1.The Himalayas1 are the highest mountains on our globe,They are in Asia,and separate India from Thibet. They extend in a continuous line for more than a thousand miles.
1 Himalayas,also written Himmaleh.
2.If you ever ascend1 one of these mountains from the plain below,you will have to cross an unhealthy border,twenty miles in width. It is,in fact,a swamp2 caused by the waters over.owing the river banks.
3.The soil of this swampy border is covered with trees and shrubs,where the tiger,the elephant,and other animals find secure retreat3. Beyond this border,you will reach smiling valleys and noble forests.
4.As you advance4 onward and upward,you will get amongbolder and more rugged5 scenes. The sides of the mountains are very steep,sometimes well wooded to quite a height,but sometimes quite barren6.
5.In crossing a river you must be content with three ropes for a bridge. You will.nd the streets of the towns to be simply stairs cut out of the rock,and see the houses rising in tiers7.
6.The pathways into Thibet,among these mountains,are mere tracks by the side of foaming torrents. Often,as you advance,you will.nd every trace of the path swept away by the falling of rocks and earth from above.
7.Sometimes you will find posts driven into the mountain side,upon which branches of trees and earth are spread. This1Ascend,go up,climb.
2Swamp,low,wet ground. 3 Retreat,place of safety.
4 Advance,go forward. 5 Rugged,rough.
6 Barren,without trees or shrubs,unproductive. 7 Tiers,rows one above another.
forms a trembling foothold1 for the traveler.
8.In the Andes2,in South America,the sure-footed mule is used to carry travelers. Quite often a chasm3 must be crossed that is many feet wide and hundreds of feet deep. The mule will leap across this chasm,but not until it is sure it can make a safe jump.
9."One day," says a traveler,"I went by the worst pass over the Andes Mountains. The path for seventy yards was very narrow,and at one point it was washed entirely away. On one side the rock brushed my shoulder,and on the other side my foot overhung the precipice4."
10.The guide told this man,after he was safely over the pass,that,to his knowledge5,four hundred mules had fallen over that precipice,and in many instances travelers had lost their lives at that terrible spot.
1Foothold,that on which one may tread.2Andes,next to the highest range of mountains in the world. 3 Chasm,a deep opening in the earth,or cleft in the rocks.4 Precipice,a very steep and dangerous descent. 5 Knowledge,that which is known.