of the hospitality and kindness with which HÖRNER met his party. He lent them twenty-five camels to help them with their baggage over the arms of the river, and also allowed them to take over fifty gallons of petrol that was still left in our depot. As their own supply of petrol was practically at an end, they would never have been able to reach Hami without this unexpected addition. On November 9th they arrived safely in Urumchi.
The newly formed Sin-sui (j= Sinkiang — Sui-yüan) Bus Company, in September 1933, sent eleven lorries full of goods and passengers to Hami by the northern desert route. This expedition, that was intended to inaugurate a regular traffic between Kuei-hua and Hami, came to a sad end, however. A considerable profit had been expected, for each lorry carried 2,60o chin, and for every chin 90 cents was paid, which worked out at 2,340 dollars a load. One of the eleven lorries broke down right at the start from Kuei-hua. At different places along the route to the Edsen-gol a further three got stuck with their loads. The Black Gobi claimed three more. Only four reached Hami.
The enterprise thus proved a considerable loss. Whether its leaders regarded us with suspicion or with good-will we never found out. Certainly they must have welcomed our plan of laying trafficable roads, but on the other hand they were probably afraid that once these were completed the Government would take charge of the whole traffic itself.
Our expedition was thus, apart from ANDREWS'S westward journey, that proved unsuccessful, the tenth in order. Three of our predecessors had got only as far as the Edsen-gol, but not to Sinkiang.
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