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ON THE WAY TO THE ARKA-TAGH. 311
" squares " of the encampment. Some of them had, how-
ever, to go on sentry duty and watch our animals at night,
and see that they did not stray too far away. In this
irksome task they all took their turns, while it was Chernoff’
s
business to see that nobody played tricks or shirked his
turn. Sometimes he would mount his horse in the night
and ride to the various troops of animals to make sure that
their guardians were not nodding.
No sooner was the signal given to halt than the camp
was arranged and the tents up in a very few minutes.
Every man had his own appointed duty to perform, and the
camp very soon settled down to peace and quietness ; the
animals were led away to the best grazing that the neigh-
bourhood afforded ; fuel
—
i.e., the dried dung of yaks and
kulans—was collected, and the men gathered round the
various fires to prepare their suppers. We had a valuable
reserve supply of wood in the pack-saddles to which the
grain sacks were lashed. As the sacks were gradually
emptied, the pack-saddles, which were then no longer
required, were mostly used up to eke out the natural supply
of fuel, which often burned badly.
My bed used to be made like that of everybody else on the
bare ground, and of an evening I used to sit on it with a light
in front of me, and make my maps and write up my diaries.
On the 8th June old Dovlet went back to see what had
become of the other asses which were still missing. Mean-
while we proceeded south through a country of soft, moist
red clay. In front of us was a glen, which, though rather
deep, nevertheless looked promising. The long black pro-
cession marched in and began to follow its windings. As
we advanced the ground grew softer and the camels began
to sink into the mire. The voices of the men rang out
incessantl}^ warning or encouraging. A. camel capsized, a
horse flung off its load, a mule stuck fast in the mud and
had to be pulled out by main force as you pull a cork out of
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