30 
SECOND YARKAND MISSION. 
PART Y. 
Altyn-Artysh. 
[From the Records of the Geological Survey of India, Yol. VIII, p. 13.] 
Under the personal guidance of the Envoy, we—Dr. Bellew, Captain Chapman, Captain 
Trotter, and myself—left Yangishahr on the 14th of February, reaching Altyn-Artysh at a 
late hour the same day. A halt of two days was desirable to enable us to make all necessary 
arrangements for our further movements. However, before I proceed, I shall endeavour to 
give the reader an idea of the geographical position and limits of the country, of which I shall 
speak in the subsequent lines. 
The data are derived from a general survey by Captain Trotter, and from information 
given by the Hakim Mahomed Khoja. 
Altyn-Artysh, which is the chief place of the province, lies approximately about 23 
miles north by east of Yangishahr. It is situated in the western part of the Yilak 1 on 
the Bogoz, here called Artysh river, and north of a low ridge which separates the Artysh 
valley from the plains. The southern boundary runs along this ridge for about 10 miles 
west of Altyn-Artysh, and from there almost due north to the crest of the Koktan range; 
then along this range eastwards of the Belauti pass, and from thence in a south-western 
direction to the village of Kushtignak, some 15 miles north of Faizabad. From here the 
southern boundary runs close to the right bank of the Kashghar river, until almost 
opposite to where the Artysh river runs into the plains. 
During the first four days we all marched in company up the valley of the Bogoz river 
to the fort Tongitar, about 23 miles to the north by west; then to a Kirghiz camp, Bashsogon, 
in a north-easterly direction; Tughamati almost eastern, and Ayok-sogon in a south-eastern 
direction; the directions being from the last camps respectively. 
At Ayok-sogon Captain Trotter and I separated from the rest of the party, and marched 
northwards along the Ushturfan road to Jaitapa, and from thence across the Jigda Jilga 
in a north-east by east (?) direction to the camp at E T ibulak, crossing the Uibulak pass, passing 
a second jilga, and turning then for almost 9 miles more northwards to the Belauti 
pass, beyond which lies the valley of the Kakshal or Aksai river. On our return we passed 
Ayok-sogon, Karawal, about a mile from our former camp of the same name, and visited 
Kulti-ailak and Faizabad, returning to Yangishahr on the 3rd of March. 
It was not a very favourable time for travelling in these regions, not so much on account 
of the cold, as in consequence of the heavy falls of snow which appear to occur over the 
whole of the Thian Shan during the second half of February and first half of March. During 
the last few days of February we were almost constantly wading in fresh-fallen snow, though 
on the saline plains it melted very rapidly. The snow* naturally interfered seriously with our 
observations. 
1 Yilak, or Ailak, is the summer, Kishlak the winter, residence. Amongst the pastoral wandering tribes of Central Asia, it is 
the practice to drive all the animals to higher elevations for pasture in summer, and to bring them to lower ground when the 
upland pastures are covered with snow. The terms mentioned are used by the Turk tribes. 
