C H A P T E R X X V I I I .
F R OM A ULIE-A TA TO T A SH K EN D .
Departure from Aulie-Ata.— Ornithology of district, and of Turkistan
generally.— Birds of prey.— Passerine birds.— Crows, Finches,
Thrushes, Warblers.— Gallinaceous b ird s— Waders, Swans, Geese,
and Ducks.— Cattle of Turkistan.— Journey along the Aris, and
description of the river.— Chimkent uyezd, its houses and chief
town.— Wayside geo logy.— The River Keles. — R oad through
gardens irrigated by canals.— Arrival at Tashkend.
WE drove out of Aulie-Ata about noon on
Thursday, September 14th, having before
us a journey of about 200 miles to the capital.* A
djiguitt preceded us, thanks to the courtesy of the
local authorities, to show us the burial-place of
Aulie-Ata, already referred to. Having examined
the tomb, we crossed the plains in a south-westerly
* The following
versts:—
are the stations, with the distances between in
Aulie-Ata— Ak-Tash . 14
Golovachevsk • IS Bekler-Bek . 14
Kuiuk . • i ! Sharapkhan . 22
Tersk . . . . 18 Djeri gj . . 12
Chak-Pak . 24 A k Djar . 17
Tiulkubash . 24 Koplan-Bek . 14
Yas-Kichu . . 24 Tashkend . 18
.Mashat . /. . 19 -----
Mankend • 15 288
.Chimkent . 21 ----
direction for 30 miles, and drank tea at the third
station, Tersk, on the stream of that name. We
were now approaching the watershed that sends
its rivers on one side into the Talas, and on the
other into the Jaxartes. The surface here and there
was somewhat uneven, as we were reminded at one
spot by the driver, who coolly suggested our getting
out, informing us that he was going to dash down a
place where it was very possible our coach might
upset. The vehicle came to no harm, however, and
we had a pleasant evening’s drive, the horizon to the
left being bounded by one of the western spurs of the
Thian Shan, the Talasky Ala-Tau. This district was
visited by Mr. Severtsoff, to whom the scientific world
is indebted for much information respecting the zoology
of Turkistan. We saw examples of bird life as we
drove along ; but rather than notice these in particular,
I prefer to speak for a moment of the birds of Russian
Turkistan generally.
Among diurnal birds of prey are found, in various
parts of the country, the Himalayan Laemmergeyer,
and five species of Vultures; about a dozen kinds of
Eagles ; the Osprey ; six kinds of Buzzards ; Black
and Brahminy Kites ; the Goshawk and Sparrow-hawk ;
the Saker and Peregrine Falcons, Merlin, and H o b b y ;
likewise the Kestrel, Lesser Kestrel, and Orange-legged
Hobby, which, with 4 kinds of Harriers, make up a
list of 36 species of this order. The Kirghese train
some of these birds to hunt, not only smaller birds, but
even wild beasts. Only the day before writing these
words, Dr. Sclater, the Secretary of the Royal Zoological
Society of London, told me that Baron Benoist
Mechin had lately arrived from Central Asia, bringing
one of these trained birds, and a Kirghese to attend it.