GRIEF AT 'FAUSrS' DEATH. 271 



well of Boro-Sondji. It was now two o'clock in the 

 afternoon ; we had, therefore, been exposed for nine 

 consecutive hours to frightful heat, and had ridden 

 upwards of twenty miles. 



After unloading the camels, I sent a Cossack 

 back with the Mongol for the pack which had been 

 left on the road, by the side of which our other 

 (Mongol) dog, who had been with us nearly two 

 years, was laid. The poor brute had lain down 

 underneath the pack but was still alive, and after 

 getting a draught of water he was able to follow the 

 men back to camp. Notwithstanding the complete 

 prostration of our physical and moral energies, we 

 felt the loss of ' Faust ' so keenly that we could eat 

 nothing, and slept but little all night. The following 

 morning we dug a small grave and buried in it the 

 remains of our faithful friend. As we discharged 

 this last duty to him my companion and I wept like 

 children. ' Faust' had been our friend in every sense 

 of the word ! How often in moments of trouble had 

 we caressed and played with him, half forgetting 

 our griefs ! For nearly three years had he served 

 us faithfully through the frost and storms of Tibet, 

 the rain and snow of Kan-su, and the wearisome 

 marches of many thousand miles, and at last had 

 fallen a victim to the burning heat of the desert ; 

 this too within two months of the termination of the 

 expedition ! 



The route taken by most of the caravans of 

 pilgrims from Urga to Ala-shan on their way to 

 Tibet, turns a little to the west at the Khan-ula 



