Through the Lutzu Country to Men-kong 95 
feet opposite T‘sam-p‘u-t‘ong rises suddenly to the terrific 
peaks of K ‘a-gur-pu and its northward extension. 
The Mekong-Salween divide then, and particularly the 
great pyramid of K‘a-gur-pu, acts as a second rain-screen, 
and with such effect that it not only cuts off almost the 
entire rain-supply from the Mekong valley, but also to a 
very large extent from the next range to the east, the 
Mekong-Yang-tze divide, thus elevating its snow-line two 
or three thousand feet. The effect is still further enhanced 
by the fact that two big mountains rise above the snow- 
line on this range also, opposite K‘a-gur-pu, and when 
the winds reach the Mekong-Yang-tze watershed, almost 
stripped of their moisture, what little remains is condensed 
by these high summits. This unequal distribution of rain- 
fall on the ranges east and west of the Mekong has a 
considerable influence on their physical features, on the 
composition and distribution of their flora, and other points 
to be discussed later. 
At mid-day we reached the last Lutzu village, called 
Laung-pa, and after lunch embarked in a dug-out for a 
voyage through some more gorges; and an interesting 
voyage it proved. This dug-out was barely 24 feet in 
length, about 18 inches in the beam amidships, and the 
same in extreme depth, but there were no less than twelve 
of us on board besides the dog and the luggage. We 
squatted on our haunches in single file, there being five 
paddle men forward and a single steersman aft. Our gun- 
wale was almost awash, and considering the water we had 
to go through, I frequently thought we must capsize. The 
men hugged the walls of the gorge when they could, 
pushing against the rocks with their paddles, then darting 
across the river to avoid a rapid and catch the back-current. 
Whenever shingle islands or a shore line appeared, they 
got out and tracked, hauling the canoe through a lot of 
rough water with their bamboo rope. Thus we covered 
several miles till we came to the first Tibetan village and 
finally disembarked. The last I saw of the Lutzu they 
were drifting down stream in the canoe, sweeping their 
V-shaped net under the water. There was no hint of rain 
now; it was a glorious evening, and a scorching wind 
raged up through the gorges, which grew more and more 
