86 
THROUGH ASIA 
In January 1891 on my return journey from Kashgar 
to Issyk-kul, 1 had an opportunity of observing what 
enormous masses of snow accumulate during the winter 
on the mountains south of Issyk-kul. When these masses 
melt in the spring and summer, the Naryn becomes a large 
river, foaming torrcntially along its rocky bed down to the 
valley of Fergana. The Kara-daria also becomes a river 
of considerable dimensions, although the snowfall in the 
part of the Tian-shan Mountains where its sources are 
situated is not so great as in the tracts south of Issyk-kul. 
Like the Chirchick, the Kara-daria also contributes a large 
volume of water to the Syr-daria, so that at Chinaz the 
latter is a noble river during the spring and autumn 
months, though it does not out-rival its sister river, the 
Amu-daria. It rolls swiftly through the heated steppe, 
and empties its waters into Lake Aral, d he whole of its 
water does not, however, reach the destination which the 
formation of the country would naturally seem to prescribe 
for it. Chinaz lies 610 ft. above the level of Lake Aral; 
but from that point the river flows a distance of 882 miles, 
and the fall is therefore only 8J inches in every mile. The 
water has plenty of time to evaporate, a process which 
takes place the more rapidly as during the summer the air 
is excessively hot and clry. But other factors are at work 
to despoil the river. Part of the water is absorbed by the 
soil ; another part is used for irrigation ; a third and very 
considerable portion leaves its bed and forms, particularly 
on the right bank, extensive swamps -and lakes. The 
largest swamps extend between Kazalinsk and the mouth 
of the river. Others occur east of Perovsk; more par- 
ticularly between Perovsk and Karmakchi, where the 
reed-grown Bokali-kopa is nearly 2000 square miles in 
area. In this way, then, the river loses much of its flood ; 
hence it may easily be conceived, that in summer the 
volume of water is much greater at Chinaz than at the 
mouth of the river. 
Between Min-bulak and Khojent the Syr-daria was 
crossed by fifteen ferries, the traffic being conveyed across 
by twenty -seven barges hired from a Russian. The 
