410 DZUNGARIA 



line over mountain, hill, and hollow by way of the 

 Barlik Mountains, the Dzungarian Gate, and the Lower 

 Borotala to Sairam Nor and the Hi Valley. 



The former of these routes was a well-used trade-route, 

 divided into regular stages, by which means the journey 

 could be accomplished in twenty days. The country to 

 be passed through was uninteresting, had often been 

 traversed before, and the thought of spending twenty 

 days in carts did not in the least attract us. We decided 

 accordingly to take the most direct but most arduous 

 of the routes, and began to arrange our transport. The 

 finding of this delayed us still further, owing to its being 

 the busiest season for caravans. Eventually we pro- 

 cured thirteen camels from a Chanto owner, at the rate 

 of 365. per camel for the journey of eighteen to twenty 

 days ; the Chinese authorities supplied us with two 

 " jigits," or out-riders, who would escort us from one 

 frontier guard-house, or " karaul," to another ; and 

 finally, on October 27th, we set off in very bad weather, 

 over the Emil plain, at that time half under water and 

 most unsuitable for camel transport.^ 



The route we followed was practically the frontier 

 line of the two Empires ; we managed to reach a Chinese 

 guard-house each day, and were informed of the existence 

 of corresponding Russian posts to our west. On one 

 occasion we actually visited a small post which served as 

 a quarantine station for all cattle and flocks going from 

 China into Russian territory ; apart from this we saw 

 nothing to indicate that we were anywhere near the 

 frontier. As we rode along the foot-hills of the Barlik 



^ We had the first touch of winter during the third week in October, 

 ■when snow fell, which later turned to rain. The temperature varied, 

 during the period between the 13th and 27th, from 80° to 12" Fahr. 



