half a mile south of Khumling.

The Jolinkan River, rising from the snow field to the East of the Lebung
or Jolinkan Pass, had now to be crossed. The stalwart dacoit, ever ready
to make himself useful, conveyed his load across, and lifting me like a
feather on to his back, saved me from plunging higher than my waist into
the bitterly cold water, whereas he was covered up to his neck. The
course of the Kuti turns now to 330 deg. (b.m.). Going up and down small
barren hills, round the foot of high mountains, we attained an altitude
of 15,000 feet. Here, to the left of the track, and eighty feet above it,
is a small and beautiful lake 500 yards long and 400 wide. Its waters, in
which the high snowy peaks round it are reflected as in a silver mirror,
find an outlet in a short but most precipitous river flowing with
tremendous force into the Kuti. Soon after leaving this lake we came upon
another small sheet of water, near which were thirteen peculiar piles or
columns of stones, each one having been erected by the first Tibetan or
Shoka who crossed the pass during the summer. A similar erection could
also be seen perched on a large rock jutting out from the water of the
larger lake. Though the sun was fast going down behind the mountains to
the west, we pressed on, trying to make as much headway as we could
towards the perpetual snows. We still travelled over undulating ground,
and the marching was not heavy or difficult, save for the freezingly cold
and very rapid streams we had to wade through. It was all we could do to
get warm again after having been immersed in one, and before we had
ceased shivering we had to wade through the next, and yet the next, so
that one's chilliness increased, and the constant discomfort of cold
became very trying. Much discontent prevailed among my carriers over the
very long march, as their feet were numbed with cold. They nearly
mutinied when I would not let them stop at a camp they had selected, but
ordered them to proceed farther. A mile and a half from the point they
had favoured, we overlooked a large, flat basin of stones and gravel,
about half a mile wide and three-quarters of a mile long, which had the
appearance of having formerly been a lake. It was surrounded by high
snowy peaks, and its bed lay at an altitude of 15,400 feet. It seemed as
if the immense quantity of stones and pebbles carried by the river
feeding it had raised its bed until it had caused the water to flow into
the Ku