THE ROAD TO YARKAND. 123 



an occasional caravan, such as we had met trading 

 with the Kirghiz in the lower Tagherma valley, 

 came that way. The road was considered so bad 

 that the caravans to Tashkurgan and Badakshan 

 from Yarkand all went by a longer but better 

 route. 



Bower returned with some fine mallard and 

 pochards a welcome addition to our larder ; but 

 he said he had some difficulty retrieving them 

 when shot, as they flew up and down the canal, 

 and he did not feel inclined to swim after them ! 

 We turned in early and slept the sleep of the 

 just. 



Our road took us through a well -cultivated 

 country. The hamlets looked far cleaner and 

 better built than the villages of India. The 

 cottages varied a good deal in size and shape : 

 the rooms were all very similar, each having a 

 raised bedplace, and nice open fireplace which 

 seldom smoked ; and as the chimneys were short, 

 this showed considerable engineering skill on the 

 part of the constructor, although a Scotch mason 

 will tell you that this is purely a matter of luck ! 

 Here and there in the fields we saw "coolen" 

 (Grus cinerea) of India, wild ducks on every bit 

 of water, while sand-grouse, very like the pin- 



