Travels in Central Asia / Being the Account of a Journey from Teheran Across the Turkoman Desert on the Eastern Shore of the Caspian to Khiva, Bokhara, and Samarcand

(c. ) Cities.

Amongst the cities, of which we give a list in the account of routes in Chinese Tartary, the most flourishing are Khoten and Yarkend. The largest are Turfan Ili and Komul; and the objects of most pious veneration, Aksu and Kashgar. In the last, which boasts 105 mosques (probably, however, only mud huts destined for prayer), and twelve Medresse, there is the venerated tomb of Hazreti Afak, the national saint of Chinese Tartary. Hazreti Afak means 'his highness the Horizon,' a phrase by which is meant to be expressed the infinity of the talents of the saint. His actual name was Khodja Sadik. He contributed much to form the religious character of the Tartars. It is said that Kashgar originally was more considerable, and that its population was more numerous, than is the case at present. This decay is owing alone to the invasion of the Khokandi Khodja, who every year surprise the city, drive the Chinese into their fortifications, and remain there plundering and despoiling, until the besieged garrison have despatched their formal interrogatory to Pekin, and have obtained official permission to assume the offensive. The Khokandi Khodja, a troop of greedy adventurers, have thus for years been in the habit of plundering the city, and yet the Chinese never cease to be Chinese.

CHAPTER XXI.

Of all the foreign countries with which Central Asia is in relation, Russia is that with which it has the most active correspondence.

(a) From Khiva the karavans proceed to Astrakhan and Orenburg, whence many wealthy merchants reach Nishnei Novogorod, and even St. Petersburg.

(b) From Bokhara an uninterrupted correspondence--particularly active in summer--is kept up with Orenburg. This is the most usual journey, and is performed in from fifty to sixty days. Extraordinary circumstances may, indeed, render it longer or shorter; but except in times of unusual disturbances amongst the Kirghis, even the smallest karavans undertake it.

(c) From Tashkend karavans go to Orenburg and Kizil Djar (Petropavlosk). They reach the first in from fifty to sixty days, and the latter in from fifty to seventy. These are always the most numerous karavans, the district they traverse being the most dangerous.

(d) The route from Namengan and Aksu to Pulat (Semipalatinsk) is frequented for the most part by Khokandi karavans, which proceed under strong escort, and arrive at their destination in forty days. Solitary travellers may pass among the Kirghis unmolested. Of course, I mean when they travel like Dervishes. Many of my fellow-travellers had performed the journey to Mecca by Semipalatinsk, Orenburg, Kasan, and Constantinople.

Thus far I have spoken of the communications of Central Asia towards the north. Towards the south they are far less important. Khiva is accustomed to send one or two small karavans to Persia by the way of Astrabad and Deregöz. Bokhara shows somewhat more activity; but no karavans have passed by Merv to Meshed during the last two years, the Tekke having interrupted all communication. The most frequented route is by Herat, at which city the karavans separate, accordingly as they proceed to Persia or Afghanistan and India. The way by Karshi and Belkh to Kabul is only of secondary importance, because the difficulties of surmounting the Hindukush offer constant and serious obstacles, and during the last two years this route has not been much frequented.

Besides the above-named communication on a great scale, we must mention the slender thread of correspondence maintained by single pilgrims or beggars from the most hidden parts of Turkestan with the remotest parts of Asia. Nothing is more interesting than these vagabonds, who leave their native nests without a farthing in their pockets to journey for thousands of miles in countries of which they previously hardly know the names; and amongst nations entirely different from their own in physiognomy, {409} language, and customs. Without further consideration, a poor inhabitant of Central Asia, [Footnote 151] following the suggestions of one sole dream, betakes himself to Arabia, and even to the most westerly parts of the Turkish Empire. He has nothing to lose. He seeks to see the world, and so follows blindly his instinct. The world I say, but I mean his world, beginning with China, and ending with the limits of the Turkish Empire. As for Europe, he admits, indeed, that it may be beautiful, but he regards it as so filled with magic and diabolical arts that he would never venture thither, even though he held in his hand the surest thread to guide him on his way through so perilous a labyrinth.

