An Embassy to the Court of the Teshoo Lama in Tibet - Prajna Quest

TIBET. 211rivulets, whose streams unite at a short distance from their sources,and run toG:ether, to feed a larcje hike that covers one corner of theplain. All the ground about it, was white with an incrustation, saltishto the taste : it lay thickest upon the tops of little inequalities in thesurface ; and whether it exudes from the ground, or is the froth blownfrom the lake, I could not at first pronounce ; though on approachingnearer, I was inclined to the former opinion, for I found that the Avaterhad no peculiar flavour. This substance, upon inquiry, I understoodto be of considerable use: it is collected, and employed for cleansingand washing woollen and cotton cloths, as a substitute for soap, towhich they are utter strangers.We halted a while, at a small village named Dochai, and partookof some refreshments which our conductor had provided. LubcheaGoomba, a large monastery, was seen immediately opposite, seatedamidst rocks, which, as well as those which are ranged on the otherside, protrude their bases into the lake, and are bordered with a whitefoam, produced by its agitated waves.We advanced along the borders of the lake, which was namedRamtchieu, with bare rocky hillson our left, much shattered and tornby severe frost. The stone composing them, was of the colour ofrusty iron ; and small detached cubical pieces, covered all the groundbelow, to a considerable distance.The banks of this lake were perforated with the innumerable burrowsof a small animal to which they gave the name of rat : wechancedto see some of them running along, and sitting near the edge of theburrows. They were larger than a musk rat, of a cinereous gray,Ee