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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



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At noon we were 

 served with a sump- 

 tuous feast of de- 

 licious, well - cooked 

 Karakul - Kirghiz 

 mutton, with the very 

 palatable Tatar bread, 

 and sheep milk for 

 those who desired it, 

 and always tea. 



TH£ KARAKUI, FXOCK 



AND ITS PANICKY 



SHEPHERDS 



After the feast we 

 went out on the 

 steppes through a ter- 

 rific sandstorm and 

 fierce July heat, over 

 shifting dunes, where 

 vegetation was con- 

 spicuous largelv by its 

 absence. 



Here we found a 

 considerable flock of 

 Karakuls in care of 

 two shepherd boys so 

 ignorant and so terri- 

 fied by the presence 

 of westerners that 

 only extreme devo- 

 tion to their sheep 

 kept them from run- 

 ning away. I n fact 

 when they first saw 

 us approaching the 

 flock was started off 

 in such haste and 

 driven so rapidly that 

 the sheep and the 

 boys were brought 

 to a standstill only by 

 great exertion on the 

 part of some of the 

 men, who, fortunately 

 tor the object of the 

 excursion, were on 

 horses instead o f 

 camels. 



So panic - stricken 

 were these boys, or 

 young men, that it 

 was some time before 

 we could calm them 

 and secure their co- 

 operation in corral- 

 !mg, sorting, and 



