Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 255 (Color Image)

0255	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. vIII.] A MAGNIFICENT SCENE. 213

head, could be seen a vast glacier, the out-

pourings of the mountain masses which give it

birth. It was a scene which, as I viewed it,

and realised that this seemingly impregnable

array must be pierced and overcome, seemed to

put the iron into my soul and stiffen up all my

energies for the task which lay before me.

Buried in the stirring feelings to which such

a scene gives rise, I sat there for more than an

hour, till the caravan arrived, and then we

slowly descended from the pass into the valley

bottom at our feet. The way was rough and

steep, but we reached the banks of the river

without any serious difficulty. Here, however,.

we were brought to a standstill, for there was a

sheer cliff of a couple of hundred feet or so in

height running far away on either hand along

the river's edge. This at first seemed a serious

obstacle, but I had noticed on the way down

some tracks of kyang (wild asses), and as there

was no water above, I knew that these animals

must get down to the river to drink some way

or other, and that where they could go we

could go also. I therefore went back to these

tracks, carefully followed them up, and was

relieved to find they led down a practicable

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