OVER THE ARKA-TAGH 
lOI 1 
two hills. For it was blowing hard from the south-east, a 
fact of which I became painfully cognizant as I stood on 
the crest of the pass to sketch and make my observations. 
I could see to an immense distance. In the south-east 
was a snow-covered mountain. South of the lake the 
country was less broken, but there were three other lakes 
with wet and marshy ground between them. I therefore 
sent Islam Bai along the lake shore, to find out whether 
the caravan would be able to advance eastwards. He 
brought back word, that there was an easy road. 
We had barely got comfortably settled down in our 
tents, when the usual westerly storm came on, this time 
succeeded by a downpour of rain. Hitherto we had not 
suffered from want of water, a thing we had anxiously 
feared before we started. But there was an abundance of 
water everywhere, nor was grass so scarce as the 1 aghliks 
tried to make us believe, no doubt with the view of 
deterring us from the journey. There was relatively good 
pasturage around the large lake we had just come upon. 
The men therefore begged for a day’s rest, especially as 
some of the horses and donkeys were very much done up. 
The sick camel had not been able to get more than half 
way of our last day’s march, and had been left beside a 
pool of fresh water. Hamdan Bai, who was in charge 
of the camels, believed that the sick one was suffering 
from fever, for he was seized with fits of violent shaking, 
and coughed a good deal, and for four days had not eaten 
a mouthful of maize. Whilst we rested, two of the men 
went back to see how he was faring. 
The mountains echoed with the rolling thunder, and the 
storm-clouds drove eastward as usual. 
The day’s rest was welcome to both men and animals, 
for the rarefied atmosphere, to which we only gradually 
became accustomed, was very trying to our strength. The 
sick camel was brought into camp No. XII. during the 
course of the morning, and was able to eat some maize. 
Parpi Bai maintained very confidently, that the lake 
we had reached was not the same lake which Dutreuil 
de Rhins’s caravan passed; but although I knew the 
