SANJU TO Y ARK AND. 
119 
and shouted, " Huk Alia, Huk Alia." These men 
are held in some reverence, or perhaps it is considered 
nnluckly to meddle with them. Unlike Indian 
beggars, they were not above accepting food from our 
hands. 
At Posgam we first saw orchards of grapes, 
apples, pears, peaches, &c. ; all the trees were loaded 
with ripe fruit. A gourd is largely cultivated in 
Yarkand, from the dried rind of which water vessels 
and huka bottoms are made. The fruit seems 
capable of being grown into any required shape, pro- 
bably by careful selection of seed, and hybridizing. 
Many of the water vessels made from it are the size 
of a large bucket. 
At Posgam we found quarters specially fitted up 
for us in the caravanserai, about a mile short of the 
town. Each room had an opening in the roof, to 
serve for a window. Mr. Shaw found this arrange- 
ment very convenient for taking the latitude without 
being observed. Almost daily, whilst he was 
engaged in taking his observations, he was sup- 
posed by the Yarkandis to be asleep; and Tash 
Khoja, who no doubt had some idea of the dodge, 
used to remark to me, with a very knowing wink, 
that Shaw Sahib seemed to sleep all day and all 
night too. 
The town of Posgam, which we passed through next 
day, was much the same as Kargallik, but smaller 
in size. At several of the taverns or eating-houses 
the cooks were standing at the door, dressed in white 
aprons ; and inside we saw rows of tables and benches, 
which are never seen in private houses. 
