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diff --git a/33712.txt b/33712.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..225e35d --- /dev/null +++ b/33712.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11807 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Life of Yakoob Beg, by Demetrius Boulger + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Life of Yakoob Beg + Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar + +Author: Demetrius Boulger + +Release Date: September 12, 2010 [EBook #33712] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF YAKOOB BEG *** + + + + +Produced by The Bookworm, [bookworm.librivox AT gmail.com], +Asad Razzaki and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned +images of public domain material from the Google Print +project.) + + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + + Variations in spelling and hyphenation have been retained as in + the original. + + Some typographical and punctuation errors have been corrected. A + complete list follows the text. + + Words italicized in the original are surrounded by _underscores_. + + Superscripted words are surrounded by {} brackets. + + The 'oe' ligature is represented as oe. + + + + + THE LIFE + + OF + + YAKOOB BEG; + + ATHALIK GHAZI, AND BADAULET; + + AMEER OF KASHGAR. + + BY + + DEMETRIUS CHARLES BOULGER, + + MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. + + _WITH MAP AND APPENDIX._ + + LONDON: + W{M} H. ALLEN & CO., 13, WATERLOO PLACE, S.W. + 1878. + + _[All rights reserved.]_ + + + LONDON: + PRINTED BY WOODFALL AND KINDER, + MILFORD LANE, STRAND, W.C. + + + + + THE LIFE + + OF + + YAKOOB BEG. + + + + + TO MY FATHER, + + BRIAN AUSTEN BOULGER, + + I Dedicate + + THE FOLLOWING PAGES, AS SOME FAINT TOKEN + OF FILIAL AFFECTION AND GRATITUDE. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The following account of the life of Yakoob Beg was written with a +twofold intention. In the first place, it attempts to trace the career +of a soldier of fortune, who, without birth, power, or even any great +amount of genius, constructed an independent rule in Central Asia, and +maintained it against many adversaries during the space of twelve years. +The name of the Athalik Ghazi became so well known in this country, and +his person was so exaggerated by popular report, that those who come to +these pages with a belief that their hero will be lauded to the skies +must be disappointed. Yakoob Beg was a very able and courageous man, and +the task he did accomplish in Kashgaria was in the highest degree +creditable; but he was no Timour or Babur. His internal policy was +marred by his severity, and the system of terrorism that he principally +adopted; and his external policy, bold and audacious as it often was, +was enfeebled by periods of vacillation and doubt. Yet his career was +truly remarkable. He was not the arbiter of the destinies of Central +Asia, nor was he even the consistent opponent of Russian claims to +supremacy therein. He was essentially of the common mould of human +nature, sharing the weaknesses and the fears of ordinary men. The +Badaulet, or "the fortunate one," as he was called, was essentially +indebted to good fortune in many crises of his career. He cannot, in any +sense, be compared to the giants produced by Central Asia in days of +old; and among moderns Dost Mahomed of Afghanistan probably should rank +as high as he does. Yet he gives an individuality to the history of +Kashgar that it would otherwise lack. The recent triumphs of the Chinese +received all their attraction to Englishmen from the decline and fall of +Yakoob Beg, the hero they had erected in the country north of Cashmere. + +In the second place, the following pages strive to bring before the +English reader the great merits of China as a governing power; and this +object is really the more important of the two. It is absolutely +necessary for this country to remember that there are only three Great +Powers in Asia, and of these China is in many respects the foremost. +Whereas both England and Russia are simply conquering Governments, China +is a mighty and self-governing country. China's rule in Eastern +Turkestan and Jungaria is one of the most instructive pages in the +history of modern Asia, yet it may freely be admitted that the brief +career of Yakoob Beg gave an interest to the consideration of the +Chinese in Central Asia that that theme might otherwise have failed to +supply. The authorities used in the compilation of the facts upon which +the following pages have been erected are principally and above all the +official Report of Sir Douglas Forsyth, and the files of the _Tashkent_ +and _Pekin Gazettes_ since the beginning of 1874. Mr. Shaw's most +interesting work on "High Tartary," Dr. Bellew's "Kashgar," and +Gregorieff's work on "Eastern Turkestan," have also been consulted in +various portions of the narrative. A vast mass of newspaper articles +have likewise been laid under contribution for details which have not +been noticed anywhere else. + +In conclusion, the author would ask the English reader to consider very +carefully what the true lesson of Chinese valour and statesmanship may +be for us, because those qualities have now become the guiding power in +every Indian border question, from Siam and Birma to Cashmere. Mr. +Schuyler's "Turkestan," which still maintains its place as the leading +work on Central Asia, although not treating on the affairs of Kashgar, +has been frequently referred to for the course of affairs in Khokand; +but, in the main, Dr. Bellew's historical narrative in Sir D. Forsyth's +Report has been followed. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + + CHAPTER I. + PAGE + GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR 1 + + CHAPTER II. + + ETHNOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR 14 + + CHAPTER III. + + HISTORY OF KASHGAR 22 + + CHAPTER IV. + + THE CONQUEST OF KASHGAR BY CHINA 41 + + CHAPTER V. + + THE CHINESE RULE IN KASHGAR 54 + + CHAPTER VI. + + THE BIRTH OF YAKOOB BEG AND CAREER IN + THE SERVICE OF KHOKAND 76 + + CHAPTER VII. + + THE INVASION OF KASHGAR BY BUZURG KHAN + AND YAKOOB BEG 92 + + CHAPTER VIII. + + WARS WITH THE TUNGANI 119 + + CHAPTER IX. + + YAKOOB BEG'S GOVERNMENT OF KASHGAR 137 + + CHAPTER X. + + YAKOOB BEG'S POLICY TOWARDS RUSSIA 173 + + CHAPTER XI. + + YAKOOB BEG'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND 212 + + CHAPTER XII. + + YAKOOB BEG'S LAST WAR WITH CHINA, + AND DEATH 236 + + CHAPTER XIII. + + THE CHINESE RECONQUEST OF KASHGAR 268 + + CHAPTER XIV. + + THE CHINESE FACTOR IN THE CENTRAL + ASIA QUESTION 277 + + APPENDIX. + + THE POSITION OF LOB-NOR 303 + TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA 308 + TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND CASHMERE 315 + TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND KASHGAR 320 + TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND KASHGAR 322 + RULES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE JOINT + COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED FOR THE + NEW ROUTE TO EASTERN TURKESTAN 330 + A STORY FROM KASHGAR 334 + + + + +YAKOOB BEG. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR. + + +The state of Kashgar, which comprises the western portion of Eastern or +Chinese Turkestan, has been defined as being bounded on the north by +Siberia, on the south by the mountains of Cashmere, on the east by the +Great Desert of Gobi, and on the west by the steppe of "High Pamere." +This description, while sufficiently correct for general speaking, +admits of more detail in a work dealing at some length with that +country. Strictly, the name Kashgar or Cashgar applies only to the city, +and it was not until after the time of Marco Polo, when it was the most +populous and opulent town in the whole region, that it became used for +the neighbouring country. The correct name is either Little Bokhara or +Eastern Turkestan, and the Chinese call it Sule. Recent writers have +styled the territory of the Athalik Ghazi Kashgaria. It certainly +extended through a larger portion of Chinese Turkestan than did any past +native rule in Kashgar, the Chinese of course excepted. The definition +given above of the limits of Kashgar states that on the north it is +bounded by Siberia, but this is erroneous, for the extensive territory +of Jungaria or Mugholistan intervenes. Jungaria under the Chinese was +known as Ili from its capital, and now under the Russians is spoken of +as Kuldja, another name for the same city. This very extensive and +important district was included in the same government with Kashgar when +the Chinese dominated in all this region from their head-quarters at +Ili; but in the final settlement after the disruption of the Chinese +power in 1863, while Kashgar fell to the Khoja Buzurg Khan, and the +eastern portion of Jungaria, together with the cities of Kucha, +Karashar, and Turfan south of the Tian Shan range, to the Tungani; +Kuldja or Ili was occupied by the Russians. The frontier line between +Kuldja and Kashgar is very clearly marked by the Tian Shan, and the same +effectual barrier divides the continent into two well-defined divisions +from Aksu to Turfan and beyond. Eastern Turkestan is, therefore, bounded +on the north by the Tian Shan, and on the south the Karakoram Mountains +form a no less satisfactory bulwark between it and Kohistan and +Cashmerian Tibet. As has been said, on the west the steppe of Pamir and +on the east the desert of Gobi present distinct and secure defences +against aggression from without in those directions. There are few +states in Asia with a more clearly marked position than that of which we +have been speaking. Nature seems to have formed it to lead an isolated +and independent existence, happy and prosperous in its own resources and +careless of the outer world; but its history has been of a more troubled +character, and at only brief intervals has its natural wealth been so +fostered as to make it that which it has been called, "the Garden of +Asia." This condition of almost continual warfare and disturbance during +centuries, has left many visible marks on the external features of the +country, and in nothing is this more strikingly evident than in the +small population. A region which contains at the most moderate estimate +250,000 square miles, is believed by the highest authorities to contain +less than 1,000,000 inhabitants. In breadth Kashgaria may be said to +extend from longitude E. 73 deg. to 89 deg., and in width from latitude N. 36 deg. +to 43 deg.; but the ancient kingdom of Kashgar has been always considered to +have reached only to Aksu, a town about 300 miles north-east of Kashgar. +When the Chinese about fifty years ago conceded certain trade privileges +to Khokand, they were not to have effect east of Aksu; this fact seems +conclusive as to the recognized limits of the ancient dynasty of +Kashgar. The capital of this district, which at one time has been a +flourishing kingdom under a native ruler, at another a tributary of some +Tartar conqueror, and then distracted by the struggles of his effete +successors, and at a third time a subject province of the Chinese, has +fluctuated as much as the fortunes of the state itself. Now it has been +Yarkand, now Kashgar, and yet again, on several occasions, Aksu. The +claims of Kashgar seem to have prevailed in the long run, for, although +Yarkand is still the larger city, Yakoob Beg established his capital at +Kashgar, and made that town known throughout the whole of Asia by the +means of his government. + +Kashgar is situated in a plain in the north of the province, and the +small river on which it is built is known as the Kizil Su. Immediately +beyond it the country becomes hilly and mountainous, until in the far +distance may be seen the snow-clad peaks of the Tian Shan, and the Aksai +Plateau. Although the population is barely 30,000, there is now an air +of brisker activity in the bazaars and caravanserais of this capital +than in any other city in the country. The trade carried on with Russia +in recent years has given some life to the place; but few, if any, +merchants proceed more inland than this, whether they come from Khokand +or from Kuldja. The town stretches on both sides of the river, which is +crossed by a wooden bridge; but there are no buildings of any +pretensions for external beauty or internal comfort. The _orda_ or +palace of the Ameer, which is in Yangy Shahr, five miles from the city, +is a large gloomy barrack of a place with several buildings within each +other; the outer ones are occupied by the household troops and by the +court officials, and the inner one of all is set apart for the family +and _serai_ of the ruler himself. In connection with this is a hall of +audience, in which he receives in solemn state such foreigners as it +seems politic for him to honour. In the old days, Kashgar used to be a +strongly fortified position, but the only remains of its former strength +are the ruins which are strewn freely all around. Kashgar is, therefore, +an open and quite defenceless town, and lies completely at the mercy of +any invader who might come along the high road from Aksu or Bartchuk, or +across the mountains from Khokand or Kuldja; but at Yangy Shahr, about +five miles south of Kashgar, Yakoob Beg constructed a strong fort, where +he deposited all his treasure, and this may be taken to be the citadel +of Kashgar as well as the residence of the ruler. Yangy Shahr means new +city, and as a fortification erected by a Central Asian potentate with +very limited means, it must be considered to be a very creditable piece +of military workmanship. The Andijanis or Khokandian merchants who have +at various times settled here, form a very important class in this town +in particular, and it was they who more than any one else contributed to +the success of the invasion of Buzurg Khan and Mahomed Yakoob. It is, +however, said that these merchant classes had become to some extent +dissatisfied with the late state of things, whether because Yakoob Beg +did not fulfil all his promises, or for some other reason, is not clear. +If Kashgar under its late rule was not restored to that prosperous +condition which excited the admiration of Marco Polo, and the Chinese +traveller, Hwang Tsang, before him, it may be considered to have been as +fairly well-doing as any other city in either Turkestan, while life and +property were a great deal more secure than in some we could mention. + +Situated about half-way on the road to Yarkand is Yangy Hissar, a town +which has always been of importance both as a military position and as a +place of trade. It has greatly fallen into decay, however, but still +possesses a certain amount of its former influence from being a military +post, and from the exceptional fertility of the neighbouring country. + +Yarkand, about eighty miles as the crow flies, and 120 by road, to the +south-east of Kashgar, is still the most populous of all the cities of +Eastern Turkestan. It lies in the open plain on the Yarkand river, and +its walls, four miles in circuit, testify to its former greatness. Under +the Chinese it was quite the most flourishing town in the region, and +even now Sir Douglas Forsyth estimates that it contains 40,000 people, +while the surrounding country has nearly 200,000 more. The fruit gardens +and orchards, which extend in a wide belt round it, give an air of +peculiar prosperity to the country, and quite possibly induce travellers +to take a too sanguine view of the resources of the country. In addition +to the abundance of fruit and grain produce that is brought into the +city for sale, there is a large and profitable business carried on in +leather. Yarkand has almost a monopoly of this article, and the +consumption of it is very great indeed. The Ameer himself took large +quantities yearly for his army, for, in addition to that required for +boots and saddles, many of his regiments wore uniforms of that +substance. + +But, although Yarkand is the chief market-place of the richest province, +and although its population is thriving and energetic, there is a +general _consensus_ of opinion that it has become much less prosperous +and much more of a rural town since the transference of the seat of +government to Kashgar, and the disappearance of Chinese merchants with +the Chinese ruler. A very intelligent merchant of the town replied as +follows to questions put to him, as to the Chinese and native rulers, +and it will be seen that it was especially favourable to the claims of +the Chinese as the better masters. + +"What you see on market-day now, is nothing to the life and activity +there was in the time of the Khitay. To-day the peasantry come in with +their fowls and eggs, with their cotton and yarn, or with their sheep +and cattle and horses for sale, and they go back with printed cotton, a +fur cap, or city made boots, or whatever domestic necessaries they may +require, and always with a good dinner inside them; and then we shut up +our shops and stow away our goods till next week's market-day brings +back our customers. Some of us, indeed, go out with a small venture in +the interim to the rural markets around, but our great day is market-day +in town. It was very different in the Khitay time. People then bought +and sold every day, and market-day was a much jollier time. There was no +Kazi Rais, with his six Muhtasib, armed with the _dira_ to flog people +off to prayer, and drive the women out of the streets, and nobody was +bastinadoed for drinking spirits and eating forbidden meats. There were +mimics and acrobats, and fortune-tellers and story-tellers, who moved +about amongst the crowd and diverted the people. There were flags and +banners and all sorts of pictures floating at the shop fronts; and there +was the _jallab_, who painted her face and decked herself in silks and +laces to please her customers." And then, replying to a question whether +the morals were not more depraved under this system than under the +strict Mahomedan rule of the Athalik Ghazi, the same witness went on to +say--"Yes, perhaps so. There were many rogues and gamblers too, and +people did get drunk and have their pockets picked. But so they do now, +though not so publicly, because we are under Islam, and the shariat is +strictly enforced." + +This very graphic piece of evidence gives a clearer picture of the two +systems of government, than perhaps paragraphs of explanatory writing; +and, to return to the immediate subject before us, it shows that Yarkand +has deteriorated in wealth and population since the Chinese were +expelled from it fifteen years ago. + +Khoten is situated 150 miles south-east of Yarkand, and about ninety +miles due east of Sanju. It lies on the northern base of the Kuen Lun +Mountains, and is the most southern city of any importance in Kashgaria. +Under the Chinese, it was one of the most flourishing centres of +industry, and as the _entrepot_ of all trade with Tibet it held a +bustling active community. The Chinese called it Houtan, and even now it +is locally called Ilchi. In addition to the wool and gold imported from +Tibet, it possessed gold mines of its own in the Kuen Lun range, and was +widely celebrated for its musk, silk, and jade. It likewise has suffered +from the departure of the Chinese; and the energy and wealth of that +extraordinary people have found, in the case of this city also, a very +inadequate substitute in the strict military order and security +introduced by Yakoob Beg. + +Ush Turfan, New Turfan, is a small town on the road from Kashgar to +Aksu, and is not to be confounded with the better known Turfan which is +situated in the far east on the highway to Kansuh. This latter town is +called Kuhna Turfan, or Old Turfan, to distinguish it from the other. +Ush Turfan, without ever having been a place of the first importance, +derived very considerable advantage from its position on the road +followed by the Chinese caravans, and Yakoob Beg converted it into a +strong military position by constructing several forts there. + +Aksu, one of the old capitals of Kashgar, may fairly be called the third +city of the state, although it has, perhaps, more than any other +declined since the expulsion of the Khitay. Before that event took place +there was a road across the mountains to Ili, by the Muzart glacier, and +relays of men were kept continually employed in maintaining this +delicately constructed road in a state fit for passage both on foot and +mounted. But all this has been discontinued for many years now, and not +only is the road quite impassable, but it would require much labour and +more outlay to restore it to its former utility. In the neighbourhood of +this town there are rich mines of lead, copper, and sulphur. These +have, practically speaking, been untouched in recent years. Coal is also +the ordinary fuel among the inhabitants; and both in intelligence as +well as in worldly prosperity, the good people of Aksu used to be +entitled to a foremost position among the Kashgari. As a consequence of +the blocking up of the Muzart Pass, the old trade with Kuldja has +completely disappeared, and all communications with this Russian +province are now carried on by the Narym Pass to Vernoe. This change +benefits the city of Kashgar, but is a decided loss to Aksu. Aksu may +still justly rank as an important place, and under very probable +contingencies may regain all the ground it has lost. In conclusion, we +may say that Yakoob Beg has converted its old walls and castles into +fortifications, which are said to be capable of resisting the fire of +modern artillery. + +We have enumerated six cities--Kashgar, Yangy Hissar, Yarkand, Khoten, +Ush Turfan, and Aksu--and these constitute the territory of Kashgar +proper. At one time, indeed, it was called Alty Shahr, or six cities, +from this fact. In addition to these may be mentioned, in modern +Kashgaria, Sirikul, or Tashkurgan, in the extreme south-west, which is +principally of importance as the chief post on the frontier of +Afghanistan. Near Sirikul are Badakshan and Wakhan, and it has been +asserted that Shere Ali, of Afghanistan, viewed with a suspicious eye +the presence of Kashgar in this quarter. It is quite certain that he +would not have tolerated that further advance along the Pamir, which +Yakoob Beg seemed on several occasions inclined to make. Sirikul +commands the northern entrance of the Baroghil Pass, and has +consequently been often mentioned in recent accounts of this road to +India. + +Maralbashi, or Bartchuk, a military post of some strength, is +strategically important, as being placed at the junction of the roads +from Kashgar and Yarkand, which lead by the bed of the Yarkand river to +Kucha. But it possesses greater interest for us, as being the chief +town of the district inhabited by the extraordinary tribe of the Dolans. +These people are in the most backward state of intelligence that it is +possible to imagine human beings to be capable of. In physical strength +and stature they are, perhaps, the most miserable objects on the face of +the earth, but their social position is still more deplorable. Some of +their customs are of the most disgusting character, and their dwellings, +such as they are, are of the rudest kind and subterranean. Travellers +who have seen them in the larger cities, say that all the rumours that +have been circulated about them do not exaggerate the true facts of the +case; and the most pitiable part of the matter is, that they have become +so resigned to their degraded position, that they are averse to any +measure calculated to improve their existence. They have been compared +to the Bhots of Tibet, but these latter are quite superior beings in +comparison with them. They are treated with contempt and derision by all +the neighbouring peoples. + +Kucha is, or rather was, another very flourishing city which has never +recovered the loss of Chinese wealth, and the subsequent disturbances +during the Tungan wars. At one time Kucha had at the least 50,000 +people, and it was not less famed than Aksu for the resources and +ingenuity of its people. But now it is almost a deserted city. The +greater part of the old town is a mass of ruins, and during the nine +years that have elapsed since the Tungani were crushed by the Athalik +Ghazi, scarcely anything has been done to repair the damage caused in +those very destructive wars. + +Korla, Kouralia, or Kouroungli, as it has been named, and Karashar, two +towns which lie to the east of Kucha, have likewise never revived from +the period of anarchy and bloodshed, through which the whole of this +district has passed; but even the state of these places contrasts +favourably with the far worse ruin wrought at Turfan. Turfan, perhaps +more than any other, profited by the trade with China, for, although it +may not itself have been as rich as either Aksu or Kucha, it derived a +certain source of income as the rendezvous of all the caravans +proceeding either east or west, or north to Urumtsi and Chuguchak. Very +often a delay of several weeks took place, before merchants had arranged +all the details for crossing the Tian Shan to Guchen, or for proceeding +on to Hamil through the desert, and Turfan flourished greatly thereby. +Now its streets are desolate, the whole country round it is represented +to be a desert, and all its former activity and brightness have +completely disappeared. Yakoob Beg had extended his rule a short +distance east of Turfan, to a place called Chightam, but Turfan may be +styled his most eastern possession. + +We have now given a somewhat detailed description of the chief cities of +Kashgaria, and in doing so we have distinctly intended thereby to convey +the impression to the reader that it is only these and their suburbs +that were at all productive under the late _regime_. To those who have +been to Kashgar, nothing has remained more vividly impressed on their +mind, than the exceedingly prosperous appearance of the farms in the +belt of country from Yarkand to Kashgar; but at the same time this +wealth of foliage and of blossom has only made the barrenness of the +intervening and surrounding country more palpable. The farms are +certainly not small in extent, but rather isolated from each other, and +surrounded by orchards of plums, apples, and other fruit trees, in which +they are completely embowered. A Kashgarian village is not a main +street with a line of cottages and a few large farms; but it is a +conglomeration of farmsteads covering a very extensive area of country, +and presenting to the eye of a stranger rather a thinly peopled district +than a community of villagers. Again, although the soil is naturally +fertile, the system of agriculture is of an exhaustive character, and it +seems probable that only a small portion of the land on each farm is at +all productive. But these settlements, which present an exterior of +rural happiness and simplicity, are but oases in an enormous extent +of barren country. If each proprietor seems to possess more land than +he can require, and if the fertile soil produces bountifully that +which is unskilfully sown therein, the total amount of land under +cultivation is still very limited indeed. Worse still, the soil is +gradually exhausted, and as the system of sowing but one kind of grain +seems to have taken deep root among the people, it is to be feared that +it may be perpetuated without hope of recovery. There is a constant +difficulty to be overcome, too, on account of the meagre supply of +water. The general aspect of the region is barren, a bleak expanse +stretches in all directions, and in the distance on three sides the +outlines of lofty ranges complete the panorama. The scarcely marked +bridle track that supplies the place of a highway in every direction +except where the Chinese have left permanent tokens of their presence, +offers little inducement to travellers to come thither; nor must these +when they do come expect anything but the most imperfect modes of +communication and of supply that a backward Asiatic district can +furnish. If we wish to imagine the scene along the road from Sanju to +Yarkand, we have only to visit some of the wilder of the Sussex Wealds +to have it before us in miniature. The spare dried-up herbage may be +still more spare, and the limestone may be more protruding on the +Central Asian plain; and the wind will certainly remind you that it +comes either from the desert or from the mountain regions; but you have +the same undulating, dreary expanse that you have above Crowborough. The +miserable sheep watched by some nomad Kirghiz will alone forcibly remind +you that you are far away from the heights of the South Downs. In the +far distance you will see the cloud-crested pinnacles of the Sanju Devan +or of the Guoharbrum, and then the traveller cannot but remember that he +is in one of the most inaccessible regions in the world. But if these +southern roads are scarcely worthy of the name, the great high road from +Kashgar to Aksu, Kucha, Korla, Karashar, and Turfan is a masterpiece of +engineering construction. It need not fear to brave comparison with +those of imperial Rome herself, and remains an enduring monument to +Chinese perseverance, skill, and capacity for government. In China +itself there are many great and important highways, but there the task +was facilitated by the possession of great and navigable rivers. In +Eastern Turkestan no such assistance was to be found, and consequently +this road, along which was conducted all the traffic that passed from +China to Jungaria, Kashgar, Khokand, and Bokhara, had to be maintained +in the highest state of efficiency. To do this we cannot doubt was a +most expensive undertaking, and, not mentioning such an exceptional work +as the Muzart Pass, one that required a very perfect organization to +accomplish with the success that for more than a century marked it. + +The great drawback in the geographical position of Kashgar, is the want +of a cheap and convenient outlet by water. The country itself suffers in +a less degree from the same cause, but with a more perfect system of +irrigation, the rivers, such as the Artosh, &c., which in spring carry +down the mountain snows, might be made to give a more extended supply +throughout western Kashgar at all events. The climate is equable, and +the people suffer from no very prevalent disease, except in the more +mountainous parts, and in Yarkand, where goitre is of frequent +occurrence. The people themselves seem to be frugal and honest, but +indeed there are so many races to be met with in this "middle land," +that no general description can be given of them all. The Andijanis, or +Khokandian merchants, are the most prosperous class in the community, +and they appear to be, from all accounts, possessed of more than an +average amount of business capacity in the arts of buying and selling. +The Tarantchis are the descendants of Kashgarian labourers imported by +the Chinese into Kuldja in 1762, and there is still both in the army and +in the state a large number of Khitay remaining, who were permitted to +pursue in secret the observances of their religion. The other races are +ill disposed towards them, and attribute all the vices they can think of +to their doors. But these Khitay managed to efface themselves in the +country, and although they formed a very important minority among the +males, they never appear to have been regarded in the light of a +possible danger when their brethren from China should draw near. In +addition to the native Kashgari, and these two important elements just +mentioned, there are numerous immigrants from the border states, +particularly from Khokand, to the people of whom Yakoob Beg naturally +manifested especial favour. We have now given at some length a +description of the geographical features of Kashgar, and are about to +follow it up with an ethnological description as well as a historical +statement of the past features of the same region. It is hoped that +these preliminary chapters will clear the way from some obscurity for a +correct appreciation of the career of the late Athalik Ghazi. + +Kashgaria may be said to be a portion of Asia which possesses some great +advantages of position and very considerable resources, but by a +singularly hard fortune, except for the brief period of Chinese rule in +modern times, it has been so distracted by intestine disturbances that +it has retrograded further and further with each year. It is quite +possible that its natural wealth has been too hastily taken for granted, +and that it does not possess the necessary means of restoring itself in +some degree to its former position. This is quite possible, but the best +authorities at our disposal seem to point to a more promising +conclusion, and to justify us in assuming that the position, natural +resources, and general condition of Kashgar will enable a strong and +settled rule to raise it into a really important and flourishing +confederacy. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +ETHNOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF KASHGAR. + + +In the extensive region stretching from the Caspian and Black Seas to +the Kizil Yart and Pamir plateaus, and from the Persian Gulf to Siberia, +the two great families, the Aryan and the Turanian, have in past +centuries striven for supremacy. The latter, embracing in its bosom in +this part of the world the more turbulent and warlike tribes, succeeded +in subjecting those who claimed the same parent stock as European +nations. The Tajik or Persian is the chief representative in this region +of the Aryan family, and he has now for many centuries been the subject +of the Turk rulers of the various divisions of Western Turkestan. These +latter are the personifiers of Turanian traditions. The Tajik appears to +have been subdued, not so much by the superiority of his conqueror in +the art of war, as by his own inclination to lead a peaceful and +harmless life. The pure Tajik, hardly to be met with now anywhere in +Asia, except in the mountainous districts of the Hindoo Koosh, is +represented to us to have been of an imposing presence, with a long +flowing beard, aquiline nose, and large eyes. He is generally tall and +graceful; yet in Khokand and Bokhara the Tajik is at present viewed much +as the Saxons were by the Normans. In those states, too, a man is spoken +of by his race. He is an Usbeg, a Kipchak, a Kirghiz, or a Tajik, as the +case may be, and by this means the rivalry of past ages is to some +extent preserved down to the present time. It is the dissension spread, +or rather the destruction of any sympathy between the various races +caused, by these outward tokens of diversity in origin, that has made +Western Turkestan the familiar home of intestine disturbance, which has +in its turn led up to the easy dismemberment of the various Khanates by +Russian intrigue and by Russian force. In Eastern Turkestan the rivalry +of races has become less bitter, and in nothing is this better +manifested than in the fact that there a man is described by his native +town. He may be a Tajik, or an Usbeg, or a Kirghiz, or a Kipchak, too, +but he is only known as a Yarkandi, or a Kashgari. And while we are at +once struck by this broad and salient difference in popular custom, and +consequently in popular sentiment also, between the Western and Eastern +divisions of Turkestan, a slight inquiry is sufficient to show that the +antipathies of the various races towards each other have become much +more a thing of the past in Kashgaria than they have in the Khanates of +Khokand and its neighbours. At all events, the antipathies that still +prevail in that state are clearly traceable to other causes than +Aryan-Turanian hostility, and are undoubtedly produced either by +religious fanaticism, motives of personal ambition, or the hatred roused +by Chinese pretensions on the one hand, and Khokandian on the other, to +the supreme control of Kashgaria. Bearing these facts clearly in mind, +it is evident that ethnographical descriptions will not make the +political relations of the peoples of the state more easily +intelligible; yet, as matter of historical import, these cannot be +altogether passed over in silence. + +The inhabitants of the little known regions now variously known as +Jungaria and Eastern Turkestan were, until recent years, considered to +be of pure Tartar origin, and consequently members of the Turanian +family. There are some still who believe that this definition is the +most accurate. Others dispute it on various grounds, and with much +plausibility. There is no question that the original inhabitants, +historically speaking, were the Oigurs, or Uigurs, and these people +were certainly Tartars. But frequently the Tajik merchants who traded +with Kashgar in the earlier centuries of the Middle Ages, took up their +abode in the country, and by degrees a large colony of Tajik immigrants +was formed on the foundation of the original Oigur stock. These Tajiks +gradually became Tartarised, but they still retained the unmistakable +characteristics of the Aryan family. The two brothers Schlagintweit, and +Mr. Shaw following in their footsteps, were the first to maintain this +view, which is becoming generally accepted. We have, therefore, in +Kashgar the strange spectacle of a Tajik people becoming not only +unidentifiable from the Turanian stock with which it has been +intermingled; but we have also a race tolerance that is unknown in any +other portion of Asia. Undoubtedly the hostility of the settled and +peaceful Andijani immigrant and Kashgari resident to the irreclaimable +Kirghiz is deep-rooted, and, so long as the latter continues a source of +danger to all peaceful communities, abiding; but even this sentiment, +and the religious hatred that has at various epochs marked the political +intercourse of Buddhist and Mahomedan, are probably less durable, and +susceptible of greater improvement in the future, than the race +antipathies that seem perennially vital among the tribes of Western +Asia. The vast majority of the inhabitants of Alty Shahr are of Tajik +descent. In the course of centuries the purity of their lineage has been +leavened by much intermingling with Tartar blood, both at the time of +the Mongol subjection and of the Chinese. In addition to these two great +divisions, there are many Afghan and Badakshi settlers, who have flocked +to Kashgar whenever the progress of events seemed to justify the +expectation that military service in that state would prove a +remunerative engagement. Many of these remained, and they have also left +a clear impression on the features of the inhabitants. It is, however, +to pre-historic times, or certainly to a period lost in the mist of +history, that we must refer for that general exodus of the Aryan family +from the Hindoo Koosh and the plains of Western Asia into the more +secluded prairies of Kashgar, which took place when the Turanian nations +first spread like destroying locusts over the face of that continent. It +was at this period that Khoten, which in its name shows its Aryan +origin, was founded. + +The great nomadic tribe of the Kirghiz, or Kara Kirghiz, as the Russians +call them, to distinguish them from the Kirghiz of the various hordes +who, by the way, are not true Kirghiz at all, has at all times played a +fitful, yet important part in the histories of Khokand, Jungaria, and +Eastern Turkestan. Preserving their independence in the inaccessible +region lying west of Lake Issik Kul, and along the Kizil Yart plateau +and range, this tribe has always been a source of trouble to its +neighbours, whosoever they might be. On various occasions, too, they +have joined the career of conquest to their usual avocation of plunder, +and under the few great leaders that have arisen amongst them they have +appeared as conquerors, both of Eastern and Western Turkestan. But their +achievements have never been of a permanent nature. Like the irregular +undisciplined mass of horsemen which constitute their fighting force, +their chief strength lay in a sharp and decisive attack. They had not +the organization or the resources necessary for the accomplishment of +any conquest of a permanent kind. Their incursions, even when most +formidable and most sweeping, were essentially mere marauding +onslaughts. Their object was plunder, not empire; and having secured the +former, they recked little of the value of the latter. At one time they +were able to carry their raids in almost any direction with perfect +impunity; but as settled governments arose around their fastnesses, and +curtailed their field of operations, what had been a life of adventure +through simple love of excitement, became a struggle for sheer +existence. The region where they dwelt was far too barren to support +throughout the year even the limited numbers of the Kirghiz, and yearly +they had to issue forth against prepared and disciplined enemies in +search of the sustenance that, to preserve their existence, had to be +obtained. But for the intestine quarrels that were sapping the life +strength of the Asiatic states slowly away, there is no doubt that the +Kirghiz would have been gradually exterminated. Soon, however, they had +the skill to avail themselves of these disagreements to sell their +services as soldiers to the highest bidders; and although they were not +equal to the Kipchak tribes in valour, their alliance was considered of +importance, and on many a dubious occasion sufficed to turn the fortune +of the day. By such measures of policy their existence has been +preserved, and at the present time they perform much the same functions, +and are regarded in much the same manner by their neighbours, as in the +past. + +The Kipchaks, another great tribe, who however are scarcely represented +at all in Kashgaria, pride themselves on being the most select of all +the Usbegs, but their day of power has passed by, for the present at all +events. Thirty years ago they were at the height of their success, but +they incurred the jealousy of other Usbeg tribes and of the Kirghiz. +Owing to the abilities of their great chief, Mussulman Kuli, they +succeeded in erecting in Khokand a powerful state, which was able to +restrain the encroachments of Bokhara, at that time the great enemy of +the former Khanate. But the plots that broke out against them in 1853, +in conjunction with the advance of Russia on the Syr Darya, were crowned +with success, and with the execution of Mussulman Kuli the Kipchak power +was completely broken. Since that date, however, several of the more +distinguished leaders who have appeared on the scene, such as Alim Kuli +and Abdurrahman Aftobatcha, have been members of this clan. The eastern +portion of the dominion of Yakoob Beg is almost exclusively inhabited +by Calmucks, or tribes of Calmuck descent. The great majority of the +inhabitants of Manchuria and Jungaria are of Calmuck descent, and even +in Russia in Europe there are many settlements of this tribe along the +Volga and the Don. None of these, however, possess any political +importance except those who inhabit the country north of Gobi and +between Eastern Turkestan and China, and the chief of these are the +Khalkas. The Calmucks are attached by old associations to the Government +of Pekin; and, although they have sometimes revolted against, and often +caused trouble to, the Central Government, they have generally +acknowledged their culpability and submitted to the Chinese authorities. +In the revolt of the Tungani the Calmucks remained true to China, and +performed very opportune service on various occasions. The Chinese army +in Eastern Turkestan was mainly recruited from among these tribes, who +became distinguished from the Tungani by their religion and fidelity. + +The origin of the Tungani, or Dungans, as the Russians call them, is +much in dispute; and as they played so important a part in the loss of +Kashgar and Ili by China, as well as in the history of the rule of +Yakoob Beg, it may be as well to put the facts as they stand at some +length before the reader. There is no question, we believe, that the +Chinese in applying the term Tungani attach the meaning thereto of +Mahomedan. There is equal reason for supposing that the term Khitay, +literally meaning simply Chinese, has been applied to the Buddhists by +general usage. If we acknowledge the validity of these two +assumptions--and, so far as we have been able to ascertain, the best +authorities have adopted them--there would be little difficulty in +explaining who the Tungani were. Granting these, they would simply be +the Mahomedan subjects in the eastern portions of China. But others +believe that the Tungani are a distinct race, presenting peculiar +ethnological features. According to this version, the tribe of the +Tungani can be traced back as a distinct community to the fifth and +sixth centuries, when they were seated along the Tian Shan range, with +their capital at Karashar. The most recent investigations, under Colonel +Prjevalsky, are believed to show no signs of there having been any +important cities in this quarter. It may be convenient to mention here, +that at that time they were Buddhists; but when Islamism broke over Asia +in the eighth century, they were among the first to adopt the new +tenets. This defection from the religion of China brought them into +collision with the Emperors of Pekin, and many of these Tungani were +deported into Kansuh and Shensi, where we are to suppose they continued +a race apart, with their own religion and their own code of morality, +for more than ten centuries. Even granting the possibility of such a +consistency to a new religion, which history informs us was thrust upon +them at the point of the sword, it seems scarcely credible that we +should not hear more of this troublesome tribe in Chinese history. +Frequent allusions are made in imperial edicts and other official +proclamations to the Tungani, but always in reference to their religion, +and not in any way as if they were any other but heretic Chinamen. +Besides, even in this way little is heard of the Tungani until the +sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when very sharp measures were taken +against them by the emperors, solely because religious propagandists +from their ranks were appearing as enemies of a Buddhist Government. The +theory that the Tungani were a people and not a sect is new, but it is +possible that it may be a true discovery. On the other hand, it is far +more probable that it is only an ingenious attempt at elucidating what +appears on the face of it to be a simple matter enough. The reader must +decide for himself between the two versions. If the Tungani are to be +considered a distinct race, then the majority of the inhabitants of +Eastern Turkestan are not Calmucks, but Tungani; if the view taken here +is adopted, then they are Calmucks who have at various times adopted +Mahomedanism. These are the chief tribes of this portion of Central +Asia; and in the following pages it may be as well to bear in mind that +Khitay is applied exclusively to the Buddhist or governing class, and +Tungani to the Mahomedan or subject race in Kansuh and its outlying +dependencies. As race antipathies have not entered during recent times +so much into the contests of the people of the regions immediately under +consideration as religions, the difference as to the true significance +of the term Tungani does not materially affect one's view of the general +question. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +HISTORY OF KASHGAR. + + +The great difficulty encountered in giving a description of the past +history of Kashgar is to evolve, out of the series of successive +conquests and subjections that have marked the existence of that state +for almost two thousand years, a narrative which shall, without +confusing the reader with a mere repetition of names that convey little +meaning, place the chief features of its history before us in a light +that may make its more recent condition intelligible to us. We may say +in commencement, that those who desire a historical account in all its +fulness of Kashgar must turn to that contributed by Dr. Bellew to the +Official Report of Sir Douglas Forsyth on his embassy to Yarkand. They +will there find ample details of the events that took place in this +region of Central Asia from the commencement of our era; but a mere +reiteration of the various calamities, with brief and intermittent +periods of prosperity, each wave of which bore so striking a similarity +to its predecessor, would not serve the purpose we have at present in +view--viz., of considering its own history, for the purpose of better +understanding its relations with its neighbours and with China, and how +the state consolidated by the Athalik Ghazi was constructed on ruins +handed down by an almost indistinguishable antiquity. + +For a considerable number of years anterior to the ninth century, the +Chinese Empire extended to the borders of Khokand and Cashmere. But the +dissensions that marked the latter years of the Tang dynasty were not +long in producing such weakness at the extremity of this vast empire +that the subject races and their proper ruling families were enabled to +obtain either their personal liberty or their lost positions once more, +unhappily without in any case achieving with the severance of their +connection with China any perceptible amelioration in their lot--indeed, +on almost every occasion only binding themselves with harder fetters, +and sinking into a deeper state of servitude. When the petty princelets +of Kashgar, Yarkand, Turfan, and the rest broke away from their +allegiance to Pekin, and when the imperial resources were unable to +coerce their rebellious subjects, the whole country passed under the +hands of their feudatories, who split up into innumerable factions, +waged continuous war, and sacrificed the happiness and welfare of the +subject people to a desire to promote their own individual interests. As +the barons and counts of Italy in the Middle Ages devastated some of the +fairest provinces of Europe, so these Oigur princes fought for their own +hand in the valleys of the Artosh and the Ili. It is very possible that +this state of things would have continued until China became +sufficiently strong and settled to reassert once more her dormant rights +over her lost provinces, but that a new force appeared on the western +frontiers of Kashgar. As early as 676 the Arabs, under Abdulla Zizad, +had crossed over from Persia, and were carrying destruction and terror +in their course along the banks of the Oxus. At that moment a beautiful +and gifted queen, named Khaton, ruled for her son in Bokhara. She had +not long been left a widow when her country was threatened by this +unexpected and terrible invasion. Although assistance came to the queen +from all the neighbouring States, including Kashgar, she was defeated +twice in the open field, and compelled to seek safety within the walls +of her capital. But the Arab leader was unable to take the city by +storm, and slowly retired, with a large number of captives and an +immense quantity of booty, back to Persia. Some years later the Arabs +again returned, but withdrew on the payment of a heavy indemnity. +Another chief, Kutaiba, was still more successful, for on one occasion +he carried fire and sword through Kashgar to beyond Kucha. This was the +first occasion on which the doctrines of Mahomed had been carried into +the realms of China, and with so cogent an argument as the sword it is +not wonderful that some hold was secured on the country. Subsequent +expeditions in the next few centuries strengthened this beginning, and +it was not long before the ruling classes of Kashgar became infected +with the new doctrine. + +In the tenth century, Satuk Bughra Khan, the ruling prince of Kashgar, +who had been converted to Islam, forced his people to adopt that +religion, although it is tolerably clear that up to this time there had +been no acknowledgment of supremacy to the representative of Mahomed on +earth. A disunited state, which had on several occasions felt the heavy +hand of the authority of its generals, and at whose very gates its power +was consolidated, could not but be in some sort of dependence to the +stronger power, as there was no ally to be found sufficiently powerful +to protect it, now that the Chinese had retrogressed into Kansuh. +Towards the end of the tenth century the Mahomedans met with a series of +reverses from the Manchoo and Khoten troops, who still preserved their +relations, political and commercial, with China. It was in the +neighbourhood of Yangy Hissar that their general, Khalkhalu, inflicted +the most serious defeat on the Mahomedan rulers of Kashgar, but within +the next twenty years, assistance having come from Khokand, these +defeats were retrieved, and Khoten itself for the first time passed +under the rule of Islam. The family of Bughra Khan was now firmly +established as rulers of Eastern Turkestan, and their limits were almost +identical with those of the late Yakoob Beg. + +The Kara Khitay, who had migrated from the country bordering on the +Amoor and the north of China, after long wanderings, had settled in the +western parts of Jungaria, and, having founded the city of Ili, in +course of time formed, in union with some Turkish tribes, a powerful and +cohesive administration. Their chief was styled Gorkhan, Lord of Lords, +and their religion was Buddhism. It was of this tribe, according to +some, that the celebrated Prester John, or King John, was supposed to be +the chief in the Middle Ages. Some neighbours who had been harassed by +predatory tribes came to Gorkhan for assistance, which was willingly +conceded; but, having successfully repulsed the Kipchaks and other +tribes, this leader did not withdraw from the country he had occupied as +a friend and ally. Not only did he then annex Kashgar and Khoten, but he +crossed the Pamir into the province of Ferghana, and in a short period +brought Bokhara, Samarcand, and Tashkent under his dominion. This +extensive empire was of very brief duration however, and civil war was +waged for more than half a century after the first successes of Gorkhan, +in which Khiva, or Khwaresm, and the Kara Khitay fought for supremacy. A +chief of the Naiman tribe of Christians, Koshluk by name, then entered +the lists against the aged Gorkhan, who was, after some hard fighting, +defeated and captured. This was in the year 1214. Koshluk's triumph was +also, however, of very brief duration, for he now came into contact with +one of the most formidable antagonists that the soil of Asia has ever +produced, Genghis Khan. + +The Mongols or Mughols began to appear as a distinct tribe about the +same time that the Kara Khitay migrated to Jungaria, and as early as the +commencement of the twelfth century they had carried destruction into +the Chinese provinces of Shensi and Kansuh. When Genghis Khan appeared +upon the scene he found the tribe which he was destined to lead to such +great triumphs in a state of singular strength, and its neighbours +either at discord among themselves or only just recovering from a long +period of anarchy. The Chinese were particularly divided at that moment, +and Genghis Khan, who had family connections in that empire, soon found +it an easy task to lead successful inroads into the heart of his rich +but defenceless neighbour. Genghis Khan was born at Dylon Yulduc, in the +year 1154. His father, Mysoka Bahadur, was a great warrior, and waged +several successful wars with the Tartars. The earlier years of Genghis +Khan were occupied exclusively in overcoming the difficulties of his own +position. His tribe, divided into several distinct bodies, formed only +one confederacy when a foe had to be encountered in the field. It +required years to remove the dislike they experienced at submission to a +distinct authority; and it was only when the renown of his military +achievements threw a halo over his name that these tribes could be +induced to acknowledge a supremacy which they had become powerless to +resist. But during these years, when he led a life unknown and +insignificant as the chief of a small nomad clan, he was all the time +preparing for a wider career, and for a more extended authority. It was +while he was residing in the remote district round the salt springs of +Baljuna that he drew up the code on which his administrative system was +founded. It was based on the fundamental principle of obedience to the +head, on the maintenance of order and sobriety in the ranks of the +warriors, and on the equal participation in the spoils of battle by all; +but its regulations were so strict on the former points, and the gain of +the individual had to be so completely sacrificed for the advantage of +the many, that at first the establishment of this code of order had +rather the effect of driving his followers from him, than of attracting +to his standard zealots capable of the conquest of a world. It was not +until the year 1203, when he was nearly forty-nine years of age, that +Genghis Khan succeeded in bringing all the Mongol tribes under his +leadership. No sooner had he accomplished this much than he embarked on +military enterprises, which, in the course of a very few years, placed +the greater part of Asia at his disposal. Having subjugated various +Tartar and Tangut tribes, he included them in his military organization, +and by making them embrace his system of compulsory service in the army, +he found himself in the possession of an enormous following. Genghis +Khan therefore ruled at the time we have specified over Kashgar, +including Khoten, Jungaria, and the Tangut country; and there was no +force capable of opposing his except, in the east China, and in the west +the government of Khiva, at this period omnipotent in Western Turkestan. +The rumours which reached the Shah of Khwaresm of the formation of this +new confederacy in Mugholistan induced him to send an embassy to +discover the true facts of the case, and accordingly, while Genghis Khan +was prosecuting a war against the Chinese, there arrived in his camp the +emissaries of Western Asia. Haughty and imperious as this conqueror +undoubtedly was, he received the embassy affably, and with expressions +of the deepest friendship. He sent them back with rich presents and the +following characteristic message:--"I am King of the East. Thou art King +of the West. Let merchants come and go between us and exchange the +products of our countries." In furtherance of this wish he sent a +mission composed of merchants and officials to represent the advantages +that would be derived from mutual intercourse. But the Shah of Khiva, +either incredulous of the formidableness of the adversary with whom he +had to deal, or mistaking his own strength, did not reciprocate the +amicable expressions of Genghis Khan, nor, when the merchants who had +been despatched to his country were murdered, did he make any offer of +reparation. Such treatment would not be tolerated by any civilized ruler +of the nineteenth century, much less was it brooked by an irresponsible +conqueror, whose will was his sole law, in the thirteenth. As soon as +his campaign with China had closed with success, Genghis Khan made +every preparation for the punishment of this act of treachery. It was +then that Genghis Khan, with an armed horde of many hundred thousands, +burst upon the astonished peoples of Western Asia like a meteor from the +east. It was then that some of the fairest regions of the earth were +given over to a soldiery to devastate, a soldiery who had raised the +work of destruction to the level of one of the fine arts; and whose +handiwork in Bokhara, Balkh, Samarcand, Khiva and the lost cities of the +desert, is to be seen clearly imprinted in the ruins which mark the site +of ancient capitals, even at the present moment, 700 years after the +Tartar conqueror swept all resistance from his path. Afghanistan, and +the mountain ranges which are now considered to be impassable by +Russians, did not retard the progress of this "Scourge of God." Cabul, +Candahar, Ghizni fell to the warriors of far distant Mongolia, as they +fell not forty years ago to British valour, and as they must again fall +when the onset shall be made with equal intrepidity and with equal +discipline. And not content with having defaced the map of Asia, with +having converted rich and populous cities into masses of ruins, and with +having depopulated regions once prolific in all that makes life +enjoyable, Genghis Khan carried the terror of his name into the most +remote recesses of the Hindoo Koosh. He wintered in the district of Swat +on our north-west frontier, a territory which is quite unknown to us +except by hearsay, and which has only been occupied by the Mongol and +Macedonian conquerors. From his headquarters on the banks of the +Panjkora he sent messengers to Delhi; and it is uncertain whether he did +not meditate the addition of an Indian triumph to those already +obtained. + +A rebellion in the far eastern portion of his dominions distracted his +attention from the Indus, and he was compelled to hasten with all speed +to quell in person the rising that was jeopardising his position in the +seat of his power. He hastily broke up from his quarters in Swat, and, +by the valley of the Kunar and Chitral, he entered Kashgar, through the +Baroghil Pass. Although he suffered much loss from a journey across +mountain roads, which were scarcely practicable in the early spring, he +succeeded in reaching Yarkand, with his main body, and hastening across +Turkestan arrived at Karakoram, his capital, in time to quell the +disturbance. After this his life was spent in conquering China, a feat +which he never accomplished. But in several campaigns, extending over a +period of about twenty years, he worsted the Imperial troops so +continually, that before his death, in 1227, he had occupied all the +northern provinces of that empire, with Pekin, and left to his son and +successor, Ogdai Khan, the task of completing the work which he had +commenced. On the death of Genghis Khan, his vast possessions were +divided amongst his children, and Kashgar, including Jungaria, Khwaresm, +and Afghanistan, fell to the lot of Chaghtai Khan. This ruler was able +to hold during his life the extensive territory he had succeeded to; but +on his death dissensions broke out in all quarters of the country, and +produced a fresh distribution of the various provinces. It may be +mentioned that, although Chaghtai was a fanatical Buddhist and a +confirmed debauchee, he was a prudent and sagacious ruler, and no +unworthy successor to his distinguished father. The dissensions that +broke out on his decease continued, with more or less violence, for a +period of almost 100 years after that event took place, and they finally +only received a momentary solution in the formation of a new kingdom of +Mugholistan, or Jattah Ulus, as it was more specifically called, under +one of Chaghtai's descendants. + +As briefly and as clearly as possible, we will endeavour to lay before +the reader the chief events of this troubled epoch, when the numerous +progeny of Genghis Khan warred throughout the whole extent of Central +Asia, and a term was only at last placed to their restlessness by their +disappearance. In the first place, it may be as well to mention, that +the religions of Christ, Buddha, and Mahomed, were equally tolerated in +Eastern Turkestan during the greater part of this period. The Arab +invasion and the advance of Islam, had been hurled back beyond Bokhara +"the Holy," by the victorious arms of the great Buddhist conqueror, +Genghis Khan; and for a long period after the Mongol conquests, little +was heard of attempts at conversion to the tenets of the "true Prophet." +But it must not be supposed that, although Genghis Khan, in the sack of +Bokhara, had almost exterminated the race of Mahomedan priests, he was +disposed to stamp out the new heresy from his realms. Having crushed its +power in the field, he was quite content to let it live on or die out, +so long as his imperial or personal interests were not affected. So we +have the strange picture before us, of the three great doctrines of the +earth flourishing side by side in Eastern Turkestan in the fourteenth +century. The Nestorian Christians of Kashgar, who in the time of Marco +Polo were rich and flourishing, were obliged later on to succumb to the +violent measures of the other members of the community, and have +entirely disappeared for many centuries. + +Shortly after the death of Chaghtai Khan, Kaidu, a great-grandson of +Genghis, obtained the throne of Kashgar and Yarkand; and a few years +later on, by a skilful piece of diplomacy, backed up by force, added +thereto the greater part of Khokand and Bokhara. His triumph was, +however, of brief duration, and he was displaced by other competitors. +Dava Khan, the son of Burac, the great-grandson of Chaghtai, had been +appointed governor of Khoten, but his ambition was not satisfied with +less than the throne of Western Turkestan also. He eventually obtained +his desire; but in a rash moment he threw himself in the path of the +Chinese Emperor, Timour Khan, who was returning from a raid carried +almost to the gates of Lahore. He was defeated somewhere in the +neighbourhood of Maralbashi, and was compelled to acknowledge the +supremacy of China. He is of some note to us, as having been the father +of Azmill Khoja, who was selected as ruler by the people themselves, +about the year 1310, and from whom descend that line of Khoja kings of +Kashgar, who have clung to their hereditary claims for a longer time +than any other royal Central Asian house. The last of the Chaghtai Khans +who held the sceptre with any effective purpose, was Kazan Ameer. On his +death another period of trouble broke out, and military governors and +rival princelets of dubious titles advanced their pretensions to the +vacant seat. Up to this all the rulers had, however, been Buddhists. +Toghluc Timour, one of the few remaining representatives of the Genghis +families, had only been saved by the pity of a leading man in Kashgar, +from one of the most extensive massacres of his kinsmen, and for years +he was obliged to lead an uncertain existence in the mountains or +deserts bordering on the state. His associations were all Buddhist; but +one day he was so struck by the definition of the "true faith" given by +the descendant of a Mahomedan priest, spared by Genghis Khan at the +destruction of Bokhara, that he made a vow to become a Mussulman when he +had regained his rights. Not long after this the turn of events in +Kashgar made people seek for some person with recognized claims to be +their ruler, and none in this respect surpassed Toghluc Timour. He, on +succeeding to the throne, openly owned his conversion to Islam, and in a +few years he was gradually imitated by all the leading chiefs of +Turkestan. From this time downwards to the present day, the religion of +the majority in this state has been Mahomedanism, except perhaps during +the Chinese rule, when the number of Chinese merchants, officials, and +soldiers, put the minority of the followers of Buddha on a par with +those of the rival religion. Toghluc died in 1362. + +It was about this time that the second great conqueror of Asia appeared +upon the scene. Timour was born in 1333 in the Shahrisebz suburb of +Kish. He was the son of Turghay, governor of that district and chief of +the Birlas tribe, and on the death of his father he himself became +governor of Kish also. During his earlier years he was hospitably +received at the Court of Kazan Ameer, and that ruler, in addition to +giving him several high and distinguished appointments, married him to +his beautiful granddaughter Olja Turkan Khaton. Timour did not continue +long in favour at Court. His restless spirit impelled him to fields of +greater activity than any the Ameer could, or indeed felt disposed to, +place at his disposal. He openly mutinied against the central authority +in his government of Kish, and on being overthrown by the troops of the +state, he sought safety with his wife among the Turcomans of the Khivan +desert. Among these uncertain nomads he felt scarcely secure, and +collecting round him a small band of desperadoes, he entered upon a more +ambitious enterprise by undertaking a marauding expedition into the +Persian province of Seistan. This was attended with considerable +success, but he himself was wounded in the foot by an arrow. From the +effects of this wound he never completely recovered, and was known +henceforth as Timour Lang, Timour the Lame, whence the well-known name +of Tamerlane. The _eclat_ obtained by this marauding expedition stood +him in good stead, for shortly afterwards he was able to raise a +sufficient force to invade Tashkent. He occupied the whole of what is +now Russian Khokand including Ferghana, and he placed a fresh occupant +on the throne, Kabil Shah, in 1363. In the following years he contended +for supremacy with another chief named Husen, and in 1369 had so far +been victorious that he threw off the mask, and declared himself king. +He made Samarcand his capital, and converted that once populous city +into the wonder and admiration of Western Asia. Having settled his +internal affairs, he commenced operations against the states lying +beyond his border. The mountaineers of Badakshan were the first to incur +his wrath, and after several stubborn battles they were obliged to +acknowledge his supremacy. He then turned his attention to his northern +frontiers, beyond which the Jattah princes reigned in Jungaria. He +overcame their prince, Kamaruddin, in several encounters, but not with +complete success until his final campaign against him in 1390. As he +advanced they retired to the fastnesses east of Lake Issik Kul, and only +reissued from their hiding-places when the invader had withdrawn. + +To return to Kashgar, on the death of Toghluc, his son Khize Khoja was +displaced and did not regain possession of his kingdom till 1383, when +he was thirty years of age. He was a stanch Mussulman, and was on terms +of as much amity and as close alliance with Timour as it was possible +for any neighbour, wishing to preserve his independence, to be. Allied +as he was with, yet not participating in the wars of Timour, against the +Jattahs, he suffered in common with those people from the expedition of +1389-90, when both sides of the Tian Shan were ravaged by the armies of +that ruler. Although for the next fifteen years they maintained friendly +relations, it can easily be imagined that Khize Khoja was not very +comfortable with so formidable a suzerain just over his frontiers. The +irksomeness of the position is well illustrated by the orders +transmitted to Khize Khoja by Timour, to have corn planted and cattle +collected at certain places for the immense army which he was levying +for the invasion of China. It was while engaged in fulfilling these +commands, that news reached the ruler of Kashgar that this "Scourge of +God" had died suddenly on the 5th of February, 1405. Khize Khoja himself +survived but a short time afterwards. For the second time within the +short space of 150 years had the possessions of a great conqueror to +undergo the process of redistribution. In Timour's case it was simpler +than it had been in that of Genghis Khan, for the former ruler left no +worthy representative of his cause as the Mongol conqueror had in Ogdai +and Chaghtai. The branches of the great family of Genghis struck root so +deeply, that down to modern times he has had descendants who perpetuate +his name, but Timour left none such. With the death of his favourite son +Jehangir, his hopes of having a worthy successor expired. + +Kashgar was in particular the scene of confusion and trouble, and it was +not until about 1445 that any settled government was attained, when +Seyyid Ali, grandson of the aged and patriotic minister Khudadar, +restored some order and cohesion to the distracted country for a short +period. He died in 1457. During these years Yunus, king of Jungaria, +played a very prominent part in all the disturbances that were occurring +on his borders. He is represented to have been a very enlightened +prince, and emissaries from foreign nations returned from his court +relating with surprise how they had found a courteous and refined man +where they expected to have seen a coarse and savage Mongol. While Yunus +ruled in Jungaria another striking individual was predominant in +Kashgar. Ababakar, son of Saniz, who was the son of Seyyid Ali, ruler of +Kashgar, was one of the few sovereigns of that state whose acts entitle +them to consideration. During a long and troubled tenure of power he had +the good fortune to overcome many difficulties, and although his career +was to become clouded before his death, the brilliant years that +preceded the catastrophe justify us in considering his career for a +little while. He was a great athlete, hunter and soldier, and was so +favoured by his mother on that account that he distanced his brethren in +the race for supremacy. As governor of Khoten he soon absorbed Yarkand, +and long and furious were the wars he waged with Hydar, the ruler of +Kashgar, who was assisted by Yunus of Jungaria. Nor, although successful +on several occasions in the field against the allied forces, could +Ababakar hope to overcome the huge armies at the disposal of Yunus; and +it was not until Hydar himself foolishly broke off from Yunus, that +Ababakar succeeded in asserting his claim to all Eastern Turkestan. War +then broke out between Hydar and Yunus, and the latter with the +assistance of large reinforcements from Jungaria overthrew and captured +his former ally. But these dissensions favoured the cause of Ababakar, +and on the death of Yunus in 1486, his possession of Kashgar became +undisputed. The first serious danger with which he was menaced after his +complete possession of Kashgar, was in 1499, when Ahmad, the son of +Yunus, or Alaja the "slayer," as he was generally called, invaded his +territory at the head of the Jattah Mongols. The campaign was in the +commencement indecisive, but Ababakar before long triumphed over his +northern invader. + +During the next fifteen years Ababakar ruled in peace and prosperity in +Kashgar, accumulating great riches and presenting an object of +attraction to his covetous neighbours. During these years the country, +although ruled in an arbitrary way, flourished, and, as one of the +native chronicles put it, "A traveller could go from Andijan to Hamil on +the borders of China without fear of molestation, and without having to +make an extra long march in order to find a place wherein to rest and +obtain refreshment." But in 1513 a storm broke upon his country that +resulted in his complete overthrow. Said, son of Ahmad and brother of +Mansur, who was ruling in Jungaria, undertook the invasion of Kashgar in +that year, and it was not long before he occupied Kashgar, which, +however, Ababakar left but a heap of ruins. His advance on Yangy Hissar +was opposed, but, having defeated the army of Kashgar before that city, +he occupied it without any further opposition, and thus secured what +has been called the key of Yarkand as well as of Kashgar. For some +months Ababakar remained shut up in Yarkand, but on the approach of +Said's army he abandoned that position and fled to Khoten. But not long +afterwards he retired still further into the mountainous country +south-east of Kashgar, and halted some time at Karanghotagh. But being +first plundered and then deserted by his attendants, he withdrew into +the valleys and deserts of the Tibetan table-land. For many months he +wandered, half-starved and solitary, in this deserted region, and at +last it was reported that he had been found murdered by some of the +mountaineers. Such was the end of the once magnificent Ababakar, a +prince who in his fortunes reminds us very much of the great Darius. +That he was avaricious is clear to those who read of the great treasures +he had stored away; that he was bloodthirsty and cruel is impossible of +denial; but that he possessed in his earlier years many of the virtues, +with some of the vices, of a great ruler is equally incontestable. His +son Jehangir, whom he had left in command at Yarkand, on the approach of +the army of Said fled to Sanju, and was in a few months captured and +executed. About this epoch the third great Asiatic conqueror was +appearing on the scene. Babur was born in 1481, and was chosen to +succeed his father Uman Sheikh on the throne of Khokand, by the nobles +of that state, when he was only twelve years of age. This conqueror of +India influenced but indirectly the fortunes or Kashgar. His career was +in another sphere, and it is not necessary here to enter into any +description of his life, such as has been given of his predecessors +Genghis Khan and Timour. + +Said, having overcome Ababakar, employed himself in extending his rule +over the neighbouring states. He was seized with the desire of occupying +that mountainous region, which is divided into almost as many petty +states as it contains mountain chains, lying between our Indian +frontier and the Pamir and Badakshan. But although he employed all his +resources in endeavouring to subject the Kafirs of Bolor, or Kafiristan +as it is now called, he was unable to make any permanent additions in +this direction. In other years he carried fire and sword into Tibet and +Cashmere; and it was when returning from one of these expeditions, in +the year 1532, that he expired from the effects of the rarefied +atmosphere, near the Karakoram pass. His death was the signal for the +outbreak of fresh disturbances. His legitimate sons were ousted by +Rashid, the son of Said by a slave, who had already distinguished +himself as a general in the wars against Kafiristan and Tibet, and on +the death of Rashid after a brief reign, the confusion became, if +possible, worse confounded. It would be tedious in the extreme to follow +the variations that now took place. Benedict Goes, a Portuguese +missionary and traveller, found a ruler named Mahomed Khan on the throne +in 1603, by whom he was hospitably received; but as he had placed the +sister of the Khan, when returning from a pilgrimage to Mecca, under an +obligation to him, this is scarcely a fair criterion either of the +personal merits of this ruler, or of the state of civilization to which +the country had attained. + +It was now that the Khoja family appeared prominently upon the scene. +Two factions were playing the parts of Montagu and Capulet in Eastern +Turkestan in the earlier years of the seventeenth century. They were +known as the Aktaghluc and Karataghluc, and in the course of their +strife the leader of the former called in to his aid the Khoja Kalar of +Khodjent, a descendant of Azmill before mentioned. It was in the year +1618 that this Khoja first came to Kashgar, and his grandson, +Hadayatulla, was the chief means of attracting the affections of the +people to this family. That veneration has not disappeared to-day, and +the Hazrat Afak, as he is generally spoken of, is scarcely inferior in +the eyes of the people to Mahomed himself. The great miracles he is +reported to have wrought, and the peculiar sanctity which attached to +him during his life, gave him complete ascendancy throughout the +country, and before his death he was entrusted with the supreme +authority. His son, Yahya or Khan Khoja, succeeded him during his +lifetime, but was murdered in a riot a few months after the death of +Hadayatulla. Then recommenced with fresh vigour the old series of +disturbances. Aspirant after aspirant appeared in the political arena, +but, as each had little claim to lead on account of original merit, a +successful rival always was forthcoming, and so this wearying cycle +continued until 1720. + +The course of the history of Kashgar has now been brought down to the +commencement of the eighteenth century, during which a fresh change +occurred in the history of the country by the Chinese conquest. It may +be well, therefore, before narrating that event and the causes which +immediately produced it, to consider the chief lessons taught us by the +history of Eastern Turkestan, as revealed in the preceding pages. The +most cursory reader must have been struck by the fact, that only twice +in the course of eight centuries did the country secure a firm and +settled government, and they were when two conquerors, Genghis Khan and +Tamerlane, reduced every semblance of authority to one bare level of +subjection. At fitful moments there arose, indeed, some leader, Yunus, +Ababakar, or the first Khojas, capable of preserving for a few years his +frontiers against the inroads of hostile neighbours, and of maintaining +an outward show of prosperity and tranquillity to foreign travellers; +but even such gleams of sunshine as these were transitory on the dark +horizon of the condition of mankind in Central Asia. With the fall of +each pretender, too, hopes of an improvement became fainter in the +breasts of the people; and when the successors of the Khoja saint showed +themselves not less amenable to the errors and frailties of their +predecessors than any past ruler had been, it was to some extraneous +circumstance, we may feel sure, that the people looked for aid. There is +an old saying in this part of the world, that when "the people's tithe +of bricks is full, then comes a Moses in the land;" and it cannot be +doubted that in the year 1720 the people of Kashgar had suffered much +and for so long, that relief, so that it came effectually from some +quarter or another, could not be otherwise than welcome. But the Moses +who had been, for centuries almost, expected, had as yet not proved +forthcoming, and as "hope deferred maketh the heart sick," so had the +Kashgari lost the courage even to look forward to a period when their +life of misery, under oppressive tyrants and exorbitant taxation, +aggravated by every form of peculation in its levy, might be changed for +a more favourable state of being. There can be no doubt that if the +chaos which reigned throughout Jungaria and Kashgar had continued much +longer those vast regions would have been completely exhausted. As it +was the population decreased in alarming proportions, and the wealth and +general resources of the country disappeared with no apparent means of +supplying the gap. What is, perhaps, most surprising of all is that all +these later rulers seem to have lived in a sort of fools' paradise with +regard to the resources of their state. The thought never seems to have +occurred to them that there must be an end some day or other to a realm +distracted by continual wars and sedition, and that subjects who have +been tyrannised over for centuries will at last rise up in arms and +teach their tyrants, in the words of the poet, "how much the wretched +dare." These Khans or Ameers of Central Asia are not worthy of one +moment's consideration for their own sake; but, as some account of them +is a proper preparation for the modern history of Kashgar, they have +been described in this chapter. From the disappearance of Chinese +authority in Central and Western Asia in the eighth and ninth +centuries, down to the commencement of the eighteenth century, the +history of Kashgar, in common with that of its neighbours, was a series +of misfortunes. There is nothing to attract our sympathies in any of the +rulers, with the exception perhaps of Yunus; and all our commiseration +is monopolised for the unhappy races who peopled that region. We +therefore have arrived at this crisis in a fit state to appreciate the +feelings of the Kashgari at the changes that occurred in the eighteenth +century; and before we consider, in a fresh chapter, those alterations +we may close this without regret at the disappearance of a long line of +Central Asian Khans, who possessed scarcely one redeeming quality among +many vices. