174 YUNG-CHING-HSIEN 



crossing the river six times, comes to an end, and the 

 mountainous region commences. The weather was very 

 hot, and my Tibetan dog, Ja-ma, was so knocked up that 

 I was obhged to have him carried in a cliair by two 

 coolies. 



On April 19 the road led up the rocky bed of a 

 small stream for fifteen li, the ground rising till an alti- 

 tude of 4,500 feet was attained. Yung-ching-hsien was 

 reached in the evening, and here my Yamen runners 

 were changed. Just before reaching the town a small 

 river had to be crossed. There is a large quantity of 

 iron manufactured in this place. The pans for the 

 evaporation of brine are cast, and many smaller articles 

 are produced both in cast and wrought iron. Going 

 out the following day by the west gate of the city, 

 I passed through a whole street of blacksmiths, and 

 reached Huang-ni-pu, 3,600 feet al)ove the sea, at 3.-30, 

 having travelled fifty li. 



On the 21st the coolies struck work. They said that 

 they were too tired to go any further, and that the roads 

 had been very bad. They certainly had been hard- 

 worked, but not more so than they are accustomed to. 

 However, as there was no official in the place to appeal 

 to, I was forced to grant a day's rest, and the time 

 was spent by them in idleness and opium-smoking. 



The next day, April 22, a start was made without 



