128 MISCELLANEOUS PARTICULARS OF CAMELS; 



camels in the hot season ; our objects were of course 

 different, and we consequently inj'ured many of our 

 animals. 



The camel is a sociable beast, and will not forsake 

 a-caravan as long as it has strength to keep up. If 

 from exhaustion it stop and lie down no blows will 

 make it rise again, and it is generally left to its 

 fate. The Mongols, however, sometimes ride to 

 the nearest yurta and give their tired-out animal in 

 charge of its inhabitants ; when, if supplied with 

 food and drink, it will in a few months regain suffi- 

 cient strength to move about. 



A camel which has fallen into a swamp is injured 

 for life and soon grows thin ; but accidents of this 

 kind are rare in Mongolia where there are so few 

 marshes. After rain camels cannot keep their foot- 

 ing in clayey soil, slipping on the flat soles of their 

 feet and sometimes falling ; but they are invaluable 

 in a mountainous country, as we ourselves experi- 

 enced in the highlands of Kan-su, where we accom- 

 plished 330 miles each way, including eight passes, 

 all upwards of 1 2,000 feet above sea level ; the camels 

 certainly suffered a great deal, but what we have 

 said proves at least that they may be taken over any 

 alps. The road to Lhassa across Northern Tibet 

 ascends and descends passes 16,000 feet high, and 

 even upwards, yet these beasts accomplish the jour- 

 ney, although they frequently perish from the rare- 

 faction of the atmosphere. Camels which have been 

 at such heights are considered spoilt for ever, and 

 the Mongols say never recover on the lower pasture 



