uiet in the courtyard of the inn; we
could hear neither the bellowing of the yaks, nor the neighing of the
horses, nor anything indicating preparations for the departure of a
caravan. We rose, and after rubbing our eyes, opened the door of our
room to see how matters stood. We found Ly-Kouo-Ngan and the Lama
Dsiamdchang, seated in a corner of the court-yard, quietly basking in the
rays of the sun. As soon as they saw us they approached, and told us in
an infinitely roundabout manner, that we should be obliged to halt for
one day, as there were difficulties in procuring horses and a change of
oxen. "This is very bad news," said they; "this mischance is very
unfortunate, but we cannot help it; the circumstance of the new-year's
festival is the sole cause of this delay." "On the contrary," said we,
"this is excellent news; we are in no sort of hurry. Let us go quietly,
and rest frequently on the way, and all will go well." These words
relieved our two guides from a great embarrassment. These good people
imagined that we should quarrel with them, because it was necessary to
make a day's halt; they were prodigiously mistaken. If, in our previous
travels, delays had been sources of grievous vexation to us, the reason
was that we had an object in view, and that we were eager to attain it.
But now this was not the case, and we wished, as much as possible, to
travel like gentlemen. We felt, besides, that it was not logical to go
at a running pace from a place from which we had been expelled.

Midchoukoung is a stage where you change your oulah, that is, the horses,
beasts of burden, and guides. These services are kept up by the
Thibetian government, all the way from Lha-Ssa to the frontiers of China.
The Chinese or Thibetian public officers, who make official inspections
of the roads, are alone allowed to avail themselves of these sources.
The government of Lha-Ssa gives them a passport, upon which is stated the
number of men and animals that the villages, subject to the contribution
of the oulah, must furnish.

The Chinese account of Thibet gives the following account of this
compulsory service: "As respects the local service called oulah, all
those who have any fortune, whether men or women, are compelled to supply
it; even those who come from the most distant countries, if they occupy a
house to themselves, are not exempt from it. The number of men each
person must furnish for this service is regulated by the fort