Through the IH Valley 



The new contingent were a great improvement on the Kazak 

 transport, and all were loaded up and away by 9 o'clock the next 

 morning. The track lay due east for some miles and thence north 

 through a narrow ravine to the Khanakai Pass over the Ala Tau 

 Range of the Thian Shan and into the IH Valley. The descent 

 on the northern side was quite easy, though I encountered a 

 considerable amount of snow on the top of the pass and for three 

 miles on the Hi side, but not in sufficient quantities to impede 

 progress. This latter part of the route led me frequently across 

 the stream, now frozen solid, the path in consequence being 

 very slippery. I camped by the stream some way down, being 

 unable to reach any auls by the time darkness had set in. The 

 ravine was narrow but fairly well wooded, so we were able to 

 collect a quantity of firewood, for the temperature dropped con- 

 siderably immediately after sundown, the night being bitterly cold. 



On the morning of October 31st I moved on into the Hi 

 Valley, a vast plain stretching away east, west and north, and 

 halted in a small village, where the only shopkeeper placed his 

 house at my disposal and was more than kind and obliging to 

 the stranger at his gate. 



A terrific wind was in full swing when I emerged from the 

 hills, which made progress most unpleasant, the fall in the 

 temperature occasioned thereby being more suited to regions 

 within the Arctic circle than the broad valleys of Central Asia. 



There were many chikor in the hills, and with the object 

 of bagging a few I had gone ahead with Numgoon, as the ground, 

 consisting of low hills and gravelly slopes, indicated excellent 

 prospects. I managed to shoot several, not a bad performance 

 for me considering my capabiUties with a shot-gun. 



I spent the evening after dinner in my quarters making 

 myself respectable for the morrow and the entry into Kulja, 

 an operation the importance of which may be gauged by the 

 fact that I had not had a shave for three months, that my clothes 

 were worn and travel-stained, the tout ensemble resembling a 

 bandit chief or the Pirate King. 



293 



