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ON THE WAY TO THE ARKA-TAGH. 307
any need to bother myself about rendezvous and signal-
fires. I superintended the start from the saddle, being
again mounted on my favourite grey nag. The work of
taking down the tents and loading up the animals was
accomplished quicker than I expected. The first to start
were the camels, arranged in five strings, each with a
separate leader, the first string being led by Turdu Bai.
The horses and mules, to the total number of 45, were also
led or driven in separate groups, and were followed by men
on foot, to see that the loads kept their balance and did not
slip off. The flock of sheep followed obedientl}/ behind
Vanka, and seldom needed looking after. The dogs chased
one another in and out amongst the troops of animals, and
thought it all fine fun. The stag, however, was of a different
way of thinking, for he sickened badly, and had to be killed.
The asses, about 60 in number, were soon left behind ; in
fact, they never reached the camp at all that night.
The long caravan made a vaned and interesting picture
as it wound at slow and heavy pace beside the blue-green
waters of the lake—the Cossacks in their now threadbare
uniforms, and with their skin coats strapped on their
saddles behind them ; the Mussulmans, in their variously-
coloured chapans and skin caps ; the ass-drivers, resembling
a troop of Oriental beggars ; the priestly profession repre-
sented by Rosi Mollah, learned in the Koran, and Shereb
Lama, who every day entertained Shagdur and me with
stories of the secrets he had discovered in the temples cf
Holy Lassa. The whole reminded me of an invading
army, and such we indeed were, though we were on our way
to conquer new provinces of unexplored Tibet for the
science of geography. I was perfectly alive to the fact that
we had now burnt our ships behind us, and that the greater
part of the large and imposing caravan which had just
defiled before me was doomed to almost certain destruction.
Yet whatever might happen, we should certainly not turn
20*
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