SKIRTING THE DESERT 
499 
mainder of the march, behaved very well. All vegetation 
gradually ceased, and we lost ourselves in a labyrinth of 
sand-dunes, 15 to 20 feet high, and of irregular formation, 
though they had for the most part a north-south strike. 
W e tried to skirt round them as much as possible ; still 
there were a few difficult ridges which we were compelled 
to go over. On one or other of these the camels which 
carried the water fell ; luckily it was only the forelegs which 
gave way in each case. But we could not get the animals 
up until after we had taken off their loads : and then we 
had to pack them on again. The camels were very clever 
at sliding down the sandy slopes, making use of their 
hind legs as a break in doing so. In the middle of the 
day we got entangled in sand-dunes so high that we were 
obliged to make a long detour to the north to get out 
of them. Yollchi asserted, that it was no use going east, 
for we should only be forced to turn back, there being 
nothing in that direction but chong-kum (big sand). Our 
route that day was a sinuous line along the edge of the 
“big sand.” The dunes dropped again to only 10 feet 
in height, and occasionally we travelled over soft dust, 
with a tolertibly level surface. And not a few times we 
rode into a kind of cul-de-sac between the horns of the 
crescent-shaped dunes, and were compelled to turn back. 
Every now and again we passed a few solitary poplars and 
shrivelled reeds, at which the camels snatched as they 
rolled on past them. 
The nor’-easter blew all day long ; the sky was clouded 
and grey; and it was raw and cold. We halted at dusk, 
after doing about I3|- miles, pitched our camp on the 
top of a hard, level dune, where we had comfortably dry 
ground under our feet. Close by were some withered 
poplars, from which we obtained fuel for our fire, and 
clumps of reeds, which furnished fodder for the camels. 
These last were warm after their long tramp, and were 
led about for a time, to cool, to prevent them from taking 
cold. 
We found a spot between two dunes where the sand 
was already damp. There we dug our well, and came 
