1865.] Notes on Central Asia. 125 



even to reap the harvest that had been left standing in the fields by 

 the Sary-Bagyshes. Attributing this favourable turn in their affairs 

 to my approach, they rendered me every assistance for my journey. 

 With such material assistance, I was able in July of 1857 to wind 

 round Issyk-Kul from the south side and to reach the summit of 

 the imposing and terrible Fauku-Davan mountain pass ; I also 

 succeeded in gaining the sources of the Narym, which forms the 

 system of the Syr-Daria or Jaxartes. Shortly after, I penetrated in a 

 more easterly meridian, much farther into the heart of the Celestial 

 range, and ascended one of the most elevated mountain groups of 

 Inner Asia, that of the Tengri-Tag, which is crowned with a circle 

 of alpine glaciers, and covered with a dazzling mantle of eternal 

 snows. In the glaciers of the Tengri-Tag I discovered the source 

 of the Sary-Djaza, which belongs to the system of the Tarym- 

 gol or Ergeu the most remote of the considerable rivers of the Asiatic 

 Continent. 



On my return to St. Petersburg in 1858, the Imperial Kussian Geogra- 

 phical Society, taking into consideration the great scarcity of astronomi. 

 cal points in the region I visited, organised at my recommendation, and 

 with the co-operation of the Military Topographical Depot, a new ex- 

 pedition, under Captain Grolubef, for the purpose of determining astro- 

 nomical points in Russian Djungaria, and on the Lake Issyk-Kul. By 

 last accounts, G-olubef had ascertained the position of three points in the 

 valley of Issyk-Krd lake (on the Tekes river, and at the eastern and 

 western extremities of the lake respectively), but he had not succeeded 

 in penetrating into the interior of the Tian-Shan, owing to adverse 

 circumstances, as the southern shore of the lake of Issyk-Kul was 

 at that time occupied by the hostile Sary-Bagysh tribe ; under such 

 a state of things it would of course have been extremely rash to 

 advance into the mountains, leaving hostile tribes in his rear. 



All the journeys and researches, since the year 1834, enumerated 

 above, have considerably advanced our knowledge of the portion of 

 Asia which we are now considering, and have removed it from the 

 region of hypothetical speculation, to a certain basis of scientific 

 investigation. On this account, therefore, the 2nd volume of the 

 Russian version of Ritter's Asia ought to be accompanied by copious 

 and well established addenda. Unfortunately all the materials that 



