LEH TO YARKAND 27 



smooth and firm, though the water is more than 

 girth deep. 



During the night we camped at Ulbek eight of 

 our ponies strayed, and though we found them 

 again the next day, we had to walk most of the way, 

 in consequence of which we nearly got eaten by a 

 large and savage Kirghiz dog. We had three dogs 

 with us, two retrievers and Gujad, a celebrated 

 traveller from the Pamir and of a very independent 

 turn of mind. He usually preferred to march alone, 

 and here came rather to grief as the result. He 

 was great at hunting strange dogs as long as they 

 would run away : if they wouldn't, he used to turn 

 his back on them and look scornfully over his 

 shoulder. On this occasion the adversary so far 

 disregarded the rules of the game as to seize him 

 by the tail, and nearly bite it off, so that Gujad 

 turned up looking very woebegone. 



On the Tograsu River there are two practicable 

 fords, and we got over by the lower one ; but it is bad 

 and deep at the best of times, and the way to the 

 Kilyan Pass up the Bostan Valley is a very wet one, 

 as the road is mostly in the bed of the stream. 

 Luckily the weather was still dull and the water 

 low, as the snow on the hills above was melting but 

 little. 



We crossed the Kilyan Pass (16,500 feet) in fine 

 weather on August 4th ; there was no snow on it 

 except the glacier at the top. None the less, it is 



