Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/87

Rh at once near the tents of their drivers, who busy themselves in preparing their unsavoury meal. In another hour men and beasts are asleep, and all around reigns the deathlike silence of the steppe, as though no living creature existed in it. . ..Besides the post road, which is farmed by Mongols, there are other routes across the Gobi from Urga to Kalgan which are usually followed by the caravans. At certain distances along the post road wells are dug and tents pitched which serve as stations, but along the caravan-routes the number and size of the Mongol encampments depend on the quality and quantity of pasturage. These roads, however, are only frequented by the poorer inhabitants, who earn a livelihood from passing caravans either by begging, pasturing camels, or by the sale of dried argols (dung of animals), which is an article of great value both for the domestic use of the nomads and for travellers, as it is the only fuel in the whole Gobi.

Our days dragged on with tedious monotony. Following the central caravan-route we generally started at midday and marched till midnight, averaging twenty-seven to thirty-three miles per diem. During the daytime my companion and I generally went on foot a-head of the caravan and shot any birds we saw.

The crows soon came to be looked on as our bitter enemies, on account of their unbearable rapacity. Soon after we started I noticed some of these