# George Roerich. Trails to the Inmost Asia ## V. The Great Northern Highway to Urumchi --- <a id="b4p-67-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:67 --> **February 26 — 27, 1926** [Faizabad](/#m=9/39.49424/76.73538&l=Gs&p=67/o) The great northern highway of Hsin-chiang has been frequently described by travelers. In two easy stages we reached Faizabad—a small town with a Chinese magistrate and a small garrison of troops. The road was monotonous—everywhere sand tracts covered by salt crust, sand dunes, and jungle, groves of willows and dusty mud-built hamlets. Faizabad is the last settlement of the Kashgar Oasis. Beyond it stretch sandy tracts. <a id="b4p-71-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:71 --> **February 28 — March 3, 1926** *Through: Kara julgun, Urdaklik, Chuga, Maral-bashi* The distance from Faizabad to Maral-bashi was covered in four stages. The road ran through a sandy country covered by jungle, said to abound in game. In the past this must have been a huge forest area, but nowadays the living jungle is retreating to the north and the sands are rapidly encroaching on the forest. The road was made difficult by numerous dry tree stumps and roots completely buried under sand. The horses stumbled again and again and one of the carts with the expedition baggage almost overturned, after hitting a huge tree trunk covered by sand. In this season of the year this part of Chinese Turkestan south of the Celestial Mountains looked most desolate, and the dried-up trunks of trees only added to the general impression of utter desolation. The hamlets along the route were dirty, and the number of ruined hovels clearly indicated that the rural population was diminishing. <a id="b4p-71-N2"></a><!-- block4placeid:71 --> **March 3, 1926** [Maral-bashi](/#m=9/39.80247/78.58263&l=Gs&p=71/o) On March 3, we entered the large and important Oasis of Maral-bashi, connected by two important routes with Kashgar and Yarkend. The oasis itself is not large but is well irrigated and has an abundant supply of subsoil water and several lakes. The Yarkend darya approaches it from the south. To the northwest and north rise low, rocky ridges—southern offshoots of the outward T'ien Shan. Our caravaneers had the secret intention to make us stay for one day at Maral-bashi but we urged them to go ahead, and spent only one night there. <!-- block4placeid:null --> **March 4, 1926** [Tumshuk](/#m=9/39.96068/79.10586&l=Gs&p=72/o) *Through: Char-bagh* <p> Our next stop was Ak-tumshuk or simply Tumshuk. <a id="t4p-339-N1"></a><span text4placeid:339> On leaving the cultivation zone of Maral-bashi and Char-bagh Bazaar, a small hamlet some fifteen miles northeast of Maral-bashi, we emerged on a vast sandy plain covered by shrubs. </span> The stage was a very long one, about thirty miles, and <a id="t4p-72-N1"></a><span text4placeid:72> we reached the village of Tumshuk at about eleven o'clock at night. Not far from the village stands a Chinese inscription dating back to the time of the reconquest of the New Dominion in 1877. North and southeast of Tumshuk lie important ruins. The ancient sites were excavated by the eminent French sinologist, Professor Paul Pelliot, during his expedition in 1906-8. </span> </p> <a id="b4p-77-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:77 --> **March 5 — 10, 1926** [Aksu](/#m=9/41.16883/80.25787&l=Gs&p=77/o) *Through: Yaka Khuduk, New Chulan, Chutu Khuduk, Ujkul* From Tumshuk it took us four long stages to reach Aksu. The route was mostly over sandy tracts covered by tamarisks. In places it was covered by thick layers of loess dust, that stuck to the faces and irritated the eyes of men and animals. The Oasis of Aksu is situated on the confluence of two considerable rivers, the Tushkan and Kum-arik darya. In spring and early summer the rivers, fed by the melting snows and glaciers of the main chain of the T'ien Shan, carry a considerable volume of water and feed an extensive agricultural area. We established our camp in the Mohammedan town of Aksu in the garden of a former Andijani *aqsaqal*. The owner had died several years before and the house looked forlorn; it was only used by local authorities as a camping ground for a few passing foreigners. A huge and insolent crowd of Tungans or Chinese Mohammedans endeavored to enter the courtyard to have a look at us. Aksu has a large colony of Tungans and all travelers are unanimous in their complaint against their insolence. Two local ruffians beat one of our cart drivers, but were caught and for safety's sake arrested and sent to the magistrate to suffer just punishment. Our cart drivers insisted that their horses needed a day's rest and we reluctantly consented to spend one day at Aksu. It was a pleasure to meet the sympathetic magistrate, Mr. P'an, who came to have lunch with us. He had a good knowledge of English and complained bitterly of the lonely life he led in Aksu. He felt great anxiety for the future of the Province and was aware of the need of a complete renovation of the old administrative system. <a id="b4p-78-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:78 --> **March 11, 1926** [Kara-khuduk](/#m=9/41.38376/80.78642&l=Gs&p=78/o) We left Aksu on March 11 and after a tiresome march reached the small village of Kara-khuduk in complete darkness. Our pack horses with the camp outfit reached the place only about one o'clock in the morning and it was two o'clock when we retired to our tents, only to be up again about seven in the morning. <a id="b4p-79-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:79 --> **March 12, 1926** [Toghrak-dong](/#m=9/41.55722/81.23136&l=Gs&p=79/o) From Kara-khuduk, or Kara-yulghun we marched to Toghrak-dong, a lonely spot at the foot of a sandstone ridge. For the whole day the route passed over vast gravel plains, intersected by low ridges of sandstone. Toghrak-dong is interesting for several cave shrines, situated in the side of a sandstone cliff, not far from the local relay station. The plastering that once covered the walls and the ceiling, and the frescoes, have been destroyed by the vandalism of Mohammedan iconoclasts. Some of the caves have crumbled down. The site was probably a small Buddhist *vihara*, built in the cliff. As most of the ancient ruined monasteries and shrines along the southern slopes of the T'ien Shan, the caves of Toghrak-dong command a fine view of the rugged ridges that stretch far into the desert. <!