mouth of the said bay shrank into the present short stream, so that when the lines of the United States land surveys were extended over this region in 1875 only a lake and creek were to be seen, to which the surveyor gave the name of Elk, the abandoned appellation of the parent

to pretend to believe, that the river had its origin in Turtle lake-in other words, that the present Turtle Lake river, which runs southeasterly into Cass lake, was the continuation and head stream of the Mississippi. Nor did they long remain ignorant of the other large tributary of Cass lake, the true Mississippi; for that they knew the lake at its head is proved by its appearance on early printed maps under the name of Lac la Biche (Elk lake), though placed very much out of its true position. It is on record that one of them-William Morrison-wintered there in 1803-1804, though no mention of his visit appeared in print until fifty years later. In 1832, Messrs. Schoolcraft and Allen, Government officers, made a hasty journey to Elk lake, thereafter to be universally known as Itasca. They concluded that it was the "true source and fountain of the longest and largest branch of the Mississippi." There was still something beyond, however, for they were informed by their Indian guide that there was a little creek flowing into the southwest bay of the lake, having its source at the base of a chain of high hills which they could see in the distance, near the present borders of Becker, Beltrami, and Hubbard Counties. In 1836, J. N. Nicollet, a private gentleman from France, made a special visit to the lake and its environs, "to take up the exploration of the sources of the Mississippi." In his report he only claimed to come after the explorers of 1832, and to have "completed what was wanting for a full geographical account of these sources." Of the five creeks he noted falling into it (Lake Itasca), there was one that flowed into the west bay and "was remarkable above the others, inasmuch as its course is longer and its waters more abundant." He found that it passed through two minor lakes, beyond the uppermost of which was a third formed by the union of numberless streamlets that oozed from the bases of the hills.

But many years after the decisive voyages of Schoolcraft and Nicollet a spirit of enterprise-or, possibly, a thirst for notorietyexcusable only on the ground of ignorance of these previous examinations-induced men to go into the field again. In this way was brought upon the geographical world an unnecessary perplexity, and an immense amount of writing in the way of newspaper letters, pamphlets, etc. In 1872, a correspondent of the New York "Herald" undertook a canoe voyage to Lake Itasca, and having penetrated the west arm he ascended a creek until he came to a certain lake. In this lake he claimed that "he had found the fountains which give birth to the Mississippi." Nothing resulted from his discovery, however, unless it were a mischievous incitement to other similar expeditions, only one of which made any permanent impression. The truth is, this correspondent practically discovered nothing; for his lake represents only the recent shape of what appears on Allen's and Nicollet's maps as a sort of bay. This change in shape is accounted for on the assumption that in the years between 1836 and 1872 the surface of Itasca lake had lowered so much by erosion of the bed of its outlet that the wide

Mississippi

Springs

MORRISON

ELK

LAKE

LAKE

Tamarac

Swamp

SPUR

HERNANDO

DE SOTO

SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

2 MILES

lake. In 1881 occurred the expedition referred to as making a permanent but somewhat peculiar impression. Another adventurous man of letters repeated the exploit of his predecessor of 1872 by discovering precisely the same stream and lake, and making precisely the same claim that it was the source of the Mississippi, similarly slighting the larger inlet lying only about one fourth of a mile to the west, at the extreme head of the west arm, and in addition ignoring

the testimony furnished by the United States surveys. Naturally, map publishers were somewhat worried at such a revision of accepted facts, and one enterprising firm undertook to decide the question practically. In 1886, therefore, Hopewell Clarke, a civil engineer connected with the Northern Pacific Railroad, spent several days at Itasca lake, but his work only confirmed the fact that the western one of the two creeks mentioned was by far the more considerable. In 1888, a private gentleman of Minnesota-J. V. Brower-while on a hunting expedition to the Itasca lake region, incidentally took the opportunity of gratifying his curiosity on the same subject, and arrived at the same conclusion as Mr. Clarke. He saw, however, in addition, that there were sources much beyond those discovered by Nicollet which furnished waters also to the infant river.

