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

I reached Singer by the route already surveyed in 1907 and, after securing there Abdur-
rahim's youngest brother as guide, I proceeded westwards to examine localities where traces
of earlier occupation were reported. Passing thus from Po-ch'êng-tzu to Shindi I was able to
map interesting and as yet unsurveyed ground in the mountains; their rugged ranges and
deeply eroded valleys were in striking contrast with the worn-down uplands met in the Kuruk-
tâgh further east. The Klangol peaks passed on this route seemed to exceed 10,000 feet and
probably represent the greatest elevation of the Kuruk-tâgh. 70

I then made my way south-eastwards over barren gravel plateaus to the salt spring of
Yârdang-bulak at the south foot of the Kuruk-tâgh and by the second week of March entered
the waterless desert to the south. Besides exploring certain ancient burial grounds I complet-
ed the survey of the Kuruk-daryâ, the dried-up river-bed which once carried the water of the
Konche-daryâ to the Lou-lan sites and the ancient delta to the south. 71

The day after my return to Yârdang-bulak I was rejoined by Afrâz-gul whose safe
arrival at this appointed meeting place I had been eagerly awaiting.
Afrâz-gul's surveys
along dried-up Lop sea. Some anxiety about the safety of the overdue little party was justified
by the truly forbidding nature of the ground he had to traverse and the
length of the strain put on our brave camels. Afrâz-gul had carried through the difficult
programme laid down by me with remarkable completeness and intelligence, his success on
this survey alone fully justifying the award to him two years later of the Macgregor Silver
Medal by the Intelligence Department of the Indian General Staff.

Guided by a third brother of Abdurrahim he first gained Âltmish-bulak by the most
direct track leading due south of Deghar. 72 Thence he surveyed certain ancient remains in
the extreme north-east of the once-watered Lou-lan area for the examination of which I had
been unable to spare time a year earlier. Replenishing his supply of ice from the salt springs,
he struck out to the south-east for the point where my explorations of the preceding year had
shown the ancient Chinese route from Lou-lan to Tun-huang to have entered the salt-encrusted
bed of the Lop sea. 73 From there he traced its shore-line to the south-west, making plenty
of interesting observations on inlets and terminal flood-beds once carrying water from the
Kuruk-daryâ. Finally he reached, at Chainut-köl, the northern edge of the area in which the
spring floods of the dying Târim spread themselves out to undergo rapid evaporation in
lagoons and marshes. 74 He arrived, as I had intended, just before the usual inundation could
interfere with his progress to ground affording some scanty grazing for his hard-tried camels.

After a few days' rest he turned northwards into the wind-eroded desert and striking
the line of the southernmost branch of the 'Dry River' traced more
Crossing from terminal
Târim marshes to 'Dry remains of the ancient settlement discovered along it a year before.
River.'
Finally after crossing my route of December, 1906, in an area of for-
midable dunes, he gained the main riverine belt of the Kuruk-daryâ along the foot of the
outermost Kuruk-tâgh. 75 From this exceptionally difficult exploration which had kept
Afrâz-gul and his three plucky companions from contact with any human being for a month
and a half, he brought back, besides interesting archæological finds, an accurate plane-table
survey and careful records of topographical details such as I could not have hoped for from any
of my surveying assistants employed on this or my previous expeditions.

From Yârdang-bulak we moved westwards to the point known as Ying-p'an where
the ancient bed of the Kuruk-daryâ is crossed by the Turfân-Lop track.
Explorations near
Ying-p'an. There a short halt was made in order to explore interesting remains at
and near a fortified station situated at the debouchure of the dried-up
stream of Shindi and occupied during the early period when it guarded the ancient Chinese
high road from Lou-lan. The same opportunity was used also for surveying the belt of drift-