THE FORESTS OF THE TARIM 851 
main stream of the Tarim. He said that in June its flood 
is truly enormous. It then rises every day for twenty 
days, until it is 300 fathoms (or 600 yards) wide, and as 
deep as a poplar is high, i.e. about 50 feet. It remains in 
flood about a month ; then begins to subside, at first slowly, 
then faster and faster, until in the end of November the 
frost comes and sets its congealing hand upon it. The 
river, which always freezes from the bottom upwards, and 
thaws the reverse way on, from the top downwards, remains 
frozen for three and a half months. Ten days later on the 
shepherd expected the ice would be so soft and brashy that 
it would be impossible to cross the river on foot. 1 he 
current is lowest in the beginning of May. 
February 28th. Every day after leaving the Achick- 
daria we saw vast numbers of wild-geese ; but at the place 
where we encamped to-day, a deserted sattma in a glade 
of the forest known as Tuppe-teshdi, they were more 
numerous than usual. Every three or four minutes a 
flock of from thirty to fifty went sailing past, all going 
due east, no doubt making for Lop-nor. Occasionally 
a group of four or five came lagging behind the main 
body. So long as the sun was up, they flew so high 
that they looked no bigger than little black dots against 
the sky ; but immediately the sun set they came down 
to within sixty or seventy feet of the earth, and seemed 
to skim the tops of the poplars. Then we often heard 
a faint gabbling, as though they were taking counsel 
together as to which would be the most suitable resting- 
place for the night. Some flocks however still kept up 
at a considerable height during the night ; probably they 
had not made such a long day’s journey as those which 
flew lower, and which evidently meant to settle. 
Marvellous creatures those wild-geese ! They knew 
the geography of the region as well as if they enjoyed 
the advantage of using the very best maps and in- 
struments. They always flew in a long string one behind 
the other ; and each flock pursued exactly the same line 
of flight, over the very same poplars, and towards 
precisely the same point of the compass. Directly we 
