CHAPTER II 



SPEED MARVELS OF THE GOBI DESERT 



The next morning, ten miles from camp, we passed 

 a party of Russians en route to Kalgan. They were 

 sitting disconsolately beside two huge cars, patching 

 tires and tightening bolts. Their way had been marked 

 by a succession of motor troubles and they were almost 

 discouraged. Woe to the men who venture into the 

 desert with an untried car and without a skilled me- 

 chanic! There are no garages just around the corner — 

 and there are no corners. Lucander's Chinese boy ex- 

 pressed it with laconic completeness when some one 

 asked him how he liked the country. 



"Well," said he, "there's plenty of room, here." 

 A short distance farther on we found the caravan 

 which had passed us early in the night. They were 

 camped beside a well and the thirsty camels were gorg- 

 ing themselves with water. Except for these wells, the 

 march across the desert would be impossible. They are 

 four or five feet wide, walled with timbers, and partly 

 roofed. In some the water is rather brackish but always 

 cool, f ot it is seldom less than ten feet below the surface. 

 It is useless to speculate as to who dug the wells or 

 when, for this trail has been used for centuries. In some 



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