MY CARAVAN 
955 
brute, and a black and white dog, Buru (the Wolf), from 
Dalai - kurran. These two attached themselves to the 
men’s tent, where they made a fearful rumpus at night, 
and sometimes barked at the caravan animals if they 
strayed too far from camp. Whilst on the march all 
three dogs scampered about the caravan, chasing and play- 
ing with one another ; but the moment they caught sight 
of any game in the mountains, off they would race, and 
would remain a long time absent from the caravan. They 
were always vivacious and wide awake, enlivening both 
the monotony of our marches and our otherwise silent 
camps. In fact, they bore the journey across the plateaus 
best of all the animals in the caravan. They did not 
appear to suffer in the slightest degree from the extreme 
rarity of the atmosphere. And they always got plenty 
to eat ; for there were the offals of the slaughtered sheep, 
and of the yaks and wild asses we shot, and in default of 
anything better, the horses, camels, and donkeys which fell 
exhausted by the wayside. I n the latter part of the 
journey one and often more animals gave up and died at 
every camp. 
I had eight attendants, each with his own appropriate 
duties to perform, namely, Islam Bai, caravan - bash i 
(leader), Fong Shi, Chinese interpreter, Parpi Bai from 
Osh, Islam Akhun from Keriya, Hamdan Bai from 
Cherchen, Ahmed Akhun, who was halt a Chinaman, 
Roslakh from Kara-sai, and Kurban Akhun from Dalai- 
kurgan. From this last - mentioned place we hired 
seventeen Taghliks, under the command of their aksakal 
(chief), to help us over the most difficult of the passes, and 
it was arranged that at the end of a fortnight or so they 
were to return home. The two Taghliks who went with 
me to make the reconnaissance ran away after our return 
to camp, fearing they would be punished for having led 
me to a difficult pass when there was an easier one nearer. 
They slunk away immediately their aksakal made up his 
mind to show me the way to the pass of Yappkaklik, but 
we did not miss them until we encamped for the night. 
They did indeed escape well - deserved punishment, but 
