MOONLIGHT ON MUS-TAGH-ATA 371 
decided to combine this expedition with some “shopping” 
at Fort Pamir. 
But, as a journey of this nature would probably occupy 
a whole month, and we could not be back at Mus-tagh- 
ata before the autumn, I wished, before starting, to try 
another ascent, divided, as I mentioned before, into two 
day’s-marches. 
Accordingly, on August 15th, we wended our way back 
along the well-known path to our old camp ; and although 
it blew and hailed in the evening, we made everything 
ready for a last attempt the following day. 
bully equipped for a two day’s-march, and accompanied 
by six Kirghiz, my faithful attendant Islam Bai, and ten 
yaks, I made a fourth attempt, on August i6th, to climb 
Mus-tagh-ata from the same point whence we had tried 
it previously on April i8th and August 6th. 
After reaching the snow-line, we followed our old trail, 
which was, at any rate, a guarantee against accidents. 
The path could be seen quite plainly, winding zigzag 
up the mountain by the edge of the rocks which fenced in 
the glacier-gorge on the right. The snow, not being deep, 
had melted away in large round patches in our former 
footsteps, exposing the bare gravel underneath. Higher 
up every footmark was filled with bluish -green ice, and 
highest of all covered with a sprinkling of snow as thin 
as paper. In some places, indeed, the track was partly 
obliterated, though not so much but that we could see it ; 
and naturally we followed it, as we knew by so doing 
we were safe from danger. It had actually never snowed 
here for ten days. 
With Islam Bai and one of the Kirghiz I reached, 
at four o’clock, the point we had stopped at on the 6th. 
The other men followed more slowly, Yehim Bai riding 
at their head. As soon as we were all together again, we 
held a consultation, and decided to spend the night 
where we were, as there a few small islands of rock 
protruded through the sea of snow. The ten yaks were 
tied to loose boulders of schist, and the Kirghiz swejDt 
ttway the snow as well as they could from the sharp 
