THE LAND OF THE CROSSBOW 



151 



ONE OF OUR CAMPS IN THE) MOUNTAINS AT AN ALTITUDE OE II,000 FEET, SHOWING 



THE LICHIANG RANGE 



less troubled with clan fights than the 

 Tissoos, are less frequently subject to the 

 ravages of famine. 



SUPERB MOUNTAIN RANGES 



From Pu-mu-tou we ascended a spur 

 through oak scrub and over grassy 

 slopes, rising in the day's march from 

 7,400 to 10,500 feet on the slope toward 

 the Salwin divide. At this altitude there 

 was a superb view of all the great ranges 

 of northwestern Yunnan east of the Me- 

 kong from Tali fa to the borders of Tibet. 

 Most of those northwestern Yunnan 

 panoramas are dominated by the glitter- 

 ing snow mountain of Lichiang. 



After an intensely cold night on the 

 mountain side at 10,500 feet, we pro- 

 •ceeded on November 19 up the pass, the 

 summit of which we reached at 12,300 

 feet altitude. Here a surprise awaited 

 us, for the view to the west was perfectly 

 clear, and the whole of the great Salwin- 

 Irrawadi divide was spread out before 



us. From a little below the pass this 

 range could be followed to the north as 

 far as the eye could reach, until at a dis- 

 tance of about 100 miles from where we 

 stood, and in approximate latitude 28° 

 30' north, it was merged in a huge range 

 of dazzling snow-peaks, trending west- 

 ward. This range is doubtless the east 

 source of the Irrawadi, and forms the 

 divide between it and the Zayal, the 

 Bramaputra system. The upper slopes 

 of the Salwin-Irrawadi divide resemble 

 a vast wall trending most regularly from 

 north to south, and there are no very 

 conspicuous peaks. The average height 

 of the summits in that latitude, 26° 55' 

 north, would be probably 12,500 to 13.500 

 feet. There was practically no snow on 

 it in November. 



Below the wall-like ridge forming the 

 backbone of the range, limestone spurs, 

 crags, and precipices in bewildering x:on- 

 fusion fall down to the Salwin. It was 

 easy to see why the uoper slopes of the 



