A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



despond we arrived on a plain, said to be a 

 favourite haunt of goa, but on this occasion we saw 

 none here. 



Some miles farther on we came upon a very 

 striking scene. The plateau on which we were 

 ends somewhat abruptly, and, far below us, to the 

 south-east, stretched the Tso-Kar, or " Nimak- 

 Talao " (salt-lake), by which latter name it seems 

 to be more generally known in these parts, the 

 Thog-Ji Chenmo of Moorcroft. The waters of 

 this lake, of a brilliant hue, are in outline some- 

 what like a trefoil, and surrounded by shores that 



"WE CAME UPON A VERY STRIKING SCENE." 



glisten with the brilliant white of salt and natron 

 deposits. Surrounding it is a perfect amphitheatre 

 of mountains of the usual yellow and red tints, 

 backed by lofty snows, some of them at a great 

 distance. As we were halted here, waiting for our 

 baggage-animals to arrive, a herd of some hundreds 

 of sheep and goats approached us, driven by the 

 Chang-Pa herdsmen and herdswomen. Not long 

 afterwards we heard wild yells and saw a wolf 

 carrying off a kid, so to speak, beneath our very 

 noses ; a bold proceeding at midday ! To jump on 



to our ponies was the work of a moment for Salia 



166 



