Farewell to Happy Hunting Grounds. 



my tent, where there was less likelihood of annexing an un- 

 desirable quantity of Uve-stock. 



Numgoon consented to come on to Kulja with me; I had 

 found him a useful man, but Nurah accompanied me only as 

 far as these auls, where I paid him of-f the following morning, 

 and we parted the best of friends. 



They are good fellows the Kalmuks, but I was right glad to 

 see the last of the Kazaks, though this later proved to be rather 



WE FORDED THE TEKKES RIVER." 



premature since I was destined to renew my acquaintance with 

 them further north. The latter are lazy and stupid, and their 

 ignorance on anything and everything is positively crass. But 

 withal they never miss an opportunity to best the traveller, a 

 strong general point in the Oriental character. I had an 

 amusing instance of this on the Pamirs, where I gave a man lo 

 rupees for just handing my letters to the post runner as the 

 latter passed his yurt. The former's pay was 8 rupees per month, 

 his duty being to pass on the post from Kashgar. When he had 