[Footnote 151: I say poor, for the rich rarely submit to the toil and inconvenience of a pilgrimage; but they have an expedient, for they find deputies. Their representatives supplied with the necessary funds are sent on to Mecca, where in their prayers they substitute the name of the sender for their own, but the latter only so far profits that he has the honour after his decease of having engraved upon his tomb the affix to his name, 'Hadji.']

Experience convinced me that the farther we advance in Turkestan, the greater is the disposition to perform these annual pilgrimages and toilsome journeys. The number of the Hadjis proceeding yearly from Khiva is, on an average, from ten to fifteen; from Bokhara, thirty to forty; but from Khokand and Chinese Tartary, between seventy and eighty. If we add thereto the rage of the Persians for pilgrimages to the holy places in Meshed, Kerbela, Kom, and Mecca, it is impossible not to be surprised at the great zeal in favour of such ramblings still prevalent in Asia. The seed from which sprang the migration of its ancient races, continues still to {410} exist, and but for the civilisation of the West and its mighty influence, that press closely upon Asia on all sides, who knows what revolutions might not already have taken place!

THE ROUTES IN THE THREE KHANATS.

A.

Routes in the Khanat or Khiva and the adjacent Country.

1. From Khiva to Gömüshtepe.

(a) Ortayolu, the middle of the three routes indicated by me in the commencement of my work, and which I myself took, has the following stations, and can be traversed easily on horseback in fourteen or fifteen days.

1. Akyap.
2. Medemin.
3. Shor Göl (lake).
4. Kaplankir.
5. Dehli Ata.
6. Kahriman Ata.
7. Koymat Ata.
8. Yeti Siri.
9. Djenak.
10. Ulu Balkan.
11. Kitchig Balkan.
12. Kören Taghi (a mountain chain).
13. Kyzyl Takir.
14. Bogdayla.
15. Etrek.
16. Gömüshtepe.

(b) The route termed Tekke Yolu can be traversed on horseback in ten days, and is said to consist of the following stations:--

1. Medemin.
2. Döden.
3. Shahsenem.
4. Ortakuju.
5. Alty Kuyruk.
6. Chirlalar.
7. Chin Mohammed.
8. Sazlik.
9. Etrek.
10. Gömüshtepe.

This route seems infested by the Turkoman Alamans; the reason appears clear, because by the ordinary way they can go so rapidly over large tracts of land.

2. From Khiva to Meshed.

The routes are two: the one by Hezaresp and Deregöz southwards through the desert (the traveller can perform this journey on horseback in twelve days); the other way passes by Merv, and has the following principal stations or wells:--

1. Dari. [Footnote 152]
2. Sagri.
3. Nemekabad.
4. Shakshak.
5. Shur ken.
6. Akyap.
7. Merv.

[Footnote 152: Dari is reached on the first day from Khiva.]

3. From Khiva to Bokhara (a high road) .

4. From Khiva to Khokand.

There is a route through the desert without touching Bokhara. At Shurakhan, one leaves the Khanat of Khiva, and reaches Khodjend ordinarily in from ten to twelve days inclusive. The journey may, however, be shortened by turning off to Djizzak. This was the route taken by Conolly in company of a Khokandi prince, whom he had met in Khiva.

5. From Khiva to Kungrat and the Shore of the Aral Sea.

Making together 73 Tash, a distance which, when the way is not in bad condition, may be travelled in twelve stations.

6. From Khiva to Kungrat, by Köhne.

And thence to Kungrat, as already mentioned, there are four Tash, making together 44 Tash, a nearer way, consequently, than the one by Görlen, but less eligible and less frequented. First, it is not safe; and secondly, it is wearisome, on account of the desert and the route itself.