The discoveries of Messrs. Clarke and Brower, which pronounced so decidedly against the claims of Elk lake and its tributary rivulets to recognition as the ultimate source of the Mississippi, were not accepted in all quarters. The latter gentleman, therefore, in 1889, with the co-operation of the Historical Society of Minnesota, taking with him a corps of assistants, once more repaired to Lake Itasca. All its shores were explored, and every tributary stream was ascended to its visible source, but the result was practically the same; no stream could be found equaling in breadth of channel and volume of flowage that first described in 1832 and 1836. Some very interesting hydrographical facts were ascertained concerning the country referred to as lying between the springs and lakes explored by Nicollet and the dividing ridge (the Hauteurs des Terres), which in this place lies 4 miles due south of the upper extremity of the west arm of Lake Itasca. Here are fully 20 lakes, large and small, of irregular shape, with no perennial surface-connection with each other, nor with any of the lakes situated eastward. The several lakes lie in a basin formed by the curving around them of the Hauteurs des Terres and spurs which there inclose them on all sides but the north. This basin has been named the Greater Ultimate Reservoir Bowl, it being the extreme limit of the Mississippi river basin, and its bodies of water act as natural cisterns. These waters stand at an elevation above Itasca lake of 100 feet to less than 40 feet, each lake in succession being lower in its elevation as the extremity of Lake Itasca is approached. The most elevated are Hernando de Soto and Morrison lakes, which fluctuate according to the vicissitudes of secular aërial precipitation. From these several bodies of water, by infiltration and percolation, proceeds continually a supply of water to the lakes, marshes, streams, and springs, connected with each other, which stretch between the extreme limit of this ultimate bowl and the perennial surface currents of the infant Mississippi farther down. Also from this Ultimate Reservoir, it is surmised, Elk lake receives, by similar tortuous ways, a small portion of its waters. From these hydrographic causes, Itasca lake, and likewise the smaller Nicollet lakes and Elk lake, retain a surface level of practical uniformity.

By an act approved April 20, 1891, the Legislature of Minnesota established a State park of

thirty-five square miles, which includes the entire basin of Lake Itasca.

A short account has been given of the work of an expedition sent by the Argentine Government to explore the northwestern provinces Catamarca, Salta, and Tucuman. Most of the country was found to be an arid desert, becoming more barren as they proceeded farther to the northwest. The land was formerly much more fertile, but now the cactus has taken the place of maize except in a few places, the pueblos are in ruins, and the former inhabitants, who appear by the articles found-earthenware, stone, copper, bone, and shell ornaments, tools, arms, and fetiches-to have had the arts of weaving and metal-working, have given place to a lazy and ignorant population of Indians and half breeds.

The question of the boundary between Chili and the Argentine Republic, which has long been in doubt, was brought nearer solution by a treaty made at the close of 1893, two parties having been sent by the Chilian Government, in the summer of 1893, to make surveys and reports. One result of the expedition was the settlement of the question in regard to the river discovered by Fontana, which rises on the eastern side of the Cordillera. He supposed it to be identical with the Corcovado, but it is now found to be a part of the Palena, which flows into the Pacific.

Europe. According to an elaborate remeasurement of the superficial area of France, which has been made by the geographical service of the French army, the area of that country is more than 3,000 miles larger than has been supposed-207,301 square miles, which is 3,022 more than was shown by the measurement of 1883. This reduces the average density of population from 187-8 to 184-9 per square mile.

Efforts have been made, hitherto without result, to induce the Prussian Government to build works for protecting the coasts of the Halligen or Halligs, as the little marshy islands on the western coast of Schleswig are called, which are held to be of great importance to the security of the mainland and for future extension of the land. The action of the water is eroding the shores at a rapid rate, and the ultimate disappearance of the islands is certain unless measures are taken for their protection.

The "Geographical Journal" gives the summary made by Dr. Gerhard Schott of present knowledge on the subject of Scylla and Charybdis, the Mediterranean terrors of classic days:

The cause of the relatively strong current, which attains a maximum speed of 54 miles an hour, is almost solely the configuration of the coast line and of the sea bottom. High water occurs in the Ionian Sea at the time of low water in the Tyrrhenian, and conversely; but with the feeble tides of the Mediterranean the maximum range at Messina does not exceed 104 inches to 1 foot. The flood stream, which runs northward through the strait, begins in the upper and narrower portion about two hours after the moon crosses the meridian of Faro, at Messina two hours later, and two hours later still it is running through the whole channel. The ebb current, entering the narrow opening between Seylla and Punta Peloro, tends to cross and recross from side to side of the strait, at least as far down as Reggio. Where the irregularities of the coast line form a bay sweeping back from the main channel-as between Faro and Messina on the Sicilian side, and Catona and Reggio

