Merv, a story of adventure and captivity

UNIVERSITY OH

CALIFORNIA

SAN OIEGO

MEEV

M E B V

A STORY OF ADVENTURES AND CAPTIVITY

EPITOMISED FROM 'THE MEEV OASIS'

BY

EDMOND O'DONOVAN

SPECIAL COKRESPON'DEXT OP 'THE DAILY SEWS'

WITH A PORTRAIT

LONDON
SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE

1883

[All riylitt referred]

ADVEETISEMENT.

THE account of Mr. O'Donovan's Travels East of
the Caspian, with his five months' residence among
the Tekkes of Merv, having been published in two
large volumes, which of necessity places it beyond
the reach of many readers, it has been thought
desirable to give an epitome of the work, which,
leaving out political matters, presents the marvel-
lous story of his adventures and captivity in a
concise and popular form.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAOE

Across the Steppe — Delays in landing — The Troika — The Steppes —
Eussian stations — A sporting country — Thievish Tartars — The
Grand Hotel — General Lazareff— A dreary ride — Beaching Baku . 1

CHAPTER H.

A petroleum city — Petroleum— Fire worship — A strange rite — The
Turcomans — Chatte — Flies and mosquitoes — A reconnaissance —
In gorgeous array — Caucasian horsemen — The kandjar . . .12

CHAPTER III.

Searching for sulphur mines — A desert post — Bitter waters — The Black
Gulf — Sulphur Mountain — Turcoman steeds — A night alarm — The
attack— A race for life — Worn out 22

CHAPTER IV.

Waiting to advance — Water snakes — Quaint humanity — Caucasian
cavalry — Uniforms — Ideas and fashion — Punishment of the knout
— An angler's paradise 32

CHAPTER V.

Sickness — The death of an old friend — Funeral at sea — General Ter-
gukasoff— Notice to quit — A start for Persia — A slimy waste —
A home for reptiles — Eobber Turcomans — The faithful dog —
A Jack-of-all-trades— Night alarms — An unpleasant welcome —
Asterabad . 39

Vlll CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

PAGE

A Persian town — Wild boars — Sanitary features — The bazaar — Manu-
factures— Felt-making — A finished carpet — Persian costume — A
story-teller — Persian pottery — A lost art 52

CHAPTER VII.

Humours of activity— A fresh venture — Another dismissal — A snow-
storm— Severe losses — Fresh plans — General Skobeleff . .63

CHAPTER VIII.

Persian boatmen — A Persian river — Sturgeon and silkworms — The
ice torture — Venomous serpents — A ghastly burden — The ' Bite the
Stranger ' — Effects of a bite — The kanots — The Shah's capital —
His Majesty's servants — Court splendour — Flower-scatterers . 70

CHAPTER IX.

Important telegrams — Visit to a magnate — The Towers of Silence —
Fortifications — Dwellers in the tombs — A false alarm — Beauty of
villages — Bitten — A human churn <..... 8&

CHAPTER X.

Female pilgrims — Dervishes — A strange escort — Joining the hadjis — •
A night march — A council of hadjis — A skirmish — A threatened
massacre — Eesults of the fight — An awkward position — A weird
procession — A dangerous ravine — A fresh halt . . . .92

CHAPTER XI.

The caravanserai — Flies and scorpions — A Persian residence — Offer of
an escort — An act of lunacy — Insect pests — Fond of the sword —
An awkward look-out — The Emir's palace — An Eastern dinner-
table — The Emir of Kuchan — A banquet — The following of a feast
— Critical illness — After the fever — Abundance of fruit — Beauty
of Meshed— Bazaar inmates — Persian officials — Ancient coins —
My bedroom — Meshed water 105

CONTENTS. IX

CHAPTER XII.

PAGE

Persian obstruction — Opening communications — Turcoman heads —
Persian ruins — Tarantulas and snakes — A strange drink — Kurdish
castles — Beauty of mountains — A border chieftain — The Khan's
kiosk — A Turcoman raid — Held to ransom — Brigandage . .128

CHAPTER XIII.

A Persian passion play — The theatre — The drama — An apology for
grief — A stage combat — A stirring scene — Sanguinary performance
— A religious dance — Convenient pigtails — Doing penance — Dis-
plays of grief — The drama murdered, 141

CHAPTER XIV.

Fresh obstacles — Taken in ambush — Fall of Geok Tepe — The Russian
advance — The Tejend swamp — Objects on the march— SkobelefFs
contribution — Invited to Merv — The Russian agent . . .153

CHAPTER XV.

Onward to Merv — Atmospheric deceptions — The Merv Tekkes — Taken
for a spy — Insect torments — A meeting in the desert — Turcoman
wigwams — A prisoner — The Tejend river — Boars and lynxes —
A wet night 162

CHAPTER XVI.

The ' Queen of the World ' — My personal appearance — Reception by
the Mervli — An awkward position — A sanguinary threat — First
impressions of Merv — My residence — Under inspection — An eager
audience — The Merv chiefs — Showy costumes — A Merv Israelite—
The Ichthyar — Petty persecutions — -A mischief-making servant —
A formidable examiner — Result of the council — Held a prisoner . 173

CHAPTER XVII.

My new home — A hut interior — The Turcoman costume — Merv forti-
fications— Captured cannon — Quaint ideas on artillery — The great
earthwork — A weak defence — A tour of inspection — A naive pro-
posal— My purpose at Merv— My servant's departure . . .191

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XVIII.

PAGK

The waterworks — Holding the stirrup — The guest-chamber — How to
show gratitude — Delights of a siesta — A generous host — The Benti
dam — The sluice — An awkward crossing — A dainty dish — Porsa
Kala — Snakes in the desert— Hunting a runaway — Glimpse of the
old cities — Homeward bound . 203

CHAPTER XIX.

Makdum Kuli Khan — Promised gifts — A doubtful ruler— Another
present — Small jealousies — Signs of the times — A Eussian prisoner 218

CHAPTER XX.

A fresh council — Political questions — I become a Khan — An expe-
dition— A visit to Baba Khan — Merv vegetables — Peculiarities of
teeth — The ride to the ruins — An ancient city — Traces of the past
— Crumbling palaces — Old tombs — Giaour Kala— Rampart and
citadel — A caravanserai — Brazen vessels — Manners of prayer —
Religious customs — Traditions of Alexander — Treasure-seekers —
Tomb of Sultan Sanjar — Melon-growing — Strange offerings — The
voiceless wilderness 225

CHAPTER XXI.

Mad racing — Imitation raiders — Ready for combat — Heat of the desert
— Hospitable customs — A Turcoman belle — Danger of whistling —
An antique lamp — Troubles of the night — A cure for wounds —
Value of stones— Snake-killing 249

CHAPTER XXII.

The revohition — Coming of the Khans — A singular spectacle — Over-
throw of Kadjar — The triumvirate — A theatrical spectacle — Dress
— Differences of clan — Making presents — Festivities — My surprise
—Playing the host 261

CONTENTS. xi

CHAPTER XXin.

PAOF.

A dilemma— Branding horses — A Georgian prisoner — Other captives
— Prisoners in chains — The black present — A camel's bite — Dread
of poison — Turcoman pipers — A morning scene — My pets — An oil
mill — Offers of hospitality — The Khan's vineyards — Tea-drinking
— Tea etiquette — The Guinea worm — The Russian prisoner — Tor-
ture of Kidaieff — Offers of ransom — A cure for fever . . . 272

CHAPTER XXIV.

Bazaar day — An accident— The market-place — Food supplies — Pun-
ishments— Turcoman steeds — The town crier — Sheep-tail fat —
• Abundance of game — Breakfast difficulties — Starving out enemies
— My smnsa stealer — Beg Murad's present — Turcoman life — Cus-
toms— Cleverness of women — Carpets 292

CHAPTER XXV.

Religious proposals — Generous offers — A request to Teheran — Russia
leather — Raiding — The Old Man of the Sword— Mourning customs
— Effects of a storm — Shampooing 30&

CHAPTER XXVI.

Diseases — Thirst for remedies — An unsatisfied patient — Plans for the
future — A fast for liberty— The Khan's proposal — A change of
front — Squeezing a Jew — Unwelcome visitors — Traits of the people
— The Moullah's watch — Ink v. blacking — Marriage — Settlement
of divorce 318

CHAPTER XXVH.

Breach of etiquette — Important document — My ultimatum — Sale of a
horse — The last arrow ! — Largess — Summoned — An imposing spec-
tacle— A Turcoman joke — My advocate 332

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Fresh delays — Turcoman inertia — Final presents — Sun-burning — The
Tandara Pass — Down with fever— Back to civilisation . . 342

THE STOEY OF MEEV.

CHAPTER I.

Across the Steppe — Delays in landing — The Troika — The Steppes — Russian
stations — A sporting country — Thievish Tartars — The Grand Hotel —
General Lazareff — A dreary ride — Reaching Baku.

I LEFT Trebizond at sunset on Wednesday, February 5,
1879, en route for Central Asia. It was my intention
to travel to Central Thibet, but subsequent circum-
stances obliged me to alter my resolution, and directed
my steps to a locality perhaps not less interesting. I
started by the English steamer ' Principe di Carignano,'
reaching Batoum early on the morning of the 6th. I
found that place wonderfully increased in size, even
during the short time which had elapsed since the Rus-
sian occupation. The number of houses had almost
trebled, and, after the fashion of Russia generally, the
majority of these consisted of rum and vodka shops. At
least one barrel-organ was to be heard grinding in the
streets, and, for the first time in the history of the town,
public vehicles — the Russian phaeton, or gig — plied for
hire. The same afternoon, the ' Principe di Carignano '
continued her voyage, arriving at the mouth of the
Rion river in two and a half hours. Here one became
fully impressed with the necessity felt by Russia for a

2 DELAYS IN LANDING.

better naval station than Poti on the Southern Black Sea
littoral. The extreme shallowness of the water obliged us
to anchor at least a mile and a half from the low pebbly
beach, and, owing to the violent off-shore wind which
prevailed, which would neither allow us to send boats
ashore, nor the usual tug steamer, employed for disem-
barking passengers, to come off, two days and a half
elapsed before the slightest chance of landing occurred.
At length some of the fishing luggers ventured to put
out from the river's mouth, and brought us and our
baggage ashore.

Arrived within the mouth of the river, we were taken
in tow by a small steamer, which tugged us a distance
of two miles, finally landing us at the town of Poti
itself. The river banks on either side presented a dismal
aspect. Everything seemed but lately to have been inun-
dated. Eotting ' snags ' stuck out from the slimy surface
of the semi-stagnant water ; the lower portion of those
trees which stood along the margin looked black and
rotting, and a general odour of decomposing vegetable
matter permeated the air. Poti is notorious for its
unhealthy, feverish climate, and, considering its imme-
diate surroundings, I am not surprised at this. As a
naval station there can be no comparison between it
and Batoum. Leaving Poti late in the afternoon, after
plenty of trouble and delays connected with passports
and baggage examinations, one arrives by rail at Tiflis,
the capital of the Trans-Caucasus, early on the following
morning. The first thing that strikes the eye is the
semi- Asiatic, semi-European aspect of the place — the old
town, with its narrow streets, its old-fashioned booths,
and artisans plying their trades in full view of the
public, together with Tartar head-dresses and fur-lined
coats, contrasting violently with the palatial houses, wide

THE TEOIKA. 3

prospects, and great open gardens, thronged with persons
of both sexes, wearing Western European fashionable
attire. I was unfortunate enough to miss seeing Prince
Mirski, the governor of the town, he being absent in the
interior ; so, after a couple of days' delay at the Hotel
Cavcass, I prepared for my journey across the steppes.

On the strength of the Eussian official order, which
after a good deal of trouble I obtained, the people of the
hotel undertook to find me the orthodox postal vehicle
with the due number of horses and the official conductor.
At the moment of which I speak I had never seen a troika,
but I had a kind of preconceived idea about four fiery
steeds and a fur-lined carriage, in which the traveller is
whirled in luxury to his destination. Judge of my sur-
prise when, on a raw winter's morning, I saw a nameless
kind of thing drawn up before the door of the hotel.
Though I had just been summoned from bed to take my
place, I had not the slightest suspicion that the four-
wheeled horror before me was even intended for my lug-
gage. The hall porter and some chilly-looking waiters
were standing around, impatiently awaiting a ' gratifica-
tion,' and I was beginning to get stiff with cold. At length
I asked, ' Where is this coach ? ' ' "Your Excellence,' said
the porter, ' it is there before you.' When I shall
have described a troika, no one will wonder at the excla-
mation of amazement and terror which burst from my
lips at the bare idea that I had to travel four hundred
miles in such a thing. Imagine a pig-trough of the
roughest possible construction, four feet and a half long,
two and a half wide at the top, and one at the bottom,
filled with coarse hay, more than half thistles, and set
upon four poles, which in turn rest upon the axles of
two pairs of wheels. Besides these poles, springs, even
of the most rudimentary kind, there are none.

B 2

4 THE STEPPES.

The driver, clad in a rough sheepskin tunic, fitting
closely at the waist, the woolly side turned inwards, and
wearing a prodigious conical cap of the same material,
sits upon the forward edge of the vehicle. With a com-
bination of patched leather straps and knotted ropes
by way of reins, he conducts the three horses. The
centre animal is between the two shafts, which are
joined by a high wooden arch of a parabolic form.
From the summit of this arch a leather strap, passing
under the animal's chin, keeps his head high, while two
pretty large bells, hung just where he ought to keep
his ears, force him to carry the latter in a painfully
constrained position, while during the whole of the stage
he must be almost deafened by the clang. The horses
on either side are very loosely harnessed ; so much so,
that while the central one is, with the vehicle, running
along a deep narrow cutting, the flankers are on the
top of high banks on either side, or vice versa. Once
for all, I give a description of a troika as the species
of carriage in which I made my journey to the Caspian.
As the stations at which relays are usually found are
but twenty-seven or twenty-eight miles apart, they are
gone over, almost the whole time, at full gallop. In
such guise, mingled with heterogeneous portions of
luggage, and wallowing in thorny hay, I was whirled out
of Tiflis, and across the long rolling sandy expanses that
form the steppes — past Mohammedan tombs, amidst
whose walls nomadic shepherds cowered over their fires,
with their flocks of sheep and goats hard by — past strings
of groaning camels laden with petroleum from Baku.
Flocks of pigeons start from the dusty track. They fly
on a hundred yards, and then, with a curious obstinacy,
settle again and again before us, to be driven on again.
Away to the left the giant range of the Caucasus trcm-

KUSSIAN STATIONS. 5

bles in ghastly whiteness athwart the cloudless sky,
and at its base stretches widely a blue mirage that
mocks the Kur, alongside of which we go. To the right,
farther off still, fainter and more visionary than the
Caucasus, are the Persian mountains. Between, a vast
dun expanse, fifty or sixty miles across, the horizon
ahead, clear and uninterrupted as that of mid-ocean.
At length, after a weary ride, the postal station is
reached ; generally a collection of a few small buildings,
under the management of a station-master, who, with
his military uniform and flat regulation cap, is the only
sign of officialism about the place. As a rule, I found
these station-masters exceedingly obliging, and ready
to afford the traveller every assistance. At each station-
house is a ' guest-chamber,' as the Mohammedans style
the apartment in their houses which is appropriated to
the reception of strangers. It is generally a small room
containing two wooden camp-beds, a table, a fireplace,
and sometimes a couple of chairs. No bedding is
provided, the traveller being supposed to bring this
with him, as well as his food, tea, sugar, &c. A
petroleum lamp burns all night within the chamber,
and another is attached to the blue and white striped
post at the door, which indicates the station, with
its distance from the last centre of Government, in
versts. Usually it is difficult to procure food, unless
some of the women of the establishment can supply
a few eggs and some sheets of the peculiar leathery
bread, rivalling in size and consistency a cobbler's
apron, which seems to pervade the entire East. The
only thing the traveller can be certain of finding is the
redoubtable samovar. This instrument is to be found
in the humblest Tartar hovel, for tea — morning, noon,
and night — seems an absolutely indispensable necessity

6 A SPORTING COUNTRY.

of Kussian populations. Weak tea swallowed, the tra-
veller again mounts his chariot, which at once dashes
away in the most reckless fashion, utterly regardless
of the nature or state of the road. The drivers make
all kinds of short cuts, very much as a rider would after
the hounds. In fact, at times I can only compare our
progress to a headlong steeplechase over a violently
accidented ploughed field, with continually occurring
mad dances across steep-sided torrent-beds filled with
large boulders, the banks on either side having a slope
of thirty or forty degrees, sometimes more.

At the third station from Tiflis the traveller may be
said to bid adieu for the time to civilisation, and en-
counters swampy riverside, primeval forest-patch, and
endless temptations for the sportsman, for one is amidst
the homes of the wild boar, the lynx, the wolf, and the
wild cat. These latter are really formidable creatures
— little less in size than a leopard, of a lion-tawny
coloured stiff fur, with flat heads and noses, half-way
between those of an otter and a bull-dog. One had
just been shot by a peasant close to the station. The
habitations of the Tartar families are even more tro-
glodytic than those of Central Armenia. In the latter
place there is, at least, something like a slightly raised
tumulus to suggest to the experienced eye that a dwelling
exists, or did so formerly. Here advantage is taken of
some scarped bank, into which a broad deep trench is
cut. This is covered over with hurdles and branches,
and the earth which covers all is scarcely, if at all, above
the level of the surrounding surface. Here and there a
wooden cask-like construction acts as chimney; but in
most instances this last is simply a hole in the ground,
with stone coping, and a small wrooden fence erected

THIEVISH TARTARS. 7

round it to prevent human beings or cattle from falling
through. Buffaloes and goats wander at will over these
singular house-tops. A stranger is often startled, while
strolling over what he considers solid ground, to come
upon an oblong opening, through which he can hear
human voices, while huge wolf-like dogs are prowling
about, making him pass them by with a sidelong edging
movement by way of precaution. These places are very
unhealthy. At one time I feared that I had caught the
much-dreaded Astrakan plague, but I recovered after a
couple of days and a good deal of quinine. A still
worse mishap, however, occurred at one station. I had
a small leather writing-case, closed by a lock, and con-
taining all my maps, notes, and writing material.
There are always prowling round a large station a
number of thievish Tartars, and while seeing to the
transfer of my baggage to the place where I was to pass
the night, one of these itinerant gentlemen, evidently
mistaking the article for a money-box, made off with it.
On missing it I at once called on the officer at the
station to despatch men to pursue the thief. Every-
thing possible was done, but in vain, and in the interim
my sword-belt disappeared.

Endless objects of interest meet the eye to relieve the
toilsome journey. Camels trailing loads of osiers, and
looking like gigantic porcupines ; trains of huge waggons
from Persia drawn by four or five horses abreast ; a Tar-
tar cavalcade with indigenous ladies on horseback clad
in staring red garments, and closely veiled ; and at last,
all white in the glaring sun, you reach the half-Asiatic,
half-European town of Elizabethpol, a sort of halfway
house between the last traces of Europe and the Caspian
shore. There are Tartar shops in the bazaar, there are

8 THE GRAND HOTEL.

Tartar minarets on the mosques, there are kalpaked Tar-
tars in the streets ; the latter contrasting with the patrols
of from thirty to forty soldiers, with long grey coats and
fixed bayonets, marching slowly along the public ways.
There are Turkish cafes— holes in the wall, as we should
probably call them — mere niches, within which the pro-
prietor crouches, nursing his charcoal fire wherewith to
light water-pipes for his customers.

My battered conveyance drew up at the door of what
I should be tempted to call a caravanserai, but it was
the Grand Hotel of Elizabethpol, and here I was at last
shown into a bedroom without bed, and where I could
not wash because the basin was in use. There was a
table-d'hote, but the bill of fare was an illusion, for the
only things procurable were .ham and caviare. The latter
is said to be a delicacy. A spoonful I once by accident
tasted at Constantinople reminded me of cod-liver oil.

Here, according to Eussian etiquette, I donned the best
suit my saddle-bags afforded, and called at the palace
of the Government, where I paid my respects to the
local governor, Prince Chavchavaza. I was received in
a chamber hung with ancient tapestry, the walls of which
were garnished with arms of different periods, captured
during the protracted struggle in which Schamyl led the
Caucasians. The Prince was most courteous, but he did
not understand French, and our conversation was carried
on by means of his secretary. Here I learned news that
entirely changed my plans. For after a short conver-
sation on political matters, suddenly turning to me, the
Prince fixed his dark eyes upon my face with a piercing
glance, and said, ' Do you know that we expect an army
corps shortly, bound for the shores of the Caspian ? '
* My prince,' I replied, ' I was unaware of the fact.
Where are they going to ? ' * There is an expedition

GENERAL LAZAREFF. 9

against the Turcomans,' he said, ' commanded by General
LazarefiV This was news for me, and I resolved, instead
of proceeding on my original mission, to follow the
operations of the Eussian columns. Having thus deter-
mined, nothing was left but to await the arrival of the
Commander-in- Chief, General Lazareff, and to ask his
permission to accompany his expedition. I waited several
days, amid the usual spendthrift extravagance of Kussian
border towns, and at length the colossal old general made
his appearance. General Lazareff was no ordinary indi-
vidual. He was over six feet in stature, and broadly
made in proportion. A mass of jaw was surmounted by
a more than Caesarian nose, and the large grey eye, half
hidden by the heavy eyelid, denoted the amount of
observation which as a specialty belongs to his race —
the Armenian. Up to the age of twenty years he worked
as a journeyman tailor. Then joining the Eussian army
he soon became sergeant. He was the capturer of
Schamyl in his stronghold in the Caucasus ; and, later
on, it was owing to his intrepidity and intrigues that
Ears became a Eussian citadel, instead of remaining
under Turkish rule.

After two days I once more set off to encounter the
same undulating plains, the same dust, the same groaning
camels ; with an occasional change in the shape of
mountain, river, and Armenian villages, with vineyards
stretching around. Sometimes I was glad to walk over
the rough ground to avoid the risk of broken bones, and
pick my way through the rocks or miry loam. Here and
there we came upon a solitary camel abandoned by some
passing caravan, his depleted hump hanging over on one
side like an empty sack, and indicating an absolute state
of exhaustion.

At last the road began to rise, and we crossed an

10 A DREARY RIDE.

elevated mountain chain, the route leading us into the
region of cloud, and cold, and mountain torrent. On one
occasion we were five hours in traversing the most dread-
ful mountain tracks, often along the top of some great
landslip which the torrent at its base had sapped from
the mountain side. The country seemed alive with field
mice, rats, and ferrets. Leaving the mountain with its
snow and fog behind, it was an inexpressible relief to
reach once more the dry, warm plain that stretched to
Shumakha, where I spent my night upon the rude benches
of the guest-chamber. I started again early on the
morning of Wednesday, the 27th, passing another ex-
ceedingly disagreeable and difficult series of mountains
deeply covered with snow, and at last, after endless
troubles at various stations, where horses were wanting,
with an obstinate driver who objected to leave the place
on account of a wedding, and on my insisting upon pro-
ceeding upsetting the troika and breaking the harness, it
was at seven o'clock in the morning when, after a weary
night drive, we came in sight of Baku, lying some ten
versts off ; the Caspian, glittering beyond, being seen at
intervals between the low hills that flanked its border.
The country at this point is inexpressibly dreary and
volcanic-looking ; the salt incrustations lying thick upon
the earth. Here and there were straggling Tartar villages,
with their flat houses and preposterously large conical
chimneys, looking like gigantic mushrooms. From time
to time we passed along the road the peculiar-looking
carts characteristic of the country. The wheels were
not less than eight feet in diameter, and very close to
each other, the body of the cart being but two feet
wide, a structure like a pulpit rising in front, gaudily
painted, and probably intended for the use of the con-
ductor. Entering Baku itself, the driver descended for

REACHING BAKU. 11

a moment from his seat to tie up the bells hanging from
the wooden arch above the central horse, the municipal
regulations forbidding the entry of postal vehicles ac-
companied by their usual jangling uproar, lest the horses
of the town phaetons should take fright.

12 A PETEOLEUM CITY.

CHAPTER II.

A petroleum city— Petroleum — Fire worship — A strange rite — The Tur-
comans—Chatte — Flies and mosquitoes — A reconnaissance — In gor-
geous array -Caucasian horsemen — The handjar.

WHILE I' was staying in Baku I was a good deal in-
terested in the peculiar nature of the soil. During the
storms that are very frequent, dense clouds of dim yel-
low dust arise, and this contains so much bitumen that
the least glow of sunshine fixes it indelibly upon one's
clothes. The streets are moistened with the coarse
black residual naphtha that remains after distillation of
the raw petroleum, and this effectually lays the dust for
about a fortnight. Petroleum abounds in the neigh-
bourhood, and its mineral springs are busily worked by
means of well-borings which are sometimes sunk to a
depth of 150 yards. At times the naphtha rises to the
surface, and even flows over abundantly, occasionally
springing fountain-like into the air to a height of eight
or ten feet for hours together, as in the case of the
artesian well. In such cases the ground around the
boring is often flooded to a depth of six inches with the
mineral oil, which, to avoid the danger of a conflagra-
tion, has to be let off by channels constructed so as
to lead it seaward. Under ordinary circumstances, it
has to be drawn up from a considerable depth. The
boring is generally ten, or at most eighteen, inches in
diameter. A long bucket, or rather a tube stopped at

PETROLEUM. 1 3

the bottom, and fifteen feet in length, is lowered into the
well, and drawn up full of crude petroleum — fifty gallons
at a time. This, which is a blue-pink transparent liquid,
is poured into a rudely constructed, plank-lined trough
ui the door of the well-house, whence it flows by an
equally rude channel to the distillery.

Apart from the local use of petroleum for lighting,
and its exportation for a similar purpose, is its appli-
cation to steam navigation. With the old-fashioned
boilers hi use, which have a central opening running
longitudinally, no modification is necessary for the
application of the new fuel. A reservoir, containing
some hundred pounds' weight of the refuse (astatki), is
furnished with a small tube, bearing another at its ex-
tremity, a few inches long, and at right angles with
ihe conduit. From this latter it trickles slowly. Close
by is the mouth of another tube, connected with the
boiler. A pan containing tow or wood saturated with
astatki is first introduced to heat the water, and, once
the slightest steam pressure is produced, a jet of vapour
is thrown upon the dropping bituminous fluid, which
is thus converted into spray. A light is applied, and
then a roaring deluge of fire inundates the central
opening of the boiler. It is a kind of self-acting blow-
pipe. This volume of fire can be controlled by one man,
by means of the two stop- cocks, as easily as the flame
in an ordinary gas jet.

Baku was one of the last strongholds of the fire-
worshippers, not at all a surprising fact when I state
that in some places I have seen fifty or sixty furnaces
for burning lime, the flame used being simply the car-
buretted hydrogen that issued from fissures in the earth.

In the midst of the busy petroleum works, where
the chimneys of the distilleries no doubt far surpass in

14 FIRE WOKSHIP.

height the fire towers of old, is a real specimen of the
religious architecture and practices of ante-Mussulman
days. After stumbling through the black naphtha mud,
and over uneven foundations, a hole roughly broken in
a modern wall gives entry to a small chamber, twenty
feet by fifteen, adjoining which is a smaller one to the
right. In the opposite wall and to the left is another low
door opening on a semi-circular yard, fifteen feet wide at
its greater diameter. It is the remaining half of the once
celebrated fire temple, or rather of the small monastery
connected with it. The exterior wall, eleven or twelve
feet high, on which is a parapeted walk, is composed
of rough stone. From the courtyard one can enter
thirty-five roomy cells, accessible by as many doors.
These cells, formerly occupied by the monks or pilgrims,
are now rented at a moderate price to some of the workmen
who belong to the factories immediately surrounding, by
the priest, the last of his race, who still lingers beside
his unfrequented altars. The priest is called for. He
dons a long white robe, taken from a rude cupboard in
the whitewashed wall, and, drawing near a kind of wide
altar tomb at the south-western corner of the chamber,
railed off from the outer portion of the apartment by
a low wooden balustrade, applies a lighted match, which
he has previously sought for in a most prosaic manner
in his breeches pocket, to a small iron tube. A jet of
pale blue lambent flame is produced, rising to the height
of eight inches or a foot. Seizing the rope of a bell
hung over his head, he rings half a dozen strokes upon
it, then takes in his hand a small bell, and, ringing it
continually, proceeds to bow and genuflect before the
altar. The light wanes gradually, and goes out. And
then, advancing towards the curious spectator, the priest
proffers on a small brass dish a few grains of barley or

A STRANGE RITE. 15-

rice, or, as I once saw, three or four pieces of candied
sugar, which the envelope indicated had been manufac-
tured in Paris ! A person in the East always gives a
present with the view of receiving at least fifty tunes
its value in return ; so we present the last of his race
with a couple of roubles, and retire.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 2, 1879, having
received permission from General Lazareff to accompany
the expedition against the Akkal Tekke Turcomans, a
permission endorsed by H.I.H. the Grand Duke com-
manding at Tiflis, I went on board the Russian war
steamer ' Nasr Eddin Shah,' and three days later we
anchored two and a half miles off the low sandy shore of
Tchikislar, having to land in boats at a rude pier that
ran out some hundred and fifty yards. The General
was received by a party of Yamud elders, who, drawn
up at the extremity of the pier, offered him, as he
landed, a cake of bread, a plate of salt, and a large
fish newly caught ; meantime, the guns in the small
redoubt adjoining the camp thundered out their salute.
The Turcomans of the entire surrounding neighbour-
hood had assembled to do honour to the General, and
were drawn up on either side of the pier along which
he passed to the shore. At its landward extremity, a,
number of these people held prostrate on the ground
half a dozen black-haired sheep, and, as he passed,
a knife was drawn across the throat of each animal,
the blood streaming, hot and reeking, across his path,
and flooding the ground to such an extent that our
shoes were all ensanguined as we walked in proces-
sion across it. It was the first tune I had had a good
opportunity of seeing genuine Turcomans. Each wore
the enormous sheepskin shako affected by the in-
habitants of Central Asia, and a long tunic of some

16 THE TURCOMANS.

bright colour, tightly girt at the waist by a broad white
sash, knotted in front, a long dirk thrust through it.
Over this was an exterior garment of some sombre tint,
with long sleeves, which the wearers were continually
pulling backwards in order to leave their hands free.
Each, together with his poniard, wore a curved, leather-
sheathed sabre, with cross guard. One might have
imagined them a battalion of the Foot Guards, robed
for the nonce in dressing gowns. Some, also, wore the
enormous pelisse of sheepskin so common among the
dwellers in Central Asia.

The General then gave audiences to the chiefs of
these Yamud Turcomans, and finding they had fifteen
or sixteen prisoners of their enemies, the Akkal Tekkes,
with a view of propitiating their companions of the
distant oasis, the General ordered the immediate release
of these prisoners, and sent them away to their homes,
giving to each some trifling present in money or articles
of European manufacture. To them, as well as to the
Yamud chiefs and elders, he gave silver watches, silver-
mounted hand/jars, pieces of bright-coloured cloth, and
^ such like articles as he thought might be pleasing to
them. On the following morning, April 6, a little before
daybreak, we started for the advanced post of Chatte, at
the junction of the Atterek and Sumbar rivers, the
former being the nominal division between Persia and
the Kussian and Turcoman possessions. We were
strongly escorted by Cossacks, and the early part of
our journey was most unpleasant, for our wheels sank
deeply in the sand of the low region, over which during
a westerly wind the waters of the Caspian are often
driven for the distance of a league. Two miles inland
I saw the bleaching skins of the Caspian carp; and
multitudes of sea anemones lay around. Far from the

CHATTE— FLIES AND MOSQUITOES. 17

shore, too, we met with Turcoman tdimuls, or dug-out
canoes, lying about over the plains in the places where
they had been left stranded by the retiring waters. The
heat was intense, and the eyes were pained by the
constant glare from the white plains, unrelieved by any-
thing more than an occasional tamarisk bush or clump
of camel thorn, the marl around seeming as if it had
been calcined in some mighty furnace. Fresh water
was extremely scarce, the expeditionary force spending
much time in digging wells, while travellers upon these
plains are often tortured by the mirage — that oft-
repeated atmospheric delusion which has frequently
beguiled me into a bootless ride of many a league in
search of the wished-for water.

Chatte is one of the dreariest places imaginable. At
the time of my visit the garrison consisted of two bat-
talions. The heat was intense ; and the cemetery, not
far off, and ominously large for so small a garrison,
spoke in eloquent terms of the unhealthy nature of the
locality. Fully eighty feet below, in the midst of their
tremendous ravines, ran the canal-like streams of the
Atterek and Sumbar, at this tune shrunk to comparative
threads of water, all white with suspended marl, and
almost undrinkable from the quantity of saline matter
held in solution. Myriads of flies rendered life unbear-
able by day, as did gnats and mosquitoes by night ;
and the intense heat, aggravated by the simoom-like
winds sweeping across the burning plain, made Chatte
anything but a desirable abiding-place. ' I would ten
times rather be sent to Siberia than left here any
longer,' I one day heard an officer of infantry exclaim to
a newly-arrived comrade. After a short experience I felt
quite in the same mind as this officer, for between
heat and flies by day, and mosquitoes by night, I never

c

18 A EECONNAISSANCE.

passed such a miserable time in all my existence. In
view of the domed edifices and extensive foundations,
spreading far and wide, there can be no doubt that a
populous community once flourished there. Now, owing
to the fact that the river has cut its bed low down in the
marly soil, and that irrigation is impossible, civilisation
has perished from the spot. Very possibly, too, Zenghis
Khan and his hordes had something to do with laying
waste what are now trackless solitudes.

General Lazareff having made his reconnaissance,
and satisfied himself, returned at once to the Caspian,
to take the necessary steps before finally committing him-
self to a forward movement into the heart of the enemy's
territory. In the middle of one of the stages on our
backward way, the horses of the General's carriage,
broken down by the rapid pace at which we were pro-
ceeding, had foundered, and we had to leave them be-
hind us, gasping on the dusty plain. To replace them,
Cossacks of the escort were ordered up. Each horse-
man, taking one of the ropes which served as traces,
placed it under 'his left thigh, held the extremity in his
hand, and then galloped forward with the surviving
horses of the team, over the plain already dotted with the
bones of camels and mules, which, bleaching in the sun,
strewed every foot of the way — ghastly evidences of the
dangers awaiting the traveller across these silent tracts.
Save ourselves, not a living being of any description was
in sight. Not even a prowling Turcoman was to be seen.

The advanced guard, now that all danger was over
for the moment, amused themselves with chasing the
wild asses and antelopes which constantly came in sight
as we topped some undulation of the ground, the horses
seeming to enter into the sport quite as thoroughly
as their riders, though we never had a chance of

IX GORGEOUS ARRAY. 19

coming within shot. One of my last reminiscences of
this journey was having supper with General Lazareff
and his second in command, General Lomakin. We sat
upon the edges of three drums, and bayonets stuck point
downwards in the ground served us as candlesticks. In
our company was the Caravan Bashi, a Khivan, whose
dress merits description. He wore a silk tunic, of the
brightest possible emerald green, with lavish gold em-
broidery ; sky-blue trousers, of semi-European make ;
a purple mantle profusely laced ; and, contrary to all
Mussulman precedent, his fingers were covered with
massive rings of gold. A gold-embroidered skull-cap was
stuck upon the back of his head, and, perched forward, the
brim almost upon the bridge of his nose, was a cylindrical
cap of black Astrakan fur, which allowed almost the whole
of the elaborately decorated skull-cap to be seen behind.

We arrived in Tchikislar about six o'clock in the
evening, and I hoped to obtain a good night's rest, so
far as such was consistent with the presence of great red-
bodied, long-legged mosquitoes, but to my dismay an
aide-de-camp announced to me that I must be ready to
go on board the steamer at nine o'clock to proceed to
the northward.

Krasnavodsk, which we reached at eight o'clock next
morning, is simply a Eussian military colony. It would
be impossible to conceive anything more bleak or deso-
late-looking than the scarped, scraggy cliffs of rose-
coloured alabaster which face the town. Did it lie in
the bottom of a volcano crater, the barrenness and dry-
ness could not be greater. The natural water of the
site, very limited in quantity, is absolutely unfit for
human use, and the needs of the place are supplied by
the distillation of sea water, the wood fuel being brought
at an immense cost from Lenkoran on the opposite

c 9.

20 CAUCASIAN HOUSEMEN.

Caspian shore. Here there has been made an attempt
at a public garden ; but only a few very scrubby-
looking tamarisk bushes have been able to hold their
own in the midst of the sandy soil and the scorching
sun-glare. The greatest care is necessary in order to
foster even these few bushes, which would look faded
and miserable beside the most withered furze bush
that ever graced a highland mountain-top. One evening
during our stay at Krasnavodsk, I had an opportunity
of seeing the peculiar method of fighting of the Cauca-
sian and Daghestani horsemen, who happened to be on
the station. They are natives of the north-eastern por-
tion of the Caucasus, and are esteemed among the best
cavalry in the Kussian service. Their uniform is almost
precisely similar to that of the Circassians, save that the
Daghestani have their long tight-waisted tunics of white
flannel instead of the usual sober colours affected by the
Circassian horsemen. Hanging between the shoulders,
and knotted around the neck, is the bashlik, or hood,
worn during bad weather, this hood being of a crimson
colour. On either side of the breast are one or more rows
of metal cartridge-tubes, now worn simply for ornament,
for I need scarcely say that these horsemen are armed
with modern breech -loading carbines, and carry their
cartridges in the orthodox regulation pouches, instead of
after the fashion of their forefathers. Their sabres are
of the usual guardless Circassian pattern, almost the
entire hilt entering into the scabbard. Hanging from
the front of the waist-belt is a handjar, or broad-bladed,
leaf-shaped sword, very similar to the ancient Spanish
weapon adopted by the Eoman soldiery, or resembling
perhaps still more those bronze weapons found upon the
old battle-fields of Greece and within early Celtic barrows.
These weapons they are accustomed to use as projectiles,

THE HANDJAH. 21

much as the North American Indians use their long-
bladed knives.

On the evening in question, a squadron of these
Daghestani horsemen were paraded, in order that we
might witness their skill in throwing the handjars. A
large wooden target was erected, in front of which was
suspended an ordinary black bottle. Then, one by one,
the horsemen dashed up at full speed, hurling their
handjars, as they did so, at the mark. It was intended
to plant the point of the knife in the target, so close to
the bottle that the flat of the blade should almost
touch it. One after another the knives of the whole
squadron were thrown, until they stuck like a sheaf of
arrows round the mark, and so good was the aim that hi
no one case would there have been the slightest possibility
of missing so large a mark as a man's body.

After this exhibition of skill, the Lesghi, as the Dag-
hestani are occasionally called, performed some of their
national dances, to the music of the pipe and tabor.
Two dancers at a tune stepped into the circle formed
around them by their comrades. Each placed the back
of his right hand across his mouth, holding the elbow
elevated in the air ; the left arm was held at its fullest ex-
tent, sloping slightly downwards, the palm turned to the
rear. In this somewhat singular attitude they commenced
sliding round the ring with a peculiar waltzing step ; then,
suddenly confronting each other, they broke into a furious
jig, going faster and faster as the music increased in pace,
and when, all breathless, they retired into the ranks, their
places were immediately taken by another pair. Occasion-
ally one of the more skilful would arm himself with two hand-
jars, and, placing the points on either side of his neck, go
through the most violent calisthenic movements, with the
view of showing the perfect control he had over his muscles.

22 SEARCHING FOE SULPHUR MINES.

CHAPTEE III.

Searching for sulphur mines— A desert post — Bitter waters — The Black
Gulf — Sulphur Mountain — -Turcoman steeds — A night alarm — The
attack — A race for life — Worn out.

DURING my stay at Krasnavodsk, I made the acquaint-
ance of an Armenian gentleman who had come there
with the intention of scientifically exploring the neigh-
bourhood, and discovering what its mineral resources
might be. He was especially in search of certain sulphur
mines reported to exist upon the shores of the Kara
Boghaz, the great expanse of shallow water lying to the
north of Krasnavodsk. He had succeeded in obtaining
from General Lomakin a guard of fifteen Yamud Turco-
mans, acting as Eussian auxiliary irregular horse, and,
gathering from some conversation with me that I was
interested in geological researches, asked me to accom-
pany him on his expedition. We started early in the
morning, and, mounted upon hardy little Khirgese ponies,
climbed the horrid-looking, burnt-up ravines that lead
through the amphitheatre of hills which guard Kras-
navodsk, to the plain beyond. These rocks, as I have
said, are of rose-coloured gypsum, though sometimes a
blue and yellow variety is to be met with. Once outside
the rocky, girding scarp, the Turcoman sahra, here
affording an unusually luxuriant supply of coarse bent-
grass, reaches away in one unbroken tract to the banks
of the Sea of Aral. The Yamud shepherds, perched upon

A DESERT POST. 23

every slight elevation around, kept watch and ward lest
a party of Tekke Turcomans should sweep down upon
them and bear both themselves and their charges into
captivity. At the time of which I am writing some four
or five thousand camels, destined for the transport service
of the Akhal Tekke expedition, were concentrated in the
neighbourhood of the town, the greater portion of them
having been most unwisely sent to pasture at a distance
of some twenty miles from the garrison.

Though it was early in the year, the heat of the sun
was overwhelming; and as in the midst of our wild-
looking escort we rode across these naked, burnt-up
plains, I could well appreciate how welcome was the
' shadow of a great rock in a weary land.' Far, far off,
on either hand, loomed, faintly violet, some minor hills,
which, my companion assured me, were replete with
mineral treasures, especially with a very pure kind of
natural paraffin, or mineral wax (osochei-yte), as it is
commonly called. Apart from the stray camels and
flocks, the only living things to be seen were huge
spotted lizards, who stared eagerly at us as we went by,
and tortoises, crawling about over the marly surface.

It was two o'clock in the afternoon as we reached
a Russian military post, some sixteen miles distant from
Krasnavodsk. It consisted of a small rectangular re-
doubt, garrisoned by two companies of infantry and
about twenty-five Turcoman horse. The captain shared
with us his not very luxurious meal of dried Caspian carp
and almost equally dry sausage, washed down by the
never-failing glass of vodka, and then we again started
on our forward journey. We varied the monotony of the
journey by racing, and dangerous work it was, for the
ground was everywhere burrowed into by great chameleon-
like lizards — sometimes two feet long — and every now

24 BITTER WATERS.

and then a horseman came to grief, owing to his steed
involuntarily thrusting a leg into one of these pitfalls.
At ten o'clock in the evening we reached a kind of basin,
situated in the midst of low hills, if I may call elevations
of fifty feet or so by that name. This basin might have
been a mile and a half across. Near its centre were half-
a-dozen wells, which gave the place the name of Ghoui-
Sulmen. Each well was surrounded by a low parapet
of yellowish-grey nummulitic limestone, and close by the
mouth stood a couple of rude troughs of the same
material. Their workmanship was of the very rudest
description, and I have no doubt that these traces of
man's handiwork must be of great antiquity. The water
lay at least forty feet below the level of the well-mouth,
and could only be procured by being fished up in the
nose-bags of our horses, let down by the united tethering-
ropes of several of the party. This water was execrable
in the extreme. I understand that it contains a large
percentage of sulphate of soda and common salt; but
whatever be the matter which gives it its peculiar taste
and flavour, it is very nauseous, especially when it has
become heated from being carried in the leather bags
in which water is stored during long journeys in these
parts of the world. It then becomes emetic, as well as
strongly purgative. Coming from the great depths at
which it lies beneath the soil, it is icy-cold when brought
to the surface, but even then it is intolerable to anyone
who has been accustomed to different water elsewhere.
Not being able to drink, I tried to assuage my thirst by
bathing my face and hands, but I soon discovered what a
mistake I had made, for when the moisture had evaporated
I found the surface of my skin covered with an extremely
irritant saline matter, the eyes and nose especially suffer-
ing. Our escort prepared their tea with this water, and

THE BLACK GULF. 25

seemed to enjoy it, though after the first mouthful I was
obliged to cease drinking.

The Turcomans rarely smoke anything but a water-
pipe, or kalioun, but as this is too cumbrous to be carried
about on horseback, a simpler expedient is resorted to.
An oblong steep-sided hole is dug in the ground, some five
inches wide, and a foot deep. Some red-hot charcoal
is taken from the camp fire, and placed in the bottom
of the cavity. A handful of tumbaki, a coarse kind of
tobacco used in these regions, is thrown in, and the
smoker, kneeling beside the hole, places his expanded
palms on either side of his mouth, stoops over the orifice,
and inhales the fumes of the tobacco, mingled with air.
Three or four whiffs from this singular smoking apparatus
seem quite sufficient for the most determined smoker
among them, and I am not surprised at it. I nearly
choked myself at my first attempt.

We broke camp about half-past one, and continued
•our journey towards the shores of the Kara-Boghaz
(Black Gulf), on the borders of which lay the sulphur
mines which it was the mission of my friend to explore.
The stars gave but feeble light, and as the edges of pro-
jecting strata now began to make their appearance the
road became so dangerous that after two miles we were
obliged to halt again and wait for dawn. As the sun was
rising we found ourselves on the margin of a vast creek
reaching inland from the Kara-Boghaz. The waters lay
still and death-like, and the entire surroundings were
more lifeless and ghastly than any I had hitherto wit-
nessed. Not even a bird of any description was to be
seen, far or near. To reach the level yellow shore at the
water marge it was necessary that we should scramble
down the almost vertical face of the cliff, some sixty or
seventy feet in height. It was composed of terraced

26 SULPHITE MOUNTAIN.

layers of whitish-yellow stone, similar to that which I
have described as being found at the well-mouths; in
some places tossed and tumbled in the wildest possible
confusion. Dismounting from our horses, and leading
them by the bridles, we proceeded to scramble, as best
we could, down the cliff, being often obliged to hold on
by the tamarisk bushes, and at last reached the shell-
strewn beach below. Following the strand in a north-
easterly direction, we reached a ravine which pierces-
the cliffs in an easterly one. This was the spot of which
we were in search. It is called by the Turcomans the
Kukurt-Daghi, or Sulphur Mountain.

My friend commenced his search immediately, for
there was not a moment to be lost. We were on dan-
gerous ground, where the nomads were frequently to be
found encamped preparatory to one of their forays in the
neighbourhood of Krasnavodsk. Strewn around were
fragments of black and red lava, and the entire place
bore unmistakeable signs of a more or less recent vol-
canic disturbance. Lumps of sulphur were to be found
in every direction, and here and there were nodules, em-
bedded between the stone layers, and in the indurated
beds of detritus. Though we found tolerably large
' pockets,' however, nowhere could we discover any real
vein. There was no considerable deposit of the substance
— at least, such was the opinion of my friend, the geolo-
gist. After an hour and a half's search, we mounted for
the return journey, and I was not sorry to leave the spot.
We took a new route on our way back, and, riding across
a country exactly similar to that of which I have spoken,,
two hours before sunset we got into a sandy, undulating
area. The tamarisk bushes grew high and close, and
were even mixed with a peculiar kind of osier. This
infallibly denoted the presence of water. We were, in.

TURCOMAN STEEDS. 27

fact, at the Ghoui-Kabyl, or sweet-water wells, the only
place in the whole district where such a thing as really
drinkable water is to be obtained. We washed the salt
from our hands and faces, and then lay down to rest
upon the soft, yielding sand, which afforded as comfort-
able a couch as the softest feather bed, for it adapted
itself perfectly to the form of the sleeper. As usual,
several camp fires were lighted, for the preparation of the
inevitable tea, without wrhich no true Central Asian or
Eussian can get through a day's journey. The fires
smouldered dimly around us, for the Yamuds were too
cautious to allow a blaze to be seen in such a place.
They did not go to sleep, but sat crouchingly around the
fires, chatting to each other. The horses, each secured
by one fetlock at the full extent of its tethering-rope, ran
round in circles, screaming at and trying to kick each
other. I have remarked this peculiarity about Turcoman
horses, that while towards human beings they are the
gentlest and most tractable of creatures, among them-
selves they are the most quarrelsome that it is possible to
imagine.

Notwithstanding the noise which the horses were
making — and it was very aggravating, when after the
fatigues of the past two days we were trying to snatch.
an hour's repose — I was sinking gradually into slumber.
A calm seemed to come over the bivouac, and everything
appeared tranquil. I turned over on the sand to make
myself comfortable, when I became aware that an un-
usual agitation prevailed among the ordinarily calm
and taciturn Turcomans. They were whispering eagerly
together. I raised myself upon my elbow, and looked
round. Some were hastily saddling their horses, and
before I had time to demand the reason of this proceed-
ing, several of them came hurriedly up to where myself

"28 A NIGHT ALARM.

and my friend lay. There was something wrong, they
said. The horses were sniffing the wind, with necks
outstretched towards the east. Either strangers were
approaching, or there was some other encampment near,
and if this latter were the case, the encampment could
only be a Tekke one. We held a council of war, and
decided that the most advisable course to adopt was to
move on immediately. Sand was heaped upon the camp
fires, horses were rapidly saddled and packed, and, like
a party of spectres, we stole silently away. Several
Turcomans, with the apparently innate perception of
locality, even in the dark, which is acquired by the
habits of life of their race, led the way. For myself I
had not the faintest notion towards what point of the
•compass we were directing our steps. During half-an-
hour we forced our path among the bushes, and gained
open ground. Four Turcomans were thrown out to re-
connoitre in the supposed dangerous direction, and,
anxious though I felt over the situation, I could not help
wondering how they would ever find their way back. In
an hour, however, they managed to rejoin us, and re-
ported a large camp to the eastward. They estimated
the number of its occupants at some hundreds, and
believed they could be no other than Tekkes.

The sun was well above the horizon as we sighted
several hundreds of camels browsing, on a rising ground,
on the scanty herbage, and tended by some scores of
Khirgese nomads. We hastily communicated to them
the news of the proximity of the Tekkes, and rode for-
ward, as swiftly as might be, after our protracted
journey, towards the Bournak post, which we reached
about two hours after sunrise. We reported our intel-
ligence to the Commandant, Captain Ter-Kazaroff, who
took the necessary precautions for the safety of his

THE ATTACK. 2£

redoubt. I had slept a couple of hours at the shady
side of the captain's tent, and was in the act of making
some notes of the day's adventures, when scouts came
galloping up in a headlong fashion with the news that
the Tekkes were advancing in force, and that not a
moment was to be lost if the camels were to be saved.
Notwithstanding that a border post like that of Bournak
is constantly on the alert, the rapidity with which the
men were got under arms was surprising. The captain
rushed from his tent, the bugle sounded, and in less
than two minutes after the alarm the first company was
moving to the front at the double. In fact, so rapid was
the preparation that the captain had not even time to
load his revolver, and I lent him mine. At the same time
the irregular Yamud cavalry, some fifteen in number,
together with the Khirgese shepherds, were driving in
the camels, which could not be forced to accelerate their
usual slow and dignified pace ; and, consequently, several
of the shepherds were cut down by the foremost Tekke
horse.

Within ten minutes after the departure of the first
company, the second, in reserve, marched with the
camels carrying the spare ammunition, leaving only
half-a-dozen men to garrison the redoubt. The first
company was scarcely five hundred yards distant from
the parapets when the leading Tekkes appeared in sight,
galloping along the summit of the long undulation of the
plain, and in a few minutes many hundreds of them
were in view. Some affrighted Khirgese drivers who
came in said that the greater number of their companions
had been killed, a large proportion of the camels taken,
and at least two thousand sheep swept away. They
reported that the Tekkes were at least two thousand
strong, and that a large number of them were horsemen,

30 A EACE FOE LIFE.

the remainder being infantry mounted upon camels
and asses. Firing had already commenced, and myself
and my friend were sorely puzzled as to what course we
should pursue. The position, for us, was an exceedingly
difficult one. I much desired to go forward and witness
the skirmish, but the condition of our horses, after two
days' hard riding, with little or no food save the few
handfuls of corn which we had in our saddle-bags,
rendered it excessively dangerous for us to proceed into
the press of combat, especially as it was as likely as not
that the slender Eussian infantry force would be com-
pelled to retreat, even if it were not annihilated. In the
latter case, and with our jaded horses, we were certain
to be captured, and mutilation, if not death, would have
been our portion. To await the result of the fight in
the redoubt, with its few defenders, was equally preca-
rious, so we thought it best to make good our retreat,
while there was yet an opportunity, as fast as our fatigued
horses could carry us. Our baggage was rapidly packed,
and we retired as swiftly as we could. Half a mile to
the south of the post of Bournak is another reach of
ground commanding an extensive view over the plain,
and from this, though at a pretty long distance, I could,
with the aid of my field glass, follow the movements of
the Tekkes. It was not easy, however, to make out
which way the combat was going, for the entire plain
was covered with groups of combatants, and it was im-
possible to detect to which side they belonged. Once
outside of the protecting parapets of the redoubt, our
most prudent course was to make the best of our way to
Krasnavodsk.

Our worn-out horses took at least three hours to
cover the eighteen miles which intervened between us
and that town. The heat was terrific, and I was in a

WORN OUT. 31

general state of weariness. We entered the rocky circle
of hills which shuts off Krasnavodsk and its immediate
surroundings from the plains, and as we debouched from
one horrid gorge, with its gaunt cliffs of burnt red rock,
we met General Lomakin, the commander of the town,
advancing with all his available forces. I had a short
conversation with the General, explained to him all I
knew about the situation, and once more pushed on. A
little later I met one of the Yarnud horsemen who had
formed part of the escort of myself and my Armenian
friend. He gave it as his decided opinion that we
must have been under the direct protection of Allah as
we got off from the Ghoui-Kabyl that morning. Had
we remained an hour longer on the spot, he said, we
should certainly have been captured by the Tekkes. I
was really very much knocked up by the expedition.
The heat, want of sufficient food, salty water, and,
above all, the absence of sleep, had quite prostrated me,
and I find in my note-book the following entry, which is
very descriptive of the situation : — ' I am very ill, and
my back is nearly broken. My nose is almost burned
off, and my breeches are torn from hard riding. I must
go to bed.'

32 WAITING TO ADVANCE.

CHAPTER IV.

Waiting to advance— Water snakes — Quaint humanity — Caucasian cavalry
—Uniforms— Ideas and fashion — Punishment of the knout — An angler's
paradise.

I REMAINED at Krasnavodsk up to the first of May,
awaiting a definite move on the part of the expeditionary
forces, and made a trip to Tchikislar on board the ' Ural '
war-steamer. During this excursion I had a good oppor-
tunity of examining the island of Tcheliken, with its
steep seaward marl cliffs, stained by the black flow of
naphtha which has gone on for ages pouring its riches
into the unprofitable bosom of the Caspian. On one of
its highest portions is one of the tall, sentry-box-looking
objects which stand over the petroleum wells worked by
Mr. Nobel, the enterprising capitalist of Baku.

Tchikislar, which I understand is now almost de-
serted, was, at the time of which I speak, in all its glory.
Several thousands of men were under canvas, the cavalry
to the north, the infantry to the south of the original
sand redoubt and signal station. The environs of the
camp were in a filthy state, the Eussians neglecting the
most simple sanitary precautions. The hospitals were
full, and myriads of flies filled the air. Nothing was
being done, so on the fifth I again went on board the
1 Ural ' to return to Krasnavodsk.

I remained only ten days at this town, leading the
accustomed life — soirees at the club, dinners at the

WATER SNAKES. 33

governor's, and driving about the neighbourhood. During
one of the last excursions I made along the rocky shores
of the bay, I was struck by the immense numbers of
water snakes which, leaving the sea, had gone long dis-
tances inland. I have met these reptiles between five and
six feet in length, of a yellow colour mottled with brown,
by threes and fours at a time, crossing the scorched
gypsum rocks at least half a mile from the shore, and
making their way to the water, into which they plunged
and swam out to sea. From on board ship I have seen
them in the waters of Krasnavodsk Bay — five or six
knotted together — floating in the sun.

On May 15 I was sent for by General Lomakin, who
informed me that General Lazareff desired to see me
immediately, and accordingly, on the following day, at
one o'clock, I started for Baku, where the Commander-
in-Chief was temporarily staying, but only to reach it
after a long and tempestuous voyage, for Baku certainly
deserves the title given to it by the old Tartars, ' a place
beaten by the winds.'

On the following day I had an interview with General
Lazareff, who wished to obtain some unbiassed evidence
about the affair at Bournak, in view of the complaints
which had reached him from different quarters relative
to the want of promptitude of General Lomakin in
hurrying to the assistance of the two companies defend-
ing the camels. He asked me whether I believed it was
not possible for Lomakin to have pushed on the same
evening and followed up the enemy. I had no other
answer to give than that I believed he had acted with
the greatest possible promptitude. General Lazareff
afterwards told me it was quite possible that we should
have to winter in the Akhal Tekke, and he declared his
intention not to return until he had accomplished his

84 QUAINT HUMANITY.

mission — the 'pacification,' as he was pleased to term
it, of the district. Further operations depended upon
eventualities. Should the Merv Turcomans take part with
their brethren of the Akhal Tekke, he would be obliged
to move against Merv, but at present he had no definite
instructions in the matter. He concluded by saying,
* We must do nothing in a hurry ; we have plenty of
time before us.'

Baku is not at all an agreeable place to stay in, and
I was not sorry to receive a notification from the Chief
of Staff to go on board the ' Constantine ' mail steamer,
to accompany General Lazareff across the Caspian to
Tchikislar, which place we reached on Monday, June 3,
anchoring as usual nearly three miles off shore, and we
had the accustomed difficulty in landing. The arrival
of the Commander-in-Chief with his staff, and the pre-
sence of some additional battalions which had preceded
us, greatly added to the liveliness of the camp.

One of the most peculiar characteristics of Tchikislar
was the presence of very large numbers of Khirgese and
Turcoman camel-drivers, and of muleteers from Bagh-
dad, who, under promise of high pay, had been induced
to abandon their ordinary track between the latter city
and Meshed, and to come to the Eussian camp for the
transport service. There is a very wide difference be-
tween the appearance of the Khirgese and that of the
Turcomans. The latter are of a more or less slim
and wiry figure, with approximately European features.
They wear the huge sheepskin hat, and make a very fair
attempt at a regular system of clothing. The Khirgese
is as quaint-looking, awkwardly-dressed a figure as one
could find upon a Chinese porcelain dish — the same im-
possible eyes, long, narrow, and dragged upwards at the
outer corners, genuine Cathay hat, and occasionally an

UNIFORMS. 35

umbrella, which would not be out of place in a procession
of stage mandarins ; finally, he has a shuffling, slovenly
gait, more ungraceful than that of a ploughman. His
ordinary garment is a kind of dirty cotton sheet,
twisted anyhow about him, or at most a very draggled
and tattered linen tunic. In a burning sun he wears as
much furry clothing as an Esquimaux. On his head is a
movable conical tent of felt, which falls to the middle
of his back, and which towards midday he supplements
by another, and perhaps a couple of horse-cloths besides.
Seated on the scorching sand, with his stolid mien, peep-
ing eyes, and strange headdress, his general appearance
is that of one of those squatting Indian deities of a
pagoda, clothed in rags and skins.

There were large numbers of Caucasian and Cossack
horsemen, all in picturesque attire, and looking quite
unlike anything we are accustomed to associate with
the uniform of a regular regiment. Both Cossack and
Caucasian wore tunic-like garments, fitting tightly at
the waist, the skirt falling almost to the heels, and made
of white, brown, grey, or black cloth. The breast was
covered with one or two horizontal rows of silver or
brass cartridge-cases, according to the rank of the wearer.
They all bore the before-mentioned guardless Circassian
sabre. The Russian officers serving in Asia for the most
part affect this style of weapon instead of the regulation
sword, carrying it by a belt slung across the shoulder,
instead of girt around the waist. There is a very re-
markable trait of character noticeable among the officers
of Caucasian cavalry regiments, among the Kabardian
officers especially, which is well worthy of a few words
of comment. Each one feels bound to have both arms
and belt mounted as massively and richly as possible
with enamelled silver ; cartridge-boxes, tinder-boxes,

D 2

86 IDEAS ON FASHION.

poniards, and other accoutrements being decorated with
equal richness. Many, however, regard a new coat,
or one that shows no sign of wear, as entirely inad-
missible and unmanly, and altogether in maiwais gout.
When the dilapidation of a garment compels the wearer
to order a new one, he straightway deliberately tears the
latter in several places, and with his knife frays the edges
of the sleeve, in order to give it the appearance of having
seen service ; and so well is this peculiar taste recog-
nised, that the tailor has been known to send home a
new habiliment with the requisite amount of tatters,
and with the lower part of the cuff artificially frayed.
We had in the camp a band of irregular cavalry, formerly
professional robbers and marauders from the neighbour-
hood of Alexandropol, who were told off for the special
duty of harrying the enemy's flocks and herds. They
were under the command of a well-known brigand chief
named Samad Agha, a Karapapak. These also affected
the same style of dress and arms as the Caucasians.

I saw at Tchikislar an example of what I had been
led to believe was abolished in Eussian rule — punish-
ment by the knout. The Khirgese and Turcomans who
had been hired, together with their trains of camels, to
serve in the baggage train of the expedition, received
a fixed sum per diem for the services of themselves
and their animals, and in case of any camels suc-
cumbing to the fatigues of the road, or being captured or
disabled by the enemy, the owner was compensated to
the extent of one hundred roubles in paper for each
camel — a sum then equal to about ten English pounds.
Many of these people brought with them only the very
weakliest of the camels in their possession, knowing that
they would not be able to dispose of them at so good a
price elsewhere, and took the first opportunity, when on

PUNISHMENT OF THE KNOUT. 37

a long journey, to abandon them in the desert. In
cases of this kind they were required, in proof of their
assertions, to bring in the tails of the camels which
were supposed to have died. A party of Khirgese and
Turcomans were despatched with material from Kras-
navodsk, and directed to follow the shore to the camp at
Tchikislar. They abandoned their camels on the way,
having first cut off their tails, which they duly brought
into camp. Lazareff s suspicions were aroused, and he
ordered a party of cavalry to proceed along the track by
which the camels had passed, and to scour the country
in search of their bodies. The horsemen came upon the
camels, which were calmly grazing over the plain, in as
good condition as ever they were but for the absence
of their tails. The evidence against the culprits was
overwhelming, and in order to make an example, and
prevent the repetition of this fraud, each was sentenced
to receive, upon the bare back, a hundred blows of a
Cossack whip. This instrument in no way answers to
our idea of a whip. It is more like a flail. The handle
is of whalebone or cane, with flat leather thongs plaited
round it. The thong of an ordinary whip is replaced
by a similar combination, and united with the handle by
means of a stout leather hinge. The delinquents were
bound, stretched upon their faces, a Cossack sitting on
the head of each, and another on his feet. Their backs
were then laid bare, and the hundred blows were in-
flicted. They were severely cut up, but notwithstanding
the suffering undergone, not a single cry or groan escaped
their lips. Each seized with his teeth some morsel of
his clothing, to prevent his exclaiming, and doggedly
underwent the punishment. Among these people it is
considered very disgraceful to allow any amount of pain
to wring from one of them any groan or exclamation,

88 AN ANGLEE'S PAEADISE.

and I have been told that the man who exhibits such
sign of weakness will not afterwards be able to find a
woman to marry him. When I happened to observe to
a superior officer that I had believed the punishment of
the knout abolished in Eussia, he frankly replied that it
was, but that the General took upon himself to administer
this summary chastisement, inasmuch as the men them-
selves would infinitely prefer it to being sent to prison
in Baku, or perhaps to Siberia; and he was probably
right.

During the three long months that I remained in the
camp, waiting in vain in the hope that a move in some
direction would be made, I took advantage of a hunting
expedition organised by Prince Wittgenstein to visit the
delta of the Atterek, up which stream I had already
been as far as Chatte, the result being that, on com-
paring my own observations with those of others, I
felt convinced that nothing worthy the name of a river
comes within ten miles of the coast. The water is
entirely absorbed by irrigation trenches or the great
spongy surface of the marsh, whose shallows were alive
with fish, so crowded as to be incapable of moving save
by floundering and jumping over one another. They
were chiefly, as is always the case in these waters, the
sefid mahee, or large white carp. As we occasionally
crossed the stream, our horses trod them to death by
scores. In less crowded nooks huge pike were to be seen
lurking under the bushes, but so stupefied by the foul
water that the Cossacks took them in numbers by striking
them with the point of the sabre, or simply whisking
them out of the water by the tail. Owing to the con-
dition of the fish, however, it was deemed inadvisable
to use them as food.

SICKNESS. 39

CHAPTEE V.

Sickness — The death of an old friend — Funeral at sea — General Tergu-
kasoff — Notice to quit — A start for Persia — A slimy waste — A home for
reptiles — Robber Turcomans — The faithful dog — A Jack-of-all-trades —
Night alarms — An unpleasant \velcome — Asterabad.

WHEN the charm of novelty wore off, time hung heavily
on our hands in the camp at Tchikislar. Notwithstand-
ing all precautions, I fell a victim to the prevailing
malady, which was carrying off soldiers by the score.
I allude to that curse of ill-regulated camps, dysen-
tery. It is a disease which prostrates one almost imme-
diately. Simultaneously the Commander-in- Chief had
a virulent attack of carbuncles. In spite of his suf-
ferings he sent an aide-de-camp daily to inquire after
me, and I returned the courtesy by despatching my ser-
vant to ask how the Commander-in-Chief progressed.
Some of the people in the camp said it was a race be-
tween us as to which should die first. The hour for
the advance having come, the General was lifted from his
bed into a four-horse vehicle, which was intended to
carry him to the front. He reached Chatte, where the
carbuncles were operated upon by the chief surgeon of
the army. The General insisted upon pushing forward
at four in the morning, but before he reached the next
station he was dead.

