Turkestan

toor-kes-tan', a large region in Central Asia, reaching from Tibet on the east to the Caspian Sea on the west. Western Turkestan belongs to Russia. It includes Khiva, Bokhara, and other states. The population is about 5,000,000. The capital is Tashkent. Through the construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway, it has been made accessible by way of Russia. Caravan transportation has, in part, been supplanted by the railroad. Wheat, rice, melons, grapes, fruits, and cotton, as well as productions of the herd, are exported in considerable quantities. Eastern Turkestan, lying between Tibet and western Mongolia, belongs to China. It has an area of half a million square miles and a population somewhat in excess of a million. It is an elevated desert plateau,--a western extension of the desert of Gobi. Oases and irrigated tracts along the rivers produce cotton, tobacco, and hemp. The oriental rugs of this section are celebrated for their beauty and durability. The soft, glossy black, curly fur known as Persian lamb comes from the flocks of the Turkestan shepherd. At six months of age the skin of a lamb is worth from two to ten dollars. Kashgar is the capital. The main eastern and western caravan route of central Asia passes through Turkestan. Unlike the people of Tibet and Mongolia, the people are Mohammedans of Turkish race and speech. As the people have no natural affiliations with the Chinese either in speech or religion, it is only a matter of time until they pass under the control of some western power, England, Russia, Persia, or Turkey.