200 RYOTT VALLEY. Chap. XXV. 



Campbell had preceded me, and I found him conversing 

 with some Tibetans, who told him that there was no road 

 hence to Yakla, and that we should not be permitted to go 

 to Choombi. As the Chinese guard was posted in the 

 neighbourhood, he accompanied one of the Tibetans to see 

 the commandant, whilst I remained taking observations. 

 The temperature was 33°, with a violent, biting, dry east 

 wind. The rocks were gneiss, striking north-east, and 

 horizontal, or dipping north-west. The scanty vegetation 

 consisted chiefly of grass and Sibbaldia. 



In about an hour Meepo and some of my people came up 

 and asked for Campbell, for whom the Tchebu Lama was 

 waiting below : the Lama had remained at Rungpo, endea- 

 vouring to put matters on a better footing with the Amlah. 

 Wishing to see the Tibet guard myself, I accompanied the 

 two remaining Tibetans down a steep valley with cliffs 

 on either hand, for several hundred feet, when I was over- 

 taken by some Sikkim sepoys in red jackets, who wanted 

 to turn me back forcibly : T was at a loss to understand 

 their conduct, and appealed to the Tibetan sepoys, who 

 caused them to desist. About 1000 feet down I found 

 Campbell, with a body of about ninety Tibetans, a few of 

 whom were armed with matchlocks, and the rest with bows 

 and arrows. They were commanded by a Dingpun, a 

 short swarthy man, with a flat-crowned cap with floss-silk 

 hanging all round, and a green glass button in front ; he 

 wore a loose scarlet jacket, broadly edged with black 

 velvet, and having great brass buttons of the Indian 

 naval uniform ; his subaltern was similarly dressed, but 

 his buttons were those of the 44th Bengal Infantry. The 

 commandant having heard of our wish to go round by 

 Choombi, told Campbell that lie had come purposely 

 to inform him that there was no road that way to 



