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

Sec. iv.] TIIIHD EX PNDI'I'ION, I'JlS-I 5 30
a routn lracl~ Lo tho high Yu1d11z 11latea11. "' I'rorn KII~~I~I he proceeded agai~~ northwards
and keeping throughout nlong the line of the highest localities with cultivatiot~, many of
them novur xurveyetl beforo, tnade his way to whore t h ~ Xluz-art. river tlebouches fro111 the
mountains it1t.o tlie hssin-like di~trict of Uai. Ile t,hcr~ ah~.er~tletl the rivcsr to its headwaters
below the ice-clad T'ien-shan in tlw vicinity of the great 'l'vngri-kh8n peak. Xotwithwlanding
the heavy wititel. stlow still covering tile glacier al)l~roacl~ to llrc~ MIIZ-art-(lawfin he pushed
up to will~iri about a thousantl feet of the tol~ of' the pass; the summit of it was quite
impraeticablo at t,l~is early season. When coming to mecl lne at. Ak-sn he hat1 to follow
thr ronfr alreatly survegetl in 1407, none other bcing available.
I myself after visiting a number of interesting l%utltlhist sites in the district of 1)ai
away from the high road which crosses it, rearhetl the 'Old 'I'O\VII' of
Bnrreys bctwoe~l Kuchi
Ak-SII on May 171 h. At Kara-> ulghnn, two nlarches to the cast,
a~ad Kiultgnr.
Afr~-gul had rejoined me. Fro111 Kucli5 he surveyed an old and
more direct track thro~~gh tlie scrub-covered dcsert belt along thi foot of the barren hill range
fringing tlre Uai basil]. " During my two days' halt at. Ak-SII 1 was able to secure the
needful official help antl the guidauce which enablecl Lal Sing11 to ~~~.oceed to Kasl~gar Ly a
new route leatlin~ over ground almost wl~olly utrsr~rveyeil. It tool< l~irt~ througli alltl along
the nt,terly arid hill ranges \vliic.l~ for111 the southern antl outc.rmost ran11)art of the 'L"ie11-shan,
first to the small oasis of Kelpill a11d then l)ast t,l~e Kirxl~ia \\inter razing groi~ntls of Karajol
to Icalta-yailsli, the nortl1-easter11 outp,-st of Iihshjiar c~~ltivatiot~. '"
1 myself was ot)li~~tl to 11rocec.11 to K;ishgar by l'orcvtl marches it1 ortlrr. to secure
adequate ti~ne for manifoltl ar~d u~.r.ctnt lat~onrs, ant1 l~atl 11c.11c.c. ~~~.c.essit.il!- to follgiw the ~nain
road t:ic~ Marll-bisl~i. My regret at this necessity was tempered by the fact that this jonrnev
of close on JOO miles coveretl in eleven days made it possible to complete ow survey of the
northern main trade route of the Tari~n basin right through to its western terminus. hi
I reached IGshgar on May Ylst and was during the following five weeks kept
incessantly bnsy at the British Consulate General with the careful
stag at ~iahgar. repacking of my collection of antiques (eighty heavy camel-loads in all)
for dispatch to India; I had also to prepare for my o\vu j0urne.v across
the Russian Piimirs to Bokhira territory and Persia. Within a week of my arrival I was
rejoined by Lil Singh and after a fortnight also by Maliammad Yakub who hat1 safely
effected his lonz journey along the left bani; of thr Tdrim from nest of the Inchil;~ junction
to above Abld.
The inundations caused by tl~e sl~rir~g floods had cousiderably in111edt.d his progress and
confined his plane-table work, some\vhat rough as \vas usually the case
, , f $ ~ ~ ~ whet1 ~ carried ~ , on ~ by ~ him ~ indepentlently, ~ . to tlie close vicinity of the track
follo\\ed from one riverine sl~ephrrd station to anotl~er. The defects
inherent to a plane-table traverse of snch length from the accnniulation of errors in distance
estimates, etc., could fort,unately Lc checked by reference to previously surveyed route lines
which crossed or toucl~ed this traverse at a n~~mber of points bet,\seen Shaliyirr and Merliet.
During the remaining werl;s of iny stay at I, to leave Kishgar
" See Sheet No. 20. A. 4; for Lil Singh's rontt
from Korlo to Knchi, sce Shrrts NOR. 21. A.D. 1 ; 17.
c, I). 1.
8' See Sheet Xo. 11. A, B. I. Lil Singh's rontc
from Kuchi to the Blnz-nrt river is shown by bheets
Nos. 17.A, U. 1; 16. A,U.4; 12. B-D. 1.
For Afriz-gnl'sronte,see Sheets No;. 17. A. 1.2;
12. R-D. 2; for my own between Kuchi nod Ak-sn,
see Sheets Xos. 17. A, B. 1; 12. A, U.2, G, D. 1;7. D.2.
See Sheets Nos. 7. A, B. 4, C. 3. 1).2,3; 4.
B-D. 4; 6. A, B. 1.
87 SeeSheetNo.7.C.3,4, D. 2.3; 8.A,B.1;5.
A.2. H.1.'2. C,I).l.
I most regret. thnt t,he rapidity of the jonrney
and the diffico1t.v ahont. water at thnt advanced sea-
son rendcred ~t impossible to search in the desert
northward of the stages betn.een Chilan nnd Chidir-
liol (Sheet No. 7. B, C. 4) for remains of the line
which Lhe Cbiuese high road is likely to have follow.
ed in ancient times; cf. above p. 26.
" See Sheets Nos. 21. A-D. 2.3; 17. A-D.2,3;
12.A.4, B. 3.4, C.3. D.3; 7.D.4; 8.A.1,2, R,C.
1 ; 5. D. 2, 3.