TO LADAK. 127 



vation. The summit gained, the descent was tolerably 

 easy to us more practised mountaineers ; but the glare of 

 the snow was terrible. Mooktoo was attacked by severe 

 pains in the head, and lagged behind. I, after stopping 

 to rest a few minutes, and watching four ibex which 

 shewed on the left, when I got up, was almost blind. 

 Luckily we had nearly passed over the snow, and I re- 

 covered immediately on quitting it ; and about two miles 

 on we reached our destined bivouac, when I was glad to 

 breakfast. 



We were now in a narrow valley with the usual 

 mountain torrent, fed by tributaries joining from other 

 like valleys. The mountains were rugged and almost 

 bare, yielding only patches of brushwood here and there, 

 and some scanty herbage, but looked likely for ibex, were 

 it not that a number of tattoos had been brought here to 

 pick up a hard-earned subsistence. The sun now poured 

 down its vertical rays upon us with tremendous effect, 

 and I took up a position alongside a piece of rock to 

 screen myself as well as I could. Of my party the three 

 servants first appeared. Long afterwards the coolies 

 came straggling in ; they had. a hard day's work. 



I arranged to hunt in the morning, though predicting 

 a total failure, tattoos being in all directions, 



4th July. A sharp frost during the night, and lots of 

 ice in the morning, I was only informed, when starting, 

 that three coolies were missing, supposed to have been 

 obliged to remain on the glacier from snow-blindness. I 

 ascertained that they had provisions with them, and 

 assistance had gone. Buddoo, classee, and most of the 

 coolies were more or less blind from inflamed eyes. 



We went up a valley westward, and before we had 

 gone above four miles found the tracks of numerous dogs 

 hateful sight then those of ibex, also numerous. I 