7. From Khiva to Fitnek.

Adding to this number the 73 already given in the sum of the distances in route marked (5), we see that the greatest distance traversed by the Oxus in the Khanat is not more than 89 Tash or Farszakhs.

B.

ROUTES IN THE KHANAT OF BOKHARA AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRY.

1. From Bokhara to Herat.

This distance can be travelled on horseback in from 20 to 25 days.

2. From Bokhara to Merv.

The traveller must here first go to Tchardjuy, from which city there are three different routes.

(a) By Rafatak. There is one well, and its distance is 45 Farszakhs.

(b) By Ütchhadji. Two wells, and distance 40 Farszakhs.

(c) By Yolkuyu. This is the route most to the east; the distance is 50 Farszakhs.

3. From Bokhara to Samarcand (usual road).

This journey is performed by two-wheeled loaded carts in six days. Mounted on a good horse, one may accomplish it in three: the couriers take but two days, but they travel night and day.

4. From Samarcand to Kerki.

5.From Samarcand to Khokand by Khodjend.

This journey takes eight days in a cart (two-wheeled), and may be much shortened by going straight from Oratepe to Mehrem, which requires only eight hours, so that there is a gain of six Tash.

6. From Samarcand to Tashkend and the Russian Frontiers.

Five days' journey farther on from here is, as I learnt from the accounts of many different persons, the first Russian fort and post of the Cossacks.

ROUTES IN THE KHANAT OF KHOKAND.

1. From Khokand to Oosh (a straight road).

The journey can be performed in two-wheeled carts in four days.

2. From Khokand to Oosh (by Namengan).

Besides these two principal roads, there is a mountainous route from Tashkend to Namengan; offering, however, many perilous places, which entail the necessity of much laborious exertion. Although the distance is only 45 miles, one requires ten days to {418} traverse it. It passes by the following places: Toy Tepe, Karakhitai Tilav, Koshrobat, Mollamir, Babatarkhan, Shehidan (where the Russians were defeated by Mehemmed Ali Khan), Kamishkurgan, Pnngan, Haremseray, Uygur, Pop, Seng, Djust, Törekurgan, Namengan.

D.

ROUTES IN CHINESE TARTARY.

The distance from Kashgar to Yarhend is reckoned 36 miles (Tash), journeyed over by karavans and carts in seven days. On the third day from Kashgar, the traveller reaches a place called Yenghi Hissar, which is occupied by a strong garrison of soldiers.

From Kashgar to Aksu, the distance is 70 miles; a karavan takes to perform it twelve days.

From Aksu to Ushturban, lying to the south, the traveller requires two days.

Proceeding still farther to the east, we reach Komul in twenty-eight days, as follows:--

Adding twelve days for the journey from Kashgar to Aksu, this makes, for the whole distance from the latter city, forty days.

CHAPTER XXII.

GENERAL VIEW OF AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, AND TRADE.

(a.) Agriculture.

Taken altogether, it is incredible how fertile all the cultivable land is in these three Khanats, which rise like oases out of the monstrous deserts of Central Asia. In spite of the primitive system of culture adopted, fruit and corn are luxuriantly abundant, one might even say, in many places, superabundant. The excellence of the fruit in Khiva has been already mentioned; and although Bokhara and Khokand cannot be placed, in this respect, in the same rank with Khiva, the following produce of those Khanats deserve, nevertheless, mention, e.g., the grapes, of extraordinary excellence (of which there are ten kinds), the 'magnificent pomegranates,' and particularly the apricots, which are exported in immense quantities to Persia, Russia, and Afghanistan. Corn is met with everywhere in the three Khanats, and is of five kinds: wheat, barley, Djugheri (Holcus saccharatus), millet, (Tarik), and rice. The best wheat and Djugheri are {420} said to be found in Bokhara and Khiva, a genial soil; whereas Khokand is in high repute for millet. Barley is nowhere of very good quality, and is made use of, either alone or mixed with Djugheri, as fodder for horses.

