ed of an
occasional tuft of a low, sharp-pointed, smooth grass, ligneous within,
and as hard as iron, but not brittle; so that it might very well be
converted into mattress needles. The animals were, however, so
famishing, that they were fain to attack even this atrocious forage,
which absolutely cracked between their teeth, and could be realized at
all only by vigorous efforts and at the cost of infinite lip bleeding.

From the brow of this magnificent plateau, we could see below us the
peaks and needles of numerous ridges, the ramifications of which were
lost in the horizon. We had never witnessed anything at all comparable
with this grand, this gigantic spectacle. During the twelve days that we
were journeying along the heights of Tant-La, we enjoyed fine weather;
the air was calm, and it pleased God to bless us each day with a warm,
genial sunshine, that materially modified the ordinary coldness of the
atmosphere. Still the air, excessively rarified at that enormous
altitude, was very piercing, and monstrous eagles, which followed the
track of the caravan, were daily provided with a number of dead bodies.
The small caravan of the French mission itself paid its tribute to death;
but, happily, that tribute was only in the shape of our little black
mule, which we abandoned at once with regret and with resignation. The
dismal prophecy that had been announced with reference to M. Gabet was
falsified. The mountains, which were to have been fatal to him, proved,
on the contrary, highly favourable, restoring to him, by degrees, health
and strength. This blessing, almost unexpected by us, even at the hands
of the God of Mercy, made us forget all our past miseries. We resumed
all our courage, and firmly entertained the hope that the Almighty would
permit us to accomplish our journey.

The descent of Tant-La, though long in duration, was rapid in itself.
Throughout four whole days, we were going down, as it seemed, a gigantic
staircase, each step of which consisted of a mountain. At the bottom, we
found some hot springs, of an extremely magnificent description. Amongst
huge rocks, you see a great number of reservoirs, hollowed out by the
hand of nature, in which the water boils and bubbles, as in a vast
cauldron over a fierce fire. Sometimes the active fluid escapes through
the fissures of the rocks, and leaps, in all directions, by a thousand
capricious jets. Every now and then the ebullition, in particular
reser