LIII TO THE SHORE OF THE HAMUN 261
huts of the Lop people, which are more permanent, and are set up on spots never reached by the water. But here on the shore of the Hamun the people must always be ready for sudden changes in the water surface, and the encroachment of the water on the flat land under the influence of wind and atmospheric pressure. The people said, however, that they knew by experience the signs of the sky, and could withdraw in time to safe ground. When the shore is dangerous they take down their tents, roll up the matting, and flit in haste to another shore.
In every village the tents are arranged in a row, all fronting the same way. Three or four stand close together, but between these groups are small open passages. Inside the tents are kept clothes and vessels, and milk and prepared milk foods are kept in jugs and cans. Household utensils, tools, and implements lie in confusion, and outside half-naked or stark-naked children play among sheep and large, shaggy, light-coloured dogs. A girl, clothed in only a shirt and a blue bandage round her unkempt hair, hurries off on sturdy legs to the cattle. The herds are led out in the daytime to places on or in the lake where beds of reeds grow. In the evening they are driven in to the camp to be protected from the wolves which, it seems, are very numerous. The women do most of the work and milk the cows, and milk food of all kinds is their principal food. Fish also are caught in nets and are eaten, and ducks and geese are caught in snares, just as at Lop.
Yes, everything reminded me of the Lop country, even the weather which prevailed on this our first day on the shore of the Hamun. At five o'clock a strong northeasterly wind swept over the level country and the lake, and soon rose to half a gale. The troublesome gnats and flies which had just been tormenting us in large swarms vanished in a moment, but instead the tent was invaded by dust and rubbish which danced along in eddies. The air was thick and dark, and it was even too cool to sit in shirt sleeves. I was told that such winds are common every year at this season, and that sometimes a storm would last three to eight days. Probably it was a forerunner of the bad-i-sad u-bisI-rus, or the wind of 120 days. The people
IIIFカラー高解像度
