CHAPTER LXIX. 
AT KORLA AND KARA-SHAHR 
r length on March loth we rode into the streets of 
o 
Korla. Our three camels, which were accustomed 
to the quietude and peace of the desert, grew restive at 
the noise and hubbub in the narrow streets. A troop of 
boys followed close at our heels, making any amount of 
fun of me ; and I have little doubt I made a comical 
enough figure perched up on the top of my tall camel. 
In the bazaar I found some merchants from Russian 
Turkestan ; and their aksakal (or agent), Kul Mohammed 
from Margelan, received me with flattering politeness. 
He placed two large rooms in the caravanserai at my 
disposal, and I shared them with a countless swarm of 
rats, which jumped and pattered about on the floor round 
my bed all night long. 
The Chinese do not consider Korla of sufficient import- 
ance to have an amban all to itself : it is administratively 
dependent upon Kara-shahr, and has a garrison of only 
one lanza, subject to the authority of Li Daloi. Nay, 
worse than that, the new telegraph line from Peking to 
Kashgar via Lan-chow, Urumchi, Kara-shahr, and Ak-su, 
does not touch Korla. And yet the town stands on the 
great commercial and caravan highway between Peking 
and Western Asia ; hence many wealthy and distinguished 
Chinese pass through it. But to me the most interesting 
feature about the place was, that it w'as situated on a 
river, the Koncheh-daria or Korla-daria, which flows out 
of the Bagrash-koll (Baghrach-koll), the largest lake 
in Central Asia, in comparison with which Lop nor is a 
paltry marsh. 
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