THE KARLIK TAGH 507 



hillsides, and small boys herding the flocks of goats sang 

 more joyous songs in their mountain-home than did their 

 confreres of the melancholy plains. Pleasantly situated^ 

 too, were their houses of stone and mud, which were, 

 in many cases, perched on the rocks so as to avoid wasting 

 land capable of growing crops. In no less a degree did 

 the people attract us. They were essentially mountain- 

 folk ; their environment seemed to have so branded 

 them that we imagined we could trace a likeness between 

 them and the Tadjik mountaineers of Bokhara or Hunza, 

 rather than the lethargic Chantos of the Turkestan 

 plains. The lives of these mountain-folk were certainly 

 harder than those of the Kumuliks in the hot oases below. 

 The ground had to be cleared of rocks before ploughing 

 was possible, and, even then, there was not overmuch 

 land. 



Bardash was a scattered village of about twenty farm- 

 steads, and had additional importance owing to the 

 presence of a disused country-house belonging to the 

 Khan. In former days this had always been the summer 

 resort of the ruling chiefs, but the present Khan was too 

 old to accomplish the journey over the mountains, and 

 his " shooting-box " had now fallen into disrepair. It 

 was, however, a " show place " to visitors like ourselves, 

 and we were escorted over it with much ceremony, appar- 

 ently by the orders of the great man himself. The house 

 was charmingly situated in an orchard, surrounded by 

 fine walnut-trees ; but, being built largely of wood, in 

 Chinese style, it had fared badly from wet and winter 

 snow. 



The chief man of the village set aside for us a room 

 in his home, killed a sheep, and made a real Turkish 

 " pillof " in our honour. They were a gay, happy lot 



