Blame
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1 | # George Roerich. Trails to the Inmost Asia |
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2 | |||||||
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3 | ## V. The Great Northern Highway to Urumchi |
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9 | <a id="b4p-67-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:67 --> |
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| 11 | **February 26 — 27, 1926** [Faizabad](/#m=9/39.49424/76.73538&l=Gs&p=67/o) |
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12 | |||||||
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13 | The great northern highway of Hsin-chiang has been frequently described by travelers. In |
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| 14 | two easy stages we reached Faizabad—a small town with a Chinese magistrate and a small |
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| 15 | garrison of troops. The road was monotonous—everywhere sand tracts covered by salt |
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| 16 | crust, sand dunes, and jungle, groves of willows and dusty mud-built hamlets. Faizabad |
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17 | is the last settlement of the Kashgar Oasis. Beyond it stretch sandy tracts. |
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19 | <a id="b4p-71-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:71 --> |
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20 | |||||||
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21 | **February 28 — March 3, 1926** *Through: Kara julgun, Urdaklik, Chuga, Maral-bashi* |
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22 | |||||||
| 23 | The distance from Faizabad to Maral-bashi was covered in four stages. The road ran |
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| 24 | through a sandy country covered by jungle, said to abound in game. In the past this must |
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| 25 | have been a huge forest area, but nowadays the living jungle is retreating to the north |
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| 26 | and the sands are rapidly encroaching on the forest. The road was made difficult by |
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| 27 | numerous dry tree stumps and roots completely buried under sand. The horses stumbled |
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| 28 | again and again and one of the carts with the expedition baggage almost overturned, |
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| 29 | after hitting a huge tree trunk covered by sand. In this season of the year this part of |
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| 30 | Chinese Turkestan south of the Celestial Mountains looked most desolate, and the |
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| 31 | dried-up trunks of trees only added to the general impression of utter desolation. The |
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| 32 | hamlets along the route were dirty, and the number of ruined hovels clearly indicated |
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| 33 | that the rural population was diminishing. |
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| 34 | ||||||||
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35 | <a id="b4p-71-N2"></a><!-- block4placeid:71 --> |
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36 | |||||||
| 37 | **March 3, 1926** [Maral-bashi](/#m=9/39.80247/78.58263&l=Gs&p=71/o) |
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38 | |||||||
| 39 | On March 3, we entered the large and important Oasis of Maral-bashi, connected by two |
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| 40 | important routes with Kashgar and Yarkend. The oasis itself is not large but is well |
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| 41 | irrigated and has an abundant supply of subsoil water and several lakes. The Yarkend |
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| 42 | darya approaches it from the south. To the northwest and north rise low, rocky |
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| 43 | ridges—southern offshoots of the outward T'ien Shan. Our caravaneers had the secret |
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| 44 | intention to make us stay for one day at Maral-bashi but we urged them to go ahead, and |
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| 45 | spent only one night there. |
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| 46 | ||||||||
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47 | <!-- block4placeid:null --> |
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48 | |||||||
| 49 | **March 4, 1926** [Tumshuk](/#m=9/39.96068/79.10586&l=Gs&p=72/o) *Through: Char-bagh* |
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50 | |||||||
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51 | <p> |
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52 | Our next stop was Ak-tumshuk or simply Tumshuk. |
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53 | <a id="t4p-339-N1"></a><span text4placeid:339> |
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54 | On leaving the cultivation zone of Maral-bashi and Char-bagh Bazaar, a small hamlet |
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| 55 | some fifteen miles northeast of Maral-bashi, we emerged on a vast sandy plain covered |
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| 56 | by shrubs. |
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57 | </span> |
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58 | The stage was a very long one, about thirty miles, and |
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59 | <a id="t4p-72-N1"></a><span text4placeid:72> |
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60 | we reached the village of Tumshuk at about eleven o'clock at night. Not far from the |
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| 61 | village stands a Chinese inscription dating back to the time of the reconquest of the |
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| 62 | New Dominion in 1877. North and southeast of Tumshuk lie important ruins. The ancient |
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| 63 | sites were excavated by the eminent French sinologist, Professor Paul Pelliot, during |
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| 64 | his expedition in 1906-8. |
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65 | </span> |
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66 | </p> |
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67 | |||||||
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68 | <a id="b4p-77-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:77 --> |
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69 | |||||||
| 70 | **March 5 — 10, 1926** [Aksu](/#m=9/41.16883/80.25787&l=Gs&p=77/o) *Through: Yaka Khuduk, New Chulan, Chutu Khuduk, Ujkul* |
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71 | |||||||
| 72 | From Tumshuk it took us four long stages to reach Aksu. The route was mostly over sandy |
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| 73 | tracts covered by tamarisks. In places it was covered by thick layers of loess dust, |
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| 74 | that stuck to the faces and irritated the eyes of men and animals. The Oasis of Aksu is |
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| 75 | situated on the confluence of two considerable rivers, the Tushkan and Kum-arik darya. |
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| 76 | In spring and early summer the rivers, fed by the melting snows and glaciers of the main |
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| 77 | chain of the T'ien Shan, carry a considerable volume of water and feed an extensive |
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| 78 | agricultural area. |
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| 79 | ||||||||
| 80 | We established our camp in the Mohammedan town of Aksu in the garden of a former |
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| 81 | Andijani *aqsaqal*. The owner had died several years before and the house looked |
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| 82 | forlorn; it was only used by local authorities as a camping ground for a few passing |
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| 83 | foreigners. A huge and insolent crowd of Tungans or Chinese Mohammedans endeavored to |
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| 84 | enter the courtyard to have a look at us. Aksu has a large colony of Tungans and all |
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| 85 | travelers are unanimous in their complaint against their insolence. Two local ruffians |
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| 86 | beat one of our cart drivers, but were caught and for safety's sake arrested and |
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| 87 | sent to the magistrate to suffer just punishment. |
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| 88 | ||||||||
| 89 | Our cart drivers insisted that their horses needed a day's rest and we reluctantly |
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| 90 | consented to spend one day at Aksu. It was a pleasure to meet the sympathetic |
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| 91 | magistrate, Mr. P'an, who came to have lunch with us. He had a good knowledge of |
