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I/O ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
" But don’t you sometimes lose your way am^ongst these
tangled mountains ?
"
" I cannot lose my way. I have crossed over the passes
scores of times."
" And do you never grow tired of being alone ?
"
" No, but I always look forward to the spring, when my
brothers come to fetch the yak-skins."
What a restless wandering spirit in human guise ! I can
hardly imagine a more dreary region to be alone in than
Northern Tibet. In the daytime it would perhaps not be
so bad ; but what about the nights, when the cold freezes
you to the marrow, and the dark mountain-ranges loom
up weird and threatening in the moonshine ? I confess the
man was a puzzle to me. I had everything I wanted
—
servants, a bodyguard of Cossacks, sentinels and dogs to
keep watch at night ; nevertheless, when the snowstorms
whirled and whined around my yurt (Mongolian tent) in
the mountains, I confess I felt it decidedly eerie.
Two or three days later we arrived at our head-quarters
in the valley of Mandarlik, and found everybody, men and
animals included, in first-rate condition. The fresh cara-
van which I here organized embraced the following :
Cherdon, my right-hand man, tent man, valet and cook ;
Turdu Bai, leader of the seven camels ; Mollah Shah, chief
of the eleven horses and one mule ; Kutchuk, boatman for
the lake trips I contemplated ; Niaz, a gold-hunter, whom
we came across in the mountains, was to look after i6 sheep
which we took with us to kill ; while Aldat acted as guide
as far as his local knowledge extended. Yoldash, Malchik,
and a big yellow Mongol dog, which we had obtained from
our nearest Mongol neighbours, were also of the party.
Shagdur was appointed chief of the head-quarters camp,
with instructions to remove it after a few da3^s to Temirlik.
Clearly and distinctly the echoes gave back the sound of
the caravan-bells, when, on 20th July, we started up
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