The Life of Yakoob Beg; Athalik Ghazi, and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar

CHAPTER XI.
YAKOOB BEG'S RELATIONS WITH ENGLAND

In describing the relations that subsisted between England and Kashgar, while under the rule of Yakoob Beg, there will be no necessity for us to enter so deeply into the under-currents that guided those relations, as was necessary in the preceding chapter, where we detailed the rivalry of Russia and Kashgar. While England could hold out a hand of friendship to the Athalik Ghazi, because he sought to please us by making commercial concessions, Russia felt doubly piqued with the man who for long refused her a similar foothold, and who, for a brief space, went still farther in his defiance, secure – as he thought – under British protection. Our government could not fail to see, in the bold conduct of this ruler, the result of a mistaken notion of what it would do in the event of a war in Central Asia, and it strove to bring home to the mind of Yakoob Beg and his emissaries a sense of our determination not to interfere beyond the Karakoram. Looking back now on the old legends that successive travellers brought us from Eastern Turkestan, where such strange things had been wrought, where the Chinese had been expelled, and a new king from Khokand enthroned, and regarding them in the light of our greatly extended information, even since Mr. Shaw penned his interesting volume on High Tartary, it will not be without some interest to trace back the story of how Yakoob Beg's name first became known to us, and how, for eight or nine years, a large section of Englishmen wove a romance round his name, and converted "the land of the six cities" into a fertile and populous region, which might serve as a barrier to Russian progress, and which, like Cabul elsewhere, should extend as another "cushion" from the mountains of Hindostan to the Celestial range of the Chinese. Those dreams have vanished now, and in their place has risen up the very unromantic and matter-of-fact spectacle of a Chinese triumph.

Whoever has chanced to reside in the valleys of the Himalaya – Mr. Shaw is the authority – must experience a desire to know of the countries beyond that range. The desire is natural, but the obstacles of nature are stupendous. To enter Tibet has been the object of numerous Englishmen, from the time of Warren Hastings, yet that object has been only attained by three of our countrymen, the latest sixty-six years ago. There are forty or fifty passes of various degrees of practicability leading into Tibet from Nepaul, Sikhim, and Bhutan; and to act as a spur to the explorer there is a highly civilized and peaceable race just beyond our border of whom we know scarcely anything. Yet the vision of Warren Hastings and of Thomas Manning remains unfulfilled.

North of the Karakoram there were no similar incentives. Mr. Moorcroft who, fifty years ago, resided in Ladakh, does not appear to have manifested any desire to pierce the iron barrier to the north, although towards Ruduk and Tibet he turned as if irresistibly fascinated. The character which the brothers Michell gave Little Bokhara, or Eastern Turkestan, expressed a fact, which long deterred any traveller from attempting to explore it. "Little Bokhara," they said, "was a country where every man carried his life in his hand, and there were indubitable excuses for each successive traveller who recoiled before the hardships and dangers of a journey through that country." But although no Englishman traversed the dizzy passes of the Karakoram and the Kuen Lun, now and then the people from Sanju, Khoten, and the neighbourhood came to Ladakh, where they brought intelligence of the political events that were taking place further north. Their intelligence was often completely false, it was always vague and exaggerated, but it, at all events, told us whether peace or war, satisfaction or dissatisfaction, was the existing circumstance in Eastern Turkestan. It was known in a general sense that China was the nominal ruler of this vast region; but the exact relations China held there, how she conquered the country and when, and by what means she retained her conquest, all these were unascertained. There had, indeed, been one break in this state of darkness when the learned traveller, Adolph Schlagintweit, in 1857, penetrated, with a few native followers, into Kashgar. The initial difficulties were successfully overcome, and fortune seemed at first disposed to smile upon his enterprise. Herr Schlagintweit had come, however, at a singularly inopportune moment. The Khoja Wali Khan had just invaded Kashgar, and his forces had spread as far south as Yarkand, when the traveller approached that city. He appears to have been able to report himself to the Aksakal, representing Cashmere at Yarkand, who, in turn, communicated with the Chinese Amban, for permission for him to enter the city; but while detained outside the walls he was captured by a roving party of Wali Khan's army. He was at once hurried off to Wali Khan's head-quarters at Kashgar, where that despot, in a fit of fury, brought about by excess in "bang," ordered him to be executed. His followers escaped, and brought back the tale of his death to Ladakh.