-- block4placeid:null --> **March 13, 1926** [Kushtimi](/#m=9/41.65624/81.5522&l=Gs&p=80/o) *Through: Yaka-arik* <p> <a id="t4p-80-N1"></a><span text4placeid:80> Our next march to Kushtimi or Kushtam took us over a mountainous desert. </span> <a id="t4p-340-N1"></a><span text4placeid:340> At Yaka-arik we struck a belt of cultivated land along the bank of the Muzart River. At this time of the year the river bed was dry, but in summer the stream carries a big volume of water, feeding the important Oases of Bai and Kuchar. </span> <a id="t4p-80-N2"></a><span text4placeid:80> We camped in a grove of toghraks outside the langar or relay station of Kushtimi. The resthouse was occupied by a band of professional gamblers; these men are the scourge of Hsin-chiang. All the principal bazaar cities along the caravan routes abound in gambling houses, some of which even issue their own currency in the form of small bamboo sticks with the number and name of the house on it. This gambling currency is universally accepted and has a definite value. </span> The gambling company in the resthouse of Kushtimi was reinforced by a group of Kara-Kirghizes, known for their robberies in the neighborhood. The Chinese escort from Aksu barricaded themselves in one of the rooms of the resthouse and refused to keep guard at night. In the morning we discovered that our escort had in charge a criminal in shackles who during the march walked with our carts. We protested against having a criminal in our baggage column and the soldiers sent the man alone to Bai. It is surprising that he reached there and surrendered himself to the local authorities. </p> <a id="b4p-81-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:81 --> **March 14, 1926** *Through: Bai* The route from Kushtimi to Bai led over cultivated grounds on the left bank of the Muzart River. The small town of Bai, with its several dirty and dusty bazaars, was far from being an ideal camping place, and we had to move to a relay station across the river. In the vicinity of Bai, Professor Paul Pelliot discovered Tokharian manuscripts in the Kuchean dialect. He also found fragments of route permits, which were brilliantly analyzed by M. Sylvain Lévi, Professor of Sanskrit at the Collège de France and the École des Hautes Études, Paris. <a id="b4p-82-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:82 --> **March 15, 1926** [Kizil-örtang](/#m=9/41.831711821615464/82.43749341326303&l=Gs&p=82/o) Our next stage was Kizil-örtang. Southeast of the present hamlet of Kizil are situated the important *ming-öi* or cave temples, with frescoes dating back to the fifth and eighth centuries A.D. The caves were visited by Professor Pelliot and thoroughly explored by Dr. Le Coq during his expedition in 1905. <!-- block4placeid:null --> **March 16 — 19, 1926** [Kuchar](/#m=9/41.7088/83.01458&l=Gs&p=85/o) *Through: Toghrak-dang langar, Kizil karga caves* <p> <a id="t4p-467-N1"></a><span text4placeid:467> From Kizil we rode across a gravel desert intersected by barren ridges of sandstone to Kizil-kargha, known for its ruined temples situated north of the road. Many of the frescoes were damaged by Mohammedan iconoclasts, many escaped destruction and were carried away by the German expedition under the leadership of Dr. Le Coq. In 1916 a severe earthquake shattered the caves and destroyed what remained of the frescoes. At the time of our visit the cave temples of Kizil-kargha contained only insignificant fragments of wall paintings. Here and there was a figure of Buddha in meditative posture, the face of which had been destroyed by Mohammedan vandals, fragments of human figures (donors?) with brief inscriptions in the central Asian slanting script, and Uighur and flower ornaments in the door arches. </span> The caves were visited in 1902-3 by the Japanese expedition of Count Otani. The Kizil-kargha caves are probably contemporary to the large cave temples southeast of Kizil-örtang. </p> <a id="t4p-85-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:85 --> Our visit to the caves delayed our arrival at Kuchar and we reached the town itself only at dusk. Some time passed before we succeeded in finding a suitable camping place. We were helped by a strange man who seemed to know a good many languages and led us to a shady garden and a summer house of a wealthy landowner. It was too damp for occupation and we pitched our tents in the spacious garden. The Oasis of Kuchar, the town with its wide lanes of poplars, and the active population make a better impression than the rest of the Hsin-chiang Oasis south of the Celestial Mountains. The oasis occupies a very favorable position which from ancient times made it an important economical and political center. It is situated at the point where the Muzart and the Kuchar rivers emerge from the T'ien Shan Mountains and direct their course toward the Tarim Basin. Kuchar is by far the most important trading center along the caravan route from Kashgar to Urumchi. The abundant supply of glacier water, carried down the two