THE FORESTS OF THE TARIM 847 
night came made a couple of huge bonfires, which lighted 
up the forest to a great distance. Once more we were 
getting on well ; but we were even in better form when 
we heard a dog barking in the distance. Ahmed and 
Kasim hurried off in the direction from which the sound 
came, and after being a good long time absent came back 
accompanied by three men, whom I questioned and cross- 
questioned. Amongst other things, they told me that the 
first river-bed we crossed the day before was called the 
Achick-daria (the Salt River), and that the forest tract 
we were then in was known as Kara-dash (the Black P ool). 
There were several shepherds in the neighbourhood, in 
charge of some 4000 sheep belonging to bais in Shah-yar. 
The following day we continued our journey towards 
the north-east with a guide, and at Teress crossed the 
Yarkand-daria (Tarim), which was 170 yards wide. Al- 
though the ice was tolerably strong, it bent and cracked 
under the weight of the camels. The animals were them- 
selves afraid of getting a bath, and were therefoie led 
across one at a time. All the same, they instinctively 
straddled wide, so as to spread their weight over as wide 
a surface as possible, and kept their heads close down 
to the ice, so as not to hurt themselves if their feet did 
go through. In the village of Chimen we once more 
enjoyed the luxury of a roof over our heads, although the 
most primitive imaginable. 
Here I paid Ahmed and Kasim for the services they 
had rendered me ; for they were leaving us to return up 
the Khotan-daria to Tavek-kel. I had taken a liking 
to these excellent forest-men, and was really sorry to 
part from them. But they were anxious to get back 
home in time for the spring sowings ; they were also 
growing more and more uneasy every day as the distance 
increased from the districts they were acquainted with. 
I gave them not only the money we had agreed upon, 
but also the donkeys, and provisions to last them all 
the way to Tavek-kel. They undertook to carry the 
skin of the wild camel to Khotan, and they executed 
the commission like honest fellows. My chief consolation 
