Page:From Kulja, across the Tian Shan to Lob-Nor (1879).djvu/10

 things in Kien-long's time when the map was made. It appears that the Chinese map shows the Khas lake too far north to cover the Kara-Koshun. The bifurcation of the roads south of the lake nearly resembles that which is marked by Prejevalsky...

"Orography is the weakest point of Chinese maps. Where a mountain is marked there is certain to be one; but it is impossible to say whether it be high or low, steep or rounded, continuous or isolated. The boundary, however, of hill country towards level land can in most cases be approximately traced. In the present case it [i. e. the hill country] is about as far distant from Khas-omo as the Altyn-tagh is from the Kara-Koshun."

Upon receiving this I wrote to Colonel Prejevalsky, asking him to furnish me with replies to Baron Richthofen's criticisms, so as to enable me to throw as much light as possible on the subject in the book I was preparing for the press. A translation of his answer will be found on pages 160—165 of the present volume.

In the meanwhile a paragraph appeared in the Athenæum of the 14th September from which I quote the following:—