RAPACITY OF CROWS. 21 



at once near the tents of their drivers, who busy 

 themselves in preparing their unsavoury meal. In 

 another hour men and beasts are asleep, and all 

 around reigns the deathlike silence of the steppe, as 

 though no living creature existed in it. . . , Besides 

 the post road, which is farmed by Mongols, there 

 are other routes across the Gobi from Urga to 

 Kalgan which are usually followed by the caravans. 

 At certain distances ^ along the post road wells are 

 dug and tents pitched which serve as stations, but 

 alonsf the caravan-routes the number and size of the 

 Mongol encampments depend on the quality and 

 quantity of pasturage. These roads, however, are 

 only frequented by the poorer inhabitants, who earn 

 a livelihood from passing caravans either by begging, 

 pasturing camels, or by the sale of dried argols 

 (dung of animals), which is an article of great value 

 both for the domestic use of the nomads and for 

 travellers, as it is the only fuel in the whole Gobi. 



Our days dragged on with tedious monotony. 

 Following the central caravan-route we generally 

 started at midday and marched till midnight, averag- 

 ing twenty-seven to thirty-three miles per diem. 

 During the daytime my companion and I generally 

 went on foot a-head of the caravan and shot any 

 birds we saw. 



The crows soon came to be looked on as our 

 bitter enemies, on account of their unbearable rapa- 

 city. Soon after we started I noticed some of these 



* There are forty-seven post stations between Urga and Kalgan, 

 along a distance of about 660 miles. 



