ACROSS THE CHINO-THIBETAN BORDERLAND 201 



behaves as such when he fancies he can do so with impunity. 

 They rob one another freely, but the tribesmen are their 

 favourite victims. 



From the head of the valley to Hsin-tientsze, the first 

 habitation, is reckoned as 30 li. The road is broad but uneven, 

 winding through a valley, and keeping close to a torrent which 

 descends from the Ta-p'ao shan snows. The mountains on 

 either side of the valley in all their higher parts range above 

 the snowline ; their lower slopes are covered with grass, 

 small Conifer trees, and brushwood. In the valley itself shrubs 

 of large size, chiefly Willows, Honeysuckles, Barberries, and 

 Sallowthorn abound. Odd trees of Larch and Spruce occur, 

 all of small size. Flocks of Snow-pigeons were plentiful, and 

 I shot several of these birds for our larder. 



From Kuei-yung, 120 li, there is no house of any descrip- 

 tion save Hsin-tientsze, alt. 10,800 feet, a filthy and miserable 

 hostel. Near Kuei-yung we passed a charcoal-burning camp 

 where a few men were engaged, otherwise we did not meet a 

 living soul, until we had crossed the pass. It is indeed a 

 most lonely region, but of great interest to a Nature lover. I 

 count myself particularly fortunate in being favoured by per- 

 fect weather for crossing the pass, more especially as it was the 

 first day without any sign of rain since leaving Kuan Hsien. 



The thermometer registered 36° F. when we turned out 

 next morning, and our ears and fingers tingled with cold, even 

 though it was 8th July. The smoke inside the inn was too 

 much for my eyes, so I breakfasted out in the middle of the 

 roadway. I think everybody was glad to quit Hsin-tientsze 

 with its vermin and stinks. There was an odd patch of wheat 

 around the hostel, but it looked miserable ; the season is too 

 short and the climate too severe for cultivation hereabouts at 

 this altitude. 



We followed a broad, uneven road, which had suffered 

 much from animal traffic, for 60 li to Je-shui-t'ang (Hot-water 

 pond), alt. 9800 feet. The descent is gradual, and the day's 

 journey proved a delightful loiter through a shrub-clad valley. 

 We met several hundreds of yak and ponies, all laden with 

 brick tea encased in raw hides and bound for interior Thibet. 

 The Thibetans in charge were an unkempt, wild-looking lot 



