Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/203

Rh because holes must be bored right through its foot with a thick awl in order to sew the leather on firmly; but when once this has been done, it soon recovers from its lameness and is fit for use.

On May 6th we again stood on that point of the marginal range of Mongolia where the descent to Kalgan commences. Again the grand panorama of mountain scenery lay at our feet, the bright green plains of China sparkling like emeralds in the distance. There it was warm and springlike, here on the plateau Nature was only just waking from her long winter's sleep. At every step in the descent we became more sensible of the warmth of the plains; at Kalgan itself trees were in full leaf, and we gathered thirty kinds of flowering plants in the neighbouring hills.