272 THE KARAKUL PAMIR AND HOME. 



Atta as a present to Mahomed Unis, who had 

 found me in ponies during my stay in the country ; 

 then to pay off every one except Jaffer, whom I 

 determined to take on to Samarkand, leaving my 

 riding-pony with Atta Khan for him to ride back 

 to Ladak. 



Bidding my kind host adieu, we got into the 

 tarantass or post-chaise, and started at eight 

 o'clock for Khokand. The road was very bad, 

 but the three ponies whisked along at a capital 

 pace, covering the fifty miles by three o'clock. 



Khokand is a large native city, with a fine 

 bazaar, and there is a small Russian cantonment 

 outside the walls ; but it has the melancholy air 

 which all cities of the past seem to assume. 



The heat on the road and the dust were fright- 

 ful, making me feel the sooner this part of the 

 journey was got over the better ; so we pushed 

 on twenty miles farther to Bish-arik, where there 

 was a post-house, but no kitchen and no bed, so 

 we had to make the best of some food we had 

 with us, and sleep on the floor. 



Khojend was the next stage, and from there to 

 Ura-Tapa, where the Russian in charge of the 

 post-house was most civil and obliging, provid- 

 ing me with a breakfast and dinner of the usual 



