234 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



disturbed by shouts and yells, and on getting up I 

 saw the Turkoman with his cap in his hand, scream- 

 ing, and urging his horse towards us. Long before 

 he reached us his shouts of " "Water ! I have found 

 the water ! There is plenty of it ! " were to be heard, 

 and after five miles we reached it. The reservoirs 

 were mere pools dug in the bed of a small ravine ; 

 the water was muddy, but of good flavour ; and the 

 coarse grass on the edges of the banks proved a bonne 

 louche to the horses. Having reached this water, the 

 difficulty is to hit upon the road from Merv to Khiva. 

 The Turkoman says he hopes before night to hit 

 upon a road from Meshed to Bokhara which crosses 

 the road to Khiva. Started again in the evening, 

 and marched fifteen miles, until it was so dark that 

 we feared the camels might lose our track. No signs 

 of the road as yet, but my guide says he can go as 

 well by the stars as by daylight : he says we must 

 move all night, and warns us that we shall not reach 

 water until late to-morrow. 



May 31st. Moved last night thirteen miles at the 

 tails of the camels : it is dreadful work, crawling 

 along at two and a half miles an hour particularly 

 without any road. At last, by the greatest good 

 luck, in the middle of the night, and without a 

 moon, the road was discovered. It was pointed out 

 to me, and though I dismounted and tried hard to 

 distinguish it, I failed. The Turkomans of the party, 

 however, were very positive, and took the greatest 



