A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



killed a big nyan, and was now encamped only 

 some twelve miles away in search of goa. 



The following day (August 26th) I set out on my 

 homeward journey, and that evening pitched my 

 tent at an encamping-ground called Poongook, pic- 

 turesquely situated on the banks of the Hanle river. 



During the afternoon I went up the stream and 

 shot some teal and a duck, and saw some female 

 napoo on the heights above. Our route now lay 

 across a plain to the Lanak-La, as I had determined 

 to make my way back to Leh by the Tso Moriri, 

 that beautiful salt lake whose scenery has never 

 failed to impress anyone who has seen it. We 

 camped at the foot of the pass, where a long valley 

 runs in from the northward, passing through a 

 country which looks as if it would well repay a visit 

 from the sportsman in search of nyan or napoo. 

 Here, in the stream, my servants caught (much to 

 the detriment of the butterfly-net in which they 

 were captured) some delicious little fish like trout, 

 which, when cooked by Sekour Khan, were an 

 unwonted luxury. 



On the morning of August 28th, having sent on 

 all the yaks, I started about 7 . 30 to cross the Lanak-' 

 La. The gradient of this pass is easy, but from the 

 difficulty of respiration, and the fact that the peaks 

 of Sidomba (20,405 feet), and an unnamed one 

 (21,038 feet), did not appear to be much above us 

 on either hand, it must be a fairly high one : I should 



think probably some 17,000 or 18,000 feet. On 



209 p 



