MUS-TAGH-ATA 
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came a rider on a white horse, and caught up the holy 
man, and galloped with him down the steep mountain- 
side. And when the ishan came to himself, he found 
that he was down in the valley, and could only remember 
dimly all the marvellous things he had seen. 
There is also another legend associated with this part 
of the world, dating from the time when the famous Khan 
Khoja ruled over all the lands that lie between Kashgar 
and Manas in Dzungaria. The Chinese sent two emis- 
saries to Khan Khoja, offering him peace ; but he refused 
to accept it. One of the emissaries he killed, and cut 
off the ears and nose of the other, and so sent him back 
to the Emperor of China. This put the Emperor beside 
himself with rage. He bade his men fill three big cooking- 
pots with nails. Then he had the nails counted, and took 
a vow, that he would send against Khan Khoja as many 
soldiers as there were nails in all three pots. Khan 
Khoja had an army of 70,000 men, and for one whole 
month he lay encamped near Manas over against the 
innumerable host of the Chinese. But at last battle was 
joined, and Khan Khoja was defeated with the loss of 
38,000 men ; whereupon he marched back to Kashgar 
with the remnant of his army, and from Kashgar pushed 
on to Bulun-kul, where another battle was fought. Again 
the Khan was defeated, and again he retreated, going as 
far as the lake of Little Kara-kul. There he was once 
more hard pressed by the Chinese ; but at the critical 
moment, when things again began to look desperate for 
him, a band of forty horsemen, giants in size and mounted 
on raven-black horses, galloped down Mus-tagh-ata and, 
flinging themselves upon the Chinese, decided the battle 
in Khan Khoja’s favour. 
Now there was in his army the palevan (hero) Chum 
Kar Kashka Bater, and he was counselled by his master, 
never, so long as he was engaged in fight, to look behind 
him. If he obeyed, he would always be victorious ; but 
if he disobeyed, he would perish. In three fights Chum 
Kar obeyed his master, and so overcame his adversaries. 
But in the fourth he glanced b^ind him ; and in the 
