KHOTAN TO LEH 197 



striking the Karakash River at Alnazar, from 

 which place eight miles took us to the foot of the 

 Bostan Valley, where we met our outgoing road, 

 and so were at last again in a country familiar to 

 us. The Togras-su ford was deep but practicable, 

 so we crossed it and went on a bit of the way to 

 Ulbek. 



Between this and Shahdula (the upper fort, the 

 one now used) the Karakash River has to be forded 

 four times, but luckily the water was not too high 

 for ponies, and there was no delay or camel-hiring 

 trouble, so we reached Suget the following after- 

 noon and Kotaz Jilga on the 3ist, the last march 

 being the one done in the other direction on July 

 3ist, 1899, a 7 ear a g- 



On the way we met a Yarkand trader, who told 

 us of great rejoicings in Kashmir and Leh in con- 

 sequence of the Transvaal War being over, the 

 enemy, according to his account, having all been 

 killed ; so we held our little rejoicings too, prema- 

 turely as it ha? turned out. 



My tale is now drawing to an end, the road from 

 Kotaz Jilga to Leh having been already described. 

 We again suffered severely from mountain head- 

 ache, one or two of our men being almost incapaci- 

 tated by it. North of the Karakoram, antelope 

 were very plentiful and ridiculously tame, seeming 

 not to know what a man was, and paying very little 

 attention to a rifle-shot. They may have been 



