1848.] Narrative of a Journey to Clio Lagan, fyc* 167 



they made it, and of the consequences, if we were detected, not a hun- 

 dredth (for they talked of getting hanged!) ; but with such discontented 

 and dispirited companions, I had little inducement to incur the farther 

 hardships which the proposed digression would have entailed upon 

 myself; and the circuit of the lake after all promised no other result 

 than a little nearer approximation to the true figure and size of its out- 

 line, and to the exact position of the few unimportant affluent mountain 

 streams, and of the several Qumba round the bank. Putting together 

 Moorcroft's observations, my own, and the reports of native informants 

 (the best of which I have embodied in my account), I think the geo- 

 graphy of the lakes is fixed in the rough, beyond all reasonable doubt, 

 though my map cannot pretend to topographical accuracy. 



In the evening, Rechu, with a well assumed air of distress, reported 

 that both the ponies had strayed from our camp, and one of the Bho- 

 tias in search of them for the last hour not yet returned. I have a 

 strong persuasion that this was a contrivance of my worthy companions 

 to put a spoke in the wheel of my parkarma ; for being rather sulky, 

 I had not yet informed them of my consent to abandon that design : 

 their clumsy artifice would certainly not have stopped me, if I had re- 

 solved upon it, as my own plan had been to go without the horses, rid- 

 ing one of the Zhobus when I could not walk. 



Thermometer at 9 p. m. 30°. 



6th October. — The ponies not yet found, reported Rechu this morn- 

 ing, either to make sure (as he might think) of me and my Parkarma, 

 i or to preserve the vraisemblance of his own stratagem; and besides the 

 Bhotia already detached two others had walked off, as they pretended 

 to enquire for mutton at Tokar, but in fact more probably straight back 

 to Byans, for they never showed themselves again to the end of our 

 journey. Rechu also stayed behind to make further search for the 

 horses, according to his own story. We saddled two of the Zhobus, 

 distributing their loads among the other four, and the rest of us then 

 started for Pruang at 8 - 20 a. m. ; course west of south. Descending 

 from the high bank we entered on a small bay of the lake, now half dry, 

 with great quantities of efflorescent salt (carbonate of soda, I think,) 

 about the swampy grounds. There were two unfortunate Hunias here 

 who seemed to avoid us with alarm as though they expected some mal- 

 treatment ; they took us for Khampa, perhaps. Crossing this bay we 



