KULDJA TO URUMTSI 153 



impregnated plain. Away to the north we saw a 

 big lake, which appeared to be still frozen over. 

 Shahtungza consists of a tumble-down serai near 



o 



the only fresh water for miles, and that can only 

 be called fresh by courtesy. It blew another 

 gale here, and the sand was enough to smother one. 

 Tents were out of the question, and we passed the 

 night in a small room without doors or windows ; 

 so, as far as the sand was concerned, we might 

 almost as well have been outside. Dinner was a 

 sketchy and very gritty performance on the whole, 

 one of the not uncommon experiences of travel 

 which are more pleasant to look back upon than at 

 the time. 



Four or five miles from Toutou, which consists of 

 a serai and the usual small Chinese fort, the country 

 becomes swamp and forest. I saw some deer tracks 

 near this. From the nature of the country the 

 animal must, I think, be the Yarkand stag. The 

 people said that there were a good lot of them 

 about, also pig and an occasional tiger. 



More woods and swamps to Kultou, which is on 

 the bank of what must in summer be a considerable 

 river, but when we crossed it it was dry. Snow fell 

 during the night here, which made the road very 

 greasy next day when we went on to Sukafou, a 

 very dirty little village, chiefly inhabited by Tun- 

 gans, where the mud reminded us of Kuldja during 

 a thaw. 



