IV. Khotan – Kashgar

George Roerich — Trails to the Inmost Asia

In the early morning of January 28, 1926, our courtyard and garden were crowded with pack horses and caravan men in heavy sheepskins and dark red charuqs—a scene familiar to anyone who has traveled in the caravan region of Asia. The bustle was great and it took us five hours to start the baggage caravan marching. The tents and the rest of the camp equipment had to go in advance, and for this purpose the best horses were given to the camp detachment. This detachment had to leave camp last, and arrive at the new camp first. The caravan men, mostly Turki from Khotan, were sadly lacking in initiative and performed their tasks with surprising carelessness.

Most of the pack horses were big animals from Yarkend, capable of carrying about two hundred pound loads. Their general condition was good and we could hope to arrive in Kashgar on time. The Turkestan pack saddle is much superior to the wooden pack saddles of Ladak and Tibet. It consists of two thick saddle cloths, on which is fixed the saddle cushion—U-shaped and made of sheepskin or cloth well stuffed with straw. The load is fixed to the saddle by ropes, made of camel's or sheep's wool. Travelers are warned not to use hemp ropes of Chinese or European make, for they are apt to cause sores. Ropes made of camel's wool are very good; those made out of sheep's wool are much inferior.

Several mounted soldiers in charge of an aged shao-wei or lieutenant were ordered to escort us as far as Yarkend, the next garrisoned oasis along the southern trade route. They all came and lined up in front of the house, the lieutenant holding the red visiting card of his superior officer in his raised hand. All the men were over fifty, and were dressed in voluminous gray coats and fur caps with large earflaps which, if necessary, could be buttoned in front of the face. Their arms consisted of old Mausers, and the officer had an old Chinese sword. We were much surprised at the age of these warriors, and inquired whether they intended to retire from service. The reply was that they had recently been promoted to the cavalry for gallant service! In Hsin-chiang a young soldier has to serve in infantry units, and only after he has passed an age limit or distinguished himself in service is he promoted to the grade of a mounted soldier or ma-p'ing. In Hsin-chiang, as in many other parts of China, a horse is only a means of transportation; a Chinese trooper is taught to sit on a horse, but never to ride it. A beg from Karakash and two daroghas were also delegated to attend to our needs on the journey. They were directed to accompany us to Guma Bazaar, the nearest administrative center on the Khotan-Yarkend route.

We started only about noon, and rapidly rode through the Mohammedan and Chinese sections of Khotan. It was a bazaar day and the streets were thronged with a multicolored crowd of villagers. Our first stage was Zawa. The baggage caravan arrived late at night and we were obliged to spend several hours waiting for it in the garden of the official resthouse. The night was cool and we warmed ourselves at a huge camp fire made by the local villagers.

Before starting from Khotan, our Chinese interpreter, Ts'ai ssu-yeh, had made a yellow flag marked with our name abbreviated to "Lo," stating the official designation of the expedition. This flag was intrusted to a darogha, who galloped ahead of us and planted the flag on the spot selected for our camp.

In Zawa we found the flag planted on the roof of the resthouse. Ts'ai ssu-yeh was very wise to prepare this flag, for it saved us from many troubles with petty officials, who were always found to respect it even more than our Peking passports.

In the evening we discovered that our soldiers and some of our Chinese servants were confirmed opium smokers. In the morning they were late getting up and considerably handicapped the work about the camp. An opium smoker is a great calamity in an expedition camp and we decided to avail ourselves of the next opportunity to get rid of them.