages, corresponding to as many districts,
that contain from under a dozen to 300 houses each, varying with the
season and state of trade. The latter is considerable, Phari being,
next to Dorjiling, the greatest Tibetan, Bhotan, Sikkim, and Indian
entrepot along the whole Himalaya east of Nepal. The general form of
Choombi valley is triangular, the broader end northwards: it is
bounded by the Chola range on the west from Donkia to Gipmoochi, and
by the Kamphee or Chakoong range to the east; which is, I believe,
continuous with Chumulari. These meridional ranges approximate to the
southward, so as to form a natural boundary to Choombi. The Machoo
river, rising from Chumulari, flows through the Choombi district, and
enters Bhotan at a large mart called Rinchingoong, whence it flows to
the plains of India, where it is called at Couch-Behar, the Torsha,
or, as some say, the Godadda, and falls into the Burrampooter.

The Choombi district is elevated, for the only cultivation is a
summer or alpine one, neither rice, maize, nor millet being grown
there: it is also dry, for the great height of the Bhotan mountains
and the form of the Machou valley cut off the rains, and there is no
dense forest. It is very mountainous, all carriage being on men's and
yaks' backs, and is populous for this part of the country, the
inhabitants being estimated at 3000, in the trading season, when many
families from Tibet and Bhotan erect booths at Phari.

A civil officer at Phari collects the revenue under the Lhassan
authorities, and there is also a Tibetan fort, an officer, and guard.
The inhabitants of this district more resemble the Bhotanese than
Tibetans, and are a thievish set, finding a refuge under the