HILL Y ARK AND. 
95 
after arrival we got a message from him that tlie 
Kazi Sahib and he were coming to call on us and 
bring a dastarkhan — a thing we had heard a great 
deal about, but never till now had seen : the word 
means literally tablecloth, I l^elieve, but has come to 
mean a feast. Mirza Shadi's dastarkhan consisted of 
sweetmeats, loaves of Eussian white sugar made from 
beetroot, fruit of various sorts, melons, grapes, 
peaches, and bread and biscuits. All these good 
things had been sent from Sanju or Guma. The 
Kazi Sahib and Mirza bade us welcome to their 
country, and told us that the King was near Kashgar 
and most anxious to see us. They said that a letter 
had just arrived which stated that the King had for 
several months been engaged in war near Urmchi, 
and having conquered all the country between that 
and Kulja, had appointed Turra Khoja ruler of 
Kulja and Kalmakistan; and, further, that he was on 
his way to Kashgar with 1000 prisoners of war and a 
great deal of booty, and that perfect peace now existed. 
It was impossible to test the truth of this intelli- 
gence, for none of the traders had yet come over from 
Yarkand. It seemed, however, to account satisfactorily 
for the rumours of war which reached us in Kashmir, 
but it was remarkable that Tara Singh had learned 
nothing of this at ShahiduUa, and we knew that a mes- 
senger named Mulla Baki had come from Yarkand 
whilst we were at Le, bringing news to the envoy, 
so that it was incredible that Mirza Shadi should have 
only now for the first time received mtelligence of the 
King's movements. The Karakoram route from Le 
to Yarkand joins the Chang Chenmo route between 
Balakchi and Shahidulla, and in a few days we might 