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE CONQUEST OF KASHGAR BY CHINA. + + +Before continuing the narrative of the events that took place in Kashgar +after the year 1720, until it fell into the hands of the Chinese in +1760, it may be as well to consider briefly the history of China, in +order that it may be intelligible to us how that power was induced to +undertake such far distant enterprises, and how, moreover, it was able +to accomplish them successfully. In the earlier years of the seventeenth +century the dynasty of Ming was seated on the throne of Pekin, but its +power had been shaken to its foundations by repeated disasters in wars +with the Mantchoo Tartars, who had wrested the province of Leaou Tung +from the Emperor Wan-leh, before his death in 1620. The Mantchoos are +said to have been the descendants of the Mongol conquerors of the +thirteenth century, who had been forced to take refuge in the wilds +north of China when the native Chinese rose up and destroyed their +power. Whether this very plausible suggestion be true or not, or +whether, as some affirm, these were a new race issuing from the frozen +regions of Kamschatka and driven south by the necessity for obtaining +sustenance for their increasing numbers, matters little for our present +purpose. It is certain that they were a warlike people at this time, and +that they could bring considerable numbers into the field, and it is +very probable that, when they had obtained some success, their ranks +were swollen by recruits from their Tartar kinsmen of Eastern Jungaria. +On the death of the Chinese Emperor Wan-leh, dissensions broke out in +China as to his successor, and in the struggle that ensued the Mantchoos +were invited in to support the cause of one of the claimants. Their aid +turned the scale in his favour; but when the fortunes of war had been +clearly manifested, the Mantchoos showed no disposition to take their +departure as had been stipulated. As the Saxons in our own history, and +the Mongols in the Chinese had acted, so now did the Mantchoos, and in +1644 their first Emperor Chuntche was installed in the imperial +dignities, as the first of the present ruling dynasty of Tatsing, or +"sublimely pure," When Chuntche was crowned by his victorious soldiery, +it must not be supposed that he had conquered the whole of China. During +the seventeen years of his reign he was constantly engaged in warring +with the native Chinese forces; but always with invariable success. In +1661 Kanghi, his son, ascended the throne, and by a series of judicious +measures and successful enterprises, firmly maintained the position won +in China by his father. It was during this brilliant reign that Tibet +was annexed to the Chinese Empire, and from Cochin-China and the +frontiers of Birma to the River Amoor there was none to question the +power of the Mantchoo Government. It cannot be doubted that the conquest +of Tibet opened up fresh ideas in the minds of the Chinese as to their +right to rule in Eastern Turkestan; and with the re-assertion of their +old suzerainty over the Tibetan table-land, the remembrance of a similar +claim, at a far distant epoch, over Jungaria and Turkestan would be +forced on the minds of the Chinese people, until some ambitious ruler or +viceroy might avail himself of the opportunity of distinction by +acquiescing in, and giving effect to, the popular desire. Kanghi was too +prudent to jeopardize his recently consolidated state by expeditions +either into Jungaria or Turkestan; and was quite satisfied with the +respect shown to his empire by the Eleuthian princes of those regions. +On Kanghi's death, in 1721, his son, Yung-Ching, came to the throne, +and during his short reign, the example of his two predecessors not to +interfere in the troubles of the states lying beyond Kansuh, was closely +followed. Yung-Ching died in 1735, and thus made way for his ambitious +and warlike son, Keen-Lung. When Keen-Lung first commenced to reign for +himself he found that he was irresponsible ruler of a most powerful +empire, at peace within itself, and satisfied to all outward seeming +with its _de facto_ government. His treasury was full; the country was, +perhaps, at its very highest point of prosperity, and the sovereign had +only to maintain in this wealth and vigour the nation which had been +brought to such a pitch by the wisdom of his predecessors. To a warlike +monarch, however, the career of ruler of a thriving, peace-loving, and +domestic people, has never been a palatable one, and Keen-Lung thought, +as have many other great sovereigns of our own age, that the only use of +a wealthy and numerous subject race was to enable the ruler to undertake +high-sounding enterprises, and to spread the terror of his name through +distant regions. The reputation and the real strength of the Chinese +Empire were so great at this time in Asia, that no single power, or even +any possible confederacy, would have thought of entering the lists +against it. Keen-Lung had, therefore, no just cause for hostilities with +the neighbouring states, as they were always too willing to offer the +amplest reparation for any cause of offence to the Imperial dignity. The +conquest of Turkestan was therefore an object with which he would +heartily sympathise; and when we remember his warlike disposition, and +the exact condition of China at the time, possessing a superabundance of +wealth, and of numbers sufficient to achieve far more difficult +enterprises than the one in question, it is easier to understand the +eagerness with which Keen-Lung intervened in the affairs of Jungaria, +when the following opportunity, which we are about to narrate, offered +for so doing. + +It is now time to return to Kashgar and narrate the events that were +happening in that troubled district. The feud between the Aktaghluc and +Karataghluc factions reached its height when Afak, who had been placed +on the throne of Yarkand by the Calmucks, under Galdan, the chief +representative of the Aktaghluc, succeeded in expelling all the +prominent supporters of the rival clan. Afak ruled for some years, but +with difficulty maintained himself in some parts of Kashgar, against the +Calmucks, Kirghiz, and Kipchak. His sons had no better fortune, and the +state was finally divided between a Kipchak and a Kirghiz leader. These +quarrelled between themselves, but happily they each expired in the +first encounter. Acbash, one of the sons of Afak, was executed at Yangy +Hissar in the course of this contention; but he had previously called in +to his assistance from Khodjent, in Khokand, a Khoja, Danyal, of the +rival Karataghluc faction. This roused the enmity of the more bitter +among the Aktaghluc, and, on this, Khoja Ahmad was brought in to +represent their interests. Danyal was besieged in Yarkand, but, with the +assistance of a contingent of Kirghiz, he was able to repulse his +assailants. But, although successful in the field, Danyal was compelled +shortly afterwards to flee, and leave his rival in possession of the +state. He fled to the Calmucks, in Jungaria, and pleaded so well, that +an army was lent him to regain Kashgar. Victory attended this +expedition, but the Calmuck leader, who had captured Ahmad at the siege +of Kashgar, instead of placing Danyal in power, took both him and his +rival as prisoners to his capital of Ili. With so forcible a settlement +of the question, little room was left for useless complaining to the +ambitious Danyal, and from this time down to the Chinese conquest, the +Calmuck rulers of Ili asserted their right to supremacy over Eastern +Turkestan. Danyal, himself, was appointed, some years later on, governor +of Kashgar, now called Alty Shahr, or six cities; but, under him, there +was a local governor for each town, appointed by the Calmucks +themselves. His power was more apparent than real. His eldest son was +kept at Ili as a hostage for the good behaviour of his father, and +Danyal, himself, had frequently to proceed to Ili to make his report on +the state of affairs in Kashgar. Such was the condition of Kashgar, as a +subject province of the Calmuck rulers of Ili, governed by Danyal, a +member of the Karataghluc party, in the year 1740. On the death of +Galdan, the son of Arabdan Khan of Jungaria, in 1745, two chiefs, +Amursana and Davatsi, or Tawats, seized the governing power, and for a +time they divided the authority fairly between them; but it was not long +before they fell out, and resolved to advance their own interests at the +expense of each other. Amursana was unable to cope with the armies of +his rival, Davatsi, and, having been defeated in several encounters, +fled from Jungaria to China. On his arrival at Lanchefoo he demanded +permission to proceed to Pekin to lay his grievances at the feet of the +Emperor, and to offer in his name, and in that of many of his +compatriots, the districts of Ili and of Kashgar to his omnipotent +majesty. + +The request was granted, and Keen-Lung received him with favour, +promised to consider what he had stated, and, in the meanwhile, gave him +titles and revenues within the Chinese Empire. Amursana's address was so +insinuating, and he played so skilfully on the king's ambition and love +for military renown, that at last Keen-Lung consented to lend him the +forces, which he had been so lavish of promises to secure. In 1753, the +Chinese army, under Amursana, appeared in Jungaria, and, after several +desperate encounters, Davatsi was driven out of that state, and, +according to one account, was delivered up to the Chinese by Khojam Beg, +the governor of Ush Turfan. According to another version, he was +captured in the field; but both agree that he was taken to Pekin and +there executed. Amursana, having regained his position in Jungaria, now +turned his attention to the conquest of its dependency, Kashgar. He was +now supreme in Jungaria, with his capital at Ili; but his army, which +maintained him in his position, was a Khitay force, owing allegiance +solely to the Emperor of Pekin, and only obeying the instructions issued +by his general accompanying the Eleuth prince Amursana. At this epoch +Yusuf, a son of Galdan, had seized the chief authority in Kashgar, and, +raising a cry that the true religion of Islam was in danger from the +advance of the Khitay, endeavoured to rally to his cause in the struggle +that he saw was approaching the Mahomedan governments of Khokand and +Bokhara. Amursana, on the northern frontiers of Kashgar, was eagerly +watching for the opportunity to arise for an active interference in that +state, and Yusuf was prudent in seeking beyond his frontiers for allies +that were able to assist him against the machinations of his foes. Yusuf +had made himself the leader and representative of the Karataghluc party +in the state, and Amursana accordingly resolved to put forward the +pretensions of the rival Aktaghluc faction. In this design the Chinese +general acquiesced, and, with the assistance of the Calmuck governors of +Ush Turfan, and Aksu, no delay interfered with its prompt realization. +The descendants of the ancient Khojas were consequently sought out, and +Barhanuddin, son of Ahmad, was selected for the purpose. He, at the head +of a mixed following, promptly seized Ush Turfan, and was there received +with acclamation, and several of the minor tribes joined him at once. +Yusuf was, however, hurrying up with a large force from Yarkand, and +Barhanuddin's chances seemed to be more than doubtful, when Yusuf died +on the way. His son Abdulla, who took the name of Khoja Padshah, +hastened on, however, and besieged Barhanuddin in Ush Turfan. Abdulla +then endeavoured to come to terms with Barhanuddin, and made overtures +for the reconciliation of the Karataghluc and Aktaghluc parties to be +cemented in a crusade against the invading Khitay. Barhanuddin, a true +Mussulman, was personally inclined to accept the arrangement offered, +but, as he was surrounded by Chinese officials and their allies, he was +constrained to give instead the advice that Abdulla should surrender to +the Chinese and acknowledge their supremacy. Abdulla was not at all +willing to forfeit his independence without some struggle, and the siege +of Ush Turfan was pressed on. In the camp of the besieging forces there +were some who favoured the pretensions of Barhanuddin, and these +deserting from the Karataghluc cause, the remaining forces of Abdulla +were compelled to retreat with precipitation. Barhanuddin immediately +advanced on Kashgar, where he was received with open arms. Yarkand soon +afterwards fell into his possession, and the conquest of Kashgar by the +descendant of the Khojas and the triumph of the Aktaghluc party were +complete. + +So far the Chinese had been merely spectators of the progress of events +in Kashgar. Amursana had induced them to approve of this enterprise of +Barhanuddin, and they had given general support in the war with Yusuf +and his son; and it was not until Barhanuddin, elated with his success, +set their wishes at defiance, that they resolved to occupy the country. +But before that, Amursana's career had been cut short. Although escorted +by a large force of native Chinese troops, he had aspired, in 1757, to +establish himself as an independent prince in Jungaria, and had broken +loose from Chinese control. The forces he raised were, however, defeated +with remarkable ease by the Chinese, and Amursana was compelled to flee +once more from his home--this time with no certain refuge, as he had +before in Pekin. The Russians were then in possession of Siberia, but +their influence for good or for ill beyond their desert and almost +impenetrable stations was practically _nil_; but, such as it was, it +seemed to Amursana the only place affording any prospect of security. +He died at Tobolsk, in 1757, soon after he arrived there; but the +implacable Chinese haughtily demanded from the Russians his body as a +proof of his decease, and the Russian government sent it to Kiachta for +surrender to them. Such was the career of the ill-fated, but ambitious, +Amursana, who was the immediate cause of the introduction of Chinese +power into Eastern Turkestan. + +With so unmistakable a proof before his eyes of the power of the +Chinese, it is strange to find Barhanuddin also proving contumacious in +Kashgar, but so it was. In 1758, the very next year after the death of +Amursana, this ruler and his brother Khan Khoja broke out in open mutiny +to the Chinese. At Ili some Khitay officers were maltreated, and +outspoken contempt was shown for Chinese commands. Such attitude could +not be brooked by any established rule, and, to do the Chinese simple +justice, never had been tolerated by them on any occasion; and +accordingly a Chinese army was despatched from Ili to chastise this +recalcitrant ruler, and to remind him that the arm of Chinese power was +terribly long. Barhanuddin and his brother were defeated in several +pitched battles, city after city opened its gates to the dreaded +invader, and the last representatives of the Khojas were compelled to +seek refuge in the isolated region of Badakshan. But even here they were +not safe. The terror of the Chinese name had gone before them, and the +sovereign of Badakshan, eager to propitiate the conqueror, sent the +heads of the two brothers to the Chinese general, who was advancing from +Yarkand. Only one of the numerous sons of Barhanuddin escaped the +destruction wrought in the family of the Khojas by the victorious +Chinese: his name was Khoja Sarimsak. The Chinese had now completely +annexed all the territory north of the Karakoram and east of the Pamir +and Khokand, and it does not appear that in doing so they had suffered +any great loss. By availing themselves of Amursana's claims in Jungaria +they had obtained a firm foothold in that state, and then by an equally +skilful manipulation of the rival parties of Aktaghluc and Karataghluc, +they had extended their authority over Kashgar as well. When their +puppets, Amursana and Barhanuddin, became restive as Chinese vassals, +and strove for independence, the Chinese forces were called into action +and swept all opposition from their path. All this may seem the most +unjustifiable ambition, nor do we wish to palliate in any way the +terribly harsh repressive measures adopted by the Chinese. There is no +doubt that, so long as there remained the shadow of any opposition to +their rule, they did not temper their power with any exhibition of +mercy. It is computed that almost half a million of people were slain +during the wars of these two or three years, and that the great majority +of these were the innocent inhabitants, who had been massacred. Nor, +although we should be disposed to think that this is a greatly +exaggerated number, have we any reason to doubt that the sword of the +Chinese was called into use whenever any resistance was offered to their +advance, and that the feelings of the soldiers were embittered to a +great extent by religious fervour, in their encounters with the +Mussulmans. The Chinese, having conquered Kashgar, turned their arms +against Khokand, and entered Tashkent and the city of Khokand in +triumph. As the year 1760 was drawing to a close, quite a panic was +spreading through Western Asia at the advance of the Chinese. +Afghanistan, then as now the only formidable Mahomedan territory left +intact from foreign conquest, was implored by the suffering Islamites to +check the Chinese advance. Then, as recently on a somewhat similar +occasion, Afghanistan thought prudence the better part of valour, and +confined her action to the invasion of Badakshan, which she coveted, in +order to punish its ruler for the murder of the fugitive Khojas. But, +having terrified Khokand, the Chinese wisely retired to the proper +frontier of Kashgar, and then set about consolidating their rule there +by an energy and administrative capacity which must excite the +admiration of every governing nation. + +It was some years, however, before the conquest of Kashgar, which had +been so rapidly accomplished, could be considered to have been +altogether completed. Fresh troops had to be summoned from Kansuh, and +military settlers imported in large numbers from Shensi and other +Chinese provinces, to supply the place of the massacred Kashgari. +Settlers were also brought from the neighbourhood of Urumtsi and Hamil; +and with these and imperial troops sent from Pekin, the Chinese felt +complete masters of the situation. It was only then that the Chinese +viceroy considered himself sufficiently strong to place his army in +detachments in the various cities. Up to that time it had been kept +mobilised in one, or at most two or three stations, ready for instant +action. When the Chinese withdrew from Khokand they imposed a tribute on +that state, and then they turned their arms against the nomad tribes on +the north of the Jungarian frontier. The various hordes of the Kirghiz +nomads sent in their submission one after the other, and the Chinese +invariably accepted their fealty, and as a rule rewarded their duteous +behaviour with Chinese titles and rank Thus Ablai, Chief of the Middle +Horde, was made Prince in 1766, and Nur Ali, of the Little Horde, went +so far as to send special emissaries to Pekin, where they were +favourably received, and returned with recompenses for the fidelity of +their master. The Chinese had thus secured their position in Jungaria +and Kashgar before the dose of 1765, and by their possession of Khoten, +they had opened up communications with their province of Tibet. On the +south they possessed an admirable frontier, and it was only in the +south-west that any check seemed to be put upon their advance. As +already mentioned, the Ameer of Afghanistan had overran Badakshan, in +chastisement for the murders of Barhanuddin and his brother; and he was +continually receiving applications to declare an open war against the +Chinese. His own troubles with the rulers of Scinde and Persia were +sufficient to keep his religions sympathies within due bounds. But he +sent an embassy to Pekin, to point out that his fellow-religionists were +suffering under the conquering sway of the Chinese forces in Central +Asia; and on its return with an unsatisfactory reply, he appears to have +stationed a large body of troops in Badakshan. The proud Durani monarch +was probably eager to oppose the Chinese, but, wiser than his +contemporaries in Turkestan and Jungaria, he accurately reckoned up the +risks of the enterprise, and contented himself with the maintenance of +the powerful empire he had erected on the ruins of the conquests of +Nadir Shah. When the Afghans had done so much, and given promises of aid +in the defence of Samarcand, it is not to be wondered at if the people +of Kashgar thought they would do more, and risings took place in several +parts of the state, notably at Ush Turfan. The Chinese measures were +prompt and effectual; the rebellion was suppressed, the inhabitants +massacred, and the town destroyed. This failure struck so complete a +panic into the hearts of the people, that no inducements, for more than +half a century, could encourage them to rise against the Chinese. The +Chinese conquest of Kashgar gave an effectual solution to the rivalries +of the numerous claimants to its sovereignty, and among other +competitors to the Khojas, that is, to the descendants of that Sarimsak +who alone survived the massacre of his family in 1760. While very +possibly the people may have suffered that mental depression which must +accompany the installation of a foreign rule, and despite the very harsh +and unmistakable evidences given by the Chinese of their intolerance of +opposition, there was some prospect, notwithstanding these, that the +Chinese would prove permanent masters, and that their rule would +consequently become milder and milder every year. It was this feeling, +that things could not become much worse, that rendered the Kashgari +apathetic in their resistance to the Chinese. They did not dare to +expect much improvement in their lot; but at all events they might +suppose that Chinese massacres would cease with the disappearance of +resistance, whereas massacres by their own countrymen and tyrants had +been for centuries an every-day occurrence. + +Before considering the Chinese occupation of Kashgar, it may be useful +to give some description of the Aktaghluc and Karataghluc parties, of +whose rivalry the history of Kashgar in the sixteenth, seventeenth, and +eighteenth centuries is so full. It may be remembered that in 1533, +Reshid, the younger son of Said, who had distinguished himself in his +father's wars, seized the state from his brothers, to whom he was +inferior both in age and in birth on his mother's side. In effecting +this he availed himself of the alliance of the Usbeg rulers west of +Pamir, and during the negotiations that were transacted between them, +the distinguished divine, Maulana Khoja Kasani, of Samarcand, visited +him. He was greeted with the most striking marks of Reshid's affection, +and granted a large estate in Kashgar. He married and left two sons in +that state to represent his interests and share his possessions. The +elder son, whose mother was a Samarcand lady, was averse to the younger, +whose mother was a native of Kashgar. In the course of time they each +rose prominently in the service of the state, but they transmitted their +antipathy to their descendants. Khoja Kalan, the elder, whose influence +was greatest in Yarkand and Karatagh, was the founder of the +Karataghluc, or "Black Mountaineers." Khoja Ishac, the younger, whose +influence was greatest in Kashgar and Actagh, another form of Altai, +was the founder of the Aktaghluc, or "White Mountaineers." The +descendants of either of these Khojas, or priests, the sons of the great +divine of Samarcand, claim the title of Khoja, but that must not be +confounded with the more exclusive signification it possesses as +representing the once ruling family. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE CHINESE RULE IN KASHGAR. + + +The Chinese conquest of Jungaria and Eastern Turkestan having become an +accomplished fact, what did the new rulers do to justify their forcible +interference in Central Asia? What measures did they adopt to conciliate +the subject peoples, and what to increase the prosperity of a vast +region, naturally fertile, but impoverished by centuries of improvident +government and of civil anarchy and war? Did they follow the precedent +that had been set them by every past ruler of those countries, and leave +the people to their own devices, to starve or to exist as best they +might, so long as the tribute money was forthcoming? Did the Chinese +Viceroys of Ili, or their lieutenants in Kashgar, Yarkand, Aksu, or +Kucha adopt a policy of inaction, and pursue a line of conduct of +unprincipled selfishness in advancing their own personal fortunes, and +thus prove that they were of the same stamp as all other Asiatic +despots, careless of the day and utterly regardless of the morrow? The +best way to see how they acted, what they did, and what they did not +that was possible, is to follow their rule in Kashgar with some +attention. In itself this may be found to be no uninstructive lesson for +us, who are also a great governing people; and from the perusal of what +the Chinese administrators did in Central Asia we may arise willing to +accord them high praise, because we are better able than other nations +to appreciate the difficulties of their task. + +After the fall of Amursana, the Chinese, in the first place, organized +their administrative system upon the following basis:--The supreme +authority was vested in the hands of the Viceroy of Ili. Under him an +amban, or lieutenant-governor, administered affairs in Kashgar. His +place of abode was Yarkand. In internal matters the Yarkand Amban was +without a superior south of the Tian Shan, but in external affairs he +only acted in subordination to the Viceroy of Ili, who alone was in +communication with Pekin. Under each of these potentates there were the +usual deputy-ambans and Tay Dalays, or military commanders. All the +cities had Gulbaghs constructed outside of them, and these forts were +held by Chinese troops--that is, by a mixture of Khitay and Tungani. It +is computed that 20,000 troops used to garrison Kashgar and the +neighbourhood alone. The military posts were restricted to Chinamen, and +the higher judicial and administrative offices were also withheld from +the subjected race. But these were the only privileges retained by the +Chinese. + +The Khan, or chief Amban, who resided in Yarkand, made all the +appointments to the minor offices, which were filled almost exclusively +by Mahomedans. The only precaution the Chinese seem to have taken was to +refuse employment to a Kashgari in his native town, so that a Yarkandi +would have to go to Aksu, or some other place away from his home, if he +desired to participate in the government of his country. But beyond this +there was no restriction, and nominally the Hakim Beg, the highest +Mussulman officer, ranked on an equality with the Chinese amban. His +subordinates were all Mahomedans, with the exception of his personal +guard of Khitay troops. In the hands of these natives of the country lay +all the administration of justice among their co-religionists, the +collection of the revenue, and the levying of customs dues on the +frontier and of trade taxes in the cities. It was only when cause for +litigation arose between a Buddhist and a Mussulman that the amban +interfered. We have therefore the instructive spectacle before us of a +Buddhist conquest becoming harmonized with Mussulman institutions, and +Chinese arrogance not content with tolerating, but absolutely fostering, +a regime to which its hostility was scarcely concealed. This is the only +instance of the Chinese exhibiting such more than Asiatic restraint +towards Mahomedans; for their dealings with Tibet, a country of peculiar +sanctity and Buddhist as well, is not a case in point. The scheme worked +well, however. Chinese strength was husbanded by being employed only +when absolutely necessary to be called into play, and the people, to a +great degree their own masters, did not realise the fact of their being +a subjected nation. Their first anxiety was the payment of their +taxes--far from exorbitant, as it had been under their own rulers; but +that task accomplished, they could free their minds from care. + +Very often their own countryman, the Hakim Beg, was a greater tyrant +than the Chinese amban in the fort outside their gates; but against his +exactions they could obtain speedy redress. When their Hakims, or Wangs +as the Chinese called them, became unpopular in a district, the amban +promptly removed them; even if he considered they were not much to +blame, he always transferred them to some other district. The first +object in the eyes of the amban was the maintenance of order, and he +knew well enough that order could not be maintained, unless he resorted +to force, which he studiously avoided, if the people were discontented. +The people therefore could repose implicit trust in the Chinese amban +securing a fair hearing and justice for them in their disagreements with +their own leaders; and the Mussulman Wangs, who were the old ruling +class, saw the unfortunate tax-payer at last secure from their tyranny +through the clemency of a Buddhist conqueror. We are justified in +assuming that the population saw the force of these patent facts, and +that, if not perfectly to be relied on in any emergency, the Chinese had +no danger to expect from the tax-producing and patient Kashgari. + +So long as the Chinese rule remained vigorous--that is, for about the +first fifty years--the Ambans worked in perfect concord with the Wangs, +and through them with the people. But the internal relations between +these various personages became more complicated and less cordial +through the importation, about the beginning of this century, of a fresh +factor into the question. The Chinese had granted the cities west of, +and including, Aksu very considerable privileges in carrying on trade +with Khokand; and in the course of commercial intercourse a Khokandian +element was slowly imported into these cities, when it became a people +within a people, enjoying the prosperity to be derived from the Chinese +Empire, but not experiencing any sentiment of gratitude towards those by +whom the favours were conferred. After some years, when these Khokandian +immigrants had become numerous, the Chinese acquiesced in their +selecting a responsible head for each community, and this head, or +Aksakal, was nominated by the Khan of Khokand, the only temporal +sovereign these people recognized. The creation of this third power in +the state, which was first sanctioned as a matter of convenience, was to +be fraught with the direst consequences for the Chinese. The Khitay +would be justified in saying that the Aksakals were "the cause of all +their woe," in Kashgar at all events. The Aksakals were far too prudent +to challenge the supremacy of the Chinese officials, and their first +object was rather to make themselves independent of the Wangs than to +compete with the Ambans. In this they were successful, for the Chinese +neglected to take into account the dangers that might arise from these +same bustling, intriguing, and alien Aksakals. The Wangs had always been +obedient vassals, but the plausibility of the Aksakals put them on a par +with their rivals. The Chinese washed their hands of the quarrel, and +may have imagined that their rule was made more assured by divisions +among the Mussulmans. In this they were mistaken. The Aksakals, who +after a time repudiated their obligations to the Wangs, became the +centre of all the intrigue that marked the last half-century of Chinese +rule, and, puffed up by their triumph over the Wangs, did not hesitate +to challenge the right of the Ambans to exercise jurisdiction over them. +But of this more later on. + +While the Chinese adopted these liberal measures in their dealings with +the Mussulman population, they did not neglect those other duties which +belong to the government by right. The greatest benefit they could +confer was of course the preservation of order, and to maintain the +balance impartially between the numerous litigants was the first article +in the creed of the Chinese viceroys. As tranquillity settled down over +these distracted regions, trade revived. The native industries, which +had greatly fallen off, became once more active; and foreign enterprise +was attracted to this quarter, which Chinese power soon made the most +favoured region in Central Asia. But the rulers did not rest content +with the mere preservation of good order. They did not leave it to the +inclination of an indolent people to progress at as tortoise-like a +speed as they would wish; but they themselves set the example which the +rest felt bound to imitate. Not only did the enterprising Khitay +merchant from Kansuh and Szchuen visit the marts of Hamil and Turfan, +but many of this class penetrated into Kashgar proper, where they became +permanent settlers. These invaluable agents supplied the deficiency that +had never before been filled up in the life of the state, for they +brought the highest qualities of enterprise and practical sagacity, +together with capital, as their special characteristics. In the train of +these Khitay merchants came wealth and increased prosperity. Yarkand, +Kashgar, Aksu, and Khoten became cities of the first rank, and the +population of the country in the year 1800 was greater than it had ever +been before. + +There was perfect equality too between all the various races in respect +to trade. The Chinese did not demand special immunities for their own +countrymen, as might have been expected. The Khitay, who came all the +way from Lanchefoo in search of a fortune, must be prepared to compete +in an equal race with the Khokandi, the Kashgari, or the Afghan. His +nationality would obtain for him no immunity from being taxed, or could +give him no advantage over the foreign or native traders. The main +portion of the trade of the country remained in the old hands. Khokand +benefited as much as Kashgar by the trade, and China, in a direct +manner, least of the three. + +The Chinese have at all times been justly famous for their admirable +measures for irrigating their provinces. The wonderful canals which cut +their way, where there are no great rivers, in China proper are +reproduced even in this outlying dependency. Eastern Turkestan is one of +the worst-watered regions in the world. In fact there is only a belt of +fertile country round the Yarkand river, stretching away eastward along +the slopes of the Tian Shan as far as Hamil. The few small rivers which +are traced here and there across the map are during many months of the +year dried up, and even the Yarkand then becomes an insignificant +stream. To remedy this, and to husband the supply as much as possible, +the Chinese sank dykes in all directions. By this means the cultivated +country was slowly but surely spread over a greater extent of territory, +and the vicinity of the three cities of Kashgar, Yangy Hissar, and +Yarkand became known as the garden of Asia. Corn and fruit grew in +abundance, and from Yarkand to the south of the Tian Shan the traveller +could pass through one endless orchard. On all sides he saw nothing but +plenty and content, peaceful hamlets and smiling inhabitants. These +were the outcome of a Chinese domination. + +The Chinese, besides possessing a dual line of communication with their +own country, one north and the other south of the Tian Shan, had also a +caravan route from Khoten to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. There was also +some intercourse with Cashmere by this way. The jade, for which Khoten +was justly, and is still, famous, was exported in immense quantities, +both to Tibet and to China, through Maralbashi. This mineral was held in +high esteem by Chinese ladies, and alone sufficed to make the prosperity +of Khoten assured. Gold, silk, and musk, were other articles included in +the commerce of this flourishing city. There was also, in the Chinese +time, a very extensive manufacture of carpets and cotton goods. The gold +mines, which, with two exceptions, have not been worked since the same +time, are believed to be scarcely touched, and only await a fostering +hand to be put in working order once more. + +The Chinese also devoted great attention to the coal mines in the +vicinity of Aksu, and these were worked both by private enterprise and +the Government. Coal was an article of common use in that city, but it +does not appear to have been exported beyond the neighbourhood. It is +known that the Chinese took greater interest in the development of the +internal means of wealth of the country than in inducing foreigners to +enter it. Thus, we see that mines, in a special degree, received state +approval and support. The gold mines of Khoten, the coal of Aksu, and +the zinc of Kucha, are all conspicuous instances of this; as, under all +past, and the recent Mahomedan, rule, they have been most foolishly, but +consistently neglected. + +Nor were those special trades for which Kashgar had in prosperous +moments been renowned, neglected. The leather-dressers of Yarkand and +Aksu, the silk-mercers of Kashgar and Khoten, were never so busy as in +the warlike days of Keen-Lung, and the great mass of the people, the +agricultural class in the villages, was equally prosperous and well +governed. Trade was fostered on all sides, and the conquering power was +content to stand aside and witness the steady progress of its subjects +towards hitherto unattained and unattainable prosperity. + +Lastly, the Chinese directed their attention to the improvement of the +means of communication between one part of the province and another. It +was absolutely necessary to the security of their rule that there should +be an easy and always open road between Ili and Kashgar. Therefore, a +way was cut, at great expense, through the Tian Shan, north of Aksu, and +this pass was known as the Muzart, or Glacier. So difficult was the +country through which it passed, and such the danger from ice-drifts and +snow-storms, that relays of men had to be kept constantly at work in +order to prevent it getting out of repair for a day. The construction of +this road was, in the first place, most expensive, but, perhaps, the +cost of repairing was much more. This, the most striking engineering +achievement of the Chinese, has become practically useless, through +fifteen years of neglect. If China is to regain Ili, it will, no doubt, +be restored. The passes west of this, by the Narym River to Vernoe, and +through Terek to Khokand, were those selected by Yakoob Beg to supply +its place. + +The next object to which the Chinese specially paid attention was the +preservation of their road home to China. Thus the road in Tian Shan Pe +Lu, and the other in Tian Shan Nan Lu, were kept in the most effective +state possible. The former, north of the mountains, passed through Manas +and Urumtsi to Hamil; the latter, south of them, through Aksu and Kucha +to the same place. The alternative route from Kucha to Kashgar and +Yarkand, through Maralbashi, was also much used, more especially, +however, by those who desired to break off at that outpost in the desert +to reach Khoten and Sanju. In each city there was appointed a committee +to superintend the roads in the district, and this Road Board was a +highly important and useful corporation. It was by such measures as +these that the Chinese made their rule a blessing to Kashgar and +Jungaria for more than fifty years. Of course, there was the fiscal side +of these schemes of public utility. Roads could not be opened up and +maintained in order, canals could not be dug, the state could not +administer justice, promote trade, and make itself respected abroad, +without an assured revenue, and this revenue, after the first ten years, +was very productive. + +The principal taxes were the tithe on the produce of the land, called +"_ushr_" and the _zakat_ (fortieth), on merchandise and cattle. Then, in +the cities, there was a house tax, which was essentially, like our own +income tax, a war tax, fluctuating in accordance with the military +necessities, caused by foreign or civil war. From the mines, too, the +state derived a large annual sum, which was generally devoted to some +object of public utility. There was also the tribute money from the +Kirghiz nomads, whose flocks and horses were numbered and taxed at a low +rate, in return for which they were taken under the protection of China. +In addition to these great taxes there were several smaller ones, such +as a fee on fuel sold in the market, and another levy on milch-kine kept +in cities. A writer on Kashgar has said that these "proved a ready means +of oppression, and a prolific source of that discontent which left the +rulers without a single helping hand, or sympathising heart, in the hour +of their distress and destruction." But this assumption of cause and +effect is scarcely just. + +Of course, all taxes can be made a ready means of oppression by the +tax-gatherer, who, in this case, was a Mussulman and fellow-countryman. +But taxes are absolutely necessary to all good government, and when we +consider what China did with her revenue, with what public spirit her +representatives laid it out in plans for the advantage of the state, can +we pronounce an opinion that she imposed unfair burdens on the +subjected race? Moreover, no one denies the prosperity general +throughout Kashgar in those days, a period looked back to with regret by +the inhabitants during the most favoured years of Yakoob Beg's rule. It +is not in accordance with facts, then, to imply that the Chinese ground +Kashgar under them by severe taxation, and whatever petty tyranny there +was, was carried on not by the Khitay Ambans, but by the Mahomedan +Wangs. + +In the hour of distress and destruction the people, indeed, proved +traitorous to their best friends, or, more generally, apathetic; leaving +to the energetic Andijani element within their gates the task of +crossing swords with Buddhist rule, to which the hostility of these +immigrants had always been declared. + +The short-sightedness of the Kashgari played the game of the more +fanatical and ambitious people of Khokand; but the rule of China did not +pass out of Eastern Turkestan until the disturbances of forty years had +generated ill-feeling that formerly was not, and had so embittered the +relations of governing and governed, that what had come to be considered +a lenient and impersonal government, assumed all the darker hues of a +military and foreign despotism. Even then China did not fall until there +was dissension within herself, when, split into three hostile camps, her +sword dropped nerveless from her hand in Central Asia, 2,000 miles away +from her natural border. To follow Chinese rule in Kashgar down to 1820, +is to observe the monotonous course of never varying prosperity. From +that year to 1860, the tale is of a different complexion, less +monotonous but also less satisfactory. + +In 1758 and 1760 Chinese armies entered Khokand. Tashkent fell in the +former year, and the capital in the latter. The Chinese then withdrew, +after imposing a tribute upon Khokand. During the long reign of +Keen-Lung--that is, down to 1795--the tribute was regularly paid. After +that year, however, the payment became irregular, and border warfare of +frequent occurrence between the two neighbours. At last, in 1812, +Khokand, then under an able prince, refused to pay tribute any longer, +and the Chinese acquiesced in the repudiation. Nor did the change in the +relations between China and Khokand stop here; for, a few years +afterwards, the Chinese found it expedient to pay Khokand an annual sum +to keep the Khoja family, whose representatives were residing in +Khokand, from intriguing against them. The amount of the subsidy was +L3,500 of our money. In addition to this, the Khan of Khokand was +permitted to levy a tax on all Mahomedan merchandise sold in Kashgar +through Andijan merchants. This tax was collected by the Aksakals before +mentioned, and was a very profitable source of income for the +impecunious khans. But even these concessions and perquisites did not +satisfy the Mussulmans of Central Asia, who saw in Chinese moderation an +evidence of weakness and decline. The Aksakals, in these years of +Mahomedan revival, became political agents of the greatest importance. +It was they who gave a point to all the discontent there might be in +Kashgar; it was they who attributed to the Chinese the blame for +whatever evils this world is never wholly free from; and it was they who +agitated for the return of the old Khoja kings, who were always +destined, in their eyes, to bring the most perfect happiness. With such +causes at work both within and without their position, the Chinese had +not to wait long before their authority was more openly challenged. + +Sarimsak, the only member of the Khoja family surviving the massacre by +the Chinese, had fled, as a child, into the impenetrable recesses of +Wakhan. From thence, in later years, he had gone to settle in Khokand, +where he married. This prince had three sons--Yusuf, Bahanuddin, and +Jehangir, the youngest and best known. In 1816, the first outbreak +against Chinese authority occurred, when a small rising took place in +Tash Balik, a town to the west of Kashgar. This was speedily put down, +and its leaders executed. It was but the forerunner of the storm. + +In 1822, Jehangir resolved to reassert his claims over Kashgar, and, +while his eldest brother continued to reside in retirement at Bokhara, +he joined the Kara Kirghiz. With a party of these, under the command of +their chief, Suranchi Beg, Jehangir raided up to the city of Kashgar. He +was there repulsed in the suburbs, and compelled to flee. He then joined +the Kirghiz of Bolor round Narym, who were nominally feudatories of +China, and, with their aid, commenced a petty sort of border war. A +small Chinese force was despatched against him, and drove the Kirghiz up +as far as Fort Kurtka. On their return from this successful attack, they +were, however, surprised in one of the defiles, and almost all were +destroyed. This was the first reverse the Chinese had ever met with in +the field, and it was at once bruited about through all parts of Central +Asia. It gave a life to the Khoja cause which it had hitherto lacked, +and adventurers from all parts flocked to the standard Jehangir now +raised on the borders of Kashgar. The Khan of Khokand so far assisted +him as to send him a skilled general, Isa Dadkhwah, and extended over +his cause that protection and sanction which Khokand has ever since +thrown over the Khoja family. + +In the spring of 1826, Jehangir advanced in force against Kashgar, and +the Chinese, despising their assailant, left their fortifications to +encounter him in the open. A battle then ensued, of which the +particulars have not come down to us, but which resulted in the defeat +of the Chinese. Jehangir entered Kashgar in triumph, was received with +acclamations by the people, urged on by the Aksakals, and proclaimed +himself sovereign of the country, under the style of Seyyid Jehangir +Sultan. His first act--the most significant exposure of the true +sentiment of the Kashgarian people there well could be--was to order +the execution of the Mahomedan Wang of Kashgar, by name Mahomed Seyyid. + +The fall of Kashgar was the signal to the Aksakals throughout Altyshahr +to begin that work for which they had been long preparing. In Yangy +Hissar, Yarkand, and Khoten risings at once took place. The Chinese, +surprised and unarmed, were butchered in the streets, and the Gulbaghs, +as the visible token of the foreign rule, were razed with the ground. + +The Gulbagh of Kashgar itself alone held out, but it at last fell, after +sustaining a long siege, into the hands of Jehangir. His triumph +completed, he had to concern himself more with his relations with +Khokand than about the Chinese, who were mysteriously quiet. Mahomed Ali +Khan, of Khokand, who thought that Jehangir's success was solely due to +him, laid claim to a certain historical superiority over his vassal of +Kashgar, to which the Khoja prince was not willing to assent. A large +Khokandian army which had been sent to Kashgar returned, after losing +1,000 men before the walls of the Gulbagh, and its withdrawal was the +signal for plots and counterplots to break out in the palace of the new +ruler. These he promptly repressed, reduced the intriguing general, Isa +Dadkhwah, in rank, and had emancipated himself from his thraldom to +Khokand, when the news came that the Chinese were at last returning. + +Although the western portion of Altyshahr had fallen away from the +Chinese, Aksu and Maralbashi remained true to their allegiance. The +Chinese still possessed the military keys of the country. Moreover, +their possession of Ili gave them an enormous strategical advantage, and +in the Tungan population they possessed an almost inexhaustible supply +for recruiting "revindicating" armies. It is apropos here to state that +China retained both of these advantages down to the time of Buzurg Khan +and Yakoob Beg, and that, so long as she possessed them, the utmost +Mussulman fanaticism and Khokandian patronage of the Khojas could do +was futile against the arrest of fate. During six months Jehangir ruled +in Kashgar, and during six months the Chinese viceroy made his +preparations at Ili for a thorough revenge. An army of more than 100,000 +men, raised from the Tungani, the Calmucks, and the Khitay garrison, was +despatched from Ili, and in January, 1827, entered Aksu. Here all the +brigades were concentrated, and the Viceroy, in conjunction with the +general under him, by name Chang-Lung, drew up the plan of campaign, +which was as follows:--A small army of 12,000 men was sent against +Khoten across the desert through Cay Yoli, while the remainder of the +host advanced on Maralbashi. Here another detachment of 7,000 strong was +directed against Yarkand, while the main body marched on Kashgar by the +banks of the Kizil Su. + +Their advance was unopposed until they reached Yangabad, or Yangiawat, +where Jehangir had concentrated an army computed at 50,000 men, but +probably considerably less. When the armies sighted each other they +pitched their camps in preparation for the decisive contest that was at +hand. In accordance with immemorial custom, each side put forward on the +following day its champion. On the part of the Chinese a gigantic +Calmuck archer opposed on the part of Jehangir an equally formidable +Khokandi. The former was armed with his proper weapons, the latter with +a gun of some clumsy and ancient design, and while the Khokandi was +busily engaged with his intricate apparatus, the Chinese archer shot him +dead with an arrow through the breast. Of course, neither army would +have acquiesced in the decree of the God of Battles as shown by the fate +of its champion, but, in this case, it was true that-- + + "Who spills the foremost foeman's life, + His party conquers in the strife." + +After a sharp, but brief, skirmish, the Kashgarian army withdrew in +confusion, and the following day the Chinese surrounded Kashgar on three +sides. During the night the heart of Jehangir misgave him, and he fled +to the Karatakka mountains. But here the snow had rendered the passes +impracticable, and, after hiding for a few days in that difficult +region, he was captured by the Chinese. His fate was that usually met +with by traitors to that empire, for, being sent to Pekin, he was +executed after torture. In this war Ishac Wang, of Ush Turfan, played a +great part against the Khoja prince, and was rewarded for his good +service by being appointed Wang of Kashgar. The Chinese constructed a +fresh fort, Yangyshahr, in the place of the destroyed Gulbagh, and left +a large Khitay garrison under Jah Darin. But Ishac Wang, who was given +some such title as Prince of Kashgar, was soon afterwards deposed and +recalled to China. + +The Chinese authority was re-established without difficulty in the three +cities, and peace settled down over Eastern Turkestan. But the +repressive and punitive measures that the Chinese felt compelled to +adopt raised a bitterer sentiment in the minds of the people than had +previously existed. The Chinese were, indeed, only employing the same +weapons that had been used against themselves, but none the less did +these reciprocal atrocities dissipate whatever friendship there had +been. Among other acts the Chinese removed 12,000 Mahomedan families +from Kashgar to Ili, and these, destined to play an important part in +the history of that province, became known as Tarantchis, or Toilers. + +The Chinese resolved to punish Khokand as well. They broke off all trade +with that state, and happy would it have been for them if they could +have continued to preserve a closed frontier. But the Khan of that time +was Mahomed Ali Khan, the most ambitious, as he was the ablest, of the +princes of that country. He had just annexed Karategin, and had acquired +some of the outlying provinces of Badakshan, which Mourad Beg, of +Kundus, had absorbed about the same time. It was not probable that he +would put up with the Chinese defiance. He was prudent enough to delay +his advance until the main body of their army had been withdrawn. But, +as soon as he was informed that the Chinese had gone back to Ili, +Mahomed Ali, calling Yusuf, Sarimsak's eldest son, from his retirement +in Bokhara, placed him at the head of an army, under the charge of his +own brother-in-law, Hacc Kuli Beg. The Chinese were worsted at Mingyol, +and all the cities west of Aksu turned against the Chinese, as before, +and proclaimed for Yusuf Khoja. Then the massacres were repeated, and +the invasion of Yusuf was that of Jehangir over again in exact detail. +But Yusuf's triumph was still more brief. Whereas Jehangir had ruled for +nine months, Yusuf only swayed the sceptre for three. + +The Chinese movements were delayed by small Mussulman revolts in Barkul +and Shensi until the spring of 1831, but then, when they returned, they +found that Yusuf and the Khokandian army had retreated some months +before. The facts were that the moment Khokand invaded Kashgar, Bokhara +attacked Khokand, and Hacc Kuli Beg had to be recalled to cope with +matters more pressing than Khoja rights. With the general had gone +Yusuf, far from anxious to encounter the Chinese alone. The return of +the Khokandian army sufficed to dispel all danger from Bokhara, and, a +few months after, Mahomed Ali Khan recommenced operations--in the east +this time--against the Kirghiz under Chinese protection. The Chinese +were thoroughly sick of these petty disputes, and made a treaty with +Khokand, by which that state acquired fresh commercial privileges, in +addition to the old ones, and by which the importance of the Aksakals +rather increased than waned. Mahomed Ali Khan had acquired all he +wanted, and discouraged the Khoja party, as, indeed, the terms of this +treaty compelled him to do. The risings under Jehangir and Yusuf were +undoubtedly a great blow to Chinese prestige. To all appearance each had +nearly been successful, and the Chinese, whose prestige was enormous in +Central Asia--quite as great as that of Russia is now--had been, on one +or two occasions, openly defeated. But, after all, this was a little +matter compared to the shock the sentiments, called into being by sixty +happy years, had received. Between Buddhist and Mussulman, between +Chinaman and Central Asiatic, all the old antipathy was revived in the +butcheries of Yarkand and Kashgar. The Kashgari showed that they could +not appreciate the benefits they had received from China, and the +Chinese, enraged at the slaughter of their countrymen, and, perhaps, +also at the ingratitude evinced towards them, retaliated in kind. They +did not appreciate that moderation, which Europeans have not always +shown under similar circumstances, and wrought out their revenge in +their own ancient fashion. It is absolutely necessary that the reader +should remember that the two rapidly succeeding invasions of Jehangir +and Yusuf form a turning-point in the history of the Chinese rule in +Kashgar. Up to that epoch it is difficult to find words sufficient to do +justice to China's beneficent government there; after that year it would +be absurd to employ the same language. For the change the chief blame +must fall upon the fickle and ungrateful Kashgari themselves, and then +on the intriguing Andijanis. The Chinese are justified, at least, in +saying that, having for more than half a century ruled this people with +justice, they only relaxed in their efforts to promote its well-being +when their unarmed countrymen and soldiers had been surprised and +butchered by thousands. + +Strange, and almost contradictory, as it may appear, there was a brief +respite during which things seemed to have got into their old groove of +happy prosperity; and the chief credit for this must be given to a +Mahomedan sub-governor of the Chinese viceroy. Zuhuruddin, such was his +name, had raised himself to the high post of Amban in Kashgar, a post +never before held by any other than a Khitay. By birth he was of +Kashgar, but he always represented himself as having been born and +brought up in Khokand, where he had been imprisoned for a political +offence. For seven or eight years he governed Kashgar to the perfect +satisfaction both of the people and of the Chinese, and among some of +his public acts may be mentioned the reconstruction of new forts outside +the cities, in the place of those destroyed in the recent revolts. These +were known now as Yangyshahr instead of Gulbagh. But in 1846 +Zuhuruddin's rule was disturbed by hostilities on the part of Khokand +and the Khojas. + +In 1845 Khudayar Khan had been called to the throne after the death of +Mahomed Ali, but his authority was not without its rivals. In the state +of confusion that then ensued, Khokandian adventurers urged the Khoja +princes, who were now represented by the sons of Jehangir, to renew +their old attacks against the Chinese. To these advisers the Khojas +turned a willing ear, and preparations were accordingly made for the +enterprise. At that time Khokand was full of adventurers to whom Mahomed +Ali had been able to give constant employment, but who now under the +more peaceful rule of Khudayar idled their time in the cities of that +khanate. Among these and the ever willing Kirghiz, it was not difficult +for the princes of Kashgar to raise an army, formidable in numbers, if +not remarkable for cohesion. At that time there were seven prominent +Khoja princes in Khokand, of whom we may here mention Eshan Khan, +usually called Katti Torah, Buzurg Khan, and Wali Khan. This inroad did +not take its name from any one of these, but from them all combined; +thus it was distinguished as Haft Khojagan, or that of the Seven Khojas. + +With his brothers and relations and a considerable following, Katti +Torah advanced upon Kashgar, always the first object of these invaders, +which fell after a siege of thirteen days through treachery. This was +the only success they achieved; the other cities would have nothing to +do with them; and after two months' indulgence in unbridled licence the +Chinese beat them in a fight at Kok Robat, and drove them out of the +country. For the first time there was an air of ridicule thrown over +these Khoja invasions in the eyes of the Kashgari, while the outrages +they had committed during their brief stay had raised bitterer feelings +still. Zuhuruddin, who fell under the displeasure of the Chinese, was +removed from his post, and fresh Ambans, once more Khitay, were +appointed. For nine years the Khojas remained passive, but in 1855 Wali +Khan and his brother Kichik Khan, began to bustle once more on the +Kashgarian frontier. It was not until 1857 that Wali Khan succeeded in +forcing the advanced guard of pickets maintained in the passes by the +Chinese, but having accomplished that his triumph was rapid. Kashgar +fell into his possession by a _coup de main_, and once more a Khoja +prince was seated in the _orda_ at Kashgar. Artosh and Yangy Hissar fell +into his possession, and he threatened Yarkand. But everywhere the +Chinese garrisons remained unconquered in the forts, biding the +exhaustion of their foe and the arrival of reinforcements. After a rule +of nearly four months the armies of Wali Khan having been then defeated +by the Chinese, the Khoja fled to the remote state of Darwas, where he +was surrendered to Khokand by its chief Ismail Shah. This ruler, the +most tyrannical, bloodthirsty, and licentious of all the Khojas, met the +fate which he deserved long afterwards at the hands of Yakoob Beg. His +temporary tenure of power is still remembered with dread by the people, +who consider him to have been the most incarnate monster who ever held +the destinies of their country in his hand. The Chinese were more severe +in their punitive measures after this campaign than they had been after +any other, but, notwithstanding the part Khudayar and his people had +played in Wali Khan's affair, the old relations between "these +incompatible people," as Dr. Bellew aptly calls them, were restored. +After this event there was but one minor disturbance caused by an inroad +of Kirghiz nomads, headed by the sons of one of the principal victims of +Chinese vengeance, but this had no political importance. + +The invasion of Wali Khan was the last of those Khoja expeditions which +took place prior to the Tungan revolt. In the thirty-two years that +elapsed from the date of Jehangir's attempt to that of his son, there +had in all been four of them. That of Jehangir himself being the first; +of his elder brother Yusuf, the second; of Yusuf's eldest son, Katti +Torah, the third; and of Jehangir's second son, Wali, the fourth. Not +one of these is in any sense noteworthy, except for the crimes with +which it was attended, and none of them did more than inflict an untold +amount of misery and suffering on their own followers, as well as on the +people they claimed to represent by right divine. It may also be noticed +that with each enterprise there was a decline in moral character. Thus +Jehangir was infinitely the best of them in every sense, and ruled +fairly according to his lights. His brother Yusuf was of a more timid +mind, but evidently not less imbued with some notion as to the sanctity +of his mission. But from these to Katti Torah is a long descent. That +prince seemed to aspire to securing his personal comfort and enjoyment +alone, and disregarded all his subjects' complaints at the arbitrary +rule of his deputies. But Wali Khan, the next of these Khoja kings from +"over the mountains," excelled his cousin in vice, and tyranny, and +utter want of purpose, not to speak of honour, quite as much as Katti +Torah surpassed their sires. Nor can there be much hesitation in saying, +from what Buzurg Khan did during the few months he held power, that, had +not Yakoob Beg clipped his flight, he would have surpassed Wali Khan in +his own peculiar vices. The reader will scarcely be disposed to take +much interest in this irredeemable family, mad with the insanity of +wickedness. But in justice to the Chinese, and to Yakoob Beg, it is only +right that the rivals of the former should be made to appear in their +true colours. All the sanctity that a peculiarly venerable descent from +Hazrat Afak could give; all the stories told of the good deeds of some +of their ancestors; all the affection that naturally attaches to a +native rule, and all the dislike that must undermine a foreign, be it +never so beneficent; all these things were destroyed by the weakness and +ill success that attended the first two Khojas, and by the cruelty, +indifference, and licentiousness that marked the last two. When Buzurg +Khan came he found loyalty to the Khoja the heirloom of a few families, +not of a people. + +Had the Chinese restrained their vindictive feelings after the war with +Jehangir, and proclaimed a free pardon to every one save the Khokandis, +and then devoted their attention with the old vigour to peaceful +pursuits, we believe that the Chinese rule would have been permanently +secured. At that moment the Chinese were strong enough to have defied +Khokand, and to have broken off all intercourse with that state. By +dismissing the Aksakals, and severing the connection between the two +states, the Chinese would have dispelled a danger that was for forty +years to be ever before them, and, in the end, when the Tungani also +rose, was to overcome them. Even clemency after Yusuf's inroad, which +was really caused by the Chinese repressions, might not have been wholly +in vain, and would have consolidated their position, when reinvigorated +by Zuhuruddin's tenure of power. But the Chinese did not appreciate the +quality of mercy. They could be just and impartial in the ordinary +avocations of life, but to those who revolted against their authority +they showed no trace of human feeling. For a man to rebel against them +was certain death; for a people, history tells us, the fate was not far +different. Nor in dealing with such did they hesitate to supplement +their military strength by the most despicable of artifices. Garrisons, +accorded honourable terms, ruthlessly butchered; princes, who threw +themselves on their mercy, deported to Pekin to be hanged or tortured +out of life: these are frequent occurrences in the history of China, and +of her career in Central Asia the tale is identical. Yet, while drawing +a veil over these blots on an otherwise brilliant surface, should we not +desire to conceal them wholly from the view. It is necessary that they +should be stated to understand what Chinese domination means as a whole; +of its great benefits there can be no doubt, if the people will remain +quiescent. For fifty years, or for five hundred, China will rule an +unmurmuring people with justice, and lead them into the paths of +prosperity and peace; but if they rebel, if they openly defy authority, +if they invite a hostile stranger within their borders, the punishment +will be as sweeping, as cruel, and, in one and a higher sense, as +wrongfully foolish, whether the association of the races may have been +for fifty years or five centuries, as it was in the case of Kashgar. +There is not much reason for hoping that China will deviate from her +ancient custom, on the occasion now transpiring, of demanding "an eye +for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE BIRTH OF YAKOOB BEG AND CAREER IN THE SERVICE OF KHOKAND. + + +We have now traced the history of Kashgar and of the neighbouring states +down to the year 1860, immediately before the last Khoja invasion under +Buzurg Khan, and the Kooshbege, Mahomed Yakoob. Before giving an account +of that enterprise it is necessary that the reader should know what the +past career of the future Athalik Ghazi had been. The previous chapters +have, it is hoped, thrown some light on the state of Central Asia, and +will assist the student of the question in comprehending how it was that +Yakoob Beg achieved success, and what claims he may have to be +considered a great ruler, for having done a work that is unique in the +annals of modern Asia. + +Mahomed Yakoob was born in or about the year 1820, in the flourishing +little town of Piskent, in the khanate of Khokand. His father, Pur +Mahomed Mirza, had, at various periods of his life, filled positions of +responsibility in the government of the towns in which he resided. Thus, +a native of Dihbid, near Samarcand, he had migrated to Khodjent, in the +reign of Mahomed Ali Khan, with the intention of entering the priestly +order. There, although he enrolled himself as a student in a religious +seminary, for some reason or other, he appears to have changed his mind, +and, instead of entering the Church, turned his attention to secular +affairs. He was soon made Kazi of Kurama, a district and town of +Khokand, and married a lady of that place. By this marriage he had one +son, Mahomed Arif, who has since filled several posts of trust in +Kashgar, notably that of Governor of Sirikul; but of late this +half-brother of Yakoob Beg seems to have been, either for incompetence +or some other reason, under a cloud. Pur Mahomed, or Mahomed Latif, as +he was more usually called, changed his residence from Kurama to +Piskent, about the year 1818, and he shortly after his settlement in his +new abode married again, his second wife being the sister of Sheik +Nizamuddin, the Kazi of Piskent. Yakoob Beg was the issue of this +marriage. The family of Yakoob Beg's father seems originally to have +come from Karategin, on the borders of Badakshan, but in the time of the +Usbeg conquest of that district the father of Mahomed Latif, then an +infant, took refuge in Khokand. It is uncertain whether Mahomed Latif +was born before their arrival at Dihbid or afterwards; and it is now +asserted that he claimed descent from Tamerlane. Whether this was a +claim brought forward when his son was advancing in the world or not, it +is impossible to test its accuracy. The parents of Yakoob Beg were +therefore not without some pretensions, and it would seem that the bad +fortune, from which for some generations they had been suffering, was +beginning to disappear before the ability of Yakoob Beg raised it to a +higher point than ever. In addition to the claims of his father and +grandfather as Kazis of an important community, a sister of Yakoob Beg +married Nar Mahomed Khan, Governor of Tashkent; and, as we shall see +later on, this connection was very instrumental in promoting the +interests of the youthful Yakoob. + +Piskent, Pskent, or Bis-kent, as it is sometimes spelt, is still a +flourishing little community, fifty miles south of Tashkent, on the road +to Khodjent. Its inhabitants are a thrifty, good-tempered set of people, +who take great pride in the fact that the great Athalik Ghazi, the +supporter of Islam, and the reputed terror of the Russians, was one of +themselves. In this little settlement there are many Tajiks, and this, +doubtless, with other reasons, induced Mahomed Latif, a Tajik himself, +to take up his abode there. To the east of Piskent the mountains begin +to rise, which stretch onward until they become the Tian Shan and the +Kizilyart ranges, and in these elevated regions the Tajik descendants +muster in strong numbers. The Tajiks are Persian in their origin, and +consequently of the Aryan stock, in contradistinction to the Turk or +Tartar ruling class in Western Turkestan. They have, however, for so +many generations been restricted to a limited career in the organization +of the state, that, quite unjustly as it is, they have come to be +regarded as an inferior race. English writers have fallen into this +mistake, and have accepted as correct the definition given by the Turks +of this subject race. As a matter of fact the contrary holds true, and +the Tajik is superior to any of his masters in point of mental capacity. +They are represented to still retain the fine presence and long flowing +beards which distinguish those of Aryan blood from their Tartar +opposite; and in height and strength they quite eclipse every other race +of Central Asia. It was of this race that Yakoob Beg was the +representative, and, although the greater part of his life was passed in +ruling nations almost exclusively Tartar, some of the more prominent +among his supporters, as well as the flower of his army, boasted that +they, too, represented that master race, whose birth-place was to be +found in the Indian Caucasus. The Tajiks still speak a Persian dialect, +and their Iranian origin is thereby rendered almost indisputable. + +Mahomed Yakoob's early years were passed at his home at Piskent, and it +is said that it was intended that he should follow the profession which +his father had repudiated. As a youth he was too wayward to submit to +any check on his impulses, and the design of educating him as a +"mollah," if it was ever seriously entertained, was abandoned long +before he arrived at man's estate. He appears to have passed the first +twenty years of his life in an idle, uneventful manner at Piskent, and +then suddenly to have resolved to seek his fortune as best he might in +the troubled waters of Khokandian politics. In 1845, we find him in the +train of the newly seated khan, Khudayar, as "mahram," or chamberlain, +and shortly afterwards, by the influence of his brother-in-law, the +Governor of Tashkent, nominated a Pansad Bashi, a commander of 500. This +was in 1847, about which year he married a Kipchak lady of Zuelik, a +village in the district of Ak Musjid. He had three sons, of whom we +shall hear more hereafter, by this marriage--Kooda Kul Beg, Kuli Beg, +and Hacc Kuli Beg. Later on, in the year 1847, he was raised to the rank +of Koosh-Bege, or "lord of the family"--more intelligibly described as +vizier--and entrusted with the charge of the important post on the Syr +Darya, called Ak Musjid, "White Mosque." This post he held with credit +for six years, until 1853, when the Russians commenced that forward +movement, of which we have not yet seen the close. At that time, Russia +had not acquired one of the numerous strategic points now in her +possession. The Syr Darya then was as far off from her frontier as the +Oxus is now. Ak Musjid, built in the lower reaches of the river, and +representing a Khokandian outpost of exceptional importance, was the +grand obstacle in the path of the Russians operating from Kazalinsk, at +the mouth of the Syr Darya. It was resolved, therefore, that this post, +which, doubtless, encouraged all the marauders in the neighbourhood to +continue their depredations against the Russian caravans, should be +wrested from the hands of its owners, and either razed to the ground or +converted into a Russian stronghold. General Perovsky was entrusted with +this undertaking. The distance from Kazalinsk, or Fort No. 1, to Ak +Musjid is not much over 200 miles, along the banks of the Syr Darya. Not +many commissariat arrangements were necessary, nor did the distance to +march require much time to delay the Russian officer in beginning his +operations against the fort. The army with which he appeared before the +walls may not have been large in numbers when compared with the armies +of modern times, but, in all that makes a disciplined force formidable, +it was exceptionally well supplied. The artillery was in greater +strength than is usually considered necessary, and the expedition was +still more efficient in engineers and cavalry. The garrison of Ak Musjid +was, on the other hand, ill supplied, both in provisions and in +ammunition, and the fort itself presented, neither in its position nor +in its construction, any feature that an engineer officer would have +considered calculated to make it capable of sustaining the attack of +artillery for twenty-four hours. The Russian lines were constructed in +the most approved method; but twice were their approaches destroyed, and +twice their mines counter-mined. During twenty-six days the Russian +bombardment was fast and furious, and during all that time the +Khokandian defence was stubborn and persistent. But all the efforts of +the garrison to break through the beleaguering lines were unavailing, +and after so long a cannonade little more resistance could be expected +from ramparts which were pierced in several places by wide and gaping +breaches. The resolute commandant, who had done everything required by +the most exacting code of military honour, confessed that there was +nothing to be gained by a continued defence, and as it was known that +the Russians were making preparations for an early assault, a messenger +was despatched without delay to the Russian commander, expressing the +willingness of the garrison to capitulate on honourable terms. General +Perovsky, who had expected an easy triumph here, and possibly some more +extended triumph in farther regions, was indignant at the resistance +opposed to him by a paltry place like Ak Musjid, and received the +messenger from the fort with ill-concealed impatience. Scarcely +bestowing any attention on the letter, couched in humble terms as it +was, of the commandant, General Perovsky petrified the astonished +emissary with the declaration that on the morrow the fort would be taken +by assault. This arbitrary assertion of his power, which was carried +into practice, of course successfully, the next day, on an occasion when +magnanimity ought to have been shown by the successful general, does not +redound to the credit of the officer in question, and throws an +instructive light on the latitude left to Russian generals in their +instructions, and on the opinion felt for Central Asiatics by the +civilizing representatives of the White Czar. To say that General +Perovsky was urged to this act of gratuitous tyranny by a desire to +obtain a cross of either St. Anne or St. George, is, after all, only to +magnify the offence, and that Ak Musjid has taken the name of its +conqueror, Fort Perovsky, is the means of perpetuating, not his fame, +but his infamy, and the courageous conduct of the defenders. In the +winter following its fall Yakoob Beg, with Sahib Khan, brother of the +Khan of Khokand, attempted to retake the fort, but the _coup_ proved +abortive, and the Russians have never receded from their new +acquisition. + +Khudayar Khan had been elevated to the throne of Khokand in 1845, by the +energy of Mussulman Kuli, a Kipchak chief, of singular astuteness, and +aptitude for business. During his tenure of the post of Wazir, Khokand +was peacefully and beneficently governed; but, as on every similar +occasion in Central Asia, the ruler soon became jealous of the +popularity acquired by his minister, although his own position was in +reality confirmed by the wise measures of the very man to whom he had +conceived a covert hostility. So with Khudayar Khan, the effeminate, and +his minister, Mussulman Kuli, in the decade of which we are now +speaking; as with Buzurg Khan, the debauchee, but correct representative +of the Khojas, and his general and vizier, the Kooshbege, Mahomed +Yakoob, in the following. In 1858, Mussulman Kuli was seized by order of +Khudayar Khan, and barbarously murdered; and from that occurrence the +decadence of this unfortunate ruler of Khokand can be traced until, at +last, he became a mere pensioner on the bounty of the Russians. Although +Yakoob Beg became, to a certain extent, notorious for his gallant +defence of Ak Musjid, it would appear, from his being styled after that +event simply "Mir," or chief, that he had sunk in grade in his official +status. It is probable that the chief cause of this was his failure to +retake it, and not his ill success in defending it. He was, however, +entrusted with the charge of the Kilaochi fort, a post which he held +down to the murder of Mussulman Kuli. + +Khudayar Khan had an elder brother, Mullah Khan, who had been passed +over by Mussulman Kuli, when the state was put in order after the +dissensions that arose on the death of the great ruler, Mahomed Ali. +Now, on the death of Mussulman Kuli, who had given vitality to the +regime of Khudayar, Mullah Khan and his partisans began to intrigue once +more. Several Kipchak and Kirghiz leaders joined his cause, and Yakoob +Beg at once became one of his most active supporters. Khudayar Khan was +deposed, and retired into temporary seclusion. For his services to the +new ruler Yakoob Beg was made Shahawal, an officer corresponding to a +chamberlain or court intendant. He was soon restored to his old rank of +Kooshbege, and appointed governor of the frontier fort of Kurama, the +same place of which his father had been Kazi. And in 1860 he came still +more to the front, when he was summoned to Tashkent to assist Kanaat +Shah, the Nahib of Khokand, in making preparations in case the Russians, +who had for some time seemed to be threatening Khokand, should cross the +frontier. Mullah Khan was murdered at this time, having held the reins +of power but for the brief space of two years, and Khudayar Khan emerged +from his hiding place. He was welcomed both by Kanaat Shah and Yakoob +Beg; and in return for their support he consented to forget the past. +Yakoob Beg, as his reward, received the governorship of Kurama. It was +during these troubles that Alim Kuli, a Kirghiz chieftain, appeared upon +the scene. He possessed many of the attributes that distinguished his +predecessor Mussulman Kuli, and his successor, in the eyes of the +people, Yakoob Beg. He had undoubtedly a great capacity for intrigue, +but was inferior to the former in administrative capacity, and to the +latter in military skill. He now set Shah Murad, grandson of Shere Ali +Khan, up as a claimant to the throne, and was speedily joined by Yakoob +Beg, who once more abandoned the cause of Khudayar Khan, who, it must be +remembered, had always treated Yakoob Beg in a friendly way, and who in +their early days had been his boon companion. This conspiracy was +unsuccessful, and Yakoob Beg, who had yielded up Khodjent, with the +defence of which he had been entrusted by Alim Kuli, on the approach of +the forces of Khudayar Khan, took refuge in Bokhara. Here he was +favourably received, and resided as a noble attached to the court. In +1863 the Ameer of Bokhara, Muzaffur Eddin, marched a large army into +Khokand for the purpose of restoring his brother-in-law, Khudayar, to +the throne, for he had again been deposed by the intrigues of Alim Kuli; +Yakoob Beg accompanied this force, and once more appears, for the last +time, on the troubled arena of Khokandian politics. The Bokhariot army +was soon recalled, and Khudayar Khan was left to face the difficulties +of his position unaided. In a few months an arrangement was come to +between Alim Kuli and Yakoob Beg and other leading nobles against +Khudayar. Sultan Murad, who had first been supported and then murdered +by Alim Kuli, having been thus effectually removed, this king-maker had +set up Sultan Seyyid in his place. Yakoob Beg so far profited by this +new confederacy that he was restored to his old offices and +perquisites, and sent once more to hold his former post as governor of +Kurama. He collected as many allies as he was able, and brought them +with him to assist in the capture of Khodjent. On this important town +being secured the regent Alim Kuli passed through Kurama on his way to +seize and settle the capital, Tashkent. He appointed a connection of his +own, Hydar Kuli, with the title of Hudaychi, as governor of Kurama, and +took Yakoob Beg in his train to Tashkent. Shortly after their arrival at +Tashkent, news came of the Russian occupation of Tchimkent, and the +survivors of the force driven out by Tchernaief soon appeared with a +confirmation of the intelligence. This was in April, 1864, and until +October of that year, when the