IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
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CHAP. xxii.] THROUGH RIVERINE JUNGLE 347
that reminded me more of a winter scene in Northern Europe than anything I had seen for long years.
For over twelve miles we rode through the forest without getting a glimpse of the river or of a shepherd's hut that might have indicated its vicinity. At last a little before sunset we reached the deserted reed-huts of Döbe-Bostan, the second camping-ground. Here the su,ndliills of the desert-edge reappeared westwards, while the river came again within reach about a mile off to the east. The camels with the baggage did not arrive until 7 p.m. My men kept up splendid bonfires with the fallen trees close at hand, and thus I was able to enjoy the delightfully clear night sky without feeling the cold too acutely. But when my tent was ready at last the temperature in it was 10° Fahr.
My march on the 26th of January was considerably shorter, only about thirteen miles, and brought us to the famous Mazar that was to be our point of departure for the desert. The river, when we met it again in the morning, appeared as a narrow band of ice scarcely over 20 feet in width, and yet constantly sending off little branches. It looked as if the much-reduced stream were trying where it could bury itself quickest. Yet just here, so near its end, the fertilising power of its water visibly reasserted itself. The trees increased in size and the shrubs in height as we came nearer to the shrine, and the scenery around the latter looked quite pretty even in the bareness of its winter dress. Scattered at various points amidst groves of large poplars are huts intended for the shelter of
pilgrims. On the ridge of what looked like a huge sand-dune to the west there appeared a tangled mass of staffs and flags of all
kinds, marking the resting-place of the martyr prince whose memory
renders the place sacred. At last we were in front of the collection of mosques, Madrasahs and houses of the hereditary attendants
which make up the ` Mazar.' It looked imposing enough to eyes
that had seen besides the desert only the mud huts of Keriya and Niya for the last two months. A group of little lakes, formed
apparently by the river between the group of' buildings and the hill which the tomb crowns, greatly added to the picturesqueness of the scene.
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