ARRIVAL ON THE BANKS OF THE TOLA. 283 



of rain to earth. But, not long before our arrival in 

 the Central Gobi in July, there was a terrific down- 

 pour of rain, accompanied by large hail, луЬ1с11 

 destroyed numbers of cattle and some people. 



In August the weather was in general clear, but 

 the winds, which frequently blew with violence, almost 

 invariably lasted throughout the day and night, shift- 

 ing several times in the twenty-four hours ; westerly 

 winds prevailed, with a northerly and southerly 

 variation. 



The beginning of September was marked by a 

 sudden alternation from heat to cold, for on the 8th 

 of this month at midday the thermometer stood at 

 79° Fahr. in the shade, whereas the next day it blew 

 hard from the north-west with large flakes of snow, 

 and the mercury fell to 32° Fahr. at sunrise. 



Our impatience to reach Urga kept ever increas- 

 ing as we approached it, and we counted the time no 

 longer by months or weeks but by days. At length 

 after crossing the Hangin-daban range we arrived on 

 the banks of the Tola, the first river we had made 

 acquaintance with in Mongolia. For 870 miles, i.e. 

 between Kan-su and this river, we had not seen a 

 single stream or lake, only stagnant pools of brack- 

 ish rain-water. Forests now appeared, darkening 

 the steep slopes of the Mount Khan-ola. Under 

 these grateful circumstances we at last accomplished 

 our final march, and on the 1 7th September entered 

 Urga, where we received a warm welcome from our 

 Consul, I will not undertake to describe the moment 

 when we heard again our mother-tongue, when 



