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0345	Innermost Asia : vol.2
極奥アジア : vol.2

Daraut-kurghān, with its confined terraces on which, owing to exposure, trees will not readily
grow. But at neither place did I learn of remains definitely indicating an early site. The selection
of Daraut-kurghān for the fort from which it takes its name and for the modern customs post is
accounted for by the facility it offers for watching the route to Margilān as well as that up the
Alai valley.

SECTION III.—ALONG THE WESTERN RIM OF THE PĀMĪRS

On August 2nd I started south, in order to strike across the succession of high snowy ranges Start south
which separate the head-waters of the Muk-su and those of the rivers flowing through Rōshān from
and Shughnān from the uppermost main feeders of the Oxus. It was the only route, other than kurghān.
the well-known one passing the Kizil-art and Great Kara-kul, by which I could cross the Russian
Pāmīrs and their western buttresses to Wakhān, and for this reason I chose it. It proved difficult
to follow, even with such hardy animals as Colonel Jagello's orders enabled me to secure from the
rare Kirghiz camps that we encountered. But there was abundant reward in interesting geogra-
phical observations and in splendid views over a high mountain region which had hitherto been
but little explored.

The first day's march led up the stream coming from the Tars-agar saddle. In the fairly open Tars-agar
valley we met with fields of oats, cultivated mostly without irrigation, up to Kūt-mazār, at an saddle and
elevation of about 9,000 feet. On the saddle of Tars-agar, girt by old moraines (about 11,500 feet), Sēl-tāgh.
where we found a small Kirghiz camp and halted, a truly impressive view was obtained of the great
ice-clad range due south vaguely known as Sēl-tāgh or Muz-tāgh (Fig. 362).¹ Even more imposing
was the panorama presented by its huge glacier-furrowed wall, of which Fig. 363 shows only
a portion, as it rose before me with magnificent abruptness ; it overhung wide torrent beds in the
deep-cut valley of the Muk-su, to which we descended next morning. This grand ice-clad range,
forming as it were a mighty north-western buttress of the Pāmīrs, still awaits exact survey. But
there seemed to me little doubt that its boldly serrated crest line rises well above 20,000 feet and
that individual ice peaks on it reach heights perhaps as great as that of Mount Kaufmann.²

On descending into the Muk-su valley we found luxuriant fields and meadows surrounding Muk-su and
the two dozen odd Kirghiz homesteads of Āltun-mazār, at an elevation of over 9,100 feet. There Kayindi
were plenty of trees to be seen about them. The snowfall of the winter was stated to be distinctly valley.
less than in the Alai valley. The Muk-su valley lower down contracts into gorges, quite im-
practicable as a route during the greater part of the year, and even during the winter very difficult.
Our direct route past the Sēl-tāgh would have led up the valley (Fig. 358) by which the Zulam-art
and Takhta-koram passes, giving access to the Kara-kul and Tanimaz river drainage areas,
respectively, are approached. But the floods fed by the huge Sēl-dara or Fedchenko Glacier
completely close this route from springtime till the late autumn. So we were obliged first to cross
the several large branches of the Sawak-sai, which drains the southern slopes of Mount Kaufmann
and the Trans-Alai farther west, and then to ascend the lower slopes of the spur which divides it
from the Kayindi valley. Progress to the head of this valley next day was very difficult, the track
winding for the most part through narrow ravines, blocked in places by ancient moraines and

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