Tibetan pony is exempt) were opening again. Two of
the oldest were shot—a kinder act than leaving them
with the Tibetans to attempt to struggle through a
hard winter. Two others, younger and in better condition,
were given to the villagers, and may still be
gracing these wild plains.
The route which the northern party had followed
was found to be but very little better than the one we
had traversed. The going had been heavy and rough,
and the passes numerous. Cultivation had ceased at
a much earlier period of their journey than had been
the case with us. Villages and people were both
scarcer, and trees almost a minus quantity. Altogether
everything'pointed to the probability that, when the
road along the Brahmaputra is properly made, if such
a thing is ever done, the alternative route taken by
Ryder and myself will be the more favoured.
From a zoological point of view their journey had
brought one or two most interesting natural history
events to notice. Wood, for instance, had on one
occasion seen a snow leopard, an animal not supposed
to exist in these parts. What was really of more
importance was, that on another occasion he saw a troop
of monkeys. Now it must be remembered that the
country passed through was destitute of all vegetation
but grass, and that the hills were bare and rocky. One
of Captain Bower’s men, the famous scoundrel Abdul
Khalik, in 1890 reported having seen one monkey
several marches north-west of Lhasa. This had been
doubted by many, and it has never been believed that
monkeys existed in the uplands of Tibet. One day,
near the village of Sang Sang, Wood had been detained
at survey work, and whilst hurrying down the hill
saw, five or six hundred yards away, many animals
moving amongst the rocks. Looking at them through
his glasses, he found them to be a troop of monkeys.
Unfortunately, the day was fast drawing to a close and
he was still far from camp, so felt little inclined to set
out in the opposite direction on what might have been
a fruitless quest. Had he been able to obtain a specimen
then, all doubts as to their nature would have been set
at rest. On hearing of what he had seen, I questioned
the natives carefully, but their answers were as unsatisfactory
as Tibetan answers generally are. Some
declared that there were no such creatures in the
country, while others said that monkeys do exist, but
that they come from Nepal during the summer months.
That some find their way down the northern slopes of
the Himalayas is quite probable, but if they merely
make a summer incursion, they are not likely to be
found here in November, when forty degrees of frost
is being registered nightly. Furthermore, Wood saw
them on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra, a river
they are hardly likely to swim, and which they must
therefore cross by the chain bridges or on the ice, when
the river is frozen during the winter. The conclusion
to be drawn, therefore, is that they are indigenous to
the country.
Hardly had the two parties reunited when it was
determined to again split, in order to explore a great
bend the Tsangpo makes to the south of Sa-ka.
It was arranged, therefore, that Wood and I should
take the more direct route, whilst Ryder and Bailey
followed the course of the river, and as the journey
would occupy at least six days, should travel light,
taking one tent only and relying entirely on hired
transport.