254 CROSSING SAND-DRIFT. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



RETURN TO ALA-SHAN. ROUTE TO URGA BY THE 

 CENTRAL GOBL 



Departure from Ala-shan — Nearly lost in the desert — A dilemma — 

 We follow the wrong road — A night of suspense — Looking for 

 landmarks — The ' obo' — Water at last ! — Meeting with pilgrims — 

 Din-yuan-ing — Letters from home — Excursion to Ala-shan moun- 

 tains — Their changed appearance — Their flora and fauna— Sudden 

 flood — Collections endangered — Caravan re-organised — Start for 

 Urga — Terrible heat— Guide at fault — Death of ' Faust ' — Des- 

 perate situation — Saved — Grief at the loss of our dog — Route 

 across the Gobi — Urute country — The Galpin Gobi — Wells 

 choked by rain — Similarity between Gobi and Sahara — The 

 Hurku range — Mountain goat {Capra Sibirica) — Trade routes — 

 The desert north of the Hurku — Shortlived oases — Large and 

 flourishing herds — Polluted water — The mirage — Migration of 

 birds — More trade routes — Altered aspect of country — Rich pas- 

 turage—Abundance of animal liTe — Climate — Impatience to reach 

 Urga — Arrival there — End of the Expedition. 



The second week in June we left the high lands of 

 Kan-su, and crossed the threshold of the desert of 

 Ala-shan. The sand drifts now lay before us like a 

 boundless sea, and it was not without sundry mis- 

 givings that we entered this forbidding realm. 



Without sufficient means to enable us to hire a 

 guide, we went alone, risking all dangers and difficul- 

 ties, the more imminent because the year before, 

 while travelling with the Tangutan caravan, I could 

 only note down by stealth, and often at haphazard, 

 the landmarks and direction of the route. This 



