184 MEET LOCAL KING 
rambling sort of place, with walls of mud and a Chinese 
tiled roof. It is built partly over a natural hot spring, 
which may be seen running away from the foundations, 
the steam passing out by the eaves of a part of the 
palace. Close by isa large farm, where I noticed many 
very good-looking ponies and a large number of cows. 
These are kept for milking, and are of a much superior 
class to those usually seen about the country, resembling 
the Alderney in appearance, butrather larger and coarser. 
I also saw about twenty elk, all females, in an enclosure. 
There was plenty of capital grass-feed about the place, 
principally on the smaller plateaux which abound in the 
neighbourhood. Besides being a large farmer and horse 
breeder, the king is a great sportsman, and when I met 
him close to his farm he had a pack of hounds at his 
heels. Heis an elderly man and does not enjoy good 
health, but is a great believer in the virtues of the vari- 
ous hot springs which abound in the neighbourhood, 
from one of which he was returning when I met him. 
He was dressed in the usual costume of the Tibetans of 
the better class, and had a huge scarlet umbrella carried 
over his head by his attendants. On seeing me he 
stopped and wished to enter into conversation, which 
was accomplished by my cook acting as interpreter. 
He told me that he had never heard of my arrival. 
This did not exactly agree with the message I had 
