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146 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
No sooner was all this finished than I set the Cossacks
a fresh problem to solve. The fact is my little canvas
skiff always excited the greatest possible amazement in
the honest Lop-men, but when I went on to tell them
that we had at home a boat that was able, with the help
of a sail, to advance against the wind they shook their
heads and cried : " No, sir, it’s impossible to ad-
Among the Reeds in a Tarim Lake.
vance against the wind without paddles." I therefore
bought a suitable canoe, decked her over and provided
her with an iron keel—namely, two of our iron bars—
a
rudder, mast and sail. At the end of a couple of days
the Cossacks had the little " cutter " ready, and I tried
her on the river, where it was broad and open. It was
blowing hard, and the little craft cut like a knife against
the wind. Great was the amazement of the natives who
had gathered from far and near to witness the spectacle.
But I did well not to mind about water, for the little craft
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