OF BAEON HUMBOLDT. 141 



September 21st. At this place, where caravans 

 of some thousands of camels annually arrive, 

 Humboldt became acquainted with a M. de 

 Gens, a well-informed man, much interested 

 in the geography of Asia, relative to which he 

 had collected a considerable amount of valuable 

 material. 



This gentleman afforded important informa- 

 tion to the naturalists, the results of his own 

 travels. He acquainted Humboldt with the 

 existence of a high mountain, once a volcano, 

 which, in consequence of violent storms sup- 

 posed to be occasioned by it, still alarmed the 

 passing caravans. Passengers are in the habit 

 of sacrificing sheep to this mountain, which is 

 situated in a north-eastern direction from the 

 great Balcasch lake, which receives the waters 

 of the river Ili. This information Gens had 

 obtained from a Tartar ; and Humboldt imme- 

 diately remembered the volcanoes, described in 

 Chinese books as situated at a considerable 

 distance from the sea, and which had aroused 

 the curiosity of geologists in consequence of 

 the representations of Klaproth and Amusat. 

 Humboldt, furnished with additional informa- 

 tion by the Russian director of police at Semi- 

 palatinsk, further investigated this subject with 

 special care ; and in order to establish the 



