Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/183

 the deserts of Mongolia, for on cold, stormy days the lake was crammed with ducks and geese, but no sooner did the weather improve than it proceeded rapidly to empty, until a fresh flight took place.

The violent and cold winds prevalent on Dalai-nor wеге a great hindrance to our shooting excursions; however, we killed duck and geese enough to provide ourselves with food, sometimes more than sufficient for our wants, but we shot for the mere love of sport; for the swans, which were very shy, we almost always used the rifle.

After passing thirteen days on the shores of the lake, we retraced our road to Dolon-nor, in order to proceed thence to Kalgan. The hills of Guchin-gurbu appeared as uninteresting as ever, but their stillness was occasionally enlivened by the beautiful notes of the flesh-coloured stonechat (Saxicola Isabellina), met with throughout the whole of Central Asia; it not only utters its own notes, but borrows those of other birds, imitating them very sweetly. We have heard it mock the cry of the kite, chatter like a magpie, scream like a curlew, sing like a lark, and even try to mimic the neighing of a horse.

Surveying in a country where there are so few landmarks was most difficult. Indeed, it was always very troublesome work to combine the accuracy and secresy which were alike indispensable. Had the natives, particularly the Chinese, discovered that I was mapping their country, our difficulties would have been doubled, and we should have found it next to impossible to pass through the populous districts.