as I thought, by saying that had he not recently sold
his camel, he would have lent it to us gratis, in recognition
o f Sevier s kindness in doctoring him without
charge. I capped this by answering that, if he were
really grateful, he might show it by persuading the old
woman outside to hire us her camel. This he proceeded
with alacrity to do, and for 34^- we secured her
treasure to accompany us to Krasnovodsk. The
owner gave strict injunctions as to its being brought
back by our men, and bade them God-speed, but she
would not shake hands with me, a Kafir, and evidently
was with difficulty persuaded to let her animal go.
About seven o’clock all was in readiness, and Sevier
and I were to get into our queer sleeping-cages. Let
the reader imagine two narrow wooden crates such as
earthenware is packed in, each sufficiently large for a
man to lie in when twisted to the shape of the letter S ;
and let him further imagine them suspended on either
side of the huge hump of a kneeling camel. This I
am given to understand is to be my sleeping-place
for the night, and I accordingly choose my berth on
the port-side o f this “ ship of the desert,” first putting
into the cradle for a ■ lining a piece of felt, and then
two pillows. So far all is well ; but inasmuch as my
lodging is to be beneath the frosty sky, it seems
desirable to multiply my sleeping garments. First I
put on, over my ordinary suit, my jackal-lined khalat,
enveloping me from head to foot, over that my Ulster,
and on my head a sheepskin hat, to say nothing of
fur-lined boots kindly lent by General Grotenhielm ;
and then, getting into the cradle, I cover my feet
with my sheepskin coat.
And now comes the tug of war! Nazar asks, are
we ready ; bids us hold on ! and says to the camel,
Chu ! whereupon the animal gets up leisurely, first on
its hind legs, and in so doing raises our feet to an angle
of 60 degrees, thereby threatening to pitch us out
bodily. W e hold on, however, for dear life, and then
comes a lurch from the fore, lifting our heads once
more to the horizontal. The fear of danger now is
past ; bqt it is not easy at first to get accustomed to
the strange motion caused by thè long strides of the
camel. When the creature was urged to go quickly,
the nearest simile for the cradle I can think of is that
of a bottle of physic in the process of being “ well
shaken before taken” ; but when the camel walked
leisurely, then one lay as in a boat idly tossed by the
billows ; and sleep became possible just as it is in a
Russian tarantass, when one is dead tired, cramped,
and “ used to it.”
But we were not the first night to enjoy our
slumbers undisturbed. A s we went along we passed
some men with huge fires making charcoal, and then
towards midnight there came a crash and a bellowing
from one of the camels which had fallen. The jerk
had broken the ropes, and the baggage lay hither and
thither, needing new ropes to secure it afresh. But
how to get them ? We thought of the charcoal
burners, and it was suggested that Sevier and Rosy
should go back and inquire whether they had any to
sell. Sevier took my horse and Rosy the other, whilst
I turned in to my cradle again, now on the ground,
and went off to dreamland. Sevier, taught by experience,
warned Rosy not to gallop his horse, because not
sure-footed ; but this was not heeded, and presently
down went the horse, and Rosy, not getting his foot
free from the stirrup, was dragged along and bruised,
until the horse got free and ran away. Sevier was