.- I 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA 
 
 WITH A MAP AND APPENDIX ON THE 
 
 DIPLOMACY AND DELIMITATION OF THE 
 RUSSO-AFGHAN FRONTIER 
 /, / /> 
 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY LANSDELL, D.D. 
 
 MR.A.S., F.R.G.S. 
 AUTHOR OF "THROUGH SIBERIA" AND "RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA, INCLUDING KULDJA, BOKHARA 
 
 KHIVA AND MERV" 
 
 
 WITH SEVENTY-FOUR ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, AND RIVINGTON 
 ST. DUNSTAN'S HOUSE, FETTER LANE, E.G. 
 
 1887 
 [All riyhts reserved. ~\ 
 
BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 
 
 RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 KULDJA, BOKHARA, KHIVA, AND MERV. 
 
 In two Volumes, 42^. 
 
 THROUGH SIBERIA. 
 
 In one Volume, lOs. 6d. 
 
 LIBRARY EDITION, 2 VOLS., 30^. 
 
 Of which latter atout 20 Copies only remain. 
 
 For further particulars see p. 669. 
 
 Printed by Hazell, Watson :. & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. 
 
132 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE recent settlement of the Russo- Afghan Fron- 
 tier question has suggested the present as a 
 suitable time to meet a wish that has been expressed 
 for a popular edition of my larger work on " Russian 
 Central Asia, including Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva, and 
 Merv." It suggested also the desirability of adding an 
 Appendix, showing the course of events and diplomatic 
 correspondence which led to the appointment of 
 the Afghan Boundary Commission, and of giving a 
 sketch of the manner in which the delimitation had 
 been performed. Upon inquiry at the libraries of the 
 Royal Geographical Society and at the India Office 
 for a compendium on the subject, I was told that 
 no such summary existed. I have endeavoured, 
 therefore, to make one from the Blue Books at the 
 India Office, and from letters supplied, by officers on 
 the Commission, to the Times of London and the 
 Pioneer of India, some of the latter of which, up to 
 the return of the major portion of the Indian escort, 
 have appeared in " Travels with the Afghan Boundary 
 Commission," by Lieut. A. C. Yate. 
 
 In condensing material and making extracts from 
 the Blue Books on Central Asian Correspondence from 
 1872, I have been careful frequently to give dates or 
 other clues whereby those who wish to examine 
 matters more minutely can readily refer to the sources 
 quoted ; and I would take this opportunity to thank the 
 officials at the India Office for their courtesy and 
 readiness to afford me assistance. 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 The student and specialist who may desire further 
 information concerning Central Asia generally, and not 
 merely the ground over which I travelled, I venture to 
 refer to my larger work of 1,500 pages, which gives 
 4,300 species of fauna and flora in about twenty lists 
 with introductions, adds a bibliography of 700 titles, 
 and treats more or less fully of the geography, economy 
 and administration, ethnology, antiquities, history, 
 meteorology, geology, zoology, and botany of all parts 
 of Russian Turkistan, Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva, and 
 Turkmenia, down to the frontier of Afghanistan. 
 
 The present work is chiefly a personal narrative, 
 many whole chapters, and most of the notes, of the 
 large edition being omitted, except such as refer to 
 patriarchal and Persian customs, which have been 
 appreciated as throwing light upon Biblical ethno- 
 graphy. 
 
 Subsequently to the sheets being printed, or nearly 
 so, my attention was called to a book entitled " In 
 Russian and French Prisons," by P. Kropotkine, 
 wherein my name figures as "a Foreigner on Russian 
 Prisons," and my testimony is called in question. On 
 reading the book I found that its chapters were for the 
 most part reprints of articles which have appeared in 
 the periodical press. They were before me, I believe, 
 when I published, two years since, my chapter, " Do 
 we know the Truth about Siberian Prisons ? " but to 
 this the author has not alluded in his recently pub- 
 lished pages, so that I have merely to refer the reader 
 to Chapters xx. xxii. for my opinion on such prisons 
 as I have visited throughout Russia. 
 
 H. L. 
 
 THE GROVE, BLACKHEATH, LONDON, S.E. 
 30/A September, 1887. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PREFACE iii 
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . xviii 
 
 OBSERVANDA xx 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Intention to cross the Steppe frustrated in 1879. Considered afresh 
 in 1882. Distribution of religious literature desirable. 
 Reasons for and against the venture. The way cleared. My 
 objects chiefly religious. Help of Bible and Tract Societies. 
 Plans in relation thereto. Additional objects. Failure antici- 
 pated by some. Fears entertained by others. The start . i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 
 
 Five routes to Central Asia. Departure for Petersburg. Favour- 
 able reception. Official letters and favours. Scientific ac- 
 quaintances and introductions. Departure for Moscow. 
 National Exhibition and St. Saviour's Cathedral. Mr. Alfred 
 Sevier as interpreter. Our arrival at Perm. Purchase of 
 tarantass and medicines. Departure for the Urals. Tract 
 distribution. Arrested and brought back to Perm. Examined 
 and released with apologies. My own fault. Exaggerated 
 reports in newspapers. A fresh start 9 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 
 
 Books overtaken : their numbers, kinds, and languages. Acquain- 
 tanceships renewed at Tiumen. Success of former eiforts. 
 Books for future supply of exiles. Testimonies to their thank- 
 fulness for Scriptures distributed. Final equipment, and 
 introductions. New Siberian steamer. M. Ignatoif's gene- 
 rosity. River voyage. Sale of books on deck. Interview with 
 Governor of Tobolsk. Visit to cemetery and Archbishop. 
 Voyage up the Irtish. Cheap provisions. Fellow-passengers. 
 Arrival at Omsk 24 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Description of town of Omsk. Cause of its decline. Schools. 
 Visits to inhabitants and institutions. Dinner with Governor. 
 Protestant pastor and distribution of books. Departure south- 
 wards. Cossack stations. Summer appearance of steppe. 
 Arrival at Pavlodar. Scriptures sold to Muhammadans, advice 
 to contrary notwithstanding. Cheap provisions. Roads to 
 mining" districts. Recruits on the march. Meeting" the 
 Governor-General. Skirting the Irtish. Change of landscape. 
 Improved fauna and flora. Arrival at Semipolatinsk . -37 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 FROM SEMIPOLATINSK TO SERGIOPOL. 
 
 "Semipolatinsk": its etymology, situation, and meteorology. 
 Call on Governor. Visits to prison and asylum. Schools. 
 Post Office statistics. Trade. Our start delayed. Departure, 
 roads, and posting service. Sunday at Sergiopol. Distri- 
 bution of books from the capital and onwards. Antiquities 
 and remarkable skulls. Mineral deposits. A previous 
 English traveller. Lake Ala-Kul : its aspect, ornithology, 
 lizards, and fish. The Central Asian " Kulan " . . . 53 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 FROM SERGIOPOL TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 
 
 Departure from Sergiopol. Miserable station at Djus Agach. 
 Desiccated lake-bed near Ala-Kul. Arganatinsk. View of 
 Lake Balkhash. " Ehbi " wind and sandstorm. Lepsinsk 
 station. Accelerated posting. Branch road to Lepsinsk 
 colony. Arasan sulphur baths. Kopal. Arrival at Altyn- 
 Immel ........... 62 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 
 
 The Altyn-Immel Pass. A sick telegraphist, and Tatar. Nomads 
 of the Province. Borokhudzir nursery. Ruined towns, and 
 Solons. Kuldja mining. Chinchakhodzi. History of Hi 
 valley: its colonization, rebellion, and occupation by Russians. 
 Arrival at Kuldja. The Hi Valley, midway between Turanian 
 and Chinese races. The Taranchis : their dress and habita- 
 tions. The Dungans ; Solons ; and Sibos. Visit to a Sibo 
 encampment. Their household gods, and sick people. The 
 Kalmuks : their physical and mental characteristics. Admin- 
 istration under Geluns and Zangs. Kalmuk religion, family 
 life, and marriage . . . . . . . 7i 
 
CONTENTS. vii 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 OUR STAY IN KULDJA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Hospitality at the Russian Consulate. Visit to Taranchis and 
 Sibos. Crossing the Hi with Cossack escort. Roman 
 Catholics in Kuldja. The Russian Church. A request from 
 Roman Catholics for religious service. Distribution of 
 Scriptures. Steadfastness of Chinese Christians. Visit to 
 Buddhist temple. Dungan and Taranchi mosques. Visits 
 to Chinese Police-master, and Commissariat officer. Sale of 
 Scriptures. Taranchi, Chinese, and Sart bazaars. Character 
 of trade, prices, and coins. Native restaurants. Industrial 
 buildings. Visit to a Kalmuk tent. Exploration of Kalmuk 
 camping-grounds. Colonel Prejevalsky's journey to Lob Nor. 
 Russian and English explorers of the Hi valley . . 88 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 FROM KULDJA TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 
 
 A visit to Colonel Mayevsky. Native preference for Russian 
 rule, and why. Kuldja restored to China. Emigration of 
 natives into Russian territory. Our departure from Kuldja. 
 Destruction of cattle by beasts of prey. Suidun. Three 
 classes of Chinese. Interview with Chinese Governor-General. 
 Refreshments followed by questions. Opium-smoking. A 
 Chinese artist. Governor-General's present. A messenger 
 awaiting us at Borokhudzir 107 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO VIERNY. 
 
 Route over Chulak hills. The Hi bridge. Trans-Ili Ala-Tau 
 mountains. Appearance of town and houses. Diversity of 
 population ; races and classes. Introduction to M. von Ghern. 
 Poor hotel. Mercantile acquaintances and sale of Scrip- 
 tures. Scriptures for prisons and hospitals. Visit to Arch- 
 bishop. Need of Scriptures and tracts in the vernacular . 117 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 THE KIRGHESE. 
 
 Resemblance of Kirghese nomads to Hebrew patriarchs. Primeval 
 character of the steppe. Existence there of Biblical customs : 
 whence came they ? Origin of Kara-Kirghese and Kirghese 
 Kazaks : their diseases and character. Kirghese habitations 
 and tombs. Dresses and ornaments, Settled agricultural 
 Kirghese. Semi-Nomads. Nomad Kirghese : their cattle, 
 sheep, and goats. Changing pasture, when and how conducted. 
 Stationary pastoral life. Polygamy. Kirghese betrothal. 
 The Kalim and presents, with rules pertaining. Marriage 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 ceremonies. The bride's departure. Kirghese marriage, a 
 civil contract. Dissolvable by separation or divorce, with laws 
 concerning each. Marriage with deceased brother's widow. 
 Laws concerning inheritance. Illustrations of Hebrew pastoral 
 life, and suggested source of Kirghese customs . . . 127 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 
 
 Visit to Kirghese at Suigati. Their tents. A Kirghese memorial. 
 Milk and other beverages, with flour food. A mutton feast. 
 ^Kirghese politeness, and right of precedence. Connubial 
 arrangements. Myself questioning and questioned. Kirghese 
 poetry and songs. Their religion : Muhammadan, Pagan, or 
 Manichean ? Kirghese registered as Muhammadans. New 
 Testaments accepted. Conversation upon the state after 
 death. Influence of the mullahs. Kirghese election of judicial 
 officers. Native courts and fines. Judgment and judges. 
 Election of a volost chief. Laws concerning assault. A fight 
 quelled . . . . . . . . . . . 144 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 FROM VIERNY TO TASHKEND. 
 
 Departure from Vierny. Journey to Kastek. Branch road to 
 Issik-Kul, Arrival at Suigati. Nogai Bi's cattle. The River 
 Chu. An aul of Kirghese. Birth and naming of children. 
 Pishpek botanical garden. Setting a Yemstchik's leg. 
 Aulie-Ata. Kirghese wares, industries, and commercial 
 customs. Visit to Aulie-Ata's tomb. Muhammadan offerings 
 and religious feasting. Analogies in Christendom. Depar- 
 ture from Aulie-Ata. Journey along the Aris. Chimkent 
 uyezd, its houses and chief town. Road through gardens. 
 Arrival at Tashkend 1^7 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 
 
 Asiatic and Russian Tashkend. Visit to the Governor-General. 
 Arrangements for distribution of Scriptures, and my onward 
 journey. Visits to synagogues and the military hospital. 
 Asylum for the aged. The officers' club 171 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 OUR STAY AT TASHKEND {Continued}. 
 
 Bible work at Tashkend. Visit to M. Oshanin at the Museum. 
 Antiquities and curiosities. Assistance from Colonel Maieff. 
 Visit to Asiatic Tashkend. Purchase of Sart curiosities. 
 
CONTENTS. ix 
 
 Household commodities. Imports and exports of Tashkend. 
 Visit to seminary for training teachers, and to the observatory. 
 Visit to Colonel Serpitzky at the camp. Distribution of 
 religious literature. The public library. Dining with the 
 Governor-General. Arrangements for departure . . .179 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 
 
 Journey from Tashkend. Steppe vegetation. An unruly horse. 
 Fortified post-stations. Approach to Khojend. Sand bar- 
 khans. Arrival at Khokand. Lodging in summer residence 
 of Tim Bek. M. Ushakoff our host. Oriental "politeness." 
 Visit to Synagogue. Information concerning Jews of Khokand 
 and Bokhara. The bazaar: its jewellery, ewers, and furs. 
 View from medresse of Murad Bek. A puppet-show. Inspec- 
 tion of hospital and Khan's palace. The Lepers' hamlet. 
 Distribution of Scriptures. Visit to native merchant . . 193 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 FROM KHOKAND TO SAMARKAND. 
 
 Locality of Khokand productive of goitre. Departure from Kho- 
 kand. Travellers sleeping in the street Return to Khojend. 
 Climate of Khojend. Long stage to (Jra-Tiube. View of 
 the town. Its sacred places. Religious and moral condition 
 of inhabitants. The "Gates of Tamerlane." The Sart 
 pastime of Kok-bari. Fording the Zarafshan. Approaching 
 Samarkand 212 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 
 
 Tamerlane's capital. Ancient ruins. The Russian Governor's 
 palace. The Gur-Emir : its tombstones, history, and relics 
 Mosque of Shah-Zindeh : its legends, ornamentation, and 
 places of devotion. Ruin of Bibi-Khanum medresse : its 
 architecture, and miracle-working lectern. Bibi-Khanum's 
 tomb. The Citadel Palace and the Kok-tash stone. Timur's 
 palace of Ishrat-Khana. Bird's-eye view of Samarkand. Its 
 former and present dimensions. Khoja-Akhrar medresse. 
 Koran of Othman. Tradition of Tamerlane's library. The 
 Righistan, with medresses of Ulug-Beg, Shir-Dar, and Tillah- 
 Kari. Varieties of enamelled bricks. A butcher's shrine . 220 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 
 
 Visit to Jewish quarters during the Feast of Tabernacles. Syna- 
 gogue choristers. Visit to rabbi. Local traditions of Jews in 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 China. Hebrew pronunciation. Visit to military and naval 
 hospitals, Education and morals of Russian officers and men. 
 Samarkand bazaar. Public-houses of Zarafshan, and the 
 Turkistan liquor traffic. Governor's information respecting the 
 province. Attendants for our journey, and Asiatic interpreter. 
 Purchase of antiquities and distribution of the Scriptures. 
 General Ivanoff 236 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 DO WE KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT SIBERIAN PRISONS? 
 
 Different estimates of ''Through Siberia." Doubts of sceptical 
 friends. Prisons supposed to have been prepared for my visits. 
 The supposition examined. Opinions of residents in Russia 
 and Siberia. Testimony of a Swede. Examination of state- 
 ments concerning Siberian Prisons in "Called Back." Prince 
 Krapotkine's censure, and its value. The class of facts borne 
 witness to in "Through Siberia." 250 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 
 
 Difficulty of obtaining admittance, and facility of misrepresenta- 
 tion. Letter alleged to have been written therefrom in blood. 
 Description of Troubetzkoy Bastion ; its cells, occupants, 
 and diet. The Courtine of Catherine II. Place for visits of 
 friends, and for trials. The library. Cells for military officers, 
 and garden. Inquiry for oubliettes and underground dungeons. 
 Testimony of official eye-witnesses. Testimony of ex- 
 prisoners. Examination of statements in the Nineteenth 
 Century. Insufficient evidence as to alleged torture of 
 prisoners 259 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Visit to prison at Omsk. Difficulties in providing prisoners with 
 literature. Exaggerated statements as to uncleanness of 
 Russian prisons. Visit to prison at Semipolatinsk. A Ras- 
 kolnik fanatic. Criminal statistics of Semipolatinsk. Visit to 
 prison at Vierny. Official report of the prisons of Semirechia. 
 Local voluntary committees. My distribution of books. 
 Visit to prison at Tashkend. Alleged overcrowding of Russian 
 prisons. Visit to prison at Khokand. Prison visitation in 
 Samarkand. Lavatory arrangements, and misrepresentations 
 concerning them. My testimony and its limits . . . 278 
 
CONTENTS. xi 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A new country, little visited by Englishmen. Changed mode of 
 travel. Tarantass despatched to Karshi. My retinue. 
 Leaving Samarkand for Kara-Tiube. Tent lodging in court 
 of a mosque. Slumbers disturbed. Journey towards Kitab. 
 Ploughing and threshing. The Takhta-Karacha Pass. View 
 of Shahr-i-sabz. Descent to Kainar-bulak. Welcome from 
 Bokhariot ambassadors. Kainar refreshments. Ride to 
 Kitab 291 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 
 
 Curious hospitality. Entertainment by dancing-boys and mounte- 
 banks. Native appreciation of bate has. Visits from the 
 Emir's court. Our lodging and spies. Reception of Bo- 
 khariot officers. Guard of native soldiers. Dress for an 
 audience with the Emir. Procession and arrival at the 
 fortress. The Emir Seid Muzaffar-ed-din. Various estimates 
 of his character. Admission to his presence. My requests 
 and presents. Refreshment with courtiers. Princely presents. 
 Drive to Shahr in the Emir's carriage ..... 302 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 
 
 Historical associations of Shahr. Visit to the Bek, and his inquiries 
 concerning Kuldja. Information from courtiers. Return of 
 certain presents. Untrustworthiness of Bokhariot statistics. 
 Departure from Shahr. Visit to Bek of Chirakchi. Hand- 
 some guest-house. Visit to public bath. The slave trade in 
 Bokhara. Visit to Bek of Karshi. Mosques and synagogues. 
 Our departure from Karshi. Kishlaks of semi-nomads. 
 Khoja-Moburak. Scamper on my horse " Diotrephes." 
 Kakir cistern. "Unfurnished apartments " and oven. Karaul 
 bazaar. Lake Kunja. Stay at Chitarik. Approach to 
 Bokhara 316 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 
 
 The late Emir Nasr-Ullah. Visit of Burnes to Bokhara. Stoddart 
 sent as British envoy. Concurrent Russian missions. Conolly 
 enticed to Bokhara and imprisoned. Stoddart and Conolly 
 killed. Brave journey of Dr. Wolff. My entry into Bokhara. 
 Its ancient appearance and customs. Sumptuous lodging 
 and garden. Bokhariot fruit-trees and horticulture. Desire 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 to mount a minaret. Paucity of Russian inhabitants and their 
 treatment. Visit to the medresse Kokol-tash. Dancing-boys 
 dressed as girls. Misinterpretation of an English song. 
 Slumbers disturbed by watchmen, dogs, and military parade. 
 Service in the Junima mosque reminiscent of temple worship 
 in Jerusalem. A Hindu temple. Gallop round the walls . 338 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 
 
 My plans concerning the Jews. Inquiry about the alleged per- 
 secutions in Moscow and South Russia. Russia : how regarded 
 by Western and Eastern Jews. Oppressed condition of Jews 
 in Bokhara. Visits to their synagogue, and their sick. 
 Inquiry for Hebrew manuscripts. Hints concerning their 
 technicalities. Wonderful manuscript of the Old Testament. 
 Fear of the Jews to receive us. My letter to the Emir on their 
 behalf 360 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 
 
 Bokhara as a place of learning. Visit to a primary school. 
 A ride outside the walls. Mosque of Namazi-gah. Visit to 
 the Kush-beggi. The Emir's palace and curiosities. Con- 
 versation with the Kush-beggi and his son. Some of my 
 requests refused. Value of presents received. Visit to the 
 bazaar. Commerce and trade of Bokhara. The Righistan. 
 Bokhara after dark. Standing up for my rights. Ride 
 towards Katte-Kurgan. The lepers' quarter. Fear of punish- 
 ment. Return to our lodgings . . . . . . -374 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 
 
 Both guest and prisoner. Use made of custodians. Bokhara 
 minerals, garden produce, and animals. The natives and 
 their diseases. Treatment of the insane. The rishta, or 
 guinea-worm. Native method of treatment. 'J he Bokhara 
 prisons. Inquiry as to where Stoddart and Conolly were 
 confined. Manner of life of the Emir. His harem. Our 
 generous reception at Bokhara and its cause. Extra presents 
 to the Emir ........... 391 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 FROM BOKHARA TO CHARJUI. 
 
 Departure from Bokhara. End of Zarafshan oasis. Ruins of 
 Peikand. Approaching Kara-Kul. Inexperienced postillions. 
 The sands of Sundukli. Our tarantass left behind. A 
 night's lodging at Betik ........ 405 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 OUR STAY AT CHARJUL 
 
 PACE 
 
 Departure for the Oxus. Meeting of Charjui officials. Our lodging 
 and reception. Pilau and native bread. Visit to the Bek. 
 Received with music. The place of execution, and the prison. 
 Charjui bazaar and slave-trade. Administration of the khanate, 
 and taxes. The governments of the Tsar and the Emir, how 
 respectively regarded by the Bokhariots. Return from Charjui 
 to the Oxus. The tarantass regained. Departure of our two 
 attendants 413 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 FLOATING DOWN THE OXUS. 
 
 Prospect of floating 300 miles on the Oxus. Escort for protection 
 against the Turkomans. Journey to Kheradj. Rough hospi- 
 tality. Journey to Ustik. Compulsory service of boatmen. 
 Geological phenomena. Arrival at Ildjik. -Change of boat 
 and oarsmen. A Bokhariot "Siberia." Arrival at Kabakli. 
 Sheep attacked by wolf. Visit from the Bek. Departure 
 from Kabakli. Ruins on the banks and tugais. Precautions 
 against robbers. Native information. Uzbeg notions of a 
 future life. Singing oarsmen. Flora of the river islands and 
 banks. The " Pitniak Curve" and "Lion's Mouth." A 
 dumb journey thence by horses. Shurakaneh. Arrival at 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk 426 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 OUR STAY AT PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK. 
 
 By what route homewards ? The Orenburg and Aralo-Caspian 
 routes. A social evening at the Governor's house. Change 
 of weather. Petro-Alexandrovsk and its institutions. Pro- 
 posed desert journey. Arrival of tarantass. Distribution of 
 Scriptures. Results of Bible work in Siberia and Central Asia 444 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 
 
 Departure with the Khivan Consul. Journey to the Oxus and 
 crossing. Arrival at Khanki. Extraordinary sepulchres. 
 Our lunch and native food. The Khivan oasis and its gardens. 
 Arrival in Khiva at the house of the Divan-beggi. His 
 antecedents and visit. Inspection of his premises. Our visit 
 to the Khan. Burnaby's " Ride to Khiva " . . . .455 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 My informants. Dimensions of the khanate. Khivan melons, and 
 efforts to introduce them into England. Khivan inhabitants, 
 revenue, and foreign relations. The sights of the town, includ- 
 ing the bazaar. Central Asian weights, measures, and trade. 
 Cloisonne turquoise jewellery. Khivan industries. The 
 medresses of Allah Kuli and Madrahim Khan. Pehlivan-Ata 
 mosque and its royal tombs. Moslem pilgrimages . . .469 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 Muhammadan religious orders. Ceremonies of the jahria Brothei- 
 hood. Superstitious practices. Dancing dervishes. Religious 
 condition of Central Asiatics. Morals of the people. Fanati- 
 cism and indifference. Their attitude towards the Bible and 
 Christianity. Importance of missions to Muhammadans. 
 Efforts of "Orthodox" missionaries. Labours of the Bible 
 Society. Khiva seen from a minaret. The winter palace and 
 Jumma mosque. The prison and gallows. Home entertain- 
 ment. Farewell visit to the Khan. Hazarasp and its 
 hermit's cave 482 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 
 
 Departure from Khiva with Khassan the Batchman. Luggage 
 arbas. Kosh-ku-pryk and its melons. Our stay at Shavat. 
 Amusements of the natives. Havlis and their supposed 
 resemblance to Scripture "strongholds." Visit to havli at 
 Manak. Oil and corn mills. Hawks for falconry. Mud walls 
 of the havli. Invitation to stay. Route to Tashauz. Stay in 
 the Khan's palace. The town of Tashauz. View from the 
 palace roof. The Khivan climate .Arrival at Iliali. Khivan 
 irrigation. Our luggage attacked by robbers. Stay at Ak- 
 tepe. The Turkoman region. Accident near Kunia Urgenj . 499 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIU. 
 OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 
 
 Antiquity of Kunia Urgenj. Siege of Tamerlane. Inspection of 
 the ruins. The minarets and mausoleums. Tombs of Tiurebek 
 Khanim and Sheikh Nejm-ed-din-Kubera. The town of Hojeili 
 and Mennonite colony. Our lodgings at Kunia Urgenj. 
 Central Asian "home life." Marriage. Life in a royal 
 harem. Seclusion of women. Need of female missionaries 
 in Central Asia. Delay in getting camels. A Kirghese court 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 of justice and witnesses. Kirghese interpreter. A new servant. 
 Need of Kirghese literature. Preparation for the desert ; 
 camel cradles ; cooking utensils, and provisions. Arrival of 
 camels and dishonesty of attendants. Camels for military 
 purposes. Presumptive danger ahead 515 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 THE START FOR THE DESERT. 
 
 Departure from Kunia Urgenj. Rest in a Turkoman tent. 
 Kibitkas adopted by the Russians. Yomud Turkomans. 
 Forced labour of the Khan. Dismissal of attendants with 
 presents. New interpreter and guides. Our last habitation. 
 Doctoring a Turkoman. "Turning in" to camel cradles. 
 Rosy's accident. My ride through the night. Wells of 
 Karategin. First caravan breakfast. Endeavours to hasten 
 the drivers. Journey in the old Oxus bed. The dam of Egin 
 Klych. Ruins of Mashrek. Pitching our tent opposite Kunia 
 Vezir 538 
 
 CHAPTER XL. 
 INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 
 
 Order of march and loading camels. Tragical end of a china 
 basin. Climbing a camel's hump. The Oxus bed at Ak- 
 bugut. Cliffs of the Ust Urt. The Kitchkine-daria. The 
 pool at Dekche. Wells of Sary Kamish. Correction of Murad 
 for stealing. Character of guides. Arrival at Sary Kamish. 
 Lakes of Sary Kamish and their characteristics. Testing 
 specific gravity of water. Crossing the lake basin to the Ust 
 
 556 
 
 CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 
 
 Mounting the Ust Urt. The well Uzun Kuyu. Saxaul and other 
 fuel. Bread baken on the coals. Capture of a gazelle. 
 Remains of sun worship. Troubles with attendants. Break- 
 fast on a camel's back. The wells of Kazakhli. The bay of 
 Kaplan Kir. A dry ocean bed. The wells of Kum-sebshem. 
 Ascent from the bed of Kaplan Kir. Road to well of Seikiz 
 Khan. Improved prospects, but low spirits. Search of Bible 
 for illustrative passages. Lack of domestic comforts. Revival 
 of hope at sight of Caspian. The pond of Porsu. Gazelles. 
 A sixteen hours' march. Oriental customs illustrated. 
 Fauna of the steppe. The land tortoise. A teetotaller's 
 experience. Last night on the camel's back. Mouldy bread 
 and tattered garments. Arrival at Krasnovodsk . . . 566 
 
xvi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XLII. 
 FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 
 
 PACE 
 
 Descent into Krasnovodsk. Hospitality of the Commandant. 
 Dismissal of native attendants. Our rate of travel. Visit to 
 Merv abandoned. O' Donovan and his letter to the Author. 
 The Scriptures in Turkmenia. Alikhanoff, Naziroff, and 
 Lessar in Merv. Conversation thereon with Khan of Khiva. 
 Annexation of Merv by Russia. Russia's mission of civiliza- 
 tion. The town of Krasnovodsk, and its scanty supplies. 
 Visit to a Turkoman oba. Turkoman women and jewellery ; 
 their occupations and food. Armenian trading". Passage 
 across the Caspian. Baku and its oil. From Baku to Tiflis 
 in a horse-box. Bible distribution from Tiflis. Scenery at 
 Batoum. Voyage to Odessa. Summary of journey, and 
 farewell 585 
 
 AUTHOR'S ITINERARY . 606 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE DIPLOMACY AND DELIMITATION OF THE 
 RUSSO-AFGHAN FRONTIER. 
 
 DIPLOMACY. 
 
 Mooted by Earl Clarendon, 1869. Russia approaching India. 
 Neutral territory recommended and idea approved. Afghanis- 
 tan declined, but Upper Oxus proposed, as boundary. To 
 commence at Khoja Saleh. Territory of Shere Ali Khan to be 
 Afghanistan. Boundary proposed from Sir-i-kul to Khoja Saleh, 
 and districts on north-west frontier. Questioned, but ulti- 
 mately accepted, by Russia. The situation in 1873. Annexa- 
 tion of Khivan territory. British apprehensions, and warning 
 about Afghanistan. Russian assurances against further 
 extension. Idea of an intermediate zone abandoned. Russia's 
 advance from the Caspian. England's proposal as to de- 
 limitation of Perso-Russian frontier. Request of Ameer of 
 Afghanistan for a boundary map. Demarcation of Afghan 
 boundary desired. Voluntary submission of Merv. Remon- 
 strance of England and Russia's reply, with proposal to 
 demarcate from Khoja Saleh. Accepted by England, and 
 time and place of meeting suggested. Russia suggests 
 preliminary principles, objects to begin at Heri-Rud, and hints 
 desire for Panjdeh and Paropamisus. England's wish for 
 Ameer's territory: Russia's for Turkoman lands. Arrange- 
 ments for departure of Commissioners. Zelenoy taken ill and 
 proposes a "zone" of operations. Cossack advance to 
 
CONTENTS. xvii 
 
 PACK 
 
 Pul-i-Khatun. Russian proposal for negotiation of frontier 
 in London. Russian advance to Zulfikar and Panjdeh. 
 England's proposed "zone" rejected. The Panjdeh fight 
 and indifference of Ameer. England's demand for a strategical 
 frontier for her renunciation of Panjdeh. Discussion on the 
 Zulfikar Pass, and compromise. A boundary negotiated in 
 protocol 608 
 
 DELIMITATION. 
 
 The Commission and boundary. Zulfikar ford and pass. First 
 meeting, and site of first pillar. Social festivities. Survey 
 parties starting eastwards. Pillars to Sumba Karez and Hauz- 
 i-Khan. Russian claims in the Kushk valley resisted. From 
 Hauz-i-Khan to Maruchak. Difficulties about Panjdeh. 
 Weather, Christmas, and sport. Sparsity of population. 
 Difficulties adjusted ; delimitation recommenced, and frontier 
 arranged nearly to the Oxus. Fresh differences, and reference 
 to Europe. Demarcation continued to Daulatabad. From 
 Andkhui to Rosagha. Survey of the Oxus banks, and with- 
 drawal of Commissioners. Where is Khoja Saleh? Settlement 
 at St. Petersburg. Afghan losses and gains. Results of 
 . delimitation : improved relations with, and greater knowledge 
 of, Afghanistan. Greater proximity of Russia. Vulnerability 
 of new frontier, and railway extension towards India. . . 624 
 
 DISCUSSION. 
 Sources of previous information imperfect. Subject looked at : 
 
 From a Russian standpoint. English meddlesome, asking "inten- 
 tions." Apprehensions on Khivan annexation. Mr. Bull's 
 demands and interference. Precipitancy of action after annex- 
 ation of Merv. Slowness in coming to terms. Need of Russian 
 wakefulness in delimitation . . . . . . -63=5 
 
 From an English standpoint. Russian advance to the Urals, the 
 Irtish, and Vierny. Joining forces from Orenburg, in 1864. 
 Bokhara conquered. Encroachments from the Caspian, and 
 slowness in delimitation. Dishonourable delay . . . 637 
 
 From a general standpoint. Two nations squabbling for selfish 
 ends over worthless territory. The inhabitants, brigands. 
 Unconcern of England at Turkoman raids. Thousands of 
 slaves liberated under Russian rule. Safety on Russian post- 
 roads. A railway provided. Let not England be jealous of 
 Russia. Why not both be friends ? 640 
 
 INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED OR REFERRED TO ... 642 
 INDEX 645 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 MAP TO ILLUSTRATE DR. HENRY LANSDELL'S "THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA," 
 WITH THE NEW RUSSO-AFGHAN' FRONTIER, AND AUTHOR'S ROUTE 
 
 Facing title page. 
 
 OMSK FROM THE GARDEN OF THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL 39 
 
 A KIRGHESE CAMEL-CART 55 
 
 A POST-HOUSE " CHAMBRE-DE-TOILETTE " 63 
 
 THE PICKET POST-STATION AT ARGANATINSK 65 
 
 A TORGOUT KALMUK 79 
 
 RUINED CHINESE GATEWAY AT SUIDUN 80 
 
 A TARANCHI 82 
 
 SIBO MILITARY COLONISTS 83 
 
 A SIBO WOMAN 84 
 
 A KALMUK BEAUTY 86 
 
 THE CHIEF TARANCHI MOSQUE IN KULDJA 96 
 
 MINARET OF THE TARANCHI MOSQUE' 98 
 
 "SHOP-STREET" IN WINTER, IN KULDJA 102 
 
 A KALMUK WOMAN WITH NATIVE EARRING 104 
 
 OVIS POLII, OR THIAN-SHAN SHEEP 105 
 
 THE MARKET-PLACE WITH DUNCAN MOSQUE IN KULDJA .... log 
 
 A DUNCAN PUBLIC CONVEYANCE 115 
 
 APPROACHING VIERNY 119. 
 
 A STREET IN VIERNY I2O 
 
 A KIRGHESE 130 
 
 A KIRGHESE TENT IN SUMMER PASTURE, NEAR THE SOURCES OF THE KORA . 133 
 
 A KIRGHESE " PEROKOCHEVKA," OR FLITTING 134 
 
 A KIRGHESE "BAIBICHE," OR SENIOR WIFE 136 
 
 A TRAVELLER'S HALTING-PLACE IN THE COUNTRY OF THE KIRGHESE . . 145 
 
 SUMMER RESIDENCE OF THE GOVERNOR OF SEMIRECHIA 158 
 
 THE BUAM PASS ON THE ROAD TO ISSIK-KUL 159 
 
 A RUSSIAN COLONIST 163 
 
 A JEW OF CENTRAL ASIA 176 
 
 SARTS IN THE BAZAAR " 183 
 
 A SART IN TIBETEIKA AND KHALAT 185 
 
 THE PALACE OF THE LATE KHAN AT KHOKAND 206 
 
 PRISON IN THE PALACE OF THE LATE KHAN AT KHOKAND .... 208 
 
 THE AUTHOR IN A KHOKANDIAN SUIT OF MAIL 213 
 
 A JEWESS OF CENTRAL ASIA 238 
 
 THE PRISON CHAPEL IN VIERNY 283 
 
 SEID MUZAFFAR-ED-DIN, EMIR OF BOKHARA 312 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 RUINS OF TAMERLANE'S PALACE AT SHAIIR-I-SABZ, AND REVIEW OF 
 
 BOKHARIOT TROOPS 319 
 
 THE COURT MOSQUE AT KITAB 322 
 
 GROUND PLAN OF THE PRINCIPAL GUEST-HOUSE AT BOKHARA . . . 344 
 
 ENCAMPMENT OF BOKHARIOT SOLDIERS 352 
 
 MEDRESSE OF ABDUL AZIZ KHAN 357 
 
 A JEW OF CENTRAL ASIA 367 
 
 A JEWESS OF BOKHARA 369 
 
 TOMB OF ABDULLAH KHAN AT BAHA-UD-DIN . . v 389 
 
 A TIBETAN COW AND NATIVE KEEPER 393 
 
 A PUBLIC POOL AT BOKHARA 395 
 
 THE AUTHOR IN ROBE OF HONOUR, WITH TURQUOISE BRIDLE, PRESENTED 
 
 BY THE EMIR OF BOKHARA 403 
 
 CENTRAL ASIAN MUSICIANS 419 
 
 VIEW OF KHIVA WITHIN THE OUTER WALL 460 
 
 SEID MUHAMMAD RAHIM, KHAN OF KHIVA 466 
 
 THE MEDRESSE MADRAHIM 478 
 
 THE GREAT MINARET OF KHIVA 480 
 
 THE WINTER PALACE OF THE KHAN AT KHIVA 492 
 
 MINARET OF THE MOSQUE SEID BAI 493 
 
 KHIVAN TAMBOURINE MUSIC 495 
 
 THE HAZARASP GATE AT KHIVA 497 
 
 A KHIVAN AREA 500 
 
 GROUND PLAN OF A KHIVAN HAVLI 505 
 
 A CENTRAL ASIAN CORN-MILL 506 
 
 THE MINARETS OF KUNIA URGENJ 517 
 
 THE TOMB OF TIUREBEK KHANIM 519 
 
 A KIRGHESE EQUESTRIENNE 528 
 
 AMBULANCE CART AS DRAWN BY CAMEL IN THE TURKOMAN CAMPAIGNS . 534 
 
 CAMEL DRILL IN TURKMENIA 535 
 
 KRASNOVODSK FORT, WITH A RUSSIAN EXPERIMENT AT A CAMEL BATTERY . 536 
 
 A TURKOMAN KIBITKA, AS UTILIZED BY THE RUSSIANS IN TURKMENIA . 539 
 
 YOMUD TURKOMANS 540, 541 
 
 A TURKOMAN BEAUTY IN FESTAL ARRAY 547 
 
 THE FOUR KHANS WHO NEGOTIATED THE SURRENDER OF MERV . . . 593 
 
 TURKOMAN TENTS NEAR KRASNOVODSK, ON THE SHORE OF THE CASPIAN . 595 
 
 TURKOMAN WOMEN WITH SPINNING-WHEEL 597 
 
 THE FORTRESS OF KRASNOVODSK 598 
 
 GOVERNOR'S HOUSE AND STORES AT KRASNOVODSK 599 
 
 "OFF SUKUM KALI." (From an oil painting by Aivazovski, hi the possession 
 
 of Dr. Lansdell] 604 
 
 %* Most of these have been engraved from the Author's photographs, and have 
 appeared in the pages of the " Graphic," "Leisure Hour," and "Sunday at Home.'' 
 
OBSERVANDA. 
 
 IN proper names the letters should be pronounced as follows : 
 a as in father ; e as in th^re ; / as in ravme ; o as in go ; u as in 
 I/mar ; and the diphthongs ai and ei as i in h/'de. The consonants 
 are pronounced as in English, save that kh is guttural, as ch in the 
 Scotch lock. 
 
 Unless otherwise stated : 
 
 1. The dates are given according to English reckoning, being in 
 advance of the Russian by twelve days. 
 
 2. English weights and measures are to be understood. 
 
 3. Degrees of temperature are expressed according to the scale or 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 The ordinary paper rouble is reckoned at two shillings, its value 
 at the time of the Author's visit ; but before the Russo-Turkish war 
 in 1877, it was worth between half a-crown and three shillings. 
 
 The Russian paper rouble (or 100 kopecks) equals 2 shillings English. 
 
 Sllver ,, 3 n 
 
 vershok 1-75 inches 
 
 arshin 28 inches 
 
 sajen 7 feet 
 
 verst (500 sajens) -663 mile 
 
 desiatin (2,400 sq. sajens) ,, 2 '86 acres ,, 
 
 sq. verst '43949 sq. mile. 
 
 zolotnik (96 dols) equals 2-41 drams avoirdupois. 
 
 pound ,, 14-43 ounces. 
 
 pood 36 Ibs. 
 
 garnet - 34 pe ck. 
 
 vedro ,, 2-7 Imperial gallons, or 
 
 3 '25 gallons of wine. 
 
 chetvert -72 quarter. 
 
THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTR OD UCTOR Y. 
 
 Intention to cross the Steppe frustrated in 1879. Considered afresh in 
 1882. Distribution of religious literature desirable. Reasons for 
 and against the venture. The way cleared. My objects chiefly 
 religious. Help of Bible and Tract Societies. Plans in relation 
 thereto. Additional objects. Failure anticipated by some. Feait- 
 enteitained by others. The start. 
 
 WHEN passing through Ekaterineburg in 1879 
 I heard of a people in the south, wandering 
 about in so primitive a condition with their flocks and 
 herds, that, when among them, one might fancy himself 
 on a visit to the Hebrew patriarchs. This so far 
 interested me that I determined, on my way back, to 
 pass through the Kirghese country from Omsk to 
 Orenburg. But I was prevented from doing this by 
 journeying all across Asia, and making a circuit of the 
 world. Once more safe home, so far was it from my 
 wish to travel extensively again, that I had asked my 
 friends to look out for me a suitable sphere of parish 
 work. 
 
 My Siberian experience, however, had fostered in 
 my mind another idea, which, on the Pacific, came to 
 maturity. I had taken notes to serve possibly for 
 public correspondence, or for a book, and during the 
 voyage between Japan and San Francisco, I read 
 my experiences to some of my fellow-passengers in 
 
THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the saloon. Among these evening audiences was Sir 
 Harry Parkes, K.C.B., then our Envoy Extraordinary 
 and Minister Plenipotentiary in Japan, who, seeing 
 that my story was so different from that commonly 
 believed respecting Siberia, thought that such testi- 
 mony, if published, might do something towards 
 softening the asperity which then existed between 
 England and Russia, and his Excellency further re- 
 minded me that there are important means of doing 
 good, and many " missions " in life, other than those 
 of our religious societies. This thought reconciled me, 
 on my return, to the expenditure of the inside of 
 many weeks in writing my book, whilst on Sundays 1 
 officiated at a neighbouring church. When the book 
 was finished, I was invited to the pastoral charge of 
 a contemplated parochial district, and whilst this was 
 under consideration, I was pounced upon to be editor 
 in a proposed religious literary undertaking. Thus 
 1882 dawned upon me, seemingly, with an open door 
 on either hand, whilst the desire to journey through 
 Central Asia was smouldering within me. Neither 
 the pastoral nor the literary undertaking was carried 
 out, and it then remained for me to consider whether 
 I should go to Central Asia. 
 
 I gave a day to weighing the question, and, taking 
 the Russian kalendar and the post-book, elicited from 
 them that a traveller passing from Orenburg by the 
 post-road round Russian Central Asia (without entering 
 Kuldja, Bokhara, or Khiva) would traverse eight 
 provinces, with a total population of 4,908,000,* and 
 
 * Uralsk 
 Turgaisk . 
 Akmolinsk . 
 Semipolatinsk 
 Syr-Daria . 
 Semirechia 
 Ferghana . 
 Zarafshan . 
 
 355.000 
 636,000 
 382,000 
 603,000 
 
 1,255,000 
 541 ,000 
 
 - 964,000 
 172,000 
 
 4,908,000 
 
INTR OD UCTOR Y 
 
 that he would pass through upwards of 20 towns with 
 populations varying from 1,000 to 80,000, besides 300 
 villages and post-stations. Of all these towns I knew 
 of only one (or perhaps two) to which the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society had been able to send a con- 
 signment of Scriptures, and, judging from my experience 
 in other parts of the Empire, I fully anticipated that, 
 the prisons, hospitals, barracks, and schools would be 
 insufficiently supplied, or not supplied at all, with the 
 Scriptures or other religious reading. It seemed to 
 me, therefore, that a general distribution of such 
 literature would be a blessing to the people, and 
 remembering that, according to Russian law, no foreign 
 missionaries may labour in the Empire, there appeared 
 to be the greater reason, from my point of view, for 
 spreading the written Word where the spoken word 
 could not go. 
 
 Having thus made out a case of need, the next 
 question was, "Am / the man to go ?" Towards an 
 answer in the affirmative the following considerations 
 pointed : i. My previous experience had been a 
 training, and I possessed certain preliminary advan- 
 tages for such a work, because, having been five times 
 on a like holiday errand, and so become known to the 
 Russian authorities, it might be that, though they have 
 restrained others from going to Central Asia, they 
 would perhaps allow me to do so. 2. The condition 
 of Russo- English political affairs favoured the project 
 being attempted at once, for the " Eastern Question " 
 raised again might cause the Russians to object. 3. 
 If I did not go, I had no reason to suppose that anyone 
 else would. 
 
 The first of these reasons weighed with me heavily, 
 all the more so perhaps because of a short extract 
 from Carlyle which had come under my notice a few 
 days previously. It was this : " Modern majesty 
 consists in work. What a man can do is his greatest 
 ornament, and he always consults his dignity by doing 
 
4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 it," and when I looked at the third consideration in 
 the light of a higher teaching, " To him that knoweth 
 to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin," I felt 
 that my hesitation thereat must give way if I saw 
 anything like an outward call to the work. If my 
 thoughts were providential leadings, and not mere 
 cogitations, I thought I might reasonably expect that 
 my outward surroundings would in some way be 
 adapted to the work before me. Now I calculated 
 that, if the journey could be accomplished in from four 
 to five months, it would cost at least ^400, and, though 
 I did not see it to be my duty to bear the whole expense 
 of the undertaking, yet I resolved that if the cost of 
 travel were forthcoming, from whence I did not know, 
 I was prepared to give my time and energy. And in 
 this direction my way was cleared in the next few 
 days, for, having put my project on paper, I showed it 
 to a friend, who urged me to go, and offered ^50 
 towards the expenses. I then submitted my plans to 
 the Committee of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, who had been wishing to extend their work 
 into Siberia (especially since my return thence), and 
 who desired also to penetrate to other new regions as 
 opportunity offered. The Committee had on several 
 occasions given me introductions to their agents, and 
 grants of books for my holiday tours, together with a 
 sum of money on one occasion towards the cost of 
 carriage of the books, and they now hailed with thanks 
 my new proposal. In fact, so hearty was the reception 
 accorded to me, that my courage rose to the occasion, 
 and, instead of asking for a grant of ^"100, as I intended, 
 I asked for ^"200, which was given me, and as I left 
 the room a member of the Committee, to whom I was 
 a perfect stranger, offered me ^"50 more. I then told 
 my story to the Committee of the Religious Tract 
 Society, whose generous grants have encouraged me 
 to distribute more than 100,000 of their publications, 
 and they gave me ^100, which, with 10 sent un- 
 
INIR OD UCTOR Y. 5 
 
 asked for by another friend, led me to decline with 
 thanks another proffered cheque, on the plea that I 
 thought I had enough. 
 
 Here, then, end the esoteric antecedents of my 
 journey to Central Asia, which I have been telling the 
 reader in my sanctum. If in so doing I seem to have 
 obtruded what may be regarded as private affairs, I 
 would urge that I have thought it right that the 
 societies which gave me help should receive a public 
 recognition thereof, whilst, as for my personal motives, 
 I see no good reason to withhold them. One of the 
 critics of "Through Siberia" wrote: "The utmost 
 commendation must be given to the reverend author, 
 not only for his personal work, but for the good taste 
 that has impelled him to describe his religious labours 
 in language understanded of the laity." That this was 
 written by a kindly pen I am sure ; but, I suppose, a 
 perverse mind might misinterpret it to mean that I 
 had said too little of my religious labours. Some of 
 my friends thought so. But I did not then set out to 
 write a missionary's report, nor am I doing so now, 
 though I wish it to be clearly understood that the 
 religious character of my journey was paramount. It 
 heightened every pleasure, and softened what perhaps 
 I may not call hardships, but my every inconvenience 
 and fatigue, whilst, in reviewing the whole, it is incom- 
 parably that portion of the expedition which affords 
 me the greatest amount of present satisfaction. 
 
 The object, then, of my journey, so far as the Bible 
 and Tract societies are concerned, was fourfold : 
 
 i. In 1879, besides distributing more than 50,000 
 tracts and other religious publications, I gave to the 
 authorities more than sufficient copies of the New 
 Testament and the four Gospels, to enable them to 
 place one (sometimes more) in every room of every 
 prison and every hospital in all Siberia, so that, where 
 my directions have been properly carried out, every 
 prisoner and hospital patient ought to have within 
 
6 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 reach at all times of the day, and without having to 
 ask for it from the library, a copy of some portion of the 
 Word of God. In 1882 I wished to do the same for 
 the prisons and hospitals of Russian Central Asia, thus 
 completing my work for the whole of Asiatic Russia. 
 
 2. Besides supplying the prisons, hospitals, and 
 other public institutions with religious literature, I was 
 anxious to do something of a similar character for the 
 many thousands of Russian exiles, who are compulsory 
 colonists, or who, after a short term in prison, are 
 released to colonize in remote parts of Siberia, where 
 it is all but impossible for them to procure religious 
 books. I hoped to effect this by making some arrange- 
 ment of a permanent character, by which books might 
 be distributed to these exiles as they pass through 
 Tiumen, the general depot, whence they are forwarded 
 to their far-distant destinations. 
 
 3. As I should be passing through regions where 
 the Bible is all but unknown, and religious tracts 
 unheard of where, moreover, the people might not 
 have another opportunity of procuring them locally 
 for many years I wished generally to sell and dis- 
 tribute as many as possible. 
 
 4. My route lying through new countries, I was to 
 inquire what need there existed for making new 
 translations, and to see what openings presented 
 themselves for promoting generally the objects of 
 the two societies. 
 
 These were my religious aims ; but if I had in- 
 tended to make them the boundary of my horizon, my 
 friends were determined that they should not remain 
 so. One asked me to make a collection of flower 
 seeds, botanical specimens, beetles and butterflies. I 
 replied that I should not remain long enough in the 
 different places for this, and that it would be a 
 curious telegram to send on ahead to a stranger, 
 ' Please have in readiness for me, on such a day 
 and hour, half-a-dozen horses, the samovar for tea, 
 
INTR OD UCTOR F. 7 
 
 and a collection of the butterflies, beetles, and plants 
 of the neighbourhood ! " My friend, however, urged 
 that the pursuit of the required game would be a 
 healthful recreation for the parties concerned, and I 
 accordingly gave a vague promise that I would see 
 what could be done. Then, my friend Mr. Henry 
 Howorth, learning that I was going among his dear 
 " Mongols," of whom he has written so voluminously, 
 not only tried to interest me in them, but set on 
 me his friend, Mr. Augustus Franks, F.R.S., who 
 honoured me by a request that I would collect for 
 him ethnographical specimens and antiquities for the 
 British Museum. Added to this, I thought I might 
 perhaps search with success for Hebrew manuscripts 
 in Bokhara. My neighbour, Mr. Glaisher, F.R.S., of 
 aeronautical fame, as on a previous occasion, lent 
 me instruments for taking meteorological observations ; 
 and, besides all this, I had sundry editorial friends, 
 who wished me to see and take notes of everything 
 possible, and write to them something thereon. 
 
 Of course, there were not wanting those who 
 thought my project a hopeless one. Had not other 
 Englishmen tried in vain to penetrate to Russian 
 Central Asia? And was not one of them a clergy- 
 man, too, who proceeded by stealth as far as 
 Tashkend ordered to be off within four-and- twenty 
 hours ? Did I then expect to get to Bokhara ? to 
 which, on one occasion when I answered in the 
 affirmative, my questioner sank back in his chair with 
 a look indicating that he deemed it utterly useless to 
 have anything more to say to one so quixotic. 
 
 But, besides these of little faith, there were some 
 of my older friends who looked back 40 years, and 
 recalled that the last two Englishmen who entered 
 Bokhara were put to death, and that Dr. Wolff, who 
 went to ascertain their fate, nearly lost his life. By 
 them I was thought to be entering on a dangerous 
 enterprise ; but I was able to assure them that J had 
 
8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 not the slightest intention of putting my head into the 
 lion's mouth merely for the satisfaction of saying that 
 I had done so, and that, unless I had not only the 
 permission, but the cordial support of the Russians, I 
 should probably not enter Bokhara. If, however, I 
 am to be candid, I must admit that I was not without 
 fear. I realized it to be the most dangerous journey 
 I had undertaken, to this extent, at all events, that as 
 our worthy forefathers used to make their wills before 
 setting out on a journey from York to London, so I 
 imitated their example, and set my house in order. I 
 then committed myself into His keeping in whose 
 name I was going forth, and started. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 
 
 Five routes to Central Asia. Departure for Petersburg. Favourable 
 reception. Official letters and favours. Scientific acquaintances 
 and introductions. Departure for Moscow. National Exhibition 
 and St. Saviour's Cathedral. Mr. Alfred Sevier as interpreter. 
 Our arrival at Perm. Purchase of tarantass and medicines. De- 
 parture for the Urals. Tract distribution. Arrested and brought 
 back to Perm. Examined and released wicli apologies. My own 
 fault. Exaggerated reports in newspapers. A fresh start. 
 
 " I ^HERE are at least five routes between London 
 and Russian Central Asia. The most southerly 
 of these would be by the Mediterranean to the Tigris 
 valley, through Persia to Meshed, and then across the 
 desert by Merv and Charjui to Bokhara, and Samarkand. 
 By this route I thought perhaps to have returned, but 
 was assured, by Russians and natives alike, that it would 
 be next to impossible for me to escape the Turkomans 
 between the Oxus and Merv. The second route is 
 that by which I came back ; namely, Odessa and the 
 Crimea, across the Caucasus and Caspian to Krasno- 
 vodsk, then by camels to Khiva, whence there is a 
 caravan road to Bokhara, or another on Russian 
 territory through Petro-Alexandrovsk and Jizak to 
 Tashkend. He should be a sturdy traveller, however, 
 who would attempt this route. A third way would be 
 by rail to Orenburg, and then following the post-road 
 along the Syr-daria to Tashkend. This is the best 
 route in autumn, but a difficult one in spring, by reason 
 of floods and lack of horses. The fourth route, which 
 I thought at first to follow, is from Orenburg to OITIFK 
 
io THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and Semipolatinsk, and so past Lake Balkhash ancl 
 Vierny to Tashkend. My plans for the exiles, however, 
 rendered it necessary that I should go to Tiumen, and 
 I therefore followed the fifth route, which, though 
 longest, was, in spring, decidedly the easiest, namely, 
 by rail to Nijni Novgorod, by steamer to Perm, by rail 
 and post to Tiumen, whence steamers ply on the Irtish 
 to Semipolatinsk, and so onwards by posting as in the 
 previous route. 
 
 I left London on the evening of the 26th June 1882, 
 and, three evenings later, reached Petersburg, to find 
 at the terminus the English tutor of the sons of the 
 Grand Duke Michael, (uncle of the Emperor,) whose 
 wife, the Grand Duchess Olga, had thus honoured me 
 by sending to inquire when I could lunch at the 
 Michailovsky dacha or summer palace. I named the 
 morrow, and was then privileged to renew an acquaint- 
 anceship formed two years previously at Borjom, when 
 I asked permission of the Grand Duke Michael to 
 place copies of the Scriptures in the prisons and 
 hospitals of the Caucasus. His Imperial Highness 
 heard with interest of my projected journey, warned 
 me that I should be unable to pass from Charjui to 
 Merv (though I might reach the latter, he thought, 
 from the Russian side), and kindly gave me a letter 
 of introduction to Count Tolstoy, the Minister of the 
 Interior. 
 
 I had sent to this statesman, as head of the prison 
 department, a few days previously, a copy of my 
 " Through Siberia," so that with him the tongue of 
 good report had already been heard in my favour; and 
 upon presenting my letter on the ist of July, the 
 Count's opening words to me were of thanks for the 
 book, which, notwithstanding the pressure of official 
 duties, he said he had found leisure to peruse, and had 
 done so with the greatest pleasure. The Count then 
 listened to the story of my projected tour, asked what 
 I wanted, and said, " I will do all that I can to help 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. n 
 
 you." Thus, providentially, I had leaped into the right 
 quarter at a bound, and within eight-and-forty hours 
 of my reaching Petersburg had virtually obtained per- 
 mission to do what I wished. 
 
 A few days later I received an official letter of 
 thanks for my book, and also a separate commendatory 
 letter (not one circular document, as in previous years) 
 to the governor of each of the provinces through which 
 I was to pass. 
 
 The Count had thus redeemed his promise, but I 
 made bold to ask another favour, and a great one, so 
 great, indeed, that I did not until afterwards realize 
 its magnitude. I begged to be allowed to see the 
 political prison in the fortress of SS. Peter and Paul. 
 Count Tolstoy at first said " No," but subsequently I 
 was allowed to do so, and I shall give hereafter an 
 account of what I saw ; but I may add that, as I was 
 leaving the prison, I asked one of the officials if visitors 
 like myself were often thus admitted. He replied that 
 he had been there 22 years, and had never seen one 
 before ! 
 
 But there were other magnates to be seen, especially 
 one who happened to be in Petersburg I mean General 
 Chernaieff, then recently appointed Governor-General 
 of Turkistan. Here I have thankfully to acknowledge 
 the help of a letter from our Foreign Office to the 
 English Ambassador, Sir Edward Thornton, K.C.B., 
 who had left the capital a few days previously for the 
 country, but who was represented by Lord Frederick 
 Hamilton. Lord Frederick most kindly procured for 
 me, from the Asiatic department, a letter to the 
 Governor-General, which, on being presented, was 
 duly honoured, and I was furnished with an open 
 document that made me the envy of several would-be 
 travellers in Turkistan. After this a letter was given 
 me from the Post Office authorities to assist me in 
 procuring horses, and thus my official papers were 
 complete. 
 
12 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 But I could not yet start for lack of an interpreter ; 
 and I wished to procure numerous introductions. Here 
 the letters of my scientific friends, and my preparations 
 for the execution of their commissions, stood me in 
 good stead. The Grand Duke Nicolai, eldest son of 
 the Grand Duke Michael, is an ardent lepidopterist, 
 and has a magnificent collection of butterflies. His 
 Imperial Highness introduced me to his curator, Dr. 
 Gustav Sievers, who gave me sundry hints and aids, as 
 also did Dr. Strauch, the Director of the Zoological 
 Museum, to whom I was introduced by Mr. Vessilovski, 
 the Secretary of the Academy of Sciences. The 
 Imperial Geographical Society is an influential asso- 
 ciation in Russia, and extends its operations over a 
 wider field of science than its name implies. From Mr. 
 Vice-President Semenoff, and the obliging Secretary, 
 Mr. V. J. de Sreznevski, I obtained many introduc- 
 tions. I made, too, the acquaintance of Baron Osten- 
 Sacken, Director of the House of the General Staff ; 
 Baron Rosen, Professor of Oriental Literature ; Mr. 
 Regel, the Director of the Botanical Gardens ; Dr. 
 Albert Harkavy, of the Imperial Library ; and Private 
 Councillor Grimm, an antiquarian, whom I found in 
 the department of coins in the Hermitage ; as also of 
 several literary gentlemen, all of whom received me 
 kindly, and most of whom gave me or put me in the 
 way of procuring information respecting the little- 
 known parts whither I was proceeding. 
 
 But from Petersburg, indeed, was a " far cry " to 
 Central Asia, and I hoped to feel nearer at Moscow, 
 as there was the chance of meeting persons from the 
 East and, as I hoped, about to return. This anticipa- 
 tion was fulfilled on the first evening I was there, for 
 whilst in Kamensky's office, arranging about the 
 carriage of my books, there came in two men of dark 
 complexion, whom I ventured to ask from whence 
 they hailed. They said they came from Bokhara, and 
 told me of two others from the same place staying in 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 13 
 
 Moscow. Afterwards, strangely enough, as I was 
 leaving the office, there passed by a Jew, whom I 
 saluted and found that he, too, was a dweller in 
 the city of the Emir. These men gave me sundry 
 pieces of valuable information, and cleared up several 
 obscure points, so that already some of the dangers 
 I had supposed to becloud my way began to disperse. 
 
 There were two sights at Moscow I wished to see 
 in passing, namely, the National Exhibition, and the 
 new Cathedral of the Saviour. I had the advantage 
 of visiting the former with our obliging Vice-Consul, 
 Mr. N. W. Hornstedt, who had intended to draw up 
 a report with a view to giving such information 
 respecting the exhibition as would be interesting to 
 English men of commerce. The exhibition was sup- 
 posed to be restricted to manufactures and productions 
 of the Russian Empire, upon which feature the Mus- 
 covites plumed themselves duly, though the boast 
 would not bear too rigid an investigation, for one 
 wickedly disposed might twit his Russian friends by 
 reminding them that some of the things they claimed 
 for their own were in reality the outcome of English 
 brains and hands, as, for instance, an excellent boiler 
 made in the Baltic Provinces, and so admissible to the 
 exhibition, but fabricated of English plates by British 
 workmen. I must not be tempted to enlarge upon 
 details, but will only add that the sight, as a whole, 
 interested me exceedingly, illustrating, as it did so 
 vividly, the enormous size and immense fecundity of 
 the Empire. The products of the frigid stood side by 
 side with those of regions near the torrid zone, and 
 there seemed to be no variety of human wants which 
 Russia was unable to supply either from above or 
 below ground. 
 
 As for the Cathedral of the Saviour, built in Ancient 
 Russian or rather Graeco- Byzantine style, a remarkable 
 fact in my eyes was that it had been erected in a 
 single lifetime, and that there was given to the people 
 
i 4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA, 
 
 of Moscow, what falls to the lot of few generations 
 to see a grand cathedral new in all its parts. The 
 building, covering an area of 73,000 square feet, 
 awaited consecration, and was rigidly closed to the 
 public, except by special order of the Governor, with 
 which I was favoured. I will mention only a few 
 data to show on what magnificent lines it has been 
 built. Thus, on the exterior of the building, 900 Ibs. 
 of gold were used for overlaying its five cupolas. Of 
 its 13 bells the largest weighs half as much again as 
 " Great Paul" in London, and the doors of the temple, 
 of which the largest weighs 13 tons, cost ,62,000. 
 As for the interior, I have seen most of the celebrated 
 cathedrals in Europe, but I know of nothing so exquisite 
 as St. Saviour's. It reminded me most of the interior 
 of Santa Sophia, at Constantinople. The floor is of 
 marble, and the walls are lined with exquisite varieties 
 of the same material, the entire cost of marble alone 
 having exceeded ,300,000. Round the cupola are 
 two rows of 1,240 candelabra, placed there at a cost 
 of nearly ,40,000, and nearly as much as this was 
 expended on the materials and workmanship of the 
 altar space, without reckoning its ikons and pictures, 
 of which latter the church is full. This costly fane 
 has been erected at a cost of two and a quarter million 
 pounds sterling, and is said to be capable of accom- 
 modating 10,000 worshippers. 
 
 I was able, in Moscow, to add to my store of intro- 
 ductions, and would gladly have pushed forward, only 
 that I had not yet lighted upon a suitable interpreter. 
 Thanks to the kindness of friends who had been on 
 the look-out before my arrival, I found several in 
 Petersburg who were willing at first to go, but sub- 
 sequently some were alarmed at reports of Turkistan 
 tigers and fevers ; others were weak in Russian, in 
 English, or in health ; whilst a fourth, who would have 
 made hardly a companion, but an energetic courier, 
 was eventually kept back by the entreaties of his 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 15 
 
 wife. I had called one morning at Messrs. Egerton 
 Hubbards' to inquire for an interpreter, and was 
 driving away almost in despair, and wondering that my 
 way in other things should have been made so clear, 
 whilst in this it seemed blocked, when a gentleman 
 named Sevier drove alongside my droshky, and said 
 he had heard I needed an interpreter. He was 
 doubtful as to whether he could offer his own services, 
 but if not, he thought his brother at Vienna might like 
 to go. This was on the 8th July, and I left Peters- 
 burg on the nth, with this offer in reserve to be 
 arranged by correspondence or telegram, if I met with 
 no one more suitable at Moscow. Here again were 
 two or three who would have liked to go, one of 
 whom I had added as a second string to my bow, 
 when, on the morning of the day I was to proceed on 
 a short visit to the interior, I received a telegram from 
 Petersburg that Mr. Alfred Sevier was willing to join 
 me from Vienna. My mind was so evenly balanced 
 between the claims of two persons that I knew not 
 how to decide ; but at length I telegraphed, " Please 
 let him come immediately, and catch me as quickly 
 as he can" ; and this Mr. Sevier did on the steamer 
 going to Perm, where we arrived on the 2Qth of July. 
 We were met by an Englishman, Mr. Parsons, junr. 
 who, with his young wife, accorded us a hearty and 
 hospitable welcome, and assisted me in the important 
 purchase of a tarantass, or travelling carriage, which 
 was expected to carry us 3,000 miles, and to be our 
 dwelling and sleeping place for a long succession of 
 days and nights. Of two Mr. Parsons had selected 
 for my approval, I chose the larger, its extreme inside 
 measurements being 6 ft. 8 in. long, by 3 ft. 8 in. wide, 
 and 4 ft. 4 in. from the floor to the top of the hood. It 
 was not quite new, but came from the best of builders 
 Romanoff, of Kazan and notwithstanding that it 
 cost me heavily for carriage from Perm, it proved an 
 excellent bargain, though had I not bought it on 
 
1 6 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 very favourable terms, I should have done better 
 under ordinary circumstances to have obtained one 
 in Ekaterineburg. 
 
 Perm was the last large town we passed through 
 before leaving Europe, so I took the opportunity to 
 make a few more purchases, whilst Mrs. Parsons kindly 
 added to our eatables a valuable store of cherry jam. 
 Mr. Alfred Hynam Sevier, M.B., proved to be a 
 physician who had just finished his studies at Edinburgh, 
 Paris, and Vienna. It struck me accordingly as highly 
 proper nay, also having Scriptural precedent that 
 the practice of divinity and medicine should go to- 
 gether, and I therefore commissioned my companion 
 to invest a sovereign in drugs, so that we might physic 
 right and left as occasion might require or oppor- 
 tunity might serve. We were then ready to proceed, 
 and on the evening of the 3Oth, Mr. and Mrs. Parsons, 
 in Russian fashion, accompanied us to the station to 
 see us off. The occasion was almost a grand one. I 
 was introduced to the station-master, who showed every 
 disposition to make us comfortable. The manager of 
 one of the steamboat companies was there, and gave 
 me sundry pieces of advice respecting my journey. 
 So, too, was the principal doctor in the town, whom I 
 had met in 1879, and he had brought with him a 
 worthy notary, who wished to give me a box of 
 beetles and butterflies, whilst I was besides presented 
 to a general officer, the brand new Governor of Irkutsk, 
 on his way to take up his appointment ; and all this 
 before the dlite of Perm, who, in their best attire, were 
 promenading the spacious platform. One result was 
 I fear that, for the time being, I lost my head, and 
 forgot to mention to the authorities a little plan I had 
 in hand, the disastrous results of which omission will 
 presently be seen. Moreover, as, by some means un- 
 known to me, an allusion thereto got into the Russian 
 and English newspapers, I shall give my narration 
 somewhat in detail. 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 17 
 
 My books and tracts, as already hinted, were sent 
 before me to Moscow, and as I found on arriving there 
 that I could send them by heavy transit to Tiumen, I 
 did so, intending to make no distribution in European 
 Russia. I determined thus for two reasons ; partly 
 because of the unquiet state of the country, and the 
 temporary trouble and delay I might bring upon my- 
 self by distributing pamphlets ; but more out of 
 deference to what I believe I may call the conviction 
 of the Committees of the Bible and Religious Tract 
 Societies, that in localities where their colporteurs are 
 at work, the profuse and indiscriminate distribution of 
 Bibles and tracts is a hindrance to the success of their 
 agents, inasmuch as the people decline to buy, and 
 sometimes fail to value religious reading, which they 
 can now and again get without so much as asking 
 for it. 
 
 An amiable friend, however, had suggested, and I 
 readily consented, that I should take a small bag of 
 bundles of tracts, neatly wired together, supposed to 
 be suitable for offering to thoughtful persons here and 
 there, rather than for scattering by handfuls every- 
 where ; and these were to be distributed on my way 
 to join my boxes gone before. 
 
 Accordingly I commenced operations at the first 
 railway station out of Perm, but warily ; for, from 
 experience, I anticipated that if, whilst the train were 
 standing, I commenced distribution, I should be sur- 
 rounded with applicants, and the contents of my bag 
 left nearly all in one village. I therefore waited til 
 the train was on the move, leaned out of the window, 
 and placed a bundle of tracts in the hand of the gen- 
 darme on duty. At the next station I acted similarly, 
 offering the packet to the red-capped station-master, 
 who ran forward to take it, but suddenly stopped, 
 whereupon I threw the parcel at his feet. After this 
 it became dusk ; so we arranged our cushions and 
 " turned in " for the night. 
 
i8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 All went peaceably enough till the train stopped a. 
 Chusovaia, 80 miles from Perm, about two o'clock in 
 the morning, when a gendarme, on the track of a 
 supposed Nihilist, put his head into the compartment ; 
 but, over-awed, I suppose, by the respectable appearance 
 of the persons within, withdrew and closed the door. 
 Presently he came again, but, his heart still failing him, 
 he once more retired. On his third attempt, however, 
 he caught sight of the tracts on the rack and asked if 
 we had any books. Thinking, in the innocency of my 
 heart, that he was in quest of spiritual food, I said 
 " Certainly," and graciously offered him some. But he 
 looked severe, and said that we and our baggage must 
 all come out to be examined. I laughed, and showed 
 him, and the station-master who had entered, my official 
 permission to distribute religious literature. The 
 station-master seemed to see that all was right, but the 
 gendarme stuck to his prey like a leech, and pulled 
 from behind his cuff a telegram sent from a previous 
 station by one of his fraternity. I then went to the 
 General, who was in another carriage, and asked his 
 influence to set me right. His Excellency came, stood 
 at his full height (which was not diminutive), and intro- 
 duced himself to the station-master as " the Governor 
 of Irkutsk." He also read the telegram, but, shaking 
 his head, said he could not help me, for it was written 
 in the despatch that "proclamations" (that is Nihilistic 
 pamphlets) had been found in the tracts I had given 
 away. I replied that it was all " stuff and nonsense." 
 " That is precisely what you have to go and prove," he 
 answered. " But it will lose me four -and -twenty 
 hours," I said. " Better that," he replied, "than four- 
 and-twenty days " : upon which I gave in, and allowed 
 my hand baggage to be brought into the waiting-room, 
 whilst our tarantass, with portmanteaus, etc., went 
 forward. 
 
 We had now to wait for " the next train up," due in 
 about two hours, thus giving us time to telegraph 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 19 
 
 forward to a friend to look after our coming luggage, 
 and to Mr. Parsons, to say that we were returning 
 under arrest to Perm. As we sat in the restaurant we 
 were curiously eyed by the public generally, and a posse 
 of gendarmes, who at length suggested that we should 
 change our quarters, for that it was "infra dig'" for 
 gentlemen to be thus watched by policemen in a first- 
 class waiting-room ; to which I replied that we did not 
 feel in the least ashamed, and I put on a cheerful look 
 accordingly. Further, to improve the occasion, and as 
 the gendarmes appeared to have nothing to do, we 
 offered them to read some of the dreadful pamphlets 
 that had caused our arrest, but they were afraid 
 (probably of each other), and said they dared not 
 accept them. 
 
 When the train came up we were placed in a com- 
 partment with a gendarme to guard us. He was a good- 
 natured, respectful sort of fellow, but not very clear 
 in intellect. I said that we had sent forward many 
 thousands of tracts to distribute, which intelligence he 
 somehow muddled up with the supposition that we 
 were going to print them. Now the Russian word for 
 a printing establishment, if transliterated into English, 
 is " typography," and as this word was " much of a 
 muchness " with a similar word that had at some time 
 passed through the gendarme's brain, he inquired 
 whether we were going to set up a photography ! We 
 assured him we intended nothing so seditious ; and, on 
 finding that he had children, I offered him a New 
 Testament and some tracts, which he stuffed into his 
 pockets, and at the next station was relieved by 
 another of four gendarmes who were in attendance 
 upon us. We were next under charge of the little 
 ferret-faced fellow who carried the telegram, and was 
 somewhat disposed to give himself airs. Presently he 
 wanted to smoke, which I forbade. He then went to 
 do so in the gangway, leaving open the door, which I 
 rose and not very gently shut. He promptly re-opened 
 
30 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 it, whereupon I stamped my foot, and if I did not 
 shake my fist I let him see unmistakably that I would 
 not have the atmosphere about me defiled, where- 
 upon he made some remark about my being an 
 Englishman, and caved in. We then sent the little 
 man to Coventry, which exercised on him a subduing 
 effect, so that ere we reached Perm he was getting 
 quite obsequious, for he began to suspect that he had 
 made a mistake. 
 
 On arriving at the terminus about nine o'clock, 
 Mr. Parsons and the station-master, true to friends in 
 adversity, were there to meet us, and we were asked 
 to be seated in the gendarmes' chamber, where presently 
 arrived the Police Captain and the Procureur of the 
 Town. The Captain's hair was all sixes and sevens ; 
 he was smoking, and looked as if he might have been 
 out all night on the spree ; whilst " Monsieur le Pro- 
 cureur " was faultlessly clothed in a dress-coat of black, 
 with gold buttons and green velvet collar, with a white 
 tie of spotless purity, and carried an important-looking 
 portfolio. He wore the dignified air of a man who 
 had serious business in hand, and after allowing him 
 to settle himself, I opened fire by saying, 
 
 " Well, gentlemen, you have brought us back : pray, 
 what have I been doing ?" 
 
 "You have been distributing proclamations." 
 
 " Very good ; where are they ? " said I. 
 
 " We have sent for them, but the man has not yet 
 
 come." 
 
 Here, then, things were stayed, for my accuser 
 was six miles away. I therefore led off in another 
 direction, and produced various documents I had about 
 me, such as the open letter of General Tchernaieff, and 
 an old one of the Minister of the Interior, and I said 
 that I had on my previous journey distributed more 
 than 50,000 books and pamphlets in Siberia. I also 
 showed an autograph letter addressed to me by 
 the Grand Duchess Olga, the official letter of Count 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 21 
 
 Tolstoy, and a communication from the Russian 
 Ambassador in London, thanking me for a copy of my 
 book presented to the Emperor. This heavy artillery 
 soon began to tell. The Captain allowed that from 
 my permission it was clear I had a right to distribute 
 the tracts, and the Procureur observed that it was 
 exceedingly unlikely that persons with such letters in 
 possession would be distributing proclamations. An- 
 other thought appeared then to seize him, and he 
 asked whether I knew any priest in the town, and I, 
 without sufficient thought, answered " No." 
 
 " Was there a priest on board the steamer when you 
 came before ? " 
 
 "Oh, yes!" I said, "I remember, he wished me to 
 get a book he had recently published translated into 
 English." 
 
 "Ah !" said the Procureur, gazing hard at me, " I 
 remember you now, .for I also was on board ; but at 
 that time you wore a beard ! " 
 
 I produced evidence thereof by showing one of my 
 old photographs. 
 
 " Yes, to be sure," he said, as he looked at the 
 picture ; and then he added, in soliloquy, " What an 
 apostolic face ! ' causing us, of course, to laugh ; after 
 which he told the Captain there was no ground for 
 bringing an accusation against us, and that, in fact, 
 they had rendered themselves liable to be sued. The 
 Procureur then asked pardon for having detained us, 
 and pleaded the excited state of the country as an 
 excuse, whilst the Captain in turn screened himself 
 behind the over-zealousness of one of his subalterns. 
 It was now my turn to be gracious, and I took blame 
 to myself (which I really deserved) for not having 
 mentioned to the station-master before I started what 
 I was going to do, for then all would have gone 
 smoothly enough, but the narrow limits of my intended 
 distribution caused me, I suppose, to forget it. W T e 
 were then asked to sign a protocol to be kept in the 
 
22 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 archives, giving the particulars of our arrest, saying that 
 two Englishmen had passed through Perm, that one of 
 them threw a bundle of publications in one instance, and 
 in another handed some, from the train, but that the 
 publications on being examined proved to be religious 
 pamphlets, bearing titles such as followed, and so we 
 parted with mutual apologies and shaking of hands. 
 
 One of my abettors present was greatly disgusted 
 with " these Russians," as he called them, and ex- 
 pressed his opinion that the gendarme who sent the 
 telegram would " get it hot," or perhaps be dismissed. 
 I asked in the evening whether the informer had made 
 his appearance, but was told that the party were so 
 ashamed of themselves that they were taking care to 
 keep out of my way. I had, however, broken the law 
 in throwing printed matter from a train in motion, a 
 regulation that in the excited state of the country was 
 reasonable enough, but which I did not know to be an 
 offence. The gendarme, moreover, who received the 
 tracts was in the main right, for the Nihilists are very 
 subtil, and not only put seditious leaflets into duly 
 authorized tracts to distribute, but I have heard on good 
 authority of a Bible having been seen, beginning with 
 Genesis and ending with Revelation, but rilled in with 
 Nihilistic matter ! The telegram, therefore, of the 
 gendarme sent to his chief, and read by the Captain at 
 Perm, was so far correct, and seemed to say that our 
 books should be examined because he thought they 
 might contain proclamations, whereas in sending after 
 us he seemed to have muddled his grammar, and said 
 that the tracts distributed did contain proclamations. 
 
 The matter was then dismissed from my mind till 
 we returned to Europe, and found^that first the Russian 
 and then the English newspapers, not content with my 
 arrest, had been putting me into prison, one of them 
 so fast as to declare it was only by the intercession of 
 the Duchess of Edinburgh that I was released ! Thus 
 my friends might well congratulate me, as they did on 
 
FROM LONDON TO THE URALS. 23 
 
 my return, at having been liberated. As a matter of 
 fact, however, though twice arrested for distributing 
 tracts, I have never been imprisoned, and in this case 
 the authorities did everything in their power to repair 
 the damage. Our railway tickets were allowed to 
 stand, a first-class compartment was secured for us and 
 marked "reserved," and the guards paid us every 
 attention. Thus we had a ride of 160 miles free of 
 charge, as well as the pleasure of a little excitement, 
 and started by the next train, once more to attempt, 
 and this time successfully, the crossing of the Urals. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 
 
 Books overtaken: their numbers, kinds, and languages. Acquaintance- 
 ships renewed at Tiumen. Success of former efforts. Books for 
 future supply of exiles. Testimonies to their thankfulness for 
 Scriptures distributed. Final equipment, and introductions. 
 New Siberian steamer. Mr. Ignatoft's generosity. River voyage. 
 Sale of books on deck. Interview with Governor of Tobolsk. 
 Visit to cemetery and Archbishop. Voyage up the Irtish. Cheap 
 provisions. Fellow-passengers. Arrival at Omsk.' 
 
 E K ATE RINE BURG is the railway terminus at 
 which the traveller arrives in passing from 
 Perm into Asia, but here we stayed only four-and- 
 twenty hours, before posting to Tiumen, which 
 we reached on August 4th. At Tiumen I found my 
 books, and that not a moment too soon, for by a 
 clerk's mistake they were shipped for Tomsk, a blunder 
 which, had it not been detected, would have cost us 
 at least a month's delay. Here I may mention that, 
 before starting for Central Asia, it was more difficult 
 than when going to Siberia, to form a correct estimate 
 as to how many publications I could carry and properly 
 dispose of, and in what languages and dialects they 
 would be required. The committees of the two societies 
 kindly placed at my disposal such a number of their 
 books respectively as seemed desirable, and practicable, 
 and I wrote to the Rev. W. Nicholson my faithful 
 ally, who has always been so ready to help me, in 
 Petersburg, to get ready 5,000 Scriptures, 10,000 
 Russian tracts, 1,000 copies of a monthly paper 
 called the Russian Workman, and an illustrated broad- 
 
FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 25 
 
 sheet entitled " The Prodigal Son." These were to 
 be packed in strong wooden boxes, iron-hooped at the 
 ends, and corded ; and when I arrived and found 30 
 of them awaiting me, to say nothing of personal 
 baggage and provisions, I confess to feeling a little 
 alarmed at the burden prepared for my back. The 
 Scriptures consisted of Bibles, Old Testaments, New 
 Testaments, the four Gospels (bound together and 
 singly), and the Book of Psalms. They were printed 
 in Russian, Sclavonic, Hebrew, Chinese, Mongolian, 
 Kirghese, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, Polish, German, 
 and French, and these, as I have said, I was able to 
 book through to Tiumen, where I hoped to deposit 
 a considerable number for distribution to the exiles. 
 
 It was very pleasant in this town to renew ac- 
 quaintanceships formed three years previously, which 
 I did first with an English family named Wardropper, 
 and then with Mr. Ignatoff, who contracts for the 
 carriage by water of the exiles to Tomsk, and 
 of soldiers to Semipolatinsk. This gentleman so 
 thoroughly approved of the object that led me to 
 Siberia in 1879, that, unasked, he took my luggage 
 free of cost, and after my departure gave every facility 
 on his barges for distribution of my books to the 
 exiles as each company embarked. Thus the Bibles 
 and tracts I had left behind had been carefully given 
 out under supervision, and I was pleased to hear that, 
 when my stock of Scriptures was exhausted, Mr. 
 Ignatoff had sent, at his own expense, for 200 more. 
 Specimen copies of the books and tracts had been sent 
 to the Governor-General, as well as to the Governor 
 and the Archbishop of Tobolsk, who were pleased 
 with the work and with the books, and sanctioned 
 their distribution. A report of what had been done 
 was subsequently sent to them, Mr. Ignatoff informed 
 me. He was able to tell me also that the publications 
 had been much appreciated, and that on more than 
 one occasion the exiles had drawn up a written form 
 
26 THROUGH CENTRAL ASfA. 
 
 of thanks and signed their names. Many, too, had 
 thanked him individually. This testimony was con- 
 firmed by the officer who had charge of the prisoners 
 between Tiumen and Tomsk, and who said that the 
 books I left to remain permanently on the barges for 
 the use of prisoners were still there, and accessible to 
 them without having to be asked for. He mentioned, 
 too, incidentally, how little sickness there had been 
 on the barges that season. Eight barges had carried 
 6,000 prisoners a distance of nearly 2,000 miles. Only 
 2 (a child and an adult) had died on the passage, and 
 only 20 had been delivered invalided at Tomsk. Yet 
 another testimony pleasing to hear was that of Mr. 
 Wardropper, within sight of whose house the exiles are 
 shipped by thousands, who said that the general con- 
 dition of the prisoners, and the attention bestowed upon 
 them, had greatly improved during the past few years. 
 The question then remained as to what could be 
 done in the future for the thousands who every 
 summer pass through Tiumen to be scattered over 
 Siberia ; some to be made as colonists at once, and 
 others to spend first their terms in prison or at the 
 mines. The Bible Society had not yet been able to 
 establish depots in Siberia, east of the Urals, other 
 than at Ekaterineburg and Tomsk,* and although a 
 stray copy of the Scriptures might here and there be 
 found with the merchants in large towns, yet for the 
 mass of the banished it might be said that copies of 
 the Bible were unobtainable even by those willing 
 to buy them. It must have been no small boon, 
 therefore, during the preceding seasons, when, after 
 embarkation of the convicts, at the close of a religious 
 service before they left Tiumen, books and tracts were 
 handed to those who could read : and it was easy 
 to understand that, in many cases, the New Testa- 
 ment thus received had been carried to some distant 
 izba or cabin, to form the library of the household, 
 
 * A dep6t has since been established at Irkutsk. 
 
FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 27 
 
 or, indeed, the only copy of the sacred volume in the 
 village. Accordingly it was determined that there 
 should be left for distribution at and from Tiumen, 
 between 3,000 and 4,000 copies of the Scriptures, 
 and about half my stock of other publications, a 
 large proportion of which was to be given as before 
 to the exiles going east by the barges ; whilst for the 
 7,000 who are annually distributed in the province 
 of Tobolsk, an invitation was to be given to the 
 vollost (or district) committees to purchase the books 
 at a cheap rate, and to sell them still cheaper to the 
 exiles living free ; and this on the principle that a man 
 values a purchase more than a gift. 
 
 Of course we were not so Utopian as to suppose 
 that none of these would be put to a perverted use, 
 or be placed in the hands of those who would not care 
 for them. The tracts, some have said, will be used 
 for cigarettes, and the Bibles be sold for vodka (or 
 brandy), which, in some cases, would be quite probable. 
 It would be a rare field in which every seed came 
 to perfection. Nevertheless I am pleased to be able 
 to say that of the scores of thousands of tracts I have 
 given away in Russia, I do not remember ever to 
 have seen one torn or defaced. Mr. Ignatoft's testi- 
 mony was similar : that among the exiles he had 
 never seen a New Testament spoiled, not even when 
 sold or taken to the dram shop. I had also the 
 independent testimony of an officer over soldiers that 
 guard the prisoners at Tiumen and Tobolsk, and who 
 had been connected with the transport of the exiles to 
 Tomsk, to the effect that when at Tobolsk he had 
 observed how glad the prisoners were to get the 
 books, and how pleased they were to read them. 
 Moreover, he knew no instance of their being torn ; 
 but, on the contrary, he had known cases of prisoners 
 come from Tiumen, who, on being searched at Tomsk, 
 were found to possess New Testaments hidden about 
 them, which they were allowed to keep. That the 
 
28 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 prisoners may sell the books to each other, or the 
 exiles occasionally to those willing to buy them, is, 
 of course, possible ; but this surely is not an unmixed 
 evil, for it means that' a portion of Scripture has passed 
 out of the hands of one who did not care for it into 
 the hands of one who does. I was, therefore, only 
 too thankful to leave a goodly store of books at 
 Tiumen, finding my friends willing to do with them 
 all that was possible and lawful. 
 
 I was able at Tiumen to get a few more introduc- 
 tions for the south. As they now stand in my journal, 
 allocated under the respective towns where they were 
 to be presented, they amount in number to 255 : but 
 this includes documents of all sorts, official and private;, 
 letters open and letters sealed ; cards " to introduce 
 Mr. So-and-So," and cards backed with miniature 
 epistles. Moreover, they extended over a longer 
 route than I covered, for had the way to Central Asia 
 been blocked, I was prepared for a run from Peters- 
 burg through Finland, and then to Persia, the Tigris 
 valley, Armenia, Constantinople, Greece, and Italy. 
 Another thing we obtained at Tiumen was a second 
 vehicle wherein to carry the books. Mr. Wardropper 
 ordered to be made for me a strong telega or wago- 
 nette (though not in the English sense of the word), 
 which answered its purpose admirably. We obtained, 
 too, a few more provisions, but I found I had made 
 a mistake about tinned meat. This article is so heavy 
 that I had deferred its purchase as long as possible 
 on account of the inconvenience and expense of carry- 
 ing it as passenger's luggage, and thinking to get it 
 at Ekaterineburg or Tiumen ; but at neither town, 
 however, could I procure cans of beef, but only 
 relishes, such as tinned salmon and lobster, or pdtd de 
 foie gras, and this last at a price to make one's hair 
 stand on end. 
 
 In a very short time we were ready to leave for 
 Omsk ; but the question arose, By water or by road ? 
 
FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 29 
 
 Mr. Ignatoff's steamer was not to start for some days, 
 and I was therefore inclined to post with horses. An 
 important factor, however, in my calculations was, 
 4 Where can I meet General Kolpakovsky ? ' the new 
 Governor-General of the Steppe, who had been resident 
 in the south at Vierny, and was said to be on his way 
 to Omsk, his future residence, but making official inspec- 
 tions en route. I had a letter for him, that an officer 
 at Moscow, who knew the country, had strictly 
 counselled me on no account to fail to present, in 
 order that I might receive the proper papers where- 
 with to enter Kuldja; "for," said he, " so prejudiced 
 are the officials down there, that an autograph letter 
 from the Emperor himself will not gain you admission 
 to Kuldja, if you have not one from General Kol- 
 pakovsky." Accordingly, when one day Mr. Ignatoff 
 called on us to say that the Governor-General had left 
 Vierny only the day before, and that, travel as fast as 
 he would, he could not reach Omsk before the date 
 on which the steamer was due, I determined to save 
 the shaking of my bones over that much of post-roads, 
 and to glide to Omsk on the Irtish. This Mr. Ignatoff 
 strongly urged, not, as will hereafter be seen, touting 
 for passengers, nor with an eye to business, but with 
 desire to perform a generous deed. 
 
 Our stay being thus prolonged, we had time to 
 visit the new commercial school, built at the cost of 
 Mr. Padaruyeff, the mayor, and in it the museum, 
 where was a good number of specimens of butterflies, 
 beetles, bees, and moths, collected locally by Mr. 
 Slovtsoff, to whom I had an introduction, but who 
 happened unfortunately to be away. We saw also a 
 good deal of the Wardroppers, who had just astonished 
 the natives with a steamer they had built, of 200 tons 
 displacement, measuring 170 ft. by 22 ft., a hold 7 ft. 
 6 in. deep, and drawing only 28 in. of water. 
 
 On the loth of August we were to leave Tiumen, 
 and Mr. Ignatoff gave a dinner in my honour, placing 
 
3 o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 me at the head of the table, and Mr. Sevier opposite; 
 and when, later on, I went to the ticket office, there 
 was handed to me a free pass securing, as far as the 
 steamer could go, a first-class cabin with three berths, 
 free transport of my two vehicles and the whole of my 
 baggage! This I thought a proof of Mr. Ignatoff's 
 sympathy with my work, and the more observable 
 because I was told that he was Russian to the back- 
 bone, and hated foreigners ; moreover, that he would 
 probably rather have seen my work in the hands of his 
 own countrymen, but that as they did not do it, and I 
 did, he rose above his prejudices and acted in the 
 handsome manner I have described. 
 
 We left Tiumen in the small steamer Kapitan, 
 that carried us 60 miles down the shallow Tura 
 to its confluence with the Tobol, where w r e arrived 
 on the morning of the following day. We were 
 then transhipped into the Serapolets, a large, con- 
 venient, and comfortable boat. During the process of 
 shifting, I observed a man looking steadily at me, 
 whom I recognized as the captain of the Beljetchenko, 
 in which I made the voyage three years previously 
 from Tobolsk to Tomsk. I was glad to find he had 
 not forgotten " Mr. Missionary," as he then called me. 
 I recognized also, among the passengers, the French 
 master at the Gymnase, whom I had met on my previous 
 visit to Tobolsk. 
 
 The holidays were drawing to a close, and several 
 masters and more scholars were returning for the open- 
 ing term. This gave me an opportunity, which I 
 embraced on the morrow, to sell some Bibles and tracts. 
 Opening a couple of boxes on deck, I was speedily 
 surrounded with purchasers of all classes, and among 
 them several ladies and ardent schoolboys. One 
 little fellow bought of me almost wholesale, and I am 
 afraid nearly emptied his pockets. The masters of the 
 gymnase bought copies in French and German, as did 
 some of the scholars, whilst the old-fashioned orthodox 
 
FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 31 
 
 took them in Sclavonic. There was a demand, too, for 
 Polish copies. The light in which my purchasers re- 
 garded me evidently varied widely. Some understood 
 that I was conducting a labour of love, but others 
 treated me as a merchant pure and simple. One 
 matter-of-fact old lady, of commercial principles truly 
 Russian, caused much amusement to the bystanders 
 by trying to beat me down. Having fixed upon her 
 book, she asked the price. " Twenty-five kopecks," I 
 replied. " But can't you take, twenty?" she said; 
 and, heedless of the laughter of the crowd, went on 
 haggling, till I, more anxious as to her future possession 
 of the book than the sum she paid, allowed her to 
 have it at her own price. When the sales began to 
 grow less brisk, and the poorer passengers saw what 
 their richer friends had bought, they came asking for the 
 books at reduced prices, and this I allowed in cases that 
 appeared genuine. This caused the ship's stoker, who 
 had bought at catalogue price, to inquire why others 
 were served cheaper than he ; and when we said, 
 " Because they are poor," he wished to know what 
 means we had of divining the contents of their purses. 
 Thus, on the whole, I did a capital morning's trade, 
 and in the afternoon the boat arrived at Tobolsk. Here 
 I had five things to do : to visit the Governor ; to 
 present an introductory letter ; to visit an exile's tomb, 
 with a view to getting it sketched ; to pay my respects 
 to the Archbishop ; and to look at a collection of coins 
 and all this in the two hours during which the steamer 
 would wait ! I had communicated with the Governor, 
 reminding him that I had received no account of the 
 books I left with him on my last visit, to be distributed 
 in the hospitals, prisons, schools, and public institutions 
 of his province, and asking that I might be so favoured, 
 if possible, on my expected arrival. As we drew near 
 the city, his Excellency was steaming about on a 
 pleasure trip, with band playing and colours flying ; but 
 seeing our boat arriving, and knowing, as he said, I was 
 
32 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 on board, he caused his craft to turn back and come 
 alongside to welcome me. The police-master then 
 handed me a detailed report in writing, and the 
 Governor thanked me for the books he had had to 
 distribute, adding that he should be glad to give a few 
 more, especially in some of the country schools. He 
 then offered to be of any use in his province that he 
 could, put me into the hands of some of his officials 
 to help me to what I wanted in the town, and steamed 
 away. 
 
 This occupied about 15 or 20 minutes, and we 
 then drove quickly, under the charge of the police- 
 master, to Madame Znamensky's, who, knowing my 
 haste, accompanied me at once to the cemetery on the 
 heights in the outskirts of the town. Here were 
 buried Wolff and Mouravieff, two celebrated Decem- 
 brists, political exiles who took part in the insurrection 
 in December, 1825, and I had been asked by a relative 
 of the latter to visit, if possible, his grave, and look 
 to its condition. Thanks to the care of Madame 
 Znamensky, who had been governess to the exiled 
 nobleman's daughters, the tomb was in good condition, 
 save only that the iron railings were broken, and these 
 could not be mended, because there was no foundry in 
 the district. I asked as to the possibility of getting 
 a photograph of the spot, had the Russian epitaph 
 copied into my note-book, and then, without loss of 
 time, hastened away. 
 
 We presented ourselves next at the palace of the 
 Archbishop, whose good-will I was anxious to gain 
 with reference to the books I had left to be distributed 
 at Tiumen ; for, although his Eminence might not have 
 absolute power to forbid their dissemination, he might 
 put difficulties in the way, and it was in any case better 
 that we should have his benediction. Having sent in 
 my card, we were shown into a chamber spacious and 
 lofty, with shrubs and flowers in the windows, remind- 
 ing me, in one respect at least, of Lambeth Palace, in 
 
FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 33 
 
 that the walls were hung with portraits of Archbishops 
 for many generations, though the number at Tobolsk 
 was much fewer, and the pictures mere daubs compared 
 with some of the portraits at Lambeth. I learned that 
 the present Archbishop of Tobolsk had only recently 
 been appointed, and that it was not he who ap- 
 proved my books and tracts as left before. I had, 
 therefore, to explain the object and character of my 
 mission, and told him of the books I had left for distri- 
 bution. He seemed at first to be somewhat suspicious 
 that we were actuated by sectarian motives, but ulti- 
 mately expressed his pleasure at what we were doing, 
 and wished us God-speed ! 
 
 We then drove to the park close by to peep at 
 Siberia's one monument that of Yermak, the robber 
 chief who added Siberia to the Russian Empire. The 
 present monument is a stone column standing in a 
 garden. The former one consisted of a wooden figure, to 
 which the Tatars set fire out of revenge ; but the remains 
 of it are still preserved in a shed within the grounds. 
 
 We afterwards descended the hill to look at a private 
 collection of copper coins and medals, the value of 
 which, however, we thought exaggerated, and hurried 
 on to the boat to find that the captain had kindly been 
 waiting only for us. 
 
 Thus far my journey from London had been over 
 old ground, save that in 1879 I followed the post-road 
 from Tiumen to Tobolsk. I was now to wander into 
 fresh fields, and make way up the Irtish to Omsk, a 
 voyage that occupied five days. The regular service 
 of steamers running fortnightly, or thereabouts, from 
 Tiumen to Omsk, and (when the water is sufficient) 
 to Semipolatinsk, had been started about two years 
 only, the chief demand for it being the annual transport 
 of young soldiers on their way to Turkistan. They 
 travel on a large barge tugged astern of the passenger 
 steamer, both proceeding slowly, and helping to make 
 a dull journey somewhat tedious. 
 
34 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 The banks of the river possess no beauty, and little 
 interest. When Yermak pushed his way into Siberia 
 at the close of the sixteenth century, he took a small 
 fortress on the banks of the Irtish called Sibir, the 
 ruins of which I was under the impression were still 
 to be seen ;* but in answer to my inquiries it was said 
 to be unknown, as also the spot where Yermak fell 
 into the Irtish and was drowned. We passed very 
 few habitations, and not many cattle. On the second 
 day after leaving Tobolsk w^e arrived at Ust-Ishim, a 
 se/o, or church village, with only 14 Russian houses, 
 but with a large number of Tatar habitations. It 
 derives what little importance it has from being the 
 centre of the corn trade for the surrounding district, 
 the grain being gathered there for the market at 
 Tobolsk. 
 
 These delays for taking fuel were not altogether 
 unwelcome, because they allowed of our going on 
 shore to look at the villages and to see what the 
 peasantry had to offer in the way of raspberries and 
 other fruits, cucumbers and curdled milk, called prosto- 
 kvasha. We were able to exchange commodities in 
 offering them Scriptures and tracts, which usually 
 they took readily. At a certain church village we 
 called and sold books to the priest, who was glad to 
 purchase though at Ust-Ishim, where I sent parcels of 
 tracts to three ecclesiastics on the bank, one of them, 
 I suppose from fear or misunderstanding, declined to 
 accept them. We sold several publications also at a 
 cheap rate to the officer on the soldiers' barge, for 
 distribution among the men. On the 1 5th- 1 6th of 
 August, in the middle of the night, we reached Tara, 
 a town of 6,000 inhabitants, and 460 miles from 
 Tobolsk. I remembered the name of this place, 
 
 * In Chap, ix., p. no of "Through Siberia." London: Sampson Low 
 & Co., Fleet Street ; America : Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., Boston; 
 German Translation, Hermann Costenoble, Jena; Swedish Transla- 
 tion, Albert Bonnier, Stockholm ; Danish Translation, O. H. Delbanco, 
 Copenhagen. 
 
FROM THE URALS TO OMSK. 35 
 
 because I had read of its prison, from which the exile 
 Pietrovski escaped, made his way over the Urals to 
 Archangel, and thence to Western Europe. I myself 
 was awaked from my slumbers there, to learn that the 
 police-master of Tara had come on board and asked 
 for me. I dressed of course in haste, with the chance 
 possibly of being again arrested and taken back. But 
 all was right this time, the Governor at Tobolsk having 
 telegraphed to the police-master to present himself on 
 my arrival, and inquire if there was aught I required. 
 
 Everything, however, was going smoothly, if not 
 rapidly, enough. My time was occupied in reading 
 books of the region whither we were going, and the 
 steward provided an excellent table. Thus our dinner 
 on the day after leaving Tobolsk consisted of, first, 
 clear soup made of sterlet a fish at largest about 
 two feet long, and weighing 10 Ibs., with pale pink 
 flesh like that of a Loch Leven trout, remarkably tender, 
 and almost tasteless I thought ; but the flavour of 
 which is so highly esteemed in Petersburg, that the 
 soup there costs $s. a plate. The second course- 
 boiled nelma, a bigger fish than the preceding, with 
 firm, white flesh, and, as I thought, very good. The 
 third course consisted of tetierka, and a good, dry- 
 tasting game the Russians call glukhar y or capercailzie. 
 The fourth course was of prostokvasJia, made of sour 
 milk and cream. Such a dinner ordered a la carte costs 
 from is. 6d. to 2s. ; and I heard that at Tara other 
 provisions were equally cheap. 
 
 I need hardly say that among our fellow-passengers 
 were no tourists. Travellers for pleasure are rare 
 indeed in Siberia and Turkistan. We met with only 
 two in all Central Asia. But there were upper- form 
 " gymnasts " returning to school at Omsk, who on 
 Sunday evening hymned to me on deck some Russian 
 Church music, whilst I in turn sang them in Latin the 
 ''Agnus Dei" in Mozart's "First Mass." So, too, 
 there was a Russian merchant and his wife, who spoke 
 
36 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 English, and who, it was easy to see, had travelled. 
 They were going home to their children at Tara 
 having, since they left them, accomplished the circuit 
 of the world. The husband's business establishments 
 were at Hankow and Foochow, to which places the 
 lady had twice crossed the Mongolian desert from her 
 father's house in Kiakhta; but this time they had 
 preferred crossing the two oceans, America, and Europe, 
 instead of returning westwards through Siberia. We 
 became very good travelling friends, and as they left 
 us at Tara, they gave me a cordial invitation, should I 
 come near them in China, "just to look in," which 
 I expressed myself forward to do. 
 
 Thus we lost at this second station two pleasant 
 passengers, but we gained other two ; for there came 
 on board a lady and her daughter, who spoke excellent 
 French. They were accompanied by two gentlemen 
 who appeared to be " in attendance," which was 
 explained when I discovered that the lady was the 
 wife of the Governor of Akmolinsk, who. for the time 
 being was acting for the Governor-General. The fact 
 that I had a letter for her husband was of course an 
 introduction, and when, after passing the third station, 
 Kartashevo, we arrived on the I7th at Omsk, I was 
 introduced on the landing-stage to the Governor, and 
 invited to dinner on the following day. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 
 
 Description of town of Omsk. Cause of its decline. Schools. Visits 
 to inhabitants and institutions. Dinner with Governor. Protestant 
 pastor and distribution of books. Departure southwards. Cossack 
 stations. Summer appearance of steppe. Arrival at Pavlodar. 
 Scriptures sold to Muhammadans, advice to contrary notwithstand- 
 ing. Cheap provisions. Roads to mining districts. Recruits on 
 the march. Meeting the Governor-General. Skirting the 
 Irtish. Change of landscape. Improved fauna and flora. 
 Arrival at Semipolatinsk. 
 
 ON arriving at Omsk I noticed from the deck of 
 the steamer an officer on the landing stage, 
 whose face seemed familiar to me. He turned out to 
 be the police-master who, three years before, had shown 
 me the prisons of Tomsk. He recognized me, and 
 kindly sent men to look after the baggage, by whose help 
 ere long we were safely housed at the Hotel Moskva. 
 Omsk is a government town of 31,000 inhabitants, 
 situated, at an altitude of 261 feet, in the strip of 
 Russian colonization that divides the Kirghese of the 
 south from the Tatars of the north, and is built upon 
 the banks of the Om. at its confluence with the 
 Irtish, the two parts of the town being connected by 
 a substantial wooden bridge. Omsk was founded in 
 1717, and the gateways of its fortress are still standing 
 on the right bank of the river. Near at hand are 
 large public offices, military and civil, whilst on the 
 other side of the stream are situated the large stone 
 house of the Governor-General, the cathedral, a 
 Roman Catholic chapel, some mosques, a Lutheran 
 
38 1HROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 church, a large military gymnase or high school, and 
 several others lower in grade. As usual in Siberian 
 towns, the streets are wide, and in front of the house 
 of the Governor-General is a triangular public garden ; 
 but the glory of Omsk is undoubtedly on the wane. 
 Formerly it was on the high road from Europe to 
 China, but the opening of another road further north, 
 and* the conversion of the Obi into a summer route, 
 have diverted the traffic, and so lessened its com- 
 mercial importance. 
 
 It was for a long time debated whether the new 
 Siberian university should not be established at Omsk, 
 but the decision was given in favour of Tomsk, and 
 the result must prove detrimental to the former. Again, 
 Omsk has derived much importance from being 
 the seat of government, and the residence of the 
 Governor-General of Western Siberia, who thus lived 
 in about the centre of his vice-royalty ; whereas now 
 that the provinces of Akmolinsk and Semipolatinsk 
 have been thrown into the general government of the 
 Steppe, that ruler finds himself all but expatriated 
 to the extreme north-east corner of his dominions, 
 from the best parts of which he is a thousand miles 
 distant. I heard that General Kolpakovsky had a 
 great desire to transfer the seat of government to his 
 old quarters at Vierny, so that, should this be done, 
 there is every prospect of Omsk declining more and 
 more. 
 
 On the day we arrived it had been raining in 
 torrents, but this did not prevent us in the evening 
 from taking a droshky to make some calls, and driving 
 boldly through the streets with pools of water up to 
 the axles. A branch of the Imperial Geographical 
 Society was founded at Omsk in 1877, and I had 
 introductions to some of its members. One of the 
 first acquaintances we made was Mr. Balkashin, who 
 has been appointed the Imperial Russian Consul for 
 Chuguchak, and he was only awaiting an interview 
 

4 o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 with the Governor-General before proceeding thither. 
 This gentleman had lived at Yaroslaf, where he had 
 met two English writers on Russia Mr. Mackenzie 
 Wallace and Mr. R. S. W. Ralston. He had also 
 seen the Hungarian traveller, Mr. Ujfalvy, who 
 describes him in his book as a savant. This gentle- 
 man gave us a warm reception, and sundry pieces of 
 antiquarian information ; but what impressed him most 
 on my recollection \vas his earnest advice relative to 
 my contemplated experiment in spreading the Scrip- 
 tures among the Kirghese. When he discovered that 
 I thought of attempting it, he became quite animated, 
 and said, " Dieu vous preserve, Monsieur, ne fait es pas 
 cela. The Kirghese are such bigoted Muhammadans 
 that they start back at the very sight of a cross, and 
 I strongly advise you to have nothing whatever to do 
 with them of a religious character. You will very 
 likely be injured, and get yourself into a row, and the 
 Russians too " ; and as if this store of advice were not 
 enough, his parting words on the following day were 
 to the same effect. 
 
 Another acquaintance we made, both agreeable and 
 useful, in Mr. James Kossagovsky, son of the Governor 
 of Odessa. He spoke English well, kindly placed 
 himself at our disposal, and accompanied us next 
 morning, with the police-master, to see the prison. 
 He took us likewise to inspect a small industrial 
 asylum founded more than 20 years before by a lady 
 of the town, named Duganmel, for 20 girls and 24 
 boys. The children were clothed alike, educated in 
 some of the schools in the town, and taught various 
 handicrafts, at a total annual cost of 6 los. for each 
 child, to defray \vhich the institution had a capital of 
 ^3,000, the rest being made up by bazaars, concerts, 
 and voluntary offerings. Each child, I was told, was 
 already provided with a copy of the Gospels, but the 
 authorities were pleased to accept some of my books 
 also. 
 
FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 41 
 
 We called on the Commandant, but time did not 
 allow of my visiting the military prison, though I 
 arranged for sending thereto some books. An 
 introduction to Colonel Sokoloff brought me into the 
 tastefully furnished house of an officer who busied 
 himself in leisure hours with the study of chemistry 
 and meteorology. He had heard of my book on 
 Siberia, and gave me a valuable introduction to the 
 Russian consul at Kuldja. We were taken next to 
 the museum ; that reminded me only too forcibly of 
 many like it I have seen in Russia : of an undertaking 
 well begun but not carried through. The collection 
 of natural history objects was not large, though there 
 was a fair number of beetles and butterflies. More 
 interesting perhaps to an antiquarian were some relics 
 of a past age in bronze and stone. When Mr. 
 Ujfalvy passed through Omsk in 1877, General 
 Kaznakoff gave him some stone gouges, and hatchets, 
 which were sent to the Saint-Germain Museum in 
 Paris. They were discovered at Samarova, where 
 the Irtish flows into the Obi, and I am under the 
 impression that those I saw belonged to the same find. 
 I could not, however, hear of any objects of a like 
 character having been found in the territory of the 
 Kirghese, the Russians telling me, in reply to my 
 inquiries, that the Kirghese civilization is of so 
 primitive a character, and they have learned to 
 manufacture so little for themselves, that they might, 
 in a fashion, be said to be still living in the stone 
 age. 
 
 Our morning's business over, we went to dine with 
 General Kurbanofsky, properly Governor of Akmo- 
 linsk, but just then acting as Governor-General the 
 late one, General Kaznakoff, having gone away ill, and 
 the new one, General Kolpakovsky, not having as 
 yet arrived. Among my fellow-guests at dinner was 
 the Government architect, who spoke English like a 
 native. He had been to London for nine days, and 
 
42 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 was one of the very few Russians I have ever met 
 who was not pleased therewith. I could not get from 
 him a good word for any of our buildings but West- 
 minster Abbey, and he seemed disappointed with 
 London as a whole. A fine view of the Steppe on 
 the left bank of the Irtish was obtained from the 
 Governor's verandah, and from thence I first sighted 
 a Kirghese aul, or collection of tents, of which, as we 
 travelled south, we were to see so many. 
 
 On leaving the Governor's house we called on the 
 Lutheran director of the post-office, Mr. De Schie- 
 mann, who had removed here from Vologda at a cost, 
 he ruefully said, of ^70, but which struck me as re- 
 markably cheap for bringing one's effects a distance of 
 3,000 miles. I inquired for Pastor Hirtz, the only 
 Protestant minister, if I mistake not, in all Russian 
 Central Asia, for I wished to leave with him some 
 Finnish tracts forwarded to me by Miss Alba Hellmann, 
 of Wasa ; but he was not at home. I heard the 
 minister spoken well of for his ability in preaching, in 
 recognition of which he wears a gold cross conferred 
 by the consistorium. Before leaving Omsk I packed 
 a box of books to be sent by Mr. Ignatoff's agent to 
 the Governor of Tobolsk, and also made up four other 
 parcels, and sent them through Mr. Kossagovsky to 
 the Industrial Asylum ; to General Kurbanofsky, for 
 the supply of the prisons, hospitals, schools, etc., of 
 his province of Akmolinsk ; and other two for the 
 military and civil prisons at Omsk. 
 
 Everyone during my stay in the town was on the 
 qui vive, awaiting the arrival of General Kolpakovsky, 
 and I expected to be obliged to wait too. My busi- 
 ness, however, sped so well, and his Excellency was 
 reported to be so far off, that I determined to start on 
 the evening of the i8th August, and meet him, if 
 possible, at Pavlodar. I was too well acquainted with 
 the " rule of the road " to be ignorant of the value of 
 local recommendations to the post-masters, and I had 
 
FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 43 
 
 heard dismal accounts of the difficulties of getting 
 horses in some parts of the Steppe. I made bold, 
 therefore, to ask of General Kurbanofsky for a Crown 
 podorojna, which would give me a prior claim to the 
 postal steeds. The General, however, as I was told, 
 was a great stickler for the law, and he replied that he 
 had no power to give me such a podorojna, unless I was 
 travelling in the service of the Government, which, I 
 believe, was true legally, though in previous years I 
 had almost always been favoured with what I now 
 asked for. I had, therefore, to purchase an ordinary 
 podorojna, for which, to Semipolatinsk, I paid i gs. 3^., 
 but in addition the General obtained a letter for me 
 from the post-master to the station-keepers, which 
 helped me famously. I was unable to get everything 
 in readiness until the morning of the iQth, when we 
 learned that our interests were being looked after by 
 postilions, who came to tell us that Cossacks had more 
 than once been sent to them by the police-master to 
 see that we were not delayed. Some of our ac- 
 quaintances called to bid us farewell, and Mr. Kossa- 
 govsky, in Russian fashion, accompanied us on horse- 
 back for some few miles out of the town. 
 
 We had now before us a drive of nearly 500 miles 
 to Semipolatinsk, in the course of which we expected 
 to change horses 3 1 times at a like number of stations, 
 the first two introducing us to Cossack life. The 
 Cossack population of the provinces of Akmolinsk 
 and Semipolatinsk in 1879 was located in 149 settle- 
 ments, and made up of 87,723 combatants, and 99,139 
 other persons. About 25,000 combatants, and a 
 further population of 28,000, were living in 54 settle- 
 ments, called the " Irtish line." They were originally 
 settled along the river, to serve as a protection against 
 the inroads of the Kirghese, a plan similar to one I 
 saw in 1879 along the right bank of the Ussuri. The 
 approaches of the Kirghese are now no longer to be 
 feared, so that these Cossacks have practically lost 
 
44 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 their local raison d'etre, but Russia has by their means 
 colonized a fruitful terrain, and planted a succession of 
 villages, many of which have upwards of 400 inhabi- 
 tants, some of them even possessing churches. 
 
 We travelled well at setting out, covering in our first 
 22 hours 138 miles, and one stage of 12 miles was 
 accomplished in a little less than the hour. The post- 
 master's letter doubtless helped us to some extent, but 
 there was an amiability about the Cossack station- 
 masters and yemstckiks, or postilions, who needed little 
 persuasion to do their best. At each station I offered 
 Scriptures for sale and distributed tracts, the former of 
 which were gladly purchased, and the latter thankfully 
 received. I suppose it was this at the second station 
 that caused the Cossacks to offer me gratis some of their 
 horse-hair rope that I wanted to buy, and for which, 
 when I insisted on payment, they took only the trifling 
 sum of 4^. At Cherlakovsk, the seventh station, a 
 caravan route branches off to the town of Akmolinsk, 
 and at Urlyutyupsk, the ninth station, 120 miles from 
 Omsk, we passed out of the Akmolinsk into the 
 Semipolatinsk government. 
 
 We were now well on to the Steppe, whose straight 
 unbroken horizon so frequently reminds one of the 
 ocean. The soil is yielding, stoneless, and sandy, thus 
 making the smoothest of roads, on which our horses 
 dashed along. The country is nearly treeless, and the 
 ground almost without vegetation, so that one had 
 only to picture the surface covered with snow to see 
 the necessity for the roadside w r ickerwork erections 
 to mark the route in winter. In summer the steppe 
 is not a grass- covered flat, for the verdure is found 
 only in patches, and then forms no turf, but grows, 
 like the bunch or buffalo grass of the prairie, in 
 separate clumps, although the steppe grass is longer. 
 For great distances the steppe is covered with thickets 
 of Meadow-sweet. 
 
 Here and there too are gooseberry bushes, inter- 
 
FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 45 
 
 mixed with feeble-looking birches, generally less than 
 five feet high, whilst everywhere, when the road ap- 
 proaches the Irtish, we catch sight on the opposite bank 
 of a more or less extensive vegetation of well-grown 
 trees, such as willows, poplars, oaks, birches, and pines. 
 Alongside the river are frequently found hill-like 
 chains of sand resembling downs, with wild oats and 
 other grasses. Another characteristic of the steppe is 
 seen in numerous ponds and lakes, unconnected by 
 streams. They are for the most part isolated, and, 
 what is more remarkable, are in some cases filled 
 with sweet, in others with salt or brackish, water. 
 Thus it happens in their neighbourhood that one 
 meets now with sandy downs, and then with those 
 deposits of salt that have been caused by evaporation, 
 and frequently impart to the ground the appearance 
 of hoar frost or snow. 
 
 We had left Omsk at noon on the i9th, and on the 
 morning of the 2ist we arrived at Pavlodar, accomplish- 
 ing the 260 miles in 44 hours. Here we found no less 
 than 45 horses reserved for the Governor-General, 
 whose coming was watched for hourly. We had there- 
 fore nothing to do but to wait, and to congratulate our- 
 selves in having to do so at such an excellent station. 
 All along the line, however, the Cossack post-stations 
 had been good, reminding me of the best of those in 
 Siberia, which are comfortable indeed compared with 
 the hovels one met with further south. The Cossack 
 stations were clean, the floors sometimes painted, and 
 the rooms not unfrequently beautified with flowers and 
 creepers, especially ivy. There were, of course, the 
 usual ugly but often expensive pictures of saints in the 
 corners of the guest-rooms, and -the miserable Moscow 
 pictures, and portraits of the Imperial family and other 
 notables. These I tried to outshine by nailing to the 
 wall, usually under the ikon, a handsome engraving 
 representing the return of the Prodigal Son, with 
 the story in Russ printed around, similar to those I 
 
46 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 nailed up in so many of the post-houses throughout 
 Siberia. 
 
 This operation constantly opened up the way for the 
 sale of my books, and did so with the post-master at 
 Pavlodar. He was a man evidently well-to-do, as seen 
 by the Central Asian carpets hung on the walls, and a 
 silk khalat in which, with lordly gait, he walked about. 
 I brought to his notice a handful of New Testaments, 
 Gospels, Psalms, etc., at various prices, from which he 
 might take his choice ; but, like a man of means, he 
 bought the lot at a stroke for his son, about whose 
 education he was evidently solicitous. There was a 
 young woman bustling about the premises, whom I 
 took to be his daughter, at work, indeed, but dressed 
 better than an ordinary peasant, as also was the wife, 
 whom we were glad to ask to prepare us some dinner. 
 She brought soup, cutlets, and pancakes, with a melon 
 for dessert ; and if we had not cause to complain of such 
 fare in the wilderness, we had still less reason to 
 murmur at the charges. I have already mentioned 
 the cheapness of provisions on the steamer between 
 Tiumen and Omsk, where my steward's bill for the 
 best food the ship provided, and plenty of it, for two 
 persons for 7 days amounted to only 355-. ; but the 
 prices of food in the Steppe appeared to outdo 
 even this, for I copied, in one of the post-stations, a 
 scale of charges as follows : "Use of samovar, i\d. ; 
 portion of bread, i\d. ; pair of chickens, 6d. ; a 
 cooked fowl, lod. ; quart of milk, \\d., and 10 eggs 
 for 4<T 
 
 But we had business other than that of meeting 
 the Governor-General. Our personal baggage and 
 tarantass we unshipped at Omsk, but my boxes of 
 books and the vehicle to carry them went on by 
 steamer to Pavlodar, from which point we were to 
 take them forward the water being now too low to 
 allow of the steamer proceeding to Semipolatinsk. 
 When the boxes arrived at the post-station, I was 
 
FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 47 
 
 unexpectedly constrained to unpack them. I have 
 alluded to the earnest and doubtless well-meant 
 advice given me at Omsk, to attempt no effort of a 
 religious character among the Muhammadans. To 
 the same effect I was counselled by a General on 
 the Urals, who deprecated what he called my " pro- 
 paganda" among them, and said the mullahs were 
 fanatical. " General Kaufmann," he added, " would 
 not allow our own missionaries even to attempt any 
 work among the Muhammadans, and if you do any- 
 thing of the kind you are likely to get yourself into 
 trouble and us too." Now, so far as the latter result 
 was likely to ensue, I was, of course, unwilling to do 
 anything that might embroil the Russians, especially 
 after the gracious manner in which they had allowed 
 me to go where I pleased. But as for my own skin, 
 I felt I was the keeper of that, and I doubted if there 
 were sufficient cause for alarm. Besides which modus 
 est in rebus, and I could not help thinking there was 
 some via media between forcing upon the conquered 
 the religion of the conquerors, as the Muhammadans 
 have loved in all ages to do, and standing aloof from 
 them, attempting nothing whatever for their spiritual 
 good. As I said to my military adviser, " I can offer 
 them my books, and if they do not choose to accept 
 them, I have only to pass on." Accordingly I began 
 to practise my principles in Omsk, the first town at 
 which I stopped, having any considerable number of 
 Kirghese. One of the mullahs was informed that I 
 wished to see the mosque, after the inspection of 
 which I placed in his hand a Kirghese New Testa- 
 ment, and asked whether he could read it. When I 
 perceived that he could do so, though apparently not 
 very well, I asked if he would accept it as a souvenir 
 of my visit. He replied that he was not sure whether 
 it was a proper book to be in such a building, and 
 hesitated ; but whether he thought I intended it for 
 use among other service books of the mosque, or 
 
4 S THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 whether he was in fear of his interpreter, who spoke 
 Russian, I am not clear. In any case he did not 
 return the book, and I was content to leave it with 
 him for further study. My next attempt was at 
 Pavlodar, where, as I offered my Russian books to the 
 post-master, there happened to be a Kirghese standing 
 by. I therefore offered to sell him a New Testament 
 in his own tongue, but he intimated that he could not 
 read, and left the room to tell his co-religionists, I 
 suppose, for in a few minutes there entered two well- 
 dressed young Tatars inquiring eagerly for the book. 
 I placed it in the hands of one of them, and he 
 speedily asked if I would sell him several. How 
 many did he want ? I asked. Well, he said, he would 
 purchase ten ; which was a tenth of all I had, so 
 that I preferred to sell him less than this number ; 
 and from that time forward I had not the least trouble 
 in selling my Kirghese Testaments at catalogue 
 price." A second couple of Muhammadans came to 
 the station to inquire for books other than the New 
 Testament, and within a few hours, further on the road, 
 a New Testament was bought by a mullah ! 
 
 Whilst waiting for the Governor I busied myself 
 with my pen for there was little in Pavlodar to merit 
 attention. It is called a "town" of some 1,300 
 inhabitants, and serves for a landing-place midway 
 between Semipolatinsk and Omsk. I may mention, 
 however, that from hence there goes off a post 
 carriage road into the heart of the Kirghese steppe 
 in the direction of Baian-aul about 120 miles, and 
 Karkaraly 100 miles further. This district is interest- 
 ing to the mineralogist, more particularly from the 
 occurrence of the rare Dwptas, or copper emeralds, 
 that are met with in beautiful crystals of an intense 
 emerald green colour, but only, it seems, near Altyn- 
 tube, about 70 miles from Karkaraly. The Russians 
 denominate the Dioptas u Aschirka" after their dis- 
 coverer Aschirit, a native of Tashkend. 
 
FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 49 
 
 All the way hither from Tiumen, there had been 
 following us, more or less closely, a company of 
 soldiers, towed in a barge by our steamer to Omsk, 
 and now brought forward to Pavlodar, whence they 
 were to march into Turkistan. Large numbers of 
 young recruits are every year thus sent to Tashkend, 
 and one person in Tiumen mentioned to me signi- 
 ficantly that he saw many soldiers going there, but few 
 coming back. This I thought afterwards was largely 
 accounted for by a somewhat heavy mortality, and 
 also from the fact that Russian labour being scarce in 
 Central Asia, and their return home not being without 
 difficulties, they prefer to stay in the warmer climate 
 to which military duty has introduced them. 
 
 I believe the soldiers at Pavlodar were to be inspected 
 by the Governor-General on his arrival, for which, 
 however, w r e discovered in the afternoon that we need 
 not wait, as tidings came to the post-master relative to 
 his Excellency's whereabouts, and knowing that he 
 did not usually travel at night, we were told that we 
 might have the necessary horses for our two vehicles, 
 proceed, and meet the General some stations ahead. 
 Accordingly we set out towards evening, and after 
 driving through the night a distance of 50 miles, found 
 ourselves in the early morning at Cherna, where, not- 
 withstanding the rain, the people were in the white 
 heat of expectation awaiting the Governor-General. 
 The post-house was brushed up to its maximum pre- 
 sentability, and everyone was getting more and more 
 excited. Some unhappy man in the room adjoining 
 ours, who seemed to be out of the fun, was talking 
 loudly and boastfully what he would do under the 
 circumstances, whilst every man, woman, and child 
 in the hamlet appeared to have turned out to bear a 
 part in providing or changing horses, or to perform the 
 all-important, business of " looking on." It was the 
 first time General Kolpakovsky, as Governor-General, 
 had passed, and who could resist the desire to get a 
 
50 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 peep at the Viceroy ? As for our humble selves, we 
 for the time of course, were nobodies, and I was content 
 to do my best, under difficulties, to procure for myself a 
 clean face and hands, from my india-rubber basin, under 
 a shed in the yard. Presently two outriders dashed 
 into the village, as if on their speed depended their 
 lives. 
 
 And now there was hurrying to and fro, shouting, 
 talking, haranguing, and bawling, whilst I, with the 
 calmest nerves I could command, took up my stand in 
 the guest-room. At last appeared the first carriage 
 of the viceregal cortege, a tarantass like our own- 
 then a second, a third, a fourth, and so on to the 
 eleventh, to each of which fresh horses had to be 
 attached in an incredibly few minutes. Soon there 
 walked into the station a youth, who I was told was an 
 aide-de-camp. To him I addressed myself in French, ex- 
 plaining who I was, and what I wanted of the Governor- 
 General. He replied that his father was coming in, 
 and would speak to me. Unfortunately for me, his 
 Excellency had not enjoyed the education he was 
 giving to his sons; for he was one of those Turkistan 
 officers who had risen from the ranks to the highest 
 position and respect, like another I afterwards met, but 
 who also had to speak to me through his interpreter. 
 Another son entered the post-house with his father, 
 and interpreted for me in French, with an ability that 
 I thought I had never seen excelled. The General 
 had heard of my coming, and expected to see me at 
 Pavlodar. I explained that I was anxious to get on 
 as fast as possible, and presented a letter from the 
 Minister of the Interior, accompanying it with a request 
 that I might be furnished with a " courier," or a 
 " Crown " podorojna, and be saved the possibility of 
 coming to a standstill in the Steppe for want of 
 horses. 
 
 Nothing could have been kinder than his Excel- 
 lency's attention in listening to all I had to say, and 
 
FROM OMSK TO SEMIPOLATINSK. 5T 
 
 promising to telegraph along my route to facilitate my 
 journey. I hardly supposed that he could give me a 
 formal letter during this few minutes' stay at the post- 
 station ; but I had provided writing materials, paper, 
 ink and cards, even to a stylographic pen, with which 
 the General wrote on his own card that all and sundry 
 were to show us attention, and accord assistance if 
 needed. This was to serve us to Semipolatinsk, and 
 when I reached there I found awaiting me this mag- 
 nanimous telegram : 
 
 " Recommendation to local authorities. 
 " I desire that all administrative authorities and postal 
 contractors in the general government of the Steppe 
 show hospitality, provide interpreters and guides, and 
 help forward without delay the English traveller, Pastor 
 Lansdell, who is travelling through the Semirechia 
 oblast to Kuldja and Turkistan. 
 
 " (Signed) Governor-General 
 
 " LIEUT.-GEN. KOLPAKOVSKY." 
 
 Gentlemen of England, who live at home at ease, or 
 who, when they voyage to the south of France, tele- 
 graph to Paris for compartments reserved, and write 
 to the J^imes if they are not satisfied, velvet-cushion 
 travellers such as these can only feebly appreciate the 
 value of such a telegram in the steppes of Central Asia. 
 To say that it was worth its weight in gold is only faint 
 praise ; but perhaps I had better not be too lavish of 
 my superlatives here, because, when returning to the 
 same subject, I shall want them further on. Suffice 
 it now to say that, after a hearty shake of the hand 
 and the kindest of farewells, the General sped on his 
 way, but not before he had thoughtfully remembered 
 that he was taking away more than 40 horses, which 
 might have left us high and dry, had he not bade the 
 starosta to supply our wants, and send us on as quickly 
 as possible. This magic worcl exalted us speedily from 
 nobodies to somebodies, and the men dashed at our 
 
52 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 vehicles to equip them for our immediate departure, 
 as if they thought we were going to tear after the 
 Governor with the rest. 
 
 We now posted on to the next station, Lebyaj, 
 where the Viceroy had spent the night, and where, in 
 the guest-room of the station, the blooming oleanders, 
 and flowers in tubs and pots, bore witness to the 
 welcome his hosts had provided. At this point another 
 caravan route crossed our road, extending on the right 
 to the Russian colony of Karkaraly, and by dusk we 
 found ourselves three stations further on, at Semiyarsk, 
 where there was just light enough to see the outlines 
 of a somewhat pretentious mosque, no longer used. 
 At this station also was another caravan route joining 
 that from Lebyaj. We posted on through the night, 
 or at least wished to do so, but on arriving at the next 
 station the horses were found to be turned out for the 
 night, and to collect them from a pasture where hurdles 
 and bounds are unknown was not to be done in a minute. 
 For five hours we had to wait (my longest delay, let 
 me thankfully add, that I anywhere experienced in the 
 Steppe), during which it seemed utterly vain to storm 
 at the post-master, whose heart and conscience were 
 doubtless hardened, for his complaint book was full of 
 the lamentations and threats of preceding travellers. 
 
 We breakfasted at Cheremkhovsk, and found that 
 the character of the landscape had completely changed. 
 Post-horses failed us again at Dolonsk, but by paying 
 extra we were able to hire private steeds, though by 
 reason of the sandiness of the road we were obliged to 
 take four horses for each conveyance ; and when we 
 reached Semipolatinsk, our four days' drive of 482 
 miles, including refreshments, the hire of 134 horses, 
 and gratuities to each of 44 drivers, had cost us less 
 than 6. We arrived at midnight, and speedily found 
 ourselves in comfortable quarters at Stepanof's hotel. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 FROM SEMIPOLATINSK TO SERGIOPOL. 
 
 " Semipolatinsk " : its etymology, situation, and meteorology. Call on 
 Governor. Visits to prison and asylum. Schools. Post Office 
 statistics. Trade. Our start delayed. Departure, roads, and 
 posting service. Sunday at Sergiopol. Distribution of books from 
 the capital and onwards. Antiquities and remarkable skulls. 
 Mineral deposits. A previous English traveller. Lake Ala-Kul : 
 its aspect, ornithology, and fish. The Central Asian " Kulan." 
 
 THE town of Semipolatinsk (pronounced Semi- 
 palatinsk), at which I arrived on the 24th August, 
 derives its name from " Sempalati " seven palaces or 
 buildings, the ruins of which were seen in 1734 by 
 Gmelin, who called the place "Sempalatnaya-Krepost," 
 or fortress. These buildings had served as temples 
 for the Kalmuks, and one of them still contained two 
 idols of bears, and on the walls of another were partially 
 discerned representations of men, whilst not far distant 
 in the valley of Ablaikit were found the ruins of another 
 temple of Buddhist origin. The present Russian town 
 stands on the lofty right bank of the Irtish, u miles 
 from the original site, now called " Old Semipolatinsk," 
 my last post-station, from which one or more migrations 
 had been found necessary by reason of the eating away 
 of the river's bank, and the encroachments of the sand- 
 dunes. It has a public garden with 14 fountains. On 
 the left bank stands the rare spectacle of a Kirghese 
 town, w r here these settled children of the desert dwell in 
 
54 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 houses of wood, with curtained windows. Surrounded 
 by a desert of sand, Semipolatinsk has all the disad- 
 vantages of a continental climate, with few corresponding 
 advantages. The Russians established here a meteoro- 
 logical station, where, as in other stations in Central 
 Asia, observations were recorded thrice daily at seven, 
 one, and nine o'clock. 
 
 It was not my intention to stay longer in Semipola- 
 tinsk than was necessary, and I accordingly sallied 
 forth betimes in the morning on the ordinary Russian 
 droshky to pay my respects to the Governor, General 
 Protzenko. His Excellency had already heard of me. 
 and was prepared to help me in every way possible, 
 regretting only that his household was all but broken 
 up, because he was on the point of departure to a distant 
 portion of his province. He gave me permission to 
 visit the prison, where we found an Afghan prisoner. 
 Then we made our way to a small " prioot " or asylum, 
 which contained only 1 1 children and 3 old men and 
 women, who were maintained by a ladies' society for the 
 care of the poor. During the preceding year 3 girls 
 and 4 old people had left the institution, to be received 
 by their relations or by tradespeople as apprentices. 
 It was interesting to find this little almshouse so far 
 away in the heart of Asia, and it spoke well for the 
 prosperity of the capital, that, although the funds for 
 maintaining it were ample, yet there were few needing 
 such a refuge. 
 
 After our visit to the asylum we called on Mr. 
 Michaelis, who was learned in statistics respecting the 
 province, and then upon a gentleman given to scientific 
 pursuits, after which we made our way to the post and 
 telegraphic office, to find awaiting me the valuable 
 telegram (already alluded to) from General Kolpakovsky. 
 The last opportunity we should have for some time 
 to purchase post cards and stamps was in this head 
 office of the province. Some idea of the postal affairs 
 may be formed from the fact that in its 13 post-offices 
 
FROM SEMIPOLATINSK TO SERGIOPOL. 
 
 55 
 
 and stations for the reception of correspondence ^"1,504 
 were expended for maintenance and administrative 
 expenses, and ,3,771 received. 
 
 The buildings of Semipolatinsk did not strike me as 
 remarkable. There were, however, many large ware- 
 houses, a reminder of the fact that the town was long 
 celebrated for its commercial relations with Central 
 Asia. The Russian and Tatar merchants of Semi- 
 polatinsk sell in the bazaars tea, sugar, and other 
 
 A KIRGHESK CAMEL-CART. 
 
 groceries, cotton stuffs, Chinese silks, porcelain, furs, 
 wax, and honey. The principal trade is carried on in 
 winter, when the Cossacks and peasants come in from 
 the neighbouring districts, bringing skins, ropes, and 
 other produce. The Kirghese also some on horse- 
 back, and others in camel-carts bring cattle and 
 camels' -hair, which they dispose of to purchase grain, 
 flour, tobacco, iron ware, and wooden boxes. 
 
 After this flourish of trumpets respecting the trade 
 
56 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of the capital, it will sound somewhat strange that our 
 departure was delayed by reason of our being unable 
 to purchase throughout the town a sufficiency of white 
 bread. Foreseeing that we should have to travel 
 many miles before we could reckon on the possibility 
 of replenishing our stores, we purchased sundry pro- 
 visions, leaving the article of bread to the last, so that 
 it might be new ; but we could find only one baker of 
 white bread, a German, who inveighed against the 
 badness of the local flour, and said that he should 
 leave the place. He could promise no supplies till 
 next morning, and thus we were prevented starting 
 on Thursday night. The incident tended, however, to 
 evoke a well-known trait of Russian character. The 
 Governor-General's telegram commended me not only 
 to the good offices in general, but also to the " hospi- 
 tality" of the authorities, and this proved to be no 
 empty form, for when in the evening, after a call from 
 Mr. Michaelis, General Protzenko did me the honour 
 of a visit, and I mentioned that we were delayed for 
 lack of bread, his Excellency expressed his regret that 
 his own cuisine was already packed and started, and 
 asked Colonel Ilyinsky, chief of the staff, to come to 
 the rescue. We had already tried to purchase from 
 one or two private persons, but they had only sufficient 
 bread for the day. Early next morning, however, 
 good things were showered upon us in abundance. 
 Not only did the baker bring his tale of loaves, but 
 Mr. Michaelis added to their number, and Colonel 
 Ilyinski himself brought us bread, butter, cakes, and 
 jam, and wished us ban voyage ! 
 
 At half-past nine, therefore, with a full commissariat, 
 we started for Sergiopol, a distance of 180 miles, com- 
 prising ii stations and 10 changes of horses, being 
 accompanied by a subordinate sent by the police- 
 master to see us safely over the Irtish. 
 
 I had heard dismal complaints of the road south of 
 Semipolatinsk, owing to the paucity of horses. Even 
 
FROM SEMIPOLATINSK TO SERGIOPOL. 57 
 
 In the official report for 1881 it appeared that 136 
 complaints had been lodged at the stations by passen- 
 gers, and it was said that General Kolpakovsky himself 
 had found the posting accommodation in the southern 
 Steppe not to his liking. This, no doubt, was partly 
 owing to the increased traffic consequent upon the 
 breaking down of the postal service from Orenburg to 
 Tashkend, which caused the post to be brought all 
 round by the Irtish, and put undue strain on the local 
 arrangements. 
 
 It was to me, however, a source of great comfort, 
 that I was now kindly supplied with a Crown podorojna, 
 so that I might fairly reckon upon doing as well as 
 could be expected under the circumstances. During 
 the first 24 hours we covered 127 miles. The road to 
 Sergiopol lay almost due south from Semipolatinsk, 
 and for the first two stations presented a bare land- 
 scape, relieved only here and there by a few auls or 
 collections of tents, and cattle of the Kirghese. Arka- 
 lyksk stood in the middle of a desert, at an altitude 
 of 950 feet. Afterwards we passed on over vast plains 
 without a sign of life, and across a low range of hills, 
 rising to 1,280 feet. 
 
 We descended to 1,000 feet at Ashchikulsk, and rose 
 to 1,300 at Djertatsk, which we reached in the evening, 
 and then posted on through the night past Kazyl- 
 Mulinsk, 1,450 feet high, and then gradually mounted 
 to 1,700 feet at Arkadskiy (or Arcat). In the very 
 early dawn we passed the seventh station, and break- 
 fasted at the eighth, after which the road was so 
 intolerably dusty that we sometimes could not see the 
 horses' heads. In the afternoon we approached Altyn- 
 Kalat, the frontier station between the provinces of 
 Semipolatinsk and Semirechia. Count Waldburg- 
 Zeil computed its height to be 2,133 f eet so tnat s i nce 
 leaving Semipolatinsk, 750 feet high, we had ascended 
 1,400 feet, and had reached the watershed of the 
 Chingiz-Tau, the western spur of the Tarbagatai, 
 
58 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 which mountains send the rivers flowing north into the 
 Zaisan and Irtish, and those flowing south into Lakes 
 Balkhash and Ala-Kul. One of these latter, however, 
 the Ayaguz, has small pretensions in summer to a 
 river, for Sevier going to bathe therein found the 
 water only ankle-deep. 
 
 On reaching Sergiopol, on the banks of the Ayaguz 
 and surrounded by sands, we found that the good 
 offices of the Governor- General had preceded us in the 
 form of a telegram, that horses should be in readiness. 
 It was Saturday night, however, and I had determined 
 to spend the Sunday there, expecting a larger town 
 than it afterwards proved to be, and intending to visit 
 the hospital and prison. Having, therefore, called 
 upon the chief military authority overnight, we slept at 
 the post-house, and went after breakfast to see the 
 military hospital, prison, and barracks. In this last 
 establishment I was pleased to find a modest library of 
 what seemed to me rather antiquated Russian books, 
 probably the remains of former days, when Sergiopol 
 had greater military significance than now. 
 
 I was glad to add thereto some copies of the 
 Scriptures and other publications, some of which I also 
 distributed in the hospital and prison. News of this 
 spread, and I was speedily visited first by the Russian 
 priest, who came to buy a Kirghese New Testament to 
 present to the mullah, and then by a Cossack school- 
 mistress, in pretty Russian costume, and wearing the 
 national head-dress known as the kokoshnik, with which 
 I fell in love ; so, when the young lady's purchases 
 were completed, I ventured to ask her to sell it to me 
 for a curiosity. She gracefully declined my request, 
 but offered it as a gift. Accordingly, I made up its 
 value in printed matter, which here I found highly 
 prized, as everywhere else along my route. 
 
 At Semipolatinsk I could not learn that the Governor 
 had received any of the books I sent in 1879 to the 
 Governor-General Kaznakoff for the prisons and 
 
FROM SEMTPOLATINSK TO SERGIOPOL. 59 
 
 hospitals of the Semipolatinsk government. General 
 Protzenko, however, was willing to accept a New 
 Testament for each room of every prison and hospital 
 throughout his province, estimating the net number at 
 about 210 rooms in all, after making allowance for the 
 number of Kirghese prisoners and patients who could 
 not read Russ. With the Moslems the Governor did 
 not like to attempt much, but consented to accept 10 
 copies of the Kirghese New Testament, to be used 
 as opportunity might serve. Accordingly I sent with 
 these 100 New Testaments, 65 Gospels, and 50 
 Psalms in Russ, some German, Hebrew, and Polish 
 Scriptures, and about /]oo tracts, etc. This done, I 
 repacked some of my boxes, so as to have as few as 
 possible on my second conveyance. At the stations 
 as we came along I continued my plan of nailing up 
 in the post-houses the engraving of the "Prodigal Son," 
 and offering my books for sale. Blessings indeed they 
 must have been, I should think, in these solitary houses 
 in the wilderness, and the post-masters seemed so to 
 regard them. At the last station before Semipolatinsk 
 an old man said, " The Lord must have sent these 
 books for us," and his delight was great at getting them. 
 Between Semipolatinsk and Sergiopol almost every 
 post-master purchased books, and some bought at a 
 stroke all the selection I offered, as at Uluguzk and 
 Uzun-Bulak. Even this did not satisfy my customer 
 at Altyn-Kalat, for he wanted another rouble's worth. 
 
 The Russians took up their position at Sergiopol, 
 previously called Ayaguz, and subsequently named 
 after Sergius, a younger son of the Emperor, in 1831, 
 since which date, their frontier having advanced south- 
 wards, the place has greatly declined in importance. 
 The inhabitants number 1,000. The town is situated 
 within sight of, but at some distance from, the post- 
 station, near which is the fortress containing the church, 
 the house of the nachalnik, or chief, and the barracks. 
 
 During my short stay at Sergiopol I heard of a fellow- 
 
6o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA, 
 
 countryman, Mr. Delmar Morgan, who has laid the 
 English public under obligations by his many transla- 
 tions from the Russian. He had preceded me in 1880 
 to Sergiopol, where, arriving early in April, he was 
 detained for three weeks by the impassable state of the 
 roads. Not till the 6th of that month did the water- 
 fowl begin to arrive in the lagoons on the left bank of 
 the Ayaguz, and opposite the town the ice of the river 
 did not move till the i4th. He was then preparing to 
 start for the Russian frontier town of Bakhta, opposite 
 Chuguchak, when he was hindered by a telegram 
 summoning him to Vierny. The Bakhta station is 
 probably the best starting-point for Lake Ala-Kul, the 
 third largest lake in Central Asia, which is thought to 
 have been joined at one time to the Balkhash, but is 
 now an entirely distinct basin without effluent. 
 
 Dr. Finsch has given the best account I have met 
 with of the fauna on the shores of this lake, and of the 
 district through which he passed. Along the post- 
 road in autumn I saw but few birds or living creatures 
 of any kind, but his more practised eye discerned the 
 Red-footed and two other Falcons, Great Buzzards, and 
 Harriers. Wheat-ears were to be seen everywhere on 
 the stone-covered hill-tops, whilst in the thickets of 
 Spircea the Bluethroats were building their nests. The 
 cry of the Quail was heard on every side, as well as 
 the note of the Cuckoo, whilst high in the air fluttered 
 the Chimney Swallows, the Skylark, and, most com- 
 mon, though most remarkable of all, the Black Lark, 
 whose uniform velvet black plumage, pale yellow 
 beak, and large size make it both remarkable and 
 interesting. It loves to sit on stones by the roadside, 
 or perch on the bushes, with drooping wings and tail 
 erect, singing there, as well as in the air, its melodious 
 song. When in flight it appears even more remark- 
 able than when sitting, for in this respect it differs 
 from . other larks. Clapping together the points of its 
 wings, and whipping about, now regularly and then in 
 
FROM SEMIPOLATINSK TO SERGIOPOL, 61 
 
 an irregular manner, its flight may be likened to that 
 of a bat. 
 
 Some of the species of the fish taken by Dr. Finsch 
 in the Ala-Kul were new to him. That of the com- 
 monest occurrence was a species of Perch, which 
 grows to the length of a foot or more ; then the 
 "Marinka" a species belonging to the group of Barbels ; 
 and, further, two species of Loaches. The Perch were 
 greedily eaten by the Cossacks and Kirghese, but the 
 Marinka, supposed to be poisonous, were thrown 
 aside. Dr. Finsch, however, boiled a fine specimen, 
 two feet long, and ate of it (the roe excepted) with 
 enjoyment, and without ill-effects. In fact, the meat 
 of this species is generally used as food in Central 
 Asia, and sells in Kopal for a halfpenny per pound. 
 
 Before taking leave of the fauna of the Ala-Kul 
 district, mention must be made among Mammalia of 
 Arctic Hares, the Kara-biruk Antilope, the Ibex, the 
 Water Shrew, the Prickly Hog, and the Wild Ass. 
 This last is found in several parts of the Central Asian 
 steppes ; " Kulan " is the name by which the animal is 
 known to the Kirghese. The " Kiang" from Upper 
 Tibet would appear to be nearly related, although 
 larger. The Kulan is said to be untamable, but Dr. 
 Finsch had the opportunity at Omsk of describing and 
 sketching two specimens that had been received from 
 the Bekpak-Dala Steppe when quite young, and had 
 then been suckled by a young mare. Both the wild 
 animals became so accustomed to this new phase of 
 existence, that they grazed with her and other horses, 
 and although the one was two years old and the other 
 as much as three years, they still had recourse to the 
 paps of their foster mother. 
 
 Having thus brought my readers to the frontiers 
 of the Semirechia province at Sergiopol, I shall now 
 proceed on my journey southwards. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FROM SERGIOPOL TO ALTYN-IMMEL, 
 
 Departure from Sergiopol. Miserable station at Djus Agach. Desic- 
 cated lake-bed near Ala-Kul. Arganatinsk. View of Lake 
 Balkhash. "Ehbi" wind and sandstorm. Lepsinsk station. 
 Accelerated posting. Branch road to Lepsinsk colony. Arasan 
 sulphur baths. Kopal. Arrival at Altyn-Immel. 
 
 ON trotting out of Sergiopol towards evening on 
 the 27th of August, the road lay along the 
 valley of the river, that gave its name to our first 
 station, Middle Ayaguz, where we drank tea, and 
 then pushed on to Taldi-Kuduk. Here a few soldiers, 
 with a handful of prisoners on the march, had put up 
 for the night, the soldiers stretching themselves on 
 the ground in Central Asian fashion outside the post- 
 house. At the first station the post-master bought 
 the whole of the books I offered for his selection, and 
 now these soldiers readily purchased more ; after 
 which, our horses being ready, we posted all night, 
 passed Kyzyl-Kiy and Little Ayaguz, and in the 
 morning reached Djus Agach. It was a picket of the 
 most desolate character the most miserable station 
 we had seen a tumbledown house in the desert. 
 Here we breakfasted, and took our morning wash, but 
 both under difficulties. One of the inconveniences of 
 post travelling in Asiatic Russia is the absence of good 
 lavatory accommodation. The common method among 
 the Russian peasants of washing the hands is to 
 
FROM SERGIO POL TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 63 
 
 .place them beneath a bowl of water fixed at a height, 
 out of which a stream trickles. One accustomed, there- 
 fore, to the orthodox "tub" wherein to splash about 
 finds himself inconveniently restricted in his toilet. 
 Moreover, as these washing contrivances in Asia are 
 frequently placed out of doors in the yard, it will be 
 understood what, a comfort it was to have brought 
 with me an indiarubber basin. Some travellers had 
 
 A POST-HOUSE "CHAMBRE DE TOILETTE.' 
 
 arrived before us an officer, I think, and his wife 
 who consequently occupied the guest-chamber ; and, 
 there being no room for us in the inn, the post-mistress 
 brought the samovar outside the stable and spread 
 for us a table in the wilderness. All around was a 
 barren steppe, without a blade of vegetation the horses 
 could eat. It was truly pitiable to see them crawling 
 around us almost starved. It appeared that their 
 usual supply of corn had not been brought, and the 
 poor creatures were trying to pick up the handfuls of 
 
64 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 chaff lying about. I offered one of them a piece of 
 white bread, but he would not eat it, and I began to 
 wonder how we should get on. It was needless to 
 ask whether the post-master had horses. There were 
 plenty before us, but they were reputed to be sick, 
 and they certainly looked so. Nor did they possess 
 at this station tar enough to lubricate the wheels of 
 our wagonette. A fine place, truly, to be "stuck 
 fast " at the mercy of a Cossack post-master till his 
 horses could be fattened for work ! But, most fortu- 
 nately, the news of our coming had preceded us, and 
 they said that w r e should have horses. 
 
 And so we did, though they were anything but 
 fiery steeds to pull us over the next stage, which was 
 the worst we had had, the road lying sometimes on 
 rocky hillocks, and sometimes over sand, in which the 
 wheels occasionally stuck. Driver and fares accord- 
 ingly descended, and walked, which gave us the 
 opportunity of examining the tall dry assafcetida 
 plants by the side of the track, and catching a few 
 butterflies and dragonflies. But even in this fashion 
 our sorry horses made slow work of it. We were, 
 however, passing over ground of geographical interest,, 
 it being none other than what is believed to have been 
 the dry bed of a sheet of water, connecting what are 
 now the lakes Balkhash and Ala-Kul. 
 
 A drive of 20 miles from Djus Agach, the latter 
 portion of which was over rising rocky ground, brought 
 us to Arganatinsk. By this time the sun was at its 
 meridian, and the thermometer in the tarantass rose 
 to 85. The post-house stood, according to my 
 aneroid, at 1,600 feet above the sea, and on either 
 side rose two bare rocky hills covered with loose 
 shingle, up one of which I had determined to climb, 
 to have the satisfaction of getting a peep, 20 miles 
 off, at the famous Lake Balkhash. This lake was 
 called by the Kalmuks Balkatsi Nor, Great Lake, and 
 by the Kirghese Ak-Denghis. Many Kirghese pass 
 
FROM SERGIOPOL TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 65 
 
 the winter on the sandy shore, but the surface yields 
 only a limited pasturage for their numerous flocks. 
 
 As I stood at Arganatinsk, on the top of the hill, 
 whither I had clambered 400 feet, I was surrounded 
 with deserts that, with clay beds, salt steppes, and 
 moving sands, seemed to show that the Balkhash had 
 once been larger than at present. In front of me, as I 
 looked towards the lake, was the Uchakty Kum, and 
 behind, the Niiaz-, the Sary-, and the Tash-kara Kum, 
 
 THE PICKET I'OST-STATION AT ARGANATINSK. 
 
 Fortunately our road crossed directly no one of these, 
 but we fell in that night with one of their local pheno- 
 mena. At the next station they gave us four sorry 
 horses, and, what was worse, a sleepy Kirghese driver, 
 whom I caught several times nodding on the box. He 
 understood no Russian, so I more than once conveyed 
 to him my meaning by a thump in the back, where- 
 upon he looked round as if I were unfairly disturbing 
 his slumbers. At last, finding it useless to vex my im- 
 petuous soul, I resigned myself to fate and tried to 
 
 5 
 
66 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 sleep, for night had well set in. There came puffing 
 into the carriage, however, a dry, hot wind, the like to 
 which I had never experienced before. My ordinary 
 clothes were too hot, and I would fain have lifted the 
 curtain and let down the apron, but the heavens'lowered, 
 and the wind so stirred up the sand that I wondered 
 what manner of thing was going to happen. I have 
 since learned that frequent sandstorms, of the character 
 of snowdrifts, but far more dangerous, occur on these 
 steppes about the Balkhash, and that they some- 
 times rage for several days. Mr. Delmar Morgan 
 speaks of the " Ehbi " wind that blows from the south- 
 east towards the Ala-Kul, and is sometimes so violent 
 as to have the force of a hurricane. It raises clouds 
 of snow and sand, and has been known to bury solitary 
 travellers, and, it is said, villages also. 
 
 Whether I had come across a modified specimen of 
 the " Ehbi " wind I know not, but on our arrival in the 
 early morning at Lepsinsk, we saw the sand blowing in 
 such fashion as I had never before witnessed it. To go 
 only from the carriage into the post-house, the gritty 
 element dashed most disagreeably into the face, mouth, 
 and eyes, and covered us as effectually with sand as if 
 we had rolled in it. This was bad enough, but, to make 
 matters a little worse, our luggage wagonette was 
 nowhere to be seen. We had foolishly allowed the 
 driver to follow us instead of insisting that he should 
 go on ahead, and now we were to pay the penalty. I 
 urged that our man should go back to see if the 
 concern had broken down, and, if so, give the driver 
 help. But he did not seem to consider that a part of 
 his duty. After waiting some time we declared that 
 we would make complaint of the delay, and at last by 
 bribes or threats, or perhaps both, our man was moved 
 and set off on horseback. 
 
 The post-station was not one of the most cheerful, 
 for it lacked the presence of one of the gentler sex, 
 and the household affairs of our bachelor or widower 
 
FROM SERGIOPOL TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 67 
 
 post-master appeared all higgledy-piggledy. I sighted, 
 however, a water-melon, which he allowed me to buy, 
 and, with this added to our own resources, we made one 
 if not two meals before the luggage arrived. Presently 
 the post-master said that one of his Kirghese workmen, 
 from the top of the stable, thought he could see some- 
 thing moving on the road about 8 miles off, a feat I 
 should have doubted had I not heard of the keen sight 
 of these sons of the desert. At last our man arrived, 
 and explained that the horses in the wagonette were 
 so poor and thin that it had been necessary to carry corn 
 to bait them half-way, and that the driver, having put 
 food before his beasts, had gone off to sleep, and was 
 quietly reposing by the roadside. On being aroused 
 he was ashamed to face us, and handed over his charge 
 to our driver, so that all we could do to the delinquent 
 was to call down vengeance upon him, by complaining, 
 in the book set apart for that purpose, that we had been 
 delayed on this stage for 1 2 hours. 
 
 I had heard of the little station at Lepsinsk as far 
 west as Moscow, and was requested to inquire there 
 for a letter from a Russian colonel, a friend of my 
 adviser, who, he said, would, if at home, find me 
 Kirghese antiquities, or open one of the Kalmuk 
 tumuli of the neighbourhood, and send or accompany 
 me from the town of Lepsinsk over the Ala-Tau 
 mountains to Lake Sairam-Nor, and in this way get 
 me to Kuldja instead of going round the post-road. 
 But against this spirited enterprise I was strongly 
 warned before entering Asia, and, pressed as I was for 
 time, I found it to be out of the question. Besides 
 which, there was no letter awaiting me at the station, 
 so I hastened to get forward. 
 
 A better lot of post-horses was given us at Lepsinsk, 
 which we left with the sandstorm still blowing, and 
 soon came to the River Lepsa, that gives its name 
 both to the station as well as to the chief town of 
 the district 
 
68 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 At the next station, Baskanskiy, there were trees 
 before the post-house, and, further on, herbage 
 appeared with camels feeding, after which snow 
 mountains loomed in the distance, and we crossed in 
 a small ferry-boat the Ak-Su, a smaller and narrower 
 river than the Lepsa, but quite as rapid. At the 
 Ak-Su station horses were again given us, but it 
 must not be supposed that all this came as a matter 
 of course, for we overtook at least three officers in 
 these picket-stations, against whom we should have 
 had no chance in securing horses, but for the kind 
 patronage of the Governor- General. To expedite 
 matters still more, and finding that an estaphet, or 
 mounted messenger, could be sent on ahead for such 
 a trifle as a halfpenny a mile, I began the practice 
 further on of sending off immediately on my arrival 
 a boy to the next station to announce my coming, 
 so that if the- horses were turned out on the steppe, 
 they might be brought to the stable ready to be 
 harnessed at a moment's notice. At the Ak-Su station 
 it poured with rain a fact I mention only to take of 
 those refreshing drops farewell a long farewell, for 
 days and weeks and months, since, if I remember 
 rightly, we saw no more for upwards of three months 
 that is, till we reached the Caucasus at Poti in 
 December. 
 
 At Abakumovskiy, the next station, we were near 
 the mountains. From this place a post-road goes off 
 at the foot of, and parallel to, the Ala-Tau range, a 
 distance of 65 miles, past three stations to Lepsinsk. 
 
 On leaving Abakumovskiy we found ourselves 
 ascending a mountain path, named the Hasfort pass, 
 after a former Governor-General of Western Siberia, 
 that recalled to my mind the sides of one of the Cali- 
 fornian canons. It was not till far on in the night 
 that we reached the station Arasan, where I was too 
 sleepy to see much, but I heard that the station- 
 master was a Pole, who, understanding that I was a 
 
FROM SERGIQPOL TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 69 
 
 foreigner, asked whether I came from Paris. What 
 gaieties I should have seen, had it been daylight, I 
 know not, for we were now at the fashionable bathing 
 place of the neighbourhood. Here are hot sulphur 
 springs (whence the name Arasan), much frequented 
 in summer. There are bathing houses, a pretty garden, 
 and a small hotel. 
 
 From Arasan we posted into a temperature uncom- 
 fortably cold, till sunrise found us, 3,900 feet above the 
 sea, at Kopal. This town was formerly the capital of 
 the province, and has a population of 5,000 souls. It 
 was founded in 1841, and is finely situated in a valley. 
 It has two schools, two churches, and a mosque, but is 
 now on the decline, since the business formerly done in 
 the Steppe has now been largely transferred to the new 
 capital at Vierny. As we drove through the town 
 before its inhabitants were astir, it looked well-built 
 and clean. I would gladly have purchased some new 
 white bread, but as this would have delayed us some 
 hours, and necessity did not compel me to stop, we 
 posted on past Ak-Ichke, and breakfasted at the next 
 station, Sari-bulak, beyond which the way lay through 
 tall herbage with hollyhocks. Here we met our first 
 camel caravan and signs of animal life increased. Thus 
 far, apart from the stations, we had not seen, I think, 
 all the way since leaving Semipolatinsk a single collec- 
 tion of houses that could be called a road-side village. 
 At Vyselok-Karibulaksky was a village, and something 
 much rarer, a church, whilst the cultivated land around 
 recalled one of the Siberian villages, so closely planted 
 along some of the post-roads. Here I observed, flying 
 about, my first Hoopoe, with its gay yellow crest and 
 speckled wings. Up to the next station, Djangyz- 
 Agachskiy, the road had made a considerable ddtour 
 to the west in order to skirt some spurs of the Ala- 
 Tau, and beyond this station we ascended among 
 barren mountains to the height of 4,500 feet above the 
 sea. At the following station, Tsaritsin, we had reached 
 
70 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 a point 40 miles in a straight line from Kopal, but 
 which had cost us double that distance to attain to. 
 Here was a telegraph station, the officer of which in 
 his loneliness eagerly asked for books. From this 
 point the road divides, one branch making a dttour to 
 the left by Kok-su and Ters-agan to Kugalin, whilst 
 the road to the right goes to Kugalin direct. This 
 latter way we went, starting after tea, and arriving in 
 the middle of the night two stations further on at 
 Altyn-Immel. So cold had it become during the last 
 two stages that, despite my Ulster coat and Maude 
 shaw r l, I had to descend from the tarantass and run to 
 warm my feet. 
 
 Altyn-Immel to us was " Kuldja junction," where we 
 had to re-arrange if not to "change carriages." From 
 this point we turned off to Kuldja, which was to be our 
 next resting-place, whither it seemed unnecessary to 
 drag our wagonette, laden chiefly with Russian books, 
 but rather to take the Mongolian and Chinese Scrip- 
 tures, and leave the rest till our return. We arrived 
 in the small hours of the morning at Altyn-Immel, 
 where, being unable to find anyone in the post-house, 
 I entered the guest-room, and began writing till day- 
 light should bring someone on the scene. At length 
 the post-master, a Tatar, emerged from his sleeping- 
 place, which was none other than an empty post-cart in 
 the yard, and afterwards, our boxes left in his charge, we 
 hurried off towards Kuldja 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 fROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 
 
 The Altyn-Immel Pass. A sick telegraphist, and Tatar. Nomads of 
 the Province. Borokhudzir nursery. Ruined towns, andSolons. 
 Kuldja mining-. Chinchakhodzi. History of Hi valley : its coloni- 
 zation, rebellion, and occupation by Russians. Arrival at Kuldja. 
 The Ili Valley, midway between Turanian and Chinese races. 
 The Taranchis : their dress and habitations. The Dungans ; 
 Solons ; and Sibos. Visit to a Sibo encampment. Their house- 
 hold gods, and sick people. The Kalmuks : their physical and 
 mental characteristics. Administration under Geluns andZangs. 
 Kalmuk religion, family life, and marriage. 
 
