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

ÜTSHE AND BÄI.DIR.   73

Here we enter the valley of Üíshe, where a ploughed field at an abandoned hut gets its irrigation-water from a little brook. A few minutes later we camp at the little village of Bäldir, where only one household lived. The Yus-bashi of the place had some 5o households spread in the valleys around under his dominion. He owned cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys. In the winter he settles down on the Üíshe River at its confluence with the Shina'e River, which is the continuation of the Tagladumbash - daz ya. At the confluence is the village Bäldir proper. The name was said to apply to the whole region as well. The name of the pass was Särghak. Another pass, Choslz-bel, was said to have a road joining the 0/she valley lower down. Higher up the river was a place called Üíshe. Wheat and barley are grown. The winter is cold, but there is little snow and not much wind. During the warm season the usual wind comes from the region of Mus-tagli-ata. The high mountains are a protection against other winds. A good deal of rain falls, more at Üíshe than at Bäldir. Wolves, foxes and wild goats live in the region. At the confluence there are groves of willows and poplar trees.

From our camp we could get a vague idea of the confluence to the N. i o° E. There the Taghdulnbash-darya is called Shinde, and in a deep-cut, wild gorge the river cuts through the range we have just crossed. From the village Bäldir proper at the confluence, there is no road in any direction except the one from Upper Bäldir and Üíshe.

The next day, September i 7th, we made a short march of only 9 km. S. E. up the valley to Üíshe where the altitude is 3,237 m., a rise of 120 m. at a rate

R1      of I :75. The brook, about 2 cub. m. of perfectly clear water per second, is often
crossed. The valley is of moderate size, not broad. In its background, S. E., a mighty, snowy range is visible. Along the right side are considerable erosion terraces, often with a vertical side.

Tar-bûsh is a little village of two or three huts in a broader part of the valley. The houses, built of clay and stone and with a roof of wood, are like the Persian, and often have a bala-khaneh. In the fields the harvest had just been gathered.

Above the mill Khan-kelide, the valley becomes narrower and has mighty erosion terraces on the top of which our road sometimes runs. Sometimes the solid rock consisting of crystalline schist in 59° S. I o° W. is visible. Still higher up the valley widens out into a regular plain with nearly level, swampy ground and several small villages of a few houses of clay and stone, and some black tents. Great flocks of yaks, sheep, goats, white cows and donkeys were grazing amongst the excellent grass. The brook crosses this plain which is called Tang-ab. Mighty mountains rise all around.

The little village where we camped is called Vacha; above it is 0/she. The population is Tajik. At Vacha they lived in black tents. During the winter several

z o. IX.