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266 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
to send them from Churkhlik by special courier to Kashgar,
so that they might be in safety sliould the original material
by any chance become lost in the adventures which in
all probability awaited us in Tibet ; and lest any misfortune
should overtake one of the sections of the caravan in the
desert, I gave Faisullah the copies, retaining in my own
hands the original maps, and all the other papers which
I would not for any price have parted with.
As for my own section of the caravan, we were to march
due south to the rendezvous, three days north-east of
Kum-chapghan, where Tokta Akhun was instructed to wait
for us. On the way I proposed to take a levelling right
across the desert, with surveying staff and telescope, my
object being to prove the correctness or otherwise of Baron
von Richthofen’s and my own views with regard to the
position of the ancient Lake of Lop-nor, views which
were energetically disputed by nearly all the Russian
geographers, and by some others besides.
I chose Shagdur, Kutchuk, Khodai Kullu, and Khodai
Vardi to accompany me. Whilst I and the three first
named were" carrying out the levelling, Khodai Vardi
was to lead after us the four camels, one of them bearing
our few belongings, and the other three ice. My tent
consisted of a small felt rug, held up by a few spars, while
the men were to sleep in the open air, for it was now
beginning to be warmer. Our food-supply, consisting
of rice and bread, was divided into rations, and with a
little economy might last us eight days.
Whilst the two sections of the caravan were being loaded
up, I set off with my three assistants for the south. We
soon passed the shore-line of the former lake ; the dead
trees, bushes and reeds which dried up 1,500 years ago
came to an end, and we were out on the hard, yellow clay
desert, furrowed by countless gullies and channels, ex-
cavated by the wind. Here and there the ground was
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