After wild sheep in the Altai and Mongolia; . e region, sayingthat we were ourselves important people in ourcountry, and that our sovereigns would be very muchannoyed if they knew that we had not been treatedaccording to our position, etc.—but all in vain. Theconstant reply was that he had received no ordersfrom Kobdo. Moreover, after having perused ourpassports, he told us that he would have to sendthem to the authorities of that town to be care-fully examined, and that we should be obliged towait till they were returned, which implied threeweeks stay at the karaoul. Paying no attentionto thi
After wild sheep in the Altai and Mongolia; . e region, sayingthat we were ourselves important people in ourcountry, and that our sovereigns would be very muchannoyed if they knew that we had not been treatedaccording to our position, etc.—but all in vain. Theconstant reply was that he had received no ordersfrom Kobdo. Moreover, after having perused ourpassports, he told us that he would have to sendthem to the authorities of that town to be care-fully examined, and that we should be obliged towait till they were returned, which implied threeweeks stay at the karaoul. Paying no attentionto this ultimatum, we solemnly got up, thanked himfor his courtesy, and retired with the firm intentionof starting on the following day. In this dilemmaour new Chinese interpreter Daniel came up to us i76 AFTER WILD SHEEP IN THE ALTAI and proposed himself as a guide, saying he knewthe country well enough, and asking us not to repeatthis to any of the karaoul officials. We naturallyaccepted his services, thankful to have got out ofthe The evening was quite warm, though we werestill at an altitude of about 7,000 feet. Next morningwe found that our ponies had been so exhausted bythe previous days long march that we had to giveup all hopes of leaving the karaoul until anothertwenty-four hours rest should render them fit torwork. It was only one day lost after all, and we CHINESE CURIOSITY 177 expected Joseph every moment with a months storesfrom Kosh-Agatch—reinforcements which we badlyrequired. The weather continued beautiful. Afterluncheon our friends the Chinamen strolled up to ourcamp with a view of ascertaining our plans, but wekept on the defensive in a most Machiavellian curiosity was otherwise satisfied, for there washardly a thing in our tents they left untouched, someof them going so far as to feel the ladies skirts,buttons, and boots. The excuse they gave for payingus this visit was to learn whether we had spent acomfortable night. They professed to
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