to proceed. Kachi Ram, the Rongba
and I went ahead, but we also were suffering, Kachi complaining of
violent beating in his temples and loud buzzing in his ears. He also
gasped and staggered dangerously, threatening to collapse at any moment.
At 21,000 feet he fell flat on the snow. He was instantly asleep,
breathing heavily and snoring raspingly. His hands and feet were icy
cold, and I rubbed them. But what caused me more anxiety than anything
was the irregular beating and throbbing of his heart. I wrapped him up in
his blanket and my waterproof, and, having seen to his general comfort, I
shouted to the doctor, telling him what had happened, and that I was
going to push on as much higher as I could stand, the Rongba being now
the only one of the party who was able to keep up.

A thick mist came on and enveloped us, which considerably added to our
trials. Our efforts to get on after we left Kachi at 21,000 feet were
desperate, our lungs in convulsion as if about to burst, our pulses
hastened, our hearts throbbing (mine being ordinarily very regular) as if
they would beat themselves out of our bodies. Exhausted and seized by
irresistible drowsiness, the Rongba and I nevertheless at last reached
the top. It was a satisfaction to have got there, to have reached such an
altitude, although I had long realised the impossibility of getting my
men over by this way. It served me also to ascertain the amount of snow
on the other side of the range, which, when the fog lifted somewhat, I
found to be greater on the northern slope than on the southern. Although
almost fainting with fatigue, I registered my observations. The altitude
was 22,000 feet, the hour 11 P.M., and there was a strong, cutting
North-East wind. I had stupidly forgotten to take my thermometer out of
Kachi's pocket when I left him, and was unable to register the
temperature, although I had done so only a few minutes before I left
Kachi at 21,000 feet. The cold was intense. The stars were
extraordinarily brilliant and the moon shone bright for a while over the
panorama around me, and though it was a view of utter desolation, it had
nevertheless a curious indescribable fascination. Below me, to the
south, were mountainous masses buried in snow, and to the South-West and
North-East were peaks even higher than the one on which I stood. To the
north stretched the immense, dreary Tibetan plateau with undulations and
intricate hill ranges, beyond which a high mountain ran