the snowy mass of the Ilve-tschimen, with which we shall make a closer acquaintance lower down. On the southern side of its main watercourse the bottom of the latitudinal valley slopes at an extraordinarily gentle angle up towards the northern foot of the Akato-tagh. The ground is absolutely sterile, not a trace of animal life to be seen. A little farther south the surface appeared to be perfectly horizontal; at all events there was not a single torrent to indicate that there was any slope. At Camp. No. V (alt., 3,081 m.) there was neither grazing nor water; on the other hand teresken bushes now made their appearance and yielded excellent fuel.
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