Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/84

64 we could see on our right; but none of them attain the limit of perpetual snow.

We now passed through a belt of underwood, soon afterwards succeeded by forests which grow chiefly on the southern slopes; the upper zone was thickly covered with grass. New kinds of plants met our eyes at every step; almost every shot we fired added some fresh specimen to our bird collection; but we had no time to linger over these pleasures, so eager were our companions to reach their destination, and so fearful of Dungans. We could only make the best use of our opportunities as they presented themselves. To add to our difficulties the rain fell incessantly, and the atmosphere was saturated with moisture, rendering it impossible to dry our collections, which were consequently ruined by the damp; and even our guns were rusted by it.

After crossing the pass, the ascent of which is gradual and the descent only a little steeper, we encamped for the night in the mountains. Here another adventure befell us. Our Cossacks, who had gone to fetch wood, observed a fire burning in an adjoining ravine, and some men near it. On hearing this report everyone in camp was on the alert, imagining that they were robbers preparing to attack us by night. We determined to reconnoitre before it became quite dark, and accompanied by eight of the caravan, our friend Randzemba among the number, we cautiously approached the fire; but we were soon observed, and the enemy fled. The lamas at once pursued, yelling at the top of their voices, but