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see displayed. amongst other things a small tin with a label which was a very close imitation of that used by Huntley and Palmer. With the help of Kasim I obtained the tin, which contained mixed sweet biscuits of good qualify, made in Germany, and bore the maker's name. The price was half a sarr, or about a rupee, a moderate stun, if the distance the tin . had been brought is con sidered.
Russian interests, commercial, no less than political, are kept under close supervision by the Russian-ConsulGeneral. At Yarkand I wished to get a few small luxuries from Russian Turkestan, and applied to the Aksakal of the Andijan traders for some assistance. That official was personally willing to help _me, but nevertheless he soon made it clear that he would not allow any Russian subject to purchase anything for me without the explicit consent of the Russian Consul-General.
The trade between India and Sin-Chiang is in a languishing condition, and is to a large extent in the hands of Hindus, some of whose reputations cannot be considered good. The Pundit Boota Ram, whom I have had occasion to mention more than once, was a fair specimen of his class. I had some intention of purchasing gold from him, and he not only asked me twenty tongas per sarr more than the current price, but protested that his price was the current price. His weights, moreover, were false, being in error in his favour by one balance to the extent of one-hundredth, and by another to the extent of one-tenth. One Kashmir trader said to me of another, " Oh, Sahib, he is a good man but a Kashmiri, and has cheated the devil himself." All traders, foreign and. native alike, regard a European as fair game, and demand prices from him far above those they would accept from each other. Some approximation to a reasonable bargain may be reached after long higgling, but if this process is
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