148 The Wonderful Mekong 
was fine, and from the summit we had an extensive view of 
Ta-miu, though the high peaks were so buried in cloud that 
I could only make out one glacier with any certainty. It 
is, however, a fine range of snow-clad mountains, but it was 
again impossible to see whether it extended southwards to 
join K‘a-gur-pu, or whether these two masszfs are distinct 
elevations of the main watershed. Personally I believe 
that, far back between the Mekong and the Salween, a 
continuous chain of snowy peaks does extend from K ‘a- 
gur-pu to Ta-miu and so northwards into Tibet; but it was 
impossible to prove this while in the deep Mekong gorge 
itself. Geographically it is not a matter of any importance, 
but botanically speaking, it might be. 
Though we reached the Mekong soon after two o'clock, 
a delay of nearly four hours occurred before we could secure 
transport animals, and the journey in darkness down that 
perilous Mekong road proved most exhilarating; there was 
no moon, but millions of stars shone in the clear sky, and 
it was beautifully warm. High cliffs of gravel and rubble, 
capped by enormous overhanging boulders in most insecure 
positions, were a feature of the valley here, with the usual 
dangerous screes, deep gullies, and broken road. 
It being impossible to reach Y‘a-k‘a-lo in decent time 
that night, we stopped at ten o'clock, continuing early on 
the following morning, and at Y‘a-k‘a-lo we got into diff- 
culties with the official, who at first refused to supply us 
with transport animals. I went to see him myself however, 
and he received me with every mark of respect, at the 
same time pointing out that as I had come by an unautho- 
rised route from Chianca, I must return to the Batang 
road. The Mekong road to A-tun-tsi was very unsafe, he 
told me, for an American traveller had killed a Tibetan 
there several years previously, and he was consequently 
afraid for my life. Moreover he seemed terribly upset 
about Captain Bailey’s exploit, which had got him into 
serious trouble with the Viceroy of Yunnan. However I 
had to get back, and eventually the official compromised ; 
he would give me ponies if I would sign a statement 
exculpating him from all responsibility and saying that he 
did not know where I was going! 
Of course I complied, as it did not matter a scrap to 
