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0290 The Pulse of Asia : vol.1
The Pulse of Asia : vol.1 / Page 290 (Color Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000233
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CHAPTER XI

THE CHANTOS

Charklik, fifty miles east of Vash Sheri, was the last
town in the Lop basin where we came in contact with the
Chantos. We had now been among them more than six
months. Before proceeding to describe the deserts farther
to the east and north, I shall consider some of the more
prominent traits of the Chantos, and shall examine the rela-
tion of some of these traits to physical environment. The
vast majority of the Chantos practice agriculture in the zone
of vegetation or in the terrace villages, as their ancestors
appear to have done for ages. Their environment is almost
exactly the opposite of that of the Khirghiz in the high
plateaus. In the zone of vegetation, peculiar physical con-
ditions permit plants of varied species to grow prolifically
through a long season in certain strictly limited areas,
though elsewhere absolute desert prevails. In the plateaus,
on the contrary, physical conditions cause grass, but no
other useful sort of plant, to flourish for a short season of
two or three months over broad areas. The environment
of the Khirghiz compels him to travel continually, and
to become a self-reliant, hardy, adventurous nomad; that
of the Chanto limits him to one place, where patience and
steady work bring success, and where timidity is no special
disadvantage.
Crosby, in his book on "Tibet and Turkestan," has
pointed out that in the study of history we have not gen-