128 ATKINSON'S JOURNEY THROUGH PASSES [Feb. 28, 1859. 



convey some idea of the physical geography of this extraordinary 

 region. 



As it was necessary to await the arrival of the tribes, I deter- 

 mined to extend my ramble to a pass about twelve hours' ride to 

 the eastward. For the first mile the steppe was covered with good 

 grass, after this we came upon a tract of sand and pebbles, with 

 occasional tufts of steppe grass, extending over about three miles ; 

 this led to a sandy plain entirely deprived of vegetation. Far to 

 the north we could see some green patches of verdure surrounding 

 a lake ; but with this exception, the entire country appeared an 

 arid desert. In about an hour and a half we reached the brink of 

 one of the dry river-beds frequently found in these regions. This 

 was a large one, not less than a mile and a half in width, and 

 130 feet deep, and the banks being nearly perpendicular, it formed 

 a complete barrier to our progress in this direction. I sent two 

 men along the bank, and took my only other companion upwards, 

 searching for a place by which we could descend. After a long 

 and fruitless ride, the report of a gun and the waving of a hand- 

 kerchief by the two men brought me to a spot where they had dis- 

 covered a track made by deer and other animals descending for 

 water. 



We rode over the brink and began to descend slowly, crossing a 

 broken part of the path with great difficulty ; at length the first man 

 and myself reached the bottom. As we stood watching the other two 

 the sand suddenly gave way under the feet of the last horse, and both 

 man and animal rolled down apart from each other from a height 

 of about 40 feet. We thought both killed, but on hastening to their 

 aid, they rose to their feet ; the horse gave himself a shake, and 

 began to kick and plunge furiously, and the man burst into a fit of 

 laughter. 



All hope of returning by this track was now at an end, and we 

 rode on making vain guesses as to what had become of the stream 

 which had scooped out this formidable hollow. Sand and pebbles 

 covered the greater part of the surface, interspersed with patches 

 of fine grass ; but near the middle we found several pools of fresh 

 water, with a small stream uniting them. They were surrounded 

 by beds of fine sand on which were the foot-prints of several animals 

 of the deer tribe. Near one pool other foot-marks attracted the 

 attention of my men, one of whom called out that the barse (tiger) 

 had been there. On reaching the spot I saw distinctly the prints 

 of huge feline paws, though not recent : most probably this tiger 

 had followed the other animals into the mountains, whither they 

 had gone in search of food. 



