A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



delighted when at last the inhabitants appeared to 

 give in to his solicitations (and a liberal " back- 

 sheesh "). He proceeded to be slung across the 

 Indus in a basket running on a rope ; but when 

 suspended in mid-air over the middle of the raging 

 torrent, to his dismay the basket stopped, and he 

 was only hauled back (to the Ladakh side) on 

 promising not to make any more attempts to cross 

 into Chinese Thibet, where, however, the " back- 

 sheesh " remained ! The country that lies imme- 

 diately to the east of the frontier must be a veritable 

 sportsman's paradise for yak, nyan, &c. Indeed, 

 the description given by Bower, who crossed it in 

 the course of his adventurous journey, proves it to 

 be so ; and those plucky, or lucky, sportsmen who 

 have got across the frontier have been rewarded. 

 Baulked of our intended expedition into Chinese 

 territory, H. and I took counsel what road to 

 pursue. I was inclined to cross the Indus and take 

 the northward track by the Thatoo-La, to the 

 Pangong Lake and Changchenmo, in search of 

 nyan, and subsequently of antelope and a possible 

 yak. My plans were also influenced by the fact 

 that Saibra and Ramzahn knew the nyan ground 

 about the Thatoo-La, and promised me sport, 

 whereas the ground in the Hanle direction, south of 

 the Indus, was unknown to them. 



However, H. had reliable information about the 

 latter, which he was generous enough to impart to 



me. I have noticed that this is not always the case 



182 



