88
TRAVELS TO LOB-NOR.
CHAPTER III.
Wild camel hunters — Habits of this animal — Mode of killing it — Distinguishing marks — Its origin considered — Lake Kara-buran — Chon-Kul,or the Great Lake — Disappearance of the Tarim — Mode of fishing — Lake-dwellers — Animal life — Details of population — Appearance of natives; language; dwellings — Cloth made of Aselepias fibre — Domestic utensils — Occupations and religion — Marriage — Burial of dead — Expert boatmen — Existence in winter — Novel surroundings — Ornithology, extraordinary number of birds— Duck-shooting — Specimens for the collection — Migratory waterfowl — Climate — Departure of birds — Dust storms — Spring at Lake Lob— Return to Korla — Yakub-Beg's presents — Yulduz again — Spring vegetation — Return to Kulja — Close of expedition.
According to the unanimous testimony of the Lob-nortsi, the chief habitat of the wild camel at the present day is the desert of Kum-tagh, to the east of Lake Lob; this animal is also occasionally found on the Lower Tarim, in the Kuruk-tagh mountains, and more rarely still in the sands bordering with the Cherchen-daria; beyond the town of Cherchen, in the direction of Khoten, its existence is not known. Twenty years ago, wild camels were numerous near Lake Lob, where the village of Chargalik now stands, and farther to