 SOON after sunrise on the last day of August, we 
 left the post-station with our stock of Chinese and 
 Mongolian books piled on the tarantass in three cases, 
 and thus heavily laden gradually ascended for seven 
 miles to the gorge or pass of Yakshi- Altyn-Immel, or 
 the " good golden saddle," so-called in distinction to 
 the " Yaman " or "bad " Altyn-Immel pass in another 
 part of the range. We had attained a height of about 
 5,500 feet above the sea, and had a fine view before 
 us. The length of the gorge is four miles, and the 
 road passes through clefts in the overhanging rocks. 
 At times the cliffs recede, and then in front there opens 
 out a vast plateau shut in on the south by the central 
 course of the Ili. There was now before us a district 
 that has played a prominent part in the history of the 
 East. It is the most accessible depression by which 
 the great plateau of Central Asia may be reached from 
 the Turkistan plains. Hence the Kuldja oasis has 
 
72 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 served as a resting-place for the vast hordes whose 
 migrations, conquests, and defeats have formed so 
 important a chapter in the history of Asia. 
 
 On reaching the first station, Bash-chi, we had 
 come down more than 2,000 feet, and found a poor 
 picket station, where we were told that the horses 
 were "in the field," or, better said, in the wilderness, 
 and the time it took to catch them caused us at once 
 to send forward an estaphet to announce our coming, 
 and so, in future, prevent delay. By tea time we had 
 reached Konur-Ulen, and met in the station an 
 invalid telegraphist, who had just arrived to live a 
 month in a Kirghese tent and undergo the Kiimiss 
 cure. He had brought with him of the fruits of the 
 land, and gave us a melon, which added a relish to our 
 meal, coming, as we did, from the fruitless steppe. Tea 
 over, we watched a Kirghese woman putting up his tent, 
 for the hire of which for a month he was to pay 1 2s. ; and 
 whilst we were thus employed, the post-master, entering 
 the name from my podorojna in his book, read the words, 
 " The English Pastor, Henry Lansdell, Doctor bogos- 
 lovie" literally, doctor of the Word of God or Divinity. 
 The "bogoslovie" probably puzzled the post-master, 
 for he was a Tatar; but, thinking that "doctor" had 
 something to do with medicine, he came to show his 
 tongue, covered with sores, and affected, Mr. Sevier 
 feared, with cancer. My companion applied some 
 caustic, and promised to see him again on our return. 
 The man bought a Kirghese New Testament, and we 
 departed over at first a fair road, though afterwards 
 it proved abominably stony. On arriving at Koibyn 
 we found that we had sent forward an estaphet to 
 some purpose, for Mr. Sevier, on springing out of the 
 carriage and asking for horses, was told that he could 
 not have them, for they were being kept for a general 
 the "general" proving to be none other than my 
 humble self, whom the post-master seemed to anticipate 
 to be of exalted rank, since such kind attention was 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 73 
 
 being shown me by the authorities. From Koibyn 
 we proceeded up a mountain gorge that is described 
 as pretty by both Schuyler and Ujfalvy, who speak of 
 the varying yellow, red, and purple hues of the steep 
 and scarped rocks, as also of bushes covered with 
 blue, white, red, and yellow flowers; but we passed 
 this place in the night, and by dawn came within 
 sight of Vyselok Borokhudzir. 
 
 In passing the 60 miles from Altyn-Immel to Koibyn, 
 we had met more than one party of nomads flitting 
 to new pastures. A prominent individual among the 
 first cavalcade was a stout old lady riding astride a 
 fat ox. Other females of the party were all riding in 
 the same fashion, some on camels, with children in 
 front, and some on saddled oxen. We saw in the 
 distance as we drove along Kirghese auls, with their 
 flocks and herds, which form the chief means of 
 subsistence, though some of the Kuldja nomads do, 
 to a certain extent, cultivate the soil. 
 
 We had reached Borokhudzir, 3,900 feet above the 
 sea, prettily situated on the right bank of the river of 
 that name, on September ist, and had I been a devotee 
 of " Saint Partridge" there would have been no need for 
 me to long for the turnip fields of Old England where- 
 in to keep the festival, for the surrounding woods 
 were full of game, including not only Partridges, but 
 Pheasants, greyish Hares, and abundance of Deer. 
 
 Peasant colonists from the Tomsk province of Siberia 
 have built a settlement near of about 50 whitewashed 
 houses of unbaked bricks, where is a post and telegraph 
 office, and a nursery garden, planted in 1869, for the 
 purpose of showing the natives how to develop the 
 horticultural capabilities of the country. General Kol- 
 pakovsky, we heard, took interest in this experiment, 
 and on our return journey we inspected the nursery. 
 It was watered by irrigation, and in the season furnished 
 occupation for from 30 to 50 men. The vines were 
 trained in bowers, of which there were many and long, 
 
74 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 but the cheapness of fruit may be gathered from the 
 fact that a Sart paid only iS for all the season's 
 grapes. The number and variety of young trees and 
 shrubs was very considerable, and included pears, apples, 
 walnuts, peaches, and sundry other fruit-trees, besides 
 large numbers of karagatch. The hard timber of this 
 last, when well seasoned, possesses enduring qualities 
 that are highly esteemed. Some of it also was growing 
 in the form of well-cut hedges. Other trees were the 
 thorny acacia, and among poplars a silvery species with 
 a light-green smooth bark. I noticed, too, raspberry 
 canes, artichokes, cabbages, cauliflowers, cucumbers 
 four spans long, and a plant resembling a large turnip 
 with cabbage-leaves, the Kohl Rabi of our farms. The 
 products of this nursery are thought much of by the 
 natives, and are distributed as far as Kopal. 
 
 From Borokhudzir we drove out by the wide street, 
 fringed with canals and willows, very early in the 
 morning; and, having crossed the river that gives its 
 name to the village, traversed a vastly improved 
 region, where on either hand there met us tokens of 
 culture, in the form of well-arranged canals, but all in 
 ruins, and the land overgrown with weeds. The road 
 entered the remains of a considerable forest of prickly 
 shrubs, pines, willows, and karagatch trees, said to 
 have extended in former times as a cultivated forest 
 nearly all the way to Kuldja. Chinese settlements 
 were scattered throughout, and the ruins of them are 
 still visible, but the trees, no longer cared for or irri- 
 gated, are fast dying. Nine miles from Borokhudzir 
 we crossed the River Usek, on the bank of which are 
 situated the ruins of Jarkend. 
 
 The remnant of a people called Solons live near. 
 They are not an old race in Sungaria, but are a section 
 of the Manchu race living in North-Western Manchuria, 
 and forming some of the most warlike of the banner- 
 men. At Jarkend they live in widely scattered mud 
 houses in winter, and in summer pitch their tents on 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 75 
 
 the river banks ; but they are few in number, some 
 having removed to the neighbourhood of Chuguchak, 
 and others having become Christians, and settled at 
 Sarkansk. The place, however, is likely to regain 
 importance from the Taranchi and Dungan emigrants, 
 who have settled there since my visit in order to be 
 under Russian government, in preference to staying in 
 Kuldja under the Chinese. In the Usek our carriage 
 stuck fast for about an hour, till some Cossacks came 
 to the rescue and got us out, 
 
 By breakfast time we reached Ak-Kend, where a 
 comfortable Chinese house had been converted into 
 a Russian post-station. Here we met a travelling 
 Russian priest, to whom I sold some tracts and Scrip- 
 tures. The station is in the midst of a once flourishing, 
 but now ruined, Chinese town, the only semblance of 
 commerce that we could discern being two or three 
 stalls for the sale of melons and vegetables. We 
 speedily purchased some of the former, and proceeded 
 on our way, now meeting clumsy Chinese carts, and 
 passing here and there a field under cultivation. On 
 reaching the River Khorgos, which is the boundary line 
 of the Russian and Chinese empires, we found en- 
 camped a number of Cossacks, who bought some of 
 my books, and then proceeded to help us to cross the 
 stream. In spring this is sometimes impossible for 
 weeks. On the present occasion a mounted Cossack 
 preceded us to find the shallow parts of the bed, 
 whilst another rode by the side of the tarantass, with 
 a rope attached, to keep us from toppling over. On 
 emerging safely from the river, we passed ere long the 
 walls of Tchimpantzi, once a flourishing industrial and 
 commercial centre with 50,000 inhabitants, but where 
 not a single house had been left standing. Formerly 
 the town was surrounded with irrigated fields, but 
 since they had been visited with the curse of civil war 
 the land had reverted to a barren steppe. 
 
 Over this Steppe we drove for some miles, passing 
 
76 1HROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the Taranchi village of Mazar, lying off to the left, 
 whilst three miles further could be seen the Solon 
 village of Dabir. On arriving at Alimptu there were 
 no post-horses, though the chief strove to comfort us 
 by saying that, had our estaphet only arrived earlier, he 
 would have stopped the post in order that we might 
 have the steeds. Whether this was perfectly genuine 
 I know T not, but there were abundance of Cossack 
 horses in the stable ; and when we asked the Cossacks 
 whether they could not take us forward, they graciously 
 consented, but asked for four times the normal fare ! 
 This they abated, Russian like, to a triple charge, 
 which we paid rather than wait longer than sufficed 
 for a meal. In the station yard was a stone lion with 
 curly mane, similar to those placed by the Chinese at 
 the doors of their temples, or of persons of high rank, 
 the lion being usually represented in a sitting posture 
 with the right paw on a globe. This post-house was 
 kept by a brother and good-looking sister, who struck 
 me as superior to the average of their class, and who 
 were, we afterwards found, children of the post-master 
 in easy circumstances at Chinchakhodzi, where we 
 arrived the same afternoon. 
 
 All the morning, as we had driven along through 
 ruined towns and desolate fields, we enjoyed by 
 contrast a strangely beautiful view of the distant 
 mountains, their bases being hidden by mist, whilst 
 their snowy peaks seemed to float on the bosom of 
 the clouds. This was especially the case with those 
 on the right, and those on the left at their summits 
 were also sprinkled with snow. These mountains of 
 the Hi valley contain numerous minerals, but it is 
 doubtful whether any, except perhaps coal, are valuable. 
 
 Coal has been worked in the valley for more than 
 half a century, though not used in other parts of 
 Central Asia. Chinese labourers worked in companies 
 of 8 on co-operative principles, or Kalmuks in gangs 
 of 12, hired by Dungan or Taranchi capitalists. They 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. . 77 
 
 sought a spot, when possible, where they could sink 
 a vertical shaft sometimes 300 feet deep, and at the 
 same time advance thereto down an inclined one, the 
 former serving to raise the coal, and the other as a 
 means of communication. Up to the coming of the 
 Russians the price of coal at the pit's mouth was three 
 farthings per cwt., by reason of the cheapness of labour, 
 materials, and food. 
 
 The station at Chinchakhodzi we found in the midst 
 of an excellent garden, with numbers of standard peach 
 trees, and a bower of vines with grapes beginning to 
 colour. Here was another fair sister and daughter 
 of Russia, whose mother, the post-mistress, told us that 
 they whom we had seen at the previous station were her 
 son and daughter, and she further informed her guests, 
 with some satisfaction, that she had another son a 
 post-master, and a third who held the appointment of 
 Russian and Chinese interpreter to General Friede, 
 Governor of Kuldja. But though the happy mother 
 of five thriving sons and daughters, the good woman 
 had a "skeleton in her cupboard," even in the Hi 
 valley, for she had also a child idiotic, and, reading 
 " Doctor " on my podorojna, she supposed there might 
 be a physician passing by, and brought her boy of 
 eight, saying that he had never spoken since he was 
 three years old, that he had fits, was never still, and 
 seemed like one possessed. Sevier, for some reason, 
 could not dispense for her satisfactorily out of our 
 medicine chest, but promised to bring on our return 
 some iodide of potassium, and gave hope to the mother 
 that her child might outgrow his malady. 
 
 Chinchakhodzi is inhabited by Dungans, and being 
 a Mussulman town, escaped the general destruction at 
 the time of the war. It is surrounded by a wall, and 
 wears an aspect unmistakably Chinese, as did the 
 maize and harvest fields we next passed through. 
 
 Our next station to Chinchakhodzi was Suidun. As 
 we approached we saw the Cossacks exercising, and 
 
;8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 coming nearer found the Chinese strengthening the 
 walls of the town. About 10 miles distant were the 
 ruins of what was the Chinese capital, variously called 
 Hi, New Kuldja, and Manchu Kuldja, in which 75,000 
 people were butchered in one day. We did not go there, 
 nor had we yet seen the last of the ruins by the road- 
 side, an outline of the origin of which will, I think, better 
 enable the reader to understand the heterogeneous ele- 
 ments of which the Hi population is now composed. 
 
 The history of the Hi valley dates back as far as the 
 second century before the Christian era, when the Usuim 
 were driven by the Huns to settle there from Mongolia. 
 After the time of Jinghiz Khan, Sungaria, of which 
 the Hi valley was a part, was possessed by several 
 tribes, called Kalmuks, who formed a confederacy, and 
 were termed Oirats. Their influence spread over all 
 Mongolia, and in 1450 they conquered the Chinese, but 
 subsequently their power declined. In the beginning 
 of the seventeenth century internal dissensions began 
 to lead to secessions of tribes, and in the following 
 century the Sungarian throne was seized by a usurper, 
 who recognized the suzerainty of China, and then 
 repudiated it. This conduct was punished in 1756 by 
 the Chinese massacre of 600,000 Kalmuks, so that 
 Sungaria was completely depopulated. 
 
 China then proceeded to repeople the country by 
 sending there her own convicts and vagabonds, by 
 planting military colonies of Solons and Sibos from 
 Manchuria and Dauria, by causing to migrate thither 
 from the western provinces of Kan-Su and Shen-Si, 
 Chinese Muhammadans called Dungans, and by im- 
 porting from Kashgaria other Muharnmadan settlers, 
 who became known as Taranchis. Besides all these, 
 in 1771 there began to return from the Volga region a 
 number of the Torgout tribe of Kalmuks, who had 
 migrated thus far before the destruction of their kins- 
 men, and who had been invited by the Chinese to 
 come back to the haunts of their ancestors. 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 79 
 
 For the purpose of keeping order in the country, 
 the city of Hi or Manchu Kuldja, south of Suidun, 
 was built as a seat of government and settled by 
 Manchus. In course of time the officials so oppressed 
 the Mussulman inhabitants that in 1864 the Dungans 
 rebelled and killed the Manchus and Chinese about 
 Urumtsi to the number of 130,000. The wave of 
 rebellion rolled on to Kuldja, where the Taranchis 
 joined with the Dungans, and completely overturned 
 and massacred the Chinese and Manchus. Then the 
 Dungans and Taranchis fell out with each other, met 
 
 A TORGOUT KALMUK. 
 
 in battle in April, 1867, and the Dungans, who had 
 everywhere murdered, robbed, and pillaged, were 
 badly beaten, and so the Taranchis became rulers of 
 the country. Meanwhile the Russians had been 
 quietly looking on during the insurrection, refusing 
 help to the Chinese authorities, and declining to enter 
 into relations with usurpers. Numbers of refugees 
 fled to Russian territory, and were kindly received and 
 located as colonists ; but when the Russian border was 
 crossed by marauding Kirghese from the Kuldja 
 territory, and when, moreover, it looked possible that 
 
8o 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Yakub Beg, Governor of Kashgar, fighting successfully 
 with the Dungans, might proceed also to Kuldja, the 
 Russians stepped in and seized it first, and promised 
 
 P'AI FANG, OR CHINESE MEMORIAL ARCH, AT SU1DUX. 
 
 the Court of Peking that, so soon as the Chinese 
 Emperor could restore and maintain order, and pay the 
 expenses incurred by the Russians, the province should 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 81 
 
 be given back to the Celestials. The fulfilment of 
 this promise had been claimed the year before my 
 visit, so that I found things in a transitional state, and 
 the strengthening of the wall of Suidun, referred to 
 above, was in anticipation of the Chinese return to 
 power in the following year. 
 
 We did not stay at Suidun, though it was late in 
 the evening, but posted on past the ruined Baiandai, 
 formerly a town of nearly 150,000 inhabitants, and at 
 midnight arrived at Kuldja. We had now travelled 
 from Omsk, a distance of 1,200 miles, in a fortnight, 
 having our clothes off to sleep only the two nights at 
 Semipolatinsk. There are no hotels at Kuldja, and 
 as it was too late to present letters of introduction, I 
 was glad enough to throw myself down on the bench 
 in the dirty post-house to sleep, and then go forth in 
 the morning to be struck by the extraordinary ethno- 
 logical varieties of the inhabitants. 
 
 The Hi valley may be regarded as a half-way house 
 between the Turanian races of Central Asia and 
 the Mongol races of China. Here meet the settled 
 Mussulman Taranchi and Dungan, with the Buddhist 
 Sibo, Manchu, and Chinese ; as well as the nomad 
 Muhammadan Kirghese, and the Lamaist Kalmuk. 
 
 The Taranchis call themselves Sarts, but to the 
 Chinese they became known by their present name 
 from their occupation as agriculturists or millet sowers, 
 from taran, meaning millet, or, according to some, " a 
 ploughed field." Their dress consists of a full shirt, 
 drawers of leather or cotton, and a khalat, with a shub 
 added in winter. Except the mullahs, the men do not 
 wear turbans, but fur caps ; whilst women and girls 
 adorn their heads with stiff, low, gaudy, cylindrical hats, 
 having conical tops. We saw ordinary patterns dis- 
 played in large numbers up to 2os. each, but wives 
 of sultans have their caps adorned with jewels, some- 
 times to the value of upwards of ^"100. A pair of 
 ladies' boots I bought are about 10 inches high, of red 
 
 6 
 
Sz THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 leather, gorgeously embroidered, and fitting close, but 
 without a second sole or heel. They do well for house 
 wear, but for the street a golosh is worn over them. 
 Now and then one sees among the -women a pleasant 
 face, but they are all browned, being accustomed from 
 childhood to work in the fields ; a striking contrast to 
 their Tashkend sisters, who remain shut up in the 
 house. The males shave their heads. One of our 
 curious sights in the bazaar was a baby boy squalling 
 under this operation. 
 
 In their houses the Kuldja people are said to have 
 
 A TARANCHI. 
 
 introduced improved surroundings and furniture, such 
 as bedsteads and tables, at which they sit to eat, using 
 stools and sometimes even chairs of simple workmanship. 
 This, however, was not the case in the house of a 
 former Taranchi bek, occupied by his five-times married 
 widow, wherein lived Colonel Mayevsky, whom we 
 visited in Kuldja. In this case a large proportion of the 
 room was taken up with a raised divan, covered with 
 rugs, and the dining-table was less than a foot high. 
 
 The Dungans, or Tungans, are Sunni Muhamma- 
 dans, and wear a skull cap, shaving the head like the 
 
FROM ALTYN-1MMEL TO KULDJA. 83 
 
 Taranchis ; but in language, dress, and almost every 
 other respect they resemble the Chinese. 
 
 The Solons and Sibos, as already stated, were 
 brought to the Hi valley as military colonists from 
 Eastern Manchuria. I remember hearing, if not 
 seeing, something of a Tunguse tribe called Solons 
 
 SIBO MILITARY COLONISTS. 
 
 when on the Amur in 1879, and as Dr. Schuyler says 
 the Sibos speak a Tunguse dialect similar to the 
 Manchu, I presume they come from about that locality. 
 The colonists were divided into 14 banners or suniuls, 
 afterwards increased to 16, the Solons being settled on 
 the right bank of the Hi, and the Sibos on the left. 
 
84 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 The Sibos number 18,000 souls, the sexes, numeri- 
 cally, being about equal. I had been recommended to 
 visit a Sibo sumul as one of the sights of Kuldja, and we 
 accordingly did so. Of the eight Sibo sumuls we drove 
 to the second, and arrived at a rectangular walled town, 
 with a chamber over the gate. In this room were 
 some idols, brought thither from a destroyed temple. 
 We drove through a long, and fairly wide, but .dirty 
 street, to a building that corresponded to a town hall 
 or house of public business, the walls of which were 
 written over with stories in Manchu. We were next 
 
 A SIBO WOMAN. 
 
 taken to a " fanza," or house, as I supposed, of a 
 dignitary. The principal room was spacious and clean, 
 but the furniture and ornamentation were chiefly con- 
 fined to the western side, where were a hieroglyphical- 
 looking representation of a tiger, and the paraphernalia 
 of a Buddhist altar, on which were placed \hepenates or 
 household gods. I should have liked to have purchased 
 some of their burkhans, or idols, but they would not 
 sell them : in fact, I think the proprietor was not there. 
 I had taken some Scriptures, in Chinese and Mongol, 
 but they could read neither one nor the other. They 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. - 85 
 
 said, however, that the men of the sixth sumul could 
 read, and that books should be sent to them through 
 the Russian Consul. We then went into other houses 
 looking for curiosities, when my eye fell upon a man's 
 belt with a clasp, fastening with a hook and eye cut 
 in jade. There was also suspended from the belt, 
 of the same material, a carved lotus, or sacred flower 
 of the Buddhists. I bought the whole, and it is now 
 in the British Museum. We inquired, likewise, if 
 any in the town were sick, and were taken to a 
 miserable hovel little better than a shed, where was 
 an old man, somewhat of an idiot, with fever, but not 
 of an eruptive character, and opposite to him a young 
 man. Mr. Sevier carefully examined him, sounding his 
 swollen and dropsical stomach. His ribs were dilated, 
 the liver pushed up, heart out of place, and arms 
 wasted, whilst his pulse was beating fast, and he was 
 suffering from bronchitis. We had not the necessary 
 instruments for tapping him, so that directions only 
 could be given that he should be brought into Kuldja. 
 The Sibos are said to be excellent gardeners, and when 
 we repaired again to the town house to drink tea, they 
 not only crowded round to see us eat and to partake 
 of what we offered, but they brought us melonSj after 
 which we returned to Kuldja. 
 
 There remains one more tribe to be noticed in the 
 present chapter, who are, in some respects, the most 
 interesting in the Hi valley, because they are the least 
 known. The Russians have long had the Turanian 
 nomads under their rule, but not so in an equal degree 
 the Kalmuks. I met with some of them in Kuldja, 
 from whom it was easy to see that they represent the 
 Mongol type in comparative purity, reminding me of 
 the Buriats, another Mongol tribe, I saw in 1879. 
 They are anything but good-looking. It should be 
 added that they are good-tempered and generous, but 
 exceedingly indolent. They are credulous, and dearly 
 love anecdotes and stories. Artificially produced gaiety, 
 
86 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 however, is followed by deep melancholy. Usually 
 timid, they become very angry if irritated, and though 
 not remarkable for severe morals, they excel the morally 
 corrupt Chinese, than whom they are more generous, 
 frank, and hospitable. They use no flour food unless 
 it be gruel ; and their brick tea they boil with milk, fat, 
 salt, flour, and millet. I remember being treated to a 
 cup of this mixture in a Mongol dwelling in Siberia, 
 and my " accident done for the purpose " in upsetting 
 the cup and declining with thanks to have it refilled. 
 
 A KALMUK BEAUTY. 
 
 For administrative purposes before the Russian 
 rule, and now again I suppose under the Chinese, 
 the Kalmuks are divided into squadrons (sumuns, or 
 sumuls), each of 200 tents. They constitute the 
 Chinese irregular cavalry. Each sumul is under the 
 direction of a cleric called a gelun, and a laic called a 
 
 <*> 
 
 zang. The gelun has the right to promote the lower 
 lamas of his squadron to the rank of getsul % representing 
 a third clerical grade. 
 
 The lamas are teachers, medical sorcerers, and 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO KULDJA. 87 
 
 priests. Hence their services are called into requisi- 
 tion : at a birth to read prayers over the mother, and 
 name the child ; later to instruct the boy, to marry him 
 when grown up, to treat him when sick with prayers 
 and drugs, and after death to decide whether the 
 corpse shall be buried, exposed on the Steppe, to be 
 eaten, I presume, by dogs as at Urga, or burned. 
 
 Family life among the Kalmuks possesses greater 
 freedom than among the Solons. A Kalmuk girl is 
 a shepherdess. She is married early, without much 
 attention to her predilections, even without her consent, 
 but she is at liberty to leave her husband and return 
 to her relations. Whether she likes a suitor is known 
 by her leaving the tent as soon as the marriage 
 negotiations commence, or the reverse, by her staying 
 during the whole conference. The parents, however, 
 seldom regard her taste, and the aspirant, with their 
 consent, watches for an opportunity of seizing the girl 
 and carrying her off by force, the parents considering 
 their duty towards their daughter fulfilled if only the 
 man carry her off without their seeing it. 
 
 I have thus described certain tribes of the Hi valley, 
 my remarks upon their government applying rather to 
 the Chinese than the Russians ; and having now intro- 
 duced to the reader the inhabitants of the valley, I 
 shall be the better understood, I think, in detailing my 
 experience during our stay in Kuldja. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 O UR STA Y IN KULDJA . 
 
 Hospitality at the Russian Consulate. Visit to Taranchis and Sibos. 
 Crossing the Hi with Cossack escort. Roman Catholics in Kuldja. 
 The Russian Church. A request from Roman Catholics for 
 religious service. Distribution of Scriptures. Steadfastness of 
 Chinese Christians. Visit to Buddhist temple. Dungan and 
 Taranchi mosques. Visits to Chinese Police-master, and Commis- 
 sariat officer. Sale of Scriptures. Taranchi, Chinese, and Sart 
 bazaars. Character of trade, prices, and coins. Native restau- 
 rants. Industrial buildings. Visit to a Kalmuk tent. Exploration 
 of Kalmuk camping-grounds. Colonel Prejevalsky's journey to 
 Lob Nor. Russian and English explorers of the Hi valley. 
 
 WE had arrived at Kuldja on Saturday morning, 
 September 2nd, to find that most of the 
 persons to whom I had introductions were away. 
 The Governor, General Friede, was busy on the fron- 
 tier, the line of which was then being settled ; the 
 Commander of the Chinese forces, to whom we had 
 a letter from the Chinese Legation in London, was not 
 in Kuldja, nor was the Chinese Governor-General, who 
 lived, it appeared, in Suidun, which we had passed, so 
 that we should have to see him on our way back. 
 The next on our list was Mr. Paderin, the Russian 
 Consul, to whose house accordingly we drove. Here, 
 again, we were disappointed, for the Consul was also 
 at the frontier ; but on presenting my letter, his secre- 
 tary saw at once that it was written by a friend, and 
 begged us to stay at the Consulate. The build- 
 ing is pleasantly situated in a garden and shrubbery, 
 
OUR STA Y IN KULDJA. 89 
 
 and its spacious rooms were furnished with such 
 taste as, together with English books lying about, 
 made one long to converse with the owner. What 
 advance modern conveniences had made in this out-of- 
 the-way part of the world was visible in the drawing- 
 room, where there was a telephone communicating with 
 a distant part of the town. The secretary's quarters 
 were in a villa in another part of the grounds, so that 
 we were to be lodged in the great house alone, save 
 for the caretaker, and the secretary was to take his 
 meals with us. 
 
 One of the first things we asked to be allowed to do 
 was to visit the Sibo sumul, or encampment, I have 
 referred to ; and finding that it was seven miles out of 
 the town, I rather foolishly declined to go on horse- 
 back, and begged that we might drive in our carriage. 
 Horses were found us, and a Russo-Chinese interpreter, 
 and off we started at the dashing pace with which a 
 Russian coachman thinks it proper to begin and end 
 a drive, however he may lag in the middle. Old, or 
 Taranchi, Kuldja was founded about a century ago, 
 and is a rectangular town with clay walls, 30 feet high, 
 sufficiently thick for two carriages to be driven abreast 
 on the top, and measuring 4 miles in circumference ; 
 the work, it is said, of 2,000 Kalmuks, driven to the 
 task by the Taranchis. Two large streets crossing 
 each other divide the town into quarters, which are 
 subdivided by smaller streets and alleys. We made 
 our way through the Taranchi bazaar, along the street 
 of which runs a water-course from one of the two 
 rivulets, Pensin-Bulak and Pilechi-Su, that water the 
 town. 
 
 The Taranchi bazaar, in the citadel, has shops some- 
 what more roomy than those of Central Asia generally, 
 and the street is not covered from rain or sun. It is 
 paved with small stones, and the shops are kept by 
 stolid Mussulmans. Here we bought our first ripe 
 grapes and nectarines. Apricots ripen at Kuldja at 
 
9 o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the beginning of July, and we were, therefore, too late 
 for them, but of late peaches, that ripen early in August, 
 we came in for the last, flat in form, about an inch 
 and a half in diameter and half an inch in thickness. 
 They tasted fairly well, but there was little flesh on the 
 stone. Most of the Kuldja fruits, including pomegra- 
 nates, apples, pears, and mulberries, besides those I 
 have mentioned, are small, since the trees, through 
 neglect, may be said to be almost wild. 
 
 As we drove from the bazaar towards the Hi (III 
 means a river), we passed through the Taranchi gardens 
 and fields, to find a swiftly-running stream, 700 feet 
 wide, just the width of the Thames at low water at 
 London Bridge ; and when I saw the clumsy ferry into 
 which our heavy tarantass had to be lifted, it was easy 
 to see why the secretary recommended our going on 
 horseback. On account of the velocity of the current, 
 the process of crossing is slow, especially when it is 
 windy. Usually there are three ferry boats, owned by 
 a Russian merchant, and at the time we crossed there 
 were large numbers of cattle waiting to do the same. 
 They were accordingly tied by the head to the ferry, 
 and made to swim after it, the barge being filled with 
 vehicles and passengers. Having landed safely on 
 the opposite side, we drove across a low, flat country, 
 almost without roads, sometimes through ditches, and 
 over crazy bridges, that kept us in doubt whether or 
 not we should be let through into the stream .below ; 
 but having at last reached the sumul, we inspected it 
 as I have described in the previous chapter. The chil- 
 dren thronged around us full of curiosity, but people 
 seemed pleased to see us, only that our interpreter did 
 not speak their dialect particularly well ; and as our 
 ideas passed successively through English, Russian, 
 and Chinese, not to add Sibo, it may be supposed that 
 we conversed with difficulty. Just as we had finished 
 our tea, four mounted Cossacks came to the place, 
 saying that the Commandant having heard of our 
 
OUR STA Y IN KULDJA. 91 
 
 intended visit to the encampment, though he did not 
 apprehend our being harmed, yet thought it better to 
 send us a guard, and they had arrived at the Hi just 
 after we had crossed, and so failed to catch us up, but 
 that they were now ready to escort us back when we 
 pleased. We therefore started speedily, for evening 
 was drawing on, and we did not reach the Hi till dusk. 
 The embarkation from .this bank was more difficult 
 than it had been from the other, and there was much 
 ado to get the Cossack horses on board, for they had 
 to walk in the shallow water and then jump over the 
 side of the barge. One little horse, at a word from 
 his rider, sprang over the gunwale with the agility of 
 a cat, although the others had to scramble up in a 
 fashion that I should think only Cossack horses would 
 do. It was dark before we reached the Consulate, 
 but we had spent an enjoyable day, and were quite 
 ready to turn into bed, for this had not been vouch- 
 safed to us more than twice for a fortnight. 
 
 The morrow being Sunday, I had thought whether 
 there was any clerical work I could do. The Mussul- 
 mans and Buddhists had their mullahs, and the 
 Russians had their priest. I heard of no Protestants, 
 but I had both heard and read of a small colony of 
 Chinese Roman Catholics at Kuldja, amongst whom 
 Christianity w r as introduced by French missionaries 
 who came from Peking, some say a hundred years ago, 
 in accordance with which Mr. Ujfalvy states that he 
 found among them Latin and French books of the 
 last century and beginning of the present. Mr. Ashton 
 Dilke in 1873 stated that before the insurrection these 
 Christians were nearly 400 in number, but that 300 
 of them, including their priest, Father Thomas, w r ere 
 then massacred. The remainder of these Christians, 
 according to Dr. Schuyler, were among the first to 
 welcome the advent of the Russians. The Jews, how- 
 ever, have no dealings with the Samaritans, nor have 
 the Greek Catholics with the Roman. Consequently 
 
92 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 there was a little flock surrounded by Russians, Mussul- 
 mans, Buddhists, and Pagans, who spoke enthusiasti- 
 cally to Mr. Dilke of their murdered priest, and 
 compared Christianity with their former religion, much 
 to the disadvantage of the latter, still holding fast to 
 the only form of Christianity they had ever known, yet 
 doing so without a shepherd, and notwithstanding that 
 they had been unvisited by one of their missionaries, 
 or, so far as I could learn, had any communication with 
 head-quarters, for seventeen years. The case seemed 
 to me both interesting and pitiable, and I wondered if 
 there were anything I could do. We had no spoken 
 language in common. Mr. Dilke spoke of their accent 
 in pronouncing Latin as Italian, but said that some 
 could translate it. Dr. Schuyler thought the pronun- 
 ciation "at least singular," and some years later Mr. 
 Delmar Morgan had found the pronunciation " wholly 
 unintelligible to a European ear." Mr. Ujfalvy men- 
 tions, indeed, that some of them could read Latin and 
 French, but then, he adds, " without understanding it," 
 so that it seemed clear I could do nothing in the way 
 of preaching. I mentioned the matter to our host on 
 Saturday, and begged him to make inquiries of the 
 Roman community if there was anything I could do 
 for them. The secretary, however, did not see his 
 way very clearly in the matter, and when we returned 
 in the evening he had another plan to propose namely, 
 that we should accompany him to the Russian church 
 in the morning, and visit the Romans in the afternoon, 
 and to this, though disappointed, I agreed. 
 
 There is but one Russian church in Kuldja, and that 
 some distance from the Consulate, on the outskirts of 
 the town. Two Cossacks came to ride behind the 
 Consul's carriage, in which the secretary drove to 
 service, and when we reached the church I saw, for the 
 first time, I think, a Russian church that departed 
 from the usual style of architecture, and that was 
 built to look on the exterior a little like a Chinese 
 
OUR STAY IN KULDJA. 93 
 
 pagoda. Inside there was a long nave with aisles and 
 wooden pillars, and the building approached more 
 nearly in form to the interior of an English church 
 than anything I have seen in Russia. The choristers 
 were soldiers, as also those attending on the priest, 
 and the full congregation appeared to comprise the 
 4 lite of the Kuldja world. After the service I gave 
 some Russian tracts to the Protoierea (or Dean) 
 Bieloiarski. As we returned, the military band was 
 playing the national anthem. 
 
 At lunch the secretary had invited to meet us a 
 Polish doctor, who inquired if I would baptize his 
 children. I was somewhat surprised to receive such 
 a request from a Roman Catholic, and, that there 
 might be no misapprehension on his part, asked 
 whether he understood that, if I did so, according to 
 the formularies of the Church of England, the children 
 would be regarded as Protestants ; to which he replied 
 it were better even so than for the children to grow 
 up heathens. However, he said he would first consult 
 with his wife, and also let me know whether his 
 family, and the Chinese, would like me to administer 
 to them the Holy Communion according to the English 
 order ; for my opportunities of doing anything for 
 them seemed shut up to this, and knowing the exag- 
 gerated, and, as I think, unscriptural prominence which 
 Romanists give to the Lord's Supper, I thought that 
 after such long deprivation thereof they might like 
 to join in the celebration of this sacrament, even 
 though not administered according to their own form. 
 The doctor returned at length to say that General 
 von Kaufmann, when in Kuldja, had promised to send 
 a Roman priest, and he thought, therefore, it might 
 be better to wait for the baptisms, but that they would 
 like me to give them the service, for which, accord- 
 ingly, I prepared. 
 
 We found the chapel in the outskirts of the town, 
 at the bottom of a narrow court, where I think most 
 
<H THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of the Chinese Christians, 65 in number, were living. 
 They received us with a smile of welcome, appeared 
 desirous for the service, and conducted us to a room 
 measuring about 30 feet by 20, where was an altar 
 with pictures, candlesticks, and other appurtenances, 
 and a box at the side containing some of the minor 
 vestments, and a New Testament in Chinese. Here 
 I met the Polish family, whereupon difficulties arose, 
 in that, as Romanists, they would not partake of the 
 cup, and next they remembered that as they were not 
 fasting, but had dined, they could not receive the 
 elements at all. They wished, however, to be present 
 whilst I officiated, and so remained whilst I and my 
 fellow-churchman communicated. The Chinese per- 
 ceived when Mr. Sevier knelt or stood, and so to some 
 extent followed the service, and I thought perhaps 
 they would have communicated when .they saw him 
 do so ; but they did not seem to comprehend what 
 was expected of them, and I proceeded till, coming 
 to the blessing, I lifted my hand as does the priest 
 in the Greek and Roman churches. The meaning of 
 this they perceived at once, and knelt, thus ending 
 one of the most curious passages in my ecclesiastical 
 experience. 
 
 Could I have seen the end from the beginning, 
 I am not sure that I should have acted as I did, 
 but I meant it for the best, and the people seemed 
 grateful. They said that one of their number 
 occasionally read prayers, and the Russian priest 
 sometimes gave them a ''benediction," but I think 
 I learned that this last was abnormal, and not given 
 with very good grace, so that they had no other public 
 service. I did not gather they were in the habit of 
 meeting for the study of the New Testament, and I 
 wondered how the book had come there, for though 
 Messrs. Dilke, Morgan, Schuyler, and Kostenko, all 
 speak of Latin books, and Ujfalvy adds also French, 
 they say nothing of any in Chinese. 
 
OUR STAY IN KULDJA. 95 
 
 I had brought with me some Chinese, Mongolian, 
 and other Scriptures, and was willing to have given 
 them several; but though they accepted one or two 
 copies, they did not appear to want more. They 
 numbered 1 3 families, of whom 1 5 persons, they said, 
 could read. I asked if they would like to have a 
 missionary sent to them, to which they replied that 
 they had not discussed the question. This exchange 
 of ideas, or, perhaps I ought to say, attempt at con- 
 versation, was attended with difficulty. The best 
 interpreters on the Consul's staff were with him and 
 the Governor, I suppose, on the frontier, and our 
 interpreter was decidedly feeble, but as a finale the 
 Chinese brought forth tea, grapes, melons, peaches, 
 and nectarines, and in partaking of them we were 
 joined by some Russian officers who had heard of my 
 conducting the service. 
 
 Kostenko says that as a rule " these Kuldja Catholics 
 are very lax as to the essentials of their religion. They 
 wear crosses round their necks, and read prayers in 
 the Latin language, and they made a request (that 
 is, of the Russians) that they might be permitted to 
 display these emblems on the outside of their dress." 
 I may add, however, that a very intelligent Russian 
 Protestant in the region told me that among their own 
 people the character of the Chinese Christians stands 
 high, that they do not smoke opium, and that their word 
 can be relied on. The persistence of this handful of 
 Chinese in the tenets of their adopted religion, under 
 such unfavourable circumstances, reminded me of my 
 crossing the Pacific in 1879 with an American clergy- 
 man who had laboured as a missionary among both 
 Chinese and Japanese, and who regarded work among 
 the former as decidedly the more hopeful. The 
 Japanese he allowed were more readily influenced, 
 but, like children, they sometimes drop the toy that 
 has quickly pleased them, whereas, though John 
 Chinaman takes a longer time to be convinced, he 
 
OUR STAY IN KULDJA. 97 
 
 is, when won, more easily held. I have since 
 heard that three Roman missionaries have arrived 
 in Kuldja. 
 
 After bidding the Romanists farewell the Russian 
 officers took us to the Buddhist pagoda. There is 
 only one in Kuldja, and that a poor one. On leaving 
 the street we passed through an antechamber into 
 a courtyard, where children assemble for instruction 
 in the tenets of their creed, each pupil holding a book, 
 and all reading together as in Mussulman schools. 
 Crossing the courtyard we entered the joss-house 
 and saw the idols. Against the wall was a large dais, 
 with various eatables arranged thereon, and lamps and 
 vessels for incense. Representations of dragons are 
 displayed, as well as suspended banners and bells. I 
 did not see any adoration performed, but Kostenko 
 says that a dirty and ragged individual, with a bundle 
 of lighted joss-sticks in his hands, advances and recedes 
 from the altar with endless bowings and striking of 
 the bells. On important occasions, instead of verbal 
 prayers, papers with petitions written thereon are burnt, 
 in the belief that the petitions thus dealt with will 
 ascend to God more quickly. I did not observe any 
 prayer-wheel such as I saw at a Buddhist monastery 
 near Kiakhta in 1879 ; but the temple at Kuldja was 
 exceedingly dingy, dark, and dirty. Here, however, 
 I disposed of some Mongol and Chinese Scriptures, 
 the priest, as I supposed him to be, or attendant, 
 thankfully accepting a Bible, and two other men, 
 apparently poor, each purchasing a copy for 4^. 
 
 It is strange that the Hindus who penetrate through- 
 out Turkistan as money-lenders do not appear to have 
 reached Kuldja, so that we had no Hindu temple to 
 visit ; but I may mention two other religious buildings 
 we saw the following day. One is the Dungan mosque 
 near the Chinese bazaar, with a high and handsome 
 minaret, and the other the Taranchiy?/;;z;;/# (or Friday) 
 mosque in the citadel. The latter is the larger and 
 
9 8 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 older building, restored and ornamented under the 
 last Taranchi sultan, Abil Ogu. Both these principal 
 mosques are built in Chinese style, with roofs turned 
 up at the corners, and are the most remarkable build- 
 ings in the town. 
 
 In the vestibule of the Buddhist temple lived the 
 Chinese police-master, upon whom, in company with 
 the Russian officers, we called. He gave us pale 
 yellow tea, with oval leaves, about i J in. long and f in. 
 
 MINARET OF THE TARANCHI MOSQUE AT KULDJA. 
 
 wide, and what looked like blossoms of the plant, in 
 the cups. It was no doubt thought very choice, but 
 for me had little flavour. Looking about the room, 
 I observed a guitar-like instrument with three strings, 
 the drum being covered with snake-skin, such as I 
 remembered seeing in 1879 in Eastern Manchuria. 
 There was also in the police-master's room a flute, 
 about two feet long, with ten holes. Before leaving I 
 offered our host a copy of the Bible in his native 
 
OUR STA Y IN KULDJA. 99 
 
 tongue, which he accepted ; and we were then taken to 
 call upon another Chinese official, an officer of commis- 
 sariat who welcomed us with a smile to his rather 
 dirty house, and, when asked to accept a Bible, said he 
 had heard of it as a book, the reading of which would 
 do a man good. I showed him my Chinese passport, 
 and he said it was well that I had it, as without 
 it I might be liable to interference. Looking round 
 his room, I perceived an important-looking package 
 wrapped up in yellow silk. I learned it was his seal 
 of office from his Emperor. He had also a flat box, 
 two inches square, with a compass and lid, which, 
 when opened, distended a string intended to throw 
 a shadow on the box, and thereby act as a pocket sun- 
 dial. The officer was dressed in silk, and his manner 
 was unusually gay for a Chinaman. My companions 
 at once recognized his condition, and told me that if 
 he took only a little wine he very soon became 
 intoxicated, but that the cause of his present hilarity 
 was opium smoking. On his divan stood an opium 
 lamp lighted, so that our visit had disturbed him before 
 he had reached oblivion. One object we had in calling 
 upon him was to ask him to inform the Chinese 
 Governor-General at Suidun that I hoped to have the 
 honour of calling upon him on my return journey in 
 two or three days, and when this was arranged we 
 returned to the Consulate to dinner. 
 
 We had now visited some of the religious buildings 
 of the town, and I had distributed my books and tracts 
 as opportunity served. Mr. Sevier took some to the 
 Russian hospital, whither I did not accompany him, 
 and I heard nothing of any prison. This was the 
 first town we had entered where Muhammadans were 
 so numerous, and I had not yet forgotten the warning 
 given me in Omsk as to the danger of offering them 
 the Scriptures. Nor did I know how such a course 
 would be regarded by the Chinese. When going to 
 the bazaars next day, however, I took in the chaise 
 
ioo THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 a large bag filled with Scriptures, and whilst looking 
 here and there for curios to purchase, I presently 
 offered for sale a copy of the Gospels in Chinese for 
 5 kopecks. It was bought and immediately examined, 
 with the result that others came to buy, and those to 
 whom I had sold returned to purchase more. I then 
 offered the New Testament for 40 kopecks, and the 
 Bible for 60 kopecks, and was amused to see them 
 comparing the size of the Bible with that of the 
 Gospels, and so reckoning what ought to be the price 
 of the latter from the proportionate thickness of the 
 former. I was now besieged by purchasers, who 
 jumped at my offers. One man wished to buy whole- 
 sale, but fearing that he would re-sell them at exor- 
 bitant prices, I preferred to dispose of them myself, 
 and soon came to the end of my Chinese stock. But 
 the Mussulmans showed equal eagerness to get Tatar 
 books, and my remaining Kirghese New Testaments 
 were fast disappearing one Tatar on horseback not 
 only paying the sum demanded, but in his eagerness 
 literally snatching the book from my hand. Some of 
 the Chinese subsequently came to the Consulate to 
 purchase more, and I presented some Mongol Scrip- 
 tures to the interpreters for themselves and for a 
 school of which they told me. A few other copies of 
 Mongolian Scriptures I left with a note for Mr. Paderin 
 to distribute, and thus, with the many I sold and others 
 I gave, it came to pass that I emptied in Kuldja my 
 three cases of books, and had the satisfaction of being 
 the first salesman there of the Word of God. This I 
 counted a greater honour than to have marched into the 
 city at the head of an army, whether it were the half- 
 wild horsemen of Jinghis Khan, or the Cossacks of the 
 Russian Tsar. The latter have now left the province, 
 but my books remain as seed that is sown : and I am 
 content to wait for an answer to the question, What 
 shall the harvest be ? 
 
 On Monday morning, September 4th, we started 
 
OUR STAY IN KULDJA. 101 
 
 early with the Consul's servant and an interpreter to 
 the Taranchi, Chinese, and Sart bazaars. The first was 
 noticeable for its abundance of vegetables and fruit, 
 large melons at 5 farthings each, and the best apples 
 good-looking but tasteless pippins at the same price, 
 whilst flat peaches sold for ^\d. a dozen. These prices 
 for local produce were not exceptional, for eggs cost 
 from $d. to %d. a hundred, and fowls from \\d. to 2\d. 
 each. Before the advent of the Russians, chicken 
 cost only a halfpenny each. Manufactured goods from 
 Europe, however, were dear, and even Russian 
 " family" tea cost from 2s. to 6s. per Ib. I secured 
 some Taranchi rings and representative jewellery, and 
 we then went to the Chinese bazaar, where among the 
 curious things exposed for sale were ready-made coffins 
 "painted and all complete" for ^4. Throughout this 
 emporium there is ceaseless movement, bustle, and 
 noise, for the vendors of wares scream out to the 
 purchasers, and amongst the inevitables are crowds 
 of children, some half naked, and others w r holly so, 
 chasing one another about and increasing the general 
 hubbub of the restless scene. Among the crowds of 
 men there is a fair proportion of Chinese women, in 
 national costume, who, owing to their compressed feet, 
 sway from side to side as if on stilts. 
 
 Trade in a Chinese bazaar is of three sorts : first, a 
 regular business carried on in shops where the more 
 expensive articles are sold, such as chintz, tea, sugar, 
 iron, etc. ; next, a casual trade done at a stall or table 
 in cheaper things, such as common soap, mirrors, 
 wooden combs, inferior tobacco, needles, handfuls of 
 Russian sweetmeats : all being packed each night. 
 Among these goods we observed snuff for nose and 
 mouth that is, for sniffing and chewing. It was done 
 up in small paper packets at a halfpenny each. Then, 
 lastly, there is the hawking trade, carried on from the 
 familiar basket, or it may be from the hand, selling 
 eggs, birds, and fruit. I could see very few Chinese 
 
102 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 curios that were worth buying. Up to the time of the 
 Russian occupation, idols could be bought, and costly 
 objects of silk and porcelain ; but their purchase by the 
 Russians has sent up the price, and now they are both 
 rare and dear. I secured some specimens of Chinese 
 coinage in the form of large copper money, with Manchu 
 inscriptions on one side and Chinese on the other. 
 
 
 HOP STREET IN WINTER IN KULDJA. 
 
 The Sart bazaar, called in Russian Bazaar ulitza, 
 or " shop street," we found inhabited chiefly, I think, 
 by Dungans. Here it was amusing to see how every 
 piece of old iron and tin was saved as precious and 
 exposed for sale, even to empty sardine and blacking 
 boxes. They positively gave me i \d. as the price for 
 an empty lobster tin ! In this bazaar I purchased a 
 
OUR STAY IN KULDJA. 103 
 
 pair of silver hair-pins, such as are worn among the 
 Dungans by married women only. They are now in 
 the British Museum. 
 
 A feature noticeable to a European in the Kuldja 
 bazaars is the native restaurants, where those who can 
 face the ordeal may be satiated for 6d. The variety of 
 dishes in the restaurants is great. They are highly 
 spiced with saffron, but it is not whetting to the appe- 
 tite to have to pass through the kitchen and see the 
 cook preparing the viands, or swinging the dough, as 
 we saw one man doing, in pendulous fashion, for 
 making long twisted loaves. Chinese bread, though 
 white, is unleavened, badly baked, and tasteless. 
 Again, it is not pleasant to remember that the Chinese 
 eat all kinds of meat, dogs included, so that it is wise 
 to give charge beforehand as to what shall be cooked. 
 Chinese butchers sell mutton and beef without bones. 
 The bones form a separate trade, and are bought by 
 the poor, who make of them soup, and add morsels of 
 meat. 
 
 The foregoing description of the bazaars of Kuldja 
 does not give a lofty idea of the importance of its 
 trade, which, in fact, is very small, though there are 
 650 shops in the town. 
 
 We were taken from the bazaar through an oil-shop 
 to one of the industries of Kuldja, which are at as low 
 an ebb as the general trade. In this oil factory pres- 
 sure was brought to bear upon the linseed and mustard 
 seed softened by heat, by means of a long trunk of 
 timber employed in a most clumsy fashion. The oil 
 is used for eating, lubrication, and lamps, whilst the 
 cake, out of which the oil has been pressed, is given 
 as food to oxen. 
 
 On leaving the bazaars, we were anxious, if possible, 
 to get a peep at the Kalmuks. On our way to the 
 suburbs, we saw a Chinaman in the street, surrounded 
 by a crowd. He had a drum and iron clappers, and 
 was entertaining his auditory by telling stories. On 
 
104 RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the previous day we had seen a street acrobat, one of 
 whose standing or walking feats was to raise one foot 
 to his breast and strike the sole with his palm ; a second 
 man meanwhile beating a gong. On reaching the 
 Kalmuk tent we found the owner absent, though his 
 wife was at home with some small, but by no means 
 bashful, children. We looked round for ethnological 
 objects. There was a leather kumiss bottle, but this 
 the Swoman, in the absence of her lord and master, 
 would not sell. She had in her ears, however, silver 
 rings, with stones ; and as she confided to us that she 
 
 A KALMUK WOMAN. WITH NATIVE EARRING. 
 
 was 57 years old, and had received them on her 
 marriage, I perceived these could be of no Russian 
 manufacture, but representative of Kalmuk art half a 
 century ago. I therefore pressed her to sell me one, 
 which she did, and it is now in the ethnological 
 department of the British Museum. 
 
 Comparatively little is known in detail of the Kalmuk 
 camping-grounds at the eastern end of the Hi valley. 
 The most renowned of Russian travellers who have 
 passed that way out of the valley into Mongolia is 
 Colonel Prejevalsky. In 1876 he started from Kuldja, 
 
OUR STA Y IN KULDJA. 105 
 
 made his way along the Hi, and its upper arm, the 
 Kungess, until he reached its tributary, the Tsagma. 
 This brought him by the Narat pass to the Yuldus 
 plateau, described by the Kalmuks as " an admirable, 
 cool, and productive country, fit for gentlemen and 
 cattle to inhabit." From this place Prejevalsky pushed 
 his way to Lob Nor, but not before he had shot 
 some fine specimens of the Central Asian species of 
 mountain sheep. 
 
 I saw at the Kuldja consulate, as also at Tashkend, 
 
 OVIS POLII, OK THIAN-SHAX SHEE1'. 
 
 specimens of the skull and horns of this remarkable 
 animal, which is bigger than a donkey. 
 
 The animal's horn is more than four times the 
 length of the skull. All round the neck there is a 
 pure white mane, and the light greyish brown of the 
 sides shades off into white towards the belly, the legs 
 being brown. It inhabits high hilly plains, and runs 
 with great speed. The Cossacks say that the wild 
 sheep, in jumping from one rock down to another, 
 alight on their horns a statement that Dr. Severtsoff 
 thought improbable, though, since the head and horns of 
 
io6 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 one he shot weighed upwards of 70 Ibs., he seems to 
 think it just possible such a weight might cause the 
 animal to lose its balance. 
 
 Mr. Serge Alpheraky is another Russian traveller 
 who has penetrated the Kalmuk camping-grounds, and 
 in 1879 he followed Colonel Prejevalsky's track as 
 far as the Yuldus plateau, with the object of collecting 
 butterflies and moths. 
 
 A third Russian explorer who has done good service 
 to botanical science in the Hi valley, and the valley of 
 the Baratol on the north, is Dr. Regel, who travelled 
 to Turfan in 1879. Of the two Englishmen who 
 preceded me in this region, Mr. Ashton Dilke in 1873 
 went down into the Baratol valley from Sairam Nor to 
 Ebi Nor, and then returning to Kuldja he ascended to 
 the plain of Musart, saw Khan Tengri, and went thence 
 to Issik-Kul. Mr. Delmar Morgan visited Lake 
 Sairam, and also went as far as the River Kush ; but 
 for my own part I did not advance beyond the capital, 
 having seen which, and distributed my books therein, I 
 prepared for turning back. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FROM KULDJA TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 
 
 A visit to Colonel Mayevsky. Native preference for Russian rule, 
 and why. Kuldja restored to China. Emigration of natives into 
 Russian territory. Our departure from Kuldja. Destruction of 
 cattle by beasts of prey. Suidun. Three classes of Chinese. 
 Interview with Chinese Governor- General. Refreshments followed 
 by questions. Opium-smoking". A Chinese artist. Governor- 
 General's present. A messenger awaiting us at Borokhudzir. 
 
 WE were invited, on our last evening in Kuldja, 
 to visit Colonel Mayevsky, who was living 
 some distance beyond the market-place in a house that 
 formerly belonged to a Taranchi bek. This title is 
 hereditary, and the young boy who had succeeded 
 thereto was introduced to us. The house, I suppose, 
 might be regarded as a specimen of a rich native's dwell- 
 ing. Almost all the native houses are made of beaten 
 clay, have thatched roofs, and are, externally, low and 
 ugly. The courtyards are heaped up with impurities, and 
 even the abodes of the well-to-do display an absence 
 of ventilation and light; but we had no reason to com- 
 plain on this last score, for it was dark before we 
 reached the colonel's dwelling. We looked over the 
 house, and perceived an attempt at ornamentation of 
 the walls, the room of our host being adorned with 
 carpets and rugs. We received, moreover, a hearty 
 welcome from the colonel, who had great regard for 
 the English, speaking of them as rivals in Asia, though 
 not as foes. He allowed that our infantry were better 
 
io8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 than theirs, but thought the Russian cavalry better 
 than the English. He spoke, too, regretfully oi 
 having to cede the province to the Chinese, for it 
 made so excellent a frontier, and alluded to the delicate 
 position in which the Russians were placed with regard 
 to the natives of Kuldja, who preferred the Tsar's rule 
 to that of their old masters the Chinese. 
 
 When it was decided that Kuldja should be given 
 back to the Chinese, the inhabitants were told that 
 they might remain or cross the border into Russian 
 territory. When I was there, less than a year before 
 the evacuation, numbers of the inhabitants were already 
 gone ; and to show that their hatred of the Chinese had 
 not subsided, I may add that, after taking everything 
 out of their houses that was of value, they set fire to 
 the remainder, so that their former masters, on taking 
 possession, should find as little as possible to appro- 
 priate. One report, probably exaggerated, said that 
 nine-tenths of the people were leaving. Meanwhile 
 the Chinese were doing their best to prevent this 
 emigration by promising greater liberty, and freedom 
 from taxes for ten years. Such persuasion they did 
 not attempt openly before the Russians, but we heard 
 that when possible they had recourse to coercion, way- 
 laying and maltreating the emigrants. I suspect it 
 was something of this kind that hindered our starting 
 at midnight, as I intended on the evening we saw 
 Colonel Mayevsky. At his house we met the assistant 
 to the Uyezdi nachalnik, and he kindly arranged for 
 us about post-horses, but the authorities sent to say 
 that night travel was not safe, and advised us to 
 wait until morning. Only the night before, they said, 
 some travellers had been waylaid and an ox killed, 
 but I did not learn whether it was a case of high- 
 way robbery or of Chinese intimidation. Nothing was 
 said of danger on the post-road from beasts of prey, 
 though M. Alpheraky, further up the valley, lost two 
 horses by tigers, which kept uncomfortably near the 
 
no THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 party, and some idea of the number of beasts of prey 
 in the country may be gathered from the fact that in 
 the southern portion of the province in 1877 the wolves 
 killed 7 camels, 657 horses, 249 horned cattle, and 
 nearly 8,000 sheep. 
 
 We drove out of Kuldja at half-past five on Tuesday 
 morning, and thus had the opportunity of seeing 
 by day certain parts of the country through which we 
 had come by night. We passed through fields and 
 gardens, wherein are grown, besides the crops I have 
 mentioned, peas and Indian corn, also pumpkins, 
 carrots, turnips, radishes, beet, cabbage and garlic, 
 but not potatoes, unless it be for Russian consump- 
 tion. 
 
 After a drive of some hours over a bad road, we 
 arrived before noon at the residence of the Chinese 
 Governor-General, Tsin-Tsiang Tsiun (the last word 
 being his name, and the former two his title), at 
 Suidun, which was more distinctly Chinese than 
 Kuldja, since that was under the Russian authorities, 
 but here was established the authority of the Tsin- 
 Tsiang. In speaking of the " Chinese," it should be 
 remembered that this term in the Hi valley includes 
 three classes of people, differing alike in language, 
 abilities, and character. 
 
 All classes suffered in the rebellion. The few who 
 survived lived more especially in Suidun, which was 
 the only large town in the province that outlived the 
 events of 1863-66; but others had come since the 
 promise of the retrocession of Kuldja, and more were 
 expected in such numbers that I heard of a Russian 
 officer purchasing house property in Kuldja with a view 
 to selling it at a premium. From a letter I have 
 received, however, I gather that things have again 
 become prosperous and thoroughly Chinese, but that 
 the Russian houses are standing empty. 
 
 I had looked forward, with some degree of curious 
 interest, to the presentation of my credentials from 
 
FROM KULDJA TO ALTYN-IMMEL. in 
 
 the Legation in London to the Chinese Governor 
 at Suidun. The Russian post-house is in the 
 suburbs, and not wishing to take up our heavy 
 tarantass, we had driven into the town in another 
 vehicle, that we could dismiss, and on reaching the 
 principal street, I sent my card to the Governor- 
 General. We were asked to stay where we were, and 
 having done so for some minutes, the messenger came 
 back to say that his Excellency was changing his robes, 
 and had summoned his officers of state. We then 
 went down a narrow street, and were shown into an 
 entrance chamber with many attendants, the walls 
 being hung with English and American muskets, 
 rusty, old, and apparently worthless. Dr. Schuyler 
 said the walls of Suidun were wide enough at the top 
 to serve for a carriage road, and, as we approached the 
 town, labourers were increasing their thickness ; but 
 with such arms within, the Russians might well laugh, 
 as one officer did, saying that a company of their 
 Cossacks would set the Chinese flying. 
 
 Whilst waiting, I changed my dress for the occasion, 
 and, when all was ready, crossed a yard to enter a 
 square court. At the opposite side stood the great 
 man, whilst on the right and left were men drawn up 
 in martial array. The effect was meant, no doubt, to be 
 imposing, and it certainly was curious. My host saluted 
 me by lifting his hands in a "lullaby-baby" fashion, 
 and then took us within, and invited us to be seated 
 on two sides of a table, about 3 feet square, whilst 
 he occupied a third. Opposite the Tsin-Tsiang, on a 
 table, was the Government seal of office, wrapped in 
 yellow material, together with a scroll containing his 
 credentials. His officers, twelve in number, with 
 various orders and feathers, stood behind him, perfectly 
 silent, one of them fanning presumptuous flies from the 
 grand man's head. On the table were plates with 
 slices of apple, grapes, wafers, and some honeyed cakes, 
 made apparently of seed from which oil had been 
 
ii2 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 pressed, and such as we saw, but were not delighted 
 with, at the Kuldja oil factory. Our host then pro- 
 ceeded gravely to help us with his fingers, placing the 
 eatables a few at a time on our plates, first wafers, then 
 grapes, apples, and cakes. At the same time was 
 brought tea of a strong jasmine flavour, called red, 
 but pale and highly aromatic. 
 
 Tea was put into each cup, water poured thereon, 
 and covered with an inverted saucer, a little smaller 
 than the rim of the cup, and, consequently, keeping in 
 the steam. This was well enough, but now came a 
 feat of manipulation, for the cup had no handle, but 
 had to be held with the fingers, whilst the thumb was 
 left free to tilt the saucer into the beverage, in such a 
 way as in drinking to hold back the floating leaves 
 from entering the mouth. We succeeded pretty well, 
 and I expressed admiration for his tea, which remark 
 bore fruit, as will presently be seen. 
 
 He soon opened fire upon me by asking, in a stereo- 
 typed manner, who I was, and whence and how I had 
 come. I at once showed him my map, and put to 
 the test his Chinese geography. He asked whether 
 Turkey was north or south of England, and how far, 
 respectively, from London were Paris, Berlin, and 
 Constantinople. He inquired how long I had been 
 travelling, and whether I had left the Marquis Tseng 
 in London, to which I replied that he had sent me my 
 letter from Paris. I invited him to ask further ques- 
 tions, whereupon he inquired of what our daily food in 
 England consisted. When my host had finished his 
 queries, I began by asking if it were likely we should 
 have the pleasure of seeing him in London. That 
 depended, he said, entirely upon the Chinese Govern- 
 ment, as to whether they chose to send him ; but he 
 did not expect it I assured him that we should have 
 a great many strange things to show him, and inquired 
 how soon he thought they would have railways in 
 China. He thought "not at all"; for that in one 
 
FROM KULDJA TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 113 
 
 instance where they had laid down a line, they had, 
 after trial, taken it up again ! 
 
 This I thought was " progress " with a vengeance, 
 and I expressed my surprise. Meanwhile, after drink- 
 ing tea, his Excellency began to smoke a pipe, drawing 
 the cloud through water placed at the bottom of the 
 bowl, which he did not hold continually in his hand, 
 but took one long, long whiff, and then the bowl was 
 emptied of tobacco, and taken away by an attendant 
 until called for again. This suggested my asking him 
 if the smoking of opium were general among the 
 Chinese. He replied that many practised it, and 
 when I expressed a fear that it was working evil in 
 China, he replied that it was against the law, the 
 penalty for breaking which was to have one's 
 tongue cut. I fancy, however, this was said with 
 a wink, for in Kuldja (under the Russians, it is true) 
 I saw men smoking opium publicly, and the materials 
 for opium-smoking appeared easily obtainable. 
 
 I then offered him a Chinese Bible and -a Mongolian 
 and a Buriat New Testament, which he accepted, after 
 inquiring what they were. From the manner, however, 
 in which he looked at them, I fancy he was a 
 Manchu. After the gushing reception my Petersburg 
 letters had secured me at the hands of the Russian 
 governors, I had thought, perhaps, this good man 
 would be at the pains to ask if he could do any- 
 thing for me, or show me anything, especially as he 
 said he had received official notice from London of 
 my coming. But he seemed not to dream of such 
 a thing, nor to get his official temperature above 
 freezing point, so that our conversation became some- 
 what dull, especially as what I said in English had to 
 be twice translated, into Russian and Chinese or 
 Manchu, and vice versa. It gave time, however, for 
 meditation between the questions, and presently finding 
 that he had nothing to propose for my pleasure or 
 instruction, I asked whether I might go and see the 
 
 8 
 
ii4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 men building the fortress, and also visit the bazaar. 
 The first of these trifling requests he refused, saying 
 that there were workmen about, and disagreements 
 might arise. He asked me, therefore, not to go, but 
 said he would send someone with me to the bazaar. 
 
 We then rose after this formal reception, and were 
 dismissed with the same ceremony as when we came in, 
 and taken again to the antechamber. Here I offered 
 some Scriptures to the attendants, but they said they 
 did not dare take them without permission. 
 
 One of the first things that attracted my attention 
 in the bazaar was a street painter, whose pencil 
 explained to me the want of perspective, apparent in a 
 certain class of Chinese paintings ; for the man simply 
 dipped the tip of his finger in Indian ink, and rubbed 
 it round and round on the tablet till he made his picture, 
 and only then touched it up with a brush. After seeing 
 this I marvelled, not as I had hitherto done, at the 
 clumsiness of the production, but that in such a manner, 
 and so rapidly, the artist should have been able to pro- 
 duce anything so good. I noticed on the stalls packets 
 of English needles, and found a few curiosities to buy ; 
 and then, thinking that I should perhaps get on better 
 alone in distributing my few remaining Scriptures, I 
 intimated to our cicerone that I need not trouble him 
 further. But he said the Governor had told him not 
 to leave me, so that he was probably a spy. I 
 managed, however, to give away a few Chinese and 
 Mongolian books, and then prepared to return to the 
 post-house. 
 
 To this end we chartered a native conveyance, the 
 most uncomfortable of its kind, without exception, I 
 ever entered a two-wheeled cart, without springs or 
 seat, and with an awning, against which one's head 
 was constantly in danger of striking. It served us, 
 however, to the post-station, and as we were driving 
 out of the town a Chinese officer and interpreter came 
 dashing up to our carriage, one of them carrying two 
 
FROM KULDJA TO ALTYN-IMMEL. 115 
 
 small canisters of tea, and saying that since I had so 
 appreciated the Governor's tea, he sent me two canisters 
 for a present. His Excellency had apparently thawed 
 a little since our visit, or if he had suspected me as a 
 spy, he seemed to have by this time changed his mind. 
 Anyhow I thanked him for his gift, but was at first 
 inclined to look thereon as "a white elephant," for I 
 hardly relished the trouble of carrying two canisters 
 of tea a distance home of 5,000 miles. When I 
 reached Vierny, however, I was told that this yellow 
 
 A DUNCAN PUBLIC CONVEYANCE. 
 
 tea was ot so choice a kind that it is reserved in 
 China for the Emperor and great personages; that 
 now and then Chinese generals sold it to Russian 
 officers, and that its value was about 50^. per lb., 
 whereupon I was reconciled to bringing it to England, 
 but only to give to my friends in small quantities 
 as a curiosity, for my poor taste is not sufficiently 
 educated a la Ckinoise to appreciate its super-excellence. 
 We reached Chinchakhodzi by night, and found the 
 guest room of the post-station occupied by a doctor. 
 We were recommended not to proceed in the dark, 
 
u6 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 as the road was bad, but to wait for the rising of the 
 moon, which I did, our company being soon increased 
 by an officer, his wife, wet-nurse and a baby ; so that, 
 rather than attempt going to sleep, I sat up reading and 
 writing, and soon after midnight we sped forward. Early 
 in the morning we crossed the two or three streams of the 
 Khorgos, and breakfasted at Ak-Kent. The following 
 station was Jar-Kend, which has now become colonized 
 by Dungans and Taranchis who have left the Kuldja 
 province to be under the Russians, rather than remain 
 there to be subject to the Chinese. 
 
 We came next to Borokhudzir. We had succeeded 
 well about horses thus far, but, to make matters still 
 better, we found awaiting us here, on the frontier of 
 the uyezd, the secretary of the Uyezdi nachalnik, who, 
 through General Kolpakovsky's kindness, had actually 
 come all the way from Kopal to accompany us for the 
 purpose of seeing that we were not delayed through 
 lack of horses. An instance of greater official kind- 
 ness than this I had never met. The secretary took 
 us over the nursery garden in the place, and we then 
 started forward, our cicerone preceding us a little so 
 as to get to the next station first, and have fresh horses 
 in readiness. The same evening, at Konor-Ulen, we 
 came a second time to the station where was the sick 
 telegraphist, whose kindness to us we returned by 
 leaving him some fruit. Mr. Sevier attended again to 
 the tongue of the Tatar, who asked this time what were 
 the books we had sold him, for he could not understand 
 them. After this we reached the steep incline of 
 the pass, up which we had six horses to drag us, 
 before descending to the station beyond. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO VIERNY. 
 
 Route over Chulak hills. The Hi bridge. Trans-Ili Ala-Tau mountains. 
 Appearance of town and houses. Diversity of population ; races 
 and classes. Introduction to M. von Ghern. Poor hotel. Mer- 
 cantile acquaintances and sale of Scriptures. Scriptures for 
 prisons and hospitals. Visit to Archbishop. Need of Scriptures 
 and tracts in the vernacular. 
 
 IT was early on the morning of the 7th September 
 when from Kuldja we arrived at Altyn-Immel. 
 The bulk of my books had greatly shrunk, for every- 
 where the post-masters and others purchased them 
 readily. Accordingly, our boxes repacked, we started 
 for Vierny. Altyn-Immel station is 4,000 feet high, 
 and in four stages we were to descend 2,700 feet to 
 the Hi river. Our road lay over the round-backed 
 spurs of the Chulak hills, and after the second station, 
 Karachekinsk, across immense plains, dotted here and 
 there with Kirghese yourts, and herds. At Chingil- 
 dinsk, the next station, was a spring of water, roofed 
 over in the post-house. This I was taken to see as 
 something remarkable, a veritable treasure, I suppose, 
 in such a region. 
 
 Here we drank tea, and posted on to Ilisk, defended 
 by a small fort, where a ferry took us across the Hi, 
 here about 700 feet wide. Future travellers will be 
 able to cross by a bridge. It was to be opened in the 
 spring of 1884, as Major Gourdet wrote me, a wood 
 
u8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and iron one built on the American Howe system, 850 
 feet long, at a cost of about ,20,000. M. Gourdet 
 had been sent to Europe to order the ironwork of the 
 structure when I met him at Moscow. At this river 
 our official companion 1 reached the frontier of his uyezd, 
 and having now conducted us rapidly, and shown us 
 every attention possible, he bade us adieu. Mean- 
 while, we pushed on to Kuntenta, after passing which 
 I learned the use of sending on the wagonette ahead. 
 I had insisted on this after our former mishap ; and 
 at about two o'clock on the morning of the 8th we 
 overtook our vehicle, out in the cold, come to an utter 
 standstill, one of the wheels not having gone a little 
 wrong, but having fallen entirely to pieces. We could 
 now only trot forward in the tarantass to the next station, 
 Kara-su, where the good-natured post-master lent us a 
 wheel to recover the broken-down vehicle, and allowed 
 us to take it on loan to our destination. When I 
 offered this man books, he inquired whether he was 
 obliged to purchase them. He did so, however, upon 
 being assured that he was a perfectly free agent. 
 
 We then set off on our last stage across plains, from 
 which we could see Vierny a long, long way distant 
 among trees, and behind it, rising in majestic grandeur, 
 the snowy peaks of the Trans-Ili or southern Ala-Tau. 
 This range consists of two long, high, and parallel 
 chains. The northern, of which we had a good 
 distant view as we drove along the plains, presents 
 an uninterrupted mountain mass, rising to an average 
 height of 8,600 feet, and in its central portion to the 
 limits of perpetual snow, but falling somewhat lower at 
 either extremity, and, finally, in its eastern section, 
 broken by the gorge of the River Chilik, and afterwards 
 by the Charin. Tal-Cheku, the highest peak, has an 
 elevation about equal to that of Mont Blanc, and 
 its snows are visible for more than thirty miles. 
 
 We had heard in the north of the delights of Vierny, 
 and, as we drove along the flat and painfully uniform 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO VIERNY. 119 
 
 steppe, were looking forward to our arrival with plea- 
 sure. We reached the town before midday on the 
 8th September, and drove to Aliken's Hotel, where, 
 the best room being engaged, and the remaining one 
 utterly dirty and uninviting, we made off to another 
 inn to inquire for quarters. Here we heard of two 
 French gentlemen, said to be travelling for pleasure 
 and sport, who had gone to Issik-Kul, and for whom 
 the room was retained. We were told we might have 
 it on condition of turning out when the Frenchmen 
 returned ; but as the chamber was in painful proximity 
 to a billiard-room, from the noise of which it seemed 
 
 APPROACHING VIERNY. 
 
 likely disturbances might come, we returned to the 
 previous hotel, and took the room with the promise 
 that we should very shortly move upstairs when the 
 occupant of the best room departed. The establish- 
 ment had, however, one good feature about it a 
 Russian bath, of which we availed ourselves imme- 
 diately, and then proceeded to see the town and make 
 some calls. 
 
 We hired a droshky at the very moderate tariff of 
 *]\d. an hour, and found that the town straggles over 
 a wide area. There is the station Almatinka, forming 
 the old part of the town, the settlement of Almatinka, 
 
120 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the Tatar suburb, and new Vierny, the last built since 
 1870, and to which we drove through straight, wide, 
 and fairly level streets, bordered thickly on either side 
 of the footway with double rows of poplars. The older 
 portions of the town, regularly laid out, are entirely 
 built of red fir wood, whilst in the new town are 
 several houses of brick, including the Governor's and 
 the Archbishop's palaces, and the adjacent gymnase, all 
 of them designed, if I mistake not, by M. Gourdet, a 
 
 A STREET IX VIERNY. 
 
 French architect in the Russian service, to whom I 
 have alluded. The Governor's house, with its offices 
 and gardens, occupies a whole " quartal," or square. 
 Outside the town there is a public garden, with 
 greenhouses and flowers, also a pavilion for music and 
 dancing, supper and cards. 
 
 The great diversity of the population is more strik- 
 ing than its numbers, and gives the streets a curious 
 appearance, as one sees Russian women driving in 
 carts full of melons, side by side with Kalmuks riding 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO VIERNY. 121 
 
 on bullocks, or Kirghese on camels, bringing rasp- 
 berries, gathered from the surrounding hills, to sell, 
 for as much sometimes as realizes 6s. a day. I think I 
 never met in a public square so many types of coun- 
 tenance. Cossacks predominated the original settlers ; 
 then followed Little Russians, recent arrivals, who 
 occupy a suburb in the south of the city, and among 
 the colonists are also a few Chuvashi, Mordvins, 
 Cheremises, and other peoples from the Volga. In 
 addition to these were Tatars ; Sarts from various 
 towns in Turkistan and Kashgaria ; Kirghese who have 
 adopted a half-settled mode of life; Kalmuks, Dungans, 
 and Taranchis, who came from Kuldja after the 
 Chinese devastation of 1864, They do all the menial 
 work, and some of them have been baptized. Lastly, 
 there are Jews and Chinese, come for purposes of 
 trade. 
 
 By the kindness of M. Gourdet I had been furnished 
 at Moscow with an introduction to M. Vladimir von 
 Ghern, the Procurator Fiscal, or examining magistrate 
 at Vierny, upon whom we called on our first afternoon, 
 and received a hearty welcome. This gentleman had 
 been in Central Asia for some years, and had taken an 
 intelligent interest in the people and country. He was 
 a collector of Chinese and other curiosities, and of ob- 
 jects of natural history. He had some Chinese arrows 
 of state, jade ornaments, and Chinese spectacles of 
 stone, rubies, and other gems. He not only gave me 
 a great deal of information, but also presented me with 
 some skins and skeletons for the British Museum, also 
 with an old Bokhariot camel whip, made of maral skin, 
 woven over with brass wire ; a Kara- Kirghese knife 
 of native manufacture, and some Kirghese threads, 
 called taramiss, made from the tendons of horses' legs. 
 When, therefore, we had dined at his house, and learnt 
 such particulars as we wished to know concerning the 
 town, we returned to our hotel feeling somewhat more 
 at home. 
 
122 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 But the so-called " hotel " was a sorry place, its staff 
 consisting of two men one to sell spirits at the bar, 
 and the other, who had been a soldier, to act as waiter, 
 chambermaid, and factotum. The latter was of Jewish 
 nationality, dirty and unkempt, called hither and thither 
 by day, and more than once (what is very unusual in a 
 Jew) muddled by liquor at night. On one of these 
 half-drunken occasions he confided to us that the hotel 
 had been built and was owned by a man who came to 
 the place a private soldier, and now possessed I know 
 not how many thousands of roubles, and "the reason he 
 gets on so well," said he, "is because he doesn't gamble 
 and drink"; and then he stammered out, "No more do 
 I, and that's why he keeps me." Fortunately for us 
 we had found a firm friend in M. von Ghern, who 
 insisted upon our coming every day to his house to 
 dinner, so that the samovar with hot water, and such 
 things as we could purchase in the town, were nearly 
 all we had to trouble our waiter for. 
 
 Early the next morning we received a visit from 
 M. Ivan Ivlampivitch Pargatchevsky, a tea merchant, 
 to whom I had an introduction from, I think, his former 
 employer at Kiakhta. He seemed honoured by the 
 introduction, and nothing could exceed the old man's 
 eagerness to do for us all he possibly could. He 
 brought me white bread, sent to an outlying village 
 to procure good fresh butter, not easily obtainable in 
 Vierny, and so entered into my scheme for the distri- 
 bution of the Scriptures, that he begged me to send 
 him five pounds' worth to circulate as widely as possible 
 by sale at catalogue prices! He seemed pleased to 
 meet one who had been to Kiakhta, and told me he 
 was the first to propose the bringing of tea up the 
 Amur, and across the Trans-Baikal steppe, instead 
 of over the Mongolian desert. Another mercantile 
 friend whose acquaintance we made was a German 
 named Berg, whose cook had the reputation of being 
 the best maker of bread in the town, so that the master 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO VIERNY. 123 
 
 appeared before me in the character of a baker, though 
 his lawful calling was that of a watchmaker. I was 
 also informed that, being a Lutheran, he acted as 
 deputy for the pastor in baptizing Protestant children. 
 
 We received a visit likewise from the police-master, 
 who came to take us to see the prison, and afterwards 
 to the cattle-market, which presented a lively appearance 
 with men for the most part mounted, and talking I 
 know not how many tongues. 
 
 As we approached Vierny we overtook many cart- 
 loads of melons making their way to the town, and the 
 number of melons we saw in the market was surprising. 
 M. von. Ghern gave us a water-melon for dessert as 
 big as the largest of English pumpkins, and he said 
 that water-melons had been brought to the town 
 weighing as much as 36 Ibs. They have also at Vierny 
 a smooth melon raised from Kuldja seed. Melons and 
 water-melons are sold for the moderate price of 6s. 
 a hundred, and can be kept for use up to Christmas. 
 In the market we also bought grapes, and, still better, 
 small but luscious nectarines, the latter for a halfpenny 
 each, of which, as I sat over my writing at night, I ate 
 so many as to alarm Mr. Sevier, whose medical 
 instincts led him to fear for the consequences. All 
 went well, however, and I held with him a medical 
 consultation as to whether no ill-effects having followed 
 from my indulgence was a good or bad sign ; and upon 
 his assuring me that it evidenced a good digestion, 
 I never stinted myself from that time onward from 
 Central Asian fruit, and I am thankful to say was not 
 once inconvenienced thereby. 
 
 Vierny is the centre of administration for the chief 
 of the Cossacks and the police, besides being the 
 residence of the Governor, who was away on official 
 business during our stay. We called upon the Vice- 
 Governor, M. Aristoff, who had read of my visits to 
 the prisons of Siberia, and of my distribution of the 
 Scriptures. The latter met with his hearty approval, 
 
I2 4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and he readily undertook to carry out my wishes 
 in the five hospitals and five prisons of the province, 
 for which purpose I sent him, by the police-master, 80 
 Scriptures and 100 other publications on the following 
 day. 
 
 On Sunday we went to see Alexander, Arch- 
 bishop of Turkistan and Tashkend. Opposite his 
 door was a large Buddhist bell. When ushered into 
 his Grace's reception-room I was fairly taken aback 
 at the furniture, the number of curiosities and pictures, 
 and the taste with which they were arranged. On 
 the wall were Italian paintings ; on the tables photo- 
 graphic albums of Rome, and curios from the cata- 
 combs and Prague ; from China and Japan coins and 
 talismans, as well as antiquities from Lake Issik-Kul. 
 But what was more remarkable for a Russian eccle- 
 siastic, there was a good library, and in it Bibles in 
 Hebrew, Greek, and Latin such a thing, I was told, 
 as was possessed by no other priest in Turkistan. I 
 had been before into the houses of Russian priests and 
 bishops, but had never seen anything to equal this, 
 and the Archbishop's story soon showed that it was 
 due to foreign influence. His grace was a widower, 
 who, after losing his wife, had become a monk, and 
 passed through the academy. He had served as priest 
 in Petersburg, had been a member of the Russian 
 Mission at Peking, and also chaplain at Rome. With 
 great glee he showed me some rare and curious books 
 against Popes and Romanists found on the bookstalls 
 of Rome, and which he regarded as spoils from the 
 Philistine's camp. He spoke Italian fluently, and 
 Chinese, but French, unfortunately for me, he had 
 almost forgotten. He had a splendid collection of 
 Central Asian photographs, and gave me some in ex- 
 change for others I was to send from England. These 
 have since served me in good stead for engravings. 
 It must not be imagined, however, that the Archbishop 
 counted his income by thousands. I was told it did 
 
FROM ALTYN-IMMEL TO VJERNY. 125 
 
 not probably exceed ^300 a year, and very many of 
 the things I saw were presents, and the curios had 
 been picked up in odd places at comparatively little 
 cost. I should gladly have had much conversation 
 with him, especially about the Russian Church, con- 
 cerning which, from having seen other religious 
 communities abroad, the Archbishop could form a 
 better estimate than many of his confreres. I referred 
 to the sad lack of preaching therein, whereupon he 
 mentioned the harassing regulation that a priest before 
 preaching a sermon must write and send it for approval 
 to the censor, but he thought it likely, nevertheless, 
 that preaching would revive in the Russian Church ; 
 saying that, as a matter of fact, many priests do now 
 expound the Gospel for the day in the churches or in 
 private houses. The old gentleman gladly showed us 
 his treasures, and, had his strength and our time per- 
 mitted, he would have entertained us longer, but we 
 had to go to M. von Ghern's, close by, for our last 
 dinner at his hospitable board. 
 
 My host was delighted to see the Kirghese New 
 Testaments I had brought. He had some doubt, 
 however, as to whether the translation was in the 
 pure dialect of the people, though he did not think 
 they would be unable to read it. I afterwards had 
 a similar opinion given me by some of the Kirghese 
 themselves, who said it contained several Tatar words.* 
 
 * I have subsequently learned its history to be this : A version of 
 the Scriptures, in plain Turkish, was published in Oxford in 1666, 
 having been translated by Mr. Seaman, chaplain at Constantinople. 
 This, however, was found to be too Constantinopolitan to be readily 
 understood by the Tatars, who speak a purer Turkish without the 
 circumlocution and foreign words adopted by the Turks of the capital. 
 Seaman's version served, nevertheless, for a basis on which Mr. 
 Bruntin, a Scottish missionary, prepared another version, in Turkish, 
 restored to its pristine simplicity, for the Tatar tribes about the Caspian, 
 and that was called, from the place where it was printed, the Karass 
 version. So well acquainted was Mr. Bruntin with the language, and 
 so pure and idiomatic was his style, that the Tatars regarded him as 
 a renegade Turk. He died whilst the work was going through the 
 press, but the edition was finished by his fellow-missionary, Mr. 
 Frazer, in 1813. Five years later Mr. Frazer accommodated this 
 
126 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 I could hear of no books whatever in pure Kir- 
 ghese, and was told that a translation of Scriptures 
 and the simplest of tracts for the Kara-Kirghese, 
 estimated at upwards of 250,000, and the Kazaks 
 would be highly appreciated ; as also for the Taranchis 
 and Kashgarians, estimated at from perhaps 2,000,000 
 to 3,000,000, and of whom 4,000 or 5,000 come yearly 
 as summer workmen into Semirechia. On my return 
 I brought the matter before the Committees of the 
 Religious Tract and the British and Foreign Bible 
 Societies ; with what result has yet to appear. 
 
 Thus we had a refreshing rest at Vierny, and made 
 some pleasant acquaintances, and when we left next 
 morning I felt we should have cause to look back 
 thereon as one of the green spots of our journey. 
 
 Karass version to the idioms and spelling* of the Kirghese at Orenburg, 
 the Gospel of Matthew being printed in 1818, and the whole of the New 
 Testament in 1820, at Astrakhan, at the expense of .the Russian Bible 
 Society. It was this version, I believe, that I took with me as 
 " Kirghese." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 T HE KIRGHESE. 
 
 Resemblance of Kirghese nomads to Hebrew patriarchs. Primeval 
 character of the steppe. Existence there of Biblical customs : 
 whence came they ? Origin of Kara-Kirghese and Kirghese 
 Kazaks : their diseases and character. Kirghese habitations and 
 tombs. Dresses and ornaments. Settled agricultural Kirghese. 
 Semi-Nomads. Nomad Kirghese : their cattle, sheep, and goats. 
 Changing pasture, when and how conducted. Stationary pastoral 
 life. Polygamy. Kirghese betrothal. The Kalim and presents, 
 with rules pertaining. Marriage ceremonies. The bride's depar- 
 ture. Kirghese marriage, a civil contract. Dissolvable by separa- 
 tion or divorce, with laws concerning each. Marriage with 
 deceased brother's widow. Laws concerning inheritance. Illus- 
 trations of Hebrew pastoral life, and suggested source of Kirghese 
 customs. 
 
 IT was with keen interest that I approached the 
 tents of the Kirghese. As a Biblical student 
 it had occurred to me how intensely interesting it 
 ld be to witness people living in a stage of 
 civilization nearly resembling that of the Hebrew 
 >atriarchs, and I had supposed that this might best 
 >e accomplished by a journey up the Euphrates 
 valley to Palestine. But I came to the conclusion, 
 after seeing the Kirghese, that in them I had met 
 with more truthful representatives of the manner of 
 life of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, than if I had gone 
 to the soil those patriarchs trod, because the elements 
 of change have been less busily at work in the 
 Kirghese steppe than in the Holy Land. Since 
 Abraham's v day the Land of Promise has seen the 
 
128 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 rise and fall of the Jewish nationality. Later, the 
 country has been conquered by Assyrians, Egyptians, 
 Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans ; and 
 now the features of its Eastern life are suggested 
 rather than portrayed by Arab sheikhs, who have 
 long had contact with Turks and Franks. 
 
 But the Kirghese steppe has not been thus in- 
 fluenced by foreign conquerors to anything like a 
 similar extent, for it lay off the area of the great 
 battle-fields of Central Asia. And it should be remem- 
 bered that a quarter of a century has not passed 
 since the Russians could safely travel to all parts of 
 the steppe, in some portions of which still they number 
 less than one European to a hundred natives. There 
 must be masses of these children of the desert who 
 as yet have scarcely seen, much less lived in, a town ; 
 who neither speak nor have heard any language but 
 their own, and who know only their own patriarchal 
 usages and laws ; so that, when this is borne in mind, 
 it will seem probable that in the Kirghese may be 
 witnessed an earlier stage of pastoral life than could 
 be seen in the countries made familiar to us by the 
 Scriptures. I have been the more engrossed with 
 this thought because I discovered still existing in the 
 steppe certain laws and customs that obtained not 
 only in the times of Moses, but in those of the great- 
 grandchildren of Abraham. The question arises, 
 then, Whence came these laws into the steppe ? If 
 from the Koran, matters will be simplified ; but even 
 then there will remain a further question whether they 
 are due to Muhammadan influence only, or whether 
 they may not antedate the Koran (which has many 
 resemblances, we know, to the Pentateuch), and come 
 from the Abrahamic times of which Moses wrote in 
 which case we are sent back to a very remote past 
 that is full of both Scriptural and ethnographical 
 interest. 
 
 The Kirghese belong to the Turco-Tatar race, and 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 129 
 
 their principal divisions coincide with the surface of their 
 territory, the Kara-Kirghese, or Kirghese proper, as 
 they are sometimes called, inhabiting the mountains, 
 and the Kazaks the plains. The number of the 
 Kirghese can be estimated only by calculating 5 per- 
 sons to each tent that pays taxes. I compute them 
 at two and a quarter millions. 
 
 The origin of the Kara-Kirghese, Levshine says, is 
 lost in the night of fable and of Turkish history ; 
 whilst concerning the origin of the Kazaks, sometimes 
 called Kirghese- Kazaks, he gives no less than seven 
 traditions, the first of which makes them emigrants 
 from the Crimea, and the third affirms that their 
 ancestors lived on the banks of the Euphrates. 
 
 If this latter were true, it would help to throw r light 
 upon Kirghese customs now obtaining, which were 
 known to the great-grandchildren of Abraham. From 
 the Euphrates this tradition says they were driven by 
 the Turks on to the land of the wild Kirghese, to whose 
 khan they submitted. 
 
 The Kirghese are tolerably strong, but clumsy, with 
 slouching gait on foot, though bold riders. They are 
 as a rule, fairly healthy, but among other maladies 
 they suffer from scurf and skin diseases at the roots 
 of the hair. Some suppose this proceeds from want 
 of cleanliness ; but M. Ujfalvy, and Khanikoff before 
 him, attributed it rather to the constant wearing of a 
 sheep-skin hat. I cannot say who is right, but I have 
 a vivid recollection how, whilst wearing a native hat 
 by night for warmth, when crossing the desert, my 
 head became singularly heated and the skin irritated. 
 
 In character the Kirghese are unsophisticated, 
 honourable, and brave, until they see the chance of 
 gain ; and then they are prone to thieving. Having 
 food and raiment, they are perfectly content, preferring 
 idleness to work. They are hospitable, and love to 
 hear news, which they are great hands at retailing. 
 The most trivial event gives a Kirghese a favourable 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 opportunity for riding off to the nearest collection of 
 tents to relate his intelligence, to be in possession of 
 which is a passport to gain the bearer admission any 
 where to eat and tattle. 
 
 Some of the Kirghese poor in winter live in holes 
 or underground huts, where children and cattle sleep 
 and play together. Others, as a protection against 
 the cold, endeavour to winter in sheltered places, in 
 hollows, or among reeds or sand-dunes. On the first 
 approach of warmer weather they remove to their 
 ordinary habitation, which is a conical felt tent, called 
 
 A KIRGHESE. 
 
 a kibitka or yourt, that is easily taken apart or put 
 together, and so light that a camel can carry it. 
 Accordingly the nomads wander from place to place, 
 carrying their abodes with them, and it is not until 
 a rich man dies that his body has for its habitation a 
 building, with some little pretence to architecture. 
 
 Levshine, however, mentions cemeteries where 
 several persons are buried, and Reclus, quoting Noschel, 
 says that the Kirghese prefer to bury their dead on 
 hilltops, and leave on the graves various eatables, and 
 money. I saw many tombs on high places, but none 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 131 
 
 with such things as these left thereon, or on Muham- 
 madan graves further south. I well remember, 
 however, finding sweetmeats, and coins, in Eastern 
 Siberia, on the graves of the Buriats, and the thought 
 therefore suggests itself whether these offerings left 
 on certain Kirghese graves are not, as they are with 
 the Buriats, remnants of Shamanism, the old religion 
 of the Mongols. 
 
 The Kirghese dress like the other natives of Central 
 Asia. Nowadays, those who are at all well off have 
 shirts, but the poor continue to wear next the skin their 
 chapan, as they call it, or khalat, closely resembling a 
 loose dressing-gown, over which as many other like 
 garments are worn as the weather requires. Their 
 trousers, both for men and women, are of buff or 
 reddish leather, immensely wide and baggy, called 
 chimbar. A Kirghese, however, is proudest of his 
 girdle, often covered with silver, and from which hang 
 bags, and wallets for money, powder, bullets, knife, 
 and tinder box, the whole apparatus being called kalta. 
 
 The women dress much like the men, except that 
 the under-garment resembles a close-fitting shirt. 
 Above this they wear a khalat. The poor women 
 swathe their heads with calico, forming a combination oi 
 turban and bib ; but the rich wear a square head-dress 
 of huge proportions, enveloped in a white veil trimmed 
 with gold.* The hair is plaited in small braids, and 
 adorned with coins and tinkling ornaments. To these 
 may or may not be added necklaces, bracelets, etc. ; 
 but there is one thing rarely omitted from female 
 costume, which is a silver amulet, hanging from the 
 
 * The Kirghese women, I believe, are never veiled closely, as with 
 the Sarts, but they sometimes so far cover the face as almost to screen 
 it from observation. This half-and-half plan seems to have prevailed 
 amongst the women mentioned early in the Old Testament. Thus 
 Abraham said to Sarah, " Behold now I know that thou art a fair 
 woman to look upon" (Gen. xii. n), from which we may suppose 
 that Sarah did not usually wear a veil ; nor Rebekah, when at the well 
 she met Abraham's servant, though when about to meet her future 
 husband " she took a veil and covered herself" (Gen. xxiv. 16, 65). 
 
rj2 2HROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 neck in the form of a kernel, cylinder, or triangle, and 
 containing Muhammadan writing, or perhaps prayers, 
 given by the husband at the time of marriage. 
 
 The Kirghese are essentially a nation of shepherds 
 and breeders of cattle, and think it a " come-down " 
 in life when, by force of circumstances, they are 
 compelled to resort to settled occupations. In such 
 an extremity they settle near towns or villages, let 
 themselves out for labourers, as in the Kalbinsk and 
 Altai mines, or flock to the peasant villages in hay- 
 time and harvest, where they are in request as cheap 
 and energetic workmen, one result of which is that 
 in a generation or two they become civilized, dress 
 like Russians, and call themselves Christians. Others 
 turn their attention to agriculture. These poorer 
 Kirghese are called Iginchas, and may be said to form 
 the settled element of the Kirghese population. 
 
 Cattle-breeding, however, speaking generally, is the 
 occupation of the Kirghese, some of whom are said 
 to possess hundreds of camels, thousands of horses, 
 and tens of thousands of sheep and goats. They 
 own, likewise, horned cattle, but not in such large 
 numbers. The Kara- Kirghese are not so rich as their 
 confreres of the Great and Middle Hordes. Very few 
 of the Dikokamenni, for instance, possess as many 
 as 2,000 horses, or 3,000 sheep. They keep fewer 
 camels, but, on the other hand, have an excellent 
 breed of oxen, employed for traversing the mountains. 
 Their cows are large, but yield little milk, and then 
 only just after calving. Their Yaks yield more milk. 
 
 The mode of life of the Kirghese is necessarily 
 affected by their cattle-breeding, which requires con- 
 stant moving about to find pasture. Nomadizing 
 generally begins in early spring, and continues all the 
 summer, the wanderers returning in late autumn. 
 
 Ordinarily they wander in small auls, or collections 
 of kibitkas, numbering up to 10 in the Orenburg 
 region, but often of 15 or more further east. Their 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 
 
 133 
 
 route depends on the time of year and the state of the 
 grass, but, generally speaking, up to the middle of 
 the summer, it is further and further from the 
 winter quarters, to which they return by stages in 
 
 A KIRGHESE TENT IN SUMMER PASTURE, NEAR THE SOURCES OF THE KORA. 
 
 autumn. The winter pasturages are often by the 
 banks of streams, from which the herdsmen are driven 
 in April or May by the drought and insects. They 
 then ascend the rich mountain slopes with their flocks, 
 leaving the camels behind to shift for themselves, 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 135 
 
 unwatched, feeding on the salt soil herbage. We saw 
 several apparently thus left. In July or August the 
 men descend to gather their crops, and then pay 
 another visit to the mountains before winter, to gather 
 the later harvest there. In the Orenburg district, if 
 the grass is good, the summer nomads are distributed 
 pretty equally over the whole steppe ; but if there is 
 drought in the south, then masses of Kirghese, in 
 their search for grass and water, proceed to the 
 extreme north of the steppe, a distance of 600 or 700 
 miles from their winter quarters on the Syr-daria. 
 
 These wanderings the Kirghese call perokochevka, 
 and they are thus conducted. The pasture in the 
 neighbourhood being exhausted, first by the camels 
 biting off the tops of the grassy stems, followed by the 
 horses, which gnaw the grass closer, and the sheep, 
 which nibble it down to the roots, one or two of the 
 mounted young men are sent from the aul to select a 
 suitable spot for a new encampment, and to clear out 
 the wells. This done, the women pack the kibitkas, 
 the head of the household merely looking on, whilst 
 the other men form the cattle into droves. The camp 
 is packed, and starts before dawn, the good woman of 
 the family riding in front. We met one old lady in 
 this honourable position, mounted astride a bullock, 
 and looking anything but graceful. After her came the 
 other women , one young girl, I remember, sitting on a 
 horse covered with a gay saddle-cloth, and wearing 
 her best clothes, as is usual on such occasions. On 
 the camels are packed carpets, samovars, tents, etc., 
 the whole being made to wear a festive aspect. Since 
 all the cattle do not move at the same pace, the herds 
 soon straggle, so that a moving aid may occupy a 
 length of several miles. Generally speaking, the men 
 during a march ride somewhere off the road, or gc 
 hunting. The length of a stage is from 13 to 17 
 miles, having done which they rest awhile, as also on 
 summer afternoons, for an hour. The aul then again 
 
136 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 moves forward, traversing about 25 miles in 24 hours. 
 When stationary, the herds are milked in the early 
 morning, and are driven to their pasture by mounted 
 shepherds, who bring them back in the evening. 
 Cows, sheep, and goats are milked morning and 
 evening only, but mares three times a day, or oftener, 
 in which latter case only a small quantity is given at 
 each time. The lambs and kids are sometimes penned 
 in extempore folds, or wander near the aid, guarded 
 by children, who not unfrequently make companions 
 of them inside the tents. 
 
 A KIRGHESE BAIBJCHE, OR SENIOR WIFE. 
 
 Among the Kirghese the practice of polygamy 
 obtains ; but since the maintenance of wives and the 
 money given to parents for their purchase are burden- 
 some, the poorest Kirghese usually restrict themselves 
 to one wife. Some have two or three, and the rich 
 four. Generally the eldest brother of a family has 
 more than one. The first wife is mistress of the 
 household, and is called baibiche. To her are subject 
 not only her husband's other wives, but also all the 
 other females of the family. The head of a household 
 will often send a portion of his herds several hundreds 
 of miles away under the care of this wife, whilst he 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 137 
 
 himself will either remain with his other wives about 
 the grazing ground, or go and encamp somewhere by 
 himself. In winter the family comes together again. 
 
 The manifold circumstances connected with marriage 
 among the Kirghese are somewhat formidable. It is 
 a custom for men, even before they are fathers, to 
 strengthen the bonds of friendship by agreeing to a 
 marriage between their future offspring, so that many a 
 couple are " engaged" before they are born, though it 
 frequently happens, of course, that such arrangements 
 are broken through. Fifteen is the marriageable age, 
 and preliminaries are commenced by the parents of the 
 bridegroom selecting from three to ten kinsmen, or 
 friends, as matchmakers, called kouda-tusscr, who pro- 
 ceed to the parents of the bride, offering presents, and 
 among them, specially prepared for the occasion, a dish 
 of liver and mutton fat, called konyruk-bao^tr, which 
 signifies that they " mean matrimony," after which the 
 compliment is returned by presents and a similar dish, 
 sent by the girl's parents to those of the bridegroom. 
 These gifts are called kiet. The bride's father then 
 calls together his kinsmen, to decide the kalim, or 
 gross amount to be paid for the bride. Also a mullah 
 should be present to ask three times of the parents or 
 relations contracting the union, " Do you consent to 
 unite your children ? " and then to read prayers for 
 the happiness of the future couple in the presence of 
 witnesses, or of umpires, chosen to settle differences, 
 should any arise between the parties making the con- 
 tract. The kalim may be 40, 60, or 120 sheep, or 
 9, 17, 27, 37, or 47 head of cattle, according to the 
 means of the bridegroom. Besides the kalim, the 
 bridegroom has to give presents called bash-yakshi 
 (good head), and ayak-yakshi (good feet), that is, either 
 nine camels; or one camel, a horse, a cow, and a fire- 
 arm ; or, if the man be poor, the bash-yakshi takes the 
 form of i or 2 camels, with a horse, and the- ayak- 
 yakshi of a horse, cow, and khalats. These things 
 
138 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 settled, the bride's father sends to the bridegroom's aiu 
 for the kalim, or two-thirds of it, and one of the yakshi, 
 after which the bridegroom, having fed the bride's 
 messengers, takes the other yakshi, generally the bash- 
 yakshi, that is called the " ilu" and goes to see the 
 bride for the first time. The delivery of the ilu has 
 great importance, in that it virtually closes the bridal 
 contract so securely, indeed, that, should the bride- 
 groom die thereupon, the girl has to go to his parents. 
 
 In some places, before the bridegroom starts, his 
 father gives a family feast, clothes the youth with a 
 rich robe, mounts him on a good horse, with the best 
 of saddles and harness, and sends him away after a 
 mullah's prayers for the traveller's safety. Arrived at 
 the bride's aid, the young man states his business, and 
 asks permission of her father to pitch his white tent. 
 This he does for about three days, during which he 
 gains over the women by presents to procure for him a 
 private interview with his betrothed. The two now 
 see each other for the first time, perhaps ; but since 
 the kalim and the ilu have been paid, the contract is 
 virtually closed, and neither can draw back without 
 some little difficulty. The interview is commonly by 
 night, and supposed to be kept secret from the parents, 
 to whom the bridegroom gives more presents for the 
 right of visiting his betrothed by day. 
 
 If during the period of betrothal the girl should die, 
 her parents are bound to give instead their next 
 daughter, or, in default of one, to return the kalim, 
 and pay also a fine of one or two horses and khalats, 
 or furs. So also, if the girl should refuse to marry, 
 which she may do on account of a suitor's ill-health, 
 his bad conduct, or poverty, or as allowed in some 
 localities, her dislike. Another custom is, that if the 
 bridegroom die, or refuse to marry the girl, his parents 
 are bound to take her for their next son, paying a fine 
 usually a camel in case of refusal. Should there be 
 no brothers, the kalim has to be returned, subject to 
 
THE K1RGHESE. 139 
 
 the limitations just alluded to. In cases of double 
 marriages, where brother and sister marry sister and 
 brother respectively, the kalim- is omitted. 
 
 When the prescribed period of betrothal is at an 
 end, the bridegroom, dressed and mounted at his best, 
 goes with friends to the aul of the bride, where a 
 kibitka has been prepared for his reception. Through- 
 out the ceremonies of betrothal, the bride's brother has 
 the right of pilfering from the bridegroom whatever he 
 pleases. But now the bride's relations come and take 
 as presents almost everything he has : his coat, hat, 
 girdle, horse, saddle, etc., pleading that they are for 
 the education of the bride a seizure that is afterwards 
 balanced by the relations of the bridegroom on the visit 
 to their aul of the relations of the bride. The bride's 
 parents are bound to give up the bride when the kalim 
 is paid, giving her in dowry a kibitka, a camel, or 
 riding-horse, and cattle, also a bride's head-dress, called 
 saoukeld, or, if poor, another kind, called jaoulouk\ 
 besides a bed, crockery, and a trunk of wearing apparel. 
 
 Whilst this "trousseau" is in preparation, the brides- 
 maids gather towards evening to dress the bride and 
 to sing songs, and, all being ready, the happy couple, 
 richly clad when possible, are led into their tent for the 
 final ceremony. The mullah places them in the midst, 
 puts before them a cup filled with water and covered 
 with a cloth, and begins the prayers. Then he asks 
 the contracting parties if it is with their full consent 
 they engage themselves in the bonds of matrimony, and 
 gives them three times the water to drink, offering the 
 remainder to the bystanders, or, if they are numerous, 
 sprinkling them therewith. Some mullahs put in 
 the water-vessel an arrow, with a tuft of hair tied 
 to it from the mane of the bride's horse, or one of 
 her ribbons ; others dip therein a paper of written 
 prayers. This ceremony over, for the girl's head-dress, 
 worn thus far by the bride, is substituted that of a woman, 
 her friends singing the while. In some districts, the 
 
1 40 THR O UGH CENTRA L A SI A . 
 
 husband then comes on horseback to the door and asks 
 permission to enter. This being refused, he obtrudes, as 
 it were, by force, and takes her away to a private tent. 
 
 The happy completion of a marriage is followed 
 among the Kirghese by feasting and games ; and when 
 the newly-married are about to depart, the whole aul 
 assembles; the father puts his daughter on her horse, 
 which he leads to the side of her husband, and they 
 depart, amid women's tears and men's farewells, with 
 the camels carrying the trousseau, and the portion of 
 his wealth which a father gives to each of his daughters 
 on her marriage. On arriving at the husband's aid, his 
 father gives a feast. Close at hand is pitched the 
 new wife's tent, wherein are displayed all the articles 
 of her trousseau. These are seized by, according as they 
 please, her new relatives, who are greedy of presents, 
 they giving others, but usually of less value, in return. 
 The bride, having thus made her ddbut, if she wishes 
 to show her activity, rises very early during the first 
 few days after her arrival, to uncover the top of the 
 tents of her husband's parents. She retains her own 
 tent * and trousseau ; and even her cattle brought in 
 dower a wise husband does not mix with those of 
 his other wives, because they descend to her children 
 only, and not to other children of the husband. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that marriage a la Kirghese is, 
 if committed only once, a somewhat expensive business, 
 whilst for each repetition of the process the amount of 
 the kalim rises higher. The whole affair has much of 
 the nature of a civil contract, of which I imagine the 
 woman generally gets the worse. Equality of position 
 is sought by the parents, rather than suitability as to 
 age and temperament ; and " woman's rights " among 
 the Kirghese are few enough. In some districts, it is 
 rue, a woman, when she attains the age of twenty-three, 
 
 * Reminding" one how Isaac brought Rebekah " into his mother 
 Sarah's tent," and how Laban entered Jacob's tent, and Leah's tent, 
 and Rachel's tent (Gen. xxiv. 67, and xxxi. 33). 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 141 
 
 may marry a husband of her own choice ; but at that 
 period of life, in the steppe, she is considered to have 
 passed the flower of her age. Again, in case of ill- 
 treatment by a husband, a wife may complain to a Bi, 
 who will probably get the man to promise to keep 
 the peace, or condemn him to be flogged. 
 
 Marriage among the Kirghese may be dissolved 
 by separation or divorce, either of which usually 
 raises the kalim as a bone of contention. For 
 separation, the following among others are admis- 
 sible causes (i) Mutual agreement. The husband 
 permits his wife to marry another man on condition 
 that he receives a kalim and costs. The document 
 drawn up for this agreement is called talag-kagaz, a 
 " paper of separation." (Like the fiifSkiov airoo-Tacriov, 
 or " bill of divorcement of Isaiah 1. i ; Mark x. 4.) 
 Should the wife return to her parents, the father is 
 bound to return to the husband half the kalim paid for 
 her, and the other half on the moment of her marrying 
 again. (2) For a certain sum paid to him, or her 
 dowry, the husband may give a paper of separation 
 at the wife's request. So, likewise, (3) the husband, 
 ceasing to care for the wife (as in Deut. xxiv. i), may 
 give her to another man for a kalim. This looks, 
 according to Kozloff, as if the woman's consent were 
 not necessary ; but I was told further south, in Bokhara, 
 that a man could not ordinarily put away his wife, 
 except by her consent. 
 
 The marriage contract may be terminated by divorce, 
 on the plea of poverty or the husband's cruelty ; in 
 which cases the wife may marry her brother-in-law, or 
 whom she pleases, and retain her dowry, but her future 
 husband must pay a kalim to the first. In former 
 days the Kirghese were strict in their observance 
 of what the Jews called yebamoth, or levirate 
 marriage, that if a man's brother die, and leave a 
 widow, his eldest brother should take the widow ; 
 but nowadays the custom is dying out, and though 
 
142 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the widow remains with her husband's relations 
 she is no longer compelled to marry one of them, or 
 indeed to remarry at all. I remember seeing a Kir- 
 ghese widow come in a supplicating manner to a Russian 
 civil authority, begging that she might not be forced 
 to marry her brother-in-law, to whom she was averse ; 
 but, then, she was also averse to giving up the kalim ; 
 the Kirghese law being, in such a case, that if she 
 were childless, and wished to remain single, she could 
 retain only a portion of her husband's property, though 
 if she had children she might keep the whole. 
 
 This brings us to the Kirghese laws concerning 
 inheritance, that are said to have caused formerly much 
 contention after a father's death. A father now divides 
 his inheritance, as a rule, during life * amongst his 
 grown-up sons, either on their marriage or soon after, 
 care being taken that the children only receive the 
 portion that comes to them from their own mother, 
 and not that of the other wives. Such a division is 
 made verbally in the presence of dignitaries, or it may 
 be confirmed by a signature witnessed by them.f 
 
 I have thus entered somewhat fully into the Kir- 
 ghese laws respecting marriage, family rights, the rela- 
 tion between man and wife, inheritance and division of 
 property, partly because these customs of the steppe 
 illustrate at so many points the pastoral life of the 
 Hebrew patriarchs,* in connection with which I shall 
 
 * As did Abraham (Gen. xxv. 5, 6). 
 
 f It is not invariably, moreover, that only children inherit a man's 
 property, for faithful servants may be included, who have looked after 
 the cattle, or watched the interests of the family. Abraham said : " The 
 steward of my house is this Eliezer, of Damascus . . . and lo, one born in 
 my house is mine heir" (Gen. xv. 3, 4). 
 
 | Thus in Gen. xxiv. we see the eldest servant of Abraham's house 
 acting the part of what the Kirghese would call a kouda-tusser , or 
 matchmaker, in seeking for Isaac a wife, and taking with him ten 
 camels, a portion certainly of whose burden consisted, if not of a kalim, 
 yet of presents of silver and gold, and clothing, which he gave not only 
 to the bride, but also to her mother and brother. So again, in 
 Gen. xxxiv., the Hivite prince, Hamor, acts a similar part on behalf of 
 his son in proposing a marriage with Dinah the daughter of Jacob. 
 Further, the young man Shechem recognizes the propriety of a kalim 
 
THE KIRGHESE. 143 
 
 be able to point out further illustrations in things that 
 came under my own observation. 
 
 and presents, saying, "Ask me never so much dowry and gift" 
 (fFIO'1 "irto), the former word, in each of the three cases where it occurs 
 in the Old Testament, being always used in connection with marriage, 
 and the latter word for a gift generally. The custom obtained also at 
 the time of the promulgation of the law, in which we read (Exod. xxii. 17), 
 of " the dowry of virgins," and which evidently had not disappeared in 
 the days of David, who, thinking too humbly of himself to become a 
 king's son-in-law, was told "the king desireth not any dowry." So 
 again, one thinks, of course, of the question of the Sadducees (Mark xii. 
 19, and Luke xx. 28) : " Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's 
 brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother 
 should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother." But though 
 Moses wrote this (in Deut. xxv. 5), the custom had existed as far back 
 as the days of Judah, the great-grandson of Abraham, whose two sons, 
 Er and Onan, were successively husbands of Tamar, who afterwards 
 waited for a third son, Shelah. The interesting question therefore arises, 
 whence this custom was introduced among the Kirghese ? A somewhat 
 bold suggestion has presented itself to my mind, which I put forward 
 not as a theory, but as a suggestion only, that when Abraham dismissed 
 his wife Keturah's sons(Gen. xxv. i 6), giving them gifts, and sending 
 them away from Isaac "eastward unto the east country," they may 
 very well have taken the custom to, or learnt it in, the land of Chaldea, 
 whence Abraham came, and from whence it might have spread further 
 east beyond the Oxus and Jaxartes to the north of Central Asia. The 
 distance from the Ur of the Chaldees to the Jaxartes would be easily 
 covered in two summers' wanderings. Whether this suggestion involves 
 any anachronisms or contradictions I know not ; but, if true, it seems 
 to confirm my idea, that in the Kirghese steppe one sees perhaps the 
 type in the present day most nearly resembling the oldest pastoral life 
 recorded in the pages of history. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 
 
 Visit to Kirghese at Suigati. Their tents. A Kirghese memorial. 
 Milk and other beverages, with flour food. A mutton feast. 
 Kirghese politeness, and right of precedence. Connubial arrange- 
 ments. Myself questioning and questioned. Kirghese poetry and 
 songs. Their religion : Muhammadan, Pagan, or Manichean ? 
 Kirghese registered as Muhammadans. New Testaments ac- 
 cepted. Conversation upon the state after death. Influence of 
 the mullahs. Kirghese election of judicial officers. Native courts 
 and fines. Judgment and judges. Election of a volost chief. 
 Laws concerning assault. A fight quelled. 
 
 I EXPRESSED to the authorities in Semirechia 
 my wish to visit a Kirghese aul, whereupon M. 
 Troitzky, the Pomoshnik-uyezdi-nachalnik, or assistant 
 chief of the Vierny district, kindly promised to further 
 my wishes if I would meet him a day's journey in 
 the wilderness at Suigati, where he was to hold a 
 meeting of Kirghese representatives assembled to 
 elect their bis or judges. On our arriving there the 
 smiles of the post-master told us we were expected, 
 and we made for M. Troitzky 's tent. It was an un- 
 usually grand one, measuring 9 paces in diameter, 
 with the roof supported by 1 20 rods. This the reader 
 will better appreciate if I describe how a Kirghese 
 tent is erected. I chanced in the Hi valley to see a 
 woman begin to put up her tent, and so interested was 
 I that I would not stir from the spot till, note-book 
 in hand, I had witnessed the whole operation. 
 
A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 145 
 
 The component parts of a kibitka are felt and 
 matting, wherewith to cover a framework that consists 
 of a lintel and side-posts for a door, and pieces of 
 trellis- work, surmounted by poles fastened to a central 
 corona. A piece of the trellis-work (called kiriga, as I 
 took down the name phonetically from the woman's 
 mouth) resembles a pair of lazy-tongs, or, better still, 
 an English child's toy on which he moves his little 
 company of soldiers, the wooden laths or poles forming 
 the trellis being fastened with a leather thong where 
 
 A TRAVELLERS HALTING-PLACE IN THE COUNTRY OF THH KIRGHESE. 
 
 they cross. Four of these kiriga, tied together 
 and expanded so as to stand about 4 feet high, 
 made, with the doorway, a circle about 6 paces in 
 diameter, and the whole was girded by a broad band 
 of worsted. Then was hoisted, perhaps 9 feet high, 
 over the centre, a wooden hoop, called cJmnrukk, 
 to serve as chimney, ventilator, and window, into the 
 holes of which were thrust the ends of long wooden 
 staves called ookk, the other ends being tied to the 
 trellis-work, so that, when the woman had tied 55 
 
 10 
 
146 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of these ookh, the framework of her small tent was 
 ready. Huge pieces of felt were then hoisted to the 
 top on poles, and drawn to their position by two bands 
 called ban, and afterwards fastened ; the covering for 
 the doorway being hung from the lintel like a curtain. 
 The felts did not quite reach the ground, fresh air on 
 this occasion being a desideratum ; but there were 
 placed on the grass two pieces of reed matting called 
 tchi, fastened inside and encircling the tent to the 
 height perhaps of 4 feet, a binding line being tied 
 round to keep all taut. Besides this, ropes made of 
 horses' manes hung from the hoop or corona inside to 
 keep the tent down, and outside a stake was driven 
 into the ground to windward for similar security. The 
 floor was strewed with felts, a space being left in the 
 centre for the fire. 
 
 A small tent such as that I saw erected would cost, 
 when new, from 50^. to 60.9., and one of ordinary 
 size about ^5. In this case it was being put up for 
 hire at i2s. a month. A large show-tent, such as 
 that provided for M. Troitzky, would cost ^"100; 
 for this last was 12 feet high in the centre, the 
 felt was lined with silk, and the floor and sides 
 strewed and hung with carpets. It was the property of 
 Nogai Bi, one of the judges, who had provided it for 
 the occasion. 
 
 But we were to be conducted to an aul to see a tent 
 in working order. They mounted us on Kirghese 
 horses, the first peculiarity of which I discovered to 
 be that to stop my steed I pulled one rein instead of 
 two. We set off with perhaps a score or two of 
 natives, who seemed to be coming for the fun of 
 the thing, our way lying along a valley flanked by 
 low undulating hills, on which there was not a tree 
 to be seen of the smallest dimensions. " What is 
 that ? " said I, pointing to a pile of stones, heaped on 
 an eminence. " Oh ! " said they, " a notable man 
 recently died, and when a large number of people 
 
A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 147 
 
 was gathered at the feast that followed his funeral, 
 we raised the heap on that day to his memory." * 
 
 Arrived at the aul, we entered the first tent, the 
 owner of which made me welcome, and I began to 
 make note of my surroundings. On the trellis-work 
 were hung all sorts of suspendible things basins, 
 bags, harness, firearms, leather bottles, skins, clothes, 
 and a Kalmuk bass, or box in which to put cups and 
 basins, to be slung on the back of a camel. Behind 
 me were rolls of felt, cushions, carpets, and trunks 
 full of effects, one box of Russian manufacture, with 
 a good deal of metal thereon, being pointed out as 
 something worthy of remark, the like to which is 
 found only in the tents of the rich. In the middle 
 of the tent a huge open saucepan does duty as the 
 principal, if not the only, cooking utensil, whilst 
 around this stand kurgans or ewers of metal some- 
 thing like an English coffee-pot, and clumsy pails made 
 of leather, sometimes having a lip. I caught sight, 
 moreover, of a curious staff, the size of a broom- 
 handle, inlaid with brass and steel, with an ornamented 
 top, 2 spans long and i^ round, that was used to stir 
 the kumiss. 
 
 Some of this drink was offered us in a basin, and 
 tor the first time I tasted soured mares' milk. My 
 teetotal conscience led me to ask first whether it 
 was intoxicating, and I was told " No." On the other 
 hand, I certainly have read that some kind of alcoholic 
 drink is prepared from mares' milk. Perhaps it 
 becomes so when distilled, or when old and further 
 fermented, in which last-mentioned condition they 
 said it acquired astringent properties, whereas when 
 new it is aperient. I detected nothing alcoholic in 
 its taste, and liked it fairly well. Sevier pronounced 
 
 * A living illustration, I thought, of patriarchal times, when Laban 
 and Jacob's brethren made a heap of stones for a memorial between 
 them, and ate thereon ; or when Joshua pitched twelve memorial stones 
 in Gilgal (Gen. xxxi. 46, and Josh. iv. 20 ; see also vii. 26 ; viii. 29). 
 
148 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 it much the same as Scotch buttermilk. I can imagine 
 a thirsty traveller in summer coming in from the steppe 
 enjoying a basin to quench his thirst ; but it was not 
 nice to sip. Moreover, the fact that one is not accus- 
 tomed to drink mares' milk, and the thought that the 
 beverage had possibly been in the dreadful leather 
 bottle, that is said never to be washed, was not appe- 
 tizing to an English palate. Besides kumiss, they 
 brought another drink called airan, or curdled 
 milk of cows, ewes, and goats, with water mixed, I 
 presume, for economy's sake, since they said that the 
 rich drank cows' milk alone. They likewise offered 
 dough nuts, made of flour and mutton fat, but no 
 bread, for they live upon the flesh of their animals, 
 fresh or smoke-dried, in winter, and on their milk only, 
 generally fermented, in summer. They make also a 
 kind of cheese, called irimtchik, from cows' and ewes' 
 milk. 
 
 I am not aware that the Kirghese have any stated 
 hours for meals. They can go without drink for a 
 whole day, and without food for several days, and 
 chen love to gorge themselves to repletion. At their 
 great feasts they indulge in horse flesh, but their usual 
 meat is mutton. Some of the extravagant Russian 
 officers, who go to Central Asia to repair their fortunes, 
 and are supposed to have been accustomed to the best 
 cuisines in Petersburg, declare that nothing can excel 
 the Kirghese cooking of mutton, which I can so far 
 confirm that, when we entered a second tent in the 
 aul, and they brought us a dish of this meat boiled, 
 we found it very good. 
 
 It was much greater fun, however, to be spectators 
 than partakers of the feast. We had entered the 
 second tent a numerous body, and had placed ourselves, 
 as I supposed, anyhow. But it was pointed out to me 
 that I had been seated in the place of honour opposite 
 the door, whilst my vis-a-vis, a few feet off, was the 
 host, who had for the occasion taken the position of 
 
A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 149 
 
 her who would have been his wife in attendance, had 
 he been dining en famille. On my left sat a sultan 
 (who formerly had been chief in these parts), and four 
 others of note ; on my right were seven bis, and in 
 front some aristocratic youths; whilst in the outer 
 circle, "below the salt" and standing, was a crowd of 
 lookers-on. Accordingly, when the meat was brought, 
 the dishes were put before us according to our 
 supposed rank ; one to myself, Mr. Sevier, and the 
 Russian officer ; another to the sultans' party ; a third 
 for the judges ; and so on. I heard nothing of "grace 
 before meat," but, dishes placed, I never saw anything 
 to exceed the alacrity with which they were cleared. 
 Hands were knives, and fingers were forks, the meat 
 being torn from the bones as by the teeth of hungry 
 dogs. On such occasions as this, it is a piece of 
 Kirghese politeness for a superior or an elder to take 
 a handful of pieces of meat from his dish and stuff 
 them into the mouth of an inferior or younger guest 
 an elegancy I saw practised on another, but which, 
 I suppose, my position precluded being exercised on 
 myself. 
 
 After the meal, as also before, an attendant brought 
 round a basin and ewer for all to wash their hands ; 
 and although there was room for doubt whether one's 
 fingers were the cleaner before or after using the 
 grimy cloth intended for a towel, yet remembering 
 that in the New Testament times forks were not 
 invented, and that equals then ate with their fingers 
 out of one and the same dish, I confess that seeing the 
 custom in the Kirghese tent led me rather to sympa- 
 thize with the Pharisees, to a degree I had not 
 previously done, in their observance of the custom 
 when they came from the market, of not eating except 
 they had first washed their hands (Mark vii. 3 ; 
 Luke xi. 38).* 
 
 * Our location in the tent likewise, and serving of classes apart, was 
 so far reminiscent of Joseph dining with his brethren, that they set on for 
 
150 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Dessert in the desert comes before instead of after 
 meat, and on this occasion consisted of apples, dried 
 apricots, pistachio nuts, raisins, and walnuts. Feasting 
 over, I continued to apply myself to getting informa- 
 tion. My inquisitiveness in the first tent led me to 
 ask what was behind some straw matting I saw, and 
 I was told "a store closet," and a similar inquiry 
 in the second tent as to what was behind a curtain 
 elicited the fact that it was the husband's sleeping place, 
 that was shared with him by one of his wives, the 
 wife or wives left out in the cold sleeping on the 
 opposite side of the tent. This last introduced other 
 topics matrimonial, in the discussion of which it 
 transpired that my host had two wives, the sultan 
 on my left had three, and the one next him four, 
 whilst they informed me that some had five or six ; 
 and then came out the surprising intelligence to them 
 that I had none, which seemed to exercise them greatly, 
 for they subsequently asked how it was I had no 
 wives, whilst " these boys here," said they, " has each 
 of them a wife ! " 
 
 After having peppered them with questions, I 
 thought it only fair to give them a turn, and I there- 
 fore inquired, in a vainglorious moment, whether they 
 would like to question me. Shoemaker like, they 
 began to talk of " leather," and asked whether in my 
 country we had cattle, horses, camels, and cows. This 
 I was able to answer with confidence, and though not 
 very well posted in Smithfield prices, I thought if I 
 told them that our cows cost 20 each it would surprise 
 them. And so it did, but the answer led to another 
 question that utterly non-plussed me, for they wanted 
 to know how much milk a twenty-pound cow would 
 
 him by himself; and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians by 
 themselves. They sat also before him the firstborn according- to his 
 birthright, and the youngest according to his youth. Also Joseph's 
 sending messes to his brothers from before him is something like, but 
 an improvement upon, the delicate attention of superior to inferior to 
 which I have just alluded (Gen. xliii. 32 34). 
 
A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 151 
 
 give in a day ! Had I known the correct quantity, 
 it would have been difficult for me to have translated it 
 extempore into a Russian standard ; and as for Kirghese 
 measures well, I doubt if they have any. We there- 
 fore proceeded to the " next question," which was 
 whether we had nomads in England who were judged 
 by bis ? also whether the English and Russians were 
 ruled by the same Emperor, and if not, were we 
 neighbours and friends ? to which I was pleased to be 
 able to reply that though we were not under the same 
 Emperor, and could hardly be called neighbours, yet 
 that we certainly were friends. 
 
 I now asked for a song, which was no sooner begun 
 than some women put their heads in at the door, and 
 we soon had a full house. 
 
 On the occasion of my visit none of the women 
 sang, but two men exercised their powers by extem- 
 porizing a song aimed at the judges, the burden of 
 which was that formerly their bis were chosen with 
 reference to age and integrity, whereas now it was 
 solely for pelf ; and this hit was emphasized by the 
 comparison of a lion and a mouse, to show that ignoble 
 persons were chosen to office instead of the mighty. 
 Others of their sentiments were that " a man who 
 rides one horse can also lead another" ; that "a bear 
 is as strong as a lion " ; and that "he cares little for a 
 good horse who feeds him badly." I asked if they 
 would like to hear an English song, and gave them 
 " God Save the Queen," whereupon I was not a little 
 pleased to find that, though they knew nothing of 
 England, nor whether I was, with the Russians, a 
 fellow-subject of the Tsar, yet they had heard of 
 Queen Victoria, and asked about the Heir Apparent. 
 
 I took occasion in this tent to inquire respecting 
 their religion, concerning which Levshine says that it 
 is difficult to decide whether it be Muhammadan, 
 Pagan, or Manichean. All recognize a supreme 
 Creator, but some worship Him according to the Koran; 
 
152 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA 
 
 others mix their Islamism with remains of ancient 
 idolatry, whilst others believe that besides a beneficent 
 God, whom they call Khoda, there exists an evil-doing 
 spirit called Shaitan, by which name our Kirghese 
 drivers swore. In Palestine, too, I am told " Son of 
 Shaitan " is still employed as a term of reproach. 
 
 In the Russian registers, the Kirghese are entered 
 as Muhammadans, and regarded as Sunnis ; for 
 though many of them have only a very confused 
 notion as to the two sections of Muhummadanism 
 called Sunni and Shia, yet they so far espouse the 
 cause of the Sunnis that they consider every one else 
 an infidel, be he Shia, Buddhist, or Christian. Also 
 their religious indifference seems to be preserved only 
 so long as they do not come in contact with people 
 more civilized than themselves, on which occasions 
 they are sometimes fanatical. M. Troitzky, who 
 took me to the tent, told me that, some time before, 
 the Kirghese had been on the eve of an outbreak, 
 because the Government, wishing to take a census, 
 had distributed amongst the auls tablets or cards to be 
 marked so as to show the number of the people. On 
 these tablets, however, the Kirghese discovered a 
 device, whether the Imperial two-headed eagle or what 
 else similar I know not ; but thinking it to be intended 
 to make them Christians, they were almost ready to 
 mutiny. It was the knowledge of this, I suppose, 
 that led the Russians to warn me against the distri- 
 bution of the Scriptures in the Steppe. 
 
 I had not forgotten the exhortation, but finding that 
 my host could read, I asked if he would accept a copy 
 of the New Testament, telling him it was the best 
 book we had in England. He took it joyfully, and 
 was evidently pleased to get it. I then asked what 
 they thought became of us after death ? Upon which 
 they replied that God had made good angels, called 
 Mankir, and bad angels, called, Nankir, though when 
 He made them their books did not say, and that two 
 
A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 155 
 
 of these angels sit invisibly on the shoulders of every 
 man from his birth, Mankir being always on the right. 
 Further, that they see all the man does, and write the 
 good and bad in their respective books, which at death 
 are both taken to God, who decides whether the good 
 or ill preponderates, and gives sentence accordingly ; 
 the bad being sent into the fire, and the others to the 
 enjoyment of another life in the world of spirits, where 
 the good find all that they can desire. 
 
 It was then my turn to tell them the Christian 
 creed ; how for the putting away of man's sin Jesus 
 Christ came into the world and made atonement 
 on our behalf, offering us freely the benefit of what 
 He has done ; and then, by way of showing them 
 how thoroughly I believed in this, I went on to say 
 that I had travelled some thousands of versts to spread 
 this news, in doing which I had distributed more 
 than 100,000 publications. I hoped, therefore, that 
 they would read the book I was leaving, and that we 
 might hereafter meet again. How much they appre- 
 hended of what I said I am not at all sure, for I spoke 
 in French to M. Troitzky, who turned my speech 
 into Russian, and then communicated it through his 
 Kirghese interpreter ; and the reply travelled back to 
 me, by the same channel, to the effect that we all come 
 from one Parent, that God is merciful, and that for a 
 little good in us He pardons the evil. I tried to trace 
 this pardoning love to Jesus Christ, whereupon one of 
 them brought forward a Muhammadan book, in which 
 the Christian prophet was spoken of. This was all 
 done with perfect good temper, and apparently without 
 offence, but I was told afterwards that Nogai Bi, who 
 had accompanied us, was a fanatic, and often harboured 
 in his dwelling hodjas, or religious pilgrims, w r ho have 
 been to Mecca, and who, when discovered by the 
 Russians, are sent about their business, because of 
 their evil political influence, and because they fleece 
 the people. 
 
154 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Having finished our visit to the aul, we returned to 
 the stately tent of M. Troitzky to find it surrounded 
 with a crowd of Kirghese, who had come to the place 
 for a popular election. The Russians have, to a very 
 large extent, left the Kirghese to maintain order among 
 themselves by the exercise of their own patriarchal 
 laws. The judge is chosen by the people, and trials 
 are oral and public, conducted according to con- 
 science, relations being defended by relations. Thus 
 every important case becomes a public matter, and 
 is popularly judged, its brightest features being the 
 frequent appeals made to the consciences of the con- 
 tending parties, and the spirit of reconciliation that 
 generally accompanies the verdict. A marked feature 
 in the transaction is the importance attached by the 
 Kirghese to an oath. They call \tjan-beru, or "giving 
 one's soul." 
 
 Concerning judgment and judges, every volost or 
 district has to select from 4 to 8 bis, each of whom may 
 decide cases not involving more than ^30. 
 
 Thus I had arrived at Suigati on an important 
 occasion, for the Kirghese had assembled for the pur- 
 pose of electing not merely judges, etc., but a volostnoi 
 naclialnik, or chief of the volost, whose office is a paid 
 one, whilst the bis are unpaid. On such occasions a 
 representative, called in Russ a piatedesiatnik, or 
 fiftieth, is sent by every 50 tents throughout the 
 volost. Their office it is to choose a bi for every 200 
 kibitkas, as also a volostnoi, or chief of the volost. 
 The first thing to be done on the present occasion was 
 to call these representatives from out of the crowd by 
 name, the bis severally testifying as to their identity. 
 
 M. Troitzky then asked the representatives, of whom 
 there were 27, and all sitting in front of his tent door, 
 how much they would pay their chief per annum. 
 Three hundred roubles was the sum first proposed, 
 and then 500, with some dissentients, who were 
 requested to rise, and who did so to the number of 5 
 
A VISIT TO THE NOMADS. 155 
 
 only. Five hundred roubles, or ^50, being carried, 
 they were asked how much they would allow the chief 
 for his miillah, or secretary, and how much for his 
 djiguitt, or mounted messenger, whereupon they voted 
 6 for each. The emoluments of the office being 
 settled, they proceeded to elect the officer, M. 
 Troitzky first reminding them that the office would 
 be held for three years, and that they should, therefore, 
 be careful to choose a good man A table was placed 
 at the door of the tent, and on it two hats half covered 
 with handkerchiefs, to prevent the contents being 
 seen, whilst before it, in a semicircle, were seated the 
 2 7 representatives, to each of whom was given a nut, 
 to be placed in the receptacle for ayes or noes. M. 
 Troitzky told me that on a previous occasion he had 
 endeavoured to ensure privacy of voting by having 
 two basins for ayes and noes put in his tent, but that 
 some of the rascals had taken the nuts from one basin 
 to place in the other. The names of four candidates 
 were proposed, and on the first being named, aged 48, 
 all gave "their pebble" for him but three; in the case of 
 the second candidate the numbers were exactly re- 
 versed ; the third candidate secured 21 votes in his 
 favour, but the fourth only 7, the election ending in 
 favour of Nogai Bi, who, according to old-fashioned 
 Kirghese custom, ought to have been, like a bride- 
 groom, nearly stripped, then and there, by congratula- 
 tory friends of everything upon him, and his belongings 
 seized by one and another as a keepsake. But he was 
 a rich man, and powerfully built, and when they sur- 
 rounded him with congratulations his demeanour soon 
 showed that he personally thought the custom more 
 honoured in the breach than in the observance. 
 
 Thus ended this part of the day's proceedings, and 
 we were taken into the tent for refreshment and to 
 talk over w r hat we had seen. It was very clear that 
 M. Troitzky had no sinecure, for he was single-handed 
 in so far that he had no Russian help, but only that of 
 
156 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 one or two Kirghese interpreters. In his uyezd there 
 were 25 volosts, containing in all 40,000 tents. All 
 these he had to inscribe, and help to choose their 
 officers. He was telling us of his multifarious duties, 
 when he was suddenly called to action by some one 
 rushing into the tent, to report a fight going on. 
 
 Now the Kirghese laws concerning personal offences 
 are better defined than some others. Thus, to insult 
 a senior has to be atoned for by the fine of a khalat, 
 or bowing to the ground to ask pardon. To insult an 
 equal entails having to ask forgiveness only, and abuse 
 behind a person's back does not count, but naughty 
 children are punished as the parents may desire. 
 
 In the present instance M. Troitzky quickly left 
 the tent, and I wondered what gentle methods of 
 persuasion he, the only European there be it remem- 
 bered except ourselves, would use to pacify the two 
 combatants, surrounded as they were by hundreds of 
 these Kazaks, whose very name bespeaks them 
 ruffians. Would he place himself between, and entreat 
 them to be reconciled ? Not a bit of it ! I left the 
 tent a minute later to see what he would do, when 
 behold ! he had sprung upon his horse, rushed into 
 the crowd, and, whip in hand, was dealing out blows 
 right and left, and scattering the crowd like a pack 
 of curs. His interpreters followed suit, and so 
 speedily had everyone taken to his heels, that it was 
 not easy to find the combatants. M. Troitzky then 
 returned to the tent, having given orders that the man 
 who began the quarrel should be brought to him. 
 One was led forward, shaking in his shoes, and 
 declaring that it was not he who provoked the quarrel, 
 whereupon the Russian officer adroitly answered, 
 " Very well ; then go and find me the man who did ! " 
 This he left the tent to clo, whilst we went on our 
 way. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FROM VIERNY TO TASHKEND. 
 
 Departure from Vierny. Journey to Kastek. Branch road to Issik- 
 Kul. Arrival at Suigati. Nogai Bi's cattle. The River Chu. 
 An aul of Kirghese. Birth and naming of children. Pishpek 
 botanical garden. Setting a Yemstchik's leg. Aulie-Ata. Kir- 
 ghese wares, industries, and commercial customs. Visit to Aulie- 
 Ata's tomb. Muhammadan offerings and religious feasting. 
 Analogies in Christendom. Departure from Aulie-Ata. Journey 
 along the Aris. Chimkent uyezd, its houses and chief town. 
 Road through gardens. Arrival at Tashkend. 
 
 WE left Vierny at 10 o'clock on September 8th 
 to continue our journey westwards, our good 
 friend M. von Ghern trotting by our side to give us 
 a Russian farewell. It was beautiful weather for 
 travelling, and not too hot by clay, but it became chilly 
 immediately after sunset, and by the small hours of the 
 morning grew cold enough to make one thankful in 
 the tarantass for an Ulster and shawl. For some 
 distance out of the town the land was cultivated on 
 both sides of the road, and beside some of the settlers' 
 dwellings were stacks that might have been mistaken 
 for peat, but were in reality kiziak, or dried dung, that 
 is still used as fuel by the natives, even in wooded 
 localities. On our left were the mountains, partially 
 covered with forests, whither many of the inhabitants 
 go to live in chalets in summer, and the governor of 
 the province among them. At our first station, 
 Kiskilenskaia, we were offered pretty ornaments of 
 
158 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 agalmatholite, or "figure stone," called by the natives 
 kalyptash, or stone for bullet-moulds (from kalyp, form, 
 and tasli, a stone). The stone is found within a few versts 
 of Kiskilenskaia, as also between Kopal and Vierny, 
 likewise in Kashgar, and is so soft that it can almost be 
 cut with a knife, or scratched with the thumb-nail. It 
 is sold in Vierny fashioned into paper-weights polished 
 with wax, and pen-trays, two of which M. von Ghern 
 had given me as geological specimens. Our second 
 station was Uzun-Agach (Long Tree), the scene of a 
 battle in 1864, between the Russians and the Kho- 
 kandians. 
 
 SUMMER RESIDENCE OF THE GOVERNOR OF SEMIRECHIA. 
 
 Thus far we had travelled only fairly well, for though 
 the broken wheel of our luggage-cart had been mended 
 at Vierny, the vehicle twice broke down before even- 
 ing, by which time we reached Sam-Su, near the ruins 
 of Fort Kastek. Here a message from the authorities 
 at Vierny had preceded me that horses should be in 
 readiness, and the amiable old post-master, thinking 
 that some one of importance must be coming, had put 
 out bread and salt for a welcome, and he inquired 
 privately of Mr. Interpreter by what titles he should 
 address me. 
 
 Had we intended to visit Lake Issik-Kul, this would 
 
FROM VIERNY TO TASHKEND. 
 
 J 59 
 
 have been the point from which to turn our faces south 
 wards over the Kastek Pass, 3,300 feet high, to the 
 head waters of the Chu, along the bed of which the 
 post-road runs through the Buam defile, called by the 
 natives the Happy Pass, to the station Kutemaldi. 
 The beauty of this defile is greatly extolled by 
 travellers. The road then skirts the northern shore 
 of the Issik-Kul, between its extreme western and 
 eastern points. 
 
 THE BUAM PASS ON THE ROAD TO ISSIK-KUL. 
 
 From Kastek or Sam-Su, where we had arrived at 
 even, the old post-road would have led us up into 
 the mountains to Tokmak, and then on to Pishpek, a 
 route that M. von Ghern had been desirous that I 
 should take, with a view to seeing the Kara-Kirghese 
 in their native haunts. But the road was said to be 
 almost too bad for a carriage, and I had determined 
 accordingly to keep to the lower road, which had been 
 made in 1870 to avoid the steep and dangerous 
 gradients of the old route. Accordingly we drove 
 
160 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 along the Kopa valley, passing three stations during 
 the night, and arriving in time for breakfast at Suigati, 
 where the diversion awaited us, described in the last 
 chapter, of a visit to the Kirghese election. 
 
 Nogai Bi, whom we saw elected chief of the volost, 
 was reckoned a fairly rich man ; but not like Nabal, 
 who had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats (i Sam. xxv. 2), 
 or Job, with 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 2,000 oxen, 
 and 1,000 she asses (Job xlii. 12); though these 
 numbers need surprise no one after hearing of the 
 millions of cattle on the Kirghese Steppe. This 
 modern patriarch of our acquaintance owned to pos- 
 sessing merely 150 horses, 500 sheep, 30 cows, 20 
 camels, 2 tents, and- 4 wives ! His rich tent, erected 
 for the Russian officer, also bespoke its owner's 
 opulence, as did his massive silver girdle, four or five 
 inches wide, and nearly half-an-inch thick, the value 
 of which he put at a prohibitive figure, though I 
 secured one of his Kirghese rings which is now in the 
 British Museum.* 
 
 I took occasion at Suigati to ask the official inter- 
 preters, who seemed intelligent fellows, what they 
 thought of the version I had with me of the New 
 Testament. They replied that it was not true Kirghese, 
 
 * Xogai Bi's girdle reminded me by contrast of that of John the Baptist. 
 " a girdle of a skin about his loins " (Mark i. 6), and enabled one the 
 .better to realize the indignity put upon the Jews in Bokhara by the 
 Emir, who allows no Israelite, however rich, to gird himself with other 
 than a piece of string. Nogai Bi had also four servants, but whether 
 formerly slaves I know not. The Kirghese made slaves of all heretics 
 they could, and even of Shiite Mussulmans, though it is forbidden to 
 Muhammadans to make slaves of their co-religionists, as it was to the 
 Israelites to treat as bondmen their fellow-countrymen (Lev. xxv. 42). 
 They evaded the precepts of the Koran by regarding the Shiites as 
 heretics. This is not allowed under Russian rule ; but reference to the 
 custom helps to illustrate another feature in Jewish patriarchal life, 
 where we read of Abraham's "servants born in his own house," and 
 others "bought with money of any stranger." The same practice 
 obtained in Mosaic times, with bondmen bought of the heathen round 
 about. Abram's wealth is seen in his 318 trained servants, with whom 
 he attacked the 4 kings, and delivered men, women, and goods, that 
 had apparently been seized very much in the fashion of a Kirghese 
 baranta or Turkoman raid (Gen. xiv. 14, xvii. 12 ; Lev. xxv. 44). 
 
FROM VIERNY TO TASHKEND. 161 
 
 but "a mixture of Turkish and Arabic, which," said 
 they, "makes Tatar." 
 
 On leaving Suigati, after a pleasant stay with 
 M. Troitzky, we once more proceeded westwards, 
 and forded the River Chu. As we approached 
 Constantinovsk, where the Kirghese devote some 
 amount of time at least to agriculture, we passed by 
 the largest aul we had seen. The number of children 
 running about attracted our attention, many of them 
 nude, and evidently brought up under circumstances 
 as rough as those in which they began life ; for the 
 mother, having been at work to the last, simply wraps 
 her new-born infant in a cloth in summer, or in a 
 sheepskin in winter, and there ends the business. 
 The one right the mother possesses is to name the 
 new-born child,* and this she exercises in an original 
 manner, sometimes calling her infant by the first object 
 that meets her eye after delivery, whence such curious 
 names as It-Ayak^ or "dog's foot." 
 
 We crossed the Chu by a wooden bridge, and, after 
 driving 1 5 miles, arrived at 6 o'clock at Pishpek, where 
 the new road, by which we had come, joined the old 
 one from Tokmak. Pishpek is a village with wide 
 streets and a school, wherein the master showed us a 
 small collection of local butterflies and beetles, but the 
 principal object of attraction for us was a large botanical 
 garden, to the superintendent of which, M. Fetissof, 
 we had an introduction. To his house the obliging 
 starosta took us, but, unfortunately, he was not at 
 home, whereupon the schoolmaster accompanied us to 
 the garden. 
 
 The trees were only young, and the weeds were 
 high, but it was evident that M. Fetissof had before 
 him a vast undertaking, and that he had brought 
 
 * With this might be compared the circumstances of birth and giving 
 of names in the cases of Rebekah, the mother of Esau and Jacob ; of 
 Rachel, who, in departing, called Benjamin " son of my sorrow " ; and 
 of Pharez, who was born before his twin brother, and, in consequence, 
 called a "breach " (Gen. xxv. 25, 26, xxxv. 16, 18, xxxviii. 28, 29). 
 
 I I 
 
162 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 together a considerable collection of trees, shrubs, and 
 plants indigenous to the region, and that he was 
 making experiments with a view of introducing others. 
 As it was uncertain when M. Fetissof would return, 
 I determined not to stay at Pishpek, but push on 
 through the night, now warmer than heretofore. 
 Morning found us still skirting the mountain range we 
 had had on our left all the way from Vierny. It was 
 a continuation of the Trans- Hi Ala-Tau that, west of 
 the Buam Pass, is called the Alexandrof range. Judged 
 by its Alpine vegetation, it appears to be from 9,000 to 
 10,000 feet high. 
 
 In the course of the night we passed Sukuluk, a 
 settlement with a score or more of houses, and arrived 
 at the fortified place Ak-Su, near which is a village 
 called Belovodsk, with wide streets lined by willows, 
 with a church, a school, and nearly a hundred houses,, 
 occupied for the most part by Russian colonists from 
 the government of Voronej and from Little Russia. 
 Dawn found us two stations further, at Chaldavar, 
 where we bought two ''Astrakhan " melons, that were, 
 considered choice, and by breakfast time we had 
 reached Merke. It is not many years since the line 
 of pickets between Tokmak and Aulie-Ata, with the 
 fortress of Merke, used to form the left flank of the 
 province of Turkistan. Now all wears an aspect of 
 peace. Colonies have been settled about some of the 
 pickets, newly-planted woods constantly appear, the 
 fortress is abolished, the surrounding country is dotted 
 over with the huts of Kirghese labourers, and Merke 
 is enlivened by the presence of post-office and tele- 
 graph clerks. 
 
 I took advantage of the presence of these latter indi- 
 viduals to send a telegram to General Kolpakovsky^ 
 for not until now had we reached the frontier of his 
 General Government of the Steppe, and were about to 
 pass out of Semirechia into Turkistan. I could not 
 but feel how much I owed to his Excellency's care and 
 
FROM VIERNY TO TASHKEXD. 
 
 163 
 
 attention. All had gone well, and I telegraphed to 
 thank him, and to say how much I had enjoyed my stay. 
 We were delayed for an hour or two at Merke for 
 the repair of the box I had fastened in the rear of 
 the tarantass, and wherein I had stowed my saddle. 
 This post-house was a vast improvement upon any of 
 those we had recently seen, and was kept by a Pole, 
 who bought a New Testament. From the next station, 
 Munkinsk, we gave a lift to the starosta, who seized 
 
 A RUSSIAN COLONIST 
 
 the opportunity of our coming to start on a journey, 
 and begged for a place on the luggage vehicle, which 
 vehicle, two stations further on, threatened to delay us 
 through the tire of the fore-wheel coming almost off. 
 Fortunately we found a wayside smith, who quickly 
 put it to rights for 4^., pleading by way of apology for 
 his charges that coal was dear, as indeed it well might 
 be, we thought, in such an outlandish place. 
 
 At the next station, Moldabavsk, we had drunk tea, 
 
1 64 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and were preparing to start, when one of the horses 
 kicked a Tatar yemstchik and fractured his leg above 
 the knee. This was clearly a case for Mr. Sevier's 
 attention ; so he first ordered the man to be put to bed, 
 when it turned out that his sleeping-place was in a 
 sledge, under an open shed. Here, therefore, we 
 bandaged up the limb in a box splint, extemporized 
 splints of split boards, bandaging with towels, and 
 tied round the limb with string. The patient was then 
 laid in the sledge with his leg somewhat elevated, and 
 with pendent stones for weights to straighten the 
 limb. He was told what to do for a month, given 
 some money, and the keeper of the inn enjoined to 
 take care of him, after which his good Samaritan left 
 him, roughly doctored, no doubt, but much better than 
 would have been his lot had no surgeon been there. 
 We then passed three stations during the night, and 
 arrived in the morning at Aulie-Ata. 
 
 Aulie-Ata stands on historic ground, with 4,500 
 inhabitants, in 741 houses, of which only 50 are occu- 
 pied by Russians, the remainder by natives, of whom 
 Kirghese form the largest proportion. I had, in fact, 
 at Vierny been told that I could purchase the best 
 articles of Kirghese manufacture in Aulie-Ata. Soon 
 after our arrival, therefore, we went to the offices of 
 the chief of the district, where we again found that 
 a telegram had preceded us to facilitate our procuring 
 horses. 
 
 The assistant chief and a military officer kindly 
 volunteered to accompany me to the market and 
 bazaar. The advantage of this we soon found ; for 
 not only were these officials accompanied by inter- 
 preters, but by djiguitts also, mounted forerunners, 
 who preceded us in the narrow crowded bazaar, and 
 speedily cleared the way. Indeed, it was ridiculous 
 to see how unceremoniously the djiguitts unhitched 
 standing horses, and set them adrift. 
 
 I found exposed here several articles of Kirghese 
 
FROM VIERNY TO TASHKEND, 165 
 
 make and use, among which were native hats, boots, 
 and bridles, some rude jewellery for ear-rings, orna- 
 mental tassels for suspending in the tent, and a piece 
 of female headgear called a tara, to hang in a double 
 row across the breast of an under-garment, also a 
 tchinikap, or wooden receptacle, in which to suspend 
 a basin when travelling. I bought specimens of all 
 these. I also saw exhibited a drink called airan, 
 made of whey sweetened with honey and cooled with 
 ice ; likewise tursuks, or goat-skins, for holding liquids. 
 
 The manners of the people were as novel to me as 
 their wares. Here was a man striving to allay the 
 dust, not with a water-cart, but by carrying a skin of 
 water, and sputtering it out of the aperture. Behind 
 the charcoal fire of a Kirghese smith sat an unfortunate 
 individual, whose calling in life was to blow the 
 bellows, consisting of two leather bags he had to press 
 alternately for 12 hours a day, and for which he was 
 paid 2s. a week. At many of the stalls they exhibited 
 in cages, for &d. each, quails or other small birds caught 
 by hawks. They teach them to sing and to fight. A 
 specimen of the latter exhibition they wished to show 
 rne, but I declined. A little further I noticed another 
 curiosity in the case of a hawk, through whose eyelids 
 they had passed and tied a piece of thread in such a 
 way as to draw the lids nearer together for a day or 
 two, the object, I was informed, being to converge the 
 axis of vision, so as to improve the bird for hawking 
 purposes. The market prices did not strike one as 
 exorbitant. For soap was asked 2\d., and potatoes \d. 
 per Ib. Large radishes cost \d. each. Salt, found 
 in the neighbourhood, cost is. ^d. per cwt., and barley 
 is. 6d. per cwt. Timber, however, was expensive, a 
 crooked log, 10 feet long by 6 inches in diameter, 
 being valued at 45., and a roughly-made wooden bed- 
 stead at as much as 24^. 
 
 Everything had to be purchased of course by hag- 
 gling, fixed prices being unknown, and I observed in 
 
1 66 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the course of my purchases an illustration of a custom 
 as old as the time of Job (xvii. 3), that of "striking 
 hands " in connection with suretyship or agreement. 
 A man had asked me too much for an article, and the 
 Russian officer, who accompanied me, offered a second 
 price, and then, after the Kirghese custom, held out 
 his hand, whereupon the salesman, hesitating a 
 moment, raised his hand, and, in token that he agreed 
 to the bargain, brought it down with a slap on the 
 officer's palm. We chanced to pass a barber's shop, 
 where a man, after having water poured on his head, 
 was shaved without soap with a Chinese razor, and 
 then put through a series of squeezings like those 
 experienced in a Turkish bath, this Eastern barber, as 
 usual, ending by kneading his body, pulling his joints, 
 slapping his back, and cracking his knuckles. Whilst 
 witnessing this operation my eyes fell upon a pair of 
 pincers, the length of curling-tongs, and nearly power- 
 ful enough to extract a tenpenny nail. I made bold 
 to ask what they were for, and was told they were 
 for extracting teeth which so tickled my fancy, that I 
 bought them forthwith as a curiosity. 
 
 The "lion," however, of Aulie-Ata is the tomb of 
 the local patron saint, that gives its name to the town. 
 The Kirghese make much of the resting-places of the 
 dead. Aulie-Ata (holy father) is said to have been 
 a certain Kara khan, and a descendant of the Sheikh 
 Ahmed Yesavi. W r e went out to the cemetery, and 
 found there two principal tombs. That of the saint, 
 said to have been buried 800 years ago, is built of 
 dried ornamental bricks, is of no architectural beauty, 
 and is fast falling to ruin. The doors leading to the 
 tomb are carved, and there are remains on the walls of 
 ornamented plaster. Near at hand was erected a pole 
 with a banner, called a bairak, usually placed about 
 the tombs of saints, and also near were rams' skulls 
 and horns, the remains, perhaps, of offerings. When 
 thus placed on a tomb, horns indicate that those buried 
 
FROM VIERN* TO TASHKEND. 167 
 
 were saints or heroes, or at any rate powerful or 
 eminent persons. Alexander the Great, who lives in 
 the traditions of the people further south, is called 
 "" the double-horned one," as in other parts of the 
 East, I am told, because on his coins are the horns 
 of Jupiter Ammon. This also illustrates the frequent 
 mention in Scripture of the horn as a symbol of power. 
 
 We were near coming in for a feast as we approached 
 the next tomb, that of Aulie-Ata's son, for there were 
 gathered about it a small crowd of women and chil- 
 dren, who had come there to pray and eat and play. 
 As it was to be my first and probably my only visit, I 
 wanted of course to see the place, and for that purpose 
 pushed my way into the enclosure, among the women 
 and children, but committed thereby, I fear, a breach 
 of Oriental etiquette, for the women crowded together, 
 and hid their faces, leaving, however, an eye uncovered, 
 that they might have a good look at the strangers, but 
 without bestowing a reciprocal favour upon us. We 
 then learned that several club together and buy a 
 sheep, and bring it here, usually on Thursday, to 
 eat, and hold a feast.* 
 
 We drove out of Aulie-Ata about noon on Thursday, 
 September i4th, having before us a journey of about 
 .200 miles to the capital. A djiguitt preceded us, 
 thanks to the courtesy of the local authorities, to show 
 us the burial-place of Aulie-Ata, already referred to. 
 Having examined the tomb, we crossed the plains in a 
 
 * This reminds one of those Jewish feasts in which religious cere- 
 monies were to be accompanied with eating 1 and rejoicing before the 
 Lord (Deut. xii. 18), and illustrates the doings of the Israelites before 
 the golden calf, when they offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace- 
 offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to 
 play (Exod. xxxii. 6). There is also the case of Aaron, and all the 
 elders of Israel, eating bread with Moses' father-in-law "before God" 
 (Exod. xviii. 12). It is interesting to notice that a remnant of this 
 practice still lingers in at least one branch (and that one the most 
 corrupt, perhaps, that I have seen) of the Christian Church namely, 
 the Armenian. The charge is sometimes brought that they continue 
 to offer animal sacrifices; but, upon inquiring of an intelligent Armenian 
 in the Caucasus, he told me that what they do is the lingering remnant 
 
1 68 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 south-westerly direction for 30 miles, and drank tea at 
 the third station, Tersk, on the stream of that name. 
 We were now approaching the watershed that sends 
 its rivers on one side into the Talas, and on the 
 other into the Jaxartes. The surface here and there 
 was somewhat uneven, as we were reminded at one 
 spot by the driver, who coolly suggested our getting 
 out, informing us that he was going to dash down a 
 place where it was very possible our coach might 
 upset. The vehicle came to no harm, however, and 
 we had a pleasant evening's drive, the horizon to the 
 left being bounded by one of the western spurs of the 
 Thian Shan, the Talasky Ala-Tau 
 
 After leaving Tersk, our road proceeded west for 
 47 miles along the course of the upper waters of 
 the Aris to the station Yas-Kichu, through a narrow 
 valley that cuts off from the Urtak mountains, the 
 offshoot of the Thian Shan, that forms the Kara- 
 Tau. 
 
 We passed over the road near the Aris during the 
 night, and so well did we travel, that between drinking 
 tea at Tersk and arriving early next morning at Chim- 
 kent, we accomplished 83 miles. Early in the Russian 
 occupation the uyezd of Chimkent had a nomad 
 population of 17,493 tents. This was in 1868, when 
 the city of Turkistan was included in the uyezd, and 
 the number of occupied houses in the two towns num- 
 bered only 3,467. Ten years later it amounted to 
 7,474, showing an increase of 4,009 inhabited houses, 
 or 1 1 6 per cent. 
 
 At Aulie-Ata we heard that 72 families of Men- 
 nonites had lately settled in the vicinity of Chimkent 
 and had received a goodly portion of land. 
 
 The town of Chimkent has a population of 5,121 
 
 of a heathen practice found in existence by the early teachers of 
 Christianity in the Caucasus, and which those missionaries did not 
 forbid ; but that in the present day it is not until after the sendees on 
 their great festivals that the people slay the animals they have brought 
 and so feast together. 
 
FROM VIERA T Y 7O TASHKEND. 169 
 
 but presents little that is remarkable, except a lofty 
 citadel, of which I saw nothing as we drove through 
 the town and bazaar in the very early morning. 
 The post-station is provided with a double number of 
 horses, and has additional importance by reason of its 
 being at the junction of the two roads from Orenburg 
 and Semirechia, the distance from Petersburg by 
 the former being 2,612 miles, and by the route I had 
 travelled 4,720 miles. 
 
 We had nothing to detain us at Chimkent, and 
 therefore posted on 10 miles further to Ak-Tash. 
 We subsequently ascended from an altitude of 1,650 
 feet over a number of hills, and about noon arrived 
 at the station Bekler-Bek. This is 700 feet higher, 
 and is noteworthy by reason of its old medresse, turned 
 into the Russian post-house. Beyond this station 
 the road, continuing south, passed a ruined fortifica- 
 tion on the frontier of the Kurama uyezd, into 
 which we passed, gradually descending to the valley 
 of the Keles, near whose river is situated the next 
 station, Sharapkhan. 
 
 So well did our horses take us on that we accom 
 plished the next stage of eight miles in three-quarters 
 of an hour, and we drank tea at Djeri, where the 
 post-master evinced his thankfulness for the New 
 Testament I sold him by regaling us with cakes. 
 Two stations further we came to Koplan-Bek, where 
 it became manifest that we were approaching a large 
 town. We no longer had open country on either hand, 
 but the road was confined by the high mud walls 
 of gardens and summer-houses. 
 
 And so we approached Tashkend, the head-quarters 
 of the Russian administration. In size and extent, 
 it covers as much ground as Paris. It is one of the 
 largest towns, not only of Turkistan, but of the whole 
 of Central Asia, its population being equalled only by 
 Bokhara, and its extent by Khokand. Tashkend is, 
 moreover, an ancient town, with a beginning lost in the 
 
-i;o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 depths of time. It is situated on the high plateau we 
 had commenced to mount twenty miles from Chimkent. 
 On one side Tashkend touches the Russian quarter, but 
 on the remaining sides it is surrounded by gardens, 
 through which we were passing. Like all large Central 
 Asian towns, Tashkend was surrounded by a high 
 castellated wall, and was pierced by twelve gates, called 
 .darwazas. The wall took a circular form, and had a 
 circumference of 13 miles, the gates bearing the names 
 of the towns in the direction of which they faced. 
 Now, towards the Russian quarter, the whole of this 
 wall has been taken down and the ground levelled. 
 Here, too, the gates have been removed, though they 
 still remain in the other directions. 
 
 Through one of these gates we entered about eight 
 o'clock on the evening of the I5th September, not a 
 little pleased at being back once more within the region 
 of comparative civilization, and perceiving Russian 
 cabs and soldiers about the streets, though there was 
 little enough of light proceeding from the street oil 
 lamps to see them very clearly. We made for what 
 had been recommended to us as the best hotel, but 
 where they had no room, so that we had to try the 
 Hotel "Nicolaeff," a sorry place, yet we were glad of a 
 rest, and still more x>f a bath, after which it was a real 
 comfort once more to get into beds, to which we had 
 been strangers since leaving Vierny. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 
 
 Asiatic and Russian Tashkend. Visit to the Governor-General. 
 Arrangements for distribution of Scriptures, and my onward 
 journey. Visits to synagogues and the military hospital. Asylum 
 for the aged. The officers' club. 
 
 D is a dual city, of which the two 
 parts are so distinct and so unlike that a visitor 
 may sometimes walk a considerable distance without 
 meeting a Russian in one or a native in the other. 
 European Tashkend is but of yesterday Asiatic Tash- 
 kend of more than a thousand summers, the Arabs 
 having conquered it so early as A.D. 738. 
 
 The population of Asiatic Tashkend, for the more 
 part, is grouped according to trades, and the number 
 of buildings is about 17,500, the population, according 
 to the census of 1868, being 76,000. 
 