In cattle-breeding the inhabitants of Turkestan concentrate their attention on three animals alone, namely, the horse, the sheep, and the camel.

The horse is regarded by the Central Asiatic as his alter ego. Different races are met with here, possessing too different qualities and excellences. Volumes might be written to show how it is reared, and what are its varieties; but this not being my province, I will confine myself to a few observations. As countless as the stocks and branches of the nomads themselves, so countless are the races and families of their horses. The following classification deserves to be noted:--

(1) The Turkoman horse: and here a main distinction exists between the Tekke and the Yomut breeds. The former, of which the favourite races are the Körogli and the Akhal, are distinguished by extraordinary height (sixteen to seventeen hands). They are slightly built, have handsome heads, majestic carriage, wonderful speed, but no bottom. The latter, those of the Yomuts, are smaller, finely formed, and unite speed with unparalleled endurance and strength. [Footnote 153] In general, the Turkoman horse is distinguished by a slender barrel, thin tail, handsome head and neck (it is a pity that the mane is cut off), {421} and a particularly fine and glossy coat; the latter quality is owing to its being kept covered, summer and winter, with several housings of felt. With respect to the value, a good Turkoman horse may be had at a price varying from one hundred to three hundred ducats, but never under thirty ducats.

[Footnote 153: I have seen many horses of this description which had carried each his Turkoman rider with a slave behind him in the saddle at a constant rapid gallop for thirty hours.]

(2) The Özbeg horse resembles the Yomut, but its form is more compact, and denotes more power; its neck short and thick, rather suited, like our hacks, for journeys than serviceable in war or Alamans.

(3) The Kasak horse, in a half wild state, small, with long hair, thick head, and heavy feet. He is seldom fed by hand, but is accustomed to seek himself his subsistence, summer and winter, in the pastures.

(4) The Khokandi sumpter or cart-horse is a cross between the Özbeg and the Kasak breeds, and is remarkable for its great strength. Of these four races, the genuine Turkoman horses have only been exported to Persia, and the Özbeg horses to Afghanistan and India.

The sheep is everywhere of the race with fat tails; the finest are met with in Bokhara. Its flesh is the best I have tasted in the East.

There are three kinds of camels, the one-humped and the two-humped, the latter called by us the Bactrian, and only met with amongst the Kirghis, and the Ner, of which we have already spoken when treating of Andkhuy.

Finally, I must not omit to mention the asses. The finest are those of Bokhara and Khiva. Of these the Hadjis export yearly many to Persia, Bagdad, Damascus, and Egypt.

(b.) Manufactures.

Two hundred years ago, when Turkey was less accessible to our European commerce than is the case at the present day, the native manufactures of Engürü (Angora), Broussa, Damascus, and Aleppo were certainly more active. Central Asia is even now far more remote from us than was Turkey in the times alluded to; our trade there is still very weakly represented--the consequence is that the greater part of the articles requisite for clothing or household purposes are the produce of native industry, of which we will give in this place a short account.

The principal seats of Central Asiatic manufactures are Bokhara, Karshi, Yenghi Ürgendj, Khokand, and Namengan. Out of these cities come the different stuffs, whether of cotton, silk, or linen, as well as the articles manufactured from leather, which supply the native demand. The principal and most widely-diffused material is the so-called Aladja, a stuff employed for the dresses of man and woman. In Khiva it is woven of cotton and raw silk, in Bokhara and Khokand of cotton alone. As there are no distinct tailors' shops, the manufacturer busies himself also with the scissors and the needle, so that a great part of the produce consists in ready-made clothes. When we were in Bokhara, the high prices of clothing were a general complaint. The following were those then current:--

Besides the Aladja, they fabricate stuffs of silk, woollen shawls for turbans, linen, for the most part very coarse and bad, and from the latter a sort of calico, with dark red figures, used as coverlets for bedding throughout Turkestan and Afghanistan.

