Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-30

source of large incomes. They are the best
breeders of cattle. sheep and camels in
Asia. and the necessary search for fresh
pasture Is the cause Of their migratiens
over the steppes. Like the Bedouins OF
Arabia, they do not wander indiscrimi-
nately. however. but have settled quar-
tiers for the different seasons of the year.
| with many fixed villages of mud huts
and large cultivated areas. Agricultural
pursuits are looked down upon by the
naughty horsemen. but are so profitable
| as to counterbalance the contempt that
those who pillow the ground are obliged
to submit to. Most of the kirghiZ war
| riorS devote themselves entirely to breed
| ing animals, leaving all the other work
| to be done by the women
They are tireless rouh riders, and oc-
cupy the saddle for days at time with
out showing the slightest fatigue. They
are hospitable. generous and amiable to
| those whom they consider friendly but
their promises are not to be depended on.
They never fulfill contract unless it is
| for their interest to do so. Their Unre
liability and untruthfuness, however. is
| due to Indifference and lazness rather
| than to vicious disposition. They are
| light-hearted, tickle. easily Influenced and
| anectionate, and one of their best traits
is their respect for age and authority, and
| their chivalry toward women.
| Children of Nature.
Eugene Schuyler. who spent much time
| among them says: THE Kirghiz, owing
| to the simplicity Of their lives. are far
| more children of nature than other
| Asiatics, and have ali the faults and
virtues of children. Probably the first
acquaintance with them will be found
disagreeabie, and certainly the side the
casual traveller sees is their worst, but,
upon knowing them more intimately. one
cannot help liking, and even respecting
them, and it is the verdict of every one
who has lived in Central Asia that the
kirghiz are superior to all the other
races.
In religion they are Monammedans, al
though they have no knowledge of re-
ligious doctrines or principles, no set
tied priests and few of them can read
or write. They rarely pray. they neglect
all Of the injunctions of the Koran, as
they do every other moral principle, but
would resent an insinuat!on that they are
hoods and allow their boards to grow:
wear baggy leather breeches; coarse
shirts with wide striped collars, and
from one to three padded dressing gowns
weather. The rich indulge in velvet and
silk robes, often heavily embroidered with
gold and silver braid. The government
has frequently encouraged their pride and
vanity by presenting red velvet robes to
the chieftains as marks of distinction.
On their heads they wear little skull caps
embroidered in an elaborate manner un
der enormous shakos of sheepskin. Much
of their wealth is invested in ornaments
for their saddles and brides. which are
sometimes heavy laden with silver and
gold.
The Kirghiz look like Mongols and as
rule are short Of stature, with round
swarthy faces, fiat noses. high cheek
bones, sharp black slantng eyes and
tightly drawn eyelids.
Live in Circular Felt Tents.
They live in kibitkas. which are crcu
lar tents made of felt of their own
weaving, stretched over frames of will
lows, which can be taken apart and
packed easily, and one kibtka makes a
load for single camel The entrance is
protected by flap of felt. The interior
of the tent Is carpeted with rugs and
hung with embroideries. the trappIngs of
more or less value. according to his
wealth. rich kirghiz will sit upon |
priceless rug, sleep upon mattress COW
cred with silk and carry several hundred |
person in the form Of ornaments.
The kirghiz that wander and live in |
kibitkas are called kaha-Kirghiz which !
means black. and those who live in viii |
lagos are known as kirghiz-K aiziaks. |
which means located but you generally |
find them together. Every village of mud |
huts is surrounded by an encampment of |
round movable tents made of framework |
of willow withes and covered with felt.
If you inquire of kirghiz concerning
his ancestry he will tell you that Noah |
had nine sons, one of whom after the |
flood moved to Turkestan and settled on |
the banks of the Oxus. This son had |
forty daughters and became famous for
word for forty, and "ghz the word for
daughters. Hence the descendants of the |
prolific family became known as kirghiz. |
and the name has stuck to them. But
they have no history or literature, scarce |
ly a written language. Very few of them |
can read OF write, and printed words have
no meaning for them. 1t is believed that |
they are decreasing in numbers, although |
not permit themselves to be seen by the |
census agents AS soon as any attempt |
of that kind is made they scatter over the |
plains.
A Dying Race.
But comparing accounts that are given
of them by ancient authors with their |
condition today it Is very plain that they |
are dying race. A horde of 100000 kir-
ghiz followed Tamerlane in his CAM
paigns in 1900 and it would be difficult |
to muster 10000 today.
AS the train approaches Bokhara the
y
across the barren tableand, which has
been lifted above the surrounding coun-
try, you can see evidences of verdure |
ten or twelve miles before the boundaries
of the GASES are reached Then you first
come to cultivated areas surrounded by
mud walls six and eight feet high, with
the boughs of fruit trees hanging over
them, and poplars standing In low rows
like sentinels to guard them on either
side. These Enclosures are the country
seats of the rich men of Bokhara, who
are compelled to protect their gardens
and their fruit in this way from the wan
dering tribesmen Of the desert, and the
followers of the caravans that even now
are continually crossing the sandy
wastes AS long ago as the tenth CEN
fury an Arab traveller wrote a descrip-
ton of this country, in which he described |
the suburbs of Bokhara as the most
beautiful spot on earth and declared that
he never again hoped to see anything so
lovely as where the green of the earth
and the azure of the heavens were united |
among the villas of that noble city.
A Tree Climbing Snake.