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  THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
  NEW YORK. BOSTON. CHICAGO
  ATLANTA. SAN FRANCISCO

  MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
  LONDON. BOMBAY. CALCUTTA
  MELBOURNE

  THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
  TORONTO


[Illustration: 1. LORD MINTO, VICEROY OF INDIA. _Frontispiece_]




              TRANS-HIMALAYA


    DISCOVERIES AND ADVENTURES IN TIBET

                    BY

                SVEN HEDIN


  WITH 388 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS, WATER-COLOUR
  SKETCHES, AND DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR
  AND 10 MAPS

  IN TWO VOLUMES
  VOL. I

  New York
  THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
  1909

  _All rights reserved_




  COPYRIGHT, 1909,
  BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

       *       *       *       *       *

  Set up and electrotyped. Published December, 1909.

  Norwood Press
  J. S. Cushing Co.--Berwick & Smith Co.
  Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.


  TO

  HIS EXCELLENCY

  THE EARL OF MINTO

  VICEROY OF INDIA

  WITH GRATITUDE AND ADMIRATION

  FROM THE AUTHOR




PREFACE


In the first place I desire to pay homage to the memory of my patron,
King Oskar of Sweden, by a few words of gratitude. The late King showed
as warm and intelligent an interest in my plan for a new expedition as
he had on former occasions, and assisted in the fulfilment of my project
with much increased liberality.

I estimated the cost of the journey at 80,000 kronor (about L4400), and
this sum was subscribed within a week by my old friend Emmanuel Nobel,
and my patrons, Frederik Loewenadler, Oscar Ekman, Robert Dickson,
William Olsson, and Henry Ruffer, banker in London. I cannot adequately
express my thanks to these gentlemen. In consequence of the political
difficulties I encountered in India, which forced me to make wide
detours, the expenses were increased by about 50,000 kronor (L2800), but
this sum I was able to draw from my own resources.

As on former occasions, I have this time also to thank Dr. Nils Ekholm
for his great kindness in working out the absolute heights. The three
lithographic maps have been compiled from my original sheets with
painstaking care by Lieutenant C. J. Otto Kjellstroem, who devoted all
his furlough to this troublesome work. The astronomical points, nearly
one hundred, have been calculated by the Assistant Roth of the Stockholm
Observatory; a few points, which appeared doubtful, were omitted in
drawing the route on the map, which is based on points previously
determined. The map illustrating my narrative in the _Geographical
Journal_, April 1909, I drew roughly from memory without consulting the
original sheets, for I had no time to spare; the errors which naturally
crept in have been corrected on the new maps, but I wish to state here
the cause of the discrepancy. The final maps, which I hope to publish in
a voluminous scientific work, will be distinguished by still greater
accuracy and detail.

I claim not the slightest artistic merit for my drawings, and my
water-colours are extremely defective both in drawing and colouring. One
of the pictures, the lama opening the door of the mausoleum, I left
unfinished in my haste; it has been thrown in with the others, with the
wall-paintings and shading incomplete. To criticize these slight
attempts as works of art would be like wasting gunpowder on dead crows.
For the sake of variety several illustrations have been drawn by the
British artists De Haenen and T. Macfarlane, but it must not be assumed
that these are fanciful productions. Every one of them is based on
outline drawings by myself, a number of photographs, and a full
description of the scene. De Haenen's illustrations appeared in the
London _Graphic_, and were ordered when I was still in India.
Macfarlane's drawings were executed this summer, and I was able to
inspect his designs and approve of them before they were worked up.

As to the text, I have endeavoured to depict the events of the journey
as far as the limited space permitted, but I have also imprudently
allowed myself to touch on subjects with which I am not at all
familiar--I allude in particular to Lamaism. It has been unfortunate
that I had to write the whole book in 107 days, during which many hours
were taken up with work connected with the maps and illustrations and by
an extensive correspondence with foreign publishers, especially Albert
Brockhaus of Leipzig, who never wearied in giving me excellent advice.
The whole work has been hurried, and the book from beginning to end is
like a vessel which ventures out into the ocean of the world's tumult
and of criticism with many leaks and cracks.

My thanks are also due to my father, who made a clean copy from my
illegible manuscript; and to my mother, who has saved me from many
mistakes. Dr. Carl Forstrand has revised both the manuscript and the
proof-sheets, and has compiled the Swedish index.

