1842
Wood's Journal to the River Orus
147
nake good his loss. On the appointed day the merchant presented fuinself, when, to his great chagrin, the koorgeen was produced. It had not been opened, and much to the crafty man's annoyance, this was now done by the authorities; when, instead of the sun he had sworn to, the articles it con- tained were found not to exceed a few yambos in value. A circumstantial detail of the whole affair was transmitted to Peking, and the emperor decided it to be for the benefit of his exchequer, and the moral good of his subjects, that the admission into the country of barbarous and unprincipled foreigners should forthwith be prohibited. This may, or it may not, have been the case; but from the story, we learn the high estimation in which the Chinese cha- racter is held among those most intimate with them.” Page 280.
One more short extract is all that our limits will allow us to bor- row from the personal narrative before us: it is a notice of a Jewish traveler-a Russian by birth. Our author is speaking of those who had visited Yárkand.
"All our visitors spoke in high terms of Yárkand, and appeared delighted with its climate, and its inhabitants. They expatiated on the peculiarities of the Chinese, and the contrast which they exhibit when compared with other nations. Many accounts of their customs and habits, winch 1 received when at Jerm, were afterwards confirmed by a traveling Jew, who had tried, but failed, to accomplish a journey through their territories. This man was a Russian by birth, and had been for many years a traveler in the countries bordering the Caspian and the lake of Aral. Hearing that records of the missing tribes were to be obtained in Kashmir, or Tibet, he was journeying thither when my múnshí, Gholam Hussein fell in with him at Balkh. This man's original plan was, to penetrate by the ruote of Kokan, Kashgar, and Yárkand; but, though skilled in the various languages of central Asia, and conforming to the dress and habits of its people, the cunning of his nation was no match for the honest, zeal with which the public functionaries of Kasligar executed the orders of their emperor. Suspicion attached to his character; and after proceeding as far as that town, he was forced to retrace his steps. A large guard, he said, was stationed in a tower above the city gate, from which all caravans could be seen, while yet distant. Before they are permitted to enter the city, each individual is strictly examined; their personal appearance is noted down in writing, and if any are suspected, an artist is at hand to take their likenesses. Interpreters for every current dialect are also present. To each of the persons subjected to this vexatious investigation the Chinese make a present of a few tangas (or copper cash). The Jew traveler mentioned a singular, and I should infer, an efficient puishment for the crime of theft, inflicted in the Chinese cities through which he had passed. The critninal is not incarcerated, but made to walk the street with a clog attached to his feet, or a wooden collar suspended about lus neck. of a size, and for a time, proportional to the offence " Pave
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