Russians appeared before the town, Yakoob +Beg was engaged in strengthening the fortifications of the capital. When +the army of General Tchernaief did appear in the neighbourhood, Yakoob +Beg, with a rashness that cannot be too strongly condemned, went forth +to encounter it in the open. As might have been expected, the Russians +were victorious, and Yakoob Beg was compelled to seek refuge with his +shattered forces within the walls of Tashkent. The Russians themselves +had suffered some loss, and either awed by the bold demeanour of their +old antagonist, or, as is more probable, encountering some difficulty in +bringing up supplies, and being unprovided with a siege train, thought +the more prudent policy would be to retire to Tchimkent until +reinforcements and other necessaries should arrive. Alim Kuli, in the +course of a few days after this reverse, arrived at Tashkent in person +with a large body of troops, and employed all his energies in +strengthening the defences before the return of the Russians. It is very +certain that on this occasion, the first on which Yakoob Beg had a +command of any consequence, he permitted his natural impetuosity to get +the better of his discretion, and that it was the height of madness on +his part to enter into an engagement in the open with the disciplined +and formidable forces of Tchernaief, when, by leaving that general to +undertake the siege of Tashkent, he might have had it in his power to +inflict a serious, and for the time conclusive, blow against the +Russians when the reinforcing army of Alim Kuli came up. With half his +army discouraged by defeat, Alim Kuli found himself restricted to a +policy of inaction, through the over-hastiness of his lieutenant. The +Russians did not return until after the departure of Yakoob Beg for +Kashgar, but when they did they found that Alim Kuli had made every +preparation in his power to receive them. On the first occasion they +were again forced to retreat after a skirmish which the Khokandians +claim as a victory; but in 1865 they appeared before the walls in +greater force. Alim Kuli, with a gathering vastly superior in numbers to +the Russians, attacked them a few miles to the north of Tashkent, and +the fortunes of the day hung in the balance, until the fall of Alim +Kuli, who, whilst boldly leading a charge of Kirghiz cavalry, was +pierced in the chest by a musket ball. He was carried from the field by +a faithful officer, and expired that night in Tashkent. Alim Kuli +appears to have been actuated to some extent by a disinterested +patriotism, as much as by more personal motives. With his fall, and the +departure of Yakoob Beg for another sphere of operations, all hope of a +continued state of independence for Khokand was dissipated. After this +severe defeat the Russians laid close siege to Tashkent. The Khokandians +in their distress applied to Bokhara for aid, and the Russians hastened +to occupy Chinaz to intercept it. The Bokhariot army was routed by the +Russian army under General Romanoffski at the battle of Irjar, in May, +1866, eleven months after Tashkent had been occupied by Tchernaief. It +was during this period of anarchy, with a hostile Russian and an allied +Bokhariot force on his soil, that Khudayar Khan once more supplanted the +nominee of Alim Kuli, Sultan Seyyid, and at the close of the campaign +Khudayar was left in possession of the southern portion of Khokand. This +Khan appears to have been of an unambitious nature, for, during his +various exiles, he devoted himself to private business with an energy he +had never shown in the management of the public affairs, and when he at +last sank into private life and became a pensioner of the Russian Court, +on the complete annexation of his state, he is said to have acquired not +only a happiness, but many virtues unknown to him in his more elevated +lot. The unfortunate Sultan Seyyid, after wandering for some years out +of Khokand, was, when he ventured to return in 1871, executed. Many of +the partisans of Seyyid on the defeat by the Russians, and on the +overthrow of his rivals by Khudayar, sought refuge in the mountains of +the Kizilyart, whence they proceeded to join Yakoob Beg in Kashgar, +where they arrived at a most opportune moment as will be seen. + +To return to Yakoob Beg. After his defeat before Tashkent he was +employed under Alim Kuli in repairing the defences of that town and +collecting troops from the whole district, but his reputation had been +lowered by that reverse. There was a certain jealousy between the +Kirghiz chief and the Tajik soldier of fortune. Yakoob Beg saw in Alim +Kuli an obstacle to his further promotion, and Alim Kuli recognized in +the Kooshbege a possible rival and successor. Any excuse therefore to +keep Yakoob Beg in the background, or indeed to get rid of him +altogether, would be very welcome to Alim Kuli. We hear little more of +the unsuccessful general until his departure for Kashgar a few months +afterwards. He had to wipe out in other regions and against other foes +the stain he had incurred in his encounters with the Russians. + +While these events were in progress at Tashkent, an envoy arrived there +from Sadic Beg, a Kirghiz prince on the frontiers of Ili and Kashgar. He +brought intelligence that his master had availed himself of the +dissensions among the Chinese, to seize the city of Kashgar, and he +requested the Khan of Khokand to send him the heir of the Khojas, in +order that he might place him on the throne. As the facts really stood, +Sadic Beg had only laid siege to Kashgar, and, finding that he was met +with a strenuous resistance, had recourse to the plan of setting up a +Khoja king to strengthen his failing efforts, but of the true state of +affairs in Kashgar it is evident that everybody in Tashkent was +primarily ignorant. The Khokandian policy had always been, however, to +maintain their interests intact in Eastern Turkestan, and to weaken in +every possible way the credit of the Chinese. An envoy bringing news of +a fresh revolt in Kashgar was, therefore, sure of a friendly reception +at Tashkent, even if he did not return with some more striking tokens of +amity. But on this occasion the danger from Russian movements was so +close at hand, and all the efforts of the state were so concentrated in +preparations for defence, that Alim Kuli, whatever he may have thought +of its prospects, and however much he may have sympathized with its +object, was unable to give the Kirghiz emissary any aid in his +enterprise. When, however, Buzurg Khan, the only surviving son of +Jehangir Khan, either of his own free will, or instigated, as some say, +by Yakoob Beg, offered to assert his claims on Kashgar, Alim Kuli +expressed his approval of the design, and gave his moral assistance so +far as was compatible with no active participation therein. He, however, +gave Buzurg Khan the services of Kooshbege Mahomed Yakoob to act as his +commander-in-chief, or Baturbashi. Thus did Alim Kuli free himself from +his troublesome subordinate, and despatched on an errand which seemed +likely to end in disgrace and defeat, but which really led to empire, +the only native whom he dreaded as being capable of supplanting him. + +Yakoob Beg had up to this point given little promise of future +distinction. He had, indeed, earned the reputation of being a gallant +soldier, if a not very prudent one; and in the intrigues that had marked +the history of his state for twenty years, he had borne his fair share. +But no one would have dreamt of prognosticating that he possessed the +ability necessary to win campaigns against superior forces, and then to +erect a powerful state on the ruins that fell into his possession. The +most favourable opinion would have been, that he would have died +manfully as a soldier, and as a true Mussulman. When he embarked in the +enterprise of conquering Kashgar, he was no longer in the first flush of +youth, but was a man who covered his fiery spirit and great ambition +with a cloak of religious zeal and diplomatic apathy. Twenty years' +experience in the most intriguing court in Central Asia had placed every +muscle at his complete command, and even in the most disastrous moments +in his career, he is always represented as being calm and +collected--calm in his belief in Kismut, and collected in a persuasion +of his own resources. One fact that will account for the slowness with +which he advanced into notoriety is that he was entirely dependent on +his own capacity for promotion. He had no wealth, no large following, +and in the two leaders, Kipchak and Kirghiz, Mussulman and Alim Kuli, he +had competitors of almost equal merit with himself, while they each +possessed personal power and family connections that placed them far +beyond the reach of the hardy soldier and court chamberlain. Some of his +detractors had availed themselves of his impecuniosity to circulate +stories of his having had dealings with the Russians; but these, +although invested with circumstances originating in non-Russian +quarters, are probably without any truth. The chief charge, to be taken +for what it is worth, is, that the weakness of his defence of the Ak +Musjid district, after the fall of the fort, was owing to his having +received a large bribe from the Russians. Another is, that in 1863, +after his return from Bokhara, he neglected to retard the Russian +movements for a pecuniary consideration. In both cases the sum mentioned +is very large; and besides the apparent falseness of these rumours, we +have only to consider that he was not worth a bribe, and that his +opposition to the Russians was marked by all the want of foresight of +religious zeal. All these considerations make such rumours appear in +their true light; and although we are aware that a follower of Yakoob +Beg confirmed, if he did not originate, these charges, it seems to us +that the Russians, if there had been truth in the report, would long ago +have placed the fact before the peoples of Asia, and required Yakoob Beg +when Ameer of Kashgar to have acted in a more friendly way towards his +former employers. But the simple reason that Yakoob Beg could not have +rendered any service to the Russians worth the thousands of pounds he is +said to have received, ought to demolish the whole fabrication. If +Yakoob Beg's life proves one thing more than another, it was that he was +a most fanatical Mussulman, and as such hating the Russians, as the most +formidable enemy of Islam, with the most intense hate his fiery nature +was capable of. This man's whole life must have been the greatest +hypocrisy if he was not genuine in his religious intolerance, and that +intolerance rendered any connivance with Russian measures an +impossibility. Owing to his early connection with the church, and his +maternal grandfather's high position therein, Yakoob Beg was always +distinguished for the strict orthodoxy of his views. Through all his +life he seems to have made it his chief object to keep the church on his +side. When he was reduced to the most desperate straits in his after +life in Kashgar, when some of the most faithful of his followers fell +off from him, and when even Buzurg Khan, the man whom he had placed upon +a throne, declared him a rebel and a traitor, he never lost heart so +long as the ministers of the church held by him; and, on the other +hand, they, recognizing the fidelity of their champion, supported him +through good and ill repute. Whilst residing at Bokhara "the holy" he +had attached to his person several of the most distinguished preachers +of Islam throughout Asia, and he had taken all the vows that give a +peculiar sanctity to the relations that connect the layman with his +priest. It was here that he publicly announced his intention of going on +pilgrimage to Mecca; an intention which he repeated on several occasions +during his rule of Kashgar, but was obliged, by the position and +precarious existence of that state, always to perform by deputy. When he +had established himself as ruler, his first measure was to re-enforce +the Shariat and to endow several shrines that had been erected to the +memory of the chief Khoja saints. It was by such means that he at every +crisis of his life had striven to make his interests identical with +those of his religion, and when he became a responsible and successful +prince his past life stood him in such good stead, that he easily came +to be regarded throughout Asia as the most faithful and redoubtable +supporter of Islam. + +At this period of his life he is described by one who knew him as being +of a short but stoutish build, with a keenly intelligent and handsome +countenance. He had, during the vicissitudes of his career in Khokand, +been so often near assassination, or execution, that the result of the +morrow had, to all external appearance, become a matter of secondary +consideration to him, and his features, schooled to immobility by a long +career of court intrigue, appeared to the casual observer dull and +uninteresting. When, however, the conversation turned on subjects that +specially interested him, such as the advance of Russia, the future of +Islam, or the policy of England, he threw aside his mask, and became at +once a man whose views, with some merit in themselves, were rendered +almost convincing by the singular charm of his voice and manner. He was +honourably distinguished at all times by the simplicity of his dress, +and his freedom from the pretension and love of show characteristic of +most Asiatics; and at the very highest point of his power he was only a +soldier, occupying a palace. As was well said of Timour, the Athalik +Ghazi placed the "foot of courage in the stirrup of patience," and he +evidently set himself to copy the great lessons of military success that +might be learnt from the careers of Genghis Khan, Timour, and Baber. +Such is some account of the commander-in-chief to the expedition of +Buzurg Khan. The Khoja, himself, was a man about the same age as his +lieutenant, but in every other respect as different as he well could be. +Personally a coward, fond of show and every kind of luxury, and of the +treacherous, fickle nature that marked his race, he had done nothing +during his past life to compensate for the want of the most ordinary +virtues. Although he participated in the expedition of Wali Khan, he +showed no possession of merit, and in the subsequent occupation that the +Khojas maintained in Kashgar during a few weeks, he, perhaps more than +any other of his kinsmen, disgusted the people by his open and unbridled +licentiousness. Such were the two men who, in the latter days of 1864, +set out from Tashkent for the recovery of a kingdom. Of their chances of +success few would have ventured then to predict a settlement in their +favour; none, certainly, such as was obtained by Yakoob Beg. It is now +time for us to relate how they fared in Eastern Turkestan. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE INVASION OF KASHGAR BY BUZURG KHAN AND YAKOOB BEG. + + +The Chinese were on several occasions, as we have seen, threatened in +Eastern Turkestan by the pretensions of the Khojas, and the secret or +open machinations of Khokand. But they had at all times triumphed over +every combination of circumstances, so long as they themselves were +united. The temporary success of Jehangir Khan was obliterated by the +excesses which characterized his occupation of the country, and by the +energy and large display of force, with which the Chinese pacified the +state on his flight; and the last, under Wali Khan, can scarcely be +dignified by any other appellation than that of a marauding incursion. +But a great and important change had occurred in the few years that had +elapsed since 1859. The Chinese no longer presented a collected force to +the onslaught of an assailant. In every quarter of their empire, +victorious rebels had established themselves, and had detracted in an +immeasurable degree from the effective strength of the Government. A +Mahomedan ruler swayed over the Panthays, in Yunnan, from his capital at +Ta-li-foo; the Taepings round Nankin were at the summit of their career, +just before the appearance of Colonel Gordon, when, in 1862, a fresh +danger broke out in the provinces of Kansuh and Shensi. From a remote +period there had been extensive Mussulman settlements in these +provinces, and so early as the seventeenth century they had been the +cause of trouble to the great Kanghi. The Emperor Keen-Lung, indeed, at +one time attempted to settle the question for ever by ordering the +massacre of every Mahomedan over fifteen years of age. Even this +sweeping measure did not have the desired effect, and whether +persecution was the means or not of giving vitality to the cause, it is +certain that they had become more numerous, more resolute, and more +confident in their own superiority to the other Chinese by the middle of +the present century. These Mahomedans were known as Tungani, Dungani, or +Dungans, while the Buddhist Chinese are spoken of as Khitay. Many +writers are not satisfied with this simple explanation of the name +Tungani, and will have it that they were a distinct race, who were +either transported to China at some period of Chinese conquest, or were +compelled to seek refuge there by some advancing barbarian horde. They +even assert that they can trace the name and origin of this people to a +tribe dwelling in the country of the lower waters of the Amoor; but +while there is complete uncertainty on the subject it seems simpler to +accept the signification that the word Tungani conveys to the Chinese, +and that is Mahomedan. We know, for certain, that these people had +resided in Kansuh and its neighbouring province for centuries--that they +were remarkable for a superiority in strength and activity over the +Khitay, and that they possessed the virtues of sobriety and honesty. +They were also not infected by the disease of opium smoking, and we +should imagine them to have been a quiet, contented, and agreeable +people at their most prosperous period. Their physical superiority to +the Khitay would probably be owing to their abstention from "bang" and +opium, and we need not suppose that they were the descendants of a +stronger race, who had issued from the frigid north, when we have an +explanation so much simpler and more natural at hand. They were found by +their Khitay rulers to form excellent soldiers, policemen, and other +Government servants, such as carriers, &c. In this last employment many +found their way to Hamil, thence to Turfan and Urumtsi, and their +numbers were increased by discharged soldiers, who remained as military +settlers sooner than return to Kansuh. In the course of a few +generations their numbers became much greater, until, at last, in the +cities we have named, they formed the majority of the inhabitants. In +Kuldja, too, they were very numerous, but south of the Tian Shan they do +not seem to have advanced westward of Kucha in any great force. At Aksu +the Andijan influence, supreme in Western Kashgar, presented an +impassable barrier to the Tungani, who, it must be remembered, had no +sympathy with Khokand. The Tungani were, therefore, Mahomedan subjects +of China, originating in Kansuh, but who had also, in the course of +time, spread westward into Chinese Turkestan and Jungaria. They were +employed in the service of the country without restriction, nor can we +find that they were subjected to any unfair usage, after the measures +taken against them in the earlier days of Keen-Lung. They may not have +been as highly favoured as the Sobo tribes, and they may have been +subjected to some ridicule in Kansuh; but in Jungaria they were on an +equality with all the other Chinese, and immeasurably better placed in +the political scale than the Andijanis or Tarantchis. The Chinese had +just grounds for believing that no danger to their rule in Eastern +Turkestan or Jungaria would ever be caused by the Tungani, and it is not +easy to explain how their reasonable anticipations were falsified. The +Tungani were fervent, if not the most orthodox in form of, Mahomedans, +and it would appear that they were not free from a belief in their own +superiority to the Khitay. This feeling was fostered by the "mollahs," +or priests, who became very active within the Chinese dominions, when +these had been extended by conquest into the heart of Asia. As if in +retaliation for a Khitay conquest the Mahomedan religion was undermining +the outworks of its rival's power slowly, but surely. The impulse given +to trade by the security and patronage that accompanied Chinese rule +was, at least from a purely Chinese point of view, neutralized as an +advantage by the admission into the empire of energetic and eloquent +preachers of the superior merits of Mahomedanism. It required many +generations before the effect of their efforts became perceptible, and +it was not until the power of China fell into an extraordinary +decline--a decline which many thought, with some show of reason, was to +herald the fall, but which later events have seemed to make but the +prelude to a more vigorous life than ever--that these Mahomedan +missionaries among the Tungani knew that the time to reap what they had +sown with patience and persistency was at hand. It is impossible not to +connect this event in some degree with that unaccountable revival of +fanaticism among Mahomedans, which has produced so many important events +during the last thirty years, and of which we are now witnessing some of +the most striking results. + +In 1862, a riot occurred in a small village of Kansuh; it was suppressed +with some loss of life, and people were beginning to suppose that it +possessed no significance, when a disturbance broke out on a large scale +at Houchow, or Salara. The Tungani had risen, and the unfortunate +unarmed Khitay were massacred right and left. The rising soon assumed +the proportions of a civil war, and the infection spread to the +neighbouring province of Shensi. Then ensued scenes of the most +atrocious barbarity. The Khitay, who all their lives had lived at peace +and as neighbours with the Tungani, were butchered without mercy. The +Mahomedan priests seized all the governing power into their own hands, +and set their followers the example of unscrupulous ferocity. The +movement, even if we make allowance for the difficulties besetting the +government in other regions, must be considered to have been attended by +unexpected success. It can only be accounted for by the supposition that +the Khitay were taken completely by surprise, and realized neither the +extent nor the nature of the danger to which they were exposed. Before +the end of 1862, a Tungan government was established in Kansuh, and its +jurisdiction was for a time acknowledged in Shensi. The priests formed +an administration amongst themselves, and set themselves to the task of +consolidating what they had won, and of preparing for the time when the +Chinese should come for vengeance. The events happening in Kansuh were +naturally of interest to the Tungani in the country lying beyond it, and +it was not long before the example set them was followed in Hamil, +Turfan, Urumtsi, Manas, and other cities of that district. The same +success attended the movement here as in Kansuh. The Chinese power was +subverted, the Khitay massacred with greater circumstances of cruelty, +if possible, and a new Tungan state was formed in those cities. Each +district retained a nominal independence, under the headship of a +priest, or body of priests, or of one of the native Tungan princes, and +then the movement spread with irresistible strides to Karashar, Kucha, +and Aksu. There it stopped, and south of the Tian Shan the Tungan revolt +proper never extended west of Aksu. + +In Altyshahr and Kuldja for some months longer the Chinese maintained +the external show of power, but all their communications with China were +cut off, and neither in numbers nor resources had they sufficient means +to cope with the Tungani unaided. They would have accomplished as much +as could have been expected from them if they succeeded in keeping +possession of that which they still occupied. The Tungan element in +Kucha and Aksu was not predominant. It had to share power with the +Khojas, and, as we shall see later on, the Khojas of these two cities +seized the governing power for themselves. It was the appearance of the +Tungan sedition in these cities, which occupy a middle relation to the +purely Chinese cities of Hamil and Urumtsi, and the almost totally +Khokandian cities of Yarkand and Kashgar, that roused the Kashgari to a +full appreciation of the importance to themselves of this movement, and +the Chinese garrisons and settlers to an equally just realization of +their own danger. The Kashgari, not free from the fanaticism of all +their co-religionists, and naturally elated at the successes of the +Tungani, forgot, with their well proved fickleness, all the benefits +they had received from the Chinese, and waited eagerly for a favourable +opportunity to come for them to imitate the example set them by their +eastern neighbours. Nor had they long to wait, although it was not from +them that came the first spark that lighted the firebrand of civil war +and anarchy throughout the length and breadth of Altyshahr. + +It will be remembered that the Khokandian government had the right to +nominate in each city, where they received dues on Mahomedan +merchandise, an agent or tax-collector to look after the proper levy of +the tax. In some of the larger cities this official would require a +considerable staff of assistants, and thus a certain number of skilled +Khokandian officials were permanently located on Kashgarian or Chinese +territory. After the failure of the expedition of Wali Khan, in which +these officials seem to have disappeared, either having become merged in +the body of his partisans or sacrificed during the massacres of that +time, a fresh batch of Khokandians was installed, and occupied, in a +legal sense, the same position as their predecessors. It would appear, +however, that the natural result of their aid to Wali Khan followed, and +that the Chinese Ambans regarded their presence with scarcely concealed +dislike, and proclaimed that these Khokandian tax-gatherers were +devoting more of their attention to the propagation of heretical +religious and political doctrines than to the collection of dues on silk +and other articles of commerce. It would require but the slightest +untoward circumstance to fan this ill-feeling into the most insatiate +hatred and hostility. The danger was rendered the more serious when the +Chinese Ambans perceived for the first time that the sympathies of a +large portion of their Tungan soldiery were estranged from them. It was +doubtful whether the Tungan regiments could be relied on against a fresh +Khoja revolt, and it was certain that they would not combine in any +repression of the Mahomedan religion, even though the sufferers should +only be Andijanis. Such was the state of the public mind in Altyshahr in +1862, when the Tungani revolted and obtained success in Kansuh and +Shensi. + +As early as 1859 the hostility of the Chinese Ambans to the Andijani +tax-collectors received a forcible illustration in the town of Yarkand. +At that time Afridun Wang was governor, and, whether there was any +personal enmity at the root of the action or not, he found little +difficulty in convincing both himself and the other Chinese residents +that the Andijani agent had been stirring up discontent against them in +the town. Accordingly, as self-preservation is the first law of nature, +this Khokandian official, with his attendant, was arrested and executed. +There may have been some foundation for the accusations made by Afridun +Wang against his rival: more probably there was none; but on referring +the matter to the Viceroy of Ili for decision it was decided that the +governor should be removed. The Khokandian government sent fresh agents, +and it is not stated that any reparation was given to the families of +the sufferers. From this it would appear that the post of tax-collector +in Altyshahr for His Highness the Khan of Khokand was not a very +desirable position. Afridun Wang retired to his native town of Turfan, +where, three years later on, he contributed more than any one else to +the success of the Tungan movement. His policy, if anti-Khokandian, was +pro-Mahomedan or Tungan, and his case is very typical of the nature of +this rising. In Turfan he continued to be one of the chief men, until, +six years later on, it fell to the Athalik Ghazi. + +His successor in the governorship of Yarkand did not interfere with the +Khokandian officials, but for this moderation he made up by the +exactions he committed on the residents, more particularly on the +Mahomedan portion of them. His extortions and cruelties had the effect +as much of disgusting his own followers as of rousing a spirit of +opposition among the oppressed. It was while things were in this +uncertain state at Yarkand that the governor received secret notice of +the Tungan revolt in Kansuh, and he at once perceived that, when this +important intelligence became known, not only would his own Tungan +troops become more openly mutinous, but that the Khojas might seize the +opportunity to assert their claim to the country once more. In this +special case, in addition to the general apprehension that would be felt +by any Chinese governor at the aspect of affairs, there was personal +fear for the unjustifiable acts of his government, and the Amban, in his +trepidation, resolved on the most strenuous precautions to avert the +danger from himself. He summoned a council of war of his Buddhist +lieutenants, and stated the exact position to them; how the Tungan +portion of their forces could not be depended on; how the Tungan +settlers would join them; and how the Andijani agents would do their +utmost to unite in one cause against themselves all those who followed +the teaching of Islam; and how all these events, which before were +possible, had been rendered probable by the Tungan successes in the +east. He dwelt on the fact that no time was to be lost in the execution +of such precautions as they thought necessary; that at any moment the +news might arrive, and then they would be in a minority; and he did not +attempt to conceal the purport of his address--that he was in favour of +sharp measures, of going to the root of the evil at once, and of +massacring every Mussulman in the town. The council of war was not +prepared to endorse such a violent proceeding without careful +consideration. There were many dissentients, and the meeting was +adjourned. It reassembled, and, on this occasion, although the +supporters of more moderate measures had decreased, it adjourned once +more before deciding. The danger evidently appeared more appalling to +the governor than to his subordinates; perhaps also there was some +personal dislike for their chief even among his Khitay following. At the +second meeting they seemed, indeed, more willing to acquiesce in his +proposed strong measures, and this may have been caused by their +observation of the state of public opinion in the interval. But even +then no final decision could be arrived at, and the Khitay never had a +chance after that of making any defence in Yarkand. The Tungan troops +were not long in hearing, through their chief officer, Mah Dalay, that +there was a plot on foot among the Khitay to disarm, or, as others said, +to massacre them, and they then learnt of the Mahomedan revolt in China +and along the road thither. They immediately determined to be beforehand +with the Amban and his lukewarm council, and no weak hesitation marred +the execution of their plot, as it had that of the Chinese governor. + +The Khitay troops, unarmed, were surprised during the night, and cut +down without quarter, and the small body of survivors sought refuge in +the Yangyshahr fort. This was in August, 1863, and no fewer than 7,000 +Khitay soldiers are computed to have fallen on this single occasion. The +Tungan troops were thereupon joined by the townspeople, and the question +then to be decided was, who was to be supreme, the Tungani or the +Andijan-Kashgari Mahomedans. The former were simply an unlettered and +rather savage soldiery; the latter possessed keen intellects for +manipulating a fanatical people, and for improvising an administration +of a superficial character. The balance of power was evenly distributed +until reinforcements arrived from Aksu and Kucha to the anti-Tungan +party. Two Khojas who had been banished from Kucha, for endeavouring to +promote their own interests in the name of Khokand, had fled to Aksu, +where they met the same fate. In this latter flight many of similar +principles joined them, so that when they reached Yarkand they had a +numerous force at their back. The Khojas in the first place joined their +forces to the Tungani, to storm the remaining Khitay in the Yangyshahr. +The Khitay after a gallant resistance perceived that further opposition +was impossible. Then occurred one of those deeds, which, if Europe +instead of Asia had been the scene, would have been handed down to +posterity as a rare example of military devotion and courage, but which, +although not unique even in the annals of the campaign we are entering +upon, having occurred in little-known Eastern Turkestan, is not realized +as an event that has actually taken place. It is a myth of the myth-land +to which it belongs. And yet, when we read how the Amban summoned all +his officers to his chamber, where he sat in state surrounded by his +wives, his family, and his servants; how all were silent, and yet sedate +and prepared; how, at the given signal that all were present, and that +the foe was at the gate, the aged warrior dropped his lighted pipe into +the mine beneath; how the exulting foe won after all but a barren +triumph; and how the Khitay taught the natives that if they had +forgotten how to conquer they had not how to die, we feel that there is +an under-current throughout the story, that, apart from the admiration +it must command, has claims to our own special sympathy. The Chinese, as +we did in India in the dark hours of 1857, asserted their superiority +over the semi-barbarous races under their sway, even when all hopes of a +recovery seemed to be abandoned. After the fall of the citadel the +Khoja element was supreme in Yarkand, and a priest named Abderrahman +was set up as king. + +The other cities of Altyshahr promptly followed the example of Yarkand, +and the Chinese power was completely subverted on all hands. The Khitay +were massacred whenever they fell into the hands of the Mahomedans, and +the only places that still held out were the citadels, notably the +Yangyshahr of Kashgar. The inhabitants of this city appear to have been +unable to keep their advantage over the Chinese, for they appealed to +the Kirghiz to come in and assist them. These nomads, under their chief, +Sadic Beg, were nothing loth to join in expelling the Chinese, as such a +change could only increase their advantages by substituting an unsettled +for a settled government. Siege was accordingly laid to the citadel of +Kashgar, but the irregular troops of the new allies were unable to make +any impression on the fort, defended as it was by a large Khitay +garrison. If the Chinese commander had assumed a more active policy, he +might have destroyed his opponents, but he was waiting for the arrival +of reinforcements, which he expected before many months. In not relying +solely on his own resources he proved himself unable to read the changed +signs of the time; if, indeed, he was not already meditating that +surrender, which he ultimately concluded with Yakoob Beg. Sadic Beg, +finding himself unable to take the fort, and knowing that it was +uncertain how long the Kashgari would remain friendly to himself, +resolved to play the part of king-maker, and sent the embassy to +Tashkent for a Khoja to come and rule Kashgar, only he omitted to say +that Kashgar was not conquered. + +We can now return to Buzurg Khan and his commander-in-chief. When they +left Tashkent they had only a following of six, among whom were Abdulla, +Pansad; Mahomed Kuli, Shahawal; and Khoja Kulan, Hudaychi. All of these +played a very prominent part under Yakoob Beg. From Tashkent they went +to Khokand, where their numbers rose to sixty-eight. Here the final +preparations were made, and during the first days of January, 1865, this +band of adventurers crossed the Khokand frontier into Eastern Turkestan. +The mountain forts seem to have been deserted, for no opposition was +encountered in the passage of the Terek defile. Several small bodies of +troops joined them, and they reached Mingyol in the neighbourhood of +Kashgar with increased numbers and confidence. Sadic Beg had conceived a +more sanguine view of his situation by this time, and half repented that +he had invited the Khojas in at all, more particularly when he found +that the Khoja had a following of his own, and a skilled commander and +minister in Yakoob Beg. He then strove to dissuade Buzurg Khan from +proceeding further with an enterprise fraught with great peril, for he +represented the Chinese as sure to return, when summary vengeance would +be exacted. But his arguments were unavailing. Either Buzurg Khan or his +adviser, Yakoob Beg, was deaf to all entreaty. The enterprise they had +embarked on must be continued to the bitter end. They could not think of +returning to Khokand with nothing accomplished, with the stigma +attaching to them of a retreat when there had been no foe. Sadic Beg +could not but submit with the best grace possible; and Buzurg Khan was +accordingly placed on the throne of his ancestors. + +In his "_orda_" or palace he administered justice and received the +congratulations of his own followers and of the Andijani townspeople. +The court rules were drawn up on the model of those in use in Khokand, +and while the expedition had but established itself, in an uncertain +manner, in one city it was thought necessary that etiquette should be as +strictly defined and enforced as if all this were taking place in a +brilliant and luxurious capital. In a few days Sadic Beg, on finding +that he played but a secondary part, revolted, and set himself up as +ruler at Yangy Hissar. It was now that Yakoob Beg came to the front, +and assumed the control of affairs until the fall of the contemptible +Buzurg. With great difficulty after the desertion of their Kirghiz +allies was a force of 3,000 men collected around the new Khoja in +Kashgar. Sadic Beg advanced on the capital with a much larger army, and +Yakoob Beg had for a time to remain on the defensive. Each day, however, +brought in recruits to his camp, while, the army of the Kirghiz leader +presenting no object of sympathy to the people, his rival's remained +stationary, if it did not decrease. An encounter at last commenced +between the two forces which was made general by the intrepidity of +Abdulla. The Kirghiz levies of Sadic were unable to withstand the +vigorous charges that were led against them, and broke after a short +combat into headlong flight. In the mountains the Kirghiz gathered +around their chieftain in force, and, hovering on the northern districts +of Kashgar, presented a danger that must be removed by Yakoob Beg before +he could advance farther. His troops were therefore directed to proceed +against the Kirghiz in their fastnesses, and it was not long before the +Kirghiz, driven into a corner, turned at bay on their pursuer. The +forces on either side were about equal, some 5,000 men in either army. +But, as is customary in the East, the Kirghiz army put forth a champion, +Suranchi by name, who had obtained great renown for his extraordinary +height and strength. The challenge did not remain unanswered, for +Abdulla stepped forward to the encounter. The fight, though furious, was +short, and the smaller Khokandian warrior was victorious over his more +ponderous antagonist. The Kirghiz power after this reverse was broken +up, and Sadic Beg took refuge with Alim Kuli at Tashkent. Yakoob Beg's +first campaign against the Kirghiz, who had sworn alliance with him, and +by whose invitation he was present in Kashgar, had thus ended +victoriously, and he was now able to resume the main purpose of +conquering Kashgar. Having rendered Kashgar secure from surprise on the +north, and leaving a force to maintain their hold on it, and to keep in +check the Khitay garrison, Buzurg and Yakoob proceeded south to occupy +Yangy Hissar. The town was occupied without difficulty, but an attempt +to storm the citadel in which the Khitay had taken refuge was repulsed +with loss. Sending Buzurg Khan back to Kashgar, Yakoob Beg resolved to +go on to Yarkand and endeavour to bring that city under their immediate +influence. + +At this period he loudly proclaimed that there should be no differences +among the Tungani, or Mahomedans, in their war with the Buddhists, and +that Khojas and Tungani had but one interest in common. As we have seen, +the Tungan disturbances broke out first in Yarkand of any city of +Altyshahr, and accordingly an earlier settlement founded on a compromise +had been attained there, than was the case in its northern neighbours, +Kashgar and Yangy Hissar, where an ambitious Kirghiz chief had sought to +carve a kingdom for himself. After Abderrahman Khoja had been made king +or ruler in Yarkand, and after the Khitay had been destroyed with their +citadel, a fresh arrangement was agreed upon between the Tungani and the +Khoja party. By its terms the Tungani maintained possession of the +citadel, and the Khojas held jurisdiction in the city. Neither of them +would be disposed to view with any friendly eye the appearance of a +claimant to supremacy in the person of a Khoja sovereign of the whole +country, and it was as the representative of such a person that Yakoob +Beg resolved to visit Yarkand. His march was delayed as much as +possible, and it was not without some difficulty that he at last +obtained admittance with his small following into the city. Yakoob Beg +was naturally incensed at this inimical treatment from his +fellow-religionists, and he soon set himself to the task of humbling the +dominant Khojas of Yarkand. During a street riot that was probably +instigated by the wily Khokandian, the leading Khojas were seized, and +their followers expelled from the city. With a force of only a few +hundred men, Yakoob Beg had established himself as master in the largest +city of the country; his success on this occasion was very temporary. As +ill fortune would have it for him, a fresh army of 2,000 men from Kucha +had arrived at Tagharchi, and, there joined by the forces from Yarkand +and the neighbourhood, presented a very formidable appearance. They +marched on the city at once with complete confidence in their superior +numbers, and Yakoob Beg, always in favour of the boldest course, marched +out to meet them. In a skirmish, however, the detachment under Abdulla +was badly cut up owing to the rashness of that officer, and Yakoob Beg +at once recognized the necessity for a prompt retreat. During the +following night he made a forced march and arrived the next day at Yangy +Hissar with no very great loss in men, but without any baggage whatever. +The enterprise to Yarkand then appeared in its true light as a rash +venture. + +The Khitay in the fort of Yangy Hissar still held out, and Yakoob Beg +resolved to overcome them before he attempted any fresh enterprise. He +called up reinforcements from Kashgar, and pressed the siege with +renewed vigour, and alter strictly environing it for forty days the +garrison surrendered. Although Yakoob Beg himself seemed desirous of +showing moderation to the prisoners, more than 2,000 Chinese were +massacred. During all these petty events, which had not produced even +the results of past Khoja enterprises, there had been discontent and +division within, as well as opposition from without. At this time a +fresh danger was appearing on the horizon. A Badakshi army was advancing +with hostile intent on Sirikul, and although Yakoob Beg disregarded its +approach while he pressed on the works against the citadel of Yangy +Hissar, when that fort fell it attracted his attention once more. The +Khitay garrison in the Yangyshahr of Kashgar was also a source of danger +to the newly founded dynasty, and, although its inactivity had continued +for a long period, it was uncertain at what moment it might pass off. We +can only account for the extraordinary lethargy of the Chinese commander +by supposing that he was in complete ignorance of what was passing in +the country. At many moments it must seem to an observer of the facts +that the Chinese governor, who had under him 6,000 or 7,000 disciplined +troops, could have crushed all the opposition of such heterogeneous +crowds as those fighting under or against Yakoob Beg were up to this +time. With the destruction of the Yangy Hissar garrison the prospects of +Yakoob Beg greatly improved, and less opportunity was left to the +Chinese governor for assuming the offensive, than when he possessed an +ally in so close a position as Yangy Hissar. Yakoob Beg also resolved to +press the Khitay still more in this their last stronghold, and before he +encountered other opponents to crush the Khitay, as he already had the +Kirghiz. At this point Sadic Beg reappears in Kashgar at the head of a +Kirghiz force to oppose Yakoob Beg, and for a moment it seemed as if he +were to have better fortune on this occasion. But Abdulla, the most +trusted as well as the most courageous of Yakoob Beg's lieutenants, +collected such forces as he could, boldly threw himself in his path, +and, having routed Sadic in a sanguinary engagement, prepared to press +that unfortunate chieftain into flight or ruin. Yakoob Beg, in want of +allies and soldiers however, interfered and suggested an alliance +instead of a war _a outrance_. The thwarted Sadic was only too glad to +get off on such favourable terms, and joined his forces to those of his +late enemy now besieging the Khitay with renewed vigour. This merciful +termination of a difficulty, that might have become serious had it not +been cured in time, was a performance very creditable in a diplomatic +sense to Yakoob Beg. In a small way it may be compared with Frederick +the Great's action at Pirna, where he received the services of 40,000 +Saxon troops. But, perhaps, still more remarkable was the manner in +which Yakoob Beg averted the danger from the Badakshi army. The +Badakshi, like their kinsmen the Afghans, may be considered, _caeteris +paribus_, to be superior soldiers, on account of their larger build and +more active habits, to other Asiatics, so that Yakoob Beg with his +half-disciplined followers would have had some difficulty and must have +incurred considerable loss in overcoming these new invaders. He made +overtures to them, and the Badakshi, seeing that he was likely to give +them exciting and profitable employment, entered into negotiations with +him. The result was that they took service under him; and Yakoob Beg for +the first time found himself at the head of a large army, composed of +Khokand, Kashgar, Kirghiz, and Badakshan levies. It was fortunate for +himself that he had been able to arrange his affairs so satisfactorily, +for a fresh danger was approaching from the east. + +The reader may have observed that we have said little of Buzurg Khan +during the operations of the campaign up to this point. Indeed, there is +little or nothing to say of the movements of that prince, for he had +been mainly stationary at Kashgar, where he passed his time in his +harem, or besotted under the use of drugs. Yakoob Beg had from the very +commencement come to the front as responsible chief, and as events +progressed the people and the army came to look upon him as their future +ruler. But Yakoob Beg, it would seem, was really in earnest in +supporting the Khoja prince, for on several occasions not only did he +give Buzurg the most salutary advice, but he also compelled him to take +an active part in the public business. Such fits of action were most +distasteful to the effeminate prince, and he always returned with +renewed zest to the illicit pleasures in which he indulged. One of the +occasions on which Yakoob Beg endeavoured to instil into his sovereign +some idea of the responsibilities of his office was this invasion by the +Khoja-Tungani power of Altyshahr. Early in the summer a large force, +estimated at 40,000 men, collected by the cities of Aksu, Kucha, and +Turfan, appeared at Maralbashi, whence it equally threatened Kashgar or +protected Yarkand. Yakoob Beg's utmost efforts, if we are to credit the +native report, only availed to bring some 2,500 men into the field; but +it is more reasonable to suppose, that, with his Kirghiz, Kipchak, and +Badakshi auxiliaries, he had many more troops under him, perhaps 12,500 +instead of 2,500 men. Be the exact numbers of the forces what they may, +however, it is certain that he was greatly outnumbered by the invader, +and that the diverse elements of his army detracted very much from its +effective strength. The Tungan army advanced from Maralbashi on Yangy +Hissar, where Yakoob Beg had concentrated his army. He had drawn Buzurg +Khan and such of the court followers as he could from their ignominious +inaction in the capital to encounter the dangers and risks of a field of +battle. Both sides were eager for the encounter, which took place in the +neighbourhood of Yangy Hissar. The tactical disposition made by Yakoob +Beg of his forces was such as would command the approval of skilled +officers, and, having done all that mortal man could do to insure the +result, he commended himself and his cause to Allah. The battle was long +and stoutly contested. During hours it was impossible to say to which +side the balance of victory was inclining; at last the Kirghiz troops, +half-hearted in their fighting, were driven from the field, and the +Badakshi division, which had up to that moment stubbornly held its +ground, immediately followed the shameful example thus set it. There now +only remained the division under the immediate orders of Yakoob Beg to +withstand the onset of a whole army victorious in two different quarters +of the field. The situation, on which the fate of the whole enterprise +depended, might have filled the boldest heart with momentary despair. +Yakoob Beg had, however, so braced himself to the effort, that no more +than ordinary emotion was permitted to betray the disturbed mind within, +and with the exclamation that "Victory is the gift of God," he inspired +his soldiery to continue the fight throughout the afternoon. The enemy, +dismayed at the dauntless courage shown by this mere handful of men, and +having incurred great loss in his effort to crush them, drew off his +weakened forces towards evening; and Yakoob Beg, boldly seizing the +opportunity for assuming the offensive, drove them from the field in +disorder and with considerable loss. In addition to the loss in killed +and wounded, more than 1,000 Tungan soldiers enlisted under the standard +of Yakoob Beg, and that general found himself on the morrow of one of +his greatest battles, with a greater force under his command than he had +just before it commenced. This great triumph gave fresh lustre to the +Khoja family, and redounded to the military renown of Yakoob Beg. Nor +should it be forgotten that on this occasion he showed that he +possessed, besides military genius of some merit, qualities of an +estimable character. For the first time in the annals of these wars the +prisoners were treated with some consideration. For some reason or other +this victory was not followed up, and the defeated Kucha army retired on +Maralbashi, which it continued to hold for some months longer. The +indirect results of this victory were scarcely less important, however, +than the immediate and direct consequences of it. + +Buzurg Khan, who had been present at this battle, was among the first to +seek refuge in flight; and when he received intelligence of the final +success his satisfaction was almost eclipsed by his personal chagrin and +mortification. Up to this event he had been content to let Yakoob Beg +act the king so long as he could indulge undisturbed in his +debaucheries; but from this date there became mingled with his wounded +vanity a conviction that Yakoob Beg was becoming so powerful and so +popular that he might prove a dangerous subject. The weak-minded prince +then permitted himself to be made the tool of every rival that the +success of Yakoob Beg had raised up for himself either in the court or +in the camp, and listened to tales brought him of his lieutenant's +plots, when the conspirators most to be feared by himself were the +ambitious chieftains in whose power he was placing his person and his +crown. After the defeat of the Kucha army, the ruling parties in Yarkand +thought it would be wise to come to terms with their victorious and +aggressive neighbour, and accordingly an embassy was despatched to Yangy +Hissar by the Khojas of Yarkand to tender their submission to the +sovereign of Kashgar, and to ask to be favoured by the nomination of a +city governor, who would be agreeable to Buzurg Khan and his vizier, +Yakoob Beg. It is suggestive to watch how the name of the vizier +occupies almost as prominent place in all their addresses as that of his +master. The Tungan governor in the Yarkand Yangyshahr, not to be +behindhand in his worship of the rising sun, immediately sent a similar +expression of obedience to Kashgar. + +The course of events once more takes us back to Kashgar, where the +Chinese still held the citadel against all comers. But with each fresh +success of Yakoob Beg over his numerous opponents, and with the spread +of the Tungan power into Jungaria, hope almost completely deserted the +unfortunate Khitay, who, in this solitary fort, alone maintained the +name of Chinese authority. Treason, within the walls, was now to aid the +efforts from without. Kho Dalay, the superior officer in the citadel, +although not the commandant, came to an arrangement with Yakoob Beg, by +which honourable terms were conceded to the garrison; and 3,000 Khitay +troops surrendered and settled in Kashgar. They were required to +acknowledge formally the supremacy of the Khoja, and to make a +profession of Islamism. But they were never really interfered with in +the observance of their own rites among themselves, and had nothing to +complain of in their duty. They were called after their recantation +"Yangy Mussulmans," or "New Mussulmans." These were the last Khitay +troops who surrendered to the new conquerors, and with them every +vestige of Chinese authority disappeared from every part of Jungaria and +Eastern Turkestan. Even among this garrison, reduced by a long siege and +its attendant deprivations to despair, there was a small minority who +preferred death to the dishonour involved in surrender. Chang Tay, the +commandant, refused to be any party to the arrangement made between Kho +Dalay and Yakoob Beg. When the day approached for the entry of the +Kashgarian army, this resolute Amban withdrew to his palace, and having +collected his family and dependents around him blew them all up with the +explosion of a mine that he had constructed underneath. In the confusion +that arose from this incident, the enemy broke into the fort, and it was +not for some hours that Yakoob Beg succeeded in obtaining control over +them once more. During that interval of insubordination many Khitay were +murdered, but not without resistance. Kho Dalay and almost 3,000 men +remained to take service in the conquering army, as already explained. +The new alliance was cemented by the marriage of Yakoob Beg to the +beautiful daughter of Kho Dalay, by whom he has had several children, +too young as yet to take any part in public affairs. Perhaps Yakoob +Beg's moderation to the Khitay is to be explained by this circumstance, +and it is certain that down to the very end his Khitay wife exercised +great influence over her husband. + +This was in September, 1865, nine months after his first arrival in +Altyshahr, and in that period he had worked, if not very rapidly, with +considerable thoroughness. The Khitay destroyed, the Kirghiz subdued, +and the Tungan influence checked in its aggression against Western +Kashgar, such was the tale of his achievements. Several battles and +sieges successfully brought to an issue, and a numerous army formed out +of the diverse fragments of conquered and conquerors. Personally, too, +Yakoob Beg had done much towards preparing the public mind for the +assumption of power by himself, and the reigning chief had done still +more by his neglect of duty and abandonment to pleasure. Buzurg Khan +might stand for the typical _roi faineant_, and Yakoob Beg was a more +than ordinarily resolute and determined _maire du palais_. + +The citadel of Kashgar had not long surrendered when messengers arrived, +reporting the near approach of a large body of men from Khokand, but who +they were, or with what intention they came, none knew. These were the +unsuccessful conspirators against Khudayar Khan, who, after the death of +Alim Kuli, had obtained his power once more; and these having been +driven out of Khokand by his armies, were compelled to seek refuge in +Kashgar. Yakoob Beg sent them the laconic message, while they were +hovering on the frontier, that "if they came as friends, they were +welcome; if as foes, he was ready to fight them." Until the arrival of +this declaration there appears to have been some hesitation among the +Khokandians what to do, as some were wishing to attempt the conquest of +Kashgar in their own interests; but when so clear a statement was sent +them by Yakoob Beg, and when they learnt more definitely of the +permanence of his success, they threw off their reserve and joined the +confederacy of Kashgar. In the meanwhile fresh disturbances were +breaking out in Yarkand, and thither he proceeded in the later months of +1865 to quell them, taking Buzurg Khan with him. On his arrival before +the town both the Khojas and the Tungani hastened to profess the +greatest desire to fulfil his wishes, although they kept him outside +their gates. It is probable that neither party could have offered any +prolonged resistance to him, had they not been encouraged to do so by +Buzurg Khan. That prince had for some time been fretting against the +iron will of his lieutenant, and, now, in an ill humour at being carried +from his amusements and idleness at Kashgar to suffer the deprivations +of a camp life before Yarkand, broke loose from all control, and plotted +in his own camp, and in the enemy's, to free himself from his +troublesome general. The plot among the Tungan soldiery had assumed +alarming proportions, and all was ready to put an end to the career of +Yakoob, when it was fortunately discovered by his faithful friend +Abdulla. Precautions were taken, and the plot in the camp was +effectually thwarted; but Yakoob Beg was not strong enough then to show +his resentment. This danger was only removed to give place to another. +The Tungani soldiers in Yakoob's service now opened up communications +with their kinsmen in the Yangy-Shahr, and they formed the following +plan to destroy the remaining portion of the Kashgarian forces. The +garrison was to simulate a desire to yield into the hands of Yakoob Beg +both their own persons and the fort, and when he, unsuspecting any +covert design, should be lulled into a false sense of security, the +Tungani in his service could join the Tungani in the fort in making a +night attack on the other forces. The plan promised well. Yakoob Beg was +deceived by the friendly overtures of the Tungani, and relaxed his +precautions, and, during the night that was to precede the surrender of +the Tungani, the conspirators marched out of the fort, and being joined, +as had been arranged, by the other confederates, surprised Yakoob Beg +and his immediate followers. A desperate resistance was offered by the +half-armed men, but the Tungani were victorious, and Yakoob Beg had much +difficulty in collecting around him on the morrow a few hundred +soldiers. Among those, however, was Abdulla and some of his more trusted +companions. The Kirghiz under Sadic Beg could not be trusted, and it +seemed that that chief was still inclined to play for his own hand. At +this, the most critical period of his life, Yakoob Beg's tact and +resolution were most conspicuous. When he was surrounded on every hand +by hostile factions, and could count on the fidelity of scarce five +hundred men, he triumphed over every obstacle, and rose omnipotent over +the petty jealousies and dissensions of those who sought to crush him. +Buzurg Khan seized the moment of this disaster to draw off into a +separate camp with a large body of troops and all the Kirghiz, and it is +very possible, as has been asserted, that he instigated the successful +Tungan _coup_. There is no evidence that he did, and I am personally of +opinion that it originated among the Tungani themselves, and that Buzurg +Khan only rejoiced at its occurrence, as he would have done at any other +reverse to Yakoob. The position now was as follows:--In the citadel were +the victorious Tungani, and in the town they shared the distribution of +power with the townspeople. Outside in one part was Buzurg Khan, with a +force that was equivocal in its sympathies, and that might at any moment +become hostile, to Yakoob Beg; and in another part was Yakoob Beg +himself and his attenuated following. Affairs could not look less +hopeful, and if the three parties could have accommodated their own +differences for but the short space of twenty-four hours, Yakoob Beg +must infallibly have been destroyed: as it was, they did nothing with an +enemy like Yakoob Beg in their proximity, and permitted him to redeem +all he had lost by his too great credulity in the good faith of his +brother Mussulmans. Let us now see how he saved himself. The first point +to do was to restore the courage and self-confidence of his own +soldiers, and to do that, it was necessary to strike a sharp blow that +was sure of success. The fort could not be taken by a _coup de main_, +but the city, large and straggling, presented a more inviting aspect for +such an attempt. Abdulla, the Murat of the army of Kashgar, with the +most determined intrepidity, carried it by assault, although here again +he attacked without awaiting the arrival of the other contingents. Like +Edward Bruce, + + "Such was his wonted reckless mood, + Yet desperate valour oft made good, + Even by its daring, venture rude, + Where prudence might have failed." + +This achievement put an end to the rejoicings among the Tungani, and +compelled them to recognize what a terribly energetic and enterprising +foe they had to deal with. But, at this moment, a severe mishap occurred +which almost neutralized the advantage thus gained. Buzurg Khan, unable +either to crush Yakoob Beg or to enjoy the indulgences to which he had +enslaved himself, resolved to secure the latter, happen what might. He +accordingly fled from Yarkand with many followers, and retired to his +palace at Kashgar. There, not content with pillaging the palace of +Yakoob Beg, he proclaimed him a traitor and rebel, and offered a reward +to whomsoever should bring him his head. Another general was appointed +to the command of the army, and preparations were made for defending +Kashgar against any attempt of Yakoob Beg to attack it. But fortunately +the Tungani in the citadel of Yarkand were not aware of this dissension +among the Kashgari, and as they were struck with admiration for the +valour of Yakoob Beg, they surrendered to him soon after the flight of +Buzurg. He was then able to turn his undivided attention to his +refractory chief. Yakoob Beg had always, as we have said, befriended the +church; he was now to experience some benefit for that very commendable +respect. Among the first means of crushing Yakoob Beg that Buzurg Khan +had employed was an appeal to the Sheikh-ul-islam of Kashgar to proclaim +his Baturbashi outside the pale of the law. This the ecclesiastic +refused to do, and asserted, on the contrary, that Yakoob Beg had +deserved well both of his country and of the Mahomedan world. Foiled in +his effort to stir up a religious feeling against his general, Buzurg +Khan was reduced to the more cogent, but in his hands quite useless, +argument of the sword. Nor was the field, limited as it must appear to +us, free from other pretenders. Sadic Beg, instead of coalescing with +Buzurg Khan, set up his own pretensions to rule the country; and the +Kucha Khojas and Tungani began to collect troops in view of possible +eventualities. + +The army of Buzurg Khan, which had marched out to oppose the entry of +Yakoob Beg, was outflanked and defeated by Abdulla in the country +between Yangy Hissar and the capital; and Yakoob Beg, pressing on with +irresistible strides, was received in Kashgar with the acclamations of +the people and of his soldiers. He was then publicly proclaimed ruler, +and his friend the Sheikh-ul-islam ratified the people's choice. Buzurg +Khan, who had taken refuge in the Yangy-Shahr, was seized in his palace +there, after a very slight resistance. Some of the more prominent of +Yakoob Beg's rivals were executed, and Buzurg Khan himself was placed in +a state of honourable confinement. He still persisted in futile +intrigues, and so long as he remained in Kashgar was a source of endless +trouble to the new government. For more than eighteen months he was +permitted to remain however, and then, being detected in instigating the +murder of Yakoob Beg, was banished to Tibet. After wandering for some +years, he found his way to Khokand, where he is believed to be still +residing with a large family. He may be considered to have been the last +Khoja prince ruling Kashgar, for it is scarcely probable that, in any +future settlement of that country, a restoration of the old reigning +family will be supported by any one. He is no exaggerated type of the +rule among Central Asian despots, who present to our gaze a long series +of petty tyrants and debauchees, until for a few years they are +displaced by a successful soldier such as the Athalik Ghazi, or by a +skilful minister such as Mussulman Kuli was in Khokand. + +The Kirghiz chief, Sadic Beg, did not long hold out against the +consolidated power of Yakoob Beg; and the Kucha movements were +suspended. In a little more than twelve months Yakoob Beg had occupied +Kashgar, Yangy Hissar, and Yarkand. Sirikul and Khoten also acknowledged +his rule; but his further operations against them will be narrated +by-and-by. He felt now so secure in his seat that he permitted the +Badakshi contingent to return home, presenting each soldier with a large +present. Ever since that time Yakoob Beg seems to have maintained some +influence in Badakshan, and to have been inclined on several occasions +to compete with Shere Ali of Afghanistan for the possession of that +province. His ambition was never fully revealed in this quarter; but it +is certain that Shere Ali regarded him with scarcely concealed suspicion +and dislike. + +With the assumption of personal power by Yakoob Beg, on the deposition +of the Khoja Buzurg Khan, the first part of the enterprise undertaken in +the later days of 1864 was brought to a termination. In the more +extended operations of Yakoob Beg against the Tungani and Khoten, may be +perceived the effects of events outside his immediate sphere upon, this +energetic ruler, who, until his last years, never realized the strength +of the Russians, and who had, up to the year 1870 when Kuldja was +occupied, convinced himself that he could retard the progress of the +great Northern power. It was that idea, besides a thirst for military +renown and excitement, that urged him on to the construction of what he +fondly believed might prove a formidable and extensive state. As ruler +of Kashgar, he could not be anything but a kind of vassal of the Khan of +Khokand; as monarch of Eastern Turkestan, he might treat on terms of +equality with the Czar of Russia or the Emperor of China. It was no +unworthy ambition, and Yakoob Beg, created Athalik Ghazi, Champion +Father, in 1866 by the Ameer of Bokhara, accomplished so much of it as +was possible. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +WARS WITH THE TUNGANI. + + +Yakoob Beg, having deposed Buzurg Khan and suppressed all resistance on +the part either of the Tungani or of the Chinese in Western Kashgar, had +some leisure to make a careful survey of his exact position. The result +of the desultory fighting of the previous twelve months had been +eminently satisfactory to himself; but, to say the least, it was dubious +how long this state of things might last. Former adventurers had +accomplished as much as he had, but the Chinese had always returned with +renewed vigour. How was Yakoob Beg to know that the rumours were well +founded which asserted that that empire had been sore stricken in other +fields than against the Tungani, and that even the victories over the +Taepings were not considered a complete set-off to the disasters in +every other quarter of the empire? European critics predicted that the +last hour of the Chinese Empire was fast approaching; but Yakoob Beg, +with far more imperfect means of intelligence at his disposal, feared +still, even when the citadel of Kashgar surrendered, that the Khitay +would return for revenge. His fears were not groundless, as we now know, +but he anticipated events by more than ten years. Yakoob Beg was not so +sanguine in his own resources or good fortune that he believed that he +should not have to encounter the danger that had overwhelmed all his +predecessors, and his first object accordingly was to gather all his +strength together in a compact mass to resist the Chinese when they +should come. But the dissensions that had, during the conquest of +Altyshahr, manifested themselves so palpably in the ill-assorted +conglomeration which had gathered round the standard of Buzurg Khan +brought home to the mind of Yakoob Beg the disadvantages of a divided +people. He accordingly determined that, whatever else he might fail or +succeed in achieving, his most resolute effort should be to weld into +one cohesive and effective whole Andijani and Tungani, Kashgari and +Khitay. It was no mean ambition; but to cement such discordant elements +a policy of "blood and iron" was required. Yakoob Beg did not shrink +certainly in its application; but when he had accomplished the task he +had set himself to bring about he discovered that the cost had been so +great that the state, both in population and in wealth, was at a lower +point than it had ever been before. But in the earlier days of 1866 no +doubt crossed his mind on this latter point. It must be remembered that, +strange to say, the great success of Yakoob Beg in Kashgar had alienated +the sympathy of the government of Khokand from his cause; and, although +this may be explained by the antipathy of Khudayar Khan, now firmly +seated on the throne, who could not entertain any amity for a subject +who had on several occasions deserted his cause, it is impossible to +attribute to that sentiment alone a fact which must have had some deeper +and less personal explanation. At all stages of the history of these +petty princes of Asia are we met by the spectacle of mutual jealousy and +recrimination, whenever any one of themselves seemed about to exalt +himself above his fellows, either by the success of his arms or by the +beneficence of his rule. Rarely, indeed, had any of them shown that he +possessed more than ordinary ability or courage; but, whenever the +phenomenon did appear, he was at once proclaimed by his neighbours to be +a dangerous innovation, and as such to be thwarted and opposed. The +practice has come down to our own day, and during the long wars that +Russia has waged in Asia we have never beheld two states, no matter how +insignificant, combine to oppose the common foe. The Khokandians have +never aided the Bokhariots or the Khivans, nor have the Afghans or the +Kashgari the Khokandians. They have kept the ring, so to speak, as each +of them has gone down singly before the prowess of the Muscovite, in a +manner that ought to excite the admiration of all those who preserve the +memories of the traditional honours of the prize ring; but, as their own +existence has been the penalty, it is questionable whether their +conduct, inspired by regard for no law of chivalry, but simply by mutual +antipathy, has been very prudent. Over such petty jealousies had Yakoob +Beg to triumph before he could hope to complete his dream of an united +Kashgaria. His path was beset with difficulties. In satisfying himself +with too little he might imperil what he had secured, but in attempting +too much he might jeopardize everything he had won. Under such +circumstances the boldest man might have stood uncertain, and the most +resolute inactive until hurried into action by the progress of events. +For some months Yakoob Beg seems to have remained uncertain what should +be his next move. + +In 1865, before his last advance on Yarkand, he had seized Maralbashi or +Bartchuk, and by so doing not only had he secured communication between +Aksu and Yarkand, but also between Aksu and Khoten. This position, lying +200 miles to the east of Yangy Hissar, has always been and is still very +important, and Yakoob Beg is supposed to have fortified it very +strongly. This success was the permanent result of his great victory +over the Tungani from Aksu and Kucha in the neighbourhood of Yangy +Hissar, and it effectually secured his flank during further operations. +It was not, however, until he turned his attention to the southern city +of Khoten, that the importance of this acquisition was made +incontestable. Then it enabled him to devote his attention exclusively +to the extension of his sway southward to the mountains of Karakoram +and Kuen Lun, beyond which he might expect no enemy. In Khoten the Mufti +Habitulla had been invested with supreme control, after the deposition +of the Chinese authorities; and during his government of the city and +district, order appears to have been maintained without unnecessary +exactions. When Yakoob Beg made his first appearance in Yarkand, after +his earlier successes round Kashgar, it will be remembered that the +Yarkandi acknowledged the supremacy of the new Khoja king. Their example +was speedily followed by Habitulla of Khoten, and it is not stated that, +even during the progress of hostilities with Yarkand, this ruler +repudiated the arrangement into which he had entered. It is true that he +was far removed from the immediate sphere of action, but that will not +alone account for an indifference to the progress of events in Kashgar, +which Khoten had never manifested on any previous occasion. Khoten may, +therefore, be considered to have been exceptionally well behaved towards +the new Khoja dynasty located at Kashgar; and when Yakoob Beg advanced +to the south of Yarkand, Habitulla hastened to send representatives to +the camp of the conqueror. They were received with consideration, but +deep down in the breast of Yakoob Beg there lurked either an inveterate +distrust of, or dislike to, the Mufti Habitulla. Dissembling his true +feelings, Yakoob Beg sent a message requesting the presence of the Mufti +in his camp. The Mufti, deluded by the friendly treatment bestowed on +his emissaries, came with many of his relations and followers into the +camp of the Kashgarian general. At first, we are told, they were treated +with every mark of respect and kindness; they were feasted and clothed +in precious garments, but all these honours were but the preliminaries +to the concluding ceremony. During the progress of the evening meal they +were disarmed, and led out to execution, while an attack was made from +several quarters on the town. Even then the resistance was prolonged, +and the slaughter by the infuriated soldiery of the Athalik Ghazi +continued long after all serious opposition had ceased. It is impossible +to exonerate Yakoob Beg from the chief blame on this occasion, and if he +had been a civilized European general, we should have made use of the +phrase, that "It must ever remain a blot on his career;" but it would be +the height of irony to apply such a phrase to this unscrupulous Asiatic, +who, if not worse than the school in which he was brought up, was +certainly not much better in a moral sense. As the fact stands, the +seizure of Khoten, and the massacre of the unarmed leaders of that city, +appear to have been acts as unnecessary as they were unjustifiable. +Khoten may have seemed to the Athalik Ghazi of exceptional importance +for several reasons, and he may have felt doubtful of the fidelity of +Habitulla and his followers; but, so far as we are aware, the reasons +for this action are shadowy in the extreme, even regarded from the point +of view of political expediency. Down to the present day, too, the +memory of this massacre, needless even in the eyes of a people +accustomed to the shortest cuts to power by wholesale slaughter, has +rankled in the minds of the inhabitants of Khoten and Sanju, and the +Athalik Ghazi was least popular in that part of his state in which, +according to the traditions of his predecessors, his action had been +most sweeping, and accordingly most safe. This was early in the year +1867, and the Athalik Ghazi had now an opportunity for settling his +relationship with his eastern neighbours, the Tungani. + +The Tungan movement proper originated, as explained in the last chapter, +in the Chinese provinces of Kansuh and Shensi, and then extended with +scarcely a check to Turfan south of the Tian Shan and to Urumtsi north +of that range. The flame soon spread from Turfan to Karashar, Kucha, and +Aksu, and at all of these towns it was fomented by the appearance of the +new element of the Mahomedan Khokandian, and native settlers, acting in +combination with the Chinese Tungani. North of the Tian Shan the +movement received a temporary repulse; and it is necessary to say +something in explanation of the course of the Mahomedan revival in Ili +before we proceed to discuss the earlier wars of Yakoob Beg with the +Tungani. As early as 1860 serious complications had arisen in that +province, although the Chinese had always been more firmly situated +there than in Kashgar. In that year a plot was concocted to murder the +Chinese viceroy and to upset the existing government. It was discovered, +however, and fell through. There appear to have been more causes at work +in Ili to produce discontent than in the southern state, and it was not +so much a question here between Khitay and Tungani, as it was between a +people clamouring for work, for less taxation, and for payment for what +they had done, and an administration that was unable to satisfy the +demands made upon it from all sides. That last resource of a government +at its wits' ends for money, the depreciation of the current coin and +the issue of fictitious paper, was adopted by the Viceroy of Ili. The +measure, which it had been expected would lessen the difficulty, only +added fuel to the flame. The situation of affairs was becoming +desperate; the people were encouraged by the disasters of the Chinese in +the neighbouring states to increase the number of their demands; and the +Chinese officials appear to have lost their heads in the storm that was +gathering from all sides around them. They were but the effete +representatives of a system which in its vigorous days had claims to +general admiration, and they are only saved from incurring our contempt +by the possession of courage, the sole virtue left them. When the +Chinese first conquered Eastern Turkestan they brought from Kashgar a +large number of settlers, and placed them in the country round Ili. They +became known as Tarantchis, and, in the course of two or three +generations, had increased into a very numerous community. These were +always at heart disaffected to the Chinese, but, as they occupied a +very subordinate position, would probably never have thought of revolt +had not a large division of the conquerors set them the example of +insubordination. So soon as the discontent among the working classes had +assumed formidable proportions by the pecuniary embarrassment of the +Chinese, and the Tungan successes in the east of Jungaria had raised a +fanatical feeling to swell the hatred against a declining and Buddhist +rule, the Tarantchis were not backward for their part in reviving their +almost forgotten grievances, and in joining in a defensive and offensive +alliance with the Tungani. Each party collected such forces as they +could, out in the encounter that ensued the disciplined soldiers of the +Viceroy overcame the far more numerous mob by which they were opposed. +The fortress of Bazandai, however, within the next few days, fell into +the power of the insurgents, and that achievement more than compensated +for the disaster in the open field. Ili itself surrendered in January, +1866, and a Tungani-Tarantchi government was formed. The Chinese viceroy +had in the meanwhile destroyed himself and many of his followers and +assailants by setting fire to a mine of gunpowder under his palace. The +Tungan element gradually superseded the Tarantchi in the administration +of the state, and the five years of independence, which continued until +the Russians came in 1871, were chiefly marked by petty disagreements +which had no influence on the progress of events in this part of Asia. +The trade with Ili fell off, and many other valid reasons for Russian +intervention were accumulated during those few years of national +existence. + +With the beginning of 1867, Yakoob Beg, secure on the south and on the +west from aggression, found himself in a position to cope with the +disjointed but allied Tungan states on his north and east. The hostility +of the Tungani and Khojas of Aksu and Kucha had been already +demonstrated, and it was to be surmised that they were only waiting to +recover from the disastrous campaign of 1865 to renew their efforts to +drive the Khokandian adventurers out of Kashgar. The facts that they +acknowledged the same religious tenets, and that they had overcome, to +some extent, a common enemy in the Chinese, and that they certainly had +each to fear most from their return, seem to have weighed little with +either the Tungani or the Athalik Ghazi. To do the latter simple +justice, it must be remembered that the Tungani had been the aggressors, +and that their attitude never ceased to be unfriendly towards himself. +It is certain that he made some efforts to effect an amicable +arrangement with the ruling party in Aksu, but his advances were +received with coldness, and both the Khojas and the Tungani of that city +held aloof from all intercourse with the new-comer. Both parties +remained watching each other for some time, each waiting for the other +to take the initiative. The Tungani had experienced the weight of the +military power of Yakoob Beg, when they had taken the offensive in the +earlier days of his appearance at Kashgar. It was, therefore, not very +probable that they would repeat the experiment when he presented a far +more formidable and united presence to their attack. Practically +speaking, Yakoob Beg was safe from invasion from the east so long as he +maintained order within