1 66 FROM YARKAND TO AKSU. 



next day a very acceptable nazar, or gift, from 

 these good people, consisting of some tins of 

 the finest tea, and a very handsome piece of 

 Chinese silk. 



By the third day the weather had cleared, 

 and I went off, according to the directions given 

 me, to Karatal by Kumbash. A good deal 

 of snow fell at intervals, and it took two days 

 to get there. I had a letter of introduction from 

 the Aksakal to the Beg, who put me up in 

 good quarters, and promised to send a shikari 

 who knew the country well. 



The morning broke clear and fine, the mist 

 and clouds having rolled off, and when I looked 

 out, the most lovely view greeted my eyes of 

 the Tian Shan range, towering aloft full 24,000 

 feet, the immense height being Doubly empha- 

 sised by the whiteness of the surrounding coun- 

 try, glistening with freshly fallen snow. The 

 Beg had promised to come early and bring 

 the shikari with him, but he had been sent 

 for in the night by the Dotai, to answer for 

 the life of a man who had been found dead in 

 the snow. However, later in the day, the Yul- 

 beggie of the district appeared, saying he had 

 been sent by the Beg to do my business, and 



