I70 WILD CAMELS AND HORSES. 



Before we entered Tsaidam we had heard of 

 wild camels in the country of the Tangutans, and in 

 the desert between Lob-nor and Tibet. Shaw^ also 

 heard of them on his journey from India to Yarkand, 

 and they are also mentioned by Chinese writers. But 

 of what breed are they ? Were their ancestors wild, 

 or are they descended from some which escaped to 

 the desert, ran wild, and multiplied ? This question 

 cannot be decided on the unsupported testimony of 

 the natives, but we think that the fact that the do- 

 mestic camel cannot propagate without human assist- 

 ance argues for an original wild stock. ^ 



Wild horses, called by the Mongols dzerlik-aditl^ 

 are rare in Western Tsaidam, but more numerous 

 near Lob-nor. They are generally in large herds, 

 very shy, and when frightened continue their flight 

 for days, not returning to the same place for a year 

 or two. Their colour is uniformly bay, with black 

 tails and long manes hanging down to the ground. 

 They are never hunted owing to the difficulties of 

 the chase. 



The plains of Tsaidam are 1,700 feet below 

 Koko-nor, and on this account the climate is 

 warmer. The absence of water also tends to in- 

 crease the heat. 



About the end of October, when we left Kan-su, 



* ' High Tartary, Yarkand, and Kashgar,' by Robert Shaw, page 

 168. See also the note on that page. [See remarks in Introduction to 

 the work.]— M. 



"^ Domesticated animals may perhaps acquire this faculty after 

 they have been set at liberty for some years. 



^ i.e. ' wild troop.' 



