Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 168 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

0168	Among the Celestials : vol.1

136 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. VI.

strange lurid colouring as this. An hour and

a half later, when it was nearly dark, a very

light, phosphorescent-looking cloud hung over

the place where the sun had gone down.

So we plodded on night after night over the

desert, and halting for the day sometimes by

the side of a minute little streamlet, where we

would find a few Mongols encamped, more

often by a roughly-dug waterhole, in the midst

of a desert with not a sign of human habitation

in sight. At last, one evening, towards the

end of June, when, after two months of desert

travel my patience was well-nigh exhausted, a

ray of light appeared. I had climbed one of

the highest hills to have a look round. There

were plenty of white soft clouds about, but

suddenly my eye rested on what I felt sure

must be something more than a mere cloud

and must be a great snowy range. I had out

my telescope in a moment, and there, in truth,

far away in the distance, only just distinguish-

able from the clouds, were real snow mountains.

These could be none other than the Tian-

shan ; my delight was unbounded, and long

did I feast my eyes on those "Heavenly

Mountains," as the Chinese name them, for

;~^~- ,,.,: -, ~- y-------+.•~-~_ ~ .. ,-° 1~-^-,...."-a--a~^e~]

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