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NARRATIVE. 
inquiries as to whether or not there had ever been 
such an epidemic, but no satisfactory information could 
be obtained. Some said that there had been a severe 
epidemic ten or twelve years ago, and that it was 
supposed to have come from Badakshan, others said 
from China, whilst others denied that any such epi- 
demic had occurred. 
During winter all the tanks are frozen to a thick- 
ness of several feet, and the ice is stored for summer 
use. We received daily supplies of this ice, which was 
quite as clear as what passes under the name of 
Wenham Lake ice. Water-power is used for driving 
stampers for crushing rice. I saw some of these 
near Posgam, but could not make a very close 
inspection of their mechanism. 
During the whole of our stay in Yarkand territory 
the weather was uniformly fine, with the exception 
of one day near Tangi Bazar, when a few drops of 
rain fell. The thermometer in a lofty verandah, with a 
northern exposure, rose to 92° F. at 3 p.m. on August 
29th, and this was the highest temperature recorded. 
The lowest temperature of radiation during the night 
was 47° F., on the morning of the 3rd September ; 
and the same day at 10 a.m. the temperature in my 
room, with all the doors open the night before, was 
65° F. 
A few clouds were seen every day, and they were 
always passing in a direction from south- west to 
north-east. The mercurial barometer was very carefully 
read on three days, and made the height of Yarkand 
as follows : The reading on the 24th August gave 3868 
feet; on the 26th August, 3798 feet— difference, 70 feet. 
Hay ward, by the boiling-point thermometer, estimated 
