Water Freezes Every Night Of The
Year, And Continually There Are Differences In Temperature Of 100
Degrees Between Noon And Midnight.
In addition to the fifty dwelling
tents there was one considerably larger, in which the people store
their wool and goat's hair till the time arrives for taking them to
market.
The floor of several of the tents was covered with rugs, and
besides looms and confused heaps of what looked like rubbish, there
were tea-churns, goatskin churns, sheep and goat skins, children's
bows and arrows, cooking pots, and heaps of the furze root, which is
used as fuel.
They expended much of this scarce commodity upon me in their
hospitality, and kept up a bonfire all night. They mounted their
wiry ponies and performed feats of horsemanship, in one of which all
the animals threw themselves on their hind legs in a circle when a
man in the centre clapped his hands; and they crowded my tent to see
my sketches, and were not satisfied till I executed some daubs
professing to represent some of the elders. The excitement of their
first visit from a European woman lasted late into the night, and
when they at last retired they persisted in placing a guard of honour
round my tent.
In the morning there was ice on the pools, and the snow lay three
inches deep. Savage life had returned to its usual monotony, and the
care of flocks and herds. In the early afternoon the chief and many
of the men accompanied us across the ford, and we parted with mutual
expressions of good will.
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