less struck me as being intensely unpicturesque,
at least from the point from which I saw it, and from which the whole of
it was visible. When clouds were round it, toning down and modifying its
shape, Tize appeared at its best from the painter's point of view. Under
these conditions, I have thought it very beautiful, especially at
sunrise, with one side tinted red and yellow, and its rocky mass standing
majestic against a background of shiny gold. With my telescope I could
plainly distinguish, especially on the E. side, the defile along which
the worshippers make the circuit at the base of the mountain, though I
was told that some pilgrims actually march round it on the snowy ledge
directly over the base, and just above the darker band of rock described
before. On the S.W. side can be seen, on the top of a lower peak, a
gigantic Obo.

[Illustration: OUR FIRST VIEW OF RAKASTAL]

The peregrination round Tize usually takes three days, though some
accomplish it in two days, and under favourable circumstances it has even
been done in one day. It is usual for the pilgrims to say certain prayers
and make sacrifices as they proceed, and the more fanatical perform the
journey serpentwise, lying flat on the ground; others, again, do it on
their hands and knees, and others walking backwards.

Tize, or Kelas, has an elevation of 21,830 feet, and Nandiphu, W. of it,
19,440 feet, while N.W. of the sacred mountain are visible other summits
20,460 feet, 19,970 feet, and 20,280 feet. Animal life seemed to abound,
for while I was sketching the panorama before me, a snow leopard bounded
gracefully past us. I had a shot or two at _thar_, and we saw any number
of _kiang_. We found rhubarb, which seemed to be thriving, at so high an
elevation as 17,000 feet, and quantities of yellow flowers in the same
locality and at the same elevation; and at 19,000 feet I netted two
couples of small white and black butterflies. They seemed to have great
difficulty in flying, and hardly rose more than two or three inches off
the ground, flapping their wings irregularly; they seldom flew more than
a few feet, and then remained motionless for long periods before they
attempted to fly again. I had come across the same kind of butterfly at
lower altitudes, 18,600 feet and 17,000 feet, and I invariably found them
in couples.

On nearing the lakes, the atmosphere seemed saturated with moisture, for
no sooner had the sun gone down than there was a heavy dew,