CHAPTER I.

AN ACCOUNT of THE KINGDOM OF BOKHARA.

~Limits and extent of the kingdom.~

Samarcand and Bokhara have afforded a theme for glowing description to the historians, and poets of all ages. The country in which they lie forms a portion of Toorkistan, or the land of the Toorks, and is so denominated by the people themselves. Bokhara is an isolated kingdom, of small extent, surrounded by a desert. It is an open champaign country, of unequal fertility. In the vicinity of its few rivers the soil is rich; beyond, barren and unproductive. It owes its importance to its central position, since it is placed between Europe and the richest regions of Asia. On the north, it is bounded by the Sea of Aral, the Sir or Jaxartes of the ancients, and the country of Kokan or Ferghana. On the east, it extends to the mountains which branch from the high lands of Pamere. On the south it has the Oxus, which it however crosses on the south-eastern limit, and holds a supremacy over Balkh and the cantons of Andkho and Maimuna. On the west it is separated from Orgunje or Khiva by the desert of Kharasm, which commences within a march of the city of Bokhara. In this enumeration I have assigned the widest limits to the kingdom; for there are provinces within this boundary which owe but a doubtful allegiance. The great feature of the country is the Oxus, which bisects the desert, and renders it inhabitable. The river of Samarcand, in its lower course, flows at right angles to it, but expends its water before paying its tribute to the greater stream. Another rivulet below that of Samarcand shares a like fate, after it has watered the province of Kurshee. On the banks of these different streams lies the whole cultivable soil of the kingdom. The entire country is comprised between the parallels of 36° and 45° of north latitude, and the meridians of 61° and 67° east longitude. A very small portion of this extensive tract is peopled. From Eljeek on the Oxus, and on the western frontier, to Juzzak on the east, which is the line of cultivation across the country, the distance is 240 miles. From Balkh to Bokhara it is but 260, almost altogether waste; and the desert commences about fifteen miles beyond the capital.

~Natural and political divisions.~

The natural and political divisions of the kingdom, according to the natives, are as follows:--1. Karakool; 2. Bokhara, and seven _tomuns_ or districts around; 3. Kermina; 4. Meeankal, or Kutta Koorghan; 5. Samarcand, which has five _tomuns_; 6. Juzzak; 7. Kurshee; 8. Lubiab, or banks of the Oxus; and, 9. Balkh, and the provinces south of that river. The first six of these divisions occupy the valley of the river of Samarcand, known by the name of Kohik and _Zurufshan_, the gold-shedding river. This is the ancient valley of the Sogd, which has elicited the praises of all ages, from the time of Alexander. It was considered a paradise on earth by the Arabian conquerors; but much of its fame must be attributed to the surrounding desolation, its beauty captivating the eyes of those who had long travelled in oceans of sand. It is, however, a beautiful valley. Kurshee, which lies sixty miles to the south of Samarcand, is an oasis, formed by a river from the neighbouring province of Shuhr Subz, which exhausts itself in fertilising the district. The territory on the banks of the Oxus is also highly favoured by nature; but the strip of cultivation is narrow, and much of it lies neglected. Balkh, and the countries south of the Oxus, likewise owe their fertility to the abundant supply of water, which was once divided among a multiplicity of villages; but rapine has desolated this fruitful land. These cantons, though considered tributary to Bokhara, render but nominal allegiance; which consists in sending a few horses yearly to the king. Their names are as follows:--Akchu, Shibbergaum, Andkhoee, Maimuna, and Sirepool; all, except the last, to the north of the mountains.

~Physical geography.~

The geological structure and general conformation of an extended plain is not less interesting than the features of a lofty range of mountains; but we have here fewer opportunities to observe and describe. The great plain of Toorkistan has an elevation of 2000 feet, and gradually declines westward from Balkh, as the slope and direction of the rivers testify, till it meets the Sea of Aral and the Caspian. With the country north of the Oxus, and from the base of the mountains to Bokhara, I am best acquainted. We have a succession of low rounded ridges of limestone, oolite, and gravel, thinly overgrown with verdure, alternating with vast and hardened plains of argillaceous clay, which offer in this dry climate the finest roads to the heaviest artillery. On these there occur some fields of sand-hills, of no great extent, but sufficient to absorb the waters of all the rivulets flowing towards the Oxus. They seem to extend in a narrow line parallel to that river; and between it and Karakool have their greatest breadth, which is about twelve miles. Further to the eastward, they do not exceed half that width; and there are only a few scattered hillocks between Kurshee and the Oxus. Westward of Bokhara, the sand-hills increase in volume, and approach close on either side of the river of Kohik, leaving but a small space for cultivation; they then run north and west into the deserts of Kipchak and Kharasm. On their extent and continuance south of the Oxus I have spoken in my narrative, as well as in a subsequent chapter on Toorkmania. These sand-hills are based on the firmest land; and it can at once be discerned that they have been blown by the wind from some other soil. In the valleys there occasionally occur deposits of salt and saline rivulets; and nearly all the wells of this tract are either bitter or brackish. The depth of these never exceeds thirty-six feet, and many of them have water at half that distance from the surface. Between Bokhara and the Oxus the water exudes through sand, and in August had a temperature of 60°, while the air exceeded that of 100°. It was as grateful to the palate as if cooled in ice. In the cold season, these wells are described as warm; so it is evident that they retain an equality of temperature during the year. The tract north of the Oxus is thinly peopled by pastoral tribes, and uncultivated; but the remains of aqueducts and buildings, in particular between Kurshee and Bokhara, denote a more prosperous age in these now neglected lands.

~Climate and phenomena.~

The climate of Bokhara is salubrious and pleasant; it is dry, and in the winter very cold, as is usual in sandy countries. Nothing proves this so satisfactorily as the freezing of the Oxus. In summer, the thermometer seldom rises much above 90°, and the nights are always cool. But this only applies to the city of Bokhara; for, in approaching it by the desert in June, the heat exceeded 100° of Fahrenheit. The exuberance of vegetation near the city must lower the temperature; and will account for the difference between the scorching heat around, and its milder climate. Bokhara has an elevation of about 1200 feet above the sea. There is a constant serenity in its atmosphere, and a clearness in the sky. The heavens are a bright azure blue, generally without a cloud. At night, the stars have uncommon lustre, and the milky way shines gloriously in the firmament. Even in moonlight, a star is visible on the verge of the horizon at an elevation of but three or four degrees. There is also a never-ceasing display of the most brilliant meteors, which dart like rockets in the sky: ten or twelve of these are sometimes seen in an hour, assuming almost every colour; fiery red, blue, pale and faint. It is a noble country for astronomical science, and great must have been the advantages enjoyed by the famed observatory of Samarcand. In the middle of July, after some days of greater than usual heat, we experienced a violent tornado of dust, accompanied by a hot wind. It approached from the N.W., and could be seen advancing. It passed off in a few hours, and left the air clear and cool; nor did the heat again return. I encountered a similar phenomenon at Mooltan, on the Indus, about the same time in the preceding year. These clouds of dust appear only to occur near deserts; but then every strong breeze should raise a similar cloud, which it does not. In winter, the snow lies for three months at Bokhara; and the spring rains are often heavy, but the climate is arid. The evaporation of water is so rapid, that after rain the roads dry immediately. I should judge the climate to be congenial to the human frame, from the great age of many of the inhabitants. I have been now speaking of Bokhara and the countries north of the Oxus. In Balkh, the heat is oppressive; and the climate is very unhealthy, which is attributed to the bad quality of the water. It is of a whitish colour, mixed up with earth like pipe-clay: nor can it be the abundance of it which causes marshes, for most of the canals are choked; and the country, when dry, continues equally unhealthy. In Balkh, the harvest is about fifty days later than at Peshawur; the wheat is cut in the middle of June, and at Bokhara it is a fortnight later.

~Rivers.~

In Bokhara, the rivers possess the highest importance, since they render a portion of these inhospitable lands habitable to man. There are five of them in Bokhara; the Amoo or Oxus, the Sir or Jaxartes, the Kohik, and the rivers of Kurshee and Balkh. I have devoted the next chapter to a description of the Oxus. The river Sir is hardly to be included in the dominions of Bokhara: it rises in the same mountains as the Oxus; and passing through the country of Kokan and Khojend, and traversing a desert, falls into the Aral, about the 46th degree of north latitude. It is a much smaller river than the Oxus, but is said to be more rapid. In summer it is fordable; and in winter it is covered with ice, sometimes two yards thick, over which the caravans pass. Next in importance to the Sir is the Kohik, or Zurufshan. It rises in the high lands east of Samarcand, and passing north of that city and Bokhara, forms a lake in the province of Karakool, instead of falling in the Oxus, as has been represented in our maps. In the upper parts of its course it fertilises the rich province of Samarcand; below that city, in Meeankal, its waters are diverted for the purposes of rice cultivation; for three or four months in the year, its bed is perfectly dry at Bokhara; and that city, and the country below it, suffer great inconvenience, since they depend on the river for a supply of water. It is a curious propensity in the people to raise in any portion of so dry a country a grain like rice, which requires such an exuberance of water. The lake into which the Kohik flows is familiarly known by the name of “Dengiz,” or sea, and is about twenty-five miles long, and surrounded on all sides by sand-hills. It is very deep; nor, from the accounts of the people, does it appear ever to decrease in size at any season of the year. When the snow melts in summer, the water flows as steadily into it, as it does in winter. Its water is salt, though its only feeder be a fresh river; but this is in accordance with the laws of nature, since it has no outlet of any kind. The next river is that of Kurshee, which rises in the same high lands as the Kohik, and passes through Shuhr Subz and Kurshee, below which it is lost in the desert. The blessings of water are most apparent in the neighbourhood of this river. The fields of Shuhr Subz yield rich crops of rice; and Kurshee is a sheet of gardens and orchards. For six miles on one side, and sixteen on the other, the waters of this rivulet are distributed by canals: when these cease, we have again a sterile desert to contrast with its green and beautiful herbage. The river of Kurshee is fed by the melted snow; and such is the command over its waters, that the chief of Shuhr Subz can at any time cut off the supply of the lower districts. In both this river and the Kohik it is usual to let the water run for a limited time in certain canals, which gives to each village the benefit of the stream once in ten days; such is the value of water, and such is the care of the husbandman in this country. The last river of the country is that of Balkh, which rises south of Hindoo Koosh, about twenty miles from Bameean, near the “Bund i Burbur,” a celebrated dam ascribed to a miracle of Ali, and which appears to be an avalanche of earth that has fallen in upon a ravine. The river then flows north among the mountains, and enters the plains of Toorkistan, about six miles south of Balkh. Here it is divided into numerous canals (which are said to be eighteen in number), and conducted to the city, as also to Mazar and Akhchu on either side. Akhchu is about fifty miles from Balkh; but none of the other canals extend so far, though some of their water trickles half way to the Oxus, and affords that necessary of life to the roving Toorkmuns. It is impossible to give any delineation of the canals of Balkh, since they intersect the whole country, and traces of them meet the eye every where. The gentle slope of the land towards the Oxus affords great facilities for irrigating the lands of Balkh; the soil is rich and productive; which will account for the great population, and vast fertility that was once to be found in this country.

~Mountains.~

The mountains of Bokhara lie on its frontiers. On the east and south they form its boundaries; but the interior of the country is free from them, with the exception of some low-lying ridges near Shuhr Subz and Samarcand. The northern line of Hindoo Koosh, near Balkh, is incorrectly laid down; since that city stands on the plain six miles distant, and clear of the range which stretches to the westward, and never reaches so high a parallel. In our maps, Balkh stands upon it[20], and the range is even continued north-eastward to the Oxus. I have given a separate notice of this great belt of mountains, of which those near Balkh are but outlyers. Snow is procured from the valleys about twenty miles from Balkh, in the middle of summer. On approaching Kurshee we descried a lofty range of snow-clad mountains, running apparently north and south. The natives called them the mountains of Baeetoon, from a village of that name; and assured me they were six days’ journey, or about a distance of 150 miles, from Kurshee. In June they were entirely enveloped in snow, which would assign to them an elevation of at least 18,000 feet, judging by Hindoo Koosh. There were no remarkable peaks in sight, and the mountains ran in connected chain like a trap formation. There were many lesser and outward ridges between them and our view; but they towered far above all others, and gave an impression of great altitude. We saw them again at sunrise, but lost the splendid prospect as we travelled westward of Kurshee. I am at a loss for the correct designation of this range: the Emperor Baber speaks of the Kara Tagh, or Black Mountains, in Karatageen; but that name is unknown in these days. They appear to terminate the highlands of Pameer. They run at right angles to Hindoo Koosh, and very nearly in the same meridian, giving cover to an opinion that they are but a branch of that range. North of the Oxus, the mountains first rise in the independent province of Hissar, and these which I have described appear as a prolongation. In Hissar, however, they have no snow but in winter; and they have an elevation beyond what was to be looked for in this part of Asia. The country at their base is inhabited by the Kongrad Uzbeks.

~Mineral productions.~

When we speak of the mineral productions of Bokhara, our recollection is carried back to the ill-fated expeditions of Russia into these countries in quest of gold. The river of Bokhara, I have observed, has the designation of “Zurufshan,” or the gold-yielding stream. The result of Prince Bekevitch’s expedition is well known; he and his three thousand men perished. There are no gold mines in the kingdom of Bokhara, but that precious metal is found among the sands of the Oxus in greater abundance, perhaps, than in any of the other rivers which flow from Hindoo Koosh. From its source to the lake of Aral, the inhabitants wash the sand after the floods with great profit, and find grains or particles of gold larger than those in the Indus. A piece of virgin gold, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, was picked up last year on the banks of the Oxus, and is now in possession of a merchant in Khooloom. In the vicinity of Durwaz, the sands are most productive. The lapis lazuli cliffs, which overhang the river in Budukhshan, are also said to be interveined with gold; but, from the specimens which I have seen, it appears to be mica. All the other metals, such as silver, iron, and copper, are imported from Russia. Sal ammoniac (_nouchadur_) is found in its native state among the hills near Juzzak. I know of no other mineral productions in the kingdom but the salt deposits. In Hissar, salt is found in hills, not unlike the formations in the salt range of the Punjab. On the plains it is dug out in masses, and, when washed, is ready for the market. There is a bed of salt, about five miles in circumference, called Khwaju Hunfee, two miles from the Oxus, below Charjooee, on the right bank of the river. The salt is imperfectly crystallised, black, and very inferior; a camel load of 500lbs. sells for a quarter of a tilla in Bokhara.[21]

