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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Report of a Mission to Yarkund in 1873 : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
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( 232 )
We reached Aktâsh on the 4th May, having travelled one hundred and fifty-seven miles from Panja. We found provisions awaiting us there, sent out from T6shkurgân by Hussun Shah, according to request. We had experienced some difficulty in obtaining the supplies required for our journey from Wakhân, and were nearly being starved through the avarice and greed of those entrusted by Mir Futteh Ali Shah with the order to provide. We found, after proceeding one march beyond the last habitation, that sufficient for five days only, instead of eight, had been furnished. The Mir was at once communicated with on the subject, and we were overtaken the next day by a messenger, with a letter saying how annoyed he was at the dishonesty which had been practised towards us and himself, and that extra supplies would reach us that night, which they did. Seeing horse flesh in common use for food in K6shgar, we had learnt to look upon our ponies as a last resource always in case of extreme necessity. We halted a day at Âktâ,sh to rest our tired animals, and to arrange for the return of the Wakhis to Panja. Fifty of them with fifty-two horses accompanied us on the journey, and did us capital service. We rewarded them liberally, and sent them back with a letter of thanks to their Mir.
We retraced our steps to Tâshkurgân, where we were again most kindly received by Hussun Shah. After three days' halt we proceeded on the return journey to the plains of Yarkand. We went the first day to the foot of the Kok-Moinok pass, taking a long round by the Tâgharma plain. We crossed the Kok-Moinok 05,800 feet), and joined the road by which we travelled up, at the little'lake in the Chichiklik plain. There was a considerable amount of snow on the Kok-Moinok, the last we crossed on the way down. The pass is
easy of ascent and descent. -
We had a fall of snow at Chihil-Gumbaz on the night of the 14th May, and cold weather till the 18th, when we were at once plunged into extreme heat at Egiz-Yar, in the plains. From that we struck across country to Kizil Robât, the first stage on the road from Yangi-Hissâr to Yarkand. We arrived at Yarkand on the 21st May, left on the 28th, and
reached Leh on the 29th June. -~
Three days after crossing the Karakoram pass, we suffered the deep affliction of losing by death one of our party, Dr. Stoliczka, a highly valued friend and talented companion. His death is a great loss to the scientific world, for had he lived, he would have added much to knowledge by his researches and discoveries in geology and natural history.
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