Mongolia, the Tangut Country, and the Solitudes of Northern Tibet: Being a Narrative of Three Years' Travel in Eastern High Asia, Volume 2S. Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1876 - Mongolia |
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abundance Ala-shan alpine alpine hares animals appearance argali autumn birds border range Burkhan Buddha camels Caragana caravan cattle Chertinton China Chinese Chinese soldiers Chobsen climate cold companions Cossack covered crossed desert Din-yuan-ing distance Dungans dzerens Fahr feet fire flowers foot forests frosts Gadjur Gigen Gobi grass ground guns heat herds Hoang-ho horses inhabitants journey Kalgan Kan-su Kara-narin-ula Khan-ula Kiakhta kinds Kuku-khoto kulan Lake Koko-nor lamas lans latter Lhassa Mahommedans miles Mongolia Mongols moun mountains Munni-ula natives never night Northern Tibet orongo passed Peking plain plant plateau prince Rhubarb river road rocks Russian salt sand shot Shuga Si-ning side slopes snow soil soon Sordji southern species spring steppe summer Tangut Tangutans Tatung Tatung-gol temple of Chobsen tent Tibetan Tonkir town travelling troops Tsaidam Urga Urumchi valley vegetation weather whilst whole wild wind winter yellow Yellow River yurta
Popular passages
Page 135 - ... Great numbers of similar nests of a dense tissue, resembling Chinese paper, of a brilliant whiteness, and formed of distinct and separable layers, the interior being the thinnest and extraordinarily transparent, were observed by Humboldt in the provinces of Mechoacan and the mountains of Santarosa at a height of 10,500 feet above the level of the sea, upon the Arbutus Madrono and other trees. The silk of these nests, which are the work of the social caterpillars of a Bombyx (B. Madrono...
Page 128 - ... journey into the sandy waste ; and, knowing the spots where water is to be had, they are able to live there, and to keep their cattle alive, while it is impossible to discover them.' It seems to me clear that Marco Polo alludes here to the several river courses which, after flowing north of the NiyaCharchan route, lose themselves in the desert. The jungle belt of their terminal areas, no doubt, offered then, as it would offer now, safe...
Page 166 - Wild horses, called by the Mongols dzerlik-adu, are rare in Western Tsaidam, but more numerous near Lob-nor. They are generally in large herds, very shy, and when frightened continue their flight for days, not returning to the same place for a year or two. Their colour is uniformly bay, with black tails and long manes hanging down to the ground. [This last expression is, of course, wholly erroneous as applied to the manes.] They are never hunted, owing to the difficulties of the chase.
Page 265 - Faust lay down and moaned, giving us to understand that he was quite unable to walk. I then told my companion and guide to ride on, charging the latter to take Faust on his camel as he was completely exhausted. After they had ridden a mile in advance of the caravan the guide pointed out the spot where he said the well should be, apparently about three miles off. Poor Faust's...
Page 155 - ... salt forms, as in Dalai Dabasun, in this same plain of Tsaidam, of which Prejevalsky says : — " Here lies the salt basin of Djaratai Dabas " (he means Dalai Dabasun, for Djaratai Dabas is in another district, and the lake now spoken of is marked Dalai Dabasun on Prejevalsky's map — TW), "about 26 miles in circumference, presenting a layer of excellent salt, a foot thick in the middle, diminishing to an inch round the edges.
Page 162 - ... the case of Tso Gyagar, in Tibet, and several in the Kirghise Steppes and the districts over which they formerly extended, and from which they have withdrawn, become salt swamps, or plains covered with a saline incrustation, like Tsaidam, to the west of the Koko Nor, of which Prejevalsky says : — " The plain of Tsaidam, which at a comparatively recent geological age formed the bed of a huge lake, is now covered with morasses, so thickly impregnated with salt as to be encrusted with a layer'...
Page 260 - This continued for an hour without showing any signs of abatement, although the sky did not look threatening. The rainfall was so great that it was more than could be absorbed by the soil or retained on the steep slopes of the mountains ; the consequence was that streams formed in every cleft and gorge, even falling from the precipitous cliffs, and uniting in the principal ravine, where our tent happened to be pitched,1 descended in an impetuous torrent with terrific roar and speed.
Page 270 - This desert,' the author says, speaking of the depressed basin on their route called the Galpin Gobi (3,200 feet), ' is so terrible that in comparison with it the deserts of Northern Tibet may be called fruitful. There, at all events, you may often find water and good pasture-land in the valleys ; here there is neither the one nor the other, not even a single oasis ; everywhere the silence of the Valley of Death.
Page 203 - ... comes from Prejevalski,* who, speaking of it as the orongo, says that it has elegant black horns standing vertically above the head ; the back is dun-coloured ; the middle of the breast, stomach, and rump, white ; seen at a distance it appears white ; it is very numerous in Northern Thibet. He adds : " Another prevalent superstition is that the orongo has only one horn growing vertically from the centre of the head. In Kansu and Kokonor we were told that unicorns were rare, one or two in a thousand....
Page 299 - Tunganfs are descended. They derive the name from several Turkish and Persian words, in different ways, signifying, left behind, looking back, &.C., &c. It is a general tradition, that Alexander carried his conquests through this country, to the frontiers of China Proper. The Umbaun, who is the Chinese...