Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XXI.—A Killing Journey Over the Arka-tagh
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
A KILLING JOURNEY. 325
some people. Turdu Bai had something the matter with
one of his eyes ; I dropped into it two or three drops of
cocaine, and he was tremendously impressed by its soothing
effects. Hamra Kul had toothache ; I prescribed some
-" drops," and he was instantly better. This so astonished
Islam Akhun from Charkhlik and Kalpet from Keriya
that they also thought they had toothache, and came
moaning and groaning to the entrance of my yurt. Sus-
pecting which way the wind blew, I put a few drops of
tea on a tuft of cotton and laid it upon their gums, with
the result that they declared it was an instantaneous
cure. The only one of my patients who was really ill
was Mohammed Tokta, a man of fifty, who belonged to
the camel corps ; he complained of his heart, and suffered
from sleeplessness, so I allowed him to ride, and set him
free from all duty. My medicine chest was looked upon
generally in the light of a wonder-working talisman. No
sooner was it brought forward than all who were not
actually on duty used to gather round my yurt ; and
many were the suppliant glances cast at its metal lid
during the months of our long journey. For my own part,
I am happy to say, I never had occasion to draw upon its
resources.
We travelled due south, except when the lofty moun-
tains barred our way and compelled us to make a detour.
We were now anxiously longing to reach lower and warmer
regions, where we might find fresh young grass. This
was indeed the question of the day, for our camels were
growing thinner and thinner, and as Turdu Bai justly
said, if we were to save them, we must find grass and let
them have a month’s rest. But could we find grass
before it was too late ?
It was only by the rarest chance that we now managed
to travel as far as we did on the 2nd July, namely, sixteen
miles at a stage. Fortunately for us the downfall had
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
