130 DONKIA PASS. Chap. XXII. 



A violent southerly wind, with a scud of mist, and 

 sometimes snow, always blew over the pass : but we found 

 shelter on the north face, where I twice kindled a fire, and 

 boiled my thermometers.* On one occasion I felt the 

 pulses of my party several times during two hours' repose 

 (without eating) ; the mean of eight persons was 105°, the 

 extremes being 92° and 120°, and my own 108°. 



One flowering plant ascends to the summit ; the 

 alsinaceous one mentioned at p. 89. The Fescue grass, 

 a little fern (Woodsid), and a Saussurea f ascend very near 

 the summit, and several lichens grow on the top, as 

 Cladonia vermicularis, the yellow Lecidea geographica, 

 and the orange L. miniata; \ also some barren mosses. At 

 1 8,300 feet, I found on one stone only a fine Scotch 

 lichen, a species of Gyropliora, the " tripe de roclie ' of 

 Arctic voyagers, and the food of the Canadian hunters ; 

 it is also abundant on the Scotch alps. 



Before leaving, I took one more long look at the bound- 

 less prospect ; and, now that its important details were 

 secured, I had leisure to reflect on the impression it pro- 

 duced. There is no loftier country on the globe than that 

 embraced by this view, and no more howling wilderness ; 

 well might the Singtam Soubah and every Tibetan describe 

 it as the loftiest, coldest, windiest, and most barren country 

 in the world. Were it buried in everlasting snows, or 



* Oil the 9th of September the boiling-point was 181° 3, and on the 27th, 

 181° 2. In both observations, I believe the kettle communicated a higher 

 temperature to the thermometer than that of the water, for the elevations 

 deduced are far too low. 



f A pink-flowered woolly Saussurea, and Delphinium glaciate, are two of the most 

 lofty plants; both being commonly found from 17,500 to 18,000 feet. 



X This is one of the most Arctic, Antarctic, and universally diffused plants. 

 The other lichens were Lecidea atro-alba, oreina, degans, and chlorophana, all 

 alpine European and Arctic species. At 17,000 feet occur Lecanora ventosa, 

 physodcs, candelaria, sordida, atra, and the beautiful Swiss L. chrysoleuca, also 

 European species. 



