THE KARLIK TAGH 505 



to fire and moisture, had robbed the excavator of what 

 might have been of great interest, and the existence of 

 these shrines was little more than a proof of the former 

 religion of the inhabitants of Karlik Tagh, besides show- 

 ing that this locality must have been a favourite 

 summer-resort of the old Uigur Khans. Their collapse is 

 a sign that Karlik Tagh lies on the edge of a region of 

 greater precipitation than is the Tarim basin, where, 

 owing to lack of rainfall, such antiquities have remained 

 intact. 



The Bardash Valley, whose waters irrigate Ara-tam, 

 is typical of the whole southern side of Karlik Tagh, so I 

 may as well give my impressions, as they came to me, of 

 the contrasting features of the entire length of the valley,, 

 from sandstone barrier to glacier-snout. Leaving the 

 plain, we faced the abrupt wall that formed the first 

 foot-hills. The river- valley itself was not negotiable, — 

 the stream winding its way through a steep-sided ravine 

 and allowing no space for a track, — so for some hours 

 we toiled painfully over barren red ridges, destitute of 

 everything but thorn-scrub. Occasionally from the crest 

 of a ridge we got a view of some peaks far ahead in the 

 heart of the range, and of the immeasurable desert that 

 lay below and behind us ; but later, when we dropped 

 down out of the sandstone border-ridges into the main 

 Bardash Valley, our views were impeded by the sur- 

 rounding hills. Here, beside the mountain-stream, grew 

 thickets of willow and rose, and we passed under groups 

 of tall poplars, elms, and walnuts which in summer 

 would grant welcome shade to these hot, shut-in valleys. 

 At convenient and picturesque places our friend, the 

 Beg, would produce a " dastarkhan " of bread, dried 

 apricots, and raisins, and persuade us to rest a little. 



