682 
THROUGH ASIA 
west to north-north-east. The inhabitants, as well as the 
Chinese garrison, were living partly in yurts, partly in 
temporary tents. During the time the seismic disturb- 
ances lasted, some eighty distinct shocks were counted. 
The most violent was the first ; it was the shock which 
destroyed the town. The last happened this morning at 
ten minutes past eight o’clock. I was sleeping on the 
ground, as I always did, and distinctly felt the impact 
at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the valley, in 
other words it moved along an east-west line. The shock 
awakened in the mind an unpleasant sensation of anxiety. 
The earth seemed to heave and undulate. A detonation 
like a distant peal of thunder was plainly distinguishable. 
But everything was over in about a couple of seconds. 
After looking at the damage done by the earthquake, 
1 paid my respects to the commandant, Mi Darin, and 
two or three other mandarins, all of whom received me 
with great politeness. They had equipped their yurt 
with a table, chairs, and opium couches, and offered me 
all sorts of nice things. I took two or three whiffs at 
an opium - pipe, but failed to detect wherein lies its 
fascination. 
***** 
In the early part of this work I have dwelt with 
considerable detail upon different parts of the Pamirs. 
The length to which this book is growing precludes me 
from de.scribing this present expedition with anything 
approaching the same circumstantial minuteness. Perhaps 
I may be permitted on another occasion to relate the 
results of my 1895 journey in the southern regions of 
the Pamirs. I have still a long distance to travel before 
I reach Peking. If the reader has the patience to 
follow me, I hope to take him over the old caravan-road 
to Khotan, which Marco Polo travelled over so many 
generations ago. We shall then once more cross the 
great sandy desert, and discover cities buried in the sand, ' 
and evidences of an ancient and extinct Buddhist culture. 
We shall pay a visit to the desolate home of the wild 
i 
