Dajin. The people of this town, who had seen them before, complimented them on their having grown to look like themselves, or having become quite Mongolian. Prejevalski himself describes the party as exhausted by their arduous march, half starved, with ragged clothes and boots, looking like beggars. Here they entered upon the final stage of their journey through a land which no European had ever entered before them—the heart of the Desert of Gobi, a region "so terrible that, in comparison with it, the Desert of Northern Thibet may be called fruitful; there, at all events, you may find water and good pasture-land in the valleys; here there is neither one nor the other, not even a single oasis; everywhere the silence of the valley of death"—in order to reach the Russian city of Urga, on its border. Finally, Prejevalski reached Kiackta, his original starting-point, on the 19th of September, 1873.
Not satisfied with the results of this expedition, which he regarded as still incomplete, Prejevalsky engaged in the organization of a second one, to be more adequately prepared for its work, which he designated as intended for "a scientific reconnaissance of Central Asia." The objective points of this, his third journey into the interior of the continent, were the Lob-Nor, which no European had ever seen, and the exploration of Thibet. With two Russian companions he went to the valley of the Ili and to the Tarim River, by whose course he hoped to be led to the still mysterious lake. Hence his route was continued to the elevated Altyn-Dagh, the northern outpost of the Kuen-Lun, but he still failed to get into Thibet. To quote from his own narrative: "The examination of the Lob-Nor and of "Western Dungaria formed the conclusion of my second expedition into inner Asia. I had, in consequence of the severity of my efforts, and by the operation of climatic influences, brought upon myself a grave illness, which compelled me, instead of returning to Thibet and Hami, to stop at the end of 1877 in our border post of Saisan. After three months of good care, I was restored enough to undertake a new journey. But the expedition was now postponed by an order from St. Petersburg, because of the unpleasant relations that were existing with the Chinese. The delay, however, had its pleasant features for me. I could go to my own home, and there, in the undisturbed quiet of a country life, gain a complete recovery. Here, in this season of rest, the importance of making the still wholly unknown wild regions of the interior of Asia the object of a journey of discovery became clearly fixed in my mind." Thus it came about that he particularly emphasized the exploration of Thibet. His plan was supported by the Geographical Society, and approved by the Minister of War, and he was allowed a subsidy of twenty-nine thousand rubles. His company consisted of twelve persons besides himself: Ensign Ecklon for the zoölogical and Ensign Roborowski for the botanical work; three soldiers and five Cossacks; a subordinate officer and preparateur; and an interpreter from Kuldja
