TO TILE SATSCHU-TSANGPO: A PADDLE DOWN THE SAME. II
surface having dried during the last few days. We crossed over five small passes. Here again the characteristic east-west extension of the mountain-ranges was especially emphasised. Hard rock showed at several places; it consisted of a hard, close-grained variety, which like all the varieties which I have hitherto mentioned and all those which I have yet to mention, is carefully described in the geological part of this work.
The principal brook then continued towards the S. 75° E., being bordered on the north by the last range that we had crossed over the day before. This range now turned out to be double, and its lower crest was pierced by several side-glens. On the south the brook is bordered by very low hills, on the other side of which we found a flat depression with a couple of larger pools in the middle of it. Each of these was surrounded by boggy ground, which fortunately we were able to avoid. F1 om these pools we made our way up to a minor range (5083 m.). Immediately south of it came yet a second range of precisely the same character. Down the glen that lay between the two flowed a brook due east; and beyond the second range was a second glen running down in the same direction as the first one. We had the highest part of the last named glen, together with its flat pass, on our right. Towards the east the glen terminates in a sort of rocky gateway, which affords an uninterrupted view of a distant mountainous country, one conspicuous mass in which was white with hoar-frost. Then we crossed over a fourth low threshold, and after that a fifth. This last was however of more consequence than the others owing to its forming an important and more definitive water-parting; for it sends off towards the east a watercourse which unites with all those that I have just mentioned, and these all clearly belong to the same hydrographical system as the principal stream at Camp LXVIII. West-south-west from the pass runs a glen which we followed for two days. The upper part of this glen is broad; but on both sides of it a couple of bare rocky spurs pierced through the everlasting disintegration detritus. Down the middle of it flowed a small brook, and in several places there were natural springs. The grass was occasionally fairly rich; the country was dotted over with evidences of recent encampments and there was a good deal of yak-dung, evidently left by tame yaks. The glen soon inclined towards the south and broadened out. Then we once more saw our path barred by an east-west range; but as it was pierced by the glen we were marching in, there was clearly no need to climb over it. As the grazing just outside the breach through the range was good, we pitched there Camp LXIX, at an altitude of 4889 m. In this neighbourhood we observed numerous signs of the presence of nomads; for one thing, sheep-droppings were quite common. There were large troops of kulans and several species of antelopes, and also mountain sheep, wolves, hares, and ravens. Not very far from our camp we observed a great number of heaps of stones and mounds of turf, apparently forming some sort of a boundary line.
The 31st August was again a beautifully warm day, with neither wind, nor rain, nor hail. We now followed the stream downwards through its rather deep, distinctly modelled transverse glen. After this we definitively descended, except for a small secondary pass. The going was favourable and the ground bore everywhere. The grass however was wretched. No nomads could encamp for any length of time in such a locality; possibly therefore the traces of encampments that we
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