THE THRESHOLD OF THE DESERT 483 
In these distant regions the sense of justice is some- 
what elastic. If the accused has a well-lined purse he 
gets off scot-free, and in any case the beg receives certain 
tengeh for his trouble. If the plaintiff is not satisfied 
with the verdict, he can appeal to a higher authority — 
the nearest Chinese mandarin — and to him the beg must 
answer in his turn. The Chinese administration is ad- 
mirable. One prudent feature in it is that they allow 
the natives to retain the same system of local self-govern- 
ment which obtained in the time of Yakub Beg of 
Kashgar. 
Cases of conjugal infidelity are not on the whole un- 
common, nor are they punished with particular severity. 
As a rule, the woman has her face blacked, is placed 
backwards on a male ass, and with her hands tied behind 
her is taken through the streets and bazaar of the village. 
Monogamy is the rule ; it is very seldom that a man has 
four or five wives. If a woman marries a Chinaman 
or a European, .she is considered impure ; and when she 
dies, is not interred in the general burial-ground of the 
place, because she has consorted with “one vrho eats 
swine’s flesh,” so that her body would pollute the graves 
of the Faithful. 
With regard to kalini, or the dower of a bride, the 
customs of these people are much the same as those of 
the Kirghiz. 'I'he kalim is paid to the bride’s parents, 
and varies according to the man’s circumstances and 
means. A bai, or rich man, gives as much as two jam- 
baus (^9 to ^10 each). As a rule everything is paid 
in kind ; but the bride’s trousseau is compulsory kalim. 
A poor man offers merely a measure of food and clothes. 
The amount depends entirely upon the demands of the 
parents ; but beauty and physical charms are of less 
importance than among the Kirghiz. If a young couple 
cannot obtain the consent of their parents, it is not un- 
usual for them to run away. They generally come back, 
however, after a few months, ancl invite the old people 
to a feast, when all misunderstandings are cleared up. 
On another occasion the beg gave judgment on two 