The doctors had told me that to remain at Tchikis-
lar was to incur a more than serious risk of death, and
from what I knew of military operations I was aware

40 FUNERAL AT SEA.

that before definite hostilities commenced I should have
time to recruit my strength in a healthier atmosphere,
and amid happier surroundings. On August 22 I stag-
gered from my bed, and was supported to the pier,
where a man-of-war's boat was waiting to take me on
board the ' Ural,' en route for Baku. During my voyage
this vessel was crowded with barely convalescent patients
from the camp, most of them, if not all, suffering from
dysentery, and I had an opportunity of witnessing a
burial at sea. An infirmary sergeant, ill with the pre-
vailing disease, had postponed his departure to the
last moment, and died after the first twenty- four hours.
His body, sewn in a hammock, lay beside the gunwale,
partly covered by the Bed Cross Geneva flag. Close
by the head of the corpse was a lectern, on which lay
a Eussian missal. One by one the comrades of the de-
ceased approached the lectern, and read over in silence
some passages or prayers devoted to the memory of the
dead. Lieutenant Woltchakoff, an officer of the war
steamer, was among those who read longest and most
earnestly to the memory of his departed comrade-in-
arms. In the afternoon all the officers of the ship ap-
peared in full uniform. The great bulk of the invalids,
soldiers from the interior of Eussia, many of whom had
seldom seen any expanse of water larger than a river
or a lake, were horrified when they understood that
their dead companion was about to be committed to the
waves. They grumbled, and said it was scarcely worth
their while to run so many risks and suffer such great
privations, to be treated in such a fashion when they
died. As the final hour approached, the small sacred
picture which garnishes the cabin of every Eussian
vessel was brought on deck. The body was elevated
on the shoulders of four seamen, and a procession, with

GENERAL TEKGUKASOFF. 41

lighted candles, was formed, the boatswain, bearing the
holy picture, leading. The entire circuit of the deck was
made. The corpse was then deposited alongside the open-
ing of the bulwarks, some iron weights were attached to-
the feet, the Geneva flag was run up to the peak, and
a twelve-pounder gun, ready charged, was run out close
by. The whole ship's company uncovered. The body
was slipped along a plank, and as it sank beneath the
waters the gun boomed out a farewell to one of the many
victims of the Akhal Tekke expedition. The grumblers
at once took heart. Those who had felt so irritated at
the prospect of being thrown overboard like dead dogs-
when they died, now thought how fine a thing it was
for officers in full dress to stand by bareheaded while a
cannon was discharged in honour of their deceased com-
panion— a greater honour than any of them could hope
for in life.

I reached Baku, after being delayed by storms and
shortness of fuel, on August 29. Two days afterwards,
the body of General Lazareff arrived on board the ' Ta-
mar,' enclosed in a rough coffin of blackened deal. A
day was occupied in the embalming, and it was then car-
ried in procession to the Gregorian Church in the great
square, borne on the shoulders of the deceased veteran's
compatriots. His decorations, each one borne upon a
cushion by an officer, were carried in front. There was
no military music, but priests and acolytes chanted.
From the chapel the body was conveyed direct to Tiflis,
where it was interred with military honours.

On September 17, General Tergukasoff, the new Com-
mander-in-Chief of the expedition, arrived at Baku, and
on the 20th I accompanied him to Tchikislar. Almost
immediately the General went on to Chatte, and thence
to the extreme advance ; but he would afford me no

42 NOTICE TO QUIT.

facilities, so I had to go slowly forward with some baggage-
waggons as far as Chatte, where it was intimated to me
by the Chief of Staff that military operations were at
an end for the winter, and I was desired to return to
Tchikislar.

There was nothing for it but to go, so I returned
there ; but a fortnight later the same officer intimated to
me that I should be more comfortable at Baku during
the dreary Caspian winter. I simply bowed in reply.
' When will you go ? ' said the Chief of Staff. ' Well,
Colonel,' I replied, ' you know I have horses which I must
dispose of; they are scarcely worth carrying across the
Caspian ; I don't want them at Baku, and I should like
time to sell them.' With this diplomatic answer our
interview terminated. At the end of the week, as one
day towards two o'clock in the afternoon I lay upon the
carpet which separated me from the moist sand, trying
to forget the restless hours of the night, a Cossack en-
tered my tent, and, shaking me by the shoulder, told me
that Colonel Shelkovnikoff, then occupying the post of
commandant of the camp, desired to speak with me im-
mediately. I rose to receive the Colonel, who said, rather
abruptly, ' I think Colonel Malarna intimated to you that
it would be better did you pass the winter at Baku, on
the other side of the Caspian.' ' It is true,' I replied, ' but
I have not yet been able to dispose of my horses.' ' Well,'
rejoined he, ' horses disposed' of or not, the orders of the
Commander-in- Chief are that you quit the camp for Baku
by the steamer which leaves at seven o'clock this even-
ing.' At this I grew indignant. ' Colonel,' said I, ' I ad-
mit that the Commander-in- Chief has a perfect right to
order me to quit his camp, or even Eussian territory,
but I deny his right to dictate to me the route which I
shall take in so doing. I will proceed at once to the

A START FOR PERSIA. 43

frontier, and thence to Asterabad, the nearest point at
which a British Consulate is to be found.' With this
we parted. I waited until the hour fixed for my de-
parture was approaching, and then ordered my tent to
be struck and my horses saddled. A heavy downpour of
rain was falling, and stormy gusts were sweeping from
the landward. I sent my horses outside the camp, and
followed them, lest notice should be taken of me, as would
probably have been the case had I left mounted, and with
baggage in marching order. Outside the guarded limits,
I and my servant rode swiftly away in the direction of
the Atterek River, the line beyond which Eussia claimed
no jurisdiction.

Towards six o'clock in the evening, on November 10,
1879, after wading across many a rain-filled channel and
muddy expanse, I reached Hassan-Kouli. In this place
the chief was a certain Moullah Nourri, by whom I was
hospitably received, especially as I was believed to be
a person who was well able and willing to make an
adequate ' present ' when leaving. In the hurry of my
departure I had forgotten to ask Colonel Malama for a
passport declaring who I was and recommending me
to the Persian authorities. However, halting for the
night at the village, I gave instructions to my servant
to ride off early in the morning to the Russian camp,
and ask for the necessary document. It was a couple
of hours after sunrise before my servant returned from
Tchikislar, bringing with him the document kindly fur-
nished by Colonel Malama, the Chief of Staff, which
stated that I had been attached to the Russian columns,
and recommended me to the Persian authorities at Aster-
abad. I immediately ordered my horses to be saddled,
and my scanty baggage put in marching order. Though
the Chief of Staff had been good enough to furnish me

44 A SLIMY WASTE.

with the passport to which I have alluded, I did not
feel quite sure that, Pharaoh-like, he might not after-
wards repent of his decision, and send a squadron of
Cossacks after me to fetch me back to the camp, and
force me to proceed to Baku, which Colonel Shelkovnikoff
had intimated to me was the desire of the Eussian autho-
rities. Our way lay in a south-easterly direction, across-
a slimy waste of mud, in which our horses' feet sank
fetlock-deep, and across which our progress was slow and
disagreeable in the extreme. Away to the eastward are
seen the low, sedgy banks of the Atterek proper, before
it merges in the lagoon, and, further off, vast forests
of giant reeds, amidst which nestle countless myriads
of sea-birds. Ducks, cranes, flamingoes, and many other
waterfowl of whose names I am ignorant, crowd these
marshy solitudes, or wheel shrieking above the waters in
such incredible numbers as to seem at a distance like an
angry storm-cloud surging before a whirlwind. Whole
battalions of waders fringed the muddy shores, and the
all but stagnant waters of the lagoon were white with
acres of gulls. Pushing on further still in a south-
easterly direction, we crossed some disagreeably deep tidal
guts, where the water reached to our horses' girths, and
made us very cautious in our advance. Then a sand-spit
was reached, and, at its extremity, a canoe, hollowed
from a single tree-trunk, styled here a tdimid, and con-
ducted by an elderly Turcoman and his son, a boy of
some twelve years, awaited us. The saddles and other
effects were placed within the canoe, in which I and my
servant also embarked. For a hundred yards our pro-
gress was more like skating over a muddy surface than
floating upon water, but gradually, very gradually indeed,
the depth increased ; our horses, whose bridles were held
in our hands, stepped cautiously behind our frail bark,,

A HOME FOR REPTILES. 45

slipping and floundering as they picked their way over
the muddy bottom. Gradually the water crept higher
and higher along their limbs, until at length the animals
were afloat. Horses in this part of the world take things
like this coolly enough, and without the least hesitation
they struck out, swimming close to our stern. Towards
the middle of the channel the current was pretty rapid,
and our flat-bottomed canoe heeled over in an alarming
manner as it was paddled swiftly across the stream. A
<listance of fully half a mile had to be traversed before
the horses lost their feet, and a third of a mile was swum
across before they again touched bottom. Another half
mile of paddling brought us again into excessively shallow
water, where our old Turcoman and his son, stepping
on to the mud, in which they sank nearly knee-deep at
every step, proceeded to drag us in the canoe to what
they called the opposite shore. Shore, strictly speaking,
there was none ; the point at which we landed, if I may
be permitted to use the term, in this case being one in
which we sank mid-leg deep. It was absolutely neces-
sary to leave the canoe, so that it might be dragged
still further across the horrid mud-waste. I do not re-
collect that such a hideous wilderness of slime and de-
solation ever met my eyes, and, as we painfully waded
along pulling our tiiimul behind us, we bore no distant
resemblance to reptiles crawling over the surface of
some Palaeozoic morass.

Long and painful as was our progress southward, we
could not soon succeed in reaching ground sufficiently
solid to enable us to disembark our saddles and baggage,
which were placed upon our horses direct from the canoe
itself, as they stood alongside of it. It took a good half-
hour's diligent scraping to remove the blue-black slimy
mud from our boots sufficiently to allow our feet to enter

46 KOBBEK TURCOMANS.

the stirrups, as we mounted from the back of our old
boatman. Far and near stretched the desert solitude of
marly mud, strewn with algae and fish-skeletons. Then
followed a long, dreary wading march, for the space of at
least two hours. Nothing more desolate than these slimy
wastes can well be imagined. It was a place where an
ichthyosaurus might momentarily be expected to show
himself, or some broad, dragon-winged pterodactyl come
beating the wind heavily above one's head. Then the
ground became firmer, and sparse tamarisk bushes and
mossy streaks topped the scarped banks, while great
heavy-winged vultures crouched lazily, gorged with their
banquet of decaying fish. As the ground assumed a
solider consistence, long coarse sedge began to appear, and
great numbers of water trenches furrowed the ground.

At last signs of cultivation indicated our near ap-
proach to human dwellings, and after another hour's
floundering among partially inundated marshy sedge-
fields, we saw the beehive-looking aladjaks or huts of
the village of Atterek itself, situated near the centre of
the delta. The people of this village enjoy an unen-
viable reputation as thieves and marauders, and even
among the neighbouring Turcomans, themselves not
over- scrupulous in their conduct, they are known as the
Karakchi, or robber Turcomans par excellence. Worn out
with hunger, I stopped to make some coffee. Though I
wished to have as little as possible to do with the inha-
bitants, in order to procure fuel I was obliged to enter
into conversation with some hang-dog-looking shepherds
who were tending a flock of scraggy goats and sheep.
As I sat watching the fire they gathered round me curi-
ously, evidently surprised to see two strangers venturing
thus hardily among them. ' Were we not afraid to come
there alone ? ' they asked. ' No,' I replied, ' what should

THE FAITHFUL DOG! 47

I have to fear ? ' At this they smiled. Doubtless the
sight of my revolving carbine and pistol rendered them
much more honest and hospitable than they would other-
wise have been. As I was quite unacquainted with the
district, and as there is no trace of a road, I resolved
to push forward, still in a south-easterly direction, until I
struck upon the telegraph line extending from Tchikislar
to Asterabad. By following this I should take the most
direct line to the latter town. Before I had gone many
hundred yards I struck upon the main southern branch
of the Atterek, which winds in the most confusing man-
ner. It was in vain I tried, at twenty different points,
to ford it, and only after a couple of hours' wandering
did I perceive, far away to the left, the telegraph poles,
towards which I directed myself. I was fortunately able,
by following the track of some camels, which I noticed
in the mud, to discover the regular ford. Beyond the
river branch, and still to the left, rose a high earth cliff,
where the stream had eaten away the side of a large
escar-like hill. This is known as Goklan-Tepessi, the
hill of the GoHans. On its southern slope was another
village of Karakchi Turcomans, situated within twelve
hours' march of Asterabad. As night was already falling,
no choice was left me but to risk taking up my quarters
for the night in this thieves' stronghold. Huge savage
dogs rushed out to assail us as we drew near the aladjaks,
and we were obliged to draw our sabres to keep them at
a respectful distance. The inhabitants were assembled
for evening prayers.

I stood beside my horses at a little distance until the
evening orisons were completed, and then, drawing near
a group of elders, requested hospitality for the night.
They were evidently as much surprised to see me, accom-
panied by but one servant, venturing into their midst,

48 A JACK-OF-ALL-TKADES.

•as were their brethren of the village of Atterek, and for
some time an ominous silence reigned among them.
They were clearly trying to make up their minds whether
they would accord me -the sought-for hospitality, or pro-
ceed to confiscate my horses and other property, and it
was with no small misgiving that I awaited the result of
the conference. Presently, however, their better natures
seemed to prevail, and an old, long-haired moullah mo-
tioned to me to follow him. I was conducted to the
kibitka of the village smith. The furniture of this hut
was miserable in the extreme, and denoted wretched
poverty. Indeed, throughout the entire village the same
was a salient feature. This is quite uncommon among
the ordinary nomads, who as a rule are pretty well off—
as well-being goes in these parts of the world — that is
to say, they are well clothed, seldom, in their villages
at least, lack adequate food, and the earthen floor of the
aladjak is generally well furnished with carpets of no
ordinary quality. After a while it struck me that the
chief had relegated me to the smith's home to con-
ceal his own incapacity for entertaining me in a proper
fashion. It was with difficulty that a kind of tattered
quilt could be produced, on which I was invited to be
seated. At one side were a diminutive anvil, a couple of
hammers, and two or three flat bars of iron, probably
purchased at Tchikislar. A heap of charcoal, and a rude
bellows composed of a sheepskin, lying beside the fire,
completed the entire stock-in-trade of this desert artisan.
He was termed the usta-adam, the nearest comprehensive
rendering of which in English would be handy-man, or
Jack-of-all-trades ; for here there is no division into
guilds, and one usta-adam acts in many capacities for the
immediate population. He will make silver rings for the
women, shoe horses, repair gun-locks, and even bleed a

NIGHT ALARMS. 49

plethoric individual. A rude hand-mill was set in re-
quisition, some coarse brown corn was ground, and a
cake of bread was there and then got ready. This, with
some rather salty water, was the only cheer which it was
in the power of the smith to afford me. There was not
even a kalioun, or water-pipe, amongst his household
goods. It was with no little uneasiness that I lay down
to sleep, as I was in some apprehension that the people of
the village might compensate themselves for the loss of
their cattle by annexing mine before morning ; and more
than once in the course of the night I rose and went to the
door to see if they were still tethered where I had placed
them. My host, to do him justice, seemed equally on the
alert, and doubtless he had good reasons for being so.
Each time that a horse neighed, or we heard a trampling
of hoofs, as he rose to shake himself, we started to our
feet, and, seizing our arms, rushed to the doorway. When
morning came, however, matters turned out to be all
right, and giving my entertainer the sum of five francs
for the night's accommodation — a sum which he doubt-
less, poor man, seldom looked upon — I mounted, and,
taking leave of the chief, rode away along the crest of
the Goklan-Tepessi hill to have a look at the surround-
ing country.

I had a long dreary ride southward, following the line
of telegraph poles, toward Asterabad, across the muddy
plain. The ride was not without incidents : at times flocks
of pintail grouse would scare the horses by rising with
a noise of whirring wings like distant thunder. Their
number in some flocks could not have been less than
half a million. We passed the line of ancient fortifica-
tions known to the Turcomans as Alexander's Wall, where
old gold coins have frequently been found ; and at last,
after eight hours' march, the country began to look more

50 AN UNPLEASANT WELCOME.

verdant, while flocks and herds were visible with musket
and sabre-armed shepherds in charge. Another hour's
ride brought us to the village of Giurgen, close to the
river bank. Here, as is usual when approaching a Tur-
coman village, we were again furiously assailed by scores
of gigantic wolf-like dogs, whose invariable custom it is
to surround the stranger, who, if on foot, is often in
serious peril. Elding into the centre of the village, I
invited the Turcomans, who stood at the doors of their
kibitkas, highly amused by the predicament in which I
was placed, to call off their dogs, who were leaping
savagely at my boots and my horse's nose, causing the
poor beast to rear and kick furiously. One had seized
by his teeth the extremity of the rather extensive tail
of my charger, and, managing to keep out of range of
his heels, held on like grim death. I drew my revolver
and exhibited it to the Turcomans, assuring them that
if they did not immediately call off their dogs I would
make use of the weapon. To this threat they paid no
attention, and I was obliged to turn in my saddle and
fire fully into my assailant's mouth. As he rolled over
on the sward, his companions, with the most admirable
promptitude, withdrew to a safe distance ; and the Turco-
mans, rushing out with sticks in their hands, proceeded
to beat them still further off, though at first I supposed
that the sticks were intended for my own person.

Next morning our way lay through cultivated fields,
principally of rice ; through elm and plane-tree groves ;
through brakes of giant reeds, twelve to eighteen feet
high, the home of leopards and wild boars; and then
we had done with the burning salt plains, the muddy
delta, and were where our horses seemed beside them-
selves with delight, and could scarcely decide on which
hand to choose a mouthful of succulent herbage, so great

ASTERABAD. 51

was the embarras de richesses around them. Eipe pome-
granates dangled above our heads, and fell at our feet,
as we forced our way along, till after about an hour's
ride through this belt of jungle, rice-fields once more
appeared. Then through the open glades we caught
glimpses of the town of Asterabad, with its picturesque
towers and ramparts gleaming yellowly in the noonday
sun. Seen from a distance, one might fancy himself
enacting the part of the Kalendar in the ' Arabian
Nights,' and, after a weary wandering amidst trackless
deserts, coming suddenly upon the enchanted city.

B 2

62 A PEKSIAN TOWN.

CHAPTEE VI.

A Persian town- — Wild boars — Sanitary features — The bazaar — Manu-
factures— Felt-making — A finished carpet — Persian costume — A story-
teller— Persian pottery — A lost art.

ENDLESS are the objects of interest to the European
traveller in this old Persian town, with its ramparts and
towers of unbaked brick, thatched with reeds to keep the
bricks from being washed away, and ancient causeway,
now a jumble of blocks of stone amongst water pools
and land sloughs. Within an arched guardway at
each gate the semblance of a military guard is kept up,
though nothing like a regular sentry is to be seen. The
traveller, on arriving, perceives a pair of superannuated
muskets leaning against the walls; and some loose-
vested Persians, squatting on a raised platform of brick,
and smoking the inevitable kalioun, represent the custom-
house officers. The greater portion of the space within
the walls is taken up, partly with gardens and bare open
areas, and partly, especially at the corners of the town,
with a wild growth of jungle and briars. Here, at all
hours of the day, and particularly towards sunset, wild
boars and their broods, jackals, foxes, woodcocks, and
snipes are to be found. I have seen as many as eight
or nine old and young wild boars burst away from the
briar thickets as I approached, and have watched them
careering across the rice and maize fields outside, until
they found shelter in the dense forest growth along the

WILD BOAES. 53

water-courses south of the town. They occur in extra-
ordinary numbers in the surrounding country, and,
looking from the ramparts over the adjoining fields of
springing rice and corn, one sees them dotted at in-
tervals of eight or ten feet with the large black heaps
where the boars have been at work, rooting up the soil.
One might imagine that a detachment of sappers had
been engaged in throwing up a series of rifle pits, or that
the ground had been subjected to a heavy plunging fire
of shells. Such is the devastation produced by the wild
boars and their broods that it is found worth while to
maintain a body of professional hunters, whose sole oc-
cupation is to destroy these animals. Enormous quanti-
ties are killed annually, but their numbers do not appear
to be perceptibly lessened. The inhabitants never on
any account make use of the flesh of the boar. Mr.
Churchill, the Consul, whose kind hospitality I was at
the tune enjoying, was exceedingly desirous of obtaining
some wild boar's flesh, but though he made repeated
attempts to induce the hunters to bring him a quarter
of one of the animals which they were killing every
day, he could not succeed. At length, however, a man
specially retained by himself to furnish him with game
of different kinds agreed that as soon as he had shot a
boar within a reasonable distance of the town he would
give notice to that effect immediately, so that a portion
of it might be secured before the jackals discovered and
devoured the carcass. By these means a head, a couple
of hams, and other portions of the animal were procured,
and were conveyed with the greatest secrecy to the Con-
sulate. The cook, by dint of lavish bribery, had been
persuaded to prepare some of the flesh, but he only
undertook to do so on condition of the affair being
kept a profound secret between himself and the Consul.

54 SANITARY FEATURES.

However, his fellow-servants by some means discovered
that wild boar was being cooked in the house, and at
once entered a protest, and one day the whole of them,
including the cook, appeared in a body before Mr.
Churchill, and respectfully begged to state that they
could no longer remain. The cook said that as he passed
through the bazaars he was scornfully pointed out and
jeered at by the merchants and passers-by as a cooker of
swine's flesh, that his life was miserable, that even his
own family avoided him, and that he could not endure
such suffering. A compromise was arrived at, and the
cook and other servants agreed to stay on condition that
the object of their abhorrence, the remaining boar's flesh,
be immediately thrown out, which was accordingly done.
As regards jackals, the numbers in which they assemble
at nightfall, yelping and wailing both outside and within
the ramparts, are incredible. They are attracted by the
dead bodies of horses, asses, and dogs, which are left
lying in the more remote thoroughfares, and, passing at
night by one of these carcases, one is pretty sure to see
three or four jackals start away from their uncanny
feast. The old ditches of the town are entirely choked
up with briars and bushes, the haunt of every wild
animal indigenous to the district, including the lynx and
the leopard, but the latter rarely ventures within the
ramparts. As is the case in most Eastern towns, the
place is full of hopeless dirt and neglect. Eubbish heaps
are outside every door, and are left to be trodden down ;
the only redeeming feature amidst the loneliness, desola-
tion, and filth is that the tall mud walls are overtopped
with vines, the branches of the plane tree, and the blos-
soms of the almond and plum, that grow within.

The bazaar consists of a labyrinth of narrow streets,
lined on each side with the booths of the traders and

THE BAZAAR 55

artisans, in which the dealer arranges the commodities
he has for sale, and behind which he sits, cross-legged,
as a rule smoking the scarcely ever unlighted kalioun.
The most numerous are the general dealers, who in ad-
dition to the orthodox tea, coffee, sugar, rice, and spices,
also sell ink, paper, percussion caps, bullets, iron small-
shot, gunpowder, brass drinking cups, salt, knives, sul-
phate of iron, pomegranate rind, alum for dyeing pur-
poses, and an infinite variety of other articles. Turning
a corner, we come into an alley where ropes suspended
from housetop to housetop support numberless curtains
of deep blue and olive-green calico. This is the quarter
of the dyers, who seem to be, in point of number, the
strongest after the bakhals, or grocers. They are to be
seen working at their great indigo troughs, clad only in
a dark-tinted waistband and skull-cap, their arms, up to
the elbows, being of as dark a blue as the calico which
hangs outside. A little further on, towards the outskirts
of the bazaar, are the vendors of fruit and vegetables,
whose leeks and lettuces, spread in front of their booths,
are a constant temptation to the passing camels and
horses. More than once I have had to pay for the esca-
pades of my horse hi snatching up a bunch of spring
onions and incontinently devouring it under the nose
of the merchant. There were great basketsful of pome-
granates and oranges, for Asterabad and its neighbour-
hood are famous for both these fruits, especially for the
mandarin orange. Our ordinary orange is known as the
portugal, while the naranj is quite as sour as any lemon,
and takes the place of that fruit in cookery or with tea.
Near the centre of the bazaar is a long street devoted to
the coppersmiths, who manufacture tea-pots, saucepans,
and cauldrons, for almost every cooking utensil used in
this part of Persia is of copper, tinned inside, the facility

56 MANUFACTUKES.

of working copper more than compensating for the extra
price of the material ; moreover, the old vessels, when
worn out, can be sold for a price very nearly equal to
their cost when new. Now and then are to be seen cast-
iron pots of Eussian manufacture, but these are much
more in use among the Turcomans of the Atterek than in
Persian households. The copper utensils are wrought
by hand, and the din of hammering which salutes the
ear as one enters the particular quarter of the smiths is
perfectly deafening. By the sheer force of beating upon
peculiar knob-like anvils, a hollow cylinder of copper,
three-quarters of an inch in thickness, is made to expand
to the most formidable dimensions. When finished, it is
placed upon the fire, heated to dull redness, and a lump
of tin is rubbed round inside.

Then there are the gunsmiths and sword-makers,
who live in separate, though adjacent quarters. Here one
may see every stage of the manufacture of a musket or
rifle, from the forging of the barrel to the rude process
for grooving it, and the fashioning of lock, stock, &c.,
all by the same workman. Asterabad enjoys a certain
renown in Persia for the manufacture of gun-locks, and
I have heard of a detachment of the nondescript soldiers
who constitute the bulk of the Persian army being sent
to this town, with their gun-locks out of order, so that
they might be repaired. It is a singular fact that,
neither in Persia nor among the Turcomans, even in the
most remote districts, does one ever see a flint lock.
They are invariably percussion. The locks are evidently
exactly copied from a European model, even as regards
the very carving and ornamentation ; they have nothing
whatever Oriental in their appearance. The operations
of the dealers in swords are generally confined to the
manufacture of new scabbards, and the rehabilitation of

FELT-MAKING. 57

old blades, for there seems to be a glut of the latter,
which has doubtless existed from time immemorial in
Persia, so that the manufacture of new blades is seldom
entered upon. There are half a dozen booths in which
the jewellers and gold and silver smiths ply their trades.
They are strictly operatives, and do not keep any stock
on hand. If you wish for some article hi silver or gold,
such as a buckle, button, or sword-mounting, you must,
when giving the order, supply the artist with gold or
silver coin, as the case may be. He melts this down,
and manufactures it into the desired object.

The most important, and, indeed, almost the only
extensive manufacture carried on at Asterabad, is that
of felt carpets and mats, and the quarter occupied by
the makers of these articles is one of the largest hi the
bazaar. I had noticed the excellence of the felt in use
among the Turcomans of Krasnavodsk and Tchikislar,
and had purchased several carpets of that material for
use in my own kibitka. Until I came to Asterabad I was
sorely puzzled as to the process by which this material
was manufactured, but there I had ample means of in-
forming myself upon the subject. Instead of being mere
rectangular spaces, opening off the thoroughfare, each
felt-maker's quarters consisted of a room twenty to thirty
feet in length by about fifteen in breadth, with either
a boarded floor or one of perfectly level beaten earth
or cement. The raw material — a mixture of camel's and
goat's hair and sheep's wool well beaten up together, and
varying in proportions accordingly as the felt was in-
tended to be dark brown or white — was laid in a loose
layer about four inches in thickness upon a closely woven
mat of fine reeds, somewhat larger than the piece of felt
was intended to be. This was then beaten down with
heavy, flat pieces of wood, until it was reduced to half its

58 A FINISHED CARPET.

original thickness, and had assumed a compact texture.
The ornamentation, generally consisting of arabesques
and rude flowers of different brilliant colours, was put
on by loosely spun worsted thread, which was laid by
the hand in the required form. A strong, wrarm mix-
ture of size and water was then copiously sprinkled
over the whole, and the layer of felt material, together
with the reed mat, rolled concentrically into a cylindrical
form. In such guise the matting intervened between the
layers of felt. The whole was then bound tightly with
cords, and three or four men, placing their right feet
naked upon it, all pressing simultaneously, rolled it
slowly and by jerks from one end of the apartment to the
other. As the felt grew thinner and denser, the com-
bination was rolled more and more tightly, being undone
from time to time to allow of a fresh saturation with
size. When the felt had assumed the proper dimensions,
and was considered to be sufficiently kneaded together,
it was spread out in the sun to dry, the coloured pattern
being thoroughly incorporated with the substance of
the newly-formed carpet. The solidity and durability of
this felt is wonderful, as I have been able to judge from
having used a square of it as a saddle-cloth for over
twelve months without its in any way showing a break-
age, or, even when exposed to heavy rain, becoming un-
done or at all loosened in the texture.

The main central streets of the bazaar are roofed
over with brick groining, which has holes in the side of
each cupola to admit light, but the majority of them are
simply covered with a sun-screen composed of rude poles
reaching from the top of one shop to that of another
across the way, and loosely thatched with reeds and small
tree branches. In some cases gourds and grape vines
twine among the rough rafters, the fruit hanging pen-

PERSIAN COSTUME. 59-

dulously above the heads of the passers-by. At street
crossings, and through gaps where this roofing has fallen
away, the blinding sunlight pours, throwing the adjacent
portions of the bazaar into comparative obscurity by its
contrast, and causing its inhabitants, half seen athwart
the torrent of rays, to look like so many ghostly occupanta
of a haunted cavern.

This oval blue bundle, set on end, which comes
gliding silently toward us, is a Persian lady, wrapped in
the all-enveloping mantle of calico which shrouds her
from head to heel, and is here styled the feridgi. From
the summit of her forehead hangs a white linen veil,
forming a point upon the centre of her breast, and con-
cealing the face much more effectually than the modern
yashmak of the Osmanli Turks. The copious trousers
are gathered in at the ankle in numerous elongated
plaits, and terminate in the stocking, which is continu-
ous with the trousers. These grooved, inverted cones of
cloth, seen below the edge of the feridgi, give the wearer
the appearance of having substituted two old-fashioned
family umbrellas for her legs. The high-heeled slippers
have just barely enough of upper to enable their owner
to bear them upon the points of her toes.

At the central point of the bazaar, whence branch
off the main thoroughfares, is almost always to be found
the Eastern story-teller — generally a wandering dervish.
I recollect seeing such a public novelist at this point,
seated upon a door-step, and holding a numerous audi-
ence entranced by the narrative which he was relating.
He was a young man, of a rather distinguished type
of feature, and long, glossy, raven hair flowed upon his
shoulders. He wore a large Tartar hat of black sheep-
skin, carried a stout staff of about five feet in length,
and had his calabash basket, for the reception of con-

60 A STORY- TELLER

tributions, laid beside him. The exigencies of the story
seemed to require that he should have some tangible
object to address. He accordingly placed his great sheep-
skin tiara in the centre of the roadway, and apostro-
phised it with the most ludicrous earnestness, at the
same time mimicking the replies which he was supposed
to receive. It was evidently a humorous story, for the
group of idlers and small boys standing round, and the
merchants leaning over their wares, occasionally burst
into loud and prolonged shouts of laughter. He shook
his stick at the being that was embodied in his head-
dress, raved at it, implored it, and ended by weeping
ever it. The acting was of no mean order, and a story-
teller who possesses histrionic powers to any creditable
extent is always sure of a crowd of eager listeners.

In the streets of the bazaar are generally congregated
a number of Turcomans from the outlying villages along
the Giurgen, endeavouring to exchange sheepskins against
the various commodities which the Persians offer for sale,
or trying underhand to procure gunpowder and per-
cussion caps, for the sale of these articles to the nomads
is strictly forbidden by the central government.

The Turcomans frequenting Asterabad generally come
to the town fully armed — sabre at side, poniard in belt,
and double-barrelled gun at back, permission being ac-
corded to them to enter the town thus equipped probably
in recognition of the fact that they are subjects of the
Shah. In other border Persian towns further to the
east, and frequented on market days by the Tekkes, the
latter were obliged to leave their swords and guns with
the guard at the gate of the town, retaining only the
poniard, or more strictly speaking the knife, which the
Turcoman rarely parts with. The throng was occasion-
ally varied by the grave, stately form of a Baghdad

PERSIAN POTTERY. 61

muleteer, with his diadem-like headdress of twisted
camel-hair over the sombre-tinted mantle which protects
his head from the sun and weather, and envelopes his
whole person.

Very beautiful specimens of enamelled tiles and
Persian pottery are to be met with here, the former
being the decorative portions of the ancient buildings ;
but these have been much defaced, for the blue china
and keramic craze had taken fast root in Asterabad
among its European inhabitants, and what I was in-
formed were priceless specimens of early Persian pottery
were unearthed by the enthusiasts from the forgotten
closets and dusty shelves of inhabitants in the possession
of whose families they had remained for many centuries.

The peculiarity of this Persian pottery is that, while
it has all the external appearance of the finest porcelain,
it is really composed of delicate brown earthenware,
somewhat resembling hardened Roman cement, and
covered upon the outside with a thick creamy glaze.
Some of the plates and dishes of large size present, on
a white ground, patterns in that beautiful blue tint so
much admired by the ' maniacs ' at home, but the tint-
ing is by no means confined to this colour. There is a
peculiar kind of bottle, closely resembling in form those
Indian water-bottles of porous clay, but of slenderer neck
and far more graceful form, the body often presenting a
series of lobe-like divisions similar to those of a peeled
orange. These generally have that golden, purple, or
amber gleam, with prismatic colours when seen obliquely,
which is known to the initiated as reflet mctallique. The
colours seen when the surface is viewed by reflected light
are exactly similar to those observed on the surface
of still water over which is spread a slight film of tar.
Some of these bottles are reputed to be of great age,

62 A LOST ART.

dating back, it is averred, over eight hundred years.
This conclusion is arrived at from the position and
nature of the sites from amidst which they were dug
up. The art of producing this delicate keramic ware
in Persia is now entirely lost.

RUMOURS OF ACTIVITY. 63

CHAPTER VII.

Rumours of Activity— A fresh venture — Another dismissal — A snowstorm
— Severe losses — Fresh plans — General Skobeleff.

BANISHED from the camp at Tchikislar, I had come to
Asterabad in order to be within reach of the Russian
columns, and to have it in my power to know what was
happening from time to time at the former place.
Various rumours of unusual activity on the part of the
Tekke Turcomans reached me, and though, owing to the
hospitality of Mr. Churchill, I was exceedingly comfort-
able at Asterabad, I resolved to move out into the plain
between the Atterek and Giurgen rivers as far as Gu-
mush Tepe, a point which would afford me many facilities
for ascertaining what was occurring within the Russian
lines. Travelling over the intermediate country was
rather a ticklish undertaking, in consequence of the near
proximity of Tekke raiders, .who pushed boldly forward
towards the sea-board, and of the never over-scrupulous
parties of Turcomans of various tribes, camped and
wandering, between the Atterek and the Giurgen. I
made my journey to my destination, however, in safety,
and during the next three months I lived amongst the
Yamud Turcomans, finding them hospitable, careful of
the worldly goods of the sojourner in their midst, even
to punishing the thieves who took possession of his pro-
perty, and giving me ample opportunities for observing
their domestic habits and customs ; but as these greatly
resembled those of their relatives, the Tekke Turcomans,

64 A FKESH VENTURE.

in the Merv oasis, with whom later on I made an enforced
stay, I need not dwell upon them here.

I had, then, been residing continuously at Gumush
Tepe about three months, when some Turcomans who
had returned with a lugger from Tchikislar brought me
intelligence of the resignation of General Tergukasoff,
and the appointment ad interim, to the command of the
expeditionary forces, of Major-General Mouravieff. This
change in the direction of affairs gave me some hope that
I might after all be permitted to follow the operations
of the Russian columns, and I determined to try my
fortunes once more at the camp. I had considerable diffi-
culty in inducing any of the Turcomans who ordinarily
travelled to and fro between Gumush Tepe and Tchikislar
with forage and wood supplies for the camp to allow me
to accompany them, as they knew that since my last visit
to the Russian lines I had lain under a ban, and that if
I again essayed to return I should in all probability be
summarily expelled. By dint of great persuasion, how-
ever, and the use of a good deal of diplomacy, I succeeded
in making them believe that it was necessary and permis-
sible for me to have an interview with the new general,
and, aided by the efforts of my Yamud host, Dourdi,
I at length managed to discover the owner of a lodka
who agreed to convey me along the coast to the Russian
encampment. After a rather unpleasant night journey
I reached the camp, and, as soon as I could obtain an
audience, I presented myself before my old friend
Colonel Malama, the Chief of Staff, who still occupied
the position he had held under General Lazareff. He
looked much aged and worn, short as was the time since
I had last seen him, and I was not surprised at it, con-
sidering that he had been through the disastrous affair
of the first attack on Geok Tepe, and had borne his full

ANOTHER DISMISSAL. G5

share of the responsibilities which the precipitate retreat
from before that stronghold entailed. I asked him to tell
General Mouravieff that I had come to make application
to be allowed to remain at Tchikislar, and to follow the
operations of the column, and he promised to do as I
desired as soon as the General was visible. It was scarce
daybreak on the following morning when I was aroused
by a loud knocking at the door of the little alcove in which
I slept. The major of a battalion, with whom I had
formerly been on very friendly terms, accompanied by
the chief of the camp police, a certain Timour Beg, a
Mussulman lieutenant of cavalry, made their appearance,
bearing an order from General Mouravieff that I should
immediately quit the camp and return to Gumush Tepe,
or any other place to which I might choose to proceed,
provided I left the limits of the Russian lines. I asked
permission to remain until I had eaten my breakfast,
and then, accompanied by the same officers, I departed
for the shore, where a lodka, specially retained for my
transport back to Gumush Tepe, was lying, and on which
vessel I embarked.

I did not like the appearance of the sky as we entered
the mouth of the Giurgen. There were meteoric-looking
clouds athwart the sun, and that angry glare over the
waters which in this part of the world heralds a
tempest. The wind again fell, and a dead calm ensued.
The lugger had to be rowed and poled almost the entire
distance between the mouth of the river and the village.
A fierce yellow storm-light was on the lodka masts, and
angry red streaks shone over the looming snow-clad
Elburz. The leaden waters of the Giurgen slept 'stilly
black,' the sun went down, and the call of the muezzim,
like that of some storm demon, arose upon the ominous
silence pervading land and sky. I had not been more

F

66 A SNOWSTORM.

than a few minutes on shore when the scudding mist-
drift made its appearance along the western horizon,,
and before long the tempest was upon us. It was for-
tunate for us that we got onshore so soon. The storm
struck the village with greater force than I had yet seen.
The cattle galloped wildly about, the camels straggling
here and there with their awkward run, stiffly brandish-
ing their tails. Ere long it was pitch dark, and general
confusion reigned throughout Gumush Tepe. The naph-
tha torches flared in every direction. Eopes and poles,
were hurriedly brought into requisition, and the universal
hubbub, mingled with the noise of the storm, gave the
place the appearance of being the scene of some un-
earthly combat. This storm, unlike the others which had
occurred during my stay in these parts, was not of short
duration. It continued with unceasing violence during
the greater part of the night. Towards midnight it
was accompanied by hail and a heavy snowfall. When
I looked out in the morning the sun was shining
brightly over a vast gleaming expanse of virgin snow.

Finding that my last chance of again being allowed
to take up my quarters in the Eussian camp had de-
parted, I decided to return to Asterabad, there to consult
with my friend Mr. Churchill as to what course I ought
to pursue, and I took advantage of the setting out for
the same place of a Turcoman who had been acting as
agent for the British Consul at that city, and who was
going in with his usual fortnightly report of the move-
ments of the Russians. On our way across the plains
we met with plenty of traces of the violence of the
storm. The villagers had hastily constructed rough
shelters for their flocks ; but these precautions had
apparently come too late, to a great extent, for on every
side were strewn dead and dying lambs and sheep-

SEVERE LOSSES. 67

Men with long knives were going from one prostrate
animal to another, cutting their throats to see if blood
would flow. In case it did, however slightly, the carcass
was taken to the village to be consumed as food ; but, if
no blood came, the flesh was abandoned to the village
dogs, and to the wolves and jackals, who would in-
variably make their appearance as the sun sank below
the horizon. The number of animals who perished in
this snow tenkis, or storm, to judge from my observations
of the limited space over which I rode, must have been
enormous.

I remained some days at Asterabad, enjoying the
kind hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Churchill at the British
Consulate, and endeavouring to recuperate my energies
after the Turcoman regime to which I had so long been
subjected at Gumush Tepe, and I then undertook an ex-
pedition to the Persian border fort of Ak-Kala, on the
banks of the Giurgen. Here I was pleasantly received
by the Persian officer in command, and after a short
stay I crossed the bridge over the river Giurgen to
return once more to Gumush Tepe. It was amongst
the gigantic reed-growths of this district that I had the
first opportunity since my arrival in Persia of seeing a
wolf. He was feeding upon the carcass of a sheep which
had either been killed by the late storms, or which he
had himself carried off. His head was buried in its
entrails, but, looking up as I approached, he eyed me
savagely, his muzzle smeared with blood. I fired, and
apparently touched him, for I could see the fur fly from
his back, whereupon he charged me fiercely. My horse
trembled with fright, rendering it very difficult to aim.
On the second shot the enemy turned tail, and ran to a
distance of about a hundred yards, where he seated
himself, and, licking his bloody jaws, gazed at me as

F 2

68 FRESH PLANS.

though he would say, ' When you think fit to go, I will
resume my meal.'

Old Dourdi, as well as everyone else, was surprised to
see me back again at Gumush Tepe so soon. I noticed
considerable uneasiness on the part of my host, and was
quite at a loss to account for it. Several times over he
seemed about to communicate something to me, but on
each occasion he checked himself, so that I did not press
him to tell me what was on his mind. My stay was not
protracted — principally because everything seemed stag-
nant at Tchikislar for the time being, and also because
I had no fresh observations to make in the village. For,
despairing of obtaining permission to accompany the
Eussian columns, and tired of the inactive and unprofit-
able life that I was leading, I determined to remain no
longer, but to return once more to Asterabad, and thence
try to make my way along the southern bank of the
Giurgen through the Goklan country as far as the Kopet
Dagh Mountains, and to cross them to the Akhal Tekke
country. I knew that such a journey would be fraught
with the extremest peril, but I was resolved to risk every-
thing rather than continue to spend my time as I had
been, during the preceding five months. I only waited
until one of my horses, which had become slightly sore-
backed, could get quite cured, before I put my intention
into execution. On the evening previous to the day
which I had fixed for my departure old Dourdi took me
confidentially aside, and disburdened himself of the
secret which had been weighing on his mind since my
last arrival at the village. He said that the military
authorities at Tchikislar had repeatedly made inquiries
of Turcomans who had visited the camp as to whether I
still remained at Gumush Tepe, and that that same even-
ing a message had been brought to the effect that if I did

GENERAL SKOBELEFF. 69

not at once withdraw from the aoull (village) Cossacks
would be sent to bring me a prisoner to Tchikislar.

On the morning of April 20, 1880, at earliest dawn,
I once more rode out into the plains that separated me
from Asterabad. Forty miles are but little to those who
have locomotives to carry them, but forty miles on a
horse carrying at the same time all one's worldly goods
constitute a much more serious distance, especially when,
owing to spring floods, a river of more than twenty feet
in depth intervenes. I made my journey, however, in
safety, and upon reaching my destination I had a long
talk with Mr. Churchill about my proposed ride into
the Akhal Tekke country ; I also learned that General
Skobeleff was on his way, if he had not already arrived,
to take command of the Trans- Caspian expedition. After
mature deliberation I resolved to proceed to Teheran,
and there solicit the friendly offices of Mr. Zinovieff, the
Kussian Minister at that capital, believing that he might
be able to procure for me the permission to accompany
the Kussian columns which had been denied to my own
direct application. I had met this gentleman at Kras-
navodsk, at the house of General Lomakin, and from his
great courtesy on that occasion I entertained hopes that
he would interest himself in my behalf. Mr. Churchill
was about to leave for Baku, en route for Palermo, to
which Consulate he had just been appointed, and as he
intended journeying via Kesht, through which town lay
my easiest and most expeditious route to Teheran, I re-
solved to accompany him.

70 PEESIAN BOATMEN.

CHAPTEE VIII.

Persian Boatmen — A Persian river — Sturgeon and silkworms — The ice
torture — Venomous serpents — A ghastly burden — The ' Bite the
Stranger' — Effects of a bite — The kanots — The Shah's capital — His
Majesty's servants — Court splendour — Flower-scatterers.

AFTER several delays, due to the badness of the road to
Kenar Gez — the so-called port of Asterabad — for which
place our little English party started on April 26, 1880,
and the dilatory way in which the steamers make their
runs in the South Caspian, we reached Enzeli, where I
parted from Mr. Churchill, his son remaining to be my
companion to Eesht, and from thence across the moun-
tains to Teheran. What follows after your statement of
intention to land at Enzeli is an illustration of the law
of natural selection. A ' free fight ' ensues, during which
the strongest succeed in getting nearest to your person
and effects. The Prophet Ali and the twelve holy
Imams are called upon in fervent tones to bear witness
to the iniquity of the man who has laid hold of your
saddle-bags, by the others who have been unsuccessful
in trying to do the same. Yells and threats are
interchanged, and the traveller is ultimately hustled
along the deck and over the side into one of the high-
prowed launches, to reach which he has had perhaps
to skip over a dozen others, springing from gunwale to
gunwale as they toss and heave and bump together
in the long Caspian swell. Amidst cries and execra-
tions we force our way through the press of boats, and

A PEESIAN EIVER. 71

then the crew, raising a loud shout of ' Allah, Mahomet
ya Ali ! ' bend to their odd-looking oars, and we sweep
away to the southward, skirting the low-lying wooded
shore. Entering the mouth of the Moredab, an extensive
backwater into which fall the Piri-Bazaar and other
streams, we come alongside a fairly constructed quay,
and are rewarded with a sight of the Shah's yacht,
which is about the size of a Thames steamer, and
painted of a dirty white yellow. The Shah's palace on
the western shore is also one of the objects that meet
the traveller's eye.

Our way up to Piri-Bazaar was through a reedy-
shored lagoon where the silence was broken only by the
plashing of the oars, the shrill cry of some startled sea
bird, or the scream of the fish-hawk. Then we entered
the narrow channel of the river, varying in breadth from
fifteen to twenty paces, the banks thickly covered with
jungle and forest growth. The surface of the water was
thickly strewn with the inflated swimming bladders of
fish, coming from the curing establishment higher up
the river. Large numbers of water snakes, too, were to
be seen gliding by our boat. Great black ' snags ' stuck
out from the water like marine monsters watching for
their prey, and water-logged tree trunks clung among
the roots projecting into the sluggish stream. Once we
were well within the regular river channel, the crew, with
the exception of one who remained to steer, got out on
the right bank, where a narrow pathway ran close to the
edge of the water, just inside the tall bushes fringing
it. A towing rope was fastened to the top of the mast,
and the boat was thus drawn along, the five men in
Indian file proceeding at a run.

Piri-Bazaar is the farthest point southward to which
a boat can go, as here a fishing weir crosses the stream.

72 STURGEON AND SILKWOEMS.

If I can trust the accuracy of the information -I received,
the capture of fish at the weir is enormous, fifty
thousand of one kind or another being the amount
taken daily. The principal fish taken are the sefid
mahee (carp) ; the soof, the sonime (four feet long) ; the
salmon and salmon trout, besides the sturgeon, are
caught in the brackish water lower down. The flesh
of the sturgeon is but little used save by the poorer
classes — the sterlet, a smaller species, being the only
kind usually served at table, and generally used only
for making soup. The sturgeon taken here measure
from seven to nine feet long, the isinglass and caviare
being the only portions utilised. From this place to
Eesht there is a fair road through the dense forest, in
whose clearings are at frequent intervals odd-looking
structures with high-pitched roofs, the eaves projecting
and supported by wooden props. The thatching is of
reeds and brambles of a brown colour, the whole
resembling a very pointed haystack supported on low
pillars. These were the tilimbars or sheds for rearing
silkworms. Silk has been for a long time one of the
staple products of this province, but diseases amongst
the silkworms nearly ruined the cultivators, and of late
tobacco seed from Samsoun on the southern Black Sea
coast was sown, and the flourishing crops which resulted
have done much to restore prosperity to the district.

Eesht itself is a scattered kind of place, largely
composed of two-storey houses built of unbaked brick,
and roofed with red tiles. The minarets of the two
mosques are of quite an unusual style. They are stout
towers of red brick tapering slightly, and crowned with
flattened cones of tiles, the cones projecting so much
as to give the structure the appearance of an overgrown
mushroom. During the three days I remained here I

THE ICE TORTUKE. 73

heard sad tales of misgovernment and extortion OIL
the part of the local authorities. There seemed to be
no regular system of taxation, the governor paying a
certain amount to the Shah annually, and having
delegated to him apparently unlimited power to squeeze
as much as possible from the native merchants and
peasantry. I was informed on unquestionable authority
that a very short time previous to my arrival a trader
had been imprisoned and buried up to his neck in the
floor of his dungeon. Ice was kept constantly applied
to his head to torture him, with a view of forcing from
him a large sum of money. He stood this cruel
punishment so long without yielding, that the stock of
ice in the town was quite expended, and the governor was
forced to adopt a new system of torture through sheer
incapacity to continue the old.

As yet post-horses are the only means of rapid tra-
velling in Persia. When a postal service of the kind
is well conducted one can get along pretty well, but
when, as in that country, the utmost mismanagement
prevails, travelling post is the most exquisite torture
it is possible to conceive. It was close on midday
before I was able to get away from Eesht, mounted on
a very fair horse. I was accompanied by Mr. Harry
Churchill, and we had with us a gliolam, or courier,
belonging to the British Legation at Teheran, and the
usual postman to take back the horses. The stations
are from twenty to thirty miles apart, and the road
over the mountains at tunes is frightful, while the
accommodation to be obtained often consisted of the
bare boards for our resting places, and our saddles for
our pillows. Travelling over such roads in the dark is
most trying to the nerves. The horses, endeavouring
to scramble up or down the steep ascents, many of

74 VENOMOUS SEKPENTS.

them having an incline of forty-five degrees, slipped and
stumbled at every step. The faintly-seen rocks seemed
swimming around in the gloom. The horseman sud-
denly finds himself girth-deep in a torrent of whose
existence he only becomes aware by the flash and roar
•of the waters. Huge spectral cliff- faces loomed in the
faint dawn-light, and the white expanse of the surging
river gleamed out, far down the precipice on the verge
of which the road wound. No barrier of any kind ex-
isted to prevent man or beast from going over the edge.
At Mengil, where a long stone bridge spans the river,
I had an opportunity of witnessing a curious pheno-
menon peculiar to the place. At the moment the
.sun shows above the horizon a violent wind com-
mences to blow, continuing without interruption till
evening. This wind blows at all seasons, and is some-
times so violent as to render crossing the bridge dan-
.gerous, especially for laden camels, the great surface
-exposed to the action of the wind sometimes causing
the animals to be blown over the parapet into the
torrent. This portion of the valley is remarkable for
the great number of venomous serpents by which it is
infested. When the Eoman army, led by Marc Antony,
-came here, the camp had to be moved from the valley
on account of the great quantity of vipers. I give
this on the authority of His Majesty the Shah, who
makes the statement in his published diary. A short
distance beyond Mengil I came up with a small cara-
van going in the direction of Teheran. For some time
I had been noticing a most unpleasant odour, which
I was at a loss to account for. So strong was it that I
.supposed that a number of camels or horses must be
lying rotting in my vicinity ; and I urged my horse
rapidly forward to get clear of the stench. However,

A GHASTLY BUKDEN. 75

the further I pushed on, the stronger became the smell,
and I was quite at my wits' end to account for its per-
sistency, when a glance at one of the caravan conductors
gave me an inkling as to whence it proceeded. The
man was trudging along behind a small grey ass, on
whose back was an oblong white case, which I at once
recognised as a coffin ; especially when, on nearing it,
the stench became overpowering. It was a caravan
carrying dead bodies to be interred at Kerbella in holy
ground. The driver of the ass looked deadly pale, and
had swathed his mouth and nose with cloths to avoid
the pestilential effluvia emanating from the putrid corpse
which his ass was carrying. He had been several days
on the march, and I am not surprised that he looked
sick and pale, considering the atmosphere which he
breathed. I understand that Government orders have
been issued prohibiting this system of corpse cara-
vans ; but though the traffic is much diminished, it
still exists to a certain extent. Pushing on with our
journey we reached Pood Chenar, a posting station
where no horses were to be obtained. Then, after
wearisome delays, onward past mountain and stream
and Kurdish camps towards the tremendous Kharzon
pass. To describe its passage would be only to mul-
tiply tenfold what I have already written about break-
neck roads and dangerous precipices. Towards the
higher portion of the pass, some twelve thousand feet
above the sea, we came upon pyramids of loose stones,
the pious offerings placed upon the burial-place of a
saint.

At last we reached Masrah. When starting from
Eesht I had received many warnings from experts to
look out for an exceedingly venomous insect which infests
this neighbourhood. Strange to say, this place alone

76 THE 'BITE THE STKANGER.'

of all the entire district is so infested. I enter into de-
tails on the subject, as it is one which cannot fail to
interest naturalists. I had been warned, on the peril of
my life, not to sleep here, because here was to be found
the garrib-gez (literally, ' bite the stranger '). The effect
of the bite was described to me as being on the whole
much worse than that of the black scorpion. Our horses
could carry us no further, and, nathless the dread which
I had of these creatures, I was obliged to make a halt of
half an hour at the station.

One of the first questions which I asked of the stable
attendants was whether they could show me a specimen
of the ' bite the stranger.' After a few minutes' search,
the man brought me out half-a-dozen in the palm of his
hand. The largest was not over the third of an inch in
length, and resembled in form what is vulgarly known
in England as the * sheep-tick.' It was of a silvery
grey appearance, and had, as I carefully remarked, eight
legs, four on each side. Its sting is productive of the
worst results. A small red point like that produced by
the ordinary flea is at first seen. Then follows a large
black spot, which subsequently suppurates, accompanied
by a high fever, identical, as far as external symptoms
go, with intermittent fever. In this it is like the bite of
the tarantula or phalange of the Turcoman plains. The
only difference is, that the fever produced by the sting
of this insect, known scientifically as the arga Persica,
and locally as the garrib-gez and Genne, if neglected
for any length of time, is fatal. It is accompanied by
lassitude, loss of appetite, and in some cases delirium.
There is a general belief that, when once a person has
been stung, the ' Persian bug ' is harmless against the
same individual, and this seems to be borne out by fact ;
for the people living in the village of Masrah laughed

EFFECTS OF A BITE. 77

at my fears as I carefully perched myself on the top of
a rock with a view of keeping out of the way of the
local bugs, while they held them with impunity within
the palms of their hands. Some Austrian officers
going to Teheran in 1879, happening to stay at this
hamlet of Masrah, were stung by the garrib-gez. All
of them fell ill, and one narrowly escaped with his life.
Numerous cases of death can be cited as the result of
the sting of the arga Persica. A Persian medical man
informed me that it was the custom, when any impor-
tant personage was travelling through a district infested
by these insects, for his attendants to administer to
him without his knowledge one of the ' bugs,' during
the early morning, concealed in a piece of bread. The
sting acts as a kind of inoculation, and the local phy-
sicians believe that the poison, taken through the
stomach, is administered with equally good effect as if
received directly into the circulation. A leading Euro-
pean member of Teheran society told me that he had
simultaneously received seventy-three stings from these
insects, the bites having been counted by his servants.
The result was an extreme amount of fever, winding
up with delirium on the fifth day. Violent emetics,
followed by doses of quinine, were given without effect ;
and it was only after taking large quantities of tan-
nin, in the form of a decoction of the rind of the wild
pomegranate, that the patient recovered. For a great
part of my information on this subject I have to thank
Mr. Sydney Churchill, of Teheran, a young and rising
naturalist, who has devoted much of his time and talent
to the entomology of Persia. I need scarcely say that,
finding myself in contact with this abominable ' Persian
bug,' I was in a feverish hurry to get out of its
dominions ; and more than one severe objurgation rose

78 THE KANOTS.

to my lips before the half-hour's chase after several stag-
like horses on the hill-slope was completed.

I was contemplating in a melancholy mood the skele-
tons of seven horses lying close by, without doubt the
victims of overwork and little food, when our new steeds
were driven in from pasture on a bleak mountain side, to-
commence a run of twenty miles at post speed.

Descending from the mountains we passed villages
whose strong walls and towers told of the neighbourhood
of the dangerous Turcomans. The gateway of each
stronghold was a little fort in itself, and Biblical descrip-
tions came forcibly to my mind as we saw the white-
robed elders smoking their water-pipes, seated on either
side the entry with a more than patriarchal solemnity,,
the attendants in robes of Oriental brilliancy, raising
their heads to stare at the unholy Giaours dashing by
as quickly as their poor weary, sore-backed steeds would
permit. In riding over this plain I discovered the solu-
tion of a problem which had often puzzled me. I had
seen small earth-mounds ranged in a symmetrical row
reaching for miles and miles. I now discovered that
they were composed of the earth thrown up from nume-
rous shafts during the construction of what are called
kanots, or underground watercourses, leading from the
mountains to the plain below.

Kasvin, the birthplace of the sage Lockman — and for
a brief space the capital of Persia — was our next halt-
ing-place. Then the road to Teheran began to improve,,
for, as a rule, a ride across the natural country would
be better than the apology for a roadway along which
we had to journey, matters being made worse by the
wretched condition of the post-horses. Hissarek was our
next changing-place, and at last, Hearing Teheran, we
rode over a dry hot plain, whose unattractive aspect

THE SHAH'S CAPITAL. 79>

was made more penible by its thick dun-brown dust,
while we could see the giant Elburz mountains tower-
ing up seemingly within hand's reach, all white with
snowy caps — long silvery streaks coming down claw-like
along their sides, the delicious aspect of coolness making
one feel doubly hot and thirsty. On approaching Teheran
the town presents not the slightest striking feature. Were
not one advised beforehand of his approach to the place,
he would never guess that he was in the proximity of
the capital of Persia. I found it a strange mixture of
the Eastern and Western styles : quaint buildings and
bazaars, and close at hand modern avenues and gas.
lamps, while in one or two places the electric light had
been established. The Shah is evidently anxious to fol-
low the examples of Western sovereigns, and hence he
has had European officers to drill and train his troops
as well as to establish a system of police. I visited the
bazaar with similar impressions to those I had received
at Asterabad, and during my stay I had an opportunity
of seeing the Shah proceed in state to visit his First
Minister. From the door of the house where the Shah
was staying to the mansion of this official, a distance
of over a mile, the thoroughfare was lined with troops.
Though these soldiers had taken up their position at six
in the morning, the Shah did not appear until nearly
twelve o'clock. About half-past eleven, sundry old-
fashioned carriages, drawn by a pair of horses each,
and driven by nondescript-looking coachmen, who to
all appearance might have been royal scullions in un-
disguised professional costume, were seen moving out-
side the ranks of the troops, in the direction of the
Minister's residence. These vehicles contained some
of the principal harem favourites, and were preceded
by a crowd of men in ordinary Persian civilian costume,

W 'HIS MAJESTY'S SERVANTS.'

beating the air and the ground with long osier rods, and
vociferating to the bystanders to ' be blind ' and to turn
their faces to the wall, lest by any ill-luck they might
catch sight of any of the ' lights of the harem.' The
arrival of the monarch was heralded by a number of
mounted policemen, who dashed along the ranks in an
altogether unnecessarily impetuous manner. These
police wear black tunics, with violet facings on collars
and cuffs, and a stripe of the same colour down the dark
trousers. A small black cylindrical shako and long
boots complete the costume. The foot police carry
short sabres made on a European model, those of the
mounted men being longer. After the police came thirty
horsemen bearing large silver maces ; and, behind these,
about a hundred others armed with sabres and having
double-barrelled fowling-pieces and old-fashioned Persian
muskets slung at their backs. All these people were
dressed very plainly in sombre-coloured civilian cos-
tumes. To these succeeded some fifty oddly-costumed
persons, proceeding at a trot on either side of the way.
They were the King's running footmen. When I first
saw these royal acolytes, I took them to be street moun-
tebanks. Half-a-dozen were sitting down on the kerb-
stone near the royal gate. Knowing that in the East
such people always seek out Europeans as victims, I
hastily went round a corner, lest one of them should
stand on his head for my benefit. Each of them wore
a rather long-skirted red tunic, ornamented with a
few scraps of gold lace sewn horizontally on the breast ;
a pair of dark knee-breeches, white cotton stockings,
and shoes with buckles and rosettes. The oddest part
of the costume was the hat. It was of black glazed
leather, and something like a fireman's helmet de-
veloping into a lancer's casque, or the head-dress worn

COMIC SPLENDOUR. 81

by the eccentric pencil-merchant in Paris some years
ago, who drove about the streets in a carriage selling
his wares. From the centre and forward and rear ends
of the tall, straight crest, rise three bunches of red
artificial flowers, made to resemble sweet-william blos-
soms. These are fixed on long stems, the centre one
being the tallest, and all three nodding comically with
every movement of the head of the wearer. When the
Shah appears in public, he is invariably accompanied by
these attendants, who run in front of, behind, and on
either side of his horse or carriage. In the midst of
them rode a group of forty or fifty of the highest dig-
nitaries of the State, including the First Minister and
the Commander-in-Chief of the army — the Hessem el
Seltaneh, or ' Sword of the Kingdom.' All these func-
tionaries were dressed very plainly. At their head
rode the Shah himself, not as people are apt to figure
to themselves the Shah of Persia — a perpetual blaze of
diamonds — but if possible more plainly attired than the
other members of the group. Had it not been for the
crimson umbrella which he carried open above his head
I should have been unable to distinguish him. As I
saw him, he appeared a much younger and handsomer
man than his photograph would lead one to believe.
Perhaps this was the result of the glow cast by the
red umbrella. Behind him came an immense concourse
of horsemen, presumably belonging to the royal house-
hold, followed by a closed carriage resembling the Lord
Mayor's coach, resplendent with plate-glass and bat-
tered gilding. Next came some led horses, splendidly
caparisoned ; and a body of police closed the proces-
sion, the oddest part of which consisted of the apes and
baboons led along by their keepers, and intended to
amuse the ladies of the harem. A new feature — new

82 FLOWER-SCATTEKERS.

for Persia, that is — was introduced into the scene ; viz.
the scattering of flowers along the roadway in front of
the Shah. One would have expected that children, or
at least some tolerably good-looking persons, would have
performed this graceful act. Instead, there were two
ugly old men, whose ordinary avocation was to throw
water from the leather bags which they carried on their
backs in order to allay the dust when the Shah passed,
and who, having first performed the more useful por-
tions of their duties, were now hurrying about with
articles resembling wooden coal-scuttles under their
arms, scattering in a very business-like and unpoetical
manner what looked like the sweepings of a nursery
garden.

IMPORTANT TELEGRAMS. 83

CHAPTER IX.

Important telegrams — Visit to a magnate — The Towers of Silence — Forti-
fications —Dwellers in the tombs — A false alarm — Beauty of villages —
Bitten — A human churn.

HAVING more than ever in view my desire to get to the
front, I called upon Mr. Zinovieff, the Russian Minister.
I told him that I had been obliged to quit Tchikislar,
and that on two subsequent occasions, when I ventured
to return, I had again been summarily compelled to
leave. I inquired whether he could use any influence
in favour of my being allowed to rejoin the camp. He
replied that the matter remained in the hands of the
new Commander-in-chief, General Skobeleff, and advised
me to apply to that officer. I immediately despatched
the following telegram : ' Son Excellence le General
Skobeleff, a Baku. — Voulez-vous me permettre accom-
pagner 1'expedition de Tchikislar comme Correspondant
du " Daily News " de Londres ? ' In two days I received a
reply : ' O'Donovan, Teheran. — Ayant les ordres les plus
positifs de ne pas permettre a aucun correspondant, ni
Russe, ni etranger, d'accompagner 1'expedition, il m'est
a mon grand regret impossible d'obtemperer a votre de-
mande. — SKOBELEFF.' This reply, dated from Krasna-
vodsk, was of course decisive. I telegraphed to Skobeleff
thanking him for the courteous promptitude of his
answer, concluding my message with the words ' An
revoir a Merv,' as I was resolved, if possible, to be there
before the Russian troops could reach it. I then took

G 2

84 VISIT TO A MAGNATE.

measures to facilitate my journey to some point on the
north-eastern frontier of Persia, from whence I could gain
the Akhal Tekke region and Merv. I applied to his
Highness Hussein Khan Sipah Salar Aazem, the acting
Grand Vizier, for permission to go along the frontier,
and if necessary to penetrate into the country of the
Akhal Tekke Turcomans. I received a most courteous
reply, to the effect that the minister was most willing
to give me the necessary pass, but that he could not
guarantee my personal safety outside the Persian do-
minions. He wound up by saying, ' Although you have
been for a long time in Persia, and several days at
Teheran, I have not yet had the pleasure of receiving a
visit from you.' I was satisfied to take the hint as an
invitation to visit his Highness, and went accordingly.

