water, though free from ice, was icy cold, and, that the camels might suffer less after repeatedly crossing and recrossing, it was necessary to delay operations till the sun had mounted the sky. The Beg not only provided camels, but sent his chief assistant with them to conduct me across the ford. This guide would have had to recross the river on the back of a pony, but I was able to dispense with his guidance, and thus spare the faithful henchman a wetting. As soon as I had crossed the river, the Beg welcomed me into his district, and invited me to spend the night at his house. The magistrate's abode I found to be a roomy, comfortable, and well-built house. Entering my room, he took a kneeling and apparently uncomfortable posture, in which he continued while he kept me company in drinking tea and eating chapatties. In the village the caravan men talked freely of my skill in dentistry, and here, as elsewhere, sufferers from toothache came to me for relief.
At Rahbut we spent a night at an " ungur " (or shelter) formed by a huge boulder leaning against the cliff on the left bank of the stream. A small rubble wall, about five feet high, improved the shelter, but the place was still exposed to wind blowing down the valley.
The upper portion of the ascent to the Khandar Pass was very steep and stony, but we had taken the precaution of relieving all the donkeys of their loads, and lightening the burdens of the ponies. Even so, these animals had to be helped over one or two very rocky places, and the loaded yaks, careful and sure-footed though they were, had a good deal of difficulty in scaling the ascent. But, on the whole, we found that Changfûnchuk, in his descriptions of the ground, had grossly exaggerated its dangers. The descent was easy, and as we proceeded the guide, apparently for the purpose of amusing himself and me, poured forth a long series of foolish lies. Turn-
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