National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

great difficulty entailed the request was granted. When the rest of us set off with the great caravan, ZIMMERMANN, MARSCHALL and Liu, together with one Mongol, stayed behind until July 31st. The meteorological cage was also left, and observations were to be continued as usual. HALIDE thus obtained two full months' observations for comparison with the results of other Asiatic stations, and he considered this an important gain.

HUM EL's MEDICAL WORK

The doctor received patients now and again, for the most part Mongols, who suffer from all sorts of complaints, chiefly skin diseases and trachoma. Either LARSON or HASLUND did service as interpreters. One day LARSON came up with one of his camel-drivers, and I heard him say to HUBMEL: »This lad's got a boil on his belly. Don't cut him up too much, for I need him to-morrow ».

NUMBER OF CAMELS

We had now finally got so far with our camel purchasing that we could begin to discuss the question of a definite date for breaking up from the permanent camp. The total number of camels, including NOIUN's and YUAN'S animals, was 289. We had bought 292, but two had died and one had run away. All had a branded H on the left jowl. The average price for each camel had amounted to 88 dollars a very reasonable sum, considering the high quality of the majority of the beasts.

To the best of my knowledge, this was the largest non-mercantile caravan to set off for the interior of Asia in our time, and in any case the largest scientific expedition.

STARVING THE CAMELS BEFORE SETTING OFF

Our camels, many of which had been browsing in camp for quite a long time without doing any work, were terribly fat. Indeed, they were much too fat. I had never heard, though, of pack-camels that were about to start on a long desert journey within a few days being starved for three days. But this is what actually happened. About a hundred of the fattest beasts were tied up in camp for three days for a little slimming cure.

LARSON confided to me that he had lain awake a whole night, and what was still worse, that the Mongols could not sleep in peace for fear of the camels. When these animals have been without work for seven whole weeks, only eating and swelling from day to day, they become lusty and unruly and develop proclivities for neck-breaking pranks. On account of their swollen flanks it is difficult to get packsaddles and loads to »sit » properly, so as to balance evenly with their swaying gait.

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