CHAPTER IV.

Aspect of the Koukou-Noor--Tribes of Kolos--Chronicle of 98 the Origin of the Blue Sea--Description and March of the Great Caravan--Passage of the Pouhain-Gol--Adventures of the Altere-Lama--Character of our pro-cameleer--Mongols of Tsaidam--Pestilential Vapours of the Bourhan-Bota--Ascent of the Chuga and Bayen-Kharat Mountains--Wild Cattle--Wild Mules--Men and Animals Killed with the Cold--Encounter with Brigands--Plateau of Tant-La--Hot Springs--Conflagration in the Desert--Village of Na-Ptchu--Sale of Camels, and Hiring of Long-tailed Oxen--Young Chaberon of the Kingdom of Khartchin--Cultivated Plains of Pompou--Mountain of the Remission of Sins--Arrival at Lha-Ssa