Mir 'Izzat Ullah in modern days speaks of the prevalence of goitre at
Yarkand. And Mr. Shaw informs me that during his recent visit to Yarkand
(1869) he had numerous applications for iodine as a remedy for that
disease. The theory which connects it with the close atmosphere of valleys
will not hold at Yarkand. (J. R. A. S. VII. 303.)
[Dr. Sven Hedin says that three-fourths of the population of Yarkand are
suffering from goitre; he ascribes the prevalence of the disease to the
bad quality of the water, which is kept in large basins, used
indifferently for bathing, washing, or draining. Only Hindu and
"Andijdanlik" merchants, who drink well water, are free from goitre.
Lieutenant Roborovsky, the companion of Pievtsov, in 1889, says: "In the
streets one meets many men and women with large goitres, a malady
attributed to the bad quality of the water running in the town conduits,
and drunk by the inhabitants in its natural state. It appears in men at
the age of puberty, and in women when they marry." (Proc. R. G. S. 2
ser. XII. 1890, p. 36.)
Formerly the Mirza (J. R. G. S. 1871, p. 181) said: "Goitre is very
common in the city [of Yarkund], and in the country round, but it is
unknown in Kashgar."
General Pievtsov gives to the small oasis of Yarkand (264 square miles) a
population of 150,000, that is, 567 inhabitants per square mile. He, after
Prjevalsky's death, started, with V. L. Roborovsky (botanist) and P. K.
Kozlov (zoologist), who were later joined by K. I. Bogdanovich
(geologist), on his expedition to Tibet (1889-1890). He followed the route
Yarkand, Khotan, Kiria, Nia, and Charchan. - H. C.]
CHAPTER XXXVI.
OF A PROVINCE CALLED COTAN.
Cotan is a province lying between north-east and east, and is eight days'
journey in length. The people are subject to the Great Kaan,[NOTE 1] and
are all worshippers of Mahommet.[NOTE 2] There are numerous towns and
villages in the country, but Cotan, the capital, is the most noble of all,
and gives its name to the kingdom. Everything is to be had there in
plenty, including abundance of cotton, [with flax, hemp, wheat, wine, and
the like]. The people have vineyards and gardens and estates. They live by
commerce and manufactures, and are no soldiers.[NOTE 3]
NOTE 1. - [The Buddhist Government of Khotan was destroyed by Boghra Khan
(about 980-990); it was temporarily restored by the Buddhist Kutchluk
Khan, chief of the Naimans, who came from the banks of the Ili, destroyed
the Mahomedan dynasty of Boghra Khan (1209), but was in his turn
subjugated by Chinghiz Khan.
The only Christian monument discovered in Khotan is a bronze cross brought
back by Grenard (III. pp. 134-135); see also Deveria, Notes d'Epigraphie
Mongole, p. 80. - H. C.]
NOTE 2. - "Aourent Mahommet". Though this is Marco's usual formula to
define Mahomedans, we can scarcely suppose that he meant it literally.