 There are several good shops in the Russian quarter, 
 where European articles can be procured at about 
 the double of European prices, and, considering the 
 distance and difficulty of transit, this is not perhaps 
 exorbitant. Russian Tashkend boasts, too, of an ob- 
 servatory, about a mile out of the town, a Central Asian 
 museum, and public library, all of which I visited. 
 
 My hotel, so called, was situated in the Russian part 
 of Tashkend, where, having arrived on Friday night, 
 my first care next morning was to visit the Governor- 
 General. General Chernaieff, recently appointed to the 
 
172 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 office, had not yet arrived from Petersburg, but was 
 represented meanwhile by General A. K. Abramoff, 
 Governor of the province of Ferghana. The chief 
 administration of Turkistan being centred in Tashkend, 
 the palace, as might be supposed, is the finest house in 
 the town. General Abramoff, however, at the time of 
 my visit was staying in the Governor-General's summer 
 villa, in the outskirts of the town a charming residence 
 buried amongst trees, that, in Turkistan, would be con- 
 sidered fine. Thither we drove, and were ushered into 
 the study of the General, who impressed me favourably 
 by his unassuming dignity and apparent thoroughness. 
 Having presented the letter I received from General 
 Chernaieff at Petersburg, my first care was to arrange 
 for the distribution of such Scriptures as I had for the 
 prisons, hospitals, and public institutions throughout 
 Turkistan. I inquired how many would be needed for 
 Ferghana, and was at once struck with the minute 
 acquaintance his Excellency appeared to possess con- 
 cerning his own province. "In the prison at Khokand," 
 said he, i4 there are 6 rooms ; in Marghellan, 16 ; in 
 Namangan, 8 ; Andijan, 4, and Osh, 3 ; whilst the 
 rooms in the hospitals are, Marghellan, 20 ; Khokand, 
 10 ; Andijan, 6 ; Namangan, 5 ; and Osh, 5 ; or you 
 may send 100 in all, in about equal proportions of 
 Russian and Tatar." These his Excellency undertook 
 to distribute as I wished, so that there should be at all 
 times some portion of Holy Scripture within reach of 
 every prisoner and patient in Ferghana, and he kindly 
 undertook also to see the same arrangement carried out 
 for the Syr-daria province.* By a fortunate coinci- 
 dence it happened that General Ivanoff, Governor of the 
 Zarafshan district, was staying at Tashkend, and pay- 
 ing a visit to the Governor-General at the same moment 
 
 * I subsequently learned that in the Syr-daria oblast the prisons and 
 hospitals were situated at Aulie-ata, Chimkent, Tashkend, Khojend, 
 Ura-Tiube, Jizakh, Turkistan, Perovsk, and Kazalinsk ; and that I 
 might reckon on an average four rooms to each, except Tashkend; 
 that had fifty. 
 
OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 173 
 
 as myself. He therefore heard my request to General 
 Abramoff, and gladly accepted a similar offer of books 
 for his own province. There were 15 rooms in the 
 prisons, and 25 in the hospitals, he said, of Samarkand, 
 
 4 in the prisons and 6 in the hospitals of Katte- Kurgan, 
 and 2 each in the prison and hospital of Penjakend. 
 ''About 40 books," he added, " might be sent in Russian, 
 
 5 in Tatar, 10 in Persian, and 2 or 3 in Hebrew." 
 Thus at a stroke I had arranged for all the prisons and 
 hospitals of Turkistan, except the mere handful that 
 would be required for the province of the Amu-daria. 
 
 My next business was to inquire respecting my 
 journey onwards. I wished to go to Khokand, 
 Samarkand, and Bokhara, from whence, I asked, could 
 I go by Charjui to Merv, or could I float down the 
 Oxus to Petro-Alexandrovsk, and thence to Khiva, 
 and across the desert to the Caspian ? The General 
 seemed to think that I ought to see more of Ferghana 
 than the town of Khokand, against which, however, 
 I pleaded lack of time, but he said that they could 
 not protect me from Charjui to Merv, and that it 
 would be impossible or far too dangerous a thing for 
 me to attempt to travel there from the eastern side, 
 whatever might be the possibilities of getting there 
 from the west. As for passing through Bokhara, and 
 floating down the Oxus, this he thought might be 
 done, though with difficulty, perhaps, as to the taran- 
 tass; and with regard to crossing the Aralo-Caspian 
 desert they could best advise me as to the safety 
 of attempting that when I reached Petro-Alex- 
 androvsk. At that place lived General Groten- 
 hielm, for whom a letter should be given me, as also 
 for the Emir of Bokhara, and the authorities at 
 Khokand. Nothing, therefore, could have been more 
 satisfactory ; and all this kindness was capped by 
 General Ivanoff, who invited me, during my sojourn 
 in Samarkand, to stay in his palace. 
 
 A third officer in the room was Colonel Mailievsky, 
 
174 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA, 
 
 the Vice-Governor of the town of Tashkend, with whom 
 I made arrangements to be taken on the morrow to the 
 local prison and hospitals, and then drove back to the 
 hotel, with a mind considerably relieved. Not only had 
 I now virtually accomplished the major part of my desire 
 respecting the distribution of the Scriptures, but I 
 began to see the feasibility of entering Khokand and 
 Bokhara, upon which no Englishman living had set 
 eyes, and on the realization of which by myself my 
 friends had been so sceptical. I had feared, too, 
 from various reports on my way, that I might have 
 to return by the less interesting Orenburg route, 
 where the postal service had broken down ; or still 
 worse, I might be obliged to retrace the way that 
 I came. 
 
 As it was Saturday, I thought that I could not do 
 better than spend the afternoon in a visit to the 
 Central Asian Jews. I had been favoured by Sir 
 Whittaker Ellis, Bart, (who, at the time of my leaving 
 London, was Lord Mayor, and Chairman of the 
 Committee for raising funds on behalf of the perse- 
 cuted Russian Jews), with a letter, stating that I was 
 travelling with a philanthropic object in connection 
 with hospitals and prisons, and commending me to 
 the courtesy and attention of any who might be able 
 to assist me. This had been translated for me very 
 kindly by Dr. Herman Adler, the delegate chief rabbi 
 in London, into rabbinic Hebrew, and, in addition, I 
 had had the document translated into Russian, Persian, 
 Arabic, and Turki. When, therefore, we were taken 
 to the synagogue in the Russian quarter, I presented 
 this letter as an introduction, and asked whether they 
 had any ancient manuscripts; but so far were they 
 from having things antique that everything appeared 
 almost new. I had rarely before entered a synagogue 
 so clean and bright. The walls had been newly white- 
 washed and ornamented with native painting ; and 
 though there was no service going on, there were 
 
OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 175. 
 
 several men and boys reading. They manifested the 
 utmost interest in my letter, but had nothing of great 
 ecclesiastical interest to show, whereupon I discovered 
 that we had been brought to the new synagogue of 
 the European Russian Jews, most of whom had come 
 to Turkistan as soldiers, and, on their discharge, had 
 preferred to settle in Tashkend rather than go back 
 to Russia. 
 
 We drove, therefore, to the native town to seek the 
 meeting-place of the Asiatic Jews, and after going as 
 far as the isvostchik, or cabman, could take us by reason 
 of the narrowness and miserable paving of the streets, 
 we took to our feet, and passing through narrow lanes 
 and alleys, came into a small yard, on one side of 
 which was a miserable shed with a lean-to roof of 
 poles, wretchedly covered, whilst under and all around 
 sat a crowd of people assembled for prayer and reading. 
 On the Friday evening the Jews assemble in the 
 synagogue, which is compared to a bridegroom, to wel- 
 come the coming in of the Sabbath, that is beautifully 
 personified in one of their prayers as a bride, whilst 
 on Saturday evening they gather to bid the Sabbath 
 farewell. Whether, on the present occasion, it was 
 this stated Sabbath evening service, or something of 
 a less formal character, I am not sure ; but so surprised 
 did they appear at our sudden visit, and, above all, 
 so curious to get a peep at my letter, that, the service 
 being speedily concluded, all crowded around. From 
 hence we were led to an adjacent part of the bazaar 
 to another assembly, where, within still narrower limits, 
 under a straw roof, a number of grave and reverend 
 elders were sitting on the ground and praying, or 
 reading and intoning. This struck me as a remarkable 
 sight, by reason of the magnificent faces of some of 
 the old men. With their huge turbans, of spotless 
 white, and Oriental flowing robes, they reminded me 
 of the typical Israelites, depicted by Holman Hunt 
 in his picture of finding Christ in the Temple, and 
 
176 2HROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 other works.* The miserable accommodation of the 
 Tashkend Jews, even for Divine worship, brought 
 vividly to one's mind to how low a condition this people 
 have sunk in some parts of their dispersion. They 
 read my letter, and received my visit evidently with 
 pleasure, and both showed me their copy of the law, 
 ornamented with silver and precious stones, and also 
 permitted me to look into the cupboard containing 
 
 A JEW OF CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 their books. These last did not appear very plentiful, 
 and as I had brought some Hebrew Old Testaments 
 with me, I offered to sell them at reasonable prices 
 if they would come to the hotel. Their Torah, or 
 manuscript of the law, had been written and mounted 
 
 * The Jews of Central Asia, like the Sarts, shave their heads, except 
 that they leave a lock falling in a curl from each temple. This patch 
 of hair is left uncut, in obedience to Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 5 " Neither 
 shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard," which, by transference from 
 the beard to the hair, is fairly intelligible ; though it is not so patent 
 how they evade the other command "They shall not make baldness 
 upon their head," for this appears to be the very thing these Jews do. 
 
OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 177 
 
 in Bokhara, but was not remarkable. Their having 
 no synagogue, together with the poverty and ill- 
 furnished condition of their hired place of prayer, was 
 explained to a large extent by the fact that almost 
 all the Jews in Tashkend are traders and sojourners 
 only, and also by the oppression to which, before the 
 Russian occupation, they were subject under the Khans 
 of Khokand. We called later on the leading Jew 
 of the town, named Abdurrhamanoff, said to be a 
 very rich man, who was living in a fine native house, 
 built and ornamented in the style of the Sarts. He 
 had travelled a good deal, but not so far as England. 
 
 On Sunday we found that there was no Protestant 
 service in the town, and I was called upon in the 
 course of the day, and asked to conduct one for the 
 Germans ; but as my linguistic powers were not equal 
 to this, and they understood no English, I was power- 
 less. I heard of one English woman in the town, 
 but was not so fortunate as to find her at home. 
 After the Russian morning service the Nachatnik 
 gorod, or head of the town, took me to visit first the 
 prison, which I shall describe hereafter, and then to the 
 military hospital, where we were received by Colonel 
 Serpitzky and Dr. Proskouriakoff. In both places 
 I distributed something for the inmates to read, and 
 found my pamphlets readily accepted. Whilst driving 
 through the principal open place, we stopped for a 
 few minutes at the grave of General von Kaufmann, 
 who is buried in the middle of the town. A few 
 wreaths remained on the mound, but no permanent 
 monument was as yet erected. 
 
 The hospital is in the suburbs, near the Salar Canal. 
 On the 1 7th September, the day of my visit, there 
 were in the hospital 14 officers, 260 soldiers, and 31 
 women, 305 in all, out of which number 35 were 
 prisoners. On the corresponding day of the previous 
 year there were in hospital 358 patients. The most 
 common diseases in Tashkend are fever and diarrhoea. 
 
 12 
 
i;8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Colonel Serpitzky took us from the hospital to an 
 asylum close by for old men and women, so spotlessly 
 clean and nice that I was constrained to write "almost 
 too good." The asylum had been built largely through 
 the means, I believe, of the Colonel, and is supported 
 by voluntary contributions ; but, though they could 
 accommodate 30 inmates, their income allowed of only 
 7 being admitted. I tasted the soup, and found it 
 so good as to lead me to exclaim, " Would that I could 
 have obtained the like on the road hither ! " The 
 falling short of its original conception, apparent in 
 the asylum, points, I am beginning to think, to a failing 
 in the Russian character, of which we were reminded a 
 second time on the same day, when Colonel Serpitzky 
 kindly introduced us to the officers' club, where we 
 could comfortably dine during our stay. " Go to," the 
 committee had said, money in hand, " let us build a 
 club that shall be worthy of so important a place as 
 Tashkend ! " and thereupon they had designed a 
 building so pretentious that this sage committee found 
 their money spent, their club incomplete, and them- 
 selves exposed to the taunt that they had begun to 
 build, but were not able to finish. We were provided 
 with an excellent dinner the best we had eaten for 
 many days and we then returned to our grand hotel, 
 to find that during our absence the Governor-General 
 had honoured us with a call. Later in the evening two 
 German gentlemen paid us a visit, one of whom said 
 that he had come from Khiva in a tarantass, but 
 under exceptional circumstances, and we heard from 
 another quarter that the road was exceedingly difficult. 
 But before we could think of starting south, I had 
 many persons to visit, places to see, and arrangements 
 to make, to the doing of which we addressed ourselves 
 on the Monday morning. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 OUR STAY AT TASHKEND (Continued}. 
 
 Bible work at Tashkend. Visit to M. Oshanin at the Museum. 
 Antiquities and curiosities. Assistance from Colonel Maieff. Visit 
 to Asiatic Tashkend. Purchase of Sart curiosities. Household 
 commodities. Imports and exports of Tashkend. Visit to semi- 
 nary for training teachers, and to the observatory. Visit to Colonel 
 Serpitzky at the camp. Distribution of religious literature. The 
 public library. Dining with the Governor-General. Arrangements 
 for departure. 
 
 I TOOK an early opportunity at Tashkend of 
 looking into the prospects there of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society. For a long time the eyes 
 of the Committee in Petersburg had been turned in the 
 direction of Central Asia before a suitable agent pre- 
 sented himself by whom they could commence opera- 
 tions. At length it came to pass that a body of 
 German sectaries, called Mennonites, to avoid military 
 service in Russia, determined to proceed to one of the 
 independent khanates in Central Asia. Among them 
 was a man who had previously acted as a colporteur, 
 .and he proposed that he should take with him copies 
 of the Scriptures, and endeavour to open a depot. 
 The Governor-General had given permission that the 
 depot might be opened, and I went on the Monday 
 to see the house which had been hired. It was well 
 situated in one of the best business streets of the town, 
 and in the care of Mr. John Bartschand his brother, but 
 not yet properly fitted. A few books had been sent 
 by the post, by the route I travelled, at great cost and 
 
ifio THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 much damage to the volumes ; but a large caravan 
 consignment was expected by way of Orenburg, which 
 not having arrived, my hopes of replenishing my stock 
 of Asiatic Scriptures were doomed to disappointment. 
 This was the more unfortunate, because I could not 
 send so many copies as I wished in Asiatic languages 
 for the hospitals and prisons, though I left directions 
 at the depot that they should be supplied ; nor could 
 I increase my scanty store for distribution amongst the 
 Muhammadans. I was able to get 150 additional 
 Russian Scriptures, for which I left 27 copies of 
 Hebrew, Sclavonic, and German to render more 
 complete the stock of the depot, and then I made up 
 at the hotel three parcels of Scriptures and other 
 publications for the prisons and hospitals.* From the 
 acting Governor-General I received a very appreciative 
 note, written thus: " With special acknowledgment I 
 accept the books you have sent, and will order them 
 to be distributed and made use of according to your 
 wish. The report concerning their distribution I shall 
 have the honour of sending you to London. Allow me 
 to thank you with my whole heart for your truly 
 Christian work on behalf of the moral enlightenment 
 of the poor and unfortunate in our district." 
 
 We took an early opportunity to call, at the school 
 of silkworm culture, on M. Oshanin, to whom I had 
 more than one introduction, and whose name I had 
 frequently heard mentioned on my way in connection 
 with scientific pursuits. He gave us a hearty welcome, 
 and afforded me much information. He had been a 
 pupil of Professor Bogdanoff, of Moscow, and entomo- 
 logy was his strong point ; his speciality being the 
 study of what are vulgarly called 4k bugs," but in scien- 
 
 * They were sent as follows : To General Abramoff, for Ferghana, 
 51 Scriptures and 160 tracts; to General Ivanoff, for the Zarafshan 
 district, 47 Scriptures and 120 tracts ; and to Colonel Mailefsky, for the 
 Syr-daria province, 67 Scriptures and 400 tracts ; together with, in each 
 case, 6 copies of the illustrated Russia?! Workman, and 3 of the 
 "Prodigal Son." 
 
O UR STA Y AT TA SHKEND. 1 8 1 
 
 tific parlance hemiptera, or one of that order of insects 
 that feed on animal or vegetable juices by means of a 
 sucking-tube. Of these he had a very fine collection, 
 exceedingly well arranged, and such was his love of 
 the study, that he had learned English chiefly for the 
 sake of mastering the treasures of its entomological 
 literature. He was able to give me sundry hints as to 
 where I might find information respecting the natural 
 history of Turkistan, and it was from his lips, curiously 
 enough, at Tashkend, that I first heard of a well-known 
 naturalist, Mr. Robert MacLachlan, F.R.S., living in 
 the next parish to my own in England. M. Oshanin 
 secured for me a valuable book I have not yet seen 
 in England on the fauna and flora of the Kyzyl- Kum 
 desert and the Khivan oasis. He had to tell also 
 of an interesting expedition he had made four years 
 previously beyond the Russian border in Karategin. 
 M. Oshanin is curator of the Tashkend museum, 
 through which we walked and noticed a number of 
 interesting ethnographical specimens, as well as a few 
 antiquities. There was, for instance, a good collection of 
 enamelled tiles and bricks from Kuldja and Samarkand, 
 and a vase with a pedestal found in the mountains near 
 Aulie-Ata, so near the ancient episcopal Almati, that 
 it was thought it might be a baptismal font. There was 
 also a bronze bell, found in the neighbourhood of 
 Tashkend, 6 inches high, with a diameter of 4 inches 
 at the base, with metal \ of an inch thick, but the 
 clapper is wanting. We saw also ancient coins, and 
 some Greek fire bombs of earthenware, with grooves 
 on the convex side. To the foregoing may be added 
 sundry Buddhist idols, in metal, and one in trachyte. 
 There were, likewise, certain botanical specimens, as 
 the sponge plant, having a fruit resembling sponge 
 inside, which is used by the natives ; and chigi, a textile 
 plant cultivated at Kuldja. M. Oshanin not only 
 showed us all that he thought might be interesting, but 
 kindly gave me a small collection of Turkistan seeds, 
 
182 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 chiefly cereals, and two live tortoises, which it was 
 supposed I might be able to get safely to England. 
 
 There \vas another gentleman to whom I had an 
 introduction, and whose acquaintance I was thankful to 
 make, who has done so much, both by his travels and 
 his pen, to make the country known. I mean Colonel 
 Nicolai Alexandrovitch Maieff, the well-known editor 
 of the Turkistan Gazette. I could have had no better 
 authority for accurate information and statistics concern- 
 ing Central Asia, and I was gratified by his telling me 
 that the Governor-General, who seemed to expect that 
 I should make a longer stay than I did, had asked 
 Colonel Maieff to be of use to me, which he was abun- 
 dantly ready to be, both in making excursions, and in 
 providing me with a number of Russian books not 
 easily accessible, and in some cases not existing, in 
 England. He also gave me several photographs, and 
 put me in the way of getting others, many of them by 
 amateurs, which have helped to illustrate my writings. 
 
 I had introductions to nearly a score of persons in 
 Tashkencl, and so need hardly say that our time was 
 fully occupied. Early on Tuesday morning Colonel 
 Poukoloff came to invite us to dine on the day follow- 
 ing at the palace of the Governor-General, and he 
 then conducted us to the Asiatic part of the town. We 
 took a droshky for this purpose, our conductor remark- 
 ing that he could not take his own carriage into the 
 native town by reason of the roughness of the roads, 
 and the consequent damage to any but the strongest 
 of carriage-springs. Before us rode a djiguitt and two 
 aksakals, or native elders, with a rich Sart, said to be 
 a friend of the Colonel's, as interpreter, and these signs 
 of importance going before, and our conductor being 
 known as the head of the town, we had a good oppor- 
 tunity of witnessing the respect that is paid by Orientals 
 to one high in office. When the crowds caught sight 
 of us they not only respectfully made way and stood 
 on either side of the street, but those who were 
 
OUR STAY Al TASHKEND. 183 
 
 sitting arose, and such as knew the Colonel personally 
 stroked their beards. Men on horseback dismounted, 
 stood, and bowed, and laughing children running about 
 suddenly pulled up at the roadside in perfect order 
 until we had passed. It was, in fact, just as if I had 
 suddenly sprung back to a stage of civilization por- 
 trayed in the Book of Job.* 
 
 The only building we saw in Old Tashkend that I 
 deemed worth making a single note about was the 
 Medresse Beklar Bek, built of brick, now having only 
 
 SARTS IN THE BAZAAR. 
 
 about 50 students, but from the top of which we gained 
 a view of the uninteresting Asiatic town. The low, 
 flat housetops of earth, the want of regular lines of 
 streets, and the absence of colour about the houses, 
 made the city one of the most dismal I had ever 
 looked down upon. Few of the buildings had an 
 upper story, the dull monotony of the plain of roofs 
 
 * Job xxix. 7, 8 : "When I went out to the gate through the city, 
 when I prepared my seat in the street ! The young men saw me, and hid 
 themselves : and the aged arose, and stood up. The princes refrained 
 talking, and laid their hand on their mouth." 
 
1 84 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 being relieved only by bald mosques and minarets, or, 
 sometimes better, by trees. We continued our way 
 through very narrow, ugly streets to the old bazaar, 
 composed of rows of dirty-looking shops, there being 
 frequently stretched overhead a loose roofing of dried 
 branches, that had doubtless a few weeks back done 
 service in keeping off the rays of the summer sun. 
 
 The new native bazaar in Russian Tashkend is 
 cleaner, and better stocked, and therein we had pro- 
 cured abundance of excellent fruit ; but we were now 
 in search of antiques and native curiosities. We saw 
 displayed Bokhariot and Kashgar carpets or rugs, the 
 former about ^4 each, the latter half that price. A 
 very handsome Sart tent, lined with native silk through- 
 out, that would have looked exceedingly well on an 
 English lawn, was offered us for 12. It was, of 
 course, too bulky for me to carry, or at least I thought 
 so, and I had to confine myself to the purchase of 
 smaller things. Prominent among these was a chambar, 
 or pair of chocolate leather pantaloons, gorgeously 
 embroidered in all the colours of the rainbow. At the 
 bottom they are big enough for a lady's waist, and 
 none but a Falstaff could ever hope to fill them at the 
 top, so that when first offered to me, who am of pro- 
 portions Slender, I laughed outright. I was bidden, 
 however, not to despise them, for that when I came to 
 horseback travelling I might find them both warm and 
 at the same time useful, when tied at the bottoms, for 
 stowing away one's linen or other goods as in veritable 
 "bags." I was glad to get some native pockets and 
 purses, together with the leather suspender to which 
 they are tied, and hung from the girdle, something 
 after the fashion of a lady's chatelaine, and of which 
 they are so much a part that the whole girdle and 
 things suspended therefrom are called by one name, 
 kalta* We purchased pocket handkerchiefs and skeins 
 
 * Similarly we read, "Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass, in 
 your purses," fls ras wvas, literally, in your girdles (Matt. x. 9). 
 
OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 185 
 
 of native silk, the latter very glossy, and dyed and sold 
 largely by the Jews, who from the numbers we saw in 
 the bazaar, and their begrimed appearance, gave one 
 the idea that they engage a good deal in handicrafts, 
 especially dyeing. There were on sale, too, tibeteikas, 
 or skull caps, constantly worn by the Muhammadans, 
 even in-doors. Some of these caps from Shahr-i-sebz 
 in Bokhara show great taste and skill in needlework. 
 A specimen Central Asian padlock I secured is of iron, 
 
 A SART IN TIBETEIKA AND KHALAT. 
 
 with a cylindrical body, the key being formed of a tube 
 with a female screw, which, fitting on a screw in the 
 lock, on being turned, withdraws the bolt from the hasp. 
 Fairly good Russian knives were plentiful, but the 
 native scissors, with blades angular in section, were so 
 clumsily made as to be worth buying for a curiosity. 
 Embroidered slippers, such as I had seen in the 
 Caucasus, were offered for sale, but were not so 
 remarkable as some thin muslin handkerchiefs or 
 shawls, embroidered in flossy silk, with the peculiarity 
 
1 86 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 that the work is alike on both sides. This constantly 
 attracts the attention and puzzles the skill of my lady 
 friends, who say they could not do the like. I bought 
 for the British Museum a Central Asian chilim, or 
 water-pipe. The body is formed of a gourd mounted 
 in engraved brass, filled in with red and black, and 
 set with imitation turquoises. The stems are of reed, 
 engraved and blackened, and the bowl of pale red 
 ware painted in cream colour on a brown or red 
 ground, with green borders, brilliantly glazed. But 
 the purchases in Tashkend I treasure most are an 
 embroidered cushion cover of soft leather, and a 
 very handsomely embroidered table-cloth, in which 
 the colours are boldly but beautifully blended, never 
 failing to call forth the admiration of those who see 
 them. 
 
 Thus far I have spoken of curiosities and fancy 
 articles. Domestic expenses in Tashkend may be judged 
 from the following mention of prices. House rent 
 is dearer than at Petersburg, and the same, I should 
 think (judging from one house and grounds quoted 
 to me at ^80 per annum), as in provincial towns in 
 England. Domestic servants on board wages receive 
 from \2s. to 1 8s. per month, a nurse 16^., and laundress 
 from i6s. to 2os. Russian men-servants expect 30^. 
 a month and upwards, but natives from i6s. to 
 i Ss. White bread costs i\d. a Ib. ; cooking butter 
 Sd., and fresh butter $s. a Ib. ; a sucking-pig from 
 2s. to 4s. ; the best beef and veal, 1 1^. a Ib. ; a turkey 
 from 1 2s. to i/\.s. ; a chicken 8d. to is. ; and pheasants 
 lod. each. 
 
 With regard to the import and export trade of 
 Tashkend, some faint idea may be formed of its 
 extent from the fact that in 1876 goods arrived at the 
 town from Russia, Bokhara, Semipolatinsk, and various 
 parts of Turkistan and Semirechia, on 23,669 camels, 
 804 carts, and 1,355 horses. Over against this there 
 were sent away goods on 2,323 camels, about half of 
 
UR STA Y AT TA SHKEND. 1 87 
 
 which went to Russia, and a fourth each to Khokand 
 and Asiatic Tashkend. There is a spring and an 
 autumn fair at the capital. 
 
 On leaving the bazaar in Asiatic Tashkend we 
 returned to the Russian quarter of the town to visit 
 the seminary for training schoolmasters, and here we 
 met the Vice-Governor. There were 55 pupils, n of 
 whom were Kirghese. The institution reminded me 
 of a similar one I visited in 1879 at Kasan, where youths 
 from the surrounding native tribes were educated with- 
 out payment, and sent back to their various nationalities 
 as instructors. Upon mentioning that I had visited 
 the place at Kasan, the director of the Tashkend 
 seminary told me that he was trained there. The 
 course at the seminary comprises the studies followed 
 in the first four classes of the gymnase, or high school. 
 I was much pleased with their singing, and noticed that 
 each member of the choir, singularly enough, had light 
 hair. They produced a powerful body of harmony, that 
 was heard to good effect in the " Prayer of Alexander 
 Nevsky," Lvof's " National Anthem," and in the chro- 
 matic progressions of the beautiful " Cherubim" by 
 Berdniansky. I sent a few Scriptures for distribution 
 in this seminary. 
 
 Our visit to the seminary over, we drove to the 
 observatory, getting on the way a good view of the 
 broad streets of Russian Tashkend, and in the suburbs 
 of some of the substantial merchants' houses with their 
 gardens. We received a hearty welcome from M. 
 Fomerantzoff, the director of the astronomical obser- 
 vatory, to whom I presented my introduction from 
 Captain Rykatcheff, chief of the meteorological obser- 
 vatory in Petersburg. He willingly showed us all that 
 was of interest, and gave me a record of the local 
 temperature and precipitation (or fall of rain, snow, sleet, 
 and hail) of the preceding year. 
 
 After seeing the observatory, we went to pay an 
 evening visit to the camp, where we found Colonel 
 
1 88 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Serpitzky in command of a battalion of a thousand 
 men of the 1 2th Turkistan infantry. We were shown 
 the canteen and barracks. They struck me as decidedly 
 lacking in comfort, and, although the men looked cheer- 
 ful enough, I could not help suspecting that English 
 soldiers would not have been so amiable in such 
 quarters. The Turkistan Gazette, alluded to earlier 
 in this chapter, speaks of a recent revision of the 
 Turkistan province by Senator Giers, who found 
 that enormous sums of money had been recklessly 
 spent on handsome buildings, club houses, luxuriant 
 dwelling-houses for military and other officers, while 
 the troops have been located in unhealthy and hastily 
 as well as cheaply- and badly-built barracks. This last 
 charge, judging from the one barrack I visited, I 
 should be disposed to confirm. There were not want- 
 ing tokens, however, that Colonel Serpitzky personally 
 took great interest in the welfare of his men, for whom 
 he evidently spent both his time and private means. 
 Their leisure hours were thought of, and I saw not 
 only reading material of a secular character provided 
 for them, but in a small cupboard was a stock of 
 Russian copies of the Gospels, one of which I heard 
 was presented to each soldier on the expiration of his 
 term of service, to the number of about 1,000 a year, 
 and that about 10,000 copies had been put into circu- 
 lation by sale or gift. The Colonel had done this, if I 
 mistake not, in connection with the Russian Bible 
 Society. I need hardly say that I was glad to meet a 
 fellow-volunteer, as I also was to come upon the track of 
 another at Vierny, where I found in the prison some 
 New Testaments, Gospels, and other works that had 
 been provided by a M. Pantusoff from a Russian 
 society for the distribution of religious books. 
 
 The Tashkend public library we visited on a subse- 
 quent day. The greatest work in the library consists 
 of a collection of information relating to Central Asia 
 generally and to the Turkistan district in particular. 
 
OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 189 
 
 I was told that almost everything that had been 
 published since 1867 on Central Asia, such as articles 
 in papers and journals, and likewise every pamphlet 
 and book, had here been gathered by the biblio- 
 grapher MejofT, and placed in chronological order 
 in large volumes, now upwards of 300 in number, in 
 uniform binding an excellent work, truly, and one 
 for which I, who have searched the London libraries 
 through in making a similar list, ought of all men 
 to be thankful. And so I am ; though I doubt the 
 absolute completeness of Mejoffs work, for I have 
 found some publications other than Russian in the 
 languages of Western Europe that are not in his list. 
 I, however, think that his great work and my own little 
 bibliography combined must approach very near com- 
 pleteness, as regards books published on Central Asia. 
 There is just one peculiarity in the work of my 
 distinguished co-labourer, to which I cannot resist 
 playfully alluding. I mean the binding the books all 
 of one size, which entails this amusing result, that 
 when a book comes to hand that is smaller than the 
 procrustean binding, the leaves are cut at the back 
 and pasted singly on pages of blank paper cut through 
 to the size of the letterpress ; which is uncomfortable, 
 but bearable. When, however, a book has come to 
 hand larger than the regulation size, the leaves have 
 actually been turned in to reduce the dimensions ; the 
 consequence of which is that the reader must unfold, 
 and in so doing not improbably tear, each leaf before 
 he can read it ! 
 
 On the Wednesday evening we had the honour oi 
 dining with General Abramoff. Our host is a bachelor, 
 and there were no ladies present, but several officers ot 
 distinction. Unfortunately for me, the General did not 
 speak French, and though there was no lack at the 
 table of persons who did, yet having to speak through 
 an interpreter to the Governor-General prevented that 
 full enjoyment of intercourse which I feel sure I should 
 
190 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 have experienced could we have communicated our 
 ideas directly ; for what I saw and all I heard of him 
 led me to form a high estimate of his character as a 
 governor. One of those in office under him told me 
 that his subordinates simply " adore " him. It had 
 been suggested to me that I should ask for two or 
 three Cossacks to accompany us for security when out 
 of Russian territory, but the General said that he 
 could not grant that, for even embassies, when going 
 to Bokhara, did not have them ; but he would give me 
 letters, open and otherwise, that would help me every- 
 where on my route. He said, moreover, that he 
 should hear about us, and requested that, if we got 
 into difficulty, we would send to him at once. On 
 leaving the vice-regal residence we called at a small 
 house in the grounds, where General Ivanoff had taken 
 up his quarters, to whom I am afraid I had not paid 
 sufficient attention in calling earlier at his private 
 dwelling, though I had done so at his offices. His 
 Excellency was not to return to Samarkand for some 
 time, but promised to write to his servants that we 
 should be entertained in his palace. 
 
 Our official arrangements being now adjusted, we 
 had to think of personal affairs, for we were about 
 to plunge into a region comparatively unknown, and 
 be lost for a while to European civilization. Even now 
 I had received no letters since we left Tiumen that 
 is, for six. weeks though I had had the satisfaction of 
 sending many cards and letters. This, also, would 
 have now to stop, or almost so, for a time. So I 
 wrote to my friends that they should not be alarmed 
 if they did not hear from me till I reached the Caspian. 
 Also thinking to reduce my luggage as much as 
 possible, I sent off to Odessa, " by parcels post," two 
 great boxes of curiosities, unitedly weighing 100 
 Russian pounds, and at a cost of ^"3 6s., and 2s. more 
 for insurance, to which I may add that they arrived in 
 excellent condition before my advice, and scarcely 
 
OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 191 
 
 scratched, doing nothing worse than frighten my 
 consignee, who wondered what Nihilistic manoeuvres 
 might be contained in boxes from such an unexpected 
 quarter, and spoke thereon to the authorities. 
 
 Another thing requiring management was my money. 
 I had sent a large proportion of it from Petersburg 
 to the bank in Tashkend by post, and, on calling, found 
 it there ; but since I was now starting for a region 
 where robbers abound, it seemed to me a question 
 whether I had not better take as little as was necessary 
 with me, and telegraph for the rest when I reached 
 some place of safety ; and seeing that I could not tell, 
 until I arrived at Petro-Alexandrovsk, whether I should 
 cross the Aralo-Caspian desert, or go by the Orenburg 
 route, I promised to telegraph from Krasnovodsk or 
 the Syr-daria whether the balance should be sent to 
 Tim's or to Orenburg. 
 
 It was not quite easy to decide whether or no to 
 take forward the tarantass, for some were very confi- 
 dent (and not without reason, as I afterwards learned) 
 that we should never be able to get it from Bokhara 
 to the Oxus. We were advised, however, by Major 
 Bukoff, whom we met at the club, to get to Khiva 
 if possible on wheels, and I determined accord- 
 ingly to attempt it. I had no further use, however, 
 for the wagonette, since my Russian books were 
 nearly all disposed of, and those I had remaining in 
 other languages could all be packed in one box. I 
 proceeded accordingly to sell the wagonette, and in 
 .so doing met with a piece of unusually generous deal- 
 ing. Learning at Moscow, in the office of Kamensky 
 Brothers, carriers and transport agents, when I was 
 sending some goods, that they had a branch office 
 at Tashkend, I had asked for an introduction, which 
 in due course I presented, and was asked by the 
 manager what he could do for me. Learning that 1 
 wished to dispose of my telega, he inquired the price. 
 The wagonette had cost $ at Tiumen, where I was told 
 
192 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 that by the time we reached Tashkend the vehicle 
 would be worth nearly double, either because they do 
 not make them, or do not make them well, in the 
 south. I was too old a traveller, however, to expect 
 much gain of this sort, but I remembered that the 
 Russian plan is for the buyer to beat down the sales- 
 man's price, and so I began by asking 6, when, to 
 my surprise, without having seen the vehicle, my 
 customer said that they did not want it, but that as I 
 had the introduction and to oblige me, he would give 
 that price if I could sell it to no one else. Of course, I 
 did not think it necessary to try, and on the morning 
 we were to leave, the money came by the hand of a 
 messenger, who seemed as pleased to get the carriage 
 as I was to have bargained in such a pleasant way, 
 and to have received such attention on the strength of 
 a mercantile introduction. 
 
 It only remained, then, to have the tarantass put in 
 thorough repair, and to lay in stores, and a few T 
 articles of warm clothing in prospect of cold in crossing 
 the desert. By the advice of our hotel-keeper, we had 
 a large sheet of felt nailed on the hood of the tarantass, 
 so that if we met with a sandstorm we might cover up 
 the front of the carriage ; and then we were ready to 
 depart. We ate our last dinner in Tashkend at the 
 officers' club, where the French manager told us the 
 experience of an English gentleman, who many years 
 before managed to push his way, without permission, 
 as far as the capital, and on the first night after his 
 arrival accompanied this Frenchman to a feast at a 
 circumcision, where von Kaufmann, the Governor- 
 General, w r as present, and who, seeing the English- 
 man, ordered him to leave Tashkend within four-and- 
 twenty hours. It was well for me, I thought, that my 
 lot had fallen under a more amiable authority, who 
 was willing that I should go where I pleased, especially 
 in Ferghana, towards which I was now to wend^my 
 way from Tashkend to the Syr-daria at Khojend. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 
 
 Journey from Tashkend. Steppe vegetation. An unruly horse. Forti- 
 fied post-stations. Approach to Khojend. Sand barkhans. 
 Arrival at Khokand.' Lodging in summer residence of Tim Bek. 
 M. Ushakoff our host. Oriental " politeness." Visit to Syna- 
 gogue. Information concerning Jews of Khokand and Bokhara. 
 The bazaar : its jewellery, ewers, and furs. View from medresse 
 of Murad Bek. A puppet-show. Inspection of hospital and Khan's 
 palace. The Lepers' hamlet. Distribution of Scriptures. Visit 
 to native merchant. 
 
 WE set out for Khojend on Thursday evening, 
 September 2ist, a distance of 94 miles. Our 
 journey onward did not equal in despatch our approach 
 to Tashkend. We were kindly supplied with letters., 
 as before, to the post-masters, to expedite our 
 journey, and had intended to start on the morning of 
 Thursday; but not having given notice, there were no 
 horses to be had until evening, at which time there 
 were to be supplied two other travellers, who were 
 proceeding in the same direction, one the ^lyezdi- 
 nachalnik, or chief of the district of Khokand, and the 
 other, M. Ushakoff, a judge, whom we had met at 
 the officers' club, and at the dinner table of the 
 Governor-General, and who had invited us to stay 
 with him during our visit to Khokand. He had been 
 spending a short holiday in Tashkend, and now asked 
 us, as he was returning, to allow him to get first to 
 Khokand, to be in readiness to receive us. Accord- 
 
 13 
 
i 9 4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 ingly, he trotted out of Tashkend ahead, we next, and 
 
 the district chief third ; but at the first station the chief 
 
 came in close upon our heels, and by some means 
 
 managed to get his horses changed, and to leave 
 
 before us. This was against "the rule of the road"; 
 
 but the yemstchik said that the starosta had told 
 
 him to let the chief drive out before us. This placed 
 
 a second traveller in our front, unless, indeed, we 
 
 could outstrip him. There was little chance of this, 
 
 however, since he had a mere handful of baggage and 
 
 a light telega, whilst our poor tarantass was more 
 
 heavily laden than it had been before. Added to this, 
 
 when we reached the Kara-Su the floods had risen, 
 
 making the road so heavy that we could only travel 
 
 slowly. Pskent and Uralsk we passed in the night, 
 
 but at the latter station they gave us three such 
 
 miserable horses that, after going four miles, we stuck 
 
 in the mire. How long we so remained I have but a 
 
 hazy idea, for I was safe in the arms of Morpheus, and 
 
 only learned on waking that we had been obliged to 
 
 send back to the station for two more horses. Hence, 
 
 by breakfast time, we had only reached Djan-bulak, 
 
 the fifth station, to find no horses there. 
 
 The aspect of the country had now changed con- 
 siderably. We had left the oasis behind, and had 
 entered the steppe, the third great division of the 
 surface of the Turkistan country. The steppe, how- 
 ever, is of varied character, and in some parts presents 
 in spring the appearance of a vast flower garden 
 covered with herbage, amongst which Tulips and 
 Anemones alternate agreeably amidst brilliant spots of 
 yellow, white, and scarlet blossoms of other bulbs. 
 This portion of the Kurama district is exceedingly 
 valuable, because the quantity of land irrigated by the 
 Chirchik and Angren is at best but limited, and a 
 large portion of the natives consequently devote them- 
 selves to stock-raising, for which, of course, a certain 
 amount of fodder is grown, though it is not customary 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 195 
 
 here to stable the cattle for the winter, or to provide 
 them with hay. For the winter pasture, therefore, a 
 place must be chosen where the wind is neither too 
 violent, nor the snow too deep. 
 
 The journey was too late in autumn to allow of our 
 seeing much beauty in the vegetation of the steppe, 
 but there was a large quantity of fodder stored at Djan- 
 bulak, where we arrived in the morning" and ordered 
 the samovar from a post-mistress who was smoking, 
 and appeared fully able to speak for herself. The 
 station-rooms were large, and the post-master obliging. 
 He had received no notification of our coming, but 
 when he saw my letter said that if he had he would 
 certainly have kept back the district chief, who, happily 
 for himself, had gone before. At this juncture a wily 
 Tatar, keeper of a caravansary, appeared on the scene, 
 and offered private horses, which I accepted to my 
 cost, inasmuch as his right-wheeler was the only 
 one out of the 800 horses I hired in Central Asia 
 that alarmed me, for when the traces were fastened, 
 he gave such a bound forward as to break clear of 
 everything. We, however, caught and harnessed him 
 again, and trotted over a flat, stony steppe, the road 
 now proceeding for 25 miles in an easterly direction, 
 instead of southerly as heretofore, and having on our 
 left ranges of hills rising in peaks, for the most part 
 bare, rough, and rocky, but here and there showing 
 patches of verdure. Though late in the season for 
 butterflies, we took a few specimens, and passed 
 through what appeared to be a swarm of dragon flies, 
 so numerous that Mr. Sevier caught several by merely 
 holding out the net from the carriage. 
 
 On reaching the next station, Murza-rabat, we found 
 it, like the last, to be nothing less than a miniature 
 fortress. It was surrounded with a dry moat and lofty 
 walls, measuring inside 60 paces square. There was 
 a well in the centre of the yard, and against the wall 
 stables and buildings, some of which struck me at first 
 
196 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 as intended for an ttape prison. Outside by the road 
 was a grave, with a monument raised by travellers' 
 gifts to the memory of the starosta Jacobleff and his 
 yemstchiks, who on the i8th of August, 1875, na< ^ 
 defended the post-house against a band of Khokandians, 
 and had been killed by them. It was subsequently to 
 this event the fortress had been erected. 
 
 Our road now turned again to the south over a 
 depression in a mountain chain, which gave - us the 
 Kurama-Tau on our left, and the snowcapped elevations 
 of the Mogol-Tau on the right. Eagles were flying 
 about, and larks and wagtails, all of which we had time 
 to admire, for, as the road continued to ascend, the 
 carriage proceeded so slowly that it was pleasanter to 
 walk ahead and enjoy the scenery ; and when at last, 
 towards 3 o'clock, we reached the crest of the hills, and 
 looked down upon the ancient Jaxartes, and Khojend 
 nestling among the trees, the view was one of the 
 prettiest we had seen in Russian Central Asia. The 
 town with its old earthen forts looked well by the river 
 side, as did the Russian church and wooden bridge. 
 
 It was pleasant, on arriving at Khojend, to find that 
 our coming was expected by the Nachalnik, who 
 immediately gave orders for dinner. Whilst waiting 
 I felt unusually tired and sleepy, though I know not 
 why, for we had been travelling only 40 hours, which 
 was nothing in comparison with the nights upon nights 
 spent in the tarantass north of Tashkend; but I 
 suppose my training had been somewhat demoralized 
 by sleeping in a bed, and the comparative comforts 
 we had enjoyed at the capital. Dinner over, the 
 Colonel gave us a basket of splendid fruit, and then, 
 preceded by two djiguitts. mounted his horse to see 
 us off. Thus escorted through the bazaar the natives 
 were all politeness and attention, each rising, some 
 bowing, and others dismounting ; and so it continued 
 till we had reached the outskirts of the town, when 
 the Colonel bade us adieu, and asked us to call in 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 197 
 
 returning. We pursued our way past the village of 
 Ispsar, 840 feet above the sea, and in the evcv 
 reached Kostakoz, where we could have no horses, 
 we were told, until 1 1 o'clock. Whether this was 
 unavoidable I am not sure, but the Colonel had told 
 us beforehand that this post-master had received notice 
 to quit, and so was not in an amiable mood. On this 
 account, I suppose, a djiguitt had accompanied us, but 
 even he asked without success for horses. 
 
 Towards midnight we started for the remainder of 
 our little journey to Khokand, and midway to the next 
 station crossed the boundary into Ferghana. By day- 
 light we had passed Kara-chukum, and once more 
 approached the Syr-daria, on the bank of which is 
 situated the Khokandian frontier fortress of Makhram, 
 a large square building for 500 Khokandians, with 
 high crenelated mud walls, and protected on three 
 sides by a deep moat. 
 
 We were now about 1,300 feet above the sea, and in 
 the distance had mountains before us in every direction 
 Immediately in front, however, was a prospect not so 
 pleasing, for we had to cross a stony waste of reddish 
 sand for 20 miles, on which there was little vegetation 
 but camels' food. As we returned, our driver informed 
 us that he had already driven the journey and back 
 with his horses once, so that when he reached home 
 with our steeds, he would have had that day 75 miles 
 of desert travel. At Patar we found a good station, 
 and reached an oasis with vegetation. Beyond this 
 the country was interspersed by desert patches of 
 shifting sand, which encroaches like a flood, destroying 
 houses and cultivated fields, and so driving away the 
 population. The road from Patar was frightful. Here 
 we saw dozens of sand-heaps, or bar khans, which, by 
 reason of the unilateral direction of the wind, take the 
 form of a horse-shoe. These were the first we had met 
 with on so considerable a scale, and they presented a 
 curious appearance, the surface being sometimes rippled 
 
ig8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 as on the seashore. Some rose at an angle of 45 to 
 the ridge, here and there perhaps 100 feet high, but 
 always descending abruptly on the interior. One had 
 only to think of the Gharm-sol wind to easily understand 
 why the district in ancient times was called " Ha-Der- 
 vish" from the fact, related by Baber, of two dervishes 
 having lost themselves in this desert and perished, calling 
 out "Ha- Dervish! Ha- Dervish!" . This wind blows 
 frequently at the town of Khokand. The sun at such 
 times appears like a large dull disc, without brightness. 
 The dimness is produced from the air being laden with 
 fine dust, which penetrates everywhere and covers 
 everything. Fortunately for us, when we passed, the 
 air was calm and the sancl at rest. 
 
 The post-station at Bish-aryk stands a little to the 
 west of the village, where there is a bazaar ; and before 
 reaching the next station, Chuchai, the aspect of the 
 country had entirely changed. The roads, too, im- 
 proved greatly, verst-posts appeared, and sundry objects 
 met the eye, testifying to the good government of 
 General Abramoff. On either side of the way are 
 rows of trees, land well cultivated, and to the right 
 and left houses surrounded by gardens. 
 
 As we approached the town w r e saw men engaged 
 in building houses, which are everywhere made of earth. 
 As we came near the town walls, their cracked con- 
 dition showed them to be of similar material; and as 
 we passed in at the city gate I noticed a platform on 
 either side, which would serve alike for a guard-room, 
 a toll-house, or perchance a place of judgment 
 or council. M. Nicolai Nicolaivitch Ushakoff, our 
 intended host, had promised to send to the gate a 
 djiguitt, or policeman, to await our coming ; and when 
 we arrived about noon, the man was there in flowing 
 robes and white turban, ready to mount his horse and 
 precede us. I was thankful that he did so, for other- 
 wise it would not have been easy to find the way. 
 
 Khokand, being only about a century and a half 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 197 
 
 old, is said to have better streets than some of the 
 older towns of Central Asia. In most they are 
 irregular and narrow, only the main streets being 
 sufficiently wide to allow of the passage of a native 
 cart. The shops, tea taverns, and barbers' rooms are 
 usually situated along both sides of the main street, 
 leading from the principal gate to the centre of the 
 town, and on to the market-place, commonly called the 
 Rhigistan. In the present instance, however, we had 
 to make our way through bye-streets, with blank walls 
 on either hand, and with just room enough for our 
 vehicle. There was so little to distinguish one street 
 from another, that we seemed to be threading a perfect 
 maze, until at last we entered a garden and grounds 
 surrounding a house that had been used occasionally 
 by the late Khudaiar Khan, but was properly the 
 summer residence of Seid Nasir Timbek, his eldest 
 son. It was of native build, and the prettiest of its 
 kind I saw in Asia. There was a central hall, perhaps 
 40 feet by 20, with chambers all round, screened off 
 by blinds. Comparing the building for a moment to 
 an English church, it was lighted from the clerestory 
 through open woodwork, unglazed, there being no glass 
 used in the town before the advent of the Russians, 
 except in the Khan's palace. The room that would 
 represent the chancel was to be my sleeping place ; at 
 the opposite end, on either side of the organ gallery, 
 had been the women's apartments ; in the south aisle 
 was our host's sleeping place; and in the nave we were 
 to write, eat, and spend our time by day, the place 
 presenting a curious mixture of Asiatic baldness and 
 European comfort. The building had been forfeited, 
 I presume, to the conquerors, and granted to M. 
 Ushakoff for a summer residence, though he preferred 
 to live in the town during winter. 
 
 Our host, being a judicial functionary, had command 
 of several djiguitts, of whom a number always accom- 
 panied him in the streets, and I soon saw that to have 
 
200 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 them was no mere question of parade, but that they 
 were of real service in clearing the way. It being 
 Saturday afternoon, I asked to be taken to the meeting 
 place of the Jews. M. Ushakoff and the Nachalnik 
 gorod accompanied us in open carriages, and as one 
 native after another arose from his squatting position 
 and respectfully stood erect, or stroked his beard, or as 
 another dismounted from horse or camel, my cicerone 
 drew attention to what he called Asiatic politeness. 
 But it had struck me in another way. The subservience 
 of the Khokandians excelled all I met in Central Asia; 
 and when I remembered that Khokand had come but 
 recently under the sway of the Russians, and that only 
 after two or three sound thrashings, it occurred to me that 
 this seeming politeness might be inspired by fear.* Dr. 
 Schuyler, at all events, experienced no such politeness 
 from the Kkokandians when they were independent, 
 nor did we from the natives in the town of Bokhara. 
 
 On arriving at the small square white-washed room 
 that served for a synagogue, we found it full of 
 worshipping Jews wearing Sart skull caps, and the 
 JV^b (tatitK), or scarf thrown across the shoulders 
 during prayer ; and if they had not what we should 
 call " fringes " on their garments, they at least wore 
 on " the borders a riband of blue,"t with fringe at- 
 tached. They wore also phylacteries, or certain verses 
 from the law, in a little box, as "a sign unto thee 
 upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine 
 eyes" (Exod. xiii. 9); and I observed certain cases 
 where the extra large size of these tephillim, as they 
 term them, recalled the words, " They make broad 
 their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their gar- 
 ments" (Matt, xxiii. 5). They were all reading aloud, 
 and led by a precentor, and my attention was called at 
 
 * I could not help thinking of the promise to the Israelites : " This 
 day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee among 
 the nations" (Deut. xi. 25), for no Khokandian seemed to dare to 
 " move his tongue against any of the " Russians (Josh. x. 21). 
 
 f Numb. xv. 38. 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 201 
 
 a portion of the service to the prayer for the Russian 
 Emperor.* My letter of commendation obtained for 
 me a speedy welcome, and I began to inquire for 
 ancient manuscripts, but they had none, their quite 
 modern copy of the law having been written in Bokhara 
 at a cost of ^"15. I gave them a copy of the Old 
 Testament and of the New, both in Hebrew, and 
 in return a man presented me with a ring, which he 
 appeared .to wear as a talisman. f In a second place 
 of assembly close by, we found women present, parted 
 off from the men, but not veiled. My further inquiry 
 for old manuscripts elicited the statement that there 
 was a genizah, or place of sepulture, in Samarkand, 
 where many Hebrew books are buried, though subse- 
 quently I could hear nothing about them there. Whilst 
 speaking to a Jew from Bokhara, and asking whether 
 they remembered Dr. Wolff coming there, he gave me 
 the interesting reply that his father saved the life of 
 " Yusuf Voolff" who appeared at Bokhara "the first 
 time as a Jew, but later as an ambassador." 
 
 Subsequently an intelligent Jew came to our house 
 to buy copies of the Old Testament, cunningly adding, 
 " They do not buy the New Testament here," though 
 he had, he said, begun reading the one I gave him. 
 I took the opportunity to ask him about the Jews 
 in Central Asia, who, he said, were descended 
 from Judah and Benjamin, the two tribes dispersed 
 over Europe and Asia, whereas the ten tribes, he 
 thought, were dwelling "beyond China."J In Kho- 
 kand he informed us there were from 200 to 300 
 
 * Thus showing that they were not forgetful of the counsel of the 
 prophet Jeremiah (xxix. 7) : " Seek the peace of the city whither I have 
 caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it ; 
 for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace." 
 
 t On it is written, H^'Yl 'JJU TNO l"*l NH7N, which gives the name 
 of the priest from whom the ring came, thus (literally), " God of Rabbi 
 Mayer, answer me in Thy mercy, O Lord." 
 
 J He thus testified from an independent source to certain migrations 
 of Jews to China, on which Mr. Finn has thrown considerable light, and 
 to which I shall allude hereafter. 
 
202 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Jewish residents, and from 300 to 400 sojourners, 
 mostly merchants, dyers, manufacturers, and druggists. 
 I expressed surprise that they had no regular synagogue, 
 but he explained that until the advent of the Russians 
 the Jews had been fewer in number, that they had 
 no right to buy land, and were forbidden by the Khan 
 to build a synagogue ; that they were, in fact, under 
 similar restrictions to those from which their brethren 
 in Bokhara still suffered. They could not enter the 
 city mounted, were forbidden to wear a turban, and 
 allowed only a black calico cap for the head, and a 
 piece of string for a girdle ; and though they were 
 compelled to pay double taxes, as compared with the 
 Sarts, yet if a Jew were insulted, or even beaten, by 
 a Muhammadan, he could claim no redress, and, 
 moreover, that during the later years of the Khanate, 
 four or five Jews had been compelled to become Mussul- 
 mans. I asked whether 1 could do anything for the 
 welfare of him and his brethren, whereupon he said 
 that under the Russians the Jews were free, and had 
 no need of help, but that they were oppressed in 
 Bokhara, the 15,000 Jews in that city being allowed 
 to have only one synagogue. I inquired for a cer- 
 tain Jew to whom I had an introduction, and learned 
 that he was at Samarkand. A letter also was given 
 me to a Jew in that place, from one in Khokand, 
 and at first a letter of introduction was promised to 
 one in Bokhara, but the promise was afterwards with- 
 drawn, through fear lest the name of the giver should 
 come to the ears of the Emir, and punishment 
 thereby ensue ! 
 
 From the synagogue we went to the bazaar, which 
 Dr. Schuyler and M. Ujfalvy agree in praising as the 
 best in Central Asia, but which I did not see to advan- 
 tage, because it was not one of the bi-weekly market 
 days, Thursday or Sunday. The streets are roofed 
 over like a succession of lofty arcades, affording air, and 
 shelter from the sun. One meets there with all the pro- 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 203 
 
 ducts of Central Asia : silk and velvet from Bokhara ; 
 silks, stuffs, and camlets from Marghilan ; hand-worked 
 copper goods made at Karshi and in Khokand itself, 
 where the coppersmiths are very skilful ; leather 
 trunks from Bokhara ; Dungan hats from Western 
 China ; tibtteikas, or skull caps, of various patterns ; 
 khalats, or robes of startling colours, in satin and silk ; 
 Samarkand knives, jewellery, and objects cut in jade 
 and onyx. The jewellers of Khokand make numerous 
 earrings, ornamented with imitation stones. The 
 bracelets of massive silver are open, like those of the 
 Middle Ages, and their gold collarettes and silver seals 
 rival those of Samarkand. The ancient jewellery is 
 more remarkable, the forms are more original, and the 
 stones sometimes real, thus pointing to an era when 
 goldsmiths flourished in Central Asia. 
 
 I was struck with the brass ewers, for the manu- 
 facture of which Khokand is famous. They are made 
 of graceful form, and tastefully chiselled, the ancient 
 specimens often being beautifully enamelled. I 
 secured a handsome one for the British Museum, and 
 had another, still handsomer, presented to me in 
 Khiva. I bought, likewise, a teapot of similar work- 
 manship, and specimens of native finger- and ear-rings, 
 buckles, bracelets, and charms. Among other articles 
 of trade brought to Khokand from the surrounding 
 mountains are various kinds of furs, the prices of 
 which vary from 2s. for a black cat, or a black sheep- 
 skin, to 4os. for a black lambskin, and 50$. for that of a 
 tiger. Before the annexation of the Khanate, opinions 
 differed widely as to its wealth and the extent of its 
 commerce. Whether trade has increased since the 
 annexation of the Khanate in 1876 I know not, but 
 one merchant, however, told me that the carrying 
 firm he was connected with did business, in the time 
 of the Khan, to the value of ,2,000 a year, but that 
 it had now fallen to one-fourth of that amount. 
 
 From the bazaar we made our way to the brick 
 
204 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 medresse of Sultan Murad Bek, looked into some of 
 the students' rooms, and then mounted the minaret 
 to get a view of the town, the general appearance 
 of which, as with other inhabited places in Central 
 Asia, is decidedly unattractive, for patches of green 
 are its sole adornment. Nevertheless the natives 
 call it " Khokand-i-Latif," or " charming Khokand," 
 which title must refer, I suppose, to the surround- 
 ing snow mountains that we could see in more 
 than one direction. Anciently the place was environed 
 by marshes and frequented by wild boars, whence the 
 town is supposed to derive its name 4C Khok-kand," 
 or " town of pigs.' ! Doves were flying above the 
 uninviting mud roofs, and in the distance were the city 
 walls, said to be 12 miles in circumference, enclosing 
 a population of 60,000 souls. It was not easy to 
 distinguish particular buildings, but they have in 
 Khokand a manufactory that supplies many of the 
 Central Asian towns with writing-paper, suitable for 
 the gummy ink used by the natives, but the Russians 
 import their paper from Europe. Whilst we were 
 looking from the minaret the sun went down, where- 
 upon we saw some of the students go to evening 
 prayer, and we started homewards, to be joined at 
 dinner by Major Vladimir Alexandrovich Tolmatcheff, 
 in command of the Cossacks, a young man for a major, 
 but who had distinguished himself, if I remember 
 rightly, in the province under Skobeleff, and who, now 
 that fighting was over, seemed to find things exceed- 
 ingly dull. After dinner, M. Ushakoff had prepared 
 us an evening's amusement with native marionettes. 
 A puppet-show was put up in his room, in front of 
 which two men played tambourines. The late Khan 
 and his courtiers were placed on the stage, and for 
 their amusement miniature dancing boys and girls were 
 made to play their part before them. Next the Emir of 
 Afghanistan was introduced as having 40,000 soldiers, 
 and the Khan of Khokand 30,000, and then some- 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 205 
 
 thing like a battle was enacted, on which the Russians 
 stepped in, and put both parties to flight, the affair con- 
 cluding by firing miniature cannons. 
 
 I needed no rocking to sleep that night, and on 
 the following morning was taken to call on General 
 Iphimovitch, who was for the time being acting as 
 Governor of the province in the room of General 
 Abramoff. We found his Excellency with his staff 
 under silk tents in a garden, where we were offered 
 fruit. Then we followed the General in making an 
 official tour of inspection, first to the barracks and 
 next to the military hospital. The latter was an 
 airy building, said to have been erected by the late 
 Khan for an asylum, but never finished, and since 
 adapted to its present use by the Russians. We 
 next went to the prison, where, in taking notes, my 
 stylographic pen the first seen in the town puzzled 
 the bystanders to know where the ink came from. 
 There was nothing remarkable in any of the buildings 
 thus far visited, but we next entered a place of greater 
 interest namely, the palace of the late Khan of, 
 Khokand. I had seen many, if not most, of the 
 regal and imperial palaces of Europe, but never 
 before the dwelling of an Asiatic potentate, and this 
 one called for the more attention because in archi- 
 tectural pretensions it outdoes any other modern native 
 building in Central Asia. The ^lrda, or, as it is 
 called in Bokhara, the "ark" which, like kremlin, 
 means " the citadel," is situated in the centre of 
 the town, in an open space large enough for the 
 Russian troops to exercise in. It is a huge rectan- 
 gular construction, enclosing several courts and build- 
 ings, and surrounded with moat and high walls. A 
 portion of these latter was blown up with dynamite, 
 by order of Skobeleff, at the taking of the town, to 
 the great astonishment and stupefaction of the natives, 
 by whom the like was never seen before. The palace 
 which is within this citadel, has towers at the corners 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 207 
 
 the whole front being faced with glazed tiles, white, 
 green, and blue, with a large inscription running along 
 the cornice, " Built by Seid Muhammad Khudaiar 
 Khan in the year 1287" (1870). We approached the 
 entrance up a corduroy slope, and found at the palace 
 gates two copper cannons, of native manufacture, bearing 
 silver inscriptions, but not rifled, and with bores hardly 
 smooth. The gates of the building were of finely- 
 carved wood. On entering, we found the courts 
 very spacious, and surrounded by open galleries, the 
 supporting columns being of wood, with graceful 
 capitals. The painting on the friezes and ceilings 
 was extremely fine and varied, and was perhaps the 
 most artistic feature of the palace, for the enamelled 
 bricks did not bear close inspection, and were not 
 equal to those of mediaeval make such as we afterwards 
 saw in Samarkand. 
 
 The Khan's throne room, where ambassadors used 
 to be received, now serves for a Russian chapel, 
 the walls being highly painted and the window- 
 shutters carved. The room in which the Russian 
 commandant was living was filled with European 
 curiosities at the time of taking the town, and among 
 them were models of a railway-engine and a steam- 
 boat. Another room, in which Khudaiar used in the 
 morning to receive his ministers, had a floor of beaten 
 earth, with carved alabaster let into the walls. This 
 chamber the Russians had appropriated for a school- 
 room for 45 scholars, of whom 13 were Russians, 23 
 Jews, and 9 Sarts. But the chamber upon which 
 more ornamentation had been bestowed than any 
 other was the Khan's cabinet, painted and gilded in 
 Moorish style. The Russian officers thought the 
 ornamentation could not have cost less than ^500; but, 
 though somewhat similar in style, it did not equal in 
 beauty the finished Alhambra court in the Crystal 
 Palace. The splendour was decidedly 4 ' barbaric," 
 and from the room was an exit to a gallery, over- 
 
208 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 looking a courtyard, from which the Khan was wont to 
 give his orders, and, I think we were told, to see 
 his criminals put to death. The part of the palace 
 which was used for a prison in the Khan's time is, I 
 believe, no longer used for that purpose. 
 
 In this courtyard trials were formerly conducted, and 
 through it we passed to the women's quarter of the 
 palace. They had, set apart for their use, a summer 
 pavilion in the centre of a court, of which the domes 
 were of variegated colours, no two being alike ; and 
 
 THE PRISON IN THE 1'ALACE OF THE LATE KHAN AT KHOKAND. 
 
 we mounted by sloping boards to an upper story to 
 enter their empty winter apartments, whence we could 
 see the vine groves of the palace gardens. 
 
 From the palace I was taken to see some fellow- 
 subjects in the persons of a few Hindus, as well as 
 their tiny place of worship ; and after that, at my 
 special desire, though apparently to my host's sur- 
 prise, we went to the most miserable place in 
 Khokand the lepers' village, outside the town. 
 
 This frightful disease, of which the two kinds are 
 distinguished as makhau and pis, is said to be con- 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 209 
 
 tagious, and those who are suffering from it are con- 
 demned (as under the Levitical law, Numb. x. 2, 
 Lev. xiii. 46) to live in hamlets apart, communication 
 with them, according to Kostenko, being strictly for- 
 bidden. No objection, however, was raised to my 
 visiting the makhau or lepers' hamlet, and I learned 
 that some of the lepers resorted to the bazaar, to support 
 themselves and their afflicted fellows by asking alms.* 
 On arriving we found their state was pitiable indeed. 
 Sixteen men and six women were living in mud huts, 
 in the depths of poverty, with no doctor coming near. 
 My companion, Mr. Sevier, being a physician, was, of 
 course, particularly interested in our visit. The first 
 case we looked at was that of a boy with leprosy in 
 the atrophic stage, with his face a mass of sores, and his 
 eyes eaten out, and a more revolting sight I think I 
 never saw. The poor boy's chief care seemed to be 
 to keep off the flies. He was born of leprous parents, 
 who had brought him thither and abandoned him. 
 In a second case the eyes of the sufferer protruded, 
 and in a third the knuckles were cramped. A woman, 
 whom we saw, had a discoloured face, and in a young 
 girl the disease was seen in the skin being tightly 
 stretched over the nose, whilst, lastly, a man seized 
 eight months previously in his hands, saw them 
 gradually growing like claws from contraction of the 
 skin. This was one of the saddest visits I paid in 
 
 * Dr. Haughton, of Dublin, has visited the leper hospitals at Bergen 
 to study leprosy, and he tells me that the popular opinion is that the 
 disease is contagious ; the scientific opinion that it is hereditary. 
 With this latter he concurs, especially after consulting Demerara phy- 
 sicians having great experience of leprosy in the West Indies and South 
 America, where it is more deadly than in Europe or Asia. Dr. Haughton 
 speaks of " two houses for incurables and one for curables " at Bergen, 
 in 1864; but when I was there in 1876, I wrote: "250 patients all 
 incurable"; for in no case had they then been successful. They did 
 indeed point out one boy of seven, who entered w'ith a tiny spot of leprosy, 
 and who they thought in 20 years might be cured. So far as I am able 
 to judge, I should think that the care bestowed upon the Bergen lepers 
 kept them longer alive, so that in the hospital were seen examples of 
 the disease in more advanced stages than I happened to meet with in 
 Asia ; but there were certain resemblances in both. 
 
 14 
 
210 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Turkistan, and it is much to be hoped that some 
 benevolent Russians ere this may have attempted 
 something for the mitigation of the sufferings, even if 
 it be impossible to effect the cure, of Turkistan lepers. 
 On account of their isolation, the stricken folk are 
 deprived of nearly all civil advantages ; they live for 
 the most part on alms, marry only among themselves, 
 and bring into the world children who soon become 
 lepers like themselves. As soon as the news reaches 
 the makhaii of another stricken person, a deputation 
 immediately proceeds to demand that the afflicted one 
 should be sent to the marked hamlet. Hither poor 
 persons are forcibly exiled, but the rich sometimes buy 
 themselves off by a yearly payment of from $ to 
 ;io. Even this, however, would not seem always to 
 be feasible, for one stricken man at Khokand told me, 
 as a proof of his former prosperity, that he had three 
 wives, but when taken sick he was driven away from 
 home to his present position with one wife and child. 
 
 Having done what little I could for the lepers, we 
 paid a second visit to the medresse. I had been 
 distributing Russian tracts and other reading material 
 in the barracks, hospital, and elsewhere, but unfortu- 
 nately I had none in the languages of the natives, 
 except a few ponderous Persian Bibles and Arabic 
 New Testaments. I was anxious to give one of each 
 for the use of the students, though M. Ushakoff, as 
 he afterwards told me, was not without some little fear 
 as to how such an offer would be received. I asked, 
 however, for the principal mullah, and placed the 
 Bible in his hand, telling him that it was the best book 
 we had in England, and that I begged his acceptance 
 thereof as a memorial of my visit. He bowed, received 
 it with great satisfaction, and soon showed that he 
 could read it, whereupon I desired him to let it be 
 read by all the students. 
 
 We then went home, thinking to spend a quiet even- 
 ing ; but, having a letter of introduction to a native 
 
FROM TASHKEND TO KHOKAND. 211 
 
 merchant, I did not like to omit the friendly mission, 
 and proposed accordingly to call. My host, however, 
 decided that it would be more in keeping with their 
 custom with the natives to send for the merchant to 
 come to me, and this he did. When the man discovered 
 that I had brought an introduction all the way from 
 Moscow, he entreated that, though late, we would 
 honour him with a visit. Accordingly, Sevier and I 
 were conducted to his house, which I was glad to 
 see as a specimen of a native interior. We had been 
 introduced at Tashkend, as I have said, to a rich Jew, 
 the reception-room in whose house closely resembled 
 that of the merchant at Khokand. We saw, too, at 
 Tashkend something of the women of the house. They 
 were dressed in Sart fashion, but were not veiled. We 
 were not introduced to them, though they did not 
 appear to think our presence strange, and they were 
 evidently not kept in seclusion. In the merchant's 
 house at Khokand we saw not a shadow of a female, 
 but were shown into a room carpeted, indeed, but 
 without what we should call furniture. In due 
 time was brought in a small, low, round table with 
 refreshments, near which our host squatted on the 
 ground, whilst we were provided with chairs so high 
 that we had to stoop to help ourselves from the festive 
 board. 
 
 On returning to M. Ushakoff, he showed us some 
 coats of mail that were in use by the natives when 
 the town was taken. After this we walked in the 
 garden. It was a beautiful night at the end of Sep- 
 tember, but not at all cold, and I wished that I 
 could have stayed longer in the province. 
 
 But my heart was set upon seeing Bokhara, and, if 
 possible, floating on the Oxus to Khiva. Remember- 
 ing, therefore, that the season was advancing, I 
 determined to leave on the morrow for Samarkand. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 FROM KHOKAND TO SAMARKAND, 
 
 Locality of Khokand productive of goitre. Departure from Khokand. 
 Travellers sleeping in the street. Return to Khojend. Climate 
 of Khojend. Long stage to Ura-Tiube. View of the town. Its 
 sacred places. Religious and moral condition of inhabitants. 
 The "Gates of Tamerlane." The Sart pastime of Kok-bari. 
 Fording the Zarafshan. Approaching Samarkand. 
 
 TT^HOKAND, though called "the charming," was 
 J\^ voted by the few Russian officials we found 
 living there as exceedingly dull. Moreover, though 
 the situation of the city is pleasant, and on three rivers, 
 yet the water is naught, or, worse still, is supposed to 
 be a principal cause of goitre. 
 
 On the Russian occupation of the town, goitre began 
 to appear among their troops, which led them to study 
 the local causes producing the disease ; and since the 
 town engendered other diseases also, especially fevers, 
 it was decided to transfer the administration and the 
 major portion of the troops to Marghilan, which has 
 now become the Russian capital. 
 
 There was no necessity for me to go there, since I 
 had seen the Governor, General Abramoff, at Tash- 
 kend, and had given him books for the supply of 
 the hospitals and prisons of Ferghana; so I accord- 
 ingly prepared on Monday morning, September 25th, 
 after a pleasant stay with our gentlemanly host, to 
 drive 260 miles to Samarkand. Our belongings were 
 
FROM KHOKAND TO SAMARKAND. 
 
 213 
 
 soon packed, the weightier now by reason of a Kho- 
 kandian suit of mail that had been presented me, and 
 which, with the native boots from Kashgar, the cham- 
 bar or leather trousers from Tashkend, and a helmet 
 of mail and battle-axe subsequently procured at 
 
 THE AUTHOR IN A KHOKANDIAN SL'IT OF MAIL. 
 
 Bokhara, form a striking suit for a member of the 
 Church Militant. Leaving M. Ushakoffat 10 o'clock 
 on a fine morning, a djiguitt piloted our carriage 
 through the labyrinth of streets to the city boundary, 
 beyond which we continued through the walled gardens 
 
2i 4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of the suburbs, with snow mountains on the distant 
 horizon. At Bish-Aryk they seemed to have received 
 no notice of our coming, but we obtained horses, and 
 by eight in the evening arrived at Kara-Chukum. 
 Here we had to wait three hours for steeds, which 
 gave us opportunity to walk through the village, and 
 to see people arranging themselves to sleep in the 
 street,* some under a platform of the tiny bazaar, and 
 some on couches, whilst others, apparently travellers, 
 simply spread a garment or cloth and lay on the 
 ground. One man, a late worker, was winding cotton 
 by hand for making stockings, but many more were 
 busy with a large saucepan preparing supper. 
 
 We left about midnight, and early in the morn- 
 ing reached Khojend. This was by far the oldest 
 Central Asian city we had seen, and dates at least 
 as far back as the fourth century before the Christian 
 era. It was called the Alexandria of the north, 
 and perhaps marks the farthest point northward of 
 Alexander's conquests. Since his days the town 
 has changed masters many times. Chinese, Arabs, 
 Persians, Mongols, and Turks have each poured out 
 their blood in assaulting or defending it. 
 
 Khojend is bounded on two sides by the River Syr, 
 and on three sides by gardens and ploughed fields. 
 On the south-west these stretch for nearly 5 miles, 
 and on the east still further. The walls, double on 
 three sides and single near the Syr, form an irregular 
 polygon, with a circumference of about 8 miles, the 
 town being entered by 8 gates and several small exits. 
 
 Our host the Nachalnik complained of the intensity 
 of the summer heat at Khojend. For June, July, 
 and August the average temperature is about 84, 
 and the dust brought by the wind from the Steppe 
 
 * Illustrating 1 the naturalness of the expression of the two angels who 
 said to Lot, " Nay, but we will abide in the street all night " (Gen. xix. 
 2) ; also the primitive state of things with Job, who could say, " The 
 stranger did not lodge in the street, but I opened my doors to the 
 traveller" (Job xxxi. 32). 
 
FROM KHOKAND TO SAMARKAND. 215 
 
 fills the air, and renders it very oppressive. The 
 winter is milder than at Tashkend, the Syr here being 
 hardly ever frozen. The wall of the Mogol-Tau, 
 4,000 feet high, on the opposite side of the river, 
 helps to intensify the heat, sheltering the town from 
 the north wind, and absorbing and refracting the sun's 
 rays. Summer, too, is longer than at Tashkend, and 
 Khojend fruits are ripe a fortnight before those of 
 Tashkend. 
 
 When we passed through the bazaar it was early in 
 the morning, so we thought it better not to call on 
 the Nachalnik, but ask for horses to proceed imme- 
 diately. We had now made 83 miles from Khojend, 
 and had before us 1 8 1 miles more, with 1 1 stations 
 to Samarkand. From Nau, where was a mud fortress, 
 we sent back a message of thanks to Colonel Putimsoff 
 for kindly arranging about our horses, and then break- 
 fasted, by way of fortifying ourselves for the longest 
 postal stage I think I ever took in Russia without 
 changing horses. It is marked in the post-book 27 
 miles, but the driver declared it was 33. I believed 
 him, and hired four horses, and they gave us another 
 into the bargain, so that we drove off with two leaders 
 under a postilion, and a troika. For about twenty miles 
 the landscape presented nothing but an extensive lifeless 
 desert, with scarcely a tree. Then appeared an oasis 
 here and there, and cultivation came into view with 
 fields of standing corn. During all the stage we met 
 but one yemstchik, and few caravans, but saw a man 
 ploughing with oxen. This dreary drive took us the 
 greater part of the day, and we were not sorry, late 
 in the afternoon, to come within sight of the picturesque 
 fortress of Ura-Tiube. 
 
 Ura-Tiube, or Ora-Tippa, is a city set on a hill 2,700 
 feet above the sea. The commandant was Colonel 
 Vaulin. With much ado we got them to drag the 
 carriage up to his house, where he was expecting us, 
 and received us heartily. He quickly gave us some 
 
216 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 dinner, and seemed thoroughly to participate in our 
 enjoyment, for so dull was the place, there being only 
 five persons in it to constitute "society, "that he was 
 as pleased with our visit as we were. The view from 
 the terrace before the Colonel's house was one of the 
 most extensive we saw in Central Asia. The house is 
 situated at the foot of two eminences, one being sur- 
 mounted by the citadel, whilst on the slopes of the 
 other lies the north-western portion of the town. On 
 our right was the citadel, with a monument raised to 
 the memory of the Russians killed in the siege on the 
 ist November, 1866. The gateway of the fort had 
 been turned into a small Russian church. On our left 
 we had a good view of the barracks and the town, 
 which has a circumference of about four miles and is 
 encircled by a double wall. 
 
 I inquired at Ura-Tiube about the religious and 
 moral condition of the people, and was told of two 
 adjacent places sacred in Muhammadan eyes, with 
 traditions attached worthy of Papal Rome. One, about 
 half a mile out of the town, was the tomb of a saint, 
 over which was built an arch that in process of time 
 began to drop in the centre, whereupon, with a view 
 to propping it up, they cut no less than 100 trees in 
 succession, not one of which, by some strange fatality, 
 would exactly fit ; whereupon the hewers of wood 
 decided to go to sleep, and lo ! whilst they slept, the 
 hundred trees walked off to Mecca, whence Muhammad 
 sent back a stone pillar, and this the sleepers, on 
 waking, found erected where the tree was to have 
 stood. Another saint having been buried in Ura- 
 Tiube, water began to issue from his grave. At once 
 the inhabitants surrounded the place with a wall, and 
 it is now considered holy. The moral condition of 
 the native men was said to be exceedingly low, and 
 all sorts of disgusting crime common. 
 
 Colonel Vaulin would gladly have had us prolong 
 our stay, but it seemed better to press on, and just 
 
FROM KHOKAND TO SAMARKAND. 217 
 
 as it became dark we started forward. The road was 
 good, and, as we travelled slowly, I managed to sleep 
 through the five hours we drove to Savat, where, under- 
 standing that the next stage would be a heavy one, 
 we again hired four horses, and were given five. We 
 thus sped on during the night to Zamin, where once 
 there was a mud fort, and to Ravat, and by breakfast- 
 time had descended to Jizakh, a town 970 feet above 
 the sea, with 4,000 inhabitants. Thus far from Ura- 
 Tiube we had been skirting the base of the Turkistan 
 range of mountains, along a route with hills adjacent. 
 The road frequently crossed the little stream that 
 waters Jizakh, sometimes keeping along its high loamy 
 banks, but at others climbing the hill-side. On one 
 of these latter occasions I remember noticing a 
 specimen of semi-nomad life, in tents pitched near 
 plots of cultivated land, and specimens of rude 
 weaving laid along the ground. 
 
 We passed two villages lying under the hill-side, 
 with flat roofs and walled yards, and then entered a 
 valley of the Kara-Tau chain, through which runs the 
 stream Jizakh just referred to, whilst the road leads 
 through a defile not more than a hundred yards in 
 width, called the Gates of Tamerlane, though there 
 appears to be no local reason for the name. This 
 important pass connects the Syr-daria and Zarafshan 
 valleys, and has witnessed many a sanguinary conflict. 
 On our right rose the scarped cliff some 400 feet 
 high, of a pyramidal slaty rock. On its surface are 
 cut two Persian inscriptions. The first commemorates 
 a campaign to, and the return in safety from, the 
 country of the Mongols in 1425, by Ulug-Bek, the 
 celebrated grandson of Tamerlane ; and the second 
 informs the traveller of a victory in 1571 of Abdullah 
 Khan, who with 30,000 men put to flight an army of 
 400,000. This victory is attributed <l to a fortunate 
 conjunction of the stars," and it is added that so many 
 were killed that for a month blood continued to run 
 
2i 3 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 in the river to Jizakh, and then it concludes, " Let this 
 be known." This was an instance of setting up a 
 memorial for those who should come after, as was 
 also the raising a heap for a similar purpose amongst 
 the nomad Kirghese I had met, and to which I have 
 alluded ; but I do not remember meeting in Central 
 Asia any exemplification of the custom of setting 
 up great stones, plastering them with plaster, and 
 writing thereon.* 
 
 On emerging from the defile we were again on the 
 steppe, with signs of irrigation, and distant snow- 
 covered peaks to the south. As we approached 
 Yany- Kurgan, we saw what looked in the distance 
 like a company of Cossacks exercising, but on nearer 
 approach proved to be a hundred or more of natives 
 playing their favourite game of Kok-Bari, or grey 
 wolf. It was market day, and on such occasions, 
 when horsemen congregate, a goat or kid is good- 
 naturedly seized upon, belonging to someone well-to- 
 do, who has had a birth in his family or some other 
 piece of good fortune, and the animal is killed. The 
 president of the game then takes up his position, if 
 possible, near some steep or elevated place, and hands 
 the goat to a horseman, who dashes down the slope 
 at the risk of breaking his neck, and is immediately 
 pursued by the field, each of whom tries to snatch 
 away the goat before the man can bring it back to the 
 president. Men of various ages were on the ground,- 
 and some had mounted their boys before them to see 
 the fun, which was in some respects not unlike a game 
 of polo. The race goes on till the carcase is torn 
 in pieces, whereupon it " goes to pot," and is boiled 
 for a feast. Then the company is ready to seize 
 another goat and begin again. 
 
 We passed but few houses on the road to Sarailyk, 
 and then proceeded across extensive plains, frequently 
 through cultivation. By evening we reached Kamenny- 
 
 * Deut. xxvii. 2. 
 
FROM KHOKAND TO SAMARKAND. 219 
 
 Most, or Stone Bridge, guarded by a Russian fort, and 
 beyond this point descended into the lower valley of 
 the Zarafshan, the. road lying through numerous fields. 
 We had telegraphed in the morning from Jizakh 
 to Samarkand to General Korolkoff to inform him of 
 our approach, hoping to finish our journey that night ; 
 but when we reached Djimbai it was already dark, 
 and since between that station and Samarkand we 
 had to ford the Zarafshan, the post-master advised 
 us to wait till dawn, and not risk the danger of a night 
 crossing. I therefore sat up till midnight writing, so as 
 to have as much leisure as possible in the capital, and 
 before it was light I stirred up the yemstchik to put to 
 the horses. We started about four o'clock, and in the 
 grey dawn came to the banks of the " gold-strewing " 
 stream, the fording of which I saw was to be a more 
 serious matter than aught of the kind I had previously 
 undertaken. Not only is the stream very swift, but 
 the depth so varies from day to day in different parts 
 of the bed that men are kept on the spot to study the 
 river's caprice and help travellers across. Our goods 
 were all taken out of the tarantass, and, with our 
 two selves, were placed in a high native cart, and 
 thus, accompanied by horsemen, we forded the river 
 with no worse mishap than the falling out of our bread- 
 bag, which was rescued by one of the horsemen. The 
 tarantass was dragged through, and did not get so 
 soaked as we feared it might have done, so that we 
 had only to put back our goods and proceed. We 
 passed the hill of Chupan-Ata, and soon found our- 
 selves on a well-made road, with trees on either 
 hand. Along this we passed to the palace of the 
 Governor, and thus arrived at the ancient capital of 
 the Timurids. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 
 
 Tamerlane's capital. Ancient ruins. The Russian Governor's palace. 
 The Gur-Emir: its tombstones, history, and relics. Mosque of 
 Shah-Zindeh : its legends, ornamentation, and places of devotion. 
 Ruin of Bibi-Khanum medresse : its architecture, and miracle- 
 working lectern. Bibi-Khanum's tomb. The Citadel Palace and 
 the Kok-tash stone. Timur's palace of Ishrat-Khana. Bird's-eye 
 view of Samarkand. Its former and present dimensions. Khoja- 
 
 Akhrar medresse. Koran of Othman. Tradition of Tamerlane's 
 
 library. The Rhigistan, with medresses of Ulug-Beg, Shir-Dar, 
 and Tillah-Kari. Varieties of enamelled bricks. A butcher's 
 shrine. 
 
 WE saw little or nothing of antiquarian interest 
 north of Tashkend, unless it were a few 
 Kirghese tombs, not apparently very old. Nor did 
 matters improve much until we approached Samar- 
 kand on the 28th September, and sighted, from the 
 Tashkend road, the enamelled dome of Timur's tomb, 
 as prominent an object in miniature as the dome of 
 St. Paul's from London Bridge. The road ran through 
 an ancient cemetery, and continued past the Place 
 of Bibi-Khanum, and the bazaar, to the Rhigistan, 
 or market-place, bounded on three sides by the 
 medresses Ulug Beg, Shir-Dar, and Tillah-Kari. 
 Instead of following this road, however, our driver- 
 turned to the right on passing inside the wall, and 
 drove down an avenue, planted by the Russians, on 
 the eastern side of the citadel, and so brought us to 
 the grove of trees, where is situated the palace of the 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 221 
 
 Governor. General Ivanoff, as I have intimated, was 
 at Tashkencl, but the soldiers in charge of his house 
 were expecting us ; and, seeing that Samarkand has no 
 hotel it was a great treat to find ourselves in the 
 best quarters in the town, with everything clean and 
 comfortable, including the luxury of a bath. The 
 palace is an oblong, lofty building on one floor, with 
 a massive porch midway on the longer side. The 
 interior is divided lengthwise into two suites of rooms, 
 the front door opening into a spacious hall. To the 
 right of this is the dining-room, and to the left sitting 
 and sleeping rooms, whilst the other half of the house 
 is taken up with offices and bed-room at either end, 
 and ball-room and drawing-rooms in the centre. The 
 Russian Government provides houses of this descrip- 
 tion for governors of provinces, and furnishes them, 
 so that I was fairly familiar with the interior arrange- 
 ments of the house ; but this palace at Samarkand was 
 surrounded by finer gardens, and had a more imposing 
 approach than any other similar residence I remem- 
 bered to have seen. General Korolkoff, who was 
 temporarily acting as Governor, was not living in the 
 palace, but, though early, we went to him at once, and 
 found him one of the most polished and intellectual of 
 Russian officers it has been my good fortune to meet. 
 Botany is one of his studies, and apart from the intro- 
 duction of Generals Abramoff and Ivanoff, I had another 
 to him from M. Regel, the director of the Botanical 
 Gardens at Petersburg. The General spoke French, 
 and was able to give me a .good deal of information, so 
 that our time spent indoors was both pleasant and 
 instructive. 
 
 We were impatient to see the " lions" of the town, 
 and made our way first to the Gur-Emir, a small but 
 lofty mausoleum surmounted by a melon-shaped dome 
 the top being perhaps from 200 to 250 feet high. On 
 the sides of the building rose two minarets, one being 
 already in ruins, and the other not safe enough to' 
 
222 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 ascend. Near at hand is a tall arch, also much 
 dilapidated. That which imparts to the building its 
 striking appearance on the exterior is the colour of its 
 enamelled bricks, built in mosaic, and made to repre- 
 sent round the cornice enormous Arabic letters, that 
 could be read, I should think, more than a mile off. 
 
 The building is approached under a mosaic portal 
 across a paved court planted with a score of karagach, 
 apricot, plum, and white mulberry trees. Formerly 
 the court was enclosed within a wall, and Vambery so 
 found it, but now the gateways alone remain. The 
 front of the building, as the law directs, is towards 
 the south, but' the entrance is on the west, and over 
 the gateway is written in white letters on blue ground, 
 " This is the work of poor Abdullah, son of Mahmoud 
 of Ispahan." We mount five stone steps, and at the 
 distance of six paces another step, and then arrive at 
 the first wooden door leading to a vestibule, the door 
 being modern and plain without, but carved within. 
 The next door is of ancient carving, inlaid with ivory, 
 and over it is a low, square, wooden window of open 
 work ; above this is a second window of alabaster, and 
 yet higher a third, also of alabaster, the latter two 
 with oval pediments. On the right is a door admitting 
 to a long chamber, where are buried some of the 
 female members of Timur's family, and similarly on 
 the left is a door opening into a low, arched chamber, 
 surmounted by four cupolas, wherein, according to 
 Fedchenko, are the tombs of Timur's son Mirza-Shah- 
 Rokh and his family. Still further to the left, in a 
 wing of the principal building, is an entrance, leading 
 to the tombs. Probably it is that referred to by 
 Fedchenko in the crypt, in the wall of which, he says, 
 " there was once a door through which the dead were 
 brought in, but it is now built up with bricks. At one 
 time there were four entrances into this building, signi- 
 fying that people flocked from the four quarters of the 
 world to the tomb of the great Emir." 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 223 
 
 On entering the principal doorway we found our- 
 selves in an octagonal chamber, ten paces in diameter, 
 wainscoted to a height of nearly five feet with yaskma, 
 or jasper, as I was told, and as is commonly said, but 
 which Dr. Schuyler asserts to be " hexagonal plates 
 of finely-carved transparent gypsum." I brought away 
 a piece found among the debris outside, and on show- 
 ing it at the Museum of Natural History in South 
 Kensington, it has been pronounced to be white, 
 translucent, and massive carbonate of lime. Above 
 this are three rows of niches carved in sandstone, a 
 foot and a half high, then inscriptions, formerly blue, 
 1 8 inches in height, also in niches ; and above all this 
 a continuance of niches, beautifully carved, and 
 crowned by a fine arch. The colour of the whole is 
 greyish white, and looks somewhat dingy and old. 
 In the eastern wall, facing Mecca, is an arched recess 
 called the Mikhrab, wherein rest the remains of 
 Said-Mir-Omar, son of one of Timur's preceptors. 
 Opposite the doorway by which we entered stood a 
 pillar perhaps four feet high, surmounted by a dome, 
 under which was formerly kept burning, says Ujfalvy, 
 ''the lamp of perpetual fire."* I cannot answer for 
 the perpetuity of the fire at Samarkand, but I found 
 there a dirty three-lipped lamp of unusual form, left 
 probably by a pilgrim, and the like to which I was 
 told I could get in the bazaar ; whereupon I begged 
 the mullah in charge to let me have that, and I gave 
 him money to purchase another in its place. I was 
 glad to have secured this lamp from so interesting a 
 spot, and the more so because in my subsequent 
 wanderings I did not meet with another of precisely 
 the same form. The pillar is said to indicate, I 
 believe, where the head lies, and near it is erected a 
 
 * Reminding- one of the Jewish tabernacle, "And the lamp to 
 burn always," Exodus xxvii. 20, an imitation of which I remember 
 meeting with at Worms, where in an old synagogue they showed a 
 lamp said to have been burning since the ;th century, in honour of two 
 Christians who then saved the Jews. 
 
224 TPIROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 rough pole, from which hangs, as usual over a Muham- 
 madan hero, a banner and horse-tail. 
 
 On the floor of the mausoleum, surrounded by an 
 open-worked railing of carved alabaster, are seven 
 cenotaphs. Near the pillar already mentioned is the 
 highest but least elegant one, that of Mir-Said- Barak, 
 or Mir-Kulan-Said-Baraka, Timur's preceptor and 
 friend. In a line with this is Tamerlane's own monument, 
 and near it that of his grandson, U lug- Beg, who, accord- 
 ing to the inscription, died in 1449. The other stones 
 cover the graves of Timur's descendants or friends. 
 
 The one stone really remarkable, said indeed to 
 be unique, is that over the tomb of Tamerlane. It 
 occupies the exact centre of the mosque. The other 
 monuments are of white marble, but his is greenish 
 black, 6 feet long, 17 inches wide, and 14 inches thick, 
 and of a single block of nephrite or jade, the largest 
 monolith of that material known. The surface is 
 covered with tracery, and around the edge is a com- 
 plicated inscription in antique letters, giving, says Dr. 
 Schuyler, " Timur's name and titles, together with 
 those of his ancestors, and the date of his death, 1405." 
 
 The floor of the mausoleum near the monuments is 
 covered with hexagonal stones of what is said to be 
 jasper, but more probably is of the same stone as the 
 wainscoting. A broad spiral flight of steps of grey 
 burnt brick leads into the crypt, where are the graves, 
 and over them slabs of white limestone, seven of 
 them being arranged exactly under their respective 
 representatives above. These, too, are nearly covered 
 with quotations, it is said, from the Koran. 
 
 The Gur-Emir was built by Timur over the remains 
 of his preceptor Sai'd in A.D. 1386, some time before 
 his own death. Timur died in Otrar, within 400 
 miles of Samarkand, but his body, according to his 
 own directions, was laid by the side of that of his 
 preceptor. The famous monolith was brought to 
 Samarkand in 1415. Some say that it was the present 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 225 
 
 of a Mongol princess. Devotees and pilgrims used to 
 flock with great reverence to Timur's grave, but the 
 place seems to have fallen into neglect until the coming 
 of the Russians. 
 
 About a hundred paces from the Gur-Emir there is 
 a small building called Ak-Serai, where, tradition says, 
 some of Timur's wives are buried. The place is now 
 in ruins, and serves as a stable, but in Vambery's time 
 there was hanging aloft on the side of the dome a 
 skein, said to contain, from the beard of the Prophet, 
 hair which was supposed to have protected the 
 dome from further decay. I saw nothing of the 
 Prophet's beard, though I may mention that the dome 
 of the Gur-Emir was cracked from the effects of a 
 recent earthquake, and at the time of my visit was 
 undergoing repairs. I took the opportunity to get 
 specimens of the enamelled bricks, for which purpose 
 I mounted the scaffolding, accompanied by a number 
 of boys, who readily searched among the ddbris for 
 suitable pieces, and one of them brought several in 
 his lap to the palace. 
 
 The object in Samarkand next in interest to Timur's 
 tomb is, beyond question, the mosque of Shah-Zindeh. 
 The legend related by the mullahs concerning this 
 building is that a thousand years ago there lived a 
 saint, whose name was Hazret-i-Shah-Zindeh, who 
 one day dug a pit and disappeared in it, saying that 
 he would live there for ever. Time ran on, but there 
 were unmistakable signs of the continued existence 
 of the saint. Timur, wishing to be convinced of 
 the miraculous preservation of the holy man, caused 
 several persons to be let down into the pit. But none 
 of them came again to the top, whereupon one man 
 volunteered to descend, directing, however, that he 
 should be lowered head foremost, because he said it 
 was not respectful to go down feet foremost to the 
 saint. When this man reached the bottom of the pit 
 he found the saint in prayer, and was so struck by his 
 
226 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 appearance that he fainted, and remained senseless for 
 three days. When he recovered, the saint told him 
 all was well, because he was evidently a God-fearing 
 man, but that if he uttered a word of what he had seen 
 he and his children to the eighth generation should be 
 dumb. On regaining the earth's surface, the man, 
 threatened by Timur with death, told everything, and 
 it came to pass that he was struck dumb. Whereupon 
 Timur, in the interest of the poor man, for whose sin 
 he was himself answerable, prayed to the saint, and, to 
 propitiate him, erected in his honour the splendid edifice 
 called the Shah-Zindeh (or living king). Nevertheless, 
 says the legend, that man and his children to the 
 eighth generation were all dumb. 
 
 The mosque of Shah-Zindeh, or more properly 
 Kasim-bin-Abbas, is situated about a mile beyond the 
 city gates, built, as it were, in stages on the side of a 
 hill, on which is an immense cemetery, still used, and 
 from which are visible the seven domes of the mosque. 
 The gateway opens upon the road, and is approached 
 by several steps. On the right at entering is a small 
 court, with chambers for the mullahs, and a well of 
 excellent water, whilst on the left is a hall or mosque, 
 where Muhammadan service is held. When we 
 entered, worship was being conducted by a Muham- 
 madan sect called Nadamat, closely resembling the 
 service I had seen at Constantinople of the so-called 
 "howling" dervishes, which I shall describe later on. 
 Mounting a broad flight of 37 high steps, which 
 were once covered with marble, we came to a long 
 uncovered gallery, flanked by two lofty chambers 
 open at the side and capped with cupolas. 
 
 Along this gallery were pointed out to us several 
 tombs, and among them those of a sister and an uncle 
 of Tamerlane, the enamel work on all of them being 
 more beautiful than any I saw elsewhere in Central 
 Asia, unless, perhaps, at Kunia Urgenj. In Dr. 
 Schuyler's time he says that there were quantities of 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 227 
 
 fragments to be picked up, but the Russians have 
 since done much, as at Tamerlane's tomb, to restore 
 the building and remove the debris. I found the 
 mullahs very willing to get me some specimens, 
 and, though making heavy baggage, I was thankful to 
 secure some of each kind. 
 
 At the end of the gallery we came to the ancient 
 mosque with its courts, chambers, and crypt. In one 
 of the rooms was a door of iron grating, secured by a 
 fish-shaped lock, having behind it, dimly distinguish- 
 able, a monument, or object covered with cloths. In 
 an adjoining room was an immense Koran, 6 feet by 4 
 when open, and we were shown an underground cell, 
 where devotees might shut themselves up for 40 days, 
 fasting and praying to the saint. In reply to my 
 inquiry how much those fasting ate, I was informed 
 that of the 10 or 15 who come there annually, some 
 eat on the evening of each day, some only once in 
 three days, and all as little as possible. In former 
 times the rulers of Samarkand paid their reverence at 
 Shah-Zindeh before entering the city in triumph, and 
 the mosque became a famous place of pilgrimage. In 
 Vambery's day there were offered for the faithful to 
 kiss, three flags, an old sword, and a breastplate, as 
 relics of Timur, and also there were said to exist 
 certain relics of the saint ; but I saw nothing of these, 
 and when I wished to look down the well of Shah 
 Zindeh, I was asked not to do so, the mullahs saying 
 that even von Kaufmann, the Governor-General, had 
 respected the holy place, and did not enter there. 
 These things naturally reminded me of the so-called 
 holy places on the European Continent, but the votive 
 offerings left at the holy places of Islam are fewer and 
 much poorer than the offerings at the shrines of Roman 
 or Russian saints. Here they consisted merely of 
 prayer-cloths, on which Moslems have knelt, and of 
 pictures brought by pilgrims from Mecca. I found 
 the mullahs by no means fanatical, for they thankfully 
 
228 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 accepted a Persian Bible, and appeared delighted to 
 get it. . 
 
 Returning down the Shah-Zindeh avenue, between 
 rows of gypsies who sit like Bar Timaeus " by the 
 way-side begging," the traveller regains the Tashkend 
 road and comes to the Place of Bibi-Khanum, or Queen 
 Bibi (khan and khanum meaning king and queen, lord 
 and lady), where are ruins of other two buildings that 
 date from the time of Timur. The Bibi is spoken of 
 as his favourite wife, and the daughter of a Chinese 
 emperor, who, from her private purse, built the 
 medresse that bears her name. 
 
 There remain several indications to show that the 
 Bibi-Khanum medresse must have been one of, if not, 
 the finest in Central Asia. Its chief mosque is said 
 by Khanikoff to have been built by the side of the 
 medresse in 1398, by Timur. It is crowned with 
 what is for Turkistan a gigantic double dome ; but 
 what struck me most was the lofty and graceful arch of 
 the Pishtak, or front entrance. Its proportions seemed 
 to me perfect ; and whether it was the contrast to the 
 surrounding ruins, and crumbling minarets, or what, I 
 know not, but as I gazed I began to think the arch one 
 of the loftiest I had ever seen. I tried to compare 
 with it, by the eye of memory, the east window of 
 York Minster, and it was not till I measured the 
 breadth of the Bibi-Khanum arch, which I found to 
 be 50 feet, that I could bring myself to realize that its 
 height could not exceed 150 feet. The contour and 
 lines of this ruin show it to have been the finest of the 
 buildings in Samarkand. The depth of the portal was 
 30 feet, and the walls of this and other parts of the 
 building were once covered with polished mosaic, 
 striking for its medley of colours. The design has 
 been skilfully executed, and bears marks of cultivated 
 taste. The colouring and gold in many places still 
 look fresh, but none of the porcelain is of open work 
 like that of the Shah-Zindeh. 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 229 
 
 On either side of the principal entrance is a slender 
 hexagonal tower measuring 54 feet round, from which 
 the mosaic is peeling fast. Not far distant is a large 
 square stone slab, sloping towards the centre, for 
 Mussulman ablutions, and in the middle of the build- 
 ing is an immense rahle, or lectern, of white marble, 
 7 feet long by 6 wide, having the appearance of two 
 sloping desks joined at the lower sides and supported 
 on nine low pillars. On this formerly used to lie a 
 huge copy of the Koran, seen by the Russian Ephremof, 
 who visited Samarkand in 1770. The lectern, with 
 its parchment book and large characters, was placed 
 within sight of a high window at which tradition says 
 Bibi-Khanum used to sit and read. The chief merit 
 of the lectern now consists in its miracle-working 
 power of permanently curing pains in the back-bones, 
 provided the sufferer manages to crawl beneath, which 
 the faithful do in all directions. 
 
 Bibi-Khanum lies buried in an adjoining octagonal 
 building, called Bibi-Khanum-Gur-Khana. When the 
 Russian authorities were clearing the courts of the 
 medresses of rubbish, they found this small mosque, 
 which had been concealed by the surrounding build- 
 ings and almost forgotten, but wherein they were told 
 was the tomb of Bibi-Khanum. A short time after, 
 the roof, falling in, broke through the floor, and 
 exposed a large vault containing grave-stones, with 
 inscriptions of prayers in ancient characters, but 
 without names or dates. I entered the vault, and 
 saw there five tombstones, all lying east and west, 
 and said to be those of Bibi and four children. 
 The mosque and medresse of Bibi-Khanum are too 
 much dilapidated to be repaired or restored, but the 
 Russians have cleared away the debris, and sur- 
 rounded them with palings to keep them from further 
 injury. 
 
 From these buildings we went to the citadel to see 
 another curiosity said to date from Timur's days 
 
2 3 o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 namely, a coronation stone, called the Kok-tash. In 
 this citadel was a palace built for the Emir Nasr-Ullah, 
 and in the palace a court that was used for state 
 occasions, which Vambery calls " Talari Timur," or 
 ''the reception-hall of Timur." The court is oblong, 
 and on the sides other than that where we entered, 
 there runs round the building a raised covered 
 veranda, or cloister, supported by wooden columns, 
 whilst at the end opposite the entrance is placed the 
 famous stone called Kok-tash. 
 
 The Kok-tash is an oblong block of greyish marble, 
 with dark streaks, polished on the top, carved in ara- 
 besques on the sides, and with small pilasters at the 
 corners. There is a railing put round the stone now 
 to keep it from injury, and behind it, on the wall, is 
 affixed an object alluded to by both Vambery and 
 Schuyler, though I have no recollection of seeing it 
 namely, an oval piece of metal like half a cocoa- 
 nut, bearing an Arabic inscription engraved in Cufic 
 letters. 
 
 When we walked down from the gallery some 3 or 4 
 feet, into the central space below, somewhat resembling 
 an arena, there was pointed out to us in the middle a large 
 octagonal stone about 3 feet high, in the top of which is 
 a cylindrical hollow, like a water basin, which served, 
 we were told, for the execution of offenders.* 
 
 The mention of one more ruin will complete the 
 list of those immediately connected with Timur. I 
 mean the Ishrat Kkana, in the suburbs of the town, 
 whither, according to tradition, Timur was wont to 
 repair for recreation. One may still perceive in the 
 ruin small apartments in addition to the large central 
 
 ] know not if this be true, but coupling with it the statement of 
 Baber that usurpers were put to death at the Kok-sarai, and recalling 
 the fact that the Emir Nasr-Ullah, even on his death-bed, caused to be 
 brought the sister of one of his adversaries, to be slain in his presence, 
 the position of this stone, as an alleged place of execution, seems to 
 illustrate Luke xix. 27, "But those, mine enemies, which would not 
 that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me" 
 
THE ANCIEN1 CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 231 
 
 hall in the second floor. The inhabitants of Samar- 
 kand relate that Bibi-Khanum built this for her tomb, 
 but that Timur, on paying a visit of inspection on 
 the completion of the building, was so delighted that 
 he kissed his wife, whereupon, confused and pleased, 
 Bibi-Khanum said, " Let this be I shrat- Khan's house 
 of gaiety and pleasure ; a repository for my remains 
 shall be built elsewhere." 
 
 On reaching a foreign city for the first time, it is a 
 favourite endeavour of mine to mount some lofty 
 pinnacle from which to obtain a view of the whole. 
 I lost no time in doing this at Samarkand, ascending 
 for that purpose one of the minarets of the Ulug-Beg 
 Medresse, said to be 150 feet high. 
 
 We gained from this place a capital view of the town. 
 To the north, five miles off, lay the wooded and culti- 
 vated country on the banks of the Zarafshan, with the 
 Chupan-Ata hills on the north-east, and nearer were 
 the ^hah-Zindeh, and the Bibi-Khanum ruins, as well 
 as the Tashkend road, and the avenue by which we 
 had arrived. On the east was the Kalendar-Kaneh 
 gate and the roads leading to Penjakend and Urgut. 
 On the west was the citadel with the Emir's palace, 
 and in it the Koktash ; and beyond the citadel, radiating 
 like a fan, were the straight and regular streets of the 
 Russian quarter, with its public garden, Governor's 
 palace, and shady promenade ; whilst on the south rose 
 the graceful dome of the Gur-Emir, and beyond it the 
 Khoja-Akhrar gate. The wide streets, and the coloured 
 roofs of the Russian houses, presented a marked con- 
 trast to the low mud house-tops, and the narrow, 
 tortuous lanes of the native city, in which, however, 
 the direction of the principal thoroughfares did not 
 appear to us so hopelessly irregular and intricate as 
 at Tashkend and Khokand. Moreover, the city is seen 
 to be large, and full of gardens, and these, watered 
 by three streams, give to it an aspect less dismal than 
 most of the towns we had seen. At the same time, it 
 
2 3 2 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 is a long way from an Englishman s idea ol what the 
 native poets have called it " a terrestrial paradise " ! 
 
 The city had six gates. One on the south, called 
 Khoja-Akhrar, leads to a medresse of that name, about 
 four miles distant, in the court of which is a pool of 
 water and some venerable plane-trees. This medresse 
 is interesting also, because it is said to have once 
 possessed the Koran of Othman. There is another 
 tradition interesting to literary antiquarians to which 
 I ought here perhaps to allude, respecting the col- 
 lection of Greek, Syrian, Chaldean, and Armenian 
 manuscripts said to have been brought to Samarkand 
 by Tamerlane. But the Russians have been able to 
 find no trace of the said library. 
 
 As far as I could judge, opinions differed widely 
 as to my chance of rinding manuscripts in Central 
 Asia, but some thought it possible that, on the approach 
 of the Russians, the books in Samarkand might have 
 been taken to Bokhara to the palace of the Emir. 
 Accordingly, one of the few things I asked of his 
 Majesty, during my audience at Shahr-i-sabz, was that 
 I might be allowed to see his library. He replied in 
 the affirmative ; but when I reached his palace at 
 Bokhara I was shown nothing of the kind, nor did 
 the officials left in charge seem to know anything 
 about a library ! On another occasion, in reply to my 
 question as to the whereabouts of the Emir's books, 
 one of the officials told me, with the utmost simplicity, 
 that when the Emir went away for the summer, he 
 took his books in a cart with him the man meaning, 
 I fancy, his records and account books. My small 
 efforts, therefore, for the discovery of Tamerlane's 
 library were fruitless, and nothing that I saw or heard 
 led me to think that anything of the kind exists. 
 
 But I have been descanting upon these antiquities 
 from the summit of the Ulug-Beg minaret, looking in 
 the direction of the medresse of Khoja-Akhrar, whilst 
 immediately below are three medresses, the fronts of 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 233 
 
 which bound as many sides of the handsomest Rhigi- 
 stan, or public place, in Central Asia. 
 
 That on the left, on the west of the square, is the 
 college of Ulug-Beg, its founder. This monarch, 
 during his father's lifetime, is said to have attracted 
 to Samarkand the most celebrated astronomers from 
 different parts of the world, and in the observatory 
 and college to have had more than a hundred persons 
 constantly occupied in scientific pursuits. But the 
 college, though once the home of mathematics and 
 learning, is now in a ruinous state. It is only one 
 floor high, and contains 24 rooms. Its endowment is 
 430 acres of land, 2 bazaars, 2 1 1 shops, and 7 1 ware- 
 houses, bringing in an annual income of ^100. 
 
 The college on the east is the Shir-Dar, which has in 
 front a lofty arched portal, with two stories of students' 
 rooms. The sides of the medresse have no windows. 
 At the corners in front are minarets, and at the other 
 end cupolas surmounted by melon-shaped domes. In 
 the upper corners of the facade over the arch are rude 
 representations in blue and yellow tiles of the lion and 
 the sun, the Persian arms, whence the name given to 
 the medresse of Shir-Dar, or lion-bearing. The facade 
 is richly decorated with mosaic in earthenware tiles, 
 green, blue, white, and red. The interior arrangement 
 in Central Asian colleges generally consists of a large 
 quadrangular court, surrounded by a range of buildings, 
 with chambers for teachers and pupils ; the mesjed, 
 mosque, or, as we should say, chapel, being on the 
 side towards Mecca. On entering the Shir-Dar, the 
 three blocks of buildings are seen to have two 
 tolerably lofty stones, containing 64 chambers, each 
 for two students, many of whom go away in summer to 
 work. This medresse and the Tillah-Kari are said to 
 have been built about 1618 by Yalang Tash Bahadur, 
 an Uzbeg, and vizier of Imam Kuli Khan, from the 
 spoils of the shrine at Imam Riza in Meshed ; and 
 an inscription on the walls of the Shir-Dar, in verse, 
 
234 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 in honour of the builder, affirms that the Moon, on 
 beholding these splendid edifices, placed the finger of 
 astonishment on her lips. 
 
 The college on the north side of the Rhigistan is 
 called Tillak-Kari, that is, covered with tillahs, or 
 gold coins. The exterior is a good deal crumbled ; 
 it has minarets, and two stories of windows in front, 
 whilst the interior is in a better state of preservation 
 than either of the two just described. Here we were 
 taken to the mosque on the left-hand side of the court, 
 and our attention was drawn to the carved woodwork 
 steps of the gilded marble pulpit, on which the 
 moulding approached very nearly to the dog-tooth 
 carving of the Gothic style. Greater pains and art 
 seem to have been bestowed on this medresse than 
 on the others, and more gold is seen in the ornamenta- 
 tion. The wall of the kibleh, or niche, where is supposed 
 to be the Imaum (or image, called Mikkrab, which pre- 
 sents itself to the Moslem mind in prayer), is gilded, 
 and bears the inscription, " There is no God but God, 
 and Muhammad is His Prophet." * 
 
 Opposite the Shir-Dar in the Rhigistan our attention 
 was called to a square, raised platform, and on one of 
 its corners the small conical tomb of a butcher who 
 supplied the workmen with their meat when building 
 the medresse. Schuyler says he frequently saw candles 
 there and other votive offerings, so that I presume the 
 butcher was a saint. 
 
 There are other ancient but less noteworthy build- 
 ings in and around the city, such as the tomb of 
 the giant Daniar Palvan, and the ruins of the 
 palace Khilvat-Khaneh, said to have belonged to 
 one of the wives of Tamerlane ; but I think I 
 
 * All these medresses, and, in fact, the religious buildings generally 
 of Central Asia, are ornamented with enamel work of the following 
 kinds : first, bricks with a smooth surface covered with a coat of self- 
 coloured enamel. The pieces I obtained from Tamerlane's tomb were 
 all of this character, nor did I see there any other. Secondly, the same, 
 but with two shades of one colour in the same brick. Thirdly, minute 
 
THE ANCIENT CAPITAL OF TAMERLANE. 235 
 
 have said sufficient for the present of the Muham- 
 madans and their antiquities, and so turn to the 
 professors of a more ancient and, to me, more 
 interesting religion namely, that of the Central 
 Asian Jews. 
 
 pieces of brick about half an inch thick, coated with self-coloured 
 enamel, fitting one into the other, and arranged in mosaic in a bed of 
 plaster. Of this I secured a specimen 10 inches long by 7 broad, the 
 colours of the pieces being of dark blue, light green, two shades of 
 brownish-yellow, and white. Fourthly, bricks with open work, moulded 
 or embossed on the surface, and covered with a coating of enamel of 
 one or more colours. These I saw only at the Shah-Zindeh, where I 
 was fortunate in finding a mullah, who, in his ardour to oblige me, ran 
 and fetched a ladder, climbed to a loose brick we had espied (though 
 not of open-work) and brought it down in triumph. Fifthly, bricks flat or 
 rounded, with smooth surface, covered with various designs, writing, or 
 tracery. The piece secured by the mullah just alluded to is of diamond 
 shape, 9 inches long, and an inch and a quarter thick, with a design 
 in five colours, but of rather coarse workmanship. Another piece of 
 the same class, but of finer workmanship, obtained from the Tillah- 
 Kari, and measuring 5 inches by 4, has remains of the gold visible, 
 and besides two shades of blue, light green, red, and white, has what 
 looks like part of a plum-coloured flower. A third specimen of the 
 same class has a white Arabic inscription on a dark brown ground. 
 These last two colours are noticeable, because M. Ujfalvy, who, as an 
 antiquarian, went into this matter somewhat closely, affirms that the 
 dark brown enamel is found only at Afrasiab, where I did not go, whilst 
 the plum-colour he does not mention at all, but only enumerates blue of 
 the two shades of turquoise and lapis lazuli, white, green, yellow, red, 
 and pink of many shades. My finest specimen, however, of this 
 class was brought me by a mullah from the Ulug-Beg medresse, a 
 brick about an inch thick and 18 inches square, so tough that it stood 
 unbroken a journey of hundreds of miles across the desert on the back 
 of a camel, in addition to the ups and downs of the tarantass and railway 
 and steamer travelling for 4,000 miles to London. It has at one side 
 a border 5 inches wide, of light and dark blue, with red and gold 
 colouring, and the remainder of the surface is occupied with the lower 
 sections of tall Arabic letters that probably formed part of a large 
 inscription running along a cornice. The bricks I obtained subsequently 
 from Kunia Urgenj are self-coloured, like Class i, but measuring 
 7 x 2\ x \\ inches, and of great purity of colour ; also some of Mosaic, 
 like Class 3, and a small piece of Class 5, only that this last is of 
 altogether finer pencilling. I have thus described somewhat fully these 
 enamels, because by some writers they are made much of, and they 
 represent one of the very few branches of art to be met with in Central 
 Asia. They are ako interesting as specimens of what could be done 
 by Asiatics 500 years ago, though poor enough as compared with 
 Western productions. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 
 
 Visit to Jewish quarters during the Feast of Tabernacles. Synagogue 
 choristers. Visit to rabbi. Local traditions of Jews in China. 
 Hebrew pronunciation. Visit to military and native hospitals. 
 Education and morals of Russian officers and men. Samarkand 
 bazaar. Public-houses of Zarafshan, and the Turkistan liquor 
 traffic. Governor's information respecting the province. Attend- 
 ants for our journey, and Asiatic interpreter. Purchase of antiquities 
 and distribution of the Scriptures. General Ivanoff. 
 
 WE had not been many hours in Samarkand before 
 we made the acquaintance of one of the Jews. 
 He was on the official staff of interpreters, and General 
 Korolkoff would have sent him with us for our guide 
 about the town, but that we had come during the seven 
 days of the Feast of Tabernacles, whereof their law said, 
 " Ye shall do no servile work therein" (Lev. xxiii. 36) ; 
 and he therefore explained that he could not drive with 
 us to Tamerlane's tomb, though his conscience was so 
 far unfettered that he expressed his willingness to walk 
 there. We therefore set out, and he told us on the 
 way how much more strict in keeping their law are the 
 Asiatic than the European Jews. He left us on our 
 return from the Gur-Emir, and we set off to the 
 Rhigistan with another interpreter ; but after seeing 
 the three medresses and the Shah-Zindeh, already de- 
 scribed, we went by a cross-cut to the Jews' quarter, 
 and met again the Jewish interpreter at the house of a 
 fellow- Israelite, Raphael Moses Kalendaroff. I fancy 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 237 
 
 he was one of their wealthy men, perhaps he who built 
 the synagogue, for he bore the same name, and it 
 was in his house we were to see how they kept the 
 Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
 In his court or garden was erected a cotton tent, out- 
 side of which nothing might be eaten for seven days. 
 Here I presented the Lord Mayor's letter and the 
 introduction of the Moscow rabbi, received at once a 
 welcome, and was invited to eat. The ancient Jewish 
 law directed (Lev. xxiii. 39 44 ; Neh. viii. 14 16) 
 that the people should dwell in huts,* which is still 
 interpreted to mean that the roof, if not the sides, 
 should be of branches ; but these would not be easily 
 obtained in sufficient quantity in Samarkand, and I am 
 under the impression that not even the roof was so 
 formed. My host, however, had remembered the 
 injunction of the law in providing, at least, " the fruit 
 of goodly trees," if not " olive branches, and pine 
 branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, 
 and willows of the brook." Perhaps these latter were 
 represented by the leafy decorations over our heads in 
 the form of a large framework, something like a chan- 
 delier, from which were hanging apples, quinces, and- 
 saffron flowers, whilst on the carpeted floor were placed 
 dishes of parched peas, pistachio nuts, grapes, peaches, 
 and apples, as well as mutton and carrot pies, and 
 roasted apricot and plum kernels. Many came in, 
 and, kneeling down, sat upon their haunches, but not 
 cross-legged, round the four sides of the tent. I began 
 at once to ply them with questions respecting their 
 condition and that of their brethren in Bokhara. In 
 the case of the latter we heard again the story related 
 at Khokand, how that the Bokhariot Jews may not 
 build enough synagogues for their need, that they may 
 not buy a house from a Mussulman without the Emir's 
 permission, that they may not ride on horseback in the 
 town of Bokhara, that their head-covering must be a 
 
 * n'3p, not ?nfc, which latter is a tent of skins or cloth. 
 
238 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 black calico cap, worth only a few pence, and the girdle 
 about their loins, not even of leather, but of rope ; 
 also that when a Mussulman beats or insults a Jew, 
 the latter must always look down and humbly submit. 
 Another hardship I had not heard of before was that 
 under the Emir's government, if two Jews disagree, 
 their dispute must be settled by Mussulman law ; 
 and my informants said that so intimidated were the 
 Bokhariot Jews that they dared not come to ask 
 the Russians for help. I inquired whether I could 
 
 A JEWESS OF CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 do anything by interceding with the Emir on their 
 behalf, but they said " No," for that such a course 
 would only make matters worse. 
 
 On leaving the tent I was invited to look at a new 
 house my host was building, which evidently he thought 
 very grand. The many-coloured decorations of the 
 walls, after the fashion of the Sarts, was the principal 
 feature that struck me, and we then walked on the flat 
 roof, where apricots were drying in the sun. We 
 could see down into a neighbouring yard, where was a 
 young Jewess, unveiled. This would have called for 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 239 
 
 no remark in England, but directly she caught sight of 
 me she ran away, as if it were improper to be seen 
 unveiled by a stranger. Perhaps this would not have 
 been so, however, had my host been alone, as I believe 
 the Jewish women in Central Asia are veiled only in 
 the streets to protect themselves from insult. On 
 leaving, Moses, our Jewish interpreter, pressed us to 
 come and look at his festal tent. This we did, and 
 noticed, among the things suspended, a plant whose 
 seeds were said to cure squinting. 
 
 We then went to the synagogue, allowed to the 
 Jews of Samarkand only since the Russians came, 
 where the best chorister in the region was that evening 
 to sing. The crowd was dense, and in a short time 
 two singers appeared; the "primo" a delicate, modest- 
 looking man, who blushed at the eagerness with which 
 his arrival was awaited, whilst the " secondo " was a 
 brazen-faced fellow, who carried his head on one side, 
 as if courting attention, and with the assurance that he 
 should have it. They were introduced to us, and 
 began at once, that we might hear. The singing, so 
 called, was the most remarkable that up to that time I 
 had ever heard. The first voice led off in a key so 
 high, that he had to strain for some seconds before he 
 could utter a sound at all. After this he proceeded very 
 slowly as to the number of words he sang, but pro- 
 longed his notes into numerous flourishes, screaming 
 as loudly as he could in falsetto. The second voice was 
 an accompaniment for the first ; but as both bawled as 
 stoutly as possible, I soon voted it anything but good 
 music, and intimated that it was time for us to go. 
 The congregation, moreover, were crowding round, 
 without the smallest semblance of their being engaged 
 in divine worship. They were anxious to detain us, 
 however, as long as possible, and the rabbi having 
 read my documents, showed us such objects of interest 
 as they possessed ; among others a specimen of very 
 diminutive writing, and he asked my acceptance, as a 
 
240 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 souvenir, of a picture, brought, I fancy, from Jerusalem, 
 and hanging in their synagogue. After this we were 
 obliged to hurry away, the rabbi urging us to pay him 
 a visit, and another Jew assuring us that, if we would 
 call upon him, we should meet with a better reception 
 than they had been able on that day to give us. 
 
 We returned to the palace, and next day General 
 Korolkoff took us to a school, where we saw that of 
 the 77 boys, no less than 30 were Jews. It was note- 
 worthy, moreover, that, as with boys of the same race 
 in Europe, their abilities were remarkably good, putting 
 in the shade those of their Russian and Sart school- 
 fellows.* I asked to hear the Jew boys read ; but 
 here again sprung up a question of conscience, or 
 rather of law, for it was a feast day, and though they 
 had come to school because ordered by the Russian 
 authorities to do so, (I suppose that I might see 
 the school, for I fancy it was a holiday) yet they might 
 not read, because that would be to work. 
 
 Two days later we called on the rabbi, who was 
 still keeping the feast in his tabernacle, where he 
 received us, and of whom I was glad to make some 
 inquiries respecting his people. He said there were 
 2,500 persons dwelling in 400 houses in Samarkand. 
 He confirmed the traditional interpretation I had read 
 in Dr. Wolffs book, that by the Habor, in 2 Kings 
 xvii. 6, and xviii. 1 1, they understand Bokhara, Samar- 
 kand, and the region round about, f With reference 
 to the lost tribes, he related a well-known Jewish 
 legend that on the Sambation (|Vb30D, which he 
 located in China, but which others, I believe, affirm to 
 
 * A superiority not confined apparently to the present century, for 
 in Nebuchadnezzar's court in Babylon, " in all matters of wisdom and 
 understanding that the king inquired of (Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, 
 and Azariah), he found them ten times better than all the magicians 
 and astrologers that were in all his realm " (Dan. i. 20). 
 
 f He offered no reason that would at all affect, however, Canon 
 Rawlinson's statement in the Bible Dictionary, that Habor is identified 
 beyond all reasonable doubt with a famous affluent of the Euphrates, 
 still known as the Khabour. 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 241 
 
 be in Africa) lives a people whom the Chinese call sons 
 of Abram, and that Mussulmans profess to the Jews in 
 Samarkand to have seen their brethren in China ; but 
 the Samarkand Jews have not done so, and for this 
 wonderful reason, that the aforesaid river is hot on six 
 days and cold only on the seventh, on which day it 
 would be unlawful for the Jews to cross ; but the 
 Muhammadans, not being similarly bound, embrace 
 the opportunity to do so. A second version is that 
 the river, in its course, throws up stones every day, 
 except on the Sabbath.* Another traditional Israeli- 
 tish story he gave, that Samarkand had been de- 
 stroyed seven times, and therein had perished 24,000 
 Kohanim Jews, these having had a separate cemetery 
 from the Israelites. Tamerlane, he informed me, was 
 said to have brought from Meshed seven families of 
 Jews, and that their descendants were still living at 
 Bokhara and Samarkand. But all these, I fancy, were 
 very much of the nature of " idle tales," for the rabbi 
 said that the Jews had not been in Samarkand more 
 than a century, and he added that they were from the 
 tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 
 The rabbi then added they were Sephardim or Spanish, 
 
 * With this story told to me of Jews existing in China, which I heard 
 also at Khokand, it is interesting to compare the account of Mr. Finn, 
 respecting " the orphan colony of Jews " in the city of Kae-Fung-Foo, 
 who (in 1870) were all but absorbed into the surrounding Chinese and 
 Muhammadans. Tablets on their synagogue testified to several migra- 
 tions thither,, the first in the Chow dynasty between B.C. 1122 and 
 B.C. 249, and a third as late as A.D. 1163. In 1843 a letter was 
 addressed to them, and sent through the English consul at Ning-po. 
 Five years later, tidings were heard of the people ; and a little later a 
 letter from them was received, telling of the decay of their religion and 
 synagogue. Some supposed, from the information given, that the 
 colony arrived from Khorassanand Samarkand on the way from Persia, 
 because Persian words were found in some of the inscriptions of their 
 sacred books. Messengers were sent to the colony from Bishop Smith, 
 of Victoria, and some of their Hebrew writings purchased. The remnant 
 of the people was again visited in 1866 by Dr. Martin, an American 
 Presbyterian missionary, and considerable interest in their desolate 
 condition has been shown by both Jews and Christians, though I am 
 not aware that any practical suggestions on their behalf have been 
 successfully carried out 
 
 16 
 
242 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and asked me whether the English Jews were " Ashkena- 
 zim," that is, Eastern, like the German Jews, a 
 question they quickly answered for themselves ; for 
 after asking the rabbi to repeat to me a few verses in 
 Hebrew from the beginning of Genesis, that I might 
 hear his pronunciation, I proceeded to do the same to 
 him. They said at once that my pronunciation was that 
 of the Sephardim.* 
 
 The rabbi gave us fruit, and appeared quite to 
 expect us to dine, but we knew the General would be 
 waiting for us, and so had to ask to be excused. 
 
 On Friday, the morning after our arrival at Samar- 
 kand, General Korolkoff took us to visit the military 
 hospital. It was situated without the city on the south- 
 west, beyond the Russian town, having two kinds of 
 erections namely, well-built houses of brick for the 
 winter, and summer tents, from which latter the patients 
 were to be transferred, if I remember rightly, on the 
 morrow, September 3oth. The general arrangements 
 were similar to those we had seen at the military 
 hospital in Tashkend, but on a smaller scale, there 
 being only 117 patients. The skin diseases were the 
 most interesting, and among them a case of rishta or 
 kind of guinea worm, peculiar to Bokhara and adjacent 
 towns. The medical officer kindly gave me a specimen 
 of the parasite, which I brought safely to London. 
 We saw likewise at Samarkand several cases of an 
 endemic skin disease, common in Turkistan, and known 
 among the Russians as Sart sickness, or disease. It 
 is the Afghan yaria or plague, and is known also as 
 pasha-kkurda, or consuming fly. 
 
 On the following day we visited two hospitals the 
 Russians have established for native women and 
 men. The hospital was particularly well built and 
 clean, tlie patients eating in a common hall. 
 
 * I observed that in the words, N'laJVK'&r]?, they pronounced them 
 instead of B'raishith bara, B'raishit bora, but not B'rai$his t as I 
 have heard among the Ashkenazim. 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 243 
 
 From the military hospital the General took us to 
 see two schools and an asylum, established by the 
 Russians in part for the education of natives. In the 
 boys' school were 77 scholars, of whom 22 were 
 Russians, 30 Jews, and the remainder Sarts. Among 
 the last was the son of the native police-master of the 
 Sart town, a boy of 14, who had been three years 
 in the school. He was dressed in a khalat, with 
 printed cotton trousers, yellow boots, and a white 
 turban. He had, moreover, a watch and chain, and 
 was evidently a grandee, rejoicing in the name of 
 Sevarkul Bek Sultanbekoff. Another Sart boy sported 
 a watch by " John Salter, London." I did not gather 
 that the Sarts showed any extraordinary capacity, or 
 that they were particularly keen for instruction. The 
 Jewish boys in the school mentally excelled all their 
 schoolfellows, and came in goodly numbers ; but to 
 the girls' school, whither we next went, neither Sarts 
 nor Jews would send their daughters, though both 
 schools were free. This, I presume, would be too 
 great an innovation on their Oriental ideas. The 24 
 scholars in the girls' school were all Russian. Besides 
 these two institutions, I heard of a boarding-school in 
 Samarkand, where the boys wear uniform, and we 
 visited an asylum for orphans and poor children, sup- 
 ported by voluntary contributions, the funds being 
 raised, as so often is the case in Russia, by concerts, 
 bazaars, etc. The building contained, however, only 
 four girls and five boys. 
 
 After visiting the schools we went to the "citadel, 
 where are the town barracks, whilst the camp was 
 situated, as we afterwards saw, 15 miles on the south 
 of the town. We were thrown into the company of 
 a good many officers in Turkistan, and the impression 
 they left on my mind was favourable. I thought 
 Russians seemed rather fond of telling us that many 
 of the Turkistan officers were of questionable character, 
 having squandered their fortune in vicious living at 
 
244 THROUGH CENTRAL A SIA . 
 
 Petersburg, and then come to Central Asia to recover 
 themselves. Others, again, were supposed to be there 
 for the extra pay, and the opportunities in war time of 
 rapid advancement. Drunkenness is reported to be 
 the chief vice among the troops, and the great majority 
 of crimes and offences are committed by the men in 
 this state. During the severe expedition to Khiva, 
 when the troops were forbidden the use of spirits, and 
 a ration of tea issued instead, offences, it was said, 
 were rare. 
 
 We saw near Samarkand a number of flat targets to 
 represent soldiers drawn up in line of battle to be shot 
 at for practice in three ways, at the head, at half the 
 body, and the whole body, at various distances from 
 100 up to 1,000 yards. Had we stopped a few days 
 longer we could have seen some practice, but now I 
 can only quote from my statistics, to the effect that in 
 ball practice the rifle battalions head the list with the 
 predicates of " very good " and " excellent," the practice 
 of the rest of the army being less satisfactory. 
 
 The same day on which we visited the citadel, with 
 its barracks and soldiers, we saw also the bazaar. This 
 building suffered a good deal at the time of the Russian 
 conquest, and has been to some extent rebuilt. There 
 remains, however, a large octagonal building belonging 
 to the old bazaar, wherein we bought skull-caps and 
 some native olive-green snuff, and small gourds that 
 serve for snuff-boxes. Samarkand does a considerable 
 trade in cotton, silk, wheat, and rice, also in knives, 
 fruit, horses, sheep, and mules. Wheat, rice, and silk 
 are exported principally to Bokhara. The cotton is 
 sent through Tashkend to Russia. From the Bokhariot 
 province of Shahr-i-sabz, lying south of Samarkand, they 
 bring wheat, excellent fruit, including pomegranates, 
 and pomegranate rind for making a red dye, likewise 
 silk webs. From the province of Hissar is brought 
 salt, well known for its excellent quality. The bazaar 
 is seen to greatest advantage on market days, that 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 245 
 
 is Thursdays or Sundays, when the principal street 
 from the place Bibi-Khanum to the Righistan is so 
 full of people that there is hardly room to move, but 
 amongst them there is scarcely a woman to be seen. 
 There were exposed for sale Bokhara velvets of very 
 original patterns and brilliant colours. I bought hand- 
 kerchiefs of thick silk from, I suppose, Hissar, and 
 something more curious in the form of a native 
 enamelled, wooden saddle, with a high pointed pommel, 
 similar to the form used in Mexico. 
 
 On the third day of our sojourn in Samarkand 
 we visited the prison, which I shall describe here- 
 after. I may here mention, however, concerning the 
 principal feeders of the prisons I mean the public- 
 houses and also a propos of the drunkenness alleged 
 above to be the prime cause of military offences, that 
 in the Zarafshan province for six years, 1868-73, 
 the number of public-houses, wine-cellars, distilleries, 
 and breweries, progressed in the following order : 
 3, 5, 10, 45, 53, 40. These figures relate, I believe, 
 to the Russian population, since the Mussulmans are 
 supposed to be, and for the most part are, abstainers 
 from intoxicating drinks. 
 
 On returning each day to the palace after our sight- 
 seeing and researches, we were favoured at dinner 
 with the presence of General Korolkoff, and sometimes 
 of his brother, Colonel Korolkoff, Colonel Alexandroff, 
 and others ; and as the acting Governor was well 
 posted in the affairs of his province, I gained from 
 him a great deal of information, especially in matters 
 that touched at all upon botany and agricultural 
 produce. 
 
 Besides these subjects of general interest, we dis- 
 cussed my future journey. Thus far I had accomplished 
 a posting journey of about 2,800 miles by the hire of 
 upwards of 800 horses, and the question now arose 
 as to how I was to proceed to Bokhara. The direct 
 road, that might be traversed in the tarantass, was 
 
246 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 through Daul and Chimbai to Katte- Kurgan on the 
 frontier, a distance of 43 miles, for which one could get 
 post-horses; but for the remaining 100 miles to Bokhara 
 there were no post-horses ; and if any animals could be 
 hired, it would be to Bokhara only, and not beyond. 
 I was specially desirous, however, to have an interview 
 with the Emir, who was staying for the summer at 
 Shahr-i-sabz, to which the nearest route lay over a 
 mountain road, impassable for wheeled vehicles. I 
 determined, therefore, to go on horseback to Shahr-i- 
 sabz, and to send my tarantass to await me at Karshi, 
 which I should have to go through on my roundabout 
 road to Bokhara. 
 
 Having thus determined, it was necessary to buy 
 two horses for Mr. Sevier and myself, and to hire 
 a- third as a sumpter. Several were brought for 
 inspection to the palace after lunch on Saturday, 
 and I fixed upon two stallions, a chestnut for myself, 
 and a black for Mr. Sevier, at what I thought the 
 wonderfully cheap price of 9 i2s. for the two. Just 
 as the bargain was being struck, a native rode up 
 on a tall, graceful creature worthy of Rotten Row, 
 for which he asked ^10. Had I wanted one for 
 pleasure only, or to bring to England, I should have 
 chosen this, but we were advised that our former 
 choice was better for the work before us. My horse 
 in particular was pronounced to be excellent, and in 
 the course of the afternoon we rode out to try our 
 steeds, and took the opportunity to call on the Uyezdi 
 nachalnik, M. George Alexevitch Arendarenko, who 
 very obligingly offered to place at my disposal two 
 djiguitts, who might accompany us as far as the Oxus. 
 This was a great kindness, the full value of which I 
 did not realize at first. Besides this, M. Arendarenko 
 gave us advice as to our proceedings, and on certain 
 points of Oriental etiquette to be observed in Bokhara. 
 
 It was further necessary to secure an interpreter who 
 could speak Russian and Turki, and I should have been 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 247 
 
 well pleased to take the Jewish official interpreter, 
 to whom I have alluded, but he could not leave during 
 the feast, so General Korolkoff kindly found for us 
 a Tatar, who spoke Russian and Turki, and Tajik 
 besides. This was so far well ; but as we should be 
 entirely at the mercy of this man, it was a comfort 
 when M. Arendarenko called upon us, and said that 
 one of our native djiguitts spoke also Russian, so 
 that, if the interpreter did not comport himself satisfac- 
 torily, we might send him about his business. As 
 we were leaving Russian territory, I supposed it 
 would be necessary to change my Russian roubles 
 into the gold and silver coin of Bokhara, though 
 Colonel Alexandroff, from the camp, who dined with 
 us, said he had passed from Khiva to Bokhara 
 and found Russian money received in payment every- 
 where. I thought perhaps his uniform might have 
 something to do with it, but when the money-changer 
 came to the palace with his gold tillahs, my native 
 interpreter seemed also to think it quite needless for 
 me to take them, and I changed only ^20, for which 
 I was given in silver 764 tengas, and offered in 
 gold 30 tillahs, equal to 13^. ^d. each, and 50 
 kopecks. My tengas, therefore, cost me 6^d. each. 
 The money-changer was /not the only mercantile 
 visitor we received at the palace, for when it became 
 known that I was interested in antiquities, an old 
 Khoja and another native brought some ancient 
 coins, which I purchased, and the Khoja said that 
 19 miles from Bokhara, on the Oxus, is a well, called 
 Magallel Kuyu-baun, at which formerly was a town 
 called Seevineh ; that when the sand is blown away, 
 it leaves ruins bare, and those who go there for 
 fodder sometimes find money and rings. He sold 
 me a small cameo that he said had been found there, 
 which has on it a stag or hare running, whence I 
 conclude it to be of Greek workmanship, since the 
 Muhammadan natives of Bokhara do not depict living 
 
2^ THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 creatures. The Khoja said that, were he not so 
 old, he should be well pleased to go with us as 
 interpreter, since he knew the country well. Other 
 antiquities, such as enamelled bricks, were brought 
 us by the mullahs, and when to a sum of money I 
 added, as a present, an Arabic New Testament or 
 Turkish Gospel, they expressed their gratitude. In 
 fact, I went on Sunday afternoon to the Tillah-Kari 
 medresse, and gave a Persian Bible for the use of 
 the mullahs. They thanked me much, and when we 
 walked on to the Shir-Dar, and gave an Arabic New 
 Testament, they were equally obliged. Another thing 
 to be thought of was that, on leaving Samarkand, we 
 were going not only out of the postal union, but of 
 the postal region, and that we must accordingly make 
 up our minds to be for a while dead to the civilized 
 world, and the world to us. As it was, I had received 
 no communications from Europe since leaving Tiumen, 
 though I had despatched many to England ; and when 
 I had finally made up my mind to enter Bokhara, I 
 telegraphed to London from Samarkand, at a cost of 
 24^., " All well. Leave in three days for Bokhara 
 and Khiva. Found no letters at Tashkend. Expect 
 me in December," thinking that this date would give 
 an ample margin for my return, but really expecting 
 to be home before. 
 
 During our stay at the palace, we of course learned 
 more of General Ivanoff, our absent host, whom we 
 had left at Tashkend. He was spoken of to us as 
 being of remarkably even temper, as never angry nor 
 particularly pleased, showing neither satisfaction nor 
 displeasure. They told us he possessed great powers 
 of endurance. An instance was quoted of his riding 
 from Petro-Alexandrovsk, where he was governor, 
 to Nukus, a distance of 116 miles, staying for 2 hours 
 only, and then returning, doing the 233 miles in about 
 36 hours, and then setting to work reading and 
 writing immediately. His bravery, too, was alluded 
 
OUR STAY AT SAMARKAND. 249 
 
 to in terms equally high. At the taking of Khiva, 
 he and nine others were surrounded in fight by Turko- 
 mans, and he was wounded in the arm ; also by a 
 ball passing through under his knee-cap, and another 
 through his regimental cap, cutting open the scalp ; 
 but even then they said that he declined having his 
 own wounds dressed till he had looked after the welfare 
 of those wounded with him. I did not realize at 
 Tashkend that I had read of him as Colonel Ivanoff, 
 the Governor at the fortress to which Colonel Burnaby 
 was brought after his " ride to Khiva," or that he 
 was the same who generously gave up to MacGahan 
 a portion of his tent in the Khivan campaign; but I 
 shall not soon forget his kindness in giving us quarters 
 at his house, and doing so much to render pleasant 
 our stay at Samarkand. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 DO WE KNOW THE TRUTH ABOU7 
 SIBERIAN PRISONS? 
 
 Different estimates of "Through Siberia." Doubts of sceptical 
 friends. Prisons supposed to have been prepared for my visits. 
 The supposition examined. Opinions of residents in Russia and 
 Siberia. Testimony of a Swede. Examination of statements con- 
 cerning Siberian Prisons in "Called Back." Prince Krapotkine's 
 censure, and its value. The class of facts borne witness to in 
 "Through Siberia." 
 
 WHEN I returned from my long journey across 
 Northern Asia I gave to the world " an 
 unprejudiced statement of what I saw and heard in 
 the prisons and mines of Siberia." One Russian 
 prison inspector, of high standing, volunteered the 
 remark that what I had said was so perfectly correct 
 that my book might be taken as a standard even by 
 Russian authorities ; but another Russian writer has 
 allowed himself to go so far as to say that my book 
 "in so far at least as it is concerned with gaols and 
 convicts can only convey false ideas." The worth 
 of this latter criticism may to some extent be gauged 
 by the fact that, although " Through Siberia " has 
 been translated into three languages, and has been 
 honoured with more than 200 literary notices and 
 reviews, yet no such misstatement has been pointed out 
 as to make it necessary in any one of four subsequent 
 editions to alter what had been printed at first. I say 
 
SIBERIAN PRISONS. 251 
 
 this, not boastfully, still less defiantly, but as affording 
 some sort of proof that I did not write at random. 
 
 But I am not so sanguine as to suppose that all are, 
 or are likely to be, convinced. Even among my friends 
 there are those who think I did not see things in thei" 
 normal condition. This suspicion was pleasantly 
 hinted, before my book appeared, by the late Dean 
 Close, who, writing to me on another subject, play- 
 fully added, " I suppose those letters in the Times 
 were yours. ... I should very much doubt whether 
 those cunning Russians have not deceived you. They 
 knew what they were about when they gave you 
 apparent liberty of access to all their prisons. Do you 
 suppose, if there were any horrors, they would show 
 them to you ? No. They saw in a moment that, if 
 they could apparently open all Siberia to you, they 
 would get what they have got, a whitewashing in 
 the Times ! I am not a violent Anti-Russ ; but I 
 don't believe that they would show to any Englishman 
 all their heavy irons in Siberia." 
 
 Others have said, "Do you not think that the 
 prisons were prepared for your inspection ?" And 
 this question was answered in the affirmative by the 
 St. James s Gazette, on the authority of " a Russian 
 informant," stating that " official orders were sent before 
 me to the prisons to make things wear a favourable 
 aspect for my visit." Upon seeing this I wrote to the 
 editor " that if his Russian informant, or any other, 
 thinks that I have been duped or misinformed, I am 
 perfectly ready to be questioned, and shall be happy 
 to discuss the question in the public press, provided 
 only that my opponent give facts, dates, names, and 
 places, and do not hide behind general statements 
 and impersonalities." This rejoinder the editor did 
 not publish, and I therefore inserted the challenge 
 in the second, third, fourth, and fifth editions of 
 "Through Siberia," but no one has taken up the 
 challenge. 
 
252 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Let us suppose, however, for a moment, that official 
 orders were sent on before me to make things wear a 
 favourable aspect : then how far could this in all cases 
 have been carried out, and to what extent ? I told 
 the authorities in Petersburg, in May, that I was going 
 to Tiumen, Tomsk, Irkutsk, and Kiakhta, and then I 
 purposed to retrace my steps. In keeping with this, 
 they certainly could have telegraphed that I was 
 coming, but as to when I presume they would be at a 
 loss to say, for I did not know myself. I reached 
 Tiumen in 1 7 days, and can only say that, if the prison 
 authorities there had received orders to make things 
 wear a favourable aspect, they had not efficiently carried 
 them out. But the next place, Tobolsk, is more to 
 my purpose. I had not decided to go there at all, and 
 even if the Governor had known generally of my 
 coming, he could not have been expecting me on the 
 morning of June 2nd, when the floods were out, and 
 necessitated our driving through water up to the axles. 
 In fact, the post-road was at this moment supposed to 
 be impassable ; the Governor himself was waiting, with 
 packed trunks, to accomplish by steamer the reverse 
 journey we had done by road, and one of his first 
 questions was, "How in the world did you get 
 here ? " We asked to see the prisons at once. The 
 police-master was sent for, and in a few minutes we 
 hurried off in vehicles to the prisons. In this case, 
 then, where was time to make things wear a favourable 
 aspect ? Next, at Tomsk, finding I had to wait a 
 week, we took a run of 230 miles to Barnaul, entirely 
 off our road, and not down in my programme. We 
 arrived in the night, and next day stirred up the 
 police-master before he knew, I suspect, of our exist- 
 ence. A third variation from my pre-announced plans 
 was the visit to the Alexandrevsky Prison, near Irkutsk, 
 to which town I thought to go and thence drive out ; 
 but we cut across country instead, and reached the 
 prison at dusk. Here they could hardly have ex- 
 
SIBERIAN PRISONS. 253 
 
 pected me, for the Vice-Governor wanted to tele- 
 graph to the capital for permission to show us the 
 prison, but could not do so because in the fire at 
 Irkutsk the telegraph lines were broken. Yet here I 
 entered in the morning, and went where -I liked and 
 saw all I pleased. But, further, supposing for the 
 sake of argument that all had been prepared from 
 Petersburg up to this point, I now altered my plans 
 for the fourth time, in this case radically, and, instead 
 of retracing my steps, went on to the Amur, through 
 the very heart of the convict country. At Chita the 
 supposed expectation of my coming did not by any 
 appearances betray itself. At Kara, indeed, my 
 coming was heralded by telegraph ; but on reaching 
 Khabarofka, had I been a hunted hare I could not 
 have more completely doubled upon my pursuers, for, 
 whereas my papers set out that I was going 600 miles 
 south to Vladivostock, the steamer having left, I 
 elected straightway to go 600 miles north to 
 Nikolaefsk, and on my arrival I next morning pre- 
 sented myself to the prison officials. 
 
 If, then, after detailing these five changes of plan, 
 the reader still thinks that the Russian authorities 
 managed to keep ahead of me with their messages and 
 telegrams during my five months' journey over 8,000 
 miles, then I must acknowledge that he has a belief 
 in the foresight and consummate watchfulness of 
 Siberian officials such as I do not possess ; and I 
 would ask next, What were the things the Russians 
 did not permit me to see ? or, What were the steps 
 they took to " make things wear a favourable aspect " ? 
 because, until the aforesaid " Russian informant," 
 or some other, can back up his assertions or suspicions 
 by something like proof, the answer I must give to 
 my friends is this : In certain instances, as at Kansk, 
 Irkutsk, Kara, and Vladivostock where my visit was 
 definitely expected some hours previously things may 
 have been made to wear a holiday aspect, so far as 
 
254 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 rooms being brushed out and dust removed, with an 
 extra wash and so forth ; but in many cases, notably 
 at Tiumen, Tobolsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Krasnoiarsk, 
 Chita, and Nikolaefsk, there was not time between 
 my arrival at the town, or the presentation of my 
 credentials and the moment of my admittance to 
 the prisons, to allow even for this ; and in no case 
 could I honestly say that I have reason to suspect 
 things were made to simulate for me a deceitful appear- 
 ance. 
 
 But what do my friends say who live in Russia and 
 Siberia ? I must not withhold the fact that two of 
 them share the suspicions or prejudices of friends 
 in England. The first says : " I read the book 
 ('Through Siberia') with great interest, and must 
 acknowledge that I found one fault ; that is, I think 
 you give the Russians too much credit." The second 
 is my old host, Captain de Vries, who has now passed 
 away, but a correspondent wrote to me : " During one 
 of my last visits the Captain informed me that though 
 he considered your work ' Through Siberia ' well 
 written, and a correct statement of what you really 
 saw and heard, yet he could not rid himself of the 
 impression that you did not see matters in their every- 
 day aspect ; but that, notwithstanding your avowal in 
 the preface to the contrary, the officials were informed 
 beforehand of your visit, and consequently prepared 
 for your reception." 
 
 Another correspondent, however, in Siberia speaks 
 differently; and a Swede living in Russia says: "I 
 have read your ' Through Siberia ' with deep interest, 
 and can only say that I never read anything so fair and 
 impartial printed in the English language relating to 
 matters in Russia. Ever since the Crimean War, I 
 have seen matters relating to Russia grossly mis- 
 represented in the English press and in English 
 books, and always felt sorry ; for surely it is not 
 creditable to a great nation (to say the least) to 
 
SIBERIAN PRISONS. 255 
 
 deviate from the plain truth in speaking about others. 
 As far as my own experience goes, there may be 
 many things said respecting a wide field for improve- 
 ment here, but from general experience I can testify 
 that I always have seen prisoners in Russia treated 
 with much kindness by officials as well as the public 
 at large. At the time of the last rising in Poland in 
 1862-3-4, I served as locomotive superintendent on 
 Moscow-Nijny railway. As may be supposed, feeling 
 ran high, but I never saw a single act of unkindness 
 against any of the Polish prisoners, who were carried 
 on the Nijny railway in large numbers at the time in 
 question. Nor have I ever since seen any prisoner 
 treated anything but well sometimes even, according 
 to my notion, too well ; that is to say, the prisoner has 
 got less work, more food, more clothing, and better 
 lodgings, than many a free man can get by his labour, 
 and often enough the prisoner has experienced more 
 kindness at the hands of prison officials, than the free 
 man from his employers." These testimonies, then, 
 wholly unsought by me, I leave to speak for them- 
 selves. 
 
 Besides the suspicions of friends, however, I have 
 been confronted with the Siberian chapter in the 
 story of" Called Back," by " Hugh Conway," and have 
 been asked how that tallies with my account. Here- 
 upon I would first inquire, Is the story fiction or 
 fact ? As fiction, I have little to say to the novel, 
 except that the author has not learned his lesson 
 .perfectly. When, however, he says, " I expect to be 
 
 believed All else save this one thing I could 
 
 prove to be true," does the author wish his readers to 
 understand that he really went to Siberia and saw the 
 facts he records ? If so, then I detect in ''Called 
 Back " another of the series of apocryphal books on 
 that much-abused country, and can only regret that 
 the popular tale will " carry the lie round the world, 
 while Truth is putting on her boots." Still, I have 
 
256 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 no intention of charging the author with deliberate 
 misrepresentation. He dipped his brush in colours 
 which I can well conceive he thought might be true, 
 and I fail to see in him the animus which certain 
 Russian writers betray.* 
 
 * Will the reader be good enough to judge the grounds of my 
 adverse judgment ? The hero of" Called Back" goes to Siberia in search 
 of a prisoner, and on arriving at Petersburg he says : " We received a 
 passport authorizing me to travel to the end of the Czar's Asiatic 
 dominions if I thought fit, which was worded in such a way that it 
 obviated the necessity of obtaining a fresh passport wherever a fresh 
 government district was to be traversed." Again, "All convicts were 
 first sent to Tobolsk. . . . whence they were drafted off at the pleasure 
 of the Governor-General to various places. ... If I wished, the 
 Governor of Tobolsk should be telegraphed to ; but as I was bound 
 any way to go to that town, it would be just as well if I made my 
 inquiries in person"; and it was at Tobolsk the author expected to 
 " await the pleasure of the Governor-General." Now here is a small 
 pickle of mistakes to begin with ! For, a passport does not entitle 
 the holder to travel by post, but a podorojna, which gives a claim 
 to horses between two points ; but it is immaterial whether, in reach- 
 ing one's destination, the traveller passes through one government 
 or half-a-dozen. Next, all convicts are not distributed from Tobolsk, 
 but from Tiumen, It is here the author should have gone to make 
 his imaginary inquiries, and then he would not have been "bound 
 any way to go to Tobolsk," but could have driven direct to Tomsk. 
 Besides this, the Governor- General did not live at Tobolsk, but 700 
 miles distant at Omsk ! Next, our author's geography is somewhat 
 faulty, as is his knowledge of posting customs. He says : "A trifle 
 of some 400 miles from Ekaterineburg to Tiumen" (this should be 
 204), and "at the east bank of the Irtish, Siberia proper begins" 
 (this is wrong by 150 miles). Then he speeds on so fast that he " left the 
 yemstchik no time' for refreshment." But why should he ? Does he 
 think that the yemstchik, like an interpreter, accompanies one all the 
 way, or has he to learn that he merely drives the traveller to the 
 next station, perhaps an hour's run, and then goes back with his 
 horses? But a sentence most damaging to "Called Back" as an 
 authority on Siberian affairs is this : " We passed many gangs of con- 
 victs plodding along to their fate. Ivan told me that most of them 
 were in chains. This I should not have noticed, as the irons are only 
 on the legs and worn under the trousers." Now, I have seen scores, 
 not to say hundreds, of Russian leg-chains, and I have a pair, with a 
 prison suit, in my own possession. I put them on and was photo- 
 graphed, and the illustration in " Through Siberia," p. 155, of" Convict 
 Summer Clothing and Chains," represents "your humble servant" 
 in all but the features. From this picture it will be seen that the 
 chain, 30 inches long, fastened to each ankle, could not be worn 
 under the trousers. Yet our humane author adds, " Poor wretched 
 beings, my heart ached for them !" And so, doubtless, has that of 
 many of his readers especially ladies but quite needlessly, for these 
 chains worn under the trousers are but a hoax. 
 
SIBERIAN PRISONS. 257 
 
 I now proceed to the articles of Prince Krapotkine,* 
 who permitted himself to say that, concerning gaols 
 and convicts, " Through Siberia " could only con- 
 vey false ideas ; and whose testimony has been set 
 against mine. How, then, stands the matter ? Prince 
 Krapotkine gets his information from three sources, 
 and so do I : from what he sees, what he hears, and 
 what he reads. As regards the last, I at once yield 
 to him, as better able to inform the public than I, 
 since he writes of his own country, and from books 
 in his own language. When, however, we come to 
 testimony from seeing and hearing, things are not 
 quite the same. My critic, as far as I understand, has 
 seen the inside of two prisons in Petersburg. I have 
 
 * I am indebted for information concerning Prince Krapotkine to 
 "Stepniak," formerly editor of a Russian revolutionary paper, who, 
 in " Underground Russia," gives a slight sketch of "Peter Krapotkine," 
 to the effect that, having been educated at the College of the Pages, 
 he went, in 1861, to Siberia to study its geology. (I have seen two 
 pamphlets, which I presume to be the outcome of that journey.) Ten 
 years later he travelled in Belgium and Switzerland, and (says " Step- 
 niak") "became an internationalist, and adopted the ideas of the 
 most extreme party, the so-called anarchical party, of which he has 
 always remained a fervent champion." In 1872 he was admitted to 
 the Russian revolutionary circle, and "entrusted with the duty of draw- 
 ing up the programme of the party and its organization, which was 
 afterwards found among his papers." In the winter of 1872 he com- 
 menced his secret lectures, was arrested, and confined for three years 
 in the fortress prison. Then he was removed, according to his own 
 account, for three months to the " House of Detention at Petersburg " 
 before his transfer to the military hospital. In a few months (says 
 " Stepniak ") his health was re-established, but he did everything in his 
 power to hide the fact. He induced those in charge of him always to 
 believe him to be in extremis, etc. (p. 162). He walked with the step of 
 a dying man : he spoke in a low voice, as if merely to open the mouth 
 were a painful effort. The doctor ordered him frequent exercise ; when 
 one fine day in July, the gates of the yard being open for laying in 
 wood, he suddenly takes to his heels, leaps into a carriage prepared by 
 his friends, and leaves behind the sentinel, and the officer tearing his 
 hair and exclaiming that he is ruined. Thus much from " Stepniak " ; 
 except that he says, " Peter Krapotkine is one of the most sincere and 
 frank of men : he always says the truth pure and simple, without any 
 regard for the amour propre of his hearers, or for any consideration 
 whatever. This is the most striking and sympathetic feature of his 
 character. Every word he says may be absolutely believed. . . . 
 This absolute sincerity renders him the best of friends, and gives 
 especial weight to his praise or blame." 
 
 17 
 
258 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 seen more than twenty times two, all over the Empire ; 
 and although, if I had as a visitor seen ten times this 
 number, it would not make my testimony upon certain 
 things so valuable as his, yet upon some things it 
 ought to be a great deal better. It stands to reason 
 that, upon such matters as the conduct of the turnkeys 
 towards prisoners, and the various details of prison 
 life and discipline that do not meet a visitor's eye, 
 my testimony is as nothing compared with that of 
 a prisoner, and I willingly yield precedence to my 
 critic. But " one n'eed not eat a whole leg of mutton 
 to know how it tastes," and one need not be in a 
 prison a month to know whether the rooms are large 
 or small, crowded or empty, light or dark, airy or 
 close, lately whitewashed or bedaubed with dirt, appa- 
 rently dry or fungus covered ; and it is precisely to 
 this class of facts I have professed to bear witness. 
 Not one of my alleged facts, however, so far as 
 I know, has been disproved ; but horrible pictures 
 have been drawn by " P. Krapotkine," in the Nineteenth 
 Century* and by others, of certain prisons, which 
 for the most part I have not visited, and so cannot 
 contradict from personal testimony, except perhaps 
 in the case of the fortress prison in Petersburg, 
 to the description of which I now invite the reader's 
 attention, and notice certain other objections in passing. 
 
 * January, June, and December, 1883, and March, 1884 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 
 
 Difficulty of obtaining admittance, and facility of misrepresentation. 
 Letter alleged to have been written therefrom in blood. Descrip- 
 tion of Troubetzkoy Bastion : its cells, occupants, and diet. The 
 Courtine of Catherine II. Place for visits of friends, and for trials. 
 The library. Cells for military officers, and garden. Inquiry 
 for oubliettes and underground dungeons. Testimony of official 
 eye-witnesses. Testimony of ex-prisoners. Examination of state- 
 ments in the Nineteenth Century. Insufficient evidence as to 
 alleged torture of prisoners. 
 
 THE prison for political offenders in the fortress 
 of SS. Peter and Paul at Petersburg has long 
 been an exhaustless mine for the horror-monger, 
 whose delineations found, at any rate until quite 
 recently, negative support in the extreme jealousy ot 
 the authorities of any investigation by outsiders. 
 
 I asked to see this particular prison or the one at 
 Schliisselburg (I forget which), in 1878, but was 
 denied. When, however, in 1882, I found the authori- 
 ties willing to grant me all I desired with regard 
 to Central Asia, I made bold to ask Count Tolstoy, 
 the Minister of the Interior, whether I might not also 
 be allowed to visit the State prison in the fortress. 
 His Excellency had kindly assured me that he would 
 do everything for me that he could ; but, on receiving 
 this request, I fancied he winced a little, and at first 
 said " No." I urged, however, that the enemies of 
 Russia, and those who would rather not hear any good 
 
260 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of her, had said that in my inspection of Siberian 
 prisons the worst had not been shown me ; also that 
 in the fortress prison abominations were commonly 
 alleged to exist, which I could not gainsay so long 
 as I had not personally inspected the building. 
 This seemed to " fetch " the Count, who told me I 
 might come on the following Saturday for a "Yes" 
 or "No"; the reason for the delay being, I after- 
 wards heard, that on the Friday the Minister in- 
 tended to submit my application to the Emperor. I 
 went on the Saturday morning, and was told that / 
 might see everything, and choose my own time to do 
 so. I elected to go within a very few hours on the 
 afternoon of the same day being not unmindful of 
 what had been said about prisons being prepared for 
 me. As a Russian gentleman, who had accompanied 
 me in the city to interpret, fought shy of going with 
 me to the prison, lest it should in any way bring him 
 under suspicion, the police-master spared me his sec- 
 retary. Thus prepared, I went to the fortress, was 
 introduced to the Commandant, General Ganetzky, 
 one of the heroes of Plevna, and then, accompanied 
 by the secretary of the fortress and the governor 
 of the prison, proceeded to my inspection. I 
 described my visit in the Contemporary Review 
 for February, 1883, and the contribution was ad- 
 versely criticised in the following June number of 
 the Nineteenth Century > by Prince Krapotkine, whilst 
 in the Times of the next December 7th there appeared 
 a communication respecting the Troubetzkoy Bastion 
 in the fortress prison, and its horrors, of the most 
 startling character. As I read the letter, less than 
 a column long, pencil in hand, I marked no less 
 than 38 places that seemed to me errors, misrepre- 
 sentations, exaggerations, or doubtful passages ; whilst, 
 from certain discrepancies between the writer's state- 
 ments, and what I myself saw, and was told by two 
 ex-prisoners from the fortress, I strongly suspected 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 261 
 
 that the correspondent had not been confined in the 
 fortress at all. I wrote to the Times to say so, but 
 the late editor did not insert my letter, though I 
 happen to know that from the first he had some doubt 
 whether the affair were not a hoax. Perhaps it was 
 well that my strictures did not appear, for the un- 
 answered allegations led an "Englishman" (whom I 
 shall so designate hereafter) to visit the Troubetzkoy 
 Bastion, and to write afterwards to the Pall Mall 
 Gazette of I3th February, 1884. He said that the 
 letter was well known to the police in Petersburg, and 
 had been written not from the fortress in blood, but 
 in red ink at Geneva. Thus I have the testimony 
 of the " Englishman" to confirm my own observations, 
 and to assist me in my passing remarks on what 
 Prince Krapotkine and the letter writer have said. 
 