rivers of the oasis, and the numerous springs of subsoil water make the oasis an ideal place for cultivation and an important fruit growing center of the whole Province. From early times, Kuchar was known as an emporium of Chinese trade, with nomad tribes occupying the higher grazing valleys of the Tekes and Kunges in the central T'ien Shan and the steppe country of Jungaria. Nowadays, the oasis conducts an extensive trade with Kalmuck, Torgut, and Ölöt tribes, occupying the higher mountain valleys of the T'ien Shan and the steppe country round Karashahr. Kuchar is connected with Khotan by a desert route following the bed of Keriya River, and receives by that route its share of Khotan trade. <p> <a id="t4p-85-N2"></a><span text4placeid:85> The antiquities of Kuchar have been repeatedly studied by European and Japanese expeditions: first the Russian expeditions under Dr. Klementz and Berezovski on behalf of the Russian Academy of Sciences, then the Japanese expedition of Count Otani; the several German expeditions under the leadership of Professor Grünwedel and Dr. Le Coq; the two expeditions of Sir Aurel Stein and the French expedition of Professor Pelliot. The principal ancient sites of the oasis are situated in three important groups: Kizil, Kumtura, and Kirish. </span> For a detailed study of the ancient wall paintings in the cave shrines, the student may consult the monumental editions of Dr. Le Coq. According to him, the wall paintings in the ruined cave temples of the Kuchar Oasis and those of Turfan (Khojo, Tuyok, Sangim, Bäzäklik, Chikkan köl) exhibit several distinct styles of art: </p> I. The earliest style exhibits a clear influence of the Greco-buddhist or Gandhara school of northwestern India. II. The style of the "Knights with long swords." Dr. Le Coq believes that style I and style II belong to the Indo-scythian period. Both are closely interrelated. Style II must have been created during a period of strong Iranian and western influence in the region. The next three styles show the preponderant eastern influence which characterized the end of the eighth century A.D. a period of Uighur domination, whose culture was strongly influenced by Far Eastern civilization: III. The old Turkish style, of a mixed character, distinguished by a strong influence of Chinese art. IV. The new Turkish style or the proper Uighur style, in which Chinese elements have been subdued by the native artistic tendencies. V. The fifth style, called Tibetan by Dr. Le Coq, is met only in Turfan and is of late origin. A study of this Lamaist style would be of the highest importance for the history of Tibetan pictorial art and its influence beyond the ethnographic frontiers of Tibet. The Historical Annals of China contain a mass of information about the Tibetan tribes of the border. We know about their tribal movements, their alliances with the powerful Hiung-nu, a paleo-Asiatic tribe occupying the steppes of modern Mongolia, and their occasional raids on Chinese territory. During the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. the Tibetan mounted hordes overran western China, Turkestan, and southern Mongolia, and even conquered Chang-an, the Chinese capital of the period. By the end of the seventh century A.D. Chinese Turkestan was lost to China and Tibetan troops allied to the Arabs were pushing toward the distant Oxus Valley. We hear of Tibetan military governors of the Khotan Oasis and Tibetan forts along the southern trade route of Chinese Turkestan. The famous military expedition of 747 A.D. commanded by the Chinese General Kao Hsien-chih had as its object the checking of Tibetan military progress in the region of the Hindukush. About 750 A.D. the Tibetans captured Tun-huang, the place where Sir Aurel Stein and Professor Paul Pelliot made their brilliant discoveries of manuscripts. Professor Grünwedel and Dr. Le Coq brought back from Turfan a number of fragments written in Tibetan. Dr. A. H. Francke assigns them on paleographical grounds to the eighth century A.D. The presence of Tibetan manuscript fragments in Turfan attests the fact of the Tibetan expansion and possible occupation along the northern highway and explains the presence of Lamaistic frescoes in the ruined temples of the Turfan Oasis. <a id="t4p-85-N3"></a><!-- text4placeid:85 --> The three days we spent in Kuchar were filled with visits to the ancient sites of the oasis, and negotiations with cart owners. All the local residents informed us that antiques and fragments of manuscripts were only seldom found nowadays. The only place from which antiquities were still forthcoming was the Lob region, west of the Lake Lob-nor. A few weeks before our visit to Kuchar a trader had brought in a painted wooden coffer containing rolls of manuscripts, coins, and minor antiquities; but in spite of a rigorous search throughout Kuchar and its vicinity we could not locate it. The local representative of the American firm of Brenner Bros. at Tientsin rendered us splendid help in finding carts for our baggage. The new carts had to carry the expedition baggage to Urumchi. We also bought three horses, one for riding and two for pack, to supplement our ten pack horses, belonging to the two Ladakis. Spring was rapidly approaching and new grass was appearing in the gardens and the orchards. It was becoming decidedly warmer and we had to hurry to reach Urumchi before the flood period. <a id="b4p-86-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:86 --> **March 20, 1926** [Yaka-arik](/#m=9/41.75018/83.31104&l=Gs&p=86/o) On March 20 we left Kuchar. Our stage for the day was to the small hamlet of Yaka-arik, the easternmost village of the Kuchar Oasis. Soon after leaving the city and its suburb, the road crossed a gravel