362 
THROUGH ASIA 
felt lonely amid those distant glaciers, where one day was, 
on the whole, so like another — why, I shall not say, as 
I might lay myself open to being thought sentimental ; 
but anyhow I had not much time to think about it, having 
more than enough to do. The only thing which disturbed 
me was, that the summer was passing so quickly, that I 
did not see any possibility of being able to carry out the 
whole of my programme. The days were always too 
short. As soon as I got my clothes on in the morning, 
the first thing was to read the meteorological instruments, 
while Islam Bai prepared breakfast. Our fare never 
varied, and consisted of the following courses :—r/zA.v/fr/^ 
(mutton roasted over the fire on a spit), ash (rice pud- 
ding), and bread, which we sometimes procured from the 
Kirghiz and sometimes baked ourselves ; and the whole 
was washed down with tea. I soon grew so tired of the 
chi.sslick that 1 could not bear the sight of it, and lived on 
rice and bread. And our fare was to be precisely the 
same for two years and a half, all the way to Peking. 
Occasionally I opened a tin of preserved food ; but the 
supply was small, and the time long, and I had to be chary 
of these delicacies. Happily I never tired of rice and tea, 
and thrived on the simple diet. There was always plenty 
of yak’s milk and cream for the tea ; so that we had no 
need to economize in these products. I had brought a 
good supply of tobacco with me from Tashkend, chiefly 
consisting of pipe and cigarette tobacco, but also a few 
cigars ; and 1 must confess that 1 felt very sorry for 
myself, if 1 had not a pipe in my mouth whilst we were 
about our glacier work. 
When the weather compelled us to remain “ indoors,” 
I always had plenty of work to do, such as sketch-maps, 
section or profile drawings, notes, etc., to work out. The 
inside of the yurt was so comfortable, that it felt quite 
like home. In the middle of the “floor” there was a 
little fire, fed with teresken faggots and yak dung; other- 
wise the ground was covered with felt rugs. Immediately 
opposite the entrance was my bed. The packages, 
generally, were arranged round the sides, and there too 
