A SERPENTINE RIVER—HUNGER—MARMOTS—A PLEASANT CAMPING.

As we loaded up the next morning everything was shrouded in a thick white mist, and the ground was white with frost. The going was still very heavy, and the stream, which took a winding course, had to be frequently crossed. It was about ten yards broad, a foot or more deep, swiftly flowing, and very cold.

As the mist lifted the day became warm, and the three mules sank deeper than ever in the sodden ground. In spite of all our efforts, we could only make seven miles\' headway, but at the same time we had been steadily descending.

On the banks we found good grass and plenty of onions. I photographed our camp, now much reduced in size, and afterwards set out barefooted down the stream on a journey of exploration, and in the hopes of finding something to shoot.

After paddling on for a short distance I found another important looking stream join its forces with the one I was following. This stream was of equal volume, and flowed in from the north. It would have been impossible to travel in a northerly direction, for the country was very mountainous and barren, stretching eventually on to snow peaks. After a time, I climbed a hill from which I could see there was a third stream flowing into this one, coming from a south-westerly direction. As far as I could judge, the river 165 after this flowed easterly between two ranges of hills. I thought that if we could only follow it we were sure to find game, and perhaps people. It struck me, too, that perhaps it was the Chu Ma, the very river we were after. Although I failed to find anything to shoot, I returned to camp with my information, which we dilated upon and argued over, so as to keep up the spirits of our men, and as rain again set in, it was satisfactory that we had something to fill all with expectation.

RUBY.

166

A white mist again shrouded us as we continued down the stream. Twice in the first five minutes we had to cross this icy cold water, so snake-like was the course the river took. The banks were too steep for the mules to have marched along them. It was a trying time for them, indeed, to be frequently crossing and recrossing the same stream, whose water came over our knees. All the mules, too, at different times collapsed in mid-stream, when the loads had to be carried ashore by us. At such a crisis as this we had no time to think of our little dog Ruby, who would always follow bravely after us, and was sometimes nearly washed away by the strong current. By the end of our march everybody was wet and cold, and the baggage was soaked. Luckily, the sun put in an appearance, and we were able to dry all our belongings. The immense number of onions that grew on the banks helped in no slight degree to feed the party, for we had run out of meat. Malcolm and I, therefore, set out in opposite directions to try and shoot something. Although we saw some antelope, neither of us had any success.

At this point where we had encamped, the stream took a southern course, apparently bending east again afterwards. We reckoned that we should cut off a corner by travelling east, and meeting the stream again later on. When we did get a chance of bettering our route, we seldom let it escape us. We marched over an undulating, sandy, grassy plain, a range of mountains a mile or so off running parallel on our left. Suddenly we struck another nullah, furnished with a stream equal in size to the one we had been following. At the same moment the rain, which had been threatening, poured without pity. We argued that it was better to continue the march than to try and camp under such conditions. We saw many tracks of kyang, which was all the more tantalizing to our desire for meat. The only animal we saw was a wolf. 167

At length we reached a corner where our original stream joined the one we were marching along, and we found we should have to cross this formidable body of water. We could see a few hundred yards off on the other bank a high-lying sandy spot to camp on, close to some green banks. To reach this goal was no easy matter. The three mules were getting very tired, so that two of them collapsed in the middle of the stream. The sand, too, on the further side was treacherous for a considerable distance.

By the time we had rescued our mules and carried our baggage to a place of safety, the sun was again kind enough to have another look at us. He was evidently displeased, for his presence was replaced by a heavy downpour, which continued for a couple of hours. Personally I lit my pipe, and soon fell asleep, till, at 3 o\'clock, the sun again invited us to go forth to try and shoot some animal for food. We were soon off on the prowl, but all I saw was a white-headed vulture, a fox, and some sand grouse, and Malcolm was equally without success. I saw, however, that the stream meandered on sometimes between precipitous banks, increasing in volume, and with this news we fortified our men.

At sunset the weather looked angry, nor did it fall short of its foreboding; a strong east wind set in, and heavy rain fell throughout the night. We managed to keep ourselves fairly dry, and slept in spite of the storm that raged.

On waking at daybreak the wind was still blowing hard, but the rain had ceased—a real boisterous morning, when the sea waves would have rolled in with a mighty roar, as though to sweep away the very rocks. The river had swollen considerably and flowed strong and deep, as though on some errand of weighty importance. The water was stained to a dull reddish colour. It was out of the question for us to think of making an early march, for the ground resembled a quagmire. We went to inspect the nullah, to 168 see whether it was possible to march along it; but further on the river ran flush with the precipitous sides on either hand, and soon disabused us of that idea.

About 2 o\'clock we took a circuitous route over and round some hills, hitting off the river again lower down. Yet we still had to keep on the higher ground, crossing other troublesome nullahs and numerous hills, following generally its course. We had got to that stage of hunger when a little bird we saw became a victim to our guns. All at once a hare sprang up, but the indefatigable Ruby was after her, and thus did us out of a valuable supply. We struggled on with our loads on our backs, straggling one beh............