Amongst the Kirghiz. 



being adorned with gold embroidery. The Kirghiz are of the 

 Mahommedan persuasion, though they cannot be regarded as 

 strict followers of the Prophet. 



These hardy nomads gain a scanty subsistence by herding 

 their flocks on the bleak uplands of the Pamirs. During the 

 winter, when the snow and intense cold render life on the higher 

 ground impossible, they retire to the valleys, some of them 

 migrating to the Afghan Pamirs where the high wind sweeps 

 the pasturage bare of snow, affording a meagre grazing. 



VFiCAL KIRGHIZ WOMAN. 



The nomads of the Pamirs possess large herds of sheep, a species 

 pecuhar to the highlands of Asia. This is the " Dumba," or fat- 

 tailed sheep, an animal, as the name implies, possessing a large 

 tail in the shape of a pear hanging well down over its hind- 

 quarters. The fat secreted therein is reputed to sustain life 

 when the pasturages are snowed up in winter, or the sheep arc 



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