river, but the river was too deep for the camels. On the left bank of the river, and between it and the big bluff, stands the village of Noh, called also Odschong, the first permanently inhabited place, as it was also the last, that we encountered in Tibet. A little distance from the village stand the temple buildings, red and white, with bulbiform cupolas and flags fluttering from high poles. The same colour distinguishes also the square houses, which are clustered together in a clump, and are likewise adorned with flags. At the special request of the inhabitants I abstained from visiting the interior of their village, and contented myself with taking some photographs, and sending into it one of the Buriat Cossacks and our Lama. They reported that the interior of the houses was horribly dirty; felt carpets were spread
Fig. 164. VIEW OF THE VILLAGE OF NOH.
on the floor and there was a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape by. The country around is perfectly barren, and the village wears an air of loneliness and desolation. The last bushes grew in a thicket on the right bank, close down to the water-line. Just below the village the river is spanned by a simple bridge, namely two or three willow trees flung across from piers of stone. That is to say, it was of the usual Asiatic character, and looked anything but safe. The trees had, it was evident, been fetched from a pretty considerable distance. Immediately below the bridge the river makes a sharp bend towards the west-north-west. Its water was perfectly transparent and of a gloriously dark green colour. For a short distance the river was divided into several arms, but these soon became concentrated into one, a very sinuous channel, winding between deep-cut erosion-terraces, the one on the left being especially developed. We kept to the right bank, where there was a small secondary ridge, with springs gushing out at its foot; the water of one of these had a temperature of + i5.9°. Below some of these springs little pools had formed; they contained Algæ and were then frozen over. From the point where we first struck the Tsanger-schar, and all the way down to the present spot, the
IIIF Color HighRes
