1150 
THROUGH ASIA 
only three wolves, which had crept in as far as my tent, 
and had a brush with the dogs. 
We continued our way towards the north-east and north 
down the broad grassy valley. Water was entirely absent, 
and the region was quite uninhabited, although charred 
wood and ashes, marking- the sites of old encampments, 
proved that it was visited at least occasionally. The 
mountains were composed of gneiss and a species of 
quartzite, very greatly weathered. 
In the middle of the valley we came across a very curious 
erection. A sharply pointed fragment of rock, which 
stood entirely isolated, stuck up out of the ground like 
a colossal tooth, and against it leaned a rectangular 
structure, built of blocks of granite, each 2 ft. 6 in. square. 
The walls were about the height of an average man plus 
half that height again, and measured some thirty-five to 
forty feet in length. The floor was paved with slabs 
of stone, and the place was roofed in with the same 
materials, each slab having the inevitable Tibetan formula 
of prayer incised upon it. The walls were hung with tufts 
of wool, pieces of cloth, and fragments of bone, all marked 
with repetitions of the same Tibetan ideographs. Entrance 
to the interior was obtained through a wide gateway. The 
weathered condition of the stones, and the fact of the wall 
leaning over at an angle, pointed to a pretty considerable 
age. The place, which was called Ganchur, was no doubt 
originally a fort or watch-house, but at the present time 
was manifestly regarded as an obo, or religious monument, 
by the inhabitants of the neighbourhood. From the in- 
terior there was access to a long and lofty grotto, evidently 
of natural origin, for the sides were extremely rugged and 
worn' by weathering. They were scribbled all over with 
Chinese letter-signs. 
Khulans (wild asses) were common again in this neigh- 
bourhood. We saw one troop of a score, and a little after 
that another of about eighty, who galloped over the pass 
in a compact squadron. The valley gradually ascended 
over soft grassy ground towards the pass, which bore the 
name of Nokkdten-kottel (the Hollow Pass). The summit 
