112 THE PULSE OF ASIA
dresses for the women. The designs which the people employ are for the most part simple and highly characteristic, as appears in the drawings on page 113, which were made by Professor Davis in some of the kibitkas where we were entertained. The environment of the Khirghiz limits and controls, but by no means stifles, the œsthetic sense.
A description of some of the events of two days in early July, 1903, when Professor Davis and I traveled from the Narin River up to Son Kul (Left-hand Lake) will illustrate some of the points already mentioned, and will give an idea of the daily life of the people. From the ford of the Narin River, an easy ride up a pretty mountain valley brought us to a group of kibitkas, set in a green amphitheatre surrounded by steep walls of gray limestone. An unusually neat kibitka, so new as to be still white, was evidently being prepared for us at the suggestion of the Khirghiz guide, who, of his own accord, had ridden ahead to see that all was ready for our reception. The kibitka had been picked up bodily, and, as we approached, was being carried to a cleaner spot away from the unpleasant neighborhood of the other kibitkas and of the flocks and herds. A dozen men and women had gone inside, and picked up the kibitka by the lattice-work fence. Under the direction of a man on the outside, who acted as eyes for the rest, they were carrying it blindly to the designated spot. It looked like an enormous beetle, walking across the turf with a dozen pairs of human legs. The household goods which the kibitka had sheltered — the piles of rugs, felts, quilts, skins, boxes, bags, wooden bowls, and leather buckets — were left exposed in a sorry heap, which the women good-naturedly removed to another tent.
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