SKIRTING THE DESERT 
495 
Half an hour later the loads were all off the camels, 
and the animals themselves were tied together in a ring, 
to prevent them from lying down and getting stiff-legged. 
After standing a couple of hours, they were let loose 
to browse upon the thickets of reeds. Our camp, with 
its many packages and animals, made a very picturesque 
appearance ; and it gave me a feeling of deep satisfaction 
to think, that all those things were mine. My tent, a 
neat Indian officer’s tent, which Mr. Macartney had given 
me, was pitched underneath a poplar tree. Within it 
young Lieutenant Davison had died during his journey 
across the Pamirs to Kashgar. But it had been well 
disinfected, and I was not superstitious. The ground 
inside was covered with a variegated carpet, and all round 
its sides were ranged my boxes, instrument-cases, photo- 
graphic camera, and my plain, simple bedstead. The 
other boxes and packages, together with the water-tanks, 
were left outside in the open air. My men kindled a fire, 
and crouched round it, to prepare dinner— rice pudding 
and eggs, for of these last we had brought a good supply. 
The .sheep were turned out to graze, and the poultry made 
themselves quite at home amongst the scraps from the 
cooking-pot. The dogs, having swallowed the pieces of 
meat that were thrown to them, began to chase one 
another over the sand-dunes. In a word, we made quite 
a rural picture. 
As soon as the camp was settled, my first care was 
to examine the ravine which had stopped us. It ran 
from north to south, and had undoubtedly been formed 
by a branch of the Tisnab-daria, but was now dry. It 
was 20 feet wide and 5 feet deep ; and when I bade 
the men dig a hole in the bottom, the water began to 
trickle up as soon as they got 3 ft. 6 in, down. The 
temperature of the water was 49°8 F'ahr. (9°9 C.), whilst 
that of the air at the same time, viz., two o’clock in the 
afternoon, was 76°6 Fahr. (24°8 C.). Although tasting 
bitter and nauseous, it was greedily drunk by both dogs 
and sheep. The camels were not allowed any water 
until nearly an hour before the start next morning. 