In the manufacture of leather they are famous; they excel us in the preparation of shagreen ('Sagri' in the Tartar language), which, as is well known, is green, with little elevations like bladders. With the exception of Russia leather--which they import from that country, and employ in fashioning their water-skins--their coverings for the feet, and their harness and accoutrements for horses, are manufactured of native leather. Bokhara and Khokand produce these articles of the best quality. Khiva has only one kind of thick yellow leather, employed both for soles and upper leather. Of fine leather they prepare the Meskh (under-shoes like stockings); and of the coarser kinds, the Koush, or upper galoshes.

Paper manufactured in Bokhara and Samarcand enjoys a high repute throughout Turkestan and the adjoining countries. It is made of raw silk, is very smooth and thin, and well adapted for the Arabic {424} writing. Articles of iron and steel, as the raw material is wanting, are only weakly represented. The rifled guns from Hezaresp, the swords and knives from Hissar, Karshi, and Djust, are in great renown.

An important manufacture of Central Asia, which reaches us in Europe by way of Persia and Constantinople, is that of carpets, which is, however, the exclusive product of the industry and skill of the Turkoman women. Besides the beautifully pure colouring and solidity of the texture, what most surprises us is how these simple nomad women preserve so well the symmetry of the outline of figures, and even betray often a better taste than many manufacturers in Europe. One carpet gives work always for a number of girls and young women. An old woman places herself at their head as directress. She first traces, with points, the pattern of the figures in the sand. Glancing at this, she gives out the number of the different threads required to produce the desired figures. In the next place, the workers in felt demand notice, but the Kirghis women here distinguish themselves most.

(c.) Trade.

As it was before mentioned, in the chapter respecting the mode of communication, that Russia maintains the most extensive and regular relations with Central Asia, so also must it be stated that it is Russian trade which deserves to be styled the most ancient and the most considerable. It is a trade ever on the increase, and, at least in this field, remains without a rival. The extraordinary progress which it has made in these regions is best seen from the following most {425} authentic data. M. de Khanikoff [Footnote 154] states, in his work published in 1843, that every year a number of from five to six thousand camels is employed in the transport trade; that goods are imported into Russia from Central Asia to the value of from three to four millions of roubles; and that the export trade, which in 1828 amounted to £23,620, had risen, in 1840, to £65,675 16s. This estimate applies to the years from 1828 to 1845. Her Majesty's Secretary of Embassy at St. Petersburg, Mr. T. Saville Lumley, in his Report upon the Russian trade with Central Asia, drawn up with great industry and ability, informs us that, in the period from 1840 to 1850, the export trades rose to £1,014,237, and the import trade to £1,345,741. [Footnote 155]

[Footnote 154: See the English translation of his work by the Baron Bode, 1850. Madden.]

[Footnote 155: The Report above alluded to furnishes itself all the necessary details: we have appended them as given by Mr. Lumley himself.]

Table of the Trade between Russia and the Countries of Central Asia for the Decennial Period from 1840 to 1850.

EXPORTED. [Amounts in Pounds Sterling]

Even without these data, a glance alone at the bazaars of Bokhara, Khiva, and Karshi would suffice to convince us of the importance of this branch of Russian trade; and it is by no means any exaggeration to assert that there is no house, and even no tent, in all Central Asia where there is not some article of Russian manufacture. The most important trade is carried on in cast iron, for the most part consisting of kettles and water cans, and imported from South Siberia; but particularly from the manufactories in the Ural Mountains. In the trade with Bokhara, Tashkend, and Khiva alone, more than three thousand camels are employed in the transport of this one article. After cast iron come raw iron and brass, Russian cotton goods, cambric, muslins, tea-kettles, army and miscellaneous cutlery.

For further details see 'Reports by Her Majesty's Secretaries of Embassy and Legation on the Manufactures, Commerce, &.c.,' 1862, No. V. p. 313.

