Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XXX.—Westwards to Leh
<< 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.
454 ADVENTURES IN TIBET.
The temperature dropped to 2° below zero, while the
wind, which never for one moment slackened, blew at the
rate of 45 miles an hour. On the 25th October we had to
kill a horse the moment we started. Six camels were
on the sick hst, and were left behind to follow the yak
caravan, which travelled more slowly. Almaz, the sick
man, was allowed to ride one of them. As it happened
I had been delayed, and when I caught them up one camel
had just laid himself on his side, with his neck and his
legs stretched out ; the butcher’s knife soon released him
from his sufferings. After a while a second was left, and
a little later a third. Shortly after that it was the turn
of the dromedary, until finally the beast that Almaz rode
was followed by only one camel, namely, the mother of
the little one that was born in Charkhlik, and which we
were now feeding with bread. This left us with only 18
camels.
Next morning Sirkin and Turdu Bai rode back to see
if they could bring in the three camels that had been left
behind, or else kill them. They turned up at the next
camp without them. The caravan was now followed
by a troop of wolves, which feasted on our dead animals,
and made the nights unholy with their howling.
On the 28th October we reached a pass which commanded
a magnificent view to the west. It was like a transfor-
mation scene : the old Tibet closed behind us like a book,
and a new world opened out before us. The feature that
especially attracted us was the lake of Perutseh-tso. It
was surrounded by glorious grass, and there we halted for
four days, keeping ourselves warm and comfortable with
a ring of big blazing fires day and night, for there was an
abundance of brushwood. A horse, unable to digest the
grass, died, and the mother of the little camel gave
up when quite close to the oasis. This left us with only
14 camels. Here, Davo Tsering, our last chief guide, who
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
