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wtnipeier te pan ances
with her arm round the neck of my recently ac-
No. 88.
A RIDE TO KHIVA.
495
like ourselves, for human footsteps could be plain-
ly traced in the track leading to some black dots
yet only dimly seen in the gradually breaking
orn. Larger and larger they became, until at
last a thick cloud of dark-blue smoke issuing from
the roofs of these dark objects showed us that
Re were approaching the dwelling-place of some
iz
On descending a steep ravine we came upon
what appeared to have been a sheep-pen, for the
footprints of these animals could be here seen in
great abundance, and an inclosure of piled up
logs showed where the sheep had but recently
been confined. The guide now got off his horse,
and looked at me complacently. “Bah, bah!” he
said, and, opening his mouth from ear to ear,
showed a row of white teeth which would have
been the envy of many a London dame.
However, he did not wish to go forward at once
to the kibitkas. We should not present the same
majestic appearance alone and unaccompanied, as
we should make a little later, and at the head of
our caravan. In Russia the importance of a tray-
eler is gauged by the value of his furs, but in Asia
by the number of his retinue. The guide was
aware of this, and in spite of his longing for mut-
ton, he was enabled to restrain himself until such
time as we could appear with proper dignity.
I myself was not sorry of the opportunity afford-
ed me to obtain a little sleep. Continued traveling
had thoroughly tired me out, and, flinging myself
down by the side of a huge bonfire of brambles, I
became instantly lost to consciousness. When I
awoke, the sun was descending toward the west,
and Nazar, coming up, told me that the caravan
had been waiting there two hours, but, seeing that.
I was so fast asleep, he had not wished to awake
e
me.
» Another half hour, and we rode up to the prin-
cipal kibitka, It evidently belonged to a wealthy
Kirghiz. The dwelling was three times the size of
an ordinary kibitka, and the walls were ornament-
ed with straw plaiting of different colors, while
an abundance of hay in an inclosure adjoining the
dwelling showed that the proprietor was a pru-
dent man, and had laid in a supply of fodder for
his horses. . .
A girl who was carrying a large sheet of ice to
the tent came up to the guide, who asked her if
there were any sheep for sale. This inquiry in-
stantly produced a sensation in the kibitka, and
the whole family came out to havea look at the
Croesus who actually wanted to’ buy a whole
sheep. .
The head of the kibitka was a man considerably
above the middle age. He must in his earlier
days have been a splendid type of mankind, for
even now his muscular neck, square shoulders,
and enormous girth of chest; showed that he
wouldbe a dangerous opponent ina hand-to-hand
strug e. He was followed by a woman suckling
achild, and in rear of her, and taking a shy, in-
quisitive glance at the new arrival from behind
the door d the kibitka, was the girl the guide had
accosted on arrival. She was an exception to the
generality of Kirghiz women, who rarely exhibit
any marked signs of beauty, and their high cheek
bones, bullet heads, and low foreheads are not
often appreciated by the foreigner.
A moon-faced girl in a London ball-room would
be added to the list of wall-flowers, though in a
Tartar’s estimation that class of beauty is the high-
est to which the fair sex can aspire. The ice-
bearer, however, would have held her own, if pit-
ted for good looks, against any European belle;
and her complexion, two or three shades darker
than that of her companions, made my thoughts
wander several thousand miles in another direc-
tion, and I bethought me of far-off Seville, for the
girl might have been a gitana, from Triana by the
side of the Guadalquivir.
he was evidently irom a southern clime, her
small mouth and well-shaped nose—a relief from
the pug probosces which, for the most part, dis-
tinguish the Tartars—denoting a Persian origin,
very likely the daughter of a captive who, in years
gone by, had been carried off in a raid from the
country on the other side of the Attrek, and found
favor in the eyes of her master.
The old man volunteered to lead us to the sheep-
fold, so, dismountin; . from our horses, we accom-
anied him in that direction. The pretty girl, who
had recovered from her shyness, hurried forward
to catch one of the flock for our inspection. She
ran like a hare over the rough stumps and brush-
wood which studded the snow-covered ground, a
large number of black-faced sheep scampering
before her. At last she came up with one which,
fatter than its companions, could not keep up
with the flock. Suddenly stooping, she seized her
victim by one foot, and with a rapid movement
turned him over on his back. A clear, ringin,
Jaugh resounded from her lips., She turned roun'
us and pointed triumphantly at the sheep;
then, drawing her hand across her neck, she went
through, in pantomime, the operation of cutting
his throat. .
My guide was now in his element; he rushed
forward, and bending down, punched the unfor-
tunate animal in the ribs; then looking up at me,
he made use of the one word, “ Fat!”