Such was the untoward fate of the first explorer of Kashgar. In the course of the early summer of 1868, it became generally known that the Chinese had been driven out of Kashgar, and that Yakoob Beg was ruling the country, under the title, conferred upon him by the Ameer of Bokhara, of Athalik Ghazi. He had sent a sort of semi-official messenger, Mahomed Nazzar, in that year into the Punjab, to take notes, as it were, of our dominions. Mr. Shaw, in Ladakh, had heard of the recent changes in Eastern Turkestan, and mentioned to this envoy on his return the desire he had to visit Kashgar, and see the widely famed Athalik Ghazi. The envoy received the proposition with enthusiastic approval, but it was considered more prudent to await the formal assent of the ruler himself. After overcoming the difficulties that beset his task, with prompt resolution Mr. Shaw entered the dominions of the Athalik Ghazi in December, 1868, being the first Englishman who had ever entered Little Bokhara. His reception was singularly cordial, and everything that the officials could do to make his sojourn in the country pleasant to him was done. One and all of the Khokandian dignitaries received him as a friend and a brother; and even Mahomed Yunus, Dadkwah of Yarkand, the second man in the kingdom, treated him in a spirit of marked cordiality. It should be remembered that Mr. Shaw went there without any official status whatever, and simply as an English traveller. Of course, it was the best policy for the Kashgarian rulers to greet him hospitably, and prove that they had completely pacified Eastern Turkestan; but in pointing out the hospitable reception that was given to Mr. Shaw, it is impossible to detract from its merit by referring to such latent political motives as these. Yakoob Beg received the English traveller in special audience at Kashgar, and treated him in the most cordial manner. On Mr. Shaw offering him a few presents that he had brought from India, such as rifles, &c., the ruler laughed, and said, "What need is there of presents between you and me? We are already friends, and your safe arrival has been sufficient satisfaction to me." During Mr. Shaw's residence in Kashgar, which extended over a period of three months, he had three interviews with the Athalik Ghazi, who on each occasion became, if possible, more friendly than on the previous one. Mr. Shaw was fairly treated on the whole, and has of all writers on Kashgar given us the most graphic description of the people and the country. Mr. Shaw's position was to a certain extent compromised by the arrival of another Englishman, the lamented Mr. Hayward, who was murdered in a somewhat mysterious manner, three or four years afterwards, in the neighbourhood of the Cashmerian fortress of Gilgit. Both travellers were for a time detained in a sort of honourable confinement in Kashgar, but all ended happily, and the first two English explorers of Eastern Turkestan returned in perfect safety to Ladakh. The result of Mr. Shaw's interesting journey was not made known in England until 1871, after he had set out and returned from Kashgar a second time, in the first embassy of Mr., now Sir, Douglas Forsyth. The result of this visit to Yarkand and Kashgar was almost magnetic. Not only did the Indian Government promptly take into its consideration the question of what our political relations were to be with the Athalik Ghazi, but the whole Anglo-Indian community turned an attentive ear to the stories told of the new country. A new avenue for commerce had been opened up, and Eastern Turkestan might, after all, prove the true gateway to the marts of Bokhara and Kuldja. In our more immediate vicinity there was the jade trade of Khoten to be revived, and the wool of Tartary, of ancient fame, should alone form a staple article of commerce. For Manchester goods and Indian wares there was also a very inviting prospect in the thickly populated districts of Yarkand and Kashgar, which were at first supposed to contain a much larger population than as a matter of fact they did. At first it is probable that the main sentiment was one of satisfaction on commercial grounds alone; later on, the progress of events in Khokand and Kuldja made the political motives appear more prominently before English minds. A trading company was formed in conception, but it did not begin operations until several years later on, after the signature of the Forsyth treaty, for which, and the official regulations concerning the working of that company, the reader may be referred to the Appendix of this volume.

