TIBETAN STORMS 
1051 
east, so as to reach Tsaidam the sooner that way ; for the 
insurmountable wall of the Arka-tagh reared itself up in 
our path. Besides, our animals were not equal to any 
real climbing ; they would be incapable of climbing over 
anything more serious than a very low pass. 
Towards evening the men sent a deputation to me, 
asking for a day’s rest. Two camels and two donkeys 
were in a bad way, and unless they got rest would almost 
certainly succumb on the morrow. 
On September i6th we travelled no less than twenty 
miles without losing a single animal. The lake stretched 
to an extraordinary length. I began to fancy it would be 
a worthy rival to the Issyk-kul, which is several days’ 
journey long. But we must have been the victims of an 
optical delusion or mirage ; for at the end of two to three 
hours’ march the hills that lined both shores met together, 
forming a dark line above the level of the lake. Beyond 
doubt we had another pass in front of us. This time we 
were travelling along the southern shore of the lake, and 
there we found plenty of yak dung, as well as numerous 
spoor. We also picked up a yak’s horn, with the mark of 
a knife-cut plainly distinguishable near the tip. We like- 
wise discovered some fragments of a clay pitcher — another 
indication that human beings had some time or other been 
there before us. 
Immediately after noon the clouds Hocked closer to- 
gether all round us, whilst a violent east wind arose, and 
in a very short time down came the usual snowstorm. 
It was the most violent storm of snow, and with the 
heaviest fall, I had experienced since I was on the Mus- 
tagh-ata. Clouds of powdery snow as fine as Hour swept 
along close to the surface of the earth, succeeded every 
now and again by showers of hail — totally blotting out 
the landscape. The ground became instantly white ; 
indeed we were actually snowed up sitting in our saddles. 
We seemed however to have left the region in which the 
west wind was prevalent ; for during the last day or two 
the east wind had been the more general. The storm 
lasted almost two hours, and then the sun shone out again. 