 Two buildings within the fortress walls now serve 
 as prisons the " Troubetzkoy Bastion," and the 
 " Courtine of Catherine II." The Troubetzkoy 
 prison consists of 72 cells, in two stories, built or 
 arranged in their present form about 1870. The 
 windows of the cells look out on to the outer fortress 
 wall, from which the building is separated by a court 
 about 20 feet wide. The doors of the cells open in one 
 wall of a wide passage, down the centre of which lies 
 a piece of matting, deadening the footsteps of passers- 
 by. As we entered the passage, a hush was called (I 
 suppose in order that the nearest prisoner might not 
 be aware of our presence), and the cover of an inspec 
 tion hole was gently raised that I might look within. 
 The name, too, of the occupant was given me, it being 
 none other than that of the man who took a shop and 
 made a mine under one of the streets of Petersburg 
 with the diabolical design of blowing up the late 
 Emperor. Of course I peeped breathlessly in, and 
 duly prepared my nerves to see how this arch offender 
 was being treated, and what likelihood there seemed 
 of his losing his health, or reason, or of sinking into 
 
262 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the ghastly condition of political prisoners as described 
 in the Nineteenth Century. But the man appeared to 
 be bearing his fate better than was to be expected. 
 He seemed to be in good health, and showed not 
 the least tendency to insanity. In fact, he was lying 
 at full length on his bed, with his toes in the air, 
 reading a book, and smoking a cigar ! 
 
 I was not invited, and I did not ask, to enter the 
 compartment, but passed on to an adjoining and similar 
 cell, to examine it minutely. It measured (roughly) 
 23 feet long by n broad and 10 high. The window 
 was not of ground or corrugated glass, but was too 
 high to allow of the prisoner looking out. It was large 
 enough to admit a sufficiency of light by day, and all 
 through the winter nights there was kept burning, not 
 a miserable rushlight, but a good oil lamp, such as I 
 have never seen in a prison before or since. There 
 was a supply of water, with a drinking cup, and a 
 salt-cellar ; and the sanitary arrangements, though not 
 quite up to the present standard, would have passed 
 muster at the time the cells were constructed. The 
 floor was of asphalte ; and the room was warmed 
 by a petckka or stove, and ventilated ; was fitted 
 with an air bell, and had in it an iron table and 
 bedstead. On the latter was placed first a mattress 
 of straw, then one of flock, with two feather pillows, 
 such as I have never seen provided in any other 
 prison. 
 
 The diet was represented to be as follows : dinner 
 at i o'clock, consisting of two courses the first, stchee, 
 or soup, in w r hich by law i Ib. of meat for each prisoner 
 must have been boiled ; the second, a plate of roast 
 meat with potatoes, and fresh vegetables when plentiful. 
 For supper, soup only is provided, and there is given 
 to each prisoner daily ij Ib. of rye bread. This 
 allowance of bread struck me as small compared with 
 that of other Russian prisons, and I said so ; but the 
 secretary replied that most of the fortress prisoners 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 263 
 
 either had money with which they bought white bread, 
 or friends who brought it, with other kinds of food ; 
 and further, that if the allowance were not enough, 
 the prisoners had only to ask for more, to get it. 
 Also they might purchase extras, and I noticed, in 
 almost every cell I looked into, a box of cigarettes. 
 Smoking, they said, was forbidden by law, but the 
 Commandant might allow it. 
 
 Prisoners awaiting their trial could receive visits 
 from friends for half an hour once a fortnight, or 
 oftener if the friends coming from a distance remained 
 only a short time at the capital ; but, when sentenced, 
 a man could receive no more visits from friends until 
 he had left the fortress and arrived at his place of 
 destination. For those who needed it, there was 
 provided a suit of coarse linen and a loose coat, but 
 most of those detained in the fortress wore their own 
 clothes. There was a bath-house visited by the 
 prisoners once a month, or oftener if they wish, and 
 there were shown me certain ordinary cells that 
 could be darkened for punishment. 
 
 Behind the building was a garden used for exercise, 
 of which, however, each prisoner, at the time of my 
 visit, had only a scanty allowance sometimes not 
 more than 20 minutes a day. I thought this bad, 
 and said so, but was told that only one prisoner 
 at a time was allowed to be in the garden, and that 
 there were then from 30 to 40 to exercise daily. 
 This is noteworthy because the letter writer says that 
 in taking exercise the prisoners walk u in Indian file." 
 
 In the lower story women were detained. I looked 
 through an inspection hole at one of forbidding coun- 
 tenance, who was reading. She had been captured 
 only a few days previously among a gang of Nihilists, 
 whose rendez-vous had been discovered not far dis- 
 tant on the Vassili Ostroff. As I went along the 
 passages I looked into what cells I pleased, and if I 
 asked the names of the occupants they were given. 
 
264 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 After walking through the Troubetzkoy Bastion, 
 and seeing as much as I wished, we proceeded to 
 the Courtine of Catherine II. close by. I suppose 
 this to be the proper name of this part of the building, 
 but it has occurred to me that its cells or rooms are 
 what several writers have called the " Underground 
 casemates " of the fortress. At least I saw no other 
 parts of the building that agreed with this expression. 
 Webster describes a casemate as a " bomb-proof 
 chamber, usually of masonry, in which cannon may 
 be placed, to be fired through embrasures ; or capable 
 of being used as a magazine, or for quartering troops," 
 and the French dictionary describes a " courtine " as 
 "a wall between two bastions." Both these descriptions 
 agree with the Courtine of Catherine II., and the 
 casemates are in a sense "underground," in that 
 earth is put on the roofs to make them bomb-proof, or 
 again as the London high-level railway arches with 
 ballast on the top might by an abuse of language 
 be called " underground." In fact, the interior of 
 one of the cells with rounded roof reminded me 
 exactly of a London railway arch turned into a store- 
 room, with the floor a few feet below the springers. 
 The embrasures had no cannon, but were glazed, and 
 the windows, with several feet of scarped wall below, 
 looked out on a garden and over the Neva. I 
 did not measure the rooms, but they struck me as 
 larger than those in the Troubetzkoy Bastion, and I 
 observed no damp on the walls. The rooms below, I 
 was given to understand, are no longer used as cells; 
 though I observe that "Englishman" speaks of the 
 bottom of these walls as damp, and says that the 
 lower part of the prison is used only when the 72 
 cells of the Troubetzkoy Bastion are full. They have 
 usually from 20 to 40 prisoners. At the time of my 
 visit there were 38. 
 
 We entered first the place in which prisoners see 
 their friends, behind wire grating as in other prisons, 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 265 
 
 but with square apertures larger than usual, through 
 which prisoner and friend could see each other clearly, 
 and pass commodities in the presence of an officer. A 
 couch and cane-bottomed chairs were provided for 
 friends and prisoner alike, and the place looked 
 somewhat less gloomy than in many prisons. Further 
 on, however, was a chamber that called up ideas any- 
 thing but pleasant. It was a large room, with low 
 vaulted roof, in which commissioners formerly sat to 
 conduct trials, commencing to do so in 1861. Some 
 celebrated trials in 1866, I was informed, were con- 
 ducted here ; but the chamber, after serving this 
 purpose for 12 years, ceased to be used, though 
 it is still to some extent furnished. As at Newgate, 
 the accused could be brought from their cells to the 
 place of judgment without going outside the prison 
 gates. Beyond this hall of judgment was the library, 
 which I could not enter, as the librarian was away. 
 It was said to contain from 600 to 700 volumes 
 in Russian, French, German, and English. The 
 prisoners, I was told, read a great deal indeed, 
 I saw many so doing. A copy of the Gospels or of 
 the New Testament is placed in every room, and the 
 library books may be had for the asking. Periodicals 
 and newspapers are also provided, but not less than 
 a year old, the authorities not thinking it desirable 
 that persons awaiting their trial should see themselves 
 figuring in print. Should new books, however, be 
 required, of a scientific, technical, or Otherwise 
 unobjectionable character, they are allowed.* 
 
 The prisoners' rooms in the Courtine were not 
 numerous, though there were other unused chambers 
 en suite. The men confined in this part were chiefly, 
 if not entirely, military officers, the Russian code 
 prescribing that certain military offences (not neces- 
 
 * Yet the letter writer " in blood " says, "Worst of all, there are no 
 books, no paper, there is absolutely nothing to do : nothing to relieve 
 the complete solitude and silence ; even the Bible is denied them." 
 
266 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 sarily political) should be expiated by imprisonment 
 in a fortress for a period not exceeding three years 
 and three months. There were six chambers for 
 ordinary prisoners, and also three very large rooms 
 for those condemned to death, with whom are placed 
 two warders (as in England) from the day on which 
 sentence is passed to the hour of execution. There 
 was no one in the fortress condemned to death at 
 the time of my visit, but I entered one of the 
 rooms, and then proceeded to the cell (if such it could 
 be called) of an officer sentenced to four months' 
 confinement. The room was furnished with Vienna 
 chairs, had a bouquet of flowers on the table-cloth, 
 and contained, among other things that attracted my 
 attention, a neat carpenter's bench, and an amateur's 
 box of tools. None of the fortress prisoners are 
 obliged to work, but this officer chose to employ his 
 time in making fancy and fretwork articles, specimens 
 of which were seen about the room. 
 
 The prisoners in the Courtine had a less unpleasant 
 time than their comrades in the Troubetzkoy Bastion 
 with regard to exercise, for they could, if they chose, 
 spend the greater part of the summer day (from noon 
 to eight) in the garden, and that in company of one 
 another. I walked round the enclosure, which com- 
 mands a splendid view of the Neva, and was fairly 
 taken aback by what I saw. There was no lack of 
 flowers (tended, I believe, by the prisoners), and an 
 abundance of shady trees, between two of which a 
 hammock was swung, whilst not far off were a pair 
 of gymnastic bars, a summer-house, and a tent. The 
 animal world was represented by a goat cropping the 
 grass, and two playful puppies belonging to some 
 officers, who, in a knot of four, were lounging about 
 under no visible surveillance. In the garden, in one 
 place which was damp, there was an offensive smell, 
 but I detected nothing of the kind elsewhere. 
 
 Need I add that I saw no torture-chamber, or any 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 267 
 
 similar abomination ? What, then, can have become of 
 the " cachots" "oubliettes" and dismal chambers which 
 have been connected with the u Peter and Paul " by so 
 many, and by some, too, whose testimony is worthy 
 of respectful consideration ? I do not allude to the 
 exaggerated and vindictive expressions of released 
 prisoners, who overreach their aim when they vilify 
 the place of their punishment ; nor to the stories of the 
 Great Peter's days that have descended from father to 
 son, and been questioned by neither though garnished 
 by both. I am thinking rather of the testimony of such 
 men as the Decembrists, one of whom told me that 
 not he, but one of his comrades, was confined for many 
 years in the fortress in a cachot; and another, writing 
 an account, which still exists in manuscript, of his exile, 
 for his wife and children, describes his cell at the for- 
 tress at Petersburg as "very small, dirty, and dark." 
 I can only reconcile these statements with what I saw 
 by one of two suggestions. It will be remembered 
 that the insurrection of the Decembrists took place in 
 1825, in December (whence their name), and that not 
 a mere handful of assassins, but whole regiments 
 led by their officers, attempted to deprive the 
 Emperor Nicholas of his throne. The number of per- 
 sons arrested must therefore have been very great, and 
 the fortress may well have been overfilled, so that 
 every possible corner would have to be occupied ; 
 and if one remembers what our own prisons in 
 England were half a century ago, it need not seem 
 surprising if some at least of the places of detention in 
 the fortress could be described as " dark, dirty, and 
 small." The occasion and the number of the prisoners 
 was abnormal and temporary, and the then exceptional 
 condition of things ought not, without additional proof, 
 to be brought forward as representing the condition of 
 things now. 
 
 The other suggestion is that a part of the fortress 
 now altered or taken down may have contained these 
 
268 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 gloomy places. More than one of those whom I told of 
 my visit asked if I had seen the " Alexeievsky Ravelin," 
 and upon my replying in the negative, they said that a 
 third prison of the fortress had not been shown me. 
 But an official, high in the prison administration, and 
 whom I have known for some time, told me, a day or 
 two before I went, that the part of the fortress in the 
 thick wall of which cells were long ago formed, is no 
 longer used as a prison, and that the cells are abolished. 
 I expressly asked, when going over the buildings, if 
 there were any subterranean chambers or cells, and 
 was told " No." Inasmuch, then, as I have not yet 
 detected the Russian prison authorities on any one 
 occasion trying to deceive me, I am bound to believe 
 what they say, until someone can show proof to the con- 
 trary. If anyone denied to me that there were dark 
 cells in Newgate I could in six lines give so minute a 
 direction that a Russian entering the prison for the first 
 time should be able to find them ; but for anyone to 
 say, like the " blood-red " letter writer, that there are 
 in the fortress " underground cells where a ray of sun- 
 light never enters, where offensive water oozes through 
 the walls, and fungus grows on all sides," is not suffi- 
 ciently definite as to locality. Prince Krapotkine, after 
 speaking of the Troubetzkoy Bastion, says : "The floor 
 of the cells is covered with a painted felt, and the walls 
 are made double with felt to prevent the prisoners from 
 speaking to one another by tapping," a very proper 
 device of the authorities if it were so, but it was not 
 the case in the cells I entered or looked into. Again, 
 he says that the prisoners I saw were awaking trial, 
 and that it is after trial that they are put into the 
 horrible places he describes ; but his testimony fails to 
 convince me because he does not sufficiently particu- 
 larize the locality of the cells so that an independent 
 person might test the accuracy of his statements. 
 
 So much, then, for what I saw ; and, had I left Russia 
 immediately after my visit, this is all I could have said ; 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 269 
 
 but, as I continued my journey, I met here and there 
 persons who knew the fortress, and with whom I could 
 compare notes. So contradictory to current opinion on 
 the subject was my experience, that with a view to 
 publication I wrote a short paper, and read it to several 
 Russians, including a legal gentleman who had held a 
 prominent position in the " third section," and who on 
 one occasion, summoned by telegram, went to the for- 
 tress to receive from a noted offender -some statement 
 he wished to make. My informant told me that he 
 went to the Alexeievsky Ravelin, out of which, he said, 
 prisoners did not come without permission of the Em- 
 peror. He descended to cells underground, which 
 were large and airy, but lighted from the corridor 
 above, hardly enough, he said, to read, though the 
 prisoner might call for a lamp. This was about 3 
 o'clock in the afternoon, but whether winter or summer 
 I kno v not ; if the former, then the deficiency of 
 light at that time of day in Petersburg would easily 
 be accounted for, and it also leaves room for doubt 
 whether the lawyer may not have been mistaken as to 
 the cells being underground. This was the only time 
 he visited the prison, and I suggest the possibility of 
 his being mistaken, because the position of the cells 
 does not agree with what was told me further on, by a 
 chief of gendarmerie, whom I met at dinner, who knew 
 the fortress, and said there used to be a part of the 
 building, of three stories, called the Alexeievsky 
 Ravelin, but he knew nothing of cells underground. 
 " Oubliettes" he thought, had not been in use since 
 the days of the Emperor Paul, and he did not believe 
 in the torture of prisoners in the fortress now. 
 
 But besides the testimony of these two witnesses 
 I met other two, who had been confined in the for- 
 tress. Both of them are now filling important positions, 
 are highly respected, and no one, or almost no one, 
 about them has any idea of their having been in prison 
 Of course, therefore, I cannot give their names ; but I 
 
2 70 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 shall call them Messrs. Jones and Robinson. Mr. Jones, 
 who is a British subject, had the misfortune to fall 
 under the suspicion of the authorities, through being 
 found in the same lodgings with a political miscreant. 
 Accordingly, about 1866, he was taken one night from 
 a restaurant by the police, placed on a droshky, hurried 
 off, and lodged in the fortress. The next morning a 
 clerk came and asked him sundry questions, and among 
 others whether he knew where he was. The clerk, 
 however, declined to answer, in turn, any questions 
 put by the prisoner, who asked in vain for books, 
 though he was allowed to have pens, ink, and paper. 
 His food, he told me, was good, but he had no white 
 bread or tea. He was not allowed to smoke, or send 
 out for cigars. When necessity required him to leave 
 his cell, he was taken out and brought back by gen- 
 darmes, but during the few days he was in prison he 
 was not let out for exercise. I asked him about ''tor- 
 ture," but he said that no violence was used towards 
 him, though a friend of his, confined in 1866, had tolcl 
 him that during his examination he was switched w r ith 
 a rod as punishment, but not with a view to extort con- 
 fession. On the fifth day my informant was taken to 
 the arched chamber for examination, and, while waiting 
 in the ante- room, heard another prisoner inside swear- 
 ing and stamping with rage. His own examination 
 lasted about a quarter of an hour, and on the seventh 
 day he was whisked out of prison, much in the fashion 
 he had been brought in, at i o'clock in the morning. 
 
 I pass now to the testimony of Mr. Robinson, a 
 Russian, in whose presence I had been speaking of my 
 visit to the fortress, when he called me aside and said, 
 " You will be surprised, perhaps, to hear that I know 
 the fortress. No one in this town is aware of it, but 
 20 years ago I was imprisoned there, on political 
 charges, for three years." A revolutionary correspon- 
 dent, he told me, had written to him, proposing that he 
 should be chief commissioner for a certain city, for the 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 271 
 
 distribution of revolutionary publications, that the letter 
 had been opened and he had been arrested on the 
 strength of it. Accordingly I made an appointment to 
 see him in private, and on my not arriving quite 
 so early as he expected, he busied himself in making a 
 pen-and-ink sketch, which is now in my possession, of 
 his cell in the Alexeievsky Ravelin. It was furnished 
 with table, chair, commode (taken away immediately 
 after use and cleaned by a soldier), and a bed, with two 
 feather pillows, a pair of sheets, blanket, and woollen 
 coverlet. The cell measured 18 feet 8 inches long, by 
 1 6 feet 4 inches broad, and 9 feet 4 inches high. The 
 window was nearly 7 feet high, and doubled in winter ; 
 the two lower sashes being whitewashed, but not so the 
 top, out of which the prisoner could look by standing 
 up. The room was yellowwashed and painted once a 
 year, during which operation its occupant was removed 
 at various times to four or five other cells like his own. 
 The painted floor was washed once a week, but not by 
 the prisoner. He said he had no trouble about his 
 room, for at half-past seven a.m. four soldiers entered 
 his cell. One poured water in Russian fashion on Mr. 
 Robinson's hands, and another held his comb, whilst 
 the remaining two cleaned the room. This sort of 
 attendance was continued at the bath, visited once a 
 fortnight, where the soldiers waited on him, even to 
 putting on his socks. He wore the prison clothes, 
 including a grey flannel dressing-gown (or khalat), and 
 had clean linen for bed and back once a week. At 
 eight o'clock there was brought a glass of tea, sugar, 
 and white bread. Dinner followed at one, consisting 
 ordinarily of three dishes, but in Easter week of four, 
 preceded, if he chose, by a glass of vodka, or spirits. 
 The first dish was of soup, with the beef, veal, or 
 chicken of which it had been made ; the second was of 
 roast beef, fowl, or game, but so varied that the same 
 second dish did not appear twice in any week during 
 the whole three years he was there. The third dish 
 
272 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 was of rice pudding, buckwheat, jam pancakes, etc., 
 etc., the portions, always well cooked, being so large 
 that he could not eat the whole. At six o'clock came 
 again tea, sugar, and white bread, black bread being 
 served only for dinner. After making notes of this, 
 and that he might if he chose purchase extras, I was 
 fully prepared to hear Mr. Robinson say that at the 
 end of three years he left the fortress heavier by 30 Ibs. 
 Russian than he entered, his former weight being 144^5. 
 English. He said that he was in solitary confinement, 
 but that a captain came almost daily to ask if he had 
 complaints to make, which complaints when set forth 
 were duly attended to. The Commandant of the 
 fortress came once a month ; and once a year also a 
 special messenger (chief of the gendarmerie) from the 
 Emperor. Mr. Robinson spoke of the prison officers 
 as even "polite," and said that the chief (when noj 
 drunk !) used often to come and talk for an hour. 
 Again, that on one occasion Mezentseff (chief of the 
 secret police, who was murdered by the Nihilists in 
 1879) asked him if he would like to smoke, in which 
 case he should be supplied with a J- Ib. of tobacco for 
 cigarettes every other day. He also asked if he would 
 like to paint or write ; and books from the library and 
 drawing materials were brought to him. It was in this 
 fortress prison, he said, that he read "Gibbon's Decline 
 and Fall of the Roman Empire." 
 
 This testimony of Mr. Robinson is in striking con- 
 trast to the article to which I have called attention, 
 saying that in the Ravelin was disallowed " everything 
 that might help to occupy the attention," for here was 
 written the Russian novel, Tchto Dyealit ? (" What's 
 to be Done?"), published in 1863 in the Sovremennik 
 (or Contemporary). Mr. Robinson told me that Tcher- 
 nichevsky, the author, was with him in the Ravelin, 
 and wrote it there. So that Tchernichevsky's mind 
 did not "decay" for want of occupation. Mr. Robinson 
 said that he never heard or saw anything corroborative 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 273 
 
 of prisoners being tortured in the fortress. I have 
 heard of prisoners being fed with salt herrings, and 
 without water to drink. Prince Krapotkine, too, 
 asserts that at least two revolutionists were submitted 
 to torture by electricity. But he declines to give any 
 particulars to support his statement. When persons 
 have told me of such things I used to ask the ques- 
 tion, " Out of the hundreds of prisoners who have 
 passed through the fortress, do you know of one 
 who has asserted that he was put to torture?" and 
 an affirmative answer has not yet been forthcoming. 
 If torture in the fortress is inflicted, can no one be 
 found to tell us with some closeness of detail when y 
 where, and how he was made to suffer ? Such things,, 
 if done, could not well have been hid. Further, 
 Robinson had a friend who had been four times in the 
 fortress, and many other acquaintances likely to know 
 the truth, but none of these had ever spoken to him 
 of cruelties enacted there. 
 
 I have no information respecting sickness, deaths,, 
 or insanity in the fortress. During Robinson's three 
 years' confinement tw r o prisoners went mad through 
 their own fault and secret sin. But the writer of the 
 apocryphal letter perpetrates a strange anachronism 
 when he says, " Even those who become mad are not 
 treated any better. They are strapped down and 
 beaten with the knout." Now, I am informed by a 
 Russian nobleman, that the knout was not at any 
 time used as an instrument of correction in prisons, 
 but in place of capital punishment. But, however this 
 may be, the " knout " proper (which is the Russian 
 word for a whip) was abolished so long ago that I 
 have been unable to get one for my collection of 
 prison curiosities, and it was with great difficulty, 
 when writing " Through Siberia/' that I found an 
 old man who could describe what it used to be like. 
 
 I have no recollection of seeing any chapel in the 
 prison, though of course there is the well-known 
 
 18 
 
274 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 church close at hand within the fortress wall. Mr. 
 Robinson did not go to church during his imprisonment, 
 but a priest came thrice a year, and administered the 
 sacrament once. On these occasions the prisoners 
 learned from him something of what was going on in 
 the outer world. Otherwise my informant said that 
 for the first nine months he was not allowed to see any 
 of his relations, and, even then, only his father, mother, 
 and sister, in the cabinet of the Commandant. 
 
 The reader will have perceived, of course, that the 
 above statements respecting the visits of friends, and 
 the rich table of diet in the case of Mr. Robinson, do 
 not agree with what came under my own notice in the 
 prison itself. I do not think it necessary to attempt to 
 reconcile the two accounts, but content myself with 
 having given a faithful record of what I saw and heard, 
 having extenuated nothing, nor set down aught in 
 malice. Whether or not what I have said in "Through 
 Siberia," on Siberian convicts and gaols, "can only 
 convey false ideas " I must leave to those best quali- 
 fied to judge, begging them to remember that what I 
 am committed to is simply an " unprejudiced state- 
 ment of what I saw and heard in the prisons and 
 mines of Siberia." 
 
 Around that word " unprejudiced " I suspect the 
 remaining contention gathers, for Prince Krapotkine 
 and I do not see things from the same standpoint. 
 My critic calls some of his prisoner friends " heroes," 
 .which is a synonym for Nihilists I could by no means 
 accept, nor could I receive his doctrines enunciated 
 in the Nineteenth Century (January, 1883). "The 
 principle of the lex talionis, of the right of the com- 
 munity to avenge itself on the criminal, is no longer 
 admissible. We have come to an understanding that 
 society at large is responsible for the vices that grow 
 in it, even as it has its share in the glories of its heroes ; 
 and we generally admit, at least in theory, that when 
 we deprive a criminal of his liberty, it is to purify and 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 275 
 
 improve him." This, however true and excellent in 
 the abstract, must, when interpreted by Nihilistic 
 events, be taken to mean that when a dynamitard, for 
 instance, has made a mine and blown a score or two of 
 Cossacks into eternity, or wrecked a train, in which some 
 individual may be, whose murder is decreed, the perpe- 
 trator is not on that account to be made to endure suffer- 
 ing as such, but to be compassionately patted on the 
 back, and segregated to apartments where under more 
 favourable conditions he may be purified and improved. 
 A comfortable doctrine truly, but one not likely to find 
 favour among the Cossacks' widows and orphans, or 
 the maimed and mangled passengers ! The fallacy 
 of so pernicious a principle is self-evident, and there 
 are few who would not say that such a criminal, irre- 
 spective of his future improvement, deserved to suffer 
 severely, whether acting for himself, or urged on by 
 others to his dastardly work.* 
 
 There is room, no doubt, for difference of opinion as 
 
 * I know not who the Englishman may be who went to the fortress 
 prison, and wrote to the Pall Mall Gazette, but he says : " 1 inquired 
 into the history of many (of the prisoners) I there saw, especially of the 
 women. It was the same sad story. Few had finished their education 
 anywhere ; some had been to several gymnasia, and had been forced 
 to leave, either through insubordination, idleness, or intellectual in- 
 capacity. At war with the school authorities, often smarting under a 
 sense of injustice real or supposed, they leave school at war with what- 
 ever they have known of law and of authority. Thus predisposed, 
 they fall a ready victim to men of far more experience than themselves, 
 who, by appealing to the daring, the enthusiasm, the courage of youth, 
 urge them on to deeds they dare not do themselves. Most of the young 
 women entangled in the fatal net of Nihilism were but inexperienced 
 children when they first began. Many young girls sent to Switzerland 
 for their education were sedulously sought after by the Nihilist refugees 
 there. Appeals to their love of country, their enthusiasm, their youthful 
 longing to be something to do were but too successful ; and young 
 girls, at the very outset of their careers, find themselves bound by 
 oaths, to be broken at the risk of sudden and secret death should their 
 courage fail, or should they hesitate to obey. Here lies the real and 
 ruthless tyranny; and the cowardly plotters, safe, skulking in some 
 foreign land, are alone responsible. One reads with a feeling of loathing 
 and disgust an appeal to humanity from such cowardly assassins. The 
 heart throbs with pity for their inexperienced and too credulous dupes ; 
 but one boils with contempt and loathing at the very thought of these 
 vanity mad, cowardly misleaders." 
 
276 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 to what should be done to this class of offenders when 
 caught, how the majesty of the law should be vindi- 
 cated, the body politic protected, and the criminal 
 reformed. For my own part, though it is not a pretty 
 sight to see a man's back bared and a couple of 
 soldiers birching him, yet I never asked a prison 
 official in England whether governor, turnkey, or 
 chaplain who did not agree with me that, if we had 
 far more of this mode of punishment than we now 
 have, we should have far fewer of a certain class of 
 criminals. I still believe in the wisdom of the code 
 that directed judges to justify the righteous and con- 
 demn the wicked ; and if the wicked man were worthy 
 to be beaten, that the judge should cause him to lie 
 down, and to be beaten before his face, though not 
 without mercy, lest the offender should be made vile.* 
 In concluding this chapter, then, let me restate 
 what I said in my preface to " Through Siberia," con- 
 cerning the prisons and penal institutions of that 
 country, namely, that " much has been written con- 
 cerning them which is very unsatisfactory, and some 
 things that are absolutely false."! This I still main- 
 tain, but by no means thereby imply that more cannot 
 be correctly said in their disfavour than I have noticed. 
 1 have never maintained that Russian prisons are what 
 they ought to be. I do not believe they are what they 
 might be, and I am sure they are not what those 
 highest in authority would like them to be ; but all 
 this does not justify the representation of them to be 
 what they are not. 
 
 * Deut. xxxi. 3. 
 
 t I added, " One author published ' My Exile in Siberia ' who never 
 went there"; and to this Prince Krapotkine has taken strong exception, 
 saying that the words " in Siberia " were added by the publishers, and 
 not by Hertzen, the author. I wrote to the publishers, but the partner 
 through whose hands the transaction passed is no longer living, and 
 the firm cannot find any record upon the subject. It does not materially 
 affect the truth, however, of what I said, though, if the statement about 
 the publishers be true, it is, of course, a pity that an author should thus 
 be laid open to suspicion he does not deserve, and I therefore recall 
 the sentence, giving him the benefit of the doubt. 
 
THE FORTRESS PRISON IN PETERSBURG. 277 
 
 Had a pamphlet been put forth saying that Russian 
 prisons are the best in the world, that there is not a 
 speck of dirt to be found in one of them, that every 
 prisoner therein is as well employed as those in the 
 prisons of London, Paris, or Breslau, that the efforts 
 for their moral and spiritual welfare are better even 
 than they were in Newgate a string of superla- 
 tives, in fact I should have declared that they 
 were utterly untrue ; and then I can imagine my- 
 self being regarded as a detractor, as some would 
 now make me a defender, of Russian prisons, whereas 
 I disclaim to be regarded as one or the other. If 
 readers have drawn the conclusion from anything 
 that I have written or said, that I thought Russian 
 prisons in general needed no improvement and 
 no reform, then I have been altogether misunder- 
 stood, and I hasten to say that there is abundance 
 of room for both. But having now, as I hope, 
 justified my position with reference to what I said 
 of the prisons of Siberia, and related what I know 
 of the fortress prison in Petersburg, I shall change the 
 venue and relate what I saw of the prisons of Russian 
 Central Asia. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Visit to prison at Omsk. Difficulties in providing prisoners with 
 literature. Exaggerated statements as to uncleanness of Russian 
 prisons. Visit to prison at Semipolatinsk. A Raskolnik fanatic. 
 Criminal statistics of Semipolatinsk. Visit to prison at Vierny. 
 Official report of the prisons of Semirechia. Local voluntary com- 
 mittees. My distribution of books. Visit to prison at Tashkend. 
 Alleged overcrowding of Russian prisons. Visit to prison at 
 Khokand. Prison visitation in Samarkand. Lavatory arrange- 
 ments, and misrepresentations concerning them.- My testimony 
 and its limits. 
 
 THE visitation of prisons and hospitals was a 
 principal object that took me to Central Asia, 
 just as three years previously it had led me to visit 
 Siberia. Accordingly I thought it better to devote a 
 chapter to this subject than to interrupt the narrative 
 of the journey by detailed descriptions en route. 
 
 The first prison we visited was in the suburbs of 
 Omsk, a building of dazzling whiteness, both without 
 and within, with accommodation for 240 prisoners ; 
 but the average number of 135 on its books. There 
 were 22 rooms for ordinary use, a hospital with 5 
 rooms more, and i 5 cells. The two punishment cells 
 were dark, or could be darkened (I forget which), but 
 not with the Egyptian darkness that reigns in the 
 punishment cells of Newgate. I never saw anything 
 to equal that in any prison of Russia or Siberia. As 
 we entered room after room I inquired how many of 
 
THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 279 
 
 the occupants could read. Out of 9 men in one ward, 
 2 could read ; in another, 3 out of 4 ; in a third, 2 out 
 of 4 ; but in the next chamber not i out of 7. These 
 last were all Kirghese, of whom one had had his nose 
 bitten off in a quarrel. Another room contained 15 
 women, none of whom, if I remember rightly, could 
 read. There were in the building, at the time of our 
 visit, 1 7 women and 2 children ; but the average 
 number of women is 8. The daily allowance to the 
 prisoners was 2 \ Ibs. (Russian) of bread, and ^lb. of 
 meat. This latter, I presume, is withheld on fast 
 days, but on feast days it is increased to f Ib. They 
 have soup, and on Thursdays and Sundays porridge, 
 besides buckwheat or barley gruel. 
 
 The church in the building was attended by the 
 prisoners on Sundays and the great feasts, as was the 
 Roman chapel by the two prisoners of this creed 
 then in prison. In 1879 I sent to General Kaznakoff, 
 then Governor-General of Western Siberia, upwards 
 of 300 New Testaments, Gospels, and Psalms, also a 
 large number of tracts and pamphlets for the hospitals, 
 prisons and schools of the provinces of Akmolinsk and 
 Semipolatinsk, and we found in this prison at Omsk 
 what looked like a portion of the gift, but they were in 
 a cupboard in the library, precisely where I had asked 
 they might not be, the reason alleged being that when 
 they had placed the books in the rooms, the prisoners 
 had torn them.* 
 
 The worst feature we noticed about the Omsk prison 
 was one common to most of the Russian houses of 
 detention, for, apart from the necessary work of the 
 
 * This was a similar difficulty to that with which early prison philan- 
 thropists in England had at first to contend, as witnessed to by the engrav- 
 ing of " Mrs. Fry reading to the prisoners in Newgate in the year 1816," 
 wherein is represented on the wall a placard, worded thus : " Notice is 
 hereby given, that should any of the Bibles, prayer-books, or other printed 
 books which are deposited in the ward for the use of the prisoners, be 
 injured, mutilated, or defaced, every prisoner in the ward where such 
 offence may occur will be held responsible, and be subject to such 
 punishment as the keeper may direct." 
 
a8o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 establishment, they had not six men employed. I 
 observed that one room was somewhat close and 
 stuffy, but, upon my calling attention thereto, was re- 
 minded that persons of the class from which prisoners 
 are most commonly drawn, prefer an atmosphere they 
 call snug and warm to fresh air. In winter especially, 
 they told us, " the prisoners stuff up all the holes with 
 coats, or rags," as if wholesome air were their greatest 
 enemy. This fact should be allowed for when we 
 are asked by certain writers to believe in the horrid 
 condition of the atmosphere of Russian prisons.* 
 
 * The author of " Called Back," on his way to Irkutsk, talks of prison 
 ""rooms reeking" with filth, the floors throwing out poisonous emana- 
 tions" ; and when at last he finds the prisoner he is in search of, it is 
 in a room thus characterized: " From the stench which rushed through 
 it, that open door might have been the entrance to some pestilential 
 -cavern at the bottom of which all the impurities of the world were 
 rotting and putrefying. As it passed you, you felt that the thick air was 
 poisonous with disease and death." Then, as if this aggregate of super- 
 latives were insufficient, the author continues : " Filth! the place was 
 one mass of it. Filth under foot ; filth on the walls, the rafters, and the 
 beams; filth floating about in the hot, heavy, pestiferous air." I beg 
 the author's pardon, but this is great nonsense. I have been asked by 
 friends more than once, "Are not Russian prisons dirty ? " to which the 
 answer has been both "Yes" and "No." There are prisons in 
 England where the inmate of a cell must have every bit of brass 
 polished, and his habitation spotlessly clean ; or, as a Russian prisoner 
 has put it, " where the activity of broom and pail is almost demoniac." 
 In France, some of the cell floors are polished with the heel of a wine 
 bottle and "elbow grease"; and I have seen prison schools and 
 -asylums so hyper-clean, even in Russia, that, to use a familiar ex- 
 pression, "one might have eaten off the floor." Compared with 
 buildings such as these, the average Russian prison must be allowed 
 to be "dirty," or, compared with a countess's drawing-room, even 
 "'filthy." But if such an expression should convey to a reader's mind 
 what it did convey to the mind of the friend who pointed out the passage 
 to me, and who thought faecal filth was intended thereby, then such 
 language is a libel. The nearest resemblance I can think of, for the 
 moment, to the floor of a Russian prison is the floor of a dirty national 
 school, over which a pack of boys have run for a week with the dirty boots 
 of winter. I do not remember ever seeing anything in Russian prisons 
 worse than this, and in the majority of cases things were better ; whilst 
 as for the atmosphere, and the exaggerations talked about it, I have 
 been in Russian prisons at all hours of the day, before some of the 
 prisoners were up in the morning, and just before they were going to 
 bed at night, but in none was the air so vitiated as that which some of the 
 peasants to my knowledge chose to have in their own houses, or, to 
 come nearer home, such as I used to meet with in parochial visiting when 
 curate of Greenwich. 
 
THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 281 
 
 The next prison we entered was a civil one at 
 Semipolatinsk, whither we were accompanied by the 
 police-master. Here a felon might have to remain 
 as long as four years. There w^ere 78 prisoners, of 
 whom 25 were Kirghese. The latter are sometimes 
 birched with rods up to 60 stripes an appeal to their 
 feelings that is much more effectual than the leisure 
 of mere confinement, and the supply of better food 
 than they habitually get outside. No less than 20 
 of the prisoners were accused of murder, and 35 of 
 robbery. The morals of the inmates at Semipolatinsk 
 seemed to me better cared for than in most Russian 
 prisons ; for not only did the prisoners attend church 
 every Sunday, and often on feast days, but a sermon 
 was said to be read to them after every service, and, 
 what I have never before heard of in a Russian 
 prison, a priest came every Tuesday to the dining- 
 room, and explained the Scriptures. 
 
 There was a religious curiosity in this prison in the 
 person of a Raskolnik or dissenter, whose equal for 
 sectarian ignorance and self-righteousness I have not 
 often met. What had brought him to prison I do 
 not exactly know ; but we were told he came from the 
 Urals, and would neither serve in the army as a 
 conscript, nor obey the Government. I imagine 
 that he belonged to the narrowest sect of the 
 StdroverS) or old believers, who regard Peter the 
 Great as Antichrist, and set immense store by old 
 ikons or sacred pictures, and ancient service books. 
 The only things this man possessed were an old 
 ikon, and a Liturgy and daily prayers in manuscript. 
 Such idols did he make of these that I believe he 
 would have parted with twenty years of his life rather 
 than one of his treasures. I need hardly say he 
 rejected my offer when I asked whether he would 
 sell them. Of course I could not but in a fashion 
 admire his steadfastness, and, thinking to meet his 
 prejudice against reading the Bible in modern Russ, 
 
282 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 I offered him a New Testament in Sclavonic ; but 
 he declined it, saying that he did not want it. Thus 
 he preferred to be confined to the book his own hands 
 had written, to exercising his mind and heart in 
 reading that which he had been taught to regard as 
 the Word of God. In this prison I left matter for the 
 prisoners to read, and sent to the Governor, General 
 Protzenko, a sufficiency for the remaining 5 prisons, 
 and the 17 hospitals, of the province.* 
 
 Thus far the prisons I have mentioned resembled 
 those I saw in Siberia in 1879; but on reaching Vierny 
 we had before us something comparatively new. The 
 Vierny prison, built in 1875, was surrounded with trees 
 and gardens, and enclosed by a high wall. It rarely 
 holds any female prisoners, and there is only one room 
 intended for them; but out of 157 prisoners at the 
 time of our visit, 6 were women, and of these 4 had 
 murdered their husbands. One woman had promised 
 ^40 to two Cossack uncler-officers to kill her husband, 
 but the captured perpetrators of the dark deed told us 
 they had not received the money. There was a dark 
 
 * The prisons were as follows : 
 
 Semipolatinsk military prison for 120 prisoners 
 civil 100 
 
 Pavlodar ,, 
 
 Ust-Kamenogorsk 
 Karkaralinsk ,, 
 Zaisan 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 20 
 100 
 
 From the official report of Semipolatinsk given me, I learn that the 
 number of crimes throughout the province in 1881 was 517, or 41 more 
 than in 1880; of these crimes, 362 were of the nature of larceny, and 
 50 murder. The number of persons chiefly Kirghese tried was 
 1,200 males and 12 females. The age of the majority of the criminals 
 was between 21 and 30, and next from 31 to 40. Of 49 persons con- 
 demned, 2 were females, and 49 persons were retained on suspicion. 
 From the year 1880 there remained 186 prisoners 235 were added in 
 the course of the year, and 258 released, leaving a balance of 163 in 
 prison throughout the province on ist January, 1882. The report 
 further states that the temporary prison at Karkaralinsk is unsatis- 
 factory by reason of age and want of accommodation. The administra- 
 tion of the prison is vested with the Semipolatinsk committee, and its 
 branches and the ladies' committee at the capital. The receipts of the 
 committee amounted to ; 1,170, of which ^241 were carried forward to 
 the next year's account. 
 
THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 283 
 
 cell in the building, in which a prisoner might be con- 
 fined from 4 hours to 6 days. The prisoners were 
 of varied nationalities Russians, Tatars, Kirghese, 
 Dungans, Sarts, and Taranchis. Most of the 
 Kirghese were in prison for theft ; a gipsy for horse 
 stealing ; one Dungan for attacking a caravan, and 
 another had been a commander of a Chinese regi- 
 ment at the time of the rebellion in Kuldja, 
 whence he had escaped and become a robber chief, 
 but on coming back to Kuldja was arrested. In a 
 
 rHE PRISON CHAPEL IN VIERNY. 
 
 room by himself was a Russian major confined for 
 attempted wife murder, and in another room 1 1 
 prisoners for rape, murder, and robbery. The chapel 
 was in exceedingly good order, and in the library I 
 found, to my satisfaction and surprise, some New 
 Testaments, Gospels, and other books. The New 
 Testaments had been supplied by a Russian society 
 for the distribution of religious literature, at the 
 instance, we heard, of a M. Pantusoff, who had given 
 several books, and had others bound at his own 
 
284 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 expense. We heard of further good deeds of this 
 Russian gentleman, but were not so fortunate as to 
 meet him. I am indebted to him, however, for some 
 of my information on Kuldja, respecting which pro- 
 vince he has compiled statistics. 
 
 Vierny being the capital of the Semirechia province, 
 I asked the Vice-Governor for statistics of the prisons, 
 and a copy was made for me of the official report 
 for the preceding year. I nowhere else during my 
 journey got anything so detailed, but as the prisons 
 we subsequently entered at Tashkend and Samarkand 
 were better, if anything, than that at Vierny, I 
 assume that the report does not give an exaggerated 
 idea of the condition of prisons in Russian Turkistan 
 generally. A prominent feature of the report is the 
 interest taken in the prisoners by voluntary com- 
 mittees who manage many of the prison affairs.* 
 
 Instead, for instance, of the prisoners each receiving 
 $d. a day for food, the committee undertook to cater 
 for them, deputing the inspector to carry out their 
 instructions. Each member of the committee came on 
 duty by turns for a week, visiting the prison daily, 
 inspecting the rooms and the kitchen, and after- 
 wards writing remarks in the visitors' book. This 
 book was, on a certain day, submitted to the Vice- 
 President, who saw that the irregularities noted by 
 the directors were rectified. In 1881 an abundance 
 of vegetables was grown in the prison garden, such as 
 cabbages and potatoes, carrots, fennel, parsley, garlick, 
 cucumbers, water-melons, and melons, and in addition 
 each prisoner was allowed, daily, ilb. of meat. So 
 cheap, however, are provisions at Vierny, that, after 
 supplying bread and other eatables, the committee 
 
 * Speaking first of the Vierny prison, it says that, at the time for 
 making annual repairs, the building was clean and in good condition, 
 but ;66 had been expended for repairs during the year, and out of 
 money saved the outer walls of the prison church had been plastered 
 and whitened. A belfry also was added to the church, ,250 only of 
 the cost of 620 being borne by the Government, the committee under- 
 
THE PRISOA^S OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 285 
 
 effected a saving in the maintenance of prisoners of 
 ^344, which was applied to other needs. For the 
 moral good of the prisoners, the report says, the 
 committee did all in its power, but nothing is mentioned 
 beyond the church services on Sundays and festivals. 
 A Cossack prisoner confessed to the prison inspector 
 the murder of his cousin. "All prisoners of the 
 orthodox faith prepared for and were favoured by the 
 reception of the Holy Sacrament." Prisoners who 
 could read and write (of whom, however, there were 
 usually very few) were supplied with books. No con- 
 verts, the report says, were made to the orthodox faith. 
 There is no infirmary in the prison, prisoners 
 seriously ill being sent to the military hospital, and 
 ^"120 in 1 88 1 was paid for their maintenance. Those 
 with minor ailments were treated gratis by M. 
 Sobolevsky, a member of the committee, to the num- 
 ber of 300. (This, I presume, includes not only local 
 offenders, but prisoners en roiite to exile.) Only very 
 few of the Vierny prisoners knew any handicraft, and 
 the whole amount earned in the prison was only about 
 ;io, of which half was given to the prisoners at the 
 time, and a trifle remained for them on their release. 
 The value of the vegetables grown in the garden was 
 25, the reserves for winter consisting of 360 bushels 
 of potatoes and 541 gallons of salted cabbage. Pri- 
 soners on their entrance were inspected by the physi- 
 cian, sent to the bath, and supplied with new clothes. 
 There were neither juvenile offenders, nor prisoners 
 for debt in 1881. Among the gifts sent to the prison 
 during the year, the report mentions two bells, and 
 building material for the church belfry ; a tailor's 
 
 taking the remainder, and paying some from a fund at their disposal 
 for extraordinary expenses. Of the total number of prisoners, one- 
 eighth only were Russians, and of Tatars rather less. The weather at 
 Vierny is hot in summer, and the committee, instead of straw mattresses, 
 had bought 140 felts, upon which the natives are accustomed to sleep, 
 and had also made 30 new hammocks, costing ji8. The committee 
 had expended from its own special resources, on wages for overseers, 
 cook, baker, etc., .231. 
 
286 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 sewing machine, for the employment of the detained 
 and tea and sugar at Christmas to the value of $. 
 
 After thus describing what has been done at the 
 prison in the capital, the report deals with the smaller 
 houses of detention in Kopal, Karakol, Lepsinsk, and 
 Tokmak. I need not repeat in this connection features 
 that have already occurred in the prison at Vierny,* 
 but I have allowed myself to enter somewhat in detail 
 into the prison affairs of Semirechia, because the report 
 gives some idea of the prisons even in the remotest 
 part of the mountains, and also, instead of vague 
 commonplaces on Russian prisons in general, makes 
 definite statements that are in a measure capable of 
 disproof if they are not true. I left at Vierny with 
 M. Aristoff, the Vice-Governor, a quantity of litera- 
 ture, in addition to distributing some myself, and since 
 my return to England I have received an account of 
 the distribution, which is all that I could wish.f 
 
 * At Kopal the prisoners were from 4 to 8 in a room, and those 
 who could read were supplied with religious books. The report adds, 
 that with each party going away (that is, I presume, prisoners on the 
 march) the regulations issued by the Most Holy Synod (probably con- 
 cerning religious service) were rigorously complied with. No donations 
 were received at Kopal except from members of the committee. At 
 Karakol, a small place far away in the Thian Shan mountains, civil 
 prisoners were kept in the military guard-room, the priest tolerably 
 often praying with the prisoners in their rooms and reading to them. 
 At this place the prisoners' allowance was given them in cash, and 
 they bought wood for boiling tea to the value of 2. One prisoner only 
 was ill during the year. At Lepsa, prisoners were confined in a private 
 house containing 5 rooms, one being a guard-room. The rooms were 
 fairly large, and ventilated by louvres in the windows. Prisoners 
 awaiting trial were kept separate from the condemned. Lastly, in the 
 Tokmak district, prisoners were kept in a former telegraph office at 
 Pishpek, and in guard-rooms at Tokmak and Naryn. At Pishpek the 
 articles of dress purchased during the year were 6 sheepskins and 6 
 pairs of felt snow-shoes. These articles were given to prisoners en 
 route, who could go no further in summer clothing. The sum of 12 
 kopecks per day for food allowed of something being put by towards 
 the purchase of butter for the preparation of prisoners' gruel. At 
 Tokmak, besides the subscriptions of the committee, gifts were received 
 from the surrounding villages to the amount of \ 8s. 
 
 f M. Aristoff writes : " The books and pamphlets that you were so 
 kind as to give me for the hospitals, schools, and prisons of the pro- 
 vince of Semirechia, have been sent and distributed in the following 
 manner and quantities : (i) To the Vierny military hospital, 5 Gospels, 
 
THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 28; 
 
 But to proceed. If the surroundings of the Vierny 
 prison were attractive, those of Tashkend were still 
 more so, for the building stood in quite a park of 
 poplar trees, planted in avenues, and affording shade in 
 the intensely hot summer. There were in confinement 
 379 prisoners, of whom 6 were women, 5 natives and 
 one Russian (this latter having poisoned her husband). 
 The number of Russian male prisoners was 37, the 
 majority of the remainder being Sarts. On going 
 into the kitchen we found the soup excellent, and 
 learned that on Sundays the prisoners received an 
 extra plate of rice porridge. In fact, when we saw 
 the Sarts and Kirghese sit down to their clean wooden 
 pannikins of soup, after having seen something of 
 native life outside, it made no great claim on one's 
 belief when the chief of the town, who accompanied 
 us, observed that the Sarts fared far better in prison 
 than in their own homes. There was in the building 
 a mosque, with rostrum for Muhammadan preaching 
 on Friday, when, as also on their festivals, as many 
 Mussulman prisoners as pleased attended. There was 
 too, a Russian church, and a small library. In the 
 lavatory, with cabinets, there was no offensive smell, 
 and there was a large, flat, basin-shaped depression 
 made in the floor for the Muhammadans to perform 
 their ceremonial washings. I inquired for the rods 
 used in corporal punishment ; but they said they had 
 
 New Testaments, and Psalms ; (2) Vierny prison, 10 copies of the same, 
 with 3 copies of the Kirghese New Testament ; (3) to the smaller prisons 
 at Kopal, Lepsa, and Pishpek, have been sent 2 copies of the Russian 
 and i of the Kirghese books ; (4) to the small military hospitals at 
 Kuldja and Kopal, 2 copies each of the Russian books; (5) a copy 
 each of the Kirghese New Testament to the Kirghese schools in 
 Karakol and Vierny ; (6) a few religious tracts were given to the infant 
 asylum of Vierny, and all the remaining books and tracts were left at 
 the disposal of the Inspector of the Schools of Semirechia. In sending 
 the books to the hospitals and prisons, I required of the administrators, 
 according to your desire, that they should be left in the rooms under 
 the responsibility of the chief, and not placed in the libraries. As to 
 the Inspector, I asked him to distribute the books and pamphlets 
 amongst the pupils of the schools of the province." 
 
288 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA, 
 
 none. The rooms were clean and airy, and each was 
 furnished with a lamp. I may add that the prison 
 is built to accommodate only 200 inmates, whence 
 the obvious inference would be that the building 
 was much crowded. But this was not the case ; 
 for outside the prison under the trees were erected 
 1 1 felt tents, one for the soldiers on guard, and the 
 remainder for the prisoners crowded out of the 
 building, and who, doubtless from their manner of 
 Eastern life, would be only too thankful for the 
 freedom of a tent, as compared w y ith what to their 
 nomad ideas would be the stuffiness of a room, 
 however airy.* 
 
 As we left the Tashkend prison, there was a crowd of 
 prisoners' friends waiting outside with melons and other 
 fruit to give to those within. I thought the place one 
 of the least repulsive of its kind I had seen in Russia ; 
 but things were not so good at Khokand. Here the 
 prison was near the Khan's palace, and had formerly 
 served as a barrack for the djiguitts of his Majesty, 
 and the place was temporarily crowded, whilst 
 another chamber, I suppose a prison proper, was 
 being made ready. None of the prisoners were 
 Russians, and many of them were petty offenders. 
 One native, for stealing a horse, had been sentenced 
 to six months by a native tribunal, and another for a 
 like term for the adulteration of tea with sand, etc. 
 Of two women prisoners, one, at the age of 25, had 
 strangled her husband ; another, at 19, was a danseuse 
 
 * I would call attention to this provision made for surplus prisoners, 
 because I have more than once seen very strong statements made as 
 to the overcrowding of Russian and Siberian jails, without any notice 
 being taken of supplementary erections to meet an occasional emer- 
 gency. Nothing is commoner in Russia and Siberia than to see hospital 
 patients living under canvas in summer, and at Tiumen I remember being 
 told that, during the march of the exiles, which takes place in the 
 summer months, they frequently put up temporary tent accommodation 
 for a sudden influx of prisoners. I do not mean to imply for a moment 
 that Russian prisons are not in many cases overcrowded, for I know 
 they are, but 1 wish to point out that, in some instances at all events, an 
 effort is made to meet the emergency. 
 
THE PRISONS OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA. 289 
 
 and a thief. In Bokhara, they told me the Emir did 
 not allow girls to dance in public, but put them to 
 death for doing so. 
 
 Two months before our visit the prisoners tried to 
 escape in a body, and had been fired upon by the 
 sentries, with the result that 16 were killed, a nephew 
 of the late Khan among them, and 2 mortally wounded. 
 Some who escaped were retaken and chained, and 
 would be sent, it was thought, to Siberia, and a murderer 
 then in confinement with them. 
 
 There was yet one prison for us to visit in Russian 
 territory, namely, the town prison at Samarkand. This 
 is a brick building with a large garden enclosed by 
 a high wall. There were in it only 8 Russian prisoners, 
 but of the total 145 there were 89 charged with serious 
 crimes, namely: murder 42, robbery 29, theft 2, running 
 away 16. Cases such as these are generally examined 
 and finally decided by two local courts, one being a 
 court of first instance, and the other of appeal. 
 The confirmation of one of the Departments of the 
 Senate, which sits at Petersburg, is required for excep- 
 tional cases, such as : the condemnation of individuals 
 belonging to the privileged classes with loss of all civil 
 rights ; crimes committed by a band of criminals, etc., 
 also complaints brought against the incorrect juris- 
 diction of any of the local courts. The Senate is the 
 highest court of justice in Russia, which, like the local 
 courts, is entirely independent of the influence of the 
 administrative governmental authorities. 
 
 There were several rooms full of prisoners whose 
 papers were 3,000 miles distant; at Petersburg. One 
 man's case had begun 10- years before, in February 
 1872, and in April 1873, charged with the murder of 
 a native, he came to prison. Matters had been compli- 
 cated by his having escaped. His sentence was 15 
 years' hard labour in Siberia. One room was full of 
 men bound for the same destination. In another room 
 were two women who had escaped through the ceiling 
 
,290 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of their prison at Katte- Kurgan. Some few of the 
 prisoners had work to do, but not those charged with 
 serious crimes. We visited this prison in the company 
 of General Korolkoff, the acting governor of the 
 province, and doubtless saw things at their best ; but 
 there was this advantage in going on an inspection day, 
 that I repeatedly saw prisoners using their right on 
 such days of appealing or complaining to the monthly 
 visitor. His Excellency told me afterwards that their 
 conversation usually takes the form of a question as to 
 when their papers are coming or how their case is going 
 on. Sometimes complaints of administration were made, 
 but usually without reason, and not often of serious 
 matters. The prisoners were supplied with felts to lie 
 on, and the cleanliness of the place was no doubt partly 
 maintained by meals being taken in a common hall, and 
 110 food eaten in the rooms. To the foregoing I may add 
 that the lavatory in this prison was particularly clean. 
 
 Here, then, I conclude my brief account, such as it 
 is, of the prisons of Russian Central Asia. Some of 
 the objections that were urged against my former 
 testimony will hold good as to this, namely, that I 
 travelled quickly, and was therefore liable to receive 
 false impressions, and form erroneous conclusions. I 
 trust, therefore, as I said before, that no one may be 
 misled by taking my testimony for more than it is worth. 
 I have tried to be accurate, and that is all I can say.* 
 
 * I may perhaps as well add that the foregoing chapters on 
 prisons have been kindly looked over, as on a previous occasion, by a 
 Russian official high in the prison administration, who says that, after 
 reading them with the greatest attention, he finds no mistakes. With 
 reference to the alleged preparation of the Siberian prisons for my visit, 
 he assures me that the Ministry of the Interior made no such prepara- 
 tion, in fact, could not well have so done, adding also, that he 
 personally would be obliged for any proof that can be brought con- 
 firmatory of such precautionary measures having been taken. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB 
 
 A new country, little visited by Englishmen. Changed mode of travel. 
 Tarantass despatched to Karshi. My retinue. Leaving Samar- 
 kand for Kara-Tiube. Tent lodging in court of a mosque. Slum- 
 bers disturbed. Journey towards Kitab. Ploughing and threshing. 
 The Takhta-Karacha Pass. View of Shahr-i-sabz. Descent to 
 Kainar-bulak. Welcome from Bokhariot ambassadors. Kainar 
 refreshments. Ride to Kitab. 
 
 I^HUS much in regard to Russian Central Asia. 
 Now we enter Bokhara, Khiva, and Turkmenia. 
 When we were preparing to leave Samarkand I was 
 conscious of making a distinctly new departure. One 
 Russian officer had expressed surprise that I did not 
 travel with a servant. I decidedly preferred not to 
 do so on Russian soil, but now I was to start as a 
 proprietor of horses, with two interpreters and two 
 mounted attendants a cavalcade of five, that after- 
 wards increased sometimes to a dozen. Further, the 
 tarantass, with all my personal conveniences, was no 
 longer to be the chariot in which we could roll along 
 in comparative ease, but, at the outset at all events, 
 the baggage had to be reduced to a minimum, and 
 myself to take to the saddle. The tarantass was to 
 be sent by a carriage-road through Djam to Karshi, a 
 distance of 94 miles, and it was not easy at first to 
 decide what things \vere so necessary or so valuable 
 that they must be taken with me ; but when all was in 
 readiness there were 16 packages to be placed in 
 the carriage, besides such as could be locked up. The 
 
292 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 common cart of the country is called an arba, and 
 the man who drives it an arba-kesh. One of these 
 men had undertaken to get my tarantass to Karshi for 
 ^4, and there await my coming, asking, however, for 
 three-fourths of the pay in advance. 
 
 For some reason I did not clearly understand, the 
 arba-kesh insisted on taking the wheels off the tarantass 
 and mounting it on an arba. I confess to having some 
 qualms about committing ''my little all " to the care of 
 this man, especially in a new country where I should 
 be unable to invoke the aid of a friendly tckinovnik 
 if things went wrong. A happy thought occurred, 
 however, when all was in readiness, respecting the 
 importance attached by Easterns, and for that matter 
 by Russians too, to a seal. Taking light and wax 
 I solemnly sealed up the curtain and hood, in the 
 presence of the arba-kesh and his helper, and then 
 called them in to put each " his mark " to a receipt for 
 the tarantass and its contents. I afterwards heard 
 that the natives were frightened by this formal pro- 
 ceeding, especially as it took place in the house of the 
 Governor, and they drew from the transaction pre- 
 cisely the inference I intended, that they had some- 
 thing important committed to their charge, and must 
 mind what they were about with it. The tarantass 
 then rolled out of the yard like a miniature locomotive 
 on one of Pickford's trucks, after which, on October 
 2nd, I placed my foot in the stirrup, as Tamerlane 
 used to say when leaving Samarkand, and went forth 
 to conquer. 
 
 The two djiguitts, named Kolutch and Fazul, were 
 both Uzbegs, and dressed in long robes and white 
 turbans. They were to accompany us, if I pleased, 
 as far as the Oxus, but they were provided with little 
 luggage, for it was all stowed away in saddle-bags. 
 Fazul could speak no Russian, and, so far as informa- 
 tion was concerned, was of little service ; so I sent him 
 forward to accompany the man who had charge of the 
 
FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB. 293 
 
 sumpter horse, which had been hired from the bazaar 
 at 2s. a day to go with us as far as Karshi. Kolutch, 
 the other djiguitt, was a man of more character, and, 
 for an Oriental, had a considerable amount of " go " in 
 him; too much, I fancy, for the natives, over whom he 
 appeared occasionally to lord it, but he was faithful to 
 me and mine. Our Tatar interpreter was one Sulei- 
 man Yakooboff, whom we surnamed " Yakoob." 
 
 Leaving the Governor s palace, and its kind hospi- 
 tality, we passed the tomb of Tamerlane, and saw the 
 Russians at work on the exterior of the dome, and 
 then left Samarkand by what used to be the Khoja 
 Akhrar gate, so called after a celebrated saint of that 
 name, but now thrown down. Just beyond there sat a 
 woman by the wayside begging, who rose and lifted 
 her veil, to show the white leprous spots on her face;* 
 the last woman's face I was to see for some time, 
 for over the border they were all veiled. Our route 
 lay through suburban gardens, with fruit-trees hanging 
 on either hand over the walls, till we reached the 
 Ankhor aryk, where the steppe commences, with 
 hillocks here and there, but bare and lifeless, except 
 where covered with thorny bush. Our first day's 
 journey was to be only as far as Kara-Tiube, a distance 
 of 21 miles. This was so arranged in order to give 
 us an easy start before entering on the country beyond, 
 which was said to be unusually difficult. We were 
 warned of this at our last lunch at the Governor's 
 house, and heard that some officers had even discussed 
 whether we should accomplish the mountain pass at 
 all ; but my national vanity was flattered to hear that 
 one of them said, " Oh, yes, they will succeed, for they 
 are Englishmen ; and what the English begin they 
 carry through." It would not have done to break 
 down after this ; but as I was not in bed till half-past 
 one the night before, and had risen at six in order to 
 
 * Like the four leprous men at the entering in of the gate of Samaria, 
 who said, " Why sit we here until we die " (2 Kings vii. 3). 
 
294 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 pack, I was not sorry that the first day's journey was 
 to be only an afternoon ride. 
 
 About halfway to Kara-Tiube the road crosses a deep 
 ravine with steep banks, and we had been told that 
 the remains of Tamerlane's camp were still visible. 
 Neither Kolutch nor Yakoob had ever heard of them, 
 however ; and though we did see certain mounds of 
 earth apparently artificial, I should think them more 
 likely to be connected with former irrigation works 
 than with Tamerlane. Fifteen miles from Samar- 
 kand we came to the Russian summer camp, where 
 the soldiers were exercising, and singing as they 
 marched. One of the things that struck me was the 
 ranks of sham men they had put up to shoot at for a 
 review on the day following. Yakoob informed us that, 
 in proceeding, the correct thing was for me to go last,, 
 and the djiguitt a little distance on ahead ; but, however 
 correct, this had one disadvantage for me, namely, that 
 I caught all the dust kicked up by those preceding me,, 
 and against this I soon revolted. Again, it is con- 
 sidered by the Asiatics more dignified for a great 
 personage to let his horse walk or amble than to 
 gallop. Yakoob said my charger had been doing no 
 work of late, and, therefore, begged I would not ride 
 too fast the first day ; but my steed was like to a fed 
 horse in the morning, neighing wherever he w r ent, and 
 impatient of restraint ; so I let him go. Mr. Sevier's 
 horse took the cue from mine, and we thus frequently 
 left Yakoob and Kolutch for a while behind. We had 
 a fair wheel-road to within 5 miles of our destination, 
 but on reaching the foot of the mountains it became 
 little more than a path, though still practicable for 
 carriages. We mounted the first range of hills, and 
 had from the summit a fine view of the valley beyond, 
 and of the plains we had left behind. Notice of our 
 coming had been sent forward to the chief of the 
 volost, who, as we approached Kara-Tiube, came out 
 to meet us, and conducted us to the courtyard of a 
 
FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB. 295 
 
 mosque, where a tent was put up for our use. We 
 had left Samarkand at 2.15, and completed our 21 miles 
 in 3^ hours. 
 
 Kara-Tiube lies in a hollow among the lower hills of 
 the Samarkand range, and under native rule possessed 
 a frontier fortress. The Emir made it a centre of 
 operations during his war with the invading Russians. 
 The fortifications were destroyed by General Abramoff 
 in 1868. I could not help thinking what a change had 
 come over the scene in a dozen years, for I suppose 
 that, previous to the advent of the Russians, the Mussul- 
 mans would not willingly have tolerated the presence, 
 of an " infidel " in their midst ; whereas now they 
 were entertaining us in the courts of their mosque.* 
 The tent was nicely carpeted under foot with handsome 
 bands around, though the roof and sides were some- 
 what the worse for wear one rent, in fact, being opened 
 to admit light. Yakoob said that he would close it. 
 when we were going to sleep. Till then it would help 
 to air the tent, he said, utterly oblivious that there was 
 too much air for my liking already. Here we ate our 
 first meal prepared by the natives, beginning with 
 sweetmeats, and going on through soup, native bread, 
 grapes, and pilau, made of meat and rice. 
 
 As we intended to start early next morning, we soon, 
 got ready after dinner for bed. I set my alarum, and 
 placed my revolver under the pillow. But, though 
 tired, it was not so easy for me to sleep. Just outside 
 the djiguitts were talking, and sending round their 
 gurgling kalian, or water-pipe, the horses were rest- 
 less, sundry dogs barking and whining, as well as 
 stallions fighting. My first sleep was disturbed by a 
 rattling of plates, due, it soon appeared, to an intruding 
 tom-cat. I quickly drove him out, and, being thus oa 
 
 * We were not again lodged in the courtyard of a religious building, 
 but it served to recall the Israelites, who " made themselves booths,, 
 every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the 
 courts of the house of God " (Neh. viii. 16). 
 
296 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 my feet, looked outside the tent. There lay Yakoob 
 and the djiguitts asleep and covered, but in the open 
 air, as an ordinary thing, and, all around being quiet, I 
 turned in again, to be disturbed within an hour by 
 another cat getting on the table, knocking over a 
 candlestick, and stopping my alarum. Of course, I 
 blessed every member of the feline race, gave chase 
 again, and re-set my alarum, of which I then heard no 
 more till it awoke me early next morning, not so stiff 
 as I expected to be, and ready to set things astir. 
 
 Our second day's journey was to Kitab, a distance 
 of 22 miles over the Takhta-Karacha Pass, for which 
 we set out at half-past seven o'clock. The road 
 threads the defile of Katta-Sai, in which flows a 
 turbulent little mountain stream of the same name. 
 Following the windings of this, and occasionally cross- 
 ing it, we saw from the road a tiller of the soil, with a 
 yoke of oxen and a plough, that from its primitive 
 form might have served for Elisha the son of Shaphat. 
 Somewhat further on we saw a good illustration of the 
 threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite. The grain, 
 instead of being thrashed, is trodden out by oxen or 
 horses, on a space specially prepared, termed khirman. 
 In this case two oxen only were employed, and their 
 treading power was economized more ingeniously than 
 pleasantly, I should imagine, to one at least of the pair. 
 One ox was fastened to the off end of a pole, that worked 
 on a pivot in the centre of the floor, a boy holding on to 
 his tail as to a rudder, and thus providing for the circum- 
 ference of the floor, whilst the second ox, with his hinder 
 parts in the centre and his head tied to his fellow, by 
 means of a crab-like motion trod the central area.* 
 
 * The oxen were not muzzled (Deut. xxv. 4), and the abundance of 
 food placed within their reach lent vividness to the language of 
 Hosea x. n., " Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to 
 tread out the corn." I did not see in Central Asia an implement that I 
 observed in the Trans-Caucasus, which made clearer to me a verse in 
 Isaiah, where the prophet says (xli. 15), " Behold, I will make thee a 
 new sharp threshing instrument having teeth." Among the Armenians, 
 I saw in use in 1880 an instrument suggestive of the Latin tribuhim 
 
FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB. 297 
 
 For some distance the rise towards the pass was 
 very gentle. Before the climbing began in earnest, 
 we called a halt at a poor little uninhabited caravansary, 
 Aman-Kutane, where we ate bread and' melons to 
 fortify us for the coming steeper road. Here was one 
 of the plantations mentioned by General Korolkoff, 
 which the Russians place on the mountains to keep 
 the soil from washing down. 
 
 Nor was this the only vegetation. So long as we 
 kept near the stream there were considerable patches of 
 grass, and we passed a collection of mud huts and tents 
 inhabited by semi-nomads who tilled a little ground. 
 Across the stream we saw the women weaving, and a 
 narrow fabric stretched on the ground. -On losing 
 sight of the stream, we left vegetation behind, and 
 had to climb a narrow path, almost a rude staircase, 
 of stones and boulders, to a height above the sea of 
 about 5,200 feet. 
 
 We were now on the crest of the mountains of 
 Kitab, a continuation of the Hissar range, that sepa- 
 rates the Zarafshan province from Bokhara. From 
 the broad platform of rock, about 30 paces wide, we 
 looked back on the dry and arid steppe we had crossed 
 from Samarkand ; but before us the scene was of a 
 more pleasing character. There lay on either side of 
 the Kashka-daria the twin to*wns of Kitab and Shahr, 
 called together, from the number of the trees and 
 gardens, Shahr-i-sabz, or "the green city." The 
 beauty of the landscape from this spot had been 
 extolled by Colonel Alexandroff, who lunched with 
 
 (whence our word tribulation), a heavy plank, or threshing sledge, 
 studded on one side with angular, tooth-like pieces of iron and flint, 
 about an inch high. The plank was widened at one end, for a man to 
 stand on, and narrowed and raised at the other for an animal to be 
 attached ; and this instrument, dragged over the floor, not only beat 
 out the corn, as did the treading of oxen, but cut up the straw. The 
 whole detritus was then swept in a heap, and tossed into the air by 
 shovelsful, when the corn fell on the earth, and the rest " became like 
 the chaff of the summer threshing-floors," which the wind carried away 
 (Dan. ii. 35). 
 
298 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA 
 
 us the day before we started. To an Oriental this 
 view would be, no doubt, exceedingly pretty, and to 
 an European tolerably so ; but it was nothing compared 
 with that obtainable from scores of places in England, 
 to say nothing of mountain scenery in Switzerland 
 or the Caucasus. 
 
 We had now to descend by a far steeper track, over 
 bare rocks of granite and gneiss, the path leading by a 
 cornice, excessively sinuous and obstructed with round 
 stones that rolled down the precipitous slopes. I 
 judged it best to give my horse full liberty to choose 
 his own path, and so did Sevier. It was amusing 
 sometimes to see the creatures after they had chosen 
 a track, and found it more difficult than was anticipated, 
 hark back and try another. I did not, at the time, 
 think of the danger we ran, if a horse stumbled, of 
 breaking one's skull against the jutting rocks on every 
 hand ; but when reading from Dr. Schuyler that only 
 one of his party had a sufficiently strong head to make 
 the whole descent on horseback, it occurred to me 
 that we should have done more wisely to dismount 
 and allow the horses to be led. On completing the 
 descent among the rocks, where the path was barely 
 wide enough for two horses to pass, and issuing from 
 the Takhta Karacha defile, the road widened as we 
 approached Kainar-bulak, our first Bokhariot village. 
 
 We were now only 7,500 paces, or say five miles, 
 from Russian territory, where one may find the newest 
 outcome of the intelligence of the nineteenth century, 
 yet we seemed to have dropped from the clouds 
 among men and things 3,000 or 4,000 years behind. 
 If what we saw among the Kirghese recalled the days 
 of Abraham, the new experience brought to one's 
 thoughts a number of messengers despatched by one 
 of the kings of Israel. We were met by the Bek, or 
 Governor of the district, also a military officer sent 
 direct from the Emir, with several others, wearing tur- 
 bans of spotless white, and clad, one in striped silk, 
 
FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB. 299 
 
 another in a robe of cloth of gold, and all mounted on 
 gaily caparisoned horses. They had come to inquire 
 for the welfare of various personages, to receive and 
 welcome me, and to put a series of questions respecting 
 my health and my journey. After shaking hands and 
 saluting me with an Aman, the Bek proceeded to ask 
 in stereotype fashion, "Is the Emperor well? Is the 
 Governor-General Chernaieff well ? and is General 
 Abramoff well?" This was spoken in Turki to Yakoob, 
 who put it to Sevier in Russ, after which it reached 
 me in English. I replied that, when I passed through 
 Petersburg, his Imperial Majesty was well, also that 
 in Petersburg I saw General Chernaieff, who was well, 
 and that General Abramoff, whom we had recently 
 left, was in good health. This principal messenger, 
 having completed his ceremonious inquiries, moved on 
 in front, and the old general or colonel came up to 
 announce that the Emir had sent him to say that he 
 was very glad we had come, that he hoped I was not 
 greatly exhausted by the difficulties of the way, and 
 begged us to take refreshment in Kainar. 
 
 Kainar is a kish-lak, or village, as it is usually 
 rendered, though the word literally means winter 
 quarters, just as tai-lak means summer quarters. In 
 summer quarters the habitation used is a tent, but in 
 winter quarters it is often a mud house, which in 
 summer is deserted or turned into a store. In the 
 present instance we were conducted through the yard 
 of what I suppose was the Bek's house, our horses 
 picketed to a circle of posts, and ourselves shown 
 into a room where was a table evidently rigged up for 
 the occasion, and groaning beneath a dozen, if not a 
 score, of trays of grapes, sweetmeats, almonds, sugared 
 nuts, melons, and other kinds of fruit. Upon these I 
 concluded we were to make a meal, and I began the 
 attack, till it appeared these things were only by way 
 of pudding and sweets presented in inverse order to 
 English fashion, and to be followed by more substantial 
 
300 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA 
 
 dishes of meat, boiled chicken, and rice. This was 
 a lesson for me, and so was the next performance in 
 clearing the table; for whereas, at home, one is brought 
 up to " eat what you please, but pocket none," in 
 Bokhara it is expected that you eat what you can, 
 and pocket the rest. All was to be mine, and I found 
 that Yakoob, the djiguitts, and attendants were ready 
 to accept the remainder as a perquisite, and stow away 
 the same in their bags. 
 
 We were left alone to partake of refreshment, and 
 when the envoys subsequently entered, I showed to 
 him who appeared to be master of the ceremonies the 
 letter I had received from General Chernaieff, where- 
 upon he spoke to me about seeing the Emir on the 
 following day. For the information of the Emir our 
 names had to be entered in a book, the hour we arrived, 
 and when we departed, with particulars of our visit. 
 They asked how soon we meant to start for Kitab, 
 whereupon observing that it was 1.45 p.m., I replied, 
 4 Tn 15 minutes"; but this was contrary to their notions, 
 and they wished to put down 3.0 as the hour of our 
 departure, " so that it might look to the Emir as if we 
 had been well entertained." Not that they cared, how- 
 ever, that we should wait, and our horses were accord- 
 ingly made ready. 
 
 It was five miles further to Kitab, along a carriage- 
 able road, through an inhabited district. On starting, 
 our escort increased, and we were preceded by a score 
 or so of horsemen, who smothered us with dust. I 
 begged them, therefore, to go on far ahead. This 
 dispersed the crowd, and we rode along to Urus (or 
 Russian) Kishlak, and beyond we forded the River 
 Kashka. Soon afterwards we approached the mud 
 wall, 53 miles long, which once surrounded Shahr-i- 
 sabz, and included, besides Kitab and Shahr, several 
 villages, with fields and gardens. These entirely 
 occupied the whole space within the wall. In winter 
 a large part of the neighbouring country is under 
 
FROM SAMARKAND TO KITAB. 301 
 
 water, and even in the dry season unhealthy swamps 
 abound. We had to approach the citadel of Kitab by 
 a narrow street, with water and mud up to the horses' 
 knees, the Colonel, in cloth of gold, having motioned 
 me to his side to enter the town with something like 
 state. As we passed along, the people rose and saluted 
 the Colonel with a " Salaam aleikum" or " Peace be 
 with you," but not bowing so servilely as at Khokand. 
 Other mounted officials now came to present them- 
 selves, and formed a cavalcade that brought us at last 
 to what was to be our lodging. I had read that it was 
 a point of Bokhariot etiquette as to how near one 
 should ride up to a palace or great house before dis- 
 mounting. My retinue, I observed, alighted outside 
 the street gates, but we were conducted on horseback 
 "right in" the courtyard, and then, having dismounted, 
 were shown into our room. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 
 
 Curious hospitality. Entertainment by dancing-boys and mountebanks. 
 Native appreciation of batchas. Visits from the Emir's court. 
 Our lodging and spies. Reception of Bokhariot officers. Guard 
 of native soldiers. Dress for an audience with the Emir. Pro- 
 cession and arrival at the fortress. The Emir Seid Muzaffar-ed- 
 din. Various estimates of his character. Admission to his 
 presence. My requests and presents. Refreshment with courtiers. 
 Princely presents. Drive to Shahr in the Emir's carriage. 
 
 OUR house at Kitab was certainly not a mansion, 
 for the principal room measured only about 1 2 feet 
 by 10. Perhaps lack of space was meant to be atoned 
 for by abundance of air, for there were 6 doors, and 
 over 3 of them unglazed lattices. We learned, 
 however, that hereafter we should be lodged in better 
 guest-houses, but that few embassies came to Kitab. 
 Soon after our arrival we were asked what we should 
 like to do. I replied that we wished to see the town, 
 and that I should be glad if we could find some coins 
 and other antiquities or curiosities. I had been told 
 by the Russians that the shortest space etiquette would 
 allow of our staying at Kitab would be three clays, and 
 this was the time I told them when they asked how 
 long I should remain their guest. My answers were 
 reported to the Emir, and his messenger came back to 
 say that they thought we should stay at least a week, 
 that my wish for coins should be attended to, and that 
 we could see the town after our audience with the Emir. 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 303 
 
 On our arrival we had found, as at Kainar, the table 
 laden with trays of sweets and fruits, and, in addi- 
 tion, there awaited me, as a present, at least half-a-dozen 
 loaves of white sugar, and as many boxes of sugar- 
 candy, both imported from Russia. I soon voted my 
 own tea preferable to the green tea drunk by the 
 natives, and, after taking refreshment, found that we 
 were to be entertained that evening by a grand per- 
 formance of musicians, batchas, and buffoons. At 
 dusk the scene was lighted up with 25 lamps, and we 
 were to sit under a spreading vine that formed a 
 rustic balcony at the back of the house, and from 
 thence to see the fun. Three men, with tambourines, 
 sat near a charcoal fire in a brazier, over which, from 
 time to time, they held their instruments to tighten 
 the parchment. Presently four boys, or batchas, 
 arrived, and were presented to us as the artistes of 
 the evening ; and whilst they were drinking tea and 
 eating fruit, the tambourines, increased to five, began 
 to sound and the men to sing. The batchas were 
 dressed in red flowing robes, with loose, wide trousers, 
 but had their feet uncovered, their most striking 
 peculiarity being their long hair like that of girls. In 
 the first dance the four boys walked leisurely round 
 and round, keeping time with clappers. In the next 
 they danced faster, clapped their hands, and sang in 
 unison, love, on the part of the supposed girl, being 
 the burden of their song. In the third dance the lover 
 answered this ditty, and in the fourth the dance was 
 interspersed with somersaults and other antics. 
 
 Whilst the batchas were dancing and putting them- 
 selves through various movements intended to be 
 graceful, two men carried candles, dodging about to 
 hold them close to the dancers, that their good looks 
 might be admired, the candle-bearers themselves con- 
 torting their faces, and disporting themselves like 
 clowns. One of their nonsensical feats, when there was 
 a lull in the dance, was to sit opposite each other and 
 
304 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 make grimaces, or move the muscles and skin of the 
 face like a rabbit. They brought on next a Persian 
 song and dance with whistles, the batchas snapping 
 their fingers in time, and then striking together a pair 
 of wands. 
 
 As the entertainment proceeded, a large crowd, 
 attracted by the sound of the music, pressed into the 
 courtyard and garden, delighted to witness the per- 
 formance. Their appreciation of the batchas was 
 intense. They offered them tea and fruit, and, when 
 the boys sat, they could hardly have been made more 
 of had they been the first stars of a London season. 
 They seated themselves apart from " the vulgar 
 crowd," near to us, whereupon lights were placed 
 before them, that all might gaze and admire. He 
 thinks himself a happy man to whom a batcha con- 
 descends to offer a bowl of tea, and receives it with 
 expressions of great respect. So, again, if a man 
 offers tea to a batcha, it is counted an honour if it is 
 taken and the cup returned, after tasting, to the owner, 
 but a great indignity if the remainder be handed to 
 another. I gave the boys refreshments, and sent 
 round to the crowd some of our boxes of sugar-candy, 
 which was readily accepted. 
 
 We were next entertained with some acrobatic 
 feats, the men bending backwards till their heads 
 touched the ground, and performing several other 
 fantastic exercises. After this, a man gave us 
 a Hindu dance, and preparations were made for 
 some rude comic acting, in w r hich w r ere represented 
 various scenes from native life first a quarrel 
 and law-suit about a scarf. Presently a high priest, 
 or some dignitary amply covered with cotton wool 
 to represent white hair and beard, was carried in 
 on a sort of seclan chair. Whether he was intended 
 to represent the Emir or the Grand Lama I am un- 
 certain, but he was waited upon with great obse- 
 quiousness, whilst the musicians kept up vociferous 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 305 
 
 singing and loud beating of tambourines. Presently 
 a supposed dead man was brought in, upon whom the 
 mullah sprinkled water in such abundance as to make 
 the corpse wince, and he then proceeded to count the 
 dead man's debts, supplying himself with a substitute 
 for ink with a nastiness that will not allow of de- 
 scription. At length, by accident or by design, one of 
 the candles set fire to the cotton wool of the judge's 
 hair, and he was about to be enveloped in flames, 
 which fortunately they were able to put out, and this 
 touch of reality brought the proceedings to an uncere- 
 monious close. 
 
 Central Asiatics, as far as I know, do not dance 
 for their own enjoyment, but merely as a spectacle. 
 The boys are early trained to it, and continue their 
 profession until the beard grows. The Emir has a 
 staff of them, who, when he stays in Kitab, dance 
 every night from 7 to 10 in some public place. Rich 
 men also keep them for their enjoyment, and even 
 poor families club together to maintain a corps for 
 their joint amusement. 
 
 It was nearly midnight before the batchas left our 
 house, and I am not sure that they did not prolong the 
 fun near at hand ; but they had put us up bedsteads and 
 pillows at either end of our room, and we were glad 
 enough to get to bed. Next morning they gave us for 
 breakfast fruits, boiled milk and rice with butter, and 
 sour cream. Quite early some courtiers came, saying 
 that the Emir had already asked several times after 
 my health, and his Majesty (or his Highness, as the 
 Russians call him) wished to know whether we were 
 dull, because, if so, he would send some persons to 
 amuse us. I replied that we were not dull, having 
 plenty of reading and writing to do. His spokesman, 
 we were told, was a colonel, and we afterwards learned 
 that he was a very near attendant and minister of the 
 Emir, named Hodja Abul Fais, and one of the most 
 enlightened of the Bokhariots that we met. He had 
 
 20 
 
3 o6 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 lived seven years in Constantinople, and had travelled 
 to Kief, Moscow, and Orenburg. Both being travellers 
 we compared notes, I telling him of my Central Asian 
 journey, and my former route through Siberia round 
 the world. I offered him a copy of St. Matthew's 
 Gospel in Osmanli Turkish, which he appeared to 
 read fluently. On learning what it was, he said God 
 had given four books to men, of which this was one, 
 whereupon he kissed and accepted it with thanks, 
 putting it away in his breast. He then asked how 
 old I was, guessed me too young by ten years, and 
 was surprised that my beard was so black and without 
 grey hairs. 
 
 After the departure of this courtier I walked out to 
 look at our surroundings. Our house stood on a bank 
 some half-dozen feet above the courtyard, with a 
 stream of water running near, the specific gravity of 
 which I tested, and found to be 99. In the yard and 
 the adjacent open sheds our horses were picketed, 
 whilst on the other side of the house were sunken, 
 muddy flower-beds, watered by irrigation, with chry- 
 santhemums in blossom. Near these beds were 
 dwellings resembling offices, into which I began to 
 pry, when Yakoob came running up in alarm to 
 inform me that I was entering the women's domains. 
 Of course I at once drew back, though so effectually 
 had the fair ones kept out of sight that I had not the 
 l^ast idea there were any on the premises. I fancy, 
 however, they had seen me, and I perceived that 
 other eyes were upon us also. Six open doors in one 
 small room I had voted rather too much of a good 
 thing, and closed accordingly the three that gave 
 access to the courtyard, leaving open for light and air 
 those facing the garden and offices. One of the 
 attendants came to ask whether I would not like the 
 opposite doors opened, so that the air might enter, but 
 I declined, beginning to suspect that what he really 
 wanted was to spy from the yard what I was doing, 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 307 
 
 and this suspicion increased when, chancing to look in 
 the direction of the offices, I saw a man had taken 
 a seat commanding a view of our room, off which he 
 scarcely took his eyes. In the course of the morning 
 a messenger came from the Emir and told us, to our 
 disgust, that his Majesty, having heard how late we 
 got to bed on the previous night, felt sure we must 
 be tired, and so would not see us till the morrow. 
 About midday we said that we should like to go out in 
 the afternoon for a ride, and to see the town, where- 
 upon I discovered that, in addition to being a guest, I 
 was also a prisoner, for they said we must not leave 
 the premises without the permission of the Emir, and 
 this permission did not come. 
 
 In the evening we were informed of the arrival of 
 the assistant to the commander-in-chief of theBokhariot 
 forces, the commander of a battalion, and a guard of 
 honour, 30 strong. There was no need to fear, his 
 Majesty said, but he had thought it better to send us a 
 guard.* We were just finishing our evening meal, and 
 I invited the officers in, and plied them with not 
 cups, but bowls of tea, bread, butter, and eggs. Upon 
 these meats the gallant commanders made a vigorous 
 onslaught, and it was not until each had disposed of 
 half-a-dozen basins of tea that they cried "enough," 
 their politeness having come to an end ; for I dis- 
 covered that, according to Bokhariot etiquette, they 
 were bound to keep on eating as long as we kept 
 offering. 
 
 I then tried to amuse them by showing them 
 engravings of Central Asia in Madame Ujfalvy's " De 
 Paris a Satnarcand" but the officers seemed somewhat 
 slow in taking in their meaning. It occurred to me 
 afterwards that they were perhaps the first pictures 
 they had ever seen.f To Yakoob, who had been 
 
 * To be " valiant men about our bed .... every man with his sword 
 upon his thigh, because of fear in the night" (Cant. iii. 8). 
 
 f The Sunni Muhammadanshold it contrary to their faith to represent 
 anything that has life, whether vegetable or animal, being taught, I 
 
308 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 brought up in Russia, all was plain enough, as he 
 looked over the book with pleasure, and interpreted ; 
 but it raised a curious question in my mind as to what 
 would be the impression produced on a man's under- 
 standing, at 40 years of age, who then saw a picture 
 for the first time. 
 
 Next morning we went out to look at our guard of 
 honour. One officer wore a tunic of red glazed calico, 
 a black sheepskin hat, and a sword, and his brother 
 officer carried in his girdle, as indicative of his rank, 
 a battle-axe. The uniforms of the rank and file 
 were of the nondescript character, easily imagined 
 when I add that the Emir's soldiers find their own food 
 and clothes. One soldier had on his coat buttons which 
 had done service in various British regiments, the nth 
 among them, whilst their muskets were of all degrees 
 of antiquity, one having been stamped in the year of 
 grace 1800! The Emir had twelve guns at Kitab, 
 and more at Bokhara, and his army consisted, it was 
 said, of 14,000 warriors, of whom 6,000 were cavalry. 
 If these, thought I, are a specimen of the Sovereign's 
 body-guard, and the pick of his troops, what must the 
 rest be like, and would it not have been passing strange 
 if the Russians had not beaten them ? But whilst I 
 was taking stock of the soldiers, and showing them my 
 revolver, some courtiers came to say that the Emir was 
 ready to receive me, and I had to think of a fitting 
 Court dress. 
 
 Dr. Wolff, who escaped with difficulty from the 
 clutches of the present Emir's father, wore his gown 
 and hood into Bokhara, carried a huge Bible under 
 his arm, and announced that he was the great dervish 
 of England ; and he partly attributed his safety to 
 having maintained throughout his ecclesiastical cha- 
 racter. I had some thought, therefore, of taking a 
 
 believe, that those who paint animals will at the day of judgment have 
 to put life into them. Anyway, not a ghost of a picture of any living 
 thing did I see all through the khanate. 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 309 
 
 leaf from his book, and the more so because Russians 
 had told me that the Emir would not distinguish 
 between my clerical coat and that of a Russian 
 merchant, and that all the Russian dignitaries this 
 Asiatic sovereign had seen were in uniform and 
 decorated with medals. This suggested to me that 
 it might be desirable if I could combine in my raiment 
 the splendours of ecclesiastical vestments and military 
 uniform. But where was the Emir ? Was he living 
 close by, our house being a part of his palace, or 
 was he a mile off? because, if I were going to get 
 myself up very gorgeously, and his Majesty were 
 living close by, it might be more convenient to walk. 
 My inquiry had reached the great man's ears, and 
 he seemed to have taken it as a trait of humility on 
 my part that I did not think myself worthy to come 
 mounted to his presence. He therefore sent me a 
 message to say he had heard I talked of walking to 
 the palace, but that he desired I would ride. 
 
 So I proceeded to make ready, and first put on 
 my cassock, that did duty when I went to the Court 
 of St. James's. Over this I put on a gorgeous, gold- 
 embroidered waistcoat, adapted from a garment I 
 bought in Servia, as a specimen of a Servian gentle- 
 man's vest grand enough for a general and tied a 
 cincture at the bottom, with ends hanging at the side, 
 and over these I hung my scarlet hood. Fortunately, 
 perhaps, there was no mirror in the room, or my 
 heart might have failed me ; but I next put round my 
 neck a Provincial Grand Chaplain's collar of purple 
 and gold, and on this pinned three or four masonic 
 jewels, by way of medals, and slung at the bottom my 
 pocket Bible ; after which my costume was completed 
 by a college cap ; and thus arrayed I mounted my 
 palfrey and sallied forth. My two djiguitts went in 
 front, preceded by a whole bevy of officials, and the 
 two interpreter's came after. Of course I looked at the 
 people as we passed through, the streets. Need I say 
 
3 io THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 that they looked still harder at me, doing my utmost, 
 as I was, to keep my countenance ? The boys, not 
 content with a passing glance, ran before, and kept 
 turning round to look, and, in the bazaar, buyers and 
 sellers stopped their bargaining in order to gaze. 
 All went well, however, and we reached the citadel. 
 This is a large artificial mound, surrounded by high clay 
 walls, having an imposing gateway, with a chamber 
 above, and a tower on either side. A number of 
 troops were drawn up, who received me with a salute, 
 and we dismounted to be received by two officers at 
 the entrance, one of whom took charge of my presents 
 for his master. We then crossed the first court, and, 
 on entering the second, I caught sight of his Majesty, 
 at a distance, through an open door. 
 
 Of him I had read various and somewhat conflicting 
 accounts. Of his father, Nasr-Ullah, there seemed to 
 be but one opinion, and that about as bad as it could well 
 be ; but of the reigning Emir, Seid Muzaffar-ed-din, 
 Vambery, in 1863, spoke rather favourably. 
 
 For my own part, I heard stories from Russians and 
 natives alike, to which I shall hereafter refer, that in a 
 manner confirmed both the bright and shady sides of 
 the Emir's character. Meanwhile, knowing that the 
 man I had to deal with was a despot, and remembering 
 his power to hinder or advance my journey, I was 
 naturally anxious for a favourable interview, I wanted 
 in the first place to extend my travels into parts of 
 the khanate that Dr. Schuyler was not allowed to 
 visit, next to distribute among the Bokhariots my 
 remaining copies of the Scriptures, beginning with the 
 Sovereign himself, and, lastly, I wished to search for 
 manuscripts, and to get all the general information I 
 possibly could. 
 
 The Bokhariots have a poetical conceit that a 
 stranger, on being admitted to an audience with the 
 Emir, is so overwhelmed with the brightness of his 
 presence, that he needs an attendant on either side to 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 311 
 
 support him from fainting. I fancy that intercourse 
 with the Russians, who, as conquerors, do not stand 
 upon such nonsense, is breaking down the custom, or 
 perhaps the attendants did not think rne a fainting 
 subject. At all events I have no recollection of being 
 supported into "the presence." The courtiers began 
 to bow immediately they turned the corner of the 
 court from whence his Majesty was visible. I had 
 received the hint, however, that I should act as if 
 being presented to my own or the Russian sovereign, 
 and I accordingly reserved my bow till I entered the 
 audience chamber. It was a good-sized room, carpeted 
 all over, but without a stick of furniture, except two 
 roughly-made deal chairs with crimson seats. The 
 Emir was perched on one, and, after giving me a feeble 
 shake of the hand, he motioned me to the other. I 
 had seen his portrait at Tashkend, photographed, I 
 think, in 1874, and from which, I presume, the 
 engravings have been made ; but as I had heard his 
 Majesty spoken of as an old man, I expected to find 
 him grey, whereas his hair was black, and, though 
 apparently in debilitated health, he looked, thanks 
 perhaps to cosmetics which he is said to use freely, 
 less than 58, which I heard was his age. 
 
 When I had seated myself, Mr. Sevier and Yakoob 
 stood in front, a few courtiers being behind. The 
 Emir began by saying he had heard that I came from 
 far ; he was glad that I had come, and hoped that I 
 had recovered from fatigue. 
 
 I thanked him, and said that the Russians had given 
 me permission to go to Petro-Alexandrovsk ; would 
 he be so kind as to direct that my tarantass should be 
 taken to Charjui, and then floated down the Oxus ? 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 I then said, " I am an English mullah, and can read 
 Hebrew and Greek. I should very much like to be 
 allowed to see what ancient manuscripts there may be 
 in your Majesty's library." 
 
312 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Answer : " He had heard that I was interested in 
 antiquities. I might, therefore, search for them where 
 I pleased, and have any I could find ; and his men 
 would help me." 
 
 SF.ID MUZAFFAR-ED-DIN, EMIR OF BOKHARA. 
 
 Thus iar, all promised well, and I went on to say 
 that I had seen prisons and hospitals in many parts of 
 the world, especially in Siberia, and that I should like to 
 to be allowed to see those of his Majesty's dominions. 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 313 
 
 Here I suppose I " put my foot in it," for I received 
 no answer. In asking Russians the kind of presents 
 that would be suitable for the Emir, I had been 
 especially advised to offer articles that would be new 
 to him. I was not too well supplied with such things, for 
 I was not sure, on leaving England, that I should get 
 into Bokhara, nor had I previously travelled in coun- 
 tries where money was not generally regarded as the 
 best of presents. When, however, no reply came to 
 my request, I pointed to the scarlet raiment on my 
 back, telling his Majesty that such a decoration was 
 worn by our chief mullahs in England ; that I had 
 heard he was a mullah, and that I should be gratified 
 if he would accept my Doctor's hood ; and then, to 
 make quite sure that among my presents there should 
 be something decidedly new, I added the masonic 
 collar and jewels ! He seemed at first not to under- 
 stand me, until, having called in the aid of his own 
 interpreter, he replied, " Yes " ; and again there 
 followed a painful silence. 
 
 I was beginning to think him provokingly uninquisi- 
 tive, and inquired whether he had any questions to 
 ask about England. 
 
 Again there came no answer, whereupon I rose. 
 Then he said he must consider. Did I mean about 
 England, or about my travels ? 
 
 I answered, " Whichever your Majesty pleases." 
 " What, then," said he, "is the aim of your travels?" 
 " Primarily," I answered, " to distribute good books 
 in prisons and hospitals ; but, besides that, I am 
 interested in antiquities." 
 
 " Now," said he, "I understand your object." 
 I handed him two of my letters, with accompanying 
 translations in Turki, but he hardly glanced at them, 
 and rather impatiently, I thought, put them aside. 
 We then shook hands, and all literally "backed out" 
 of his presence. We had been told beforehand that 
 refreshment would be provided, of which we partook, 
 
3i4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 in the room of the chief ministers. They said we 
 ate too little, and asked about my costume, as one of 
 them had been in Belgrade, the very town where 
 my vest was purchased. They had no prisons worth 
 seeing, they said. They used to put prisoners in the 
 stocks, but not now. They were curious to know what 
 were the books we had given to the Emir; they under- 
 stood our giving books in " the hospitals to cure the sick, 
 but had we, besides, any medicine?" I gave presents 
 of rings and a pocket microscope to these ministers, 
 for which they said they had nothing to give in return ; 
 but they soon came to tell me that the Emir had 
 looked at my presents, and thought them very curious, 
 and, further, they brought into the room to me, as a 
 present, at least a score of changes of raiment, for 
 myself and retainers. These were the robes of honour, 
 or khalats, of which the Russians had told me the 
 Emir would give enough to " bury me." Some were 
 of cotton, of gaudy colours, others of native silk, some 
 few of Russian brocaded satin, like the Russian priests' 
 vestments ; one or two were of Cashmere, and another 
 of pea-green velvet to envelop me from head to foot ! 
 This, however, was only the beginning of favours, for 
 I was next informed that the Emir had sent me a 
 horse for myself, and another for whomsoever I pleased. 
 Nor was my charger sent without saddle or bridle, 
 for it had both, as well as a saddle-cloth, covering 
 him from mane to tail, and hanging down on either 
 side, two feet from the withers and three feet behind. 
 The saddle-cloth is the handsomest I have ever seen, 
 and is of crimson velvet, embroidered with gold and 
 silver thread and silk of various colours, in seven 
 large foliate patterns, surrounded by a scroll border 
 of similar workmanship, and edged with wide amber 
 and crimson fringe, the whole being adorned by 
 spangles of silver and gold. 
 
 The bridle, too, is no less remarkable, being mounted 
 with bosses, pendents, and ornaments of turquoise 
 
FROM KITAB TO SHAHR. 315 
 
 cloisonnd work. At the back of the head, on the neck, 
 rests a plate of turquoise work, from which hang on 
 either side 8 strips, similarly jewelled, the reins being 
 of white leather. One of the bridles is now in the 
 British Museum. 
 
 I suppose that, had I been an Asiatic, I should have 
 been clothed with one of these robes of honour,* and 
 mounted upon the horse to ride through the street, 
 ''like unto the man whom the king delighteth to 
 honour " ;t but I was excused from this, though the 
 trappings were left on the horses, that the people 
 might see, they said, that I had received a present, 
 whilst " the changes of garments were laid upon his 
 servants, and they bare them " (with the horses 
 walking) before me. \ 
 
 It was well, perhaps, that I did not mount my pre- 
 sent, for subsequently gay clothing was found to cover 
 but sorry steeds, and one of them was so vicious that 
 none liked to get near him. One horse was an Arab, 
 8 years old, the other a Karabair, the two together 
 being valued at & ! We had now done the honours, 
 and were told that we might proceed if we wished ; 
 and upon my expressing a desire to hasten forward, 
 the Emir sent us his carriage, drawn by a pair of 
 horses, in which we drove through the market-place, 
 out of the town towards Shahr, and arrived before 
 evening. 
 
 * I saw this done on the following day. When sending a watch and 
 chain to the Bek of Shahr, by the hand of Yakoob, the Bek threw over 
 my messenger's shoulders a gaudy robe, in which Yakoob came parading 
 back, thus illustrating, I suppose, the case of Mordecai, who "went out 
 from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white " (Esther 
 
 vin. 15 
 
 Esther vi. n. 
 % 2 Kings v. 23. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 
 
 Historical associations of Shahr. Visit to the Bek, and his inquiries 
 concerning Kuldja. Information from courtiers. Return of certain 
 presents. Untrustworthiness of Bokhariot statistics. Departure 
 from Shahr. Visit to Bek of Chirakchi. Handsome guest- 
 house. Visit to public bath. The slave trade in Bokhara. Visit 
 to Bek of Karshi. Mosques and synagogues. Our departure from 
 Karshi. Kishlaks of semi-nomads. Khoja-Moburak. Scamper 
 on my horse " Diotrephes." Kakir cistern. " Unfurnished 
 apartments " and oven. Karaul bazaar. Lake Kunja. Stay at 
 Chitarik. Approach to Bokhara. 
 
 T^HE carriage that took us from Kitab had been 
 j sent from Petersburg by the Emperor as a 
 present, and no one but the Emir had the like in 
 Bokhara. It was not surprising, therefore, that the 
 people gazed hard at the two Englishmen in plain 
 clothes seated in the royal chariot. The distance 
 between the two towns that make up Shahr-i-sabz 
 (pronounced Shakhr-i-sabz) is only four miles, and 
 the route lies through gardens and fields edged with 
 trees, crossing about midway the Ak-daria, an 
 affluent of the Kashka-daria. We soon saw that the 
 people knew far less about driving than riding. 
 Draught horses, they told us, were rare ; hence the 
 Emir had lent us two artillery chargers, somewhat 
 large and heavy, and attached to our delicate carriage 
 by ropes intended to draw a cannon, whilst each horse 
 was mounted by a turbaned postillion, who, as he 
 walked or at most ambled his horse along, kept 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 317 
 
 smiling at his fellow as if he thought the occasion 
 a novel, if not an important, one. Hence we had a 
 leisurely afternoon drive, and before sunset reached 
 our destination. We were conducted to the house 
 where embassies are received, in which was a large 
 room carpeted, with niches in the wall, and a mode- 
 rate-sized flower garden outside. We were told that 
 the Bek would receive us in the evening in the 
 Ak-Serai, a reminder that we were on historic ground. 
 
 Accordingly, after sunset we went to visit the Bek. 
 At the entrance to the citadel soldiers were drawn up, 
 who presented arms, and we crossed the court where 
 Tamerlane's feet must often have trod ; for there stood 
 the ruins of two piers, solidly built of large bricks, of the 
 famous Ak-Serai, or white palace, in which he used 
 to repose after his campaigns. Their height is 140 
 feet, and their pure Arabic style and ornamentation 
 in glazed tiles of blue and white porcelain, inlaid in 
 arabesques, and Persian and Arabic inscriptions, make 
 them striking objects. I was received in a spacious 
 hall surrounded by mirrors about five feet high, and 
 suspected that my reception had been deferred till 
 after dark that I might be dazzled with the (supposed) 
 magnificence. 
 
 The Bek, who gave me his name as Astanakul, 
 Pannanatchi, signifying that he was one grade below 
 the highest, sat near me at the table on which refresh- 
 ment was served. There were also at the table 
 Khoja Abul Fais, and the Emir's interpreter, who had 
 been sent by his Majesty to amuse us during the 
 evening, and I suppose also to learn of us what they 
 could. The Bek was much more communicative than 
 his sovereign, and asked if I had a father and brothers, 
 but made no such inquiry as to mother or sisters, 
 which, according to Bokhariot ideas, would have been 
 unpolite. He wished to know my profession, and 
 that of my father, and inquired for the health of my 
 family. As he appeared to be so chatty, I took the 
 
ji8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 opportunity to ask him, and those at the table, many 
 questions, and to jot down the answers I received. 
 He gave me information also concerning my route, 
 which was to be 60 miles to Karshi, 95 more to 
 Bokhara, and 101 further to Charjui. I asked him 
 to arrange, if possible, that our journey might be 
 expedited, whereupon he summoned his scribe, who 
 wrote a letter at his mouth, which the Bek authenti- 
 cated, after hearing it read (not reading it himself), 
 by impressing his seal upon it ;* while the messengers 
 went out to make preparations for our departure 
 on the morrow. When the Bek heard that we had 
 come from Kuldja, that was shortly to be given 
 back to the Chinese, his eyes sparkled, evidently 
 at the thought of the Russians having to disgorge 
 some of their prey, and he inquired particularly 
 how many Chinese there were in Kuldja, and how 
 many versts westward the frontier had been fixed. 
 Before leaving I presented the Bek with an Arabic 
 New Testament, and a portrait of myself, whereupon 
 he asked whether I had given the like to his Majesty. 
 Then, to my surprise, they brought me a present, by 
 desire of the Emir, from the Bek, of more khalats 
 and another Arab horse with saddle and bridle, but 
 not so gorgeously ornamented as the one I had 
 received in the morning. 
 
 It was quite dark when our visit was over, and a 
 crowd outside was waiting to escort us back with torches 
 and lanterns. The Khoja and his interpreter accom- 
 
 * Like Shaphan, the scribe, reading before the king (2 Chron. xxxiv. 18), 
 or like Mordecai writing letters, sealing them, and sending off messengers 
 in the name of Ahasuerus (Esther vili. 8, 10). The Emir, not reading 
 personally the letter I presented to him, recalls the words of Artaxerxes, 
 "The letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me " 
 (Ezra iv. 18, 23). The carrying a signet appears to have been customary 
 with dignitaries in patriarchal times in Palestine, if we may so under- 
 stand the case of Judah (Gen. xxxviii. 18); and later in Persia, for Darius 
 sealed Daniel in the lions' den (Dan. vi. 17). So, too, in Judaea under 
 Pilate, who " made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone " (Matt, xxvii. 
 66). We read of none of these affixing their sign manual, as it would 
 be with us. 
 
320 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 panied us to our lodgings, where we found a company 
 of batchas, and the people assembled for a performance. 
 I did not decline it, but gave the Khoja to understand 
 that it would be a far greater treat to me than seeing 
 the batchas if he would allow me to question him 
 about the country. He and his interpreter were, I 
 saw, intelligent fellows, and it was an opportunity not 
 to be missed. When, therefore, the batchas were well 
 started with their tomfooleries, we withdrew into the 
 room to my table and note-book, but left the doors 
 open so that we could see a little and hear only too 
 much of the performance outside. I fear the crowd 
 thought us sadly wanting in taste, and the batchas, 
 determined that we should not lose all the fun, came 
 every now and then putting their heads inside, and 
 bawling, at the top of their voices, some portion of 
 song for our special benefit. 
 
 Among the messages sent me by the Emir was one 
 that they delivered very delicately, and accompanied 
 by some of my presents to him. The Emir feared 
 that I should want again my hood, collar, and jewels, 
 adding what was no doubt true, that I should not 
 be able to get the like throughout his kingdom ; and 
 with regard to the illustrated book of travels, it was 
 in a language he knew not, and he had looked at, 
 but could not understand, the pictures. He hoped, 
 therefore, I should not be offended if he asked me 
 to take that back, but as for the religious books 
 namely, a Persian Bible and Arabic New Testament 
 he accepted and revered them. Here, then, was a 
 rebuke to my worldly wisdom, for (to make confession 
 for once) I did not feel at all sure how this Mullah- 
 potentate, the chief champion of Islam in Central 
 Asia, would be pleased at the idea of my offering him 
 a Christian Bible. On the other hand, the book of 
 travels was gorgeously bound, and full of pictures of 
 his own khanate and of Central Asia, and I thought 
 this would prepare the way for the religious books. 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 321 
 
 I suppose the real reason why he returned the D3ok, 
 with my portrait also, by-the-bye, enclosed, was because 
 of the Sunni Muhammadan law against pictures. 
 Vambery says that in Bokhara, in 1863, " the unhappy 
 possessor of a portrait of a living human being suffered 
 the extreme penalty of the law," so that his Majesty 
 could hardly keep the pictures in defiance of his own 
 regulations. I do not know whether the law about 
 possessors of portraits has been relaxed. If not, I fear 
 I jeoparded the lives of a good many, for I had taken 
 with me a large number of cabinet portraits, because 
 convenient to carry, and I gave them freely in the 
 khanates. It was not till I was getting towards the 
 end of my stock that I accidentally heard of the 
 objection, and asked Yakoob what he thought would 
 be done with the photographs. He expected that 
 in many cases they would be destroyed. Nevertheless, 
 good Mussulman as he was, I had by this time so 
 far ingratiated myself with him that he seemed to 
 wish for a memento, and, on parting, asked for my 
 portrait for himself. Moreover, no one else but the 
 Emir returned the present. 
 
 In the Emir's case, of course, I took back the things 
 without hesitation, expressing the hope that I might 
 be able to find something else to send in their stead 
 (which I did on reaching Bokhara), and asking also 
 the Khoja and his interpreter if there was anything 
 they would like me to send them from England, to 
 which they replied, with Oriental politeness, that they 
 wished for nothing but to please me. I supposed I 
 must have created a favourable impression upon the 
 mind of the Khoja, for before parting he informed me 
 that he was constantly in the presence of the Emir, 
 and took his meals with him, so that, if I had any 
 favour to ask, he was in a position to help me.* 
 
 * Reminding one of Elijah's words to the Shunamite, " Wouldst 
 thou be spoken for to the king?" (2 Kings iv. 13); also of various 
 courtly officers who were in "the king's presence"; a.? David, who 
 
 21 
 
322 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 I had no wish to stay at Shahr, which is said to 
 have 90 mosques and 3 medresses. I secured a photo- 
 graph of the Court Mosque of Kitab, but it is an 
 insignificant building. Dr. Schuyler suggests a popu- 
 lation for Shahr of 20,000, and mentions 15,000 for 
 Kitab. I am, however, exceedingly sceptical as to 
 the accuracy of Bokhariot numbers, especially when 
 they mount to four or five figures. I am persuaded 
 
 THE COURT MOSQUE AT KITAB. 
 
 that some travellers have supplied us with statistics of 
 population in the khanate, which the Emir himself 
 could not give if his life depended on it. One of the 
 questions I asked at Kitab of my military informant 
 
 " sat with the king at meat " (i Sam. xx. 5) ; "five men of them that 
 were in the king's presence," taken by Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 
 xxv. 19); and "seven men of them that saw the face of the king," 
 taken by the Babylonian monarch (Jer. Hi. 25) ; such as had ability 
 to stand in the king's palace, among whom was Daniel (i. 4); and, 
 again, the seven counsellors of Artaxerxes (Ezra vii. 14). 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 323 
 
 was the population of the khanate, but he could not 
 inform me. The reader will therefore kindly bear this 
 in mind in reference also to my own figures, supplied 
 from information given by the natives. 
 
 The Bek sent early next morning to inquire about 
 my health. His present of the previous evening had 
 taken me by surprise, and having subsequently heard 
 that his son was at the Emir's court, though not pre- 
 sent when I gave presents to the ministers, I sent to 
 the Bek a watch and chain for his son or any one else 
 to whom he chose to give it. He threw a khalat over 
 the shoulders* of my messenger, saying that he would 
 send the watch and chain to his son, after detaching 
 the whistle from the guard for himself, and sent me 
 his thanks. 
 
 We left Shahr at 9.20 a.m. in the Emir's carriage, 
 the road to Karshi lying through the Kashka-daria 
 oasis. We drove slowly for an hour through gardens 
 and cultivated fields, and then came to the open steppe, 
 sandy, but covered with vegetation. Not far from 
 Shahr is the little village of Sharmitan, and six miles 
 from the town is a second village, but we stopped at 
 neither. 
 
 About a mile before reaching Chirakchi we were 
 met by half-a-dozen gaily dressed, cavaliers, who said 
 that the Bek, who was the Emir's son, had sent them 
 to welcome me, and inquire after my welfare. They 
 preceded us to the town, as the place must be termed, 
 since it is surrounded by a wall, otherwise it might be 
 taken for a kishlak with a large bazaar ; and they 
 informed us that, it being Friday, the Bek was gone to 
 the mosque, but that on his return he would receive 
 us. We called about two hours later, and found the 
 Bek's house standing almost on the bank of the river. 
 
 * This giving of raiment reminds one of Jonathan stripping himself 
 of his garments and giving them to David (i Sam. xvii. 54), a custom 
 thaHingered in Europe in the sixteenth century, when the Tsar honoured 
 Yermak, the conqueror of Siberia, by sending him a garment from his 
 own wardrobe. 
 
324 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 His residence is within a quadrangle, closed in with a 
 high mud wall, and divided into smaller squares, in one 
 of which a row of chambers stretches along the wall. 
 On entering, an official first received my presents, and 
 then we were shown into a room, where sat a youth of 
 1 8, but looking much older, dressed in a khalat of 
 cloth of gold, with a pink turban, edged with gold lace, 
 the grandest get-up I had yet seen, and far outdoing 
 his father, whom we had found plainly dressed. He 
 said that as they had been visited by no Englishmen 
 before, he was glad I had come to see their country. 
 
 I asked if he would come to England. 
 
 "That," he said, 4i depends entirely on my father." 
 
 He had heard that I was fond of antiquities, and 
 orders had been sent to Bokhara to find them if 
 possible. I suppose, too, he had heard that I was 
 an author, about which I made no secret, and, in fact, 
 in this way explained why I was taking notes, which 
 is a deadly crime in Oriental eyes, and soon laid me 
 open to suspicion. I imagine, therefore, he had been 
 primed to say what he afterwards added, namely, that 
 he hoped I should say nothing against their country. 
 I replied, and replied truly, that I should have a great 
 deal to say about the hospitable manner in which I 
 had been received. 
 
 I learned that a horseman had arrived from Bokhara 
 from the Kush-beggi, having been only two days on 
 the road. This made us long to be hurried forward, 
 for we had that day accomplished only 13 miles, and 
 were to go no further a great contrast to our travel 
 in the Russian Steppe, where we expected to do a 
 similar distance in little more than an hour. Moreover, 
 we were poorly lodged in a room about 1 2 feet by 8 
 feet, with bare mud walls, not even plastered, wooden 
 pegs stuck in holes to hang our things on, and two 
 rickety bedsteads ; and also there was nothing in the 
 town worth delaying our journey for. Chirakchi was 
 formerly a dependency of Shahr-i-sabz, but is now 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 325 
 
 governed by this boy-bek, who, report said, spent his 
 money prodigally, and grumbled at his father because, 
 in his annual migrations from the capital to his summer 
 residence at Kitab, he did not stay with his son on the 
 way. 
 
 Several sons, some of them quite young, the Emir 
 has distributed through the khanate as beks or 
 governors of provinces, as at Chirakchi.* I observed, 
 however, that this youth was surrounded with aged 
 courtiers, who paid him the utmost deference. After 
 our departure there was sent for my acceptance another 
 caparisoned horse and khalats. 
 
 Next morning at 6.30, soon after sunrise, we started 
 for Karshi, a distance of 47 miles, which I was deter- 
 mined, if possible, to accomplish that day. Several of 
 the authorities accompanied us out of the town, so that 
 our cavalcade numbered fully 20 persons, one of whom, 
 an old man, asked if we could give him a little quinine, 
 which I promised to do when we unpacked at the next 
 station. Our road lay along the valley of the Kashka- 
 daria oasis, descending from an altitude of 1,300 feet 
 at Chirakchi to 800 feet at Karshi. Between Chirakchi 
 and Karatigan the oasis somewhat thins off, but there 
 is everywhere plenty of water, forage, and fuel. About 
 two hours after starting we traversed low flat-topped 
 hills near the river, with plains between us and the 
 stream, and a few yourts surrounded by plots of culti- 
 vated land. Further on the road we passed through a 
 better cultivated and more populous district. Wheat 
 
 * I presume that the one we saw is the same that Dr. Yavorski, 
 when passing through in 1878, speaks of as the youngest son of the 
 Emir, so that, if my information were true, the Bek could have been then 
 but 14 years of age. The position and conduct of the Emir illustrates 
 the expression in Psalm xlv. 16, " Instead of thy fathers, thou shalt 
 have children: whom thou mayest make princes in all lands," and 
 Muzaffar thus emulates the example of Rehoboam, who, desiring many 
 wives, " dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all 
 the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city" (2 Chron. 
 xi. 23). Also the youth of some of the beks, and the condition of 
 Bokhara, is a commentary on Isa. iii. 4, " I will give children to be 
 their princes, and babes shall rule over them." 
 
326 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and rice fields, cotton plantations and vegetable gar- 
 dens extended along both sides of the road, whilst the 
 winding river and the snowy summits of mountains in 
 the distance helped to vary the scene. We passed 
 two kishlaks on the right, crossed the river at the 
 village of Karabagh, and were met about halfway to 
 our destination by messengers sent by the Bek of 
 Karshi. At a small place called Chim, or Sham, we 
 stopped two hours for dinner, and then, driving on to 
 within seven miles of Karshi, we were met by another 
 messenger, who invited us to take refreshment, and 
 provided some excellent figs. We then pushed on, 
 and about 7 o'clock on Saturday night, 7th October, 
 arrived at Karshi. 
 
 Here we were lodged in a guest-house worthy of 
 the second town in the kingdom. Our room was 
 large and handsome, with painted ceiling and wains- 
 cot, carved door and windows, a beautiful carpet, 
 bed coverlets of silk, and a velvet pillow. Soon after 
 our arrival the Bek sent to welcome us, and to offer 
 an entertainment with batchas, but we replied that we 
 were tired, and, having heard them twice, wished to 
 get early to bed. It was then arranged that we should 
 see the Bek next day, and since I intended to spend 
 Sunday in the place, I intimated that one of us was a 
 physician, and would be glad to be of use to any sick 
 there might be in the town. 
 
 Early next morning we started for the bath, and 
 on our way passed through what I supposed to be a 
 part of the bazaar, where the line of shops appropriated 
 to the wool trade is said to be nearly 600 yards long. 
 
 On reaching the bath-house I found almost a fac-simile 
 of a Turkish bath I had seen in Constantinople. I 
 had hoped that Sevier and I might get a private 
 room wherein to undress for this special reason if for 
 no other, that I had around my waist a belt of money, 
 which I preferred should not be seen even by my 
 own native attendants. To my disappointment they 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 327 
 
 ushered us into a public place with a score or so of 
 other bathers in various stages of deshabille. When, 
 however, my wish to be alone was made known, the 
 people were ordered out, and they ran off laughing 
 and talking about the foreigners. 
 
 Even then, however, Yakoob and the djiguitts re- 
 mained ; so, seeing there was no help for it, I hid my belt 
 in my clothes and entered the bath-room. It looked 
 like a crypt lighted from the tops of domes, and, having 
 placed myself on a hot stone, I had to submit to the 
 well-known kneading and rubbing of the Turkish bath, 
 previous to w r ashing with water. I did not like it 
 nearly so well as the Russian steam bath, though glad 
 of an opportunity of a good cleansing, such as we had 
 not had since leaving Samarkand. By the time we 
 returned to the dressing chamber, some more natives 
 had been admitted, and they watched us with not 
 a* little curiosity as we finished our toilette and put on 
 our European garments. A tooth-brush appeared to 
 them quite a novelty. I am not so sure about a comb, 
 but, as all the men shave their heads, hair brushes are 
 to them unknown. 
 
 Having returned to our house, we w r ent after 
 breakfast to call on Astanakul Bi, Bek of Karshi. 
 He came into the courtyard to meet us. He was a man 
 of intelligent countenance, dressed in cloth of gold and 
 white turban, and who, when we reached the hall of 
 reception, seemed somewhat under constraint, and 
 formal in the presence of several older men standing 
 around. I invited him to question me about England, 
 and asked if there was anything he would like me 
 to send him, but in both cases he answered in the 
 negative. Thinking to draw him out, I told him of my 
 travels, to which he replied that, to be successfully 
 accomplished, such journeys needed brains, and then 
 l^e added, " You are constantly on the move, and see 
 many persons, whilst we sit still and see nobody." I 
 told him he should come to England, but he replied 
 
328 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 that without permission he might not so much as leave 
 his bekship. I particularly asked that the remainder 
 of our journey to Bokhara might be accomplished in 
 two days, to which he replied that it rested with cur- 
 selves, and should be done. As we bade him farewell, 
 he accompanied us to the fortress gate, where was said 
 to be a prison, and he told us we might see it. We 
 were conducted certainly to a room in the guard-house, 
 with a fireplace and matting on the floor, lighted from 
 above, which, if it were the prison, was tolerably good 
 for Bokhara; but one native of our party thought that 
 they were deceiving us, and that the real prison was 
 underground. At the time I did not believe him, 
 though my subsequent experience taught me that he 
 was very likely right. They had no prisoners, they 
 said, just then, the Emir on his last journey having 
 released the few they had. Near the so-called prison 
 was a guard-room, and on the walls were hung old 
 firearms of unknown antiquity, one long blunderbuss 
 affair being supported on legs, and fired with a fuse. 
 
 I had, as usual, sent a present to the Bek, and after- 
 wards he sent me some loaves of sugar and boxes of 
 sugar-candy ; but the messengers said, in reply to my 
 inquiry for the sick, that there were none! Thus 
 we were disappointed of getting into the houses of the 
 people, as we had hoped to do, to see something of 
 their domestic life. I then asked to be permitted to 
 visit the lepers' quarter, but this the Bek did not dare 
 allow without the permission of the Emir. I next 
 asked that we might be shown the town, thinking that 
 we should possibly see some sick people, and also visit 
 the Jews. Accordingly we were taken to see the chief 
 medresses, of which there are four, and by a round- 
 about road, outside the walls, we were conducted to a 
 large mosque I have called in my note-book Kok- 
 Chum-Bass, built 320 years ago by Mir Bika, who was 
 made governor of Karshi by Abdullah Khan. It is 
 the oldest building in Karshi, and is used chiefly 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 329 
 
 during the month of Ramazan, and the other great 
 Muhammadan festival of Kurban, at which time the 
 adjoining gardens are filled with people, who come not 
 only to pray, but to feast and play. We rode through 
 the gardens, but on approaching the mosque they re- 
 quested us to dismount, though there was not enough 
 within to repay one for the slight trouble, the nine 
 stone vaults being very plain. 
 
 From this Muhammadan temple we asked to be 
 conducted to a despised place, where the Jews meet 
 to worship. It was hardly a synagogue, but rather 
 a shanty, approached through a dirty yard, and the 
 poorest place of Jewish worship I ever saw. It ap- 
 peared that the Jews came to the town about 40 years 
 ago, and there were usually only from 30 to 40 
 persons, and of these only 3 or 4 families resident. 
 They had a few old and dirty, but not ancient, books, 
 and I promised to give the man who received me a 
 book in his own tongue if he would come to my 
 lodging. Three came, to whom I gave two Hebrew 
 New Testaments ; one to a rabbi, who said he had not 
 seen the book before, and kissed it. 
 
 In the evening the Bek again offered us amusement 
 by batchas, but we declined on religious grounds, 
 saying that it was our Sunday, and got off early to 
 bed, intending to leave betimes the next day. 
 
 I directed on Sunday night that we should start from 
 Karshi at sunrise, in accordance with which I stirred 
 up Yakoob at 4 o'clock, but a delay arose in connec- 
 tion with the tarantass. The men had brought it 
 from Samarkand through Jam, but their experiment 
 of mounting it on an arba had not been a complete 
 success. Fearing that their machine might break 
 down, they had brought a second conveyance, and for 
 some reason had been obliged to break my seals. As 
 my parcels were in full tale, I paid the men off, as also 
 the man who had accompanied us with the sumpter 
 horse, and distributed to them, and to Yakoob and the 
 
330 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 rest of my suite, presents and khalats. The difficulty 
 that now arose was in harnessing our troika. Had 
 I needed several scores of pack-horses for a large 
 caravan, no doubt they could easily have been hired 
 with saddles complete at a tenga per tash, or about a 
 penny a mile ; for Karshi being on the high road from 
 India, and all the imports from the south-east having 
 to pass that way, the local provision for land carriage is 
 considerable ; but to procure horse-collars and proper 
 harness, not for an arba merely, but for a Russian 
 tarantass, was not at all so easy. What w T as more, when 
 the harness was forthcoming, no one appeared to know 
 how to put it on, and this business took so long that 
 we were not out of the city till nearly 8 o'clock 
 
 In the suburbs we crossed a long bridge of nine 
 brick arches, spanning the Kashka-daria, and had not 
 got far when messengers came galloping after us, 
 saying that the Bek had only just heard from the 
 Emir that he was to give for myself and Sevier the 
 presents they were now bringing. The gift consisted 
 of pieces of silk and velvet of native manufacture, the 
 latter remarkable by reason of its variegated colours 
 and patterns. Sevier and I decided to ride the first 
 stage, which was pleasant enough, for the road passed 
 through the continuously inhabited district of the 
 Karshi oasis. At first we kept beside the carriage, 
 behind our own attendants and a cavalcade that 
 escorted us from Karshi, but I soon became disgusted 
 at our slow pace. The postillions seemed to have no 
 notion of putting the horses to a respectable trot, and 
 I foresaw that we should be a long time getting to 
 Bokhara, unless I urged them on. Precept seemed to 
 have no effect, so I determined to try the force of 
 example ; and, setting at nought their notions of pro- 
 priety that I should ride in state behind, I told one of 
 the djiguitts to keep with the carriage whilst I galloped 
 on and left them to follow, and thus we reached 
 Kassan. 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 331 
 
 Kassan is a large commercial village, situated at the 
 extreme western point of the oasis. Beyond Kassan 
 the steppe begins, with vegetation, however, and kish- 
 laks here and there one of them, Mai'mene, being the 
 residence of the Aniliakdar, or tax-gatherer under the 
 Bek. Together with the Kashka-daria the gardens also 
 disappear, so that we continued on a flat, bare, and 
 waterless steppe, the scrubby vegetable growth con- 
 sisting of clumps of Issirik grass, used by the Bokhariots 
 for all diseases, and sold in their bazaars. They dry 
 the grass and burn it on coal, the sick man or animal 
 inhaling the smoke. In passing along from Karshi 
 we had seen what I judged to be good specimens of 
 kishlaks, or winter habitations of semi-nomads, for in 
 some cases the whole collection of houses appeared to 
 be deserted, and we were told that the inhabitants 
 were gone to the mountains for the summer, whilst in 
 other cases cultivated places were seen, with the people 
 living by in tents.* 
 
 At Kassan, where we arrived about midday, and 
 rested for a couple of hours, we obtained two fresh 
 horses, but the third had to go further, our troika 
 being mounted by three turbaned riders. Sevier and 
 I got into the tarantass for the next stage, and after 
 proceeding about half the distance, we passed Kara- 
 Kum, where is, I think, a dry well, as also near, on 
 the left, the ruins of the town Maimanak. We had 
 no trotting until we approached Khoja-Moburak, which 
 
 * It is interesting to note in the book of Genesis how naturally the 
 patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, pass from nomad to settled life. 
 We do not read that the first ever built a permanent dwelling for a 
 house, but lived in a tent a nomad pure and simple (unless 1>3~!N JV"lp3 
 Gen. xxiii. 2, points to the contrary). Lot, on the other hand, seems 
 to have forsaken the tent on settling in Sodom, so that, when driven by 
 fear to the mountain, he dwelt in a cave, and not in a tent (Gen. xix. 19, 
 30). Isaac in middle life perhaps had a house (xx'vii. 15), like a semi- 
 nomad, and he appears to have died a settler in a tWn (xxxv. 27). 
 Jacob was " a plain man dwelling in tents " when young (xxv. 27), but 
 on returning from Laban he built a house (xxxiii. 17), though not for- 
 saking the tent (xxxv. 21) till settled in old age in his patrimony, 
 whence he sent out his sons to tend his flocks (xxxv. 27 ; xxxvii. 14). 
 
332 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 we reached at 6.30, and found it a village of 60 or 70 
 houses, affording a resting-place for caravans between 
 Bokhara and Karshi. I cannot say that I was satisfied 
 with having accomplished 36 miles only for a day's 
 journey, and I therefore desired that we should go on to 
 the next station ; but our escort said the horses were 
 too tired, and, indeed, the men appeared horrified at 
 the notion of travelling by night in the steppe. I 
 thought at the time this was only an excuse, but expe- 
 rience taught me further on that "perils of robbers " 
 was here a thing by no means to be risked. 
 
 The chief man of Khoja-Moburak came out to meet 
 us, and conducted us to a poor but nicely-carpeted 
 lodging, where our room measured about 1 2 feet by 8. 
 Here I nearly had an accident, for taking a light to 
 get something out of the tarantass, the man to whom I 
 gave the candle to hold, set fire to the cotton lining of 
 the apron, which fortunately I managed to extinguish 
 quickly, or we might have had serious loss. The 
 inhabitants, however, were determined that we should 
 not suffer from either fire or pillage, for they set 10 
 men to watch the tarantass through the night, and I 
 told Kolutch to sleep inside. 
 
 As we could not go further the first day from 
 Karshi, I resolved, if possible, to start early the next 
 morning, and was rewarded for turning out by getting 
 my first sight, on October loth, in the direction of the 
 " Great Bear," of the beautiful comet of 1882, with its 
 enormously expanded tail. The natives said it had been 
 visible for the previous 20 days, and that the world 
 was now coming to an end.* As we drove out of the 
 miserable village of Khoja-Moburak we saw a beautiful 
 sunrise over the barren steppe, and we jogged along 
 a road destitute of anything green, until the postillions 
 wanted, for some reason, to re-arrange their troika ; 
 
 * Illustrating Jc:e niah x. 2 : '' Learn not the way of the heathen, and 
 be not dismayed at the signs of heaven ; for the heathen are dismayed 
 at them." 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 333 
 
 whereupon Sevier and I mounted our horses for a 
 ride. It was a magnificent morning. The wind was 
 fresh, but not much laden with sand. The previous 
 day had been hot, and my minimum thermometer had 
 gone down in the night only to 55; but at this early 
 hour there was just so much of autumnal freshness in 
 the air as to make it perfect for horseback travel. 
 
 My little horse had manifested a strong liking to 
 get before everyone else in the cavalcade, wherefore 
 I named him Diotrephes, and let him have his way. 
 By this time, too, we understood each other pretty 
 well, and I had got firmly into my seat. Upon 
 giving my horse his head, Sevier came on, and 
 Kolutch, not liking to be outstripped, joined in the 
 run. So did several others, and away we scampered 
 like a party of huntsmen. Soon we overtook a horse- 
 man, who looked round at our approach with dismay, 
 for he had been sent on ahead to the next station to 
 prepare for our coming. He trotted on after another 
 horseman still further ahead, sent on a similar mission. 
 This latter was a stout fellow, well advanced in years, 
 who had packed on his horse a number of carpets and 
 other things for our accommodation, on the top of 
 which he had mounted. He had supposed, doubtless, 
 that we should jog along in the slow fashion that is 
 thought dignified by the Bokhariot officials; but when 
 he discovered that we were upon his heels, he made 
 the most frantic efforts to keep ahead. As seen from 
 behind, the broad back and base of this individual, and 
 his vigorous application of whip, had a most ludicrous 
 effect, and we fairly roared with laughter. With 
 the start he had, he managed to keep ahead for a 
 time ; but his whipping was vain, and he was out- 
 stripped. 
 
 A diversion of another kind now took me aside for 
 a moment, for we saw off the track two small eagles 
 sitting, which did not pretend to rise on our approach. 
 I was minded to get as near as possible, and was 
 
334 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 allowed to approach easily within pistol shot, and had 
 a good view of one, but I had not my revolver with 
 me, and so could not have secured a skin, even had I 
 known how to dress it. We met only one or two 
 horsemen during our five miles' run to Kakir, the 
 distance being accomplished in 35 minutes, at the 
 cost, however, of breaking in my saddle-bag a wide- 
 mouthed bottle with prussic acid, fitted for killing 
 moths. 
 
 Sevier and I, and a few more, had now reached 
 Kakir, where is a sardaba or cupola-covered cistern, 
 erected in the i6th century by Abdullah Khan.^ 
 
 Besides the cistern at Kakir there is a large building 
 that had served as a mosque, but was now used as stables 
 for caravans. It seemed also to serve as a guard-house, 
 for we saw several old matchlocks and firearms of a 
 bygone generation hanging about. After the speed 
 at which we had come we were hot, and it was grateful 
 to turn into the cool corridors of w r hat Kostenko 
 speaks of as a house for the Emir in the event of his 
 crossing the steppe. Already we had noticed raised 
 platforms of earth by the wayside, on which we were 
 told his tent was spread with that of such of his wives 
 as were chosen to accompany him. On passing, round 
 the passage we came to a spacious chamber with four 
 windows, which when properly prepared would serve for 
 his Majesty, and, therefore, for ourselves. But as 
 we had outstripped our forerunners, our ''furniture" 
 was not come, and we thus had the opportunity of 
 seeing what an "unfurnished" room was like in the 
 East, namely, four bare walls and a mud floor, the 
 chief difference between a furnished and an unfur- 
 nished room being, under ordinary circumstances, that 
 
 * Burnes tells a story that Abdullah had made a pilgrimage to 
 Mecca, but imbibed an idea that it had not proved acceptable to God, 
 on account of which, and in order to propitiate the Divine favour, he 
 set about the construction of caravansaries and cisterns in all parts of 
 his dominions a later Uzziah, who " built towers in the desert, and 
 digged many wells" (2 Chron. xxvi. 10). 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 335 
 
 one was strewn with carpets and the other not.* The 
 introduction of chairs and tables I took to be quite 
 foreign. Those we saw had, for the most part, been 
 made for us, or for Russian visitors, and it was not a 
 little ridiculous on one or two occasions to see our 
 chairs, stowed away with a man on horseback, going 
 before to the next station. As for the tables, they 
 generally consisted of boards put on rickety supports, 
 and covered with calico. The moment we finally quitted 
 apartments we had occupied, our carpets, rugs, etc., were 
 folded up, and the room speedily " unfurnished." 
 
 Near the building at Kakir was a small bazaar, but 
 it was not market day, and many of the houses were 
 empty. I busied myself, therefore, whilst the tarantass 
 was coming up, in looking about for objects of interest, 
 and, among others, examined a native oven.f 
 
 When at length our carriage came up we had some 
 little to do in starting with fresh horses, for one fell, 
 and had to be taken out. Sevier and I preferred 
 still to ride to the next station, - the wind becoming 
 stronger, and our horses being not too tired for another 
 gallop. Yakoob had picked up for us, without my 
 directions, a ragged hanger-on, whom I supposed to 
 be going to Bokhara on his own account, but glad 
 to do so on one of my spare horses, as a recompense 
 for acting as groom and making himself generally 
 useful. This fellow had mounted the savage horse 
 given me by the Emir, and we had a short race ; but 
 I soon found that the long-legged creature, vicious as 
 
 * This seems to me to throw light upon, though perhaps not exhaust- 
 ing, the meaning of a word in Luke xxii. 12, "He shall show you a 
 large upper room furnished" (eoTpatpcvov) or literally "strewed." 
 
 t It recalled to my mind two passages of Scripture, being like an 
 earthenware crock, laid upon its side and built about, except in front, 
 with earth. Into its mouth, was put the parched grass or other fuel 
 (Matt. vi. 30 ; James i. n). Yakoob explained to me how they bake 
 the bread ; namely, by making cakes of dough about the size and 
 thickness of a captain's biscuit, and then clapping- this on the side of 
 the oven, where it sticks till one side is done, the same process being 
 repeated with the other side. Hence a half-hearted person, as 
 " Ephraim, is a cake not turned " (Hosea vii. 8). 
 
336 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 he was, with a rider who knew how to manage him, 
 could hold his own, and more, against Diotrephes. 
 
 After passing Kash-sardaba, and some distance 
 before we reached Karaul Bazaar, we saw the latter 
 building standing out against the sky like some lofty 
 Russian cathedral, or medresse. This also was built by 
 Abdullah Khan, for his soldiers, and intended for the 
 great central caravansary of the Karshi steppe. It 
 was used as a guard-house, whence escorts were 
 provided for passengers and caravans. Dr. Schuyler, 
 in 1873, was provided with a guard in this place, 
 and we heard that 30 soldiers are still kept on the spot, 
 but we neither asked for, nor received, any addition 
 to our company. We saw several old firearms hanging 
 at the entrance, but not promising much help to a 
 besieged traveller. The principal building consists 
 of a square court, surrounded by cloister-looking 
 corridors with vaulted chambers, surmounted by low 
 domes. From within the court are seen four lofty 
 facades, on which there still remain a few coloured 
 bricks to testify of departed grandeur, but the entire 
 building is fast going to ruin. 
 
 Near the caravansary is a cistern with what is said 
 to be good water, and also a deep well of brackish, 
 disagreeably-tasting water, to which they were letting 
 down skins to fill, and hauling them up by four men 
 walking away, and drawing the rope over a round 
 piece of wood at the mouth of the well. There were 
 also some small houses, in one of which we made a 
 light meal, and then I insisted on proceeding, so as, if 
 possible, to get to Bokhara that night, a distance of 
 26 miles. 
 
 But the character of the steppe changed, the soil 
 became stony and sandy, and all vegetation completely 
 disappeared. We were in a desert pure and simple ; * 
 
 * Witnessed to here and there by the bleached bones of horses and 
 camels fallen and left as meat for the fowls of the heaven and for the 
 beasts of the earth (Jer. xvi. 4), to which the eagle flies, hastening to 
 eat (Habak. i. 8). 
 
FROM SHAHR TO BOKHARA. 337 
 
 sand, sand everywhere, and blowing withal in our 
 faces, so that we were glad to get into the tarantass, 
 and shut it up closely to keep ourselves from being 
 covered. This kind of steppe continues over some 
 high ground and beyond the ruins of Sarai-Mama- 
 Jugarta, and onwards to the salt lake, from whose 
 shore there continues a salt tract almost up to Bokhara. 
 From the high ground of Mama-Jugarta to Bokhara 
 is only 1 1 miles, but my hopes of getting there that 
 night were to be disappointed, for it was not till 
 7 o'clock we came to Chitarik, where a djiguitt from 
 the Kush-beggi came out from Bokhara to meet us 
 and apologize, saying that they had received the letter 
 from Karshi to announce our coming only that day 
 at noon ; and hence the poor reception made for me 
 at the last two stations. I had, however, put this 
 down to my own perverseness in getting ahead of 
 those sent forward to prepare for my comfort. At 
 Chitarik we were put up for the night, and our host 
 brought forth at our evening meal a rather pretty 
 china plate. I had the curiosity to look at the bottom, 
 and, to my amazement, saw written in my own tongue 
 "" Real Ironstone China." 
 
 The temperature fell during the night to 55, and 
 at 7.30 we were again on the move. The salt tract 
 soon ceased, and the country began to show signs 
 of life and cultivation. After 5 miles of travel we 
 came to the village of Kagan, where the Bokhariot 
 oasis begins. Although we had not long since break- 
 fasted, we were expected to stop here for tea and 
 refreshments, partly also, I fancy, because our nimble 
 movements rather outran the local arrangements. 
 Henceforward, for the remaining five miles, we drove 
 through fields and gardens, till we stood before a city 
 with a wall great and high, having 1 1 gates, rigorously 
 closed by night, which city, when I had entered, I 
 found one of the most interesting, and certainly the 
 most curious, I have ever seen. 
 
 22 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 
 
 The late Emir Nasr-Ullah. Visit of Burnes to Bokhara. Stoddart 
 sent as British envoy. Concurrent Russian missions. Conolly 
 enticed to Bokhara and imprisoned. Stoddart and Conolly killed. 
 Brave journey of Dr. Wolff. My entry into Bokhara. Its ancient 
 appearance and customs. Sumptuous lodging" and garden. 
 Bokhariot fruit-trees and horticulture. Desire to mount a minaret. 
 Paucity of Russian inhabitants and their treatment. Visit to 
 the medresse Kokol-tash. Dancing-boys dressed as girls. 
 Misinterpretation of an English song. Slumbers disturbed by 
 watchmen, dogs, and military parade. Service in the Jumma 
 mosque reminiscent of temple worship in Jerusalem. A Hindu 
 temple. Gallop round the walls. 
 
 NOT a little of the interest attaching to the city 
 we had now approached is connected with 
 Nasr-Ullah, father of the present Emir, whose name 
 was well known forty years ago in England in connec- 
 tion with those of Lieutenant Burnes, Colonel Stoddart, 
 Captain Conolly, and Dr. Wolff, as also with the names 
 of others who proceeded to Bokhara from Russia. 
 The mutual rivalries of the two nations at that time 
 gave the affairs of Bokhara a wider interest than had 
 been previously felt in Europe. The first English 
 officer who entered Bokhara was Lieutenant Burnes. 
 He travelled as a private individual, but with documents 
 showing that the British Government was interested in 
 his good treatment. He was suspected, of course, and 
 forbidden to use pen and ink ; but on the whole, thanks 
 to the court officials, he was kindly received, and on 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 339 
 
 reaching England published, in 1834, an account of 
 his travels. 
 
 Russia and England were for some time intriguing 
 at the Persian court, whence the British Ambassador 
 deemed it prudent, in 1838, to send Colonel Stoddart 
 as an envoy to Bokhara to endeavour to stop the 
 pillage on the Persian frontier and the capture of 
 slaves, to release any Russian prisoners he might find 
 at Bokhara, and to make a friendly treaty with the 
 Emir. On his arrival at the gate of the city he was 
 received with distinction ; but when, soon after, he 
 refused to conform to local usages and etiquette, rode 
 his horse in the Righistan, which none but the Emir 
 then might do, did not dismount when his Majesty 
 passed, and finally, when about to be presented to the 
 sovereign, he knocked down the master of the ceremo- 
 nies, who presumed to feel if he had arms concealed ; 
 after all this the Emir had him let down to an under- 
 ground prison, 20 feet deep, and kept him there for 
 two months, with two thieves and a murderer. On 
 the second day the executioner descended with an 
 order from the Emir instantly to kill the Englishman if 
 he did not embrace Islamism. Stoddart made the pro- 
 fession of faith ; but at the end of two months, being 
 removed to the house of the Mir-sheb, or head of the 
 police, he announced his return to Christianity, and 
 that his avowal of Islamism was forced from him. He 
 was now informed that one Naib-Abdul-Samut, once 
 in English pay, but expelled from India for his crimes, 
 and now lieutenant to Nasr-Ullah, had been the prin- 
 cipal cause of his imprisonment, having represented 
 him to the Emir as a spy. During 1839-40, Stoddart 
 was alternately in prison and in favour, and after his ' 
 third imprisonment was removed to the palace, and 
 then to the house of Naib-Abdul-Samut. 
 
 Meanwhile some Russians arrived at Bokhara under 
 Buteneff, in company with Khanikoff, Lehmann, and 
 others, charged to compass, among other things, if 
 
340 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 possible, the release of Stoddart. On their arrival the 
 Russian mission was treated very coolly by the Emir, 
 but Stoddart was permitted to live with Buteneff. The 
 Emir even offered Stoddart to return with the Russian 
 embassy, but this he declined on the ground that he had 
 not received orders from his government to withdraw. 
 One principal reason that made the Emir so wavering 
 was the alternation of success, and defeat of the Eng- 
 lish in Afghanistan at that time. Matters were further 
 complicated in 1840 by the arrival of the English 
 officers, Abbott, Shakespear, and Conolly, at Khiva. 
 Conolly was ordered to explore Khokand, and appa- 
 rently also to attempt to checkmate the Russian 
 advance thither. He travelled north of Bokhara, but 
 on receiving a letter from Stoddart, inviting him to go 
 there, he determined, contrary to the advice of his 
 Khivan and Khokandian friends, to go to Nasr-Ullah's 
 camp, and try to persuade him to join with the Uzbeg 
 princes in a league against Russia. The Emir wished 
 to gain possession of Conolly, and at once made him 
 prisoner in the house of Abdul Samut, where he was 
 joined by Stoddart. 
 
 The Emir now became very hostile to the English, 
 from whom he thought he had no longer anything to 
 fear, and embarrassed by requests from Persia, Khiva, 
 Constantinople, Cabul, and Herat, for the release of 
 his European prisoners, " Nasr-Ullah determined to 
 put Stoddart and Conolly to death, which he did on 
 the 24th June, 1842. 
 
 A vague report of this reached England, but much 
 uncertainty hung over the matter for some time, 
 whereupon Captain Grover, a friend of Stoddart's, 
 determined to go out to Bokhara to clear up the 
 mystery, and had applied to the Government in 
 London for official papers of protection, when Dr. 
 Wolff, a Christian Israelite and English clergyman, 
 who as a missionary had visited Bokhara in 1831, and, 
 going on to India, had made the acquaintance of 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 341 
 
 Captain Conolly, issued a challenge, in July, 1843, to 
 the "brave officers of England," that if one of them 
 would accompany him, or even pay the expenses, and 
 no more, of his journey to Bokhara, he hoped to be 
 able to release the prisoners, whose execution he con- 
 sidered exceedingly doubtful. This led to the forma- 
 tion of a Stoddart and Conolly Committee, and in the 
 following October Dr. Wolff started. 
 
 He went supported by letters from the Sultan and 
 others, and on arriving was well received by the 
 Emir, and Abdul Samut told him how and why 
 Stoddart and Conolly had been put to death. The 
 missionary then desired to return at once, recom- 
 mending that an ambassador should be sent with him 
 to ask pardon of the English Government, and also 
 expressing a wish to redeem some Russian slaves, of 
 whom he heard in Bokhara. Every pretext, however, 
 was put forward to delay the stranger's departure, and, 
 lodged in the house of Abdul Samut, this rascal tried 
 every means possible to extort money from Dr. Wolff, 
 besides doing his best to compass his death as he had 
 done that of the two officers. At length, however, 
 the brave traveller had permission to depart, and after 
 escaping several attempts at assassination, robbery, 
 and poison, he reached London in 1845. 
 
 I have a dim recollection, as a child, of hearing Dr. 
 Wolff lecture on his travels I suppose soon after his 
 return and a better remembrance as a boy of hearing 
 him preach. How little I then dreamed that I should 
 be the next of the Queen's subjects to enter the city 
 of Bokhara! Yet, on October nth, 1882, I found 
 myself approaching the very gate by which I presume 
 Burnes had entered 50 years before. The sight 
 of the crenelated walls, 8 miles round, with holes 
 through which archers might shoot, guarded by a thin 
 clay defence, and supported on triangular beams, 
 struck me as curious indeed for Anno Domini 1882. 
 Everything, however, was in keeping therewith. It 
 
342 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 was not like a street of Old London, erected in a 
 modern exhibition, or an assemblage arrayed in an- 
 cient costumes whilst surrounded with igth century 
 furniture. There came out to meet us, from the 
 Kush-beggi and his son, to conduct us with honour 
 to our lodging, an array of dignitaries, of whom, 
 mutatis mutandis, one might have said, These are 
 the princes which the Emir had : " Azariah the son 
 of Zadok the priest, Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of 
 Shisha, scribes ; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the 
 recorder. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada over the 
 host : and Zadok and Abiathar the priests : and Azariah 
 the son of Nathan over the officers : and Zabud the son 
 of Nathan principal officer, and the king's friend : and 
 Ahishar over the household : and Adoniram the son of 
 Abdaover the tribute" ( i Kings iv. 2 6 ; i Chron. xviii. 
 15). One of my difficulties was to distinguish " Who" 
 from " Which " among these notabilities, for they were 
 ' all so grand, and their Oriental titles of office were to 
 me, of course, considerably "worse than Greek."* 
 
 What with our own djiguitts, however, one or two 
 who had accompanied us all the way from Kitab, 
 and the cavaliers who came out to welcome us, we 
 mustered a pretty strong party. We had driven 
 nearly to the city gate when it was suggested, 
 Christians though we were, that we should leave the 
 tarantass, and formally enter Bokhara on horseback 
 a change truly from the treatment accorded to Burnes, 
 who, because a Christian, had to trudge about the 
 city on foot, whilst his Muhammadan servants were 
 mounted. Not the least objection was made later on 
 to our riding in the Righistan, of the old law con- 
 
 * Dr. Schuyler mentions his being preceded at Shahr by men running 
 on foot, as Absalom and his brother Adonijah each prepared 50 men to 
 run before him (2 Sam. xv. i ; i Kings i. 5 J ; but I do not remember meeting 
 with an exemplification of this custom in Bokhara, nor of the Egyptian 
 calling before a ruler, u Bow the knee " (Gen. xli. 43). I missed, too, 
 among the many officers of the Emir, a cup-bearer, like Nehemiah (i. ii.) 
 the Bokhariot sovereign, like all Moslems, being a " total abstainer." 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 343 
 
 cerning which we were ignorant, and the Russians 
 have sometimes administered a bitter pill to the 
 Bokhariots, in that when embassies happened to be 
 attended by a Jewish interpreter, the Russians do not, 
 of course, suffer him to dismount. 
 
 Our cavalcade was marched through the streets, the 
 carriage bringing up the rear, and djiguitts going before 
 to clear the way. I supposed the one immediately 
 before us to be in authority, for a woman, who was not, 
 I think, fully veiled, happening to meet us, he appeared 
 to rebuke her sharply, and she, poor creature, went and 
 turned her face to the wall like a scolded child.. Many 
 rose to give our party the Muhammadan salutation, 
 Salaam aleikum, in which, I presume, we, as Christians, 
 were not intended to participate, for the Moslems do not 
 thus salute Christians ; but the Jews frequently bowed to 
 us, and paid their respects with an uttered A man ! * 
 
 At length we reached the largest of the eight houses 
 s.et apart -for guests, and which proved to be, on the 
 whole, the finest house we entered in the khanate. 
 I was disposed to christen it " the house of Haman," f 
 for it had been the residence of a fallen favourite, one 
 Barat Bek, who, four years previously, was at the 
 head of 5,000 troops, and had enriched himself by 
 withholding their pay. Besides this he drank, and 
 having had the batchas one night, he went out inflamed 
 with strong drink, and insulted not only the people, 
 but the Emir also. His master caused him to be 
 bound and thrown into the Kana-Khaneh, the prison, 
 I believe, where the English officers were confined, 
 out of which the corpse of the man was taken 1 5 days 
 afterwards, when it was found he had bitten himself to 
 death. 
 
 On leaving the street to enter this good specimen 
 of a Bokhariot noble's residence, we rode into a horse 
 
 * Reminding one of Matt. v. 47, "If ye salute your brethren only, 
 what do ye more than others ? ' ' 
 f Esther viii. i. 
 
344 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 yard in the shape of the letter L, bounded on one side 
 with stables, and on another with men-servants' apart- 
 ments, and two rooms that served, apparently, for 
 
 YARD FOR HORSES. 
 
 GROUND PLAN OF THE PRINCIPAL GUEST-HOUSE AT BOKHARA. 
 
 men-servants' wives. From this yard we rode into a 
 second small court, out of which a screened door led 
 into the women's quarters, and a narrow passage con- 
 ducted us into the principal court, or square, with a 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 345 
 
 fountain in the midst. The side opposite the entrance 
 was occupied by a raised platform, and four rooms en 
 suite, and a fifth. The centre one was an entrance 
 hall, in which, at the entrance, was a place for ceremonial 
 bathing, with a chamber overhead ; on the right was 
 the room of the Bek, and on the left the one intended 
 for his guests, whilst further to the left was a small 
 
 O 
 
 sleeping-room. The other sides of the principal court 
 were occupied by offices, and rooms for the Bek's 
 officers and attendants. Also on one side of the 
 women's court were two rooms with upper stories and 
 an entrance hall, opening at either end into the court, 
 or into a splendid garden, where near at hand was a 
 pool with adjacent trees. Somewhat further off was a 
 summer-house, surrounded by bowers of vines, groves 
 of apricots, and clusters of apple, pear, pomegranate, 
 plum, and fig trees, the whole watered by running 
 streams from the Zarafshan. The Bek's own chambers, 
 in which we dwelt, were very spacious, roofed with 
 timber beams, and painted between in red, whilst 
 over the numerous doors were trellised, but unglazed, 
 windows, there being no glass windows in the city 
 except in the palace.* 
 
 Though this "house of Haman" is sometimes 
 without guests for two or three months at a time, it 
 was in a good state of repair, our rooms were nicely 
 carpeted, and our comfort closely studied. An old 
 
 * This building calls to mind the passage in Jer. xxii. 13 15, "Woe 
 unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers 
 by wrong ; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth 
 him not for his work ; that saith, I will build me a wide house and 
 large chambers, and cutteth him out windows ; and it is cieled with 
 cedar, and painted with vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou 
 closest thyself in cedar ? " The manner, too, in which the Bek's apart- 
 ments were cut off from those of his wives recalled the expression, 
 "The king hath brought me into his chambers" (Cant. i. 4). I was 
 given to understand that the Bokhariots do not spend their time con- 
 tinuously with their wives, so that a particular wife, when desired, is 
 sent for to come to her husband's chamber. This is not the case, 
 Yakoob told me, among his people, the Tatars of Kazan, who eat 
 together, except when the husband has visitors. 
 
346 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 secretary, one Mirza Muhammad Yusuf, appeared to 
 be told off to watch over us in more senses I 
 suspect than one and besides him there were 
 sundry messengers to keep up communications with 
 the citadel. As we had arrived in the morning I 
 expressed a desire to see the Kush-beggi the same 
 day, but he begged to be excused until the morrow, 
 and then we might go out to see the city. Thus 
 the Kush-beggi was giving us a mild repetition of the 
 treatment we had received from his master at Kitab 
 for though we were guests, yet, disguise it how we 
 might, we were also prisoners. I therefore made a 
 virtue of necessity, set myself to explore every nook 
 and corner of the premises, and then proceeded to 
 a careful examination of our excellent specimen of 
 an Oriental garden. 
 
 The first thing that struck me was the enormous 
 size of the apricot-trees, standing like avenues of old 
 English pear-trees, from 30 to 40 feet high, whilst 
 in circumference the first I measured was 3 ft. 10 in., 
 and the next 5 ft. 3 in., the latter being about 40 
 years old. 
 
 The vines in the Bek's garden were in some cases 
 allowed to trail, and in others were trained to form 
 colonnades, under which one might walk. In Bokhara 
 are cultivated 1 3 different kinds, and of these we tasted 
 several. A small, round, greenish variety, called 
 Kishmish, was thought much of, but there were 
 larger kinds, the berries of which measured from an 
 inch to an inch and a half in length. The mode of 
 cultivation, however, was to me more curious than 
 their flavour. Towards the close of summer the 
 bunches are enclosed in bags, and cut off later on 
 to be suspended from the ceilings, and so preserved 
 through the winter as food, but not pressed for wine. 
 Of the manufacture of this I neither heard nor saw 
 anything in Bokhara, unless it were to some insig- 
 nificant extent among the Jews. 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 347 
 
 Having looked thoroughly at our well-stocked 
 garden, we found that its far end almost touched the 
 city wall. I was minded to climb up and look over, 
 but was stopped by barriers and the swampy nature 
 of the ground. We had, therefore, to make ourselves 
 happy in confinement, and wish for the morrow. 
 
 Early on Thursday, the day after our arrival, the 
 Kush-beggi sent messengers to inquire about my health, 
 and to say that a considerable amount of business had 
 arrived from the Emir, and, in consequence, that he 
 would not be able to receive us till Saturday morning, 
 but we might go to see the town. We therefore 
 sallied forth on horseback, conducted by the court 
 attendants and our own djiguitts. 
 
 I wanted much to mount some lofty building to get 
 a view of Bokhara as a whole, and so, perhaps, by 
 comparison, form an idea of its population ; for as we 
 were conducted through > the narrow irregular streets, 
 each successive one very like the last, it was hard to 
 trace any plan in the laying out of the city, or to form 
 any estimate of the number of its inhabitants. On 
 approaching the Manari Kalian, or great minaret, I 
 said that I wished to ascend it. This at once flurried 
 my conductors, and at first they tried to put me off by 
 saying " To-morrow." When I objected, they next 
 said that the Emir had taken the key with him to 
 Kitab. Upon this not satisfying me, they urged as an 
 objection that if I went up I should see the women. 
 Not thinking this very dreadful, I still urged my wish 
 to ascend, telling them that if they knew how many 
 of the fair sex there were in England who did not 
 object to be looked at, they would not think I should 
 come for such a purpose all the way to Bokhara. But 
 they said it was contrary to their law. They would, 
 however, send to the Kush-beggi. This having been 
 done, the messenger came back to say that the Viceroy 
 would send to the Emir for permission, and that if his 
 answer should be favourable they would have to tell 
 
348 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 all the women to hide themselves before I went up, as 
 they had done on the last occasion when a criminal 
 was taken up to be thrown down headlong. 
 
 Accordingly we passed on to the Russian Sarai, or 
 warehouse, and other parts of the town, to present our 
 few private letters of introduction. Since crossing the 
 Bokhariot frontier we had not seen or heard of a single 
 Russian of any grade or calling, nor, so far as I learnt, 
 were there more than the two or three agents of 
 Kamensky and of the Commercial Russian Company, 
 with the wife of one of them, in Bokhara. It seemed 
 almost like calling upon a fellow-countryman in pre- 
 senting our first letter, to see Kamensky's agent in 
 European clothes, and his wife, the one Russian female 
 in all Bokhara, unveiled, and moving rationally about 
 the house, and not like her oppressed and degraded 
 sisters around. Very pleasant, too, it was, by way of 
 relief from native-made dishes, to stay to lunch, and 
 partake of a meal served in European fashion. We 
 called afterwards at the office of the Russian Company, 
 where I met, oddly enough, an Asiatic, upon whom I 
 had called in Moscow. He had returned by Orenburg, 
 and reached Bokhara some weeks before me. These 
 Russian agents had not, seemingly, a very enviable 
 post, for they are surrounded with Muhammadans, who- 
 at first were exceedingly abusive and insulting, not to 
 say dangerous, in the streets, though matters afterwards 
 improved. This improvement was no doubt traceable, 
 in a measure, to European courage. If a Bokhariot 
 chooses to insult, or even strike, a Hindu or a Jew, 
 they must patiently bear it, as the natives knew, and 
 accordingly tried the same with these Russians, though 
 not with a like result ; for the agents, without waiting 
 for the interference of the authorities, took the law in 
 their own hands, and administered a thrashing. This 
 made the Muhammadans more careful ; but, to show 
 what arrant cowards the Bokhariots were, one of the 
 agents said that on a certain occasion, when riding, his. 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 349 
 
 horse became restive, whereupon a knot of ten natives 
 frightened the animal and made it run away. Upon this 
 the Russian returned to thrash them, and they set upon 
 him, as he said, to kill him. My informant happened 
 not to have his revolver, which he usually carried, but, 
 taking from his pocket a telescopic aluminium pencil, 
 he solemnly drew and pointed it at them, whereupon 
 they supposing it to be some new infernal machine, 
 ran away in a hurry ! 
 
 We next went to see some of the medresses, or 
 colleges: first to that called Kokol-tash, for 146 
 students, and built, they told me, about 300 years ago. 
 I asked what it would cost to erect such a building in 
 Bokhara now, and they thought ,1,250. 
 
 On returning to our lodging we were entertained in 
 the course of the evening with some native songs and 
 music, as well as dancing-boys. One of the instruments 
 resembled a guitar, 46 inches long, with a sounding- 
 board 9 inches by 4, and might be played with a bow 
 or with the thumb. Another instrument resembled 
 the flageolet, and had something of the hautboy sound, 
 or one between that and a bagpipe. 
 
 Yakoob had endeavoured to raise my anticipations 
 by telling me that some of the batchas would be 
 dressed as dancing-girls. Two of them did assume 
 female costume, wearing a handkerchief round the 
 head and falling down the back. They wore wristlets 
 with tinkling ornaments, and carried small cymbals, 
 wherewith to accompany the tambourines, took short, 
 mincing steps, and shook their hands and heads with 
 rapid motions, now holding up and extending their 
 outer garment, and so somewhat immodestly dancing, 
 and then kneeling and making motions towards us 
 with their hands. Our choristers favoured us with 
 some prayers or sacred songs in Tajik, one old man 
 screaming up dreadfully high, after which, by way of 
 fa-tale, I asked them whether, as they had done their 
 best to entertain us, they would like to hear a song 
 
350 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 from me. Upon their replying in the affirmative, I 
 wondered how best to hit their musical taste : whether 
 with something sacred or secular, grave or gay ; for the 
 words would in any case be lost upon them. I decided 
 in favour of a rapid movement rather than a slow one, 
 and, without remembering exactly all the words, I sang 
 them " Twickenham Ferry," at the end of each verse 
 of which comes the refrain : 
 
 " O hoi-ye-ho, ho-ye-ho, ho-ye-ho, ho ! " 
 I also sang them another song, and had each time 
 a most attentive audience, but was not a little amused 
 afterwards to hear that they had detected the repetition 
 of " O hoi-ye-ho, ho-ye-ho, ho ! " and thought that must 
 be a prayer ! I wound up the proceedings by lighting 
 a piece of magnesian wire, which caused them no little 
 astonishment, as it had done at Kitab, and after this 
 we retired to bed. 
 
