A Winter Journey amongst the Lutzu 191 
out. On one such occasion a man handed to one of the 
women a rosary, which she proceeded to count over, before 
handing it back. She had been almost persuaded to come, 
but now she shook her head resolutely and returned to the 
fireside. The fates were against me, I suppose. The men 
were also generally to be found sitting round the fire smoking 
and drinking, but no doubt there was little for them to do 
in the fields at this season, so I forbear to call them lazy. 
On November 8 we started back, following our old route, 
and reaching Mu-la-t‘ong in the evening. Here I noticed 
tomatos growing, but they were probably introduced by 
the French priests. The men did not want to go further 
than Ba-hang next day, though we were there by twelve 
o'clock, and I had lunch with the French priest. We 
therefore compromised. They were to go on up the 
mountain to a camping ground about half-way to the first 
pass and leave me there, descend to Ba-hang for supplies, 
stay the night, and return early on the following morning. 
This arrangement would enable me to reach the first pass 
in time to obtain an uninterrupted view of the Salween- 
Irrawaddy divide before the clouds rose out of the valley, as 
I imagined. 
Camp was therefore pitched on the edge of the scrub 
forest, composed chiefly of bamboo in the damper hollows, 
of birch, rhododendron, and long grass on the dry slopes ; 
the four Lutzu porters started back for Ba-hang, and the one 
Tibetan, Kin, and myself were left in charge. 
Meanwhile the weather had turned dull and threatening, 
and the western ranges were buried in cloud, a chilly wind 
began to blow, and we sadly missed the tents. In the night 
snow began to fall, but I resolutely hid my head under the 
blankets and pretended to know nothing about it till it 
melted and trickled inside the bed. By the time the snow 
had ceased the fire was quenched, but the men got up and 
presently had it blazing again. 
We had just finished breakfast in the grey of a bitterly 
cold morning when the Lutzu arrived with supplies, and I 
started at once up the steep grassy alps. I need not have 
troubled myself however. The Salween valley as usual was 
full of cloud, and the mountains completely obscured by 
blinding snow-storms. What was worse, the cold wind 