After a lengthened progress over ill-set pavements,
and between high scorching walls of unbaked brick (i.e.
mud), I arrived at an enclosure, amid which, high-
reared, stood an unshapely mass of buildings with high
gables. Broad bands of blue enamelled tiles stretched
across the front ; otherwise, and excepting the gates, it
had no more pretence to architecture than any other
building in Teheran. There were crowds of what we
should term ' hangers-on ' within the yard, to which a
broken-down arch gave admittance. They seemed
annoyed by my arrival, and evidently thought me a
needless addition to their number, until M. le Baron
Norman, the most courteous and courtier-like of secre-
taries, coming to meet me, ushered me into a vast hall,
spread with rich Persian carpets. It was divided into
two parts by a couple of steps reaching along its whole
breadth. In the lower half was a large tank of water
some fifteen feet by twelve. In a few minutes I was
seated at a small table vis-a-vis with the person whom

THE TOWERS OF SILENCE. 85

ordinary rumour, native as well as European, indicated
as the ablest man in Persia. He received me most
affably. He merely pointed out the great difficulties and
dangers of such an emprise as I proposed to take upon
myself, and said that the Turcomans of the Akhal Tekke
and Merv were no better than they should be, after which
we parted.

I duly received the written permission for which I
had applied, one which purported to enable me to visit
the extreme north-eastern limits of the Persian do-
minions. Dr. Tholozan, the Shah's physician, also gave
me a letter of introduction to an influential border chief-
tain, the Emir Hussein Khan, governor of Kuchan, so
that I was quite hopeful of successfully carrying out my
intentions.

I now set about making my final preparations for
journeying eastwards towards the long looked-for goal.
I telegraphed to my servant at Asterabad, instructing
him to start immediately for Shahrood, to meet me with
my horses and baggage, hired another Persian servant,
obtained the necessary order for post-horses along the
road as far as Meshed, made some necessary purchases
at the bazaar, and was at last ready to start for the
borders of the Tekke country, my first point being Shah-
rood, two hundred and eighty-four miles away. In this
long weary ride I shall merely mention the principal
objects that attracted my attention, there being many
things that, though interesting, would extend this nar-
rative beyond reasonable limits.

Five or six miles from Teheran are the ' Towers of
Silence' of the Guebres or Fire- Worshippers. These
are certain low circular buildings, having at the top a
grating, upon which are laid the bodies of the dead,
whose bones, as decomposition advances, or the flesh is

86 FOETIFICATIONS.

devoured by birds of prey, drop through the gratings
into the tower below.

The posting stations presented the same miseries as
I had previously had to encounter. At one place the
post-master informed me, in answer to an inquiry, that
the garrib-gez abounded there. I was consequently
obliged to take up my quarters on the flat roof of the
bala hane, or traveller's room, which during the daytime
is too hot a spot for the ' stranger biters,' and at night
too cold for their delicate constitutions. A horse-cloth
spread on the roof, and a saddle, formed the only sleeping
accommodation afforded. The arga Persica is, it seems,
a parasite on all kinds of poultry in this neighbour-
hood, abounding wherever such are kept, and reducing
them to a miserable state of leanness and toughness, as
I discovered to my cost while endeavouring to sup off
the cartilaginous hen supplied to me.

In all directions during my journey I noted the pains
that had been taken for defence against the nomads
of the desert. In the mountainous parts advantage
was taken of the rocks ; in the plains artificial mounds
were raised upon which to rear fort or citadel. The
castle of Aradan was the first of the kind which I saw
in a perfect condition and in actual use. The mound is
about seventy yards in length by fifty in breadth. Its
sides are very nearly vertical, and almost in line with
the walls of the fortalice which crowns its summit. The
height of the entire structure cannot be less than seventy
or eighty feet. Outside this place are whole acres of the
places of sepulture, with a very slightly arched-in cover-
ing of earth. When rain and the feet of passers-by have
worn these earth-crusts thin, it is exceedingly dangerous
to ride over one of the spaces set out with this kind of
ghastly pastry. Irrigation watercourses and well-built

DWELLERS IN THE TOMBS. 87

tanks were of common occurrence, at which groups of
weary-looking men in long blue calico gowns were seen
slaking their thirst — pilgrims these, on their return
from Meshed — and scattered over the country were mud
towers some two hundred yards apart, places of refuge
in case of Turcoman attack. Here everyone goes to
work with musket at back ; and three or four men in
one of these towers could easily hold out, even against
a large force, until aid arrived from the neighbouring
villages.

At Lasgird there is an extensive cemetery containing
many large domed tombs. Passing by one of these, I
was surprised to see lying around it a number of re-
posing camels, their burdens scattered about on the
ground, and, within the tomb itself, in the vaulted cham-
ber under the cupola, a couple of women, evidently of
the better class, accompanied by three or four children.
They had arranged their carpets and beds there, and
were making themselves apparently as much at home in
their somewhat lugubrious quarters as the most select
party of ghouls or vampires could have done. I recol-
lect once, in my youthful days, reading in the ' Arabian
Nights ' of a traveller who, arriving late in the evening
at some unknown town, and finding the gates closed, took
up his quarters for the night in a tomb near the city gate.
I wondered very much what kind of a tomb it could be
within which he could find lodging, my experience of such
monuments up to that time being confined to flat stone
slabs or tall obelisks.

Half a dozen miles beyond Lasgird, while riding along
a narrow winding path between some sand-hills, I met
with a somewhat startling adventure. Rounding the
shoulder of a hill, I came suddenly face to face with a
mounted Afghan trooper, in full uniform, and armed to

88 A FALSE ALAKM.

the teeth. He wore a dark-coloured turban, one end of
the cloth pulled up in front, so as to resemble a small
cockade. His uniform was blue-black, and he wore long
boots. A broad black leather cross-belt, with two very
large brass buckles, crossed his breast. He had sabre,
pistols, and carbine. He looked sharply at me as he
passed, and immediately halted and entered into conver-
sation with my servant, who rode behind. Next moment
another horseman appeared, also an Afghan, thoroughly
armed, and whose dress indicated that he was of high
rank. He, too, took a good look at me, and, like the
trooper, stopped to talk with my servant. Twenty yards
behind him rode four more troopers, each one leading a
laden baggage-horse. As I passed these I turned round,
and saw the entire six halted together and looking after
me. My impression was that they, having learned what
countryman I was, were deliberating about attacking
me, and, being now hidden from their view, I put spurs
to my horse and dashed away at a headlong pace over
the plain in the direction of a village some miles off. I
hoped there to be able to get some aid, or at least to be
able to use my revolver with greater effect from under
cover of the loopholed wall. The ground was undu-
lating, so that I could not see whether or not I was
pursued until I reached the village. Arrived there, I
swept the plain with my field-glass, and, to my intense
relief, found that my apprehensions had been ground-
less.

Semnan I found to be in the midst of a very fertile
and cultivated country, villages occurring all around at
short intervals. The cupolas and towers of this place
look remarkably beautiful, their bright yellow tints
gleaming amid the verdant groves of pomegranate, wil-
low, fig, and plane-tree, but on every hand were signs

BEAUTY OF VILLAGES. 89

of apprehended danger. Each garden is a fortress in
itself, the doors giving admission to it being barely two
feet square, and closed by thick stone slabs turning on
pivots. The house doors, too, were scarcely four feet
high, very solid, and the locks invariably on the inside,
while similar signs of the precarious life of people in
these parts were to be seen as I passed the other stations
that intervened between Semnan and Shahrood. The
whole face of the country is dotted with towers of refuge,
and strongly walled villages are on every hand. The
land was well cultivated, but though figs, pomegranates,
and the mulberry, both black and white, grow luxuri-
antly on all sides, the palm, olive, and orange, which
one would expect to be equally common, are totally
absent. Tradition says that the whole country between
Asterabad and the Atterek was once an unbroken forest
of palms ; now not one is to be seen.

Few sights are more charming to the eye than the
view of one of these fortified villages, with its walls
topped by a crown of foliage, especially when the travel-
ler approaches it after a long journey across the stony
deserts. The hues which they put on in the evening
sun are indescribably gorgeous. The clay walls glisten
like gold in the slanting rays, and the flowers among
the leaves of the trees above glow with gem-like tints till
each village rampart, with its battlements and towers,
and the patches of deep blue sky beyond and between,
looks like a mural crown set with ruby and turquoise.
Shahrood is one of the prettiest places along the entire
postal route. There are several hundred gardens planted
with apricot, fig, mulberry, and vine, the latter top-
ping the earth walls, and hanging over them in graceful
festoons. To keep them in this position one often sees
the skull of a horse or camel tied to the branch, and

90 BITTEN.

depending on the outside of the wall. Water abounds at
all times of the year, and the river from which the place
takes its name, the Shah Eood, or Eoyal Eiver, flowing
down the middle of the principal thoroughfare, is, at
the hottest part of the year, well filled. I here found
myself suffering from the effects of a bite of one of the
Persian bugs, received somewhere on the road from Te-
heran, notwithstanding all the precautions which I took
to avoid such a contingency. On the day on which I ar-
rived at Shahrood, I felt a slight soreness on the inside
of the calf of my leg, and on examining the place found
a small purple patch, surrounded by a dun-coloured
circle. This gradually swelled until a very painful
tumour was formed. Simultaneously I was attacked by
strong fever, accompanied by headache and severe sick-
ness. As I had been previously recommended to do, in
case I should be bitten, I took purgative medicine and
quinine, and soon almost recovered, with the exception
of feeling queer pains in the joints like those resulting
from rheumatism. Some people of the town, hearing
of my illness, called to see me, and I was overwhelmed
with advice as to the best treatment for my malady.
By one I was advised to eat some clay of the place ;
another recommended making up a few of the insects
themselves in bread and swallowing them ; and a third
counselled standing on my head frequently and then
rolling rapidly on the floor. But the oddest remedy of
all was that proposed by a moullah, or priest, who also
practised the healing art. He brought with him a large
net like a hammock, in which he proposed to envelop me.
My head was to be allowed to protrude, arid I was then
to be hung up from the branch of a tree in the garden.
When I had swallowed a large quantity of new milk I
was to be turned round until the suspending cords were

A HUMAN CHURN. 91

well twisted, and then, being let go, to be allowed to
spin rapidly round. This operation was to be repeated
indefinitely until sickness was produced, when other
measures were to follow. I declined, however, to allow
myself to be bagged in the proposed manner, especially
as I had previously heard from my friend General
Schindler, at Teheran, that he once saw this method of
cure tried on an old woman, who, when taken down for
supplementary treatment, was found to be dead.

92 FEMALE PILGRIMS.

CHAPTER X.

Female pilgrims — Dervishes — A strange escort — Joining the hadjis — A
night march — A council of hadjis — A skirmish — A threatened massacre
— Results of the fight — An awkward position — A weird procession — A
dangerous ravine — A fresh halt.

ONCE a month Shahrood is enlivened by the arrival of
a caravan of pilgrims from every part of Persia, on their
way to the shrine of Imam Riza at Meshed. During
my stay great throngs of hadjis poured into the town,
arriving by the Teheran road. Shahrood is, it seems,
the rallying point of the various parties. Eastward of
this they all keep together, moving under protection of a
military force ; for, after leaving Shahrood, raiding parties
of Turcomans are to be met with. The new comers were
some on foot, some on horseback, and a very large num-
ber, too, on asses. There were very many women, who,
when not mounted on asses or mules, were carried in
kedjaves, hamper-like litters, slung one on each side of
a camel or mule, and usually covered by a sunshade.
Fully half the pilgrims — and I was informed that three
thousand had arrived already — were Arabs from Bagh-
dad, Basra, and other points in Turkish territory adjoining
Persia. They filled all the caravanserais, and crowded
every nook where refuge could be obtained from the in-
tensely hot sun. The Arabs mostly camped along the
edge of the watercourse, under the shade of jujube and
chenar trees ; and those who had women and children
with them erected rough screens by means of quilts and
mantles supported on sticks. Amidst all this moved a

DERVISHES. 9$

number of dervishes, those inseparable adjuncts of all
gatherings of people in the East. Some were instructing
groups of pilgrims in the formula to be repeated at the
shrine of Meshed for the thorough accomplishment of
the duties of a hadji ; others related wonderful tales to
an eager gathering of listeners; and others, the more
numerous, simply went about pestering everyone for
alms. These dervishes all wear their hair flowing on
their shoulders like Russian priests, and a curious dome-
shaped tiara of coloured stuff. Each carries some kind
of an offensive weapon — a hatchet, lance, iron-headed
mace, or heavy knotted stick, as the case may be. In
addition to the three thousand pilgrims arrived, two
thousand more were to come.

Immediately after the last batches of the pilgrims
came the military escort, the like of which it would be
difficult to find elsewhere. First came a herd of nearly
one hundred diminutive asses, bearing an equal number
of nondescript-looking men, dressed in garments of vari-
ous fashions and colours. Each carried an old-fashioned
musket. This first detachment was one of mounted in-
fantry. Next came a body of about one hundred and
fifty persons on horseback, each carrying a very lengthy
Persian-made rifle, having attached to it a wooden fork,
the prongs tipped with iron. This fork is stuck in the
ground when the soldier wishes to fire. These appen-
dages fold upwards, the two points projecting ten inches
beyond the muzzle of the gun, and giving it at a dis-
tance the appearance of a hayfork. Whether when in
this position it is used in lieu of a bayonet or not, I
was unable to ascertain. They were dressed with still
less uniformity than their predecessors on the asses.
In fact, in the entire cavalcade there was not even an
attempt at uniform. Some wore long boots of brown

94 A STRANGE ESCORT.

leather, others had slippers turned up at the toes ; and
a considerable number had no pantaloons worth men-
tioning. Close behind these latter horsemen came the
great element of the cavalcade, the artillery, represented
by one brass smooth-bore four-pounder on a field carriage,
and drawn by six horses ; and at the immediate rear of
this rode a man in a tattered blue and red calico tunic,
blowing furiously on a battered bugle, painted red inside
like a child's halfpenny trumpet. This four-pounder was
evidently the piece de resistance, and as it passed the
bystanders gazed on it with awe-struck imaginations.
Behind the gun came a takderavan, or large wooden box
with glazed windows borne on two horses, one before
and one behind. Then came mules, each bearing two
kedjaves covered with crimson cloth. These contained
the more opulent of the pilgrims, with their wives and
families. About one hundred mounted men followed, a
few of whom had, strange to say, Martini-Henry rifles
slung at their backs, but to each of which the curious
prongs had been appended. Another hundred horsemen
came dropping in at intervals, some escorting tents,
others in charge of cooking utensils. This mingled and
motley throng of hadjis, troops, camels, mules, asses, and
dervishes went streaming by for hours, each section of
the column so completely resembling another that one
fancied they must, like a stage procession, be only
' making believe,' and that they were simply wheeling
round the corner to return again.

For two days I tried in vain to find a man with an
ass or a mule to carry my tent, and accompany me along
the road to Budjnoord. Twice I had men engaged ; and
twice the bargain was broken off, on the score that the
road was too dangerous, and that Tekkes were to be
found along it. I consequently changed my plans, and

JOINING THE HADJIS. 95

determined to reach Bucljnoord by a circuitous route, via
the town of Sabzavar on the Meshed road. From Sab-
zavar I could easily reach either Kuchan or Budjnoord
across the mountains. Following this route would also
give me an opportunity of witnessing the march of a
hadji caravan. We started at a little before sunset, that
being the usual time for setting out on a journey in
Persia, so as to avoid the extreme midday heat. I had
resolved to go as far as possible with the great monthly
caravan of pilgrims, both because the road is better
than the mountain one, and with a view of being able to
describe a pilgrim-caravan on its way to one of the most
celebrated shrines of the East — that of Imam Eiza.

An hour before my departure, my quarters in the
caravanserai were regularly besieged by dervishes of
every description, not to mention beggars of the ordi-
nary kind, and it was only by a liberal distribution of
small copper coins called pools and shahis that I suc-
ceeded in buying myself off. On leaving, I thought I was
rid of the mendicant and dervish nuisance, but I soon
discovered my mistake. Taking short cuts across the
fields, they had posted themselves at different points of
vantage along the narrow path, from which they not
only recommenced their importunities, but almost made
use of physical force to arrest my horse. There were
dervishes with beards stained of a fiery-red colour, and
wearing queer conical hats, who, if they did not regularly
belong to the howling sect of Constantinople, most
decidedly showed themselves qualified for admission to
it by the fashion in which they yelled, screamed, and
groaned, exhorting me in the name of the blessed Ali, and
the Imams Hassan and Hussein, not forgetting Haziret
Abass, and many other holy people, to give them charity.
Then there were the old, the blind, and the lame — men,

96 A NIGHT MAECH.

women, and children — hanging on to my stirrup and
seizing my bridle. Some were horribly deformed, and it
seemed marvellous that they should have undergone such
apparently frightful disasters as were necessary to reduce
them to their then present mutilated condition, and yet
continue to exist.

During our weary slow march of forty miles we had
but one halt ; and the only thing in the shape of refresh-
ment, if I can give it that name, partaken of by the
hadjis was an occasional smoke of the water-pipe. The
manner of lighting this pipe on horseback is curious, and
I don't recollect ever having seen it described. Some-
pieces of charcoal are placed in a small wire basket as
big as a hen's egg, and attached to the end of a string a
yard long. Some tinder is lighted with a flint and steel,.
and placed among the charcoal. The basket is then
whirled rapidly round by means of the string until the
charcoal is thoroughly ignited, and the pipe is then
kindled. On a very dark night, when the road is very
bad, the horseman lights his way by placing tow or
cotton in the little basket, which, when whirled, gives
light enough to enable one to keep out of holes and ruts,
or from falling over precipices. All night long, as we
wound slowly across the desert, the kaliouns might be
seen gleaming at intervals in the dark column, sending
meteor-like trains of sparks behind on every gust of
the evening breeze. As the moon rose I was able to take
a look at my companions. Very many, mounted on the
most diminutive of asses, were fast asleep, their arms
clasping the necks of the animals, and more than once
we heard the ' thud ' of some somnolent rider falling to
the ground. Some laid themselves like sacks across the
asses' backs, and thus managed to sleep comfortably.
The march was a tiresome one, even to one mounted on

A COUNCIL OF HADJIS. 97

horseback, and I dismounted more than once to stretch
my legs. The pilgrims on foot kept up bravely, and
generally led the van, though each carried all his travel-
ling necessaries on his back. Just as the sun rose we
came in sight of our halting-place, Maiamai.

I had the good fortune to secure the little room over
the entrance-gate of the post-house. It was but ten
feet square, and apart from the door were two windows
of equal size, at opposite sides of the room, none of the
three openings having any means of being closed. The
Arab contingent of our party was camped close by.
Owing to the great influx of pilgrims, food was very
dear — that is, for the country — a very poor fowl costing
over a shilling. Some butchers had found it worth their
while to accompany the pilgrims for the sake of the
amount of meat they could sell them ; and shortly after
our arrival half-a-dozen sheep were ready skinned and
cleaned. Without this supply fresh meat would be un-
attainable, as the inhabitants of the place scarcely ever
eat flesh.

A council of the principal hadjis was held, and it
was decided to wait for the remainder of the pilgrims,
the thob (cannon), and the troops, previous to venturing
through a mountain pass about six miles further on,
where caravans had been repeatedly assailed and plun-
dered by Turcomans. Our escort was to arrive shortly,
and to take post in the dangerous ravines. Then, when
the moon had risen, the hadjis and the cannon were to
come on. At midnight, just as I thought the starting
time had certainly come, in marched the soldiers back
from their strategic position. Some one had brought
word that twenty-five mounted Turcomans had been
seen hovering in the vicinity of the dangerous ground !
Though we were two thousand strong, and had a company

98 A SKIRMISH.

of soldiers with us, it was resolved to wait for the
cannon and the remainder of the pilgrims, which would
swell our numbers to over five thousand. This incident
will help to convey a notion of the intense dread of
Turcomans with which Persians are inspired.

The next day passed very much like the preceding
one, save that the morning was enlivened by an incident
which at one moment threatened to put an end to my
further pilgrimage. About eight o'clock, as I was sitting
cross-legged on my carpet, writing some notes, I heard
a sudden and violent hubbub in the open space in front
of my window, under the trees. The Arab contingent
and a number of Persians were charging about, furiously
belabouring each other with sticks. It appeared that
some dispute had arisen between the Baghdad Arabs and
the Teheran pilgrims, and that hot words had been
spoken as to the relative merits of their respective
countries. Each, in his quality of hadji, carried a staff
five feet long and about two and a half inches thick at the
stouter end, and the hadjis, having grown excited, were
banging each other with their pilgrims' staves. At first
I thought it was some rude play, a kind of ' baiting the
bear,' such as I had seen practised among the Turco-
mans, and in which rather severe knocks are given and
received with the utmost good humour. However, I
soon discovered by the number of holy persons stretched
on the ground that ' bateing ' in a Hibernian sense was
going on. Gradually the Arabs became very much
excited, and behaved like mad people, jumping, dancing,
and shouting the Arab war-cry. Matters were getting
bad for the Teheranis, when the latter drew their swords
and handjars. Notwithstanding this unfair advantage,
however, they were scattered and beaten off the field,
and forced to take refuge in every direction, some

A THREATENED MASSACEE. 99

rushing into the chappar hane in which I was staying.
The Arabs now assembled together, showing each other
the stabs and cuts which they had received from the
Persians ; and they seemed to come to the resolution to
pay them back in their own coin. They rushed off in
search of weapons, and speedily reassembled. At this
juncture my servant unluckily happened to go out in
search of corn for the horses. He wore at his belt a
large broad-bladed handjar, upon spying which an Arab
woman cried out that he was one of the people who had
used deadly weapons, and immediately hurled a large
paving- stone at him. Then the whole crowd set upon
him. He retreated hurriedly to the chappar hane, the
doors of which were closed before the Arabs could get in.
These latter then tried to smash in the door, shrieking
out that they would massacre everyone within the place.
The Teheran pilgrims within now showed themselves on
the ramparts, and commenced abusing the assailants in
unmeasured terms. The Arabs thereupon renewed their
efforts to break the door, and showered bricks and stones
on the ramparts, and also into my room. In a twinkling
the floor was covered with missiles, mud fell in heaps
with each concussion, and my servant rushed into the
chamber, his face all bloody and disfigured from a blow
of a great stone. I showed myself, thinking that my
European costume would induce the Arabs to desist. I
called on them to go away ; but all to no purpose. I was
made the target for over a hundred stone-throwers.
The attack redoubled, and the assailants showed signs of
being about to attempt an escalade. I felt certain that
if they got in we should all be lost, so I sprang for my
revolver and sword, and, posting myself at a loophole of
a flanking tower, prepared to fire at the first who at-
tempted to climb. Meantime, I cried out to some neutral

H 2

100 EESULTS OF THE FIGHT.

spectators to run and fetch the Governor, and to tell him
that our lives were in danger. This functionary arrived
in a few minutes, bringing with him a force of armed
men, who put a stop to the attack. Then the Governor,
together with the Arab chiefs and about twenty of their
men, came up to my room. I produced my pass from
the Minister of Foreign Affairs at Teheran and com-
plained that I had been attacked in my room without
provocation. The Arabs responded by exhibiting their
wounds, and horrid gashes some of them were. Not-
withstanding the thick rolls of camel-hair, handkerchiefs
and skull-caps, some of the scalp wounds were very deep.
One man's thumb was nearly severed from his hand.
' And,' said one of the chiefs, ' the cowards drew weapons
on us, who had only sticks in our hands; pretty
Mussulmans these ! ' The Arabs now formally apologised
to me for having thrown stones at me, stating that they
did not know I was a stranger, but at the same time
charged my servant with being one of the persons who
wounded them. They swore that they recognised him,
and one went so far as to swear by my beard, which he
laid hold of in an alarming manner. ' By your beard,
Emir,' he said, ' it is true.' However, we settled the
matter peacefully, the Arabs promising not to bear any
spite against the Teheranis. So ended a matter which at
one moment threatened to conclude disagreeably enough.
The Governor, Mahomet Khan, a little old man, re-
quested me to give him a paper bearing my seal, stating
that he had promptly and effectually suppressed the riot.
This I did with pleasure. Shortly after his withdrawal
he sent me, in true Eastern fashion, a present of
fruit and bread, on a large silver tray, covered over
with an embroidered cloth, and escorted by three
servants.

AN AWKWARD POSITION. 101

At ten o'clock we were all in motion, but it was a
good hour before we were clear of the camping ground.
The artillery bugle sounded three times, to give us warning
of the departure of the escort. Everyone wanted to be as
near as possible to the cannon, so that nobody was willing
to go forward or to hold back. As a result I found my-
self and my horse standing in a stream of water, jammed
in between kedjaves full of women, mule-litters, and
camels. Close in front of me was a collection of coffins,
containing putrefying human bodies, fastened across the
backs of asses, and smelling horribly. They were the
remains of people who had left money enough to secure
their being interred close to the sacred precincts at
Meshed, and were being brought from heaven knows
what far-off corner of Persia. Slowly and with difficulty
I forced my way through the throng ; for the ground was
very irregular, and, though torches, lanterns, and fires
blazed on every side, the press was too close to let one
catch a glimpse of them. Outside the radius of the fire-
light all was nearly pitch dark, for the moon had not yet
risen, and the stars shed but a dim light in the flare of
the fires. My horse had got out of the stream on to
what seemed a narrow footpath. After a few minutes I
felt myself getting strangely elevated above the people on
each side of me. I halted until a light was brought, and
then discovered that I was on the top of a mud wall four
feet high. In a few minutes more I should have been
twelve feet from the ground, on the top of a wall but
two feet thick, a rather awkward place for an equestrian
in the dark.

The entire caravan could not have covered less than
a couple of miles of the rocky road, and a strange sight
it presented as I rode as quickly as possible along its
flank. The whole dark line resembled some gigantic

102 A WEIRD PEOCESSION.

train of waggons with blazing fiery wheels. The impal-
pable white dust boiled upwards in swaying columns
like the steam of twenty locomotive engines. The hollow
clang of the camel bells, and the fiendish groans of the
camels, as they stalked swingingly along, laden with
tents, boxes, and litters, joined in happy unison. Behind
and in front of the gun, with its six horses, were two
score of infantry, mounted on small asses. The men
were rather big, and the asses the most diminutive that
I ever saw. In the faint starlight their general effect
was that of a number of four-legged men scrambling over
the stones, and bearing long hayforks over their shoul-
ders. A superstitious stranger, coming suddenly upon
this weird-looking procession, might easily take it, with
its unearthly sounds, flaming circles, and foully smelling
coffins, for some infernal troupe issuing from the bowels
of the sable hill hard by, to indulge in a Satanic pro-
menade during the witching hours of the night.

As we drew near the dreaded ravines the greatest
anxiety began to prevail ; and the caravan drew into still
sloser order. Those who at first pushed forward valiantly
now fell back upon the gun and its escort ; the bugle
sounded, and we came to a standstill. Just in front of
us, at the entrance of the pass, was an old fort with tall
curtain walls and crenelated towers. The half-waned
moon was just rising beyond its crumbling battlements,
shedding an uncertain light over the vast dim plain
reaching away to the north. I could not help thinking
of what would be the result if the merest handful of Tur-
coman horsemen swept down upon the straggling, un-
wieldy column. The gun, absolutely the most useless
weapon among us, could do nothing, even if the gunners
did not bolt at the first sight of the enemy. Besides,
even with the steadiest artillerymen in the world, this

A DANGEROUS RAVINE. 103

gun, shut in by crowds of terrified, unreasoning pilgrims,
would not be able to fire a single shot ; and to fire with
a small cannon in the dark at Turcoman cavalry whirling
down in their usual loose order would be little short of
absurd. It would be its first and last discharge. The
few infantrymen, with their cumbrous old muzzle-loading
rifles, which it would take five minutes to load, might
also be set aside as practically useless, even if they had
had bayonets, which, for some unaccountable reason,
they had not. Anything like rallying the more belli-
cosely inclined of the pilgrims would, under the circum-
stances, be out of the question. It would be a thorough
same qui pent, and the best thing that could be done
under the circumstances ; for to stay would be but to
court certain death or capture. After a short pause we
screwed up our courage and entered the defile, each man
shouting and yelling as if possessed, in order, as I under-
stood, to terrify the robbers. The confusion and din
which prevailed during the hour which our passage of
the ravine occupied cannot be easily imagined. The
entire cavalcade became nearly invisible in the dust-cloud
raised by its rapid progress. At ten yards one could
barely distinguish the outline of a camel, like that of
some shadowy, misshapen phantom gliding along in the
moonlight; and one gasped for breath in the stifling
atmosphere. The defile occasionally widened out, so as
to allow easy passage for twenty abreast ; but there were
places where one camel only could pass at a time between
the steeply-scarped rocks on either side. It was just at
these places that the hadjis made desperate rushes, each
one trying to be the first through. The result, of course,
was a block and a dead stand- still. At last we heard
cheering in the front. This was when the leading files
of the caravan met with a party of returning pilgrims.

104 A FRESH HALT.

As we neared the eastern end of the pass we began to
encounter long trains of camels from Meshed, laden with
cotton. These trains were a welcome sight, for they
showed us, as did the returning pilgrims, that the road
was clear.

Dawn was fast brightening as we caught sight of
the halting-place. It was an extensive caravanserai, the
largest I had hitherto seen, and rose amid the solitude
of the plain like some enchanted castle. It was named
Miandasht, and here we made our preparations for
passing the day.

GLOKIOUS SUNSET. 105

CHAPTEE XI.

The caravanserai — Flies and scorpions — A Persian residence — Offer of an
escort — An act of lunacy — Insect pests — Fond of the sword — An awk-
ward look-out — The Emir's palace — An Eastern dinner table — The-
Emir of Kuchan — A banquet — The following of a feast — Critical
illness — After the fever — Abundance of fruit — Beauty of Meshed
— Bazaar inmates — Persian officials — Ancient coins — My bedroom —
Meshed water.

AT sundown the scene and various preparations for start-
ing from Miandasht were most picturesque. The ame-
thyst hills showed indistinctly on the western horizon.
A few taper clouds, like golden fishes poised motionless,
in the opal depths, alone broke the continuity of the
vast silent arch above the desert. Around us, the bound-
less plain was one sheet of aerial purple. Far away to
the south gleamed whitely the lonely tomb of some for-
gotten warrior or saint ; and, further still, a solitary
well, with its single straggling chenar tree — emblems of
life in the wilderness. A tall dust column was waltzing
solemnly eastward in the rising evening breeze, now
breaking into viewless sand mist, now re-forming, bowing
and caracolling like some sportive living creature, the
very prototype of the gin of Eastern story, the enraged
genius who came to slay the merchant that had thrown
a date-stone into his son's eye. In the courtyard below
the window of my lodging, people in every costume of
the East were sitting or lying on the ground, under the
horse-shoe arches of the arcades or on the terraced tank

106 THE CAEAVANSEBAI.

covers, smoking their water-pipes or drinking tea from
their samovars. Others were performing their evening
ablutions, a companion or attendant pouring water from
a metal jug over their hands. These ablutions are little
more than a matter of form, especially before prayers.
For the feet, a damp hand is passed lightly over the
instep ; that is all. Other pilgrims were standing on
their little carpets with their faces towards the keblah
and their hands held before them like an open book,
commencing their evening devotions. Some, similarly
engaged, rose and sank during their orisons like the
beam of a steam-engine in slow motion as they pro-
strated themselves. From tower and terrace a dozen
self-appointed muezzims chanted their prayer-call, which
echoed mournfully along the neighbouring plain. Camels
and mules laden for the road, with their bells tinkling
at every motion, stood around everywhere. The cupola
and turrets of Shah Abass's caravanserai stood out
boldly against the evening sky, and below, in the middle
of the square, our cannon was conspicuous. As the sun
disappeared slowly behind the horizon, and dim twilight
settled over ' the level waste, the rounding gray ' across
which our path lay, the artillery bugles gave the signal
for departure, and I had to scramble down the steep
caravanserai steps and once more start on my journey.

This was through an alternation of uncultivated and
cultivated plains, with scattered villages. Here and there
were traces of the land having formerly been densely
populated. In places the character of the region was
shown by the traces of inundations in white deposits
of salt. On crossing one stony plain during the preva-
lence of a strong sultry wind, which blew from the east,
my horse's coat became most remarkably electrical,
streams of sparks flying from his neck and mane wherever

FLIES AND SCORPIONS. 107

the reins touched them. I could draw sparks from the
animal's ears with my metal-ringed riding-whip.

I journeyed on in company with the pilgrim train
through Abasabad, Mazinan, and Mehr, to Sabzavar,
where we parted company. The journey was unpleasant,
but there was much that was interesting to a traveller :
the halts in the caravanserais, the habits of the pilgrims,
the poorer of whom had mostly something to sell, while
others subsisted by cutting and selling fodder or firewood
to the better off. It is surprising upon how little these
people contrive to live. A piece of bread and a morsel of
goat's cheese, with a handful of apricots, constitute their
meal. The richer pilgrims only can indulge in the
luxury of an occasional piece of chicken or spitted meat.
All, however, drink tea.

At Sabzavar there are few inducements for a pro-
longed residence. Fruit was abundant, and there was a
good supply of that unwonted luxury, ice, stored up in
winter for summer use ; but the furious west winds are
almost unbearable. The swarms of flies add to the travel-
ler's discomfort, and very large whitish green scorpions
abound, stowing themselves in one's valise or in any
garment laid carelessly aside for a few hours. Fortu-
nately, mosquitoes are absent, but the flies and scorpions
are quite enough. The town is dusty and burnt up in
appearance, looking very like an immense brickyard.
The houses, with their flat cupolas, from the top of each
of which the smoke issues through a round hole, resemble
so many brick-kilns, and the few trees that peep above
the garden walls only intensify the dried-up appearance
of the whole place.

I separated from the pilgrims without regret. The
greater portion of them, having started on their expedi-
tion without any funds, had to depend on begging for

108 A PEES! AN KESIDENCE.

the means of living, and so persistently did they ply their
trade as to be a perfect nuisance on the road. Every-
one who seemed to possess anything was remorselessly
dunned for alms. But it proved easier to separate from
my travelling companions than to pursue my journey to
Kuchan. It was needful in the first place to call on the
Governor, and discuss my projected journey, and the pre-
cautions necessary to make it safely. The people of this
part of Persia are terribly in awe of their marauding
neighbours, and a journey to a place so near the Turco-
man frontier as Kuchan was looked upon as a most
perilous if not wholly insane undertaking. To make my
call on the Governor with due formality, I sent a mes-
senger to announce my intended visit — an indispensable
ceremony here, when the person to be seen is of any
considerable rank. This preliminary over, I proceeded
to that dignitary's residence, which, though fortified with
flanking towers and bastions, was only built of earth.
The guards at the gate seemed utterly astonished at
my appearance, and I heard them speculating on my
nationality. Passing the gateway and its guardians, I
found myself in a bare courtyard with some dusty build-
ings on the far side. About a dozen persons belonging
to the household were saying the evening prayer on a
slightly raised platform in one corner. On the left was
a one-storey building with folding windows, paper instead
of glass being inserted in the openings in the sash. In
front was a large tank of water full of weeds. A small
side door gave access to a large court, containing some
trees of mulberry, jujube, and willow, and partially
paved. A number of the hangers-on, who are always
to be found around the dwelling of a Persian grandee,
loitered about the gateway. Immediately on my entry
a carpet was brought and spread beside the tank, and

OFFER OF AN ESCORT. 109

two arm-chairs were placed on it, in one of which I was
invited to take a seat.

The Governor, or Never el Dowlet, soon made his
appearance. He was a handsome, sly-looking man of
about forty, with large eyes, a slender aquiline nose, and
a long drooping moustache of a heavy leaden black
colour. His dress consisted of a long loose robe of lilac-
coloured silk, and he wore the usual Kadjar hat of Astra-
kan. Like most Persians of the upper class, he was
extremely courteous in his manners. I presented my
letters from his Highness the Sipah Salar Aazem, and
from the Shah's physician, Dr. Tholozan. Our conversa-
tion at first turned on the Europeans who had been hi
those parts during recent times, and I quickly found
that I was the first newspaper correspondent who had
come to the country. I then drew the conversation to
the Akhal Tekkes, and inquired what reception I was
likely to meet with among them. The Governor shook
his head. The road across the mountains, he said, was
pretty safe for armed persons travelling in company, as
the governors along the Atterek kept strict watch against
marauding parties from beyond the frontier and took
heavy reprisals in case of damage to persons or property
within the Persian territory, but the Tekkes were a bad
lot. The Governor of Kuchan and Yar Mehemet Khan
of Budjnoord would be able to give me more accurate
information about them than he could. After some
further conversation, he offered me an escort, but as I
knew that this involved a heavy payment to the guard,
I politely declined to accept it, trusting rather to my own
revolver and sword and to the formidable appearance of
my servant, who was fully accoutred with sabre, handjar,
and pistols.

Two glasses of very strong tea, sweetened excessively,

110 AN ACT OF LUNACY.

were brought in at the commencement of our conver-
sation, and immediately afterwards two highly orna-
mented water-pipes, which we smoked in silence for a
few minutes. Two more glasses of tea were subse-
quently brought. This tea and smoking interlude, apart
from the question of hospitality, has an important role
in serious conversations in Persia. After some time I
took my leave, promising to call again before my depar-
ture. Our parting was marked with all due formality.
We rose and bowed profoundly to each other, and I
then retired backwards, keeping an eye on the tank,
and at ten paces from the carpet I bowed again and
departed.

After this interview I intended starting as soon as
possible for Kuchan, but was delayed by the difficulty
of finding a guide. The first whom I engaged in that
capacity lost his courage when it came to the moment
of setting out, and declined to go unless I would ask for
an escort. It cost me a couple of days to find another
guide, and thus my stay in Sabzavar was prolonged
until July 13, eight days in all. On the evening
before starting I paid my visit of adieu to the Governor,
and before sunrise rode through the bazaar as the
people were unbarring their booths, on my way to the
gate of the town. The tenants of the booths gazed
after me with an air of astonishment, and evidently
looked on my project of penetrating among the Tekke
savages, which had got well published everywhere
during my stay, as little less than lunacy. The last
person to whom I spoke in Sabzavar, oddly enough,
happened to be a man who had spent nine years in
London as a servant of the Persian Envoy. His im-
pressions, and the tastes he had acquired during his tra-
vels, were peculiar. He would like, he said, to return

INSECT PESTS. Ill

once more for the sake of eating corned beef and drink-
ing bitter ale. He also had been highly pleased by the
manner in which Madame Patti had danced the cancan
at the Alhambra in Leicester Square !

The road to Kuchan runs in a north-easterly direc-
tion, and winds in and out among the hills for fifteen
miles. I passed patches of mulberry trees — whose leaves
formed the food of the silkworms — apricots, and a half-
wild vine that bore a very small red grape. Hardly a
soul was to be met with on the road, and passing Aliar
and Aliak I came to Sultanabad, a fortified village, where
there was a caravanserai. I established my quarters in
a large dilapidated room on the ground-floor, and, having
stuck my sword in the wall, and hung the linen Chinese
lantern I carried with me to give light at night on the
hilt, I spread a horsecloth on the floor, and, lying on my
face thereon, proceeded to write my correspondence.
Every now and then I had to cast a look around to
guard against the advance of the various insect tribes
—beetles, spiders, ants, and others — which came in
columns towards my light, and constantly sought to
climb on my carpet and investigate the contents of
the ink-bottle.

Starting at daybreak, I crossed a valley where the
people were gathering in their harvest, and passing
Kheirabad went on amidst hills of limestone and gypsum,
mixed with rotten black shale, seeing enough in my
ride to be convinced of there being valuable minerals in
the locality, and picked up specimens of copper ore,
haematite, and brown oxide of iron.

At length, after a weary ride, I reached the village
of Karagul, where I succeeded in unearthing three
witch-like old women, who were down in a cellar,
engaged in boiling something in a pot. They must

112 FOND OF THE SWOED.

have taken me for a Turcoman, for on my appearance
they fled away into inner recesses, from which they
were only with difficulty induced to come forth. The
head man of Karagul, a tall old man whose long beard
was dyed with henna to the colour of a fox's back,
became very friendly with me, after examining in suc-
cession my field-glass, revolver, sketch-book, &c. He
advised me not to go through the Abdulla Gau Pass, as
all the people there were ' shumsheer adamlar,' fond of
the sword. He then pointed out a very high mountain,
the top of which was shaped like a bishop's mitre, and
recommended me to pass through the cleft between the
twin peaks. However, I had had enough of mountain
climbing already, and so preferred to risk the dangers
of the road as it lay before me. Still, I was so im-
pressed by the warnings he gave me that I determined
not to pass through the village of Abdulla Gau in
the dark, and accordingly I and my servant and guide
camped out on a steep rock near that place and kept
watch by turns all night. In the morning we boldly en-
tered the suspected village, and found the people a sober-
looking lot enough. One of them offered me some fine
turquoises, from the mines of that gem on the mountains
of Madane, at a very low price. Though much tempted
to buy, I feared the offer might be a ruse to find out how
much money I had, and I declined traffic. Then, passing
through numerous villages, I reached Kuchan, beyond
which rose the blue chain of the Akhal Tekke mountains,
whither my course was directed.

I stowed myself and luggage in the den allotted to
me in the caravanserai, and attempted some writing, but
was disturbed by a sudden invasion of winged cock-
roaches, evidently drawn by my candlelight. These
intruders resemble the common ' black clocks ' of our

AN AWKWAKD LOOK-OUT. 113

coal-cellars at home, but fly quite actively. Small
carnivorous beetles came in thousands during the night
and effectually prevented sleep, disappearing with the
daylight, to be replaced by clouds of flies.

Kuchan being an important point on the frontier, I
had to spend some days there to prepare for the most
perilous part of my journey, the expedition among
the Turcomans. I wanted some information from the
Governor, who rejoiced in the high-sounding title of the
Shudja-ed-Dowlet Emir Hussein Khan, but that digni-
tary at the date of my arrival was absent on a pilgrimage
to Meshed, though expected home at any hour. My
purpose was to push on to Askabad in the heart of the
Akhal Tekke country, and about eighty miles or more
from Kuchan, beyond the mountain range which rose
some nine or ten thousand feet straight before me. I
was subsequently compelled by circumstances to change
this plan, but at the time I am writing of I expected to
find myself in a few days amongst the dreaded nomads.
I hardly knew how I should keep up my communica-
tions with the civilised world across these mountains.
Besides, I was quite uncertain what reception I should
meet among the Tekkes in their own country. Should
I fall into the hands of any of the roving bands of
"marauders usually to be met with I was pretty sure to
be carried off nolens volens either to Merv or some-
where else, and there kept until I could procure a
respectable ransom. If, on the other hand, I should
run across the advancing Russians, I was certain of
being sent under escort to my old quarters at Tchikislar
and thence shipped across the Caspian to Baku.

Taken altogether, one seemed quite out of the civi-
lised world here, especially as it meant a ride of nearly
a hundred miles to send a telegram, but I met one

i

114 THE EMIE'S PALACE.

European during my stay in Kuchan. He was a curious
character, some twenty-five years of age, with blue eyes
and long yellow hair. He spoke Eussian and German,
but no other European language, though he said he was
half French and half German. He had recently em-
braced Mohammedanism, and moreover he • told me he
was a Nihilist, but he would not tell the motives which
had brought him to Kuchan. The people there set him
down as a lunatic, and I have little doubt that they in-
cluded me in the same category.

The Governor returned on the third day after my
arrival. He despatched his chamberlain, an elderly
and dignified personage, bearing a silver mace as the
badge of his office, to notify me of the fact, and to in-
vite me to dinner. Evening was falling as, accompa-
nied by my two servants, I proceeded to the Emir's
palace. The straggling booths of the bazaar were closed,
and we stumbled through its narrow alleys in the dark
as best we could, for the branch roofs overhead com-
pletely excluded even the twilight that remained in the
sky. Dogs and huge rats scurried away at the sound of
our approach, and more than once my guide had to lead
me like a blind man through the labyrinth of holes and
ditches of dirty water, a common feature of Eastern
towns.

The Emir's palace has a large open space in front.
The main entrance was in the form of a horse-shoe
arch built of red brick, while the walls around were
only mud structures. Squatting on the ground around
were nearly a hundred people, many of them Turco-
mans. They were persons who had requests to make
of, or petitions to present to, the Governor of Kuchan.
Within the groined arch inside the horseshoe gate was
a guard of men-at-arms. As I stepped into the guard-

AN EASTERN DINNER TABLE. 115

room I was met by the chamberlain, who, dismissing
the crowd of unfortunate applicants, immediately ushered
me into a courtyard measuring some fifty feet square.
Passing by a doorway at the further side, I entered a
still larger court, paved with square tiles, in the midst
of which stood a large rectangular reservoir of water,
in the centre of which played a fountain. Arranged in
the middle of the pavement were flower-beds, planted
entirely with the ' marvel of Peru,' that sweet-scented
flower which opens its blossom to the sunset, and fills
the night air with its perfume. It is a favourite with
the Persians, whose banquets always take place after
sundown. The scene which met my eyes was extra-
ordinary. Eanged round the large courtyard were at
least a hundred candles, burning in the peculiar candle-
sticks which Eussia has made familiar to this part of
the frontier. The candle, buried in the body of the
candlestick, was forced gradually upwards by a helical
spring, as in ordinary carriage lamps, the flame being
protected from the wind by a tulip-shaped bell-glass.
Shaded candles of the same description were placed
around the border of the tank, between which and the
main entrance of the Emir's residence a long table, draped
in white linen, was laid out a la Franca. On the table
burned half a dozen candlelamps.

At some distance from and at right angles to the
table was a long-backed wooden bench. Sitting upon
this, and attired in sober broadcloth robes, reaching
to their heels, were a dozen individuals — brothers and
cousins of the Emir, Hussein Khan, and who had been
invited to do honour to his guest. A silver-mounted
water-pipe, the head set with turquoises and emeralds,
was passed from hand to hand. I took my place, as
invited, at the right hand of the Governor, and we

116 THE EMIE OF KUCHAN.

entered into the usual pointless conversation so cha-
racteristic of Eastern intercourse. We spoke of any-
thing and everything except that which was nearest to
our hearts or had reference to the situation. It was a
kind of social fencing, for the Emir was not at all sure
that I was what I represented myself to be. A servant
brought in a silver tray, upon which were large glasses of
the abominable spirit called arrack, each of which was
supposed to be emptied at a draught. This tray was
handed round with a frequency which led me strongly
to doubt the orthodoxy of my Kurd host.

We were all slightly stimulated before a move was
made towards the dinner table. When the Emir stood
up, his kinsmen rose to their feet, and drew themselves
up in line each looking the very personification of hu-
mility— their feet close together, their toes turned in,
each hand thrust up the opposite sleeve, and each head
slightly reclining upon the right shoulder. The Emir
walked up and down the paved enclosure, talking rather
wildly. He spoke of his friend Dr. Tholozan, the
Shah's physician, who had kindly given me a letter of in-
troduction to him. He stated that that gentleman had
marvellously cured him of a malady of long standing.

For a wonder, there were chairs and benches, with
which the immediate relations of the Emir and myself
were accommodated. The remainder of the party, some
thirty in number, sat upon long wooden forms. The
table, a long one, was draped in faultlessly white cloth.
In its midst was a ' great silver centre-piece, loaded
with roses, and flanked on either side by a complete set
of ornaments, including vases of opaline glass, deco-
rated on the outside with gilt and ruby beads. These
were Eussian presents. The Emir supposed that the
vases were goblets, and more than once in the course of

A BANQUET. 117

the dinner they were filled with wine on the occasion of
the different toasts which were drunk.

The table d'hote was an unusual one. The candles
flared around the courtyard, their lights glancing in
the great reservoir. The air was heavy with the scent
of the flowers. Around us were the ruins of the old
palace, destroyed by an earthquake twenty years pre-
viously. The Kurdish Governor sat at the head of the
table. I sat opposite to him. On either side were
the colossal forms, gleaming eyes, and sombre robes of
his relations. Before we commenced to dine, arrack
was again served round. After each glass one took
from a dish a kind of acid paste, the Kurdish name
for which I have forgotten, and then very fair Bordeaux
wine was served. Then there were roasted almonds
and pistaches. "While we were disposing of this pre-
prandial repast, I remarked to the Emir that in Turkey
we always drank mastic on such occasions. ' I know
it well,' exclaimed he ; ' did you bring any with you ? '
And he leaned eagerly across the table. ' I am sorry to
say that I did not,' I replied ; ' but if your Excellency
wishes I shall take the earliest opportunity of forwarding
you some from Constantinople when I get back there.'
We had soup, and dishes ad libitum ; and I could never
have believed that the human frame was capable of ab-
sorbing such an amount of nutrition if I had not seen
these Kurds eat. We were supplied with the excellent dry
white wine of the country, and Chateau Margaux. The
latter must have been brought at an enormous expense
from Europe. It was probably a present from the expe-
ditionary generals beyond the frontier.

Towards the close of the banquet, my host and his
guests became rather excited by the alcoholic beverages
which they were consuming with a will. They talked at

118 THE FOLLOWING OF A FEAST.

random, and spoke of their exploits in the field against
the Tekke Turcomans. Later they fell to embracing
each other in a more than brotherly fashion. I was
sitting opposite the Emir's brother, and had got so far
as making a pun, in the Kurdish language, about mush-
rooms, of which we were partaking at the moment,
when the opposite form was suddenly upset, and Emir,
chiefs, and generals rolled upon the pavement, locked
in each others' embraces. They kissed each other with
fervour, swore undying devotion, and seemed in no wise
inclined to resume their positions at table. Later on,
the Emir pretended to have need of exercise, and was
promenaded from one end of the space to the other, a
servant holding him under each arm — his feet in front,
his whole body making an angle of forty-five degrees
with the horizon. Suddenly he recollected himself, and,
sitting upon a chair, asked, solemnly, ' Has the Ingleez
gone home yet ? ' He evidently believed that, before
proceeding further with his orgies, objectionable wit-
nesses should be got rid of. I took the hint, rose, and,
exchanging salutes as well as I could with the prostrate
company, made for the door. The mace-bearer marched
before me, accompanied by four men bearing lanterns,
such as can only be seen in this part of the world.
They were nearly as large as the bass drum of a mili-
tary band, and were made of waxed linen, closing up like
a concertina when not in use. The bigger the lanterns,
the greater is supposed to be the dignity of the indi-
vidual whom they precede.

An illness of three weeks' duration followed the Emir's
banquet. After returning to my earth-walled chamber,
and trying to sleep as best I could, for I was very tired, I
took none of the usual precautions against the shab-rjez.
At four o'clock in the morning my arms and legs were

CRITICAL ILLNESS. 119

covered with the tumid bodies of these pests. Two days
later, virulent-looking pustules marked the bitten spots.
I had felt inclined to doubt what had been told me in
regard to the sting of these ferocious insects, but later
experience proved how mistaken I had been. A high
fever resulted. It had typhoid symptoms, all of which
were aggravated by the foul air of the caravanserai, the
bad food and water, and the anxiety of mind about my
coming journey. For two days and nights I was de-
lirious. In a lucid moment I discovered that I was
suffering from one of the most dangerous complications
of typhoid enteric disease. No one who has not been
similarly circumstanced can imagine my critical position.
Here I was, in a semi-barbarous town, with no one near
who had the slightest idea of the nature of my malady,
no medicine, no doctor. Had it not been for the intelli-
gent devotion of a friend, a Tekke sheepskin merchant,
I do not believe that I should now be alive. He sat by
me during my delirium, applied ice to my head, and
was the only one who understood me when I asked for
camphor, the sole available drug. There was a moment
wrhen the enteric irritation was so severe that I felt con-
vinced my last hour had arrived. I made up my mind
to try a desperate remedy, and sent for opium. I took
what for me, who had never tasted the drug before, was
an enormous dose — a piece as large as the first joint of
one's little finger. The effect was magical so far as the
pain was concerned, and I then lost consciousness for
nearly forty-eight hours. For once I can write the
' Confessions of an Opium-eater,' and I must say that
my experiences of the visions conjured up would scarcely
tempt me into a De Quincey's career. First I became
chairman of a Russian Nihilistic society; then I was
transformed into a black goat pursued by panthers on

120 AFTER THE FEVEK.

the mountains; then I was a raging torrent, dashing
away to some terrible end ; and then I remember no
more. I woke with an intense feeling of dread and
horror, and half a day passed before I could recognise
the faces around me. When my senses were a little
collected, I asked for some arrack, the odious, poisonous
stuff to be had at Kuchan ; but it was the only stimu-
lant available. Diluting this with much water, I took
it from time to time to combat the terrific opiatic re-
action, and gradually I came back to my normal state.
The pain was wonderfully relieved, but I was crushed
and shattered like a broken bulrush.

Several would-be physicians wanted badly to pre-
scribe for me, but as I knew that every one of them
carried an astrolabe in his pocket, which would have to
be consulted before he looked at my tongue, and also, in
all probability, a brass basin in which to roast the fiend
who had possession of me, I declined their aid with
thanks.

My illness not only detained me in Kuchan, but had
materially altered my plans. Before attempting the trip
to Merv, I found it necessary to pay a visit to Meshed,
hoping to find some needed medical assistance there,
and accordingly, after a three weeks' sojourn in Kuchan,
I abandoned the idea of taking the road to Askabad, and
on the morning of August 10 started for the sacred city
of Persia. I was much pulled down by my fever, and
as I buckled on my revolver-belt preparatory to starting,
my Tekke friend, who had nursed me so well, smiled
pityingly. He evidently thought I was in little trim for
wielding arms of any sort, considering my worn frame
and tottering gait. Still I managed to get on horseback,
though I could only bear the slowest pace of the animal.
The journey to Meshed, usually made by foot-passengers

ABUNDANCE OF FKUIT. 121

in two or two-and-a-half days, occupied me no less than
seven. Even so I was glad to leave Kuchan, with its
horrid hovels and insect plagues, and to be on the road
to more promising quarters.

Weak as I was, I endeavoured to keep a note of the
road along which I was travelling, and which, though
little known, is of the highest importance in relation to
Russian designs in Central Asia. The road to Meshed
is commonly said to be very dangerous ; the trouble,
however, does not arise from marauders, but from the
peasants along the road, who eke out their ordinary gains
by turning an occasional hand to robbery. The last six
days of my journey differed in no material point from
the first. All the villages were similar collections of
cubical mud houses, with flat domes for roofs, huddled
together without any streets, like so many wasps' nests.
The food to be had was only round cakes so stale as to be
like stones, with ill-smelling goat's milk and worse cheese.
I managed to get half a dozen eggs, which I swallowed
raw, as the state of my stomach would not allow of my
attempting the other viands.

Within a day's journey of Meshed the cornfields
began to be replaced by large melon and cucumber
patches. In some places the tendrils of the plants are
trained on slight trellis frames, so that their broad leaves
form summer-houses to protect the watchmen of the
gardens from the sun. Few prettier sights had met
my eye than these fresh green bowers, with their broad
yellow flowers, after the dusty and parched stubble fields
through which I had been passing. Orchards, too, are
found at intervals, from which the markets are abun-
dantly supplied with grapes, peaches, apricots, and
plums, all of delicious flavour. The dark purple plums
are often as large as good-sized peaches. The ground

122 BEAUTY OF MESHED.

is cut up with irrigating ditches in every direction, both
open and covered with earth. The latter (kanots), when
old, are a source of constant danger to travellers. In
making them, shafts are sunk at intervals of from thirty
to forty yards, like wells, and the sand and gravel from
these pits is hauled to the surface in buckets and piled
around the mouth of the pit in an annular heap. I
have often seen skeletons of camels, with parts of the
skin attached, wedged eight or ten feet down in these
chasms, the animals having evidently fallen in and been
left to perish there. On several occasions I should have
met with a similar fate but for the instinct of my horse,
whose look-out for such snares was often keener than
his rider's. I have little doubt but hundreds of belated
travellers must yearly find their graves in these horrible
gulfs, which yawn in every direction, and certainly do not
add to the comfort or safety of travelling in Khorassan.

It was late on a sultry afternoon, the seventh day
after my departure from Kuchan, that I came at last
within sight of the Holy City of Shiia devotion. In
front, was a dark wide grove of tall trees, behind which
the ochre-tinted battlements and ramparts of the town
peered, while high over all towered the gilt dome and
minarets of the mosque of the great Imam Eiza. I had
long learned to look with distrust on the external ap-
pearance of Eastern towns, so little in accord with their
interiors, but I could not help being struck with admira-
tion as I caught my first glimpse of Meshed. Except
Stamboul, as viewed from the Bosphorus, nothing I had
seen in the East could compare with it in beauty, and
I could well realise the effect it must produce on the
imaginations of the pilgrims who had toiled across the
long dusty roads for, it may be, months together, when
the sacred city reveals its glories to their devout gaze.

BAZAAE INMATES. 123

In the burning sun the golden dome seemed to cast out
rays of dazzling light, and the roofs of the adjoining
minars shone like brilliant beacons.

Entering by the western gate I found myself in a
broad thoroughfare, down the centre of which flowed a
canal, with kerbing of brick flush with the roadway.
The canal was eight or nine feet wide and about five
deep, but had only a few inches of filthy water at the
bottom. In fact, it serves as an open sewer to convey
the refuse water from the various dyeing establishments
along its banks, and at times is entirely dry, when the
water is drawn off for irrigation outside. A noble row
of old plane-trees with large mulberry trees intermixed
runs along one bank, and in places spring from the bed
itself, nearly choking up the channel. The dirt and rub-
bish were the same here as in other Persian towns, and
the streets as empty. In the narrow lanes you seldom
meet a living thing except dogs and cats, but the ac-
tivity displayed in the streets of the bazaar is in striking
contrast. In the people that throng it the bazaar of
Meshed differs most from that of the other Persian
towns I have seen. Hadjis and merchants from all the
neighbouring countries elbow the native Persians, and
each nationality is easily distinguished. The Persian
merchant is generally a clean well-dressed man with
white silk turban, flowing robes, and long beard, unlike
the officials, who generally affect European dress. This
tall slight man, with delicately cut features, large dark
eyes, and stately pace, is an Arab merchant from Bagh-
dad. These two odd-looking little old men, with mouse-
coloured faces, and red mark between the eyes, clad in
dark monkish-looking gowns and sandals, are traders
from Bombay, and, for the moment, the guests of Abass
Khan, the native British agent here. They halt and salute

124 PEKSIAN OFFICIALS.

me elaborately as I pass. Half a dozen Merv Turco-
mans, with calm, resolute air, and keeping well together,
come next, with their usual sauntering step and upright
carriage. They look as if they were taking stock of
the goods displayed around them, and were meditating
how best to effect a wholesale sweep of them. A little
further on we meet some half-dozen jaunty-looking,
handsome young men in dark tunics and sombre-tinted
turbans, one end of the cloth stuck up cockade-wise in
front, the other hanging upon the neck. One of them
carries a small circular shield of iron, embossed, in-
laid, engraved, and ornamented as the shield of Achilles.
Held by the scabbard, and thrown carelessly over his
shoulder, is an exceedingly curved Indian-looking sword,
with wonderfully small, bulbous iron handle. He is an
Afghan chief, accompanied by his friends. I am not ac-
quainted with them, but they bow and smile pleasantly
as they recognise my nationality.

The throng of passers-by give way to right and left,
and a man appears, dressed in a garment half-frock-
coat, half-tunic, of light snuff-coloured material. He
wears black trousers of European cut, rather short, and
shoes which allow of a view of his white stockings. On
his head is the usual Persian black lambswool tiara. He
keeps one hand upon the other, in front of him, as if he
were handcuffed, and during his very slow walk sways
his shoulders to and fro. Immediately behind him is
a man bearing a large silver water-pipe ; around him is
a, small crowd of persons somewhat similarly attired, and
walking as nearly as possible like him. These are a
Persian official and his attendants. He keeps his eyes
on the ground, lifting them but occasionally, and affects
an air of profound thought and pre-occupation, while
probably he has not two ideas in his head. He is per-

ANCIENT COINS. 125

haps going to pay a visit to the Governor or some other
high official. On such occasions the entire household
turn out in their best array, and the silver water-pipe is
as indispensable as the mace at a municipal state cere-
mony. In Persia, no one with any pretence to respec-
tability would dream of stirring outside the door without
at least four men walking behind him. My appearance
with a solitary attendant — a factotum who looked after
myself and my horses, and acted as cook into the bar-
gain— created quite a scandal. The British agent was
so terrified at the possible loss of national prestige that
might accrue therefrom that he actually forced on me
one of the soldiers who mounted guard at his residence.

The variety of coins current in this place would
delight the heart of a numismatist. Besides the con-
course of pilgrims who bring specimens of every Asiatic
mint with them, ' finds ' of old coins are frequently made
in the ruins with which the whole country is filled, and
contribute to the variety of the currency. Ancient Greek
and Persian corns can be had here for little more than
their bullion value, in abundance. I have little doubt
but that rare and valuable coins might be found in
the Meshed bazaar by a skilled collector. A friend of
mine long resident in Persia told me that a gold coin of
the time of Alexander might be found here, for a speci-
men of which twelve hundred pounds has been paid in
Europe. I bought for two krans a Greek coin of the
Bactrian kingdom, I think, as large as a shilling, with a
well-executed head of Hermes on one side and a full-
length figure of Hercules with his club, and a Greek
inscription, on the obverse.

As I intended passing some time in Meshed, both for
the sake of health and as affording me a point of vantage
to obtain news from the Turcomans, I rented a house

126 MY BEDROOM.

temporarily. It was a typical Persian abode. The
entrance-door was set far back in a high mud wall, the
recess having seats on each side, perhaps to let callers
rest during the weary interval between their knocks and
the opening of the door. A long passage led from the
door to a paved courtyard about forty feet square,
planted with a few flowers and shrubs. The side oppo-
site the entrance was occupied by the kitchen and a
la.rge room adjoining, with five windows looking into
the court. In this I took up my lodgings. It had, be-
sides the windows on the court, doors on either side,
communicating respectively with the kitchen, and with
stairs on the other side. The room itself was about
twenty feet wide and thirty in length, divided in the
middle by two massive pillars, and the inner portion
raised a few inches above the outer floor. There were
deep recesses in the wall, serving as cupboards or closets.
The whole interior was whitewashed. The outer part of
the room between the pillars and the windows was nearly
filled by a water tank with the kerb raised a few inches
above the floor, and a stone pipe in the centre, from
which a jet of water was occasionally played to cool the
air; The tank was nearly five feet deep, and on several
occasions I narrowly escaped an involuntary bath as I
entered my room in moments of abstraction. The water
supply of Meshed is very bad, and reeks with sulphuret-
ted hydrogen, so that the presence of this tank in my
bedroom was by no means an unmixed pleasure. Some-
times, indeed, when the water played at night from the
jet and disturbed the lower depths of the pool, the stench
was so unbearable that I used to have my bed carried
out into the garden. Living fish were occasionally
thrown in by the stream from the stone pipe, but they
invariably died in a few hours, owing to the poisonous

MESHED WATER. 127

nature of the water. Besides the gases, which might
readily be accounted for by the numerous cesspools
through which the water supply passes in the town
itself, the water seemed to be charged with mineral
matters whose nature I could not determine. When I
first arrived I wished to take a dose of Epsom salts, but
on pouring the dose into half a tumbler of water it was
almost instantly converted into a dirty white slag-mass
like half-melted glass. The water had a thick and oily
taste, and under ordinary circumstances would be quite
undrinkable. This was all the more annoying, as hardly
any other drink could be had in the place.

128 PEKSIAN OBSTRUCTION.

CHAPTEE XII.

Persian obstruction— Opening communications — Turcoman heads — Persian
ruins — Tarantulas and snakes — A strange drink — Kurdish castles — •
Beauty of mountains — A border chieftain — The Khan's kiosk — A Tur-
coman raid — -Held to ransom— Brigandage.

I FOUND my stay at Meshed prolonged much beyond my
original intentions by the action of the Persian Govern-
ment. Either from fear of being held responsible in
case of any accident happening to me, or out of com-
plaisance towards the Eussians, the authorities threw
every obstacle in the way of my intended departure for
the seat of hostilities. Immediately on my arrival, the
chamberlain of the Prince Governor called on me and
conveyed to me an order to proceed at once either to
Shahrood or Seistan. I indignantly refused ; where-
upon a guard was placed over my house to prevent my
setting out in any other direction. I wrote at once
to Teheran to remonstrate against such treatment, and
after considerable delay I succeeded, through the action
of the British Minister, in getting the order revoked.
No sooner was this done, however, than the principal
Minister, Hussein Khan, was removed from office, and
the Governor of Meshed declined to give me a passport
for the frontier without receiving instructions from the
new minister. This involved a fortnight's delay. At
the same time I found it a very convenient place for
gathering information respecting General Skobeleffs

OPENING COMMUNICATIONS. 129

movements in the Turcoman country ; and, besides, I
needed rest after my illness. In spite of the continuous
raids along the borders, Turcomans both of Merv and
of Akhal Tekke came and went freely to and from the
town.