on the Calabrian-back currents, locally termed bastardi, are found, extending from the shore outward for over half a mile. These currents always run in the opposite direction to the tidal streams, and are obviously extremely useful to navigators; they show very clearly on a small scale the influence of certain forms of coast line upon the arrangement of tidal currents, an effect very often so disguised as to be scarcely recognizable, as, for example, in the English Channel. The whirlpools of Seylla and Charybdis are probably whirls set up at the interfaces between the bastardi and the tidal streams. But, unlike the Corryvreckan, they are by no means easy to locate. Africa. Agreements were entered into this year by which the boundary lines of the Congo State were more definitely settled. The agreement made in Loanda in June, 1893, as to the line between the Congo State and the Portuguese territory from the Kwango to the Kassai was ratified at Brussels, March 24, with few changes. The provisional line followed the eighth parallel from the Kwango to the Kwilu, and the latter river to the seventh parallel, which was then followed to the Kassai. changes were made in the final arrangements, in order to follow the courses of streams or to leave large settlements wholly on one or the other side of the line.

Some

An agreement between Great Britain and King Leopold as to the boundary between the Congo State and the British territory was concluded May 3, at Rome. The Congo State abandons its claim to 14,000 square miles between Lake Bangweolo and the Luapula river. A line of delimitation is to be drawn from Cape Akalunga, on the southwestern shore of Lake Tanganyika, to the debouchure of the Luapula from Lake Mweru. King Leopold granted to Great Britain the lease of a strip of territory 15 miles broad, 188 miles in length, and 2,910 square miles in area, between Tanganyika and Lake Albert Edward. These lakes could be connected by a railway over this strip; and, moreover, the Congo State agreed to the construction of a line of telegraph through its territory by authority of the British Government, to connect British territory in Central Africa with the British sphere of influence on the Nile. On the east, the line is to follow the thirtieth meridian as far north as the watershed between the Nile and the Congo, and then follow that watershed. This involves, the surrender by England of its claim to a territory of 9,950 square miles drained by the head streams of the Welle, Ubangi, and the Aruwimi.

Then Great Britain leased to the King, for as long as he should be sovereign of the Congo State, 42,790 square miles of territory bounded on the east by the Nile, on the west by the watershed of that river and the thirtieth meridian, and on the north by the tenth parallel, inclosing Wadelai, Dufile, Kirri, at the head of Nile navigation, Lado, and Fashoda. When the lease should lapse, the Congo State was to receive a strip of land 15 miles wide, connecting lake Albert at Mahagi with the Congo basin. The State also received a lease of a larger portion of territory adjoining that which was leased to the King, and west of it, bounded by the twenty-fifth and thirtieth meridians, the watershed of the Nile and the tenth parallel, the lease to be in force as long as the State should VOL. XXXIV.-20 A

remain under King Leopold or his successors as an independent State or Belgian colony.

But, on Aug. 14, King Leopold entered into an agreement with France not to occupy the territory leased to him by Great Britain farther to the north than 5° 30′ north latitude; and, in consideration of this, France agreed to an extension of the northern boundary of the Congo State-the northern line to follow the valley of the Mbomu from its junction with the Ubangi to its source, and thence the divide between the Congo and the Nile to the eastern limit of the State, 30' east longitude. England, on her side, in consequence of a protest from Germany, has given up the lease of the strip of territory between lakes Tanganyika and Albert Edward. The boundary between the British and Italian protectorates in eastern Africa was defined by agreement in May. It begins at Jildesa on the west, passes in a southeasterly direction past Darmi, Jig-Jiga, and Milmil to the eighth parallel, which it follows to the forty-eighth meridian, then turns northeast to the forty-ninth parallel, and follows that to the Gulf of Aden.

