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LADAK. 



very inferior to the tombs and pagodas met with in 

 Burniah, some of which are beautiful specimens of ar- 

 chitecture, and extremely picturesque. All I have seen 

 here as yet are mean and paltry. These monuments are 

 whitewashed, the wash remarkable for its lustrous 

 quality. I questioned Phuttoo as to the composition. 

 He said it was a substance dug out of the earth. I 

 observed that it differed much from that in use in India. 

 He said, it was not ' chunani.' I imagine it to be a kind 

 of chalky pigment. 



llth July. Away, with the dawn, though we had not 

 so long a march in prospect as those of the two previous 

 days, which must have been over twenty miles. But it is 

 well to start early to enjoy the freshness of morn, and 

 avoid the excessive heat of the sun which I really think 

 I endure better than the shikarries. The scenery of to- 

 day was similar to that of yesterday, which is, I imagine, 

 the type of the entire region, unless the banks of the 

 Indus present any variety : if so, it will only be in the 

 height and formation of the mountains. There was a 

 gradual ascent, with a sharp pitch at the end, to the 

 summit of the hill on which was a stone Buddhist monu- 

 ment, and in its shade I stopped to breakfast. From 

 this eminence the view was extensive and interesting, 

 the adjacent mountains possessing peculiar features, and 

 being so distributed as to afford good distances. 



I stopped till the small building no longer protected 

 me from the sun ; then, perforce, braved his potent rays, 

 and pursued my route on to Lama Yurru, our intended 

 bivouac. 



As we descended to the level of the valley, opening a 

 bend I detected some wild looking animals moving from 

 among some cattle. Subhan, after a while, declared them 

 to be shapu, wild sheep ; so guns were got ready, and 