       *       *       *       *       *

The seven and thirty Asiatics who followed me faithfully through Tibet,
and contributed in no small degree to the successful issue and results
of the expedition, have had the honour of receiving from His Majesty the
King of Sweden gold and silver medals bearing the portrait of the King,
a crown, and an inscription. I humbly beg His Majesty to accept my
warmest and most sincere thanks for his great generosity.

The book is dedicated to Lord Minto, as a slight testimony of my
gratitude for all his kindness and hospitality. It had been Lord Minto's
intention to further my plans as Lord Curzon would have done if he had
still been Viceroy of India, but political considerations prevented him.
When, however, I was actually in Tibet, the Viceroy was free to use his
influence with the Tashi Lama, and the consequence was that many doors
in the forbidden land, formerly tightly closed, were opened to me.

Dear reminiscences of India hovered about my lonesome years in dreary
Tibet like the pleasant rustling of palm leaves. It will suffice to
mention men like Lord Kitchener, in whose house I spent a week never to
be forgotten; Colonel Dunlop Smith, who took charge of my notes and
maps and sent them home, and also forwarded a whole caravan of
necessaries to Gartok; Younghusband, Patterson, Ryder, Rawling, and many
others. And, lastly, Colonel Longe, Surveyor-General, and Colonel
Burrard, of the Survey of India, who, with the greatest kindness, had my
900 map-sheets of Tibet photographed, and stored the negatives among
their records in case the originals should be lost, and who, after I had
placed my 200 map-sheets of Persia at the disposal of the Indian
Government, had them worked up in the North-Western Frontier Drawing
Office and combined into a fine map of eleven printed sheets--a map
which is to be treated as "confidential" until my scientific works have
appeared.

It is with the greatest pleasure that I avail myself of this opportunity
of expressing my sincere gratitude for all the innumerable tokens of
sympathy and appreciation which I received in all parts of the United
Kingdom, and for all the honours conferred on me by Societies, and the
warm welcome I met with from the audiences I had the pleasure of
addressing. I shall always cherish a proud and happy remembrance of the
two months which it was my good-fortune to spend in the British Isles;
and the kindness then showered upon me was the more delightful because
it was extended also to two of my sisters, who accompanied me.

Were I to mention all the ladies and gentlemen to whom I am especially
indebted, I could fill several pages. But I cannot let this book go
forth through the English-speaking world without expressing my sincere
gratitude to Lord Curzon for the great and encouraging interest he has
always taken in myself and my journeys; to Lord Morley for the brilliant
speech he delivered after my first lecture--the most graceful compliment
ever paid me, as well as for many other marks of kindness and sympathy
shown to me by the Secretary of State for India; to the Swedish
Minister in London, Count Herman Wrangel, for all the valuable services
he rendered me during and after my journey; to Major Leonard Darwin and
the Council and Members of the Royal Geographical Society, to whom I was
delighted to return, not as a strange guest, but as an old friend; to
the famous and illustrious Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, where I
was overwhelmed with exceptional honours and boundless hospitality; to
the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, where twice before I had
received a warm reception. Well, when I think of those charming days in
England and Scotland I am inclined to dwell too long upon them, and I
must hasten to a conclusion. But there is one more name, which I have
left to the last, because it has been very dear to me for many years,
that of Dr. J. Scott Keltie. The general public will never know what it
means to be the Secretary and mainspring of the Royal Geographical
Society, to work year after year in that important office in Savile Row,
to receive explorers from all corners of the world and satisfy all their
demands, without ever losing patience or ever hearing a word of thanks.
I can conceive from my own experience how much trouble I have caused Dr.
Keltie, but yet he has always met me with the same amiability and has
always been a constant friend, whether I have been at home or away for
years on long journeys.

Dr. M. A. Stein started and returned from his splendid journey in
Central Asia at the same times as myself. We crossed different parts of
the old continent, but we have several interests in common, and I am
glad to congratulate Dr. Stein most heartily on his important
discoveries and the brilliant results he has brought back.

It is my intention to collect in a third volume all the material for
which there is no room in _Trans-Himalaya_. For instance, I have been
obliged to omit a description of the march northwards from the source
of the Indus and of the journey over the Trans-Himalaya to Gartok, as
well as of the road from Gartok to Ladak, and the very interesting route
from the Nganglaring-tso to Simla. I have also had to postpone the
description of several monasteries to a later opportunity. In this
future book I will also record my recollections of beautiful, charming
Japan, where I gained so many friends, and of Korea, Manchuria, and Port
Arthur. The manuscript of this later volume is already finished, and I
long for the opportunity of publicly thanking the Japanese, as well as
our representative in Japan and China, the Minister Extraordinary,
Wallenberg, for all the delightful hospitality and all the honours
showered down on me in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Lastly, the appetite of young people for adventures will be satisfied in
an especial work.

