OF EASTERN TURKESTAN. 43 
J 
Ist September 1874.—Camp Ganles, 13,357 feet.—At last 
fairly started on our journey to Yarkand. This morning all our 
tents and luggage were loaded on Yaks and sent off to the camp 
here, which is only about six miles from Leh; we did not leave 
until the afternoon, and as we rode through the town the usual 
salute was fired and the troops presented arms, &c. Half the 
inhabitants of Leh must have turned out to see us make our exit, 
the women holding platters full of flour and butter towards us, 
and some of them burning incense in a kind of brazier. All 
the people kept repeating the words, ‘Lam juk,’ which is, I 
believe, the Tibetan for bun voyage ; and the women made _pro- 
found bows, clashing their thick earthenware bracelets together 
the while, in a very curious fashion. 
Soon after leaving the cultivated land near Leh we entered an 
enormous sort of amphitheatre, the sides of which were formed 
by two huge, nearly semi-circular, moraines ; then ascending this 
narrow valley we reached our camp here, which I make out by 
the barometer to be 1,825 feet higher than Leh. Some of the 
soldiers of the escort told me that they saw an Ibex near this 
place when they arrived, and that they got within shooting 
distance of it. To-morrow morning we have to cross the 
Kardong Pass (18,000 ft.), and I rather fear I shall have a 
mauvais quart @heure at the top from “height sickness” or 
dam as our followers call it; so a moderate dinner and early 
to bed. 
2nd.—This morning at 8 a.m., I found a fine black Yak 
( Bos grunniens) ready to carry me over the Pass and saddled 
with one of my. ordinary English saddles. The beast had a 
wooden ring through his nose, and to this a rope was attached 
by which he was led along by a Bhot (native of Ladak). My 
strange steed rather objected to be mounted, but as soonas [ 
got on he trudged along very well—grunting horribly nearly 
the whole way. The Yaks are wonderfully sure-footed and 
easy going animals, but they appear to feel the effects of a 
climb at these great elevations considerably: as we went 
up the mountain to the pass my animal would often stop, give 
an extra deep grunt, and then pant vigorously for a few 
minutes with its tongue hanging out like a dog. Near our camp 
I observed some ravens ((C. tibetanus) walking about, a few 
Hoopoes (U. epops) and small flocks of Montifringilla hama- 
topygia. The road at first lay along a long tongue of debris 
running down the centre of the valley, and afterwards up a 
narrow, steep, zigzag path to the top of the Pass, which I 
reached at 12-30. As we ascended great quantities of a strone 
scented drfemisia were noticed growing among the rocks, and 
here and there a solanaceous plant (Scopolia prealta?) which 