From Shahrood I had already opened communica-
tions with Makdum Kuli Khan, the head chief of the
Akhal Tekke and commander at Geok Tepe. He was
much inclined to set me down as a Eussian spy, as
my character as a newspaper correspondent was a little
beyond his comprehension, and I had taken care to
repudiate all diplomatic character. A^moullah, whom
I got to write to the chief, mixed matters up by describ-
ing me as a major-general, and thus excited his suspicions.
However, Abass Khan, the British agent in Meshed,
having vouched for my nationality, the chief finally con-
sented to meet me at Askabad, where he would judge,
after a personal inspection, of the propriety of letting me
advance any further. It was three months before my
health had become sufficiently restored for me to think
of visiting the Tekke country. I was by no means free
from misgivings as to my safety among its brave but
savage people, especially at such a time ; but I felt too
desirous of witnessing the course of hostilities around
Geok Tepe to let such considerations keep me back. On
November 8, I called on the Shah Zade, as the Prince
Governor of Meshed is styled, to take my leave, accom-
panied by Abass Khan. We traversed numerous corridors
and endless arcades with only occasional signs of life in
them, when the sleepy guards sprang up and presented
arms with a noise apparently intended to make up for
long inaction ; and after climbing many of the extraor-
dinary Persian stairs with steps two feet high, at length
found ourselves in the audience chamber. Heavy purple

K

130 TURCOMAN HEADS.

curtains covered the entrance, but there was a super-
abundance of doors and windows all around the room.
I never could understand how the Persians can bear the
draughts from these numerous openings during the
winter season.

The Prince entered a few minutes after our arrival,
shoeless like ourselves, such being an essential rule of
Persian etiquette. He was a handsome but somewhat
heavy-looking man of five-and-thirty, and extremely cour-
teous, as most Easterns of rank are. After a little con-
versation I mentioned my expedition, which the Prinee
treated as a piece of lunacy, but nevertheless he finally
granted me the desired papers. I next asked permission
to see some Turcoman heads which had been sent by the
Governor of Budjnoord a short time before. His High-
ness carelessly replied that they were thrown around
somewhere. I then backed out of his presence in Court
fashion. Outside I renewed my request for a view of the
heads, and was conducted to a courtyard where a com-
pany of soldiers were on guard. Some shapeless objects,
looking like dirty lard bladders, were dragged out of a
cellar. These were the skins of the Turcoman raiders'
heads, stuffed with grass, four ugly gashes marking the
place of eyes, nose, and mouth in each. I asked what
had become of the noses, and a horse-laugh from the
guard was my only answer. I said gravely, by way of re-
buke, ' Our own heads in a few years will be in as bad
a plight,' a remark which drew forth exclamations of
admiration at its profound wisdom. When I had ex-
amined the heads they were tossed back into the cellar
to rot or be eaten by the rats. As I walked away from
the uncanny place, I could not help musing disagreeably
on the signs of the times afforded by those heads coming
from the direction in which I was about to set out. I

PERSIAN RUINS. 131

felt sure that at night I should have visions of my own
cranium stuffed with hay and minus the nose.

My Persian servants were greatly terrified at the
idea of accompanying me among the Turcomans, and
only one of them could finally be induced to come. It
was with no small delight, after all these obstructions
had been removed, that I ultimately left Meshed. My
setting out was quite imposing. A Turcoman guide who
was to accompany me to Derguez led the way ; three
soldiers, and as many servants, sent as a guard of
honour by my friend Abass Khan, followed, after whom
came my own people and horses. A dozen dervishes,
and a crowd of beggars of both sexes, young and old, all
bawling prayers and petitions for alms, brought up the
rear. At the city gate I parted with my escort, military
and mendicant, and rode away with a light heart on the
road to Eadcan.

Noting the peculiarities of dress as I entered the Kurd
country, and how the grey felt eggshell-shaped hat of
the Russian peasant gave place to black wool shakos, or
turbans, worn low down over the eyes, I observed, too,
how in this fertile valley the fortified villages were spread
around in extraordinary numbers. As we journeyed on,
it was to pass the ruins of Kakha, halting as I reached
those of Toos, once the capital of North Persia, and
notable for containing the tomb of the poet Ferdusi.
The place is full of most interesting relics, portions of
the destruction seeming to have been caused by an
earthquake shock. Lying amongst the ruins I found
numerous fragments of old, highly-coloured pottery, some
of them displaying the reflet metalliqiie so prized by the
lovers of keramic ware.

I spent so much time examining the ruins of Toos
that I could only ride four miles farther before darkness

K 2

132 TARANTULAS AND SNAKES.

overtook me, and I passed the night at a small Kurdish
village named Sarasiab, where a couple of rooms over
the fortified gate were ceded to me. In one were sheep-
skins, bundles of wool, and a silk wheel ; in the other
were heaps of dried dung, intended for fuel, the rest of
the floor being covered with cucumbers and melons.

The tarantula is very common in this valley, and,
at the time of the year at which I was travelling, they
are often as large as a half-grown mouse. They fre-
quently make their way into the houses, especially at
night, and, if a candle be left, a couple of them will
generally be seen making their way towards it as if
they were expected anxiously. They are covered with
black hair, and have shining black fangs like a crab's
mandibles, and about a quarter of an inch long. Their
bite is considered more venomous than that of even
the largest scorpions. Poisonous snakes, too, are found
here. On the day I quitted Sarasiab, my guide killed
one of a beautiful silvery white, with deep orange lon-
gitudinal stripes. The head indicated its poisonous
character sufficiently. My guide considered the killing of
this snake as a very happy omen for the day's journey.
Eight miles from Sarasiab we stopped to breakfast by
some rapidly flowing streams of clear cold water which
form a small pond close to their source, and after-
wards fall into the Keshef Eood. The pond is literally
crammed with fish and fresh-water crabs. The latter
are of a delicate purple colour, and exactly the shape of
sea crabs. According to popular tradition these streams
gushed from the rock at a touch of Ali's thumb. A
native also informed me that the pond was unfathom-
able, though the bottom was plainly visible at a depth of
ten or twelve feet.

The Kurds of this valley I found were very civil and

A STRANGE DRINK. 133

obliging. The great man in the town of Kadcan gave
quite a reception in my honour, entertaining me with
tobacco and tea, during the repast displaying his know-
ledge of foreign affairs by informing his guests that an
attempt had been made to blow up the Emperor of
Kussia with strychnine ! My host was full of traditional
lore touching the district. The old town of Kadcan, the
ruins of which stand about a mile to the south of the
modern one, had been, he said, removed to its present
site some hundreds of years ago, owing to an epidemic
caused by certain foul drains and cesspools in the neigh-
bourhood. One would have thought it easier to remove
the cesspools than the town and population, but they do
things differently in Persia. The old town, he further
informed me, was the only one in the entire district
which escaped the ravages of Zenghis Khan's army on
its westward march.

During the dinner which followed I was introduced
to a table drink quite as odd in its way as the Homeric
draught compounded for the delectation of the ' divine
Machaon,' which we are told was composed of a 'large
measure of the Pramnian wine ' flavoured with goat's-
milk cheese and sprinkled with flour. The Kurdish
beverage consisted of sour thick milk diluted with
water, highly flavoured with salt and black pepper, and
thickly strewn on the surface with finely-grated mint
leaf. It was contained in a huge bowl of tinned copper,
standing among the dishes, which were, of course, on
the floor. Each person helped himself at pleasure by
means of a large, curiously- shaped spoon of carved
boxwood, which floated in the bowl, and was used in
common by the company.

In the afternoon I rode with my host to visit an
old conical roofed building that had taken my notice, to

134 KURDISH CASTLES.

find the edifice most interesting in its nature. It had
originally been ornamented with enamelled tiles of a,
beautiful deep blue. The building had been much
injured by an earthquake shock ; its original purpose
I am at a loss to guess. My Kurd host was of opinion
that it was the palace of an early Mussulman sovereign ;.
the inhabitants that it was a hunting lodge.

Leaving Eadcan, we began to ascend the ridge which
separates the head waters of the Atterek from those of
the Keshef Eood. I passed the night in a small village,
where I was struck by the peculiar lamps in use. They
resembled the chalices used in Koman Catholic worship,
but were of copper tinned over, and filled with oil ex-
tracted from the Palma christi bean — the castor oil, in
fact, of commerce. In the morning we resumed our
way along the banks of the Atterek. At intervals upon
the heights were the remains of old Kurdish castles,,
while one village, with its houses clustering round a
fortified hill, seemed to take one back to the middle
ages. Our journey was not without its scares, suspicious-
looking horsemen watching us from a distance. The
obstinacy of one's horses adds not a little to the diffi-
culties of travelling in these mountainous countries.
Once you are off his back, a horse considers himself
his own master, and declines to be led. It takes na
inconsiderable amount of trouble to make him proceed,,
especially up a mountain side. When one has been ac-
customed to much riding across plains, there is nothing
so trying as going up a hill on one's own legs. The
custom of the country is to hold on by your horse's tail,
and thus get dragged over the mountain.

We overtook a caravan from Nishapur, of about fifty
men and women, driving asses and mules. The men, with
their voluminous turbans, closely resembled the Kurds

BEAUTY OF MOUNTAINS. 135

of Kurdistan proper — much more so than those I had
seen in the Meshed Valley. They have a very bad repu-
tation, my guide told me. A solitary wayfarer, meeting
such a caravan, would be certain of being pillaged, if
not murdered. However, they let us .alone, probably in
view of our formidable armament, though they cast long-
ing eyes at my saddle-bags, which their Oriental imagi-
nations doubtless painted as crammed with gold tomans.
Next morning, at daybreak as usual, we had to cross
the Allah Akbar (God is great) range, wrhich we got over
after five hours' hard work. Near the top is a shaUow
valley, where graves are numerous, and the piles of little
stones placed by the passers-by flank the road at short
intervals. The graves are those of the murdered travellers
who have perished during centuries.

From the mountain top the entire expanse of Persian
border territory lay like a map at my feet. The summit
on which I stood is, I think, about six thousand feet
above the level of the sea. Twenty miles away was the
ridge which divides the Derguez ; far away to the right
were the dim hills of Kelat, so far off that I should have
deemed them clouds if not otherwise informed. The
colours of these mountains were brighter than I had
supposed possible in nature. The lights were all rose
and amber, and the shadows of aerial lapis lazuli tint.
Light and shade in the form of cliiar'oscuro there were
none. It was the opposition of colour. It made one
believe in Kaffaelle painting a red shadow to a roseleaf
in sunshine. Backing up the view was a vast spread of
vague distance reaching away to the horizon — the dim,
terrible Turcoman waste over which lay my road. At
the height at which I stood the scene was panoramic.
Hill and dale, rock and plain, stood out with a stereo-
scopic distinctness which recalled the luminous image of

136 A BOEDER CHIEFTAIN.

a camera lucida. Camel trains wound like worms along
the thread-like roads. Here and there buffaloes were
ploughing ; and parties of horsemen rode to and fro.
There were all the evidences of life, save that of sound,
as we gazed over the huge, silent expanse. As I rode
down, my thoughts were not brightened by the appear-
ance of two horsemen, each with a Turcoman's head slung
at his saddle-bow. They were carrying their ghastly
trophies to the Prince Governor of Meshed, as a present
from the Khan of Derguez. Evidently the Turcomans
could hardly be more ferocious savages than the people
among whom I wras sojourning. Riding across the plain
in this frame of mind, I reached Muhammedabad, the
capital of the Derguez, that evening.

I was courteously received by the Khan, who in con-
versation laughed at the notion, entertained by many of
the peasants, of a Turcoman invasion of the Derguez in
case the Russians should be defeated at Geok Tepe. He
seemed to think he and his people were quite capable of
protecting themselves against any force the Turcomans
could bring in this respect. ' Pshaw,' said he, ' with five
thousand of even my own cavalry I would undertake to
sweep the Akhal Tekke from end to end.' The Khan,
though nominally an official of the Shah, was constantly
engaged in lifting the cattle and capturing the heads of
his Tekke neighbours, though these amenities seemed to
make no serious obstacle to the intercourse constantly
going on between his subjects and the nomads. Small
parties were continually sent out to plunder, and a large
part of the Khan's income was derived from these expe-
ditions. Heads to be sent to Teheran, much as wolves'
heads were sent to the old Saxon kings of England as an
acceptable tribute, and prisoners to be held for ransom,
were booty as eagerly sought as the cattle and sheep of
the Tekkes.

THE KHAN'S KIOSK. 137

A few days after my visit I was invited to accompany
the Khan on a pleasure excursion to an enclosed garden
of his, some distance from the city. A crowd of servants
were sent to escort me, in Persian style, to the place of
meeting at the city gates. I found the chief riding
slowly outside the walls, escorted by about thirty men.
I soon learned the importance of this precaution, which
seemed at first a mere formality. The Governor had
also several led horses with him, all wearing heavy silver
collars set with blue and red stones, to distinguish them
.as being reserved for his own mounting. The ornament
lavished on the trappings of his horses was in striking
contrast to the plainness of his own dress, which was
hardly distinguishable from that of his principal attend-
ants, external show being considered womanly. After
riding round in the plain for about an hour, we made for
the Khan's grove. There was a kiosk in the middle, in
which a carpet was spread, and the Khan, some of his
brothers and nephews, and myself, sat down. Exces-
sively strong green tea was served to us, according to the
invariable custom. The requisites for the meal, like the
ordinary travelling equipage of the chief, were carried
with us by one of the servants in two cylinders, slung at
•each side of his saddle like kettle-drums, and covered
with embroidered crimson cloth. A round case of the
same colour, slung on his back like a Kurd buckler, con-
tained the tin plates and dishes. We amused ourselves
for a while in the kiosk by scanning the country with
field-glasses belonging to the Khan, and by inspecting
the fire-arms, of which he had a most miscellaneous col-
lection, picked up I know not how or where. Shooting
.at a mark was also tried, and the Khan made half-a-
•dozen very good shots at about a hundred yards distance.

We were riding leisurely homewards, after dinner,

138 A TUECOMAN EAID.

when a mounted trooper dashed up and announced that
the Turcomans were out and sweeping off the cattle from
the plain. We immediately noticed peasants driving
their oattle with frantic haste towards the town, and
presently we were able to make out the raiders, who-
numbered about a hundred and fifty, wheeling in scat-
tered groups and circling round like falcons. The nearest
were not a mile from us. The Khan issued a few rapid
orders, and sent half-a-dozen messengers to carry them
in different directions, and then we pushed briskly to-
wards the city. In a few minutes beacon columns of
smoke were shooting up from the watch-towers around,
summoning all the scattered retainers of the Khan to
mount and ride to the city at once. Within an hour
about six hundred troops were gathered in the town. I
could now understand the meaning of the endless field-
towers and walls which I had thought extravagantly
numerous at first sight. The Khan despatched between
three and four hundred men after the marauders, who
had swept off sixty oxen and over a hundred sheep, and
were on their way to the desert with their spoil. The
Tekkes, however, had a good start, and while a few men
drove the cattle off by short cuts impracticable for
cavalry, the main body showed fight and covered their
retreat successfully. The pursuers, finding small chance
of anything but hard knocks, returned after some skir-
mishing, having captured four horses from the invaders.
This was a large party for a Tekke foray, twenty or thirty
being the more usual number in these districts. The
Khan seemed to take the whole affair as an everyday
occurrence, but it gave me a lively impression of the
insecurity of life and property in this border territory.

Indeed, until I came to this district I had no adequate
idea of the real state of things. Within a few days of

HELD TO HANSOM. 139

my arrival three more or less successful raids were made
by the Turcomans nearly up to the gates of the capital
of the province. One can scarce venture half a mile, in
some cases not even so far, from the fortified villages,
without risking capture by the seemingly ever-present
Turcoman bands. How grazing or any other kind of
farming can be carried on passes my comprehension,
even though herds and tillers be protected by the watch-
towers which stand over the plain like ninepins in a
skittle alley. Making and repulsing raids seemed the
daily and never-failing occupation of the able-bodied
male population on both sides. At the time of my visit
there were in Muhammedabad half-a-dozen Turcomans,
captured at different periods, and awaiting redemption.
They were all heavily fettered, each having an iron collar
round his neck, and a hoop of the same material encir-
cling his waist. From both depended chains, composed
of links a foot long, like those worn by French galley-
slaves, and attached to the wrists and ankles. These
irons are worn night and day. One of the prisoners, a
stalwart young man, had been in captivity over two years,
and although only thirty tomans (twelve pounds sterling)
were demanded for his ransom, none of his people had
come forward to pay the amount. Another, a native of
the town, had been caught by the Turcomans many years
previously, and had settled and married among the Akhal
Tekke. In his capacity of naturalised Turcoman he had
taken part in a foray into Persian territory, and, having
been captured, was held to ransom like the others.

In conversation with the Khan, as to who was re-
sponsible for these forays, he did not seem to consider
that any alteration need be made. He acknowledged
that the Turcoman raids inflicted considerable loss on
his own people, but he thought, on the whole, the latter

140 BRIGANDAGE.

managed to be quits by return expeditions. Just before
my arrival in Muhammedabad, the Derguezli had made
a sweep of about fifteen thousand sheep, which were
being sold at eight or ten francs a head. In fact, one of
the Khan's followers assured me that his chief would
lose at least three thousand tomans of his income were
this brigandage suppressed.

A PERSIAN PASSION PLAY. 1-11

CHAPTER XIII.

A Persian passion play— The theatre — The drama — An apology for grief
A stage combat — A stirring scene — Sanguinary performance — A reli-
gious dance — Convenient pigtails — Doing penance — Displays of grief —
The drama murdered.

WITH the month of Moharrem came the Mussulman
services usually celebrated during that period ; and every
day a body of professional artists gave a public represen-
tation of the religious drama founded on the massacre
of Imam Hussein, or, rather, of one scene of the play,
the entirety of which extends over several days, eveiy
incident being acted in the fullest possible detail. By
special favour, I received an invitation from the Khan
to be present, as some extra acting was about to take
place. Near the scene of the performance I was formally
received by half-a-dozen /crashes, or palace servants,
each bearing in his hand a long peeled stick, by whom
I was conducted to the Khan. This official recognition
was necessary, as otherwise offence might have been
taken at my presence.

Crossing the open space which served as a stage, I
found the Khan, together with his male relatives and
principal officers, seated on a slightly raised platform
of earth and brick at one side of the old town gate.
The market-place outside, flanked by the caravanserai,
constituted the theatre. Some three thousand spectators
were present. To our left were the women, four rows
being seated on the ground, and the remainder standing

142 THE THEATEE.

behind, wrapped from head to foot in their mantles of
indigo-dyed calico, and looking like so many conventional
stage spectres when blue fire is lit at the wings. Opposite
them, and similarly arranged, were the men, for the
most part clad in the lemon-coloured sheepskin great
coat characteristic of the border populations. Here and
there were the red orange tunics of those who seemed
insensible to the rather chill air, and above all was a
sea of sunburnt bearded faces and huge grenadier hats
of black and brown sheep's wool. Still further back
behind them, perched on the top of the ruinous mud
front of the caravanserai, were about a hundred women
of the better class— among them the Khan's family.
Outside the open space were many mounted Turcomans,
gun at back, the prong of the forked rest sticking a
foot beyond the muzzle, and giving them the air of
mounted hay-makers. In the midst of the arena stood
two poplar poles, six feet apart, a stout camel-hair horse
rope reaching from one to the other at a height of four
feet above the ground. Close by was a heap of stout
osier rods, such as are used in administering the bas-
tinado. At some distance sat a white-turbaned, long-
bearded moullah, on a tall throne approached by three
steps. There was a kind of wooden platform, such as
Easterns sleep on in the open air during hot weather,
on which stood a very prosaic -looking arm-chair. In
the latter sat a pompous-looking person, robed in
Cashmere shawls, and wearing an enormous turban of
the old Kurdish pattern, which may be seen to-day on
the heads of Sheik Obeidullah's followers about Bayazid.
A number of similarly attired men, and two boys of
about twelve years of age, sat upon a long wooden bench
opposite. "With them was a man wearing female attire,
and closely veiled ; but he had apparently forgotten to

THE DEAMA. 143

take off a pair of enormous brown leather jack-boots.
This was the third day of the play, and as I had never
seen the text of it I was necessarily completely at sea as
to the particular episode in the tragedy which was about
to be acted.

The main idea represented was the struggle between
what are now Shiia and Sunni — the justice or otherwise
of the precedency of Omar to Ali in the Khalifat. As
well as I could make out the sense of the dialogue,
which was spoken in Jagatai Tartar, the man in the
armchair on the platform was Hussein, and an indi-
vidual hi a spiked helmet was his standard-bearer and
champion, and an upholder of Ali's reputation. He
sang, or rather chanted, hi a doleful tone, several lengthy
expressions of his sentiments, finally ascending the plat-
form and kneeling down to receive the benediction of
the person in the chair, who knelt in his turn to re-
ceive that of the man in the helmet. Then the latter
mounted a horse brought in to the rolling of a drum, and
made pretence of departing on a journey, and Hussein
withdrew from the stage. Meantime two new parties
arrived on horseback, one of whom was evidently the
typical Sunnite, and the other his chief executioner and
right-hand man. The typical Sunnite issued several
orders in a voice pitched like that of a field-officer com-
manding a battalion movement, and general dismay
seemed to supervene, in the midst of which the helmeted
•champion returned from his journey and defied the
executioner to single combat. Previously to engaging
in the strife, he repeatedly embraces two small boys,
who are apparently closely related to him. His remarks
to them called forth universal expressions of regret from
the audience. This constituted one of the most curious
features of the scene. The women uttered short, snap-

144 AN APOLOGY FOR GRIEF.

ping howls, which, coming from behind the closely-
wrapped mantles of so many hundreds, produced pre-
cisely the effect of a burst of laughter on the part of
the audience of a European theatre at some culmina-
ting burlesque absurdity. In fact, when I afterwards,
heard sounds of merriment from the same gathering,
the vocal expression of opposite emotions seemed to be
identical. The male spectators gave no audible sign of
emotion, nor, apparently, did they feel any, though it
was considered to be in good taste, not only as a tribute
to the moral of the scene, but also as a compliment to
the actors, to produce one's handkerchief and apply it
to the eyes. The Khan had a large white damask
napkin, evidently specially prepared for the occasion ;
but I caught him once, at an excessively tragical mo-
ment, and while holding his apology for tears in front of
his face, making some remarks in an undertone to his
brother, at which they both chuckled in a scandalous
manner. While waiting for the conclusion of the long
dialogue between the knight of the spiked helmet and
the executioner, we were entertained with the spectacle
of a man beaten to death with rods, the most curious
element in which was that the men who made believe to
whip the life out of the culprit were the very same
who every day discharged such functions in reality;
and the rods used were of the very same size and kind
as those employed for the bastinado. This episode
brought to the front a feature of Oriental manners
which few Europeans have an opportunity of witnessing,
viz., the manner in which a wife shows her respect
and affection for her husband. The pseudo-female with
the jack-boots turned out to be the wife of the man who
was being beaten. Previous to his being tied to the
whipping-post, she came forward and prostrated herself

A STAGE COMBAT. 145

before him, her forehead touching the ground. Then
she walked round him, kissing the back of his shoulders
as she passed, again prostrating herself on coming to the
front. There were some other examples of marital
etiquette during the play, and in all of them it seemed
to be the proper thing for the lady to make the entire cir-
cuit of her husband before coming to a halt before him.
This, however, was mere by-play pending the advent
of the great event, viz. the combat and subsequent exe-
cution.

The executioner, the villain of the piece, stood over
six feet high, notwithstanding that his small head was,
apparently in consequence of some spinal disease, set
deeply between his colossal shoulders. He wore a pair
of long buff leather boots, opening out in bell-fashion
above the knee, and which in Europe would be con-
sidered as essentially ' stagey.' Here they form part of
every-day costume. A red cotton handkerchief was tied
around his head, not turban-wise, but rather as if it
were applied as a bandage for some cranial injury, and
coming down low on his beetled brows. Even without
the circular brass Kurd shield and curved scimitar, he
was as truculent-looking a person as I have ever seen on
or off the stage. Shiia dramatic justice could not for a
moment allow that such a person could be a match for
a follower of Ali, so accordingly he summoned to his
aid three other equally objectionable-looking personages,
each very like himself, and thereupon a * free fight ' com-
menced.

One of the most interesting features of this scene was
the illustration it afforded of the use of the small Kurdish
buckler and curved scimitar in combat. Of Eastern
races, I believe the Kurds are the most addicted to this
rather primitive system of combat. Indeed, except among

L

146 A STIERINa SCENE.

the Kurds and some Afghan refugees at Meshed and
Kuchan, I never saw the shield borne as an adjunct of
actual warfare. We were treated to all the various arts
and devices used in such combats, and merely as a spe-
cimen of attack and defence it was well worth seeing.
Then there were various attempts on the part of the
unarmed assailants of this champion of Hussein to trip
him up with a rope, or entangle him in its folds by running
round him. He ultimately vanished, as if by magic,
below the surface of the ground, into a previously pre-
pared hole which we had not hitherto perceived. This
hole, I believe, represented a well, in which the real hero
took refuge. Attempts were now made to smoke him out
by stuffing lighted brooms with long handles into the
cavity, but, this device failing, he was ultimately dragged
out by means of ropes, and brought before the judgment-
seat of the wicked individual, wJio, in no whispered tones,
gave orders for his instant execution. The captive hero
was thereupon bound Mazeppa-wise upon the back of a
horse, and, having been led several times round the arena,
ultimately arrived at the scene of punishment. Taken
from the back of the horse, he was dragged by the heels
a good fifty yards, to the gate of the caravanserai. On
this occasion his coat .of chain mail must have stood
himself and his garments in good stead, the ground being
in no wise like a skating rink, but, on the contrary, strewn
with stones and broken earthenware. In a few moments
he made his appearance on the top of the caravanserai
among the ladies assembled there, surrounded by guards
and accompanied by the executioner, and during a
quarter of an hour pleaded for his life. This was excel-
lently done, and drew forth a large amount of grief, as
before, from the women, also bringing the men's pocket-
handkerchiefs into requisition. He was ultimately

SANGUINARY PERFORMANCE. 147

thrown clown, and we could see curved daggers brandished
over him.

The system of execution here is to cut the throat with
a dagger, and then sever the head from the body with
the same instrument. The actors so managed that,
while the body and legs of the victim were left in view,
the head was just out of sight. The convulsive struggling
of the limbs was admirably imitated, and then, the real
man being drawn back, a lay figure was thrust forward,
exhibiting the severed bleeding neck. This was imme-
diately afterwards lowered to the ground by ropes, and
dragged back to the centre of the ground — still struggling
and kicking. Within the headless lay figure was a little
boy, who gave the requisite movement to the limbs. The
figure, still twitching in a most horrid manner, was hung
up on the centre of the cord extending between the two
poles fixed in the ground •; and the climax of the enter-
tainment, the disembowelling of the body, commenced.
In the breast and stomach of the figure had been stowed
away the lungs, heart, and entrails of a freshly-killed
sheep. The executioner, with his dagger cut the figure
open, and the still bleeding viscera were dragged out one
by one with expressions of savage glee, and flung into
the midst of the space. With this sanguinary perform-
ance the day's acting came to an end, and the spectators,
who up to that moment had preserved the greatest order,
rushed round, and I lost sight of the mangled remains.
The acting was continued on the morrow, and during
several succeeding days, but the whole of the lengthy play
could not be performed, there being no one in the town
rich enough, or at any rate disposed, to pay the expenses
for any longer period. Up to that time the Khan had
defrayed them.

Immediately on the termination of the acting, a still

L 2

148 A RELIGIOUS DAKCE.

more curious performance, in the shape of religious
dancing, commenced. Twelve boys, varying in age from
eight to fourteen years, clad in long tunics of clean
printed chintz, and having dark- coloured handkerchiefs
on their necks, which crossed upon the breast and were
tied behind the waist, threw off their sheepskin hats,
retaining only the little tight-fitting skull-cap. Some of
these boys were wonderfully handsome. The expres-
sion of their faces was altogether feminine. In fact,
dressed as they were, in printed calico frocks, they might
easily have passed for so many pretty little girls. In
each hand was carried a circular piece of wood, about
four inches in diameter and two inches thick. Eight of
them formed into a circle around the other four, who
chanted something relating to AH, Hussein, and Hassan.
They faced slowly round one after the other, striking
their pieces of wood together like Spanish castanets, and
extending their arms at full length, now in front of the
forehead, now behind the head, in cadence with the
rhythm of the chant. In two or three minutes the
chant quickened, and the boys commenced a kind of
waltzing step, turning completely round in four move-
ments, and accompanying each with a clap of the
castanets. After completing the entire circle they
again relapsed into a march, in due time resuming
the waltzing, if I may give it that name. While the
children were thus dancing close to where we sat with
the Khan, further away the men had engaged in their
own calisthenics. Some sixty had formed in line, each
grasping with his left hand the waist-sash of the man
beside him ; his right hand remaining free. The chain
thus formed started off in quick time, the man on the
right flank leading. Each dancer made an oblique step
with his left foot, forward and to the left, supplement-

CONVENIENT PIGTAILS. 149

ing it with a hop on the same leg. Then came an
oblique step with the right foot, forward and to the
right, with another hop. At each step and hop the
dancer smote his breast with his right hand, shouting
' Hussein ! Hassan ! ' Each threw his body forward and
appeared to be dragging the next one after him. The
whole performance gave one the idea of a kind of mad
can-can, in such quick time that the dancers could
scarcely find breath to vociferate with sufficient rapidity
the names of the two blessed Imams in whose honour
they were thus exerting themselves. As each dancer
became exhausted he fell out, but new-comers con-
stantly appended themselves to the tail of the line that
circled round the arena which had previously served as
a stage. To all appearance the same set of men were
dancing all the while, for the main phalanx remained
unbroken for hours. Long after the sun had set, and
I had retired to my lodgings, even at ten o'clock in the
evening, rhythmic, muffled shouts of ' Hussein ! Hassan ! '
smote my ear.

On the next day of the performance there was the
usual quantity of tedious speechifying and doleful de-
clamation, the great feature being the single combat
between Abass, the standard-bearer of Hussein, and
one of the enemy. Abass is supposed to lose both
his arms during the fight, and continues the conflict
holding the sword between his teeth. After the acting
came dancing such as that already described. I omitted,
however, to mention that the younger of the boys who
danced had, reaching from the centre of their shaved
crowns to the napes of their necks, slender plaited tails
of hair, in fact, regular 'pigtails.' These, I believe,
are the appendages by which the angel Gabriel will
seize them should they in the journey from earth to

150 DOING PENANCE.

heaven slip from the narrow path across the bridge of
Al-Sirat, and be in danger of tumbling into hell. Among
the elder boys this tail was not to be seen, being re-
placed by a bushy tuft of hair. The most peculiar por-
tion of the after ceremonies consisted of the self-inflicted
penance of some of the more devout members of the
audience. Half-a-dozen persons, two of whom were
powerfully built men, the remainder boys of sixteen or
eighteen, drew close to where we were sitting, and,
squatting in a circle, hastily stripped off their gar-
ments to the waist. Then, to the cry of ' Hussein !
Hassan ! ' they commenced forcibly striking their breasts
with their palms. In a short time a kind of frenzy
seemed to gain upon them, and an instrument of tor-
ture was produced. It consisted of a short iron handle,
terminating in a ring, from which hung half-a-dozen
iron chains, each about eight or nine inches long. Each
link of these chains was at least an inch and a half in
length. The instrument was, in fact, an iron scourge.
When the chant had become fast and furious, one of the
men seized on the scourge, and, bobbing it a few times
in front of his face, began to lash himself with it over
the shoulders so quickly that the eye could scarce fol-
low his movements. When each had borne as much
of this self-infliction as he could he passed the instru-
ment to his next neighbour, who repeated the operation.
The shoulders of one of the youths were torn and bloody,
from the violence with which he punished himself. All
this is done by way of expressing sorrow for the death
of the blessed Imam Hussein, who, together with Ali,
seems, in the minds of the Shiia Mussulmans, to have
thrown Mahomet completely into the background. This
style of acting was carried to such an extremity that the
Khan was obliged to give the signal for ending the play.

DISPLAYS OF GRIEF. 151

The last day being that in which, for Mussulmans,
all the interest centres, the market-place in which the
previous scenes had been enacted was quite inade-
quate to contain the concourse of spectators. Every
shop in the town was closed, and men, women, and
children flocked to a wide space entirely without the
town walls, where the necessary preparations had been
made. As before, the women occupied the left, the men
the right hand of the small pavilion in wrhich the Khan
and his friends sat. These acts, to uninitiated eyes and
ears, are all very much the same except in their main
incident, which always seems to be illustrative of the
killing of some person or persons. In this case Hussein
and one of his children are the victims. The curious
features of the scene are the introduction of the Frankish
Ambassador, who pleads for the life of the Imam, and
who is accompanied by a lion. The sensation produced
is tremendous, and great bearded men weep in down-
right earnest over the woes of Hussein. In the course
of the act the Khan had two fresh pocket-handkerchiefs
brought to him wherewith to dry his tears. In very
many instances among the men, it was easy to see that
the expressions of extreme grief were entirely simulated ;
but there were many whose genuine emotion could not
be doubted. Out in this far-off quarter the people have
but little notion of what a Frankish Ambassador looks
like. In this instance he wore ordinary Persian garb,
qualified by a crimson sash across his left shoulder.
With regard to the appearance of a lion, the stage
manager seemed to be even still more astray. While
the principal actors on horseback were caracolling to
and fro, and declaiming the well-known phrases with
regard to the reverence due to the grandson of the
Prophet, I had been noticing an odd-looking object

152 THE DRAMA MURDERED.

creeping about the centre of the arena on all-fours. It
looked like an ape with a long white shirt on, who had
fallen foul of a pot of red paint and smeared his gar-
ments with it. This object kept gathering up dust and
throwing it on its head, in Oriental token of grief. I
was on inquiry informed that it was a lion, which, to-
gether with the Frankish Ambassador, had come to be
converted to Islamism by witnessing the sublime atti-
tude of the Imam when about to die.

There is no question but that the tragedy is full of
pathos and elevating sentiment, though in the hands of
the wretched itinerant actors who travel out into these
districts the drama is murdered as ruthlessly as is Hus-
sein himself. Before this final act of the drama com-
menced, a scene was enacted which forcibly recalled to
my mind what I had seen at home. The conductor of
the theatrical representations, clothed in a long chintz
gown, got up on a kind of table and addressed the as-
sembled multitude, reminding them of the blessed Imams,
and of himself and his company likewise. The Khan had
paid the actors the sum of twenty krans (francs) per
diem during the ten days of the performances, but the
audience were also expected to contribute their share.

FRESH OBSTACLES. 153

CHAPTER XIV.

Fresh obstacles — Taken in ambush — Fall of Geok Tepe — The Russian ad-
vance— The Tejend swamp — Objects on the march — SkobelefFs con-
tribution— Invited to Jlerv — The Eussian agent.

ON leaving Meshed all obstacles to my penetrating into
the Turcoman country seemed to have been removed. I
was in communication with Makdum Kuli Khan, the
Akhal Tekke commander, and felt little doubt about
overcoming any scruples he might still entertain about
receiving me into his fortress. The Prince Governor of
Meshed had given me a formal passport to proceed, and
I fully expected to find myself, in a very few weeks at
furthest, in Geok Tepe. Persian diplomacy, however,
is hard to fathom, and Piussian agents, who thought I
intended to take an active share in the defence of the
beleaguered fortress, raised up obstacles which kept me
over two months in the Derguez. The Khan treated me
with the greatest courtesy, and during my stay invited
me to accompany him on a most interesting expedition to
Lutfabad, the capital of the outlying Turcoman district
of the Attok, situated on the edge of the great plain ;
but he refused to let me pass the frontier, and a guard
was placed to watch my movements.

At last, however, I was allowed to start on my long-
delayed journey. The secret of the matter was that the
Russians had by this time completed the investment of
the Tekke stronghold, and their agents were now perfectly
indifferent to my arrival. I started from Muhammedabad

154 TAKEN IN AMBUSH.

about January 16, and proceeded to Durangar. News
had come in of two sorties of the garrison of Geok Tepe
on the 9th and 10th. The plans of the Tekkes had been
betrayed to the enemy, and, in consequence, the first
sortie was repulsed with loss. On the 10th, almost the
whole Tekke force made a desperate attack on the ad-
vanced Eussian works, and succeeded in storming three
of the four entrenchments which had been thrown up in
front of the gates of the town at about a thousand
yards' distance. Two breech-loading field-pieces, and
several prisoners, fell into the hands of the besieged,
who cut the throats of the unfortunate captives shortly
afterwards. This partial success, however, had no further
results. Eeinforcements were reported to be on the way
to the front from Bami, where the bulk of the Eussian
forces were stationed, and it was evident that the final
struggle was close at hand. Before the lines of invest-
ment were completed, a large body of cavalry had left
the town, and were hovering about between Geok Tepe
and Askabad. This force was not unoccupied in the
meantime, owing to a characteristic event. The Khan
of Kuchan, thinking the moment a favourable one for
doing a stroke of business on his own account, while the
Tekkes were occupied with the defence of their strong-
hold, sent out a cliappoiv of a hundred horsemen to seize
whatever corn, cattle, or horses they could find in the
outlying Turcoman villages. The Tekke warriors outside,
however, got notice of the intended visit, and ambushed
their Kuchan invaders so successfully that not a man
escaped, sixty being killed and forty made prisoners.

This affair, which took place two clays after the sortie
from Geok Tepe, of course did not diminish the danger
of the journey before me, but it would never have clone
to turn back after having come so far, so I pushed on to

FALL OF GEOK TEP& 155

Kaltachenar, the last village acknowledging the Persian
authority in that direction, and not far from Askabad.
Not deeming it safe to trust myself in the plain, where I
was equally liable to fall in with Russian scouting parties
or Tekke warriors, I kept along the slopes of the moun-
tain chain, though travelling there was very fatiguing
to the horses. Besides my two servants, an escort of six
or seven Derguez troopers accompanied me, but at such
a tune the utmost caution was needed. Early on the
24th we ascended the top of the Markov mountain, which
towers some six thousand feet over the Tekke plain, and
is not over twelve miles from Geok Tepe. With my
double field-glass I could easily make out the lines of
the Turcoman fortress, and the general position of its
besiegers, but I was too far off to be able to make notes
of details. I could plainly see, by the smoke of the guns
and the movements of the combatants, that the attack
had begun in earnest, and I watched its result with intense
anxiety. The Eussian assault was directed against the
southerly wall of the fortifications, and, after what was
apparently a desperate conflict there, it was evident that
they had forced their way. A crowd of horsemen began
to ride hi confusion from the other side of the town, and
spread in flight over the plain. Immediately afterwards,
a mass of fugitives of every class showed that the town
was being abandoned by its inhabitants. The Turcoman
fortress had fallen, and all was over with the Akhal
Tekkes, so we hastily turned our horses back to Kalta-
chenar. Crowds of fugitives from the captured town
were already streaming in as I arrived, full of details of
the struggle. Kaltachenar was evidently no safe place
for me to stop in, nor was anything to be gained by
remaining there, so with all speed we made our way on
io Askabad on the following morning. This, however,

156 THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE.

was evidently no better, even had it offered any shelter.
The Cossacks were scouring the plain in pursuit of the-
fugitives, -and reconnoitring the country. I therefore
hurried on at once, and indeed none too soon, for a
Eussian scouting party entered the place the same day.

At Lutfabad I learned that the scouting party which
had entered Askabad so soon after my departure was
composed of Yamud Turcomans, some two thousand of
. whom were in the Eussian service as irregular cavalry.
Though akin in race to the defenders of Yenghi Sheher,
these Turcomans showed the utmost readiness to serve
the invader against them. In fact they seemed delighted
with the chance which General Skobeleff's campaign
afforded them of paying off old scores with their hitherto
independent neighbours. This place, however, was not
left long without a more formidable Eussian garrison
than the Yamud scouts. A regular force of five thousand
men, with sixteen guns, followed quickly, and not only
occupied the town, but immediately commenced re-
building it for permanent possession. This completed
the conquest of the Akhal Tekke country, the fertile por-
tion of which was now almost entirely under Eussian
domination. Makdum Kuli Khan, with the bulk of the
fugitive cavalry from Geok Tepe, retreated towards the
Tejend swamp.

Meanwhile the direst confusion prevailed throughout
the country. The Tekkes who had escaped from Geok
Tepe were everywhere robbing and murdering. The
Eussian pursuing parties were also active, and for me
at least were scarcely less dangerous. Moreover, the
moss-troopers of Derguez, and the Kurds from Kuchan,
were abroad like flocks of sea-gulls in troubled waters,
seeking what they could pick up, and mercilessly harrying
the unarmed fugitives from Geok Tepe especially. There

THE TEJEND SWAMP. 157

was no time to be lost, however, if I were ever to get to
Merv, and I quitted Lutfabad on the day after my ar-
rival there. I left my baggage behind, as I only intended
to reconnoitre the road. My escort, as a matter of
course, was furnished by the Khan, and I was to give
them a message for him whenever they and I parted ;
they would not venture to plunder me, at least openly,
though, as may be gathered from what has been already
said, they were all trained robbers. We rode rapidly
past a couple of villages, and reached Dergana, where the
elders received us with the greatest deference. A large
felt carpet was spread for our use, and we were regaled
with a breakfast of bread, melons, and strong green tea.
Leaving Dergana, we passed on through Abiverd to
Kaka, from whence I made two journeys into the Tejend
swamp, to find it a treacherous expanse haunted by wild
boars and leopards, with an occasional tiger, and so
dangerous that horses and men were often swallowed
up in its depths while attempting its passage by night.
Being convinced that it was useless to attempt a journey
in that direction, I hurried back to Lutfabad, after two
days' absence. Here I got my escort together, and,
having stopped one night only, left at daybreak with
all my baggage. I heard subsequently that Skobeleff
and his escort arrived in the town the same day, so that
my escape was again a close one.

Taking the same direction, and passing Shillingan
and the Turcoman settlement of Makdum, we halted for
the night at Kosgun, another Turcoman colony, in the
ruins of an old tower. Early next morning we made for
Kelat. The track lay along the foot of steep, almost
overhanging earth-bluffs, under whose shade a wide
stretch of gravel and large boulders showed the extent
and violence of the winter torrents that come down from

158 OBJECTS ON THE MAECH.

the mountains. The raised spots in the bed of the dry
river, as well as its banks, were overgrown with thorns,
huge reeds, and a high grass like the pampas grass of
South America. At times the jungle was so thick that
it was with much ado we were able to force our way
through. Jackals and foxes started up before us in
such spots, and once a leopard, or something very like
one, showed himself for a moment. Snakes, mostly of a
venomous kind, glided across our track every moment, and
coveys of partridges were constantly springing up almost
under our horses' feet. The red-legged partridge was the
most common, but there was also abundance of the royal
partridge, a bird equal in size to a small turkey, and
occasionally we saw braces of a small ashen grey species,
with yellow legs. No other birds were to be seen except
very large black eagles, which soared high above our
heads. Many of the tree-trunks along the dry river-bed
were strangely transformed by the combined sun's heat
and occasional moisture. The old trunks were literally
charred, or rather baked, to the blackness and hardness
of coal, while still standing erect. At first I thought they
had been blasted by lightning, but on closer examina-
tion they showed no signs of splintering. They were
lignite, formed in this place by the heat of the sun, and
the fact may be worth noting by geologists, in connection
with the theory of coal-formations.

In the deserted town of Khivabad, a city of ruins
guarded by almost perfect fortifications, I found among
the streets and houses a species of giant hemlock, with
great bulbous joints on the stem. At those points where
the broad bases of the petioles join them is to be found a
quantity of snuff-coloured, clammy matter, which my
guides informed me is eaten by the people of the locality,
and produces an effect like alcoholic intoxication. It

SKOBELEFFS CONTRIBUTION. 159

is probably the pollen of the flowers which has lodged at
the joints of the stem and leaf. The town was built by
Nadir Shah, and upon his death the inhabitants, by
whom it had been forcibly colonised, went off en masse to
their former homes.

Our next halt was at Archingan, and the next day
we reached Kelat-i-Xadri, a place with its surrounding
of snow-covered mountains and inaccessibility which
recalled the Happy Valley of Easselas. It is regularly
garrisoned by a body of Persian troops, and contains
a fort, the residence of the commandant. This place
afforded me excellent opportunities for watching the
Russian plans. I could hear of Skobeleffs movements,
my information being supplied by Tekke refugees.
Among other things I learned that he was forcing the
Tekkes to return to their homes. He also, I was in-
formed, ordered the women to deliver up their gold and
silver ornaments as a war contribution. The Turcoman
women, however humble, all possess an immense quantity
of such trinkets, and a Tekke told me he had himself seen
a pile of them heaped up on two carpets to a height
considerably greater than that of an ordinary man.
Whatever truth was in these statements — and they were
confirmed by several witnesses — everything indicated that
Skobeleff was determined to make thorough work of the
conquest of the Akhal Tekkes.

My movements, I soon found out, were not left
entirety to my own discretion in Kelat, any more than
they had been in Meshed or Muharnmedabad. The Khan
politely invited me to lodge at his palace, where I was
completely under surveillance, and I perceived quickl}-
that he was by no means decided as to the propriety of
letting me go. It was absolutely impossible to leave the
valley without a pass from the Khan, as the two gorges

160 INVITED TO MERV.

which led from it were entirely closed by the forts at
their entrances, and no ingress or egress was permitted
without his order. About February 20, 1 was disagreeably
surprised to see Dufour, the renegade Nihilist to whom
I have already alluded, ride past the gate. He now
appeared in the character of a Eussian agent in Kelat,
where he had formerly resided for some time. In
this capacity, as I afterwards learned, one of his first
steps was to ask the Khan to arrest me and keep me
from going to Merv. The Khan declined, but promised,
I believe, to keep a watch on my movements. Dufour
left in the course of two days, and I determined to
anticipate any measures he might take for having me
arrested by following him at once. The Khan gave me
permission to depart with an escort, which was in reality
a guard, and on February 25 I started back to Kaka.

Before leaving Kelat-i-Nadri, Makdurn Kuli Khan had
sent me word of his intention to leave the banks of the
Tejend with the forces he still commanded, and to fall
back towards Merv, which, by the way, is not a city, but
a collection of settlements. There, in conjunction with
the Mervli, he proposed constructing a new stronghold
similar to that of Yengi Sheher or Geok Tepe ; and he
invited me to the feast and ceremonies with which its
foundation was to be celebrated. I was very desirous of
accepting his invitation, but there were some important
points to be first taken into account. It is the established
custom among the Turcomans, on the arrival of a dis-
tinguished stranger, such as I should undoubtedly be
considered if I accepted the chiefs invitation, to over-
whelm him with gifts of horses, rich carpets, and valu-
able weapons, entirely regardless of his own wishes. To
refuse a present would be a deadly insult — enough to
convert the w7ould-be donor into an inveterate and im-

THE KUSSIAN AGENT. 161

placable enemy. This would seem a trifling difficulty,
but it must be remembered that in return for such gene-
rosity the givers expect, and, indeed, require, presents of
at least equal money value to the highest market price
of their own. Still, my mind was made up to reach
Merv at any cost, and with an escort of ten horsemen
furnished by the Khan I rode out of this strange valley.
At Kaka I found the Eussian agent who had given
me such annoyance already established, and engaged in
buying grain for the detachments of Cossacks who were
expected hourly. Luckily for me they had not arrived.
He called on me soon after my arrival in the town, and
endeavoured to dissuade me from proceeding ; but find-
ing I paid little attention to his remonstrances, he grew
very insolent, and I had to order him out of the house.
In the morning, however, he was again at my door, and
by threats of the coming Cossacks he succeeded in ter-
rifying my escort into accompanying me no further. He
was ordering them to take my baggage off the horses
on which it had been packed, when I heard the noise,
and walked out with sabre in hand to demand what
he meant by such interference with my affairs. He
ran hastily into his house, and I ordered my servants
to mount and start immediately. I was glad to be rid of
my guard, with whom I should have found it difficult to
get into the desert, and I at once improved the oppor-
tunity thus offered me of quitting Persian soil and its
troublesome officials. Pursuit by the Cossacks was the
chief immediate danger I had to apprehend, and to pre-
vent this I avoided taking the direct road to Tejend,
and pretended to turn back to Kelat to complain to the
Khan of the treatment I had received. My two servants
were now my only companions, and I felt at length
really free.

H

162 ONWARD TO MERV.

CHAPTER XV.

Onward to Merv — Atmospheric deceptions —The Merv Tekkes — Taken for
a spy — Insect torments — A meeting in the desert— Turcoman wigwams
— A prisoner — The Tejend river — Boars and lynxes — A wet night.

THE Russian agent had unwittingly clone me a great ser-
vice in ridding me of the very people who were charged
not to allow me to go towards Merv. Both he and they
thought I would never dare venture alone across the
desert. Once, however, engaged among the first ravines
and hill spurs thrown out by the great mountain chain,
I turned my horse's head and rode swiftly in the direc-
tion of Merv, directing my steps by compass, and be-
coming involved in ground where it would not be easy
to track me owing to the rocky and gravelly soil, and the
number of mountain streams which intersected the way.
There was no road or beaten track of any kind. Some-
times I plunged into deep ravines, densely grown with
giant reeds and cane brakes. Pheasants rose by dozens
at every twenty yards. Wild boars continually plunged
with a crashing noise through the reeds, and now and
again I caught sight of a leopard or lynx stealing away
deeper into the jungle. The entire scene was one of
primitive nature. Very probably I was the first Euro-
pean who had ever trodden that way. Indeed, except
under such circumstances as those by which I found
myself surrounded, there was small reason for anyone,
European or native, to wander among those savage
recesses. At length, the ground becoming dangerously

ATMOSPHERIC DECEPTIONS. 163

swampy, I ascended the lower hill slopes in order to
gain a firmer way, and at the same time to obtain a
view over the plain, and take bearings for my future line
of march.

From the summit of a grassy hill I had a fine view
of the plain, reaching away northward and eastward.
Although it was early in the year, the rays of the noon-
tide sun were intensely hot, and the further reaches of
the plain appeared of an aerial blue tint, such as in
northern climes we are accustomed to associate with the
sky rather than with the earth. Far and wide were
scattered countless towns and villages — all deserted, their
lonely walls and towers standing out, grimly desolate, in
the white, mid-day blaze. Scores of ancient mounds
dotted the plain. The vast expanse, marked with all
these traces of vanished life, quivering and dancing in
the mirage, had about it something weird and un-
earthly, that filled the mind with a sense of desolation
and loneliness. I knew well that numerous parties of
ruthless bandits were lying hidden among the ruins ;
and it may be imagined how carefully I scanned the
ground with my field-glass as I decided upon which
direction I should follow. It was not easy to make a
reconnaissance, as, owing to the trembling, heated atmo-
sphere, one could hardly tell whether an object at a
distance of five or six miles were a look-out tower or a
Turcoman horseman.

After a lengthened survey I decided on my course,
and, descending the hill, rode straight towards the only
inhabited place within reach. This was Dushakh, marked
on maps as Chardeh and Charardeh, though the people
inhabiting it recognise it by that name with difficulty.
It was about twenty-five miles distant. The tract which
I crossed on my way to it was a rich, loamy surface,

M 2

164: THE MERV TEKKES.

where streams from the mountains run riot amid luxu-
riant growths of wild flowers and herbs, grass being of
but rare occurrence. Dandelion, sage, foxglove, thistle,
mints of all kinds, and a thousand other plants flourish,
but a square yard of grassy sward is a rare phe-
nomenon.

As I drew near Dushakh, dark, leaden-coloured clouds
had come over the sky, and the sun was setting fiery red.
To the left was a very large ancient mound, crowned by
crumbling walls and towers. A long, low rampart en-
closed an irregular rectangular space of about a hundred
yards square. I now, for the first time, met the Merv
Tekkes.

Uncouth forms were to be seen upon the ramparts,
and curious eyes gazed at me as I galloped up at the
head of my slender following. I was evidently taken for
the tax-gatherer, coming to assess the newly-planted
ground. When the rickety gate of unhewn tree-trunks
was unbarred, and I stood within the quadrangle, my
eyes fell upon a wild sight. Within was an irregular,
muddy encampment, where pit-like hollows were half-
filled with reddish-brown liquid of pestilent odour — the
drainings of the camping-ground of camel, buffalo, and
human being. Amid this stood what at first sight
seemed to be gigantic stacks of corn, but which proved
to be the huts of the inhabitants. They were composed
of great sheaves of giant reeds, placed in lean-to fashion.
A number of camels, looking as raggedly wretched as
they usually do on these plains, groaned and grunted.
A couple of hundred horses, none of them very remark-
able for beauty, stood tethered around. Women with
dishevelled hair and wild eyes, clad in long, flowing
red shirts, which, with the long purple trousers, formed
their only attire, gazed round corners at me with a

TAKEN FOR A .SPY. 105

guilty look. Fifty or sixty men, in colossal sheepskin
hats and deep red robes, carbine at back and sword at
girdle, came forward to meet me. The chief, Adjem
Serdar, stepped out to give me welcome, notwithstanding
the fact that he had not a very clear conception of who
I was, or of the nature of my business at Dushakh. I
wras shown into the only habitation which was not a reed
hut — a single chamber with earthen walls, partly exca-
vated at the foot of the ramparts. I could barely stand
upright beneath the rough roof of unhewn pine trunks.
A fire of camel's dung smouldered at the upper extremity.
The room speedily became crammed to suffocation by
Turcomans, whose curiosity was little short of ferocious.
They literally thrust their noses into my face, and
seemed desirous of looking down my throat. The ma-
jority were of opinion that I was a Russian spy, but an
active minority were in my favour.

An hour after my arrival, the Persian colonel com-
manding the garrison of Sarakhs, who was on his way
to Derguez with a present of horses sent by the Prince
Governor of Meshed to Mehemet Ali Khan, paid me a
visit. Having seen a little more of men and things
than had the nomads, he promptly declared that I was
what I announced myself to be. I was, he said, a Kara
Ems, or Black Piussian, this being the description given
by the Turcomans to the English, in contradistinction to
the Sari Russ, or Yellow Piussian, as they named Skobeleff
and his co-nationalists.

Adjem Serdar came up to where I was sitting, and,
in a whisper, imparted to me what he doubtless thought
was a new and unforeseen piece of intelligence, viz., that
the greater number of the people of his village were
thieves, and that it was advisable to look very sharply
after my horses. He had, he said, taken the precaution

166 INSECT TORMENTS.

of chaining them together by the fetlocks, and he pre-
sented me with a collection of iron instruments, resem-
bling small reaping-hooks and undersized crowbars, which
I was informed were the keys of the padlocks which
secured the chains. To make matters doubly sure, two
trusted henchmen, made specially responsible for the
safety of the horses, slept beside them.

After supper — a mess of greasy rice served in a great
wooden bowl, and clawed up, ghoul fashion, by each one
with his bare fingers — we lay down to sleep as well as we
might in a place in which it is no exaggeration to say
that all night long I could hear the huge black fleas,
springing and dancing around me. We were up an
hour before dawn, for I had told the chief that it was
possible a party of Cossacks might come that way two
or three hours after sunrise, and I wished to be well
away on my forward journey betimes. In the angry red
dawn I rode out of Dushakh, with an escort of four men,
in addition to my two servants, and a mounted musician,
who was charged to lighten a mile or two of my way
with the strains of a two-stringed guitar, on which he
performed briskly.

Upon coming to a halt upon an immense ancient
mound we made tea, after I had taken a good look
round for Cossack patrols ; and, upon talking of the route
to Merv, my conductors exhibited scruples about the
advisability of allowing me to go on, lest they should
be held responsible for facilitating the advent of a sus-
pected stranger to a place always jealously closed to
travellers, and, at such a critical moment, when the
immediate possibilities were so menacing, all but un-
approachable. They did their best to dissuade me from
continuing my journey, and, finding then* eloquence
thrown away, flatly refused to accompany me any further.

A MEETING IN THE DESERT. 167

I told them that it was a matter of indifference to me
whether they accompanied rue or not, as in any case I
was resolved to go forward. We then parted, and, steer-
ing by compass, I made the best of niy way towards
Meneh.

I had been informed that this place was about six-
teen miles away, but it turned out to be over forty, a
fact my directors perfectly well knew. As we rode on
my Kurd servant began to show marked signs of un-
easiness, as the wide Turcoman desert opened before
hun. And now we more than once experienced false
alarms. A party of horsemen apparently galloping
towards us in the distance proved to be the ruins of a
brick fort, the trembling of the heated layer of air giving
to distant objects a singular semblance of life and motion.
An hour or so before sunset there was a real alarm.
Coming to the brow of a gentle undulation, I suddenly
perceived a couple of horses some three miles off; and
on drawing nearer two men rose from the ground, where
they had been lying, mounted, and rode towards us.
When within a quarter of a mile they unslung their
muskets and laid them across their saddle-bows, in
readiness for action — a movement which we imitated.
At fifty yards we halted, and the new comers challenged
with the usual salutation of the desert, ' Peace be with
you ! ' This indicated that fight was not desired, at least
for the moment. We approached to within half-a-dozen
paces, each party eyeing the other intently for fully a
minute before breaking silence. The horsemen proved
to be two Merv Tekkes from the colony at Meneh, roam-
ing about on the look-out for prey. On learning who I
was, and whither bound, they turned back with me, and
we rode on far into the night before any signs of in-
habitants were apparent. A little after sunset we came

168 TURCOMAN WIGWAMS.

abreast of some ruinous old buildings crowned with
crumbling cupolas, and styled the Imam Zade of Meneh.
They lay about six hundred yards to our left, and my
guides, galloping away in front, dismounted before the
walls, and remained some little time in prayer.

During the last two or three hours we stumbled along
slowly in the dark, splashing through flooded ground,
and falling into deep irrigation trenches. We must have
crossed some thousands of acres of cultivated ground
before reaching a ruinous old mud-walled fort to which
we were guided by some glimmering lights. The women
and children, together with the cattle, were within the
walls ; the men, for the most part, inhabiting strange-
looking wigwams without. By the blaze of the camp-
fires I could make out some scores of Turcomans stand-
ing and lying about, their weapons tied in sheaves around
wooden posts planted in rows. The huts were of the
most primitive construction, consisting of oblong pits
about six feet in depth, rudely roofed over with tree-
branches and bushes, on which was piled the rough hay
destined for the horses. A steep incline led to the in-
terior, where a fire of brambles and cattle- dung gave out
an uncertain light and stifling smoke. Saddles and other
horse furniture were piled around. Here, in company
with fifteen Turcomans closely packed together, I spent
a thoroughly miserable night. At dawn the Turcomans
went about their various occupations, and I had a little
leisure to write. The task was no easy one, for the place
swarmed with every kind of vermin, and, early as was
the season, flies were present in myriads. They settled
in clouds upon the paper, drinking up the ink before it
could dry, and blotting the writing with their feet.

I had everything in readiness to start at midday,
and only awaited the appearance of the escort and uides

A PRISONER. ICO

who had been promised me. While waiting, the chief
brought in an Akhal Tekke Turcoman, heavily manacled
at the ankles. He was a wretched-looking man — a fugi-
tive from Geok Tepe, on his way to Merv. En passant
he tried to do a stroke of business at the expense of his
congeners at Meneh, and was caught in the act of driving
before him some of their sheep and cattle. Filled with
virtuous indignation at this unseemly act, the Meneh
folk had set upon and ironed him, and I was informed
that in compliment to my arrival he would be set free,
and would accompany me to Merv.

The afternoon wore on, the sun rapidly neared the
horizon, and yet I could see no sign of preparation for
setting out. I felt very anxious, for, knowing the ob-
jections which the people at Dushakh entertained to my
going forward, I feared that I was about to experience
similar ones at Meneh. I did not care to express my
suspicions openly, for I knew that if they set their faces
against my expedition it would be impossible for me to
make my way thither across a vast, waterless space, with
which I was utterly unacquainted, and in the midst of
which I should probably perish with thirst, even if I were
not cut clown by the first party I should meet with
on the way. Evening fell, and unable to restrain my
impatience any longer, I asked why the day had been
allowed to pass by without any move in the desired
direction having been made. I said that I wished to set
out at once, but was desired to wait a little longer. It
was not safe to start during daylight. All kinds of ma-
rauding bands were sure to be abroad, who would espy
our course from a distance, and waylay us. It was some
time after sunset when I was told that everything was
in readiness for our departure. I emerged from my
semi- subterranean wigwam, found the horses saddled,

170 THE TEJEND KIYER.

and my escort of four mounted. The night was dark,
for the slender moon showed but fitfully behind drifting
clouds, and was but three hours from the western horizon.
After that time the blackness would be dense, as it usually
is, under such circumstances, out on these plains. There-
was certainly but little fear of anyone, friend or foe, de-
tecting our whereabouts.

When all were mounted, we had the half-hour's pause,,
usual on such occasions, to smoke the water-pipe. At
last we started, seven in all — myself, my two servants,
and the escort of four Turcomans. I was not favourably
impressed by the appearance of these latter, for each of
them was as truculent-looking a fellow as I ever met
with in any part of the world. The chief with half-a-
dozen of his horsemen, accompanied us for a mile 011
our way, to see us off, and also to make sure that no evil
befell his guests within his own particular jurisdiction.
We picked our way with difficulty among the shallow
pits which serve as granaries for the storage of the-
Turcoman corn, and then, after passing traces of old
buildings and former cultivation, we rode on over the
marly dust till my companions told me we were now
getting very near the banks of the Tejend river, and must
wait till it was daylight before it would be safe to cross.

It was but red dawn when I was awakened to cross
the sluggish stream about fifty yards wide. Trees grow
in abundance upon its banks. Birds of many kinds filled
the bushes on either side, and from their whistling and
chattering they seemed to be of a species with which
I had not previously met. Huge water-rats scampered
about, and I saw an animal, which I took to be an otter,
plunge into the stream, which was barely fordable, and
it was only by zigzagging in the most cautious man-
ner, the horses feeling for the shallowest portion of the

BOARS AND LYNXES. 171

crossing, that we avoided getting floated altogether. To
save our tea and sugar, the servants knelt on their saddles,
carrying the saddle-bags over their shoulders. We crept
up the sandy slopes of the river ravine — for the surface
of the water is from twenty to twenty-five feet below the
level of the surrounding ground — and out into the plain
beyond. After an hour's ride we halted to make tea,
and as we partook of our morning repast I noticed that
the drifted hills of marly dust were covered with spring
vegetation, amongst which was a remarkably beautiful
species of lily with fleshy flame-coloured petals. Wild
boars were plentiful, and while tea was being prepared
some of my companions chased them.

We rode on over the intensely hot desert to Kizil-
Dengli, where an obelisk marks the existence of a rain-
water cistern, wrhich proved to be dry, but we found
water in a narrow track sufficient to assuage the horses'
violent thirst. League after league of plain was tra-
versed, no new features being seen. Marly dust in ridges
or odjar bush were the only reliefs to the monotony of
our ride. Part of this was continued in a hollow way
that may at some former period have been a branch
of the Merv river — the Murgab. This, my guides in-
formed me, was a favourite place with marauders, but
as we rode on in the darkness all we encountered
were wild animals in our path. Some I knew, by their
grunting, to be boars, which abound here in incredible
numbers. Others, by their pattering trot, I recognised
to be jackals, and a few that bounded away lightly were
either lynxes or leopards. Here we watered our horses
from a deep well of very brackish water perfectly un-
suitable for man, but horses and camels drink it without
hesitation. Once or twice during the heat and darkness
I suggested a halt, but in whispered tones was informed

172 A WET NIGHT.

that there was no knowing when ogri (robbers) might
appear. This I thought rather good, considering that
I was in the company of as select a party of thieves as
could be found hidden in any desert bush or crumbling
ruin. In the end, even the horses seemed incapable of
going any further. The men appeared to be made of iron.
We reined in for a consultation. It was decided to turn
aside a hundred yards, and this we did, camping amongst
the tamarisk bushes, where, in spite of lightning and
heavy rain which soaked me thoroughly, I slept soundly
till I was aroused in the dark to continue our journey.

THE 'QUEEN OF THE WORLD.' 173

CHAPTER XVI.

The ' Queen of the World ' — My personal appearance — Reception by the
Mervli — An awkward position — A sanguinary threat — First impressions
of Merv — My residence — Under inspection — An eager audience — The
Merv chiefs — Show}- costumes —A Merv Israelite — The Ichthyar — Petty
persecutions — A mischief-making servant— A formidable examiner —
Result of the council — Held a prisoner.

IT was a dismal morning when, after a halt in some grim
ruins, we made straight for Merv, still distant sixteen
miles. Our spirits were low ; we were wet, tired, and
hungry. Much of the ground we passed was under
water through the action of the irrigation trenches, used
in the cultivation of the ground, and altogether every-
thing seemed depressing, when through the rain-mist
beehive-shaped outlines were visible. They were the first
aladjaks of Merv, and I strained my eyes eagerly to catch
a sight through the fog of the domes and minarets
which I expected to see looming athwart it above the
embattled walls of the ' Queen of the World.'

