1923%20Memoir%20on%20Maps%20of%20Chinese%20Turkistan%20by%20Stein%20s

32 I-IISTOBY OP SURIrl:YS [Chap. I
arolllltj \\.bicll the renewetl visit rendered ~)ossible, proved tlre geographically interesting fact
of a bifulration takinz place here in t,he \\raterr of the FII-lo-ho. While t8he river itself turns
sharply west\vards to terminate Sully 180 ~niles beyo~ttl in tlre unarsl~es flanliil~g the \vosternmost
section of t.he Limes, a small stream, fed lry an itn~ndation bed of the river belo\\, the oasis
of Yii-men-hsien and also by snbsoil drainage from the irritation received from t.lle So-lo-110,
flows to the east ant1 nltinlately is lost in a separate basin to the nortll of the sn~;~ll oasis of
Hua-hai-tzo or 1-ing-p'an. ':
It \vas along this stream a~ltl tl111s to tllc east. tlr~t \Ire discovcrecl t,llc continuation of
the I,ili/r.s line, insteatl of sonth-east,wards in the direction of Sn-chou
Rrploratiot~s ill as I had been l>revioi~sly lecl to aasnlne. The ground crossed by it had
Yiirp-]''nu Itasiu.
relnainecl so far rlnsnrreyed, and the esl)loratio~r of the ruins alollg it
was made increasingly tlificult beyond by the tlistance \vl~icl~ sel~arated the Iollg forgotaten
border from the nearest water. Nevertlieless \vc sneceetlcd in tracking it for some tlistance
to the north-east of Ying-p'an before ultimately losing its line \vl~ere it passed into an area
covered by big dunes close to t,lre barren foothills of the l'ei-shan. 3H Thence we proceeded
to the 1arge.town and oasis of Su-chou at the begin~~ing of hlay in ordcr to malie preparations
for our nest move nort,hmartl.
This journey led me do\~,n the united course of the rivers of Su-clroi~ and Kan-chou
into a portion of southernmost Alorlgolia offering geographical and
Aocit.nt L~IIIPS traced
N, of S,I-chon, Ilist,orical interest. Leaving Su-cllou on Alay 10, 1 marcl~ed by a nem
rout,e to the oasis of Chin-t'a, already visited ill 1907. I:ollo\ving the
Su-chou river beyoud, I succeeded in tracing afreslr the lioe of the arlcic~lt L~~II~,.s where it
emerged on less impracticable groontl near the south-eastern extremity of tlic Pei-shan.
Thence we tracked it throogh to the north of the hlao-luei oasis, the last Chinese settlement.
There Lal Sing11 rejoined Ine after lravirrg followed a hitherto nnsurveyed route alot~g the
Kan-chou river where it breaks through the \vesternmost hill range of the Ala-shat~.~~
As we moved down the Etsin-gol, as the united river is called by the llongols, \ve found
evidence that the ancient border lioe after crossing the river beyond 3lao-rnei Ilad continued
into the desert eastwards. Rut by the time of our return from the Btsin-no1 delta in June
the summer heat precluded its further exploration on this ~vaterless grottnd.
The survey of the ground passed on the long trying marclrcs along the 1Stsin-go1 bed,
then colnpletely dry, proved of distinct geograpllical and also quasi-
Explorations nlorlg
Etsin-gol. historical interest. ln a striking may it, illustrated physical conditions
rnclr as must have prevailed in the Lou-Ian area ~orth of Lop-nor
before its final clcsiccation. lo IVlrile I was kept busy by fruitful excavations at the ruined
town of Kliara-khoto, first visited by Colonel Kozloff and identical wit11 Rlarco Yolo's 'City
of Etzina,' and by esplorations in its vicinity, Lil Si~rxh carried out stcrveys right do\n~ the
Etsin-go1 tlelta to the two marshy lake-basins in \vllicll tlre river terriiir~atcs. "
On tlre couclosion of these taslts 1 let our l~artl-~vorlietl cari~els tlc1)art. for il~eir summer
I~ollclay iu tl~e Kul~gurclie Ilills nortlr-cast\vartl. By sencliug Aiuhan~mad
Jorlrney to RRO-t'ni
Kao.chon, YaliGb wit11 them it. became possible to map son~c~ Iritlrerto iunsllrveyetl
firountl on tho bortlcr of intlclre~ltlent Aio~rgolia. '' I ~nysc.lf \vitl~ LII
Sing11 torned soulh\vartls for fresh esl,loratio~ls in tlre Nan-shnn ranges. k'rorll belo\\. Afao-lliei
\ve follo\red a route tl~rougli Iiitlrerto unsurveyecl portio~~s of the desert lrills to the cast ant1
1rort11 of tile Kau-clroo river anil after consitlcrable htigncs due to l~cat, a11t1 scarcity of \v.~ter
rearired this near the to\\.n of Kao-t'ai. ':' From tlrcre I 11rocecded to liat~-cllou by tlre niain
road in order to gain time, while L%I Si~~gll after visit,ing a rttined site to the \vest of Kao-t'iti
follo\ved me by a new route along the right bank of the river.
"7 Sro hhcct No. 4'). I) .I. This I~il'tirc:rtiot~ ac- :I* Scc Sl~ects Nos. 42. G, I). 1: 45. A. '1.
count8 for the curious rcl,rescnlntion of tlir I~jdro.
gr~phg
:'V~re Sbecta Nos. 43. B.D. 1 ; 42. U-D. '1.
itlnps (cf Fottercr, Oe,~,q,gi.~tphicAe Ski;:? dev lr'iisle Jotrrny, 0. J., xlviii. pp. 197 sq.
Gobi, Yetcrm~nu's nlittt~eilo~~gen, Ergiioznngsheit No.
130, p. 24. ). The Lig lakc wll~ch thc8e abom in the di.
rection of Hua-hai.tzo hns no exifiteoco in fnct but
still continnee to Le reflected ill \\'esleru ntlnses.
See Sl~ect XOS. 45. 13, C. 1 ; .I.&. C, D. 4.
'" Sec Sileet Nos. 44. C. 4; 47. A, It. 2.
'" See Sheets Nos. 46. A. 4; 46. A. 1, 2.
of this region as it aibpenrs it) old Chinese 'O See Sllect Nos. 45. A. 3, B. 2. G. 1; cf. Tlrir.d