~Vegetable kingdom.~

The vegetable productions of this country are more abundant. The different trees will be best known by the names of the fruit after noticed. The wood used for house-building is the poplar, which grows every where. The cotton plant is extensively cultivated, and exported both in a raw and manufactured state. Hemp is reared, but the people are ignorant of its use in manufactures. They extract oil from the seeds of the plant, as also the intoxicating drug called “bang,” and give the stalks to cattle. I have been informed that the tea plant thrives between Samarcand and Kokan; but I doubt the information, which was never properly confirmed. There is a small yellow flower, called “esbaruk,” growing in the low hills near Kurshee and Balkh, which is used as a dye, and produces a better colour than the rind of the pomegranate. Madder, called “bayak,” is also produced; its roots are permitted to remain eighteen months in the ground; but a dye equally good and serviceable is found in the creeping roots of the vine, which yield a colour that is dark red. Neither indigo nor sugar cane grow in Bokhara. They are the great imports from India, and might be acclimated. There is a curious and common substitute for sugar, called “turunjubeen.” It is a saccharine gum, which exudes from the well-known shrub called the camel’s thorn, or the “_khari-shootur_.” Towards the end of August, when this shrub is in flower, it may be seen in the morning covered with drops like dew, which are shaken into a cloth placed beneath the bush, and form what is called “turunjubeen.” Some hundred maunds are collected annually, and the whole sweetmeats and confections used in the country are prepared from it; it is also exported. Though the “_khari-shootur_” be a plant common to most of the countries in Asia, it does not always, as in Bokhara, produce “turunjubeen.” The gum is unknown in India and Cabool, and not found westward of Bokhara, or near that capital; though in great plenty to the eastward, near Kurshee and Samarcand. It appears to be peculiar to certain soils; abounding in dry deserts; and is probably the rich sap of the shrub, which exudes and hardens into small grains. The inhabitants entertain an absurd opinion, that it is really dew; but I never heard that it was made by an insect, as has been asserted. It cannot be doubted that sugar could be manufactured from it,--a discovery that would be invaluable, since they now use syrup of grapes and mulberries on account of the expense of that article. Sugar might also be extracted from juwaree, beet root, and melons. There is another valuable jungle shrub, called “_usl-soos_,” and “_achick booee_,” by the Uzbeks, which appears to be a bastard indigo, and grows most luxuriantly on the banks of the Oxus and the other rivers of the country. The roots of this plant extend deep into the soil, and at certain seasons of the year have a small globular worm attached to them: this creature produces a purple dye, like that of cochineal (kirmiz), and some of the merchants applied for my advice regarding it: the insect, when exposed to the sun, comes to life; when destroyed in an oven, it shrivels up, but still produces a dye, only inferior to cochineal. I compared it with American cochineal, and they appeared to me similar, only that the native preparation was softer. Should this insect yield cochineal, the discovery would be highly important in a silk country; nor is it to be doubted that its vivifying power might be destroyed by steam. An ingenious native of Cashmere had tried to bake it in bread, but without better success than when placed loose in the oven. The different grains of the country are rice, wheat, barley, juwaree, here called “jougan,” “sesamum,” “urjun,” Indian corn, gram, moong, and beans. It is an astonishing fact, that, in the provinces south of the Oxus, the wheat yields a crop for three successive years. When the harvest is finished, the cattle are turned in upon the stubble fields, and in the ensuing year the same stalks grow up and ear. The second crop is good, the next more scanty; but it is reaped a third time. In Bokhara Proper, the soil has not such fecundity, for the crops of Karakool do not yield more than sevenfold. Trefoil is cultivated, and may be out seven or eight times in the year. Lucerne requires too much water. The tobacco of Kurshee is superior. The wild rhubarb, or “rhuwash,” as found in Cabool, likewise grows in the hillocks of this district. Vegetables abound; there are turnips, carrots, onions, radishes, brinjals, and a variety of greens, with most extensive fields of beet-root. The potatoe has not been introduced. Though Bokhara is so celebrated for its fertility, the necessaries of life bear a high price, which in the city itself may be attributed to the density of population. The following table will furnish more correct data on this subject:--

51 lbs. of wheat sell for one sicca rupee, value about 2_s._ 75-1/2 lbs. of barley for the same price. 18-1/2 lbs. of best rice. 22-1/2 lbs. of coarse rice. 36-1/2 lbs. of wheat flour. 64 lbs. of juwaree. 48 lbs. of moong. 36-1/2 lbs. of gram. 43 lbs. of beans. 16 lbs. of mutton. 24 lbs. of beef. 8 lbs. of oil. 140 lbs. of salt. 1 lb. of sugar. 4-2/3 lbs. of ghee.

~Fruits and wines.~

The fruits of Bokhara have attained a great celebrity; but it is more from quantity than quality. They consist of the peach, plum, apricot, cherry, sour cherry, apple, pear, quince, walnut, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, and grape; also the melon, pumpkin, and cucumber. Most of the stone fruit is inferior to that of Persia, only excepting the apricots of Balkh, which are highly flavoured, and nearly as large as apples. They are called “Bakur khanee;” and 2000 of them may be purchased for a rupee. There are many kinds of grapes; the best are the Sabibee and Hooseinee: the first is a purple grape, the other yellow, and of a long shape; and both have a flavour truly luscious. The vines are not pruned as in Europe. The raisins prepared from the Bokhara grapes stand unrivalled in size and flavour: the best are dipped in hot water, and then dried, from which they have the name of “ab-josh,” which means water boiled: they are soft and beautifully transparent. The wines of Bokhara are unpalatable to European taste, with little flavour; some of them might even be mistaken for beer. They cannot be preserved for more than a year; which evinces some defect in their manufacture. The mulberries are delicious: they are dried like raisins; and a syrup called “sheeru” is also extracted from them and grapes. The apples are indifferent. The plum of Bokhara, which is so well known in India, is not exported from the country itself, but grows at Ghuzni in Cabool: it is highly esteemed. The melon is the choicest fruit of Bokhara. The Emperor Baber tells us that he shed tears over a melon of Toorkistan, which he cut up in India after his conquest: its flavour brought his native country and other dear associations to memory. There are two distinct species of melons, which the people class into hot and cold; the first ripens in June, and is the common musk or scented melon of India, and not superior in flavour; the other ripens in July, and is the true melon of Toorkistan; In appearance it is not unlike a water melon, and comes to maturity after being seven months in the ground. It is much larger than the common sort, and generally of an oval shape, exceeding two and three feet in circumference. Some are much larger; and those which ripen in the autumn have exceeded four feet. One has a notion that what is large cannot be delicate or high flavoured; but no fruit can be more luscious than the melon of Bokhara. I always looked upon the melon as an inferior fruit till I went to that country: nor do I believe their flavour will be credited by any one who has not tasted them. The melons of India, Cabool, and even Persia, bear no comparison with them: not even the celebrated fruit of Isfahan itself. The pulp is rather hard, about two inches thick, and is sweet to the very skin; which, with the inhabitants, is the great proof of superiority. A kind of molasses is extracted from these melons, which might be easily converted into sugar. There are various kinds of melons: the best is named “Kokechu,” and has a green and yellow coloured skin; another is called “Ak nubat,” which means white sugar candy: it is yellow, and exceedingly rich. The winter melon is of a dark green colour, called “Kara koobuk,” and said to surpass all the others. Bokhara appears to be the native country of the melon, having a dry climate, sandy soil, and great facilities for irrigation. Melons may be purchased in Bokhara throughout the year, and are preserved by merely hanging them up apart from one another; for which those of the winter crop are best suited. The water melons of Bokhara are good, and attain also an enormous bulk: twenty people may partake of one; and two of them, it is said, form sometimes a load for donkey. The cucumbers are likewise superior.[22]

~Domestic animals.~

~Sheep.~

~Goats.~

~Camels.~

In the animal kingdom, the sheep and goats of Bokhara claim the first notice, since the one yields the celebrated skins, and the other a description of shawl-wool, only inferior to that used in Cashmere. These flocks graze on furze and dry grass; and their flesh is sweet and well-flavoured. All the sheep are of the doombu kind, with large tails; some of which yield in season so much as fifteen pounds of tallow. The animal looks deformed from its size; and straddles along with evident uneasiness. The description of sheep which produces the jet-black curly fleece, that is made into caps in Persia, and so much esteemed everywhere, is peculiar to Karakool, a small canton between Bokhara and the Oxus. The animal will thrive in no other place, and has been transported to Persia and other countries without success; when removed, it loses the peculiarity in its fleece, and becomes like any other sheep. The people attribute this curly fleece to the nature of the pasture; and assert that the grass called “boyak,” and by the Persians “ronass,” which is a long kind of bent, changes the nature of the animal. If a Karakool sheep even strays to the banks of the Oxus, where that plant grows, it ceases, it is said, to have the curly wool. The skins of the male lambs are most highly prized: they are killed five or six days after birth; never later than a fortnight; but the popular belief of their being cut out of the womb is erroneous: a very few are procured from premature births in the ewes; and the skins of such are as fine as velvet, but not curled. These are called “kirpuk,” and exported to Constantinople, where they bear a very high price, as the supply is limited. The other kind is called “danudar,” or curled, and exported to Persia, Turkey, and China. They are of different fineness, according to the age at which the lambs are killed: some are exquisitely curled, others more coarse. Those which have the smallest curls are most prized; and in Persia, ten or fifteen skins will sometimes be cut up to make a single cap; which is the cause of their being so expensive. In Bokhara, a single skin never bears a higher price than three or four sicca rupees. The annual export of skins amounts to about two hundred thousand; the coarser ones being sent to Orgunje. They are cured by being rubbed with barley flour, and salt. The goats of Bokhara, which are to be found among the wandering Kirgizzes, yield the wool to which I have alluded: but these people were quite ignorant of its value till a late period; and yet manufacture it into ropes to bind their horses and cattle. For some years past it has been exported to Cabool and India. The stuffs prepared from it are good, but far surpassed by those of Cashmere, manufactured from the wool of Tibet. This wool is of a grey colour, and produced next the skin of the animal, from which it is combed out; if not removed, it makes its appearance in clotted lumps among the hair. The goat is about the common size, of a dark colour, and differing from that of Tibet, which is a small and beautiful animal. I am not aware if the goats of every country yield wool; but, in this respect, there is a resemblance between those of Toorkistan and Tibet. I am assured that the dogs of the latter country even yield wool from which a few shawls are annually manufactured in Cashmere. The curs of Bokhara yield nothing so valuable. In a country, surrounded by deserts, the camel is an animal of the first importance: they are very numerous; and the whole traffic of Bokhara is carried on by means of them. They bear a high price; a good one cannot be purchased under sixty or seventy rupees. The condition and appearance of the camel here differ from what is seen in India and Cabool, where they are often covered with eruptions, and almost destitute of hair. At Bokhara, on the other hand, they have a sleek coat, as fine as that of a horse, and shed their hair in summer; from which a fine water-proof cloth of close and rather heavy texture is manufactured. It is called “oormuk,” and retains the natural colour of the camel. I imagine that these camels owe their superiority to the climate, and the congenial thorny food, which is so abundant. This animal always thrives best in a dry country, and is very impatient under heat. They will travel with ease for fourteen successive hours; but their keepers never march during the day if it can be avoided. It is erroneous to believe that the camel can subsist for any great number of days without water. In summer they suffer much after the second day; and in winter they will only travel without it for double the time. The food of the camel is most cleanly; but nothing can be more offensive than the effluvia which proceeds from its stomach. The journeys performed, even with our caravan, bespeak the great hardihood of these animals. In one instance we travelled seventy miles in forty-four consecutive hours, including every halt. Our usual marches were thirty miles: and the camel scarcely ever travels more than two miles in the hour. The Bactrian camel, which has two humps, abounds in Toorkistan: they are bred by the Kuzzaks of the desert north of Bokhara. They have a fringe of long black hair under their neck, with a clump of it on both thighs, and are really pretty for a camel. In stature they are lower than the common camel or dromedary, yet they bear greater burdens by 140 pounds: the one carrying 640, and the other but 500 pounds English. I am assured that a most strong and useful breed of camels is reared by a cross between the two. The issue of these have but one hump. I reserve my remarks on the horses of the country for a separate chapter. Among the domestic animals of Bokhara none are more useful than the ass: the breed is large and sturdy, and they are much used both for saddle and burden. There is no objection to riding them, as in India. There are no mules, from a religious prejudice against them. The horned cattle of Bokhara are well sized, though far inferior to those of England. There are no buffaloes.

~Wild animals. Birds. Insects. Fishes.~

The wild animals of the country are few. Tigers of a diminutive species are found in the valley of the Oxus; also wild hogs, herds of deer, antelope, and the wild ass, roam on the plains; there are also foxes, wolves, jackals, and cats. There are bears in the Eastern mountains; rats, tortoises, and lizards are found in the desert. The scorpion is common; but its sting has little of its usual virulence: I speak from experience. It is said that there are no snakes (and we certainly did not meet with any) north of the Oxus. Locusts sometimes infest the country, particularly about Balkh. The eagle and hawk are found; all kinds of game are scarce. The plover and wild pigeon are common. Water fowl are numerous in certain seasons. The crane, or “lug lugu,” as it is called, builds its nest on the mosques of the cities: it is a bird of passage, and reckoned sacred. The fish of the Oxus do not differ from what are found in most Asiatic rivers. There is a species of the dog-fish called “lukha,” which has no scales, and is frequently caught of the weight of 600 lbs. English: the Uzbeks eat it. In the lake of Karakool the fish have as good a flavour as those of the sea. There are no monsters in the Oxus. We neither saw not heard of alligators. There are few insects in a dry country. I observed a peculiarity in the food of the bees and wasps which was new to me: they attacked a shoulder of mutton, and ate very large holes in it; in winter they are sometimes fed with flesh instead of sugar. The meat which I saw them devouring was fresh, not putrid. They also attacked dried fish.

~Silk-worms. Silk.~

The most valuable insect is the silk-worm, which is reared in all parts of the kingdom where there is water. Every stream or rivulet is lined with the mulberry; and the most extensive operations are carried on along the banks of the Oxus, where the whole of the wandering tribes are engaged in rearing the insect. The silk of the “Lub i ab,” or banks of the river, as it is termed, is the most valuable, both from the softness and fineness of its thread. The trees put forth their leaves about the vernal equinox, when the worm is brought out, the whole stage of its existence has terminated with the month of June. The worm is killed in the cocoon by immersion in hot water; and the silk is then reeled off on a wheel by an end or thread being taken from a number of cocoons which lie clotted together. This silk is exported to India and Cabool, and, from its abundance, may be purchased at a very cheap rate. Silk is likewise produced in the neighbouring country of Kokan; but it is more abundant than good. The raw silk is dyed by cochineal and the productions already named, madder and “esbaruk.” A black colour is produced by mixing iron filings with water in which rice has been boiled, and allowing it to stand for a month.