Cloth, from its high price, meets with few purchasers, and is seldom found. The before-named articles are transported from Bokhara and Karshi, not only to the remaining parts of Turkestan, but to Maymene and Herat, and even as far as Kandahar and Kabul. The latter two cities are, indeed, nearer to Peshawur and Karatchi; but give, nevertheless, the preference to the Russian merchandise, although far inferior to that of England.

The circumstance may seem surprising to the reader, and yet the reasons are simple. Orenburg is just as distant from Bokhara as Karatchi, which, being in the Indian territory of Great Britain, might form the outpost of English commerce. The route thence by Herat to Central Asia would be far more practicable and more convenient than that leading through the desert to Russia. That the English trade is here supplanted by the Russian is, in my humble opinion, to be ascribed to the following causes:--(1) The commercial relations of Russia with Tartary are now several centuries old, and in comparison with it that of England deserves to be denominated new, and it is notorious how tenaciously Orientals cling to old usages and customs. (2) The Russians occupying adjoining frontiers, in matters affecting the taste and requisitions of the Central Asiatics, are more experienced than the English manufacturers of Birmingham, Manchester, and Glasgow, &c., an evil only to be remedied by European travellers being able to move about more freely in these regions than is the case at the present day, when journeys, not only in Bokhara, {428} but even in Afghanistan, are attended by so much risk and peril. (3) The Herat route, in spite of its possessing every element of convenience, has very much to deter foreign merchants, in consequence of the organised system of what may be styled bandit governments, as may be seen from what was before said upon the subject. [Footnote 156]

[Footnote 156: See Chapter XIV.]

Besides these commercial relations with Russia, Turkestan maintains also others, almost uninterruptedly, by the way of Herat with Persia, whither it sends lambs' wool, dried fruit, materials for red colouring, and certain native stuffs, receiving in exchange a great quantity of opium [Footnote 157] from Meshed, some English wares through the house of Ralli & Company, sugar and cutlery. There is a route from Meshed to Bokhara which can be performed in ten days, but the karavans are forced to take the circuitous way by Herat, which requires thrice as much time. From Kabul is exported to Bokhara a sort of cotton shawl, with blue and white stripes, called by the Tartars Pota, and by the Afghans Lunghi. It is used universally for summer turbans, and looks like an English manufacture, which may perhaps be imported by way of Peshawar; it is the only article having a good sale, because in accordance with the national taste. The Kabuli besides bring indigo and different kinds of spices, receiving in return Russian calicoes, tea, and paper. {429}

[Footnote 157: Opium, called here Teryak, is prepared in the south-eastern part of Persia as follows:--The head of the poppy has incisions made in it lengthways on three of its sides at a fixed time in the evening, and when only half ripe. The next morning after it has been so cut a dew-like substance shows itself at the place; this must be removed before sunrise, and, after having been boiled, the resulting product is the Teryak. It is singular that from the three places where the poppy has been cut issue substances of different quality, and of these that in the middle is most esteemed.]

With China there is only an insignificant trade in tea and porcelain; but these articles are quite different from those seen in Europe. The Chinese seldom set foot over the frontier, the communication here being almost entirely kept up by Kalmucks and Musselmans.

Lastly, let me not omit to allude to the trade carried on in Persia, India, Arabia, and Turkey, by the Hadjis. The reader may think that I am jesting; but still my experience justifies me in saying that this also merits the name of commercial transaction. The fifty or sixty Hadjis who came with me from Central Asia to Herat transported with them about forty dozens of silk handkerchiefs from Bokhara, about two thousand knives, thirty pieces of silk stuff from Namengan, a large quantity of Khokandi Dappi (caps upon which the turban is wound), &c. These were the Hadjis upon one route only. As for the imports, account must also be held of the Hadjis; for it is very easy to understand that the largest part of the European cutlery that finds its way to Central Asia has been introduced by them.

