Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 156 (Color Image)

0156	Among the Celestials : vol.1

126 AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. VI.

It was with the greatest difficulty that we

could keep our tents from being blown down,

and everything used to become impregnated

with the sand, which found its way everywhere,

and occasionally we had to give up our march

because the camels could not make any head

against the violence of the wind.

Every evening about five we would see herds

and flocks slowly wending their way over the

plain and converging on the water near the

camp, but only the sheep seemed to be attended

by any one, and there was scarcely ever a tent

in sight.

The ponies went about in a semi-wild state,

in troops of about twenty mares, under the

guardianship of one or more stallions, who

drove them about from place to place seeking

something to graze on. They were entirely

free, and every evening at sunset they marched

slowly back to the Mongol yurt.

But the desert had also its charms, and on

the mornings when there was a lull in the

terrific storms, no artist could wish for a finer

display of colouring than the scene then

presented. Overhead would be a spotless,

clear blue sky, and beneath it the plain lost

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