AN OASIS IN THE DESERT. 35*7 



noticed was, that almost every weed growing on these high 

 wastes had a highly aromatic perfume. 



Another day's journey brought us to a spot called Ooti, a 

 few level acres of bright-green turf moistened by the snow- 

 drainage from the neighbouring heights, and thickly besprin- 

 kled with flowers, principally of a yellow hue. These poor 

 little Tibetan flowerets have so few places to flourish in, that 

 when they do find a favourable spot they seem to take every 

 advantage of it. Here we found the tents of one of the 

 Changchemno sportsmen pitched. Their owner returned to 

 them late in the evening, bringing with him a fine buck goa 

 which he had killed on the bare undulating wilderness in the 

 neighbourhood of this little oasis. We clubbed dinners, and 

 sat up till a late hour comparing notes and recounting our 

 respective experiences. He, too, had had little luck with the 

 Oves Ammon and wild yaks ; but his companion had been 

 most fortunate in finding the latter, as I have already men- 

 tioned. 



The following morning, as we traversed the desert tract west- 

 ward towards the Tso Morari, we saw one or two packs of a 

 large kind of pinnated sand-grouse, which, I was told, frequent 

 these bare uplands in considerable numbers at this time of year. 

 They were about the size of the large migratory sand-grouse 

 found on the plains of India in winter, but their plumage 

 more resembled the smaller pinnated variety. I found them 

 very wild, and only got one long shot, which fortunately 

 brought down a bird. 



That evening we pitched our camp in a sheltered nook 

 near the southern end of the Tso Morari, which is 15,000 feet 

 above sea-level, and almost, if not quite, the highest of known 

 lakes in the world. Although much smaller than the Pan- 

 gong tso, being only about 15 miles long by 5 or 6 broad, it 

 has even a grander appearance, from the more precipitous 

 nature of some of the adjacent mountains. It has the same 

 strangely intense blue colour so characteristic of all Tibetan 



