Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 161 (Color Image)

0161	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. vi.] A DUST STORM. 131

now the end of May, the cold at night was still

considerable, and I have noted that in bed I

wore two flannel shirts and a cardigan jacket,

lying under two thick blankets. It was the

wind that made it cold, blowing from the

W.N.W. and N.W.

On June 3, just as we were preparing to

start, we saw a great dark cloud away in the

distance over the plain. It was a dust storm

coming towards us. Where we were it was

quite still, and the sky was bright overhead,

arid perfectly clear, but away to the west we

saw the dark clouds -- as black as night.

Gradually they overspread the whole sky, and

as the storm came nearer we heard a rumbling

sound, and then it burst upon us with terrific

force, so that we were obliged to lie at full

length on the ground behind our baggage.

There was fortunately no sand about we were

on a gravel plain but the small pebbles were

being driven before the wind with great velocity,

and hurt us considerably. The storm lasted for

half an hour, and it was then as calm and bright

as before, and much cooler.

A few days later we crossed a ridge connect-

ing the Hurku Hills with the southern range,

K 2

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