954 
THROUGH ASIA 
Here then our valuable animals enjoyed their last good 
meal of sweet, fresh grass in peace and quietness, all 
unconscious of the fate that was in store for them. Ere 
two months were gone most of them lay dead bn the 
barren plateau of Northern Tibet ; and yet, when we 
started, we had by no means a niggardly cavalcade. We 
brought with us to the foot of the mountains no less than 
seventeen horses, twelve donkeys, and six camels, besides 
a number of other animals hired for a short period. At 
Sarik-kol we added four other horses and seventeen, 
donkeys to the troop, the donkeys being laden with sacks 
of maize intended as fodder for all the animals of the 
caravan. Thus we had fifty-six beasts in all, and when I 
add that, by the time we reached the border - ridge of 
Tsaidam, we had only three camels, three horses, and one 
donkey left, and that all seven were worn to skin and 
bone, and barely able to crawl, or in other words that we 
lost 90 per cent, of our caravan, you will be able to form 
some idea of the terrible hardships the poor animals had 
to undergo. Their loss was no real hindrance to us, for 
we lost them gradually and proportionally with the 
decrease in their loads (provisions) ; but it was very 
painful to witness the poor brutes’ sufferings. 
In the aul of Sarik-kol we bought a dozen sheep and 
two goats, intending to slaughter them one after the other 
as we went along. I wished to take a score of sheep : 
but my men assured me, that at the enormous altitudes at 
which we should be travelling the stomach lost all desire 
for meat food, and would tolerate nothing but rice. All 
the same I found that the sheep we did take with us were 
in brisk demand, and only lasted through half the journey. 
After the last was killed, we had to content ourselves with 
the meat of the wild yak. 
Lastly, I must not forget to mention as belonging to our 
travelling menagerie three magnificent dogs— my faithful 
Yolldash from Korla, who always slept by my side and 
guarded the tent with such zeal that he would allow 
nobody to come inside except Islam Bai. Then we had 
Yollbars (the Tiger), from Kara-sai, a big, yellow, shaggy 
