Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 166 (Color Image)

0166	Among the Celestials : vol.1

134. AMONG THE CELESTIALS. [CHAP. VI.

of the range is said to be a plateau of grass

land to which the wild camels resort. The

guide told me the wild camels keep away from

the caravan tracks and stay up in the mountains.

The Mongols follow them there and catch their

young, which they use for riding only, as the

camels will not carry a pack. Their legs are

thin, and the hair smooth. At three years old

they are said to be of the size of a horse ; at

five years, the size of a small tame camel.

The guide also said that there were wild

horses and what he called mules from this

district westward. I saw some of the so-called

wild mules through my telescope. They are

the kyang or wild asses of Ladak and Tibet,

and are in size about thirteen or fourteen hands,

and in colour a light bay, being brightest under

the belly. The head and tail were like a mule's,

the neck thick and arched. They trotted fast,

with a free, easy motion. The guide says the

horses go about in troops of two or three

hundred.

One evening Ma-to-la, the Mongol assistant,

was suddenly seen to shoot ahead at a great

pace, and, on asking, I found he was going

home. On he went, far away over the plain,

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