 My slumbers, how r ever, were not to be undisturbed, 
 for first we were aroused by " the watchmen that go 
 about the city," w r ho had some dull imitation of a gong 
 or bell wherewith to make us aware of their presence, 
 and then there came into our principal court a howling 
 cur, " returned at evening to make a noise like a dog, and 
 go round about the city." ; I sallied forth with a lighted 
 candle, and drove out the dog, but was afraid of going 
 too far in my queer deshabille, lest, being unable, if 
 discovered, to give an account of myself in the ver- 
 nacular, I might cause the natives to wonder what in 
 the world I was about. The rules concerning keeping 
 at home after sunset are very strict, and the night 
 myrmidons in the pay of the Mir-sheb, or chief police- 
 master (called Kurbashi in Samarkand), think little of 
 
 * Psalm lix. 6. I never had so lively an illustration of this last 
 figure as in Constantinople, where every street was monopolized by 
 ownerless dogs. They did not obtrude themselves much by day, but 
 at night they are unmercifully severe upon any strange dog that tres- 
 passes into their particular streets, and are not too nice in barking at, 
 if not even attacking, foot passengers. 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 351 
 
 dealing summarily with anyone found in the streets,* 
 so much so that one of the Russians who had paid us an 
 evening visit, and who left quite early, did not like to 
 go home without one of the Emir's attendants to accom- 
 pany him. Then, again, early next morning we were 
 disturbed by bugle calls for the practising of the 
 soldiers. Accordingly, when the messengers came 
 after breakfast from the Kush-beggi to inquire after 
 our health, and to ask if I had slept well, I replied 
 that we had been somewhat disturbed by dogs and 
 watchmen, but that on the morrow we should like to 
 see the soldiers practise. Things were better after- 
 wards as regards watchmen and animals, though as 
 for my seeing the soldiers practise, they put us off by 
 saying that the permission of the Emir must be asked, 
 and pretended that they would exercise no more during 
 our stay. Upon this I twitted the courtiers by telling 
 them that they were ashamed to let us see their soldiers, 
 and that I had heard how badly they were armed. 
 They replied that it used to be so, and that formerly 
 they were a sorry lot, " but now," they adroitly added, 
 " we have seen and learned from the Russians, as the 
 Russians did from the French and English." 
 
 I was curious to be present, if possible, at* the 
 preaching of a Muhammadan sermon at a chief function 
 on Friday, which is the Moslem Sabbath. Upon 
 inquiry, I was given to understand that the Jumma, 
 or Friday service, would be held at noon in the great 
 mosque, which, in theory, ought to be large enough 
 to hold all the Mussulmans in a city. On the morning, 
 therefore, of the day in question, I asked to be taken, 
 and we sallied forth. I also wished to visit, I said, 
 the synagogue and the Jews' quarter. 
 
 By this time I was fully alive to the fact that I was 
 not to be allowed to see too much, and I learned that, 
 
 * Thereby illustrating " The watchmen that went about the city found 
 me, they smote me, they wounded me ; the keepers of the walls took 
 away my vail from me " (Cant. v. 7 ; iii. 3). 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 353 
 
 from my continual taking of notes, I was suspected of 
 being a spy.* Accordingly our conductors seemed not 
 to be too well pleased at the idea of my seeing the 
 Jumma service, and were leading us off first to the 
 Jews' quarter, which would have brought us to the 
 mosque when the service was over. I detected this, 
 and insisted on going at once to the other building, 
 and, in due time, we rode up to the great mosque 
 Baliand, Buland, or Kelan. The front of it was orna- 
 mented with glazed bricks, some of which were fallen 
 away, so that the colouring looked worn off. Near 
 at hand was the tall minaret, said to be 200 feet high, 
 ornamented with coloured bricks inlaid in elegant 
 designs. It was the same that I had expressed a 
 wish to ascend. I now looked round the base pretty 
 thoroughly to see, if possible, where the entrance was 
 made, but I failed, and my conductors were unwilling 
 to further my wishes, and, moreover, began to scheme 
 for keeping me from the service, by proposing that I 
 should go to an upper story of the Miri-arab medresse, 
 which faced the great mosque, and from thence look 
 down upon the Jumma. I counter-manoeuvred this 
 proposal by saying that I would ascend to the upper 
 parts of the medresse and see if that would do ; for I 
 thought, if they would not let me ascend the minaret, 
 I might perhaps get an extended view of the town 
 from the college, and so checkmate them. I went up 
 accordingly, but found that the view was nothing for 
 my purpose, since it overlooked merely the roof of the 
 palace and fortress, and I therefore came down at once, 
 saying that would not do, and, without further parley, 
 entered the big mosque just before the service com- 
 menced. My conductors seemed anxious to put me 
 out of sight, I suppose because I was an " infidel," 
 and they would evidently have liked that, after peeping 
 in, I should withdraw. But I was not minded so to 
 
 * A very old suspicion attaching to strangers in the East ; said 
 Joseph to his visitors, "Ye are spies " (Gen. xlii. 9). 
 
 23 
 
354 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 do. Yakoob appeared to take sides against us, and 
 urged that the people would look at us, and thus lose 
 the benefit of their prayers. I simply replied, " Then 
 tell them not to look!" This mild altercation was 
 going on near a corner at the back of the worshippers, 
 when suddenly the mullah's voice sounded. This put 
 an end to all discussion, and the Emir's men, with 
 Yakoob among them, went off to take their places. 
 
 Sevier and I were now left with Kolutch, who 
 remained faithful to us, calling Yakoob somewhat of 
 a hypocrite, because he had put on in Bokhara a white 
 turban, and was manifesting Muhammadan zeal only 
 to curry favour with the local authorities, whilst at 
 other times and places he did not even observe the 
 stated hours of prayer. As for Kolutch, I suspect 
 that hoMing the office of a djiguitt in the service of 
 the Russians had not strengthened his Muhamma- 
 danism, and, without our asking, he quietly wrapped 
 up a garment for me to sit on, and we all three took 
 our places against the wall, and quietly watched the 
 proceedings. 
 
 This Jumma mosque is one of the most solid 
 structures in Bokhara, and as I sat within I felt 
 exceedingly glad that I had declined to be shut out ; 
 for the service was wholly unlike any form of Western 
 congregational worship I had seen, and it suggested 
 to my mind what, in some degree, may have been 
 the ancient temple service in Jerusalem. The interior 
 of the great mosque at Bokhara consists of a large 
 unroofed, entirely open court, 300 feet square, and 
 capable of accommodating, they say, 10,000 wor- 
 shippers. It is surrounded by what Dr. Schuyler 
 calls " a wide, vaulted cloister of brick, two and 
 sometimes three aisles in width," but which I had put 
 down as a succession of colonnades. They brought 
 to my mind the Hebrew Bethesda at Jerusalem, 
 "having five porches" or stoas.* In front of us, 
 
 * John v. 2. 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 355 
 
 and at the end opposite the entrance, was 
 or tall facade, faced with coloured bricks, and sur- 
 mounted by a dome over the two arches forming 
 the sanctuary we had seen in other mosques, where 
 the mullah prays ; whilst in front of these arches, and 
 standing a little outside, was a low structure which I 
 supposed to be intended for a pulpit or reading place * 
 
 The service began on a long sustained note, uttered 
 by a mullah from the sanctuary, upon which the men 
 arranged themselves in ranks with strictest precision ; 
 all knelt, then rose and stood praying and bowing in 
 silence. Some of the worshippers knelt in clusters of 
 two and three, but always in a line. Looking under 
 one of the covered stoas I saw a man whom I was 
 uncharitable enough to fix upon, in imagination, as the 
 Pharisee, "who went up to the temple to pray." He 
 was clad in a crimson velvet robe, with the purest of 
 white turbans, and had taken " a chief room in the 
 synagogue," whilst a poor fellow with bare feet, whom 
 I thought to be the publican, came in later, took a 
 hindmost place, where, having no costly prayer-cloth 
 on which to perform his devotions, he took off his 
 upper coat, laid it on the ground, and so prayed 
 " standing afar off." As for the behaviour of the con- 
 gregation, I can only speak of it as most reverential. 
 One or two did now and then look round at the infidel 
 strangers in the corner, showing that Yakoob's fear 
 was not altogether groundless; but their eyes were 
 quickly withdrawn, and the service, as a whole, 
 was, outwardly, far more decorous than that of an 
 average Christian assembly, whether Anglican, Roman, 
 or Greek. 
 
 Although at the extreme end and out of doors, 
 
 * It was not "a high day" when we were there, and I estimated 
 the number of worshippers as not exceeding 500, but one had only to 
 imagine the people pouring into the city by thousands on a festival to 
 be reminded of the place "whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the 
 Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the 
 Lord" (Psalm cxxii. 4). 
 
356 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 as I have intimated, we could hear quite plainly the 
 mullah's words from the sanctuary, and further on in 
 the service some sentences were uttered by another 
 mullah from under one of the stoas on the right, about 
 halfway down. Again all the worshippers stood, then 
 bowed down, and next prostrated themselves to the 
 ground, after which I was told the "Jumma" was finished. 
 Something else was to follow, which I did not make 
 out to be of the nature of preaching, but rather of 
 staying behind for private prayer. The great mass of 
 the congregation began now to move, and with their 
 faces towards the exit, of course they had a full view 
 of the " infidels." The Emir's men were ready, not to 
 say in haste, to take me off, but I had noticed one 
 thing that I was anxious to inspect. It very much 
 resembled a font, and, remembering that Nestorian 
 Christianity had once been known in the land, I 
 wondered whether this object could have come down 
 from those mediaeval times. Accordingly, I went up 
 to, and looked around, over, and under it, if perchance 
 there might be on it some Christian emblem or device; 
 but whilst so doing I was quickly surrounded, the 
 crowd looking, I fancied, not too well pleased, so that 
 if ever I felt nervous in Bokhara, it was at that moment, 
 for I thought they might misinterpret what I was doing, 
 and set upon me, as, without provocation, a man assaulted 
 and attempted to kill Dr. Schuyler while examining the 
 shrine of a saint. I did not linger, therefore, over my 
 inspection : but, seeing nothing that led me to suppose 
 the basin to be of Christian origin, I joined my con- 
 ductors, who took me out of a side door, sent to 
 Fazul to bring our horses there, and hurried us off, 
 seemingly glad to get us away. 
 
 There were some few other Muhammadan religious 
 buildings we entered in Bokhara. One I have noted 
 down as the Jumma mosque of Abdul Aziz Khan, said 
 to have been built about 200 years, and to hold 2,000 
 people. There is also a medresse, named after that same 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 357 
 
 Khan. At the Mosque of Hazret Imlah, 132 years 
 
 MEDRESSE OF ABDUL AZIZ KHAN. 
 
 old, we saw the tomb of the great saint Imlah, where 
 on were two spear-heads, and above, a pole with a 
 
358 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 horse-tail suspended. Lastly, at the Hazret Haifa 
 Khu-claidat was a covered cistern, where sick people 
 drink the water for recovery. Pious turbaned Yakoob 
 went down to taste, but, having so done, made a 
 grimace, and said the water stank. We saw com- 
 paratively few monumental inscriptions, but at this 
 well, over the door, it was written in Persian that the 
 building stood 71 years, was then destroyed, and 
 rebuilt 28 years ago. 
 
 We went afterwards to the Hindu Sarai, somewhat 
 similar to the one we had seen in Khokand. At 
 Bokhara the Hindus lie under the same disabilities as 
 the Jews. They paint a red circle about two inches in 
 diameter on their forehead whether by compulsion or 
 for glory and beauty I know not and they wear the 
 black calico cap and girdle of string. Their temple 
 in Bokhara was carpeted, and w r e found therein a 
 looking-glass, with a musical-box, a lectern, and a 
 cupboard with books ; but I doubted whether they 
 had the freedom of religious worship that their co- 
 religionists enjoyed in Khokand. 
 
 Since my guides had baffled me in mounting the 
 minaret, whence I might form an idea of the area of 
 the city, I determined to go round its walls, and, there- 
 fore, asked to be taken to one of the gates, keeping my 
 counsel till I got outside the porta] of the Saleh-Kaneh. 
 Then I told my conductors what I wished to do, where- 
 upon they began to raise objections ; but by this time 
 I was disposed to have my own way. So I gave my 
 horse his head. Diotrephes had not had a gallop all 
 day, and, after creeping through the crowded streets, 
 was quite prepared for a run. Sevier, Kolutch, and 
 Fazul followed, and we soon put space between us 
 and the malcontents, among whom Yakoob stayed 
 behind to curry favour, as we supposed, with the 
 Emir's grandees. This galloping off was very undig- 
 nified, according to Bokhariot ideas, but we enjoyed 
 immensely the race and the pleasure of being pursued. 
 
THE CITY OF BOKHARA. 359 
 
 We passed the Kuale or Karshi gate by which we had 
 arrived, then the Mazar gate that leads to the famous 
 shrine of Boghu-eddin, on to the Samarkand and Imam 
 gates, the Urlan or Uglan, and Talipaj. By this time 
 the run had given a wet jacket to horses and men. 
 The temperature had been rather fresh in the morning, 
 and Kolutch had put on his best fur-lined khalat. 
 This he now opened, and held up to show me how wet 
 he was, and how his horse's sweat had damaged his 
 garment. It became a question, therefore, how long 
 we were to continue, for in about half-an-hour we had 
 compassed 7 out of the 1 1 gates of the city, a distance 
 of about 5 miles, and to continue our flight beyond the 
 Talipaj gate appeared to require our making a ctttour. 
 I decided, therefore, to re-enter the city, and to finish 
 the circuit, if possible, on the morrow. We had met 
 scarcely anyone in galloping round the walls, save one 
 or two persons winding silk, and these looked not a 
 little astonished at our headlong career. Kolutch, 
 before the invasion of the Russians, had lived in 
 Bokhara, and so was able to pilot us back to the 
 embassy, where we had a wash, and calmly awaited 
 the arrival of our custodians. Fortunately, the old 
 fellow, into whose special keeping we appeared to be 
 committed, took the thing pleasantly, and made the 
 best of it. He even complimented us upon our horse- 
 manship, but I said that we thought small things of 
 anything we could do, being accustomed only to caper 
 about in a riding-school, and one of us not that, but 
 that we had heard the Bokhariots were splendid riders, 
 to which he replied that anyhow we held in our horses 
 remarkably well ; and so the matter for the present 
 ended, the old man telling us that he had followed us, 
 inquiring at one gate after another whether we had 
 entered. This was not the last unwilling gallop we 
 gave the old gentleman, but we had immensely enjoyed 
 our first, though not without some little fear of rebuke 
 for our insubordination. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 
 
 My plans concerning the Jews. Inquiry about the alleged persecutions 
 in Moscow and South Russia. Russia : how regarded by Western 
 and Eastern Jews. Oppressed condition of Jews in Bokhara. 
 Visits to their synagogue, and their sick. Inquiry for Hebrew 
 manuscripts. Hints concerning their technicalities. Wonderful 
 manuscript of the Old Testament. Fear of the Jews to receivers. 
 My letter to the Emir on their behalf. 
 
 I HAD looked forward with great interest to what 
 I might see and learn in Bokhara of the con- 
 dition of the Jews, and, in crossing Europe, had called 
 on some of the rabbis, telling them of my intended 
 journey, and my willingness to be of use, if possible, 
 to their countrymen, though I was not sanguine 
 that I could do much. "Ah! that's right," said one 
 old Israelite, " they are much oppressed in Bokhara, 
 and stand in need -of help." I took occasion also, on 
 some of these visits, to ask concerning the then recent 
 persecutions of the Jews in Russia. I had been present 
 at the Mansion House meeting in the early part of 
 1882, convoked on behalf of the persecuted, and had 
 been favoured, as I have said, with a letter from the 
 Lord Mayor as Chairman of the Jewish Relief Fund. 
 This letter I showed, so that they might see I was in 
 every way friendly to them and their cause ; yet I 
 must confess that the accounts from the rabbis' mouths 
 relative to the sufferings of their people seemed much 
 less than the newspapers had led us to believe. 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 361 
 
 To begin with Moscow. I was told how the troubles 
 there began with the revival by the Minister Ignatieff 
 of old regulations against the Jews, which the authori- 
 ties had for a long time allowed them to break, though 
 the laws had not been repealed ; and further, that the 
 Jews had not suffered personal violence by order, 
 though the police, in some cases, had hastened to 
 drive away from the town some women among others 
 who were sick, and unfit to travel, until a petition was 
 presented to Prince Dolgorouki, the Governor, who 
 thereon manifested his sympathy with the sufferers, 
 and showed a desire to mitigate, as far as possible, 
 the carrying out of the minister's edict. After this, 
 things were less severe. At the same time it could 
 not be denied that the Jews, in certain parts of Russia, 
 suffered under many disabilities. I asked one Jew to 
 tell me succinctly what these disabilities, or some of 
 them, were. To this he replied, "A Jew may not 
 trade in the interior unless a merchant of the first 
 guild, or after being a merchant five years in the 
 provinces. Jewish artisans may dwell in the interior 
 with strangers' passports only, and not as citizens ; 
 the police, moreover, allowing them to practise only 
 their own trades. Again, suppose that a man has 
 made a fortune, he may not buy a house and live in 
 the interior. His wife might live there, and be a 
 dressmaker, but if he remains unemployed, he must 
 go away." By " the interior " is meant Petersburg, 
 Moscow, and certain other localities where, the laws 
 not having been rigorously carried out, many from 
 the provinces had settled unrebuked, and the turning 
 out of some two or three thousand of these people 
 at the previous Easter had cost the Jewish com- 
 munity from ^500 to ^600 to send them to their 
 former homes in the provinces. This, however, did 
 not exhaust the list of gravamina. " If a Jew," my 
 informant continued, " has passed the university, he 
 may, in theory, enter the service of the State, but not 
 
362 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 practically. For instance, only just before, an order 
 had been issued by the Minister of War that among 
 the military physicians the Jewish element should not 
 form more than 5 per cent. Also, on the Exchange, 
 a Jew could not be a broker, and the right to trade in 
 spirits, or make them, is forbidden in the interior, even 
 to Jewish merchants of the first guild. Again, in the 
 interior, Ignatieff had lately ordered that a Jew might 
 not be an apothecary, or manager for an apothecary. 
 The same authority had forbidden the Jews in the 
 west, for the time being at all events, to buy or even 
 to hire land. Even in Moscow it appeared that the 
 Israelites had not a piece of land of their own whereon 
 to build a synagogue or a school, though this is allowed 
 to Lutherans, and also to Muhammadans. Once more, 
 by Russian law, if in a high school there is a certain 
 number of Jewish children, a rabbi should be allowed 
 to teach them ; but this was forbidden in one large 
 town at least that I heard of, and the rabbi not 
 allowed, to have them even at his own house. Lastly, 
 the Jews have no rights as a community." 
 
 I have set down these things as they came to me 
 from Jewish lips, without having had the opportunity 
 of hearing of what explanation they may be capable, 
 or what may be said to the contrary. As we were 
 travelling, one gentleman was heard to say, " These 
 English are greatly shocked about the treatment of 
 the Jews in Russia ; but it would not be so if they 
 understood how the Jew money-lenders fleece the 
 peasants when they get them into their hands." This 
 was only an echo of what a Polish nobleman said, 
 when I asked him, in Warsaw, why they disliked the 
 Jews, and he replied, " Because by money-lending 
 they get all power in their hands, and distress their 
 debtors." To which I simply replied, " Then why 
 go to them ? The remedy is in your own hands. Don't 
 borrow ! " At the same time, it must be remembered 
 that the Jewish element in Russia is comparatively 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA, 3 6 3 
 
 large ; and with reference to one prohibition, that of 
 liquor, though the Hebrew is sober himself, he 
 does not object to deal out for gain this curse of 
 humanity, and there are parts where the Jews have 
 got into their hands the grog-shops of the district to 
 the great demoralization and ruin of the people. 
 Whether, in their absence, someone else might not 
 do the same, I am unprepared to say. I simply notice 
 what I believe to be the fact. I met one intelligent 
 Russian lady, who began to put things before me from 
 the point of view of the Russian Government ; but, 
 unfortunately, our interview was cut short ; and hence, 
 personally, I do not consider that I have heard 
 properly both sides of the question. 
 
 When, on my return journey in December, I reached 
 South Russia, I inquired again of the highest authori- 
 ties and persons most likely to know the truth, and 
 they said things in Odessa had quieted down, and that 
 there was no more persecution there ; further, that at 
 the outset the people were not against the Jews, but 
 that the authorities had made them hostile, and that 
 whilst in Balta, Okna, Smeela, and New Prague, there 
 had been much ill-treatment of women, it was not so 
 in Odessa, where only one murder had been known. 
 I heard, however, of one authority, the vigorous Prince 
 Dondukoff Korsakoff, going into the streets himself in 
 a riot, and punishing one persecutor with his own fists. 
 English opinion in Odessa went to say that at the very 
 first the newspaper accounts made things out worse 
 than they were, but that the rectification of the error 
 sent the pendulum too far in the opposite direction, 
 and then the English people would not believe enough. 
 I thought perhaps I might see a little into the state 
 of affairs by going to the Russian frontier, where the 
 refugees were gathered, and the committee of relief 
 was sitting. At Odessa they said I should find at 
 Brody a few hundred, or, perhaps, a thousand families. 
 I, therefore, went out of my way, though sorely pressed, 
 
364 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and spent a day in going there, but not to much 
 purpose. I found indeed a committee sitting, at the 
 end of its labours, and a few men, women, and 
 children being brought into the room to be portioned 
 off; most of them fairly well dressed, many of them 
 young men with young wives, and most suitable 
 persons to emigrate ; but if I am to be candid, I 
 confess to the suspicion, that, whether persecution 
 had anything to do with it or not, such young husbands 
 might be very glad to get away from Russia to avoid 
 military conscription. I presented the Lord Mayor's 
 letter, and was asked to sit down ; but the meeting 
 being over in about an hour, I was left to go my way. 
 Thus much for the Western Jews, who looked upon 
 the Russians as their oppressors ; whereas, when I got 
 to Samarkand, the Eastern Jews regarded the Russians 
 as their deliverers, and the Israelites of Bokhara 
 longed for the Tsar to gain possession of them as 
 subjects. I took an early opportunity of securing a 
 private interview in Bokhara with Jews to whom I 
 had letters, but they appeared to be in great fear of 
 being heard or seen talking to me. Formerly, they 
 said, it was death to speak to a Russian, but that now 
 they might do so on matters of business ; but for all 
 that, despised as they were, they did not dare presume 
 to accept my invitation to visit us at the embassy.* 
 Vambery speaks of the Jews coming to Bokhara from 
 Kazim and Merv 150 years since, but those on the 
 spot told me 600 or 700 years ago, and that most 
 came from Persia, but some from Tunis, and among 
 
 * More than one prophecy respecting the Jews seems fulfilled in their 
 condition in Bokhara, for they are truly "a proverb and a by-word" 
 among the people (Deut. xxviii. 37 ; i Kings ix. 7). They still " dwell 
 alone" (as once in the ghettos of Europe), "not reckoned among the 
 nations" (Num. xxiii. 9), and these verses are still startlingly true: 
 " Among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of 
 thy foot have rest ; but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, 
 and failing of eyes and sorrow of mind : and thy life shall hang in 
 doubt before thee : and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have 
 none assurance of thy life" (Deut. xxviii. 65, 66). 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 365 
 
 the latter, one named Maiman. This man, or a relative, 
 was here in the time of Dr. Wolff's visit. I heard of 
 him as far off as Petersburg, where he was known to 
 the English Consul through having become a British 
 subject, and a mercantile gentleman has told me 
 that when Maiman came to London he astonished 
 the English merchants by his skilful knowledge of 
 cochineal. Maiman's son, or grandson, was said to 
 speak French, if not English, and I was told at Moscow 
 to inquire for him, but I found that he had been 
 killed in the Russian service. Some of the Bokhara 
 Jews had travelled to Europe, and one spoke a few 
 words of French, but not enough to converse. I 
 showed my letters, and asked the Jews if there was 
 anything that I could do for them, an offer they were 
 disposed at first to embrace. They thought I might 
 ask the Emir to release any Jewish prisoners he now 
 has, and this request seemed to be made with reference 
 to a former chief rabbi, who 1 5 years before had been 
 arrested, his goods confiscated, himself forced to turn 
 Muhammadan, and then left to serve in the palace, 
 where he is kept a prisoner still, and not allowed to 
 go out of the fortress. But upon further thoughts, 
 they considered that to ask for his release might lead 
 to his being put to death, and that my request was 
 more likely to bring evil than good upon them for 
 their mentioning the matter to me, so that they depre- 
 cated my attempting anything on their behalf. 
 
 On the Friday, as I have said, I expressed a wish 
 to see the synagogue, reputed to be 500 years old. We 
 passed through a narrow entrance, and came into a 
 room, perhaps 50 feet square, which had no pretence 
 to architectural beauty. There was a reading desk 
 of marble, and on this they began to show me their 
 manuscripts and books. I had read in Dr. Wolff's 
 memoir that the Jews of Bokhara had a manuscript 
 of the prophet Daniel, wherein, in Chapter viii. 14, the 
 words " Unto two thousand and three hundred days," 
 
366 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 read ''2,400" days (which agrees with the Vatican 
 copy of the Septuagint, whilst the Armenian transla- 
 tion reads 2,068), but I could not find this manuscript 
 in the synagogue. They showed me, however, a large 
 number of old toraJis, or copies of the law, thrown 
 together pell-mell on a platform or loft, midway 
 between the floor and the ceiling, which I suppose in 
 this case represented their genizah* Nothing would 
 satisfy me short of being allowed to mount the plat- 
 form, and see and handle the manuscripts, so that I 
 might convince myself that, as the rabbi asserted, they 
 were not ancient. A ladder was brought, therefore, 
 and up I went, accompanied by one of the Jews who 
 spoke a few words of French, which when my custo- 
 dians discovered, they were on tenterhooks, lest we 
 should speak privately, and they requested that I 
 would speak all I had to say through my interpreter. 
 They also made it apparent to the Jew that they did 
 not like his being on the platform with me. He 
 remained, however, whilst I looked at one or two, 
 which did, indeed, appear to be what I had been 
 told namely, disused Torahs though in some cases 
 apparently not much soiled. I found it was customary 
 for persons to leave at their death a sufficiency of 
 money to t purchase a new manuscript for the syna- 
 gogue, and I inferred that this must be a popular form 
 of legacy in Bokhara, for I should estimate there may 
 have been 20 or 30 on the loft, covered with dust, and 
 otherwise not inviting to a further search. 
 
 There was, moreover, another obstacle to my inves- 
 tigation just then, inasmuch as the Jews had crowded 
 in on the very tiptoe of expectation as to what the 
 foreigners could mean by visiting their synagogue ; 
 and when I presented to the rabbi my Jewish letters, 
 
 * It is in such a place the Jews put their copies of the law that are 
 soiled or ritually unfit for use, if only, for instance, a single word be 
 rubbed out by wear. So literally do they interpret the passage, " Ye 
 shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye 
 diminish ought from it" (Deut. iv. 2). 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 
 
 367 
 
 written in " the holy language," they swarmed round, 
 leaving us scarcely breathing-room. Some of the 
 boys with their coal-black eyes were extremely hand- 
 some, but of all the crowds I have ever been in, I 
 can remember none like those of the Asiatic Jews at 
 Khokand, Samarkand, and Bokhara. They were not 
 disrespectful or rude, and they made way when I 
 wished to move, but the curiosity depicted on their 
 countenances was most striking. We were, I suppose > 
 
 A JEW OF CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the first Englishmen they had seen, and that might 
 have gone for something ; but I fancy it raised their 
 wonderment more that two guests of the Emir, 
 living in the best embassy in the town, should bring 
 them a letter in their own tongue, come down to their 
 synagogue, and instead of despising them, as did the 
 haughty Muhammadans, be willing to enter their houses 
 and attend their sick for we had promised so to do. 
 Hence the people had come not in ones and twos, but 
 in crowds, and as we left the synagogue not only did 
 
368 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 they fill the passage, but some had clambered up to 
 the tops of the walls and the roofs of the houses. 
 
 As for our Muslim custodians, all this excitement 
 greatly perturbed them, and it seemed to " grieve them 
 exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the 
 welfare of the children of Israel."* Moreover, when 
 they discovered that the Jews were asking us to their 
 houses, they made efforts to prevent us, by what sort 
 of arguments I do not know, for I cut matters short 
 by addressing our dominus in a few w T ords of round 
 Saxon, telling him to hold his tongue, and speaking in 
 tones that conveyed to him my intention of going, 
 whether he liked it or not. Then, turning to the man 
 who wished our help, I motioned to him to lead the 
 way whilst Sevier and I followed, leaving our guardians 
 to do as they pleased. The crowds again pressed after 
 us with too much freedom I suppose Kolutch thought 
 for these despised Jews, for, being quick of temper, 
 and they not heeding his words to keep back, my man 
 assumed the policeman, and began to lay about him 
 with his riding-whip to keep them at a respectful dis- 
 tance. The poor Jews submitted with a disappointed 
 look, as if such treatment were only too common. 
 
 Meanwhile we had arrived, and the man whose 
 daughter was sick, the multitude crowding, but there 
 entered only Yakoob and a few more, and the father 
 and mother of the girl. The women were not veiled, 
 and, Englishman like, I offered my hand to the mother, 
 who took it, though I have been since told that it is 
 contrary to rabbinical teaching for a woman to shake 
 hands with a man. Then, looking at the girl, we found 
 her suffering from ophthalmia. Sevier prescribed, or 
 promised medicine, and then we were entreated to go 
 to another patient, at some little distance. We went 
 to find an old rabbi with a paralyzed limb ; and when 
 Sevier stooped to examine it, the patriarch was 
 affected to tears, and, placing his hands on Sevier's 
 
 * Neh. ii. 10. 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 369 
 
 head, he gave him his blessing. Sevier would have 
 recommended galvanism for his legs and back, but as 
 that was not to be had in Bokhara, he wrote a pre- 
 scription to be made up at Samarkand. I do not 
 know whether by this time the Emir's men thought 
 they had gone too far, but they must have seen that I 
 was annoyed, and they accordingly proceeded apolo 
 getically to explain that with the crowds pressing round 
 they were apprehensive for my safety, and hence their 
 desire that I should not venture into the houses. Fruit 
 was now offered us in the rabbi's house, which we sat 
 
 A JEWESS OF BOKHARA. 
 
 down and ate, and talked, hearing nothing, however, 
 of ancient books or writings. 
 
 I had thought it possible, before leaving England, 
 that I might find a Hebrew manuscript or two worth 
 bringing home, and not trusting to my slender acquaint- 
 ance with Hebrew I went to the British Museum and 
 consulted on the subject Dr. Ginsburg, who told me 
 what kind of manuscripts would be worth buying, and 
 the contrary, also by what signs I might judge approxi- 
 mately as to their antiquity or otherwise. I had also 
 spoken upon the same subject, and received one or two 
 
 24 
 
370 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 hints from Dr. Albert Harkavy, of the Imperial Library 
 at Petersburg. Accordingly, I left Petersburg duly 
 primed, and, strange to say, met my first manuscript 
 at Moscow, recently arrived from Bokhara by the 
 hands of a Jew, who was said to have acquired it at 
 a cost of ^500. This, they informed me, was about 
 ^300 more than a Hebrew manuscript, with points, 
 of the whole Bible would cost. I began to apply my 
 tests, and fancied that I had made my little learning 
 go a long way, for pointing out to the learned rabbi 
 who showed it me, that n and p! were differently 
 formed, likewise 1 and ', and that consequently the 
 manuscript could not be very ancient, the old bookworm 
 said to his fellow-rabbi in German, which he thought I 
 should not understand, " That's a knowing fellow ! " 
 
 The manuscript struck me as of singular beauty, 
 by reason of its marvellous illumination and the fine- 
 ness of the Massoretic writing. When I reached 
 Bokhara I told the Jews I had seen the manuscript, 
 which to them was news. They knew the book. It 
 had been sold by a woman they thought for ^"100 
 but they did not know whether it had been taken to 
 Constantinople or to Russia. When I arrived in 
 England I chanced to meet Dr. Ginsburg, at the 
 British Museum, and was informing him of the 
 treasure I had met, when I was told that if I would 
 come downstairs I could perhaps see it again. I did 
 so, and there it was ! The owner had brought it all 
 the way from Bokhara to London, and now it enriches 
 our national collection a manuscript that has turned 
 out to be of great importance to textual criticism as 
 well as to the art of Jewish illumination. 
 
 The peculiarity of the illuminations consists in 
 their exhibiting a mixture not only of French and 
 Flemish art, but of German and Italian, interspersed 
 with decorations of an Oriental character, more 
 especially Persian* At the end, within richly illu- 
 
 * The manuscript consists of three volumes large quarto, the first 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 371 
 
 minated double borders, and in letters of gold, the 
 writer of the codex describes himself and the dis- 
 tinguished patron for whom it was written as follows : 
 " I, Samuel the Scribe, son of Rabbi Samuel Ibn 
 Musa peace be upon him ! have written these four- 
 and-twenty books by the help of Him who is en- 
 throned between the cherubim, at the order of the 
 distinguished, etc., Rabbi Joseph, son of the honoured 
 
 Rabbi Jehudah, called Alchakim I finished the 
 
 manuscript in the month Kislev, on the sixth day of 
 the week, on the preparation for the Sabbath, in the 
 year of the creation 5243 (i.e., A.D. 1483), in Lisbon." 
 
 Hence, when I saw the manuscript at Moscow, I 
 was right in my supposition that it was of late date, 
 but Dr. Ginsburg says that even a cursory examination 
 shows that it is a careful copy of an ancient and model 
 coclex, and that it in turn was designed for a model. 
 
 Thus I lighted upon what Dr. Ginsburg says, so far 
 as he knows, is "the most richly illuminated Hebrew 
 manuscript of the Old Testament in the world" ; and 
 though I did not know its full value until I reached 
 England, I was careful to ask in Bokhara whether 
 
 containing the Pentateuch, wherein not only is the first word of each of 
 the five books written in letters of gold, in a beautifully illuminated 
 border, occupying the space of six lines, but every one of the 53 
 pericopes, into which the Pentateuch is divided, is indicated by a rich 
 illumination in the margin containing the word HD (pericope) in letters 
 of gold. The second volume contains " the Prophets " in the following 
 order : Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 
 Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, 
 Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The first page of each 
 of these prophets has a highly illuminated border, and the first word of 
 each book is not only written in letters of gold, but is in a square on a 
 beautiful groundwork of delicate penmanship. Two leaves separate the 
 earlier from the later prophets, and on these are written in the border, in 
 letters of gold, the celebrated Massorah registering the number of verses 
 in the Hebrew Bible ; and in ordinary ink the alphabetical list of hafiax 
 legomeiia, or words occurring only once with and once without the 
 letter 1 at the beginning. In volume iii., of 186 foMos, the books are in 
 the following unusual order : Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Daniel, 
 Ruth, Canticles, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Ezra, and Nehe- 
 miah. After the sacred text are 9 folios, 7 of which are filled with 
 Massoretic and rabbinical lore. 
 
372 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 there were any more like it. They replied " No." I 
 confess, however, to leaving the city with a regret that 
 I did not make another effort, and search to the bottom 
 the Torahs on the synagogue loft. As a matter of 
 fact we saw none of the principal Jews after our visit 
 on Friday. The Emir's men evidently did not wish 
 us to go into the houses of the people, and the Jews 
 were afraid as to what might be done if they received 
 us. Two Jews came to the embassy on the following 
 day, one with bad eyes, and the other inviting us to 
 his house, but also telling Yakoob characteristically 
 that he had European "clothes to sell." We had 
 neither time nor opportunity to avail ourselves of this 
 offer, but on the Sunday a knot of half-a-dozen Jews 
 and two Jewesses came to the embassy for treat- 
 ment. Of the latter, one had slight goitre, the other 
 ophthalmia ; and, of the men, one had a weak hand, 
 and another dry and chapped fingers. 
 
 After this we met no more Jews in Central Asia. 
 
 I am anticipating a little, but by way of finishing with 
 this subject, I may add it occurred to me after leaving 
 Bokhara, when writing my last letter of thanks to the 
 Emir, that it might possibly do good, to express 
 guardedly to my royal Mussulman host my good wishes 
 for Israel, and I did so in the following words : 
 
 " PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK, 
 
 " October 17-29^, 1882. 
 
 " To His Majesty the Emir of Bokhara. 
 
 II SIR, 
 
 " According to my promise, I hasten to inform your 
 Majesty of my safe arrival here, and once more to 
 express my thanks for all the kindness I have received 
 in passing through Bokhara. I will not weary your 
 Majesty by mentioning the many things that have 
 pleased and interested me, but if I may be allowed to 
 mention one thing that has pained me in my travels in 
 Central Asia, it is the condition of the Jews. 
 
 " I was told in Samarkand that the Jews in Bokhara 
 
THE JEWS OF BOKHARA. 373 
 
 are placed under restrictions, and on visiting them was 
 sorry to find them so cramped for room, and possessing 
 only one synagogue. May I not venture to hope that 
 your Majesty will be pleased to allow them to build 
 other synagogues if they wish ? 
 
 " Your Majesty will doubtless remember that the 
 Jews are God's ancient people, to whom He gave His 
 first written revelation, and Jesus Christ, our great 
 Christian Prophet, was also a Jew. It would therefore 
 be a thing, I am sure, pleasing to the God your 
 Majesty worships, that His people in your midst 
 should have similar privileges to your other subjects. 
 
 " We, in England, and other nations in Europe, 
 used once to place many and severe restrictions upon 
 the Jews, but we are now ashamed of this, and in 
 England we give them full rights with ourselves. I 
 sincerely hope your Majesty will be pleased, on con- 
 sideration, to do the same, for I ask this out of love 
 for the people, amongst whom I have friends in 
 England. 
 
 " Let me once more thank your Majesty for the 
 splendid hospitality I have received in Bokhara such 
 as I have received in no other country in the world 
 and allow me to remain, 
 
 ''Your Majesty's obedient Servant, 
 
 " HENRY LANSDELL." 
 
 What fruit this letter bore I have not heard, but 
 thus finished my intercourse with a scattered remnant 
 of that wonderful race, amongst whom I had seen 
 much of interest, by whom I had been kindly received, 
 and on whose behalf I would willingly have done 
 more. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 
 
 Bokhara as a place of learning. Visit to a primary school. A ride 
 outside the walls. Mosque of Namazi-gah. Visit to the Kush- 
 beggi. The Emir's palace and curiosities. Conversation with the 
 Kush-beggi and his son. Some of my requests refused. Value of 
 presents received. Visit to the bazaar. Commerce and trade of 
 Bokhara. The Righistan. Bokhara after dark. Standing up for 
 my rights. Ride towards Katte-Kurgan. The lepers' quarter. 
 Fear of punishment. Return to our lodgings. 
 
 I NOTICED, in my Uzbeg interpreter, that, when 
 he was speaking to the Emir or other native 
 notables, he was careful to add to the word Bokhara, 
 " Al-sherif," or " the noble"; " Bokhara the noble," 
 spoken in a religious sense, being the official name 
 among the Muhammadans for this seat of so-called 
 learning and piety. Accordingly we were all agog to 
 see the University of Colleges and Schools, whither 
 Muslim students are said to come from distant 
 countries, even Siberia, as to a mediaeval Oxford ; 
 and as we were taking a morning ride during the 
 Saturday of our stay at Bokhara, I inquired the 
 meaning of a sing-song noise that proceeded from 
 a house we were passing, and learned that it was a 
 school. We dismounted immediately, and, entering, 
 found therein from 25 to 30 scholars, of ages from 
 6 to 13. It was a good example of one of the 
 maktab or lower schools, just as in the medr esses we 
 had seen specimens of the upper schools, of Central 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 375 
 
 Asia. Both are usually attached to the mosques, and 
 maintained on the wakuf or foundation ; but if the 
 schools are not so maintained, they are kept up partly 
 at the expense of the people generally, and of the 
 parents of the scholars. The teachers of the lower 
 schools are usually chosen from among the inhabitants 
 of the district in which the school is situated, and who 
 are taxed at the rate of from 6d. to is. per house for 
 the teachers' support. The building we entered was 
 small and simple enough a single room roofed with 
 a dome, having several doors instead of windows, and 
 niches around for shoes, clothes, etc. On the floor, 
 and parallel to the walls, were raised benches, about 
 14 inches apart, consisting of beams of wood 10 inches 
 high. The pupils sometimes sit on these, or, as we 
 saw them, on the ground, their books resting on the 
 beams. Tables or desks there are none. The pupils 
 sit with their faces towards the centre of the room, in 
 the direction of the teacher, who is in the middle of 
 them, and thus, like Saul of Tarsus, they are " brought 
 up at his feet."* The floor is usually covered with 
 plaited reed mats or simple straw. I asked how much 
 the scholars paid, and found that their fees were partly 
 tendered in kind, and by way of presents ; but M. Klihn, 
 who has written upon the subject somewhat fully, 
 mentions as an ordinary school fee on beginning from 
 $d. to is. per month, with a present of cakes and 
 raisins. 
 
 In these lower schools the most unsophisticated 
 simplicity reigns. There is no division into classes, 
 but by the side of one scholar sing-songing the alphabet 
 is another learning the verses of Khoja Hafiz, or not 
 less loudly reading the Koran. In the school we 
 entered they all read together, swinging their bodies 
 backwards and forwards, though one boy was permitted 
 to read alone for us to hear. I asked about school 
 hours and holidays, and found that the boys are present 
 
 * Acts xxii. 3. 
 
70 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 from six in the morning till five at night, with an 
 interval of two hours at noon. They go on, moreover, 
 all the year round, except Fridays and a week at each 
 of the three Muhammadan festivals. On Thursday each 
 pupil usually brings his teacher a specially prepared 
 cake, and on that day also the studies close at noon, 
 the teacher, before dismissing his pupils, examining 
 their nails, and banging their heads with a book if 
 they are not found clean. But Thursday is also the 
 day for paying off disciplinary scores. Thus, if a boy 
 has played truant, some of his fellows are sent in 
 search, and, on bringing him back, the culprit is laid 
 on the floor, his feet lifted in a noose, and he is 
 bastinadoed, the right of giving the first blow belong- 
 ing to his captors, as a reward for finding him. On 
 Thursday, too, the teacher usually shows them the 
 attitudes of devotion, and concludes by reciting a 
 prayer. Education among the Mussulman women is 
 at a very low ebb. There are, nevertheless, in most 
 towns one or two bibi-kalfas, whose duty it is to teach 
 girls, for the most part those of the rich. In the 
 school we entered at Bokhara I had a little conversa- 
 tion with the teacher, and thought to surprise him by 
 saying that in some of our English schools we have as 
 many as a thousand children ; to which he replied with 
 the greatest calmness, as if to give me a Roland for 
 my Oliver, that they had many schools, but only about 
 25 scholars in each. His was only one of many 
 instances wherein the self-complacency and ignorance 
 of the Asiatics struck me forcibly, for they seemed not 
 to have the least idea that they were behind other 
 people, or needed any improvement. 
 
 Remounting our horses we went outside the town, 
 by the Saleh-Kaneh gate as before, but turning now 
 to the right, my intention being to ride round the 
 remainder of the walls ; but we stopped awhile oppo- 
 site the Namazgah gate, at the mosque Namazi-gah, 
 said to be 350 years old, and where prayers are read 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 377 
 
 at the two feasts, Ramazan and Kurban. As this 
 building was tolerably high, though some distance 
 from the walls, I wished to ascend, and did so, our 
 aged " dominus " clambering up to the top after me. 
 We could see several of the prominent buildings stand- 
 ing above the walls, such as the chief minaret, and 
 the blue dome of the Jumma mosque close by, as well 
 as the citadel, and the domes surmounting many 
 medresses ; but we were too far off to get anything 
 like a view of the whole of the town. We could see a 
 good long stretch of the wall, looking truly ancient, 
 and perhaps rather imposing, with no houses or build- 
 ings outside, with battlements and buttresses, which 
 from a distance appear like towers, though not higher 
 than the wall itself. The buttresses are called burj, 
 and are 131 in number. The wall is 7 miles 980 
 yards round, 24 feet high, and 10 feet thick at the 
 base.^ 
 
 There were no houses near the mosque, on whose 
 summit we were standing, so I took occasion to twit 
 Mirza Yusuf about his fear that we should overlook 
 the apartments of the women. Then, remounting our 
 horses, I galloped off to finish the remaining gates, 
 namely, Sheikh- Jelal, Kara-Kul, Shir-ghiran, and so 
 entered, as before, the gate Talipaj. This we did in 
 about half an hour, including the stoppage at Namazgah, 
 but the run was not so long as we had had on the 
 
 * The condition of the walls in Central Asia more than once brought 
 up Scripture parallels. At Aulie-Ata they presented a scene such as 
 Nehemiah (ii. 13) saw when he "went out by night, and viewed the 
 walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down." The rent and cracked 
 walls of Etchmiadzin, in Armenia, reminded me of the derisive expres- 
 sion of Tobiah, " That which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even 
 break down their stone wall" (Neh. iv. 3) ; but I do not remember being 
 struck with a similar multiplicity of cracks in Central Asia, where I 
 think the walls were thicker. Once more, in the so-called Jasper 
 wainscoting of Tamarlane's tomb, we saw an exemplification of 
 Oriental magnificence pictured in the expression, "the foundations of 
 the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of costly stones " 
 (Rev. xxi. 19), or better, perhaps, " I will lay thy foundations with 
 sapphires, and I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of 
 carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones "(Isa. liv. 11-12). 
 
378 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 preceding occasion. It was an autumnal morning, 
 decidedly cool, not to say cold ; so by the time we 
 reached the embassy I told our old gentleman that, as 
 the morning was fresh, I thought he might like a 
 warming, whereupon Fazul, seeing the joke, looked at 
 me, and expressively hid his face in his khalat to laugh. 
 Our custodian took it good-naturedly, however, saying 
 that an occasional gallop was good, since it stirred the 
 blood. 
 
 The Kush-beggi had appointed noon as the hour 
 for receiving us, but it was not till some time later he 
 sent, with apologies for delay, to say that he was ready. 
 We therefore paraded through the streets with our 
 retinue and certain of the local dignitaries, and came 
 to the Righistan, or public place. On one side of this 
 is the citadel, or palace of the Emir, built on a square 
 mound, 35 or 40 feet high, and about a mile in circuit, 
 with an area of 24 acres. On this area, surrounded by 
 a high crenelated wall, are built the palace, the houses 
 of the Kush-beggi, and certain of the court grandees 
 and their retinue. At the entrance are two lofty 
 towers, and, looking up, I noticed the clock made by 
 Giovanni Orlandi, who fell into the hands of Nasr- 
 Ullah, and when condemned to death because he would 
 not turn Mussulman, was pardoned on promising to 
 make the despot a machine for measuring time. There 
 were also a few cannons lying about, and, as we drew 
 near, we were saluted by the soldiery and sentinels 
 presenting arms. Things had altered, I thought, since 
 the last of my countrymen rode his horse in the 
 Righistan, and since the first was allowed to be there 
 only on foot. For my own part I did not give the 
 matter a thought, and dismounted only at the foot of 
 the inclined way that leads to the palace. 
 
 The Kush-beggi (or lord of the Beks) is the chief 
 adviser and confidential officer of the sovereign, the first 
 person in Bokhara after the Emir. He manages all the 
 commerce of the city, and its dealings with neighbouring 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 379 
 
 countries. He sits at certain times on a raised platform 
 under the archway at the entrance of the citadel to 
 transact business with those who enter.* 1 Besides this 
 he is his Majesty's viceroy. The Kush-beggi is the 
 chief representative of authority when the Emir is 
 absent. During this time, in keeping with the Bokhariot 
 idea that the greatest man in a city must always remain 
 at home, the Kush-beggi is said never to leave the 
 town. He was not sitting in the gate at the time we 
 entered, but above, as he usually does, I believe, when 
 the Emir is away, and then another officer takes the 
 place of judgment below. 
 
 We noticed this portal arrangement in many towns, 
 but at the fortress my attention was attracted therefrom 
 by some curiosities hanging on the walls. Among them 
 was a huge whip, 7 feet long, with a handle of about 4 
 feet, the thin end of the lash being three inches, the 
 thick end 5 inches, and the middle about 8 inches 
 in circumference. I wondered what it could be for, 
 and was told that it belonged to a former monarch, 
 who, perhaps, used it as a fighting weapon. When 
 some of the courtiers were telling me next day how 
 
 * Just as " Daniel sat in the gate of the king" (ii. 49), so it was 
 "beside the way of the gate " that Absalom said to those who came 
 for judgment, "There is no man deputed of the king to hear thee " 
 (2 Sam. xv. 2, 3). Again, with David in a critical time, "The king 
 stood by the gate side," and confidence was restored when "the king 
 arose and sat in the gate" (2 Sam. xviii. 4, and xix. 8). Moreover, 
 since trials are conducted there, "to turn aside the poor in the gate " 
 meant "to give unjust judgment" (Amos v. 12). "The gate" also 
 served in the East as a place for public buying and selling. Abraham 
 thus purchased Macpelah (Gen. xxiii. 10). Similarly Boaz went to the 
 gate for witnesses to his pa) ing the kalim, on taking Ruth to wife. 
 And in Samaria, after a siege, corn was sold there (2 Kings vii. i). 
 The gate was a place of debate for the public good. " Hamor and 
 Shechem communed there with the men of their city," etc. (Gen. 
 xxxiv. 20). A " fool openeth not his mouth in the gate " (Prov. xxiv. 7) ; 
 but the gate was a place for prominent persons, and for Mordecai to 
 refuse there to reverence Haman was particularly insulting to the court 
 favourite (Esther iii. 2, v. 9). Job lamented the bright days when "he 
 went out to the gate through the city" (Job xxix. 7). Lot was sitting 
 in the gate of Sodom, when two angels came at even (Gen. xix. i). 
 Lastly, for Abraham's seed to overcome the nobles and councils of a 
 nation was to possess the gate of his enemies (Gen. xxii. 17). 
 
3So THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 prisoners were flogged, I asked if this great whip were 
 used for the purpose, whereon they said indignantly 
 that it was made by a lunatic, and presented to 
 Abdullah Khan. This is a less poetic origin than 
 that given by Maieff, who calls it the whip of the hero 
 Rustum, and adds that formerly there were seven of 
 such whips, but the "most religious" Emir Nasr- 
 Ullah distributed six as relics of the past among the 
 dervishes and other holy men of Bokhara. The 
 courtiers added that a snake-like staff, hanging near 
 the whip, belonged to a saint, and, when dipped in 
 water, possessed curative properties. Another thing I 
 noticed in the passage at the entrance to the palace 
 was a narrow shelf on either side, which served as a 
 sleeping place for the guard and attendants.^ At 
 length, after passing through some passages, we came 
 to the house of the Vizier. 
 
 The Kushi-beggi, a man of 60 or 65, and his son 
 came out to greet us, and we were conducted into the 
 grand man's chamber, that, for a wonder, had two 
 glass windows, and contained a French clock. I 
 knew, as I have said, that I was under surveillance, 
 and that my deeds, if not my words, were reported 
 to the Emir ; for while some of the attendants were 
 on one occasion waiting for me outside a house, two 
 of them were reading over their notes, not noticing 
 there was a man near who understood them, and who 
 heard them read the record of my ill-deeds in galloping 
 away from them round the walls, notwithstanding that 
 I was told to go slowly. Remembering, therefore, 
 that my note-taking had brought me under suspicion, 
 I began by telling the Kush-beggi of my travels ; that 
 I was an author, and, therefore, I took notes of what 
 
 * Illustrating so naturally 2 Sam. xi. 8, 9. " Uriah departed out of the 
 king's house, and there went out after him a mess of meat from the 
 king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the 
 servants of his lord, and went not down to his house." At Ura-Tiube 
 I observed that a Russian soldier, who was sleeping in the open air, 
 had placed his bedstead close to the front door of the commandant. 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 381 
 
 I saw. " He might perhaps have heard of this," I 
 said. Also, I wrote books. I had written about 
 Siberia, and the Emperor of Russia had accepted a 
 copy, as also Count Tolstoy, and had been much 
 pleased. Then I showed him an official letter to this 
 effect from the Russian Embassy in London, together 
 with my letters from General Chernaieff and the 
 Lord Mayor. I added, moreover, that I should 
 perhaps write a book concerning Bokhara ; and that 
 I might see their customs, I requested to be allowed to 
 be present at a circumcision, a marriage, and a funeral. 
 
 To this he replied that inquiry should be made if 
 there were such things going on, and he would let 
 us know. 
 
 I then asked to be allowed to see the Emir's library, 
 but the old fox replied that his Majesty had taken 
 the key. But I said that the Emir had given me 
 permission, and it was strange there should be any 
 difficulty about the key. He then proposed to send 
 a messenger for it to the Emir, but I disappointedly 
 replied that was of no use, to which he said "Very 
 well ! " I inquired about the antiquities promised 
 by his master, but he said the Emir had not written 
 to ask them to find any, although, if I desired it, he 
 would send to the bazaar and have them brought to 
 me. I thought it was of no use to accept this offer, 
 and asked that a mullah should be sent to me who 
 could decipher inscriptions on coins. The Kush-beggi 
 said the man should be sent, but he did not come. I 
 next requested to see the two prisons, called the 
 Kana-Khaneh and the Zindan. I could not, he said, 
 without the Emir's permission, nor could I be allowed 
 to ascend the great minaret. 
 
 Upon this I changed my tactics, and said I must 
 tell General Chernaieff that when his visitors came 
 to Bokhara they were not allowed to see the things 
 they wished, to which the old man said that they 
 could not do things contrary to their law. " But 
 
382 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 surely," I said, ''it is not against your law for me 
 to see a prison ! " He replied that in this case the 
 Emir must be asked ; whereupon, finding myself no 
 more successful than before, I told him that if he 
 came to London he would be allowed to see the 
 prisons, and ascend our highest building as often as 
 he pleased. For this he thanked me, and appeared 
 relieved by the remark. 
 
 I then invited him to ask me any questions he 
 pleased. He at first declined, until I drew him out 
 by telling him that our Queen was the greatest monarch 
 in the world. " Is she rich ?" he asked. I replied that 
 for her private purse she has 6,000,000 tengas a year, 
 and that some of our nobles also have as much. On 
 the previous day I had told the Kush-beggi's mes- 
 sengers that so great was our Empire that the sun never 
 set thereon ; upon which they pleaded that " surely it 
 must set for a few hours ? " Then, discovering that 
 they did not understand the earth's rotundity, although 
 one of them had travelled to Petersburg, I took a 
 melon, and roughly explained it ; but I fancied they 
 thought I was "cramming" them. It occurred to 
 me now to repeat my astronomical and geographical 
 lectures to the Kush-beggi, and I again spoke of our 
 Queen as ruling over an Empire on which the sun 
 never sets. Was his Excellency aware, I asked, that 
 the sun did not move round the earth, but the 
 earth round the sun ? That, he replied, was their 
 opinion ; and I then went on to explain my paradox 
 by stating that the sun was always shining upon some 
 part of our dominions. Further, since they had told 
 me, as a sign I took it of their greatness and import- 
 ance, that they had eight guest-houses, and received 
 many guests in the course of the year at Bokhara, 
 I told him that we had 10,000 visitors a year come 
 to London. Did he think, I asked, that his son would 
 come ? and, in case of such an event happening, I gave 
 him my card, hoping to see him. 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 383 
 
 During the conversation the festal board had been 
 spread for us with fruit and viands. I had observed 
 that up to the present we had nowhere seen in the 
 khanate any diaper or damask linen, but our napkins 
 had been made by cutting from corner to corner a square 
 of common brown calico, thus making a triangular 
 serviette of original design, the table-cloth being usually 
 of white calico. When, therefore, at the Kush-beggi's, 
 
 I saw on the table a damask napkin, I said to Sevier, 
 
 II Ah ! here is linen at last ! " when, upon examining it, 
 I found it was my own napkin, which, with our knives 
 and forks, they had brought up from the embassy, the 
 Kush-beggi, I presume, having no such furniture to 
 his table. I do not remember that the Kush-beggi or 
 his son partook of the food with us, but they sat at 
 the table. I inquired whether arrangements had been 
 made to get us to Charjui in two days, and was 
 answered in the affirmative. I then rose to go, but 
 was pressed to stay longer, whereupon we renewed 
 our conversation, and by way of starting a topic I 
 asked if he remembered two Englishmen named 
 Stoddart and Conolly being put to death at Bokhara, 
 about 40 years ago? He replied that he was then 
 Bek of Samarkand, and he did not remember Dr. Wolff 
 coming to inquire into the matter. He appeared not to 
 like the subject, whereupon I proceeded to administer 
 another potion, that I thought would not be sweet, by 
 asking if he remembered the visit of Dr. Schuyler. 
 He said "Yes," and I reminded him that Schuyler pur- 
 chased a slave, whereupon both father and son nodded 
 their heads as certainly remembering that, and I added 
 that I was very glad that they had no slavery now. 
 M. Stremoukhoff's assertion that slaves are still 
 bought in the khanate has led me to wish that I had 
 made some inquiries upon the subject, but I heard of 
 nothing of the kind anywhere in the khanate. I had 
 asked, on the day after our arrival, to see the interior 
 of the palace, which was then refused ; and now, on 
 
384 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 leaving the room, I expressed a wish to see more of 
 the building ; but again the old fellow said that his 
 Majesty's apartments were locked up, and the remaining 
 portion of the palace was occupied by the women. At 
 parting he shook my hand warmly twice, and thanked 
 me for my visit, but I had summed him up as an 
 old fox, who had utterly disgusted me by his want of 
 straight-forwardness. The Kush-beggi, however, at 
 Bokhara has great influence with an Emir, especially 
 in the case of the present one, who is said to be 
 very easily led by the opinions of others. I had sent 
 presents for both the Kush-beggi and his son, among 
 other things of a Persian Bible, Arabic New Testament, 
 a watch and chain, india-rubber cushions, a compass, 
 articles for toilet use, etc., in return for which he sent 
 me a piece of silk and four black curly Kara-Kul lamb- 
 skins. 
 
 My presents received had by this time so increased 
 that I was obliged to think what to do with them. 
 I had crossed the frontier with two horses, and now 
 was the possessor of six ! I was given to understand 
 that I need not be at all nice about selling my presents 
 even under the noses of those who gave them ; nay, 
 that in all probability the Emir himself would buy the 
 horses again, to present to his next guest. Yakoob 
 and Kolutch valued my four royal steeds to be worth, 
 in all, ;io, but when a horse-dealer was sent for, he 
 offered only 8 for the lot ! This was rather amusing 
 to one accustomed to English prices, and since I did 
 not know what cattle I might need in crossing the 
 desert, I determined to take two of my presents down 
 the Oxus, and the remaining two I sold for the sum of 
 68s. 
 
 After returning from the Kush-beggi we went to 
 the bazaar, where also we had been several times pre- 
 viously. Were I to speak of the commerce of Bokhara 
 without book, and as it appeared to my limited obser- 
 vation, I should almost be tempted to say that more 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 385 
 
 merchandise crosses London Bridge in an hour than 
 enters Bokhara in a twelvemonth ! M. Petrovsky 
 speaks of the bazaar of Bokhara as five times as large 
 as that of Tashkend, and he estimates the transactions 
 of the Bokhara market at ,4,000,000. 
 
 Business is carried on in 24 caravansaries and 6 
 timis, besides the ordinary shops. As in other Asiatic 
 towns, various kinds of merchandise are sold apart. 
 So, again, the various trades are localized in streets, 
 as, e.g., for selling machines for silk-w T inding, copper- 
 smiths, bakers,* etc. In the shoemakers' street were 
 skins for sale at half-a-crown each. In the armourers' 
 street I secured a capital helmet of mail, a powder- 
 flask, and a battle-axe ; and, in another street, some 
 rude china inkstands and cups of local manufacture, 
 which have, fortunately, come safely to England, where 
 I presume they are unique in origin, if not transcendent 
 in beauty. Another curiosity I obtained is a woman's 
 veil (called c/iasman], made in part of horse-hair, and 
 closely resembling the hair-cloth used in England for 
 upholstery, as also a woman's cotton khalat (called 
 pharange], similar in form to that of a man. In 
 wearing it, however, the garment, instead of hanging 
 from the shoulders, does so from the head, the collar 
 being made to encircle the veiled face ; and instead 
 of the woman putting her arms into the sleeves, these 
 are pinned together, and allowed to fall down the back. 
 As winter was approaching, we were advised to provide 
 ourselves with fur slmbas, or robes, for crossing the 
 desert. We found a serai set apart for this trade. 
 In form the serai was a quadrangular building, very 
 much like a medresse, with the interior resembling 
 a college quadrangle of two stories. The centre was 
 given up to horses and camels, and bales of merchan- 
 dise, the rooms in the lower story were for warehouses, 
 and in the upper story were rooms approached along 
 
 * So in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was to be given daily a piece of bread 
 out of the bakers' street (Jer. xxxvii. 21). 
 
 25 
 
386 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 a wide gallery, and in each of them fur shubas were 
 hanging for sale. The shubas were lined with various 
 furs, specially that of the jackal, and common ones 
 differed in price from 30^. to 635-., there being few 
 of the best kinds. It was probably a little too early 
 in the season to see a large collection. We had a few 
 coins brought to us, but all the fine promises of the 
 Emir and Kush-beggi about searching for antiquities 
 came to little or nothing. I tried to get some native 
 books, and succeeded to a small extent, but only, as 
 it were, by stealth, for I saw nothing like a bookseller's 
 shop, and had to purchase through a middle man. 
 
 The streets and lanes of Bokhara (which are not 
 named separately, but only as belonging to a certain 
 quarter of the town) are exceedingly tortuous and 
 narrow, varying in width, as Khanikoff says, from 
 40 inches to 20 feet. It did not need many people, 
 therefore, to give the bazaars a very busy appearance, 
 and everywhere crowds attended us, staring at the 
 strangers, especially when we stopped to make pur- 
 chases, so that our horses could make way only very 
 slowly. One of the liveliest places was the Righistan, 
 which we first saw on the day following our arrival. 
 On two sides are five mosques and medresses, and 
 on a third side is a pool, around which loungers 
 congregate. Here w r e dismounted, the better to go 
 in and out among the stalls for the sale of small wares, 
 and afterwards visited several mosques and medresses. 
 Near the Medresse Divan-beggi is a square pool, 
 called Liabehaus Divan-beggi, the sides being of 
 square stones, with 8 steps to the water, and shaded 
 around with mulberry-trees of a century's growth. 
 Here are numbers of tea and refreshment stalls, from 
 which one may see the people drinking, bathing, or 
 performing their ceremonial ablutions in the pool. 
 
 After finishing our business on Saturday afternoon, 
 we called again at the Russian serai. This kept us 
 till dusk, so that we wended our way homewards after 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 387 
 
 sunset, and saw the miserable, deserted appearance 
 of the streets by night. There were no street lamps, 
 and the few men about were by no means desirable 
 company, for I heard that lately not a night had 
 passed without a murder or a robbery, and that the 
 Emir had issued permission to the people, when they 
 saw a thief on their premises, to shoot him, also that 
 several robbers had been publicly executed. The 
 streets of Bokhara, therefore, were no places for moon- 
 light wanderings, and having reached the embassy we 
 spent a quiet evening, as we had arranged to visit, on 
 the morrow, the shrine of the patron saint of Bokhara,, 
 and, if possible, the lepers' quarter. 
 
 Next morning the Kush-beggi sent to felicitate me 
 as usual, and, to my great disgust, added that, as we 
 were to travel on the morrow, we might rest, and not 
 go out that day, which Yakoob interpreted as a small 
 piece of revenge for our galloping round the walls. 
 I was somewhat nettled, feeling that we had not come 
 to be prisoners, but guests, and ordered our horses to 
 be saddled immediately. I then told the messengers 
 that we had made our arrangements, and intended to 
 go to Baha-uddin, to which we hoped the Kush-beggi 
 would not object. Upon this our custodians became 
 perturbed, especially Mirza Yusuf, who, as he saw 
 me about to mount my horse, got in a great fever, and 
 said that they had received many Russian embassies, 
 but that none of the others acted thus, but obeyed 
 what they were told. I replied, " Ah ! yes, but you 
 have never had an English embassy before ! " and 
 then, declining to wait, I bade him tell his master 
 where we were gone, and if the Kush-beggi had any 
 message to send, to bring it after us. The old gentle- 
 man mounted his horse somewhat in dudgeon, and went 
 off hastily, whilst I and my party, and one or more of 
 the Emir's men, sallied forth to the suburbs out of the 
 Samarkand gate on the high road to Katte- Kurgan. 
 
 As we rode towards Baha-uddin we passed through 
 
388 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 gardens, along a broad avenue intersected with ditches, 
 and planted with trees. This road is much frequented 
 by pilgrims on their way to the tomb of the renowned 
 Baha-uddin Nakishbend, who died in 1303, and was 
 the founder of an order of dervishes bearing his name, 
 to whom are attributed the origination of those religious 
 extravagancies that distinguish Eastern from Western 
 Islamism. He is looked upon as a second Muhammad, 
 and a pilgrimage to his tomb consequently as nearly 
 equal in merit to a journey to Mecca. Near the shrine 
 of the saint is the tomb of the great Abdullah Khan, a 
 photograph of which I fortunately secured. There is 
 also a sort of college for beggars. 
 
 I cannot say, however, that I expected the shrine 
 and its surroundings to repay me for the trouble of the 
 journey. What I really wanted was to visit the poor 
 lepers. I had been taught at Karshi the folly of 
 directly asking to see them, and I suspected that I should 
 get only a refusal if I repeated the request in Bokhara ; 
 but I had heard that we must pass the lepers' quarter 
 in going to Baha-uddin, and hence my zeal to tread 
 the pilgrim's path. I was disappointed, however; for 
 when we reached the Makhau Khanek, where there 
 were said to be about 150 houses, we saw no single 
 building that invited entrance, nor any people about, 
 though we were given to understand that the lepers 
 were allowed to come into the town and beg. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Kush-beggi's messengers had not 
 overtaken us, and now that I had attained, so far as 
 I could, the object of my running away, I began to 
 think what might be the consequences of this breach of 
 discipline. I remembered how Dr. Wolff was harassed 
 in Bokhara, and how this same Kush-beggi, with whom 
 I had to do, had thwarted Dr. Schuyler's desire to go 
 to Charjui, even though he had the Emir's permis- 
 sion. I confess to having felt it a little difficult to 
 know how best to act. If I allowed myself to be 
 dictated to, and treated as a prisoner, I thought it 
 
BOKHARA THE NOBLE. 
 
 389 
 
390 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 would imply fear, and I had before me the policy of 
 my American predecessor, who would not allow 
 himself to be imposed upon, and found that the more 
 respect hfe demanded, the more he received. The 
 situation, moreover, gave me a certain sympathy with 
 Colonel Stoddart, who was said to have been unyield- 
 ing and blunt ; but when a single man is surrounded by 
 all the powers of an Oriental city as he was, and has 
 to hold his own against them, it is not easy always to 
 see what is best to be done. In my own much smaller 
 and less important case, I was fully aware how com- 
 pletely I was in the hands of this unscrupulous Kush- 
 beggi, not indeed to harm me perhaps, but to delay 
 me, and vex me more than enough by withholding 
 help for the way. He had prevented my seeing several 
 things upon which I was intent, and had told me 
 numerous falsehoods, so that I had not the smallest 
 respect for him, nor had" I reason to believe he would 
 do for me one whit more than he was obliged, or than 
 suited his purpose. Since, however, I had bearded his 
 Excellency, and sent a message to his den, I deemed 
 It might be better to make a virtue of necessity, and 
 turn back to meet the messengers. We did so, and 
 thus came to the embassy without seeing them ; and 
 when, later in the day, our old custodian appeared, he 
 said he had trotted round all the city gates, and else- 
 w r here in pursuit, a distance, he declared, of 10 miles, 
 when, failing to hear of us, he had given it up as a bad 
 job, and so returned to the embassy. The old fellow 
 was warm, but happily very good-tempered over it ; 
 and when I inquired by a side wind what the Kush- 
 beggi said to our conduct, it transpired that he was not 
 annoyed, the reason of his order being that they had 
 not taken the proper steps to provide us, on our arrival 
 at the shrine, with refreshments, not to do which to 
 their guests would be a breach of etiquette the Emir 
 might not like if he heard of it. This dispelled my 
 fears, and we spent the rest of the day at the embassy. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 
 
 Both guest and prisoner. Use made of custodians. Bokhara minerals, 
 garden produce, and animals. The natives and their diseases. 
 Treatment of the insane. The rishta, or guinea- worm. Native 
 method of treatment. The Bokhara prisons. Inquiry as to where 
 Stoddart and Conolly were confined. Manner of life of the Emir. 
 His harem. Our generous reception at Bokhara and its cause. 
 Extra presents to the Emir. 
 
 FROM the hour that I crossed the Bokhara 
 frontier and met the Emir's messengers, I was 
 constantly accompanied by officials not that they did 
 not leave us alone in our rooms, but when going about 
 we were always attended.* In travelling, there was 
 generally one, often more, of position who went with 
 us a long distance, if not all the way, whilst others 
 were relieved at successive stations. Besides our 
 fixed attendants in Bokhara, some of the higher 
 functionaries came each morning to exchange greet- 
 ings from the Kush-beggi, and I took advantage of 
 these visits to draw them out by asking questions 
 pre-arranged ; and thus, by putting the courtiers and 
 other natives through the same examination, I was 
 able to compare their various answers with information 
 received from men of European education, both Muslim 
 and Christian. 
 
 * The custom of Eastern dignitaries being usually thus attended may 
 perhaps account for Ahimelech's fear on meeting David and saying, 
 " Why art thou alone, and no man with thee ? " (i Sam. xxi. i.) 
 
592. THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 I asked about their minerals, but I imagine that 
 Lehmann's book, which includes the Zarafshan valley, 
 gives far more information than the natives them- 
 selves know. One man told me he had read in the 
 Turkistan Gazette that gold in small quantities was 
 obtainable on the banks of the Amu-daria, but that 
 the results were so inconsiderable that the search for 
 it was confined to Turkomans and Uzbegs. I obtained 
 in the shops at Bokhara some good specimens of pink 
 salt, one of which I have given to the British Museum. 
 The Bokhariots have coal, but they do not work it. 
 
 Concerning the products of their gardens, one man 
 at Shahr-i-sabz told me comprehensively that they 
 had "all kinds of fruits except lemons, oranges, and 
 dates." They grow good peas, but do not eat them 
 green. They use willow bark for tanning, and their 
 chief cures are effected with medicinal plants. 
 
 As for the animal kingdom, my informants told me 
 they had in the mountainous portion of the khanate 
 tigers, bears, wolves, deer, and wild boars. To these 
 I may acid a very remarkable and peculiarly small 
 breed of goats, covered with a very long and coarse 
 hair, reaching almost to the ground. M. Oshanin 
 saw them in Karategin, and also herds of Yaks. 
 They are in use all across Mongolia, and I have a 
 photograph, lent me by Mr. Delmar Morgan, of a 
 so-called " Tibetan cow" (which I suppose is a cross- 
 breed), introduced by the Russians into Turkistan. 
 The yaks pasture in the coldest parts of Tibet and 
 the eastern portion of Bokhara upon short herbage, 
 peculiar to mountain tops and bleak plains. It remains, 
 therefore, to be seen whether the animal will thrive 
 in the lowlands. During our stay in Bokhara we 
 drank excellent milk, and Yakoob, finding out my 
 weakness for cream, not only kept us constantly 
 supplied with it for our tea, but made the remainder 
 into butter. 
 
 In our wanderings in the khanate thus far, we had 
 
SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 393 
 
 met with Tajiks, Persians, Jews, Hindus, Arabs, and 
 Uzbegs. The last were comparatively new to us, for 
 in Turkistan they comprise only 6 per cent, of the 
 entire population. In Bokhara they form the ruling 
 race. The Khan of Khiva and the Emir of Bokhara 
 are both descended from the Mm section of the Uzbegs. 
 The Uzbegs have, however, lost their political and 
 tribal importance. Most of them have mixed with the 
 Tajik, Kirghese, and other races, and have settled 
 down and become known as Sarts. Hence, in the 
 
 A TIBETAN COW AND NATIVE KEEPER. 
 
 bazaar, the crowd did not appear of quite so motley a 
 character as in some other towns we had visited, and 
 in speaking of the natives we usually heard the one 
 general word Sart used as comprehending the whole. 
 
 We gave out that any who were sick might come to 
 be treated. The diseases from which the Bokhariots 
 most frequently suffer are fevers, ophthalmia, leprosy, 
 small-pox and the rishta. They practise vaccination, 
 but it is not compulsory, and they have a " pest-house," 
 or rather a village, where those who wish may be inocu- 
 lated. A boy came one morning, his head being covered 
 
394 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 with a thick eczema, to whom Sevier simply said, " Go 
 and wash ! and then come again." I was not a little 
 struck with the account they gave of their treatment of 
 the insane. They have a special mullah, called Iskan, 
 who is brought to a man when he begins to fail, and who 
 reads over the patient prayers from the Koran for a week 
 or two. If this proves unavailing, the patient is taken 
 to the Ishan's house, tied to a post, and kept on low diet 
 for a couple of months. Thus in the Ishan's yard, not 
 far from the Russian Company's office, in the quartal of 
 Bokhara called Juibar, may be seen a number of these 
 patients chained, or rather picketed, to posts like 
 horses. As a further step they are beaten whilst 
 prayers are going on. If a poor creature does not 
 show signs of pain, his case is thought incurable ; but if 
 he is seen to suffer, his recovery is hoped for.* 1 A 
 Russian told me that one of his servants was slightly 
 deranged, but, having gone to the Ishan, appeared to 
 be getting better. " But suppose he does not improve," 
 I asked, " what do you do with him ? " 
 
 "He remains there chained, and if regarded as quite 
 incurable, his parents are obliged to take him away and 
 keep him locked up." 
 
 " But suppose he has no parents ? " 
 
 " Then he is turned out, and allowed to run about 
 the town till someone takes compassion on him." 
 
 After hearing this it was a comfort to be told by 
 one educated Muhammadan that they had not much 
 insanity, and that he had never even seen anyone 
 raving mad. 
 
 The reading of the sufferings of Dr. Wolff, and 
 what I had seen and been warned of in Samarkand, 
 made me specially fearful of the rishta, a well-known 
 disease in Bokhara, Karshi, Jizakh, and Katte-Kurgan. 
 
 * Is it possible that Prov. xxiii. 35 can have reference to any such 
 custom, wherein the man, apparently in delirium tremens or after 
 a deep debauch, says, " They have stricken me, and I was not sick; 
 they have beaten me, and I felt it not; when shall I awake?" 
 
SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 
 
 395 
 
 It is also met with in India, Arabia, and Africa, whence 
 with the negroes it was taken to America. This 
 disease is caused by a worm, which develops under 
 the skin in May and August, in the form of a 
 cylindrical body, lengthening at the rate of about an 
 inch in a week, and lying extended, or curled in a lump 
 two inches in diameter. Later on, an abscess appears 
 where the head (as is said) of the parasite lies, and 
 
 A PUBLIC POOL AT BOKHARA. 
 
 through the opening thus made, especially when the 
 surrounding skin is pressed, the end of the worm 
 appears. Sometimes, however, the skin, lifted by means 
 of a needle, is cut off in layers until the head of the 
 worm is reached and grasped. 
 
 The problem now is to extract the animal entire, in 
 which case the wound soon heals. Native specialists, 
 usually barbers, insert a needle under the worm, 
 and one end is drawn out by the fingers of the 
 
396 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 right hand, whilst those of the left press the affected 
 part, the operation lasting from one to five minutes. 
 Russian medical men wind off the animal on a reel, 
 so much daily as comes out without force, till the 
 whole, commonly three, but sometimes (according to 
 one physician) seven feet in length, is extracted. If, 
 however, the worm should break, and part of it remain 
 in the body, illness continues for several months. It 
 was an unsuccessful case of this kind we saw in the 
 military hospital at Samarkand, where the portion of 
 the rishta extracted was given to me. The other parts 
 had come out of the patient of themselves, in numerous 
 places, through painful abscesses. 
 
 In appearance the worm is a long, cylindrical body, 
 of a milk-white colour, resembling cooked vermicelli, 
 and can be stretched like a piece of elastic. When 
 torn, a milk-white fluid exudes, containing an immense 
 number of minute worms, swimming rapidly, whence it 
 appears this animal is viviparous. Concerning its 
 origin in man, Dr. Klopatoff, who resided three years 
 at Jizakh, considered that water was the medium by 
 which the parasite was conveyed, entering most likely 
 through the pores of the skin. Fedchenko, on the 
 other hand, came to the conclusion that the germs of 
 the worm are swallowed in drinking the water. 
 
 Some persons are, however, I imagine, more prone 
 to the disease than others ; for a Russian told me that 
 his friend, who came to Bokhara in 1876, had suffered 
 from rishta 8 or 9 times a year, and in the year of 
 my visit 1 2 times, whereas he himself came a year 
 earlier, had taken no care as to what water he drank, 
 but had not been attacked until 1882. It may readily be 
 supposed that I had no wish to be the first to bring this 
 parasite from Bokhara to England ; and, accordingly, 
 on crossing the frontier, I gave up teetotalers' beverage, 
 and drank no longer water that is, in its natural con- 
 dition. But neither did I take to wine, but making 
 more tea than we needed, the surplus was kept for 
 
SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 397 
 
 consumption cold, and thirst allayed after a meal by 
 melons or fruit. 
 
 As they would not allow me to visit the prisons 
 in Bokhara, I took care to make what inquiries I could 
 about them ; and happened to hit upon a man who, 
 when crossing the Steppe, made a vow that if God 
 would bring him safely to the end of his journey, he 
 would spend 7 tengas in bread for the prisoners in the 
 Zinclan, i.e., dungeon, or town prison of Bokhara. He 
 was too wise to give the money to the keeper, but, 
 having brought the bread, asked leave to distribute it, 
 whereupon he threw it down to the detained. He said 
 their prison was like the baths we visited at Karshi 
 that is, a chamber entered and lighted from above. I 
 asked him how many prisoners there were ; and he 
 replied, " From 300 to 400"; but I found this was a 
 mere guess on his part, though he said he had heard 
 the same from the Bokhariots, and that some of 
 them had been confined there for 1 2 years. Each man 
 received, he said, only a cake of bread in the morning, 
 and another at night, whilst 2 prisoners, he said, were 
 let out daily to beg, and, of what they received, 
 half went to the jailer and half among all the 
 prisoners. 
 
 My informant added that, if a man be accused of theft 
 by two witnesses, the accused is beaten on one side 75 
 times with a stick as thick as the wrist, then 75 times 
 on the other side, and lastly 75 times on his stomach, 
 unless he confesses, in which case he is beheaded at 
 once, or perhaps kept for a year and then let off. But 
 if he does not confess he is sent to prison to heal, and 
 then beaten again ; and so on four or five times. If 
 then he is not killed, he is allowed to go. Murder is 
 punished by hanging or beheading. This informant 
 corroborated the throwing of certain criminals from the 
 top of the minaret, saying that, about 7 years before, 
 there was a gang of robbers between Bokhara and 
 Katte- Kurgan who were caught, and most of their 
 
398 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 throats cut, and their bodies thrown in a heap at the 
 frontier, but that the chief was hurled from the tower.* 
 Thus primed with information, true or false, I took 
 occasion one morning, when the Kush-beggi's messen- 
 gers came, to ask how many prisoners there were in 
 the Khana-Khanek and Zindan prisons, to which they 
 replied, "Very few" ; for that they did not keep them 
 long, not even for 5 months, but speedily gave them 
 150 stripes, or beheaded, or released them. I asked 
 if it were true that in the Khana-Khaneh ticks were 
 kept alive to annoy and prey upon the prisoners. 
 They somewhat indignantly denied it, saying that 
 they had three sorts of prisons, the Ab-Khanek, Ben- 
 Khaneh, and Khana-Khaneh, representing better class, 
 intermediate, and dark prisons. They also denied that 
 prisoners were sent out into the town to beg; but this 
 last denial was certainly a falsehood, for when we 
 turned back from the lepers' village I asked one of 
 the natives to take us back to the embassy in such a 
 way that we might pass the Zindan prison. I saw 
 that I had asked a hard thing, and at first he said it 
 was more than he dared to do ; but ultimately he was 
 better than his word, and, looking up a passage as 
 we rode along, I saw outside a lofty building two 
 prisoners chained together by the neck, and who, on 
 my approach, cried most piteously for alms, which 
 I gave them, as also did Yakoob, whose heart was 
 evidently touched. The building before me, I make 
 no doubt, is the one that Khanikoff calls the " Zindan," 
 saying that it has two compartments, the upper and 
 lower dungeons, the former consisting of courts with 
 cells, and the latter of a deep pit, at least 20 feet deep, 
 into which the culprits and their food are let down by 
 
 * Throwing 1 from a height would appear to have long" been a recog'- 
 nized mode of putting to death n the East, and to remain so still. The 
 men of Nazareth thus led our Lord to the brow of the hill whereon 
 their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong (Luke iv. 
 29), and in the very year of my travels this was one of the modes of 
 being put to death said to have been offered by the Arabs to Professor 
 Palmer and Captain Gill. 
 
SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 399 
 
 ropes. This latter I suppose to have been the one 
 in which Colonel Stoddart was first placed. As for 
 the Khana-Khaneh, I was told afterwards, I stood 
 near the door when examining the great whip at the 
 entrance to the citadel, but I did not know it at the 
 time. It was from hence, I imagine, that Stoddart 
 and Conolly were taken to execution, or from the 
 Ab-Khaneh, said by Khanikoff to be also in the 
 palace, but of which I heard nothing. 
 
 Of course we heard during our stay in the khanate 
 something of the Emir's manner of life and family affairs. 
 I asked the messengers one morning how his Majesty 
 lived, and they confirmed what I had previously read, 
 that he keeps a very simple table, if indeed he can be 
 said to keep a table at all as, I suppose, he sits on the 
 ground to eat. Also I gathered that he spent but 
 little, his only pleasures being dancing-boys and his 
 wives. I ascertained that his feasting is confined to two 
 occasions in the year, when he invites his officers ; and 
 I heard something, too, of wholesale feasts, facsimiles, 
 I should imagine, of those given by David when " he 
 dealt to every one of Israel, both men and women, to 
 every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and 
 a flagon of wine " (or grape cake ?) (i Chron. xvi. 3), the 
 last, however, being replaced by the Emir with sweet- 
 meats.* In the palace, certain men who stand in 
 Muzaffar's presence, such as the travelled Khoja we 
 met at Kitab, eat with him, but not at the same table. f 
 "What does the Emir eat?" I asked. They replied, 
 " Much the same as the fare provided for you, unless, 
 perhaps, he might have the very best rice, and his 
 soup a little richer." He has three meals a day, 
 namely, at sunrise, milk, tea, and perhaps meat and 
 meal ; his dinner about noon, the time of the mid- 
 
 * I heard, too, of the Zaketchi, or principal tax-gatherer, inviting 
 the Mussulman merchants once a year at the time of the fast. 
 
 f As did Jehoiachin, King of Judah, before Evil-Merodach, King of 
 Babylon (Jer. Hi. 33). 
 
400 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 day prayer ; and supper at eight. I thought to draw 
 out the messengers to speak of his intellectual tastes, 
 if he had any, by saying that our Queen spent time in 
 reading. Does the Emir read much ? They said that 
 on rising he reads, then transacts business, and after- 
 wards reads again, but that he had not much leisure 
 because of his work. The Emir has several arbas, 
 they said, and, when going away for the summer, takes 
 his books with him. This was in reply to a question 
 of mine fishing for information as to whether there 
 was in the palace any library, or anything that w T ould 
 give me any hope that it might be that of Tamerlane ; 
 but when they spoke of taking his books away in an 
 arba, I concluded they must mean his accounts and 
 state documents. His Majesty speaks, I was told, 
 only Turki and Persian. 
 
 I found that the simple question, " How many wives 
 has the Emir ?" elicited some very varying replies. One 
 replied, " Many" ; another, " Thirty for certain." 
 
 This was, of course, a very delicate subject upon 
 which to approach the Emir's messengers, especially 
 as my conversation might be reported to his Majesty. 
 Nevertheless, I thought it better to hear their answer 
 to my question, "How many wives has the Emir?" 
 They replied immediately, " Four." I said that I had 
 heard it was 300, upon which they waxed warm, and 
 said that I ought to know that one man would be no 
 match for 300 wives ! They allowed, however, that 
 his Majesty may have had 50 or 60;* "but," said 
 they, "never more than four at a time!" and as to 
 how he obtained them, the Emir had some sisters, t 
 
 * Thus emulating Rehoboam, who took 18 wives and 60 concubines, 
 and begat 28 sons and 60 daughters (2 Chron. xi. 21). 
 
 t With this may be compared, though only in certain aspects, an 
 old wife seeking a younger for Abraham (Gen. xvi. 3), and a mother 
 seeking a wife for her son Ishmael (Gen. xxi. 21). I met with a case 
 of this latter so recently as 1879, when a Russian mother, whom I saw 
 on the Amur, was said to be looking out for a wife for her son, just 
 finishing college, and who was then to be married as a qualification for 
 ordination to the Russian priesthood. 
 
SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 401 
 
 aged wives, or other near relations, and that, when 
 he wished to marry, they told him of girls they knew 
 here or there. To this I added that I hoped they 
 were not offended at my asking, but I thought it 
 better to inquire than to go away with erroneous 
 ideas. They thought so too, and said they were not 
 offended. 
 
 So, in these pages, I have conceived that, in order 
 to paint an accurate picture of Bokhariot life, the pre- 
 ceding paragraphs will convey more meaning than a 
 whole chapter of my own opinions ; and if the purity 
 of the domestic hearth be any gauge, in forming an 
 estimate of the happiness of a people, then English 
 men, I think, and certainly English women, will have 
 no reason to envy those of Bokhara. 
 
 As the time drew near for us to leave "the noble " 
 Bokhara, I could not but feel that we had been most 
 hospitably treated. Not that I supposed the Emir's 
 conduct to be the expression of his personal regard 
 for me or my country, but of his desire to please the 
 Russians. I had been warned at Samarkand to be 
 very careful not to lose my credentials, for if I did 
 the Bokhariots would be only too pleased to insult me,, 
 and then to excuse themselves on the ground that I 
 brought no papers. More than once I asked in Bo- 
 khara what would have been done to me had I come to 
 the town without letters. One said we should probably 
 have been sent back to the Russians; and another that 
 we should have beeri placed in confinement, and the 
 Russian authorities informed. No Europeans, they 
 said, are seen in Bokhara but Russians, who them- 
 selves would have an unbearable time of it, if the 
 Emir had power to oppress ; but since he has not, the 
 natives are outwardly civil, whilst they curse the 
 infidels at heart, and the Emir is obedient to the 
 Imperial will. The Russians, in fact, call him "Nash 
 Chelovak" or "our man." \Ye were told that if only an 
 ordinary letter be sent from the Turkistan authorities,, 
 
 26 
 
402 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the bearer is feasted, presented with 3 or 4 khalats, 
 and supplied with money to return, whilst the number of 
 khalats sometimes presented by the Emir to the higher 
 officials at Samarkand and other principal places, it 
 was said, would stock a clothing establishment. 
 
 My reception was, therefore, in keeping with the 
 foregoing. One Russian had told me that, having a 
 letter from the Governor-General, I need trouble for 
 nothing ; and another had prophesied that the Emir 
 would give me ten times the number of presents that I 
 offered ; yet I confess that I was taken aback at the 
 way in which 1 and my retinue were supplied with 
 board, lodging, and attendance, to say nothing of 
 presents. The splendour of my turquoise bridle, 
 embroidered saddle-cloth, and robes of honour, dazzles 
 all who see them, and they are rendered doubly valu- 
 able, of course, by the circumstances under which they 
 were received. But besides these additional favours 
 bestowed, it was as if another son of the East had 
 said, " Howsoever, let all thy wants lie upon me."* 
 Nor did I quite see in Bokhara how duly to acknow- 
 ledge such thorough-going hospitality ; but I went 
 carefully through my kit for such things as I could 
 possibly spare, and which I deemed might be accept- 
 able to the Emir. There was first my india-rubber 
 bed and pillows, which I thought might be a comfort 
 to his Majesty's bones in case of illness. Accordingly 
 I showed one of the attendants how to screw on the 
 bellows and inflate the bed. This appeared greatly to 
 tickle his fancy, though I doubt whether he had used 
 a screw before. To this I added an excellent filter, to 
 preserve his Majesty, I said, from rishta ; a pair of 
 mosquito curtains, the like to which I had seen nothing 
 in the khanate ; an electro pepper and salt case, pre- 
 sented to me by Messrs. Langton and Son, whose 
 "travelling requisites" I have found so useful, besides 
 an enamelled travelling bottle of their bringing out, 
 
 * Judges xix. 20. 
 
SUNDRIES CONCERNING BOKHARA. 
 
 403 
 
 that is by far the best I have seen ; also a fine damask 
 linen tray cloth, and some smaller articles. These I 
 packed, and wrote a letter telling the Emir that I was 
 to leave on the morrow for Charjui, thanking him 
 
 THE AUTHOR IN ROBE OF HONOUR, WITH TURQUOISE BRIDLE, PRESENTED BY THE EMIR 
 
 OF BOKHARA. 
 
 heartily for all the kindness and hospitality I had 
 received, and begging him to accept, as a mark of my 
 gratitude, the few things of European manufacture 
 which he would find awaiting his return to the capital. 
 I promised further to write again on finishing my tour 
 
404 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 through his kingdom, and this letter I sent to the 
 Kush-beggi to forward, as also two post-cards to be 
 sent to the nearest post-office, 1 10 miles distant. The 
 Emir takes the liberty of reading his subjects' letters, 
 when they have any, and I thought he was welcome 
 to study mine. The post-cards 1 sent were to inform 
 friends of my safety up to date, and that I was now 
 about to plunge into a land comparatively unknown, 
 which I felt all the more because I had no handbook 
 to accompany me. 
 
 I directed that we should start at sunrise on October 
 1 6th, and sent my parcel to the Kush-beggi, saying I 
 had received so much kindness from the Emir, that I 
 wished to offer some more presents. Yakoob, remem- 
 bering no doubt the khalat given him at Shahr when 
 bearer of a present, asked that he might take the 
 parcel, saying that he had business upon which to 
 speak to the Kush-beggi ; but as Yakoob had served 
 us, I thought, half-heartedly in Bokhara, I gave the 
 job to more faithful Kolutch. Whether he received a 
 tip I know not, but the cunning Kush-beggi, unlike 
 the courtiers at Kitab, intimated, without my offer- 
 ing it, that he would be pleased to accept a present 
 from England. I sent him something more of Euro- 
 pean manufacture, and then prepared to start, Sevier 
 being employed up to the last in attending the sick. 
 One of them, a woman, was considerably taken aback 
 when he applied his ear to her chest with a view to 
 the auscultation of her heart, such treatment by a 
 doctor being evidently unknown in Bokhara. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 FROM BOKHARA TO CHARJUI. 
 
 Departure from Bokhara. End of Zarafshan oasis. Ruins of Peikand. 
 Approaching Kara-Kul. Inexperienced postillions. The sands 
 of Sundukli. Our tarantass left behind. A night's lodging at 
 Betik. 
 
 WE were escorted out of Bokhara at 9.20 a.m. 
 by a mirakhur^ or captain, of the Kush-beggi 
 and three others of his men,* meeting in the suburbs 
 many of the poor riding in on asses.t When well out 
 of the city I turned for a farewell look at its battlements. 
 It was the best specimen of a walled town I had ever 
 seen the first, strictly speaking, in which I had lodged, 
 but wherein my actions had been so spied upon, that I 
 confess to a feeling of relief as I left it behind. Our 
 route lay at first through highly-cultivated gardens and 
 fields on both sides of the road. Round the fields 
 were ridges of soil to confine the water when let in to 
 submerge the surface, and certain mounds of earth, 
 
 * The Bokhariots are still very observant of the Eastern custom of 
 accompanying or bringing on their way friends, or those whom they 
 wish to honour, as did Abram the angels going toward Sodom (Gen. 
 xviii. 1 6) ; and the churches at Antioch and Tyre, the Apostles Barna- 
 bas and Paul (Acts xv. 3 ; xxi. 5). 
 
 t Some of the asses were laden with earth or sand in bags slung on 
 either side, reminding one of the expression "two mules' burden of 
 earth" (2 Kings v. 17); and now and then we met women, or better 
 said, perhaps, Bokhariot ladies, on white asses, which are more ex- 
 pensive than others, and so the property of the rich. Hence the expression 
 in Judges v. 10, " Speak ye that ride on white asses." 
 
406 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 rising from the plain, were pointed out to us as being 
 gradually carted away by the natives for the repair of 
 their fields. 
 
 We were now approaching the termination of the 
 oasis that extends more or less widely along the Zaraf- 
 shan valley from Katte-Kurgan past Bokhara to Kara- 
 Kul, and we had the opportunity of seeing a little of 
 Bokhariot agriculture. 
 
 As we passed along I noticed late crops of jugara, 
 bearded wheat, and cotton. Of this last plant I 
 picked some pods, which I brought home. Yakoob 
 gave us i per acre as the price of unfilled land, but 
 for cultivated lands three times as much. A noticeable 
 feature, as we proceeded, were the farmhouses sur- 
 rounded by walls, usually a dead flat, but sometimes 
 crimped, and crossed with lines, each presenting the 
 appearance of a miniature fortress. They were sur- 
 rounded by gardens, and other efforts of Bokhariot 
 culture. The gardens are formed of enclosed ground 
 called kazat, the surface being levelled to facilitate 
 irrigation. Those skirting our way for the first 1 1 miles 
 appeared to belong to men in well-to-do circumstances. 
 Next we came to a salt land, less fertile than the 
 preceding, but such as might be cultivated. 
 
 At noon we passed the ruins of a large, mud-built 
 castle, once inhabited by a wealthy family, and near 
 this were two small hovels, where a bazaar, so called, 
 held once a week, is visited by half-a-dozen people. 
 We rode on 3 miles further, passing Khoja-Khairon, 
 and arriving at 12.20 at Yaka-tut, or Jakatut, our 
 worst mishap being that Sevier's horse, which had 
 more than once stumbled, now fell, and pitched his 
 rider over his head. Fortunately, however, he was 
 not much hurt, though he literally "bit the dust." At 
 this our first station we dined, and took leave of our 
 old custodian Mirza Muhammad Yusuf. He had 
 guarded us many nights and days, and I think had 
 done his best to keep us from seeing too much, but 
 
FROM BOKHARA TO CHARJUI. 407 
 
 he was good-tempered, and put on no airs ; so I gave 
 him a present, and we parted as friends. 
 
 We had now before us 21 miles to Kara-Kul, and by 
 way of change we accomplished the greater part of the 
 journey in the tarantass, though not without pains and 
 penalties ; for our postillions were so little accustomed 
 to their work, that they had no notion of avoiding 
 stones or obstructions in the road, but took them all 
 as they came, now going over banks made at the edges 
 of the fields to keep in the water, and now turning 
 the tarantass at right angles instead of a curve, to the 
 imminent risk of an upset. The road, too, varied a 
 good deal, sometimes passing over strips of sand only 
 a few yards wide ; next, over an arid steppe ; and then 
 through cultivated land and well-ploughed fields of 
 next season's wheat, one of which I recollect appeared 
 as clean as a flower garden. 
 
 On the left we passed what was given me as Shahan 
 Khibar. They told us the heaps of ruins were those 
 of an old town destroyed by the Caliph Ali, and soon 
 we came to the half station Peikand, which is mentioned 
 by Wolff. Burnes calls them " the ruins of Bykund," 
 and throws light upon them from a history in manu- 
 script he purchased in Bokhara, calling Bykund one of 
 the most ancient cities of Turkistan, the seat of Afra- 
 siab, and of the ancient Turkistan kings. 
 
 We stopped at Peikand some minutes only, and a 
 little further on sighted the Zarafshan, no longer the 
 broacl, impetuous river we had struggled through at 
 Samarkand, but a feeble, attenuated stream, robbed of 
 its life-giving waters, and narrowed, as I judged, to a 
 width of about 20 feet.' The strip of cultivated land 
 on either bank of the Zarafshan gets narrower, being 
 pressed in by the desert ; and as w r e drove along between 
 the aryks, we came here and there to hillocks of sand, 
 among which we had to wind in and out. Of animal life 
 there was little ; but we heard the singing of a lark, and, 
 in addition to the ubiquitous rook, saw a flight of storks. 
 
4 o8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 After driving thus to within a mile of Kara-Kul, we 
 remounted our horses, and there came out to meet us 
 the amliakdar, or tax-gatherer. He was the principal 
 man of the village, and with him were several others, 
 wearing dandy riding boots, of which the height of the 
 heels would vie with those worn by English ladies, 
 only that the point of the Bokhariot heels barely 
 exceeded the size of a sixpence. As I rode along by 
 the side of the amliakdar, my Diotrephes misbehaved 
 himself, stumbled, and came down upon both knees, 
 but, fortunately, I kept my seat, and he recovered 
 himself. We then crossed by a substantial bridge 
 what I supposed to be the Zarafshan, or a large canal 
 diverted therefrom, and about sunset entered Kara- 
 Kul. 
 
 Kara-Kul is a village that gives its name to the 
 black, curly lambskins that are exported thence over a 
 large portion of Central Asia. We stayed there for 
 the night, and left early next morning, hoping to reach 
 the Oxus in the course of the day. But we did not 
 know what was before us, or we should hardly have 
 brought the tarantass, for it became more and more 
 apparent that neither the roads, the horses, nor the 
 people were accustomed to wheeled vehicles of any 
 kind, and still less to a European carriage. The horse- 
 collars here appeared to have been made for the occa- 
 sion, and instead of harnessing 3 horses to be driven 
 from the box, the animals were mounted, as before, by 
 3 postillions, who, in turning a corner, made no allow- 
 ance for the curve, but struck the vehicle against the 
 wall. Things were not much better when we reached 
 the open country, for they not only went over stones, 
 ruts, and timbers, but, w r hilst smoking in turn their 
 kalian, occasionally left the road to go across country, 
 through wheat or melon fields, and consequently over 
 the irrigation embankments surrounding them. But 
 -worst of all were the horrible bridges over aryks, 
 fortunately then empty, but 8 or 10 feet deep, or, at 
 
FROM BOKHARA TO CHARJUL 409 
 
 all events, sufficiently deep to make a fall therein a 
 most undesirable event. Sometimes they avoided the 
 bridges by driving down into the aryk, which was bad 
 enough, but not so dangerous as crossing the rude 
 constructions that were never intended for three horses 
 abreast, and had no rails or guards on either side. To 
 make matters a little worse, I could not get my 
 charioteers to see the desirability of fastening the two 
 wheelers to the centre horse, lest in crossing a narrow 
 bridge one of the two outer horses might jib, the other 
 two go on, and the whole concern go to smash. On 
 the previous morning the tarantass did fall into an 
 aryk, and took 20 men to get it out, but happily we 
 were then on horseback ; and now, with this careless 
 driving, so fully did I anticipate a second edition of 
 the accident, that I unbuttoned the apron, so as to be 
 able to spring out at a moment's notice, as we came to 
 bridges that the drivers seemed to be approaching with 
 insufficient care. I twice jumped clean out, with my 
 heart in my mouth, expecting to see a crash, though, 
 fortunately, my fears were not realized. It was inter- 
 esting to see messengers, spade in hand, sent on to 
 prepare the way before us,* to exalt the valleys and 
 make low the hillocks, t so that, thanks to their preceding 
 us, after a drive of 16 miles, the most dangerous I 
 had ever taken, we came to the end of the cultivated 
 district, and stopped for refreshment at the Kishlak- 
 Khoja-daulet-bi. 
 
 They gave us the distance from Daulet-bi to the 
 Oxus as 1 6 miles, and a mile from the station the 
 sand began to appear in good earnest. 
 
 Sevier and I mounted our horses and preceded the 
 tarantass, the attendants asking us not to go too far 
 ahead, lest we should be lost. When once fairly on to 
 the desert we found ourselves amid surroundings the 
 like to which I had never seen before, and would not 
 
 * Mark i. 2. 
 t Isa. xl. 4. 
 
410 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 willingly experience again. The only vegetation was 
 some dwarf bushes, a few inches high, under which ran 
 here and there, like squirrels, the long-tailed marmot, 
 and even these were soon left behind, and the bushes 
 gave place to sand-dunes not unlike those found on 
 parts of our own coasts. The shape of the hills was 
 uniform, each presenting the form of a horse-shoe, the 
 convex side being sloped towards the north, whilst the 
 concave side was precipitous. Sometimes we saw a bar- 
 khan had been formed by the walls of a house, with 
 the result that it had continued to grow till the building 
 was buried. Nothing appeared able to stay the ad- 
 vancing scourge, and the desolation of the scene was, 
 in our case, heightened tenfold by a blustering wind, 
 that drove the sand in our faces. As we looked ahead, 
 one bare hill rose above another like waves of the 
 ocean, whilst the tempest blew the sand from their 
 crests like spray, and all this on a scale that strikingly 
 brought to my mind the waves I had seen in crossing 
 the Northern Pacific. 
 
 For 7 miles we dragged on to the frontier of the 
 bekship, where we were met by 15 horsemen, who came 
 to take our tarantass to the Oxus ; but imagine our 
 dismay when we discovered that they had brought 
 with them only one horse-collar ! They asked the 
 party from Kara-Kul to lend them theirs, but they 
 declined, took out their horses, and were making off. 
 
 The Amliakdar came to take his congd, and I gave 
 him a present, but it was not till his back was turned 
 that we realized our critical position. We were left 
 like a boat in mid-ocean. All around was sand sand 
 everywhere and our late protectors had pitilessly 
 bolted. Sevier suggested that they should be forced 
 to return, which perhaps might have been effected, with 
 a revolver pointed at them. But it was too late, and 
 we were obliged to turn to our new attendants, who 
 stood discussing what was to be done, for there was not 
 another horse-collar to be had within several miles. 
 
FROM BOKHARA TO CHARJUL 411 
 
 My interference was no use, so I left the men to their 
 own devices, whereupon one horse was put in the shafts, 
 and ropes, fastened to the tarantass, were attached to 
 the saddles of the rest, and in this novel fashion the 
 vehicle was dragged along. 
 
 I thought, therefore, it would be best for Sevier 
 and me, with Yakoob to interpret, to go forward and 
 send back reinforcements. Moreover, a Russian officer 
 in Samarkand had told me of the terrible difficulty 
 we should have with the tarantass, and had given 
 me a hint not to meddle in the matter. " If," said 
 he, " the Emir gives the order that your tarantass is 
 to be taken to the Oxus, it is their affair, not yours. 
 You had better go on, and leave them to . follow." I 
 therefore took the chief man for a guide, and left the 
 tarantass in charge of Kolutch and Fazul. 
 
 Our guide was an old man, but mounted on a good 
 Turkoman horse, and him we followed over little 
 mountains of sand. As we struggled on, we met 
 scarcely any travellers, and wondered more than 
 enough how they would get the carriage over the 
 barkhans, as high as London houses. It was no 
 small relief when, late in the afternoon, we came to 
 a pool of water, said to be 3 miles from the kishlak 
 Betik, after which we soon reached the house of our 
 guide. 
 
 He turned out to be one in authority/ Mirza Anvar 
 Gwatchi, but it seemed that we cockney riders had 
 thoroughly tired him out, in addition to which he 
 received a sound rating from his belongings for going 
 off with only one horse-collar. He at once sent a 
 relief party off, who, by-the-bye, lost their way. Also 
 a boy, whom we had met with an ewer of drinking- 
 water, was clever enough to break it, and so it came 
 to pass, as we afterwards heard, that, after making 
 almost superhuman efforts, the horses not unfrequently 
 falling and rolling in the sand in their efforts to get 
 the vehicle over the hills, they could only approach to 
 
4 i2 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 within 5 miles of the station, where, darkness coming 
 on, horses and riders alike, almost supperless and 
 waterless, and thoroughly tired, lay down on the 
 ground and slept. At i o'clock in the morning some- 
 one reached our station, and more horses were sent, 
 with clover and food, so that later on the party 
 consisted of 25 horses, 25 men, and 2 camels, besides 
 our 2 mounted djiguitts. When the tarantass proved 
 too much for the horses, they harnessed a camel to it ; 
 but this failing also, the goods were taken out, placed 
 on a camel's back, and so the journey was finished. 
 
 Meanwhile, as we heard on our arrival that the 
 river was only a few versts further on, and Charju 
 just the other side, we determined to stay for the 
 night. This appeared to give our hosts real pleasure, 
 and we had a hearty welcome, though our room was 
 exceedingly poor. It had this mark of distinction, 
 however, that on the wall were stuck two little artistic 
 productions, a few inches square, taken apparently 
 from a traveller's tin of preserves. These were the 
 only pictures I ' saw on the walls throughout the 
 khanate. One attendant brought in a glass lantern 
 worthy of the occasion, about a foot square and two 
 feet high, and on the level bottom of this he was 
 vainly trying, by letting fall some drops of grease, to 
 make a tall candle stand. I bethought me of a clerical 
 acquaintance," who, when beginning some cottage lec- 
 tures among the poor of Birmingham, extemporized 
 candlesticks out of turnips. We had no such roots at 
 hand, but, slicing off the top of a melon, I made a hole 
 and stuck in the candle, to the great wonderment of 
 the native, who ran out with a laugh to tell his fellows 
 what the stranger had done ; and even Yakoob could 
 not resist coming in to look at the invention, which he 
 called "American." Thus finished the most remarkable 
 day's travel I have known, and I certainly shall not 
 soon forget the sands of Sundukli. 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 OUR STAY AT CHARJUI. 
 
 Departure for the Oxus. Meeting of Charjui officials. Our lodging 
 and reception. Pilau and native bread. Visit to the Bek. 
 Received with music. The place of execution, and the prison. 
 Charjui bazaar and slave-trade. Administration of the khanate, 
 and taxes. The governments of the Tsar and the Emir, how 
 respectively regarded by the Bokhariots. Return from Charjui 
 to the Oxus. The tarantass regained. Departure of our two 
 attendants. 
 
 AFTER a breakfast of rice, milk, and tea, we 
 started from the kishlak Betik at 7.30 to ride 
 to the Amu-daria, leaving directions that the tarantass 
 should not be brought on to the town of Charjui, but 
 shipped in the boat waiting to descend the river. Five 
 miles, we had bee-n told, was the distance to the water, 
 but it seemed much more, for our guide did not appear 
 very well to know the way, and things were not 
 rendered more pleasant from the fact that the weather 
 had now become decidedly cold. Fortunately, I had 
 strapped behind my saddle a Maude shawl, and having 
 folded this around me in what the natives must have 
 thought a queer fashion, we wended our way at first 
 across fields of hemp or flax, and then passed over 
 ground frosted with salt. As we approached the 
 river, we made our roundabout way through acres of 
 pampas grass and reeds overtopping our heads, waded 
 some narrow streams, and then came to the famous 
 Oxus. 
 
4 i4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 So primitive in appearance was the boat to take us 
 across, and so high in stern and prow, that one was 
 tempted to think it a relic of the tribes that were 
 crushed by the great Alexander. The oars were 
 about the thickness of scaffold poles, with blades 
 roped on, 10 inches wide by 30 long. Our horses 
 were shipped, and we were rowed across to the 
 opposite bank, where one Mama-sherif, an official 
 called the Toksaba, came to meet us from Charjui. 
 We were taken into a house in the midst of a garden, 
 which in summer doubtless would have been pleasant 
 enough, but crossing the river had not warmed us, 
 and I was sufficiently chilled when they brought us a 
 meal to ask whether they could give us also a fire. 
 They assured us they would do all they could for the 
 comfort of their guests, and shortly brought us "a. fire 
 of coals." It was a large brazier or octagonal pan, 
 about 4 inches deep and 2 feet in diameter, filled with 
 glowing charcoal. There was no fireplace in the 
 room, and the floor was nicely carpeted all over, but 
 the brazier was stood in a tray and placed beside us. 
 I cannot pretend there was much heat to be got from 
 it, but we could not stay long, since there remained 
 to be accomplished what they told us was 3 miles. 
 
 On setting out they asked that we would not hurry, 
 for it was customary for guests to proceed sedately, 
 to which I rather demurred, saying that I wished to 
 ride myself warm. We passed through fields to within 
 about a mile of the town, where we gained the first 
 view of its lofty fortress, whose outline seen from a 
 distance was more picturesque than that of any building 
 I had yet seen in the khanate. I asked the Toksaba 
 the population of the town, and received another illus- 
 tration of native ignorance when dealing with high 
 numbers. He stated it at 100,000, and the population 
 of the bekship at a million ! after which he added that 
 the place was only a fortress, with a thousand soldiers 
 to keep the neighbouring Turkomans in order. 
 
OUR STAY AT CHARJUI. 415 
 
 Thus we had arrived at Charjui, a distance, according 
 to my reckoning, from Bokhara of 80 miles. The 
 town was pleasantly situated ; the fort occupying a 
 knoll, and commanding a view of the whole neighbour- 
 hood. Our house stood by itself, near a stream, and, 
 though not very sumptuous, they appeared to be doing 
 their best to make us comfortable. It was not easy to 
 feel so, however, deprived as we were of most of our 
 toilet gear. But we were not to lack for food, and they 
 had prepared for us such a do star khan (literally "table 
 cloth ") as we had seldom seen. The trays and dishes 
 were so numerous that I made a note of them. They 
 more than covered the table, and were spread likewise 
 on the floor. Our European decimal system was 
 represented by 10 loaves of sugar, 10 packets of tea, 
 10 boxes of sugar-candy, 10 trays of sweets, and 10 
 trays more of parched peas,* pistachio nuts, natural 
 and sugared, apricot stones, raisins of four kinds, flour 
 cakes of grape honey and sugar, large and small cakes 
 of bread, eggs coloured red, apples in syrup, almonds, 
 dough-nuts of grape honey and flour, called cantle 
 neshullah, and, lastly, a semi-liquid concoction of sugar 
 and white of egg, that looked tempting, I suppose, to 
 one of the officers talking to us, for in the absence of 
 a spoon he extemporized one by putting in his finger, 
 twirling it round, to make as much as possible stick, 
 and then sucked it dry. They brought us some white 
 fish to eat, which was not bad, but rather salt, and 
 afterwards came pilau. 
 
 When extra good pilau is desired, a chicken is 
 cooked in addition to pieces of mutton. This was a 
 blessing to me, for not being fond of fat, or caring 
 for rice, especially when greasy, I usually made my 
 meal from the chicken and native bread. Their 
 bread consists of unleavened cakes (nans), about the 
 size of a large captain's biscuit, though sometimes 
 
 * Used, perhaps, as food in Persia by Daniel (i. 12) ; and by Abigail 
 i Sam. xxv. 18. 
 
416 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 larger and thinner, perhaps 9 inches in diameter. I 
 think the latter is Persian, but both are made of 
 wheaten flour, and when fresh are tolerably good, and 
 much more to my liking than the rye and oaten breads 
 of Russia and the Scandinavian peninsula. It is strictly 
 " daily bread," and a native takes in a supply each 
 morning as regularly as a Londoner purchases milk.* 
 Nans cost 2 poolahs each, or about a penny for five. 
 
 Soon after our arrival at Charjui they asked how 
 soon we should like to see the Bek. I replied, 
 " Immediately." Seeing we had not our luggage, 
 they asked whether I had my presents.t I replied in 
 the affirmative, intending to take off the watch and 
 chain I was wearing, and send them in with other 
 articles small in bulk. They then said we should be 
 received in two hours. The Bek proved to be another 
 son of the Emir, and was living in some state in the 
 fortress. At the entrance of the citadel, which re- 
 sembled the one at Kitab, about 150 soldiers were 
 drawn up. We were saluted with a fanfaronade of 
 trumpets and other musical instruments "plus bruyante 
 qu' agreable," as Dr. Capus puts it a grander recep- 
 tion than we received from the Emir. Attendants 
 with white wands ushered us forward, and, finally, a 
 military commander introduced us to his Highness 
 
 * The size of these cakes brought to my mind the friend coming at 
 midnight and saying, " Lend me three loaves ; for a friend of mine in 
 his journey is come to me " (Luke xi. 6). An English child, accus- 
 tomed, as I was, to great half-quartern loaves, might naturally wonder 
 at the traveller's appetite, and why he should need so many as three 
 loaves, but the text would present no such wonder to the mind of a 
 Bokhariot boy. May not this also illustrate, and perhaps account for, 
 the amount of "crumbs" that fell from the rich man's table (Luke 
 xvi. 21), as well as the " fragments" of the miracles (Matt. xiv. 20) ? 
 The thinness of the bread, moreover, illustrates why we never read in 
 Scripture of bread being cut, but broken, as in the Lord's Supper, and 
 in Lam. iv. 4, " The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh 
 it iinto them." 
 
 f The common-place manner in which this was asked reminds one 
 of Saul's words to his servant, "But behold, if we go, what shall we 
 bring the man, for ... there is not a present to bring ? What have 
 we ? " (i Sam. ix. 7.) 
 
OUR STAY AT CHARJUI. 417 
 
 the Bek, a youth of 18 or 19, perhaps, dressed in a 
 gold brocade and Cashmere turban. I apologized 
 for not presenting myself in courtly apparel, since I 
 had parted company with my tarantass, whereupon he 
 asked us to stay longer. How long had we remained 
 at Kitab, Karshi, and Bokhara ? I told him the 
 number of days in each, whereupon he asked why I 
 stayed 3 or 4 days in other towns, and only 2 with 
 him ? * The reason was not far to seek, and I told 
 him that we were already behind our time, that we 
 had a long and difficult journey before us, and we 
 begged in consequence that we might not be detained. 
 He consented that our journey should be sped. I 
 then requested to be allowed to see the prison, and 
 also to ascend to the top of the fortress or some high 
 place, my object, as before, being to get a bird's-eye 
 view of this wonderful town of " 100,000 inhabitants." 
 To my surprise the Bek consented, after which I 
 invited him to ask me questions. He had none to put, 
 he said, but was willing to listen for an hour if it would 
 please me. This was an unexpected turn of the 
 tables, and I racked my brain for things that would 
 give him some idea of the grandeur of England, but in 
 vain ; for he seemed to have no bump of wonder, or of 
 inquisitiveness, and I gave up trying to enlighten the 
 youth. 
 
 On leaving I examined some antiquated cannons 
 lying about in the court, some old matchlocks and 
 muskets hanging near the entrance, and also the 
 musical instruments of the band. Later in the day I 
 secured a wooden pipe, 16 inches long, with an ex- 
 panding end, like a clarionet, called surnoi.^ In 
 
 * Resembling on the surface the language of Jeremiah (xiv. 8) : 
 " Why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring 
 man that turneth aside to tarry for a night ' " 
 
 f It has 7 holes on the upper side and 2 below (one stopped). In 
 the small opening is a brass mouthpiece. Into this fits a brass pipe, 
 called a nil, with a mouthpiece of reed, and close to the mouthpiece a 
 horn disc, serving as a support to the lips of the player. When not 
 played on, the farther end of the pipe is stopped with a metal rod, and 
 
 27 
 
418 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 addition to the surnoi and other instruments previously 
 mentioned, there is used also in Central Asia the 
 kornoi, a large brass trumpet, 6 or / feet long, giving 
 a deep base note. Drums, too, of different sizes are 
 used, made of small earthenware vessels, covered with 
 skins, fastened on by a network of little straps, and 
 played with two sticks. The soldiers appeared 
 amused at my examination of their instruments, and I 
 left them thinking that I was to be conducted to 
 the top of the fortress. 
 
 Instead of this they took me outside the wall to a 
 high place indeed, but whence I could not see the 
 whole of the town, and I was beginning to regret, 
 when my attention was called to an object the sur- 
 roundings of which far outweighed my disappointment. 
 " That is the gallows," said they, " where we hang the 
 Turkomans about 30 or 40 in the course of the year." 
 I had the curiosity to ask what they did with the 
 bodies, and their reply struck me at once as note- 
 worthy. " Oh ! " said they, " we pitch them in a 
 ditch, or their friends come and take them away." 
 How exactly, I thought, like the case of John the 
 Baptist, when, beheaded by Herod, "his disciples 
 came, and took the body and buried it."* The gallows 
 
 two small wooden discs cover the mouthpiece. Attached to the instru- 
 ment (which may be seen in the ethnographical department of the 
 British Museum) is a copper chain, and hanging therefrom 8 reed 
 mouthpieces. For the mouthpieces, I suppose, would be used in some 
 cases a yXcocro-oKo/xoi/, which also served as a "purse" or cashbox 
 (John xii. 6 ; xiii. 29). 
 
 * Matt. xiv. 12 ; Mark vi. 29. The place reminded me also reverently 
 of One greater than the Baptist, for we stood on another Calvary, "a 
 place of execution nigh to the city" (Luke xix. 20), "outside a city 
 wall." As a further illustration it will be remembered that when the 
 Jews wished that their approaching feast should not be marred by the 
 sight of corpses remaining on the cross, they besought Pilate, not that 
 they might be buried, as would be the case with us, but "that they 
 might be taken away " (John xix. 31). The exposure of the dead bodies 
 of the Turkomans is regarded by them as a defilement and an insult, 
 and is evidently the survival of a very ancient custom, just as Jeremiah 
 (xvi. 4) prophesied of his people, " They shall die of grievous deaths: 
 they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried ; but they shall 
 be as dung upon the face of the earth." So again it was foretold by 
 
OUR SI AY AT CHARJUI. 
 
 4IQ 
 
420 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 consisted merely of two posts and a lintel, and after 
 seeing it we went to the prison, into which I managed 
 to get in spite of the Emir's endeavour that I should 
 see none of his jails. He might well be ashamed of 
 them, for this one at Charjui outdid everything of the 
 kind I had seen. It was situated under a chamber at 
 the gate of the fortress, and was about 10 feet square 
 by 5 feet high. The one doorway was 3 feet high 
 and 1 8 inches wide, and through it I crept into the 
 dismal den, which had no window 7 or ventilator, so 
 that, when the door was shut, it was a veritable " black 
 hole " of Calcutta, while the only thing in the chamber 
 was a thick beam down the centre of the earthen floor, 
 wherein the feet of the prisoners might be confined.* 
 Six prisoners were under arrest, wearing iron collars, 
 through the ends of which a chain was passed to secure 
 them all together, and with a spike at the end to 
 fasten into the wall. Most of the criminals, they said, 
 were sent to the capital quickly, but some of the 
 present batch had been confined 3 months, and, to 
 make matters a little worse, we heard next morning 
 that 5 Turkomans had been caught in the Steppe 
 during the night, all of whom had been thrust for the 
 present into the black hole. Thus there would be 1 1 
 persons within 500 cubic feet of air, which is not 
 much more than half the amount allowed to each 
 prisoner in Newgate, where the cells measure 14 feet 
 long, 8 broad, and 8 high. The only good things I 
 remember about this prison were that it was dry and 
 
 Jeremiah of Jehoiakim that "his dead body should be cast out in the 
 day to the heat, and in the night to the frost " (Jer. xxxvi. 30), whilst 
 the other custom regarding the deceased's friends throws light on 
 Acts viii. 2, "devout men carried Stephen to his burial," as also it 
 emboldened Joseph of Arimathea, the timid disciple, to prevent dese- 
 cration of the body of his Lord by undertaking the office of a friend 
 when he went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus (Matt, xxvii. 58). 
 * Illustrating exactly Acts xvi. 24, "Who, having received such a 
 charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast" 
 (els TO uXoi/) " in the beam," the definiteness of the article apparently 
 implying it to be an ordinary feature of an Oriental prison. 
 
OUR STAY AT CHARJUI. 421 
 
 fairly clean, nor did I detect any unpleasant smell, 
 though the prisoners were said to leave it only when 
 necessary, and never at all for exercise. I managed 
 to get into my hands one of their iron collars, and 
 asked where I could get one like it.* They said, " In 
 the bazaar," whereupon I retained the one I had for 
 my collection of prison curiosities, and gave the man 
 the sum he named wherewith to purchase a substitute, t 
 
 On our way to the prison at Charjui we passed 
 through the bazaar. This used to be a great place 
 for slaves, brought thither by the Turkomans, who 
 kidnapped them from the Persian frontier. M. 
 Stremoukhoff, writing the year after my return in the 
 St. Peter sbiirg Gazette, says, " Although the slave 
 markets in Bokhara are officially closed, and although 
 it is strictly prohibited to trade in slaves, yet slaves 
 are sold and bought with perfect freedom in all parts 
 of the country, and the Emir himself takes an active 
 part in this traffic for the replenishment of his harem, 
 as well as of his coffers." 
 
 When on the spot, I did not suspect that the trade 
 was still carried on, but Colonel Stewart tells me that, 
 
 * It is comparatively light, and the iron not so thick as the little 
 finder, but 1 had seen nothing* like it in Europe. Manacles, or chains 
 for the hands, referred to as worn by Jeremiah (xl. 4) and Peter 
 (Acts xii. 7), and perhaps Paul (Acts xxviii. 20), I did not see or hear 
 of among the natives of Central Asia. 
 
 f I had now seen or heard of at least three kinds of prisons in 
 Bokhara illustrative of similar places of confinement mentioned in 
 Scripture. That at Charjui might be compared to the common prison 
 (fv rrjpqo-ei dq/uooYa) of Acts v 1 8 ; the Ziiidan at Bokhara calls to mind 
 Jeremiah's dung'eon, into which he was lowered by cords (Jer. xxxviii. 6), 
 whilst the prison in the palace of the Khan of Khokand, and the Kana 
 Khaneh in the palace of the Emir, remind one how Jeremiah the 
 prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, situated in the King of 
 Judah's house, or that (Jer. xxxii. 2) whereinto Joseph was thrust, under 
 the captain of the guard a place that is not for ordinary felons, but 
 where "the king's prisoners were bound" (Gen. xxxix. 20). The 
 Turkomans, when caught on the Persian side of the desert, would 
 appear to fare worse than at Charjui, for less than a week before 
 writing this I met Colonel Stewart, who has been living on the frontier, 
 and who tells me that one Persian prison he came to was a well in a 
 house, down which Turkoman man-stealers and their food were lowered, 
 and the well shut in with a covering at night ! 
 
422 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 on inquiry, he learned that whilst there is no buying of 
 slaves in Khiva, yet that Persian girls can be, and are, 
 sold at Charjui, and, as he left the neighbourhood only 
 a few weeks before telling me this, I think it well to 
 state the allegation openly, and with his permission 
 thereby to corroborate the letters of M. Stremoukhoff, 
 which state that this trade is not yet completely 
 stamped out in Bokhara. 
 
 I added to my Bokhariot curiosities from the bazaar 
 at Charjui another kind of skull-cap, and coming out of 
 Bokhara I secured a curious implement for driving 
 donkeys. It consists of a thick handle about 6 inches 
 long, with a goad at the top, and two thick depending 
 chains about the same length, but united at the ends 
 by a ring. I am not aware that the chains are used 
 for striking the animal as with a whip, but rather (as I 
 saw them employed) the chain is made to fall lightly 
 on the shoulder, according as the rider wishes the 
 animal, which is unbridled, to turn to right or left. 
 
 On returning to our lodging, it seemed as if the 
 Bek were minded that we should come to no harm in 
 the night, for he sent a guard of 16 soldiers, 4 to each 
 side of the house. I cannot say much for their arms, 
 for they were old enough, and on two of them I found 
 stamped, in my mother tongue, " Wolley, Serjeant, and 
 Fairfax." 
 
 I asked about taxes, but got widely-divergent 
 answers in various parts of the khanate. I think 
 I gathered that 2\ per cent, was the proper tax, 
 but that, as a matter of fact, the beks took more and 
 more, and as much as they pleased.* 
 
 I was curious to know with what feelings the 
 Bokhariots regard their Emir, and the possibility of 
 the occupation of the khanate by the Russians. I 
 
 * Reminding one of the publicans, or tax-gatherers, in Judea, who 
 came asking, Master, what shall we do ? He said, Exact no more than 
 that which is appointed you (Luke iii. 13); and of Zaccheus, who, 
 when he found he had so done, restored fourfold (Luke xix. 8). 
 
OUR STAY AT CHARJUI. 423 
 
 heard on Russian soil, with other chit-chat, that the 
 Emir had more than once asked the Russians to give 
 him a pension, and take his khanate. A native told 
 me also that though the Bokhariots were on the whole 
 satisfied with the Emir, yet at his death, he thought, 
 they would be ready for Russian occupation. Muzaffar 
 had recently been ill, at which time the people were 
 ready even to welcome the Russians, who were liked, 
 he said, at Samarkand, though not at Khokand, but 
 neither, he added, did these last care for their own 
 Khan. Another informant said that, from talks he had 
 had with the people, he fancied the Bokhariots would 
 prefer Russian to native rule. I asked how, under 
 ordinary circumstances, on the sovereign's death the 
 succession would go. They replied that the Emir had 
 several sons (about 10 adults, 15 boys, and a number of 
 daughters unknown), and that he who had the strongest 
 party of followers would fight for the throne. Perhaps 
 it was to prevent such a free fight that the Russians 
 quartered a good many troops in Samarkand when the 
 Emir was ill. One native expected in that event that, 
 if the Russians advanced, the Bokhariots would be 
 goaded on by the mullahs to fight. But this was mere 
 supposition on the part of irresponsible persons, and of 
 course it was a very delicate subject for me to approach 
 with the Kush-beggi's messengers. I did, however, 
 make bold to introduce the subject one morning by 
 asking whether the Emir were quite recovered from hi 
 illness, and, upon their replying in the affirmative, I in- 
 timated that I had heard the people were ready, if his 
 Majesty had died, to welcome the Russians. I thought 
 these courtiers approached the subject like men whose 
 inmost fear was, " The Romans shall come and take 
 away both our place and nation."* They cautiously 
 replied that the people were content with the Emir. 
 On the evening of our stay at Charjui they offered 
 to send us batchas, and I accepted them for the sake of 
 
 * John xi. 48. 
 
424 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Yakoob and the natives, who were said to have the 
 chance of seeing such performances only when a 
 visitor came ; but we did not keep them late, being 
 anxious to get to bed and start early in the morning. 
 Of the three boys, one sang and danced unusually well, 
 and it was amusing to see one stout old man drinking 
 tea, looking admiringly on, and getting heated with 
 excitement. 
 
 Next morning I stirred up Yakoob before sunrise, 
 and tried hard to put the Toksaba in a bustle ; but it 
 is not easy to hurry Asiatics. The Bek, they said, 
 must be informed of our departure, and this took some 
 time ; but when the messenger returned he brought 
 with him presents of khalats, a horse and saddle-cloth 
 for me, and khalats for Sevier. Meanwhile our groom 
 had arrived with the agreeable intelligence that the 
 tarantass was shipped and awaiting us some 1 1 miles 
 off at Ghuzari-Tozakar. This hanger-on also put a 
 scrap of paper into my hand to inform me politely that 
 he wished to quit my service (to which, by-the-bye, I 
 had never engaged him), and return to Bokhara, 
 Yakoob pleading that he had been very useful in 
 taking care of my stud. In due time, therefore, we 
 started once more for the Oxus. It was a bright, fresh 
 morning, too cold by half to think of sedate riding, so, 
 as soon as we reached the fields, I galloped off, leav- 
 ing those to remain behind who pleased. One of the 
 Bek's djiguitts had no mind to be outstripped, and took 
 care to keep ahead. I followed his fleet horse, and 
 we covered the distance in about an hour and a half. 
 
 Arrived at the Oxus, we found a tent put up for 
 us, with bedsteads, in case we had returned to sleep, 
 and Fazul and Kolutch ready to give us the story of 
 their difficulties with the tarantass. They had dragged 
 it over the sand barkhans, actually without a scratch 
 or a visible strain, and it was now safely shipped for 
 our departure. Yakoob, by agreement, was to go on 
 with us at least to Petro-Alexandrovsk, whilst Fazul and 
 
OUR STAY AT CHARJUI. 425 
 
 Kolutch were to return ; and the latter asked that I 
 would write a note to General KorolkofT to say how they 
 had served me. I had only to complain of one pecca- 
 dillo, which was, as Yakoob had officiously informed me, 
 that when I had sold the two horses at Bokhara, Kolutch 
 had seized the two wooden saddles, sold them for a 
 trifle, and appropriated the money. Accordingly, after 
 giving Fazul his present, and paying the groom with 
 a Cashmere khalat, of which I did not know the value, 
 but was afterwards told it was worth three or four times 
 as much as I supposed, I took Kolutch alone and 
 quietly lectured him. He was distressed on being 
 accused, said he thought the saddles were of too little 
 value to be of importance, and urged that, had he 
 wished to steal, he could easily have done so when in 
 charge of the tarantass. I tried to show him, however, 
 the importance of honesty in trifles, and then wrote a 
 letter saying how well Fazul and he had served us, 
 as indeed they had. This I gave him with his present, 
 added a pound of tea for each of the three, and bade 
 them farewell. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 FLOATING DOWN THE OX US. 
 
 Prospect of floating 300 miles on the Oxus. Our boat, and escort 
 against the Turkomans. Journey to Kheradj. Rough hospitality. 
 Journey to Ustik. Compulsory service of boatmen. Geological 
 phenomena. Arrival at Ildjik. Change of boat and oarsmen. A 
 Bokhariot " Siberia." Arrival at Kabakli. Sheep attacked by 
 wolf. Visit from the Bek. Departure from Kabakli. Ruins on 
 the banks and tugais. Precautions against robbers. Native 
 information. Uzbeg notions of a future life. Singing oarsmen. 
 Flora of the river islands and banks. The " Pitniak Curve" 
 and " Lion's Mouth." A dumb journey thence by horses. Shura- 
 kaneh. Arrival at Petro-Alexandrovsk. 
 
 THE prospect of floating 300 miles down the 
 Oxus, not in a puffing steamer, but in a fashion 
 as ancient as the days of Noah at least, was to me a 
 new sensation, and one heightened in interest by the 
 recollection that over this part of my journey at all 
 events no Englishman had ever preceded me. The 
 native boats are rude, flat-bottomed barges, built of 
 logs of paki wood, chipped square, and cobbled to- 
 gether with iron clamps. It was in a craft of this kind 
 we were to descend the river from Charjui, a willow- 
 built barge, of the value of about 22, 50 feet long, 
 10 feet in beam, and 4 feet deep, drawing perhaps 18 
 inches of water. The gunwale was just low enough 
 for me to reach over, sponge in hand, and get an 
 apology for a morning wash. Such boats would make 
 an admirable bridge, and the river bed offers excellent 
 anchorage. These Bokhariot boats are said to carry 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OXUS. 427 
 
 150 passengers and 20 tons of cargo, or 20 mounted 
 men with their horses, which I should think close work 
 for a journey, though it might do for a ferry passage. 
 In our own case, we were favoured, as the Emir's 
 guests, with a boat to ourselves. The tarantass was 
 placed amidships, and abaft were five horses of mine 
 and one belonging to Yakoob, whilst the fore part was 
 occupied by 8 oarsmen, with two as a guard, besides 
 Khudaiar Bek, a Karaul-beggi, to look after us. The 
 authorities, moreover, not content with giving us guards 
 against Turkoman robbers in the boat, furnished us 
 also with five horsemen to ride along the shore. 
 These latter were presented to us at Guzhari Tozakar, 
 after which they got into a ferry-boat with horses and 
 camels, and crossed to the east bank. The river here, 
 they told us, was 2,000 kadarm in width, or rather 
 less than 2,000 yards. There were no houses near, 
 yet the crossing ferry-boat and the crowd attracted, 
 I suppose to see the foreigners start, made rather a 
 lively scene. We stepped on board at 20 minutes 
 past i, the Muhammadans giving a parting blessing, 
 and stroking their beards as they shouteAAMaAa&farf 
 (the mighty God !), and YaksJii sagat ! (a pleasant 
 journey !) the former intended, I suppose, for the 
 " faithful," and the latter for us " infidels." 
 
 We soon found ourselves on the bosom of a rapid 
 current, and the wind was also in our favour, but it 
 was rather too cold to be quite pleasant. Faraub and 
 Betik, on our right, were left behind ; and on our left, 
 after floating 3 miles, seven aryks were diverted from 
 the river, going in the direction of Khoja Kala, an 
 inhabited district with 7,000 dwellings. 
 
 At 2 o'clock we passed a wide expanse of land, 
 evidently covered in the time of flood, and on the 
 bank were fishing nets. In half an hour trees w r ere 
 visible a mile off on the left, and the depth of the 
 water near the left bank was less than 5 feet. At 
 half-past 3 we were proceeding in a very undignified 
 
428 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 manner. The wind blew us against the west bank, and 
 the prow and stern being " much of a muchness," the 
 steering, too, being done by an oar instead of a rudder, 
 the boat was allowed to perform a series of gyrations 
 in obedience to the sweet pleasure of the stream. Up 
 to four o'clock we had seen only 3 men ashore and 
 met two boats being tugged up the stream. Five 
 o'clock found us still hugging the left bank because of 
 the wind, the only visible reminders of human kind 
 being the banks of aryks. Half an hour later the first 
 small house was sighted on the left bank, and soon 
 afterwards the moon rose, and we floated on till 7 
 o'clock to Kheradj, where we were to stop the night, 
 thus accomplishing 30 versts only out of the 435 (as 
 measured by the stream), from Charjui to Petro. 
 
 What good things they may have prepared for us in 
 the village I know not. We were pointed to a dim 
 line in the far distance, as a haven of rest and refresh- 
 ment, but on the water's edge there was no tent 
 erected, and not a creature to be seen, and I did not 
 care to go so far away and leave my tarantass to the 
 tender mercies of the first band of Turkomans that 
 might happen to come along. I therefore declined 
 with thanks to go so far, and a fire was made on shore, 
 some Oxus water heated, and we sat in the smoke 
 drinking our evening tea. Afterwards I retired to the 
 tarantass to write my journal, leaving Sevier on the 
 bank with the party round the fire ; and as I looked 
 out upon them I could not but be struck with the 
 peculiarity and novelty of the weird picture. Our 
 valiant guard of cavaliers, not a ghost of whom we had 
 seen all day, found us out at feeding time, and swelled 
 the party to about a score. One wore a turban of red, 
 white, and blue ; Yakoob had on his Tatar cap and 
 cassock-like robe ; Sevier had arrayed himself in 
 European smoking-cap with his fur khalat purchased 
 in Bokhara; and then, far outnumbering these, was the 
 crowd of Uzbegs, with their tanned, swarthy faces. 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OX US. 429 
 
 They drank tea, and lay round the fire to sleep, whilst 
 Sevier and I arranged ourselves in the tarantass, and 
 thus spent our first night floating down the Oxus. 
 
 The next day we managed to accomplish 33 miles 
 and reached Ildjik. I had read of the rough delights 
 of taking a meal in primitive fashion round a camp 
 fire; but when it came to be realized at breakfast time on 
 the morning of 2Oth October, on the muddy bank of 
 the Amu-daria, a great deal of the sentiment vanished. 
 My thermometer had fallen during the night to 7 below 
 freezing point, and at six o'clock the sun was far 
 from hot, but we battled through a meal by the fire, 
 and at 6.30 pushed off. Matters were not improved 
 by the fact that our oarsmen considered they had 
 now done their duty, for they expected here to have 
 been met by a relay of men and another boat to carry 
 us on. We learned, too, that the reason they had 
 not continued the journey on the preceding evening 
 to Ustik, as they expected to have done, was for fear 
 of robbers. Since neither boat nor men were there, 
 I was obliged to be firm, and insist that they should 
 take us forward, promising that if they got us to 
 Ustik by 9 o'clock I would give them a sheep to eat 
 the cost of the said animal being i2s. At 9.45 we 
 passed on our right, the ruins of the fortress Ustik, 
 perched like a stork's nest on the top of a mound of 
 conglomerate loess, at the foot of which are some 
 houses enveloped by the sand, whilst from the river 
 we could discern cupolas among the ruins. 
 
 Ustik was a place with threescore dwellings, and 
 the residence of a Toksaba, who was unwilling (and 
 perhaps reasonably so) to let us have the only boat he 
 possessed for the service of the ferry. At first he 
 rather gave himself airs, whereupon I took out my 
 pencil and note-book, solemnly asked his name, and 
 wrote " Muhammad Ziphar," threatening to tell the 
 Emir that the Toksaba had declined to carry out his 
 Majesty's orders. This rather frightened him, and 
 
430 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 he proceeded to explain in some way that he was 
 acting for our advantage, and that he wished our men 
 to take us on to the next station at Kabakli. It had 
 been gradually dawning upon me, though " we \vere 
 appointed a daily provision of the king's meat,"* yet 
 that, by command of the Emir, we were served in 
 travelling with forced labour. I first suspected this 
 with those men who ran off and forsook us coming 
 from Kara-Kul in the Sundukli sands. ''They appeared 
 to have been compelled to go a mile," ancl were 
 certainly not minded to go with us twain. t So with 
 our present oarsmen ; they had not fulfilled the con- 
 dition stipulated for the sheep, but I promised them 
 that, and an additional present to take us on. To this 
 they consented, but unwillingly, the distance by road 
 to the next station, they said, being 1 1 miles. 
 
 After leaving Ustik we noticed, at 11.45, on both 
 banks, rounded hills of sand and gravel, with the 
 peculiarity that they were flattened on the top, and all 
 at the same height, so that it was suggested whether 
 these flat hill-tops did not represent, in a former geo- 
 logical epoch, the level of the country around, the 
 mounds having been washed to their present form. 
 
 As the day advanced the weather improved ; there 
 was less wind, and by 4.20 the thermometer had 
 
 * Dan. i. 5. 
 
 t Matt. v. 41. A capital illustration of ayyapfvw, which is a Persian 
 word, and so, indigenous to the country we were in. In fact, I could not 
 help thinking how closely the Persian customs observed in sending 
 away Ezra and Nehemiah were re-enacted in my own case. " In any 
 place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with 
 silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts"; " let the 
 expences be given out of the king's house " (Ezra i. 4 ; vi. 4). (" Now 
 the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.") " More- 
 over, I said unto the king, If it please the king let letters be given me 
 to the governors beyond the river that they may carry me over" 
 (Neh. ii. 9, 7). For my part, I did not ask for " a band of soldiers and 
 horsemen to help us," though, when provided, I saw no occasion to 
 decline it; but let me not forget thankfully to acknowledge with Ezra, 
 that "the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the 
 hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way " (Ezra viii. 
 22,31). 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OX US. 431 
 
 risen to 64. We now hugged the right bank, and 
 at half-past six came to Ildjik or Ilchik. The Toksaba 
 had preceded us, and was awaiting our arrival, bent, I 
 fancy, upon extorting money if he could. Perhaps he 
 had heard what I had promised the oarsmen. I had 
 been warned as far back as Samarkand to be very 
 careful, if I hired a barge, to make a bargain before 
 starting. The Toksaba now asked us about paying 
 for the boat. I simply replied that we were the 
 Emir's guests, and were being provided with all things 
 necessary to take us to Petro-Alexandrovsk by his 
 Majesty's commands. To this charge he did not 
 return, though he afterwards tried to have money 
 dealings with me to his advantage, and also endeavoured 
 to deceive me respecting the number of men at his 
 disposal. They had erected no tent, and we had 
 again to eat our supper by moonlight surrounded by 
 Turkomans, whose swarthy faces beneath their sheep- 
 skin hats looked grimly fierce in the glare. 
 
 Our next stretch of river was to Kabakli, or Kavakli, 
 distant 47 miles. We were promised overnight by the 
 Toksaba that a boat some miles off should be sent for, 
 but in the morning it had not come. We proceeded, 
 therefore, to breakfast leisurely in the open on cream, 
 tea, chicken, bread and butter, and then looked around 
 at some Turkoman boats and rough shelters they had 
 constructed with their oars and poles and pampas 
 grass, one of them having a hawk tied near. Mean- 
 while our Karaul-beggi, the five horsemen, and the 
 oarsmen wished to return to Charjui, and proposed to 
 take the tarantass out of the boat to be left on the 
 bank till the other boat arrived ; but this I forbade, 
 having no wish to find myself stranded on the banks 
 of the Amu. Moreover, I' would have preferred to 
 keep the boat we had, and I could not see how the 
 carriage, without mechanical appliances, was to be 
 transferred from one boat to the other. When at length 
 the new craft arrived, it was older and smaller than 
 
432 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the one we had, but they called everyone to work, 
 and, to my no little surprise, with their hands lifted 
 the heavy machine out of one boat into the other. 
 The Turkomans had lent their assistance, and I dis- 
 tributed three boxes of sugar-candy, not supposing 
 that such a ragged-looking lot, whose only belongings 
 appeared to be a few bales of tobacco, and those, 
 perhaps, committed to them for transport, would have 
 anything to offer in return ; but, to my surprise, they 
 offered a few nice-looking apples from Khiva, the 
 first I had tasted, but of disappointing flavour. 
 
 We now dismissed our escort, and at 12.45 P ut ^ 
 with only 3 oarsmen and the Toksaba, our two selves 
 and Yakoob, and 5 horses. The quarrelsomeness of our 
 horses was a constant nuisance. As they could not 
 be tied other than close together, and Yakoob' s steed 
 threatened to kick Sevier's, it caused the latter in- 
 cautiously to spring out of the way, and in' so doing, 
 much to his own surprise and ours likewise, to jump 
 into the water. He had therefore to swim until the 
 boat could be brought to land, whence he re-entered, 
 with his courage evidently cooled. At 3 o'clock the 
 right bank was from 10 to 15 feet high, and at 5.20 
 we came to sand barkhans, on the same side of the 
 river, from 30 to 40 feet in height. After leaving 
 Ildjik we overtook only one small boat, saw no 
 houses, and only one man on the banks before night 
 came on. The maximum temperature during the day 
 rose to 63, and the w r ind had so gone down that, as 
 we drank our tea by moonlight, Sevier sitting on the 
 box with a light and I inside, the candle for a long time 
 'was not blown out. They had given out on Thursday, 
 when we left Charjui, that they expected to reach 
 Kabakli in two days, and I had intended there to spend 
 something like a quiet Sunday. Waiting for the boat, 
 however, had hindered us, and I now urged the men 
 to take advantage of the moon, and go on as far as 
 possible during the night. This they consented to do 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OX US. 433 
 
 as long as they could see, after which we were 
 to lay to till break of day. Accordingly, after tea, 
 we turned in to rest, our slumbers being soothed 
 by the ripple of the waters, and occasionally dis- 
 turbed by the shouting of the men, 'when running 
 on a bank. We stopped for only about 4 hours 
 during the night, and by 8 next morning were oppo- 
 site the Tash-akhur cliffs on the left bank. Fifteen 
 versts further, beyond two wooded islands, we had 
 on our left the ruins of Sengr Rabat, and on the 
 opposite bank Chidari Kaya, in the Saradar or Soratas 
 tugai, and by half an hour before midday we reached 
 Kabakli. 
 
 The fame of Siberia as a place of exile is not un- 
 known in Bokhara, and, in imitation thereof, the Emir 
 is said to banish some of his criminals to Ustik, and 
 on the other side of the flood to Charjui and Kabakli, 
 which three places are called a la Bokharienne, Little, 
 Middle, and Great Siberia. 
 
 We had approached Kabakli during the great 
 Muhammadan feast of Kurban-Bairam, to which 
 Yakoob had been looking forward, and the Toksaba 
 asked me to sell him a silk khalat wherein he might 
 attend the mosque in grand array, taking good care, 
 however, to offer me little money and to say that he 
 had no more. When we landed and despatched a 
 messenger to the Bek to announce our arrival, he sent 
 to say that prayers were over, and that he was re- 
 ceiving visits, but that he would shortly send a djiguitt 
 or come himself to see us. Meanwhile a tent was 
 erected for our use in a wood among stunted trees and 
 stalks of pampas grass, one. of which last I had the 
 curiosity to cut, and found it measured 1 7 ft. 6 in. in 
 length. This wooded tract of country we had had on 
 our left for half an hour before arriving. Near at hand 
 was a flock of sheep, and during our stay the shepherd 
 came, saying that a wolf had just killed a sheep and 
 was making off therewith, but, on being chased, dropped 
 
 28 
 
434 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 it.* The shepherd said also that the Bek was on his 
 way to us. We had dined in the tent, and it was now 
 well on in the afternoon when the old gentleman arrived, 
 so infirm that one almost wondered at his being able to 
 mount a horse. I had once more to drain my stock of 
 European articles for presents, and I gave him, among 
 other things, my gorgeous, gold -embroidered, Servian 
 vest that had done such good service, a pair of spectacles 
 a ring, and some English needles. The one burden of 
 my request was that he would send us forward to Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk as speedily as possible, and with more 
 oarsmen. He promised to give us two additional men 
 and a mirza to represent himself, adding that, if the men 
 did not bring us there in two days, they should receive 
 five-and-twenty lashes. In the same breath, however, 
 he intimated that in fine weather the journey took three 
 days, whereupon I promised that if in that space of 
 time they brought us there, I would give a present, but 
 that if they failed so to do, I would let him know. I 
 asked if it would expedite matters to have our horses 
 sent by road, but he preferred not to undertake the 
 responsibility of sending them. All else, however, 
 that I asked he promised to do, and said that we should 
 start early on Monday morning. 
 
 We slept that night, if I remember rightly, one in 
 the tarantass and one in the tent, and early next morn- 
 
 * A modern illustration, I thought, of an ancient story : " Thy servant 
 kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion and a bear, and took a 
 lamb out of the flock ; and I went out after him, and delivered it out 
 of his mouth " (i Sam. xvii. 34, 35). The Kirghese on horseback hunt 
 the wolf and beat him to death with their riding-whips, and the fighting 
 of men with bears is said to be sometimes done still by the Gilyaks, 
 amongst whom I travelled on the Amur in 1879. John x. 12 seems to 
 contemplate the shepherd fighting the wolf, even to the laying down his 
 life for the sheep. In the Caucasus, where wolves abound, I learned, in 
 1880, that the shepherds provide themselves with wolf-like dogs in large 
 numbers to protect their flocks from beasts of prey, but I am not sure 
 whether or no this practice obtains among the natives of Central Asia. 
 Further down the Amu we saw a shepherd with his flock, but I do not 
 remember anything about a dog. I learned, however, that the Bo- 
 khariot shepherds do not lead, but drive their sheep, which would seem 
 to require the employment of canine help. 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OXUS. 435 
 
 ing were astir. There were provisions, of course, to 
 be taken in. The Bek sent no present, but provided 
 us with fodder for 5 horses, besides 4 live chickens, 
 bread, eggs, milk, cream, and melons. This was much 
 the same as had been provided for us at Charjui. 
 The Bek was spoken of as fond of turning a penny, 
 and, though he had sent no present, they said he would 
 purchase the bridles other beks had given me. I had 
 more than I wanted, and offered him two by the hand 
 of the Toksaba, for which he gave me two- thirds of 
 what I asked. I had an offer also at the place for a 
 pair of my horses, but not knowing whether I might 
 not want them beyond Petro-Alexandrovsk, I declined 
 to sell for less than ^3 each, and took them on. The 
 Toksaba had told us at Ildjik, as the reason for giving 
 us only three men instead of the eight we had had from 
 Charjui, that his men had run away ; but we learned at 
 Kabakli that it was a falsehood, for he had only three, 
 of whom one was ill. I cannot say that I liked this 
 official, and I was accordingly glad to give him his 
 congd when he desired to return. 
 
 The journey before us to the Russian frontier 
 beyond Ust-Uchak measured by the bed of the 
 river 113 miles. We launched forth at 7.10 on a 
 morning cloudy, but not windy, and after rowing 7 
 miles, passed on our left the ruins of Katta-kala, and 
 after 7 miles more, arrived at 10 o'clock at the Bish 
 Arandjan tugai, with the ruins of Uch-Keran (seem- 
 ingly also called Kavakli), on the left bank, whilst 
 opposite are two ruined castles, with a legend worthy 
 of the banks of the Rhine. 
 
 One is called Kyz-kala, or Maiden fortress, and the 
 other that of her lover, Im- or Djiguitt-kala. The 
 legendary origin of these two was given me as follows : 
 About 400 years ago there lived a princess, who did 
 not wish to be married, whereupon she ran away into 
 the Steppe, and built Kyz-kala, wherein to live in single 
 blessedness. Her lover followed, and erected Djiguitt- 
 
436 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 kala near, but to no purpose ; for the damsel remained 
 obdurate. Soon, however, it came to pass that she 
 was at a loss for water, and determined to excavate a 
 subterranean way to the river ; but the lover discovered 
 this, and stopped it up, whereupon the princess fled, and 
 her lover after her, and they were never heard of more ! 
 
 At 10.15 we came to three boats near the bank, and 
 8 miles from the lovers' fortresses we passed, on the 
 left hand, the ruins of Eshik-rabat, in a tugai of that 
 name, and a little further on were the ruins of a 
 fortress and tomb, named after a saint, one Kitmenchi- 
 baba. Opposite is the large Shurtankali tugai, 4 versts 
 along the bank, and on the map is marked the Tekke 
 ferry, the first below the one at Kabakli, where, by 
 the side of the place we landed, we had seen a 
 Turkoman barge proceeding in the same direction as 
 ourselves. At 3.20, the banks on the right I judged 
 to be from 40 to 50 feet high, and sandy. Yakoob 
 here went ashore to find some large stones, if possible, 
 whereon to rest his kettle in the boat during cooking 
 operations, but he was obliged to return with lumps 
 of earth. At 4. 1 5 we had on our right the Gurli 
 tugai, where w-e saw a shepherd with a staff indeed, 
 but straight, the Bokhariot staff having no crook. 
 
 At sunset the men wished to stop. This I en- 
 deavoured to prevent, reminding them that my reward 
 was offered on condition of their bringing me to Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk in three days. They said, however, that 
 the mud banks rendered navigation perilous by night, 
 and they drew to land ; but hearing there that the 
 Turkoman boat, which left Kabakli before us, had passed 
 only an hour before, they put off again, caught up the 
 craft, and stopped alongside for the night. 
 
 I suppose that our men sought the company of this 
 friendly Turkoman boat as a precaution against 
 robbers, for we were now in the most dangerous part 
 of our course. Our men were evidently shy of 
 travelling after dark. One evening they wished to 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OX US. 437 
 
 stop soon after six o'clock, and, in answer to my 
 urging them on, they replied by a threefold argument, 
 that I was in the first place the guest of the Emir ; 
 secondly, the guest of the Kush-beggi ; and, thirdly, 
 the guest of their own Bek. Consequently, being 
 responsible for our safety, they did not like to ven- 
 ture further for that night. Tekkes, however, were 
 not the only foes we had to fear, for just before going 
 to rest one night, Yakoob came from shore to say they 
 thought there were wolves about, and asked me to let 
 off 2 or 3 pistol-shots to scare them away. I emptied 
 3 barrels of my revolver into the air. Whether or no 
 the wolves were frightened I know not, but the horses 
 were, and it was well they did not take it into their 
 heads to break loose. 
 
 We started on Tuesday morning at 6.15, and soon 
 after saw a jackal (they call it shakat] on the left bank. 
 At 8 we breakfasted, on coffee, cream, cold chicken, and 
 bread and butter; and at 10 our head cook came for 
 orders for dinner. I said, " Soup as yesterday ; a 
 boiled chicken ; and, for a third course, rice-pudding, 
 with milk and eggs and sugar. To be served at one." 
 W T e had met, an hour and a half before, a boat with 
 a very rough-looking crew, from whom we had ob- 
 tained, by borrowing, begging, stealing, or some law of 
 exchange unknown to me, an extra man and a kettle, 
 concerning which latter, when the dinner came, we 
 asked no questions, but ate what was given us. We 
 were now becoming somewhat accustomed to roughing 
 it, and, besides, the weather was becoming more 
 agreeable. 
 
 At 1 1 o'clock we went on shore, near the hut of a 
 solitary fisherman, who, to my surprise, had in his 
 possession a Russian breech-loading rifle, the only one, 
 so far as I remember, that we saw in the Bokhara 
 Khanate. He had shot some wild animals and caught 
 a young hawk, which he sold me. They snare hawks 
 and young eagles by tying a sparrow on a fishing net, in 
 
438 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the meshes of which the bird of prey, as he pounces on 
 his quarry, entangles his claws. 
 
 I liked the men we had from Kabakli better than 
 any of the previous sets. The old Bek had been not 
 only as good as his word, but better; for, in addition 
 to the three men from Ildjik, who were content to go 
 foward with us, he gave us three oarsmen, also an Issaul- 
 (or Yessaul)-Bashi, or centurion, named Hadji Muham- 
 mad, and a Mirza, or secretary, Jurabai. The last 
 two, as well as Yakoob, I think, occasionally took their 
 turn at an oar as volunteers, and I made further use of 
 them in calling them to the tarantass, and pumping 
 them with questions. They said the Amu begins to 
 rise in April, is high in May, June, and July, but 
 highest in June,* and lowest at the end of November.t 
 
 The Mirza carried about him, in a long, narrow, 
 Chinese-looking box, his trade implements, reed pens, 
 ink, penknife (truly so called), and scissors wherewith 
 to cut paper. I was taken with his scissors, which were 
 so made that the hole for thumb and finger were 
 placed not by the side of, but behind, each other, and 
 thus the instrument, when not open, measured barely 
 half an inch at the widest part. He gladly exchanged 
 them for an English pen and pencil case, and I added 
 them to my collection of curiosities. As he was 
 supposed to be educated I asked him sundry questions 
 on religious matters, and among others what were his 
 notions of a future life. He said, that as a man dies, 
 so he remains until the resurrection, when, the earth 
 being flat, the dead grow out of it like grass. Then God 
 divides the bad from the good : the bad He sends to 
 hell, and the good to heaven. Heaven is a place, he said, 
 where persons live immortal, and where every wish is 
 fulfilled ; but then the Mirza added, what hardly agreed 
 
 * Thus it might be said of the Oxus, as of the Jordan, that it ' ' over- 
 floweth all his banks all the time of harvest" (Joshua iii. 15); both 
 rivers being fed by the melting of snow on the mountains about their 
 sources the Lebanon and the Pamir. 
 
 t All old style. 
 
FLOATING DOWN TPIE OX US. 439 
 
 with the foregoing statement, that the creditor there 
 might seek out his debtor, and though he could not 
 demand his money, yet if the debtor were a good man, 
 and the creditor a sinner, the creditor might take away 
 the virtue of all the debtor's good deeds, so appropri- 
 ating them as to be saved thereby. 
 
 In the course of the day the men asked permission 
 to sing Bokhariot and Turkoman songs, and, of course, 
 we consented. One man, for want of a tambourine, 
 took a basin, and they sang the praises of their heroes, 
 but Turkoman singing is very monotonous. 
 
 Our gondoliers told us on Tuesday night that we 
 had made during the day 12 tashes, as also, they said, 
 1 1 tashes the day before ; but we put little confidence 
 in their statements, since they seemed to reckon pretty 
 much by the rule of thumb. Starting next morning, 
 however, at 6.15, in two hours and a half we came 
 within sight of Uch-Uchak. 
 
 Uch-Uchak derives its name from " three hills," 
 whereon they fancifully say a kettle might be placed as 
 on a tripod. Here, at 9.45, we went ashore, the 
 centurion's business being to look after a man, who 
 had under cultivation 130 acres of linseed, besides other 
 crops. In the previous year he had sowed one batman 
 of seed, and reaped, they said, a hundred batmans, 
 but this year the floods had destroyed his harvest, and 
 he professed to have reaped nothing. Consequently 
 the Bek had told the " Issaul," or centurion, to look at 
 the land. The farmer was found and presented to us, 
 and a very rough object he was, without stockings, 
 and with a skin resembling leather. He was reported, 
 however, to employ 12 men, and lived in the village, so- 
 called, of Uch-Uchak, not visible from the river. At 
 3. 1 5 we had, on our left, the Sadivar ruins, and opposite, 
 on the right bank, the ruins of Meshekli, whose cby walls 
 and towers form a small square. At the time of the. 
 Russian invasion, in 1873, these were said to have been 
 well preserved, and apparently not long deserted. At 
 
440 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 4 o'clock the Mirza went on shore, professedly to get 
 melons, but I fancy to execute some other com- 
 mission. I followed him for some distance, through 
 reeds, long grass, and bushes of tamarisk, but found 
 him going too far, and returned. 
 
 This gave me a short opportunity of seeing some- 
 thing of the vegetation on the banks of the Amu. It 
 is poor enough, and generally saline. Where the 
 banks are not inundated one meets with scrub jungle, 
 and thickets of briars. Also, where the banks are 
 inundated for a season, there spring up, on the 
 receding of the water, a few annual plants. These, 
 with the vast beds of pampas grass, and the varie- 
 gated colours of the tamarisk, afforded occasionally 
 a little relief to what was otherwise a dreary, and 
 I must also add a lonely, landscape, for we saw 
 scarcely any inhabitants. 
 
 The Mirza came at last, bringing melons, which 
 did not, however, atone for the long time he kept us 
 waiting, so that our two stoppages had been a decided 
 hindrance, and, to make matters a little worse, we ran 
 aground towards evening on a mud bank. Upon this 
 the men first got out and waded about the river to 
 find the channel, and then the horses were taken out. 
 After this, the boat being floated, all- were reshipped, 
 and we went on till 2 o'clock. The temperature 
 during the preceding night had sunk to 36, and rose 
 during the Wednesday to 87 ; but a change of weather 
 was coming, and on the Thursday morning a strong 
 wind blew, rendering our progress slow. 
 
 We were now approaching a remarkable portion of 
 the river, termed by the natives " Touja-moujoun," or 
 Camel's Hump, and by the Russians Pitniaksy-louka, 
 or the " Pitniak bend." It is perhaps the sharpest 
 curve of the Amu throughout its course certainly so 
 after leaving the mountains. The arc measures 13 
 miles round, and 4 miles across. 
 
 We passed the sand barkhans on the right bank, and 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OXUS. 441 
 
 the tomb of Bazerviak opposite Uch-Tiube, and about 
 2 o'clock were approaching Pitniak, and, just beyond, 
 on the right bank, the fort Kurtli (built by the 
 K hi vans to oppose the Russians in 1873, and from 
 whence the natives fled on the enemy's approach), 
 when our men told us that we were only 9 miles dis- 
 tant by land (though much further by water) from 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk. I determined to escape the slow 
 journeying by boat, and to proceed on horseback, the 
 Mirza and Centurion undertaking to bring us there. 
 Accordingly we charged Yakoob to accompany the 
 tarantass, and to bring it, with all our belongings, to 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, whilst Sevier and I, and the two 
 Bokhariots, were to ride. 
 
