CHAPTER XIII. 
POPULATION OF THE RUSSIAN PAMIRS 
T H E greater part of our route across the Pamirs led, 
as we have seen, through uninhabited regions. The 
Russian districts of the Pamirs had in October 1893 a 
population of not more than 1232 persons. But the Alai 
valley and the valley of Sarik-kol possessed, relatively 
speaking, a denser population. Administratively the Alai 
valley is divided into two portions, the western half be- 
longing to the tiyclsd (district) of Margelan, the eastern 
half to the uyasd of Osh. The information which I 
derived from the Kirghiz chiefs who dwell in those regions 
is not perhaps absolutely reliable ; but it is sufficiently 
near the truth to deserve consideration. 
Scattered through the Alai valley there were, they told 
me, fifteen kishlaks or winter settlements, agferearatino- a 
total of 270 yurts (households or families), who in part 
remained there the whole year through, in part migrated 
to the higher regions during the summer. The number of 
tents in the larger auls was estimated as follows : in Dar- 
aut-kurgan 20, Kok-su 120, Kizil-unkur 50, Altyn-darah 5, 
Tuz-darah 45, Kashka-su 20, and Jipptik 10. Ethno- 
logically the inhabitants of these settlements were said to 
fall into the following groups: Teit- Kirghiz dwelt at 
Daraut-kurgan, Altyn-darah, and Tuz-darah; at Kashka-su, 
Teit and Chal-teit ; at Jipptik, Choy- Kirghiz ; at Kok-su, 
Naiman Kirghiz; in Kara-teghin, Kipchaks, Naiman 
Kirghiz, and Kara-teit. The greater portion of these 
people migrate every summer to the neighbourhood of 
Lake Rang-kul, where, after the snows have disappeared, 
the grassy steppes furnish good pasturage for their sheep. 
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