CHAPTER XXII. 
THROUGH THE GORGE OF TENGHI-TAR 
O UR spirits were high when we left Ighiz-yar early 
on the morning of 26th June; for immediately 
before us we saw the valley of Tazgun opening its 
arms to welcome us. The mountains themselves, now 
brown, now’ grey, were barely visible, their contours 
being blurred by the great amount of dust which obscured 
the atmosphere ; but at their feet we could just discern 
two of the kishlaks or winter villages, snugly ensconced 
amid groves of green trees. But as we drew near to 
the entrance of the valley, the outlines of the mountains 
gradually came out more distinctly into view, at the same 
time seeming to creep closer together. The valley of 
Tazgun is very narrow, so narrow even at its entrance, 
that it could easily be defended by the little fort of 
Ighiz-yar-karaol, with its garrison of only twenty-four 
men. On the other side of that post the population 
are exclusively Kirghiz nomads, who climb up to their 
summer grazing-grounds on the plateau by paths which 
strike upwards from several of the side-glens of the 
Tazgun valley. Passing one of these glens, Mahmud- 
terek - yilga (the Glen of Mahmuds Poplar), I caught 
a glimpse at its head of a mountain covered with 
o-littering snow. The air was pure and mild ; so we 
pitched upon a shallow grotto in the syenite cliffs of 
Tokai-bashi for our camping-ground for the night. 
Our camp was near the junction of two glens, Kaptch- 
kol and Keng-kol. \\^e struck up the latter ; and as the 
torrents which coursed down both glens contributed about 
equal volumes to the river Tazgun, we now had to deal 
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