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

The height values ascertained for them are subject to minor adjustment consequent
upon the corrections which the geodetic work effected by the Survey of
Triangulation of India in 1912-13 on the Tāghdum-bāsh Pāmir has involved for the
Muz-tāgh-atā range. triangulated points of the Pamir Boundary Commission. But the
results of Rai Sāhib Rām Singh's triangulation leave no doubt that the Kongur (or Shiwakte)
portion of the range rises in at least one peak (Kongur-debe I, height 25,146 feet) considerably
above the great snowy dome of Muz-tāgh-atā (24,321 feet). The photo-theodolite panoramas
taken by me around Little Kara-kul served for the preparation of a detailed map of the
ground between that range and the Russian Pāmirs, by Lieut. F. B. Tillard, R. E., on the
scale of 4 miles to 1 inch. ⁵ A recent computation of heights, by Major E. O. Wheeler,
M. C., R. E., based upon the same panoramas, has fully confirmed the greater elevation of
Peak Kongur-debe I, which hence may now be accepted as the culminating height north of
the Hindukush and Himālaya, not merely in the Pāmir region, but also in Asia generally. ⁶

The narrow valley of the Gez or Yamān-yār river draining the western and northern
slopes of the Kongur range, and the route followed in the plain north-
Survey of Gez route. eastwards as far as Kāshgar could be checked by triangulation. ⁷
Several high peaks previously fixed from the Little Kara-kul side could
be observed by theodolite both at Tāshmalik, near the Gez river's debouchure from the
mountains, and at Kāshgar where a prolonged halt necessitated by my preparations for the
winter's work fortunately gave a chance of favourable atmospheric conditions towards the
close of August. As evidence of the very careful work done by R. S. Rām Singh both on
the plane-table and in triangulation, I may mention that the longitude of Kāshgar as shown
by the former (76° 1′ 0″) differed by less than two minutes from the value which wireless
observation on Sir F. De Filippi's expedition in 1914 determined (75° 59′ 5·64″), while the
triangulation result (75° 59′ 15″) as computed from our Kongur-debe Peak I approaches
this final determination still more closely. ⁸

At the beginning of September we left Kāshgar first for the examination of some
ruined sites north-eastwards near the outermost foothills of the T'ien-
Kāshgar-Khotan route. shan, and then for the journey which was to take us to Khotan in the
south-east, the main base for my intended explorations. ⁹ For the
first portion of this journey I was able to avoid the well-known high road by rejoining
Rām Singh in the large and fertile tract of Khān-arik and thence by making our way to
the south via Ordam-pādshāh. ¹⁰ By the visit to this famous pilgrimage place we gained
acquaintance with the westernmost part of that great belt of absolutely barren drift-sand
desert known as the Taklamakān which extends throughout the whole length of the Tārim
basin as far east as the Lop-nōr depression. From Kizil we were obliged to follow the
caravan route to Khotan which, except where it passes through the rich district of Yārkand
and the adjoining oasis of Karghalik, keeps close to the southern edge of the dune-covered
Taklamakān. ¹¹ Apart from rapid excursions in the last named oasis and visits to ruined sites
near this ancient highway survey work had to be confined to the vicinity of the actual route line. ¹²

Within a few days of our arrival at Khotan, October 13th, however, we set out for a
month's interesting geographical work in the mountains to the south, a
K'un-lun range S. of portion of the K'un-lun range hitherto practically unsurveyed. Five
Khotan. long marches from the debouchure of the Yurung-kāsh river led over a
succession of high spurs furnishing excellent plane-table stations. Then the deep-cut valley