I am glad to be able to announce at the eleventh hour that the Madrassi
Manuel, who in Chapter IX. was reported lost, has at length been found
again.

In conclusion, I must say a few words of thanks to my publishers, and
first of all to Herre K. O. Bonnier of Stockholm, for his valuable
co-operation and the elegant form in which he has produced my book, and
then to the firm of F. A. Brockhaus, Leipzig; the "Elsevier" Uitgevers
Maatschappij, Amsterdam; Hachette & C^ie, Paris; "Kansa," Suomalainen
Kustannus-O-Y, Helsingfors; the Robert Lampel Buchhandlung (F. Wodianer
& Soehne) Act.-Ges., Budapest; Macmillan & Co., Ltd., London and New
York; J. Otto, Prague; Fratelli Treves, Milan.

  SVEN HEDIN.

  STOCKHOLM, _September_, 1909.




CONTENTS


    CHAPTER I                                    PAGE
  SIMLA                                             1

    CHAPTER II
  DEPARTURE FROM SRINAGAR                          21

    CHAPTER III
  THE ROAD TO LEH                                  35

    CHAPTER IV
  THE LAST PREPARATIONS                            46

    CHAPTER V
  THE START FOR TIBET                              60

    CHAPTER VI
  TO THE EDGE OF THE TIBETAN TABLELAND             72

    CHAPTER VII
  OVER THE CREST OF THE KARAKORUM                  84

    CHAPTER VIII
  TO LAKE LIGHTEN                                  97

    CHAPTER IX
  ON THE LAKE IN A STORM                          106

    CHAPTER X
  DEATH IN THE JAWS OF WOLVES--OR SHIPWRECK       119

    CHAPTER XI
  GREAT LOSSES                                    132

    CHAPTER XII
  IN UNKNOWN COUNTRY                              146

    CHAPTER XIII
  UNFORTUNATE DAYS                                158

    CHAPTER XIV
  IN THE LAND OF THE WILD YAK                     171

    CHAPTER XV
  THE FIRST NOMADS                                181

    CHAPTER XVI
  OUR FORTUNES ON THE WAY TO THE BOGTSANG-TSANGPO 196

    CHAPTER XVII
  CHRISTMAS IN THE WILDS                          211

    CHAPTER XVIII
  TEN DAYS ON THE ICE OF NGANGTSE-TSO             223

    CHAPTER XIX
  DRIVEN BACK                                     236

    CHAPTER XX
  ONWARDS THROUGH THE FORBIDDEN LAND              249

    CHAPTER XXI
  OVER THE TRANS-HIMALAYA                         264

    CHAPTER XXII
  TO THE BANK OF THE BRAHMAPUTRA                  276

    CHAPTER XXIII
  DOWN THE TSANGPO BY BOAT--ENTRY INTO SHIGATSE   288

    CHAPTER XXIV
  THE NEW YEAR FESTIVAL                           301

    CHAPTER XXV
  THE TASHI LAMA                                  317

    CHAPTER XXVI
  THE GRAVES OF THE PONTIFFS                      329

    CHAPTER XXVII
  POPULAR AMUSEMENTS OF THE TIBETANS              340

    CHAPTER XXVIII
  MONKS AND PILGRIMS                              347

    CHAPTER XXIX
  WALKS IN TASHI-LUNPO--THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD  361

    CHAPTER XXX
  OUR LIFE IN SHIGATSE                            374

    CHAPTER XXXI
  POLITICAL COMPLICATIONS                         388

    CHAPTER XXXII
  TARTING-GOMPA AND TASHI-GEMBE                   402

    CHAPTER XXXIII
  THE RAGA-TSANGPO AND THE MY-CHU                 415

    CHAPTER XXXIV
  TO LINGA-GOMPA                                  427




ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                                  PAGE
  1. Lord Minto, Viceroy of India                       _Frontispiece_

  2. Colonel Sir Francis Younghusband, Commander of the English
       Expedition to Tibet, Resident in Kashmir                     10

  3. Colonel J. R. Dunlop Smith, Private Secretary to the Viceroy   10

  4. Viceregal Lodge in Simla                                       12

  5. Lady Minto and the Author on the Terrace of the Viceregal
       Lodge                                                        14

  6. Herbert, Viscount Kitchener of Khartum, Late Commander-in-Chief
       of the Indian Army                                           18

