274 IN TIBET AND CHINESE TURKESTAN.
waves remained ; but all was at rest and almost noiseless.
On January 10th I reached Langar for the fourth time, and found waiting for me letters which had been brought from Tashkurghan by my messenger from Tir. The villagers of Langar could provide me with no supplies but a little barley and one or two old roosters. They were, I found, themselves dependent on Takla for provisions. • Hitherto Ram Singh had been able to reach points of sufficient altitude to be able to see positions already determined, and to fix others ; but lower down the valley it was impossible, in the time at our disposal, to climb mountains of bare rock on either side. We therefore resorted to pacing in our measurements, and to this method we adhered until we reached Kosarab.
When we came to the Danga Bash, or, as it is called in the latter part of its course, the Tashkurghan River, we found, as we had been told near Jurab, that it was not frozen over, and was far too deep to ford. We therefore left the valley of the Yarkand and advanced up that of the Tashkurghan River, the volume of which seemed equal to quite one-third of that of the Yarkand above the confluence. This side valley, in its lower part, was as barren as the main valley, and on the right bank where we were marching we found a troublesome rocky slope. But the river was fringed on both sides with ice several yards broad which looked strong, and I was tempted to allow the caravan to proceed upon it. The ice, however, soon began to crack and to be overflowed with water, so that the animals had to walk at considerable intervals, and the drivers had to exercise great caution. I climbed the bank to view the valley ahead, and saw a close succession of ice-floes, some very large, coming down the open -water at a rapid rate. I shouted to the men to bring the animals off the ice wherever they could find
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