Here came a pause. Some of my conductors suddenly
entertained doubts as to my nationality, and my motives
for visiting them in their inner pe netra lia. 'How could
anyone know that I was not a Russian ? ' ' What will
our friends say when we bring him among them ? ' ' Who
knows but he has a brigade of Cossacks at his heels ? '
' What is his business here ? ' Such were the words I
heard pass between them. The more considerate said,
' Who knows but that they will kill him at the first

174 MY PERSONAL APPEAKANCE.

village ? ' For two long, weary hours we sat on horse-
back in the driving rain, our backs to the wind, awaiting
the result of this field council. Some of the party
looked daggers at me, and seemed inclined to solve the
matter by there and then finishing me off; but the
better-minded majority seemed to get their own way.
One of the latter rode up to me and told me not to be
afraid — that all would yet be right, he hoped. He added,
significantly, that if all were not right, I should have
only myself to blame for coming there. A decision was
come to at last, and we rode straight to the first huts,
which we could see faintly, through the mist, a mile or
two off. A number of bales of silk, with some tobacco,
tea, and other merchandise from Bokhara, lay around,
for a caravan which had come from the latter place was
on the point of re-starting for Meshed. A crowd of wild-
looking people of both sexes, who were busying them-
selves with packing the bales upon camels, left their
work to stare at myself and my cavalcade as I rode up—
the women, with their draggled locks and rain- sodden,
witch-like garments, perhaps the most weird of all. We
were at the Bakshih village of Beg Murad Khan — one
through which the caravans passed to and fro.

There was new wonderment on all sides as to what
kind of person I might prove to be, and all seemed to
take it for granted that I was a prisoner. So far as
my personal appearance went, I might have passed for
anything. I wore an enormous tiara of greyish-black
sheepskin, eighteen inches in height. Over my shoulders
was a drenched leopard skin, beneath which could be seen
my travel- stained, much-worn ulster overcoat. My legs
were caparisoned in long black boots, armed with great
steel spurs, appendages utterly unknown in Turkestan.
A sabre and revolving carbine completed my outfit.

EECEPTION BY THE MEKVLL 175

Some people may wonder that I openly presented myself
in the midst of the Tekke population, among whom
the nature of my reception was at best doubtful, in such
a garb as this, and why I did not assume a style of dress
more in keeping with the custom of the country. I had
considered this matter carefully before deciding upon the
irrevocable step towards Merv. I could speak Jagatai
Tartar fairly well, and my sun-tanned countenance and
passably lengthy beard offered no extraordinary contrast
to that of an inhabitant, but my accent, and a thousand
other little circumstances, not to speak of the indiscretion
of my servants, would have been enough to infallibly
betray me. To appear in Turcoman costume, or in any
other which tended to conceal my real nationality and
character, would, under the circumstances, have been to
court almost certain destruction.

I dismounted at the door of a hut to which my horse
was peremptorily led, and, in view of the attitude of
the people, I for the first time fully realised the risks
which at the commencement of my venture I had so
gaily faced — at best, captivity for an indefinite period.
Nevertheless, here I was, at last, in the heart of the
Turcoman territory. Let the future take care of itself.
The circular beehive house into which I was shown was
instantaneously crowded almost to suffocation. Some
one pulled off my wet riding-boots, after a prolonged
struggle ; another substituted a lambskin mantle for my
drenched leopard- skin and overcoat. A bowl of scalding
hot green tea, without sugar, and tasting like a dose
of Epsom salts, completed my material comforts. I sat
close to the fire, and warmed my shivering members.
All the time, the assembled people were gazing at me
with an eagerness of expression that no words could
convey. They apparently thought that after all I might

176 AN AWKWARD POSITION.

be somebody mysteriously connected with the events
transpiring so near to them, and who had come among
them on a friendly mission. This idea was evidently
still further propagated by the volubility of my Kurd,
who, in the last agony of apprehension about his own
personal well-being, was pouring torrents of lies into the
ears of his auditory, telling them what a tremendous
personage I was, and what wonderful comfort I was
about to administer as soon as I could get the ear of
the Khan. As for my late escort, some of them simply
stated that I had come from the direction of the Kussian
camp, and were sufficiently cowardly to shirk all respon-
sibility, and declare that they knew nothing further about
me, though on the road they had at times been quite
enthusiastic about the advent of a friendly Ferenghi
to Merv. They even went so far as to say that they
believed me to be a Eussian, and that I came to Merv
as a spy. Their expression of opinion seemed to take
effect, and I could see, by the thinning of the audience,
that I was losing ground. Angry voices, reaching me
from a hut, close by, told me in half-heard words that
the general opinion was not in my favour. ' Who knows
but he is a Eussian, and come to survey the road, and
we will have an aleman (hostile foray) on our backs
in forty-eight hours ? ' Then a great fat man, with a
mingled expression of ruffianism and humour, came in,
and asked me plainly who and what I was. This was
Beg Murad Khan, a gentleman whose more intimate
acquaintance I subsequently made in more than one
disagreeable instance. I told him as well as I could,
considering that the language used was Jagatai Tartar,
and that the Turcomans have not a clearly defined
notion of the functions of a peripatetic literary man. I
said that I could set myself right in a few days by de-

A SANGUINARY THREAT. 177

spatching a letter to the British native agent at Meshed
by the caravan which was about to start. This propo-
sition was met by a general shout of warning not to
attempt to write a single word, or my throat would be
immediately cut.

Struck by the peculiarity of my surroundings, and
wishing to chronicle them while they were still vividly
impressed upon me, I once ventured to produce my note-
book and jot down a few hurried items. At once an
excited Turcoman darted from the hut with the news
that the Ferenghi was writing, and I could hear the
recommendation to finish me off at once repeated by
many a lip. In came the humorous-looking ruffian again
to assure me in a vehement manner that if paper and
pencil were again seen in my hand I could only blame
myself for the result.

Everyone save myself and my two servants was then
ordered to quit the kibitka. A strong guard was mounted
at the door ; and I was left to ruminate over the pos-
sible outcome of a situation into which, my conscience
whispered, I had thrust myself with a scarcely justifiable
amount of recklessness. However, under the combined
influence of dry clothes, a fire, and a meal of boiled rice,
which was considerately sent to us, I speedily began to
recover good spirits, and in a short time was sleeping
soundly.

It wanted but an hour of sunset when I was awakened
by the opening of the door, and the entry of a man whom
I had not previously seen. My Kurd servant at once
recognised him. He had often met him at Geok Tepe
previous to its fall. The stranger was no other than the
celebrated Tokme Serdar, the chief military leader of the
Akhal Tekkes, and the man by whose energy and ability
the defence of the Turcoman territory and fortress had

N

178 FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF MERV.

been so prolonged. He was slightly under the middle
height, broadly built, very quiet, almost subdued in
manner, his small grey eyes sometimes lighting up with
a humorous twinkle. His features, though not at all
regular, had that irregularity which is often seen in a
distinguished savant of the West, and bore the impress
of thought. For some time he said but little, being
evidently engaged in examining me closely. At length
he seemed satisfied that I was not a Kussian, having
probably had sufficient experience of Paissians to enable
him to form a sound opinion. We had a long conver-
sation upon the political question of the Eussian advance.
Finally, he remained and slept in the same but, going
away early the next morning. A few days later he
surrendered himself to the Eussians at Askabad, and
afterwards had an audience of the Emperor at St. Peters-
burg.

At ten o'clock on the following morning I was or-
dered to mount my horse and proceed to head- quarters
— to Merv itself, the seat of the Tekke Government,
that mysterious goal to which I had been so long looking
forward. It was still raining, and the flat country pre-
sented a wretchedly dismal appearance. I was escorted
by my fat acquaintance of the previous day, together
with twenty other horsemen, and preceded and followed
by over a hundred persons on foot. We rode in a north-
westerly direction, crossing large and deep irrigation
canals, roughly bridged over by tree-trunks covered with
brambles and earth, and floundering a good deal through
flooded spaces. Then the weather began to brighten some-
what, and I was able to look round.

On every side was an immense plain, here and there
broken by extensive plantations of trees, and hundreds
of groups of beehive-shaped huts, each group consist-

MY RESIDENCE. 179

ing of from fifty to two hundred dwellings. The villages
were usually from one to two miles apart. The ground
was everywhere well tilled, corn-fields and great melon-
beds alternating. Another hour brought us to the banks
of the Murgab, which I now saw for the first time. We
crossed it upon a rickety bridge, supported on unhewn
tree-trunks planted vertically in the river-bed, the road-
way being four feet wide, and devoid of anything in the
shape of a parapet. This structure was nearly fifteen
feet above the surface of the river.

I soon after found myself in the midst of about two
hundred huts, ranged in rows of two or three hundred
yards in length. In front of one of the foremost waved
a small red banner, from a lance-shaft lashed to the top
of a pole. This marked the residence of Kadjar Khan
the Ichthyar, or executive chief, elected by the leading
persons of the entire Merv district. Five hundred yards
distant to the northward loomed a long line of earth-
work, forming a front of a mile and a half in length,
and shutting out the prospect in that direction. A few
yards behind Kadjar Khan's house was a tolerably large
pavilion tent of a pale blue colour, intended, I was in-
formed, for myself. It was part of the spoil captured
from the Persians, and had evidently belonged to some
ill-fated officer of rank. Within it I found a thick felt
mat, covered by a Turcoman carpet. In a shallow pit
near one end burned a charcoal fire> A decent-looking,
white-bearded old man received me. He was the brother
of the Khan, and a moullah. Kadjar Khan himself was
absent at some distant village. While very civil, my new
acquaintance was exceedingly reserved in manner to-
wards me. Doubtless, he did not care to be too cordial
with a person whose throat might have to be cut within
the next twenty- four hours. During the first evening I

K 2

180 UNDER INSPECTION.

was left comparatively tranquil, but early the next morn-
ing a change came over the scene. It was one of the
two days of the week on which the people of the oasis
assemble at the bazaar for trading purposes. On each
of these occasions several thousand people come together.
Long before the sun was well above the horizon a surg-
ing crowd had gathered around my tent, the interior of
which was also crammed with members of Merv society,
all eager to interview the mysterious stranger who had
fallen among them, as it were, from the clouds. They
were, as a rule, the same sort of dressing-gown-robed,
sheepskin-clad, gigantic-hatted beings as the Yamud
Turcomans whom I had met so frequently upon the
Caspian shore. They invariably sat upon their heels in
a kneeling position, their folded arms resting upon the
fronts of their thighs, and gazed at me with the lu-
dicrous eagerness which may be observed in baboons
and apes when some unfamiliar object meets their eyes.
I had been fast asleep, my head resting upon a heap
of baggage, and my body covered over with a large
sheepskin mantle, but these people waited patiently
until it might suit me to let myself be seen, for it is
an inviolable piece of etiquette among them never to
disturb a sleeper.

I was somewhat bewildered by the events of the past
few days. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and looked around
me, quite unable to understand the sudden and nume-
rous audience who had favoured me with their presence.
Words cannot describe their astonishment on beholding
my unwonted costume. My short, black, closely buttoned
tunic and cord riding-breeches seemed to fill them with
amazement. They gazed and gazed as though they
could never stop looking at the external appearance of
the Ferenghi. Simultaneously, from without, scores

AN EAGER AUDIENCE. 181

of eyes peeped through every nook and cranny of the
tent walls ; and I could hear remarks upon my per-
sonal appearance and costume, winding up with a
statement of the conviction of the observers that I was
most unmistakably an ' Oroos ' — a Russian. As the
tidings of my arrival spread, relays upon relays of fresh
sightseers thronged to the capital and besieged my abode.
Sometimes the crowd was so terrific that the tent reeled
and swayed around me, and I thought it was coming
down upon my head — a thing which ultimately happened
when the spectators, utterly impatient at not being able
to get within reach of the peep-hole, or in line with the
doorway, tried to lift up the edges of the tent and in-
troduce their heads. This being done simultaneously,
and all the tent pegs becoming removed, the thing ac-
tually subsided upon me, nearly smothering myself and
the more select party inside. Then came a rush of yas-
saouls, or local police (!), striking right and left with sticks,
and shouting reproaches against the sightseers for their
violent breach of decorum in thus inconveniencing a
stranger guest.

All night long, even when I slept, the same state of
things continued, both inside and outside the tent.
During the first month of my residence at Merv I might
be said to have lived in the interior of a much-patronised
peep-show, in which I was the central — and, indeed, the
only — object of attraction. At first the effect was mad-
dening, but I afterwards fell into a kind of comatic
stupor, and began to feel under mesmeric influences.
One could not make a move but it was commented upon.
The manner of washing my face and hands called forth
loud exclamations ; and the operation of combing my
hair seemed greatly to tickle their fancies. More than
once I asked the old moullah whether there were no

182 THE MERV CHIEFS.

means of getting rid of the persecution under which I
suffered. He shook his head gravely, and said surely I
was not harmed by being looked at. I had not seen the
Ichthyar, Kadjar Khan, but I had visits from persons who
proved to be of higher social standing. These entered
and, gravely saluting me with much ceremony, took
their seats beside me. The first was Kouchid Khan,
commonly known as Baba Khan, the son of the old
ruler of Merv. Baba Khan, as I will henceforward call
him, was chief of the Toktamish division of Turcomans,
those residing in that portion of the oasis which is
situated to the east of the river Murgab. The second,
Aman Niaz Khan, was chief of the Otamish, or western
division ; and the third was Yussuf Khan, a lad of fifteen
or sixteen years, brother of Makdum Kuli, the Akhal
Tekke chief, and hereditary leader of the Vekil, or ex-
treme eastern division of the Merv Tekke. Baba Khan
was a low-sized man, of cunning aspect. One eye was
completely destroyed by keratitis, the ophthalmic malady
commonly known by the name of ' pearl ' ; the other
was of a deep black colour, actually flaming with vivacity
and penetration. At least ten per cent, of the Turco-
mans seem to be affected by this disease, probably in con-
sequence of the combined effect of the fierce sunlight
reflected from the marly plain, the irritation produced
by the dust-storms, so frequent in this district, and
the smoky atmosphere of the huts. Baba Khan, while
apparently speaking to me, was in reality talking at
the crowd within the tent, and endeavouring to show
his keenness of perception by sneering at my stout denial
of being a Eussian, and broadly hinting that he could
tell my nationality from the very style of my long boots
— which, by the way, were made in Constantinople.
Aman Niaz Khan was much more agreeable in his

SHOWY COSTUMES. 183

manners than his brother chief, and was evidently more
of a natural gentleman. His eyes were feeble and
watery, and he had the sallow, downcast air which ac-
companies the excessive use of opium. His features were
regular, but wasted. He affected an extreme humility,
which I am quite sure he was far from feeling. He told
me that his health was very delicate, owing to his ex-
cessive consumption of opium, by which, he said, he was
gradually ruining his constitution. He could not give it
up, he remarked ; he had been used to it from child-
hood. Over his long, sash-girt robe of striped crimson
silk was another, of similar material, variously and bril-
liantly tinted. The ground of the robe was white, and it
was so woven as to present a number of irregular patches,
or rather splashes, of bright red, blue, yellow, and purple.
At a distance he looked as if wrapped up in a large Union
Jack. Some of his attendants were similarly attired,
the colours varying to green, vermilion, and purple, ac-
cording to the taste of the wearer. In this respect Aman
Niaz and his followers were in distinct contrast to Baba
and his men, who were clad in very sombre garments.
All wore the huge grenadier hats of black curled sheep-
skin characteristic of the Turcomans, and each had the
usual long carving-knife-like dagger stuck in his white
sash.

Young Yussuf Khan had the most Tartar-like physio-
gnomy of the company — flat nose and high cheekbones,
but his eyes were full and grey, and quite unlike the
peeping, slit-like organs of the genuine Kalmuck. Out
of reverence to his seniors, he said but little. He was
seated on his heels, his hands clasped before him, and
concealed beneath his robe of amber-coloured camel-hair
cloth. He gazed steadfastly before him, as if lost in
contemplation, expressing little or no curiosity about me

184 A MERV ISRAELITE.

or my belongings. This is considered bon ton in Turco-
man society.

I spent a weary day, repeating the same answers a
hundred times to the same never- varying, tiresome ques-
tions, and do not think that I ever talked so long before,
in any language ; and as that which I used to express
myself was Jagatai Tartar, it may be imagined how trying
the conversation was to me. One after another the chiefs
withdrew, saluting me with ceremonious politeness, and
again leaving me at the mercy of the inconsiderate crowd,
who seemed to have no regard whatever for my privacy or
convenience.

Towards evening one of the few Jews living at Mervr
a merchant named Matthi, paid me a visit. He wore
a long robe of cotton stuff, with narrow red and white
stripes, and a dome-shaped tiara of yellowish -brown
leather, bordered round the lower part with fine black
Astrakan. His beard, tinged with grey, was of inordin-
ate length and fulness, and he carried a staff of some
five feet in length, but no arms. Thinking that, like
most of his co-religionists in the Levant, he might speak
Spanish, I addressed him in that language, but no word
did he understand. He spoke Tartar, Persian, Hebrew,
and some Hindustani. He brought with him a bottle of
arrack, and one of reddish-brown wine from Bokhara.
The arrack, coloured yellow with turmeric, was not alto-
gether unpalatable, though it would have admitted of very
considerable improvement ; the wine was simply abomin-
able— a treacly syrup of some vinous liquid. He told me
that there were but seven families of his religious persua-
sion at Merv. They had resided there from time imme-
morial, and had not among them even a tradition as to-
the place from whence they had come previous to settling
in the oasis.

THE ICHTHYAE. 185

It was only after sunset on the second day that Kadjar
Khan, the Ichthyar, made his appearance. Owing to the
excessive crowd in the tent, he had been sitting not far
from me for an hour before I was aware of the fact ; the
intense democracy of the population, as well as other
circumstances which became known to me afterwards,
preventing the display of any of those external signs of
respect usually shown to the chief magistrate of a State,
however small it may be. He was in every respect a
remarkable-looking man. Tall and gaunt, he was clad
in simple robes of the soberest tint. His aquiline features
were the exact counterpart of those of the bust of Julius
Caesar at the British Museum. The total absence of
beard, save a few scarcely perceptible hairs upon the chin
and upper lip, gave him the appearance of being closely
shaved. His face was decidedly a fine one, though some-
what ascetic, and spoiled by an uneasy, vulturine expres-
sion of the eye, the pupil being cpaite surrounded by the
white. His lips were firml}7 set, and the muscles of his
jaws twitched and worked convulsively, as if he were
under the influence of some strong emotion. He was
over sixty years of age. For some time he spoke ap-
parently to himself, his eyes fixed on vacancy. At first I
did not feel at all comfortable beside him. I had seen
his face before, but it was only when reminded that I
recalled the fact of its being in Teheran the year before,
when, with twelve followers, he had tried to come to an
understanding as to the Turcoman relations with the
Shah. He said but little, his observations being mainly
confined to ' Inch Allah ' (Please God) at the end of each
of my sentences. At last he got up and went out abruptly,
and I saw no more of him for two days. About sunset
his brother, the old moullah, sent me a large wooden
dish filled with broken bread, and mingled with some

186 PETTY PERSECUTIONS.

shreds of meat, over which mutton broth had been
poured. Of this my Kurd servant and myself made our
suppers. The Akhal Tekke servant had discovered his
family among the refugees from Geok Tepe, and had
taken his leave.

During the first fortnight I had not a single moment
of privacy or undisturbed repose. I was closely confined
to my tent, for whenever I tried to go outside the door I
was followed by a number of persons, evidently told off
to look after me, and to warn me that I should not go
straying about, 'lest,' they said, 'the dogs might bite
you.' It is true that these dogs were really dangerous,
and a stranger, even though a Turcoman, approaching
the place, ran imminent risk of being pulled in pieces
unless the animals were called off by their proprietors.
During the day the intense heat, within my abode, was
stifling; and at times dust storms arose, drifting the
powdered marl, and forcing it through every chink of the
tent, until it filled one's ears and nostrils, and insinuated
its way into the saddle-bags and among one's eatables.
It was wearisome work, sitting there all day to be stared
at, with absolutely nothing to do. If I attempted to
read a page of one of the few books that I had with
me, I was tormented by demands for explanations as to
its nature, and I really believe that, unless relief had
arrived in one form or another, I should have become
demented.

On the seventh day after my arrival, advantage being
taken of the assembly of people at the bazaar, a general
medjlis, or council of the Merv chiefs and elders, was
summoned to investigate my case, and to decide what
my standing at Merv should be. When I received the
news, my Kurd servant was lying in a corner, stupefied
with the fumes of opium, which he had been smoking to

A MISCHIEF-MAKING SERVANT. 187

<leaden his fears of the possible result of the reunion of
the redoubtable Merv elders. He was in the last ex-
tremity of fear, and had the conviction, which he more
than once expressed to me, that we had not the slightest
chance of escaping with our lives. This Kurd had done
me a world of harm, and his action bade fair to place me
in serious jeopardy. His name was Gholam Eiza. To
put himself under cover of some greater responsibility,
he on all occasions gave out that I was a person of
immense importance, going to Merv with the British
flag in my pocket, which was immediately to be hoisted ;
and that I was about to summon from Kandahar end-
less legions of British troops. I repeatedly warned him
not to make such statements, and told him that I would
flatly contradict them ; but, maddened by fear, he paid
no attention to what I said.

Here I was, then, in a very awkward position. From
hearing my servant reiterate the statements which had
sprung from his own imagination, stimulated by his
fears, the authorities had begun to attach some kind of
importance to what he said, and to believe that after all
I might be some kind of envoy, despatched to Merv by
reason of the very critical position with reference to the
advancing Russian forces. I had to dispel these illusions,
and at the same time to make known the nature of my
business among them — by no means an easy task.

The council of elders had been sitting for over an
hour when I was summoned to attend it. I confess that
it was not without a considerable degree of trepidation
that I obeyed the summons. Issuing from my tent, I was
led through a surging crowd to a wide waste space in the
rear, where, on the marly earth, some two hundred per-
sons were seated in a circle of twenty yards in diameter.
An immense gathering of the public pressed around

188 A FORMIDABLE EXAMINER.

them ; for at Merv the entire population, of both sexes
and all ages and conditions, are privy to the important
deliberations of the Council of State. Within the circle,
and close to one side of it, was laid a large felt rug, on
which I was requested to be seated. Then followed a
dead silence. Everyone was scrutinising me and my
garb. I cast a rapid glance around me when I was seated
cross-legged on my rug. There were young and old,,
well-dressed and shabbily-attired men in the assembly.
The general expression of countenance was far from re-
assuring ; but there were some faces that gave me con-
fidence, and many of the Turcomans present would very
easily have passed as being of European blood. There
was a general whispering for some time, and then,
from the opposite part of the circle, I was addressed
in thundering bass tones. The speaker was a man of
colossal proportions and of advanced age, as the long
white beard which swept his breast denoted. He was-
rather well dressed, in the fashion of the country, one
which probably dates back to a very remote period. His-
formidable name, as I afterwards learned, was Killidge
Ak-Saghal, or the Old Man of the Sword. He said, in
the tones of one accustomed to send his voice afar in the-
tumult of combat, ' Who and what are you, and what-
brings you here ? '

I said that I was a native of that part of Frangistan
called England, and that my present occupation was-
observing and reporting on the progress of the Eussian
arms; and that, fleeing before General Skobeleifs ad-
vance, I had arrived at Merv. Then ensued a pause,,
during which my statement was discussed throughout
the assembly. ' What proof can you give of the truth
of your statement ? ' said the Old Man of the Sword.
Hereupon I deftly produced my pocket-book, and un-

RESULT OF THE COUNCIL. 189

folded the various documents which I possessed, some in
English, others in Persian, testifying to my identity and
occupation. The old man, who seemed tacitly recognised
as the speaker of the assembly, and who furthermore
possessed the rare accomplishments of reading and
writing, not only his own language, but also that of
Persia, gravely examined my papers, which he subse-
quently read aloud and translated into Turcoman idiom
for the benefit of the assembly. A murmur of approval
followed. ' But,' said the militant elder, ' how can
anyone tell that you are not a Russian who has mur-
dered some Englishman and taken his papers ? ' I said,
gravely, that there were means of showing that this
supposition was untenable, by a reference to the British
agent at Meshed, and to the Minister at Teheran. Then
followed divers queries from other members of the as-
sembly. How long had I left England ? What was my
rank, &c. ? During this questioning there was much
jumbling together, in the minds of the speakers, of
Hindustan and England, the Padishah and the ' Coom-
pani.' I was asked to indicate the respective directions
of England and India, and when I pointed to opposite
portions of the horizon, the wonderment and astonish-
ment grew greater. Who and what the ' Company ' might
be was discussed at length, and I was asked whether it
could possibly be true, as was currently reported in the
East, that the Padishah of England was a lady. In
a little while I found that I began to gain ground, and
could perceive the truth of the adage that ' we easily
believe that which we wish.' This council of dignitaries
concluded by convincing themselves that I was an Eng-
lishman, and had come to Merv for the purpose of doing
what my Kurd had so industriously circulated to be my
object. After an hour's discussion I was told that I might

190 HELD A PKISONER.

withdraw. I was led back to my tent, from whence I
could hear the loud and eager debate which ensued.

While awaiting the final decision of the council, the
moments were anxious ones. For all I could tell, sen-
tence of immediate death might be pronounced upon
me, and I endeavoured to steel my mind for the very
worst. In half an hour I was again summoned. From
the smiling faces around I knew that a favourable de-
cision had been arrived at. The thunder- voiced old
Nestor told me that I was not to be killed. ' But,' said
he, ' you are to remain a prisoner until a reply can be
received from Abass Khan, the English agent at Meshed/
Couriers were to be at once despatched to that city, on
whose return another medjlis would be held. I then again
withdrew, and the council broke up.

MY NEW HOME. 191

CHAPTER XVII.

My new home — A hut interior— The Turcoman costume — Men- fortifications
— Captured cannon — Quaint ideas on artillery — The great earthwork—
A weak defence — A tour of inspection — A naive proposal — My purpose
at Merv — My servant's departure.

A FEW days had elapsed since the meeting of the medjlis
when I perceived an unusual movement towards the rear
of my abode. On drawing aside one of the folds, I saw
a number of Turcoman women engaged in the erection of
an aladjak or er quite close to my tent. The new dwelling
was destined for me, for I had several times complained
about the dust and the extreme heat to which I was ex-
posed in my canvas house. No one who has not resided
in tents in a hot climate can imagine the great incon-
venience of living under canvas. During midday hours
the heat is unbearable unless the tent be doubled with
felt or very thick coloured stuff. The erection, then, of
the dome-shaped wicker hut, with its covering of reed
mats and felt, was very welcome.

The furniture of these tents is very simple. The fire
occupies the middle of the apartment, immediately under
the central opening in the dome. The half of the floor
remote from the entrance is covered with a ketche, or felt
carpet, nearly an inch in thickness. On this are laid,
here and there, Turcoman carpets, six or seven feet long
by four to five in breadth, on which the inhabitants sit
by day and sleep by night. The semicircle next the

192 A HUT INTERIOK.

door is of bare earth, and on it chopping of wood, cook-
ing, and other rough domestic operations are conducted.
Round the walls hang large flat camel-bags, six feet by
four, one side being entirely composed of the rich carpet-
work in which the Turcoman women excel. Ordinarily,
all the household goods are packed in these bags, for
transit from place to place on the backs of camels. When
empty they form a picturesque tapestry.

Besides the primitive horizontal hand-mill, or quern
of our Celtic forefathers, and the samovar, which is in
almost hourly requisition, for the courtesies of Central
Asia require that every stranger be presented with a cup
of tea immediately upon his arrival, nothing more exists
in the way of household furniture. Hung on one side
are the saddle and other horse trappings of the master
of the establishment, along with his sabre and musket.
The horses are tethered by the fetlock close by the door
of the ev, and in cold weather are covered by the Western
Turcomans with a great cloth of felt.

Within the roof, and near its top, hang a couple of
lamb or goat- skins, turned inside out, and smoke-dried.
The neck-aperture is kept widely open by four crossed
sticks. These skins swing to and fro in the air current
produced by the fire, and are termed toonik. I have
repeatedly questioned the Turcomans as to the meaning
of this. They evidently attached some mysterious im-
portance to it, but were loth to explain. Near the door-
way, against the felt wall-lining, is sewn a piece of linen
or calico, four or five inches square, forming a pocket for
the reception of the bounties of wandering spirits. This
they call the tar inn. A horseshoe, too, is occasionally to
be found nailed upon the threshold. These are the prin-
cipal superstitious usages of the Turcomans. I was sur-
prised to find how few they were.

THE TURCOMAN COSTUME. 193

It was an unspeakable relief to me to abandon my
old quarters in the tent for the comparative coolness of
the ev ; and I longed to be equally quit of my tormenting
visitors, who continued to observe and catechise me with
the same unflagging zeal as at the commencement. At
last, perceiving that it must be my European garb which
attracted their curiosity, I resolved to adopt the attire
of the country. A native dealer from the bazaar waited
upon me, and produced a store of choice garments. I
selected the ordinary Turcoman costume — a long crimson
tunic of coarse Bokhara silk, with slender black and yellow
combined stripe. Over this comes a light brown flowing
garment, of fine camel-hair tissue. I next purchased an
embroidered skull-cap, a sheepskin hat, shirt, sash, wide
white cotton trousers, and a pair of broad-toed slippers,
of red stamped Russian leather. Stockings are rarely
worn — never with slippers. When long riding-boots are
used, the feet and ankles are swathed in a band-like
wrapping. In severe weather the enormous great-coat
styled a kusgun is worn. Sometimes this is replaced by
a heavy mantle of woven sheep's wool. Thus equipped,
though I was far from getting rid of the troublesome
curiosity of my neighbours, I obtained much relief in
this regard, and was enabled, in company with some
acquaintances, to stroll about the village, generally with
a following of not more than two hundred persons.

Shortly after procuring and adopting the Turcoman
costume, a courier arrived with a letter from Meshed,
from Abass Khan. In this letter he thoroughly testified
to my nationality, and declared that I had no connection
whatever with the Russian expedition. From the mo-
ment of the receipt of this communication I was placed
at comparative liberty, though always subject to a certain
amount of surveillance on the part of the Turcomans,

o

194 . MERV FORTIFICATIONS.

who took up a strangely mixed attitude towards me —
partly that of hosts, and partly that of gaolers.

One day, old Kadjar Khan called upon me, and asked
me to accompany him on a visit to the fortifications then
in process of construction, and to the guns captured by
the Tekkes from the Persians and others. When I
arrived at Merv, the new fortress was but half-com-
pleted. As many as from seven to eight thousand young
men worked at it daily. The rapid and unforeseen
arrival of the Eussians in the neighbouring oasis of the
Akhal Tekke had given a great impetus to the work.
Each subdivision of the people was forced to supply a
certain number of workers, every able-bodied young man
being required to give four days per month or to pay a
sum of two francs for each day omitted.

The fortifications were of that kind which the popu-
lations of these Central Asian plains seem to have con-
structed from time immemorial, and the remnants of
which one still sees scattered far and near. They con-
sist of one huge continuous embankment, thirty-five or
forty feet in vertical height, and sixty feet at the base.
The summit of the embankment was sixteen feet wide,
and the parapet on its top seven feet in height. The
footbank to enable the defenders to fire over the crest
was about two feet wide. The parapet itself, like the
whole superstructure, was of well-kneaded and rammed
tenacious yellow loam. The Turcoman is accustomed
to the dead level of the plain in usual internecine com-
bat. On the top of something lofty he considers himself
invincible. He has no notion that his laboriously con-
structed cliff can be brought down about his ears.

The water supply is independent of the main river,
and is much better in quality than that of the main
stream below the dam, which is very foul, owing to the

CAPTUKED CANNON. 195

number of villages on its banks and tbe amount of filth
discharged into it. Bubbles of sulphuretted hydrogen
ripple its sluggish grey current ; and after bathing in it
I have retired with nausea and headache. Moreover,
the people told me that, in case of an attack and
siege, wells within the place would supply all their needs.
Standing upon the ramparts, the eye ranges over a
fair expanse of well-cultivated country. Corn of various
kinds, and melons, seemed the only produce, if I except
the apples, jujubes, grapes, and apricots of the frequent
enclosed plantations. Away on the eastern horizon are
frequent mounds, the remains of former fortalices ; and
just visible are the towers and cupolas of the ruined
capital of these plains.

Later in the afternoon I went to see the cannon cap-
tured from the Persians, about which I had heard a
great deal before my advent to Merv. Half a dozen of
them were close by the hut which I occupied ; the re-
mainder were within the new ramparts. No sooner did
I emerge from my dwelling in company with the Khan,
than, as usual, I was surrounded by a crowd of some
hundreds of persons pressing so close upon us that I
was nearly suffocated. They seemed to treat me as some
inanimate object of interest. Thus escorted, I visited
the nearer half-dozen of guns. Three were still on their
field carriages of rather ponderous construction ; the
other three lay on the ground, the broken woodwork of
their supports rotting hard by, and the ironwork scat-
tered around or still clinging to the fragments of the
carriages. One was an 18-pounder, the others were six-
pounders — all smooth-bore, and of bronze. The guns
themselves were in fair condition, save that the vent-
holes were inordinately enlarged, and of such irregular
form as to lead me to think that when abandoned the

o 2

196 QUAINT IDEAS ON AETILLERY.

guns had been spiked, and the nails subsequently roughly
wrenched out. One of these guns was of Bokharan make,
as the inscription on it told. The bores were, as a rule,
so scraped, apparently by the passage of heterogeneous
projectiles, such as gravel and horse nails, that at first
sight the guns might pass as having been formerly rifled.
Passing onwards, a great gap in the ramparts was
reached, and I stood within the interior of the enceinte.
There were a group of aladjaks, and some young trees
and bushes. This was the immediate dwelling-place of
Baba Khan, son of old Kouchid. On a small open space
— some on the carriages, some on the ground — were
twenty-eight pieces of bronze ordnance. There were
three or four 18-pounders, a dozen four-pounders, one
chambered seven-inch howitzer, and two six-inch mor-
tars. The Turcomans were very proud of their spoils,
and took every pains to tell me all about the different
guns. I said that, in view of the possible arrival of the
Kussians, I wondered that some pains had not been taken
to mount the disabled pieces. ' Oh,' said the Khan,
' there are plenty of people who could do that in a couple
of weeks. There is abundance of wood growing in the
gardens. Most of the ironwork is on the spot ; and I
know where the tire of one wheel is — it fell off as we
were bringing the gun across the river.' This was all
highly satisfactory to the general audience ; but I knew
that in the whole of the Merv tree plantations not a
trunk of more than eight inches in diameter was to be
found. I asked whether any considerable quantity of
projectiles was on hand. Thereupon the chief told me
of several traders in the bazaar who had many, which
they used as weights when selling corn. ' Besides,' he
said, ' the Persians fired a great deal ; and the old men
who were looking on could easily point out where the

THE GREAT EARTHWORK. 197

shot fell, and we could dig them up when required.' As
regards the gunpowder, there were Ali Baba, and Hus-
sein and Hodja Kouli, and several others who knew what
it was composed of; and, besides, there was every
reason to believe that the Emir of Bokhara would not
be backward in affording facilities for a supply if he had
a good ' present.' The Khan further naively remarked
that he hoped I should be of no small assistance in re-
mounting the guns and founding the necessary projec-
tiles. Having deciphered the inscription and date on
each piece, I left the precincts of the Turcoman park,
having impressed the spectators with the idea that I
was consequently no small artillerist in my way.

While examining the guns, I was joined by Baba
Khan and Aman Niaz Khan, each of whom arrived on
horseback, attended by a large following, also mounted.
They told me that they were about to make a tour of
inspection of the works, and invited me to accompany
them. The fortifications were under the immediate
superintendence of these two Khans, hi virtue of their
separate jurisdiction over the two great divisions of the
Mervli population — the Toktamish and the Otamish.
We rode up the steep breakneck slopes of the incomplete
ramparts, and at very considerable risk, as we trod upon
half-finished parapets and terraces, following the line in
a north-westerly direction. Parties of toilers were every-
where at work, the great majority creeping, ant-like, up
the ramps specially provided, and bearing on their backs
great bags of earth taken from the irrigation trenches
in course of construction within the works, and from
the surface of the ground outside. The contents of the
bags of earth emptied on the summit of the embank-
ment were levelled out, and beaten with rammers. One
elderly man, doubtless having a repute for engineering

198 A WEAK DEFENCE.

skill, supervised the work of some fifty of his younger
companions. It was a singular fact that the south-
eastern extremity of the enclosure was almost entirely
open ; what would be termed in field fortification a mus-
ketry trench alone closed it. I inquired the reason of
this, and was told that from that direction little danger
was apprehended, and that the points most likely to be
immediately attacked were being put in a state of de-
fence. My informants seemed to imagine that an enemy
would dash himself against the first point of their de-
fences with which he came in contact, and would not
seek any easier access to the interior of their fortress.

During our promenade, which lasted some hours, I
was struck by the great respect shown to the two here-
ditary Khans, and the careful attention with which
their instructions were followed after they had pointed
out anything which seemed to them at fault. We sal-
lied out by the north-eastern gateway, and, turning to
the left, wended our way towards a collection of huts
and buildings of earth, surrounded by luxuriant groves
of trees, and situated half a mile distant from the
northern angle. This settlement was a curious one in
its way, being chiefly composed of several Jewish fami-
lies. They seemed by far the busiest and most flourish-
ing of the Merv communities which I had hitherto
visited. Bales of merchandise lay in the vicinity of
every house, awaiting transport to Bokhara or Meshed.
In one respect the houses were very different to the ma-
jority of those scattered over the plain ; for, instead of
dwelling exclusively in aladjaks, as the Tekkes for the
most part do, tower-like buildings of unbaked brick,
plastered over with fine yellow loam, had been con-
structed, giving the place a fortified appearance. The
settlement was not entirely made up of Jews. There

A TOUK OF INSPECTION. 199

were in it some Kurd families, who, years before, had
been carried away from the Persian frontier, and had
settled among the Tekkes. At this point, too, was the
medresse or college, presided over by a Turcoman much
renowned for his erudition, and named Khodja Nefess.
His academy, a large and not unpicturesque edifice of
loam, was surrounded by a grove of pomegranate, ju-
jube, peach, and willow trees. I never had an oppor-
tunity of meeting this worthy. He studiously kept aloof
from me, doubtless lest his sanctity might be impaired
by contact with a giaour, for he had a great reputation
for holiness — whether deserved or not I am unable to
say.

It was evening as we turned our horses' heads to-
wards the ' capital,' and rode along the Murgab to the
seat of government. Our way lay across a cemetery,
which, as is usual in most Turcoman countries, lies in
very disagreeable propinquity to the habitations of the
living. As on the Persian frontier, the graves are very
shallow, and the hoofs of the horses broke through the
slender mass of earth which covered the bodies. A
couple of dismounted guns lay among the graves, and
I was told that a few others were scattered among the
villages of the oasis, the inhabitants of which, having
taken a leading part in their capture, wished the tro-
phies of their prowess to remain near them.

Baba Khan left us to proceed to his own village, but
Aman Niaz accompanied me to my house, which, on our
arrival, was filled by a very numerous and disagreeable
crowd. Among them was an individual of considerable
note — the ustd adam, one of those universal artists or
Jacks-of-all-trades of whom I have already spoken. He
could work in silver and gold, repair gun-locks, shoe
horses, and perform all manner of skilled labour. He

200 A NAIVE PROPOSAL.

was introduced to me with great ceremony, and evidently
looked upon me with no small amount of awe, as he
appeared to think that, in my capacity of Ferenghi, I
must be his superior in all manner of arts. His object
in coming to see me was ludicrous enough. The Turco-
mans had had a sore experience of Eussian breech-
loading cannon during the siege of Geok Tepe, and the
desire of every heart was that the Merv artillery should
be converted into Susana thob. He wished me to draw
him a plan and section of one of these modern imple-
ments of destruction, and also sought my co-operation
in the work of altering the pieces on hand to the newest
form. I asked him what tools and apparatus he could
command for the purpose. From beneath his robe he
produced an old rasp, such as is used in these parts for
finishing off the hoofs of newly-shod horses. It was
considerably the worse for wear. Along with it he had
brought a hand- saw, probably manufactured by himself,
for each tooth pointed in a direction different to that of
its neighbour. With these two implements, and my aid,
he purposed to effect the wished- for transformation of
the cannon. Aman Niaz became quite enthusiastic, and
was already verbally laying out plans for the construc-
tion of a large factory close at hand, of which I and the
ustd adam were to take the direction. He graciously
added that I should have command of the pieces in
action, at which condescending intimation I rose and
bowed profoundly. I felt that if I had to follow Kadjar
Khan's hint about remounting the guns on carriages
sawn out of trunks of apple and peach trees, and, more-
over, to convert the guns themselves into breech-loaders
with a hand-saw and a horse rasp, I might safely accept
the position of artillerist-in-chief without in the least
compromising my national neutrality. All this will serve

MY PUEPOSE AT MERV. 201

to convey an idea of the extremely primitive notions of
the people among whom I found myself, in regard to ar-
tillery at any rate. In some other matters they were
shrewd enough. However, notwithstanding the disagree-
able circumstances immediately attending my arrival,
and the manner in which I had been kept in custody, I
managed to make some progress towards securing the
good opinion of the Turcomans.

At this time, my object was to make as perfect a
survey as possible of the Merv district, to become fairly
acquainted with the manners, customs, and government
of the people, and their general tone of mind, and then
get out of the place as quickly as possible. The same
evening, I took the first step towards effecting my release
—one of many which ultimately proved successful. I
wrote a letter to Abass Khan, explaining my position, in
which I confined myself to asking him to emphasise the
fact of my being a British subject by immediately send-
ing me a communication stating that my presence was
instantly required at Meshed, and expressing the hope
that he would see me there shortly. The more to impress
those around me with the genuineness of this communi-
cation, and especially as I was not sufficiently master of
Persian orthography to convey in that language all I
wished to say, I wrote to Her Majesty's Minister at
Teheran asking him to make the desired communication
with the Meshed agent. This letter to the British
Minister was naturally calculated to show the genuine-
ness of my statement as to my nationality.

I found a ready messenger in my Kurd servant,
•Gholam Eiza. That personage had been wandering
about the village in a state bordering on distraction, en-
gendered partly by fear, but to no small extent by exces-
sive indulgence in arrack and opium. Notwithstanding

202 MY SERVANT'S DEPARTURE.

all my injunctions, he had gone on reiterating that I
was an emissary of the British Government, and that
immense importance attached to my mission. Some-
times I did not see him for days together. My horses
were neglected, and I had to shift for myself. Kadjar
Khan called upon me, and inquired whether I had any
objection to Gholam Eiza being sent away from Merv.
' I do not think,' said the Khan, ' that he is a proper
attendant for you. I have to send men to look after
your horses, while he receives the pay. Besides, he goes
round to all the evs at meal-times, and eats up all the
food, a thing which would be highly improper in itself,
for the people of Merv have not too much to eat, and
cannot afford to support a stranger.' A caravan was.
leaving on the following day, and it was agreed that Biza
should go with it. When he came in that night, he was
overjoyed to hear of his release ; and as in due time he
started with the party, I found myself entirely alone
among the Turcomans.

THE WATERWORKS. 203

CHAPTER XYIIL

The waterworks — Holding the stirrup — The guest-chamber — How to show-
gratitude — Delights of a siesta — A generous host — The Benti dam —
The sluice — An awkward crossing — A dainty dish — Porsa Kala —
Snakes in the desert — Hunting a runaway — Glimpse of the old cities
— Homeward bound.

THE water system of Merv is the key to the entire terri-
tory. It has its origin at the great dam of Benti, some
twenty-five miles to the south-eastward of Kouchid Khan
Kala. Without this dam the present cultivated area
would be reduced to a condition as bleak and arid as that
of the plains which surround it. Owing to the extreme
flatness of the plain, the manner in which the water
channels are concealed by the growing crops, and the
accidents of the ground, slight as they are, it is im-
possible, even from the commanding heights of the
ramparts, to form any idea of the direction in which
these watercourses flow. I was extremely anxious to
pay a visit to the starting-point of the irrigation canals,
and to visit the old Saruk fortress, which, prior to the
coming of the Tekkes, constituted the central stronghold
of Merv, and protected the waterworks. The Turcomans
being themselves rather curious in the matter of ancient
buildings, they seemed thoroughly to appreciate my wish,
and I was told one evening that on the following morning
Baba Khan would show me the works.

A little after daybreak on May 2 I found an escort
of fifty or sixty horsemen drawn up before my door, and

204 HOLDING THE STIKRUP.

Baba Khan, in riding costume, came in to say that he
was ready to go with me. We consumed several bowls
of green tea together, and, as usual, chatted a good deal
about Frangistan and its people. Finally, about eight
o'clock we mounted and started on our journey. Four
or five miles to the north of the Kala, after traversing a
considerable number of villages surrounded by luxuriant
groves of various fruit trees, we passed, on our left, an
extensive sepulchral monument standing alone in the
plain. It was the tomb of Kouchid Khan, the last great
ruler and autocrat of Merv — a kind of rude mausoleum,
ten or twelve feet in height, surrounded by an embattled
wall. Some pomegranate trees grew within the enclosure.
My companions halted, and, turning their horses' heads
towards the tomb, inclined over their saddle-bows and
prayed for a few moments. This was a tribute to the
greatness of the departed. Then we turned to the east,
and reached an extensive village called Baba Kalassi.
Here we dismounted, for the sun was becoming exceed-
ingly hot. • The elders of the village advanced to meet
us, holding our stirrups as we dismounted, and uttering
the stereotyped phrases of welcome — Kliosh Geldi (' You
are welcome '), Safa Geldi (' You are the bringer of good
fortune'). This holding of the stirrup is not the mere
token of respect which one would be likely to suppose.
For me, at least, it was an absolute necessity. Easterns
do not generally tighten the girths of the saddle, lest, as
they believe, it might interfere with the lung action of
the horse. Consequently, when the weight of the body is
thrown upon the left foot in dismounting, the saddle is
apt to turn under the animal, and the rider to receive an
ugly fall. In this ceremony of reception the right stirrup
is tightly grasped by the host, so as to prevent such
an accident. This service is usually performed by one's

THE GUEST-CHAMBER. 205

attendant ; when it is performed by one's host, it is a
polite method of expressing that he is at your service.
The Turcomans, in spite of this slackness of girth, have
a knack of getting hi and out of the saddle without help,
but I could never manage it.

Before we were allowed to stir from the sides of our
horses the indispensable water-pipe was presented to us,
after the usual indulgence in which we were led into
the interior of the village, several men armed with long
sticks laying about them furiously at the dogs, who,
according to their wont, rushed savagely at us. In each
village of any extent there is generally a house, belonging
to the chief, but not habitually used, set apart for the
reception of visitors of distinction. That to which we
were conducted was an ev of more than ordinary dimen-
sions. It was comfortably carpeted, and the walls were
hung round with embroidered camel-bags, and adorned
with sabres and muskets. Special carpets, of small size,
were immediately laid for Baba Khan and myself close
to the lattice walls, from which the felt covering had been
temporarily stripped in order to admit a current of air.
The carpets were laid as remote from the door as pos-
sible, that being the position of honour in an Eastern
dwelling. In a kneeling posture, and sitting upon our
heels, we uttered the muttered compliments, lasting for
more than a minute, which are the invariable prelude to
talking about the matter in hand. I was the chief object
of attraction. The Khan, having taken upon himself the
responsibility of showing me round, seemed also to feel
the necessity of maintaining the genuineness of my cha-
racter as much as possible. He told our hosts that I was
a sahib from Frangistan, who had travelled much, and
who had been driven b}r the Russians to take refuge among
the Merv Turcomans.

206 HOW TO SHOW GEATITUDE.

A quarter of an hour after our arrival large circular
wooden dishes of gattuk, or coagulated and slightly sour
milk, were laid before us. In each dish was a coarsely
carved wooden ladle, with a handle eighteen inches long.
A rather dirty-looking piece of coarse cotton stuff was
unrolled, disclosing three or four cakes of smoking bread,
twenty inches in diameter and an inch and a half thick.
On these viands we regaled ourselves with as good an
appetite as we could muster, for Turcoman good be-
haviour requires that when food is laid before a guest he
should simulate, even if he do not possess, a voracious
appetite.

Our repast finished, we all said grace. Turcomans
never by any chance, whether at home or in the desert,
neglect this ceremony. Holding our joined hands before
us, in the fashion of an open book, we prayed in muttered
tones. What the terms of the prayer were I was never
able to catch, but I muttered away as well as the best of
them. Then, separating our palms, the elbows resting
on the hips, we each exclaimed with unction, and in
subdued ones, 'El hamd Lillah ' (Praise be to God).
Then we stroked our beards, with the right and left hands
alternately, and looked cautiously over our shoulders,
right and left, lest Shaitan (the devil) might be lurking
nigh us. A deep, heavily-drawn sigh, by way of express-
ing the stomachic oppression which we experienced from
the completeness of our meal, and eructations, natural
or forced, were polite and indispensable recognitions of
our host's hospitality.

I remember that when upon one occasion I had
ridden a long distance since the early morning, and was
worn with fatigue and hunger, halting with my com-
panions at a village, dishes of newly-made gattuk were
laid before us — a preparation which, when fresh, is really

DELIGHTS OF A SIESTA. 207

delicious. It needed no adventitious politeness to make
me devour it, and I emptied my huge dish of coagulated
milk in a manner which charmed my host. Another was
set before me, which I devoured with equal zest. I had
even surpassed my companions in voracity, and from
time to time I observed my grey-bearded entertainer turn
to the assemblage, and, with a look of genuine pleasure
lighting his countenance, say, alluding to me, ' He is a
good man ; he is an excellent man.' Occasionally, a few
hours after gorging in this manner, I have been com-
pelled by circumstances to set to again, and, in following
the dictates of Central Asian politeness, have rendered
myself incapable of mounting my horse for the next
twelve hours.

After this eating match, bolsters, six feet long and
two in diameter, were brought forth. The general au-
dience retired, and myself, the Khan, and a few chosen
associates lay down to take our siesta. This is an es-
tablished institution in Merv, even on the war path,
unless immediately pressing circumstances supervene.
It was delicious thus to shelter from the sultry blaze
outside, gently fanned by a comparatively cool breeze
which swept across the flooded fields, and to sink into
forgetfulness. We remounted at three in the afternoon,
and bent our steps in a south-easterly direction, more
or less parallel to the watercourse which irrigates the
interior of Kouchid Khan Kala. Towards five o'clock
we struck the main eastern branch of the Murgab, pass-
ing to the right of two ancient mounds of considerable
size, entirely bare of vegetation, and staring yellowly in
the sun-blaze. We meandered a good deal among irri-
gation canals, and ultimately turned our horses' heads
due south, along the main eastern canal, arriving at a
rude bridge of poles covered with brushwood and packed

208 A GENEEOUS HOST.

earth. At this point the canal was nearly twenty feet
wide, and the current flowed rapidly. Five hundred
yards eastward was a village of the Beg sub-division of
the Toktamish, under the jurisdiction of Murad Bey, the
maternal uncle of Makdum Kuli Khan. Here we halted
for the evening, though we might well have gained our
destination before the darkness set in ; but Baba Khan
seemed to delight in halting, and thoroughly to enjoy the
eager hospitality pressed upon us. Murad Bey was one
of the most respectable Turcomans with whom I came in
contact. He was free from that grasping covetousness
which is an unfortunate characteristic of the large ma-
jority of his compatriots. While he entertained us with
the most lavish generosity, he firmly, though courteously,
refused the half-dozen pieces of silver which I offered him.
He was, as I afterwards discovered, one of the richest
men of the community. At daybreak we were off again,
Murad Bey, his son, and a troop of horsemen accompany-
ing us for a time.

We recrossed the bridge, and pursued our way south-
ward along the western bank of the canal. As we pro-
gressed, the banks became steeper, until at length the
water lay far below us. The ground which we were tra-
versing was so elevated above the water-flow that irri-
gation was impossible. It was arid and barren. Thistle
and dandelion, with other and similar herbs, grew
sparsely over its surface, which was staring white. To
our right was a long embattled line, with many a bastion
square and round.

Baba Khan was in too great a hurry for his break-
fast to permit me to examine the old position just then,
and we rode on a little farther to the south, to the dam
itself. As we neared it, the ground became still more
arid than before, rising steeply. The traveller approach-

THE BENTI DAM. 209

ing Benti would imagine that he drew near some exten-
sively fortified position. There were bare earth surfaces,
heaped wildly here and there, groups of men crowning
their crests. Away to the right, half seen among the
undulations of the accidented ground, were some hun-
dreds of eus. I was in rather an ill humour as we drew
near this spot, for the superior officers of our numerous
escort were continually urging me to the front. I was
not then sufficiently accustomed to Tekke manners to
know whether they meant me to keep abreast of the
Khan, that being the position of honour. I was rather
under the impression that they did not wish me to stay
behind, lest I might disappear, and make my way to the
Persian frontier.

When within four hundred yards of the dam, the
Khan halted, to allow me to come up with him. He
said, ' This is the point upon which all Merv depends.'
The words sprang to my lips — I could not repress them,
for I felt exceedingly annoyed, out of temper, hot, and
thirsty. * If this be your vital point, why have you
pitched your fortifications twenty-five miles away from
it ? ' He said nothing, but his solitary eye glowed
brighter.

We rode on abreast. A subdued roar of waters,
growing louder as we advanced, struck my ears. In ten
minutes we were upon a bare ridge of newly turned
earth. Around us were a number of sun- shelters, a
couple of stakes in the earth supporting a cross pole,
from which depended a rude mat of plaited rush. The
sun was fiery hot. In the scant shade crouched dozens
of men, bronzed to the tint of Moors. As the cavalcade
drew nigh they rose to their feet with a respectful air—
at least a hundred of them. To the south-east was a
stretch of ground, covered with waving reeds, across which

p

210 THE SLUICE.

flowed the broad, level expanse of the upper Murgab. It
was the first time I had an opportunity of seeing the
main stream which gives fertility to the oasis. As far
as eye could reach in the same direction stretched a wild
jungle. Notwithstanding my colossal sheepskin hat,
which warded off the sun's rays, I was glad to throw
myself upon the proffered carpet, in the scanty rim of
shade which the sun-shelters afforded. Green tea was
served. The bronzed workers stood by with folded arms,
waiting for the Khan to tell them to be seated. Then
they sat down with the stoical repression of curiosity cha-
racteristic of North American savages. They refrained
from asking about me, though news of me had already
reached their ears. They waited till the Khan should
condescend to inform them. Presently he said, ' This is
the Ferenghi who has come to Merv, and I have brought
him here to show him how we cultivate our grounds.'

We reposed for an hour, and then Baba Khan pro-
posed a visit to the dam. A broad stretch of calm waters,
eighty yards wide, lay in a south-easterly direction. Along
its banks were thickets and reeds, and right and left were
sedgy plains. Just at the point at which the dam was
placed the river expanse was suddenly constricted. For
twenty yards on either side the river bank above the dam
was revetted with stout fascines of giant reeds, solidly
lashed to stakes planted in the bank to prevent the fric-
tion of the current, as it neared the dam, from washing
away the earth surface. Huge masses of earthwork closed
the narrow gorge by which the stream found exit to the
lower level by a passage scarce ten feet wide. The waters
rushed thunderingly through this narrow gap to a level
eight feet below their upper surface. The passage was
some fifty yards in length, and, like its approaches, was
lined with reed fascines.

AN AWKWARD CROSSING. 211

The object of this dam was to enable lateral canals to
be thrown off, which would water the high lands above the
level of the main stream northward of this point. The
rush of water was tremendous, and nothing but the most
assiduous care could prevent the narrow outlet from being
•widened to an extent which would have brought the water
level with the lower reaches. One hundred men are in-
cessantly employed in care of the dam and its sluice, and
their best energies are continually exerted in replacing the
fascines washed away by the heavy rush of the torrent.
As I stood on the summit of the earthwork two dozen men,
waist deep, were lashing new fascines into their places,
•while others wrere ramming earth behind them.

At last Baba Khan said, ' I think dinner awaits us.'
Our horses were led up, and we trod the yielding, shifting
slopes of the newly-thrown earth. We neared the dam
itself, below which thundered the current from the upper
surface. Baba Khan's horse went first, but he curvetted
and pranced as his rider forced him towards the shaking
pathway that spanned the current. He reared, and nearly
threw his rider. He had never crossed the bridge before.
I rode a powerful grey animal from the Caucasus, used to
the torrents of his native mountains, and he stepped upon
the bridge without a moment's hesitation. It was little
if at all over three feet in breadth, and my steed trod
mmcingly as the brambles and earth gave way beneath
his feet. The sounding torrent roared beneath us, and
the spray, caught by the passing wind, wetted my face
and clothes, short as was the time of passage. When I had
crossed, the other horses followed uneasily.

We were received by the Kethkoda, or hereditary chief,
of the village of Benti, a place of about seven hundred
huts, and the usual number of bowls of yattuk were pro-
duced. Immediately after these came the piece de resis-

p 2

212 A DAINTY DISH.

tance. It was contained in an enormous wooden dish,
and consisted of mutton fat, melted down on the previous
day. The great heat of the weather prevented it from be-
coming actually solid, and it was in a pulpy, semi-crystal-
line state, and of a greyish-green colour. These Turco-
mans invariably keep their meat, before consuming it, as
long as the very hot climate will allow. In fact, they
prefer it when its odour has become what might be styled
' gamey.' This dish was placed in our midst as we sat,
cross-legged, in a circle. Each person dipped in it a
morsel of bread, and proceeded to eat. The first mouth-
ful was enough for me. The nauseous taste of the un-
salted fat, combined with its abominable odour, made it
quite impossible for me to repeat the dose. I had
largely partaken of the gattuk, and made pretence of
going through all the little pantomimic arts which obtain
in the country with a view of showing that I had eaten
enough, and more than enough ; and though I felt that
I was scandalising my host and companions by not dip-
ping further into the dainty dish, I was obliged to run
the risk of their displeasure. I withdrew from the circle,
and threw myself upon a felt mat, feigning sleep. In an
hour I was aroused by Baba Khan, to accompany him
on a further inspection of the waterworks and dam. In
one part a number of Turcomans were bathing, and I
remarked that in swimming they never adopted the sys-
tem commonly in vogue among Europeans. Instead of
swimming fully abreast, and striking simultaneously with
both arms, they kept one shoulder forward, and struck
hand over hand.

Above the dam the two principal canals, the Novur
and Alasha, form as nearly as possible a right angle,
the former flowing north, the latter west ; and from these
the land obtains its principal irrigation, the branches

POESA KALA. 213

naturally diminishing in volume as they grow more
remote, till in certain portions of the year they are
almost dry. The greatest length of irrigated territory
is from fifty to fifty-five miles, measuring from the
southward of the dam in a north-westerly direction. Its
greatest breadth from east to west is from thirty-five
to forty miles. For a short distance below the dam the
main stream of the Murgab is available for irrigation,
but seven miles or thereabouts to its northward the
channel of the river is too deeply cut to allow of the
waters being conducted over the surface. Within this
point, however, it is largely available, and, apart from
irrigation, the streams are used to turn a very con-
siderable number of rude turbine mills for grinding
corn.

Two miles to the north-westward of the great dam
of Benti, and close to the northern bank of the Murgab,
stands the old city of the former occupants of the oasis
—the Saruk Turcomans — Porsa Kala, once the military
and political capital of the oasis, but now deserted and
replaced by Kouchid Khan Kala. After having ob-
served the watercourses, and gained as much informa-
tion as I could from my guides, I rode away early next
morning with Baba Khan and his following towards this
place. Seen from a distance of a mile, Porsa Kala
exhibits a long line of parched yellow walls and towers,
rising from the summit of a slightly raised bank-like
rampart similar in construction to that of Kouchid Khan
Kala, but of not more than one-half its vertical height.
Thirty years ago the place was thronged with its Saruk
inhabitants : you can still see the roof-trees black with
the hearth smoke, and water pitchers stand idly in the
corners. So strong is the remaining impression of
former life that one momentarily expects to meet a stray

214 SNAKES IN THE DESERT.

former inhabitant, and almost fancies he hears the soft
muffled tread of the camel, when it is only the stifled
throb of some choked stream which once gave birth to a,
turbine mill. The Saruks were apparently of much more
gregarious instincts than their successors, the Tekkes.
While dwelling here among the latter I saw no approach
to anything like a permanent place of residence.

The sun was nearly vertical, and the sky wore that
purple hue which belongs to mid-day hours in this part
of the world, as I left my companions asleep in the
scanty shade of the roofless walls, and sauntered out to
take a look at the ruins. All around was an expanse
of yellowish brown. No trace of vegetation could be seen
on the burned-up expanse. Here and there lay a leaden-
tinted snake with unfolded length, a veritable image of
lethargy had not its diamond-like eyes denoted its sleep-
less vigilance. I have not a Turcoman's religious mania
for killing snakes, but I have a terror of finding one curl-
ing around my ankle ; and I fear that incessant vigilance
in this regard made me lose much of the melancholy,
solemn impressiveness of the once inhabited waste around
me.

When my companions had aroused themselves from
their siesta, we mounted, and made towards home.
Our way, as before, lay along the left bank of the Novur
canal, up to the point at which the branch which feeds
Kouchid Khan Kala diverges to the westward. Here,
crossing the rude wooden bridge, we halted for a brief
space at the headquarters of Murad Bey. On proceed-
ing northward by a group of villages occupied by a
subdivision of Turcomans, known as ' Sore-heads,' an
amusing incident occurred. A Turcoman dismounted
from his horse, a white one. Animals of this colour are
rarely seen in this district, an evil repute attaching to

HUNTING A KUNAWAY. 215

them. The horseman wanted a draught of water, and
incautiously loosed his hold of the bridle. The steed
started incontinently to gallop across the plain. A
runaway horse is a serious nuisance in a country like
this, and everyone feels it to be his duty to aid the
master of the fugitive beast in recovering his property.
The whole of us, sixty in number, strove to head off
the truant. For a couple of miles we rode in a
straight line, but the runaway, unencumbered by weight,
and having a good lead, gave us a long chase. Then
the irrigation canals shifted both our courses, and we
doubled and turned, sometimes heading away towards
the desert, sometimes back upon the cluster of villages.
At moments a Turcoman rider galloped close on either
side of the riderless steed, and tried in vain to grasp
his bridle, and I saw one attempt the daring expedient
of springing from his own saddle into that of the horse
which we pursued. He met, however, with a sad over-
throw. Backwards and forwards over the vast plain we
went, for a space of not less than an hour and a half,
and, though we were joined by extra parties from the
villages, who tried to turn the contumacious horse, we
could not succeed in catching him. I was completely
tired of the matter, and, besides, knowing that we had a
long journey before us, I did not care to blow my horse
any further, so I drew up on a slightly rising ground
and watched the hunt. From what I saw of the re-
mainder of it, I am of opinion that Turcoman horse-
men would scarcely do well ' across country,' for though
they will hang alongside their horses, stand in one
stirrup, and sling themselves under the belly at full
gallop, they do not . care for leaping. I saw many a
one come to grief at the broad irrigation trenches. The
country is so flat that the horses are never taught to

216 GLIMPSE OF THE OLD CITIES.

jump. At length it was decided to abandon the chase,
and the proprietor of the wayward animal borrowed a
horse to ride home upon. He issued orders that the
fugitive should by no means be allowed to escape, and
that if he could not be captured he should be shot.
This was quite in keeping with the spirit of Turcoman
ideas. They would much sooner liberate a captive
without ransom than tolerate his running away from
them, and in the same way the instructions to shoot
the horse, and not allow him to run wild at his own
discretion, were given.

Journeying northward we came to numerous villages
of the Mjaour Turcomans, at one of which we halted to
give our horses to drink, and to refresh ourselves with a
draught of yaghourt. While waiting, I mounted a small
sepulchral earth mound which stood hard by. From
its summit I caught my first glimpse of the old cities
of the plain — the ancient capitals of Margiana. A long
line of walls and turrets, dominated by some towering
domes, broke the line of the horizon some eight miles
away to the north-east. I could scarcely express my
anxiety to proceed there and then to this mysterious
spot, concerning which so much has been written and so
little known. Half-way between me and the ruins lay
a large, shallow sheet of water, where unused irriga-
tion trenches expended their supplies upon an un-
cultivated plain. Black ibises, wild swans, storks, cranes,
and a hundred other varieties of aquatic birds waded
in or swam upon the silent marsh. I begged again
and again that my conductors would turn their steps
in that direction, but was told that the day was too far
advanced ; that the neighbourhood of the ruins bore
a very bad repute ; that there were ghouls and divs,
and various other kinds of evil spirits to be met with ;

HOMEWARD BOUND. 217

not to speak of the Ersari robbers from the banks of
the Oxus, who from time to time lay in wait to plun-
der passing caravans. They promised, however, that if
matters went well I should very shortly pay a special
visit to the old cities, and with this I was obliged for the
moment to be content, and nothing was left but to turn
my horse's head homewards. Eiding as swiftly as we
might across the flooded plains, we arrived at Kouchid
Khan Kala on the evening of May 5, having been absent
just three days.

218 MAKDUM KULI KHAN.

CHAPTEE XIX.

Makdum Kuli Khan — Promised gifts — A doubtful ruler — Another present
— Small jealousies — Signs of the times — A Russian prisoner.