Another agreement, made at Berlin, Nov. 15, 1893, defines more clearly the line between the British and German spheres of interest in the basin of the Niger-Benue. As with the other boundaries recently agreed upon, no attention is given to the tribal relations of the natives whose lands are assigned. Adamaua, a tributary province of Sokoto, and the powerful kingdom of Bornu, are each divided between England and Germany. The line starts from a point on the coast at the mouth of the Rio del Rey, and passes in a northeasterly direction, making a bend at Yola, which is left within the British sphere, and then passes on to Lake Chad, which it strikes in longitude 14° east. The territories east of this line are to be in the German sphere of influence, but “it is agreed that the influence of Germany in respect to her relations with Great Britain shall not extend eastward beyond the basin of the river Shari," and that “ Darfur, Kordofan, and Bahr-el-Ghazal, as defined in the map published in October, 1891, by Justus Perthes, shall be excluded from her influence even if affluents of the Shari shall be found to lie within them "-thus virtually drawing an eastern boundary to the German sphere.

The position of Yola, the capital of Adamaua, was definitely settled by the observations of Uechtritz and Passarge, who visited the Hinterland of the Cameroons with a view to extending German influence over the Shari. They also found new routes across the divide between the Benue and the Logone. Yola appears to lie about 30 east of the position heretofore assigned to it-12 47 east and 9° 16′ north.

Timbuctoo was taken possession of by Capt. Bonnier, of the French army, Jan. 10, but he was killed by the Tuaregs a few days later with a part of his force. This important place, at the convergence of the commercial routes of western Soudan and the Sahara, was in former years a greater market than it has been since the safer routes to the Guinea coast and through Senegal have been opened. The introduction of English cottons has reduced the trade in native fabrics; the exports of gums, ostrich feathers, ivory, etc., have sought other outlets; and the

trade in slaves, though still considerable, has greatly decreased.

The French have also made a farther advance into the Algerian desert, having placed a fort at the fountain Hassi-el-Heirane, some distance farther toward Tual than the post established the previous year.

Results of observations by Dr. Gerhard Rohlfs as to the origin of the water that comes to the surface in parts of the Sahara are summarized in the "Geographical Journal":

The rainfall in this great desert is, on the whole, very scanty, and there are localities in which it does not rain for years. Yet even in such districts oases with perennial wells and springs are by no means rare. In explanation of this singular fact Dr. Rohlfs points out the very great importance of Dr. Nachtigal's discovery of the Bahr-él-Ghazal, which in former times was an outflow of Lake Chad toward the northeast, and in connection with which even now large quantities of underground water flow in the direction of the Great Desert, providing such widely extended regions of the southern Sahara as Egei, Bodele, and Borku with a plentiful supply of water. Rohlfs finds that the northern boundary line of the tropical rains of the central Soudan regions runs from the oasis of Air to the Belkashiferi well (Bilma-Chad route), and thence along the northern boundaries of Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan; and he gives reasons for concluding that many of the oases north of this line derive their underground water supply from the Soudan, as the Bahr-el-Ghazal districts do. The oases of the northern Sahara . . . obtain most of their water from the neighboring mountain ranges. . . . About the oases to the west of the Nile Rohlfs is not prepared to say whether they are in any connection with the Nile. To decide this important question, he recommends comparisons between the different levels of the wells and springs of the oases in question and the rise and fall of the Nile. There remain those onses that are in the very center of the great desert, such as Bilmar, Kawar, Wanjanga, Kufra, and others. The Lukuga, an outlet of Lake Tanganyika, has been traced to its ending by explorer Delcommune, who traveled down its bank from Kolumbi to its embouchure in the Congo. It is not navigable, by reason of its frequent rapids, having a fall of 321 metres in a course of 400 kilometres. The divide between the Ubangi and the Mongalla was explored for the first time this year by Capt. Schageström, of the marine of the Congo State, who confirmed the opinion of Hodister that the Mongalla drains an extensive region, while the territory of the Ubangi is very limited. According to his observations, the whole basin of the Mongalla is farther east than has been represented.

The Lubudi river, an affluent of the West Lualaba, was explored by a Belgian expedition under Lieut. Franequi. He thinks it has a longer course than the Lualaba, though it is much smaller than that river at their junction. He has followed the Lualaba from its source, and found that it is not the stream crossed by Capello and Ivins in south latitude 13°, which may be the Lubudi. This is a wide, shallow, rapid stream, receiving some important tributaries and flowing through a fertile and fairly well peopled region. The Lubende occupy the right bank; to the west are the Baluba-Lukéla, and above them the Samba, belonging to the Lunda family.