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| 92 | English and complained bitterly of the lonely life he led in Aksu. He felt great anxiety |
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| 93 | for the future of the Province and was aware of the need of a complete renovation of the |
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| 94 | old administrative system. |
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| 95 | ||||||||
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96 | <a id="b4p-78-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:78 --> |
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97 | |||||||
| 98 | **March 11, 1926** [Kara-khuduk](/#m=9/41.38376/80.78642&l=Gs&p=78/o) |
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99 | |||||||
| 100 | We left Aksu on March 11 and after a tiresome march reached the small village of |
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| 101 | Kara-khuduk in complete darkness. Our pack horses with the camp outfit reached the place |
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| 102 | only about one o'clock in the morning and it was two o'clock when we retired to |
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| 103 | our tents, only to be up again about seven in the morning. |
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| 104 | ||||||||
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105 | <a id="b4p-79-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:79 --> |
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106 | |||||||
| 107 | **March 12, 1926** [Toghrak-dong](/#m=9/41.55722/81.23136&l=Gs&p=79/o) |
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108 | |||||||
| 109 | From Kara-khuduk, or Kara-yulghun we marched to Toghrak-dong, a lonely spot at the foot |
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| 110 | of a sandstone ridge. For the whole day the route passed over vast gravel plains, |
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| 111 | intersected by low ridges of sandstone. Toghrak-dong is interesting for several cave |
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| 112 | shrines, situated in the side of a sandstone cliff, not far from the local relay |
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| 113 | station. The plastering that once covered the walls and the ceiling, and the frescoes, |
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| 114 | have been destroyed by the vandalism of Mohammedan iconoclasts. Some of the caves have |
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| 115 | crumbled down. The site was probably a small Buddhist *vihara*, built in the |
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| 116 | cliff. As most of the ancient ruined monasteries and shrines along the southern slopes |
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| 117 | of the T'ien Shan, the caves of Toghrak-dong command a fine view of the rugged |
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| 118 | ridges that stretch far into the desert. |
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| 119 | ||||||||
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120 | <!-- block4placeid:null --> |
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121 | |||||||
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122 | **March 13, 1926** [Kushtimi](/#m=9/41.65624/81.5522&l=Gs&p=80/o) *Through: Yaka-arik* |
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123 | |||||||
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124 | <p> |
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125 | <a id="t4p-80-N1"></a><span text4placeid:80> |
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126 | Our next march to Kushtimi or Kushtam took us over a mountainous desert. |
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| 127 | </span> |
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128 | <a id="t4p-340-N1"></a><span text4placeid:340> |
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129 | At Yaka-arik we struck a belt of cultivated land along the bank of the Muzart River. |
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| 130 | At this time of the year the river bed was dry, but in summer the stream carries a big |
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| 131 | volume of water, feeding the important Oases of Bai and Kuchar. |
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132 | </span> |
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133 | <a id="t4p-80-N2"></a><span text4placeid:80> |
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134 | We camped in a grove of |
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135 | toghraks |
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136 | outside the |
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137 | langar |
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138 | or relay station of Kushtimi. The resthouse was occupied by a band of professional |
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| 139 | gamblers; these men are the scourge of Hsin-chiang. All the principal bazaar cities |
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| 140 | along the caravan routes abound in gambling houses, some of which even issue their own |
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| 141 | currency in the form of small bamboo sticks with the number and name of the house on |
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| 142 | it. This gambling currency is universally accepted and has a definite value. |
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143 | </span> |
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144 | The gambling company in the resthouse of Kushtimi was reinforced by a group of |
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| 145 | Kara-Kirghizes, known for their robberies in the neighborhood. The Chinese escort from |
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| 146 | Aksu barricaded themselves in one of the rooms of the resthouse and refused to keep |
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| 147 | guard at night. In the morning we discovered that our escort had in charge a criminal in |
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| 148 | shackles who during the march walked with our carts. We protested against having a |
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| 149 | criminal in our baggage column and the soldiers sent the man alone to Bai. It is |
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| 150 | surprising that he reached there and surrendered himself to the local authorities. |
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151 | </p> |
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152 | |||||||
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153 | <a id="b4p-81-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:81 --> |
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154 | |||||||
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155 | **March 14, 1926** *Through: Bai* |
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156 | |||||||
| 157 | The route from Kushtimi to Bai led over cultivated grounds on the left bank of the |
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| 158 | Muzart River. The small town of Bai, with its several dirty and dusty bazaars, was far |
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| 159 | from being an ideal camping place, and we had to move to a relay station across the |
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| 160 | river. |
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| 161 | ||||||||
| 162 | In the vicinity of Bai, Professor Paul Pelliot discovered Tokharian manuscripts in the |
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| 163 | Kuchean dialect. He also found fragments of route permits, which were brilliantly |
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| 164 | analyzed by M. Sylvain Lévi, Professor of Sanskrit at the Collège de France and the |
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| 165 | École des Hautes Études, Paris. |
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| 166 | ||||||||
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167 | <a id="b4p-82-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:82 --> |
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168 | |||||||
| 169 | **March 15, 1926** [Kizil-örtang](/#m=9/41.831711821615464/82.43749341326303&l=Gs&p=82/o) |
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170 | |||||||
| 171 | Our next stage was Kizil-örtang. Southeast of the present hamlet of Kizil are situated |
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| 172 | the important *ming-öi* or cave temples, with frescoes dating back to the fifth |
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| 173 | and eighth centuries A.D. The caves were visited by Professor Pelliot and thoroughly |
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| 174 | explored by Dr. Le Coq during his expedition in 1905. |
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| 175 | ||||||||
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176 | <!-- block4placeid:null --> |
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177 | |||||||
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178 | **March 16 — 19, 1926** [Kuchar](/#m=9/41.7088/83.01458&l=Gs&p=85/o) *Through: Toghrak-dang langar, Kizil karga caves* |
