Bayer. Staatsbibliothek Miinchen
Aus der Bibliothek
Gottfried Merzbadier
1936
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<36633715550011
Bayer. Staatsbibliothek
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"THE RUSSIANS
IN CENTRAL ASIA:
THEIR OCCUPATION OP
THE KIRGHIZ STEPPE
A If I)
THE LINE OF THE SYR-DARIA :
THEIR POLITICAL EBLATIONS WITH
KHIVA, BOKHARA, AND KOKAN :
ALSO DESCRIPTIONS OP
CHINESE TURKESTAN AND DZUNGARIA.
BY CAPT. VALIKHANOF, M. VENIUKOF,
AND OTHER RUSSIAN TRAVELLEHS,
CranslatcH fiom t\)t Eusstan
BY JOHN AND ROBERT MICHELL.
LONDON :
EDWARD STANFORD, 6 CHARING CROSS.
1865.
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PREFACE.
The vaLuabie contributions to the geography and political history of Central Aaia printed firom time to time at St. Petersburg arc almost entirely lost to this coasktry, owing to their being published in the Russian language. The great interest which Central Asia has lately attracted^ in consequence of recent political events in the Khanat of Kokan^ and the oomparatiive ignorance which has prevailed in England respecting the true position of Bnssia in those distsnt regions^ have induced us to make a collection of the most important of the Russian materials relating to the subject^ and to present them to the public in an English form. The several chapters composing this ▼olnmej on their original appearance at St. Peteisburgj »dted considerable interest, and their several authors are well-known Russian travellers and geographers^ who have made Central Asia their spedaL study.
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PREFACE.
Among the accounts of journeys and travels in Can-
m
tral Asia here presented to the reader^ those of Cf^tain VaKkhanof in Dzungaria and Eastern Turkestan occupy a prominent position. Since the days of Marco Polo and the Jesnit Ooes^ no European, with the exception of A. Schlagintweit, has, to our knowledge, penetrated into those coontries. The fear and jealousy of Europeans and the religious fanaticism of the people made that country quite inaccessible to modem explorers^ and the mournful fate of the enterprising trayeller at Kashgar is an illustration of the danger with which any attempt to reach it is heset. The travels of Yalikhanof through Dznngaria and Chinese Turkestan were performed under singularly favourable circum- stances. Although an officer in the Russian service and a man of good education, he is the son of a Kirghiz Sultan and a native of the Steppes. He is consequently well acquainted with the language and customs of the people of Central Asia, and could go amongst them without exdting the least suspicion of being connected mth Russia. He succeeded in reaching Kashgar in the train of a Kokan caravanj under the assumed character of a Marghilan merchant. His description of Kashgar, and of the political state of Eastern Turkestan^ will be acknowledged as an im-
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PBBPACB. V
portant addition to the scanty information we as yet poflseas ooucerning that coontiy.
The chapters descriptiTe of the political relations of Kussia with the diiterent Khanats^ and of the manner in which the power of Russia has been consolidated in the Kirghiz Steppe, and on the line of the Syr-Daria or Jaxartes^ will^ it is hoped, enable the English public to form a correct idea of tiie present attitude of Russia in Central Asia; and in presenting to our readers these Russian naxratiyes and descriptions, we cannot omit to point out thatj as the work of geographers and men of science, it has been executed with impartiality and without any political object.
The recent capture of some Kokan towns and for* tresses, and the formation of a new province with the title of Turkestan^ have increased the apprehensions that have been entertained by a portion of the English public of hostile intentions against British India. The junction of the line of the Syr-Daria with that of Eastern Siberia has certainly added a considerable piece of territory to the frontier of Russia, oii which a distinct military frontier may now be drawn from the GknrbitKa moontams on the Amur River to the mouth of the Jaxartes in the Sea of Ai'al. Before that junction was effected by the capture of Turkestan and Chem-
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PREFACE.
kent, the military colonies on the Syr-Daria had no
commnnicatioii with, the garmou of Fort Vemoe^ the southemmost point on the frontier of Eastern Siberia, except by the circuitous route of Orenburg. The obligation which Bussia has incmred of protecting the pastoral Kirghizes under her allegiance against the marauding expeditions of the subjects of the Khan of Kokan, frequently necessitates measures of retaliation and chastisement. It was, therefore, not the gain in territory, but the necessity of establishing a continuity of communication, and a consolidation of power with a view to tranquil pos.-^cssion, that prompted tlie recent encroachments of Russia on the dominions of the Khan.
There is no doubt that Bokhara and Khiva, as well as Kokan, are entirely at the mercy of Russia, and will probably, in the course of time, become subject to it ; but a perusal of this book will afford some evidence of the present uselessness of such conquests to an Empire already too large and unwieldy, thinly peopled at its centre, and just entering upon a long and perhi^ troublesome process of political reorganisation. De- signs, however, on British India may quite as well be entertained with a force on the Caspian as with an army at Bokhara. The same distance would have to
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PREFACE. vii
be passed by the inyading force before leachmg A%ham8tan; and the same dangers would have to be encountered by it from a Bntish army rapidly moved on by railways and riyers^ and furnished with abnndant
supplies.
On the other hand^ the security and development of
the Russian trade with Central Asia must eventually benefit England. Bokhara at present supplies Russia with cotton, dried fruits, and other goods, and imports their value from Russia, half in hardware^ wooden bozesj and coarse prints, and half in specie.- That specie is all that the Central Asiatics have to offer in ^tum for English manuilEustured goods, which they highly esteem, but which they cannot buy with their inferior products. As prosperity, coming in the wake of tranquillity, becomes more general in the plmns of Turkestan, so will the demand for English manufac- tures and the means of purchasing them, now almost absent, become available. In the meanwhile, and apart from all political considerations, the continued efforts of Russian men of science to throw light on a region of the world so little known and so highly interesting, cannot but meet with the sympathy of the English public, and jnerit its warm approval.
The engravings which illustrate the book are from
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P&EFACE.
photographs taken on the apot during General Ignatief s last nuBsioii to Khiva and Bokhara, and the accom- pauying map has been carefully compiled from the most recent Bussiaii sources; while for the introduc- tion we are indebted to the late Mr. Hume Greenfield^ formerly Assistant Secretary to the Boyal Geographical Society, whose valuable assistance in editing the work and ronductin*^ it through the press we cannot suffi- ciently acknowledge.
J. AND B. MiCHlLL.
20M March, 18G5.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTETl I. Intrnducfinn.
PAOK.
Persian and Russian acquisitions — Russian Invasion — ^TheUst- Tlrt. — Khftnat of Khiva. — TChanat nf Role tiara— Khatiftt. nf Kofean— Chinesft Ttirkostan. . . . , 1—22
CHAPTER TT.
Abridged Narrative of a Jsjurney to Khiva, with Historical Particulars relating to the Khanat during the Oovernment of Seid-Mohammed Khan, 1856 — 1860, hy E. Kiihlewein.
Passage of Aibugir Lake — Entry into Kun^p^ — Devastations by the Turkmen — Tedious Passai];c by Water to Khiva — Unsettled state of the Cnimtry — Hccent History of Khiva — High OflScers of the Kiian of Khiva — Tribes inhabit« jpg the Khanat of Khiva — Turkmen Insurrections — Metallic Currenoy of Kltiva — Astronomical position of Khiva . . 1 . . .. . . 23-15
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X
CONTENTS.
Oeneral View of Dzunffaria, hy Captain Valikhanof.
PAOK.
Forlorn <»ondition of Central Asia — Brutal AiTiusPint»Tits of tha Rulers — Sufferings, &c., of European Travellers — Oppres- siona of tbe Chinese — Ex])l(>ration3 of M. Semenof — Fauna and Flora of Dzuii tpiria — Qrnil hology of Dzungaria — Extir- pation of a whole race of Deer — Propagation and Suppres- sion of Christianity — Ethnology of Central Asiatic Races — UigurLanguage unknown in Europe — Documentary History of Kushgar 40—70
CHAPTER IV.
Travels in Dzungaria, hy Captain Valikhanof.
Visit from the Sultan — Passage of the River Ili — Costume
of a Kirghiz Spearman — Tiitprior of a Kirghiz Dwelling — Fiithj Habits of the Kirghiy.es — A Eeast — Habits and Customs of the Kirghizes — Primitive relations between the Sexes — Predat()ry Habits of Bursuk — Speculations as to the Ori^^iu of the Kirglii/es— Traditions among the Kirg- hizes— Oiiginal Country of the Kirghizes — Importance of • an Ethnograpliic Inquiry — Evidence of Gcncalogicitl Tra- ditions— Heroic Traditions of the Kirghizes— Epic Poems current among the Kirghizes — Distribution of the Dikoka- mcniii — Serious misunderstanding — Affray — Encounter with the Buruts 71—108
CHAPTER V.
On the Condition of Alty-shahr, or the Six Eastern Toicns of the Chinese Province of Naji-hi {Little Jiokhara) in
Physical features of the Desert of Gobi — Table Land of Syrt — Caravan Roads of Eastern Turkestan — River System of Eastern Turkestan — Arrangements for accom- modating Caraviuis — Route from Pekin to Aksu — Various Caravan Routes to Yarkcud — Thermomctiica Observations
CONTENTS. Xi
PAGE.
in Kasbgar— Singular dread of Thunder Stoniis— Geniality and Salubrity of Khotan — Grold-washing at Karja — Mineral Wealth and Gold Mines of Kokan — Ycgetut iou on tlm Tian- Shan Range — ^Vegetation of Little Bokhara — Decline of Agrieulture in Little Bokhara — Animals indigenous to Litth; Rokltara — Grain found in Kokan and Turkestan — Domestic Auiinals of Little Bokhara — Exterior Aspect of a Little Bokliarian Town— Description of the City of Kashgar — Municipal Buildings of Kashgar — Tombs of Mussulman Saints near Ksushgar — Description of Yany- shalir and Yarkcnd — Settlements in the Province of Yarkend — Statistics of Khotan District and Trade — Ush- Tiirfan Distrlnf. dftsnrihpfl . . . . lOO— Ifil
CHAPTER Vf.
Alty-shahr — Historical Hevieio.
Early Introduction of Buddhism — Islamism introduced in Eiistcrn Turkestan— Rise of the Power of the Hodjas — Party Pulitics in Turkestan — Wars of the Rival Factions — History of tlie ^lovemcnt for Independence— Outbreak of the Revolution — Subjugtition of Dzungaria by tiie Chinese — Preparation for Battle by botli Sides — Defeat, by Treachery, of the Allied Forces — Fatally facile temper of Itodja-Djagan — Flight of Djagan-Hodja — Chinese Policy of Colonisation — Apprehensions excited by the Chinese — Confederacy ;igainst Chinese Extension — Ai)|iearancc of Russia in Central Asia — MereiU Severities of I lie Chinese — Ineffectual Ridings of the Native Factions — Insurrection of DjeDgir-IIodjain 1822— Important Successes of Djengir- Hodja — Entry of Djengir into Kashgar — Conciliatory Policy of the Hodj a— Capture and Execution of Djcngir — Prohibition by the Chinese of Trade with Kokan — Rebellion of Madali-Khan —Withdrawal from Kashgar of Med- Yusuf— Treaty between China and Kokan — Recent Disturbances in Kokan — Excesses of the Seven Hodjas — Sufferings of the Inhabitants of Kaahgar — Vali-Kluui-Tiiria surprises Kashgar — Ka})id Spread of the Iiisurreetiuii —
Xll CONTENTS.
PAOB.
Ferocious Cruelty of Vali-Khan-Tiiria — Fiendish Murders
coininiited by the Hodja — Jealousy of the Ollicial Ap- poinliueuts — Univcr:jal Fcclinys of Discoulent arise — Scenes of Bloodshed re-enacted in Kaabgar — Advancea from the Kokaiiians to the Chiiipsft. . . . 162— QSft
CHAPTER VTT.
Trans- Hi and Chu Dixtricts, by M. VenivJcqf. Almaii/, or
Vernoc.
Favourable Afflicultural Conditions of Vcmoe — Interview with Sultan Ali— Instances of Ali's Aslujcnesij — Proffl-ess of Civilization anioiii? tlie Kirirliiz - Dihtributiou of the
. Q u
Great Horde — Zoology of the Steppe — Wild Sports of the Kirghiz — Effects of the Bite of the Phalangium — Passage of the Alatau Chain — Fate of a Robber of the Steppe — Marvellous Recovery from severe Wounds — In- tense Dryness of the Air in the Steppe — Animal Life in the Valley of the Chu — The Barren Desert of Betpak-dala — Lake Karakul and the Roroldai Cliaia— Account of the Ditokamenni Horde — Kirghiz Legenda of their Origin as a Nation — Ancestry of the Kara-Kir^^liiz Horde — Distribu- tion of the Dikokanicnni Kirghiz — Origin of tiie Name Kara-Kirgliiz — Agriculture and the Chase — State of Trade — Organised Marauding of the Dikokamenni — Gross Igno- rance of the Hordes — Veneration for the Departed — Imagi- native Strain of their Improvisatori. . . . 239 — 291
CHAPTER VTTT.
History ny thk Vataht.tshmv.xt op Rttssian Hi i.k ov thb Sea OF Aral and on the Riyeb Syb-Daria (Jaxabtes) from 1847 TO 1862.
PAtiT T,
Oeneral Iteview of the Orenburg Region and its Future
linpofUtnce — First Appearance of tlte liitssians in these
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CONTENTS. xiii
PAGE.
Parts — The Sea of Aral and the Syr-Darin — Esfahlhh' ment of Bussian Mule in the Steppe since 183.3 — Erection of Forts in the Steppe and on the Shores of the Sea of Aral— The Aral FhfiUa.
1847-1852.
Territory under cousideration — Rise of the Omsk Department — reatures of the Sea of Aral— Physical features of the Syr-Daria — Branches of the Syr-Daria — Vegetation along the Banks of the Syr — Aspect of the Barren Steppes — Scarcity of Sweet Water— Commencement of Russian In- flnence — Intrigues of the Kokaiiians —Oppressive rule of the Kokanians — Fort ifications along the Syr — First Russian Fort projected — Hostilities with the Russians — First Flotilla on the Sea of Aral — Organisation of a Steam Flotilla— Armament of the Flotilla. . . 292—329
CHAPTER TX. PART TT.
Survet/ of the Syr-Daria above the Aral Fortification — Inimical hearing of the Kokanians — Expedition of Colonel Blaramherg— Demolition of the Kokanian Fortifications — Expedition to Ak-Mechet — Taking of AJc-Mechet — It is re-namcd Fort Perovshi — Proceedings of the Kokanians.
1852-1854
Armed Survey of the Syr in 1852 — Advance of the Expedition — Assault and Capture of the Snburbs— First Results of
the Expedition — Composition of Second Expedition — De- parture from FnrtAral.sk — Dan^-r from Fire in the Steppe — Additional Fortilieations at Ak-Meeiiet- Commencement of Active Hostilities — Diplomatic Preliminaries of the Siege — ^Incidents of the Siege — Prosecution of the Siege — The Sap finished and the Mine sprung — Results of the
XIV CONTENTS.
FAOK.
Capture of Ak-Mcchct — Enp^agement with a Kokanian l^e- inrorcenifnl — Rumours of an Attack in Forco — Fort, Pcrovski besieged by 13,000 Kokanians — Kokanian Plans of CanipaiKii. 330—366
PART TTT
Hvenls in the Sfeppe during the Crimean War — Iset-Kufr- bary the JCnight of the Steppe — Attempt of Perovski to occupij JTodja-NiM — Occupafiov of DjuJelc, and Deniruc- tion of Yani/' Kurgan.
1854—1862.
Intri^iics on the Steppe — A Kirj^liiz Kob Koy — CarcL-r of Iset- Kutebar — Treachery of Tset-Kutebar — Engagement witli Isct-Kutcbar — The Cossacks defeated by Tsct-Kutcbar — Rftnewed Pursuit of Tset-Kutehar— Dpath of Pp.rnvski — A Garrison stationed at Fort Hodja-Nias — The Russian Claim to Fort IIodja-Nias — Keprisals of the Kokanians — • Insecurity of Commercial Relations — DilDcuIties of the r^mmissariat — Ditfieiilties of Interenmmiinient.inn — Piis- sian mode of Extending Territory — Importance of the Tele- gra))liic Qufstiou— luvoliuitary Annexation by Russia — Communication between Russia and India — Where England and Ruasia arc to be conterminous. 367 — 406
f!H AFTER XT
DipJomatic Relations between Russia and Bokhara.
By Zalesoff.
1836-1843.
Relat ions of Russia with Bokhara — List of Grievances against Khiva — Bokharian Embassy of 1836 — Russian Mission to Bokhara — Avaricious Aims of Bokharian Embassies — In-
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CONTENTS.
XV
PAOE.
strnctions to the Mining Expedition — British Political
Complications in 1S4Q — Kuiuours of a Russian Alliance with Cabul— Death of Mukin-Beg— Diplomatic and other List ructions of M. Butenef — Proposed Terms of Treaty — Resume o( tiic Envoy's Inatmctions — Attempt to Liberate Colonel Stoddart — Departure of the Mission — State of Bokhara in 1840 — Arrival of the Mission at Bokhara — Opcniup: of the Negotiations — Interview of tlie Envoy with Colonel Stoddart— Outbreak of the Afshau War — Rnptnre of the IsVgotiations — The Emir*s Reply to the Ultimatum — Scientific Results of the Expedition — Effrontery of the Bokhariaus — Cessation of Diplomatic Intercourse . - 407— -455
CHAPTER Xn.
On the Commercial Prospects of Central Asia, viewed in
connexion with Russia,
State of Trade in Central Asia — Statistics of Exports and Im- ports— Alteration of Imports in twenty-five years — Ttnport of Specie into Centnil Asia — Development of Trade with the Kirghizes — Provisions of Russo-Chinesc Treaty — Prospects of Russian Trade in Central Asia— "Cotton Fabrics suitable for Trade — Prospects of Cotton Growing in Bokliara — More care required in Growing Cotton— DilTLCultics for want of Transport - -Necessity for erecting New Forts — Strategical Policy of Russia — Obstacles in the way of rearing Cattle — Good Policy of encouraging Agri- colture — Prevalence of Slavery in Khiva— Routes across Independent Tartary — Trtide w ith Petropavlovsk — Future Route for Transport of Goods — Various Commercial Roates proposed — Regnisites for protecting Trade. 456 — 497
xvi
CONTENTS.
APPENDICES.
APPEXDTX T.
PAOK.
Itinerary of Routes in the Trans-Ili and Chu Regions. 501 — 517
APPENDTX II.
Astroiioniical DetcrmiiKitions in Eastern Turkestan and Dznn-
garia 518—523
APPTlTSTBTy TIT
March-Route from Turfan to Kasligar in Little Bokhara. 524 — 535
APPEiyPIX IV.
Notes on the Intercoiirse of Russia with Khiva. By G.
Kiihleweifi. , . . . . . S.Sfi— .«i52
LIST OF PLATES, ETC.
1. A Bashkir Curavanserai at Orenburg. . . Frontispiece.
2. Part of the City of Kungrad, seen froni the Kivcr Amu-Daria
(Qxus) 26
3. Mid-day Halt on a Kirghiz Steppe. . 238
4. Russian Steam Barges opposite Kungrad, on the Amu-
Daria .327
MAP OF CENTRAL ASIA.
r
SKETCHES OE TRAVEL
IK TABIOVS BXGIOirfl OF
CENTRAL ASIA.
CHAPTER L
INTRODUCTION.
Much of the uncertainty attaching to the immense
region hitherto known to Kurdish readers under the general name of Tartary, is undoubtedly due to the perversity with which each fresh traveller adopts a new spelling for himself, upon some recondite principle of phonography. Eveiy such attempt, moreover, is sure to provoke hostile criti- cism, and, in so doing, to eHcit new views of philology, which tend still further to perplex the student. Another element of difficulty, which seems to have been pretty much overlooked, is that thelune-shaped tract— extending over 52" of longi-
B
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2
Introduction.
tilde, i. e. from Orenburg in lat. 51 48' N. 55" 12' E. to Kiaklita» on the meridian of 107° E., and in about the same latitude, the main width of which, however, owing to the physical couhgura- tion of the spurs of the Altai, lies between the much lower parallels of 40' and 40°, — forms a sort of debateable knd for at least four, if not five, distinct languages — namely, the Persian, the Bokharianjthe Thibetan, and the Mongolian, besides the recently intruded Russian. With respect to at least two of these, the Arst and last-named, the contempt generated by a higher civilization naturally induces a system of nomenclature founded upon the language of the more civilized commmiity, and, in consequence, difiering widely from the indigenous appellations by which the more prominent places are known to the natives. In consulting, therefore, the accompanying transla- tions from the Russian of the works of Valikhanof, Veninkof, and others, it is necessary to bear in mind that it is quite possible any given spot has been already visited and described by Europeans, who have contented themselves with the names bestowed by their native guides. A noted instance of this is the perversity with which Russian hydro- graphers and Russian travellers, when speaking of
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Persian and Buman Acquisitions, 8
the region watered by the river Syr-Daria, persis- tently speak of Yoit Perovski, a stronghold on the caravan route from Bokhara to Petropavlovsk (in Siberia, 195 ni. W. of Omsk), quite recently con- structed to check the audacity of the Kirghiz Cos- sacks, ignoring that since the close of last century an important native town has existed on tlie opposite bank, which vnll be found in all the best maps under the name Ak-Mesjid. There is perhaps a pohtical reasoji for these attempts to extinguish the native names, since it is notorious that both Per- sia and Russia have long been endeavouring to feel their way eastward and southward. The exhaus- tive system of agriculture which travellers have described as characterizing Persia, and which, with advantages hardly equalled, certainly not surpassed^ by any Oriental country, still keeps her impoverished and consequently warlike along her frontier line, will readily account for the attempts of that power to subjugate the uiouiitainous region, iiitLispcrscd with fertile valleys, which forms her Eastern boundary. Hence the permanent feeling of irritation which prevails among the Hill-tribes all along the N.W. frontier of our Indian Empire, and the constant re- currence, every few years, of some miserable squabble about Herat, which, although distant 500
B 2
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4 Introduction.
miles of the wildest mountain desert from Attock,
it is still the fashion to call " the key of India " in these days, when Bombay is only twenty days distant from London, and when Bombay and Cal- cutta are themselves on the eve of being brought within three days of each other by the development of onr Indian railways..
A cursory glance at the map might, at first sight, seem to give some ground for alarm, when we find that Knssia has virtually pushed forward her outposts to within 300 miles of the British frontier on the north. But the barrier here is even more hnpassable than that to the westward, since there intervenes between the Muscovite and the supposed secret object of all his movements and in- trigues in those regions, the mighty barrier of the Hindoo Koosh, and the Xuen Lun, which rise like a wall, 17,000 feet high, with scarcely a crest or depression throughout their entire extent — none certainly practicable for an army with the materiel and appliances of war as waged by 19th cen- tury civilization. The truth is that, in the in- terests of science and humanity, Great Britain Ought to rejoice that any form of European civihzalion is penetrating the howling wilderness that lies to the North of the Himalaya. Secure behind that
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ImpomhUitij of a Rummi lavcmon. 5
impassable bulwark, still more secure in the gra- dual elevation in the scale of nations of the vast population which destiny has committed to her charge, she ought to view with feelings of sym- pathy and interest any policy that will replace the barbarities of such men as Ilodja Khan, and the other rutins that infest the territory conterminous with our own to the N.N.W.
