1916
Autumn
Let us return to the peoples of the Pamirs and the expedition itself. On the one hand it turned out to be much harder, but on the other hand to be much easier than expected. When back from Persia in the autumn of 1916, I intended as a matter of fact to go to Mongolia to collect plants; but suddenly a Kirghizian uprising occurred in Semirech’e and consequently the route to Mongolia via Turkestan was closed. For 2 months and perhaps even more, not even mail arrived in Semirech’e. When Cossacks were sent to suppress the revolt, the Kirghizes started to escape to Bukhara and Afghanistan and into the mountains, so that the ordinary and comparatively comfortable route to the Pamirs via Daraut-Kurgan from Skobelev [1] into the Alai valley was occupied by them.
I had to choose between returning to Moscow or using a little known route through high passes, not situated near any villages. Such passes are difficult because of the possibilities for obstruction by snow in September and October. The governor of Fergana and the district commander in Kokand seriously urged us to return to Moscow. However, after consulting with Dmitry D. Bukinich, with whom I had travelled in Turkestan, I decided not to follow the advice of the governor. The first route along the Isfara river, along which Bukinich and I had advanced, turned out to be impractical. After walking almost to the pass, I became convinced that it was already filled with snow. The guides refused to conduct me through it. It was necessary to return and try another route. The local Kirghizes and Tajiks suggested a route over a glacier and along the Tutak river to the Karagushkhana. This route turned out to be completely impassable. The ice bridge, the usual kind of bridge at this locality, over which it was possible to cross the Ak-Su river, had collapsed. However, somehow I succeeded in making my way into the district of Karategin with the help of Kirghizian guides, alas losing part of the luggage. It was necessary to use horses and to walk on foot when travelling. One horse was adequate for the luggage at the start of the journey but at its end we needed three of them.
The route over the Demri-Shaurg glacier was difficult. Where possible we had to make our way along its edges since the centre was full of fissures; these made it hard for the horses to proceed and they had to be led around them. Three to four hours were required to advance 3-4 km. The glacier itself stretches 25-30 km; below the 15-km milestone, it is covered by a moraine of shale so that you know you are walking on a glacier only where there are large fissures or cracks. This was a difficult and peculiar landscape such as I had never seen before. The glacier of Demri-Shaurg is the source of the Tutak river and another small stream, originating from the melting glacier. The sources of these rivers were easy to see. Snow was already falling and closing some of the fissures in the glacier, making it difficult to follow this path. The passage over the pass was made on 18 September. This route is absolutely unsatisfactorily marked on the 10:1 verst [2] military map, the only one existing for this area. Leveled roads or trails are not marked on the map. A road across the glacier would also be difficult to make. It is not more than 4 km from the village of Raut to the outskirts of the village of Zardalu, but this distance took us exactly 5 hours on very good horses. [3]
During this journey the Bukharan official, attached to me by the Russian political agent in Bukhara as an aide and escort on all roads within the Bukharan domain, proved to be a great asset. Such assistance is customary in Buhkara for all travellers sent by government agencies. Although my mission had nothing to do with any government agencies, I had letters from the Moscow Agricultural Institute and from the Moscow Society of Investigators of Nature, which in particular proved to be impressive.
Notes:
- Fergana. [↩]
- 1 verst = 500 sazhen. Only kidding! A verst is an obsolete Russian unit of length, equivalent to 1.0668 kilomteres. [↩]
- It is difficult to be certain where Vavilov was in this crossing. Google Earth knows of a Raut in Kyrgyzstan and a Zardalu in Afghanistan, but they are 733 kilometres apart as the crow flies. (Looking at the terrain, I shudder to think of how they are apart on foot.) I’m going to plump for Kyrgyzstan, until otherwise informed. [↩]
Show on map