378 Narrative of a Journey from Soobathoo [No. 125. 



we had finished our observations, the thermometer was eleven degrees 

 below the freezing point, the cold increasing every instant, and we had 

 7,600 feet to descend, over a bad road, in a distance of six miles. We 

 cautioned our people against delay, and moved downwards as fast as we 

 could walk ; we passed the bundle of sticks where it was left, but the 

 man had disappeared, and we next day understood he had reached camp 

 before us. Night overtook us two and half miles from Nako, and my 

 brother had the misfortune to fall and hurt his leg so much, that we 

 greatly feared he would be obliged to remain where he was until 

 assistance could be obtained from the village ; after sitting down for half 

 an hour, he found himself able to proceed at a slow pace, so we moved on, 

 and shortly after lost the road by going too far to the right. We got in 

 amongst a confused jumble of gigantic masses of rock, from which we 

 found it no easy matter to extricate ourselves ; we wandered about 

 amidst them almost as chance directed for one and half-hours, many 

 of the stones shook under us, and we passed places frightful even in day- 

 light. About nine we espied a light below us, and heard the roaring of 

 the Lee river, which seemed quite close ; it being then calm, this made 

 us imagine we had gone beyond the village, but judging from the 

 strange structure of the surrounding mountains which we could scarcely 

 mistake, we thought it impossible we could have done so, more especi- 

 ally as we had seen no cultivation, and there are a good many fields 

 around Nako ; we therefore went on and arrived at a Lama's temple that 

 we recognised about a quarter of a mile from camp ; we called out, and 

 were answered by some of our people, who came to meet us with a 

 couple of lights. We reached camp at half-past nine, not so much tired 

 as might have been expected; only four of our servants arrived that 

 night, the rest stopped without firewood at our former halting place, 

 and came up late next day, having their feet so much swollen by the 

 frost, as to be unable to carry loads during the rest of our journey. 

 The distance to-day was ten and a half miles. Our last three marches 

 were fraught with accidents ; three barometers, a perambulator, and ther- 

 mometer were smashed in pieces, and the small theodolite, a very neat 

 instrument by Dolland, was rendered unfit for taking elevations, the 

 nonius having been broken off; we had remaining two theodolites, a 

 surveying compass, four barometers, and as many thermometers, a strong 

 perambulator, a couple of sextants, a reflecting circle, a repeating 



