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| 0540 |
Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 |
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Khotan in Buddhist legend, had wished to let me once more see, as
a parting favour, every type of scenery I had beheld in the land over
which he presided.
By daybreak of the 1st of May I set out for my long journey
westwards. Cheered as I was by the thought of the road that now
lay clear before me to Europe, I felt the sadness of saying farewell,
probably for ever, to a fascinating field of work and to the last of
my faithful local helpmates. At Zawa itself I had to take leave of
Turdi, my honest old guide, whose experience and local sense never
failed me in the desert. I liberally rewarded his services with more
"treasure," i.e., cash, than he had ever brought back from his
wanderings in the Taklamakan. He had also the expectation of
seeing himself, through Pan-Darin's favour, installed as 'Mirab'
or steward of irrigation for his native village near Yurung-kash. It
was a snug though modest post to which our 'Aksakal of the
Taklamakan' fondly aspired, since he thought he was getting too
old for the desert, and in view of his proved honesty I had been
able to recommend him with a good conscience. Yet with this
comforting prospect before him, I could see how genuine the tears
were that at our parting trickled over the weather-beaten face of the
old treasure-seeker.
It was easier to leave behind Niaz Akhun, my Chinese interpreter.
He had fallen into a matrimonial entanglement with a captivating
Khotan damsel of easy virtue, and had decided to remain, against
the emphatic warnings of the old Amban, who plainly told him
that, as a confirmed gambler and without a chance of employment,
he would soon be starving. He had taken the earliest opportunity
to divest himself of all further responsibilities for his wife and
children at Kashgar by divorcing her "through letter post" as it
were, the necessary document from a Khotan Mullah costing only a
few Tangas. With such remarkable ease of divorce throughout the
country, as illustrated by this typical case, the organisation of
Turkestan family life has always appeared to me rather puzzling.
Islam Beg and Badruddin Khan, who had reason to be satisfied
with the rewards their efficient services had earned them, would not
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