~Diseases. Guinea-worm.~

~Kolee, a kind of leprosy.~

~Cholera.~

Among the diseases of Bokhara, the most distressing is the guinea-worm, or Dracunculus, here called “rishtu:” it is confined to the city. The inhabitants believe that the disease arises from drinking the water of the cisterns in summer, when they become fetid and infested with animalculæ. Travellers suffer as much as the inhabitants; but the disease does not show itself till the year following that on which they have drank the water. Many of the Afghans are attacked after returning to Cabool; and, whatever be the cause, it assuredly originates from something peculiar to Bokhara, since all other parts of the country are free from it. It is supposed that one fourth of the whole population of Bokhara are annually attacked with guinea-worm. This prevalence of the complaint has given the natives a dexterity of extracting them quite unknown in other countries. So soon as it is discovered that one has formed, and before any swelling has taken place, they pass a needle under the middle of the worm, and, rubbing the part, draw it out at once. They are generally successful; but if the worm breaks, the wound festers, the pain is excessive, and few recover under three months. If the animal be coiled in one place, the extraction is simple; if deep in the flesh, more difficult. If the swelling has commenced, they do not attempt the operation, but allow it to take its course, and endeavour to draw it out by degrees, as in India. These worms vary in length from three to four spans. It is said that guinea-worm is most common among people of a cold temperament; but it does not attack any particular class. The better orders of people, attributing it to the water, send to the river for their supply, and never drink that of the cisterns till it is boiled. It is not to be supposed that I can give any solution of the cause of this disease: the doctors of Toorkistan believe it to be a worm generated from the causes above-mentioned. Nor can I credit its arising from the animalculæ of the water. Another disease of the country is the “mukkom,” or “kolee,” a kind of leprosy. Those afflicted with it are considered unclean: it does not cover the body with spots, as in common leprosy, but the skin becomes dry and shrivelled; the hair of the body falls off, the nails and teeth tumble out, and the whole body assumes a horrible and unseemly appearance. The disease is believed to be hereditary, and to originate from food: it is fearfully prevalent in the districts of Samarcand and Meeankal; also in the neighbouring states of Shuhr Subz and Hissar; all of which are rice countries. Some state it to be caused by the use of the intoxicating spirit called “boozu,” which is distilled from black barley; but that liquor and mares’ milk are not used in Bokhara. The disease affects the general health, and is incurable. The most humane people will tell you that it is a curse from God, and drive the unfortunate sufferer from them. A separate quarter of the city is assigned for the residence of those who are afflicted, as was the case among the Jews. That scourge, the cholera morbus, has been felt in all these countries. It appears to have taken the route of the caravans, and advanced from India step by step into eastern Europe. It raged for a year in Cabool; it then crossed Hindoo Koosh on the following season, and desolated Balkh and Koondooz. For a year it fluctuated between the valley of the Oxus and Herat; it then attacked Bokhara, Kokan, and the other Uzbek states; and, after devastating the country, passed on to Khiva, Orenburg, and Astrakhan. The faculty have discovered no remedy for the cholera morbus.

~Other diseases.~

The inhabitants of Toorkistan are subject to a constant dryness of the skin: many of them lose their eyelashes and eyebrows, and their skin becomes wrinkled and tawny. Whether the diet, or dryness of the climate, causes these appearances, I know not. The Uzbeks seldom eat horse-flesh; though it is believed that they live upon it. It is considered heating food, and is, besides, expensive. Mutton is preferred, and none but the lower orders eat beef. A sheep is killed, and the entire tail, however large and fat, is melted up with the meat, and cooked in a single boiler. They are fond of every thing oily, and also use much cheese and sour milk. Ophthalmia is a very common complaint in Toorkistan. Fevers are rare; in Balkh rheumatism is prevalent. In the city of Bokhara rickets are common; and the children have generally a puny and unhealthy appearance, which is not observable in the grown-up people of the country. Among their medicines, I heard of an oil extracted from the dung of sheep; which is considered a specific for the sprains, bruises, and hurts of cattle: it is very pungent, and the flies shun the parts rubbed with it. I have been assured of the bone spavins of a horse being reduced by an application of this oil. They procure it by a distilling process.

~Cities and towns. Population of the kingdom.~

There are no large towns in the kingdom of Bokhara, but the capital. It contains a population of about 150,000 souls. The ancient cities of Samarcand and Balkh have long since dwindled into the obscurity of provincial towns: they are both surpassed by Kurshee, which has not a population of 10,000 souls. These are the only towns in the country. There are some large villages, such as Jizzak, Kermina, and Kutkoorghan; but none of them contain above 2500 people. The villages are also few, and widely separated from one another; they amount to about four hundred: nor can I estimate the whole population of the kingdom of Bokhara at a million of human beings: and one half of this population is made up of the nomade tribes that wander in its deserts. The villages are fortified by mud walls, which are necessary for their protection. In the cultivated parts, single habitations, called “robats,” are scattered over the face of the country; and these are invariably surrounded by walls; I need not enter upon any farther account of the cities of Bokhara and Balkh, since they have been mentioned in the narrative.

CHAP. II.

THE RIVER OXUS, OR AMOO; WITH SOME NOTICE OF THE SEA OF ARAL.

~Source and course of the Oxus.~

The Oxus, or Amoo, is a river of considerable magnitude and classical celebrity. It was known to the Greeks under the designation of Oxus: the Asiatics call it Jihoon and Amoo. Jihoon means a flood, and is used in all the Turkish and Persian works that treat upon these countries: but the inhabitants on its banks now speak of the river under the name of Amoo, calling it “Durya-i-Amoo,” the River, or literally, the Sea of Amoo. I am not aware of any meaning that attaches to this title. The Oxus rises in the table-lands of Pamere, and is formed by a variety of rivulets which collect in that elevated region of Asia. According to the information which I have received, its source is a degree more northward and eastward than appears in Mr. Macartney’s map. It is stated that four rivers, which flow in opposite directions, issue from the vicinity of the lake Surikol: these are the Oxus, Sir or Jaxartes, one of the heads of the Indus, and a portion of the waters of Tibet. The Oxus waters the rich valley of Budukhshan, where it receives the river of that name, the greatest of its tributaries, and is afterwards joined by a variety of smaller streams from Koondooz and Hissar, which have been described by Mr. Macartney. It winds among mountains, and, approaching within twenty miles of the town of Khoolloom, and much nearer than appears in our maps, passes about half a degree to the north of Balkh. There are no hills between it and that ancient city, as have been represented. It here enters upon the desert by a course nearly N.W., fertilizes a limited tract of about a mile on either side, till it reaches the territories of Orgunje or Khiva, the ancient Kharasm, where it is more widely spread by art, and is then lost in the sea of Aral. In the latter part of its course, so great is the body of water drawn for the purposes of irrigation, and so numerous are the divisions of its branches, that it forms a swampy delta, overgrown with reeds and aquatic plants, impervious to the husbandman, and incapable of being rendered useful to man, from its unvarying humidity. I will not permit the much-disputed subject of the Oxus having terminated, at a former period, in the Caspian instead of the Aral sea, to lead me into a digression on that curious point. I have only to state, after an investigation of the subject, and the traditions related to me, as well as much enquiry among the people themselves, that I doubt the Oxus having ever had any other than its present course. There are physical obstacles to its entering the Caspian, south of Balkhan, and north of that point; its more natural receptacle is the lake of Aral. I conclude that the dry river beds between Astrabad and Khiva are the remains of some of the canals of the kingdom of Kharasm, and I am supported in this belief by the ruins near them, which have been deserted as the prosperity of that empire declined. We shall thus account for such appearances on obvious grounds, without calling in the aid of earthquakes and other commotions of nature.

~The sea of Aral.~

The Tartars inform you that the word “Aral” implies between, and that that sea or lake is so called from its lying between the Sir and the Amoo, the Jaxartes and the Oxus. It is a popular belief, that the waters of the Aral pass by a subterraneous course into the Caspian. At a spot called Kara Goombuz, between the seas, where the caravans halt, some assert that the water is to be heard rushing beneath. It is said to make a noise like the words “Kara doom,” which mean “I am thirsty;” but the clock strikes what the fool thinks. The necessity of some such subterraneous passage is obvious in the eyes of the people, since the Aral has no outlet for two large rivers, but they do not think of evaporation, which is great beyond belief in this dry country[23], where there is also a perpetual wind. It is a curious fact, however, that at Kara Goombuz, before mentioned, which appears to be a sandy ridge, water is found close to the surface, while further south it is not to be had nearer than 100 fathoms. The water of the Aral is drinkable. It is seldom frozen in winter. In one of its many islands they relate some tales of a colony that passed over the ice with their herds and flocks, and has since had no opportunity of returning. The banks of the Aral are peopled by wandering tribes, who cultivate great quantities of wheat and other grain, which, with fish, that are caught in abundance, form their food. The neighbourhood of the Aral is not frequented by caravans.

~Capabilities of the Oxus.~

The Oxus is a navigable river throughout the greater portion of its course. Its channel is remarkably straight, and free from rocks, rapids, and whirlpools; nor is it much obstructed by sand-banks: were it not for the marshes which choke its embouchure, it might be ascended from the sea of Aral to near Koondooz, a distance of 600 miles. If we deduct the extent of that delta, commencing some way below Orgunje, which does not exceed fifty miles, we have still an inland line of navigation of 550 miles. The volume of water which this river discharges appears great for the short extent of its course, but it is the only drain of a wide and mountainous country. It is never fordable after it has received the rivers of Koondooz and Talighan, which join it under the name of Aksurai, below Huzrut Imam; these rivers are fed by the melted snow on the northern side of the great Hindoo Koosh. It may then only be so passed below that place (Huzrut Imam) for six months during the year, when the ford is passable for artillery; which has been frequently verified by the ruler of Koondooz. On leaving the hilly ground below Kilef, about sixty miles north-west of Balkh, the channel of the Oxus does not exceed 350 yards; on the plain it is wider spread, and we crossed it at Khoja Salu, thirty miles below that point, with a channel of 823 yards, as determined by the sextant. At Charjooee, 200 miles lower down, within twenty leagues of Bokhara, it had a channel of 650 yards. A detailed account of the river at these points will furnish the best data for a determination of its capabilities in a military and commercial point of view.

~Depth, current, and slope of the Oxus.~

At Khojusalu, on the 17th of June, a month before the periodical swell had attained its greatest height, the Oxus was divided into three distinct branches, only separated from each other by sand-banks. The width of these arms respectively was 295, 113, and 415 yards; which gives the total breadth of 823 yards. The soundings were irregular, and at the deepest place did not amount to twenty feet. An enumeration of them follows:--6, 9, 12, 6 feet in the first branch; 6 feet throughout the second; and 6, 9, 15, 19, 6, in the third and last. The medium depth of this river will never, therefore, be less than nine feet, since that is the product of 828 yards, divided by 92, the sum total of all the feet in the different soundings. Nor can there be much incorrectness in the approximation, since on the 17th of August, which is precisely two months later, when the river had passed its greatest rise, we had much the same volume of water at Charjooee, near Bokhara. The breadth was less, but the soundings were greater, and five heaves of the lead gave 12, 18, 29, 20, and 18 feet. The Oxus flows with a velocity of 6000 yards, or nearly three and a-half miles an hour; and I discover from the boiling point of water at the two places (Khoja Salu and Charjooee), that there is a difference of one and one third of a degree between them, which will give a slope of 800 feet in a distance of 200 miles. This is a great fall in such a river on so flat at country; and, since the boiling point of water is subject to slight variations even at the same place according to the state of the atmosphere, it must only be received as an approximation to the truth. The smallest change in so rude an instrument, for so nice an operation, produces a great error, but, after every allowance, I cannot rate this fall under 600 feet, or about a yard a mile: the course of the river is not tortuous, which always bespeaks a greater rapidity of descent.

~Inundation of the Oxus.~

The Oxus is subject to a periodical swell, as are all the great rivers which flow from the south of the same stupendous chain of mountains in which it has its rise. In both cases the causes are similar,--the melting of the snows in elevated regions. The inundation commences in May, and ceases in October; but it is also subject to a second and lesser flood during the rains of spring. It fluctuates in its rise and fall with the state of the weather, rising under the sun of a cloudless sky, and sinking with a denser atmosphere; while on its banks, in June, it subsided a foot and a half in thirty-six hours, and it had not then attained its height. The influence of the waters is rarely felt for half a mile beyond the channel of the river, though its inner banks are low and depressed, but there is a second bank varying in distance from a mile and a half to two miles on either side, and in some places more distant. The valley thus formed is clothed with verdure and moistened, though seldom inundated by the swell. Here it is that the inhabitants cultivate the land, and water it by industry and art. In some instances the aqueducts extend inland for a distance of four miles, and the water must then be raised by the Persian wheel for irrigating the fields. On leaving this tract the scene changes to sterility and desolation: the valley itself is in many places overgrown with a bastard indigo, tamarisk, and rank weeds, and neglected by the inhabitants. In winter, when the river has retired to its bed, it is contracted to a space of 400 yards, but is never fordable. During the swell, the waters of the Oxus are tinged by the soil of the mountains, and assume a reddish hue. I ascertained that one fortieth of their body consisted of silt suspended in the stream; while under the influence of this snowy water, the river had a temperature of 73° at the summer solstice, when the thermometer rose to 103° in the air.

~Freezing of the Oxus.~

It would not have been suspected that so vast a river, in so low a parallel as 38° north latitude, should be frozen during winter, which is no rare occurrence with the Oxus. The upper part of its course above Koondooz freezes annually, and passengers and beasts of burden cross it on the ice, on their route to Yarkund; but there it flows in an elevated region. In the desert, however, its waters are also congealed in a severe winter. Below Khiva it freezes annually; and at Charjooee, which is about seventy miles from Bokhara, it was frozen last year from bank to bank. The season was remarkably cold, and the caravans passed it on the ice. At Kirkee, half-way to Balkh, it was also frozen; but at the ferry of Kilef, opposite that city, there was a narrow channel in the middle of the stream, which prevented the passage of both boats and caravans for a month. A stone could be thrown from the ice of one bank to that of the other; and it is not doubted that the only hindrance to their junction in this narrow part of the Oxus arose from the rapidity of the current, that was hemmed in by a confined bank. It is an established fact, that the temperature of deserts is both colder and hotter than countries which are more favoured by nature. In the torrid deserts of Toorkistan, there is a cold bleakness during winter, which will account for the congelation of the Oxus; it is nevertheless a curious fact in physical geography, since the Danube, which flows parallel with the Oxus, and in a higher latitude by seven degrees, is not subject to a like phenomenon. In winter, if the Oxus be not frozen, the passage of boats is sometimes endangered by the masses of ice which are floated down from the upper part of its course. These have been known to sink a boat, and require attention on the part of the ferrymen.

~Craft on the Oxus. Their build and number, &c.~

The boats which are used on the Oxus are of a superior description, though they have neither masts nor sails. They are built in the shape of a ship, with a prow at both ends, and are generally about fifty feet long and eighteen broad. They would carry about twenty tons English; they are flat-bottomed, and about four feet deep: when afloat, the gunwale is about two and a half or three feet above the stream; for they do not draw much more than a foot of water when laden. They are constructed of squared logs of wood, each about six feet long, formed of a dwarf jungle-tree, called “pukee,” or “sheeshum,” which grows in great abundance throughout the banks of the river, and cannot be procured of greater dimensions. These trees are felled, their bark is peeled off, and they are chipped into a square shape, which makes them ready for the workmen. The logs are clamped with iron, and, though these boats have a rude appearance, there is a strength and solidity in their build that admirably fits them for the navigation of such a river. There are few boats in the higher part of the Oxus above Charjooee. From that place to where it becomes fordable, near Koondooz, there are about fifteen ferries, and as each is provided with two, we have only a tonnage of thirty vessels in a distance of three hundred miles. The reason is obvious, for the inhabitants make no use of the navigable facilities of the Oxus. Below Bokhara the supply increases, and there are about 150 boats between it and the Delta, chiefly belonging to Orgunje. Here they are not appropriated as ferry-boats, but used in the transport of merchandise to and from Bokhara. The embarkations take place at Eljeek, on the north bank of the river, about sixty-five miles from the city. Below the Delta there are no boats; and I am informed that the sea of Aral is without vessels of any other description than small canoes. In ascending, the boats are dragged against the stream; and in dropping down make for the middle, where the current is rapid, and float down with their broadsides to it. Neither rafts nor skins are used on the Oxus.

~Mode of navigating the Oxus.~

The manner of ferrying across is novel, and, I believe, peculiar to this river; the boats are dragged across by horses, as I have fully described in the narrative: nor should such a contrivance be lost sight of by those who may use the Oxus as a navigable river.