CHAPTER XXIII.

INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL POLITICAL RELATIONS OF CENTRAL ASIA.

(a.) Internal Relations.

From what I have said in the previous pages upon the subject of the recent history of Khiva and Khokand, one may form a tolerably good idea of the terms upon which the different Khanats live with each other. I will, nevertheless, here collect a few facts to render it easier to appreciate the whole situation.

Let us begin with Bokhara. This Khanat, which, even previously to the introduction of Islamism, played a capital part, has, notwithstanding all the revolutions that have since occurred, always preserved its superiority, and it is regarded at the present day as the cradle of the civilisation of Central Asia. Khokand and Khiva, as well as the other small Khanats to the south, and even Afghanistan itself, have never ceased to recognise its spiritual supremacy. They praise and extol the Mollahs as well as the Islamite learning: of the 'noble Bokhara;' but their love of it extends only thus far, for all attempts made by the Emirs of {431} Bokhara to make use of their spiritual influence to increase their political power have failed of success, not only in the Khanats but even in the respective cities. Near-sighted politicians might infer, from the wars carried on by the Emir Nasrullah with Khiva and Khokand, that Bokhara, from apprehension of a Russian invasion, is disposed to organise an alliance by means gentle or foul. But this is not the case. Bokhara had never any such plans. The campaigns of the Emir are but predatory expeditions; and I am firmly convinced that should Russia proceed actively to carry out her designs on Central Asia, the three Khanats, so far from giving each other any mutual support in the moment of peril, would by their dissensions furnish the common enemy with the very best arms against themselves. Khiva and Khokand are then to be regarded as the constant enemies of Bokhara: still Bokhara does not look for any serious danger in those quarters, and the only rival that she really fears in Central Asia is one that is day by day becoming more formidable to her--Afghanistan.

That this fear reached its highest point during the victorious march of Dost Mohammed Khan towards the Oxus, need scarcely be mentioned. Emir Nasrullah was well aware that he should never be forgiven by the aged Afghan for his infamous jest played upon him, or rather his son, when the latter sought his hospitality in Bokhara; [Footnote 158] and as it was affirmed that Dost Mohammed had been reconciled with the English, and had become even an English mercenary, the apprehension of the Emir was still further increased by the {432} suspicion that he was but a tool in the hands of the English to avenge the bloody deaths of Conolly and Stoddart. Dark, indeed, must the pictures have been of the future destiny of his Khanat, that the Tartar tyrant carried with him into his grave. Not less was the apprehension entertained by his son and successor, the reigning Emir, on his accession. Mozaffar-ed-din was in Khokand when the intelligence reached him of the death of Dost Mohammed. The messenger received a present of 1000 Tenghe; the very same day a festival was improvised, and in the evening the Emir, to complete the number of his legal wives, took to his bed his fourth spouse, the youngest daughter of Khudayar Khan. The great dread has, indeed, passed away, but a feeling of 'respect' continues still to exist; for in Bokhara it is very well known that the Afghans, as fruit of the alliance with England, can now dispose of some thousands of well-drilled regular troops.

[Footnote 158: See Ferrier's 'History of the Afghans,' p. 336.]

Conscious of the superiority of the Afghans, and its own inability to cope with them, it is the policy of Bokhara to do them as much harm as possible by their intrigues. As the Afghans have allied themselves with England it is not difficult to decry them throughout Turkestan as apostates from Islam, and consequently during the last few years the commercial intercourse with Kabul has much diminished. As before mentioned, the Tekke and Salor stand constantly in the pay of Bokhara. At the siege of Herat it was a matter of great surprise to the aged Dost that, in spite of all the presents which he made to them, the Turkomans continued to molest him, and to carry off prisoners even from his own army. He had quite forgotten his real enemies--the gold pieces of Bokhara; for the sympathies of the Turkomans are ever with those that pay best. Thus far of the internal policy of Bokhara.