The phantom, however, of a Russian invasion of India has so completely possessed certain chisses of qi/id n?mcs, that it is possible a succinct sketch of the physical peculiarities of the country may not be out of place, and such a synopsis would at all events be required to enable the reader to compre- hend the following pages. Our ignorance of the region in question has long been made a matter of reproach to us, and our knowledge, " chiefly con- jectural," has been stigmatized as a disgrace to science, " owing to its wTetched state of imperfec- tion.'' It would perhaps puzzle those who thus readily impeach the energy which has already sacriiiced so many valuable lives in this very country, if we were to ask them to devise means for throwing open to Anglo-Saxon enterprise a coun- try where emphatically every man carries his life in his hand. Something more is required to prove cou-
6 JniroditcHon,
rage or conduct than to exclaim, " lool I" or " Coward r* as each succeeding traveller recoils before the hardships and dangers of a journey through Little Bokhara. Round that land ot ro- mance, the genius of the West has flung a mantle of refinement, till a sort of notion has got abroad that the virtues of savage life, banished I'rom North America, still survive among the hordes of the Kirghiz Kaisaks, the Kara Kalpaks, the Dzun- gai'ians, and the Kashgahans. Every Khau is a Feramorz or Alaris, and among the perennial snows of the Pamij', or the great table-land in which the Indus takes its rise, the imagination delights to picture a state of primeval innocence and Areadian simplicity, instead of one of constant war, disgraced by more than the atrocities that ordinarily accom- pany Oriental warfare.
r Anything Uke a physico-geographical and ethno- graphical sketch of Central Asia must necessarily be a compilation of every authority from the days of Rubruquis 500, and Jenkinson 300 years ago, to the more modem researches of Lesvchine, Abbott, VVood, Emnes, Conolly, Nikoforof, Mou- lavief, etc. These have been in many instances corrected by the researches since made under the auspices of the .Russian Geogmphical bociety.
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Fhydccd Sketch of the Ud- Urt,
7
including the experiences of the distinguished authorities whose sketches of tiayel now make their appearance for the first time in an English transla- tion. Enough, however, remains to enable us to supply a general idea of the entire region, distinguish- ing the various Khanats, and tracing their general history till within what may be called the historic period, which may be stated as commencing only within the last ten years ; in fact, since the Russian Government has begun to enforce some sort of order, partly by the establishment of armed stations and forts, partly by offering to the towns which used to be great entrep6t8 of trade an outlet for their pro- ducts through Western Siberia and Russia in Europe.
Western or Independent Tartary, as it was called in the text-books of geography of the last generation, comprises the following main divisions, which, for convenience sake, we shall enumerate aeriatim, beginning with the river Emba, which, after a Westerly course of «iOO miles falls into the Caspian in 47' N. 5d'15'E.:
I. The country South of the river Emba, Yemba or Jem, consists of a. table-land which separates the Caspian and Aral, and rises to an average elevation of 620 feet according to a profile sketch which first appeared in Lesvchine s wwk on the Kirghiz
8 Introduction.
Kaisaks, and which we reproduce in the Appendix. This table-land, known as the Ust-Urt, is about 240 miles in length, and extends the whole width, 160 miles, between the two seas. The entire East side of the plateau fonns a bold coast line along the Western shores of the Sea of Aral, and at its S.E. comer it turns abruptly to the W.N.W., the angle thus formed at the S.W. comer of the Sea of Aral being known as " the Tchink." The Ust-Urt is, in fact, the S.W. continuation and extremity of the great Steppe of the Kirghiz Kaisaks, this portion forming part of the territory of tlie Lesser Horde. - II. South of the Ust-Urt, and of the Sea of Aral, is the Khanat of Khiva, including the desert plain of Kharesm, and the oasis of the same name, as also the rich, well-watered plain of Merv, 37° 28' N., 62° 10' E. This region, also known in older geographies as Turan, is bounded, according to Captain Abbott, on the S. by an irregular curv- ing line, extending from the river Attreck, which debouches into the S.£. angle of the Caspian, in 87' N., '54" B. nearly to Herat, where it turns N., and becomes the Eastern boundary of the Khanat. The Eastern boundary follows an imaginary line corresponding pretty closely with the 68" meridian, crossing the Ox us, or Amu-Daria, about 90 miles W.
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Area and J^saturea of ihe KhanaJt of Khiva. 9
of Bokhara, and is thence prolouged northward till it intercepts the Syr-Daria, or Jaxartes, about 120 miles from its mouth. The area comprised within these . boundaries is in round numbers . 450,000 square miles, the surface of wMch is singularly uniform. With the exception of tlie banks of the Oxus, and the oasis of Merv, the entire country presents an unbroken waste, unrelieved by moun- tains, rivers, lakes, or forests. The Ust-Urt, last mentioned, is nominally pturt of the Khanate of Khiva, but the extreme cold of winter, and the intense heat of summer, make it almost uninhabit- able. The geological formation of this Khanat is principally red sand-stone on the S., gradually changing into a lirm clay resting upon lime-stone. The volume of the various rivers of course depends upon the season, the melting of the snows of the Hindoo Koosh, in which the Oxus rises, causing that river to overflow its banks in many places during the autumn. In some of the older maps, a dried river course is represented as . occasionally filled from the Oxus, and finding its way across the desert of the Kharesm, till it reaches the Caspian at Balkan Bay, 39" 40' N. There is nothing in* trinsically improbable in this divci*sion, as the Sea of Aral itself is known to be 117 feet above the
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10
IiUroducHoH,
level of the Caspian. The dominant race are Isbec Tartars, to which thbe the latest dynasty of Khans belongs, and the population is variously estimated, by Balbi, at 800,000, by i^raser, at 1,500,000, and by AbboU, at 2,600,000. Khiva, the capital, which, as will be seen, was visited by Kiihleweiu, is situated on a fertile plain near the Oxus, in 4r 22' 40- N., by 60' 2' 57' B., and is about half a mile square, containing about 1500 houses, clay built, and arranged in narrow streets, with a popa- lation of about 12,000 permanent inhabitants.
III. Immediately to the eastward of the Khanat of Khiva is that of Bokhara, which has a(!quired a melancholy interest for England by the iate, long wrapped in mystery, of Colonel Stoddart and Captain Conolly, and the heroic enterprise of the late Dr. Wolff, who penetrated as far as Samar- cand, only to find confirmation of the bloody fate which mmour had already hinted as having over- taken our adventiu'ous countrymen. The limits of the Khanat of Bokhara are even more difiicult to dctine than those of Khiva, owing to the incessant poUtical fluctuations of this unhappy country. It t»honld seem that when Bumes first visited the country, tlie Khan claimed the entire territory from the Hindoo-Koosh, including Balkh (the ancient
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Pk^fticai Features of the JKXanat of Bokhara. 1 1
Bactria) and Andku, or Ankoi, where Moorcroft died, to the baain of the Syr-Daria, or frm. 35" N. io45° 30 N., while the Eastern boundary, in the ab- sence of precise geographical data^has been variously stated at 68** to 70* E. The Eastern frontier is, in fact, conterminous with the Khanat of Kokan, and the Western boundary of what is variously known as Chinese Turkestan, or Little Bokhara, (the scene of Laila Rookh), of which the capitals are Yarkend and Kashgar. But since 1849, the advance of Russia along the valley of the Syr-Daria and the incursions of the Kirghiz of the Middle Horde on the one hand, and of the Kokanians on the other, have made the basin of the Syr-Daria anything but a desirable acquisition, and it is understood that the reigning Khan of Bokhara does not assert his sovereignty beyond the parallel of 41** N., so that we may estimate the present extent of the Khanat at about 230,000 square mileSy with a population estimated by Irving (1809), at 3,600,000, by Bumes at 1,000,000, by Fraser at 2,500,000, and by Balbi (182G), at 1,200,000. Eraser, however, speaks of the city of Bokhara as containing 120,000 houses alone, and doubts if any other Eastern city, except some of the Chinese capitals, contains so large a population ;
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12 Introducdon.
and as the soil is argillaceous in the plaius, uiul the valleys bave bng enjoyed in the East a reputation somewhat Tesembling that of Tempe in Thessaly, it seems probable that the larger estimates are the more likely to be correct. The territory is inter- sected from S.E. to N.W. by the Oxiis, or Aiiui- Daria, the only other river of importance being its tributary, the Kholi^, or Sogd, whence the ancient name Sogchaiia, given to the district of which Sa- marcand is the present , capital.
The eastern portion of this Khanat is entirely occupied by mountains. Of these the chief are the Kish range, between Kish, 3ff N. 67° E., and Samarcand, a spur of the little-known Kara-Dagh chain. In this exceedingly rugged, precipitous system of mountains occurs the celebrated Derbend or Koluga Pass, (" the Iron Gate leading from Kish» S.E., and forming the sole means of com- munication with Hissar and thence to Affghanistan. A still loftier range commences to the N.E. of Bokhara, and runs eastward to the borders of the Khanat of Kokan, where it converges at right angles to the Boloi- or Behir Tagh. This is called the Ak- Dagb, or " White Mountains/' and seems to mark the Northern bonndarv of the celebrated high-lying table-laud of Pamir, on the West side of which the
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I
Sources of the Oxus or AmU'JJaria. 13
0x118 takes its rise. The scene, as described by Lieutenant Wood, who penetrated thither on the 1 9th February, 1838, in mid-winter, is so striking that we need not apologize for introducing it here. On reaching a spot elc\ated 14,400 feet above the kvel of the sea, some of his escort refused to pro- ceed further ; upon which Lieutenant Wood dciter* mined to push forward with the remainder through deep, new-fallen snow : — " As we neared the head waters of the Oxus, the ice became weak and brittle. After quitting the surface of the river, we travelled about an hour along the right bank, and then ascended a low hill which apparently bounded the valley to the £. ; on surmounting this at 5 p.m. of the 19th February, 1.838, we stood, to use a native expression, on Bam-i-Duniah, or * Roof of the World,' while before us lay stretched a noble frozen sheet of water, from whose Western ex* tremity issued the infant Oxus. This line lake lies in the form of a crescent, about 14 miles long from E. to W. by one mile in average breadth. On three sides it is bordered by swelling hills about 500 feet high, while along its south bank they rise into momitains 3500 feet above the lake, or 19,000 feet above sea-level, covered with perpetual snow, from which never-ihiling source the lake is supplied.
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14
Introduction,
From observatioDB made at the W. end, I found the latitude to be 37' %T N., 73' 40' E., and the
elevation, as deduced from the boiling point of water, .15,600 feet. The hills and mountains that encircle Lake Sir*-i-Kol give rise to some of the principal rivers in Asia. Trom the hdge of its East end flows a branch of the Yarkand, one of the largest streams that water Chinese Turkestan, while from the low hills rising on the N. issues the Sir,* or river of Kokan ; and from the sunny chain opposite, both forks of the Oxus and a branch of the Kunar are supplied. When the lake is swollen by the molten snows of summer, the size of the river is correspondingly increased, and no great alteration takes place in the level of the lake itself. The aspect of the landscape was wintry in the extreme. Wherever the eye fell, one dazzling sheet of snow covered the ground, while the sky over- head was everywhere of a dark and angry hue. Clouds would have been a rehef to the eye, but they were utterly wanting. Not a breath moved along the face of the lake ; not a beast, not even a bird was visible."
• Reoeut authorities since the visit of Lieutenant Wood have, howerer, establtthed that there is no aHueot of the Syr-Daria, which takes its rise so far south as Lake Sur-i-Kol, the immense ranges .of the BeLor and ^ Ak-Dagh intervening.
DeBcripiUm of the Kkanat of Kokan. 1 5
IV. The next region calling for notice is the Khanate of Kokan, which may be succincU^y de- scribed as comprising almost the entire valley of the Syr-Dana aud its various confluents. But the fact that this State has only recently assumed a pro* minent position in Oriental politics, and that, partly in consequence of the nomad half-savage hordes which form its northern population, partly from its geographical position, it has been among the very earliest to come into direct collision with Russia, makes it necessary to describe with as much ac- curacy as possible, the exact limits of the territory over which the Khan of Kokan asserts his sove- reign rights. In order to this purpose it will be necessary to revert to the north shore of the Sea of Aral, from which eirtends eastward a series of steppes, inhabited principally by the Kirghiz Kiasaks, who are divided into the Lesser or Western, Middle, and Great Hordes, the latter being the farthest to the east, and extending indeed as far as the great Lake Balkash, and the banks of the Hi, of which mention will be found in the fol- lowing pages. The pressure, however, of a power- ful civilization in the north, and a sudden impetus imparted to the recent history of Kokan, owing to its last Khan having dexterously availed himself
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Introdnctioii .
of the dissensions long rite among his neighbours, have tended to bring these wandering hordes into a sort of precarious allegiaiu^e to one or other of the contending powers. Russia has made her advance it wonid seem chiefly from the N.E., viz., from the Government of Tomsk, in Siberia. Hence the Greater Horde has been the first to feel the weight of her authority, and, ns we shall pre- sently see, it is upon this side that the Russian outposts have been pushed forward to the very foot of the Kuen-Lun to the north. But a not less severe coercion was meanwhile being exercised by the Kokanians, and hence we find the limits of the Khanat are now said to extend as far north as the Ala-Tau, or Algonski range in South- Western Siberia (Lat. 48* North), in which parallel the River Sary-su, which falls into tlie Teli-Kul Lake, may be said to mark its limits eastwards. From this point the boundary line, at latest accounts, ex- tends to the banks of the Syr-Daria, where the Russians have erected the forti of Perovsky on the right bank, facing the Kokaniau town of Ak- Mesjid already alluded to, which is immediately opposite. Although, however, the Russians have pushed forward thus far, it is simply witli the view of checking the predatory habits of the Kirghiz,
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Limits of the KJtanat of Kokau. 17
who acknowledge the sovereignty of the Khan of Kokan. The actual boundary line lies farther to the East, and includes the entire Western water- shed of the great Lake of Balkash. Erom this point it still continues S.E. to the Lake of Issyk- Kul. Here it encounters the immense cliain of the Thian Shan, which bounds it abruptly along its S.E. frontier, separating it from Dzungaria aiui Chinese Turkestan, after passing which we again £nd our- selves at the table-land of Pamir, which forms a barrier to the South. The Western boundary seems to be rather arbitrary, but it includes a con- siderable sweep of land yet further west than the city of Khojend, (the Cyropolis or Alexandria Ultima of classical writers). The entire length of this extensive territory may be roughly stated at 950 miles by an average breadth of 360, or about 845,000 square miles ; the whole surface being ex- ceedingly momitainous, and forming in part the west buttress of the great central table-land of Asia. The whole legion is intersected by immense streams, all flowing towards the Syr-Daria, the majority of which, however, lose themselves in the numerous extensive lakes which here begin to stud the surface of the country, and possess no visible outlet. Kokan, though rather more to the north
0
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1 8 Introduction,
than Bokhara, is, on the whole, more fertile and of a better soil, but sheep still fonn, as in past ages, the chief wealth of the community. Kokan in- cludes within its boundaries a number of consider- able towns, besides the capital of the same name (a comparatively modem town), Khojend already mentioned, and which still numbers 30,000 in- habitants, Andijan the farmer capital, a little to the Eastward of the present capital, Tashkend w ith a population said to amount to 100,000, and others dating from remote times, but doomed to decay beneath the constant warfare which has so long devastated this region. Of the amount of popula- tion under the sway of the Khan of Kokan, it is quite impossible to give even an approximate esti- mate, owing to the uncertainty that prevails as to the Kirghiz and other armed tribes, but Nazarof reckons the standing militia at no fewer than 50,000 horsemen. This may be an exaggeration, but there is every reason to believe that the dis- trict watered by the Syr-Daria is at least not less thickly popidated than the regions we have already treated of. The time occupied by cara- vans between Kokan and Bokhara is about six weeks. There is but Uttle communication be- tween Kokan and Little Bokhara, the Thian
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Our Limited Acquaintance with Little Bokhara. 1 9
Shan interpasmg an almost insunnduntable obstacle.
. V. Eastern Turkestan, Chinese Turkestan, or Little Bokhara, is, of all this region, that with which we have hitherto had the least acquaintance. Its Northern^ Western, and Southern frontiers are, indeed, tolerably well defined, and as we know that since about the middle of last century, it has nominally belonged to the Chinese Empire, we may assume that its limit Eastward is indefinite, as it will gradually merge in Mongolia, somewhere still farther to the East than the great salme basin of the Lob-nor. The Northern boundary is Dzungaria,' which forms the subject of a separate chapter. The Western is the Khanat of Kokan already described, including the precipitous Eastern front of the table- land of Famir, and it is shut off from Little Thibet and Thibet Proper, to the South and South-East, by the Eastern half of the Hindoo- Koosh, and the Wes- tern chain of the great Kuen-Lun, over which the most frequented pass is that of Kara-Korum, 18604 feet above sea level, connecting Ladak with Yark- end by the headwaters of the Shayok, which, ris- ing in a glacier not far from the pass itself, falls into the Indus after a Westerly course of 320 miles, jost above the town of Iskardo, 35' 10' N. 75' 28' E.
0 2
20
Inti'oducUon,
The entire territory of Little Bokhara, assmuing it to extend as far as the meridian of 90^ thus includ- ing the great Lake of Lob, is sterile in the extreme, but relieved by large and fertile oases — a feature common to the continuation of the desert eastward where it becomes the great Desert of Gobi or Shamo. Of the various oases, the most important and best known are those of Kashgar, Yarkend, and Khotan. Of these the iirst-named lies at thefoot of thesouthem spurs of tbe Thian-Shan range, and consists of a well-watered tract, on the principal river of which, called by the same name, is the city of Kashgar. This was, for many centuries, the seat of an inde- pendent prince ; but, since the rebellion of 1826, has been reduced by the Chinese authorities to a secondary position in the district of Hi, of which Yarkend is the capital, and to which Khotan has also been attached. Kashgar city is in 39** 25' N., and 74 E. (approximative) ; and the river on which it is situated, after a course of 300 miles, unites with that of Yarkend to form the Tarym, which, after a fiuther course of 250 miles, falls into the great Lake of Lob-nor. Both these streams are famous foi" the splendid specimens of jasper and jade-stone which are found in their beds. Yark- end is the capital of the Chinese district of Hi,
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Ph^nced Features of Chinese Turkesttm. 21
and is situate in 38° 10' N. and 76° 30' E. on a river (already mentioned) of the same name.. It is walled, but with extensive suburbs, and has a population variously estimated at from 40,000 to 200,000. It has belonged to China since 1757, and is governed by Mahometan and Chinese officials alternately. The environs are highly cultivated, producing wheat, barley, rice, firoits, and silk, and there is extensive pasturage. Yarkend is known to the Chinese by the name of Ja-lo-Kiang. — ^Khotan lies to the Eastward of Yarkend, and lies in an oasis said by the Chinese to be about 1000 li. or 350 m. in circumference, immediately to the North of the Kara-Korum Pass. It is watered by a great number of streams, almost all of which flow into the Lob-nor. It contains the six cities of Ehotan, Yurun-Khash, Kara-Khash, Djira, Keria, and Tak- hubin, each of which is governed by a Hakim, whose united votes constitute what is called the Council of Khotau. It is painful to see the discrepancies into which even the most renowned geographers liave fallen as to the true site of this town, which has been variously stated as on any meridian be- tween 75 E. and 84 D. According to the most reliable authorities, the city is situate in 37° N. and 80° 35' E., a position which veiy nearly corresponds
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22 Introduction,
witli the site assigned to it as immediately to
the N.E. of the Kara-Korum Pass. It is the Ih-tchi or Ho-taen of the Chinese, and is supposed to con- tain about 50,000 inhabitants. It was originally a Hindoo colony, supposed to have been founded about the second century; but the magnificent Buddhist Temples and Monasteries were all destroyed by the Mahometan conquerors. The northern portion of Little Bokhara, under the shadow, as it were, of the Ala-Tagh, is the district of Aksu, one of the most fertile of the provinces into which the Chinese have subdivided their acquisitions here after the revolt of 1820. The products are various, consisting chiefly of lentils, wheat, barley, millet, apricots, grapes, and melons, and cotton is also said to grow here of fair quality. The capital, of the same name, is situate in lat. 4r 9' N., 78° 40' E., and, according to Tim- kowski, is the seat of a Chinese ambassador or viceroy. The population of the town is estimated by Moorcroft at about 25,000, and of the entire district at 130,000. The natives of the district are renowned for their taste in dressing hides and manufacturing cotton goods, and it is stated that there are mines of copper and one of rubies in the mmediate neighbourhood.
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CHAPTER IL
Abridged Narraixoe of a Jbwmey to Khwa, mth
Historical Particulars relating fa the KJianat inmng the GwemmenJt of Setd-Mohanmed Khan, 1856-1860, bi/ E. KuJdewein.
The Mission for Central Asia, organized in 1858 by the Russian Govemment, underlie immediate superintendence of General Ignatief, left Orenburg on the 27th of May of that year, and crossing the rivers Ilek and £mba» passed thiongh the Oren- burg Steppe and along the Western shore of the Sea of Aral to Aibugir Lake. At Cape Urga* it was determined to cross in nalive boats, as the previously selected route, via Kuhna-Urgendj, was fomid to be inconvenient in many lespects. From Gape Uiga to Aibugir settlement, stretches
* 43^ 40' N., 58*" 10' E. (appnaimatiTO.)
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24
IVavek in Central Jsia,
the South-Eastern Tchink* of the Ust-Urt, which
visibly diminishes in elevatiou as it retires from the Sea of Aral, and in so doing loses its former wild aspect, although it continues to preserve for a Ion distance its rocky and precipitous characteristics. *
Near Cape Urga the Mission was met by four deputies from the Khan of Khiva. These were the Karakalpak Prince Istleu, the Kirghiz Bey Az- bergen, Murad Bek, and a son of the Governor of Kungrad. These envoys accompanied us to our camp, which was situated near Aibugir Lake, and close to a four-cornered pyramidal tower, erected by Prince Bekovitch in 17I7.t
The passage over Aibugir Lake took three days, owing to the insufficient number of boats, and the tedious transhipment of the he; \ y 1)aggage of the Mission. Aibugir Lake is about eighty miles long
* L'Oust-Ourt est un plateau qui n'a nulle part plus de six cmts pieds de hautenr an-dessos du niveau des iners qu'il s^pue. Cette haute plaine se tcrmine en se dessinant circulairement par un
rivage escarp^> et, tout bouleversc', que Ics Kirgliiz, nonimeut Chink, au bas du quel s'lHend, en decliuant, la plaine basse. (Lcsvchine, "De- scription des Kirghiz-Kaizaks Paris, Imprimerie Jioyal^ p. 15
Edition, IS 10.)
f Prince Bekovitch was despatched by Peter the Great on a mis- sion to Khiva in 1717, in ilu; course of which he was massacred, with all his suite, in the lowu of Porsu, OG miles to the Nortli-VVcst of Khiva.
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l^amage iff Aihugw Lake.
25
by twenty in breadth at the part where w'e crossed it. Its chief affluent is the Laudan, a branch of. the Amu-Daria (Oxus). ' The greatest depth in the lake occurs in the Bay of Ak-Cheganak, which is hemmed in by the sterile and precipitous rocks of the Ust-Urt Chink. The banks are overgrown with canes, which cover nearly the whole surface of the lake. The water is brackish, with a' miiddy bottom.
■ On the KMvan shore we were met by the above- mentioned deputies and a guard of honour, which
was to accompany the Mission as far as Kungrad. On the following day the deputies were accorded a formal reception by the head of the Russian Mis- sion, in a tent specially arranged for the occasion. This audience, however, only lasted half an hour, and the conversation was exclusively confined to ceremonious compliments.
