THROUGH ASIA 
404 
to the amazement of the Kirghiz. Togdasin Beg said 
bluntly, that a thing of that kind on a large scale would 
cost me my life, and I had better wait till the lake froze, 
which he thought would happen in about six weeks’ 
time. The temperature at night had already fallen to 
14° Fahr. (- 10° C.), and every morning the small lagoons 
on the lake shore were covered with a thin coating of 
ice, which, however, melted as the day advanced. The 
lake itself was too rough to allow of ice being formed. 
During the whole of the ten days we spent on its shores, 
full-fledged gales flew from the south with swift, strong- 
wings, racing one another across the lake as if consumed 
with impatience to get to the Bulun-kul ; just as though 
there were not a single molecule in the atmosphere, and 
the great Jan Darin, with the whole of his lanza (garrison), 
sat in the vacuum gasping for breath. But I was not 
dismayed. I had heard the sea-waves boil and break 
before then, and preferred braving vigorous Aiolus to 
waiting till the ice formed. 
I had the tent pitched barely two yards from the shore, 
so that I might lie and listen to the music of the waves ; 
and the “dockyard,” where the boat - building was to 
take place, was close beside the tent. Here we lay 
down the keel and lashed the tough ribs to it with ropes, 
and in less than a couple of hours the frame was ready ; 
it was only six feet long and three feet broad. A horse 
which had been so considerate as to die the day before 
contributed his skin, and a sheep also gave us materials. 
Thus things were beginning to look more ship-shape. 
The finishing touches were added in the form of a mast 
and a sail of scarlet cotton stuff. To each side we 
fastened two inflated goat-skins, and another was lashed 
at the stern, which somehow pointed suspiciously down- 
wards. Our oars were made out of oks split at one 
end, and a piece of goat-skin stretched across the fork. 
For our rudder we took a spade, pure and simple, and 
fastened it firmly to her stern. 
It was a very queer craft which left the slip on Octo- 
ber 3rd. Honestly speaking, she scarcely did credit to 
