FROM THE PLATEAU TO THE BASIN FLOOR 189
races, Huns, Chinese, Tibetans, and Turks; but the main stock still persists, as appears from Stein's anthropometric observations, and from the general appearance of the Chan-tos. Their features are large and coarse, but on the whole resemble those of Europeans rather than those of the highcheeked Mongols or slant-eyed Chinese. Their skins, where not tanned by the sun, are fair, and the children are rosy and often have light brown hair, which later darkens almost to black. The beards of the men are heavy compared with those of the neighboring races, though by no means equal to those of Germans or Englishmen. Ancient tradition relates that the original inhabitants of the Lop basin, the probable ancestors of the Chantos of to-day, migrated from northern India. The tradition is confirmed by the fact that the earliest specimens of writing found in the ruins of the Takla-Makan desert are in the Kharosthi tongue, a language akin to Sanskrit, and spoken in northern India not far from the beginning of the Christian era. Since the Mohammedan invasion of the tenth century, the ancient tongue has been displaced by the Turki language of the conquerors, which is spoken in several primitive dialects.
From the simple, but kindly hospitality of the poor peasants at Ulachi, a day's ride brought us to Sanju, a town of perhaps six thousand people, where Chanto courtesy displayed itself more elaborately. The ride along the fertile loess terraces was delightful. We entirely forgot that the desert lay but a few thousand feet away, at the top of the enclosing red walls of the upper terrace. The narrow ribbon of the green oasis filled our thoughts, and satisfied us with its freshness. Trees and bushes, gardens of vegetables
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