TRIBUTABY LOLOS 117 



•clear day, the great Snowy Mountains above Ta-tsien- 

 lu could be plainly seen to the north-west. They are 

 eighty miles away as the crow flies, and the journey 

 there takes eiaht or nine days from Ta-tien-chih. Far 

 up the mountain in the crevices and hanging from 

 projections on the rocks, huge icicles could be seen 

 with the aid of a glass. These, it is no exaggeration to 

 say, were in many cases as large as a church steeple, 

 and when they fall they bring down tons of earth and 

 rock with them, leaving huge semicircular cavities in 

 the places from which they have been suspended. 



On June 15 some Lolos paid us a visit. These were 

 not the independent but tributary or subject Lolos, and 

 are allowed to travel and work in China on the borders 

 of their own country. They are not allowed to wear 

 the horn, the distinctive mark of a true Lolo, and 

 which is formed by the hair l^eing knotted above the 

 forehead, and then wrapped in a cloth, to form a pro- 

 jection some inches in length, but had on small flat 

 Chinese caps. They are very difierent in appearance 

 from the Chinese, and evidently a distinct race. Their 

 height is about the average, and they are strong, active, 

 wiry, and splendid mountaineers. A few carried 

 matchlocks, the remainder spears about ten feet long, 

 and they had with them a pack of hounds, miserable- 

 looking specimens. They told me that they hunted the 



