Q36 THE PULSE OF ASIA
way, and grows gentle and mild and weak of will. He has no contact with the world outside his own oasis, and therefore fears whatever is new or strange. The Chanto's mind is so habitually idle, —that is, it receives so little stimulus from his ordinary surroundings, — that new sights and new ideas do not interest him, and he is strangely free from curiosity, nor does his easy, quiet life often tempt him to quarrel. In winter, he sits idle with nothing to occupy his thoughts, and naturally eating and drinking and the pampering of his body become the chief things in life. It would be strange indeed, if, under the given physical conditions, the Chanto were other than the courteous, submissive, self-indulgent creature that he is.
To nullify the evil influences of the physical environment of the Chantos, two influences may prove helpful, namely, the stimulation of variety of scene, and of steady work. The shepherds get something of both, and, in their way, seem to be better men than the peasants. And even in the cities, where the worst elements gather, there are, as we have seen, occasional men of real strength of character. In the future, great changes may perhaps take place, for the Lop basin has immense undeveloped resources. Chief among these is the vast amount of water wasted in the zone of piedmont gravel. Only a fraction of the water which flows out of the mountains reaches the oases, probably not half in the western portion of the basin, and not a tenth in the eastern portion. The Yartungaz, Endereh, and Molja rivers, east of Niya, support practically no population, though they are as large as the Niya River, which, in spite of enormous preventable losses, supports nearly five thousand people. The Kara
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