THE LOP-NOR PROBLEM 
875 
the river once more forms a long chain of small lakes, 
and finally rejoins the Tarim at Shirgheh-chappgan. The 
largest lakes in this string are called Sadak-koll and 
Niaz-koll, being named after a couple of Lop-men, whose 
cabins stand on their shores. 
Now it is only nine years ago when these lakes were 
last filled with water by the Ilek. Previous to that they 
were nothing but desert ; although even then the present 
lake-basins and the river-bed were in existence, the 
deepest places in the latter making salt-water pools, at 
which the wild camels came down to drink. When 
Przhevalsky returned home after his second journey 
(1885) to Lop-nor, he disputed the existence of any lake 
to the east of the Tarim. As it happened, he was right, 
for the dry lake-basins and river-bed were not filled with 
water until three years later. On the other hand, Von 
Richthofen was equally right, when he postulated the 
existence of a lake in this very quarter — a lake which 
indeed actually existed, though in a condition of temporary 
desiccation. 
The southern Lop-nor — I will retain the name, for it 
has become established on the best European maps — the 
southern Lop-nor, at the date of Przhevalsky’s visits, was 
a lake of considerable size, so large that from the village 
of Abdal he was able to make a boat -journey of several 
days’ duration on its waters eastwards to the fishing- 
station of Kara-koshun. Eleven and a half years later 
1 attempted the very same boat-journey from Abdal, but 
could only advance for two short days, and then with 
great difficulty, because of the reeds. The fishing-station 
of Kara-koshun was entirely abandoned, the lake in its 
vicinity having become quite overgrown. 
At the date of Przhevalsky’s visits, Kara-buran, the 
other basin of the southern Lop-nor, was a large open 
lake more like a sea than a lake, for a man standing on 
the one shore was not able to see across it to the other. 
The name (the Black Storm) indicates sufficiently, that 
it lies in a region which is peculiarly exposed to the 
ravacjes of the terrific sandstorms. At the time I visited 