plain, gradually slanting toward the desert that lay south of it. The weather suddenly became cloudy and a strong northwest wind raised thick clouds of sand dust. The *buran* or sand storms were now of frequent occurrence, the early spring was setting in, and the winds were the precursors of the coming change in temperature. We camped for the night in a garden situated on the outskirts of Yaka-arik. East of the oasis lay vast gravel expanses, enveloped by a dusty veil left behind by the passing storm. In the night the windstorm came raging across the surrounding desert and fiercely shook our camp. <a id="b4p-87-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:87 --> **March 21, 1926** [Yangi-abad](/#m=9/41.79602/83.84114&l=Gs&p=87/o) The next march was to Yangi-abad, a tiny hamlet with garden situated amid clay steppes. The road led over bare gravel desert, here and there intersected by narrow belts of loess covered with scant shrubs and patches of bare clay. To the north rose barren mountain ridges—the southernmost buttresses of the great T'ien Shan. <a id="b4p-88-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:88 --> **March 22, 1926** [Bugur Bazaar](/#m=9/41.78207/84.24248&l=Gs&p=88/o) The next stage brought us to Bugur Bazaar. The road led over stone and clay desert, until we had reached the edge of the Bugur Oasis. Dusty lanes, endless brick walls of fields and gardens, led to the Bugur Bazaar. <a id="b4p-89-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:89 --> **March 23, 1926** [Chadir](/#m=9/41.9898/84.92578&l=Gs&p=89/o) Next day a long march of some fifty miles brought us to Chadir, a small oasis east of Yangi-hissar. For the greater part of the day the road led over sandy tracts covered by shrubs and jungle. The caravan reached camp only late at night. <a id="b4p-90-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:90 --> **March 24 — 25, 1926** [Tim](/#m=9/41.83401/85.91446&l=Gs&p=90/o) *Through: Charchi* From Chadir we traveled along the trade route, stopping at Charchi and Tim. The route led mostly over sandy tracts covered by scant shrubs and intersected by patches of gravel desert. To the north the mountains became more visible, stretching their rugged spurs far into the desert plain. Between Charchi and Tim, we met on the way an interesting young Turki. He was one of those medicine men, adepts of old shamanistic beliefs, who survived among a fanatical Mohammedan population and are popularly called by the name *baksha* or "teacher." The young native was riding on horseback and carried with him a large tambour, which he struck rhythmically, sometimes singing an incantation in Turki. <!-- block4placeid:null --> **March 26, 1926** *Through: Korla Oasis* <p> <a id="t4p-342-N1"></a><span text4placeid:342> On March 26 we passed along the northern outskirts of the Korla Oasis, and turned northeast following the courses of the Konche darya. The trail led over a plain of piedmont gravel, gradually rising toward the mountains. </span> It was on this plain that we met the first Torguts. Three horsemen suddenly appeared from behind a low spur and rapidly rode toward us. All three were dressed in blue coats and two had black handkerchiefs on their heads. They were mounted on fine Torgut horses and attentively examined our caravan. " *Ta sain banti* ," was their greeting, and we told them of our intention to visit the headquarters of their Ruler. " *Dza, dza, dza* ," nodded the riders, and in a cloud of dust disappeared in the distance. Among the Mongol nomad tribes a good rider will always speed his horse to show off its pace. </p> <a id="t4p-341-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:341 --> The road entered a narrow river gorge. Not far from the entrance stood a Chinese outpost and we had to produce our permits to travel to Karashahr. For some reason the Torgut region was carefully watched by the Chinese. <a id="t4p-341-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:341 --> We camped on the bank of the river not far from a grove of trees. The air was wonderfully cool and refreshing, and we rested from the dusty atmosphere of the desert. <!-- block4placeid:null --> **March 27 — February 1, 1926** [Karashahr, Khoton-sumbul](/#m=9/42.07481/86.56291&l=Gs&p=91/o) *Through: Shorchuk, Rafts crossing the Karashahr darya* In the early morning we broke camp and started for Karashahr, still some twenty miles distant. Not far from our camp, the Konche darya turned its course eastward and our route crossed a low hill and then descended into the basin of the Lake Bagh-rash. The road lay over a sandy tract covered by tamarisk shrubs. We were accompanied by two Torgut horsemen bound for an encampment in the mountains north of the route. The two men were hopelessly drunk, and continued to partake of brandy carried in a flask made of the skin of a sheep's stomach. Drunkenness is a great scourge among the Torgut population of Karashahr and largely accounts for the beggarly life led by the mass of tribesmen. <p> <a id="t4p-456-N1"></a><span text4placeid:456> We passed the village of Shorchuk, in the vicinity of which are situated important ruins, explored by German and British expeditions. </span> <a id="t4p-457-N1"></a><span text4placeid:457> After five hours' ride, we reached the Karashahr darya and had to spend a considerable time waiting for the rafts to come from the other bank of the river. Several caravans with bales of merchandise were waiting on the bank to be taken across. The rafts were manned by Torguts, rough fellows in shaggy coats and long pigtails. Among the crowd we noticed several Kirghiz from Prjevalsky on the Issik köl, who were now grazing their flocks of sheep in the mountain tracts north of Karashahr. </span> </p> <a