great boughs thicker than one's wrist. On our first
evening upon the Ust Urt there were only dwarfed
clumps of saxaul, about as high as a gooseberry-bush,
and these, strange to say, we could break off at the
root, so that the collection of sufficient fuel was an
easy task. But Rosy had told me that we.should have
no more saxaul; and when I asked what we should
do, he replied that “ I should s e e ” at Uzun Kuyu.
And truly I did so, for he had gone on a little
ahead, had ignited an immense lump of horse and
camel dung, and this was to be our fuel for the rest
of the way.
It was no part of my business to feed Nazar and
Murad, and, that we might be quite clear upon this
point, I asked them, before we left Kunia Urgenj, if
they had plenty of their own provisions. They replied
that they had a bag of flour, but they hoped I
should give them what we left of the mutton. This
was a contrast, truly, to the many things I was
ta k in g ! They had, indeed, the advantage of new
bread instead of stale, in that they wet flour in a
wooden dish, and then baked the dough in the ashes
of the fire. I did not taste the cake thus “ baken on
the coals,” like that of Elijah in the wilderness ; * but
after our bread robbery, when provision was running
short, I asked them to feed Rosy also on native bread,
in exchange for other things. This they said they
would do, and graciously added that, if our bread
supply ran out, we should have some o f theirs. This,
so far, was obliging; and so long as the bread, was
cooked in wood ashes, one, perhaps, might eat it,
failing anything else ; but when I saw them cook their
bread in precisely the same way, putting it uncovered
into fuel of dung, I am afraid it lessened my confidence
as to having a store to fall back upon*
An unexpected opportunity occurred of adding to
our larder at Uzun Kuyu; for Sevier, wandering about
after breakfast, came upon an empty well, about xo
feet deep, with a funnel-shaped mouth, the sides of
which bore vegetation. He had the curiosity to go
near and look in, and saw, to his surprise, at the bottom
a Persian gazelle. It Was quite young, of exquisitely
graceful form, and, when it saw us, made frantic but
vain efforts to spring out of its prison-house. Our
camels had drunk nothing since the third day, and I
would not have the natives told till the}’ had watered
them and filled the barrels, lest their hunting propensities
should be excited and we should lose time ;
but, when all was ready, I pointed out to our men the
captive. Nazar immediately volunteered to be let
down to secure the little beauty, which it seemed the
height of cruelty to kill. Something was said about
bringing it alive to London, but it was manifestly out
of the question, so the grim office of the butcher was
entrusted to our butler Rosy. I watched him particularly,
and observed that he looked up to the part of
the heavens whence the sun was shining, and turned
the animal in that direction. Then Murad (who was
standing by) and he stroked their beards, and apparently
uttered a prayer, after which Rosy cut the
animal’s throat. I afterwards noticed Rosy, when
killing a chicken, do the same, but I fancied they
seemed rather ashamed of it, and not willing to
explain the matter, t I observed further that Rosy,
* The preparation of bread in this way manifestly throws light upon
the manner in which Ezekiel (iv. 12-15) was commanded to prepare his
bread, as prefiguring coming scarcity.
t It struck me as a possible remnant of the very ancient sun worship