his own frontier; and the Tungani in Ili on his +north had manifested no special hostility against his state. Secure from +any aggression on the part of the Tungani, Yakoob Beg might with some +reason have declined to push to extremities his relations with them. It +was certainly inconvenient that an antagonistic state should exist on +his very borders, but, as he was in a very strong position for defence, +the disadvantages of abandoning it to assume an offensive policy were +all the more apparent. What necessity could be alleged to justify a +scarcely excusable attack in a moral sense, and a quite unnecessary in a +political? The proximity of Aksu was in a strategic sense more than +neutralized by the possession of Maralbashi, and, with the lapse of +time and the return of peace, the trade route from Kashgar to Aksu might +be expected to revive once more. But such temporizing measures as these, +involving the endurance of Tungan indifference, could not be brooked by +the Athalik Ghazi. The orthodoxy of these Mahomedans was not above +suspicion, and to so devout and energetic a Sunni as Yakoob Beg these +differences were scarcely less offensive than if they had been believers +in a rival religion. Dictatorial announcements were made to the +Khoja-Tungan rulers of Aksu; and, on their persisting in defiance, +Yakoob Beg collected his forces to chastise them. The doctrines of the +Tungani were impeached as not being in strict accordance with the +Shariat, and the religious fervour of the Sunnis was appealed to, to +bring these recalcitrant people to an acknowledgment of the error of +their ways. In addition to the semi-religious element thus imported into +the question, Yakoob Beg also laid claim to the country up to Kucha as +part of the old territory of the Khoja kings. + +In the spring of 1867 his army set out in two divisions for Aksu. The +Tungani appear to have been paralyzed when the danger that had for many +months appeared menacing came upon them. The resistance encountered at +Aksu, naturally and artificially a very strong place, was not prolonged, +and Yakoob Beg swept on against Kucha. Here the Tungani, having somewhat +recovered from their trepidation, made a desperate stand, and with the +reinforcements that had arrived from Turfan presented a sufficiently +formidable appearance. The ruling authorities in Kucha were Khojas, who +in the time of the Chinese had the custody of a shrine sacred to the +memory of a Mahomedan saint, but who at the outbreak of disturbances +left the temple for the council chamber, and the offering up of prayers +to the memory of the saint for the more difficult task of issuing edicts +for the management of a people. Unhappily for their reputation in our +eyes, they had specially distinguished themselves in the massacres of +the Khitay. Their brief tenure of power seems to have been fairly +beneficent, and, in the lull that succeeded the deposition of the +Chinese and preceded the invasion of Yakoob Beg, they obtained without +doing anything very noteworthy the approval and affection of their +subjects. At Kucha, therefore, more than 500 miles distant from his own +capital, with a long line of hostile country in his rear, Yakoob Beg +found himself opposed by the full power of the Tungani. Previous to +advancing beyond Aksu he had sent back officers to Kashgar to bring up +fresh levies, and he had resorted to that doubtful expedient of drafting +into his army many of the Tungani captured at Aksu. Arrived in front of +Kucha he was unable to prosecute the siege with any vigour until the +arrival of his reinforcements. The moment of delay was attempted to be +turned to account by Yakoob Beg and some of the more prudent of his +counsellors; but the Tungani, whether unwilling to acknowledge their +inferiority or incredulous of the good faith of the Athalik Ghazi, +refused to enter into negotiations that they asserted were unnecessary. +Yakoob Beg had invaded them in their possessions, and he had annexed +Aksu; the only condition in which they could acquiesce was a withdrawal +of his army. All the efforts of the more peaceful and the more prudent +on either side were unavailing, and each party used every exertion to +bring up fresh troops to decide the question of superiority between +Tungani and Kashgari. For several weeks the two armies stood facing each +other, the one stationed on the hills to the north and west of the city, +commanding the main road from Aksu, the other in the environs and the +fortifications of the city itself. The Tungani were far the more +numerous, but in the quality of his main body, and in general efficiency +both of weapons and of experience among the officers, the advantage was +completely on the side of Yakoob Beg. The nucleus of his force comprised +Afghan, Khokandian, and Badakshi troops, veterans in the wars of the +two previous years. The Tungani were either the assassins of helpless +Chinese, or the fugitives of Aksu or Yangy Hissar. They were imperfectly +armed, without any organization, and without any competent leaders. +Above all, the cause they were fighting for was vague, and many of them +in their hearts sympathized more with Yakoob Beg than they did with +their own chiefs. The Kashgarian army, on the other hand, was encouraged +by a long series of brilliant achievements, and looked forward with +eagerness to the fray as the means of exalting their own religion, and +as affording them an opportunity for advancing their own personal +interests by the plunder of so rich a city as Kucha. The reinforcements +were consequently eagerly expected, and some of the more ardent spirits +demanded that they should be led without delay against the enemy. Yakoob +Beg was so far prudent that he refused to be urged into premature action +by the impetuosity of his followers, and the arrival of reinforcements +sooner than was anticipated enabled him not only to keep the excitement +of his soldiery within due bounds, but also to commence active +operations at an earlier date than had seemed possible. The Tungan +leaders, deluded by the inaction of Yakoob Beg into a belief that he was +unable to prosecute the enterprise he had undertaken, assumed the +offensive, only to be worsted in several minor engagements. The Tungan +troops were driven within the walls, and the siege was prosecuted with +the closest rigour. The garrison of Kucha was not sufficiently numerous +to guard in proper strength the wide-stretching suburbs and extensive +fortifications of the existing Kucha, and the cities that had in olden +days stood upon its site. Not many days elapsed before Yakoob Beg +perceived that the defence was confined to a limited portion of the +fortifications, and that several points were entirely neglected. He +resolved, therefore, to put an end to the slow process of a siege by +carrying the town by a general assault. With the whole of his available +force he attacked the city on three sides; but the Tungani resisted +strenuously, and all his direct attacks were repulsed with heavy loss. +To his son Khooda Kul Beg he had entrusted an attack in the rear of the +city, and on the success of that movement now entirely depended the +result of the assault on Kucha. That division by great good fortune and +the gallantry of its leader was victorious, and, although this promising +son of Yakoob Beg, then only a little more than twenty years of age, was +killed in the confusion that ensued on the entrance into the city, Kucha +fell. The triumph was, perhaps, not too dearly purchased. The Tungan +power had received a blow, which took the sting out of its menace, and +effectually protected Kashgar from any possible confederacy among the +Tungan cities. Yakoob Beg followed up the success of Kucha with all his +usual promptitude, but his power was not yet sufficiently matured to +justify him in carrying on extensive operations at such a distance from +the base of his resources. But another reason at this time combined to +recall his attention to another part of his dominions. The Russians were +advancing both in Khokand and in the district of Vernoe to the west of +Kuldja. + +It was evident that prudence demanded a prompt return, and for the +present all further triumph must be abandoned. However, before Yakoob +Beg returned to regulate events in the western portion of his dominions, +he had the satisfaction of receiving the submission humbly tendered by +the ruling bodies of Karashar, Turfan, Hamil, and Urumtsi. After this +brilliant campaign, he slowly retraced his steps through Kucha to Aksu. +Then he turned into the mountains, and reduced Ush Turfan, which in his +onward march he had passed by; and, after this acquisition, the Tungani +of Ili expressed a desire to enter into terms of amity with one who had +brought his empire into direct contact with their state. All these +events occurred during the year 1867; and, although now and then +uncertain rumours reached England of these changes in Eastern +Turkestan, the world in general, even the Russian world, remained +indifferent to the progress of events of which it is now difficult to +trace the exact course. But, with the close of this first Tungan +campaign, and with the extension of the new state up to the walls of +Kucha, the Russian Government, as will be seen in a later chapter, +endeavoured to arrive at some clear view on the exact condition of the +newly formed confederacy to which they in their career of conquest were +approaching so rapidly. + +This commencement of foreign interest in, nay, almost supervision of, +his actions in Eastern Turkestan, imposed some restriction on the +hitherto unrestrained caprice of Yakoob Beg, and the country beyond +Kucha up to Turfan was saved for a short time from the depredations from +which in 1871-73 it suffered so much. On his return to Kashgar after +this triumphant progress, and after having annexed the three important +cities, Aksu, Kucha, and Ush Turfan, the danger which had seemed to +threaten the state from Russia passed off, and Yakoob Beg proceeded to +consolidate his hold on what he had secured. Aksu and Kucha were +fortified, and various small forts were constructed in the passes +leading to Khokand and Kuldja. Every precaution was taken that he had it +in his power to observe, to ensure the safety of his little kingdom from +without, and for the moment all murmur within seemed to be hushed by the +loud acclamations at the victories of the Athalik Ghazi. He had, indeed, +accomplished no slight task, and could afford to regard his handiwork +with some complacency. To erect a powerful state on the ruins of the +Chinese power, and to unite in some sort of settled government turbulent +races and antagonistic sects, was no mean achievement; and to all the +credit due to such Yakoob Beg has indisputable claims. But for him, +confusion and disunion would have settled down over Eastern Turkestan, +until either the Russians or the Chinese had come to establish a +respectable government; but for him Kashgar would have lapsed into a +state of almost hopeless disorder, and Russian triumphs would have been +facilitated. But, when Yakoob Beg returned to find that he was not +seriously threatened in Kashgar, he experienced deep regret and +mortification that he had abstained from prosecuting his wars with the +Tungani with a greater vigour. He eagerly looked forward to an excuse +for resuming his discontinued operations against them. In the interval +that elapsed, he waged a small war in the mountainous region of his +territory extending into Badakshan and the Chitral. Sirikul had, ever +since the appearance of the Badakshi army in the service of Kashgar, +acknowledged a certain kind of obedience to Yakoob Beg; but in 1868, the +governor hitherto supported by the Athalik Ghazi broke out into revolt, +and committed several acts of depredation in the contiguous districts of +Sanju and Yarkand. Yakoob Beg without delay despatched a small force +against him, and, by the help of some mountain guns and the judicious +employment of a small but select body of cavalry, was successful in +overcoming all resistance with very slight loss. In February, 1869, +Yakoob Beg, having tried several milder alternatives, formally annexed +this district, and carried the inhabitants into Yarkand. He resettled +the territory with Kirghiz nomads and Yarkandis. Once more, he was able +to turn his attention to the east, and in 1869 commenced those final +campaigns against the Tungani which only ceased with the reappearance of +the Chinese. The great blot in the career of Yakoob Beg is the +resumption of hostilities against the Tungani. In 1867, when he first +engaged with any vigour the Tungani, some excuse may be found for that +unforeseeing action, in the fact that the Tungani were unbroken, and +might have proved formidable neighbours. But in 1869, they had been +hurled back on Korla, and, although it may be true that they were +inconvenient neighbours, robbing caravans and molesting travellers, it +is difficult to justify the later campaigns of Yakoob Beg against them, +especially as they were conducted by himself and his lieutenants with +exceptional ferocity. But, however weak may have been the impulse, and +however disastrous in the result may have been his crusade against the +Tungani, it was not difficult to discover a plausible excuse for +proceeding to extreme measures with his troublesome neighbours. In the +autumn of 1869, Korla fell before his triumphant arms, and it would +appear that he then turned north into the valleys of the Tekes and the +Yuldus, two rivers rising in the Tian Shan, and flowing through +Jungaria. This movement aroused the susceptibilities of the Russians, +and afforded a very simple excuse for the acquisition of Kuldja. In that +state, disturbances had arisen between the Tungani and the Tarantchis, +and it must have fallen an easy prey to the Athalik Ghazi had he been +permitted to advance. The Russians had, however, in 1871, entered +Kuldja, and explained their action by asserting that they had only done +so to restore order, and to prevent its falling into the hands of Yakoob +Beg. They merely held it in trust for the Chinese, so they said, and +would restore it to them, its rightful owners, so soon as they should be +able to keep permanent possession of it. While Yakoob Beg despatched a +large detachment into the country of the Tian Shan, his main body was +prosecuting with vigour the war against Karashar and Turfan. Yakoob Beg +did not always conduct the war in person, for his two sons, Kuli Beg and +Hacc Kuli Beg, were now growing up, and they, assisted by some of the +older lieutenants, triumphed in various actions over the Tungan rulers +of Turfan and Hamil, while even the princes of Urumtsi and Manas over +the Tian Shan were unable to oppose the valour and energy of their +adversary. The glory of these military achievements was tarnished by the +ruthless manner in which the district was laid waste, and the +inhabitants were massacred; and the senselessness of these proceedings +only required an hour of trial, such as the Chinese invasion, to prove +how fatal it would be to the enacters of these atrocities. Without any +great cessation, their operations were carried on down to the end of +1873, and it does not appear that Yakoob Beg derived any benefit +whatever from these costly and remote undertakings. Although the Tungan +chiefs of Urumtsi and Hamil were on several occasions defeated by the +armies of the Athalik Ghazi, their cities were never occupied, and they +consequently escaped that desolation which stretched from the walls of +Kucha to the regions north of Lake Lob. Chightam, a small town lying +half way between Turfan and Hamil, was the extreme point to which the +Kashgarian forces penetrated. The noble families of Urumtsi, Turfan, and +Hamil were almost totally destroyed in the fall of Turfan; and their +place in their own cities was seized by Tungan generals and adventurers, +who began to retreat westward from Kansuh, on the rumours of Chinese +preparations for invading Jungaria. + +The wars against the Tungani certainly served one useful purpose in +enabling Yakoob Beg to collect a large and disciplined force round his +standard; but the attractions of service in his army lost much of their +value in the eyes of the hardier clans of Turkestan and the neighbouring +states, when it became known that the prospect of loot and prize money +in districts impoverished by several years of hostilities had +diminished. The rigour of the discipline maintained, too, was irksome to +nomads and irregulars accustomed to the easier service and freedom from +restraint of the other Asiatic princes; and during the later years of +his rule there were many desertions, and a difficulty was encountered in +inducing recruits to enter his army. The old practice, employed with +such success in the earlier years of his rule, of inducing the conquered +to combine with the conqueror, was no longer possible, for +extermination had become the order of the day. The Usbegs, Kirghiz, and +other tribes, could not supply in sufficient numbers the requirements of +the state, and the Tungani, who should have comprised the largest +portion of the subjects of the Athalik Ghazi, were coerced into +subjection with an undiscriminating severity. The result was really a +paralysis through sheer want of people, and it was not known until the +hour of trial came how weakened his forces had become. Every inducement +was held forth to Afghan, Badakshi, and, above all, to Indian soldiers +to join, but these, although they formed a nucleus of trustworthy and +efficient soldiers, were far too few to constitute a formidable army. We +are justified in assuming from the facts that these Tungan wars, +conducted in an unsparing manner, were the greatest mistake that marked +the career of Yakoob Beg. So far as his occupation of Kucha goes, he +could at least say that he had secured a valuable prize. He had acquired +every part of what could be considered Kashgar, and his kingdom was +effectually guarded, and his revenues prospectively increased, by the +possession of the great cities of Aksu and Kucha. He might exclaim with +justice that he had eclipsed all his predecessors in military prowess, +and if he had been wise he would then have turned his attention to the +well government of his state, and by so doing have demonstrated that he +was of a higher capacity for ruling a people, as well as for commanding +an army, than any Khoja prince of the past. Had he abstained from +prosecuting with such unflagging persistency his inveterate dislike of +the Tungani, he might easily have come to terms with his neighbours, and +the harm they could have done him would have been infinitesimally small. +But the chief advantage of that more prudent policy would have been +visible when the Chinese advanced to chastise the Tungani. Not only +would the Tungani have been more capable of resisting the Khitay, not +only would Manas and Urumtsi have been capable of offering a more +determined defence, but the Tungani could have retired on Turfan, and +held the country round that town, as well as Karashar and Korla, for a +protracted period against General Kin Shun. The Athalik Ghazi with +untouched resources could have awaited with just confidence the advance +of the Chinese upon his strong frontier city of Kucha, and, as the +Chinese accomplished the difficult task of crushing the Tungani, he +would have had the satisfaction of knowing that in all probability the +Chinese effort would have been spent before it reached his own borders. + +It is impossible to judge men except by the results of their actions, +and the result of Yakoob Beg's incessant and unnecessary interference +with the Tungani was that the Chinese army was able in a few months to +dissipate the remaining Tungan communities, and to encounter in the full +flush of their triumph the numerically weaker forces of Yakoob Beg. It +is, therefore, impossible to exonerate the ruler from great blame in +hastily undertaking operations which a little consideration ought to +have shown to be unwise. Having traced Yakoob Beg's wars with the +Chinese Mahomedans, it is time to consider his rule of Kashgaria proper, +and the events that during these years were transpiring in other +quarters of the state. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +YAKOOB BEG'S GOVERNMENT OF KASHGAR. + + +Yakoob Beg's chief claim to our consideration is that, for more than +twelve years, he gave a settled government to a large portion of Central +Asia, and that, however faulty his external policy may have been in +critical moments, his internal management was founded on a practical and +sufficiently just basis. As a warrior he had done much to justify +admiration, and had proved on many a well-fought field, and in many a +desperate encounter, his claims to be considered a fearless and resolute +soldier; but in this quality he was equalled, if not excelled, by his +own lieutenant, Abdulla Beg, the Murat of Kashgar, while some of the +deeds of his son, Beg Bacha, will rank in daring and surpass in ferocity +anything achieved by the Athalik Ghazi. But in capacity for +administration Yakoob Beg far surpassed his contemporaries, and the +merit of his success was enhanced, not so much by the originality of the +method adopted, as by the unique vigour and perseverance with which it +was put into force. The secret of his power can only be discovered by +constantly bearing in mind the fact that he had constituted himself the +champion of the Mahomedan religion in Central Asia. The Ameers of +Bokhara and Afghanistan might trifle with the seductive promises of the +Russians, and might consent to sacrifice the interests of their religion +for a transitory advancement of their worldly possessions; but to such +degradations the Athalik Ghazi--true "champion father" as he was--never +stooped. With whatever imaginary power the sympathy and good-will of +the Mahomedan peoples of Turkestan may have clothed this ruler, there is +no question that his attitude towards the Muscovite would have warranted +the assertion of greater power than was ever attributed to him; and the +secret of this delusion, an attitude of defiant strength without any +solid foundation for so bold a course, can only be unravelled by +remembering that the Athalik Ghazi strove to represent, not so much +Kashgaria, as the whole Mahomedan world of Central Asia. The necessities +of his own position, when, having conquered Kashgar, he found that he +had aroused the susceptibilities of the Russians, compelled him to seek +in every direction for aid, and to have recourse to every artifice for +increasing his strength, or its semblance, in order to avoid the +dissolution of his state and a subjection to the Czar. So well did he +succeed in his efforts, and so prompt were his movements and so fearless +his attitude, that the Russians were deluded into a belief--which was, +as we emphatically insist, unfounded--that Kashgar would prove a more +formidable antagonist than either Bokhara, or Khokand, or Khiva. + +The interior management of a state, which, young in years, yet seemed to +tower among its fellows, might be supposed to be a very interesting +topic to dilate upon; but on this subject there is less direct evidence +than could be wished. Even Sir Douglas Forsyth, in his official report, +is not able to throw as much light as is desired on the inner working of +the administrative system of Yakoob Beg. Still, such as it is, with the +exception of the Russian writer, Gregorieff, he is the only authority on +the subject. + +To commence with the court and the immediate surroundings of Yakoob Beg, +we are struck by two inconsistencies. In the first place, there were no +great nobles, or indeed adherents or his family; those chiefs who, +whether they were Khokandian nobles or Kirghiz or Afghan adventurers, +had proved their fidelity to his rule, and their capacity for service, +were actively employed as governors of districts, or as commandants of +fortresses in the wide-stretching dominions of their imperious master. +Periodically they came to pay their respects in the capital, and at +frequent intervals Yakoob Beg, in his journeys to the frontier, visited +them, and superintended their operations in person; but, in so active a +community where there was a dearth of mankind, the intellectually gifted +members of the society were too valuable to be permitted to devote their +energies and their attention to the object of becoming palace ornaments. +Yakoob Beg had forced himself on a people who regarded him with +indifference, and he had to maintain himself in his place by a never +relaxing vigour. To make this possible, he required a large staff of +efficient and trustworthy subordinates, who may be divided into three +classes of various capacities, viz., soldiers, administrators, and +tax-gatherers. Until the last few months of his reign there was no +symptom that his system was declining in vigour, or that his supply of +competent officials was limited and susceptible of being exhausted. Even +in his most prosperous years, however, there was always a difficulty in +obtaining a full supply; and in all inferior posts the disaffected +Khitay had to be employed. The Tungani of Kucha and Aksu were scarcely +more to be trusted in an emergency than their Buddhist kinsmen. Yet the +extensive civil service of the state, which undertook the education, the +religion, the civil order, the local administration of the people all +into its own hands, had to be kept in working order, whatever else might +happen. It can at once be perceived that, when a government which never +obtained any deep hold on the affections of the people had only a +limited population to draw upon, it was only a question of time to solve +the difficulty by an exhaustion of the supply of suitable brain +material, or by the uprising of an, at heart, dissatisfied people. No +one will ever understand the secret of Yakoob Beg's rule unless he +constantly bears in mind that his strict orthodoxy as a Mussulman, and +his still stricter enforcement of the laws of his religion within his +borders, were elements of strength only in his external relations; in +his internal affairs they placed him in the light of a tyrant, and +prevented his people ever experiencing any enthusiasm for his person and +rule. It is doubtful whether outside the priesthood and the more +fanatical Andijanis there was any great religious zeal at all, and it is +quite a delusion to speak of the Kashgari, as a whole, as being +fanatical Mahomedans, in the same degree that it is true to say so of +the Bokhariots or Afghans. In addition to there being no noble or +wealthy official class in the city of Kashgar, there was also the +strange inconsistency of an intensely strict etiquette being enforced +side by side with extreme plainness in costume and ceremonial. It is +rare indeed to hear any traveller to Kashgar speaking of the richness or +finery of court functionaries. Even Hadji Torah, or the Seyyid Yakoob +Khan, as he is now called, and Mahomed Yunus, the governor of Yarkand, +two of the most trusted and prominent followers of the Athalik Ghazi, +were not to be distinguished from a host of minor luminaries in the +court circle by any external insignia of their elevated position. Some +of the military, officers of the household troops, wore a device of a +dragon's head worked in silk over their plain uniform of leather; and +this seems to have been a custom surviving the disappearance of the +Chinese. Hadji Torah--who recently visited this country, and who had on +previous occasions travelled in Russia, Turkey, and India--however, +alone among Kashgarian notables, had introduced into his household some +of the comforts and luxuries of European life. His example was not +imitated by many others, and, after a brief period of fashion, the +improvements he had striven to make popular died out and were lost sight +of. The ordinary dress of a person above the rank of gentleman is a +large blanket-like cloak worn over a close-fitting tunic and breeches; +and the dress of the peasant is similar, only his cloak is usually a +sheepskin. The Ameer himself set the example of exceeding plainness in +his costume, and his followers were far too skilled courtiers to vary +their practice from that of their ruler. But what his court lacked in +pomp it gained in impressiveness by the perfect system of etiquette +enforced, and by the external show of reverence to the ruler and to his +religion, manifested in every petty detail of the palace ceremonial. The +Ameer received publicly in his audience-chamber every day, when all +petitions and stringent punishments were submitted to him. His +_shaghawals_, or foreign secretaries, made their report to him on +whatever business might be most pressing, whether it was concerning his +relations with India or Russia, with Afghanistan or the Tungani; and the +local governors, who might happen to have arrived at the capital, were +received in audience, either to present their personal respects to the +ruler, or their reports of the government of their provinces. But with +the exception of a few of his kinsmen, and more intimate associates, +such as Abdulla, none were permitted to be seated in his presence. Even +these could not sit within a certain distance of their sovereign. All +subjects who were allowed to approach his person had to do so in the +humblest manner, and with the deepest expressions of humility and +subjection. His son, Kuli Beg, was still more particular in his +intercourse with his subjects. Even his cousin, Hadji Torah, a man whose +experience and lineage entitled him to exceptional consideration, never +placed himself on an equality with this youthful despot, and always +clothed his words and thoughts when in conversation with him in an +outward show of humble respect and deferential obsequiousness. It will +be at once surmised, and, so far as our information warrants an opinion, +with correctness, that all this terrorism alienated any good feeling +from the ruling family that its prowess in the field and the cabinet +might have secured for it. In Kashgar we have a forcible proof of the +truth of Tennyson's line, that "he who only rules by terror doeth +grievous wrong;" and yet, founded as it was on a military system, and on +the deepest distrust of the subject races, it could not well have been +otherwise. + +The most unmistakable proof of how Yakoob Beg's rule was founded, and +how it was maintained, is to be seen in the fact that his _orda_, or +palace, was one large barrack, the interior compartments of which were +devoted to the accommodation of the royal household. His out-houses were +filled with cannon of every description, from antiquated Chinese irjirs +to modern Krupps and Armstrongs, and his select corps of artillerymen, +clothed in a scarlet uniform, seldom left the chief cities, except for +serious operations against foreign enemies. At the Yangy-Shahr of +Kashgar, too, he kept his military stores, and it was said that in his +workshops there he was able to construct cannon and muskets in +considerable numbers in imitation of the most perfect weapons of +European science. But it must be noted that we have no record of any of +his home-made weapons being used in actual hostilities, while the supply +of arms received from Russia, or this country, is known to have been +made the most of. Besides the natural aptitude of his subjects of +Chinese descent for imitation, he had in his service, particularly in +his artillery, many sepoys who had deserted our service either at the +time of the mutiny or since. These soldiers, valuable either as +non-commissioned officers or in higher ranks still, combined with a +large number of good troops from Khokand and the mountain tribes of the +neighbourhood, gave a cohesion and vigour to the whole army that was +simply inestimable. That army, it may be here convenient to say, was +divided into two classes widely differing from each other, and called +upon, except in an emergency, when all the resources of the state were +summoned to take part in its defence, to perform duties as opposite as +their own composition. The army of the Ameer, founded on that confused +assemblage with which he conquered Kashgar, was divided into two bodies, +the _jigit_ or _djinghite_, the horse soldier, and the _sarbaz_, or foot +soldier. The former of these was the more formidable warrior, being +selected for personal strength or skill. The _jigits_ were trained to +fight on foot as well as on horse, and were armed with a long +single-barrelled gun and a sabre. Their uniform was a serviceable coat +of leathern armour mostly buff in colour, and to all intents and +purposes they correspond with our dragoons, or, perhaps, still more +closely with the proposed corps of mounted riflemen. The _sarbaz_, among +whom are included the artillerymen, presented greater varieties of +efficiency than his mounted comrade; still he had gone through some +regular drill and training, and resided in barracks. He was a regular +soldier, and might be trusted in defence of his country up to a certain +point. In numbers it is impossible to state accurately how many _jigits_ +and _sarbazes_ there were in the service of the state; some months ago +they would have been placed as high as 50,000 or 60,000 strong, possibly +at a higher number still; now we are wiser on the subject, and we have +gone to the other end of the scale. It is probable, however, that Yakoob +Beg never had 20,000 perfectly trustworthy soldiers in his army, and +that after the conclusion of the Tungan wars, half that number would +more accurately represent his force of _jigits_ and _sarbazes_. But in +addition to the more or less effective main body, there was a +nondescript following of Khitay, Tungani, half-savage Kirghiz, and rude +degraded savages like the Dolans, that in numbers would have presented a +very formidable appearance. The Khitay must at once be struck out of the +estimate, for they were never permitted to go beyond the immediate +vicinity of Yarkand and Kashgar, where they kept themselves apart, and +were employed as military servants, as sentries, and as workmen in the +military shops and factories. The Tungani, who enrolled themselves at +various epochs in the service of Kashgar, were more than dubious in +their fidelity to the state; besides they were of such questionable +courage, that they were no allies of any importance. Even as compared +with one another, these were of varying kinds of efficiency; the Tungani +who joined Yakoob Beg in the earlier portion of his career seeming to be +the best of them. Those who joined after the fall of Aksu and Kucha, +less efficient and more ambiguous in their fidelity; and those who dwelt +in the country from Korla to Turfan and Manas, were totally inefficient, +and not to be trusted to any degree whatever. The Kirghiz and Kipchak +nomads were rather a source of danger to their friends than of dread to +their foes. Yakoob Beg had, therefore, at his orders but a very limited +force to maintain his own dynasty against the machinations of Khoja and +Tungan, and to defend a long and vulnerable frontier against many +powerful and ambitious neighbours. It was absurd for him to think of +venturing single-handed across the path of Russia, and to do him justice +he never deluded himself into the idea that he could. All he seems to +have aspired to was to resist to the uttermost any invasion of his +territory by them, and to die sooner than surrender. Limited in numbers +as his regular forces were, they seem to have had every claim to be +placed high in the rank of Asiatic soldiers. They were certainly not as +formidable a body as the Sikhs or Ghoorkas, probably not as the Afghans; +still they were infinitely superior, except in numbers, to any forces +the Ameer of Bokhara or the Khan of Khokand could place in the line of +battle. To Yakoob Beg alone belongs the credit of their organization. + +Yakoob Beg's system of administration was simple in the extreme. A +_Dadkwah_, or governor, was appointed for each district, and in his +hands was vested the supreme control in all the affairs of his province. +Yet he was no irresponsible minister who could tyrannize as he pleased. +Tyrannize in small ways, undoubtedly, many of them did, but, as the life +of the subject could only be taken away by order of the ruler himself, +the most powerful weapon in the hands of an unscrupulous viceroy was +removed. + +At stated periods, too, he had to proceed to Kashgar to give a report of +the chief occurrences in his province, and on such occasions petitions +containing charges against the Dadkwah were formally considered in his +presence. It may be said that this proceeding was a farce, and it is +probably true that a favoured viceroy could laugh at any ordinary +accusation against his character. But that would be an exceptional case. +Many Dadkwahs were reduced in official rank, for malpractices, and some, +such as Yakoob Beg's own half-brother, were removed for incompetence in +their charges. Side by side, too, with the Dadkwah, ruled the Kazi or +Judge, who, if of course not on a par in rank with the viceroy, was +still invested with complete authority in all legal decisions on crime. +This prominence given to the legal authorities had a good effect on the +public mind, for, although the Kazi, as a rule, might not dare to thwart +the wishes of the Dadkwah, the effect of the law being supreme was +scarcely detracted from. And what was that law? it may naturally be +asked. Precisely the same as the law of every other Mahomedan state, +with a few innovations traceable to the influence of the Chinese. The +Shariat, the holy code of the Prophet followed in all the Sunni states, +was enforced by Yakoob Beg, with particular severity; and in its working +no sense of mercy was permitted to temper the harshness of its +regulations. Crimes committed by women were punished with greater +inflictions than the same committed by men; and the ordinary +punishments, whipping, mutilation, and torture could be inflicted by +order of the Dadkwah. Only in capital cases had the decision to rest +with the sovereign. Thieves, beggars, and vagrants found wandering about +the streets at prohibited hours were immediately locked up, and brought +before the Kazi, who would either administer a caution, or a whipping, +if the accused had previously offended. Another check on the abuse of +power by the officials was to be found in the following regulation. A +charge to be visited with a severer punishment than twenty heavy strokes +from the _dira_--a leather strap, fixed in a wooden handle--had to be +investigated by a member of each official rank; so the Kazi passed a +culprit on, with his comments, to the Mufti, the Mufti to the Alim, and +the Alim to the Dadkwah. If any of these officials dissented from the +remarks of his subordinate, and the matter was found impossible to +arrange by mutual concessions, it was either referred to the sovereign +for solution, or was permitted to fall through. The Dadkwah had also to +be present at every punishment within his jurisdiction, and was directly +responsible to the Ameer for any miscarriage of justice. The Kazi Rais, +or head judge, had the right to decide all minor matters for +himself--for instance, in his patrols through the streets, if he met a +woman unveiled he could order her to be struck so many times with the +_dira_; or if he found a man selling adulterated food, or using light +weights, he could confiscate his goods, or in some other manner mulct +him in addition to administering a certain number of strokes. He and his +attendants were particularly energetic and zealous in compelling idlers +about the bazaars to repair to the mosques at prayer time, and in a very +paternal and authoritative manner did the Rais exercise his petty power +for the good of his people. Even on his despotism there was some check, +as he had no authority to inflict more than forty blows with the _dira_ +for one offence. Intimately connected with the administration of justice +was the police system, which in its intricate ramifications permeated +all sections of society. Much as we may feel admiration for the judicial +code, which, up to a certain point admirably administered, ensured a +certain kind of rough justice throughout the Athalik Ghazi's dominions, +the police laws and discipline have greater claims to our favourable +opinion, as evidences of an astonishing capacity for government. In his +legal code, Yakoob Beg simply adopted the laws enforced on all true +believers by the Koran, and he had no claims to originality as a +lawgiver. But as a ruler adopting all those checks on sedition which lie +at the disposal of an unscrupulous sovereign, and which were brought to +such a pitch of perfection under Fouche and the Second Empire, Yakoob +Beg has reason to be placed in the very highest class of such +potentates. In this achievement, too, he was not a plagiarist, and, as +he must have been ignorant of similar regulations existing in Europe, he +must be allowed the credit of having originated a system of police in +which it is difficult to find a single flaw. In China, indeed, something +of the same kind has at all times existed, and at periods when the +Emperor grasped the sceptre firmly, and made his individuality felt in +the management of affairs, the police were one of the most active tools +of power. But even in that empire there is no record of their having +attained so complete a control over the actions and sentiments of the +people as in Kashgaria during the last decade. It appears, too, that in +superiority of system lay the sole pre-eminence of the latter; for the +Tungan, or policeman, of China was, individually man for man, a superior +class to the Kashgarian and other constables of Yakoob Beg. In short, +the whole credit of their existence belongs to that ruler. + +Let us now give some account of this important body. It was divided into +two chief divisions quite distinct from and irrespective of each other, +secret and municipal. The _secret_ was not, like ours, a perceptible +class of detectives, acting in combination with the municipal, to which +was entrusted the discovery of crimes and conspiracies. It may loosely +be described as consisting of every member of the community, for all +desired to stand well with the powers that be, and the easiest way to +attain that object would be to place all confidential information at +their disposal. But it is evident that even in a state of irresponsible +power, like Kashgar, a clear encouragement, such as this, to invent +libels of one's neighbours, could only end in unprofitable litigation +and confusion. There was certainly a check on the too zealous +imaginations of the subjects, and, although there is not much evidence +on the subject, it appears to have been twofold. In the first place a +libeller incurred the risk of receiving very severe punishment, +particularly if the person libelled were of saintly lineage, or if he +filled any official post. This operated as a check on too hasty +accusations, especially when it became known that the reward for such +service was seldom speedily forthcoming, and scarcely ever answered the +expectations of the informer. But this check, which alone seems to have +been adopted in the earlier years of Yakoob Beg's authority, was found +to be insufficient as his power became consolidated. The secret police +then became organized to a certain degree; that is to say, they so far +formed a distinct corps that a member had to be approved of either by +the Dadkwah or the Rais. So well, however, was the secret of their +individuality maintained that few of them were generally known to the +people. Suspicion was wide-spread throughout all ranks of society, and +the governor in his _orda_, or the Rais in his hall of justice, or the +shopkeeper in his booth, or the artisan in his hut, never felt safe that +his neighbour, the man with whom he was holding the most friendly +converse, was not dissecting his expressions to discover whether they +contained anything treasonable. Members of this formidable body were +always attached to the suite of either foreign envoys or merchants; and +their presence in the rear of the _cortege_, always effectually closed +the mouths of the inhabitants, or only induced them to open them to give +false or contradictory replies. + +There can be no doubt that this secret organization, brought to a high +pitch of perfection during the later years of his reign, gave a +consistency and strength to Yakoob Beg's tenure of power that was +wanting to all his predecessors. In leaving this part of the system, it +is as well to point out in conclusion that this detective force was +only useful in discovering what was about to occur in the state among +Andijani or Tungani, and that it was powerless to attempt the repression +by force of any outbreak of popular feeling. Its members were simply +spies, and as a body its value vanished when its members became +generally known. Constant changing, and the introduction of fresh +members, were the sole effectual means of preserving the _incognito_ of +a large body of men, and women even, who preserved official +communication only with the local governor or judge. + +The municipal police were subdivided into urban and suburban, and they +present a complete contrast to the vague body we have just attempted to +describe. Their functions were known and recognizable. They were the +functionaries who put into practice the behests of the Kazi, and they +maintained order in the streets and bazaars, much as our own do. The +_Corbashi_ is the head of this body, and his subordinates are styled +_tarzagchi_. They wore a distinct uniform, and had drilling grounds +attached to barracks, in which, however, they were not all compelled to +reside. They were essentially military in their rules, and presented a +powerful first front to all evil-doers and would-be rebels. It was they +who accompanied the Kazi Rais in his daily circuit of the streets and +market-place, and it was from their weapon, the _dira_, that the +ordinary punishment was received. Their principal avocation seems to +have been to maintain order in the towns during the night-time, for in +the day we only hear of a few of them being detailed for personal +attendance on the Dadkwah and Kazi. With sunset their true importance is +more visible, for not only were they stationed in all main +thoroughfares, squares, and other open places of the city; but until +sunrise patrols at frequent intervals throughout the night visited all +the chief quarters of the town. The power vested in their hands during +these hours was very great, and it was dangerous for any stranger to +venture out after prohibited hours. All persons found in the streets +after sunset were arrested and incarcerated until the morning, when, if +they could give a satisfactory account of themselves, they were +released, with a caution not to keep such unseemly hours for the future. +If, however, they were unable to explain their business, a further term +of imprisonment was imposed; and it was a matter of some difficulty for +a stranger to obtain his complete liberty for some time afterwards. The +suburban police fulfilled much the same duties, and on all the country +roads patrols passed up and down during the night, while pickets were +stationed at the cross-roads. In the same manner as in the towns all +travellers, except those armed with a passport, were interned for a +minute investigation into their affairs in the morning. And "thieves, +beggars, and wanderers" were chastised at the discretion of the local +magistrate. The vagrant laws were as much enforced, too, as they were in +this country in the days of Queen Elizabeth, and in a general mode of +interference with the thoughts and actions of its subjects, the +Kashgarian government had attained a height of excellence that would +entitle it to rank with the Inquisition. Still there was order. No riots +occurred to distract the harmony of the public weal, and to an external +observer, especially to one belonging to a country where order is +considered the greatest _desideratum_, the government of the Athalik +Ghazi seemed to be the perfection of an Asiatic state, and that order a +reason for attributing all other virtues to its originator. + +Travellers, however, who were provided with a passport, were accorded +privileges of transit, and were permitted, if they felt so disposed, to +continue their journeys during hours interdicted to less privileged +mortals. In each chief town there were offices for the issue of these +permits to travel. Not many obstacles were thrown in the path of those, +who left permanent guarantees in the shape of property behind them for +their return, in accomplishing their desire for travel; but rarely was +permission granted to any one, not blessed with these worldly +advantages, to proceed farther than the neighbouring district. Indeed in +all cases leave to visit foreign states, other than Khokand or Bokhara, +was a matter of difficulty to be obtained, and only in the most +exceptional cases was it granted. But it appears that there were some +evasions of this regulation by a simulation of religious zeal, for the +Sheikh-ul-Islam had it in his power to grant permits to leave the +country on pilgrimages to Bokhara the "holy," or to Mecca. In themselves +the passports were simple in phraseology. They merely stated the name +and address of the traveller, the nature of his business, and his +destination. Having obtained the consent of the Dadkwah, and the +authority of the Kazi, no difficulty was experienced in procuring the +necessary slip of paper. Infractions of this permission, by too long an +absence, or by proceeding in some forbidden direction, were visited on a +first offence with a fine. On a repetition of it, however, the +punishment became more severe. It would be interesting to know how these +protectors of the public peace were paid, and by what means. But on this +point there is little trustworthy information. We, however, know of one +tax which was devoted to the support of the urban police, but of the +funds from which the suburban were remunerated, we have no authority for +any assertion. A weekly tax was levied from all the shop and booth +owners, to go towards the payment of their protectors; but it is not +supposed that this amounted to a sufficient sum to maintain the large +force in the more important cities. The difference was probably paid out +of the state coffers under the head of justice. Judging from this we +cannot be far wrong in assuming that a similar tax was levied on the +farmers and country residents for the support of the suburban police; +and as the secret police required less outlay in the country than in the +cities, it is possible that that tax more nearly defrayed the total +cost, than it did in Yarkand or Kashgar. The police supervision and the +military terrorism, freely resorted to on all occasions offering an +excuse for such an extreme measure, have not been without their effect +in leaving traces of their existence and influence in the daily life of +the Kashgari, and on the countenances and sentiments of the subject +peoples. Where formerly lived a light-hearted and happy race there now +seemed as if a never-to-be-removed gloom had settled down on the face of +the land, and neither the assurance of security nor the irregular +encouragement of the ruler to commerce could remove the blight that had +fallen upon the energies and happiness of the people. As one of them +expressed it, in pathetic language, "During the Chinese rule there was +everything; there is nothing now." The speaker of that sentence was no +merchant, who might have been expected to be depressed by the +falling-off in trade, but a warrior and a chieftain's son and heir. If +to him the military system of Yakoob Beg seemed unsatisfactory and +irksome, what must it have appeared to those more peaceful subjects to +whom merchandise and barter were as the breath of their nostrils? All +the advantages of a perfect police system, heavily weighted by the +incumbrance of a costly addition of spies and tale-bearers, would seem +as nothing compared with the loss incurred by the fetters placed on +individual motion and enterprise. Considered by itself, the police +organization of Kashgar was, perhaps, the most perfect design achieved +by Yakoob Beg, and his community of spies will rank with anything in +effectiveness that has ever been accomplished by any potentate. But as a +permanent addition to his strength it is permissible to doubt whether he +really secured his rule by employing the latter, or obtained much more +by the formation of the former than the services of a trained body of +trustworthy, courageous men. The restrictions imposed on trade by the +severance of all communications with the East by the Tungan wars and by +the limited amount of liberty granted the native Kashgari, proved most +deterrent to all mercantile adventure, and placed in the hands of +Khokandians or Russians on the north, and of Cashmerians and Punjabis on +the south, most of the trade still carried on with Eastern Turkestan. + +The trade carried on by the Athalik Ghazi's state, if we are to judge +solely by amount, with foreign countries, was greatest with Russia and +her dependencies; but if we investigate the matter more closely we find +that the result is a little more satisfactory to ourselves. The direct +trade that was carried on by way of Leh with Khoten and Sanju was +steadily increasing, while that of Russia by Khokand had for some time +remained stationary, if it had not even decreased. And then much of the +Russian trade has to be scored to this country, for in the marts of +Kashgar, underneath Russian exteriors, were very often to be found +English interiors, and the brand of well-known Manchester and Liverpool +makers was discovered beneath some gaudy and brilliant-looking cover +hailing from Moscow or Nishni Novgorod. Besides, recent investigations +have proved that some of the goods exported from Shikarpore, in Scinde, +through the Bholan Pass find their way through the mountainous districts +that intervene into the territory of his late Highness the Ameer of +Kashgar. Nor had Yakoob Beg totally neglected all means for inducing +merchants to enter his state; indeed, his chief objection seemed to have +been, not that they should have entered his state, but that they should +leave it. Serais were built in all the chief towns for the accommodation +of such merchants as might take up a temporary abode within his +territory, and the Andijani Serai, or hotel, specially constructed for +merchants from Khokand, was one of the largest and most striking +buildings in the city of Kashgar. Yakoob Beg had even detailed off to +take care of the serai and its occupants a large number of the old +Khitay, or Yangy Mussulmans, who were generally employed throughout the +city as domestic servants. When we come to the description of the +relations of Yakoob Beg with England and with Russia we will speak more +fully of the details of those treaties of commerce which were ratified +on several occasions, and whose ostensible object was the promotion of +trade and other friendly intercourse. + +We have now considered the army, the police, the administration of +justice, and the court of Yakoob Beg, and the only chief subject that +remains to be discussed are the principles of finance adopted by the +Ameer. To keep any state, even an Asiatic state, in a fit condition for +preserving its independence, a settled revenue is requisite, and Yakoob +Beg, whose atmosphere was one of almost continual warfare, was on +several occasions pressed for money in a manner difficult to be +conceived by us. His military operations languished for the want of the +sinews of war, and we are told on credible authority that many of his +soldiers received only payment out of the spoil taken at the sack of +Turfan and other places. So long as his ordinary expenditure was +increased by the addition of an extraordinary war outlay, so long was he +unable to make his receipts and expenditure balance. On the cessation of +hostilities against the Tungani, and the partial revival of trade in +consequence, his fiscal affairs assumed a brighter aspect, and it is +possible that during the last few years of his reign his revenue showed +a surplus. But to obtain that success, a most joyful one to every +embarrassed potentate, Yakoob Beg had to resort to many strange +expedients, and to manifest much patience and long-suffering; and in +overcoming petty obstacles and minor details, he proved himself to be a +man of more than average ability, no less than he had previously by the +skilful manipulation of armies and intriguers. Here again he erected a +structure distinct and separate from that handed down to him by the +Chinese. Comparatively speaking, the Chinese had been wealthy to the +Athalik Ghazi, and they received in moderate imposts on merchandise +alone almost a sufficient sum to defray the total cost of their +administration. Yakoob Beg had no such certain source of revenue; he had +to raise from an impoverished and only half-conquered state a sum almost +as large as that required by the Chinese. That he did it remains the +chief proof of his skill as a finance minister, and is another reason +for our regarding this extraordinary ruler with admiration. We may feel +sure that if we could follow closely the history of his fiscal efforts, +and the numberless plans that proved abortive, we should have revealed +one of the most instructive and interesting narratives of modern Asia. +There are no materials out of Kashgar, if there are such there, for such +an investigation however, and we can only follow as best we may be able, +the thread of events by the light of such authorities as are at our +disposal. In court and personal expenditure he set an example that might +with advantage be followed by other rulers in Asia even at the present +day, and in a strict economy and supervision of the petty sums that in +the aggregate make all the difference in any state between a surplus and +a deficit, were to be found the two guiding principles of his conduct. +Kashgaria might be in a very backward state of cultivation, and years of +commotion and warfare had undoubtedly thrown it back in the ranks of +prosperity and civilization, but the Athalik Ghazi was persuaded of the +truth of the Latin philosopher's saying, that "Parsimonia magna +vectigalia est." It must be remembered that Yakoob Beg set himself a +different task to accomplish than had the Chinese. Their idea was not so +much to extend their empire, although there has always been a tendency +with the Chinese to be aggressive against small neighbours, as to +acquire a territory that could be made a paying thing: much as the +pioneers of Anglo-Saxon conquest have made their impression in every +quarter of the globe in search of wealth and adventure, did the Chinese +by a seemingly irresistible impulse spread over the continent of Asia. +In doing so they were actuated as much by calculation of possible profit +as by any desire for military renown. The Emperor Keen-Lung himself was +flattered by the triumphs achieved beyond Gobi; but his lieutenants and +viceroys aimed at more mercenary objects, and but for the golden promise +held forth by a permanent conquest of Turkestan would have induced their +master to direct his efforts to some more profitable undertaking. The +Chinese, having acquired Kashgar, were far too sagacious to use up its +resources by an organized system of pillage, and they accordingly, let +it be granted chiefly with a view to their own personal aggrandizement, +devoted their attention to the development of its natural wealth by +means already detailed in a previous chapter. For three generations the +officials grew rich on the prosperity of their dependency, and for the +same period the people themselves were scarcely less flourishing. The +Chinese had accepted no slight responsibility in undertaking the +government of Kashgar on principles identical with those by which they +held authority in Tibet; but, owing to wonderful perseverance and good +management, they triumphed over every difficulty. The revenue raised for +state and local purposes was very great, and it sufficed to preserve +good order for many years, and to add permanent improvement to the state +in every direction. The task voluntarily undertaken by the Chinese was +far more onerous than that Yakoob Beg found he had to execute; but they +came to it with many advantages that he wanted. They had a large and +faithful army; he had only an uncertain gathering, which might flee or +desert on the first symptom of disaster: they had the resources of a +great and powerful empire at their back; he had nothing but his own +energy and determination: and above all, they had a reputation that +added to their strength and facilitated their undertakings, while he was +regarded as a mere military adventurer, receiving the contempt of Tungan +and Khoja alike. The very nature of things made the Chinese turn most of +their attention to commerce, while for years Yakoob Beg's sole thought +was to consolidate his military strength and form a large standing army. +For many years, then, Yakoob Beg only spent money on the drilling of +soldiers and the purchase of weapons. Now and then, when some danger +seemed to threaten him, either from Russia, Afghanistan, or the Tungani, +he would devote considerable sums to the construction of forts in the +line of the menaced position. But his chief expenditure was confined to +his army, and the maintenance of his dynasty by his police system. The +administration of justice required a certain sum of money, and the +Church for its support came in for a fair share of the good things that +were going. It is clear that his expenditure, if not very great in our +eyes, would severely tax a population of 1,000,000 people in no very +high state of prosperity. The chief source of wealth in the past had +always been the trade with China, and when that was broken off, the +slight increase in intercourse with Russia and India was not a +sufficient compensation. In fact, the country was very poor, without the +ingenuity and commercial instincts of the Khitay. During the days of the +war under Buzurg Khan, the only means of obtaining the necessary revenue +was by despoliation and enforced levies on the occupied portion of the +territory. When the western portion of Kashgaria was subdued, Yakoob Beg +found himself without any money in his exchequer, and no easy means of +filling it presented itself to him. In these straits he had recourse to +an expedient that, if not very novel, was at all events very effective. +He issued a proclamation to his faithful subjects to the effect that as +conqueror he was landowner of the whole state; but that he was +willing--eager would have been the more correct expression--to sell it +to them at a cheap rate. He, however, exempted from this the old +possessions of the Chinese Wangs and Ambans, and distributed their +extensive domains among the more prominent of his followers, who in +return acknowledged their liability to military service. The system was +an exact copy of the old feudal regime, and Yakoob Beg was vested with +all the rights and authority of the feudal lord of the Middle Ages. The +parallel is still further maintained by the large reward that the Church +received for its aid to the new ruler. The old revenues, devoted to the +support of the temples and religious seminaries in the past, and which +had miscarried during the troublous period of the war for the possession +of Turkestan, were restored, and fresh possessions were added thereto, +to demonstrate the generosity of the sovereign and his veneration for +the religion of Mahomed. His old friend the Sheikh-ul-Islam was still +more fortunate, and a large estate was set apart for his special +enjoyment. Nor does it appear that the Mussulman priests abused the +fresh power and advantages they thus secured; for among the toilers in +Kashgaria none were more energetic than they in educating the people, +and in extending their influence over their minds, both for the benefit +of their religion and for the security of the power of the Athalik +Ghazi. But in one respect, and it is impossible to exaggerate its +importance, Yakoob Beg's endeavours to found a strong military class, +bound to him by ties of past favours and others yet to come, were +abortive; for with rare exceptions his followers refused to fill their +new avocation of landed proprietors. Instead of devoting their attention +to the questions arising from agriculture and other rural pursuits, they +sub-let all their possessions to Andijani immigrants, and, residing in +their city _ordas_, gave themselves over either to lascivious pleasures +or to complete indolence. Even so distinguished a warrior as Abdulla +Beg, the slayer of more than 12,000 persons, as his panegyrists boasted, +suffered from the pervading effeminacy on the cessation of active +hostilities; and in the lower ranks of the service such deterioration in +energy was still more manifest. This change in the spirit of his earlier +supporters, among other things, obliged Yakoob Beg to depend the more on +the Andijani merchants and shopkeepers, and conduced to his adopting +more favourable views on foreign trade in the later years of his power. + +The sum of money which he immediately received by the sale of lands +placed him in a condition to undertake those wars against the Tungani, +which added so much to the extent of his territory and to the +responsibilities of his position. Indeed, for several years after its +first enforcement it continued to bring in a certain amount to the +coffers of the State. But even this resource was transitory, and the sum +of money received by this means and in the shape of spoil, from Yarkand, +Kashgar, Khoten, and other places, was not sufficient to meet the +expenditure caused by the formation of a large army. Neither of these +practices could be regarded as a permanent means of obtaining a revenue, +for the former would scarcely admit of a repetition, and the latter soon +exhausted itself. So when his rule had become a little settled, and +these modes of raising money, in addition to the still more +reprehensible practice of robbing foreign merchants, had become out of +date to a certain degree, the Athalik Ghazi had to place his fiscal +arrangements on a more practical and honourable basis. While he laboured +under some disadvantages, already enumerated, as compared with the +Chinese, he had the great advantage over them that he strove for an +object more easily accomplished than the restoration of Kashgar to its +pristine welfare; and in his budget he had only steadily to keep in view +how much he required to maintain so many _jigits_, and so many police in +his pay, and to keep in his exchequer a small surplus for any untoward +emergency. He left the roads to take care of themselves; the irrigation +works, sadly wanted in various parts of the state, must be reserved for +his successors; and all proposals for the amelioration of the people +were shelved for a more opportune occasion. But so many thousand +_jigits_ must be in the ranks; so many fresh guns and cartridges must be +placed in the arsenals; and so many adventurers must be induced by good +pay to take service in the army as non-commissioned officers, in order +that the rank and file should be well drilled. The very necessities of +his position compelled Yakoob Beg to make all these military +preparations; but the cost was great, and the sacrifices thus imposed on +ruler and on people were a terrible strain. Recent events make us +inclined to believe that a less active military and foreign policy, and +a more peaceable and domestic one, would have tended to have added more +strength to the Athalik Ghazi's rule than the somewhat ostentatious +military parade to which he had recourse. Be that as it may, Yakoob Beg +instituted in 1867 two taxes, which may be supposed to represent the two +chief classes of receipts during his tenure of authority. The first of +these was a tithe on all the cereal produce of the country; this tax was +called the _Ushr_. The second, called the _Zakat_, was a customs due +levied on all merchandise entering Kashgar. The _Ushr_ was payable on +all land except that occupied by the Church, or by those who owed +military service to the crown instead of other payment; and even those +who rented land from the noble classes were obliged to surrender a tithe +to the ruler. It would appear, therefore, from this that it was not so +much the land as its legal possessor who was exempt from liability to +the usual obligations of citizenship. The danger contained in the +acquisition of all the crown lands by Andijani merchants, and the +gradual displacement of his more immediate followers through the energy +of these people, was not imperceptible to Yakoob Beg, and he accordingly +adopted measures for preventing his nobles selling their land without +his sanction. The receipts from this _Ushr_ were very considerable, and +it was the main source of his revenue for years. We have some idea of +the approximate value of land in Kashgar. The method of measuring land +for sale, and consequently also for taxation, is peculiar. It is not by +any given size that it is computed, or, indeed, strictly speaking by the +amount of crop it produces; but at a rate in accordance with the amount +of wheat with which it had been planted. The average rate was about a +pound for as much land as was sown with 20 lb. of wheat. The tenant, as +has been said, paid the government dues and handed over three-fourths of +the net produce to the landlord as rent, receiving for his portion only +the one-fourth remaining. Under this system it was only in very +prosperous years that any but very large tenants made sufficient to earn +a competent livelihood. In bad years it is possible that the landlord +had to satisfy himself with a smaller share, if he was not induced to +surrender his claim altogether for the disastrous period. But the +tax-farmers, entrusted with the collection of this rate, were eager to +become rich, no less than to earn a good name with the authorities for +bringing in a list with no defaulters. The unfortunate people were +completely at their mercy, and without any means of ascertaining the +accuracy of the claim, or of opposing extortionate demands on the part +of the tax-collectors. They paid without a murmur, perhaps without a +suspicion of the imposition that was being practised upon them, the sum +demanded of them, if they were able; and as their dues were payable +without delay and on demand before anything else was taken out of the +total sum of the produce, the Athalik Ghazi received his share with +regularity, and his tax-collector pocketed the excess sum for his own +satisfaction. In many cases it is known that the amount claimed by the +official exceeded by threefold the legal demand. Such a system was no +less hurtful to the ruler than it was ruinous to the people. That in one +tax alone a larger sum should be extracted from the people for the +benefit of the officials than was contributed for the necessities of the +state, exhibited a very loose system of supervision on the part of the +sovereign, and is a strong piece of evidence that in many ways Yakoob +Beg was a mixture of contradictions. We can scarcely persuade ourselves +that he was aware of these occurrences, and yet how could he be ignorant +of them? + +In addition to the _Ushr_ there was another tax on home produce, viz., +the _Tanabi_, or tax on land devoted to the production of vegetables or +fruit. The Tanab is, by the way, a lineal measure of forty-seven yards, +and a Tanabi is a piece of land forty-seven yards square. On this extent +of land cultivated for vegetables, or fruit, a small tax was raised. +More than any other tax did this vary according to the character of the +district, and to the quality of the year's crop. It was seldom less than +a shilling a Tanabi, even in the least renowned district, whereas in +some parts, in good years, it was five shillings, or even more. Here +again, however, the middleman interfered, and exacted as much as he saw +there was any possibility of his obtaining. This tax undoubtedly ought +to have produced a large sum, as a larger portion of the soil is laid +out as fruit and vegetable gardens than for crops; but whether it was +more difficult to raise, or there was more peculation _in transitu_ from +the tax-payer to the imperial exchequer, it is certain that we hear much +less of this tax than we should be disposed to imagine. The two great +taxes on home productions were therefore a corn due and a fruit due. The +rate was not in itself excessive, and could be paid by any community +without embarrassment. It is uncertain to what extent the avarice of the +officials had made the conditions of these two taxes more onerous, +although, on the most favourable supposition, the citizen was mulcted in +no inconsiderable sum. A more serious question for the ruler was, how +did it affect his own position with regard to his subjects? Did Yakoob +Beg appear in the eyes of the Kashgari as an exacting and oppressive +tyrant on account of these heavy impositions? + +It is impossible to speak on this point with any degree of certainty, +but it is only natural to expect that such was the case. No tiller of +the ground can feel grateful to a sovereign who required him to hand +over almost one-third of his receipts before he made use of one penny of +them, even for the payment of his rent. It is scarcely probable that +Yakoob Beg approved of such enormous profits going to his officials; +but, that having tolerated petty exactions in his earlier days, he found +himself unable to attempt the task of coping with the evil when it had +assumed such alarming proportions. It is impossible to believe that he +remained in ignorance of what was occurring under his very eyes, and +there is some evident foundation for the accusation that he participated +in the division of the profits of his tax-gatherers. We should be loth +to admit the accuracy of such a charge, and yet the arguments in its +favour are too plausible to admit of a very confident contradiction. It +would not speak well for the efficiency of his secret police if he had +remained in ignorance of a fact which was losing him the sympathy of his +subjects. + +The gold mines at Khoten were worked after the fall of that city in +1868, and continued productive down to the present time. There is no +information on the quantities of the precious metal that are there +turned out in the year, but it is probable that they are not very great. +The coal mines near Aksu and Kucha are no longer made use of, except by +a few individuals, and the copper mines in that district have, since the +departure of the Chinese, only been very partially explored. The jade +that used to come in great quantities from Aksu and Khoten, is still to +be found throughout Kashgar; but although it is probable that it still +nearly all comes from those cities, the Kashgari themselves tell a +hesitating tale as to its place of production. A visitor to Kashgar, on +going the round of the bazaars, soon found that the people's tongues +were tied by the presence, in his train, of a number of the secret +police, who had been specially told off to prevent the Feringhee +obtaining any troublesome information on the state of the people, or the +resources of the state. A striking instance was given him of the close +attention paid by these guardians of order to the veriest trifles. The +traveller inquired in one stall where the jade, which was the chief +commodity of the merchant in question, came from, and received the +reply, Aksu. Proceeding to another shop in the street, he repeated the +question, when he was informed that it was imported from Khokand. But +the traveller said, your neighbour told me it came from Aksu. The +shopkeeper, taken aback by this abrupt remark, became confused, and +admitted that it came from Aksu. Warned by a look from the official, he +then repeated his original assertion that it came from Khokand. The use +of all this absurd shuffling, and attempt to throw dust in strangers' +eyes, is impossible to discover; for it was a matter of little moment +whether jade came from Aksu, or Khokand, so long as we knew that it +formed an important commodity, both in the rough and in the chiselled +state, in the cities of Kashgaria. + +The customs tax, or _Zakat_, is sanctioned by the Shariat, and was +levied at all the border posts on the various roads leading into the +state. Up to the ratification of the treaties with Great Britain and +Russia, its regulations were vague and elastic in the extreme. In fact, +any merchant who might have been so foolhardy as to venture into Kashgar +would have had reason, before these events, to think himself fortunate +if he escaped the penalty of his rashness; for assuredly his luggage +would not, but would have been confiscated for the special benefit of +his Highness the Ameer. So late as 1869, Russian merchants were robbed +of their baggage, and personally ill-treated, and only after long years +of negotiation did the Russian Government obtain any satisfaction for +the injuries and loss inflicted on one of their subjects. And then how +did the Athalik Ghazi send the sum of money he agreed to pay for the +loss the merchant had incurred?