~Wood of the Oxus.~

Facilities in the navigation of a river rest much on the supplies of the country through which it flows; in particular, of the nature and quantity of wood which is there procurable. The number of boats on the Oxus is certainly small, since they do not amount to two hundred; but there is every facility for building a fleet, the supply of wood being abundant, and fortunately found in single trees along the valley of the river, and not growing in forests on any particular spot. There are no cedar or pine-trees brought down by the inundation, which I hold as conclusive proof that the mountains from which the Oxus and its tributaries flow are destitute of that wood. The only other trees which I saw on the river were mulberry and the white poplar; which last is floated down in quantities from Hissar to Charjooee, and applied to purposes of house-building. In any increase of the tonnage on this river, the immediate resources of the neighbouring country must therefore be called into action; but these are highly important. The nature of the build in the boats of the river requires no skill in naval architecture; the wood is not sawed, and it does not require seasoning, so that the utmost despatch might be used at all times in forming a flotilla, whether it were desired to navigate, cross, or bridge it. I believe that 150 men might be embarked on a boat of the size which I have described. The river could only be bridged by boats, for the wood is too small for an application of it in any other way, and the furze and tamarisk which grow in its banks would supply the place of planks, and make it at once complete and practicable. A bridge of boats was thrown across the Oxus by both Timour and Nadir, and the remains of some temporary buildings erected by the latter conqueror are still shown at the ferry of Kilef, north of Balkh. The river there presents facilities for such an operation, since it has hillocks on both sides, is narrow, and not _always_ rapid. Passengers frequently swim across the river at this ferry. Below the mountains the Oxus has a firm and sandy bed, and boats may be anchored by branches of trees in all parts of its stream.

~Political and commercial advantages of the Oxus.~

The advantages of the Oxus, both in a political and commercial point of view, must, then, be regarded as very great: the many facilities which have been enumerated point it out either as the channel of merchandize, or the route of a military expedition; nor is it from the features of the river itself that we form such a conclusion. It is to be remembered that its banks are peopled and cultivated. It must therefore be viewed as a river which is navigable, and possessing great facilities for improving the extent of that navigation. This is a fact of great political and commercial importance, whether an hostile nation may turn it to the gratification of ambition, or a friendly power here seek for the extension and improvement of its trade. In either case, the Oxus presents many fair prospects, since it holds the most direct course, and connects, with the exception of a narrow desert, the nations of Europe with the remote regions of Central Asia.

CHAP. III.

ON THE VALLEY OF THE UPPER OXUS; BEING A NOTICE OF KOONDOOZ, BUDUKHSHAN, AND THE KAFFIR COUNTRY, WITH THE ADJACENT TERRITORIES.

~Sketch of the countries to be described.~

The countries north of Hindoo Koosh, which lie in the valley of the Oxus, and its tributary rivers, from Balkh upwards, have no general designation; eastward of that city lies Koondooz, under which all the smaller provinces may be classed, since the Meer, or chief of that state, has subdued them. Further to the eastward, we have the province of Budukhshan, also a dependency of Koondooz. To the north of this territory are the hill states of Wakhan, Shughnan, Durwaz, Koolab, and Hissar; which are remarkable, as containing a race of people that claim a descent from Alexander the Great. To the eastward of Budukhshan lies the plain of Pamere, inhabited by the Kirghizzes; and beyond the Beloot Tagh mountains we have Chitral, Gilgit, and Iskardo, that extend towards Cashmere, and are also inhabited by tribes who assert their Macedonian origin. South of Budukhshan is the country of the Siahposh Kaffirs, a most singular people, who dwell among the mountains of Hindoo Koosh. These are the provinces which it is now proposed to describe; but we shall reserve any particular mention of the descendants of Alexander for the following chapter, and proceed, in the first place, to speak of the country and its productions.

~Koondooz.~

Koondooz is situated in a valley among low hills, which extend from east to west for about thirty miles, and from north to south about forty, when it is bounded by the Oxus. It is watered by two rivers, which join north of Koondooz, and are not fordable during the melting of the snows in summer. The climate of this country is most insalubrious: the heat is excessive, yet the snow lies for three months during winter. The greater part of the valley is so marshy, that the roads across are constructed on piles of wood, which are fixed among noxious reeds and vegetation. Rice is reared in such places as are not entirely inundated, and in the drier ground there is wheat and barley. The fruit consists of apricots, plums, cherries, and mulberries, and it ripens at Balkh and Khooloom about a fortnight sooner than at Koondooz. The great mountain of Hindoo Koosh is in sight at Koondooz; but those hills which form the valley on either side do not rise to a height of a thousand feet from the plain. They are long ridgy high-lands, covered with grass and flowers, but free from trees or brushwood, forming valuable pasture lands. The town of Koondooz cannot boast a population of 1500 souls; for it is deserted by the chief and the people. The neighbouring districts do not partake of the unhealthiness of Koondooz. Khooloom, Heibuk, Goree, Inderab, Talighan, and Huzrut Imam, are its subjected districts, and except the last, which lies in the Oxus, they possess a pleasant climate, and have a rich and prolific soil. These districts are watered by rivulets flowing into the Oxus, and the soil is valued by the facilities which it enjoys of being watered. Heibuk and Khooloom stand on the same rivulet, the water of which is dammed up on certain days, and allowed to run on others. The gardens on its banks are rich and beautiful; and among the fruit-trees, one again meets the fig, which does not grow in Cabool.

~Budukhshan.~

The countries that lie higher up the Oxus have none of the defects of climate which are peculiar to Koondooz, and both natives and foreigners speak in rapture of the vales of Budukhshan, its rivulets, romantic scenes and glens, its fruits, flowers, and nightingales. This district lies along the valley of the Oxus; but its capital is further to the south, and eastward of Koondooz. It is sometimes called Fyzabad, but its more common and proper name is Budukhshan. This once celebrated country is now almost without inhabitants; it was overrun by the chief of Koondooz about twelve years ago: its ruler has been dethroned, and his substitute exists as a mere pageant; its peasants have been marched out of the country, and a rabble of lawless soldiery is now quartered in the different provinces. It also suffered from an earthquake in January, 1832, which destroyed many villages, and a great part of the population. The roads through many parts of the country were blocked up by the falling of stones, and the river of Budukhshan was hemmed in for five days, by a hill that tumbled in upon it. This great convulsion of nature occurred at midnight, and scarcely a family in the country but deplored the loss of some of its members. It was felt at Mooltan and Lahore, but the centre of its violence appears to have been the valley of the Oxus. The natives of Budukhshan are Tajiks; they are very fond of society, and such is their hospitality, that, it is said, bread is never sold in the country. Their language is Persian, which they speak with the broad pronunciation of a native of Iran. It is related that Budukhshan was peopled from the Persian city of Balkh, and most of the inhabitants are Shiahs. Neither the Uzbeks, nor any of the Toorkee families, have settled in the country, and the people have yet the manners and customs that obtained north of Hindoo Koosh before the invasion of the Tartars.

~Ruby mines.~

Budukhshan has acquired great celebrity for its ruby mines, which were well known in early times, and also to the emperors of Delhi. They are said to be situated on the verge of the Oxus, near Shughnan, at a place called Gharan; which may simply mean caves. They are dug in low hills; and one man assured me that the galleries passed under the Oxus; but I doubt the information. It is a mistake to believe that they are not worked, as the present chief of Koondooz has employed people in digging them since he conquered the country. These persons had been hereditarily engaged in that occupation; but, as the returns were small, the tyrant of Koondooz demanded their labour without pay; and on their refusing to work, he marched them to the unhealthy fens of Koondooz, where their race has almost become extinct. In the search of rubies, it is a popular belief that a pair of large ones will be always found together; and the workmen will often conceal a gem till its match can be found, or break a large ruby into two pieces. The rubies are said to be embedded in limestone; and to be found like round pieces of pebble or flint, which exist in such deposits.

~Lapis lazuli.~

In the vicinity of the ruby mines, great masses of lapis lazuli are found on the verge of the Oxus. The mode of detaching it from the cliffs appeared to be ingenious, though I think I have heard of similar means being used to quarry stone in other quarters. A fire is lit over the block of lapis lazuli, and when the stone becomes sufficiently heated, cold water is dashed upon it, and the rock is thus fractured. The lapis lazuli of the Oxus was sent in former years to China; but the demand has lately decreased. I have seen many specimens of this stone, with veins, which were said to be gold; but I imagine they were mica. Lapis lazuli and rubies are only collected in winter.

~Mountain districts north of Budukhshan.~

North of Koondooz, and Budukhshan, and beyond the Oxus, we have the small hill states of Hissar, Koolab, Durwaz, Shoognan, and Wukhan: the whole of them are mountainous. Hissar is finely watered, and a rice country, independent of Bokhara and Koondooz. It is held by four Uzbek chiefs, who divided it among themselves on their father’s death; its capital stands on a hillock forty miles east of Dihnou. A range of hills called Kohitun, which are about 4000 feet high, traverses the district from north to south. There is an extensive deposit of red rock salt in it, which is exported to other countries. The saddle used by the natives of Hissar differs from others in Toorkistan. The tree, or seat, is scooped out like a bowl, and is then covered with leather: it has a knob in front. The ferry of Tirmez on the Oxus, bounds Hissar on the west; and to the east it has Koolab, which is a small district,--sometimes called Bulgeewan. It has lately been seized by the chief of Koondooz, who forded the Oxus and conquered it. Durwaz is the next territory, and is ruled by a Tajik chief, who is independent. In his territories, the Oxus is most successfully washed for gold. The two next districts of Shughnan and Wukhan are tributary to Koondooz; but there are not more than three or four villages in each of them. Wukhan is the territory mentioned by Marco Polo; and the few specimens which I could collect of its language were as follows:--

Father Fait Mother Nan Son Kash Daughter Poorchad Fire Rekhnu Water Yoobk.

The chief of Wukhan is named Meer Mahommed Ruheem Khan, and will allow none of his progeny to leave the hills. The people of Shughnan differ also in their dialect. I give a specimen of three words:--

Bread Gurdu Son Ghudyk Daughter Ghuds.

The whole of the population is Mahommedan; and I did not hear of any trace of pristine superstition. They designate the Deity by the Persian word Khooda. I heard of a singular practice among the people of these districts, who shoe their horses with the antlers of the mountain deer. They form the horn into a suitable shape, and fix it on the hoof with horn pins, never renewing it till fairly worn out. It is said that the custom is borrowed from the Kirgizzes.

~Plain of Pamere.~

The high plain of Pamere lies between Budukhshan and Yarkund; and is inhabited by an erratic race, the Kirgizzes. The centre of this table-land is the lake of Surikool, from which the Jaxartes, the Oxus, and a branch of the Indus are said to rise. This elevated plain extends on every side of the lake for a journey of six days; and all the mountains are described as seen under the feet from this great elevation. It is a flat tract, intersected by shallow ravines, and covered with short but rich pasture: it is very cold; and the snow in summer does not disappear from the hollows. The inhabitants robe their whole bodies, even their hands and faces, in sheepskins, from the severity of the cold. There is no grain in the country; for the Kirgizzes subsist on flesh and milk: they do not even know the use of flour; and, if it is given them, they mix it up with their soup, but never bake it into bread. They live on round khirgahs, like the Toorkmun tribes, and wander from one place to another.

~Singular animal that inhabits Pamere.~

I heard of an animal called “Rass” by the Kirgizzes, and “Kooshgar” by the natives of the low countries; which is described as peculiar to Pamere. It is larger than a cow, and less than a horse; of a white colour, with pendent hair under its chin, and crowned with horns of huge dimensions. These are described to be so large, that no one man can lift a pair of them; and, when left on the ground, the small foxes of the country bring forth their young inside them. The flesh of the “Rass” is much prized by the Kirgizzes, who hunt and shoot it with arrows. This animal is said to delight in the coldest climate; and would appear, from its beard, to be of the goat species, or, perhaps, the bison. A common-sized “Rass” will require two horses to bear its flesh from the field.

~Countries of Chitral, Gilgit, and Iskardo.~

The tract that lies beyond the Beloot mountains and Budukhshan, and between it and Cashmere, is filled up by the cantons of Chitral, Gilgit, and Iskardo, all of which are held by Shiah Mahommedans. There is another district to the north-east of Chitral, which is called “Gunjoot,” from the gold which is found in it. The countries of which I now speak have been designated by the general name of Kaushgar, by Mr. Elphinstone; and are separated from Budukhshan by the range of Beloot. Kaushgar itself is a small district near Deer, north of Peshawur; and I never heard a native of Budukhshan or Yarkund speak of the country under that general name. They had not even heard of any Kaushgar but that in the vicinity of Yarkund. Chitral is situated on a branch of the Cabool river, and is subject to the chief of Koondooz, who has at times entered the country; and new demands a yearly tribute of slaves, who are sent to Bokhara for sale. The chief has the title of Shah Kuttore, and boasts of his Macedonian lineage. The dialect of Chitral differs again from that of the neighbouring states; and I fortunately met a native who was acquainted with it: he gave me these specimens:--

Mother Nunan Son Dirk Daughter Jaor Man Mach Woman Kumoor Water Oogh Fire Ungar Above Acha Below Aye Mountain Koh Fort Noghar I go Booghdo Where do you go? Koora roobas.

The next district is Gilgit, or Gilgitty, where the dialect also differs from Chitral: it is a strong country, and independent of Koondooz. The remaining division lies further eastward, bordering on Baltee or Little Tibet, and bears the name of Iskardo. The principal place of the same name is a large fort of irregular construction, which is built on the banks of the Indus, and is said to be but eight marches north-east of the City of Cashmere. The country is independent.

~The Kaffirs.~

~Their descent from Alexander doubted.~

On the south-eastern corner of Budukhshan, and on the mountains between it and Peshawur, we find that extraordinary people, the Siahposh Kaffirs, or Black-vested Infidels, as called by their Mahommedan neighbours, from their wearing black goat-skin dresses. This race is entirely confined to the mountains, and persecuted by all the surrounding nations, who seek to capture them as slaves. The chief of Koondooz made an inroad into their country some years since, and lost half of his army in the campaign. I can offer no further addition to the notice of their religion and country, than is to be found in Mr. Elphinstone’s work, though I met the worthy and faithful man Moollah Nujeeb, who was sent into Kaffiristan for the purposes of enquiry. I had much conversation with people who had been brought into contact with them, and in Cabool was fortunate enough to see a Kaffir boy about ten years old, who had left his country for a period of two years; his complexion, hair, and features, differed from those of Asiatics: his eyes were of a bluish colour. The boy replied to many questions that were put to him about his country, and gave specimens of his language, which assimilated with the Indian dialects. The Kaffirs appear to be a most barbarous people, eaters of bears and monkies, and fighting with arrows, and scalping their enemies. The greatest intercourse which takes place between them and the Mahommedans is carried on from the country of Lughman, between Cabool and Peshawur, where a tribe of people reside who are called “Neemchu Moossulman,” or half Mahommedans. The Kaffir country is strong and mountainous. The people are much addicted to wine. Gold is found in its native state among their mountains, and formed by them into vessels and ornaments. These circumstances, with their appearance and complexion, have given rise to an opinion, that they are the descendants of the Greeks. Both Baber and Abool Fuzzil have made mention of this supposition; but they have confounded the claims of the chiefs on the Oxus to a Macedonian descent with the Kaffirs, who have no such tradition of their origin. The great elevation of the country which they inhabit, would appear to account satisfactorily for all their physical peculiarities; and I believe it will be found that this people are none other than the aborigines of the plains, who fled to their present abode on the conversion of the low countries to the religion of Mahommed: the Afghans, at least, tell you so, and the name of Kaffir, or Infidel, seems a strong corroboration of the opinion. The Kaffirs are a race of savages, and there is nothing either in their customs or religion which seems to be anywise remarkable among a people at their state of civilisation. The hill tribes in India have a religion which differs as much from Hindooism as that of the Kaffirs; and the reason is obvious: they inhabit remote regions, that were not accessible to the manners and alterations which found their way into the more favoured plains. The Kaffir women do all the out-door work, and follow the plough: it is even said that they are sometimes yoked in it along with an ox.

