196     IN RUSSIAN TURKESTAN
brought them to their senses, made a dash for the
entrance through which they had come, and dis-
appeared to be seen no more.  Our friend still
mourns the loss of his sheep, which was a par-
ticularly fine one.
"In Bokhara," said he, in a plaintive voice, "this
catastrophe could not have happened, for there the
dogs promenade on the roofs of the houses, and
there are never any in the street."
"How do you account for that ?" I asked.
"It is because the Bokharans have a habit of
throwing all their meat - bones on the roof when
done with, and the dogs know where to find them,"
he replied.
Bokhara is famous for its beautiful, long-haired
cats. A finer breed of the feline race one could
not wish to see. They have bushy tails and silky
hair. They too walk about on the roofs, but the
best specimens we saw were children's pets in
Russian houses. Sarts keep them also in their
houses, and have many other pets as well.
In the courtyard of a rich Sart in Namangan I
found a peacock strutting proudly about, as if the
place belonged to him; a female stag that one of the
sons had caught in the neighbouring mountains, two
falcons, a cat, a duck, and an owl. Our host,
wishing to show us the character of his falcon,
fetched a dead chicken, destined for the pilau, and
dangled it over the bird's head. Half asleep till