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| 179 | ||||||||
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180 | <p> |
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181 | <a id="t4p-467-N1"></a><span text4placeid:467> |
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182 | From Kizil we rode across a gravel desert intersected by barren ridges of sandstone to |
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| 183 | Kizil-kargha, known for its ruined temples situated north of the road. Many of the |
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| 184 | frescoes were damaged by Mohammedan iconoclasts, many escaped destruction and were |
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| 185 | carried away by the German expedition under the leadership of Dr. Le Coq. In 1916 a |
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| 186 | severe earthquake shattered the caves and destroyed what remained of the frescoes. At |
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| 187 | the time of our visit the cave temples of Kizil-kargha contained only insignificant |
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| 188 | fragments of wall paintings. Here and there was a figure of Buddha in meditative |
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| 189 | posture, the face of which had been destroyed by Mohammedan vandals, fragments of |
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| 190 | human figures (donors?) with brief inscriptions in the central Asian slanting script, |
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| 191 | and Uighur and flower ornaments in the door arches. |
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192 | </span> |
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193 | The caves were visited in 1902-3 by the Japanese expedition of Count Otani. The |
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| 194 | Kizil-kargha caves are probably contemporary to the large cave temples southeast of |
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| 195 | Kizil-örtang. |
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196 | </p> |
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197 | |||||||
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198 | <a id="t4p-85-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:85 --> |
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199 | Our visit to the caves delayed our arrival at Kuchar and we reached the town itself only |
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| 200 | at dusk. Some time passed before we succeeded in finding a suitable camping place. We |
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| 201 | were helped by a strange man who seemed to know a good many languages and led us to a |
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| 202 | shady garden and a summer house of a wealthy landowner. It was too damp for occupation |
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| 203 | and we pitched our tents in the spacious garden. |
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| 204 | ||||||||
| 205 | The Oasis of Kuchar, the town with its wide lanes of poplars, and the active population |
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| 206 | make a better impression than the rest of the Hsin-chiang Oasis south of the Celestial |
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| 207 | Mountains. The oasis occupies a very favorable position which from ancient times made it |
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| 208 | an important economical and political center. It is situated at the point where the |
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| 209 | Muzart and the Kuchar rivers emerge from the T'ien Shan Mountains and direct their |
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| 210 | course toward the Tarim Basin. |
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| 211 | ||||||||
| 212 | Kuchar is by far the most important trading center along the caravan route from Kashgar |
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| 213 | to Urumchi. The abundant supply of glacier water, carried down the two rivers of the |
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| 214 | oasis, and the numerous springs of subsoil water make the oasis an ideal place for |
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| 215 | cultivation and an important fruit growing center of the whole Province. From early |
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| 216 | times, Kuchar was known as an emporium of Chinese trade, with nomad tribes occupying the |
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| 217 | higher grazing valleys of the Tekes and Kunges in the central T'ien Shan and the steppe |
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| 218 | country of Jungaria. Nowadays, the oasis conducts an extensive trade with Kalmuck, |
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| 219 | Torgut, and Ölöt tribes, occupying the higher mountain valleys of the T'ien Shan and the |
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| 220 | steppe country round Karashahr. Kuchar is connected with Khotan by a desert route |
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| 221 | following the bed of Keriya River, and receives by that route its share of Khotan trade. |
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| 222 | ||||||||
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223 | <p> |
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224 | <a id="t4p-85-N2"></a><span text4placeid:85> |
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225 | The antiquities of Kuchar have been repeatedly studied by European and Japanese |
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| 226 | expeditions: first the Russian expeditions under Dr. Klementz and Berezovski on behalf |
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| 227 | of the Russian Academy of Sciences, then the Japanese expedition of Count Otani; the |
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| 228 | several German expeditions under the leadership of Professor Grünwedel and Dr. Le Coq; |
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| 229 | the two expeditions of Sir Aurel Stein and the French expedition of Professor Pelliot. |
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| 230 | The principal ancient sites of the oasis are situated in three important groups: |
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| 231 | Kizil, Kumtura, and Kirish. |
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232 | </span> |
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233 | For a detailed study of the ancient wall paintings in the cave shrines, the student may |
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| 234 | consult the monumental editions of Dr. Le Coq. According to him, the wall paintings in |
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| 235 | the ruined cave temples of the Kuchar Oasis and those of Turfan (Khojo, Tuyok, Sangim, |
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| 236 | Bäzäklik, Chikkan köl) exhibit several distinct styles of art: |
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237 | </p> |
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238 | |||||||
| 239 | I. The earliest style exhibits a clear influence of the Greco-buddhist or Gandhara |
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| 240 | school of northwestern India. |
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| 241 | ||||||||
| 242 | II. The style of the "Knights with long swords." Dr. Le Coq believes that style I and |
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| 243 | style II belong to the Indo-scythian period. Both are closely interrelated. Style II |
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| 244 | must have been created during a period of strong Iranian and western influence in the |
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| 245 | region. |
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| 246 | ||||||||
| 247 | The next three styles show the preponderant eastern influence which characterized the |
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| 248 | end of the eighth century A.D. a period of Uighur domination, whose culture was strongly |
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| 249 | influenced by Far Eastern civilization: |
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| 250 | ||||||||
| 251 | III. The old Turkish style, of a mixed character, distinguished by a strong influence of |
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| 252 | Chinese art. |
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| 253 | ||||||||
| 254 | IV. The new Turkish style or the proper Uighur style, in which Chinese elements have |
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| 255 | been subdued by the native artistic tendencies. |
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| 256 | ||||||||
| 257 | V. The fifth style, called Tibetan by Dr. Le Coq, is met only in Turfan and is of late |
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| 258 | origin. A study of this Lamaist style would be of the highest importance for the history |
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| 259 | of Tibetan pictorial art and its influence beyond the ethnographic frontiers of Tibet. |
