Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/72

52 answer again and again, as the curiosity of every new-comer had to be satisfied. This was very tiresome, but could not be avoided if we wished to keep on good terms with our fellow-travellers, upon whom the success of our journey so greatly depended.

A good deal of curiosity, almost amounting to suspicion, was excited by our habit of collecting plants, recording meteorological observations, and writing a journal. I tried to avoid suspicion by explaining that I made notes of all I saw to refresh my memory when I returned home, and had to give in my report; as to my plants, they were for medicinal purposes, and the stuffed birds and animals for exhibition; the object of my meteorological observations was to know beforehand what the weather would be. Of the truth of the last statement they were quite satisfied, after a fall of rain which I had foretold by means of the aneroid. The title of  'the Czar's officer,'  which had followed me from Din-yuan-ing, served to dispel the doubts and distrust of our companions. However, I could not make many observations which I should otherwise have done for fear of causing great suspicion, and deferred doing this till my return journey, contenting myself for the present with a route survey, which was very imperfect, owing to the want of a pocket compass, and the intrusiveness of our companions. Sometimes it was absolutely necessary to make an entry in my pocket-book; for this purpose I intentionally