are watered by an abundant stream, the waters of
which drift down a large quantity of gold sand, for which reason, the
Chinese give this valley the name of Kin-Keou (gold.)

The houses of Lang-Ki-Tsoung are very singularly constructed; they are
absolutely nothing more than trunks of trees, stripped of their bark, and
with the two extremities cut off; so that they may be nearly of the same
size throughout. Enormous piles are first driven into the earth to a
great depth; the part remaining above ground being at most two feet in
height. Upon these piles they arrange horizontally, one beside the
other, the trunks of fir which they have prepared; these form the
foundation and the floor of the house. Other fir trees similarly
prepared, and laid one upon the other, serve to form walls remarkable for
their thickness and solidity. The roof is likewise formed of trunks,
covered with large pieces of bark, arranged like slates. These houses
exactly resemble enormous cages, the bars of which are closely fixed
against each other. If between the joints they discover any cracks they
stop these up with argols. They sometimes build in this fashion very
large houses, of several stories high, very warm, and always free from
damp. Their only inconvenience is their having very uneven and
disagreeable floors. If the inhabitants of Lang-Ki-Tsoung ever take it
into their heads to give balls, they will, it is most likely, be obliged
to modify their plan of house construction. Whilst we were waiting
patiently and in silence in our big cage until they should please to
serve up supper, the Dheba of Lang-Ki-Tsoung, and the corporal of the
Chinese guard, came to tell us that they had a little point to settle
with us. "What point?" cried Ly-Kouo-Ngan, with an important air, "what
point? Oh, I see, the oulah is not ready." "It is not that," answered
the Dheba. "Never at Lang-Ki-Tsoung has any one to wait for his oulah;
you shall have it this evening, if you like, but I must warn you that the
mountain of Tanda is impassable; for eight consecutive days, the snow has
fallen in such abundance that the roads are not yet open." "We have
passed the Chor-Kou-La, why should we not with equal success pass the
Tanda?" "What is the Chor-Kou-La to the Tanda? these mountains are not
to be compared with each other. Yesterday, three men, of the district of
Tanda, chose to venture upon the mountain, two of them have disappeared
in the snow, the third a