286 
THROUGH ASIA 
better folk. The sole ornament which gave a little bright- 
ness to my outward man was my compass chain, which, 
without much stretch of the imagination, the Kirghiz might 
easily have taken to be pure gold. Of the elders none 
made such a brave show as Togdasin Beg and Togda 
Mohammed Beg, chieftain of the Kirghiz who dwelt on 
the east side of Mus-tagh-ata. The former wore an orange- 
yellow gala khalat, edged w'ith gold brocade, which I had 
brought him as a present from Kashgar the day before. 
Chance seemed to have played the chief part in deter- 
mining the choice of attire in the case of the latter , for 
the colours were decidedly loud — a long navy blue khalat, 
girdled by a broad light blue sash, and a violet bag-cap 
with a gold ribbon round it. The wearer was a tall and 
strikingly typical Kirghiz, with oblique, narrow eyes, 
prominent cheek-bones, thin black beard and coarse 
moustaches, and rode a big coal-black horse of some 
foreign breed. Add to this the scimitar which dangled 
at hfs side in a black scabbard, and you have a picture 
of a true Asiatic Don Quixote. 
We drew near to the upper villages, in and about 
which the bands of horsemen grew thicker and thicker. 
I was conducted to the place of honour in the middle 
of the plain, where I found awaiting me Khoat Beg, a 
fine old chieftain one hundred and eleven years old, 
surrounded by five of his sons — grey old men they were 
too — and a score of other horsemen. Although the aged 
patriarch’s back was a little bent under the burden of his 
years, he nevertheless sat his saddle with as firm a seat 
and as proud a bearing as any amongst them. He wore 
a violet khalat, lined with fur, brown skin boots, and 
a brown turban. He had striking features, a large 
Roman nose, short white beard extending under the 
chin, and deep-sunk, grey eyes, which seemed to live 
more in the memories of the past than in the actual 
observations of the present. His people manifested the 
greatest veneration towards him ; some of the begs 
hastening to throw themselves from their horses in 
order to pay their respects to him, all which he took 
