Through Unknown Tibet

by M. S. Wellby

The day before yesterday the men had told us that they had meat left for five more days. We did not, therefore, trouble about shooting any of the kyang that happened to come and look at our camp, or to stalk any of the antelope we saw. After the storm had abated, they came to inform us that the meat was finished, not an uncommon state of affairs with us. It shows how difficult it was to provide for such unreasonable men, worthy as they were in most other respects.

We were beginning to think that, as we had marched so long and so far without seeing any living being, we must be the only people in existence. To any one who is anxious to avoid the police authorities, I can strongly recommend the Chang.

On the 4th of September we learnt from our own observations that we were actually at a lower altitude than Niagzu is, where we had last seen brushwood. We had unmistakably been descending ever since the great disaster befell our animals. After we had made our midday meal off the scrapings of a yak's tail we had carried for some days, and the carcass of a hare, we moved on again, still traversing the same kind of country.

Towards evening we found an old chula close by the river side, and, at no great distance from here, the ground whereon only a few months previously there must have been a fairly large encampment of nomads or merchants. From traces we found round and about, it was evident the caravan had consisted of camels and ponies; there were even the remains of a dead pony close by. We found the single horn of an antelope stuck into the ground, which was a convincing proof that the owners had possessed firearms. We saw also some pieces of string and odds and ends, which our men, of course, picked up. The caravan had evidently marched along the river we were following, for further on we found more camel droppings, but as to who they were and whence they had come from and where they were going, it was impossible to say. They benefited our little party by putting every one in the most hopeful and cheery frame of mind. Here were we at inhabitable altitudes, and we had seen unmistakable signs that told us that other people, too, had travelled in this part of the land.

There was much rain during the night. After loading up, Malcolm and I, separating, went ahead to do our best to shoot some meat. Malcolm luckily wounded a kyang, and drove the animal to the spot where we had halted. His heart was soon cut out and hissing with the onions in the frying pan, and all fared sumptuously. We carried away sufficient donkey flesh to last our party three days, and proceeded over the same monotonous plain, which later on was relieved by some sandy hillocks. The men's spirits were kept from falling through the discovery of some more chulas. This encouraged them to weather the storm that enveloped us.

During the night at Camp 107 our mules had strayed, so that on the morning of the 6th of September all idea of making a double march had to be abandoned, especially as there was a steady downfall of rain. It was, in fact, 11 o'clock before we were able to make a start, and at that hour a cold wind was blowing from the northern snows, and the day was altogether dull, heavy, and depressing; it awakened us to the realisation of our actual feelings. We became aware that we needed some little luxury, such as flour and salt. We seemed to be having rather a surfeit of our finds of wild donkey's flesh.

More than four months had elapsed since we had gaily cantered out of Leh post-haste. We longed to find somebody, and we would willingly have given a large sum for a loaf of bread. We wondered how it was that while our four men had of late been always nagging and quarrelling with one another over every little trifle, we ourselves had never disagreed for a minute. Our only solution was that there was nothing at all we could have argued about, for both our minds were bent heart and soul on the same object, namely, the accomplishment of what we had undertaken to do.

As we had seen signs of mankind, we began to talk over plans. We decided that when we reached a locality abounding in game, to leave three men and one mule there, and ourselves, with the other man and two mules, lightly loaded, to make enormous marches, and find people and bring back assistance with the greatest possible expedition. Thus, filled with these thoughts, both of the past and of the future, we continued our march in silence, so gloomy was the day. The daily practice of exploring on ahead had made the work of always keeping a sharp look out in front, to right and left of our route, habitual to us all.

Suddenly, in the dull light, I noticed far down the river, on the stretch of pasture lands that extended to the hills on the other side, something of whitish appearance. This at first, by means of our glasses, we made out to be a number of stone houses. Yet the idea seemed so ridiculous to us that we declared it was only some irregularities of the ground, such as we had often seen before, and conjured up into no end of impossible resemblances.

The dull, gloomy day had doubtless made us less sanguine of help than we usually were. Nevertheless, we still kept our eyes on the thing, and halted every three or four hundred yards to inspect again with our glasses, but only to repeat once more, "Merely irregularities of the ground." At length we reached a piece of rising ground, where another inspection produced the words, "Merely irregularities," and, "Stop a moment! Some one else have a look," I called, as I held out my glasses for the nearest man to take, stating, "I think it must be something else than 'merely irregularities of the ground.'"