ere were Tibetans, Shokas, Rongbas,
Nepalese--all good mountaineers. Then there were Chanden Sing and
Mansing belonging to the Rajiput caste. There were a Brahmin, two native
Christians, and a Johari. Then Doctor Wilson. What a collection! What a
confusion of languages and dialects! An amusing feature of this odd
crowd was that each particular caste looked down upon all the others.
This, from the beginning, occasioned a good deal of trouble among my
men. I was glad of this, as it seemed a sort of guarantee that they
would never combine against me. One of the most peculiar men I had with
me was a Tibetan brigand, a man with the strength of an ox. His history
did not bear a close examination. He had killed many people. He asked to
be employed by me, as he had quarrelled with his wife, and refused to
live with her any longer. In camp he went by the name of _Daku_ (the
brigand). The son of one of the richest traders of Garbyang, a young
fellow called Kachi, also accompanied me. He was intelligent, and could
speak a few words of English. I had employed him to look after the men
and to act as interpreter, if necessary. His uncle Dola was employed in
the capacity of valet and cook.

Instead of proceeding by the Lippu Pass, where the Jong Pen was waiting
for me with his men, I made forced marches from Kuti in a different
direction altogether. I meant to cross over by a high untrodden pass,
practically unknown, where no one could suspect that a caravan would
enter Tibet. My men were good. We marched steadily for several days over
very rough country, getting higher and higher toward the eternal snows.
We suffered considerably in crossing the rapid and foaming torrents.
They were often quite deep, and the water was so cold from the melting
snows that we were nearly frozen each time we waded through them. We
crossed several large flat basins of stones and gravel which appeared
to have been lake-beds. In these basins we found deltas, formed by the
stream dividing in various directions. We suffered tortures in crossing
barefooted one cold stream after another. Some of my men narrowly
escaped frost-bites, and it was only after rubbing their feet violently
that the intense pain ceased and circulation was at last restored. The
soles of my feet and my toes were badly cut and bruised. Every stone in
the streams seemed to have a sharp edge. I, too, suffered agony after I
had been in the water for some time. Never until that day did I know