Journals of expeditions to Mongolia from 1919 to 1930
Page 93
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Transcription
has paused and fires of anger are now playing a better stemming. Sometimes they wait several days to rest their animals and let them feed - Sometimes the tents have gone and the camels have vanished next morning on the first week of day. The camels now are nearly naked or crowded with a few wisps of hair like the beard of a Chinese patriarch. Their blue-white skin is their only covering until the new fur of early summer transforms them from hideous objects into splendid beasts, with full beard-fringes and up-standing humps. But worst of all is when a camel is in full process of losing his winter hair. It comes down in fat patches leaving great tufted hair like a patch- work quilt with ragged fringe from every angle of his great uncomely body. We had a long hunt today but a very successful one. After 1½ hrs. riding out we found three antelopes and after a splendid run I got a big drop. A short while later we got a second and finally a third. This one had a broken hind leg a very pretty hat a hard run to bring down. Then we found a young antelope man only a few days ago, and finally