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| 0680 |
Ruins of Desert Cathay : vol.2 |
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came a big consignment of tin plates for packing which he
had secured for me, thereby draining the whole Turkestan
market of that much-prized commodity. Then followed
six weeks of constant toil for me, absorbed entirely by the
sorting and packing of my archaeological collections.
Never, perhaps, has the oasis seen such making of
cases and tinning, as went on in the courtyard of my old
palace during those long hot weeks (Fig. 306). There were,
indeed, some leisurely 'Ustads' to direct in a more or less
casual fashion the labours of the dozens of men who were
sawing up seasoned tree trunks and planing boards for
cases. But the actual repacking of the antiques in the
tinned cases had to be done entirely by my own hands.
The strengthening of the frescoes from Miran and else-
where by a backing with glued strips of cotton and then
the tight repacking between layers of reeds, as already
described, cost weeks. The results of my minute care
and manual pains then taken have been gratifying indeed ;
for those ancient relics, even when composed of the most
brittle and friable materials, have safely survived all the
risks to which they were exposed on a total journey of
some 8000 miles, while being carried across high mountain
ranges on camels, yaks, and ponies, and subsequently
travelling by cart, rail, and steamer. But it was a weari-
some time while I toiled thus during the hottest season
day after day without any interruption from daybreak ;
only at dusk seeking a little refreshment in walks or rides
along the dusty roads through the village tracts northward.
At the close of March I had deputed Naik Ram Singh
from Chira for a supplementary task, mainly photographic,
at Miran. Before I had been long at Khotan he returned
from his distant journey eastwards suffering from complete
loss of eyesight. No news whatever had reached me from
him since we parted, and the shock was great when I saw
my poor 'handy-man,' once so stalwart and strong, brought
to me helplessly blind. He had left me in what seemed
good health. While travelling rapidly to Charklik with
Ibrahim Beg, the most efficient and experienced of my
Turki followers, he was attacked by severe pains in the
head. Nothing before had suggested the approach of that
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723
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803
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813
814
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