REINDEER AND SNOW-CAMELS ^ 



from the end of September throughout the winter they 

 cross deep snow, climb mountains, and perform services 

 unequalled by any other animal. They carry tea- 

 chests weighing from four to five hundredweight, can 

 scale passes twelve thousand feet above the sea-level 

 Prejvalski's camels crossed eight of these in a journey 

 of six hundred and sixty miles and are driven in carts 

 and ridden. In summer they are watered every forty- 

 eight hours, in winter they can do without water for 

 eight days. They are not only hardy, but long-lived. 

 A Mongol camel begins to earn his living at four years 

 old, and will carry the same burden until from twenty- 

 five to thirty. Some live to be useful for some years 

 beyond this limit. In the tea caravans from Kalgan 

 the camels make two journeys each winter, and earn 

 seven pounds per camel. As most of their food is 

 picked up en route, this leaves a good profit to the 

 Mongol owners. Though these camels are owned in 

 hundreds of thousands by the tribes of Central Asia, 

 and are constantly in movement by the caravan routes, 

 the direction of them is almost universally from East to 

 West, or West to East, and the caravans do not enter 

 China beyond the limits of the steppe. This accounts 

 for their being out of touch with all English trade and 

 travel, and renders it difficult to understand whence 

 Mr. Hagenbeck can get as many as he pleases. The 

 answer is at Tiflis. This is the terminus of the 