  7. The Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir                              22

  8. Palace of H.H. the Maharaja of Kashmir in Srinagar             26

  9. The Jhelam in Srinagar                                         28

  10. The Start from Ganderbal                                      30

  11. My Escort                                                     30

  12. My Three Puppies                                              32

  13. Robert, the Eurasian                                          32

  14. Ganpat Sing, the Rajput                                       32

  15. Manuel, the Cook                                              32

  16. In Front of Nedou's Hotel in Srinagar                         34

  17. Some of our Mules                                             34

  18. An Amateur Photographer photographed                          34

  19. The Road to Baltal                                            38

  20. Kargil                                                        40

  21. Chhorten in Lamayuru                                          40

  22. Church Music in Lamayuru                                      42

  23. Portrait of a Lama                                            42

  24. Portrait of a Lama                                            42

  25. The Sumto Valley                                              44

  26. Bridge of Alchi                                               44

  27. Girl in Niemo                                                 44

  28, 29. Palace of the Kings of Ladak in Leh                       44

  30. Muhamed Isa                                                   46

  31. Guffaru                                                       52

  32. The Raja of Stok                                              56

  33. Portal of the Palace in Leh                                   56

  34. View over the Indus Valley from the Roof of the Palace in Leh 56

  35. Lama of High Rank in Leh                                      56

  36. Monuments to Stoliczka and Dalgleish, Leh                     58

  37. Religious Objects from Sanskar                                60

  38. Images of Gods. A miniature Chhorten on the right. Holy
        Books, Temple Vessels. On either side of the small
        Altar-table wooden blocks with which the Holy Books are
        printed                                                     60

  39. Tikze-gompa, Monastery in Ladak                               62

  40. Masked Lamas in the Court of Ceremonies in Hemis-gompa
        (Ladak)                                                     64

  41. Group of Masked Lamas in Hemis-gompa                          64

  42. From Singrul, looking towards the Pass, Chang-la              66

  43. View from Sultak, August 17, 1906                             66

  44. Drugub                                                        66

  45. My old friend Hiraman from Ladak                              70

  46. Chiefs of Tankse and Pobrang; Muhamed Isa, the Caravan
        Leader, in the Background                                   70

  47. The Way to the Marsimik-la                                    74

  48. Spanglung                                                     74

  49. Spanglung                                                     78

  50. Camp near Pamzal                                              78

  51. The Chang-chenmo and the Way to Gogra                         78

  52. Muhamed Isa in the River Chang-chenmo near Pamzal             80

  53. Rabsang, Adul, Tsering, and Muhamed Isa                       82

  54. Our Horses at the Karakorum                                   82

  55. In the Snow, N.E. of Chang-lung-yogma                         86

  56. My Tent                                                       86

  57. Lake Lighten                                                  86

  58a, 58b. Pantholops Antelope                                     90

  59, 60. Ovis Ammon                                                90

  61. A Gully at Camp 8 (Aksai-chin)                                94

  62. The hired Ladakis and the Provision Sacks in North-West
        Chang-tang                                                  98

  63. Namgyal with a Sack of Yak-dung                               98

  64. Shelter of Provision Sacks                                   100

  65. Camp in a narrow Valley, Camp 41                             100

  66. Robert, Muhamed Isa, and two Servants by a Fire              100

  67. The large piebald Yarkand Horse                              104

  68, 69. The Slain Yaks; Tundup Sonam, the Hunter on the left
        in 68                                                      104

  70. Rehim Ali, one of my Ladakis on the First Crossing of
        Tibet                                                      108

  71. Starting on a Voyage                                         110

  72. In Peril on Lake Lighten                                     112

  73. The Author and Rehim Ali pull the Boat out of the Waves up
        on to the Shore                                            116

  74. Camp at the Yeshil-kul                                       118

  75. The Pul-tso, looking East                                    118

  76. Horses and Mules in open Country                             118

  77. Death in the Jaws of Wolves--or Shipwreck                    122

  78. A Dangerous Situation on the Yeshil-kul. In Moonshine        126

  79. At Deasy's Camp                                              132

  80. Afternoon Tea in the open Air                                132

  81. Melting Snow for Drinking-Water                              132

  82. Preparations for Dinner at Camp 41                           152

  83. The Author, Robert, and Rehim Ali attacked by a wounded
        Yak                                                        170

  84. Rehim Ali falls to the Ground and thus rescues us from the
        furious Yak                                                174