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| 260 | The Historical Annals of China contain a mass of information about the Tibetan tribes of |
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| 261 | the border. We know about their tribal movements, their alliances with the powerful |
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| 262 | Hiung-nu, a paleo-Asiatic tribe occupying the steppes of modern Mongolia, and their |
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| 263 | occasional raids on Chinese territory. |
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| 264 | ||||||||
| 265 | During the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. the Tibetan mounted hordes overran western |
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| 266 | China, Turkestan, and southern Mongolia, and even conquered Chang-an, the Chinese |
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| 267 | capital of the period. By the end of the seventh century A.D. Chinese Turkestan was lost |
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| 268 | to China and Tibetan troops allied to the Arabs were pushing toward the distant Oxus |
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| 269 | Valley. We hear of Tibetan military governors of the Khotan Oasis and Tibetan forts |
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| 270 | along the southern trade route of Chinese Turkestan. The famous military expedition of |
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| 271 | 747 A.D. commanded by the Chinese General Kao Hsien-chih had as its object the checking |
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| 272 | of Tibetan military progress in the region of the Hindukush. About 750 A.D. the Tibetans |
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| 273 | captured Tun-huang, the place where Sir Aurel Stein and Professor Paul Pelliot made |
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| 274 | their brilliant discoveries of manuscripts. Professor Grünwedel and Dr. Le Coq brought |
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| 275 | back from Turfan a number of fragments written in Tibetan. Dr. A. H. Francke assigns |
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| 276 | them on paleographical grounds to the eighth century A.D. The presence of Tibetan |
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| 277 | manuscript fragments in Turfan attests the fact of the Tibetan expansion and possible |
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| 278 | occupation along the northern highway and explains the presence of Lamaistic frescoes in |
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| 279 | the ruined temples of the Turfan Oasis. |
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| 280 | ||||||||
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281 | <a id="t4p-85-N3"></a><!-- text4placeid:85 --> |
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282 | The three days we spent in Kuchar were filled with visits to the ancient sites of the |
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| 283 | oasis, and negotiations with cart owners. All the local residents informed us that |
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| 284 | antiques and fragments of manuscripts were only seldom found nowadays. The only place |
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| 285 | from which antiquities were still forthcoming was the Lob region, west of the Lake |
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| 286 | Lob-nor. A few weeks before our visit to Kuchar a trader had brought in a painted wooden |
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| 287 | coffer containing rolls of manuscripts, coins, and minor antiquities; but in spite of a |
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| 288 | rigorous search throughout Kuchar and its vicinity we could not locate it. |
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| 289 | ||||||||
| 290 | The local representative of the American firm of Brenner Bros. at Tientsin rendered us |
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| 291 | splendid help in finding carts for our baggage. The new carts had to carry the |
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| 292 | expedition baggage to Urumchi. We also bought three horses, one for riding and two for |
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| 293 | pack, to supplement our ten pack horses, belonging to the two Ladakis. |
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| 294 | ||||||||
| 295 | Spring was rapidly approaching and new grass was appearing in the gardens and the |
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| 296 | orchards. It was becoming decidedly warmer and we had to hurry to reach Urumchi before |
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| 297 | the flood period. |
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| 298 | ||||||||
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299 | <a id="b4p-86-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:86 --> |
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300 | |||||||
| 301 | **March 20, 1926** [Yaka-arik](/#m=9/41.75018/83.31104&l=Gs&p=86/o) |
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302 | |||||||
| 303 | On March 20 we left Kuchar. Our stage for the day was to the small hamlet of Yaka-arik, |
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| 304 | the easternmost village of the Kuchar Oasis. Soon after leaving the city and its suburb, |
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| 305 | the road crossed a gravel plain, gradually slanting toward the desert that lay south of |
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| 306 | it. The weather suddenly became cloudy and a strong northwest wind raised thick clouds |
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| 307 | of sand dust. The *buran* or sand storms were now of frequent occurrence, the |
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| 308 | early spring was setting in, and the winds were the precursors of the coming change in |
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| 309 | temperature. |
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| 310 | ||||||||
| 311 | We camped for the night in a garden situated on the outskirts of Yaka-arik. East of the |
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| 312 | oasis lay vast gravel expanses, enveloped by a dusty veil left behind by the passing |
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| 313 | storm. In the night the windstorm came raging across the surrounding desert and fiercely |
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| 314 | shook our camp. |
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| 315 | ||||||||
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316 | <a id="b4p-87-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:87 --> |
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317 | |||||||
| 318 | **March 21, 1926** [Yangi-abad](/#m=9/41.79602/83.84114&l=Gs&p=87/o) |
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319 | |||||||
| 320 | The next march was to Yangi-abad, a tiny hamlet with garden situated amid clay steppes. |
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| 321 | The road led over bare gravel desert, here and there intersected by narrow belts of |
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| 322 | loess covered with scant shrubs and patches of bare clay. To the north rose barren |
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| 323 | mountain ridges—the southernmost buttresses of the great T'ien Shan. |
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| 324 | ||||||||
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325 | <a id="b4p-88-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:88 --> |
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326 | |||||||
| 327 | **March 22, 1926** [Bugur Bazaar](/#m=9/41.78207/84.24248&l=Gs&p=88/o) |
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328 | |||||||
| 329 | The next stage brought us to Bugur Bazaar. The road led over stone and clay desert, |
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| 330 | until we had reached the edge of the Bugur Oasis. Dusty lanes, endless brick walls of |
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| 331 | fields and gardens, led to the Bugur Bazaar. |
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| 332 | ||||||||
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333 | <a id="b4p-89-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:89 --> |
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334 | |||||||
| 335 | **March 23, 1926** [Chadir](/#m=9/41.9898/84.92578&l=Gs&p=89/o) |
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336 | |||||||
| 337 | Next day a long march of some fifty miles brought us to Chadir, a small oasis east of |
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| 338 | Yangi-hissar. For the greater part of the day the road led over sandy tracts covered by |
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| 339 | shrubs and jungle. The caravan reached camp only late at night. |
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| 340 | ||||||||
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341 | <a id="b4p-90-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:90 --> |
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342 | |||||||
