f my rifle, I
sent him about his business. The man lacked the qualities of a murderer,
but I felt I had better see that no other disturbance took place during
the night. It is true that two men attempted to crawl out of camp and
desert, but I discovered this and stopped them in time. At last the sun
rose, and the night ended with all its troubles and anxieties.

[20] Sigatz, usually called "Shigatze" by English people.

CHAPTER XXXVII

A Tibetan guard's encampment--Nattoo volunteers to be a
guide--Treachery and punishment of the Shokas--All ways forward
barred to me--Evading the soldiers by another perilous march at
night--Mansing again lost--A marvellous phenomenon--Sufferings of
my men--Severe cold.

ON my last scouting journey up the hill above the camp, I had espied, by
the aid of my telescope, the encampment of a guard of Tibetans, about
three miles north of us, and I informed my followers of this fact.

In the morning, when we again dug up the main part of our baggage and
made ready to start, one of the men, the Kutial Nattoo, came forward and
professed to be able to guide us directly to the Mansarowar Lake. He
seemed very anxious to undertake this task, saying that there would be no
chance of detection by the route he knew, and consequently we might march
during the daytime.

We started up the creek, led by this man, and I was astonished at the
willingness with which the Shokas agreed to proceed. In a little time I
felt convinced that he was deliberately taking us to the spot I most
wished to avoid. On my remonstrating and stopping further progress in
that direction, the Shokas mutinied and, depositing their loads, tried to
escape, but my bearer quickly barred their way ahead in the narrow creek
and I prevented their escape from the opposite side, so they had to
surrender. Painful as it was to me, I had to severely punish them all,
and while I took care that no one should bolt, Chanden Sing took special
pleasure in knocking them about until they were brought back to their
senses. On being closely cross-examined, they openly confessed that they
had made a plot to hand me over to the Tibetan guard, in order to escape
the horrors of torture by the Tibetans. This last act of treachery,
coming after what had happened during the night, and from the very men
whom I had just been more than lenient towards, was too much for me, and
I used a stick, which Chanden Sing handed me, very