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| 0037 |
Ruins of Desert Cathay : vol.2 |
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extent was much larger than there shown, and the wide,
salt-encrusted edges indicated that its level would at times
rise still higher.
A number of small isolated clay terraces were seen
scattered over the flat shore, manifestly the last survivals
from terrace clusters and ridges which the relentless powers
of erosion had long ago ground down and carried off. Two
of them, not far from the present lake shore, could be seen
crowned by watch-towers, for which they offered command-
ing positions. But it was getting too late to approach
them. Perched at the end of a long ridge projecting into
the plain from the south there rose another ruined tower
overlooking the route; which at this point turned to
the south-east. One more great bay was crossed, filled
with a succession of eroded clay terraces. There in the
twilight we met for the first time a caravan, a big convoy
of Keriya camels which had passed us at Miran at the
beginning of February carrying the goods of some Khotan
traders (Fig. 137), and which were now returning safely
from Tun-huang. We did not envy the men their second
desert crossing. Then the route led up a gently sloping
alluvial fan, and at last in the dark, after a total march of
some twenty-six miles, we pitched camp at a spring which
our Abdal guide called Yantak-kuduk.
The water of the spring-fed pool proved perfectly fresh,
and far better than any we had tasted for a long time.
The thorny scrub close by just sufficed for the animals,
and as the oasis now lay within a day's march, the morn-
ing of March 12th saw the caravan start with unwonted
alacrity. On a small knoll to the south where we fixed
the plane-table I observed a novel sight, a miniature shrine
built of clay and evidently cherished by Chinese wayfarers;
for inside the tiny cella there lay votive offerings of papers
and incense sticks. It served to remind me that we were
approaching a region where Buddhism, or what figures as
such in Chinese syncretistic belief, is still a religion in
being.
Nothing else on that day's march indicated that we were
moving towards a town of the living. For fully seven-
teen miles we rode over a waste of gravel with practically
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