Page:From Kulja, across the Tian Shan to Lob-Nor (1879).djvu/219

198 shipped by the Kalmuks, who have built near them a small shrine, in which are to be seen painted images. But the Kalmuks, driven out by the Kirghiz, have retired from here, and the springs which they formerly visited have fallen into the hands of their late rivals, and especially the Tartars, who bring their women hither to be cured of barrenness.

In 1862 meteorological observations were commenced at the Russian factory at Chuguchak, but as this town a few years later fell into the hands of the Dungans and their Kirghiz allies, it is impossible to look for important scientific data from this direction.

The shores of Ala-kul are remarkable for the sultriness of the summer heat, and at this period of the year they are uninhabitable. The Kirghiz seek pasturage for their cattle, and a cooler climate in the mountains, only descending again in August to fix their winter encampments round Ala-kul, where they find convenient shelter for their tents and herds. In October the first snow falls, in November Ala-kul freezes up, and does not thaw again before April.

On the northern shore of the lake, where the population is sedentary, the summer heat is not great, and the frost not severe, though the thermometer often falls to 13° Fahr. The S.E. wind called Ehbi (Yubi), blows from autumn till April, through the narrow defile separating Ala-tau from