plain, covered with boortsa and patches of grass; far
away to the north were the Kuan Luans, while to the
south rose other rugged ranges; in an easterly direction
the country appeared undulating and barren.
Antelope were scattered about the plain, and on
the road Hargreaves shot a fine specimen ; but, greatly
to the distress of the Mahomedans, the animal
was shot dead and could not be hctl-lalled in the
orthodox manner—they had no reasonable excuse, this
time, for not enforcing their scruples. A leash of
hares was also bagged, but found to be as tasteless as
ever; and a young leveret, so terrified as to be quite
incapable of flight, was made prisoner. The little
thing quickly became tame, finally losing all fear of
man, and we were hopeful of bringing her safely
back to India. Later on, however, she came to an
untimely end by self-strangulation. Tibetan sand-
grouse were now seen for the first time, but unfortunately
too high for a shot : we longed for a
brace or two of these birds, for though antelopeflesh
is doubtless excellent, it begins to pall upon
one in time.
We had now reached entirely unknown country,
and were anxious to begin triangulation, utilising, as
a base, a ridge which ran due east and west. The
ever-recurring water difficulty continually impeded our
work, and though holes were sunk at all the more
likely spots, only a muddy trickle could be obtained—
this we treated with powdered alum, and so managed
to collect just sufficient for our immediate wants.
Four days were spent at this place (Camp 40), and
on July 31st the base was measured both by the
chain and the subtense bar—a work necessitating great
accuracy, and therefore thrice repeated. Observations
for latitude could only be taken by the sun, as
the nights were too cloudy to permit of the stars
being seen.
During the second day’s halt, Abdul Khalik complained
of rheumatism in the legs and back, so he was
given a wineglassful of whisky to rub in. Late in
the evening he sent over to ask for more, saying that
he had put the first dose in a cup and placed it in his
tent ready for use, but that one of the caravan-drivers,
mistaking it for tea, had drunk it all off without
knowing it. This story seemed to us rather “ thin,”
and the makers would, I am afraid, be hardly gratified
to learn that their excellent whisky had been mistaken
for weak tea, even by a Yarkandi, who, presumably,
was somewhat lacking in delicacy of taste. Khalik,
at any rate, had to go to bed with his rheumatism, for
he got no more alcohol; whisky was far too precious
an article to be drunk like weak tea, or indeed to be
poured on the back of a caravan-bashi.
While at work triangulating the next day, a covey
of sand-grouse settled near, one of which Hargreaves
managed to shoot; it was a beautiful bird, gamey-
looking and fat, and proved excellent eating. These
birds are remarkable for the great length and power
of their wings, probably so developed in order to
enable them to make headway against the severe
Chang winds.
On August 3rd we tried to do some mapping work
from the peak which rose a mile to the south, but,
after a long and arduous climb, the mountain-tops were
found to be enveloped in clouds, thus effectually preventing
us from carrying out our intentions; we
waited for some time in the hope that the weather
would clear, with the result that we were caught in
a blizzard and drenched to the skin before the welcome
shelter of camp could be regained.