T H I 



T H I 



during the summer. It doe* not appear that any of the 

 overcign* of the contiguous countries have extended tlu-ir 

 authority over this extensive mountain-region, or over any 

 part of it, which may be considered as a certain proof that 

 no portion of it is cultivated ; and this supposition is sup- 

 ported by the fact, that it is not traversed by any commer- 

 cial road, and that the two roads which connect Thian 

 Shan Nanlu witli Western Turkistan run along the south- 

 ern and northern base of the Tartashling in the upper val- 

 leys of the two rivers .lihoon iind Sihoon. \\"e have some 

 account of the mountains enclosing Iliese valleys, whii-h 

 penetrate upwards of 200 miles int>< Hie mountain-^ 

 but ;i- .'rtions of the region are within Turs 



they are noticed under that head. \Ve .-hall only <il 

 that in the interior of the mountain-region, and within the 

 tiunndary-line ot'Thian Shan Nanlu. , .ited 



plain occurs, which is called the Table-land nf Pamir. 

 ding to Marco Polo it takes ten days to tra\ crsc it 

 from ist ; and. according to a Chinese traveller, 



it is UXX) li equal to about :$.">(> miles- long, and in some 

 . HM li or :!."> mills wide, whilst in others it narrows 

 to 10 li (or between :t and 4 miles i. The elevation of this 

 table-land is so great, that no trees are found on it. and 

 travellers feel their respiration rendered difficult In the 

 rarefaction of the air. The nomadic Kirghis, who visit 

 this elevated region in summer on account of its excellent 

 pastures, keep herds of camels and sheep, and of kashgow 

 or yaks, which latter are to the Kirghis what the rein-deer 

 is id the Laplander of Northern Knrope, serving them as 

 animals of burden, and supplying them with food. Their 

 milk is richer than that of the common cow. but the quan- 

 tity which the yak yields is less. The tail is the well- 

 known chowry of Hindustan. On the table-land of 

 Pamir its hair, which is clipped once a year in the spring, 

 is made into ropes, which for strength do not yield to those 

 manufactured of hem]). It is also woven into mats, and 

 into a strong fabric which makes excellent riding-tru 

 Among the wild animals peculiar to this region are the 

 kutch-kar and the rass. The kutch-kar, or wild sheep, 

 attains the height of a two-year-old colt, and has two fine 

 curling horns: it congregates in herds of several hundreds, 

 and is hunted by the Kirghis for its hide and flesh. The 

 rass is a different animal, having straight spiral horns; it 

 is loss numerous than the kutch-kar, but equally prized as 

 food. 



TheThian Shan range extends along the northern boun- 

 dary-line of Thian Shan Nanlu, which is separated bv it 

 from the government of Hi. This mountain-range has 

 been noticed under SONG ARIA, vol. xxii., p. 242, where 

 also the range is described which forms the southern bor- 

 der <ii ] river-basin, and connects the Thian Shan 

 .Mountains with the Tartashling range, and where also the 

 road is mentioned which, leading o\cr the Thian Shan 

 -. connects Thian Shan Nanlu with the govern- 

 ment of Hi. 



Hirers. The largest supply of water is derived from the 

 Tartashling, in which three of the great branches of the 

 Tamil river rise. The principal branch originates within 

 the mountain-region in a large lake, called Karakol, which 

 is situated near 39" N. lat., and rect image of a 



c country which surrounds it on all sides. The 

 river issuing from this lake rims eastward, and is called 

 Y:unan-yar. It lea\cs the mountain-region below T:\sh- 

 balik, near ~'.\ J :)' E. long., ami is soon afterwards joined 

 from the north by i: Daria, which brings In it 



the drainage of the north-eastern part uf tl, 

 ling. Near the (mint of continence the rivers are met In 

 a third river, which flows in a direction from east t. 

 and brings down the waters collected on the mountain- 

 chain winch unites the Tartashling to the Thian Shan. 

 This river, which is called Kezyl Daria, runs about 2<X) 

 mile*. Alter the union of these three branches the river 

 continue* to be called Kashgar Daria. and to flow east- 

 ward for :)0 miles, without receiving any supply of I 

 until. <4Y and Kl" K. long., it is nearly at the 



name point joined from the north bv the .\!>MI |):uia. from 

 the west by the YarUiang Darin, and from the south hv the 

 Khotan Daria. The Ak-n Daria brings down a 

 volume of wat. ,,n the southern declivity of the 



Western portion of the Thian Shan, and runs about 3X) 

 mile*. The source-i of II : Daria are near those 



of the Jihaon. or ()xn, south of U7 U N. Int.. and the upper 

 COUTH of tbs nver i* within the mountain-region of the. 



