ABSTRACT
We left our bivouac late next morning, at half-past eight, tired out by the alarms of the night, and made our way down the river Depsang, At the junction of these two narrow valleys there is a small space on the right entirely covered with the bones and carcasses of animals and a low stone wall. This is the spring called Daulat Beg Uldi, which means "Daulat Beg died," perpetuating the memory of Sultan Said, a Mongol Khan of Kashgar, who in 1531 performed the almost incredible feat of invading Ladak and Baltistan over these heights. Here the trail divides, one branch leading due south to the valley of the Shyok, over the level but very dangerous plateau of Depsang. This is lower than the Karakoram, but tutek is even more severe there. The other goes round by the gorge of Kumdang and comes out on to the river Shyok at the spring Yangsang.
