Through Many Fords. 



were carried some way down stream before finally securing a 

 foothold on the opposite side, the wonder being it did not 

 sweep us away entirely. Just why it did not do so is a mystery 

 I shall never be able to solve. The yaks behaved well, displaying 

 that admirable coolness so characteristic of them. At such a 

 critical moment they remained undismayed, breasting the current 

 splendidly with their heads always in the right direction. When 

 lifted completely off their feet by the rush of water there would 

 only be a quiet struggle and a gradual edging towards the 

 bank. 



Twenty-six of such fords did we do in one day, so that we 

 had more than our fair share of adventure will scarcely be denied. 

 Sometimes in place of having to ford the river w^e were able to 

 keep along under the lee of the rock-bound gorge where the 

 water flows in diminished violence. Journeying on we occasion- 

 ally passed oases of waving poplars with a sprinkling of apricot 

 trees and a little cultivation, sights that gladdened the eye after 

 the bleak and sterile wastes previously traversed. The air too 

 was becoming perceptibly warmer, while the atmosphere no 

 longer had about it that rarefied character, which makes breath- 

 ing such a labour. We had left the icy blasts behind, and a 

 feeling of joy took possession of us. To fully appreciate the 

 significance of such a change one must travel for a lengthened 

 period over rocks and snow where nothing relieves the eye be^'ond 

 the same vista of dreary desolation. 



There were a number of chikor, or hill partridge, amongst 

 the open patches in the ravine, and I shot some for the pot, as 

 well as a few pigeons I came across. 



At Yaghzi I encountered the first hamlet of stone huts 

 inhabited by a few Tajiks from the Yarkand Valley. These 

 dwellings were of the ordinary mud-built type with flat roofs, 

 the light illuminating the interior being let in from a hole in 

 the roof that also served as an outlet for the smoke. 



Beyond the village was another ford to cross, and it was 

 touch and go whether we should manage it or not, for the day 



