66 MYSTERY EXPLAINED. TANGUTANS. 



the defence of Chobsen constantly wasted their am- 

 munition in this way. The following day the whole 

 mystery was explained. At dawn two Tangutan 

 sportsmen appeared, asserting that they and their two 

 companions had run away from us, that one of their 

 party had fired supposing us to be Dungans, but 

 that nothing had been heard of him since. They 

 beofored us to restore the bagf of clothingr which the 

 lamas had appropriated as their legitimate spoil. 

 These, however, not only refused to surrender, but 

 thrashed the strangers soundly into the bargain, for 

 their companion's impudence in having fired upon 

 us ! 



On resuming our march, we fell in with an en- 

 campment of Tangutans, with their black tents and 

 herds of long-haired yaks, called sarloks by the 

 Mongols. After crossing some more spurs of the 

 great range, we reached the bank of the Tatung-gol, 

 and encamped for the night near the temple of Cher- 

 tinton. The impregnable position of this temple 

 saved it from falling into the hands of the rebels, 

 and made it a secure place of refuge for the neigh- 

 bouring Tangutan population. In the next chapter I 

 will describe this people more fully ; suffice it for the 

 present to remark, that at first sight we were struck 

 with their resemblance to gipsies. 



The Tatung-gol, where we now approached it, 

 about half way from its source, is a rapid stream 140 

 feet wide, fiowing in a stony channel, in some places 

 between precipitous walls of rock, but occasionally 

 forming picturesque valleys, in one of which, shel- 



