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THROUGH THE GORGE
the north and on the south a peak, which, I believe,
is known in the surveys as D 114, allows the road to
Lhasa to creep along far down between the gigantic
ice-fields. To the north and to the south this uplifted
stretch of snow is carried onwards, terminated to the
north by the abrupt valley of the Rong chu, to the
south curving eastwards and forming the snowy southern
frontiers of the basin of the Yam-dok tso. This
description is necessary in order to make clear the
importance and the military skill of the Tibetans’
choice of a position to defend. No flanking movement
is possible, either to the north or to the south,
unless an invading force is willing to wait five days
for the co-operation of any mounted column sent round
by the northern route to come upon the enemy’s rear
from a point within a mile or two of Nagartse. A
reference to the map is here necessary.
After a march of about seven miles from Ra-lung,
the road keeps well away to the right to avoid the marshes
covered with hummocky grass, reeds, stunted primulas,
and, it must be added, quagmires through which the
clear brown waters of the Ra-lung chu run ice-cold from
their snowy source. Across the river the plain still
extends, sweeping upwards between the projecting spurs
of the western hills in long ascending plains of bare
stone. As our force reached this point, it seemed only
possible to continue the march in one direction. The
long plain stretched out in front, ascending gently
until thè farthest limits cut upwards into the sky itself.
But this was no road for a laden force, and, as
a matter of fact, it is not used at all except by shepherds
and goat-herds in the brief summer months. As I
have said, the real road to Lhasa turns suddenly in