swing us across, our
crossing hanging truly and literally by a thread--a thread of thin wire.
Wire, at once the lightest and strongest commodity of its kind, had
since our last crossing been sent up to us, in great quantities, and was
largely used to replace the now rotten rope that had previously been
chiefly employed. A great ferry boat, bearing twenty mules, to which was
attached a string of skin boats laden with stores, to which again were
attached a brace or so of mules swimming in the water, would be swung
across that still swift current, suspended from but one or two thin
wires.

The speed of the crossing exceeded all hopes. It was accomplished in
about forty-eight hours. From South Parte we marched, over a pass that
was new to us, straight into Pete-jong. At the top of that pass facing
southwards we found a wall, which had obviously been built by the
Tibetans in the belief that on our march upwards we would cross the
ridge by this route. It was a well-conceived fortification, and might
have given us considerable trouble.

From Parte Ferry to Gyantse we marched in two columns. Thinking the
crossing of the ferry might occupy several days, and in order to be
prepared for all emergencies such as any possible ebullitions of
hostility that might delay our march, we had laid in at the ferry and
the posts on the way to Gyantse a stock of supplies which now proved
larger than our needs, while our spare transport was only sufficient to
carry on a portion of the surplus.

I accompanied the second column and had the pleasant duty of making away
with this surplus. To one whose purse has always been slender, and whose
nature is correspondingly extravagant, there can be nothing more
agreeable than to dispose in a free-handed way of large amounts of
Government property. One enjoys all the delights of extravagance with
none of its bitter aftertaste. Of course, even from the strictly
economical view, it was far the best policy to make away with these
surpluses where they stood. The total value of the stores so made away
with, though amounting to a large sum, was far less than, for instance,
would have been the cost of retaining the force in the country until
they had consumed them.

The British troops were all with this column, but there were several
native units as well. One arrived at a post and found it full of many
good things that could not be carried on. Restrained only by fear of
filling the troops to a tension beyond