Two days after my return from the dam of Benti and
Porsa Kala, I received a visit from a person whom I had
long been desirous of seeing, viz. Makdum Kuli Khan, the
redoubtable chief of the Akhal Tekkes, who, in co-opera-
tion with Tokme Serdar, his principal general, had long
and successfully held the Eussians at bay before the walls
of Yengi Sheher. He had arrived at Kouchid Khan Kala
on the previous evening, but had not been allowed to see
me at once. As I afterwards learned, they feared that he
might assist me in effecting my escape, and it was with
the greatest difficulty that the Akhal Tekke chief at length
obtained permission to call upon me.

I was quite alone when he entered. I was surprised
at his youthful appearance. He did not appear to be
more than twenty- seven years of age, though the total
absence of beard and the extreme slightness of his
moustache might have made him appear younger than
he really was. Makdum Kuli Khan is over the middle
height, slightly made, with very regular features, large
hazel eyes, and a somewhat ruddy complexion. His
costume was that of a well-to-do Turcoman — a long,
striped crimson tunic, girt with voluminous white sash
knotted in front ; a long-sleeved camel-hair robe of light
brown, thrown across his shoulders, and bound at the

PIOillSED GIFTS. 219

edge with the broad, peculiarly marked ribbon, striped
diagonally yellow and red, indicating the Tekke division
to which he belonged. Thrust in his sash was the long
poniard which the Turcoman always carries, the handle
of embossed gold, set with turquoises, and enamelled in
the pommel. This was the only occasion on which I had
seen a Turcoman, chief or otherwise, bearing gold-mounted
arms. As a rule it is rare to see even silver used for
this purpose.

Makdum Kuli saluted me gravely, and seated himself
after the fashion of the country — kneeling, and reclining
upon his heels. We exchanged the usual formalities re-
quired by Turcoman politeness, and he then told me of
the difficulty he had experienced in obtaining permission
to visit me. Kadjar Khan, he said, was very jealous of
my being visited by any person except himself. In the
conversation that followed he spoke with some bitterness
of the defence of Geok Tepe and the small number of the
Mervli who had come to his assistance. He said he had
been offered the most favourable terms on condition of
returning to Yengi Sheher, but had steadily refused to
accept them. It was the intention of himself and his
staunch followers to fight to the last should Merv be
invaded, and, if beaten, to retire into Afghanistan. If
not well received there, they purposed asking an asylum
within the frontier of British India.

Our conversation was but brief, for Makdum Kuli
Khan evidently feared lest Kadjar Khan might suspect
him of concocting plans with me. He promised to see
me again shortly, and reminded me that in one of my
letters to him, written from Derguez, I had promised to
make him a present of a field-glass, a revolver, and a
signet ring. He inquired if I had these articles about
me at the moment. As the two former were in full view

220 A DOUBTFUL EULEK.

it was not easy for me to deny having them. It is true
that I had promised him the gifts mentioned, but I had
done so with a view of inducing him to enable me to
penetrate to Yengi Sheher ; and, seeing that very little
was to be gained at the moment by giving away what
were to me almost indispensable articles, I should have
been glad of any excuse to put off the Khan. On second
consideration, however, knowing that his brother's dis-
trict adjoined the ruins of the old cities of Merv, which I
intensely desired to see, I thought it well to gratify his
desires. He was delighted with the double telescope, and
expressed his admiration of the Smith and Wesson re-
volver. Before leaving Meshed I had had made a very
heavy gold ring, of Oriental pattern, and bearing an oval
blue stone of the kind known in that part of the world
as Solomon's seal, and engraved in full with his name
and title. This I also presented to him, and he took
leave of me, very well satisfied.

After Makdum Kuli's departure, my cv was crowded
with visitors, anxious to know what the Akhal Tekke
chief had been saying to me. Something was evidently
on the tapis ; and, apart from the hints which I received,
the anxious and earnest conversation among the Keth-
kodas who visited me indicated that it was a matter of
no ordinary importance. Bather broad hints were let
drop that Kadjar Khan, the chieftain whom I had hitherto
regarded as the Ichthyar, or supreme ruler of Merv, was
not altogether what I had supposed him to be, and that
some change was impending. By degrees I learned that
when the Eussian invasion of the Turcoman territory
was impending, the Shah sent a messenger to Merv, in-
citing the Khans to visit him at Teheran, and to try
to come to some agreement with him by which Persian
supremacy at Merv would be acknowledged. Upon this

ANOTHER PRESENT. 221

Baba Khan and Aman Niaz Khan, fearing that they might
be detained as hostages, called a council, and retired
temporarily ; Kadjar was elected Ichthyar and sent with
a following to Teheran, where he remained some months,
and afterwards returned without coming to any arrange-
ment. Thus it was that I found him holding the supreme
rank.

After sunset he came to my hut to try and win me
over to his side, but I declined, telling him that several
chiefs had told me of the real position of affairs. This
sent him into a passion. He told me that if the other
Khans came into power my life would not be worth a
moment's purchase, and he then went away. Soon after
his brother, the moullah, came, evidently on the same
tack. He pointed out that Kadjar Khan was my friend,
but that I had omitted one indispensable ceremony, that
of presenting a zat or present to the chief. I replied
that I had only been waiting for a favourable opportunity,
and, as I declined to send one by him for fear that it
should not reach its destination, he took his leave.

Among other articles intended for presentation I had
a silver casket, richly engraved and embossed, and set
with turquoises and rubies, for which I had paid about
twenty-five pounds sterling. I placed within it some
ruby and turquoise rings, folded it in paper, and, after
sealing it, despatched it by my servant to the Khan's
residence. In the meantime Aman Niaz came in, accom-
panied by his uncle and several followers, evidently with
a view of preparing me for coming events. He had
scarcely taken his seat when Kadjar Khan again ap-
peared. He was, clearly, highly displeased at the pre-
sence of Aman Niaz Khan, but it was also easily to be
seen that he did not care to say too much in presence of
the latter. He simply drew from his pocket the casket

222 SMALL JEALOUSIES.

which I had sent to him, saying, ' What is this ? ' I
replied, ' Khan, as you see, it is a jewelled silver casket.'
' What is it for ? ' he continued. ' To keep as a tribute
of my respect,' I replied. * What is it worth ? ' said
the Khan. I mentioned its value in Persian money.
* Ouallah Billah ! ' he cried. ' Six hundred krans ! why,
I would not give you two for it ! ' Then, throwing it
contemptuously on the carpet close to me, he said, ' Take
back your box, and give me the money ! ' I must admit
that I was considerably taken aback by the manner in
which my present was treated. However, I had, at a
bound, gained an enormous insight into the mental
temperament of Turcoman chiefs. I replied, ' Certainly,
Khan, if you wish ; but I thought you might be offended
if I merely offered you the money.' Then, with an affec-
tation of great magnificence, I drew from my pocket the
twenty-five pounds in gold, and handed it to him. ' By
God ! ' exclaimed he, ' that is right ; I am satisfied.'

Hereupon a new comedy arose. During this scene
Aman Niaz Khan had been glaring at me from between
his bleared eyelids, and when Kadjar, happy in the pos-
session of his wealth, left the ev, the Otamish chief
elevated both his hands behind his ears, in expression
of amazement at the manner in which the present had
been dealt with, and said : ' Sahib, you can see that
Kadjar is no Khan. Had such a present been offered to
me by a Dowlet Adam (a man of the state), I would not
part with it for four times its value, not even if ten
horses were offered to me in return.' Of course this was
too broad a hint to be passed lightly over. I replied,
' Aman Niaz Khan, there are Khans, and Khans ; I re-
cognise you as a true Khan. Will you accept this casket
as a slight token of my regard ? ' Whereupon he again
raised both hands behind his ears, bowed low, as he

SIGNS OF THE TIMES. 223

sat in a kneeling posture, and, stretching out his palms,
received the coveted gift. All his followers were loud in
their exclamations of admiration at my generosity ; and
the Khan's uncle volunteered the statement that all that
his nephew possessed, and all his clansmen, were at my
service. ' Not,' he took care to remark, ' because of the
present, but because I can at once perceive that you are
really a Dowlet Adam.' These were some of the opening
incidents of the bloodless revolution which was to take
place in the near future.

Almost every moment from this time forward I could
perceive signs of the approach of something unusual,
and also that events were rapidly turning in my favour.
After the visits of Kadjar and Aman Niaz Khans, one of
Baba Khan's chief cavalry officers called upon me with a
soda-water bottle full of arrack as a present from the
Toktamish chief, and Beg Murad, the fat, humorous-
looking ruffian to whom I have alluded when describing
my arrival at Merv, and with whom I had ever since been
on very indifferent terms, sent me a gift of a shaggy,
big-tailed sheep. At the same time, the leading persons
of Kadjar Khan's party were unremitting in their efforts
to get from me an assurance that I would acknowledge
as Ichthyar no one save their friend. Failing to obtain
this assurance, they endeavoured to effect small loans of
money from me, in order to make sure of something
before their faction went out of power.

On this same evening I received a note, written in
Eussian, from Kidaieff, a young Eussian gunner who
had been imprisoned in Merv during the preceding seven
years, coupled with a verbal message from him, asking
for some pecuniary assistance, and bespeaking my good
offices towards obtaining his liberation. The bearer, by
name, I believe, Ana Geldi, was the individual in whose

224 A EUSSIAN PKISONEE.

immediate power Kidaieff was. Having failed during so
long a period to extract any ransom from the Eussian
authorities, he was trying to raise all the money he could,
in one way or another, before Kidaieff should slip through
his fingers, as, at the moment, seemed far from impos-
sible. However, as a proof of his belief in my non-Mus-
covite character, and as an intimation of good-will, he
remarked that I had only to say the word, and the throat
of the captive would immediately be cut in my honour.
I used all my efforts to point out that I should consider
it the reverse of an honour to have anybody whatever,
even though a Eussian, killed in the way suggested. On
this occasion I sent the money asked for by Kidaieff, but
I very much doubt whether he ever received any of it.
I also sent him word that as soon as possible I would
come to see him, and hear his story from his own lips.

Kadjar Khan came in again somewhat after mid-
night, accompanied by Dowlet Nazar Beg. They sat up
the livelong night with me, talking about the state of
politics in the oasis, and the necessity of preventing
what they called the pro-Eussian party from coming into
power. Shortly after their entry, I was puzzled by the
sound of digging, in the immediate neighbourhood of
my house. It was continued with the utmost persis-
tency. I began to be alarmed, lest some trick was about
to be played upon me, or that they were even digging
my grave, but I received from Kadjar Khan the assu-
rance that preparations were being made to do me
honour, and that a ditch and breastwork were being
drawn around my ev, in order to keep intruders and
noisy people at a distance. When morning dawned, I
could perceive that my dwelling was nearly encircled by
a small trench, at a distance of a few feet from its walls.

A FRESH COUNCIL. 225

CHAPTEK XX.

A fresh council — Political questions — I become a Khan — An expedition —
A visit to Baba Khan — Merv vegetables — Peculiarities of teeth— The
ride to the ruins — Au ancient city — Traces of the past — Crumbling
palaces — Old tombs — Giaour Kala — Rampart and citadel — A Cara-
vanserai— Brazen vessels — Manners of prayer — Religious customs — •
Traditions of Alexander — Treasure-seekers — Tomb of Sultan Sanjar —
Melon-growing — Strange offerings — The voiceless •wilderness.

ON the day following, between one and two o'clock in the
afternoon, as I lay drowsily upon my carpet, awaiting
the turn of events, I was summoned to attend a meet-
ing of the notables of Merv. I was conducted by the
messenger to an er of more than ordinary dimensions,
situated about two hundred yards to the north of my
own. I found there assembled some twenty-five per-
sons, including the Khans of the Toktamish and Otamish
divisions. The interior was decorated with rich carpets,
hung round the walls, and the floor was covered with
equally costly material. I was given to understand that
a general council had been held earlier in the day, but
that no definite result had been arrived at, save that the
council of Khans and Kethkodas had received power to
organise a new and vigorous executive, calculated to deal
with the pressing circumstances of the moment. The
leaders had come to the conclusion that the time had
arrived for the resumption of power by the hereditary
Khans, and the removal from office of old Kadjar, who
had acted during the previous twelve months as their

Q

226 POLITICAL QUESTIONS.

figure-head and mouthpiece. I was very tired and sleepy,
after my night-long interview with Kadjar Khan and
his companion, and felt in anything but the humour to
undergo the cross-examination which evidently formed
part of their programme. But as I surmised that my
liberty of action for a considerable time to come might
depend upon the manner in which I bore myself before
this council, I tried to answer their queries as best I
might. I was asked point blank, 'Are the Kussians
coming to Merv, or are they not ? ' Thanks to the news
now forwarded to me weekly from Teheran, I was aware
that the Eussians had promised not to advance further
eastward than Askabad, and I was able to answer that
they were not. Then I was asked of the position of the
English troops, and whether they were coming to Merv;
what advice I would give the Mervli, and whether the
Queen would be willing to accept them as servants ;
and, lastly, whether England would give them a subsidy
to pay for two thousand horsemen. I told them I could
only give my opinion, for I had no authority to speak ;
but they seemed satisfied with my words and the course
I pointed out, and, finally, being utterly wearied, I was
allowed to retire.

When I left the place of assembly, half a dozen Turco-
mans accompanied me ; but instead of leading me in the
direction of my former residence, they conducted me to
an open space lying between the northern and southern
lines of evs, and which had hitherto been entirely un-
occupied. To my great surprise, I found that in its
midst was being constructed a kind of redoubt, seventy
or eighty yards square, on which nearly a hundred men
were busily engaged. In the centre of this space was an
ev in course of erection. The wooden, cage-like frame-
work was already reared, and half a dozen women were

I BECOME A KHAN. 227

occupied in adjusting the felt walls and roof. To this
I was led by nay escort. I had become too accustomed
to the vicissitudes of fortune, and the unforeseen whims
of the Turcomans, to be surprised at anything, so with-
out question I paced along the narrow causeway which
served as one of the entries to the redoubt, and entered
the half-completed dwelling. My saddles, arms, bedding,
and other effects were piled within it, and the two Turco-
man servants whom I had hired since the departure of
•Gholam Eiza were busily engaged in adjusting the carpet.
Turning to my conductors, I said, 'Why have you
changed my ev from the place in which it stood to this ?
And what is the meaning of this breastwork which you
have thrown up around it ? ' ' This,' they answered,
* is your residence as a Khan ; for the medjlis has de-
cided that you are to be accepted here as the represen-
tative of the English Padishah.' This was almost too
much for my gravity, but, retaining my self-possession,
I simply bowed, as if all this were only a matter of
course, and, sitting upon the carpet prepared for me,
made note of the circumstances.

The revolution was now practically effected, though
not consummated in a public form. Kadjar Khan had
ceased to administer public affairs, and for the moment
the eastern and western divisions of the Turcomans
arranged their state concerns apart, under the guidance
of their own immediate chiefs, Baba and Aman Niaz
Khans. As both these gentlemen had been very civil to
me since the meeting of the privy council, I thought
there was a good opportunity of disregarding old Kadjar's
recommendation to keep myself aloof from them, and
accordingly, the same evening, I asked Arnan Niaz Khan
whether it would not be possible for me to visit the ruins
of the old cities of the plain. He was very fond of expe-

Q 2

228 AN EXPEDITION.

ditions of the kind, and willingly assented to my desire,
telling me that on the following day he would accompany
me, with the necessary escort. This he undertook to
do without any permission from Baba Khan, for now
that no Ichthyar or chief commander was in power,
Aman Niaz considered himself quite on a footing of
equality with his brother Khan of the eastern division,
though the latter was by courtesy styled the senior of
the two.

A little after dawn, according to appointment, Aman
Niaz Khan, who had stayed specially in my neighbour-
hood during the preceding night, his own residence being
a considerable distance away, came in to drink green
tea with me before starting. He brought with him his.
maternal uncle, Nazarli Beg, a kind of scribe called
Moullah Baba, and half-a-dozen of his own immediate
clansmen, the Sitchmaz, that subdivision of the Otarnish
to which his family belonged. He wore the silk cloak,
irregularly splashed with brilliant tints, which he habitu-
ally affected, and which he carried when I first saw him
in my pavilion tent. As usual, he looked extremely
sallow and worn, and the edges of his eyelids were blood-
shot. He looked quite a wreck of a man, though, as I
had subsequent reason to know, he could hold out as well
as the best of his men in traversing long distances. He
told me that he felt far from well ; that he had smoked
too much opium on the preceding evening, and that he
had also drunk more arrack than was good for his health.

The sun was getting pretty well above the horizon as
we mounted, each one fully armed, as if he were going
on the war path instead of on a peaceful promenade.
The Khan, besides two formidable horse-pistols in his.
holster, carried at his belt a Colt's revolver of an anti-
quated pattern. At his back was hung a remarkably

A VISIT TO BABA KHAN. 229

handsome double-barrelled fowling-piece of English make,
and at his side appeared the inevitable sabre. With the
exception of the revolver and pistols, all his men were
similarly armed.

We directed our steps towards the great entrance of
the now nearly completed fortress, with the intention of
crossing it, and making our exit by the opposite gateway.
In doing so we had to pass through a group of aladjaks,
in which, surrounded by the greater number of the cap-
tured Persian guns, was Baba Khan's residence. Early
as the hour was, the latter chief was seated on a carpet
before his door, attended by his immediate henchmen.
As we drew near I could hear from some of the villagers
muttered expressions of discontent, and queries as to
whether I had obtained Baba Khan's permission to
proceed to Makdum Kuli's village. I heard Aman Niaz
say, sotto voce, that we had not got Baba's permission,
and did not want it, that his own was quite sufficient.
Still, I thought it would be only courteous, under the
circumstances, to make known my intentions to the senior
Khan, so, dismounting, I drew near the group. Baba and
his entire company rose to their feet as I approached,
and received me very politely. I stated the object of our
expedition, and the senior Khan at once gave consent,
saying that he was sorry that circumstances prevented
him from accompanying me. He despatched a few horse-
men with us as far as the next village, this being an
evidence of politeness usual on such occasions.

A Turcoman, when not on the war path, but merely
travelling, as we then were, takes every possible oppor-
tunity of stopping, now to light his pipe, and now to
enter some ev in which to partake of the food that is in-
variably offered. At Baba Kalassi we drew up, especially
as the people of the place, seeing the Khan and his

230 MERV VEGETABLES.

horsemen, and his distinguished Ferenghi guest, coming
up, insisted upon our dismounting and partaking of
breakfast with them. This my companions were in no
wise loth to do, so leaving our horses to the care of
the attendants we entered the elder's house. The elder
invariably entertains strangers, and in compensation re-
ceives a small subscription from each villager, either in.
money or kind.

A very substantial pilaff of boiled corn, well greased
with sheep's-tail fat, and mingled with slices of kashir,
or sweet yellow wild carrot, which abounds in Merv, and,
indeed, all over the plain extending westward to the
Caspian, was served. Boiled in the manner I have de-
scribed, in combination with fat and corn, the kashir is.
exceedingly agreeable to the taste, and much sweeter even
than the red carrot. In size it is rarely over a foot in
length, and three-quarters of an inch in diameter at its.
thickest portion. I have no doubt that under cultivation
it would attain much more respectable proportions, but
vegetables, such as the carrot, turnip, &c., are never
cultivated among the Turcomans.

Another singular vegetable was laid before us, viz.,
the bulbous root of the wild tulip, or Lala Gul. This
plant often attains a height of from two and a half to-
three feet, the flower assuming the dimensions of a large
tumbler. It is of a brilliant crimson colour. The bulb
varies in size from that of a small onion to three inches.
in diameter. It is eaten raw, and tastes like a very
tender sweet chestnut, but with rather more of the flavour
of the hazel nut. It appears to be wholesome, for though
I have eaten large quantities I have never suffered any
inconvenience therefrom.

I had often been puzzled, when riding across the
plains, to see holes of a foot in depth, evidently newly

PECULIARITIES OF TEETH. 231

scraped up, and I now learned the cause of these. The
jackals and foxes are very fond of the tulip root, and dig
it up with their paws. The wild boars also consume it
largely.

After the corn pilaff, a wooden dish, filled with bread
and mutton broth, and on the surface of which were
some half-picked bones, was served. These bones, ribs
of a young lamb, the Turcomans scarcely deign to pick.
They crunch them up bodily, together with whatever meat
may be attached to them, for as a rule their teeth are
wonderfully fine, and seem to continue undeteriorated by
age. From the very first my attention had been attracted
by the beauty of the teeth of the Tekkes, and I had also
noticed a peculiarity which I at first set down as a
natural abnormality. Almost without exception the two
upper middle incisors of a full-grown Tekke exhibit, each
in its midst, a deep angular notch, reaching to a depth of
fully a quarter the length of the exposed portion of the
tooth, and rendering it bicuspid. I had taken note of
this fact, and, with a view to ascertain whether it was a
general peculiarity of the race, I lost no opportunity of
observing, and subsequently discovered its origin. The
melon and water melon form a large portion of the diet
of the Mervli. Their numerous seeds are laid by and
dried in the sun, partly for sowing purposes, and partly
to be eaten hi leisure moments. In most of the towns
on the border one sees, in the grocers' booths, large sacks
of these dried melon-seeds. One side of the flat seed case
is more or less rounded, but the other side presents a
sharp, hard edge. In eating the seed the rounded edge is
placed upon one of the lower incisors, and the sharp edge
pressed with one or other of the upper ones. It requires
considerable pressure to cause the two carpels of the seed-
cover to separate so that the interior may be extracted.

232 THE HIDE TO THE RUINS.

As the Turcomans, even when on horseback, are con-
tinually eating these melon-seeds, in the end their sharp
edges produce the serration of the teeth of which I have
spoken, and that, too, only in the upper incisors, owing
to the rounded margin of the seed being placed lower-
most. That it has nothing whatever to do with the
natural formation of the teeth is evident from the fact
that in young children there is no sign of this peculiar
marking. Besides, the Tekkes were at some trouble to
explain to me its cause.

Breakfast over, we resumed our march, passing close
to the base of an ancient mound, Marina Khan Tepe,
where, to judge from the great amount of brick and tile
scattered around, buildings of considerable size must
have formerly stood. The Turcomans told me that a
town of large dimensions once existed there. Not far from
it is the village of Yussub, where a second bazaar is held.
Thence we pushed on, almost in a due easterly direction,
save when the unpleasant inundations with which we met
at every few hundred yards forced us to make a detour.
For though it was early in May, the heat was excessive,
and irrigation was absolutely necessary to prevent the
young corn from being utterly dried up.

Our ride was consequently slow and hindered by
a marsh, full of gigantic cane-like reeds, as well as by
the water. The canal here had cut very deeply into
the soil, the steep banks being fifteen to twenty feet in
height. Passing over three different rude bridges, com-
posed of tree-trunks and osiers, we continued our march
towards the head- quarters of the Vekil, young Yussuf
Khan's village, where, for the moment, Makdum Kuli
Khan, the great Akhal Tekke chief, dwelt, surrounded
by the three or four thousand adherents who remained
faithful to him after the overthrow of Yengi Sheher.

AN ANCIENT CITY. 233

Owing to the delays we had had upon the road, and
the slow pace at which we proceeded, it was near sunset
when we approached Yussuf Khan's premises. We were
•very kindly received by the two Khans.

The next morning, after a copious breakfast of bread,
mutton broth, and boiled mutton, preceded by green tea,
we set out for the ruins of the ancient cities, the centre
of which lay almost due east. Half-an-hour's ride,
through very flooded grounds, brought us to the eastern
limit of cultivation. Then the ground rose slightly, put-
ting its surface above the reach of the present irrigation
system. Here we .came in view of an immense wilder-
ness of ruined buildings, forming a semicircle in front
of us to the north and south. Between us and the
domes stretched, in an apparently unbroken line for four
or five miles, a belt of ruined wall and shattered houses,
apparently the remains of former suburban villas and
gardens. This belt, running due north and south, was
over half a mile in width. Even still nourished by the
scanty rams and still scantier moisture of the earth
itself, the withered gardens displayed remnants of former
greenness, choked with masses of ruin. Snakes swarmed
on every side, with black eagles, sparrow-hawks, and vul-
tures. Clearing this belt of dilapidated wall and building,
at a distance of a quarter of a mile before us stood the
western front of Bairam Ali, the youngest of the three
cities, each of which in its turn has borne the name
of Merv. This front was a line of embattled wall, two
hundred yards in length, flanked by circular towers, and
having a large guarded gateway in its centre. The wall,
fifteen feet in height, is further strengthened by an ex-
ierior ditch, spanned at the gateway by a brick arch-
way, now piled and cumbered with broken material.
These walls were partly of baked and partly of unbaked

234 TRACES OF THE PAST.

brick, and in a very fair state of preservation. Passing
beneath the low, vaulted gateway, we stood within a
square place, a complete wilderness of ruins. What had
once been a street, crossing the square, was flanked by
the remains of brick houses. On its southern side, and
near its eastern extremity, were the vaulted remains of
extensive baths. This first, or western square, was ap-
parently a later addition, and intended for the accom-
modation of the caravans which frequented the place.
The real town of Bairam AH itself adjoins it. It is a
quadrangular enclosure, two hundred yards from east to-
west, and about two hundred and fifty from north to-
south. Its western wall is common to both squares,
Its walls are, howrever, higher than those of the other,
owing to their being built upon a low embankment of
six or eight feet in height. Entering this by a gateway
similar to the first, but of larger and more massive pro-
portions, we again stand in the midst of complete ruin.
Near the centre are the tolerably well-preserved remains-
of a mosque, its cupola forming a salient feature of the
group of remains. Its courtyard has well-built cloisters of
brick, and adjoining the mosque itself is a large building,
probably the residence of the moullahs. In the north-
eastern angle is the brick ' arg,' or citadel, some eighty
yards square. Its sides are parallel to that of the town
itself, and two of them, the northern and eastern, are
identical with those of the city. Entering by the gate-
way in the southern wall, we came into a kind of court-
yard, lined all round by what were once elaborately
ornamented buildings, three storeys high, the palace of
the former sovereigns. One could still trace the ara-
besques and other decorations, stamped upon the stucco-
plastered walls, and the chimney-places are still black
with the smoke of the last fires. Near the entrance of

CRUMBLING PALACES. 235

the palace I noticed the broken remains of a subterranean
aqueduct. It was brick arched, eighteen inches in height
by twelve in breadth, and carefully plastered on the
inside with some kind of hard brown cement. Here and
there were numerous wells, now completely choked up,
and the resort of immense numbers of snakes and of
small birds, especially hoopoes, who take refuge in them
against the broiling heat. This latter bird is never
molested by the Turcomans, who hold it in great esteem.
A moullah who accompanied us informed me that it was
one of the principal servants of Solomon, whose life it
had on one occasion saved by conveying to him intelli-
gence of some deadly peril which awaited him. Round
the mouths of these wells were broken parapets, piled
with masses of rubbish overgrown with a creeping species
of berberis, a very disagreeable thorn when any piece of
ground covered with it has to be traversed. It bears a
large fruit, in size and shape closely resembling a green
fig, the five carpels of which dehisce, separating and
bending backwards, so that with their crimson interiors
they might easily pass for the blossom of the plant itself.
This Bairam Ali was the last of the towns of Merv, if
I except Porsa Kala, the Saruk settlement which I have
already described. It is named after Bairam Ali Khan,
its last defender, who was killed here in 1784, when the
town was attacked by Begge Jan, alias Emir Masum,
sovereign of Bokhara. In the midst of all this waste
of crumbling palaces and baths and ramparts, except-
ing the snakes, a few birds, and an occasional jackal,
no living creature is to be met with, save, indeed, an
occasional Ersari robber or treasure- seeker ; for here,
as in almost every other part of the East, the popular
imagination enriches these ruined vaults and foundations
with secret treasures stowed away beneath them.

236 OLD TOMBS.

We left Bairam Ali by its eastern gate, for the double
enclosure has two entrances. Immediately in front, and
a thousand yards away to the eastward, rose a long
line of earth bank, indicating the site of Giaour Kala, as
one of the ruined cities is now called. We did not pro-
ceed there immediately, but directed our course in a
north-easterly direction, to a group of buildings some
two hundred and fifty yards off, occupying the brow of
an undulation of the ground. There was what resembled
a large triumphal arch, forty feet high and about the
same in breadth, built of hard flat-baked bricks of a
yellowish-brown colour, and ornamented with oblong
tiles enamelled of a bright blue, the alternate ones being
a shade darker than those next them. Nowhere else
among the ruins of Merv is the slightest trace of similar
enamelled bricks to be found. In contact with, and to
the south of the arch are two covered buildings, the
sides of which are quite open. A low, open- worked brick
balustrade runs breast-high around them. These build-
ings and balustrades are sparsely ornamented with blue
tiles, like the triumphal arch. Both buildings are exactly
alike, and inside each stands an oblong tomb of bluish-
grey marble, beautifully and elaborately sculptured with
inscriptions and arabesques, and divided into panels.
Each tomb is about seven feet in length, two in breadth
at the top, and four in height. The sides and ends have
a slight incline. Apart from the arabesques and in-
scriptions, which are cut in very slight relief, the outline
of the tombs is perfectly plain. Adjoining the more
easterly of the buildings were the remains of what had
probably been large baths, if one might judge from the
extensive underground vaults with brick groining, closely
resembling those within the enceinte of Bairam Ali. The
Turcomans who accompanied me could tell me little con-

GIAOUK KALA. 237

cerning the history of these tombs, or of the persons
interred beneath them. They only spoke of them as
very holy ' sheiks,' for here this word, which in Arabia
and Syria simply means a military or political chief, in-
dicates an individual celebrated for sanctity. The tombs
were known as those of the Sahaba bouridal, literally ' the
beheaded gentlemen,' and my informants told me that
they had been murdered in the cause of religion ; when,
or why, they could not give me the slightest idea, though
they prayed as devoutly before their resting-place as if
they knew everything about their history. The entire
area between these old tombs and the triumphal arch
was completely covered with debris of bricks and tiles.

From this point we turned in an easterly direction,
descending a pretty steep incline, towards a very deep
irrigation canal which was in course of construction
some hundreds of yards further on, in continuation of
one which brought the water almost level with the north-
western angle of Bairam Ali. When I saw it, the water
had not yet been made to flow to this point. A shallow
valley intervenes between the eastern face of this latter
town and the western one of Giaour Kala. Crossing
the valley, we proceeded towards the south-eastern angle
of Giaour Kala. The great earth ramparts by which it
is surrounded closely resemble, in size and construction,
those of Kouchid Khan Kala, which would almost seem
to have been copied from them. At a distance the ram-
parts of the old town exactly resemble a great railway
embankment. The ground upon which it is situated
rises considerably towards its northern side, while the
level of the top of the walls on each side is exactly the
same. Consequently, the southern line is much higher
than that along the north. At the south-eastern angle
the ramparts are at least sixty feet high. Urging our

238 EAMPAKT AND CITADEL.

horses at full speed, we galloped with difficulty obliquely
along the great slope, and succeeded in gaining the
summit. At this point the turbe of some holy person
of the wilderness had been erected, and a pole, bearing a
piece of tattered linen floating bannerwise at its ex-
tremity, had been planted beside it. The walls, which
at a guess I should say were eight hundred and fifty
yards from east to west, and six hundred and fifty yards
from north to south, enclosed a regular quadrangular
space. Immediately below us, and occupying the whole
of the south-western portion of the enclosure, was what
apparently had been a small lake in which water was
stored for the use of the inhabitants. Through a gap
near the north-western angle of the ramparts formerly
entered an irrigation stream, the bed of which is still dis-
tinctly traceable, and which, I am informed, flowed from
the ancient dam at Bent-i- Sultan, on the Murgab, a day's
journey beyond the present Saruk dam of Kazakh.

Almost in the centre of Giaour Kala stands a large
mound, on the summit of which are the traces of walls
and towers. This was probably an old palace, or a de-
fensive work of some kind. The arg, or citadel proper,
was here, as in every other ancient town in this part of
the world which I have examined, in its north-eastern
angle, and consisted of a square enclosure, of which
the northern and eastern sides were identical with the
main rampart itself. The terre pleine, or inner area,
of this redoubt-like work, is considerably above that on
which the central mound stands. I made the entire cir-
cuit of the ramparts, proceeding first along its southern,
then its eastern, and lastly its northern side. Towards
the middle of the northern side still exist some traces
of rampart, of upper parapet, and of embattled wall ;
but I should say that these were of a far later date

A CARAVANSERAI. 239

than the great embankment on which they were built.
The whole of the area within the ramparts is littered
with the debris of broken tiles and earthenware vessels,
many of the fragments exhibiting the most beautiful
tints, and, in some cases, prismatic colours. I did not
come upon an entire utensil of any kind.

Standing on the ramparts of this old city, the view
ranges far away to the eastward, over slightly undulating
ground largely covered with tamarisk growths, while
here and there are traces of ruined walls and buildings,
scattered sparsely in the present wilderness. This Giaour
Kala is the oldest of the three remains, and was doubtless
the first walled city erected upon the spot. It was
destroyed by the Arabs towards the end of the seventh
century, when the lieutenants of Omar, having overrun
Persia, pushed away northward towards the Oxus.

Descending from the northern ramparts, we wended
our way in a north-westerly direction towards some large
ruins, distant a few hundreds of yards. Some of them
had been ancient palaces, to judge by the elaborateness
of ornamentation of their interiors. Others had evidently
been religious structures, and some may have been store-
houses. Continuing still further in the same direction,
and leaving the old town of Sultan Sanjar to our left,
we reached the only building which in all the vast extent
of crumbling remains is now used for any human pur-
pose. It is the last caravanserai at which caravans from
Meshed, proceeding through Merv to Bokhara, halt before
entering upon the waterless expanse beyond. It is known
as the caravanserai of Khodja (or moullah) Yussuf Hama-
dani. It consists of two enclosures, one about a hundred
yards square, and another, some thirty yards to the
northward, of half that size. The latter is simply a
wall-girt space, within which camels and other beasts

240 BKAZEN VESSELS.

of burden are assembled at night, and in the corner of
which is a deep well, furnished with a bucket and lift.
The entrance to the caravanserai is in the northern side
of the main enclosure. Eight and left of the doorway
are extensive vaulted apartments of brick, occupying the
entire length of that side of the enclosure. More than
half of the western side is taken up by a small mosque,
the entire eastern front of which is open to the air. It
is termed the mosque of Mehemet Hussein Herati, a
nobleman of that locality who came hither on a pilgrim-
age and caused this mosque to be built in honour of
Yussuf Hamadani, whose tomb occupies the centre of
the main enclosure. In the vaulted chamber to the
left, or east, of the doorway, are two enormous brazen
pots, nearly five feet in diameter, set in a bed of
brick arranged so as to allow of fires being lighted under-
neath them. In these huge utensils is prepared, simul-
taneously, the food of the members of the caravans.
There are two attendants in the place — softs, as my
companions styled them — two exceedingly dirty-looking,
cadaverous individuals, wearing large white turbans, and
who are supposed to keep on hand various small stores
to be disposed of to travellers. These men informed me
that the pots were presented by Emin Khan of Urgenz
(Khiva) when he came to this place upon a pilgrimage
very many years ago — how many they did not .know ;
it might be a century, or three centuries. The groined
roof overhead was sadly blackened by the smoke of the
fire, but here and there I could make out that the sur-
face of the bricks had been silvered, or, I might rather
say, leaded over, by being rubbed with a piece of metal.
T&3 attendants told me that this silvering had been
done by order of Abdullah Khan, of Bokhara, who came
upon a pilgrimage to the tomb of the saint. This may

MANNERS OF PRAYER. 241

or may not be true ; but while I could distinctly see the
metallic covering on the surface of some of the bricks, it
appeared quite confined to separate ones, those alongside
being entirely without any trace of metallic tint. Had
I not been told of the origin of the metallized appear-
ance, I should have decidedly said that it was some
lacquered surface, developed in the process of baking
the brick itself, and that, too, unintentionally. How-
ever, I give the story told me by the guardians of the
caravanserai.

These vaulted chambers formed a very welcome refuge
from the glare of the sun, resembling so many ice-houses
when we entered them after a quick gallop over the
blazing marly plain separating us from the ramparts
of Giaour Kala. A tomb, which stood in the very
centre of the enclosure, was evidently the original build-
ing round which the others had been erected at a later
period. It consisted of a rudely-built, flat-roofed house,
two storeys high, some thirty feet wide by fifteen in
depth. It was entered by a strongly barred door. Behind
it, and adjoining it to the southward, was a balustraded,
roofed enclosure similar to those at the tombs of the
' beheaded gentlemen,' and within which stood a some-
what similar tomb.

Before proceeding to eat or rest, my companions
performed their orisons around the tomb of the blessed
Yussuf Hamadani. They drew up in a line on its
western side, with their faces towards the tomb. They
prayed for a few minutes in muttered tones, and then
all advanced to the balustrade. Each person, laying
both his palms upon it, applied them to his face, drawing
them downwards towards his chin. Then they began to
circle slowly around the tomb, proceeding towards their
right hands. At each two steps they placed their hands

242 EELIGIOUS CUSTOMS.

upon the balustrade, repeating the operation of stroking
down their faces and beards. The balustrade was covered
with dust and sand, and as, owing to the heat of the day.
my companions were perspiring- pretty freely, it may be
imagined what appearance they presented, after twenty
or thirty applications of the dust-covered hands had been
made to their countenances. Arrived at the eastern side
of the tomb, they again formed line, this time kneeling,
still facing the tomb, and praying in the same manner
as before. They then repeated the march round, with
the same peculiar ceremony. Then we went to visit the
mosque, which was little more than a large deep recess,
furnished with a mirhab, or devotional station. Above
the principal recess, or chamber, was a vaulted room,
surmounted by a small cupola. My conductors prayed
for awhile within this building, and I was surprised that
they made no objection to my presence within the sacred
precincts, even during the religious ceremonies. I re-
marked, too, another peculiarity. They did not uncover
their feet, as is invariably the custom in Constantinople,
or in any Persian mosque that I have seen. On subse-
quent inquiry I learned that when, as was the case with
all the party, long brown leather riding boots reaching
to the knees were worn, it was not usual to remove
them, either when entering a mosque or paying a visit
to the house of a friend. These long boots are never
worn except by a horseman, and the fact of his having
been mounted presupposes that he has not soiled his
feet in walking across the muddy ground.

Having got through a due allowance of prayers, we
next proceeded to prepare green tea at the fire which
the two softs lighted for us. After the usual meal of
griddled bread and weak tea, we indulged in the siesta
for which the extreme heat and our long ride had fully

TRADITIONS OF ALEXANDER. 243

prepared us. For my part, I could get but little repose,
for the singak, as the Turcomans call the common house-
fly, swarming about the spot consequent upon the offal
left by the passage of caravans, made existence almost
intolerable. While we were endeavouring to rest, one
of our companions took his station as sentinel upon the
tomb of the little mosque, and kept a sharp look-out for
the possible approach of Ersari robbers, who make the
ruins of Merv a trysting-place when they organize an
aleman, or raid, upon any of the Vekil villages.

After a brief rest, and having recompensed the softs
for their trouble with a few pieces of silver, we wended
our way towards the remains of some earthworks lying
about three hundred yards to the westward. Here was
a rectangular space, its sides, like all the other enclosed
areas of the place, looking towards the cardinal points,
and each side being about five hundred yards in length.
It had evidently been an encampment of some sort, but
the traces of the fortifications were now very indistinct.
The Turcomans call it Iskender Kala, and say that Alex-
ander the Great's army was camped there when on its
way to India. This is the local tradition, but in these
countries Alexander, or, as he is styled, Iskender, comes
into every story connected with ruins of remote antiquity.
A moullah, a brother of Makdum Kuli Khan, who was
explaining to me the local traditional history of the
place, informed me that Alexander had foretold the de-
struction of Merv, and that he was a great pihamber
(prophet). I ventured to express a doubt as to whether
the Macedonian soldier had ever been endued with the
gifts attributed to him by my informant, whereupon he
flew into a violent rage, saying that it was easy to see
that I was a giaour, and unacquainted with the truth of
things in general.

E 2

244 TREASURE-SEEKERS.

After having examined the old entrenchments, we
turned southwards, and approached the northern side of
the ancient city of Sultan Sanjar. This is a great quad-
rangular enclosure, measuring about six hundred yards
on each side, and surrounded by a well-preserved wall
with numerous flanking towers, a fausse braye, or lower
secondary exterior rampart, as at Meshed, being added.
This town is said to have been destroyed by the son of
Zenghis Khan, Tului, about the year 1221. It must,
however, have been occupied at a later period — at least,
the fortified walls — for in the flanking towers at the
corners and gates are artillery embrasures. It is pro-
vided with four gates, each well defended by massive
towers of baked brick, a material which also enters
largely into the circuit of the walls, especially their lower
portions. With the exception of the mausoleum of the
Sultan himself, standing exactly in the centre, at the
point where the two great causeways running respec-
tively north and south and east and west cross each
other, of all the buildings that once stood within the
walls there is not now one brick remaining upon another.
One is puzzled to imagine how such thorough and com-
plete ruin could have been worked, and still more mys-
tified by the occurrence, in close vicinity to each other,
of pits of from four to five feet deep, dug all over the
surface. I was told that these pits were made by treasure-
seekers, a caravan scarcely ever passing by the place
without many of its members trying their fortune by
digging these holes, in hopes that they might perchance
stumble upon a pot of gold or jewels. That quantities
of ancient money and vessels of precious metal had been
found here from time to time, Yussuf Khan assured
me. The entire destruction of the foundation, and the
upsetting and scattering of the material, is probably due

TOMB OF SULTAN SANJAR. 245

to this continued digging. Moreover, the materials of
the houses have evidently been transported from the spot,
and made use of in the construction of the later city close
by — Bairam Ali. The Easterns appear to have a super-
stitious dislike to rebuilding upon the site of a former
town. In the older city, Giaour Kala, there are only
fragments of brick and pottery scattered over the surface,
the great mass of the building material having, I believe,
been made use of to construct the city which succeeded
it, Sultan Sanjar. In like manner, when the last-named
city was destroyed, the material was utilized for the
erection of the most modern city. In Bairam Ali the
buildings still extant can be seen, as well as the materials
of the others, scattered about in great quantities, for, no
other town having been built in the locality at a later
period, the debris of the former one was not removed.

The tomb of Sultan Sanjar is a place of pilgrimage,
and no Turcoman ever passes this spot without paying
homage to the sanctity of the departed potentate. The
tomb itself is of commanding size. It cannot be less
than sixty feet to the summit of its cupola. Its form is
very similar to that of Ferdusi's tomb at Toos, but it
bears traces of having been still more elaborately or-
namented. Its greatest diameter is at least forty feet.
Its ground plan was that of a square, with the corners
flattened ; within, the walls still preserve a large portion
of the stucco and white plaster with which they were
formerly coated, and on which still remain, in many
places, blue and red arabesques upon a white ground.
The doorway is on the western side, and the floor seems
to have been excavated, probably for the purpose of re-
moving the pavement, so that one enters by an inclined
plane, leading downwards, and can plainly see that the
present floor is at least six feet below the level of the

246 MELON-GKOWING.

original one. In the centre stands the tomb, about
the size and dimensions of those of the Saliaba bouridal,
not far off. It was doubtless originally of stone. Now
it is of plastered loam, or the original, at least, is covered
with that substance. My companions drew up in line
in front of this, and went through the same ceremony
as at the tomb of the holy man at the caravanserai. As
before, I looked on, taking no part in the ceremonial.
Then we mounted again, and rode away along the cause-
way leading to the southern gate. Here, on the right-
hand side, and a hundred and fifty yards from the
mausoleum and its cupola, are 'two large piles of broken
brick and tile. These, I was informed, were the graves-
of the * enemies ' of Sultan Sanjar ; who or what these
enemies were, no one could give me the least idea. The
group of horsemen halted about fifty yards short of the
heaps, and then each dashed by at full speed, discharging
his musket at one or other of them. Those who hap-
pened not to have their pieces loaded rode up, dis-
mounted, seized a fragment of brick, and hurled it furi-
ously against the pile, uttering curses and maledictions-
upon the Sultan's enemies.

Issuing from the southern gate, we entered into a
very shallow valley, which separates the ruins we were
leaving from those of Bairam AH, which lie due south,
and about five hundred yards distant. This shallow
valley, after clearing Sultan Sanjar, turns sharply to the
south, intervening between the latter town and Giaour
Kala. Taking advantage of this depression, some of the
Vekil Turcomans had led a slender thread of water in
this direction from the easterly branch of the Novur
canal. The water had been brought opposite the north-
western angle of Bairam AH, and half-a-dozen men were
trying to lead it still further by cutting a very deep

STKAXGE OFFERINGS. . 247

trench. At this point some scanty melon-beds were
being attended to, as the fruit can be sold at a great
profit at this, the last station on the Merv line to Bokhara.
On the southern bank of this irrigation trench are three
Imam Zades. The more easterly two are small covered
structures of unbaked brick, with rough, loam-plastered
tombs within them. Here my indefatigably pious com-
rades again dismounted, and before each of the tombs
again offered their vows. These two sepulchral edifices
bear the name of the Imamlar. One hundred yards
westward was a small enclosure, having in one corner
a roofed chamber. This was the tomb of a person of
sanctity named Pehlvan Ahmet Tabanji. Both he and
the other two individuals are described by the general
name of 'the Sheiks,' this being, as I have said, under-
stood to imply a religious and holy personage. The
latter celebrity seems to have been very distinguished
indeed for piety, for his tomb is literally covered with
souvenirs of all kinds, brought from afar by pilgrims.
There were morsels of marble and earth from Mecca,
and, among others, was a very droll offering. It was a
marble cannon-shot, over twelve inches in diameter, and
by some accident had been broken in two. The ener-
getic piety of a pilgrim had caused this offering to be
conveyed all the way from Mecca to the heart of the
Merv desert.

Around and between the ruined cities, and reaching
far and wide to the north and east, were blank aridness
and desolation ; save the usual desert shrubs, the chiratan
and tamarisk, nothing in the nature of verdure was to
be seen. The sun was getting low, and as I was tired
of dismounting whenever my comrades took it into their
heads to go praying and walking round these tombs, I
was glad when we turned our horses' heads westward,

248 THE VOICELESS WILDEKNESS.

and made our way towards Makdum Kuli's home. As
on our return journey we reached the belt of dilapi-
dated gardens and tumble-down houses which intervenes
at a short distance between the cities of the plain and
the Vekil settlements, I could perceive the vast extent of
the ground formerly built upon, for the suburbs of the
walled towns cover a much greater space than the towns
themselves. I climbed to the summit of a ruined build-
ing, half dwelling-house, half fortalice, whence a com-
manding view was obtained over the crumbling expanse
of cities. A feeling of oppressive loneliness comes over
the spirit as the eye ranges across that voiceless wilder-
ness, so deserted, so desolate, yet teeming with eloquent
testimonies of what it had been of old.

MAD RACING. 249

CHAPTER XXI.

Mad racing — Imitation raiders — Ready for combat — Heat of the desert —
Hospitable customs — A Turcoman belle — Danger of whistling — An
antique lamp — Troubles of the night — A cure for wounds — Value of
stones — Snake-killing.

RETURNING from my visit to the ruined cities of the plain,
I had a good opportunity of seeing how Turcomans
amuse themselves when abroad. The ground over which
we were riding, owing to deep trenches, slippery mud,
and occasional deep flooding, required all the horseman's
vigilance to keep himself and his beast from coming to
grief ; but it was only over such spaces, disagreeable as
they were, that I had any peace or quietness. The mo-
ment anything like firm ground was reached, some one
of the party suddenly uttered a wild whoop, and put
his horse to the top of its speed. All the others were,
it seems, bound in honour to follow suit, myself among
the number, and then a scene of wild, headlong racing
commenced, varied by different performances. Each
person was expected to unsling his rifle, and, going at
full speed, to take deliberate aim at some object and fire.
Then re-slinging his piece, he would draw his sword, and,
racing up to the person next him, exchange passes and
flourishes. This was all very well on unbroken ground,
but the sudden occurrence of a deep trench or mud-hole
became a serious matter while one was engaged in dis-
playing his martial accomplishments, his horse going
sit the rate of twenty miles an hour ; and, as it was sore

250 IMITATION EAIDEES.

against my will that I engaged in such antics, it was
with unfeigned satisfaction that I witnessed occasional
catastrophes in the shape of some gallant Khan — horse,
armament and all — coming down with a crash in attempt-
ing to clear an unusually wide mud patch, and getting up
the reverse of pleased with himself. But these people
take a pride in showing their stoicism, like North Ame-
rican Indians ; and the man who had come to grief was
the first to initiate a fresh stampede. A great source
of amusement was to charge full speed at a party of
villagers returning on foot from some market, with their
asses laden with goods, and send men, women, and asses
flying right and left, often dashing some of them to-
the earth. As the parties thus assaulted were invariably
armed, I had fears of the consequences ; but we went at
such a speed that, before the victims could pick them-
selves up and unsling their guns, we were far beyond the
chance of being hit. We entered each aoull in the same
style, sending goats and sheep flying, women and children
madly rushing to the first place of refuge, under the belief
that we were a party of Ersari raiders executing a foray,
for this is exactly the way in which an aleman is carried
out. The raiders approach quietly ; but when within ' a
measurable distance' of the village they are bent on
plundering, they put their horses to the top of their
speed, and, sword in hand, dash like lightning into the
place, cutting down everyone before he can run to his
house for arms. Then, seizing on everything movable,
including children, they are away again before resistance
can be organised. Entering one village in this fashion,
a group of old men were seen talking together in the
middle thoroughfare. The brother of Makdum Kuli
Khan charged them at racing speed. The old men, fully
believing that we were Ersari horsemen, rushed right.

READY FOE COMBAT. 251

and left. There was one who could not get out of the way
quickly enough. The rider, a moullah or priest to boot,
directed his steed straight at him and dashed him sense-
less to the ground. I was obliged to keep with the rest
of the party, for if I held back I ran imminent danger of
being massacred by the enraged villagers when I came
up. So long as no actual harm was done beyond scaring
the people, and as I saw it was one of the customs of
the country, I did not mind these simulated forays ; but,
after the incidents referred to, my face wore such a grave
expression of disapproval that Makdum Kuli himself felt
called upon to say something. Eiding to my side, he
asked me whether in Frangistan we did such things. I
replied rather curtly that we did not, and relapsed into
silence. After this the Khan forbade such exhibitions
during the remainder of the ride.

It was sunset as we drew near Makdum Kuli Khan's
present residence. Within three or four hundred yards
of the place my companions all dismounted, and, leaving
their horses to the care of one of their number, went
through the rather lengthy prayers which all Mussul-
mans repeat at the close of day. Having washed their
hands and faces in a neighbouring irrigation trench,
they retired into a small grove of fruit trees hard by, and
then went on with their orisons without removing either
their sabres or their riding-boots. Were they at home,
the invariable custom is to wash feet, as well as hands,
before prayer, as well as to undo the sword-belt ; but the
exigencies of the desert require that, w-hen abroad, no
man disarm himself for a moment, or in any way make
himself unfit for instant combat.

Yussuf Khan's house — or -rather his establishment,
for he had several houses — is to a considerable extent
a departure from that of the ordinary Turcoman Khan.

252 HEAT OF THE DESERT.

There was a pretty extensive grove of trees — mostly fruit
trees of one kind or another, the jujube, with whity-green
foliage like that of the olive, figuring largely amidst the
darker tints of the apricot and pomegranate. In the
midst of this grove was a large open space, where were
the immediate dwellings of the chiefs family. There was
a massive-looking square tower about twenty-five feet
wide by thirty-five in height. It was built of unbaked
brick, plastered over with fine ochre-tinted loam. A
low doorway, closed by a rudely-carved wooden door,
gave access to the ground floor, a large room lighted by
four narrow loopholes, and paved with flat bricks from
the neighbouring ruins of Bairam AH. In somewhat less
fiercely sunny weather than then obtained this quad-
rangular grotto would doubtless be cool enough. After a
day's absorption of heat by the entire building, on coming
into it from riding in the evening breeze one feels as
if he had stepped into an oven. The place was for the
moment uninhabitable. A rude flight of stairs on the
outside of the building led to the upper storey, which
was ventilated by four large windows besides the door.
Here the breeze had free access, and the temperature
was delightful. The terrace above, surrounded by a low
embattled parapet, was only used for sleeping on at
night. In the square space around the tower were
ranged half-a-dozen of the usual beehive-shaped huts,
and a couple of long raw-brick buildings — the latter
serving as stables. The two Khans dwelt in huts, a
Turcoman as a rule having a strong objection to live in
any other kind of residence. The tower is only added as
an adjunct of state, and as quarters for visitors who
know no better than to dwell in such an un-nomadic
dwelling. The Khans had ridden on before, and, as I
dismounted at the entrance to the dwelling, came for-

HOSPITABLE CUSTOMS. 253

ward to receive me. They were dressed in the usual
Turcoman robes of the upper class— a long tunic of
coarse crimson silk reaching nearly to the ankle and with
a narrow combined stripe of black and yellow. This was
girt at the waist, rather high up, with a voluminous
white sash of cotton, in the front knot of which was
stuck a highly decorated sheathed knife, a foot long ;
wide pantaloons of white cotton, red leather slippers,
and an enormous grenadier hat of black sheepskin,
completed the attire. These chiefs came forward in the
politest manner, surrounded by a crowd of retainers.
On such occasions the proper thing is to walk with a
slow, pensive step, the palm of one hand laid upon the
back of the other, and with a dejected expression of
countenance, such as a man might wear if he had woeful
intelligence to impart. All this is meant to convey
intense humility, and the idea of being the humble ser-
vant of the new comer. The host suddenly thrusts out
both hands towards him, he following suit, each taking
one hand of the other in his two. Then follows a series
of minute inquiries after our relative healths, and as to
whether there is any fresh news going, as if we had not
seen one another for six months or more. We took our
seats upon a raised earthen platform, such as is to be
found alongside the door of every person of consideration,
and where he sits during the evening hours with his
friends. It is surprising what a difference this elevation
of a couple of feet makes in the temperature of the
breeze. The layer of air in immediate contact with
the earth, still heated by the sun's rays, is as hot as if
it passed through a furnace ; while a little higher up it
is cool and refreshing. As for the conversation of the
select party with which I found myself, it was like that
of most Turcomans, distressingly inane. I tried to turn

254 A TUECOMAN BELLE.

its current towards the subject of the old ruins we had
visited during the day ; but I could elicit little more
than a parcel of the most uningenious tales about gins
and divs and pihambers, or prophets who had stuck their
thumbs in the ground and made water spring from the
desert, or who had driven the Giaours from their
stronghold by a puff of their breath. I was becoming
fairly distressed in mind, when a matronly woman came
forward and announced that dinner was ready. The
matron was the widow — one of them — of the late Noor
Berdi Khan, of Yengi Sheher and Merv. Her name
was Gul Djemal (the Beautiful Flower). She wore a
long shirt of dark purple silk, reaching almost to the
ankles, and closely fastened at the neck by a massive
silver arrow. Around her neck was a ponderous collar
resembling that of a Newfoundland dog, and from it,
suspended by numerous chains, was an engraved plate
chased with gold arabesques and set with cornelians, not
unlike the urim and thummim of a Jewish high-priest.
On her wrists were ponderous bracelets, set also with
flat cornelians. The breast and stomach of the shirt
were so set over with closely-hung large silver coins as
to give her the appearance of wearing a cuirass of silver
scales. On her head was a casque of open silverwork,
showing the red cloth beneath, and surmounted by a
spike like that of a German soldier's helmet. Her entire
appearance in her silver panoply was Minerva-like in the
extreme.

Makdum Kuli led the way up the precipitous stairs
to the bala-hane or upper chamber of the tower, where
our evening repast was laid out. A number of hungry
attendants sat cross-legged around, eyeing the bowls with
wolf-like eyes, and no doubt inwardly anathematising the
extensive appetites that were rapidly lessening their con-

DANGER OF WHISTLING. 255

tents, for the remnant of their superiors' repast was all
they had to expect. However long I might live amid
such surroundings, I could never get accustomed to them,
or insensible to the wolf-like eyes of the attendants;
and often on similar occasions I have given over eating
before my hunger was half appeased, lest I might have
too heavy a weight of maledictions to carry; for the
greater part were sure to be levelled against the unbe-
lieving Giaour who was thus consuming what should
more properly find its way into the stomachs of true
believers.

Supper cleared away, we sat in the gloaming looking
out over the dimly-lit plain, listening to the lowing and
bleating of the homeward-driven flocks and herds as they
entered the various walled enclosures where they were
placed for safety during the night. A curious Turcoman
superstition here came under my notice. As, lost in
reverie, I sat by the window, half-unconsciously I com-
menced whistling softly some snatches of tunes. I no-
ticed a general movement of dissatisfaction among my
companions. They shifted in their seats, looked uneasily
at each other and at me. At length Makdum Kuli
touched me on the shoulder and said, * For God's sake,
Sahib, don't whistle any more.' I feared that I had un-
wittingly committed some great breach of decorum, and
accordingly, excusing myself, relapsed into silence. After
a while I whispered to the moullah beside me, and asked
•why Makdum Kuli objected to my whistling. ' Is it pos-
sible you don't know,' returned the priest, ' that at this
hour the ghouls and gins are abroad and are wandering
to and fro ? If they hear you whistle they will suppose
you are calling them ; and, Bismillah, we have no desire
for their company.' I afterwards learned that to whistle
in the daytime is a token of defiance, and not considered

256 AN ANTIQUE LAMP.

proper when others are by. A primitive lamp, excavated
from among the ruins hard by, was brought in, and shed
a flickering smoky light over the swarth countenances of
the group within the chamber. The form of this lamp
struck me ; and, on examining it, I discovered that its
material was white bronze. It was doubtless a relic of
the earlier days of Merv. Our host, Yussuf Khan, in-
formed me that it had been found while excavating some
irrigation trenches in the vicinity of the old cities. See-
ing that I was greatly interested in it, he generously pre-
sented it to me. It is about four inches in height, and of
the form of the ordinary antique lamps sometimes found
in Greek and Roman sepulchres, save that the neck be-
tween the cup and the stand is taller than usual. The
side of the spout had been damaged, and the resulting
holes soldered up with pure gold ; the composition of the
original material being at the time apparently unknown.
A portion of the margin of the stand had been melted
off, probably during some conflagration, and replaced with
iron rudely riveted on. The handle had disappeared,
but two small protuberances marking its position re-
mained. The opening in the top was closed by a rude,
iron cover, the hinge of which worked in the original old
bronze sockets. It had probably been added at a com-
paratively late period. Around the top of the lamp is a
series of straight and curved scratches — whether attempts
at decoration or inscription I am unable to say. Among
the Vekil Turcomans, earthen lamps of the old Greek
form are frequently met with in daily use. In all like-
lihood they are obtained from the neighbouring ruins.
Among the Turcomans generally, one sees quite a different
form of lamp (chiragh), an iron rod, a third of an inch
in thickness, two to three feet in length, and sharply
pointed at its lower extremity. It branches at its upper

TROUBLES OF THE NIGHT. 257

end into four, supporting a rude, shallow iron cup, of
about four inches square, the corners of which project in
the form of short spouts, and serve to hold one or more
wicks of crude cotton. The flame is fed with oil or
melted fat. The pointed extremity of the support is
stuck in the earth of the floor.

With the lamp came myriads of those pests of this
country, the chivin or sand-fly, which makes night for
all but the natives of the place a time of groaning and
swearing. How I envied my companions as, having di-
vested themselves of their tremendous hats and lengthy
tunics, they stretched their limbs on the felt matting
and went soundly to sleep. After a weary vigil I had the
questionable advantage of seeing the faint saffron morn-
ing come up palely, throwing the cupola of Sultan Sanjar
into bold black relief, as the sable ibises, swans, and
other aquatic birds fled with shrill cries across the flooded
fields. Apart from the natural irritation caused by the
loss of a night's rest after a pretty fatiguing day's ride,
the recollection of an undertone conversation I had over-
heard among my companions of the previous evening as
they disposed themselves to rest was not calculated to put
me in good humour. Makdum Kuli had gone downstairs
to his own wigwam, and I was left alone with my route
companions. The speakers were the Khan of the Otamish
division of the Tekkes, and a miserable khodja, or scribe,
to whom I had lent one of my horses to enable him to
«ome with us.

Said the Khan, * Did you see the Ingles sahib to-day
when we were praying at the tombs of the Sheiks ? He
was leaning on his sword and looking on as if he didn't
care anything about us or our prayers.' ' After all, he is
only a kafir ' (unbeliever), said the scribe half apologe-
tically. ' What are we to do to-morrow ? ' replied the

s

258 A CUKE FOR WOUNDS.

Khan ; ' we can't stop here any longer, we have received
our three days' hospitality.' ' But,' said the scribe, who
was evidently hungering after the unwonted meals which
Makdum Kuli's flesh-pots afforded, 'you know that a
Mussulman has a right to nine days' hospitality.' 'Yes,'
returned the Khan warmly, 'Mussulmans — yes, but a
kafir like that ! ' and he intimated me with a movement
of his head, ' a Yaman kqfir (wicked unbeliever) like
that, we couldn't share hospitality with him for more than
three days.' All the foregoing was spoken sotto voce, and
in the belief that I was asleep. Then the Khan added,
with a good deal of bitterness, ' He gives presents ta
liamm-zades (scoundrels, good-for-noughts), but he gives
nothing to Khans.' ' Yes,' returned the scribe, to whom
I had made presents, ' it is only to such people he gives-
anything.'

We were early astir ; but Makdum Kuli would not lot
us go without another meal, washed down by green tea.
While we were on our horses at the gate taking our final
pull at the water-pipe which was handed round as a
valedictory ceremony, a number of men, old and young,
gathered round us to hear what news was going, and to-
ask the usual absurd questions about things in general.
A cousin of Makdum Kuli, who had lately been despatched
to Askabad as a jansus, or spy, and who had been severely
wounded in the right hand by a rifle bullet during the
storming of Geok Tepe, wanted to know if I could give
him any moomia to apply to the injury. This moomia I
was for a long time at a loss to make out. I subsequently
learned that it is bitumen. The Turcomans look upon it
as a kind of panacea. They apply it to wounds, and take
it internally, an infinitesimal portion being swallowed as
a cure for nervousness, and a larger amount in cases of
fever. It is to be found, I was informed, in the moun-

VALUE OF STONES. 259

tains of the Derguez, usually in inaccessible places, whence
the nodules of it are dislodged by firing bullets at them.
Matthi, the Jew trader at Kouchid Khan Kala, asked as
much as two francs for a piece of moomia less than the
eighth of an ounce in weight. When Makdum Kuli's
cousin had done speaking, an old man came up to me to
ask whether some minute objects he held in his hand were
valuable. On examination they turned out to be small
pieces of semi-transparent quartz, looking as if water-
worn. Their owner informed me he had taken them from
the gizzard of a doornah or stork. As there are absolutely
no stones of any kind in the Merv oasis, even the smallest
fragment of a material like quartz which is picked up, as
in the present instance, is supposed to be something very
much out of the common, and of exceeding worth. Just
before turning our horses' heads from the door, some of
our party drew from their pockets small pear-shaped
gourds, from which they poured into the hollow of their
hands a quantity of an olive-green, damp-looking powder,
which they placed under their tongues, allowing it to re-
main there during the remainder of the journey, much in
the same fashion as tobacco-chewers do. This powder is
named goufjenasse. It is of vegetable origin, probably
the same as I found in the giant hemlock -like plants
at Khivabad, but what its European or scientific name is
I have been unable to ascertain. Preusske, or ordinary
tobacco snuff, is sometimes put in the mouth in the same
way.

Our course homeward lay due west, by a great mound
here also known as Geok Tepe, from which we made
for another known as Marina Khan Tepe. We found a
waste space of brick fragments alive with snakes a couple
of feet long, of a leaden-grey colour mottled with black,
and extremely slender for one-third of their length im-

260 SNAKE-KILLING.

mediately below the head. We spent half an hour hunt-
ing these up and killing them with our whips, in con-
sonance with the invariable Turcoman custom. Within
half-an-hour's ride of the north-easterly ramparts of
Kouchid Khan Kala we stopped at the house of Kara
Khan, the Karaoul-bashi, an officer charged with the
direction of the patrols told off to look after the Ersari
raiders on this side of the Murgab. Here we had some
fermented whey of camels' milk, a very peculiar beverage,
and very refreshing, in hot weather, and soon after
reached the capital.

THE REVOLUTION. 261

CHAPTER XXII.

The revolution — Coming of the Khans — A singular spectacle — Overthrow
of Kadjar — The triumvirate — A theatrical spectacle — Dress — Differ-
ences of clan — Making presents — Festivities — My surprise — Playing
the host.

DURING my absence at the old cities of Merv, the revo-
lution, the commencement of which I have already de-
scribed, had been growing daily more complete. Though
Kadjar Khan was practically no longer the director of
affairs at Merv, the fact had not been publicly announced,
and it was resolved that a demonstration should take
place, which, by manifesting the number of adherents
of each party, would leave the matter no longer in
question.

