Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/185

 Then as we advanced I sketched in the country on either side, taking bearings of the more important objects only. When we altered our course, I calculated the distance we had come, made an entry of it in my note-book, and took fresh bearings for the new direction. This was sometimes difficult to determine when we had no guide; in such case I took several bearings, and afterwards underlined the bearing that proved to be the one followed. It often happened that I was prevented making an entry at any given place owing to our being watched by Chinese or Mongols: in such case I deferred it to a more suitable opportunity, reckoning the distance we had come backwards to the point of deviation. When travelling in a thickly populated district, some one or other of the inhabitants would be constantly with us. To avoid observation I would then ride in advance or remain behind the caravan; if a guide were with us, we had figuratively to 'throw dust in his eyes,' which we usually managed in the following way. On first making the acquaintance of the new travelling companion I would show him my field-glass, explaining to him that I was in the habit of looking for game with it. The unsophisticated Mongol did not distinguish between the field-glass and the compass, and as we often shot antelope and birds he was fully convinced that I could discover their presence by looking into 'the artful machine.' In this way, time after time, I