Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 2 (1876).djvu/14

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CONTENTS OF

NORTHERN TIBET.

The Burkhan Buddha mountains; the effects of a rarefied atmosphere—M. Huc's 'vapours of carbonic acid gas'—The Nomokhun stream—The Shuga mountain range and river—Tibetan frontier—The Urundushi mountains—Sources of the Hoang-ho, and pilgrimage thereto—The Baian-kara-ula range—Character of the desert plateaux of Tibet—Extraordinary exhaustion produced by exertion at high altitudes—Caravans to Lhassa—Time occupied on the journey—Dangers and hardships of the road—Abundance of animal life—Mammals—The wild yak; its habits; its physical defects and low intelligence; disease to which it is subject—Wild yak shooting—The animal hard to kill—Grandeur of the sport—Mode of stalking—They rarely charge—Examples of yak-shooting—The yak-meat—The white-breasted Argali—The Orongo (Antilope Hodgsoni)—Large herds of these antelope—Their unwary habits—Held sacred by Mongols—Unicorns—The ata-dzeren, or little antelope—Its amazing swiftness—The Tibetan wolf (Lupus Chanco)—The fox (Canis Corsac)—Birds of Northern Tibet—Progress of journey—Travelling yurta—Intense cold—Tattered garments—Rarefied atmosphere—The halt—Preparing dinner—Long nights—Sport on the plateau—Climate—Dust storms—Chutundzamba—Arrival at the Murui-ussu—Limit of the expedition—Necessity for return
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SPRING ON LAKE KOKO-NOR AND AMONG THE KAN-SU MOUNTAINS.

Return to Tsaidam—Influence of its warmer climate—Spring in Tsaidam—Migratory birds—Spring in Koko-nor—Mirages—Shooting excursions—Fishing—Thaw on lake—Scarcity of birds—Departure from Chobsen—Equipment of caravan—Sale of revolvers—Humidity of Kan-su—Slippery mountain paths—Fording the Tatung-gol—Encounter with 'Kotens'—First signs of spring—Night frosts—Gales—Atmospheric phenomena—Tardy vegetation—The great rock-partridge (hailik)—The snow-vulture; how to shoot it—Heavy snowfall—May in Kan-su—The long-eared pheasant (Crossoptilon auritum)—The marmot (Arctomys robustus)—The bear (kung-guressu)—Extraordinary reports concerning it—We see one—It escapes—Straitened finances—Last weeks in Kan-su—Its variable climate—Departure
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