As soon as the mules were tired, I halted and went off to shoot a yak. A yak was always preferable to a kyang, for there was more fat to be got from the body. I soon found one above camp and had but little difficulty in shooting him. Having loaded myself with a sack of meat I descended again to camp. On arrival, to my surprise, Malcolm and Esau had returned. They had had, in fact, enough of trying to find people in stormy weather, when they had not even been able to light a fire. They, however, gave good reports of the road ahead, which they said would still bring us to abundance of grass teeming with yak, at the same time gradually descending.
This afternoon the three mules unfortunately strayed, and we turned into bed without even knowing where they had gone to. It seemed as though they were tired of carrying heavy loads over sodden ground and were bent upon a little pleasure of their own. One of the three mules invariably used to give us a deal of trouble in catching him for loading up. We found the only way of securing the rascal was for two of us to hold a long rope at both ends, allowing it to lie flat on the ground. Then the rest of us would drive the mule towards the rope, which was tightened as he reached it. Then those who held the two ends would run round in opposite directions, and thus encircle the animal in the coils. This plan, however, took up so much time and energy that eventually we used to fasten the mule with a long rope to one of the other two, when there was no difficulty in catching him. Of course, when his load was on, he made no attempt at escaping, but rather the reverse, for he would thrust himself forward as much as to say, "Just take off these things, please, and let's be off." He was a wonderfully clever mule, and the most useful one we had. Although small, he used to carry 400 pounds weight of baggage, about the equal of what the other two carried together.
After we had tracked the three wandering mules, who had selected a cosy nook, well concealed from view, we continued our march along the edge of the lake. Hares, terns, and gulls fell to our guns, and at night-time we camped by a garden of onions and rhubarb. Although this wonderful lake was a charming and delightful spot, with a genial climate, still we were not sorry on the 26th August to reach the eastern corner of it. Here we found sandy, hillocky ground, with good grass, a favourite haunt of the kyang.