ched my Tibetan tent, they made for
it, expecting to find some of their own countrymen. Their confusion was
amusing when they found themselves face to face with Doctor Wilson and
myself. Hurriedly removing their fur caps, they laid them upon the
ground and made a comical bow. They put out their tongues full length,
and kept them so until I made signs that they could draw them back, as I
wanted them to answer several questions. This unexpected meeting with us
frightened them greatly. They were trembling all over with fear. After
getting as much information as they seemed to have, I bought their
fattest sheep. When the money was paid there was a further display of
furred tongues, and more grand salaams when they departed, while all
hands in my camp were busy trying to prevent our newly purchased animals
from rejoining the flock moving away from us. On our next march these
animals were a great trouble. We had to drag them most of the way.
Kachi, who had been intrusted with a stubborn, strong beast, which I had
specially promised my men for their dinner if they made a long march
that day, was outwitted by the sheep. It freed its head from the cord
with which Kachi was dragging it, and cantered away full speed in the
opposite direction to the one in which we were travelling. It is well
known that at great altitudes running is a painful operation, for the
rarefied air makes such exertion almost suffocating. Yet Kachi, having
overcome his first surprise, was soon chasing the escaped beast, and,
urged by the cheers of my other men, succeeded, after an exciting race,
in catching the animal by its tail. This feat is easier to describe than
to accomplish, for Tibetan sheep have very short, stumpy tails. Kachi
fell to the ground exhausted, but he held fast with both hands to his
capture, and finally the animal was secured with ropes.

Climbing over rolling ground, we rose to a pass 15,580 feet high--over a
thousand feet higher than Pike's Peak, in Colorado. Then crossing a
wide, flat land, we followed the Kuti River, with its high, snowy
mountains to the west and east. The line of perpetual snow was at 16,000
feet; the snow below this level melted daily, except in a few shaded
places. Red and white flowers were still to be seen, though not in such
quantities as lower down. We saw many pairs of small butterflies with
black-and-white wings.

After a while there was yet another bitterly cold stream to ford, two
small lakes to skirt,