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August, 1917)
A THIRD JOURNEY OF EXPLORATION IN CENTRAL ASIA
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describe as the terrible "desert of the White Dragon Mounds," there would be no time. Much, if not most, had to be left to good fortune-and, combined with what hints I could deduce from previous archæological and topographical observations. Fortune served me better than I had ventured to hope.
Physical diffioulties soon presented themselves as we made our way south through and Across a perfect maze of steep clay terraces, all eroded by the same east-north-east wind which had sculptured the usual yardangs of Lou-lan, but of far greater height. Having thus regained the vicinity of the terminal point d'appui above mentioned of the ancient route, I soon found confirmation for my previously formed conjecture that the initial bearing of the route lay to the north-east. It was marked by the almost completely eroded remains of an outlying indigenous camping-place and of an ancient watch-tower of the type familiar to me from the Tun-huang Limes, which I opportunely discovered on towering terraces at the very edge of ancient vegetation. We had reachod here the extreme eastern limit of the Area to which the waters of the Kuruk-darya had once carried life. Beyond there were no ruins to guide us. The desert eastwards was already in ancient times as devoid of plant or animal life of any sort as it now is. As we left behind the withered and bleached fragments of the last dead tamarisk trunk lying on the salt soil, I felt that we had passed from the land of the dead into ground that never knew life-except on the route to be tracked.
As we steered onwards by the compass across absolutely barren wastes of clayey shir, detritus or hard salt crust, chanoe helped us in a way which at times seemed almost uncanny. Again and again finds of early Chinese copper coins, small metal objects, stone ornaments and the like gave assurance that we were still near the ancient track by which Chinese political missions, troops and traders had toiled for four centuries through this lifeless wilderness. It is impossible to record here exact details of all such finds. But I may at least briefly mention two thrilling incidents which by their nature helped greatly to raise the spirits of my men and filled them with superstitious confidence in some spirits' safe guidance. At the time they made me to feel as if I were living through in reality experiences dimly remembered from some of Jules Verne's fascinating stories I had read as a small boy.
Thus, on the third day of our march, when the last traces of ancient desert vegetatior had long remained behind, we suddenly found the ancient track plainly marked for about 30 yards by over two hundred Chinese copper coins strewing the dismal ground of saltencrusted clay. They lay in a well-defined line running north-east to south-west, just as if some kindly spirit among those patient old Chinese wayfarers, who had faced this awful route with its hardships and perils, had wished to assure us that the bearing Iwas steering by was the right one. In reality they must have got loose from the string which tied them and gradually dropped out unobserved through an opening in their bag or case. The coins were all of the Han type, and seemed as if fresh from some mint. Some 50 yards further on in the game direction we came upon a similar scattered heap of bronze arrow-heads, all mani. festly unused and looking as if newly issued from some arsenal of Han times. Their shape and weight exactly agreed with the ancient Han ammunition I had picked up so often along the Limes of Tun-huang, which was garrisoned during the first oantury before and after Christ. The way in which the coins and arrow-heads had been allowed to remain on the ground suggested that they had dropped from some convoy of stores in Han times which was moving at night-time and probably a little off the main track but still in the right direction.
Next day's long march brought another discovery equally stirring and useful. We had followed our north-easterly course across easy ground of bare clay and mica detritus