| 343 | **March 24 — 25, 1926** [Tim](/#m=9/41.83401/85.91446&l=Gs&p=90/o) *Through: Charchi* |
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344 | |||||||
| 345 | From Chadir we traveled along the trade route, stopping at Charchi and Tim. The route |
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| 346 | led mostly over sandy tracts covered by scant shrubs and intersected by patches of |
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| 347 | gravel desert. To the north the mountains became more visible, stretching their rugged |
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| 348 | spurs far into the desert plain. Between Charchi and Tim, we met on the way an |
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| 349 | interesting young Turki. He was one of those medicine men, adepts of old shamanistic |
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| 350 | beliefs, who survived among a fanatical Mohammedan population and are popularly called |
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| 351 | by the name *baksha* or "teacher." The young native was riding on |
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| 352 | horseback and carried with him a large tambour, which he struck rhythmically, sometimes |
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| 353 | singing an incantation in Turki. |
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| 354 | ||||||||
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355 | <!-- block4placeid:null --> |
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356 | |||||||
|
357 | **March 26, 1926** *Through: Korla Oasis* |
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358 | |||||||
|
359 | <p> |
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360 | <a id="t4p-342-N1"></a><span text4placeid:342> |
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361 | On March 26 we passed along the northern outskirts of the Korla Oasis, and turned |
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| 362 | northeast following the courses of the Konche darya. The trail led over a plain of |
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| 363 | piedmont gravel, gradually rising toward the mountains. |
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|
364 | </span> |
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|
365 | It was on this plain that we met the first Torguts. Three horsemen suddenly appeared |
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| 366 | from behind a low spur and rapidly rode toward us. All three were dressed in blue coats |
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| 367 | and two had black handkerchiefs on their heads. They were mounted on fine Torgut horses |
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| 368 | and attentively examined our caravan. " |
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| 369 | *Ta sain banti* |
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| 370 | ," was their greeting, and we told them of our intention to visit the headquarters of |
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| 371 | their Ruler. " |
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| 372 | *Dza, dza, dza* |
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| 373 | ," nodded the riders, and in a cloud of dust disappeared in the distance. Among the |
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| 374 | Mongol nomad tribes a good rider will always speed his horse to show off its pace. |
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|
375 | </p> |
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376 | |||||||
|
377 | <a id="t4p-341-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:341 --> |
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|
378 | The road entered a narrow river gorge. Not far from the entrance stood a Chinese outpost |
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| 379 | and we had to produce our permits to travel to Karashahr. For some reason the Torgut |
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| 380 | region was carefully watched by the Chinese. |
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| 381 | ||||||||
|
382 | <a id="t4p-341-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:341 --> |
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|
383 | We camped on the bank of the river not far from a grove of trees. The air was |
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| 384 | wonderfully cool and refreshing, and we rested from the dusty atmosphere of the desert. |
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| 385 | ||||||||
|
386 | <!-- block4placeid:null --> |
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387 | |||||||
| 388 | **March 27 — February 1, 1926** [Karashahr, Khoton-sumbul](/#m=9/42.07481/86.56291&l=Gs&p=91/o) *Through: Shorchuk, Rafts crossing the Karashahr darya* |
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|
389 | |||||||
| 390 | In the early morning we broke camp and started for Karashahr, still some twenty miles |
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| 391 | distant. Not far from our camp, the Konche darya turned its course eastward and our |
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| 392 | route crossed a low hill and then descended into the basin of the Lake Bagh-rash. The |
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| 393 | road lay over a sandy tract covered by tamarisk shrubs. We were accompanied by two |
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| 394 | Torgut horsemen bound for an encampment in the mountains north of the route. The two men |
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| 395 | were hopelessly drunk, and continued to partake of brandy carried in a flask made of the |
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| 396 | skin of a sheep's stomach. Drunkenness is a great scourge among the Torgut |
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| 397 | population of Karashahr and largely accounts for the beggarly life led by the mass of |
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| 398 | tribesmen. |
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| 399 | ||||||||
|
400 | <p> |
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|
401 | <a id="t4p-456-N1"></a><span text4placeid:456> |
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|
402 | We passed the village of Shorchuk, in the vicinity of which are situated important |
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| 403 | ruins, explored by German and British expeditions. |
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|
404 | </span> |
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|
405 | <a id="t4p-457-N1"></a><span text4placeid:457> |
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|
406 | After five hours' ride, we reached the Karashahr darya and had to spend a |
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| 407 | considerable time waiting for the rafts to come from the other bank of the river. |
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| 408 | Several caravans with bales of merchandise were waiting on the bank to be taken |
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| 409 | across. The rafts were manned by Torguts, rough fellows in shaggy coats and long |
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| 410 | pigtails. Among the crowd we noticed several Kirghiz from Prjevalsky on the Issik köl, |
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| 411 | who were now grazing their flocks of sheep in the mountain tracts north of Karashahr. |
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|
412 | </span> |
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|
413 | </p> |
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|
414 | |||||||
|
415 | <a id="t4p-91-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:91 --> |
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|
416 | Outside the city gates, we were met by the local representative of Brenner Bros., who |
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| 417 | guided us to the house and garden reserved for our use. The place was situated not far |
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| 418 | from the town palace of the Torgut Lama Regent, and had the advantage of being |
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| 419 | conveniently placed on the route to Khoton-sumbul, the headquarters of Toïn Lama, the |
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| 420 | Lama Regent of the Karashahr Torguts and one of the outstanding personalities of |
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| 421 | Hsin-chiang. |
|||||||
| 422 | ||||||||
| 423 | Karashahr and its bazaar are somewhat different from the rest of the oasis bazaars of |
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| 424 | Chinese Turkestan. This apparent difference is probably due to the presence in large |
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| 425 | numbers of Torgut tribesmen, who come to the city from the higher valleys of the |
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| 426 | T'ien Shan and the neighborhood of Baghrash köl. |
|||||||
| 427 | ||||||||
| 428 | Two important Kalmuck tribes populate the Karashahr region; the Torguts and the |
|||||||
| 429 | Khoshuts. The Torguts own much of the land along the foot of the mountains and the |
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| 430 | summer pasture lands or |
