Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1887 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER X. VISIT TO BURIED CITIES. The following is the substance of a paper read by Sir Douglas before the Royal Geographical Society in the year 1877, giving a most interesting account of the Buried Cities of Yarkund, which were visited by him and some of his party during the period of their stay in the Atalik Ghazee's dominions in 1873--'Among the many objects of interest which attracted our attention during the mission to Kashgar, not the least interesting was an inquiry regarding the shifting sands of the Great Desert of Gobi, and the reported existence of ancient cities which had been buried in the sands ages ago, and which are now gradually coming to light. 'When Mr. Johnson returned in 1865 to India from his venturesome journey to Khoten, he brought an account of his visit to an ancient city not far from Kiria, and five marches distant from Khoten, which had been buried in the sands for centuries, and from which gold and silver ornaments, and even bricks of tea were dug out. 'On the occasion of the first mission to Yarkund in A.d. 1870, we were unable to gather much information, and I observe that in Mr. Shaw's book, "Travels in High Tartary," no allusion to the subject is made. Tara Chund, the energetic Sikh merchant whom Mr. Shaw mentions, and who accompanied me on both my expeditions, told me that this exhumed tea was to be found in the Yarkund Bazaar; but as our stay in that city in 1870 was of very short duration, and we had no opportunity of moving about and making enquiries for ourselves, we returned to India with very vague ideas on the subject. On my second visit in 1873, I determined to make more searching enquiries, and for this purpose I endeavoured to collate all the information obtainable from published works, as...