--why in a depreciated Chinese currency, +part of a large number of coins that he had found in a disused temple in +Kashgar! Before this, all the external trade had been carried on with +Khokand and Bokhara, Afghanistan and Badakshan, and the receipts from +_Zakat_ were quite insignificant, barring such treasure trove as the +spoliation of a merchant from Tashkent, or from Leh. But with the +persistent efforts on the part of the Russians on the north, and of the +English native merchants on the south, to pierce the gloom hiding the +country of Eastern Turkestan, it became impossible for Yakoob Beg to +maintain much longer the incognito he was so jealous in maintaining. +Perhaps also the prospect of deriving an income from _Zakat_, that +should smooth down many of his difficulties, was not without some +influence on his mind when he came into direct contact with civilized +empires. His expectations were far too sanguine, and he seems to have +once more, during the last twelve months of his life, become indifferent +to the advantages or disadvantages of trade with his neighbours. In +fact, when he placed his customs on a fair footing, he found that it +would require many years to recoup him for the excessive exactions he +surrendered. The merchants who first attempted to commence intercourse +with Kashgar became speedily discouraged by the dangers of the route, +and the small opening for a large remunerative trade in a country whose +wealth and population had been magnified tenfold. In a country where the +richest merchant in the chief town possessed only a capital of L8,000, +not much could be expected in the way of fortune; and although the legal +dues on all merchandise were fixed at an _ad valorem_ rate of 2-1/2 per +cent., it was soon discovered that if the ruler happened to be in want +of cash he would not scruple to take what he could from the stranger. +Both to the ruler, and to the foreign merchant, the new arrangement +contained distasteful matter. The former perceived that he had +surrendered some of his imperial rights, and that he was not to be +recompensed by his receiving more money, and the latter knew that the +treaty stipulation would not save him from having to pay excess fees. + +The _Zakat_, far from showing the expected disposition to increase, +seemed rather inclined to remain stationary, if not to decrease; and +the foreign merchant had obtained some promise on the part of the ruler +of personal protection, and of assistance in the disposal of his wares. +His discontent at the stagnation in the customs soon showed itself by +his exacting excess dues, sometimes on British, sometimes on Russian, +but more often on Khokandian and Afghan merchants. Instead of increasing +his receipts, these strong measures only threw them back, and left him +in a worse plight than he was in before. He had not the patience +necessary to enable him to wait with confidence the fuller development +of trade, nor had he the perseverance or tact to place fresh inducements +in the path of merchants to renew their intercourse with him and his +state. Many visited Kashgar with merchandise a first time; but few, +indeed, repeated the visit. The ruler was off-handed in his reception of +them. They were scarcely accorded any liberty in their movements, and +the profit of their journey was greatly reduced by the payment of a due +of 5 per cent. instead of the stipulated condition of 2-1/2 per cent. It +is a pure fiction, therefore, to say that trade with Kashgar had +increased during the rule of the Athalik Ghazi through his friendly +inclination. If the amount of merchandise imported into his state had +increased, it was owing only to the necessities of its inhabitants, and +was a fact that must have taken place either by intercourse direct, or +through native states, with the two great providers of Central Asia. The +exaggerated enthusiasm that it was endeavoured to raise up in this +country about this same mythical ruler of Yarkand never spread far, and +there was always some scepticism, if there could be no disproof, of the +reports of the formidableness of this new kingdom. Looking calmly at the +real state of Yakoob Beg's position, even at the height of his power, we +find him to have always been a pecuniarily embarrassed ruler, glad of +the smallest windfall in the shape of the spoil of a single merchant. +The _Zakat_, his advisers pointed out to him, might be made a most +productive source of revenue, if foreign merchants could be induced to +bring their wares into the country. The loss the people had felt in the +departure of the Chinese might be amply repaired by the appearance of +Russian and English merchants to supply the same place that they filled. +If his aspirations were disappointed, and the _Zakat_ did not show any +signs of possessing that elasticity which had been predicted, it is +probable that in his impatience, heightened by the perception that +foreign trade might lead to foreign complications, he did not give the +scheme a sufficient time for a fair trial. His other sources of revenue, +_Ushr_ and _Tanabi_, and the gold mines of Khoten, brought in a sum +enough to meet the current expenses of the government and to maintain in +his service as many soldiers as his recruiting officers were able to +secure. But there was little if any surplus; and local improvements, and +all outlay that might have been reproductive and for the benefit of the +people, were strictly forbidden. The only works we can find constructed +by him, with a view to the advancement of the interests of his subjects, +were the merchants' _serais_, built in each city, and these were +self-supporting. Yakoob Beg has no claim to being considered as a +beneficent ruler. He was a military dictator, who had shown a rare power +for inaugurating a rough system of government, and whose campaigns had +always been singularly successful. As a ruler, showing a full +appreciation of the wants of his people, and adopting the best possible +measures to obtain them, he had no claims to consideration. Indeed, he +could not be compared with the Chinese, who, however personal may have +been their motives, certainly raised the state to a high pitch of +material prosperity, and left many enduring marks of their past +occupation. These two dominations, foisted on the Kashgari by the strong +arm, while each immeasurably superior to the Khoja claimants, +represented two distinct modes of governing a subject race. The Chinese +endeavoured to conciliate, and to make the necessity for their presence +felt by the people; the Athalik Ghazi was supremely indifferent to the +prosperity of his subjects, so long as they were willing to pay him the +tribute money, and to serve in his army. An exactly opposite result +might have been expected, for there was far more kinship between the +Khokandian adventurer and the Kashgari, than there was between the +Khitay and the Andijani. Admirers of Yakoob Beg may, of course, plead +that his rule had not acquired sufficient consistency to justify him in +tasking his strength by great undertakings, such as the construction of +roads and canals. In one respect he had not the labour at his disposal, +and he was, consequently, hampered by a difficulty that the Chinese were +free from. Still when we remember that all these works ought to have +been remunerative, and to have strengthened Yakoob Beg's individual +power, instead of taxing his resources, the excuse cannot be admitted as +entitled to our consideration. Yakoob Beg has claims only to be admired +for having given us something better than a repetition of the depravity +of the Khoja rulers, and of course among his coevals he is entitled to +far the highest place. If it is only asked for him that he should be +placed above them, no one can raise the slightest objection to it; for +beyond the shadow of a doubt, he was the most energetic and talented +ruler that had appeared among the Khanates for several centuries. But it +would be affectation to deny that a higher place than this has been +claimed for him; and before according his right to occupy it, the +evidence on which his claim rests must be sifted with the greatest care. +Even now I do not say that his claims are unproven; but that it is open +to doubt whether his work has not been exaggerated, I think must be +admitted by every one who has studied the course of his life in Kashgar. +It is absurd to talk of Yakoob Beg having been an equal of Genghis Khan +or of Timour, in any other way than that of showing that his personal +abilities were of a transcendent order. As a legislator and public +benefactor, it is fair to compare him with the Chinese, who possessed +some advantages over him, but who laboured under some disadvantages in +religion, and other conditions, as compared with him. And when we do +this, after impartial consideration we find that the balance is greatly +in favour of the Chinese. What can we judge from this, but that the rule +of Yakoob Beg, while presenting some striking features, was inferior in +degree to that of the Chinese? It is only fair to remember that the +difficulties in his path were great, and that he overcame many of them. +Before closing this chapter some description of the chief men who +assisted him to conquer the country, and then to govern it, may be not +without interest to the reader. + +First among these, by right of his position as well as by his high +abilities, comes the Seyyid Yakoob Khan, or Hadji Torah, as he has more +conveniently been called, the prince who has recently visited several of +the principal courts of Europe. He is a near relative of the Athalik +Ghazi, although, strange to say, there is no consanguinity between them. +He is a son of Nar Mahomed Khan, the governor of Tashkent, who married +as his second wife Yakoob Beg's sister, and who was instrumental in +advancing the interests of Yakoob Beg during the earlier days of his +career in Khokand. The Seyyid was almost as old as his uncle, the Ameer +of Kashgar, having been born in Tashkent in 1823; but despite this near +connection Hadji Torah played no part in the conquest of Kashgar. Until +Yakoob Beg achieved complete success in his enterprise in Eastern +Turkestan he was considered by Khokandians of high rank a simple +adventurer. The Seyyid Yakoob Khan was of the best lineage in Turkestan, +and it is very possible that until the year 1867 he regarded his uncle +with a considerable amount of indifference. Certain it is that Hadji +Torah was far otherwise employed than in assisting his relative when +the latter was engaged in some of the desperate encounters of his not +uneventful career. In the civil administration of Khokand he filled, +under Alim Kuli, high posts, such as Principal of the Madrassa of +Tashkent, and then he was appointed Kazi, or Judge. It was after the +fall of Ak Musjid that he commenced that career of activity as a +traveller and a negotiator which brought him to the shores of the +Bosphorus and to the banks of the Neva and the Thames. That was in the +year 1854, and he was appointed as a sort of secretary to the embassy of +Mirza Jan Effendi, the ambassador sent by Mollah Khan to Constantinople +for aid. On a subsequent occasion he again visited Constantinople in a +similar capacity, after the death of Mollah Khan, and during the brief +tenure of power by his successor, Mahomed Khan, the nominee of Alim +Kuli. This was in 1865, and during the troubles that ensued in Khokand +and the final success of Khudayar Khan, the legal ruler of Khokand and +antagonist of Alim Kuli, Hadji Torah resided quietly at Constantinople, +where Abdul Aziz entertained him with sumptuous hospitality. It would +appear that he obtained some kind of reputation among the numerous +visitors from either Turkestan who came to Turkey, and apart from his +sacrosanct character few could fail to be impressed favourably by his +cheerful yet dignified manner. His uncle in 1870 had indeed overcome all +opposition to his rule, and it might at a first glance appear strange +why he should desire to secure the services of a man of whom he could +have seen or known little for many years. But Hadji Torah possessed +abilities and experience rare among the inhabitants of Central Asia, and +to Yakoob Beg the very talents his nephew possessed were those he was +most in need of. + +In 1870 the Athalik Ghazi was anxious to draw close the bonds of +alliance with the Porte; who could assist him better than the man who +had resided in Constantinople for several years, and who had formed a +friendly intimacy with the Sultan? In 1871 Yakoob Beg first recognized +the imminence of danger to his state from Russia, then put in possession +of Kuldja; who could instruct him in the most effectual way of warding +off that danger, either by an alliance with England or by propitiating +the Russians, than the travelled Hadji Torah? The very qualities that +the Seyyid Yakoob Khan possessed were those the Ameer Yakoob Beg stood +most in need of. He might search among all his followers, those who had +shared every vicissitude of his strange fortunes, and he could not find +one other with an identical capacity. The overtures to his nephew are +thus easily intelligible, and the nephew himself gladly greeted his +entry into a wider career than was that of an honoured guest on the +hospitality of the Porte. His subsequent embassies in the service of +Kashgar to St. Petersburg, Calcutta, Constantinople, and London are too +recent and too well known to require mention here. When he settled in +Kashgar he married a daughter of Mahomed Khoja, the Sheikh-ul-Islam of +Kashgaria. His weight with the people was consequently very great, and +his judgment was greatly valued by the Ameer. Even over Beg Bacha, the +turbulent and ferocious heir-apparent, Hadji Torah had acquired some +influence by his ready tact and _bonhomie_. + +Of the two chief personages, Mahomed Khoja and Abdulla Pansad, the +priest and the soldier, who assisted Yakoob Beg, it is unfortunately +impossible to discover much, and that little has already been stated in +the preceding pages. There can be no doubt, however, that they were the +principal instruments in promoting the aggrandizement of Yakoob Beg, and +the two who enjoyed more than any other the confidence and friendship of +the man they had supported so faithfully. But of another well-tried +follower we know more, chiefly through the pages of Dr. Bellew. Mahomed +Yunus seems to have been the most educated and well informed among the +governors of Yakoob Beg. He had the reputation of being quite the +best-informed man in Kashgar, but as the _curriculum_ of instruction did +not include modern languages, it is difficult to guage the exact degree +of that reputation. He was an old and trusted follower of the Athalik +Ghazi, for when he was in the service of Khokand Mahomed Yunus +officiated as his scribe. He, however, as a civilian, took no part in +the expedition of Buzurg Khan, and it was not until after the death of +Alim Kuli and the success of Khudayar Khan that he joined his firm +friend and master in Kashgar. So high an opinion had Yakoob Beg of his +talents, and so pressed was he for skilled rulers, that Mahomed Yunus +was at once appointed Dadkwah of the recently conquered district of +Yarkand, the richest, the most populous, and the most turbulent of all +the governorships in Kashgaria. The skill with which he brought the +troublesome Yarkandis into complete submission to the new ruler, and the +rare ability he manifested in his administration of his province down +almost to the present time, justify the selection of his whilome comrade +in Khokand. At first it seems that the governor ruled with a high hand, +and that the slightest symptom of insubordination was checked by an +immediate arrest and a not long-delayed execution. During the last seven +years, however, his government had become milder, chiefly because all +evil-doers had been got rid of. Among some of the minor followers may be +mentioned Alish Beg, Dadkwah of Kashgar; Ihrar Khan Torah, the first +envoy despatched from Kashgar to India; and Mahomed Beg of Artosh: but +we have no sufficient information of them to give an account of them +that would be interesting to the general reader. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +YAKOOB BEG'S POLICY TOWARDS RUSSIA. + + +Yakoob Beg had in the earlier days of his career come into contact with +the Russians, and although, in the long interval between the fall of Ak +Musjid and his departure from Khokand, the Russians, chiefly owing to +the prostration resulting from the Crimean War, did not press on with +the energy that their first advance on the Syr Darya seemed to promise, +there is no doubt that the possibility of its occurrence was the +foremost thought in the minds of Yakoob Beg and his contemporaries. In +1865, when the Russians threatened and eventually occupied Tashkent, and +brought their frontier halfway on its journey to the Oxus, Yakoob Beg +was far too much occupied with his own affairs in Kashgar to attempt any +interference in Khokand. With, however, the dismemberment of Khokand and +the rout of the Bokhariot army in the spring of 1866, his attention was +forcibly claimed by a fact that seemed in the future to involve him as +the next victim of Russian aggrandizement. In that year, too, he had not +only overcome all resistance in the more important districts of +Kashgaria, but he had to a greater extent than before, become +responsible for the political actions of the people of this state +through the deposition of Buzurg Khan. As early as 1866, it may be +assumed that the new ruler of Kashgar had his attention directed to the +movements of his old antagonist, by their successes against the +Khokandians and Bokhariots; but it is clear that the Russians were not +equally interested in his doings at this period. With the occupation of +the northern portion of Khokand, the rule of Russia was brought into +nearer proximity with that of the new power of Kashgar, and it became +only a question of time whether the two governments were to attain a +harmonious agreement, or whether a series of petty disputes was to +result in a further extension of the Russian Empire, towards both India +and China. The independent portion of the Khanate of Khokand still +intervened, and the difficult country of the Kizil Yart mountains served +the useful purpose of giving the Athalik Ghazi breathing time, ere he +should arrive at a decision about his future relations with Russia. +Indeed, up to this point the interest of Russia in the affairs of +Kashgar had been very slight, for it does not appear that much, if any, +intercourse had been carried on between the two territories in the past. +Far otherwise was it in Ili, where the Russians had for many years been +located as merchants or as consuls. Their station at Almatie or Vernoe, +an important town and fort situated about 50 miles north of Issik Kul +and 250 west of Ili itself, had in a few years become a large and +flourishing city, instead of preserving its original character of a +small mountain fort. Russian merchants carried on a very extensive trade +by this road with Ili, Urumtsi, Hamil, and Pekin, and their relations +with the Chinese merchants had attained a very satisfactory basis. It +was, therefore, with no friendly feeling, that the Tungan rising in Ili +was regarded by a very large section of the Russians in the +neighbourhood. The disturbances that thereupon broke out, effectually +put a stop to all trade in this quarter for some time, and the old +traffic, or such of it as continued, with China had to be conducted +along the less direct route through Siberia. For six years, the Russians +tolerated the uncertain state of affairs in Ili, where the Tungani and +the Tarantchis disputed between themselves as to which should be the +ruling party; but their dissatisfaction was scarcely concealed at the +substitution of a native government for that of China. When, therefore, +Yakoob Beg, having conquered the country south of the Tian Shan, seemed +to threaten the provinces north of that barrier, it is not surprising +that the Russians availed themselves of excuses for forestalling him, +and for placing their commercial relations on an equally good footing as +they had been in the past with the inhabitants of Ili, by a forced +occupation of that territory. But the Russians were resolved to give as +little umbrage as possible to the Chinese. Ili was formally acknowledged +to be Chinese territory, and the Czar voluntarily promised, through his +representative at Pekin, to restore it as soon as the Emperor of China +was able to despatch a sufficient force to preserve order therein. This +tact secured the permanent goodwill of the Chinese, and Russia obtained, +in several important trade concessions, a very gratifying reward for her +skilful diplomacy. Her friendly action to the Celestials was also +heightened in its effect by a piece of unfortunate policy on our part. +The Panthays had erected in Yunnan a Mahomedan power, which seemed to +have broken off completely from Pekin, and report brought such tales to +our frontier of the power and goodwill of the Sultan of the Panthays +ruling in Ta-li-foo, that in an ill-advised moment we entered into +negotiations with this potentate. The Chinese authorities very naturally +took umbrage at this tacit support of a rebellious vassal, and all our +subsequent efforts have been unable to remove the suspicions produced by +our vacillating attitude on that occasion. The Russians still further +preserved the appearance of friendship for China by their refusal, +maintained during several years, to acknowledge the government set up in +Kashgar by Buzurg Khan and Yakoob Beg. This action was however the less +worthy of approval, because at that period the Russians had no immediate +concern in Kashgaria. Their sole interest lay in the course of events in +Jungaria, with which they were intimately connected by trade and +political associations, stretching back for almost a century. +Undoubtedly Jungaria was much affected by commotions in Kashgaria, and +we accordingly see, when the march of events in the latter province +assumed an aspect menacing to the future independence of Jungaria, the +Russians taking prompt measures to secure the possession of that +province for themselves. When Ili passed into the hands of Russia, the +old trade revived along this route to a certain degree, and some +intercourse ensued with the Tungani of Urumtsi, Manas and Hamil. +Measures seem to have been taken to impress on the rulers of those +cities the prudence of not interfering with merchants or travellers, and +matters became to a certain degree satisfactory for Russian +tranquillity. The city of Ili never, however, recovered its former +prosperity, for Vernoe still remains the most important town in this +region. Originally a fort constructed in 1854, as a small mountain post, +to defend the road from the marauding Kirghiz, it has increased from its +insignificant origin into a large settlement of Cossacks and Calmucks, +and is now a very thriving community. It was, therefore, it must be +remembered, primarily with Jungaria that Russia was interested. So far +as the internal affairs of Kashgar were concerned, she could have +disregarded the dispute between the rivals, Yakoob Beg and the Chinese; +it was only when a powerful Mahomedan state was erected in Eastern +Turkestan, and threatened both the independence of Ili, and also to +raise up disunion in Khokand, that Russia was compelled to consider what +policy it would be wise to adopt towards the recently proclaimed Athalik +Ghazi. Whether it was absolutely necessary or even prudent to annex Ili, +may be doubted with some reason, but it is impossible to find fault with +the Russians for that step. Probably it was the most excusable of all +their conquests, none the less may the decision have been founded on a +misapprehension of circumstances, or it may have been premature to shut +Yakoob Beg out from advancing into a region where he would have been at +the complete mercy of the Russians. Nor is it clear even that Yakoob Beg +had the intention, so generously attributed to him, of committing what +would certainly have resulted in political extinction, viz., an advance +to the northern side of the Tian Shan. The reader will, we hope, +perceive that as little interest was felt by the Russians in the events +transpiring in Kashgar as there was in India, and this indifference +continued down at all events to the end of 1866. At that date Yakoob +Beg's enterprise had been crowned with complete success and the Russian +Government, far more promptly and accurately apprised of the course of +events than our Government in India, was obliged to devote some +attention to this new power, whose appearance was already beginning to +raise a ferment in the Mahomedan states lying to the west of Kashgar. + +In 1866, however, some indefinite agreement was arrived at by the +commanders of forces along the Naryn borders, to abstain from +interfering with each other's actions. The Russian forces were permitted +to follow refugees from Khokand and predatory Kirghiz within the nominal +frontier of Kashgar, and when occasion arose a similar right was +accorded to the Kashgarian officials. By some good fortune, perhaps +caused by a feeling of mutual respect, no collisions of any consequence +occurred between the representatives of the two powers during these +early and vague negotiations. Although the Russian governors of Siberia +and Turkestan refused to acknowledge either Buzurg Khan or Yakoob Beg, +they seem to have done their best to make use of these conciliatory +measures along the northern frontier as a lever for inducing Yakoob Beg +to make overtures to them for their support. If such was their intention +the firmness of Yakoob Beg thwarted all their designs, as will be seen +in the sequel. To obtain, however, some advantage out of the apparent +apprehension of the Kashgarian ruler for Russian power was absolutely +necessary, if only to demonstrate the perfection to which Muscovite +diplomacy had attained. So, while refusing to acknowledge the new state +in Eastern Turkestan and deeply deploring the departure of the Chinese, +orders were given to the frontier officers to obtain the sanction of the +Kashgarian officials in the neighbourhood to the construction of a +bridge across the Naryn and of a military road over the Tian Shan into +Kashgar. This was in 1867, and it is not to be wondered at that the +Kashgarian authorities replied with a categorical refusal. To have +acquiesced in this demand would have been to have placed the city of +Kashgar at the complete mercy of the Russians. The position of that city +is most disadvantageous in a military point of view, and the only +obstacle an army advancing from Issik Kul has to encounter is the +difficulty of the road from the Naryn torrent, and the general +impracticability of the passes through this portion of the Tian Shan +range. The Russian government was much disappointed at this rebuff +experienced at the hands of a native ruler, and accordingly in great +haste it was resolved that a fort should be constructed on the Naryn +just within their frontier. In 1868 this fort was completed, but by that +time a fresh change had taken place in the state of affairs, and hopes +were entertained that an agreement might yet be arranged by peaceful +means with Kashgar. During these two years there had been continual +disturbances and fighting in Western Turkestan. Bokhara, instigated, +according to Russian assertions, by Yakoob Beg, had joined with Khokand +and Khiva in a combined uprising against Russia; but in so far as that +uprising was combined it never occurred, for both Bokhara and Khokand +fell an easy prey in detail to the armies of the Czar. The punishment of +Khiva was reserved for a future occasion, and indeed of all the +confederates Khiva was the only one which obtained any successes in the +field. The most palpable result of that campaign was the acquisition of +Samarcand by Russia, and for a time all opposition seemed to be stamped +out. No sooner, however, had the main Russian army returned to Tashkent +than a large force invested the small garrison left in Samarcand, and +the whole country rose in arms again. The Russian garrison held tightly +on to its post, and, although in comparison to its strength its loss was +most severe, the town was preserved until the arrival of General +Kaufmann with reinforcements. Bokhara then sued for peace, which, after +some delay, was concluded with the unfortunate Ameer Mozaffur Eddin. By +that treaty the Russians obtained the right to place military +cantonments at Kermina, Charjui, and Karshi. Kermina is situated about +fifty miles east of the town of Bokhara, on the road from Katti Kurgan +and Samarcand; Karshi about sixty miles south of Katti Kurgan, and half +way to the Oxus; while Charjui is on the Oxus and some eighty miles west +of Bokhara. Of all these the last is the most important, for thence a +direct caravan route leads to Merv and Meshed. Once more, in 1870-71, +Bokhara entered the field, but the enterprise collapsed through the +unconcerted measures of the allies and the weakness of Khokand. During +these five eventful years of rebellion amongst the races of Western +Turkestan, Yakoob Beg preserved his neutrality. If the assertion is +correct that he had played an underhand part in the formation of the +league against Russia, assuredly he endeavoured to make his actions +contradict his diplomacy. Not a Kashgarian soldier participated in the +efforts made so repeatedly by Bokhara and Khokand to shake off the bonds +of Russian vassalage. Like Shere Ali of Cabul, he devoted his attention +exclusively to the affairs of his immediate province, and wars in the +extreme east of his dominions against co-religionists were a preferable +alternative to the risks attending a _jehad_ against the most formidable +enemy of Islam! Russia had indeed little to complain of in Yakoob Beg's +interference in their possessions. His instigation of premature +rebellions, or, if he did not instigate them, the approval extended to +them by some of his chief ministers, was the very kindest act he could +have conferred on the ruling power of Turkestan, for Russia never has +had anything to fear from any isolated risings among the people of this +part of Central Asia. Nothing less than an unanimous and concerted +rising in Western Turkestan, aided with a nucleus of regular troops and +officers, such as, to go no farther, either Afghanistan can supply, or +Kashgar could at one time have supplied--nothing less than this will +ever produce a complete catastrophe to the Russian arms, and in a short +campaign of a few months send the Russian legions back to their old +quarters of thirteen years ago. Whether Yakoob Beg ever was strong +enough to risk the independence of his state on so important an +enterprise may fairly be doubted, and he showed a commendable prudence +in abstaining from hostilities when he had sufficient matters to occupy +all his attention, and to task all his resources within his own borders; +but assuming such to have been the case, his indifference to the +suffering thereby inflicted on the Khokandians must remain a blot on his +fair fame. If the part he played in these earlier plots was scarcely +honourable, how much less so was his action in the last rebellion of +1875. But it may be as well to postpone considering that event until +later on in this chapter. Yakoob Beg most probably took a very selfish +view of the state of affairs. His own extremely uncertain tenure of +power made him anxious lest any storm from beyond his frontier should +wreck the frail bark in which he had asserted his claim to independence, +and the whole object of his policy was simply to divert attention from +himself to other quarters. The Russians above all must have their work +cut out for them in repression of continual sedition in their +possessions; while each day of respite witnessed Yakoob Beg in a better +position for making a strenuous resistance when the time should come, +according to Russian ideas, for an attempt to be made to crush his +power. Viewed from this standpoint, the conduct of Yakoob Beg towards +his fellow-countrymen appears in a slightly more favourable aspect, +although his policy of expediency has little in it to command +admiration. Yet the result answered his expectations. In 1868 the +construction of Fort Naryn was the avowed preliminary measure to an +occupation of Kashgar; from that danger this policy of compromise saved +him. Again, in 1870, was he pronounced an incorrigible enemy of the +Czar, and an expedition was prepared which was to bring him to his +senses; once more a revolt in Khokand intervened to distract Russian +attention and Russian arms from the Naryn to Ferghana. The expedition +against Khiva in 1873 also served the purpose of diverting to another +quarter the blow which should, according to many, have descended on the +offending head of the Athalik Ghazi; and lastly, in 1875 the +insurrection in Khokand, the most serious and the most nearly successful +of all the native wars against Russia, saved him from an invasion for +which every preparation had been made. + +To return to the year 1868, when the Russian government had constructed +the fort on the Naryn, and had openly proclaimed its intention of +punishing the slight put upon it by Yakoob Beg's refusal to permit the +construction of a road over the mountains to Artosh. Up to that year the +intercourse had been of a semiofficial character between the officers on +either side of the frontier. We have now come to a phase of the question +of a slightly different import. The Russian officials endeavoured to +obtain from Yakoob Beg concessions that would be advantageous to their +country, at the same time that they categorically declined to recognize +his official _status_ as an independent prince. Their antagonist was far +too astute to permit himself to be out-manoeuvred by so simple a +device, and his officials were quite unauthorized to enter into any +arrangement without its being brought before their master in the manner +consistent with his dignity. We have seen that the Russians, failing in +their diplomatic chicane, had recourse to threats, although the irony of +fate prevented those threats ever being put into execution. But +concurrently with these efforts on the part of the Russian government, +others of a different kind were being made by individuals. The Russian +merchants of Kuldja contained in their ranks several men whose +enterprise and courage had been remarkable in the manipulation of trade +with the Chinese and the Tungani. They were not easily deterred from any +undertaking which promised them brilliant remuneration, even though the +risk and uncertainty might be great. The pioneers of commerce were free +from the fetters that hampered official movements. It was of little +moment to them who ruled in Kashgaria so long as he extended his +protection to their goods and their persons whilst they were within his +territory. The Russian government viewed with favour the efforts that +were made to cross the Tian Shan, for on the individual fell the +greatest portion of the risk, while the government profited much by the +fruits of his experience. The Russian merchants were, therefore, not +discouraged by their authorities when they laid their proposals before +General Kolpakovsky, as English merchants would have been under similar +circumstances by the authorities at Calcutta--nay, it is tolerably +certain that they received many inducements to persist in their +intention; both their patriotism and desire for advancing their own +worldly concerns were appealed to, to urge them to attempt to obtain +admission into Kashgar. When, therefore, it became evident in 1868 that +nothing was to be obtained from Yakoob Beg by indirect means, and when +it was also decided that a military remedy would not be convenient, the +field was fairly cleared for another kind of performers to begin +operations. + +Early in the year 1868 a Russian merchant, named Kludof, collected at +Vernoe a small caravan. His chief commodities consisted of those +gewgaws, which, prepared in Moscow, have been found, according to +Russian experience, the most marketable articles in Western Turkestan; +but, in addition to these trumpery packages, more useful necessaries, +such as cotton goods and cutlery, were taken as specimens of some of the +real advantages that would come in the wake of Russian trade. Kludof set +out with the intention of crossing the Tian Shan by the Naryn, and +making for the border town of Ush Turfan, whence Kashgar is easily +reached by the high road. But he had not proceeded far beyond Fort +Naryn, then in course of construction, when he was attacked by a band of +marauders. With the loss of all his possessions he must still be +considered fortunate in having escaped without any serious personal +injury. Perhaps the robbers were inspired with some respect for the +person of a Russian subject, or, as the indictment against Yakoob Beg +affirms, by the express orders of that ruler, who wished to deter, +without causing any serious complication with the government, Russian +subjects of any kind whatever from entering his kingdom. As it happened, +however, Kludof was a very determined fellow, one not easily balked when +he had set his mind on accomplishing anything. The government viewed his +case with commiseration, and he was assisted in collecting together +another caravan of larger proportions than its predecessor. But before +setting out on the same road he determined to make an effort to reach +the ear of Yakoob Beg himself, and by a singular piece of good fortune +he was able to do so through a Kashgarian subject residing in Kuldja. +The presents, judiciously selected, with which he accompanied his letter +complaining of the injury he had received at the hands of Kirghiz +subjects of the ruler of Kashgar, yet only demanding as a reparation +permission to come into that state as a peaceful subject of the Czar, +fully propitiated Yakoob Beg, who sent a safe conduct to Vernoe for +Kludof and his caravan. This merchant made a most favourable impression +on the ruler of Kashgar, and it seemed at one moment as if he would +achieve what all the diplomacy of the two previous years had failed in +accomplishing. Even Yakoob Beg was induced to take a slight step towards +a better agreement with his neighbour, for in the summer of 1868, he +sent Shadi Mirza, one of his nephews, to Vernoe, requesting that he +might be permitted to go on to Tashkent, to place before the governor of +Turkestan certain proposals from his master for a complete understanding +with Russia. Simultaneously with the despatch of Shadi Mirza by Yakoob +Beg, a Russian officer, Captain Reinthal, was commissioned by General +Kolpakovsky, the governor of Kuldja, to proceed to Kashgar and demand +the surrender of some Kirghiz robbers, who, from within Yakoob Beg's +dominion, had sallied forth to pillage Russian merchants. They had also +seized several inhabitants of Khokand and the Naryn district; and the +Russian government demanded the unconditional surrender of these +individuals as her subjects. Captain Reinthal was instructed to make +these two demands in a peremptory way, and to convince the new +government that Russia would not permit any infraction of the spirit of +the treaties concluded with the old government under the Chinese. +Captain Reinthal was received in a sufficiently hospitable manner, but +his movements were scrupulously restricted to the city. He did not, on +this occasion, learn much of importance about the country, but he was +impressed favourably by the appearance of such of the army as he saw. +The Kirghiz robbers were captured by the order of Yakoob Beg, but he +stoutly refused to surrender them. The Russian prisoners were also kept +in honourable confinement as a guarantee for the safe return of Shadi +Mirza. They were, however, permitted to return to Russian territory when +it became known that Shadi Mirza was progressing favourably with his +mission to Tashkent. Captain Reinthal accomplished little or nothing on +this embassade, and had to report, on his return to his superior, the +strange tidings that the new power was resolved to play an independent +part in Asia, and to answer defiance with defiance, and threat with +threat. This report must have seemed scarcely credible, but there is no +doubt that Captain Reinthal advised, as the result of his experience, +the adoption of a lenient and friendly policy towards the new-comer. +This concession to a Central Asian despot was not agreeable at +head-quarters, and the question was shelved for the time. Shadi Mirza, +who had been detained at Vernoe, was at last permitted to continue his +journey to Tashkent, where he found General Kaufmann absent in Europe. +Instructions were then issued to send him on to St. Petersburg, where he +arrived in the last days of 1868. He had several informal interviews +with the governor of Turkestan, but he was not received by the Czar or +any of the higher officials. In fact, he was only treated as an ordinary +traveller, and not as the representative of a neighbouring state. +Nothing up to this had been done by the Russian government, showing that +they recognized Yakoob Beg as ruler of Kashgaria. The Chinese were +still, in their eyes, the _de jure_ owners of that province, whoever +might be the temporary owners _de facto_. On the return of Shadi Mirza +to Kashgar, in January, 1869, the relations between Russia and Yakoob +Beg may be said to have returned to the exact _status quo ante_. All the +Russian demands for trade had been unsuccessful, and, except the +brilliant journey of Mr. Kludof, no one had broken through the mystic +charm that shut out the Garden of Asia from all foreign spectators. +Their envoy, Captain Reinthal, had been treated in a precisely similar +manner to that in which Shadi Mirza had been received at Vernoe and St. +Petersburg; and a firm and dignified attitude had effectually checked +the Russian officer when he attempted to express those threats which +formed the principal part of his instructions. There was something +imposing in the quiet way in which Yakoob Beg asserted his equality in +rank with the Czar of All the Russias. His invariable reply, when the +great power of Russia was made use of as an argument to overcome his +refusal to accede to the trade concessions demanded, was, "My brother, +the White Czar, is a most powerful monarch, and rules over the greater +portion of the earth, and I am only an insignificant prince in +comparison to him. But none the less can I encounter the danger like a +true man, and esteem it a happiness to die in defence of my country and +my faith." To so courageous and so honourable a reply what rejoinder +could be made by the abashed officers? It is impossible to refuse Yakoob +Beg the highest admiration for his stanchness in his opposition to +Russia. If for his own narrow interests it may have been imprudent to +throw down the gage of battle so freely, all the more does that attitude +claim respect when we see him trampling on purely selfish motives, and +asserting his claim to leadership in that wider question of Asiatic +against Muscovite, of Mahomedan against Greek. Had he only been +consistent throughout his career, had he only been as firm in his +convictions and as prompt in carrying them into practice as he generally +was, when the occasion came for a great effort against Russia, how +different might have been his own fate and the present aspect of affairs +in Central Asia! + +For some time after these abortive proceedings the Russians abstained +from any direct interference in Kashgar, but the conferring of the title +of Athalik Ghazi, or Commander of the Faithful, on Yakoob Beg by the +Ameer of Bokhara had roused the susceptibilities of Russia too much to +be allayed. It seemed, indeed, as if this acknowledgment of the +orthodoxy of Yakoob Beg by the Head of Islam in Central Asia heralded +forth some understanding between the two states, and that a menace was +directed against the Russian government. Whether there was any agreement +between Mozaffur Eddin and Yakoob Beg it is not possible at present to +say, but that such should have been brought about by their mutual +antipathy to Russia would not have been very wonderful. However, in the +disturbances of 1870 Yakoob Beg took no active part. While the Russian +arms were triumphing over every opponent in their newly acquired +province of Ferghana and its vicinity, Yakoob Beg was busily engaged +with the Tungani, who at that time were causing trouble to him along his +far eastern frontier. The revolt collapsed in Khokand, and Yakoob Beg, +apparently unconcerned with the events transpiring in the West, was +carrying his victorious arms to new conquests in the East. During the +year 1870, when murmurs of the approaching storm were becoming audible, +the Russian government endeavoured to obtain the alliance of Khudayar +Khan, of Khokand, for the purpose of bringing Yakoob Beg within their +influence. This Khan had, as has been already mentioned, been betrayed +by Yakoob Beg, who had followed the example of the ambitious Vizier Alim +Kuli, and was now mainly dependent on the Russians for support against +his rebellious subjects. He could not be considered in any way, +therefore, as likely to be favourably disposed towards his neighbour of +Kashgar, or as lukewarm in the cause of his protectors and benefactors. +The Russians felt assured of his hearty support in advocating their +plan, which was as follows. From time immemorial, as has been seen in +the sketch of the history of Kashgar, there have been two rival elements +in Kashgaria--the Chinese and the Khokandian. The Chinese was triumphant +in modern times for a little more than a century, while the Khokandian +has, more or less, at all other times been paramount. But whenever a +native dynasty had attained a certain degree of security therein, it was +always threatened by the ambitious designs of the Khan of Khokand, who +had generally contributed most towards its successful establishment. The +Russian government resolved to avail themselves of this historical fact +to pour into the ear of Khudayar Khan insidious counsels as to his +claims as feudal lord over Eastern Turkestan. There once more, so they +argued, had a Khokandian subject formed an independent and rival +administration, and all his victories had been won by Khokandian +sympathies, and by the good right arms of Khokandian subjects. And how +had this soldier of fortune acted towards his own country when he had +received everything from her that he needed? By offering an asylum to +all those who had participated in the plots against Khudayar Khan +himself, by encouraging sedition in the state itself against the +Russians and their nominee, Khudayar, the legal ruler of the state. As +if these crimes were not sufficiently serious, he had added thereto the +insult of having refused to recognize in Khudayar his liege lord; and +Khudayar's own personal fears were worked upon to yield that +acquiescence to the Russian proposal that was necessary to secure its +success. It was pointed out to him that a strong military power in +Kashgar might give an impetus to the plots then fermenting in the active +brain of Aftobatcha, the ambitious son of Mussulman Kuli, the prime +minister and vizier of thirty years ago. The arguments were specious, +and it cannot be doubted that they made some impression on Khudayar +Khan. This much-to-be-pitied ruler, forced by the necessities of his +position to humour his Russian advisers, still had the courage to refuse +to assert his claims as lord over Kashgar. With a gentle irony he +pointed to the map, and showed how Khokand's frontier should extend +farther to the west than it did, and that a conquest over the barren +regions of the Kizil Yart would be but a sorry equivalent for the loss +of Tashkent and Hodjent. He, however, promised to make use of his best +means for inducing Yakoob Beg to make overtures to the Russian +government for the ratification of a treaty of commerce. So Khudayar +Khan indited a letter to Yakoob Beg, at the dictation of his Russian +friends, to this effect; but he silvered the pill by a private message +giving information of the Russian intentions in the future. The tenor of +that communication was that the Russians were less eager than might +have been supposed to bring matters to a final crisis with Yakoob Beg, +and that they were most desirous of settling the question without any +flagrant loss of dignity by being the first to recommence negotiations. +Both publicly and privately Khudayar Khan advised that the Athalik Ghazi +should make some concessions in form to the Russian government. The +Russians themselves, having failed to induce Khudayar Khan to put +pressure on Yakoob Beg, appear to have arrived at the same conclusion as +that set out in the letters of Khudayar. Yakoob Beg must make the sign, +and they would meet him half way in his desire to share in the great +benefits accruing from a Muscovite alliance. The authorities at Tashkent +went so far as to flatter themselves that they had attained a solution +of one of their chief annoyances. They had, by making use of the +mediation of Khudayar, gone so far as to open the door for Yakoob Beg to +abase himself. Such condescension was unheard of, and no doubt was +entertained but that this proud Mahomedan ruler would gladly hasten to +avail himself of the last chance accorded him by the clemency of the +Czar. + +But they were reckoning without their host. Yakoob Beg quickly perceived +that the bold exterior of the Russian demands concealed a vacillating +purpose, and that a power which would go out of its way so far to bring +about an arrangement, would yield much more when the discussion became +directly carried on. He had evidently impressed the few Russians who had +visited him with a belief in his strength, and rumour had magnified his +resources, and converted his small and heterogeneous following into a +regular and trained army. He was not the man to destroy, when the game +was almost in his hands too, all the favourable impressions, that stood +him in such good stead during his career, which his policy for four +years had succeeded in creating about his personality. After a suitable +delay his formal reply to the official letter of Khudayar arrived, and +its contents must have been eminently displeasing to the Russians. In +general terms he refused to enter into negotiations with the Russians, +because they had refused to acknowledge his own government, and had ever +supported the cause of his enemies the Chinese. But, not content with +this blunt refusal to the offer made from Tashkent, he went on to minor +matters and dealt with the question of Russian policy in specific +language. The common enemy of him and all his co-religionists was not +worthy of any consideration from him or his allies, the rulers of +Khokand and Bokhara. "The Russians that have come here, into my state of +Kashgar, look at these localities and become acquainted with the state +of the country, and therefore it is better to forbid their coming, for +they are a treacherous and crooked-minded people." In such plain terms +did Yakoob Beg speak of a power which could without any serious risk +have crushed him at any moment. Yet in one sense his boldness was the +height of prudence, and succeeded when perhaps a less decided attitude +would have completely failed. The Russians were fairly deluded in their +estimate of their new antagonist, and all means having been exhausted +for inducing Yakoob Beg to abandon his indifferent attitude towards +themselves, it began to be seriously discussed at Tashkent whether, if +simply for the purpose of obtaining accurate information of his country, +it would not be prudent to acknowledge the existence of a ruler who had +for nearly six years been established as responsible sovereign of a very +large portion of Asia. The path was smoothed, too, for the Russian +diplomatists by Yakoob Beg sending a letter to the governor of +Turkestan, stating that it was useless for the Czar to attempt the +establishment of diplomatic relations through the good offices of +Khudayar Khan; but that if the Russians really desired to enter into +alliance with him they could send an embassy to him, when formal steps +could be commenced for securing the trade and other agreements that were +desirable. The letter was a very dignified piece of writing, such as +one European sovereign would have sent to another in the Middle Ages. +"He did not deny," he said, "either the power or the resources of +Russia, but as a brave man he placed his trust in God, and he would +never shirk the contest, because all he aspired to was to die for his +faith." This letter produced a great impression at Tashkent, and it was +resolved to send an ambassador to Kashgar. + +Before pursuing the narrative, it may be as well to sum up what had +passed between Russia and Kashgar up to this period, for henceforth +these two states were to stand in a completely different relationship +towards each other. The Russians strove to induce Yakoob Beg to make the +most favourable commercial and political concessions to them, while they +refused to grant him any equivalent, except the dubious one, "advantage +from the produce of Russian manufactures." They even added insult to +injury by openly proclaiming that they only recognized the Chinese as +the rulers of Kashgar, and refused to discuss the arguments advanced by +Shadi Mirza in favour of his uncle's claim to be considered _de facto_ +sovereign. They adopted an attitude of bullying towards this Asiatic +prince, and loudly proclaimed in their practice the truth of the +aphorism, that might is right. They backed up their verbal threats on +several occasions by a show of military preparations, but not once did +they put those threats into execution. On the other hand, Yakoob Beg's +policy was consistent throughout and dignified. While studiously +avoiding any aggressive measures, even under the excuse of defensive +precautions, he was always firm in his refusal to recognize any of the +semi-official overtures that were repeatedly made to induce him to show +his hand. Instead of appearing in the light of a suppliant, as according +to all precedent he should, he assumed the position of a dictator. +"Acknowledge me as legally constituted ruler of Kashgaria, or else there +is an end to all negotiation. Send a properly accredited ambassador to +me, and he shall be honourably received. A representative of recognized +rank shall then convey my token of friendship to your master. Refuse to +grant me these just considerations, and my kingdom is closed to your +merchants and officials without exception. Admission shall only be +obtained over my own body and that of my devoted army." For the first +time in the annals of Russian history an Asiatic ruler had tired out the +finessing and intrigue that had become customary with that empire as the +means for infinite conquest. Yakoob Beg was the only sovereign who +refused to be subservient to the Czar, and eventually achieved a +diplomatic triumph over his representatives. In the spring of 1872, +Yakoob Beg was at the very acme of his prosperity. Not yet had he +commenced those later campaigns against the Tungani, which more than +anything else tended to weaken his power and to raise discontent against +his administration; and, fresh from his diplomatic success over the +Russians, he appeared in the eyes of many Asiatics as a fit champion to +redeem their fortunes in a conflict with Russia. Excusable as their +enthusiasm undoubtedly was, it is tolerably certain that the power of +Yakoob Beg was exaggerated both by the adulation of his friends and by +the nervous susceptibilities of the Russians. It is noteworthy that +Russia proved herself on one occasion to be quite as liable to this +latter disease as England is assumed to be. + +To Baron Kaulbars, the explorer of the sources of the Syr Darya, was +entrusted the delicate mission of representing the Russian government +for the first time at the court of the Athalik Ghazi, and to no better +diplomatist could it have been consigned. He set out from Kuldja early +in May, 1872, carrying with him a large collection of presents for the +ruler and his chief advisers, and arrived in Kashgar without any mishap +in June of the same year. Here he was received in the most cordial +manner, and the consideration and hospitality exhibited towards him by +the ruler were beyond all expectation. In the picturesque phraseology +of the East, the Athalik Ghazi, at his first audience with Baron +Kaulbars, said, "Sit upon my knees, on my bosom, or where ye like; for +ye are guests sent me from heaven." The most complete freedom of action +was accorded, for the first time, to all the members of the embassy, and +two merchants who had accompanied it for the purpose of exploring the +country received a safe-conduct to go on to Yarkand and Khoten. Yakoob +Beg scarcely attempted to conceal his gratification at the presence of +the Russians; possibly his pleasure chiefly arose from such an +unmistakable admission of his skill as a diplomatist. But in every way +facilities were afforded his visitors for seeing all objects of interest +round Kashgar. Reviews were held in honour of the occasion, and as there +happened to be a considerable number of troops in the vicinity, passing +through to operate against the Tungani beyond Kucha, the show was +imposing enough. The Russians were favourably impressed by what they +saw, and Baron Kaulbars expressed himself surprised at the military +exactitude with which the manoeuvres were carried out. Yakoob Beg, +always open to flattery, exclaimed in an enthusiastic moment, "I look +upon the Russians as my dearest friends; if I had not, should I have +shown you my military power? Assuredly it is not usual even with you to +make known one's actual condition to an enemy." Matters were now in a +fair way to a pleasant solution. Baron Kaulbars and Yakoob Beg were +mutually delighted; but, after the time for pleasant talk had expired, +it was necessary that some definite arrangements should be drawn up for +the political and commercial relations of the two countries in the +future. + +The chief objects the Russians had in view when they sent Baron Kaulbars +to Kashgar were three. In the first place they wanted to acquire general +information about that state, and to discover whether Yakoob Beg was as +powerful as report had asserted. In the second, they wished to put their +relations on such a recognized basis with him that they might know what +policy he was disposed to adopt in Turkestan and Kuldja; and in the +third they desired to secure the monopoly of the trade of his state, so +that they might forestall British enterprise, already beginning to +direct its attention to this quarter, since the journeys of Messrs. Shaw +and Forsyth. The last of these was the easiest to obtain, and the +Athalik Ghazi considered all the Russian proposals with regard to trade +in a very amicable spirit; but with regard to the second _desideratum_ +nothing but the vaguest generalities could all the tact and ingenuity of +Kaulbars succeed in obtaining from his host. The first object was amply +secured, in so far as geographical and scientific information was +concerned; but the precautions taken by the Athalik Ghazi to deceive the +Russians as to his power and hold on the country appear to have been +successful. Baron Kaulbars certainly confirmed much that had previously +rested on mere hearsay; the question is rather, did he not vouch for +more than his experience justified him in doing? The result of his +mission was, that the Athalik Ghazi was elevated to a position on a +level with the Ameer of Cabul, and there is no doubt whatever that such +a comparison was not warranted by the facts. A treaty was signed by the +Athalik Ghazi and Baron Kaulbars, on the 2nd of June, 1872, but +according to the Old Style, still adopted by the Russians, this was the +21st of May, St. Constantine's day. There are two stories with respect +to this coincidence, and there is as much evidence for one version as +there is for the other. + +It was said at the time that Yakoob Beg was so desirous of showing his +goodwill to the Russians that he had insisted on signing it on that day +in honour of the Grand Duke Constantine. Now there were two or three +improbabilities in this statement that struck several observers. In the +first place it was extremely improbable that Yakoob Beg knew it was St. +Constantine's day at all; and again, in the second place he was quite as +probably ignorant of the existence of a Grand Duke Constantine. At all +events, there was no valid reason why a Central Asian ruler should +conceive that his politeness to that Grand Duke in particular would +demonstrate his desire to be on good terms with Russians in general. The +other version, which, like many other circumstances, has only leaked out +in the pages of Mr. Schuyler, is altogether more probable, and is not +open to the same objections. According to this, it was Baron Kaulbars, +who of course was aware of the saint's day, who demanded that the treaty +should bear that date, and who, as soon as it was signed, sent off a +message to General Kaufmann saying that the Athalik Ghazi, out of +friendship to that general, had specially requested that the treaty +should be signed on that day in honour of General Kaufmann's patron +saint. However flattered that distinguished general and governor may +have felt at the delicate attention of his ambassador, he had to decline +the proposed honour; and in the despatch that was sent to St. +Petersburg, describing the event, the name of the Grand Duke Constantine +was substituted for his own. There is little doubt that this is the +correct statement, and it certainly suggests quite a revelation as to +the system in Russian Asia of making things pleasant and agreeable to +one another, always, however, assuming that there be an exceptional +degree of power and pomp reserved for his Excellency General Kaufmann. + +Soon after the signature of this treaty, which bears the name of its +framer, Baron Kaulbars took his departure, with many expressions of +friendship and goodwill from the Athalik Ghazi. Arrangements were, +however, made, before he left, for an envoy to visit Tashkent from +Yakoob Beg. This ambassador took with him the signed stipulations to be +ratified, and was received at Tashkent with every demonstration of amity +and respect. So certain did the Russian government appear that their +relations with Kashgar would, if only for a short period, be +satisfactory, that special care was taken to make a favourable +impression on the Kashgarian envoy, and after a short residence in the +capital of Turkestan, the nephew of Yakoob Beg, Hadji Torah, who had +followed the train of the treaty on a special mission, went on to St. +Petersburg, where he was entertained by the Czar, taken to the reviews, +and treated in a most hospitable and princely fashion. The contrast +between the reception accorded to him in 1873 and that to Shadi Mirza in +1869 clearly marks the difference that was considered in well-informed +official circles to have taken place in their relations with Kashgar. + +We have now to consider whether the Russian Government was justified in +assuming so confidently that it had secured the permanent friendship of +the Mahomedan ruler of Eastern Turkestan. On concluding his visit at St. +Petersburg, Hadji Torah turned south, and after stopping for a brief +delay at Moscow and Odessa, he arrived in Constantinople, where he +already had many friends and connections. Without inquiring too deeply +into his actions at the Imperial City--for of them the reader will be +able to judge best by the sequel--we will here simply observe, that +having also concluded his residence on the Golden Horn, he took passage +by the Suez Canal for India, and arrived there in time to join the +mission of Sir Douglas Forsyth, then on its way to Kashgar. Hadji Torah +therefore brought to his uncle a vast amount of information concerning +the three Powers chiefly concerned in the fortunes of Kashgar--Russia, +Turkey, and England. But even before his return home, fresh +disagreements had broken out between Russia and Yakoob Beg. The year +1872 had not closed, before the Athalik Ghazi concluded some secret +negotiations that had been pending for some time with the Sultan, and +this champion of Islam appeared in a new and holier light to Asiatics as +Emir, or Ameer. He acknowledged the suzerainty of the Porte; and, not +content with this formal declaration, gave an extra significance to the +event by issuing a fresh coinage, bearing on one side the head of Abdul +Aziz. The Russians were, it can well be imagined, displeased at this +alliance between two Mahomedan states which might both be considered +hostile to their interests, and a very large party in military circles +clamoured for an expedition to be sent at once against the insolent +Mussulman. At one moment it seemed as if this bellicose party was to +gain the day, for the testimony of all the officers and merchants who +had visited Kashgar showed that each day Yakoob Beg was becoming more +formidable. Prompt measures were pressed on the government of Tashkent, +and General Kaufmann seemed half disposed to acquiesce in the proposal +to inflict summary chastisement on the Athalik Ghazi. Fortunately for +Kashgar, the Khan of Khiva had been an older offender in the eyes of the +Russians, and the Home Government peremptorily forbade any steps being +taken in the regions bordering on the Chinese Empire. It is sufficiently +clear that the moderation of the home authorities was a wiser policy +than the impulsive demands of certain officers in Tashkent; but it is +not so evident why Yakoob Beg abstained from appearing in the _role_ of +the liberator of Khokand, at so opportune a moment as that afforded by +the great expedition against Khiva in 1873. The treaty of Baron Kaulbars +had stipulated for the free admission of Russian merchants into the +state on the payment of a 2-1/2 per cent. _ad valorem_ duty. Not only +was there to be no further exaction, but good treatment was guaranteed +to such Russian subjects as desired to travel in Kashgar, and who came +provided with a passport, and permission to travel, from a Russian +governor. During Baron Kaulbars' residence in the country, nothing could +be more considerate than the treatment extended towards the members of +his suite, and the merchants who went on to Yarkand were afforded +facilities for disposing of the small stock of merchandise which they +had brought with them on this journey. This friendly reception of such +merchants as came to Kashgar was maintained during the period over which +these negotiations extended down to the departure of Yakoob Beg's own +ambassador from Russian territory; but with the arrival of Hadji Torah +at Constantinople, and the proclamation of the fact that Yakoob Beg had +been elevated to the dignified position of Emir by the Sultan of Roum, a +change came over the spirit of his policy towards Russia. Indeed, Yakoob +Beg saw himself menaced by an unforeseen danger in this treaty of +commerce. He had formerly been averse to the presence of Russian +merchants in his state because he regarded them as spies; but now that +the necessities of his position had to some extent compelled him to +enter into a formal treaty with their government, he perceived that his +little state literally ran the risk of being invaded by the Russian +merchants and traders who flocked to Kuldja for the purpose of +participating in the spoils to be obtained by trafficking with the +inhabitants of Eastern Turkestan. He had always been averse to trade. He +was a warrior, and inclined to feel and to express contempt at the +juggling tricks of Muscovite or Khitay. + +But as the former could provide him with better weapons for his army, +and warmer clothes for his people, in addition to trinkets for his +_serai_, their presence, if only they came in limited numbers, and at +stated intervals, could be tolerated; but when he perceived they were +about to descend on his state, like so many birds of prey on an +abandoned carcase, and when he surmised that in all likelihood they +would endeavour to mix themselves up in the political divisions of +Kashgar as they had in Bokhara and Khokand, he determined to impose some +other check on their visits besides that insignificant 2-1/2 per cent. +on goods that returned a profit of cent. per cent. He had given his +plighted word, however, that merchants should receive fair treatment, +and how could he find a loophole to avoid fulfilling what he had +promised, and yet at the same time escape bringing about an open rupture +with the Russian Government. The matter required most delicate +manipulation, but Yakoob Beg proved himself equal to the occasion. It +was not to be expected, however, that Yakoob Beg could accomplish his +task of discouraging Russian enterprise without giving some umbrage to +the government. + +Despite the friendly reception of Baron Kaulbars, there still remained +some uncertainty in the minds of individuals, whether the Athalik Ghazi +was as sincere in his protestations as he would have it believed. There +was, consequently, some disinclination among the merchants of Kuldja to +be the first to send a caravan to Kashgar. They were all willing enough +to share the profits, but it was a risky experiment all the same; and +each would prefer that his neighbour should inaugurate the enterprise. +In commercial circles, there was much discussion on the new state, and +the prospects of trade therewith, and there was much talk as to "who +should bell the cat." The hesitation, if indeed so natural a sentiment +deserves to be specified here, soon passed off, and Mr. Pupyshef, a +merchant, who had had very large business connections with most parts of +Central Asia, resolved to send the first consignment of merchandise to +Kashgar. Mr. Pupyshef was, however, unable to go in person, so his +caravan set out under the charge of his clerk Somof. It arrived without +"let or hindrance" in Kashgar, where Mr. Somof was provided with +accommodation in the Caravanserai specially set apart for foreign +merchants. But a change was at once perceptible in the sentiments of the +ruler, as the personal freedom of the members of the expedition was +curtailed, and all their movements were watched with the most exacting +surveillance; and the residence of Mr. Somof was brief in the extreme, +for the Athalik Ghazi himself bought up the whole of his stock of +merchandise. Viewed as a commercial speculation, this result should have +been eminently satisfactory; the Russian merchant had to experience no +loss from delay in finding a purchaser for his articles. There was, +however, another matter to be taken into consideration, and that was the +mode of payment by the purchaser. Mr. Somof received so many Chinese +coins at a value fixed by the Ameer himself, and Mr. Pupyshef, on the +return of his representative, estimated the loss at 15,000 roubles. The +Russian government took up the case of their subject, and presented a +remonstrance at Kashgar, demanding the immediate restitution of the loss +incurred by the Russian merchant. Yakoob Beg's reply to this summary +request was a model of courtesy and tact. He denied altogether that Mr. +Somof had in any way been interfered with. That gentleman was always at +perfect liberty to do what, and to go where, he pleased, and he was +quite mistaken in supposing that he, the Ameer, had purchased his goods. +The Badaulet had nothing whatever to do with trade, which he left +entirely to his subjects. He was simply a warrior and a follower of the +Prophet. He had nevertheless instituted inquiries into the matter, and +he had discovered that some of his officers, who should be punished, had +purchased the merchandise in his name, hoping thereby to obtain it at a +cheaper rate. The Athalik Ghazi expressed his regret at the occurrence, +and would be most happy to refund whatever sum the Russian government +considered their subject had lost by the transaction. A commission was +appointed at Tashkent, to inquire into all the circumstances of the +case, and after some discussion the demand of Mr. Pupyshef was reduced +from 15,000 to 12,000 roubles. The Ameer acquiesced in the decision, but +many months elapsed before Mr. Pupyshef received his money, and then it +was again in a depreciated Chinese coinage. We are justified in assuming +that this was all planned, and that the obstacles thrown in the path of +Mr. Pupyshef were part and parcel of a systematic attempt to disgust +Russian merchants with Kashgar. The Russian government, too, was +afforded no clear case for complaint, as Yakoob Beg expressed his regret +without reserve for the occurrence, all the responsibility of which he +shifted on to the shoulders of some of "his officials whom he had +ordered to be punished." He paid without a murmur the fair demands of +Mr. Pupyshef, and if there was some delay in the refunding of the money, +it must be attributed to the poverty of his exchequer, and not to any +want of goodwill. The burden of his complaint was, "I am a poor prince; +my country is impoverished by the wars that have occurred since the +departure of the Chinese; and you will find little therein to repay you +for your trouble and expense in entering it. Why therefore will you +persist in coming to it? You can do neither yourselves nor my people any +good by doing so, and you only cause me anxiety and trouble in +preserving your countrymen from insult and injury, which you must admit +I have ever done." There was an under-current of truth in this statement +of the case, although it was not credited in Kuldja, where everything +that went amiss was set down to the hostility of the Ameer. Yakoob Beg +had, however, succeeded in throwing cold water on the enthusiastic +preparations that were being made for exploiting Eastern Turkestan, and +his mode of doing so had been quite original and characteristic. Few +rulers would have foreseen that the best way to get rid of a troublesome +visitor was to purchase what he had brought to sell to the people; and +that the simple remedy of paying in a questionable currency would +suffice to deter hundreds from following the example of Mr. Somof. +Yakoob Beg, however, was not satisfied with leaving well alone. Having +paid the claim of Mr. Pupyshef, it might have been supposed that he +would maintain a discreet silence on his intentions in the future with +regard to Russian merchants. He might have let the question, indeed, +find, as it would have found, its own solution; but, in a weak moment, +to place his own _bona fides_ beyond suspicion, he desired the Russian +government to send another merchant to Kashgar, and then it could judge +by his reception whether the Ameer was not amicably disposed towards his +"close allies," the Russians. The Russian authorities took him at his +word, and after an interval of more than twelve months, during which +Kashgar had been unvisited by a Russian merchant, another, a Mr. +Morozof, came to put Yakoob Beg's assertions to the test. True to his +word, the reception of this gentleman was most cordial. Facilities were +placed in his way for getting purchasers of his articles, and the Ameer +bought for his arsenals such of them as seemed suitable. Mr. Morozof +returned to Kuldja, narrating how cordially he had been welcomed by the +ruler himself, and how the enterprise had commercially been a success. +Others followed his example, and during the last two and a half years of +his rule Russian merchandise, either through Russian or native agents, +found its way in considerable quantities into Kashgar. But this trade +was always liable to periods of depression through the clouds that +frequently darkened the political horizon, and the Russians did not +derive the advantages from trade with this state, that they had +previously convinced themselves they were to do. Indeed, English +manufactures, after the year 1873, entered into keen competition with +theirs in the cities of Kashgar, and had driven their goods out of the +market of Yarkand at all events before the close of the year 1876. But +this fact only served to impress more forcibly on the Russians the +necessity either for annexing Kashgaria or establishing on its throne +some puppet, who would be content with the post of deputy of the Czar. +Indeed, many suggested that the Chinese should be brought back; but then +they were so far off, and apparently so weak. The party advocating the +absorption of Kashgaria every day became stronger and more pronounced; +and all observers agree that it was only a question of time when the +imperial fiat should go forth for the extinction of the rule of Yakoob +Beg. Colonel Reinthal was sent in 1874, to endeavour to place matters on +a more hopeful footing, but with little success. In addition to the +question of trade privileges, the Russians, in negotiating with native +states, or securing treaties at the point of the sword, always demanded +the right of having consular agents in the chief cities of the state. +The ostensible duty of these official representatives was to look after +the interests of their government, and to protect the lives and property +of Russian subjects as best they might be able. So far as these very +necessary functions were concerned, Russia had a perfect right in +demanding these safeguards, when such were deemed to be required. But +unfortunately for the reputation of that country, the experience of +Asiatics had amply demonstrated that these declared duties were the +least important part of their office. + +Their secret instructions were to lose no opportunity of discovering the +drift of public sentiment in the state where they were stationed; to +learn all the ramifications of the dynastic intrigues that unfortunately +form the chief incidents in the history of these states, and to promote, +by every means at their disposal, the interests of the great empire into +whose service they had been admitted. When such latitude was allowed in +their instructions, and so many private and public inducements were +offered to raise their zeal, it cannot be matter of surprise if we find +the government informed promptly of the shiftings of public opinion in +the independent and semi-independent Khanates of Central Asia. Yakoob +Beg was keenly alive to the dangers that would arise to him personally +from the introduction of such a system into Kashgar, where the +discordant elements out of which he had welded a military organization +were far from being completely healed. If the presence of a mirza in +Khokand and Bokhara had entailed a decade of troubles and of gradual +subjection, what was he to expect, a mere military adventurer and a +foreigner in the land, from their presence in Eastern Turkestan? But +Baron Kaulbars had demanded this concession, perhaps more than any +other, and Yakoob Beg had to yield something in form, if he did not +surrender much in substance, to the importunities of his visitor. As a +great favour he consented to the appointment of _caravanbashis_, or +superintendents of the personal comforts of the merchants when they +should arrive; but a _caravan-bashi_ was an uneducated, unimportant +personage, from whom nothing need be feared. This did not at all please +the Russian administrators, and all their subsequent efforts were mainly +devoted to the attempt to obtain an alteration of this unimportant +personage into the prying and inquisitive _mirza_. To defeat their +design Yakoob Beg was no less firmly resolved, and the history of the +embassies, from that of Baron Kaulbars to that of Captain Kuropatkine, +was one long course of fruitless efforts to force the hand of the +Athalik Ghazi on this point. Colonel Reinthal was sent in 1874, after +the successful journey of Mr. Morozof, to see if any better arrangement +could be attained, but, although the Ameer entertained him very +hospitably, he fared no better than any of his predecessors. In that +year, too, Yakoob Beg's position had become firmer in his own state. The +Tungani had been driven back north of the Tian Shan beyond Turfan, and +into the regions east of Lake Lob; the disaffection, too, in the cities +of Kucha and Korla was also, to all appearance, dying out; but, above +all, the vast aegis of English protection had appeared to be thrown over +the integrity of his state. However unjustified this supposition was by +the treaty with Sir Douglas Forsyth, the Ameer made as much use as +possible of his new-found ally; and the large section of Anglo-Indians, +and authorities in this country on the affairs of Central Asia, who, +either out of sympathy for the man, or from a belief in the identity of +British interests with his cause, proclaimed the advisability of +supporting him against Russian aggression, gave a colourable excuse to +his declaration that England had extended for the first time in her +Trans-Himalayan policy her protection to a native state lying north of +her natural frontier. The Russian governments in Siberia and Turkestan, +emphatically cautioned by their Foreign Office to give this country no +cause for umbrage, were at first inclined to make that assertion an +excuse for pushing their friendly relations with the Ameer; but their +advances were not reciprocated, and as it became more clear that the +importance of the Forsyth mission had been greatly exaggerated by the +representations of the Ameer, the language of the Russian authorities +became once more peremptory and menacing. In short, matters after more +than two years' discussion had retrogressed to the condition they were +in before the Kaulbars treaty. The Russians had not obtained their chief +desire, the establishment of consular agents in Kashgar, and Yakoob Beg, +as in the past, boldly met threat with threat. Relying on his increased +reputation as the most orthodox and the most puissant of Mahomedans in +Central Asia, and confident that England would intervene between the +Russians and the collapse of his state, he even went so far as to temper +his defiant, and almost bellicose, attitude with such irony as the +following incident is a characteristic specimen of. Early in the year +1874 the Duke of Edinburgh married Marie Alexandrovna, the only daughter +of the Czar; and Yakoob Beg seized the occasion to send a message of +congratulation to the Czar of All the Russias on the auspicious +event--saying, that he had heard that the son of his good ally, the +Queen of England and of India, was about to wed the daughter of his +friend the Czar, and that he hastened to send him his congratulations +upon the event. To this effusive epistle no reply was deigned, and it is +doubtful whether it ever got farther than Tashkent. There is no +difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that such exhibitions as this +is an instance of detraction from the otherwise great and striking +characteristics of the ruler of Kashgar. His opposition to Russia was +most laudable; his maintenance of his privileges as an independent ruler +was prudent and worthy of our respect; but his petty insults to Russia +were neither wise nor dignified. He was clearly in the right in +checking the aggressive instincts of Russia, clothed in the specious +garb of commercial advantage; he commands not less our admiration for +the energetic and persistent manner in which he thwarted every endeavour +to introduce Russian espionage and intrigue into Kashgaria; but why +should he have weakened the effect of these splendid achievements, why +should he have risked all he had secured, by so senseless an insult as +the message to the Czar that has been just referred to? + +The authorities in Tashkent, perceiving that it was doubtful whether +English public opinion was ripe yet for an active interference in +Central Asia, reverted, despite all orders from the home authorities to +the contrary, to their original intention of coercing the ruler of +Kashgar. In 1874, therefore, all preparations for commencing the +campaign in the approaching spring were made ready. Provisions and +munitions of war were despatched to Naryn, and an auxiliary division was +to make a flank movement by the Terek Pass on the west. It has been laid +to the charge of the Russian generals in Asia, that expeditions are +arranged for their mutual advantage, both in obtaining higher rank and +orders. So seriously bitten had every officer since Perovsky become by +the desire for promotion and distinction, that the disease became +generally known as the St. George or the St. Ann Cross fever. Now during +the seven years previous to the date at which we have arrived, if there +had been a fair share of distinction and spoil for the soldiers and the +lower ranks of the officers, some of those in higher posts considered +that they were aggrieved by the monopoly of supreme credit obtained by +General Kaufmann. This, indeed, had shown itself very clearly after the +fall of Khiva, a success for which Kaufmann obtained all the credit, and +yet towards which the division under his command contributed little or +nothing. The etiquette, too, maintained in the little court at Tashkent, +and the semi-regal state observed by the successful general, were +irksome to officers more accustomed to the licence of a camp than to the +punctilio of a palace. Nor were there wanting more sinister motives +still among some of the chief general officers who filled the +subordinate posts in the service of the Czar's representative. Prominent +among them was the youthful Scobelef, who, burning to distinguish +himself, clamoured loudly for some expedition which, when accomplished +successfully, would be recompensed with the Cross of St. George. Strong +as General Kaufmann may really be in the good opinion of his superiors, +he was unable to resist, if he were inclined, the demands pressed upon +him by Scobelef and his father, and the more warlike portion of his +forces. It is said, that in addition to these palpable reasons there +were others touching the family rivalries of the Kaufmanns and +Scobelefs, who appear to have been at feud with each other when younger +men in the service of the palace, when Nicholas was Czar. To remove +these differences, and to satisfy the demands of his other subordinates, +General Kaufmann consented that an expedition should be arranged against +Kashgar, and entrusted to the command of the younger Scobelef. Towards +the end of 1874 the war-cloud was drawing ominously over the Athalik +Ghazi, and to all observers it seemed as if it were about to break with +destructive violence on his devoted head. Loudly was it asserted that +nothing but British intervention would save him, and it was only too +clear that England's policy would be guided by events. The Viceroy had +certainly not advised that an active participation should be undertaken +in this question. The failure, too, of the Granville-Gortschakoff +negotiations to define a neutral zone had convinced this country of the +inutility of solving the question between the two countries by treaty. +But it was not clear that, even if Kashgar were to fall into the power +of Russia, our interests would suffer so much as to justify us in +adopting an extreme remedy. The path being thus left clear for Russia +to strike, every precaution was taken by Generals Kaufmann and Scobelef +that the blow should be sharp and decisive. Not fewer than 20,000 +Russian troops in all were to be directed against Yakoob Beg, who too +late now attempted some concessions to his neighbours. Such troops as he +could raise were massed in the neighbourhood of Kashgar, while another +force under his son was stationed at Aksu. But of the result there could +not be two opinions. Very few weeks' respite remained to the intended +victim, when an event occurred which changed the whole current of +Russian thought into a different channel. Yakoob Beg was saved by the +outbreak of disturbances in Khokand, and, although the Russians never +acknowledged that they were so serious as to prevent them persisting in +their Kashgarian enterprise, still gradually the troops who had been +despatched to the frontier were recalled, and those who had been ordered +to set out for Naryn were retained in Tashkent and Hodjent, the two +towns chiefly threatened. Although this event is not part of Kashgarian +history, yet it performed so useful a function to that state, which +indeed it may be said to have saved, that some brief account of it here +may not be unwelcome. + +Khudayar Khan, after the death of Alim Kuli, his hostile minister, in +1865, had been reinstated in his possession of Khokand, partly by the +efforts of his own faction, and partly by Russian assistance. From that +year to the year 1875 he was _de facto_ as he was _de jure_ Khan of +Khokand, and, although imbroiled on several occasions with Russia and +with his own subjects in those ten years, he still maintained a nominal +independence in the western half of Khokand, with his capital at the +city of the same name. For some reason, however, this Khan never was +popular. So far as we know concerning him, he does not appear to have +been any way worse than his neighbours; but one party in the state +accused him of being a tool of the Russians, while another, urged on by +the agents employed by that government, declared that he was gradually +drifting the country into a hopeless contest with that Power. Widespread +throughout the state there was dissatisfaction at his rule, and the +occasion afforded by a commotion among the Kirghiz was eagerly seized by +his subjects to rise for the purpose of subverting his power. At first +this movement seemed to possess no importance for the Russians, and was +regarded as one of those dynastic squabbles that had become too ordinary +an occurrence to occasion any surprise. The insurrectionary party, too, +had put on the throne Nasruddin, the eldest son of the Khan, a youth who +was supposed to be friendly to Russia, and who was not likely to prove +in any way formidable, having become passionately addicted to _vodka_ +drinking. But behind this ostensible ruler there were others who aspired +to greater eminence than the king-makers of a petty state like Khokand. +Chief among these was Khudayar's brother-in-law, Abderrahman Aftobatcha, +who was entrusted with the chief control of the military arrangements. +This chief was the son of Mussulman Kuli, the Kipchak minister of +Khudayar's earlier days. Either incredulous of the maintenance of a +neutral attitude by Russia, or urged on by a patriotic impulse to free +the enslaved portion of Khokand, these confederates issued a +proclamation of war against General Kaufmann. The border districts rose +in response to the proclamation, the communications between Tashkent and +Hodjent were severed, and confusion for a time reigned supreme within +the Russian possessions. The Khokandian forces hesitated to make any +serious attack and wasted their time in useless depredations in the +mountains. Had a prompt move been made on Tashkent, or even on Hodjent, +the insurrection might have been successful. Bokhara might have struck +in at the critical moment, and Yakoob Beg awoke from the lethargy into +which his warlike spirit was sinking. Such was not to be, however; and +gradually the Russian scare wore off. Colonel Scobelef scoured the +country with his Cossacks; telegraphic communication was restored +between Hodjent and Tashkent; and the country was rapidly cleared of the +rebels. The fugitives who had accompanied Khudayar in his flight were +sent to the rear, and reinforcements were hastily summoned to take part +in the necessary offensive measures against Khokand. It will be +sufficient here to say that, having been defeated in the fight at +Makhram and several other small engagements, the party of Nasruddin and +Aftobatcha sued for peace. This was granted, but Khokand became the +Russian province of Ferghana, Colonel Scobelef was raised to a +major-general, and obtained his Cross of St. George by the battle of +Makhram. This event, generally known as the revolt of the Khokandians +against Russia of 1875, marks an important era, for it convinced the +Khokandians and other Asiatics that any attempt to obtain their liberty, +short of a concerted and organized movement, would be fruitless. There +has been no renewal of the attempt that then failed, but which ought to +have achieved more success. + +To the discord unhappily existent among its victims has Russia been +chiefly indebted for the facility with which her Asiatic conquests have +been acquired, and to the same ally it seems probable that she will be +chiefly indebted for their preservation. There is no clearer evidence of +this than the history of this last war with Khokand. But when we +endeavour to divide the share of culpability for this dissension, we are +on this occasion bound to admit that the chief blame attaches to Yakoob +Beg. More than any other Asiatic ruler had he assumed to himself the +title of general protector of his religion and his order, against the +conquering strides of Russia; more than any other had he fostered, by +his bold and defiant attitude towards that state, the belief that there +still remained some hope of coping with the danger by a united league of +Central Asian states; more than any other had he seemed to justify this +aspiration; and more than any other must he be held culpable when he +permitted the moment that seemed most auspicious to slip by unutilized. +Moreover, when this insurrection broke out in Khokand, he had made every +preparation to defend himself against a Russian invasion. He saw the +Russians compelled, by the very necessities of their position, to call +off their forces to other quarters, and yet he abstained from striking a +blow in defence of those interests which he had ever declared were most +sacred to him. It is impossible to explain such apathy on so important +an occasion as this was; and his refusal to strike in on the side of +Aftobatcha must remain the greatest blot on an otherwise brilliant +reputation. With the collapse of that effort, and the subsequent +occupation of Ferghana, Russian attention seemed to become more occupied +with the state of affairs on the Oxus and in Cabul, than with the +fortunes or misfortunes of Kashgar. During the few months that +intervened between the annexation of Khokand and the appearance of the +Chinese north of the Tian Shan, Yakoob Beg adopted a more conciliatory +policy towards Russia, and might in a short time have sunk into the +position of a somewhat more important Khudayar or Mozaffur Eddin. Other +events intervened, however, and gave a complete change to the question, +as will be considered in a later chapter. We take our leave of this +narrative of his dealings with Russia with an admiration that would be +perfect but for the weakness he exhibited in 1875. Even that vacillation +will scarcely destroy all the claim that his bold defiance and +consistent opposition to all Russian pretensions to supremacy over +Eastern Turkestan gives him to our respectful and admiring +consideration. