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

partly to the small scale and partly to technical reasons connected with the methods of
reproduction then used at Calcutta, this map in its printed appearance could not do justice
to the care bestowed upon the drawing of the original plane-table sheets. This remark applies
in particular to the hill-shading executed by hachuring and to many of the more detailed
topographical features. Thus, e. g., areas of sandy desert supporting vegetation were but
imperfectly distinguished from cultivated ground, and perennial river courses, etc., were repre-
sented in the same manner as mere temporary flood beds.

Most of the technical imperfections were remedied in the reproduction of this map
which was prepared for the Royal Geographical Society's Journal to
Map in Ancient Khotan. illustrate a paper there published on my journey and which was used
also for the illustration of my Personal Narrative.²² For this map
executed under my direct supervision while 'on deputation' in England, tracings of the
original plane-table sheets were also utilized with much advantage. The difficulties arising
from the still more reduced scale of this map (1 : 1,500,000) could fortunately be avoided
in the map accompanying Ancient Khotan, the detailed report of my journey. It was
drawn by Mr. J. W. Addison, draftsman of the Royal Geographical Society, with the help
of original records and received equally skilful reproduction in lithography. Based on the
Survey of India's map but drawn on the scale of 8 miles to 1 inch it brings out very clearly
the characteristic geographical features of the Khotan region, to the representation of which
between the approximate longitudes of 79° and 84° it is confined.

Section III.—SURVEYS OF SECOND EXPEDITION, 1906–08

The results brought back from my first journey enabled me in 1905 to secure the
sanction of the Government of India, then under Lord Curzon as
Sanction for second Viceroy, and of the Secretary of State for a second Central-Asian
journey. expedition. It was undertaken with a view to explorations similar in
character but had a far more extended scope, a fact sufficiently indicated by its duration of
fully two and a half years, from the date of my start beyond the administrative border of the
N.W. Frontier Province till the return to my base in Kashmir. The Survey of India, under
Colonel F. B. Longe, R. E., Surveyor General, was as willing as ever to assist me in my
geographical task and again agreed to depute an Indian surveyor, to provide the needful
equipment and to bear all cost (originally estimated at Rs. 7,000) arising from his employment.
Colonel (now Sir Sidney) Burrard, as Superintendent of the Trigonometrical Survey,
showed again the most helpful interest in my plans and made the services of Rai Rām Singh,
my former travel companion, available for the work in view.

Starting with him on April 28, 1906, from Fort Chakdarra in Swāt, I journeyed
by a new route over interesting ground through tribal territory, Chitrāl
Route through Chitrāl and Mastūj to Afghān soil across the Hindukush and then by the
to Sarikol. uppermost Oxus to the Chinese border on the Pāmirs. We reached the
westernmost frontier of Chinese Turkistān on May 27th by the Wakhjir pass and again
descended the Tāghdum-bāsh Pāmir and the main Sarikol valley to Tāsh-kurghān. Below
this place Rai Rām Singh commenced survey work by measuring a base near the hamlet of
Chushmān in order to fix useful points for mapping the course of the Tāsh-kurghān or
Zarafshān river beyond its great bend eastwards.¹ From here down to its junction with
the Raskam-daryā, the river had never been explored, and owing to the extremely confined
nature of its valley the task was bound to offer great difficulties.