National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

The ascent to the pass is not steep; we approach the saddle gradually. On
the very top of the flat pass we have to ride about 2 km. on the snout of the
glacier itself which, as well as the surrounding ground, was covered under 40 cm.
of snow with a frozen crust. The pass is closed every winter. It is very flat and
it is hard to tell exactly where it is. It was the highest pass I crossed in Eastern
Pamir, or 5,198 m., even higher than Ulug-art (5,150 m.).

The mountains north of the pass had only small patches of snow; those to
the south were quite covered with snow and ice. On the eastern side, where the
valley slopes down at a much steeper rate, we rode for about an hour amongst
enormous old moraines. The gravel is chiefly black and green crystalline schist.
On the way down in the Merke-bashi-jilga we passed blocks of coarse-grained grey
gneiss. Living rock was very rare; the mountain sides were covered with gravel
and screes. The valley is comparatively broad and has good grazing grounds. To
our right or south we pass the tributaries Korum-jilga, Kara-jilga and Temir-
jilga. From the left we noted only Kashka-su. Now only one Kara-teit tent was
pitched some distance below Kashka-su, where we camped. During summer many
Kirgizes visit the valley. In the winter the snow and the hard S. W. wind drive
them down to Kara-tash and farther.

On October 13th we travelled 16 km. N. N. E. down the valley to the entrance
of the left tributary Suget-jilga, in which we ascended 2 km. to the aul of the same
name, and where the altitude is 3,015 m. or a fall of 578 m. The Merke River
now assumes the name of Kusen-darya, pronounced as Ksen-darya. The whole day
it snowed heavily, and both at Merke and Suget the Kirgiz said it was the first
serious snowfall of the winter season. The valley is narrow. The road sticks the
whole time to its floor. Below the entrance of the watercourse of Boramsal the
volume is about 2 cub. m. per second, in a very stony bed. Only twice the road
passed by uncomfortable passages on the slopes of old terraces. Sometimes living
rock is seen, always crystalline schist. Blocks of gneiss are numerous in and along
the bed. The mountains at the sides are steep, black and wild, though now nearly
everything became snowed over. From both sides enter a great number of small,
short and steep jilgas.

From the right comes the large tributary, Boramsal, with a brook. Only
from here the stream of the main valley is open; above this junction it was frozen.
The Boramsal was now uninhabited. In its upper reaches there are good yeilaks.
It has a road by Boramsal-davan to Pas-rabat. Tamde-jilga from the left is broad,
but without importance. Near its mouth was an aul of four tents. Then follows,
from the right, the large tributary of Boora-jilga with extensive grazing-grounds
in its upper reaches, four tents, and a road by Boora-davan to Keng-kol, which it
joins a short distance above Kashka-su. Tora is the name of a double jilga from