  85, 86. The First Tibetans                                       180

  87. Smoking Camp-fires in the Heart of Chang-tang                186

  88. Our Yaks, bought from the First Tibetans                     186

  89. "Where are you going?" they asked me                         200

  90. Near the Dangra-yum-tso                                      216

  91, 92, 93. On the Ngangtse-tso                                  226

  94. In a Snowstorm on the Ice of the Ngangtse-tso                234

  95. Hlaje Tsering and his Travelling Companion, a Lama, at my
        Tent on the Ngangtse-tso                                   242

  96. Servants of Hlaje Tsering                                    252

  97. Messenger with Letters from Home, and his Travelling
        Companion                                                  252

  98. Hlaje Tsering setting out                                    252

  99. Three Tibetans saluting                                      264

  100. Pass of La-rock. _Mani_ Heap with Fluttering
         Prayer-Streamers                                          274

  101. On the Bank of the Tsangpo (Brahmaputra)                    274

  102. The Tsangpo with Floating Ice                               282

  103. The Valley of the Tsangpo above Shigatse                    282

  104. House in the Village of Rungma                              286

  105. Garden of the Tashi Lama in the Village of Tanak            286

  106. Ferry-Boats                                                 290

  107. Pilgrims on the Way to Tashi-lunpo                          290

  108. Court of Religious Ceremonies in Tashi-lunpo                296

  109. Religious Decorations on the Roofs of Tashi-lunpo to
         exorcise Evil Spirits                                     296

  110. The Upper Balcony of the Court of Ceremonies in
         Tashi-lunpo                                               300

  111, 112. The _Profanum Vulgus_ at the New Year Festival in
       Shigatse                                                    304

  113. Lama with Shell-Trumpet                                     306

  114. Lama with Flute used in Religious Services                  306

  115, 116, 117. Lamas in Dancing Masks                            308

  118. View of Tashi-lunpo                                         310

  119. Street in Tashi-lunpo, with Lamas                           312

  120. Street in Tashi-lunpo                                       314

  121. The Labrang, the Palace of the Tashi Lama                   316

  122. Interior of the Palace of the Tashi Lama                    322

  123. View of a Part of Tashi-lunpo, with the Facade of a
         Mausoleum of a Grand Lama                                 324

  124. Facade of the Mausoleum of the First Tashi Lama. The
         Court of Ceremonies in the Foreground                     326

  125, 126. Interiors of two Mausoleums of Grand Lamas in
       Tashi-lunpo                                                 328

  127. The Kanjur-lhakang in Tashi-lunpo                           330

  128. Portal of the Mausoleum of the Third Tashi Lama in
         Tashi-lunpo                                               332

  129. The Namgyal-lhakang with the Figure of Tsong Kapa, in
         Tashi-lunpo                                    _Coloured_ 334

  130. Reading Lama with Dorche (Thunderbolt) and Drilbu
         (Prayer-Bell)                                             336

  131. Lama with Prayer-Drum                                       336

  132. Entrance to the Tomb of the Fifth Tashi Lama in
         Tashi-lunpo                                    _Coloured_ 338

  133. Staircase to the Mausoleum of the Fifth Tashi Lama in
         Tashi-lunpo                                               340

  134. Shigatse-dzong (the Fortress)                               342

  135. Shigatse, Capital of the Province of Chang (11,880 feet)    344

  136. Chinese New Year Festival in my Garden                      346

  137. Some of the Members in the Shooting Competition at the New
         Year Festival                                             346

  138. Popular Diversion in Shigatse                               348

  139. Nepalese performing Symbolical Dances at the New Year
         Festival                                                  350

  140. Dancing Nepalese at the New Year Festival, Tashi-lunpo      352

  141. The Kitchen in Tashi-lunpo                                  354

  142. Colonnade in Tashi-lunpo                                    354

  143. Lamas drinking Tea in the Court of Ceremonies in
         Tashi-lunpo                                               358

  144. Part of Shigatse                                            362

  145. The Tashi Lama returning to the Labrang after a Ceremony    362

  146. The Panchen Rinpoche, or Tashi Lama                         366

  147. Portrait of the Tashi Lama                                  370

  148. Lamas with Copper Tea-pots                                  374

  149. Female Pilgrim from Nam-tso and Mendicant Lama              374

  150. The Great Red Gallery of Tashi-lunpo                        376

  151. Chhorten in Tashi-lunpo                                     378

  152. Portal in Tashi-lunpo                                       380

  153. Group of Lamas in Tashi-lunpo                               380

  154. Lecture in Tashi-lunpo                                      382

  155. Female Pilgrims from the Nam-tso                            384

  156. Tibetans in Shigatse                                        384

  157, 158, 159. Tibetan Girl and Women in Shigatse                386

  160. A Chinaman in Shigatse                                      388

  161. A Tibetan in Shigatse                                       388

  162. A Lama in Tashi-lunpo                                       388

  163. Door-keeper in Tsong Kapa's Temple                          388

  164. Dancing Boys with Drums                                     390

  165. Wandering Nun with a Tanka depicting a Religious Legend
         and singing the Explanation. (In our Garden at Shigatse.) 394

