570 EEPORT OF EXPEDITION 



Rajah Ahniud Shah, who had come a day's journey from 

 Iskardoh to welcom.e me to his country. After a short halt, 

 we continued owl' descent, and reached the village of Khur- 

 peetah in the plain of Iskardoh. Next day we moved on to 

 the castle. 



15. I remained in the neighbourhood of Iskardoh till the 

 14th, when I crossed the Indus with the object of pushing 

 north in the direction of the Mooztagh range (Kuenlun of 

 Humboldt), which separates the Valley of the Indus from 

 Chinese Tartary. My journey was readily acceded to by 

 Ahmud Shah. I went first to the Castle of Shiggur, on 

 the river of that name, a large feeder of the Indus, which 

 is joined by it opposite Iskardoh. I had the satisfaction 

 of meeting Mr. Vigne here. From Shiggur we crossed to 

 the western bank of the river, to a village called Bondoh ; 

 thence to Goma Ghondoo, Keyok, and Chookoogoh. From 

 Chookoogoh, we moved on to Chitrone, remarkable for its hot 

 spring and baths, and thence up the Basha river to Sezkoh, 

 and from there to Betsul, where there are considerable sulphu- 

 reous hot springs. From Betsul we proceeded to Arindoh, the 

 extreme limit of cultivation in the Basha Valley, and the 

 point where the river of that name bursts out from under 

 a great ice field.' From Betsul we retraced our steps to 

 Sezkoh, and thence to Tongo, descending along the eastern 

 bank to the point where the Basha and Braldoh streams 

 unite to form the river of Shiggur. We now tuirned up the 

 the Braldoh Valley, which forms the route of communication 

 between Little Tibet and Yarkund, passing through Myeet, 

 Byanoh, Hotoh, and Thongul to Askolee, in as many marches. 

 The rugged impracticable nature of the road beggars descrip- 

 tion ; the utmost that can be said of it is that we were able to 

 get along. At Askolee, in lat. of about 35° 30', we reached the 

 limit of cultivation; all beyond, on to the pass across the Mooz- 



' ' I have just returned from Iskardoh, 

 where I pushed on to the Mooztagh. It 

 is the most singular country I ever saw ; 

 nothing but sand in tlie valleys below, 



ney along it. Within a few hundred 

 yards are fields of cultivation. The ice 

 field rises to some hundreds of feet in 

 height, and is strewed on its surface 



and burnt sterility above to the region 1 with countless millions of blocks of 

 of snow, under which a faint attempt at [ granite, &c., and here and there, where 

 vegetation exists. The country is all I soil has formed, there is an attempt at 

 primitive, and such rocks and such moun- I cultivation, with willows, &c. A large 

 tains never were seen. They seem to I river comes out at a cow mouth's open- 

 have been created to try the ingenuity i ing, and the ice rises clear and trans- 



of man in getting over them. The ice 

 scenery is magnificent. Above there is 

 no snow save a thin coating, but bound- 

 less sheets of ice with fearful cracks and 

 crevices. At two places an ocean of ice 

 lias tumbled down into a valley and 

 formed a mer de glace of two days' jour- 



parent above the arch. Some huge 

 masses of ice tumbled down while I was 

 enjoying the view, with the redound of 

 ten thousand artillery.' — Litter from 

 Br. F. to Captain Cautley, dated Cash- 

 mecr, October 12, 1838. 



