Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/266

 exploits of two heroes — Gissar-Khan and Chinghiz-Khan: here these warriors fought against the Chinese, and slew countless numbers of people whose bodies God caused the winds to cover with sand from the desert. To this day the Mongols relate with superstitious awe how groans and cries may be heard in the sands of Kuzupchi, which proceed from the spirits of the departed, and that every now and then the winds which stir up the sand expose to view different treasures such as silver dishes, which, although conspicuous above the surface, may not be taken away, because death immediately overtakes the bold man who would venture to touch them. According to another tradition, Chinghiz-Khan, when hard pressed by his enemies, placed the sands of Kuzupchi as a barrier on one side and turned the Hoang-ho from its former channel to the north as a protection against attack on the other.