206 Through the Land of the Cross-bow 
However, I was now anxious to get on with my 
journey, and well knew that each meeting with an official 
meant at least half a day lost; consequently I was not 
filled with joy to learn that another mandarin had arrived 
in Shi-teng on the previous day from the capital. This 
gentleman visited me first thing in the morning, but 
finding me at breakfast, paid his compliments and retired ; 
an hour later I returned the call and was most kindly 
received. The only annoyance was the delay of changing 
men, my two faithful followers from Wei-hsi now finally 
leaving me, so that others had to be procured at the orders 
of the official. It was mid-day before we got away. 
Shi-teng is a village of some importance, boasting 
ninety families and a garrison of twenty soldiers to attend 
on the mandarin; it was the last place of any size where 
I came in contact with the Lamas. Shortly afterwards we 
left the Mekong and striking eastwards up a small valley 
were once more closely invested on all sides by mountains. 
Near the hut where we took up our quarters for the night 
I had the good fortune to shoot a snipe; the commissariat 
had not been working very smoothly since leaving Wei-hsi, 
for it was difficult to procure anything except eggs, the 
most trying part being that I could get nothing with 
which to make bread save buckwheat flour; and buckwheat 
cakes are far worse than dog-biscuits. On November 29 
we started early, in the hope of reaching La-chi-mi by 
nightfall, for we had already lost much valuable time and 
it was by no means certain that I should reach T‘eng-yueh 
ahead of the main caravan. Continuing up the valley we 
held on a southerly course parallel to the Mekong, which 
was now hidden behind a high range. There was a good 
deal of cultivation near here, and huts, though widely 
scattered and usually isolated, were frequent. In these 
sequestered nooks the Lamas seemed to retain their own 
habits and customs to a greater extent than did their 
fellow-tribesmen in the Mekong valley, and spoke their own 
tongue almost to the exclusion of anything else, though a 
few of the men could manage a little Chinese. The 
women, I| had reason to believe, could not, for having got 
behind the guide and subsequently taken the wrong 
path, of which there were any number to choose from, 
