DESCRIPTION OF COUNTRY. 9 



These great lakes are a peculiar feature in Thibet : many exist in various parts of the 

 country : some are salt, most are at least brackish, and there are evident signs that many 

 of them were once of far greater extent than they now are. On the shores of these lakes 

 are occasional marshy plains whitened by the efflorescence of various salts, and these are 

 generally the pasture grounds of numerous herds of Kyang. On the rounded hills near 

 the lakes are the favorite haunts of the king of Thibetan game, the Ovis Hodgsonii or 

 Nyan. 



The upper parts of the valleys of the great rivers are similar to those of the lakes, 

 and the same fauna are met with, including the Thibetan Gazelle or Goa. Lower down, the 

 valleys contract, and the hills become usually steeper and more rocky : vegetation, though 

 still scarce, is more plentiful than in the upper regions ; and in many places wild flowers of 

 great beauty may be found. On the steeper and more rocky hills, especially towards the 

 sources of the smaller streams, the Burrell is everywhere to be met with, while on the more 

 rounded and undulating hills its near relative the Shapoo is more common. On one occasion, 

 in a small valley near Gya, I saw all three species of Wild Sheep, viz., the Nyan, the Burrell, 

 and the Shapoo, in one day and on the same ground, but such an incident must, I fancy, 

 be very rare. 



Here and there, along the banks of the rivers, are situated villages which are really oases in 

 the desert. Irrigation being largely employed, fine crops of barley, peas, and beans are grown ; 

 while the eye rests with pleasure on groves of walnut, apricot, mulberry, poplar, and willow. 



Although a few fields are cultivated in the neighbourhood of the villages, the Tartars 

 are not an agricultural race. By far the greater number of them are pastoral, dwelling in 

 tents of black hair cloth, and moving from place to place with their flocks and herds accord- 

 ing to the season of the year, and the' consequent necessity for changing the pasture grounds. 



The Tartars are always cheerful, civil, and obliging, except where they have been cor- 

 rupted by too much intercourse with the rascally Kashmiris. They are not, however, of 

 much use as Shikaris, and it is not always that you can get them to take the trouble to show 

 game : if you are lucky enough to find a willing man he is useful, as they generally know 

 the haunts of the animals, and they have very good eyesight. There is no trouble when 

 travelling with Tartars : the baggage animals having been provided, and sufficient store of 

 provisions laid in, you can go where you like ; and you are not perpetually annoyed by their 

 grumbling, as you often are with other natives. 



Lower down the Indus — which is a good type of a Thibetan river — we come to Baltistan. 

 Here the hills are quite as steep and rocky, but vegetation is rather more abundant, grass is 

 pretty plentiful, and bushes grow naturally in the sheltered valleys. The Ibex and the 

 Oorren take the place of the Nyan and the Burrell as the " Large Game " most frequently 

 met with in the upper portions of the valley ; while still lower down, on the borders of Astor 

 and Gilgit, the Markhoor, the Musk Deer, and the Snow Bear are found on the same hills. 



The Baltis are a miserably poor, ill-clad, and apparently oppressed race, which probably 

 accounts for the fact that they are great emigrants, wandering all over the Punjab, and even 

 farther, in search of work. 



B 