Mr. Crawfurd, a missionary stationed at Lofoi in the Garenganze country, has made two jour

neys to Lake Mweru over new routes. Near the eastern edge of the Kundelunga plateau he visited the rock refugees of the Va-Lamotwa, whose retreat is carefully concealed amid a labyrinth of rocks. A lower plateau intervenes between the former and the low land bordering the lake. The shores are more irregular than they appear on the maps. Crossing in a boat, Mr. Crawfurd passed the two mouths of the Luapula, the smaller being 592 yards wide, and the other, which is called Mifimbo, three times that width. East of the Luapula are 5 good-sized islands. The name Mweru means "white," and Luapula "great wave lasher."

A party led by Count von Götzen in East Africa discovered from Mount Gurui a large lake to the southwest, which seems not to have been described before. It was called the Lake of Umburre.

G. F. Scott Elliott, who has been exploring the Ruwenzori region, arrived at the foot of the mountain April 1. He says:

The only unknown parts of this route, so far as I know, are the course of the Kagera and some portions of Ankole. The former river is a deep, rapid current, full of hippopotami, and varying from 80 to 180 yards in width. The current at Kitangule is some 24 miles an hour, but higher up, at Kitoboko, it is probably 4 miles an hour. It has a very winding course as far as Butunguru, but after this point becomes much more direct. Butunguru marks the termination of an enormous alluvial plain, which is obviously the ancient level of the Victoria Nyanza, and, after it, one enters the mountains of Karagwe, which are continuous with the Ruampala range, and with one break extend almost to the shores of the Albert Edward. The plain above alluded to consists at Kitangule of 30 to 35 feet of apparently very rich alluvial soil; it appears to slope gradually to the Victoria, and ends in a succession of heavy forests or swamps, which are under water in the wet season, until finally the open water is reached. In Ankole the most interesting feature I found was a series of large lakes (Mbiro Nyanza), 5 in number, on or very near the course of the Ruizi; this river is quite different in character to the Kagera, and more like the river marshes of Buddu and Uganda. It rises among the hills at KaStanley, and then passes through a plain 8 to 15 miles tara, forms the Wamaganga swamp mentioned by broad (the break alluded to above), flows close to the lakes Mbiro Nyanza, and, after passing through Kaki, enters the Victoria Nyanza between the Narudugavu and the Kagera. It does not join the Kagera, as shown on most maps. The numerous valleys in these Ankole and Karagwe mountains are of a most curious character. They are deep, well-like trenches (perhaps 1,500 feet deep on an average), and form a most intricate meshwork. A large number of villages are scattered on the hillsides, but more often at the bottom of these valleys, but the country as a whole suffers from lack of water. The hills are covered with short grass, and should, I think, prove good grazing ground for sheep and cattle.

The greatest want of all these countries is a ready My reason for the roundabout route followed was to and cheap means of communication with the coast.

see whether the Kagera was a navigable river, but so far as I can see it is not of great promise in this respect. As far as Butunguru it is a deep, broad stream, without rocks or rapids, and lighters could be brought to this point by steamer easily enough, the only difficulty being the rapidity of the current, numerous bends, and the extraordinary number of hippopotami. Of these latter I have seen 8 or 10 together fre

quently, and one finds them every mile or so along its course. Above this point there are rocks and a current so strong as to make navigation very difficult.

The valley of the Kagera, however, would make an almost perfect railway track so far as I have seen; and along the Mavona valley, which joins it, a track could probably be made with great ease into the heart of Ankole, and probably up to the Ruizi valley or plain. Ox wagons seem to be the only substitute for a railway line, from which no revenue could be had in Ankole for many years.

It has long been a problem with geographers whether the Djuba (or Juba), a large river flowing into the Indian Ocean near the equator, could be identical with the Godjeb-Omo in the Sidama country, discovered by the brothers d'Abbadie, who thought it flowed to the Sobat, and so finally reached the White Nile. Later it appeared from other explorations as if the Godjeb-Omo discharged into Lake Rudolph, thus flowing through the depression between the upper Hawasch and Lake Rudolph in the Ethiopian highlands, and that consequently the Juba must have its source in the mountains on the eastern border of this depression in the highlands. This view has been confirmed by the explorations of Capts. Bottego and Grixoni and Prince Ruspoli. Prince Ruspoli, who was killed by an elephant while on his expedition, Dec. 4, 1893, went far enough to find that the Omo is tributary to Rudolph lake, and explored the Dau, the largest western affluent of the Juba, so that much more is known of the source of the Juba and the extent of the territory it drains. From the upper Dau the expedition passed over the watershed south of Lake Abba, and, reaching the Omo (Sangan), proceeded up its right bank to Gubaldjenda, in the Gobo country.

