Page:England & Russia in Central Asia,Vol-I.djvu/53

Rh the Konche Darya, were crossed. After striking the Tarim at the village of Aclitarma the aspect of the country improved. One hundred and forty miles south of Achtarma lies the town of Charchalyk, built about forty years ago by outlaws from Khoten, and two hundred miles across the desert to the south-west of Charchalyk is another town, called Cherchen, under the same administration as the former. There is a trade route across the desert from Charchalyk to Cherchen, Cherchen to Nai, Nai to Kiria, and Kiria to Khoten. The two lakes, Kara Koshun and Kara Bunar, the former of which Colonel Prjevalsky identifies with Lob Nor, lie to the north-east of Charchalyk on the route to Hamil. There is a great scarcity of water and in the supply of meat in the Charchalyk region, and the Russian traveller suffered much from both these wants; but from what he says of the country lying immediately to the north of the great Altyn Tag range, which he discovered, it would appear that there was a possibility of its becoming by judicious government and some outlay a very flourishing settlement. The people certainly possess many features of attraction to foreigners, and are harmless and industrious in the extreme. Of the vexed Lob Nor question we will say nothing here. The identity of that lake has not yet been decided beyond the shadow of a doubt, but Colonel Prjevalsky has so far obtained the best of the argument.

Herr von Helwald, in his interesting work, "Die Rüssen im Centralasien," says that everywhere do we see the progress of science and knowledge following 3