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +YAKOOB BEG'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND. + + +In describing the relations that subsisted between England and Kashgar, +while under the rule of Yakoob Beg, there will be no necessity for us to +enter so deeply into the under-currents that guided those relations, as +was necessary in the preceding chapter, where we detailed the rivalry of +Russia and Kashgar. While England could hold out a hand of friendship to +the Athalik Ghazi, because he sought to please us by making commercial +concessions, Russia felt doubly piqued with the man who for long refused +her a similar foothold, and who, for a brief space, went still farther +in his defiance, secure--as he thought--under British protection. Our +government could not fail to see, in the bold conduct of this ruler, the +result of a mistaken notion of what it would do in the event of a war in +Central Asia, and it strove to bring home to the mind of Yakoob Beg and +his emissaries a sense of our determination not to interfere beyond the +Karakoram. Looking back now on the old legends that successive +travellers brought us from Eastern Turkestan, where such strange things +had been wrought, where the Chinese had been expelled, and a new king +from Khokand enthroned, and regarding them in the light of our greatly +extended information, even since Mr. Shaw penned his interesting volume +on High Tartary, it will not be without some interest to trace back the +story of how Yakoob Beg's name first became known to us, and how, for +eight or nine years, a large section of Englishmen wove a romance round +his name, and converted "the land of the six cities" into a fertile and +populous region, which might serve as a barrier to Russian progress, and +which, like Cabul elsewhere, should extend as another "cushion" from the +mountains of Hindostan to the Celestial range of the Chinese. Those +dreams have vanished now, and in their place has risen up the very +unromantic and matter-of-fact spectacle of a Chinese triumph. + +Whoever has chanced to reside in the valleys of the Himalaya--Mr. Shaw +is the authority--must experience a desire to know of the countries +beyond that range. The desire is natural, but the obstacles of nature +are stupendous. To enter Tibet has been the object of numerous +Englishmen, from the time of Warren Hastings, yet that object has been +only attained by three of our countrymen, the latest sixty-six years +ago. There are forty or fifty passes of various degrees of +practicability leading into Tibet from Nepaul, Sikhim, and Bhutan; and +to act as a spur to the explorer there is a highly civilized and +peaceable race just beyond our border of whom we know scarcely anything. +Yet the vision of Warren Hastings and of Thomas Manning remains +unfulfilled. + +North of the Karakoram there were no similar incentives. Mr. Moorcroft +who, fifty years ago, resided in Ladakh, does not appear to have +manifested any desire to pierce the iron barrier to the north, although +towards Ruduk and Tibet he turned as if irresistibly fascinated. The +character which the brothers Michell gave Little Bokhara, or Eastern +Turkestan, expressed a fact, which long deterred any traveller from +attempting to explore it. "Little Bokhara," they said, "was a country +where every man carried his life in his hand, and there were indubitable +excuses for each successive traveller who recoiled before the hardships +and dangers of a journey through that country." But although no +Englishman traversed the dizzy passes of the Karakoram and the Kuen Lun, +now and then the people from Sanju, Khoten, and the neighbourhood came +to Ladakh, where they brought intelligence of the political events that +were taking place further north. Their intelligence was often completely +false, it was always vague and exaggerated, but it, at all events, told +us whether peace or war, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, was the +existing circumstance in Eastern Turkestan. It was known in a general +sense that China was the nominal ruler of this vast region; but the +exact relations China held there, how she conquered the country and +when, and by what means she retained her conquest, all these were +unascertained. There had, indeed, been one break in this state of +darkness when the learned traveller, Adolph Schlagintweit, in 1857, +penetrated, with a few native followers, into Kashgar. The initial +difficulties were successfully overcome, and fortune seemed at first +disposed to smile upon his enterprise. Herr Schlagintweit had come, +however, at a singularly inopportune moment. The Khoja Wali Khan had +just invaded Kashgar, and his forces had spread as far south as Yarkand, +when the traveller approached that city. He appears to have been able to +report himself to the Aksakal, representing Cashmere at Yarkand, who, in +turn, communicated with the Chinese Amban, for permission for him to +enter the city; but while detained outside the walls he was captured by +a roving party of Wali Khan's army. He was at once hurried off to Wali +Khan's head-quarters at Kashgar, where that despot, in a fit of fury, +brought about by excess in "bang," ordered him to be executed. His +followers escaped, and brought back the tale of his death to Ladakh. + +Such was the untoward fate of the first explorer of Kashgar. In the +course of the early summer of 1868, it became generally known that the +Chinese had been driven out of Kashgar, and that Yakoob Beg was ruling +the country, under the title, conferred upon him by the Ameer of +Bokhara, of Athalik Ghazi. He had sent a sort of semi-official +messenger, Mahomed Nazzar, in that year into the Punjab, to take notes, +as it were, of our dominions. Mr. Shaw, in Ladakh, had heard of the +recent changes in Eastern Turkestan, and mentioned to this envoy on his +return the desire he had to visit Kashgar, and see the widely famed +Athalik Ghazi. The envoy received the proposition with enthusiastic +approval, but it was considered more prudent to await the formal assent +of the ruler himself. After overcoming the difficulties that beset his +task, with prompt resolution Mr. Shaw entered the dominions of the +Athalik Ghazi in December, 1868, being the first Englishman who had ever +entered Little Bokhara. His reception was singularly cordial, and +everything that the officials could do to make his sojourn in the +country pleasant to him was done. One and all of the Khokandian +dignitaries received him as a friend and a brother; and even Mahomed +Yunus, Dadkwah of Yarkand, the second man in the kingdom, treated him in +a spirit of marked cordiality. It should be remembered that Mr. Shaw +went there without any official _status_ whatever, and simply as an +English traveller. Of course, it was the best policy for the Kashgarian +rulers to greet him hospitably, and prove that they had completely +pacified Eastern Turkestan; but in pointing out the hospitable reception +that was given to Mr. Shaw, it is impossible to detract from its merit +by referring to such latent political motives as these. Yakoob Beg +received the English traveller in special audience at Kashgar, and +treated him in the most cordial manner. On Mr. Shaw offering him a few +presents that he had brought from India, such as rifles, &c., the ruler +laughed, and said, "What need is there of presents between you and me? +We are already friends, and your safe arrival has been sufficient +satisfaction to me." During Mr. Shaw's residence in Kashgar, which +extended over a period of three months, he had three interviews with the +Athalik Ghazi, who on each occasion became, if possible, more friendly +than on the previous one. Mr. Shaw was fairly treated on the whole, and +has of all writers on Kashgar given us the most graphic description of +the people and the country. Mr. Shaw's position was to a certain extent +compromised by the arrival of another Englishman, the lamented Mr. +Hayward, who was murdered in a somewhat mysterious manner, three or four +years afterwards, in the neighbourhood of the Cashmerian fortress of +Gilgit. Both travellers were for a time detained in a sort of honourable +confinement in Kashgar, but all ended happily, and the first two English +explorers of Eastern Turkestan returned in perfect safety to Ladakh. The +result of Mr. Shaw's interesting journey was not made known in England +until 1871, after he had set out and returned from Kashgar a second +time, in the first embassy of Mr., now Sir, Douglas Forsyth. The result +of this visit to Yarkand and Kashgar was almost magnetic. Not only did +the Indian Government promptly take into its consideration the question +of what our political relations were to be with the Athalik Ghazi, but +the whole Anglo-Indian community turned an attentive ear to the stories +told of the new country. A new avenue for commerce had been opened up, +and Eastern Turkestan might, after all, prove the true gateway to the +marts of Bokhara and Kuldja. In our more immediate vicinity there was +the jade trade of Khoten to be revived, and the wool of Tartary, of +ancient fame, should alone form a staple article of commerce. For +Manchester goods and Indian wares there was also a very inviting +prospect in the thickly populated districts of Yarkand and Kashgar, +which were at first supposed to contain a much larger population than as +a matter of fact they did. At first it is probable that the main +sentiment was one of satisfaction on commercial grounds alone; later on, +the progress of events in Khokand and Kuldja made the political motives +appear more prominently before English minds. A trading company was +formed in conception, but it did not begin operations until several +years later on, after the signature of the Forsyth treaty, for which, +and the official regulations concerning the working of that company, +the reader may be referred to the Appendix of this volume. + +Mr. Shaw himself formed a very roseate estimate of the future of the +trade between India and Kashgar, and participated with all his wonted +activity in promoting the fortunes of the Yarkand Trading Company from +his advantageous post at Leh. Although the more sanguine expectations +were never realized, the company itself was successful, and performed a +very useful work under no easy circumstances. Its functions are +suspended during the uncertainty that always follows a change in the +ruling power of a state, until it is seen what steps are taken by the +Chinese, or this country, to perpetuate, under the Chinese sway, those +good feelings which first arose under Yakoob Beg. Many are sceptical of +the possibility of living on terms of good neighbourship with the +Chinese, and of carrying on an intercourse, which certainly does not +exist anywhere along the whole extent of the Anglo-Chinese frontier. But +these persons will scarcely admit that the Chinese are to blame in this +respect if we neglect the subject, for Russia by right of several +treaties, and by right also of diplomatic tact, has a commercial +_status_ in every northern mart of the Chinese Empire, from Ourga to +Urumtsi, Manas, Chuguchak, Kuldja and Kashgar. If the Chinese were +reinstalled in every one of their old possessions, yet Russia would have +a legal foothold in all those outlying dependencies. English commerce +must not by any means despair of success in opening up the interior of +China from the direction of India and Cashmere. In most cases, political +action generally follows upon commercial enterprise; but in our dealings +with the Chinese the order is reversed, and political overtures and +diplomatic arrangements must clear the way for the commerce that must +infallibly spring up between Hindostan and not only Tartary and Tibet, +but also the home provinces of Yunnan and Szchuen. The root of the +difficulty is no doubt to be found in the fact that the Mantchoo caste +is in many respects as much a race apart from the mass of Chinamen as +the Norman was in England during the twelfth century. The Mantchoo +mandarin believes that in some undefined manner the introduction of +European science and civilization into China would tend to lower his +influence and political power. But if we are wise, we shall ignore this +sentiment, and endeavour to reach the people through their legitimate +authorities, the Tartar conquering race of two centuries and a half ago, +and not by attempting to influence the rulers by a propagandist crusade +among the people, as some advise. + +Some months after the return of Mr. Shaw to Leh, the Athalik Ghazi, who +had doubtless considered very attentively that gentleman's suggestion to +maintain a representative at Lahore, despatched an envoy to India for +the purpose of expressing his desire for the establishment of friendly +relations with the British Government, for the development of trade +between the countries, and for the visit of a British officer to his +capital. He had fully realized by this time what Mr. Shaw meant by +saying that he came in no official capacity. If he intended, therefore, +to reap any reward for the manifestation of his friendship towards +England, or to be able to play England's alliance off against Russia's +hostility, he discovered that he must take the initiative. In +consequence of that discovery, Ihrar Khan came to India, and was +entertained by our Government in a very friendly manner. It was in +response to Ihrar Khan's visit that Mr. Forsyth was sent as our first +envoy to Kashgar, in the following year. + +Mr. Forsyth was accompanied by Mr. Shaw, who had volunteered for the +service, and by Dr. Henderson. He reached Yarkand, by the same route as +that followed by Mr. Shaw, in safety, and without suffering any great +amount of inconvenience. But the mission had reached the scene of its +labours at a very inopportune moment. The Athalik Ghazi had just been +summoned away to the far eastern frontier to repress hostile movements +on the part of the Tungan cities of Turfan and Urumtsi, and it was very +uncertain for how long a time he might be detained there. Mr. Forsyth +accordingly left Yarkand in the month of September on his return +journey, without having had an opportunity of settling the future of the +relations between India and Kashgar. Dr. Henderson, in his "Lahore to +Yarkand," chronicled the events of this journey to the region north of +the Himalaya. + +The very next year, 1871, Yakoob Beg sent Ihrar Khan once more to India +to renew his protestations of friendship, entrusting him with letters, +not only for the Viceroy but also for Her Majesty the Queen. But there +was no immediate result from this later overture. + +In the meanwhile Russia had broken ground more firmly in Eastern +Turkestan. The treaty of commerce between Russia and her neighbour, +which had been for several years on the carpet, had at last been signed +at Kashgar on the 8th of June, 1872. That treaty conceded no +inconsiderable trade privileges to Russia, for, as will be seen from a +perusal of its clauses, Russian goods entering the country could not be +subjected to a higher tax than 2-1/2 per cent. _ad valorem_. In fact, +but for Yakoob Beg's prudence in restricting the appointment of Russian +commercial agents in the cities to the inferior _caravan-bashi_, a far +different personage to the Aksakal, that treaty would have placed +Kashgar virtually in the possession of General Kaufmann. Even as it was, +Russia, regarded as a foe, had out-distanced England, who was held to be +a friend; and for a considerable time afterwards, English commerce, +which had no status there, hesitated to seek admission into the +dominions of the Athalik Ghazi. + +But the treaty of Baron Kaulbars was in its essence a sham, for no good +feeling sprang up between the countries; and where there was distrust on +either side, trade languished, as was to be expected. Two months after +this treaty, Yakoob Beg sent his nephew, the Seyyid Yakoob Khan, on a +special embassy to Russia, whence he went on to Constantinople, and +returned _via_ India. He then had several long discussions with our +authorities relative to the measures that should be adopted to place +everything on a friendly footing between Kashgar and ourselves. The +Sultan had conferred upon the ruler of Kashgar the high title of Emir ul +Moomineen, and shortly afterwards Yakoob Beg proclaimed himself in +consequence of that decree Emir or Ameer of Kashgar, under the title of +Yakoob Khan. It is appropriate here to say something of these two +titles, Khan and Beg. In this work the ruler of Kashgar has been +consistently called Beg or prince, and not Khan or lord; and for the +following reasons. The title of Khan is much higher than that of Beg; it +is, moreover, hereditary. Gibbon, whose authority in these Central Asian +matters stands higher than many modern scholars will admit, defines it +as the distinguishing mark of the descendants of Genghis Khan. His heirs +and their children became the Khans of Western Asia. The Mongol who +grafted himself on the Turk and the Usbeg, brought with him the unique +authority that was vested by public voice in the house of Genghis, the +Khan of Khans. Now, although in his later days Yakoob Beg, or his +admirers, invented a lineage for himself back to Timour, consequently +making him of Mongol descent, it is highly improbable that this mythical +descent was based on any reliable _data_, nor can we admit any other +claim to according Yakoob Beg that higher title than one that will stand +the criticism of history. Yakoob Beg was not free from some of that +craving that haunts the minds of rulers "born out of the purple" to +claim cousinship with the select caste of former sovereigns; and the +visible embodiment of temporal sovereignty in Turkestan was this very +title of Khan, which has been so much abused in its application. + +It is wrong, in a strict sense, to apply the title of Khan to Yakoob +Beg, although he undoubtedly made use of it during the last three years +of his reign; but as a matter of mere convenience, it is also +misleading. On the stage of Asiatic politics there is another Yakoob +Khan, who is, by descent, a Khan, and possesses qualities not less +eminent than did his namesake in Eastern Turkestan. Confusion was often +caused by the confounding of one of these personages with the other, +whereas if each had been defined by his legitimate title, there would +have been no misunderstanding. Towards the close of the year 1873, the +Seyyid Yakoob Khan, who, by descent, could claim the title which was not +his uncle's, returned to India, where he found that the English mission +was a few days ahead of him on its journey to Kashgar. + +The Indian government had, in the meanwhile, appointed Mr. T. Douglas +Forsyth as their envoy to Kashgar once more, and, during the summer of +1873, preparations were busily in progress for the important embassy +that was to counteract the adverse effects of Baron Kaulbars' treaty. As +this is the turning-point in Anglo-Kashgarian relations, it is necessary +to follow it in considerable detail. Upon Mr. Forsyth's embassy depends +the whole fabric of our policy in, and intercourse with, Eastern +Turkestan during the past four years. In fact, but for Sir Douglas +Forsyth's Report and Treaty, even Mr. Shaw's interesting volume and +intrepid journey would have failed to have preserved the vitality of our +interest in Kashgar and its ruler. + +By the month of July, everything was in readiness for a forward +movement, but owing to the delay in the arrival of Seyyid Yakoob Khan, +or Hadji Torah as he was more usually termed, Mr. Forsyth still lingered +at Murree. Captains Biddulph and Trotter, and Dr. Stoliczka, in the +meanwhile set out for Leh to explore the routes between that town and +Shahidoola. These three gentlemen explored the country beyond Ladakh +very carefully, although it had already been described by Messrs. Shaw +and Hayward, and Dr. Cayley. Mr. Forsyth and the headquarters, after a +short stay at Srinagar in Cashmere, arrived at Leh on the 20th of +September. It may be useful to give here the names of those who +comprised this important embassy. In the first place there was the envoy +himself, Mr., now Sir, T. Douglas Forsyth, C.B., and now K.C.S.I. His +second in command was Lieut.-Colonel T. E. Gordon, C.S.I., who, after +the prime object of the mission had been accomplished, explored a very +considerable portion of the Pamir, the result of whose investigations is +to be found in his work "The Roof of the World." Then came Dr. Bellew, +C.S.I., Surgeon-Major, entrusted with the medical control of the +expedition. The three military men--Captains Chapman, Trotter, and +Biddulph--held various functions; the first as secretary, the latter two +in scientific capacities. In addition to these there were the learned +Dr. Stoliczka, who died from the effects of the rarefaction of the +atmosphere; an English corporal of a Highland regiment, and six native +officers and skilled assistants. There was also an escort of ten sowars, +one naick, and ten sepoys furnished by the Corps of Guides. + +The appointments of the embassy were also most carefully selected, and +with special regard to the difficulties that lay before it in the +obstacles of nature, and the inconveniences attending complete +dependence on natives for the means of transporting the large quantity +of _impedimenta_. One hundred mules "of a fair stamp" were accordingly +purchased in India by Tara Sing, a merchant, and the treasurer to the +embassy. And these were equipped with saddles and trunks of a special +pattern, made in the government workshops at Cawnpoor. Altogether, then, +this English embassy to Kashgar was a very formidable undertaking, and +in its proportions assumed something of the appearance of a small army; +in camp there were "300 souls and 400 animals." The day had gone by when +English travellers entertained doubts of entering Kashgar in company at +the same time, lest they should arouse the apprehensions of the people. +Mr. Forsyth came vested with all the authority of his Sovereign and the +Viceroy, to negotiate a treaty of amity with the ruler of Kashgar, and +the people generally saw in that fact a guarantee of the preservation of +their liberties and independence. + +So far as Shahidoola, the journey was in a well known region, and +outside the frontier of Yakoob Beg. At that place the first sign of that +ruler's power was encountered in the same way as Mr. Shaw, five years +before, had witnessed the advanced limit of the power of the Athalik +Ghazi in a southerly direction. A captain of the Kashgarian army, +Yuzbashi Mahomed Zareef Khan, had been deputed to receive our envoy at +the frontier, and to give him a hearty welcome. After a rest of four +days, the whole expedition, advancing in two bodies over the Grim Pass, +Sanju Devan, entered the inhabited territory of Sanju. Here Hadji Torah, +who had been travelling "post" after them from India, caught them up, +and by his tact and real friendship for this country, contributed +greatly to the complete success of the mission. The passage of the Grim +Pass, although accomplished with success, was no easy task. Dr. Bellew, +in his book "Kashmir and Kashgar," gives the following graphic +description of it, which may be quoted with advantage as showing some of +the "obstacles of nature" to the advance either of an army or a caravan +in this quarter:-- + +"The scene which now burst upon our view is one not easy to describe, +still less to forget. Immediately on either hand, like the portals of a +gate, stood bare banks of silver grey slate, which gently spread away on +each side into the slopes that, inclining together, formed the theatre +of the spectacle they limited. And immediately in front commenced that +gentle rise over slabs of slate _debris_--the natural dark hue of which +was lost in the bright sparkle of its abundant mica--which led at once +on to the field of our vision. Here, at the foot of the ascent, one +step took us from the tiresome monotony of the bare rocks behind, with +all their dulness of hue, on to the snow, which overspread all before +with a white sheet of the most dazzling brilliance. On the left and on +the right it spread with uniform regularity to the crests of the +bounding ridges in those directions; whilst in front, it rose up as a +vast wall, whose top cut the sky in a succession of sharp peaks with a +clearness of outline rarely witnessed. And above all, stretched the wide +expanse of heaven, with a depth unsearchable, in the speckless purity of +its azure, and with a calm such as often precedes the storm. Wonderful +was the scene!" + +Such is the description of an eye-witness of this striking scene, which +in its solemnity approached the sublime, in its grandeur the terrible. +The last hundred feet of the ascent was a sheer wall of ice, like the +Matterhorn, and up this the troopers' horses, and the baggage mules and +ponies, had to be lifted by human force. More than a whole day was +occupied in surmounting this obstacle alone, but it was surmounted with +the small loss of eight mules and three ponies. With the crossing of the +Grim Pass, the difficulties of nature disappeared, and henceforth the +course of the mission lay in the more sheltered plains of Kashgaria. + +After leaving Sanju, the country had, for some days' journey, an +appearance of barrenness, that was only relieved by the avidity with +which patches of more promising soil had been cultivated, a fact which +testified alike to the beneficence of the ruler and to the assiduity of +his people. There is good reason for believing that in the Yarkand and +Khoten districts, Yakoob Beg's administration was most successful. This +may have been caused by the superior qualities of the people over the +Tungani, and mixed populations farther east; but it must also be +attributed to the absence of those desolating wars which went on without +any long intervals down to the year 1874, in the country held by the +Tungani. The treachery of Yakoob Beg in murdering the Khan Habitulla of +Khoten had aroused suspicions as to his good faith that only lay dormant +during the days of his power; but the people of Khoten, Sanju, +Karghalik, and Kilia were far too thrifty and too prudent to sit down +supinely and dwell upon their wrongs. They neither forgot nor forgave, +but they suppressed all trace of seditious opinions against the new +ruler. + +The next city which Mr. Forsyth reached, Karghalik, showed still further +signs of prosperity and civilization. "An eating-house, with its clean +table, and forms, and piles of china plates and bowls, at once took us +back across the seas to the recollection of many a country restaurant in +France." Special preparations had in every way been made for the +reception of the representatives of England, and Mr. Forsyth expressed +his surprise at finding fire-places, like our own, ventilators, and rich +carpets from Khoten, famous in days of yore for its manufacture of those +articles, in the quarters that had been set apart as his residence. +Similar preparations had been made at every stopping place, and the +people not less than the sovereign did their best, and spared no +exertion, to make the stay of the Feringhees as pleasant as possible for +them. More than that, even at the resting places during the daily march, +the headman or local magnate, without exception, always entertained them +at a "dastarkhwan," that is to say, at a course of refreshments. The +"dastarkhwan" literally means table-cloth, and consists of any number of +distinct dishes, sometimes as many as a hundred, held by as many +attendants. This is a national custom, from which there is never any +deviation. It is incumbent upon the guest to break bread first, and then +present it to his host. One of their customs is refreshing to any one +who has come fresh from India, with all its troublesome caste +distinctions. "Be the host Turk or British, he and his guests eat alike +from the same dish, and hand food to the surrounding attendants, who are +troubled with no scruples of caste to interfere with their hearty +appetite." + +The mission was now drawing close to Yarkand, politically and +commercially the most important city in the state, and accordingly +preparations were made for a formal entry. At a village called Zilchak a +chamberlain, or Yasawal-Bashi, came out with a party of the royal +body-guard, Yakoob Beg's favourite _jigits_, in their buff leather +uniform, to act as an escort, and the party was swollen _en route_ by +numerous influential citizens and merchants, who advanced to give an +early welcome to the new arrivals. By these additions quite an imposing +cavalcade drew nigh to the walls of Yarkand. The quarters set apart for +the Englishmen were in the fort, which lies to the north of the city, so +that Yarkand had to be ridden through before their halting place was +reached. The people who thronged to witness the sight seemed very well +disposed, and altogether there was every reason to feel well satisfied +with these mutual first impressions, which, some had asserted, would be +far from pleasant. + +The following day there was an interview of ceremony with the Dadkhwah +of Yarkand, Mahomed Yunus Jan, for whose history the reader is referred +to Chapter IX., and then the visitors were permitted to go wherever they +liked. On Mr. Forsyth's former visit a similar freedom had not been +accorded him. Their first appearance in the streets was the occasion for +a great deal of bustling on the part of the curious, but of friendly +goodwill also. All the principal streets and bazaars were visited in +turn, such as the butchers' street, or market, where the varieties of +meat were clearly to be seen, and their quality tested by their tails or +heads being left untouched. It appears to be the fashion in Yarkand to +purchase the necessaries of life during the morning, and the luxuries in +the evening. There is a special evening bazaar, called Sham, where hats +and other clothes, in addition to various other articles, are put up for +sale in the afternoon. This, when lit up with Chinese lamps, must have +presented a stirring sight, very similar to a country fair in our +country. Sir Douglas Forsyth does not tell us whether under Yakoob Beg +it was customary to illuminate this bazaar with the gaudy lamps of the +Chinese, or whether our imagination of such a scene must be referred +back to the days of the old domination. + +Nor were these harmonious relations confined to the lower people and +ourselves alone. Their rulers set an example that all strove to imitate. +Between the officers of the mission and the Dadkhwah something more +cordial than a chivalrous sentiment of guest towards host sprang up, and +was heartily reciprocated; while Hadji Torah smoothed down all +difficulties by his ready tact and never-failing resource. The latter +did not remain the whole time of the three weeks that the mission +remained at Yarkand, but set out for the capital, in order to put the +Ameer _au courant_ with English affairs, and the exact objects our +authorities had before them with regard to his country. + +Mahomed Yunus had placed at the disposal of the mission a considerable +number of the carts of the country, which proved very serviceable. These +carts are strongly built, with two wheels, six feet in diameter, and are +drawn by four or six ponies, as the case may be. They are not permitted +to carry a greater weight than ten hundredweight, but with that load it +is quite customary for them to perform journeys of twenty and +twenty-five miles a day. In carts of this kind the heavier baggage was +carried from Yarkand to Kashgar, while the members of the mission with a +lighter camp followed on some days afterwards. While mentioning these +carts, so superior to the Indian modes of conveyance, we will remark +that they also are used as omnibuses and stage coaches. They ply +frequently between the fort and city of Kashgar, a distance of five +miles, and they are also used as a stage coach doing the whole distance +from Yarkand to Kashgar in five stages. But no company, with its +regulations and bye-laws has a monopoly of this branch of locomotion, +and there is a tariff fixed by law which cannot be departed from. + +On the 28th of November the mission set out from Yarkand, and for a +certain distance high officials, by order of the Dadkwah, bore it +company to speed it on its journey. From Yarkand to Yangy Hissar the +country was equally prosperous-looking, but there was much desert land +as well. The villages of Kok Robat and Ak Robat (names meaning Blue and +White Post-house respectively) wore a flourishing look, and the +appearance of Yakoob Beg's soldiery, still _jigits_, who looked prim on +parade, and yet could play the part of waiter, carpenter, or what not, +with equal facility, added a sense of order and cohesion to the whole +display. The appearance of Yangy Hissar was made more imposing to the +view by the proximity of the formidable fort Yakoob Beg had erected +there; but in itself, owing to the houses being surrounded by mud walls, +with crenellated tops, it closely resembled a fortification. There was +only a brief stay here, and the mission then commenced its last stage of +all. The 4th of December, 1873, was the eventful day which first saw an +English envoy enter that capital, which Mr. Shaw had visited four years +before in a non-official capacity. Special quarters had been prepared, +at a short distance from the fort, where is also the royal palace, for +the envoy, and these Elchi Khana had been fitted up in a very +comfortable, if not luxurious style. Ihrar Khan Torah, who had visited +India as envoy twice before, was the first to pay a visit to the new +arrivals, and to request that they would come at once to see the Athalik +Ghazi. The following description is Sir Douglas Forsyth's own account of +his first interview with the Ameer:-- + +"According to etiquette we dismounted at about forty paces from the +gateway, and walked slowly along with Ihrar Khan, the Yasawal-Bashi, or +head chamberlain, with white wand in hand going ahead. In the outer +gateway soldiers were seated on a dais with their firearms laid on the +ground before them, their arms folded, and their eyes on the ground. We +then crossed obliquely an empty court-yard, and passing through a second +gateway filled with soldiers, crossed another court, on all sides of +which soldiers in gay costumes were ranged seated. From this court we +passed into the penetralia, a small court, in which not a soul was +visible, and everywhere a deathlike stillness prevailed. At the further +end of this court was a long hall, with several window doors. Ihrar Khan +then led us in single file, with measured tread, to some steps at the +side of the hall, and, entering almost on tiptoe, looked in, and, +returning, beckoned with his hand to me to advance alone. As I +approached the door he made a sign for me to enter, and immediately +withdrew. I found myself standing at the threshold of a very +common-looking room, perfectly bare of all ornament, and with a not very +good carpet on the floor: looking about I saw enter at a doorway on the +opposite side a tall stout man, plainly dressed. He beckoned with his +hand, and I advanced, thinking that it must be a chamberlain who was to +conduct me to 'the presence.' Instinctively, however, I made a bow as I +advanced, and soon found myself taken by both hands, and saluted with +the usual form of politeness, and I knew that I was standing before the +far-famed ruler of Eastern Turkestan. After a few words of welcome the +Athalik led me across the room and seated me near him, by the side of a +window. At this moment a salute of fifteen guns was fired. His Highness +asked in an eager tone after the health of Her Majesty, and of the +Viceroy, and soon afterwards called, in a low voice, to Ihrar Khan to +bring in the other officers. They came in one by one, and each was +shaken by the hand, and made to sit down by my side. Then there was a +long and somewhat trying pause, during which the Athalik eyed each one +of us with intent scrutiny. I had been told that etiquette forbade the +guest to speak much on the first interview, and that it was a point of +good manners to sit perfectly still with downcast eyes.... After this +silent ordeal had been undergone for some time, at a sign from the +Athalik, sixteen soldiers came in with the dastarkhwan, and the Athalik +breaking a loaf of bread shared it with us. After the cloth was removed, +we, remembering our lesson in manners, rose up, and stroking our beards, +said, 'Allah o Akbar;' soon after which the Athalik said, 'Khush, +amadeed' ('You are welcome')." + +Thus ended this imposing interview, imposing not for any magnificence or +barbaric splendour that appertained either to the court or person of the +ruler, but by reason of the mysterious character of the Ameer himself, +of his vague power and influence, and of the hold he had acquired over +such of his subjects as comprised his court and his body guard. All his +Khokandian friends and relations, whose fortunes, indeed, depended on +his power, were stanchly attached to his person. It could not be given +to envoys to possess such complete prescience as to foresee that the +jarring elements, that still existed beneath the surface would suffice +to overthrow his rule still more irretrievably when it received its +first shock from external foes. To the observer, the appearance of +Yakoob Beg and his military following was the highest evidence of latent +power. Order was supreme, and discipline was as apparent in the palace +of the Ameer as in the barrack yards of his fortresses. + +The formal interview took place on the 11th of December, when the +presents from our government to the Ameer, carried by over 100 men, were +delivered to His Highness. There were guns of all kinds, including two +small cannon, vases, &c., &c.; but the token of friendship at which the +ruler showed most symptoms of pleasure was the autograph letter of Her +Majesty. This letter was enclosed in a "magnificent casket of pale +yellow quartz, clamped with gilt bands and handles, and bossed with onyx +stones." The Ameer received this with unconcealed satisfaction, several +times repeating, "God be praised." And then he made those declarations +of friendship which, taken in conjunction with our admiration for the +man, were the means of riveting England and Kashgar into a closer +alliance than any that has as yet subsisted between ourselves and any +other Central Asian ruler. "Your Queen is a great sovereign. Her +government is a powerful and a beneficent one. Her friendship is to be +desired, as it always proves a source of advantage to those who possess +it. The Queen is as the sun, in whose genial rays such poor people as I +flourish. I particularly desire the friendship of the English. It is +essential to me. Your rule is just. The road is open to every one, and +from here to London any one can come and go with perfect freedom." + +On the 13th of December our representatives paid their first visit to +the city of Kashgar. The country round Kashgar is very fertile, highly +cultivated, and thickly populated, and the mission was not less struck +by the air of prosperity prevalent here than it had been at Yarkand. In +addition, the people had a healthier appearance, mainly through the +absence of goitre. The Dadkhwah of Kashgar, Alish Beg, who was a +Kashgari and not a Khokandian, was not less friendly than the Governor +of Yarkand had been, and a very pleasant day was passed in his company. +On the 18th a grand review was held, but for some reason, far from +clear, only of the old Chinese troops who had taken service under the +new ruler when Kashgar citadel fell. The description of the manoeuvres +which this force performed reads more like the display of an itinerant +circus than of a disciplined army, but, nevertheless, these Khitay +troops were excellent material for an army. Their practice with the +_tyfu_, an awkward weapon, being a sort of gun-cannon, carried by two +men and served by three, was pronounced very good up to 250 yards. + +It is proper to state here, very clearly, that while the English mission +was on Kashgarian soil it lived and travelled free of all expense, and +as the Ameer paid his subjects in hard cash for whatever service they +rendered, it is obvious that for a small state such as his was this was +no trivial expense. It is only fair that this fact should be as widely +known as possible, for some discontent was aroused by a similar +hospitality being extended to the Seyyid Yakoob Khan last year. That +discontent arose from ignorance; for it is hardly to be imagined that +any Englishman would grumble at reciprocating the courteousness of a +Central Asian potentate. The mission remained at the capital almost four +months, and altogether the time passed very pleasantly. The weather was +certainly rigorous; but then there was much to be done in the way of +business, sight-seeing and amusement. + +On the 2nd of February Yakoob Beg placed his seal to the treaty of +commerce, and this act concluded the business portion of the English +mission. On the 16th of March formal leave was taken of the Athalik +Ghazi, and the mission returned to India. It had accomplished its task +with pre-eminent success, and the Forsyth Embassy deserves long to be +remembered as the most ably conducted and practically useful embassy +that ever set out from India. + +Since the signature of that treaty the Turkestan Trading Company has +been very actively engaged in despatching several caravans annually into +Kashgaria; but now, whether temporarily or permanently remains to be +seen, its operations have come to a standstill. In these later years, +Mr. Shaw, in his old post as Commissioner in Ladakh, had been as quietly +performing his useful work as ever before; and there were rumours that +he was to receive his reward in being sent as another envoy, or rather +as a resident agent, into Kashgaria, last year. If the appointment were +made, it has at this date (October 1st) been for the time suspended; and +such entirely new considerations have come into play that it may be +postponed for an indefinite period. Hadji Torah's visit to this country, +in June and July, 1877, when the Turko-Russian war had rendered the +Eastern Question once more acute, revived our interest, which had been +flagging, in Eastern Turkestan. But he came at an unfortunate moment, +for June brought us tidings of reverses round Turfan, and July did not +pass away without the intelligence of the death of the Athalik Ghazi +himself. + +There had, before the receipt of this definite intelligence, been absurd +rumours of the part Yakoob Beg was resolved to play in Central Asia as +the ally of the Porte, while he, poor man, was opposing with despair, +and at the cost of his life, a relentless and irresistible foe. Such is +the irony of circumstance! The vanquished in Asia was by some freak of +imagination converted in Europe into the arbiter of a great question, +and the guide of all those peoples of either Turkestan who chafe at the +bit because of Russian rule. But in reality, with the return of Sir +Douglas Forsyth, our relations with Kashgar, which at one time promised +to have been most cordial, languished for want of a motive. No amount of +admiration would suffice to make us permanently guarantee Kashgar +against Russia, for the bare facts concerning the intervening country at +once chilled the sympathy at our hearts. The Grim Pass, and the road +lined with desiccated travellers and animals, effaced the bright picture +of the orchards of Kashgar and the busy streets of Yarkand. There was a +sigh of profound relief, that would not be suppressed, when Sir Douglas +Forsyth's report made the fact clear, that wherever else India might be +menaced she was safe, at least, from attack north of Cashmere. It is +true that there is a feasible route from Khoten to Ruduk, and thence to +India; but Yakoob Beg did not hold it, and its consideration was +considered to be beside the question. In fact, after 1874, we +entertained much the same opinion towards Kashgar and Yakoob Beg that we +did towards Poland and Kosciusko; and we were beginning to reconcile +ourselves to a Russian installation in that state, when the returning +Chinese made us reflect more deeply on Central Asian matters, and +discover that after all has been said against the assertion there exists +a third, and hitherto neglected, great Power in Central Asia. There was +never anything save a kindly feeling between the two countries, and all +who could admire bravery and justice and hospitality and frank courtesy +were attached to the individual who had proved that he possessed all +these attributes in no mean degree. But there was no deeper sympathy +than this, or rather there was no stronger connecting link. The Indian +government felt that it would be championing an unrecognized cause in +supporting Yakoob Beg against all comers, and in the press of more +urgent matters our relations with the Athalik Ghazi became lost sight +of. + +The effect of this treatment upon the Ameer was not unapparent, and +during the last twelve months of his rule he had become more Russian and +less English in his policy. But we preserved "the even-tenor of our +way." Yakoob Beg had no hold over us such as must always be possessed by +the ruler of Afghanistan. Practically speaking, his state was more +inaccessible to us than Tibet, and the Russians at Yarkand would be a +source of far less danger to us than warlike and hostile Chinese might +become at Lhasa. To sum up, England and Kashgar were friends because +they had no reason to be foes; but they were indifferent friends. The +tear might be shed for mutual misfortunes, and condolences might be +uttered when cause for grief arose; but that was all. There was no +alliance in the true sense, nor was there firm and unswerving +friendship. There was a brief space occupied by sympathy and goodwill; +then ensued an unbroken period of unvarying indifference. Before 1877, +the spark that had been kindled by Mr. Shaw, and fanned to the +dimensions of a flame by Sir Douglas Forsyth, had gone out, and with its +extinction passed away the solid fabric that many had hoped to rear upon +the base which the enterprise of a few intrepid men had diligently +prepared. Whether we were prudent or imprudent, true or false, kind or +unkind, Yakoob Beg leaned on a broken reed when he bade defiance to +Russia, trusting on our support. This chapter of our policy in Central +Asia may be closed as speedily as possible; if we do not come out of it +with much glory, it is to be hoped that a lenient posterity may judge +our demerits with a merciful consideration for the preservation of a +strict and irresponsible neutrality. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +YAKOOB BEG'S LAST WAR WITH CHINA, AND DEATH. + + +Until the close of the autumn of 1876 Yakoob Beg had not devoted much +personal attention to his eastern frontier. After the first Tungan war +and the capture of Kucha he had confided to his son and his lieutenants, +the charge of maintaining order in the annexed districts, and of +protecting his dominions against any hostile attempt on the part of the +Chinese. About the month of September in that year couriers arrived with +strange tidings in Kashgar. The message, we can well imagine, was +terrible in its brevity. The Chinese had appeared north of the Tian +Shan. They had sacked Urumtsi, and were laving close siege to Manas. +Their numbers rumour had magnified to almost a hundred thousand +combatants, and they came armed with all the auxiliaries Western science +could supply. + +Before following the movements of the ruler of Kashgar upon the receipt +of this intelligence, it will be necessary to consider what had been the +history of this Chinese army which had so suddenly appeared in Jungaria. +When in the natural course of events the Chinese government, having +solved the Taeping and Panthay difficulties, having restored order where +disorder had been supreme, and having created an army where there had +been only a disorganized rabble, turned its attention to the question, +which it had never lost sight of, of chastising the Tungan rebels beyond +Kansuh, the victorious soldiers of Yunnan, instead of being disbanded, +were invited to participate in a fresh campaign in the regions beyond +Gobi. It requires no great stretch of imagination to realize the scene +when the imperial edict came before these veterans, calling on all true +soldiers to vindicate their country's honour and their outraged religion +against the Tungan outcasts; how the generals, such as Chang Yao, set an +example of enthusiasm which the main body of their soldiers speedily +followed. In the presence of such military enthusiasm we are transported +back to the days of imperial Rome, when the subjection of one province +was only the prelude to some fresh triumph, and when every campaign +found in the ranks of the army the veterans of the last. So it was that +the victors of Talifoo, by long marches through Szchuen and Shensi, +reached Lanchefoo, the capital of Kansuh, where the viceroy of that +province was gathering together the munitions of war, and the recruits +who were to swell the nucleus of trained soldiers to the proportions +suitable to an invading army. Some have considered, and we are far from +denying that there is much to support such a view, that there was a +political motive at the root of this enterprise, the motive being a +desire on the part of the ruling family to give employment to a large +disciplined body of men, who if retained in China proper would be at the +service of any powerful conspirator or presumptuous aspirant to imperial +honours. Whether there is any foundation or not for this supposition, it +is certain that those troops who were not required for garrison work in +Yunnan were taken by a round-about route at a great distance from the +capital to the north-west frontier town of Lanchefoo, there to prepare +for the most arduous military enterprise China had undertaken since her +conquest of Eastern Turkestan in the last century. + +It is not certain when these movements began to be carried out, but +there appears to be no reason to doubt that the advanced portion of the +Chinese army had commenced its march westward before the end of the +year 1874. In the barren region between Lanchefoo and Hamil, a tract of +country some 900 miles as the crow flies, but probably nearer 1,200 by +the road followed by the Chinese, such difficulties were encountered +that one if not two winters were occupied in overcoming these +preliminary obstacles to the advance of the main force. The interval was +not passed in complete idleness at headquarters, where magazines of arms +and stores were being collected, recruits enlisted and drilled, and the +plan of campaign that was to astonish Asia, if not Europe also, was +being drawn up by the Viceroy of Kansuh in person and his able +lieutenants. At last, with the break of spring upon the desert plains of +Gobi, the Chinese army, which numbered in its entirety some 50,000 men, +set out on the long road across the desert to the more fertile regions +lying north and south of the Celestial Mountains. Of the details of this +portion of the enterprise the _Pekin Gazette_ is strangely reticent. The +most profound secrecy was observed, and, although it was known that +military events were in progress in the north-west, their object and +their extent were mysteries. After the delay experienced by the advanced +guard, which had to form fixed encampments, or rather settlements, in +the desert, and plant the corn that was to enable it to advance in the +following spring, no serious check was experienced by the Chinese until +they appeared before the walls of Urumtsi, which the Tungan leaders had +resolved to defend. + +Although several officers in the service of Yakoob Beg happened to be in +the city, and several of the leading Tungani resided there, the defence +was not prolonged, and after a few days Urumtsi surrendered to the +Chinese. Many of the inhabitants had fled to the neighbouring city of +Manas, but the garrison was massacred by order of the Chinese generals. +There is no mention in this case of what fate befell those of the +inhabitants who remained. + +Urumtsi surrendered towards the close of August, 1876, and on the 2nd +of September the Chinese sat down before the fortifications of Manas, a +much more strongly situated city, and defended with the whole force of +the Tungan people. The first panic at the appearance of the Chinese had +passed off, and the defenders of Manas recognized that they were not +only fighting for their cause and independence, but also for their lives +and the honour of their families. The terrible lesson of Urumtsi was not +without its effect upon the resolute but despairing garrison of Manas. +The capture of Urumtsi was a creditable performance in a military sense, +but the campaign had to be decided before the ramparts of Manas. On the +2nd of September the Chinese batteries commenced to play on the +north-east portion of the wall, and for two months the bombardment was +carried on on all sides with more or less vigour. Several assaults were +repulsed, and the Tungani, in face of superior odds and weapons, had +behaved like brave men. But the Chinese were as persistent in their +attack after an eight weeks' siege as they had been on the first day of +their arrival, and the provisions of the Tungani were almost exhausted. +With their supplies ebbed also their courage, and, after an unsuccessful +sortie, the Tungan general, Hai-Yen, presented himself to the Chinese +outposts begging to be accorded an honourable capitulation. Ostensibly, +terms were granted--or, rather, to put the matter as it is expressed in +the official Chinese report, everything was left vague--and on the 6th +of November Hai-Yen and the main body of his fighting men came forth +from the city towards the Chinese camp. The subsequent events are not +clear, but it seems that the attitude of this body was suspicious. The +men were armed, they were in a well-ordered phalanx, and to the Chinese +on the hills around it looked as if they were about to attempt to cut +their way through. Once the Chinese generals entertained the suspicion, +they proceeded to act promptly upon it, as if it were an incontestable +fact, and the Tungani, attacked from all sides, by artillery, horse, +and foot, were in a short time annihilated. Such of their chiefs as were +not slain were brought before the Chinese generals, and forthwith +executed "with the extreme of torture." Every able-bodied man found in +the city or its vicinity was massacred; but the report distinctly states +that the women, children, and old men were spared, and there is no +reason to doubt the veracity of the Chinese. There would, in their eyes, +be no need to palliate such strictly just acts of retribution as these. + +Not content with having chastised the living Tungani, by annihilating +them, as a race capable of self-defence for a generation to come, the +bodies of some of the prime movers in the Tungan movement in its +infancy, such as To-teh-lin, Heh-tsun, and Han-Hing-Nung, were exhumed +and quartered, as an example to all traitors to the Chinese Empire. The +fall of Manas struck a blow that resounded throughout Central Asia, and +at the intelligence a panic spread among all the peoples of Chinese +Turkestan and Jungaria. The enterprise had been conducted with such +astonishing secrecy, and the blow had been struck with such rapidity and +skill, that the effect was enhanced by these causes, new alike in the +annals of China and Central Asia. Not only had the Khitay returned for +revenge, but they had brought with them all the auxiliaries that make +England and Russia the dominant powers in that continent. The Khitay no +longer advanced in the clumsy formation of a long-forgotten age, but in +obedience to orders based on the models of France and Germany. Their +artillery was not a source of danger to the artillerists alone, but as +effective as the workshops of Herr Krupp can supply. But, above all, +their generals had made still more astonishing progress. In the sieges +of Urumtsi and Manas they had proved themselves to be no mean +tacticians; in their next and more extended enterprise they were to show +that they must be ranked still higher as strategists. + +Before the end of 1870 the Tungani had ceased to be an independent +people. The great majority of them had fallen either in the field or by +the hand of the executioner; and with their disappearance the first +portion of the task of the Chinese army was completed. The blood of the +Khitay massacred in 1862 and 1863 was atoned for, and Chinese prestige +restored to as great a height as at any time it had been in the present +century. More remained to be accomplished, in its danger as in its +result more important, which we have now to consider, before their full +task should be consummated; but the Chinese army and its generals had +done, even up to this point, a feat of which any country might be proud. + +These events appear sudden and strange to us who are far removed from +their influence, and who only entertain a languid kind of supercilious +interest in matters in which the Chinese are the guiding spirit. But +what must they have appeared to Yakoob Beg in his palace at Kashgar, +although that palace was 1,000 miles removed from the spot where his +victorious enemies lay encamped? It is impossible for us to gauge the +feeling of apprehension with which these first triumphs of the Chinese +were viewed throughout Eastern Turkestan; and if the bold heart of the +Athalik Ghazi did not misgive him, it was not through any light spirit +as to the gravity of the danger. + +Intelligence of the fall of Manas reached Yakoob Beg, probably, before +the end of November, and in consequence of the lateness of the season he +had the whole of the winter before him to make his preparations for +defence. The surrender of these cities was not generally known in this +country until April, 1877, when we also heard of Yakoob Beg's march +eastward to protect his menaced frontier. There is very little to be +learnt of the internal affairs of Kashgar between March, 1876, and +March, 1877; that is to say, between the close of the revolt in Khokand, +with the surrender of Abderrahman Aftobatcha, and the mustering of +Yakoob Beg's army round the city of Turfan, or Tarfur. There can be no +doubt that in that period some important changes had taken place in the +sentiment of the Kashgarian people; these changes may not have been very +perceptible to a casual observer, yet in their consequences they were as +important as manifest sedition. It is not difficult to suggest what some +of these modifications may have been; of what they resulted in there can +be no doubt--the weakening of the power of the Athalik Ghazi. + +Yakoob Beg's over-caution in November, 1875, when the last rising broke +out in Khokand, damaged his prestige more than a lost battle. It damped +the ardour of the Khokandian element among his followers, and when we +remember that these were his ablest and most devoted partisans, this +alone was a serious blow. But there are many tokens that the +disaffection was not confined to any special party among his people, but +was spread amongst them all. The Tungan wars had never been popular, and +had been costly and sanguinary operations. The old trade with Russian +territory, that once had been so lucrative, languished for want of a +fostering hand, and the difficulties of that northern range of +mountains, which the patience and care of the Chinese had for a time +pierced through, were made the most of to prevent intercourse with +Kuldja and Vernoe. More than all, too, all Yakoob Beg's skill as a +"manipulator of phrases" could not conceal the fact that his treaty with +England was a failure. It did not give him that British protection which +alone he cared for, and it did not provide, through the greater +obstacles of nature, his people with that new trade outlet which was the +sole object worth securing in their eyes. The Forsyth treaty seemed to +bring the relations of England and Kashgar to a sudden termination; and +the Kashgari were quite shrewd enough to perceive that the Athalik Ghazi +would not be buttressed by English bayonets against Russian aggression, +if that instrument was to be held, as in their eyes it could not be +otherwise than held, the only connecting link between the countries. The +consequence of this belief was a resignation to a Russian subjection at +no distant date. + +Yakoob Beg's tenure of power would be morally weakened by the existence +of these causes for discontent among his people, and it was at such a +moment, when they had perhaps only slightly become clear to his eyes, +that the return of the Chinese was heralded. In the face of a great and +common danger a well-affected people would have rallied round their +head, and in the crisis have found a joint necessity to produce a better +understanding than existed before among their component parts. The +country east of Kucha, where it was inhabited at all, was inhabited by +the few survivors of the massacres ordered by Yakoob Beg's +representatives. Amongst these there could be no great amount of +affection towards his cause. The garrison of the city of Kashgar +consisted in the main of the pardoned Khitay soldiers--Yangy Mussulmans, +as they were called--and from them no stanch support could be expected +against their Buddhist countrymen (see Appendix). The Tungani of Kucha +and Aksu and the neighbourhood were the most numerous recruits in the +army, and from them at least it might have been supposed that the +Athalik Ghazi would obtain faithful service. Even among them, however, +there was discontent. They had everything to dread at the hands of the +Chinese. It was they who had massacred the helpless Khitay, a deed from +the stain of which Yakoob Beg at least was free; and it was they against +whom the wrath of China would in the first place be directed. But they +had also their grudges against the ruler. He had beaten them in the +field of battle, and had compelled more than he had induced them to join +his army. They hated the Mahomedan Andijani only one degree less than +the Buddhist Chinaman, and their ambitious game had been foiled by the +military talents of their present ruler. They had run, in the years +1862-65, all the risk attaching to a revolt against China, and when they +had accomplished their task they found themselves defrauded of their +reward. Therefore, in the face of a Chinese invasion there was disunion +in the ranks of the very Mahomedan rebels who had originated all these +troubles. The nucleus of Yakoob Beg's army, when these have been struck +out as non-efficient, was small indeed; but it was only on that nucleus +he could depend in fighting for his crown and his religion. + +During the winter of 1876, when he was busy in collecting arms, +ammunition, and stores at Yarkand and Kashgar, he must have discovered +many of these discordant elements; yet he pushed his preparations +resolutely on. He conceived that under the circumstances the boldest +policy would be the most prudent, and that if he could but beat the +Chinese in the field by superior tactics he might ride triumphant over +all his difficulties and dangers. With these views uppermost in his mind +he concentrated all his forces, Tungan included, along the southern +slopes of the Tian Shan, with his headquarters at Turfan. The Russian +officer, Captain Kuropatkine, who had been sent to Kashgar on a mission, +and who had journeyed through the whole extent of Kashgaria to meet the +Ameer at Turfan, computed Yakoob Beg's army at the following strength, +and supplied the accompanying information concerning its disposition +along the frontier. + +The fort of Devanchi, guarding the principal defile through the mountain +range, was garrisoned by 900 _jigits_, armed with muskets and two +guns--one a breech-loader. At Turfan there were with the Ameer 3,500 +_jigits_ and 5,000 _sarbazes_, with 20 guns, mostly of ancient make. +Toksoun, a fortified place, some miles nearer Korla, on the main road, +was occupied by 4,000 _jigits_ and 2,000 _sarbazes_ with five guns. +Hacc Kuli Beg had command here. At Korla there were also about 1,500 +men, who were brought up to the front shortly after Captain +Kuropatkine's departure. With these 17,000 men, scattered over a widely +extended area, Yakoob Beg had to defend himself against an enemy +superior in numbers, and, as the result showed, in generalship as well. + +The Russian officer gave, on his return, a very gloomy account of Yakoob +Beg's affairs, predicting the speedy disintegration of his state. He +also asserted that the Tungani were deserting in great numbers, and that +everywhere east of Kucha there was discontent and distrust of the +Kashgarian rulers. This disparaging account was confirmed by Colonel +Prjevalsky, some months afterwards, upon his return from his adventurous +journey to Lob Nor. In a letter, dated from Little Yuldus, May 28, 1877, +he said he had been very kindly received, but also suspiciously watched +by Yakoob Beg. "All the way from Hoidu Got to Lob Nor he was escorted by +a guard of honour, who officiously endeavoured to satisfy his smallest +wishes, but would not allow him, or any of his people, to come in +contact with the inhabitants. Yakoob Beg somewhat peremptorily asked +Colonel Prjevalsky to explain why the Russians had provisioned the +Chinese forces arrayed against him; but, in an interview at Korla, he +again and again assured the Russian traveller that he was a friend and +well-wisher to Russia. Notwithstanding these precautions, Colonel +Prjevalsky and the other members of the expedition succeeded in making +the natives tell them that they were disgusted with the military +despotism of Yakoob Beg, and that they hoped the Russians would soon be +coming." + +The information contained in this letter refers to the end of April, +1877, or to a time after the first defeat of Yakoob Beg by the Chinese, +and his withdrawal to Korla; but it is _a propos_ in this place as +confirming Captain Kuropatkine's remarks. + +In addition to the 17,000, more or less, disciplined soldiers whom +Yakoob Beg had mustered at the frontier, Captain Kuropatkine mentioned +10,000 Doungans--that is, the Tungani inhabitants of this eastern +region. Not only were these notoriously untrustworthy, but they were +also badly armed, and were, on the whole, a source of weakness rather +than of strength. Before the close of the month of February the Athalik +Ghazi was at Turfan, constructing forts at Toksoun and towards the Tian +Shan, and endeavouring to inspire his followers with his own indomitable +spirit. + +In the meanwhile the Chinese had not been idle. They had, after their +triumph over the Tungani, established their headquarters at Guchen, near +Urumtsi, and had so far secured their communications with Kansuh that a +regular service of couriers was organized, and a continual supply of +arms, military stores, and men flowed across Gobi to the invading army. +For instance, a large arsenal for the storage of arms was erected at +Lanchefoo, and on one occasion as many as 10,000 rifles of the Berdan +pattern were sent in a single convoy. While Tso Tsung Tang, the Viceroy +of Kansuh and Commander-in-Chief, was making these preparations north of +the Tian Shan, for forcing the range with the melting of the snow, +another Chinese general, Chang Yao, was stationed at Hamil for the +purpose of seconding the main attack by a diversion south of the range. +In estimating the total number of the Chinese army at 60,000 men--that +is, 50,000 round Guchen and 10,000 at Hamil--we would express only what +is probable. The total number may have been more or less, but in +estimating it at 60,000 men we believe we are as close to exactitude as +is possible under the circumstances. In the month of March the Chinese +generals had made all their preparations for attacking Yakoob Beg. So +far as our geographical information goes there is no direct road from +Guchen to Turfan, and consequently the chief Chinese attack was made +from Urumtsi against Devanchi, where Yakoob Beg had constructed a fort. +But, although the larger army was manoeuvring north of the Tian Shan, +the decisive blow was in reality struck by the smaller force advancing +from Hamil. If we are to judge from the disposition of the Kashgarian +army, the movements of this brigade had not obtained that attention from +the Athalik Ghazi which they merited. + +General Chang Yao captured the small towns of Chightam and Pidjam in the +middle of April without encountering any serious opposition. And from +the latter of these places, some fifty miles east of Turfan, commenced +that concerted movement with his superior, Tso Tsung Tang, which was to +overcome all Kashgarian resistance. A glance at the map will show that +Yakoob Beg at Turfan was caught fairly between two fires by armies +advancing from Urumtsi and Pidjam, and if defeated his line of retreat +was greatly exposed to an enterprising enemy. Upon the Chinese becoming +aware of the success of their preliminary movements a general advance +was ordered in all directions. It is evident that the Chinese were met +at first with a strenuous resistance at Devanchi, and that the forcing +of the Tian Shan defiles had not been accomplished when news reached the +garrison that their ruler had been expelled from Turfan by a fresh +Chinese army. It was then that confusion spread fast through all ranks +of the followers of Yakoob Beg; in that hour of doubt and unreasoning +panic the majority of his soldiers either went over to the enemy or fled +in headlong flight to Karashar. In this moment of desperation the +Athalik Ghazi still bore himself like a good soldier. Outside Turfan he +gave battle to the invader, and though driven from the field by +overwhelming odds he yet once more made a stand at Toksoun, forty miles +west of Turfan, and when a second time defeated withdrew to Karashar to +make fresh efforts to withstand the invading army. Yakoob Beg probably +lost in these engagements not less than 20,000 men, including Tungani, +by desertion and at the hands of the enemy. He consequently conceived +that it would be prudent to withdraw still farther into his territory, +and accordingly left Karashar, after a few days' residence, for Korla. + +Some weeks before the occurrence of these striking events Yakoob Beg had +sent an envoy to Tashkent to solicit the aid of the Russians against the +advancing Chinese. But the Russians only gave his messenger fair words, +and did not interfere with Mr. Kamensky's commercial transactions with +the Chinese army. At the moment, too, Russia was so busily occupied in +Europe that she had no leisure to devote to the Kashgarian question. + +The Chinese had for many years been good friends with Russia, and Yakoob +Beg had all his life been a scarcely concealed enemy. Between two such +combatants the sympathies of the Russian government must at first have +certainly gone with the former; nor had Yakoob Beg's attitude towards +Russia of late been as discreet as it might have been. His nephew, the +Seyyid Yakoob Khan, was notoriously an agent for some indefinite purpose +at Constantinople. His protection of the Bokharan prince, Abdul Melik, +or Katti Torah, the most bitter enemy of Russia in Central Asia, was +also ill calculated to attract Russian sympathy to his side. + +Moreover there was little or nothing to arouse Russian susceptibilities +in Chinese victories so far distant as Urumtsi or Turfan. In many +respects, too, this Chinese invasion was a relief for Russia. It freed +her hands in Central Asia in a manner that perhaps will never be +sufficiently appreciated. Buddhist victories in Eastern Turkestan struck +a severe blow at Mahomedan vigour throughout the Khanates, and the +waning prestige of the Badaulet, or the "fortunate one," acted as a +warning of strange significance to all the neighbouring princes. + +It is not difficult, therefore, to discover valid reasons why the +Russians declined to negotiate between the combatants, and although +Yakoob Beg endeavoured to come to terms with the Chinese, on the +understanding that his personal safety should be guaranteed, all his +diplomatic overtures were met by categorical refusals. + +The Chinese after entering Toksoun came to a sudden halt, for which the +causes are not evident. But the terror of their name had gone before +them, and the country east of Karashar was hurriedly abandoned by its +inhabitants. The Chinese delay may have been caused by the necessity for +collecting provisions to enable them to advance further, or perhaps it +may have arisen from the outbreak of some epidemic, as asserted by one +of the Indian journals. On this point the _Pekin Gazette_ is profoundly +silent. The number for the 23rd of June contained a narrative of the +operations round Turfan, and also a list of the honours and rewards +given to the successful generals; but it and its subsequent issues are +silent as to the causes for the Chinese inactivity that then for many +months ensued. The most striking sentence in this report is that which +says that "the Mahomedans who submitted themselves were permitted to +revert to their peaceful avocations;" and if this be true, this is one +instance, at all events, of the Chinese exercising moderation. Strange +as it may seem, with this preliminary success the vigour of the Chinese +invasion appeared to die away, and for five months nothing more was +heard of the whereabouts of the Chinese army. In that interval the most +important events occurred in Kashgaria, but with these, the Chinese, +although the originators of them, had nothing to do. In the closing +scene of all of the eventful life we have been in these pages +considering the invading Khitay had no part. They were probably not +aware of what was taking place some 300 miles from their camp until many +weeks after it had happened; and then conceived that their best policy +would be to give time for the disintegrating causes at work within the +state to have their full effect before they advanced westward. When +Colonel Prjevalsky saw Yakoob Beg it must have been within a very short +period of his death. The shadow of approaching events may have been upon +the defeated conqueror, who from recent disaster could only presage +worse yet to come. + +Of the exact manner of Yakoob Beg's death there are various accounts. +The most probable is that he was murdered by a party of conspirators, +who were led by Hakim Khan Torah. The date given is the 1st of May. That +Yakoob Beg should meet with a violent death, considering that he was +surrounded by such doubtful followers as the Tungan chiefs, is not to be +marvelled at, and that the first reverse in his career should be the +signal for fresh disturbances is only what we should expect from a +consideration of his country and its peoples in the light of past +history. So far, then, as the assertion goes, that Yakoob Beg was +murdered, there is nothing improbable about it. But there are many +discrepancies in the accompanying narrative. The first intelligence of +the death of the Ameer of Kashgar was contained in a telegram published +in the _Times_ of July 16 last year. It stated that his death occurred +at Korla, after a short illness, and that he had nominated as his +successor Hakim Khan Torah, to the express disregard of his own sons. +The telegram went on to say that Hakim Khan had declined to accept the +gift, and that the Ameer's eldest son, Beg Kuli Beg, had succeeded to +the throne. A few days after this telegram Hakim Khan Torah was +identified with the ancient dynasty of Kashgar, which Yakoob Beg had +first seated on the throne, and then displaced in the person of Buzurg +Khan. All this intelligence came from Tashkent. On the 23rd of July we +learnt in this country, from the same source, that Beg Kuli Beg had +notified his father's death and his own accession to the throne to +General Kaufmann. There no longer remained any doubt that Yakoob Beg was +really dead. + +For some reason or other Beg Kuli Beg does not appear to have been a +favourite with the Russians; but this aversion to him was based on some +mistake, for Beg Kuli Beg was certainly unfriendly to England, and was +scarcely civil to our envoy, Sir Douglas Forsyth. Moreover, he at once +placed himself in communication with the Russian government, asking for +advice as to the course he should pursue with regard to the Chinese +invasion, and renewing his father's request that Russia should stop the +supplies sent to Urumtsi and Turfan from Kuldja. It was reported, but +not confirmed, that his latter demand was complied with. + +Nothing more was heard of the history of these events until the end of +August, when news reached India through Ladakh and Cashmere that Yakoob +Beg "had been assassinated by Hakim Khan Torah, the son of Buzurg Khan." +This was the first hint that Yakoob Beg had fallen by the hands of +discontented partisans. In itself so natural, it threw fresh light on +the strange deed he was reported to have done of disinheriting his own +family, and it speedily became the accepted version. The question then +was, who was Hakim Khan Torah? Two versions were put forward; one was +that he was the son of Buzurg Khan, the other that he was a Khoja chief +of Kucha. The former was the more plausible, but as his name does not +occur in Sir Douglas Forsyth's exhaustive report, it is open to some +objection, more particularly when we are told that he bore a principal +part in the conquest of Kashgar by Yakoob Beg. The latter suggestion was +much more difficult to prove, but was not open to the same objection. +Grant that Hakim, or Aali, Khan Torah was a pardoned Kucha chief when +that city fell into the hands of the Athalik Ghazi, and there was +nothing extraordinary in his having proved a traitor. Assume that he +still conceived he had claims upon the governorship of that city, of +which the _Turkestan Gazette_ asserts he had been Dadkwah, and there is +nothing inconsistent in his having sought to realize his own ambitious +schemes the moment fortune frowned upon his conqueror. That Hakim Khan, +if son to Buzurg Khan, should seek to revenge his father's deposition +and life of exile is not in itself strange we admit; but if he were a +subjected ruler, who regarded Yakoob Beg as an adventurer from Khokand +with no claims to his fealty, his plot against and murder of the +Kashgarian prince at once appears not only possible, but the true story. +As a leading Khoja of Kucha he would also have claims to represent one +branch of the old reigning family of Kashgar. In the face, too, of a +great and pressing danger from the Chinese, his hereditary enemies, a +son of Buzurg Khan would scarcely make confusion worse confounded by +murdering the _de facto_ sovereign; whereas a Kucha leader might aspire +to play in such a crisis the same part that Amursana did in the last +century. It was said that Hakim Khan entered into some negotiations with +the Chinese, who gave him little encouragement. + +The _Turkestan Gazette_ still adhered to its original statement that +Yakoob Beg had died of fever on the 1st of May, after an illness of +seven days' duration, and that on the 13th of May the body was brought +in state from Korla to Kashgar for the purpose of being deposited in the +mausoleum of Appak Khoja. Then, according to the _Turkestan Gazette_, +there ensued one of those atrocious deeds which have so often marked the +history of Central Asian states. The second son of the dead Ameer, Hacc +Kuli Beg, who had been with him during his last moments, escorted the +funeral cortege, and was met at a short distance from the city by his +elder brother, Kuli Beg. The elder son at once knelt before his father's +coffin, and then rising, without a moment's delay fired a pistol at his +brother, who dropped down dead. Not content with this fratricide, Kuli +Beg had the whole of the escort put to the sword, and returned to +Kashgar with his own followers escorting the coffin. We know nothing +whatever of the reasons for this atrocious act, but the fact of Kuli Beg +being in Kashgar, and not in the east, shows how Hakim Khan was able to +establish his authority in Kucha and Korla. It will be more convenient +to consider in another chapter the further course of these internal +troubles, and also the final triumph of the Chinese. + +There are, therefore, two versions of how Yakoob Beg met his death, and +in support of each view there is a certain amount of evidence. All the +information on the subject has been recorded, and it is conflicting. The +Chinese reports in the _Pekin Gazette_ ignore the subject altogether. +Their personal hatred was directed more against Bayen Hu, a Tungan +leader who had fled from Hamil some years before, than against the +Athalik Ghazi. Of the main fact that Yakoob Beg died at Korla in May, +1877, there is no doubt, and that the most eventful career that has +marked its track in the history of Central Asia for several generations +was then brought to a close. + +Whatever opinion may be formed of the man from his varied fortunes, +there will be few who will deny that he possessed great mental +qualities; some will be found, no doubt, to question his action in +deposing Buzurg Khan, and with more justice may his earlier life be +blamed for his repeated desertion of his friend and patron Khudayar. +Others will call to mind his vacillating conduct in 1875, and deny that +he possessed that decision of character which is the salient feature in +all truly great men. His unnecessary wars with the Tungani, and the +short-sighted policy he pursued of extending his empire up to the +vicinity of China, were also calculated to lower his claims to be +considered a general or a statesman. In extenuation of these acts, which +decidedly undermined the fabric of his rule, it may be mentioned that +there is one side of Yakoob Beg's character that has never received +sufficient attention. It is what was the secret to his foreign policy. +He certainly did not aspire, as many thought, to contest unaided the +palm of superiority with Russia in Central Asia. He was far too well +informed to dream of that. Nor could he expect to be able to extend his +power to the south, where both Afghanistan and Cashmere would resent his +presence. The only option left to him as a conqueror was to continue +aggrandizing himself at the expense of China. We know not what dreams +may have entered the mind of the stanch Mussulman in his palace at +Kashgar of uniting in one crusade against China all the followers of the +Prophet in Central Asia and of emulating the deeds of some of his +predecessors who had carried fire and sword into the border provinces of +China, and whom even the Great Wall could not withstand. Over these +bright imaginings, arising from tales told of the decadence of China, we +know not how much Yakoob Beg may have brooded as he saw his power spread +eastward through fifteen degrees of longitude, through Aksu to Kucha, +Kucha to Korla, Korla to Karashar, and Karashar to Turfan, until from +his far outpost at Chightam he could almost see the rich cities of Hamil +and Barkul, cities which are the key to Western China and Northern +Tibet, and imagine them to be within his grasp. But the policy of Yakoob +Beg will not be clearly appreciated, unless we bear in mind that these +ambitious longings were held in check by fear of Russia, and by the +hostility of the Tungani, who continued to plot even when subdued. His +keen spirit must have chafed greatly under the inability to accomplish +that which he conceived to be possible, and despite his numerous +triumphs he was at heart a disappointed man. + +Moreover, during these later years, when the task he had set before him +had been nearly accomplished, and he had leisure to look around, he was +no longer young or as energetic as he had been. He was entering, for an +Asiatic, upon the evening of life, and had no longer the physical power +to essay any protracted and desperate enterprise. For a "forlorn hope" +he was as eager and as effective as ever, but for those undertakings +which require not only desperate courage but also forethought and +patience he was no longer fit. But the Chinese invasion dispelled all +these, and many other illusions. In their eyes and before their power, +he was only another Sultan of Talifoo. His great qualities, which +attracted sympathy and a certain amount of respect, in India and England +were vain in the eyes of a people whose "empire has," in their own +tongue, "been planted by heaven." Before Chinese viceroys and Mantchoo +chivalry Khokandian soldiers and Mussulman pride must be held vain. So +thought the Chinese, if they thought upon the subject at all. And so +must we think who view past history by the aid of Yakoob Beg's +overthrow. Yakoob Beg's rule in Kashgar was for twelve years a visible +fact; it was recognized by England and by Russia. The Central Asian +Khans gladly acknowledged the admission of another to their fast +dwindling ranks. Even Shere Ali, an ostensibly powerful ruler, honoured +Yakoob Beg not so much with his friendship as with his jealousy. Yet it +was all fleeting fast away. + +In comparison with Chinese power his was as nothing; in comparison with +Chinese perseverance his was weakness; in comparison with Chinese +tactics, his tactics were those of a school-boy; and even in comparison +with Chinese courage his courage had to confess an equal. There was not +only the dead weight of numbers against him, but there was also the +quick weight of superior intellect. There were superior strategy and +superior weapons; greater force and greater determination; no hesitation +in action, and perfect unanimity in council; all combined to crush one +poor forlorn man, fighting with all the desperation of despair for life, +if not for liberty. Worthier of a better fate, and meeting destiny with +the calm that is natural to brave men, Yakoob Beg's defeat and death may +serve to "point a moral and adorn a tale." The tale has been told in +these pages with as close a regard for fact as the meagre records will +supply, and for the personage whose name is the pivot round which the +main facts concentrate, it may be claimed that he deserved attention +even from Englishmen. It may well be that some future generation may +recur to this career with interest as marking the only real break in the +Chinese domination in Eastern Turkestan. When the massacres and other +atrocities that marked the Khoja invasions and the Tungan outbreak on +both sides shall have been forgotten or condoned, then it will be +admitted that, despite the great benefits conferred by China on the +people in the way of trade-fostering and good government, there was some +merit in the administration which a Khokandian soldier had unaided +created in this region. High credit, then, let us, who view the subject +from an impartial stand-point, pay this departed warrior, who as a +soldier met few equals, as a governor none in his long career. Much as +we may marvel at, and perhaps impugn, Chinese strength, let us not judge +Yakoob Beg harshly, because Chinamen out-manoeuvred him, and overthrew +him in fair fight. It is an easy gauge to apply, and one which would +dispel all the reputation the Athalik Ghazi had secured, if we deny the +Chinese the great qualities those who know them best will accord them +without hesitation. But in applying so shallow a test to the case before +us, we should be wronging our own understanding quite as much as its +victim. However much we may blame Yakoob Beg for going out to encounter +an enemy whom he ought to have awaited either at Kucha or Aksu, his +valour, and also his mistaken contempt for the Chinese, are made all the +more clear. We may fairly claim for him that he was the most remarkable +man Central Asia in its fullest extent has produced since Nadir Shah; +and that he accomplished with insignificant means a task which ordinary +men, though born in the purple and ruling a prosperous and thickly +populated state, might have failed to do. What better epitaph could be +placed over a courageous and just ruler? + +The moral of his career is a short one, but for us full of significance. +Those independent rulers who establish themselves for a space on the +confines of China are mere ephemeral excrescences; birds of passage who +must betake themselves away, if they can, when their little hour has +struck. English governments have never understood the vitality of +Chinese institutions. They should appreciate it better in the future. