182 TRIP TO NORTHWARD 
of which could be seen for miles down covered with 
rhododendrons in blossom of all shades of white, pink, 
and red—a perfect sea of bloom. On May 101 felt 
obliged to comply with the directions contained in the 
king’s message, and returned to Ta-tsien-lu. 
Having heard of a plateau to the north, about a 
day’s journey from the town, where plenty of game was 
to be found, I left to try and reach it on May 12; but 
after a hard day’s march I found that I had been mis- 
informed, and a Christian guide told me that such a 
place as I was in search of existed four days’ journey 
away. I had no time, however, to proceed further, and 
I had reached an elevation of 14,000 feet. The moun- 
tains were covered where possible by pine forests; but 
the surface was very rocky, and there were a number of 
isolated sugar-loaf shaped rocks to be seen, some being 
quite 1,000 feet high. On the ridges, slightly lower, 
rhododendrons were interspersed with various other 
bushes. 
I saw no signs of any inhabitants, and I found, among 
other interesting plants, a large terrestrial orchid from 
seven to eight feet high, bearing several broad opposite 
leaves on the stem, and at the top a loose spike of incon- 
spicuous flowers, small and of a greenish-purple colour ; 
and a plant that reminded me of a gigantic marsh mari- 
gold, the lower leaves being quite two feet in diameter, 