id="t4p-91-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:91 --> Outside the city gates, we were met by the local representative of Brenner Bros., who guided us to the house and garden reserved for our use. The place was situated not far from the town palace of the Torgut Lama Regent, and had the advantage of being conveniently placed on the route to Khoton-sumbul, the headquarters of Toïn Lama, the Lama Regent of the Karashahr Torguts and one of the outstanding personalities of Hsin-chiang. Karashahr and its bazaar are somewhat different from the rest of the oasis bazaars of Chinese Turkestan. This apparent difference is probably due to the presence in large numbers of Torgut tribesmen, who come to the city from the higher valleys of the T'ien Shan and the neighborhood of Baghrash köl. Two important Kalmuck tribes populate the Karashahr region; the Torguts and the Khoshuts. The Torguts own much of the land along the foot of the mountains and the summer pasture lands or *yulduz* , situated in the heart of the T'ien Shan. In winter the nomads come down from the higher mountain valleys and settle in the steppe along the foot of the mountains. They are ruled by a hereditary *khan* who has his headquarters in Khoton-sumbul. For the past few years, the tribe has been governed by Toïn Lama, an uncle of the young *khan* . The Khoshut tribes populate the region around the Baghrash Lake, southeast of Karashahr, and the mountain tracts in the neighborhood of Ushaktal, a village situated on the Karashahr-Turfan route. The Khoshut tribes are governed by several hereditary princes. Both the tribes breed large herds of horses, camels, and cattle. The horses are prized throughout central Asia and China. The Karashahr horse is a strong animal, about twelve to thirteen hands in height, with well-developed chest, powerful neck, large head (somewhat hook-nosed), and well-built legs. The animal is invaluable and usually has a very fast gait. Most of the Chinese cavalry units in Hsin-chiang are mounted on Karashahr horses, and in earlier times these horses were regularly sent to the imperial court at Peking as tribute from the Kalmuck tribes. Some of the horses are the living descendants of those depicted by T'ang sculptors, creators of the famous clay statuettes of horsemen now adorning the glass cases of our museums. <a id="t4p-91-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:91 --> It was our intention to visit the Kalmuck encampments and the large monastery of Balgantai-shara-sümä, situated in the mountains north of Khoton-sumbul. From there we intended to cross the Sumuntä-daban to Urumchi. The days were becoming hot and we feared the excessive heat of the Turfan depression and its effect on Mrs. Roerich, who always suffered from heat. While in Kashgar, we notified the Governor-General in Urumchi of our intention and were assured by local authorities that the Provincial Government would certainly grant permission. When we arrived in Karashahr, the local authorities seemed favorably disposed toward our project of visiting Khoton-sumbul. The old *Tao-yin* of Karashahr was ill, and his private secretary assured us in his name that we could start at once and that no obstacles would be placed in our way. He advised us to address ourselves to the local magistrate. This official was absent on an urgent visit in the neighborhood, and we were received by his secretary who expressed his readiness to assist us on our way but added that the magistrate felt some anxiety on account of great snow on the passes. It was evident that our project of going to Khoton-sumbul and from there to Urumchi over the mountain passes had been a subject of discussion in the *yamens* of Karashahr. <p> We returned to our camp with an impression that the authorities had nothing against our proposed visit to Khoton-sumbul and the mountain trip to Urumchi. From accounts of previous travelers, we knew that Chinese authorities usually felt very uneasy about scientific explorations in the mountains, even if these were situated far from the border and were, practically speaking, no-man's land. Late in the evening we received an unexpected visit from the local postmaster and the secretary of the magistrate. The postmaster, a man with a certain knowledge of English, informed us that the magistrate was very sorry to notify us that he had definite orders from Urumchi not to permit us to travel across the mountains. It was useless to discuss the matter any further and we decided to send a telegram to the Governor-General asking for permission to travel to Urumchi by way of the Sumuntä-daban. <a id="t4p-343-N1"></a><span text4placeid:343> We informed the magistrate that we intended to go the following day to Khoton-sumbul and to await there the answer, and early the next day moved our camp to Khoton-sumbul, the winter headquarters of the Torgut Regent. </span> </p> Khoton-sumbul was situated in the steppe northwest of Karashahr. A cart road led to the settlement and the country seemed to be thickly populated by nomads. Their felt tents and large herds of horses and cattle were seen everywhere. Khoton-sumbul itself was a small settlement of whitewashed brick buildings with clean broad streets and a small bazaar. The Regent's palace was built in European style, and a number of other buildings in semi-European architecture indicated his progressive attitude. <a id="t4p-343-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:343 --> On our arrival, we were ushered into a big room, furnished with Chinese tables and chairs of black wood and bearskins which served as rugs. Soon after our arrival the room filled with the black-robed counselors of the Regent, who asked endless questions as to whence we came and where