CHAPTER XY
A PLEASANT INTERLUDE
The weather during the last few days had been glorious,
and though the cold increased day by day, for nearly
a month from this date we were favoured with still and
cloudless weather. Our worries and anxieties were
mostly over and were already nearly forgotten, and the
free and healthy life in the midst of fine scenery and
the perfect air combined to make our lot a pleasant
one.
From Aru Tso we struck due west, the caravan
passing right through the mountain range; the path
wound along the bed of a stream at the bottom of a
ravine whose precipitous sides rose sheer above for
many hundreds of feet. As we were now bent on
sport, Hargreaves took a road to the north over the
steeper slopes, whilst I made a wide detour to the
south, passing through a ravine similar to the one
traversed by the caravan.
The invaluable Khalik halted three miles short
of the place previously selected for our encampment,
with the result that I came upon the camp quite
unexpectedly, while Hargreaves was nearly left out all
night. Search-parties supplied with candles were
despatched to look for him as soon as it grew dusk,
and large fires were lighted on the neighbouring knolls;
fortunately he saw the latter, but as the night was as
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dark as pitch and several nullahs intervened between
him and the camp, it was midnight before he arrived,
tired and hungry. Between us we accounted that day
for three fine yaks, though in each case the heads were
disappointing, and the difficulties of transport compelled
us to discard the skull and horns. I had also come
across several herds of burhel, some of which contained
good heads, but with these I was not so fortunate. I
fired at one magnificent specimen, but, being forced to
take a long shot at about 300 yards, misjudged
the distance, with the result that the bullet passed
just over the shoulder.
On arriving in camp, a champa appeared on the
scene; he was not more than thirty years of age, but
was as wrinkled as an old man of ninety. His outward
appearance was not prepossessing—he was indescribably
filthy, wearing the usual sheepskin robe, the wool of
which was matted with blood and dirt, whilst his long
black hair hung in wild profusion round his face. A
sword was stuck through his girdle, the sheath encrusted
with turquoises and coloured stones, while the blade
was of soft iron, chipped and rusty.
seeing him, our thoughts at once turned towards
flour and suttoo; but he declared, with much bowing
and scraping, that he was quite out of these commodities
and had himself been hoping to obtain supplies
from us. He stated that he and his family, together
with sheep, goats and three yaks, one of which was
lame, were slowly travelling towards their home,
distant about eighteen marches farther south. The
two wives and four children all lived together in one
tent, of the usual Tibetan pattern and made out of
yak-hair cloth. We speedily got to business, and
opened up trade by presenting him with the flesh of
the three yaks shot, and bought three of his goats,