The perfect solitude and unbroken silence of the desert are not less characteristic than its wearisome monotony of surface. No sound of bird or animal breaks the solemn stillness which reigns around; no trees expose their foliage to the influence of the wind. The course of the traveler is still onward, through the same apparently interminable waste. “Fourteen hours had passed, and still a desert was before us. The sun was just sinking below the horizon. The Kirghiz assured me that two hours more would take us to pastures and to water.... It had now become quite dark, and the stars were shining brilliantly in the deep blue vault. My guides altered their course, going more to the south. On inquiring why they made this change, one of them pointed to a star, intimating that by that they must direct their course. “We traveled onward, sometimes glancing at the planets above, and then anxiously scanning the gloom around, in the hope of discovering the fire of some dwelling that would furnish food and water for our animals. Having ridden on in this manner for many miles, one of our men stopped suddenly, sprang from his horse, and discovered that we had reached vegetation. The horses became more lively and increased their speed, by which the Kirghiz knew that water was not far off. In less than half an hour they plunged with us into a stream, and eagerly began to quench their terrible thirst, after their long and toilsome journey.” The features above described are those of the steppe region, regarded as a whole. But this aspect undergoes considerable variation in particular localities. The Lower Steppes, as those portions of the great plains which immediately border the Caspian are termed, exhibit a soil largely impregnated with saline particles, and contain numerous salt-water lakes. Some of these lakes furnish a large quantity of salt, derived by means of evaporation. This region resembles in aspect the dried-up bed of a sea. The Caspian, upon which it borders, occupies the lowest part of a depression below the general level of the earth’s surface, its waters being 81 feet lower than those of the Black Sea. The extent of the Caspian appears to be gradually diminishing.