we intended to go. Late in the afternoon the local notables took leave, and a crowd of gray beards and women with children came into the room to have a look at the foreigners. All smoked cigarettes and pipes. A boy of three, sitting in the arms of his smoking mother, was holding a cigarette and inhaling the smoke with evident pleasure, winking his eyes. Late in the evening the crowd retired and we were given a camping ground outside the Regent's palace. Early next morning we received the visit of the private secretary of the Regent who informed us that the Regent was expecting us in his palace. We found Toïn Lama, as he is known to his subjects, and other peoples of Chinese Turkestan and Jungaria, in a room of his palace, furnished in European style with a large table in the center. On the mantlepiece stood two big tins of conserves, evidently placed there for decoration. Toïn Lama is an interesting personality in central Asian politics and a few years ago was called "the Strong Man of the Torguts." He had assumed power after the death of his younger brother, the *khan* of the Torguts. From the very beginning of his administration he showed himself to be a ruler of strong nationalist tendencies and succeeded in extirpating the strong Chinese influence, which was all-powerful at the court of the late Torgut *khan* . In 1920-22 he began to organize his own troops and invited a Russian instructor, a former officer of the Russian army, who trained a force of four squadrons of Torgut cavalry for him. The Chinese viewed his activities with great apprehension. In 1924, at the time of the military expedition to Kashgar, Toïn Lama was requested by the Urumchi Provincial Government to send his cavalry against Ma Ti-t'ai and to contribute a camel transport for Chinese troops. Toïn Lama flatly refused to send his riders, and since that time the Chinese have slowly tightened their grip over him and his tribe. Early in 1925, he was ordered to send his cavalry to Urumchi to resist the expected advance of Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang's army. The Torguts were always a military reserve for Hsin-chiang, and the authorities were not slow to take advantage of this time-honored usage. The Russian instructor was arrested while on a visit to Urumchi and deported from Hsin-chiang, and a Chinese officer sent to take command of the troops. The Regent submitted to the Chinese demands and dispatched three of his squadrons to the provincial capital. Two of the squadrons were kept at Urumchi as a special bodyguard of the Governor-General, who usually relied on non-Chinese units. One of the squadrons was sent to distant Charklik on the southern route to Tun-huang, to watch the secret Torgut route to Lhasa in Tibet. For some time past the pilgrim traffic along this route had been completely stopped by orders of the Governor-General, and Karashahr pilgrims were refused permission to leave their native encampments. At the time of our stay in Khoton-sumbul, Toïn Lama was expecting a new move by the Chinese authorities. He had received an invitation to visit Urumchi and settle for some time in a palace presented to him by the Governor-General. Later on we heard in Urumchi that the Chinese authorities decided to hand over the state seal or *tamgha* to the young *khan* , a boy of thirteen; in this case Toïn Lama would have to resign his post and retire to a monastery. Toïn Lama is considered by his followers to be an incarnation of the well-known Lama Sengchen Dorjechang, one of the most learned priests in Shigatse. The tragic end of the venerable Lama Sengchen Dorjechang was related in detail by the Japanese traveler, Ekai Kawaguchi. The lama was arrested and persecuted by the Lhasan Government on the charge of assisting the explorations of the well-known Indian explorer and Tibetologist, Babu Sarat Chandra Das. He was drowned in June, 1887, in the river Kong-po, after a long period of imprisonment. It is said that the saintly lama, once the preceptor of the Tashi Lama, had foretold his own sad fate in paintings executed by his orders on the walls of his private rooms. The Tibetan Government ordered the non-transmigration of the lama's soul—the highest punishment in Tibet. Notwithstanding this strict order, an incarnation of the lama appeared in far distant Turkestan in the princely family of Karashahr Torguts. The deceased lama had prophesied before his execution that he would be reborn in a country of felt tents and huge herds of cattle. The boy born in the princely family of the Torguts had the same slight deformity of the knee, which was a peculiar mark of the deceased lama. The news of the appearance of the new incarnation caused considerable indignation in Lhasa; and when the boy's mother brought him to Lhasa to initiate him into monkhood at one of the great Lhasan monasteries, he was refused admittance. The Torguts were too powerful to be disregarded and Torgut presents were too valuable to permit a breach in friendly relations. After long hesitation, the boy was admitted to the Ganden Monastery, although his incarnation was never fully recognized by the Government of Tibet. In 1921 this Lama Regent, who meanwhile had become the Strong Man of the Karashahr Torguts, returned to Lhasa on a brief visit and his arrival at the Tibetan capital caused considerable comment in the country. We found in Toïn Lama a sympathetic man, anxious to assist our expedition. He promised to send orders to the abbot of the Balgantai-shara-sümä and give us reliable guides across the mountain passes. We left the princely palace, hopeful of a fruitful journey over the T'ien Shan. On our return to camp we were met by a Chinese officer and several mounted soldiers, who had meanwhile arrived