Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/129

Rh continuing to be distinctly defined on either bank, while some lateral spurs of the southern range form the watershed between some tributaries of the Tatung and the streams flowing into the Siling-gol and Koko-nor; the largest we crossed was the Buguk-gol, a tributary of the Siling, flowing through a beautiful valley. The northern range makes a sudden bend to the north, near the town of Yunan-chen, towards the sources of the river Etsina, where the mountains are higher and more rocky, culminating in the snowy peak of Konkir, one of the sacred mountains of the Tangutans.

The southern range between Chobsen and Mur-zasak is covered with dense underwood on its northern slopes, with an occasional spruce fir in the valley of the Buguk-gol; the southern slopes abound in rich pasture land. Beyond Mur-zasak, in the direction of the sources of the Tatung, and after crossing the watershed between the basin of this river and Koko-nor, the character of the scenery changes; the mountains are lower (excepting those in the main range) less steep and rocky, and the valleys marshy. The only shrub is the yellow kurile tea, in some places covering large areas. In fact, everything betokens the approach to the steppes of Koko-nor, which we entered on the 24th of Oct., and the following day we pitched our tent on the shore of the lake.

The dream of my life was accomplished, and the