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE CHINESE RECONQUEST OF KASHGAR. + + +When Yakoob Beg died at Korla the task of reconquering Kashgar had +barely commenced. The Chinese army, victorious at Turfan, was lingering +in idleness round that city, exhausted, as some believed, by the +greatness of the effort. It was not clear even that the Chinese aspired +to achieve any greater triumph than that they had already won, viz., the +subjection of the Tungani, a subjection which could not be considered +accomplished so long as Yakoob Beg remained in the neighbourhood at the +head of a large army; and that with the withdrawal of the Kashgarian +army to Karashar the Chinese generals might call a halt of an indefinite +duration. Nor did it follow as a matter of necessity that because the +Chinese had taken Turfan they could capture Kashgar or Yarkand. Distance +alone was no slight obstacle, and when added to the barrenness of the +country, which would be made more desolate by the retreating army of the +Mussulmans, an impartial observer might have hesitated to predict any +very speedy triumph for the Chinese. But besides these, there were other +impediments, of which a prudent general had to take careful cognizance. +To seize Karashar or Korla only needed a bold attack; but to subject +Kucha might have been a more arduous undertaking than was even the siege +of Manas. A delay of two months in the heart of Eastern Turkestan must +have strained the resources of the Chinese very much, and might have +ruined their whole enterprise. And even if Kucha fell there still +remained Aksu, and afterwards Ush Turfan in the north, and Maralbashi +in the south, barring the way to the vital portion of the state round +Kashgar and Yarkand. Now the death of Yakoob Beg did not remove any one +of these defences, and for a time it was believed that his son, who had +always the repute of being a good soldier, would make the best of the +very strong line of defence that he undoubtedly possessed. As a matter +of fact, the death of Yakoob Beg was an irretrievable disaster, for it +destroyed whatever cohesion and unity there were in the country. He +himself might have been unable to avert a final overthrow, but the +contest would have been made more protracted. Therefore in the months of +May and June, 1877, immediately after the death of the Athalik Ghazi, it +is strictly true to say that the Chinese reconquest of the country had +barely commenced. + +The hesitation shown by the invading generals after the victory of +Turfan was at first caused by a belief in the formidableness of their +antagonist, and, when that antagonist died, by a prudent resolve to +permit the disintegrating causes that speedily manifested themselves in +Kashgaria to have full time to work in their favour. Meanwhile they +formed their plans in secret, laid in large stores of supplies from +Russian territory, and explored the little-known passes of Tekes and +Yuldus. A large number of fresh troops was received from the Calmucks +north of Chuguchak, who during the worst period of the Tungan revolt had +preserved that city for the Chinese. + +But before following the forward movement of the Chinese it is necessary +to say something of the internal disturbances in Eastern Turkestan, more +especially of the rivalry of Beg Bacha and Hakim Khan for supremacy. In +the first place, it is necessary that it should be distinctly understood +that of the events that occurred in Kashgaria between the death of the +Athalik Ghazi and the final advance of the Chinese army we are really +without any definite intelligence at all, and it is not probable that +we shall ever be accurately informed of the course of events during +those five months. In the absence of exact _data_, we must assume the +events to have taken place which are most in accordance with +probability. On Yakoob Beg's death, his eldest son, Beg Kuli Beg, was +either in the city of Kashgar or somewhere on the road thither. It is +probable that he had been despatched to the rear, to bring up +reinforcements after the defeat at Turfan, and in his absence Hacc Kuli +Beg, the Ameer's second son, assumed the command of the army when his +father died. It is certain that he accompanied the funeral cortege of +Yakoob Beg back to Kashgar, and that he was murdered outside the walls +by his brother. It was during this time that Hakim Khan Torah appeared +upon the scene. It should be remembered that tidings of the death of +Yakoob Beg travelled very slowly to this country, and that almost +immediately after it arrived we received intelligence of events that had +occurred many weeks after the death of the Ameer. We were therefore +hearing at the same time the particulars of the circumstances of Yakoob +Beg's death, and of those commotions which broke out some weeks after +that event. + +When Hacc Kuli Beg left Korla no personal representative remained there +of the dynasty of the Athalik Ghazi, and during that interval the +occasion arose for the intriguing elements that a mixed court, such as +that of Yakoob Beg, could never be free from. Hakim Khan seized that +opportunity, and established his authority in Karashar, Korla, and, +probably, Kucha also; and during a short time Kashgaria was accordingly +divided into three hostile camps. It appears that Beg Bacha, lulled into +a false sense of security by the inactivity of the Chinese, resolved to +chastise the insolence of his rebellious governor, a task which he +should have left for the Chinese. A war then broke out between Beg Bacha +and Hakim Khan, which exhausted the few resources that still remained to +a ruler of Kashgar. The contest appears to have been of a desultory +nature, and although the final result was in favour of Beg Bacha, he +never appears to have recovered possession of Karashar and Korla. In the +neighbourhood of Aksu the battle of this war took place, and Hakim Khan +was defeated, "by the overwhelming numbers of his enemy." Beg Bacha's +chief loss was the death of Mahomed Yunus, the Dadkhwah of Yarkand, his +ablest and most faithful adviser. Hakim then fled to Russian territory, +with 1,000 _sarbazes_, who were promptly interned by order of General +Kolpakovsky, and there he sought to restore his shattered fortunes by +carrying on intrigues with the Russian government. It is scarcely +necessary to say that these came to nothing, and that Hakim Khan has +sunk into that insignificance which, to judge from his acts when called +into public life, is his most befitting atmosphere. + +While engaged on this successful campaign east of Aksu, an event +occurred of singular significance, as illustrating the condition of +Kashgar under Beg Bacha. The Kirghiz chief Sadic Beg, who had +disappeared from the scene since his old rivalry with Yakoob Beg +thirteen years before, seized the opportunity afforded by Beg Bacha's +embarrassment to attack the city of Kashgar, denuded of the greater +portion of its garrison. He plundered the suburbs, and only withdrew +when the young Ameer hastened back from Aksu to defend his capital. The +Kirghiz, true to their nature, at once sought the desolate regions of +Kizil Yart. They had, however, made the confusion arising from the death +of the Ameer and the disaffection of Hakim Khan worse confounded, and +completed those elements of weakness and discord which had always proved +an invaluable ally to the Chinese. By themselves both Hakim Khan and the +Kirghiz depredator were beneath contempt; but with an enemy established +on the soil of the country, they assumed a too clear and mischievous +importance. The minor seditions that manifested themselves in Sirikul +and at Khoten completed the round of dissension that, combined with +external force, shattered the fair show of Yakoob Beg's empire. We are +completely ignorant of the details of the disturbances that were +reported to have taken place round Tashkurgan or Sirikul; but it is +plausible to suppose that these were caused either by inroads on the +part of the Wakhis or Badakshis, or by some fresh Kirghiz attack. The +inhabitants of Tashkurgan being Yarkandi settlers, it is not probable +that the rising, or whatever form the commotion assumed, originated with +them; at Khoten the rising was more tangible, and more easily +understood. The people of that city never forgave Yakoob Beg his +treachery towards their ruler, and the instant he disappeared they +hastened to take their revenge. When the Kashgarian garrison was +withdrawn the towns-people simply deposed their _dadkwah_, and nominated +a ruler of their own, who retained authority until the triumph of the +Chinese made it politic for them and him to bow to the rising sun. The +example of Khoten had been followed by Sanju and the vicinity; and thus +the whole southern portion of the state acquiesced in the Chinese +conquest, after the fall of Kashgar, without the necessity for a single +Chinese soldier to be advanced south of Yarkand. It seems probable that +at this very moment the Chinese troops have remained content with the +submission of these districts, and have not garrisoned those important +towns which skirt the Kuen Lun range with their own soldiers. + +When Beg Bacha returned post haste to Kashgar, to encounter the Kirghiz, +we said that Sadic Beg fled to the Kizil Yart; but he did not remain +there long, for soon we find him back again at the capital in high +favour with the Ameer, with whom he had come to terms. His Kirghiz +followers were taken into the pay of the state, and just as this +alliance had been struck up, tidings came of events that made that +alliance, however futile and insignificant, a matter of the first +necessity, both to Kirghiz and Kashgar. The Chinese army was at last +advancing. The danger that had for five months been hanging in suspense +over the devoted heads of a Mussulman people was close upon them. The +long-feared and long-expected Khitay were drawing nigh to the capital, +in irresistible strength; and the apprehensions of a cowed people made +them know, too surely, that their end was at hand. The dissensions among +the people themselves, the discord in the ruling house, and the +dissentient elements in every effort towards unity, had all operated in +favour of the invader. While the Chinese had plotted and prepared in the +deliberate manner of a great nation, the people of Kashgar had entered +into cabals and schemes of party tactics that were well nigh ludicrous. +And all the time that the sap of their vigour was being expended, the +Chinese generals were drawing the noose more closely together that was +to strangle the newly erected state beyond all chance of recovery. It +would almost seem as if the Kashgari and their rulers had recovered from +their first shock at the Chinese invasion, and were becoming reconciled +to their presence east of Korla, when they experienced a second, more +severe, and more lasting shock, in the announcement that the Chinese +were again advancing. Their brief contentment passed away, and all their +old terror revived in tenfold force. Hope died within their bosoms, and +the resignation of despair only nerved them to bear a fate which their +own valour should have striven to avert. It is time for us now to return +to the Chinese army, and to follow its decisive operations. + +North of the Tian Shan the supreme command was vested in the hands of +Tso Tsung Tang, generalissimo of the army operating against Kashgar, and +Viceroy of the province of Kansuh. South of it the commanders were +Generals Kin Shun and Chang Yao, the former the hero of the siege of +Manas, the latter of the diversion against Turfan from Hamil. The base +of the former was Manas, of the latter Turfan. Their sources of supply +were Hamil, Barkul, and Chuguchak, within the Chinese frontier, and +Kuldja, Semiretchinsk, and Semipalatinsk, without. Their weapons and +ammunition were transported across the desert from Lanchefoo, and their +ranks were swollen by recruits from the Calmuck and other tribes. It +does not appear that the Chinese were very eager to enlarge their army +in size; they rather aimed at increasing its efficiency by the +distribution of Berdan rifles and Krupp's cannon; and during the heat of +the summer months they remained at rest in their recently acquired +possessions. Nor is it probable that those epidemics broke out in their +ranks which it was asserted had appeared amongst them. A sensational +paragraph was published in the _Tashkent Gazette_, which was copied by +some of the London newspapers, asserting that a species of cholera, +known in Kashgar by the name of _vuoba_, had decimated the Chinese army, +and that in consequence of that calamity its advance was permanently +checked. Certainly, this was a piece of gross exaggeration, even if +there were a substratum of fact for the assertion. Then, again, we were +apprised, on high authority, that the Russian government had put a stop +to the despatch of provisions to the country occupied by the Chinese +army, at the request of its new-found friend, Beg Bacha. Yet there is no +question that the caravans of Mr. Kamensky continued to pass between +Kuldja and Manas, and that the chief caterers for the Chinese army were +the Russian merchants of Central Asia. In the course of their +intercourse the best feelings do not appear to have prevailed between +the Russians and Chinese. The latter, flushed with their triumph, had +become arrogant, and were too fond of referring to the question of +Kuldja to be agreeable to the actual possessors of that province. On one +or two occasions these verbal disputes assumed a more dangerous aspect, +and from words the disputants proceeded to blows. Whether this collision +was magnified or not, the Russian government took no diplomatic steps +to secure reparation for injury to their subjects, and continued to wink +at, if they did not actually approve of, their merchants supplying the +Chinese. The clearest proof of this is that the moment Aksu fell a large +caravan was despatched there by Mr. Kamensky. Still there was no little +bad blood between the two people, and for a long time it was doubtful +whether Russia would preserve her attitude of neutrality until Kashgar +had been finally subdued. Beneath all this doubt, and the uncertainty of +the strength and of the ultimate intentions of China, there existed a +sentiment of dissatisfaction in the minds of the Russians at the renown +China was acquiring, as well as at the prospect of having to restore a +rich and paying province. + +In short, beneath the Tungan and the Kashgarian questions there +smouldered the Kuldja question. Having now shown how well prepared the +Chinese were at every point, how well armed, and how well fed was the +tactical unit, and how Russia, although far from indifferent as to the +results, was really abetting the side of China, we may pass on to those +more active movements which proved that the Chinese generals possessed +the ability and military knowledge necessary to make full use of the +very powerful weapon which they had created, and which was capable of +accomplishing the most arduous of enterprises. + +The first move was made south of the Tian Shan. So far as we know, Tso +Tsung Tang did not break up from Manas until many weeks afterwards. A +brigadier-general, by name Tang Jen-Ho, left Toksoun on the 25th of +August, 1877, with the advanced guard, to occupy the outlying villages +of Subashi and Agha Bula. He does not appear to have had under him more +than a few hundred men. A fortnight later, on the 7th of September, +Generals Tung Fuh-siang and Chang Tsun followed after him with 1,500 +troops, all infantry. They advanced through Agha Bula, Kumush, and Usha +Tal to Kuhwei. At this place the troops were concentrated. + +The chief duty of these detachments was to prepare the road for the +advance of the main body, to lay in at stated places stores of fuel and +water, and to erect temporary fortifications. So thoroughly was this +portion of the task performed, that General Kin Shun, now known as Liu +Kin-Tang, gave the order for a general forward movement on the 27th of +September. + +The infantry followed the main road, while the cavalry, under the +immediate orders of the general, proceeded by by-paths in the same +direction. On the 2nd of October the Chinese army south of the Tian Shan +was assembled at Kuhwei. Its numbers were probably about fifteen +thousand men all told. On the 24th of September a small force of +Kashgarian troops threatened General Tang Jen-Ho's communications, but +on the appearance of the Chinese they "turned tail and dashed away." The +very next day after his arrival at Kuhwei General Kin Shun continued his +forward movement. Two brigadier-generals, whose names it is not +necessary to mention, were entrusted with one division, 6,000 strong, +with which to perform a flanking movement against Korla. The commander +in person led his main body against Korla, arriving at the River Kaidu, +which flows into Lake Bostang, half-way between Karashar and Korla. But +his advance was here checked, as Bayen Hu, the rebel leader, had flooded +the country by damming up the course of the river. The depth of the +inundation was said to be in the deepest parts over a man's head, and in +the shallowest it came up to the horses' cruppers. The Chinese march was +then changed to a northerly direction, in order to strike the river +higher up, where the obstruction raised by the enemy would be more +easily overcome. A cart-road was carefully constructed along these +alkaline plains, and the Kaidu was dammed to stop the flow from the +upper course, and a bridge was erected over it. This detour had caused +some delay, yet Karashar was reached on the 7th of October, four days +after Kin Shun had set out in person from Kuhwei. The inundation from +the Kaidu had spread as far as here, and the town was several feet under +water. All the official and private residences had been destroyed alike, +and the Turki-Mussulman, as the _Pekin Gazette_ styles them, population +had been compelled by Bayen Hu to follow him in his retreat. It would be +interesting to know whom the Chinese meant by Bayen Hu, but it is almost +impossible to say. As it was not Hakim Khan, the most probable personage +would be one of the Tungan leaders, either of Urumtsi or Hamil, who had +been mediatized by Yakoob Beg and placed in command of the Turfan +region. He appears to have been the commander of that portion of the +Kashgarian army which was left round Korla. + +Not only was Karashar deserted by its inhabitants, but so was the whole +country round about. Some, indeed, had fled to the mountains, but these +were afraid to return when they saw the Chinese established in their +homes. And then the conquerors followed out their usual plan by settling +fresh colonists in the town. The Mongol noble, Cha-hi-telkh, was +directed to move up some hundreds of the members of his tribe to occupy +this important post, to restore the homes and to retill the fields; and +while this work of restoration was proceeding on territory conquered by +the Chinese, that through which they passed in hostile guise was +subjected to far other treatment. On the 9th of October the Chinese +marched against Korla from two sides, and on that day a cavalry skirmish +took place, in which fifteen of Bayen Hu's horsemen were slain, and two +taken prisoners. From the evidence of these, who were dressed in the +Khokandian garb, but were Mussulman subjects of China, being natives of +Shensi, it was learnt that Bayen Hu had withdrawn with all his forces to +Kucha, taking with him the produce of the country and the majority of +the people. They affirmed that the small detachment to which they +belonged was only a scouting party, sent out to learn what the Chinese +army was doing. When the Chinese had exhausted their stock of +information they beheaded them. The same day they entered Korla, which +they found to be completely deserted, although not flooded. The walls +remained, but many of the houses had been thrown down. Here the general +was nearly reduced to a desperate plight, as the provision train, which +was transported by cart and camel, did not come up, and there was the +prospect of starvation compelling the victorious army to retreat. But +happily the thought struck the able general, or perhaps some one gave +him a hint, that there might be some stores concealed in the city which +the Kashgari had been unable to carry away with them. Accordingly the +whole army set to work to search the houses, and to dig into the ground +in all likely places for hidden stores. Their toil was soon rewarded, +and "several tens of thousand catties' weight of food" were discovered. +As a catty weighs 1-3/4 lb., this was no slight supply for an army of +men which was probably under 10,000 strong. These concerted movements of +the army south of the Tian Shan placed the country as far west as +Karashar in the possession of the invader. Their next advance, which +they could not expect to be as unopposed as their late one, would bring +them into the plain of Kashgar. No sooner had Karashar and Korla fallen +into their possession than an edict was issued inviting the Mahomedan +population to return to their homes, and many of them accepted the +invitation. In this quarter the arms of China were not disgraced by any +excesses, and moderation towards the unarmed population extenuated their +severity towards armed foes. + +While halting some days at Korla, Kin Shun heard that Bayen Hu was +coercing the people east of Kucha at Tsedayar and other places, and +compelling them to withdraw to Kucha and to destroy their crops. He at +once resolved to frustrate the plan, and set out in person at the head +of 1,500 light infantry and 1,000 cavalry to protect the inhabitants. By +forced marches, sometimes carried on through the better part of the +night, he reached Tsedayar on the 17th of October, when he learnt that +Bayen Hu had driven off the whole of the population, and was already at +Bugur, on the road to Kucha. At the next village to Tsedayar, a +fortified post known as Yangy Shahr, he found that Bayen Hu was still +ahead of him, and that he was setting fire to the villages on his line +of march. Kin Shun left a portion of his infantry behind to put out the +conflagration, and resolutely pressed on with the remainder of his force +to Bugur. This small town had also been set on fire, but here the +rapidity of the Chinese general's advance was rewarded with the news +that the enemy's army, with a large number of the inhabitants, was only +a short distance ahead. The rear-guard, composed of 1,000 cavalry, was +soon touched, and the Kashgari, emboldened by the small numbers of the +Chinese, came on to the attack in gallant fashion. Their charge was +broken, however, by the steadiness of the Chinese infantry, armed with +excellent rifles, and the cavalry performed the rest. The Kashgari left +100 slain on the field of battle and twelve prisoners. From these latter +it was discovered that the main body of 2,000 soldiers was some distance +on the road to Kucha, with the family of Bayen Hu and the villagers +under its charge. It was too late to advance further that day, but on +the next the forward movement was resumed. A large multitude--"some tens +of thousands of people"--was speedily sighted by the advanced guard, but +on examining these through glasses it was discovered that scarcely more +than a thousand carried arms. All the troops were then brought to the +front, and Kin Shun issued instructions that all those found with arms +in their hands should be slain, but the others spared. + +The armed portion of the Kashgarian army drew off from the unarmed, +leaving in the midst the large assemblage of Mussulman villagers who +were being carried off to Kucha. These were sent to the rear by order of +Kin Shun, and distributed in such of the villages as were most +convenient. In the meanwhile a sharp fight took place a few miles in the +rear of the old position, near a village called Arpa Tai. The action +appears to have been well contested, but the superior tactics and +weapons of Kin Shun's small army prevailed; and the Mussulman army +retreated with considerable loss and in great disorder. Kin Shun +followed up his success with marvellous rapidity and restless energy, +while the Kashgarian troops fled incontinently to Kucha, abandoning the +people and the country to the invader. The unfortunate inhabitants +implored with piteous entreaties the mercy of the conqueror, and it is +with genuine satisfaction we record the fact that Kin Shun informed them +of their safety, and bade them have no further alarm. + +By this time it is probable that the Chinese army had been largely +reinforced from the rear, for we have now come to a more arduous portion +of the enterprise, the attack against Kucha. When the Chinese appeared +before its walls they found that a battle was proceeding there between +the Kashgarian soldiers and the townspeople, who refused to accompany +them in a further retreat westward. On the appearance of the Chinese +army, the Kashgarian force evacuated the city, and joined battle with it +on the western side of Kucha. The Chinese at once attacked them, at +first with little success; and a charge of the cavalry, numbering some +four or five thousand men, was only repulsed with some difficulty. But +the cannon of the Chinese were playing with remarkable effect upon the +Mahomedans, and the Chinese reserves were every moment coming upon the +ground. The infantry were at last ordered to advance, under cover of a +heavy artillery fire, and the cavalry made a charge at a most opportune +moment. The whole army then broke and fled in irretrievable confusion, +leaving more than a thousand of their number on the ground. Their +general, Ma-yeo-pu the Chinese called him, was wounded early in the day, +but, although stated to be a noted man, it is impossible to recognize +his identity under the Chinese appellation. This was certainly the most +sanguinary and the best-contested action of the whole war. The numbers +on each side were probably about 10,000 men, and it was won as much by +superior tactics and skill as by brute force and courage. All the +movements of the Chinese were characterized by remarkable forethought, +and evinced the greatest ability on the part of the general and his +lieutenants, as well as obedience, valour, and patience on the part of +his soldiers. The rapid advance from Kuhwei to Karashar, the forced +march thence to Bugur, the capture of Kucha, the forbearance of the +conqueror towards the inhabitants, all combine to make this portion of +the war most creditable to China and her generals, to Kin Shun in +particular. The reason given in the Official Report for the Kashgarian +authorities attempting to carry off the population was that the rebels +wished in the first place to deprive the invading force of all +assistance, thus making further pursuit a work of difficulty, and in the +second place, to ingratiate themselves with the new Pahia (probably +Bacha) of Kashgar, Kuli Beg, by delivering this large mass of +Turki-Mussulmans into his hands. Bayen Hu was, therefore, certainly not +Hakim Khan. It is tolerably clear that he must have been either a Tungan +refugee or a subordinate of Beg Bacha's. + +A depot was formed at Kucha, and a large body of troops remained there +as a garrison; but the principal administrative measures were directed +to the task of improving the position of the Turki-Mussulman population. +A board of administration was instituted for the purpose of providing +means of subsistence for the destitute, and for the distribution of +seed-corn for the benefit of the whole community. It had also to +supervise the construction of roads, and the establishment of ferry +boats, and of post-houses, in order to facilitate the movements of trade +and travel, and to expedite the transmission of mails. Magistrates and +prefects were appointed to all the cities, and special precautions were +taken against the outbreak of epidemic or of famine. All these wise +provisions were carried out promptly, and in the most matter-of-fact +manner, just as if the legislation and administration of alien states +were the daily avocations of Chinamen. There is no reason to believe +that in the vast region from Turfan to Kucha the Chinese have departed +from the statesmanlike and beneficent schemes which marked their +re-installation as rulers; and whatever harshness or cruelty they +manifested towards the Tungani rebels and the Kashgarian soldiers was +more than atoned for by the mildness of their treatment of the people. + +On the 19th, or more probably the 22nd of October, Kin Shun resumed his +forward movement, encountering no serious opposition. His first halt was +at a village called Hoser, where he halted for one night, which he +employed in inditing the report to Pekin, which described the successes +and movements of the previous three weeks. At the next town, known as +Bai, Kin Shun halted to await the arrival of the rear-guard, under +General Chang Yao. This force came up before the close of October, and +the advance against Aksu was resumed. Up to this point the chief +interest centred in the army south of the Tian Shan, and in the +achievements of Kin Shun. Our principal, in fact our only, authority for +this portion of the campaign is the _Pekin Gazette_. + +We have now to describe the movements of the Northern Army, which was +under the immediate command of Tso Tsung Tang, and which was operating +in the north of the state, in complete secrecy. That general had under +him, at the most moderate computation, an army of 28,000 men. By some it +was placed at a higher figure; but a St. Petersburg paper, on the +authority of a Russian merchant, who had been to Manas, computed it to +be of that strength. It was concentrated in the neighbourhood of Manas, +and along the northern skirts of the Tian Shan; and also on the +frontier of the Russian dominions in Kuldja. To all appearance this army +was consigned to a part of enforced inactivity, since it was impossible +to enter Kuldja, and thus proceed by their old routes through the passes +of Bedal or Muzart. But it was not so; the travels of Colonel Prjevalsky +in the commencement of 1877 had not been unobserved by the Chinese, and +it was assumed that where a Russian officer with his Cossack following +could go, there also could go a Chinese army. By those little-known +passes, which are made by the Tekes and Great Yuldus rivers, the Chinese +army, under Tso Tsung Tang, crossed over into Kashgaria; and it is +probable that the two armies joined in the neighbourhood of Bai. It was +by this stroke of strategy on the part of Tso Tsung Tang that the +Chinese found themselves before the walls of Aksu, with an overwhelming +army, at the very sight of which all thought of resistance died away +from the hearts of the Mussulman peoples and garrisons. Tso Tsung Tang +appeared before the walls of Aksu, the bulwark of Kashgar on the east, +and its commandant, panic stricken, abandoned his post at the first +onset. He was subsequently taken prisoner by an officer of Kuli Beg, and +executed. The Chinese then advanced on Ush Turfan, which also +surrendered without a blow. As we said, the Chinese have not published +any detailed description of this portion of the war, and we are +consequently unable to say what their version is of those reported +atrocities at Aksu and Ush Turfan, of which the Russian papers have made +so much. There is no doubt that a very large number of refugees fled to +Russian territory, perhaps 10,000 in all, and these brought with them +the tales of fear and exaggerated alarm. We may feel little hesitation +in accepting the assertion as true, that the armed garrisons were +slaughtered without exception; but that the unarmed population and the +women and children shared the same fate we distinctly refuse to credit. +There is every precedent in favour of the assumption that a more +moderate policy was pursued, and there is no valid reason why the +Chinese should have dealt with Aksu and Ush Turfan differently to Kucha +or Turfan. The case of Manas has been greatly insisted upon by the +agitators on this "atrocity" question; but there is the highest +authority for asserting that only armed men were massacred there. This +the Chinese have always done; it is a national custom, and they +certainly did not depart from it in the case of the Tungani and Kashgar. +But there is no solid ground for convicting them of any more heinous +crime, even in the instances of Manas and Aksu, which are put so +prominently forward. + +Early in December the last move of all began against the capital, and on +the 17th of that month the Chinese took it by a _coup de main_. Beg Kuli +Beg, according to one account, fought a battle outside the town, in +which he was defeated; according to another report, he had withdrawn to +Yarkand, whence he fled to Russian territory, when he heard of the fall +of Kashgar. It is more probable that he resisted the Chinese attack on +Kashgar, for he certainly reached Tashkent, in company with the Kirghiz +Chief, Sadic Beg, who was wounded in that battle. With the fall of +Kashgar the Chinese reconquest of Eastern Turkestan was completed, and +the other cities, Yangy Hissar and Yarkand, speedily shared the same +fate. Khoten and Sirikul also sent in formal promises of subjection. But +the capture of Kashgar virtually closed the campaign. No further +resistance was encountered, and the new rulers had only to begin the +task of reorganization. When Kashgar fell the greater portion of the +army, knowing that they could expect no mercy at the hands of the +Chinese, fled to Russian territory, and then spread reports of fresh +Chinese massacres, which probably only existed in their own imagination. +There can be no doubt that the Chinese triumph has been thorough, and +that it will be many years before the people of Eastern Turkestan will +have again the heart to rebel against their authority. The strength of +China has been thoroughly demonstrated, and the vindication of her +prestige is complete. Whatever danger there may be to the permanence of +China's triumph lies rather from Russia than from the conquered peoples +of Tian Shan Nan Lu; nor is there much danger that the Chinese laurels +will become faded even before an European foe. Tso Tsung Tang and his +lieutenants, Kin Shun, who has since fallen into disgrace,--perhaps he +had excited the envy of his superior--and Chang Yao, accomplished a task +which would reflect credit on any army and any country. They have given +a lustre to the present Chinese administration which must stand it in +good stead, and they have acquired a personal renown that will not +easily depart. The Chinese reconquest of Eastern Turkestan is beyond +doubt the most remarkable event that has occurred in Asia during the +last fifty years, and it is quite the most brilliant achievement of a +Chinese army, led by Chinamen, that has taken place since Keen-Lung +subdued the country more than a century ago. It also proves, in a manner +that is more than unpalatable to us, that the Chinese possess an +adaptive faculty that must be held to be a very important fact in +every-day politics in Central Asia. They conquered Kashgar with European +weapons, and by careful study of Western science and skill. Their +soldiers marched in obedience to instructors trained on the Prussian +principle; and their generals manoeuvred their troops in accordance +with the teachings of Moltke and Manteuffel. Even in such minor matters +as the use of telescopes and field glasses we find this Chinese army +well supplied. Nothing was more absurd than the picture drawn by some +over-wise observer of this army, as consisting of soldiers fantastically +garbed in the guise of dragons and other hideous appearances. All that +belonged to an old-world theory. The army of Eastern Turkestan was as +widely different from all previous Chinese armies in Central Asia as it +well could be; and in all essentials closely resembled that of an +European power. Its remarkable triumphs were chiefly attributable to +the thoroughness with which China had in this instance adapted herself +to Western notions. + +With the flight of Beg Kuli Beg to Tashkent closed the career of the +house of the Athalik Ghazi in Kashgar. Whatever turn events may take in +this portion of Central Asia, whatever schemes there may be formed in +Khokand, or elsewhere, of challenging anew the Chinese domination, it +will not be round the banner of Kuli Beg that the ousted Khokandian +officials will rally. By his flight in the hour of danger, by the +hesitation which marked all his movements, and by the murder of his +brother in cold blood, this prince, of whom much at one time was +expected, has irretrievably ruined both his career and his reputation. +If on any future occasion Russia should seek to play the part played of +old by Khans of Khokand in the internal history of Kashgar, it will not +be Kuli Beg whom they will put forward as their puppet. His old rival, +Hakim Khan, stands a much better chance than he, more especially if it +be true that he is the representative of the Khojas, being the son of +Buzurg Khan, as many have asserted. But the fact remains clear, that all +the dreams of Yakoob Beg of founding a personal dynasty in Eastern +Turkestan are now dispelled beyond all prospect of realization. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE CHINESE FACTOR IN THE CENTRAL ASIAN QUESTION. + + +The overthrow of the Tungani, and the reconquest of Kashgaria, have not +completed the task that lay before Chinese generals and soldiers in +Central Asia. Great and remarkable as those triumphs were, the Chinese +are not satisfied with them, because there yet remains more work to be +done. They have restored to the Emperor Tian Shan Nan Lu, but so long as +the Russians hold Kuldja, Tian Shan Pe Lu is only half won back. +Moreover, so long as a great military power is domiciled in Kuldja, +China's hold on the country west of Aksu must be only on sufferance. As +of old, the Chinese so often reconquered Kashgar, when it had shaken off +the Chinese rule, from Ili, so might the Russians at their good pleasure +play the same part against the Chinese. In short, the Russians remaining +in Ili would neutralize all the advantages that China had secured by her +recent military success. But, although there is a foundation of well +grounded apprehension at the strategical advantages of Russia, at the +root of China's demand for the surrender of Kuldja, that is not the only +cause, or even the principal one, for the Chinese making it. Of all +their Central Asian possessions, Ili was the most cherished, and it was +to recover that region more especially that Tso Tsung Tang undertook +those arduous campaigns which have so far ended in triumph, and which +were designed for, among other purposes, the purpose of giving that +Viceroy a prestige and influence that would enable him to play the +rival to Li Hung Chang. Ili was their metropolis in Central Asia, and +its fall marked the wide difference that there was between the +Tungan-Khoja rising of 1862-63 and all its predecessors. The fall of Ili +meant the fall of Chinese power, and Chinese power cannot be held to be +completely restored so long as Ili remains in alien hands. On this point +the Chinese are very keen. + +Russia, on the other hand, hesitates to hand over Ili for various +reasons. In the first place, it is not certain that China has +_permanently_ reconquered Eastern Turkestan, nor is it clear that the +Imperial exchequer will be able to bear a continual strain upon it for +Central Asian expenditure. Moreover there is the unknown quantity of the +rivalry of Li Hung Chang and Tso Tsung Tang, and whatever influence the +latter may have with the army and the ruling caste on account of his +Mantchoo blood, the former holds the purse in his hands, and can at any +moment paralyse Chinese activity and strength in Central Asia. The +Russians also, whatever rash promises they may have given at Pekin--and +they certainly did promise to retrocede Kuldja to China, whenever the +Chinese should be strong enough to return to Central Asia--formally +(_teste_ General Kolpakovsky's proclamation) annexed Kuldja "in +perpetuity." In the eyes of the people of Central Asia, that +proclamation defines Russia's tenure of Kuldja, and not the vague +promise that was uttered in the ears of the authorities at Pekin. Now +Russia knows this as well as we do; and she is aware that no strict +adherence to her word of honour will induce the people of Western, as +well as of Eastern, Turkestan to believe that she retrocedes Kuldja for +any other cause than fear of the Chinese. The Khokandians, the +Bokhariots, as well as the Kirghiz, the Calmucks, and the Kashgari, will +all argue that Russia restores Kuldja not through any desire to fulfil +her engagements, but simply because she cannot decline to fulfil them +without engaging in a war with China, and her compliance with the +demand would then be construed as an admission of her disinclination to +encounter China in the field. In fact, even if Russia had promptly +restored Kuldja, she would not have secured the credit she might have +claimed for her good faith, and she would have had no guarantee that the +Chinese would have rested content with the cession of Ili proper and not +gone on to claim, in a moment of military arrogance, the restoration of +the Naryn district, which China at a period of weakness had herself +ceded to Russia more than twenty years ago. Then, besides these +objections to the surrender of Kuldja on political grounds, there are +commercial and fiscal reasons why Russia should be loth to restore this +province. Not only has it become highly prosperous and thickly populated +under Russian rule, but it has also been raised into one of the most +fiscally remunerative portions of the Russian possessions in Central +Asia, and then there is its admirable frontier in the Tian Shan, which +places the future trade with the western parts of China more at its +disposal, than it is through the Semipalatinsk and Chuguchak route, and, +above all, it effectually dispels all sense of real danger from attack. +The Chinese would find that to force the Tian Shan range into Kuldja +would be a task almost impossible for them, and they would be compelled +to enter the province from the north by Karkaru. By so doing, they would +leave the whole of their flank and line of communication exposed to an +attack with telling effect both at Manas and in Kashgar, and with a +scientific foe such as Russia, no sane Chinaman could dream of attacking +Kuldja except in the most overwhelming force. It may be as well to +sketch here the history of Russia's rule in Kuldja from 1871 to the +present time, before proceeding with the consideration of the questions +aroused by the difficulty between Russia and China. + +When an independent government had been founded in Kuldja in 1866, a +ruler of the name of Abul Oghlan was placed upon the throne. He appears +to have been a Tungan, and he certainly was a truculent and +self-confident potentate. He refused to abide by the stipulations of the +Treaties of Kuldja and Pekin, and in petty matters as in great, set +himself in direct opposition to Russia. For five years he pursued his +career undisturbed by exterior influences, and during that period he +tolerated the inroads of his subjects into Russian territory, urged the +Kirghiz tribes beyond his frontier to revolt, and forbade Russian +merchants to enter his dominions. On a small scale, he aped the manners +subsequently adopted by Yakoob Beg. But he was only a minor and +insignificant despot. His people groaned under his tyranny, and the +75,000 slaves within his dominions were only too anxious to be relieved +from their bondage by any deliverer whatsoever. The state of Kuldja, as +administered by Abul Oghlan, was pre-eminently one that would fall to +pieces at the first rude shock from outside. For five years, or +thereabouts, the Russian authorities at Vernoe, Naryn, and in +Semiretchinsk put up with his veiled hostility; but when it became +evident that his state was on the eve of falling into divers fragments, +of which Yakoob Beg would, probably, come in for the lion's share, the +Russians, whose patience had become well-nigh exhausted, resolved not to +be forestalled in Kuldja, either by the Athalik Ghazi, or the Tungani +Confederation. A kind of _ultimatum_ was presented to Kuldja, in which +Abul Oghlan was given a last chance of retaining power, if he consented +to ratify the terms of the past treaties with China. He does not appear +to have distinctly refused to do so, when he was required to enter into +this agreement with Russia. But he prevaricated and delayed, until at +last the patience of the Muscovite authorities was quite exhausted. They +resolved to destroy the government of Abul Oghlan, to annex Kuldja, and +to bring their frontier down to the Tian Shan. + +In May, 1871, Major Balitsky crossed the river Borodshudsir, which +formed the boundary between the two countries, and, at the head of a +small detachment, advanced some distance into the dominions of Abul +Oghlan. His force, however, was small, and, after a brief +reconnaissance, he retired within Russian territory. Six weeks +afterwards the main body under General Kolpakovsky crossed the frontier +into Kuldja and marched on the capital. That invading army consisted of +only 1,785 men and sixty-five officers. At first the forces of Abul +Oghlan offered a brave resistance, but the Russian cannon and rifles +carried everything before them; and on the 4th of July the ruler +presented himself at the Russian outposts. When taken before General +Kolpakovsky, he said, "I trusted to the righteousness of my cause, and +to the help of God. Conquered, I submit to the will of the Almighty. If +any crime has been committed, punish the sovereign, but spare his +innocent subjects." The next day the Russian general entered the capital +after a campaign that had only lasted eight or nine days. Protection was +promised to all who would lay down their arms, and the army of Abul +Oghlan was disbanded. Abul Oghlan was pensioned, and Orel was appointed +as his place of residence. Kuldja or "Dzungaria," as it is called in the +proclamation, was annexed "in perpetuity," and became the Russian +sub-governorship of Priilinsk. There can be no doubt but that the +Russian occupation of Kuldja was an unqualified benefit to the +inhabitants of that region. The declaration of the abolition of slavery +alone released seventy-five thousand human beings from a life of +hardship and hopelessness. The return of trade, which had become +stagnant, ensured the prosperity and advancement of the active portion +of the community, and during the seven years Russia has ruled in Kuldja, +the people have steadily progressed in moral and material welfare. The +population has during the same period remarkably increased, and the +valleys of the Ili teem with a population at once contented and +prosperous. The rule of Russia in Kuldja is the brightest spot in her +Central Asian administration. The Chinese in demanding the retrocession +of Kuldja labour under the one disadvantage that they come to oust a +beneficent rule. This disadvantage is made the greater by the bad name +the Chinese have earned in Kashgar and the Tungan country, by the +atrocities they are said to have committed. Those who will take the +trouble to scan the matter carefully, and to consult the _Pekin +Gazette_, as much as they do the _Tashkent_, will find that these +atrocities are for the most part the creation of panic, and of malicious +observers, and in the few cases where Chinese vindictiveness overcame +military discipline, as at Manas and Aksu, we have clear evidence that +women and children were spared. The _Tashkent Gazette_ has laboured +strenuously, and not in vain, to disseminate the report of Chinese +atrocities; and one London paper has so far assisted the object of the +Russian press in raising a feeling of indignation against China, on +account of these reported massacres in Eastern Turkestan, that it has +placed translations of these charges before the English reader, and, on +the authority of the _Tashkent Gazette_, has indicted and summarily +convicted the Chinese of the grossest acts of inhumanity. We would +venture to suggest, that in common fairness to the Chinese this journal +should place before its readers the temperately worded and dignified +reports that have appeared in the _Pekin Gazette_ of those events upon +which the _Tashkent Gazette_ has commented so indignantly. + +As we said, the Chinese are fully resolved to regain Ili. They may not +be able to induce Russia easily to surrender it, yet they will not +despair. In all probability they will fail altogether to re-acquire it +by diplomatic means, yet they will not omit to employ all the artifices +that are sanctioned by modern diplomacy. There have been rumours that +China intended handing over to Russia a strip of territory in +Manchuria, which would give to the Russian harbour of Vladivostock a +land communication with the forts on the Amoor. But this rumour had no +solid foundation, and the latest intelligence goes to show that China's +successes beyond Gobi, instead of making her moderate in the north, have +given her confidence sufficient to arouse her into a state of opposition +to further encroachments on the part of Russia in that direction. It is +now said that Russia demands pecuniary indemnification for the money she +has expended in raising Kuldja to its present highly prosperous +condition; and at a first glance nothing could seem fairer, nor do we +think that the Chinese would have raised objections to the payment of a +moderate sum. But the sum demanded by the Russians is far from moderate. +The exact amount has not been mentioned, but the Chinese declare that it +exceeds the total cost of the campaign in the north-west, and that +certainly was not less than two millions sterling. This is, of course, +too exorbitant, and is only put forward as a reason for declining to +abide by her former agreement, and to give her diplomatists a _locus +standi_ in their discussions with the Chinese representatives. A Chinese +Embassy has been authorized to proceed to St. Petersburg, and to +endeavour to effect an understanding with Russia upon the Kuldja +question; but it does not appear to have started, and the real +settlement lies in the hands of Tso Tsung Tang and General Kaufmann. The +latest report is that the former has demanded afresh the restoration of +Kuldja; the Russian reply is awaited with eagerness and some anxiety. In +the meanwhile the Chinese have suffered a local reverse of no +significance at the hands of a chief of Khoten, and their power does not +seem to extend south of Yarkand. But they are hurrying up +reinforcements, and 20,000 fresh troops had reached Manas some weeks +ago. They have also an extensive recruiting ground amongst the Calmucks, +and their position of Chuguchak might be of great strategical +importance. If the Kuldja question give rise to a Russo-Chinese war, the +Chinese are sufficiently numerous and sufficiently prepared to task the +capacity of an army of 20,000 Russians; and it is quite certain there +are not 5,000 in Kuldja at present. But the Kuldja question, despite the +prominence it has attained, is only one, if the most important and +pressing, of those questions that are raised and suggested by the +appearance of the Chinese in Central Asia. More especially is this the +case if, as can scarcely be doubted, the Russians refuse to restore +Kuldja; yet the Chinese, knowing the strength of their adversary, shall +hesitate to attack where they cannot but recognize that the penalties of +failure must be immense. In that event the Kuldja question will long +remain unsolved, and for a time perhaps it will be forgotten. But the +Chinese will not forget, nor will they condone the offence. But whatever +may be the interval, and however great the delay, the Kuldja question +will continue to remain a most important portion of Central Asian +politics, and must, so long as it is unsettled, operate in a manner +adverse to the interests of Russia. The Chinese need only maintain their +camps at Chuguchak, Karakaru, Manas, Aksu, Ush Turfan and Kashgar, and +slowly bring up reinforcements from Kansuh and from the Calmuck country, +to render Russia's hold on Kuldja dangerously insecure. In fact, in this +matter the Chinese have the game in their own hands, and can play a +waiting game; whereas Russia can only hope to profit by precipitation on +the part of Tso Tsung Tang. If the Chinese refuse to hold any +intercourse with the faithless Russians, and simply content themselves +with the declaration that they cannot re-enter into political or +commercial relations with them until Kuldja is retroceded, Russia can +never rest tranquil either in Kuldja, Naryn, or Khokand. Above all, so +long as she is occupied in Western Asia as she is at present, she could +never dare to cross the path of China, and enter upon a war which would +rage from Vladivostock and the Amoor to Kuldja and Kashgar. Therefore +the settlement of the Kuldja question is not such an easy matter as +might be supposed; nor does it find Russia so strong or China so weak as +might have been expected. But after all, as we have just said, the +Kuldja question is not the only one suggested by the appearance of the +Chinese in Eastern Turkestan. There is the far wider one raised by the +appearance of the Chinese as a factor in the great Central Asian +question. The three great Asiatic Powers have now converged upon a +point; what is to be the result? + +The only way to be in a position to venture upon a surmise as to the +future, is to realize in its full significance the lessons of the past. +What have been the mutual relations between England, Russia, and China? +We have assumed throughout this volume, and we shall assume here, the +irreconcilable hostility of England and Russia, in Asia at all events, +veneered over as it is by a lacquer of politeness and civilization. We +have only to consider the relations between England and China, and +between Russia and China. To take the latter first, they have always +been united by ties of friendship and reciprocity in commercial and +political rights. Their intercourse has been on the whole singularly +harmonious, and while we have been compelled to wage three wars to +obtain a standing for our merchants in the seaports, Russia, without +being compelled to resort to anything like the same extreme measures, +has been able to secure all she, or her merchants, wanted in Middle and +Western China. She has made the Amoor a Russian river; she dominates the +Yellow and Japanese seas from Vladivostock; and she has acquired in her +position among the Khalkas, and in Kuldja, two portals to various weak +points in the Chinese Empire. Yet all the time she has been on terms of +the closest amity with China. She has several commercial treaties of the +most favourable character, and she has always been on the footing of +"the most favoured nation." But she has been more than that; she has +been the most favoured nation. But the Chinese have not failed to +observe that this good understanding with Russia has, so far as +advantages arising from it go, been a very one-sided affair. For all +Russia's protestations of friendship and good-will, what advantages has +China reaped from those high-flown promises? Whereas, the patriotic +Chinaman has but to look to the Amoor, and to the attenuated province of +Manchuria, to see what Russian friendship means. He can go farther +still. He has only to enquire into the relations Russia has managed to +conclude with the Taranath Lama; he has only to hear what the people of +Ourga think of Russia's position in the vicinity of that important city; +and he cannot fail to form a very clear and decided opinion as to what +Russia's friendship signifies. The Chinese have, in the full extent of +their northern frontier, a great question in discussion with Russia. So +long as China was weak, and consequently unable to resent the patronage +of her friend, so long was Russia able to play "my lady bountiful" with +a good grace and perfect success. But the moment China became strong, +and in a position to resent the condescension of her whilome ally, the +Chinese took a different tone, and already we hear of the Chinese +assuming a semi-hostile attitude in the Amoor region. But whereas +China's apprehension--for it is apprehension that is at the root of her +hostility to Russia, at Russia's designs in Manchuria and among the +Khalkas is vague at present--her indignation is clear and easily defined +at Russia retaining possession of Kuldja after she has demanded its +restoration. In short, all her apprehension along the northern frontier, +which has slumbered, but never died out, since the Russians seized the +Amoor posts during the Crimean War, is reduced to a focus in Central +Asia, where Russia appears inclined to throw herself in the path of, or +at least to retard, their victorious career. It is not so much the +Kuldja question, which is of local importance, that is of pressing +moment, as the rupture between Russia and China, that a crisis in the +Issik Kul region will make complete. That rupture has already taken +place, and no concession on the part of Russia will restore her good +name with the Chinese. She may hand Kuldja over now, or she may keep it +by the strong arm if she can; but she has forfeited all claim to +consideration by the Chinese, through delaying to accede to that which +those people consider in every sense their right and due. Had Russia at +once said to China, "We will abandon Kuldja, and only require you to +guarantee the safety of the population," there would have been not only +the preservation of the good understanding between the countries, but +there might have been, for fresh purposes, a Russo-Chinese alliance in +Central Asia. That alliance must have been fraught with danger to this +country, and for reasons that will best be described under the head of +Anglo-Chinese relations. + +But the Russian authorities failed to grasp the situation in its full +extent. They treated the Kuldja question as a mere local affair, and +they trifled with the Chinese as if the latter had no very strong +interest in the matter. They altogether ignored the terrible earnestness +of the Chinese character, and they treated the demands of Tso Tsung Tang +in a spirit of levity that must have roused the ire of that general. +Their policy, regarded from any point of view, was shallow and unwise, +but, bearing in mind the past tact and diplomatic skill shown by Russia +in her dealings with China, it must appear more shallow and foolish. Of +course this Kuldja question differs from all previous questions in the +essential point of all, that here for the first time Russia had to go +back instead of advancing, as always had been the case heretofore. The +Russian authorities simply regarded the matter from the point of view +of what effect it would have upon the peoples of Central Asia. They +persuaded themselves that to hand over Kuldja would be to give an +impetus to every hostile element in Western Turkestan, as well as to +lower their prestige generally throughout Asia. As a leading Russian +paper expressed it, "the retrocession of Kuldja would be an act of +political suicide, for not only would it raise the prestige of China to +a higher point than ever before, but it would also undermine our +position in Eastern Asia, by giving the Chinese a strong military +position within our natural frontier. For these reasons Kuldja cannot be +restored." That paragraph sums up the arguments the Russians will employ +in defence of their continuing to retain possession of Kuldja. They add +something to their effect in the popular mind by diatribes against the +Chinese for rumoured barbarities, by drawing comparisons, flattering to +themselves and to their administrative capacity, between the present +condition of Kuldja, and what it would become under a restored Chinese +rule. In depicting what this would be, they entirely ignore the +prosperous condition of Kuldja before the Tungan revolt, and they appear +to assume that the anarchy existing there, when they entered it in 1871, +was due to the Chinese, instead of being caused by the ingratitude and +fickleness of its own people. And they shut their eyes to the great +benefits China conferred upon Central Asia during the century that she +was paramount therein. They would like us, and every other observer of +the crisis, to do the same. That is impossible, for the teaching of +history is clear, and points to a diametrically opposite conclusion. We +do not dispute the beneficence of Russia's government of Kuldja. We +freely admit it. That is no reason for maligning the Chinese, and +asserting that they are utter barbarians; nor is it a reason, in the +eyes of Chinamen, for a refusal to restore Kuldja. By refusing to +entertain the overtures of Tso Tsung Tang, which were made, there is +reason to believe, before the attack on Yakoob Beg, the Russians huffed +the Chinese; and by procrastinating ever since, when questioned upon the +subject, they have still further displeased them. The Russians are aware +of this, and feel convinced that, no matter how obliging they might be +disposed to be, the Chinese will now no longer appreciate their +moderation. If we admit this, as can scarcely be gainsaid, what becomes +of the Kuldja question, and of its peaceful solution that many claim to +see? How can it be peacefully solved, if Russia will not accede to the +terms from which China is resolved not to budge? Surely not by a fresh +commotion on the part of the Mussulman population, which some persons +have pretended to forecast by magnifying a petty success that has been +obtained by the insignificant ruler of Khoten over a Chinese detachment. +Surely not by such trivial circumstances as the hostility of an outlying +dependency, will China be either expelled from Kashgar, or induced to +forego her claims on Kuldja. The success of the Khoten chief is but a +minor incident in the campaign, and for that district and its people it +must be pronounced a great misfortune. The Chinese will exact a terrible +revenge. The Kuldja question will not be solved by such means, English +readers can feel assured; and the hostility of Russia and China towards +each other will become more pronounced every day. Already petty +disturbances are reported to have taken place along the border. Russian +merchants have been molested by parties of brigands, among whom the +assailed assert there were Chinese soldiers; and no satisfaction could +be obtained from their generals. Representations have been made to Tso +Tsung Tang upon the subject, and his reply has not been very amicable. +Russian caravans, which were always welcome during the progress of the +war at Manas, Karakaru, and Urumtsi, are now no longer greeted with the +same cordiality, and the Chinese are evincing an intention to close +their frontier to Russians. Few caravans, the _Tashkent Gazette_ informs +us, now care to leave Kuldja for the territory occupied by the Chinese +army; and slowly, but none the less surely, is the old alliance between +Russia and China departing to join the things that were, but are not. +But, although so much is clear, it is almost impossible to predicate the +future course of the Kuldja question. It is not probable that Tso Tsung +Tang will openly attack the Russians, yet his hand may be forced by the +home authorities, and he may be left no alternative between that and the +abandonment of his enterprise. It must be always remembered that +Russia's best weapon is intrigue at Pekin, and a skilful envoy might so +far manipulate the rivalry between Tso and Li Hung Chang as to induce +the latter to paralyze the ambition of the former by withholding +supplies and reinforcements from the army of Central Asia. So +unpatriotic a course would, we believe, be hateful to Li Hung Chang, and +it, certainly, would be attended with great danger, sure to recoil upon +his guilty head, if for a personal rivalry he debased himself so far as +to become the tool of his country's foe. But yet it is in vain to deny +that there is danger to the preservation of China's most cherished +interests in the rivalry of some of her chief statesmen. The Kuldja +question, which scarcely admits of peaceful solution in Central Asia, +might be solved in the palace at Pekin more easily and more effectually +than by a campaign on a large scale in Jungaria and Turkestan; and there +is a possibility that Russia may by this means seek to nullify the +danger from Tso Tsung Tang, and to stultify the recent Chinese +successes. It is very doubtful whether they would succeed, for Chinese +opinion runs high upon the topic, and the Mantchoo caste is united in +its support of its member Tso Tsung Tang. Even if they did, it would +only be shelving the Kuldja question, for so long as the Chinese remain +in Kashgaria, and at Manas and Karakaru, they must regard the presence +of Russia in Kuldja as a slight to themselves, as well as a menace to +their line of communications. + +But every probability is against their succeeding. Li Hung Chang's +position is not so secure that he can dare to put himself in face of +those who champion a national cause, as is the re-absorption of Chinese +Turkestan. The return of Tso Tsung Tang with his veterans would be the +least danger that the adoption of an unpatriotic policy would entail. If +this home danger, then, does not arise, the Kuldja question will be +settled between Tso and the Russian authorities in Khokand and Kuldja. +The result of that discussion cannot be doubtful. The advocates on +either side are soldiers, each equally confident in their own abilities +and power, and each flushed by a long tide of success. They will come to +the discussion of the question with heated blood and excited nerves; +reason will not be the presiding goddess at the council board. There +will be accusations and recriminations bandied from one side to the +other. If such be the case, the Kuldja question will not be long in +discussion, and before the close of the present year perhaps, but more +probably early next spring, there will be war between Russia and China +along the Tian Shan range. Even if Tso is content to permit his +arguments to be clothed in diplomatic language, there will be no +solution of the difficulty, so long as Russia remains where she is; and +consequently the difference will be as great between Russia and China as +if there were open hostilities between the countries. And this, after +all, is the main point, for the destruction of all friendly sentiment +between Russia and China means the addition of another element to "the +great game in Central Asia," and that element, as an adverse one to +Russia, is a beneficial circumstance for this country. The difference +over the Kuldja question magnifies the previously existing discordant +points between the countries, and irretrievably wrecks whatever prospect +there once was of Russia and China pursuing an identical policy towards +Baroghil and Cashmere. We have now to consider the past relations +between England and China, in order that we may be in a position to +appreciate the full significance of China's reappearance in Central +Asia, and also what is to be the probable outcome of the gradual +approximation of the three Great Powers, and the slow extinction of the +once innumerable petty states of Asia. + +What, then, have been the mutual relations between England and China in +the past? There is no necessity to enter into the question of the +footing we are on along the sea-coast, for that is really beside the +question; nor need we recapitulate the wars which we have at various +times been compelled to wage in Eastern China. The result of those wars, +those treaties, and that constant inter-communication has been, that +Englishmen have secured a foothold in many of the principal cities, and +that English trade is supreme there. But the relations along the land +frontier are quite the opposite of those obtained on the sea-board, and +they are influenced by entirely different considerations. During the +last century, and for a considerable portion of the present, we were +not, strictly speaking, neighbours of the Chinese; for between the two +empires there intervened a belt of semi-independent states, who +nominally owned allegiance to China. Some of these were Nepaul, Sikhim, +Bhutan and Birma, with its dependency of Assam. It was in the days of +Lord Cornwallis that we first realized the significance of the fact that +Chinese prestige had penetrated south of the Himalaya. The Ghoorka +rulers of Nepaul had, on several occasions, molested the peaceable +Tibetans, and at last had grown so bold, that on one expedition they +advanced as far as Lhasa, which they plundered. At that moment the aged +Keen-Lung was meditating the retirement from public life, which a few +years afterwards, like the Asiatic Charles the Fifth that he was, he +adopted; but, on the news of this insult to his authority, his warlike +spirit fired up, and he vowed that the marauders of Khatmandoo should +dearly pay for their audacity. A large army, of the reputed strength of +70,000 men, was collected, and the Chinese generals advanced by the +Kirong Pass upon the Nepaulese capital. A desperate battle was fought +along this elevated road, resulting in victory to the Chinese. Several +other encounters took place with the same result, and the Ghoorkas were +compelled to sue for terms. The Chinese showed no disposition to stay +their advance, until Lord Cornwallis mediated between the foes, and +peace ensued. Nepaul acknowledged its suzerainty to China, and agreed to +send tribute every five years to Pekin. For more than half a century +this was regularly sent, but during the last thirty years it has been +either discontinued, or has grown irregular. But for us the main point +is, after all, that the Chinese, although yielding to the remonstrance +of Lord Cornwallis, really did so with a bad grace. We had stood between +them and their prey. + +But this was not the full extent of the mistake we had actually +committed. We had annoyed the Chinese; but we had absolutely offended +the people and the ruling Lamas of Tibet. Warren Hastings had sent two +missions--one under Mr. George Bogle, the other under Captain Turner--to +the Teshu Lama, and by means of these embassies had broken ground very +happily in Tibet. He had also conferred an obligation upon him by +dealing leniently with the intractable Bhutanese or Bhuteas; and he had +followed up that sense of obligation by the despatch of two successful +missions. When Lord Cornwallis threw the _aegis_ of British protection +over Nepaul, it is true that we had no diplomatic relationship with +Tibet, but we were on a good footing with the people generally, having a +native representative at Lhasa named Purungir Gosain, and being in high +repute at Shigatze, the chief city of the southern portion of Tibet. The +Tibetans, the instant the Ghoorkas raided their country, notified the +same to our government, and requested its good offices to prevent the +Ghoorkas invading their country. The Chinese, their lawful protectors, +were so far away that much damage could be inflicted upon them before +the Chinese could have time to despatch a vindicating army; therefore +they appealed to their friends the English, whom they had always found +so just, for assistance in their extremity. Their appeal was evidently +made with the impression that it would be granted. Therefore it was with +double regret they saw the English remain indifferent while the Ghoorkas +were pressing on against Lhasa, and ravaging the fertile districts +watered by the Sanpu. But their regret and surprise at our government +remaining indifferent were as nothing compared with their indignation +when they learnt that we were actually interfering on behalf of the +marauding Ghoorkas. We saved the Ghoorkas from condign chastisement, and +we of course prevented the establishment of a Chinese garrison at +Khatmandoo, which we could whenever we chose have easily expelled; but +we offended the Tibetans and the Chinese, and induced them to unite in a +policy of hostility against ourselves. After that war (1792) the +Himalayan passes were closed against us, and the Chinese block-houses +have effectually barred the way to Tibet and Northern Asia ever since. +Mr. Thomas Manning, one of the most intrepid and highly gifted of +English travellers, penetrated into Tibet in 1812, and resided there +some time. But that is the only instance in which an English traveller +overcame Bhutea and Ghoorka indifference and Chinese hostility. Tibet +remains a sealed book, and, despite treaty