November 2 5th. In the afternoon the wind blew hard from the west, completely numbing us. The river kept pretty close to the foot of the mountains on the south, leaving however between them a belt of marshy ground overgrown with scrub and grass; in summer this tract will certainly be converted into an impassable quagmire. At this part the river winds very abruptly, a proof of the gentleness of its fall towards the west. The southern range rises in fairly low, but precipitous crags. Along their base gush out a whole series of open springs, which one after the other run into the Tsanger-schar, or Sangar-schar as some of our Tibetans pronounced it. At intervals these rivulets form little basins; in which the usual crustaceans were living, as also molluscs like those in the dead lake, except that these were still alive. Algæ too
were observed. Fish were especially abundant in the principal stream; in fact upon them we for the most part lived during the whole of the time we travelled beside it, and later whilst travelling alongside the Tso-ngombo. The fish frequent by preference the deep and open parts, more especially the pools formed at the confluences of the bigger spring-fed rivulets, where the water was relatively warm. One of these rivulets was particularly big, and wore a peculiar appearance, in that a strong stream gushed up out of a depression in the level ground, only a couple of meters from the foot of the mountains. Wild-duck also were present. Already we began to note indications that we were approaching what, in comparison with the niggardly, uninhabited, and barren high plateau we had so long been tramping across, might be called a favourable and hospitable country. The ground also slopes down slowly and gradually, a great help to a caravan so exhausted as ours was. Meanwhile, in consequence of this plentiful inflow of rivulets, the Tsanger-schar gradually increased in dimensions. Our Tibetans declared that it has its source not very far above Camp CXXXIV, in a part of its lower latitudinal valley in which similar springs are more
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