On May 14, 1881, my house was all day long, and
far into the night, filled with various Turcomans of
prominence, who talked over the political prospects, and
the chances pro and con. of having to fight the Eussians.
I learned definitively that each of the two hereditary
Khans had resumed his old jurisdiction over his respec-
tive division of the Tekkes, and on the morrow would
come to take up his residence close by where my ev
was pitched — the spot which had been settled upon as
the administrative centre of the oasis. I was further
told that I was to be associated with the two Khans in
the direction of affairs, in the capacity of representative
of the English nation, and intermediary between the
Mervli and the English Padishah. I had over and over

262 COMING OF THE KHANS.

again protested that I had no pretensions to represent
the British Government, and that my mission to Merv was
undertaken purely with a view of ascertaining the true
state of affairs, and keeping the British public informed
as to the relative positions of Eussians and Tekkes. All
my efforts were in vain.

It was early on the morning of May 15, as I slept pro-
foundly upon my felt mat after a night's weary wrest-
ling with the mosquitoes — the interregnum between the
departure of these pests and the arrival of their daylight
successors, the singak, or house-fly, and the only portion
of the twenty- four hours during which I was ever able to
secure any rest whatever — I heard an unusual tumult
around, and, not knowing what might be the matter, I
sprang from my couch, and throwing my sheepskin kusgun
around my shoulders, rushed to the door. Everyone was
astir, and the main avenue of Merv was thronged with
a vast concourse of people, mostly newcomers. Many
were on horseback, and fully armed. At my door I
found the attendants who had been told off for the ser-
vice of my establishment, the chief of whom was named
Mehemet Nefess Beg, a Kethkoda of some prominence.
I asked him what was the matter. He informed me that
the two hereditary Khans were making their entry into
the capital, and that they were about to take up their
abodes close to my redoubt.

Away towards the western end of the ramparts of
Kouchid Khan Kala a large crowd of horsemen was seen
approaching. In their midst, borne on a high pole,
fluttered a red and white standard. In front, and on
either side, armed horsemen dashed to and fro, their
sabres gleaming in the early morning light, some of
them, careering at full speed, rapidly discharging their
muskets. As the body of men, numbering four or five

A SINGULAR SPECTACLE. 263

hundred, drew near, those gathered together in Merv,
both mounted and on foot, moved out to meet them.
"\Yhen within a hundred yards, I could make out that
at the head of the approaching cavalcade rode Baba
Khan himself, and that it was at his side that the red
and white ensign was carried. Around him were his
kinsmen and Kethkodas, all decked out for the occasion
in their finest costumes. Many of his followers bore
lances — an arm which has now almost disappeared from
among the Turcomans, and which is only carried on state
occasions, and then rather for show than anything else.
Most of them were decorated with banderols of the same
colours as the Khan's standard.

Mehemet Nefess now hinted to me that it would be
only courteous on my part to go forward to meet Baba
Khan, and, as I knew this to be the proper etiquette, I
followed his advice. When within fifty yards of the
front of the advancing cavalcade I dismounted, and
awaited the approach of the Toktamish chief. As soon
as I appeared outside the parapet of my redoubt, I was
surrounded by a great mob of the inhabitants of Merv,
all eager to catch a sight of one of the rulers of the
place in his new capacity. Surrounded by the crowd of
sight-seers as I was, Baba quickly espied me, and imme-
diately, in pursuance of Oriental courtesy, dismounted,
and advanced on foot to salute me. Holding each other's
hands, we advanced slowly to a space, near the parapet
of my redoubt, on which a large felt carpet had been
spread, and where the medjlis of Merv had already
assembled.

It was a singular spectacle. The morning light fell
slantingly on the circle of grenadier-hatted, swarthy
councillors who awaited the approach of the cavalcade,
with its gaily-attired warriors, glinting bannerets, and

264 OVEKTHKOW OF KADJAR.

flashing sabres, headed by Baba Khan and myself, our
hands joined in friendship. At the same moment, from
the opposite direction, clouds of dust announced the
approach of another procession. Aman Niaz Khan was
drawing near, surrounded by a retinue similar to that
of Baba Khan. The latter chief and myself, accom-
panied by the principal elders, went forward to meet the
ruler of the Otamish. The latter dismounted some
distance from the assembly, and we all three marched
solemnly towards the carpet of honour laid at one
extremity of the great felt mats placed for the accom-
modation of the councillors. Aman Niaz also brought
with him a standard, but of plain white, which, together
with Baba Khan's, was reared close to the spot upon
which we took our seats, and around which the entire
council gathered, backed by an enormous crowd, hem-
ming us in on all sides. The cannon boomed from the
ramparts, where some had been placed expressly for
the occasion. Neither Kadjar Khan nor his partisans,
attended the council, protesting by their absence against
the revolution, the consummation of which was being
celebrated. The discharge of artillery continued long
into the afternoon, sometimes from the fortifications,
and at other times from an open space some three
hundred yards distant from us. The courtesies usual
on such occasions were exchanged, and then the most
gorgeous water-pipe which had come under my notice
while at Merv was handed round. At Merv, that por-
tion which in the Constantinople nargheelah is made
of glass is invariably fashioned of wood, if it be not a
bottle-shaped gourd. In the present instance it was.
of wood, slightly ornamented with silver. On the sides
were lozenge-shaped panels, set with rough turquoises,
and what I suppose were pieces of green glass, for they

THE TRIUMVIRATE. 265

•would have been of fabulous value if genuine emeralds.
The upper portion, bearing the lighted tobacco, was of
silver, and richly decorated with small turquoises and
rubies.

We remained half-an-hour thus seated, receiving
various newly-arrived elders and chiefs ; and, when the
entire number had arrived, the two Khans, each taking
me by the hand, led me back through the entrance of
the redoubt to my residence. Here I found, lashed to
the door-post, a tall flagstaff, from the summit of which
floated a bright crimson banner of silk, about three feet
square, which, I was told, was the emblem of my office as
one of the triumvirate, and, as I afterwards discovered,
the president of it. It was also supposed to represent
the English flag, and the hoisting of it at my door was
intended to indicate the formal adhesion of the Merv
nation to the British Government, whose envoy they did
me the honour to insist that I was.

A large number of rich carpets had been spread upon
the ground in front of the door of my ev. Upon these
myself and the Khans, accompanied by the principal
members of the medjlis, took our seats, those of lesser
grade seating themselves in a circle upon the ground,
outside the margin of the carpets.

It was a curious sight that I gazed upon from my
door. The Murgab flowed sluggishly by ; the huge mass
of nearly completed ramparts rose against the morning
sky, covered with thousands of spectators, who availed
themselves of every coign of vantage to catch a sight of
the doings within my redoubt. From moment to mo-
ment the guns thundered out, their echoes rolling away
across these historic plains, the snow-white smoke-clouds
from each gun sailing glidingly in procession through the
still air until they were lost to view in the far distance.

266 A THEATRICAL SPECTACLE.

The crimson flag flapped and fluttered above our heads ;
and the warriors and chiefs of Merv, in their best and
brightest apparel, grouped around, some sitting, some
standing, presented a spectacle the theatrical effect of
which was only surpassed by its political interest.
Then followed the political discussion, the chiefs calling
upon me to explain the state of affairs existing between
Eussia and England, and asking my advice as to the
best course to be pursued. To the best of my ability I
gave these explanations, and then my opinions, which
may be condensed into the following advice : that if
Merv was to preserve its independency, its occupants
must refrain from making raids against Persia or
Bokhara.

Here I was indignantly asked how the Mervli were to
live if there were to be no raids on one side or the other.
I, however, kept to the text, and also insisted that no
more prisoners should be held to ransom, even offering
a thousand francs if the young artilleryman Kidaieff
were set at liberty without delay; but this offer was
declined. Baba Khan then inquired : ' Would the Eng-
lish Padishah be willing to receive the people of Merv as
naukcrs ? ' i.e. servants, or subjects. ' That,' I said, ' is
a matter about which I have no information ; but you
can easily be informed about it by forwarding a docu-
ment, bearing all your seals, and testifying your desires,
to the English representative at Meshed, to be forwarded
by him to England.'

At last the council broke up, and the rest of the day
was devoted to festivity. Eude games of different kinds
were set on foot. There were horse-racing and wrestling
— the latter being a sport upon which the Tekkes pride
themselves very much. Indeed, the title peldran (wrestler)
is one of honour among them. Prizes were offered by

DKESS— DIFFERENCES OF CLAN. 267

the two Khans and myself for the victors in these games.
Baba Khan sent me an extraordinary silken mantle, of
pale salmon tint, striped with dark emerald green and
crimson, with intermediate groupings of embroidered
flowers ; and Aman Niaz presented me with a robe
similar to the singular one which he himself usually
wore, in wrhich all the colours of the rainbow, and es-
pecially vermilion, yellow, and purple, were splashed in
irregular dashes. With it was a henry, or skull-cap, such
as the Tekkes invariably wear under their great sheep-
skin shakos. It was of cloth, finely embroidered with
«ilk, in yellow and pale purple, with a little admixture of
green. Makdum Kuli Khan had on a previous occasion
given me another similar cap, and I was able to compare
the different patterns of each, which, like the Scottish
plaids, distinguish the Merv and Akhal Tekkes from each
other. The Merv skull-cap was covered with ornaments
in the form of small Saint Andrew's crosses, grouped in
rows, while that bearing the Akhal Tekke pattern was
decorated with rows of upright ordinary crosses. This
is the only difference I have ever been able to distinguish
in the colours or patterns of the dresses worn by the two
nations. There are, however, not only these distinctions,
but others in the dresses of the various tribes or clans
of the Mervli. On asking once how the difference was
marked — for to my eye there was nothing in the dress,
like the Highland tartan colours, to distinguish the
wrearers — a native pointed out that a peculiar way of
knotting the sash and wearing the hat always indicated
a member of the Sultan Aziz clan, a peculiar tie of the
sword belt one of the Burkoz, and other minute points
of dress the members of the other clans. My eye could
never be sufficiently trained to tell a man's clan at first
sight by the cock of his hat, or the tie of his sash ; but

268 MAKING PKESENTS.

my Turcoman friends never erred in the matter, which
is a somewhat important one in their society.

Aman Niaz, too, sent me a thick cotton stuff quilt,
covered with dark red-purple silk, heavily embroidered
with gold and silver ; and Murad Bey, the maternal uncle
of Makdum Kuli, presented me with a rude four-legged
bedstead, with rope netting as a support for the bed, and
thick, double-folded felt mattress. The bedstead was
styled a takht, and is one of the very few articles of
furniture raised above the floor to be met with in Turco-
man households.

I was at a loss to know what to give in return, for
I was at the end of my selection of presents brought
out from Meshed, and all my European goods had long
since been given away. To Baba Khan I sent a large
prismatic compass. To this I added a gift of rnonev,.
and handed the same to Aman Niaz Khan and Murad
Bey. All these gifts had to be supplemented by dona-
tions to the bearers of the presents to myself, and then
we (i.e. the members of the triumvirate) had also to do-
with the public crier, and several poets who recited odes.
in our honour. The mode of proceeding was for a couple
of poets to enter one's ev, and, after pronouncing a series,
of the most fulsome compliments, and drinking some tea,
to recite an ode, extempore or composed, I could not make
out which, couched in terms the most laudatory possible
of their momentary host, one taking up the theme the
moment the other had exhausted his stock of verbiage
or imagination. I had by me a large bag of silver krans,
and when the performance was at an end I gave a
handful to each — twelve or fifteen shillings' worth, per-
haps— whereupon the public crier, who had taken his
stand outside the door, uttered in a voice that could be
heard for fully half a mile, ' Dower ! dower ! dower I

FESTIVITIES. 269

Bahadur Sahib Khan gives so much money to the
poets ! '

Following the Tekke custom on such occasions, I had
a sheep killed for the entertainment of my own immediate
retinue, which by this time had swollen to most alarming
proportions, and there was general rejoicing within the
parapets of my redoubt. I was introduced to celebrated
robbers — serdars (generals), as they were called by cour-
tesy— people who had deserved the gallows a hundred
times — hook-nosed ruffians, with buff-leather boots, like
stage brigands, and who entertained me with stories of
iheir successful raids, and the number of Persians they had
made captive and sold in Bokhara and elsewhere. These
men, almost without exception, freely drank arrack, as
I found to my cost, for mounted messengers were kept
constantly plying between my house and the establish-
ment of Matthi the Jew, bringing up the necessary sup-
plies in soda-water bottles. These bottles had made
their way into Merv from Bokhara and Khiva, and bore
stamped on the glass the names of Russian manufac-
turers. The arrack, however, was manufactured by the
Jew himself in Merv.

An hour after sunset, Aman Niaz Khan, doubtless
having learned that arrack was to be found, presented
himself, accompanied by his maternal uncle, Nazar Ali
Beg, and a small regiment of acolytes. The house, by
this time, was as full as it could hold, and some of the
persons of lesser rank were obliged to go outside to make
room for the newcomers. In his folio whig was a noted
raider, the Khan's right-hand man, in fact, a serdar,
named Meredh Ali, an exceedingly picturesque-looking
vagabond. The Khan strongly recommended him to me,
and told me that he was one of the men most deserving
of a ' zat.' This was an unmistakable hint, and the result

270 MY SURPRISE.

was that I handed the serdar two pieces of gold of the
value of twenty francs each.

To judge from the expression of the Khan's face,
he was evidently keeping some pleasant surprise in re-
serve, but it was only an hour afterwards, when under
the influence of the arrack, and when the entire as-
sembly was becoming boisterously hilarious, that I per-
ceived what was in store for me. Aman Niaz suddenly
pulled from under his silk robe a wretched, tawdry-
looking, two-and-sixpenny concertina, which he had
purchased from Matthi the Jew, who had procured it
either from the bazaar at Meshed or from Bokhara. It
was made of stamped gilt paper — one of the toys usually
given to children. The Khan intended to astonish me
with this unwonted marvel. He had not the slightest
idea of how it should be played, and sawed away until
I felt dazed and stupefied. He seemed to think no-
explanation or introduction whatever necessary. The
thing was too novel, too magnificent, too overpowering,
in the eyes of the mass of the auditory, for any prelude
to be requisite. The worst of it was that his improvisa-
tions had the effect of attracting all the loafers within
earshot, who came crowding round the house and crush-
ing through the doorway, their mouths and eyes agape
with astonishment at the unwonted and extraordinary
scene. I really believe that unless some of the serdar s
had jumped to their feet and driven off the crowd, the
house would have come down over us. The Khan felt
himself to be the hero of the moment, and sawed away
unceasingly with his concertina, grinning and giggling
with exultation. When the Khan was tired, the vile
instrument had to be passed round from one to another,
and each one must needs try his skill upon it for fully
five minutes.

PLAYING THE HOST. 271

I had now erected my takht at one side of the apart-
ment, and covered it over with the gorgeously embroidered
quilt with which Arnan Niaz had presented me, and there
I sat throughout the night, cross-legged, observing the
proceedings from my commanding point, devoutly pray-
ing that they would soon come to an end. So long, how-
ever, as anything in the shape of eatables and drinkables
was going, while arrack or green tea held out, or dishes
of cold mutton fat and bread and broth were to the fore,
there was no possibility of getting rid of my visitors, and
it was not until the morning had well broken that the
festivities terminated.

272 A DILEMMA.

CHAPTEE XXIII.

A dilemma — Branding horses— A Georgian prisoner — Other captives —
Prisoners in chains— The black present — A camel's bite — Dread of
poison — Turcoman pipers — A morning scene — My pets — An oil mill —
Offers of hospitality — The Khan's vineyards — Tea-drinking — Tea
etiquette — The Guinea worm— The Russian prisoner — Torture of
Kidaieff — Offers of ransom A cure for fever.

THE first use to which I tried to turn my newly-acquired
dignity was to secure a little more leisure, but to my
dismay I was told that a Khan's door is always open,
and he must see and entertain anyone who calls. It
was deemed ' advisable to hoist a genuine British flag
as soon as possible, and I was requested to draw
a design from which an usta adam would manufacture
the necessary ensign. Pieces of red, blue, and white cloth
were procured, and I \vas desired to begin at once. I
thus found myself placed in a very serious dilemma ; for
I feared that, in case of compliance on my part with
the desires of the council, I might get myself into some
scrape for thus taking part in an unauthorised hoisting
of the British flag, an act for which I might perhaps be
afterwards called to account should events so turn that
some indignity were offered to the colours. At length I
hit upon an excuse for postponing the manufacture of
the Union Jack. I pressed my associates to wait and ob-
tain the necessary sanction from the Minister at Teheran,
saying that for the present the red flag flying over my
house would meet all requirements.

BRANDING HORSES. • 273

Another matter, however, cropped up, which it was
impossible to escape. With a view of practically demon-
strating a Merv-English connection, and at the same
time putting an obstacle in the way of their cattle be-
ing confiscated, should by any chance Eussia press on to
Merv, Baba Khan proposed that all the horses should be
branded with a mark similar to that of the English
military steeds. Before this proposition was made, the
Khan asked me to draw for him the Government horse
mark. I did not know what mark is used in the ser-
vice, but on chance I sketched a V.E. surmounted by
a crown. The Khan quietly possessed himself of the
design, and the same evening he showed me an iron
brand bearing the design I had drawn, and which he
had had made without a moment's delay. He would
not postpone for a moment the execution of his plan,
and forthwith ordered his own charger to be brought
out and marked. When the brand was duly heated, a
man rode the horse into the steep- sided ditch of my
redoubt, so that the operator might be secure against
harm in case the animal should kick. The brand was suc-
cessfully impressed ; but as the maker had exactly copied
my design, the mark on the horse was naturally reversed,
and what is more, the operator turned it upside down.

During my absence at Makdum Kuli's village, and
my visit to the ruined cities, a small raid had been made
somewhere between Geok Tepe and Askabad, which had
resulted in the capture of a considerable quantity of
stores — among them some cases of champagne and a
quantity of hams, together with a Georgian sutler from
Tiflis, whose property the captured stores were. I was
very anxious to obtain one or more of the hams, for I
had not tasted any for a very long period, but I learned
to my disgust that as soon as the raiders discovered

T

'274 A GEORGIAN PRISONER.

what they had got they immediately buried them. The
champagne, however, was regarded with a more lenient
eye, principally coming into the hands of Aman Niaz
Khan, whose clansman had captured the convoy. The
Georgian sutler was a prisoner, held to ransom. Like
most of his countrymen, he had been very gorgeously
attired when captured ; but his red silk tunic, silver-
laced cloth coat decorated with enamelled cartridge-tubes,
his silver belt, decorated handjar, and lamb's-wool hat
had all been taken from him, and he was given instead
a wretched tattered garment of quilted cotton, a pair
of dilapidated Turcoman drawers, and a very sorry hat
of shaggy sheepskin. His long boots of Eussian leather
had been replaced by rude sandals of untanned cow-
skin ; and his outfit generally was of the shabbiest de-
scription. He presented himself before me, and begged
I would try to get him released, stating further that
he was unable to pay the ransom asked by his captors.
I gave him some European clothes which I had by me
and a pair of boots, of which he stood badly in need ;
and I further succeeded in getting his ransom cut down
to something like two hundred roubles paper money —
20Z. He tried to pass himself off as a Mussulman ; but
I was given to understand that he broke down in the
ordeal of saying his prayers. However, I was glad to
learn that a few days later, his ransom having arrived,
he was conveyed to within a short distance of Askabad
and set at liberty. When once a ransom is paid, the
Turcomans never fail to liberate a prisoner, partly owing
to their own rude ideas of honour, and partly to the
fact that did they fail in doing so on any occasion they
might afterwards be forced to send in the captive before
any money was paid, and in that case faith might be
broken with them.

OTHER CAPTIVES. 275

The next captive who came under my notice was a
^wretched-looking elderly Persian peasant, carried off but
a few weeks previously from some village a few miles to
the south of Meshed. His case was an unusual one. A
Tekke raid was made in that direction, and one of the
marauders had been captured by the Persian patrols.
He was then a prisoner at Meshed, as usual, held to
ransom. His brother, being either unable or unwilling
to pay the required sum, solved the problem by executing
a raid on his own account, and carrying off a captive
from the same village whom he held as a hostage for
his brother's safety and offered to exchange for him.
Of course, under the circumstances, I could not possibly
do anything to effect the release of either captive. The
Persian exhibited to me his naked feet, blistered by
walking over the scorching marl, and begged me to give
him a couple of krans to purchase some kind of shoes.
I gave him some money ; but, as his captor was by, the
money was doubtless very soon transferred to the latter's
pocket.

One of the most interesting cases I met with was one
of an Afghan merchant who had been captured during
an attack on a caravan proceeding from Herat to Meshed.
He was evidently a well-to-do man, and, in view of his
being a Sunnite Mussulman like the Mervli, was com-
paratively well treated and not deprived of his clothes.
Soon after, he was set at liberty, Abass Khan having,
I was informed, written about him to his agent at Merv.

The only other prisoners beside the Piussian artillery-
man to my knowledge remaining were an unfortunate
white-haired old Persian colonel captured many years
previously during the disastrous expedition against the
Merv Turcomans, and whose beard had grown white
during his captivity, and two Derguezli raiders who had

T 2

276 PEISONERS IN CHAINS.

been caught in the act of cattle-lifting within the Merv
borders. I had an opportunity of seeing these men
every day as they sat listlessly, cumbered with their
irons. Each had fetters confining his ankles, so that
he could only shuffle very slowly along, and heavy col-
lars, locked round the necks of both, were connected
by a massive chain, each link of which was nearly a
foot in length, the iron composing it being an inch in
diameter. They looked the picture of misery as they
sat all day long in the burning sun, for no shelter was
afforded them. Their only occupation, so far as I could
see, was that of removing the vermin which covered their
rags, or perhaps, at the command of some matron, turn-
ing the heavy stone hand-mill with which the flour was
prepared. The ransom asked for each was but trifling —
something like 10L — but even this sum was far beyond
the reach of either of the families of these raiders, who
rarely, throughout their lives, succeed in amassing any
considerable sum in specie.

It was late in the evening of the day succeeding
the entry of the Khans and the formation of a govern-
ment that several horsemen from Dushakh drew up
before my door. They were sent by Adjem Serdar, the
first Merv chieftain of any importance with whom I had
come in contact when on my way to the oasis, and who
had warned me about the horse thieves in his village.
Two of his relations, by name Chariar and Sariar,
brought with them three silver watches with rather
gaudily gilt and painted dial plates, which they offered
for my acceptance on the part of the serdar. It seemed
that after the fall of Geok Tepe and the occupation of
Askabad, some bodies of Eussian cavalry pushed forward
to the eastward, escorting the officer who penetrated as
far as Kelat-i-Nadri, on the Persian frontier.

THE BLACK PRESENT. 277

Various presents were given to the Awlilis and other
Turcomans inhabiting the border, with the view of win-
ning their friendship. Among these were a number of
watches. Two of these had been given to the chaoush
(head man) of Kaka, and the third by some means
had been sent to Adjem Serdar. Neither the chaoush
nor the serdar had the slightest idea of what these
mysterious articles were, or what their value might be.
Knowing, however, that I was at Merv, they sent them
to me as ' presents,' that is to say, as something they
wished to sell. I was glad to receive them, for I was
in want of articles for some of the Merv notabilities,
so that I told the messengers I would gladly accept the
watches. The only difficulty about receiving them was,
as I have said, that at the moment I had not to spare
the necessary funds with which to make the return pesh-
kesh. I said that if the senders would trust me with the
articles in question for a little while longer, I would
unfailingly forward the money to them from Merv, or
at any rate as soon as I should reach Meshed. Here-
upon a Merv Tekke Serdar, who was sitting opposite to
me, observed brusquely, ' Why not take them as a kara
peshkesh ? ' (or ' black present ') ; meaning that I should
receive the watches, or rather appropriate them, giving
nothing whatsoever in return, inasmuch as they were in
my possession, and there was no necessity for my part-
ing with them ; a course, doubtless, that he would him-
self have adopted under the circumstances. This, how-
ever, I declined to do ; but the messengers, thinking
perhaps that it would be unsafe to receive them back,
as they might be despoiled of them before quitting Merv,
said, willingly or otherwise, that I might keep them, and
transmit the money I wished to give in return, at my
earliest convenience.

278 A CAMEL'S BITE.

I do not believe that such a thing as a watch had
ever been seen in Merv before, and many were the visi-
tors who crowded in to look at the extraordinary articles.
— the sahat namehs, or hour indicators, as they named
them after I had informed them of their use. Before
long the news had spread all over Kouchid Khan Kala
that I had received the watches ; and one of Baba Khan's,
noted cavalry leaders called upon me and said that the
Khan was extremely desirous of seeing a sahat namch,
he never having beheld such a thing. I had destined a
watch for Baba, and unhesitatingly committed it to the
charge of the serdar.

From my seat before the door of my house I could
see Baba Khan and his friends curiously examining the
wonderful machine, and in half-an-hour the serdar re-
turned to me, but without the watch. He said that the
Khan was delighted with it ; so much so, indeed, that he
intended to keep it, and that he thanked me very much
for the present. Though I had intended it for him, I
had not said so to his messenger, so that the act was one
of barefaced swindling. The only revenge I could take
was to tell the serdar that the Khan was welcome to-
the watch, but that I had intended to give him a gold
one later on. Now, however, I had countermanded the
instructions which I was about to send to Teheran for
the purchase of the more costly present. I do not know
what was the precise effect of this message upon the
Khan, but he seemed to be impressed with the truth
of the proverb about the bird in the hand, and I heard
no more from him on the subject.

During the day I had a visit from one of the more
respectable of the Mervli, by name Owez Bey. A. few
days before his visit, an angry camel had taken his-
hand into its mouth, and inflicted a severe bite, the

DRKAD OF POISON. 271)

long fangs of the animal piercing through the palm.
The hand was very much inflamed, and, in the ex-
treme heat of the weather which then obtained, I was
fearful that serious results would accrue. I prescribed
for him what I considered the proper course of treat-
ment, and, after having lanced his hand to give exit to
the pus which had accumulated under the fascia, I or-
dered a cooling lotion of vinegar and water. I directed
him to procure the vinegar from \Tatthi, the Jew, but to
this he was strongly opposed. 'How do I know,' said
he, ' but that that Moussai would give me poison ? '
Such was the estimation in which this poor Jew, one
of the most honest men in the whole community, was
held.

While Owez Bey was visiting me, a portion of the
inaugural ceremonies, which had not been completed on
the previous day, was carried out. Owing to the extreme
heat of the weather, I had caused the outer reed mat
of my house to be removed, and the thick felt wall lining
to be raised at a point opposite the doorway, so that a
free current of air could circulate through the room. I
was thus exposed to the view of the passers-by, and in
a very short time, as was usual whenever I made my
appearance, a considerable number of people had assem-
bled, and seated themselves on the ground immediately
adjoining my lattice, two musicians appearing among
them. They were what were styled twecdnk ndamlar,
from the kind of instrument on which they performed.
The twecdnk is a kind of large clarionet, made of bam-
boo, and about three feet in length. It is furnished
with six holes for the fingers, at the back being a
seventh, which is stopped by the thumb. There are the
dilli tweeduk and the karya ticccduk ; the former being
the treble instrument, the latter the bass one. Both

280 TURCOMAN PIPERS.

are cylindrical, and neither is furnished with a bell-
mouth. The end is finished off with a kind of flat brass
ring. The dilli tweeduk produces a sound like the note
of a thrush, while the sound of the karga tweeduk is not
unlike the drone of a bag-pipe. The musicians seated
themselves upon a piece of felt which had been brought
expressly for them, and commenced a low, dirge-like
tune, which grew gradually quicker, the principal exhi-
bition of skill consisting of running up the gamut to the
highest possible pitch, and then down again, on the part
of the dilli, accompanied by a monotonous droning by
the player of the karga. As the rapidity of the fingering
increased, the performers seemed to get excited, rising
to their feet, and piping faster and faster each moment.
They piped to the right, then to the left, and then, making
right about face, piped to the rear, at each bar bowing
their bodies until the mouths of the instruments touched
their feet. This turning, bowing, and piping continued
until the pipers were completely exhausted, when they
resumed their seats ; but it seemed to be a matter of
pride to recommence as soon as possible after gaming
sufficient breath to blow their tiveeduks. There was
nothing that, speaking strictly, could be called an air,
but simply a succession of notes which conveyed an im-
pression of wild sadness, followed by a monotonous run-
ning up to frequent climaxes of acuteness. The second
player never on any occasion varied his drone. On the
whole, the performance was not disagreeable ; at least,
it did not seem so to me, so interested was I in this first
serious musical display which I had ever witnessed among
the Turcomans.

Having repeatedly received letters from the Eussian
prisoner Kidaieff, some in Eussian, written by himself,
and others in Jagatai, written for him by some local

A MORNING SCENE. 281

scribe, but neither of which I could understand, I resolved
to seek an interview with him.

As his place of residence was under the immediate
jurisdiction of Aman Niaz Khan, I applied to that chief-
tain for permission to visit the prisoner. Aman Niaz
readily consented, and appointed the following day for
the proposed interview, saying that at the same time we
could visit his own personal estate about fifteen miles
from Kouchid Khan Kala.

I rose very early on the morning in question, as we
purposed starting shortly after sunrise, and as I stood at
the doorway of my house, looking out towards the coming
day, great flights of wild ducks, ibises, and cranes passed
fit intervals overhead, winging their way to the distant
marshes of the Tejend. Now and then a broad-winged
heron went flapping heavily by, bound in the same direc-
tion. Some sleeping forms were still to be seen outside
the huts, for at this season of the year the Turcomans
sleep out of doors, on account of the excessive heat within
the houses. Here and there a huge sheepskin hat, pro-
truding from under the blanket, showed where the sleep-
ers lay. Around were the recumbent camels, which had
not yet commenced their daily groaning chorus. The
women, early risers at Merv, were dusting the carpets.
A flock of sheep was bleating on its way to pasture. The
saffron light of morning threw the huge mass of ram-
parts into bold relief as it dawned behind them. Then
the eastern horizon burst into a blaze of light, and the
sun peeped above the fruit-tree thickets beyond the walls
of Kouchid Khan Kala.

My principal servant was engaged in feeding a number
of pet animals which I had gathered round me in my ev,
for the people of Merv, knowing that I was interested in
natural history, had almost overwhelmed me with zoolo-

282 MY PETS— AX OIL MILL.

gical specimens — for a consideration, of course. I had a
beautiful specimen of the antelope of the plain, a ger-
falcon, three young jackals, a wolf cub, two black cats,
and a hedgehog. The Turcomans display great fondness
for dumb animals, and it was remarkable to see men of
known ferocity exhibit the greatest tenderness to various-
pets. One of my servants, a raider of celebrity, amused
me by sitting and laughing himself into convulsions at
the antics of a kitten running after its tail, he being a
man who, on the war-path, would cut down woman or
child.

The sun had hardly risen when Aman Niaz Khan
rose from the platform where he had been sleeping out
of doors, performed his ablutions, and soon after we were
ready, and were accompanied by several people of stand-
ing across the river and treacherous portions of the
muddy road. The hurdle bridges were too rickety to-
trust, and trenches and quagmires made the ground un-
safe. Parting from our companions, we rode on past
cultivated fields and castor-oil plants, while vineyards and
groves of apricots and peaches formed an almost unbroken
line along our route. There were large fields, too, where
a plant from which the Kundji yagh, the oil used alike
for cooking and illuminating purposes, is produced. It
grows to a height of four or five feet ; its square stems,
opposite leaves, and lipped corolla indicate it to be of the
labiate family. I do not know its botanical name.

In each of the villages through which we passed were
one or more mills for the production of oil from the grain
of this plant. The construction of these mills is peculiar.
A stump of a large trunk, about four feet in height and
three in diameter, was hollowed into a kind of rude mor-
tar, in which was a pestle of hard, heavy wood, in shape
closely resembling a large Indian club, and weighing*

OFFERS OF HOSPITALITY. 28$

perhaps, two hundredweight. This was made to revolve
while pressing against the sides of the mortar by means,
of a beam six or seven feet in length, which was in turn
attached to a straddle fastened to the back of a camel.
The camel walked round and round the mortar in the
very small circle which the length of the beam permitted
him to make. A rude thatched roof, raised upon four
tall poles, sheltered the animal from the heat of the sun.

At each village the elders came out to salute us,
seizing our right hands in each of theirs, as is their
method of salutation, and then stroking their beards.
Many were the invitations we received to dismount and
partake of gattnk and sheep's-tail fat at the Kethkodas'
houses. It was near mid-day when we drew near Anian
Xiaz Khan's country residence. Some twenty acres of
ground, copiously watered by branches of the Alasha
canal, were enclosed by a tall mud wall. One-half of this,
was under clover, which here grows to a very great
height ; the remainder was devoted to arpa (barley) and
melon ; while around the house, and enclosing the vine-
yards, were pretty extensive groves of apricot and peach.

The Khan's house, situated in the centre of a small
grove, was an oblong structure of unbaked brick, plas-
tered over with fine yellow loam, and still exhibiting some
attempts at decoration about the entry and windows. It
was two storeys in height, flat-roofed, and about fifty feet
by twenty long and wide, and fifteen in height. The
Khan told me that he seldom inhabited this, as lie pre-
ferred living in an ev • moreover, he used it as a store-
house for corn and fruit. Though it was early in June,
the grapes were rapidly approaching maturity. They
were of a dark red variety, and very small, a fact pro-
bably attributable to the density with which they were
allowed to grow, for in most instances the clusters were so>

284 THE KHAN'S VINEYARDS.

compact that the grapes were forced at their sides into
a hexagonal form by mutual pressure. I pointed this out
to the Khan, and he said it was true enough, but that
nobody could take the trouble to arrange them in any
other way. In the vineyards which were better looked
after, as in the case of those of Matthi the Jew, the
grapes attained very large dimensions, some of the white
varieties, of an ovoid form, being fully two inches in
length. Close to the Khan's house were numerous vil-
lages, also surrounded with fruit trees and vineyards.
They were inhabited by the chiefs own immediate clans-
men, the Kethkoda of each being a close relation of his
own. He took infinite pains to show me over his ground,
of which he appeared to feel very proud. We then pressed
a short distance northward, to a rather populous village,
of which one of his uncles was chief. Towards its western
side was a kind of low square tower, with terraced top,
to which access was given by stairs on the outside of the
building. The lower storey, or the interior of this house,
was used for the storage of corn.

We were entertained by one of Aman Niaz Khan's
kinsmen in a spacious, well-carpeted ev, from the summit
of which a pair of inflated tooniks hung conspicuously.
Suspended against the wall was the only matchlock I saw
in Merv. It was of exceedingly rude construction, and
even the Turcomans themselves looked upon it much as
we should upon some of the antique specimens preserved
in an ancient armoury, for all their guns of to-day have
percussion locks. Even flint locks are completely out of
date among them.

Aman Niaz told me that he had sent for Kidaieff, the
Eussian prisoner, who would make his appearance a little
later. Meantime we took our siesta, after which a num-
ber of visitors came in, to assist at a general tea- drinking.

TEA-DRINKING. 285

Every Turcoman carries with him in his pocket a small
bag filled with green tea ; and should he happen to call
at a house where the inhabitants are too poor to afford
the luxury, he calls for hot water, and produces a handful
of tea for the refreshment of himself and his host. It is
only among those who are well-to-do that sugar is ever
seen, and even then it is considered a luxury. It is gene-
rally white lump sugar, of Russian make, but one also
frequently sees crystallised sugar-candy. It is brought
here from Bokhara. The teapot is a tall copper jug,
about a foot in height, and furnished with a cover. This,
filled with water, is placed upon a fire, and when the con-
tents boil, a handful of green tea is put in. Every Tur-
coman, when on the road, brings with him his tea-bowl,
which is of Chinese porcelain, about five inches in dia-
meter, and four in depth. It is white inside, and of a
greyish olive on the exterior. These are the only domes-
tic utensils in use among the Turcomans which are not
either of wood or metal. They are carried in a peculiar
leather case, resembling a hemispherical saucepan with a
long handle, which is slung at the saddle-bow of the rider.
The guests sit in a ring. The host, having two or three
bowls before him, fills and hands them to his neighbours
in the order of their seniority or dignity. The sugar —
if he have any — he generally keeps in his pocket ; and
when he wishes to distinguish any person especially, he
takes out a lump and pitches it across the ring to the
favoured individual. I recollect that, on my first arrival
at Merv, I was in the habit of placing in the middle of
the circle of rny visitors a large bowl of broken sugar.
Each guest, before filling his bowl with tea, more than
half filled it with sugar ; and then, taking a large hand-
ful, he put it into his pocket by way of guaranteeing a
supply for the next bowl, for he knew full well that unless

286 TEA ETIQUETTE.

this precaution were observed the others would take care
to seize all that remained. A Turcoman likes to drink
his tea as hot as he can possibly bear it. When he has
finished his draught, the manner in which he returns the
bowl to be refilled for some one else is a matter of nice
etiquette. By a sudden twitch of the wrist he throws the
vessel with a spinning motion into the middle of the car-
pet, affecting an air of nonchalance as he does so. When
a stranger arrives from a distance, or any person of dis-
tinction comes in, he is supplied with bowl after bowl of
tea until he chooses to desist, which he signifies by placing
his tea-bowl upon the carpet, mouth downwards. Black
tea is practically unknown among the Turcomans, nor
will they drink it when offered to them, unless it be very
highly sweetened. Green tea is willingly drunk without
any sweetening. When the jug of tea is exhausted, the
host shakes out the leaves into one of the bowls, and
then, sprinkling them with sugar, proceeds to eat them,
unless he favours some of his guests by sharing them
with him.

After tea, Aman Niaz Khan sent for one of his ne-
phews, who had returned a short time previously from
Bokhara, in order that he might show me an example of
the peculiar kind of entozoon termed the rishte, by which
so many people of that country are tormented. The
nephew was a lad of about fourteen years of age. A
bandage was unwound from his ankle, and a small
poultice of boiled vine-leaves removed, disclosing an in-
flamed spot of about an inch in diameter. From its
centre protruded a yellow, thread-like body, which was
wound round a morsel of twig. This was the rishte, as
it is termed in Merv and Bokhara, the worm of Pharaoh,
as it is styled in Abyssinia, or the Guinea worm, by
which latter name it is known to English-speaking people

THE GUINEA-WORM. 287

along the shores of the Persian Gulf and in Africa. A
caravan scarcely ever arrives from Bokhara without a
large number of its members being afflicted with this
disagreeable entozoon. Aman Niaz informed me that
anyone who drinks the stagnant water of the rain-pools,
or that of the tanks of the caravanserais, is certain to
take into his system the egg of the rishte, which will
then infallibly develop itself. It generally makes its ap-
pearance where the bone has little more covering than
the skin, as at the ankle, the knee, or the elbow-joint.
A small pimple is seen, which after a time opens, and a
small black head, furnished with two minute hooks, is
seen protruding. This is laid hold of and drawn gently,
the body, which is of a bright primrose colour, and
about the thickness of the E string of a violin, follow-
ing, to the extent of about half an inch. This operation
is repeated twice in the day, care being taken to draw
the worm very gently, lest it should break. As it is
drawn out, it is wound upon a quill, a fine twig, or some
such small object. As it dries it loses its fresh yellow
colour, and exactly resembles a violin string. Should
the rishte break during extraction, serious results are apt
to follow. The entire limb swells, and suppuration sets
in along the track of the worm. After seven days of
intense agony, the entire body of the creature is dis-
charged, and the wound heals up. Should the constitu-
tion of the sufferer not be of the strongest, however, he
is in great danger of losing his limb, which in such
countries is almost equivalent to losing his life. Aman
Niaz informed me that there is another method by which
the rishte may be extracted, without the tedious process
of drawing it out day by day, half an inch at a time,
and which occupies occasionally a month or six weeks.
The worm sometimes amounts to a yard in length. By

288 THE RUSSIAN PRISONER.

a judicious pressure of the fingers, with a kneading
motion, round the orifice whence the body of the ento-
zoon protrudes, it can be gradually worked forward, and
its entire length extracted in the course of a few hours.
There are men who devote themselves especially to this,
and, as Aman Niaz told me, they generally make use of
a couple of small silver coins, with which to press around
the orifice. The Khan himself had extracted as many
as forty of these dreadful worms from his body in
the course of a year. In many instances, he had not
patience even for the process by which it is extracted in a
few hours, but, on its first appearance, plucked away the
head, thus causing suppuration to follow. It is a curious
fact that while this rishte prevails all over Southern
Bokhara, it is never found in the Merv oasis.

It wanted but two hours of sunset, as I sat alone
within the ev ; Aman Niaz Khan and our host having
gone to look at some vineyards at a short distance. I
was engaged in taking some notes of the day's occur-
rences, when the door opened, and some Turcomans en-
tered. They wore their swords, and were booted as for a
journey. In their midst was a man who had neither
sword nor boots, although he wore the regular Turcoman
costume. This was the Eussian prisoner Kidaieff. Had
I not been so informed, I should never have known that
he was not a Turcoman. Though only about twenty-
five years old, he looked considerably over forty. He
seemed worn to little more than skin and bone ; and
his pale, leaden-coloured face was wasted, and ghastly
to look upon. He resembled a walking corpse rather
than aught else ; and his dull, glassy eyes had a fixed
and mindless expression. I motioned to him to be seated.
He addressed me in Eussian, of which, unfortunately, I
understand but little. I then spoke to him in Jagatai

TORTURE OF KIDAIEFF. 289

Tartar, which he spoke with some fluency. He thanked
me for the money which I had sent to him, and stated
that he was very grateful for the improved treatment
which he had experienced since my arrival at Merv, the
irons upon his ankles having been removed at my re-
quest. I asked him about the treatment which he had
met with at the hands of the Turcomans since his cap-
ture, but could get but little information on this score,
for his gaolers were sitting beside him, and he did not
dare to answer. I could see, however, from his emaci-
ated frame and the expression of his countenance that
his sufferings must have been great indeed. The traces
of these sufferings upon his lineaments had been still
further emphasized by the use of opium, for his captors,
occasionally taking pity upon him, supplied him with this
drug to enable him temporarily to forget his miseries.
Little by little he had indulged in this pernicious habit,
until he had become a confirmed opium eater and smoker.
He told me that that was his seventh year at Merv,
and that though he had repeatedly sent letters to Russia,
imploring his friends and the public to ransom him,
nothing had been done, the sum asked by the Turco-
mans being too large, amounting, I believe, to something
like 2,OOOL This was to a great extent his own fault ;
for he had given himself out to be an officer of high
rank, notwithstanding his youth, when captured, and the
Turcomans believed him. He had further stated that
his father was a general, and Governor of a province.
Hence the exorbitant sum demanded for his ransom.
He had been subjected to all kinds of torture. During
the cold winter nights he had been forced to sleep outside
the house, securely manacled, so that he could make no
attempt at escape. I learned, too, that his gaoler, to
stimulate him to greater efforts to obtain a ransom, used

u

290 OFFERS OF EANSOM.

to torture him by placing pieces of lighted charcoal upon
the surface of his stomach, and afterwards washing the
wound with scalding water. As I have this story from
some of the Turcomans themselves, I suppose I may
attach credit to it.

I again tried very hard to procure his release, renewing
my offer of one thousand krans (40L), but they treated the
offer with contempt, pointing to the value of the food he
had consumed during his long imprisonment. But I told
them flatly that Kidaieff was only a private soldier, and
that if, as they proposed, they sacrificed him sooner than
part with him for a low ransom, the Eussians would
make them pay dearly for what they had done. He was
taken back to his quarters, but I believe my argument
made some impression upon his gaolers.

Before starting the next morning some Turcomans
applied to me for medical advice and assistance, as was
generally the case whenever I appeared at any of the
outlying villages. One brought with him his son, whose
hand was badly inflamed. I prescribed a poultice of
bread and milk, and gave detailed instructions as to how
it was to be made. The man listened with attention, and,
thanking me, took his leave. When he had gone half a
mile, he came back again, to say that I had omitted to
tell him what should be the colour of the cow whose
milk was to be used. He had, he said, a brown cow and
a black one. A woman, too, whose daughter was suffer-
ing from fever, brought me a handful of camel's hair,
and asked me to manufacture from it a charm for the cure
of her daughter's illness. As I had not the slightest
notion of what the nature of the charm might be, I ad-
dressed myself to Aman Niaz Khan, who immediately
undertook to instruct me. By means of a spindle the
camel-hair was spun into a stout thread, the Khan all

A CURE FOR FEVER. 291

the time droning some verses from the Koran, or some
necromantic chant. When the thread was finished it
was of considerable length, and, folding it three times
upon itself, he respun it. Then he proceeded to tie
seven knots upon the string. Before drawing each knot
hard he blew upon it. This, tied into the form of a
bracelet, was to be worn on the wrist of the patient.
Each day one of the knots was to be untied and blown
upon, and when the seventh knot had been undone the
whole of the thread was to be made into a ball and
thrown into the river, carrying, as was supposed, the
illness with it. I had some quinine with me, which I
unluckily gave her, the result being that I was nearly
torn in pieces by a crowd of excited matrons who desired
to procure some of the drug for their children who were
ill of fever.

292 BAZAAR DAY.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Bazaar day — An accident — The market-place -Food supplies — Punishments
— Turcoman steeds — The town crier— Sheep-tail fat — Abundance of
game — Breakfast difficulties — Starving out enemies — My sumsa stealer
—Beg Murad's present — Turcoman life — Customs— Cleverness of
•women — Carpets.

THE bazaar at Kouchid Khan Kala is held twice in the
week — on Sunday and Thursday. On each of these days
there is a very large gathering of the inhabitants of the
oasis ; eight to ten thousand persons being usually pre-
sent. On each bazaar day the annoyance which I under-
went from inquisitive visitors was quadrupled, and from
the earliest dawn my ev was filled with unbidden guests,
all seeking for the news about things in general of which
they supposed me to be the unfailing recipient. The day
following that on which I returned from Aman Niaz
Khan's country house was bazaar day; and, with a view
of being out of the way when my troublesome visitors be-
gan to arrive, I rose shortly before daybreak, and walked
towards the southern gate of the fortress. Clambering
up the very steep ascent, I took my place upon the
ramparts to watch the sunrise over the plains, and see
the various dealers and customers arrive at the bazaar.
For nearly an hour I was left in undisturbed quiet.
Owing to nay wearing Turcoman attire nobody had taken
notice of me when crossing the inhabited portion of the
ground. Very soon, however, the relays of workers on
the ramparts began to arrive. I was immediately espied,

AN ACCIDENT. 293

and, as usual, a dense throng formed round me, perse-
cuting me with their senseless questions. The sun was
well above the horizon before there was any great influx
of visitors to the market, but towards seven o'clock the
throng became very large indeed.

From my lofty look-out post, I saw an accident which
threatened to turn out fatally, and which resulted in
serious loss. The tall, rickety bridge across the Murgab,
which I have already mentioned, was, owing to the pas-
sage of the Merv people with their beasts of burthen,
sadly shaken and dismantled. It was hardly safe to cross
it on horseback. A Turcoman, with a laden horse carry-
ing various commodities for sale at the bazaar, seeing
the dilapidated condition of the bridge, preferred fording
the Murgab to risking himself and his animal upon the
shaky framework. The river was at this time rather
high, though there were many places at which it could
be crossed with ease. This Turcoman, however, chose a
dangerous spot, where there was a hole in the river-bed.
When half across, the horse lost his footing, and, with
his load and rider, disappeared beneath the surface. The
current was unusually strong, and when they next ap-
peared they were twenty or thirty yards lower down the
stream. The man had held to the bridle, and struggled
hard to keep his own and the animal's heads above water.
On one occasion they disappeared so long that I felt con-
fident both were lost. At least fifty on-lookers threw off
their scanty garments and dashed into the water. They
succeeded in disengaging the struggling rider, who seemed
none the worse for his ducking ; but the horse, borne
down by his load, remained at the bottom. Divers im-
mediately set to work, but could not discover the carcass.
Then about twenty persons formed a chain across the
river and swam against the stream. At every stroke the

294 THE MAKKET-PLACE.

swimmers allowed themselves to sink, until their feet
touched the bottom, feeling for the drowned horse, which
they at length succeeded in discovering. Several of them,
diving, laid hold of it by the bridle, and, keeping all toge-
ther, towed it ashore.

When the bazaar was well thronged, I came down to
look at the proceedings, for up to this time I had not had
an opportunity of inspecting a genuine Turcoman market.
There are two parallel lines of mud wall, each one hun-
dred yards long, and about sixty apart. From these walls
spring short partitions of the same material, forming
recesses at right angles to the general line, and turned
inwards towards the interior of the bazaar, in which the
habitual traders display their goods. Overhead, each one
has a kind of rude roof of reed matting or felt, to keep
off the sun's rays. Within these booths the merchants
squat upon the ground, surrounded by their wares. Those
who have not regular stalls sit out in the middle of the
open space exposed to the full glare of the sun, and others
under cover of curious square cotton umbrellas, such as
may be seen any day in a southern Spanish market.

The people who throng the bazaar, to the number of
6,000 or 8,000, are principally Mervli, though there are
a few Khivans, Bokharans, and, very occasionally, a trader
or two from Meshed. No charge is made upon the mer-
chants who frequent the bazaar for the accommodation
afforded them in the stalls, except in the case of Jews,
who pay half a kran (fivepence). The only expense in-
curred by the traders is that of keeping in repair the
pathways across the fields and rude bridges spanning the
irrigation trenches. That such repairs are sometimes
needed will be seen from the anecdote about the drowned
horse, given above.

The local Turcoman traders supply the bazaar with

FOOD SUPPLIES. 295

corn, some kinds of oil, fruits, fresh provisions, and articles
of home manufacture ; besides horses, asses, and camels.
Almost throughout the year the bazaar is plentifully sup-
plied with fruits, all of which are of exquisite flavour. In
fact, Merv has from time immemorial been celebrated for
its fruits. Its melons are occasionally exported to Persia,
in which country persons of rank send them to each other
as presents. They are beyond all comparison superior
to those produced along the frontier, or in the interior of
Persia. The peaches are also delicious. One variety,
the rind of which is of a deep crimson colour, known
as the shanik, is smaller than the ordinary peach, and is
without exception the most exquisite species of this fruit
which I have ever tasted. Then there are apricots, and
the jujube fruit which abounds at Merv. In external ap-
pearance the latter is very like a small date. It has also
a stone like that fruit. The inside, however, is of a dry,
husky nature, slightly sweet, and produces intense thirst.
It is perhaps the fruit least adapted for consumption in
an Eastern climate. The only other fruits I have seen at
Merv are walnuts, which are chiefly brought from Persia,
and apples. These latter are very poor and woody, the
climate being apparently too hot for their successful
cultivation.

The bazaar is always plentifully supplied with food —
cheese, both soft and hard as stone, coagulated milk, and
large cakes of bread. The principal meat is goat's flesh
and mutton, but beef and camel's flesh are seen at times,
with that of the antelope and wild ass. The sheep and
goats are killed on the spot as wanted, on account of the
heat. Pheasants are plentiful, and fowls and eggs can
be obtained.

The merchants from Bokhara chiefly bring cloth of
different kinds, coarse silk, cotton, and woven camel-hair.

296 PUNISHMENTS.

They also offer for sale tumbaki for the water-pipes, green
tea, and sugar — either ordinary white lump or crystallized
candied sugar, both being of Russian manufacture.

The traders from Meshed deal in finer cloths, Russian
calico, Chinese tea-bowls, tea-pots, and glass tumblers ;
while the Merv people, besides food, sell wooden spoons and
dishes, clothes, sheepskin hats and overcoats, knives, and
occasionally arms. Russian leather and long and short
rifles were also to be had. Sometimes, but rarely, dried
fish is exposed for sale. It is brought from Bokhara and
Khiva, and is caught in the Oxus, I believe. The money
in use is a mixture of Persian, Bokharan, and Russian.

Upon alternate bazaar days a kind of court was held
upon an earthen mound about forty feet long by fifteen
in height. Here the Kethkodas, assisted by an old Cadi,
administered judgment. The punishments were fines,
and a kind of pillory, the offenders' arms being tied be-
hind, their hats removed, and then they had to stand
for so long in the broiling sun. Thieves were bound to a
stake ; and in cases where people were remiss in obeying
the Khan, the stick was used until it fell to pieces.

With the exception of meat, fruit, and corn, every-
thing was horribly dear. Coarse tea costs from six to
eight shillings per pound ; and sugar, both ordinary white
lump and crystallized candied sugar, called here kand, were
over one shilling and eightpence for the same quantity.

I was very much amused by an incident which oc-
curred during my promenades. As I was making my
way back, after having traversed the entire length of the
bazaar, a Jew merchant placed himself before me, and,
making a profound reverence, presented me with a small
bag of silver coin, containing about fifteen krans. In
some surprise, I asked him what was the meaning of this
proceeding. He replied that it was a gift to me from the

TURCOMAN STEEDS. 297

Jewish merchants of the bazaar, by way of testifying their
respect. This is a common Eastern custom ; a gift offered
to a person of high position being intended to conciliate
his good-will, and secure his influence on any needful
occasion. He would not take back the money, so I handed
it to the men for their trouble in accompanying me.

The western extremity of the bazaar is devoted to the-
sale of horses, asses, and camels. Some fine horses are
to be seen at times, at prices varying from 301. to 601. ;
but, as a rule, animals of this price are not brought to-
the bazaar. They are generally of the Persian breed,
being a mixture of Arab and Turcoman blood, but
thoroughbred Turcomans are also frequently exposed
for sale. I saw two fine ones on the day of my arrival.
They were very richly caparisoned. Besides embroidered
saddle-cloths and housings, they had heavy silver collars,
studded with turquoises and cornelians, and correspond-
ing ornaments on every available part of the body. The
value of the trappings must have equalled that of the
steeds themselves. During my stay at Merv, and a pretty
long one among the Yaniuds, I had ample means of ob-
serving the merits of Turcoman horses, and of hearing
their praises sounded by no cold partizans of the breed,
viz., the Turcomans themselves. Yet I never witnessed
or even heard of such exploits as European travellers,
mention in speaking of them. I have over and over
again made searching inquiries about the powers of these
Central Asian steeds. A first-class Turcoman horse, after
a month's special training, and with ample and special
food, will go from sixty to seventy miles a day, and keep
up chat pace for an apparently unlimited period. This
sustaining power is probably their only excellence which
has not been overrated. For mere speed over a mile or
two they cannot hold their own against the higher class.

298 THE TOWN CRIEE.

of European horses. As a rule, the Turcoman horse is
very ' leggy,' but extremely graceful of limb. His chest
is narrow, but very long, as is his shoulder also. His
head is usually handsome, but in the main rather large ;
and the neck, far from having the proud curve of the
Arab horse, is not even straight. It is slightly concave
from above, and gives to some otherwise elegantly formed
animals a lamentable likeness to a strangely abnormal
camel. At the point of junction with the head, the neck
is usually very constricted, giving the animal a half-
strangled appearance. There are not generally more than
half a dozen for sale on any given day. Asses are, how-
ever, abundant ; but I never saw at any time in Merv the
large white ass used by persons of distinction in Persia.

It approached mid-day, and the sun's heat was be-
coming intolerable, as I turned away from the bazaar.
The town crier, mounted on a broken piece of mud wall,
was announcing the disappearance of a child, and alter-
nating his descriptions of its dress and appearance with
the statement that at a certain stall the flesh of a sheep
could be purchased at a reduced rate. There were some
men, also, walking up and down the bazaar, and crying
out the names of the articles which they wished to buy.
In a European mart one would expect the sellers to cry
out their wares, but at Merv it is the contrary. A man
goes along the row of booths shouting, ' I want six eggs,'
or ' I want two fowls.' Should the stall-keeper be suffi-
ciently emancipated from his habitual reverie, or from
quarrelling with his neighbours, perhaps he will reply,
but no dealer ever takes the trouble to put his goods en
evidence.

The camels were groaning laboriously, and the horses
•were standing around in dissatisfied silence in the white
heat of noon. The frequenters of the bazaar were begin-

SHEEP-TAIL FAT. 299

ning to make their way to their own houses or those of
their acquaintances, to indulge in the habitual siesta, and
I directed my steps towards my redoubt. In the out-
skirts of the bazaar I passed large piles of the gnarled
stems of tamarisk (odjar], brought from a distance of
some twenty or thirty miles westward to be sold for fire-
wood. Charcoal, too, in rude sacks, was being disposed
of, for Turcomans of the better class use it for lighting
their water-pipes, instead of the balls of dried horse-
dung which the humbler citizens of Merv employ for
the purpose.

At Merv a sheep usually costs from seven to twelve
shillings. The animals are of the big-tailed variety, and
all the fat of their bodies seems to concentrate itself in
this part, which cannot, on the average, weigh less than
twelve pounds, and is the dearest portion of the carcass.
When a sheep is killed, the tail is first made use of. It
is skinned, and cut into pieces, which are placed in a
large hemispherical iron cauldron of about two feet in dia-
meter. In this the fat is melted down to the consistency
of oil, and, when it is at a high temperature, pieces of
lean, chopped small, are thrown into it, and the pot is
removed from the fire. The contents are then poured
into a wooden dish, somewhat larger than the pot, which
is placed upon the carpet in the midst of the guests.
Each person dips his bread into the melted grease, now
and again fishing out a morsel of meat. Owing to the
high temperature of the fat, these morsels are quite
calcined, and taste precisely like greasy cinders. It is a
peculiarity of the Turcomans that they like their meat
exceedingly well done. When all the meat has been
picked out from the dish, and the liquid within has
attained a moderate temperature, the master of the feast
takes the vessel in both hands, places it to his lips, and

300 ABUNDANCE OF GAME.

swallows a pint or so of the fat. He then hands it to the
guest nearest to him, who does likewise, and so it makes,
the circuit of the party. When nearly all the grease has-
been thus consumed, and if there be present any person
whom the host especially designs to honour, he offers him
the wooden dish, and the recipient gathers up what re-
mains by passing his curved finger round the interior and
conveying it to his mouth.

Pilaff is a favourite dish with the poor, and, whether of
rice or barley, is often flavoured with prunes. Sheets of
dough boiled in oil also form a popular food, the dough,
from the extreme heat of the oil, being very light and flaky.
Strange to say, though game abounds, very few indeed
ever go in search of it, the Turcomans preferring to sit
at home and munch their dry bread to taking the trouble
and making the exertion necessary to procure it. Neither
do they much care for it. In the majority of instances
the pheasants and partridges are not shot. When a party
of horsemen are abroad, and by chance cross a piece of
ground affording any cover, they are sure to put up some
dozens of partridges or pheasants, and then, forming line
at short intervals, they drive them towards the open, the
birds, after the first two flights, rarely ever again taking:
to the wing. They are then run down until exhausted,
when the riders spring from their horses and catch them
alive.

There is one preparation of meat which the Turcomans
carry with them when they go far afield for any purpose.
It is called sumsa. A thin, circular cake of dough, a foot
in diameter, is covered with meat finely minced, and highly
flavoured with spices and garlic, a little sugar occasionally
being added. The cake of dough is then doubled over,
and the edges are united. The whole is placed in an oven
and baked for half an hour. This kind of mince pie is.

BREAKFAST DIFFICULTIES. 301

one of the most palatable dishes to he found among the
Turcomans, especially when they can be prevailed upon
by any means to lessen the ordinary modicum of garlic.
I subsisted largely upon sumsa, \vhich I had specially
made by Matthi, the Jew merchant. Subsequently, how-
ever, I was obliged to abandon this diet. When it was
once known that I was in the habit of ordering a dozen
meat pies of the kind, I had always a large number of
guests at my house, patiently awaiting the moment at
which I should produce my breakfast or dinner, in order
that they might partake of the sumsa, which they looked
upon as a great delicacy.

This dish was the occasion of an amusing incident,
which, at the time, however, was to me the reverse of
diverting. Beg Murad was extravagantly fond of this
minced preparation. I had, in my unsophisticated days,
largely supplied all comers with it, Beg Murad among the
number. Finding that there was an apparently never-
failing supply, the old ruffian, far from being shy of con-
tinually repeating his visits, seemed to have grown to
consider breakfast and dinner at my expense a standing
institution. Observing this, I directed Matthi not to
bring me any more sinnsa until I should send him further
•word. Great was the disappointment of the pot-hunters
when, on arriving each morning and evening, they dis-
covered that I was confining myself to a diet of bread and
gattuk, with an occasional egg. Turcoman etiquette made
it necessary that I should offer my visitors a portion of
what I was eating ; and often, out of what would other-
wise have been a substantial meal, I have scarcely been
able to secure a couple of mouthfuls for myself. It was
hateful to eat with these people. Each raced with the
others, as it were, in eating, so as to obtain the greatest
possible supply of food for himself. It was quite sufficient

302 STARVING OUT ENEMIES.

to prevent one from enjoying his food to witness the
rapacity and eagerness with which they devoured what
was laid before them, lest they might be outstripped by
any of their companions. Sometimes, with a view of
disappointing them, I have abstained from food for a
whole day, leaving them, from early dawn to long after
sunset, with no other nourishment than that which they
could extract from their water-pipes. My own servants,
who were highly disgusted at this system of abstinence,
inasmuch as it forced them, as well as myself, to fast on
occasional days, again and again urged me to tell my
visitors to go out ; but I did not wish to commit such a
breach of etiquette, and preferred the more passive form of
showing the intruders that I thought they were carrying
the joke a little too far. When by these means I had
succeeded in getting rid of the more rapacious of my ac-
quaintances, I ventured to order a fresh supply of sumsa,
which I kept concealed in my saddle-bags, pending a pos-
sible opportunity of consuming it unobserved. However,
someone betrayed the secret of the hidden sandwiches
to Beg Murad, who now made a practice of visiting my
house about dawn, when I was asleep, helping himself
from the bags, and coolly sitting down upon my carpet to
enjoy his breakfast, after which he had the audacity to
wake me up and ask whether I was not going to get him
any tea. At first I was highly amused at his sangfroid,
but this system of breakfasting surreptitiously at my
expense began at last to assume the form of a serious
annoyance. I have often awakened, to see the last portion
of my day's allowance of sumsa vanishing down Beg
Murad's throat, he not feeling the slightest concern as to
how I should procure my breakfast.

At last matters came to a crisis. Baba Khan and
Aman Niaz Khan were desirous of consulting me upon

MY SUMSA STEALER. 303

some serious matter connected with the government of
Merv, and, with several of their principal followers, one
morning paid me a visit. Taking their seats, they waited
patiently until I should awake, for, as I have said, it is a
matter of strict etiquette among the Turcomans, at Merv
especially, never to disturb a sleeper. When I awoke,
I noticed, as usual, Beg Murad, rapidly swallowing my
sumsa, and I could perceive by the broad grins on the
faces of the others, that they had been informed of the
joke, and were intensely amused at it. This was too
much for me, and, with a very sour expression of coun-
tenance, I commenced to think over the means whereby
I should put a summary end to the objectionable pro-
ceedings of the Beg.

The conversation turned upon the doings on the
previous evening of some thieves, who had infringed the
new regulations as to raiding upon their neighbours.
' Oh,' said Beg Murad, with his mouth full of mincemeat,
'I believe that the Bahadur Khan (myself) thinks we
are all thieves at Merv.' This gave me the desired oppor-
tunity, and I replied, rather fiercely, ' I do not believe
that you are all ogri here, but a great many are, and it
is my opinion that you are the chief of them.' This
provoked inextinguishable laughter among the audience,
which had the effect of irritating me still further, and,
resolving to push the matter to an extremity there and
then, I continued, ' Beg Murad, finish that sumsa which
you are eating, and then immediately go out of my house ;
and if I ever catch you within the door again it will be
the worse for you." With this I imperiously pointed
towards the door. Beg Murad, who was a man of very
high standing at Merv, was completely taken aback at
this sudden change in my long-suffering attitude, and as
he perceived from the demeanour of his superiors who

304 BEG MURAD'S PEESENT.

were present that I should be supported in my command,
he rose, and left the ev, darting an angry look at me.

I then explained to Baba and Aman Niaz Khans how
for a long time I had been victimised by the Beg, and
that no other course than the one I had adopted was left
open to me. They said that I was quite right, and that
Murad's reputation was the same all over Merv ; that he
was a very greedy person, and endeavoured as much as
possible to live at the expense of others, while never on
any account would he offer hospitality to his friends.

In the course of half an hour the Khans left me, and,
as I was engaged in writing, I noticed an unusual stir
outside my door. Then the carpet which hung curtain-
wise before it was thrust aside, and two Turcomans
appeared, dragging by the horns a large fat-tailed sheep.

* Stop ! ' I cried, ' where are you bringing that animal to ? '

* It is,' said one, ' a present from Beg Murad.' It was, in
effect, a peace-offering on his part, for he had thought it
more prudent to try and be on good terms with me,
especially as he had a suspicion that ere long some sub-
stantial presents might be distributed among the lead-
ing inhabitants. He had therefore pocketed the affront
which I had put upon him. However, I would not hear of
any compromise, and peremptorily ordered the sheep to
be taken away, saying that I would have no dealings of
any kind with a man of Beg Murad's character. Observ-
ing, however, the ludicrously dolorous expression upon the
faces of my servants and henchmen, who, by my refusal
of the sheep, saw themselves deprived of a prospective
meal of sheep's-tail fat and mutton broth, I so far re-
scinded my original decision as to consent to buy the
animal. I asked my chief servant to appraise its worth,
telling him not by any means to undervalue it, as I did
not wish to be under any obligation whatever to the

TUKCOMAN LIFE. 305

•would-be donor. He said that thirteen krans (nearly
eleven shillings) would be ample purchase money, so I
handed that sum to the man who had brought the sheep.
To make my action all the more patent, I had the animal
slaughtered upon the spot, and despatched a leg of it to
Beg Murad's ev, with the message that, if so disposed, he
could make sumsa out of it for himself. To do the Beg
justice, I must admit that he saw the humour of the
proceeding. When I subsequently became reconciled to
him, previous to leaving Merv, he laughed heartily over
the whole affair.

