Abstract
COL. PREJEVALSKY has already proved himself one of the most scientific and determined of modern explorers, and has probably done more than any single man for an accurate knowledge of Central Asia. We have noticed in these pages his valuable work on his journey in Mongolia and Western China, and this narrative, short as it is, maintains the reputation he has already gained. The journey here described was made in 1876–7, and has been the means of clearing up several obscurities in the hydrography of the region visited. We have already, shortly after Prejevalsky's return, given the main results of the journey, from Kulja, south-east across the Tian Shan Mountains, by the Yulduz River, to the Tarim, and along that river to its termination in Lake Lob-nor, at the northern foot of the Altyn-tagh Range, on the 90th deg. of E. long., and just south of the 40th parallel N. Baron von Richthofen has endeavoured to prove that the present Lob-nor is not the Lob-nor of the old geographers, which he maintains was farther north. But to this Prejevalsky has an answer that it seems to us difficult to refute, notwithstanding that Richthofen probably knows more about the history of Central Asian geography than any one living. However the case may stand with regard to this, there can be no doubt about the value of Prejevalsky's observations on the present Lob-nor, which he states is fresh, shallow, almost overgrown with tall reeds, in the midst of which its strange mongrel inhabitants live, and of which they build their houses. The Altyn-tagh Mountains Richthofen considers the most surprising discovery of the Russian traveller, for it was generally supposed that there was an extensive tract of low country continuing through several degrees of latitude to the south of the lake. Prejevalsky's observations on the fauna of the Tarim and Lob-nor will be appreciated by zoologists, as will also his account of the wild camel. He has a special interest in ornithology, and above all in that department relating to the migrations of birds; and the part of his narrative which describes what he observed on this point during his stay at Lob-nor is one of exceptional value, and will, no doubt, be read with interest and profit by those who take an interest in the subject of migration. Mr. Delmar Morgan, who has made an excellent translation, has added to the brief narrative chapters on Lake Balkash, Lake Ala-Kul, and the Starovertsi, which, though somewhat irrelevant, are acceptable as being of real value. An excellent large map accompanies the volume, besides a smaller one, to illustrate the controversy between Prejevalsky and Richthofen.
From Kulja, across the Tian Shan, to Lob-Nor.
By Col. N. Prejevalsky. Translated by E. Delmar Morgan. With Introduction by Sir J. Douglas Forsyth, C.B. (London: Sampson Low and Co., 1879.)
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From Kulja, across the Tian Shan, to Lob-Nor . Nature 20, 4 (1879). https://doi.org/10.1038/020004a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/020004a0