Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/200

 camels in the hot season; our objects were of course different, and we consequently injured many of our animals.

The camel is a sociable beast, and will not forsake a caravan as long as it has strength to keep up. If from exhaustion it stop and lie down no blows will make it rise again, and it is generally left to its fate. The Mongols, however, sometimes ride to the nearest yurta and give their tired-out animal in charge of its inhabitants; when, if supplied with food and drink, it will in a few months regain sufficient strength to move about.

A camel which has fallen into a swamp is injured for life and soon grows thin; but accidents of this kind are rare in Mongolia where there are so few marshes. After rain camels cannot keep their footing in clayey soil, slipping on the flat soles of their feet and sometimes falling; but they are invaluable in a mountainous country, as we ourselves experienced in the highlands of Kan-su, where we accomplished 330 miles each way, including eight passes, all upwards of 12,000 feet above sea level; the camels certainly suffered a great deal, but what we have said proves at least that they may be taken over any alps. The road to Lhassa across Northern Tibet ascends and descends passes 16,000 feet high, and even upwards, yet these beasts accomplish the journey, although they frequently perish from the rarefaction of the atmosphere. Camels which have been at such heights are considered spoilt for ever, and the Mongols say never recover on the lower pasture