126 
EXPLORATIONS IN TURKESTAN. 
was ffiven at c\-cr\- turn, and the ever-changing clouds gave new and more 
charming effects on tlie high peaks iu the distance. We were in the ;\lai range, 
for glistening snow peaks appeared above the green hills on botli sides, wliilc in 
front there rose a chain of gigantic snow-clad p\ramids, partially hidden 1j\' the 
clouds that streamed from their summits. 
From Suph Kurgan to the Taldic pass the mountain sides are dotted witli 
scrubby cedar trees, which grow smaller, more crooked, and more picturesque as the 
altitude increases, and below the pass exist as mere stunted spreading bushes 
hugging the slopes. When about 15 versts below Ak-Busa-Ga we heard, for the 
first time, the shrill whistle of the marmot, and from there to the border of the 
Pamir desert this was the characteristic wild animal. At a little after 3 in the 
afternoon our caravan came to where the valley opened out on the broad, grass- 
Fig. 83. — Looking up the Taldic Valley at the Entrance to the Broad Plain of Ak-Busa-Ga. 
covered flood-plain of .\k-Busa-Ga (figs. 85 and 86). There we camped over night. 
At 5.30 p. m. the temperature was 40° F. At 9.30 p. m. it had fallen to 32° F., 
and it was snowing heavily. 
The next day, July 4, the caravan made an early start, for we were to cross the 
Taldic. It was a clear, frosty morning, with the white snow peaks above glistening 
in the sun. In about a verst the broad valle)' changed to a torrent canyon. Beyond 
it opened out again in grassy slopes, where many Kirghiz families had pitched their 
kibitkas (fig. 88). Flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle and horses, and many 
wandering groups of two-humped camels were grazing b)- the trail. .Above were 
high peaks, some of craggy rocks and others more heavily covered with great 
sliding banks of snow. Delicate, steaming clouds trailed from the summits, and 
others appeared over the ridges, rolling up from the opposite side. One cloud 
swept down the valley for a moment, its refreshing moisture blowing against our 
faces. Ahead of us we could see where the trail makes its many zigzags before 
