i68 CHINESE TURKESTAN 



Khamish is thirty miles on, and long miles at 

 that, the first ten or so still uphill, the valley be- 

 coming more open as the top of the range is 

 approached. The descent is gradual, and the plain 

 at the bottom, with the halting-place still out of 

 sight, a picture of desolation. The name of 

 Khamish must have been bestowed in irony, as 

 the reeds so called are conspicuous by their absence ; 

 but there are two or three fields and a few willow 

 trees, some of which had been blown down by the 

 previous day's gale. 



Another weary plain and so to Kara Kizil, a 

 serai and well three or four miles into another range 

 of hills. Kara Kizil signifies black-red, which is 

 rather meaningless, and we thought of a lot more 

 names for it before we left. Its chief attraction 

 was an unlimited supply of vicious mosquitoes, 

 though, as there is no water for miles, their origin 

 is a mystery, unless they are blown up from Lake 

 Bagrash, a journey the length of which may account 

 for their exceeding thirst. Next day swarms of 

 gad-flies also helped to make the journey unpleasant. 

 Leaving Kara Kizil before daylight in the morning, 

 we soon reached the top of the valley, and saw 

 before us an apparently unending vista of gently 

 sloping plain, dotted with a few struggling bushes 

 and with the usual bare hills on both sides those 

 on the south being quite low, probably the last 

 stragglers towards the great central plain. Half- 



