SUSPICIONS OF THE NATIVES. 113 



Then as we advanced I sketched in the country 

 on either side, taking bearings of the more important 

 objects only. When we altered our course, I calcu- 

 lated the distance we had come, made an entry of it 

 in my note-book, and took fresh bearings for the new 

 direction. This was sometimes difficult to deter- 

 mine when we had no guide ; in such case I took 

 several bearingrs, and afterwards underlined the bear- 

 ing that proved to be the one followed. It often 

 happened that I was prevented making an entry at 

 any given place owing to our being watched by 

 Chinese or Mongfols : in such case I deferred it 

 to a more suitable opportunity, reckoning the dis- 

 tance we had come backwards to the point of devia- 

 tion. When travelling in a thickly populated district, 

 some one or other of the inhabitants would be 

 constantly with us. To avoid observation I would 

 then ride in advance or remain behind the caravan ; 

 if a guide ' were with us, we had figuratively to 

 ' throw dust in his eyes,' which we usually managed 

 in the following way. On first making the ac- 

 quaintance of the new travelling companion I would 

 show him my field-glass, explaining to him that I 

 was in the habit of looking for game with it. The 

 unsophisticated Mongol did not distinguish between 

 the field-glass and the compass, and as we often 

 shot antelope and birds he was fully convinced 

 that I could discover their presence by looking into 

 ' the artful machine.' In this way, time after time, I 



^ Every guide we had was of course a spy, with whom we had to 

 be more on our guard than with the local population. 



VOL. I. I 



