574 
THROUGH ASIA 
Before starting, we opened a couple of boxes of pre- 
served food ; but although the contents were moist, we 
experienced the utmost difficulty in getting them down, 
our throats were so parched. 
The camels had lain all day in precisely the same places 
where they fell in the morning. Their laboured breathing 
was the only sound that broke the deathly silence. The 
unhappy creatures were dying, but wore an air of in- 
difference and resignation. Their big baggy throats were 
shrivelled up and of a whitish-blue colour. We had great 
difficulty in persuading them to get up. 
