p. I
stalked a herd of antelopes, and having gone some five miles from camp, I
was benighted, and on my return had the greatest difficulty in finding my
men in the darkness. They had been unable to light a fire, and as they
had both gone fast asleep, I received no answer to my calls. We had
selected a sheltered depression in the ground for our camp, and there
being hundreds of similar spots everywhere round it, and no landmarks to
go by, it was by no means easy to identify the exact place.

Fortunately, at last, after I had shouted for some considerable time,
Chanden Sing heard me, and, by the sound of his voice, I found my way
back. In the morning we noticed a large encampment about a mile off on
the opposite bank of the Brahmaputra, where we might have obtained
provisions, but the stream was too rapid for us to cross; moreover, we
saw black tents in every direction on our side of the water, and
therefore there was no reason to go to the extra trouble and danger of
crossing the stream.

[Illustration: KIANG]

Much to our delight, we succeeded in purchasing a goat from some passing
Tibetans, who drove before them a flock of several thousand heads, and,
as we could not find sufficient dry fuel to make a fire, we entrusted
Mansing with the safe-conduct of the animal to our next camp, where we
proposed to feast on it.

The Brahmaputra had here several ramifications mostly ending in lakelets,
and rendering the plain a regular swamp. The larger branch was very wide
and deep, and we preferred following it to crossing it, notwithstanding
that we had to deviate somewhat from the course which I would have
otherwise followed. We thus made a considerable _detour_, but even as it
was, for several miles we sank in mud up to our knees, or waded through
water, for although there were small patches of earth with tufts of grass
which rose above the water, they collapsed on our attempting to stand
upon them.

The whole of the Northern part of the plain was extremely marshy. Our
yaks gave us no end of trouble, for when they sank unexpectedly in soft
mud-holes, they became restless and alarmed, and in their struggles to
save themselves, once or twice shook off their pack-saddles and loads,
which we had not been able to fasten properly for want of ropes. Chanden
Sing and I, however, managed to keep up with them, and at last, on
nearing the hills, the ground showed greater undulations and was rather
drier. We saw columns of smoke risin