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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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beyond which we had passed a few days before. At the sides of the southern Buru-kös very considerable snow-mountains were seen which, towards our valley, gradually go over into ramifications and ridges with erosion furrows and small valleys between; their more rounded slopes, where living rock is rare, consist of detritus and débris, and have at their base the mighty erosion terraces which here and there are pierced by small valleys with delta-shaped fans. The terraces may be some 6o or 7o m. high, and are shaped, by the action of water, into pillars, towers and picturesque

formations. Their horizontal stratification is very well visible from different layers of sand, fine gravel, and coarser material.

At the right side we pass Cha j5gen jilga with seven tents. To the left is Peigadung jilga, comparatively large, and at its mouth is a square Chinese wall, where formerly a Chinese lansa was stationed. Below Buru-kös the whole valley is filled with gravel from the screes. But from Peigadung the grazing-ground predominates the whole way, with good tussock-grass. The region is very swampy. The river is often divided into several branches. An aul of 4 tents was passed and another of 9; before reaching them we had counted 18 tents. Our road goes along the right side of the valley; on the top of its terrace there was a burial place with a gumbes. Opposite this place, and below or S. E. of Buru-kös, five short and steep side valleys are situated; in the background of three of them glaciers were seen. Finally we turned around a promontory and camped on a meadow at the eastern shore of the lake Chaker-agil--kul where an aul was pitched.

At the lake 6 tents were situated, though 6o were reported for the whole district of Chaker-agil. The inhabitants are of the Naiman-tribe. I was told that distinction was made between three different kinds of Naiman Kirgizes: Mirza Naiman

at Muchi, Kichik Naiman at Chaker-agil, and Yerde Naiman at Bulung-kul. The Kirgizes now dwelling at the lake pass the winter in the Kalema-jilga which enters the basin of the lake from the west and where the grazing is good. In the upper reaches of the Kalema there is no ice but a good deal of snow. If the weather is sunny and warm a considerable amount of water comes down and fills the little lake, which then gets an effluent to Gez-darya. At my visit the lake had no outflow on account of the cold weather. The lake is in winter covered with ice as thick as a man's arm. The winter is very cold, but there is rarely more than four fingers of snow; the place is very windy, especially in spring and autumn. The winds come both from the Gez valley and from the Kaleì;za valley. Many of the mountain slopes round the lake seemed to be covered with a thin layer of wind-

driven sand.

The day of July 2 2nd was spent on an excursion around the oblong little lake of Clacker-agil which is only 4,200 m. in length and 2, I oo m. at its broadest place. At its eastern shore there is a belt of sand dunes, not more than 5 m. high and

ACROSS THE ULUG-ART IN 1895.