52 A CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY 
Daulat Beg Uldi, i. e. “ (the place where) Daulat Beg died,” is 
16,652 feet high. 
15th.—Very cold last night, the minimum thermometer re- 
gistering a temperature of 4° F, To-day the weather has been 
bright and clear, the only clouds noticed being a few cumuli 
early in the morning. Crossed the stream, which hada thin 
coating of ice on its surface, and after riding over open shingly 
ground with low rounded hills dotted about, passed three small 
shelter huts, built of stones against a hill side—the only evi- 
dence of man’s handwork J had seen in these regions during the 
last eight days. Near those huts, bones of horses were scat- 
tered in unusual profusion. We then entered along shingly valley 
through which a small stream flowed down southwards ; the val- 
ley widened out gradually as we went along and the ascent up it 
was very gentle. At about eleven miles from Daulat Beg, 
we began to ascend slightly along the right side of the valley, 
then turning sharply to the right, we ascended for a few hundred 
yards to a small commissure of loose detritus connecting two 
low hills, and found ourselves on the Karakoram Pass. A 
howling cold wind was blowing there when I stopped to take 
some readings : the mercurial barometer stood at 15°334 inches 
(resulting height of pass, 18,172 feet) ; water boiled at 179°°6 
F. and the temperature of the air at 4 Pp. mM. was 38°5. The 
descent, on the north side, was even less than the ascent had been, 
and altogether the Karakoram Pass reminded one much more of 
a short embankment, 300 feet or so above the level of the sur- 
rounding country, than of what one understands by a ‘‘ mountain 
pass.” I did not reach our camp bere (Balti Brangsa, 16,792 
feet) until after sunset. The road from the pass lay through 
wide shallow valleys with low hills on each side, but I certainly 
could not see anything like a range. After crossing the 
pass the streams were found to be running with us, 
northwards and eastwards, so we have to-day crosed the water 
shed of the river-system which runs into the Indian Ocean 
and that which flows into the Pacific through China. 
The rarefaction of the airto-day made exertion very difficult, but 
J had no headache or other unpleasant experiences even on the 
as height-sickness, like sea-sickness, seems to be subduable 
y practice. The only birds observed to-day were Ravens 
and Mountain Finches (Montifringilla hematopygia). 
16th.—Minimum temperature last night, 2°5; the water- 
in a tumbler by my bedside completely frozen. Clear frosty 
morning, without a vestige of cloud in the sky. Road at 
first along gravel valleys, with low hills on each side; a stream. 
(one of the sources of the Yarkand river) running northwards 
Sides of hills having a northern exposure covered with 