On the 11th July, the Mission, still escorted by Khivans, started for Kungrad. Cidtivated patches and small villages bordered this part of the road, and the whole face of the country was intersected by canals, used almost exclusively for irrigating the fields. Nearly the whole of the settled population of the Khanat of Khiva is concentrated on the left bank of the Amu-Daria. Each owner of the soil
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26
lapels in Cenfyral Ana,
marks off his allotraent with earthen walls, every such enclosing., geoeiailj containing cornfields, gardens, cattle, and sometimes a little fectoiy ; the owner is called a Beg or Hodja. : About half-wa^ to Kungrad we were met by a Custom-House official, who was the bearer of the usual salutations from the Khan, and announced that he had been sent to inquire of what the . bag- gage consisted ; a rumour had evidently reached Khiva of the embassy being provided with cannon. It having been explained to him that the baggage of a Mission is never liable to search, he requested to be furnished at least with a list of our effects. Satisfied with an inventory of oar heaviest things, he took his departure, after being gratified by a small present. The other Khivan officials also took leave of us here, not omitting to make repeated inquiries during the day respecting the health of the head of the Mission. We encamped for the night near the garden of the Kirghiz Bey, Azbergen, where a repast consisting of mutton, bread, and firoit had been prepared for us.
On the 12th July we found ourselves approach- ing Kungrad In a smaU wood within half a mile of the town, all the membiBrs of the Mission put on their uuiibrms, with the view of making an impos-
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Eidnf into ike City of Kangrad, 27
ing entrance. As we advanced towards the town, tiie crowd gradually iDcreaaed* and greeted us with mcetsaiit shouts of *\Vr4»! Vr4»l**
After traversing the narrow streets of Kungrad, we stopped at the gates of the Khan's palace, where we were received by Divan Baba, an official specially appointed to accompany the Mission to Khiva. In this palace apartments were icillotted for each member of the Embassy. A tent, in which le&eshments had been prepared, was erected in an interior coart. The Yesawul Bashi,* governor of the town, did not make his appearance till the even- ing. He was evidently alarmed at our arrival, and did all he could to induce us to hurry our depar- ture. The motive for this churlish behaviour was dear. He had received orders from the Khan to provide at his own expense for all the wants of the Mission during it» stay at Kungrad.
The town of Kungrad extends along the left side of the Khan canal and the river Amu-Daria. Be- tween the right bank of the canal and the river runs a broad earthen wall, about three miles in length, and at a short distance off, between it and
* Chief Master of the Ceremoniea. Yesawul, a Turkish word* means a guard or armed attendant at a court. It has been adopted • mto Russia, and is there used to denote a major of Cossacks.
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28 TraoeU in Central Asia.
the river, is a second wall, both extremities of which abut on the river, thus forming, with the river bank, an oblong square. These two walls' constituted at one time the foi-tifications of Kun- grad, which town, so late as the beginning of this century, was independent of Khiva, and governed by its own Uzbek princes. During the reign of Mohammed-Rahim-Khan, in 1814, the whole town and neighbourhood fell under the sway of the Khans of Khiva. The most remarkable building in Eungrad is the palace of the Khan, which was occupied by us during our stay.
On the following day the whole Mission started
in seven boats up the Aimi-Daria, each l)()at being towed by four or live Khivans. Our pro- gress was tedious, rarely exceeding ten miles a day. In order to avoid falling in with Turkmen, and sometimes- to shorten the journey, our boats were hauled through canals and branches of the liver, which had at this season overflowed its banks. These inundations occur twice a year, &om May to June, and again from July to August, a sure indi- cation that the sources of the river must lie among the snowy chains of Balkh or Affghanistan. The etlect of these inundations upon the canals is various ; some are choked with sand, while others
Dep^tatiofiH ht/ the Turkmen, 29
are cleaned and deepened by the pressure of the water.
The transport of goods by water is preferable throughout this region to their conveyance by land, not alone on account of the far lower cost, but also because the camel-drivers refuse to follow the course of the river, owing to the swarms of gnats, gad-flies, and other insects, which greatly harass, and even prove fatal occasionally to their cattle, as also to the damp, unwholesome air which induces ague. Almoet all the villages and towns were in a deplorable condition, presenting ample evidence of the devastations of the Turk- men. In the ruined " aiils " or camps of the Karakalpaks, we only found old people and infants ; the whole of the adult population had been carried away to Khiva, and across the Persian frontier, to be sold as slaves. The towns of Kipchak on the left bank of the Amu-Daria, and Hodjeil, had met with a similar fate. At a distance of twenty miles from the ruins of the ancient town of Giyaiir, and not far from the banks of the river, stands the town of Yany-Urgendj, or New Urgendj, which, aflter Khiva, is the chief commercial etdrepdt, Russian merchandise is taken direct to Khiva, but all pm'chases of native produce are made at Ur-
30
Travels in CetUred Atia.
gendj. All industrial pursuits, moreover, are cen- tred here. Gtmpowder is manufactured in the vicinity of the town, but in no great quantities. The principal seat of production of this article is Hasaiasp, a little further up the nv0r, S.S. from Urgendj. The Khan had sent Darga, a Khivan dignitary, to Yany-Urgendj with a small suite to receive us. He was a venerable old man, and stood apparently high in the favoiu* of the Khan, as his Cashmere khalat,'' or robe of dignity, and jewelled dagger, testified. In his suite were several dancers and musicians.
On the 28th of July we turned out of the Amu- Daria into the Shavat Canal, on emerging from which we passed through the Kazavat and Falvan* Ata Canals, and finally reached the capital by the Ingrik and Chardgeli branches of the two former. The Mission took up its quarteis outside the town, in the gardens of Gumgnmdan, which the Khan had assigned it. Having no horses, we could not present ourselves before the Khan, and therefore deferred onr audience until the 9th of August, On the day of our arrival, at five o'clock, we were visited by the Shawul Bek,* chamberlain to the
* In Bokhara, the Slick-Kawaul is the title of the functionary, a sort of diplomatic chamberlain, charged with the reception and ac* eommodBtion o( foreign Miaaicnis.
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Tedious PoMa^e hy Water to Kkwa, 31
court, who, in the name of the Khan, invited the head of the Mission, to the palace. Leaving a
guard at the door of the embassy, we started for
DlXOA, Ora OV XBB XnraRBBB Off TBI KEAV Off KKITA.
the town. At the gates was drawn up the Khivan infantry, while the body-guard was marshalled in front of the palace. We entered the latter by the
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32
Traneh in Central Asia
lofty principal portals, leaving our escort outside We were first received by the Mehter, one of the chief Ministers of. the Khan. It must here be observed that all the officers of state have apart- ments in the Khan's palace, where they assemble every day to receive his instructions. A\ e re- mained about a quarter of an hour in the Mehter s chamber, whence we were summoned mto the Khan's presence. We found him seated on an elevated divan, with a dagger and pistol lying before him, while behind him floated his state banner. Three ministers, the Kush-Begi, Mehtei", and Divan-Begi, stood in front, and the Chamberlain at the door. The Imperial rescript, which the Secretary of the Mission bore on a red cushion, was now delivered by the head of the Mission to the Mehter, who, in his turn, placed it in the hands of the Khan. Having untied the gold cord and taken it out of the case, he examined the seal for some time, and then placed the packet beside him without open- ing it!
Seid-Mohammed Khan, son of the former Khan
Mohammed-Rahim, and brother of the better known Allah-KuH, was elected in 1856, when he was thirty year.s old. He succeeded Kutlu-Murad, nephew of Mohammed- Amin, who was killed in 1555 at Saraks,
IkiMed State of the Comtry, 33
near Merv.* The Turkmen and Karakalpaks, dis- satisfied with Kutlu-Murad, re^ctively chose for their Khans the former, Ata-Murad, and the latter, Jarlyk-Tura.
Intimidated by this energetic form of protest, Entlu-Murad exhorted his people to rise against the Turkmen, who, on their part, perceiving the weakness of the Khan, determined to take advantage of it, and under the leadership of Niaz Mohammed Bai, advanced to Khiva. Niaz fiai, having gained admittance to the Palace under pretence of paying liomagc to the Khan, murdered him and his seven ministers. This led to an indiscriminate carnage in the unfortunate town ; the inhabitants fell on the Turkmen, of whom very few made their escape. Niaz Bai was there and then seised and executed.
After a short interregnum, Seid-Mohammed was elected Khan. His first act was to punish the re- bellious Turkmen and Karakalpaks. A detachment of his troops routed a body of the rebels who were on their way fxom Kuhna-Urgendj to dispute his
* Merv is a decayed town, situated in an oasis of the same name, about 300 miles S.E. of Khiva. It was once the capital of the Sfljuks, and is supposed to occupy the site of Antiochia Morgiaiia, fouuiU d by Alexander the Great. Since 1786, when it was sacked by the Uzbeks, it has gradually dwindled, till its present pupulalioiLdoQB not exceed 3000.
D
34
Travels in Central Asia,
succession . On this occasion J arlik , the Khan chosen by the Karakalpaks in 1855, was killed, and a por- tion of that tribe became subject to Bokhara. These dynastic disputes, and the constant wars aris- ing therefrom, produced a famine, which greatly in- creased the price of all commodities ; bread, in par- ticular, rising to an immoderate figure. During the summer of 1857, Khiva was visited by an epidemic, aggravated if not induced by the famine, and the consequent prostration of strength of the popu- lation. It was remarked during the prevalence of this pestilence that the rate of mortality was particu- larly high among children, li^om a description of the symptoms of this disorder, it must have been the true Asiatic cholera.
Since the year 1856, Khiva has been on friendly terms with Bokhara. Seid-Mohammed had suc- ceeded in establishing his power so securely, that external aggression and intestine strife were for a time snspended. Thus considering himself firmly established on the throne, he despatched an embassy to Russia in the summer of 1857, conveying an in- timation of his succession to the Khanat, his con- dolence on the death of the Emperor ^Nicholas, and congratulating His Majesty the Emperor Alexander the Second on his accession to the throne. The head
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Eecent Histortf of Khiva,
35
of this mission was iazyl Hodja, Sheikh-ul-lslain of the Khanat.
During the stay of the Russian mission at Khiva the town enjoyed tranquillity, and the Turkmen tribes, the Yamuds» Igdyrs and others refrained from making depredations; but immediately the mission left, which was on the 12th September, the Kungrad Uzbeks and the Karakalpaks joining in league with the Turkmen KJian, Ata-Murad, assassi- nated their ruler, Kutlu-Murad, with many of his party. He was succeeded by Mohammed-Fanaa, nephew of Tfira-Sufi, during whose rule Kungrad became, in 1S14, subject to £lhiva. Mohammed* Panaa styled himself Khan of the Khaiesm, and struck coins bearing his name.
After the lapse of another year the disturbances ceased ; Mohammed-Panaa was killed, and Kungrad again recognized the authority of the.Khau of Khiva, Seid-Mohammed.
In 1858 Seid-Mohanmied had three legitimate sons, of whom the eldest, Babadjan, was 13 years old; he also adopted the son of hi^ predecessor, Kutlu-Murad, killed in the palace by the Turkmen. The Emir of Bokhara proposed to marry his daugh- ter to this boy, possibly with the view of exercising an indirect influence over the aflairs of Khiva by
D 2
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86
Traveb in Cefitral Asia,
means of such a connection. The Khan was ahnost entirely under the influence of his eldest brother, Seid-Mahmnd, a man of great mental powers and vast wealth, whose advice he often sought, his own intellect being often obscured by immoderate indul- gence in opium.
The following are the highest functionaries in Khiva : — ^The Mehter or Chief Treasurer, who col- lectsthepoU-tax in the southern half of the Khanate; he likewise occasionally commands the troops, and, during the absence of the Khan, is charged with the conduct of the government. The second in authority is the Kush-Begi, who receives the poll- tax for the northern divbion of the Khanat, recruits the army, and superintends the excavation of canals. In 1858 the Kush-Begi, a fierce Uzbek, succeeded in defaming and supplanting the Mehter, whose functions he himself performed during the stay of the Mission. The Divan-Begi is the collector of Customs and Excise dues, and head of the Mint. The high judge and spiritual chief, Kazy,* is re- sponsible for all religious matters. The Darga has charge of the Khan's palace, and the Yesawid
* la all probability ike same as the Arabic cadi. Whidi is the elder lnn?uaf^e, or nmy it uot have been introduced with the spread of Mohammedanisini' — [£i>.]
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High Officers of the Khan of Khwa, 37
£ashi is tke military commander-in-chief. Besides ibese, wlio aro all, as already mentioned, attached
to the person of the Kliaii, there are numerous Mehiems or Courtiers, who wear a knife, a gift of
80V OF IBS KSAH OV KSOTA.
the Khan, which entitles them to iree access to the Court. '
It may not be superfluous to draw attention to
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38 Travels in Central Jma,
the conditioD of the Khanat itself, under the rule
«
of Seid-Mohammed.
Limits of the Khanat. — If we are to consider, under the name of the Khanat of Khiva, the culti- vated extent of land stretching along both sides of the lower course of the Amu-Daria, its confines may be fixed at the southern shore of Lake Aral at the Kizyl-Kum Steppe and Sbeikh-Djeli Hills on the East, tlie great Turkmen Steppe on tlie South, and the level plain of the Ust-Urt on the West.
The pretensions, however, of the Khan of Khiva, extend considerably beyond these limits. He maintains that the boundaries of Khiva are the rivers Emha and Yany-Daria, falling into the Sea of Aral, on the North ; aline extending to Kukertli settlement, lat. 40** N., on the Amu-Daria, on the East ; and on the South from Kukertli to the town of Merv, and thence to the Bay of Balkansk on the East shore of the Caspian.
Assuming the former as the actual limits of Khiva, this territory does not contain more than 40,000 square miles.
The population of the Khanat consists of a number of tribes of separate origin, which have not as yet blended into one people. Their number is difficult to determine, as no census has ever been taken.
TribeB inhabiting the Khanat of Khiva. d9
The principal tribes are : the barts, the aborigi- nal inhabitants, who fonn the great majority of the settled population.* Previous to Iltezer Khan, who, in the end of the last century, was the first to assume that title, the Sarts suffered much from the oppression of the Uzbeks ; but, since the subjec- tion of all the Uzbek " Inaks or petty rulers of towns, by Iltezer Khan, the Sarts have been ad- mitted to the highest offices of state, from which the Uzbeks were gradually excluded. With the exception of the post of Kush-Begi, all the most honourable positions are occupied by Sarts, who have now become the predominant class among the population. They live principally in the towns, and, in addition to agriculture, are engaged in trade, industrial pursuits, and breeding silk-worms. The Sarts are still di>tinguishable from the Uzbeks by their type of countenance.
The Uzbeks, the whilom conquering race, who are scattered throughout the whole Khauat, live on farms, and occupy themselves with agriculture, gardening and fishing. They now form, both numerically and poUtically, the secondaiy class of the population. The most unruly sept of this tribe,
•
* The Sorts an Pmians In kuguage and sect ; Ssrt in Kfamn l)eiiig eqiuTslent to Taj in Boikltarian.
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40
lyaifeb in CetUrtd Asia.
the Uigurs, were exterminated by the Khans for their constant revolts. To the north of the Sea of Aral, the Uzbeks are called Aral-Uzbeks, insular or ^Vrasto-Arals, as the whole portion of the region to the north of the Laudan, an arm of the Amu- Daria, is really an island. The Arals are engaged in cattle -farniing principally, as also in hshing. The Knngrad tribe, from which the Khan has sprung, is considorcd the chief one. Tlio luiniber of Uzbeks and Sails together is reckoned at 400,000.
The Karakalpaks, numbering 15,000 settlers on the lo^^ cr course of the Amu-Dariu, near the Aral Sea, lead a partially nomadic life. They are burdened with taxes heavier than those imposed on any of the otlier tribes, the result being to completely impoverish them.
The Kirghizes, under Khivan jurisdiction, are estimated at about 10,000 ; they roam m the North-Eastem portion of the Khanat, more espe- cially in the vicinity of Lake Dau-Kara.
The Turkmen have lor ages been under the dominion of the Khiva Khans. Their type and language are purely Turkish, and many of them have seceded from the Khivans, and are now governed by their own elders; while those still subject to Khiva are engaged in constant wrangles
Turkmen Imurrections.
41
with the Khivans, all arising in the election of a Khan. The Turkmen were desirous to have a Khan of their own tribe, to which the Khivans were opposed ; this resulted in the murder of three Khans
A TuBoiAN, 0& TujicoHAir.
by the Turkmen, within a short space of time. The Khan of their choice, Ata-Murad, usually resides at Kuhna Urgendj. The Turkmen are
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42 Tra&ek in Centred Asia,
employed in agriculture, but chiefly in tlie breed- ing of horses. Turkmen Argamaks, or steeds intended for complimentary gifts, are famous throughout Central Asia. The women mauuiiac- tnie carpets, which in texture and durability are not inferior to the Persian.
The Kyzyl-Bash, (better known to English readers under the familiar spellmg of Kuzzilbash), or Persian prisoners, in slavery, live on tlu^ estates of their masters. The lamshido, or Turk tribe, have returned to their native country in virtue of an agreement between Dost Mabommed and Rahim-Kuli. They were improperly called Attghans.
A small colony of Jews, numbering about ten families, who have immigrated from Bokhara, earn
a precarious livelihood by dyeing, and distilling brandy chiefly for their own consumption. There are no Arabs in Khiva.
The Khan of Khiva coins his own money, of which gold, silv^, and copper pieces are in circu- lation. The gold coins, or tiliis, are of two de- nominations: large ducats, worth about twelve shillings, and half-ducats of six shillings. The silver coins are : the tenga, equal to about seven- pence, and the shahi, worth threepence. The
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Metallic Cwtreney of Khiva.
43
pul, or karapul, is a copper coin. The value of money seldom varies, and daring our stay, forty- eight puis formed one tenga. The mint in the town of Khiva was founded, according to Moura-
Babba^, OA aoLDiiift Off Khiva.
vief, by Rahim Khan. In otiicial documents, as also on the coins of Khiva, the. ancient name of
Kharcsm is retained.
44
IVatek in Ceniral Ada,
In Khiva there is a body of about 1,000 infantry, and about 20»000 cavahy, who are commanded by a hundred Mm-Bashis.
Jn time of war the troops receive four times their ordinary pay. Their artillery is in a deplor- able condition. Even of the eight or ten pieces of cannon standing in fifont of the Khan's Palace, some are mounted on carriages, and some not.
The revenue of the Government has materially fallen off. This is partly to be attributed to the migration of the Kirghizes, the secession of the Turkmen, and a general decline of trade — the Customs dues forming at one time a considerable item of revenue. The Mehter has charge of the treasury, and in case of a d6ficien<r|r, the Khan borrows of the merchants.
The Russian goods usually found within the bazaars, are Russia-leather (Yufta), iron, cast and wrought, steel, copper sheets, needles, and cloth of inferior quaUty ; the English wares brought from Persia are cottons and muslins. Barter- trade is not known, all goods being paid for in ready money.
Land in the Khanat of Khiva is held by families and tribes from time iumiemorial ; that which is not claimed by any one, is given away by the
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Aatronomkd Pontum of Khwa, 46
Khan in the form of rewards. Cultivation is attended with great expense and trouble. The land first requires irrigation, after which it must be covered with clay and black soil, before it can be made productive. The Khan often farms out his grounds, receiving a third of their produce. Industrial and manufiBcturing pursuits are carried on in the towns, and especially at Yany-Urgendj. A detailed account of the capital is to be found in the works of Danilevski and Basiniere, who sojourned at Khiva in 1841. The town since their visit has undergone but little change.
Durmg the stay of the Mission, the position of the town was determined astronomically by Capt. Mojaiskiy whose observations were checked by M. Stmve. It is as follows : —
4r 22' 40- North latitude,
60° 2 57' longitude East of Greenwich.
CHAPTER Hi
General Fiew of Dzun^aria^ bj/ Capi. Falikhanof,
A V£iL of mystery has hitherto hung over Central Asia, — a region pregnant with interest to mankind. Notwithstanding its proximity to the outlying possessions of two great European powers — ^£ng* land and Russia, — ^the greater portion of this country still remains in many respects inaccessible to Europeans. The learned Russian Geographer, Semenof, in the second volume of his translation of Carl Ritter's ** Erdkunde von Asien/* arrives at the conclusion that Central Asia has not been explored to a greater extent than the interior of A&ica. Indeed the coasting and contradic- tory data existing in our geographical literature with regard to Central Asia, render this region, if
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Ibrhm (kfrnUHon of Central Asia. 47
not altogether a terra incoptita at all events a
difficult scientific puzzle, while at the same time our knowledge of the Central Asiatic races is very confused and incomplete.
Ceutrai Asia, in its ])resent stage of social organ- ization, presents a truly nummful spectacle ; her present stage of development being, so to speak, a sort of pathological crisis. The whole country, without exaggeration, is nothing but one vast waste, intersected here and there by abandoned aqueducts, canals and wells. The desolate sandy plains, dotted occasionally with ruins and overgrown with ugly prickly shrubs and tamarisks, is wandered over by herds of wild asses, and hardly less shy and timid saigaks. In the midst of this Sahara, along the * banks of the rivers occur several small oases, shaded by the poplar, ehn, and mulberry ; while nothing intervenes to break the monotony of the scene, save here and there badly cultivated rice- fields and plantations of cotton, diversified by occa- sional vine-yards and orchards, abandoned by the lazy and improvident population to the care of Allah. In the centre of these oases, and con- structed above the numerous remains of ancient cities, long since mouldering beneath the soil, stand the miserable mud hovels of a wild and bar-
48
IVaveh in Central Ana,
barons race, demoralized by Islamisni, and reduced almost to idiocy by the political and religious despotiBm of their native rulers on the one hand, and the arbitrary exactions of the Chinese police on the other.
Ignorance and poverty reign supreme in Mavero-
Innahar, the modern Bokhara, Khiva and Kokan, which formed the richest and most enlightened region of the East in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The libraries of Samarkand, Tashkend Ferganah (in the Khanat of Kokan), Khiva and Bokhara, -with the observatory at Samarkand, have irrecoverably perished mider the merciless hand of Tartar vandalism, which consigned to perdition all knowledge save that of a rehgious character. Even the monuments of a bygone era of enlightenment and culture, have fallen victims to the fanatical zeal of the Mullahs, who regarded them in the light of Towers of Babel, or as sinfiil rivahries between mankind and the creative spirit of Allah. The minarets, schools, tombs of Mahometan saints, and the Munar tower, from which criminals were precipitated, have alone survived tlie general ruin.
Central Asiatic rulers of the present day no longer indite verses and memoirs, nor do they compile astronomical tables as their ancestors did. These
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Brutal Afuu9meni8 of the Eulers, 49 '
pursuits are superseded hy solemn daily [)rocessions to the mosque, where they hold pious communion with the Mullahs; and, letuming home, pass the remainder of the day in the grossest and most grovelling sensuality. Another favourite method of killing time is afforded them at the public arena, where they may witness the spectacle of two infuriated rams, specially trained for the pur- pose, buttmg at each other. Here they linger tOl one of the combatants is disposed of with a frac- tured skull, at which exciting crisis of the enter- tainment, and in the thirst for blood it exciteS'* they administer to their generals forty blows on the back and a similar quantum on the belly.
The other portion of Central Asia — Little Bok- hara— ^is in a condition hardly less pitiable. Here we find, notwithstanding the prevalence of Islamism, religious toleration, independence of the female sex, . and no small devebpment of municipal institutions, a country impoverished and desolated under the yoke of Chinese censorship and military mandarinism. Barbarism, despotism and decay prevail throughout the land. It is natural, theiefore, that under such a state of civilization, or rather in the total absence of it, the attempts of Russia and England to become better acquainted with their coy ncighbouis, should
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50
Traoeh in Ceutral Asia,
have been attended with so little success biAerto»
and occasionally with such mournful results.
