banks are high, those on the east especially so. They
are even precipitous. In these cliffs may be found
fossil remains, easily reached by the hand. The space
between the high and low banks now increases and
now diminishes, and sometimes they unite, the river
flowing on uninterruptedly between. The native boats
are rude, flat-bottomed barges, built of dumpy 6-ft.
logs of p a k i wood, chipped square, and cobbled together
with iron clamps. It was in a craft of this kind
we were to descend the river from Charjui, a willow-
built barge, costing about £22 in value, 50 feet long,
10 feet in beam, and 4 feet deep, drawing perhaps 18
inches of water. The gunwale was just low enough
for me to reach over, sponge in hand, and get an
apology for a morning wash. Such boats would make
an admirable bridge, and the river bed offers excellent
anchorage. These Bokhariot boats are said to carry
150 passengers and 20 tons of cargo, or 20 mounted
men with their horses, which I should think close work
for a journey, though it might do for a ferry passage.
In our own case, we were favoured as the Emir’s
guests with a boat to ourselves. The tarantass was
placed amidships, and abaft were five horses of mine
and one belonging to Yakoob, whilst the fore part was
occupied by 8 oarsmen, with two as a guard, besides
Khudaiar Bek, a Karaul-beggi, to look after us.
Having described now the Upper Oxus from the
information of others, I shall proceed to state what I
saw myself between Charjui and Petro-Alexandrovsk ;
amplifying my own observation from certain unpublished
Russian information I possess, concerning
which I will only say that, when giving measurements
of the stream, it is to the season of high water they are
to be understood to refer.
C H A P T E R L V I I .
f r o m c h a r j u i t o k a b a k l i .
Prospect of floating 300 miles on the Oxus.— Escort for protection
against the Turkomans.—Hydrography of the river.—Journey to
Kheradj.— Rough hospitality.—Journey to Ustik.—Description of
the river.—Compulsory service of boatmen.—-Geological phenomena.—
Arrival at Ildjik.—Change of boat and oarsmen.— A
Bokhariot “ Siberia.”—Arrival at Kabakli.—Sheep attacked by
wolf.—Visit from the Bek.
T H E prospect of floating 300 miles down the
Oxus, not in a puffing steamer, but in a fashion
as ancient as the days of Noah at least, was to me a
new sensation, and one heightened in interest by the
recollection that over this part of my journey at all
events no Englishman had ever preceded me. The
authorities, not content with giving us two guards
against Turkoman robbers in the boat, furnished us
also with five horsemen to ride along the shore.
These latter were presented to us at Guzhari Tozakar,
after which they got into a ferry-boat with horses and
camels, and crossed to the east bank. T he river here,
they told us, was 2,000 kadarm in width, or rather
less than 2,000 yards.* There were no houses near,
* A kadarm was said to measure H arshines, which would make
the breadth about 1,000 yards less than at the Khandek-li ferry at high
water. This ferry is about 11 miles from Charjui, and I suspect we
had been brought there, though Guzhari Tozakar is the name I have
entered in my book.