A bargain was soon struck, the price being four
rubles; and we returned to the kibitka to pay a
yisit to the proprietor, the girl going on in front
created in my mind at the first sight of her beau-
tiful face becoming rapidly effaced as I saw how
eager she was to play the part of a butcher.
mentering the tent I found that the ground
was covered with thick carpets, a layer of hay hav-
ing been put down between them and the ground.
The carpets were of many colors, and on inquiry
1 learned that they had been purchased from a
merchant who had passed that way on his road to
Kasala. A cushion was brought for me, and I was
given the post of honor by the fire, which consist-
ed of a fewred embers piled up in a shallow basin
of dried clay; the proprietor squatting down oppo-
site me, while the rest of his family, seate
their hams, their knees and chins touching, gazed
curiously upon the newly arrived stranger.
The chi were so wrapped up in skins and
furs that each child looked three times his natural
size. They were amusing themselves by teasing
the unfortunate sheep, which was tied up to the
door of the kibitka, A single-barreled gun—the
barrel tied to the stock by a leathern thong—and
two old swords, were hung up in the corners of
the tent; afew iron cooking pans, a bright-col-
ored earthenware tea-pot, and some wooden
spoons, stood on a gaudily painted wooden box,
which contained the valuables of the proprietor.
A large brass pipe was near the fire.
bled a Turkish so-called hubble-bubble, as the
smoke had first of all to pass through some water
which was contained in a receptacle below the
bowl, while, instead of there being a long india-
rubber tube through which to inhale the fumes,
this was substituted by a wooden stem about two
feet long, to the end of which was a horn mouth-
piece. The tobacco smoked was very different
from any I. have seen in other countries, and was
so strong that two or three whiffs were sufficient | s
to prostrate for the moment any man not accus-
tomed to its use.
The host, taking up his pipe, slowly inhaled the
fumes, until after about half a minute he fell back
upon his carpet, apparently stupefied by the effects
of the tobacco, Indeed, I subsequently heard that
all natives who much indulge in this kind of smok-
ing are subject to heart disease, and a number of
sickly Khivans were pointed out to me as victims
to this habit.
We were informed that the snow on the desert
in front of us was very deep in several places, and
that we should have a great deal of difficulty in
riding through some of the drifts. To the guide’s
inquiry whether there had been any bands of
Turkomans in those parts, the answer was “No;
that the country was, comparatively speaking,
quiet; but that as the Oxus was frozen, no one
could tell whether some Turkoman party or other
might not have crossed the river during the last
few days.
There was a sort of desultory warfare, which is
carried on at intervals between the Russians and
some of the Turkoman tribes, the former shooting
wn the Bedouins of the steppes without any
mercy whenever they catch them. Where might
is right, a great deal can be done by this terroriz-
ing system. However, it is as well to call things
by their proper names; and it would be more cor-
rect to say that the progress of Russia in the East
is based upon the sword and the gibbet, rather
than upon Christianity and the Bible.
The guide pow became impatient, and proposed
that we should return to our tent, which had
been pitched at about ten minutes’ walk from the
aul. He was a little alarmed lest I should invite
his compatriots to the feast, in which case, as it is
always the custom to help the guests first—and
their appetites he gauged by his own—he thought
that there would be little or nothing left for him-
self and Nazar. In the’ mean time the youn,
lady—the ci-devant object of my admiration—h:
cut the sheep's throat, and a little while later the
careass was brought to our encampment, the fair
butcher receiving the skin and head asa recom-
pense for her trouble.
My followers were in their element. ' Huge
lumps of half-cooked meat and fat rapidly disap-
ared down their throats, the feasting going on
steadily during several hours. At last nature
could do no more; all the belts had been let out to
the last hole; and Nazar, putting his head close to
mine, eructed loudly in my face, the Turkoman
and the guide performing the same operation, but
fortunately at a little distance. This was done in
honor of the entertainer, and in order to show
their appreciation of the repast, Indeed, to such
an extent is this filthy habit fashionable in Central
Asia, that a Kirghiz who has eaten nothing in his
friend’s house will do his best to eruct outside so
that all the by-standers may say, “See how he has
been entertained! How he must have feasted !
His host has honored him, He must be a dis-
tinguished man !”
