antelope were grazing in all the valleys. The surface
of the lake was dotted with brahmini ducks and barheaded
geese, and innumerable larks filled the air with
their joyful song.
At this camp three days were spent in the hope
that the hired yaks which were on the road would
rejoin with their much-needed loads of grain, flour
and rice; we were again doomed to disappointment,
however, for we could see no sign of them and were
beginning' to fear that their O O owners had deserted,7
although Khalik was quite confident that such was
not the case and that they would arrive almost
immediately.
Ram Singh joined the party during the second day,
having surveyed a considerable stretch of country to
the n o rth ; he had come across a fine, open plain north
of Chutzai, a few miles from our track, with a plentiful
supply of grass and water, whilst herds of wild yaks,
burhel and antelope were so inquisitive and tame that
it was evident they had no fear of man.
During our short halt most of the time was spent
in overhauling stores and in doctoring the ponies.
Hargreaves bagged a few bar-headed geese with the
rifle, the gun being found quite useless as he could not
approach sufficiently near these wily birds. While
also wandering along the shores of the lake on the
look-out for a shot, I almost stepped on a lark’s nest
containing three hatched eggs. It is extraordinary
how the fledglings can exist, seeing that they are
bom at a height of 17,500 feet and exposed to the
full force of the bitter wind and driving snow, while
the thermometer registers 17 to 18 degrees of frost
every night.
On the last day of our halt the weather became
wilder and more threatening. We again repacked the
yakdans and managed by rearrangement to dispense
with three of them, but little was gained by this, as
one of the ponies died during the night from the cold.
There was no lack of care, as each animal had its own
thick saddle, a rug, and a jhool.1
We now matured our plans for the immediate
future. It was arranged that I was to proceed in a
south-easterly direction, taking with me Ram Singh,
Khalik, one cook, twenty-three ponies and their drivers,
and seven of the remaining nine maunds of grain. We
were to make a circuit of from thirteen to fourteen
days’ duration, finally halting at ;'a small hill on
Antelope Plain, the farthest point east visited and
surveyed by Captain Deasy. Hargreaves was to
remain at Arport Tso for another five days, collect
and sort the hired transport which we still hoped would
arrive, then work in an east-north-easterly direction,
taking with him the remaining twenty-four ponies and
their drivers, and reaching our rendezvous on Antelope
Plain by easy stages. His route was marked on the
map, while mine could be easily followed by means of
the plane table and the previously fixed peaks. Khalik
was much opposed to this arrangement, doing all he
could to dissuade us from going on, and urging that we
should at least wait for the grain ; had we taken his
advice, we should still have been resting by Arport Tso.
On the following morning—June 24th—we parted
company amidst much bustle and excitement. Though
we were only to be away for a fortnight, the men
embraced each other and wept copiously—indeed, had
they been going to instant execution they could not
have been more deeply affected, and at one time I
feared that we should never get away at all, so prostrated
with grief were the poor fellows.
1 Jhool = Indian horse-rug.