Southern Tibet : vol.4 / Page 447 (Color Image)

0447	Southern Tibet : vol.4

in every respect for long camping than *Rio-chung*, but obviously the antelopes, of
whose flesh the hunters were living, were more numerous at the latter place.
Occasionally the hunters seemed to visit this part of the valley as well, for rather
fresh footprints of two men were seen at a place where the ground was sandy. We
are wandering through a real labyrinth of clay mounds and terraces between which
there are patches of grass and sheets of ice. To our left we have a broad and
short arena valley from which the largest ice-sheet comes, obviously from springs.
On the hills in the background of this arena and at a short distance from our route,
three or four stone huts appear. On the hills above them, there are a few cairns, one
of which is cubic; on the little threshold that is bounding the valley on the north,
there is also a cairn. This seems to be the place which Rawling calls *Rungma-tok*,
and probably identical with one of the gold-mines or both, which had been mentioned
to us by the hunters of *Rio-chung* and called *Gätsa-rung* and *Bota-rung* by them.
During the winter, of course, nobody dwells at the gold-mines. In the summer the
place must be favourable compared with other gold fields, for here grass, water and
fuel is to be had in abundance.

We continue along the base of the hills which bound the gold valley on the
east. Immediately to our right is a large ice-sheet formed by a little brook from springs
which keeps open a long way. It carried about a quarter of a cub. m. per second
and was frozen only along its banks. The water flows very slowly, but at least it
proved that this valley, which to the naked eye appeared perfectly horizontal, rises
to the S. E. The right terrace of the bed of this brook, on the top of which we
marched along the base of the hills, was unusually well developed and nearly 10 m.
high. Finally we went down into the bed and crossed it at a place where it was
again frozen across. Along the part of its course where it is open, springs of a
comparatively high temperature come up in the bed and on the right bank. On
the left bank, we camp amongst good grass, fuel and on sandy ground. Hares
were numerous, and a few ravens followed the caravan as usual.

In this part of the valley, there was nearly no snow at all. Only on slopes
looking north, some white strips were still to be seen. At noon the weather changed
to the worse. The whole sky being overclouded and a fresh S. W. wind beginning
to blow. At 1 o'clock p. m. the temperature was only —3.6°, and had, the previous
day, even been at —2.5°.

The living rock at *Camp CCCXXVI*, was the same dark schist partly rich
in mica as before. The pebbles in the bed were dark grey sandstone. The ring
of mountains surrounding the camp is represented on Pan. 412A and B, Tab. 74.
Of special interest here is the gap in the southern mountains to the S. 7° W., which
may be the transverse valley by which Rawling travelled. To the right of it are
the mountains along the southern side of the valley. Between N. 61° W. and the

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Citation Information

OCR Text

National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books