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32 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
Palta, a tall, sinewy Turk, with his"^ strong hands clasped
about a 20-feet pole, to keep us off the bank in case the
current should bear us down upon it too swiftly. At each
corner of the stern was another man with a pole. The
crew was completed by Kasim, who travelled alone on the
provision-boat, his duty being to take frequent soundings
and warn us of the shallows. The passengers consisted
of Islam and Kader, who sat and talked on the after-deck
—
that is, when they were not standing craning their necks
to look down the river, lost in wonder at this strange mode
of travelling. After a few days, when they became more
accustomed to it, they took the matter quite calmly. On
the list of passengers I ought not to forget the names of
Yoldash and Dovlet, who bore me faithful company in the
tent, except when it grew too warm, and then they took
refuge under the fore-deck, seeking the cellar-like coolness
below.
On my writing-table lay in admirable confusion mariner’s
compass, field-glass, watch, telescope, geometrical com-
passes, and pens, with a big sheet of white paper in the
middle, the first sheet of the map which I was going to
make of the Tarim, plotting down its various windings one
after another as they came into sight ; and there I sat like
a spider in its web, watching every object on the banks,
vigilant that no mud-bank in the river escaped my ob-
servation.
Before we had gone very far we saw groups of country-
men standing on the banks, with their arms full of melons,
bread, eggs, and similar good things ; but we had plenty
of provisions and would not stop. A deep current sepa-
rated them from us and on glided our ferry-boat, leaving
them crestfallen behind. But we were not to escape thus
easily, for at the next bend of the river there stood another
group of people, also laden with provisions. In vain we
tried to avoid their ambiguous benevolence by keeping the
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