THE ISFAIRAN VALLEY 115 
numerable delays, for many and many a time we had to 
stop to cut steps in the ice and strew them with sand. 
Each horse required two men to get him over these 
places, one to lead him by the halter, whilst another 
hung on to his tail, ready to lash him if he stumbled or 
slipped. Notwithstanding this, several of them did fall ; 
but luckily they managed to recover their feet. One 
fell and slid several yards down the snowy slope, but 
fortunately stopped in time. His pack was loosened and 
carried up the path ; the animal was helped to get back. 
MAKING A ROAD IN THE ALAI MOUNTAINS 
and his burden was once more lashed tightly on his 
back. I myself crawled several hundreds of yards on 
my hands and knees, whilst one of the Kirghiz crept 
close at my heels, and held me in the more perilous 
passages. A fall in any of those places would have 
meant instant death. 
In a word, it was a desperate journey — dark, cold, 
awe-inspiring. The only sounds that broke the unearthly 
silence of the gorge were the piercing screams of the 
men whenever one of the horses fell, their shouts of 
warning when they drew near to one of these perilous 
passages, and the constant roar of the torrent, which 
churned its way down through the foam-white rapids. 
