now and then a sheep; and, as always, I laid in a fair
supply of jam. I understand now why England sent tons of jam to the army
in South Africa; the fruitiness of it is most refreshing when fresh
fruit and vegetables are short. But of all my supplies, nothing proved
so comforting as two bottles of lime juice and a tin of so-called grape
nuts. The latter mixed with milk helped out the early starts when the
fuel was so damp that a fire was out of the question, while the lime
juice made drinkable the roiliest and warmest water. The only time when
I felt like losing my temper with good Wang was when he smashed the last
bottle. I had to gallop off to keep from saying things. By good luck I
succeeded in hiring an old American army saddle, and it proved just what
I wanted. There is nothing like that sort of saddle for long tours on
horseback, easy for rider and beast.

The question of money required careful planning; it always does in
out-of-the-way travel; but finally, through the kindness of the
officials of the Russo-Asiatic Bank, everything was arranged. I would
use little money in crossing the desert, and of course the less I
carried the better, but a good sum must be forthcoming when I reached
Urga and the railway, so the bank furnished me with drafts on the native
banks and their own branches, and I had no difficulty, while from Peking
I carried dollars and taels to meet expenses at the start. I felt like
Pilgrim freed from his burden, to be quit of carrying a lot of small
change, for a dollar's worth of cash is almost twenty pounds in weight.

Fortunately my arrangements were so complete when I arrived in Kalgan
that during my two days' wait for letters I had little to do, for my
various activities in Peking, combined with the damp heat, had rather
done me up, and I was glad to take my ease while my kind young host of
the British American Tobacco Company turned the place upside down in his
efforts to provide for the comfort of my journey. My saddle was
overhauled, a charming saddle-cloth of Mongolian work was supplied, a
great package of cigarettes put up to cheer my men on the road, and for
me a box of soda water.

One very important thing had been omitted from my stores. I had
neglected to bring onions and potatoes from Peking, most desirable
supplies in the country for which I was starting, a land where nothing
is grown; and neither potatoes nor onions were to be had in Kalgan. Even
my host could not help; he was