I 76 WESTWARDS TO LADAK.
rain. Leaving the brook to the south, behind a free-standing gypsum hill, we crossed over another watercourse, then dry; this comes from the north-west and unites with the first brook at a point where the latter sends a little branch to the north, which then gives rise to a round isolated lagoon. It was just beyond this point that we pitched our tents for Camp CXI, at an altitude of 4,577 m., or only 5 m. above the level of the lake. A very slight rise therefore in the lake would result in considerable areas of the bottom of the latitudinal valley being flooded.
On the nearest promontory to the south the quartzite cropped out at 3 i° to the S. 3o° E. The sp. gr. of the water in the little lagoon was, by the areometer, 1.0005. At this place I was given the following names: the nearest minor mountain on the south is called Ju-divu. Luma-nagma is a locality lying north-west of our camp. A mountain to the south-west, slightly sprinkled with snow, was called Marmi-gotsang, and on the south side of that mountain there is a temple known as Marmi-gombo, at which 300 or 400 lamas dwell. And we had unmistakable evidence that there was a temple there, for we repeatedly heard trumpet-blasts from that direction. Time did not allow me to pay it a visit; besides our Tibetan escort were very strenuously opposed to any such proposal.
A hard wind from the west as usual; this time however it did not blow so steadily as at other times, but came in frequent gusts. As a general rule it was, I should say, stiff for 2 minutes, and then for one minute its force was that of a hurricane, and after that there would be a couple of minutes slackening, and then the next gust would follow. Sometimes however 4 to 5 minutes would intervene between the more violent gusts; the latter repeatedly threatened to blow our tent over. Next night there was not, as usual, any cessation in the wind, and it continued to blow
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