984 
THROUGH ASIA 
country, lately so smiling, sunny, and peaceful, had put 
on the garb of the Polar Regions : the earth was as white 
as chalk. 
For fully an hour we were unable to proceed ; but as 
soon as the worst of the squall was past, we dismounted 
and made haste to get up the tents. The hail continued 
a full hour longer, and lay an inch thick on the ground. 
It all disappeared however before the evening ; for, as 
usual, the hail was followed by pouring rain. We managed 
therefore to get thoroughly wet through before the tents 
were up. The poor beasts had to stand out in the freezing 
cold. But the camels did not mind it in the least ; they 
set to work upon the grass. 
On 1 6th August we started early. It was windy and 
cold, and the sky was covered with clouds. About seven 
o’clock they broke up and scattered ; but not for long, 
for they soon began to pack together again. It was 
not at all easy to tell where they came from. At first 
you would observe nothing more than a mere wisp of 
a cloud ; which would grow bigger and bigger with 
extraordinary rapidity, and finally invade every inch of 
the sky. 
The preceding evening I sent some of the men up the 
ravine beside which we encamped. They came back and 
reported, that at its upper extremity it was steep and 
narrow, and choked with stones. We thought it best 
therefore to continue along the latitudinal valley. We 
therefore crossed over the ravine, though not without 
much difficulty, and advanced over hummocky ground and 
past a little lake of about 270 yards in diameter. It con- 
tained clear, fresh water; and on its surface were about 
a dozen wild-geese, resting in their long autumn flight to 
I ndia. 
We now began to be conscious of the fact that we were 
ascending. Yeylaks occurred, but in thinner and thinner 
patches. The valley was entirely shut in by the lofty 
mountain -ranges on both sides. The rainfall off their 
flanks and from out their side-glens was gathered into a 
stream, which lower down united with that beside which 
