National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
| |||||||||
|
In Tibet and Chinese Turkestan : vol.1 |
228 IN TIBET AND CHINESE TURKESTAN.
On December 6th, the day after I had returned from the excursion up the Yarkand River, I crossed the pass, which was clear of snow. The ascent from the Mariong valley was not particularly dangerous, but, on account of
its steepness, the animals had to rest at short intervals.
Having made a short halt at the top, we began the
descent into the V-shaped valley, at the head of which
lies Pichanyart. The caravan had to proceed in strag-
gling fashion, down countless zigzags, many of which
were very short and steep, though sometimes the longer
and easier ones proved dangerous also. On the slope lay
numberless stones which, being set in motion by the men
and animals in the rear, rolled and bounded down dan-
gerously near those in the front of the caravan. Some of
the yak were very troublesome, at times standing stock-
still, and at other times rushing from the track for no
apparent reason except to loosen showers of stones on
the men and animals below. At one part of the descent
the risk of injury from this cause was so serious that those above were made to halt till those below had gained a place of safety.
Yak are, as I have already had occasion to observe, very kure-footed, and this valuable quality they retain even when heavily laden and in difficult positions.
The Pichanyart valley was much narrower than the
Mariong valley we had just left, and its bottom was
covered with jungle, through which the Pichanyart
stream forced its way. The village of the same name,
where we halted for the first night after leaving Nosh
Tung, consisted of a few houses surrounded by some
cultivated ground. From inquiries here I learned that
there was a direct route from Nosh Tung to the west end
of Raskam, practicable for laden animals, and that there was also a mountain track, which only men and goats could use, from a point near Camp 126 to the Pil valley.
|
Copyright (C) 2003-2019 National Institute of Informatics and The Toyo Bunko. All Rights Reserved.