56 
HISTORY OF THE KHOJAS OF EASTERN TURKISTAN. 
Khwaja Japan’s wives gave birth to a child during the night and could 
not follow. 
Khwaja Kbdu-llah managed to collect a few men to check the pursuit, 
but it continued nevertheless till the afternoon of the next day. At the 
upper crossing of the river, the Kir gh iz seized the passage and opened fire 
with their muskets. Xbdu-llah alone showed courage, but what was one 
against so many ? The fugitives crowded into the river, so as to dam up 
the water, but again it broke through them sweeping many away with it. 
Abdu-llah saw the dead body of Yusuf Khwaja’s son being borne past, but 
he could not even cast a second glance at it in the confusion. After a 
long struggle they reached the other bank and stopped to recover them¬ 
selves. Looking round they counted up their losses : one had lost his 
wife, another his father, and a third his child ; cries of grief went up to 
heaven. 
The Kir gh iz now offered them quarter if they would surrender. With 
the exception of Kbdu-llah, all the princes agreed to do so, provided the 
chiefs of the Kirghiz would bind themselves to good faith by an oath. 
But Kbdu-llah’s pride would not consent to a surrender on any terms. 
Khwaja Jahan exhorted him to submit and not to fly from death, for life 
was only a prison to the faithful, though a paradise to unbelievers. 
Abdu-llah replied :—“ Oh my king, suffer me and a few others to make a 
fight for liberty. If we all fall into the hands of these infidels, none of 
our line will escape. I say not this as desiring to avoid death. In our 
present circumstances death is our best refuge. But firstly our lineage 
will be destroyed by our being taken, and secondly I would rather die in 
fight than after falling into the hands of these men.” 
While they were discussing thus, the Kirghiz crossed the river and 
coming up, with respect, to the old Khwaja. suggested that if he did not 
believe their word, he should send his son Yahya with them to the camp 
of Burhanu-d-Dln, to obtain assurances from him in person. So Yahya 
was sent off with them. 
The Musulmans were wet, hungry and cold, and night was coming 
on. Some of them killed their horses, and lighting fires, cooked the flesh 
and ate it. Abdu-llah then begged the Khwaja’s permission to try and 
escape with his two children, lest the line of the Khwajas should be cut 
short, and God threw dust into the eyes of the Kirghiz so that he got 
away safely, with one child before him and the other behind him, on the 
same horse. 
• 
In the morning the Kirghiz approached and said :—“ Oh Khwaja, let 
us come away into the presence of Khwaja Burhan and see what city he 
will appoint to you as your Government.” But the princes said to them¬ 
selves It is a question of what death they are going to inflict, not 