CHAP IV.

ON THE REPUTED DESCENDANTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT IN THE VALLEY OF THE OXUS AND INDUS.

~Traditions of the descendants of Alexander the Great.~

In speaking of the existence of Grecian colonies in the remote regions of Asia, and said to be descended from Alexander of Macedon, it is necessary to premise that I am not indulging in speculation, but asserting a lineage of various tribes of people, that is claimed by themselves, and meriting, therefore, our attention. Marco Polo is the first author who mentions the existence of such a tradition, and informs us that the Meer of Budukhshan laid claim to a Grecian origin. The emperor Baber corroborates the testimony; and Abool Fuzzul, the historian of his grandson, Acbar, points to the Kaffir country north of Peshawur as the seat of these Macedonians. Mr. Elphinstone has, I think, successfully refuted the supposition of this historian; for the Kaffirs are a savage and mountainous tribe, without a tradition on the subject, as has been noticed in the preceding chapter. Mr. Elphinstone, however, confirms the statements of Marco Polo, by the information that the chief of Durwaz, in the valley of the Oxus, claimed a descent from Alexander, which was admitted by all his neighbours. Such was the extent of information with which I entered these countries, sufficient, it will be said, to excite the utmost curiosity; and it will be seen that I found ample encouragement in the investigation of such traditions while in the valley of the Oxus, and in the very seats of their existence.

~Their actual condition.~

If it was believed that the chiefs of Budukhshan and Durwaz alone laid claim to these hereditary honours, what was my surprise to find that there were _six other_ personages established, to the satisfaction of the people, in like honours. The chiefs that extend eastward of Durwaz, and occupy the provinces of Koolab, Shughnan, and Wakhan, north of the Oxus, claim the same descent. The chief of Budukhshan received in modern times the same honours as have been ascribed to him by the Venetian traveller. He has the title of Shah and Malik, or King, and his children that of Shahzadu; but this ancient house has been subverted within these twelve years by the Meer of Koondooz, and Budukhshan is now held by a Toork family. To the eastward of Budukhshan, and extending to Cashmere, lie the hill states of Chitral, Gilgit, and Iskardo, where the claims to a Grecian descent are likewise conceded to each of the princes. The first of these has the title of Shah Kuttore. The present ruler is of small stature, and, in these countries, has as great a celebrity for his long beard as the Shah of Persia. The chief of Iskardo occupies a singular fortress on the Indus, which he has the hardihood to assert was constructed in the days of Alexander himself. The country borders on Little Tibet, or Baltee. Nor is this the ultimate limit of the tradition, for the soldiers of the Toonganee tribe, who are sent from the western provinces of Chinese Tartary, and garrison Yarkund and the neighbouring cities, claim also a Grecian origin. They, however, seek, with greater modesty, a descent from the soldiers of Alexander’s army, and not from the conqueror himself.

~Examination of these claims.~

Such is a correct list of the reputed descendants of Alexander, and it is in some degree confirmatory of their claim, that the whole of these princes are Tajiks, who were the inhabitants of this country before it was overrun by Toorkee or Tartar tribes. But how shall we reconcile these accounts with the histories that have travelled down to our times, whence we learn that the son of Philip did not even leave an heir to inherit his gigantic conquests, much less a numerous list of colonies, which have survived a lapse of more than 2000 years in a distant quarter of Asia? Whether their descent is viewed as true or fabulous, the people themselves acknowledge the hereditary dignity of the princes; and they, in their turn, claim every royal honour, and refuse to give their children in marriage to other tribes. These Tajiks being now converted to Islam, view Alexander as a prophet; and to the distinction which they derive from his warlike achievements, they add the honour of being related to one of the inspired messengers of the Deity. I have had opportunities of conversing with some members of the Budukhshan family, but there was nothing in form or feature which favoured their Grecian lineage. They are fair-complexioned, and not unlike the Persian of modern times; while there is the most decided contrast between them and the Toorks and Uzbeks.

~Conjectures regarding them.~

We learn from the historians of Alexander’s expedition, that he warred in the kingdom of Bactriana. The city of Balkh, which lies in the vicinity of these territories, is readily fixed upon as the Bactra of the Greek monarchs. Setting aside every local identity, the modern inhabitants state, that the country between Balkh and Cabool had the name of “Bakhtur Zumeen,” or the Bakhtur country, in which we recognise Bactria. The fact renders it by no means improbable, that a Grecian colony had some time or other existed in the country. It may, therefore, be supposed, that the Grecian dynasty, which succeeded Alexander in his empire, ascended the valley of the Oxus, the fertility of which would attract them. They would have been conducted at Iskardo into Baltee, or Little Tibet, and the neighbourhood of Cashmere; and we may perhaps account for the early civilisation of that beautiful valley in such a migration of Grecian colonists. The introduction of the religion of Mahommed into every country seems to have been fatal to its historical annals; and I doubt not that any traces which here existed of the Macedonian inroad, or of the Seleucidæ, their successors, were effaced in that great revolution. I have already observed, that the countries on the upper course of the Oxus seem to have lain out of the channel of Tartar invasion, and I infer, from their language and connection with Persia, that they followed the destinies of that country, which would be favourable to their having been conquered by Alexander. If we cannot bring ourselves to concede to these moderns the illustrious lineage of Alexander of Macedon, we must yet receive their tradition as the most concurring proof of his having overrun these countries; and, till some well-grounded arguments can be brought forward to the contrary, I cannot, for my own part, deny their title to the honours which they claim. I received the information from several natives of the country; and, as they entertained no doubt of its being genuine and authentic, I have contented myself with recording that which will enable others to enlarge and speculate upon it.

CHAP. V.

ON THE SOURCES OF THE INDUS.

~Interest attached to the sources of the Indus.~

The sources of the different great rivers of the world have at all times excited the particular attention of mankind. Of none has our information been more conflicting and obscure than the upper course of the Indus. I record the following particulars relating to this most interesting geographical subject, the result of my intercourse with the people of the neighbouring countries. My enquiries have been materially assisted by the labours of Lieutenant Macartney, though a wide difference will be found between the heads of the Indus, as now described, and their delineation in that officer’s map. Great, however, is the aid which one derives from the records of a preceding enquirer. The papers of Mr. Moorcroft ought to furnish us with some information on this point; but they are still unpublished, and his journey, though it extended nearer to the scene than that of any other modern traveller, was yet distant from the source of the Indus.

~Received opinions.~

~Errors.~

The following are our present and received opinions regarding the source of the Indus. The river of Ladak, joined by the Shyook, falls into the Indus at Draus, and these united streams form the great river which runs north of Cashmere, and is joined by the Aboo Seen before passing Attok. The town of Leh, or Ladak, is placed above the parallel of 37° N. latitude, and Draus lies nearly half way between it and the city of Cashmere. This account differs materially from the information which I have received. The river of Ladak, and the Shyook, instead of existing as two minor tributaries of the Indus, form of themselves that great river; the one rising near the lake of Mansurour, and the other in the mountains of Karakorum. They unite N.W. of Ladak, and pass through the country of Little Tibet, or Baltee, and a snowy range separates them from Cashmere. Ladak lies nearly eastward of Cashmere, which places it three degrees of latitude below the parallel given to it by Mr. Macartney; and Draus is on the road to Ladak.[24] No such junction as is given in the map takes place at Draus, and the rivulet that passes that village, instead of forming a portion of the waters of the Indus, runs among the mountains of Cashmere, and joins the Jelum, or Hydaspes, at Moozufferabad, as it leaves the valley. This fact is mentioned in a note in Mr. Elphinstone’s book, on the authority of a journal of Meer Izzut Oollah, which he received after his own account was written. It may have been owing to this last circumstance that he overlooked the inconsistency of Izzut Oollah’s statement with the existence of Mr. Macartney’s eastern branch of the Indus. Mr. Elphinstone, indeed, observes, that Izzut Oollah did not see the junction of that branch with the river of Ladak; but he accounts for it by supposing the confluence to lie to the south of the place called Draus in Izzut Oollah’s route. If that route be protracted, however, it will show that the river of Ladak could not well have passed to the south of Draus without falling into the course of the Kishun Gunga; and that, even if the junction had taken place to the south of Draus, both rivers must still have been crossed (either united or separately) by Izzut Oollah before he reached Draus.

It is evident, therefore, that the rivers do not meet at or to the south of Draus; and, as Izzut Oollah went from Draus to the river of Ladak, and accompanied that river to the town from which it takes its name, without seeing the junction of any other river from the east, his account may be regarded as a confirmation of the fact which I have stated, that no such eastern branch exists. It is worthy of observation, that Mr. Macartney’s account of the eastern branch of the Indus appears to have been only communicated by one person.

~Description of the two great branches which form the Indus.~

That the river of Ladak has its source near the lake of Mansurour has been satisfactorily established by Moorcroft. The course of this branch of the Indus is, therefore, of great length; but the volume of water has been described to me as very small, though it receives several tributaries. The Shyook, on the other hand, is said to be a vast river, formed of many small ones, and discharges the water and melted snows of the Kara Korum mountains. Three days’ journey from Ladak, on the route to Yarkund, it is crossed at a breadth of 1000 yards in March; but widely spread and fordable. This is considered by the natives as the great trunk of the Indus, and its source, to the N.E. of Ladak, is, consequently, that of the Indus. The united streams of the river of Ladak and Shyook pass south of the territories of Iskardo, Gilgit, and Chitral. They are then joined by the Aboo Seen, as described by Mr. Elphinstone, and at Attok, by the river of Cabool, here called the Lundee, which falls into the Indus, close upon the fortress, and not some miles higher up.

~Western branch of the Indus.~

The sources of this river, commonly called the River of Cabool, are nearly as remote as those to the eastward, which we have now described. The River of Cabool actually rises near Ghuzni; but, in its course eastward of Jullalabad, is joined by a great river that has been called the Kameh, though it is unknown to the natives by such a name. This river is traced to the same source as the Oxus; where it is said to spring from a glacier.[25] That it rises in the same neighbourhood as the Oxus, I have been also informed; but that river (as I have stated when speaking of it) flows from the plain of Pamere, near Lake Sirikol, and not from the ranges of mountains which support that elevated region. This great western branch of the Indus, therefore, rises under a much higher parallel of latitude than the Shyook.

~Cashgar; erroneous opinions regarding it.~

The country, which is enclosed by these different branches of the Indus, has been called Kashkaur, or Cashghar, in our late maps; which Mr. Elphinstone warns the reader not to confuse with Cashgar, near Yarkund. At Peshawur, I certainly heard of a small mountainous district, near Deer and Gunjoom, called Cashgar, and which is well known for its coarse blankets; but the name has been applied to a far greater extent of country than is even known to the natives of Peshawur. North of Hindoo Koosh, in Koondooz, and the borders of Budukhshan, I could find no person who was acquainted with any country under the name of Cashgaur, but that of Yarkund. They spoke of Chitral and Gilgit, which form part of it, according to the modern nomenclature of our maps, but knew nothing of the southern Cashgar as a separate territory; doubtless from the smallness of the district and its remote position[26]. Since the whole of the information contained in this chapter rests on the authority of others, the credence to which it is entitled must be well weighed. I have the information from people who had seen these rivers and countries, and I have given the facts, after due corroboration and enquiry.

CHAP. VI.

NOTICE ON YARKUND, AND ITS INTERCOURSE WITH PEKIN, BOKHARA, AND TIBET.

~Chinese provinces of Yarkund.~

Yarkund is one of the frontier positions of the Chinese empire towards the west, and a five months’ journey of a caravan from the seat of government, Pekin. The productions of China are transmitted to this province, and sold to the natives of Bokhara and Tibet, who are permitted to frequent certain fixed markets; of which the greatest is Yarkund. No Chinese crosses the frontiers; and the trade into Bokhara is carried on by Mahommedans, who visit Yarkund for that purpose. The same vigilance to prevent the ingress of foreigners is here exhibited as upon the sea-coast. In my communications with the Uzbeks of Bokhara, I heard much of the Chinese peculiarities, and I had an opportunity of travelling with a tea caravan from Yarkund; which leads me to believe that a notice of this country, imperfect as it must be, will not be uninteresting.

~Sketch of its history.~

Yarkund, with the adjacent province of Cashgar, formed the principality of a Mahommedan ruler, known by the name of the Khoju of Cashgar, a family of religious influence, who once exercised great authority. The people of these parts superstitiously believed its members to be invulnerable in battle, and able to use extraordinary means for the discomfiture of their enemies, and yet think it impossible for any one to prosper who injures a Khoju. Dissensions, however, arose in this family about eighty years since, and they called on the Chinese government, or the “Khitais,” (so they are here named,) as a mediator, which, as not unfrequently happens, acted the part of conqueror. Since that time, the Chinese have retained the whole of their lands; not, however, without many endeavours, both by war and conspiracy, on the part of the dethroned family, at restoration. The last of these attempts occurred about five years since, aided by the Uzbeks of Kokan; but the Chinese assembled an army from their most distant provinces, and, advancing into that country, captured the rebellious Khoju, and sent him in a cage, or covered cart, to Pekin. The Khan of Kokan, though he was defeated, has since arrogated to himself the title of “Ghazee,” from having warred with infidels. On the first overthrow of this family, some of the Khojus fled to Budukhshan, and the chief of that province put them to death: for which _good office_ the Chinese sent him a yearly present, till within these five or six years, when his country was seized by the Meer of Koondooz. The bigotted Mahommedans attribute the misfortunes of the Budukhshan family to the injuries offered to the Khoju of Cashgar. While such opinions prevail, the members of it must continue to be disagreeable neighbours to the Chinese.

~Mode of government under the Chinese.~

The period which has elapsed since the capture of Yarkund has no way diminished the precautions of the Chinese government. Yarkund is still considered but an outpost, and the communication between it and Pekin maintained in a most characteristic manner. The government of all the cities is left in the hands of Mahommedans, and there are not above 5000 Chinese in Yarkund. The garrisons are recruited from boys of fourteen and fifteen, who are sent back after about as long a period of service. These soldiers are drawn from the tribe of Toonganee, who claim relationship to the army of Alexander: they are Mahommedans, from the adjacent provinces, but dress as Chinese. They are never permitted to marry, or bring their families within fifteen marches of the country, and are regarded as troops on foreign employ. The natives of the country rule, under the superintendence of the Chinese officers. The governor of Yarkund, who has the title of Hakim Beg, is subject to Cashgar; and he, again, is under the Junjoom of Eela, a large city, forty marches north of Yarkund. The principal places in these frontiers are, Eela, Yarkund, Cashgar, Aksoo, Karasoo, Yengi hissar, &c. Eela is said to have a population of 75,000 souls. Yarkund ranks next in importance, and has 50,000; while Cashgar is smaller than both. Yarkund stands on a river, in a fertile plain, which is rich in fruit and grain. It is surrounded on all sides but the east by hills, where the river flows. The climate is dry and agreeable; snow seldom falls, and even rain is scarce.

