126 Report of the Magnetic Survey of India. [No. 2, 



gave us an excellent opportunity of making several physical experi- 

 ments at a somewhat considerable height. 



From this point we went on to Laptel, where we were much dis- 

 appointed at finding that the Thibetan authorities had done us 

 the honor to give us a guard of nine Hunias, who wanted peremp- 

 torily to prevent us from crossing over into Thibet Proper. "We 

 staid at Laptel three days, and there as well as at Janti succeeded in 

 making a tolerably complete collection df fossil remains from the 

 Silurian up to the younger Jurassic strata. 



In order to deceive our Hunia guard, we went along the Niti road 

 as far as Selchell, and from thence tried to make our escape in the 

 night of the 16th of July ; we left all our camp behind, and took 

 only four Bhutias, and the most necessary instruments and pro- 

 visions with us. We had mounted our four Bhutias, and four horses 

 were sufficient to carry all our baggage. We went on during the 

 night and during all next day, and in the evening we had arrived 

 on the alluvial plain which fills up the broad valley of the Sutlej. 

 "We thought ourselves now pretty safe from discovery, and were just 

 about to put up for the night in a little valley, when we discovered 

 our Hunias on horseback following our track. Mani especially told 

 us not to shew the least fear of them ; they came on crying and 

 hurraing, and the two first of them who got up to us tried to get hold 

 of the bridles of our horses ; but we gave them some severe blows 

 with our hunting whips right over the face, which took them much 

 by surprise. They immediately dismounted, making their salams, 

 and sayiDg that they were our friends, (we had given them some 

 rupees at Laptel,) but that they had received strict orders to accom- 

 pany us as "a guard. One of them was a Kuchop, or Thibetan 

 Chuprassi ; they said that these strict orders had been given on 

 account of the present wars with the Nepalese, since the authorities 

 were afraid that we might be plundered or killed, and that they 

 might afterwards be held responsible for it by the Indian Govern- 

 ment. "We ordered one of them to go to Daba (which was not 

 very distant,) and to tell the Jungpun, or head Thibetan authority 

 there, to come out and make the necessary arrangements with us. 

 As we had expected, the Jungpun did not make his appearance 

 himself, but his head clerk, or Dink, a decent looking young Lama 



