302 
THROUGH ASIA 
“The Kara-kul stream issued from the lake through 
a trumpet-shaped creek, studded with erratic blocks pro- 
jecting above the surface of the water ; shortly afterwards 
it widened out into a small basin, called the Su-karagai-kul 
(the Water- Pine Lake). North of this, but not connected 
with the river, was another small sheet of water called 
the Angher-kul (the Duck Lake). Both basins were bor- 
dered with grass and marshland, interspersed between the 
moraines through which the river cut its way. 
“ A little farther on, the gradient suddenly became so 
steep that the river broke into cataracts over the stony 
ddbris which littered its bed, though its banks were in 
places still lined with narrow strips of grass. On it 
foamed, its channel becoming more and more deeply 
eroded, until it emptied itself into the Ike-bel-su. Near 
its mouth the velocity decreased all of a sudden, as if 
the river had encountered a serious check. Sometimes 
its water was as clear as crystal, sometimes foaming 
white, sometimes deep blue, until finally it mingled with 
the main stream, which was turbid and grey from the 
glacial-mud, and possessed twenty times its force. The 
bed of the Ike-bel-su was excessively deep, the river 
having energetically carved its way through conglomerates 
150 to 300 feet high. It was absolutely impossible to 
cross it. I put down the breadth at 27 yards, and the 
velocity was 5-^ feet in the second. 
“A deafening roar echoed between the perpendicular 
walls ; the water dashed a yard into the air every time 
it encountered an obstructing stone, and the spray rose 
in clouds ; but the foam was hardly distinguishable, being 
as grey as the flood itself. 
“ A few yards below the confluence of the Kara-kul, its 
clear blue water, which was pressed towards the left bank, 
totally disappeared. Its effect was only visible a short 
distance, while its foam disappeared at once. With such 
violence and momentum did the enormous masses of water 
plunge on their way that we could feel the ground 
vibrating under our feet. 
“The Kara-kul river had a temperature of 6i°9 Fahr. 
