862 
THROUGH ASIA 
either in body or soul. As for his soul, let us hope, he 
was a trifle repentant after he had digested his punishment, 
and his body would not suffer, if only he abstained from 
riding hard for a week or two. 
When, later in the day, I went to Li Daloi to thank 
him for so promptly and satisfactorily meeting me in this 
matter, I perceived I was the object of a good deal of 
special attention in the town. The people in the streets 
made way for me. The street urchins no longer dared to 
laugh at me. All the time however I had been thinking 
of something which fortunately never once entered Li 
Daloi’s head. Had he only been sharp enough, he would 
have met my demand with the counter-demand to see 
my passport, and to be furni.shed with evidence that 
Islam Bai really was a Russian subject. If he had done 
that, what could I have answered? It would then have 
been my turn to be deferential and courteous. But lucky 
for me, it never occurred to Li Daloi to ask for the 
passport. 
The Mohammedan portion of the town was governed 
by three begs, one of whom, a white-bearded old man, 
had forty years before served under Vali Khan Tura, who 
murdered Adolf Schlagintweit, and the old man had also 
been in favour with Yakub Beg. Kul Mohammed, the 
aksakal of the Andijanliks (West Turkestan merchants), 
had been settled in Korla for many years ; he was living 
there in 1877, when Yakub Beg died in the town. Yakub 
was waiting there with 6000 men for a favourable oppor- 
tunity to attack the Chinese. Kul Mohammed gave a 
different version of the murder from the usually received 
account. The conqueror was going that afternoon to take 
tea with his confidential supporter, the influential Niaz 
Hakim Beg of Khotan. This was the man who at his 
prince’s command built the before-mentioned caravanserais 
of Kosh-lengher and Chullak-lengher, on the road between 
Yarkand and Khotan. Niaz Beg, who had quarrelled 
with his master, mixed poison in Yakub’s tea, and the 
poisoned cup speedily did its fatal work. 
Korla and the fifty-five villages dependent upon it. 
