194 CHINESE TURKESTAN 



kindness, we bade adieu to our good friend the beg, 

 who had insisted on accompanying us thus far ; and 

 turned westwards up a side valley, at the top of 

 which we crossed the Chuchu Dawan, not a very 

 formidable hill, though the road on both sides of it 

 is pretty rough. The water on either side comes 

 from springs, and is saltish. By the Chuchu 

 Dawan route the Sanju Valley is entered above the 

 worst of the narrows, which in summer are made 

 impassable by high water ; but even so the road on 

 is a wet one. We had only made a mile or so up 

 the Sanju Valley when the afternoon flood came 

 down and stopped us ; so we had to camp where we 

 were, having done only fourteen miles, the worst of 

 it being that there was no grass. While at Tom, 

 which is only a mile further on, and which is the 

 proper stage, there is plenty ; but the stream was 

 now a raging torrent, and the two fords which yet 

 remained to be crossed were obviously impassable. 

 The next march was to Kichik Yailak, over a road 

 which is almost as much in the water as out of it. 

 Here there were a lot of Kirghiz aiils, and their 

 chief man came some way down the road to meet 

 us. They had pitched a tent for us, and brought 

 us offerings of milk and sheep, of course expecting 

 to receive about twice their value as a return gift ; 

 indeed about here and in the Yarkand country 

 the receipt of complimentary presents is a very 

 expensive way of buying things. 