rights to enter it, no +Englishman goes thither, although the attraction is great, and the prize +to be secured far from vague or trivial. The assumed reason is the +covert hostility of the Chinese. + +If we turn farther to the east, to Assam--which we have absorbed--to +Birma, and even to Siam, we find the same causes in operation. We +recognized in Yunnan the Panthay Sultan of Talifoo; we have always +striven to treat the kings of Birma and Siam as independent princes, +whereas they are only Chinese vassals; and we are believed to have +carried on intrigues with the Shans and other tribes beyond the Assamese +frontier. These steps may be prudent or they may not for other reasons; +but they certainly are imprudent for the reason that they offend the +Chinese. As a policy intended to conciliate the Chinese, our frontier +policy on the north and the east has been the worst possible, and a +tissue of blunders from beginning to end; and the result is that for the +last half-century we have lived on the very worst terms with the +Chinese. We should have conciliated them, but we aroused instead all +their latent suspicion and dislike. We should have become friendly +neighbours, and, on the contrary, we are neighbours who, if not +decidedly hostile to each other, shun each other's presence. And the +real base of our sentiment towards the Chinese is to be seen in the fact +that one of the first articles in the creed of Indian state policy is +"to keep China as far off as possible." That precept, which may have +been very useful, has served its turn, and it is time that our +Indo-Chinese policy should be set upon a new basis. With China once more +supreme upon our whole northern frontier, and with her presenting +ultimatums at Bangkok, and coercing the ruler of Mandalay as she esteems +fit, it is high time for us, apart from the Central Asian question +altogether, to set our house in order with the Chinese. The mistakes we +made in championing the Ghoorkas, in acknowledging the Panthays, and in +a general policy of indifference to Chinese opinion, have all tended to +bring about the present deadlock in our relations with China. Our +acknowledgment of the Athalik Ghazi cannot have conduced to the creation +of any very friendly sentiment among the Chinese towards us, and, +therefore, at the present moment we must assume that the state of +feeling existing among the Chinese in Tibet and Yunnan towards us exists +in Kashgaria also; and that feeling is a veiled hostility. Therefore, +while the Chinese are beginning to regard Russia with the hostile +feelings that once were reserved for England, they have by no means +altered their old sentiments towards us. We have done nothing whatever +to induce them to do so. We have not helped them in any way to regain +Kashgar, and on the whole English opinion may be said to have been more +adverse to, than in favour of, their claims. They have found in the +arsenals of Kashgar and Yarkand many proofs of England's alliance with, +and friendship for, Yakoob Beg; and, on the other hand, they certainly +owe much to the assistance of Russian merchants, and the forbearance of +the Russian government. Nor should we for an instant delude ourselves +with the fallacy that the Chinese will look to us for aid against +Russia, as Yakoob Beg did. They have conquered Eastern Turkestan without +us--in fact, despite of our moral opposition; and they will retain it if +they can by their own right arms. It will not enter their head for an +instant to play the old game of Yakoob Beg, of setting England off +against Russia. But, although they will play a perfectly independent +game, it by no means follows that they will be hostile to this country, +if by some fortunate stroke of diplomacy we could bring home to their +minds the fact that England is glad at the result of the war in Central +Asia, however much she may have failed during its progress to recognize +which was the rightful cause. But what is that fortunate stroke of +diplomacy to be? and how is it to be brought to pass? To each of these +questions it would be rash to give any confident reply. In dealing with +the Chinese we are not only treating with a people whom we very +imperfectly understand, but also with a government the secret springs of +whose policy we neither know nor appreciate. The action we might +therefore adopt, founded though it should be on the experience of some +Englishman versed in the mysteries of China, might fail to accomplish +what it seemed calculated to secure. It might be crowned with success, +it might be condemned with failure. Of course the first thing to decide +is, how are we to take official cognizance of China's reconquest of +Kashgaria, and how are we to bring home to the minds of Tso Tsung Tang +and his lieutenants the knowledge that we have repented of our +shortsighted policy towards Yakoob Beg, and are willing to atone for it +in so far as we are able by an ample recognition of the change in +affairs north of the Karakoram? + +The Che-foo Convention gave us the right to send an embassy to Tibet, on +the condition that it should be acted upon within a given space. We did +not avail ourselves of that concession, and the Chinese, we are +informed, consider that the right has lapsed. We may have been wise or +we may have been foolish--in my opinion we have been foolish--in +declining to enforce the only real concession China made, in reparation +for the murder of Mr. Margary. Does this concession, which we never made +use of, entitle us to send a mission to the Chinese in Kashgar? Acting +upon this precedent, are we justified in supposing that the Chinese +would hold out a hand of friendship to an English envoy coming from Leh +to Yarkand? It is much to be feared that it would not. At the present +moment, too, the country must be in such a disturbed state, that the +Chinese would have a ready excuse if any accident befel our envoy. +Moreover, at the present moment an envoy would have no definite object +before him. A few years hence, when the Chinese rule shall be completely +restored throughout Eastern Turkestan, it may be reasonable to expect a +revival of trade in this direction; but at present it would be premature +to agitate for it. Nor would a simple embassy of congratulation look +well. We have too recently befriended the Athalik Ghazi to make our +congratulations to his conqueror anything but a mockery. The Chinese +would be puffed up with vanity, and think that we were only worshipping +their rising sun. Whatever action we do take in Central Asia, to effect +an understanding with the Chinese, we must be very careful that it has +been well considered, and that it is as cautious as it must be clearly +defined. Any mistake would be simply fatal to the preservation of good +relations with China. Therefore, we must do nothing. _Quieta non movere_ +must be our motto, and we must only look forward to some auspicious +occasion when it may be possible to enter into cordial relations with +China. + +But, although our hands are tied in Central Asia, they are not fettered +at Pekin, and we certainly should congratulate, if we have not done so +already, the Chinese on their remarkable successes in the Tian Shan +regions. That step might be pregnant with beneficent results, and our +desire to be on good terms with our new, yet our old, neighbour might be +met in a cordial manner by the Chinese. The Chinese will not stoop to +propitiate us in order to preserve their rule in Eastern Turkestan; but +it is against common sense to suppose that they will be eager to embroil +themselves with us at the same moment that they are quarrelling with the +Russians. The Kuldja question must throw China into our alliance, if we +are not precipitate, and do not offer her any slight by meddling with +this semi-independent chief of Khoten, who is said to have overthrown a +Chinese detachment. And, in negotiating with the rulers of Kashgaria, we +must remember that commercial advantages are all very well, but that +political are infinitely more important. It has been tersely said that +we patronized Yakoob Beg in order to make a market for Kangra tea; but +the very trivial advantages we secured in a commercial sense were far +more than counterbalanced by the political disadvantages we derived from +a recognition of the Athalik Ghazi. In dealing with the Chinese we must +not set before us, as our guiding star, the privilege of supplying the +good people of Kashgar and Yarkand with tea and other necessaries. What +we aspire to is to be on terms of amity with China, as a power in +Central Asia, which will possess everything it desires when Ili has +been restored, and which most accordingly be inclined to resent with us +the undue aggrandizement of Russia. These are the future advantages that +may accrue from an understanding between England and China. But at the +present juncture there are others similar in kind, but immediate in +effect. The Afghan question, which now clamours for solution, and which +will scarcely pass through this crisis without finding our hold on Cabul +made more assured, is in many respects connected with the Kuldja. + +In each case the ambition of Russia is the motive power, and in each she +seeks to play her game with as little risk, and as much gain, as +possible. In neither will she fight, if she can avoid the necessity, yet +in each there is a point beyond which her honour and her interests alike +refuse to permit her to remain concealed and neutral. The solution of +the two questions is being worked out simultaneously, and the progress +of the Afghan question will at least very seriously affect the later +stages of the Kuldja. If Russia has to fight to defend Shere Ali, then +we may be sure that Tso Tsung Tang's legions will not remain inactive, +and that General Kolpakovsky will either have to beat a retreat to +Vernoe, or engage in a war out of which, on his own resources alone, it +will be impossible for him to issue victorious. If Russia interfere +openly in defence of Shere Ali, Kuldja must be restored to the Chinese, +otherwise Russia's flank would be exposed to a crushing blow, which the +Chinese would not be slow to take advantage of. Present events on the +Ili and on the Cabul have, therefore, this much in common, that they +both aim, directly or indirectly, at the fabric of Russian supremacy in +Central Asia. The occupation of Afghanistan by England, or even a +partial occupation of it as is very probable, would seriously weaken +Russian prestige in Western Turkestan. A Chinese occupation of Kuldja +would undermine her position in Vernoe and Naryn and among the Kirghiz. +Admitting these, is it not natural to suppose that in each case Russia +will fight, or that, even if she does not fight in each case, she will +fight in the one that she may deem of the most importance? But we need +not pursue the subject farther. The Chinese are face to face with Russia +in the heart of Central Asia, just as a few short months ago they were +opposed to Yakoob Beg and the power of the Tungani. + +Their army is drawn up in hostile array; it is each day becoming more +numerous and more perfectly prepared. Its generals are the same who have +led it to constant victory; its main body is the veterans of three +campaigns. The Chinese are persuaded, and it is impossible to say not +justly persuaded, of the righteousness of their cause. The Russians can +have no equal confidence either in their strength, or in their moral +position. They are not exactly championing a bad cause, or a lost one, +but, in comparison to the Chinese, they have no legal position. It +remains to be seen whether by force of arms, or by diplomatic +superiority, they can make up for the flaw in their tenure of Kuldja. +Farther on, in the vista of the events yet to come, there looms the +prospect of an Anglo-Chinese alliance, that must be most beneficial to +the peoples of Asia generally. But, before it will be possible for +Englishmen to count upon the presence of the Chinese as a favourable +"factor in the Central Asian question," our relations with China must be +placed upon a firmer and a more friendly basis than any which has yet +existed. We have it in our power to do this, and the ever-widening +breach between Russia and China simplifies our task in no slight degree. +The day will come when Russia will discover that the Kuldja question was +no trivial matter at all, and that to it can be traced many important +events in Central Asia. England may also recognize in it one of the most +useful circumstances that have ever operated in her favour in her long +rivalry with Russia. At the very crisis of our border history, when we +are on the eve of dealing out well merited chastisement to an Ameer of +Cabul, Russia finds herself weakened by being compelled to discuss a +question with China, when her attention is required elsewhere. She will +not yield what the Chinese demand, yet she dare not refuse; and the +latter will simply bide their time until she is hampered elsewhere. It +is no rash prophecy to say that China will be reinstalled, either by +peaceful means or by force, in Kuldja before the close of next year, +probably long before. An alliance between any two of the three great +Asiatic Powers must then be conclusive in all Central Asian matters, +and, before that alliance, the third will have the prudence to submit. +It behoves us to learn our lesson, when that day comes, thoroughly and +in good time. + + + + +APPENDIX. + + +THE POSITION OF LOB-NOR. + +Lake Lob-Nor is placed in the map accompanying this volume in accordance +with the explorations of Colonel Prjevalsky in 1876-77; the result of +which was published in Dr. Petermann's _Mittheilungen_ as an extra +number during the spring of the present year. The accuracy of the +gallant explorer in identifying Lob-Nor with his lake of Kara Koshun had +not been challenged when this map was drawn, and when the following good +reasons for doubting its accuracy were published on the 14th of +September, it was too late to make the necessary alteration. + +The quotation of Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen's strictures on Colonel +Prjevalsky's lakes is taken from the _Athenaeum_ of the 14th of +September, 1878:-- + +"It would appear that the Russian traveller Prejevalsky, in his last +remarkable journey in the heart of Central Asia, did not explore Lob-Nor +at all, as he claims to have done. Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, one +of the first comparative geographers of the day, has examined the +account of the journey, more especially by the light of Chinese +literature, and proves, almost incontestably to our thinking, that the +true Lob-Nor must lie somewhere north-east of the so-called Kara Kotchun +Lake discovered by Prejevalsky, and that, in all probability, it is fed +by an eastern arm of the Tarim river. This, at all events, would account +for the remarkable diminution in bulk undergone by the waters of that +stream as they proceed southward, which could not but strike an +attentive reader of the Russian explorer's narrative. We have not space +to reproduce all the arguments which Von Richthofen adduces, but the +more important are these:--Prejevalsky's lake was fresh, whereas Lob-Nor +has been called _The_ Salt Lake, _par excellence_, in all ages; Shaw, +Forsyth, and other authorities, report that the name Lob-Nor was known +in those regions, whereas Prejevalsky found no such name applied to his +lake; the Chinese maps, of the accuracy of which Von Richthofen has had +repeated proofs, represent Lob-Nor as lying more to the north-east, and +call two lakes lying nearly in the position of those discovered by +Prejevalsky, Khasomo, Khas being the Mongolian for jade, a famous +product of Khotan of which mediaeval traders from China went in quest, +passing by these very lakes _en route_. Another important argument is, +as we have mentioned, based on the bulk of water discharged by the Tarim +at its mouth. Von Richthofen's theory presupposes that the Tarim River +has altered its course, and that the main rush of water is now +south-east instead of due east as formerly. The whole question is well +worthy of further investigation, and it is possible that Prejevalsky, +whom a recent telegram from St. Petersburg reports about to return to +Central Asia, may be enabled to elucidate it. He will return to Zaissan, +the Russian frontier post, and thence endeavour to make his way into +Tibet by way of Barkul and Hami. + +"It is, however, certain that he will encounter great, if not +insuperable, obstruction, for we learn from private advices from India, +that the ill-advised publication in the Chefoo Convention of the then +proposed mission to Tibet has resulted in the issue of the most +stringent orders to the Tibetan officials at all the various routes and +passes to allow no European traveller to enter into the country on any +pretext whatever." + +Having stated the view of Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, which is +endorsed by the high authority of the _Athenaeeum_, and which bears, +moreover, conviction upon its face, it is but fair to give the vital +portion of Colonel Prjevalsky's own description. The _Geographical +Magazine_, for May, 1878 Contains _in extenso_ the report, and the +sentences here quoted are from that translation. + +"At a distance of fifteen versts from the smaller lake, Kara Buran, the +party diverged southward to the village of Charchalyk, built about +thirty years ago by outlaws from Khotan, of which there are at present +114 engaged in tilling fields for the state.... Where Charchalyk now +stands, and also at the distance of two days' journey from it, are the +ruins of two towns, called Ottogush-Shari (from Ottogush, a former +ruler) and Gas-Shari respectively. Close to Lob-Nor (Kara Koshun) are +the ruins of a third and pretty extensive town called Kune-Shari. From +inquires, Prejevalsky ascertained that about 1861 or 1862 a colony of +Russians numbering about 160 or 170 people, including women and +children, with their pack-horses and armed with flint-lock muskets, +settled on the Lower Tarim and at Charchalyk, but that they made no long +stay, and soon returned to Urumchi, via Turfan.... Turning to the +Lob-Nor Lake (Kara Koshun), which the travellers reached in the early +days of February, it should be observed that the Tarim discharges itself +first into a smaller lake (from thirty to thirty-five versts in length, +and between ten and twelve versts in breadth) called Kara Buran (_i.e._ +black storms) into which the Cherchendaria flows as well. A great part +of the Kara Buran, as of Lob-Nor, is overgrow with reeds, the river +flowing in its bed in the centre. The name Lob-Nor is applied by the +natives to the whole lower course of the Tarim, the larger lake being +called Chok-kul or Kara Koshun. This lake, or rather morass, is in the +shape of an irregular ellipse running south-west and north-east. + +"Its major axis is about 90 or 100 versts in length, its minor axis not +more than twenty versts. This information is derived from the natives, +as Prejevalsky himself explored only the southern and western end, and +proceeded by boat down the river for about half the length of the lake, +further progress being rendered impossible by the increasing shallowness +of the water and the masses of reeds in every direction. The water +itself is clear and sweet, though there are salt marshes all round the +lake, and beyond them a strip of ground parallel with the present +borders of the lake and overgrown with tamarisks. It is probable that +this strip was formerly the periphery of the lake, and this conclusion +is corroborated by the natives, who say that thirty years ago the lake +was deeper." + +It is clear that the true position of Lob-Nor has yet to be defined by +modern exploration, but we may safely assume with the _Athenaeum_ that +Colonel Prjevalsky's Kara Koshun is _not_ Lob-Nor. The accompanying map +then, in this particular, is unfortunately erroneous. + +There is every reason for believing that Lob-Nor will be found in the +position assigned to it on the Chinese chart, the accuracy of which has +been so strikingly proved by the correct position given to the two lakes +Khas-omo, which are identical with the Kara Koshun and Kara Bunar of +Prjevalsky. + +It would be most interesting to obtain a diary or other account of those +Russian settlers mentioned by Prjevalsky, who entered the _terra +incognita_ of Central Asia during the halcyon days after the signature +of the Treaty of Kuldja, and just before the outbreak of the Tungan +revolt. It is possible that they may have solved during their return +journey to Urumtsi the enigma of Lob-Nor without knowing what they had +achieved. The reader will, therefore, have the kindness to bear in mind +that Lob-Nor is really (probably about three-quarters of a degree) +north-east of where it is placed on the map, and that the lake +represented there is only the Kara Koshun, or Chok Kul of Colonel +Prjevalsky. + +The most recent information is, that Colonel Prjevalsky adheres to his +view as to the position of Lob-Nor, and is preparing a reply which will +be published in a few weeks from this date (October 1st). + + +TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA. + +TREATY OF COMMERCE CONCLUDED BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA, AT KULDJA, ON THE +25TH DAY OF JULY, 1851, AND RATIFIED ON THE 13TH DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1851. + +The plenipotentiary of His Majesty the Emperor of All the Russias, and +the plenipotentiaries of His Majesty the Bogdokhan of Tatsing, hereby +declare; the Governor General of Ili, and its dependent provinces, as +well as his deputy, have, after consulting together, concluded in the +city of Ili (Kuldja), in favour of the subjects of both empires, a +Treaty of Commerce, which establishes a traffic in the cities of Ili +(Kuldja), and of Tarbagatai (Chuguchak). This treaty is composed of the +following articles:-- + +ARTICLE I. + +The present Treaty of Commerce, concluded in the interests of both +powers, by demonstrating their mutual solicitude for the maintenance of +peace between, as well as for the well-being of, their respective +subjects, ought to draw still closer together those links of friendship +which at the present moment unite the two Powers. + +ARTICLE II. + +The merchants of the two Empires will regulate between themselves the +interchange of commerce, and arrange the various charges at their own +will, and without any extraneous pressure. On the part of Russia a +consul will be appointed to superintend the affairs of all Russian +subjects; and on the part of China, a functionary of the superior +administration of Ili. In the event of any collision between the +subjects of either Power, each of these agents will decide, in +accordance with justice, the affairs of his own countrymen. + +ARTICLE III. + +This commerce being opened in consideration of the mutual friendship of +the two Powers, it will not be in contravention of existing rights on +either side. + +ARTICLE IV. + +Russian merchants going either to Ili (Kuldja) or to Tarbagatai +(Chuguchak) will be accompanied by a syndic (caravanbashi). When a +caravan going to Ili (Kuldja) shall arrive at the Chinese picket of +Borokhondjir, and when that destined for Tarbagatai (Chuguchak) shall +reach the first Chinese picket, the syndic shall present to the officer +of the guard the certificate of his government. The said officer, after +having noted the number of men, of beasts, and of loads of merchandise, +shall permit the caravan to pass, and shall furthermore cause it to be +escorted from picket to picket by an officer and soldiers. During the +march, all disturbance, or cause for such, shall be interdicted to +soldiers and merchants alike. + +ARTICLE V. + +In order to facilitate the task of officers and soldiers, Russian +merchants shall be obliged, in virtue of the present treaty, to follow +the route chosen by their body guard, both going and returning. + +ARTICLE VI. + +If, whilst Russian caravans follow their route outside the limit of the +guard of Chinese soldiers, bands of brigands from the outer clans +(Kirghiz) shall commit acts of pillage, of assault, or other crimes, the +Chinese government shall not be required to interfere in the matter. +When the caravan shall have arrived on Chinese territory, similarly also +during its residence in the factories where merchandise is stored, +Russian merchants must themselves guard and defend their property. They +will be expected still more carefully to look after their animals when +out at pasturage. If, despite all precaution, something should happen to +go astray, notice of such loss must be promptly given to the Chinese +official; who conjointly with the Russian consul shall trace out with +all possible diligence the lost article. If traces of it are discovered, +and those in a village held by Chinese subjects, and the thief be +captured, the punishment shall be prompt and severe. If the thing lost +be recovered, or any portion of it, it shall be restored to the person +to whom it belonged. + +ARTICLE VII. + +In the event of disputes, litigations, or other trivial incidents, +between the respective subjects, the Russian consul and the Chinese +official, of whom mention has previously been made, shall use all their +efforts to settle the affair satisfactorily. But if, despite every +effort to avoid such, a criminal case or one of general importance +should arise, it shall be decided conformably with the regulations +actually in force on the Kiachta frontier. + +ARTICLE VIII. + +Russian merchants shall arrive each year with their merchandise between +the 25th day of March and the 10th day of December (of our style, or +according to the Chinese calendar between the day Tchin-ming and the day +Tong-tchi); after the latter of these dates, the arrival of caravans +shall cease. If the merchandise imported during that period (8-1/2 +months) should not be sold, it shall be permissible to the merchants to +remain a longer space in China, in order to complete their sale; after +which the consul shall take charge of their departure. It is moreover +understood that Russian merchants shall not obtain an escort of officers +and soldiers, neither for going nor for returning, if they have not at +the least twenty camels laden with merchandise. If a merchant or the +Russian consul has need for some special matter to send an express +message, every facility shall be accorded him for doing so. But in order +that the service of officers and soldiers should not become too onerous, +there shall only be twice in the same month these extraordinary +expeditions outside the line of the advanced guards. + +ARTICLE IX. + +Russian and Chinese merchants can see each other without restriction +about matters of business; but Russian subjects, finding themselves in +the factory under the care of the Russian consul, may not walk about in +the suburbs and the streets, unless provided with a "permit" from the +consul; without such permit, they must not go out of their enclosure. +Whoever shall go out without permission shall be led back to the +consul, who will proceed against him according to law. + +ARTICLE X. + +If a criminal belonging to either of the two Empires should flee to the +other, he shall not be afforded sanctuary; but, on the part of each +Power, the local authorities shall take the most severe measures, and +make the most searching enquiries to arrest him. There shall be +reciprocal extradition of fugitives of this class. + +ARTICLE XI. + +As it is to be foreseen that the Russian merchants, who shall come to +China on commercial matters, will have with them carriages and beasts of +burden, there shall be assigned for their use, near the city of Ili, +certain places on the banks of the river Ili, and also near the city of +Tarbagatai other places where there is both water and pasturage. In +these encampments the Russian merchants shall confide their animals to +the charge of their own people, who shall take care that neither +cultivated lands nor cemeteries shall be in any case injured or +desecrated. Those who may contravene this enactment shall be brought +before the consul to be punished. + +ARTICLE XII. + +In the exchange of articles of merchandise between the merchants of the +two Empires, nothing shall be left on credit on either side. If, +notwithstanding this clause, some one should purchase his merchandise on +credit, the Russian and Chinese officials shall on no account interfere, +and shall admit of no complaint, even if cause for such might exist. + +ARTICLE XIII. + +As Russian merchants arriving in China for commercial reasons should +necessarily have special places for their warehouses, the Chinese +government shall assign them, in the two commercial cities of Ili and +Tarbagatai, plots of land near the bazaar, so that the Russian subjects +may be able to construct there, at their own expense, dwelling-houses +and factories for their wares. + +ARTICLE XIV. + +The Chinese government shall not interpose obstacles in any case where +Russian subjects celebrate, within their own buildings, divine service +according to the rite of their religion. In case a Russian subject in +China should happen to die either at Ili or at Tarbagatai, the Chinese +government shall set apart an empty space outside the walls of those +cities, to serve as a cemetery. + +ARTICLE XV. + +If Russian merchants should take to Ili or Tarbagatai sheep for the +purpose of exchanging them, the local authorities shall take, on account +of the government, two sheep out of every ten, and shall give in +exchange for each sheep a piece of linen cloth (_da-ba_, of the legal +measure); the remainder of the animals and every other kind of +merchandise shall be exchanged between the merchants of the two Empires +at a price mutually agreed upon, and the Chinese government shall not +intermeddle in any manner whatsoever. + +ARTICLE XVI. + +The ordinary official correspondence between the two Empires shall be +made, on the part of the Russian government, through the medium of the +superior administration of Western Siberia, and under the seal of that +administration; and on the part of the Chinese government through the +medium, and under the seal, of the superior administration of Ili. + +ARTICLE XVII. + +The present Treaty shall be authenticated by the signatures and seals of +the respective plenipotentiaries. On the part of Russia there will be +prepared four copies in the Russian language, signed by the +plenipotentiary of Russia; on the part of China, four copies in the +Mantchoo language, signed by the Chinese plenipotentiary and his +adjunct. The respective plenipotentiaries will each keep a copy in the +Russian language, and a copy in the Mantchoo, for the purpose of putting +the treaty into execution, and to serve for constant reference. A +Russian copy and a Mantchoo copy shall be sent to the directing Senate +of Russia; and a copy in each language to the Chinese Tribunal for +Foreign Affairs, to be there sealed and preserved after the ratification +of the Treaty. + +All the above articles of the present Treaty concluded by the respective +plenipotentiaries of Russia and China are hereby signed and sealed. The +twenty-fifth day of July, in the year 1851, in the 26th year of the +reign of His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Autocrat of All the +Russias. + + (Signed) Colonel in the corps of Engineers. + + KOVALEVSKI. + I Chan, + Bovyantai. + + +TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND CASHMERE. + +TREATY BETWEEN THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND HIS HIGHNESS MAHARAJA RUNBEER +SINGH, G.C.S.I., MAHARAJA OF JUMMOO AND CASHMERE, HIS HEIRS AND +SUCCESSORS, EXECUTED ON THE ONE PART BY THOMAS DOUGLAS FORSYTH, C.B., IN +VIRTUE OF THE FULL POWERS VESTED IN HIM BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT +HONOURABLE RICHARD SOUTHWELL BOURKE, EARL OF MAYO, VISCOUNT MAYO OF +MONYCROWER, BARON NAAS OF NAAS, K.P., G.M.S.I., P.C., &c., &c., &c., +VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, AND ON THE OTHER PART BY HIS +HIGHNESS MAHARAJA RUNBEER SINGH AFORESAID, IN PERSON. + +Whereas in the interest of the high contracting parties and their +respective subjects it is deemed desirable to afford greater facilities +than at present exist for the development and security of trade with +Eastern Turkestan, the following Articles have with this object been +agreed upon:-- + +ARTICLE I. + +With the consent of the Maharaja, officers of the British Government +will be appointed to survey the trade routes through the Maharaja's +territories from the British frontier of Lahoul to the territories of +the Ruler of Yarkand, including the route _via_ the Chang Chemoo Valley. +The Maharaja will depute an officer of his Government to accompany the +surveyors, and will render them all the assistance in his power. A map +of the routes surveyed will be made, an attested copy of which will be +given to the Maharaja. + +ARTICLE II. + +Whichever route towards the Chang Chemoo Valley shall, after examination +and survey as above, be declared by the British Government to be the +best suited for the development of trade with Eastern Turkestan shall be +declared by the Maharaja to be a free highway in perpetuity, and at all +times for all travellers and traders. + +ARTICLE III. + +For the supervision and maintenance of the road in its entire length +through the Maharaja's territories, the regulation of traffic on the +free highway described in Article II., the enforcement of regulations +that may be hereafter agreed upon, and the settlement of disputes +between carriers, traders, travellers, or others using that road, in +which either of the parties or both of them are subjects of the British +Government or of any foreign State, two Commissioners shall be annually +appointed, one by the British Government, and the other by the Maharaja. +In the discharge of their duties, and as regards the period of their +residence, the Commissioners shall be guided by such rules as are now +separately framed, and may, from time to time, hereafter be laid down by +the joint authority of the British Government and the Maharaja. + +ARTICLE IV. + +The jurisdiction of the Commissioners shall be defined by a line on each +side of the road, at a maximum width of two statute _koss_, except where +it may be deemed by the Commissioners necessary to include a wider +extent for grazing grounds. Within this maximum width the surveyors +appointed under Article I. shall demarcate and map the limits of +jurisdiction which may be decided on by the Commissioners as most +suitable, including grazing grounds; and the jurisdiction of the +Commissioners shall not extend beyond the limits so demarcated. The land +included within these limits shall remain in the Maharaja's independent +possession, and, subject to the stipulations contained in this Treaty, +the Maharaja shall continue to possess the same rights of full +sovereignty therein as in any other part of his territories, which +rights shall not be interfered with in any way by the Joint +Commissioners. + +ARTICLE V. + +The Maharaja agrees to give all possible assistance in enforcing the +decisions of the Commissioners, and in preventing the breach or evasion +of the regulations established under Article III. + +ARTICLE VI. + +The Maharaja agrees that any person, whether a subject of the British +Government, or of the Maharaja, or of the Ruler of Yarkand, or of any +foreign State, may settle at any place within the jurisdiction of the +Commissioners, and may provide, keep, maintain, and let for hire at +different stages the means of carriage and transport for the purposes of +trade. + +ARTICLE VII. + +The two Commissioners shall be empowered to establish supply depots, and +to authorize other persons to establish supply depots, at such places on +the road as may appear to them suitable; to fix the rates at which +provisions shall be sold to traders, carriers, settlers, and others, and +to fix the rent to be charged for the use of any rest-houses or serais +that may be established on the road. The officers of the British +Government in Kullu, &c., and the officers of the Maharaja in Ladakh +shall be instructed to use their best endeavours to supply provisions on +the indent of the Commissioners at market rates. + +ARTICLE VIII. + +The Maharaja agrees to levy no transit duty whatever on the aforesaid +free highway, and the Maharaja further agrees to abolish all transit +duties levied within his territories on goods transmitted in bond +through His Highness's territories from Eastern Turkestan to India and +_vice versa_, on which bulk may not be broken within the territories of +His Highness. On goods imported into or exported from His Highness's +territory, whether by the aforesaid free highway or any other route, the +Maharaja may levy such import or export duties as he may think fit. + +ARTICLE IX. + +The British Government agree to levy no duty on goods transmitted in +bond through British India to Eastern Turkestan or to the territories of +His Highness the Maharaja. The British Government further agree to +abolish the export duties now levied on shawls and other textile fabrics +manufactured in the territories of the Maharaja, and exported to +countries beyond the limits of British India. + +ARTICLE X. + +This Treaty, consisting of ten Articles, has this day been concluded by +Thomas Douglas Forsyth, C.B., in virtue of the full powers vested in him +by His Excellency the Right Honourable Richard Southwell Bourke, Earl of +Mayo, Viscount Mayo, of Monycrower, Baron Naas of Naas, K.P., G.M.S.I., +P.C., &c., &c., Viceroy and Governor-General of India, on the part of +the British Government, and by the Maharaja Runbeer Singh aforesaid; and +it is agreed that a copy of this Treaty, duly ratified by His Excellency +the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, shall be delivered to the +Maharaja on or before the 7th of September, 1870. Signed, sealed, and +exchanged at Sealkote on the second day of April, in the year of our +Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, corresponding with the 22nd +day of Bysack Sumbut, 1927. + + Signature of the Maharaja of Cashmere. + + (Signed) T. D. FORSYTH, + MAYO. + +This Treaty was ratified by His Excellency the Viceroy and +Governor-General of India at Sealkote on the 2nd day of May, 1870. + + (Signed) C. U. AITCHISON, + Officiating Secretary to the Government + of India, Foreign Department. + + +TREATY BETWEEN RUSSIA AND KASHGAR. + +THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS OF FREE TRADE WERE PROPOSED AND AGREED UPON +BETWEEN GENERAL AIDE-DE-CAMP VON KAUFMANN AND YAKOOB BEG, CHIEF OF +DJETY-SHAHR. + +ARTICLE I. + +All Russian subjects, of whatsoever religion, shall have the right to +proceed for purposes of trade to Djety-Shahr, and to all the localities +and towns subjected to the Chief of Djety-Shahr, which they may desire +to visit in the same way as the inhabitants of Djety-Shahr have hitherto +been, and shall be in the future, entitled to prosecute trade throughout +the entire extent of the Russian Empire. The honourable chief of +Djety-Shahr undertakes to keep a vigilant guard over the complete safety +of Russian subjects, within the limits of his territorial possessions, +and also over that of their caravans, and in general over everything +that may belong to them. + +ARTICLE II. + +Russian merchants shall be entitled to have caravanserais, in which they +alone shall be able to store their merchandise, in all the towns of +Djety-Shahr in which they may desire to have them. The merchants of +Djety-Shahr shall enjoy the same privilege in the Russian villages. + +ARTICLE III. + +Russian merchants shall, if they desire it, have the right to have +commercial agents (caravanbashis) in all the towns of Djety-Shahr, whose +business it is to watch over the regular courts of trade, and over the +legal imposition of customs dues. The merchants of Djety-Shahr shall +enjoy the same privilege in the towns of Turkestan. + +ARTICLE IV. + +All merchandise transported from Russia to Djety-Shahr, or from that +province into Russia, shall be liable to a tax of 2-1/2 per cent. _ad +valorem_. In every case this tax shall not exceed the rate of the tax +taken from Mussulmans being subject to Djety-Shahr. + +ARTICLE V. + +Russian merchants and their caravans shall be at liberty, with all +freedom and security, to traverse the territories of Djety-Shahr in +proceeding to countries conterminous with that province. Caravans from +Djety-Shahr shall enjoy the same advantages for passing through +territories belonging to Russia. + + * * * * * + +These conditions were sent from Tashkent on the 9th of April, 1872. + +General Von Kaufmann I., Governor-General of Turkestan, signed the +treaty and attached his seal to it. + +In proof of his assent to these conditions, Mahomed Yakoob, Chief of +Djety-Shahr, attached his seal to them at Yangy-Shahr, on the 8th of +June, 1872. + + * * * * * + +This treaty was negotiated by Baron Kaulbars. + + +TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND KASHGAR. + +TREATY BETWEEN THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND HIS HIGHNESS THE AMEER MAHOMED +YAKOOB KHAN, RULER OF THE TERRITORY OF KASHGAR AND YARKAND, HIS HEIRS +AND SUCCESSORS, EXECUTED ON THE ONE PART BY THOMAS DOUGLAS FORSYTH, +C.B., IN VIRTUE OF FULL POWERS CONFERRED ON HIM IN THAT BEHALF BY HIS +EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HON. THOMAS GEORGE BARING, BARON NORTHBROOK OF +STRATTON, AND A BARONET, MEMBER OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL OF HER MOST +GRACIOUS MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, GRAND MASTER OF +THE MOST EXALTED ORDER OF THE STAR OF INDIA, VICEROY AND +GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, IN COUNCIL, AND ON THE OTHER PART BY SYUD +MAHOMED KHAN TOORAH, MEMBER OF THE 1ST CLASS OF THE ORDER OF MEDJIDIE, +&C., IN VIRTUE OF FULL POWERS CONFERRED ON HIM BY HIS HIGHNESS. + +Whereas it is deemed desirable to confirm and strengthen the good +understanding which now subsists between the high contracting parties, +and to promote commercial intercourse between their respective subjects, +the following Articles have been agreed upon:-- + +ARTICLE I. + +The high contracting parties engage that the subjects of each shall be +at liberty to enter, reside in, trade with, and pass with their +merchandise and property into and through all parts of the dominions of +the other; and shall enjoy in such dominions all the privileges and +advantages with respect to commerce, protection or otherwise, which are, +or may be, accorded to the subjects of such dominions, or to the +subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation. + +ARTICLE II. + +Merchants of whatever nationality shall be at liberty to pass from the +territories of the one contracting party to the territories of the +other, with their merchandise and property at all times, and by any +route they please; no restriction shall be placed by either contracting +party upon such freedom of transit, unless for urgent political reasons +to be previously communicated to the other; and such restriction shall +be withdrawn as soon as the necessity for it is over. + +ARTICLE III. + +European British subjects entering the dominions of His Highness the +Ameer, for purposes of trade, or otherwise, must be provided with +passports certifying to their nationality. Unless provided with such +passports they shall not be deemed entitled to the benefit of this +treaty. + +ARTICLE IV. + +On goods imported into British India from territories of His Highness +the Ameer, by any route over the Himalayan passes, which lie to the +south of His Highness's dominions, the British Government engages to +levy no import duties. On goods imported from India into the territories +of His Highness the Ameer, no import duty exceeding 2-1/2 per cent., _ad +valorem_, shall be levied. Goods imported, as above, into the dominions +of the contracting parties may, subject only to such excise regulations +and duties, and to such municipal or town regulations and duties, as may +be applicable to such classes of goods generally, be freely sold by +wholesale or retail, and transported from one place to another within +British India, and within the dominions of His Highness the Ameer +respectively. + +ARTICLE V. + +Merchandise imported from India into the territories of His Highness the +Ameer will not be opened for examination, till arrival at the place of +consignment. If any disputes should arise as to the value of such goods, +the customs officer, or other officer acting on the part of His Highness +the Ameer, shall be entitled to demand part of the goods, at the rate of +one in forty, in lieu of the payment of duty. If the aforesaid officer +should object to levy the duty by taking a portion of the goods, or if +the goods should not admit of being so divided, then the point in +dispute shall be referred to two competent persons, one chosen by the +aforesaid officer, and the other by the importer, and a valuation of the +goods shall be made, and if the referees shall differ in opinion, they +shall appoint an arbitrator whose decision shall be final, and the duty +shall be levied according to the value thus established. + +ARTICLE VI. + +The British Government shall be at liberty to appoint a Representative +at the Court of His Highness the Ameer, and to appoint a Commercial +Agent, subordinate to him in any town or place considered suitable +within His Highness's territories. His Highness the Ameer shall be at +liberty to appoint a Representative with the Viceroy and +Governor-General of India, and to station Commercial Agents at any +places in British India considered suitable. Such Representatives shall +be entitled to the rank and privileges accorded to ambassadors by the +law of nations, and the Agents shall be entitled to the privileges of +Consuls of the most favoured nation. + +ARTICLE VII. + +British subjects shall be at liberty to purchase, sell, or hire land, or +houses, or depots for merchandise, in the dominions of His Highness the +Ameer, and the houses, depots, or other premises of British subjects, +shall not be forcibly entered or searched without the consent of the +occupier, unless with the cognizance of the British Representative or +Agent, and in presence of a person deputed by him. + +ARTICLE VIII. + +The following arrangements are agreed to for the decision of Civil Suits +and Criminal Cases within the territories of His Highness the Ameer, in +which British subjects are concerned:-- + + (_a._) Civil suits in which both plaintiff and defendant are + British subjects, and Criminal Cases in which both + prosecutor and accused are British subjects, or in which the + accused is a European British subject, mentioned in the + Third Article of this Treaty, shall be tried by the British + Representative or one of his Agents, in the presence of an + Agent appointed by His Highness the Ameer; + + (_b._) Civil suits in which one party is a subject of His Highness + the Ameer, and the other party a British subject, shall be + tried by the Courts of His Highness, in the presence of the + British Representative or one of his Agents, or of a person + appointed in that behalf by such Representative or Agent; + + (_c._) Criminal cases in which either prosecutor or accused is a + subject of His Highness the Ameer shall, except as above + otherwise provided, be tried by the Courts of His Highness + in presence of the British Representative, or of one of his + Agents, or of a person deputed by the British + Representative, or by one of his Agents; + + (_d._) Except as above otherwise provided, Civil and Criminal Cases + in which one party is a British subject, and the other the + subject of a foreign power, shall, if either of the parties + be a Mahomedan, be tried in the Courts of His Highness; if + neither party is a Mahomedan, the case may, with consent of + the parties, be tried by the British Representative or one + of his Agents; in the absence of such consent, by the Courts + of His Highness; + + (_e._) In any case disposed of by the Courts of His Highness the + Ameer to which a British subject is party, it shall be + competent to the British Representative, if he considers + that justice has not been done, to represent the matter to + His Highness the Ameer, who may cause the case to be + re-tried in some other Court, in the presence of the British + Representative, or of one of his Agents, or of a person + appointed in that behalf by such Representative or Agent. + +ARTICLE IX. + +The rights and privileges enjoyed within the dominions of His Highness +the Ameer by British subjects under the Treaty, shall extend to the +subjects of all Princes and States in India in alliance with Her Majesty +the Queen; and if, with respect to any such Prince or State, any other +provisions relating to this Treaty or to other matters should be +considered desirable, they shall be negotiated through the British +Government. + +ARTICLE X. + +Every affidavit and other legal document filed or deposited in any Court +established in the respective dominions of the high contracting parties, +or in the Court of the Joint Commissioners in Ladakh, may be proved by +an authenticated copy, purporting either to be sealed with the seal of +the Court to which the original document belongs, or, in the event of +such Court having no seal, to be signed by the Judge, or by one of the +Judges of the said Court. + +ARTICLE XI. + +When a British subject dies in the territory of His Highness the Ameer +his movable and immovable property situate therein shall be vested in +his heir, executor, administrator, or other representative on interest +or (in the absence of such representative) in the Representative of the +British Government in the aforesaid territory. The person in whom such +charge shall be so vested shall satisfy the claims outstanding against +the deceased, and shall hold the surplus (if any) for distribution among +those interested. The above provisions, _mutatis mutandis_, shall apply +to the subjects of His Highness the Ameer, who may die in British India. + +ARTICLE XII. + +If a British subject residing in the territories of His Highness the +Ameer becomes unable to pay his debts or fails to pay any debt within a +reasonable time after being ordered to do so by any Court of Justice, +the creditors of such insolvent shall be paid out of his goods and +effects; but the British Representative shall not refuse his good +offices, if needs be, to ascertain if the insolvent has not left in +India disposable property which might serve to satisfy the said +creditors. The friendly stipulations in the present Article shall be +reciprocally observed with regard to His Highness's subjects who trade +in India under the protection of the laws. + +This treaty having this day been executed in duplicate and confirmed by +His Highness the Ameer, one copy shall, for the present, be left in the +possession of His Highness, and the other, after confirmation by the +Viceroy and Governor-General of India, shall be delivered to His +Highness within twelve months in exchange for the copy now retained by +His Highness. + +Signed and sealed at Kashgar on the second day of February, in the year +of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, corresponding +with the fifteenth day of Zilhijj, one thousand two hundred and ninety +Hijree. + + (Signed) T. DOUGLAS FORSYTH, + Envoy and Plenipotentiary. + +Whereas a Treaty for strengthening the good understanding that now +exists between the British Government and the Ruler of the territory of +Kashgar and Yarkand, and for promoting commercial intercourse between +the two countries, was agreed to and concluded at Kashgar, on the second +day of February, in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and +seventy-four, corresponding with the fifteenth day of Zilhijj, twelve +hundred and ninety Hijree, by the respective Plenipotentiaries of the +Government of India and of His Highness the Ameer of Kashgar and +Yarkand, duly accredited and empowered for that purpose: I, the Right +Hon. Thomas George Baring, Baron Northbrook of Stratton, &c., &c., +Viceroy and Governor-General of India, do hereby ratify and confirm the +Treaty aforesaid. + +Given under my hand and seal at Government House, in Calcutta, this +thirteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight +hundred and seventy-four. + + (Signed) NORTHBROOK. + + +-------+ + | | + | Seal. | + | | + +-------+ + + +RULES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF THE JOINT COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED FOR THE NEW +ROUTE TO EASTERN TURKESTAN. + +1. As it is impossible, owing to the character of the climate, to retain +the Commissioners throughout the year, the period during which they +shall exercise their authority shall be taken to commence on 15th May, +and to end on 1st December. + +2. During the absence of either Commissioner, cases may be heard and +decided by the other Commissioner, subject to appeal to the Joint +Commissioners. + +3. In the months when the Joint Commissioners are absent, _i.e._ between +1st December and 15th May, all cases which may arise shall be decided by +the Wuzeer of Ladakh, subject to appeal to the Joint Commissioners. + +4. The Joint Commissioners shall not interfere in cases other than those +which affect the development, freedom, and safety of the trade, and the +objects for which the Treaty is concluded, and in which one of the +parties, or both, are either British subjects, or subjects of a foreign +state. + +5. In civil disputes the Commissioners shall have power to dispose of +all cases, whatever be the value of the property in litigation. + +6. When the Commissioners agree, their decision shall be final in all +cases. When they are unable to agree, the parties shall have the right +of nominating a single arbitrator, and shall bind themselves in writing +to abide by his award. Should the parties not be able to agree upon a +single arbitrator, each party shall name one, and the two Commissioners +shall name a third, and the decision of the majority of the arbitrators +shall be final. + +7. In criminal cases the powers of the Commissioners shall be limited to +offences such as in British territory would be tried by a subordinate +Magistrate of the First Class, and as far as possible the procedure of +the Criminal Procedure Code shall be followed. Cases of a more heinous +kind should be made over to the Maharaja for trial, if the accused be +not a European British subject; in the latter case he should be +forwarded to the nearest British Court of competent jurisdiction for +trial. + +8. All fines levied in criminal cases, and all stamp receipts levied +according to the rates in force for civil suits in the Maharaja's +dominions, shall be credited to the Cashmere Treasury. Persons sentenced +to imprisonment shall, if British subjects, be sent to the nearest +British jail. If not British subjects, offenders shall be made over for +imprisonment in the Maharaja's jails. + +9. The practice of cow-killing is strictly prohibited throughout the +jurisdiction of the Maharaja. + +10. If any places come within the line of road from which the towns of +Leh, &c., are supplied with fuel or wood for building purpose, the Joint +Commissioners shall so arrange with the Wuzeer of Ladakh that those +supplies are not interfered with. + +11. Whatever transactions take place within the limits of the road shall +be considered to refer to goods in bond. If a trader opens his load, and +disposes of a portion, he shall not be subject to any duty so long as +the goods are not taken for consumption into the Maharaja's territory +across the line of road. And goods left for any length of time in the +line of road subject to the jurisdiction of the Commissioners shall be +free. + +12. Where a village lies within the jurisdiction of the Joint +Commissioners, then, as regards the collection of revenue, or in any +case where there is necessity for the interference of the usual Revenue +authorities on matters having no connection with the trade, the Joint +Commissioners have no power whatever to interfere; but, to prevent +misunderstanding, it is advisable that the Revenue officials should +first communicate with the Joint Commissioners before proceeding to take +action against any person within their jurisdiction. The Joint +Commissioners can then exercise their discretion to deliver up the +person sought, or to make a summary inquiry to ascertain whether their +interference is necessary or not. + +13. The Maharaja agrees to give rupees 5,000 this year for the +construction of the road and bridges, and in future years His Highness +agrees to give rupees 2,000 per annum for the maintenance of the road +and bridges. Similarly for the repairs of serais a sum of rupees 100 per +annum for each serai will be given. Should further expenditure be +necessary, the Joint Commissioners will submit a special report to the +Maharaja, and ask for a special grant. This money will be expended by +the Joint Commissioners, who will employ free labour at market rates for +this purpose. The officers in Ladakh and in British territory shall be +instructed to use their best endeavours to supply labourers on the +indent of the Commissioners at market rates. No tolls shall be levied on +the bridges on this line of road. + +14. As a temporary arrangement, and until the line of road has been +demarcated, or till the end of this year, the Joint Commissioners shall +exercise the powers described in these rules over the several roads +taken by the traders through Ladakh from Lahoul and Spiti. + + (Signed) MAHARAJA RUNBEER SINGH. + + " T. D. FORSYTH. + +(These rules were agreed upon in 1872, between the Indian Government and +Cashmere, for the purpose of promoting trade with Eastern Turkestan and +Central Asia, which had been sanctioned by the Treaty of Commerce of +1870.) + + +A STORY FROM KASHGAR. + +Mirza Mulla Rahmat, of Kashgar, who arrived at Peshawur lately, on his +way to Mecca, has told what he knows about events in Kashgar. The +following is his story:--In the month of Jamadi-us-sani 1294 (June-July, +1877), that Mahomed Yakoob Khan, the Badshah of Kashgar, collected a +large army to fight the Chinese. He died near the town of Balisan (? +Bai), and his army then recognized Hakim Khan Torah as his successor. +The mullahs in Kashgar in the meantime appointed Beg Kuli Beg, Yakoob's +eldest son, as their Badshah, according to Yakoob's will. Hakim Khan and +the army which joined him then came to Aksu, where Beg Kuli Beg also +arrived, meaning to capture the place and the person of the usurper. A +battle was fought between Kuli Beg and Hakim Khan on the 26th and 27th +of Rajah (27th and 28th July, 1877), and Hakim Khan was defeated. Many +of the soldiers belonging to Hakim Khan's force fell in the battle, and +many others were starved, and some were drowned crossing a river. Hakim +Khan then went into Russian territory with 1,000 chosen soldiers. Beg +Kuli Beg now seized several towns and returned to Kashgar. In the +meantime Naiz Hakim Beg, the Governor of Khoten, rebelled, and Kuli Beg +met him in the field, and captured Khoten. The Beg was scarcely a week +at that place when he heard that the Chinese had arrived at Aksu and had +taken it. An officer (Kho Dalay?) of the Chinese army who had turned +Mahomedan (but subsequently recanted) attacked Yangy Shahr, the +capital, and, capturing it, shut himself up there. The town was then +besieged by the Governor of Kashgar, and the siege continued for fifty +days. Then Kuli Beg came up, and, forcing his entry into the town, took +possession of it, and destroyed the fort. But on the 10th of Zillhij +(16th of December) a strong Chinese force entered the country, and +rapidly reconquered the possessions of the late Yakoob Khan. Beg Kuli +Beg then fled with his men to Tashkent, which he reached by Mingyol Osh +and Marghilan, and put himself under the protection of the Russian +Governor there. Mulla Yunus Jan, the Governor of Yarkand, and his son +and brother fell into the hands of Hasan Jan Bai, Ikskal (? Aksakal). + +The above is taken from the columns of an Indian journal, and is +inserted here for the purpose of showing that the converted Chinese, or +Yangy Mussulmans, did revolt from their allegiance to Yakoob Beg the +instant a Khitay force appeared in Altyshahr. + + + + +INDEX OF SUBJECTS. + + + Aali, _see_ Hakim Khan. + + Ababakar, 34-36. + + Abderrahman Aftobatcha, 18, 209-210, 211. + + Abderrahman Khoja (King of Yarkand), 102. + + Abdul Aziz, 170, 196. + + Abdul Melik, 248. + + Abdullah (Yusuf's son), 46, 47. + + Abdullah Pansad, 102, 104, 107, 114-116, 117, 137, 158, 171. + + Abdullah Zizad, 23. + + Ablai (Kirghiz chief), 50. + + Acbash, 44. + + AEgis of British protection, 204. + + Afak, 44. + + Afghan Ameer sends embassy to Pekin, 51. + + Afghanistan, 8, 49. + + Afghan settlers, 16, _passim_. + + Afridun Wang, 98-99. + + Agha Bula, 265. + + Ahmad, 35, 46. + + Ak Musjid, siege of, 79-81. + + Ak Robat, 228. + + Aksai Plateau, 3. + + Aksakal, 57-58, 64, 69, _passim_. + + Aksakals (risings under), 66, _passim_. + + Aksu, 2, 3, 37, 46, 66, 272, 273. + coal at, 163. + description of, 7. + siege of, 127, 273. + + Aktaghluc, 37, 44-46, 47, 49. + description of, 52-53. + + Alaja "the slayer," 35; _see_ Ahmad. + + Alim, 146. + + Alim Kuli, 83-85, 86, 87, _passim_. + + Alish Beg, 172, 231. + + Almatie, _see_ Vernoe. + + Alty Shahr, 8, 16, 44, _passim_. + + Amban, 54, 63, _passim_. + of Yarkand, or Khan Amban, 54. + + Ameer, or Emir, 196, 220, _passim_. + + Ameers of Central Asia, 39. + + Amoor, 25, 42. + + Amursana, 45-48, 49, 252. + + Andijani, 4, 12, 158, 160. + + Andijani Serai, 153. + + Appak Khoja, 252. + + Arabdan Khan, 45. + + Arabs, 23. + + Arpa Tai, battle of, 270. + + Artosh, 12, 22, 181. + + Aryan family, 14, 17. + + Athalik Ghazi, 1, 118, 186, _passim_. + + Azmill Khoja, 31. + + + Babur, 36. + + Badakshan, 8, 33, 36, 48, 49, 106, 107, 118. + + Badakshi settlers, 16. + + Badaulet, 200, 248. + + Bahanuddin (son of Sarimsak), 64. + + Bai, 272. + + Barhanuddin, 46, 47, 48, 49. + + Baroghil, 8, 29. + + Bartchuk, 3; _see_ also Maralbashi. + + Bayen Hu, 253, 266, 267, 271. + + Bazandai, 125. + + Bedal Pass, 273. + + Beg, 220-221. + + Beg Bacha, _see_ Kuli Beg. + + Bellew, Dr., 22, 171, 222. + + Benefits conferred by China on Kashgar, 58, _passim_. + + Berdan rifles, 246. + + Bhots, 9. + + Biddulph, Capt., 222. + + Birlas, 32. + + Birma, 42. + + Black Sea, 14. + + Bokhara, 18, 23, 25, 30, 69, 83, 178, 209, _passim_. + Russian treaty with, 179. + sack of, 30. + + Bolor, 37, 65. + + Bostang Lake, 266. + + Buddhism, 25, _passim_. + + Buddhists, 16, 31, _passim_. + + Bugur, fight at, 269. + + Burac, 30. + + Buzurg Khan, 2, 71, 87, 91, 103, 107, 108, 110. + intrigues against Yakoob Beg, 111, 117. + deposed by Yakoob Beg, 117. + + + Cabul, 28, 211. + + Calmucks, 19, 44, _passim_. + + Calmuck settlements, 19, 44. + + Canals, 59. + + Candahar, 28. + + Caravanbashi, 204. + + Carts used in Kashgar, 227-228. + + Cashmere, 1, 37, 60. + + Caspian, 14. + + Cay Yoli, 67. + + Chaghtai Khan, 29. + + Cha-hi-telkh, 267. + + Champion Father, 118. + + Chang Lung, 67. + + Chang Tay, 112. + + Chang Yao, 237, 246, 247, 263, 272. + + Chapman, Capt., 222. + + Charjui, 179. + + Chightam, 10, 134, _passim_. + + China, 41-43, _passim_. + + Chinaz, 85. + + Chinese and Khokand, 49. + + Chinese army, character of, 275. + + Chinese at Lhasa, 234. + + Chinese Empire in Central Asia, 22, 39, 43. + + Chinese, first reverse of, 65. + + Chinese in Kashgar, 49, 54-75. + + Chinese merchants, 5. + + Chinese moderation, 249, 270. + + Chinese north of Tian Shan, 236. + + Chinese overthrow Tungani, 236-237, 238. + + Chinese pay Khokand annual sum, 64. + + Chinese principle in ruling Kashgar, 156. + + Chinese reconquer Kashgar, 258-276. + + Chinese revindicating army, strength of, 246. + + Chinese rule, benefits and disadvantages of, 74-75. + + Chinese, strategical advantages of, 66. + + Chinese Turkestan, _see_ Eastern Turkestan. + + Chitral, 29. + + Christians, 25. + + Chuguchak, 10, _passim_. + + Chuntche, 42. + + Coal mines, 60. + + Cochin China, 42. + + Comparison between rule of Chinese and Yakoob Beg, 168-169, 255-257. + + Constantinople, 196, _passim_. + + Corbashi, 149. + + Corps of artillerymen, 142. + + Crusade, propagandist, against Khitay, 47. + + Czar, the, 185. + + + Dadkwah, _passim_, functions of, 144-145. + + Danyal, 44, 45. + + Darius, 36. + + Darwas, 72. + + Dastarkhwan, 225. + + Dava Khan, 30. + + Davatsi, 45-46. + + Delhi, 28. + + Destruction caused by Genghis Khan, 28. + + Devanchi, 244, 247. + + Devan defile, 244, _passim_. + + Difference between Eastern and Western Turkestan, 15. + + Dihbid, 76. + + Disunion in Central Asia, 120-121, 210-211. + in China, 92. + in Kashgar, 259-263. + + Djinghite, _see_ Jigit. + + Dolans, 9, 143. + + Dungani, _see_ Tungani. + + Dungans, _see_ Tungani. + + Durani, 51. + + Dylon Yulduc, 26. + + + Eastern Turkestan, 1, 15, 17, 38-42, 59, _passim_. + + Edinburgh, Duke of, 205. + + Effects of Khoja risings on China's prestige, 70. + + Effects of past misrule in Kashgar, 39. + + Elchi Khana, 228. + + Eleuthian, or Eleuth princes, 42, 46. + + Emir, or Ameer, 198, 220, _passim_. + + England's policy towards China, 257; _see_ chapter 14 also. + towards Kashgar, 212-235. + trade with Kashgar, 153, 202. + trans-Himalayan policy, 204; _see_ chapter 14 also. + + English mission guests of Yakoob Beg, 232. + + Eshan Khan, 71. + + + Ferghana, 25, 32, 181, 187, 210. + + First outbreak against China in Eastern Turkestan, 64. + + Forsyth, Sir T. D., 6, 22, 194, 196, 204, 216, 218-219, 233, 234. + + Forsyth's report, 221, 233. + interview with Yakoob Beg, 228-230. + second mission to Kashgar, 221-232. + + + Galdan, 44, 45. + + "Garden of Asia," 2, 59. + + Genghis Khan, 25-20, 220, _passim_. + code of, 20. + + Ghizni, 28. + + Gibbon, 220. + + Glacier, _see_ Muzart Pass. + + Gobi, 1, 2, 19, 156, 246, _passim_. + + Goes Benedict, 37. + + Goitre, 12, _passim_. + + Gordon, Col., 92, 222. + + Gorkhan, 25. + + Granville-Gortschakoff negotiations, 207. + + Great road from Kashgar to Hamil and Kansuh, 12. + + Great Yuldus, 273. + + Gregorieff, Professor, 138. + + Grim Pass, 223-224. + + Guchen, 10, 246. + + Gulbagh, 55, 66. + + Guoharbrum, 11. + + + Hacc Kuli Beg (Khokandian general), 69. + + Hacc Kuli Beg (Yakoob Beg's son), 79, 133, 244, 252-253, 260. + + Hadayatulla, 37, 38. + + Hadji Torah, 140, 141, 169-171, 196, 220, 221, 223, 232, 233, 248. + + Haft Khojagan, 71. + + Hai Yen, 239. + + Hakim Beg, 55. + + Hakim Khan, 250-253, 259-261. + + Hamil, 10, 59, 130, 246, 247. + + Han Hing Nung, 240. + + Hastings, Warren, 213. + + Hayward, Mr., 216. + + Hazrat Afak, 37, 38, 74. + + Heh Tsun, 240. + + Henderson, Dr., 218, 219. + + Her Majesty, autograph letter of, 230. + + "High Tartary," 212. + + Himalaya, 213. + + Himalayan passes, 213. + + Hindoo Koosh, 14, 17, 28. + + Hodjent, 37, 44, 84, 208, 209, _passim_. + + Hordes, Kirghiz, 50. + + Hoser, 272. + + Houchow, 95. + + Houtan, 7. + + Husen, 32. + + Hwang Tsang, 4. + + Hydar Kuli, Hudaychi, 84. + + Hydar, 35. + + + Ihrar Khan Torah, 172, 218, 219, 228. + + Ilchi, 7. + + Ili, 1, 2, 7, 22, 25, 44, 45, 48, 176; _see_ chapter 14, _passim_. + + Ili, Viceroy of, 56, _passim_. + + Irjar, 85. + + Isa Dadkwah, 65-66. + + Ishac Wang, 68. + + Islamism, 20. + + Ismail Shah, 72. + + Issik Kul, 17, 33, 174. + + + Jade, 60, 163-164, _passim_. + + Jallab, 6. + + Jattah Ulus, or Jattahs, 29, 33, 35. + + Jehangir (Ababakar's son), 36. + + Jehangir (Sarimsak's son), 64, 65-68. + + Jehangir (Timour's son), 34. + + Jigit, 143, _passim_. + + Jungaria, 1, 2, 15, 17, 25, 33, 34, 47, 134, 175, 236, _passim_. + + + Kabil Shah, 32. + + Kafiristan, 37. + + Kafirs, 37. + + Kaidu River, 30, 266. + + Khalkhalu, 24. + + Kamaruddin, 33. + + Kamensky, Mr., 248, 264, 265. + + Kamschatka, 41. + + Kanaat Shah, 82-83. + + Kanghi, 42. + + Kansuh, 20, 24, 43, 92, _passim_. + + Kara Khitay, 24, 25. + + Kara Kirghiz, 17. + + Karakoram, 2, 37, 48, 213. + + Karakoram (city), 29. + + Karanghotagh, 36. + + Karashar, 2, 9, 20, 130, 247, 266. + + Karataghluc, 37, 44, 46, 49. + description of, 52-53. + + Karatakka mountains, 68. + + Karategin, 68, 77. + + Karghalik, 225. + + Karshi, 179. + + Kashgar River, _see_ Kizil Su. + + Kashgari resigned to Chinese conquest, 52. + + Kashgar, 12, 25, 35, 45, 178, _passim_. + history of, 22-40. + + Kashgaria, 1, 2, 13, _passim_. + + Kashgarian valley, description of, 10. + + Kashgarian scenery, 11. + + Kashgari not fanatics, 140. + dress of, 140. + + "Kashmir and Kashgar," 223. + + Katti Torah, Khoja, 71. + + Kaufmann, General, 185, 195, 197, 206, 207, 209, 250. + + Kaulbars, Baron, 192-195, 197. + + Kaulbars Treaty, 219. + + Kazalinsk, 79. + + Kazan Ameer, 31, 32. + + Kazi, 145, 146. + + Kazi Rais, 6, 146. + + Keen-Lung, 43-45, 63, 93, 156, _passim_. + + Kermina, 179. + + Khalkas, 19. + + Khan, 220-221. + + Khan Amban, _see_ Amban of Yarkand. + + Khan Khoja, 38, 48. + + Khans of Central Asia, 39. + + Khaton, 23. + + Khitay, 5, 21, 46, 93, 143, 240, _passim_. + + Khitay merchants, 58. + + Khiva, 25, 27, 178, 181, 197, 206. + + Khivan desert, 32. + + Khize Khoja, 33. + + Kho Dalay, 111. + + Khoja Ahmad, 44. + + Khoja family, 37, 48, 64. + + Khoja invasion, 73. + + Khoja Ishac, 52. + + Khoja Kalan, 52. + + Khoja Kalar, 37. + + Khoja Kings, 31. + + Khoja Kulan, 102. + + Khoja Padshah, _see_ Abdullah. + + Khojam Beg, 45. + + Khokand, 3, 17, 36, 48, 49, 187, _passim_. + + Khokand pays tribute to China, 50, 63-64. + + Khokand, rising in, 209-210. + + Khokandian intrigues, 57. + + Khokandian tax-gatherers, 97. + + Khoten, 17, 24, 25, 50, 118, 121-123, 224-225. + description of, 6. + rising at, 262. + + Khoten gold mines, 163. + + Khoten jade, 163, _passim_. + + Khudadar, 34. + + Khudayar Khan, 71, 81-86, 120, 187-189, 208-209, _passim_. + + Khwaresm, _see_ Khiva. + + Kiachta, 48. + + Kichik Khan, 72. + + Kin Shun, 136, 263, 266-272. + + Kipchak, 14, 25, _passim_. + description of, 18. + + Kirghiz, 14, 16, 17, 104, 143, 184, 209, _passim_. + description of, 17. + nomads submit to China, 50. + + Kish, 32. + + Kizil Su, 3. + + Kizil Yart, 17, _passim_. + + Kludof, 182-185. + + Kohistan, 2. + + Kok Robat, battle of, 72, 228. + + Kolpakovsky, General, 182, 184, 281. + + Kooda Kuli Beg, 79, 130. + + Koosh Bege, 79, _passim_. + + Korla, description of, 9, 245, 248, 267, 268, _passim_. + + Koshluk, 25. + + Kouralia, _see_ Korla. + + Kouroungli, _see_ Korla. + + Kucha, 2, 8, 127-130, 268, 269, 270, _passim_. + battle at, 270-271. + description of, 9. + + Kucha coal mines, 163. + + Kucha Khojas, 127, _passim_. + + Kuen Lun, 7. + + Kuhna Turfan, 7; _see_ Turfan. + + Kuhwei, 265, 266. + + Kuldja, 2, 94. + + Kuldja question, 265. + + Kuli Beg. 79, 133, 137, 141, 171, 250, 251, 252-253, 260-263, 274, 276. + + Kumush, 265. + + Kunar, 29. + + Kurama, 76, 82, _passim_. + + Kuropatkine, Capt., 204, 244-245. + + Kurtka Fort, 65. + + Kutaiba, 24. + + + Ladakh, 213. + + Lahore, 31. + + "Lahore to Yarkand," 219. + + Lake Lob, 134, 245. + + Lanchefoo, 45, 59, 246, _passim_. + + Laws in Kashgar, 145-146. + + Leaoutung, 41. + + Leh, 153. + + Lhasa, 60. + + Little Bokhara, 1, 213. + + Liu Kin Tang, _see_ Kin Shun. + + Lob Nor, _see_ Lake Lob. + + + Mah Dalay, 100. + + Mahomedanism in Kashgar, 24. + + Mahomedanism, _passim_. + + Mahomed Ali Khan (ruler of Khokand), 37, 66, 68, _passim_. + + Mahomed Arif, 77. + + Mahomed Beg of Artosh, 172. + + Mahomed Khan, 170. + + Mahomed Khoja, 171; _see_ also Sheikh-ul-Islam. + + Mahomed Kuli, 102. + + Mahomed Latif, _see_ Pur Mahomed. + + Mahomed Nazzar. 214, 215. + + Mahomed Seyyid Wang, of Kashgar, 66. + + Mahomed Yunus Jan, 140, 171-172, 215, 226, 227, 261. + + Makhram, battle of, 210. + + Manas, 133, 236, 263. + siege of, 239-240. + + Manchuria, 19. + + Manning, Thomas, 213, 294. + + Mansur, 35. + + Mantchoo, 41, 42. + + Maralbashi, 8, 31, 66, 110, 121; _see also_ Bartchuk. + + Marco Polo, 14, 30. + + Maulana Khoja Kasani, 52. + + Ma-yeo-pu, 270. + + Mecca, 37. + + Merv, 179. + + Meshed, 179. + + Michell, Messrs, opinion on Kashgar, 213. + + Military settlers, 50. + + Mines in Kashgar, 8. + + Ming dynasty, 41. + + Mingyol, battle at, 69. + + Mir, 82. + + Mirza, 204. + + Mirza Jan Effendi, 170. + + Mollah Khan, 82, 170. + + Mongols, 25, 41. + + Mongols, murder of, 27. + + Moorcroft, Mr., 213. + + Moral of Yakoob Beg's career, 257. + + Morozof, Mr., 202. + + Moscow gewgaws, 182. + + "Moses in the land," 39. + + Mourad Beg, 69. + + Mozaffur Eddin, 83, 179, 186, _passim_. + + Mufti, 146. + + Mufti Habitulla, 122-123. + murder of, 123. + + Mughol _see_ Mongol. + + Mugholistan. 1, 29. + + Muhtasib, 6. + + Mussulman Kuli, 18, 81-82, _passim_. + + Muzart Pass, 61, 78, 273. + + Mysoka Bahadur, 26. + + + Nadir Shah, 51, _passim_. + + Naiman tribe, 25. + + Nankin, 92. + + Nar Mahomed Khan, 77, 169. + + Naryn, 8, 61, 177, 178, 180, 183, _passim_. + + Nasruddin, 209-210. + + Nestorian Christians, 30. + + New Turfan, 7. + + Nur Ali (Kirghiz), 50. + + + Ogdai Khan, 29, 34. + + Oigur princes, 23. + + Oigurs, 16. + + Old saying in Kashgar, 39. + + Olja Turkan Khaton, 32. + + Opinion of Chinese rule, 152. + + Orda, or palace, at Kashgar, 3, 142. + + Orda, _passim_. + + Oxus, 23, 211. + + + Pamere, _see_ Pamir. + + Pamir, 1, 2, 8, 25, 36, 48. + + Panjkora, 28. + + Panthays, 92, 175, _passim_. + + Pekin, 29, 47, _passim_. + + _Pekin Gazette_, 238, 249, 253, 267, 272. + + Perovsky, General, 79-81. + + Perovsky Fort, 81. + + Persia, 14, 23. + + Piskent, 76, 77. + + Population of Kashgaria, 2, 59, 157. + of city of Kashgar, 3. + of city of Kucha, 9. + of city of Yarkand, 5. + + Powers interested in Kashgar, 196. + + Presents to Yakoob Beg, 230-231. + + Prester John, 25. + + Prince of Kashgar, _see_ Ishac Wang. + + Prjevalsky, Col., 20, 245, 250, 273. + + Pupyshef, Mr., 199-200. + + Pur Mahomed Mirza, 76. + + + Rashid, 37, 52. + + Reinthal's, Capt., mission to Kashgar, 184-185, 202-204. + + Rising against Russia, folly of, if not combined, 180. + + Risings in Khokand, _see_ Khokand. + + Road between Ili and Kashgar, 61. + + "Road Board," 62. + + Romanoffski, General, 85. + + "Roof of the World," 222. + + Royal Body Guard, 226. + + Ruduk, 233. + + Russia at Vernoe, 130. + + Russia demands Consuls in Kashgar, 203, 205. + + Russia in Central Asia, 47, 173. + + Russia in Kuldja or Ili, 133, 174-177, 279-282. + + Russia invades Kuldja, 206. + + Russia promises to restore Ili, 175. + + Russian attitude towards Chinese, 248. + + Russian merchants, 164, 182, 193, 197, 199, 202. + + Russian policy towards Kashgar, 177-209. + + Russian trade with Kashgar, 153. + + + Sadic Beg, 86, 87, 102, 103, 104, 107, 116, 117, 261, 263, 275. + embassy to Tashkent, 87. + truce with, 107. + + Sahib Khan, 81. + + Said, 35, 36, 37, 52. + + Salara, 95. + + Samarcand, 25, 33, 52, 179. + + Saniz, 34. + + Sanju, 7, 36, 224, _passim_. + + Sanju Devan, 11, 223. + + Sarbaz, 143, _passim_. + + Sarimsak Khoja, 48, 51, 64, 65. + + Satuk Bughra Khan, 24. + + Schlagintweit, Messrs., 16, 214 _passim_. + + Schuyler, Eugene, 195. + + Scobelef, Gen., 207. + + Scobelef, Col., 207, 210. + + Scourges of God, 28, 33. + + Seistan, 32. + + Seven Khoja princes, 71. + + Seyyid Ali, 34. + + Seyyid Yakoob Khan, _see_ Hadji Torah. + + Shadi Mirza, 184-185. + + Shahidoolah, 223. + + Shahrisebz, 32. + + Sham, 226. + + Shariat, 90, 145. + + Shaw, Robt., 16, 194, 212, 213, 215, 218, 221, 232, 234. + + Sheikh-ul-Islam, 116-117, 151, 158. + + Sheikh Nizamuddin, 77. + + Shensi, 20, 92, 237. + + Shere Ali (Cabul), 8, 118, 179. + + Shere Ali Khan (Khokand), 83. + + Siberia, 1, 47. + + Sirikul, 8, 106, 118, 132. + + Six Cities, _see_ Altyshahr. + + Sobo tribes, 94. + + Somof, Mr., 109-200. + + St. George and St. Anne Cross Fever, 206. + + St. Petersburg, 185, 196. + + Stoliczka, Dr., 222. + + Story of St Constantine's day, 194. + + Subashi, 265. + + "Sublimely Pure," 42. + + Sule, 1. + + Sultan Mourad, 83. + + Sultan Seyyid, 83, 86. + + Suranchi Beg, 65, 104. + + Syr Darya, 18, 79, 192. + + Swat, 28. + + Szchuen, 58, 237. + + + Taepings, 92. + + Tagharchi, 106. + + Tajik, 14, 78. + + Talifoo, 92, 175, 237. + + Tamerlane, _see_ Timour. + + Tanab, 162. + + Tanabi, 162. + + Tang dynasty, 22. + + Tang Jen Ho, 265. + + Tangut, 27. + + Tarantchis. 12, 68, 124-125. + + Tarfur, _see_ Turfan. + + Tartar, 15 _passim_. + + Tarzagchi, 149. + + Tash Balik, 65. + + Tashkent, 25, 32, 49, 84, 208. + battle of, 85, 209, _passim_. + etiquette at, 206. + + _Tashkent Gazette_, _see_ Turkestan. + + Tashkurgan, 8. + + Tatsing, 42. + + Tawats, _see_ Davatsi. + + Taxes in Kashgar, 56, 62, 63, 151-160. + + Tay Dalay, 55. + + Tchernaief, 84-85. + + Tchimkent, 84. + + Tekes, river and pass, 133, 273. + + Tenure of land in Kashgar, 161. + + Terek Pass, 61, 103. + + Tian Shan, 2, 20, 33, 59, 247, _passim_. + + Tian Shan Nan Lu, 61. + + Tian Shan Pe Lu, 61. + + Tibet, 7, 37, 42, 50, 56, 60, 213, 217. + Cashmerian, 2. + + Tibetan table-land, 36. + + Timour, 32-34, 91. + + Timour Khan (Chinese Emperor), 31. + + Timour, Yakoob Beg's descent from, 77. + + Tobolsk, 48. + + Toghluc Timour, 31, 33. + + Toksoun, 242, 244, 264. + battle at, 247. + + To Teh Lin, 240. + + Trade, 153. + + Trade privileges, 57. + + Trade with China, 217-218; _see_ chapter 14. + + Trade with Kashgar, 106, 216-217. + + Treaty between England and Kashgar, 232. + + Treaty between Russia and Kashgar, 194. + + Treaty with Khokand, 69. + + Trotter, Captain, 222. + + Tsedayar, 268. + + Tso Tsung Tang, 246, 247, 263, 265, 272, 275, _passim_. + army of, 272. + + Tungani, 2, 19, 20, 21, 93, 130, 144, 239, 241, 243, _passim_. + description of, 19, 93-94. + + Tungan rising proper, 95, 96, 123-124. + in Kashgar, 96, 102. + in Kuldja, 124-125. + + Tungani desert Yakoob Beg, 249. + + Tungani unorthodox, 127. + defend Kucha, 127-130. + + Turanian family, 14, 15. + + Turcomans, 32. + + Turfan, 21, 130, 242, 244, 264. + battle at, 247. + + Turfan Ush, _see_ Ush Turfan. + + Turghay, 32. + + Turkestan, Eastern, _see_ Eastern Turkestan. + Western, _see_ Western Turkestan. + + _Turkestan Gazette_, 251, 252, 264, _passim_. + + Turkestan Trading Company, 232. + + Tyfu, 231. + + + Uigurs, _see_ Oigurs. + + Uman Sheikh, 36. + + Urumtsi, 10, 130, 131, 134, 236. + siege of, 238-239. + + Usbeg, 14. + + Usha Tal, 265. + + "Ushr" tax, 62, 160. + + Ush Turfan, 7, 45, 46, 47, 130, 183, 273. + rising at, 51. + + + Vagrants, laws against, 150. + + Value of land in Kashgar, 160-161. + + Vernoe, 8, 130, 174, 176, 182. + + Viceroy of Ili, 55, _passim_. + + Viceroy of Kansuh, 237-238; _see also_ Tso Tsung Tung. + + "Vodka," 209. + + "Vuoba," 264. + + + Wakhan, 8, 64. + + Wali Khan, 71, 72, 214. + character of, 72-73. + + Wangs, 56, 63, _passim_. + + Wanleh, 41. + + Wealth of Kashgar merchants, 165. + + Western Turkestan, 14, 15, _passim_. + + + Yahya, 38. + + Yakoob Beg, birth of, 76; + early career, 78-91; + character of, 88, 91; + charges against, 89; + sets out against Kashgar, 91; + expedition against Kashgar, 103-118; + fails to take Yarkand, 106; + defeats Tungan army near Yangy Hissar, 109; + marries Kho Dalay's daughter, 112; + attacks Yarkand again, 113-116; + reverse at Yarkand, 114; + takes Yarkand, 116; + reasons for wars with Tungani, 120; + wars with Tungani, 126-127, 127-130, 132-136; + retrospect of his invasion of Kashgar, 119; + his army, 134-135, 142-144; + policy towards Tungani, 135-136; + internal policy, 137-139; + foreign policy, _see_ chapters 10 and 11; + court of, 138-139; + police system of, 146-152; + principles of finance of, 154-167; + expenses of, 157; + revenue of, 167; + reply to Russian threats, 186, 191-192; + reply to Khudayar Khan's overtures, 190; + sends envoy to Tashkent, 195; + arrangement with Sultan, 196; + his opinion of trade, 198; + out-manoeuvres Russia, 199-201; + congratulates Czar on marriage of his daughter, 205; + prepares to defend himself against Russia, 208; + weakness of his foreign policy, 210-211; + policy towards England, 218-233; + decline of friendship towards England, 231; + prepares to defend himself against China, 244-246; + comparison with China, 241-249; + death of, 250-253; + resume of career, 253-257, _passim_. + + Yakoob Khan, 220; _see_ Yakoob Beg. + + Yakoob Khan, of Cabul, 221. + + Yangabad, battle of, 67. + + Yangy Hissar, 4, 24, 35, 36, 44, 105, 228. + fort surrenders to Yakoob Beg, 106. + + Yangy Mussulmans, 112, 243, _passim_. + + Yangy Shahr, 34, 68, _passim_. + at Yarkand, gallant defence of, 101. + at Kashgar, 102, 107, 111-112. + + Yarkand, 3, 5, 44, 226. + embassy to, 22. + river, 5, 59. + Tungan rising in, 99-102, 105-106. + + Yuldus, 133; _see also_ Great Yuldus. + + Yung Ching, 43. + + Yunus, 34, 35, 40. + + Yusuf (son of Galdan), 46. + + Yusuf (son of Sarimsak), 64, 69. + + Yuzbashi Mahomed Zareef Khan, 223. + + + "Zakat" tax, 62, 160, 164-167. + + Zilchak, 226. + + Zuelik, 79. + + Zuhuruddin, 70-72. + + +Woodfall & Kinder, Printers, Milford Lane, Strand, London, W.C. + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + +The following modifications have been made to the text. + +Page 205: detracted replaced with detraction. + + There is no difficulty in arriving at the conclusion that such + exhibitions as this is an instance of detracted from the + otherwise great and striking characteristics of the ruler of + Kashgar. + +Page 250: Missing period added at the end of sentence. + + They were probably not aware of what was taking place some 300 + miles from their camp until many weeks after it had happened; + and then conceived that their best policy would be to give time + for the disintegrating causes at work within the state to have + their full effect before they advanced westward. + +Page 255: unaminity replaced with unanimity. + + There were superior strategy and superior weapons; greater force + and greater determination; no hesitation in action, and perfect + unaminity in council; all combined to crush one poor forlorn + man, fighting with all the desperation of despair for life, if + not for liberty. + +Page 258: Missing t added, aken replaced with taken. + + Nor did it follow as a matter of necessity that because the + Chinese had aken Turfan they could capture Kashgar or Yarkand. + +Page 278: momet replaced with moment. + + Moreover there is the unknown quantity of the rivalry of Li Hung + Chang and Tso Tsung Tang, and whatever influence the latter may + have with the army and the ruling caste on account of his + Mantchoo blood, the former holds the purse in his hands, and can + at any momet paralyse Chinese activity and strength in Central + Asia. + +Page 306: accurracy replaced with accuracy. + + the accurracy of which has been so strikingly proved by the + correct position given to the two lakes Khas-omo, + +Page 337: Period replaced with comma after 209-210. + + Abderrahman Aftobatcha, 18, 209-210. 211. + +Page 339: Hyder replaced with Hydar. + + Hyder, 35. + +Page 340: Kalkhalu replaced with Khalkhalu. + + Kalkhalu, 24. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Life of Yakoob Beg, by Demetrius Boulger + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE OF YAKOOB BEG *** + +***** This file should be named 33712.txt or 33712.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/7/1/33712/ + +Produced by The Bookworm, [bookworm.librivox AT gmail.com], +Asad Razzaki and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team +at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from scanned +images of 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