  166. Gandaen-choeding-gompa, a Nunnery in Ye                       394

  167. Duke Kung Gushuk, Brother of the Tashi Lama                 398

  168. The little Brother of the Tashi Lama, the Wife of Kung
         Gushuk, and her five Servants                             402

  169. The little Brother of His Holiness with a Servant           404

  170. The Author drawing the Duchess Kung Gushuk                  406

  171. Major W. F. O'Connor, British Trade Agent in Gyangtse, now
         Consul in Seistan                                         408

  172. Captain C. G. Rawling                                       408

  173, 174. Tarting-gompa                                          410

  175. Linga-gompa                                                 410

  176. Lung-Ganden-gompa near Tong                                 410

  177. Inscription and Figure of Buddha carved in Granite near
         the Village of Lingoe                                      410

  178. Tarting-gompa                                               412

  179. Sego-chummo Lhakang in Tarting-gompa                        412

  180. Bridge to the Monastery Pinzoling (on the right)            414

  181. Group of Tibetans in the Village of Tong                    418

  182. Inhabitants of the Village of Govo                          418

  183. Lama in Tong                                                422

  184. Old Tibetan                                                 422

  185. Strolling Musicians                                         424

  186. The Handsome Woman, Putoen                                   426

  187. On the My-chu near Linga                                    430

  188. Village and Monastery of Linga                              430




MAPS


  1. The Latest Map of Tibet.

  2. Carte Generale du Thibet ou Bout-tan.

  3. Map of Southern Tibet (Hodgson).

  4. The Source-Region of the Brahmaputra (Nain Sing).

  5. Sketch-Map of Webber's Route in 1866.

  6. Saunders' Map of South Tibet.

  7. The Source-Region of the Brahmaputra (Ryder).

    (_At end of Volume._)




CHAPTER I

SIMLA


In the spring of the year 1905 my mind was much occupied with thoughts
of a new journey to Tibet. Three years had passed since my return to my
own country; my study began to be too small for me; at eventide, when
all around was quiet, I seemed to hear in the sough of the wind a voice
admonishing me to "come back again to the silence of the wilderness";
and when I awoke in the morning I involuntarily listened for caravan
bells outside. So the time passed till my plans were ripened and my fate
was soon decided; I must return to the freedom of the desert and hie
away to the broad plains between the snow-clad mountains of Tibet. Not
to listen to this secret voice when it speaks strongly and clearly means
deterioration and ruin; one must resign oneself to the guidance of this
invisible hand, have faith in its divine origin and in oneself, and
submit to the gnawing pain which another departure from home, for so
long a time and with the future uncertain, brings with it.

In the concluding lines of my scientific work on the results of my
former journey (_Scientific Results_) I spoke of the impossibility of
giving a complete description of the internal structure of Tibet, its
mountains and valleys, its rivers and lakes, while so large a part of
the country was still quite unknown. "Under these circumstances," I said
(vol. iv. p. 608), "I prefer to postpone the completion of such a
monograph till my return from the journey on which I am about to start."
Instead of losing myself in conjectures or arriving at confused results
owing to lack of material, I would rather see with my own eyes the
unknown districts in the midst of northern Tibet, and, above all, visit
the extensive areas of entirely unexplored country which stretches to
the north of the upper Brahmaputra and has not been traversed by
Europeans or Indian pundits. Thus much was _a priori_ certain, that this
region presented the grandest problems which remained still unsolved in
the physical geography of Asia. There must exist one or more mountain
systems running parallel with the Himalayas and the Karakorum range;
there must be found peaks and ridges on which the eye of the explorer
had never lighted; turquoise-blue salt lakes in valleys and hollows
reflect the restless passage of the monsoon clouds north-eastwards, and
from their southern margins voluminous rivers must flow down, sometimes
turbulent, sometimes smooth. There, no doubt, were nomad tribes, who
left their winter pastures in spring, and during