68 



jRtiSsian Mission from Orenhourg to Bokhara. [Jan. 



Between Cashmere andKacbgliar, there are no other to'wns than those 

 I have already mentioned. Immediately in their neighbourhood, 

 there are a few villages scattered in the mountains. Both great and 

 little Tibet are surrounded with gardens. The houses are of wood, as 

 in Russia, and the pent of the roof very high. They are followers of 

 the Grand Lama. 



This town is built on rocky hills, among -which grow some oats; the inhabitants make 

 a kind of paste of this, by boiling it in milk, which composes theii sole provision. They 

 are miserably poor, and the custom exists of several brothers having only one wife. 

 A great deal of tea is used at this place. The wool from which the shawls are made 

 comes from Lassa. Merchandize is here carried on sheep. From here to Cashmere the 

 transport is however on horses. 



Note.— Russian goods in considerable quantities might be sold at Tibet, such as silk and 

 goldsmith's works. The Tchabas would readily purchase them. These people bring a 

 great deal of goats' hair from Lassa, which is dispatched from hence to Cashmere. The 

 journey from Lassa to Tibet occupies about three months. 



I was six weeks travelling from Tibet to larkend ; the journey was very tiresome, the 

 looseness of the soil, the great precipices, the immense height of the mountains inter- 

 spersed with glaciers, made a most melancholj' impression on my mind ; which was aug- 

 mented by the complete solitude, for these districts are uninhabited. At last we came in 

 sight of larkend ; it is surrounded by clumps of trees, and has a very cheerful look. 



The Chinese garrison contains about 2000 men; their chief is called Amban : more 

 than three thousand Chinese are employed here in commercial pursuits. The climate 

 of this town is healthy, but the water is bad. There are no fine buildings ; the inhabi- 

 tants appear in tolerably easy circumstances. In saying the climate is healthy I must 

 except the autumn ; I never met with any worse. The sky was covered with 

 clouds of a singular kind of dust, of which the cause is unknown : it fell like 

 lain ; and the great dampness of the atmosphere gives birth to a kind of insect, called 

 karbites, by the inhabitants, the sting of which is almost always mortal. When the 

 inhabitants see clouds of the above-mentioned dust instead of rain, they hope for a good 

 harvest ; and an indifferent one when they have only common rain. The gale of dust 

 sometimes lasts seven or eight days ; it is so thick that the rays of the sun cannot pierce 

 through it, and at the same time so fine that it finds its way through the smallest opening. 



Besides larkend, the Chinese possess Houdam (Khoten,)Gachghire (Kachghar,) Aksou, 

 Douroban and Ily ; each of these cities have a governor of this nation. The Chinese 

 are very numerous at Ily or Kouldja ; indeed the number is said to amount to above 

 10,000. They are very proud and lazy, and spend all their time in smoaking. No inha- 

 bitant can leave the town without a passport ; and it is very difiicult to escape this pre» 

 caution, as the surveillimce of the authorities here is very severe. It is one of the 

 means made use of by the Chinese to put a stop to disorders of all kinds. 



From larkend I took thirteen days to reach Aksou. This Town is not larger, but 

 contains many tolerably well built houses ; it is situated in a valley, and divided'into two 

 parts, the one inhabifed by the Chinese, the other by Mahomedans, who keep up a con- 

 stant communication with each other. From Aksou, I was three days going to Tour- 

 fan, a small and ugly town. As its inhabitants are very few, it contains nothing wor- 

 thy of remark. The frontiers of the Kirghiz country are about twenty verstes from this 

 place. After leaving Tourfan, 1 passed several wandering tribes of Kalraouks, Kirghiz 

 and Kaisaks, and at last arrived at Semipalatinsk, after a three months journey. 



