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A!ak, unci the wide region cnllcd Gctt, extending ns far as 

 ll r mountains of Bogdo, till they were expelled or fiibdiied 

 by more numerous or powerful nations from the call. But 

 M it is now allowed by all geographers that the range called 

 lielur Tag reprefents the Imaiis, and that tliis range runs 

 from north t.i foiith, forming the ealUm bonndary of 

 Great Bnthaiia, it will be evident from Ptolemy's dtfcrip- 

 tion and maps that " Sirica" can be no other con: try but 

 Little Riicharia, always podcffcd by an i::tel!igent and 

 indullrious race of men j not only the ridge of Imaus, but 

 the remarkable courfe of two confiderablc rivers towards 

 the nortli-eall, while all his other Aliatic Ihcams have very 

 ditftrent diref^ions, fnfficienlly indicate I-ittle B'.icharia, in 

 which the rivers corrcfpond with Ptolemy's delineation ; 

 the Oechardcs being probably the Oraiikalh of modern 

 maps, or perhaps the river of Yarcand ; while his Bautilns 

 may be the nver of Koten, or that of Karia. The know- 

 ledge of Ptolemy does not appear to have extended eallward 

 fnrther than 80" from Greenwich ; and, therefore, few 

 comparifons can be inlHtutcd between the modern names 

 and fituations and thofe of Ptolemy. M. D'Anville fuppofes 

 that the mountains of Annabi are thofe of Altai ; whereas 

 tliev are thofe of Alak, called by fome Mufart, on the 

 north of Little Bucharia. The mountains on the fouth 

 correfpond with thofe of Mns Tag, or the mountains of 

 Ice on the north of Thibet. To the fouth alfo lies the 

 fandy defert of Gobi, of unafcertained extent, but fuppofed 

 by fome to reach weftward as far as the northern fnowy 

 mountains of Thibet already mentioned. The fouthern 

 part of Little Bucharla contains fcveral large provinces, 

 as Koten and Karia or Kereja, fo called from their capital 

 cities ; and the intelhgent Strahlenberg has denominated 

 Koten a kingdom, and has infertcd feveral names of rivers 

 and towns. On the eaft Little Bucharia is bounded by 

 deferts and provinces of Mongolia, and particularly by the 

 province of Hami or Chamiel belonging to China. The 

 iveftem and northern parts of this country are more accu- 

 rately known by means of various accounts, and by the 

 maps of D'Anville and Iflcnicff. To the north is the 

 Alak mountain, and beyond it Soongaria, and in the weft 

 the Bclur Tag, which ftparates it from Great Bucharia. 

 In Rcnnell's map, however, the weftern bou::dary is that 

 ridge of the ancient Imaus, denominated by Sherefeddin the 

 Kai-angoutac mountains, and between this and the Belur 

 ridge is Baltillan or Little Thibet. The chief rivers of 

 Little Bucharia arc the Bulanghir, probably the Polonkir 

 of the Jefuitic maps, flowing into the lake Lock-nor, the 

 Chaidu and Yarcand Darija iffuing from it, and fupplying 

 feveral branches as the Koten, Orankafh, &c., and the 

 Kareja proceeding from a lake in the defert of Sultus. 

 The principal towns are Cafhgar, Yarcand, Akfu, Chialilh, 

 Turfan, Koten, and Karia, which fee refpeftivcly. Inde- 

 pendently of the regions to the north, the extent of Little 

 Bucharia, from the confines of Hami to the mountains 

 of Behir, is more than 1000 Britifh miles ; and the breadth, 

 from the mountains of Thibet to thofe of Alak, more than 

 ^00. It is of courfe comprehended between 36'' and 43° 

 N. lat., and about 72° and 87'' E. long. As the land is much 

 elevated and abounding in mountains, the climate is cold ; 

 and, in contiadiAion to the ufual courfe of nature, the 

 fouthern part bordering on the Alps of Thibet is colder than 

 the northern, which is protcAed by the lower ridge of 

 Alak. Among its hills are feveral fertile plains; but 

 the population is not extenfive. Between the cities in this 

 country there are no villages; and in travelling a whole 

 day from one to another, there is not a houfe of entertain- 

 ment to be found. Tiora Du Hulde's atlas it may be 



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deduced that the Contailh, or Great Khan, could raife 

