When recounting the deeds of explorers and geographers in Asia, we ought to cherish the memory of the Italian Marco Polo, the medieval traveller whose amazing journeys in Asia have never been equalled even by the great travellers who have succeeded him in modern times. The record of Marco Polo's travels has been recently familiarized to English readers by the learned labour of Henry Yule.

A retrospect of brave and successful achievement should encourage travellers to do and to dare more and more. Of the men thus engaged, many indeed have injured their health, and some have lost their lives. But all have been sustained under trials by their sense of natural beauty, their aspirations for the progress of civilisation, and their zeal in the pursuit of knowledge. It is the masterful force of these high and noble sentiments which impels them, "tot volvere casus, tot adire labores."

Subsequently to the reading of this paper additional information has been presented by the Royal Geographical Society regarding Russian surveys between the Turkoman country and Herat; which surveys shew that the route across the continuation of the Hindu-Kush range is much more easily passable for armies than has been generally supposed.

CHAPTER II.

THE CENTRAL PLATEAU OF ASIA.

[Paper read before the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Southampton, September 1882, as Presidential Address in the Section of Geography.]

Grand mountain system-Series of heights and depressions-Sources of great rivers The lake regions — The home of warriors and conquering races-Mighty achievements of the Mongols - Their cavalry resources Variety and value of natural products - Pastoral wealth Strange phenomena of Nature-Enormous field awaiting research-Imperial jurisdiction.

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THE subject chosen for this address is the Plateau of midAsia. This area, which is one of the most wonderful on the surface of the earth, contains nearly 3,000,000 of English square miles, and is equal to three-fourths of Europe. Its limits, its exterior configuration, its central and commanding situation in the Asiatic continent, will be clearly perceived from the subjoined map of Asia.* As compared with some of the more favoured regions, it is singularly destitute of natural advantages. Though it has several deep depressions of surface, yet its general elevation is very considerable, and some of its large districts are the most elevated in the globe. It is walled in from the outer world, and excluded from the benign influences of the sea, by mountain chains. Its climate, then, is very severe on the whole, more distinguished for cold than for heat, but often displaying extremes of temperature high as well as low. It offers, from the character of its contour, extra

* See map prefixed to Chapter I.

In

ordinary obstacles to communication by land or water. Though seldom inaccessible to courageous explorers, it is generally hard of access, and in several respects very inhospitable. the progress of civilisation it is, with reference to its historic past, excessively backward. Its capacities for the production of wealth have been but little developed. Its population is scanty, scattered, and uncultured. Its agriculture comprises only a few areas widely segregated from each other, and many of its largest districts are amazingly desolate.

Nevertheless this plateau has eminent claims on the attention of geographers, for several reasons which may be summarised thus:

1. A mountain system which dominates the greater part of Asia, and includes stupendous ranges with the loftiest peaks yet discovered in the world.

2. A series of heights and depressions almost like the steps of a staircase within the mountainous circumvallation of the plateau.

3. The sources and the permanent supply of rivers which, passing from the plateau, flow through densely populated regions, and help to sustain the numerically greatest families of the human race.

4. A lacustrine system, comprising lakes, of which some are saline while others have fresh water, and of which many are situated at great altitudes.

5. The home of conquering races, whence warrior hordes poured during several centuries over nearly all Asia and a large part of Europe.

6. Natural products of value, variety, or interest, and pastoral resources susceptible of indefinite development.

7. An enormous field for scientific research, with many regions which, though not wholly undiscovered, yet need much further discovery.

8. An imperial jurisdiction offering many problems for the consideration of social inquirers.

CHAP. II. ALTITUDE OF THE HIGHEST MOUNTAINS.

25

I shall now offer a brief explanation regarding each of the eight points stated above.

In the first place it will be seen from the map that the plateau, in shape somewhat of an irregular rhomboid, is completely enclosed by six grand ranges of mountains, namely the Himalayas looking south towards India, the Pamir looking west towards Central Asia, the Altai looking north towards Siberia, the Yablonoi looking north-east towards Eastern Siberia, the Yun-ling and the Inshan (inclusive of the Khingan), looking towards China. These several ranges preserve generally a considerable altitude varying from 6,000 to 25,000 feet above sea-level, and reaching in the Himalayas to more than 29,000 feet. The tallest of these summits have been accurately measured by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India. Their altitude is about double that of the highest mountains in Europe, and surpasses any altitude yet observed in any quarter of the globe. But as a great part of these several ranges is as yet unsurveyed by trigonometry, it is possible that still greater heights may be discovered, and that "excelsior" may be the proud answer rendered by the everlasting hills to human investigation.

Regarding these and the other chains yet to be mentioned, it must be borne in mind that there are many cross ranges and transverse lines of mountains. Even the chains often consist of detached groups separated by deep valleys. It is by observing the position of the groups relatively to one another that the tendency of the chain can be discerned.

Such being the outer barriers of our plateau, there are within it two great ranges mainly parallel and running from west to east, namely the Kuen-lun and the Thian Shan.

While the Himalayas form the southern flank of the great Tibetan upland, the Kuen-lun constitutes the northern. The modicum of knowledge possessed by us regarding the Kuen-lun, a most important factor in the geography of our plateau, is largely due to the praiseworthy travels of the Russian Pre

jevalsky. This range may be said in a certain sense to overlook the Tarim basin ending in Lake Lob, though the mountains are actually distant more than a hundred miles from that lake. It forms the southern boundary of the Tarim basin, which contains some of the few beautiful tracts in our plateau. If there be such a thing as a backbone to these regions, or anything like a dorsal ridge, it consists of the Kuen-lun.

The Thian Shan starts from the Pamir, and runs westward for full 1500 miles, till it joins with some of its spurs the uplands of Mongolia proper, or touches with others the dreary desert of Gobi. As the Kuen-lun forms the southern boundary of the Tarim basin, so the Thian Shan constitutes the northern.

Connected with the north-western part of the Himalayas is another range which some regard as an offshoot, but which others treat separately under the name of Karakuram. Together with the Himalayas it joins the Pamir.

Thus three of the greatest mountain ranges in Asia converge upon the Pamir, or, according to some, are there interlaced; namely the Himalayas, the Kuen-lun, and the Thian Shan; to which perhaps two others might be added, namely the Karakuram just mentioned and the Altai. But it may be more accurately said that the outer border of our plateau north of the Pamir is formed by the terminal spurs of the Thian Shan. It is to be remembered also that the Indian Caucasus-which does not concern our plateau directly enough to fall within this address-probably joins the Pamir. In general terms, the convergence of mountain ranges on the Pamir renders it geographically the most important position in Asia. The uninstructed Asiatics have evinced a hazy admiration of its grandeur by calling it "the roof of the world." The comparatively instructed Europeans have revered it as the source of the classic Oxus and as fraught with political considerations. Unless further discoveries shall alter existing information, we may expect that completely informed geographers will consider that