CHAPTER XXXVII. 
THE SHRINE OF ORDAN PADSHAH 
M arch 9th. with the view of employing profitably 
the time while my men were away, I decided to 
visit the shrine of Ordan Padshah in the desert, two 
days’ journey west of Lailik. I got hold of a man who 
knew the way ; and at eight in the morning we were 
in the saddle, riding at a smart pace west-nor’-west, first 
through forest, which gradually passed over into brush- 
wood, then across steppe-land, which in its turn gave 
place to the desert. The sand however was not deep, 
nor the sand-dunes high; but the latter had their steep 
slopes facing westwards, indicating the prevalence of 
easterly winds at that season of the year. 
It was an interesting excursion ; for the region had 
never before been visited by a European. After leaving 
the large village of Mogal (Mongol) on our right, we 
came to Terem, where the beg placed his house at my 
disposal. I required little room, however, . for I had 
nothing with me beyond the barest necessaries, and only 
had two horses. 
The villages of Terem and Mogal consisted of 200 
households each, and were governed by a beg and eight 
on-bashis ; though a Chinese tax-collector also lived there. 
The word Terem means a “cultivated place,” and the 
inhabitants told me, that in point of fact Terem was in 
former times famous for its good harvests and abundant 
water-supply. People came thither from all parts to buy 
corn. The change which has taken place must un- 
questionably be attributed to the alteration in the course 
of the river. The place now gets its water-supply from 
463 
