Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/79

I desert yield only brackish or bitter water. Al- most all is confined to their vicinity or that of the streams. The climate is always dry, ex- ceedingly hot in summer, and very cold in winter, which however is short. Salt and sul- phur are obtained on the steppes. The ani- mals of the desert comprise gazelles, horses, asses, pigs, foxes, and hares. Although pre- serving a nominal independence, Khiva and Bokhara are practically subject to Eussia. The portions annexed by the Eussians pre- vious to the annexation of Khokan in 1876 have been united with a part of the Siberian province of Semipolatinsk to form the gov- ernment general of Turkistan ; area in 1875, about 400,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 2,000,000. It comprises all that part of the country which is N. of the khanates and the Thian- shan range, from Kulja inclusive on the east (see KULJA) to the sea of Aral on the west, with the lower course of the Oxus for the S. W. frontier. But Kulja is usually regarded by geographers as belonging not to Turkistan, but to Dzungaria or Sungaria, a country inhabited by Kirghiz, Olots, the once powerful tribe of the Dzungarians, and others, the Chinese por- tion of which lies between the Thian-shan mountains, the Altai, and Mongolia. The west- ern part of Eussian Turkistan is overspread with steppes. The desert of Kizil Kum (red sand) occupies the region between the Oxus and the river which gives the province its name. The eastern part of the government general is mountainous. It is drained by the river Hi, flowing into the great Balkash lake, and the Tchu river, flowing N". W. from the vicinity of the more southerly lake Issik-kul. Lake Bal- kash is 780 ft. above the sea level, and has an area of 400 sq. m.. while Issik-kul covers about 335 sq. m. of surface at an altitude of 4,540 ft. The most populous parts of Eussian Tur- kistan (exclusive of Khokan) are in the vicinity of the principal towns, Tashkend, Samarcand, and Khojend. The plains are permanently habitable and capable of cultivation only in the neighborhood of the watercourses. The mineral wealth of Eussian Turkistan, especially in gold and coal, is supposed to be large, but remains undeveloped. The government is di- vided into nine administrative districts, besides Khokan. The governor general, who is also the military commander-in-chief, has his head- quarters at Tashkend. The fundamental classi- fication of the inhabitants of West Turkistan, according to Mr. E. B. Shaw, is into Turks or Tartars and Tajiks or Aryans. A cross classifi- cation is into the Kirghiz or nomads and the Sarts or settled population. In the towns of West Turkistan the Tajik element predominates in numbers, except in Khokan. In this race the features are handsome, the complexion fair, the face usually bearded, and there is a general resemblance to the Aryans of northern India. The language of the Tajiks is a variety of Persian. In the khanates the Uzbecks are the ruling class, whose nomadic kinsmen are TUEKISTAN 67 the hordes of Kirghiz in the north and east, and the Turkomans of Khiva and the adjacent steppes. The Kirghiz are described as stunted in appearance, with prominent cheek bones, flattened noses, and scarcely any beard. The Uzbecks of the towns are handsomer, with some resemblance to the Tajiks in many cases. The Turkoman is generally above middle stature, powerfully developed, with a white skin, round head, small nose and chin, and scanty whiskers. A careful estimate of all the tribes indicates that their number is about 8,000,000 persons. They are fierce, haughty, and given to deeds of rapine and plunder, irascible and violent, but usually truthful and hospitable. All the tribes mentioned are Sunni Mohammedans. The commerce of the country is considerable, and is conducted entirely by means of cara- vans. Native productions form but a small part of this commerce ; but the towns are convenient places of exchange for the products of Eussia, Persia, Afghanistan, India, and the Chinese empire. The manufactures consist chiefly of some silk and cotton stuffs, sabres, knives, and other weapons. The exports are cotton, mostly from China, wool from Thibet, fruits, hides, sheepskins, and silk. The im- ports are muslins, brocades, sugar, shawls, and white cloths from India; European manufac- tured goods from Eussia ; porcelain, musk, tea, rhubarb, and cotton from China; and wool from Thibet. East Turkistan is bounded N. by the Thian-shan range, E. by the desert of Gobi, S. by Cashmere and Thibet, and W. by the Pamir plateau. Its area is estimated at about 500,000 sq. m., and its population at from 600,000 to 1,000,000. The country has long been denominated Alti-shahar or Alti-tchakan (the six cities), from the towns of Kashgar, Yarkand, Khoten, Yang-shahr, Ush-Turfan, and Aksu, which constitute its principal centres of population and trade. It is now divided into seven provincial governments under the ruler of Kashgar. The portion bordering Pamir is extremely mountainous, as are also the north- ern and southern frontiers ; but the interior is an extensive plain with a general elevation of from 3,000 to 5,000 ft., described by Shaw as resembling an immense bay with its convex side toward the mountains and its concave side toward the desert. The chief rivers are afflu- ents of the Tarim, the course of which extends about 500 m. from the 81st meridian eastward into the desert ; among them are the Khoten from the south, the Yarkand from the south- west, and the Kashgar from the west, all named from the largest cities on their banks. The climate is extremely dry, and the land is there- fore a desert except where there is natural or artificial irrigation. The temperature in the west ranges from 26 below zero in winter to 150 above in summer, but in the east and south is more equable. Along the streams are fertile belts of productive soil, where the vege- tation is most abundant, and under the intense heats of summer many of the semi-tropical