Page 22 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
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GFA – A Different Drumbeat 22
and the mutton cut up for boiling. But, as at this high altitude, it is impossible to
bring water up to boiling point, 212 deg. Fahrenheit, the mutton cannot get properly
cooked but is served half raw. The sheep are fat-tailed sheep and the delicacy is
the tail which is served to the visitor and which it would be the height of rudeness
to refuse. Well, I remember occasions when it has taken all the self-control I
possess to get some of the half cooked quivering fat down my throat, and the
equally unpleasant experience, after leaving the tent, of trying to get it back by the
judicious use of two fingers and a little faith.
Small caravans who may not be carrying tents and who fail to gain
the shelter of a nomad tent at night, simply camp out in the open, This may be a
healthy form of life but it has its draw-backs when the snow is falling or the fierce
winds from the Northern mountains sweep over the plains. I have wakened up
after a night spent thus, in August, covered by a blanket of snow. During the
colder weather which prevails for eight or nine months of the year, it is impossible
for the traveller to indulge in a wash. The best one can hope for, when under
some form of shelter, is a wipe over the face and hands with a damp cloth, Many
a time, after making camp, the bearded members of the caravan had to thaw out
their beards before they could exercise their mouths for the function of eating. The
Tibetans preserve cleanliness and keep out the cold by smearing themselves with
butter and mutton grease, which I suppose, may be considered as dry washing.
The first requisite for a camping site is naturally a supply of water.
But once camp has been made the first duty of the caravan is to tend and pasture
the animals. Care has to be taken against the various kinds of poisonous grasses
and also against straying. In areas of unsavory reputation, the animals have to be
hobbled or tethered at night around the camp fire, which is the centre of the camp.
After the animals have been tended, every available spare hand turns to combing
the neighbourhood for the necessary fuel to supply the camp fire. On this high
table-land there are no trees or shrubs to furnish this supply. But the deficiency is
made up by the droppings of the large flocks and herds of pastured animals and the
wild yak, wild asses, wild horses and camels which roam the plains. The droppings
of these animals, when dried, are known as ‘argols' and they form an excellent slow
combustion fuel for the camp-fire. Should there be snow on the ground, or the
caravan be encamped at a spot off the main pasture grounds, it oft becomes a
problem to gather the required amount of argols. The calorific properties of the
different droppings range widely, and half a basket of the richer kind will equal twice
the amount of the lower grades. I remember on one occasion conducting a party of
touring foreigners across a short section of this country. On the afternoon we made
our first camp on the Kokonor I had to lead them on the gentle task of gathering
argols.
and the mutton cut up for boiling. But, as at this high altitude, it is impossible to
bring water up to boiling point, 212 deg. Fahrenheit, the mutton cannot get properly
cooked but is served half raw. The sheep are fat-tailed sheep and the delicacy is
the tail which is served to the visitor and which it would be the height of rudeness
to refuse. Well, I remember occasions when it has taken all the self-control I
possess to get some of the half cooked quivering fat down my throat, and the
equally unpleasant experience, after leaving the tent, of trying to get it back by the
judicious use of two fingers and a little faith.
Small caravans who may not be carrying tents and who fail to gain
the shelter of a nomad tent at night, simply camp out in the open, This may be a
healthy form of life but it has its draw-backs when the snow is falling or the fierce
winds from the Northern mountains sweep over the plains. I have wakened up
after a night spent thus, in August, covered by a blanket of snow. During the
colder weather which prevails for eight or nine months of the year, it is impossible
for the traveller to indulge in a wash. The best one can hope for, when under
some form of shelter, is a wipe over the face and hands with a damp cloth, Many
a time, after making camp, the bearded members of the caravan had to thaw out
their beards before they could exercise their mouths for the function of eating. The
Tibetans preserve cleanliness and keep out the cold by smearing themselves with
butter and mutton grease, which I suppose, may be considered as dry washing.
The first requisite for a camping site is naturally a supply of water.
But once camp has been made the first duty of the caravan is to tend and pasture
the animals. Care has to be taken against the various kinds of poisonous grasses
and also against straying. In areas of unsavory reputation, the animals have to be
hobbled or tethered at night around the camp fire, which is the centre of the camp.
After the animals have been tended, every available spare hand turns to combing
the neighbourhood for the necessary fuel to supply the camp fire. On this high
table-land there are no trees or shrubs to furnish this supply. But the deficiency is
made up by the droppings of the large flocks and herds of pastured animals and the
wild yak, wild asses, wild horses and camels which roam the plains. The droppings
of these animals, when dried, are known as ‘argols' and they form an excellent slow
combustion fuel for the camp-fire. Should there be snow on the ground, or the
caravan be encamped at a spot off the main pasture grounds, it oft becomes a
problem to gather the required amount of argols. The calorific properties of the
different droppings range widely, and half a basket of the richer kind will equal twice
the amount of the lower grades. I remember on one occasion conducting a party of
touring foreigners across a short section of this country. On the afternoon we made
our first camp on the Kokonor I had to lead them on the gentle task of gathering
argols.
