INHABITED REGIONS AGAIN 1087 
a few simple sentences, and so in some sort keep up a 
conversation, it becomes merely a question of extending 
your vocabulary and acquiring the necessary fluency of 
speech. I never afterwards needed an interpreter for 
Mongolian. I lived amongst these people several months, 
and was able without any intermediary to talk with the 
Living Buddha in Kum-bum, and with the viceroy of 
Wang-yeh-fu. In this way I managed to overcome the 
worst difficulties and inconveniences I expected to en- 
counter in consequence of the loss of my Chinese inter- 
preter Fong Shi. 
After measuring, early on the morning of October 3rd, 
the paces and rate of speed of my new Mongolian riding- 
horse for the purposes of my map-making, we left Mdssoto, 
but not before another Mongol family, dwelling in a tent 
higher up the valley, came down to have a look at the 
strangers. 
At first we kept along the left side of the stream, then 
turned off towards the north up a side -glen strewn with 
stones, where our appearance put to flight a troop of 150 
khulans. The glen gradually widened out, and became 
broad and fertile ; and upon our reaching a little pool, 
Dorcheh dismounted, and said, that it was Yikeh-tsohan- 
namen (14,400 feet), and that we were to encamp there. 
We did so, having covered twelve and a half miles since 
the morning. 
On October 4th our guide led us further up the glen, 
which gradually curved round towards the north-east and 
east, at the same time growing much steeper and more 
obstructed with stones and gravel, which had rolled down 
from the mountains above. Hitherto the prevailing rock 
had been a dark green micaceous schist, with a dip towards 
the north. It now became granite, ranging from red to 
grey, and granite continued to predominate all day, right 
up to the pass Yikeh-tsohan-davan (16,320 feet). The 
ascent was tolerably easy ; even our three surviving 
camels mounted its rounded acclivity without any special 
difficulty. The view from the summit of the pass was 
not particularly extensive, the pass being shut in by 
