Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 264 (Color Image)

0264	Among the Celestials : vol.1

222 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. IX

a vast river of pure white ice, broken up into

myriads of sharp needle-like points. Snowy

mountains rose above us on either hand, and

clown their sides rolled the lesser glaciers, like

clotted cream pouring over the lip of a cream

jug ; and rising forbiddingly before us was the.

cold icy range we should have to cross.

This, marvellous as it was to look upon, was

scarcely the country through which . to take a

caravan of ponies, but I made out a line of

moraine extending right up the main glacier.

We got on to this, and, following it up for

some distance, found, to our great relief, that

it would be quite possible to bring ponies up it

on to the smooth snow of the névé at the head

of the glacier. Having ascertained this beyond

a doubt, we returned late in the afternoon

towards the spot where we had left our ponies.

Darkness, however, overtook us before we

reached it. We wandered about on the glacier

for some time, and nearly lost our way ; but

at last, quite worn out, reached our little

caravan once more.

That night we held a council of war as to

which of the two Mustagh Passes we should

attack. There are two passes, known as the

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