22 
THROUGH ASIA 
send off a branch to the east, so as to form a lake in 
41° N. lat., to the north of Przhevalsky’s Lop-nor. The 
investigation of the Lop-nor problem should be com- 
pleted by June 1894, and our expedition will then have 
accomplished its most important as well as its most 
difficult objects. 
From Lop-nor we shall steer a direct course to the 
east, and proceed through the unknown portion of the 
desert known as Kum - tagh ; then go on by way of 
Su-chow (Su-chau) to Ala-shan, where we ought to 
discover inscriptions and memorials of the earliest times 
of the Uigurs; then across the Yellow River, through 
Ordos, where we shall keep north of the Great Wall ; 
and finally through the two northern provinces of China, 
Shan-si and Pe-chi-li, to Peking, where we ought to 
arrive in November 1894. 
It is easier to devise a scheme of this character at 
one’s writing-table than it is to carry it out. My pro- 
gramme must therefore be regarded as the ideal which 
I shall endeavour to attain. If the w'hole plan cannot 
be realized, still I will hope that at least I may have 
strength and energy to execute a considerable portion 
of it. It is evident, especially in a land so little known 
as Tibet, that it is Impossible to determine on a particular 
route beforehand, as unforeseen circumstances must in- 
evitably arise, and perhaps necessitate a radical change 
in any predetermined scheme. 
In Peking the expedition may be regarded as at an 
end. P'rom that city I shall send my Swedish companion 
home with the collections, notes, and general results. 
Should my funds hold out, I shall probably seize the 
opportunity to make acquaintance with southern Mongolia 
and the Desert of Gobi proper. I propose therefore to 
return home by way of KhamI and Turfan, as in any 
case I should be responsible for the safe return of my 
followers to their own country. 
The expedition, starting from Osh in P'ergana, where 
Russian means of communication cease, and caravans 
have to be resorted to, will, I reckon, cover a distance 
