1834.'] the Ancient Ferghana in Central Asia. 377 



The trade with Russia is carried on by means of caravans : the Kokan 

 merchants meet those of Bokhara at Tashkhend, and forming one body, 

 they proceed viaTurkistan through the Steppes occupied by the Cossacs, 

 part to Omsk, and part to Orenburg. The productions of China, raw 

 silk, camlets, and cotton yarn, are taken to Russia, and the returns are 

 made in furs, gun barrel?, and locks, cutlery, Russian leather, and other 

 Russian manufactures. The currency of Kokan consists of gold tillas, 

 equal to about eight rupees in value, and a small silver coin, called a 

 tunkha, nearly equivalent to half a rupee. 



The Usbeks who came to Bombay were quite ignorant of the English 

 name and government. The only Feringis they had any idea of were 

 the Russians. On being asked what nation they supposed was the 

 sovereign of Hindustan, they said they thought it was like Kabul and 

 Kandahar, under some Mussulman government; they expressed great 

 horror at the Sikhs not allowing the Muhammedan religion to be pub- 

 licly performed in the Panjab. They had first of all intended to go to 

 Delhi, and thence to Calcutta, but this circumstance prevented them. 

 They had strong letters of recommendation from Dost Muhammed of 

 Kabul to Sultan Muhammed Khan of Peshawar, &c. They were generally 

 liberal and well-informed. The young man had read most of the Persian 

 classics, and spoke Persian very well. They were much astonished at 

 every thing they saw at Bombay, which they compared to the Chinese 

 city of Yarkend. I took them a trip in the small steamer, which they 

 considered as the work of magic, nor could I explain the effects of 

 steam so as to remove that idea. His Majesty's ship Melville, being 

 in the harbour, I carried them on board her. At first they could not be 

 persuaded that it was a ship : they thought it was a wooden fortress, 

 erected on the bottom of the sea, by some extraordinary power. Sub- 

 sequently, however, when they found she actually floated, they were 

 more astonished at what they called the great boat, for they had no 

 word to express a ship in their language, nor had they even seen any 

 thing larger than the ferry boats on the Oxus, and the country vessels 

 in which they came to Bombay. Different from most Asiatics, they shewed 

 a great deal of curiosity, and examined every thing narrowly : they 

 measured the ship by the number of paces they took, and the cannon 

 ball by its apparent weight ; but what astonished them most of all was 

 the firing cannon with a lock like that of a gun, and ignition as produced 

 by a percussion tube. A native having illuminated his house with gas, 

 I took them to see it : here again they could not account for such an 

 effect, except as produced by magic ; they frequently expressed a wish 

 that some Englishman would come to their country, and professed 

 their readiness to assist him in penetrating even into Chinese Tartary ; 

 but they said that it would be next to impossible to enter China proper: 

 2 c 



