On account of the heat we delayed our march till early in the afternoon. During a part of the morning we tested the skill of our muleteers in rifle shooting. We thought that, should we come across nomads who showed any signs of hostility, our men would have more confidence in their arms, and perhaps would not show the white feather. None of them could hit an empty bottle at forty yards, so the confidence in their aim received rather a demoralising shock.
Two days after leaving this camp, we crossed over an easy pass of some 17,000 feet high, and about the top of this found a small white butterfly and a yellow flower, the first we had seen, and it was satisfactory to think that our flower press had not been carried along all this way for nothing, for it nearly shared the same fate as other things thrown away. A few miles further on, we camped in a grassy nullah, close by some heavy, craggy rocks.
Finding the morning again too hot for the mules to march, we shouldered our rifles and set forth in search of game, and to try and find out the lay of the country ahead. We had completely run out of meat and had no wish to slay our single sheep, which for many days had marched along with us, the sole survivor of our flock. He had now become inured to hardships, was never fatigued, and was looked upon as our very last reserve in case of starvation. Although we actually found no game, yet we saw tracks of antelope, kyang, and one or two entire skeletons of yak.
WE CAMP IN A GRASSY NULLAH.
We were rewarded for our tramp in another way, when, from some high ground, we saw below us a fresh-water lake with rich grass growing around it, and we wondered why nomads did not go and live there if they knew of the spot. We hurried back to camp with the good news, so as to march to such a paradise as soon as possible, and halt there another day, to give our animals the opportunity of thoroughly enjoying the luxurious spot. Poor brutes, strive as hard as they might, there had been more casualties amongst them and we were reduced to nineteen, less than half our original number.
On arrival at this lake, we found the centre portion of it was frozen over. By the edge of the water were a number of geese; but they might as well have been living in another country altogether, for they would give us no chance of shooting them, and we began to meditate the slaughter of our pet sheep, when, coming over the crest of a grassy rise, we spotted a herd of antelope. They were certainly timid, but, with a lucky longish shot, Malcolm knocked one over, saving us from hunger and our dear old sheep from an unmerited death. How often we looked at our living mutton with hungry feelings, it is hard to say, and how often an antelope just saved him from the slaughter-house would be equally hard to relate. We admired him, too, for his pluck and endurance, for he had long outstayed every other member of the flock. Our affection for him was great, and we even meditated his triumphal entry into China, and he would undoubtedly have accomplished it, had not an unforeseen mishap later on demanded his flesh and blood. Poor beast, if he had only known how we admired him, he would willingly have given us a dinner long ago.
It was a great treat for all to get good water clear and fresh, for latterly the water we had been digging up had been mostly muddy and saltish. We were blessed with a perfect day for repose, the mules and ponies grazed along the edge of the lake, sometimes standing up to their fetlocks in the still water, a day of thorough enjoyment to them. All their swellings and sores too were doctored up and the shoeing looked to. Considering what they had undergone, their backs were in a very satisfactory state. Tents and clothes were mended and a general clear-up was organised, so much so that about midday, we and Ruby were bathing in the lake itself, and although the lake was partly frozen over with ice, and we were living at a height of nearly 16,000 feet, the water was quite enjoyable, and we could remain splashing about in it for half an hour, and afterwards bask naked in the sun. So much pleasure did we derive from this bath that we ordered all the men down for tubbing. They went, certainly, but the amount of washing they executed would not have been sufficient for some people.