Thieving Merchants of Merket
I had arrived in the town of Lalik on March 15th
1895 after making the perilous journey from Kashgar. I was in desperate need of
supplies and quickly sought out the local market. While engaging with local
merchants I began to hear rumours of two young men who had started off from the
nearby village of Yantak located on the right bank of the Yarkand-dria river,
merely a day or two’s journey away by foot. These men had departed with supplies
for a journey of approximately 12 days.
These 2 young men had not only successfully traversed the great
Taklamakan desert but just 3 days into there travels they came across a disused
river bed which they subsequently followed and came across the ruins of a once
great city containing vast quantities of nephrite, more commonly known as Jade.
What a discovery! Could these ruins
perhaps represent a lost city of the great Tang Dynasty? I had to find out, but
it was if all sudden this group of merchants was struck by a sickness that had
rendered them mute. They simply refused to answer any of my probing questions.
It was only after I had produced some coin that these merchants miraculously
recovered their ability to speak. After the discovery of the great abandoned city
these men journeyed for an additional 7 days and reached the base of the great
mountain known as Masr-Tagh where they discovered a vast quantity of valuable kamish
reeds and where successfully able to dig up perfectly potable water!
These rumours seem to good to be true, however a mere 4
days later upon my arrival in the great city of Merket on March 19th
1895, while I was wandering around the local market and engaging in small talk
with the local merchant population these rumours began to resurface. Every
where I went within Merket the merchants where talking of the legendary lost
city of Shahr-i-takak located deep within the heart of the Taklamakan desert
that contained vast quantities of gold. Not only was the city abuzz with rumours
of this great lost city but an actual expedition was being mounted! 12 men, all
locals where about to depart to discover its exact location. It was at this
point that I decided that I must investigate further. I took out my Russian
made maps of the region and dove in the literature of previous expeditions
through out this area. The math made sense, Masar-Tagh was located 78 miles to
from the start of the desert. Even at a
slow pace of 12-13 miles a day on camelback I should arrive at the base of
Masar-Tagh after a mere 7 days journey. Not only did this make mathematical
sense but my calculations where backed up by 3 first hand accounts of great
modern-day explorers who had come before me, Przhevalsky, Carey and Dalgleish. I
immediately dispatched two of my most trusted men, Islam Bai and Yakub to
acquire camels, livestock and supplies for a journey of 14 days. After all I
had every intention of exploring and investigating any great ruins we shall
stumble across on our travels.
On April 8th 19, Yakub and Islam Bai finally returned, with
8 camels, 3 sheep and 10 chickens in tow. What had taken so long I asked, to
which Islam Bai responded that some how news had gotten out of your decision to
traverse the Taklamakan and as a result prices had risen 2 to 3 times the
normal price! Bloody merchants, what a group of thieves and scoundrels! Yakub
and Islam Bai had attempted to barter the price of the camels down, but it was
to no avail. I had no choice but to shallow my tongue and my pride as any threat
or harm to any of the Merkat merchants would put my attempt to require
additional supplies in great peril. The next day I was able me acquire the
necessary provisions for my great expedition. I had acquired six tulums (goat
skin water containers), sesame oil for cooking, seek husks for the camels,
petroleum for the stove, talkan (a form of roasted flour), gauman (macaroni),
honey, sacks, spades, whips, bridle bits, cups and a diverse assortment of
other necessary provisions. Perhaps most importantly, I was also able to
acquire, 4 massive iron water tanks that together can hold over 100 gallons of
water, a quantity that is more than sufficient for what this expedition shall
require. I have never seen a better equipped and provisioned expedition in my
entire life. At last I am ready to depart on my great journey, no thanks to the
thieving merchants of Merket!
Source
Hedin, Sven Anders, and J. T. Bealby. 1899. Through Asia. New York and
London: Harper and Bros. This book is Sven Hedin’s first hand account of
what is known as his first large expedition throughout Central Asia. The
chapters I used for this entry are chapters 38 “On the threshold of the desert”
and chapter 39 “The start from Merket”.
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