 I little knew what we were undertaking ; but we 
 started in excellent spirits. Our horses, after standing 
 so long in a leaky boat, were delighted to use their 
 legs. The Centurion had asked Yakoob privately, 
 before we started, whether we were fast riders or slow, 
 and, as Yakoob told him unhesitatingly the former, we 
 set off at a dashing pace. Our route at first lay over 
 a desert almost as bad as the sands of Sundukli, save 
 that here and there were bushes of tamarisk, but no 
 footprints were visible. At length we recognized the 
 tracks of camels' feet, and knew that we had struck 
 the Khiva- Bokhara caravan-route. Then, turning to 
 the left, we entered the cultivated region of Ak-Kamysh, 
 supplied with water by aryks from the right bank of 
 the river beyond the point where we had left it. We 
 passed Turkoman farms with havHs, or fortress-like 
 farm-houses, and had gone on some miles when the 
 Centurion and I, being ahead, missed Sevier and the 
 Mirza. At first I thought nothing of it, supposing 
 they would catch us up, but when this did not happen 
 I began to get uneasy. The Centurion galloped 
 about, but could see nothing of them. At length we 
 mounted a knoll, and saw them coming, Sevier in the 
 gallop having lost his overcoat, had gone back to seek 
 
442 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and fortunately to find it. As the afternoon grew, and 
 we had ridden fast, I began to think the 9 Bokhariot 
 miles were uncommonly long ones, and matters were 
 worsened by the fact of our being unable to ask any 
 questions. We could only make signs to our guides, 
 who I was afraid did not know the way, and, if they 
 did, could communicate nothing. They kept pointing 
 ahead, and, as the sun began to go down, I saw on 
 the horizon a belt of trees that reminded me of those 
 planted by the Russians at Tashkend and Vierny, and 
 from the nodding of the men we thought we must be 
 within sight of our destination. My Diotrephes sus- 
 tained his character, and kept on well ahead ; but it 
 was bitterly disappointing, when almost dark, on 
 reaching the trees, to find we were not at the end of 
 our journey. Moreover, it now grew cold, and "the 
 fun of the thing" was all gone, to say nothing of 
 want of food. 
 
 At length we came to a collection of houses, and 
 could make out from the men that it was Shurakaneh, 
 which is about 5 miles east of the river. It was 
 nearly dark when we passed through the bazaar, 
 which looked very small, but remarkably strange, since 
 many of the houses were built in havli fashion, though 
 opening on to the street. The place appeared empty, 
 and we looked in vain for signs of Russians. Presently, 
 beyond the bazaar, we crossed an aryk by a wooden 
 bridge that was unmistakably of European build, and 
 this revived our spirits for a moment, thinking we must 
 be near Petro-Alexandrovsk. But a greater trial of 
 our faith awaited us ; when, passing on, we seemed to 
 leave every human being behind, and were making 
 once more for the desert, and to travel there, too, in 
 the dark ! I confess to not liking this, for the guides 
 were unable to give us any idea how much further we 
 had to go ; we were leaving habitations behind for 
 sand in front, and I had heard too much of Turkomans 
 to have unbounded faith in their honesty. It was of 
 
FLOATING DOWN THE OX US. 443 
 
 no use, however, to object, and I was resigning myself 
 with a heavy heart when the Centurion, going on 
 ahead, saw, from a hillock, something that caused him 
 to exclaim, and very shortly I did so too ; for in the 
 distance were visible a row of lighted windows that I 
 knew must belong to houses of Europeans, and it 
 proved to be the windows of the Russian barracks, 4 
 miles from Shurakaneh, at Petro-Alexandrovsk. It 
 subsequently appeared that the distance we had ridden, 
 instead of being 14, was 40 versts that is, 27 miles 
 instead of 9. This, however, was soon forgotten, for 
 on presenting my letters we received a welcome from 
 Madame and General von Grotenhielm, the Governor, 
 in whose house we were not sorry to return once more 
 to the comforts of a Russian home. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 OUR STA Y AT PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK. 
 
 By what route homewards ? The Orenburg and Aralo-Caspian routes. 
 A social evening at the Governor's house. Change of weather. 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk and its institutions. Proposed desert 
 journey. Arrival of tarantass. Distribution of Scriptures. 
 Results of Bible work in Siberia and Central Asia. 
 
 A QUESTION of prime importance to be dis- 
 cussed on our arrival at Petro-Alexandrovsk 
 was, "How should we get away again?" We had 
 lighted for a moment upon an oasis of civilization, but 
 "many miles from everywhere," and so completely 
 desert-locked, that we could not proceed in any direc- 
 tion without crossing hundreds of versts of sand. We 
 were 400 miles west of Tashkend, in which direction 
 there is a route, on Russian territory, followed, I 
 suppose, by Conolly when going from Khiva to 
 Khokand, and striking the Russian post-route at 
 Jizakh. Another route attaining at Perovsk the 
 Tashkend-Orenburg post-track would be by the one 
 just mentioned as far as the Bukan-Tau, and then 
 proceeding north through Irkibai, the difficult road 
 that was so bravely taken by MacGahan, the corre- 
 spondent of the New York Herald, at the time of the 
 Russian conquest of Khiva. Or, once more, if I wished 
 to return by Orenburg, there was the comparatively 
 easy road taken by the late Captain Burnaby on his 
 ride from .Khiva. I infer its comparative ease because 
 
O UR STA Y AT PETR O-AL EX A NDR O VSK. 445 
 
 Madame Grotenhielm told me she accomplished it 
 in the depth of winter. It is very common in Asiatic 
 Russia, when a lady or gentleman is travelling alone, 
 to seek for a poputchik, or companion, which, among 
 other advantages, halves the expense for the hire of 
 horses. Whether Madame had inquired for 2L poputchik 
 I know not, but she told me that at Kazalinsk, or 
 some preceding station, they had mentioned to her 
 that there was a lady and an English captain, both 
 journeying independently to Petro-Alexandrovsk, and 
 she was asked if she would like a travelling companion. 
 Madame joined the lady ; and thus, whilst the English 
 officer, who was none other than the late Captain 
 Burnaby, was doing his " ride to Khiva," these two 
 ladies, unprotected, were accomplishing a similar thing, 
 but travelling in a tarantass drawn by a camel. 
 
 This, I was told, must be my method of progression, 
 and the only one possible if I wished to go forward 
 with my tarantass. The distance to Kazalinsk would 
 be 400 miles, taking, at the least, 1 1 or 12 days, and 
 beyond Kazalinsk was another sandy tract of 180 
 miles, that must 'be traversed similarly before coming 
 to a road where horses could speed forward my 
 carriage. Matters, too, just then were made tempora- 
 rily worse owing to the postal service having broken 
 down through the contractor coming to grief finan- 
 cially. I had heard at Tashkend with what difficulty 
 and expense private horses could be obtained to cover 
 the disorganized portion of the road ; and though I had 
 it in my favour that General Chernaieff had recently 
 travelled by the post-road to Tashkend ; that the 
 Kirghese would be wandering along the line with 
 their horses to winter quarters ; and further, that General 
 Grotenhielm would do all in his power to help me 
 forward, yet I could not but see that to proceed to 
 Orenburg promised to be a long business. 
 
 Besides, I did not wish to return by Orenburg. 
 From the day I left London my heart had been set 
 
446 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 upon crossing the Aralo-Caspian desert. Some 
 thought the project for me impossible. Another 
 considered it so dangerous, owing to the uncertainty 
 of the Turkomans, who one day may be amicable, and 
 on the next bloodthirsty, that he strongly counselled 
 me not to venture, even though the authorities at 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk should pronounce it safe. The 
 Governor-General at Tashkend offered no opinion, 
 but said General Grotenhielm would advise me. 
 Meanwhile we heard of two parties of Europeans 
 who, as travellers and without a military escort, had 
 accomplished the journey in safety. The first was a 
 doctor, and an engineer, Russians, with an Armenian 
 clerk, who left Petro-Alexandrovsk in March of the 
 previous year, and crossed by the most direct route, 
 past the well Charishli to Krasnovodsk, the 460 miles 
 needed for this being too great a temptation to them, 
 compared with the longer Kazalinsk route, even though 
 people thought it risky, and called them madmen. 
 An account of their journey was published in the 
 Petersburg Vedomost, 23rd March (4th April), 1882. 
 Sevier translated the account for me as we floated 
 down the Oxus ; but, from the hills of sand that were 
 mentioned, it seemed clear we could not cross this way 
 in our tarantass. The second party alluded to con- 
 sisted of Messrs. Capus and Bonvalot, who crossed by 
 the same route six months later. 
 
 If, then, two Russians had accomplished the journey 
 and two Frenchmen, why not also two Englishmen ? 
 The General thought it safe, and, besides the novelty 
 of the route, it promised not only to save me time, but 
 to take us towards the Caucasus, where I was anxious 
 to see how fared, in the prisons and hospitals, the 
 distribution of Bibles I had set on foot there in 1880, 
 and which I have since learned has been carried out. 
 Another circumstance favourable to my going to the 
 Caspian was that the General was about to despatch 
 his monthly letter to Krasnovodsk, to be forwarded 
 
OUR STA Y AT PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK. 447 
 
 thence to Askabad, and the man who acted as post- 
 man could be my guide. This was opportune, and, all 
 things considered, I decided to go, so that the next 
 question was by what route ? The General could 
 send me, he said, to Kizil Arvat, the Trans-Caspian 
 railway terminus, but, as it was so late in the season, he 
 was not sure whether I might not find, on reaching the 
 other end of the line, that the local steamboat to 
 Krasnovodsk had ceased running, in which case I 
 should have to make a land journey of about 80 miles 
 round the bay, with such convenience for transport 01 
 baggage as I could get. As this might detain me 
 several days, I determined not to run the risk, but 
 to go instead by a more northerly route. 
 
 These questions, so full of interest to us, were dis- 
 cussed over glasses of hot tea in the Governor's house 
 on the evening of our arrival. In riding costume, with 
 high boots, and all in the rough as we came off our 
 journey, we were not highly presentable objects for 
 a lady's drawing-room ; but Madame von Grotenhielm 
 made us welcome, and it was a great treat to me to 
 be able once more to speak direct in French to a 
 European, and not through double interpreters as 
 with the Asiatics. Some of the officers of the garrison 
 came in to spend the evening, and among them was 
 a Captain Gidayat Ullah Hadji Mirbadaleff, a native, 
 who had been taken from Bokhara as a boy; educated, 
 and half- Russianized at Orenburg. He played the 
 violin, accompanied by our hostess at the piano, and 
 whilst my ears were thus entertained, my eyes were 
 feasted with amateur photographs of some of the ruins 
 we had seen in descending the Amu, and others of 
 Kunia Urgenj, the ancient capital of Khiva, through 
 which the General said we should pass. 
 
 We slept that night near the Governor's house, in 
 the apartments of Captain Mirbadaleff, and as we had 
 not taken off our clothes since leaving Charjui, I need 
 hardly add that we slept soundly. But what a change 
 
448 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 had come over the scene next morning ! The windows 
 were frosted, the ground and water frozen, and the 
 fresh wind of yesterday had increased to a gale, and 
 become so cold, that I thought somewhat uneasily 
 what it would be to cross the desert in such weather. 
 This, they said, was the beginning of winter, for which 
 I had better prepare ; and so it seemed, for the 
 soldiers were walking in sheepskins, and civilians with 
 their fur collars turned up, and looking the reverse of 
 cheerful. As I had nothing warmer than a 'Maude 
 shawl, my Ulster being in the tarantass, the General 
 clothed me in a thick officer's overcoat, and in this 
 uniform, after morning tea at his house, took me to 
 see the " lions." 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk was not ten years old at the 
 date of my visit, but looked as Russian as other towns 
 of its class, forming a great contrast to the crowded 
 houses of the Asiatics. Here was a huge square, big 
 enough for a parade ground, and the domiciles of the 
 few inhabitants were so spread around as to make it 
 quite a journey from one part of the little town to the 
 other. The troops, at the time of my visit, stand in 
 my notes thus: 2 battalions (1,000), 4 sotnias (600), 
 and a battery of artillery (350) ; but my memory does 
 not serve me as to whether the figures in brackets are 
 comprehensive or distributive. The principal building 
 of the place, on one side of the square, is the fortress, 
 with a somewhat imposing gateway, built upon the site 
 of a house and garden once belonging to an uncle of 
 the Khan of Khiva. A wall surrounds the fort, and 
 within are the Governor's house and public offices, 
 besides officers' quarters. Autumn was too far ad- 
 vanced to leave any beauty in the trees and gardens, 
 in which latter generally, at Petro, the rose is the only 
 flower cultivated. But the last rose of summer had 
 long since disappeared, though one could imagine the 
 trees to afford a grateful shade in the earlier part of 
 the year. 
 
OUR STAY AT PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK. 449 
 
 We visited first the hospital, with 80 beds. Each 
 tent of the nomads of the province pays 2s. 6d. yearly, 
 for which the local government provides for the repair 
 of roads and bridges, and a hospital, dispensary, and 
 school. The natives, however, find their children too 
 valuable to spare them from work, so that there were 
 in the Sart school only 15 boys. The girls are not 
 taught at all. Hence only a small proportion of the 
 natives can read. For the Russians at Petro they 
 have a school of two classes, containing 40 scholars. 
 
 Besides the foregoing there was in the town a public 
 bath, which we patronized, and, let me not fail to 
 add, a general shop, where we laid in provisions, also 
 a lantern, a pail, and a kettle, for we were now to " do 
 for ourselves in a very practical sense of the phrase. 
 It was desirable, however, that we should not purchase 
 here such things as we could get in Khiva, because of 
 the trouble of carriage. Shall I add the prices of 
 articles in this out-of-the-way part of the world ? 
 Rusks, the staff of life to the desert traveller, cost i^. 
 per lb., and biscuits is. $d. ; candles 2od. Native 
 articles, however, were cheaper ; mutton 3^., beef \\d. 
 to 2d., grapes from 2 to 5 farthings, and butter 2s. 
 per lb. Carrots and potatoes, \d. per lb. We thought 
 we should get potatoes at Khiva, but were dis- 
 appointed. Eggs cost \d. each, and cabbages from 
 IQS. to 1 8s. a hundred. Prices of other things, not in 
 our line, were, $s. gd. per yard for camlet for ladies' 
 dresses;* saxaul for fuel, 16 Ibs. for id. ; burnt bricks 30^. 
 to 405., and dried 45. to 6s. per 1,000. Monthly wages 
 of women-servants at Petro-Alexandrovsk stood at 
 14^., and of a coachman i, each with food; a horse's 
 food costing 145. a month. 
 
 We had been favoured with some private introduc- 
 tions to officers, and amongst others to Captain Kryloff, 
 
 * This was the finest material of bond fide camel's hair I had seen, 
 and very different from the thick camel's hair-cloth made into a prison 
 garment I bought in Siberia, than which the Baptist could hardly 
 have had anything coarser (Matt. iii. 4). 
 
 29 
 
450 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 whom we visited. He would have liked to accompany 
 us across the Aralo-Caspian desert, but he was ill in 
 bed. Another officer, who proved a valuable acquaint- 
 ance, was Lieutenant-Colonel Pevtzoff, who, at the 
 Governor's request, took great pains in equipping us 
 for our journey, provided a small tent, and lent us 
 a couple of water-barrels. We did not fully under- 
 stand at the time the value of this arrangement, for 
 we must otherwise have taken water-skins, which are 
 not so desirable. A native, too, was presented to us, 
 one Tailly, who usually undertook the carriage of the 
 Governor's monthly despatch to Krasnovodsk. 
 
 On the morning after our arrival we were anxiously 
 looking for Yakoob, but no news came of the tarantass 
 all that day, nor was it till Saturday, the day follow- 
 ing, about noon, that it arrived, whereupon I sent my 
 promised presents to the men, by the Centurion and 
 the Mirza, and gave them a letter to the Bek. I had 
 now to become salesman, as hitherto a buyer, and to 
 get rid of my tarantass and two of my horses. I was 
 not very canny in selling the animals, for when a man 
 came to look at them I asked only 6 for the two. 
 He took the better of them, and obligingly told me 
 that I had asked too little. I did better with the 
 tarantass, which had accompanied me for 5,000 miles, 
 for I now sold it for more than half as much again as 
 it cost me. It was cheap, however, even so, to the 
 purchaser at such a distance from the place of manu- 
 facture. In fact, I had asked a higher price, and my 
 purchaser, knowing that I must sell, had quietly sent 
 something more than half the sum demanded, saying 
 that I might take the roubles if no one would give 
 more. Being in a corner I was obliged to accept the 
 offer, but it was satisfactory even then to be able to 
 score on the right side. 
 
 I had now to make arrangements for the transport 
 of ourselves and baggage across the desert. The 
 Governor kindly interested himself, and arranged with 
 
O UR STA Y AT PETR O-A LEX A NDR O VSK. 45 1 
 
 the man Tailly that he should go forward and hire 
 camels for us. The next need was a native inter- 
 preter, for Yakoob's engagement extended only to 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk. Meanwhile he had improved 
 upon acquaintance, and I was anxious that he should 
 go on to Krasnovodsk. Like a wise man, he took time 
 to consider, and sleep upon it, with the result that on 
 the morrow he decided to go as far as Sary-Kamish. 
 For this he was to have at the rate of ^4 per month, 
 with everything found, and I promised an additional 
 present. Yakoob bought the remaining horse I had 
 to sell the vicious Arab, of whom everyone fought 
 shy, for ^3, so that our steeds were reduced to the 
 two I had bought at Samarkand for Sevier and myself, 
 and it only remained to pack four arbas, hired at 8s. 
 each, to take our goods before us to Khiva. 
 
 On Sunday I asked the Governor's acceptance of 22 
 New Testaments, and about 100 tracts, the remainder, 
 or thereabouts, of my stock of 5,064 Scriptures and 
 12,000 other publications, given and sold since leaving 
 Petersburg. I had now been privileged to accomplish 
 my heart's desire in distributing enough copies of the 
 Bible and portions thereof, so that at least one might be 
 placed in every room of each prison and every hospital 
 in Russian Central Asia, the complement to what I 
 had done, three years before, for each prison and hospital 
 in Siberia. I had also left a large number to be dis- 
 tributed to free exiles passing to their remote destina- 
 tions in the interior. These have been distributed as 
 I wished, and thankfully read on the way, as there is 
 written testimony to show. 
 
 I hear that several books have fallen into other, 
 but most suitable, hands. Many of the poorer class 
 of Russians, located near Samara, where living is dear, 
 have lately been migrating with their families into 
 Siberia, far beyond Omsk and Tomsk. They are 
 described to me as all decent, well-behaved people, a 
 great many of them being able to read ; and my correr 
 
452 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 spondent says, "It would do one's heart good to see 
 how glad they are of the Bibles, and how carefully 
 they wrap them up." And well they may, for they 
 will perhaps not have the chance of getting more for 
 years to come. The books in quantities for the hos- 
 pitals and prisons I had to leave with the authorities, 
 and in the case of those who bought I have little to 
 tell, because I was as one deaf and dumb, and I could 
 only hold up the book, and name, or point to, the 
 number of kopecks demanded. 
 
 Many will be sceptical, no doubt, as to the ultimate 
 worth of such an undertaking. Its value, however, must 
 not be judged as if it had been done now in England. 
 There was not a Bible depot in all Turkistan until the 
 year I went there, and the open distribution of tracts, 
 I wot, had never been seen there before. Not that I 
 w r ould seem to forget what has been done in European 
 Russia. As I walked through the Moscow Exhibition 
 I came to a stall whence 300,000 tracts had been dis- 
 tributed in 40 days, and the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society had given 10,000 copies of the Gospels to be 
 similarly distributed there. Again, I was cheered in 
 Ekaterineburg to meet with an agent of the Bible 
 Society, who, in 8 years, had sold 8,079 copies for 
 ^238. Telling me of his difficulties in so doing, he 
 said he had sometimes striven to incite inquiry by 
 offering to sell a peasant a New Testament for 10 
 kopecks, and, when read, to take it back at the same 
 price. But in this he had not always met with success, 
 for so densely ignorant were they, that they preferred 
 to keep the i\d. in their pocket, and forego the reading 
 of the book. So, too, I have mentioned an officer at 
 Tashkend distributing Scriptures among his soldiers. 
 
 Fallow ground, therefore, is being broken in various 
 parts of the Empire, and I have heard incidentally from 
 travellers, who have been in Siberia after me, that the 
 books I left are exceedingly valued. The 2,498 Scrip- 
 tures distributed in Siberia and Central Asia by the 
 
OUR STAY AT PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK. 453 
 
 agents of the British and Foreign Bible Society in 
 1881, increased in 1882 sixfold, to 14,638, and of three 
 causes contributing to this, the Committee were good 
 enough to reckon my efforts as one. I am hopeful, 
 therefore, that my labour has not been in vain, and I 
 am still more hopeful of what is to follow, for the 
 experience of all ages has been that those who submit 
 themselves to the teaching of the Bible are elevated, 
 improved, and blessed thereby. I strongly urged upon 
 the Committee, in 1879, the hastening of what they 
 had long been contemplating, namely, the opening of 
 a depot in Siberia, and, what is better, I have been 
 able to find a Finnish nobleman, who for this purpose 
 was willing to give up his father's home and family, 
 and go into voluntary exile to Irkutsk. A depot is now 
 opened there ; 1,048 copies were sold during the first 
 three weeks, and by the latest report of the Bible 
 Society (for 1883-4) I perceive that Tomsk, Blagovest- 
 chensk, Kiakhta, and even Yakutsk are indicated as 
 future centres around which colporteurs may travel 
 with the Word of Life. To have initiated or helped 
 forward such a work, therefore, I count an honour to 
 be remembered through life, and I was thankful for 
 the point attained to at Petro-Alexandrovsk.^ 
 
 Some weeks after writing the foregoing paragraphs 
 I happened to pick up part of a report of the Bible 
 Society (1882-3), and my eye chanced to fall on the 
 following : 
 
 "A MAN OF THE WORLD ARRESTED. 
 
 " A worldly man in a good position, but alienated from God, was in 
 Helsingfors on business, when he received a telegram from his wife, 
 saying that his favourite child was dying, and that if he wished to see 
 her alive, he must hasten home. He set off with his heart full of 
 bitterness against God, so much so that he cried out as he sat in the 
 sledge, ' Thou mayest take my child, but me Thou shalt never have ! ' 
 
 * From the last report I see the circulation from the new Tashkend 
 dep6t, for 1883, amounted to 3,202 copies, and for Siberia and Central 
 Asia combined, 10,864 copies, besides the circulation effected in Khiva 
 and Bokhara by colporteurs from the Caspian, as will be mentioned 
 hereafter. 
 
454 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 The driver was shocked by his language, and cried, ' Such a blasphemer 
 I never met ! ' Coming to a station where he had to change horses, 
 while he was inscribing his name in the way-book he observed a copy 
 of the New Testament and Psalms on the table, one of the books which 
 we (the British and Foreign Bible Society) have helped to place in each 
 inn, station-house, and passenger steamer in Finland. Almost 
 automatically he opened it, and his eyes fell upon the first verse of the 
 first Psalm, ' Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the 
 ungodly,' etc. 
 
 " The words fastened on his mind, and he could not drive them from 
 his thoughts. As the horses were not ready, he took a turn in the 
 open air, brooding over the words, and when he came to the next 
 station he read them again in the book he found there, and in order to 
 retain them he copied them on a piece of paper. As he thought about 
 them, he felt that 'the way of trangressors was hard,' and began to 
 realize his sinfulness. 
 
 "When he came home he learnt that his dear child was gone. 
 Though overwhelmed with sorrow, he sought the Bible for comfort; 
 there was no copy in the house ; and he had to send out to procure one, 
 but in its pages he found consolation. He has not only continued to 
 read it, but he makes it the guide of his life." 
 
 The reader will understand my thankful surprise on 
 reading this when I add that the narrator of the story 
 was none other than my friend Miss Alba Hellmann, 
 who put it into my head to go to Siberia ; and the 
 words I have italicised represent the distribution of 
 Scriptures in Finland as the outcome of my journey 
 there in 1876. Here, then, is fruit found after many 
 days, and not a few, I am sure, will join in the prayer 
 that it may be so again and again in Asiatic Russia. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 
 
 Departure with the Khivan Consul. Journey to the Oxus and crossing 
 Arrival at Khanki. Extraordinary sepulchres. Our lunch and 
 native food. The Khivan oasis and its gardens. Arrival in Khiva 
 at the house of the Divan-beggi. His antecedents and visit. 
 Inspection of his premises. Our visit to the Khan. Burnaby's, 
 "Ride to Khiva." 
 
 WE left Petro-Alexandrovsk on Monday morning, 
 October 3Oth, at 7 o'clock, having broken 
 our fast, not with beefsteaks and coffee as an English- 
 man would- before starting for a 4O-mile ride, but on 
 tea and biscuits, which is the usual beginning of a 
 Russian day's eating. The ground and trees were 
 covered with rime. Diotrephes was fresh after three 
 days' rest, and he and I soon agreed upon a gallop.. 
 Sevier was ready to follow, but the rest of the party 
 lagged. We were escorted by an old Uzbeg whom 
 the General called "the Consul," a djiguitt, and two or 
 three followers, all of them natives. The Consul was. 
 a sort of representative of the Khan at Petro-Alexan- 
 drovsk, so that when the Russian authorities had any 
 communication to make with his Highness, it was 
 done through this man. The General spoke of him 
 not quite as his lackey, indeed, but he bade me fix the 
 time I would start in the morning, and he wotdd then 
 " tell the Consul to be ready to take me," and so on. 
 Accordingly, when I found my attendants lagging, I 
 sent back to urge them to mend their pace ; but the 
 
456 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Consul sent me word that he was a man of importance, 
 and that to hurry would be beneath his dignity. 
 Whereupon I examined him attentively. He was of 
 more than three-score years, dressed in a blue cloth 
 outer khalat, edged with fur, and two khalats beneath, 
 confined by a girdle with an agate clasp, from which 
 were suspended two knives, a hone, and scissors, the 
 last stamped " London." He wore a very tall, black 
 hat, I think of Kara-Kul lambskin, and out of the top 
 peeped a piece of blue cloth. He was mounted on a 
 tall Turkoman horse, whose tapering neck was encircled, 
 like a lady's waist, with silver straps, the bridle also 
 being mounted with silver and with agate. I had, by 
 chance, spoken to Madame von Grotenhielm of this 
 provoking nonsense about grandees riding sedately, 
 and she had told me that her husband, when accom- 
 panied by the Consul, rode ahead at his own pace, and 
 left the old man to follow ; which, in this case, was all 
 very well, partly because his Excellency knew the 
 road, and next, being Governor, the Consul could give 
 himself no airs. 
 
 In my own case I modified the General's plan by 
 riding forward, but frequently turned off the road to 
 look at objects of interest, of which there were plenty 
 in a country where to me almost everything was new. 
 Our route, at starting, lay for 7 miles to the north- 
 west, parallel with the Amu, and about 3 from it. We 
 passed the Cossack cavalry station, and also, a mile 
 after starting, a tower in ruins, a minaret of burnt 
 brick, and adjacent tombs, some of them being partly 
 covered with vegetation, whilst others were simply 
 mounds of clay. On coming opposite to the Khanki 
 ferry we turned to the left at right angles, and, cross- 
 ing four narrow canals, bore clown straight to the river, 
 a good part of the way over land that is submerged in 
 time of flood. On a Russian map I have, 13 versts to 
 the inch, the river's width at the ferry is 2\ versts, 
 and it took us about an hour to cross. We did not 
 
FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 457 
 
 float all the way, but were three times landed on 
 islands that look small in the map, but whose area in 
 each case was sufficiently large to lead me to think, in 
 getting out of the boat, that we had reached the 
 Khivan bank. 
 
 When this was really the case we rode across steppe 
 country till 10.45, an d tnen began the fields, or so- 
 called Khiva " gardens"; this word being applicable in 
 the fashion that one speaks in Kent of hop " gardens," 
 only that the Khivan acres are not a tenth so pretty. 
 The ditches round the fields were skirted by willows, 
 djida, and pollard mulberry trees. At 1 1 we reached 
 Khanki, where Vambery spent a night in the Kalanter 
 Khane, or quarter for dervishes, and where Captain 
 Burnaby slept in the house of the governor. 
 
 As Diotrephes and I, ahead as usual, approached 
 the town we came to a cemetery, and seeing some of the 
 tombs in a very dilapidated condition, I had the curio- 
 sity to dismount and peep within, when, to my surprise, 
 I saw two or three skulls and other bones lying on the 
 surface, as if they had never been put beneath the 
 ground. And this I gathered is sometimes the case. 
 
 I could hardly believe Yakoob, on his coming up, 
 when first he said this, because in such a hot country 
 it occurred to me that the effluvia of a graveyard would 
 be terrible. But he said that it was so even in Bo- 
 khara, where the graveyards do smell offensively in 
 summer. At Samarkand he said the graves are made 
 6 feet deep, but that at Bokhara, as at Khanki, there 
 is lack of room, and hence the practice alluded to. 
 Moreover, he added that the same vaults are used over 
 again, the bones of the former occupants being pushed 
 into a corner to make way for the new corpse, which 
 might have been the case with the three skulls I saw 
 in one tomb ; or, again, it seemed they may have been 
 originally placed there together.* 
 
 * May not this illustrate i Kings xiii. 31 : "When I am dead, then 
 bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried : lay my 
 
458 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 In this graveyard at Khanki the orders of Josiah 
 could have been easily executed when he "sent and 
 took the bones out of the sepulchres and burned them 
 upon the altar."* 
 
 Lunch was prepared for us at Khanki, in a suburban 
 house with farm buildings, and we squatted round a 
 fire on the hearth in the centre of the room. I offered 
 the Consul a glass of my English tea, which won his 
 keenest approbation. They used to get in Khiva 
 Indian tea, but the Russians have practically shut it 
 out of the market by a prohibitive duty. Conse- 
 quently the natives drink "green tea," as they call it, 
 costing from $s. to ^s. a pound, or, if they desire 
 better, black Russian "family" tea. The Consul pro- 
 nounced, however, " Green tea is good ; family tea 
 is better ; but that tea would make one as ' fat as 
 a camel ' ! " I observed on the hearth a curious pair 
 of tongs, so clumsy that I thought to get the like for 
 a curiosity, and I asked the Consul whether they could 
 
 bones beside his bones" ; or, again, the hurried thrusting of a corpse 
 into the sepulchre of Elisha (2 Kings xiii. 21)? Evidently it was this 
 kind of sepulture adopted in the case of Lazarus (John xi. 38, 39), and 
 not our fashion of putting beneath the ground ; so also in the case of 
 our Lord (John xix. 41 ; xx. n). 
 
 After a Sart funeral, those collected at the deceased's house listen to 
 the reading of the Koran. The next day the same thing is repeated. 
 The third day, after morning prayer, the mourners go straight from the 
 mosque to the requiems ^ and again listen to recitations from the Koran, 
 and then, having eaten, disperse. Requiems are repeated for 7 or 10 
 days. On the occasion of yearly festivals the women collect at the 
 
 frave, and, with wailings and lamentations, call up memories of the 
 eparted. Women are paid to do this, and the Muhammadan just 
 alluded to told me they wail so loudly as to make one ran away. This 
 appears to agree with the custom obtaining in the time of the Evange- 
 lists, of whom Matthew (ix. 23) records, " He saw the minstrels " (I did 
 not hear of these in connection with Central Asian funerals) ft and the 
 people making a noise " ; and Mark employs a stronger term (v. 38),. 
 "them that wept and wailed " (or shouted) " greatly." 
 
 Those who assemble at the requiems give alms for the poor and the 
 insane, and the mention thus together of funerals and insanity recalls 
 what they told me at Bokhara, of turning loose the incurably mad. 
 Indeed, one could easily picture neglected lunatics taking refuge in 
 empty sepulchres, like those I saw, and " coming out of the tombs, 
 exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way " (Matt.viii. 28). 
 * 2 Kings xxiii. 16. 
 
FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 459 
 
 be purchased in Khiva. He said " Yes," or they would 
 make a pair like the English to order ; but I told him 
 I was anxious to take the native article, with a view 
 to improving the English taste ! This joke tickled 
 the fancy of the old fellow, who had already thawed 
 under the influence of tea, and his tongue wagged 
 apace. 
 
 They gave us at Khanki some gravy soup, which was 
 thought a delicacy, and, after resting for an hour and 
 a quarter, we resumed our journey under a bright sun, 
 but without sufficient power to melt the rime and thin 
 ice on the ponds. About 5 miles from Khanki we passed 
 the ruins of Nakhaia, a small stronghold ; then, 5 miles 
 beyond, the village Gudja ; and, 3 miles further, another 
 village, Nadubak. For the first hour we had gardens 
 right and left, and then came a patch of unoccupied 
 land, needing water only to make it fruitful, as was 
 apparent from the portions of it enclosed and irrigated, 
 giving a lively picture of garden and desert side by 
 side, with only a wall dividing. In my note-book I 
 have marked the road to Khiva as traversing gardens, 
 desert, and steppe, for we saw some of each though we 
 were supposed to be passing through, a rich country. 
 
 I was reminded of the arid character of the soil by 
 my horse making for a water-trough at the side of the 
 road, which was unhappily empty, and we had to go 
 some distance further, not seeing a road-side pool, or 
 stream, till we came to what they called a Sart station, 
 where water was drawn from a well for our animals. 
 We saw cattle in two or three places near the numerous 
 fortified farm-houses, or havlis, and, as we drew near to 
 Khiva, met a large number of arbas returning from 
 market. At sunset we came in sight of the city, and 
 beholding, with satisfaction, its towers and minarets 
 standing out against a reddened sky, we entered the 
 gates at half-past 5. They called the distance 60 
 versts, or 40 miles, but by neither of my {naps can I 
 make it more than 50 versts. Captain Burnaby rode 
 
FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 461 
 
 between Khiva and Khanki, a distance he calls 60 (but 
 which should be 30) versts, in 6 hours, so I suppose we 
 had done fairly well in accomplishing 50 versts in 8 
 hours, excluding rest, and crossing the Oxus. Any- 
 how, it was the longest day I had spent in the saddle, 
 and I was thoroughly tired. 
 
 They conducted us through many streets, nearly 
 empty at dusk, though, of the few inhabitants that 
 were about, some saluted us, and I observed one man, 
 on recognizing the Consul, formally descend from his 
 horse. After winding about a long time we came to 
 the house or shall I call it palace ? of no less a person 
 than Matmurad, the Divan-beggi, or prime minister of 
 the Khan. We passed through sundry courts and 
 passages, and entered the guest-room, where I fancy 
 Russian embassies are usually lodged. It was less 
 Oriental, but more comfortable, than the rooms we 
 occupied at Bokhara. The windows were glazed, 
 there was & petchka, and an iron stove, also a table at 
 which one could sit without having to stoop unduly. On 
 this was a Russian lamp, and in the room two clocks, 
 each bearing false witness against its neighbour, and 
 both being many hours wrong. At one end of the 
 chamber was a divan, and in the opposite wall were 
 indented niches containing sundry Russian confections, 
 coffee, wine and champagne bottles. The last agreed 
 with a whisper I heard at Petro that champagne was 
 not tabooed at the most orthodox court of the Khan, 
 Muhammadan though he be. From this apartment 
 a curtained doorway led to what was to be my bed- 
 room. The walls were papered, and adorned with a 
 mirror and Turkoman carpets, the most noteworthy 
 object in the room being a large bedstead, stretching 
 lengthwise all across the room, with a gateway into it. 
 It must have been a peculiar bed, however, whereon I 
 could not have slept that night, and when I awoke in 
 the morning my limbs had not perfectly recovered from 
 the effect of the previous day's exertion. 
 
462 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Soon after breakfast we received a visit from our old 
 conductor, the Consul, and our host Matmurad, who 
 had thoughtfully spared us a visit immediately on our 
 arrival. This Matmurad, it should be observed, is a 
 man whose name will go down to posterity in the 
 pages of MacGahan and Howorth. At the time of 
 the Russian conquest there was a division of opinion 
 among the Khan's counsellors. Some urged sub- 
 mission, but Matmurad, having headed the militant 
 party, and being very hostile to Russia, was sent a 
 prisoner to Kazalinsk, and thence, as he told us, to 
 Kaluga in Russia, his son Polvan, in his absence, 
 taking his place at court. Subsequently Matmurad 
 was allowed by the conquerors to return, after which 
 he was reinstated as Divan-beggi, " next unto the 
 Khan, and great among the Khivans, and accepted of 
 the multitude of his brethren." * 
 
 Matmurad asked about my health and requirements, 
 and I told him what things I desired, naming among 
 them some photographs, if possible, of Khiva, w r hich I 
 knew some Russians had taken. He replied, however, 
 that there were none to be had. I then invited him to 
 ask me questions, whereupon he inquired whence I came, 
 whither going, and what the object of my journey ; 
 further, hearing that I had been round the world, he 
 wished to know which country I liked best. Of course 
 I said England, whereupon he asked if the people in 
 England were good and hospitable. I replied truly, 
 "Not more hospitable than here, but better educated," 
 and as to their being good, I quoted one thing in which 
 England is conspicuous above every nation of the world 
 in that she spends yearly more than half a million of 
 money in carrying the means of improvement and reli- 
 gious enlightenment to the ignorant and heathen parts 
 of the earth. On hearing that I had distributed 50,000 
 books in Siberia, he asked, "What book?" I then 
 mentioned the Bible, saying that I could give it in 
 
 * Esther x. 3. 
 
FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 463 
 
 Persian and Arabic, but that it was not printed in 
 Uzbeg. 
 
 We were then informed that the Khan would receive 
 us in about four hours, and after that we might go and 
 see the city. I therefore asked to be allowed in the 
 interim to look over our host's premises, which had 
 for us this advantage over those we occupied at 
 Bokhara, that they were not apartments occupied by 
 our noble selves merely, but by a great man's family 
 and servants. They told us there were in the estab- 
 lishment the 4 wives and 5 sons of the Divan-beggi, 
 and 100 men-servants and their wives ; but so little 
 did the men-servants (the only ones we saw) know of 
 the women's quarters, that they could not tell how 
 many daughters their master had, or even if there 
 were any. MacGahan says that, at the time of the 
 Russian occupation, Matmurad possessed 400 slaves. 
 Within the high walls surrounding the premises were 
 a garden, several courts, and buildings. The houses 
 were new in fact, not quite finished and showed 
 unmistakably that the owner had adopted in captivity 
 many Russian ideas. Matmurad's own chamber was 
 entered through an ante-room, devoid of furniture, 
 and almost of light, with a prettily carved door, said 
 to have cost about $. In the chamber was a bath, 
 and a hearth, measuring 68 inches by 40, wide enough 
 for a bonfire. There was likewise a table, some books, 
 or portions of the Koran, a harmonicon, and a pair 
 of gloves (the only ones we saw in the khanate), 
 whilst on the wall hung bridles, guns and pistols, 
 many of them presents from the Russians. There 
 was also a bedstead large enough for two persons, 
 a chandelier, presented by the Khan, a huge glass 
 lantern, big enough for a good-sized clock-case, and, 
 as the acme of Khivan refinement, coloured glass for 
 the windows. In the butler's room were birds in 
 cages, musical instruments, and a board for chess, at 
 which they play skilfully. In the mirza's, or secretary's, 
 
464 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 room was a Sart scraipka, or fiddle, a poor-looking 
 goldfinch, and a hawk in training for hunting wild 
 sheep. In one of the courts was a tent, erected 
 evidently for a permanency, and intended, in its 
 present position, for a Bek and his scribe, though one 
 could see the convenience of such a thing in Khiva, 
 inasmuch as if the Divan-beggi's business called him 
 to travel in the khanate, he would have a habitation 
 to carry with him. 
 
 Thus far we had only seen the winter house, but 
 I was more interested in the summer house, not 
 yet completed. It had an upper story, and an outlet 
 on to the roof, where they commonly sit, and lounge 
 and talk. By mounting the roof we could see that 
 the outer walls were tipped, not with broken glass, but 
 with thorns, and the wall of the women's apartments 
 was pointed out, whilst below us was the garden and 
 a pond, with adjacent trees of karagatch, whose dense 
 shade would make the spot cool and agreeable in 
 summer. The karagatch is used for carvings, espe- 
 cially for the two lofty ornamental pillars, which, in 
 palaces and great houses, support the roof of what 
 I must call the portico, covering the wide gallery or 
 platform in front of the principal dwelling-rooms. 
 A block of timber, to make such a pillar, costs in 
 Khiva from i to $. Our host had given 2 for his, 
 and I measured the pedestal 30 inches square, whilst 
 higher the greatest circumference was 6 feet 7 inches.* 
 
 * These pillars suggested a partial elucidation of the passage in 
 Judges (xvi. 29) concerning Samson's death. Given a man making 
 sport before these pillars, in a position to be seen best from the roof 
 of the portico, and the adjacent portions of the building; then, having 
 been guided to the pillars (ver. 26), he could, sufficient strength being 
 
 f ranted, dislocate them quickly one after the other, before bringing 
 own the structure on his own head. This house of the Divan-beggi 
 would be no illustration for the size of the house of Dagon, with the 
 3,000 men and women stated to be on the flat roof, but it is a question 
 whether this Khivan roof, being covered with people, and the two 
 pillars gone, the whole concern might not collapse. As to the numbers 
 on the roof, I may add that the jumma mosque, at Khiva, is said to 
 hold from 3,000 to 4,000 people, and as it is covered with a flat roof, so 
 it is to be assumed that as many could assemble thereon. 
 
FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 465 
 
 Besides the summer house of the Divan-beggi, we 
 visited, in a different part of the premises, the house 
 or rooms of his eldest son, and other apartments 
 reserved to another son, a good-looking boy of 15, 
 whose education was not finished, and who showed us 
 one of his copy-books illuminated. Near at hand, tied 
 up in a court, was an enormous ram kept for fighting. 
 He measured 5 feet from the horns to the extremity of 
 his fat tail, 3 feet across the wool on the back, and stood 
 3 feet high ; but the most interesting part, perhaps, 01 
 the premises was the stud yards, a small one for the 
 sons' horses, where they stood in the open, covered 
 with felt from ears to tail, and a larger one for the 
 steeds of the Divan-beggi. Here we saw some good 
 Argamaks, the biggest and strongest of Turkoman 
 horses. One of them cost ij, another ^"24, and the 
 best, under cover in a stable, ^45. The prices of 
 such horses at Petro-Alexandrovsk ha^d been given us 
 as from ^15 to 20, and of a cow ^3 los. 
 
 After inspecting our host's premises, we were sent 
 for, about half-past 3, to see the Khan. Preceded by 
 the Consul and another, we rode outside the inner 
 wall, receiving here and there a salaam, until we came 
 to the summer palace. The Khan had not yet quitted 
 this building, and a troop of horses were waiting, their 
 riders having gone within, I suppose, on business with 
 the Khan, who, according to Vambery, holds public 
 audience for at least four hours daily, and is expected 
 to hear the most trivial cases his subjects bring before 
 him. The number of attendants about the building 
 appeared greater than we had seen about the Emir of 
 Bokhara. The Khan's officers were all in sheepskin 
 hats, clothed in somewhat dowdy garments, and pre- 
 sented a poverty-stricken appearance. We were shown 
 into an ante-room, and then through one court after 
 another, till we came to a room, only partially carpeted 
 and scantily furnished, wherein the most prominent 
 object was a sort of divan or bedstead, covered 
 
 30 
 
466 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 with a Persian carpet. On this the Khan was 
 sitting, with a sword and revolver before him, and 
 behind were three chairs piled with books. His 
 
 SEID MUHAMMAD RAHIM, KHAN OF KHIVA. 
 
 Majesty shook hands with me, and motioned me 
 to a seat on the couch. 
 
 The Khan's age had been given me as 36, but I 
 
FROM PETRO-ALEXANDROVSK TO KHIVA. 467 
 
 should have thought him older. He was dressed in a 
 dark-blue cloth khalat and black sheepskin hat, much 
 like the Consul or any of the others about the court, 
 and he displayed no pretence at grandeur of any sort. 
 He asked whence I came, whether the chief Russian 
 authorities were well, and whether they had been kind 
 and helpful to me ; all of which I could answer in the 
 affirmative. Next he asked who was the Sovereign of 
 England, and whether things were going well. I told 
 him Queen Victoria, and repeated the old story about 
 the sun never setting on her dominions, whereupon he 
 told Yakoob privately that he did not believe that ; 
 and when he was further informed that the earth went 
 round the sun, his Highness inquired whether it did so 
 straight or upside down, meaning, I suppose, vertically 
 or horizontally. I asked if he had any ancient books 
 or antiquities, but he said that those he once had, the 
 Russians had taken. 
 
 Of course I had read Burnaby's " Ride to Khiva/' 
 and at Petro-Alexandrovsk had been told that the 
 Khivans sent word of his arrival to the Russians, some 
 of whom remembered the tall life-guardsman being 
 brought to the fortress " a- prisoner," as they put it, on 
 his little pony. If this were so, it would seem that 
 the Captain was treated as I had been told I should 
 probably have been at Bokhara, had I come without 
 permission, and this, I suppose, was only in keeping 
 with the Russo-Khivan treaty, which expressly provides 
 that no one is to be allowed to enter the khanate from 
 Russia without a passport. 
 
 On reaching Khanki I asked the Consul if he 
 remembered the English Captain, and how it was 
 they gave him up. He did not remember him, and 
 said that for them to give him up to the Russians 
 could not be, for that the Khan was on excellent terms 
 with England, and sent to Herat two years before 
 Khiva was taken, and that the letter was forwarded 
 thence to the English, but no answer was received. I 
 
468 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 asked Matmurad if he remembered the Englishman 
 coming, but he said " No." When, however, I told 
 the Khan that the English had been much interested 
 in Khiva by reason of a book written by Captain 
 Burnaby, his Majesty, though not seeming to recollect 
 very clearly, yet inquired if he were still alive, and to 
 "what tchin, or rank, the Captain had now attained. I 
 told him that of " Colonel." 
 
 He then asked what was my tchin, and was some- 
 'what nonplused when I told him " Doctor of Divinity." 
 He appealed to Matmurad, who was kneeling before 
 him, the only courtier present, and said that was a 
 tchin he had never heard of before. 
 
 Seeing that Yakoob had decided not to go so far as 
 
 Krasnovodsk, I mentioned to the Khan our desire to 
 
 find an interpreter who could speak Russian and Turki ; 
 
 and he said he would find a djiguitt for us who could 
 
 act in this capacity and accompany us to Krasnovodsk. 
 
 Tea had been brought during our conversation for the 
 
 Khan, Sevier, and me. I had observed that Yakoob, 
 
 on approaching the Emir, had kissed his Majesty's 
 
 hand, and so he had done with the Khan; but now he 
 
 received what in the East is considered a great honour, 
 
 for the Khan, after drinking a portion of his tea, gave 
 
 to Yakoob the rest. His Majesty frequently called 
 
 during our interview for the chilim, that was brought 
 
 by an attendant at a moment's notice, and taken away 
 
 again after one long whiff had been drawn by his royal 
 
 master. On the whole, I thought the Khan of Khiva 
 
 far more intelligent and more interesting than the 
 
 Emir of Bokhara, and we left his presence with the 
 
 understanding that, according to Khivan etiquette 
 
 we were to see him again before quitting the capital. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 
 
 My informants. Dimensions of the khanate. Khivan melons, and 
 efforts to introduce them into England. Khivan inhabitants, 
 revenue, and foreign relations. The sights of the town, including: 
 the bazaar. Central Asian weights, measures, and trade. 
 Cloisonne turquoise jewellery. Khivan industries. The medresses 
 of Allah Kuli and Madrahim Khan. Pehlivan-Ata mosque and 
 its royal tombs. Moslem pilgrimages. 
 
 I WAS greatly favoured, both in Petro-Alexandrovsk 
 and Khiva, in being brought into contact with 
 men such as the Russian Governor, Captain Mirba- 
 daleff, and the Divan-beggi. Both the Captain and 
 Divan-beggi kindly permitted me to put them through 
 my list of questions, so that, thanks to Mr. Sevier's 
 usual patience and theirs, I gained a good deal of 
 information at first hand concerning native life in 
 Central Asian towns, which, after all, is much of one 
 pattern, whether at Samarkand, Bokhara, or Khiva 
 
 Not that I placed much reliance upon Matmurad's. 
 judgment in matters of opinion, or anything requiring 
 abstract calculation, for his answer to my first question 
 as to the length of Khiva from north to south showed 
 that he knew nothing about figures. He replied 100 
 tashes, or 530 miles, which was nearly three times too 
 much. The breadth, including the desert, he gave as 
 from 300 to 400 miles, which was nearer, but the 
 inhabited part west of the Amu as 50 miles. As an 
 illustration how unaccustomed the Khivans are to 
 
470 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 tabulating information, I heard at Petro that the 
 Emperor had desired of the Khan certain statistics 
 respecting the khanate, which the latter was willing to 
 supply, but he utterly failed in the attempt. A calcu- 
 lation more to the point was that of the late Major 
 Wood, who estimated the Khivan area, fertilized by the 
 waters of the Oxus, at a million and a half of acres an 
 area, that is to say, rather less than that of the county of 
 Lincoln, or about half the size of Yorkshire. The soil 
 of the oasis is of loess, or stiff, sandy clay, with strips 
 and patches of sand. 
 
 I had expected much in Khivan fruits, especially the 
 melons. They are a most lucrative crop. With good 
 management, Kostenko says, an acre will yield from 
 10,000 to 14,000 melons. On their winter sorts 
 Matmurad did not appear to set much store, but said 
 that two varieties, ripe at harvest, were sweet as sugar, 
 though they would not keep. My host gave me seeds 
 of five kinds, which, as did Captain Burnaby, I brought 
 to England, hoping that I might be more fortunate 
 than he in raising them. I must say that, after eating 
 Central Asian melons, I have tasted none in England 
 that are by comparison worthy of mention. Those 
 I ate in Constantinople came nearest, and hence, 
 believing that I had real treasures to give, I distri- 
 buted the seeds to such of my friends and acquaint- 
 ances as had convenience for growing them.* Apples 
 
 * The five kinds were called (i) Kitai (or Chinese) ; (2) Zamcha ; (3) 
 Kukcha, all sown in Khiva in April, and ripen in about two months, or 
 say the beginning of June ; whilst the remaining two (4) Sherin-pitchek, 
 and (5) Alikeh, are ready a week or two later. Mr. J. D. Allcroft sent 
 me the first fruit in 1883, less than a foot long, somewhat pear-shaped, 
 of green flesh, but tasteless, and not juicy I fear not quite ripe. Earl 
 Stanhope kindly tried some seeds the same season at Chevening. Mr. 
 Gray, the head-gardener, informs me that one plant was raised of such 
 rampant growth that it ran on a trellis over a space of nearly 200 
 square feet, covering half the roof of the glass house, and then would 
 have spread further if permitted. It was planted early in March in an 
 ordinary loam and leaf soil, with bottom heat. For a long time the 
 blossoms, with one exception, did not set, and that one produced a 
 large ovate melon of lolbs. weight. Subsequently other blossoms set, 
 and were growing fruit weighing 3 or 4 Ibs. each, when unfortunately 
 
OUR STAY AI KHIVA. 471 
 
 were easily obtained in Khiva, and cost from 24^. to 
 30^. per cwt., grapes 45. a batman, or id. per lb., and 
 peaches in the season up to half that price. Of 
 mulberries they take so little account as not to pick 
 them for sale. The Khivans cultivate many flowers, 
 they said, but not peas, and neither Matmurad nor the 
 Consul seemed to know what beans were. 
 
 the plant gave way through rot at the collar, and died. The plant took 
 quite 5 months to grow. The large melon was cut a little too early, 
 and was lacking in the juicy qualities it probably would have acquired 
 had it been left longer on the plant ; but the, gardener considered it 
 a good melon. Next year three sorts were tried by Mr. A. F. Barron, 
 of the Royal Horticultural Society's gardens at Chiswick ; but he did 
 not report very satisfactorily upon them. Of those he tried, one did not 
 fruit, a second produced two long ovate melons, and the third, round 
 fruit. These ripened, the flesh being tender, very juicy, even watery, 
 but not by any means rich. Mr. Barron adds, "They were rather 
 rampant in growth, and did not fruit readily, but the foliage was 
 somewhat destroyed by the hot sun, and this, no doubt, affected the 
 fruit." Mr. Wildsmith, of Heckfield gardens, near Winchfield( Viscount 
 Eversley's), spoke of the " Alikeh " as best of the three kinds he raised, 
 and not so rampant in growth as the other two, but, though speaking of 
 the "Zamcha" as excellent, thought them no better in quality than 
 English melons. The Zamcha was tried also at Burghley Gardens (the 
 Marquis of Exeter's), by Mr. Gilbert, who is famous, I am told, for 
 growing melons, and he exhibited from my seed a fruit weighing n|- Ibs. 
 at the Royal Horticultural Society' s show on September Qth last. Another 
 fruit from the same plant, weighing 9^ Ibs., was of green, deep flesh, 
 and though not of very rich or aromatic flavour, was liked for its great 
 juiciness. The appearance of the " Kitai " melon, as reported on from 
 Burghley Gardens, was not flattering, being "precisely like a large 
 vegetable marrow, and of a dark green colour." I sent seeds to my 
 friend Dr. Haughton to be tried in the botanical gardens of Trinity 
 College, Dublin. He committed them to Mr. Burbidge, who distributed 
 some seeds to a few English gardeners, who made melons a speciality. 
 From the correspondence that ensued I learn that Mr. O' Donovan, 
 who penetrated to Merv, thought the introduction of Central Asian 
 melons to Europe so desirable, that he carried some of the seeds in his 
 saddle-bags four or five thousand miles, and spoke of them as of marvel- 
 lous excellence. Mr. Simpson, of Wortley, grew some of Mr. O' Donovan's 
 melons, but they proved insipid and flavourless, or, at best, just passable. 
 He also tried some of my seeds, of which only one, the Sherin-pitchek, 
 grew, and this he pronounces of the same type as O' Donovan's. 
 Mr. Simpson says, " I gave it a light all to itself, but it was rather 
 straggling and weak from the first, and could not endure the bright 
 sunshine. It lost its foliage, and the single fruit it bore never ripened 
 properly." It was sent, however, to Dr. Haughton, and thought highly of. 
 Dr. Haughton received, too, a Zamcha melon, grown at Lord Eversley's, 
 weighing 4 Ibs., of which he subsequently told me that, though familial 
 with American, as well as British melons, he never in his life ate any 
 
472 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 I learnt from Matmurad that in the town of Khiva 
 there are scarcely any Tajiks only about 15 trades- 
 men but that Uzbegs predominate, and the rest are 
 Turkomans and Sarts. They have also a few Jews- 
 less, I believe, than half a dozen and without a 
 synagogue. 
 
 The Khan has no army, and the people are not 
 sharply divided into classes. The mullahs, or priests, 
 and khojas, or descendants of the Prophet, pay no 
 taxes,* and furnish no labourers for canal work, but 
 other subjects have to do so. I imagine, however, 
 that the people must be very poor, for I was told that 
 the raising of the Russian indemnity tries them sorely. 
 The Khan was called upon to pay, at the conquest, 
 for the expenses of the war 2,000,000 roubles, or 
 ,200,000, or, in default of immediate payment, to 
 
 so fine as this from Khiva. Previously to receiving this information I 
 was becoming dispirited, and thinking that my seeds would turn out no 
 better than those of Captain Burnaby or Mr. O' Donovan. Another 
 trial, however, has been made of the " Alikeh " at Chevening, where the 
 gardener, taught by experience how much space was necessary, planted 
 the melon under a frame with five lights, expecting it to cover the entire 
 area. I saw the plant thus growing on September 5th. It was not so 
 strong, I was told, as that of the previous year, but it had three half- 
 grown fruits of fair size. One of these was sent to me, not quite ripe, 
 on October i3th, which, upon eating ten days later, I was delighted to 
 be able to pronounce quite equal to those I had eaten in Khiva, and far 
 more delicious than anything I have ever tasted in England. This 
 opinion was shared by others with me at the table. This ovate fruit 
 measured 8 inches long, and was green-fleshed, juicy, sweet, and eat- 
 able to the skin. Thus I consider that Mr. Gray and Mr. Wildsmith 
 have demonstrated that two kinds at all events of the Khivan melons 
 can be grown in England. The former considers the Alikeh melons 
 require plenty of heat, and a long season, since English melons planted 
 simultaneously with them ripened six weeks before those from Khiva. 
 This, however, will make the latter valuable for late eating, especially as 
 they have such good keeping properties. I hope, therefore, that 
 English gardeners will learn how to grow these fruits. The great size 
 and robustness of the plants may prevent their having fair play in 
 English houses, but I have given seeds also for outdoor growth in 
 Florida, whence the fruit could easily be sent to the London market, so 
 that if, after all, I do not succeed in getting them on English tables, it 
 will not be for lack of endeavour. 
 
 * This is the case with the priesthood in Russia, and reminds one of 
 a law promulgated in Persia, touching the priests of the Jews, that 
 "'it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them " 
 (Ezra vii. 24). 
 
OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 473 
 
 bring ,15,000 a year, and pay interest on the re- 
 mainder at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum. When 
 I was there he had paid ,155,000, so that he was still 
 .,45,000 in arrears, besides ,20,000 interest; and this 
 so distressed him that I heard his Highness intended, 
 on the ground of poverty, to ask the Emperor for a 
 remission. 
 
 The foreign relations of the Khivans, other than 
 with the Russians, are, I take it, exceedingly few. As 
 we approached the city, a djiguitt came alongside, and 
 seemed to be dividing the whole of what was the outer 
 world to him into three categories. He wished to 
 convey to me his dislike of the Russians, which he 
 was obliged to do in very simple language, and partly 
 by signs, whereupon he said, " Rom yakshi, Inghiliz 
 yakshi, Uriis skaitan /" or something like it, signifying 
 that, "The Turks of Constantinople are good, the 
 English good, but the Russians horrible;" and with 
 that he placed his hand on his sword and then drew 
 his fingers across his gorge, signifying that he would 
 willingly cut their throats. But we heard a different 
 story from a very intelligent Kirghese, who said that 
 the Russians, having taken the country, began by 
 putting on a small tax, and then increased it. Some 
 of his people, not understanding this proceeding, had 
 taken fright, and run away into Bokhara and beyond. 
 When I asked him why they did so, he said, "Because 
 they are fools, and know no better ! " and afterwards 
 he said that he considered the Russian intercourse 
 with the Kirghese had been to the advantage of his 
 people. During my interviews with the Khan, his 
 Majesty betrayed great ignorance of foreign countries. 
 He asked which were the greatest powers of the 
 world ? Without much time to think, I told him first 
 England, second Germany, third France, fourth 
 Russia, and fifth America ; but he thought Russia 
 more powerful, he said, than England. 
 
 I said they had a larger army, but we had money to 
 
474 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 increase ours ; that Russia owed us millions already, 
 and came to us when wanting more. 
 
 He said yes, he had heard that England was rich ; 
 that English people worked very hard, and were so 
 clever that our mechanics after seeing a thing could 
 make another like it. 
 
 I showed him a map of the world, with the English 
 possessions coloured red, which seemed to surprise 
 him ; and, as if he thought it our sole vocation in life 
 to annex territory, he inquired what country we 
 should take next, and whether we thought of con- 
 quering China. He seemed also to think the Russians 
 were bitten with the same mania, adding that they were 
 never satisfied, but took more and more territory. 
 
 Spitzbergen on the map happened to catch his eye, 
 and he asked about that, whereupon I am afraid I 
 puzzled his royal wits, and tested his credulity by 
 telling him that it was dark and light there con- 
 tinuously for periods of eight weeks every year. 
 
 On the morning of our third day in Khiva we 
 were taken by the Consul to the sights of the 
 town, and first to the bazaar, the one they seemed 
 proudest of being the Tim, or bazaar proper, where is 
 transacted most of the retail business. As it was 
 not Monday or Thursday, which are market days, 
 when we were in the Khiva bazaar, I did not see the 
 place to advantage. I searched for a long time in 
 vain for a pair of warm socks, and at last managed to 
 purchase for a rouble two pairs of coarse worsted foot 
 envelopes, like a pair of night socks, and coming up 
 only to the ankles, and with these I was forced to be 
 content. Dreading, too, the cold we had been warned 
 of, I inquired for a sheepskin sJmb, but could not find 
 one to my taste in the bazaar, so poor was the choice. 
 
 Their weights and measures in Khiva appear to be 
 as vague as elsewhere in Central Asia, and to have 
 their own peculiarities, for, whilst the batman in 
 Bokhara equals 320, in Khiva it is only 40, Russian 
 
OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 475 
 
 pounds.* I came to the conclusion there could not 
 be much coinage in Khiva, for when I found that 
 Russian silver money would circulate in the khanate 
 as easily as native coin, I thought it better to get rid 
 of the remainder of my Bokhara tengas, of which I 
 had 550. The equivalent I was to receive was 121 
 roubles, or 12 2s. (though they had cost me 1$ i &$-.), 
 but it was quite a business to effect the exchange, and 
 when I inquired I found that Yakoob had to go to 
 several merchants, changing a few here and a few 
 there, because no one tradesman had sufficient Russian 
 coin to do the whole transaction. 
 
 This put the finishing touch to the low estimate I 
 had formed of the extent of native Central Asian trade. 
 In the Tashkend bazaar one saw here and there a 
 fair stock of goods, but as we travelled on, it was rare 
 to see a native shop in which the stock might not 
 have been bought, one would think down to the very 
 last stick, for a few hundred pounds. I cannot think 
 we saw a single native building throughout Central 
 Asia in which the contents exceeded in value ,2,000. 
 I do not remember one that struck me as containing 
 half that value, and we certainly saw no silversmiths' or 
 jewellers' shops that displayed half the stock of an 
 English shop in a small town. I am stating impres- 
 sions rather than facts, received, it must be remembered, 
 sometimes on other than market-days ; but when the 
 stock of three or four dealers had sometimes to be 
 brought to enable us to purchase a few representative 
 specimens of jewellery, one soon found that there was 
 little made ready to hand. 
 
 I did purchase certainly one set of jewellery in 
 Central Asia which has been much admired, consisting 
 
 * It is noteworthy that the word "batman" is used from the 
 Caspian to Kashgaria, though representing a differing capacity in 
 various places. It possibly has some connection with the Hebrew 
 JIB (Bath), /3aro? (Luke xvi. 10), which was a measure for oil 
 (Luke xvi. 6), and equivalent to the ephah as a measure for corn 
 (Ezek. xlv. 10, 11, 14). 
 
476 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 of an Albert chain, locket, and studs of cloisonne tur- 
 quoise enamel work. I have shown it to Mr. Augustus 
 Franks, at the British Museum, and to the leading art 
 jewellers of Regent Street, and they all called it new 
 to them, and said the like could not be made in London. 
 These things, however, if not ordered, had been made 
 with an eye to Russian demand, and the man told 
 me he was the only maker of them. In fact, the old 
 Biblical custom seemed still to rule, that one takes 
 silver and gold to a smith, as we take cloth to a tailor, 
 whose business it is to make it up.* 
 
 We asked in Khiva to be taken to a silversmith's, 
 and so we were in the strict sense of the word, for 
 there was a workshop with two crucibles of stone to 
 be heated by charcoal fires, two small anvils, and, 
 if I remember rightly, silver in the bar as we had seen 
 at Kuldja, whilst the work the man had in hand was 
 the silvering the handle of a battle-axe, by order of 
 the Khan, to be carried by some new place-man as an 
 insignia of office ; but as for getting a collection of 
 Khivan jewellery, it was not apparently there to be had, 
 and I could spend only a shilling for three ear-rings, for 
 the sake of buying something as a souvenir. 
 
 I was anxious to form some idea, if possible, of the 
 manufactures of Khiva, and asked to be taken to some 
 of their workshops ; but things were at so low an ebb, 
 that in the coppersmiths' row I could not get a kurgan, 
 or ewer, that was worth bringing away. The Divan- 
 beggi subsequently gave me one for his present, which 
 I was well pleased to have as a souvenir of Khiva. 
 It is small, but prettily graven, though not so finely as 
 some of those we saw at Khokand. They took us 
 likewise to what might by compliment be called a silk 
 factory, where, after crawling through a door 3 feet 
 
 * " His mother took two hundred shekels of silver, and gave them 
 to the founder, who made thereof a graven image and a molten image ' ' 
 (Judges xvii. 4) ; and, once more, " They lavish gold out of the bag, and 
 weigh silver in the balance, and hire a goldsmith ; and he maketh it 
 a god" (Isa. xlvi. 6). 
 
OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 477 
 
 high, we found a few looms of the roughest description. 
 The Khivan silks, when woven, do not compare well 
 with those of Bokhara and Khokand. I saw them, 
 however, making a thick, red silk, that is sent to 
 Bokhara to be used chiefly for head-dresses of rich 
 Kirghese women. It sells for i per Russian pound. 
 From the caravansary we were taken to see some 
 of the medresses and mosques. MacGahan says there 
 are 22 of the former and 17 of the latter. My notes 
 say " 4 large medresses and many small." The 
 medresse of Allah- Kuli was built by the present Khan's 
 father, about 40 years ago. It is of 2 stones, and has 
 100 students, they said. That of Kutlug Murad I nag 
 has about 100 students. On the square, before the 
 Khan's winter palace, is the Medresse Madrahim, built 
 by the present Khan, with from 60 to 70 students only. 
 Not far distant is the most important medresse in 
 Khiva that of Muhammad Emin (contracted to 
 Madamin) Khan, which they said was 30 years old. 
 Taken in all, this was about the most complete we had 
 seen, and gave us a fair idea of what many of the 
 medresses in Central Asia must have looked like before 
 they began to fall into ruin. And that is not saying 
 very much ; for, to a European eye, they have a dull, 
 unfinished, unfaced look about them that is disappoint- 
 ing. Their photographs flatter them. Several of the 
 Khivan mosques are ornamented with blue and white 
 tiles, interesting, because locally manufactured, but they 
 did not advantageously compare for beauty with those 
 we had seen at Samarkand. This medresse, with 130 
 cells, has a large quadrangular court, with a well, and 
 is surrounded by cells fitted with hearths, where each 
 student does his cooking when he has anything, that 
 is, to cook. In one of them I saw a samovar, china 
 teapots, and felts, but for the most part everything 
 looked poverty-stricken. More interesting than this 
 medresse, however, I thought the immense tower with- 
 out base or capital, which, owing to the death of the 
 
THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 479 
 
 builder, Vambery says, but to the lack of funds, as 
 the people told me, remains incomplete, like the Calton 
 at Edinburgh memorials of men who " began to build 
 and were not able to finish." The Khivan tower was 
 intended for a minaret, at least twice as high as 
 at present, but even now it is the most prominent 
 architectural object in the town, by reason of its prettily- 
 built texts from the Koran and 10 zones of light and 
 dark blue, green, and brown bricks. I had a great 
 business to measure with my tape its circumference, 
 and found it to be 146 feet, and I also estimated its 
 height to be about the same, and its diameter at the top 
 about 15 feet. This tower and medresse are built of 
 particularly good burnt bricks, which the natives said 
 cost ^d. each, meaning thereby, I presume, those 
 coloured. 
 
 The one mosque in Khiva that is worthy of notice 
 is the Hazreti Pehlivan-Ata. It has a large dome 
 about 60 feet high, surmounted by a gilt ball, and 
 covered with green tiles, like some of those in the 
 
 freat tower. There are also two small domes. The 
 uilding is of kiln-burnt brick, and contains the tomb 
 of the Pehlivan Ahmed Zemchi, patron saint of the 
 Khivans. We approached the interior through a 
 darkened passage, where was shown the tomb of 
 Allah Kuli Khan, and though only about 35 years old, 
 it is already decaying. From beneath the cupola we 
 had rather a pretty view of the tiles with which it is 
 lined, adorned with blue tracery, and interwoven with 
 verses from the Koran. This dome, owing to its con- 
 struction, is said to have peculiar acoustic properties, 
 to which the Khivans attach superstitious importance. 
 There were pointed out to us the tombs of Abul-ghazi 
 Khan and Anusha. Adjoining the apartment under 
 the dome were two side chapels. In one of them is 
 the tomb of Allah-Kuli Khan, and in the other the 
 tomb of Palvan himself. 
 
 I am under the impression that this latter is regarded 
 
480 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 *"! iRi 
 
OUR STAY AT KHIVA. 481 
 
 as particularly sacred and kept locked, but when the 
 door was unfastened, Yakoob, delighted no doubt with 
 the opportunity, went within, and I followed through a 
 cloth-covered door. Within the inner and almost 
 dark chamber was the saint's tomb, but the whole 
 affair looked shabby and dirty ; and by the time I had 
 seen this, the information had reached me through my 
 two interpreters that persons were not allowed to go in. 
 Neither at the Shah Zindeh at Samarkand, nor in 
 Khiva, did we come in contact with anything like the 
 crowds that are to be witnessed flocking in Russia to 
 the monasteries of Moscow and Kieff, or in Italy to 
 the holy places of Rome. I am not sure how far this 
 is any indication of the falling-off of Muhammadan 
 zeal, or that it much assists in forming an opinion on 
 the vitality of the Moslem faith in Central Asia ; but to 
 this end I shall put together such facts as I have 
 ascertained by inquiry or observation, from which the 
 reader may judge the matter for himself. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 
 
 Muhammadan religious orders. Ceremonies of the Jahria Brotherhood. 
 Superstitious practices. Dancing dervishes. Religious condi- 
 tion of Central Asiatics. Morals of the people. Fanaticism and 
 indifference. Their attitude towards the Bible and Christianity. 
 Importance of missions to Muhammadans. Efforts of "Ortho- 
 dox " missionaries. Labours of the Bible Society. Khiva seen 
 from a minaret. The winter palace and Jumma mosque. The 
 prison and gallows. Home entertainment. Farewell visit to the 
 Khan. Hazarasp and its hermit's cave. 
 
 I HAVE already spoken of our attendance at the 
 Friday mosque at Bokhara, where I thought we 
 saw Muhammadanism, so to speak, at its best. We 
 saw something of another religious service in the Shah 
 Zindeh, at Samarkand, that was less pleasing, namely, 
 the excited frenzied worship of the Jahria Brotherhood, 
 as Dr. Schuyler calls them, though the word I have 
 in my notes is the sect Nadamat. The proceedings 
 reminded me of the service of the so-called "howling" 
 dervishes I had witnessed at Constantinople. Neither 
 there nor at Samarkand did I see the service 
 begin, and in both cases we came away before the 
 end. Dr. Schuyler has described their worship with 
 his usual thoroughness, which enables me better to 
 recount what I saw. At Samarkand the mosque was 
 well filled with an audience seated on the floor, 
 whilst opposite the entrance, near the kibleh, were 1 1 
 men, ejaculating prayers with loud cries and violent 
 movements of the body. They utter exclamations, such 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 483 
 
 as Hasbi rabi jal Allah ! (" My defence is the Lord, 
 may Allah be magnified ! ") ; Mo fi kalbi hir Allah 
 (''There is nothing but God in my heart!") ; Nuri 
 Muhammad sail Allah (" My light, Muhammad, God 
 bless him!"); La iloha ill Allah ("There is no God 
 but Allah!"). These words, or some of them, are 
 chanted to various semi-musical tones, first in a low 
 voice, and accompanied by a movement of the head 
 over the left shoulder towards the heart ; then back; 
 then to the right shoulder ; and then down, as if 
 directing all the movements to the heart. Sometimes 
 I observed a man, more excited than the rest, shout 
 a sentence, throw out his arms, dance, jump, and then 
 slap his left breast with such force as to make the place 
 ring. These expressions are repeated several hundreds 
 of times, till the devotees get so exhausted, and so 
 hoarse, that their repetitions sound like a succession 
 of groans, and we could see the perspiration running 
 through their clothes. Some were obliged to give 
 up and rest, whilst others were pushed out by the 
 Ishan, who was conducting, and who called someone 
 else to fill up gaps in the ranks. When their voices 
 have become entirely hoarse with one cry, another is 
 begun. They sit at first in a row, but later on, as the 
 movement quickens, each puts his hand on his neigh- 
 bour's shoulders, and they form in a group, as Dr. 
 Schuyler says, ''in .several concentric rings," but 
 which could remind a native of Blackheath of nothing 
 but a group of players during a " scrimmage " in 
 Rugby football, as they sway from side to side of the 
 mosque, leaping about, jumping up and down, and 
 crying, Hail Allah Hai ! like a. pack of madmen, till 
 the Ishan gives them a rest by reciting a prayer, or 
 a hafiz recites poetry ; or, as at Samarkand, a dervish 
 sings a solo in a fervid, trilling voice. 
 
 One curious part of the service, as I saw it at Con- 
 stantinople, was that persons apparently sick were 
 brought to the minister, to be stretched on the floor, 
 
484 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 whilst he set his foot on their shoulders, breast, etc. In 
 one case, eight men, women, and children, being laid in 
 a row, side by side, he deliberately planted his elephan- 
 tine foot on the first, and walked over them all, one 
 w r oman, I observed, making a terrible grimace as she 
 received his whole weight. After this ordeal they 
 all went up and kissed their benefactor's hand ! Besides 
 this, various garments, and vessels, bottles, etc., were 
 brought to him to breathe his holy breath upon, and 
 thus impart his blessing.* 
 
 I saw also at Constantinople the worship of another 
 order, popularly called by foreigners the "dancing" 
 dervishes.t 
 
 We did not meet in Central Asia with any such 
 " orderly" dancing, but in the bazaar of Khiva we 
 suddenly came upon a company of dervishes, or 
 Kalendar, from Kashgar, who were prancing about 
 the street. These dervishes, like the Nazarites and 
 the Russian priests, suffer no razor to come upon their 
 head. They wear an extinguisher-shaped cap, a 
 sample of which I would gladly have purchased new, 
 but found they were not to be had, for that each made 
 his own ; and to take one second-hand was more than 
 I dared do ! When they saw us strangers they broke 
 
 * Can the former of these practices be in any way illustrative of an 
 Oriental procedure, as in Isa. li. 23, " I will put it into the hand of 
 them which have said to thy soul, Bow down that we may go over : 
 and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them 
 that went over ' ' ? 
 
 t The square mosque had galleries around, supported by wooden 
 pillars, the centre of the floor being partitioned off for the dancers, 1=5 
 in number, of all ages, from boys to "greybeards." They commenced 
 by walking round in single file, and solemnly and sedately saluting 
 their chief and one another. Having completed a triple circumambula- 
 tion, they stripped themselves of their upper garments, and began to 
 whirl round in their respective orbits with sufficient velocity to cause 
 their kilts, or skirts, to fly out at right angles to their bodies, 
 therein resembling a troupe of stage dancers, their faces the while being 
 turned upwards, and eyes closed in apparent meditation. They kept 
 this up for a long time, music and singing going on meanwhile with 4 
 flutes, 3 kettledrums, a tambourine, and 7 singers, the last making 
 strange grimaces in straining their voices in Eastern fashion to the 
 loudest. 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 485 
 
 up their dance, and were for making off, but I called 
 them back to see their performance. They are 
 dressed in rags, and each carries a wallet, and a 
 drinking vessel shaped out of a gourd. They sing 
 sacred songs in Persian and Turki, shouting as loudly 
 as possible, accompanying the singing with boundings, 
 prostrations, and whirling about.* I noticed that one 
 dervish had in his hand two wooden rods about 16 
 inches long. To these were attached a ring 4 inches 
 in diameter, and on this ring were 12 smaller rings. 
 This was carried in the hand when dancing, and a 
 jingling made therewith. I bought it, and was glad 
 thus to secure a souvenir of these wild-looking 
 devotees. 
 
 Having heard so much of the fanaticism of the 
 Muhammadans in Central Asia, I made inquiries, so 
 as to ascertain, if possible, their religious condition 
 and development. Kostenko says that as a people 
 the Sarts cannot be called religious. Even the 
 mullahs and the kazis know but imperfectly the 
 Koran and the Shariat. The simple folk do not 
 know the most ordinary prayers. On the ordinances 
 of religion, such as the five periods of prayer, ablutions, 
 and the like, the Sarts look as a weary form. Where 
 the officer has been abolished whose duty it was, 
 and in Bokhara still is, to compel the people with 
 sticks to say their prayers and be religious, there the 
 attendance at the mosques is less than one half what 
 it used to be, and Kostenko does not hesitate to say 
 that hypocrisy alone and hope of gain arouse the 
 Sarts to the outward forms of religion. In a paper 
 by M. Ostroumoff on the characteristics of the 
 Mussulmans in Central Asia, he makes many deduc- 
 tions against them upon too slender premises, I 
 think. His facts, however, if true, are noteworthy, 
 
 * Does this possibly afford some illustration of David's '-'leaping 
 and dancing before the Lord," on account of which Michal, the 
 daughter of Saul, despised him in her heart ? (2 Sam. vi. 16 ; i Chron. 
 xv. 29.) 
 
486 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 for he represents them as not despising a murderer, 
 and given to gambling, which causes many to rob. 
 
 One man, of whom I asked the character of the 
 natives, said : " They are revengeful ; give good words 
 for a favour shown them, but nothing more ; very 
 untruthful, utterly untrustworthy in dealing with 
 Russians, and not much better among themselves ; 
 very dishonest, and trying to cheat wherever they 
 can." To this it is only fair to add an extract I have 
 received within the past day or two from a letter by 
 Dr. Vanorden, an American medical missionary, dated 
 Khiva, Dec. I5th, 1884. He says : " In my frequent 
 walks through the city I meet with no rudeness, and 
 not unfrequently I receive the salutation ' Salaam 
 aletkum* from all ages. No weapons are carried. 
 There are no soldiers. If one deviates from the fair 
 way, he is at once reminded that he is a Mussulman 
 and a Turkoman, and not a Kafir, and that it becomes 
 him to be consistent." 
 
 As to the fanaticism of the Central Asiatics, I asked 
 the question more than once, " Is Muhammad an ism 
 progressing or going back in Central Asia ? " Looking 
 at the tumble-down condition of the medresses and 
 mosques, I should have been rather inclined to think 
 the latter ; but I was reminded that if their temples 
 were not grand, neither were the people's houses. 
 Common opinion went to say that there is now less 
 fanaticism than formerly. One man at Bokhara 
 deemed it stationary. He thought they made converts 
 only occasionally, when a Hindu or Jew condemned 
 to death turned Muhammadan to save his life. 
 
 I certainly observed one marked difference between 
 Constantinople and Samarkand. At the former I had 
 to take off my shoes, and be on my best behaviour. 
 In Samarkand we were not asked for a moment to be 
 unshod, and they made no objection to the Russian 
 officer, who was with me, smoking in the precincts just 
 outside the doorway. We had been told by our Jewish 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 487 
 
 interpreter that if we had seen enough of one part of 
 the ceremony they would go on with the next, and> 
 surely enough, upon the Russian officer intimating that 
 we must be moving, the Ishan did change the form of the 
 service ! Dr. Schuyler met with a similar experience 
 in Turkistan, whence he infers that this willingness of 
 Muhammadans to show Christians their rites is not so 
 much a sign of growing liberalism as of indifference. 
 
 In passing through the Steppe I sold, as I have said, 
 many New Testaments to the Kirghese, and going 
 through Bokhara I gave an Arabic New Testament, a 
 Persian Bible, or a Turkish Gospel to, I think, every 
 bek whom I met, as well as to the Emir. I asked an 
 intelligent Muhammadan what he thought the natives 
 would do with the books. The Kirghese, he supposed, 
 would simply neglect them, but not destroy them, as 
 he thought would be the case with the mullahs of 
 Khokand and Samarkand. Further, that if the mullahs 
 had known I was coming with such books, though 
 they would have been afraid to offer personal violence, 
 they would most likely have taken measures, he thought, 
 to prevent their distribution. Captain Mirbadaleff 
 said that when, as a boy, he was instructed at Oren- 
 burg, there was a Tatar copy of the Scriptures placed 
 within reach of the Muhammadan scholars, but it was 
 hardly read at all.* 
 
 I asked the Khan of Khiva to accept a Persian Bible 
 and Arabic New Testament, whereupon he inquired 
 what religion they had in England, and whether, like 
 the Russians, they cross themselves in prayer. I 
 replied that we had no pictures or images for religious 
 use in worship, that we did not cross ourselves, and 
 that our religion was in the Bible I had given him. 
 Did we believe, he asked, that Jesus Christ was a 
 prophet or God's Son ? I said " Both," whereupon he 
 
 * Perhaps it is not to be expected, since I am told by Mr. Hyde 
 Clarke that the New Testament is of no authority to Muhammadans, 
 being held to be corrupt, whilst the genuine teachings of the prophet 
 Jesus are in the last revelation of the Apostle Muhammad. 
 
488 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 said to Yakoob, privately, "That is not true"; but when 
 Yakoob asked whether he should translate that reply, 
 his Highness said " No," and ended by observing that 
 each one had his own religion. 
 
 I was keenly interested, of course, as to how the 
 Muhammadans would receive any attempts to convert 
 them to Christianity. I say " of course," because I 
 find it extremely hard to understand the position of 
 those who say, " Leave the Muhammadans alone. 
 Their religion is suitable for them. A good Muham- 
 madan compares fairly well with an average Christian. 
 Converts can hardly be made, and, when made, do but 
 follow the example of their Christian masters in eating 
 pork and getting drunk." Now, if this string of objec- 
 tions were true (which it is not), even then I fail to see 
 that a Christian would be released from obedience to 
 the standing orders of his Master to " make disciples 
 of all nations, and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
 ture " (Matt, xxviii. 19; Mark xvi. 15). If one thing 
 be manifest about Christianity, surely it is that it is a 
 proselytizing religion. Its Master was a proselytizer 
 and all His first followers, and I am at a loss to see how 
 any who profess to follow Him can free themselves from 
 so plain a duty. 
 
 Russia has no doubt dealt tenderly with the natives 
 of Central Asia in keeping back even her own mis- 
 sionaries, lest to the natives the adoption of the con- 
 querors' religion should seem a matter of compulsion, 
 but this state of things ought not to go on. It is a 
 most hopeful sign in the Russian Church that they are 
 awaking to the duty of sending missionaries to their 
 heathen fellow-subjects ; and I was gratified to be asked 
 by one Russian in Tashkend, how the English managed 
 to get a missionary hold of Asiatics, as he would like 
 to do. Another, a German Russian and a Lutheran, 
 was far from satisfied with the little that is being done 
 for the spiritual good of the Muhammadans. He 
 doubted, however, whether the orthodox missionaries 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 489 
 
 were likely to make much headway among the Mos- 
 lems, if for no other reason than that their use of 
 pictures in worship is to a Muhammadan an abomina- 
 tion and idolatry. 
 
 I was pleased to see, however, from a short notice 
 of Russian missionary work in the Times for 4th 
 September, 1884, that at one place a chapel had been 
 built, at the cost of the heathen Kirghese, in which 
 1 20 persons had been baptized ; and in the govern- 
 ment of Tomsk more than 400 Kirghese, chiefly 
 Muhammadans, are reported to have embraced Chris- 
 tianity. Here, then, is a beginning on the part of the 
 Russians, which I pray God may go on and prosper. 
 
 Meanwhile the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 has not been idle, as will be seen from its reports for 
 1883-4. The brothers Bartsch from the Tashkend 
 depot, on their way to Khokand, sold to the Kirghese 
 349 copies of the New Testament in 8 days, and I 
 observe that since my visit two colporteurs have made 
 an interesting journey from the Caspian to Khiva, 
 Bokhara, and Charjui. In Khiva they stayed a week, 
 and left it under the impression that the town offers great 
 opportunities for Bible work. Of Bokhara they say, 
 " In this thickly-peopled town even a timid colporteur 
 need not be afraid to work.' 1 * In the six months thsy 
 were away, they sold to the Turkomans, Khivans, 
 Russians, and Bokhariots, 319 copies of the Scriptures, 
 or portions, for 118 roubles. This for a first journey 
 by two unprotected colporteurs into parts where even 
 I, with the Russians at my back, was warned of danger, 
 I think highly creditable to the agents of the Society, 
 and still more so as their travelling expenses, including 
 the hire of camels, amounted to only 27 ! 
 
 * I am informed by the Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, that Dr. Vanorden, writing from Khiva, says : " The report of 
 your colporteurs as to the quiet of this land I find fully confirmed by my 
 own experiences. It extends even to the animals ; for though there are 
 many dogs here, not one barks at the stranger. ... I am much pleased 
 with the people. It would seem as if they could hardly be Mussulmans, 
 so different are they from others I have met with." 
 
490 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Thus Bokhara and Khiva have been approached 
 from the west by these colporteurs; by myself from the 
 south, and on the east the brothers Bartsch went to 
 Samarkand, and wished to go on to Bokhara ; but 
 General Ivanoff, though authorizing them to colport 
 among the Russian troops (to whom they sold 330 
 copies in 5 days), hesitated to let them go on to 
 Bokhara, without telegraphing first to Petersburg, and 
 finally thought it would be safer for them not to go. 
 It is from this side, however, the khanates will be 
 most conveniently worked.* The opinion of the men 
 from the Caucasus is, that it is very desirable that 
 Bible work should be taken up by colporteurs from 
 the three centres, Khiva, Charjui, and Bokhara ; for, 
 say they, a very large proportion of both sexes, young 
 and old, can read, and there is nothing to hinder 
 work among them.t 
 
 But to return whence this excursus began. I did not 
 find it so difficult to ascend a minaret in Khiva as in 
 Bokhara. On approaching the Jumma mosque, and 
 seeing its elegant minaret, I expressed a wish at once 
 to go up. They replied at first that the man with the 
 key was absent, which temporary difficulty was over- 
 come by my saying that we would wait till he brought 
 it. We then mounted 90 steps, each about a foot high, 
 and had a capital view of the city. The configuration 
 
 * From the latest information, I learn that the brothers Bartsch went 
 on a tour in the summer of 1884 to the North-East (I presume through 
 Vierny), and met with tolerably good success. " But in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Tashkend the fanaticism of the Muhammadan population, 
 which is easily awakened, has, after the first success, tended greatly to 
 decrease their sales." At Tashkend the Gospel of St. Matthew in 
 Kazan Tatar is finding acceptance, and an agent of the Society, one 
 Jacob Starkel, is stationed near Petro-Alexandrovsk. 
 
 t I am glad to notice here the kindness of General Grotenhielm at 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk to the men ; also of the Governor-General at Aska- 
 bad, who gave the colporteurs a recommendation to authorities they 
 might possibly meet. His Excellency charged the leader of the 
 caravan to take due care of them, and made him promise to take 
 them safely to Khiva. So, too, in Askabad, a Russian doctor attended 
 gratis one of the men who was ill, wishing, as he said, to befriend a 
 colporteur of the Bible Society. 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 491 
 
 of the outer wall is that of an oyster-shell with the 
 narrow end elongated and squared. 
 
 Below us we could see plainly the winter palace of 
 the Khan near the western gate of the citadel; a large, 
 rambling structure with crenelated mud walls, and having 
 chambers rising above them. On either side of the 
 entrance gateway is a tower, whose top is embellished 
 by coloured bricks, whilst along the cornice of \he facade 
 is a row of loopholes. In front of the palace is a square, 
 in which we found some brass cannons mounted on 
 carriages with wooden axles, also a mortar, but all of 
 them exceedingly clumsy, whereupon I asked the 
 Consul how, with artillery such as this, they could not 
 manage to keep off the Russians ? Later on we asked 
 the Khan to be allowed to see his palace. He said 
 that, had we asked before, we should have done so, but 
 that he was on the point of quitting that very afternoon 
 his summer for his winter palace, and consequently 
 we could not go inside. The view of Khiva was no 
 exception to the usual ugliness of an Eastern city as 
 seen from an eminence. We could detect the existence 
 of mosques and medresses by the mud cupolas over 
 them, and we could see well another minaret belong- 
 ing, I think, to the mosque Seid Bai, almost a facsimile 
 of the one on which we were standing. The big 
 minaret also stood out well, but there were few other 
 buildings sufficiently conspicuous to be worthy of 
 mention. Immediately below us was the flat roof, with 
 two octagonal holes, of the Jumma mosque, where the 
 Khan attends on Fridays, and into which we descended. 
 Anything more bare and ugly as a place of worship it 
 would be hard to conceive, and this was intensified by 
 a forest of upwards of 200 columns or poles, by which 
 the roof was supported. 
 
 I had somewhat of a tussle about seeing the prison, 
 for when I asked the Consul to conduct me there, he 
 at first declined, whereupon I spoke loudly, insisted, 
 and asked him to send at once to the Khan for per- 
 
v-=<^ -. . . > .^iw>i!; 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 493 
 
 mission. At length they brought us round to one of 
 the city gates, beneath which was an arched room 
 wholly without light, and with a door hardly large 
 enough for Sevier and me to crawl through. We found 
 the prison to be 16 feet long, by 8j feet wide, and 6 
 feet high. It had no flooring and no beam for stocks 
 as at Charjui. There were two Kirghese and two 
 other men, prisoners, all secured to one another at the 
 neck by a long chain, and for the moment they were 
 
 MINAKET OF THE MOSQUE SEID BAI. 
 
 sitting outside before a fire. This was the only prison, 
 they said, in Khiva ; further, that they made short work 
 with malefactors, and decided their cases quickly. 
 The men appeared to be fed truly " with bread of 
 affliction and with water of affliction,"* and after giving 
 them a trifle we continued our round, passing in the 
 course of the day the gallows. 
 
 Having thus spent some hours in looking about the 
 
 * 2 Chron. xviii. 26. 
 
494 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 town we returned late to lunch upon the inevitable 
 pilau. On the previous day we had heard a story from 
 the cook's dominions anent this dish that was flattering 
 to our nationality. Among the condiments in the 
 niches in our room was some Russian essence or extract 
 of vinegar, and the cooks thinking, I suppose, to give us 
 something recherch4 t am& not knowing the strength of the 
 essence, mixed it freely in the rice, and then discovered 
 that they had spoilt it, whereupon they made some 
 more, but declared that the vinegar must be English, 
 for that the Russians had nothing so strong as that ! 
 
 We were not called upon for much medical assist- 
 ance in Khiva. Their chief diseases are fevers and 
 ophthalmia, but they have no leprosy or rishta. Sevier 
 prescribed only for the Divan-beggi, and I think a few 
 of his household, who seemed anxious in every way to 
 make us comfortable. 
 
 On our second evening four musicians came to 
 entertain us, one playing a tambour, two others 
 flageolets, and another a tambourine. We had been 
 told by Captain Mirbadaleff to ask Polvan, the son of 
 Matmurad, for a Khivan flute and for written music for 
 the tambourine. The notes he gave me were written on 
 ruled paper, with lines numbered in Arabic up to 19, 
 though the notes extend only between lines 6 and 10. 
 I heard, too, of a stringed instrument called kizhak, 
 a kind of fiddle. Besides the musicians were provided 
 three batchas, who began their dances with clappers 
 or castanets, but they were not so clever as the boys in 
 Bokhara. They had their hair cut short, and appeared 
 to be from 15 to 17 years old. As usual, a small crowd 
 pressed into the room, and squatted against the wall, 
 Tailly among them, to participate in the fun ; but 
 when the Divan-beggi appeared he speedily turned 
 out the majority and sat down with us. I had 
 intimated to him that I should be thankful for an 
 opportunity to ask him questions about the khanate, 
 so that when they had made a noise for a while, and 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 495 
 
 then asked if I wished for more, 
 I was glad to excuse myself on 
 the ground that I desired con- 
 versation with our host. Ugh ! 
 said one of the musicians, as if 
 disgusted with our want of 
 appreciation of their talents. 
 After this they speedily left 
 the room, and we fell to the 
 Consul, Matmurad, Yakoob, 
 Sevier, and I at such a cross- 
 questioning as I think the 
 natives had not often ex- 
 perienced before. 
 
 On our last afternoon in 
 Khiva we went to pay the 
 customary farewell visit to the 
 Khan. He received us as 
 before, and seemed rather in- 
 clined to talk politics, which, 
 however, is not my forte. He 
 had heard of our war going on 
 in Egypt, and asked whether 
 the affair were cleared up. I 
 had supposed that this war 
 with Muhammadans might 
 have rendered it unsafe for us 
 to travel in Central Asia, but 
 the people seemed to know 
 next to nothing about it, and 
 to care as little. I had heard 
 no news since leaving Samar- 
 kand, and not much there, so 
 that I was obliged to explain 
 the situation as best I could. 
 His Highness asked my name 
 and (following in the same 
 interrogative groove as the 
 
 I3h 
 : I 
 
 Jr 
 
 j, * 
 
 7i 
 
 <*: 
 
 h:S 
 
 Cf 
 
496 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Bek in Bokhara) my age, and inquired if we had been 
 well entertained in Khiva. This we were able to 
 answer truly in the affirmative, thanks to the hospitality 
 of his Divan-beggi. Before bidding us farewell, he 
 said that he had directed Matmurad to give us men 
 to take our baggage, and that he had also sent to 
 seek for a Russian-speaking djiguitt to accompany us 
 to Krasnovodsk. 
 
 Yakoob, who took up his habitation with the servants, 
 and who had not told them that he spoke Tajik as 
 well as Turki, rather amused us that evening by telling 
 us that there had been a discussion going on outside 
 as to whether it would be proper to give us presents 
 from the Khan. It was at length decided in the affir- 
 mative, and there came a horse and cloth khalat for me, 
 a similar khalat for Sevier, and a cotton one for Yakoob. 
 Captain Burnaby was informed, he says, that " a khalat 
 or dressing-gown from the Khan is looked upon at 
 Khiva much as the Order of the Garter would be in 
 England," at which rate I suppose that I, who had 
 received them in Bokhara by dozens, ought to consider 
 myself " very much knighted." 
 
 This honour Tailly seemed anxious also to share, for 
 he cunningly left with Yakoob a limited number of 
 roubles to be offered for the two cloth khalats, telling 
 Yakoob that he wished to take them back to Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk, and there to cut a dash, representing 
 that he had received them as a present for the efficiency 
 with which he had served us. Meanwhile he was 
 cheating us to his heart's content. I had given him at 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk 60 roubles, the very top price he 
 thought he should require to hire the best camels. 
 Now, in Khiva, he came to say that he needed 6 roubles 
 more, and put on the most injured expression when I 
 ventured to doubt his veracity, though his story, as will 
 afterwards be seen, was a concoction. 
 
 I did not hear much of the character and manner of 
 the life of the Khivan Khan. The Consul could not 
 
KHIVAN MOSQUES AND THEIR WORSHIPPERS. 497 
 
 tell me how many wives his Majesty had. He had 6 
 or 7 sons, he said, but of the daughters he knew 
 nothing. General von Grotenhielm told me he had 
 expressed to the Khan a wish to have photographs 
 taken of his wives, and had offered to provide a female 
 operator, but the Khan would not consent. Neither 
 would he agree that one of his sons should be sent to 
 Petersburg to be educated, saying that he loved his 
 
 THE HAZARASP GATE AT KHIVA. 
 
 children too much to part from them. I think I have 
 read that he has since compromised matters by 
 receiving at Khiva a Russian tutor for his sons. 
 
 Whilst talking of Khivan affairs to the Consul, he 
 said he had three wives. I asked if he did not find it 
 exceedingly difficult to manage so many ? He looked 
 at the matter, however, in a very practical light. " You 
 see," he said, " I have two houses, one here at Khiva, and 
 the other at Petro-Alexandrovsk, and consequently I 
 have a wife in each, without the trouble of moving her ! " 
 
 32 
 
49 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Thus I have described with what fulness I can the 
 city of Khiva, but I must not start northwards with- 
 out mention of another town in the south, called 
 Hazarasp, approached from Khiva through the gate- 
 way of that name a heavy covered portal 10 feet 
 wide by 20 deep, arched over with brick, and flanked 
 by heavy towers with loopholes. The town to which 
 I refer was considered one of the strongest in the 
 khanate, and has an origin lost in legend. 
 
 Its original fortress is said to have been replaced 
 by the present one, about 100 years ago. A part 
 of the wall of the old fortress is said to exist still, 
 and underneath it a Tchile-Khaneh, or hermit's cave, 
 wherein those who have entered have been struck 
 dead or dumb ; the last man who did so having seen 
 several figures, and received a box on the ears ! The 
 entrance to the cell was then blocked up. 
 
 The governorship of Hazarasp formerly belonged 
 to the Inak, or oldest member of the Khan's family, 
 who came next in dignity to the sovereign. 
 
 I have already mentioned Hanki, Khiva, and 
 Hazarasp, which were regarded as three, and now 
 proceed northwards in the direction of Tashauz, which 
 was considered the fourth, of the strongest fortresses 
 in the Khanate of Khiva. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 
 
 Departure from Khiva with Khassan the Batchman. Luggage arbas. 
 Kosh-ku-pryk and its melons. Our stay at Shavat. Amusements 
 of the natives. Havlis and their supposed resemblance to 
 Scripture ''strongholds." Visit to havli at Manak. Oil and 
 corn mills. Hawks for falconry. Mud walls of the havli. 
 Invitation to stay. Route to Tashauz. Stay in the Khan's palace. 
 The town of Tashauz. View from the palace roof. The Khivan 
 climate. 'Arrival at Iliali. Khivan irrigation. Our luggage 
 attacked by robbers. Stay at Ak-tepe. The Turkoman region. 
 Accident near Kunia Urgenj. 
 
 ON Thursday morning, November 2nd, at 9.45, 
 we said Aman ! to Matmurad, our Khivan 
 host, and began our ride to Kunia Urgenj, where 
 Tailly, having left us on the road, was to meet us 
 again with camels, and start us across the desert. By 
 this means we should pass from the new Kharezmian 
 capital to the old one, and so have seen the principal 
 inhabited points of the khanate. The Consul was 
 setting out to return to Petro-Alexandrovsk, and I 
 confided to him a letter to be forwarded to General 
 Abramoff,. informing him that I had now delivered to 
 the Khan the last of his Excellency's letters ; also 
 thanking him for the exceedingly kind reception every- 
 where afforded me, and assuring him that I should 
 take away with me a most agreeable recollection of my 
 tour through his general government. We were now 
 a party of 7 " regulars," besides " volunteers " includ- 
 ing the Consul and his attendants, who, on leaving the 
 
5 oo 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 town, were to turn off to the east, whilst our course 
 was to the north. 
 
 We were placed under the charge of Khassan, the 
 old assistant Bek, or more accurately, I think, the 
 batchman, or tax-gatherer, of Kunia Urgenj, and two 
 djiguitts, our luggage having been sent forward by the 
 Khan in 3 arbas. There was more reason now, as 
 will presently appear, than when leaving Samarkand, 
 to be afraid of losing our goods, but I had no means of 
 sealing them up ; so, to inspire the arba-kesh with 
 some little sense of responsibility, I wrote in my note- 
 book "27 packages," as sent from Khiva, and called 
 
 A KHIVAN AREA. 
 
 upon him to affix thereto his sign manual, which he 
 did, " his mark" consisting of a perpendicular stroke, 
 that would, I should think, puzzle any expert in cali- 
 graphy to swear to. 
 
 I have several times referred to the Central Asian 
 vehicle called an araba, or arba. Imagine, then, 
 a thick wooden axle, 10 feet long, with 2 wheels 
 attached, not quite so high as the big wheel of the 
 " Flying Dutchman " engine that is to say, about 7 
 feet in diameter. On the axle a platform is fixed, of 
 two long beams, the hinder parts being interlaced 
 with willow, whilst the front parts serve as shafts. 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 501 
 
 These carts are the only wheeled vehicles used by the 
 natives, and are exceedingly clumsy, but they cannot 
 easily be upset, and can go through water 4 feet deep 
 without wetting the load. 
 
 Our road lay for the first 8 miles through cultivated 
 land, then crossed 2 miles of steppe with a spur of 
 sand-hills on our right. 
 
 At i o'clock we reached Kosh-ku-pryk, 1 1 miles 
 from Khiva, a place marked on the maps as a town, 
 but only a hamlet of less than 20 houses. Here we sat 
 on a platform in the street, in front of a shop, drank 
 tea, and ate bread and melons, taking notice of the 
 dexterous fashion in which the natives cut them up. 
 After the feast, Yakoob asked me for money to pay 
 for it, which, of course, I gave him, though I was still 
 guest of the Khan, as before I had been of the Emir, 
 w r hen everything was found for me. Yakoob told me, 
 however, that had we not paid it was very doubtful 
 whether the refreshment would not have been exacted 
 by the batchman as fruit furnished for the Khan's 
 service. Whilst our horses rested I looked about the 
 village, and in the farmyards, wherein the buildings 
 were commodious, but very rude, the walls being of 
 mud, with timber thrown across for the roof. 
 
 By half-past 3 we reached Shavat, our stopping- 
 place for the night, being now 34 versts, or 23 miles, 
 from Khiva, whereas our conductors wanted to make 
 out that we had travelled 6 parsangs, or 48 versts. 
 No one appeared to be expecting us, and the Bek 
 of the place living at a distance, we were lodged 
 in quarters that were a great " come-down " from the 
 mansion of the Divan-beggi. Our dwelling partook of 
 the features of a farm-house and shop combined, and 
 into our miserable room, with black walls, the light 
 entered only through a hole in the roof, which served 
 also as an outlet for smoke. It struck me that it 
 might usually serve for an apartment or, better said, 
 a prison for the women. There were two doors, one 
 
5C2 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 leading into a cowshed, and the other on to a shop- 
 platform open to the street, where we drank tea. 
 
 As it was fully early, I looked round the town, in 
 this case again consisting of about 12 houses, some 
 with shops, wherein the chief articles of merchandise 
 appeared to be Russian sweetmeats, native tobacco, 
 apples, and melons. One remarkable thing about the 
 place was that the dozen houses had between them at 
 least 6 rams, kept, I presume, for fighting. This 
 development of the " animal " in the natives, and their 
 readiness to see a fight, came out after dark, when our 
 lamp was suddenly run off with, as I supposed the 
 better to part two dogs that were snarling, whereas I 
 found that the object of the depredators was to incite 
 the animals to fight. 
 
 In the course of a few hours the Bek of the district 
 appeared, and an evening meal was prepared, of which 
 the grim and public participation in the open street 
 was not particularly agreeable. Here also Russian 
 candles, such as had hitherto been provided by our 
 native hosts, failed us, and there were furnished the 
 ordinary lamps of the country, not " warranted to burn 
 twelve hours," but that needed frequent replenishing.* 
 
 We left Shavat next morning at 7.45, and travelled 
 all day through a strip of cultivated land, about 4 
 miles wide, the soil beyond, on the right, being un- 
 cultivated, and, on the left, sandy. We came within 
 sight of very little steppe, but passed numerous wallecl 
 farm-houses, some, however, being in ruins. After 
 riding 4 miles we passed the village Djagatai. The 
 most striking feature of this part of the country is the 
 manner in which the houses are built. The Daudan, 
 
 * Thus reminding one of the folly of the virgins who carried their lamps, 
 but took no oil with them (Matt. xxv. 3). Again, though our blazing 
 fire (for it was cold) and the light and brightness of our feast were little 
 in themselves considered, yet, compared with the blackness of the street 
 beyond, like the streets of Khokand and Bokhara, they helped one to 
 realize the dire simile of being expelled from the brilliancy of a feast, 
 and " cast into outer darkness " (Matt. xxii. 13). 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVA N KHANATE. 503 
 
 which lay about 2 miles on our left, separates the 
 Uzbegs of the Djagatai and Kipchak tribes to the 
 east from the Yomud Turkomans on the west. As it 
 is impossible for the Uzbegs to depend upon the 
 lengthened quiet behaviour of the Turkomans, the 
 Uzbegs have constructed a line of small fortified build- 
 ings, stretching between town and town, wherein the 
 inhabitants can take refuge in case of an attack. 
 Numerous single dwellings are also met with in the 
 fields, and these are provided with towers as well, that 
 are guarded. They are called " gullah" Abbott says, 
 and Vambery calls the farm-houses " Jiavli" 
 
 I have alluded before to these miniature fortresses 
 met with all the way from Bokhara, and I was parti- 
 cularly interested in them as illustrating a stage of 
 civilization, such as I should not know where else to 
 find in the present day, but which is brought before us 
 in the early years of the Jewish polity.* 
 
 * I have said that the Kirghese Steppe took me back to the days of 
 Abraham, the city of Bokhara to the times of Jewish kings, and now 
 this border land of the Uzbegs reminded one of the days of the Judges, 
 and even earlier; for what the Sabaeans were to Job's sons in falling 
 upon their oxen and asses (Job i. 15), and what the Midianites were to 
 the children of Israel when they entered into the land to destroy it 
 (Judges vi. 5), or the Philistines when they robbed the threshing-floors 
 fj Sam. xxiii. i), that, I take it, the Turkomans have been to the 
 Uzbegs. Hence the children of Israel "made them the dens which 
 are in the mountains, and caves, and strongholds" (Judges' vi. 2). 
 David, the wanderer, would, of course, be familiar with such places, 
 for " he abode in the wilderness in strongholds " (i Sam. xxiii. 14), and 
 hence the comparison he makes after deliverance from Saul, "The 
 Lord is my rock and my fortress . . . my high tower and my refuge " 
 (2 Sam. xxii. 1-3). These similes would appeal more forcibly to an 
 Uzbeg than to an Englishman, whilst, as for "the high tower," the 
 best illustration, perhaps, that I know is in the Caucasus, where ruins 
 still show that a family used to build not merely a high tower, but .also 
 provide themselves with a movable ladder, which one having ascended 
 quickly on account of robbers, for instance, could pull up after him, 
 and so be safe from his enemy. On the south-west frontier of Turk- 
 menia, the Persians have been living in such dread of the Mervis, that 
 one sees constantly in the fields and gardens small towers entered by a 
 hole just large enough to admit one person at a time. The owner takes 
 refuge there till the departure of the marauders, who do not dare enter, 
 lest the intruder's brains should be battered by a stone. Again, if the 
 word "cities," in i Chron. ii. 22, may be understood to mean these 
 
504 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Thus far an opportunity had not offered for me to 
 have a good look at the interior of one of these havli, 
 but at half-past 9 we arrived before an excellent 
 specimen, the residence of a rich bek, with whom we 
 were to rest, and our horses be baited. We had made 
 fair speed . in coming, thanks to my having had re- 
 course to a new method of interpreting my desires. I 
 had given the batchman to understand that I wished 
 to get on at a good speed, but he seemed sorely 
 oppressed with dignity, and ambled along at a poor 
 pace, whilst I dared not go ahead, not knowing the 
 way. My importunity seemed to lose all its fervour 
 in passing through the brains of tw r o interpreters ; so, 
 finding one of the djiguitts near me, I bawled out in 
 English, "Go on!" and at the same time laid my whip 
 lustily across his horse's flanks. The cljiguitt did not 
 understand my language, but his horse did, and I then 
 kept him trotting before me at an improved pace, to 
 show the way, and abundantly soothed his feelings by 
 a gratuity when we reached Manak, as they called the 
 house of the Bek. 
 
 I regarded the visit to Manak as an introduction to 
 another grade of Uzbeg society. At Bokhara we 
 lived as princes, at Khiva with nobles, in some of the 
 travelling stations with the poor ; but now we were 
 guests of one of the " landed aristocracy," who had 
 wives and men-servants, and horses and camels, and 
 oxen and asses ; who possessed 1 50 acres of land 
 here, and 350 more elsewhere, with a yearly harvest 
 
 fortified farm-houses or the like (and D*"iy, according to Gesenius, 
 will perfectly well bear this rendering), it reduces Jair's possessions in 
 the land of Gilead to more reasonable proportions, and renders more 
 intelligible the large number of "cities" referred to in the books of 
 Deuteronomy, Joshua, and Judges. Also these havli illustrate, 
 perhaps, words in Gen. xxv. 16. These are the sons of Ishmael . . . 
 (whose hand, be it remembered, was to be against every man, and 
 every man's hand against him), by their towns, and by their castles. 
 Again, of the Midianites, "they burnt ... all their g'oodly castles" 
 (Numb. xxxi. 10); and the same idea re-appears in the New Testament, 
 "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in 
 peace " (Luke xi. 21). 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 
 
 505 
 
 of 3,000 batmans, or 50 tons, of corn. I was so inte- 
 rested in the man's castle, with its four clay walls 
 20 feet high, and round bastions at the corners, re- 
 minding me forcibly of so many Oriental expressions, 
 that I proceeded to look over the place thoroughly, 
 and afterwards made a rough sketch of its ground 
 plan. Immediately on the left, at the main entrance, 
 
 
 
 
 
 WOMEN'S 
 
 
 
 
 PREMISES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c^J 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 GARDEN 
 
 hi 
 
 J 
 
 VISITORS GARDEN 
 
 
 
 
 GQ 
 
 
 
 
 K 
 
 <a 
 
 
 3 ROOM 
 
 
 
 h [_ 
 
 [ 
 
 MASTER 
 
 
 KITCHEN- 
 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 
 "PLATFORM Servants' 
 
 
 
 
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 U/?oo/ws 
 
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 YA 
 
 RD :w.c. 
 
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 CD 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 FLOUR 
 
 
 0". Ull IS 
 
 HAWK 
 
 fe 
 
 
 
 
 
 O c^I 
 
 ^-^ S rr5i - 
 
 ROOM 
 
 
 
 MILLSQ 
 
 "- ] (is 
 
 
 CiKOr.XD I'LAN OF A " HAVLI " AT MANAK. 
 
 was a platform such as we often saw under a city 
 gate, and adjoining this was a sleeping-room for work- 
 men, whilst a passage between led into a chamber 
 with an oil-mill of severely primitive construction.* 
 The mill was made out of the trunk of a tree stood on 
 end, and in the centre a hole, 1 2 inches across at the 
 
 * Reminding one of Job's expression, " which make oil within their 
 walls" (Jobxxiv. 11). 
 
506 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 top, diminishing below. In this hole was placed a 
 heavy beam made to incline and pound against the 
 side the seed of a plant resembling cotton, called bang, 
 with a mixture of flax-seed, for making " kunjut " oil. 
 The machine was turned by a horse blindfolded, and 
 padded here and there, so that, in going round the 
 confined space in which it moved, the animal might 
 not rub or bruise itself against the walls. The traces 
 
 A CENTRAL ASIAN CORN-MILL. 
 
 were made of a bent branch of a tree. The oil 
 sold, they said, for ^d. per lb., and is used alike for 
 burning, cooking, and in making pilau. Oil-cake sells 
 from $s. to 45. per cwt. 
 
 Adjoining the oil-mill was a chamber with two flour- 
 mills, the larger, in the centre, to be turned by horse 
 or ass, or, if they were in use, the smaller could be 
 turned by a woman.* In Russian Turkistan, wheat 
 
 * Thus illustrating admirably the pv\os OVLKOS, or ass mill-stone, "to 
 be hanged about a man's neck " (Matt, xviii. 6 ; Mark ix. 42), and the 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 507 
 
 grinding is usually effected by water power on the 
 banks of the aryks, though there are 16 windmills set 
 up at Kazalinsk by Russians. Our host's mill, kept 
 going all day with a horse, would grind 6 cwt. 
 
 From the flour-mill we went to a stable, which 
 appeared to run along the whole side of the havli, and 
 then to another building, wherein were only a few 
 horses, donkeys, cows, and a camel ; but there was 
 said to be accommodation in the two stables, or sheds, 
 for a hundred cattle. More novel than these last 
 buildings, however, was a room on the right at our 
 entrance, where our host kept some half-dozen hawks. 
 Hunting by means of the falcon, goshawk, and 
 common eagle, is the favourite sport of the natives. 
 
 Within the walls of the fortress at Manak was an 
 excellent garden, with rose-bushes, peach and other 
 fruit trees, and standard vines. These, in the absence 
 of leaves, and not looking at them closely, led me 
 to remark to Sevier, " Here at last are filbert-trees," 
 of which, however, we saw none in Central Asia. 
 They told me they make of grapes an intoxicating 
 drink called zaip, but that it keeps only six months. 
 Walking round the garden, I looked carefully at the 
 walls. At a height of 3 feet from the ground these 
 measured 3 feet 8 inches in thickness, and in the 
 circular towers, or bastions, at the corners, were little 
 chambers, into which I should imagine it would be 
 easier to dig than penetrate through the other parts of 
 the fortress.* We have not, however, as yet entered 
 
 hand mill-stone at which two women shall be grinding (Matt. xxiv. 41). 
 Grinding the mill was a menial occupation for a man, and was reserved 
 for slaves and captives. Hence the Philistines made blind Samson do 
 it (Judges xvi. 21). One of Jeremiah's lamentations (v. 13) was, " They 
 took the young men to grind," and Isaiah (xlvii. 2) bids the tender and 
 delicate daughter of Babylon return to her work: "Take the mill- 
 stones and grind meal." I found the custom obtaining in 1879 as ^ ar 
 east as the Ussuri, where turning the hand-mill in a Cossack's house 
 was the recognized work of the wife. 
 
 * The walls were simply of rammed mud, such as "thieves would 
 dig through (Siopvo-o-ovo-i) and steal" (Matt. vi. 19). Ezekiel (viii. 8) 
 was directed to " Dig now in the wall," and Job (xxiv. 16), referring 
 
508 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the owner's residence, which was a house with rooms 
 on either side of a passage, and, adjoining, two rooms 
 for servants. On either side of the passage, at the 
 entrance, was a raised dais or platform, like that at 
 the gateway, only larger, and where I suppose in hot 
 weather much time would be spent. Further in, on 
 the left, was the door of the master's room, and 
 opposite, the door of the kitchen, whilst beyond the 
 kitchen was a room reserved for strangers, called the 
 " guest chamber." Here we w r ere treated to a meal, 
 and the rich bek told us that his fortress cost ^120 
 to build. He invited us to stay for a night ; but this 
 I declined for lack of time, and at half-past 1 1 started 
 again. 
 
 Within about a mile of Manak are the ruins of the 
 fortress Uiangen, and two miles further is Ambar, a 
 mere row of empty stalls, where, as we passed through, 
 they told us a bazaar is held. Beyond this is Tashauz, 
 where we arrived at half-past three, having accom- 
 plished since the morning 23 miles. 
 
 On arriving at Tashauz we found that the miserable 
 quarters we had left in the morning were to be 
 exchanged for nothing less than a palace at night. 
 The said palace, built in part of brick, was erected by 
 Allah-Kuli Khan, near a pond surrounded with stones, 
 whence the name of the town " Tash-hauz," or " stone 
 pond." Let me hasten to say, however, that we were 
 not cradled in luxury, for the palace, though repaired 
 for a stopping-place by the present Khan when he 
 happens to be passing, is in a ruinous condition. 
 
 The town of Tashauz has three gates : the west, 
 south, and palace gate. We were lodged near the 
 last, and the platform at the entrance, for a guard, or 
 for judicial purposes or public business, was very 
 ample. We went out before dinner to see the town. 
 
 to the lawless and murderer, says, "In the dark they dig through 
 houses, which they have marked for themselves in the day time," a 
 practice no doubt common enough in the wild country thro ugh which we 
 were passing. 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 509 
 
 It has 300 shops and workshops, and one caravansary, 
 admirably suited to persons in search of "cheap 
 lodgings," the rent for a room and shop being \d. a 
 day, or 2od. per month. This was much cheaper than 
 at Aulie-Ata, where, for a place to sleep and accom- 
 modation for horses, was charged 2\d. per diem. We 
 inquired the price of black Turkoman sheepskin hats, 
 seen elevated on poles above the roof of a house, and 
 were told Ss. each. I had already provided myself 
 with a white one and a sheepskin coat ir> Khiva, 
 thinking I should find them useful when crossing the 
 desert and spending the night in the open.* 
 
 We left Tashauz next morning at 8, the road turning 
 off to the west, and leading still, for the most part, 
 through cultivated land, steppe appearing only here 
 and there. We began to see also ruined houses. The 
 weather had been gradually improving since we left 
 Khiva, where the night before our departure the 
 temperature fell to 33, the maximum of the previous 
 day being 60. At Tashauz during the night the 
 minimum was 35, and I had not ridden far from the 
 town before I found my Ulster too hot, and, after 
 throwing it off, was hardly cool enough. This was 
 pleasanter than the blustering weather we had at 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, where they had told us that 
 
 * As time hung" upon our hands, before dark I mounted the roof of 
 the palace, and was reminded again of the early days of the Israelites 
 in Canaan, where the cities they took were " fenced with high walls, 
 gates, and bars; besides un walled towns a great many " (the two cate- 
 gories into which Central Asian towns may still be divided). (Deut. iii. 5. ) 
 The spies accustomed to nomad life might well have said of towns 
 such as Tashauz that they were "great and walled up to heaven" 
 (Deut. i. 28; Num. xiii. 28); and as I looked down from the palace I 
 could see on numbers of the roofs, if not actually stalks of flax (which 
 there may have been), yet of jugara, under which Rahab, as easily as 
 possible, could have hidden the spies. There was not a single building 
 outside the walls of Tashauz, and "the time of shutting of the gate 
 when it was dark " would still be a favourable time for escape, since all 
 the population would be shut within. One had only, therefore, to 
 picture Rahab' s house adjoining the wall, and her letting visitors down, 
 to escape over the Oxus some 20 miles distant, to recall to the mind 
 some of the acts in a drama with which we had been familiar from 
 childhood (Josh. ii. 5, 6, 15). 
 
5 io THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 sometimes, on the approach of winter, there comes a 
 day or two of cold as a warning, but passes away, to be 
 succeeded by a sort of " St. Luke's little summer." 
 
 Our road from Tashauz was enlivened by numbers 
 of Uzbeg and Turkoman farmers, going to market to 
 the town we had left. We passed on the road another 
 place called Manak, and Uigur, the ruins of Goklen- 
 kala, or fort, and Karamazy, and after riding 19 miles 
 we came at noon to Iliali. 
 
 Iliali,- or, as the Turkomans call it, " Dschilandy," 
 or " Djingildi," is so named from Hazret Biliali, who 
 is buried here. The Turkomans claim him as their 
 patron saint, and ascribe to his protection sundry of 
 their victories over the Khivans. 
 
 The town of Iliali numbers about 160 houses, and a 
 bazaar with 100 shops and workshops. The population 
 is of Sarts, Turkomans, and Persians. Mondays and 
 Thursdays are the market days, and Turkoman corn 
 is the principal merchandise. The fortress, built in its 
 present form about 1865, is in a tumble-down condition, 
 similar to that of many of the houses in the town. 
 
 We were taken to a large garden in Iliali, having in 
 the middle a good-sized building, kept, I believe, as a 
 summer house for' the Khan when there. It could 
 hardly be called " furnished," for we had no table, and 
 our food was served so primitively that soup was 
 brought without spoons, and meat without knives and 
 forks. To make matters worse, our own table 
 requisites and baggage had not arrived. There was 
 nothing to be done, therefore, but to drink the soup 
 from the basins. This I remedied for the future by 
 providing myself with a folding-knife, etc., in my 
 saddle-bag. 
 
 Our slow-going conductors would have been well 
 content that we should have stopped here for the night, 
 but they 'had rather alarmed me by saying that the 
 next day's journey to Kunia Urgenj was to be a long 
 one, and as the day was only half gone I thought it 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 511 
 
 much better to push on as far as possible before night, 
 and so shorten the morrow's ride. They said some- 
 thing about the danger of travelling in these parts 
 after dark ; but I gave less heed hereto than was wise, 
 thinking perhaps it might be merely an excuse. After 
 waiting, therefore, till our luggage arbas arrived, we set 
 out again at 2.30, leaving them to follow. 
 
 For about 10 miles we passed through gardens ; 
 cultivation then diminished, and the road traversed 
 clayey, and in some parts slightly saline, soil, trees 
 being seen only here and there on the banks of the 
 large aryks. We crossed several canals, one being the 
 Murat Bai, and another the Kasym. This was im- 
 pressed upon my mind, because we passed one spot 
 where the aryk had overflowed. We had been 
 turned from our path by another such flooded place, 
 like a large lake, on the day we left Khiva, and had to 
 go round its edge. I suppose, in the preceding season, 
 water had been unusually abundant, for we saw houses 
 flooded, in some cases to their destruction, in others 
 not, though the inhabitants were driven out.^ 
 
 As darkness came on we were still on the steppe, 
 and met several wild-looking men, which brought to 
 
 * Bearing in mind that this laborious watering by irrigation was what 
 the Israelites had been accustomed to in Egypt, where they seldom 
 saw rain, they would the more highly appreciate the description set 
 before them of the promised " good land, a land of brooks of water, 
 of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills," "not as 
 the land . . . where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy 
 foot " [that is, by removing the irrigation ridges and allowing the water 
 to flow in], " but the land . . . drinketh water of the rain of heaven " 
 (Deut. viii. 7 ; xi. 10, n). 
 
 So, again, the floods we passed, and ruined houses suggested, of 
 course, another Scripture resemblance. Judged by the wise and foolish 
 men in the parable (Luke xi. 48), who built their houses upon the rock 
 and earth respectively, the Khivans, with few exceptions, would belong to 
 the latter class, for not only did they seem to me in most cases to build 
 their houses without foundation on the surface, but in a great many 
 cases they placed first a layer of brushwood, and on that they built 
 the wall. I asked the meaning of this feature in Khivan building, 
 and, so far as I could understand, it seemed to be as a remedy against 
 dampness rising in the walls in the time of rain. I perceived, too, in 
 Bokhara waterspouts projecting from the roofs to throw the water clear 
 of the bottom of the walls. 
 
512 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 my mind what they had said about danger from robbers. 
 Our little all was entrusted to three men, of whom I 
 knew nothing, who, supposing they were honest, pos- 
 sessed no arms, and, perhaps, not courage enough to 
 defend themselves if they had. These fears were not by 
 any means allayed by the savage aspect of the country 
 we were now traversing, and I was very glad for our 
 personal safety when, at 5.45, we arrived at a group 
 of houses, where we determined to lodge for the 
 night not that we were expected, however, so that 
 lodgings had to be sought. When found, we were 
 conducted into a Turkoman's shop, where a bright fire 
 was burning, the smoke getting out as best it could 
 through the roof, which had consisted of leafy boughs 
 now blackened, whilst a confined space was cleared for 
 our accommodation, amid sacks of rice, tobacco, fire- 
 wood, oil, melons, green tea, and butcher's meat. 
 
 They called the place Ak-tepe, and wished to make 
 out that we had covered since the morning 72 versts, 
 or nearly 50 miles. There is no such place on the 
 map as Ak-tepe, but according to them we had ridden 
 32 versts from I Kali, which would give for the day 60 
 versts, or 40 miles, and this was the most we had yet 
 accomplished between morning and evening. For 
 some hours I was anything but comfortable on account 
 of the non-arrival of our luggage, especially as I had 
 therein my papers, note-books, diary, journal, etc., 
 which I was anxious above all things to save, so that 
 I half determined to carry them in future in my 
 saddle-bags. When at length they did arrive, I found 
 that my fears had not been groundless, for, as the 
 carriers came along, two men, also in arbas, met them 
 and asked, " Where do you come from ?" 
 
 " From Khiva," they replied ; " whence come you ? " 
 " Don't know," said the spokesman. "Where are 
 you going ? " 
 
 " To Kunia Urgenj," said my man. "And you ?" 
 " I don't know," again he said, and let off his gun. 
 
THROUGH THE KHIVAN KHANATE. 513 
 
 " What are you shooting at ?" said my men. " If 
 you want these goods, you had better come and take 
 them, only remember they belong to the Russians ! " 
 
 Whereupon the fellows made off, and my men 
 caught us up at Ak-tepe. I was delighted to hear of 
 their safe arrival, and so thankful that I promised the 
 men an extra present, and determined not to be so 
 venturesome again in pushing on at night. 
 
 Nothwithstanding our curious lodging, we were too 
 tired not to sleep well, and next morning, at 8.45, we 
 resumed our journey, through a country wilder than 
 anything we had yet seen in Khiva, where even the 
 green of the tamarisk was of a bluish hue, looking as 
 if covered with dust. 
 
 The general characteristic of this part of our 
 journey was flatness and desolation, with scarce any 
 water, though there were visible numerous traces of 
 old aryks, showing that the land had formerly been 
 cultivated. The Yomuds, we afterwards learnt, were 
 the inhabitants, amongst whom, a quarter of a century 
 ago, agriculture is said to have been highly developed. 
 They used to get their water from a branch of the 
 Oxus called the Darialyk, which then reached as far as 
 Sary Kamish ; but during the war of the Turkomans 
 with Muhammad Amin Khan, the Khivans turned the 
 course of the Darialyk by means of dykes, in order to 
 starve out their turbulent Turkoman neighbours, who 
 were thus compelled to move their settlement, and 
 went off to the Balkan mountains, near the Caspian. 
 
 Thus we rode along till we saw, a long way ahead, 
 two lofty minarets and other ruins, which I knew to be 
 those of Kunia (or Old) Urgenj, so called to distinguish 
 it from Yengi (or New) Urgenj, near Khiva. I 
 hurried on to get a good look at them, and was much 
 deceived by finding them so distant. After spending 
 two hours at the ruins, we rode forward a mile or two 
 towards the present town of Kunia Urgenj, the high 
 road passing through a cemetery, where Diotrephes, 
 
 33 
 
5 i4 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 having got behind, and being as anxious as usual to 
 go ahead, I was letting him trot, when he so com- 
 pletely misbehaved himself as to stumble and roll. I 
 was pitched several feet over his head, my boots 
 coming easily out of the stirrups, so that providentially 
 I was not in the least hurt, and, before I quite knew 
 what had happened, was on my legs helping up 
 Diotrephes, who looked ashamed of himself. This 
 was something, but Yakoob imported a new sentiment 
 into the affair by observing that it was a judgment .on 
 us for galloping on holy ground, where the saints were 
 sleeping. He added that some Muhammadans would 
 have got off their horses and walked, but Yakoob 
 himself did not set the example. 
 
 On reaching Kunia Urgenj we were supposed to be 
 about 80 miles from the capital, according to Kuhn, 
 but our conductors had told us 107 miles. A very well 
 mounted messenger can do it in 48 hours, but an 
 ordinary estaphette takes 3 days. We had been 
 occupied three days and a half. Our arbas came soon 
 after our arrival, so that we had simply to wait for 
 Tailly to bring the camels, and pack our goods for the 
 journey across the desert. 
 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 
 
 Antiquity of Kimia Urgenj. Siege of Tamerlane. Inspection of the 
 ruins. The minarets and mausoleums. Tombs of Tuirebek 
 Khanim and Sheikh Nejm-ed-din-Kubera. The town of Hojeili 
 and Mennonite colony. Our lodgings at Kunia Urgenj. Central 
 Asian "home life." Marriage. Life in a royal harem. Seclusion 
 of women. Need of female missionaries in Central Asia. Delay 
 in getting camels. A Kirghese court of justice and witnesses. 
 Kirghese interpreter. A new servant. Need of Kirghese litera- 
 ture. Preparation for the desert ; camel cradles ; cooking utensils, 
 and provisions. Arrival of camels and dishonesty of attendants. 
 Camels for military purposes. Presumptive danger ahead. 
 
 " I "HE ruins of Kunia Urgenj are of old times. 
 Tamerlane took it from Yusuf Soft, caused it to 
 be razed in 1388, and the ground sown with barley.* 
 Three years later Timur ordered the city to be rebuilt, 
 and the country peopled afresh ; but Urgenj seems 
 never to have gained its former prosperity, though we 
 read that, in 1393, Antonio Pietro de Malliano suc- 
 ceeded Boniface there as bishop. 
 
 General von Grotenhielm gave me some photographs, 
 that have done good service for illustrations of the re- 
 maining buildings, but he informed me that the ruins 
 awaited the exploration of competent antiquarians. 
 
 * Micah (iii. 12) prophesied, " Zion shall be plowed like a field." 
 Such immense armies as those of Tamerlane and Jinghiz required not 
 a little corn for horses, to say nothing of the needs of the soldiers* 
 The most recent instance I have read of a modern army growing corn 
 for its own nourishment is that of the Chinese, who, a few years since, 
 on their way to Kashgaria to put down the insurrection, stopped their 
 march in Mongolia thus to sow and reap. 
 
516 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 In approaching the place we could easily trace for a 
 short distance the old bed of the river, on whose banks 
 the city stood. Sandhills abound, however, and the 
 ancient walls are little more than heaps. We had to 
 make a long circuit before we could enter the city area 
 so as to examine first the westerly of two tall minarets 
 that are left standing. The base of the tower or 
 rather the bottom, for it has neither base nor capita] 
 w r as surrounded with broken bricks in such quantities 
 that it was not easy to take the circumference. I 
 found it to be 80 feet, but the whole affair looked so 
 tottering as to be dangerous even to approach it. 
 Here and there on its surface are coloured bricks, but 
 hardly sufficient to indicate its former appearance. 
 The eastern minaret, Kuhn says, is higher than the 
 other. I do not know how he reckons ; but I measured 
 the circumference on a level with my head as 1 14 feet. 
 The diameter on the photograph measures T 7 ^ of an 
 inch and the height 2j inches, which would therefore 
 make its altitude about 186 feet. This minaret is in a 
 better state of preservation than the former. Both 
 are built of baked bricks, and the latter is encircled 
 by four convex rings with inscriptions, the letters of 
 which are said by Glukhovsky to be the height of 
 a man. Kuhn calls them Kufic, which they doubtless 
 are, though Mr. Sevier did not readily allow them to 
 be letters at all, until we purchased some old coins 
 found on the spot, when the similarity of the inscrip- 
 tions was manifest. It is doubtful whether the in- 
 scriptions can now be deciphered, because some of the 
 bricks that form them are fallen out. Besides the 
 inscriptions, the zones of coloured bricks are sometimes 
 in mosaic in the form of a scroll, and at others in broken 
 X patterns. Howorth, quoting Glukhovsky, who visited 
 the place in 1873, speaks of a stately tower or minaret 
 in the shape of a truncated cone, and adds that inside 
 is a winding staircase reaching to the roof, which is 
 quite probable ; but, so far as I remember, I could 
 
O UR STAY AT KUNIA UR GENJ. 5 1 7 
 
 find no entrance, or I certainly should have been eager 
 to ascend. In my photograph of the eastern minaret, 
 the summit of the western one only just rises above 
 the horizon. 
 
 What end these lofty towers served is not clear, 
 unless to call the Muhammadans to prayer. It seems 
 
 THE MINARETS OF KUNIA UKGENJ. 
 
 probable that the two belonged to different medresses, 
 though no traces of the medresses remain. 
 
 Besides these minarets there are still standing 5 
 ruined buildings, once ornamented. Some distance 
 west of the first minaret we examined are some walls 
 and an arch, or pishtak, resembling that over the 
 kibleh in a mosque ; and this may possibly be the ruins 
 of one of the old palaces of the Kharezmian Shahs. 
 They show signs of having been ornamented with 
 
5i8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 coloured tiles. A few minutes' walk south-west of the 
 west minaret is the mausoleum of Sheikh Shurif. It 
 has a conical roof of coloured tiles, supported, as 
 Abbott says, upon a prism of 24 sides, not inelegantly 
 moulded into columns and recesses. The only mosaic 
 ornamentation left consists of pale-blue bricks, with 
 raised letters round the cornice of the edifice outside. 
 The door is a pointed arch, and inside I measured the 
 area as 37 feet square. The interior of the dome 
 was so fashioned as to remind me of a scallop shell. 
 The grave of the Sheikh they showed us outside. 
 
 Near at hand we entered a tomb my notes call 
 " Kara Lau Baba, built of burnt brick plastered over." 
 This I suppose to be the same as Kuhn calls the 
 mausoleum of Imam Fakhr-ud-din, where again the blue 
 tiles are found only on the cupola. Nearer the east 
 minaret we entered the tomb of Kara Kapa Baba, 
 where was an old man acting apparently the part of 
 showman, and expecting a gratuity. In Central Asia 
 the showmen at the resorts of pilgrims are, I believe, 
 supposed to be descendants of the departed saints, but 
 as to what are the " notes" of Muhammadan sanctity I 
 am not clearly informed. 
 
 But the most noteworthy of the mausoleums we 
 visited last, namely, that of Tiurebek or Torebeg 
 Khanim, a daughter of Djanibek Khan. It is circular 
 in form, with a conical roof, having a wide facade 
 with pointed arch. I presume it is this that Ho worth, 
 quoting Glukhovski, calls " a fine ruined palace, con- 
 taining a large round hall with a vaulted cupola. The 
 hall has a double row of windows, one about 6 feet 
 from the ground, consisting of four, and the other, 
 near the dome, of 16 windows; and its walls are 
 decorated with reliefs and arabesques, on which are 
 remains of gilding and colour." We found the build- 
 ing of burnt brick on the exterior, with kashi, or 
 coloured tiles, inserted here and there, sometimes in 
 the form of a scroll, at others in that of a medallion, 
 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGEhJ. 
 
 5*9 
 
 or, again, triangular. The walls of the interior have 
 once been lined with kashi, but now only the roof 
 retains them, and they told me that men sometimes 
 shoot at the tiles out of reach to make them fall, for 
 the purpose of getting off the gold, which did not 
 sound to me very reasonable. One thing noteworthy 
 
 THE TOMB OF TIUREBEK KHANIM. 
 
 in this ruin was that the enamelled tiles of the 
 cupola were scarcely damaged at all, as had been the 
 case in other buildings we had seen in Central Asia, 
 and this made it possible, whilst confining the attention 
 to the interior of the roof, to imagine the appearance 
 of the finest buildings of Samarkand in their palmy 
 days. I would have given something for the pocket 
 
520 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 camera promised to have been sent for me to Tashkend, 
 if only to have secured the pattern of the kashi cupola, 
 which was certainly the most complete thing of the 
 kind we had seen. All the figured enamelled bricks 
 were out of reach, or I am afraid my antiquarian 
 instincts would hardly have kept my fingers from 
 picking and stealing. As it was, I mounted the roof 
 to see if anything could be had, but the bricks, 'which 
 were rather smaller than English, were not only built 
 with great regularity, but were of marvellous strength. 
 I think I may safely say that I never examined bricks 
 so hard ; and when I remarked this to Khassan, he 
 told me, what will probably tax the reader's belief as it 
 did mine, that they were made, or rather wetted, with 
 camels' milk. I took them to be of Persian manufac- 
 ture, and they more nearly resembled stone than 
 anything I have ever seen. On the following day, 
 upon offering a reward for a few specimens of the 
 coloured bricks, some were brought, and though these 
 are not of the same clay or, at least, of the same burning, 
 as those used for building simply, I was glad to obtain 
 a few specimens of kashi from this ancient town of 
 " the Chorasmian waste." Treasure has been found 
 from time to time among the ruins of Kunia Urgenj, 
 and I was fortunate enough to secure some coins from 
 this place, certain of which Mr. Poole, of the British 
 Museum, tells me he has not seen before. 
 
 Between the ruins of Kunia Urgenj and the modern 
 town, on an aryk, stands the mausoleum of Sheikh 
 Nedjm-ud-din Kubera, built in the form of a double 
 mosque. This was erected, according to all accounts, 
 by order of Tamerlane, and if so, it seems likely that, 
 in ordering the rebuilding of the city, he may have 
 directed the two minarets also to be built. The tomb 
 now spoken of was restored by Muhammad Emir 
 Khan. On the facade are two lines of inscription- 
 white letters on blue ground. Inside is a pair ot 
 tombstones, on which are two parallelograms in mosaic, 
 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 521 
 
 signifying that two persons are buried beneath the 
 Sheikh, and Yalgaiz Khan, son of the Sheikh Jinghiz 
 Khan. In a line with the slab, at the corner, is a small 
 tiled pillar about 2 feet high (reminding one of the like 
 at Tamerlane's own tomb), said to denote where the 
 head lies. A wooden paling encloses the slab, and at 
 its head are several flags. On the north side of this 
 building, and touching it, is a mausoleum, wherein lies 
 buried Piriyar, the father of Palvan Ata, the patron 
 saint of Khiva. Besides these ruins there are numerous 
 kurgan, and heaps all round Urgenj. Very few are 
 know r n even by name, though one remarkable thing is 
 that amongst the ddbris are found broken pieces of 
 glass, which Kuhn says is not the case among the ruins 
 in the adjoining Syr-daria province, though found at 
 Samarkand, and suggested as being of Chinese origin. 
 
 I have thus entered somewhat fully into particulars 
 concerning this former capital of Kharezm and its 
 ruins, because they are the most ancient erections I 
 saw in the khanate. Not, however, that Urgenj was 
 always, or first, the capital, for Arabian geographers 
 (quoted in Howorth) give this honour to Kat, the ruins 
 of which have been found on the right bank of the Oxus. 
 Of inhabited points there remains one other which 
 should be noticed in connection with the north of the 
 Oasis I mean Khojeili. 
 
 Some land near Khojeili has been given for a settle- 
 ment to a body of Christians, called Mennonites, the 
 party of whom we heard first at Aulie Ata, and in 
 whose track we afterwards followed.* They travelled 
 
 * Their story, given me in part by one of themselves, is that they are 
 so called from Simon Menno, a Dutch sectary, who died in 1^61. In 
 consequence of persecution some of the first Mennonites left Holland 
 for Prussia ; and when the Prussians would have forced on them military 
 service, they emigrated to the South of Russia, and settled in the 
 Crimea and on the Volga. In 1874, when conscription became universal 
 in Russia, about a thousand families emigrated at once to the United 
 States and Canada, but the greater part remained in Russia, having 
 been allowed to serve their time, not as soldiers in the army, but as 
 foresters on the crown lands. Some Mennonites of the Volga, however, 
 
522 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 in huge European wagons, and when they came to the 
 sands between Karakul and the Amu, we heard that 
 they took the wagons to pieces, and carried them on 
 camels. Sixty-four families floated down the Oxus in 
 8 boats, which cost for hire ^168. Some went by 
 land, and at Petro-Alexandrovsk we heard of them in 
 that their demand for potatoes had sent up the price 
 from 2s. 6d. to y. <^d. per cwt. 
 
 At Kunia Urgenj we were quartered on the Bek, 
 a son of the old Consul who had conducted us to 
 Khiva. Our room was large and carpeted, with a fire 
 in the centre on a hearth, surrounded by a curb, but 
 there were no chairs or tables. The Bek showed us 
 his own room, in which were felts, a niche to hold a 
 book or two, a kurjun, or pair of saddle-bags, and a 
 double-barrelled gun. There was likewise a room set 
 apart for the Batchman, or Assistant Bek, who had 
 accompanied us. In the stables the best Turkoman 
 horse was valued at ^20, and two camels at ^10 and 
 6 each respectively. The house was built through- 
 out of mud, at a cost, he said, of about ^"50, but that 
 houses so built lasted only about 60 years. I suppose 
 that the Bek had some wives, but not a shadow did 
 
 about 150 families, having been carried away by one of their number, 
 who declared he had received orders from on high to proceed eastward, 
 went to Turkistan in 1880 and 1881, and tarried near Tashkend till their 
 destination should be fixed. Schism then divided the camp, some 
 settling at Aulie Ata, but others going on to the Bokhara border, and 
 finally arranging with the Khan of Khiva, who consented to receive 
 them. They are now settled in a small colony on the left bank of the 
 Oxus opposite Fort Nukus ; the schismatical party of Aulie Ata, I 
 believe, having joined them. 
 
 Their strong point, or prejudice, seemed to be that they would not 
 accept employment of any kind, not even that of a watchman, much 
 less that of a soldier, under any government they consider not Christian. 
 When I asked what government of those existing they considered 
 Christian, my informant said " None !" so that they are tolerably 
 sweeping in their condemnations. At the same time, I observe, they 
 accepted the services of the soldiers sent to protect them by the Emir 
 of Bokhara, whose escort went before them preparing the roads, building 
 bridges, and helping them with food. My informant tells me that they 
 have no ordained priests, but choose ministers among themselves, 
 baptize adults only, and communicate weekly. Some letters respect- 
 ing these Mennonites appeared in The Friend for 1882 and 1883. 
 
OVR STAY AT KUNJA URGENJ. 523 
 
 we see of one of them ; and this reminds me* that, 
 though I have introduced the reader to several 
 native houses, I have hardly given a picture of what 
 English people love so much, and call " home life." 
 The simplest way to supply this omission is to say of 
 the natives, " They have none." I must, however, 
 endeavour briefly to sketch what they possess ap- 
 proaching it. 
 
 To begin, then, with the marriage union. When a 
 boy reaches the age of 15, his parents seek a wife for 
 him, who, it is preferred, shall be at least 5 years older, 
 so that she may know how to manage his household. 
 Betrothal among the Sarts is usually effected by means 
 of a professional match-maker, who is consulted as to 
 the amount and nature of the kalim to be paid, which, 
 besides money, consists of various articles of toilette 
 robes, beshmets, or under-tunics, ear and finger- 
 rings, kerchiefs, likewise sheep, rice, fruit, etc., for 
 the wedding feast. In Bokhara they said the kalim 
 varied according to law from 10 to 1,000 tengas that 
 is, from $s. to 25. Of the dowry the bride is to 
 bring with her, the husband knows nothing till after 
 the marriage, though her father, who, according to the 
 prevailing custom, keeps the greater part of the kalim, 
 is bound to give his daughter a tent, and an entire set 
 of domestic necessaries. 
 
 After this point is settled the mullah reads a prayer, 
 and asks the bride through a closed door whether she 
 consents to marry such an one, and, on her assenting, 
 the bridegroom is asked the same. The mullah then 
 hands the bridegroom a cup of water, from which he 
 drinks, and returns it to the mullah, who sends it in to 
 the bride. The remaining water is then drunk by 
 those present. At the close of the ceremony, the 
 women conduct the bridegroom to the sleeping apart- 
 ment, and also the bride, in whose society the man 
 spends his first three days of married life in the home 
 of her parents. 
 
524 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 The bride is then brought to her husband's house, 
 and begins her every-day and stay-at-home existence. 
 She goes into the streets only on business, and seldom 
 makes social visits, except now and then for a funeral 
 or a wedding. When her husband goes out she is 
 commonly locked up. At Petro not many men have two 
 wives, yet if a man be rich, and his first wife chosen 
 by his parents be old (forty is considered very old), 
 then he not unfrequently chooses for himself, with the 
 aid of a match-maker, a second and very young wife, 
 who by law, however, in Khiva, must not be less than 
 1 1 (in Bokhara they told me 12) years of age. 
 
 But these are the darker parts of the picture, it may 
 be said. Supposing there is no divorce, and things go 
 on fairly well, what can then be said for home life in 
 Central Asia? In Bokhara I was told men feed their 
 wives badly, giving them tea and bread in the morn- 
 ing, and tea and peas in the evening, and on bazaar 
 days condescend to eat pilau with them ! 
 
 One informant represented to me the harem of the 
 Emir as a miserable place, where they get only 5 Ibs. of 
 bread a day, and pilau twice a week. Another account, 
 however, from a man who knew a boy, brother of one 
 of the Emir's wives, said that each woman in the 
 harem had a separate house and maid-servant, with 3 
 meals a day, of her own choice, and the food was said 
 to be good, because the boy in question, being poor, 
 frequently went to see his sister, and was given a 
 meal. The Emir's wives, I was told, might visit, but 
 they had no amusements, unless, perhaps, they played 
 the guitar, " but quietly, so that no one might hear ! " 
 I did not infer, from the little I heard of the Emir's 
 affairs, that he cultivated what we should call "family 
 life." We were told in Samarkand that he has two 
 unmarried daughters, whom he visits once a year, but 
 otherwise has no domestic relations with them. 
 
 As I have said, it was only in the case of one or 
 two who came to Sevier for medical advice that I saw 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 525 
 
 a woman's face all through Bokhara and Khiva. I 
 thought, however, that I should like to do so, if only 
 in the case of my hostesses at Khiva, whereupon I 
 cautiously approached the subject to Matmurad. I 
 had already invited him to England, and to this I 
 added, " When you come, the first person to whom 
 you will be introduced, after the gentleman, will be the 
 lady of the house. Moreover, I expected, when I 
 returned, that the English ladies would be curious to 
 know what the Khivan ladies are like. Further, I 
 thought it possible that his Khivan ladies might like to 
 know what the English ladies were like. Would he not, 
 then, do me the pleasure to introduce me to his wife ?' 
 
 How much these sentences altered their shape in 
 passing through interpreters I know not, but he replied 
 that it would give him pleasure to do so, only that it 
 was contrary to their customs. Moreover, that they 
 were always locked in their chambers, and would be so 
 frightened at the appearance of a stranger that they 
 would drop ! And Yakoob afterwards informed me 
 that Matmurad was offended at my asking. 
 
 This incident gave me a text on the need of Zenana 
 work and women's labour in the mission field, such as 
 I shall not quickly forget. Here was I with abundance 
 of prestige at my back, a court guest, in the house of 
 a host who seemed desirous to please me in every- 
 thing. Yet I was refused ! How, then, can male 
 missionaries, for educational purposes, gain access to 
 Oriental women? and if they are not reached, how shall 
 the children be influenced to advantage ? 
 
 But what I could not do, or any other Christian 
 man, a Christian woman can do. And here is a field 
 of usefulness for English ladies, which, thank God, 
 some have nobly commenced, but of which others do 
 not yet realize the importance. England would appear 
 to have a contingent of about 700 women missionaries, 
 representing British societies in the mission field 
 abroad. Has Russia, then, no daughters to send to so 
 
526 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 noble a work in Central Asia ? Can girls be found, 
 recklessly to throw away their lives in shooting police 
 officers and promoting the horrible "cause" of Nihilism, 
 whilst none offer themselves to minister in womanly 
 sympathy to their Muhammadan sisters dark, ignorant, 
 and uneducated ? Let us hope that, as the Russian 
 Church has formed a Missionary Society for the 
 employment of men, so another may be formed for 
 lady missionaries to the native women ! 
 
 Soon after our arrival at Kunia Urgenj, on the 
 5th of November, the postman Tailly put in his 
 appearance, but not with camels. He had so easily 
 obtained the money asked on two previous occasions, 
 that he seemed determined, if possible, to exact higher 
 terms. To that end he had fabricated a story I did 
 not believe, and the upshot was that he left us about 
 sunrise on the morning of the 7th, promising to be 
 back in a few hours with our " ships of the desert." 
 But he did not come till night, when it was too late 
 to start, and thus we were compelled by his machina- 
 tions to spend three or four days at this our last 
 outpost of Khivan civilization. The place, however, 
 was not devoid of interest, and we had several pre- 
 parations to make. We saw, too, some fresh incidents 
 of native life, better, perhaps, than when in larger 
 places and under more pretentious patronage. 
 
 Our host, being Bek, was, of course, chief magis- 
 trate in his district, and during our stay there came 
 from a distance two Kirghese of the Adaef tribe for 
 judgment. Captain Mirbadaleff, at Petro-Alexan- 
 drovsk, told me that the cases brought before him 
 amongst the Kirghese and Sarts were, for the most 
 part, robberies, murders, and thefts. The Russians 
 leave the bis among the Kirghese to administer justice 
 after their own customs. In the court of the Bek of 
 Kunia Urgenj the mode of procedure was simple 
 enough. The litigants squatted on the platform near 
 the door of our apartment, told their tale, and the 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 527 
 
 Bek gave judgment. Anything more primitive could 
 not well be ; but it was manifest that the judge, being 
 bound by no apparent code, could so easily give 
 unrighteous judgment, that the " glorious uncertainty 
 of the law " was, with the Kirghese, about the only 
 thing certain.* 
 
 The prison was not far distant from the Bek's 
 house. I found it "in the gate," not a dungeon, how- 
 ever, like those we had visited at Charjui and Khiva, 
 but a good-sized room, in what was, I imagine, the 
 house of the keeper of the gate. There was but one 
 prisoner, and he was quite ready to receive alms, 
 though, by comparison with the imprisoned at Khiva, 
 he was in easy circumstances. 
 
 We saw more of these Adaef or Adai Kirghese in 
 the bazaar, perched aloft on their tall camels, and 
 looking the more conspicuous by reason of enormous 
 woolly hats they wear, made in something of the 
 shape of a baby's hood, the flaps covering the 
 
 * The autocratic power in the hands of such a judge, and the known 
 corruption of the natives, call to mind " Thy princes. . . . every one 
 loyeth gifts and followeth after rewards : they judge not the fatherless, 
 neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them " (Isa. i. 23). 
 We had seen one instance wherein a Kirghese widow had preferred to 
 come to a Russian officer with her suit rather than to her own people. 
 The answer she received was one of several incidents that reminded 
 me of the similarity between Russian Central Asia in the present day, 
 and Palestine in New Testament times, in that both had concurrently 
 a law of the people, and a higher law administered by foreigners. Had 
 this woman come to General Kolpakovsky she might have used the 
 language of Paul to Agrippa, " I think myself happy because I shall 
 answer this day before thee, because I know thee to be expert in all 
 customs and questions which are among us " (Acts xxvi. 2, 3) ; whilst, 
 on the other hand, the answer she received was near akin to that of 
 Pilate : " Take ye him, and judge him according to your law" (John 
 xviii. 31) ; or of Gallic, " If it be a question of the law you have among 
 yourselves, look ye to it" (Acts xviii. 15). What the officer really 
 answered was, however, more considerate. He said. " Go first to your 
 own court, and, if the decision does not please you, come again to 
 me." Further, the case of the two Adaef Kirghese, travelling together 
 to present themselves to the judge, brought out the meaning of a 
 phrase, I thought, in Matt. v. 25 : "Agree with thine adversary quickly, 
 whiles thou art with him in the way'' lest haply "the adversary 
 deliver thee to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and thou be 
 cast into prison." 
 
528 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 shoulders, by no means elegant in appearance, but a 
 great protection from the cold wind of the Steppe. 
 The Kirghese women also come riding into the town 
 astride of horses or oxen. We came into contact here 
 with a very superior young Kirghese, whom the Khan, 
 according to his promise, had bidden offer himself as 
 our interpreter. Meanwhile, as we did not find him 
 on our arrival, we had been looking about for our- 
 selves ; for since Yakoob could not be prevailed upon 
 
 A KIRGHESE EQUESTRIENNE. 
 
 to go further than Sary Kamish, it became clear that 
 we should have to do our own cooking an art in 
 which I had not graduated. Yakoob, moreover, had 
 found in the bazaar, one Rosy Muhammad, or Mahmet, 
 a poor-looking Sart, with no very definite calling, and 
 sadly in want of cash, who had once been in a party 
 with some Russian surveyors between Khiva and the 
 Caspian. He could speak a little Russian, and said 
 he could cook. He was willing to go with us as 
 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 529 
 
 servant for 2 los. and all found, and to make himself 
 generally useful ; ornamental he could never be, for 
 his eyes were at cross purposes, he was sadly pitted 
 with small-pox, and looked many removes from one 
 of nature's gentlemen. The Russians at Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk had said we should be able to get on 
 without a Turki-speaking interpreter, but I declined 
 the obvious risk ; and our short experience between 
 Pitniak and the Russian fort, where we had left 
 Yakoob in the boat, warned me that there might be 
 many extremely unpleasant little episodes if unable 
 to say so much as " Yes " or " No " with our guides 
 during a fortnight's journey in the wilderness. 
 
 I was inclined, therefore, to settle with " Rosy,' 
 as we afterwards flatteringly called him, especially 
 as we heard nothing of the interpreter promised by 
 the Khan. Yakoob, however, suggested that we 
 should keep Rosy Mahmet as a reserve, and wait 
 to see if the promised one came, and what he was 
 like. At length, on the afternoon before we started 
 one Jumagala Mataief arrived from Nukus, concern- 
 ing whom Yakoob came in to report that he feared 
 he was "too great a swell" to do any cooking. 
 Yakoob had also heard him say that he should not 
 think of asking less than 20 for accompanying us 
 to Krasnovodsk ! 
 
 Accordingly, when the grand man was introduced, 
 he appeared in a cloth tunic, respectably dressed 
 throughout, and carrying a watch, with its silver chain 
 dangling from v his breast and shoulders. Almost 
 before we had ascertained his powers of interpretation, 
 we had to ask the ignoble question whether he could 
 cook, to which he replied with the Frenchman, who 
 was asked if he could play the fiddle, that "he had 
 never tried," but he was willing to do so. 
 
 He said that he had been engaged for 3 years, 
 winters excepted, as one of five interpreters who accom- 
 panied 10 Russian engineers, engaged in surveying 
 
 34 
 
530 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the old bed of the Oxus, with a view to ascertain 
 whether water communication could be again estab- 
 lished between the Caspian and the Amu-daria. He 
 had evidently profited by his intercourse with the 
 Russians, and, I should imagine, had proved a faithful 
 servant, for, at the end of his 3 years' service, the 
 principal officer had given him, as a parting reward, 
 the silver watch and chain he now displayed. He 
 appeared, too, to be highly intelligent, and I quite took 
 to him as a man to be depended on ; but the cooking 
 difficulty was too serious, as a mere question of health, 
 to be treated lightly. 
 
 We thought it better, therefore, to forego this grand 
 interpreter, and be content with Rosy Mahmet, who 
 suddenly increased in value in his own estimation, and 
 asked 20 per cent, more than before, whereupon I 
 clenched matters by writing in my note-book, and 
 bidding him place " his mark " thereto that he agreed 
 to accompany us as servant and interpreter to Kras- 
 novodsk for $. We then gave Jumagala Mataief a 
 consideration for the time he had lost in coming to us, 
 and he was content to accept that and our thanks, 
 asking, however, my recommendation, if I knew of 
 anyone seeking an interpreter, which I promised. 
 
 W T hat I saw and heard from him reminded me of 
 much that M. von Ghern had said of the Kirghese at 
 Vierny respecting the desirability of doing more for 
 their mental elevation. They would appear to have at 
 present no books in their own dialect. The Kirghese 
 New Testament I have spoken of is largely mixed 
 with Tatar, and it seems very desirable that a few 
 simple primers and tracts should be written and trans- 
 lated for them, which, I was told, could probably be 
 done, if someone would bear the expense of printing. 
 Anything written expressly for them would have to be 
 extremely simple, for, of course, the ideas of the natives 
 are very limited, as some of their questions showed, 
 whenever I could get their inquisitiveness sufficiently 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 531 
 
 aroused to ask any. They inquired how far Petersburg 
 was from London, and whether it was surrounded by 
 water, by steppe, or gardens, which I answered ; but 
 telling them that the latter city had 4,000,000 inhabi- 
 tants seemed to convey nothing to their minds. The 
 batchman asked also about the comet that was just 
 then visible, and upon my explaining the matter, he 
 said they had always been taught to look upon such 
 things as supernatural, and portending coming events. 
 
 The " coming event," however, with us was that we: 
 were about to plunge into the desert, where, even 
 under the most favourable circumstances, we might, 
 expect to be many days without seeing house or 
 inhabitant, and so be thrown upon our own resources. 
 We had taken from the newspaper account of the 
 Russian doctor and engineer, who had crossed before 
 us, two or three hints, one of them being the desira- 
 bility of two cradles wherein to sleep at night on the 
 camel's back. They had no such thing at Kunia 
 ready-made, so we had to call in a native carpenter, 
 whom Yakoob, without my desiring it, and quite 
 unnecessarily, beat down in his price, and the conse- 
 quence was that, though the cradles came in time, they 
 were so badly made that they threatened not to hold 
 together even to the first halting-place. 
 
 Next we were informed that, as the purchase of a 
 horse does not include his bridle, so we had to find 
 all things requisite and necessary for loading our camels 
 and keeping the goods from the effects of the weather. 
 Hence I thought it necessary to purchase several large 
 pieces of felt to cover the baggage, lest it should get 
 wet, and two also to lay at the bottom of our tent. 
 These cost 435. Then came rope in large quantities 
 to tie on the loads, and we were specially advised to 
 take one very long piece, because some of the wells 
 were deep. Our two predecessors had taken corn for 
 their horses, and we were enjoined to take also chopped 
 clover, at which Tailly said the horses would turn up 
 
532 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 their noses, for that we should find plenty of grass on 
 the way. We purchased, notwithstanding, two corn 
 sacks, and a third for a dozen melons and water-melons, 
 some of which I judge must have weighed 20 Ibs. each, 
 though the sackful cost only is. 
 
 Next came sundry humble articles, namely, a round, 
 open saucepan, about 18 inches in diameter, and a 
 wooden soup ladle as big as a saucer, 2 nose-bags for 
 the horses, 2 japanned wooden bowls for soup, and a 
 china basin, which last came to a dreadfully tragic end, 
 as will be described hereafter. In Khiva the price of 
 meat had been given us as ^d. per lb., beef rather less, 
 and mutton rather more, so of one or the other we 
 took about 20 Ibs.; of chicken we added 8, at \d. each. 
 Then came the difficult question of eggs. They used 
 to sell in Khiva at 7 for a halfpenny, but, having 
 advanced to 6 for a penny, we took an economical view 
 of matters, and purchased a limited number only. By 
 way of luxuries we secured 10 pheasants, the price of 
 which, I had better perhaps add, lest I should be 
 deemed extravagant, was ^d. each. 
 
 These were our viands, but I have yet to add a bag 
 of rice, onions and carrots, a keg of cream, about 50 
 cakes of native bread taken fresh from the oven, and 
 for dessert, apples and grapes, whilst the batchman 
 gave us for his parting present a nicely-packed little 
 box of large pears. These, with some native salt for 
 cooking purposes, finished our list of eatables pur- 
 chased in Kunia Urgenj, and to this list must be added 
 candles, wooden spoons, and a teapot. 
 
 I was glad to secure in Kunia an addition to my 
 curiosities for the British Museum in the shape of an 
 iron pendent, for a horse-collar, formed of a flat plate 
 with loop and staple for attachment. It corresponds 
 to a horse-bell, and flaps against the wooden collar 
 with a ringing sound. More interesting were some 
 coins found in ruins near Kunia, one of which was 
 said to be "a thousand years old," a statement I have 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 533 
 
 not yet verified. I purchased, too, at Kunia some of 
 the common native lamps of Central Asia, which ap- 
 peared to be for the most part of one form only. 
 
 The purchasing of our provisions took us from time 
 to time to the bazaar, and gave us a peep at the poor 
 and insignificant modern town of Kunia Urgenj. It is 
 surrounded by a wall with three gates. There are 
 about 350 houses, a small bazaar with 100 shops, 6 
 mosques and 2 schools. This was rather disappointing, 
 for we had been told that we could get all that was 
 necessary for the desert journey at this border town, 
 so that we had deferred some of our purchases. 
 
 To our disgust, Tailly did not return all day on 
 Tuesday, so that we spent the greater part of the time 
 in packing, and after we were in bed he arrived with a 
 trumped-up story to the effect that on his way one of 
 the hired camels had stuck in a bog, that they had 
 great difficulty in getting it out, and when they did, it 
 was in so disreputable a condition that he did not like 
 to bring it on, and had consequently purchased another 
 in its stead. This was a tissue of falsehoods. At least, 
 the story we afterwards heard from the camel owner 
 was that he brought 5 camels, as agreed, to Kunia 
 Urgenj, but that Tailly said I would not pay for the 
 fifth, and consequently he sent one back. I knew 
 nothing of this, however, until some days afterwards. 
 
