1899.] 
Introduction. 
9 
XI 
presented it to Mr. Macartney. The latter forwarded it in 1896 to the 
Foreign Office in Simla, whence it was transmitted to me, in Calcutta. 
It was named by me the Macartney MSS. and specimens of it were 
published by me in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 
(Volume LXVI, for 1897). What became of the rest of the 
manuscripts in the Qazl’s house is not exactly known. It is 
probable that Andijani merchants in Kuchar, who are Russian 
subjects, must have got hold of some of them and transmitted them 
to Mr. Petrovsky, the Russian Consul-General in Kashghar. The latter 
forwarded them to St. Petersburg, where specimens of them were 
published in 1892 by Dr. S. von Oldenburg in the Journal of the 
Imperial Russian Archaeological Society, Vol. VIII. As late as 1894, 
“ten manuscripts ” were reported by Dildar Khan, on the information 
of his brother in Kuchar, to be in the possession of a certain Yusuf 
Beg. Unfortunately the negotiations, set on foot by Mr. Marcartney for 
the purchase of these manuscripts, fell through, owing to the Beg’s 
denial of possession, from fear of the Chinese authorities. 4 It is believed 
that subsequently Mr. Petrovsky succeeded in purchasing them. If 
this is correct, they should now be in St. Petersburg. The exact details 
of the find are so curious that it may be best to quote Dildar Khan’s 
account, kindly procured for me by Mr. Macartney in January 1898. I 
translate from the original Urdu: “ I heard from my brother Ghulam 
Qadir Khan that there was a dome-like tower near Kuchar at the 
foot of a mountain. Some people said that there was a treasure in it; 
it must be searched out. Accordingly some people making a hole 
in the tower, began to excavate it, when they found inside a spacious 
room (ghar khanadar ). and in it a cow and two foxes standing. On 
touching them with the hand, the cow and foxes fell to the ground as if 
they were dust. In that place those two books were found packed in 
wooden boards. Also there is in that place a wall made as if of stone 
(diwar sang-he mudfiq ), and upon it something is written in characters 
not known. It is said that a few years ago an English gentleman 
(that is, Major Bower) went there, and having visited the place came 
away. Nothing more is known.” With regard to the cow and the 
foxes mentioned in the above-account Mr. Macartney remarks in his 
covering letter: “ As far as I can make out, they must have been 
found in the tower in a mummified condition. The art of stuffing 
animals would not appear to have been unknown in ancient times. 
M. Petrovski, the Russian Consul in Kashghar, informs me of having, 
♦ This appears to be the incident, referred to in the Chinese Amban’s letter, 
published by me in the Journal , Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXVII (for 1897), 
. 213. The owner of the MSS. is there called Timur Beg. 
