164 
THROUGH ASIA 
small brooks, which have their origin in natural springs 
in the vicinity, and from the melting of the snows on the 
mountains around. The springs are especially plentiful 
at the eastern end of the lake, and form large pools or 
marshes. One other deduction may be drawn from the 
table given above, though it is so self-evident as scarcely 
to need particularizing. It is this : with every increase 
in the depth of the lake, the temperature rose and the 
ice grew thinner. 
Shortly after passing a little promontory, we saw before 
us the long fjord, or gulf, which cuts deep into the southern 
shore. It presented a striking picture ; for, whilst the 
declivities came down at an angle of twenty degrees on 
A SMALL ISLAND IN LAKE KAR.-l-KUL 
the west, there was on the east a flat shelf sloping up 
gently towards the foot of the mountains, and in the 
background, at the head of the fjord, a semicircle of the 
snow-clad giants of the Pamirs. Judging from what I 
could see of the configuration of the ground, I hardly 
think that the southern half of the fjord can exceed 160 
feet in depth. 
We cut our last sounding-hole right in the middle of 
the mouth of the Qord. As soon as we got through the 
ice, three of the men begged to be allowed to ride on 
in advance with the horses to Ak-tam, the place near the 
south-east corner of the lake where we had agreed to 
spend the night, so that they might get the tent ready 
against my arrival. I and the jighit Shir remained behind. 
