320 YAK BEEF. 



sky is cloudless, as the starlight alone, at such a high altitude, 

 is broad enough to admit of surrounding objects being seen 

 with unusual distinctness, and cloudy nights are exceptional. 

 We were so late in getting back that our Tartars left in 

 camp, fearing some mishap had befallen us, had started in 

 search of us. 



After sending off a couple of the baggage-yaks early next 

 morning to carry in the beef, I went after the five bucks we 

 had seen the day before on our way up the glen. We found 

 them still on the same ground, but they were now on the 

 alert, having winded us on our way up the hill ; so our 

 attempt to stalk them was fruitless. Later on in the day, we 

 descried in the distance several black objects which we at 

 first took to be dong ; but, much to our disappointment, the 

 glass showed them to be some of our baggage-yaks that had 

 wandered miles away, on their own hook, in search of food. 



Great was the rejoicing in camp that evening when the 

 yaks returned laden with the meat ; and a juicy beef -steak 

 was a most acceptable addition to my own dinner for, with 

 the exception of there being little fat on it, the flesh of the 

 dong is much the same as any other beef. 



As Changter seemed to think there was now small hope 

 of our finding dong in this glen, which, although usually con- 

 sidered one of their favourite haunts, they had this year 

 apparently almost entirely forsaken, and the only other likely 

 places for them in Changchenino were occupied, and would 

 probably be so for some time, I decided on retracing my steps 

 to the Pangong country, where Oves Ammon were said to be 

 more numerous. By staying on here I might have killed 

 many antelopes, and, by dint of excessive hard work, combined 

 with much patience and luck, I might eventually have found 

 a few dong on the ground beyond the pass ; but my object was 

 variety, not quantity, of Tibetan game. Moreover, I was par-^ 

 ticularly anxious to see as much as possible of other parts of 

 this most remarkable land during my short sojourn in it. I 



