482 HAMI, OR KUMUL 



old route which led thence from Kumul, across what is 

 now the most inhospitable desert, and joined the great 

 trade-route that ran between Su-chow and Lop Nor, 

 has also sunk into disuse. 



This peculiar subterranean system of drainage creates 

 areas of luxuriant cultivation in marked contrast to the 

 barren stony plains surrounding them. The fruits of 

 the earth are so abundant that, as Marco Polo remarks, 

 the inhabitants have even sufficient to dispose of to 

 travellers. The fame of the oasis for rice, melons, and 

 grapes has already spread to China. The melons are 

 a speciality of the Kumulik cultivators, the preserved 

 skin being exported in large quantities, and actually 

 forming a part of the tribute sent to the Court at Pekin. 

 Wheat, barley, and oats occupy the larger area and form 

 the staple supply ; while the influence of the Chinese is 

 shown in the neat little vegetable patches close to the 

 walls of the town. 



The chief interest lay, however, in the people them- 

 selves — both the townsfolk and the cultivators — for the 

 strange mixture of race and religion, of Turki and Chinese, 

 of Islam and Buddhism, has given rise to many pecu- 

 liarities, and laid the foundation of many unusual 

 characteristics. The position the oasis holds on the 

 outskirts of the Moslem world, and as the last of the 

 Chanto settlements of Turkestan, renders it liable to 

 invasion by foreign customs. As a result the inhabitants, 

 although of pure-blooded Turki descent, have been so 

 influenced by Chinese elements during the last two 

 hundred years as to make them adopt the same dress, 

 speak the same language, and in many cases even eat 

 the same food. The Kumuliks, indeed, are a people 

 undergoing a rapid process of assimilation by the 



