Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-22

ING - with US. They cost little, Wen
laid thatch lasts for years. and. OF course.
can be replaced without much expense
when necessary. The rafters are the
trunks Of young poplar trees. which are
planted and cultivated for that purpose.
A poplar farm is a profitable enterprise
Hard Rains Are Rare.
Two or three hard rains would wash
Bokhara house into the gutter. but rains
are rare In this country, and the mud
walls crumble under the force OF the
wind more than under the rain. Hence
prudent house owner will smear the out
side of his dwelling over with new
coat OF mud at least once a year IL
does not cost much, either in money or
labor. and he can get the material In MS
own garden, or even by the ROADSIDE.
Ninety per cent of the buildings In
Bokhara were made in this way. Inc
mosques and meddresses, the Tinarets
and other public buildings are MADE OF
kiln-dried brick about eighteen incnes
long an and inch thick. similar to those
used in Pompeii and In ancient Greece.
They are more expensive than sun-drted
brick because of the scarcity of fuel. but
are not affected by the weather or the eli
mate. and are practically fndestruct,Die.
Building material in all rafnless dis
tricts, however, is the same. The Casa
Grande ruins in Arizona and the pueblos
of the southwestern Indians are almost
exactly like the dwellings of Bokhara,
Samarkand, Merv and other provinces
of Turkestan, and IL they were trans
ported here they would fit into the pic
ture perfectly.
a history of Bokhara was written by
Armenius Vambery, a Hungarian, in 1873
and published in London. 1t has been
very severely criticised, however. and
been declared unreliable.
ctr Oh no hn q ND
of Bokhara and other cities we
have occasionally witnessed performances
Of "hafiscas," or professional elocution-
lists, similar to the Ministries OF Scotland
and the bayaderes Of ancient Spain. Some
OF them are aged men, patriarchal In
appearance, with long white boards,
snowy turbans, heavy eyebrows and dark.
deep, serious eyes. Others are mere
boys, fourteen or fifteen years OF age.
handsome fellows with clear olive COM
graceful movements. They are often
students, or 'softas," as they
are called.
Some Are True Elocutionists.
With unmusical voices pitched at a
painfully high key, like the songs OF the
japanese, the hafiscas recite religious
and historical poems Some of them have
a dramatic fervor and the merit OF true
eloquence. but too often their recitals are
spoiled by a sing-song monotony OF tone
that is expressionless to us, but is great
ly admired by the people.
Chinese singing is musical to Chinese
ears, but not to Europeans, and when
the hafiscas begin their performances be-
fore a coffee house, in the vestibule or
a mosque or in the market places. they
are promptly surrounded by admiring au-
who squat on the ground in
circles around them and listen with
GREATNESS attention. There is never any
applause. / suppose II would be consid-
his approval by tossing a copper into the
hat when II Is passed around.
Bokhara is celebrated for its cats. They
are Of the same breed as the Persian
rats which are often found in the United
States and are now being bred quite ex-
among our people. They have
long. thick, silken, black hair and bushy
tails, which they are very vain OF and
keep in perfect order. A Bokhara cat
spends as much time on her toilet as a
1amsel dressing for a ball. Their habits
are neat, they have good tempers, are
excellent mousers and make perfect
household pets.
The dogs are mongrel, NANCY crea-
lures. They sneak around the bazaars
and market places seeking for food and
are the real scavengers Of the place, like
those of Constantinople. A gentleman
told me yesterday that he had never seen
4 decent dog In a Mohammedan country,
which. I think, Is very likely true.