Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/244

 you are liable to miss, or the game, mortally wounded, falls down some inaccessible chasm and is lost. But one fortunate shot rewards you for all the troubles and difficulties you have undergone.

Then, too, what happy moments the mountains bring with them, as after climbing a lofty peak you obtain a distant view, as you linger for an hour in the exhilarating air, and admire the panorama spread out at your feet! The great cliffs, which close the gloomy defiles or tower towards the sky, have a wild beauty all their own ; many a time have I paused on such a spot, and sat down on a rock to enjoy the impressive stillness of the scene, unbroken by the voice of man or the ordinary bustle of life. Now and then you may hear the cooing of the rock doves, the shrill cry of the kite, or the noisy descent of the vulture from the clouds to its nest, and then all is again still.

Towards the end of our stay in the Munni-ula we hired the services of a Mongol, by name Djuldjig, and accompanied by him set out for the Chinese town of Bautu, to replenish our supplies of rice and millet, and then to cross the Hoang-ho and continue our journey to Ordos.

In order to reach the other side of the Munni-ula we followed the pass near our encampment, over which the natives ride on mules and asses. The road is not difficult, and the gradients only become steeper on the southern side, descending by the