In the latter part of 1859, accompanying a caravan in the ^lise of a Kokan merchant, I suc- ceeded in reaching Kashgar, which, since the visit of the celebrated Marco Polo, in 1 272, and that of. the Jesuit Goez, in 1603, had only been i-eached by two Europeans — one a German, an officer in the E»>t India Company's service, whose name is now unknown, and who has left an extremely interesting itinerary and description of his journey ;* the other
* In a paper on the Pamir and upper course of the Oxvis, read last year before the Eussiau Geographical Society, bj M. Yeuiokhof,
he saj s : —
**The chaos of our geographical knowledge relating to the Pamir table-land and the Bolor was so great, that the celebrated geogra- pher Zlmmennan, working under the saperintendenoe of Bitter, was able to produce onlj a very ccmfiiaed and utterly ineomprehensible map of this r^on. The connecting link was wanting; it was necessary that some one should carry out the plan conceived by the Russian Governnieut in the beginning of this century, by visiting and describing tlic country. Fortunately, suoli an additional source of information lias been found — nay, even two, which uiutmilly cor- roborate and amplify each other, although they have nothing further in common between them. "I here allude to the 'Travels through Upper Asia, from Kash- . gar, Tashbalyk, Bolor, Badakahaa, Vakhan, Kokan, Turkestan, to the Kiiffhia Steppe, and back to Cashmere, through Samarkand and Ysrkeud/ and to tin Cliinese Itinerary, translated by Klaprotli, in 1821, leading from Kashgar to Yarkend, Northern India, Dairim, Yabtuar, Radakshan, Bolor, Vakhan and Kokan, as far as the Kara- tau mountains. The enumeration alone of these places must, I should imagine, excite the irresistible curiosity of ail v^ito liave made
Si^erifi^s, §'c. of Buropean Ttaodlerd. 61
the learned and much-lamented Adolphe Schlagint- weit. The fonner was beaten so unmeicifully with bamboos at Kashgar, that he oonld not 'sit his horse for two days after ; the latter had his head struck off and placed on the apex of a pyra* mid formed of human skulls — a ciistom which, it should seem, distinguishes the Bokharians equally with their not more savage brethren on the coasts of Africa.
Chinese Kashgar is one of the district towns in the province of Nan-lu (southern countiy), and
may be said to have enjoyed, ever since the days
the geography of Asia their study. These fre^ sources of iuforma- tion are truly of the highest importance. As regards the * Travels,* it is to be inferred from the preface, and from certain observations in the narrative, that the author was a German, an agent of the East India Company ; despatched in the begijiuing of this, or at the latter part of the last century, to purchase horses for the British army. The original aooouit forms a msgnificent maniiaosipt work« in the Gennsn laogosge, aooompauied hy forty sketches of the eonntiy tmrersed. The text has also .been tmudated into Prench in a separate manuscript, and the Baps worked into one itinerary in an admurable style. The Christian name of Ihis traveller — Greorge ]judwig Von — appears over the preface ; but the surname has been erased. Klaproth's Itinerary is so far valuable as the physical de- tails are extremely circumstantial ; almost every mountain is laid down, and care taken to indicate whether it is wooded or snow- capped, while equal care is taken to show whether the inhabitants are nomads or a stationary people. Rains, bridges, and Tillages are also intelligibly designated, so that, althongh the same sosle is not pre- served throughout, its Talne, Inddity, and minnteness an not there- by deteriorated."
s2
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62
TVaods in Cenkid JHa»
of the Ptolemies, parent repute for raravaiis, parti- cularly through its extensive tea-trade. Kashgar standB in the same relation to Central Asia that Kiaklita does to Siberia, and Shanghai and Canton to other European nations. This town, moreover, is famed in the East for the glowing charms of its " chaukens," — young women, with whom the tra- veller may readily form an ■ alliance for a oertaiq number of years, or for the period of his stay, be it longer or shorter. It also enjoys great celebrity for its musicians, dancers, and janissary hashish."* Owing to these attractions, Kashgar is the resort of Asiatic merchants from all parts of the continent. Here can he met the Thibetan with the Persian, the Hindoo with the Volga Tartar, Afghans, Ar- menians, Jews, Gipseys, and runaway Siberian Cossacks.
Of late, the town has obtained a notoriety of a different character. Here human beings have
been daily slaughtered like barn-door fowls, the skulls of the victims being disposed in regular layers till they formed towers. In the words of a popular song, " It is difficult to keep a horse in Kashgar when hay is twelve jtula the bundle — still
* Hashi^ — an eitraot made from Camiabit uUka, which has at onee atupef jing and exdting properties.
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O^ressions of the Chinese.
53
more difficult is it to keep the head on one's shonlden.'' - The HodjavS, descendants of the former Kashgar rulers, in whose favour several sanguinaij insurrections had latterly taken place, do not vent their fury so much on the Chinese, as OQ their own subjects the Kashgarians. One, for instance, is put to death for having served the Chinese Government, another for yawTiing in the presence of his ruler, or on similar trivial pretexts. The Chinese, when they succeed in expelling the Hodjas, notwithstanding their niiUtary inefficiency, inaugurate their triumphs by fleecing the people, destroying their cornfields, seizing the women and desecrating the mosques and tomb. They then hold a g^eral flogging tribunal, whose operations are conducted with great ceremony and refined cruelty.
When I arrived at Kashgar, I found the Chinese
reposing after the infliction of these multifarious tortures. The road leading to the gates of the town was bordered on both sides by a succession of small wicker cages, in which were displayed the heacb of the natives who had suffered execution. The town, however, was relapsing into a quiet state. The native authorities, newly established by the Chinese, were riding about in the full dignity
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54
Traceh in Central Ami.
of mandarin caps, and castigating the pedestrians who were not snfficiently alert in making way for them. Intercourse Avas resumed with Kokan ; the Kokanian Consul had been residing more than a month in the town» and the Bokharinn and Kokanian caravans were rapidly filling the empty carayan- serais. The arrival of our party created a great sen- sation. Before we reached the town the Kirghizes had spread a rumour of the advance of a Russian caravan, consisting of 500 camels, while in truth it only ninnl)cred sixty. They had also declared that it was transporting boxes of destructive projectiles, and gave the name of "board of iron" to the leader, in consequence of his possessing an iron bedstead ; to this they added that he was a Rus- sian, and of suspicious character. The Asiatic is the most gullible of human beings — there is no alwurdity that he will not swallow, and the more extravagant the rumour, the blinder is his ciedulity. The Chinese form no exception in this respect to their Semitic brethren of Central Asia, as it proved in our case. Luckily the Kokan Consul knew the leader of our caravan, and also some of the mer- chants composing it, but it was owing to this cir- cumstance alone that we were permitted to enter the town.
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Ejsploratiom of M. Semenof. 55
I shall not dwell on the closs-exaininatioiEis, an- noyances, and trials, to which the caravan was sub- jected on the part of the Chinese Government and local authorities, but shall confine mjself to a rela- tion of my travds and stay among the Dikoka- menni horde.
TheNorthem slope of the Thian-Shanhas recently been explored from the Russian side, but M. Se- menof, a ^Fellow of the Imperial Russian Geogra- phical Society, succeeded in penetrating only as far as the sources of the River Narym, one of the affluents of the Jaxartes, or Syr-Daria. I crossed the Thian-Shan range in two directions, and ex- amined the neighbourhood of Kashgar and Jen- giskehr, or Yany-shahr, to the sandy ridge stretch- ing between the latter town and Yarkend. Political disturbances in Kokan, terminating in the expulsion of the former Khan, and spreading to Elashgar, prevented me from visiting Yarkend, the largest and most populous town in Chinese Turkestan.
My travels may be divided into two periods. The first embraces my route through Dzungaria, that is, the Semiretsk (Seven rivers), and Trans-Ili regions, and so to Lake Issyk-kul. The physical aspect of these localities is already well known from the excellent surveys made by the officers of
56 Traveh in Central Asia.
the Siberian Staff, and they iiave been scientificallj -explored by MM. Schienk, Vlangali, Semenof, and Golubef. The information, however, furnished by •these travellers has been limited to the physical geography of the region, without touching at all ou its ethnography. My first visit to Dzungaria was in 1856, and I took part in the first expedition organized by Colonel Khomentovski to Lake Issyk- kul, passing subsequently three months in Kuldja. My travels in Dzungaria occupied in all five months, during which time I succeeded in travers- ing tins region throughout its whob breadth and length, from Ala-kul to the Thian-Shan.
I shall only dwell here on what has been omitted or not noticed by travellers who preceded me, giv- ing a short account of the Dzungarian fauna, and of the anticpiities and inhabitants of the country. The flora of Dzungaria is more or less \ known, Alexander Schrenk having devoted much time to its study, and produced a geueral accoiut of the vegetation of this country, in an interesting article inscrlcd iii Heliners(jn and Baehr's " Beitrage zur Kenntniss des Kussischen Eeiches/' for 1840.
Mr. Semenof has also directed attention to the ve- getation of the Thian-Shan, and has, I beUeve, a very rich herbarium collected on that range. Dr.
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Fauna and Mora of Dzungarid, 67
Tatannof compiled a list of plants identified by
him when travelUiig with M. Kovalevski to Kuldja, and which appeared in M. Ylangali's work. With regard, however, to the fama of Dzungaria, not a single article has, so far as I know, been published.
Lakes Ala-kul and Balkhash formed, most pro- bably at no distant period, one common water basin. Even at the present time, during the spring inun- dati(ms, Ala-kul lake, according to the testunony of the Kirghizes, communicates indirectly with that of Balkhash by a marshy, saline belt of land. This belt forms, in Mr. Semenofs opinion, the na- tural boundary of the Kirghiz Steppe, beyond which Central Asia commences, together with a new soil and new fiora and fmna.
As far as I can perceive, Dzungaria is not ilistinguished by any marked peculiarity of vegeta- tion. The flora of the plains is the same as that in the Southern portions of the Kirghiz Steppe, while that of the mountains resembles, with a few •exceptions, the flora of the Altai.
Zoologically, however, certain differences are perceptible.
With regard to the distribution of animals, Dzungaria may be divided into three ssones, A^ine, Sub-Alpini, and that of the plains-
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58
Travelit ia Central Asia.
In tlie moimtaiii zone of the Dzungarian Ala*taa,
and of the Thiaii-shan, are to be found mammals indigenous to the mountainous parts of Southern Siberia, and of the Kirghiz Steppe ; such as the stag {Cervus elaphus), horned goat {Ibed- Sibericus)^ arkaz, or mountain sheep (otTW ar^olt), the wolf, foxes bhusk and red, the white-breasted martin, &c. &c. Besides these, a reddish-brown wolf is spoken of, very much resembling a dog, and called by the Kirghizes " chi-buri." Of birds of prey the commonest species is the vulture {Gypadtm barbahta, vultur /ulvus, vultur meleapm), and sometimes the golden eagle {Jq/nla c/in/mefos), the falcon {Falco perejfriuus, and Falco Subbuteo or Hobby), the hawk (Jstur); but the ger-falcon {Falco caudicauis) is never seen here, nor did I come across any nocturnal birds of prey ; in con* firmation of which I may mention that the Kirghizes assert that they are rarely met with. Of the ^aUinaeea order, the grey grouse ^closely resem- bling the tetrao cmecasieies), the partridge (Perdruf sOiValilis), and the rail are found in the moimtains.
In the Sub- Alpine zone we meet with the tiger, panther, wild-boar, antelope, Djeiran {Antilope gyttaroaay Pall:) porcupine, pheasant, {FAasianus Colchicus), bustard {oUa tarda), turtle-dove.
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Ornitholoyii of Dzangaria, 59
iS^jhrnba anas vd turtur). All these ore met with also in the zone of the plain. The woods of the Sub-Alpine zone abound with singing birds, (Faaserini). The foUowing are some of the varieties
I noticed : — Corvus dauricns ; Coracim (/arnda, L. ; Merops persica, Pallas (probably the Corvus Fanderi of Fish) ; Tiehadrama muralia, L. ; Sitta Uralensisj Hirundo Alpestria ; Mir undo La^o^oda; Parus Siderums; Pania clonus ; Frin^piSa orientaliaj Fr. aretus ; Turdus Sibeneus ; Turdus fuseatuB ; Fyrrhda rhodochlamys ; F. pmilla; P. Sibcrica; Mnderiea ruaUea; E, Fitfyomus; M brundcepss Coccofhranstes speculifferus ; Accentor Altaicus ; A, atrqgularis; A. montmeUus; Cinchia leuco- paster. Waterfowl are very scarce both in the mountain and desert zones.
The wide tracts of sand> which extend between Balkash and the mountain zone, are merely con- tinuations of the arenaceous Kirghiz plains of Khararkush and Xhan-tau, and present no cha^ racteristic features. They are dotted with the same saline patches which are called Kaks " in the Kirghiz Steppe; but nevertheless the " Kidans " and '* Saigaks,"* which fill the barren
* Soi^ dArre Sanvage (qae Paillas appelle eemu pygari/us^ et M. Evennum, oMiytoh Sm^). Les tronpeanx de oes aninuHix,
60
Traveh in Central Ama,
waste and sands on the. river Chu, never pass to the eastward of the meridian of It-Kechu. Some
years ago a cold season forced these animals to migrate to the Trans-Ui region, and seek pasturage high up in the Hi valley ; but with the spring, they returned to their native plains. It would, therefore, appear that Dzungaria is the natural boundary, separating the central-Asiatic " Kulan " from the ** Djigitai " of the Mongolian Gobi, and the limit of distribution of the Saigak — ^the antelope of the depressed wastes — as also of the " Djeiran " of the mountain table-lands. The natives have long since observed this. The Kirghizes relate that the
Bont anguli^rement nombrcux dans Ics Steppes ; on •ompte quel- qoefois,' dit-on, jusqu'u dix mille tetes dans un seul troupeau. . . . Le musraii dc la Siu't^a resscnible aun oicjnon ; Scsiiarines sont larf^cs; son it-gard u'cst pas toujuui s pnr,vu qu'il sc forme quclqucfois des tales sur Ics yeux ; mais elle a I'odurat le plus fin, aussi sent-cUe de loiurapprocbe d'une bStefaaveoa celle de riiomnie. Elle n'estguere plus lunite de taille que la dAvn domestiqae ; mais son pdl est donx, court et ordinairement jaime fono^. Ses oornes somt petites ei roides, ses jambes minces et s^hes ; la rapidity de sa ooiine est finte pour ^tonner. Cest par ccttc faculte et par ses bauts bonds ronmivel^s coup-sur-coup, qu'clle ('chappo a ses ennemis. Au reste il est fort aise, si on la prt-nd jeunc, de labicn apprivoiser. De touts les herbages dont elle sc uourrit, elle prefere rabsinthe blanche et les algucs marines. La chair eu est succulente, niais quclqucfois on trouve des vers dans son epine. Ces Ters,ircxccs des chaleurs en ete et les inaectes qui attaquent en foule l%t^ar de ses naseauz, scmt cause qu'aux mois de juin et de jnillet elle aouffire, et ne Ht plus que dans un €tait cPinqni^tude visible. . . . Levsehine sur ks Kixghis Kasaks. Page 76.
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EsBtirpatim of a whale race of Deer. 61
traces of deep pits, which are to be found along the base of the Dzimgarian-Alatau, are those of excavations made by Khan Djani-Bek for destroying the Kulans/' A herd of these animals, it is said, enticed among them, a horse, mounted by a young son of the Khan, which resulted in the death of the boy. The Khan, exasperated by the loss, had a trench dug from Tarbagati to Bi, into which all the Dzungarian '* Kulans " were driven ; a male and female alone escaped beyond Balkash, and left a warning to their posterity against entering the country that had proved so fatal to their species.
Russian Dzungaria, as at present constituted, has exercised quite a classical influence in the historical fate of the Central -Asiatic races. Abul Ghazi says that Abuldjor Khan, son of Japhet, founder of the Turk tribes, roamed along the rivers Talus and Chu, and in the vicinity of Lake Issyk-kul. Erom Chinese sources, we know that all the tribes who migrated from the High Gobi, were detained and settled down in these parts, until they were expeUed by stronger races. Russian Dzungaria presents, in reahty, every convenience for a nomad life. The upper mountain valleys served as cool camping grounds during the sultry summer, while the cattle grazed at ease on the hch pasture, uu-
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62 Traoek in Central Ada,
molested by the gad-fly. On the approach of autumu, the wandenng population descended to the lower ravines, where they gathered their com ; while in the winter they sheltered themselves in the caverns of the hver banks, or among the hollows of the sandy hillocks of the Balkash steppe. Fuel was likewise found in abundance, the aakmiil of the plains yielding a constant supply.
Notwithstanding the |)revalence of nomad habits among the population, Dzungaria always possessed a certain proportion of settled inhabitants. The first historical record of this mode of life, occurs in Chinese works, relating in pai ticuiar to the town of Chigu, which, it must be presumed, was situated on the eastern . shore of Lake Issvk-kul, and was built by Chinese workmen for the Kimmi of Ussun. In the Middle Ages a settled mode of life prevailed to a great extent in these regions, particularly along the Hi valley. The towns of Almalyk (now a Turkestan village), Khanaka and Eainak (which still exist), and Almaty (where Fort Vemoe now stands), were renowned for the extent of their trade, and were chief stations on the hip^h road traversed by the Genoese traders proceeding to China, as well as by the Kipchak ambassadors on their propitiatory missions to the great Khan.
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FropagaiwiL and Sigcfpresnou of CkrisHamty, 63
It is, moreover, worthy of special notice that many Nestorian and mouophysitic congregations formerly existed in this part of Asia, and that Syrian Jacobians, according to the evidence afforded by the Catalan map, had a monastery, containing the relics of St. Matthias, in the vicinity of Lake Issyk-kul. Christianity, indeed, was so widely diffused here, that it experienced some persecution ; bnt bv the sixteenth century there were several Mussulman settlements at Issyk-kul. These facts strongly interested me ; but, unfortunately, I was not able to make any further researches, as the Kirghizes had demolished the last of the buildings that had, up to that period, escaped destruction, mistaking them for Lama temples.
A Chinese, who visited Lake Issyk-kul in 1820i told me that he had seen in those parts a large idol carved out of a block of stone, for my own part, I did not stumble on any traces of antiquities of this description, though I fomid evidences of the sedentary pursuits of a portion, at least, of the population nearly throughout the whole of Russian Dzungaria, and was enabled to collect some traditions current among the people, confirm- atory of these evidences. T likewise obtained some gold coii\s and ornaments, which were turned up
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64 IVaoda in Central Asia,
amoii^ the ruins of the ancient town of Almalyk. Some remains of " Chud " speai^s, which I found in the heart of Central Asia, led to the inference that mining was not in those ages exclusively practised hy the Jblimish race.
Among the different races that inhabited Central Asia during the Han dynasty, Chinese records mention six tribes, which were distmguished by blue eyes and reddish hair, and whom Elaproth, in his "Tableaux Historiques de L'Asie," and Abel Remusat, in his "Recherches sur les Langues Tartares," classed as tribes of Hindo-Gothic ex- traction. To these, among others, belonged the Hakasis, or modem Kirghizes, who excited the astonishment of the Chinese by their strange types of feu^, resembUng horses more than anything else.
At the present tune, Dzungaria is inhabited by two peoples, viz : Buruts, or Kirghizes Proper, and Xirghiz-Kaisaks of the Great Horde^ known mider the collective appellation of Uisuns. Among these there is a tribe called the lied Uisuns, who assert themselves to be the remnants of a great and powerful nation.
The Buruts and Uisuns, it is to be observed, must not be confounded, as they are two distinct races. The celebrated Asiatic travellers, Meyen-
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Ethnology of Central Asiatic Races. 66
dorf and Pcre Hyacinthe, strove hard, in their day, to establish this fiict ; but up to the present time no attention has been paid to the distinction. Even Yon Humboldt and Bitter erred on this sub- ject. They imagined that the Bnmts formed the great Kaisak Horde, and that this horde shouUl be distinguished from the Little and Middle Hordes. This, however, was a grave mistake on the part of those revered seers of science. The Great, Middle, and Little Kirghiz - Kaisak hordes form one ** Cossack " family, distinct from that branch of the Kiighizes, ealled Buruts by the Chinese, and Dikokamenni by the Russians. These two family groups differ in language, extraction, and customs.
From the form of the skull, and the type of the
features, the Central Asiatic races may be divided into Persians, Mongols, and Turks. The Persians are again subdivided into the mountain " Galcha," and Tadjiks of the plains, both of which must be classed with the Caucasian race. The Tadjiks have daik complexions and hair, while fedr people are met with among the " Galdui."
The Kalmyks may be taken as representatives of the Mongolian tjrpe in Central Asia ; they have
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66
Tmveh in Central Ava.
dark hair, olive complexions, oblique eyes, fiat fisoBS, high cheek-bones, thin lips and fiat noses.
The remaining races, such as the Mongolo-Turk, and those of Turko-Finnish extraction, present a strange admixture of types and shades of com- plexion. One remarks among them fair men, with the Mongolian angle of face, and oblique eyes, with a regular Roman nose, (jeiierally speaking, how- ever, in the physical appearance of these tribes, there is observable a mixture of the Caucasian race with the Mongolian.
The second period of my journey finds me in the upper course of the Narym river, the chief affluent of the Syr-Daria, which formed the limit of M. Semenof 's travels in this meridian. Before me lay stretched a real terra incognita, the mysteries of which had never hitherto been explored by civi- lized travellers.
Notwithstanding the great risk, I constantly kept a tolerably full diary during my travels, especially whilst staying at Kashgar. The friendly footing on which I stood with the natives, the learned, and the officials, and the frequent excur- sions T made in the neighbourhood, enabled me to form an accurate estimate of this remarkable region. Through my acquaintance with merchants of dif-
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Uigur Lauguage unknown in Europe. 67
feront tribes and from variotts ooimtries, I procured a (Collection of itineraries with statistical, ethno- graphical and commerciai notes relating to the neighbouring countries. Mixing, moreover, con« tinually with merchants, and Uviiig in the caravanserai, I became accurately acquainted with the commerce of Central Asia, the articles forming the caravan trade, and in particular with the com- modities most in demand at Kashgar.
The information collected during my journey consists firstly, of my own personal observations; . secondly, of oral narratives by individuals on whose trustworthiness I can confidently rely; and lastly, of written accounts received from merchants and officials, and of extracts from local official documents and books.
The UiguT (sometimes called Ugrian) language* as spoken at Kashgar, is altogether unknown to European savant, who are only acquainted with the written tongue which resembles theDjagatai. Akind of official dialect has sprung into existence in Little Bokhara, owing to the prevalence of Chinese forms.
The history of little Bokhara is scantily known. We are more or less ac(juainted with it up to the time of Timur Beg or Tamerlane from Chinese re- cords, and subsequent to that period from Mussul-
V 2
G8
Travels in Centra/ Asia.
man sources, which, howefver, glance but cursorily
at it.
The excellent history of this reign, written in the middle of the sixteenth century by Mirza Muham- med Haidar Kurekan, vizier of Abdul Rashid, Khan of Kashgar, and called " Tarikhi Rashidi" in his honour, remains almost entirely unknown, and is certainly never consulted at the present time. A Turkish translation of this work is to be found in the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, and an original copy in Persian in the library of the St. Petersburg University. Unfortunately, the trans- lation is incomplete, and the University copy abounds with mistakes, having evidently been transcribed by a person ignorant of the Persian language. The " Tarikhi Rashidi ' is divided into two parts« the first containmg a histoiy of the Kashgar Khans, from the time of Tomuk Temir to the reign of Rashid, a.d. 1554. The second par- takes of. the character of a series of memoirs, in which the author describes his personal adventures, and communicates much useful geographical and ethnographical information respecting the Bolor, Thibetan, Thian-Shan, and Kuen-Lun ranges. The writer was a scion of the celebrated Duglat family, which played the same part in the "Mogul-
Docummlarif Mistorj/ of Kash^ar, 69
Ulus" or Tchete/'* as the Mairea du Falaia in
the households of the Merovingian dynasty in the eighth and ninth centuries.
It has been already mentioned that the history written by Ilaidar terininates with the year 1554, and that it is the only historical work relating to this coantry known in Europe, where, however, it is known only by name.