~Communication with Pekin.~

The mode of communication with Pekin, or, as it is called, Bajeen, and their eastern provinces, is carried on with an arrangement and expedition purely Chinese. The usual journey exceeds the period of five months; but an express may be sent in thirty-five days. Under great emergency, it is conveyed in twenty, and even fifteen days. “Oortungs,” or stages, where there are relays of horses, are erected every eight or ten miles, and one messenger is not even permitted to exchange a word with another. At each of these stages there are piles of wood, which are directed to be set fire to on the intelligence of arising or invasion of the Mahommedans; and by this means intelligence has been sent from Yarkund to Pekin in six days. I have heard that fire-balloons are used instead of piles of wood; but I believe that in the latter we have the more simple and correct version of the tale. It was on this intimation that the last Chinese army was marched into Kokan; and it is said to have been assembled from all the cities of the empire, and amounted to 70,000 men. The military appearance of this body is said to have been truly singular. A great portion of the soldiers were armed with large matchlocks, each of which was borne by two persons.

~People of Yarkund.~

The Chinese of Yarkund interfere but little with the affairs of the country, and leaving it and its trade to the Mahommedan portion of the population, the authorities levy a duty of one in thirty; and their commercial regulations are just and equitable. The word of a Chinese is not doubted, nor does the tea ever differ in quality from the sample. The Mahommedans of Yarkund amount to about 12,000 families. They are Toorks, and speak a dialect of Toorkee that is perfectly intelligible to the natives of Bokhara. The country people are sometimes called Moghuls by those who live in cities; and from this may have originated our vague name of Mongolia. There are Calmuk Tartars settled around Eela and Yarkund, who have a singular custom to distinguish their chiefs and grandees, by fixing deer’s horns on their skull-caps. The size and beauty of the antlers mark the dignity, and are the red ribbons of a Calmuk Tartar. The laxity of their females, I am assured, entitles them to the honour of wearing such an ornament. The Chinese employ Calmuks in the protection of their frontier. The Mahommedans of Yarkund appear to differ from their brethren elsewhere, for the fair sex have a power and influence not known in other places. They take the seat of honour in a room, associate freely with the men, and do not veil; they wear high-heeled boots, richly ornamented; their head-dress is described as very handsome, being a high tiara of cloth; the features of the fair ones themselves are said to be most beautiful. When a Bokhara merchant visits Yarkund, he marries one of these beauties during his sojourn in the city; and the pair separate, as they joined, quite as a matter of convenience, when he leaves the country. Their wives are as cheap as beautiful, and purchased at a premium of two or three tillas (twelve or eighteen rupees); and the merchants, long after leaving the country, sing the praises of the fair ones of Yarkund. I could not discover what had given rise to their appearing without veils and being invested with such influence; but I congratulate them on two such infringements of Mahommedan usage. Besides the native Chinese, who frequent Yarkund, I am informed that Christian merchants, probably Armenians, also visit it from the eastward: they dress as Chinese.

~Intercourse with Tibet.~

The intercourse from Tibet and Bokhara is carried on by regulations that are truly energetic. The natives of these countries are not permitted to proceed beyond Yarkund and the neighbouring towns, and, as they enter the Chinese dominions, are placed under certain persons, who have a knowledge of the countries from which they come, and made responsible for their behaviour. So thoroughly organised is this system of police, that it is said to be impossible to elude its vigilance. A native who was suspected in these countries, and was afterwards in my service, remained in confinement for three months, and was at length dismissed by the route he had come, but not till a likeness of him had been first taken. Several copies of the picture were despatched to the frontier towns, with these instructions:--“If this man enters the country, his head is the Emperor’s, his property is yours.” I need not add, that he has never since sought to extend his acquaintance in the Chinese provinces of Yarkund.

~Country between Yarkund and Tibet.~

I had a most interesting account of the country lying between Yarkund and Ladak, in Tibet, from a native who had travelled there, and which will convey any but favourable notions of this channel of commerce, frequented, as it appears partially to be. The traveller set out from Ladak in March, and reached Yarkund in sixty days, after encountering a series of disasters and difficulties from a storm that arose in passing the mountains of Kara Korum. The number of actual marches does not exceed twenty-eight, but seven whole days were occupied in crossing Kara Korum; which is described as a low ridge, at the eighth march. Such was the violence of the north wind, and the drifting of the snow, that for some days the party only made a progress of a hundred yards. Though Kara Korum is not a high range of mountains, it must be elevated, since a difficulty of breathing was experienced; also vomiting, giddiness, and loss of appetite. For all these tea was considered a specific. The storm abated, and enabled the travellers to proceed; but eight of their ponies had died, and the whole party must soon have perished, for the animals had ate up the straw of their saddles and cushions before regaining the inhabited country, which commenced at the eighteenth march from Ladak. There they met a few huts, inhabited by the Wakhanees, of whom I have before spoken. They carried every supply for themselves and their horses. At the seventeenth march the travellers encountered a defile among hills which extended for five or six miles, and is called Yengi Dabban. The road led entirely over ice, which was notched into steps before they could proceed. On returning to Ladak in June, the ice had entirely disappeared: even Kara Korum was free from snow. This is singular, as it must be higher than Hindoo Koosh, which is covered by eternal snow. To the south of Kara Korum all the rivers join the Shyook; and it is evident, therefore, that that ridge, low as it actually appears, is the highest part of the range. North of it the water flows into the river of Yarkund, and the road follows these defiles, and, in one short distance, is said to cross a rivulet three hundred and sixty times. The last passage is called “Khilastan,” from being relieved of its further inconvenience. The greater part of this country is destitute of fixed inhabitants, but the wandering Kirghizzes frequent it with their flocks during summer; this road is then passed in twenty days. The number of horses which perish on this line of route is great; and it is not an unusual thing for an owner to pick up his goods next year on the spot where they were left. There are no robbers: the wild horse is the solitary inhabitant of this wilderness.

~Communications of Yarkund with Bokhara.~

~Notice of Kokan.~

The intercourse between Bokhara and Yarkund is carried on by two routes, leading through the valleys of the Sir, or Jaxartes, and the Oxus. The first of these routes passes by Kokan, the ancient Ferghana, and is always passable but in the three summer months, when it is flooded by melted snow. There are two places on this route where the traveller experiences a difficulty of breathing. The disturbances with the exiled Khoju and the Uzbeks of Kokan have of late years closed this route to caravans; but it is the best line of communication between Yarkund and Toorkistan. The route by the plain of Pamere and the valley of the Oxus, through Budukhshan and Balkh, is more circuitous, and likewise less accessible. I have described both these lines of route, when speaking of the commerce of Bokhara; I have only, therefore, to make a brief mention of Kokan, which is the paternal kingdom of Baber. It is ruled by an Uzbek Khan, of the tribe of Yooz, who claims a lineage from that Emperor. It is a much smaller territory than Bokhara, and its power is now on the decline: it is celebrated for its silk. The capital of the country is Kokan, which is an open town on the Sir, about half the size of Bokhara, and the largest place in that neighbourhood. The ancient capital is Marghilan: Indejan is, however, a town of considerable note; and the Chinese of Yarkund denominate all natives who come from the west, Indejanees. The inhabitants of Kokan wear skull-caps instead of turbans. The Khan of Kokan keeps up an intercourse with Russia and Constantinople; but there is no friendly feeling towards the rulers of Yarkund.

CHAP. VII.

ON THE MOUNTAINS OF HINDOO KOOSH.

~Hindoo Koosh; range so called.~

~Errors regarding it.~

When the great range of the Himalaya, which forms the northern boundary of Hindoostan, crosses the Indus, it loses the designation by which it has been familiarly known from the frontiers of China. It also changes its course, and, running west, expends its greatest height in the lofty peak of Hindoo Koosh, from which it dwindles into comparative insignificance. The elevation of the peak appropriately affixes the name of Hindoo Koosh to this portion of the range; but this general term is unknown to the people. A road which leads across the shoulder of this mountain is also called the “pass of Hindoo Koosh.” The part which I am now about to describe lies between Cabool and Balkh, and is that which we traversed in our journey to Bokhara. In the plains of the Punjab we had had a magnificent view of the stupendous mountains which separate Cashmere from the plains; and it is to them that the natives affix the name of Himalaya, without confining it to the mountains beyond that celebrated valley. On crossing the Indus, we found ourselves much nearer this great range, now termed Hindoo Koosh, than is represented in our maps. In the valley of the Cabool River, it seemed to overhang the road which we passed; an error which originates from the city of Cabool being placed in too low a parallel of latitude by fifteen minutes: nor was I prepared to find from these same maps that we had surmounted “the everlasting snows” of Hindoo Koosh before reaching Bameean, since, by every delineation, they were yet half a degree beyond us. Such, however, was the fact, since the rivulet of Bameean is a tributary of the Oxus, and the country there slopes towards the north. There are certainly mountains beyond Bameean; but we have no longer the towering tops of the Himalaya. One broad depressed belt extends to Balkh; and it is this belt that the Arabian geographers denominated the “Stony Girdle” of the earth. The only part of these mountains covered with perpetual snow, is the Koh-i-Baba, that lies between Cabool and Bameean; the range is afterwards lost in a maze of lower hills, towards Herat.

~Height of the Hindoo Koosh.~

We crossed this stupendous chain of mountains by six successive passes; and, after a journey of about 260 miles, and thirteen days, debouched, on the valley of the Oxus, at Khoolloom, which is forty miles eastward of the ancient city of Balkh. The three first passes lie between Cabool and Bameean, and two of them were so deeply covered with snow in the end of May, that we could only travel in the morning, when it was frozen, and would bear our horses. The three remaining passes north of Bameean were of lesser altitude, and free from snow. We commenced our journey at an elevation of 6600 feet[27], which is the height of the city of Cabool from the sea. We then followed the river of Cabool, which falls at the rate of fifty feet a mile, and reached its source at an elevation of 8600 feet; where the snow was first encountered in the valley. We attained our greatest height at the passes called Hajeeguk and Kaloo, which were respectively 12,400 and 13,000 feet high, and covered with snow. None of the other passes exceed an altitude of 9000; and from the last of them, called Kara Koottul, we descended the bed of a river, at the rate of sixty feet a mile, till we reached the plains of Toorkistan, where, in Balkh, we had yet an elevation of 2000 feet above the level of the sea. As we issued from the mountains, we left them rising from the plain in a bold and precipitous line, about 2500 feet high. Their sides, which were bare, black, and polished, had a most imposing appearance, though they had lost much of their sublimity and grandeur. They sank beneath the horizon long before we reached the banks of the Oxus. I am assured that the whole of these passes of Hindoo Koosh are free from snow before the end of June; and in our progress across them we had not, therefore, attained the height of perpetual congelation. I am aware of the interest which is attached to this point, and it is something towards a conclusion, that here, at least, it lies beyond an elevation of 13,000 feet. The peaks of Koh-i-Baba are covered with eternal snow for a considerable distance beneath their summits: nor can I estimate any of these (for it is only an estimate) at a greater altitude than 18,000 feet, judging from the height at which we viewed them. The climate of this elevated zone is variable: the thermometer in May stood below the freezing point at sunrise; while, at mid-day, the heat and reflection from the snow were insufferable. It is said that, at a certain degree of elevation, and in a low latitude, we may find the climate of more temperate countries: nor can the fact be for a moment doubted; still, in that elevation the rays of the sun are most powerful. At the height of 10,000 feet we found the inhabitants ploughing the ground as the snow left the face of the mountains; so rapid is vegetation, from the scorching heat, that they would reap in the beginning of October that which they sowed in the close of May.

~General features of Hindoo Koosh.~

This portion of Hindoo Koosh is entirely destitute of wood, and, in many places, of verdure; the range of Koh-i-Baba rises in peaks, but in all other places they present the appearance of rounded and naked mountains. In the defiles the road frequently passes at the base of a mural precipice, rising in a perpendicular height of 2000 and 3000 feet, and exhibits monuments of solemn grandeur, which it is difficult to describe. About seven years since, near Sarbagh, the shock of an earthquake precipitated a huge mass of rock into the valley, which blocked up the river for four days, and rendered the road for a long time impassable. The watercourses appear to have excavated for themselves a channel in the lapse of ages; and, to judge from the stratification of the rocks on either side, these have, at one time, formed the banks, from the top downwards, of rivulets now depressed some thousand feet. These walls have a resemblance to cut stone or brick, rising in horizontal layers above one another. So tortuous is the defile we traversed, that it forms, as it were, in every half mile, distinct enclosures, which appear like so many fortified positions, the view being bounded on every side. One part of the valley, to which this remark more particularly applies, has the name of the “Dura-i-zundan,” or the Valley of the Dungeon; and in many parts the height was such as to exclude the sun at mid-day. I was unable to take an altitude of the pole star from Bameean to within thirty miles of the plains of Toorkistan.

~Productions of Hindoo Koosh.~

There are no cedars or pines to adorn Hindoo Koosh, and the only fuel of the inhabitants is a dry stunted furze, which tenaciously clings to the soil. Its thorns are disposed like the quills of a hedge-hog, and it is familiarly known to the people by the name of the Koollah-i-Huzara, or the Huzara Cap. At an elevation of 7000 feet we found the asafœtida plant flourishing in great luxuriance. It is an annual, and grows to the height of eight or ten feet, when it withers and decays. The milk which exudes is first white, and then turns yellow, and hardens; in which state it is put in hair bags, and exported. In the fresh state it has the same abominable smell; yet our fellow-travellers greedily devoured it. If the odour of the asafœtida be offensive, the inhabitants are amply compensated by the variety of aromatic plants which grow in these hills, and scent the air. The rocks are very bare, but the few plants which protrude from between the stones are mostly fragrant. The pasture is peculiarly favourable to sheep from its aromatic qualities. We saw these animals browsing on the tender plants of asafœtida, which is believed to be highly nutritious. They rear a barley in this elevated country, which has no husk, and grows like wheat, but it is barley. The valleys in Hindoo Koosh are more favoured by nature, and stored with the finest fruit-trees. We sometimes passed for miles among orchards of apricots, a fruit which grows on the most elevated regions, and attains the highest perfection. On descending to Khooloom, we had the cherry, peach, fig, pomegranate, mulberry, pear, quince, and apple,--all of them on the brink of the rivulet; for the breadth of the defile never exceeded 200 yards, and was generally narrower. On the verge of this watercourse I frequently observed the blackberry bush, the sweet-briar, and the hawthorn. Grass is most abundant, and I could discover the peppermint and the hemlock among many other weeds.

