1212 
THROUGH ASIA 
and both their horizontal and vertical structures could 
be plainly made out. The roots of former species of 
vegetation reached down to the level of the roadway. 
There too the river also cut its way through a similar 
formation, crumbling it down a great deal at every bend. 
At Kao-miotsa, one of the largest villages along the road, 
we stopped for breakfast at an open cafd. We met 
numerous caravans of camels conveying packs of wool 
to Ning-sha or Tien-tsin. We halted for the night at 
Lo-ya. 
On December 4th we still continued to push on towards 
the north-north-east, leaving on our right the transverse 
glen through which the Si-ning river made its way to the 
Hwang-ho, and also a rugged by-path leading to Lan- 
chow-fu. We ascended to a minor pass through a little 
glen, at the entrance of which three human skulls were 
suspended in cages on as many poles. They were the 
heads of robbers who had attacked, plundered, and slain 
certain travellers, but who had been afterwards seized and 
beheaded. Then we climbed the heights of Ping-ko-shan 
by a winding zigzag path, with excessively sharp turns 
in it. How I pitied the poor mules that should toil up 
those steeps with heavy loads on their backs ! 
Having spent the night in the solitary guest-house of 
Ping-ko-ko, on the east side of the relatively low ridge w'e 
had just crossed, w'e descended the next day into the wide 
open valley of the Tai-tung-ho. The river came down 
from the north-west and traversed the valley in three 
arms. We crossed the largest of the three with the 
help of a ferry; it was about 100 feet wide and 5 feet 
deep. On its left bank were numerous villages ; but most 
of them had been ruined during the Dungan revolt, 
'['here was a great deal of traffic on the road. For 
instance, we met two or three huge companies of Khalkha 
Mongols on their way to the approaching festivals at 
Kum-bum ; long strings of carts laden with coal, which 
was dug in the neighbourhood, carts and caravans carrying 
provisions to Si-ning-fu, to say nothing of individual 
travellers on horseback and on foot. 
