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HORSES OF BADAKSHAN.

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which have a peculiar language, and are Idolaters, of a brown complexion. They are great adepts in sorceries and the diabolic arts. The men wear earrings and brooches of gold and silver set with stones and pearls. They are a pestilent people and a crafty; and they live upon flesh and rice. Their country is very hot.

Now let us proceed and speak of another country which is seven days' journey from this one towards the south-east, and the name of which is Keshimur.

ment.

The Badakshan country is still famed for its rubies, although the quality of the gems is not so high as in earlier times; and the working of the ruby mines is a monopoly in the hands of the governBy "azure" Marco means lapis-lazuli, a semi-precious stone of a beautiful blue colour, greatly esteemed by gem-workers. As for the horses that were claimed to have descended from the famous Bucephalus of Alexander the Great, we may say that many Oriental people are famous braggarts; and although the horses of Badakshan are still so beautiful and strong that Afghan robbers continually raid the country to steal them, it is unlikely that any progeny of Bucephalus were then to be found in any quarter of the world.

Keshimur, of which our traveller next speaks, is readily understood to be Cashmere, lying just south of the Hindu Kush, and famous for its shawls, attar of roses, and other products. Here is Marco's very brief account of that province:

OF THE PROVINCE OF KESHIMUR.

Keshimur also is a Province inhabited by a people who are Idolaters and have a language of their own. They have an astonishing acquaintance with the devilries of enchantment; insomuch that they make their idols to speak. They can also by their sorceries bring on changes of weather and produce darkness, and do a number of things so extraordinary that no one without seeing them would believe them. Indeed, this country is the very original source from which Idolatry has spread abroad.

In this direction you can proceed further till you come to the Sea of India.

The men are brown and lean, but the women, taking them as brunettes, are very beautiful. The food of the people is flesh, and milk, and rice. The clime is finely tempered, being neither very hot nor very cold.

There are in this country Eremites (after the fashion of those parts), who dwell in seclusion and practise great abstinence in eating and drinking. They keep from all sins forbidden in their law, so that they are regarded by their own folk as holy persons. They live to a great age.

There are also a number of idolatrous abbeys and monasteries. The people of the province do not kill animals nor spill blood; so if they want to eat meat they get the Saracens who dwell among them to play the butcher. The coral which is carried from our parts of the world has a better sale there than in any other country.

Now we will quit this country, and not go any further in the same direction; for if we did so we should enter India, and that I do not wish to do at present. For, on our return journey, I mean to tell you about India: all in regular order. Let us go back therefore to Badashan, for we cannot otherwise proceed on our journey.

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MERE JUGGLERY.

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The conjurers of Cashmere seem to have made a great impression on Marco, who had seen them before at the court of Kublai Khan. They had, and still have, a wide reputation for their skill. Like many other so-called magicians, they have the power of deceiving on-lookers to so great an extent that men have soberly reported that they saw iron float in the water, rocks rise in the air without being touched by any one, and clouds come and go and mists fall, all at the bidding of the magician. It is, of course, all mere jugglery.

Marco's statement that Buddhism, or "Idolatry," as he styles it, spread from Cashmere, must be taken with some allowance; for although that faith did spread thence into Tibet and other lands where it holds great power, it first went into Cashmere from India. One of the first of the Ten Obligations, or commandments, of Buddhism is to refrain from taking life; and the pious Eremites (or hermits) and Buddhists whom Marco saw, while they did not hesitate to eat meat, would not kill with their own hands the animal that was to be eaten. That is still the custom of the country; the good Buddhist will not cause death if he can possibly avoid it.

CHAPTER VI.

THE ROOF OF THE WORLD-HOW THE PAMIR COUNTRY BORDERS ON THREE GREAT EMPIRES-THE GREAT HORNED SHEEP OF THE STEPPES-A MARVELLOUS STORY OF SAMARCAND.

W

E have heard much, of late years, about the Pamir country; and we shall hear more about it as time goes on: for the Pamir steppe, as it is sometimes called, lies in the heart of Central Asia, north-east of Afghanistan, south of Asiatic Russia, and west of Turkestan. Therefore it borders on the empires of Russia, China, and British India; on its lofty plains may be fought more than one battle for supremacy. It is a series of plateaus, 15,000 feet above the level of the sea; and some of its loftiest mountain peaks are 25,000 feet above sealevel. The first account of this wonderful region was written by Marco Polo, and is as follows

In leaving Badashan you ride twelve days between east and north-east, ascending a river that runs through land belonging to a brother of the Prince of Badashan, and containing a good many towns and villages and scattered habitations. The people are Mahommetans, and valiant

Ch. VI.]

THE ROOF OF THE WORLD.

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in war. At the end of those twelve days you come to a province of no great size, extending indeed no more than three days' journey in any direction, and this is called VOKHAN. The people worship Mahommet, and they have a peculiar language. They are gallant soldiers, and they have a chief whom they call NONE, which is as much as to say Count, and they are liegemen to the Prince of Badashan.

There are numbers of wild beasts of all sorts in this region. And when you leave this little country, and ride three days north-east, always among mountains, you get to such a height that 'tis said to be the highest place in the world! And when you have got to this height, you find a great lake between two mountains, and out of it a fine river running through a plain clothed with the finest pasture in the world; insomuch that a lean beast there will fatten to your heart's content in ten days. There are great numbers of all kinds of wild beasts; among others, wild sheep of great size, whose horns are a good six palms in length. From these horns the shepherds make great bowls to eat from, and they use the horns also to enclose folds for their cattle at night. Messer Marco was told also that the wolves were numerous, and killed many of those wild sheep. Hence quantities of their horns and bones were found, and these were made into great heaps by the wayside in order to guide travellers when snow was on the ground.

The Plain is called PAMIER, and you ride across it for twelve days together, finding nothing but a desert without habitations or any green thing, so that travellers are obliged to carry with them whatever they have need of. The region is so lofty and cold that you do not even see any birds flying. And I must notice also that because of this great cold, fire does not burn so brightly, nor give out so much heat as usual, nor does it cook food so effectually.