TO FORT PAMIR AND BACK 399 
beg was lying half dead In his tent. As I was afraid that 
the Chinese might get hold of my possessions and the 
collections w'hich I had left behind, w'e took cordial leave 
of the hospitable Russians and hurried back to the Mus- 
tagh-ata via the Sarik-kol pass (14,540 feet). Arriving 
there unobserved on September i6th, w'e were met by the 
information that after all the report w'as false. Togdasin 
Beg was safe and sound, and came to see me that very 
evening ; nor had the Chinese discovered my possessions, 
although they ran.sacked everything belonging to the 
Kirghiz who had been in my employ. The things were 
still safe In their hiding-place under the rocks. 
Whilst we were awav winter had advanced with tjia.nt 
strides. The snows had crept further down the mountains, 
and the whole of the Sarik-kol chain was covered with a 
thin white veil. The streams had shrunk into rivulets, and 
Nature seemed to be fully prepared for her long winter 
sleep. The Mus-tagh-ata towered above us. Icy-cold and 
uninviting, so that we had not the slightest wish to molest 
him further. 
Instead of making any further attempt to storm the 
citadel of the Father of the Ice Mountains, we travelled 
southwards along the foot of the mountain, my object 
being to finish my cartographical work of the summer. 
On September 20th I made a fresh trip over the Chum- 
kar-kashka glacier in quest of the rods we put in 
on August 13th. The change in their situation Indicated 
only the very slightest movement ; in the middle of the 
glacier the greatest velocity amounted to slightly under 
if inches a day. This slow advance is probably character- 
istic of all the Maciers of the Mus-tagh-ata, and is con- 
sequent chiefly upon the long winter, the great amount of 
radiation, and the heavy evaporation. The movement 
due to gravity is to some extent neutralized, owing to the 
diminution in the mass and weight of the glacier through 
the agencies just mentioned. 
The Chum-kar-kashka glacier is an important landmark. 
All its streams seek the Little Kara-kul and finally the 
Kashgar-daria ; while the drainage of the region to the 
