PHYSIOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS. 
125 
these lowland valleys and in the sprinj^ the\- sow great fields of grain, leaving men 
to tend and irrigate them, and on their return from the summer pastures reap their 
crops. We camped over night at Ciulcha, July 1-2. It rained heavih' during the 
night, and the temperature stood at 54.5° F. at 6 a. ni. 
Leaving Gulcha, we fell in with a long Kirghiz caravan, on its way to the Alai 
Valley. It was very gay, yet full of pomp and dignity. Each group was headed 
Fig. 83. — A Kirghiz Caravan on its way lo the Alai Valley. 
by the men driving their herds of cattle, horses, and camels, and their flocks of goats 
and sheep. Behind them came the women, all attired in their best, some in cloth 
of gold or silver, and ornamented with jewels. They rode in single file, each on a 
stallion draped with brilliant embroideries, and each leading two or more camels 
laden with the household goods, and draped over all with carpets of rich design. 
Such is the wealth drawn from the fertile pastures of Fergana. (See fig. 83.) 
All day we contiiuied winding up the \alley, frequently fording the stream. 
There were at first no trees on the hillsides, but frequent groups of picturesque 
mountain willows and crooked poplars along the edge of the stream (fig. 84). No 
wild animals were seen ; only a few vultures 
and flocks of pigeons vers- like our do- 
mesticated variety. Toward the end of the 
da)- we entered a granite gorge and rode a 
long time above the roaring torrent. Occa- 
sional glimpses of the slopes high up above 
the canyon showed thin forests of bushv 
cedar trees. 
Our camp tiie night of July 2-3 was 
at Suph Kurgan, where the trail forks, one 
branch leading over the Taldic pass, the other 
over the Terek Da van. During the sunnuer 
there is but little snow on the Taldic, and that route is used when the Terek is 
impassable, owing to high flood. In winter the streams are shrunken and the Terek 
is the best route. That night it rained heavily. Temperature at 6 a. m., 40° F. 
The ne.\t day we were still winding up the valley, sometimes along the 
stream-bed, sometimes along the top of the canyon. A new variety of foreground 
Fig. 84. — A Poplar Tree in the Taldic Valley. 
