Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/32

xxiv Marco Polo's Tangut, and probably a part, at least, of Ala-shan is identical with his district of Egrigaia, of which the chief town was called Calashan.

Twelve days' journey to the south-east brought the party to Din-yuan-ing (Wei-ching-pu of maps), the present capital of the principality, where they were well received by the Prince and his family, who has a deep impression of the greatness of the White Khan, i.e. of the Czar. This reception Col. Prejevalsky notes as the only hospitable welcome that they had met with; and he hardly records any recurrence of the like.

From this place they made an excursion into the mountainous region of Ala-shan, which rises boldly from the valley of the Hoang-ho; its highest summit, which they visited, reaching to 10,650 feet above the sea.

These wooded mountains afforded the traveller ample booty in his especial pursuit as a sportsman and zoologist. On returning from their excursion to the capital of Ala-shan, they found their means all but exhausted, and were compelled reluctantly to turn their faces Peking-wards; on this journey keeping entirely to the left bank of the river, and of its old deserted bed, and following in great part, I have no doubt, the route of Marco Polo on his first approach to the Court of the Great Khan.

Prejevalsky, benefiting by the experience acquired on these journeys, employed himself for two months in preparing for a third expedition; and himself acquiring at the same time, by practice at the Russian Observatory, some acquaintance with practical astronomy. A third start from Kalgan was made in March 1872.

They reached Din-yuan-ing on May 26, and some days later having joined a Chinese caravan travelled with it through Kansuh to the Lama monastery of Chobsen, about forty miles north of Sining-fu, a month's journey in all. From this point the Russians diverged to the mountains bordering on the Tatung river for the sake of collections in natural history; and these were very abundant, affording 46 new species of birds, 10 species of mammalia, and 431