144 TIUP TO CIIET-TU 



as the male, but sly and treacherous. These dogs are 

 used by all tlie caravan drivers to protect their 

 merchandise at night. When they arrive at a camping- 

 place the beasts of burden have their loads removed and 

 stacked together. They are then covered with a tent of 

 some sort, and the dogs are secured to stakes all round. 

 If they caught a thief they \YOuld pull him down in a 

 moment, and probably kill him. 



On July 25 I left Ta-tsien-lu for a few days, travelling 

 to Chet-tu, a Tibetan village about ten miles to the 

 westward. The mountains here rise to an elevation of 

 15,000 feet, and I found lodging in a stone-built hut in 

 the valley beneath. There were two rooms in the hut, 

 one being inhabited by the owners, the other by the 

 cows, pigs, cats, dogs, and fowls belonging to them — 

 and ourselves. It was not possible to get much rest, 

 and the place was very dirty. The roof let the rain in, 

 and the wind whistled through crevices in the walls. 

 Everything, however, was not bad, for I found I could 

 2fet excellent milk. In the morning I ascended the 

 mountain to see if I could find any Crossoptilon Tihet- 

 anum. After a hard walk I saw a fine cock within ten 

 yards, and ni}" cartridge missed fire. This was the first 

 one I had ever seen w41d, and the only one I saw during 

 the day. It was a most annoying thing. I was not far 

 now from the snow, and I found many flowers growing, 



