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332 TIBET. 
but in which, to their utter astonishment, the skater won the race. 
But, however the recollection of this feat might lessen the admiration 
of some, the majority of our party had never seen this mode of moving 
upon the ice before; and most certainly Mr. Saunders and myself 
enjoyed the distinction of having been the first of our nation, that ever 
signalized themselves by skating in Tibet, or, perhaps, in the whole 
circuit of the globe, in the parallel of twenty-seven and twenty-eight 
degrees of northern latitude. 
We thought it sufficiently early, on Wednesday, the 3d of Decem¬ 
ber, to commence travelling at nine o’clock. The air was still keen, 
and it had frozen hard during the night. Our road inclined to the 
west, and here branched off from that, which led immediately to 
Bengal. We had proceeded but a short distance, when we entered a 
narrow defile, passing through which, we found bare and lofty hills, 
without a single tree, or even any vestige of vegetation visible upon 
them. In some divisions among these hills, were seen falls of water, 
or torrents, arrested by the frost, and converted into fixed columns of 
solid ice, of various forms and size, immoveably stationed till the re¬ 
turn of spring. A small stream of water had flowed between these 
hills, immediately by the road side; but that also was fixed, I was 
informed, until they should experience warmer weather. 
We continued to advance through this narrow valley, until we 
came to the foot of the hill, upon the summit of which was situated 
Terpaling, ten miles from Tsondeu : we then turned short to our 
right. The road was of steep ascent, and it was about noon when we 
entered the gates of the monastery, which not long since had been 
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