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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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valley is -a series of picturesque landscapes with surprising, wild perspectives up the side valleys and here and there with wide grass-grown plains. Besh-terek, Kara-dung and Pokhtu are valleys from the S. W., the last-mentioned being the largest, nearly as large as the Keng-kol itself. Here a little caravanserai is built.

At Pokhlu the first snow falls at end of September. As early as March it disappears. The summer is the rainy season, and it rains a good deal. A few days before our visit the precipitation had been so considerable that the Keng--kol had been difficult to cross. The N. N. E. wind was said to be rain-wind and snow-wind. The Kirgizes of this region are Kitchak, though no tents were now pitched at Pokhtu. In the summer they wander to the yeilaks of the higher regions, in the winter they go down the valley.

On June 28th we had 25 km. S. S. W., and W. S. W. up through the valley

of Keng-kol ascending 352 m. to the aul of Keng-kol, where the altitude is 3,369 m., the rise being I : 7 I . The first part of this distance the valley is narrow; the latter, somewhat broader. The rock seems chiefly to be crystalline schist and porphyry. There are considerable screes and erosion terraces the whole way. The road is very good on soft, grassy ground, where the brook meanders in all directions. Here and there, especially along the foot of the mountains and in the bed of the brook, there is gravel. Marmots are numerous.

From the left or west the following tributaries enter : Momolai-unkur, Sari-

beles, Kara-agil with three yeilaks called Pokhtu, Seki and Sokutash; then follow

Kisil-Liken, Tuiuk yar, Kasim-Bek, Kuruk-könlöi a double valley, Ak-tö (Ak-tuya) with a seldomly used road, Chaltash and Shamaldi, which enters a little below our

camp. From the right or east and S. E., we passed Sasik-teke, Yarik-bash, Yeshil

with a road to Yeshil-davalz, Kisil-lau and Kisil, Tegen-ächik a narrow gorge

with high mountains on the sides and a road to Tegen-ächik-davan and Yarkand;

Arselik a valley with yeilaks and a road by Arselik-davan to Charting; Yalj5ak-

lash, and finally Kashka-su.

From the ant of Keng-kol there is a road to Kara-task and Kara-kul

crossing the Pass of Boora. The Keng-kol. River, which at the aul had not quite

1 cub. m. of water per second, is formed by the brooks of Kashka-su, Tamgara and Boora, of which the first is the largest, although it may be regarded as a

right tributary of the Keng-kol. The road to Kara-lash passes several yeilaks, amongst them Burgen and Merke, which we should touch on our return journey.

A road from Yarkand to Tagarma passes along the • Ctarling and Kashka-su. Tamgara is also a right tributary. Billauli and Boora jilga are left tributaries above our camp. The latter leads to the Boora Pass beyond which there is another

Boora jilg-a, which leads to Kara-lash. From the aul of Keng-kol one day's journey

was reckoned to Kara-lash, and thence two days to Kara-kul.

EXCURSION TO EASTERN PAMIR, SUMMER 1894.