PLAINS OF GYANIMA 137 



stones buried in mud in the valley below. To those who 

 have not studied geology and the works of Tyndall and 

 Geikie, the moraine lines, which wind like great snails, 

 and are found in many countries where glaciers have never 

 been heard of, seem very inexplicable. Here the process 

 was going on quite intelligibly. It was necessary to cross 

 over a couple of miles of clear ice, the yaks going on ahead 

 and avoiding bad crevasses. The clambering off the ice 

 and on to the moraine, where a great gap existed from 

 ice melting, was the ugliest part, but convenient snow- 

 drifts still unmelted were chosen by the yaks, and at 

 length our feet were on terra-firma. Terra it certainly 

 was, but not firma, for the soft mud was treacherous for 

 the poor beasts' feet, and the great stones and rocks 

 formed an insecure footway ; but at last we emerged on 

 the flat shingly slopes of the valley below, and leaving 

 behind the dazzling snow-drifts and slippery ice, and the 

 dark caverns where the roar of waters and falling icebergs 

 made the most hideous noise, the whole party rejoiced in 

 the bright sunshine and warmth and easy going. The 

 rocky bare summits of the watershed are the habitation 

 of numerous graceful birds, familiar to those who have 

 been on the cliffs of Cornwall and the west of Ireland, or 

 Mount Pilatus in Switzerland — the Cornish chough, 

 Graculus eremita. Their red bills and legs and glossy 

 black plumage, and their wild cries as they circle round 

 the rock pinnacles, are characteristic of all the passes, 

 and remind one of very different scenes. 



Soon we were welcomed by the neighing of numerous 

 wild horses to the land of the kiang. Several herds kept 

 circling round, the old stallions approaching in a quite 

 threatening manner, snorting, squealing, and kicking up 

 their heels, while the mares and foals galloped off at a 

 more respectful distance. Some beautiful little gazelles 



