insects, which are such a grievous torment in the more fertile districts.[1]
On crossing the frontier of the Khalka country we entered the principality of Tushetu-khan, and hastened by forced marches to Urga, which was now the goal we were so desirous of reaching. Nearly three years of wanderings, attended by every kind of privation and hardship, had so worn us out physically and morally that we felt most anxious for a speedy termination of our journey; besides which, we were now travelling through the wildest part of the Gobi, where want of water, heat, storms of wind, in short every adverse condition, combined against us, and day by day undermined what little of our strength remained.
I need only describe the water we had to drink after crossing the Hurku hills, to give some idea of our discomforts. Shortly before we passed through this country a heavy fall of rain had choked up most of the wells and had formed temporary lakes, by the side of which Mongols were as usual encamped: some of these lakes were but a hundred yards across and two or three feet deep, yet a dozen or more yurtas would often be seen pitched by them, and their brackish water was rendered muddy and filthy in the extreme by the large herds daily driven to drink in it, the heat of the sun raising its temperature to 77°. The first sight of this water was enough
- ↑ Tsaidam is an instance of this; here cattle grow thin on good pasturage, only recovering in winter when they are relieved from their tormentors.
