EXPLORATIONS IN MONGOLIA AND TIBET. 



673 



the foothills of the great Dang la chain, which we frequently saw to 

 the north, its peaks covered with eternal snows reaching for down 

 their Hanks (the snow line in this country being at about 17,500 feet 

 above sea level). We crossed a number of streams, all flowing in a 

 southeasterly direction and probably forming the head waters of the 

 Jyama-nu ch'u, the upper Salween, it is believed. The rain fell daily 

 in torrents, the spongy, tnssocky ground was soaked, and dry fuel no- 

 where to be found, so that tinally we had to burn our pack saddles to 



Fig. 9.— Tibetan boys from Jyad6. 



boil our kettle. In an utterly exhausted condition, we reached, on the 

 li2d of July, the highroad to Lh'asa in the Dang ch'u valley, a day and 

 a half's ride north of JSagch'uk'a. 



Here the Namru men left me, but I was soon espied by some of the 

 guards stationed along this road for the very i)urpose of arresting for- 

 eigners, and requested to remain where I was till the officer in command 

 at Nag ch'u could come and see me. 



Before this I had been obliged to give up all idea of carrying out my 

 original i)lan of getting to India, and I had now solely in view reaching 

 China by some heretofore unexplored route which would keep me in 

 fl. Mis. 114 43 