. I was fortunate 'enough while at Kashgar, to
obtain possession of a manuscript called the " Tiaz- kirai Hodjaghian/' which is, a. history of the Hodja dynasty.f This remarkable composition terminates with the capture . of Yuikend by the Chinese in 1758. Tlus history of the Hodjas thus forms a continuation of the Tarikhi Rashidi.
The following are some of the more notable books I procured at Kashgar :—
1 . Tazkiarai - Sultan - Sultuk - Bugra - Khan - Gazy," Biography of Khan, Sultan Bugra
♦"Mogul TJlus" or "Tchete" was the eastern diyision of the
Djagatai country ; its Khans camped during the summer in Dzungaria, and resided at Aksu, Kashgar or Yarkend in the winter. The Tohete Moguls arc not to be confounded with the Mongols^ as thejr were Mussuimcii and spoke Turkish.
f The Hodjas are the deaoendants of Mahomet; thi^ foim aa heveditaiy priesthood, and are mneh reverenced.
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70
Travels in Centred Ada.
of the Hek Dvnastv, who first embraced Islamism, and introduced it iu Kashgar.
2. " Tazkirai-'rugluk-Timur-Khan/' Bio* graph V of Tugluk Timur Khan of the Djagatai Dynasty, who was the first of the " Mogul-UluB " Khans to embrace Islamism.
3. " Rishakhat,'* or Information respecting the Asiatic Law Teachers and Saints.
4. " Abn Muslim Murazi,'* a heroic novel, re- markable on arconnt of the many local his- torical traditions which are introduced in it.
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CHAPTER IV.
Sketeken of TJraioek in Dzunparia, by CapL
Falikhanqf,
4
My travels in L)z angaria commenced on the 28th of May; 1856, when I joined a trading caravan whica was then encamped in the settlement of Karamul, at a distance of twenty miles from the town of Kopal. This caravan had come from Semipalatinsk, and belonged to Kokan and Bokhara merchants. It consisted of eight travelling tents, one hundred camels, sixty-five horses, thirty-four attendants, and merchandise to the value of £8,000. 1 was known to the party by the name of Alimbai, and passed for a relative <^ the caravan-Bashi, the worthy Mussabai.
We did not, however, set out till, the following
day. The weather was tine, and favoured our jour-
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72
Travels in CenM Asia,
ney, the first part of which lay along the picket
road to the out-post of Altyn-Ernel, through the beautiful valleys nestling among the lower spurs of the Ala - Tail. After traversing a distance of seventeen miles daily, the caravan usually came to a halt in the cool of the evening, and pitched its tents under the shade of a high poplar or silver- leavedwild olive (Djigda),on thebrink of some brawl- ing rivulet. A lively party formed at each halting- place round the blazing fire, while the Bokharians smoked their kalian, and beguiled the time by re- citing passages from Hatiz.
The Kirghizes, encamped in the vicinity, would likewise make their appearance with sheep, which thev oflbred for sale, wliilc their more distinguished chiefs approached with the view of receiving a " bazarlyk," or present. They would approach the caravan with great ceremony, accompanied by a numerous suite, making the inquiry, Who is the richest ?" On this, each owner of a tent, in his turn, usually treated the dignitaries of the horde to tea, biscuits, and dried fruit, which the Kirg- hizes stowed away about their persons, and, after soliciting a present, would speedily vidthdraw. The caravan was once honoured with the presence of the Sultan Djungazy, ruler of the Djalair tribe, and
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Fudt jfrofii the SuUan, 73
his adlatus or resident, who is attached to his per- son in the capacity of Mentor by the Russian authorities, on account of the Sultan's imbecility. Djungazy surprised us by the eccentricity of his conduct. He entered the tent, used by the Kirg- hizes only on extreme official occasions, with the gait of a fat goose, took the seat of honour, and assumed , an expression of profound meditati(Xi, everybody obser\qng the strictest silence. Then, suddenly lifting his head, and casting a penetrat- ing ghmce around, he exclaimed in rhyme, « The Djalairs have many sheep, Djangazy has many thoughts." He had spi^en, and again resumed his Buddhistic immobility. In the meantime, the Sultan's adlatm and other Kirghizes opened a con- versation with us. They described all the parti- culars relating to the Govemor-Generars visit to Ji'ort Vernoe, repeated the words he addressed to the Kirghiz people, and imitated the gestures with which he accompanied them. They entreated us to instruct them as to their legal duties and their legal rights, saying, Our. bullocks and horses are taken for picket-labour, and rarely returned ; the Cossacks know the laws, and persecute and rob us with impunity. We cannot resist them by force, as the Cossacks, are servants of the Tsar, and. for
74 Travels in CeMirai Mia.
any complaint against tbem we should be sent off to the perforated mountains (mines.) A great stir was once made about three of them, who disappeared mysteriously ; two officials lived a whole winter in Karatai, calling on us to confess to the murder of the Cossacks. God forbid that we should ! We never saw them. Even now the Governor says, * Find me the guilty ones, or I will twist you all into the shape of a goat's horn. 1/ says he, * am thunder and lightning.'" The Sultan, meanwhile, rolled his eyes about in a curious manner, giving occasional utterance to rhymes in couplets. After partaking of the customary pilaff, our guests retired, leaving a strange scent of almonds behind them.
Crossing the Ala-tau by the Djaksy Altyn-Emel Pass, which is swept in autumn by strong north- easterly winds, called locally " ebe," similar to those prevalent on the shore of Lake Ala-Kul, the caravan entered upon a bare siliceous tract, inter- sected by a valley, from the ridge of which the lii was occasionaUy visible in the distance. We pro- ceeded in the direction of the ferry, kept by Kirg- hizes, over this river, and passed the night at a spring in a valley of the Kalkan hills, which hter- ally swarmed virith snakes, tarantulae, scorpions, and other reptiles for a long time after I could not
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Ftmage of ike Biver Jli. 75
shake off the recollection of that horrible resting- place. We passed a sleepless night, and resumed our journey at break of day.
The jcaravBJi was two days crossing the river Ili on crazy flat-bottomed boats. The wretched, rotten craft was towed across by horses, actually swimming, and, of course, exercising but httle power over the movements of the boat ; while the bargemen were busily employed baling out the water with pails 1 After celebrating the safe transit of the Hi under such disadvantages, the caravan, • cleaimg the Suguty, Taraigir, and Utch-Merke passes, reached the Kar-kara Valley, having made altogether seventeen forced luaiclies. Here we found some Kirghizes of the Aitbuzum tribe, and dispersed ourselves among their aiils " for barter; but we found the Kirghizes in a state of great agi- tation. Prior to our arrival a sanguinary struggle had occiirred on the banks of the Kar-kara, be- tween the branches of the Kisyl-Burk and Aitbuzum tribes. They were expecting the appearance of a Russian official who had been sent to investigate the affair by demand of the Kisyl-Burk party, and were contemplating a hasty migration in case of an adverse decision. And so it happened. On the 4th of August the
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76
Travek in Central Ada,
Kirghizes began to decamp in a hurry, and towards evening not one of them remained on the shores of the Kegen, our own tents alone rearing their heads on the site of the deserted Kirghiz camp. Our position was an awkward one. The caravan-Bashi, and some of om* more experienced men, considered that the DOO sheep we had received in barter from the Kirghizes were insufficient, and they, therefore, determined to proceed to the Dikokamenni horde, whose encampment we reached accordingly on the 6th August. We were met by the chief of the Sabneke sept, Manap-Karatch, sumamed the Big, * who was well-disposed towards the Russian Govern- ment, and yearned for the rank of Yesawul of Cossacks. He well merited the epithet (or title, whichever he might consider it), of the Big,'' be- cause, without exaggeration, he was as fat as a bullock. Kiiratch wore a peaked hat of white felt, with the brim sUt in two places over the forehead and at the back of his head, besides a wadded " Khalat,'' or long robe of striped cotton material, ornamented with three green silk cords over the breast. His feet were cased in clumsily-shaped boots of red leather, with large wooden heels. His son was arrayed in a similar manner, only his khalat was of a more brilhant colour, while the
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Coatime of a Kirghiz Spearman, 7 7
eollar and sleeves were faced with velvet. The
suite was nothing but a ragged regiment of attend- ants, amed with cudgels and spears. I particu- larly noticed the costume of one red-haired spear-
A KiBOKIE.
man, which consisted simply of his nether integu- ments and a felt mantle; while another, regardless
of the hot weather, wore a heavy sheep-skin coat and fur head-piece. The Kirghizes spoke with
•78 Travtk in Central Asia,
great rapidity and shrillness, and continually filled their months with snuff.
The valley of the Upper Kegen lies very high, and presents excellent pasturages, but the shores of the stream are swampy, forming, in some places, hUlocky morasses, called " Saz ; " the three con- tiguous highland valleys of Kegen, Tekes, and Kar- kara are the only localities in the whole of Dzun- garia which have a rich black loam, with luxuriant vegetation.
The " Kibitkas," or tents, of the ninth division of Kahnyks were spread over the great *' Saz." These Kalmyks had previously been en- camped in the vicinity of a Chinese mine, now abandoned. We next erected our tents on the banks of the Chalkiuier. During the night there was a fall of snow, which the wind whirled round and drove in clouds in eveiy direction, just as in the depth of winter ; the weather, too, was extremely cold, and the snow-drift continuing for two days, completely cut off, for the time being, all communi- cation with the Kirghizes. On the third day the heads of the Kii^hiz tribes arrived at the camping- ground of the caravan, and took us with them to their several auls. I and my companion, Mam- razyk, fell to the share of the aiil of Bai-Bursuk,
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Interior of a Kirghiz Dwelling. 79
chief of the small Kydyk tribe. On gaining the aiil we proceeded to pay a visit to our host, by whom we were received with all due ceremony, and assisted off our horses at the door ; of the tent, which we were invited to enter. The tent was in a sadly dilapidated state, and begrimed with smoke. Bursuk occupied the seat of honour by the hearth, facing the door- way ; his wife and two daughters, with several Kirghiz women, were seated on ca]( skins to the right of the entrance. Nearer to the door were placed cauldrons, pails, bowls, platters and other domestic utensils. On the left was a Kirghiz occupied in cobbling boots of red leather ; and on the floor were strewed chips, fragments of felt, wool, and gnawed bones. We were seated on a piece of fancifully-stitched felt, which is the ordinary apology for a carpet among the Kirghizes. Our host was extremely civil, though he frequently cursed the tombs of our fathers, apparently only from force of habit. The amiability of his wife would have been equally expressive, had her articu- lation not been impeded by the snuff that clogged her gums. Bursuk ordered some " kumis " for us, on which our gentle hostess pulled out a small, but well-filled skin of this refreshing beverage, care- fully wrapped up in an old khalat, and produced
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80
Traveh in Central Aaia.
some wooden bowls. These, she and her daughters carefiiUj cleansed of the adhering la3rers of im- purity with their fingers, which they afterwards sacked with nnmistakeable relish. Bursuk's children, nine in luimbcr, liatided us the kiiinis, and I drank it with the best grace I could. All this was by no means new to me. In 1856 I had been entertained in the tent of the high " manap," and wealthiest Kirghiz, Burambai. On that occa- sion, although we squatted on the- carpet, and our host on a Bokharian blanket, his wil\' reposed, as the lady did here, on a calf-skin. We drank kumis out of porcelain cups ; but the salt tea, in default of another vessel, was boiled in a cast-iron washing- basin, and the general equipment of his establish- ment was the same in all essentials as that of Bursuk^
Uncleanliness is, in short, elevated into a virtue by the Kirghizes, and hallowed by tradition. They consider it as great a sin to wash their domestic utensils as to spit on the fire, or stej) over the tether of their mares when being milked To purify their bowls is to invoke misfortune, and scare away abundance. The men are not in the habit of changing their linen, but continue to wear it until it falls off their bodies. The hunting for
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mUy mUh of the KirgUze^^ Feast. 81
vermin on each other's persons affords them agree- able pastime for their leisure houis^ without vhich they would be at a sad loss for amusement, the ladies, especially, shewing a great predilection ior this savoury occupation. The ritual of Kirghiz mourn- ing is very simple, and consists of total abstinence from ablution or diange of raiment for a whole year.
The hospitality of the Burut Patriarch was further displayed in the slaughter of a lamb for onr entertainment. This was done in our pre- sence, totally regardless of the poor animal's bleatings, after which a £re was kindled, the tripod adjusted, and the cauldron placed over it in due order. The apathetic countenances of the Kir- ghizes became at once animated ; the members of the family bustled around the fire with augmented zeal, so much so as to hinder each other in the cnfinaiy operations of the hour, and finally quar- relled among themselves. Hungry dogs with savage keenly-whetted appetites, licked and snuffed at the ground where the lamb had been killed, while troops of Kirghizes, in expectation of a mouthfid, gradually filled the tent, and a native artist, accom- panying himself on a "balalaika," sang a monotonous ditty, consisting of the constantly recurring word " dait, dait." At last the cauldron
o
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82 I^aoek in Central Ada,
was talcen off the fire and a large platter placed
before us witli mutton Leaped into a pile, the whole surmounted by the os sacrum as the most esteemed morsel. We ate the meat dipping it into the salt
broth.
Early on the following day Bursuk appeared to
breakfast with us ; he came again to dinner and to tea in the evening, while our supper was also graced by his presence. This he. did regularly each suceeding day. His children followed his ex- ample, and his relatives exhibited such greediness * that we were obliged to hide everything eatable from tliciii ; one of these gluttons had already de- voured all my sealing-wax! Apparently the entertainment of Bursuk and his family was considered by the party most interested a bouuden duty on our part. The only food of the Kirghizes consists of milk and fallen cattle. Before this occa- .sion the Kadyks, we remarked, had never had the pleasure of entertaining a caravan among their auls. This was apparent i'rom the behaviour of Bursuk, who since our arrival, had assumed an air of great importance. " May the mouth of your father be defiled !" would he exclaim to those he wished to impress with his dignity, "I have Sartas (merchants,) living with me," &c. &c. We
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Habits and Cifsioms of the Kirghizes. 83
were likewise visited by matrons and maidens, who brought us boiled mutton and "kumis" or ** airan" in pails, with cheese and butter. In return for
A Kittoiiiz fiiRr-.
this we were obliged, according to IochI custom, to give them presents. My companion, quite a man of the world and a dovotod atlmirer of the fair sex,
84
Travels in Central Asia.
was delighted at this opportunity for playing the amiable. He treated them to dried £rait, made them presents of cotton dresses, plush, fowls, &c., and paid them extravagant compliments, which, however, they could not appreciate.
Sometimes of an evening the daughter of our host organized little parties in my companion's tent. On such occasions yoimg men, women, and girls collected there, the men sitting on one side and the women on the other. The games would then commence. One of the girls rising coquettishly from her seat, would choose the swain who found most favour in .her eyes, by a wave of her kerchief. . The lucky youth was thereupon obliged to perform some dexterous feat or sing a song. If his per- formance were creditable, his partner would reward him with a hearty kiss ; while on the other hand remissness was punished by a severe beating. Singing was generally preferred to physical exer- cises, though probably not for aesthetical reasons. " The process is as follows : the singer sits on one knee and sings in an unnatural tone of voice, his lay being usually of an amorous character. The production of the first note costs the Kirghiz great efforts : his eyes become bloodshot, and his nos- trils dilate, and a few hollow sounds escape at first .
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' jPrimiwe BdoHons hetween the Shaite9, 85
until he pitches the proper key. Central Asiatic wits compare the singing of tlie Kirghizes, and the first introductory notes, to the bray of a donkey. On finishing his song, the performer gets up and places himself back to back with his partner, then skilfully twisting their necks round they salute each other. The relation between the sexes, among the Kirghizes, is altogether on a very primitive footing ; mothers, fathers, and brothers regard any breach of morahty with great leniency, and husbands even encourage their friends to close intimacy with their wives. My caravan friends did not I believe neglect this custom, particularly as the Buruts had many attractive women among them. Like the Kirghizes, the Buruts are strangers to jealousy, a feeling so common to the Asiatic. The reason of this is that Islamite notions of chastity have not yet spread among this people. The Buruts call themselves Mussulmen, and yet do not know who Mahomet was. Their weddings and funerals are conducted after Shaman fashion, but if they can secure the services of a schdarly Central Asiatic or Tartar, prayers arc read. I can safely assert that throughout the whole country, from Issyk-Kul to Badakhshan, there is not a suigle individual of this tribe who can read.
86 IVavels in Central Asia,
The Kirghizes drink a spirit which they distil from Kumis, aud with which they intoxicate themselves on every available occasion. The con- dition of the Russian Kirghizes, or those of the Middle Horde, was the same thirty years ago. The Russian Government, however, proceeded to erect mosques and appointed Tartar Mullahs, under whose influence the Middle Horde Kirghizes do not now yield in fanaticism to the most fa- natical Dervishes. They rep^nlarly observe the period of prayer and thirty days* fast, while some have even introduced the seclnsive system of the harem. It would be difficult to decide which would be more beneficial to the Kirghiz Steppe, the former state of ignorance with perfect religious toleration, or contemporary Tartar civilization with its strong anti-progressive tendencies. The Tartars in Russia constitute a totally separate Eastern world, having nothing in common with the interests of Russian nationality. The great Kirghiz Horde is now in a transition state, and the Tart.irs who are scattered throughout it are making their influence felt more and more with each succeeding year.
It must be observed that the farther we remove froni the Tartars the less fanaticism do we find among the Kirghizes, notwithstanding that they
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Predatory Habits of Bursuk. 87
liye here under the influence of Central Asiatic rulers, and in a countiy usually regarded as the very focus of bigotry. The Bokhara Mullahs are, in my opinion, much less to be dreaded than their Tartar brethren.
We passed nearly a month with the Dikoka- menni Horde, roaming with it from place to place, and carrying on a constant barter in' sheep.
Our host did not, as abeady stated, belong to the class of " Manaps " (the Kirghiz aristocracy)^ and therefore took lio pait in the councils of the tribes ; he was, furthermore, very poor. Bursuk, however, was aiming at securing the footing of a hereditary chief, and carried on a constant depre- datory warfare, or " Baranta,'' with all the Kirghiz aristocrats, in order to enrich himself. He was obhged, consequently, to choose the most secure and inaccessible positions for his auls, at a distance from the • general camping grounds. During the whole of our sojourn with him, he kept close in the unapproachable ravines of the Muzart mountains, or among the swamps of the Upper Tekes. He did not venture from his retreat even when the other tribes, having pitched their tents in the broad valley of the Kegen, made genml preparations for solemnly celebrating the
B8 l^avek in Central Asia,
nineteenth day after tlie death of the High Manap, Puranibai. My host and his nine sons were .dniing this time engaged in horse steaUng. In 1855, Biirambai, High Maiuip of the Begu tribe, with 10,000 of his followers, took the oath of allegianoe to Russia. In the spring of the follow- ing year, Colonel Khomentovski, with a company of Cossacks, was despatched, by petition of the Kirghizes, for the purpose of becoming better acquainted with them, and for surveying the country they occupied. This first Russian expe- dition Bucceeded in the course of two months in surveying the northern part of Issyk-Kul, and constructed a map, on a scale of two versts, of the locality along its northern shore to the River Aksu, and along the southern, to the River Zauku. Accompanying the expedition, I visited Burambai's aiil, where 1 gathered some remarkable traditions, and drew up a memoir on the Dikokamenni Kirghizes. I subsequently came into contact with iiuiiits of other tribes, Sarabaguishes and Saltus, and during my present journey explored their camping grounds as far as Kasligar.
The origin and history of the Dikokamenni Kirghizes remain matter of dispute to the present day. The majority of mvaust who have directed
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/^DeddaHtm m 1o ike Or^/in of the KirgUzei, 89
their attention to the elaboration of these questions from Chinese and Eastern historical records, are^ however, of opinion that the modem Dikokamenni Buruts are the Kirghizes of the Enisei, deported od the downfall of the Dzunganans in the last cen- tury to new camping grounds, and consider them, on the strength of this, to be identical with the Khakasis of the Tau dynasty, and Kelikidzes of the Yuan dynasty. Rashid Eddin, in his history of the Mongols, classes the Kirghizes with the people of the forests of Southern Siberia, who inhabited the region of Barkhudjin-Tukmn, The appellation of Kem-Kemjut, which he and Albu-Gazi give the Kirghizes, suggests the Eem (Enisei) and the River Xemchuk, as the locality in which they probably then sojourned. On the conquest of Siberia by the Russians, the latter found Kirghizes on the Abakan and Yuz, and maintained an obstinate warfare with them about the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century. Erom that time the name of this people suddenly disappears from Siberian annals. Fischer is of opinion that they were removed by the Khan-Taidsis of Dzungaria, and, relying on mere hearsay, considers their new terri- tory must lie on the frontiers of Thibet and the
90
Travek in Central Asia,
Hindu Cash. M. Levshin, in his work on the Kirgbiz-Kaisaks, remarks that the Swedish ofiicers were the first to note this event in history, and maintains that their migration was the result of a special stipulation on the part of the Russian Goveniment with the Khan-Taidsis. But the Chinese call the Dikokamenni Kirghizes, Buruts, and assert that they migrated to their present encampments from the Kuen-Lun, where they lived under the name of Bulu, or Pulu, during the Tau dynasty. Pere Hyacinthe was the first to dis- tinguish the Kirghizes of Southem Sil)eria from the modern Buruts, assuming the latter to be a Turkish tribe, and calling them Kirghizes, in con- tradistinction from the first. Hitter, in his " Erd- kunde von Asien/' unwarrantably confounds the Dikokamenni Kirghiz Buruts with the Kirghiz- Kaisaks, and takes them all for Kihdsis or Khakasis, migrated from the Enisei, whom, follow- ing Kiaproth and A. Remusat, he classes with the Indo-Germanic family — ^Mahomedanized in conse- quence of an amalgamation of tribes.
With regard to the deportation of the Kirghizes from Russian-Siberia in the seventeenth century, Ritter says that, harassed by their neighbours, they joined their kindred tribe, the Buruts,^ in Eastern
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Traditions among the Kirghizes. 91
Turkestan, aud in the Steppe to the south-east of the Irtysh ; he . consequently, considers the Buruts the original nomads of the country tluy at present occupy.
. Such is the present state of the . inquiry regard* ing the origin of the contemporary Dikokamenni
Kirghizes.
In order, if possible, to throw some additional
hght on the question, I directed niy attention to the study of local popular traditions, aud found that the people known under the name of " Diko- kamenni, Black Kirghizes," call themselves simply Kirghizes, or, as they pronounce it, " Krgyz." The appellation of Buruts, given them by the Kalmyks and Cliinese, is ahogether unknown to them. I also ascertained that the Kirghizes consider the Adjan mountains as the cradle of their race.
The tradition of a migration from Southern Siberia does not exist among them, although there is one to the effect that in their wanderings from South to North, they extended as iiEur as the Black Irtysh, Altai and Hangai, and eastwards to Urum- chi. From this it must be inferred that the Diko- kamenni Kirghizes are identical with the Enisei Akazis or Kirghizes, pronounced Khilikizi by the Chinese. A Chinese writer, contemporary with the
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92 liraods ui Cenird Ana.
