756 ox A SHOOTIXa EXPEDITIOX TX CEXTKAL ASIA. 



200 miles brought ine to Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir. Here 

 I made all arrangements for food, followers, and transport. Soon 

 after leaving Srinagar we successfully tackled two mountain 

 passes. These were the Tragbal Pass, 11,700 ft., and the Burzil 

 Pass, 13,500 ft. On the way to Gilgit I spent a few days after 

 markhor, ibex, and bears. We did the journey of 150 miles, from 

 Gilgit to the Pamirs, in 15 days, the progress being so slow on 

 account of the difficult nature of the country. The mountain- 

 tracks in places were most precipitous and dangerous. These 

 tracks were often conducted round the edge of precipices over- 

 hanging the river by artificial ladders and ledges built out from 

 the cliff, with stones laid ujjon supports of branches fitting into 

 holes in the rocks. The most unsafe looking bit was where a log 

 not more than 6 inches wide was thrown across, with one end of 

 it resting on a rock jutting out 20 feet above, and the lower end 

 on some stones. Under this there was a sheer drop of about 

 2000 feet into an angry river. Without the help of the fine 

 Hunza men who were sent with us, we should have had the 

 greatest difficulty in getting over this terrible country safely. 

 We had our first view of the Pamir region from the top of the 

 Killik Pass (16,700 ft.). Here we stood at the point where three 

 ■great Empires meet— Russia to the north, to the east the boun- 

 daries of the Chinese Empire, and British India to the south. 

 After shooting a few Ovis poll in some of the valleys in the 

 Chinese Pamirs, I went on to the Russian Pamirs, where I shot 

 some more. As no one ever shoots in the latter place, game was 

 most plentiful, and one day 1 saw as many as 200 Ovis poll rams 

 in a small valley. From here I worked my way down to the 

 plains of Kashgaria, a,nd it was a treat to come down from those 

 awful altitudes and to see trees and flowers again. For over six 

 weeks I had not been lower than 12,000 ft., and most of the time 

 well over 14,000 ft. Leaving Kashgar at the beginning of August, 

 I went to the Thian Shan Mountains in search of Wapiti — 

 travelling through Maralbashi, Aksu, and Koksu — a distance of 

 576 miles. After shooting the Asiatic Wapiti in the Koksu 

 Valley I went on to Kuldja, from where a drive of 850 miles in 

 a tarantass (a four-wheeled carriage without springs) brought me 

 to Tashkent in Russian Turkestan in 15 days. Since leaving the 

 railway at Rawalpindi and reaching the railway at Tashkent 

 I travelled 2583 miles in seven months, having walked find 

 i-idden 1533 miles and driven 1050 miles. Of course this does 

 not include the enormous distances covered in search of game. 

 From Tashkent I took the train to Samarcand and Bokhara, 

 spending a couple of days at each of these interesting old places. 

 A journey of 40 houi^ from Bokhara by train brought me to 

 Krasnovodsk. Here I crossed the Caspian Sea to Baku in about 

 16 hours, and there I visited some interesting naphtha wells. 

 From Baku 1 took the express to Moscow and Petrograd, making 

 a stay of a few days at each place. Thence to Paris and home, 

 bringing to an end a most interesting and enjoyable expedition." 



