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0285 Across Asia : vol.1
Across Asia : vol.1 / Page 285 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000221
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RECORDS OF THE JOURNEY

of its course through the valley, is dry for an appreciable distance. It draws a little water again from the springs in the marsh, but most of it comes from the Baga Yulduz. After receiving this water it forms a deep river under the name of Khaidik. Its S bank is like the N bank, a gradual slope with a firm bottom and poor grass here and there, intersected by small water-channels, some of which are dry for the greater part of the year. Close to the river the ground is marshy. There are only a few dozen Kalmuk yurts on the S side of the river, probably owing to the bad communications between the banks, which are inaccessible or only reached with difficulty for a great distance in consequence of their marshiness, and are separated lower down by such a deep river that it cannot be forded. There is a ferry here built of boards brought from Zanma. It is used when necessary, but that happens seldom.

We reached the lama camp across the plain rather nearer the river than last time. The condition of the ground is the same as higher up. The actual marshy part begins further east. At the half distance we passed a large Torgut praying site on a small kurganlike hill. There are stones on the surface, but in the openings of the rodents' holes you see nothing but earth. SSW of the lama camp we saw a similar praying site at a distance of a mile to a mile and a half, also apparently on an old kurgan. Two merchants live at Kura, a Chinese from Qarashahr, who lives here in the summer and sells various odds and ends, and a Sart, who accompanies the Torguts on all their peregrinations throughout the year and supplies them with necessaries at high prices. The Chinese keeps a choice little exhibition of cheap goods in his green tent.

I had a long talk with the superior of the lamasery, who was interested to hear of the position of the Kalmuks in Russia. Both he and a couple of other lamas seemed to be keen that someone should visit their kinsmen on the banks of the Volga. They doubted, whether the Russian authorities would allow a Chinese Kalmuk to pass without trouble and also thought that the Khan would not agree to such a journey. Their submission to the Khan, a young prince under the control of Chinese officials, is astonishing. It looks as if the Torguts could not move a step without his permission.

The Kalmuks seem to be distrustful and their hospitality cannot be compared with the hospitality of the Kalmuks and Kirghiz in the Tekes and Kunges valleys. They submit most unwillingly to anthropological measurements and it is hard to extract any information from them. Their filth defies description and can compete successfully with that of the Kalmuks in the Tekes valley. They are taller, but have no semblance of elegance or harmony in their figures and movements. Their feet are often misshapen with twisted toes. You seldom see a well-shaped hand. Their hair is black or dark brown, their beards often being a shade lighter. Their beards are scraggy and begin to grow late. Up to the age of 25 or 3o their moustaches are scarcely visible. There is seldom any hair on their bodies except in the armpits and groin. They do not use razors; their beards are plucked with broad pincers. Their hair is treated like that of the Chinese — the lamas cut it. You seldom see anyone with grey hair and I saw none with white. They rarely reach the age of 70. Their noses are mostly small and well-shaped. Their eyelids are fleshy and as though turned

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June 25th. Lama camp at ZagatynChuzynKure.