Mongols, asserts that Khilikizi, in the language of the natives, signifies forty maidens, from l^rk, forty and Kj^z, maiden or girl. This etymology is also adopted by the preseut Kirghizes in exphmation of their name. I further imagine that the Kirghizes spread themselves eastwards, to the limits of their present territory, at a very remote period, which conjecture is farther borne out by existing popular traditions. Their migrations only ceased when the powerful domination of the Oirats and Dzun- garians sprang into existence. The opinion enter- tained by the learned world, that the deportation of the Kirghizes in the begmning of the eighteenth cen- tury, from the Enisei to the Thian-Shan, was entirely effected by the Dzungarians, and, with the approval of the Russian Government, is not quite consistent with the additional facts I have obtained. In the Tarikhi Bashidi," or History of Kashgar, I found evidence that the Kirghizes (Buruts) so early as the latter part of the fifteenth century, were roaming the moimtains near Adjan, while, during the life of the historian, in a.d. 1520, they wandered as far as Lake Issyk-Kul. In the Archives of the Central Office of the Siberian Kirghizes at Omsk, there is a very curious document or " Act," relating to the Khirgiz migration from Siberia in the summer of
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Original Country of the KirgMzea {contintiedj . 98
1746. In this "Act" it is mentioned that twelve men> with their wives and children, asserting them- selves to be Kirghizes, made their appearance at Ust-Kamenogorsk, and declared that they formerly lived in Siberia between the towns of Tomsk and Eniseisk, opposite the town of Krasnoyarsk in the Steppe, and on the river White Yus, under the sway of Tambyn*Batyr-Datji, also paying a tribute in furs into the treasury of His Imperial Majesty. " fifty years or more ago," said they, " during the life-time of the present Khan, Taishi-Galdan-Gheren, three Kalmyk leaders, named Dunar, Sandyk, and Chinbin, at the head of 500 armed followers, at- tacked us when numbering three thousand ' smokes ' on our camping-grounds, and carried us away with the son of our former Kh'an-Tambyn* Batyr-Datji-Chainish, to the Ziingar territory, ulti- mately driving us to Urga, where we have remained ever since, paying tribute to Galdan-Cheren." These strangers stated, furthermore, that their kindred and other Kirghiz Kalmyks lived in the Sagai Steppe, and were tributary to His Imperial Majesty. In the following year, viz. 1747, two Kirghiz Kalmyks, who were captured after they had succeeded in effecting their escape from Dzun- garia, corroborated the above statement, adding
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94
Travels in Central Asia.
that two leaders, Kharta-ldush and his brother Emgen-Mergen, camped about in the Sagai volost or district. It will appear from this that the Siberian Kirghizes, from their proximity to the Dzmigarians and Uriankhaitsis, had become exten- sively intermingled with the Mongols, and that the Dzmigarians did not carry away the whole tribe, but only to the extent of 3,000 kibitkas or tents. These most probably became thoroughly amal- gamated with the Dzungarians, and might have formed a Kalmyk tribe of Kirghizes, thus leadmg Pere Hyacinthe to suppose that all the Siberian Kirghizes were of Mongolian origin. The question then arises, what became of these Siberian Kir- ghizes, a people powerful enough, during a whole century, to have kept the towns of Siberia in a state of constant alarm by their inroads, and to have struggled with such formidable neighbours as the Dzungarians, and Alt3m Klian of the Uriankhaitsis ? In reply to this, I would siuinise that the oblitera- tion of their name might have been produced by the same cause that has reduced the once powerful territory of the Golden Ivhans, who received tribute fi:!Pin the Kirghizes, to its present insignificance. This formidable State is now known as the duo- tributary State, on account of its paying homage
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Importance of an MUnographie Inquiry. 95
botb to Russia and China. It is, besides, well known that the Siberians give separate names to all non-native tribes, and that the remnants of the Siberian Kirghizes follow their noinad instincts on their old grounds, but under new names.
Mct of Science have long since perceived the importance for Ethnograpliy of a study of such relics of national literature, as most truthfully illustrate national morals, manners, and cus-* toms; Now it so happens that profound regard for antiquity and an abundance of traditions forma • a marked and characteristic heritage of the nomadic races of Central Asia. These tradi- tions are devoutly preserved by the elders of the tribes, either in the form of ancestral reminiscences and genealogical legends, or in ballads which are perpetuated by a special class of bards. Many words and locutions now obsolete, prove their antiquity. The traditional account of Queen Gulmalika having been tlie ancestress of Genghis Khan prevails among all the Tartar tribes. Thierry^ in his Histoire d' Attila et de ses Successeurs," quotes this as a legend of Attila and the Huns. The story of the origin of the Dikokamenni Kirghizes from a red grey hound (kisdn-taizan), and a certain queen with her forty handmaidens^
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96 TVaoela in Cenfral Ana,
is of ancient date. A characteristic feature in
Central Asiatic traditions is the derivation of their origin from some animal. According to the testimony of Chinese history, the Goa-Gui (Kao- tsche), otherwise known as the Tele or Chili people, sprang from a wolf and a beautiful Hun princess. One of the Plun princes had two daughters of such uncommon beauty that he determined not to marry them to any ordinary mortals. Building a high tower in an unin- habited wilderness, he left them in it, exdaiming, "I pray Heaven to take them." The youngest princess falling a prey to ennui, encouraged the attentions of an old wolf, who for a whole year, night and day, prowled around the tower, and at last made his lair at the. foot of it; till the princess, notwithstanding the entreaties of her eldest sister, married the wolf.
The Tugus (called Dulgasses by Pere Hyacinthe), professed to derive their origin from a she-wolf, and the Tufans (Thibetians) from a dog. The Chinese assert that Batachi, hereditary chief of the Mongol Khans, was the son of a blue wolf and white hind, ("Memohres relatifs a T Asie," par Klaproth, p. 204). In like manner some of the red-skinued tribes of North America pretend to be
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Evidence of Genealogical IVadUions, 97
descended from beavers, tortoises, &c. It is evident, these instances, that this kind of tradrtion in Central Asia, and even in America, is the most ancient, and even seems to be regarded as a descent to be proud of; The ont-spoken yet exalted tone of the Kirghiz legends, considered indecent by the present generation of Kirghiz, is a strong proof that they have descended in their original form. The tradition of the origin of the ninety-nine Kipchak branches has been 'preserved among the Uzbeks and Kalsaks in such an indeli- cate shape, that it is doubtful whether it will ever be possible to present it to the general reader. ■ Genealogical traditions form a most important section of their legendary lore. The relation of oiie tribe to another depends on the degree of affinity which exists between the chiefs. The hereditary sujperiority of one branch over the other is determined by the right of primogeniture. Traditions of this nature are in so far impoitant, as they represent the extraction of the people, and the composition of society. It appears from the genealogical tables of the Kaisaks, Usbeks, and Nagais, that they are a medley of different Turkish and Mongol tribes, formed after the decline of the Golden and Djagatai Hordes. The genealogy of
H
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98 Travek in Central Asia,
the Buinfes indicates at tbe same time that the
principal portion of the people is composed of the Turkish " Kirghiz ** tribe, recruited ultimately by two alien sections.
Of these, the tot comprises the Kipchaks, Naimans and Kitais; whose claims to Kirghiz nationality is expressed genealogically by their havmg had one common chief placed over them, who is stated to have been the son of. Kirghiz-Bai. The Tchilik, or second section, thongh claiming a common ancestor in the son of Kirghiz-Bai, is not acknowledged by the other tribes. A third division is composed of the present Kirghizes, divided into two wings. On and Sol. In the pres.ent generation these are spht up mto numerous blanches, each branch being again and again snbdivided.
The third class of tradition is formed of the so-called " tales of olden times," or Djir" of the Nogais. These are in vogne among the Kaisaks, Uzbeks, Nog^s and Kirghizes, it is to be pre- sumed that the Nogais comprehended originally all the nomad tribes of Central Asia, speaking the Tartar .language, who were of Turkish and Mongol extraction. The Nogai traditions relate to the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ^
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Heroic Traditions of the Kir^Ji izea, - 99
they are of an epic cliaractcr, sung in rhyme, and should therefore be classed under the head of OQllo(]iiial literature. These tradi- tions are interesting, as expressions of the tone of the native mind, and of the ideas, enstoms, morals, and mode of life of those primitive ages, while they are equally remarkable in philosophical respects, and are not devoid oi historical interest.
<Among the Kaisaks, Uzbeks, and Nogais, who trace their origin from the Golden and Djagatai Horde, are preserved several poetical fables, founded on the exploits of the horde-heroes, Edigei, Ir-Kokcha, Urak, Chor and others. These are all historical personages : Edigei was one of Tamerlane's generals, and is known in history for his victory over Vitort on the Vorskla ; Urak, a descendant of Edigei, was, according to tradition, a prisoner in Russia, and married a Russian prin- cess, on which point, however, there is no historical evidence ; mention is made of Lr-Kokchain Nicon's Chronicles in 1423, vnth reference to Tsar Kuidadada's attack of the town of Odoev, as follows : They also killed at this time Kokcha, a Tartar hero, of great stature and strength.'* Tchora was a Tartar prince, who relieved Kit^i,
h2
loa.
Trtwds in Central Ada.
and his name occurs in the annals of that town. The manner in which these legends are handed down from age to age proves the tenacity of regard for aiiti(|uity among the nomadic tribes of Asia. It must, however, be borne in mind that these, poetical traditions, from the proximity of the different roaming grounds to each other, and the dialectic affinity, of the tribes occupying them, kre easily adopted by all, which renders it difficult to trace them to their true source. M. Ilodzko, for instance, heard many episodes out of the Idiehi from the Turkmen, who must have borrowed them either from the Kaisaks or Nogais ; in like manner their classical robber, Kor-Oglu, figures in Kaisak rhapsodies. Asia is rich in wandering traditions, legends, and fables. M. Castren, while in Lapland, heard narrated the myths concerning Cyclops, Polyphenuis of the Odyssey, &c., with some national and local adiqptations, current among the Karelians. The same fable is current in the Kirghiz Steppe. Cyclops is there called Alp, a giant ogre, and a Kirghiz giant, Batur-Khan, enacts the part of Ulysses. . The Dikokamenni Kii^hizes possess a lemark- Jible epic, " the Manas," relating to the Nogai period.
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Poem emreni axnong the Kk^hizea. 101
The "Manas" is an encyclopaedical collection of all
the Kirghiz mythological tales aiid traditions, brought down to the present period and grouped round one person — ^the giant Manas. It is a species of Uiad of the Steppe. The Kirghiz mode of life, their morals, geography, religious and medicinal knowledge, as well as their relations with other tribes, all find illustration in this com- pendious epopee. This poem has evidently under^ gone recent modifications and additions, and its concentration into one whole, out' of prosaie " Bjumuks" (tales), may probably be of very modem date. The "Manas" consists of many separate episodes, having the form of a connected relation. Another epos, the Samyatei," sen cs as a continuation of the " Manas," and is the! Burnt Odyssey. The Kirghizes say that three nights ar^ insufficient for the relation of the " Manas," and that as miich time is required for the " Samyatei," but this is in all probability an exaggeration. . I am at. present : engaged in translating . the " Manas," and intend to compile a small dictionaiy, in order to make students of Oriental literature acquainted with a hitherto unknown dialect. The language of the Dikokamenni Kii^hizes is Turkish, resembling more closely than any other that
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102 • TVewela in Central Asia,
spoken in Little Bokhara. In it there are very few, or scarcely any, Arab and Pei*sian wordi>, it being composed pimcipally of Mongolian and primitive
Turk teims.
At this point I would faiu say a few words on the distribution of the Kirghiz race, its principal tribes, and their present political condition.
The Dikokamenni Kirghiz Horde is divided into two wings, as already mentioned : " On and ** Sol," i. e. light and left, corresponduig to tlie Mongolian "fiorongar" and "Dzungar." The right wing consists of two divisions, ** Adgend," and " Tagai." The latter is the largest, and with it must be classed the kindred but hostile tribes of Sara])ag\iish and iiugu, Sultu, Sayak, Clicrik, Clion- baguish and Bassyz — ^numbering eight in alL The Bugus, since 1855, have been subject to Russia, and number eight camps. They follow agriculture on ihe southern shore of Issyk-Kul, and roam in summer about the upper courses of the Kegen and Tekes. The Sarabaguishes, numbering ten tents, wander along the Chu river and eastern part of Issyk-Kul. The Sultu, the most predatory tribe, tbrming fifteen camps, wander on the Talas and Chu,in the vicinity of the Kokanian fort of Pishpek.*
* Tills fort was stormed iii October, 1SG2, by a Russian dciaoh- lueut, uuclcr Colouel Xulpakovski, whea nmc guns aud OOU men were captured.
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DistHbuHm of the DtkokatnemL 103
Th6 Sayaks occupy the upper parts of the Narym andDjungaL; the Clieiiks, the highlands of the Thian-Shan, southof Issyk-Kul ; theChon-bi^ishes skirt the mountains to the North-West of Kashgar. The last two tribes are very poor. The other tribes of the Tagai branch occupy the mountains North of Namangan, in the neighbourhood of Andijan and the upper course of the Djum- gol. The Adgene Kirghizes pursue agriculture in the Ferganah Valley, near the towns of IVIargilan and Osh, and pass the summer among the hills ex- tendiiif^ from Osh to Kokan. These Kirgliizes enjoy the same rights as the Uzbeks ; they serve as soldiers in thd Kokanian anuy, and their chiefe till important civil and military posts. The present Kokan Vizier, Alim-Beg-Dashkha, is a Kirghiz Bey of this tribe, and with his Kirghizes assisted the ruling Khan Mallya to gain possession of Kokan,
The left wing is fonned of three tribes, who frequent the Talas. Their chiefs are related to the Khau of Kokan, who iue, ou the female side, of Kirghiz extraction. The country, peopled by the w^andering camps of the Naimans, Kipchaks and Kitais, tribes which have become incorporated with the Kii^hiz, stretches from Osh along the Pamir plateau to Badakshan, and thence to the Kara- Korum range ; with them rove likewise the
104 IVavek m Central Jsia.
Itchkiliks and some families of the Adjene tribe:
All the Kirghizes in the neighbourhood of the Kasbgar town of Tasb-Balyk, with the exception of the Biigu, who are Russian subjects, although under immediate subjection to China, recogniza the power of the Kban of Kokan, to whom they pay a tribute of one horse out of every hundred. For governing the Kirghizes, the Kokaniaus have in the country they roam over, the forts of Fishpiek, 44° 10' N., 74^ 50 E., M^rke, on the Chu, 44° N., .74° 10' E., Aulie-AtA (the ancient Taraz) on the Talas, 43' 44' N., 72* 86' E., Kurtka and Truz, on the Naryn, 41° 38' N., 76° 54' E., Ketmen-Tupe and Djungale, on the river of that name, 41° 47' N., 74*10' E., and Tash-Kurgan 46° 17' E., 70° E* In the latter part of August, the Kashgar mer- chants, having concluded their afiPairs with .the Horde, made preparations for departure. Our Kirghiz friends advised us to join the Kashgarians, ''.he road, according to their account, being unsafcf for a small caravan. The banks of the Tekes at Utah-Kapkak Pass were fixed on as the place of rendezvous. Here, by the 27th September, were collected sixty tents, or in caravan parlance, sixty fires. While the route to be chosen (there being
. * These latitudes uiid longitudci> it must be distinctly understood are simply apj^roximiitive, as obtained from the most recent Russian
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Serious MkundmUxkMn^ — Affray, 105
several), for proceeding to Kashgar was being dis- cussed by the seniors of the caravan, a circumr 'stance- occurred which quite upset our original plan. A Kokan Yuz-Ba?hi (centurion) despatched from Pishpek to collect tribute from the Buga tribe,* arrived at the caravan with six soldiers, and demanded payment of the customary dues. On being asked what dues, and why they were, de- manded ? the Yuz-Bashi took offence, and forcibly seizing three hundred sheep, drove them up the mountain, where he kept careful guard over them. ' The Kashgar men, accustomed to conflicts with the Chinese, forthwith armed themselves with sticks, and fell on the Kokanian soldiers.. Un- horsing them with remarkable dexterity, they thrashed the warriors so unm^ifully, that ohe remained insensible on the field of battle. The Kirghizes, fearing to incur the vengeance of the •Tashkendians, declared that they would not allow the Kashgarians to depart before the recovery of the wounded soldier. As . we did not take any part in the aflfray, we joined company with' some Tartars and Kashgarians, who had also remained
* Althongh the Bngu, as stated previously, are Russiaii sobjeets^ thej, nsvertbeless, do not fail on every opportunity to propitiate the Kokanians and Chinese.
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106 Traoda in Cektral Asia,
neutral, and started at once on our journey ; and
with all the greater speed, seeing that snow had already commenced to fall in the mountains. Our « united caravan consisted of ten fires, and the total number of men was sixty. From the upper course of the Tekes we cleared in two marches the San-tash mountain pass, presenting a level plateau famed for its traditions about Tamerlane, after passing which we crossed the low Xyzylki moun- tains, and entered the valley of the Djirgalan (happy), from this point our route lay along the level and fertile Terskei valley, in which we observed half-uaked Euruts employed in their corn- fields. .
At the Djity-Uguz river we fell in with our old Mend iiursuk, who had removed thither with his Kadyks, for the purpose of gathering his harvest ; also several. auls of the same tribe, subject to Bin- Samsal, and the renowned robber chief Djanet. Taking leave of Bursuk's aiils, and accompanied by himself as a safeguard, we entered on the iiinth of March the Zaidiil pass. The presence of fiursuk did not, however, save us from the rapacity of the Kirghizes. On the 11th, as the caravan was ascending the narrow defile which was obstrucfed by fragments of rock, a deafen uig shout was
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JSkcounier wM tke 'BuriUa. 107
isuddenly raised, and several small flags were simultaneously displayed. We had hardly time to take up a defensive position, and to fortify our- selves behind the natural barricades, when we were attacked by a baud of seventy Kirghizes. My tomrades, actuated by the instinct of self-preserva* tion, disappeared mider cover of their camels, and did not show themselves again until the fray was over. Our servants, however, owing to the strong position of the caravan and their effective weapons, Succeeded in repelling the Buruts and taking prisoner one of their chief leaders. The engage- ment was limited to a few wounded on both sides, and to an exchange of prisoners. The worthy Bursuk, whom we had taken with us to ensure our safe passage, considering himself compromised, departed secretly without the promised present.
The Zaiiku pass is formed by the rapid course of the Zaiiku, and by the Zaukiichak, Kashkarashu, and some Dzuiigarian* rivuletij, which fall iiitoit,and also form passes. The route thus runs first along the course of the chief river, after which it bifur- cates. Beyond the junction of the Dzungorian
* Mr. Semctnof was evidenUy not aware of the existemie of this stream, as wi]l appear from his remarks on Bitter's Asia," p. 16, Tol. ii
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108
2¥iwel8 in Ceniral Asia.
river, the Zaiilcd defile becomes steeper and
narrower, forming terraces with two Alpine lakes between. ^Fragments of rock, in huge, irregular boulders, block up the passage. The defile termi- nates in a precipitous ledge of about 800 feet in height. The skeletons of beasts of burthen which strew the path, bear witness to the difilculty of the ascent. , The whole of the caravan could not ascend in one day, and, therefore, the advanced portion of it bivouacked on a small marshy plateau, at which the Zadkd pass terminates, while the other portion remained at the bottom, at the. old encampment. The difilculty of the ascent was increased by an abundant fall of snow. The pack-horses, and more especially the camels, often slipped over the wet. stones, and on more than one occasion, losmg their footing, fell ricochetting, and with a loud crash, into the yawning abyss. Five, camels and two horses perished in this way. My companions were quite distracted. Each was occupied with his own beasts. The cries of the drivers, altema; ting with curses and abuse, and devout appeals to Allah, Baha-ooddeen, Appak-Hodja, and other Mussulman saints, shook the snow accumulated for ages on the surrounding hills with their rever- berating echoes.
>
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CHAPTER V.
On the. Condition of Alty-shahry or the Siw Eastern Toum of 'the C&ineae Province of Nan4u (Little Bokhara), in 1858-59.
Eastern Turkestan is enclosed by mountains on three sides: by the Thian-Shan on the Northern, the Bolor on the Western, and Knen-Lnn on the Southeni. These mountains belong to the highest ranges of Central Asia, and form the natural limits of the West^" portion of the Chinese Empire. The actual boundary, however, runs along the line of pickets stretching through the- outlying lower ranges on the Chinese side ; bejond this frontier the territory is occupied by roaming Kirghizes, rwho recognize the authority of the Kokan IChan.
To the Eastward, Eastern Turkestan is bounded by the uninhabited sandy deserts of the Makhai
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110 l^avek in Central Asia.
and Kamul Gobi. It occupies consequently a plain between 30 and North latitude, and 70* and 90** West longitade, from the meridian of
Paris.
Eastern Turkestan occupies the centre of the table-land of Eastern Asia ; but Humboldt, guided
by the vcgetal)le productions of tliese parts, con- cludes that the plain of Little JBokhaia cannot have an absolute elevation of more than 1,200 feet, and calls it the Tarym depression, after the river Taiymgol (othe]*wise Ergol), whose basin occupies the whole plain of Eastern Tiirkcstan. Little Bokhara does, in fact, present the appearance of a great depressed valley, resembling, in physical features, an open plain ; and this general view receives confirmation frona a consideration of ihe course of the river Ergol, whose bed slopes very gradually to the eastwards.
The int«rior of this country is a sandy desert, the peculiar features of which tirst become visible ■in the eastern slopes of an undulating, range of hills, of no great width, between Yanyshahr and Yarkend. From this region it gradually widens as it runs to the eastward, where it forms the vast Gobi, devoid of all vegetation, though interspersed with reservoirs of brackish water, and where the sand
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Fkystced ^atarea of the Dtserf of Gobi, 111
is heaped in such lofty ridges that the inhabitants give them the name of '' Gag (Dioimtaiu). If we are to credit native writers, this sand is subject to the same phenomena of drifting and regular loco- motion as the famed moving deserts of Africa, and occasionally buries whole cities. The parts that he at the foot of the mountains have a clayey soil, strewed with small stones, and in some places impregnated with salt. The numerous rivers nm- uing from the neighbouring hill& afibrd means for the artificial irrigation of the efui;h, which would .otherwise yield but scanty and poor vegetation, owing to the extreme dryness of the air ; and, best, there are but a few well-watered parts that form fertile oases. These cultivated and peopled patches, form a ring round the base of the Thian- ahan, Bolor, and Kuen-hm. The water system of the river Tarym, with its tributaries, relieves the interior of this desert, by a narrow strip of fertile land along the various river courses, where the fertility of the soil admits of a rude system of cultivation.
- Such is the general character of the territory of the Southern line, which is completely level, and somewhat monotonous in aspect, owing to the absence of any mountain lines of demarcation.
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112 • TVtwek in (knird Jpa.
The mountains surrounding Turkestan, on its other frontier, lie beyond the political hmits of the couiitry, but are of importance to it as regards roads and passes, and consequent facilities for communication with the rest of the world. The mountain roads generally run through defiles, with many ascents and descents, or wind by paths to a considerable height, or lead along the face of dangerous slopes. With regard to communi- cation, the Tliian-shan affords the greatest facilities for access. This mountain chain has three cha- racteristic divisions, from the meridian of Kuclia. 82° 48' £ , to its intersection with the Bolor. To the East, from the transverse course of the Aksu to Kucha, the celestial mountains rise in a tower- ing ridge, covered with perpetual snows, which feed enormous glaciers, and are tba^fore called the Muzart, or Icy Mountains.
The rivers rising in these rock and ice-bound fastnesses have a transverse course throughout the entire mountain line. The declivities are covered with coniferous trees, and abound in pasturages ; but this district is, nevertheless, all but unin- habited. There is only one pass through the Muzart mountains, which is called by the Chinese the Pass of Glaciers, and by Humboldt ''Djeparle.''
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. TaMe Land of Si/rL
113
Through this pass there is a road leading from Xuldja, 43" 54' N., 80" 58' to Aksii. Although, according to Chinese accounts, Djeparle presents veiy great difficulties, it is nevertheless prac- ticable for camels. The Miizart Pass is closed against foreigners. Its crest lies in about 42° 28' N., 80° 38' E.
