which it was first visible. The descent was very laborious,
a great part of it being covered with loose gravel
or coarse sand, produced by the disintegration of the
granite rocks. There was rather more vegetation than
on the opposite face, and I collected a number of plants
which I had not recently met with; a Nepeta, Scrophu-
lana, Cicer, and Heracleum, and two shrubby Potentilla,
were the commonest species. One of the species of
Potentilla {P. discolor of Jacquemont) was remarkable
for exciting violent sneezing when touched or shaken;
this curious property seemed to be owing to a very fine
dust which covered the under surface of the leaves.
After reaching the surface of the alluvial platform
overhanging the stream, about half a mile of gentle
ascent among large stones brought me, after a journey
of ten miles, to my encamping ground. This was a level
spot, close to a lateral torrent, which had its source in
a snow-bed in the mountains on the left, and was rushing
in a most impetuous milk-white torrent over immense
boulders, to unite itself to the main stream. The elevation
of my camp was about 14,000 feet.
On the morning of the 11th, at starting, I crossed the
torrent close to camp. Although much less considerable
than it had been the previous afternoon, still, from its
great rapidity and the number of boulders in its bed,
the crossing was not accomplished without difficulty by
the laden animals, who carried the greater part of my
baggage. I crossed it myself by leaping' from boulder
to boulder, which would have been quite impossible in
the afternoon of the previous day, when it was swollen by
the action of the sun upon the snow. The road lay up
the valley parallel to the river, among a most extraordinary
accumulation of granite boulders of all sizes, from
one to ten feet in diameter, piled upon one another in
vast heaps, and evidently transported by a former glacier.
After about half a mile, I crossed the river by a wooden
bridge of two or three beams, which must have been
brought from Nubra for the purpose, as no timber of any
sort grows in the valley. The stream was very rapid
and muddy, A mile further, a torrent descending from
the mountains on the right was crossed, and soon after I
got upon the bank of the main stream, now more tranquil
and fordable. The road for the remainder of the
march lay. along its left bank, over boulders and gravel,
ascending now and then a little way on steep sloping
banks, entirely composed of transported materials. I
encamped on a level, somewhat grassy spot of ground,
which was, evidently commonly used as a halting-place,
having travelled only four and a half miles, an unnecessarily
short day’s work. I had throughout my journey
had considerable difficulty in fixing the marches at proper
lengths, the inhabitants having no measure of distance
but the day’s journey. 'In the present instance, my tent
was pitched, and most of the party, had commenced to
cook, or were dispersed to collect fuel, long before my
arrival, so that I was obliged to rest content for the day.
The course travelled during the day had been north-
north-east, but I had evidently arrived nearly as far as was
practicable in that direction, for about half a mile in front
was the bluff end of a very large glacier, filling up the
continuation of the valley. This glacier, which was nearly
half a mile wide, was covered almost entirely with stones