Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 259 (Color Image)

0259	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. ix.] ,ROUGH OBSTACLES. 217

was, therefore, all the more worth conquering,.

and as it would be the final and greatest.

obstacle on my long journey from Peking, I

set out to tackle it with the determination to

overcome it at almost any cost. Every other

difficulty had been successfully negotiated. and

this last remaining obstacle, though the most.

severe of all, was not to be permitted at the.

climax of my journey to keep me from my

goal.

These were my feelings as I advanced up the.

valley, at the head of which lay the Mustagh

Pass. But I had little idea of the magnitude.

of the difficulties which in reality lay before me,.

and these were soon to commence.

Scarcely a mile from our bivouac of the.

previous night we came to a point where the.

valley was blocked by what appeared to be

enormous heaps of broken stones and fragments

of rock. These heaps were between two and

three hundred feet in height, and stretched

completely across the valley. I had gone on

ahead by myself, and when I saw these mounds

of débris, I thought we might have trouble in

taking pönies over such rough obstacles ; but I

was altogether taken aback when, on coming

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