THE KARLIK TAGH 515 



desert hills, apparently without much rainfall, for no 

 drainage is marked; small springs alone showing that 

 it is capable of supporting human life. Yet this region 

 rises in some places to as much as 7,400 ft,, and unless 

 I am altogether mistaken as to the character of such 

 hill-country in this particular part of Inner Asia, I 

 strongly suspect that it is not such " bad-land " as the 

 Russian map represents it to be. 



By making a wide circle over the hills to the south 

 of Shopoli I obtained a definite idea of this region as a 

 whole. The altitude averaged 5,500 ft., with summits 

 rising to 6,200 ft. It was a broken hill-country, some- 

 what formless, with dry wadis winding vaguely in and 

 out amongst the hills, but having a general direction of 

 south and south-east. In the wadis grew fine dry grass, 

 tamarisk, and small saxaul trees, showing the reason 

 why the natives rear camels in preference to other 

 beasts. There was no sign of a permanent water-supply, 

 and therefore no habitations, yet, according to re- 

 port, it was used by herdsmen who wander over it 

 feeding their flocks so long as the frozen snow supplies 

 them with water. The pasture was evidently good, 

 for we found that wild -sheep inhabited these somewhat 

 arid ranges; were there occasional springs coming to 

 the surface, the country to the south-east of Karlik 

 Tagh would become of some economic value to herds- 

 men acquainted with its topography. The grazing on 

 the outlying spurs around Shopoli was responsible for 

 the semi-nomadic condition of the inhabitants, which 

 was emphasized by the curious appearance, such as 

 Shopoli boasted, of houses built on to yurts, and yurts 

 pitched in the courtyards of houses. 



North of the village were several charming valleys. 



