meat in camp from the time we left Phobrang (June
4th) to September 4th.
After four days, we set forth from this cheerless
neighbourhood at 3 p.m., and as the search for water
proved unavailing, night fell and found us still on the
march; travelling in the dark, however, is a useless
and tiring proceeding, and a halt was accordingly
called on reaching a spot where there was plenty of
grass. It was an unpleasant evening—one of the
“ black days ” which must come on occasions to the
traveller as to everyone else. We dug for water in
vain; the leather water-bags which Khali k had been
expressly ordered to fill were found to be empty;
there was enough water in my bottle for one cup of
tea, but none with which to cook the dinner or next
morning’s breakfast—the men (who had emptied their
bottles on the march) and the ponies were still worse
off, for they had not a drop.
Moreover, two of the party were missing. Hargreaves,
on the road, had found a yak which, on getting
wind of the caravan, had moved away at a slow tro t;
Hargreaves followed, hoping to come upon the beast in
some ravine farther on, but the animal kept steadily
on, drawing Hargreaves farther and farther away until
he realised that pursuit was useless. He then tried to
retrace his steps and pick up the tracks of the ponies,
but found great difficulty in so doing. Shots were
fired at regular intervals from the camp and a large
fire lit to guide him, and had it not been for these
precautions, he would, in all probability, have had to
spend the night in the open.
The other member of the party was not so fortunate
; he was a man from Lhasa, a pony-driver, who
had been sent in the morning a mile to the north to
work the heliograph. The fires were kept burning
all night without any result, and there were no signs
of him in the morning. Not much anxiety was felt
on his behalf, as he knew the general direction in
which the caravan was going, and was aware that
we intended to camp on the following day on the
shores of the large lake previously seen. Before starting
that day, the precaution was taken of agreeing
upon and making everyone clearly understand the
exact position of the next camp; then we divided—
the ponies taking the lowest and easiest route, Hargreaves
moving south, while I went along the ridge.
All subsequently met on the banks of a large freshwater
stream about two miles from the lake into which
it flowed. The missing man was still absent, and not
a sign of him could be found; accordingly, after the
men had had some food, a search-party was organised,
which left camp about 4 p.m., each man carrying
two days’ rations with him. It had been gone less
than an hour, when our gay friend, who had been
causing all the trouble, appeared on the plain to the
north, walking into camp in a jaunty and somewhat
irritating way, as if he had been for a stroll to
stretch his legs.
His story was to the effect that, after completing
his helio work on the previous day, he thought he
could join the caravan by making a short c u t; as a
result, he had lost his way and had spent a miserable
night on the hillside, without fire, food or blankets.
This was a lesson to all to avoid short cuts, as Tibet
is not a country where the benefits and blessings of
fresh air in the open at night can be fully appreciated.