94 TUNGU. Chap. XXL 



off, put him clown on his hands and knees, threw a cloth 

 over his back, and mounted ; then kicking, spurring, and 

 cuffing his steed, he was galloped back to the Lama and 

 kicked off ; when the catechising recommenced. 



I spent a week at Tungu most pleasantly, ascending the 

 neighbouring mountains, and mixing with the people, whom 

 I found uniformly kind, frank, and extremely hospitable ; 

 sending their children after me to invite me to stop at their 

 tents, smoke, and drink tea ; often refusing any remunera- 

 tion, and giving my attendants curds and yak-flesh. If on 

 foot, I was entreated to take a pony ; and when tired I never 

 scrupled to catch one, twist a yak-hair rope over its jaw as 

 a bridle, and throwing a goat-hair cloth upon its back (if 

 no saddle were at hand), ride away whither I would. 

 Next morning a boy would be sent for the steed, perhaps 

 bringing an invitation to come and take it again. So I 

 became fond of brick-tea boiled with butter, salt, and 

 soda, and expert in the Tartar saddle ; riding about 

 perched on the shoulders of a rough pony, with my feet 

 nearly on a level with my pockets, and my knees almost 

 meeting in front. 



On the 28th of July much snow fell on the hills around, 

 as low as 14,000 feet, and half an inch of rain at Tungu ;* 

 the former soon melted, and I made an excursion to Cho- 

 miomo on the following day, hoping to reach the lower line 

 of perpetual snow. Ascending the valley of the Chomio- 

 choo, I struck north up a steep slope, that ended in a spur 

 of vast tabular masses of quartz and felspar, piled like slabs 

 in a stone quarry, clipping south-west 5° to 1 0°, and striking 

 north-west. These resulted from the decomposition of 

 gneiss, from which the layers of mica had been washed 

 away, when the rain and frost splitting up the fragments, 



* An inch and a half fell at Dorjiling during the same period. 



