LAKES WITHOUT END 
1049 
come in contact with some of the head-streams and 
feeders of the mighty Yang-tse-kiang. 
Camp No. XXVI. (16,545 feet) was one of the most 
unfavourable we pitched upon. There was an almost 
total dearth of grazing, and there was not a single yak 
discoverable in the vicinity. Before I could get a little 
water boiled for my tea, I was obliged to sacrifice two or 
three of the tent-pegs. It was dark when the camels and 
the last five donkeys crawled into camp. The failure of 
the animals threatened to put us in a critical position, 
similar to that which overtook me during my journey 
across the Takla-makan Desert in 1895. My caravan 
was gradually melting away in the same way it did 
then. Then our eyes were constantly turned towards 
the east, seeking some relief from the unfavourable 
uround ; so it was now. But we did not now suffer 
from want of water ; and even though we lost every 
animal we possessed, we should still be able to reach 
some inhabited district on foot. 
11.-25 
