Among the Celestials : vol.1 / Page 209 (Color Image)

0209	Among the Celestials : vol.1

CHAP. vII.] ASIATIC MERCHANTS. 171

only sees a few travelling carts used for long

ourneys.

On August 7 we arrived at Aksu, the largest

town we had yet seen. It had a garrison of

two thousand soldiers, and a native population

of about twenty thousand, beside the inhabitants

of the surrounding district. There were large

bazaars and several inns some for travellers,

others for merchants wishing to make a pro-

longed stay to sell goods. A trader will bring

goods from a distant town, engage a room in

one of these inns or serais, and remain there

for some months, or even a year or two, till he

has sold his goods. He will then buy up a

new stock, and start off to another town. It

is in these serais that one meets the typical

travelling merchant of Central Asia ; and often

have I envied these men their free, indepen-

dent, wandering life, interspersed with enough

of hardships, of travel, and risks in strange

countries to give it a relish. They are always

interesting to talk to : intelligent, shrewd, full

of information. Naturally they are well-disposed

to Englishmen, on account of the encourage-

ment we give to trade ; but they are cos-

mopolitan, and do not really belong to any

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