ida- 



Rivers. 



General 

 aspect. 



'Produc- 

 tions. 



BUCH 



merous khans ; in which state, according to the latest 

 information which \vr haw IK. n able to collect, it 

 still remains. 



The principal cities of Fnich.'.ria are; Samarcand, 

 Buchara, lialk, li i.l.ik -liah, (Jam .Ima, Kotlan, T. r- 

 med, Anderab, and ( i:un. & e Peuchet Didioinuin;; 

 &c. ; Pinkerton's Lit'ograpliy, vol. ii. p. 4'>8 ; AV- 

 cucil (!< I'tii/iipes au Word, torn. x. p. 127 ; and Gib- 

 bon's Ittmi. /.'///; ire, vol. iv. xi. xii. (j>) 



BUCHARIA, (LITTLE,) a country of Asia, 

 formerly called the kingdom of Cashgar, and suppo- 

 sed to be the Serica of Ptolemy, and the Scythia ex- 

 it n Iniuiim of the ancients. It received the nan^pf 

 " Little," not from its being less extensive than Great 

 Bucharia, but from its being much inferior to that 

 country, both with regard to its soil, its climate, its 

 population, and the number of its cities. It is almost 

 surrounded with mountains and deserts. On the west, 

 it is separated from Great Bucharia by the moun- 

 tains of Belur ; on the north, from Soongaria and 

 the Calmuck Tartars by the Altaian mountains ; on 

 the east, from the empire of China and the Eluts of 

 Kokonor by the desert of Gobi ; a:id from Tibet, 

 on the south, by the mountains of Mus Tag. It ex- 

 tends about 1000 British miles in length, and its 

 greatest breadth is nearly 500 ; being comprehended 

 between 36 and 4-4- degrees of north latitude, and 70 

 and 88 degrees of east longitude. This country, 

 when visited by Goez, was divided into two king- 

 doms ; that of Cashgar on the west, and Chialish on 

 the east ; but these states compose only the northern 

 and western parts of Little Bucharia ; and the south- 

 ern parts contain several large provinces, such as 

 Koten and Karia, the former of which is represented 

 by Strahlemberg as an independent kingdom. What- 

 ever is said, however, concerning the geography of 

 this part of Asia, must be received with very great 

 allowance ; for neither its extent, its divisions, nor its 

 population, nor even the names of its cities, and the 

 sources and course of its rivers, have ever been as- 

 certained with any degree of accuracy. Its principal 

 rivers are ; Yarkand, which is represented as issuing 

 from Loch-nor Lake, and passing through the de- 

 serts, nearly in a straight line of not less than 500 

 English miles, and supplying several branches, as the 

 Koten, Orankash, Ace. ; the Chaidu, which proceeds 

 from the same lake ; and the Karia, which has its 

 source in a lake in the desert of Suit us. 



From the general elevation of the land, and its 

 lofty mountains, rising from the midst of sandy de- 

 serts, this country resembles a sea interspersed with 

 rocks and islands ; and though the climate is much 

 colder in winter than might be expected from its la- 

 titude, yet, in summer, the heat is so concentrated by 

 the surrounding mountains, that out of doors it can 

 scarcely be endured. The soil is in general barren, 

 though interspersed with some fertile vallics, which 

 produce cotton, hemp, flax, vines, and various kinds 

 of fruits ; and the mountains are rich in gold and sil- 

 ver mines, but both the Calmucks and Buchars are 

 equally ignorant of the method of working them, and 

 content themselves with gathering the gold dust which 

 is warned down by the rive, and with which they 

 carry on a trade with India, China, and Siberia. This 

 country also abounds with diamonds and other pre- 

 TOi. V. PART I. 



ARIA. n 



ciou-. 'nit a the inhabitant* have not th* art B"< ! 



of cutting or p'ihbhintf tin m, they are K~-ld in their * "V -* 

 rough state. The Calmucks, who wand.-r aboni thl I bit- 

 country, live in tents, and almost entirely upon the * ' 

 produce of their <-attlc (. : ,-.>: C \i 

 Buchars, who compose the great ---st p*rt of it* popu- 

 lation, inhabit the cities, a.'id employ > in 

 trade and merchandise. These differ very little from 

 the inhabitants of Great Bucharia. Their manners, Manners, 

 their dre 8, and their appearance, are nearly the same, 

 except tint the former a. .f a darker hue, ari- 

 sing probably from tin: reflected heat of the sandy 

 deserts ; and the women wear a greater profusion of 

 ornaments, and dye their nails with henna. 

 habitations are gene-rally built of stone; and tl 

 furniture consists chiefly of trunks plaited with iron 

 which are ranged along the walls, and covered, dur- 

 ing the day, with mattrasses, which at night arc remo- 

 ved and used as beds. They use neither tables 

 chairs, but sit cross-legged on the ground, and eat 

 their meat, which is placed upon a cloth, with their 

 fingers or wooden ladles. Their food consists chief- 

 ly of small cakes, composed of minced meat, which 

 will keep a long time, and of which they make a ve- 

 ry palatable soup during their long journies in the 

 deserts ; and their principal beverage is tea, which 

 they prepare with milk, butter, and salt. Though 

 the prevailing religion of the country be Mahometan- 

 ism, yet the Calmucks, who are represented as plun- 

 ged in the grossest idolatry, allow the greatest tole- 

 ration ; and no person suffers on account of his opi- 

 nions. The Buchars, however, are very superstitious. 

 Both sexes carry about with them prayers written by 

 their priests, which they keep in a small purse in the 

 form of relics. In sickness, the occupation of the 

 physician is merely to read to the patient a sentence 

 from some book, to breath on him several times, and 

 to wave across his face a sharp-edged knife, which is 

 supposed to cut the root of the disorder. When dead, 

 the priest lays the Koran on his breast, and recites 

 some prayers, immediately before the body is interred. 

 Though polygamy is considered by the Buchars as un- 

 lawful, yet it very generally prevails. Their wives are 

 purchased from the father, so that daughters are in 

 this country a real treasure. All intercourse, however, 

 between the betrothed couple is prohibited from th^ 

 signing of the contract to the celebration of the mar- 

 riage ; and they are even forbidden to see one ano- 

 ther during the performance of the ceremony. The 

 Buchars are rather a polite and benevolent people, 

 never intermeddling with the affairs of war or con- 

 quest, but paying quietly the annual tribute demand- 

 ed of them by their conquerors. Their principal O-mtncr;*. 

 commercial intercourse is with China, where they car- 

 ry gold-dust, musk, rough diamonds, and precious 

 stones, which they exchange for tea, tobacco, and Eu- 

 ropean cloths. They also export these articles to Per- 

 sia, and sometimes as far as Tobolsk in S'beria. The 

 only coin they have is the Kopeik, which is made of 

 copper, and weighs about a third of an ounce ; but 

 all considerable sums are paid in gold or silver, which 

 they weigh, after the manner of the Chinese and 

 their other neighbours. 



Little Bucharia, 'in ancient times, was the coun- History, 

 try of the " Seres ;" but very little is known of its 

 F 



