IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Across Asia : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
RECORDS OF THE JOURNEY
say that they speak the Yarkand or Karghalik dialect, i.e., the same language as the population, but I thought I noticed some difference in pronunciation, e.g., they said »Yarkandlok» not »Yarkandlik» as the Sarts do. My Cossack interpreter, too, said that he noticed a difference and could understand them better than the Sarts in general. Unfortunately, he could not quote any particular words. — The Pakhpos inhabit 3 villages: Pakhpo containing too houses, Kukde to and Lugyeitak to, all on the highest reach of the Tiznaf. The area of their fields is about 300 mou. Only corn is grown. In summer they live in kibitkas, while their herds graze in the mountains, in winter in huts in the villages. Judging by the number of their cattle, they seem to be fairly well off. They have about 6o horses, 50-6o asses, 500 kutas cows and oxen and 5,000-6,000 sheep. — The Shiksho villages are situated higher up on the Tiznaf and, I understand, slightly to the west of it. Their men had left before I had a chance of talking with them, so that I obtained my information from a Pakhpo. He mentioned the following villages: Yazakh of 20-30 houses, Lugüstang of 20 and Kichiqüstang of 3o. They seem, however, to be more numerous than the Pakhpos, for the people say »altmysh (6o) Shiksholik» and »karabysh (..o) Pakhpolik». They are said to be less prosperous than the Pakhpo tribe. — Both tribes have their own mullahs. Among the Pakhpos there are 5 who have made the journey to Mecca. The Beg for both tribes is a Shiksho. Each tribe has its own Yuzbashi. They marry almost exclusively within their own tribe. Unfortunately, I could learn nothing of the past history of these tribes. They pay 8 cop. per mou of field in taxes to the Chinese authorities and in selling cattle 8o cop. for a kutas, 8o cop. — t r. for a horse, 3o cop. for an ass and 20 cop. for a sheep. — An indispensable call at the yamen to thank the mandarin for the fodder etc. that he had sent me during both my visits, interrupted my work for a short time. I did not much care for the mandarin and I cut my call as short as possible. — The craniometer has no lack of defects, as might have been expected. I have to be extremely attentive in my work to avoid mistakes, so that each individual takes quite half-an-hour.
Nothing to add to my notes on my previous journey southward. Since the night before last it has been snowing a little, so that the ground is covered by 1/2" of snow, a welcome change from the uniform greyness, and one that turns my thoughts to winter in my own country.
December 2 ist. Posgam.
December 22nd. Yarkand.
We arrived at I I.3o a.m. There was a lot of water in the river Yarkand and a good deal of ice from the mountains. The ferry was working and everyone seemed to be making use of it, but I wanted to lose no time in waiting for this slow arrangement and both the pack-horses and arbah got across safely. The ice-floes bobbed about round us at a good pace in the high water, almost up to the saddle. I stayed at a Chinese sarai, where the men and I had a bright room each with a large paper window. I shall spend Christmas here and start for Kashgar on Friday the 27th with Dr Raquette.
I spent the day yesterday arranging the materials and things I had brought back from December 2¢th. my trip to Khotan. To-day I spent a pleasant Christmas Eve with Dr Raquette and Yarkand.
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