from Karashahr with strict orders to protect us and demand our return to Karashahr. We naturally refused and informed the officer that unless we received a written statement from the Governor-General, we should not move. The officer left camp, but soon returned with a crowd of Torgut counselors and petty officials. They all insisted that we should leave for Karashahr, but we were adamant in our decision to remain at Khoton-sumbul until a written explanation was given to us, either by the Regent or the magistrate of Karashahr. The crowd left camp in tumult. We had to prepare ourselves for new developments in the situation and our servants collected from somewhere the information that the authorities were contemplating the use of force. Our firearms were sealed in a case, but we decided to carry on and to hold firmly to our position. Late in the afternoon we saw groups of dark-robed Kalmucks assemble round our camp. They drew closer and closer and soon our tents were surrounded by a dense crowd of Torguts, who assumed a threatening attitude. "Come on, let us disarm the foreigners!" shouted someone in the crowd. The crowd made a move forward but then fell back again. "They will open fire!" shouted someone again, and the crowd again retreated. Our firearms were deposited in my tent, and two of our camp servants mounted guard over them with axes. In an emergency we intended to open the case and arm ourselves. A number of our camp servants stood by in a line ready to receive firearms if the crowd attacked the camp. The Chinese officer, who was delegated by the Karashahr magistrate to protect us, appeared on the scene and urged us to return to Karashahr, pointing out the threatening attitude of the Torguts. We again refused to do so unless a written statement was given to us. The crowd once more became excited, and some of the younger men, evidently under the strong influence of alcohol, urged them to mob the foreigners. The tension increased, and we were already prepared to defend ourselves with arms in hand. The Chinese officer was summoned and ordered to disperse the crowd, and told that in case he would not do it himself we would have to. He was greatly surprised at our firm stand and ordered his soldiers in front of our camp. We witnessed an exciting scene. The Chinese soldiers with whips and rifles were pushing the crowd, who slowly withdrew. Suddenly the Torguts became again friendly and hinted that the whole affair was a provocation, staged by the officers in order to make us return. The Regent sent his secretary to our camp and begged us to visit him. He received us in his private room and apologized for the conduct of his subjects. He then handed over to us a letter, which stated that neither he nor his people had anything against us but that he was forced by the magistrate of Karashahr to ask us to return to Karashahr and await the Governor's answer in that city. In answer we expressed our readiness to start back to Karashahr and take up the matter with the Governor-General. We returned to camp to make preparations for the journey. <a id="t4p-469-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:469 --> Next day we rode back to Karashahr and paid a visit to the magistrate. The official did not deny that he had ordered us to return from Khoton-sumbul and apparently was very much confused. We expressed our deep indignation and requested a full written statement of his action to be presented to the Governor-General, whom we intended to ask to investigate the causes of all our troubles in Khotan and Karashahr. <a id="t4p-469-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:469 --> We experienced some difficulty in finding carts for our baggage and pack animals for our camp outfit. At the last hour before our departure, four Chinese carts were hired to transport our baggage to Urumchi and ten mules belonging to a trader from Ku-ch'eng for our camp outfit. <a id="b4p-162-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:162 --> **April 2, 1926** [Tawilgha](/#m=9/42.25673/86.85911&l=Gs&p=162/o) On April 2 we left Karashahr, and the same day reached the hamlet of Tawilgha and camped for the night. <a id="b4p-92-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:92 --> **April 3, 1926** [Ushaktal](/#m=9/42.22852/87.27505&l=Gs&p=92/o) The road led over dusty sand tracts, covered by shrubs and jungle. The next march to Ushaktal took us over very much the same kind of country. The days were hot and swarms of mosquitoes worried men and animals. To the north rose rugged mountains. From the village of Ushaktal a mountain route, much used by local Khoshuts, leads to Urumchi. The route was deserted for the most part, but occasionally a lonely Kalmuck rider smoking his long pipe would appear on the steppe and then again vanish in the jungle. <a id="b4p-93-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:93 --> **April 4, 1926** [Kara-Kizil](/#m=9/42.23243/87.90213&l=Gs&p=93/o) From Ushaktal the road led across sandy steppes with scant shrubs. We camped for the night at a lonely *langar* or resthouse—Kara-Kizil. <a id="b4p-94-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:94 --> **April 6, 1926** [Arghai-Bulak](/#m=9/42.46824/88.53167&l=Gs&p=94/o) Next day we entered a rugged mountain country intersected by stretches of gravel desert. Everywhere rose sandstone rocks with outcroppings of granite, porphyry, and basalt. In the rays of the setting sun the narrow mountain gorges were ablaze with vivid colors. The night was again spent at a small resthouse in Arghai-Bulak, picturesquely situated in a narrow mountain gorge. <a id="b4p-95-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:95 --> **April 7, 1926** [Toksun](/#m=9/42.79587/88.63379&l=Gs&p=95/o) The