i6o IN TIBET AND CHINESE. TURKESTAN
than 2,000 feet, the latter part of the descent being very steep and over deep sand. At the bottom of the, valley flows the Kurab River, on fording which we found: our-. selves at Polu. The village is small but- compact, situated on a ridge a little above the confluence of* the Kurab and Terelik Rivers, and about two miles south of the point where the united stream flows into the Kiria River. A comfortable house, belonging to a rich man, was vacated for me, and every civility and - assistance was proffered, but, nevertheless, symptoms of coming trouble-. soon appeared. An official, deputed by the Chow-Kuan of. Kiria, and attended by a Mohammedan interpreter, came to the village and professed himself desirous_ of helping . me. I had been expecting men from Leh with baggage-. sheep, corn, money, and sundry other articles, and, being doubtful whether they would be able to find their way unaided across the mountains, I had despatched a man well acquainted with the route to look out for then. Soon after my arrival at Polu this man returned without having seen the Ladakis, but having, in accordance with instructions from me, " cached " food for them at Ulugh Kul. After this, the Chow-Kuan's envoy, though in my presence he gave utterance merely to soft nothings, threatened the natives with dreadful punishment if any assistance should be given me in travelling by Carey's route to Ladak, here known as Tibet.
Chinese opposition works, by preference, underhand, and for a time things went on smoothly. In the mornings many villagers visited me, some desirous of medicine, others anxious to be relieved of troublesome teeth. The extraction of teeth, I was told, was usually performed by the village farrier, who, while the patient was held by two or three men, applied his huge pincers and pulled out not merely the one offending organ, but often some inoffensive teeth besides. The small size of my forceps, and the
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