Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/189

Rh covered with reeds four to six feet high. On the drier ground karmyk (Nitraria Schoberi) abounds, such as we had seen in Ordos and Ala-shan, but growing here to a height of seven feet. Its sweet saline berries are plentiful, and, like the fruit of the sulhir in the Ala-shan, form the staple food of the inhabitants. The Mongols and Tangutans supply their wants for the whole year by collecting these berries late in autumn, when they hang dry on the twigs, boiling them in water, and eating them with barley-meal. They also drink the sweet brackish liquor in which the berries have been boiled. Many birds and beasts, including wolves and foxes, feed on these berries, and camels are particularly fond of them. Large animals are, however, scarce in Tsaidam, probably owing to the crust of salt on the surface of the ground, which injures the soles of their feet and their hoofs. Now and then a kara-sulta or a kulan (wild ass) may be seen, or more often a wolf, fox, or hare. The small number of animals is in part due to the myriads of mosquitoes, midges, and gadflies, which at certain seasons of the year oblige even the natives to retreat to the mountains with their herds. The birds of Tsaidam belong chiefly to the orders of Swimmers and Waders; but as we passed through this country late in autumn