IV£ BUY INFERIOR CAMELS. 19 



cash (50/.), left over from the amount reahsed by the 

 sale of our merchandise and guns at Ala-shan. I 

 therefore resolved to send the Cossack with the 

 Mongol to Kuku-khoto to buy fresh camels. But 

 the question was, how were they to go, as we had 

 only one horse left, and even that was unfit for use ? 

 First then I started with the Cossack interpreter to 

 try and buy a horse at some Mongol quarter. After 

 walking the whole day, we succeeded in purchasing 

 one, and the following morning the Cossack and 

 Mongol started for Kuku-khoto. There they bought 

 new, but very inferior, camels, and these at last 

 enabled us to continue our journey, after a detention 

 of seventeen days at Shireti-tsu. Thus, besides the 

 loss of time, we sustained a very considerable loss 

 in money also. Several of our animals had perished 

 before this, owing to want of food and water, heat, 

 frost — in fact from the difficulties of the route. In 

 the first year of the expedition we lost, altogether, 

 twelve camels and eleven horses ; most of the latter 

 however were exchano^ed with the Mongols for better 

 animals, of course with considerable additional pay- 

 ment. 



During this long detention, caused by the loss of 

 our camels, we had hardly any occupation, and there 

 were no birds of any kind except larks and sand- 

 grouse. Writing was also out of the question, be- 

 cause, in the first place, there was nothing to record, 

 and secondly, because it is no such easy matter to 

 write in winter out of doors ; you must first thaw 

 the frozen ink, and hold your pen frequently to the 



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