Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/192

170 Before we entered Tsaidam we had heard of wild camels in the country of the Tangutans, and in the desert between Lob-nor and Tibet. Shaw also heard of them on his journey from India to Yarkand, and they are also mentioned by Chinese writers. But of what breed are they? Were their ancestors wild, or are they descended from some which escaped to the desert, ran wild, and multiplied? This question cannot be decided on the unsupported testimony of the natives, but we think that the fact that the domestic camel cannot propagate without human assistance argues for an original wild stock.

Wild horses, called by the Mongols dzerlik-adu, are rare in Western Tsaidam, but more numerous near Lob-nor. They are generally in large herds, very shy, and when frightened continue their flight for days, not returning to the same place for a year or two. Their colour is uniformly bay, with black tails and long manes hanging down to the ground. They are never hunted owing to the difficulties of the chase.

The plains of Tsaidam are 1,700 feet below Koko-nor, and on this account the climate is warmer. The absence of water also tends to increase the heat.

About the end of October, when we left Kan-su,