A party headed by Dr. Donaldson Smith, of Philadelphia, set out in June to explore the region 200 miles west of Berbera and Lake Rudolph. In September they reached a large stream believed to be the Erer. They explored the country west of Milmil, and surveyed several rivers.

von

The exploration of German East Africa is substantially finished by the observations of the large expedition led by the Baron Schele, the governor, November, 1893, to March, 1894. From the south bank of the Ulanga, a tributary of the Rufidji, discovered by Count Pfeil in 1886, the route led through the territory of the Mafiti and Wabena. One of the objects of the expedition was to punish the raids of these tribes, some of whom gathered and offered ineffectual resistance. Another object was the discovery of the best route between the new station on Lake Nyassa, Langenburg, and the coast. The Livingstone range, which forms the watershed between Nyassa and the Ulanga, was passed with difficulty; the way led down steep and almost impassable paths from a height of 1,800 metres to the shore of the lake. After making a journey through the Konde country as far as Usango, the expedition took another route for the return journey from Langenburg, which was found to be more practicable than the other. From Amelia Bay it led through the thinly peopled, unknown country of the Magwangwara, to Kilwa. The valley of the Ulanga and the valleys of the Livingstone range are exceedingly fertile, but the Konde country was found to be the richest of any passed through; even the higher elevations are suitable for Euro

pean settlements. Surveys were made by Capt. Ramsay which will fill some considerable gaps in the map of the region. The steamer "Wissmann," on the lake, has proved to be of great benefit.

The Waziba, a Central African tribe living west of the Victoria Nyanza, south of the Kagera river and north of the Wazinja territory, have been described by Capt. Herrmann. Little has been known of this tribe, which occupies an isolated position. They are described as differing in feature from the typical negro, while their color is an even lampblack." They are estimated to number about 150,000. Their dwellings are of the beehive type, sometimes over 30 feet high, with a sort of covered porch before the doorway, which is the only aperture. They seem intelligent, and superior to other more favorably situated races, and are friendly to the Germans, who have helped to free them from the exactions of the Waganda, to whom they formerly owed allegiance.

Asia.-Explorations have been made in Asia by M. de Poncin, Dr. Sven Hedin, the Earl of Dunmore, Mr. and Mrs. Littledale, Capt. Roborowsky, Mr. and Mrs. Bent, MM. Menkhudjinow and Ulanow, M. Dutreuil de Rhins, who was murdered by Tibetans on the way from Inner Tibet to Sining, June 5, and by others.

Baron von Oppenheim journeyed through Syria, over regions little known, exploring the upper and middle course of the Chabur and its affluents.

M. de Poncin crossed the Pamirs and discovered a small lake east of the pass called Benderski, which leads over the ridge between the Great Pamir and Chakmak lake. It is at a great elevation.

The Swedish explorer Dr. Sven Hedin also crossed the Pamirs, and explored the lake called Yashil-kul, and the mountain group Mustaghata and its glaciers.

The Earl of Dunmore examined the eastern passes of the Hindu Kush, and found that the Kilik pass forms a route between the Jarkand and the Hunsa valleys shorter by three days than the Mintok pass, which hitherto has been the usual route over the Hindu Kush at this part of the mountains.

Mr. and Mrs. St. George R. Littledale made a journey of eight months, partly over new routes, from Batum to Pekin. From Lob Nor they took a route traveled heretofore only by Marco Polo among explorers. Their observations were throughout confirmatory of his. The route lay along the northern slope of the Altyn Tagh. At the oasis Sa-chu they entered known territory again, followed Prjevalsky's route for a short distance, then took the northern declivity of the Humboldt range, which they finally crossed and went on to Koko Nor. From Lan-chau they took first a raft and then a boat down the Hoang-ho, which they were the first Europeans to explore throughout its length.

The Roborowsky expedition of the Russian Imperial Geographical Society took a route from the neighborhood of Issik-kul, or Issik lake, which was parallel to and south of that taken by Prjevalsky in 1876. It led down the valley of the Tekes, one of the head streams of the İli, and up the Kok-su, an affluent of the