LAKE KARA-KUL 
167 
I and Shir found our comrades at the end of another 
hour’s riding. Our first concern was to thaw our stiffened 
limbs and warm ourselves with hot tea ; then, whilst the 
horses were eating their fodder, we despatched our break- 
fast, consisting chiefly of mutton and tinned provisions. 
March 14th. The country rose from the Kara-kul very 
gradually towards the south. Before we had travelled 
far, we rode into a broad valley, stretching between two 
parallel mountain ranges, which ran north and south, and 
were sheathed in snow. As a rule a larger quantity of 
snow falls every year in this valley than around Great 
Kara-kul, though the depth seldom exceeds four inches. 
Thick clouds hung about the mountain-tops ; everywhere 
else the sky was perfectly clear. About noon however 
the wind got up, and it soon blew with great violence. 
For close upon five hours we rode steadily towards the 
south-south-west ; but coming to a bifurcation of the 
valley, we turned to the left and struck out towards 
the south-south-east. Just where the valley divided, we 
saw, conspicuously crowning a low hill, the masar or 
tomb of the Kirghiz saint Oksali, built of slabs of stone 
and decorated with horns and tughs (sticks with rags and 
pieces of cloth tied round them). 
The valley into which we turned was the valley of 
Mus-kol, which led up to the pass of Ak-baital. There 
was but little snow on the ground ; but as we advanced, 
the surface became more and more thickly strewn with 
disintegrated debris. 
Upon my arrival in camp, 1 was met by four Kirghiz, 
wearing their gala khalats (coats). They had been sent 
from Fort Pamir to welcome me, and had been waiting 
five days, with a tent and supplies of food and fuel. They 
told me that my long delay had begun to make the Russian 
officers at the fort uneasy. As a matter of fact, we had 
been seriously delayed by the enormous quantities of snow 
we met with in the Alai valley. 
The word Mus-kol signifies “ ice valley.” Souk-chubir, 
the place where we encamped, might very well_ mean 
Cold Siberia, for the usual name for that region in 
