848 
THROUGH ASIA 
at parting from them was, that I now really needed 
other guides, men who were familiar with the forests of 
the Tarim and the intricate river-channels of the Tarim 
system. 
On 23rd February we rode into Shah-yar, having 
been forty-one days in crossing the desert of the Takla- 
makan, a journey in which we had made many unexpected 
discoveries. I had mapped the Keriya-daria in detail, 
had proved beyond question the existence of the wild 
camel in the desert north of that river, had discovered 
a race of shepherds living in a semi-savage condition, 
and, most important of all, had discovered two ancient 
cities. My first journey across the Takla-makan had 
been disastrous ; the second proved a series of triumphs. 
On the first journey I sought for ruins of an ancient 
civilization, and sought in vain ; the second journey 
clearly demonstrated that the thousand and one legends 
of hidden treasures and cities buried in the sand were 
not altogether old wives’ tales. 
Whilst in Shah - yar a bright idea occurred to me. 
Instead of going back by the Khotan-daria, part of which 
I had already travelled down, why not strike direct for 
the Lop -nor, and get my boating trip on it, one of the 
principal objects of my journey, done with once for all ? 
Instantly certain objections presented themselves. Before 
leaving Khotan I had not had the remotest idea of taking 
such a roundabout route of some 1 500 miles. I had only 
come equipped for an expedition of fifty days. The worst 
of it was I had not brought a single map of the Lop-nor 
with me ; and I had left my general Chinese passport 
behind me in Khotan. The amban of that place had, it 
is true, given me a local passport, valid for the province 
of Khotan. But I considered it as so much worthless 
paper, for we were only going to travel through the 
desert ; and yet, as events subsequently proved, it was 
really invaluable. Besides, though this was of little 
moment as compared with the above-mentioned objections, 
we had only our winter clothes and felt boots with us, 
and my sketch-books, note -books, steel pens, tea, and 