|||||||
| 431 | *yulduz* |
|||||||
| 432 | , situated in the heart of the T'ien Shan. In winter the nomads come down from the |
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| 433 | higher mountain valleys and settle in the steppe along the foot of the mountains. They |
|||||||
| 434 | are ruled by a hereditary |
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| 435 | *khan* |
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| 436 | who has his headquarters in Khoton-sumbul. For the past few years, the tribe has been |
|||||||
| 437 | governed by Toïn Lama, an uncle of the young |
|||||||
| 438 | *khan* |
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| 439 | . The Khoshut tribes populate the region around the Baghrash Lake, southeast of |
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| 440 | Karashahr, and the mountain tracts in the neighborhood of Ushaktal, a village situated |
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| 441 | on the Karashahr-Turfan route. The Khoshut tribes are governed by several hereditary |
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| 442 | princes. Both the tribes breed large herds of horses, camels, and cattle. The horses are |
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| 443 | prized throughout central Asia and China. The Karashahr horse is a strong animal, about |
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| 444 | twelve to thirteen hands in height, with well-developed chest, powerful neck, large head |
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| 445 | (somewhat hook-nosed), and well-built legs. The animal is invaluable and usually has a |
|||||||
| 446 | very fast gait. Most of the Chinese cavalry units in Hsin-chiang are mounted on |
|||||||
| 447 | Karashahr horses, and in earlier times these horses were regularly sent to the imperial |
|||||||
| 448 | court at Peking as tribute from the Kalmuck tribes. Some of the horses are the living |
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| 449 | descendants of those depicted by T'ang sculptors, creators of the famous clay |
|||||||
| 450 | statuettes of horsemen now adorning the glass cases of our museums. |
|||||||
| 451 | ||||||||
|
452 | <a id="t4p-91-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:91 --> |
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|
453 | It was our intention to visit the Kalmuck encampments and the large monastery of |
||||||
| 454 | Balgantai-shara-sümä, situated in the mountains north of Khoton-sumbul. From there we |
|||||||
| 455 | intended to cross the Sumuntä-daban to Urumchi. The days were becoming hot and we feared |
|||||||
| 456 | the excessive heat of the Turfan depression and its effect on Mrs. Roerich, who always |
|||||||
| 457 | suffered from heat. While in Kashgar, we notified the Governor-General in Urumchi of our |
|||||||
| 458 | intention and were assured by local authorities that the Provincial Government would |
|||||||
| 459 | certainly grant permission. |
|||||||
| 460 | ||||||||
| 461 | When we arrived in Karashahr, the local authorities seemed favorably disposed toward our |
|||||||
| 462 | project of visiting Khoton-sumbul. The old |
|||||||
| 463 | *Tao-yin* |
|||||||
| 464 | of Karashahr was ill, and his private secretary assured us in his name that we could |
|||||||
| 465 | start at once and that no obstacles would be placed in our way. He advised us to address |
|||||||
| 466 | ourselves to the local magistrate. This official was absent on an urgent visit in the |
|||||||
| 467 | neighborhood, and we were received by his secretary who expressed his readiness to |
|||||||
| 468 | assist us on our way but added that the magistrate felt some anxiety on account of great |
|||||||
| 469 | snow on the passes. It was evident that our project of going to Khoton-sumbul and from |
|||||||
| 470 | there to Urumchi over the mountain passes had been a subject of discussion in the |
|||||||
| 471 | *yamens* |
|||||||
| 472 | of Karashahr. |
|||||||
| 473 | ||||||||
|
474 | <p> |
||||||
|
475 | We returned to our camp with an impression that the authorities had nothing against our |
||||||
| 476 | proposed visit to Khoton-sumbul and the mountain trip to Urumchi. From accounts of |
|||||||
| 477 | previous travelers, we knew that Chinese authorities usually felt very uneasy about |
|||||||
| 478 | scientific explorations in the mountains, even if these were situated far from the |
|||||||
| 479 | border and were, practically speaking, no-man's land. Late in the evening we |
|||||||
| 480 | received an unexpected visit from the local postmaster and the secretary of the |
|||||||
| 481 | magistrate. The postmaster, a man with a certain knowledge of English, informed us that |
|||||||
| 482 | the magistrate was very sorry to notify us that he had definite orders from Urumchi not |
|||||||
| 483 | to permit us to travel across the mountains. It was useless to discuss the matter any |
|||||||
| 484 | further and we decided to send a telegram to the Governor-General asking for permission |
|||||||
| 485 | to travel to Urumchi by way of the Sumuntä-daban. |
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|
486 | <a id="t4p-343-N1"></a><span text4placeid:343> |
||||||
|
487 | We informed the magistrate that we intended to go the following day to Khoton-sumbul |
||||||
| 488 | and to await there the answer, and early the next day moved our camp to Khoton-sumbul, |
|||||||
| 489 | the winter headquarters of the Torgut Regent. |
|||||||
|
490 | </span> |
||||||
|
491 | </p> |
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|
492 | |||||||
| 493 | Khoton-sumbul was situated in the steppe northwest of Karashahr. A cart road led to the |
|||||||
| 494 | settlement and the country seemed to be thickly populated by nomads. Their felt tents |
|||||||
| 495 | and large herds of horses and cattle were seen everywhere. Khoton-sumbul itself was a |
|||||||
| 496 | small settlement of whitewashed brick buildings with clean broad streets and a small |
|||||||
| 497 | bazaar. The Regent's palace was built in European style, and a number of other |
|||||||
| 498 | buildings in semi-European architecture indicated his progressive attitude. |
|||||||
| 499 | ||||||||
|
500 | <a id="t4p-343-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:343 --> |
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|
501 | On our arrival, we were ushered into a big room, furnished with Chinese tables and |
||||||
| 502 | chairs of black wood and bearskins which served as rugs. Soon after our arrival the room |
|||||||
| 503 | filled with the black-robed counselors of the Regent, who asked endless questions as to |
|||||||
| 504 | whence we came and where we intended to go. Late in the afternoon the local notables |
|||||||
| 505 | took leave, and a crowd of gray beards and women with children came into the room to |
|||||||
| 506 | have a look at the foreigners. All smoked cigarettes and pipes. A boy of three, sitting |
|||||||
| 507 | in the arms of his smoking mother, was holding a cigarette and inhaling the smoke with |
|||||||
| 508 | evident pleasure, winking his eyes. Late in the evening the crowd retired and we were |
|||||||
| 509 | given a camping ground outside the Regent's palace. |
|||||||
| 510 | ||||||||
| 511 | Early next morning we received the visit of the private secretary of the Regent who |
|||||||
| 512 | informed us that the Regent was expecting us in his palace. We found Toïn Lama, as he is |
|||||||
| 513 | known to his subjects, and other peoples of Chinese Turkestan and Jungaria, in a room of |
|||||||
| 514 | his palace, furnished in European style with a large table in the center. On the |
|||||||
| 515 | mantlepiece stood two big tins of conserves, evidently placed there for decoration. |
|||||||
| 516 | ||||||||
| 517 | Toïn Lama is an interesting personality in central Asian politics and a few years ago |
|||||||
| 518 | was called "the Strong Man of the Torguts." He had assumed power after the |
|||||||
| 519 | death of his younger brother, the |
|||||||
| 520 | *khan* |
|||||||
| 521 | of the Torguts. From the very beginning of his administration he showed himself to be a |
|||||||
| 522 | ruler of strong nationalist tendencies and succeeded in extirpating the strong Chinese |
|||||||
| 523 | influence, which was all-powerful at the court of the late Torgut |
|||||||
| 524 | *khan* |
|||||||
| 525 | . |
|||||||
| 526 | ||||||||
| 527 | In 1920-22 he began to organize his own troops and invited a Russian instructor, a |
|||||||
| 528 | former officer of the Russian army, who trained a force of four squadrons of Torgut |
|||||||
| 529 | cavalry for him. The Chinese viewed his activities with great apprehension. |
|||||||
| 530 | ||||||||
| 531 | In 1924, at the time of the military expedition to Kashgar, Toïn Lama was requested by |
|||||||
| 532 | the Urumchi Provincial Government to send his cavalry against Ma Ti-t'ai and to |
|||||||
| 533 | contribute a camel transport for Chinese troops. Toïn Lama flatly refused to send his |
|||||||
| 534 | riders, and since that time the Chinese have slowly tightened their grip over him and |
|||||||
| 535 | his tribe. Early in 1925, he was ordered to send his cavalry to Urumchi to resist the |
|||||||
| 536 | expected advance of Marshal Feng Yu-hsiang's army. The Torguts were always a |
|||||||
| 537 | military reserve for Hsin-chiang, and the authorities were not slow to take advantage of |
|||||||
| 538 | this time-honored usage. The Russian instructor was arrested while on a visit to Urumchi |
