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300 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
look out and be perpetually on the alert. A shepherd whom
we met gave us news that was anything but encouraging.
His horse had come down in the middle of the torrent, and
he had lost the whole of its load, consisting of bread, maize
and clothing. And, in truth, it was an exciting ride. The
bottom of the stream was full of huge blocks of granite,
rounded and water-worn, amidst which the torrent thun-
dered and boiled amid tossing showers of spray. If a horse
trod on one of these bare slippery stones he had hard work
to keep his footing, and if he stepped between them he ran a
risk of getting stuck fast. What caused me the most un-
easiness were the cases containing my instruments, photo-
graphic apparatus and photographic plates. At every ford
a couple of the men used to strip themselves half naked and
go into the water bare-legged to find out how deep it was.
Tlien the horses were led across one by one and with the
utmost caution by three men. Upon reaching a ford that
was easier than usual one of our two mules refused to
follow the horses, but tried to go at the side, where the
water was flowing in a deep channel. She was, however,
caught by the current, which carried her a little way down
the stream and then flimg her on a bank of gravel. Without
a moment’s hesitation the two Cossacks plunged into the
water with their clothes on and succeeded in rescuing her,
though we lost the whole of the load she was carrying,
namely, flour and bread.
The fourth day brought us up to the pass of Yaman-
davan, a ver}^ suitable name, for the word means " bad
pass." The glen we were following contracted to a narrow
gorge, and the ascent grew so steep that we all preferred
to get off and walk. The loads kept slipping first to one
side and then to the other, and then back to the horses’ tails,
and we had to stop incessantly to put them right. The
summit of the pass was as sharp drawn as a knife-blade.
From the pinnacle of an adjacent crag our ascent was
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