 Accordingly, on Wednesday morning, I directed the 
 camels to be loaded, and this was accomplished with 
 no little difficulty. They used the rope so lavishly 
 that I thought we should exhaust all the stores in the 
 town. There was no more to be had new, and the 
 second-hand, according to Yakoob's account, kept 
 rising in price. Unsolicited by us, Rosy told us later 
 on that Yakoob out of this rope had been making a 
 little harvest for himself. I had received a hint at 
 Samarkand that I must look sharp after Yakoob, for 
 that, although he was not a thief, yet he had his 
 own notions of honesty. Yakoob told us that in one 
 
534 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 commission we had entrusted to the new interpreter 
 he had overcharged us sufficiently to allow of his pur- 
 chasing a store of tobacco. For the future, therefore, 
 I sent Yakoob on errands, not thinking that his pro- 
 bable reason for ''splitting upon" Rosy was that he 
 might get the business into his own hands. 
 
 My costly felts, that I expected would be put over 
 the goods to keep them clean, Tailly coolly folded, and 
 placed beneath the baggage to keep it from rubbing 
 
 II 
 
 AMBULANCE CART AS DRAWN BY CAMEL IN THE TURKOMAN CAMPAIGNS. 
 
 the camels' sides. I rather demurred, thinking that 
 the owner ought to provide that much for his own 
 animals. I urged that I wanted the felts to keep the 
 things from rain. Here no doubt he laughed in his 
 sleeve at my ignorance, as he replied, " We will put 
 them on the top when the rain comes." We did not 
 have a drop all across the desert, and evidently, by 
 Tailly, rain was as little expected as when Samuel 
 called for a storm in harvest.* 
 
 * i Sam. xii. 17. 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 
 
 535 
 
 I confess to being a little disappointed at the look of 
 the camels hired for us. I had given the best price, 
 that he might secure the best animals, which I supposed 
 to be the graceful, long-haired, two-humped Bactrian 
 camel. Instead of this appeared five short-haired, 
 one-humped, gaunt-looking creatures of anything but 
 attractive appearance. I was reconciled, however, to 
 the new animals on Yakoob's telling me that the one- 
 humped (iiar tuya) animals are stronger than the two- 
 
 CAMEL DRILL IN TURK.MENIA. 
 
 humped (tuya].* Accordingly, when our camels were 
 loaded, our little string of five filed out of the Bek's 
 yard, and I was somewhat amused at this novel fashion 
 of removing my baggage. 
 
 I imagine, however, that there was a serious side to 
 the affair, that my ignorance did not permit me to see, 
 but which seemed to be present to the mind of the 
 
 * In the campaigns in Turkmenia the Russians have found the camel 
 exceedingly useful for military purposes, not only in bearing burdens, 
 but also in drawing ambulance carts. Mr. P. Lessar informs me that 
 they have also tried the experiment at Krasnovodsk of forming a camel 
 battery. 
 
THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
OUR STAY AT KUNIA URGENJ. 537 
 
 Bek. He had, I presume, never before seen two 
 foreigners, comparatively unarmed, starting with three 
 natives only to cross the Turkoman desert. The 
 Russian surveying parties had been escorted by a 
 guard of Cossacks, and the two private parties I have 
 alluded to did not come so far north as Kunia Urgenj. 
 The Bek, too, knew the dangers of the desert better 
 than I, and sent for a man who offered himself as 
 guide ; but this did not seem necessary, I thought, 
 since Tailly was supposed to have made adequate pro- 
 vision on this score, and every individual added to the 
 company rendered necessary the taking also of his 
 provision for nearly three weeks. 
 
 What were really the Bek's fears, if he had any, I 
 know not, but it looked rather ominous when, just 
 before starting, he asked me for a written statement 
 that I had in safety left him, and been properly treated. 
 I, therefore, formally wrote, " This is to certify that 
 Dr. Lansdell, having received much kindness and 
 attention from the Bek of Kunia Urgenj, leaves 
 to-day for Krasnovodsk, with Mr. Sevier and Rosy 
 Mahmet as interpreters, and under the guidance of 
 (i) Tailly, (2) Nazar Muhammad, (3) Murad, and (4) 
 Yakoob," and then handing this to the Bek, with a 
 slight touch of the feeling with which I suppose a 
 mariner puts a paper in a bottle for what may, perhaps, 
 be his floating epitaph, I mounted Diotrephes and 
 prepared for the start. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIX. 
 
 THE START FOR THE DESERT. 
 
 Departure from Kunia Urgenj. Rest in a Turkoman tent. Kibitkas 
 adopted by the Russians. Yomud Turkomans. Forced labour of 
 the Khan. Dismissal of attendants with presents. New inter- 
 preter and guides. Our last habitation. Doctoring a Turkoman. 
 Turkoman women. "Turning in" to camel cradles. Rosy's 
 accident. My ride through the night. Wells of Karategin. First 
 caravan breakfast. Endeavours to hasten the drivers. Journey 
 in the old Oxus bed. The dam of Egin Klych. Ruins of Mashrek. 
 Pitching our tent opposite Kunia Vezir. 
 
 ON Wednesday morning, November 8th, at half- 
 past 10, we left the city walls in a cavalcade of 
 14 men. First came three djiguitts, who represented 
 a military escort, and were supposed to be armed, 
 though I forget with what. These, with Tailly and 
 Yakoob, after seeing us well started, were to return on 
 the morrow. Besides, there were a number with us 
 whose presence I did not understand, and also Khassan, 
 the Batchman, and his servant, who were to accom- 
 pany us as a compliment a short portion of the way. 
 We passed few, if any, gardens, the only cultivated 
 land lying to the right on the banks of the aryk that 
 had been cut to run through the modern Kunia 
 Urgenj. Plunging quickly into the steppe, we again 
 had ruins on either side of the road, as in coming 
 from I Kali, but dating only from half a century ago at 
 most. 
 
 When Khassan bade us farewell we took a parting 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 
 
 539 
 
 view of Kunia Urgenj. Its tall minaret was the one 
 reminder we saw in Asia of the spire of an English 
 church, and as it faded away in the distance we said 
 good-bye to fixed habitations for many days. At 
 noon we were taken to the tent of one who was said 
 to be a " rich " Turkoman, where they brought forth 
 melons for lunch, and by half-past 4 we arrived at an 
 oba or collection of Yomud Turkoman tents,* in one of 
 which we were to take up our quarters for the night, 
 
 A TURKOMAN KIBITKA, AS UTILIZED BY THE RUSSIANS IN TURKMENIA. 
 
 or, as Yakoob put it in New Testament language, 
 " till the cock crew." 
 
 the Kirghese place round the 
 outside. The Russians have 
 
 * I noticed that the reed-mattin 
 tent inside, the Turkomans place 
 adopted these kibitkas with great comfort for military purposes in 
 campaigning in Turkmenia. 
 
 f Matt. xxvi. 34. This was not the only answer I received in Central 
 Asia characteristic of a people who have not clocks and watches, or 
 even sun-dials so far as I saw, and who, consequently, do not practi- 
 cally divide their day into hours and minutes. One morning I stirred 
 up Yakoob before it was light, whereupon he murmured, "Why, the 
 mullah hasn't called," meaning the call to sunrise prayer. Again, as 
 Nehemiah's men worked "from the rising of the morning till the stars 
 
540 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 In unloading the camels one of the cradles went 
 hopelessly to pieces, but fortunately we found another 
 among the Turkomans. Yakoob came to inquire 
 whether he should cook some of the butcher's meat 
 for a feast to my retinue. I replied " Certainly," but 
 was hardly prepared for their making off with little 
 
 YOMUD TURKOMANS. 
 
 short of three-fourths of our stock. A tent, belonging 
 apparently to an old Yomud, who shifted elsewhere for 
 
 appeared" (iv. 21), so, in the desert, one weary eve I asked the camel 
 driver how soon we should arrive at the next well, and instead of saying 
 in so many hours, he pointed to the evening star, and intimated when 
 that should have sunk to a certain part of the heavens, we should be 
 there. 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 541 
 
 the night, was set apart for Sevier and me ; Tailly 
 and Rosy paying us visits to settle sundry minor 
 affairs. We had a fire burning, and a piece of green 
 wood was sputtering out sap, which I observed Tailly 
 take with his finger and rub on his eyelids, for the 
 purpose, he said, of " improving his sight." 
 
 YOMl'L) TL'KKO.MANS. 
 
 Next morning we were astir at dawn, and after 
 drinking tea I pleased our old host by presenting him 
 with 8s. for our night's lodging. He fairly danced with 
 delight, and vowed that " the Russians," as he called 
 us, were excellent people, for that whereas their Khan 
 exacted from them labour, and gave nothing in return, 
 
542 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the Russians paid. I suppose the old man referred 
 to a practice of the Khan, who, when he wants a 
 great work done, such as making a canal or dam, 
 raises a levy.* At the time of the Russian invasion, 
 the Khan directed a levy to be gathered from the 
 districts of Khojeili, Chimbai, and Kungrad, to help 
 the Russian steamers in the Ulkun-daria to ascend 
 the Amu. A certain Yessaul-bashi, who had boasted 
 that he could find the channel for the ships, was 
 authorized to deal as he saw fit with the inhabitants of 
 the delta, and this power he abused by summoning the 
 labourers right and left from their fields in the hope 
 that the unfortunate people would bribe him to let 
 them off, and thus whole villages were fleeced. I 
 know not whether my old host had this sort of thing 
 in mind, or whether he thought that, as we were guests 
 of the Khan, he might expect no payment for his tent 
 and bread and melons ; but he appeared very much 
 gratified, and we parted on excellent terms.t Further 
 on I met with Turkomans of various tribes, but more 
 of the Yomuds than any others. 
 
 I had now to pay off Yakoob and Tailly, for neither 
 wanted to go any further ; and as they had found me 
 other men to take their places, there was no reason 
 why they should not return together to Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk. Accordingly I paid Yakoob what was 
 due, and added a present, and I gave a present to 
 Tailly too, with which they were both pleased. 
 Yakoob had asked for my portrait, and now kissed my 
 
 * As did King" Solomon of 30,000 men (i Kings v. 13). 
 
 t This incident, and what transpired about the melons at Koshkupryk, 
 as well as sundry other exactions we had seen, helped to remind me of 
 a custom that obtained in Palestine, under the Persians, when the 
 governors were chargeable unto the people, and took of them bread and 
 wine, from doing which Nehemiah refrained because of the fear of God 
 (Neh. v. 15). Long before this time, however, the people were warned 
 when they asked for a king. This shall be the manner of the king. 
 " He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, 
 .... and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to 
 his work" (i Sam. viii. 11-16) a picture this of Bokhara and Khiva 
 to the present day. 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 543 
 
 hand, and seemed to have become attached to us ; but 
 Tailly, I afterwards discovered, was a thief. 
 
 The Governor at Petro-Alexandrovsk had given me 
 to understand that Tailly received 7 f r taking the 
 post to Krasnovodsk. If, therefore, I chose to take 
 him as my guide, and give him a present, " pour 
 boire," as he said, at the end, I might do so, and this 
 offer I thankfully accepted. Next, to facilitate matters, 
 Tailly was to go forward, and hire for us in Khiva 
 four really good camels, and their owner was to 
 accompany them and us to Krasnovodsk ; for which 
 Tailly thought 6 would suffice. This I gave him, 
 with the understanding that any present to the owner 
 at the end of the journey was to be voluntary on 
 my part. At Khiva he came to us with a story that 
 6 was insufficient, and I gave him, as he asked, 12^ 
 more. Again, at Kunia Urgenj he came trying the 
 milch-cow again, but not successfully this time, 
 though at parting I gave him a present of i for 
 his trouble. 
 
 It was interesting, therefore, to compare notes one 
 morning at breakfast with our new men, Nazar 
 Mahomet, who replaced Tailly, and Murad, the owner 
 of the four camels. The latter said he had been paid 
 only 24^., and seemed greatly surprised that I had 
 given 335. for each animal. As for Nazar, who lived 
 at Gazavat, Tailly told him that he received 6 Ss. for 
 carrying the post, which he brought as far as Gazavat, 
 and then sent it on by Nazar, over the greater and 
 the worst part of the way, giving him $ 4^., or only 
 half the spoil, leaving him to find his own camel or 
 horse, or do as best he could. Upon this auspicious 
 occasion, however, Tailly had given Nazar nothing, 
 telling him that I should doubtless give him a present 
 of $, and that if I did not do so he would. 
 
 Then, to complete this little exposd, Rosy informed 
 us, rightly or wrongly, that Yakoob and Tailly stole 
 melons and ropes from me at our first stopping-place, 
 
544 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and asked him not to tell. Further, they said that, at 
 Kunia Urgenj, Tailly had threatened to cut them 
 across the face with his whip if they dared to expose 
 him ; and as he was a tall, powerful bully, I suppose 
 they thought it better not to provoke him. I knew 
 nothing of this, however, when Tailly and Yakoob 
 left, and we parted with mutual good wishes, the two 
 volunteering the remark to Sevier that they were 
 " well, satisfied." 
 
 To those who have had much to do with Orientals, 
 I suppose this story will be sufficiently commonplace, 
 and perhaps they will add a caution against believing 
 the informers without sufficient proof. Be that as it 
 may, I was sorry to hear of Yakoob' s peccadilloes, 
 which, however, if true, I should be disposed to regard 
 leniently, for he had a conscience, and, on the whole, 
 served us well ; so that, if I were returning to the 
 country, I would willingly employ him again ; though 
 I was not minded to let off Tailly so easily, and took 
 measures to bring him to book. 
 
 With Yakoob and Tailly we dismissed, also with a 
 present, the three djiguitts who had escorted us, so 
 that we were now reduced to a party of 5 men. 
 Rosy, after the fashion of the country, had asked for 
 half his pay before starting, had bought a new cloth 
 cap, and otherwise put on a rather more respectable 
 appearance ; but we soon found that he was of inferior 
 calibre to Yakoob a capital trencherman, but by no 
 means industrious, or one that could be left to his own 
 devices. He was a Sart, and afflicted with the 
 failings of his race. The other two men were black- 
 hatted Uzbegs, brown as berries, but of very different 
 character and temperament, as will be presently seen. 
 I shall speak of the three as Rosy our servant, Murad 
 the camel-owner, and Nazar the postman. 
 
 We had started on this our second day from Kunia 
 Urgenj soon after sunrise, and as we went along we 
 passed more ruins, some of them so large that I rode 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 545 
 
 forward to look them over. I turned aside also here 
 and there to look at the tents of the semi-nomad 
 Turkomans, who tilled patches of land, presenting 
 myself alone, and saluting them with an A man/ - 
 one of the few salutations I knew in the vernacular.* 
 At 1 1 o'clock we came to an aul they told us would be 
 the last habitation we should see for some time, and as 
 Nazar had a brother or relation here, they proposed to 
 stop for 5 hours, and then to set off in real earnest. 
 Accordingly we stretched ourselves in the tent of this 
 friendly Turkoman, the master not being at home on 
 pur arrival, though a neighbour unceremoniously came 
 in, nominally to pay a visit, but seemingly to stare at 
 us. Meanwhile they prepared a meal for Sevier and 
 me, and when we had eaten it, the master of the tent 
 returned, and took down a leg of mutton wherewith to 
 feast his friends. When cooked, he invited us to 
 partake, but I declined, saying most truthfully that we 
 had just dined, and wanted no more. Here I forgot 
 that being able to eat no more is a mere figure of 
 speech to a Turkoman, and I am afraid that my host 
 either thought me rude, or attributed my refusal to 
 national or religious exclusiveness, for he gave a poly- 
 glot grunt that would be understandable in any language, 
 and appeared to be huffed. 
 
 Sevier was able to make a good impression, how- 
 ever, by doctoring him. Soon after entering, our host 
 stretched himself on the floor. Then his boy, 8 or 10 
 years of age, stood on him, and walked up and down 
 his body, as if kneading the patient with the soles of 
 his feet. This was an intended cure for a pain in the 
 
 * This phrase, with Salaam aleikum, I observed to be used when 
 two persons met, but I have no recollection of hearing the form of 
 
 and something of the kind appears to be referred to in 
 
 Ps. cxxix. 8. They who go by say not so much as " The Lord prosper 
 ou ! We wish you good luck in the name of the Lord ! " There is 
 ilso the case of Boaz and his reapers (Ruth ii. 4). 
 
 35 
 
546 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 stomach I had never before seen, nor Sevier, at any of 
 the three European capitals where he had studied, so 
 he proceeded instead to paint the patient with iodine 
 from the ribs to the loins. For this the man seemed 
 to be grateful, and good-fellowship progressed to such 
 a degree that, when the time drew near for us to be 
 moving, the three natives would willingly have stopped 
 for the night. This was precisely what had happened 
 in the case of the Russian doctor and engineer, in 
 whose account we had read that their guide took them 
 as guests to the tent of a friend for two days. I was 
 accordingly ware of the delay, and said "No." Rosy 
 urged that the men did not exactly know the way at 
 night. This difficulty was surmounted by arranging 
 to take a man from the aul as guide. Then our 
 servant further pleaded for a prolonged stay, on the 
 ground that it would be our last stopping-place with 
 fellow "humans," and that our host was such a " right 
 good fellow," with which I agreed, but recommended 
 that they should make haste back and then further 
 cultivate his acquaintance. 
 
 When they saw I was firm, they began to load the 
 camels. Hitherto Sevier and I had travelled on 
 horseback, but now we thought it better on starting to 
 " turn in " for the night, and directed the cradles to be 
 prepared accordingly. The other of our new cradles 
 was now pronounced unsound, so as our host happened 
 by a lucky fortune to have an.old one at hand, this was 
 patched up and an exchange effected, the articles 
 hitherto placed in the cradles being distributed over 
 the remaining beasts. Now 7 they said that there was 
 too much baggage for 5 camels (the fifth belonging to 
 the postman). It was fully late to find this out, nor 
 was it quite apparent how the defect was to be 
 remedied, for there was only one camel in the oba, 
 belonging to an old woman, who was anything but 
 amiable, and seemed not to like my face, declaring she 
 would not let it to me, though I know not exactly why. 
 
THE START FOR THE DESER2. 
 
 547 
 
 Our host began to show us some cheap politeness, 
 as I thought, by saying that had he not recently sold 
 his camel, he would have lent it to us gratis, in recog- 
 nition of Sevier's kindness in doctoring him without 
 charge. I capped this by answering that, if he were 
 really grateful, he might show it by persuading the old 
 woman outside to hire us her camel. This he pro- 
 
 A TURKOMAN BEAUTY IN FESTAL ARRAY. 
 
 ceeded with alacrity to do, and for 34^. we secured her 
 treasure to accompany us to Krasnovodsk. The 
 owner gave strict injunctions as to its being brought 
 back by our men, and bade them God-speed, but she 
 would not shake hands with me, a Kafir, and evidently 
 was with difficulty persuaded to let her animal go. 
 
 I thought Turkoman women better-looking than 
 their Kirghese sisters, their cheek-bones not being so 
 wide and prominent, and their features more European. 
 
548 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Of course they are uneducated. In this last tent we 
 visited on the Khivan side, the young wife reminded 
 me of one of the native women of the Caucasus, who, 
 when I entered her room, stood behind a pillar, hiding 
 herself like a shy child. 
 
 I was desirous of examining a bundle of trinkets 
 dangling at the back of my Turkoman hostess, but 
 she appeared afraid of my doing so ; and when her 
 husband playfully held her by her tresses, she began to 
 cry and struggled away. Presently, when she entered 
 our tent, I noticed she was crying again, and, asking 
 the cause, found myself the unintentional offender. I 
 had observed on her child's cap two Khivan tengas, 
 said to be old. These I bought of the husband as 
 coins, at the price he asked, and they were cut off. 
 Hence her tears. I could hardly suppose her numis- 
 matic sensibilities wounded, and I therefore offered 
 her more money, whereupon her tears dried, and she 
 cheered up like a pacified child. I purchased in this 
 tent a pair of silver earrings, which they said were of 
 genuine Turkoman workmanship. The charm on the 
 baby's cap they would not sell, saying that the child 
 would be ill without it ! 
 
 About seven o'clock all was in readiness, and Sevier 
 and I were to get into our queer sleeping-cages. Let 
 the reader imagine two narrow wooden crates such as 
 earthenware is packed in, each sufficiently large for a 
 man to lie in when twisted to the shape of the letter S ; 
 and let him further imagine them suspended on either 
 side of the huge hump of a kneeling camel. This I 
 am given to understand is to be my sleeping-place 
 for the night, and I accordingly choose my berth on 
 the port-side of this " ship of the desert," first putting 
 into the cradle for a lining a piece of felt, and then 
 two pillows. So far all is well ; but inasmuch as my 
 lodging is to be beneath the frosty sky, it seems 
 desirable to multiply my sleeping garments. First I 
 put on, over my ordinary suit, my jackal-lined khalat, 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 549 
 
 enveloping me from head to foot, over that my Ulster, 
 and on my head a sheepskin hat, to say nothing of 
 fur-lined boots kindly lent by General Grotenhielm ; 
 and then, getting into the cradle, I cover my feet 
 with my sheepskin coat. 
 
 And now comes the tug of war! Nazar asks, are 
 we ready ; bids us hold on ! and says to the camel, 
 Chu ! whereupon the animal gets up leisurely, first on 
 its hind legs, and in so doing raises our feet to an angle 
 of 60 degrees, thereby threatening to pitch us out 
 bodily. We hold on, however, for dear life, and then 
 comes a lurch from the fore, lifting our heads once 
 more to the horizontal. The fear of danger now is 
 past ; but it is not easy at first to get accustomed to 
 the strange motion caused by the long strides of the 
 camel. When the creature was urged to go quickly, 
 the nearest simile for the cradle I can think of is that 
 of a bottle of physic in the process of being " well 
 shaken before taken" ; but when the camel walked 
 leisurely, then one lay as in a boat idly tossed by the 
 billows ; and sleep became possible just as it is in a 
 Russian tarantass, when one is dead tired, cramped, 
 and "used to it." 
 
 But we were not the first night to enjoy our 
 slumbers undisturbed. As we went along we passed 
 some men with huge fires making charcoal, and then 
 towards midnight there came a crash and a bellowing 
 from one of the camels which had fallen. The jerk 
 had broken the ropes, and the baggage lay hither and 
 thither, needing new ropes to secure it afresh. But 
 how to get them ? We thought of the charcoal 
 burners, and it was suggested that Sevier and Rosy 
 should go back and inquire whether they had any to 
 sell. Sevier took my horse and Rosy the other, whilst 
 I turned in to my cradle again, now on the ground, 
 and went off to dreamland. Sevier, taught by experi- 
 ence, warned Rosy not to gallop his horse, because not 
 sure-footed ; but this was not heeded, and presently 
 
550 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 down went the horse, and Rosy, not getting his foot 
 free from the stirrup, was dragged along and bruised, 
 until the horse got free and ran away. Sevier was 
 slightly ahead, and did not at first miss the rider, but 
 when he came back he found him on the ground, calling 
 out, " I'm dead ! I'm dead ! " 
 
 He was brought back alive, notwithstanding, and 
 though sufficiently bruised in various parts to put him 
 in great pain, he was not seriously hurt, and, on looking 
 out of my queer sleeping-place, I could see Sevier 
 doctoring him up and painting him with iodine by the 
 light of the fire. It was a weird, curious sight. There 
 we lay under a lowering midnight sky, the darkness 
 relieved by the glare of a saxaul fire. The camels 
 were kneeling around asleep, and so were the out- 
 stretched drivers, whilst Sevier was busy with his 
 groaning patient in the application of bandages. 
 
 When at length the doctoring was over, it was plain 
 that the wounded man could neither walk nor ride on 
 horseback, and the only thing left was that he should 
 occupy one of the cradles, to which end I volunteered 
 to give up mine, and to ride Diotrephes for the re- 
 mainder of the night. I had to speak sharply to the 
 men to rouse them from their slumbers, especially to 
 Murad, whom I perceived to be not in the least 
 hurried, and to take things a great deal more coolly 
 than suited my anxiety to get forward. Matters, more- 
 over, had not been improved by my having heard, 
 through Rosy, that the men had talked of throwing 
 overboard, in the night, the melons and clover in order 
 to lighten the ship. I saw, therefore, that I must be 
 firm, and I spoke in tones that needed no interpreter 
 to show that I meant to be obeyed, and at length we 
 got under way. 
 
 Once started, Nazar and Murad became hilarious, and 
 commenced singing, now in duet, now in solo, but never 
 in harmony, and always in dubious melody. In one of 
 his strains Murad's voice, whether intentionally or 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 551 
 
 otherwise, approached perilously near to the braying 
 of a donkey, but he seemed to enjoy it, and it helped 
 to keep me awake. For a time I got on pretty well, 
 sometimes walking and sometimes riding, but the wind 
 was cold ; and as we passed ruin after ruin the "Queen 
 of night rose not in clouded majesty, nor o'er the 
 dark her silver mantle threw." Not even an owl 
 swooped by, and the gloom was decidedly uninspiring. 
 
 In plain English, I began to get fearfully sleepy and 
 tired, and I had so far the satisfaction of seeing that it 
 was no singular weakness on my part, inasmuch as the 
 local guide, who went on ahead, now and then galloped 
 a little further than usual, and then got off his horse 
 and lay on the ground for a few minutes' sleep till the 
 caravan came up. I did not attempt this, but vainly 
 tried in all sorts of ways to put myself in a posture for 
 horseback sleep. Then I called in the aid of reason, 
 and argued how useful it might be in my experience to 
 have spent one night thus out in the open ; what 
 sympathy it would give me in future for policemen,, 
 night-watchmen, nurses, and such persons. Other 
 thoughts too, better than of reason's light, came to my 
 aid about self-denial, and " enduring hardness," with 
 sundry other appropriate reflections. 
 
 So things went on till Aurora opened the gates of 
 morning, and dawn found us at the four wells of 
 Karategin, or Kara-Kum, in the dry bed of the Oxus. 
 Here we were to draw water for the first time, and to 
 prepare breakfast at a camp fire ; so, after directing 
 Rosy to cook a pheasant, I was minded to turn into 
 the cradle for a nap ; but sunrise brought vigour to my 
 fatigued limbs, and I could not sleep amid such novel 
 surroundings. My thoughts were speedily taken back 
 to the days of Abraham, and the herdmen of Gerar 
 striving with Isaac's herdmen at the well of Contention.* 
 
 We were upon the verge of doing the same thing, 
 without my knowing it, at Karategin, for a shepherd 
 
 * Gen. xiii. 7 ; xxvi. 20. 
 
552 1HROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 had come before us to water his flock, and, being 
 " first come," had a right to be " first served." This, 
 however, would not only cause us delay, but by the 
 time his bucket had descended often enough to give 
 drink to a thousand sheep, the water, if there were any 
 left, would be so muddy as to be unfit to put into our 
 barrels. My men represented this to the shepherd, 
 and ominously added that the Englishman carried a 
 revolver, and would certainly shoot him if he did not 
 give way. This impromptu story caused the shepherd 
 to yield, so that I was not called upon to carry out their 
 murderous threat, and Nazar proceeded to get water, 
 drawing it, to my astonishment, in the horses' nosebags! 
 This was the nearest approach I had seen to " holding 
 water in a sieve," but the bags, being made of thick 
 woollen material, answered the purpose admirably. We 
 were also able to purchase some more rope here, and 
 our local guide went back to his aul. 
 
 Breakfast went off pretty well for a first occasion. 
 The pheasant was preceded \yy potage ait, faisan, and 
 we made an attack upon our Russian bread from 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk. When looking over the hospital 
 there, I had tasted the patients' bread, and was so 
 pleased that I asked the General if the baker might 
 make me a number of loaves, and these we had been 
 saving till we could get no more fresh native nans or 
 bread-cakes. The Russian loaves were now 12 days 
 old, and, truth compels me to add, wtt getting hard ; 
 but we soaked the bread in tea, besides which we 
 had cream that was wondrously accommodating. On 
 opening the keg at even, the motion of the camel 
 was found to have converted it into " whipped " cream, 
 whereas in the morning the frost of night had given 
 us "iced" cream, and in the middle of the day we 
 had creme au natureL Then we sliced a melon, and 
 having thus partaken of dejeuner a la fourchette at 
 the somewhat abnormal hour of sunrise, I directed the 
 camels to be reloaded. 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 553 
 
 First, however, I had a little serious talk with the 
 men concerning despatch. From the very outset, even 
 as far back as Petro-Alexandrovsk, I had found it 
 difficult to get a satisfactory answer from Tailly to the 
 straightforward question, " How many days will it take 
 you to get us from Khiva to Krasnovodsk ?" He said 
 about 12 or 14 days, and mumbled out some sort of 
 reckoning, at which the General only laughed, and said 
 the man did not really know. The Russian doctor 
 and engineer had taken 17 days from Iliali, but in hot 
 weather, and had been compelled to rest, whereas we 
 were going by a longer route, though in a cool 
 month. I gravely put it, therefore, to the men as to 
 how many days it would take them to reach Krasno- 
 vodsk from where we we're. 
 
 They answered " Nine." "Very well," said I. "Then 
 for every day less than nine I will add ten shillings to 
 the present I am thinking of giving you ; whilst for 
 every day you take more than nine I shall deduct ten 
 shillings." Remembering also what I had heard of their 
 intention to fling overboard some of my possessions, 
 I informed them that, if they lost any of my belongings, 
 they might expect to have the cost of it deducted from 
 the present. They assented to this arrangement and 
 then we started. 
 
 Our way lay for 14 miles along the Urun-daria, 
 the old watercourse by which the Oxus used to reach 
 the Caspian, so that as we marched along the bottom 
 of its bed with the rising banks on either hand, we had 
 the pleasure of imagining how, in bygone centuries, 
 fishes sported in the space we occupied, and how gallant 
 ships went over our heads with cargoes of Asiatic 
 produce to be transported over the Caucasus to the 
 Black Sea and onwards, for the aristocrats of ancient 
 Greece and Rome. We started to walk in the fresh 
 morning air, but instead of meeting anything to remind 
 us of "the briny deep," or rather fluvial remains, we 
 came upon three or four flocks of sheep and goats, with 
 
554 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 their shepherd, who was to be our " last man " for 
 many days. 
 
 Since my retinue had eaten so ravenously of my 
 butcher's meat, I had offered to purchase a sheep at 
 Karategin, but the shepherd had only one that he 
 cared to sell, and, what was worse, would be paid only 
 in silver, and not paper, which latter circulating 
 medium the country people in Khiva do not take to 
 kindly ; and it certainly would not have been convenient 
 for this unhoused shepherd to carry in his pocket for 
 many days, since he was simply " abiding in the 
 field " with his flock. On the other hand, I could not 
 spare so large a proportion of my Russian coin, lest I 
 might want small change further on, and so negotiations 
 fell through, much, I fancy, to the disgust of Murad, 
 who was hoping for a share of the prospective mutton 
 feast. The second shepherd had shot a fawn, which 
 he sold us for $s. 8</., and thus we added venison to 
 our marching larder. We passed three wells, but saw 
 no other reminder of inhabitants, save some arbas for 
 the transport of firewood. At 2 o'clock we came to 
 Igin, or Egen-Klych bent that is, the " bent," or dam, 
 of Egen-Klych, a Turkoman of that name, who built it 
 in 1841, by the help of 100 workmen in 6 months. 
 
 We now had the ruin Benam-baladi on the left, and 
 ascending out of the river bed we passed by a ruined 
 fortified place called Mashrek. These ruins have not 
 the character of an ordinary fortress, but consist of a 
 large area surrounded by a shallow moat and a low 
 wall. Within are numerous clay houses, some well 
 preserved, and between them streets and squares. 
 These ruins have been deserted not much more than 
 a quarter of a century at the same time, in fact, as 
 the ruins we had passed on the previous day. 
 
 At half-past four, about 3 miles beyond the ruins of 
 Mashrek, we came to what was deemed to be a 
 suitable place to encamp till midnight. Here we 
 pitched our tent for the first time, and were reminded 
 
THE START FOR THE DESERT. 555 
 
 of the kindness of General Grotenhielm in lending it, 
 for it suited our wants exactly. We were offered the 
 use of a larger one, but preferred this yulamaika, its 
 construction and erection being alike simple. 
 
 Taking the two pieces of felt from the cradles, we 
 laid them side by side for the tent floor. Next we 
 spread thereon a number of rods, perhaps 8 feet long, 
 and joined at the top so as to stand like a cone, leaving 
 two wider apart than the others for a doorway. Then 
 summoning all hands, we hauled over this cone a huge 
 shape of thick felt, all in one piece, that covered 
 everything, and left a flap for entrance. We next 
 folded other felts and placed pillows for two beds, 
 leaving a space between for the dining arrangements 
 a change truly from the spacious halls and palaces 
 wherein we had been lately lodged, but amusing 
 enough in its way at first and for a limited time. 
 Rosy was quickly voted a very fair cook. His 
 pheasant soup at even was pronounced excellent by 
 hungry men, whose last meal had been eaten at sun- 
 rise, whilst the venison was the best of its kind I 
 think I have tasted before or since. 
 
 There was one thing that specially impressed this 
 our first encampment on my mind, in that we could 
 see across a plain, about 7 miles from the camp, but 
 only 3 or 4 miles north of the road we had come, the 
 ruins of a town now called Deu-Kesken, doubtless 
 none other than the ancient Vezir, where the first 
 of the Uzbegs, Sultan Ilbars, was proclaimed Khan, 
 in 1512. It is the " Sellizure " of Jenkinson, who, 
 so far as I know, is the only Englishman who has ever 
 entered the ancient Vezir. As the sun went down 
 upon this interesting ruin, we retired for a few hours' 
 sleep, and at midnight resumed our journey. 
 
CHAPTER XL. 
 
 INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 
 
 Order of march and loading camels. Tragical end of a china basin. 
 Climbing a camel's hump. The Oxus bed at Ak-bugut. Cliffs 
 of the Ust Urt. The Kitchkine-daria. The pool at Dekche. 
 Wells of Sary Kamish. Correction of Murad for stealing. 
 Character of guides. Arrival at Sary Kamish. Lakes of Sary 
 Kamish and their characteristics. Testing specific gravity of 
 water. Crossing the lake basin to the- Ust Urt. 
 
 WHEN urging upon Tailly that I was anxious 
 to cross the desert with all possible despatch, 
 he had intimated that our plan would be to encamp 
 about sunset, let the camels graze for a couple of 
 hours, then collect them for 2 hours' sleep, and go on 
 again at midnight. He thought it necessary to add 
 that we must get up when called, or he could not 
 undertake to get us to our destination in the specified 
 time. He evidently thought he was dealing with 
 feather-bed travellers, whose night and morning views 
 about early rising would not agree, instead of with one 
 who professes to rise at 5 all the year round, and who 
 
 ?ets up every morning at the bidding of an alarum, 
 had taken with me one of these comforts of my life, 
 and before midnight was stirring up the natives, who 
 lay snoring round the fire, by gentle applications of 
 shoe-leather. They did not seem to appreciate this 
 disturbance of their "beauty" sleep, but I thought it 
 better from the outset to enforce discipline, and made 
 them stir. 
 
INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 557 
 
 We also lent a hand in loading. I cannot pretend 
 that getting a caravan under way on a dark night is 
 no more uncomfortable than changing carriages at a 
 railway junction ; still, both no doubt have their points 
 of interest. - Sevier and I always undertook the 
 arrangement of our cradles, which were hoisted by 4 
 on to the back of the leading camel. Then came the 
 loading of the water-barrels, oval in shape, and resting 
 on short, wide ladders, against the animals' flanks a 
 great improvement on tursiiks, or skins, which commu- 
 nicate, I am told, an ill-flavour to the water they carry. 
 For the loan of these barrels we were indebted also to 
 the kindness of General Grotenhielm. This load was 
 assigned to the animal we had last hired, a female, 
 that gave herself airs like her mistress. So long as 
 the creature was let alone, all was well ; but when made 
 to kneel, whether to be laden or unladen, she whined 
 and roared as if being imposed upon, and tried to get 
 up before she was told. I assumed the function, there- 
 fore, of holding her down by the nose, and more than 
 once had to thank merely my own cleverness in not 
 getting my fingers bitten. She was, however, a strong 
 beast, that never flagged. The third animal carried 
 our portmanteaus and bags ; the fourth had a sack of 
 barley and fodder for the horses. On the fifth were 
 the tent poles and a strong crate, with our food and 
 live-stock. By this last I mean chickens tied by the 
 legs, and at first suspended by Murad from the top of 
 the saddle, until I saw them suffering, and directed them 
 to be placed in the crate. Even so they voted camel 
 travel very fatiguing, and one of them succumbed, 
 though the others were ready, on stopping, for barley 
 and water, until it came to their turn to be eaten. 
 The sixth camel brought up the rear with a bundle on 
 its back as big as itself, consisting of the tent, on the 
 top of which Murad loved to mount, and, if possible, 
 go to sleep, whilst Nazar trudged in front, or rode one 
 of the horses, dragging on the foremost camel of the 
 
558 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 nose-tied caravan, which had very much the appear- 
 ance of a Kirghese family flitting, save that we had no 
 cows. 
 
 Rosy, though much improved by doctoring, was not 
 yet sufficiently recovered to mount a horse without 
 pain. Accordingly, on leaving Kunia Vezir, Sevier 
 generously gave up his cradle and rode, whilst Rosy 
 and I, on opposite sides, "turned in." Presently we 
 had to " turn out," for about 4 o'clock I heard an 
 ominous cracking of my cradle, and I thought it best 
 to get down. 
 
 But how should I make Nazar comprehend ? Sevier 
 was not at hand, and Rosy was snoring. Almost the 
 only native word I knew was Yakski, meaning " All 
 right!" whereas just then I feared things were all 
 wrong, and I vainly called out in Russian, Stoi ! or 
 stop. Suddenly remembering the word used by the 
 drivers when they wished the camel to kneel, I shouted 
 Chok ! Chok / whereupon the sapient animal went 
 down suddenly upon its knees with a thud. The jerk 
 broke out the side of my cradle completely, and I 
 descended to terra firma with unexpected alacrity. 
 
 My head, however, was pillowed on down, and 
 fortunately I was not hurt. Meanwhile, on the other 
 side of the ship things had taken a different turn, 
 explanatory of the pathetic end of the china basin, as 
 recently hinted. We had but one of these useful 
 articles, and fearing to put it into the crate, lest it 
 should be broken, I committed it to Rosy, to carry, 
 as he suggested, in his bosom. Later, however, he 
 transferred it to the interior of his sheepskin hat, and 
 he was enjoying his slumbers when the crash came, 
 and he was pitched out on his head, not to the break- 
 ing of his skull, indeed, but to the utter destruction of 
 my china basin ! 
 
 It took Rosy a few minutes to realize in all its 
 bearings this sudden termination of his dreams, and 
 then I saw that he was disposed to take a serious view 
 
INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 559 
 
 of matters. This was the second time his perpendicu- 
 larity had been inverted, and he now solemnly informed 
 us that if he were thrown upon his head again he 
 would die ! This, of course, we deprecated, as we had 
 not yet made sufficient progress in the vernacular, and 
 we accordingly roped up the broken cradle, once more 
 to turn in. 
 
 The men suggested, however, that, in deference to 
 the frailty of the broken panier, we should not get in 
 whilst the camel was kneeling, but after it had risen. 
 This was a feat less difficult of accomplishment, no 
 doubt, than climbing an elephant's trunk, but by no means 
 easy. First, Murad was made to tuck his head in the 
 camel's shoulder, whilst I climbed up his back on to 
 the camel's neck, my first landing-stage, after which it 
 remained to struggle over the front of the pack-saddle, 
 and let one's self descend into the cradle, the opposite 
 panier being held down till my fellow-rider arrived by 
 the same route, and established the equilibrium. 
 
 During the night, after marching three miles, we 
 approached again the bed of the Oxus at Ak-bugut, or 
 white dam, 12 miles from Egen-Klych by the road, but 
 many more by the river bed, which in this reach is par- 
 ticularly tortuous. This last remark will hold' good of 
 our road, more or less, all the way from Kunia Urgenj. 
 
 Thus far from this town the country on the south 
 had been a level plain, whilst on the north this plain 
 abuts on the Ust Urt plateau, the escarpment or border 
 of which is called in Turki Chink. 
 
 After reaching the Oxus beyond Ak-bugut, and 
 north of the Butenau hills, we stopped at sunrise, on 
 November nth, for breakfast, and encamped at sunset 
 at Jedurun, in or near the dry bed called Kitchkine- 
 daria, or "little river," a stream that branches off from 
 the old Oxus bed about two miles from where we last 
 crossed it, and runs parallel thereto, but at a distance 
 of from i to 2 miles, to Sary Kamish. We were 
 now passing between the Butenau hills on the left, and 
 
560 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 the Chink on the right, with a valley 8 miles between 
 of friable, clayey soil, mixed with stones. Saline 
 patches were visible, and much tamarisk, and in the 
 morning we passed through a fine wood of saxaul, 
 with white willows here and there in favoured localities. 
 On the preceding day we flushed a pheasant, and later 
 saw crows and a finch, and here and there the tracks 
 of sheep, but otherwise few signs of animal life. 
 
 On the next morning, November I2th, I was in an 
 indulgent mood, gave the men an extra rest, and did 
 not stir them up till 4 o'clock, and by 9 we had 
 reached Dekche. This was now the third day since 
 we had taken water, and the horses were faint from 
 being restricted in drink, and also from finding little 
 on the ground to eat. But at Dekche there was " corn 
 in Egypt," though not easily accessible, for both grass 
 and water were at the rush-grown bottom of a deep 
 gorge in the Oxus bed, and just there the banks were 
 quite imposing. The right bank, though of clay, 
 obstinately resisting atmospheric, influences, was much 
 weatherbeaten, and stood up before us like a cliff, as 
 we scrambled down a narrow path on the opposite 
 bank, to water our animals and refill the barrels. 
 
 Rosy told us that the Russian engineers stayed at 
 Dekche, with their Cossack escort, for 6 weeks, and we 
 unladed our camels close to the earthworks they had 
 thrown up. The place commanded a good view of 
 the cliffs of the Ust Urt, with well-marked horizontal 
 indentations. As we descended into the gorge the 
 path contracted in one place to a few inches between 
 rocks, and here was cleverly set, not a man-trap, but a 
 smaller one with teeth to catch some luckless gazelle 
 going down to drink. This led us to think there 
 might be Turkomans in the vicinity, in which case it 
 seemed desirable not to leave our baggage unguarded. 
 M.urad told us for our comfort that in this very place, 
 three years before, the post had been attacked and 
 robbed ; but as he himself had been robbed some ten 
 
INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 561 
 
 or a dozen times, he seemed to make little of it. We 
 had seen no habitations since we left the Turkoman's 
 tent, but I have read that in this neighbourhood there 
 are to be found here and there under thickets, sub- 
 terraneous sheds, deserted in summer, but into which, 
 in winter, cattle are driven on the approach of danger. 
 
 On leaving Dekche we proceeded ten miles to the 
 wells of Sary Kamish, in the Oxus bed, where the 
 surface of the water was 18 feet deep. I did most 
 of the way in the cradle. Sevier gave up his panier 
 all the morning to Rosy, who was much better, though 
 still taking very kindly to the cradle, and perfectly 
 content to be treated as an invalid ! About 5 o'clock 
 we reached the wells, which are within sight of the 
 great lake ; and here we had to descend so steep a path 
 that the men desired us to get out of the cradles, 
 lest the camel should fall and break its legs. Thus 
 far we had met with no piece of road, I think, whereon 
 our tarantass might not have been drawn, but now it 
 would have been out of the question. 
 
 For some reason unknown to me our men wanted 
 to stop at the wells Sary Kamish only two hours, and 
 then to go rapidly on for a long journey, as they said, 
 on the morrow. This was our fifth day from Kunia 
 Urgenj, and up to this time we had accomplished only 
 about 85 miles, or not much more than I have some- 
 times posted in Siberia in 12 hours, and I was begin- 
 ning to get tired of this slow progress. I reminded 
 the men of their probable lessening of the present they 
 hoped to receive ; but they did not appear much con- 
 cerned. An incident now occurred, however, that 
 brought my dissatisfaction to a climax, for, on going to 
 the crate to get half a water-melon we had left uneaten, 
 I found its pinky flesh scooped out and the rind only 
 left. Murad was the culprit, whom Sevier had seen 
 put in his great black hand, and tear out the luscious 
 morsel. I called him up, and charged him with pur- 
 loining, whereupon he said that when the crate fell, 
 
 36 
 
562 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 which it had done early in the day, one of the 
 camels had put his nose into the crate and cleaned out 
 the melon. Sevier, however, witnessed against him, 
 and I gave him a lecture. 
 
 But shortly after Rosy came to divulge that Murad 
 had stolen about five-and-twenty, or nearly half, of my 
 native bread-cakes, whereupon I felt that it was high 
 time for me to turn policeman, and to give him some- 
 thing more than sharp words, which by the time they 
 had left me in English, Sevier in Russian, and Rosy in 
 Turki, had lost much of their flavour. I adopted, there- 
 fore, a corrective idea from Captain Burnaby's book, 
 and holding up the bag with the remaining cakes 
 before Murad's face, I addressed him in English, and, 
 to make it understandable, I administered on his back 
 two or three sharp cuts with my horsewhip. He wore 
 so many khalats over his well-seasoned hide that I do 
 not think he was much hurt, but under the conscious- 
 ness of guilt his swarthy face became a few shades 
 darker than before, and Sevier cried out that he acknow- 
 ledged himself wrong, promising not to offend again ; 
 whereupon I desisted. 
 
 I know not whether this narrative may cause some 
 to think that I was forgetting my profession, but I 
 acted advisedly and thought I was right. We were 
 not yet half-way to the Caspian, and if I did not in 
 some way establish my authority, we might have half 
 our provisions stolen. There was no policeman, magis- 
 trate, or bek within scores of miles, and I could not 
 rid myself of the thief either by advance or by retreat. 
 I was thankful, therefore, that I had the courage to 
 ''take the bull by the horns" and administer what the 
 French call une petite correction, and it had precisely 
 the effect that I wished. 
 
 Murad slunk off to Nazar, and presently a message 
 came in the plural number to say that, if I scolded and 
 beat them, they would go back, which united action I 
 counter-manoeuvred by telling both that they had only 
 
 
INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 563 
 
 to be honest and all would be well, and adding tha 
 I was not angry with Nazar. This honourable excep- 
 tion pleased Nazar, and he thanked me, and, what was 
 better, proved himself afterwards true as steel. Murad 
 continued the idle, sleepy lout he had been all along, 
 putting his work, when he could, on the others, and 
 wanting to ride when Nazar walked ; but I had estab- 
 lished my position as master, and he obeyed, so that 
 henceforward we got on better. 
 
 After resting three hours at the well, we ascended 
 out of the river bed by a path equally difficult to that 
 by which we had entered. Murad's temper had not 
 quite recovered, and he said at first that they were 
 going back, but made no attempt in that direction, and 
 soon after midnight we came to a land of reeds and 
 rushes. Then the men came to say that the camels 
 were so tired that they must rest, for one of them was 
 ill ; also that it was so dark they could not see the way. 
 With regard to the camels I thought it a lie, but as for 
 the other plea, if they did not know the way, certainly 
 I could not tell them, nor blame them, for it was so 
 dark as to surprise me how they could make out the 
 way at all. I gave permission, therefore, to stop and 
 rest till daybreak, when, on opening our eyes, we saw 
 stretched out in the grey light of morning the little- 
 known lakes of Sary Kamish. 
 
 Lake Sary Kamish, or, as the Turkomans call it, 
 "Betandali Goel," comprises, properly speaking, two 
 elongated sheets of water, united by a narrow and 
 sinuous strait, two-thirds of a mile wide and 7 miles 
 long. 
 
 When daylight showed us our whereabouts on the 
 morning of November i3th, we found ourselves at the 
 north end of the first lake, in a 3ry portion of its 
 present basin, whence we proceeded in a south- 
 westerly direction, about 3 miles distant from the 
 water, till in the afternoon we approached sufficiently 
 near to the second lake to lead me to ride forward, and 
 
564 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 attempt to get to the water for the purpose of testing 
 its specific gravity ; but within a stone's throw of the 
 margin my horse sank to the knees, and I was obliged 
 to desist. Returning to the caravan for assistance, 
 Nazar brought me to another place, w r here, tucking 
 up my trousers, I found myself also sinking to the 
 knees within a dozen feet of the water's edge. I 
 dared not undress, because I could see no means of 
 washing off the mud with which I must inevitably be 
 covered on wading out to terra firma. On the other 
 hand, I did not like to be so near the goal and not 
 attain to it. Whereupon Nazar and I plucked some 
 tussocks of a bushy, prickly plant, which was the only 
 vegetation growing near, and, putting these before me 
 step by step, and putting my bare feet thereon, I 
 managed, at the cost of scratching myself, to keep 
 from going down out of all soundings, and to attain to 
 the edge of the lake. The water was clear, but in- 
 tensely salt more so than sea-water and so great was 
 its density, that my instrument for the determination 
 of the specific gravity of different waters, and gradu- 
 ated from o to 1 00, would not sink below a point 
 which, had the scale been continued, would have 
 read 120. 
 
 I was fortunate, or unfortunate, as the reader may 
 regard it, in not attempting to bathe in Sary Kamish. 
 A member of Glukhovsky's expedition found a stony 
 beach on the south-east of the upper lake, and, on 
 going in to have a swim, reported the water so buoyant 
 that, at 100 paces from the beach, he could hardly dive. 
 The lower parts of the water appeared a greenish 
 yellow, and viscous like oil, with a disagreeable odour, 
 that, in the course of a long walk on the beach, pro- 
 duced in him a sensation of nausea. The buoyancy 
 of the water reminded one of the Dead Sea, which 
 these lakes resemble further in that the natives say 
 they contain no fish. The banks are deserted. Gulls, 
 Woodcocks, and Ducks, however, are sometimes seen 
 
INCIDENTS OF A CAMEL JOURNEY. 565 
 
 flying over the water, and we saw in the course of the 
 afternoon a Magpie and a Dun Crow. 
 
 Leaving the water to our left, we crossed a piece of 
 rising ground, and on looking back we had rather a 
 pretty view of the lakes, but the place was barren of 
 trees. We came about 3.30 to a promontory, Kakh- 
 Pular, and to sands on our left of the same name, 
 whilst the sands to the right of the road are called 
 Kyzyl- Kaia. At Kakh-Pular we pitched our tent, 
 as my notes have it, "near what looks like the dried 
 basin of a large lake." 
 
 We started on the morning of November i4th, at i, 
 stopped for 3 hours at sunrise, and at half-past 2 
 arrived at the cliffs, which had long bounded our 
 horizon. I have no note or recollection of the hollow 
 way, or water-course, which, according to my map, we 
 must have crossed, but we noticed particularly at the 
 foot of the cliffs a narrow line of beach, or pebbles, 
 rounded apparently by the action of water, and mixed 
 with sand and shells, which we at first took to be 
 evidence indicative of an ancient sea shore ; and as we 
 were mounting a declivity, or natural ramp, in the 
 cliffs, it looked, in common parlance, just as if we were 
 emerging from the sea at low water, across beach 
 washed up by the last tide, on the southern English 
 coast, and mounting the downs, say, at Newhaven or 
 Eastbourne. Then, on looking back from a height, 
 one could think of the vast expanse of land stretching 
 to the horizon as of nothing else but the bed of a 
 former lake or sea. 
 
CHAPTER XLI. 
 
 FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 
 
 Mounting" the Ust Urt. The well Uztm Kuyu. Saxaul and other fuel. 
 Bread baken on the coals. Capture of a gazelle. Remains of 
 sun worship. Troubles with attendants. Breakfast on a camel's 
 back. The wells of Kazakhli. The bay of Kaplan Kir. A dry- 
 ocean bed. The wells of Kum-sebshem. Ascent from the bed of 
 Kaplan Kir. Road to well of Seikiz Khan. Improved prospects, 
 but low spirits. Search of Bible for illustrative passages. Lack 
 of domestic comforts. Revival of hope at sight of Caspian. 
 The pond of Porsu. Gazelles. A sixteen hours' march. 
 Oriental customs illustrated. Fauna of the steppe. The land 
 tortoise. A teetotaller's experience. Last night on the camel's 
 back. Mouldy bread and tattered garments. Arrival at Kras- 
 novodsk. 
 
 W r E ascended from the lacustrine bed of Sary 
 Kamish at half-past 2 on the afternoon of 
 November i4th, to make for Uzun Kuyu, or " deep 
 well," 27 miles distant. After toiling up a hill we found 
 ourselves on an immense table-land, bounded on the side 
 of the lake with cliffs, that still bore traces of being 
 water-worn. The receding waters had left a long, 
 narrow line of beach, and shells similar to those found 
 at Krasnovodsk on the shore of the Caspian, and, as 
 we passed over them, I hoped that now we might be 
 about half-way on our journey, but to our great dis- 
 appointment we were told that it was not so. We 
 could soon see, however, that we had attained to a 
 very different tract of country an excellent specimen 
 of a level steppe, where there was not a hill to be seen 
 all r6und, nor was the line of the horizon cut by so 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO .THE CASPIAN. 507 
 
 much as a tree, hardly a bush, but the surface was 
 covered with a coarse, scrubby vegetation. The soil 
 was not saline, but stony, though the stones were not 
 rounded like those in the bed of the lake. Our men 
 had asked to stop at midday to bake their bread, 
 whereupon I gave them some of mine, and insisted 
 upon their going on. Thus we continued marching 
 till 9 in the evening, hoping to reach the well at Uzun 
 Kuyu ; but, failing to do so, we stopped till an hour 
 past midnight to rest, for which I was quite prepared, 
 having spent 8 hours in the saddle that day. 
 
 Before daybreak the men judged us to be near Uzun 
 Kuyu, but said they could not find the well in the dark ; 
 and at sunrise this was seen to be perfectly reasonable, 
 for there was no erection to mark the spot, and we 
 might have easily walked by, or, for that matter, into 
 it. This was one of the deep wells of which we had 
 been forewarned. I reckoned it 180 feet, but Markozoff 
 133 feet, to the water. Accordingly, Nazar did not 
 straddle over the top, as in other cases ; but, finding a 
 stake placed athwart the well, he let down his nose- 
 bags, and then fastened the rope to a camel to draw 
 them up. The water, containing sulphuretted hydrogen, 
 had a disagreeable smell and taste, with a specific 
 gravity indicating on my hygrometer 102 degrees. 
 
 With this deterioration of water there came another 
 change in our lot. Thus far we had made our fires of 
 saxaul, the well-known fuel of Central Asia. At Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk, General Grotenhielm gave me a piece 
 of this singular wood, about the thickness of the thumb, 
 but grown into a knot, the size of a double fist, and as 
 curiously intertwined as if it had been rope. East of 
 Sary Kamish we passed through little forests of it, the 
 trees being 12 or 14 feet high, and it was curious to 
 find that, though so hard as to defy the cutting of a 
 switch with a pocket-knife, yet one could break off 
 great boughs thicker than one's wrist. On our first 
 evening upon the Ust Urt there were only dwarfed 
 
568 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 clumps of saxaul, about as high as a gooseberry-bush, 
 and these, strange to say, we could break off at the 
 root, so that the collection of sufficient fuel was an 
 easy task. But Rosy had told me that we should have 
 no more saxaul ; and when I asked what we should 
 do, he replied that " I should see " at Uzun Kuyu. 
 And truly I did so, for he had gone on a little 
 ahead, had ignited an immense lump of horse and 
 camel dung, and this was to be our fuel for the rest 
 of the way. 
 
 It was no part of my business to feed Nazar and 
 Murad, and, that we might be quite clear upon this 
 point, I asked them, before we left Kunia Urgenj, if 
 they had plenty of their own provisions. They re- 
 plied that they had a bag of flour, but they hoped I 
 should give them what we left of the mutton. This 
 was a contrast, truly, to the many things I was 
 taking ! They had, indeed, the advantage of new 
 bread instead of stale, in that they wet flour in a 
 wooden dish, and then baked the dough in the ashes 
 of the fire. I did not taste the cake thus " baken on 
 the coals," like that of Elijah in the wilderness ; * but 
 after our bread robbery, when provision was running 
 short, I asked them to feed Rosy also on native bread, 
 in exchange for other things. This they said they 
 would do, and graciously added that, if our bread 
 supply ran out, we should have some of theirs. This, 
 so far, was obliging ; and so long as the bread was 
 cooked in wood ashes, one, perhaps, might eat it, 
 failing anything else ; but when I saw them cook their 
 bread in precisely the same way, putting it uncovered 
 into fuel of dung, I am afraid it lessened my con- 
 fidence as to having a store to fall back upon.| 
 
 An unexpected opportunity occurred of adding to 
 
 * i Kings xix. 6. 
 
 t The preparation of bread in this way manifestly throws light upon 
 the manner in which Ezekiel (iv. 12-15) was commanded to prepare his 
 bread, as prefiguring coming scarcity. 
 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 569 
 
 our larder at Uzun Kuyu; for Sevier, wandering about 
 after breakfast, came upon an empty well, about 10 
 feet deep, with a funnel-shaped mouth, the sides of 
 which bore vegetation. He had the curiosity to go 
 near and look in, and saw, to his surprise, at the bottom 
 a Persian gazelle. It was quite young, of exquisitely 
 graceful form, and, when it saw us, made frantic but 
 vain efforts to spring out of its prison-house. Our 
 camels had drunk nothing since the third day, and I 
 would not have the natives told till they had watered 
 them and filled the barrels, lest their hunting pro- 
 pensities should be excited and we should lose time ; 
 but, when all was ready, I pointed out to our men the 
 captive. Nazar immediately volunteered to be let 
 down to secure the little beauty, which it seemed the 
 height of cruelty to kill. Something was said about 
 bringing it alive to London, but it was manifestly out 
 of the question, so the grim office of the butcher was 
 entrusted to our butler Rosy. I watched him par- 
 ticularly, and observed that he looked up to the part of 
 the heavens whence the sun was shining, and turned 
 the animal in that direction. Then Murad (who was 
 standing by) and he stroked their beards, and ap- 
 parently uttered a prayer, after which Rosy cut the 
 animal's throat. I afterwards noticed Rosy, when 
 killing a chicken, do the same, but I fancied they 
 seemed rather ashamed of it, and not willing to 
 explain the matter.^ I observed further that Rosy, 
 before cutting the gazelle's throat, scooped out a hole, 
 and then covered up its blood. I asked why he 
 covered the blood, and he said, " For good luck, that 
 we soon may catch another." f 
 
 * It struck me as a possible remnant of the very ancient sun worship 
 to which, perhaps, Job alludes (xxxi. 26, 27), and Ezekiel (viii. 16), who 
 saw 25 men, with their backs towards the temple of the Lord, and their 
 faces towards the east, who worshipped the sun : the same idolatry that 
 was forbidden to the children of Israel (Deut. iv. 19), and punishable 
 with death (xvii. 3-5). 
 
 f Whether this had any religious origin I know not ; but Dr. Her- 
 mann Adler tells me the Jews act similarly in obedience to the command 
 
5/o THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Before leaving Uzun Kuyu I took Nazar to task 
 about what I considered the slow progress we were 
 making. I also lectured Rosy for his idleness and 
 putting his work upon others. In fact, I found that 
 Nazar was at once the best servant and the weak man 
 of the three, for he allowed the other two to impose 
 upon him. He said he was perfectly willing to 
 hasten ; but Murad was the lazy fellow, who had 
 told Nazar that, having received his money before- 
 hand, he did not want his camels hurried, and cared 
 not to push on. 
 
 This was plain speaking, though not intended for 
 me, and I determined that Murad should not have it 
 all his own way. If I set him to lead the camels, and 
 allowed Nazar to rest in one of the cradles, Murad 
 dawdled so tantalizingly that I took the camel string 
 out of his hand, and on horseback, or walking, led the 
 caravan myself. Nazar quickly pronounced me an 
 able camel-leader, and said that if I continued in office 
 we should make excellent headway. 
 
 Thus we travelled from Uzun Kuyu towards the 
 next wells at Kazakhli, the road continuing along the 
 level elevation of the Ust Urt over excessively hard 
 soil, almost devoid of vegetation, but never so bare 
 that the camels could not find food. We rested as 
 usual, and started again at midnight. Soon afterwards 
 we missed Rosy and Murad, who rode the horses, 
 whilst Nazar, on foot, led the caravan, and Sevier and 
 I were " in bed." The sun rose and gilded the plain, 
 but nothing could we see of Rosy or Murad. To lose 
 the caravan in such a spot, and without provisions, 
 would mean almost certain death, and I began to 
 
 in Leviticus xvii. 13 : "Whatsoever man there be ... which hunteth 
 and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten ; he shall even pour 
 out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust." Maimonides supposes 
 that one of the reasons of this command was to prevent the Israelites 
 from assembling round the blood to eat meals as was the custom of 
 idolatrous nations. Rosy looking up to the sun and uttering a prayer 
 recalls Ezekiel xxxiii. 25, " Ye eat with the blood and lift up your eyes 
 toward your idols/" 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 571 
 
 wonder whether I should have to go back to look for 
 their corpses and not only for them, but my journal 
 also, which, for safe keeping, I had placed in my 
 saddle-bag. 
 
 Then came breakfast time, when we were to try an 
 experiment. Nazar, who seemed inclined to push on, 
 had pointed out, and truly, how much time we wasted 
 by stopping to cook breakfast, and said, on the 1 5th, 
 that if we halted only once a day, we might get to 
 Krasnovodsk in about 4 days more. We resolved, 
 therefore, not to stop, but to eat this meal comfortably 
 on the camel's back. The pack-saddle was extem- 
 porized into a table, cold pheasant was served from 
 the cradle as a sideboard, and cold tea drunk from my 
 enamelled bottle. We had besides, venison, bread, 
 biscuits, apples, and pears, all which may read very 
 well, and savour perchance of romance, for it caused 
 us at first to laugh, but in reality it was intensely 
 disagreeable. The sand blew in our plates, the shak- 
 ing was enough to upset one's digestion for a week, 
 and for 12 hours matters were not brightened by the 
 prolonged absence of the two deserters. At last we 
 saw some fresh horse-tracks, and about noon came 
 upon our men near Kazakhli. 
 
 According to my map we should have passed, since 
 leaving Uzun Kuyu, two pools of sweet water. Perhaps 
 it was at the latter of these they stopped for us, since 
 Rosy had kindled a fire, and he muttered some sort of 
 excuse that they had gone forward to prepare for us ; 
 but I have no recollection of seeing any water till we 
 came to the Kazakhli wells, two in number, about 
 1 20 feet deep. We did not linger at the well, though 
 my attention was attracted to a gully, widening into a 
 ravine, running away therefrom, having cliffs on either 
 side, with the earth near the surface hanging in stalac- 
 tites, and the bottom descending so rapidly, that I was 
 minded to ride along it, to see whither it led ; but the 
 camels were started in another direction, and I followed, 
 
572 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 meaning to advance to the top of the hill and look 
 down. I did so, and shall not easily forget the sight, 
 for it amply repaid me for crossing the desert. The 
 ruins of Kunia Urgenj had been interesting, so had 
 the old bed of the Oxus and Sary Kamish, but I had 
 heard of these beforehand. 
 
 Not so with the landscape of what I am disposed to 
 christen the " Bay of Kaplan Kir," though I have in 
 my notes the words " Ku-yurt-nu-Kurrah," the mean- 
 ing of which I have forgotten. 
 
 A short distance beyond the well Kazakhli there 
 suddenly burst upon our sight an enormous bay, or 
 horse-shoe depression, apparently of the sea, bounded 
 on the right by a cliff, trending away westward for 30 
 miles to the well Dirun, or Dirin, and on the left for a 
 greater distance towards the south, whilst the western 
 walls of the bay were formed of the cliffs Begendjalri 
 Kir. Within this depression was the well of Kum- 
 sebshem, our next point to make for, and 23 miles 
 from Uzun Kuyu. 
 
 But what struck me as so remarkable were the 
 manifest tokens of the locality having been once a 
 lake, or a bay of the sea, though now completely dried 
 up. One may occasionally be taken to an English 
 hill-top, and be told by some geological friend that the 
 prospect before you was once under water, and, in 
 deference to his learning, you accept the information, 
 albeit that trees and grass and corn are growing on 
 every hand ; but at Kaplan Kir, when I peeped over 
 the cliff, as one might do at Ramsgate, 1 saw places 
 hollowed out by the billows in the face of the lime- 
 stone, and the marks left by the water-rills. Nor wa< 
 this all ; for the chalk was worn away into colossz 
 spires, columns, and minarets, into pillars and turrets, 
 and buttresses and towers, as white and clean as if the 
 tide had only recently gone down. There were caves 
 and grottoes, and coves and caverns in which, by th< 
 aid of imagination, one could see the fishes, perhaps, ol 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 573 
 
 a former geological epoch swimming about just as one 
 sees their modern types in the rocky tanks of the 
 Brighton Aquarium. The water was the one thing 
 wanting. I will not venture the hyperbole that I 
 could almost " smell the briny," or trace any remains 
 of sea-weed ; but the phenomenon was so remarkable, 
 and unlike anything I had seen elsewhere in Europe, 
 Asia, or America, that, like Columbus discovering a 
 new world, I became, in my little way, quite excited. 
 
 We descended into the bed by a natural ramp, so 
 steep that the cradles had to be unoccupied, and our 
 horses led ; and when we reached the bottom, about a 
 mile from Kazakhli, and skirted the northern shore, 
 we had on our right an elevation that brought to my 
 mind Shakespeare's Cliff at Dover, whilst, a little 
 further ahead, rose out of what was once the sea 
 another St. Michael's Mount, lying off the coast of 
 Cornwall. 
 
 The cliff on our right, rising about 300 feet, needed 
 no geologist to see that it was formed of three sharply- 
 defined strata the uppermost of earth, the centre of 
 limestone, and the lowest of sandy clay. The face of the 
 cliff was not everywhere uniform. Here and there were 
 natural caverns, and between what I have imagina- 
 tively called Shakespeare's Cliff and St. Michael's 
 Mount, huge masses of the upper stratum had been 
 hurled below. The cliffs had a well-defined water-mark 
 all along their face, above which they were generally 
 inclined, but perpendicular below it. The sandy plain, 
 whereinto we had descended, was what the Russians 
 call a solonchak, or salt steppe, which had on it a poor, 
 scrubby vegetation.* 
 
 * The prospect brought to one's mind " The sea saw it, and fled " ; 
 " He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers " 
 (Psalm cxiv. 3 ; Nahum i. 4), a fact seen here on a large scale. All 
 around was a flat plain, marked with the whitey deposits of salt, like 
 those we had seen in the bed of Sary Kamish ; and the only signs of 
 animal life, after a Jackdaw who paid us a visit at the well, were the 
 chirping of a chance bird, hills thrown up by Ants, and the Marmots, 
 
574 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 We encamped in this supposed sea-bed, where the 
 vegetation was so scanty and distasteful to our horses 
 that they would not touch it. On the next morning, 
 at 8 o'clock, we came to the wells of Kum-sebshem. 
 Here were "twelve wells of water," but not "threescore 
 and ten palm trees," and we "encamped there by 
 the waters." * There was not a vestige about these 
 wells to give a clue to their age. They were well 
 built, and for the most part in good repair. There 
 was a little grass about the place, and the water was 
 good, so that whilst the men were watering the camels 
 and replenishing the barrels, we made some tea ; but 
 the camels were not all unpacked, which proved after- 
 wards to have been a mistake. These wells were 100 
 feet higher, according to my aneroid, than the place 
 where we last encamped, but we marched in the sea- 
 bed another 4 miles, and then at 1 1 o'clock ascended 
 300 feet out of its bed, on to the hill Begendjalri Kir, 
 the cliffs running from N.W. to S.E. 
 
 The coming out of the bed was as remarkable as 
 descending into it, for towards the top of the ramp the 
 chalky cliffs were worn into resemblance to a chain of 
 snow mountains, that I fancifully called the " Bernese 
 Oberland," with crevasses here and there, and well- 
 marked rifts, caused apparently by the running of 
 water. Here, too, jutting out beyond a promontory, 
 was another " St. Michael's Mount." On reaching 
 the top, I turned round to gaze at this wonderful land- 
 scape. Diotrephes did not appreciate the scenery a 
 bit, for the caravan was gone on, and the loneliness of 
 the desert had given him a strong aversion to being 
 left behind, or getting far away from his companions. 
 I made him stand, however, whilst I vainly asked 
 myself what it all meant. When had the voice gone 
 forth to the waters, Be dry ?f 
 
 which undermined " the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land 
 and not inhabited " (Jer. xvii. 6). 
 
 * Exod. xvi. 27. 
 
 t Isa. xliv. 27. 
 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 575 
 
 And what waters were they ? salt or fresh ? A bay of 
 the Caspian, or the remains of the great Central Asian 
 Sea, that geologists talk of ? These are questions I am 
 incapable of answering. I can only say that this Bay 
 of Kaplan Kir was the fourth point of interest in my 
 desert journey, and from its entire unlikeness to any- 
 thing I had ever seen, it reconciled me to the fatigues 
 of the way, and made me thankful to have been 
 the first Englishman to gaze upon this remarkable 
 scene. 
 
 Leaving Kaplan Kir, we next passed along a level 
 elevation for about 7 miles, and then mounted to 
 the highest part of the neighbouring hills, called 
 Begendjalri Kir, where we came to another flat steppe, 
 without bushes, and only a scrubby vegetation, in 
 the midst of which we encamped at sunset. The 
 direct path would have brought us along the hills to 
 the pool Dungra, of bad, bitter, salt water, overgrown 
 with reeds, 39 miles from Kum-sebshem. But this 
 path, though shorter, was said to be trying to the 
 camels' legs, and, rather than risk breaking them, our 
 men, starting afresh at midnight, turned off the principal 
 road about 13 miles short of Dungra, and brought us 
 before sunrise on the i8th to the well Seikiz (or eighth) 
 Khan, so named after the present Khivan ruler. Our 
 route from the main road to the well, where we drew 
 water, was 4 miles to the north-west ; now it turned 
 19 miles towards the south-west to the well Tuar. At 
 10 o'clock we descended 200 feet into the bed of a 
 river, or sea, with banks washed into various forms, 
 apparently by the action of water. This brought us to 
 a plain, bounded by distant cliffs. We then remounted 
 to a higher land, 250 feet above the sea level, and 
 camped, hoping on the morrow to attain to Tuar. 
 
 In certain respects our journey was rather more 
 endurable here than on some portions of the way. 
 The route was not quite so monotonous and lifeless, 
 for we saw several game birds, and among them what 
 
576 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 was called the Wild Hen. It is rather larger than a 
 pigeon, runs very fast, and is shy. They get them 
 near Krasnovodsk in the rocks, and sell them from &d. 
 to lod. a brace. Marmots abounded, but not with the 
 squirrel-like tails we had seen in Bokhara On one 
 occasion we stirred up a solitary Owl, and further on 
 saw a few Jackdaws, but not many small birds. Once, 
 too, we scared from her form a frightened Hare. The 
 weather, moreover, now was perfection. My pocket 
 thermometer in the sun stood at 75, and the tempera- 
 ture was sufficiently warm to induce me, in riding by 
 day, to throw off my great coat. I always slept, how- 
 ever, in the cradle in my furs, and was not much 
 incommoded by cold, though my sheepskin hat and 
 the furs about my face were unpleasantly wet. 
 
 But with all this I am bound to say our spirits were 
 somewhat low. It was now our eleventh day since 
 leaving Kunia Urgenj, and we had not yet come in 
 sight of the Caspian. The novelty of camel travelling 
 had worn off, and the journey promised to be longer 
 than I anticipated. Things moved, as I thought, so 
 slowly. When I left Samarkand, or soon after, I found 
 that I had exhausted, or nearly so, all my books that I 
 brought with me to read. Ordinarily in England, 
 when going for only an hour's journey, I no more 
 think of starting without something to read than 
 without my purse, and I wondered how I should 
 employ my thoughts on this long, slow journey. I 
 cross-questioned Tailly severely whether some means 
 could not be invented by which I might gallop on 
 horseback the allotted day's journey, and have my tent 
 put up so as to do some writing and arrangement of 
 my notes, whilst the camels were walking on their 
 leisurely way. But he said a horse could not carry 
 the tent, and a camel could not keep up with the 
 horse, so that he could contrive nothing. Preparation, 
 therefore, for literary work seemed out of the question. 
 
 The idea occurred to me, however, that I might 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 577 
 
 glance through my pocket- Bible, and mark therein all 
 the passages on which light or illustration could be 
 thrown from incidents in my 10 years' travels. The 
 print of my Bible was too small, and the shaking of 
 the camel too great, to allow of my doing much in the 
 cradle, but I often adopted another plan. I galloped 
 forward a good distance in front of the caravan, to 
 some herbage if possible that Diotrephes could crop, 
 and then, whilst he was nibbling, I sat reading till the 
 caravan had come up and passed, and was nearly out 
 of sight, by which time my horse was impatient to 
 catch it up again. By thus economizing my time, and 
 using up odd moments, I managed to glance through 
 the Old and New Testaments, and marked therein 
 more than 500 passages. 
 
 But besides the weariness of mind incident to 'such 
 slow travelling, the fatigue of body was not small, and 
 the lack of ordinary domestic comforts began to be 
 very trying. Our clothes had not been off for a long 
 time and as for a good wash, how was it possible 
 with water at such a premium, that between the wells 
 I had to look sharply after the men, or they refrained 
 from giving enough to the horses ? A pint and a half 
 or a quart of water in my india-rubber basin had to be 
 sponged over my face and neck before dinner, then to 
 serve for the hands, and my ablutions for the day were 
 over ! Sevier, one evening, looked at the matter 
 philosophically, and calmly debated whether under 
 such circumstances it was worth while to wash at all, 
 which certainly our men did not do the whole time we 
 were with them. 
 
 Then there was the crawling about our tent on all 
 fours, like quadrupeds, rather than standing erect as 
 lords of creation, to say nothing of soup in wooden 
 bowls, tea made out of brackish water that occasionally 
 curdled the cream, and sundry other inconveniences 
 not nice to mention. These things had to be en- 
 countered before lying down, after which, if the horses 
 
 37 
 
578 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 did not fight, or the men make a noise, we managed to 
 get perhaps four or five hours' sleep, till my alarum 
 warned me I must stir up the men, or who could say 
 when we should start, or whether we should not 
 have our provisions run out before the end of our 
 journey ? 
 
 A revival of our hopes awaited us on the morrow. 
 We did not start till five from the depression, wherein 
 is situated the well Tuar, nor did we take water there. 
 It was found by the Russian doctor and engineer to be 
 black, though sweet, and to increase the thirst, nor did 
 boiling it, or the addition of lemon extract, improve it. 
 At sunrise, or about seven o'clock, we mounted the 
 Tuar hill, and so emerged from the marine or lacustrine 
 bed wherein we had travelled. We then ascended the 
 hill Sary Baba, 250 feet higher, when lo ! we espied 
 the blue waters of the Caspian ! I doubt if the Greek 
 soldiers, returning from their Asiatic campaigns, were 
 more pleased with the sight of the Euxine than were we 
 with the Kara-boghaz gulf, and like them we shouted, 
 "The Sea! the Sea!" We were a long distance, how- 
 ever, from the end of our journey, and, on looking at 
 my great map, I doubted if we should get to Krasno- 
 vodsk in three days as the men said we should. 
 But it was a great refreshment to see the Caspian. 
 
 Our road now continued in a south-westerly direction, 
 over hilly ground ; but before we descended from the 
 hill Sary Baba, to an altitude of 300 feet above the sea, 
 we passed a Muhammadan tomb of one Arsariboa, 
 killed in battle, I suppose with the Russians. There 
 was a hero's flag-pole erected, and something like 
 ornamentation round the grave, but no trace of any 
 building near it. I thought it more like a Shaman 
 Buriat than a Kirghese Muhammadan grave. 
 
 About noon, with the thermometer at 75, we came 
 to Porsu, called also, I think, Portokup, 19 miles from 
 Tuar, and situated at the foot of the hills Togus-tepe. 
 Here is a pond of rain-water. The pond is situated in a 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 579 
 
 hollow, approached by a narrow path, down which the 
 deer descend to drink. Murad, knowing this, went 
 forward, thinking to cut off the retreat of any that 
 might be at the bottom, but he was not sharp enough. 
 We saw a herd, perhaps a score in number, small, and 
 of similar species to the one we had caught, which was, 
 I believe, the ordinary Persian gazelle ; but I do not 
 think we saw any of the saiga antilope, a native of 
 these regions. The natives call both kinds, I believe, 
 "Ka'ik" and as we saw the little creatures bounding 
 away on our approach, it was not difficult to perceive 
 the aptness of the simile which described the Gadites 
 "as swift as the roes upon the mountains." Of Wild 
 Asses we saw none, though a Wild Boar one night 
 approached the caravan, and startled the horses. 
 
 At an hour after midnight we started on the 2Oth, 
 and marched till 5 next evening 16 hours without a 
 halt, at the end of which our horses, not to say our- 
 selves, were exceedingly tired. The route lay over a 
 steppe country, with occasional depressions, and the 
 latter part was not without anxiety, for Murad lagged 
 behind, and for many hours was out of sight, so that I 
 began to think quite seriously what legal responsi- 
 bilities I might be involved in for not going back to 
 search, if I arrived at Krasnovodsk without him. 
 
 The fact was, he had loitered behind and gone to 
 sleep, having probably first muddled his torpid brains 
 by long whiffs from his kalian pipe. This smoking 
 instrument usually has a long stem from the gourd 
 which holds the water ; but our men appeared to have 
 made a travelling pipe (such as could be slung in a bag 
 on the camel), omitting the long accessories. At first 
 they took the liberty of stopping the caravan, in order 
 to light up their pipe and take a whiff, " turn about." 
 
 But this had one disagreeable result with the camels, 
 and demoralized them, in that, rather than stand still, 
 they took it into their heads to lie down suddenly, 
 which sometimes snapped the ropes, and brought 
 
580 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 about other inconveniences. Further, when I was in 
 the cradle, my nostrils were defiled with the smell of 
 their coarse, common tobacco, which I abominate, and 
 I bade them not stop the caravan, and gave orders 
 that, if they must smoke, the lighting of the pipe 
 should be entrusted to one of the two men who were 
 not leading the camels. 
 
 It consequently often fell to Murad's lot ; and after 
 the others had taken their one or two long whiffs, 
 Murad would take the kalian and lag behind to finish 
 the pipe. I imagine the fumes had on this occasion 
 soothed him into 40 winks, from which he did not 
 wake apparently for some hours, though at last he 
 sneaked up like a naughty child, as we came to a halt, 
 and, without saying a word, proceeded to put up the 
 tent. No doubt he was very tired, like the rest of us. 
 
 I had by this time come to the conclusion that never 
 before in my life had I been so weary of a journey as 
 this. Crossing America by railway was a mere baga- 
 telle in comparison, nor could I say otherwise even of 
 traversing the Siberian expanse. Our last pheasant 
 had been eaten the night before, and we had only one 
 chicken left. Of the 8 we purchased, 2 died, and 3 
 were lost, stolen, or strayed. One or two " came to 
 table " minus a leg, sauced with the excuse that it had 
 been maimed on the way the truth being, I suppose, 
 that Murad had taken the absent member from the 
 pot. One night he told Rosy to put more water to 
 the soup. " For then, don't you see," said he, " we 
 shall get more ?" Our butcher's meat had long since 
 vanished. The men had eaten it all, and the captured 
 venison I tasted only once. It had become rather too 
 . high, though why I know not, so that too was trans- 
 ferred for the benefit of their "braxy" appetites, as 
 well as our pickings, and the teapot with sugar. 
 Hence, by comparison with their sack of flour and 
 nothing else, they were faring sumptuously every day, 
 and Murad's not wishing to hurry was understandable. 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 581 
 
 Meanwhile Sevier and I were ardently longing for 
 the end of the journey, when we might take off our 
 clothes again, and once more perform some very neces- 
 sary ablutions. At the same time I am bound to say 
 I gained an idea of tent life and Eastern travel, and 
 saw exemplifications of Oriental customs, for which, as 
 a Bible student, I shall always be thankful.* We en- 
 camped on the 2oth at the well of Demerdjan, near 
 some conical hills of the same name. At this place we 
 took water for the last time, and found it so salt as 
 to curdle our Swiss milk, though earlier in the season 
 it is said to be slightly bitter, but good. Here we. 
 struck the main route between Krasnovodsk and 
 
 * Thus, over how much land we passed where it was as if the decree 
 had been pronounced, "The land shall be utterly emptied and utterly 
 spoiled" (Isa. xxiv. 3). "The whole land thereof is brimstone, and 
 salt, and burning, that it is not sown nor beareth, nor any grass groweth 
 therein" (Deut. xxix. 23). I could never before understand so vividly 
 the expression of Moses concerning " all that great and terrible wilder- 
 ness " (Deut. i. 19), or how, in the desert, " the soul of the people was 
 much discouraged because of the way" (Numb. xxi. 4). Certainly, 
 the passage in Hagar's life, when she wandered in the wilderness of 
 'Beersheba, with the same food only as taken by our men, with her 
 water-bottle spent, and her child laid down to die (Gen. xxi. 14, 15), 
 might have happened easily enough in the desert we crossed. 
 
 Of course, I had always been taught how wrong it was for the 
 Israelites to murmur in the wilderness, and to long after the flesh-pots 
 of Egypt, the cucumbers, and the leeks and onions, and melons 
 (Numb. xi. 5). All this i had accepted without question in plentiful 
 England ; but when, in the Aralo-Caspian, our last melon was gone, I 
 could not help thinking that, if the melons of Egypt were as good as 
 those from Khiva, their longing was very much like human nature, 
 whether B.C. or A.D. 
 
 So, again, this journey made me familiar with more incidents and 
 necessaries of travel of which I knew before only by reading, as 
 " the camel's furniture " upon which Rachel sat (Gen. xxxi. 34) great 
 pack-saddles which, in our case, the animals wore as we did "our 
 clothes, without their being taken off. The action of one of Joseph's 
 brethren, who opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn 
 (Gen. xlii. 27), was precisely what we had to do nightly ; and after seeing 
 the coarse stuff eaten by the camels, and the inferior herbage given to 
 Central Asian cattle, I understood better than before the prosperity 
 implied in Isa. xxx. 24, when the oxen and young asses were to eat 
 clean provender which had been winnowed with the shovel and with the 
 fan. No doubt many of these things are simple enough to Western 
 readers already, and they do not perhaps need much illustration, but 
 I can never now read these passages without my thoughts going back 
 to my journey. 
 
582 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Mangyshlak; and as this was one of the wells at which 
 Murad had once been robbed of a camel, he suggested 
 that someone should watch against the Tekke Turko- 
 mans whilst the others slept.* 
 
 We did not rest long, however, for at one o'clock in 
 the morning we started again, and continued all day on 
 the 2ist, till sunset, over a steppe country with the 
 accustomed coarse vegetation. On the previous day 
 I had seen the cast skin of a hedgehog, and now I found 
 on the steppe several shells of tortoises. The latter 
 were interesting, because we were attempting to carry 
 two of the like in a comatose state to the Zoological 
 Gardens of London. 
 
 They were given to me in Tashkend by M. 
 Oshanin, who expected them to sustain the journey 
 without food, founding his opinion concerning the extra- 
 ordinary vitality of the animal upon what M. Bogdanoff 
 had previously done when he sent a tortoise in a 
 box by slow transport at the end of May from Petro- 
 Alexandrovsk to Petersburg. The box went to Kazan 
 by mistake, and did not reach Petersburg till the 
 middle of November, but the animal was alive 
 and well, having eaten nothing apparently for 7 
 months. 
 
 In the present case, two were placed in a box with a 
 little hay, and the box put on the seat of the tarantass. 
 We constantly heard them scratching, as if desirous 
 of making their winter bed, and before we had ad- 
 vanced far on our journey they appeared to have gone 
 to sleep. Crossing the desert I trembled for their 
 slumbers, for the shaking they were getting on the 
 camel was enough, one would think, to wake the 
 dead. How long they lived I do not exactly know, 
 since it was not till we looked at them as we ap- 
 proached Odessa that they were found to have departed 
 this life victims, alas! of the spirit of enterprise, and I 
 
 * Reminding one of "those that are delivered from the noise of 
 archers in the places of drawing water" (Judges v. n). 
 
FROM SARY KAMISH TO THE CASPIAN. 583 
 
 had no spirit of an alcoholic character wherein to pre- 
 serve their remains.* 
 
 At nine o'clock in the morning we arrived at Suili, 
 with 1 1 deep wells of bad, bitter water, and near to 
 each a tank, about 7 feet long by 4 wide, hewn out of 
 the limestone. Here, too, is a cemetery, but we did 
 not stay, hoping to get to Krasnovodsk on the morrow. 
 
 Approaching the Caspian, our guides pointed out a 
 shepherd's tent, or hut, put together in the clumsiest 
 fashion, in which, like the shepherds of Bethlehem, 
 they spend many weeks, day and night, watching 
 their flocks.t 
 
 By sunset, however, we had seen no one. We 
 stopped for two hours to eat, but did not sleep, because 
 Sevier thought he had seen that the steamer left for 
 Baku on the evening of the following day. So we 
 pushed on, the night being unusually temperate, so 
 that my fur clothing, as I lay in the cradle, became 
 inconveniently warm. About 2 o'clock on the morning 
 of the 22nd we had to " turn out of bed " whilst the 
 camels descended a ramp from a cliff 200 feet deep 
 into the plain, and afterwards, an hour or two before 
 daylight, our men stopped for fear of losing their way. 
 
 We breakfasted as usual, in all its discomfort and 
 awkwardness, on the camel's back ; and as our bread 
 was now 24 days old, I thought we could adopt the 
 
 * An officer at Samarkand had gravely assured me that it would be 
 absolutely necessary to mix "a little red wine" with the desert water 
 as a corrective for health's sake ; but I did nothing of the kind. I have 
 often met with the idea that, when travelling abroad, it is advisable to 
 put wine in drinking-water as a precaution. My experience, however, 
 which may go for what it is worth, is quite in the opposite direction. I 
 have been an abstainer from alcoholic drinks for about a quarter of a 
 century. In the summers of eight years I must have travelled from 
 sixty to seventy thousand miles, generally rapidly, round the world, 
 through Central Asia, and to all the capitals of Europe except Oporto 
 and Madrid. Ordinarily I have used no filter, nor taken any special 
 precautions (Bokhara excepted), and, I am thankful to say, have never 
 suffered in consequence. Judging, therefore, from my own case, my 
 opinion is that, when travelling, persons in ordinary health need not 
 fear to drink the water in common use. 
 
 t Cant. i. 8 ; Luke ii. 8. 
 
584 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 language of the Gibeonites to Joshua (ix. 12, 13) : 
 " This our bread we took hot for our provision out of 
 our houses on the day we came forth . . . but now, 
 behold, it is dry and it is mouldy"; to which we could 
 also add, " These our garments . . . are become old 
 by reason of the very long journey." Both were true, 
 and the latter especially of Sevier, concerning whom 
 I must tell no tales ; but his riding all the way on a 
 wooden saddle (now preserved for coming generations 
 in the British Museum) had played terrible havoc with 
 his pantaloons, so that I doubt if any dealer in " old 
 clo' " would have bid for them other than as curiosities 
 of travel. Neither of us, thanks to the toughening 
 of our hides, had suffered from what the doctors call 
 "abrasion of the epidermis," which was more to 
 Sevier's credit than mine, since it was his first attempt 
 at horsemanship. 
 
 After breakfast on this eventful morning, I was 
 lying idly in the cradle, when two natives appeared, 
 the first we had seen for 12 days. They were Turko- 
 mans, but apparently not robbers ; and whilst I was 
 taking stock of them Sevier bade me look round. I 
 did so, and there, from the top of a hill, at half-past 10 
 o'clock, I looked down upon Krasnovodsk. My sense 
 of relief was great, and if ever words came from the 
 heart, it was then as I exclaimed, " Thank God !" 
 
 I felt that we had something to thank Him for. 
 We had travelled in safety over 400 miles of country 
 where many a man has been murdered or enslaved ; 
 at the mercy of our native attendants, who might 
 easily have played us false ; unhindered by mishap to 
 man, horse, or camel save in the case of Rosy 
 whilst, in my own case, I had not been constrained so 
 much as to open my pill-box. But with all that, it 
 had been the most trying journey of my life. My 
 horse had become thin, and so had I ; and thankful as 
 I am to have taken the journey once, I wish, unless 
 duty calls thereto, never to take such another. 
 
CHAPTER XLII. 
 
 FR OM KRA SNO VODSK HOME WA RDS. 
 
 Descent into Krasnovodsk. Hospitality of the Commandant. Dis- 
 missal of native attendants. Our rate of travel. Visit to Merv 
 abandoned. 0' Donovan and his letter to Author. The Scriptures 
 in Turkrnenia. Alikhanoff, Naziroff, and Lessar in Merv. Con- 
 versation thereon with Khan of Khiva. Annexation of Merv by 
 Russia.- Russia's mission of civilization. The town of Kras- 
 novodsk, and its scanty supplies. Visit to a Turkoman oba. 
 Turkoman women and jewellery ; their occupations and food. 
 Armenian trading. Passage across the Caspian. Baku and its 
 oil. From Baku to Tiflis in a horse-box. Bible distribution from 
 Tiflis. Scenery at Batoum. Voyage to Odessa. Summary of 
 journey, and farewell. 
 
 R AS NO VODSK was in a measure familiar to 
 me by name, from its frequent recurrence in 
 Trans-Caspian affairs, and I had expected to find it of 
 urban proportions. The part we looked down upon, 
 however, on the memorable morning of the 22nd 
 November, reminded me rather of an English coast- 
 guard station, with a miniature pier alongside. But in 
 truth we viewed it from a considerable height, for 
 Krasnovodsk lies on an arid flat below towering rocky 
 cliffs, down whose precipitous scarp we were to crawl 
 by a sinuous path, somewhat similar to that by which 
 I descended into the Yo- Semite valley. The camels 
 would have to be led slowly, and as we were under the 
 impression that the steamer we could see at the pier 
 was to leave that morning, there was no time to lose ; 
 so I suggested that Sevier should come with the 
 
586 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 camels, whilst I trotted forward to act the postman in 
 delivering the Governor's letter. 
 
 I think Diotrephes was pleased to get back to 
 human habitations, for, tired as he was, he galloped 
 famously towards the fort, though it required all my 
 horsemanship, especially as I had lost my whip, to 
 induce him to step over some tram rails that were 
 new to him. Wishing to give the poor animal a drink 
 of good water at the first moment possible, I rode into 
 the yard behind the Commandant's house ; but I fear 
 I cut a sorry figure, for my unkempt appearance and 
 few words of Russian elicited only scanty deference 
 from the orderly I addressed. 
 
 I made my way into the office of Colonel Chari- 
 tonoff, but found no French-speaking clerk to whom I 
 could communicate who I was and whence I hailed, 
 nor could I do much better with the Colonel himself 
 till Sevier arrived, though my letters immediately 
 secured me hospitality. This, we were given to 
 understand, would have awaited us, whether we had 
 letters or not. 
 
 The camels were led into the yard, and the patient, 
 soft-eyed creatures knelt for the last time to be 
 relieved of our burdens, after which, on dismissing 
 the natives, I paid Rosy his balance, made Nazar a 
 present of most of my equipment and remaining pro- 
 visions for desert travel, and gave him a letter to 
 General Grotenhielm, to return with the tent and 
 barrels so kindly lent us. Afterwards, on telling the 
 Colonel how long the journey had taken us from 
 Kunia Urgenj 14 days to do 403 miles, to our 
 surprise he said that caravans following the same 
 route usually took 20 days, and I have recently been 
 informed that Dr. Van Norden was 25 days on the road 
 from Krasnovodsk to the Khivan border. The Times 
 correspondent with the Afghan Frontier Commission 
 reported that the average rate of marching from 
 Nushki to Kuhshan (770 miles), "including halts, 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 587 
 
 was over 15 miles a day," and he adds, " This, I 
 think you will admit, is a very remarkable rate of 
 marching." Since, therefore, our average, including 
 halts, amounted to about double this rate throughout, 
 I suppose I ought to have been more thankful than 
 I was at the time. 
 
 We found that the smaller steamer, or rather tug 
 and barge, had not ceased plying for the season between 
 Krasnovodsk and the railway terminus at Mikhailovsk, 
 as we feared at Petro-Alexandrovsk might be the case ; 
 for it must be borne in mind that, when one reads of 
 the Trans-Caspian railway from Krasnovodsk, this is a 
 figure of speech, and would-be travellers from the large 
 steamers have to disembark at this place and be taken 
 across the bay some 50 miles in a smaller craft, there 
 being no other regular means of communication. 
 Hence we were told we could have reached Kizil Arvat 
 from Khiva in five days, and have come on to Mikhai- 
 lovsk in a few hours. We should by this means have 
 peeped into the Akhal oasis, where I was informed 
 there were at that time between Krasnovodsk and 
 Askhabad 10,000 rifles, about 2,000 cavalry, and 5 or 6 
 batteries of artillery. 
 
 Also, we should have been within 400 miles of Merv, 
 but I had decided not to go thither, for I had already 
 exceeded my limit as to time, and surveying officers 
 were coming off the steppe, thereby implying that the 
 season for outdoor work was over. I was told that I 
 might be some time at Kizil Arvat before I found a 
 suitable guide to take me a journey on which I might 
 have to battle with the elements as well as the Turko- 
 mans ; and, finally, I could not learn that, when I 
 reached Merv, there would be anything special for me 
 to see or do, since I had no more books to distribute. 
 Could I have foreseen that it would be my last chance 
 of seeing Merv under its native rulers, things might 
 have appeared in a different light. 
 
 Of course, I remembered O' Donovan's dash into 
 
588 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Merv. His book was not ready, I think, when I left 
 England, nor did I ever meet Mr. O' Donovan; but 
 I wrote to ask him for useful hints. He afterwards 
 perished with the army of Hicks Pasha in the Soudan ; 
 but his reply is before me, and I take pleasure in 
 recording the kindness with which he sent me a letter 
 of three sheets answering my questions.* 
 
 Some parts of his letter are of sufficient general interest to warrant 
 my printing them. He wrote from " Dinard, He et Vilaine, France, 
 i;th June, 1882," and said: 
 
 " The journey from the Caspian to Samarkand had best be com- 
 menced by rail from Krasnovodsk. The railroad is completed, I think, 
 as far as Yengi Sheher, in the Akhal Tekke. Then you can procure 
 horses and camels, and proceed either through Merv or Bokhara. I 
 would recommend the route through Merv, especially if you can 
 establish yourself in the good graces of the Russians, who by this time 
 are doubtless all-powerful in that district. At this crisis, however, you 
 will find it very difficult to persuade the Russians that your mission has 
 nothing to do with politics. 
 
 " Between the eastern terminal of the Trans-Caspian railway and 
 Samarkand I know of no way of travelling except by horses and 
 camels. The people of the country, excepting when travelling in 
 caravans, generally prefer horses. The only difficult piece of ground 
 you will have to cross, if you proceed by way of Merv, is that between 
 the Tejend and Murgab rivers, owing to its being in summer a water- 
 less district. During the rainy season there will be abundance of 
 water too much of it sometimes. 
 
 " The language spoken by the people inhabiting the district between 
 the Caspian, Merv, and the Oxus is primitive Turkish, bearing the 
 same relation to the modern Osmanli spoken at Constantinople that 
 the language of Chaucer does to our latter-day English. Should you 
 be acquainted with Constantinople Turkish, you will acquire the 
 Turkish of Central Asia in a very short time. If you have anyone with 
 you who can speak Persian, you will get on well enough with the better 
 classes of the community. Among the nomadic peoples, however, 
 Turkish will be absolutely necessary. . . . 
 
 " When I was at Merv, I bought from a Jewish merchant of the 
 place, named Matthi, a copy of the New Testament l printed by one of 
 the Bible Societies in the language of the nomadic Turkomans 
 Jagatai Tatar. I believe you can get any number of them in London, 
 for it was there that the copy I saw was printed. For general distribu- 
 tion in Central Asia, the Scriptures printed in the Turkish of Azerbaijan 
 
 1 O' Donovan's mention of the sale of the Scriptures by a Jew is noteworthy, for 
 Colonel Stewart told me that, whilst on the Turkoman border, he met with a Jew 
 who was not only selling the New Testament, but had read it, and to such purpose 
 that, quite apart from Christian teaching, he had become convinced that Jesus was the 
 Messiah, and he asked Colonel Stewart for directions as to how he might carry out 
 his desire to become a Christian an incident from which I drew hope that the reading 
 of my distributed Bibles, though unaccompanied by human teaching, will, with God's 
 blessing, produce like fruits. 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 589 
 
 O' Donovan was followed into Merv by Alikhanoff 
 and another disguised officer, Lieutenant Naziroff, of 
 whose successful ride from Askhabad through Merv to 
 Charjui I first heard on the 2oth September, at the 
 dinner-table of the Governor-General at Tashkend. I 
 had asked about the possibility of my proceeding from 
 Charjui to Merv, but the Russian authorities said it 
 would be madness for me to attempt it, for that they 
 regarded the journey just accomplished by Naziroff, 
 who was an Asiatic speaking the language, as no small 
 feat, and that they had no means of guaranteeing my 
 safety beyond Charjui. 
 
 This information was volunteered to me in Tash- 
 kend without reserve, and further particulars were 
 given me at Samarkand, when writing notes.* 
 
 Besides these last two officers, it appears that M. 
 Lessar also went to Merv, and from thence to Khiva, 
 
 (West Caspian provinces), and which resembles as nearly as possible 
 the language of Bokhara, would be requisite. 1 
 
 " The dangers of travel in Central Asia have been, since the time I 
 travelled there, immensely lessened by the Russian advance. They 
 consisted principally of the attacks upon the caravans crossiag between 
 Krasnovodsk and Khiva or Bokhara by the Akhal or Merv Turkomans. 
 In travelling by caravan at present, however, I should say there was no 
 danger. Small parties of nomadic shepherds, who occasionally take 
 to the road, as chance offers, do not dare to attack any considerable 
 number." 
 
 * A portion of a private letter from a high functionary to another 
 of nearly equal rank was read to me, and to this effect : " You 
 know that Naziroff passed safely from Meshed through Merv to Bo- 
 khara in native costume, and, knowing the language and customs, went 
 with a caravan together with Turkoman pilgrims returning from 
 Mecca. There were many, and from different districts. Not knowing 
 that he was a Russian officer, they were open with him, and told him 
 that they would like to be in the Zarafshan province, where the authori- 
 ties cared for the people, entered into their needs, and do not wrong 
 them ; but they did not make the same remark about the other pro- 
 
 1 Mr. O'Donovan is, I think, not quite accurate in some of his remarks about the 
 Scriptures. The Gospel of St. Matthew, known as Bassett's version, has been 
 printed in Jagatai Tatar, by the British and Foreign Bible Society, but the 
 remainder of the New Testament has not yet been translated, and I have heard 
 nothing elsewhere to lead me to suppose that the Turkish of Azerbaijan would be 
 better for the khanates than Jagatai. In fact, Dr. Van Norden, writing from Khiva, 
 speaks of the Kirghese New Testament he met with there as "about the same as the 
 people speak in Khiva." Again, "The language spoken here, though. Turkish, is. 
 quite different from that spoken in the Caucasus." 
 
.Sgo THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 and back again to Kizil Arvat.^ These visits helped 
 no doubt to prepare the way for the submission of the 
 Mervis, which was precisely what might have been 
 expected. Coming events had been casting numerous 
 shadows before them. Ever since the reign of Peter, 
 certain families of Turkomans had from time to time 
 seen it to be to their advantage to place themselves under 
 Russian authority. Internal dissensions caused the 
 Kirghese to do the same, till one horde after another 
 was absorbed. So with the Turkomans, amongst 
 whom all writers agree in saying there was neither law 
 nor order, and consequently no security for right against 
 might. Before Russia conquered Khiva, the Mervis 
 were, to a certain extent, under the Khan ; and they 
 evidently tried to cling to Khiva to the last. 
 
 In one of my interviews with the Khan, his High- 
 ness asked me to whom Herat belonged. 
 
 I replied, "To Afghanistan." 
 
 Then he asked whether Merv belonged to Russia or 
 to England. 
 
 I said that it belonged to neither, but was supposed 
 to be independent. 
 
 "Once," he said, "it was independent, but the 
 Khivans took it 60 years ago," and it was only on the 
 coming of the Russians that their allegiance had been 
 disturbed, but that lately the Mervis had sent to him 
 wishing to pay taxes, and he had sent a man to receive 
 them. Accordingly he argued that Merv belonged to 
 him, and as he belonged to Russia, Merv must 
 belong to Russia too. This was a logical sequence, 
 
 Since I wrote thus, M. Lessar has told me that he went openly in 
 Russian uniform in August and November, 1882, and was both times 
 well received by the Mervis. From Merv he went to the Amu-daria, 
 near Charjui, to Khiva, and thence to Durun in Akhal (published in 
 the Proceedings of the Russian Geographical Society, and in Peter- 
 mann's Mittheilungeri}. On comparing notes as fellow-travellers over 
 the same steppe, I found that M. Lessar's journeys had been more 
 arduous than mine ; for that, whilst my party had never more than 
 three days' journey without coming to a well, M. Lessar sometimes 
 went five days and six, so that in one case, if not more, his horses died. 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 591 
 
 from which there was no escaping, and, therefore, I 
 laughingly replied that if his Majesty had no objection 
 I had none. 
 
 A few days later we met an intelligent native, who 
 confirmed, in a measure, the foregoing by saying that 
 two years previously (1880) a hundred men from Merv 
 came to the Khan asking him to rule them. The 
 Khan received them, and gave them presents, and, 
 like a good vassal, sent them on to the Russian 
 authorities at Petro-Alexandrovsk, by whom they were 
 also well received. The deputation then, returning 
 to Khiva, showed their true character by robbing the 
 Sart inhabitants and making off. In the following 
 year they deputed others to ask pardon; and before 
 this the Khan had sent a representative, but up to 
 the time of our conversation the Mervis had paid no 
 taxes. 
 
 This was at the beginning of November, 1882, and I 
 afterwards learned from a paper by the Baron Benoist- 
 Mechin, that at the beginning of May just six months 
 later another embassy came from Merv under Kara^ 
 Kul-Khan, chief of the Begs. This chief, says the 
 Baron, had heard of the intended coming of General 
 Chernaieff to Khiva, and had set out to meet him. He 
 wished to obtain from him a delegated Khivan to 
 govern the turbulent Tekkes. The envoy was ap- 
 pointed, and the two Frenchmen travelled with him 
 to Merv. And what was his reception ? 
 
 The Baron says : "Kara-Kul-Khan was, at the time 
 of our stay at Merv, the strongest and most renowned 
 chief in the country. He had acquired great notoriety 
 by his forays and his expeditions before becoming a 
 political chief. His raids were celebrated in all the 
 steppe, and even Khiva had seen him beneath her 
 walls. In spite of the popularity he enjoyed, however, 
 he was far from obtaining from his people absolute 
 obedience ; and when Kara- Kul-Khan wished to instal 
 their newly-imported governor from Khiva, he saw well 
 
592 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 that this fresh attempt at government would quickly 
 share the fate of others. Discouraged, and in despair, 
 he came to tell us he saw well that nothing 
 but Russian bayonets would bring such a turbulent 
 population to reason, and went so far as to speak of 
 his countrymen as robbers and brigands. 
 
 " This conversation, among others we had with him 
 and with other Turkomans, witnessed to so great a 
 laxity in the existing state of things, and to such a 
 lack of any government whatever, that, after our 
 arrival, in the month of July, we did not hesitate to 
 write to General Chernaieff, it seemed to us that the 
 Merv oasis would submit without fighting at no distant 
 date." Within six months it had come to pass, and 
 the Russian Official Messenger, February 2nd (i4th), 
 published the following telegram, addressed to the 
 Emperor by General Komaroff, chief of the Trans- 
 Caspian region, dated 3ist January (o.s.) : 
 
 " I am happy to inform your Majesty that an assembly held this day at 
 Askhabad, of the Khans of the four Turkoman tribes of Merv, each one 
 of them representing 2,000 tents, declared themselves unconditionally 
 subjects of your Majesty, confirming the same upon solemn oath taken 
 on behalf of their own selves, and on behalf of all the people of Merv. 
 This decision, according to the statement of the Khans and delegates, 
 was arrived at oy the Turkomans of Merv, because they were assured 
 of their incapability of governing themselves, and were convinced that 
 your Majesty's powerful government could alone establish and main- 
 tain order in Merv, and ensure its prosperity." 
 
 Here, then, is abundant scope for what Russia con- 
 siders her mission of civilization ! Nor is this a mere 
 empty expression ; for after seeing Bokhara and Khiva 
 under Asiatic rulers, and Tashkend and Samarkand 
 under Europeans, I should be false to my convictions 
 if I withheld my opinion that the natives have been 
 gainers by Russian conquest. Hence, now that Merv 
 is annexed, if there are any who would rather see it 
 revert to its old condition of lawlessness, slavery, and 
 blood, I confess I am not one of the number; but what 
 may be the bearing of this upon political questions, I 
 leave to others more competent to decide. 
 
594 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 But, to return, I was thankful to have reached 
 Krasnovodsk across the desert, but I determined 
 thence to turn my back upon Asia, and telegraphed to 
 London, for 6d. a word, my return to civilization thus : 
 "Arrived through Bokhara down Oxus and across 
 Aralo-Caspian desert from Khiva telegraph, if neces- 
 sary, to Tiflis," to which place I had now to make 
 my way as quickly as possible. 
 
 But it was not so easy to get across to Baku at a 
 moment's notice. The summer steamers had ceased 
 plying, and the boat we saw waiting was to proceed 
 south to the Persian coast. We had time, therefore, 
 to look about Krasnovodsk, which we soon voted a 
 sorry place. In 1877, a correspondent of the Golos 
 wrote: " Krasnovodsk has now grown almost into a 
 town, has become populous, and very animated" ; but 
 if so, it must have since come down in the world, for 
 my note-book gives the population as only 400 Persians 
 and Armenians, and 1,000 Russians, of whom 800 were 
 military. 
 
 Besides this, I think I never saw a town for which 
 nature had provided so scantily, and my non-strategic 
 mind was puzzled to know why the Russians had built 
 their fort in such a place, where the population, if left 
 to their own resources, must speedily starve. There 
 are no wells of good water, and they have, consequently, 
 to distil it from the Caspian at the rate of 16,000 gallons 
 a day. There are also two engines at Mikhailovsk for 
 a similar purpose, one of which distils 260,000 gallons, 
 and the other half this amount per diem, to be sent 
 along the line to waterless places in the desert. More- 
 over, there was not a blade of grass to be seen. There 
 was a solitary cow tethered before a bundle of hay, and 
 a few bushes planted in what was meant to be a public 
 garden, but I cannot recall the sight of a single tree 
 throughout the place. 
 
 It might be said, in fact, of Krasnovodsk as of Tyre 
 and Sidon, that " their country was nourished by the 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 
 
 595 
 
 king's country"* for almost everything had to be 
 brought from Baku, Astrabad, Astrakhan, or adjacent 
 parts of the Caspian. Hence provisions were dear. 
 They had no pheasants, as at Khiva ; beef cost $d. a 
 pound, mutton 2\d., and eggs from 4^. to 65-. a 
 hundred. I purchased apples, medlars, and sweet 
 lemons the last, if not all, being imported from 
 Astrabad. The lemons were very insipid, even to one 
 just come from the desert, but the medlars were good. 
 One thing in which Krasnovodsk seemed to be rich 
 was mineral oil in its various forms. About 30 miles 
 distant is the island of Cheleken, where are said to be 
 
 TURKOMAN TENTS NEAR KRASNOVODSK ON THE SHORE OF THE CASPIAN. 
 
 3,000 springs of naphtha, that supply the fuel for the 
 distilling engines. I was also informed of naphtha 
 works on the Kizil Arvat line. Large supplies of 
 mineral wax have been discovered on the north of the 
 Little Balkans, for the carriage of which a branch 
 line has been constructed. There is at Krasnovodsk 
 a grotto of alabaster, and salt obtained from the 
 islands and lakes is exported for about 6s. a ton. 
 
 The only other produce of the place I remember 
 hearing of was fish, caught by Turkomans of the 
 Shikh tribe, living by the sea, a mile or so outside the 
 town. To visit their collection of tents gave us some- 
 
 * Acts xii. 20. 
 
596 . THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 thing to do on the second afternoon of our stay. The 
 Colonel provided us a native for interpreter and guide, 
 and we galloped off to the oba. It was by no means 
 a large one, and the cause was speedily to be traced 
 to the horrible practices of the Tekkes, who had made 
 a raid upon this tribe some time before, and taken 
 from them nearly everything that was valuable.* The 
 tribe was said to number 200 tents, of which there 
 were about 70 in this neighbourhood. There were 
 not many men at home, but, introduced by our guide, 
 the women did not object to our entering the tents, 
 and looking at what we pleased, including their own 
 jewellery. Most of this latter was of silver, but in the 
 first tent we entered the woman had a pair of gold 
 earrings, for which she asked ,10. Their bracelets 
 were in the shape of the letter C, 2 inches wide, and 
 perhaps a quarter of an inch thick, weighing, I suppose, 
 up to half a pound. Some wore in the ears gold rings, 
 3 inches in diameter, for which they asked as much as 
 ^"10, but I did not observe any worn in the nose. 
 I bought of them some studs of native workmanship, 
 a finger-ring, and a child's anklet. 
 
 The women showed us amulets worn round the neck, 
 and valued in some cases up to 20. I observed a 
 charm similar in character tied round the neck of the 
 Turkoman camel we hired. 
 
 Besides the ornaments just mentioned I noticed 
 silver tengas sewed in rows on babies' caps, and one 
 young mother wore her hair in long braids behind, 
 with dangling ornaments attached, whose tinkling 
 could be heard as she moved about. 
 
 As to the occupation of the settled Turkomans, they 
 
 * Reminding one of the troublous times in Israel, when " there was 
 no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in ... and 
 nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city" (2 Chron. xv. 5, 6) a 
 state of things with which Jeremiah (xlix. 29) was familiar when he 
 prophesied, "Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the East ; 
 their tents and their flocks shall they take away : they shall take to 
 themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels." 
 
FROM KRA SNO VODSK HOME WARDS. 597 
 
 nearly all engage in agriculture. Those I saw were 
 chiefly fishermen, but some were engaged in the 
 transport of goods by caravan. The carpets and felts 
 made by the Turkoman women are well known. I saw 
 some of the latter in various stages of manufacture. In 
 one house in Krasnovodsk, tufts of coloured wool were 
 strewed over a floor of reeds, previous to being wetted 
 and pressed, and in a tent were three women kneeling, 
 and pressing simultaneously upon a bundle of felt they 
 
 TURKOMAN WOMEN WITH SPINNING-WHEEL. 
 
 rolled to and fro over matting, whereon loose wool 
 was laid, which, being wetted, stuck to and thickened 
 the roll as it passed over. Some few of the Turkomans 
 further south engage in sericulture, the wheels on which 
 the women spin and wind their silk and cotton being 
 of the clumsiest description. 
 
 The usual food of the Turkoman is unleavened 
 bread, the dough being kneaded in a wooden trough 
 or upon a dried skin, and then baked on the hearth by 
 covering it up in wood embers, the simplest, surely, of 
 
5Q8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 all methods of cooking, and such as I saw in full force 
 amongst my attendants, crossing from Khiva. The 
 Turkomans also eat meal with oil or clarified butter, 
 and I saw in preparation another kind of food called 
 yarma, consisting of bruised wheat and sour milk. 
 Outside a tent stood a stone mortar full of wheat with 
 a stone pestle for the purpose, they said, of cleaning the 
 grain, but I suppose to bruise it also.^ 
 
 In a third tent was a child amusing himself with a 
 bird tied by a string. f We managed to purchase a few 
 curiosities from these nomads; but the guide, seeing 
 our bent, said he would take us to some Turkomans 
 
 THE FORTRESS AT KRASNOVODSK. 
 
 who were living in houses at Krasnovodsk. We 
 therefore returned, and saw something of the town. 
 The most striking object is the fortress on the 
 seashore, a large rectangular space, enclosed on the 
 three sides by a high, well-built, stone wall, and having 
 within it the Government offices, officers' houses, and 
 small barracks. The place gave one the idea of a 
 
 * This bruising of corn seemed to me to illustrate Prov. xxvii. 22, 
 " Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a 
 pestle " ; and, perhaps, Isa. xxviii. 28, " Bread corn is bruised." 
 
 t A child's plaything, as old as the time of Job (xli. 5), " Wilt thou 
 play with him as with a bird ? " ; or, as Renan translates : 
 " Joueras-tu avec lui comme avec un passereau ? 
 L'attacheras-tu avec un fil pour amuser tes enfants ? " 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 
 
 599 
 
 depot for stores, which are sometimes packed under 
 the useful Kirghese kibitka, side by side with the less 
 bulky Russian linen tent. Some of the boats on the 
 shore I noticed were of very primitive make, with flat 
 bottoms, and simply cut out of the trunk of a tree. 
 
 The Turkomans, Persians, and Armenians live with- 
 out the fortress in flat-roofed, stone houses. Into some 
 of these we were led through narrow passages, and 
 shown a variety of massive but coarsely-made jewel- 
 lery, chiefly in the form of amulets worn on the breast. 
 We had an opportunity also during our stay of seeing 
 
 11 
 
 GOVERNOR'S HOUSE AND STORES AT KRASNOVODSK. 
 
 something of the keenness of the Armenians, who in 
 commercial transactions outwit even the Jews. I 
 intimated that I wished to sell my two horses, where- 
 upon some Armenians came to offer me for them $os. 
 each. I deferred the immediate acceptance of the 
 offer, thinking I might have further need of them, 
 whereupon the fellows came on the morning of the 
 day I was leaving to say that they could give now 
 only 4Ctf. each ; but rather than be taken advantage of 
 thus, and remembering that I might need them in 
 
6oo THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Baku, I determined to take them across the Caspian. 
 Rosy and Nazar called the day after our arrival, to 
 say that they had secured some freight for a homeward 
 passage, and nominally to bid us good-bye, but hinting 
 also that a little more sugar, etc., would be acceptable. 
 On giving it, I enjoined upon Nazar to take care of 
 the letter to the Governor, upon which he swore in 
 Oriental fashion, pointing to his head,* and set off to 
 recross the desert. 
 
 We started on the evening of the 24th. I brought 
 my baggage and steeds on board the Kumo, bound 
 for Baku, and it seemed to savour somewhat of home 
 when I found that the boat was built in London, and 
 had done service first on the coast of Finland, and sub- 
 sequently had been brought via Petersburg, through 
 the canals to the Volga, and so into the Caspian. The 
 first mate, too, though a Russian baron, had been in 
 English service, and I was glad to hear him speak the 
 English tongue. Several engineers, who had been 
 engaged in surveying about Askhabad, were on board, 
 one of whom had met O' Donovan. Indeed, I met 
 two or three Russian officers who knew this hero of 
 Merv. 
 
 We had to wait for the arrival of the ferry-like boat 
 tugged from Mikhailovsk, full of cattle and passengers, 
 and it was not until two in the morning that we started. 
 We were at sea all next day, making a smooth pas- 
 sage of 190 miles, and landed at Baku early on the 
 morning of the 26th. The long and sometimes robber- 
 haunted post-road from Tiflis had prevented me in 
 1880 from travelling to see the " eternal fires " of Baku, 
 and I was devoutly hoping that the railway would 
 now be opened, so as to obviate the disagreeables of 
 about 400 miles' journey by telega. 
 
 We went to Dominique's Hotel " Italia," and found 
 that a train was to start in two days, but that tickets 
 were not purchasable, and that it was difficult to obtain 
 
 * " Neither shalt thou swear by thy head " (Matt. v. 36). 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 601 
 
 a pass. My way, moreover, was not made smoother 
 from the fact that some Englishmen who had preceded 
 me had had the bad taste to accept a free passage, and 
 then to write to the papers complaining of the slowness 
 of the administration. I went, however, to Baron 
 Hiibsch, the Governor, and, having presented my cre- 
 dentials, was told that matters should be arranged. 
 Monday was now left to visit the oil-wells at Bala- 
 khane, and the monastery of the fire-worshippers at 
 Surakhane. The latter is empty, the last priest, I 
 heard, having contracted a habit of paying less atten- 
 tion to fire than to fire-water. 
 
 On Tuesday we arrived at the Baku station, as 
 directed, at noon, with rather more than a quarter of 
 a ton of luggage, in 19 parcels, but we did not start 
 till half-past six ; and as we- were packed in a third-class 
 carriage, with a crowd of all sorts and conditions of 
 men, women, and children, some of whom smoked, 
 and others snored, I cannot pretend that I slept well 
 the first night. Better by far to have been in my tent 
 in the wilderness ! Improvements awaited me, how- 
 ever, next morning, for among the passengers to whom 
 I had been introduced was M. Immanuel Nobel, a 
 son of the " oil king " in these parts, and his local 
 influence had secured for him the luxury of a horse- 
 box ! This he invited me to share, so that we were 
 now in clover, having in common our provisions and 
 tea-pot. 
 
 The time expended on the 350 miles was nearly as 
 long as it took me to cross America, because we 
 sometimes had to halt for an engine that had met with 
 an accident, or for a ballast train to be unloaded ; but 
 with all this the journey was not longer, and was more 
 comfortable, not to add more economical, than if we had 
 travelled by post. I was very thankful, therefore, for 
 the convenience when on the Saturday morning early 
 we were awakened with the intelligence that we had 
 arrived at Tiflis. 
 
602 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Here I made my way to the depot of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, where a letter had been 
 received only the night before from the Government 
 authorities respecting a request I made to the Grand 
 Duke Michael in 1880 to be allowed to place New 
 Testaments in the prisons and hospitals of the Cau- 
 casus, so that every prisoner and hospital patient might 
 have at hand a copy in his own language. His Impe- 
 rial Highness had granted my request at once, and 
 12 months afterwards information had been sent me 
 in England that, to carry out the scheme, 1,910 copies 
 would be needed in the Russ, Polish, Armenian, 
 Grusinian, Tatar, Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic, Persian, 
 Greek, German, Italian and French languages. The 
 Committee had kindly made the grant, and the letter 
 just arrived was to indicate -where the books would be 
 placed, and to whom they should be sent. All, there- 
 fore, seemed to be proceeding correctly, though not 
 very rapidly, and there was nothing for me to do in 
 the matter but to wish the local agent God-speed in 
 his work, and get forward to the Euxine. 
 
 I had telegraphed from Baku that my money should 
 be sent from Tashkend to Tiflis, and this, after some 
 little difficulty, I managed to get on the Saturday. 
 Speaking of money, I may add that I made the 
 acquaintance of Herr Bayern, a naturalist and anti- 
 quarian, who had a magnificent collection of coins, 
 and who, when I showed him my few, congratulated 
 me on having secured some from Central Asia, both 
 rare and valuable. 
 
 We left Tiflis on December 4th, and, arriving that 
 night at Poti, opened our umbrellas for the first time 
 since the previous i/th of August. The weather,, 
 however, was now broken, and on going next day to 
 Batoum we had to wait there because of storms in the 
 north of the Black Sea, before we could start for 
 Odessa. Our delay, however, was much brightened 
 by the kindness and attention of Mr. Peacock, in 
 
FROM KRA SNO VODSK HOME WARDS. 603 
 
 having obtained whose services as Vice-Consul Her 
 Majesty's Government may think themselves fortunate. 
 He knows the Caucasus thoroughly, and speaks I 
 dare not say how many of its tongues. Oddly enough, 
 I had met his brother at Krasnoiarsk, in Siberia, and 
 my portrait had already preceded me to the Consulate, 
 as one of a party returned from a Siberian gold 
 mine. 
 
 We had a fine view from Batoum of the North 
 Caucasian chain of mountains, snow-capped all along, 
 with the two peaks of Mount Elburz standing above 
 the rest ; and when, after leaving Batoum, we came 
 opposite Sukum, I was specially interested in the view, 
 because I am fortunate enough to possess an oil- 
 painting by the celebrated Russian sea painter, 
 Aivazovsky, " Off Sukum Kali," that was given me 
 by the artist when he made his ddbut in London, in 
 1881. 
 
 Our steamer was the Puschkin, the finest for its size 
 I have ever travelled in. The captain had been 
 ordered, however, by telegram, to call at all the ports 
 round the eastern coast, so that our progress was not 
 rapid, though it gave us an opportunity of seeing 
 something of Kertch and Sevastopol, which latter I 
 had visited before. At length, on the morning of the 
 1 5th, we arrived at Odessa. Here I bade farewell to 
 Mr. Sevier, to whose patience, perseverance, and 
 efficiency not a little of my success was due. He was 
 to go to Moscow; whilst I, that night, thanks to help 
 received at our Consulate, entered the train for 
 London, and arrived on December 2ist. 
 
 Thus ended my journey of 12,000 miles, during 
 which I was absent from England 179 days, and 
 slept in my clothes half the nights. I was some- 
 what exhausted by the desert journey, but not so 
 much as I have been by writing my books. I com- 
 menced them with the thought that, having acquired 
 information possessed by no other Englishman living, 
 

 
 
 
FROM KRASNOVODSK HOMEWARDS. 605 
 
 it was in a measure incumbent on me to offer it to 
 the public. That duty I have attempted to fulfil, and 
 now I leave the results in higher hands. As my 
 going to Siberia was followed by that of other 
 labourers in the same field, so it has been already in 
 Central Asia ; and if the publication of my works 
 shall, by throwing light upon little-known parts of the 
 world, tend in any way to their further evangelization 
 and conquest for Christ, I shall deem that my labour 
 and expenditure of time in writing are justified. I 
 have then only to thank the reader who has had 
 patience to follow me to the end, and to bid him a 
 kind farewell ! 
 
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APPENDIX 
 
 ON 
 
 THE DIPLOMACY AND DELIMITATION OF THE 
 RUSSO-AFGHAN FRONTIER. 
 
 DIPLOMACY. 
 
 Mooted by Earl Clarendon, 1869. Russia approaching India. Neutral 
 territory recommended and idea approved. Afghanistan declined, 
 but Upper Oxus proposed, as boundary. To commence at Khoja 
 Saleh. Territory of Shere AH Khan to be Afghanistan. Boundary 
 proposed from Sir-i-kul to Khoja Saleh, and districts on north-west 
 frontier. Questioned, but ultimately accepted, by Russia. The 
 situation in 1873. Annexation of Khivan territory. British ap- 
 prehensions, and warning about Afghanistan. Russian assurances 
 against further extension. Idea of an intermediate zone abandoned. 
 Russia's advance from the Caspian. England's proposal as to* 
 delimitation of Perso- Russian frontier. Request of Ameer of 
 Afghanistan for a boundary map. Demarcation of Afghan 
 boundary desired. Voluntary submission of Merv. Remonstrance 
 of England and Russia's reply, with proposal to demarcate from 
 Khoja Saleh. Accepted by England, and time and place of meet- 
 ing suggested. Russia suggests preliminary principles, objects to- 
 begin at Heri-Rud, and hints desire for Panjdeh and Paropamisus. 
 England's wish for Ameer's territory : Russia's for Turkoman 
 lands. Arrangements for departure of Commissioners. Zelenoy 
 taken ill and a " zone " of operations proposed. Cossack advance 
 to Pul-i-Khatun. Russian proposal for negotiation of frontier in 
 London. Russian advance to Zulfikar and Panjdeh. England's 
 proposed "zone" rejected. The Panjdeh fight and indifference 
 of Ameer. England's demand for a strategical frontier for her 
 renunciation of Panjdeh. Discussion on the Zulfikar Pass, and 
 compromise. A boundary negotiated in protocol. 
 
 DELIMITATION. 
 
 The Commission and boundary. Zulfikar ford and pass. First meet- 
 ing, and site of first pillar. Social festivities. Survey parties 
 starting eastwards. Pillars to Sumba Karez and Hauz-i-Khan.- 
 
APPENDIX. 609 
 
 Russian claims in the Kushk valley resisted. From Hauz-i-Khan 
 to Maruchak. Difficulties about Panjdeh. Weather, Christmas, 
 and sport. Sparsity of population. Difficulties adjusted ; delimi- 
 tation recommenced, and frontier arranged nearly to the Oxus. 
 Fresh differences, and reference to Europe. Demarcation continued 
 to Daulatabad. From Andkhui to Bosagha. Survey of the Oxus 
 banks, and withdrawal of Commissioners. Where is Khoja Saleh ? 
 Settlement at St. Petersburg. Afghan losses and gains. Results 
 of delimitation : improved relations with, and greater knowledge 
 of, Afghanistan. Greater proximity of Russia. Vulnerability of 
 new frontier, and railway extension towards India. 
 
 DISCUSSION. 
 
 Sources of previous information imperfect. Subject looked at : 
 
 From a Russian standpoint. English meddlesome, asking " inten- 
 tions." Apprehensions on Khivan annexation. Mr. Bull's 
 demands and interference. Precipitancy of action after annexa- 
 tion of Merv. Slowness in coming to terms. Need of Russian 
 wakefulness in delimitation. 
 
 From an English standpoint. Russian advance to the Urals, the 
 Irtish, and Vierny. Joining forces from Orenburg, in 1864. 
 Bokhara conquered, Encroachments from the Caspian, and slow- 
 ness in delimitation. Dishonourable delay. 
 
 From a general standpoint. Two nations squabbling for selfish ends 
 over worthless territory. The inhabitants, brigands. Unconcern 
 of England at Turkoman raids. Thousands of slaves liberated 
 under Russian rule. Safety on Russian post-roads. A railway 
 provided. Let not England be jealous of Russia. Why not both 
 be friends ? 
 
 DIPLOMACY. 
 
 NEGOTIATIONS upon the boundary of Afghanistan appear to have 
 been first mooted by the Earl of Clarendon, Minister of State 
 for Foreign Affairs, to Baron Brunnow, the Russian Ambassador 
 in London, in 1869. Russia at that date was pushing forward 
 her conquests in the direction of India. Russian Turkistan had 
 been placed under the victorious General Kaufmann in 1867, 
 and in the following year Bokhara was subdued. This brought 
 Russian influence up to the banks of the Oxus, so that only 
 Afghanistan remained, separating what might be regarded as 
 Russia and India. Lord Clarendon, therefore, on several occa- 
 sions pointed out in a friendly way to the Russian Ambassador 
 how desirable it was that the amicable relations then existing 
 between Russia and England should be maintained, and not 
 interfered with by any possible disputes on the Indian frontier. 
 To this end Lord Clarendon " earnestly recommended the recog- 
 nition of some territory as neutral between the possessions of 
 
 39 
 
6io THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 England and Russia, which should be the limit of those posses- 
 sions, and be scrupulously respected by both Powers." 
 
 Baron Brunnow having reported this to his Government at 
 St. Petersburg, Prince Gortchakoff, the Russian Chancellor, 
 replied that he had read the report with real pleasure, that the 
 Emperor " looked upon Afghanistan as completely outside the 
 sphere within which Russia might be called upon to exercise 
 her influence"; and added that the idea of a neutral territory 
 was quite in keeping with the Imperial mind. Further, Prince 
 Gortchakoff was willing, on the suggestion of England, that 
 Afghanistan should be the proposed neutral territory. 
 
 To this Lord Clarendon replied that, after consultation with 
 the Secretary of State for India, he thought Afghanistan would 
 not fulfil the necessary conditions, but he proposed that the 
 Upper Oxus should be the boundary line which neither Power 
 should permit their forces to cross. 
 
 In answer to a Russian inquiry as to the point on the Oxus 
 from which the western boundary line should commence, it was 
 stated from the India Office, on July 22nd, 1870, that l< provided 
 Khoja Saleh, which is at the passage of the Oxus, on the high 
 road from Balkh to Bokhara, is admitted to be Afghan territory, 
 Her Majesty's Government would not object to a definition of 
 frontier by which the rights of Bokhara should be determined, 
 to commence at a point upon the left bank of the Oxus imme- 
 diately below that place." 
 
 This proposal was sent by the Russian Government to 
 'General Kaufmann, in Turkistan, for his observations thereon ; 
 the director of the Russian Asiatic Department remarking to 
 Sir Andrew Buchanan, then English Ambassador at St. Peters- 
 burg, that probably no objection would be made to including 
 Khoja Saleh within the Afghan frontier. 
 
 Meanwhile Lord Clarendon met Prince Gortchakoff at Heidel- 
 berg, when the Prince objected to the Oxus as a line of demar- 
 cation, because he said the Emir of Bokhara claimed certain 
 territory south of the river. Later, however, during the visit of 
 Mr. Forsyth to St. Petersburg, other communications followed, 
 and these resulted in an understanding, among other matters, 
 that no districts should be acknowledged as Afghan but such as 
 had been under the rule of Dost Muhammad Khan, and " that 
 the territory in the actual possession at the present moment of 
 Shere Ali Khan should be considered to constitute the limits of 
 Afghanistan." This was notified by Prince Gortchakoff to 
 Baron Brunnow, November 1st, 1871. 
 
 No answer coming from Turkistan for about two years, Earl 
 
APPENDIX. 6n 
 
 Granville wrote to Lord Loftus, our Ambassador at St. Peters- 
 burg, stating that Her Majesty's Government, from evidence 
 before them, considered as fully belonging to Afghanistan: 
 
 1. Badakshan, with Wakhan, from Lake Sir-i-kul to the 
 
 junction of the Kokcha river, with the Oxus forming 
 the northern boundary of this province throughout. 
 
 2. Afghan Turkistan, comprising the districts of Kunduz, 
 
 Khulm, and Balkh, the northern boundary of which 
 would be the line of the Oxus from the junction of the 
 Kokcha river to the post of the Khoja Saleh inclusive. 
 
 3. The internal districts of Akcha, Sir-i-pul, Maimana, Shibir- 
 
 ghan, and Andkhui, the latter of which would be the 
 extreme Afghan frontier possession to the north-west. 
 
 4. The western Afghan frontier between the dependencies 
 
 of Herat and those of the Persian province of Khorassan 
 is well known, and need not here be defined. 
 
 This statement was submitted to the Russian Government, 
 and Prince Gortchakoff, after explaining the causes of delay in 
 making the necessary investigations in Turkistan, said that the 
 result of these investigations was in accordance with the opinion 
 of the English Government so far as concerned the Oxus for a 
 boundary between the Kokcha and Khoja Saleh. They had 
 failed, however, to discover that Shere AH Khan exercised actual 
 sovereignty over Badakshan and Wakhan, and consequently 
 doubted whether the claim to these provinces should be ad- 
 mitted. As for the boundaries on the north-west, starting from 
 Khoja Saleh, information received threw doubt upon the Afghan 
 possession of Akcha, Sir-i-pul, Maimana, Shibirghan, and 
 Andkhui ; but as these were separated from Bokhara by deserts 
 and if the English Government adhered to its opinion as to the 
 expediency of comprising these places in Afghan territory, " the 
 Imperial Cabinet would be disposed, as far as this portion of 
 the boundary is concerned, to accept the line laid down in 
 Lord Granville's despatch." 
 
 The foregoing was written by Prince Gortchakoff on December 
 I Qth, 1872, and on the following 24th of January Her Majesty's 
 Government, " relying upon the friendly feelings of the Emperor," 
 laid before him afresh the grounds on which Shefe All's claims 
 were based, to which Prince Gortchakoff replied, a week later, 
 that, according to Russian views, Badakshan and Wakhan en- 
 joyed a certain independence; yet, not wishing to give too promi- 
 nent importance to this detail, he added, " We do not refuse to 
 accept the line of boundary laid down by England." 
 
 Thus, in 1873, the Upper Oxus from Sir-i-kul to Khoja Saleh 
 
612 THROUGH CEN1RAL ASIA. 
 
 was recognized as a boundary, certain specified districts were 
 admitted to belong to Afghanistan, whilst the western Afghan 
 frontier between Herat and Khorassan was said to be well 
 known. In addition to this agreement respecting a frontier, 
 it was mutually understood that the two Powers should exercise 
 their influence in preserving peace in districts intermediate to 
 them, so that the coming in contact of England and Russia in 
 Central Asia should, if possible, be avoided. (It should be 
 remembered, however, that at this date both Russians and 
 English were alike ignorant of the geography of the Upper 
 Oxus, and what were really in those regions the Afghan 
 possessions. The convention was made without even consult- 
 ing the Ameer ; so that the treaty frontier in both extreme 
 East and West was of a very shadowy character.) 
 
 Meanwhile a Russian expedition against Khiva had been 
 decided upon, which Russia thought it courteous to notify 
 beforehand to the English Government. The object of the 
 expedition was said to be the punishment of brigandage, and 
 not the annexation of territory, though after the expedition 
 Russia informed England that she had unexpectedly found 
 herself obliged to construct a fort, and to annex a portion of 
 the Steppe. 
 
 This aroused British apprehensions, and Lord Granville, on 
 January /th, 1874, " called the attention of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment to the dangers that might result from the progress of 
 Russia in Central Asia, to the balance of power which it had 
 been endeavoured to establish in those countries by the under- 
 standing between the two Governments," and he stated " frankly, 
 once for all, that the independence of Afghanistan was con- 
 sidered a matter of great importance for the welfare and security 
 of British India and the tranquillity of Asia." 
 
 To this Prince Gortchakoff replied, on January 2 1st, that the 
 Imperial Government persisted in considering Afghanistan as 
 entirely outside its sphere of action ; that if the two Govern- 
 ments would exercise their influence over the intermediate 
 states, all promised well for the peace of Central Asia ; whilst 
 as for the Turkomans, whose turbulence Lord Granville had 
 referred to, it would be only their own brigandage or mis- 
 behaviour that might cause them to be punished by Russia. 
 
 In keeping with the foregoing Prince Gortchakoff, in a des- 
 patch of March 24th following, informed Baron Brunnow that 
 the Emperor had given peremptory orders " that no expedition 
 should be undertaken against the Teke Turkomans, which means 
 in the direction of Merv." This, too, was followed, on April 5th, 
 
APPENDIX. 613 
 
 1875, by a long historical memorandum on the relation of the 
 two Powers in Central Asia for communication to Her Majesty's 
 Government, giving assurances as to the plans of Russia, and 
 saying that " His Majesty had no intention of extending the 
 frontiers of Russia, such as they exist at present in Central 
 Asia, either on the side of Bokhara, or on the side of Krasnovodsk 
 and of the Atrek/' though Prince Gortchakoff added that the 
 Russians would cause their frontier to be respected, and they 
 would endeavour to extirpate brigandage. The Prince Chancellor 
 further stated that the misapprehensions on the part of the 
 British Government were entirely groundless ; but at the same 
 time he pointed out that Russia, having on several occasions 
 spontaneously and amicably communicated to England her views 
 with respect to Central Asia, and her resolve not to follow a 
 policy of annexation, such statements must not be looked upon 
 as if they were contracts and definite engagements. 
 
 This letter was not altogether pleasing to the India Office, 
 whence Lord George Hamilton, on 22nd June, wrote to Lord 
 Tenterden suggesting that England should claim a like liberty 
 of action with Russia. Accordingly, on 2 5th October, Lord 
 Derby wrote to Mr. Doria, at St. Petersburg, that " each 
 successive advance of the Russian frontier towards Afghanistan 
 may involve complications which it is equally in the interest of 
 both England and Russia to avoid ; that the integrity of Afghan 
 territory was an object of highest importance to Her Majesty's 
 Government, who must reserve to themselves complete liberty 
 of action as to how they would secure it. They could not but 
 feel that such an event, for instance, as the occupation of Merv 
 might arouse the susceptibilities of the Arneer of Afghanistan, 
 and involve the contact of the two Powers in Central Asia, 
 which was the result both governments desired to avert. Her 
 Majesty's Government, therefore, received with sincere satis- 
 faction the assurances that such extension was contrary to 
 Russian interests, and that orders had been given that future 
 action in those regions was to be confined to the defence of 
 existing limits, and the protection of property from brigandage." 
 
 In reply Prince Gortchakoff wrote to Count Schouvaloff, the 
 Russian Ambassador in London, on 3/15 July, 1876, saying that 
 His Majesty appreciated the breadth of view of Lord Derby's 
 communication, and added, " We entirely agree in the conclusion 
 that, while maintaining the arrangement concerning the limits 
 of Afghanistan, which is to remain outside the sphere of 
 Russian action, the two Cabinets should regard as terminated 
 the discussion relative to the intermediate zone, which has been 
 
614 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 recognized as unpractical ; that while retaining entire freedom 
 of action, they should be guided by a mutual desire to pay due 
 regard to their respective interests, by avoiding, as far as 
 possible, any immediate contact with each other, and any 
 collision between the Asiatic States placed within the circle of 
 their influence." 
 
 And here negotiations appear to have remained for the next 
 six years, during which time Russia, in spite of all her protesta- 
 tions, was advancing step by step from the Caspian along the 
 Persian border in the direction of Merv, so that on 3Oth 
 December, 1881, Earl Granville telegraphed to Mr. Thomson, 
 at Tehran, " Reports have appeared in one or two newspapers 
 here that the Turkomans at Merv have surrendered to the 
 Russians. Has any intelligence reached you to that effect ? " 
 Mr. Thomson replied in the negative, but added, " Communica- 
 tions appear to have lately passed between the Turkomans and 
 Russians with a view to submission or arrangement for future 
 good conduct of the tribes." 
 
 A month later, on 2nd February, 1882, the mind of the 
 English public being somewhat disturbed, Earl Granville, in 
 conversation with Prince Lobanow, the Russian Ambassador, 
 remarked that the friendly relations then existing between the 
 two countries offered a suitable opportunity of arriving at an 
 understanding as to any question which was capable hereafter 
 of becoming a subject of difference or suspicion. He suggested, 
 accordingly, whether an agreement might not be come to 
 respecting the policy of the two Powers in Asia, so as to 
 remove the jealousy with which public opinion in England 
 regarded the progress towards India of the Russian arms. 
 The Clarendon-Gortchakoff agreement, though still binding, 
 left certain details unsettled ; and Lord Granville, having heard 
 that the Russian Government had come to an agreement as to 
 the frontier from the Caspian to Baba-Durmaz, suggested that 
 an understanding should be come to between England, Russia, 
 and Persia for the settlement and subsequent demarcation by 
 Russian, Persian, and English officers, of the Perso-Russian 
 frontier from Baba-Durmaz down to the point where the 
 Russian frontier meets that of Afghanistan, in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Heri-Rud. He thought also that something might 
 be done with regard to the adjacent Afghan frontier. 
 
 On 22nd February following, Prince Lobanow informed Earl 
 Granville that the Russian Government acknowledged the 
 continued validity of the Clarendon-Gortchakoff arrangement, 
 " and they were ready to supplement it by a settlement of the 
 
APPENDIX, 615 
 
 frontier of Afghanistan, from the point where it had been left 
 undefined as far as Sarakhs." 
 
 But Lord Granville wrote, on I4th March, 1882, to Sir 
 Edward Thornton, our Ambassador at St. Petersburg, that this 
 proposal " did not in any way meet the requirements of the 
 case." A meeting, therefore, was held eight days later, at the 
 Foreign Office, between Earl Granville, Lord Hartington, and 
 Prince Lobanow, to discuss the question, more particularly of 
 the Russo-Persian frontier, in the course of which the Ambas- 
 sador demurred to the interference of England between Persia 
 and Russia, saying that Russia had never so interfered between 
 England and Afghanistan. This question formed the subject 
 of sundry despatches, when it was ultimately agreed that the 
 Perso-Russian frontier should be delimitated by a Persian and 
 Russian Commission, though the work had not begun by 
 1 6th June, 1883, when the subject of the Perso-Russian as 
 well as the Russo-Afghan frontiers was again brought into 
 notice by the Ameer of Afghanistan having expressed to the 
 Viceroy of India his desire for a map showing the boundaries 
 between Afghanistan and Russia and Persia. The Viceroy 
 replied that no proper map existed, a large part of the country 
 being unsurveyed. 
 
 The Afghan frontier was again mentioned in an official 
 despatch on the 4th August, 1883, by Mr. Thomson, who 
 wrote from Tehran that in conversation with the Russian 
 Minister there, M. Melnikoff expressed his opinion " that an 
 important element of discord would be removed if the demar- 
 cation of the Afghan line of frontier from Khoja Saleh to the 
 Heri-Rud were agreed upon and speedily effected." 
 
 Then came the startling telegram from St. Petersburg, on 
 I4th February, 1884, that " the khans and twenty-four repre- 
 sentatives of the four tribes of the Merv Turkomans had 
 presented themselves at Askhabad, had sworn allegiance to the 
 Czar, and had expressed the hope that Russia would take 
 charge of the government of their country " ; and the same night 
 M. de Giers informed Sir Edward Thornton that His Imperial 
 Majesty had determined to accept the allegiance. . 
 
 The eyes of England were just then turned to her military 
 proceedings in Egypt and the Soudan, so that the annexation of 
 Merv created less excitement in London than might otherwise 
 have been expected. In a fortnight, however, on 29th February, 
 1884, was sent to Sir Edward Thornton a long historical memo- 
 randum of the correspondence between the two governments 
 respecting the possibility of an eventual advance of Russia to 
 
616 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Merv, in which the uniform assurance of Russia to the appre- 
 hensions expressed by England had been that they had no 
 intention of occupying Merv. "It seemed, therefore " (Lord 
 Granville said), " entirely inconsistent with the whole tenor of 
 the mutual explanations between the two governments that 
 one of them should take a step which appears to be in con- 
 tradiction with the assurances which have on so many occasions 
 been received both from the Emperor and his Government, 
 without any previous communication of their change of views." 
 
 To this M. de Giers replied on 17/29 March that, Russia having 
 abstained from observations concerning the transactions by 
 which England, at different periods, had extended her sphere of 
 action along her Indian frontier, Russia had a right to expect 
 the same consideration for the freedom of the decisions 
 demanded by the interests of Russia. At the same time, the 
 value the Russian Government attached to the maintenance 
 of cordial relations with the Cabinet of London had always led 
 them, when inquired of, to engage in friendly explanations ; 
 but these explanations had not been of the nature of engage- 
 ments. The recent resolution of the Merv chiefs was a sudden 
 one, nor was it yet decided how their submission would be 
 carried out ; but the Imperial Cabinet determined to respect, as 
 in the past, all arrangements previously concluded between the 
 two governments. M. de Giers then added, " In case the 
 Cabinet of London should find it useful and practicable to 
 complete these arrangements by a more exact definition of the 
 condition of the countries which separate the Russian pos- 
 sessions from the boundaries of Afghanistan, we can only recall 
 to them the proposal which the Ambassador of His Majesty 
 the Emperor was ordered to make in 1882. That proposal 
 was, to continue from Khoja Saleh westward the line of 
 demarcation agreed upon in 1872-73." This letter wa? 
 accompanied by a memorandum, saying, in reply to the charge 
 that Russia had not communicated to England her change of 
 views, that " the mission of the inhabitants of Merv was an 
 event just as unexpected by us as by England," after which 
 followed a succinct summary of the facts which had led to the 
 said submission. 
 
 A month later, on April 2Qth, Earl Granville wrote to 
 Sir Edward Thornton, " Her Majesty's Government are pre- 
 pared to accept the proposal put forward in 1882, and now 
 repeated by M. de Giers, for the delimitation of the frontier of 
 Afghanistan from Khoja Saleh westwards," and added, "It 
 would be desirable that the principal points of the boundary 
 
APPENDIX. 617 
 
 line should be laid down on the spot, and that a joint Com- 
 mission, including an Afghan representative, should be 
 appointed for that purpose, and should commence operations 
 next autumn." 
 
 M. de Giers replied, on 3/15 May, that " the Imperial Cabinet 
 is quite ready to appoint a Commissioner, to visit, in company 
 with his English colleague, the district to be delimitated, and 
 in concert with him to endeavour to ascertain the principles 
 under which a frontier line might be traced which would satisfy 
 the respective interests of the two Powers." As for the 
 Afghan official, M. de Giers proposed that he should be 
 attached to the Commission as an expert, but not as a Com- 
 missioner. 
 
 To this Lord Granville acceded, and on i/th June proposed 
 "that the Commissioners should meet on the 1st October next, 
 at Sarakhs, on the left bank of the Heri-Rud." 
 
 M. de Giers, on 18/30 June, saw no objection to. this, but 
 thought " it would be advisable that, previous to the sending 
 of the Commissioners to the spot, the two governments 
 should exchange views on the general basis of the future 
 delimitation," and that Khoja Saleh should be the starting-point. 
 Further despatches followed in favour of the Heri-Rud and 
 Khoja Saleh respectively, until M. de Giers asked, on 28th July, 
 as to the precise point on the Heri-Rud at which the boundary 
 should-begin, and "on what principles the instructions to the 
 Commission should be framed, whether they should be based 
 upon ethnographical, geographical, or topographical considera- 
 tions, or on all three." From these and other questions it 
 seemed to Sir Edward Thornton that M. de Giers thought that 
 all the Turkoman tribes should be excluded from Afghanistan. 
 Our Ambassador anticipated also that efforts would be made to 
 place Panjdeh outside of Afghanistan, and to make the range of 
 mountains, about thirty miles south of Panjdeh, the northern 
 boundary in that part of the Ameer's dominions. 
 
 Lord Granville replied on the 5th August that " Her Majesty's 
 Government have up to the present time considered that the 
 territory of the Ameer of Aghanistan extended to a point on the 
 Heri-Rud, in the neighbourhood of Sarakhs," and that "the 
 primary duty of the Commission will be to ascertain the true 
 limits of the Ameer's territory, and, therefore, in defining his 
 jurisdiction, they must be guided by the political relations of the 
 tribes which inhabit the country." 
 
 Within a week Sir Edward Thornton telegraphed that the 
 Imperial Government wished to stipulate "that the whole of the 
 
6i8 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Saryk tribe of Turkomans, extending southwards from Yulutan 
 to the Afghan posts along the frontier should be placed under 
 the authority of Russia " ; to which Lord Granville replied, on 
 the 2Oth August, that Her Majesty's Government " cannot 
 anticipate the decision of the Commission," and, three days 
 later, he added that the instructions to Sir Peter Lumsden, the 
 English Commissioner, had been drawn up, based upon the 
 principles laid down on the 5th instant, and that Sir Peter 
 would leave London early in September. 
 
 On the /th September M. de Giers wrote to Sir Edward 
 Thornton, that, notwithstanding the difference of opinion between 
 the two governments as to the instructions to be given to the 
 Commissioners, the Imperial Government did not wish to lose 
 an opportunity of removing misunderstanding, and, accordingly, 
 that Major General Zelenoy, the Russian Commissioner, 
 would join Sir Peter Lumsden at Sarakhs, about the 1 3th of 
 October. The Imperial Cabinet, however, was convinced that 
 the proper basis for a line of boundary must be as far as 
 possible in conformity with the ethnographical and geographical 
 conditions of the country ; " in the meantime, it is urgent that 
 the Afghan authorities should be prevented from seeking to 
 make territorial encroachments." 
 
 Accordingly Sir Peter Lumsden started via Tiflis and 
 Tehran, and a British escort was advancing from India through 
 Afghanistan, when it was found that neither could- reach 
 Sarakhs by the date arranged. Moreover, Sir Edward Thornton 
 wrote, on the 3rd October, that General Zelenoy had been taken 
 ill, also that M. de Giers, from information received concerning 
 the climate, deemed it useless for the Commission to meet 
 before the 1 5th January; moreover, the Russian Government, 
 finding that there were objections to Sarakhs as a meeting 
 place, thought some spot further south, such as Pul-i-Khatun, 
 should be agreed upon, and the despatch added, " The principal 
 objects of the work should be the survey and description of 
 the zone within which the line of demarcation ought to be 
 drawn." 
 
 To this Lord Granville replied that the Russian Government, 
 having formally agreed to Sarakhs, Her Majesty's Government 
 could not consent to any other place being named, and hoped 
 that Russia would instruct her Commissioner to reach Sarakhs 
 to begin work before winter set in. 
 
 Meanwhile, on the I4th October, Sir Edward Thornton wrote 
 that General Zelenoy had visited him, and thought it would be 
 very desirable that a certain zone should be agreed upon 
 
APPENDIX. 019 
 
 between the two governments within which the Commissioners 
 should be instructed to consider where the north-west boundary 
 of Afghanistan might lie, and outside of which the Com- 
 missioners should not be allowed to extend their explorations. 
 For instance, he added, "the zone might be between a line 
 drawn from Sarakhs to Khoja Saleh which should be the limit to 
 the north, and another from a point on the Heri-Rud far to the 
 south of Sarakhs eastwards, and then northwards to Maimana, 
 Andkhui, and Khoja Saleh." 
 
 Hearing this, Lord Granville expressed by telegraph, on the 
 3Oth October, the great disappointment of Her Majesty's 
 Government at the postponement of General Zelenoy's de- 
 parture. 
 
 On the next day, Sir- Peter Lumsden telegraphed from 
 Meshed the rumour that Cossacks had advanced to Pul-i-Khatun 
 on the Heri-Rud, and to Pul-i-Khisti on the Murghab ; and 
 this was followed by another telegram from Sir Peter on 
 the loth November, after his arrival at Sarakhs, where the 
 Russians, stating their advance to Pul-i-Khatun was pre- 
 cautionary, asked him on what grounds the Afghans, who 
 heretofore had their outpost in Panjdeh, had moved forward 
 twenty-four miles to Sari-Yazi. 
 
 Four days later Lord Granville telegraphed to Sir Peter that 
 in answer to the Russians pressing for a preliminary under- 
 standing as to a zone of discussion, he had replied that the 
 Commissioners alone could decide what should be the region of 
 their inquiry, Sir Peter having beforehand to consult the Afghan 
 official. Next, Lord Granville wrote, on the 2Oth November, 
 to St. Petersburg, pressing for withdrawal of Russian troops to 
 Sarakhs, and promising the retirement of the Afghan detach- 
 ment, said to be gone to Sari-Yazi ; but from Sir Edward 
 Thornton's despatch of 27th November it appears that M. de 
 Giers spoke of the troops at Pul-i-Khatun as "merely a very 
 small advanced post, consisting of a few Cossacks, who had 
 been sent there for the protection of the Salor Turkomans," 
 who had returned to cultivate the land, and had appealed to the 
 Russians for protection. 
 
 On the Qth December the Russian Ambassador called upon 
 Earl Granville, alleging that "the population of Panjdeh had 
 always enjoyed a complete independence," whereas the place 
 had now been occupied by Afghans, and to this the Ambassador 
 was instructed to call Lord Granville's very serious attention. 
 A week later, however, a telegram came from Sir Peter Lumsden 
 from Panjdeh, saying that the Afghan Government there was 
 
620 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 fully established, and the stronghold strengthened, but that the 
 outpost at Sari-Yazi was withdrawn. 
 
 The Russians then intimated, on the i/th December, that 
 their Commissioner would probably remain at Tiflis until some 
 arrangement had been arrived at concerning the zone of opera- 
 tions ; to which Lord Granville replied, on the 23rd, to Baron 
 de Staal, the Russian Ambassador in London, that England 
 would accept the northern line proposed by Russia, but that it 
 was undesirable to attempt any preliminary definition of the 
 zone on the south. Lord Granville also observed that he did 
 not regard Pul-i-Khatun and Panjdeh as outside Afghanistan. 
 
 And thus matters continued for a month, until on 28th 
 January, 1885, M. de Giers proposed that their Ambassador 
 in London " should negotiate with Lord Granville a line of 
 boundary [beginning ten versts south of Zulfikar], which 
 should be subsequently laid down by the Commission," adding 
 that M. Lessar, an Engineer officer, would proceed to London 
 on the morrow, to help the Ambassador by furnishing local 
 information. 
 
 Meanwhile troubles were arising in the territory in question. 
 On the loth February, 1885, the Russian Ambassador called at 
 the Foreign Office with a reported rumour that a hundred and 
 fifty Afghan cavalry had occupied Zulfikar, and that an Afghan 
 post had been established at Sari-Yazi. Lord Granville tele- 
 graphed to Sir Peter Lumsden, who replied on 1 2th February 
 that he heard " a Russian outpost of forty-five men from Pul-i- 
 Khatun have advanced, and are now facing the Afghan outpost 
 in Zulfikar Pass," adding, " Matters have come to a crisis by 
 the simultaneous movements of Russia on Sunday last on the 
 Murghab and the Heri-Rud," in explanation of which M. de 
 Giers told Sir Edward Thornton, on i8th February, that the 
 Russian General Komaroff heard that Afghan troops were 
 advancing, and consequently that he had sent a small force in 
 each direction, and found the report to be true. M. de Giers 
 hoped, however, that a conflict would not take place unless the 
 Russian party were attacked by the Afghans. 
 
 Returning to the negotiations: Earl Granville, on I3th March, 
 forwarded to M. de Staal a proposal with a map, suggesting 
 northern and southern limits of a zone to which the inquiries 
 of the Commissioners should be restricted, promising also to 
 instruct the English Commissioner to endeavour to come to an 
 arrangement satisfactory to the two governments, and which 
 Her Majesty's Government in consultation with the Ameer wouk" 
 be justified in accepting. Enclosed was a long memorandum 
 
APPENDIX. 621 
 
 reviewing .the whole question, and saying, " Her Majesty's 
 Government cannot admit that the boundary should be marked 
 in conformity with geographical and ethnographical conditions, 
 to the exclusion of the question of territorial right or other con- 
 siderations." Further, England could not accept the new 
 proposal of a boundary from Zulfikar, because they thought it 
 should begin at Shir Tepe, but that they were " prepared to 
 agree that the lines which the two governments have re- 
 spectively proposed should be taken as the limits of a zone to 
 which the inquiries of the Commissioners shall be restricted." 
 
 An answer to the foregoing was received by Earl Granville 
 on 1st April, stating that, if Her Majesty's Government wished 
 to return to the idea of a zone of investigation, Russia could 
 only accept the one she had proposed from the outset, and that 
 it appeared more practical to assign to investigation the 
 territories situated on the line last indicated to Her Majesty's 
 Government. To this Earl Granville, on April 4th, replied to 
 the Ambassador that for Russia to insist on her own proposal, 
 and take no notice of ours, rendered it impossible for them to 
 proceed on a basis which substantially denied the equal footing 
 of the two Powers. 
 
 M. de Giers then proposed, on April 8th, another zone, 
 starting on the north from below Pul-i-Khatun ; and on the 
 same day Sir Edward Thornton wrote that M. de Giers looked 
 upon all the territory as far south as the Paropamisus range as 
 now under the control of Russia, alleging that it had never 
 been under the control of Afghanistan. 
 
 Meanwhile Lord Dufferin, Viceroy of India, and the Ameer 
 of Afghanistan had met in conference at Rawul Pindi, when, on 
 April 4th, the Ameer seemed indifferent as to the retention of 
 Panjdeh ; the localities to which he attached vital importance 
 being Gulran, Maruchak, and the Pass of Zulfikar. Four days 
 later, however, upon the news being communicated to him that 
 the Russians had attacked Panjdeh, the Ameer declared his 
 determination to resist invasion ; and arms, and possibly 
 money, were promised to him should war break out between 
 England and Russia. 
 
 That such a calamity would happen seemed for a time 
 imminent. Preparations had already quietly begun in England, 
 and troops were concentrated on the north-west frontier of India. 
 When the news arrived that on the $oth March the Russians 
 had attacked and beaten the Afghans at Panjdeh, there was a 
 panic on the Stock Exchange in London, and in anticipation oi 
 England going to war, the principal markets of the world, 
 
622 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 especially American, were affected. Numerous despatches con- 
 cerning the fight were exchanged between the Cabinets of 
 London and St. Petersburg and the generals on the spot, with 
 the result that each side accused the other of being the 
 aggressor, so that it was agreed, on May 4th, to submit the 
 matter to arbitration, and to resume negotiations in London. 
 
 An informal meeting had been held on April I4th between 
 Earl Granville, Lord Kimberley, and M. Lessar,. at which the 
 Zulfikar Pass was claimed as a sine qua non for Afghanistan, 
 and it was remarked that the general principle upon which the 
 line of frontier should be drawn should leave the passes in 
 the possession of the Afghans, and secure to them a good 
 strategical outline. Also it was hinted that if in this respect 
 Russia met England fairly, the concession of Panjdeh was not 
 impossible, to which the Cabinet of St. Petersburg telegraphed 
 two days later to Baron de Staal, the Russian Ambassador, 
 " You are authorised by the Emperor to reply, We see no 
 objection to allowing the exchange of Panjdeh for Zulfikar, in 
 which case the frontier would start from a point on the Heri- 
 Rud, a little to the north of Zulfikar." 
 
 On the 4th May, Lord Kimberley telegraphed to the Viceroy 
 of India that negotiations would be resumed, accepting an 
 arrangement that would leave to the Ameer Zulfikar, Gulran, 
 and Maruchak, and on the same day Earl Granville summoned 
 home, to help in the negotiations, Sir Peter Lumsden and 
 Colonel Stewart. 
 
 On May 8th, Earl Granville transmitted to St. Petersburg 
 a proposal for the frontier, the draft beginning, " The line w r ill 
 start from a point on the Heri-Rud, a little to the north of 
 Zulfikar, fixed so as to leave the Pass of Zulfikar to the 
 Afghans," in keeping with which the Viceroy of India also 
 wrote to the Ameer of Afghanistan, "Your Highness .informed 
 me that you attached much importance to Maruchak, Gulran, 
 and the Zulfikar Passes. . . . Her Majesty's Government 
 have determined to adopt a line of frontier which will leave 
 the Heri-Rud at a point north of Zulfikar." 
 
 On May I2th, however, M. Lessar called at the Foreign 
 Office, inquiring for a more exact definition of the " Zulfikar 
 Pass," and asked that the line should be now fixed only as far 
 as Hauz-i-Khan, and that from thence a line should be drawn, so 
 as to form the southern limit of a zone of discussion, between 
 Maruchak and Bala Murghab. To this it was agreed that 
 lt Zulfikar Pass " should mean the spot thus marked on the 
 English maps, but Lord Kimberley could not agree to the new 
 
 
APPENDIX. 623 
 
 demand about Maruchak. M. Lessar, therefore, nine days 
 later, again saw Lord Granville, and explained that by 
 " Zulfikar," used in the Russian despatch, he understood that 
 the boundary line would start from a little to the north of 
 the western opening of the Zulfikar Pass. 
 
 Upon this detail sundry despatches were exchanged, a 
 change of Government taking place meanwhile in England, 
 after which, on July i/th, 1885, Lord Salisbury, the new 
 Minister, wrote to the Russian Ambassador, f{ I have learned 
 with regret that the Russian Government are not prepared to 
 agree that the whole of the Zulfikar Pass should be included in 
 Afghan territory. . . . No reservation was made as to a 
 portion of the pass being retained by Russia. . . . And Her 
 Majesty's late Government, confiding in this engagement, 
 declared to the Ameer that the Zulfikar Pass would be included 
 in his dominions. Her Majesty's Government consider that 
 they are bound by the declaration thus made, 'and they cannot 
 but hold that the Russian Government is similarly bound." 
 
 To this, on 3<Dth of July, M. de Giers wrote to Baron de 
 Staal that, in their communication of 4/16 April, mention was 
 made only of Zulfikar, and not of the pass. They were willing, 
 however, to leave to Afghanistan what was important for strate- 
 gical purposes, provided the communications between their own 
 posts might be secured to Russia, concerning which they would 
 be able to speak more definitely on receipt of surveys just 
 finished by topographical officers on the spot. 
 
