42 JOURNEY TO THE PAMIRS. 



nullahs joined it, but still no water. At last 

 we came to a beautiful bit of grass-land, in the 

 middle of which we saw some yurts, and so con- 

 cluded that the long-expected stream had come 

 to light again. A native soon appeared, and to 

 my astonishment addressed me in Hindostani. 

 He said he was very pleased to see a sahib 

 again ; that all he had was mine ; and that the 

 sahib log were the most wonderful people in the 

 world. I asked him what he was, and how he 

 ca"me to be settled in this out-of-the-way place. 

 He replied he was a Kashmiri, and was in 

 Turkistan in the time of Yakub Beg ; that when 

 the Chinese conquered the country, and were 

 killing right and left, he ran off with a few sheep 

 and goats by the Kugiar road, and so came to 

 where I found him, and was well satisfied to 

 remain, there being water and grass for his 

 sheep, of which he had now a good many, and 

 had managed to raise enough Indian corn to 

 keep his family. On hearing we were going 

 to Ak Masjid next day, he mentioned there was 

 a party of Russians camped there with many 

 Cossacks and camels. The object of their visit 

 was, however, unknown to him. 



The stream we had followed joined the Tiznaf 



