gan of earth, about 7 feet high and 76 paces in diameter, on the right about 1/3 of a mile from the road. A circle of stones partly surrounds the mound. It is about 124 paces in diameter. A mile or two further E the ground again became marshy on the right of the road and remained so up to our next camp, another three miles further.
I was again put up by a hospitable lama and admired the huge appetite with which he devoured large quantities of meat and »lapsha» (soup and flour). The lamas represent one-third of the Torgut tribe, but it can confidently be stated that quite two-thirds of all the tribe produces finds its way into the stomachs of these idlers. They often live in the »auls», but have no cattle of their own, being supplied with what they require by the Kur to which they belong. Women are not allowed to enter the Kur except to pray, and the lamas are supposed to lead a life of complete celibacy. I came across a large yurt belonging to the widow of a Torgut, who had died about a year before. It was occupied by the widow and a well-fed lama and there was a baby lying on the bed, doubtless a gift of the burkhuns.
All the older Torguts complain of the losses suffered by the people during the Dungan revolt. Peaceful conditions were not established until the Russians had occupied Qulja. The people give the impression of being exceedingly peaceful and careful. There is not a trace of military organisation. Rifles are a rarity. Those I saw were old flint-locks with long barrels, provided with a support in front. There are probably not a dozen breechloaders (mostly Berdan) of old types in all the yurts. The owners' names are given. — There is little game-shooting, consisting mostly in lying in wait for the game. You may see a Torgut lying patiently for hours with his rifle aimed at the entrance of a rodent's hole, waiting for the occupant to appear. The meat of the rodents is eaten quite generally.
The road to-day led across the same plain as yesterday. On the right was a swamp not far from the road which runs along dry ground. We soon crossed a dry watercourse under the name of Kelden usun and about 2 r /2 miles further four parallel arms of the Zakh Kelden usun, also without any water. On the right we caught sight of some »auls» in the distance, several consisting of 8—to yurts. One of them is a lamasery Kur, but much smaller than the one I visited on the Ikhe Yulduz. After covering another 2 I /2 miles we reached the Sagasutai before which there were two small, dry watercourses. The Sagasutai itself flows in two arms here, the larger being 15 feet wide and 0.4 m deep, while the current is 4/5 m. The bottom consists of gravel. The other arm is rather smaller. The water is perfectly clear and white. We rode about 6 miles on the other side of the river before we reached the first small spurs of the mountains that had wedged themselves between the Baga Yulduz and the latter river. The mountain range that looked so imposing at a distance comes up to the Baga Yulduz in a chain of small hills, the slopes of which are crossed by the road. At the place where it first leads up to these hills, we passed a Kalmuk praying site on the right called Bajang Khoshuna usur. Next to it are the remains of a group of the constantly recurring circles or heaps of stones. For a time the Baga Yulduz remained close to the road at the foot of the slopes. It seems to come from a morass in a sligh ly more southern direction than the road which still continued almost due E. The mountain range along which we proceeded is here called Säkhen Dutin adryk ul. For barely six miles the road again runs at
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