526 THE KARLIK TAGH 



goats, and yaks. This upland valley, shut in com- 

 pletely by the impassable snow-fields above and by 

 the sandstone barrier below, was typical of the environ- 

 ment which has forced the Taghliks to follow an isolated, 

 hermit-like existence. Yet there was no feeling of sus- 

 picion nor exclusiveness amongst the natives when I 

 dropped unexpectedly into their villages from the ranges 

 above, or when I set up my plane-table on the roofs of 

 their houses ; they were merely amused and inquisitive, 

 and showed genuine hospitality. 



A long ride up the Edira Valley and a climb 

 over a io,ooo-ft. transverse ridge led me again to the 

 Bardash, which, as described elsewhere, I explored to 

 its source ; then, turning back, I covered a wide extent 

 of country lying between my former track and the foot 

 of the range, passing from Bardash to Kara-kapchin, 

 Toruk, and Narin. 



Connecting Kumul and Barkul are three tracks, 

 namely, the Kulluk, the Barkul, or Kosheti, and the 

 Chagan-bulak. Traffic mostly goes by way of the Barkul 

 Pass, which, according to Prjevalsky, is feasible for 

 wheeled traffic, but from Narin the nearest route is over 

 the Chagan-bulak, and thither my guides led me by the 

 worst of routes, which crossed and recrossed the Narin 

 River some twenty or twenty-five times, obliging us to 

 make several big detours up and along the hillsides in 

 order to avoid bad ground. Tou-shi, — a village com- 

 posed of half-yurt, half-house habitations, — supplied me 

 with a change of men and horses, and, on the evening 

 of April loth, the forests and deep snow-fields of the 

 Chagan-bulak Pass introduced me to the plateau-basin of 

 Barkul. 



