Innermost Asia - the
scholarly report on the Third Expedition.
On the third expedition Stein began with an even more westerly detour through
previously unexplored regions of north west India ( now Pakistan).
1 August 1913 Stein sent his heavy baggage directly to
Hunza.
Meanwhile he started to Chilas by floating down the Indus.
He crossed 5 passes of 10-16,000 feet elevation on the route to Daril and
Tangir
1 September he reached Ash Kuma gorge at Chillingi Pass at 17,000 feet.
2 September he crossed into Hunza having crossed 15 passes in 5 weeks.
12 September he reached Tash Kurgan
21 September he reached Kashgar
again.
19 October he left for Maral bashi hoping to take a short cut through the
desert, but he was defeated by the sand dunes.
1 November he reached Khotan having covered 450 miles
in 20 days
8 December he reached Niya again via the Keriya
River
23 December he was at Endere
31 December he reached Charchan and then Charklik
1 January 1914 he started from Charklik to
Miran
1 February he started north east from Miran to Abdal.
7 February he found forts LL and LM at Lou lan
9 February he went NE from LM to Lou lan LA
11 February he sent his camels to Altmish - bulak for rest and replenishment
19 February he went north west from LA
21-24 February he was at Altmish bulak with temperature 21 degrees below zero
25 February he moved S-SE straight across the Lop-nor salt sea and found
Chinese copper coins and arrow heads dropped in the desert by passing caravans
2 March he was crossing directly over the Lop dried salt sea with severe
difficulties
7 March he reached Kunduk on the south-east shore of the Lop sea on the caravan
route between Charklik and Tun-huang.
10 March he moved east toward Tun-huang
17 March he again reached the Chinese limes NW of Tun-huang
18 March he was at Oghrak-bulak and the ancient magazine at Txviii
21 March he found yet more watch towers
24 March he was at Tun-huang again
2 April he returned to the 'caves' and obtained more documents
8 April he went to An-hsi and crossed the limes again
14-17 April he stayed at An-hsi then followed the limes NE
21 - 24 April he continued along the Su-lo Ho
28 April he reached Hua Hai-tzu
1 May he reached Su-chou
12 May he departed Su-chou north along the Etsin-gol toward
Khara Khoto via Mao-mei.
June he returned from Kara-Khoto past Mao-mei to Su-chou and hired workers to
explore the Nan-shan again
16 July while exploring the high Nan-shan he had an accident that damaged one
leg
Early August he returned to Kan-chou
20 August he was enroute to Mao-mei
31 August he reached Mao-mei oasis again
2 September he left Mao-mei riding north-west toward Barkul and Guchen
September he traveled north west across the Pei-shan hills to Barkul - 400
miles to reach Bai, part of the Hami oasis.
18 October he reached Guchen
29 October the heavy baggage arrived at Kara Khoja from Su-chou
November the survey teams re-assembled at Kara-khoja
Mid-December 1914 he was at Bezeklik
January 1915 he was at Astana excavating ancient
cemeteries
February he sent the camel train to Kashgar and returned eastward along the
river back toward Lou lan
16 February Stein left Turfan for Kuruk-tagh and Singer and on toward Lou-lan
April he spent in and around Korla
31 May he reached Kashgar again where he spent a month concluding his
expedition affairs
6 July Stein left Kashgar to camp in nearby mountains
19 July he sent off last mail bag to India and started for the Ulugh-art Pass
into Russia
22 July - August he was in the Russian Pamirs exploring southward to the Wakhan
corridor
1 September he reached the Wakhan corridor but could not enter Afghanistan- He
had to stay on Russian side and look.
12 September Stein reached Khoruk in Shughnan
25 September he was again in the Oxus valley at confluence with the Bartang in
the Roshan area.
27 September Stein left Kala-i-Wamar to cross more mountains toward Kara-tegin
4 October Stein reached Pashmghar
6 October heavy rain forced a halt at Lajirkh
11 October he visited Kara-tegin
25 October he reached Samarkand and Bukhara
11 November he left Mershed for Sistan, Iran
1 December he reached Sistan
7 December he found Koh-o-Khwaja ancient ruin with Buddhist wall art in
Sasanian style
3 February 1916 he was moving toward Baluchistan,
India
16 March he arrived back at Srinagar.