loured leather is employed to decorate certain parts,
and a pad covers the seat. A rug is, however, invariably placed over this
pad for comfort, and the short iron stirrups compel one to sit with legs
doubled up, a really not uncomfortable position when one gets used to it.
Breastpiece, crupper, bridle and bit are of leather ornamented with
inlaid metal pieces. Double bags for _tsamba_, butter, &c. are fastened
behind the saddle, together with the inevitable peg and long rope, with
which no Tibetan rider is unprovided, for the tethering of his pony at
night.

[Illustration: SADDLE]

Pack-saddles for yaks are made on the same principle, but are of much
rougher construction, as can be judged from the illustrations,[23] in
which the two saddles I used on my journey are represented. The baggage
is made fast by means of ropes to the two upper bars. To keep the saddle
in position on the yak, and to prevent sores being inflicted, pads and
blankets are laid upon the animal's back. Add to this protection the long
coat possessed by the beast itself, and it will be clear why it very
seldom sustains the slightest injury from these apparently cruel burdens.

[23] See page 223.

CHAPTER LIII

Rain in torrents--A miserable night--A gorge--A gigantic
inscription--Sheltered under boulders--A fresh surprise--Only two
followers left.

WHEN night came on, I did not consider it safe to encamp near the
Tibetans. We moved away, driving our yaks before us and dragging the
newly purchased sheep. We marched two-and-a-half miles, and then halted
in a depression in the ground (16,050 feet), where we had a little
shelter from the wind, which blew with great force. To our right lay a
short range of fairly high mountains running from North to South, and cut
by a gorge, out of which flowed a large stream. At that time of the
evening we could not hope to cross it, but an attempt might be made in
the morning, when the cold of the night would have checked the melting of
the snows. Heavy showers had fallen frequently during the day, and the
moment the sun went down there was a regular downpour. Our little
_tente-d'abri_ had been pitched, but we had to clear out of it a couple
of hours later, the small basin in which we had pitched it having been
turned into a regular pond. There was no alternative for us but to come
out into the open, for where the water did not flood us the wind was so
high and the ground so moist that it