Mr. Shaw himself formed a very roseate estimate of the future of the trade between India and Kashgar, and participated with all his wonted activity in promoting the fortunes of the Yarkand Trading Company from his advantageous post at Lêh. Although the more sanguine expectations were never realized, the company itself was successful, and performed a very useful work under no easy circumstances. Its functions are suspended during the uncertainty that always follows a change in the ruling power of a state, until it is seen what steps are taken by the Chinese, or this country, to perpetuate, under the Chinese sway, those good feelings which first arose under Yakoob Beg. Many are sceptical of the possibility of living on terms of good neighbourship with the Chinese, and of carrying on an intercourse, which certainly does not exist anywhere along the whole extent of the Anglo-Chinese frontier. But these persons will scarcely admit that the Chinese are to blame in this respect if we neglect the subject, for Russia by right of several treaties, and by right also of diplomatic tact, has a commercial status in every northern mart of the Chinese Empire, from Ourga to Urumtsi, Manas, Chuguchak, Kuldja and Kashgar. If the Chinese were reinstalled in every one of their old possessions, yet Russia would have a legal foothold in all those outlying dependencies. English commerce must not by any means despair of success in opening up the interior of China from the direction of India and Cashmere. In most cases, political action generally follows upon commercial enterprise; but in our dealings with the Chinese the order is reversed, and political overtures and diplomatic arrangements must clear the way for the commerce that must infallibly spring up between Hindostan and not only Tartary and Tibet, but also the home provinces of Yunnan and Szchuen. The root of the difficulty is no doubt to be found in the fact that the Mantchoo caste is in many respects as much a race apart from the mass of Chinamen as the Norman was in England during the twelfth century. The Mantchoo mandarin believes that in some undefined manner the introduction of European science and civilization into China would tend to lower his influence and political power. But if we are wise, we shall ignore this sentiment, and endeavour to reach the people through their legitimate authorities, the Tartar conquering race of two centuries and a half ago, and not by attempting to influence the rulers by a propagandist crusade among the people, as some advise.

Some months after the return of Mr. Shaw to Lêh, the Athalik Ghazi, who had doubtless considered very attentively that gentleman's suggestion to maintain a representative at Lahore, despatched an envoy to India for the purpose of expressing his desire for the establishment of friendly relations with the British Government, for the development of trade between the countries, and for the visit of a British officer to his capital. He had fully realized by this time what Mr. Shaw meant by saying that he came in no official capacity. If he intended, therefore, to reap any reward for the manifestation of his friendship towards England, or to be able to play England's alliance off against Russia's hostility, he discovered that he must take the initiative. In consequence of that discovery, Ihrar Khan came to India, and was entertained by our Government in a very friendly manner. It was in response to Ihrar Khan's visit that Mr. Forsyth was sent as our first envoy to Kashgar, in the following year.

Mr. Forsyth was accompanied by Mr. Shaw, who had volunteered for the service, and by Dr. Henderson. He reached Yarkand, by the same route as that followed by Mr. Shaw, in safety, and without suffering any great amount of inconvenience. But the mission had reached the scene of its labours at a very inopportune moment. The Athalik Ghazi had just been summoned away to the far eastern frontier to repress hostile movements on the part of the Tungan cities of Turfan and Urumtsi, and it was very uncertain for how long a time he might be detained there. Mr. Forsyth accordingly left Yarkand in the month of September on his return journey, without having had an opportunity of settling the future of the relations between India and Kashgar. Dr. Henderson, in his "Lahore to Yarkand," chronicled the events of this journey to the region north of the Himalaya.

The very next year, 1871, Yakoob Beg sent Ihrar Khan once more to India to renew his protestations of friendship, entrusting him with letters, not only for the Viceroy but also for Her Majesty the Queen. But there was no immediate result from this later overture.

In the meanwhile Russia had broken ground more firmly in Eastern Turkestan. The treaty of commerce between Russia and her neighbour, which had been for several years on the carpet, had at last been signed at Kashgar on the 8th of June, 1872. That treaty conceded no inconsiderable trade privileges to Russia, for, as will be seen from a perusal of its clauses, Russian goods entering the country could not be subjected to a higher tax than 2½ per cent. ad valorem. In fact, but for Yakoob Beg's prudence in restricting the appointment of Russian commercial agents in the cities to the inferior caravan-bashi, a far different personage to the Aksakal, that treaty would have placed Kashgar virtually in the possession of General Kaufmann. Even as it was, Russia, regarded as a foe, had out-distanced England, who was held to be a friend; and for a considerable time afterwards, English commerce, which had no status there, hesitated to seek admission into the dominions of the Athalik Ghazi.

