A SUMMER IN HIGH ASIA. 



as regards the amount that could be supplied are practi- 

 cally unlimited. There is evidently a great accumulation 

 of the precious metals in the country. 



"The possibilities of Thibet as a future market are 

 indisputable. The people would take tea and manu- 

 factured goods, and return raw material and the precious 

 metals." So much for the tea trade. Captain Bower's 

 views on the trade are practically confirmed by the 

 opinion recorded in my last Trade Report from Leh, 

 though this is expressed in more guarded and general 

 terms. " With regard to the future, it will be no rash 

 prediction to state that as long as the interest of the 

 British Authority in it lasts, so long there will be every 

 possibility of improvement in the trade ; when this is 

 withdrawn the trade will drop in proportion. The Resi- 

 dency has done what it can under the present conditions 

 and with existing materials. The question of securing 

 to the traders from our side equal rights in Chinese 

 Turkistan with Russian subjects is one in which only the 

 Government of India and the Pekin Embassy can move. 

 Such security would undoubtedly add to the traffic, and 

 from a purely commercial point of view would appear very 

 desirable." 



The method in which the upkeep of the trade route is 

 managed has been explained. Some account of the 

 manner in which the work is done may prove of interest. 

 The adventures of my camp during the " flood -year " will 

 illustrate this. Ladakh is shown in Ramsay's ' Western 

 Thibetan Dictionary' as a rainless tract. In past years 

 this was clearly the case. Increase of cultivation may be 

 responsible for the climatic change. In the beginning of 

 July a steady rain began in Kashmir and Ladakh, which 

 worked havoc among the roads and bridges in both coun- 

 tries. The Indus, the Jhelum, and the rivers between 

 Srinagar and Leh rose in flood, and communications 

 between the two towns were completely cut off. The news 



260 



