1868.] Notes on the Pangong lake district of LadaJch. 101 



caught double the number in another hour, but had to move on to 

 camp. These fish formed a welcome addition to our food as long 

 as we remained on the lake, I supplied my old Bhut Moonshie and 

 some of the guard with hooks, and lines, they became fierce fisher- 

 men, and brought in good bags. It is a fine sight to see the lake during 

 a storm, when a good strong wind is blowing down a long extend 

 of its surface, and dashing the waves, which rise to a considerable 

 height, against the hard rocky shore : I had the fortune to see its 

 surface in this state one morning, and sitting down watched the 

 waves rolling in ; it was a minature sea, and Pangong waves brought 

 up thoughts of beaches in old England. Though the country is sobarren, 

 the lake has its beauties in the varied tints of surrounding hills and 

 mountains, and the rich deep blue of its waters, becoming quite of 

 an emerald green colour as they shallow near the shore. Daring 

 the summer months the lake is quite deserted, and we did not fall 

 in with a soul the whole distance up to Pal, or we might not have 

 got so far. At that time of the year, the flocks of shawl-wool goats, 

 sheep and yaks, are grazed in the higher valleys on the young rich 

 grass that springs up in some places after the snow has left the 

 ground. During winter they are brought down to the level « maidans'* 

 near the lake, and Ote, I was told, becomes dotted with black « Cham- 

 pa"* encampments. Snow, they said, never lies long at Ote, though 

 the lake freezes all over very thick, and the degree of cold rnu°st 

 be very considerable ;— what a glorious expanse for skating the lake 

 must then present! The Champas or Changpas, who spend the 

 winter on the lake at Ote, come from both Noh and Rudok. The said 

 plain is a disputed piece of ground ; the men of the Pangong district 

 claim it, though judging by the site of an old fort standing on a 

 low rock on the north-western side of the plain, I should say it 

 undoubtedly belongs to the Lhassan authorities, by whom it was 

 built years ago : proximity of Leh and greater power of the Thana- 

 dar there, places it in the Kashmir Rajah's territory. Walls of stone 

 and earth are built up as a portection for the tents against the wind; 

 and to render them still snugger, I observed that the interior floor 

 had been dug down to a depth of 3 feet, which must make them 

 warmer abodes. I found the summer winds of this country cold 

 * " Champa," the nomadic trides of this country. 



14 



