The fuel, which consists
of either small sticks or bits of roots, or of argols of dung, all of
which give out a good deal of smoke, more especially the latter if not
quite dry; but I have often seen a capital blaze made with the argols when
perfectly dry. As to cooking, we found that rice, dal, and potatoes
would never soften properly, no matter how long they were boiled. This, of
course, was due to the boiling-point being only from 170 deg. to 180 deg.. Our
tea, moreover, suffered from the same cause, and was never good when we
were over 15,000 feet. This was very marked. Some of my natives made
dreadful complaints about the rice and dal that they got from the
village-heads in the valleys, and vowed that they only gave them what was
very old and hard, as they could not soften it!"
[Illustration: MARCO POLO'S ITINERARIES
No. III
Regions on and near the Upper Oxus]
NOTE 3. - Bolor is a subject which it would take several pages to discuss
with fulness, and I must refer for such fuller discussion to a paper in
the J. R. G. S. vol.
