THROUGH ASIA 
326 
chosen a piece of lush, well-watered grass, that afforded 
splendid pasturage for the yaks. 
That evening it snowed hard, and the next morning the 
mountains were covered with a thin sheet of snow. The 
Kirghiz said, that winter was already coming in the 
mountains, and that it would get colder and colder every 
day. 
On July 30th winter was upon us in full severity. It 
snowed the whole day, heavily and ceaselessly ; some- 
times the entire landscape was enveloped in dense clouds 
of driving snow, so that not a trace of the mountains, or 
of the valley lying deep down below them, was to be 
seen. It was dark, cold, and gusty, and the inhospitable 
mountain received us at Yam-bulak-bashi much as it 
had done the April previously. There was no prospect 
of any excursion that day, for we could not see many 
steps in front of us for the snowstorm, and my winter 
wardrobe, consisting of a sheepskin coat, fur cap and 
waistcoat, and valetikis (Russian felt boots), was not yet 
unpacked. In order not to be hampered with too much 
paraphernalia, I had this time only brought a small yurt 
with me ; and in this I sat the whole day, writing and 
drawing, with a cup of hot tea every now and then 
to keep me warm. The men crowded together in their 
great sheepskin coats, and sat crouched under the shelter 
of a block of gneiss, listening to Mollah Islam, who was 
reading aloud out of an old book of tales. As the snow- 
storm increased in violence, I made them come into the 
tent, and let them continue their reading. 1 owards 
evening it ceased to snow ; but heavy grey clouds swept 
through the deep valleys, trailing their long fringes and 
draperies behind them. ^ Every now and again flying 
fragments became detached from them, and sprinkled the 
rocks with their white powder. In the evening we had 
a visit from the aksakal of the aul of Yam-bulak, and 
half-a-dozen other Kirghiz, who came to bid us welcome, 
and brought a sheep with them as a present. They were 
regaled with tea and bread, as usual, and were given an 
equivalent for their sheep. 
