1 004 
THROUGH ASIA 
tribute one drop of water to any of the great oceans of 
the earth. 
We descended, then, beside the stream in the glen on 
the south. The weather being splendidly fine, every 
mountain -slope was streaked with foaming rivulets from 
the rapidly melting snows. At the lower end of the glen 
we emerged from the mountains. Then, leaving the glen 
brook on our right, as well as a small solitary, detached 
portion of the range, the last outlier of the Arka-tag'h, 
we directed our march towards the south-east, having on 
our left the southern spurs of the Arka-tagh. Here we 
obtained a splendid view of a vast stretch of the mighty 
range bathed in brilliant sunshine. It consisted of an 
aggregation of peaks, most of them rounded at the top. 
But there was one crest especially conspicuous ; it was 
jagged and pinnacled, and there were numerous clusters 
of black rocks projecting through its covering of snow. 
This was the twin peak we had seen between camps 
No. IV. and V. When I first perceived it, it loomed 
up on the far distant horizon ; novr happily it was 
behind us. 
The surface was everywhere covered with fine sand 
and dust, soft and moist, and consequently very tiring 
to the caravan animals. The next stream we came to 
was joined by numerous tributaries, and gradually bent 
round south and south-east towards the small lake I have 
already mentioned, thus describing a semicircle round 
a hill that rose isolated from the tableland. At its foot 
on the south-west we discovered to our surprise some 
herbage, which our animals did not refuse after their 
enforced abstinence of the previous day. One of the 
camels and one of the horses were pretty spent, and one 
of the donkeys had given in on the pass. 
I climbed the little hill on foot, and from its top 
obtained some splendid views. I observed what appeared 
to be several small glaciers stretching south from the 
region of perpetual snow on the summit of Arka-tagh. 
Looking towards the east, Arka-tagh faded away on the 
farthest horizoit on my left, whilst on my right was the 
