In the forbidden land, an account of a journey into Tibet . wall, and this latter discovery made me feel quiteconfident that I was on the high-road to Lhassa. Abouteight miles off to the north-northwest were high snowypeaks, and as we went farther we found a lofty mountainrange, with still higher peaks, three miles behind it. Wehad travelled half-way across the waterless plain, whenw^e noticed a number of soldiers heads and matchlockspopping in and out from behind a distant hill. After awhile they came out in numbers to observe our move-ments, then retired again behind the hill. We proceed-ed,
In the forbidden land, an account of a journey into Tibet . wall, and this latter discovery made me feel quiteconfident that I was on the high-road to Lhassa. Abouteight miles off to the north-northwest were high snowypeaks, and as we went farther we found a lofty mountainrange, with still higher peaks, three miles behind it. Wehad travelled half-way across the waterless plain, whenw^e noticed a number of soldiers heads and matchlockspopping in and out from behind a distant hill. After awhile they came out in numbers to observe our move-ments, then retired again behind the hill. We proceed-ed, but when we were still half a mile from them they 48 A MIRAGE—PERHAPS abandoned their hiding-place and galloped away beforeus, raising clouds of dust. From a hill 16,200 feet, overwhich the track crossed, we perceived a group of veryhigh snowy peaks about eight miles distant. Betweenthem and us stood a range of hills cut by a valley, alongwhich flowed a river carrying a large volume of we followed to 126° (b. m.), and, having found a suit-. AN EFFECT OF MIRAGE able fording-place, we crossed over at a spot where thestream was twenty - five yards across, and the waterreached up to our waists. We found here another maniwall with large inscriptions on stones, and, as the wind wasvery high and cutting, we made use of it to shelter our-selves. Within the angle comprised between bearings 240°and 120° (b. m.) we could observe a very high snowy moun-tain range in the distance (the great Himahlyan chain), andlower hill ranges even as near as three miles from camp. 49 IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND The river we had just crossed flowed into the Brahmaputra,and we were now at an elevation of 15,700 feet. We sawplainly at sunset a number of black tents before us atbearings 120°; we calculated them to be two miles counted about sixty, as well as hundreds of blackyaks. At sunrise the next morning, much to our surprise,thev had all vanished; nor, on marchins: in the directio
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