|||||||
| 539 | and deported from Hsin-chiang, and a Chinese officer sent to take command of the troops. |
|||||||
| 540 | ||||||||
| 541 | The Regent submitted to the Chinese demands and dispatched three of his squadrons to the |
|||||||
| 542 | provincial capital. Two of the squadrons were kept at Urumchi as a special bodyguard of |
|||||||
| 543 | the Governor-General, who usually relied on non-Chinese units. One of the squadrons was |
|||||||
| 544 | sent to distant Charklik on the southern route to Tun-huang, to watch the secret Torgut |
|||||||
| 545 | route to Lhasa in Tibet. For some time past the pilgrim traffic along this route had |
|||||||
| 546 | been completely stopped by orders of the Governor-General, and Karashahr pilgrims were |
|||||||
| 547 | refused permission to leave their native encampments. |
|||||||
| 548 | ||||||||
| 549 | At the time of our stay in Khoton-sumbul, Toïn Lama was expecting a new move by the |
|||||||
| 550 | Chinese authorities. He had received an invitation to visit Urumchi and settle for some |
|||||||
| 551 | time in a palace presented to him by the Governor-General. |
|||||||
| 552 | ||||||||
| 553 | Later on we heard in Urumchi that the Chinese authorities decided to hand over the state |
|||||||
| 554 | seal or |
|||||||
| 555 | *tamgha* |
|||||||
| 556 | to the young |
|||||||
| 557 | *khan* |
|||||||
| 558 | , a boy of thirteen; in this case Toïn Lama would have to resign his post and retire to |
|||||||
| 559 | a monastery. |
|||||||
| 560 | ||||||||
| 561 | Toïn Lama is considered by his followers to be an incarnation of the well-known Lama |
|||||||
| 562 | Sengchen Dorjechang, one of the most learned priests in Shigatse. The tragic end of the |
|||||||
| 563 | venerable Lama Sengchen Dorjechang was related in detail by the Japanese traveler, Ekai |
|||||||
| 564 | Kawaguchi. The lama was arrested and persecuted by the Lhasan Government on the charge |
|||||||
| 565 | of assisting the explorations of the well-known Indian explorer and Tibetologist, Babu |
|||||||
| 566 | Sarat Chandra Das. He was drowned in June, 1887, in the river Kong-po, after a long |
|||||||
| 567 | period of imprisonment. It is said that the saintly lama, once the preceptor of the |
|||||||
| 568 | Tashi Lama, had foretold his own sad fate in paintings executed by his orders on the |
|||||||
| 569 | walls of his private rooms. |
|||||||
| 570 | ||||||||
| 571 | The Tibetan Government ordered the non-transmigration of the lama's soul—the highest |
|||||||
| 572 | punishment in Tibet. Notwithstanding this strict order, an incarnation of the lama |
|||||||
| 573 | appeared in far distant Turkestan in the princely family of Karashahr Torguts. The |
|||||||
| 574 | deceased lama had prophesied before his execution that he would be reborn in a country |
|||||||
| 575 | of felt tents and huge herds of cattle. The boy born in the princely family of the |
|||||||
| 576 | Torguts had the same slight deformity of the knee, which was a peculiar mark of the |
|||||||
| 577 | deceased lama. The news of the appearance of the new incarnation caused considerable |
|||||||
| 578 | indignation in Lhasa; and when the boy's mother brought him to Lhasa to initiate him |
|||||||
| 579 | into monkhood at one of the great Lhasan monasteries, he was refused admittance. |
|||||||
| 580 | ||||||||
| 581 | The Torguts were too powerful to be disregarded and Torgut presents were too valuable to |
|||||||
| 582 | permit a breach in friendly relations. After long hesitation, the boy was admitted to |
|||||||
| 583 | the Ganden Monastery, although his incarnation was never fully recognized by the |
|||||||
| 584 | Government of Tibet. In 1921 this Lama Regent, who meanwhile had become the Strong Man |
|||||||
| 585 | of the Karashahr Torguts, returned to Lhasa on a brief visit and his arrival at the |
|||||||
| 586 | Tibetan capital caused considerable comment in the country. |
|||||||
| 587 | ||||||||
| 588 | We found in Toïn Lama a sympathetic man, anxious to assist our expedition. He promised |
|||||||
| 589 | to send orders to the abbot of the Balgantai-shara-sümä and give us reliable guides |
|||||||
| 590 | across the mountain passes. We left the princely palace, hopeful of a fruitful journey |
|||||||
| 591 | over the T'ien Shan. On our return to camp we were met by a Chinese officer and |
|||||||
| 592 | several mounted soldiers, who had meanwhile arrived from Karashahr with strict orders to |
|||||||
| 593 | protect us and demand our return to Karashahr. We naturally refused and informed the |
|||||||
| 594 | officer that unless we received a written statement from the Governor-General, we should |
|||||||
| 595 | not move. The officer left camp, but soon returned with a crowd of Torgut counselors and |
|||||||
| 596 | petty officials. They all insisted that we should leave for Karashahr, but we were |
|||||||
| 597 | adamant in our decision to remain at Khoton-sumbul until a written explanation was given |
|||||||
| 598 | to us, either by the Regent or the magistrate of Karashahr. The crowd left camp in |
|||||||
| 599 | tumult. |
|||||||
| 600 | ||||||||
| 601 | We had to prepare ourselves for new developments in the situation and our servants |
|||||||
| 602 | collected from somewhere the information that the authorities were contemplating the use |
|||||||
| 603 | of force. |
|||||||
| 604 | ||||||||
| 605 | Our firearms were sealed in a case, but we decided to carry on and to hold firmly to our |
|||||||
| 606 | position. Late in the afternoon we saw groups of dark-robed Kalmucks assemble round our |
|||||||
| 607 | camp. They drew closer and closer and soon our tents were surrounded by a dense crowd of |
|||||||
| 608 | Torguts, who assumed a threatening attitude. |
|||||||
| 609 | ||||||||
| 610 | "Come on, let us disarm the foreigners!" shouted someone in the crowd. The |
|||||||
| 611 | crowd made a move forward but then fell back again. "They will open fire!" |
|||||||
| 612 | shouted someone again, and the crowd again retreated. Our firearms were deposited in my |
|||||||
| 613 | tent, and two of our camp servants mounted guard over them with axes. In an emergency we |
|||||||
| 614 | intended to open the case and arm ourselves. A number of our camp servants stood by in a |
|||||||
| 615 | line ready to receive firearms if the crowd attacked the camp. The Chinese officer, who |
|||||||
| 616 | was delegated by the Karashahr magistrate to protect us, appeared on the scene and urged |
|||||||
| 617 | us to return to Karashahr, pointing out the threatening attitude of the Torguts. We |
|||||||
| 618 | again refused to do so unless a written statement was given to us. The crowd once more |
|||||||
| 619 | became excited, and some of the younger men, evidently under the strong influence of |
|||||||
| 620 | alcohol, urged them to mob the foreigners. The tension increased, and we were already |
|||||||
| 621 | prepared to defend ourselves with arms in hand. The Chinese officer was summoned and |
|||||||
| 622 | ordered to disperse the crowd, and told that in case he would not do it himself we would |
|||||||
| 623 | have to. He was greatly surprised at our firm stand and ordered his soldiers in front of |
|||||||
| 624 | our camp. We witnessed an exciting scene. The Chinese soldiers with whips and rifles |
|||||||
| 625 | were pushing the crowd, who slowly withdrew. Suddenly the Torguts became again friendly |
|||||||
| 626 | and hinted that the whole affair was a provocation, staged by the officers in order to |
|||||||
| 627 | make us return. |
|||||||
| 628 | ||||||||
| 629 | The Regent sent his secretary to our camp and begged us to visit him. He received us in |
|||||||
| 630 | his private room and apologized for the conduct of his subjects. He then handed over to |
|||||||
| 631 | us a letter, which stated that neither he nor his people had anything against us but |
|||||||
| 632 | that he was forced by the magistrate of Karashahr to ask us to return to Karashahr and |
|||||||
| 633 | await the Governor's answer in that city. In answer we expressed our readiness to |
|||||||
| 634 | start back to Karashahr and take up the matter with the Governor-General. We returned to |
|||||||
| 635 | camp to make preparations for the journey. |
|||||||
| 636 | ||||||||
|
637 | <a id="t4p-469-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:469 --> |
||||||
|
638 | Next day we rode back to Karashahr and paid a visit to the magistrate. The official did |
||||||
| 639 | not deny that he had ordered us to return from Khoton-sumbul and apparently was very |
|||||||
| 640 | much confused. We expressed our deep indignation and requested a full written statement |
|||||||
| 641 | of his action to be presented to the Governor-General, whom we intended to ask to |
|||||||
| 642 | investigate the causes of all our troubles in Khotan and Karashahr. |
|||||||
| 643 | ||||||||
|
644 | <a id="t4p-469-N2"></a><!-- text4placeid:469 --> |
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|
645 | We experienced some difficulty in finding carts for our baggage and pack animals for our |
||||||
| 646 | camp outfit. At the last hour before our departure, four Chinese carts were hired to |
|||||||
| 647 | transport our baggage to Urumchi and ten mules belonging to a trader from Ku-ch'eng |
|||||||
| 648 | for our camp outfit. |
|||||||
| 649 | ||||||||
|
650 | <a id="b4p-162-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:162 --> |
||||||
|
651 | |||||||
| 652 | **April 2, 1926** [Tawilgha](/#m=9/42.25673/86.85911&l=Gs&p=162/o) |
