TIBETAN STORMS 
1055 
and did seventeen and a half miles before we stopped 
for the night at camp No. XXIX. There again we 
rested a day. It was imperative we should husband the 
animals’ strength. About two o’clock in the morning I 
was awakened by a hurricane of snow, which threatened 
to rend the tent to pieces ; and when daylight came, the 
snow lay in some places a foot deep. The aniount of 
precipitation seemed to be much heavier in that district 
than in the regions we had passed through. 
At five o’clock in the afternoon I had a hole dug, that 
I might take the temperature of the ground. At that 
hour the temperature of the atmosphere was 38"'5 Fahr. 
(3°6 C.). At the depth of 8^ inches the thermometer 
registered 37°2 Fahr. (2°9 C.) ; at i i-g inches 34°7 Fahr. 
{i°5 C.); at 19I- inches 33=9 Fahr. (i°05 C.) ; at 27I 
inches 32°9 Fahr. (o°5 C.) ; and at 34^ inches 32°7 Fahr. 
(o°4 C.). The first four observations were made in fine 
yellow sand, resting upon blue-black mud and mould, 
which contained numerous remains of decayed vegetation. 
The upper layer of the earth used to freeze in the night to 
the depth of two finger’s-breadths, rendering our march 
somewhat easier of a morning ; but it always thawed again 
as soon as the sun rose. 
September 20th. Sixteen miles to camp No. XXX. 
(15,175 feet). After a tramp of several hours over gentle 
hills we approached the saddle which bounded lake No. 19 
on the east. There I stopped to reconnoitre, so as to 
ascertain which way to go. The Arka-tagh in the north- 
east was now lower than it had hitherto been ; but we 
durst not attempt to cross the range with such an ex- 
hausted caravan, especially as the Taghliks thought that 
surmounting the pass would kill all the animals. To 
the east — yet another lake — yet another self-contained 
basin destitute of outflow. Was this chain of salt lakes 
never coming to an end ? One thing however was 
encourao-inm The descent from the saddle on which 
c5 O 
I stood was very much steeper on the east than the 
ascent had been on the west. We appeared to be 
approaching lower altitudes than those we had hitherto 
