A Barren Land. 



I was now passing through a flat and uninteresting country, 

 and going on through the succeeding night, stopped just before 

 noonatUrdikhk,orthe place of the duck, a great breeding ground 

 for the latter, though at this time of \'ear they were well out in the 

 swamps of the Tarim River. 



After breakfast I gave Giyani some lessons in swimming in a 

 small lake near by, and at sundown commenced an all-night trek 

 through the villages of Kara Kulchun and Churga to Maralbashi, 

 where I arrived at seven on the evening of Jvily 6th. This town, 

 one hundred and fifty miles east of Kashgar, is presided over by 

 an Amban whom I had previously met at the Governor's orgy 

 in Yarkand. I camped in a large garden outside the town and 

 stayed the following day there to call on the Amban and have a 

 look round, perhaps a waste of valuable time, since there is 

 nothing of interest to see, it being an exact replica of Yarkand, 

 but on a smaller scale. The Amban returned my call and pressed 

 me to stay another day to dine with him, but of Chinese dinners 

 I had had enough, so like the guests at the wedding of Biblical 

 renown began to make excuses and escaped, though not altogether 

 gracefully. 



Whilst strolling through the bazaars I met an Indian treder 

 who informed me he had been in the country twenty years and 

 was very anxious for me to honour him by taking tea at his 

 house, so, as it was asking very little, I cheerfully agreed. He 

 was a Pathan from the Swat Valley and spoke Pushtu and 

 Persian, hence we were enabled to converse without the tiring 

 aid of interpreters. He had some fine old brasswork in the house 

 I was keen to purchase, but as he declined to accept money no 

 business resulted. 



I started again at 5.30 and travelling through the night 

 reached Ak Tumchuk, thirty-three miles distant, at 10 o'clock 

 next morning. I passed through. Charbagh at midnight, halting 

 only long enough to give the horses a feed and rest. 



Over this part of the trek to Aksu there is scarcely any 

 cultivation, it being simply a scrub-covered waste with occasional 



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