National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

> > > >
Color New!IIIF Color HighRes Gray HighRes PDF   Japanese English
0266 History of the Expedition in Asia, 1927-1935 : vol.3
History of the Expedition in Asia, 1927-1935 : vol.3 / Page 266 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

New!Citation Information

doi: 10.20676/00000210
Citation Format: Chicago | APA | Harvard | IEEE

OCR Text

 

On July 13th CHEN had followed the old bed of the Konche-darya to the south-east, finding it narrower and more winding than the new river, the Qumdarya. The old bed was not entirely dried up; there were so many stagnant pools that they occupied half the area of the bed. Between the pools were narrow channels with a slow current. CHEN'S observations show that this part of the Konche-darya had not been entirely abandoned by the water as late as 1934. We had heard, too, that its water rose towards autumn, when the flood came. But we had also heard from the begs at Tikenliq and from village headmen that the volume of water passing through their district down the Konche-darya was quite insufficient for the irrigation of the fields, and that a considerable part of the population had left the place. As long ago as 1928 Colonel SCHOMBERG had heard that 220 of the 50o families in Tikenliq had gone elsewhere.

CHEN then returned to base camp No. 7o, journeying on foot along the northern bank of the Qum-darya and finishing the trip by canoe. He arrived on July 23rd.

The following day he left the base camp again, accompanied this time by SAN WA-TZE and CHOKDUNG, two Turkis, and five donkeys. Taking a canoe with them they started eastward on the left bank, but soon crossed to the right bank, as most of the lakes are south of the river. These were mapped one after the other. As a rule the men had to remain in their tent during the hottest hours of the day, when the temperature rose to 41° C. (Io6° F.) in the shade.

On August 2nd CHEN pitched the tent at our old camp No. 75 — the head of the delta. Thence, with two men and three donkeys, he covered the 18 km separating him from the ruins of Lou-lan, arriving there after a ten hours' walk at 7 p. m. In the evening and on the following morning they found a quantity of smallish metal objects such as coins. arrow-heads, strap-fittings, and glass and stone beads.

After placing another paper in the thermometer-case by HÖRNER'S Swedish flag, now reduced by the winds to a mere rag fluttering on the top of the ancient city's tallest tower, CHEN retreated N. N. W. with his little force to the nearest water — a small lake. Then, on August 5th, they returned to their camp at the beginning of the delta.

The next day the canoe was left on the northern bank of the river, with these words cut in its side: »Dr HEDIN's expedition, 1934. »

They then made for the firm gravel ground to the north of the river, where progress was not entirely obstructed by yardangs and mesas, marching westwards as quickly as they could in the evenings and nights. The reason for their hurry was that a messenger had just come from GEORG to say that petrol and oil had arrived from Urumchi at last, and that a start would be made for that place as soon as CHEN had returned to the base camp. He reached it on August 8th, and on the loth the motor-convoy set out for Korla and Urumchi.

Our young Chinese comrade, PARKER C. CHEN, had, with his exact mapping

200