OUR CARTS 241 



deavoured to cling to those distant colonies and 

 cities in the west which then had their origin. 

 Now it seems that after two thousand years the 

 hold is weakening, the grasp is being relaxed. 

 Through this historic district we travelled, and 

 at times it was the personal details which occupied 

 my thoughts to the exclusion of the past. 



From the day we left Lanchow until we reached 

 Hami I hardly had my clothes off at all. We 

 changed our boots when not walking and wore 

 thick socks made of sheepskin, with the wool inside. 

 At Lanchow we had obtained large fur cloaks 

 stretching to our heels, with high collars. In these 

 we slept, our bedding rolls being laid on top of our 

 possessions in the carts. These, the carters calcu- 

 late, will carry 1,000 lbs. of baggage in addition to 

 a passenger. Our personal belongings, provisions, 

 etc., amounted to under 2,000 lbs., but, with the 

 enormous loads of grain and fodder which it was 

 necessary to carry through certain districts where 

 it was impossible to obtain food at a reasonable 

 price, we were sufficiently heavily laden. George 

 and I each had a cart to ourselves, whilst the 

 doctor and Ching-yii slept in the third. The carts 

 consisted simply of two strong shafts connected by 

 a gridiron arrangement of stout wooden bars slung 

 on a wooden axle. Four posts to support the tops 

 rose from these shafts. Our boxes, gun-cases, etc., 

 were packed on the " grid "' and securely roped 

 round. Then the tops were adjusted. These were 

 composed of felt-lined matting, with a felt curtain 

 which could be rolled up in front. George and I, be- 

 ing rather long, protruded beyond the curtain when 

 stretched at full length, but on the whole managed 



