490 
THROUGH ASIA 
not to take us more than fifteen days. Our supply of 
water was therefore, by every calculation, more than 
sufficient. I was quite satisfied with my estimate, and 
thought we had an easy task before us. As an actual 
fact, the journey took twenty-six days, or nearly twice as 
long as I anticipated. 
April loth. Long before sunrise the courtyard was all 
alive. Our various boxes, bales, and other impedimenta 
were carried out and weighed, so that the camels’ burdens 
might be suitably adjusted, and the several packages 
properly roped. These preliminaries over, they were 
placed along the ground two by two, at such distances 
apart that a camel could just get between them, and be 
made to kneel down whilst his load was fastened to his 
pack-saddle. After he got up on his feet, a big rope was 
lashed criss-cross right round the whole, and fastened 
to the horizontal bars in the framework of the pack- 
saddle. We took with us an extensive equipment, pro- 
visions for several months, particularly rice and bread, 
preserved foods, sugar, tea, vegetables, flour, and so forth. 
In addition, we had a large supply of winter clothing, 
felts, and carpets ; for, after leaving the Khotan-daria, I 
intended making for Tibet. Then I had my scientific 
instruments, photographic apparatus, with close upon a 
thousand plates, some books, a year’s issue of a Swedish 
journal, of which I purposed reading one number every 
evening, a cooking-stove with its appurtenances, metal 
utensils, crockery, three rifles, six revolvers, a supply of 
ammunition packed in two heavy boxes, together with 
a multitude of other things. Add to all this, water- 
supplies for twenty-five days, and it will be clear, that 
each camel had a pretty heavy load to carry. 
Whilst the animals were being loaded, I measured my 
first base-line of 400 metres (close upon a quarter of a 
mile). Boghra walked it in five and a half minutes. 
This was a daily recurring task, for the contours of the 
ground varied a good deal ; and the depth of the sand 
made a very appreciable difference in the time the camels 
took to do the same distance. 