But the treaty of Baron Kaulbars was in its essence a sham, for no good feeling sprang up between the countries; and where there was distrust on either side, trade languished, as was to be expected. Two months after this treaty, Yakoob Beg sent his nephew, the Seyyid Yakoob Khan, on a special embassy to Russia, whence he went on to Constantinople, and returned viâ India. He then had several long discussions with our authorities relative to the measures that should be adopted to place everything on a friendly footing between Kashgar and ourselves. The Sultan had conferred upon the ruler of Kashgar the high title of Emir ul Moomineen, and shortly afterwards Yakoob Beg proclaimed himself in consequence of that decree Emir or Ameer of Kashgar, under the title of Yakoob Khan. It is appropriate here to say something of these two titles, Khan and Beg. In this work the ruler of Kashgar has been consistently called Beg or prince, and not Khan or lord; and for the following reasons. The title of Khan is much higher than that of Beg; it is, moreover, hereditary. Gibbon, whose authority in these Central Asian matters stands higher than many modern scholars will admit, defines it as the distinguishing mark of the descendants of Genghis Khan. His heirs and their children became the Khans of Western Asia. The Mongol who grafted himself on the Turk and the Usbeg, brought with him the unique authority that was vested by public voice in the house of Genghis, the Khan of Khans. Now, although in his later days Yakoob Beg, or his admirers, invented a lineage for himself back to Timour, consequently making him of Mongol descent, it is highly improbable that this mythical descent was based on any reliable data, nor can we admit any other claim to according Yakoob Beg that higher title than one that will stand the criticism of history. Yakoob Beg was not free from some of that craving that haunts the minds of rulers "born out of the purple" to claim cousinship with the select caste of former sovereigns; and the visible embodiment of temporal sovereignty in Turkestan was this very title of Khan, which has been so much abused in its application.

It is wrong, in a strict sense, to apply the title of Khan to Yakoob Beg, although he undoubtedly made use of it during the last three years of his reign; but as a matter of mere convenience, it is also misleading. On the stage of Asiatic politics there is another Yakoob Khan, who is, by descent, a Khan, and possesses qualities not less eminent than did his namesake in Eastern Turkestan. Confusion was often caused by the confounding of one of these personages with the other, whereas if each had been defined by his legitimate title, there would have been no misunderstanding. Towards the close of the year 1873, the Seyyid Yakoob Khan, who, by descent, could claim the title which was not his uncle's, returned to India, where he found that the English mission was a few days ahead of him on its journey to Kashgar.

The Indian government had, in the meanwhile, appointed Mr. T. Douglas Forsyth as their envoy to Kashgar once more, and, during the summer of 1873, preparations were busily in progress for the important embassy that was to counteract the adverse effects of Baron Kaulbars' treaty. As this is the turning-point in Anglo-Kashgarian relations, it is necessary to follow it in considerable detail. Upon Mr. Forsyth's embassy depends the whole fabric of our policy in, and intercourse with, Eastern Turkestan during the past four years. In fact, but for Sir Douglas Forsyth's Report and Treaty, even Mr. Shaw's interesting volume and intrepid journey would have failed to have preserved the vitality of our interest in Kashgar and its ruler.