following day we had a hot march across the sand and stone desert to Toksun. A few miles beyond Arghai-Bulak, the road emerged on a vast stone desert plain, gradually sloping toward the Turfan depression. Far in the distance we could see the flickering silhouettes of Toksun and its gardens. We reached Toksun about five o'clock in the afternoon, after seven hours of marching. It was early summer, and the numerous gardens and orchards were a mass of flowers. We camped outside the city gates on the bank of a river. Our Ladaki servants were quite bewildered at the sudden change in temperature and season and wandered about the camp and the orchards along the river banks. There, in the mountains and deserts, early spring with cold nights and windy days; here, summer with hot days and windless stuffy nights. Toksun lies on the edge of the Turfan depression and is about one hundred and forty feet below sea level. We spent an almost sleepless night on account of the heat and the mosquitoes which swarmed about the tent. <a id="b4p-164-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:164 --> **April 8, 1926** [Pasha Tsaigan](/#m=9/43.11001/88.51686&l=Gs&p=164/o) Next morning we broke camp earlier than usual in order to leave as soon as possible the burning plain round Toksun. After a hot ride across the stony plain, we camped at a lonely and half-ruined resthouse, standing amid low hills. It was refreshing to find oneself again in the cool air of the rugged mountains of the eastern T'ien Shan. <a id="b4p-96-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:96 --> **April 9, 1926** [Ta-p'an-ch'eng](/#m=9/43.35551600000001/88.305359&l=Gs&p=96/o) The road was deserted for the greater part of the day, except for one large camel caravan bound for Kashgar. The head camel, a huge animal, almost black, carried on its load a gaily decorated standard — a horse's tail with multicolored pieces of cloth, attached to a long pole. After a long march of some eleven hours we camped at Ta-p'an-ch'eng, a small town with a mixed population of Chinese and Turki. <a id="b4p-97-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:97 --> **April 10, 1926** [Ts'ai-o-p'u](/#m=9/43.53635/87.94555&l=Gs&p=97/o) The next march to Ts'ai-o-p'u led across a dreary sandy plain, here and there covered with salt crust. Icy cold blasts of wind from the northeast brought a sudden change in the weather. Heavy dark clouds rolled up on the northern horizon, and before we had reached the dirty hamlet of Ts'ai-o-p'u a strong *buran* or wind and sandstorm came raging across the plain. Dense clouds of loess dust swept over the unfortunate village. We had hardly time to pitch our tents when a terrible whirlwind of sand and stones set in. Every available man was called to keep the tents in position and we spent a couple of hours holding the poles and ropes of our tents. The wind raged until sunrise and in the early morning we found thick layers of sand covering the tent floors and beds. In contrast to the stormy evening and night, the early morning was beautifully clear but bitterly cold. We had to put on our fur coats. <!-- block4placeid:null --> **April 11, 1926** [Urumchi](/#m=9/43.80517/87.5643&l=Gs&p=98/o) The last march to Urumchi led over a deserted country, dismal in its winter barrenness. From the top of a low ridge we got our first glimpse of the capital of Hsin-chiang. The city lay scattered on the banks of the Arbotu River, flowing through a vast upland plain, surrounded by mountain chains of the eastern T'ien Shan. On the eastern edge rose to a towering height the mighty snow-capped Bogdo ula, first explored by the Russian explorers, the brothers Grum-Grjimailo, in 1889-90. Approaching the city, the road suddenly became crowded with traffic, as if numerous riders and strings of camels and horses had appeared from underground. We passed a long convoy of heavily loaded carts and soldiers in dark gray uniforms. The squeaking noise of the huge wheels, the trampling of many horses, and the high-pitched shouts of the drivers " *o-a, o-a, o-a!* " all blended into one discordant cacophony. These were baggage trains for troops, dispatched to the Kansu border at Hsin-hsin-hsia. War had been declared between Hsin-chiang and Kansu, and the Governor-General was hastily mobilizing troops. <a id="t4p-98-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:98 --> At the gates of the city we were met by representatives of the firm of Brenner Bros., who escorted us to a house reserved for the expedition. It was situated in the former Russian Concession, which consisted of one broad street of small European houses. Before we had entered the courtyard, a Chinese officer came and tried to requisition our carts for military purposes. We protested and after a long argument succeeded in persuading him to delay the matter. In the evening we were all invited to a dinner given by the head of the local branch of the firm of Brenner Bros. Everyone seemed much preoccupied with the war preparations of Governor Yang. The mobilization had started a month before, and some ten thousand troops had already been sent to Hsin-hsin-hsia to oppose an advance by General Feng Yu-hsiang and his Kansu allies. More troops were said to be in training in the neighborhood of Urumchi, and the arsenal was feverishly preparing ammunition and repairing firearms. Disquieting reports were received from the Mongol border. Clashes with considerable loss of life had occurred between Mongol frontier troops and Kirghiz tribesmen in the vicinity of the massive Baitik Bogdo, and large bands of Torguts and Kirghiz were fleeing into Jungaria, apprehending a Mongol raid. The atmosphere was charged with anxiety and war clouds gathered on the frontiers.
