o capture the ferry had also, by the time
the main column arrived, penetrated the monastery which overlooked the
river, made friends with the monks, and engaged the services of the
local ferrymen, who all belonged to the monastery. The monks also placed
at our disposal several skin boats. These were curious craft. They
resembled the Welsh coracle in shape, being quite square, but were a
great deal larger, and capable of holding several people at a time. They
consisted merely of skins stretched over thin stays of wood, were very
light, and drew very little water. A man rowed them from one end,
sitting on the gunwale, any old bit of rope being used in place of
rowlocks to attach the rough peel-shaped oars to the sides of the boat.
Sometimes two boats were tied together to make one, in which case one
boatman would row at one end of the now oblong craft, while another,
sitting opposite him and facing him on the gunwale at the far end, would
assist by 'backing water.' Progress was slow in any case.

We had brought with us several 'Berthon' boats, which, consisting as
they did only of canvas stretched on to a wooden framework, and being
divisible into two halves, had been carried along on the backs of
coolies without much difficulty. We had with us also a useful gang of
Attock boatmen, men who knew how to circumvent the eddies and currents
of the Indus in its upper reaches, and who did not fail us on the
Tsangpo. With the two large ferry boats, the skin boats, the Berthon
boats, the Attock boatmen, and the contingent of Tibetan boatmen from
the monastery, all ready to hand, it was possible to begin the crossing
of the river without a moment's delay. Meanwhile, in order to reduce the
number of mules that would otherwise be largely monopolising the large
ferry boats, it was decided to swim some mules across--a work which was
taken in hand at once. At the same time the sappers, who in the
field-park had brought up various appliances for facilitating ferry
work, made haste to set hawsers, 'travellers,' and wires in position for
immediate use. As soon as these contrivances were in working order,
which was not long, the crossing proceeded at a pace which exceeded our
expectations.

But, before the crossing had well begun, the saddest event of the Tibet
Expedition had occurred. We had lost a good many men in action on
various occasions, and a few officers. In the preceding winter there had
been deaths more or less frequent from suc