 20,000 men from this province, taking one man from 10 

 families ; and hence the number of families would be 200,000, 

 which would yield a population of one million. The in- 

 habitants, who ate for the moft part defcendants of Bu- 

 charians, with a great mixture of Tartars or Turcomans, and 

 a few Kalmnks, are generally fwarthy and black -haired, 

 although fome of them are very fair, handfomc, and well 

 made. They are faid to be polite and benevolent ; and 

 their language is probably that called the Zagathian or 

 Turkilh, which has fupplanted their native tongue. The 

 drefs of the men refemblcs that of the Tartars, reaching no 

 lower than the calf of the leg, and bound with girdles like 

 thofe of the Poles. The garments of the females are of the 

 fame kind, commonly quilted with cotton ; and they wear 

 long ear-rings, twift their hair in Ireffes, lengthened by 

 decorated ribbands and taflcls of filk and filver, fo as to hang 

 down to their heels. Their necklaces are ornamented with 

 pearls, fmall pieces of coin, and feveral gilded or filvered 

 baubles. Some of them tinge their nails with henna. Perfons 

 of both fexes wear trowfers, with light boots ©f RufTia 

 leather, and occafionally high-hecltd flippers. The head- 

 drefs refembles that of the Turks. Married women are 

 diftinguifhed from thofe that are fingle by a long piece 

 of linen worn under their bonnets, which is folded round 

 the aeck and tied in a knot behind, fo that one end of 

 it hangs down to the waift. Both fexes carry about them 

 prayers written by their priefts, and kept in a fmall purfe, 

 under the form of relics. Their houfes are commonly of 

 ftone, well built, and decorated with fome articles of china. 

 When they go to fleep, they throw off every garment ; 

 they are cleanly in the preparation and ufe of their food, 

 which is ufually minced-meat, and their general drink is tea, 

 which they prepare with milk, fait, and butter. At their 

 meals they ufe neither chairs nor tables, knives nor forks, 

 but lit eroded-legged on the ground, and when the meat is 

 ferved up ready cut, they take it up with their fingers or 

 wooden ladles. Their wives are purchafed, fo that a 

 perfon who has many daughters is accounted rich. The 

 ceremonies of marriage differ little from thofe of other 

 Mahometans, and polygamy, though regarded among 

 the Bucharians as a kind of fin, is generally praftifed. 

 Their children are named on the third day after birth, and 

 circumcifed on the 7th, 8th, or 9th day. In ficknefs 

 the mullah or pried has great influence ; and when a perfon 

 dies, he lays a koran on his breaft, and recites fome prayers, 

 after which the body is interred in fome pleafant wood and 

 inclofed with a hedge or pallifade. Their money confifts 

 of copper kopeiks, weighing nearly one-third of an ounce ; 

 and in pafiiiig filver or gold, they weigh it, like the Chinefe. 

 The prevailing religion is the Mahometan ; and the Kal- 

 muks or Eluths allow unlimited toleration. The govern, 

 ment, before the Chinefe took poffeffion of the country, 

 was lirft of all adminiftcred by a Khan, and afterwards by 

 the contaifli of the Kalmuks, who appointed inferior ma- 

 giilratcs. The foil of Bucharia is in many parts of it 

 fertile and produftive, and yields various kinds of fruits, and 

 particularly wine. It is alfo rich in mines of gold and filver, 

 but neither the natives nor Kalmuks are fufficiently fkilful to 

 work them ; and out of the torrents, which flow from the 

 mountains when the fnow mehs, they colledt gold-duft, 

 which they carry to India, China, and Siberia. Precious 

 flones and diamonds are alfo found in this country, and the 

 fouthern mountains near Thibet furnifh mufk. As the drefg 

 is chiefly cotton, the plant probably abounds in this coun- 

 try ; though from their proximity to China the Seres might 

 cafily have tranfmitted filk to ancient Europe. Pallas 



fpeaking 