Tartashling, where it runs eastward, but it issues from it 

 about 70 miles above the town of Yarkmng by a northern 

 course. Its course in the plain i- but 



below the town ofYarkiang nearly i! "1 parallel 



Kashgar Daria for nearly 3X) miles. Alt' 

 80 E. long, it turns northward, and joins 



the Kashgar Dana. Its course UK) miles : and 



among its numerous tributaries is the Misar river, which 

 brings down water derive d from the northern declivity of 

 the Thsnngling. The Khotan Daria co! 

 limn the ii' . livityof the Kuenhien ramie, east of 



1 runs more than :K) miles 



ncrnl north direction. In this river, and the moun- 

 dniined by its upper branches, the yew- 

 stone or oriental jasper is" found, which is held in : 

 esteem in ( 'hina. and exported in large i,nani 

 mostly bought by the court of Peking, its the wearing of 

 this stone distinguishes the higher classes of the man< 

 from the lower. 



After the confluence of these scvcial branches the river 

 is called Tarim, or Tarim-gol, and continues to flow in a 

 nearly due east direction for 4<X> miles more. when, near 

 88 E. long., it is lost in an extensive lake. Lop Nor, which 

 is surrounded by still more extensive swamps. It up. 

 that this lower part of its course is skirted by svvampj, 

 which extend to a considerable distance from its banks. 

 The extent of Lop Nor from we- \rccd 



70 miles, but its width does not. appear to be half these 

 dimensions. No river joins the Tarim from the south. > 

 *V K. long., but it receives a considerable supply of 

 from the Thian Shan Mountains, by two rivers, the t'kiat, 

 or Chagar Daria, and the Barun Y'ulduz, or Kaidu Kiver. 

 The Ukiat Daria, which rises in that part of the Thian 

 Shan Mountains which encloses Lake Issckul on tl, 

 [SoNGARiA], runs more than 200 miles in a souti 

 direction, and joins the Tarim near 84 E. long. The 

 Kaidu River is probably the largest of the confluents of the 

 Tarim, as it collects the drainage of the Thian Shan Moun- 

 tains between 80 and 87 E. long. Its upper course for 

 about 100 miles is in an elevated valley, parallel to the 

 Thian Shan range from east to west : issuing from the 

 valley it turns abruptly to the east, and draining another 

 parallel valley about 200 miles long by an eastern c 

 it falls into a large lake, which is called Uostu Nor or lios- 

 teng Lake, the dimensions of which are stated to be hardly 

 inferior to those of Ixjp Nor. This lake is surrounded on 

 the north and south by chains of high hills, but on the. 

 east by a sandy desert. In the bills which enclose the 

 lake on the south is a break by which the Uostu Nor dis- 

 charges its waters into the Tarim. The channel by which 

 this is effected is also called Kaidu, and reaches the Tarim 

 about 80 miles above its influx into Lop Nor. The ex- 

 tensive swamps surrounding Lop Nor seem to begin at 

 the conflux of these two rivers. The whole course of the 

 Tarim amounts, according to the estimate of Kilter, to 

 nearly 12(K) miles in a straight line, and if its windings are 

 taken into account, and th. i Dm ia considered as 



it-, principal branch, it cannot fall short of l.'XX) miles. 

 The upper parts of this river and its tributaries are proba- 

 bly too rapid for navigation, and the lower parts of most 

 of the tributaries of the Tarim. and of this river itself, lie 

 through countries which are. probably uninhabited. 11 is 

 also probable that during the latter part of the summer, 

 and in autumn and winter, the c|iiantity of water is very 

 small, the rains being very scant \, and the whole supply 

 of water being derived from the melting of the snow on 

 the mountains on which its branches originate. Hut the 

 water of all these branches is used for irrigation, though 

 that of the Tarim itself is not. 



The Plain i of great extent, measuring on an :\\- 

 more than 300 miles from north to south, and about !KK) 

 from west to east. Its elevation is not known: but con- 

 sidering the peculiarities of its climate and its produc- 

 tions, it i< presumed that it can hardly be less than 3X>0 

 evel. The largest ; it is 



quite unfit for cultivation, and cannot even be used as 

 pasture-ground. This is cspc<ially tin- case with the 

 .11 districts, which are a complete <!. iert. This desert 

 occupies the whole country cist of K8 E. long., and sur- 

 rounds the l.i.p Nor and Hostu .Nor on the 

 South of the river Tarim it extends westward to the banks 

 of the Khotan Daria (,Kl K. lat.), so that it covers about 

 one-half of the plain. The worst part is that which lies 



