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

THE REGION OF MERKE AND BORAMSAL.

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The ascent to the pass is not steep; we approach the saddle gradually. On

the very top of the flat pass we have to ride about 2 km. on the snout of the glacier itself which, as well as the surrounding ground, was covered under 4o cm. of snow with a frozen crust. The pass is closed every winter. It is very flat and it is hard to tell exactly where it is. It was the highest pass I crossed in Eastern Pamir, or 5,198 m., even higher than Ulug -art (5,150 m.).

The mountains north of the pass had only small patches of snow; those to the south were quite covered with snow and ice. On the eastern side, where the valley slopes down at a much steeper rate, we rode for about an hour amongst enormous old moraines. The gravel is chiefly black and green crystalline schist. On the way down in the Merke-bashi jilga we passed blocks of coarse-grained grey gneiss. Living rock was very rare; the mountain sides were covered with gravel and screes. The valley is comparatively broad and has good grazing grounds. To our right or south we pass the tributaries Korum-jilga, Kara-jilga and Temirjilga. From the left we noted only Kashka-su. Now only one Kara-tell tent was pitched some distance below Kaslika-su, where we camped. During summer many Kirgizes visit the valley. In the winter the snow and the hard S. W. wind drive them down to Kara-lash and farther.

On October 13th we travelled 16 km. N. N. E. down the valley to the entrance of the left tributary Sugel jilga, in which we ascended 2 km. to the aul of the same name, and where the altitude is 3,015 m. or a fall of 578 m. The Merke River now assumes the name of Kusen-darya, pronounced as Ksen-darya. The whole day it snowed heavily, and both at Merke and Sugel the Kirgiz said it was the first serious snowfall of the winter season. The valley is narrow. The road sticks the whole time to its floor. Below the entrance of the watercourse of Boramsal the volume is about 2 cub. m. per second, in a very stony bed. Only twice the road passed by uncomfortable passages on the slopes of old terraces. Sometimes living rock is seen, always crystalline schist. Blocks of gneiss are numerous in and along the bed. The mountains at the sides are steep, black and wild, though now nearly everything became snowed over. From both sides enter a great number of small, short and steep jilgas.

From the right comes the large tributary, Boramsal, with a brook. Only from here the stream of the main valley is open; above this junction it was frozen. The Boramsal was now uninhabited. In its upper reaches there are good yeilaks. It has a road by Boramsal-davan to Pas-rabat. Tarnde jilt a from the left is broad, but without importance. Near its mouth was an aul of four tents. Then follows, from the right, the large tributary of Boora jilga with extensive grazing-grounds in its upper reaches, four tents, and a road by Boora-davan to Keng-kol, which it joins a short distance above Kashka-su. Tora is the name of a double jilga from