Westward of the Aksii river, as far as the meridian of Kashgar, the Thian-Shan merges into a bioad table-land» called by the Kir^izes " Syrt/' about a hundred miles in width, and intersected by transverse valleys considerably elevated above sea-level. The " Syrt " is quite destitute of timber; its soil is utterly incapable of cultiva- tion. It is covered with a short but thick grass, and serves as a summer pasture-ground for the Kirghizes. There are many caravan tracks across the " Syrt/' which are all available with camels. To the west of the meridian of Kashgar the Tliian-Shan separates into several branches. The mountains of this region are all well wooded ; the valleys of the rivers, all of which have deep beds, are fertile ; and the ascents become, consequently, steeper at several points. Over this tract there are several horse paths, but only one conunercial road, leading from the Ferganah valley to Kashgar,
I
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114
2Vai^ in Central Ama.
through the Terektv-davan Pass, known to us under the name of the Kashgar defile. A con- siderable trade was carried on, in the most remote times, along this road, between Asia and China. The Terektin road abounds with fuel and forage. The distance along this road from Kokan to Kashgar is estimated as a caravan journey of eighteen days.
The Bolor moimtaius, otherwise called Alai by the Andijans, are precipitous and inaccessible on their western face, and form on the east a high, cold plateau, visited only in the summer by the Kirghizes. There is only one caravan road over the Bolor, which passes through Badakshan. This Badakshan road is said to be very fatiguing, and, at best, is not practicable on horseback. The road through Badakshan to Yarkeiid leads to Khulum, thence to Bokhara, Baikh, and Cabul; caravans requiring sixty-five days to reach Bok- hara bv this route.
The Pamir is intersected by roads well-trodden by the Kirghizes ; all of which lead to the Khanate of Kokan, or to Karategin.
Over the Kuen-Lun one pass is known, that of Kara-Korum, by which Eastern Turkestan commu- nicates with Thibet and India. The road, as far
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Caratan Bonds of Eakiem Turkestan. 115
as Thibet, leads throngh uninhabited places with poor pastures, while from Thibet into India they become so difficult that Indian produce from Bokhara reaches Eastern Turkestan tlirougli the Terektin Pass. The distance from Yarkend to Thibet is a journey of forty days, and twelve from Thibet to Cashmere ; horses and yaks are the beasts of burthen chiefly employed on this road.
The mountains encircling Little Bokhara gene- rally offer but few approaches; tlie line of the Thian- Shan, from the Aksili to its point of intersection with the Bolor, alone aft'ording anything resembling facilities for communication.
Of all the routes above named, the Terektin is that most frequented by troops as well as by caravans ; it is enlivened by constant commercial traffic, and not a day passes without the passage of a caravan over it.
The rivers of Little Bokhara belong to the river
system of Tarimgol, with the exception of a few which, rising in the Kuen-Lun range, fail into lakes or lose themselves in the sands. The chief rivers forming the Tarimgol are the Aksu-Daria, i^'aizabad- Daria (otherwise called the Kashgar-Daria), Yark> end-Daria, and the Khotan-Daria. The Aksili- Daria is fonued by two attlueuts, viz. the Aksu
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116 • Travels in Cenlrai Jiia,
proper (the higher waters of which are first called the Saiy-Djas, then the Kopchagai, but receives the name it is best known by only in its lower course), and the Kakshal river. The Aksu rises in the nor- thern slope of Khan Taugri-ula, on .emerging from which it runs parallel to the meridian, bisecting the Thian-Shan, in which it has excavated for itself a deq»rocky channel. The Kakshalilowsfrom the hilly elevations on the eastern side of the mountain-lake Tchadyr-kul, and runs due east under the name of Aksai, through an extensive table*land, on quitting Avhich it turns abruptly in a southerly direction, descends the southern slope of the Thian-Shaii and falls finally into the Aksu, having a course parallel to the base of the mountains, and a general direction from N.E. to S.W.
The rivers forming the Kashgar-Daria rise in the Thian-Shan and Eolor. The iaizabad-Daria is formed by the two rivers Tiuuen and Kizyl-Daria ; the first takes its rise in the Kok-Tonn nioimtains, to the North- West of Lake Tchadyr-Kul; the second, the Kizyl,. has its source in the Altai mountains, wliere the Thian-Shan is intersected by the Bolor. The Faizabad-Daria receives on its right the river Usten, or Khan-Aryk (marked Yamaniar- Usten on Russian maps), and the Yangishalir-Usten,
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Ricer S^dem of Eaatera Turkeatan, 117
and on its left the Artysh. The Artysh rises in the elevation of the Torgat, bordering Lake Tchadyr- kul on the South, and before emerging into the valley is called the Toin. , This river receives many affluents in the mountains, of which the most remarkable is the Terekty or Astyn- Artysh, joining it on the right side. The river Usten or Yama- niar, is the outlet of Lake Karakul in the table-land of Pamir. To the Kashgar-Daria system belongs the Tan3rshahr-U8ten, flowing from the neiglibourhood of Lake Sarikol and fallhig into the Kashgar-Daria omits right bank. . The Yarkend-Daria or Yarkend- Usten is formed by the Yarkend-Daria pioper which rises out of Lake Sarikol, and the river Tynzap, flowing froin the northern slope of the Karakormn Pass in the Kuen-Lun mountains. The Khotan-Dariaalso takes its rise in the Karakorom hills, and is formed by the junction of two streams ; the Kara-Kash and Yulgun-Kasli, (pronounced Yiimn-Kosh by the Chinese). Below the junction of the Aksil, Kashgar, Yarkend and Khotan Darias, which ail unite nearly at the same point, the river takes the name of Tarim-Usten^ and Tarimgol or Ergol according to Chinese geography. Among the rivers falling into the Tarim the most note- worthy are the Muzart, Kucha-Daria and Khaidu,
118
TVnpelf in Central Am,
descending from the Thiau-Shan andfalling liito the Tarim on its left bank. The Tarim disembogues into Lake Lob-Nor, signifyiug, hi the Mongolian, Starry Lake. This lake, according to Chinese authorities, tis 400 lis in leniEth by 200 lis in width. ITie neiglibourhood abounds in turbid springs, which play like fountains.
Tliere nic many lakes in Little Bokhara, all lying along the borders oi the inner desert, and oontaining brackish water. There is a tradition current among the inliabitants that their forefathers sprang originally from the bottom a large inland sea. All the rivers of Eastern Turkestan bear, more or less, the character of mountain torrents in their upper courses, having an inconsiderable depth, but a rapid current over a rocky bed. In July and August the waters swell considerably from the melting snows, but they are lordable at all stiusons of the year. They asstttne a great depth and breadth only un the junction of several streams. Ferries exist over the Sazyl river, between Kash- gar and the Chinese fort, as also over the Faizabad- Daria, (at the junction of the Tiimen and Kizyl). Although, throughout, the Kashgar-Daria and Yarkend-Daria are navigable when full, and the Tarim at all seasons and along its whole course,
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ArrangeimnU for aceotnodoMng Caraoana, 119
yet the natives do not take advantage of these admirable fiMnUtifis far intercommiiiucatioii. The rivers of Little Bokhara, viewed either as convenient for commimication or in a scientitic or agricultural light> are of the utmost importance for this region, inasmuch as they diffuse fertility in the inner deserts, and convert the otherwise inhospitable plains into a colintry suitable for the abode of man.
The roads in the i^eriar.iMitween the towns of
Eastern Turkestan and China, are convenient enough. Urtengs," or stations, have been built along all of them by the Chinese, each of which is occupied by fifteen or twenty Chinamen under an officer, with as many Turkestan families. Be- sides these '^Urtengs/' there are signal houses for the speedy transmission of intelligence in the event . of war or insurrections ; and, for the accommodation of travelleTS, forage and provisions for small caravans are also obtainable at these stations.
The city of Aksu is the point of divergence for all the roads of this region. The various routes centring at Aksii lead to China, Hi, and all the towns of Eastern Turkestan.
All the roads leading from the interior of China,
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Traoeh ift Central Asia.
to the Western frontiers, converge at the town ot Hun-Ghanfoo, whence there is a road to Lian-Bjeu, where a large magazine of warlike stores has been established foi use in the event of a war in the west. At a distance of 87 versts (241 miles) from this town, at the western extremity of the great wall, is the fortress of Tzia-yni-Hiian, which conmiands the road. Prom this point to Komula extends a sandy steppe, uninhabited, and destitute alike of water, forage, or v^tation. Important granaries have been in like manner established by the Chinese at Komul. Farther on, the road branches off in two directions, one, the " Northern Koad," loading to Dzimgaria, the other, the " Southern Road," to Eastern Turkestan. The Dzungarian road trends along the eastern lateral depression of the Thian-Shan, through Barkul, Unimchi, and Uurkharasu to Hi. The Southern Road takes a westerly direction through Pidjan to Turfan, wliich latter town has direct communica- tion with Urumchi by way of Bogdo-ida. .fieyond Turfan, it leads to Kara^Shahr, which in its tiun is accessible £iom Hi by the rivers Julduz and Narat-Davam. Marshy swamps, stretching west- ward, extend to the south of Kara-Shalir, necessitating an earthem embankment at the
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Route from Pekin to Akm, 121'
town of Buigur, aud the road, after passing Kuchi, finaUy leaches Aksik. The Chinese calculate the distance from Pekin to Aksil at 3844 versts (2546i miles). The Southern Road runs through level tracts of country, more or less- inhabited ; a barren steppe, however, terminating within 34 miles of the Khami oasis, spreads between the barriers of Tzia-yui-Hiian and Khami, for a distance of 750 versts (497 miles). The Chinese , have founded settlemrats along this road, and built stations. The remarkable points , along the Southern Road, in mihtary respects, are : — Khandt, 45* 18' N., 92** 14 'E., where are magazines of grain and arms, and Buigur. This town hes in the middle of impassable marshes, and with a small force is capable of defending the Southern Road. It takes four aud a half and hve mouths for caravans and troops to traverse the road from Peldn to Aksii, but the journey is effected in one month by special messengers.
Erom Aksii to Hi (Kuldja), at which place the military and civil governments of the Western region are' concentrated, the distance is reckoned at 615 versts (407^ miles), the road leading through very mountainous iocahties. The famous Djeparle, or pass of glaciers, occurs on this road.
122
IVavek im CmM Anm,
A quick journey over this road, completed in fifteen days, is looked upon as a marvel of expeditions travelling, even with all the advantages of numerous " Urteugs which have been constructed along it. The principal Chinese ki^ road from Aksu goes to Ush-l\irfan, 41° N., 7b\ 20' E., and Yarkend. To Ush-TurDw the distance is esti- mated at eighty miles, and to Yarkend at 247 miles. At a distance of 290 versts (192 miles) from Aksil, on the roftd to Yarkend, lies the town of Burchuk, garrisoned by a Chinese force, and provided with a ferry, i^'rom hence there is a direct road to Kashgar, the distance thither, from this point, being estimated at about 240 versts (159 miles) ; trading caravans from Aksii always proceed straight to Kashgar along this road. The main road from Yarkend leads to Kashgar, through Yanyshahr on to Kokan. The distance between Yarkend and Yanyshahr,is 113 miles, andfitty-seven miles from the latter place to Kashgar, the length of the journey between Kokan and Yailcend being computed at 210 miles. Chinese troops and Government convoys march to Kashgar and Khotan, through Yarkend.
Besides these roads, there is one direct from Aksil to Khotan, following the course of the Kho-
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Various Caravan Routea to Yarkend. 123
tan-Dana, (along, the banks of which caiavans tiavel
for eighteen days, or fifteen days in quick travelling), and two others from Ush-Turfan to Kashgar. One of those between the latter places emerges at the fourth station of the Yarkeud route ; after joining which it proceeds to Burchuk, and thence to Yark- end. and Kashgar, while the otiier leads straight to Kashgar. This latter road follows up the course of the Kokshal, and, passing the nulitaiy station of Bokchan, reaches Altyn-Artysh. The distance to . Kashgar by this route is calculated at 233^ miles. The road traveiaes Tarious uninbabited tracts, which, however, abound In forage and fuel. The routes leading from Aksd to Ush, Kashgar, Yark- end, and Khotan pass through populous localities, and the lust three follow the course of rivers whose level and fertile banks, hardly rising above the stream, present fine natural meadows, so that the roads winding along between the base of the motrntains and the channels of the rivers, pass through densely populated regions.
In former ages the Chinese conununicated with the Western region through Hua.Gl\[eu (133^ miles west of Tzia-yui-HAan) straight over the sandy steppe to Khotan ; at present, however, this road is altogether closed. There is likewise a road torn
124 Travels in Central Aisia.
Tiirfan to Khotan via the Lobnor, but like the last named, il; is also closed.
Notwithstanding its enormous extent, Eastern Turkestan possesses a remarkably unifonn climate, wbicli can only be accounted for by the peculiari- ties of its geographical position. The circum- jacent mountainous districts are subject to climatic cohditions, which differ materiallv from those of the Little Bokharian plain. Even in summer snow storms are of frequent occurrence among the mountains. It is cool, iudced, througliout the whole of the season; in the valleys the snow remains on the ground until the months of May and June, while the mountain summits are covered with perpetual snows. Winter commences in October ; at all events, a caravan which left Kash- gar on our arrival at that place (13th October), was compelled to return on account of the Terektin defile having been blocked up with snow.
We shall now speak of the climate of the Plains, dwelling chiefly,- indeed almost exclusively, upon that of the " terhtory of the six towns." Begin- ning then with our own observations : on the 9th October, when we entered on the southern slope of the Thian-Sban chain, into the Terfekty defile, the shores of the Terekty river were clothed with
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Tkemomeirical Obaervations w Ka^ihgar, 125
luxuriant trees and picturesque clumps of bushes. The thennometer indicated 81' .6 Fahr. ; and on entering Kashgar, our caravan passed through fruit gardens where women and cliildren . were cutting down the remaining vine branches, after gathering the season's vintage, and the pomegranates were still on the trees. The rice and cotton crops had not all been got in. Fresh greens and fruit of various sorts, such as apples, quinces," pears, peaches, and figs were exposed for sale at the bazaar. The weather from the 9th' October till towards the end of November was uniformly waim and clear. The heat rose to 81° .75 Fahr. ; about the 22nd November the nights grew colder, and the leaves began to ialJ, whUe the water in the canals was covered with a thin crust of ice, and on « the 26th November the water was stopped at the " arvks," or aqueducts. The first snow fell on the 81st December, and continued falling until the middle of the following day ; the second fall of snow was on the lOth January, when it snowed all day and half the night, and again on the 24th January until the morning of the 20th. The ther- mometer generally stood at 32** Fahr., and upwairds, falling only twice below the freezing point. On the 31st December it indicated 14" Fahr., and on
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126 Triwek in Central Ama,
the 28th Janiinrv 4' Fahr. The rivers Kizyl and Tumen did not freeze during the whole winter, but the ponds in the town were covered with ice eight inches thick. Alter the Chinese new jear, from which the natives reckon the commencement of spring, the weather actually became warmer. On the 26th February water appeared in the canals, and nature began speedily to revive. In the beginning of March, pies filled with the first shoots of vegetables were offered for sale as " delicacies of the season," and on the 21st» several trees in the court vard of our abode were already in iull leaf. Dining the whole time, until the departure of the caravan from the open country, on the 29th March, the weather was bright and warm. On the . 26th and 27th of this month a warm N.£. wind prevailed. Fogs and rain were, generally speak- ing, of rare occurrence, usually lasting two days only, after which, at intervals, it rained slightly. During the middle of February, the weather was frequently windy, west and N.W. winds predomi- nating. Relying on these facts, and on the strength of the testimony of the inhabitants, it is certain that spring commences here in the middle of February, and somewhat later in the neighbour- ing i'erganah valley. The simuner, it is said, is
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Siftffuiar dread of Tkmder Stoma, 127
distinguished by great heat, and the air becomes insuffeiBbly oppressive from the heavy clouds of dust, the more so by reason of the great scarcity of rain in these parts. The inhabitants of Eastern Turkestan are particularly afraid of thunderstorms. When the horizon is clouded, all the " ahunds " with their pupils walk out on the terraces of the Mosques and read a prayer or "knut" in a loud voice ; and it is a fact that tbev ascribe to these prayers a power of propitiating the threatening heavens. The cause of this intense apprehension of an ordinary phenomenon, is to be ascribed to the circumstance that the earthy after a fall of rain, becomes covered with salt, which destroys the harvest, and also to their houses being built of mud, with flat roofe, so that in the event of a heavy fall of rain, the towns ol" Little Bokhara would be entirely destroyed.
The winter, according all accounts, has generally much the same character that it bore during our stay, t. 0. the snow remains on the ground not longer than three or four days, and the rivers do not freeze at all. When the hvers ai'e frozen along the shores, the virinter is considered a severe one. Intense colds prevail at the end of the twelfth month of Chinese computation, that is, in January,
1 28 IVnveln in Central Jma.
aiid spiing commi'iiccs IVoiu the Chinese holiday of the new )^ar, which the Turkestans call by its name in Mongolian, Chagan. This giadnal transition from summer to autumn, and the abrupt change from winter to spring, form climatic peculiarities almost exclusively confined to this countiy. The change of the seasons is accompanied by the folWing variation in the v^etation. The apricots tree blooms in the middle of March, when other trees commence budding; cultivated meadows become covered with fresh blades of thick, "musu- yu" and grass, tulips, and anemones then make their appearance in the fields. In April the apricot-tree begins to bear, and towards the end of Alay the mnl- berry, apricot, and the ''zamuch" melon, arrive at maturity. At this time bailey is reaped, and onions, turnips, and other kitchen vegetables are planted over it. Peaches and apples ripen between June and August, while other cereals and fruit are gathered in August. Hempseed, sesame, rice, " djugara," (Javary), 'maize and cotton are. not harvested until September and October.
The prevaihng winds here are Westerly and North-Westerly, which blow principally during the spring, and raise dust and dense clouds of sand. .Yanyshar, Xarkend and Khotan are imder nearly
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GemalUij and Salubriti/ of Climafe of Khoicm. 129
the same climatic conditions as Kasbgar; at Khotaii the winter is yet milder. In Turfan, Aksu, aiid more especially in Bai and Sairaiii, lying nearer to the mountains and more to the iiorth, no great heat prevails in summer, and the winter is severer. The rivers become Irozeii, but snow first fails towards the end of January, melting immediately ; this does^ not, however, retard the growth of pomegranates, tigs, and cotton at Aksii. If we are to believe the concurrent teistimony of the Emperor Kan-Si, and Pure Gerbillon, relative to the cultivation of orange trees, Khamil must enjoy a' more genial climate. In the Eastern towns, it is said, the wintei"s are cold, and summers exceedingly hot. Yet Turfui and Khamil are famous for their vegetable productions, the latter in particular for its melons, which are eaten at the Imperial Court.
The climate of Eastern Turkestan, judging by the health of its inhabitoints as well as by its beneficial influence on strangers, must be very salubrious. Epidemics and pestilential diseraes are altogether unknown to the Turkestaui, with one important exception, however, the small-pox, which in fonner times swept away whole settlements, and drove the panic-stricken inhabitants into the mountains. The ravages of this disease are now
K
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130 Travels in Central Asia.
stopped by the introduction of vaccination. Not- withstanding the great consumption of fruit, and the universal custom of smoking hashish, which is known to have a most injurious effect on the human organization, very few of the Turicestani ever suffer from sickness. Venereal diseases, not- withstanding the great depravity of the natives, have not spread hither. Throughout the town of Kashgar, we only saw two persons who were disfigured by them. The males are well built and strong, yet they seldom attain a great age. The women are of weak form, and, owing to early mar- riage (at twelve, and even ten years of age), become subject to various chronic complaints. At fifty, the Kashgar women are as vrithered as our own at seventy or eighty. Goitre is very frequently met with at Yarkend, the natives of which attribute its prevalence to the property of t he water ; and it is also met with in Xokaii.
Passing now to the natural riches of Little Bokhara, we shall first point to the characteristic productive features of this region. The mineral wealth of Little Bokhara is very little explored. Gold is washed out at the Karja settlements in such large quantities that the inhabitants pay their dues in this metal, and dispose of it to private
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Gold H'mUbuf at Karja.
individuals. Eighty ''Lans" of this gold aie annually sent to the Court of Pekin from Khotan. Copper is obtained at Aksti> Sairam, and Kuchi. The copper of Aksil is known for its malleability, and contains, according to local accounts, a con- siderable admixture of the precious metals> the method of extracting which, however, is not known to the natives.
£astem Turkestan affords in abundance sulphur, sal-anmioniac, alum and saltpetre. The volcanic soil around the town of Kuclii is particularly rich in these materials. Sulphur is obtained at Ush- Turfan, in the Yarkend district, and saltpetre at Ush-Turfan, and at Sairam, 110 miles farther east. Salt mines are worked in the Yan-chi-Shan moun- tains, east of Aksu. Among the more remarkable mineral productions of Turkestan must be in- eluded the oriental jasper, Nephrite, or Jade stone, which is highly esteemed in China under the name of " Ter.'- The Nephrite found here is of two kinds : that I'rom the mountains, called by the natives " Loucha," or " bish-bargan," which is found in the mountains of Mirdjai and Sutash, 74 miles from Yarkend, and the second obtained in the river Ulgunkash (pronounced Yurunkash by the Chinese), under the special supervision of a Chinese
K 2
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officer. About ten "gins" of the moiiiit«iii
nephrite, and the whole of the quantity got out of the Yurunkash river, are annually despatched to Pelcin ; where its sale and disposal is one of the most rigidly enforced monopolies of the Chinese Government. We are not aware of silver, iron and coal having been discovered in the territory of the six towns/' — at all events no such mines have been worked in Little Bokhara. Mention of silver mines in the vicinity of Khamil is made in Chinese chroni- cles, l)utto what extent this is true we cannot say. . Two smelting works, one for. copper the other for lead, which occur on the ronte from Kashgar to Kokan are not now in operation, owing to political causes. As the greater part of the mineral wealth of - this region goes in tribute to China, and all the copper is despatched to the mint at Aksu, the re- quirements of the inhabitants in these products, fall very far short of being satisfied. Iron, cast and wrought, lead, copper, and latten are received from Kokan, to which place they are brought, either in a natural or niannfactured state, from Russia. Tiie very limited acquaintance of the Turkestani with metallurgy, and their ignorance of the simplest forms of mining, prevent them from deriving any benefit from the mineral wealth which
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Mineral Wealth and Gold Mines of KluJtan. 133
the bowels of the moimtaius suiroimdiDg Little Bokhara must yield in abtmdanoe.
The Eokanians, it is said, obtain a considerable quantity of gold by washing, in the upper course of the Syr, which takes its rise in the Thian-Shan ; and lead mixed with silver is also procured in the hills to the east of Andijan. The Bolor is particularly rich in minerals. Gold in nuggets forms the staple of trade betwen Karategin and Kokan, and slaves {IflEgm Zazuli), turquoises and rubies constitute that between Badakshan and Yarkend. The Pamir Kirghizes bring rock-crystals, jasper in various forms, and gold nuggets to Yarkend and Kashgar. Huen-tsang, a Chinese trat'eller of the eighth cen- tury, states that the Pomola (Pamir) country yields gold of a fieiy cobur. No mineralogical investiga- tions have as yet been made in the Kuen-Lun range, but it may be taken for granted there is no absence of rich metaHic lodes in it. The river Karia, which is worked for gold, rises out of these moun- tains, and the name of Zar-Afshan (auriferous), which some rivers flowing out of it bear, together with the tradition throughout Central Asia to tiie effect that the ruler of the Gildits keeps concealed in his cavern bars of gold, tends to strengthen the foregoing inferences.
