528 BARKUL 



offered me by some Kumulik herders. It was evening, 

 and a wild sunset hung over the cloud-girt Barkul Moun- 

 tains ; beneath the mists a broad belt of forest showed, 

 and below this, a prairie-steppe swept down and across 

 the central basin until it rose again northwards into 

 the rough-sided, flat-topped ridge of Metshin-ola. The 

 prairies were dotted with cattle, droves of horses, 

 and flocks of sheep ; besides the black yurts of the 

 shepherds there were many small farmsteads which 

 gave an air of settlement to the pastoral scene. It was 

 an unusually animated scene for Central Asia ; for we 

 had at last found a happy valley free from the blight 

 of desiccation. 



The next morning showed in clearer detail the im- 

 pressionist picture of the pre\dous evening. The upper 

 edge of the basin was good pasture-land, but above 

 the contour-line of 6,000 ft., — except in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of water, — the ground appeared to be 

 unsuitable for cultivation ; below this level, however, 

 abundant water oozed up in all directions. The drainage 

 from the surrounding mountains was chiefly below the 

 surface, the Barkul basin boasting only one river-bed, 

 the Irdi Khe, which carried a stream of water vary- 

 ing according to the season of the year ; the course 

 of this river-bed could be easily distinguished on account 

 of the numerous farms situated on its banks. Signs of 

 sedentary life were not restricted to the neighbourhood 

 of water, rains being sufficiently reliable to ensure the 

 raising of crops elsewhere ; small settlements of agri- 

 culturists were scattered over the whole floor of the 

 basin ; in fact, it seemed probable that the lands which 

 Chinese colonists were taking up for corn-growing would 

 eventually curtail the pasture-zone. 



