706 
THROUGH ASIA 
in the little village of Beldir, which consisted of a single 
household. Its yuz-bashi (chief) was however chieftain 
over some fifty households, scattered throughout the glen. 
They were Tajiks, graziers and agriculturists, and spent 
the summers in the upper part of the glen, but for the 
winter moved lower down nearer the confluence of the 
Utcheh, a fair-sized stream, with the Taghdumbash-daria. 
After the confluence the river turned sharply to the east, 
and flowed directly into the Yarkand-daria. Close beside 
the confluence stood the large village of Beldir, which 
gives a second name, the Beldir-daria, to the Utcheh. 
The transverse defile by which the Taghdumbash breaks 
through the range is, as I have already said, called 
Shindeh. It is impassable because of the perpendicular 
cliffs which hem it in. Thus Beldir lies, as it were, at 
the end of a mountain cul-de-sac. 
September 17th. We ascended the glen towards the 
south-east. It was sometimes squeezed between the con- 
glomerate cliffs, then widened out considerably, so as to 
make room for patches of cultivated ground, upon which 
wheat, barley, and clover were grown, and finally opened 
out into a spacious cauldron-shaped valley, with an almost 
level floor and shut in on all sides by mountains. 
This expansion of the glen, called Tang-ab (Persian, 
Narrow Water), was planted with several small villages, 
all inhabited by Tajiks. But the great altitude of the 
region, and its harsh climate, compel the people to adopt 
a mode of life which in some respects resembles that of 
the Kirghiz. Most of them own large flocks of sheep, 
goats, and yaks, besides numerous horses and donkeys. 
Some dwell in yurts and tents ; some — more especially 
those who live by agriculture — dwell in houses con- 
structed of sun-dried clay and stones, and covered in 
with flat wooden roofs. As the Tajiks themselves are 
Aryans, and speak Persian, so their houses are very 
similar to the Persian houses, even possessing in some 
cases a bala-khaneh or “upper house,” reached by a flight 
of stairs. 
September i8th. We continued our road along the 