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Traioik in Central Am,
• The natural vegetation of Little Bokhara is poor and undiversified. The character of the flora of these parts bears a general resemblance to the steppe vegetation of the Hi valley. The northern slope of the Thian-Shan, impending over the vall^ of the Issyk-kul, has a rich alpine flora, and presents luxuriant meadows of thick grass diversified by flowers of bright colours; the declivities of the mountains are 'covered with the Siberian silver-fir, mountain ash and dwarf medlar fCotoneasierniMUu fjora), while along the banks of rivers are found tbe barberry, honeysuckle, alpine currant, brier, &c. Above the coniferous zone, the juniper (Junipefm tsabinoj, and " Chiliga," or wild southern wood (Caragana jubcUaJ are met with. The southern slope of the Celestial mountains, descending to the plain of Little Bokhara, west of the meridian of Aksu, consists of argillaceous schist and conglome- rate, while the less lofty auxiliary ranges in front are Ibrmed of layers of laminated clay The exposed rocks of the Southern slope are either dotted here and there with isolated patches of rank grass, or where this is not the case, are perfectly bare. Among these the Kirghiz goats and sheep with difficulty find food for themselves in the autumn. Eastward of Aksu the mountains are covered with coniferous
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FeffeiaHdtt o» (Me Tkim-SAm ' Han^. 135
trees (silver-tir), and present rich mountain pastures. The table-laad of the Syrt, excepting the valleys of the rivers Atbash, Arpa, and Naryn, is not soited for cultivation, through free from timber, and covered with fine thick grass. On the plains of the Atbash and Arpa, the Kirghizes sow wheat, barley, and millet. These plains are also devoid of trees and bushes, being covered with fine grasses, such as the feathergrass and wormwood. The deepened course of the Naiyn forms a fertile valley, whose elevation is equal to that of the Issyk-kul. The banks of the Naryn are bordered with the " Obiepikha" CHipopha rkamoftoideaj, willow^ poplar, anid va- rieties of the " Ohiliga * or wild southern wood CCara^ana jubataj, while the mountain slopes are dad with dense forests of coniferous trees and plants natural to the alpine zones of the northern slope. That part of the Thian-Shan which abuts on the Bolor is typified by spiraea, the juniper, and dwarf medlar (Cotoneaster mulitfloraj. The latter plant, as well as different liliaceous types, such as tulips and a species of wild garHc, form the chief characteristics of the Bolor flora, which, it is said, also abounds in rich pasturages. The Kum-Lun, according to Thompson's evidence, has but a poor and limited flora; its crags are clothed with
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prickly plants, amongst which the astiagal is the most oommon. The laodscape and the vegetation of the plain of Little Bokhara are still more dreary and sterile-looking. The interior of the country is one vast desert steppe, consisting either of sandy dunes with the inevitable " Saksaul" f Anabasis sOiVaulJt or of bare illimitable wastes impregnated with salt. The most fertile spots are considered to lie between the sandy plains and the base of the mountains. When we arrived at Kashgar, in the month of October, we perceived that the vegetation in the neighbourhood was very scanty; the cha- racteristic plants were the Yantak" (camelthom), tamarisk, artemda, and different fframineoB pecu- liar to a sandy -argillaceous soil, such as the " Chi" and Ma au^UfoUa. In consequence of the extreme dryness of the atmosphere, and the nature of the soil, vegetation is entirely contined to well-watered localities. The courses of the rivers are marked by two narrow parallel belts of verdure and forest, consisting of different species of bushes and trees. The native inhabitants call these littoral woods "Djengels." River-side clunjps of this description are called " Uremis" in Siberia and throughout the Orenburg region. The jungles of Little Bokhara have a character of their own; in the upper courses
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Vr<ji't(dvm of Liitle JBakkara, 137
of the various rivers in the low bushes of the IRpqpka rkamanaides, by tamarisks in the Thian* Shan, and by copses of dwarf medlar in the Bolor. Wherever a river about mid-course enters upon a plain at the base of the lowest lateral spms running down from a mountain range, the jungle becomes more diversified, and the poplar, willow, barberry tree bwing red and black fruit, sweetbriar, ynM rose, yellow caragan (Caragana friitescetisJt midi oth^ papilionaceous bushes fHalimodendron argm^ teuni^ appear in this portion of its course; the elsewhere abundant dwarf-medlar ceases to be found, and the Hipopha rkamonoidea attains a lofty growth. In the lower part of its course, from the increasing pressure oi' the water, each river becomes broader and forms moist meadows and cane-brakes all along its banks, while the jungles border the shores in a dense and broad belt, in which new forms, snch as the hawthom and wild olive {Mmagnus-oMgwiifolid) are found in abundance. After the confluence of the Little Bokharian rivers with the Tarym, the jimgle disappears, and the banks of the main stream are formed into broad and marshy swamps thickly overgrown with reeds and cane.
Owing to careful irrigation and the long cultio
138 7}r(wel9 in Central AntL
vation which the soil has undergone, the agri- cultural productions of Little Bokhara are suffi- ciently diversified. The outskirts of the towns and villages are surroimded with shady gardens, producing figs and pomegranates. Plantations of cotton and artificial iiicadows cover extensive areas of land, and the moist parts are sown with rice. The vegetable productions of Little Bok« hara are the following cereals: — Wheat, barley, rice, javaiy, red and black lentil, and, to a small extent, millet; oats are not grown at all. Of plants for dyeing and manufacturing purposes, Eastern Turkestan produces — cotton (belonging to the graminaceous variety, viz., Gossypinm herha^ ceum), hempseed, sesamum {Sesanmm orieuiale), madder, and tobacco. Several varieties of melons and water-melons, of exquisite flavour, are likewise grown, as also carrots, radishes, beet*root, onions, mint, peas {cicer Arieiinum), poppies, and saffron. Cucumbers are only occasionally to be found, and belong to the kind called Chinese. The various gardens are planted with the willow, pophur {Populua pruinosd), pyramidal silver-leaved poplar, mulberry, wild olive {Elaagnus iorienaia), and " chihani ; " the two latter yield fruit which tastes like the date, and a glue is extracted from the
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Dedine of. A^^ricuUure in LUUe Bokhara, 130
first. The fruit-trees are apple, pear, bei^* mot, peach, apricot, quiniBe, pomegranate, and tig. Grapes are grown principally of two sorts : "Khuseini," a white, elongated variety, of delicious flavour ; and " Sakhibi/' a round form' and dark colour. The foregoing trees and plants are common to the whole of the Little Bokharian inftlley, with the exception of those grown on the hiUs ; peaches, pomegranates, and figs, for instance, do not grow in Saiiam and Bai, while grapes and cotton are successfully cultivated there. Prunes, cherries, and walnuts are grown in Yarkend. The inhabitants of the village of Kai^alyk, in the Yarkend district, occupy themselves exclusively with growing nuts, which form the staple of the trade of this place. From this it will be seen that the vegetation of Little Bokhara is very poor, and that agriculture is in a state of decline. Without taking into account European countries under the same latitudes, and which are charac- terized by the richness and variety of the semi- tropical zone, the flora of Little Bokhara is even poorer than that of Central Asiatic countries under the same parallel of latitude. The vegetation of the mountains of theDzungaro-Kirghiz Steppe presents a much greater variety of natural forms. In the
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140 Tfovds in CmUrd Asia,
neighbouihood .of Tort Vemoe, five degrees fur- tiier north, apricots , and apples' grow wild, .and ihe leafy trees are' distinguisbed- for their size; while the grass vegetation is remarkably rich, notwithstanding the' Severity of rthe winter and great depth of snow. The ncighbourhig Ferganah valley is considered the most fertile part of all Central Asia. Its mountains are covered with coniferous trees, walnut groves and pistachio bushes; and agriculture and the cultivation of fruit trees contribute no small portion to the trade of this region. In addition to the fruit grown in Little Bokhara, the gardens of Ferganah yield almonds and plums. Bokhara, although it presents the appearance of a fertile island amidst an ocean of sand,' has more cultivated vegetable forms than Little Bokhara.
Eastern Turkestan is characterized by the absence of meadow-land, by bad agriculture, scarcity of wood and the sterihty of the surrounding mountains. The cause of this paucity of vegetation must not be attributed to the elevated nature of the region, as vegetation in this zone can flourish at a con- siderable altitude — ^as evidenced by the ripening of grapes and peaches on the shores of the Issyk- kul — ^but to the character of the soil, which. is
Animals, indigenous to Liitla Bokkara. 141
never moistened by rain, and to the insufficient tillage of the land. With regard to the vegetable
productions of this countxy, we must state, in concluBion, that the sagar-cane referred to in the Chinese chronicles of the first century of our era', and to which Ritter would have particular atten- tion drawn, does not grow anywhere in the vicinity of Kushgar. We sliould imagine that the Chinese historian comprehended nnder this name either the sweet " sorgho " or the javary, the stalks of which contain a sweet juice much esteemed by the native children.
The animal kingdom has several characteristic
varieties; in the mountains there are muUitudes of wolves, foxes, jackals, lynxes, bears, and white- breasted martens ; also mountain goats {Capra Tartar ica) and sheep {^Oois asyali), which frequent the mountain summits. The deer hide in the forests. Alpine marmots burrow in the south- western slopes of all. the high table-lands of the Thian-Shan, and rats are plentiful in the marshes about the sources of rivera. It is said that herds of wild asses {Sguvs onager), and " djeirans " {Ante' lope mbguUnrmd)^ roam over the sandy Steppes. Chinese works very often speak of wild camel hunts, which formed one of the amusements of
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142 Travek in Central Asia.
the rulers of these cities in past ages. Notwith- standing that the chronicles in our possession corroborate this remarkable fact, the natives could not give us any information regarding it ; and we are, therefore, driven to conjecture that these wild camels must be entirely annihilated, or have been scared awaj to the inaccessible wilds of the Sahara of Little Bokhara. The wild animals indi- genous to the plains are the Caragan fox {CmU Mehmoius) and Corsac fox (Cania Corsac), Tigers, wild boars, and grey hares, abomid in the jungles. Birds of prey are found in the mountains, of which those best known to us are, the lammer- geayer {G^jj^etos bar bat us) , attaining, accordins; to Chinese accounts, the size of a camel; the condor {Vtdtur fdvus), eagle {Aquila nobUis), falcon, hawk, and others. The eagle is the only bird employed by the native nobility in hunting the fox and mountain goat, for which purpose it is chiefly got from KJiotau. i^'alcons and hawks are procured from the thick forests of contfera iii the Aksu district, and are trained for the chase by the Kokanians. Of the ^aUinapea found on the mountains are the ''ular," of the size of the capercailzie, of an ashy grey plumage, and with red circles round the eyes ; and the " kiklik/'
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Grain Jouiul in Kokan and Turkentan. 143
about the size of a partridge, also of a grey oolouTy but with black marks over the eyes, and black
and red stripes over the b^reast. These birds are also indigenous to the other mountainous regions of Asia. The flesh of the "ular" is tender, delicate, and highly estcciued by the Jvokanians, and the flesh of the kiUdk " is equally palatable. A more curious and less justifiable purpose for which the latter bird is in request, is to train it for fighting, as was the custom with gamecocks in England in bvgone days. Pheasants and <ju;nls are found in considerable abundance in the jungles. Pigeons of the Steppe {S^rrhaptes paradosm, Illig.)* fly in vast flocks over the plains ; while crow s, rooks, magpies, sparrows, 8tarhngs, .&c., affect the streets of the towns. In the better populated localities and on the mountain lakes the rarer waterrfowl are singularly scarce, though ducks and geese are common, more especially in the lower course of the Tarym, and on .^take Lobuor, where swans, geese, ducks, and other water-fowl aresonumerbus^ according to native and Chinese accounts, that the inhabitants, manufacture the down into clothes, and sleep on feather beds. It is mnarkable that Eastern Turkestan is not visited by the stork,
* Teirat fttrudotnut Fall.
144
Trai eh hi Central Ania.
which in Western Turkestan builds its nest on the mosques, and struts in the streets in oommon with other domestic animals.
The rivers of Little Bokhara, and those de- bouching into Lake Lobnor» contain an abundance of fish. The Chinese relate that the Lobnoriana when coming to Korio (a settlement in the Kuchi district) on business, always carr}^ with them a supply of fish for their consumption, because they cannot eat any other food ; other Turkestans almost wholly abstain from it. Judging by the general character of the natural productions of this region, the fish here will, in all probability, l)e found to be the same as those which naturalists have already discovered in the rivers of the Balk- hash system.
The fissures of the sandy-clay soil of Little Bokhara shelter numerous venomous insects of the spider family, such as scorpions, phalangia, and taran- tulae ; and there is more especially a great variety of lizards. We did not see any snakes ; but it is said they arc rarely encountered, and cases of persons being bitten by them have scarcely been known to occur* In summer there are many gad- flies, gnats, and moths, particularly in marshy places, overgrown with reeds. Of useful members
Domestic Animah of Little Bokhara. 145
of the lowest division of the animal kingdom, there is, in Little Bokhara, but the silk-worm,
reared only in Khotan and its vicinity. It is said that near this city the silk-worm is found In its natural form.
The domestic animals of Little Bokhara are of the same speeies with those bred in neighbouring countries. The horses, which are of the Kirghiz breed, are obtained from the Great and Diko- kamenni Hordes. It is only the rich, and those engaged in the transport of goods, who have large studs, as, owing to the scarcity of grass, the animak must be fed the whole year round on dry provender. In imitation of the Chinese, the native nobles prefer the Kirghiz steeds. Hence Turkmen horses are not numerous, and being kept only by the Khotanians for the saddle, they are either of pure blood — "topchaks," or mixed — " karabairs.'^ The Begs, Mowmg the Chmese fashion, employ mules in harness, which in other Mussuhnan countries are regarded as unclean animals, breeding them being considered in the light of a grievous sin. The camels are of the breed so extensively, diffused throughout Mongolia, and the Chinese employ them in transporting Government stores ; they are also used by the tea
146 Traveh in Ceniral Ana,
caravans, and occasionally by the Khotanians. The* TurkoBtani occupy tbemselves merely in rearing
sheep, yaks, ^nd asses.
♦ « - ■ '
In order to avoid repetition when treating of
the topography of the towns and settlements of Eastern Turkestan, we shall here indicate their general features.
. The external aspect of the towns is monotonous and dull. The mosques in Little Bokhara being universally built without minarets (in Yar-. kend alone there is a tower over the ancient Registan mosque), and the houses being low, with flat roofs, the traveller approaching a town sees only the joiud walls, which are of the same colour as the ground, usually relieved spmewhat by small barred towers, of Chinese architecture, at tbcir angles. All the towns of Eastern Turkestan are encircled by a wall diminishing in breadth towards the to}), about eight fathoms thick, and reaching sometimes eight and more fathoms in height. Counter-forts are erected at the gates and angles.
The gates are made of planks, and are generally threefold. Moats of three and more Mhoms in depth are dug round the walls, with bridges thrown over them. The houses are hkewise built
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Ewterior Aspect of a Little Bokharian Town, 147
ef mud, not even excepting the palaces of the niters ; they are flat rdofed, and each is sur- rounded by a wall. The interior usually embraces an open square, with a water basin in the centre^ shaded by a few trees, the domicile itself, a stable, and occasionally a garden. There are both large and small apartments ; the former being, for the most part, open at the top. Inside these a con- tinuous bench of common clay, overhung with drapery, runs round the. walls, and serves in lieu of furniture. The inner r(X)ms have a roof of slender branches, with apertures for the hght. Pires are kindled in stoves, but in winter char^ coal is burnt in braziers in the rooms. The rich have the inner walls of their houses stuccoed, and the niches ornamented with arabesques, while many paper their windows a la Chinoise, The waDs of a house closely adjoin those of its neigh- bours on either side; but from the street walls and doors are alone visible. It is only the mosques, medreseh (colleges), and other public buildings, that have a fayadc to the street, the exterior of which is ornamented with coloured glazed tiles. The streets are irregular and very narrow, even the two-wheeled araba being only able to pasn through the principal ones* The
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f
stalls, refreshment houses, and barber-shops, are situated on both sides of the larger streets leading from the gates to the market-place, in the centre of the town. Some of these streets are covered in at the top with mats. The centre of the town is generally near the chief mechet, "Hegistan'* or "Aitga," adjoining which is the market-place, called " Charsu." One or two canals, filled from several ponds and lined with avenues of trees, pass through the town. In winter, when the water freezes in the canals and the supply is stopped, the natives draw it either from the ponds or river.
The Chinese fortresses, manchens, or " gulbai/* are armed like the Mussulman towns. If the manchens occur close to a native town, the space between them is converted into a street, on both sides of which are Chinese houses of refreshment and shops. Such streets are called " Hai-Chan." The " Hai*Chan " at Yarkend and Khotan serves as a weekly bazaar. Turkestani settiements or villages consist of scattered habitations standing apart from each other. Each house is closed in by a wall, and surrounded by gardens and corn- fields, and several such connected by avenues of mulbeny and olive trees, form a settlement. In
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Description of Citt/ of Kash^ar, 149
more thickly-populated villages, the houses are grouped closer, but have no walls. The Chinese call the large settlements towns, but the natives term them " Yasy," or villages. With respect to the local administration of the six Western towns of Eastern Turkestan, they form departments or districts, independent of each other; and as the Chinese do not exercise any immediate influence in their government, we shall here adopt the native division.
1. Kask^ar Diairict — Kashgar is one of the largest towns of Eastern Turkestan ; it contains 16,000 houses, is situated between the rivers Kizyl and Tiimen, surrounded by a clay wall six fathoms high, about ten arshines thick at its foundation, and five at the top, and about eight miles (twelve versts) in circumference. It is defended by six towers. The town has two gates, on the Eastern and South-Westem sides ; . the first is called " Suv-Davsa," the second " Kum-Davsa " (sandy). Owing to the constant dryness of the atmosphere, the streets are clean, but irregular and narrow ; two-wheeled arabas can pass only through the two principal ones. The houses . are built of clay, excepting four religious colleges ("medrese"), and one sepulchral chapel, which are externally coated
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150 Travds in Central Aiia.
with glazed tiles, after the Chinese fashion. The town 18 divided into two ahnost equal parts ; the old town, or " Kune-Shahr," and the new, or " Yany-Kurgan/' founded by the ruler Zurund-Beg in 1838. The old town is situated on an emi- nence, while the new one occupies a much lower position. The centre of the town is a plain, with the chief mosque in front of the palace of the Hakim-Beg ; while the market-place, " Aitga," is close by. The old town is divided into two quarters, "Charsu** and ** Ambar-ichi and the new one into four — " Urda-aldy," " Ustan-bui," " Ymnalak-shahr," and " Andijan-kucha.''
In Kasligar, there are seventeen " medreseh " or reUgious seminaries, seventy schools ("mekteb"), eight caravansarais, and two other market places (" Aitga" and " Charsu ") ; the first-named of which is in front of the chief mosque, the second in the old town. Two principal streets lined with butcher, cook, and barber-shops and artificers' stalls, lead from the two gates to the centre square or Aitga. The road from Aitga Square to Charsu is covered in by an awning, and constitutes a mart or bazaar, foreign merchants occupy the shops- in the Sarai, of which the more famous iire, — 1, JlndiJanSfiTSii, the largest, situated in the central square, and in which
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Munmpdi Buildifu/s of Kanhgair, 151
the Kokan custom-house is established for the eiearance of foreign goods ; 2, i^»Mi^-Sarai, within a short distance of the former, in the street lead- ing from the Sand- Gates to Aitga ; it is principally occupied by Margilans, merchants irom the town of Shaklirizebza and Afghans. Of other Sarais, all situated in the above streets, the best known are ihe UfiU^tin "-Sarai, occupied by Bokharians and Urtii-tin Tadjiks, the Yarkeyid, Akau, and Jewish Saiais; besides aU which there are constant bazaars held near the " Sand-Gate/' one for the sale of cotton, called " Pakhta " bazaar, and
Gundan " for the wholesale disposal of Daba/' Cattle are sold at the " Gaichan/' outside the walls at the Sand-Gates.
There is a "Ty^" "Dynsa," or police sta- tion, and a jail in the town, as also a further evidence of civilization, in the shape of a barrier, or toll-gate at the ** Gundan,'' at which the tax on Daba is collected. Besides these public- buildings and places of resort, there are two ponds and a canal (listen) running through the whole town. One pond lies opposite to the house of the Ilakim- Beg, and the other in the Djeu-Molak-Shahr quarter. Every iViday a bazaar is held, at which the natives of the surrounding villages and the townspeople
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152 Travek in Central Asia,
exhibit the fmits of their weekly labour. Of the settlements pertaiDing to the Kashgar district, the following Ke along the system of the river Artysh : — 1. A group of settlements called TJstihi'Jrfysh (Upper Artysh), at 17 miles N. of Kasghar ; Ar^, a small settlement, 68 miles (1 90 lis) N.E. of Kashgar ; Saaran, on the Tenuechuk rivulet ; Astyn- Arfysk (Lower Artysh), otherwise Altyn-Artysh (golden), 40 miles N.E. of Kashgar, distinguished for its tomb and mosque erected over the grave of Sultan Sutuk-Bagrakham-Hasi, whither devout Mussulmen repair on a pilgrimage ; Kol-TaUak at the confluence of the Artysh and Faizabad-Daria^ d8 miles E. of Kashgar ; BialUkerim, 8 miles N.E. of the same town, between the Artysh and Tumen rivers. Along the banks of the Tumen he the settle- ments, Mitshif 47 miles N.W. of Kashgar ; Somen and To(juztash, or Dchan-Yan-Kurgan, faubourgs around Kashgar, the first on the N.W. the second on the W. side ; Bjinchke and Abbot, 8 miles E. of Kashgar, on the left bank of the Tumen ; Shap- tan, on the right bank of the Faizabad-Daria, below the junction of the Tdmen with the Kizyl, 28 miles E. of Kasghar, where there is a ferry ; Faiza» bad, a large settlement at a distance of 35 miles, on the S. bank of the Faizabad-Daria ; YwiMal^ on
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Ibtn^ of Mumdman SainU near Kash^ar, 153
the S. bank of the same river, opposite Koitoalaka, 10 miles below Faizabad. The settlements along the Kizyl, are : Tuguzak at 1 7 miles ; Tuzfpim, on the right bank of the same hver, 6 miles S. of Kashgar. The Khan-Aiyk settlement is the abode of the Alcne-Akhund, who is considered the head of the Black-Momitaineer party, 27 miles S.E. of Kashgar, on the river Ussen (Khanaryk, or Yamanyar). The settlements of BurakhcUai, Vfd^ and Ta»lmalyk lie at the foot of the moun- tains, W. of Kashgar. To Tashmdlyh, the distance is estimated at 120 miles and to Burakhatai 40 miles.
Of aU the settlements in the district of Kashgar, the most extensive are: Faizabad^ containing 2,000 houses; Kkan^Aryk the same number; UsIUn-Arh/sh 1,000 houses. They are all governed by Hakims (rulers), and have their own Alene- Ahunds or Spiritual Chiefe.
A bazaar is held at Eaizabad once a week, on Mondays ; at Khan-Aiyk twice a week, on Sun- days and Tuesdays.
In the neighbourhood of Kashgar there are several tombs of saints, much reverenced by the natives and other Asiatics. The tomb of Appak- Hodja is the best building throughout the whole
154 I^avek in Cenind Ada,
of the Kashgar district ; it is situated at 4 miles N.E. of the town, on the. left bank of the Tibnen ; it is built of bamt brick and decorated externally and internally with coloured tiles ; the cornices are composed of the horns of the mountain sheep, goat, and deer brought as sacrifices, while flags and standards decorate the entrance and the cr}pt itself. A large mosque, with spheroidal cupola of handsome proportions, has been erected close to the tomb by one of the sons of the Hodja.
The tomb of Ak-Mazar and Pojakhom-Hodja lies on the road to Artysh, at seven miles from Kashgar. In the town itself is the tomb of Ab- lazyk-Kazi-Hodja, among many others, but those