Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 50 (Color Image)

0050	Among the Celestials : vol.1

26 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. I.

But the lake was the saving feature. It

appeared to be about six or seven miles in

circumference, and at its farther end was an

outlet, from which flowed the main branch of

the Sungari. This, then, was the source of

that noble river which, a few hundred miles

lower down, we afterwards found to be over

a mile broad, and which has claims, indeed, to

be considered the main branch of the great

Amur —a river excelled in size and grandeur

by few others in the world.

I rejoined my companions, and we set off

rapidly down the mountain-side, delighted at

having successfully achieved the object of our

journey, and with the feeling that all our toil

had not been in vain. The Ever-White

Mountain was not white with snow, and there-

fore not as lofty as we had been led to expect ;

it was white, or partially white, with pumice-

stone from the old volcano. But it was a

satisfaction to have established this fact, and

the beauty of its flower-covered slopes and of

the meadows at its base, and the impressive

solitude of the wonderful lake at its summit,

were ample compensation for our disappoint-

ment at its height.

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