Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/102

36 four chests of tea (a little under 4 cwts.) on their backs across the desert. This is the usual load of a Mongol camel, but the stronger ones bear an additional fifth chest. The Mongols contract to carry tea either direct to Kiakhta or only to Urga, beyond which place the mountains and frequent deep snows are formidable obstacles to the progress of camels. The tea is only transported in this manner as far as Urga; it is conveyed the rest of the way in two-wheeled bullock-carts.

The average cost of the transport of one chest from Kalgan to Kiakhta is equivalent to three lans (or taëls); each camel can therefore earn twelve lans (or about 3l. 10s.). The caravan generally accomplishes two journeys from Kalgan to Kiakhta during the winter, the owner earning about 7l. by each of his animals. Two drivers are usually placed in charge of twenty-five camels and their loads; the cost of transport is therefore very small, and the contractor realises a large profit, after deducting for losses by the death of camels from fatigue and starvation. The caravan camels are often rendered unfit for service by sore feet, lameness, or galled backs, occasioned by careless loading. If the lameness be caused by worn-out hoofs, the Mongols bind the animal, throw him on the ground, and sew a piece of leather over the injured hoof, which answers the purpose of a sole, and generally effects a cure; a sore-backed camel is unfit for further use that season, and is let loose on the steppe to recover. Taking into account the percentage of lost and damaged