By the month of July, everything was in readiness for a forward movement, but owing to the delay in the arrival of Seyyid Yakoob Khan, or Hadji Torah as he was more usually termed, Mr. Forsyth still lingered at Murree. Captains Biddulph and Trotter, and Dr. Stoliczka, in the meanwhile set out for Lêh to explore the routes between that town and Shahidoola. These three gentlemen explored the country beyond Ladakh very carefully, although it had already been described by Messrs. Shaw and Hayward, and Dr. Cayley. Mr. Forsyth and the headquarters, after a short stay at Srinagar in Cashmere, arrived at Lêh on the 20th of September. It may be useful to give here the names of those who comprised this important embassy. In the first place there was the envoy himself, Mr., now Sir, T. Douglas Forsyth, C.B., and now K.C.S.I. His second in command was Lieut. – Colonel T. E. Gordon, C.S.I., who, after the prime object of the mission had been accomplished, explored a very considerable portion of the Pamir, the result of whose investigations is to be found in his work "The Roof of the World." Then came Dr. Bellew, C.S.I., Surgeon-Major, entrusted with the medical control of the expedition. The three military men – Captains Chapman, Trotter, and Biddulph – held various functions; the first as secretary, the latter two in scientific capacities. In addition to these there were the learned Dr. Stoliczka, who died from the effects of the rarefaction of the atmosphere; an English corporal of a Highland regiment, and six native officers and skilled assistants. There was also an escort of ten sowars, one naick, and ten sepoys furnished by the Corps of Guides.

The appointments of the embassy were also most carefully selected, and with special regard to the difficulties that lay before it in the obstacles of nature, and the inconveniences attending complete dependence on natives for the means of transporting the large quantity of impedimenta. One hundred mules "of a fair stamp" were accordingly purchased in India by Tara Sing, a merchant, and the treasurer to the embassy. And these were equipped with saddles and trunks of a special pattern, made in the government workshops at Cawnpoor. Altogether, then, this English embassy to Kashgar was a very formidable undertaking, and in its proportions assumed something of the appearance of a small army; in camp there were "300 souls and 400 animals." The day had gone by when English travellers entertained doubts of entering Kashgar in company at the same time, lest they should arouse the apprehensions of the people. Mr. Forsyth came vested with all the authority of his Sovereign and the Viceroy, to negotiate a treaty of amity with the ruler of Kashgar, and the people generally saw in that fact a guarantee of the preservation of their liberties and independence.

So far as Shahidoola, the journey was in a well known region, and outside the frontier of Yakoob Beg. At that place the first sign of that ruler's power was encountered in the same way as Mr. Shaw, five years before, had witnessed the advanced limit of the power of the Athalik Ghazi in a southerly direction. A captain of the Kashgarian army, Yuzbashi Mahomed Zareef Khan, had been deputed to receive our envoy at the frontier, and to give him a hearty welcome. After a rest of four days, the whole expedition, advancing in two bodies over the Grim Pass, Sanju Devan, entered the inhabited territory of Sanju. Here Hadji Torah, who had been travelling "post" after them from India, caught them up, and by his tact and real friendship for this country, contributed greatly to the complete success of the mission. The passage of the Grim Pass, although accomplished with success, was no easy task. Dr. Bellew, in his book "Kashmir and Kashgar," gives the following graphic description of it, which may be quoted with advantage as showing some of the "obstacles of nature" to the advance either of an army or a caravan in this quarter: —

"The scene which now burst upon our view is one not easy to describe, still less to forget. Immediately on either hand, like the portals of a gate, stood bare banks of silver grey slate, which gently spread away on each side into the slopes that, inclining together, formed the theatre of the spectacle they limited. And immediately in front commenced that gentle rise over slabs of slate débris– the natural dark hue of which was lost in the bright sparkle of its abundant mica – which led at once on to the field of our vision. Here, at the foot of the ascent, one step took us from the tiresome monotony of the bare rocks behind, with all their dulness of hue, on to the snow, which overspread all before with a white sheet of the most dazzling brilliance. On the left and on the right it spread with uniform regularity to the crests of the bounding ridges in those directions; whilst in front, it rose up as a vast wall, whose top cut the sky in a succession of sharp peaks with a clearness of outline rarely witnessed. And above all, stretched the wide expanse of heaven, with a depth unsearchable, in the speckless purity of its azure, and with a calm such as often precedes the storm. Wonderful was the scene!"

Such is the description of an eye-witness of this striking scene, which in its solemnity approached the sublime, in its grandeur the terrible. The last hundred feet of the ascent was a sheer wall of ice, like the Matterhorn, and up this the troopers' horses, and the baggage mules and ponies, had to be lifted by human force. More than a whole day was occupied in surmounting this obstacle alone, but it was surmounted with the small loss of eight mules and three ponies. With the crossing of the Grim Pass, the difficulties of nature disappeared, and henceforth the course of the mission lay in the more sheltered plains of Kashgaria.

