Show r 1 t S 5 5 S S S' S w. w S S a S S I re i S t 3 S S S S S Young Ladles Ladies of Central Asia Ala Prepared I t b by r National O lIo Society II D. D O. O WU C.-WU servIce Bervic and Samar B BEYOND kand Central Asia lies Tashkent and from Tashkent Tash kent eastward stretches an ancient silk caravan road to Cathay It winds across steppes mountains and the Russian Chino boundary until un us- til UI It runs past the glamorous Central Central Cen Cent Asian metropolis of Kudja or in whose bazaar ba is a riot of color and whose community is an amazing mixture of tongues Here In the winter style old-style Russians Russians Rus Rus- in gay troikas race to and from night all parties solemn processions processions pro pro- cessions of ot Mongol lamas parade through the streets on horseback and long robed long robed Chinese and Turk merchants shout and gesticulate Inthe In Inthe Inthe the crowded market places In summer Bummer lumbering oxcarts replace re reo place racing troikas and from the u hl hoe tiavA VA u u. u ponds clouds of fine tine sand swirl aloft to hover over the city like a apalL apall palL Then life in becomes unbearable and the populace by horse wagon and on foot packs oil off for the mountains And so it was that after alter spending seven winter and spring months Inthe in inthe inthe the snows and dust of a traveler found himself in mid June two days by horse south of the city half lost in the mountains and searching for the famous val val- ley Icy His trail trall was winding up the bottom bot tom of a deep ravine The steep slopes were bare of trees but covered cov coy ered with an unbelievably rank growth of grass and weeds This vegetation formed walls walis of the narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row trail cutting of off his view o of everything save a thin band of sky above and a short patch of trail before and behind Suddenly a horseman emerged from the overgrowth onto the trail in front He was a Kalmuck a a. a nomad from one of the Central Centra Asian tribes of Mongols his dark skin high cheekbones and brimless brim brim- less domed felt hat made that tam tain Apparently he had been watching watch watch- ing tag the traveler from some vantage point and was accosting him for a purpose Kalmuck Points the toe Trail They rode together up the trail for a short distance without speak peak ing lag Among nomads silence is a prelude to greeting It is a fine tine point in their social etiquette Where are you ou going As he turned back in his saddle to speak his expression was decidedly unfriendly unfriendly un tin friendly To the valley was the reply What Is your business in the I visit Beg the chieftain of the The man drew rein and swung S his horse around his face a complete complete com corn transformation Where before had been sullen distrust there was now smiling friendliness This trail does not lead to the he be explained If you follow follow follow fol fol- fol- fol low it you will be lost In the mountains mountains moun moun- and have to spend the night Inthe in inthe inthe the open Then he gave elaborate directions for retracing steps and picking up the right trail And carry greetings from the to the chief of the highland highland highland high high- land z he called as they parted Following his directions at the first fork beyond yond an old sheep corral corral cor cor- ral ml the stranger dismounted to examine ex cx- amine the muddy trail It was even as he had described there were many tiny tracks made by a flock of goats goals which had recently passed up the slope to the right From there the trail led over a series of hogbacks until suddenly it came out outon outon outon on the crest of the last ridge Below Delow lay the goal the traveler had been aiming at for three years years the the the valle valley of valleys valleys val val- leys the nomad paradise of Central Cen Cen- ml Asia Above the opposite valley wall the foothills of the Celestial mountains moun tuna leveled of off to a great plain which stretched away to meet the snow line On that undulating plateau were those far far famed famed highlands high lands which the traveler had come cometo cometo cometo to see ee Paradise tar the Nomads Even in distant Istanbul one hears hurs tales of how the nomads migrate to these Ulese highlands highland bringing with them their flocks and herds to spend the summer months in a aver ver veritable veritable earthly paradise for drinking the f famous a m o 0 U us s mares mare's mills feasting on mutton W sporting porting loving and marrying Far across the valley in irs one of the recesses could be seen a seat scat of brown huts amid a black splotch of trees It fitted the description description de de- de given by friends It must be the winter quarters quarter of ot the nomads the home of Beg chieftain of the The horseman horseman horseman horse horse- I man seized the bridle rein and picked his way down the perilous zigzag g tra trait trail 11 So you are a real American exclaimed Beg Deg the chieftain lie He was seated legged cross on a deep Turkish couch reading the Introduction the visitor had handed him The visitor had to explain to him his coming to the Ills His Tatar cousins had been fellow students at Robert college In Istanbul While at the school they had captured his fancy with tales of their home city and the valley When the boys returned home they had I given him a warm invitation to visit them I Beg was strangely cast for tor fora I Ia a nomad chieftain small thin- thin I boned and delicate yet as one I came to know him his littleness was forgotten and one was conscious only of ot his wiry strength and vitality vi vi- He lIe had unbounded nervous energy and a regal manner coupled with a quick decisive way of uttering utter ing commands One suspected Russian Rus sian blood somewhere In his strain for or his skin was much lighter than th that t of the about him Chiefs Chief's Head Always Covered Perched on his head was the embroidered embroidered em em- broidered velvet Moslem cap for he considers it a breach of etiquette to be seen with uncovered head ei either el ci- I ther them Indoors or out Buttoned tight about his neck was a clean white Russian shirt while the rest of his costume was made up of a corduroy coat Russian riding breeches and knee boots of excellent black leather heather obviously imported from Soviet Russia Rus Rut sia ala Tribal headquarters were soon crowded with News passed swiftly around the village that a stranger who had lived in Istanbul was visiting the chief so 80 the more important tribesmen had come to pay their respects to both the f f. tam and his guest Beg and the visitor were we-re sitting on opposite each other while the onlookers on lookers sat Turkish fashion on the floor or stood about leaning against the walls On this first evening and subsequently subsequently subsequently sitting legged cross around camp fires the guest found the nomads nomads no no- mads had rather old-fashioned old ideas about geography To them the world is flat and no amount of explainIng explaining explaining explain explain- ing can alter their conceptions The earth is surrounded by the great sea while the sun un circles about the earth They have heard of Russia China Iran Persia Turkey Kashmir Hindustan Tibet Afghanistan and the mysterious far away England But America means nothing to most of them in fact act the guest was Invariably in invariably In In- variably taken for a Russian unless Unless unless un un- less he explicitly told them that he was a an an Asian word of ancient origin derived from the word Frank and used to denote all western Europeans Dwellers Dweller In the Valley During a lull in his exam cross by the circle of nomads he questioned the chief about the different different dif dlf dif dif- ferent peoples living in the valley There are two main races here hereIn hereIn herein in the nomadic Turks and Mongols he said We Turks are arc represented by the and Kazaks Ka Ka- two great tribes whose customs customs cus cus- toms language and religion Mohammedan Mohammedan Mo Mo- Sunni are almost identical iden iden- heal in fact in the time of Genghis I Khan we undoubtedly were one II tribe However we now have bave distinctions distinctions I our dialects are slightly different dif ferent the women wear a unique headdress and through the years we have been more successful In amassing wealth We come from kul Issyk-kul Warm Lake across the border in Russian Kit Kir- while the Kazaks have migrated from the dry steppes steppe of in southern Siberia The or Mongols in inthe inthe inthe the other end of the valley have bave lived for centuries with only a few interruptions interruption he continued a law unto themselves with their Tibetan religion Mongolian language and unspeakable customs custom They have always their own civil and to a large extent criminal Jus Jus- justice lice tice Il 1 |