OVER THE KWEN-LUN PASSES 943 
gravelly talus at the foot of the mountains, and the sandy 
desert ran the narrow belt of detached oases, with the 
caravan -road. The sai was seamed by numerous small 
torrents, deeply eroded, which poured off the northern 
versant of the Kwen-lun Mountains. The largest of those 
we crossed were the Ullug-sai, Keriya-darla, Niya-daria, 
Tollan-khoja, Bostan-tograk, Molldya, and Kara-muran. 
At the points where these several streams burst fiom the 
mountains, there were a number of small villages, around 
which barley is grown, and in that, and in the breeding of 
sheep and cattle, the inhabitants find their chief means of 
THE CHAPP OR RAVINE OF TOLLAN-KHOJA 
subsistence. Hence in East Turkestan three varieties of 
oasis may be distinguished ; — (i.) those along the courses 
of the rivers ; (ii.) those which are situated at the edge of 
the desert and are watered by artificial irrigation-channels 
—to these all the towns belong; and (iii.) those which he 
at the points where the mountain torrents break out of the 
mountains, and where there is generally a plentiful supply 
of grass. 
At Kutaz-lengher we made a short halt to water the 
animals ; and there the aksakal of Khotan, Iskender, and 
the rest of the horsemen who had accompanied us, 
turned back home. The aksakal took my last letters, and 