We continued our march at day-break, and rode
3
toward aspot known by the Kirghiz as Berd Kas. | b
gan, where there was said to be a well of brackish
water. Our horses and camels had not drunk
since leaying Kasala. They had only eaten snow;
and although the Kirghiz never give their herds
of horses any water during the Winter months,
but leave them to shift for themselves, the animals
suffer very much in consequence, and when they
are doi si hard work the owner has to give them
water ai least every fourth day,
Our course now lay nearly due south. Occa-
quired purchase, the slight shadow of sentiment
sionally we came to places where the wind acti
upon the snow had blown it into all sorts of cure
ous forms and shapes. Sometimes, in the misty
gloom of awakening day, we seemed to be ri:ing”
through endless cemeteries, the frozen patches re-
sembling slabs or marble grave-stones, this ap-
parently unbounded burial-ground extending
across the desert as far as the eye could reach.
was riding across the plain my horse
stumbled ‘slightly, when the Guide remarked,
“How thin the poor beast is! If-you could only
see my brother-in-law’s horses !”
_* Well,” I replied, “itis rather out of the way to
ride to Kalenderhana; but, to oblige you, I would
not object to stretch a point, and go there instead.
n|of to Petro-Alexandrovs|
“What would the commandant say ?” observed
the ide. “He might punish me; perhaps I
should be beaten,”
“That is your business, not mine,” I remarked;
“but the horses are beautiful at the fort. We
will go there.”
“No,” said the guide, “we will go to Kalender-
hana, and then from my aul to the fort. It
will be a little way round : however, that does not.
signify. We will not say a word the com-
mandant, and you shall buy such a horse! You
will look with scorn at every other horse you may
see, and people will say, ‘What a fortunate
n
{ resem. | ma
We had now thoroughly outstripped the Khivan,
being at least twelve hours ahead of his caravan.
Iwas not sorry for this, as otherwise the sudden
change in my route might have surprised him.
We had left Ooteh Ootkool, a spot marked on
Wyld’s map of Khiva, considerably to our rear,
while the country was a succession of hill and
ale, bu h more undulating toward my
bridle-hand than in the direction of the setting
un,
Our course, as we neared a spot known by the
Kirghiz as Tan Sooloo, was due south. From this
place to Tooz, our next halting-place, the distance
was sixty versts. On either side of the track
there were deep hollows and ravines innumer-
able, while saksaool and brush-wood became each
moment more scarce. Apparently all this country
had been at some remote period buried beneath
the sea, Frequently we came across shells and
other marine crustacea scattered in profusion
along our path, while at Tooz we passed a small
salt Jake which lay about a hundred yards to the
east er the track, and was frozen as hard as ada-
mant,
Tooz signifies “sait” in the Tartar language,
and the sand all about the lake is saturated with
salt, Indeed, the traveler does not require any
stronger testimony to this fact than the peculiar
taste of his tea, for, however, carefully the snow is
chosen, it is sure to become mixed with a little
sand; and the more you drink, the thirstier you
become. According 4o the guide, there were two
much larger sheets of salt-water to the west,
dividing the ground between ourselves and the
Sea of Aral, ~
CHAPTER XXVL
It was a quaint spectacle to watch my little
caravan as we rode away from our different en-
campments, First came the guide, clad in a long
dressing-gown of crimson cloth, which he had ex-
changed for the more homely garment in which
he commenced the journey. Hisrobe, which was
lined with sheep-skin, was tightly girt round his
loins with a broad blue sash; atall, conical-shaped
black hat surmounted his bronzed countenance,
His sword dangled at his side, and he used the
Weapon sheath asa whip to urge on his steed,
n a little done w his co i
through the snows P y stant marching
hen appeared a still more Judicrous
the Turkoman camel-river. He rode a on cey he
had purchased just before leaving Kasala. The-
long legs of the rider nearly touched the ground.
while his figure was wrapped up in a tattered robe.
that looked asif it might have formed part of an,
old Turkish carpet. His head was adorned with
a white sheep-skin hat of the coal-scuttle pattern.
His feet, which had first been carefully wrapped
up in many thicknesses of cloth, were inserted in
a pair of enormous high boots. Around his arm.
was hitched the end of a Topes this was attached.
to a huge camel, which strode behind the donkey,
On the top of the camel lay my Tartar servant,
generally fast, asleep, with ‘arms and Jegs_ out-
e ,, While a cord was bound round his
Waist, and attached to some corn-bags to keep
him from rolling over. The other two camels
stalked along in the rear, the whole cavaleade
throwing weird and grotesque shadows on the
vale carpet of snow, which exaggerated a thousand
mp in its reflections the motley appearance of
arty. . .
We were approaching Jana Darya, the dri
ed of ariver which is lost. in the sand, ance
desert in this neighborhood was once thickly in.
habited. Canals cut on all sides irrigated the now
parched-up soil; and this not ‘so ‘long ago, for
have
“o}
there are men alive who say that th
tell of the former richness of this district heard
plain having been changed into anal
for, fearing that the Russians would ene use of
the Jana Darya and its communication with the
yr Darya as & means to advance upon Khiva, he
had adam built near the junction of the rivers,
DR