~Formation of Hindoo Koosh.~

I shall endeavour to convey some notions of the formation of these vast mountains. The nature of the valleys is highly favourable to the researches of the geologist; but I have to claim much indulgence in treating on a subject of such interest, but (to me, at least) of considerable difficulty. I cannot introduce it to the notice of the reader better than in a detailed account of the defile under the pass of Kaloo, by which we descended to Bameean. It lies between the two great snowy passes that I have noted, and it is to be observed, runs at an elevation of 8000 feet. The section which was here laid open extended for about twenty miles, during which we descended 3000 feet. The highest hills between Cabool and Hajeeguk appeared to be gneiss, or granite; and, after we had wound over that pass, they became deeply impregnated with iron, even to their summits. These were succeeded by blue slate and quartz. The sides of the defile rose up in steep slanting precipices of this micaceous schist; but the summit presented a rugged outline of nodules. From the higher parts of these, huge blocks of green granite and other stones, said to be shivered by the cold and frost, had been hurled into the valley. Descending further, we came to conglomerate limestone, in which were mixed up a variety of other stones, not unlike gravel or shingle. About eight or ten springs of water, of the colour of deep rust, were exuding from various parts of this rock, and tinged its sides as they trickled down. The waters have a purgative effect, and a metallic taste, and run, I presume, over a deposit of iron. There is a large spring of the same kind in the valley, leading to the pass of Hajeeguk. Then followed huge cliffs of clay of a reddish and purple colour, which were succeeded by ridges of indurated clay, mixed with harder stones, till we reached Bameean. It is in this ridge that the great idols and caves are excavated, for it is easily worked. The vicinity of Bameean is exceedingly rich in the mineral kingdom. At Fouladut, gold is found; also lapis lazuli; and in the hills of Istalif, north of Cabool. There are ten or twelve mines of lead in a defile close to Bameean, which are at present worked. There are also ores of copper, tin, and antimony; sulphate of copper (_neeltota_, _moordarsung_), and sulphur. Asbestos (sung i poom bu, or cotton stone,) is found at Judraun, north-east of Cabool; and iron exists in Bajour, north of Peshawur. Travelling north of Bameean, the same appearances continued till we descended from the first pass, where cliffs of granite, blackened by the elements, rose up in dusky, but majestic columns, not unlike basalt. The specimens which had fallen down proved them to be of the formation which I have named. The two last passes of Hindoo Koosh presented an entirely different appearance from what has been yet described: they consisted of a light brown limestone, I presume, of primary formation, and of great hardness, exhibiting, when fractured, the sharpest angles. This stone is so slippery, from the polish which it takes on, that one of the passes of which it is composed is called the “Tooth-breaker[28],” from this circumstance. It was in this formation that we met with those steep and lofty precipices which overhung the valley on our descent; but before we had reached the plains, they were succeeded by rocks of sandstone. In one of these, near Heibuk, I observed round and separate stones of pure flint, imbedded at regular intervals, and running in as distinct a line as if they had been fixed by art. The flint is extracted for military purposes. There is also an extensive deposit of sulphur between these last passes and Hindoo Koosh.

~Mountain of Hindoo Koosh.~

I have hitherto been describing the nature of the country which fell under my own observation; but I have not spoken of the true mountain of Hindoo Koosh, which lies about a degree eastward of this route. This great peak is visible from Cabool, and entirely enveloped in milk-white snow. I saw it also from Koondooz, on the north, at a distance of 150 miles. Its altitude must be considerable, for the travellers complain of the difficulty of breathing, and carry sugar and mulberries with them, to ease their respiration; and the strongest of men suffer from giddiness and vomiting. Thousands of birds are also found dead on the snow, for it is believed that they are unable to fly from the violence of the winds; but it is more probable that they are prevented by the rarity of the atmosphere: yet birds are used to higher elevations than men and quadrupeds. They often attempt to walk across; and numbers of them are ensnared.[29] Beasts of burden suffer as much as man, and many sink and perish. The greatest silence is preserved in crossing Hindoo Koosh; and no one speaks loud, or fires a gun, lest the reverberation cause a fall of snow: such, at least, is the reason assigned; nor does it appear to be destitute of foundation. But the most singular phenomenon of nature on Hindoo Koosh appears to be the snow-worm, which is described to resemble the silk-worm in its mature state. This insect is only found in the regions of perpetual congelation, and dies on being removed from the snow. I do not suppose that the existence of the creature will be doubted, because I have not seen it, since I speak on the united testimony of many who have passed Hindoo Koosh.

CHAP. VIII.

TOORKMANIA, OR THE COUNTRY OF THE TOORKMUNS.

~Country so called.~

In speaking of the Toorkmuns and their country, I shall adopt the term of Toorkmania, since it describes that people under a generic name which is not altogether unknown in Europe, and not likely to lead into mistakes. Toorkmania, then, is that country lying south of the Oxus or Toorkistan, stretching from Balkh to the shores of the Caspian, and filling up the space between that sea and the Aral. On the south it is bounded by hills, the continuation of Hindoo Koosh, and the Paropamisus of the ancients. A line drawn from Balkh to Astrabad on the Caspian,--which two places are nearly in the same parallel of latitude,--will separate the country of the Toorkmuns from that of the Afghans and Persians. On the south-eastern shore of the Caspian, where Toorkmania adjoins Persia, the country is mountainous, and watered by the rivers of Goorgan and Attruk, which fall into that sea. In all other places it is a flat and sandy desert, scantily supplied with water. The streams that flow from the mountains are speedily absorbed by the sand, and never force their passage to the Oxus. The greatest of these is the Moorghab or Merve River, and the Tejend, which passes Shurukhs. This country is destitute of towns and villages; for the Toorkmuns are an erratic tribe, and wander from one well to another with their herds and flocks, taking their conical “khirgahs” or huts along with them, in search of water and pasture.

~Its nature.~

~People.~

The desert of the Toorkmuns is a vast ocean of sand, flat in some places, and rising in others to mounds, such as are seen on the sea-shore. It increases in volume towards the Caspian; and in that vicinity the sand-hills attain a height of sixty and eighty feet. They appeared to rise from a hard caked surface of clay, which was observable in several places. There was little difficulty in crossing these sand-hills; and the wells, though few and far between, offer their supply of water at no great distance from the surface, seldom exceeding the depth of forty feet. Such is the desert of the Toorkmuns; and inhabited by a tribe of people who boast that they neither rest under the shade of a tree, nor a king. They do not exaggerate, since a garden is unknown among them; and their desert is not enlivened by a single tree: neither do they live under a fixed or permanent ruler. They only acknowledge the patriarchal government of their “Aksukals” or elders; though now and then, and in limited parts, subjected to the power of the neighbouring nations. The life of a Toorkmun is passed in the most reckless plunder of property and human beings; and his children are brought up from their earliest years to the same demoralisation. A proverb among them boasts that a Toorkmun on horseback knows neither his father nor mother; and such a saying conveys by no means an imperfect view of their compassion, when engaged in a foray or “chupao.” The Toorkmuns have happily no ruler to guide or direct their united efforts, which lessens their power and the effects of their barbarity.

~Origin of the Toorkmuns.~

The Toorkmuns belong to the great family of the Toorkee or Tatar race: they differ from the Uzbeks, in being exclusively a nomade tribe. The name of Toorkmun is obscure. Toorkumæ, I am informed, means a wanderer; and I have been so assured by the Toorkmuns themselves. Toorkmun, it is also said, is “Toork-manind,” which in Persian means, like a Toork, from the mixture of races produced by the inhabitants of Toorkmania seizing on the neighbouring nations. Toork-mun, I am a Toork, may likewise be assigned as a derivation. Turci and Comani, a mixed people, seem far-fetched, though nothing which has been here recorded may prove more satisfactory to some critics, for the mind wanders in etymology. We however deduce from these that the Toorkmuns are Toorks, though differing from Uzbeks, and many other tribes denominated Tartars by Europeans. For the seat of Toorkmun migration, we should certainly be disposed to look on the countries north-east of Bokhara, the abodes of Jengis, of Timour, and their Uzbek successors: but the Toorkmuns themselves believe that they came from Mangusluk, and the north-eastern shores of the Caspian, till they gradually overran the territories which our historians have given, in the time of the Roman world, to the valorous Parthians. I have, indeed, heard a vague and uncertain tradition among the Toorkmuns, which states them to be the descendants of garrisons, transplanted from other countries by Alexander the Great.

~Tribes.~

The whole Toorkmun race claim a common lineage, though divided into different tribes, and conceding to some a greater degree of honour than to others. The total number of families is rated at 140,000, which I shall class into the obvious division of eastern and western Toorkmuns, as follows:--

EASTERN.

Salore (of Shurukhs) 2,000 Saruk (of Merve) 20,000 Ersaree (of the Upper Oxus) 40,000 Tuka (of the Tejend) 40,000 Sakar (of the Oxus) 2,000 ------- 104,000

WESTERN.

Yamood (of Astrabad and Khiva) 20,000 Goklan (of the Goorgan) 9,000 Ata (of Balkhan) 1,000 Choudur (of Mangusluk) 6,000 ------- 36,000 ------- Total of the race 140,000 =======

The most illustrious of all the Toorkmuns is the tribe of Salore; and then follows the Ata, who are said to be the Syuds of the race, and descended from the Caliph Osman. The three great tribes, the Yumood, Goklan, and Tuka are said to have been descended from brothers; but the last, as sprung from a Persian slave, is considered inferior to the other two. It would be profitless to dilate on a nameless list of the subdivisions of these tribes: I may merely instance that of Goklan, which is classed into nine divisions, that encamp apart from each other. These are their names:--

1 Ghaee, 2 Karabul Khan, 3 Baeéndur, 4 Kevish, 5 Kyk-soorunlee, or Arkuklee, 6 Aye durwesh, 7 Chakur, or Bugdulee, 8 Yunguk, or Gurkus, 9 Sangreek.

It is said, that the tribe at one time consisted of twenty-four divisions, to each of which there was a “yooz kyelee,” or commander of 500; but internal feuds, not yet, or ever likely to be removed, together with wars on Khiva and Persia, have thinned their number, and disturbed the patriarchal habits of all the Toorkmun race.

~Language.~

While the Toorkmuns themselves fail to trace their origin from a country more remote than the shores of the Caspian, they yet assert that they are the founders of the Ottoman empire. Their dialect appears to differ from the Osmanlee Turkish; but the following specimens, taken from the Toorkmuns themselves, may not only serve to refute or confirm their fatherly claim on the second Rome, but assist investigations upon other points.

_Specimen of the Dialect of the Toorkmuns._

Man Urkuts. Woman Ailehee. Daughter Kiz. Son Ooglee. Vizier Kooshbegee. Bird Lööke. Sea Durya. Mountain Dugh. Earth Yerr. Wheat Booghdye. Barley Arfa. Melon Koon. Water Soo. Fire Ote. Cold (adj.) Souts. Hot Issee. Sun Goon. Moon Arje. Star Yooldooz. Sword Ghilich. Musket Doofung. Carpet Palus. Father Ata. Mother Cija. Brother Ceneeng. Sister Ishig. Eye Gooz. Nose Boorun. Teeth Deesh. Mouth Ughz. Beard Sukal. Hair Such. Foot Eyak. Hand Ill. Knee Deez. White Ak. Black Kara. Red Saree. Ice Booz. Snow Kar. Rain Yughish. Thunder Gok gooburdee. Heaven Gok. Lightning Yeldrum. Horse Al. Camel Doya. Cow Sughur. Goat Guchee. Sheep Koyaon. Salt Tooz. Sand Koom. Mud Lace. Milk Sood. Stone Dash. Death Sukulat. Marriage Toee. I Oozoom. You Sun. Sleep Okhee. Boat Gumee. Silk Yepuk. Good Yukhshee. To lose Yettee. To kill Oldee. To swim Soo dooshelee. To fly Yooz up kedelee. Wool Yoon. Cotton Puktu. Sickness Khastu. Near Yukeen. Afar Oozak. Hunger Ach. Blood Kan. Smell Ees. One Bir. Two Ikee. Three Ooch. Four Toort. Five Bush. Six Altee. Seven Yedee. Eight Sikkus. Nine Daghuz. Ten Ool. Twenty Eegurnee. Fifty Illee. Hundred Yooz. Thousand Meeng.

~Merve.~

~Sketch of its history.~

Amid the sterile regions of Toorkmania, and between Bokhara and Persia, lies the once fertile land of Merve, the capital of which is said to have been built by Alexander. It is better known to European readers from a celebrated epitaph on one of its kings, often quoted by moral writers: “You have witnessed the grandeur of Alp Arslan exalted even to the skies; repair to Merve, and see it buried in the dust.” Historians are obscure regarding it. It is yet styled, “Merve Shah i Juhan,” or, Merve, the king of the world; and the natives point to the ruins of “Merve i mukan,” as the city built by the Greeks. They are better informed on the deeds of Sultan Sunjur, whose tomb yet remains, and who reigned upwards of 800 years since. Merve long continued a dependency of the Persian empire, and here Ismaeel Sefi, the Shah of Persia, defeated the founder of the Uzbeks, Sheibanee Khan, A.D. 1510. Under the Persians, Merve rose to a great and opulent country, and the waters of its river, which before had wasted themselves in the desert, were distributed by canals and a judicious use of dams throughout the territory. The soil was enriched; the people were prosperous. _From one maund reap a hundred_, is a proverb which attests the fecundity of the earth, the prosperity of the people; a portion of a Persian couplet bids the members of the “faithful” rejoice to say their afternoon prayers in the dry and delightful climate of Merve.[30] Here, also, the wheat-fields furnished the astonishing phenomenon of three succeeding crops from the same seed, as has been described in the districts of Andkho and Meimuna. Such was the prosperous condition of Merve under a well-known chief named Beiram Khan, who was conquered in the year 1787, by Shah Moorad of Bokhara. That king demolished its castle and canals, and forcibly marched the greater portion of its inhabitants to people his capital, where they still exist as a separate community. At a later period the remnant of its population has been driven into Persia, and this flourishing land, which presented so beautiful a contrast to the rest of Toorkmania, now partakes of its sterility, while the Toorkmun hordes have usurped the place of its once fixed population. From the ruins of the castle of Merve, the traveller may yet behold a depopulated circle of thirty miles, studded with deserted villages and decayed walls. The fields on the verge of the Moorghab alone are cultivated, and here the Toorkmuns yet rear the finest of wheat, juwaree, and excellent melons.

~General features of the inhabitants.~

We shall be excused for dwelling upon the beauties of Merve, since we are still in Toorkmania, and impart an interest to its dreary solitudes, by describing this once beautiful oasis. From the ancient city of Balkh to the shores of the Caspian, we have the people, as well as the country, almost in a state of nature. The Toorkmuns have neither science nor literature; they are even without mosques, though not altogether without religion; they are a warlike people, and their domestic habits fit them for the hour of battle. Their food is simple, consisting of the milk and flesh of their herds and flocks. Mares’ milk and “boozu” are unknown south of the Oxus, and the Toorkmuns are even ignorant of the art of extracting or distilling spirits. A few Jews from Meshid sometimes wander among them with intoxicating liquors, which are happily beyond the reach of the poor. The Toorkmuns drink the milk of the camel, which is a grateful beverage. The inhabitants of Toorkmania are, perhaps, equal to the irregular cavalry of any nation, and their horses possess some matchless qualities. Great care is bestowed upon these noble animals. The subject is interesting, and we shall close this book with a notice on the horses of Toorkistan.

CHAP. IX.

ON THE INROADS OF THE TARTARS; WITH A NOTICE OF THE TRIBES IN TOORKISTAN.

~Sketch of the Tartar invasions. Their seats.~

We have been treating of countries which have, in different ages of the world, sent forth successive hordes to overrun and occupy the fairest regions of Asia, and our curiosity now leads us to note the present state and condition of these various tribes of human beings. Attila and Alaric spread devastation in the empire of the Cæsars. Jengis and Timour have succeeded them in more modern but equally destructive inroads. Through these great revolutions we trace the ever-wandering spirit of the Tartar people; but ere the first of these destroyers inflicted his calamities on Rome, we could gather the evil propensities of the race from the histories of Semiramis, Cyrus, and Alexander. Subsequent to the age of Timour, we have another irruption from the Uzbek Tartars, though it wasted its strength at the base of Hindoo Koosh. From the days of Herodotus to the present time, we are presented with a state of ceaseless change and fluctuation in the countries of Central Asia. For this great storehouse of emigration we have been referred to Khitai, the regions of Northern China; but authentic history fixes it in a site far less remote. Jengis and his bands issued from the pastoral lands beyond the Jaxartes, which is also the migration seat of his successors; and may be, therefore, safely fixed as the cradle of Scythian, Hun, and Tartar inroad.