|||||||
|
653 | |||||||
| 654 | On April 2 we left Karashahr, and the same day reached the hamlet of Tawilgha and camped |
|||||||
| 655 | for the night. |
|||||||
| 656 | ||||||||
|
657 | <a id="b4p-92-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:92 --> |
||||||
|
658 | |||||||
| 659 | **April 3, 1926** [Ushaktal](/#m=9/42.22852/87.27505&l=Gs&p=92/o) |
|||||||
|
660 | |||||||
| 661 | The road led over dusty sand tracts, covered by shrubs and jungle. The next march to |
|||||||
| 662 | Ushaktal took us over very much the same kind of country. The days were hot and swarms |
|||||||
| 663 | of mosquitoes worried men and animals. To the north rose rugged mountains. From the |
|||||||
| 664 | village of Ushaktal a mountain route, much used by local Khoshuts, leads to Urumchi. The |
|||||||
| 665 | route was deserted for the most part, but occasionally a lonely Kalmuck rider smoking |
|||||||
| 666 | his long pipe would appear on the steppe and then again vanish in the jungle. |
|||||||
| 667 | ||||||||
|
668 | <a id="b4p-93-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:93 --> |
||||||
|
669 | |||||||
| 670 | **April 4, 1926** [Kara-Kizil](/#m=9/42.23243/87.90213&l=Gs&p=93/o) |
|||||||
|
671 | |||||||
| 672 | From Ushaktal the road led across sandy steppes with scant shrubs. We camped for the |
|||||||
| 673 | night at a lonely *langar* or resthouse—Kara-Kizil. |
|||||||
| 674 | ||||||||
|
675 | <a id="b4p-94-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:94 --> |
||||||
|
676 | |||||||
| 677 | **April 6, 1926** [Arghai-Bulak](/#m=9/42.46824/88.53167&l=Gs&p=94/o) |
|||||||
|
678 | |||||||
| 679 | Next day we entered a rugged mountain country intersected by stretches of gravel desert. |
|||||||
| 680 | Everywhere rose sandstone rocks with outcroppings of granite, porphyry, and basalt. In |
|||||||
| 681 | the rays of the setting sun the narrow mountain gorges were ablaze with vivid colors. |
|||||||
| 682 | The night was again spent at a small resthouse in Arghai-Bulak, picturesquely situated |
|||||||
| 683 | in a narrow mountain gorge. |
|||||||
| 684 | ||||||||
|
685 | <a id="b4p-95-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:95 --> |
||||||
|
686 | |||||||
| 687 | **April 7, 1926** [Toksun](/#m=9/42.79587/88.63379&l=Gs&p=95/o) |
|||||||
|
688 | |||||||
| 689 | The following day we had a hot march across the sand and stone desert to Toksun. A few |
|||||||
| 690 | miles beyond Arghai-Bulak, the road emerged on a vast stone desert plain, gradually |
|||||||
| 691 | sloping toward the Turfan depression. Far in the distance we could see the flickering |
|||||||
| 692 | silhouettes of Toksun and its gardens. |
|||||||
| 693 | ||||||||
| 694 | We reached Toksun about five o'clock in the afternoon, after seven hours of |
|||||||
| 695 | marching. It was early summer, and the numerous gardens and orchards were a mass of |
|||||||
| 696 | flowers. We camped outside the city gates on the bank of a river. Our Ladaki servants |
|||||||
| 697 | were quite bewildered at the sudden change in temperature and season and wandered about |
|||||||
| 698 | the camp and the orchards along the river banks. There, in the mountains and deserts, |
|||||||
| 699 | early spring with cold nights and windy days; here, summer with hot days and windless |
|||||||
| 700 | stuffy nights. Toksun lies on the edge of the Turfan depression and is about one hundred |
|||||||
| 701 | and forty feet below sea level. We spent an almost sleepless night on account of the |
|||||||
| 702 | heat and the mosquitoes which swarmed about the tent. |
|||||||
| 703 | ||||||||
|
704 | <a id="b4p-164-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:164 --> |
||||||
|
705 | |||||||
| 706 | **April 8, 1926** [Pasha Tsaigan](/#m=9/43.11001/88.51686&l=Gs&p=164/o) |
|||||||
|
707 | |||||||
| 708 | Next morning we broke camp earlier than usual in order to leave as soon as possible the |
|||||||
| 709 | burning plain round Toksun. After a hot ride across the stony plain, we camped at a |
|||||||
| 710 | lonely and half-ruined resthouse, standing amid low hills. It was refreshing to find |
|||||||
| 711 | oneself again in the cool air of the rugged mountains of the eastern T'ien Shan. |
|||||||
| 712 | ||||||||
|
713 | <a id="b4p-96-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:96 --> |
||||||
|
714 | |||||||
| 715 | **April 9, 1926** [Ta-p'an-ch'eng](/#m=9/43.35551600000001/88.305359&l=Gs&p=96/o) |
|||||||
|
716 | |||||||
| 717 | The road was deserted for the greater part of the day, except for one large camel |
|||||||
| 718 | caravan bound for Kashgar. The head camel, a huge animal, almost black, carried on its |
|||||||
| 719 | load a gaily decorated standard — a horse's tail with multicolored pieces of cloth, |
|||||||
| 720 | attached to a long pole. After a long march of some eleven hours we camped at |
|||||||
| 721 | Ta-p'an-ch'eng, a small town with a mixed population of Chinese and Turki. |
|||||||
| 722 | ||||||||
|
723 | <a id="b4p-97-N1"></a><!-- block4placeid:97 --> |
||||||
|
724 | |||||||
| 725 | **April 10, 1926** [Ts'ai-o-p'u](/#m=9/43.53635/87.94555&l=Gs&p=97/o) |
|||||||
|
726 | |||||||
| 727 | The next march to Ts'ai-o-p'u led across a dreary sandy plain, here and there |
|||||||
| 728 | covered with salt crust. Icy cold blasts of wind from the northeast brought a sudden |
|||||||
| 729 | change in the weather. Heavy dark clouds rolled up on the northern horizon, and before |
|||||||
| 730 | we had reached the dirty hamlet of Ts'ai-o-p'u a strong *buran* or wind |
|||||||
| 731 | and sandstorm came raging across the plain. Dense clouds of loess dust swept over the |
|||||||
| 732 | unfortunate village. We had hardly time to pitch our tents when a terrible whirlwind of |
|||||||
| 733 | sand and stones set in. Every available man was called to keep the tents in position and |
|||||||
| 734 | we spent a couple of hours holding the poles and ropes of our tents. The wind raged |
|||||||
| 735 | until sunrise and in the early morning we found thick layers of sand covering the tent |
|||||||
| 736 | floors and beds. In contrast to the stormy evening and night, the early morning was |
|||||||
| 737 | beautifully clear but bitterly cold. We had to put on our fur coats. |
|||||||
| 738 | ||||||||
|
739 | <!-- block4placeid:null --> |
||||||
|
740 | |||||||
| 741 | **April 11, 1926** [Urumchi](/#m=9/43.80517/87.5643&l=Gs&p=98/o) |
|||||||
|
742 | |||||||
| 743 | The last march to Urumchi led over a deserted country, dismal in its winter barrenness. |
|||||||
| 744 | From the top of a low ridge we got our first glimpse of the capital of Hsin-chiang. The |
|||||||
| 745 | city lay scattered on the banks of the Arbotu River, flowing through a vast upland |
|||||||
| 746 | plain, surrounded by mountain chains of the eastern T'ien Shan. On the eastern edge rose |
|||||||
| 747 | to a towering height the mighty snow-capped Bogdo ula, first explored by the Russian |
|||||||
| 748 | explorers, the brothers Grum-Grjimailo, in 1889-90. |
|||||||
| 749 | ||||||||
| 750 | Approaching the city, the road suddenly became crowded with traffic, as if numerous |
|||||||
| 751 | riders and strings of camels and horses had appeared from underground. We passed a long |
|||||||
| 752 | convoy of heavily loaded carts and soldiers in dark gray uniforms. The squeaking noise |
|||||||
| 753 | of the huge wheels, the trampling of many horses, and the high-pitched shouts of the |
|||||||
| 754 | drivers " |
|||||||
| 755 | *o-a, o-a, o-a!* |
|||||||
| 756 | " all blended into one discordant cacophony. These were baggage trains for troops, |
|||||||
| 757 | dispatched to the Kansu border at Hsin-hsin-hsia. War had been declared between |
|||||||
| 758 | Hsin-chiang and Kansu, and the Governor-General was hastily mobilizing troops. |
|||||||
| 759 | ||||||||
|
760 | <a id="t4p-98-N1"></a><!-- text4placeid:98 --> |
||||||
|
761 | At the gates of the city we were met by representatives of the firm of Brenner Bros., |
||||||
| 762 | who escorted us to a house reserved for the expedition. It was situated in the former |
|||||||
| 763 | Russian Concession, which consisted of one broad street of small European houses. Before |
|||||||
| 764 | we had entered the courtyard, a Chinese officer came and tried to requisition our carts |
|||||||
| 765 | for military purposes. We protested and after a long argument succeeded in persuading |
|||||||
| 766 | him to delay the matter. |
|||||||
| 767 | ||||||||
| 768 | In the evening we were all invited to a dinner given by the head of the local branch of |
|||||||
| 769 | the firm of Brenner Bros. Everyone seemed much preoccupied with the war preparations of |
|||||||
| 770 | Governor Yang. The mobilization had started a month before, and some ten thousand troops |
|||||||
| 771 | had already been sent to Hsin-hsin-hsia to oppose an advance by General Feng Yu-hsiang |
|||||||
| 772 | and his Kansu allies. More troops were said to be in training in the neighborhood of |
|||||||
| 773 | Urumchi, and the arsenal was feverishly preparing ammunition and repairing firearms. |
|||||||
| 774 | Disquieting reports were received from the Mongol border. Clashes with considerable loss |
|||||||
| 775 | of life had occurred between Mongol frontier troops and Kirghiz tribesmen in the |
|||||||
| 776 | vicinity of the massive Baitik Bogdo, and large bands of Torguts and Kirghiz were |
|||||||
| 777 | fleeing into Jungaria, apprehending a Mongol raid. The atmosphere was charged with |
|||||||
| 778 | anxiety and war clouds gathered on the frontiers. |
|||||||