After leaving Sanju, the country had, for some days' journey, an appearance of barrenness, that was only relieved by the avidity with which patches of more promising soil had been cultivated, a fact which testified alike to the beneficence of the ruler and to the assiduity of his people. There is good reason for believing that in the Yarkand and Khoten districts, Yakoob Beg's administration was most successful. This may have been caused by the superior qualities of the people over the Tungani, and mixed populations farther east; but it must also be attributed to the absence of those desolating wars which went on without any long intervals down to the year 1874, in the country held by the Tungani. The treachery of Yakoob Beg in murdering the Khan Habitulla of Khoten had aroused suspicions as to his good faith that only lay dormant during the days of his power; but the people of Khoten, Sanju, Karghalik, and Kilia were far too thrifty and too prudent to sit down supinely and dwell upon their wrongs. They neither forgot nor forgave, but they suppressed all trace of seditious opinions against the new ruler.

The next city which Mr. Forsyth reached, Karghalik, showed still further signs of prosperity and civilization. "An eating-house, with its clean table, and forms, and piles of china plates and bowls, at once took us back across the seas to the recollection of many a country restaurant in France." Special preparations had in every way been made for the reception of the representatives of England, and Mr. Forsyth expressed his surprise at finding fire-places, like our own, ventilators, and rich carpets from Khoten, famous in days of yore for its manufacture of those articles, in the quarters that had been set apart as his residence. Similar preparations had been made at every stopping place, and the people not less than the sovereign did their best, and spared no exertion, to make the stay of the Feringhees as pleasant as possible for them. More than that, even at the resting places during the daily march, the headman or local magnate, without exception, always entertained them at a "dastarkhwan," that is to say, at a course of refreshments. The "dastarkhwan" literally means table-cloth, and consists of any number of distinct dishes, sometimes as many as a hundred, held by as many attendants. This is a national custom, from which there is never any deviation. It is incumbent upon the guest to break bread first, and then present it to his host. One of their customs is refreshing to any one who has come fresh from India, with all its troublesome caste distinctions. "Be the host Turk or British, he and his guests eat alike from the same dish, and hand food to the surrounding attendants, who are troubled with no scruples of caste to interfere with their hearty appetite."

The mission was now drawing close to Yarkand, politically and commercially the most important city in the state, and accordingly preparations were made for a formal entry. At a village called Zilchak a chamberlain, or Yasawal-Bashi, came out with a party of the royal body-guard, Yakoob Beg's favourite jigits, in their buff leather uniform, to act as an escort, and the party was swollen en route by numerous influential citizens and merchants, who advanced to give an early welcome to the new arrivals. By these additions quite an imposing cavalcade drew nigh to the walls of Yarkand. The quarters set apart for the Englishmen were in the fort, which lies to the north of the city, so that Yarkand had to be ridden through before their halting place was reached. The people who thronged to witness the sight seemed very well disposed, and altogether there was every reason to feel well satisfied with these mutual first impressions, which, some had asserted, would be far from pleasant.

The following day there was an interview of ceremony with the Dadkhwah of Yarkand, Mahomed Yunus Jan, for whose history the reader is referred to Chapter IX., and then the visitors were permitted to go wherever they liked. On Mr. Forsyth's former visit a similar freedom had not been accorded him. Their first appearance in the streets was the occasion for a great deal of bustling on the part of the curious, but of friendly goodwill also. All the principal streets and bazaars were visited in turn, such as the butchers' street, or market, where the varieties of meat were clearly to be seen, and their quality tested by their tails or heads being left untouched. It appears to be the fashion in Yarkand to purchase the necessaries of life during the morning, and the luxuries in the evening. There is a special evening bazaar, called Shám, where hats and other clothes, in addition to various other articles, are put up for sale in the afternoon. This, when lit up with Chinese lamps, must have presented a stirring sight, very similar to a country fair in our country. Sir Douglas Forsyth does not tell us whether under Yakoob Beg it was customary to illuminate this bazaar with the gaudy lamps of the Chinese, or whether our imagination of such a scene must be referred back to the days of the old domination.