has cut its way past Murtagh, was absolutely clear from the view before us. But there remained the chance of the riverbed itself offering the desired passage. This hope occupied my mind as I descended by a difficult track just practicable for yaks to the left bank of the river, at the point known as Issik-bulak, " the hot spring." On the sheer cliffs opposite
VIEW UP THE YURUNG-KA$H GORGE, WITH SPURS OF PEAK K. 5 ON LEFT.
my camping-ground, and at a height of about 300 feet above the level of the river-bed, I could see a hot spring issuing in considerable volume. The hill people are said to bathe in its water when the winter makes the river easily fordable. The half-a-dozen herdsmen of Omsha, who had joined me on the way, unanimously declared that they had never passed beyond this spot, and that the gorge further up was inaccessible for
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