б4 MOIST CLIMATE. 



we could see on our right ; but none of them attain 

 the limit of perpetual snow. 



We now passed through a belt of underwood, 

 soon afterwards succeeded by forests which grow 

 chiefly on the southern slopes ; the upper zone was 

 thickly covered with grass. New kinds of plants 

 met our eyes at every step ; almost every shot we 

 fired added some fresh specimen to our bird collec- 

 tion ; but we had no time to linger over these 

 pleasures, so eager were our companions to reach 

 their destination, and so fearful of Dungans. We 

 could only make the best use of our opportunities as 

 they presented themselves. To add to our difficul- 

 ties the rain fell incessantly, and the atmosphere was 

 saturated with moisture, rendering it impossible to 

 dry our collections, which were consequently ruined 

 by the damp ; and even our guns were rusted by it. 



After crossing the pass, the ascent of which is 

 gradual and the descent only a little steeper, we 

 encamped for the night in the mountains. Here 

 another adventure befell us. Our Cossacks, who had 

 gone to fetch wood, observed a fire burning in an 

 adjoining ravine, and some men near it. On hearing 

 this report everyone in camp was on the alert, 

 imagining that they were robbers preparing to attack 

 us by night. We determined to reconnoitre before 

 it became quite dark, and accompanied by eight of 

 the caravan, our friend Randzemba among the num- 

 ber, we cautiously approached the fire ; but we were 

 soon observed, and the enemy fled. The lamas at 

 once pursued, yelling at the top of their voices, but 



