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0327 Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 : vol.1
Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 : vol.1 / Page 327 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000196
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willow are plentiful to within twenty-five miles of the lake. From that on, the never failing " bûrtzi" affords an abundant supply of fuel. Excellent grass, similar to that in the Little Pâmir, and the Aktâsh and Sirikol valleys, is found throughout. The lake stream in the first sixteen miles of its course flows between high gravelly banks, which rise to far extending downs, dying away in the long and easy mountain slopes. ,

We were remarkably fortunate in meeting with comparatively little snow as far as the lake. There was a considerable fall on the night of the 29th at Bilaur Bas, twenty-five miles below the lake.

We reached the Great Pâmir or Wood's lake on 1st May. It was entirely frozen over and covered with snow. Its water is perfectly sweet, judging from what we used for two days from the stream which flows out of it. It extends east and west, and is about ten miles long by three broad. The water marks on the shores however indicate a considerable enlargement in summer. Its height is 14,200 feet. The southern shore is even, the northern broken and irregular. The shores resemble a sea beach from the sand and gravel which cover them. Many signs of considerable depth were observed.

At three miles from the foot a high promontory runs out from the northern shore and approaches the southern side to within less than a mile. The hills to the south slope very gradually from the edge of the lake, and the peaks rise to a height of .fat_ox _ fiye„ thousand feet above it. Broad plains and low undulations, for about three miles, lie between it and the hills to the north, which appear much lower than those to the south.

The valley closes in at the head of the lake, and continues narrow for about eight miles, when it again opens out with a steady fall to the east. Captain Trotter by examination determined the water-shed to be at this point. Two small frozen lakes were observed near the head of the lake, under the high snowy mountains, which close in there from the south. They presented the appearance of ice accumulations, and probably, after furnishing feeders to the lake for a short time, finally disappear in summer. A valley at the head of the lake leads to the Wurm pass, by which the Little Pâmir, Langar, and Sarhadd are reached in one and two days.

There was a great deal of snow about the lake, and it lay so deep on the high ground at its head, and in the valley leading down east from the water-shed, that the easy regular road that way could not be followed. We were forced to find a path along the low bills to the north, and had considerable difficulty in forcing our way through the heavy snow drifts.

The snow ceased about eighteen miles from. the lake. The eastern stream from the watershed is there joined by a large one from the Shash Darrah (six valleys) in the range between the Great and Little Pamirs. Several paths lead from this point to the Little Pâmir and the Aktâsh valley. We followed the united streams, here called the Isligh, down to the Aktâsh valley, a distance of fifty-eight miles, over a very gentle fall the whole way. The hills right and left are low and rounded, with great openings and depressions appearing every where. We were accompanied by a large party of Wakhis, acting as guides and in charge of the horses carrying our supplies. On one of these guides being asked if paths lay in the direction of certain openings pointed out, the answer was " Yes, there are paths all over the Pâmir. It has a thousand roads. With a guide you can go in all directions."

From the junction of the Great Pâmir with the Aktâsh valley we travelled eighteen miles, south-east by south, up to the halting place, which had been agreed upon with Captain Biddulph as the point of meeting on the 4th May. Both parties reached punctually on that date, we having marched thirty-seven miles that day to keep the engagement.

Captain Biddulph succeeded in visiting the Chitral passes, and made a most valuable addition to the results of our Pâmir exploration.

The Alichôr Pâmf r runs east and west, parallel to the Great and Little Pamirs. According to Wakhi accounts it is similar in character to them, broad at the eastern, and narrow at the western end. It is connected with the Great Pâmir by the " Dasht-i-Khargôshi," a desert flat .which extends across from about twenty miles below the Great Pâmir lake. A road passes over it and branches from the Alichôr to Shighnân and Khokand. The Dasht-i-Kharg6shi is

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