200 OUE EECEPTION IN CAMP. 



side to look for tahir, musk-deer, or anything 

 we might chance to meet. We fell in with a 

 flock of tahii-, and killed one ; but a very 

 severe snow-storm coming on, we had to take 

 shelter in a cave, where we breakfasted, and 

 then made our retreat down towards camp. 

 The day cleared up ; bright sunshine and all 

 the glorious beauty of a spring day succeeded 

 the cold and snow. Rhododendrons were in 

 full blossom on each side of the mountain- 

 path, which we had been fortunate enough 

 to find; at fii'st the blossoms were nearly 

 white, but as we descended they im- 

 proved in beauty, growing darker in colour 

 as we got lower down. No garden, I 

 ever saw, surpassed the loveliness of that 

 scene. 



Our arrival in camp had been most anx- 

 iously expected by the villagers, for fi'om this 

 village many of our men had come, and 

 several who had accompanied us in our 

 former trips, lived here. They had orna- 

 mented our camp with rhododendron boughs 

 in full blossom ; and we found Edward 



