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| 0656 |
The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.2 |
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absence of birds (pp. 174-175) *might* be a reflex of the very ancient legend (based prob-
ably on the name zend *Upairi-saena*, pehlevi *Apārsin*, 'higher than the birds')
which represents the *Hindu Kush* range proper as too high for birds to fly over. The
legend can be traced by successive evidence in the case of the range north of Kabul."—
Regarding the route (p. 175) from the *Wakhjir* (sic) Pass down the Taghdumb-bash
Pamir, then *viâ* Tāsh-kurghan, Little Karakul, Bulun Kul, Gez Daria to Tashmalik
and Kashgar, Dr. Stein says that he surveyed it in July, 1900, and he refers for the
correct phonetic spelling of local names along it to his map to be published in
*J. R. G. S.*, in December, 1902. He says in his *Prel. Report*, p. 10: "The *Wakhjir*
Pass, only some 12 miles to the south-west of *Kök-türük*, connects the Taghdumbāsh
Pāmir and the Sarikol Valleys with the head-waters of the Oxus. So I was glad that
the short halt, which was unavoidable for survey purposes, permitted me to move a
light camp close to the summit of the Wakhjir Pass (circ. 16,200 feet). On the
following day, 2nd July, I visited the head of *Ab-i-Panja* Valley, near the great
glaciers which Lord Curzon first demonstrated to be the true source of the River
Oxus. It was a strange sensation for me in this desolate mountain waste to know
that I had reached at last the eastern threshold of that distant region, including
Bactria and the Upper Oxus Valley, which as a field of exploration had attracted me
long before I set foot in India. Notwithstanding its great elevation, the Wakhjir
Pass and its approaches both from west and east are comparatively easy. Com-
paring the topographical facts with Hiuen-Tsiang's account in the *Si yu-ki*, I am led
to conclude that the route followed by the great Chinese Pilgrim, when travelling
about A.D. 649 from Badakhshān towards Khotan, through 'the valley of Po-mi-lo
(Pamir)' into Sarikol, actually traversed this Pass."
Dr. Stein adds in his notes to me that "Marco Polo's description of the forty
days' journey to the E.N.E. of *Vakhan* as *through tracts of wilderness* can we'll
be appreciated by any one who has passed through the Pamir Region, in the
direction of the valleys W. and N. of Murtagh Ata. After leaving Tāshkurghan
and Tagharma, where there is some precarious cultivation, there is no local produce to
be obtained until the oasis of Tashmalik is reached in the open Kashgar plains. In
the narrow valley of the Yamanyar River (Gez Defile) there is scarcely any grazing;
its appearance is far more desolate than that of the elevated Pamirs."—"Marco Polo's
praise (p. 181) of the gardens and vine-yards of Kashgar is well deserved; also the
remark about the trading enterprise of its merchants still holds good, if judged by the
standard of Chinese Turkestan. Kashgar traders visit Khotan far more frequently
than *vice versa*. It is strange that no certain remains of Nestorian worship can be
traced now."—"My impression [Dr. Stein's] of the people of the Khotan oasis
(p. 188) was that they are certainly a meeker and more docile race than *e.g.* the
average 'Kashgarlik' or Yarkandi. The very small number of the Chinese garrison
of the districts Khotan and Keria (only about 200 men) bears out this impression."
We may refer for the ancient sites, history, etc., of Khotan to the *Preliminary
Report* of Dr. Stein and to his paper in the *Geographical Journal* for December, 1902,
actually in the press.
5.—Number of Pamirs. (Vol. I. p. 176.)
Lord Curzon gives the following list of the "eight claimants to the distinction and
title of a Pamir": (1) Taghdumbash, or Supreme Head of the Mountains Pamir,
lying immediately below and to the north of the Kilik Pass. (2) The Pamir-i-
Wakhan. (3) The Pamir-i-Khurd, or Little Pamir. (4) The Pamir-i-Kalan, or
Great Pamir. (5) The Alichur Pamir. (6) The Sarez Pamir. (7) The Rang Kul
Pamir. (8) The Khargosh or Hare Pamir, which contains the basin of the Great
Kara Kul. See this most valuable paper, *The Pamirs and the Source of the Oxus*,
reprinted from the *Geographical Journal* of 1896, in 1896, 1898, and 1899.
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731
732
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