Samarkand and the Caspian. But the opening up of Eastern Turkestan to Indian trade within the last thirty years seems to have attracted them to these parts in increased numbers.
From the men who greeted me on my approach to Yakshamba Bazar, I learned that Khanarik supports no less than eighteen Shikarpuris. Such an allotment of Hindu usurers to a single village tract, however large, can only imply the progressive indebtedness of the cultivators, and my infor-
HINDU MONEYLENDERS.
mants readily admitted that business was brisk. They had all settled down here during the last eight years, and their well-to-do appearance amply proved that they had employed their short residence to advantage. It would have been unfair to inquire too closely into their profits and rates of interest. But as the latter cannot be less than that currently exacted in India by the village moneylender, it is certain that plenty of gain finds its way through these hardy emissaries into the coffers of Shikarpur bankers. To protect the interests of this class is a task which the representative of
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