142 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI 



cannot conceive how they managed with their 

 heavy loads to overcome the difficulty. This first 

 acquaintance with China was hardly a satisfactory 

 one, and we felt entitled to hope that the discovery 

 of undisturbed herds of sheep would amply make 

 up for it. The ladies, who had been placed under 

 my care, were persistently confident of success, and 

 greatly contributed to uphold the level of cheerful- 

 ness through the hardships of this first march into 

 unknown country. They proved most useful more- 

 over in finding a favourable spot for camp as we 

 reached the valley, through which flowed a small 

 stream known on my forty-verst Russian map as 

 the Boro - Burgassy, whilst I stood on a ridge 

 watching our caravan struggling through the marsh, 

 and signalling to Littledale in order to let him 

 know the direction which was to be taken. I must 

 own that the map, which had hitherto been our 

 principal guide, now seemed hardly reliable, and 

 this became more and more evident as we advanced 

 into Mongolia. The stream on the banks of which 

 we camped was known to the natives under an en- 

 tirely different name. It flowed into the Suok 

 River, one of the tributaries of the Kobdo, in 

 whose watershed we now found ourselves. I cannot 

 pass unnoticed the way in which Mongols christen 