~Exaggerated numbers.~

~Probabilities of success in modern times.~

We shall not stop to speculate on the probabilities of a country so thinly peopled sending forth hordes which have been exaggerated by terror to thousands and hundreds of thousands. With greater reason shall we attribute the size of these armies to their increasing number, as they advanced to plunder and victory. A pastoral is but another name for a migratory nation, and its transfer to a near or distant country, generally depends upon the ambition or spirit of a few of its leaders. This state of society is not altered in the paternal seats of Jengis and Timour, and an invader might pursue, though with limited success, the same paths of conquest. The volcano may rest for a time in a quiescent state, but the Tartar, in his erratic life, will ever sigh for new scenes; but it depends on the Khan if that passion be gratified. The disciplined valour of Russia would now arrest him on the west; and European prowess, engrafted on the legions of India, might there oppose the torrent; but in Turkey, Persia, Cabool, and China, a horde of Tartars would make the same impression as in former times. The Tartar inroads have ever been of the most transitory nature. Neither the empires of Jengis or Timour were consolidated, and the subjugation of India, afterwards effected by their successors, arose from fortuitous circumstances, over which their previous inroads had had little influence.

~Tartar tribes.~

The literary world has long dwelt with an attentive and scrutinizing eye on the history of the Tartars, exercising, as they ever have, so great an influence over the destinies of the world. Received opinions now present to us a vast nation in Northern Asia, classed into three grand divisions, under the generic name of Tartar. I shall, elsewhere, record the few facts, which I gathered in the country regarding this race, but the subject partakes too much of a dissertation to be here introduced. The intermixture of the Tartars with the more western nations has brought about many changes, and the Tartar is no longer disfigured by those unseemly features which inspired disgust. But a physiognomist will not deduce from the change, that the Toork of the Oxus differs from his countrymen of Yarkund, the Moghul of modern writers, and far to the eastward. The Toorks intermarried with the Tajiks of Mawurool nuhr, much in the same manner as the Seljooks, who entered Persia, formed alliances in that country; but we cannot on that account reckon them a separate race, because of their beauty. The features of the Tartar have not altogether disappeared from the natives of Toorkistan; and may yet be traced in small eyes, flattened foreheads, and a scanty beard, though we see nought of the hideous visages which are described in the records of their inroads. The well-known couplet[31] of Hafiz, that paints the beautiful Toorkee girl of Shiraz, near Samarcand, has been celebrated; nor have the fair sex ever been destitute of charms in these regions, since we learn that Roxana, whom Alexander married in Transoxiana, was the most beautiful woman whom the Greeks had seen in Asia, after the wife of Darius. The inhabitant of the city, however, is more changed than the peasant; and on the mountains of Hindoo Koosh we had among the Huzaras a much closer resemblance to the Tartars. Among them there is a singular tribe, known by the name of Tatar Huzaras, which amount to about a thousand families, and occupies the space between Hindoo Koosh and Bameean. Tradition states these people to be descendants of Jengis Khan’s army, but their name of Tatar deserves remark, since the only other tribe so denominated by the people themselves is the Nogai on the frontiers of Russia.

~Uzbek tribes.~

Such is the mutability of men and things in this circle of Tartar abode, that if you now ask for the race of Zagatye or Chaghtye, the illustrious descendants of Jengis and the conquerors of Hind, and find them at all, they exist in the most abject poverty. The kings of Bokhara did, however, claim a lineage and uninterrupted descent from it, till a profligate minister snapped the thread by assassination. The Uzbek ruler of Kokan, the second state in Transoxiana, still asserts his descent from Baber, whose paternal kingdom of Ferghana he now inherits. The Uzbeks distinguish themselves by thirty-two tribes, into which they are said to have been divided in their pastoral seats. The following list exhibits a few of the principal divisions of the Uzbek race.

Bokhara. Mungut. Kokan. Yooz. Hissar. ---- ---- Lakay. Baeesoon. Kongrad. Kuwadian. Doormun. Koondooz. Kutghun. Khooloom. Moeetun. Heibuk. Kunglee. Balkh. Kipchuh. ---- Yaboo. Maimuna. Meeng. Orjunje. Kongrad.

~Kalmuks. Kirgizzes. Kuzzaks.~

The roaming propensities of the Tartar occur in every page of his history, and the example of the Kalmuks, who returned, in our own age, from the Black Sea to their original seats on the frontiers of China, exhibits the wonderful facility with which erratic nations alter their places of abode. The event took place in the latter end of the last century, and is still remembered by many of the inhabitants of Toorkistan, who described it to me. The colony advanced with their herds and flocks; and occupied, it is said, in the _breadth_ of its advancing column, a journey of no less than three days. It forced its way through all opposition to the “dusht i Kipchak,” north of the Jaxartes, and reached the primeval seat of their ancestors at Yarkund and Eela. The Kalmuks are not Mahommedans, and the “faithful” made war on them as they passed, and about 1500 Kalmuk slaves were added to the population of Bokhara; but small was the impression that could be made on the hundred thousand families, the reputed number of the migrators. The Kalmuk and Uzbek are said to have sprung from one tribe[32], and this change of habitation has now mingled it with the Kuzzak[33], a great tribe that once lay to the eastward of it; and Kalmuks, Kuzzaks, and Kirgizzes are mingled together. The Kirgiz and Kuzzak appear to be much the same people, differing only in location. The Kirgizzes whom I met, had a flat countenance, and closely resembled the Toorkmun. They inhabit Pameer. The Kuzzaks pass the summer in the southern parts of Russia, and repair in winter to the neighbourhood of Bokhara, where they sell their sheep.

~Citizens of Toorkistan.~

We find as great a variety among the citizens of Toorkistan as in the subdivisions of the Tartars. The aborigines of the country are the Tajiks or Tats; sometimes, but erroneously, denominated Sart, which is a nickname given to them by the nomade tribes. The hostile Toorks from the north subverted the power of this people, in a remote age; as different dynasties of the same hordes have overwhelmed each other. The Tajiks are addicted to commerce. Their language is Persian, which has long been that of the country; for Toorkistan fell under the dominion of Persia before the age of the Caliphs. In a Persian manuscript which I procured at Bokhara, I even find that this language was used by order of the Arabs themselves, in converting the people to Islam. The number of Persians in Toorkistan is great; since we hold the inhabitants of Merve in that light, as well as the slaves and their descendants. There are also Jews, Hindoos, and Armenians. Of the Toorkmuns I have already spoken; but there is yet another description of Tartars, the Nogais, who have migrated from Russia, and settled to the number of about a thousand families in the city of Bokhara.

~Traces of Tartar religion. Speculations.~

The people of Northern Asia worshipped the sun, fire, and the elements previous to the age of Mahommed; and we are informed, that in the earlier times of Islam, some of the priests or Magi of Persia fled from that country beyond the Oxus. I searched much for a trace of the original or imported worship; the Uzbeks assured me that there were fire worshippers in the ancient Tartar city of Cazan in Russia; but the censer of the Greek Padre was probably mistaken for the altar of the Magi. But the similarity between the creed of the Tartar and the Persian was curious; and since we find such innumerable hordes issuing from beyond the Oxus in the ages of authentic history, may we not derive the creed of Zoroaster or Zeratusht from Scythia or Tartary?

How full of interest is every thing connected with races of man that have so often changed the destinies of the world. Could we but follow up that at which we have now glanced, we might gather from the traditions of the people much that would illustrate early history, and the secret of these irruptions upon nations both barbarous and civilised. How much, too, might be traced from the shades of resemblance between the original tree and the branches which it has shot forth to stimulate an enquiry that is eminently attractive. I dismiss it, deploring my own incompetency.

CHAP. X.

ON THE HORSES OF TOORKISTAN.

~Toorkmun horse. Its origin.~

The horse attains a noble perfection in Toorkistan and the countries north of Hindoo Koosh. The climate is favourable to its constitution, and the inhabitants exhibit the most patient solicitude in its breeding and food; so that its best qualities are fully developed. The Toorkman horse is a large and bony animal, more remarkable for strength and bottom than symmetry and beauty. Its crest is nobly erect, but the length of body detracts from its appearance in the eye of an European; nor is its head so small or its coat so sleek as the brood of Arabia. This want of ornament is amply compensated by its more substantial virtues, and its utility is its beauty. We are informed by the historians of Alexander, that the countries on the Oxus were celebrated for their horses; and their subsequent and close connexion with Arabia suggests to us the extreme probability of an intermixture with the blood of that country. Tradition confirms the belief. At Shibbergaum, near Balkh, the people will yet tell you that their horses are descended from the famous Ruksh of Roostum, the steed of the Persian Hercules; from which we readily gather that they are of Persian descent. Timourlane introduced, from his conquests in China and India, Persia and Turkey, the finest horses of those distant countries to his capital of Samarcand and his native and adjacent city of Shuhr Subz. In this very neighbourhood, we now find, in the hands of the Uzbek tribe of Karabeer, the most matchless horses of the East. The great Nadir appears to have imitated Timour; and from India to the confines of Persia the introduction of many celebrated breeds of horses are referred to that conqueror. The most famous of these is found in Merve, though the animal be small. Another, met on the Oxus, known by the name of Aghubolak, is invariably marked by a dimple on some part of the body.

~Toorkmun mode of rearing horses.~

The peculiar manner in which a Toorkmun rears his horse arrests the attention, and will, perhaps, account for its stamina and superiority; since education, whether of the beast or the man, leaves the most permanent impression. The diet is of the simplest kind, and entirely free from the spices and sugar, the thirty-two and forty-two “mussalas” (condiments) of the Indians. Grass is given at stated periods in the forenoon, evening, and midnight; and, after feeding on it for an hour, the horse is reined up, and never permitted to nibble and eat, as in Europe. Dry food is preferred at all times; and if green barley and juwaree[34] (here called jougan) are given in its stead, the animal then receives no grain. At other times, a horse has from eight to nine pounds of barley once a day. Clover and artificial grasses are cultivated in Bokhara and on the banks of the Oxus, and, when procurable, always used in a dry state. The stalk of the juwaree, which is as thick as a walking-stick and contains much saccharine juice, is a more favourite food. The long interval between the times of baiting inure these horses to great privation; the supply of water allowed them is also most scanty. Before a Toorkmun undertakes a foray, or chupao, he trains, or, to use his own expression, “cools his horse” with as much patience and care as the most experienced jockey of the turf, and the animal is sweated down with a nicety which is perhaps unknown to these characters. After long abstinence from food, the horse is smartly exercised, and then led to water. If he drinks freely, it is taken as a sign that his fat has not been sufficiently brought down, and he is starved and galloped about till he gives this required and indispensable proof. A Toorkmun waters his horse when heated, and then scampers about with speed, to mix the water and raise it to the temperature of the animal’s body! Under this treatment, the flesh of their horses becomes firm, and their bottom is incredible; I have had authentic accounts of their performing a journey of six hundred miles in seven, and even in six days. Speed is at all times looked on as an inferior quality to bottom. At the marriage festivals, where horseraces form a part of the amusement, the Toorkmuns decide their matches, which are generally a few sheep, on a course of twenty or twenty-five miles. Youths of eight and ten years of age ride the horses; and the spirit with which these sports are carried on by the Toorkmuns is not surpassed in any country. The favourite horse afterwards moves throughout the neighbourhood as if the owner had the encouragement of a farming association in the deserts of Toorkmania.

~Varieties of the Toorkmun horse. Extent of the trade.~

I have pointed out the seat of the most celebrated horses of Toorkistan; but the animals which are sometimes sent to India under the name of Toorkmun horses, are reared about Balkh, and the eastern parts of Toorkmania, in the districts of Andkhoo and Maimuna, as also on the banks of the Oxus: they are considered inferior to the horses of Bokhara, Merve, as also Shurukhs. The price, too, is the best proof of this assertion; since the eastern horses seldom bring a higher sum than 100 tillas (650 rupees), and more frequently average less than half. Among the western Toorkmuns, a horse often sells for 200 tillas, and there are some in the stables of the King of Bokhara for which 300 tillas have been paid. These horses differ much from the animals that are sent into India from Candahar and Cabool, which are of an inferior and distinct breed. They, too, are reared in Toorkistan, but only used as baggage horses or hacks. Very few of the genuine Toorkmun horses are ever sent across Hindoo Koosh, since there are no purchasers but the Afghan chiefs and the Court of Runjeet Sing. It is only the best description of horse that will yield a profit to the importer. They cannot be brought to the territories of British India for less than 1000 or 1200 rupees; and few of the European gentlemen will give such a price in addition to the small profit asked by the dealer. Such, at least, is the language of the horse merchants themselves; and it carries some conviction along with it; since the points of a Toorkmun horse have not much recommendation in the eyes of an European, whose taste would appear to be better suited by imports from the Persian Gulf. In speaking of the horses imported from Toorkistan, Mr. Elphinstone observed, in the year 1809, that if the studs in India should succeed, the trade would be annihilated; a prediction which has been fulfilled; as I learn that the whole remount of the Bengal cavalry is now furnished from the stud, with some few exceptions for the horse artillery. The undersized horses which are bred there are also bought up by officers and natives; and there are now no princes of sufficient consequence to induce horse merchants to speculate longer in a losing and foreign trade. The annual tax of fifty or sixty horses, which the ruler of Lahore imposes on the chief of Peshawur, is furnished from Toorkmun horses, since Runjeet Sing is fastidious in his choice. That the value of the Toorkmun horse has not been over-rated is most certain, since some of them, which were entered into the lists of the cavalry twenty years ago, are yet good and serviceable animals, and highly appreciated by cavalry officers. Were it ever contemplated to seek a further supply of these horses, they could be procured with every facility at Meshid in Persia, from Shurukhs, and Merve, or by means of an agent in Cabool. Afghans sent from that city could also purchase them.

~Characteristics of the Toorkmun horse.~

The breed of the Toorkmun horse is of the purest kind. When the animal is over-heated, or has performed any great work, nature bursts a vein for it in the neck,--which I did not at first credit till I had become an eye-witness of the fact. The Toorkmuns cut their horses; as it is a popular belief among them that they are then more on the alert, and undergo greater fatigue, than stallions. The Toorkmuns believe their horses to be exceedingly nice in hearing; and will often trust to their steeds for the alarm of an approaching enemy. I was particularly struck with the fine crests of the Toorkmun horses; and I heard, though I could not authenticate its truth by observation, that they are often confined in a stable with no other aperture than a window in the roof, which teaches the animal to look up, and improves his carriage. The contrivance seems fitted for such an end. The finer horses of the Toorkmuns are seldom sold, for their owners may be truly said to have as much regard for them as their children. It must not, however, be imagined that all the horses of Toorkistan are equally renowned; for as almost every person beyond the Oxus has a mount of some kind, a great portion of them are very inferior animals. In Bokhara there are many Kuzzak horses, a sturdy and little animal, with a shaggy coat and very long mane and tail, much and deservedly admired. They are brought from the deserts between Bokhara and Russia.