Eating seems to be the main object of a Turcoman's
life, and, provided he has an adequate supply of the
better class of nutriment, such as I have described, he
will remain inactive and indolent. He will not even go
upon a chappow or alcman, those species of raids which
for the younger members of the community have the
double advantage of mingling pleasure and profit. At
the bottom the Turcoman is not fond of fighting ; he
would much rather supply his wants by some other means,
though he decidedly prefers raiding, with all its concomi-
tant risks, to anything like steady labour in the fields, or
other industrial pursuit.

The everyday life of a wealthy Turcoman is a very
indolent one. He rises a little before dawn, which he
can well afford to do, inasmuch as he spends the best
part of the middle of the day in siesta, and retires to
bed at an early hour in the evening. Having washed,
and lighted his water-pipe, he sits smoking, awaiting
the production of the hot fresh bread which the female
members of the household are preparing, and then, hav-
ing made his breakfast, and smoked again for half-an-
hour, he talks with the people who drop in to arrange
his ordinary matters of business, whether in connection

x

306 CUSTOMS.

with his flocks and herds, or his traffic with Meshed.
The rest of the day is spent in the idlest possible fashion.
Those who are compelled to work proceed, immediately
after breakfast, to toil in the fields, or follow their avoca-
tions as sheepskin-dressers, shoemakers, or the like. At
Merv, those who follow any occupation of this kind are
few indeed. Once a man passes the age of forty, he
delegates all his work to the younger members of his
family, and never dreams of doing anything himself. In
the event, however, of raids or defensive fighting, men
of comparatively advanced age deem it to be their duty
to take part with the youngest in the necessary martial
toils.

It often happens that a Turcoman's sons are so
numerous that he cannot find occupation for them all
upon the grounds which he cultivates, or in looking
after his cattle while grazing. In cases like this, some
of them either hire themselves as camel-drivers to and
from Bokhara and Meshed, or else work at wages of
two krans a day on the farms of some of the richer
Turcomans, particularly at harvest and irrigation times.
Should anyone feel so disposed, he has always plenty
of unoccupied ground from which to choose a site for the
planting of crops on his own account ; but as a younger
son of this description can rarely raise the necessary
funds for the seed, and at the same time support himself
while engaged in the preliminary labours of cultivation
and until his crops have ripened, such as these are few
indeed. It is only when a Turcoman marries, which
he seldom does until he has accumulated or received
from his parents some small capital, that he ever sets
up as an agriculturist on his own account. He then
purchases a house, a second-hand one, costing from
seventy-five to a hundred krans (3Z. to 41.), and settles

CLEVERNESS OF WOMEN. 307

somewhere in the neighbourhood of one of the secondary
irrigation streams branching from the Novur or Alasha
canal, accordingly as he belongs to the Toktamish or
Otamish, and proceeds to dig a minor watercourse for
the irrigation of the land the cultivation of which he
undertakes, which must be within the particular district
inhabited by the clan or subdivision of which he is a
member. Some, especially those inhabiting the western
border of the oasis, the Sitchmaz, for instance, occupy
themselves in collecting the tamarisk trunks which are to
be procured in abundance in the neighbourhood of Dash
Eobat. These are sold, sometimes in their natural state,
and sometimes burned into charcoal, both on account of
the convenience of carrying it in this form and of its
inherent value.

The female members of the family are mainly oc-
cupied in household duties. They do all the cooking
and fetching of water, and the daughters for whom there
is no other occupation occupy themselves in the manu-
facture of embroidered skull-caps, carpets, shirts, saddle-
bags, and socks of variegated tints for the better classes.
The silk and cotton robes worn by the men and women
are made by special persons. The women manufacture
their own garments, the cloth being purchased from the
merchants at the bazaar. When a Turcoman is blessed
with a large number of daughters, he contrives to realize
a considerable sum per annum by the felt and other
carpets which they make. In this case an ev is set apart
as a workshop, and three or four girls are usually occupied
upon each carpet, sometimes for a couple of months.

Each girl generally manufactures two extra fine car-
pets, to form part of her dowry when she marries. When
this has been done, she devotes herself to producing
goods for the markets at Meshed and Bokhara, where

x 2

308 CAEPETS.

the Turcoman carpets fetch a much higher price than
those manufactured in Khorassan or beyond the Oxus.
Sometimes these carpets are made partly of silk, brought
from Bokhara. They are generally twice the size of the
ordinary ones, which are made from sheep's wool and
camel-hair mingled with a little cotton, and are almost
entirely of silk. They fetch enormous prices. I have
known as much as fifty pounds (501.) given for one
measuring eight feet square.

RELIGIOUS PROPOSALS. 309

CHAPTEK XXV.

Religious proposals — Generous offers — A request to Teheran — Russia
leather — Raiding — The Old Man of the Sword — Mourning customs —
Effects of a storm — Shampooing.

MATTERS were going fairly smooth for me, and the
Turcomans had begun to look upon me as naturalised
among them. I was able to talk to them about Koranic
doctrines ; let them see that I was acquainted with the
fact that Adam, Noah, Moses, and David were prophets,
and had even renounced my heretical doubts as to
Alexander the Great being one of the inspired elect. I
had made such progress in the favour even of the
moullahs, that one day a Seyd (descendant of Mahomet),
one of their number, called upon me, and said that as I
was so well acquainted with Mussulman tenets, he saw
no reason whatever why I should not openly embrace
the true faith. Issa (Jesus) and Moussa (Moses) were, he
said, quite as much respected by the adherents of Islam
as they were by my own co-religionists ; and I required
only a short course of instruction in the form of prayer,
and some minor matters connected with the practice of
the Mussulman religion, to enjoy all the privileges accru-
ing to the membership of his faith. Even Makdum Kuli
Khan entered into the matter with ardour. He was
sorry I expressed any desire to leave Merv. He said that
probably I desired to return to my wife. He could
not believe that it was possible I was unmarried. * Once

310 . GENEROUS OFFERS.

you openly acknowledge yourself a Mussulman, we will
find you another wife here, or two if you wish.' I was in
no slight degree alarmed at this proposition, for it looked
like the preliminary to an announcement that leaving the
oasis was a thing not to be thought of. Grasping at the
Khan's hypothesis about my being married, I replied
that I couldn't think of marrying any other wives, as
the Christian religion forbade it. ' But,' said the Khan,
' when you are a Mussulman, you will have the privilege
of having even four wives if you choose.' My position
was very precarious — I feared to give the slightest ground
for saying that I was trifling with their religious and
matrimonial proposals ; and at the same time I feared
to bring on a crisis by a peremptory refusal to entertain
for a moment the propositions made to me in evident
good faith.

About this time, during a political discussion, I had
taken an opportunity of reminding my colleagues in the
triumvirate of the advice I had given at the last medjlis,
when I recommended them to forward to Teheran a do-
cument, bearing their seals, in which their views about an
English alliance should be fully set forth, and I inquired
whether any measures had yet been taken towards draw-
ing up such an instrument. I was informed that it had
not yet been sent, but that no time would be lost in pre-
paring and forwarding it.

On the very next day a KJiodja, or scribe — a man of
great repute at Merv for erudition — was summoned to
headquarters to act as amanuensis in the matter of this
important State document. He was of Arab descent, and
carried about with him in a long cylindrical tin box a roll
of documents signed by the Sherif of Mecca, the Khans
of Khiva and Bokhara, and other Oriental potentates,
testifying to his direct descent from AH, and to his right

A REQUEST TO TEHERAN. 311

to the title of Seyd. The document was ultimately drawn
up, and the seals of the Khans and Kethkodas were at-
tached. Half-a-dozen horsemen conveyed it to Meshed,
to be forwarded thence to the British Minister at Teheran.
I took this opportunity of writing myself to the latter, in-
forming him how matters stood, and that any summons
on the part of Abass Khan requiring me to go to Meshed
would be utterly disregarded by the Turcomans. I
asked the Minister himself to address a letter to the
Merv chiefs, saying it was absolutely necessary that I
should come to Meshed, and to attach to it seals and
signatures which they could understand, and whose im-
portance they could realise.

Up to this time I had not extended my excursions to
the extreme north of the cultivated territory. On ex-
pressing a desire to do so, a very intimate friend of mine,
Owez Agha, whose ev was near mine, asked me to spend
a day with him at his fruit-tree grove, situated due
north of Kouchid Khan Kala. The intermediate country
was exceedingly well cultivated, and rather too copiously
watered to make travelling at all agreeable. The village
towards which we directed our steps is called Har, and
is close by the outlying fortalice known as Kara Shaitan
Kala (the fort of the Black Devil). This place was, be-
sides, the principal station of the Karaoul bashi of the
Toktamish, who from this point kept an eye upon the
movements of the Ersari Turcomans, and whose patrols
radiated to all parts of the border in this direction.
Owez' s brother, who superintended the cultivation of the
ground at Har, was, for a Turcoman, very well-to-do
from a worldly point of view. To his profession of agri-
culture he added the trade of a boot-maker.

We stayed but one night at Har, and then proceeded
to the last dam upon the main stream of the Murgab,

312 KUSSIA LEATHER.

at a place called Egri Guzer, where there is a very con-
siderable aoull, its chief being Yaghmour Khan, the head
of the Toktamish police. I was informed that from this
place there is a considerable exportation of cow-hides to
Khiva, and thence to Eussia, the tanned leather being
given in exchange for the raw material. The Russian
leather, which is used by the Tekkes for the manufacture
of boots, slippers, sword-belts, and military accoutre-
ments, is very stout, of the natural colour on one side,
and on the other of a bright crimson marked with dia-
gonal lines crossing each other at right angles. It has
the peculiar perfume characteristic of Russia leather.
While in Bokhara and on the Afghan border the red
surface of the leather is turned outwards in the long
riding boots used by the people, at Merv it is the coarse
brown side which is exposed, the Tekkes considering a
display of so brilliant a colour to be effeminate.

On my return from the Egri Guzer dam, I found
that a deputation of Saruk chiefs had arrived at Kouchid
Khan Kala. They were from the neighbourhood of
Herat, and their object was to obtain help from Merv to
proceed against Ayoub Khan, Colonel St. John, the poli-
tical officer at Kandahar, having, they said, asked their
help. I learned a good deal about the political situation
in Afghanistan, and when the chiefs departed I sent by
them a letter to Colonel St. John, begging him to try
and get me away from Merv. I subsequently learned
that my letter did not reach its destination.

Apropos of the Turcoman practice of making raids, a
most amusing incident occurred about this time. Aman
Niaz Khan had sent to Meshed for a large consignment
of tea and sugar, and rolls of cloth. This became known
in Merv, and a troop of the worst marauders went out
to intercept the caravan, and swept off the booty. The

RAIDING. 313

Khan's rage was ludicrous at this want of honour amongst
thieves, and, gathering a party of yassaouls, or police,
he started off to wreak vengeance on the evil-doers. He
recovered nearly everything, and brought in six prisoners,
who, however, pleaded ignorance of the proprietor, and
so escaped.

Another raid of great magnitude was at this junc-
ture brought to my notice, and, as one of the triumvirate
in power, I made a most strenuous protest, as it was a
flagrant breach of the agreement entered into between
me and the Medjlis. Some hundreds of Tekkes had gone
out to raid in the Derguez, under Abdal Serdar, and I
sent word to Baba Khan that it must at once be stopped.
A council was summoned, and upon the strength of my
protests Baba Khan gave orders for the freebooters to be
pursued. Aman Niaz took the opposite side, and when I
threatened to leave Merv, he told me I was perfectly at
liberty to do so. Finally, the two Khans decided to take
possession of the spoil when it was brought in, and decide
the matter after ; and on the strength of this I decided
to remove myself for awrhile from the immediate vicinity
of the principal officials. A few days previous to this
€vent Aman Niaz Khan had invited me to pay a visit
to Matthi, at the Jews' village, about a mile and a
half away, and this visit was now paid. While waiting
for Matthi to prepare the upper storey of his castle for
our reception, we sat within one of his magazines, in
which was stored a most heterogeneous collection of
articles of merchandise. There were fur-bound caps
from Bokhara, cotton and silk from Samarcand, china
tea-bowls, copper utensils, and a very extensive assort-
ment of drugs of different kinds, for Matthi was a pro-
fessed physician, as well as a general dealer. While
Aman Niaz Khan and myself were turning over the Jew's

314 THE OLD MAN OF THE SWOKD.

goods, and endeavouring to select something which might
be of use to us, I had a visit from Killidge-ak-Saghal—
the Old Man of the Sword. We seated ourselves upon
a kind of raised mud platform near the door, and smoked
our pipes. The ak-Saghal fixed his eyes upon my horse,
which was tethered to a tree near to us, and commenced
a series of praises of the animal. This, among Tur-
comans, as I have said, is a preliminary to asking the
owner to make him a present of the desired object. As,
however, I seemed not to take the hint, he remarked that
I had made very extensive presents to several of the
Merv chiefs. ' What,' said he, ' have you given to me ? *"
I replied that, as far as I knew, I had not given him
anything. ' But,' he rejoined, ' what are you going to-
give me ? ' Then interrupting himself, he said, ' I do-
not require money,' which I considered a fortunate cir-
cumstance, inasmuch as I had not any. 'But I will
willingly receive your horse, which I admire very much.*
I reminded the old Kethkoda that I required a horse for
my own use, and that I could not very well proceed any
long distance — to Meshed for instance — on foot ; but
that, if it were possible to find a sufficiently good animal
for my own use, I would willingly make him a present of
that which had taken his fancy.

Shortly afterwards, I mounted a break-neck staircase,
a little wider than an ordinary chimney, and arrived in
the upper chamber, which was some twenty feet square.
One third of the floor was occupied by barley, piled half-
way to the roof, the remainder by large carpets and
voluminous cushions, among which Aman Niaz Khan had
already installed himself, surrounded by his water and
opium pipes, and half-a-dozen soda-water bottles full of
arrack. After he had imbibed the contents of a couple
of bottles, he began to inveigh against Baba Khan's over-

MOURNING CUSTOMS. 315

sense of propriety in endeavouring to interrupt the raid,
observing that he could not see why a thing which had
gone on for so long, and which had always been looked
upon as perfectly permissible, should now be found fault
with. I reminded him of the near presence of the Eus-
sians, and of the extreme danger of the raiding parties
coming in contact with the Russian patrols, which might
give the invaders an excuse for advancing upon Merv.
The Khan's ideas, however, were very much of the ' apres
moi le deluge ' kind, and he evidently thought that the
Merv machine would hold out during his tune. We
remained two days in Matthi's castle, and I was heartily
glad to get away, for the diet of sour milk and bread,
with the accompaniment of arrack and water-pipes, was
far from agreeable in the blazing heat which then pre-
vailed.

On returning, I found that the mother of Baba Khan
had died suddenly during our absence, and the senior
Khan was confining himself within doors for three days
according to custom — the women mourning among them-
selves. Wishing to testify my respect to Baba Khan I
ordered my crimson flag to be hauled down to half-mast,
an act which was directly looked upon as my declaration
of a breach of agreement. People crowded round my
redoubt, and the greatest anxiety prevailed until I had
explained.

Soon after, the booty of the raiders arrived in charge
of the police — six hundred sheep and seventy oxen being
impounded — four hundred of the sheep belonging to a
chieftain named Aliar whom I had formerly met in the
Derguez. Finally, after much discussion, the decision
was left to me, and I insisted upon all the cattle being
restored. This was carried out on consideration of a
small fine being paid for each head to the yassaouls by

316 EFFECTS OF A STORM.

•way of remuneration for their trouble. This settled,
robbers and robbed spent the greater portion of the even-
ing together in my ev, and it was truly amusing to hear
the anecdotes which each related in turn. Abdal Serdar
told Aliar of the various ruses by which he carried off his
sheep and cows, at the same time escaping the notice of
the patrols. Aliar seemed highly amused, and, on his
own part, related other stories, explanatory of his method
of capturing Mervli cattle. Both parties laughed very
heartily, and complimented each other on the skill dis-
played.

This was on June 27, and I had the company of my
guests the night through, consequent upon a violent
storm, a very rare thing in these regions. The thunder
and lightning were incessant, and by degrees the rain
began to make its way through the roof, forming a most
disagreeable fluid with the material that had saturated
the felt. The fire had gone out, the lamp would not
burn, and to add to our discomfort all kinds of venomous
things — scorpions, and insects which ordinarily inhabit
holes in the dried marl — were driven in by the weather.
More than one person was stung. The storm ceased
at sunrise, and when on the point of setting out Aliar
and the other prisoners of the raid made a most elaborate
toilet, which, to tell the truth, the latter were much in
need of, considering the time they had been clothed in
filthy rags and chained together. The barber, a Merv
Tekke, produced a razor which, from its extreme size
and extraordinary appearance, was doubtless of home
manufacture. He proceeded to sharpen this instrument,
using the blade of my sword as a hone. The Turcoman
invariably shaves his head entirely clean, with the ex-
ception of the small scalp-lock upon the top. Even this
is not always retained. The Persian, on the contrary,

SHAMPOOING. 317

when he shaves his head at all, does so only from the
top of the forehead to the back of the neck, leaving the
hair upon each side of the head hanging over the ears.
After passing through the hands of the barber, each
guest underwent a singular kind of shampooing, consist-
ing of his being trodden upon as he lay upon the floor.
Sometimes, too, he sat upright ; and the shampooer,
mounting upon his shoulders, stamped upon them with
his bare feet until the requisite amount of suppleness
had been produced.

318 DISEASES.

CHAPTEE XXVI.

Diseases — Thirst for remedies — An unsatisfied patient — Plans for the
future — A fast for liberty — The Khan's proposal — A change of front —
Squeezing a Jew — Unwelcome visitors — Traits of the people — The
Moullah's watch — Ink v. blacking — Marriage — Settlement of divorce.

I HAVE already mentioned the great prevalence of diseases
of the eye, particularly keratitis; but affections of this
kind were so common at Merv that the inhabitants had
almost ceased to regard them as maladies, and I was
troubled very little with respect to such diseases. But,
at the very lowest computation, fifty per cent, of the
population, male and female, had badly diseased livers,
and scrofulitic and scorbutic ailments. The deranged
livers I believe to have been the direct product of the
consumption, during the exceedingly hot weather, of
large quantities of melted fat, which it was useless to tell
the people to avoid. Fever, too, was to be met with,
though to nothing like the extent to which it prevails in
the neighbourhood of the lower waters of the Tejend and
among the Yamuds. As long as my quinine held out it
was in great demand ; but as I had from twenty to thirty
applicants daily for this medicine alone it may be con-
ceived that my store was very soon exhausted. For the
Turcomans will linger on for months, suffering severely
from the effects of intermittent fever, when two or three
francs' worth of quinine would completely cure them.
Knowing that I had some store of the drug by me, the
fever patients were incessant in their demands for it.

THIRST FOE REMEDIES. 319

A man would ride twenty or thirty miles, and spend two
or three days in persecuting me on this score, when he
might have procured as much as I was able to give him
for a few pence at the Jew's shop. Any traveller who
would bring to Merv a couple of camels laden with
quinine, Epsom salts, croton oil, antibilious pills, and
their much-esteemed moomia (bitumen), and would freely
give away these drugs to all applicants, would be, while
they held out, the idol of the people ; but after the de-
molition of his stock he would fall from favour, as I did.
During the latter part of my stay at Kouchid Khan
Kala, so great had become the daily influx of patients
that I found it quite impossible to secure a moment for
myself, either by day or night. At last, however, I hit
upon a plan by which I secured a little more privacy
than I had hitherto enjoyed. Happening one day to pay
a visit to a neighbouring ev, I noticed a rude mosquito
curtain, manufactured from a coarse muslin made at
Merv, and which formed a sort of small tent, some seven
feet in length, three in breadth at the top, six at base,
and some four feet in height. I immediately purchased
this treasure, paying a pretty high price for it, and had it
conveyed to my house, where I at once set it up at the
side of the ev opposite to the door. I then ordered the
reed and felt covering of the adjacent wall to be removed,
so that the air from outside might fall upon the wall of
my tent, while I was a,t the same time sheltered behind
its folds from the inquisitiveness of the passers-by. I
could see with sufficient distinctness through the thin
gauze, and was perfectly screened from the observation
of those who presented themselves at the door of my ev.
In this way I was able to go on with my writing in a
manner which would have been altogether out of the
question if I had tried to work under ordinary circum-

320 AN UNSATISFIED PATIENT.

stances. I gave instructions to my servant to say that
I was asleep, and, as etiquette is well observed among
respectable Turcomans, I managed to secure some hours-
per diem for my own immediate work. However, crowds
of patients continually collected, generally at the shady
side of the house, waiting until it should please me to
awake. Very frequently one of the more impatient, en-
tering the ev, would thrust his head under the edge of
my mosquito tent, and, discovering how he was being
imposed upon, immediately summon his comrades.

When the croton oil had become entirely exhausted,
a man one day pushed his way into my ev, and requested
me, with evident anxiety, to give him a dose of it to carry
home to some member of his family who was ailing. I
showed him the empty bottle, and turned it upside down,
in order that he might see that not a single drop re-
mained ; but he would not credit the fact. He said that
he was sure I had a further relay of it concealed, which
I desired to retain for more favoured individuals than
himself. Again and again he importuned me to give him
some, and as often I was obliged to explain that it was
impossible for me to do so. Still he would not go. He
sat patiently all day amid the ever-changing crowd, until
towards sunset, when he again appealed to me, only to
receive a repetition of my former answer. At last, rising,
with a lowering expression of countenance, he exclaimed,
* Well, am I to go away your enemy or your friend ? If
I have to leave without the medicine I shall be your
enemy for life.'

This was an extremely serious predicament ; but I
was partly relieved from it by one of my younger ac-
quaintances, a bit of a wag in his way, who, drawing me
inside the mosquito curtain, whispered to me to get some
dust, or material of any kind, and to wrap it in a parcel

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 321

and give it to the unfortunate applicant, as the latter
would have the same faith in this as in the real remedy.

One day, while strolling within the ramparts of
Kouchid Khan Kala, I discovered a locality where dan-
delion grew abundantly. This was an immense relief to
me, as it suggested a plan which, to a large extent, would
rid me of the importunity of my patients. On each
subsequent occasion I prescribed the ' gulizar,' or ' sari-
pul,' as they style dandelion, and gave minute instruc-
tions how to pound and squeeze it so as to extract the
juice. From that time forward one could not cross the
inhabited portion of Kouchid Khan Kala without hearing
the pounding of this herb and the extraction of dandelion
juice going on in almost every house.

In the midst of my anxieties, arrived from Teheran
the definite intelligence that Kandahar was to be evacu-
ated within two months. This decided me upon the
course of action which I should follow. The Turcomans
entertained the belief that British troops would speedily
march via Herat to Merv, if they were not already on
the way. I felt that the inevitable disappointment of
the Tekkes in regard to this matter would superinduce
a state of affairs, so far as I was concerned, from which I
should endeavour to dissociate myself. The moment had
come for a supreme effort, and I began to arrange mea-
sures for quitting Merv, if possible with the consent of
the Turcomans, but, if not, without it. As a whole, the
Mervli honestly believed that I had done them consider-
able service, and that I had been the means of keeping
the Russians from their doors. To this belief was owing,
to a great extent, their unwillingness to part with me.
At the same time, I had my suspicions that the people in
power wished to extract from me as much as possible
in the shape of presents before they acquiesced in my

322 A FAST FOE LIBERTY.

departure. I had already bestowed considerable gifts
in money, jewellery, &c., and I feared that even with a
solemn engagement on the part of the leaders to allow
me to proceed to Meshed, a renewal of these presents
would be only to tempt my further detention, as they
would then think that I was not yet at the end of my
money resources. In pursuance of the idea of the mo-
ment, one day, it being necessary to renew the store
of corn for my horses, and to order some food for my
servants, I declared that I had no money. Calling my
chief servant, I told him to take one of my horses to the
bazaar and dispose of him. The person addressed, Me-
hemet Nefess Beg, drew a long face, and, without saying
a word, withdrew from my presence. He immediately
went to report the state of affairs to Baba Khan. In a
short time he returned, saying that the Khan would not
hear of such a thing as the sale of one of my horses. He
said that the Tekkes would feel themselves disgraced for
ever if one of their guests were obliged to sell his horse
in order to be able to live among them. Several would-
be purchasers called upon me, but, learning from my
servant that Baba Khan was opposed to my selling the
animal, they immediately retired. However, I was de-
termined to persevere in my course, at least until I
could see to what extent it was likely to be successful. I
remained one whole day without eating anything, my
horses being in the same predicament, in order that it
might be demonstrated to my neighbours that I was
without resources. Then I had a visit from Baba Khan
and several of his councillors. They said they were
sorry to hear that I was at the end of my funds, but
reminded me that I was among friends, that all they
possessed was mine, and that I had only to command
their services, &c. &c. To this I simply replied by point-

THE KHAN'S PROPOSAL. 323

ing to my empty platters, and to the horses tethered
close by, who looked for their accustomed food.

Baba Khan was thoroughly equal to the occasion. He
said, ' You are a Khan among us, and you must not want.
You shall have everything we can give you. You shall
have clover and jowane for your horses ; and mutton and
sheep's-tail fat, and unlimited tea and sugar, for your-
self.' He said this with a magnificent air, and an ap-
pearance of asking, ' What more on earth could you wish
for ? ' I bowed my acknowledgments. The Khan con-
tinued, ' There are twenty-four yaps or tribes at Merv.
We will levy daily upon each one a handful of corn, and
that will more than suffice for your own bread and for
the food of your horses ; and the merchants at the bazaar
will have contribution levied upon them for tea and
sugar.' This, doubtless, was a very generous offer, from
the Khan's point of view; but I steadily declined to
accept it. I knew that in the end I should have to pay
handsomely for the supplies offered to me, which, by the
way, I had no occasion whatever for. The Jew merchants
•were quite ready to supply me with all the tea and sugar
and other commodities which I might require, in return
for my money orders upon Meshed, and many of my
Turcoman friends would have supplied me with meat on
the same conditions ; but, as I have said, I wished to
make it appear that I was utterly destitute, and that in
remaining at Merv I was casting myself as a burden
upon the people. I said to Baba Khan, ' J came among
you as a visitor. I did not come to live at your ex-
pense. I had ample money to support me when I came,
but I distributed it among you in presents. I now find
myself destitute. I do not ask anything from you except
the favour of being allowed to go to Persia, where I shall
probably be able to obtain, in person, loans of money

T 2

324 A CHANGE OF FRONT.

which no letters from Merv would procure for me. I
will not receive any gifts ; so that if you do not allow me
to sell my horses both they and I must perish with
hunger.' This brought matters to a crisis. Baba Khan
replied, ' Were I to allow you to sell your horses, I should
be for ever disgraced in the sight of the Tekkes as an
inhospitable person who would not afford means of sub-
sistence to his guest. I will send you everything that
you desire.' Upon this he rose abruptly, and quitted my
redoubt. Seeing that he was bent upon this course, I
changed my tactics, and resolved to try the patience of
the Turcomans to the utmost extent, so that when they
were tired of giving me the offered largesse, and saw no
return for it, they would be glad to be rid of me.

The same afternoon I heard the crier going round
the entire neighbourhood, proclaiming the order of Baba
Khan to the Toktamish that each yap should furnish a
certain amount of fodder for my horses and of bread
and meat for myself and my servants. Very shortly
afterwards a small mountain of freshly-cut clover was
piled close beside my ev, and a small sack of corn was
brought to my door, much to the satisfaction of my poor
hungry horses, who could with difficulty be restrained
from breaking from their tethering ropes at the sight of
the food which they had lacked all day.

Then Matthi made his appearance with a very woe-
begone aspect. He said he had received an order to
furnish me with tea and sugar, and everything else I
required, free of cost. He wished to know whether this
was by my instructions. I explained the situation to
him, and, taking him into my confidence, told him that
he might freely send all I wanted, feeling sure that, as
usual, I would pay him by order upon Meshed. I knew
that I could thus far rely upon his discretion, for I had

SQUEEZING A JEW. 325

already a long credit with him. I owed him at least five
hundred krans. He was a man of the most extreme
prudence, and one who never spoke unnecessarily, either
to Mend or foe. This was the first time he had come to
see me for many weeks, though I had repeatedly been
to visit him at his mud castle. I asked him why he had
not visited me oftener, as had been his wont when I
first arrived at Merv. He said that he would have been
only too glad to do so, but that Beg Murad, who looked
upon himself, to a certain extent, as the supervisor of
all my movements, had forbidden him to do so unless on
each occasion he paid to the Beg the sum of one tenga ;
and Aman Niaz Khan had made a demand for a ' pre-
sent ' of a quarter of a pound of green tea on each visit,
by way of going shares in the large profits which they
believed the Jew gained by reason of his dealings with
me. These exactions, Matthi said, would deprive him of
all profit upon the articles sold to me during his visits to
my t.'i\ I felt very indignant at this, which I now learned
for the first time ; but, out of regard for Matthi's own
safety, I said nothing about it.

I had the solemn assurance of all the people in au-
thority at Merv that, as soon as the reply to the official
document despatched to the British Minister at Teheran
arrived, I should be at perfect liberty to go to Meshed.
As, under the circumstances, I felt that this arrangement
was fair enough, I was satisfied, and disposed myself as
best I could to pass the interval in the most agreeable
manner. I intended to devote myself to writing up my
notes and souvenirs of Merv ; but I found myself very
much in the situation of Bobinson Crusoe. My small
supply of ink was rapidly drawing to an end, and my
pens had become thoroughly impracticable, and I had
caught one of my servants in the act of extracting a thorn

326 UNWELCOME VISITOES.

from the sole of his foot with my last steel pen. My
paper, also, was exhausted ; and I was compelled to have
recourse to the curious parchment-like material brought
from Bokhara. It was all very well to resolve to take
notes and write, but in practice this was not so easy.
The general impression was that my stay at Merv was
drawing to a close. All manner of people fancied them-
selves entitled to call upon me, and to sit all day long
in my ev. Again and again I told my servants to ex-
plain to everyone who called that unless he had some
particular business with me I would rather be left alone ;
but all in vain. The crowd continued undiminished.
Sometimes, when, in defiance of Turcoman etiquette,,
notwithstanding the concourse of people sitting round, I
continued my note-taking and writing, some one would
lay his hand upon my paper, and say, ' Khan, when you
and I are here, there are two present ; but when you are
engaged with this ' (pointing to the writing materials)
' there is but one.' On one or two occasions I said that
that was quite true ; but asked them to recollect that I
did not desire them to call upon me, and informed them
that I had a great deal with which to occupy myself. This
produced a rather morose silence on the part of the whole
company.

As in the case of my food, the result of these visits-
was that I was obliged to spend whole days without tea,
unless I shared it with the two dozen people who seated
themselves upon my carpet. Sometimes, in sheer de-
spair, I was forced to order numerous copper jugs of green
tea, in the hope that it would stop the incessant gabble
and senseless questioning to which I was subjected ; and
it must be remembered that on the borders of Afghan-
istan it was a question of fifteen to twenty shillings
daily, and that, too, at a time when my available

TKAITS OF THE PEOPLE. 327

financial resources were of a very limited nature. It
was not alone in the matter of tea and sugar that I was
victimised. In these latter days, as soon as one had
made a purchase even of hay and clover, it was known,
by some species of intuition, all over the place, and a
flock of harpies were to the fore, borrowing armfuls of
fodder and nose-bags of barley, without the least in-
tention of repaying them.

I lay a certain emphasis upon these peculiarities of
the Turcomans, for no one could be more generous to
the penniless fakir or poor traveller crossing their ter-
ritory. It is only when some one having the reputation
of being wealthy comes among them that all their cove-
tous instincts are displayed. I met with one notable
case of theft in a quarter where I least expected it.
This was in a young student of the medrcsse, or college.
He was the son of the old moullah, and nephew of Kad-
jar Khan. On one occasion he made me a present of a
pair of hand- woven saddle-bags, and in return I entrusted
him with two pieces of gold, out of which he was to re-
tain ten francs for himself, spend a franc in a purchase
on my behalf, and return me the change. This he pro-
mised to do, but after sending me the franc's worth of
candles and an excuse, he finally repudiated the trans-
action, denying that he owed me anything. I applied to
Yaghmour Khan, the yassaoul-bashi, but it was all in
vain. Yaghmour could scarcely refrain from tears as he
returned to me. He said, ' I know that you have given
him the money ; I know that he is a liar and a thief, and '
— concentrating all objectionable epithets into one — ' he
is an Eshck Inncni ' (an Armenian ass). It is curious
that, while red-handed murder and robbery were a recog-
nised means of existence among the Tekkes, thievery,
in the sense of stealing from the person, or niching an

328 THE MOULLAH'S WATCH.

article from a stall of the bazaar, was despised. It so
happened that I had promised this young student a
watch, but before it arrived he had been guilty of this
shabby theft. Knowing that I had written for the
present, old Moullah Baba came and said, ' I never stole
anything from you, why not give the present to me ? ' I
accordingly did so. I spent an hour in explaining the
mystery of the machine, and in expounding the division
of time. When he left my ev, with the watch in his pos-
session, he had the air of a Minister who has just re-
ceived his portfolio. He had risen enormously in the
estimation of the Mervli ; and might be seen, at any
given hour of the day, surrounded by a crowd of from
thirty to fifty persons, to whom he was lecturing upon
the wonderful article into possession of which he had
come. Later on he often affected airs of hauteur as re-
garded myself. One day, however, a collapse took place.
Opening his watch to display to his wondering auditory
its interior mechanism, some grains of sand lodged in
the machinery, and — the watch came to a stand- still. It
would be difficult to conceive a more terrible shock to
personal dignity than that which now took place. The
Moullah hurried to my abode. His haughtiness was gone.
He was the personification of abject humility. His watch
had stopped. He felt that he was at my mercy. He
unwound several cloths, and ultimately produced the
watch from its morocco leather case. If a young mother
had laid her dying infant at my feet, and implored me
to restore to it its fleeting breath, her accents could not
have been more pathetic than were those of Moullah Baba
when he said, ' Can you make the watch go on again ? '
Though not a watchmaker, I guessed that some dust or
sand had lodged in the works. I was sufficiently ac-
quainted with the Turcoman character to know that

INK T. BLACKING. 329

whatever I did to remedy the misfortune must be made
a matter of mystery ; so, drawing my large sheepskin
coat over my head, I muttered in audible tones some pre-
sumably mystic sentences, and, turning the watch on one
side, struck it sharply a couple of times in order to shake
out whatever might be impeding its action, which it im-
mediately resumed. Eemoving the covering which con-
cealed me, I majestically handed back the watch.

However momentary, the gratitude of Moullah Baba
was deep, and he swore by Allah and the Koran that if
anybody ever persuaded him to open that watch again
he hoped it might stop ! He wished himself no worse
than that — to his mind an overwhelming calamity.
Notwithstanding his gratitude, however, he could not
keep his hands from pilfering. Next day, while sitting
among my usual throng of visitors, when the conver-
sation turned upon writing he remarked that Ferenghi
ink could not compare with that manufactured by the
Turcomans. I challenged this statement, whereupon he
produced a scrap of silk paper upon which were written
some characters in a decidedly blotched style. ' This,'
said the Moullah, ' is the result of writing with English
ink.' Then he produced another slip upon which was
some fairly written matter. ' This,' observed he, ' is Tur-
coman ink.' I questioned him still further on the sub-
ject, and asked him where he had obtained his ' English
ink ; ' whereupon he produced from his pocket in triumph
a flat tin canister of blacking which he had purloined
from my saddle-bags !

One day the town crier, accompanied by half-a-dozen
other Turcomans, entered my hut, each to present to
me a new-born child. I could not catch the exact words ;
all I could understand was that one of the infants was
O'Donovan Beg, another O'Donovan Khan, a third

330 MARRIAGE.

O'Donovan Bahadur ; I forget what the others were. It
turned out that among the Tekkes newly-born children
are, as a rule, called after any distinguished strangers
who may he in the oasis at the time of the births, or
have resided there a short time previously, or after
some event intimately connected with the tribe. I felt
relieved by the explanation, even though I had to give
a peshkesh of five krans for each of my youthful name-
sakes.

The subject of children naturally brings one to the
question of marriage. In Merv it is the rare exception
that a man has more than one wife. He cannot afford
to have his, for him, short meals cut shorter by the-
addition of unnecessary mouths. The Mussulman law,
which permits four wives, obtains, but enjoins that a
separate residence be provided for each — a provision
which is usually religiously adhered to by the Turco-
mans. A Turcoman's courtship is not so difficult as.
that of his more westerly co-religionist. He has ample
opportunity of seeing his destined bride every day, for,,
as I have had occasion to remark, the Turcoman women
make no pretence of veiling their faces. A man, having
resolved upon marriage, waits upon the father of the
desired spouse, and, if he be at all well-to-do, proffers
the sum of 4QL sterling in return for the young lady.
Possession of the sum of 40L argues an amount of
eligibility which gainsays a denial, and a new ev, or,
as they term it, an ak ev (white ev) is prepared at the
expense of the father. This means a house with felt
coverings as yet unblackened by the smoke of the fire.
The affianced pair, with a number of their male relations,,
assemble in this dwelling. The Moullah asks the father,
before witnesses, whether he is willing to give his daughter
to the bridegroom. Some paragraphs from the Koran

SETTLEMENT OF DIVORCE. 331

are read, a ' present ' of a few krans is made to the
Moullah, and the newly-wedded pair are left alone to
the enjoyment of connubial bliss.

As far as my experience goes, divorce is altogether un-
known among these semi-nomads. In the event of un-
faithfulness on the part of the wife, a knife-stroke settles
the question, and no one has a right to interfere.

332 BKEACH OF ETIQUETTE.

CHAPTEK XXVII.

Breach of etiquette — Important document — My ultimatum — Sale of a horse
— The last arrow ! — Largess — Summoned — An imposing spectacle —
A Turcoman joke — My advocate.

IT was close to the end of June. I cannot be sure of
dates at this time, for I had lost all count of the days,
and the Turcomans themselves never knew, within a
fortnight, what their own month was.

I was lazily reclining within my mosquito- curtain
tent, wondering what turn fortune would next take for
me, when my servants announced the arrival of Baba
and Aman Niaz Khans. These two gentlemen were
rarely to be seen together, so that I felt that some-
thing important must have occurred. My curtain was
raised, and I welcomed the Khans to my house. Baba
held in his hands a portentous-looking document. The
first words that he uttered were, ' The Ingles Vizir
Mukhtar is evidently in error. He has addressed his
letter to the Khans of the Otamish and Toktamish.
The Toktamish chief is the senior, and I cannot un-
derstand why this slight has been put upon me.' As
these Turcomans are hyper-sensitive upon such matters,
I explained that it was through no want of respect to
the senior Khan that the ambassador had so misdirected
his letter, but that the mistake was owing to the latter's
non- acquaintance with local circumstances; and thus
this important point was disposed of. The ambassador
acknowledged the receipt of the letter addressed to him

1MPOETANT DOCUMENT. 333

by the Merv chiefs, in which they stated that the tribes
over which they presided had resolved to proffer their
allegiance to the British Government, and that they
had hoisted a flag in the English name, and branded
some of their horses with an English mark, in token
of their proposed submission to the Queen of England.
He also said that their communication had been trans-
mitted to Her Majesty's Government. He was glad to
hear that the Merv tribes were animated by kindly sen-
timents towards the British Government, and told them
that they might rest assured of the interest which was
taken in their welfare. He continued : ' It is my duty,
however, to state to you, with reference to the proffer
of allegiance to the British Government, that the proposal
that the people of Merv should become British subjects
is one that, owing to various causes, physical as well as
political, cannot be entertained.' The Minister further
reminded them that I was, as I had myself said, not
an emissary of the British Government, but an agent of
the British public, whose duty it was to keep the latter
informed of events passing in the oasis. The British
public, he said, had always evinced a lively interest in
the welfare of the Merv people, and were consequently
desirous to obtain accurate information respecting their
condition and prospects. ' Mr. O'Donovan, having now
resided for some time at Merv, is in a position to supply
trustworthy information on these subjects, and it is now
both desirable and expedient that you should, in accord-
ance with the request that I have instructed the Agent
of the British Government in Meshed to convey to you
on my part, send Mr. O'Donovan at once to this country,
in order that he may personally communicate to me
such information as may have been furnished to him
during his stay at Merv.'

334 MY ULTIMATUM.

The terms of this document were definite, and exactly
what I had requested the British Minister to place before
the Merv chiefs. Having perused the missive, Baba Khan
told me that I was at liberty to go when I pleased.
* But,' he added, ' there must be a general medjlis before
you leave us.' ' Let it be called immediately,' I re-
joined. I knew what ' immediately ' meant — a fortnight
at the soonest, and, as it proved, I was right, for the
delays were vexatious in the extreme. During these
weary days a hundred peculiarities of Turcoman society
came under my notice, but I had no heart to mark
them : I was disgusted. Even when my brother Khans
came to see me I wore an attitude of fierce defiance.
I was resolved to let them know that I saw through
their policy, and that I was not to be trifled with any
longer.

At last the crisis came. I had been asking daily when
I was to start for Meshed. There was always some ob-
stacle in the way. The medjlis could not be got together,
or one or other of the Khans was absent. On one day,
one Khan was to the fore ; the other had gone on a tour
of inspection. When the latter was to be found, the
former was sick, or he, also, had gone on a tour of in-
spection. Or, when both Khans were present, the waters
at the Murgab dam were so high that every man was
occupied, and no one could come to the medjlis.

It was now some time since I had been living at free
quarters among the Turcomans. Corn and clover for
my horses were freely forthcoming, and mutton broth
for myself, and, as far as they knew, the supplies of tea
and sugar brought to me by Matthi the Jew were at
their expense. One day I made up my mind to send in
an ultimatum. I despatched my chief servant to sum-
mon Baba and Aman Niaz and a number of Kethkodas.

SALE OF A HOKSE. 335

They duly met at my ev. I said, ' I am going to leave
Merv for Meshed within three days.' Objections were
raised. I continued, ' I will hear of no objection ; you have
told me that since the arrival of the British Minister's
letter I am free to go where I please. If within three
days I be not in the saddle for my destination, I shall
haul down my flag as a declaration of war.'

The chiefs begged time to consider. I would give
none. I said, ' I have had quite enough of living on your
charity. I do not require it any longer. I will not have
it.' I sent for the serdar who had taken my watch to
Baba Khan, and, pointing to my horse, said, ' I want
to sell him as a bargain. There is no use in consulting
with Baba Khan ; if you do not buy him I will sell him
to somebody else.' After some discussion we agreed upon
a price, 20Z., if I recollect rightly. The process of selling
and buying was curious. We had an immense amount
of haggling before we decided upon the 20L, but that
was nothing to what came afterwards — whether I would
give the bridle ; whether I would give the new swathing
wrapper; whether I would give the belly-band. All
these minutiae entered into the discussion, and at last, as
I intended all this simply as a demonstration of my re-
solution to stay no longer at Merv, I exclaimed, ' Take
everything ; anything that belongs to him ! '

As is usual in a community like that of Merv, no
sooner had I effected the sale than it was known to every
individual with hi the length and breadth of the place.
A crowd of people of all ranks thronged my house. They
begged and implored me to remain, asseverating that all
that Merv was worth was at my disposal. I pointed to
the serdar, who was preparing to lead away his newly
purchased horse. I said, ' I am penniless. I have had
to sell my horse in order to live. I will not accept your

336 THE LAST AEKOW!

charity. I have asked Baba Khan to summon the medjlis.
He is unwilling to do so. I shall mount and ride away.
Prevent me at your peril.'

There were, fortunately, some circumstances which
came to my aid. The Eussian authorities were surveying
the new frontier, and Tekke scouts brought word that
Cossack horsemen escorted persons with divers wonder-
ful and dreadful engines in their neighbourhood — the
engineers with their theodolites, who were surveying the
road to Sarakhs. I grasped at this as a drowning man
at a straw. I imagined a meeting of the ambassadors
of Europe at Meshed, convened for the purpose of de-
ciding upon the new frontier ; I declared that the fate
of Merv depended upon that meeting. I reminded the
chiefs that they were already cut off from Bokhara and
Samarcand by the Eussian protectorate of these places.
Meshed and Herat were the only points from which they
could derive their supply of percussion caps, without
which their muzzle-loading rifles would be utterly use-
less. If the Eussians were allowed to extend their line
from Askabad along the Tejend to Sarakhs, Meshed, as
a base of supplies, would be lost, and the proximity of
Sarakhs to Herat would practically isolate the Turcomans
from that point.

Even under the pressure which I brought to bear, the
natural inertia of the purely Turkish mind was not to be
overborne in haste. They were by this time very nearly
at an end of their excuses for further procrastination,
but there was still one undischarged arrow in their quiver.
An important Kethkoda, by name Sari Beg, and who was
remarkable for his gallantry with regard to the female
sex, called upon me, and, in a last attempt to move my
resolution anent going to Meshed, said that the ladies
of Merv were greatly opposed to my going away !

LARGESS. 337

It was towards the middle of July that the final
council, in which I took part, met at Kouchid Khan Kala.
It was an unusually large one, for all felt that a great
crisis had arrived. The Bahadur Khan, the palladium
of the Merv nation, was about to take his departure.
Foreseeing the difficulties which might be awaiting me,
I had resolved to sacrifice all the pecuniary resources
remaining to me in a last effort to destroy any barrier to
my departure which the cupidity of the leading men
might raise up. I had determined that the last hundred
pounds, which I had kept in reserve for a desperate
crisis, should now be utilised, and I had despatched con-
fidential messengers to Meshed to bring me that amount
in silver. It may seem strange that I should have trusted
a quantity of coin like this in the hands of professional
robbers ; but I knew enough of Tekke nature to be aware
that when I devoted the sum as presents to their chiefs,
through whose hands it must inevitably filter into the
pockets of their adherents, I was perfectly safe in con-
fiding in them.

On the night before the medjlis, the money arrived.
Aman Niaz Khan's uncle, Nazar Ali Beg, and Koorban
Pehlivan, a near relation of Baba Khan, were the mes-
sengers chosen. The money arrived in four bags, each
containing silver to the amount of twenty-five pounds
sterling. Without a moment's delay I despatched one
bag to Aman Niaz, another to Baba, a third to Murad
Bey, and a fourth to Yaghmour. In an hour's time,
when the sun had set, and my lamp was lighted, the
four recipients, surrounded by their henchmen, presented
themselves. They saluted me ceremoniously, and seated
themselves in silence around me. We exchanged the
usual compliments, and then Aman Niaz Kha.n led the
way by drawing from the pocket of his silk robe a heavy

838 SUMMONED.

sack containing my gift to him. ' Bahadur Khan,' he
said, ' this is the present which you have sent to me. I
thank you for it ; ' and he poured the contents upon the
carpet, so that all might be witnesses to the fact that he
had received them. Baba Khan and the others followed
suit in like manner.

Shortly after this little ceremony, Baba Khan left my
ev, followed by Yaghmour. Aman Niaz and Murad Bey
remained. The moment their brother potentates were
well away from my dwelling, Aman Niaz drew from his
pocket a quart bottle of arrack, which he presented to
me with great ceremony. With great show of hospitality
I poured out full measures for my guests, for, to tell the
truth, I was anxious to get rid of as much of the dele-
terious spirit as possible before being obliged to drink.
When the bottle was emptied, greatly to my relief, all
my guests left me but one, Allah Kuli, who gracefully
reminded me that I had given others presents, but left
him out. I, however, satisfied him by promising that
I would not fail to remember him directly I reached
Meshed.

It was July 19 — a memorable day for me — when the
general council of the Merv representatives met at Kou-
chid Khan Kala. The morning passed. Mid-day came,
and yet I was not summoned. It was two o'clock when
Murad Bey waited upon me, and, with due solemnity,
invited me to appear before the council of the nation.
My horse was standing saddled at the door, for, among
the Mervli, a person of importance cannot proceed any,
even the smallest, distance upon foot.

At least fifty men, in their best attire, and fully armed,
were standing around. As I mounted my horse, they
all did likewise, and in solemn guise we marched slowly
to the place of meeting. The murmur of conversation

AN IMPOSING SPECTACLE. 339

which was heard as we approached was suddenly hushed
as I made my appearance. A large carpet was laid just
within the circle formed by the chieftains and Kethkodas
as they sat in an oval ring close to the water's edge. I
took my place upon it. Behind me, to the left, sat Baba
Khan, and near him was the Old Man of the Sword.
Dowlet Nazar Beg, the former Vizier of Baba's father,
sat by the senior, and close by was many a chief whose
name and deeds had carried terror far within the Persian
frontier. At the opposite extremity of the assembly sat
some of the Otamish leaders. Aman Niaz Khan was
absent, so was Kadjar Khan, though all his immediate
followers were there.

It was an imposing spectacle, this gathering of chiefs
beside the Murgab. Close by rose the frowning front of
the newly-completed fortress. About me, in their pic-
turesque garbs, were the redoubtable robber chiefs of
Central Asia. Some thousands of people, grouped in knots,
surrounded us at a short distance, and more than a
hundred horsemen were close upon the edge of the circle,
listening eagerly to every word that passed. There had
evidently been a hot discussion in the earlier hours of the
day as to the expediency of allowing me to depart, and at
the time of my being summoned much that was interest-
ing had passed by. I was sorry for this, for I should
have wished to hear in their entirety the arguments ad-
duced one way and the other. At the time of my arrival
Baba Khan had evidently had it all his own way — in my
favour. He asked me if I would say a few words to the
council previously to hearing the final decision.

I spoke at some length, though I had little more to
say than on a former occasion, on which I had pointed
out what I considered the best policy for the Merv nation
to adopt, in view of the near presence and aggressive

z 2

340 A TURCOMAN JOKE.

policy of Russia. I was listened to with the greatest
attention ; the only interruption I experienced being the
continual going and coming of the individuals told off
to supply the members of the council with smoking ma-
terials. In the further end of the space around which
the councillors sat was a deep, narrow hole excavated in
the ground, where a fire was burning, and from this the
water-pipes were lighted. When I ceased speaking, a
silence fell upon the assembly. Only Baba Khan and his
councillors whispered together. At length the tremendous
bass voice of the ' Old Man of the Sword ' broke the still-
ness. He proceeded to call the roll of the Kethkodas.
Without exception they answered to their names. Arnan
Niaz and Kadjar alone were absent. ' Where is Kadjar ? '
said the Ak Saghal. ' He is absent,' said Sari Beg. ' Why
is he absent ? ' 'He does not admit the jurisdiction of
the council.' ' Where is Aman Niaz Khan ? ' said the
Ak Saghal. One of the Otamish Kethkodas replied that
Aman Niaz was not at the council by reason of his eyes
being sore, and he being unable to support the brilliant
sunlight. Here the only joke I ever heard from Turco-
man lips was perpetrated. ' You say,' said the Old Man
of the Sword, ' that Aman Niaz's eyes are sore ; how many
eyes has he got ? ' ' Why, two, to be sure,' said Sari Beg.
' He has got two eyes,' said the Ak Saghal, * and yet he
is not here. Why, here is Baba Khan, who has got but
one eye, and yet he has come.' Baba Khan, as I have
said, had one eye completely destroyed by keratitis. He
tried to smile, but it was only a ghastly attempt. His
solitary orb flamed. It was more with indignation than
with pleasure that he heard this allusion to his infirmity,
common though it was at Merv. But apparently the
Old Man of the Sword did not care a straw about his
indignation.

MY ADVOCATE. 341

The proceedings were now brought to a close. Baba
Khan raised his voice, and asked whether there were any-
one present who could say why the Bahadur Khan should
not start for Meshed. A murmured conversation imme-
diately arose all around the ring of councillors. Then,
one ugly-looking Kalmuck-featured man said that he did
not think adequate ' presents ' had been made to all con-
cerned. Baba replied rather hotly that he thought there
had been. The ugly man rejoined, ' Oh yes, I know that
yesterday you received a bag of six hundred krans ; you
are all right, but what about us who have got nothing ? '
I was now very much surprised by seeing the Old Man
of the Sword rise to his feet, saying in an imperious man-
ner, ' The Bahadur Khan came here to serve us, and he
is going to Meshed to do the same. We Mervli may rob
our enemies, but we do not rob our friends.' I felt deeply
grateful to the Ak Saghal for his timely intervention in
my behalf.

342 FKESH DELAYS.

CHAPTEE XXVIII.

Fresh delays — Turcoman inertia — Final presents — Sun-burning — The
Tandara Pass — Down with fever — Back to civilisation.

AFTER the decision of the medjlis, one would have ex-
pected that, even among Turcomans, all difficulties were
at an end. Not at all. It would fill another volume to
narrate the various excuses given why I should not start
at once. Baba Khan had sprained his ankle; Aman
Niaz's sore eyes were a fruitful source of disappointment ;
and last, not least, there was the hypothetic anxiety on
the part of the Mervli lest I might fall into the hands of
the Eussian surveying parties.

At last I overbore all resistance, and on the evening
of July 28, 1881, I was solemnly informed, after a con-
clave of the elite of Merv society, that on the following
day I could start for Meshed. As it was my last day
at Merv, I paid a number of formal visits to the leading
persons residing at Kouchid Khan Kala. I was en-
tertained at a sumptuous banquet, at which sheep's-tail
fat flowed in unlimited quantities, and even boiled eggs
were served out to the guests. Arrack was brought from
Matthi's establishment. Then I called upon my old enemy
Beg Murad — he of the sumsa— who was dreadfully ill
from having eaten an excessive quantity of greasy food.
He had much desired, he said, to ask my advice as a
Frankish physician, but since our last stormy interview
he had not dared to do so. He begged me to give him

TURCOMAN INERTIA. 848

some medicine. Fortunately I had a large bottle of pep-
sin, which I lavished upon the fat Beg. I subsequently
heard, in Meshed, that the cure effected was marvellous ;
and, as I left the entire contents of the bottle with the
obese chief, I trust he has managed to digest his fat
sheep-tails to his satisfaction. When I presented him
with the medicine he said he had one other favour to re-
quest of me, viz., that I should give him, with my takht,
the rude four-legged bedstead of tree-trunks which
Murad Bey had presented to me. This I gave him. I
also sent back to Aman Niaz his gorgeous purple quilt,
and, in fact, did all that I could in the way of little social
amenities to restore a friendly feeling between myself
and my associates of the past six months with whom I
might have had any difficulty.

The following entry in my diary was made at this
time : — ' July 29, 1881, six o'clock A.M. I have put on
my boots with the resolution of not taking them off till I
reach Meshed. I found everybody asleep. There seems
to be some inexplicable and ineradicable objection in the
Turkish mind to prompt action. It seems against their
principles. . . . Makdum Kuli Khan, who came in last
night, has been cooking eggs for the past hour, with a
view of giving me a parting entertainment. Therefore,
there can be no hurry.'

Another extract. Three hours later : — ' There is,
truly, among these people, some ineradicable objection to
do anything at once. It is now three hours after sun-
rise, and I sit here, waiting. Last night I delivered strict
orders about being in the saddle at sunrise. I gave out
the horse-shoes, even the nails. Now it seems that the
" artist," the usta, as they are pleased to call him, has
lent his hammer to some one who lives sixteen miles off.
I am in a violent rage ; but what can I do ? '

344 FINAL PKESENTS.

These quotations will speak for themselves. I had
everything packed up, and my horses were standing sad-
dled at the door. But, like their relations the Osmanlis,
the Turcomans wanted to gain some more time, even if
it were only an hour, to see what might turn up. They
knew that I was very much interested in obtaining the
liberation of Kidaieff, the Eussian gunner, so they kept
the matter back by way of delaying me to the very last
moment. Then came the chief Kethkoda of the Karatch-
met, a subdivision of the Sitchmaz. He said that his
people had decided upon setting Kidaieff at liberty, but
before doing so he wanted an order signed by me to that
effect, and also a letter to the Kussian commander at
Askabad to say that the prisoner had been liberated at
the request of the British representative at Merv. I wrote
the letter, and it was with the most heartfelt satisfac-
tion that I signed the order for the release of the poor
captive.

The last obstacle with which I had to contend was
the clannishness of the Turcomans. I had to choose for
my escort a fair representation of the twenty-four yaps,
so that no one should be slighted. This was at last done,
and at mid-day the escort assembled, when there was
another delay. Presents had to be given in return for
the money I had distributed. Baba Khan came in, fol-
lowed by some attendants, and unfolded before me two
genuine Turcoman carpets, of the finest style of work-
manship. Aman Niaz Khan, not to be behindhand,
brought me three, and Moullah Baba two. Allah Kuli
presented me with another. I was sufficiently embar-
rassed with baggage, but I could not possibly refuse these
eight carpets, though I knew they would sorely try the
strength of my horses. Then old Kadjar Khan gave me a
large copper jug, used in Merv for the preparation of tea,

SUN-BURNING. 345

.and Matthi, the Jew, begged my acceptance of an iron-
headed pipe. Another gave me a porcelain tea-bowl in
leather case ; and lastly, Murad Bey came up, bringing
me a suit of chain armour, and a huge steel helmet like
a dish cover, which he said had belonged to one of his
ancestors. Then arose the question of my flag, which I
replied must remain until my return. My pets had to
be distributed, and at last we started.

My escort consisted of some fifty horsemen, but in
addition the chiefs were there with about a couple of
hundred followers fully armed, and it seemed as if the
whole male population of Merv had assembled to see
me off; and now, anxious though I was to leave the
oasis, it was not without some feeling of regret that I
passed the entrance of my redoubt and rode away to-
wards the rickety bridge spanning the Murgab, which
I had crossed under such different auspices nearly six
months before.

I pass rapidly over my journey back. For some dis-
tance it was over the same ground as I had followed in
travelling to Merv, branching off at a place called Dash
Lalung, to cross the Tejend at Kongali Guzer. Here
the heat was frightful, the marl being in such a state
that it was impossible to walk barefooted. In fact, the
power of the sun was startling, and more than once I
narrowly escaped sunstroke. Upon one occasion during
this journey the day had been dreadfully hot, and yet,
very incautiously, I had clothed myself lightly. I wore
only a tunic-like shirt, of white cotton, and over it a
long crimson silk tunic. The result was that the upper
portion of my body, breast, back, and shoulders —
was red and blistered by the sun-rays. It is a great
mistake, under these circumstances, to wear thin clothing.
The Turcomans, at such times, carry a stout camel-hair

346 THE TANDAKA PASS.

mantle, and if they are forced to proceed during the
mid-day hours, add to it a great sheepskin kusgun, or
overcoat, to save them still further from the baking rays.
In fact, the habit of Western countries is entirely re-
versed. Along the borders of the desert a man wears a
thick garment to keep himself cool, or, rather, to prevent
himself from being roasted alive.

I could perceive no fish in the waters of the Tejend
when we crossed, but it was thickly populated with an
odd-looking, amphibious creature, some two inches in
length, closely resembling a small turtle. Its colour was
of the peculiar blue purple of an ordinary mussel-shell,
from under one end of which protruded a small head
and a pair of minute flaps, while from underneath either
side of the rear end were swimming flaps of at least
half an inch in length.

In due time we reached Chacha, which guards the
entrance of the pass leading towards Meshed, being thus
the key to one of the communications with the capital of
Khorassan across the mountains. We traversed the
Tandara Pass by moonlight. It was dreadfully steep
and rocky, about three-quarters of a mile in length, and
scarcely twenty yards across at its widest part. At its
upper extremity, and on the left-hand side, was a group
of Chenar trees, under whose shade was a rock-girt pool,
the Chashma, or spring in which the Chacha river origi-
nates. Close by, and terminating the ravine, was the
Derbend, or 'Gate,' itself. It was like a vast doorway,
with Cyclopean piers, of black porphyritic rock, towering
vertically on either side. It was not more than fifteen feet
wide. Once beyond this, turning to the left and then to
the right, we commenced the ascent of the tremendous
Tandara mountain. It \vas a terrible climb. There was
absolutely no road, nor even a track. We clambered

DOWN WITH FEVER. 347

over or scrambled between gigantic boulders, up an in-
cline which sometimes caused the horses to kneel, lest
they should slide backwards. Even the strength and
endurance of Turcoman horses failed under the terrible
ordeal, and the best mounted of our company was forced
to dismount and lead his steed. We, however, crossed
the mountains in safety, and leaving a portion of my
escort on the road, I finally rode into Meshed with eight
Turcoman horsemen, the remainder arriving next day,
and calling upon me at the house of Abass Khan, where
I had obtained lodgings. Giving them my engagement
that a sum of two hundred and eighty tomans (100/.)
should be distributed among them as presents, I bade
them seek one of the public caravanserais and wait.

"While at Meshed I had an interview with the new
Governor of Khorassan, who proved to be my old friend
the Sipah Salar, and he kindly insisted upon replacing my
Turcoman garb with a suit of his own, which I could not
wear, but which cost me 41. in presents to the bearers.

I will pass over my stay at Meshed. I was very
ill, and in no fit state for my journey when I started
for Teheran on September 3. By the time I reached
Sabzavar my horses were so broken down and sore-
backed by the journey that I was forced to hire post-
horses in their stead. "While on the way to Shahrood a
violent attack of fever completely prostrated me, and,
unable to continue my road on horseback, I had to hire
a pair of kedjaves. These are square wooden frames, like
a large stool inverted, and which are hung, one on either
side of a camel or mule. In one I put my luggage, in
the other myself. My servant followed on horseback.
I was more dead than alive when I reached Teheran,
after a most painful and interrupted journey of twenty-
seven days. The kindly hospitality of the British Lega-

348 BACK TO CIVILISATION.

tion set me on my legs again, and in a fortnight I was
able to start on my way homewards. The journey from
Teheran to Kesht, on the Caspian, was very much as I
have already described. I had hoped to be able to pro-
ceed to Tiflis by the new railroad, but discovered, to my
sorrow, that it was only half completed. At Derbend,
further northward, I found that the snow had rendered
troika travelling impracticable. I went on with the
Kussian mail steamer to Astrakan, only to find the Volga
frozen, and to undergo one of the most disagreeable
experiences of my life in reaching the nearest railway
station, that of Zarizin, after a three days' voyage,
broken by intervals of discomfort only to be experienced
by those who try to travel in South-E astern Kussia at
that time of the year — November. How I got on to
Odessa, and thence to Constantinople, scarcely enters
into the scope of this narrative.

I reached the shores of the Bosphorus on November 26,
1881, nearly four months after I had quitted Kouchid
Khan Kala and the Turcomans, and close upon three
years since I left Trebizond on my Eastward way.

LOXDOS ! rillNTED BY

SI'OTTISWOODK AND CO., XK\V-STUKKT SQDAHE
AND PA1U.IAMKXT 8TUKET

THE MERV OASIS:

Travels and Adventures East of the Caspian during the Years 1879-80-81,
Including Five Months' Residence among the Tekke's of Merv.

ZB~Z~ ZEZDIurOIDTID O'ZDOZLsTO'V.A.ICsr.,

Special Correspondent of the Daily News.

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1 We feel sure that the almost unanimous opinion of the general reader will be that he
has seldom taken up a more graphic or original book of travels than this is, and that Central
Asia, despite its deserts, cannot be so uninteresting a place as has hitherto been supposed.
There is not the least doubt that the author has written one of the most interesting and
attractive books of travels in Central Asia that have appeared since those of Conolly and
Bnrnes first drew the attention of our countrymen to the Khanates and the nomadic
camps of Turkestan. And this is probably the most sterling service that anyone could
render to the cause of Central Asian literature. What we want to learn is something of
the inner life and character of those tribes and races of whose numbers and military equip-
ments we have been accurately apprised, but whose individuality was not less shifting than
the sands of their own deserts ; and this is exactly the sort of information with which
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' Mr. O'Donovan's splendid record of his experiences to the East of the Caspian is a work'
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' The literary merits, which are by no means inconsiderable, are soon forgotten in the
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travel. We can safely say that for some time to come these volumes, or the second of them,
will be the text-book for all eager disputants about Merv, Sarakhs, and the possibilities of
feeding large armaments in the desert, as well as of making railways, whether for strategy
or commerce. There is an immense deal in these two volumes on which we can barely
touch. The anecdotes of Eastern craft, ignorance, and credulity are always amusing. The
descriptions of life and manners are graphic ; and Mr. O'Donovan has a good eye for the
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concerns of Afghanistan, India, Persia, and Russia are intimately connected, this work is
a distinct and notable contribution. Mr. O'Donovan writes like an intelligent appreciative
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does he seem to write for mere effect; and the personal adventures are related modestly.
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of a land of which little has hitherto been known, " The Merv Oasis " is of great interest
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' Mr. O'Donovan's description of his visit to Merv, and of his previous explorations on
the Persian frontier, is sure to be allowed, by general consent, high rank among works on
Central Asia. Indeed, as an interesting book of travels it may be doubted whether it has
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