A RESCUE PARTY 
635 
streams, and the forest is thicker and altog'ether wilder 
than the forest of the Yarkand-daria. The sand-dunes 
nowhere approach near to the banks of the Yarkand- 
daria ; but in the case of the Khotan-daria they stretch 
quite close up to the western forest-belt. 
In one respect however the two streams agree. Both 
have shifted their channels towards the east, as is proved 
by the existence, in both cases alike, of former river-beds 
lying west of and parallel to their present courses, whereas 
there are no such disused channels to the east of them. 
It is also worthy of remark, that the caravan-roads which 
run alongside both rivers keep to the left bank ; no doubt 
that is the safer side when the rivers are in flood. More- 
over, almost all the towns along the middle course of the 
Yarkand-daria are situated on the left bank, and generally 
at some little distance from it. There are no towns along 
that part of the Khotan-daria which flows through the 
forest; the only inhabitants in those tracts being the 
nomad shepherds. The caravan-road down the Khotan- 
daria possesses only a local importance ; but between 
Maral-bashi and Yarkand, that is along the middle portion 
of the Yarkand-daria, runs one of the chief commercial 
highways in the centre of Asia. 
May 23rd. I was awakened at half-past three in the 
morning by a terrific buran (hurricane) — a perfect fury of 
a wind — from the west. It completely ruined my poor 
hut, and even threatened to tear up the trees by their 
roots. It roared and whistled through the tops of the 
poplars, which, being full of leaf, were bent over parallel 
with the earth, threatening every moment to snap in half 
The branches, being dry, cracked and broke, and were 
flung to the ground. The reeds bowed in humiliation 
before the fierce tyranny of the storm. The entire forest 
roared and thundered, as though it were filled with the 
noise of many waterfalls. It was moreover choked with 
dense clouds of drift -sand, which was blown in almost 
solid masses across the level bed of the Khotan-daria. 
The hurricane only lasted half an hour, and was succeeded 
by the same perfect calm which had preceded it. 
