184 MEET LOCAL KING 



rambling sort of place, with walls of mud and a Chinese 

 tiled roof. It is built partly over a natural hot spring, 

 which may be seen running away from the foundations, 

 the steam passing out by the eaves of a part of the 

 palace. Close by is a large farm, where I noticed many 

 very good-looking ponies and a large number of cows. 

 These are kept for milking, and are of a much superior 

 class to those usually seen about the country, resembling 

 the Alderney in appearance, but rather larger and coarser. 

 I also saw about twent}'- elk, all females, in an enclosure. 

 There was plenty of capital grass-feed about the place, 

 principally on the smaller plateaux which abound in the 

 neighbourhood. Besides being a large farmer and horse 

 breeder, the king is a great sportsman, and when I met 

 him close to his farm he had a pack of hounds at his 

 heels. He is an elderly man and does not enjoy good 

 health, but is a great believer in the virtues of the vari- 

 ous hot springs which abound in the neighbourhood, 

 from one of which he was returning when I met him. 

 He was dressed in the usual costume of the Tibetans of 

 the better class, and had a huge scarlet umbrella carried 

 over his head by his attendants. On seeing me he 

 stopped and wished to enter into conversation, which 

 was accomplished by my cook acting as interpreter. 



He told me that he had never heard of my arrival. 

 This did not exactly agree with the message I had 