 This proposal was laid before Lord Dufferin in India, and Sir 
 West Ridgeway on the spot, the latter of whom telegraphed, 
 " The possession of the western defile would be sufficient for 
 the Afghans " ; but he suggested, considering topographical 
 uncertainties, it be provided that the Russian frontier nowhere 
 approach nearer than one thousand yards to the edge of the 
 escarp of the western defile. 
 
 To this the Ambassador in London, at a meeting at the 
 Foreign Office on September 4th, agreed at once, and on the 
 8th there was signed by Lord Salisbury and Baron de Staal a 
 protocol which provided that a Commission should be appointed 
 by each government, with an escort of one hundred men at most 
 on either side ; that the Commissioners should meet within two 
 months from the signature of the protocol at Zulfikar, where 
 also the delimitation should begin ; and that, in tracing the 
 frontier according to the protocol, the Commissioners should pay 
 due attention to the localities, and to the necessities and well- 
 being of the local populations. 
 
624 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 DELIMITATION. 
 
 DIPLOMATIC negotiations being arranged thus far, the English 
 Commissioner appointed was Sir J. West Ridgeway, assisted 
 by Major Durand, and for the Russian Commissioner, Colonel 
 Kuhlberg, chief of the topographical staff at Tiflis, assisted 
 by Captain Guedeonoff, of the Russian Engineers, and chief 
 astronomer. Each Commissioner was accompanied by a staff 
 of officers, amongst whom was M. Lessar, a civil engineer, 
 but who was attached as political adviser, the only bond fide 
 " political," I am told, in the Russian camp, whilst on the 
 British side were abundance of " politicals/' but no recognized 
 scientific officer. 
 
 The boundary line was to be drawn from the Heri-Rud to 
 the Oxus across the hilly country, which bounds on the south 
 the low flat deserts of Turkmenia, and was to begin at Zulfikar. 
 
 The right bank of the Heri-Rud, it should be remembered, 
 is an elevated plateau pierced by two principal passes, the 
 Garm-ab near Pul-i-Khatun, and the Zulfikar. At the latter 
 (named after Zu-al-fakar, the sword of Muhammud) there is 
 a ford, which gives a convenient means of crossing from Persia 
 to reach the Herat valley. This ford was much used also, 
 formerly, by the Turkoman raiders, in consequence of which 
 Kilich Khan, the wise minister of Yar Muhammud, built here 
 one of his towers to watch and check the incursions of the Tekke 
 and Salor marauders on this threshold of Herat territory. The 
 pass, when approached on the Afghan side, is four hundred 
 yards wide, with precipitous sides rising from four to five 
 hundred feet. It is from two to three miles long, and soon 
 narrows, being at one point not more than thirty yards broad, 
 where, the sides continuing precipitous, the place could be 
 easily held by a few braves against a large force. The ravine 
 with its two openings could easily be made practicable for 
 artillery, but it does not appear to be of very great military 
 importance. 
 
 The British Commission marched thither on the Qth of 
 November, and the first unofficial visit of the Commissioners 
 took place on the following day. Just two months had elapsed 
 since the signing of the protocol, and a formal meeting of the 
 Commissioners being held, on the morning of the nth, a good 
 deal of work was got through at once. On the I2th the 
 Commissioners rode out across the entrance to the Zulfikar 
 Pass, and, going north under the great scarp that overshadows 
 
APPENDIX. 625 
 
 the river from the east, they fixed upon a site for the first pillar 
 of the Russo- Afghan boundary on the right bank of the Heri- 
 Rud, at a point "about 8,500 feet distant from a small tower 
 situated on a mound at the entrance of the Zulfikar Pass." 
 
 Work having thus fairly begun, all the English officers were 
 invited by the Russian officers, on the evening of the I4th, to 
 dinner. A building under the pass, probably a soldiers' guard- 
 room originally, was metamorphosed into a dining saloon ; the 
 Cossacks joined outside in excellent part singing ; and it is 
 pleasant to learn that, notwithstanding the bad blood that had 
 been stirred in England during the diplomatic negotiations, both 
 Russians and English, on the scene of action, found themselves 
 on a friendly social footing. Two days later a return dinner 
 was given to the Russian Commission, whose welcome to the 
 English camp was expressed in bonfires along their pathway. 
 The pleasure of these meetings seems to have been genuine 
 on both sides, the crowning act of hospitality and good will 
 being first shown by the Cossacks, who seized an unfortunate 
 English officer who had proposed their health, and, placing him 
 on their outstretched arms, tossed him like a ball that is, in 
 " podkeedovate " fashion, as it is called in Siberia the correct 
 thing being to throw up the favoured guest till he touches the 
 ceiling. How the men of the Bengal Lancers succeeded in 
 imitating this custom of the Cossacks with one of the Russian 
 officers is not recorded ; but according to a Moscow newspaper 
 they attempted it. 
 
 The work of delimitation was now taken up in earnest, and the 
 first arrangement was that the Russian staff, being so strong in 
 topographers, should undertake the topography of the "zone" ; 
 and that the three English survey officers should complete the 
 triangulation of the district, and furnish the necessary basis for 
 topography, by fixing sufficient points. Subsequently, however, 
 the English surveyors had to take a part of the topography 
 as well as all the triangulation. The survey parties started 
 eastward on the i8th of November. Pillar No. 2 was placed 
 on the top of the neighbouring rock commanding pillar No. i. 
 " From pillar No. 2 the frontier turns to the north for a distance 
 of about half a mile as far as pillar No. 3, which is situated 
 on an eminence at the western extremity of a detached portion 
 of the cliff. From thence the frontier runs in a straight line 
 towards the top of a steep hill about a mile and a half distant 
 in an east-north-easterly direction, and reaches pillar No. 4, 
 placed on a low mound in the plain." And so the work con- 
 tinued, and that without discussion, up to pillar No. 14, near 
 
 40 
 
626 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Sumba Karez. Beyond Sumba Karez the boundary line was 
 so drawn by the Commissioners as to give to Ao-Ruhak and 
 I slim, belonging to Afghanistan and Russia respectively, each 
 their due share of grazing lands on both banks of the Egri- 
 Geok, so as to prevent the chance of quarrels, if possible, 
 by the too close contact of shepherds and flocks on either 
 side. 
 
 The protocol directed that the line from Islim should follow 
 "the crests of the hills which border the right bank of the 
 Egri-Geok," leaving Chaman-i-bed outside of Afghanistan, and 
 similarly following the right bank of the Kushk (into which the 
 Egri-Geok runs) as far as Hauz-i-Khan. 
 
 On reaching Chaman-i-bed, the boundary line had extended 
 eighty miles from Zulfikar, over uninhabited pastures. The 
 only culturable land at Zulfikar lies south of the pass in the 
 river valley, the greater portion of it being Persian. At 
 Chaman-i-bed was reached the second strip of cultivated land, 
 the valley of the Kushk being here, as at Zulfikar, entirely 
 uninhabited. It is, moreover, only of late years that the Kushk 
 valley has been tilled by the Panjdeh Turkomans ; yet on this 
 score the Russians claimed more than thirty miles of country 
 southwards, up to within fifteen miles of Kushk itself. This 
 claim (on the spot and at the time) was resisted, and the 
 boundary was drawn some thirty miles north of the point the 
 Russians wished to have. 
 
 The protocol directed, " From Hauz-i-Khan the frontier will 
 follow an almost straight line to a point on the Murghab to the 
 north of Maruchak." Accordingly the Commission left Hauz-i- 
 Khan on 1 5th December, and marched down the Kushk valley 
 to Kala-i-Maur, there being a good deal of water in the stream. 
 From Kala-i-Maur the English marched more than twenty miles 
 over a waterless waste of sandhills, rat-riddled and dangerous, 
 to the Kashan stream, whilst the Russian Commission took 
 a southerly road by the Robat-i-Kashan, and then, joining the 
 English, the two marched to Maruchak on the Murghab. 
 
 Higher on this river, and about thirty miles to the south-east, 
 is Bala Murghab, whilst twenty miles below Maruchak is 
 Panjdeh. Panjdeh, which means five villages, is not a village 
 at all, but a valley about twenty-five miles long and two wide, 
 with obas, or collections of Turkoman tents. The nearest 
 approach therein to a house is a low, flat-roofed mosque. The 
 inhabitants belong for the most part to the Saryk tribe of 
 Turkomans, whose fields and pastures were to be left outside 
 Afghanistan. The water supply, cultivation, and pasturage 
 
APPENDIX. 627 
 
 belonging to Panjdeh, however, were so mixed up with similar 
 rights and property situated in the upper portion of the 
 Kushk, Kashan, and Murghab streams, that to delimitate a 
 frontier across these valleys was a work of very great difficulty, 
 nor had the Commissioners been able to reconcile the conflicting 
 Afghan and Russian claims, when the season warned the 
 political staff into winter quarters, though the survey staff kept 
 the field during the entire winter. 
 
 Up till now the weather had been warm and lovely, but at 
 Maruchak winter came suddenly and without warning. On the 
 2Oth December the sun was bright and hot; on the 2 1st the 
 wind went round to the north, clouds came up, and snow fell 
 for three days, after which the weather was again lovely, but 
 the cold intense, the minimum on December 24th being 2 
 below zero. On the 2 5th the English invited the Russians 
 to their Christmas dinner, and on Boxing Day returned the 
 visit to a Russian lunch, soon after which the British started 
 for their winter camp at Char-Shambeh. From the 28th of 
 December, 1885, to the following /th of January, however, 
 they were detained by bad weather at Karawal Khana. 
 
 During their winter stay of four months, those officers who 
 chose to risk the cold had good sport within reach, two guns 
 bringing home on the first afternoon fifty pheasants, afterwards 
 seventy for the same two guns, and so on. Snipe and ducks 
 were also to be had, but not easily, because of the mud, 
 swamp, and canals to be traversed. Up till nth February 
 the weather continued very severe, the thermometer sometimes 
 registering 40 of frost. 
 
 Meanwhile the Ameer had been communicated with con- 
 cerning the claims of the Russians, and their desire to be 
 allowed to construct a dam, if necessary, across the Murghab 
 at a canal head, to which His Highness replied by a cordial 
 acceptance of the frontier as far as settled, and gave permission 
 for the construction of the dam, providing, however, that it 
 was not be used for a bridge nor for locating there a Russian 
 military post. This arrangement caused the frontier line to 
 be brought to the left bank of the Murghab almost due west, 
 instead of a point "to the north of" Maruchak, as in the 
 protocol ; but it was thought fair, if the Russians were to 
 have Panjdeh, that they should hold the head of the canal 
 on which its very existence depended. 
 
 The Afghan inhabitants of the country over which the boundary 
 line had been drawn thus far were few in number. The first 
 and second strips of cultivation have already been spoken of 
 
628 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 as uninhabited, and the same remark holds good of the third 
 cultivated area which the Commissioners reached thirty-seven 
 miles north-east of Chaman-i-bed, in the valley of the Kashan. 
 The Panjdeh Saryks merely cultivate the land, but do not reside 
 thereon. Even the valley below Maruchak, for some fourteen 
 miles to the north-east, is entirely uninhabited on the Afghan 
 side. The nearest habitation on the right bank is at 
 Karawal Khana, twelve miles south of Maruchak fort, whilst 
 on the left bank there is no habitation southwards up to 
 Bala Murghab. 
 
 On 1 2th March the Commissioners met again, and, two days 
 later, the building of demarcation pillars had recommenced. 
 The maps too were now complete up to the Oxus, towards 
 which the protocol said, "the frontier will follow east of the 
 Murghab a line north of the valley of the Kai'sor, and west 
 of the valley of the Ab-i-Andkhui, and leaving Andkhui to the 
 east will run to Khoja Saleh on the Oxus." That is to say, 
 the line of frontier was to take an easterly or north-easterly 
 bearing, and the principle guiding the direction was to be the 
 leaving to the districts of Kala Wali, Maimana and Andkhui, 
 a belt of pasturage of an average breadth of from fifteen 
 to twenty miles, whilst preserving to Russia certain wells with 
 their adjacent pasturages, which form a line of communication 
 over the Steppe to the Oxus ; practically, therefore, a division 
 of the pastures between the Russian line of wells and the Afghan 
 line of rivers. This arrangement would cut off much pasture 
 land from what had been considered Afghan territory. It was 
 land, however, over which for many years it has been impossible 
 for the Afghan Uzbegs to graze, except when the shepherds 
 went, as they occasionally did, in strong bands for mutual 
 protection ; and as much land remained as of late years had 
 been usefully and safely employed for pasturing the Uzbeg 
 Hocks. 
 
 In carrying out the foregoing principle, difficulties awaited the 
 Commissioners owing to the vague knowledge of the country 
 possessed by the officers on both sides. The positions of 
 pillars i to 19 were regarded as definitely settled, but the 
 line from near Islim to pillar 35 on the Murghab, though 
 indicated, was regarded as alterable. Pillar 36 was placed on 
 the right bank of the Murghab, about three miles north of 
 Maruchak fort, on a height commanding the river, whence the 
 frontier was continued for about sixty miles eastward, when 
 another difference of opinion arose. 
 
 The protocol provided, "The delimitation of the pastures 
 
APPENDIX. 029 
 
 belonging to the respective populations will be left to the 
 Commissioners. In the event of their not arriving at an un- 
 derstanding, this delimitation will be settled by the two Cabinets 
 on the basis of the maps drawn up and signed by the Com- 
 missioners." An appeal, therefore, was made in the present 
 instance to the home governments, whiclrat first caused a flutter 
 on the Exchange in St. Petersburg, but did not affect the 
 friendly relations previously existing between the members 
 of the Commissions, both of whom awaited in the valley of 
 the Murghab the decision of their respective governments. 
 
 On the I /th of April the difficulties had not been surmounted, 
 but the Commissioners met again ; and when, by the 1st of May, 
 the prospects of a settlement were improving, it was determined 
 that the joint Commission should move onward. Owing to 
 rainy weather the English Commissioner and political officers 
 did not leave Char-Shambeh until the /th of May, two days 
 after which they arrived near Maimana. Here again the weather 
 was very unsettled, and floods prevailed, with loss of life to the 
 natives, one entire village of thirty families being destroyed near 
 the British Commissioner's camp. 
 
 On the 1 3th of May the Commissioners arrived at Daulata- 
 bad, and on the I5th held a joint sitting, when the frontier was 
 definitely fixed from the Murghab to within forty miles of the 
 Oxus, on the meridian of the Dukchi wells, fifty miles north 
 of Andkhui, for which last-named place the British Commis- 
 sioners left Daulatabad on the i/th. 
 
 The Russians followed on the 1 8th, pitched their camp two 
 miles from the town, where, a few days later, was held a parade 
 of the British escort, in honour of the Queen's birthday. 
 
 From this place the joint Commission proceeded to the Oxus, 
 and encamped between the Bosagha district of Bokhara and the 
 Kham-i-ab district of Khoja Saleh. On the 1 2th of June, with 
 the thermometer at more than IOO in the shade, the Com- 
 mission commenced the survey of the left bank of the Amu- 
 daria, or Oxus, to Kilif, the Russians also surveying the right 
 and left banks to Chushk Guzar. By the 1 8th the frontier had 
 been traced and pillars erected to within thirty-five miles of the 
 river, and no new question had been left unsettled, so that on 
 the 2Oth of June, 1886, the Commission had practically finished 
 its labours, except as to agreeing about the district of Khoja 
 Saleh, a tract of thirty square miles of land, with 13,000 inhabit- 
 ants, and producing a re venue of 1,500 a year. On this two or 
 three pillars would need to be placed, but in the meanwhile so 
 important was the matter regarded that its settlement was left 
 
630 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 to the English and Russian Governments, and the members 
 of the Commission went their ways, the British to India, and 
 the Russians homeward. 
 
 It had been foreseen for several months that a difficulty 
 would probably arise as to the exact point where the boundary 
 should strike the Oxus. All the documents said " At Khoja 
 Saleh." But where was Khoja Saleh ? This name we know 
 chiefly from the record of Alexander Burnes, who, in 1832, 
 crossed the Oxus at such a place, thirty-three miles from 
 Kilif. He made the passage in a ferry-boat drawn by swim- 
 ming horses in fifteen minutes, and describes the river as half a 
 mile across, and from seven to twenty feet deep. But no place 
 on the river's bank, bearing such a name, is now to be found, 
 the river having eroded the southern banks very considerably. 
 There exists near the stream the shrine of a saint, called Ziarat- 
 i-Khwaja Salor, which gives its name to the tract of country 
 stretching about twenty-five miles along the river to Kham-i-ab, 
 and known to the Afghans as Khwaja Salor or Khoja Saleh. 
 The Russians, therefore, who had been made to abide by the 
 letter rather than the spirit of the documents at Panjdeh, now 
 desired the same for the English, and would have the frontier 
 drawn to the serai' on the river, near the shrine known as 
 Khoja Saleh. 
 
 On the other hand, the British Commission, after inquiry, came 
 to the conclusion that a spot in the small district of Islam, some 
 eight miles below the shrine, was the place intended by Burnes ; 
 but they desired that the boundary should be drawn between 
 Kham-i-ab and Bosagha that is, at the western limit of the 
 district called Khoja Saleh. 
 
 Reasons urged in favour of this were, that the district is peopled 
 entirely by Afghans and Afghan subjects, though some of the 
 fatter are Ersari Turkomans. They, however, are settled, and 
 pay taxes regularly to Afghanistan. The district is unques- 
 tioned locally as part of Afghanistan, and forms a sub-division of 
 the Akcha governorship, which, possessed by Shere Ali in 1873, 
 was recognized by Russia as Afghan. Moreover, the British 
 Commission discovered that, in 1873 or thereabouts, the local 
 officials of Afghanistan and Bokhara respectively, marked their 
 frontier between the border districts of Bosagha and Kham-i-ab, 
 with which latter place the " Khodsha Salor " on the Russian 
 staff map corresponds in latitude and longitude almost exactly. 
 To cut off this district, therefore, in favour of Bokhara the 
 British Commission felt would be to dispossess the Ameer of an 
 integral part of Afghanistan. 
 
APPENDIX. 631 
 
 And so the matter stood when Sir West Ridgeway went to 
 St. Petersburg to argue with Privy Councillor Zinovieff. By 
 1 2th April it had been agreed that the affair should be 
 settled by mutual concessions, and on 2/th July, 1887, Sir 
 West Ridgeway wrote to the Marquis of Salisbury, inclosing 
 " the original protocol containing the settlement of the north- 
 western frontier of Afghanistan," and explaining thus : 
 "According to the London protocol of the loth September, 
 1885, the valley of Panjdeh was ceded to Russia. It was at 
 that time supposed by the British and Russian Governments 
 that the Saryks were confined to that valley, while, in fact, 
 those people had extended their cultivation into the side valleys 
 of the Kushk and Kashan, where they had opened canals and 
 reclaimed a considerable amount of land. Their sheep, too, 
 exclusively enjoyed the pastures between the Kushk and 
 Murghab. 
 
 " When the joint Commissioners reached the districts in ques- 
 tion, and the true state of the case became known, the Russian 
 Commissioner claimed that the Saryks should be left in pos- 
 session of the lands. The letter of the London protocol was, 
 however, clearly opposed to this claim, and the Saryks were 
 accordingly ousted. . . . 
 
 " When the joint Commission reached the Oxus it was esta- 
 blished that, if literal effect were given to the agreement of 1873, 
 the district of Kham-i-ab, and perhaps nearly the whole Khoja 
 Saleh district, would be severed from Afghanistan, and that, 
 moreover, it would be necessary to divide between the inhabi- 
 tants of those districts and the Uzbeg inhabitants of Afghan 
 Turkistan the pastures and wells which are enjoyed in 
 common by both. Such a division would have been a difficult 
 matter, attended with considerable hardship to both parties. 
 
 " It was after consideration of these facts that Her Majesty's 
 Government authorized me to negotiate a settlement, according 
 to which the Ameer should restore to the Saryks most of the 
 lands of which they had been deprived between the Kushk and 
 Murghab, in exchange for the withdrawal of the Russian claims 
 to all the districts at present in the possession of the Afghans 
 on the Oxus, and to the wells and pastures necessary for the 
 prosperity of the Uzbegs of Afghan Turkistan." 
 
 Sir West added, " It will be seen that Russia has merely 
 claimed the lands and canals necessary for her Saryk subjects, 
 and that Kara Tapa, Chahil Dukhter, Torshekh, the only 
 possible sites for a cantonment within the lands once occupied 
 by the Saryks, have all been left within the Afghan frontier." 
 
632 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Subjoined was a statement of Afghan losses and gains by 
 this present settlement, thus :- 
 
 Restored by Conceded by 
 Afghans. Russians. 
 
 Number of sq. miles of cultivation 6^ . 26^ 
 
 waste . . 8i8* . . 7o;f 
 
 wells in waste I 19 
 
 Population Nil. . 13,000 
 
 Revenue Nil. . ,1,400 
 
 By this rectification of frontier, the point nearest to Herat is 
 eleven and a half miles nearer than by the first arrangement, but 
 no outposts were placed on the Russian frontier, the troops being 
 withdrawn from Panjdeh, and transferred to the Oxus in the 
 direction of Khoja Saleh. 
 
 The news of the practical settlement of the negotiations was 
 announced to the Marquis of Salisbury on the 22nd July, 
 at 5.38 p.m., and laid before the Queen, whereupon on the 
 next day Her Majesty's Government offered to the English 
 Ambassador, Sir Robert Morier, and to Sir West Ridgevvay 
 their hearty congratulations on the successful result of their 
 labours. 
 
 The result aforesaid, in its larger aspect, may of course be 
 regarded in various ways. Primarily, it is to be noticed, 
 Afghanistan now has a Northern boundary ; and though some 
 will tell us perhaps it is only an artificial one, and not a 
 practical, recognizable, geographical or ethnographical feature : 
 yet competent persons will allow that even a bad boundary 
 is better than none at all. Moreover, among secondary results, 
 there is first our improved relationship with the people of 
 Afghanistan, who, seven years ago, cherished bitter hatred 
 towards the English. Now they have suffered a detachment 
 of British troops to pass through their country, and, finally, 
 given the last of them an honourable reception in durbar at their 
 capital of Kabul. 
 
 Another result of a more definite character has been attained 
 in our vastly-increased information concerning Afghanistan, 
 its resources, and people. British survey and intelligence 
 officers have been all over the north of the country to the Oxus 
 at Kilif, and beyond, as well as through all Eastern Khorasan. 
 The Heri-Rud Valley has been explored northward and east- 
 ward ; and so have the roads over the Hindu Kush. Every 
 rass of the Paropamisus has been explored, the military topo- 
 graphy of Herat examined, its defences strengthened, and all 
 
 * Of which only 14 are culturable. 
 
APPENDIX. 033 
 
 the country mapped from the Paropamisus to Kandahar. 
 Information has been gained also concerning the Afghan 
 tribes, their history, numbers, revenue, taxes, fighting strength, 
 customs, manners, and occupations, besides which special 
 persons were told off for the study of the botany, natural 
 history, and geology of the country. Specimens likewise have 
 been collected and drawings and photographs taken. 
 
 As a set-off to this it must be recognized that Russia has 
 been allowed to advance in some places from fifty to one 
 hundred miles south of the Clarendon-Gortchakoff line, over 
 territory, it is true, where Afghan authority was somewhat 
 shadowy ; but she has secured Panjdeh and the Murghab up to 
 Maruchak, as well as the Kushk Valley, wherein is a road 
 from Meshed, though no possible site seemingly for a canton- 
 ment. Nevertheless, this brings her lands to within about sixty 
 miles of Herat, which she has it in her power to menace, by 
 reason of her contiguity to the more fertile territory of 
 Afghanistan. According to military opinion, an advance to be 
 made in force across the new frontier must be directed 
 in one of four lines: (i) from Sarakhs through Kungruali 
 and Gulran ; (2) from Merv and Panjdeh, by the Kushk 
 Valley direct ; (3) by the Murghab and Kalah Wali Valleys, 
 via Maimana ; (4) along the Oxus to Kerki or Kilif, and 
 thence on Andkhui or Mazar-i-sherif. The Chul, or wilder- 
 ness, is believed to be impassable at other parts, except 
 for mounted bodies of small strength. As for an invasion 
 of India through Afghanistan, it would seem that our 
 dominions are most easily assailable, either by Herat and 
 Candahar or through Mazar-i-sherif, Kunduz, or some 
 town in Badakshan, and then over the passes of the Hindu 
 Kush to Kabul. To oppose such an invasion it is said that 
 Kandahar and Kabul should each be occupied by a force from 
 India, and that, when the railway and telegraph connect India 
 with Kabul and Kandahar, and unite also, if possible, the 
 last-named places, we shall then be ready for an emergency. 
 
 Meanwhile Russia has extended her Trans-Caspian railway 
 with celerity beyond Askhabad, through Baba Durmaz, to 
 Dushak, 390 miles from the Caspian, but less than 250 miles 
 in a straight line from Herat. In this direction it does not 
 extend at present, but runs 260 miles north-east through 
 Merv to the Oxus at Charjui, whence it is to continue another 
 230 miles to Samarkand, a distance in all from the Caspian of 
 890 miles. Thus it will be seen that Russia has now connected 
 her bases of operation in Central Asia to an advantage she 
 
634 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 never enjoyed before. As to the continuation of the line 
 southwards, it should be noticed that the distance from Dushak 
 to the Afghan frontier is as far only as from London to 
 Doncaster, or 3 hours' journey by express ; and from the 
 frontier to the Bolan Pass, where a line might join the net- 
 work of Indian railways, is about 500 miles, or as far as from 
 London to Aberdeen. There would be this difference, however, 
 between making the Turkoman and Afghan lines, that in 
 Afghanistan there exist few, if any, natural difficulties to be 
 overcome, for population and water exist almost everywhere. 
 What revolutions, apart from military considerations, the 
 making such a line might bring about is not easy to foresee. 
 It would halve the distance to our Indian Empire, perhaps 
 change the mail route, and enable the ubiquitous British tourist 
 to pass in ten or twelve days from the banks of the Thames 
 to those of the Ganges. 
 
 DISCUSSION. 
 
 THUS far I have been detailing, for the most part, the words 
 of others both better informed and more competent to speak 
 than I. My endeavour has been to set before the reader the 
 salient points of the Diplomacy on the Russo-Afghan Frontier, as 
 gathered from the Blue Books on Central Asian Correspondence 
 since 1872, together with a sketch of the Delimitation of the 
 Frontier, as written by officers on the Commission, in the London 
 Times and the Pioneer of India. All, therefore, that I can claim 
 thus far is to have selected my material fairly, and as fully as 
 space would allow. It should be remembered, however, that 
 Blue Books only tell half the story, and deal only with the 
 political side of it. They do not show the Afghan views, nor 
 the delicate position the Indian Government was in throughout. 
 They give only the main British and Russian outline, and 
 naturally omit to point out that the Russians and English 
 approached the subject of demarcation from entirely different 
 points of view. The Russian Commission was a scientific one, 
 and based its arguments on geographical and ethnographical 
 principles, whereas the English made it a political question, and 
 put into the field a great company of political officers. 
 
 I could be content here to stop, only that after thus reading 
 on the subject and travelling in Turkmenia, I feel hardly justified 
 in withholding my opinion from any who care to know it. 
 But political writing is not at all my forte, and I shall not, 
 therefore, attempt to express myself otherwise than in a homely 
 and non-professional manner. 
 
 
APPENDIX. 635 
 
 To look at the matter, then, from three points of view : if I 
 were a Russian I can imagine myself addressing Mr. Bull thus : 
 
 You English are a meddlesome lot. You have a long purse, 
 and a fair daughter you call India, at whom if we poor Russians 
 do but look, you immediately ask, like a watchful papa, what are 
 our intentions. Of all peoples in the world you ought to be 
 the last to charge others with earth-hunger. South of us you 
 have added field to field and province to province, till you can 
 look over the border at us, and profess to feel greatly alarmed 
 that we should come near you from Turkistan. 
 
 To allay your apprehensions we intimated in the Gortchakoff 
 circular of 1 864 that our expansion in your direction had attained 
 its limits. And so we thought it had ; but in course of time cir- 
 cumstances unexpectedly altered. It became necessary to 
 chastise Khiva, without annexing, as we thought, more territory, 
 and we told you of our plans. But we had overestimated the 
 strength of our enemy, and descended upon his capital with 
 three expeditions, any one of which would have sufficed for the 
 siege. Germany had recently set the fashion of forcing the 
 conquered to furnish an indemnity, and we thought Khiva might 
 just as well pay our little bill. The Khan, however, had run 
 away, and, like an ostrich, hid his head in the sand ; and when 
 we reseated him on his throne, he sat so limp that it was mani- 
 fest we should never see the colour of his coins if we did not 
 shore him up with Russian bayonets. Hence our building a 
 fort, and annexing part of the right bank of the Oxus, which 
 after all did not alarm so very dreadfully the natives, for they 
 flocked over to live on our side in such numbers that some of 
 them had to be restrained ! 
 
 The feathers of England nevertheless were ruffled, and we 
 were ominously warned not to come near Afghanistan, and to 
 be very careful what we were about with Miss Merv ; to which 
 we replied that the former was out of the question, and towards 
 the latter we had " no intentions." 
 
 Next, Mr. Bull took upon himself to interfere in our private 
 affairs with Miss Persia, and was not too well pleased at our 
 asking him to mind his own business ; but when, contrary to 
 all expectation, overtures were made to us by the said Miss 
 Merv, the jealousy of England was still more perturbed, and 
 required the frontier to be delimitated at once. 
 
 Very well, said we ; and then England, now as much too fast 
 as before she had been too slow, wanted to rush into the field 
 at once. Rather than seem backward, we, in a weak moment, 
 consented, but pointed out that an understanding should be 
 
636 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 come to as to the principles whereon the delimitation should be 
 made. Nor did we leave England quite in the dark as to what 
 we wanted, for so early as July 1884, before preliminaries were 
 settled, Sir Edward Thornton wrote home that he anticipated 
 the possession of Panjdeh would be disputed, and that Russia's 
 goal would be the Paropamisus. England, however, was out 
 of patience just then, and in answer to our inquiry, whether 
 the boundary should be ethnographical, geographical, or topo- 
 graphical, replied that they were sending their Commissioner, 
 whose directions were to inquire what were the possessions of 
 the Ameer. Hence the rules of the game were not properly 
 determined, and we naturally asked what was the good of our 
 kicking the ball without knowing whether we were to play 
 "Rugby" or "Association." Hence, too, the obstinacy of our 
 captain in declining to enter the field. 
 
 Meanwhile we warned you, " it is urgent that the Afghan 
 authorities should be prevented from seeking to make encroach- 
 ments " ; that is to say, upon the territory or zone we intended 
 to dispute, and which we proposed should be defined as to its 
 limits. To this, however, you would not listen ; but, like a big 
 girl in a tiff, you telegraphed "the great disappointment of Her 
 Majesty's Government at the postponement of General Zelenoy's 
 departure." Well, of course our men on the field could not 
 lose what they expected would be their ground, and they took 
 up positions accordingly at Pul-i-Khatun and Pul-i-Khisti ; and 
 then, when they heard you were advancing, they naturally, in 
 self-defence, were obliged to advance to Zulfikar and the Kushk, 
 which latter you remember culminated in the Panjdeh fight. 
 This brought Mr. Bull to his senses, and he condescended, 
 first to name both a northern and southern line of discussion, and 
 then to negotiate a frontier which was to be laid down as nearly 
 to the protocol as local circumstances would allow. 
 
 This, Mr. Bull, was good, so far as diplomacy goes ; but if 
 you had thus come to terms at the outset, what a lot of trouble, 
 not to say bloodshed, might have been saved ! Further, what 
 endless difficulties might have been avoided, had you acquired 
 a little geographical knowledge before making protocols and 
 defining " zones." It is hardly too much to say that nearly 
 all our difficulties, delays, and disagreements have arisen from 
 making " agreements " without even an elementary knowledge 
 of the geography or ethnography of the localities dealt with. 
 
 As for the actual work of delimitation, the English officers 
 were remarkably fine fellows, one of whom wrote that, " in 
 dealing with us Russians they had to be very wide awake 
 
APPENDIX. 637 
 
 indeed." This distention of the eye-lids, however, was needed 
 not on one side only by reason of variations of English ideas, 
 according to time and place, in interpreting documents accord- 
 ing to the spirit or the letter. 
 
 The despatches had set forth all along that the frontier should 
 continue " from Khoja Saleh to Sarakhs " ; but, when it came 
 to the point, nothing, it seemed, would please you but to go from 
 Sarakhs to Khoja Saleh : a great mistake, as I fancy you found, 
 through our operations being thereby lengthened, it is said, 
 nearly a year ! Then, again, when the Commission came 
 to Panjdeh, where, according to the confession subsequently 
 made by your ow r n Commissioner, " Russia merely claimed 
 the lands and canals necessary for her Saryk subjects," the 
 letter of the protocol was held up to our face as " clearly 
 opposed to this claim, and the Saryks were accordingly ousted." 
 But when the Commission reached the Oxus, the " letter " had 
 vanished into " spirit," and now England desired a new and 
 liberal interpretation of " the post of the Khoja Saleh," which 
 should bring the frontier not only to the spot which the Com- 
 missioners believed was intended by Burnes, but to the edge 
 of the district named after Khoja Saleh. Hence we Russians 
 are of opinion that we have been fully matched by English 
 capability in looking after the interests of Number One. This, 
 too, on our side was all the more trying because, whilst by the 
 delimitation we had little to gain, England had next to nothing 
 of her own to lose, though it must be confessed that in acting 
 for Number Two the Afghans the difficulty of her game 
 was considerably increased. 
 
 Regarding the matter now from a second point of view, an 
 Englishman, having climbed the Himalayas, might look over 
 Turkistan, and take up his parable thus : 
 
 What in the world do you Russians mean by continually 
 pushing in this direction from your frozen home in the north ? 
 It looks suspicious, more especially as the character of your 
 ancestors, you know, was not conspicuous for neighbourly 
 honesty. When, for instance, your Cossacks crossed the Urals 
 and fought the Siberian hordes of the Irtish, Tobol, and Bara- 
 binski Tatars, though Ivan the Terrible did not send them, he 
 patted them on the back when they brought him the plunder, 
 and helped them to go and again do likewise. So, again, your 
 Great Peter, when he heard of gold in Yarkand, ordered the 
 Siberian authorities " to take a company of merchants . . . that 
 skilled persons were to accompany them to purchase, or even to 
 examine the gold, where it was found, and in what quantity, 
 
638 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 also the roads leading thereto, and finally, even though it should 
 be with difficulty, to seize that place." 
 
 Both these, surely, were instances of barefaced robbery in 
 1580 and 1720 respectively; and though to look back so far 
 might bring to light blotches on a good many of our escutcheons, 
 yet the mention of the latter date is useful to recall the origin of 
 your forts on the Irtish. 
 
 About a century later you set your faces aggressively to- 
 wards the south, and in less than thirty years pushed 600 miles 
 below Semipolatinsk to Vierny. Meanwhile, in the north-west, 
 after subduing your former masters, the Tatars of Kasan, and 
 receiving the submission of the Bashkirs, you found yourselves 
 in contact with the roaming Kirghese, whose steppe Czar Peter 
 recognized as " the key and gates to all the countries of Central 
 Asia." Into that steppe you advanced from Orenburg, not 
 always indeed without provocation, but receiving sometimes the 
 submission of the tribes, the supposed protection of whom at 
 length gave you a casus belli against the Khokandians. Their 
 forts you attacked simultaneously on the Syr-daria and at Aulie- 
 Ata, and so joined your forces from east and west, meeting at 
 Chimkent. This brings us to 1864, when Prince Gortchakoff 
 gave out that the long-desired frontier was attained, and that 
 Russian expansion in Central Asia had reached its limit. 
 
 Vain words ! Tashkend was speedily taken, and when, 
 hostilities having ceased for a few months, the Governor- 
 General of Orenburg arrived in Turkistan, smelling the fight 
 from afar, and having come down to see the battle, he deemed 
 it desirable to occupy the Bokhariot forts of Ura-Tiube and 
 Jizakh ; and this was followed in 1868 by your sending 
 Cossacks to quiet border feuds and coolly to select a site for 
 a Russian fortress near Samarkand. I mention this as a set-off 
 to the Russian allegation that you were attacked by the 
 Bokhariots ; but when you put your fist into a man's face and 
 shake it within two inches of his nose, would it not be mar- 
 vellous if he did not resist, and can you wonder that we in 
 England, seeing your continuance in fighting and annexing, 
 desired to come to an understanding as to a frontier between 
 us ? We then agreed upon a boundary from Sir-i-kul to Khoja 
 Saleh, to which, I am bound to say, in that direction you have 
 fairly kept. 
 
 You soon gave us fresh cause for apprehension, however, not 
 only by annexations from Khiva, but by unjustifiable encroach- 
 ments on the south-eastern shore of the Caspian. It may be that 
 your reconnoitring or other expeditions had been attacked by 
 
 
 
APPENDIX. 639 
 
 the Turkomans ; but what business had you there at all ? And 
 as for pillage suffered from ^them or their Kirghese cousins, why, 
 for every rouble they took of your merchants you must, ere this, 
 from them have taken ten ! Besides which, the remedy was 
 always open to you which the Emir of Bokhara is said to have 
 recommended to some of his merchants who complained to him 
 that, when they went to a neighbouring kingdom, they were 
 badly treated ; whereupon he replied, " Then don't go ! " 
 
 Against your annexation of Merv I have nothing to say, for 
 from the outset I regarded the submission of the Mervis as a 
 genuine affair ; but you can hardly be surprised that after this 
 the English wished a more definite arrangement as to the fron- 
 tiers of Persia and Afghanistan. 
 
 So far as the Persian part of the business is concerned, you 
 have shilly-shallied a good deal, and do not appear to have done 
 all that was desirable even yet; whilst as for the Afghan frontier, 
 though you accepted our suggestion quite readily, your action 
 at the outset was not all that could be desired. Having 
 acceded to the I3th October as a date for a meeting of the 
 Commissioners, you ought in honour to have stuck to the 
 agreement, though it were to your own hindrance. Nothing 
 was said before the starting of our Commissioner about a zone 
 of operations; and for you to intimate that, until some arrange- 
 ment were come to about the zone, your Commissioner " would 
 probably remain at Tiflis" was most dishonourable. It was 
 a naughty answer, too, you sent us on the 1st of April, that you 
 would have your own line of discussion as proposed by you or 
 none at all ! As for the Panjdeh fight, I know not whom to 
 blame, whether you or the local Afghans ; but certainly the 
 English and the Ameer did all in their power to keep the 
 Afghans straight, according to the agreement. With regard to 
 the Zulfikar Pass, if I taunt you with wriggling out of the letter 
 of the correspondence, you will answer perhaps that you did 
 your best to keep to the letter, and to keep us there too, at 
 Khoja Saleh. Then, again, is there truth, or is there not, in the 
 allegation that your proceedings were somewhat " grasping," and 
 that our concessions brought out only new demands, made, 
 seemingly, for the purpose of embarrassing us and causing a 
 breach between England and Afghanistan rather than for the 
 purpose sometimes even of gaining territory for yourselves ? 
 I have not the facts before me, on which this allegation is 
 founded, and so refrain from employing the odious epithet ; but 
 let us hope, now you have secured nearly all you asked for, 
 that we shall hear no more of annexation in Central Asia. 
 
640 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Turning lastly from both the Russian and English standpoint, 
 and looking at the matter as one who desires not the aggran- 
 disement of this or that empire, 'but the greatest happiness of 
 mankind in general, and the people of Turkistan in particular, 
 then one might say : 
 
 Here are two great nations squabbling over a piece of 
 territory that in itself is not worth the having, and which 
 England desires for Afghanistan, only the better to keep Russia 
 at a distance. So poor a sustenance does this region afford, 
 that for ages its inhabitants have been thieves and brigands by 
 profession, laying waste the Persian and Afghan borders, and 
 carrying into captivity the inhabitants of whole villages, with 
 their cattle. At this Mr. Bull looked on unconcernedly, and 
 quietly smoked his pipe. What did it concern him though 
 thousands and scores of thousands of Persia's wives and 
 children were carried off to the lusts and bondage of the 
 Turkomans, so long as " that horrid Russian " did not approach 
 his dear daughter India ? Hence, if Mr. Bull could have had his 
 way, things would have been in their old condition still ; and 
 unless perchance there linger one or two of the bondsmen 
 whom Sir Richard Shakespear liberated from Khiva with English 
 gold half a century ago, not a single Persian slave would have us 
 to thank for the sweets of liberty and protection. Some of my 
 friends will think me a little severe upon you, Mr. Bull. But 
 you know at heart I love you, and am never prouder of my 
 Taurine descent than when among those Ursine Russians. Yet 
 I cannot forget what Russia has done for Central Asia. 
 Tens of thousands of slaves were liberated when her soldiers 
 entered Khiva ; and Turkoman raids are now a thing of 
 the past. Where Russian rule is established in Turkistan 
 a lady can safely travel alone on the post roads, which is 
 more than can be said of certain parts under some govern- 
 ments even in Europe; whilst as for the Turkoman steppe, 
 across which neither Russian, Khivan, nor Bokhariot could 
 ensure me protection five years ago, it is now spanned by a 
 railway and telegraph, which bring to the place some at least 
 of the blessings of civilization. 
 
 Let England, then, be thankful that she has been delivered 
 from a position wherein it is just possible she might have been 
 compared to a dog in the manger, that would bring no good to 
 the Turkoman herself, nor permit others to do so. Russia has 
 gained little enough by the annexation of Merv, in comparison 
 with the expenditure thereby entailed, unless we are to believe 
 that ever-present fear in some minds that Russia is bent on 
 
APPENDIX. 641 
 
 invading India, and that is a question upon which I offer no 
 opinion. It is no scare to me, and I usually find that those who 
 have travelled in Russia most, and know her best, suspect her 
 least. Why, then, cannot England and Russia in Asia be 
 friends ? 
 
 But enough of this style of writing, to which I have given 
 rein on the last page or two, in order to afford some idea of the 
 impression left on my mind after reading the question through. 
 It is an easy style, such as the irresponsible journalist may 
 adopt without much trouble, and perhaps with popularity, but 
 which I regard as on a low stratum when compared with the 
 language of the historian or the diplomatist. Two things have 
 struck me in my late mild course of Blue-book reading: first, the 
 immense advantage, to those who like to form their own opinions, 
 of being able to read, not the garbled accounts and one-sided 
 comments of this or that political organ ; but the very words in 
 full, of those who conduct our international affairs ; and I have 
 noticed and admired the care and thought, and never-failing 
 courtesy with which, on both sides, these negotiations have been 
 conducted. It has greatly increased, too, my respect for our 
 statesmen and diplomatists, for I think England has reason to 
 be proud of having in her midst men who bring such patriotism 
 and culture to the service of their country. 
 
 I could wish, nevertheless, now that the matter is settled, that 
 their pens may find occupation in another direction; for beneath 
 the late negotiations is seen unmistakably here and there the 
 tendency to war ; and war does not make for the highest form 
 of national prosperity. There are loftier types of greatness to 
 be attained by following after the things that make for peace, 
 and the loyal recognition, all round, of a simple precept of seven 
 words, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," would have 
 obviated the necessity for the whole paraphernalia of the Afghan 
 Boundary Commission. 
 
INDEX OF TEXTS ILLUSTRATED OR REFERRED TO. 
 
 GENESIS. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PAGE CHAP. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 xln. 9 . . 
 
 353 
 
 XXVII. 2 
 
 . 218 
 
 xii. ii 
 
 
 2 7 
 
 . 581 
 
 xxviii. 37 . . 
 
 ' 364 
 
 xiii. 7 . . 
 xiv. 14 . . 
 xv. 3, 4 . 
 
 55 1 
 . 160 
 . 142 
 
 xliii. 3234 
 EXODUS, 
 xiii. 9 . . 
 
 . 150 
 . 200 
 
 65, 66 . 
 xxix. 23 
 xxxi. 3 ... 
 
 364 
 .581 
 . 276 
 
 xvi. 3 . , 
 
 . 400 
 
 xv. 27 . . 
 
 574 
 
 JOSHUA. 
 
 
 xvii. 12 . . 
 
 . 160 
 
 xviii. 12 . 
 
 t 
 
 . 167 
 
 ii- 5' 6, 15 
 
 509 
 
 xviii. 16 . 
 
 45 
 
 xxii. 17 . 
 
 T 43 
 
 iii. 15 . . 
 
 438 
 
 xix. i 
 
 379 
 
 xxvii. 20 . 
 
 223 
 
 iv. 20 . . 
 
 
 2 . . 
 
 . 214 
 
 xxxii. 6 . . 
 
 . 167 
 
 vii. 26 
 
 . 147 
 
 19' 3 - 
 xxi. 14, 15 . 
 
 581 
 
 LEVITICUS. 
 
 
 viii. 29 . . 
 ix. 12, 13 . 
 
 584 
 
 21 . . 
 
 , 400 
 
 xiii. 46 . 
 
 . 209 
 
 X. 21 . . 
 
 . 200 
 
 xxii. 17 . . 
 xxiii. 2 . . 
 
 379 
 33 1 
 
 xvii. 13 . . 
 xix. 27 . . 
 
 . 570 
 . 176 
 
 JUDGES. 
 
 
 10 . . 
 
 xxiv. 
 
 379 
 . 142 
 
 xxi. 5 . . 
 xxiii. 36 . . 
 
 . 176 
 . 236 
 
 V. 10 . 
 
 II . . 
 
 : 582 
 
 16 . . 
 
 
 3944- 
 
 237 
 
 vi. 2 . . . 
 
 . 503 
 
 65 . . 
 
 . 1^1 
 
 xxv. 42, 44 . 
 
 . 160 
 
 5 
 
 . 503 
 
 67 . 
 xxv. i 6 
 
 . 140 
 
 NUMBERS. 
 
 
 xvi. 21 
 
 26 . . 
 
 . 507 
 . 464 
 
 5,6 . 
 16 . . 
 25, 26 . 
 
 . 142 
 
 504 
 . 161 
 
 X. 2 . . 
 
 xi. 5 . . 
 xiii. 28 . . 
 xv. 38 . . 
 
 . 209 
 . 581 
 509 
 
 . 200 
 
 29 . . 
 
 xvii. 4 ... 
 xix. 20 
 
 . 464 
 . 476 
 . 402 
 
 27 . . 
 
 33 l 
 
 xxi. 4 . . 
 
 . 581 
 
 RUTH. 
 
 
 xxvi. 20 > . 
 xxvii. 15 . . 
 
 331 
 
 xxiii. 9 . . 
 xxxi. 10 . 
 
 364 
 
 ii. 4 . . . 
 i SAMUEL. 
 
 545 
 
 xxxi. 33 . . 
 34 . 
 
 . 140 
 
 . s8i 
 
 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 viii. ii 16 . 
 
 . 542 
 
 \l . . 
 
 . 147 
 
 i. 19 . . 
 
 tgj 
 
 ix. 7 . . . 
 
 . 416 
 
 xxxiii. 17 . . 
 xxxiv. . . 
 
 20 . . 
 
 i / 
 
 . 142 
 . 379 
 
 28 . . 
 iii. 5 . . 
 
 IV. 2 . . 
 
 509 
 509 
 . 366 
 
 xii. 17 . . 
 xvii. 34, 35 . 
 
 54 
 
 53 
 434 
 323 
 
 xxxv. 16, 18 . 
 
 f 
 
 . 161 
 
 19 . . 
 
 . 569 
 
 xx. 5 . . . 
 
 . 322 
 
 21 . 
 
 
 viii. 7 
 
 
 xxi. i ... 
 
 39 1 
 
 '27 . . 
 
 33 i 
 
 xi. 10, ii . 
 
 5 11 
 
 xxiii. i ... 
 
 503 
 
 xxxvii. 14 
 
 33 1 
 
 25 . . 
 
 . 200 
 
 14 . . 
 
 * 53 
 
 xxxviii. 1 8 . . 
 
 . 318 
 
 xii. 18 . . 
 
 . 167 
 
 2 SAMUEL. 
 
 
 28, 29 . 
 
 . 161 
 
 xvii. 35 . 
 
 569 
 
 vi. 16 . . 
 
 485 
 
 xxxix. 20 . 
 
 . 421 
 
 xxv. 4 . . 
 
 . 296 
 
 xi. 8, 9 . . 
 
 . 380 
 
 xii. 43 . . 
 
 342 
 
 5 
 
 . 143 
 
 XV. I . . . 
 
 342 
 
INDEX OF TEXTS. 
 
 643 
 
 MUEL con. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 JEREMIAH. 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 .v. 15 . . 
 
 54 2 
 
 CHAP. PAGE 
 
 xv. 2, 3 . . . 379 
 
 viii. 14 16 . 
 
 237 
 
 v. 13 . . . 507 
 
 
 16 . . 
 
 2 95 
 
 X. 2 . . .332 
 
 xix. 8 . . . -379 
 
 ESTHER. 
 
 
 xiii. 29 ... 418 
 
 xxii. 13 . . .5 3 
 i KINGS. 
 
 iii. 2 . . 
 v. 9 . . 
 
 379 
 
 379 
 
 xiv. 8 . . .417 
 xvi. 4 . 336, 418 
 xvii. 6 ... 574 
 
 i. 5 . . . .342 
 iv. 26 . . .342 
 
 vi. ii . . 
 viii. i . . 
 
 3i5 
 
 ' 34 3 
 
 xxii. 1315 . 345 
 xxix. 7 ... 201 
 
 v. 13 ... 542 
 
 8, 10 . 
 
 . 318 
 
 xxxii. 2 . . .421 
 
 ix. 7 . . . . 364 
 xiii. 31 - - - 457 
 
 15 
 x. 3 . . 
 
 ' 3 J 5 
 
 . 462 
 
 xxxvi. 30 ... 420 
 xxxvii. 21 .. . 385 
 
 xix. 6 .... 500 
 
 JOB. 
 
 
 xxxviii. 6 ... 421 
 
 2 KINGS. 
 
 i. 75 . . 
 
 503 
 
 xl. 4 . . .421 
 
 iv. 13 ... 321 
 
 xvii. 3 . . 
 
 . 166 
 
 xlix. 29 ... 596 
 
 v. 17 ... 405 
 
 xxiv. ii . . 
 
 505 
 
 Iii. 25 ... 322 
 
 23 . . . 315 
 
 16 . . 
 
 507 
 
 3i - 399 
 
 vii. i .... 379 
 
 xxix. 7. 
 
 379 
 
 
 3 . . . .293 
 
 7,8. 
 
 . 183 
 
 LAMENTATIONS. 
 
 xiii. 21 ... 458 
 
 xxxi. 26, 27 . 
 
 569 
 
 iv. 4 . . . 416 
 
 xvii. 6 .... 240 
 
 32 .. 
 
 . 214 
 
 
 xviii. ii ... 240 
 
 xli. 5 
 
 598 
 
 EZEKIEL. 
 
 xxiii. 1 6 ... 458 
 
 PSALMS. 
 
 
 iv. 12 15 . 568 
 
 xxv. 19. ... 322 
 i CHRONICLES. 
 
 ii. 22 ... 503 
 xv. 29 ... 485 
 xvi. 3 . . . .399 
 
 xlv. 16 . . 
 lix. 6 . . 
 cxiv. 3 
 cxxii. 4 . . 
 cxxix. 8 . . 
 
 - 325 
 350 
 573 
 355 
 
 545 
 
 viii. 8 ... 507 
 16 . . . 569 
 xxxiii. 25 ... 570 
 xlv. 10, ii . . 475 
 14 . ' . . 475 
 
 xviii. 15 ... 342 
 
 PROVERBS. 
 
 
 DANIEL. 
 
 2 CHRONICLES. 
 
 xxiii. 35 . . 
 
 394 
 
 i. 4 ... 322 
 
 xi. 21 ... 400 
 23 . . . 325 
 
 xv. 5, 6 . . . 596 
 xviii. 26 ... 493 
 xxvi. 10 ... 334 
 xxxiv. 18 . . . 318 
 
 xxiv. 7 ... 379 
 xxvii. 22 ... 598 
 SONG OF SOLOMON. 
 
 i- 4 345 
 
 8 ... 583 
 iii. 3 - 352 
 
 5 430 
 12 ... 415 
 20 ... 240 
 
 ii. 35 297 
 
 49 - - 379 
 vi. 17 ... 318 
 viii. 14 ... 365 
 
 EZRA. 
 
 
 
 j v / 
 
 
 
 v. 7 . . 
 
 352 
 
 HOSEA. 
 
 i. 4 . . . . 430 
 iv. 18, 23 . . 318 
 
 ISAIAH. 
 
 
 vii. 8 ... 335 
 
 vi. 4 . . . . 430 
 
 i. 2 3 . . 
 
 527 
 
 x. ii . . . 296 
 
 vii. 14 ... 322 
 24 ... 472 
 viii. 22, 31 . . 430 
 
 iii. 4 
 xxiv. 3 . . 
 xxviii. 28 . 
 
 3 2 5 
 . 581 
 
 598 
 
 AMOS, 
 v. 12 . . . 379 
 
 NEHEMIAH. 
 i. II ... 342 
 
 xxx. 24 . . 
 xl. 4 . . 
 xli. 15 . . 
 
 . 581 
 . 409 
 . 296 
 
 MICAH. 
 iii. 12 ... 515 
 
 ii. 7, 9 . . . 430 
 
 xliv. 27 . . 
 
 - 574 
 
 NAHUM. 
 
 10 ... 368 
 
 xlvi. 6 
 
 . 476 
 
 i. 4 ... 573 
 
 13 ... 377 
 
 xlvii. 2 
 
 57 
 
 
 iv. 3 377 
 
 Ii. 23 . . 
 
 484 
 
 HABAKKUK. 
 
 21 ... 540 
 
 liv. ii, 12 . 
 
 377 
 
 i. 8 ... 336 
 
644 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 MATTHEW. 
 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PAGE CHAP. PAGE. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 v. 38 . . 
 
 . 458 xi. 48 ... 
 
 423 
 
 iii. 4 
 
 . 449 
 
 vi. 29 . . 
 
 . 418 
 
 xii. 6 ... 
 
 418 
 
 v. 25 . . 
 
 - 527 
 
 vii. 3 . . 
 
 149 
 
 xiii. 29 ... 
 
 418 
 
 36 . . 
 
 . 600 
 
 ix. 42 . . 
 
 506 
 
 xviii. 31 ... 
 
 527 
 
 41 . . 
 
 430 
 
 xii. 19 
 
 143 
 
 xix. 31 ... 
 
 418 
 
 .47 - 
 
 343 
 
 xvi. 15 . . 
 
 . 488 
 
 41 . . . 
 
 458 
 
 vi. IQ 
 
 . CQ7 
 
 
 
 
 A<;8 
 
 y 
 30 . . 
 
 o w / 
 
 335 
 
 LUKE. 
 
 
 
 nO u 
 
 viii. 28 . . 
 
 458 
 
 ii. 8 
 
 . 583 
 
 ACTS. 
 
 
 ix. 23 . . 
 
 458 
 
 iii. 13 . . 
 
 . 422 
 
 v. 18 , . . 
 
 42 
 
 x. 9 
 
 . 184 
 
 iv. 29 . . 
 
 - 398 
 
 viii. 2 ... 
 
 4 20 
 
 xiv. 12 . . 
 
 . 418 
 
 xi. 6 . . 
 
 . 416 
 
 xii. 7 ... 
 
 4 2l 
 
 20 . . 
 
 . 416 
 
 21 . . 
 
 504 
 
 20 . . . 
 
 595 
 
 xviii. 6 
 
 . 506 
 
 38 . 
 
 . 149 
 
 xv. 3 ... 
 
 405 
 
 xxii. 13 . . 
 
 . 502 
 
 48 .. 
 
 . 511 
 
 xvi. 24 . . . 
 
 420 
 
 xxiii. 5 . . 
 
 . 200 
 
 xvi. 6, 10. 
 
 475 
 
 xviii. 15 . 
 
 527 
 
 xxiv. 41 . . 
 
 507 
 
 21 . . 
 
 . 416 
 
 xxi. 5 . . . 
 
 405 
 
 xxv. 3 
 
 . 502 
 
 xix. 8 . . 
 
 . 422 
 
 xxii. 3 . . . 
 
 375 
 
 xxvi. 34 . . 
 
 539 
 
 20 . . 
 
 , 418 
 
 xxvi. 2, 3 . 
 
 527 
 
 xxvii. 58 . . 
 
 . 420 
 
 27 . . 
 
 . 230 
 
 xxviii. 20 
 
 421 
 
 66 .. 
 
 . 318 
 
 XX. 28 . . 
 
 143 
 
 
 
 xxviii. 19 
 
 . 488 
 
 xxii. 12 . . 
 
 . 335 
 
 JAMES. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i. ii . . . 
 
 335 
 
 MARK. 
 
 
 JOHN. 
 
 
 
 
 i. 2 . . 
 
 409 
 
 v. 2 . . 
 
 354 
 
 REVELATION. 
 
 
 6 . . 
 
 1 60 
 
 xi. 38, 39 . 
 
 458 
 
 xxi. 19 . 
 
 377 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ABDUL Aziz KHAN, Mosque of, 356 
 Abdullah Khan, Tomb of, 388 
 Ablutions in the desert, 577 
 
 of Bokhariots, 386 
 Abramoff, Gen., Dining with, 189 
 Accident to Author, 514 
 
 Rosy, 550 
 
 Sevier, Mr., 406 
 
 Tatar yemstchik, 164 
 Acquaintances at Omsk, 38 
 
 Tiumen, 25 
 
 Acrobats at Kitab, 303 
 
 in Kuldja, 104 
 
 Adai Kirghese at Kunia Urgenj, 527 
 
 Adventure on railway at Perm, 16 
 
 Afghanistan, 608 
 
 Boundary Commission appointed, 623 
 
 at Andkhui, 629 
 
 Bosagha, 629 
 
 Daulatabad, 629 
 
 Hauz-i-Khan, 626 
 
 Maimana, 629 
 
 Maruchak, 626 
 
 Sumba Karez, 626 
 
 Christmas with, 627 
 Delimitation, 624 
 
 Difficulties, 627 
 
 First meeting, 623 
 
 Frontier arranged, 625 
 
 rectification, 632 
 
 Negotiations, 609 
 
 settled, 632 
 
 Officers appointed, 624 
 
 on the Oxus, 629 
 
 Results of, 632 
 
 Social festivities, 625 
 
 Survey parties, 625 
 
 Weather endured, 627 
 Withdrawal of, 630 
 
 Work begun, 625 
 War preparations, 621 
 
 Afghanistan, Disputes concerning, 615 
 
 Gortchakoff, Prince, on, 612 
 
 Granville, Earl, on, 612 
 
 Losses and gains, 632 
 
 Neutrality of, 612 
 
 Russian encroachments in, 633 
 Agalmatholite ornaments, 158 
 Agriculture of Bokhariots, 406 
 
 Constantinovsk, 161 
 
 Kirghese, 132 
 
 Kuldja nomads, 73 
 
 Aivazovsky, M., Oil-painting by, 
 
 604 
 
 Ak-bugut, Bed of the Oxus at, 559 
 Ak-Kend, Post-station at, 75 
 Ak-Serai palace at Shahr, 317 
 Ak-tepe, Robbers near, 512 
 
 Turkoman's shop at, 512 
 Akhal oasis, Troops in, 587 
 Akmolinsk, Books for, 42 
 
 Cossacks in, 43 
 
 Introduction to Govenor of, 36 
 
 Punishment for personal offences, 
 
 15.6 
 
 Visit to Governor of, 41 
 
 Ala-Kul, Desiccated lake-bed near, 
 64 
 
 district, Fauna of, 60 
 
 Mammalia of, 6 1 
 
 lake, Fish in, 61 
 
 Ornithology of, 60 
 
 Ala-Tau mountains, 118 
 
 Alabaster grotto at Krasnovodsk, 
 
 595 
 
 Alexandrof mountains, 162 
 Aliken's hotel at Vierny, 119 
 Altyn-Immel pass, 71 
 
 Villages near, 69 
 
 Aman-Kutane caravansary, 297 
 Amu river, Aground in the, 440 
 " Camel's Hump" on, 440 
 
6 4 6 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Amu river, Flora of banks of, 440 
 Journey to Kabakli, 432 
 
 Legend of Kyz-kala fort, 435 
 
 Linseed farming on, 439 
 
 Native boats on, 426 
 
 information on, 438 
 
 Pitniak curve on, 440 
 
 Precaution against robbers, 436 
 
 Restiveness of horses, 432 
 
 Ruined towns on, 436 
 
 Ruins on banks, 435 
 
 Singing boatmen on, 439 
 - Temperature on, 440 
 
 Tugais on, 436 
 
 Vegetation on banks, 440 
 
 Wolf scare on, 437 
 
 Amulets of the Turkomans, 596 
 Amusements at Karshi, 329 
 
 Shavat, 502 
 
 Andkhui, Afghan boundary at, 629 
 Animal life in a sea-bed, 573 
 
 the desert, 560 
 Animals of Bokhara, 392 
 Antiquities at Samarkand, 247 
 
 in Tashkend museum, 181 
 Apples of Khiva, 471 
 Aralo-Caspian Route, 446 
 Arasan sulphur baths, 69 
 Arbas for luggage at Khiva, 500 
 Arbitration concerning Panjdeh, 622 
 Archbishop of Tobolsk, Visit to, 32 
 Arendarenko, M., Kindness of, 246 
 Argamak horses at Khiva, 465 
 Arganatinsk, 64 
 
 Aris river, Journey along the, 168 
 
 Aristocratic mariner, 600 
 
 Armenian trading at Krasnovodsk, 599 
 
 Armourers' street in Bokhara, 385 
 
 Arms of Charjui soldiers, 422 
 
 Army of Bokhara, 308 
 
 Arrest of Author atChusovaia, 1 8 
 
 Art among the Kalmuks, 104 
 
 of Jewish illumination, 370 
 Artillery of the Khivans, 491 
 Artists, Chinese, 114 
 
 Asia (Central), Bible-work in, 451 
 
 Book scarcity in, 232 
 
 Coins of, 602 
 Colleges of, 234 
 
 Colporteur work in, 489 
 
 Fortresses of, 503 
 
 Fuel of, 567 
 
 Funerals in, 458 
 
 Home life in, 523 
 
 Jewellery of, 475 
 
 Jews of, 175, 201 
 
 Marriage in, 523 
 
 Pilgrim showmen in, 518 
 Prisons of, 278 
 
 Asia (Central), Routes to, 9 
 
 Seclusion of women in, 525 
 
 Sports of natives, 502 
 
 Trade of, 475 
 
 Walls in, 377 
 
 Weights and Measures, 474 
 
 Zenana work needed in, 525 
 
 Asiatic commerce, 384 
 
 Scriptures, 1 80 
 
 - Tashkend, 171, 182 
 Asiatics (Central), Character of, 486 
 
 Fanaticism of, 486 
 
 Ignorance of, 376 
 
 Religious condition of, 485 
 Askhabad, Official kindness to colpor- 
 teurs at, 490 
 
 Asylum at Semipolatinsk, 54 
 
 for aged at Tashkend, 178 
 
 orphans at Samarkand, 243 
 
 Attendants, Dismissal of, 542 
 
 in desert, Troubles with, 570 
 Aulie-Ata, Barber's shop at, 166 
 
 Bazaar at, 164 
 Cemetery at, 166 
 
 Dearness of timber at, 165 
 
 Departure from, 167 
 
 Kirghese manufactures at, 165 
 Lodgings at, 509 
 
 Market at, 164 
 
 prices, 165 
 
 Mennonites in, 1 68 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 
 Tomb of, 1 66 
 Walls of, 377 
 
 Author pitched off camel, 558 
 
 visited by Germans at Tashkend, 178 
 Author's desert ride in the night, 550 
 
 entry into Bokhara, 342 
 
 fall near Kunia Urgenj, 514 
 
 fear of retribution at Bokhara, 388 
 
 guard of honour at Kitab, 308 
 
 itinerary, 606 
 
 journal in danger, 571 
 
 journey, Antecedents of, 3-5 
 
 Cost of, 4 
 
 Danger of, 7 
 Summary of, 603 
 
 leadership of caravan, 570 
 
 letter to Emir for Jews, 372 
 
 plans concerning Jews, 360 
 
 presents from Bek of Charjui, 424 
 
 Emir of Bokhara, 314 
 
 Kush-beggi of Bokhara, 384 
 
 to Emir, 313, 402 
 
 religious aims, 6 
 
 surveillance in Bokhara, 380 
 
 BAHA-UD-DIN, Ride to, 387 
 Baku, Eternal fires of, 600 
 
INDEX. 
 
 647 
 
 Baku to Tiflis in a horse-box, 601 
 Balakhane, Oil wells at, 601 
 Balkhash lake, 64 
 Balloting for Kirghese judges, 155 
 Barat Bek, Death of, 343 
 Barber's shop at Aulie-Ata, 166 
 Barkhans at Patar, 197 
 Barracks at Khokand, 205 
 
 - Tashkend, 188 
 
 Bartsch Bros, among Kirghese, 489 
 Batchas at Bokhara, 349 
 
 Charjui, 423 
 
 - Karshi, 329 
 
 Khiva, 494 
 
 - Kitab, 303 
 Shahr, 320 
 
 Batchman of Kunia Urgenj, 500 
 Bath at Karshi. 326 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 Bathing-pools at Bokhara, 386 
 Batoum, Scenery at, 603 
 Bayern, Herr, of Tiflis, 602 
 Bazaar at Aulie-Ata, 164 
 
 - Bokhara, 385 
 
 Charjui, 421 
 
 Kakir, 335 
 
 Karaul, 336 
 
 Karshi, 326 
 
 Khiva, 474 
 Khokand, 202 
 
 Kunia Urgenj, 527 
 
 Samarkand, 244 
 Suidun, 114 
 
 -Tashkend, 184, 475 
 "Bearding the lion," 390 
 Beasts of prey in Kuldja, HO 
 " Beauty " sleep in the desert, 556 
 Bed of Kitchkine-daria, 559 
 
 Oxus at Ak-bugut, 559 
 Bedroom of Author at Khiva, 461 
 Begendj alri Kir, Camping at, 575 
 Begging by the wayside, 293 
 
 Beklar Bek medresse at Tashkend, 183 
 Betik, Welcome lodging at, 412 
 Betrothal among the Sarts, 523 
 Beverages of the Kirghese, 147 
 Bibi-Khanum medresse, 228 
 
 Miraculous lectern in, 229 
 
 Tombs in, 229 
 
 Tomb of, 229 
 Bible, Comfort of, 454 
 
 distribution, 24, 25, 446, 487, 602 
 
 Muhammadan attitude towards, 488 
 
 presentation to Emir of Bokhara, 320 
 
 searching in the desert, 577 
 
 Society at Ekaterineburg, 452 
 
 - Irkutsk, 453 
 
 - Tashkend, 179 
 Tiflis, 602 
 
 Bible Society, Author assisted by, 4 
 - Work of, 452, 453, 489 
 
 work in Central Asia, 45 1 
 
 Siberia, 451 
 
 Biblical customs among Kirghese, 128 
 Bibliography of Turkistan, 189 
 Bill of fare at Charjui, 415 
 Boatmen, Compulsory service of, 429 
 Boats at Krasnovodsk, 599 
 Bokhara after dark, 387 
 
 Agriculture of, 406 
 
 Animals of, 392 
 
 Approach to, 337 
 
 Armourers' street in, 385 
 
 " Astonishing the natives " of, 350 
 
 Author's entry into, 342 
 
 fear of retribution, 388 
 
 lettei to Emir for Jews, 372 
 offer of assistance to Jews, 365 
 
 presents to Emir, 402 
 
 Bathing-pools of, 386 
 - Bazaar of, 384 
 
 Book scarcity in, 386 
 
 British envoy sent to, 339 
 
 Burnes' visit to, 338 
 
 Capital punishment in, 397 
 
 Caravansaries in, 385 
 
 Cistern at Haifa Khu-daidat, 358 
 
 Clock and towers at, 378 
 
 Colporteurs in, 489 
 
 Commerce of, 384 
 
 Conolly imprisoned at, 340 
 killed at, 340 
 
 Conquest by Russia, 638 
 
 Conversation at court, 399, 423 
 with Kush-beggi, 381 
 
 Crops of, 406 
 
 Curiosities of, 379 
 purchased in, 385 
 
 Custodians in, 391 
 Dancing-boys at, 349 
 
 Departure from, 405 
 
 Deserted streets at night, 352 
 Desire to mount a minaret, 347 
 
 Divan-beggi medresse, 386 
 
 Education in, 374 
 
 Emir of, Audience with, 311 
 Character of, 310 
 
 Children of, 423 
 Conversation with, 311 
 
 Drive in carriage of, 315 
 
 Hospitality of, 402 
 
 Hostility to England, 340 
 
 Manner of life of, 399 
 
 - Palace of, 378 
 
 Presents for, 313 
 
 returned by, 320 
 
 to Author, 314 
 
 Scriptures accepted by, 32 
 
6 4 8 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Bokhara, Emir's wives, 400, 524 
 
 Espionage of Author .at, 353, 380 
 
 Farm-houses in, 406 
 
 Fate of a fallen favourite, 343 
 
 Feasting at, 399 
 
 Female seclusion in, 525 
 
 Fruit-trees of, 345 
 
 - Furs at, 386 
 
 Gallop round walls of, 358 
 
 Garden produce of, 392 
 
 Gardens of, 345, 406 
 
 Gates of, 358 
 
 Graveyards of, 457 
 
 Guest and prisoner at, 39 * 
 
 Guest-houses in, 343 
 
 - Hebrew MSS. in, 369 
 
 Hindu disabilities in, 358 
 
 Sarai at, 358 
 
 Horse-dealing in, 384 
 
 Jewish legacies in, 366 
 
 manuscripts at, 366 
 torahs at, 366 
 
 Jews of, 202, 360 
 Interview with, 364 
 
 synagogue at, 365 
 
 Jumma mosque at, 353 
 
 Kamensky's agent at, 348 
 
 Kokol-tash medresse in, 349 
 
 - Kush-beggi, Visit to, 378 
 
 Land value at, 406 
 
 - Lecturing the Kush-beggi, 382 
 
 - Lepers' quarter at, 388 
 
 Life in Emir's harem, 524 
 
 Lunatics in, 394 
 
 Medresses of, 386 
 Visits to, 349 
 
 Military encampment at, 351 
 
 Milk and cream at, 392 
 
 Minerals of, 392 
 
 Miri-arab medresse in, 349 
 
 Moslems frustrated by Author, 368 
 
 Mosque of Abdul Aziz Khan, 356 
 Hazret Imlah, 357 
 
 Mosques of, 386 
 
 Music at, 349 
 
 Namazi-gah mosque, 376 
 
 Nasr-Ullah, late Emir of, 338 
 
 Natives and their diseases, 393 
 
 Official letters of Author. 381 
 
 Opinions (Native) of Emir's govern- 
 
 ment, 423 
 
 Orchards of, 406 
 
 - Perils of Dr. Wolff in, 341 
 
 Persian Jews in, 364 
 
 Pink salt at, 392 
 
 Presents to Author, 384 
 
 Kush-beggi. 384 
 
 Prison dungeons at. 398 
 
 Prisons of, 397 
 
 Bokhara, Public pool at, 395 
 
 Punishment for theft, 397 
 
 Rebellious attitude of Author, 387 
 
 Religious buildings in, 356 
 
 Reticence of Kush-beggi, 381 
 
 Ride outside walls, 376 
 
 Righistan of, 378, 386 
 
 Rishta disease in, 394 
 
 Robbery in, 387 
 
 Russian agents in, 348 
 
 attempt to release Stoddart, 340 
 missions to, 339 
 
 warehouse at, 348 
 
 Sacred singing in, 349 
 
 Scarcity of monumental inscriptions, 
 
 358 
 
 Schools in, 374 
 
 Sevier's attention to the sick, 404 
 
 Shoemakers' street in, 385 
 
 Sick Jews visited by Author, 368 
 
 Singing and dancing at, 349 
 
 Slavery in, 421 
 
 Slumbers disturbed at, 350 
 - Stalls in, 386 
 
 Stoddart, Col., at, 339 
 
 compelled to embrace Islamism, 
 
 339 
 
 imprisoned at, 339 
 
 killed at, 340 
 
 Streets and lanes of, 386 
 
 Subjects' letters read by Emir, 404 
 
 Suburbs of, 406 
 
 Sumptuous lodging at, 343 
 
 Suspicious hospitality at, 346 
 
 Taxes in khanate of, 422 
 
 the Noble, 374 
 
 Trade of, 384 
 
 - Tunisian Jews in, 364 
 
 " Twickenham Ferry " in, 350 
 
 Vocal entertainment by Author, 350 
 
 - Walls of, 377 
 
 White asses at, 405 
 
 Wolff's journey to, 341 
 Bokhariot ambassadors, Welcome from, 
 
 298 
 
 army, 308 
 
 boats, 426 
 
 bodyguard at Kitab, 307 
 
 conceit, 310 
 
 courtiers, Presents to, 314 
 
 cowardice, 348 
 
 cunning, 381 
 
 curiosities. 422 
 
 diseases cured by Issirik grass, 331 
 
 dislike of ruler, 423 
 
 etiquette, 301 
 
 at Kitab, 307 
 
 exiles, 433 
 
 manuscripts, 370 
 
INDEX. 
 
 649 
 
 Bokhariot officers, Reception of, 307 
 
 opinions of Russian rule, 423 
 
 shepherds, 434 
 
 statistics, Untrustworthiness of, 322 
 
 troops, Cowardice of, 309 
 Book scarcity in Bokhara, 386 
 
 Central Asia, 232 
 Books at Pavlodar, Sale of, 46 
 
 bought by Muhammadans, 48 
 
 for Akmolinsk, 42 
 
 distribution, 24, 25 
 
 Languages of, 25 
 
 Number of, 24 
 
 exiles in Tobolsk, 27 
 
 Omsk, 42 
 Russian exiles, 6 
 
 Semipolatinsk, 59 
 
 hospitals, 59 
 
 Sergiopol, 58 
 Tiumen, 27 
 
 presented to Jews at Karshi, 329 
 
 Sale of, 34 
 
 on steamboat, 30 
 
 - Thankfulness of exiles for, 25 
 Borokhudzir, Fruit at, 74 
 
 Nursery at, 73 
 
 Ruined towns near, 74 
 Bosagha, Afghan boundary at, 629 
 Botanical garden at Pishpek, 161 
 
 specimens inTashkend museum, 181 
 Brass-work at Khokand, 203 
 Bravery of Dr. Wolff, 341 
 
 Bread at Charjui, 415 
 
 baking in the desert, 568 
 Breakdown at Kara-Su, 118 
 
 near Moldabavsk, 163 
 
 Sam-Su, 158 
 
 Breakfast on a camel's back, 571 
 Breweries in Turkistan, 245 
 Bridge at Disk, 117 
 British Museum, Presents for, 121 
 Brody, Jewish refugees at, 363 
 Buddhist idols at Tashkend, 181 
 
 temple in Kuldja, 97 
 Bugs, Study of, 1 80 
 Burnaby, Capt, at Khiva, 467 
 Burnes, Alex., at Bokhara, 338 
 Butcher's shrine at Samarkand, 235 
 
 " CALLED BACK," Siberian prisons criti- 
 cised in, 256 
 Camel accident in the desert, 549 
 
 amulets in Turkmenia, 596 
 
 Breakfasting on the back of a, 571 
 
 caravan at Sari-bulak, 69 
 
 cart of Kirghese, 55 
 
 ci-adles at Kunia Urgenj. 531 
 
 loading at Kunia Urgenj, 533 
 Camel's Hump on the Amu, 440 
 
 Camels, "Demoralization" of, 579 
 
 - Hire of, 533 
 
 Camp of Russians near Samarkand, 294 
 
 Tamerlane, 294 
 
 Camping at Begendjalri Kir, 575 
 
 in a sea-bed, 574 
 the desert, 554 
 
 Capital punishment in Bokhara, 397 
 Capture of gazelle at Uzun Kuyu, 569 
 Caravan on a watercourse, 553 
 
 travelling in a sea-bed, 574 
 Caravansaries in Bokhara, 385 
 Caravansary of the Karshi steppe, 336 
 Carlyle on Work, 3 
 
 Carpets of the Turkomans, 597 
 Carriage of Emir, Author's drive in, 315 
 Carts of natives at Khiva, 500 
 Caspian, Colporteurs from the, 453 
 
 Passage across the, 600 
 
 Russian advance from, 614, 638 
 
 sighted from the desert, 578 
 Cathedral at Moscow, 13 
 Cattle breeding of Kirghese, 132 
 
 market at Vierny, 123 
 
 sheds in the desert, 561 
 Caverns at Kaplan Kir, 573 
 Cemetery at Aulie-Ata, 166 
 
 Khanki, 457 
 
 - Suili, 583 
 
 - Tobolsk, 32 
 
 near Kunia Urgenj, 513 
 Ceremonies of Jahria Brotherhood, 482 
 Chaman-i-bed, Afghan boundary, 626 
 Character of Kirghese, 129 
 Charitonoff, Col., Hospitality of, 586 
 Charjui, Arms of soldiers, 422 
 
 Batchas at, 423 
 
 Bazaar at, 421 
 
 Bek's presents to Author, 424 
 
 Bill of fare at, 415 
 
 Bread at, 415 
 
 Curiosities of, 122 
 
 Fortress of, 414 
 
 Gallows at, 418 
 
 Lodging near, 414 
 
 News concerning tarantass, 424 
 
 Night guard at, 422 
 
 officials, Meeting of, 414 
 
 Parting with attendants at, 425 
 
 Pilau at, 415 
 
 Population of, 414 
 
 Prison at, 420 
 
 Reception of Author at, 416 
 
 Slave-trade at, 421 
 
 Start for the Oxus, 424 
 
 - Trumpets and drums at, 418 
 
 Visit to Bek of, 416 
 Char-Shambeh, Afghan boundary, 627 
 Chastisement in the desert, 562 
 
650 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Chateau at Iliali, 510 
 Cheleken, Naphtha springs at, 595 
 Chickens at Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 Childbirth among Kirghese, 161 
 Children of the Emir of Bokhara, 423 
 
 Kirghese, 161 
 Chimkent, Houses in, 168 
 
 Population of, 1 68 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 
 uyezd, 1 68 
 
 China basin. Tragical end of a, 558 
 China, Jewish migration to, 201 
 
 Jews in, Traditions of, 241 
 
 Opium-smoking illegal in, 113 
 Chinchakhodzi, Dungans at, 77 
 
 Station at, 77 
 
 Chinese anxiety for Scriptures, 100 
 
 bazaar, Visit to a, 101 
 
 Christians in Kuldja, 95 
 
 coins, 1 02 
 
 commissariat officer at Kuldja, Visit 
 
 t0 '?? . 
 
 curiosities in Vierny, 12 1 
 
 Gospels in Kuldja, Sale of, 100 
 
 Governor at Suidun, Visit to, HO 
 
 in the Hi valley, no 
 
 Massacre of, 79 
 
 p'ai fang at Suidun, 80 
 
 paintings, 114 
 
 police-master, Visit to, 98 
 Chirakchi, Poor lodging at, 324 
 
 Presents from Bek of, 325 
 to Bek of, 324 
 
 - Visit to Bek of, 324 
 Choristers of Jewish synagogue, 239 
 Christian work for women in Central 
 
 Asia, 525 
 
 Christianity, Muhammadan attitude to- 
 wards, 488 
 
 Christmas festivities, 627 
 Chuchai, House-building at, 198 
 Chulak hills, Route over, 117 
 Church music on steamboat, 35 
 Chusovaia, Arrest of Author at, 18 
 Cistern at Hazret Haifa, 358 
 
 Kakir, 334 
 
 Citadel palace at Samarkand, 230 
 Civilization, An oasis of, 444 
 Cliffs at Kaplan Kir, 572 
 Climate of Khojend, 215 
 Climbing a camel's hump, 559 
 Clock and towers at Bokhara, 378 
 Coal at Bokhara, 378 
 
 mines in Hi valley, 76 
 Coinage in Khiva, 475 
 
 Coins at Kunia Urgenj, 520, 532 
 
 of Central Asia, 602 
 
 Chinese, 102 
 Colleges of Central Asia, 234 
 
 i Colleges of Samarkand, 234 
 Colonization of the Hi valley, 78 
 Colporteurs among the Kirghese, 489 
 
 at Askhabad, 490 
 
 from the Caspian, 453 
 
 in Bokhara, 489 
 
 Khiva, 489 
 
 Comet visible at Khoja-Moburak, 332 
 Commerce of Bokhara, 384 
 Conceit of Bokhariots, 310 
 Concert among the Kirghese, 151 
 Conolly, Capt., imprisoned at Bokhara, 
 340 
 
 killed at Bokhara, 340 
 Constantinople, Muhammadan worship 
 
 at, 483 
 Conversation with Bek of Shahr, 317 
 
 courtiers at Bokhara, 399 
 
 Khan of Khiva, 467, 473, 487, 
 
 495> 590 
 
 Kush-beggi of Bokhara, 381 
 Cooking utensils, Purchase of, 532 
 Coppersmiths' Row in Khiva, 476 
 Corn mill at Manak, 506 
 Coronation-stone at Samarkand, 230 
 Cossack population of Akmolinsk, 43 
 
 Semipolatinsk, 43 
 Cossacks at Pul-i-Khatun, 619 
 Court of Justice at Kunia Urgenj, 526 
 
 visitors at Kitab, 305 
 
 Courtine of Catherine II. in Petersburg, 
 264 
 
 Cells for military officers, 266 
 
 Garden exercise in, 266 
 
 Library for prisoners, 265 
 
 Prisoners' rooms, 265 
 Trial chamber, 265 
 
 Visitors' room, 264 
 
 Cowardice of Bokhariots, 309, 348 
 Cradle accident in the desert, 558 
 Crazy bridges at Kara-Kul, 408 
 Crevasses of Kaplan Kir, 574 
 Crime at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 526 
 Crops of Bokhara, 406 
 Curiosities at Tashkend, 184 
 
 for British Museum, 121, 532 
 
 from Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 
 in Tashkend Museum, 181 
 
 of Bokhara, 379 
 Charjui, 422 
 
 purchased in Bokhara, 385 
 Curiosity-hunting among the Sibos, 85 
 Custody, Release of Author from, 21 
 Customs of the Kirghese, 165 
 
 DAILY BREAD at Charjui, 416 
 Dancing boys at Bokhara, 349 
 
 Kitab, 303 
 
 dressed as girls, 349 
 
INDEX 
 
 651 
 
 Dancing dervishes at Constantinople, 484 
 
 Samarkand, 482 
 Darkness in the desert, 563 
 Daulatabad, Afghan boundary, 629 
 Debtors and creditors in heaven, 439 
 Dekche, Arrival at, 560 
 Demerdjan well, 581 
 Dervishes at Khiva, 484 
 Desert, Ablutions in the, 577 
 
 Animal life in, 560 
 
 " Beauty " sleep in. 556 
 
 Bible-searching in, 577 
 
 Bread-baking in, 568 
 
 Breakfast in, 552 
 
 Camel accident in, 549 
 loading in, 557 
 
 Camping in, 554 
 
 Caspian sighted from, 578 
 
 Cattle-sheds in, 561 
 
 Character of guides, 563 
 
 Correction of Murad for stealing, 562 
 
 Cradle accident in, 558 
 Dangers of, 446 
 
 Darkness in, 563 
 
 Dessert in. 150 
 
 Discipline in, 556 
 
 Doctoring in, 550 
 
 Fatigue of travelling in, 577 
 
 " Forty winks " in, 580 
 
 Game-birds of, 576 
 
 *' Good-luck " in, 569 
 
 Hurrying drivers in, 553 
 
 " In bed " in, 570 
 
 Inconveniences of travelling in, 577 
 
 Jackdaws in, 576 
 
 Krasnovodsk sighted from, 584 
 
 Lack of comforts in, 577 
 
 locked, 444 
 
 Low spirits in, 576 
 
 Marmots in, 57 
 
 Order of march in, 556 
 
 Pastime in, 577 
 
 Perils of, 410 
 
 Preparation for crossing, 531 
 
 Rate of travel, 586 
 
 - Reeds and rushes in, 563 
 
 Robbers in, 560 
 
 Ruins in, 554 
 
 Saxaul fires in, 567 
 
 Sheep and goats of, 553 
 Sleeping in. 412 
 
 cages in, 548 
 
 - Slow progress in, 561 
 
 Subterranean sheds in, 561 
 
 Temperature in, 576 
 
 - Troubles with attendants, 57 
 
 "Turning policeman" in, 562 
 
 Venison in the, 554 
 
 Weariness of mind in, 577 
 
 Desert, Wild hens in, 576 
 Dessert in the desert, 150 
 Diet of prisoners at Omsk, 279 
 Difficulties of desert journey, 411 
 Dinner among the Kirghese, 148 
 
 in a Turkoman tent, 545 
 
 " Diotrephes," Misbehaviour of, 514 
 
 return to civilization, 586 
 
 Scamper on, 333 
 Disabilities of Jews in Russia, 361 
 Discipline in the desert, 55^ 
 Diseases of Bokhariots, 393 
 
 cured by Issirik grass, 331 
 
 Khivans, 494 
 
 Dishonesty of attendants, 496, 533, 543, 
 
 544 
 
 Distribution of books, 95, 99, 123, 188, 
 286, 446, 487 
 
 - Scriptures, etc., 5, 17, 24-28, 34, 
 
 42, 44, "4, 172, 173, 1 80, 
 
 187, 2IO, 248, 282, 451 
 
 Divan-beggi medresse at Bokhara, 386 
 Divinity and medicine conjoined, 16 
 Divorce among the Kirghese, 141 
 Djan-Bulak, L nruly horse at, 195 
 Djiguitts engaged by Author, 292 
 Djus Agach. Miserable station at, 62 
 Doctoring a cradle, 559 
 
 - Turkoman, 545 
 
 in the desert, 550 
 Dog-fightn:g at Shavat, 502 
 Dolgorouki, Prince, Sympathy with 
 
 Jews, 361 
 Domestic comforts in desert, Lack of, 577 
 
 expenses in Tashkend, 1 86 
 Dress of Taranchis, 8l 
 Dresses of Kirghese, 131 
 Drink traffic in Turkistan, 245 
 
 Drive of Author in Emir's carnage. 315 
 
 Driving in danger, 408 
 
 Droshky drive in Vierny, 119 
 
 Drugs, Purchase of, 16 
 
 Drums and trumpets at Charjui, 418 
 
 Drunkenness of Turkistan troops, 244 
 
 Dungans at Chinchakhodzi, 77 
 
 Jarkend. 74 
 
 defeated by Taranchis, 79 
 
 Mosque of, in Kuldja, 97, 109 
 
 Rebellion of, 79 
 - Vehicles of, 114 
 
 Dungeons at Bokhara, 398 
 Dust-storms in Ferghana province, 198 
 Dwellings in Kuldja, 107 
 
 " EARLY to bed and early to rise," 556 
 Eatables at Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 Education at Samarkand, 243 
 
 in Bokhara, 374 
 Egen-Klych, Dam of, 554 
 
6 5 2 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Eggs at Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 
 in Khiva, 532 
 
 " Ehbi " wind in the Steppe, 66 
 Ekaterineburg, Arrival at, 24 
 
 Bible Society's agent at, 452 
 Election among the Kirghese, 154 
 
 Kirghese ruffianism at an, 156 
 Emigration from Kuldja, 1 08 
 Emir of Bokhara, see Bokhara. 
 Enamelled bricks at Samarkand, 235 
 Encampment at Jedurun, 559 
 
 of Bokhariot troops, 351 
 
 English attempts at growing Khivan 
 melons, 470 
 
 ingratitude, 601 
 
 jealousy of Russia, 640 
 
 perseverance, 293 
 Enterprise, Author's, Danger of, 7 
 
 Victims of the spirit of, 582 
 Entertainment at Kitab, 303 
 Shahr, 320 
 
 Escort from Kunia Urgenj, 538 
 Etchmiadzin, Walls of, 377 
 Eternal fires of Baku, 600 
 Ethnographical specimens in Tashkend 
 
 museum, 181 
 
 Ethnology of Turkmenia, 393 
 Etiquette at Kitab, 307 
 Evening audiences aboard ship, 2 
 Exaggeration of newspapers. 22 
 " Example better than precept," 330 
 Execution stone at Samarkand, 230 
 Executions in Bokhara, 397 
 Exhibition at Moscow, 13 
 
 Tract distribution in, 452 
 
 Exiles from Bokhara, 433 
 
 in Tobolsk, Books for, 25 
 
 Russian, Books for, 6 
 
 FALCONRY at Manak, 507 
 Fanaticism of Kirghese, 152 
 
 Muhammadans, 485 
 
 Fancy goods of Tashkend, 18 
 Farm-houses at Bokhara, 406 
 
 near Khiva, 459 
 
 S ha vat, 502 
 
 Farming on the Amu, 439 
 
 Fatigue of desert travelling, 577 
 
 Fauna of Ala-Kul district, 60 
 
 Favours, Official, n 
 
 Fazul, Author's native servant, 292 
 
 Feast of Tabernacles at Samarkand, 237 
 
 Feasting among the Kirghese, 149 
 
 at Bokhara, 399 
 
 in a cemetery, 167 
 Feeding-time on the Oxus, 428 
 Feline obtruders in tent, 295 
 
 Felt manufacture at Krasnovodsk, 597 
 Female missionaries, Need of, 525 
 
 Female seclusion in Khiva, 524 
 Ferghana, Dust-storms in, 198 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 Ferry-boat on the Oxus, 414 
 Festivals of the Sarts, 458 
 Field for female missionaries, 525 
 Fifty-shilling tea ! 115 
 Fighting ram at Khiva, 465 
 Finland, Bible- work in, 454 
 Finsch, Dr.. on fauna of Ala-Kul. 60 
 Fire-worshippers at Surakhane, 601 
 Fish at Krasnovodsk, 595 
 
 in Ala-Kul lake, 61 
 Flora of Amu banks, 440 
 Flour mills at Manak, 506 
 Food at Khanki. 459 
 
 of the Kalmu'ks, 86 
 Kirghese, 148 
 
 Turkomans, 597 
 Fording the Zarafshan river, 219 
 Forest plantations, 297 
 Forests of saxaul, 567 
 Fortress at Manak, 507 
 
 Krasnovodsk, 598 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 448 
 
 of Charjui, 415 
 
 Hazarasp, 498 
 
 Iliali, 510 
 
 Prison in Petersburg, 259 
 
 Admission difficult, 259 
 Courtine of Catherine II., 261 
 
 Eye-witnesses' testimony, 269 
 
 Misrepresentations concerning, 260 
 
 Newspaper criticisms on Author's 
 
 visit, 260 
 Nineteenth Century on, 274 
 
 Statements of ex-prisoners, 269 
 Troubetzkoy bastion, 260 
 
 Visits to prisoners, 263 
 
 " Forty winks " in the desert, 580 
 Fruit at Borokhudzir, 74 
 
 Vierny, 123 
 
 of Khiva, 470 
 
 Kuldja, 90 
 
 trees at Manak, 507 
 
 of Bokhara, 345 
 
 Fuel of Asia (Central), 567 
 
 the Kirghese, 157 
 Fur trade at Khokand, 203 
 Furniture at Kakir, 335 
 Furs at Bokhara, 385 
 
 GALLOP round walls of Bokhara, 358 
 Gallows at Charjui, 418 
 
 - Khiva, 493 
 
 Game birds of the desert, 576 
 Games of the Kirghese. 218 
 Garden of Kush-beggi at Bokhara, 345 
 
 produce of Bokhara, 392 
 
INDEX. 
 
 653 
 
 Gardening at Bokhara, 346 
 
 in prisons, 284 
 Gardens of Bokhara, 345, 406 
 
 - Iliali, 510 
 
 Khiva, 459 
 
 Petersburg prisons, 263, 266 
 Gates of Bokhara, 358 
 
 Tamerlane, 217 
 
 - Tashkend, 170 
 
 Gazelle captured at Uzun Kuyu, 569 
 
 Gazelles at Porsu, 579 
 
 Geluns among the Kalmuks, 86 
 
 Generosity of M. Ignatoff, 25, 29, 30 
 
 German visitors at Tashkend, 1 78 
 
 Germans in Tashkend, 177 
 
 Gharm-sol in Ferghana, 198 
 
 Ghern, M., at Vierny, 121 
 
 Gilyaks, Men and bear fights among, 434 
 
 Ginsburg, Dr., on Hebrew MSS., 369 
 
 Glaisher, Mr., Instruments lent by, 7 
 
 Gluttony of the JCirghese, 148 
 
 Gods of the Sibos, 84 
 
 Goitre at Khokand, 212 
 
 " Good luck " in the desert, 569 
 
 Gortchakoff, Prince, on Afghanistan, 612 
 
 - Turkoman brigandage, 613 
 Gorge in the Oxus bed, 560 
 Grand Duke Michael's reception of 
 
 Author, 10 
 
 Granville, Earl, on Afghanistan, 612 
 Grapes of Khiva, 471 
 Grave of Gen. von Kaufmann, 177 
 Graveyards of Bokhara, 457 
 Grotenhielm, Gen. von, Hospitality of,447 
 
 kindness to colporteurs, 490 
 Guest and prisoner at Bokhara, 391 
 
 house at Karshi, 326 
 
 .Guides in the desert, Character of. 563 
 Guinea-worm in Bokhara, 394 
 Gur-Emir mausoleum, 221 
 
 History of the. 224 
 
 Relics of the, 225 
 
 Tombs in the, 222 
 
 HABITATIONS of Kirghese, 130 
 
 Taranchis, 82 
 
 Harem of Emir, Life in the, 524 
 Harkavy, Dr. A., on Hebrew MSS., 370 
 Hauz-i-Khan, Afghan boundary at, 626 
 Havli at Manak, Interior of, 508 
 
 Walls of, 507 
 Havlis near Shavat, 503 
 Hazarasp gate at Khiva, 498 
 
 Governorship of, 498 
 
 Hermit's cave at, 498 
 
 Town of, 498 
 
 Hazret Haifa Khu-daidat, Cistern at, 358 
 Imlah, Mosque of, 357 
 Head-dresses of Kirghese, 477 
 
 Heaven, Debtors and creditors in, 439 
 Hebrew MSS. at Bokhara, 369 
 
 Ginsburg, Dr., on, 369 
 Harkavy, Dr., on, 370 
 
 Wonderful specimen of, 370 
 
 patriarchs, Kirghese resemblance to, 
 
 127 
 
 pronunciation at Samarkand, 242 
 Help of Bible and Tract Societies, 4 
 Hemiptera seen at Tashkend, 181 
 Herds of the Kirghese, 136 
 Hermit's cave at Hazarasp, 498 
 Hindu disabilities in Bokhara, 358 
 
 Sarai at Bokhara, 358 
 History of Hi valley, 78 
 
 Khojend. 214 
 Hodjas among Kirghese, 153 
 
 Holy Communion in a Roman Catholic 
 
 chapel. 94 
 Home comforts at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 
 
 443 
 
 entertainment at Khiva, 494 
 
 life in Central Asia, 523 
 Horse-box, Travelling in a, 601 
 
 dealing in Bokhara, 384 
 Horses at Khiva, Cost of, 465 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, Cost of, 465 
 
 Sale of, 450, 451 
 Hospital at Khokand, 205 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 
 Tashkend, 177 
 Hospitality at Kainar, 299 
 
 Khojend, 196 
 
 Krasnovodsk, 586 
 
 Manak, 508 
 
 Russian consulate at Kuldja, 88 
 
 of Grotenhielm, Gen. von, 447 
 
 the Sibos, 85 
 Hospitals at Samarkand, 242 
 
 of Semipolatinsk, Books for, 59 
 Hotel at Vierny, 122 
 
 " Nicolaeff" at Tashkend, 170 
 House-building at Chuchai, 198 
 
 of Khokand merchant. 2H 
 
 rent in Tashkend, 186 
 Household commodities in Tashkend, 186 
 Houses at Iliali, 510 
 
 in Chimkent, 168 
 Kuldja, 107 
 
 of Kunia Urgenj, 533 
 Hiibsch, Baron, Kindness of, 601 
 
 IDOLS of the Sibos, 84 
 
 Iginchas among the Kirghese, 132 
 
 Ignatoff, M., Generosity of, 25, 29, 30 
 
 Ignorance of Asiatics, 376 
 
 Ildjik on the Oxus, 431 
 
 Dismissal of Oxus escort, 432 
 Hi province, Population of, 78 
 
654 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Hi river, Crossing at Kuldja, 90 
 with Cossack escort, 91 
 
 valley, Chinese in, 1 10 
 
 Colonization of, 78 
 
 History of, 78 
 
 Kalmuks of, 85 
 
 Military colonists of, 83 
 Minerals of, 76 
 
 Mining in, 76 
 
 Rebellion in, 79 
 Sibos of, 83 
 
 Solons of, 83 
 
 Taranchis inhabiting. 8 1 
 
 Variety of races in, 81 
 Iliali, Arrival at, 510 
 
 Chateau at, 510 
 
 Fortress of, 5.10 
 
 Houses at, 510 
 
 Market days at, 510 
 
 Population of, 510 
 
 Shops of, 510 
 Ilisk, Bridge at, 117 
 Imprisonment of Conolly at Bokhara, 340 
 
 Stoddart at Bokhara, 339 
 Indian tea at Khiva, 458 
 Industries of Khiva, 476 
 
 Kuldja, 103 
 
 Inheritance among the Kirghese, 142 
 Insanity at Bokhara, 458 
 
 Treatment of, 394 
 Instruments, Meteorological, lent by Mr. 
 
 Glaisher, 7 
 Interpreter at Kunia Urgenj, 528 
 
 Selecting an, 14 
 
 Yakoob, 293 
 
 Introduction to Governor of Irkutsk, 16 
 Introductions at Tiumen, 28 
 
 Vierny, 122 
 
 Scientific, 12 
 
 Invalid telegraphist at Konur-Ulen, 72 
 Irkutsk, Bible Society's Depot, 453 
 
 Introduction to Governor of, 1 6 
 Irtish river, Russian advance to, 637 
 
 - Voyage up, 34 
 
 Ishrat Khana palace at Samai'kand, 230 
 Islamism among the Kirghese, 152 
 Issirik grass, Diseases cured by, 331 
 Ivanoff, Gen., Governor of Samarkand, 
 
 221 
 
 Information concerning, 248 
 
 JACKDAWS in the desert, 576 
 Jahria Brotherhood, Ceremonies of, 482 
 Jakatut, Inexperienced postillions at. 407 
 Jarkend, Dungans at, 75 
 
 Solons at, 74 
 Taranchis at, 7 "5 
 
 Jasper wainscoting at Tamerlane's tomb, 
 377 
 
 Jedurun. Camping at, 559 
 Jewellery at Khokand, 203 
 
 in Central Asia, 475 
 
 of the Turkomans, 596 
 
 Jewish manuscripts at Bokhara, 365 
 
 migration to China, 201 
 
 persecution at Odessa. 363 
 
 quarter of Samarkand, 236 
 
 refugees at Brody. 363 
 
 Jews at Karshi, Books presented to, 329 
 
 in Asia (Central), Information con- 
 
 cerning, 175, 20 1 
 
 Bokhara, 202, 360 
 
 Astonishment at Author's visit, 
 
 366 
 
 Author's inquiry for Hebrew 
 
 MSS., 369 
 
 letter to Emir on behalf of, 
 
 372 
 
 offer of assistance to, 365 
 
 plans concerning, 360 
 
 Condition of, 364 
 
 from Persia, 364 
 
 - Tunis, 364 
 
 Interview with, 364 
 
 Prophecy fulfilled, 364 
 Torahs of, 366 
 
 - Visit to sick, 368 
 
 China, Tradition of, 241 
 
 Khiva, 472 
 Moscow, 361 
 
 Alleged persecution of, 361 
 
 Russia, Disabilities of, 361 
 
 Liquor traffic among, 363 
 
 Money-lenders among, 362 
 
 Samarkand, Hebrew pronunciation 
 
 of, 242 
 
 Traditions of, 241 
 
 Tribes of, 241 
 
 Persecution of, 362 
 
 quarter at Samarkand, 236 
 
 synagogue at Bokhara, 365 
 
 Karshi, 329 
 
 Khokand, 200 
 
 - Tashkend, 174 
 Jizakh, Klopatoff, Dr., at, 396 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 Joss-house in Kuldja, 97 
 
 Journey across desert, Rate of travel, 586 
 
 along the Aris river, 168 
 
 Author's reasons for, 3, 5 
 Cost of, 4 
 
 Object of, 5 
 
 through sandy desert, 410 
 to Kitab, 296 
 
 Judges and judgments of Kirghese, 154 
 
 Balloting for, 155 
 
 Election of, 154 
 
 salaries among Kirghese, 154 
 
INDEX. 
 
 655 
 
 Jumma mosque at Bokhara, 353 
 
 Interior of, 354 
 
 Service in, 354 
 
 Khiva, 464, 491 
 
 Justice, Court of, at Kunia Urgenj, 526 
 
 KABAKLI, Presents to Bek of, 434 
 
 Provisioning boat at, 435 
 
 Visit from Bek at, 434 
 
 Wolves among sheep at, 433 
 Kainar, Refreshments at, 299 
 Kakir, Bazaar at, 335 
 
 Cistern at, 334 
 
 Furniture at, 335 
 
 Native oven at, 335 
 
 " Unfurnished apartments " at, 334 
 Kalim of a Kirghese bride, 137 
 Kalmuk art, 104 
 Kalmuks at Kuldja, 108 
 
 Characteristics of, 85 
 
 Family life of, 87 
 - Food of, 86 
 
 Geluns among, 86 
 
 Marriages among, 87 
 
 of Hi valley, 85 
 
 Prejevalsky, Col., among the, 104 
 Kamensky Brothers, carriers, 191 
 
 Agent at Bokhara, 348 
 
 Kaplan Kir, Ascent from bed of, 574 
 
 Bay of, 572 
 
 Caverns at, 573 
 
 Cliffs at, 572 
 
 Crevasses of, 574 
 
 First Englishman at, 575 
 Kara Chukum. Street-sleeping in, 214 
 
 Kul, Crazy bridges at, 408 
 Danger of roads near, 408 
 
 Journey to, 407 
 
 Su, Breakdown at, 118 
 
 Tiube, Slumbers disturbed at, 295 
 
 Tent lodging at. 295 
 
 Karagatch trees at Khiva, 464 
 Karakol, Prisoners at, 286 
 Karategin, Wells of, 551 
 
 Karaul bazaar, 336 
 
 guard-house, 336 
 
 Karawal Khana, Afghan boundary, 627 
 Karshi, Batcha amusements at, 329 
 - Bazaar at, 326 
 
 Books for Jews at. 329 
 
 Caravansary, 336 
 
 Entertainment at, 326 
 
 Guest-house at, 326 
 
 Journey to, 325 
 
 Kishlaks at, 331 
 
 Kok-Chum-Bass mosque at, 328 
 
 Presents from Bek of, 328, 330 
 
 Public bath at, 326 
 
 Scarcity of harness at, 330 
 
 Karshi, Shops at, 326 
 
 Steppe, Character of, 336 
 
 Synagogue at, 329 
 
 Visit to Bek of, 327 
 
 - Welcome of Bek of, 326 
 Kashka-daria oasis, 323 
 Katte Kurgan, Ride towards, 387 
 
 Scriptures for. 173 
 Kaufmann, Gen. von, Grave of, 177 
 
 in Turkistan, 610 
 Kazakhli, Journey to, 570 
 
 wells, 571 
 
 Kazalinsk, Scriptures for, 172 
 Keles river, 169 
 
 Khana-Khaneh prison in Bokhara, 398 
 Khanki, Cemetery at, 457 
 
 Lunch at, 458 
 
 Tombs at, 457 
 
 Villages near, 459 
 Kheradj, Journey to, 428 
 Khiva, Arbas at, 500 
 
 Artillery of, 491 
 
 Author's presents from Khan, 496 
 
 Batchas at, 494 
 
 Bazaar of, 474 
 
 Bedroom of Author at, 461 
 
 Burnaby, Capt, at, 467 
 
 Carts of the natives, 500 
 
 Coinage of, 475 
 
 Colporteurs in, 489 
 
 Consul of Khan of, 455 
 
 Coppersmiths' Row in, 476 
 
 Dervishes at, 484 
 
 Dimensions of, 469 
 
 Diseases of, 494 
 
 Divan-beggi, Antecedents of, 462 
 
 House of, 461 
 
 Interview with, 462 
 
 Premises of, 463 
 
 Servants of, 463 
 
 Slaves of, 463 
 
 Stud-yards of. 465 
 
 - Wives of, 463 
 
 Eggs in, 532 
 
 English officers at, 340 
 
 Entertainment at, 494 
 
 Expedition against, 612 
 
 Farms near, 459 
 
 Female seclusion in, 524 
 Fighting ram at, 465 
 
 Forced labour of Khan, 541 
 
 Fruits of. 470 
 
 Gallows at, 493 
 
 Gardens of. 457 
 
 Hazarasp Gate at, 497 
 
 Horses, Cost of, 465 
 
 Indian tea at, 458 
 
 Industries of, 476 
 
 Inhabitants of, 472 
 
6 5 6 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Khiva, Jews in, 472 
 
 Jumma mosque at, 464, 491 
 
 Karagatch trees at, 464 
 
 Khan of, Attendants of, 465 
 
 Character of, 496 
 
 Conversations with, 473, 487, 
 
 495> 590 
 Farewell visit to, 495 
 
 Indemnity to Russia, 472 
 Interview with, 466 
 
 Officers of, 465 
 
 Prime Minister of, 462 
 War expenses of, 472 
 
 Lessar, M., at, 589 
 
 Luggage arbas at, 500 
 
 Manufactures of, 476 
 
 - Meat, Price of, 532 
 
 Medresses of, 477 
 
 Melons of, 470 
 
 Cultivation in England, 470 
 
 - Minaret of, 479 
 
 Money-changing in, 475 
 
 Mosques of. 477 
 
 Musicians of, 494 
 
 Passport compulsory at, 467 
 
 Pehlivan-Ata mosque at, 479 
 
 Prison at, 493 
 
 Silk factory at, 476 
 
 Silversmith's shop in, 476 
 
 Soil of, 459 
 
 Souvenirs of, 476 
 
 - Tombs of royalty at, 479 
 
 Tradesmen of, 472 
 
 Turkomans' horses at, 465 
 
 View from a minaret, 490 
 
 Weights and measures of, 474 
 
 Winter palace of Khan, 491 
 Khivan Consul accompanies Author, 455 
 
 logic, 590 
 
 territory, Annexation of, 612, 635 
 Khivans, Foreign relations of the, 473 
 
 Sports of the, 502 
 Khoja-Akhrar medresse, 232 
 
 Moburak, Comet of 1882 visible at, 
 
 332 
 Lodging at, 332 
 
 Sunrise at, 332 
 
 Saleh to be Afghan frontier, 611 
 Khojeili, Mennonite colony at, 521 
 Khojend, Approach to, 196 
 
 Boundaries of, 214 
 
 Climate of, 214 
 
 History of, 214 
 
 Hospitality of Nachalnik, 196 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 Summer heat at, 214 
 - Walls of, 214 
 
 Khokand, Barracks at, 205! 
 
 Bazaar at, 202 
 
 Khokand, Diseases of, 212 
 Fur trade at, 203 
 
 Goitre at, 212 
 
 - Hospital at, 205 
 
 House of native merchant at, 21 1 
 
 Houses near, 198 
 
 Jewellery of, 203 
 
 Jews' synagogue at, 200 
 
 Lepers' hamlet at, 208, 209 
 
 Marionettes at, 204 
 
 Murad Bek medresse at, 204 
 
 Palace of Khan, 205 
 
 Paper manufactory at, 204 
 
 Population of, 204 
 
 Prices of furs at, 203 
 
 Prison at, 205, 288 
 in a palace, 208 
 
 Puppet-show at, 204 
 
 Residence of M. Ushakoff, 199 
 
 Revolt of prisoners at, 289 
 
 Scripture distribution at, 210 
 
 Seclusion of women in, 211 
 
 Streets of, 199 
 
 - Trade of, 203 
 
 Walls of, 214 
 Khokandian subservience, 200 
 Kidnapping in Persia, 421 
 Kirghese at Suigati, Visit to, 144 
 
 aul moving, 135 
 
 beverages, 147 
 
 Biblical customs among, 128 
 
 books, Demand for, 126 
 
 Cattle-breeding of, 132 
 
 Character of, 129 
 
 children, 161 
 
 Christian creed explained to, 153 
 
 - Colporteurs among, 489 
 
 concert, 151 
 
 Court of Justice, 526 
 
 Customs of, 165 
 
 Dinner among the, 149 
 
 Divorce among, 141 
 
 Dresses of, 131 
 
 election, 154 
 
 equestrienne, 528 
 
 Fanaticism of, 152 
 
 Feasting among, 148 
 - Food of, 148 
 
 Fuel of, 157 
 
 Gluttony of, 148 
 
 Habitations of, 130 
 Head-dresses of, 477 
 
 Herds of, 136 
 
 Hodjas among, 153 
 
 idea of future state, 152 
 Iginchas, 132 
 
 interpreter at Kunia Urgenj, 528 
 
 interrogatories, 150 
 
 Judges, Balloting for, 155 
 
INDEX. 
 
 657 
 
 Kirghese Judges, Salaries of, 154 
 
 Kalim of a bride, 137 
 
 Kazaks, Origin of, 129 
 
 - kibitkas at Krasnovodsk, 599 
 
 law of inheritance, 142 
 
 laws, 156 
 
 literature, Dearth of, 530 
 
 love-making, 138 
 
 manufactures at Aulie-Ata, 164 
 
 marriage customs, 137 
 
 memorials, 147 
 
 mothers, 161 
 
 Muhammadan grave at Sary Baba. 578 
 nomads. 132 
 
 nomenclature, 161 
 
 notions of a comet, 531 
 
 Occupations of, 132 
 
 offerings at tombs, 166 
 
 opinions of New Testament, 160 
 
 Ornaments of, 131 
 
 politeness, 149 
 
 Polygamy among, 136 
 
 Possessions of, 132 
 
 prisoners at Khiva, 493 
 
 proverbs, 151 
 
 punishments, 156 
 
 racing games, 218 
 
 religious feasts, 167 
 
 resemblance to Hebrew patriarchs, 
 
 I27 < 
 
 rings, loo 
 
 ruffianism at elections, 156 
 
 Scriptures purchased by, 489 
 
 Slavery among, 160 
 
 - Songs of the, 151 
 
 Tents of, 144 
 
 Interior surroundings, 147 
 
 - Testaments, 125 
 
 Tombs of, 130 
 
 trials, 154 
 
 - Troitzky, M., among the, 152- 
 
 Trousseau of a bride, 139 
 
 Voting by ballot, 155 
 
 Wanderings of, 132 
 
 - wares at Aulie-Ata, 165 
 
 wedding ceremonies, 139 
 festivities, 140 
 
 Wives of, 150 
 
 wolf-hunting, 434 
 Kishlak, Meaning of, 299 
 
 Kishlaks of semi-nomads at Karshi, 331 
 Kiskilenskaia, Stone ornaments at, 157 
 Kitab, Acrobats at, 304 
 
 Batchas at, 303 
 
 Bokhariot etiquette, 307 
 
 Court visitors, 305 
 
 Dancing-boys at, 303 
 
 Dress for audience with Emir, 308 
 
 Entertainment at, 303 
 
 Kitab, Guard of native soldiers. 307 
 
 Hospitality at, 302 
 
 Journey to, 296 
 
 Lodging at, 302, 306 
 
 Mountains of, 297 
 
 Mountebanks at, 303 
 
 Population of, 322 
 
 Procession to visit Emir, 309 
 
 Reception at, 301 
 
 of Bokhariot officers, 307 
 
 Refreshments at, 303 
 
 Ride to, 300 
 
 Spies in Emir's palace, 307 
 Kiziak as fuel, 157 
 
 Kizil Arvat, M. Lessar at, 590 
 
 route. 587 
 
 Klopatoff, Dr., at Jizakh, 396 
 Kok-Bari, Game of, 218 
 
 Chum-Bass mosque at Karshi, 328 
 Kokol-tash medresse in Bokhara, 349 
 Koktash stone, 230 
 
 Kolpakovsky, Gen., Complaisancy of, 162 
 Kolutch, Author's native servant, 292 
 Konur-Ulen, Invalid telegraphist at, 72 
 Kopal, Description of, 69 
 
 Prisoners at, 286 
 Koran of Othman, 232 
 Korolkoff, Gen., Visit to, 221 
 Korsakoff, Prince Dondukoff, Pugnacity 
 
 of, 363 
 
 Kosh-ku-pryk and its melons, 501 
 Krapotkine, Prince, on Siberian prisons, 
 
 257 
 Krasnovodsk, Alabaster grotto at, 595 
 
 Armenian trading at, 599 
 
 Attendants dismissed at, 586 
 
 Boats at, 599 
 
 Descent into, 585 
 
 - Felt manufacture at, 597 
 
 Fish at, 595 
 
 Fortress at, 596 
 
 Good-bye to attendants at, 600 
 
 Governor's house at, 599 
 
 Hospitality of Commandant, 586 
 Jewellery of Turkoman women, 596 
 
 Kirghese kibitkas at, 599 
 
 Mineral oil at, 595 
 
 - Nomad curiosities of, 598 
 
 Population of, 594 
 
 Provisions at, 595 
 
 Salt exportation from, 595 
 
 Scanty supplies in, 594 
 
 sighted from desert, 584 
 
 Situation of, 585 
 
 Stores at, 599 
 
 - Town of, 594 
 
 - Turkoman tents at, 595 
 
 Water distillation at, 594 
 Kryloff, Capt., Visit to, 449 
 
 42 
 
6 5 8 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Kuhlberg. Col., on Afghan Boundary 
 
 Commission, 624 
 Kuldja, Acrobats at, 104 
 
 Beasts of prey in, no 
 
 Book distribution at, 99 
 
 - Books, Sale of, 100 
 
 Buddhist temple in, 97 
 
 Chinese Christians in, 95 
 Officer, Visit to, 99 
 
 Police-master at, 98 
 
 Crossing the Hi, 90 
 
 Dungan mosque in, 97, 109 
 
 Emigration from, 108 
 
 Fruit of, 89 
 
 hatred of Chinese, 1 08 
 
 Hazardous drive near, 90 
 
 Holy Communion among Romanists, 
 
 94 
 
 Hospitality at Russian Consulate, 88 
 
 Houses in, 107 
 
 - Industries of, 103 
 
 Joss-house in. 97 
 
 - Kalmuks, Visit to, 104 
 
 Market-place in, 109 
 
 Minerals of, 76 
 
 Oil factory in,' 103 
 
 Opium smoking in, 113 
 
 Prices in, loi 
 
 Restaurants in, 103 
 
 Roman Catholics in, 91 
 
 Russian Church in, 92 
 occupation of, 80 
 
 rule preferred, 108 
 
 Shop-street in winter, 102 
 
 Speculating in house property, no 
 
 Sunday in, 88 
 
 Taranchi bazaar in, 89 
 gardens in, 90 
 
 mosque in, 97 
 
 - Taranchis in, 81 
 
 - Trade in, 101 
 
 - Transitional state of, 81 
 
 Vegetation in. I IO 
 Kum-sebshem, Wells of, 572, 574 
 Kumo steamship, Journey on, 600 
 Kunia-Urgenj, Accident to Author near. 
 
 5H 
 
 Attendants. Dishonesty of, 533 
 Dismissal of, 542 
 
 Batchman of, 500 
 
 Bazaar at, 527 
 
 Bek's fears for Author's safety, 537 
 
 Camel cradles at, 531 
 loading at, 533 
 
 Camels, Delay in obtaining, 526 
 Hiring of, 533 
 
 Cemetery near. 513 
 
 Chickens at, 532 
 
 Coins found at, 520, 532 
 
 Kunia-Urgenj, Court of Justice at, 526 
 
 Curiosities from, 532 
 
 Danger ahead ! 537 
 
 - Eggs at, 532 
 
 Escort from, 538 
 
 Houses of, 533 
 
 Tourney to, 511 
 
 Kirghese at, 527 
 
 - Lodgings at, 522 
 
 Luxuries at, 53 2 
 
 Mausoleums of, 518, 520 
 
 - Meat at, 532 
 
 Minarets of, 516 
 
 Mosques at, 533 
 
 Native life at, 526 
 
 Parting view of, 539 
 
 Pheasants at, 532 
 
 Photographs of, 515 
 
 Prison at, 527 
 
 Provisions at, 532 
 
 - Purchases at, 531 
 
 Rope scarcity at, 533 
 
 Schools at, 533 
 
 Shops of, 533 
 
 Starting for the Desert, 537 
 
 Tax-gatherer of, 500 
 
 Tomb of Tiurebek Khanim, 518 
 Kunia Vezir, Camping opposite, 554 
 Kush-beggi of Bokhara, Conversation 
 
 with, 380 
 
 Presents from, 384 
 - to, 384 
 
 Reticence of, 381 
 
 - Visit to, 378 
 
 Kushk valley, Russian claims in, 626 
 Kyz-Kala, Legend of, 435 
 
 Subterranean aqueduct, of, 436 
 
 LABOUR, Cheapness of, in Hi valley, 77 
 Lai-lak, Meaning of, 299 
 Lake Ala-Kul, Fish in, 6^ 
 
 Ornithology of, 60 
 
 Land tortoises of the Steppe, 582 
 Languages of books for distribution, 25 
 Last rose of summer, 448 
 Law, " Glorious uncertainty" of, 527 
 Laws of the Kirghese, 156 
 Lectern, Miraculous. 229 
 Lecturing the Kush-beggi, 382 
 Legacies of Bokhariot Jews, 366 
 Legend of Kyz-kala fortress, 435 
 Legends of Shah-Zindeh mosque, 225 
 Lepers at Khokand, 208 
 
 quarter near Bokhara, 388 
 Leprosy in Turkistan, 210 
 Lepsa, Prisoners at, 286 
 
 river, 67 
 Lepsinsk station, 66 
 Lessar, M., Journeys of, 589 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 659 
 
 Letters and favours. Official, 1 1 
 Library at Tashkend, 188 
 Linseed farming on the Amu, 439 
 Liquor traffic among Jews in Russia, 363 
 Loading camels in the desert, 557 
 Lodging at Bokhara, 343 
 
 Khoja-Moburak, 332 
 
 Kitab, 306 
 
 Kunia Urgenj, 522 
 Tashauz, 508 
 
 near Charjui, 414 
 
 Logic of the Khan of Khiva, 590 
 Love-making among Kirghese, 138 
 Lovers' fortresses on the Amu, 435 
 Low spirits in the desert, 576 
 Luggage attacked by robbers, 512 
 Lunatics in Bokhara, 458 
 Lunch at Khanki, 458 
 Luxuries at Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 
 MADRAHIM medresse at Khiva, 478 
 Maieff, Col., Assistance from. 182 
 Maievsky, Col., Visit to, 107 
 Maimana, Commissioners at. 629 
 Mammalia of Ala-Kul district, 6 1 
 Manak, Hawks at, 507 
 
 Corn-mill at, 506 
 
 Fruit-trees at, 507 
 
 Garden at, 507 
 
 Havli at, 505 
 
 Interior of, 58 
 
 Walls of, 507 
 
 Hospitality at, 508 
 
 Intoxicants at, 507 
 
 Oil-mill at, 505 
 
 Ruins near, 508 
 
 Uzbeg society at, 504 
 Manchu, Massacre of, 79 
 Manufactures of Khiva, 476 
 Manuscript of Old Testament, 370 
 Manuscripts of Bokhariot Jews, 366 
 Marching in a sea-bed, 574 
 Marionettes at Khokand, 204 
 Market at Aulie-Ata, 164 
 
 days at Iliali. 510 
 Samarkand, 244 
 
 prices at Aulie-Ata, 165 
 Marmots in the desert, 576 
 Marriage among the Kalmuks, 87 
 
 customs among the Kirghese, 137 
 
 in Central Asia, 523 
 Maruchak, Commissioners at, 626 
 Mashrek, Ruins of, 554 
 Massacre of Chinese, 79 
 
 Manchu, 79 
 Massoretic writing, 370 
 
 Matmurad, Prime Minister of Khan. 462 
 Mausoleum of Nedjm-ud-din-Kubera. 520 
 Mausoleums of Kunia Urgenj, 518 
 
 Meat at Khiva, Price of, 532 
 
 Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 
 Medicine and divinity conjoined, 16 
 Medresse of Shir-Dar, 233 
 - Tillah-Kari, 234 
 Ulug-Bek, 233 
 Medresses of Bokhara, 349, 386 
 
 Khiva, 477 
 
 Melons at Vierny, 123 
 
 of Khiva. 470 
 
 Attempted cultivation in Eng- 
 
 land, 470 
 
 Kosh-ku-pryk, 501 
 
 Memorials of the Kirghese, 147 
 Men and bear fights. 434 
 Mendicant prisoners at Bokhara, 398 
 Mennonite colony at Khojeili, 521 
 Mennonites in Aulie-Ata, 168 
 
 of the Volga, 521 
 
 Persecution of, 521 
 Merchandise of Khokand, 203 
 Merchant at Khokand, Visit to, 211 
 Merke, Author's delay at, 163 
 Merv, Annexation of, 635 
 
 Submission of, 592, 615 
 
 Visit to, abandoned by Author, 587 
 Meteorological instruments lent by Mr. 
 
 Glaisher, 7 
 
 Midnight intruders, 295 
 Military encampment at Bokhara, 35 1 
 
 hospital at Khokand. 205 
 Milk and cream at Bokhara, 392 
 Minaret of Khiva, 480 
 Minarets of Kunia Urgenj, 516 
 Mineral oil at Krasnovodsk, 595 
 Minerals of Bokhara, 392 
 
 Hi valley, 76 
 
 Miniature fortresses, 503 
 Mining in the Hi valley, 76 
 
 Minister of Interior, Interview with, 10 
 Miri-arab medresse in Bokhara, 349 
 Mirza Yusuf, Parting with, 406 
 Misbehaviour of " Diotrephes," 514 
 Missionary work of Russians, 489 
 Missions to Muhammadans, 488 
 Moldabavsk, Breakdown near, 163 
 Money arrangements at Tashkend, 191 
 
 changing at Khiva, 475 
 Samarkand, 247 
 
 lending Jews in Russia, 362 
 Monumental inscriptions scarce in Bo- 
 khara, 458 
 
 Moonlight suppers on Oxus, 428, 431 
 Morals of Asiatic people, 485 
 Morgan, Mr. Delmar, at Sergiopol, 60 
 
 on the " Ehbi " wind, 66 
 Moscow, Arrival at, 12 
 
 Cathedral at, 13 
 
 Exhibition at, 13 
 
66o 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Moscow Exhibition, Gospel distribution 
 at, 452 
 
 Jews in, 361 
 Moslem pilgrimages, 481 
 Moslems Jvustrated by Author. 368 
 Mosque at Karshi. 328 
 
 of Abdul Aziz Khan, 356 
 
 Hazret Imlah, 357 
 
 Namazi-gah, 376 
 
 Shah Zindeh, 225 
 Mosques at Bokhara, 386 
 
 Khiva, 477 
 
 Kunia Urgenj, 533 
 
 Shahr, 322 
 Mothers, Kirghese, 161 
 Mountains of Kitab, 297 
 Mountebanks at Kitab, 303 
 Mud walls of havli at Manak, 507 
 Muhammad, Rosy, as Author's servant, 
 
 528 
 Muhammadan sanctity, 518 
 
 tomb at Sary Baba, 578 
 Muhammadans, Attitude towards Chris- 
 tianity, 488 
 
 Books bought by, 48 
 
 Fanaticism of, 485 
 
 Missions to, 488 
 
 Religious orders of, 482 
 Mulberries at Khiva, 471 
 
 Murad Bek medresse at Khokand, 204 
 Murghab river, Russians on, 627 
 Museum at Russian Tashkend, 171 
 
 Tashkend, 181 
 Music at Khiva, 494 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 447 
 
 Musical entertainment at Kitab, 303 
 
 reception of Author at Charjui, 416 
 Mussulmans, Characteristics of, 485 
 
 NACHALNIK of Khojend, Hospitality of, 
 
 196 
 
 Namazi-gah mosque, 376 
 Naphtha springs at Cheleken, 595 
 
 works on the Kizil Arvat line, 595 
 Nasr-Ullah, late Emir of Bokhara, 338 
 National Exhibition at Moscow, 13 
 Native boats on the Amu-daria, 426 
 
 carts in Khiva, 500 
 
 gain by Russian rule in Turkmenia, 592 
 
 houses in Kuldja, 107 
 
 ignorance at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 Naziroff Lieut., in Turkmenia, 589 
 New Siberian steamer, 29 
 
 - Testament, Kirghese opinions of, 160 
 Newspaper exaggeration, 22 
 Night guard at Charjui, 422 
 
 time in Bokhara, 387 
 Nihilistic cunning, 22 
 Nocturnal visitors, 295 
 
 Nogai Bi, Possessions of. 160 
 Nomad curiosities at Krasnovodsk, 598 
 Nomenclature of the Kirghese, 161 
 Nursery at Borokhudzir, 73 
 
 OBSERVANDA, xx 
 
 Observatory at Russian Tashkend, 171 
 
 - Tashkend, 187 
 - of Ulug Bek, 233 
 Occupations of Kirghese, 132 
 
 Turkomans, 597 
 
 Ocean, Dry bed of, 572 
 
 Odessa, Jewish persecution at, 363 
 
 English opinion on, 363 
 
 Parting with Mr. Sevier at, 603 
 O'Dono van, Mr., killed in Soudan war, 588 
 
 Letter of, 588 
 Offerings at Kirghese tombs, 1 66 
 Officers' club at Tashkend, 178 
 
 of Khan of Khiva, 465 
 Officials, Over-zealousness of, 21 
 Oil factory in Kuldja, 103 
 
 mill at Manak, 505 
 
 painting by M. Aivazovsky, 604 
 
 wells at Balakhane, 601 
 
 Old Testament, Wonderful MSS. of, 370 
 Omsk, Acquaintances at, 38 
 
 Books for prisons at, 42 
 
 Decline of. 38 
 
 Meeting the Governor-General of, 50 
 
 Prison at, 278 
 Diet in, 279 
 
 Schools in, 40 
 - Town of, 37 
 
 Visit to Acting-Governor, 41 
 
 Visits to inhabitants, 41 
 Opium-smoking in Kuldja, 113 
 Orchards at Bokhara, 406 
 Orenburg routes, 444 
 Oriental customs illustrated, 581 
 
 duplicity, 544 
 
 garden at Bokhara, 346 
 
 oath-taking, 600 
 
 politeness, 200 
 
 worship, 484 
 Ornaments of Kirghese, 131 
 
 the Turkomans, 596 
 
 Ornithology of Ala-Kul district, 60 
 Orphan asylum at Samarkand, 243 
 Oshanin, M., of Tashkend Museum, 180 
 
 Collection of Hemiptera. 181 
 
 Presents from, 181 
 
 Ostroumoff, M., on Mussulman charac- 
 teristics, 485 
 
 Othman, Koran of, 232 
 Oven at Kakir, 335 
 Overcrowding in prisons, 288 
 Over-zealousness of officials, 21 
 Ovis Polii : remarkable sheep, 105 
 
INDEX. 
 
 66 1 
 
 Oxus river bed at Ak-bugut, 559 
 
 Feeding-time on, 428 
 
 Ferry-boat on. 414 
 Floating down, 426 
 
 Old bed, Journey in the, 553 
 
 Primitive boat on, 414 
 
 Survey of banks, 629 
 
 Upper, Change of boats on, 431 
 
 Compulsory service of boat- 
 
 men on, 430 
 
 Dismissal of escort at Ildjik, 432 
 
 Escort of Author on, 427 
 
 Extortion of Toksaba, 431 
 
 Journey to Kherad, 428 
 
 Ustik, 429 
 
 Moonlight suppers on, 428, 431 
 
 Turkoman boats on, 431 
 
 PADERIN, M. , Hospitality of, 88 
 Palace at Samarkand. 221 
 
 of Emir of Bokhara, 278 
 
 Khan at Tashauz, 508 
 
 of Khokand, 205 
 
 Panjdeh, Difficulties concerning. 627 
 Fighting at. 621 
 
 Meaning of, 626 
 
 - Russian advance to, 621 
 
 attack on, 621 
 
 Pantussoff, M., Distribution of books by. 
 
 283 
 
 Paper manufactory at Khokand. 204 
 Parkes, Sir H., Encouraging opinions 
 
 of, 2 
 
 Parting with Mr. Sevier at Odessa, 603 
 Pastime in the desert, 577 
 Patar, Shifting sands at, 197 
 Pavlodar, Cheapness of provisions at, 46 
 
 Sale of books at, 46 
 Peaches of Khiva, 471 
 Pecuniary assistance, 4 
 Pehlivan-Ata mosque at Khiva, 479 
 Peikand, Ruins of, 407 
 Penjakend, Scriptures for. 173 
 Perils of the desert, 410 
 
 road, 408 
 
 Perm, Author under arrest at, 19 
 
 Police examination of Author at, 20 
 
 Railway adventure at. 1 6 
 Perovsk, Scriptures for, 172 
 Perquisites, 300 
 
 Persecution of Jews in Odessa, 363 
 
 Russia. 362 
 Mennonites, 521 
 Persia, Prison in, 421 
 
 Slaves from, 421 
 
 Persian frontier negotiations, 615 
 
 Jews in Bokhara, 364 
 Petersburg, Favourable reception at, 10 
 Fortress prison in, 259 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, Bible Society Agent 
 near, 490 
 
 Colporteurs at, 490 
 
 Crime at. 526 
 
 Fortress at, 448 
 
 Home comforts at, 443 
 
 Horses at, Cost of, 465 
 
 Sale of, 450, 451 
 Hospital at, 449 
 
 Journey to Khiva, 456 
 Native ignorance at, 449 
 
 Provisions at, 449 
 Public bath at, 449 
 
 Schools at, 449 
 
 Scripture distribution at, 451 
 Shopping at, 449 
 
 Social evening at, 447 
 Tarantass arrival at, 450 
 
 Sale of, 450 
 Town of. 448 
 
 - Troops at, 448 
 
 - Visit to Capt. Kryloff, 449 
 Wages at, 449 
 
 - Weather at, 448, 509 
 
 Welcome at, 443 
 
 Winter preparations at, 448 
 
 Petrovsky, M., on Bokhariot commerce, 
 
 385 
 
 Pevtzoff, Lt.-Col., Assistance of, 450 
 Pheasants at Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 Photographs of Kunia Urgenj, 515 
 Picture worship, 489 
 Pictures, Superstition regarding, 307, 321 
 Pilau at Charjui. 415 
 Pilgrim showmen in Central Asia, 518 
 Pink salt at Bokhara, 392 
 Pishpek, Botanical garden at, 161 
 
 Prisoners at, 286 
 
 Pitniak curve on the Amu, 440 
 Ploughing and threshing, 296 
 Police examination of Author at Perm, 20 
 Politeness of Orientals. 200 
 
 the Kirghese, 149 
 Polygamy among the Kirghese, 136 
 Pond of Porsu, 578 
 
 Pools at Bokhara, 386 
 
 Population of Asiatic Tashkend, 171 
 
 Charjui. 414 
 
 Chimkent, 168 
 Hi province, 78 
 
 - Iliali, 510 
 
 Khokand. 204 
 
 Kitab, 322 
 
 Krasnovodsk, 594 
 
 Shahr, 322 
 
 Porsu, Gazelles at, 579 
 
 Pond of, 578 
 
 - Temperature at, 578 
 
 Wild boar at, 579 
 
662 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA, 
 
 Post-house " chambre de toilette," 63 
 
 office statistics of Semipolatinsk, 54 
 
 roads, Safety of Russian, 640 
 
 station at Ak-Kend, 75 
 Posting service in Semipolatinsk, 57 
 Prejevalsky, Col., among Kalmuks, 104 
 Present from Chinese Governor at 
 
 Suidun, 115 
 
 to Bek of Karshi, 328 
 
 - Shahr, 315 
 Presents for Emir of Bokhara, 313 
 
 from Bek of Charjui, 424 
 Chirakchi, 325 
 
 Karshi, 328, 330 
 
 Shahr, 318 
 
 Emir of Bokhara, 314 
 
 returned by Emir, 320 
 
 to Bek of Chirakchi, 324 
 
 Kabakli, 434 
 
 Bokhariot courtiers, 314 
 
 Kush-beggi ot Bokhaia, 384 
 
 Prison at Charjui, 420 
 
 - Karakol, 286 
 
 Khiva, 493 
 
 Khokand, 205, 288 
 
 Kopal, 286 
 
 Kunia Urgenj, 527 
 
 Lepsa, 286 
 
 Omsk, 278 
 
 Pishpek, 286 
 
 Samarkand, 245, 289 
 
 Semipolatinsk, 281 
 
 Tashkend, 287 
 
 Tokmak, 286 
 
 Vierny, 282, 284 
 
 dungeons at Bokhara, 398 
 
 Fortress, in Petersburg, 259 
 
 gardening, 284 
 
 gardens, 263, 266 
 -- literature, 279 
 
 -- Overcrowding in, 288 
 
 revolt at Khokand, 289 
 
 statistics, 282 
 Prisoners' diet at Omsk, 279 
 
 rooms at Petersburg, 265 
 Prisons in Russia. Exaggerations, 280 
 
 Semirechia, Report on, 284 
 
 of Bokhara, 397 
 
 Omsk, Books for, 42 
 
 Russian Central Asia, 278 
 
 Overcrowding, 288 
 
 Semipolatinsk, Books lor, 58, 282 
 
 Siberia, Criticisms in "Called 
 
 Back," 255 
 
 Do we know the truth ? 250 
 
 Doubts concerning, 251 
 
 Opinions of residents, 254 
 
 Prince Krapotkine's censure 
 
 and its value, 257 
 
 Prisons of Siberia, Supposed prepara- 
 tions for visit to, 251 
 
 Supposition examined, 252 
 
 Swedish testimony, 254 
 
 Proverbs of the Kirghese, 151 
 Provisions at Krasnovodsk, 595 
 
 Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 
 Pavlodar, Cheapness of, 46 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 
 Tara, Cheapness of, 35 
 
 Tashkend, 186 
 
 Public bath at Karshi, 326 
 
 houses in Zarafshan province, 245 
 
 library at Russian Tashkend, 171 
 Publications, Religious, Distribution of, 5 
 Pul-i-Khatun, Cossacks at, 619 
 Punishment for personal offences at Ak- 
 
 molinsk,. 156 
 
 theft in Bokhara, 397 
 
 Puppet-show at Khokand, 204 
 Purchase of a tarantass, 1 5 
 
 telega at Tiumen, 28 
 
 drugs, 1 6 
 
 Putimsoff, Col , Hospitality of, 196 
 
 QUARRELS of stallions on the Amu, 432 
 
 RACES inhabiting Vierny, 121 
 Racing games of the Kirghese, 218 
 Railway adventure at Perm, 16 
 
 construction by Russia, 640 
 
 extension towards India, 633 
 Ram-fighting at Shavat, 502 
 Raskolnik fanatic in prison, 281 
 Rebellion in Hi valley, 79 
 Reception by Grand Duke Michael, 10 
 
 room at Kitab, 311 
 Recruits on the march, 49 
 
 Reeds and rushes in the desert, 563 
 Refreshment stalls in Bokhara, 386 
 Refreshments at Kainar, 299 
 
 Kitab, 303 
 
 Refusal of Author's requests in Bokhara. 
 
 38i 
 
 Release of Author from custody, 21 
 Religious aims of Author, 5, 6 
 
 character of Author's journey, 5 
 
 Tract Society, Help of, 4 
 Restaurants in Kuldja, 103 
 
 Revolt of prisoners at Khokand, 289 
 Ride outside Bokhara, 376 
 
 to Baha-ucldin, 387 
 Kitab, 300 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 441 
 
 towards Katte-Kurgan, 387 
 Ridgeway, Sir J. W., on Afghan Boun- 
 dary Commission, 624 
 
 Riding and racing, 333, 335 
 
 with dumb guides, 442 
 
INDEX. 
 
 663 
 
 Rifle practice at Samarkand, 244 
 Righistan of Bokhara, 378, 386 
 Rings worn by Kirghese, 160 
 Rishta disease in Bokhara, 394 
 
 1 real ment of, 395 
 Robbers in the desert, 560 
 
 Luggage attacked by, 512 
 
 on the Amu, Precautions against, 436 
 Robbery in Bokhara, 387 
 
 Roman Catholic request for religious 
 service, 93 
 
 Catholics in Kuldja, 91 
 
 Rope scarcity at Kunia Urgenj, 533 
 Rosy, Accident to. 550 
 Route over Chulak hills, 117 
 Routes to Central Asia, 9 
 Ruffianism at Kirghese elections, 156 
 Ruins in the desert, 554 . 
 
 near Borokhudzir, 74 
 
 of Bibi-Khanum medresse. 228 
 
 Peikand, 407 
 
 on Amu banks, 435 
 Russia approaching India, 609 
 
 Disabilities of Jews in, 361 
 
 England's jealousy of, 640 
 Russian advance from the Caspian, 614 
 
 on Afghanistan, 621 
 to the Irtish, 637 
 
 . Urals, 637 
 Vierny, 638 
 
 - agents in Bokhara, 348 
 
 attack on Panjdeh, 622 
 
 attempt to release S tod dart, 340 
 
 camp near Samarkand, 294 
 
 Central Asia, Prisons of, 278 
 
 church in Kuldja, 92 
 
 encroachments, 638 
 
 exiles, Books for, 6 
 
 Government, Bokhariots on, 423 
 
 hospital at Kuldja, Book distribution 
 
 in, 99 
 
 invasion of Afghanistan, 621 
 
 missionary work, 488 
 
 missions to Bokhara, 339 
 
 post-roads, Safety of, 640 
 
 railway construction, 640 
 
 rule in Turkmenia, Native gain by, 592 
 
 Samarkand, 242 
 
 - Tashkend, 171 
 
 wakefulness, 635 
 
 warehouse at Bokhara, 348 
 
 ST. SAVIOUR'S CATHEDRAL at Moscow, 
 
 13 
 
 Saint's tomb at Khiva, 481 
 Salaries of Kirghese judges, 154 
 Sale of books at Taldi-Kuduk, 62 
 
 on steamboat, 30 
 
 Scriptures in Kuldja, 100 
 
 Salt exportation from Krasnovodsk, 595 
 Samara, Migration from, 451 
 Samarkand, Attendants for journey, 246 
 
 Bazaar of, 244 
 
 Bibi-Khanum medresse, 228 
 
 Bird's-eye view of, 231 
 
 Butcher's shrine at, 235 
 
 Citadel palace at, 230 
 -- Colleges of, 234 
 
 Dancing dervishes at, 482 
 
 Distribution of Scriptures at, 248 
 
 Education at, 243 
 
 Enamelled bricks at, 235 
 
 Execution stone at, 230 
 
 Gur-Emir mausoleum, 221 
 
 Horse-buying at, 246 
 
 Hospital for military, 242 
 
 Hospitals for natives, 242 
 
 Interpreter necessary at, 246 
 
 Ishrat Khana palace at, 230 
 
 Jews' quarter at, 236 
 
 Hebrew pronunciation of, 242 
 
 Tribes of, 241 
 
 Khoja-Akhi ar medresse, 232 
 
 Kindness of M. Arendarenko, 246 
 
 Gen. Ivanoff, 248 
 - Koktash stone at, 230 
 
 Koran of Othman. 232 
 
 Korolkoff, Gen., Visit to, 221 
 
 Library of Tamerlane, 232 
 
 Medresses of, 233 
 
 Money-changing at, 247 
 
 Mosques of, 233 
 
 Observatory at, 233 
 
 Orphan asylum at, 243 
 
 Palace of Governor, 220 
 
 Prison at, 245, 289 
 Cleanliness of, 290 
 
 Purchase of antiquities, 247 
 
 Rifle practice at, 244 
 
 Russian camp near, 294 
 
 Sart disease at, 242 
 
 Schools of, 240, 243 
 
 Scriptures for, 173 
 
 Shah Zindeh mosque, 225 
 
 Shir-Dar medresse, 233 
 
 Shrines of, 235 
 
 Suburban gardens of, 293 
 
 Synagogue of Jews, 239 
 
 Telegraphing to London, 248 
 
 Tillah-Kari medresse, 234 
 
 Trade of, 244 
 
 Tradition of Jews, 241 
 
 Vegetation near, 297 
 
 Visit to Jew's house, 236 
 
 Jewish Rabbi, 240 
 
 Sam-Su, Breakdown near, 158 
 Sand floods at Pata.r, 197 
 Sands, Shifting, 197 
 
664 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Sandstorm on the Steppe, 66 
 Sandy surroundings, 410 
 Sari-bulak, Camel caravan at, 69 
 Sari-Yazi, Afghan outpost at, 619 
 Sart bazaar, Visit to, 102 
 
 curiosities at Tashkend, 184 
 
 pastime of Kok-Bari, 218 
 
 school at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 Sarts, Betrothal among the, 523 
 
 Festivals of the, 458 
 Sary Baba, Tomb at, 578 
 
 Kamish lakes, 563 
 
 Crossing the basin of, 565 
 
 Saxaul forests near, 567 
 
 'Vater of, Buoyancy of, 564 
 
 - Wells of, 561 
 Saryk Turkomans, 626 
 Saxaul, Fires of, 567 
 
 Forests of, 567 
 Scenery at Batoum, 603 
 Schools at Kunia Urgenj, 533 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 
 - Tashkend, 187 
 
 in Bokhara, 374 
 
 Method of study in, 375 
 
 Omsk, 40 
 
 of Samarkand. 240, 243 
 
 Schuyler, Dr., on Muhammadan wor- 
 ship, 482 
 
 Scientific introductions, 12 
 Scripture analogies, 377 
 
 distribution at Khokand, 210 
 Samarkand, 248 
 
 - Tiumen, 26 
 
 in Tobolsk, 27 
 
 Scriptures bought by Muhammadans, 48 
 
 Chinese anxiety for, 100 
 
 sold to Kirghese, 489 
 Sea-bed, Animal life in a, 573 
 Camping in a, 574 
 
 Marching in a, 574 
 Seikiz Khan, Road to, 575 
 
 Well of, 575 
 
 Self-esteem of Khivan Consul, 456 
 Seminary for training schoolmasters. 187 
 Semipolatinsk, Asylum at, 54 
 
 Books for hospitals, 59 
 prisons, 59 
 
 Cossack population of, 43 
 
 Criminal statistics, 282 
 
 Etymology of, 53 
 
 Post-office statistics, 54 
 
 Posting service in, 57 
 
 prison, 281 
 
 Birching in, 281 
 
 Books for, 58, 282 
 
 Morality of inmates, 281 
 
 - Raskolnik fanatic in, 281 
 
 Scarcity of bread in, 56 
 
 Semipolatinsk, Situation of. 53 
 - Trade of, 55 
 
 Visit to Governor of, 54 
 Semirechia, Books distributed in, 287 
 
 prisons, Official report of, 284 
 
 Voluntary committees. 284 
 Sepulchres at Khanki, 457 
 Sergiopol, Decline of, 59 
 
 Distribution of books at, 58 
 
 Road to, 57 
 
 Situation of. 59 
 
 Sunday at, 58 
 
 Serpitzky, Col., Visit to, in camp ; 
 
 Tashkend, 188 
 Servant, A new, 528 
 Servants' wages in Tashkend, 1 86 
 Sevier, Mr. A. H., as interpreter, 15 
 
 Accident to, 406 
 horse of, 432 
 
 Attention to sick in Bokhara, 404 
 Farewell to, at Odessa. 603 
 
 Shah Zindeh mosque, 225 
 
 Legends concerning, 225 
 
 Places of devotion in, 227 
 
 Shahr-i-sabz, Ak -'Serai palace at, 317 
 
 Batchas at, 320 
 
 Bek of, Conversation with, 317 
 Presents from, 315, 318 
 
 - to, 315 
 Visit to, 317 
 
 Entertainment at, 320 
 
 Mosques and medresses, 322 
 
 Population of, 322 
 
 Torchlight procession at, 318 
 Shavat, Dog-fighting at, 502 
 
 Farm-houses near, 503 
 
 Lodging at, 501 
 
 Ram-fighting at, 502 
 
 Shops of, 502 
 
 Town of, 502 
 
 Sheep of the Thian Shan, 105 
 
 and goats of the desert, 553 
 Shepherd at Karategin wells, 552 
 Shir-Dar medresse, 233 
 Shoemakers' street in Bokhara, 385 
 Shopping at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 Shops in Iliali, 510 
 
 Karshi, 326 
 
 Kuldja, 102 
 Kunia Urgenj, 533 
 
 Tashauz, 59 
 
 Shrine of a Samarkand butcher. 235 
 Shrines of Samarkand, 235 
 Shurakaneh, Houses at, 442 
 Siberia, Bible \vork in, 451 
 Siberia's one monument, 33 
 Siberian prisons, see " Prisons." 
 
 steamer, 29 
 Sibo curiosities, 85 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 665 
 
 Sibo encampment, Visit to a, 84, 89 
 Sibos, Hospitality of, 85 
 
 Household gods of the, 84 
 of the Hi valley, 83 
 
 Sickness among the, 85 
 Silk factory at Khiva, 476 
 Silversmith's shop in Khiva, 476 
 
 Sin, Conviction of, from reading Scrip- 
 ture, 454 
 Singing oarsmen on the Amu, 439 
 
 and dancing at Bokhara, 349 
 Slave-trade at Charjui, 421 
 Slavery among Kirghese, 1 60 
 
 in Bokhara, 422 
 
 Slaves liberated by Russia, 640 
 Sleeping in the desert, 412, 548 
 Slumbers disturbed at Bokhara, 350 
 Social eveningatPetro-Alexandrovsk, 447 
 Society, Bible, Help of, 4 
 
 Religious Tract, Help of, 4 
 Soil of Khiva, Character of, 459 
 Solons at Jarkend, 74 
 
 of the Hi valley, 83 
 Songs of the Kirghese, 151 
 Soup in the desert, 580 
 Souvenirs of Khiva, 476 
 
 Spies in Emir's palace at Kitab, 307 
 Sponge-plant at Tashkend, 181 
 Sports of Central Asiatics, 502 
 Stalls in Bokhara, 386 
 Starovers, Sect of, 281 
 Stealing in the desert, 561 
 Steamboat, Church music on, 35 
 
 passengers, 35 
 
 Siberian, 29 
 
 Steppe annexation by Russia, 612 
 
 "Ehbi" wind on, 66 
 
 Sandstorm on, 66 
 
 Summer appearance of, 44 
 
 Tortoises of, 582 
 
 Stewart, Col., on slavery at Charjui, 421 
 Stoddart, Col., at Bokhara, 339 
 
 compelled to embrace Islamism, 339 
 
 imprisoned at Bokhara, 339 
 
 killed at Bokhara, 340 
 
 Stone ornaments in Kiskilenskaia, 157 
 Stores at Krasnovodsk, 599 
 Street -sleeping at Kara-Chukum, 214 
 Streets and lanes of Bokhara, 386 
 
 of Khokand, 199 
 Stremoukhof's account of slavery in 
 
 Bokhara, 421 
 
 Subterraneous sheds in the desert, 561 
 Suburbs of Bokhara, 406 
 Suidun, Bazaar at, 114 
 
 Chinese p'ai fang at, 80 
 
 Visit to Chinese Governor at, no 
 - Walls of, in 
 Suigati, Author's arrival at, 160 
 
 Suigati, Election of judges at, 154 
 
 - Visit to Kirghese at, 144 
 Suili, Cemetery at, 583 
 
 - Wells of, 583 
 
 Sulphur baths at Arasan, 69 
 Sumba Karez, Afghan boundary at, 626 
 Summary of Author's journey. 603 
 Sun-worship, Remains of, 569 
 Sunday in Kuldja, 88 
 
 Sergiopol, 58 
 
 - Tashkend, 177 
 Sunni law against pictures, 321 
 
 superstition, 307 
 
 Sunrise at Khoja-Moburak, 332 
 Surakhane, Fire-worshippers at. 601 
 Surveying banks of Oxus, 629 
 Synagogue at Bokhara. 365 
 
 Karshi, 329 
 
 Khokand, 200 
 
 choristers. 239 
 
 of Samarkand Jews, 239 
 Syr-daria province, Scriptures for, 172 
 
 TAILLY, Dishonesty of, 496 
 Tajik sacred songs, 349 
 Takhta-Karacha pass, 296 
 Taldi-Kuduk, Sale of books at. 62 
 Tambourine music at Khiva, 495 
 Tamerlane, Birthplace of, 317 
 
 Camp of, 294 
 
 Gates of, 217 
 
 Ishrat Khana palace of, 230 
 
 Library of, 232 
 
 Siege of Urgenj by, 515 
 
 Tomb of, 224, 293 
 Enamel work of, 235 
 
 Wainscoting of, 377 
 
 Wife of, 228 
 Tara, Arrival at, 34 
 
 Cheapness of provisions at, 35 
 Taranchi bazaar in Kuldja, 89 
 
 Visit to, 101 
 
 gardens in Kuldja, 90 
 
 Kuldja, 101 
 
 mosque in Kuldja, 97 
 
 rebellion, 79 
 
 victory over Dungans, 79 
 Taranchis at Jarkand, 75 
 
 Description of, 8 1 
 
 - Dress of, 81 
 
 - Habitations of, 82 
 
 Tarantass abandoned in desert, 41 1 
 
 arrival at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 450 
 
 difficulty in desert, 41 1 
 
 on fire, 332 
 
 Purchase of a, 15 
 
 Sale of, 450 
 
 Shipment of, 424 
 
 Target practice of Turkistan troops, 244 
 
666 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA. 
 
 Tashauz from palace roof, 509 
 
 Lodgings at, 509 
 
 Palace of Khan at. 508 
 
 Route to, 508 
 
 Ruins near. 509 
 
 Shops of, 509 
 
 Temperature of, 509 
 
 Town of, 508 
 
 Tashkend, Asylum for aged at, 178 
 
 Barracks at, 188 
 
 Bazaars of, 184, 475 
 
 Beklar Bek medresse at, 183 
 
 Bible Society at, 179 
 
 Camp at, 187 
 
 Domestic expenses in. 186 
 
 Fancy goods in bazaar, 184 
 
 Gates of, 1 70 
 
 German visitors at, 178 
 
 Germans in, 177 
 
 Grave of Gen. Kaufmann at, 177 
 
 Hospital at, 177 
 - Hotel at, 170 
 
 House-rent in, 186 
 
 Household commodities at, 186 
 
 Jews' synagogue, 1 74 
 
 Money arrangements at, 191 
 
 Museum, 181 
 
 Antiquities in, 181 
 
 Botanical specimens in, 181 
 
 Buddhist idols in, 181 
 
 Curiosities in, 181 
 
 Ethnographical specimens in, 181 
 
 Hemiptera in. 181 
 
 Sponge-plant in, 181 
 
 Observatory at, 171. 187 
 
 Officers' club at, 178 
 
 Population of. 171 
 
 Prison at, 287 
 
 Provisions at, 1 86 
 
 Public library, 1 88 
 
 Russian, Library in, 171 
 Museum in, 171 
 
 Observatory in, 171 
 
 Sart curiosities, 184 
 
 Scripture distribution at. 172, 188, 
 
 45 2 
 
 Seminary for training schoolmasters 
 
 at, 187 
 
 Servants' wages in, 186 
 ** Sunday in, 177 
 
 Visit to Governor-General, 171 
 
 Wages in, 186 
 
 Wagonette disposal at, 191 
 
 Walls of, 170 
 
 Tatar yemstchik, Accident to, 164 
 Tax-gatherer of Kunia Urgenj, 500 
 Technicalities of Hebrew MSS., 370 
 Temperature of the desert, 576 
 Tent lodging at Kara-Tiube. 295 
 
 Tents of the Kirghese, 144 
 
 Territorial quarrels, 640 
 
 Texts illustrated, 642 
 
 Thian Shan sheep, 105 
 
 Threshing and ploughing. 296 
 
 " Through Siberia," Different estimates 
 
 of, 250 
 Tiflis, Bayern, Herr. of, 602 
 
 Bible distribution from, 602 
 Society at. 602 
 
 Weather at. 60 1 
 Tillah-Kari medresse, 234 
 Timbek's residence at Khokand, 199 
 Timber at Aulie-Ata, Dearness of, 165 
 Tiumen, Acquaintances at, 25 
 
 Book distribution at, 26 
 
 Introductions at, 28 
 
 Purchase of a telega at, 28 
 Tiurebek Khanim, Tomb of, 518 
 Tobolsk, Archbishop of, Visit to, 32 
 
 Books for exiles in, 27 
 
 Cemetery at. 32 
 
 Governor of, Interview with, 32 
 Togus-tepe hills, 578 
 
 Tokmak, Prison at, 286 
 Tomb at Sary Baba, 578 
 
 of Abdullah Khan, 388 
 
 Pilgrimages to. 388 
 
 Aulie-Ata, 166 
 
 Bibi Khanum, 229 
 
 Nedjm-ud-din-Kubera, 520 
 
 - Tamerlane, 293 
 
 - Wainscoting of, 377 
 
 Tiurebek Khanim, 519 
 
 Tombs at Khatiki, 457 
 
 of Kirghese, 130 
 
 royalty at Khiva, 479 
 Torahs of Jews at Bokhara, 366 
 Torchlight procession at Shahr, 318 
 Tortoises of the Steppe, 582 
 Town of Krasnovodsk, 594 
 
 Omsk, 37 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 448 
 
 Tract distribution in Moscow Exhibition, 
 
 452 
 on railway journey, 17 
 
 . Success of former efforts, 25 
 
 Society, Help of, 4 
 
 Trade in a Chinese bazaar. 101 
 
 Kuldja bazaars, 101 
 
 of Bokhara, 385 
 
 Central Asia, 475 
 
 Khokand, 203 
 
 Samarkand, 244 
 
 Semipolatinsk, 55 
 
 Tradesmen of Khiva, 472 
 Tradition of Tamerlane's library, 232 
 Traditions of Jews in China, 241 
 Tragical end of a china basin, 558 
 
INDEX. 
 
 667 
 
 Trans-Ili mountains, 118 
 Travelling in a horse-box, 60 1 
 Trials among the Kirghese, 154 
 Tribes of Samarkand Jews, 241 
 Troitzky, M., with the Kirghese, 152 
 Troops in Akhal oasis, 587 
 
 Petro-Alexandrovsk, 448 
 - Turkistan, 49 
 
 Drunkenness among, 244 
 - Target practice of, 244 
 Troubetzkoy prison in Petersburg, 261 
 - Cells of, 261 
 
 Diet of prisoners, 262 
 
 Garden exercise, 263 
 
 Visits from friends, 263 
 
 Women's quarters, 263 
 Troubles with attendants in desert, 570 
 Trousseau of a Kirghese bride, 139 
 Trumpets and drums at Charjui, 418 
 Tura river, Voyage on, 30 
 Turkistan, Archbishop of, Visit to, 124 
 
 Breweries in, 245 
 
 Distilleries in. 245 
 
 Fortified post-stations. 195 
 
 Kaufmann, Gen., in, 610 
 
 Leprosy in, 209 
 
 Russian influence in, 609 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 
 Troops in, 49 
 
 Wine-cellars in, 245 
 Turkmenia, Lessar, M. , in, 589 
 
 Naziroff, Lieut., in, 589 
 Turkoman boats on Upper Oxus, 431 
 
 brigandage, 613 
 
 Doctoring a, 545 
 
 farms, 441 
 
 horses, Value of, 522 
 
 lands desired by Russia, 618 
 
 raids, England's unconcern, 640 
 
 shop at Ak-tepe, 512 
 
 tent, Rest in, 539 
 
 tents at Krasnovodsk, 595 
 
 women, 547 
 Turkomans. Amulets of the, 596 
 
 Carpets of, 597 
 
 Felts of. 597 
 
 Food of, 597 
 
 Granville, Earl, on, 612 
 
 Jewellery of, 596 
 
 Occupation of, 597 
 
 Ornaments of, 596 
 
 Saryk tribe of, 626 
 "Turning in " to camel cradles, 546 
 
 out of bed in the desert, 583 
 
 policeman in the desert, 562 
 "Twickenham Ferry" in Bokhara, 350 
 
 ULUG BEG, Medresse of, 233 
 
 Observatory of, 233 
 
 Ulug Beg, Tomb of, 224 
 
 " Unfurnished apartments" at Kakir. 334 
 
 Ura Tiube, Long stage-journey to, 215 
 
 Sacred places of, 216 
 
 Scriptures for, 172 
 
 Traditions of, 216 
 
 Urals. Russian advance to the, 637 
 Urumtsi, Massacre near, 79 
 Urun-daria at Dekche, 560 
 Ushakoff, M., at Khokand, 199 
 Ustik, Journey to, 429 
 - Toksaba of, 429 
 Uzbeg notions of a future life. 438 
 
 servants hired by Author, 292 
 
 society at Manak, 504 
 
 Uzun Kuyu, Gazelle captured at, 569 
 - Well of, 566 
 
 VAULIN, Col., Hospitality of, 215 
 Vegetation near Samarkand, 297 
 
 of Kuldja, no 
 
 on banks of Amu, 440 
 Vehicles in Khiva, $00 
 Venison in the desert, 554 
 Viands of Kunia Urgenj, 532 
 Vierny, Aliken's hotel at, 119 
 
 Archbishop, Visit to, 124 
 Treasures of, 124 
 
 Book distribution at, 123, 286 
 
 Cattle market at, 123 
 
 Chinese curiosities in, 121 
 
 Droshky drive in, 119 
 
 Fruit at, 123 
 
 Hotel at, 122 
 
 Houses in, 120 
 
 Magistrate of, Visit to, 121 
 
 Melons at, 123 
 
 Mercantile introductions, 12 
 
 Police-master, Visit of, 123 
 
 Prison at, 282 
 Gardening in, 284 
 
 Nationalities of prisoners, 283 
 
 Provisions, Cheapness of, 284 
 
 races, Diversity of, 121 
 
 Russian advance to, 638 
 
 Streets of, 120 
 
 Town of, 1 20 
 
 Uninviting quarters in, 119 
 Villages near Altyn-Immel, 69 
 Volga, Mennonites of the, 521 
 Voting by ballot among Kirghese, 155 
 
 WAGES at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 449 
 
 in Tashkend, 186 
 Wairabad, Minerals near, 392 
 Walls in Central Asia, 37 7^ 
 
 of Aulie-Ata, 377 
 
 Bokhara, 377 
 
 Etchmiadzin, 377 
 
668 
 
 THR O UGH CENTRA L A SI A . 
 
 Walls of Khokand, 204 
 
 Suidun, ill 
 
 - Tashkend, 169 
 Wanderings of the Kirghese, 132 
 War, Deprecation of, 641 
 
 expenses of Khan of Khiva, 472 
 
 with Russia imminent, 621 
 Water distillation, Krasnovodsk, 594 
 Weariness of desert travelling, 577 
 Weather at Petro-Alexandrovsk, 448 
 Wedding ceremonies in Central Asia, 523 
 
 ceremony of the Kirghese, 139 
 
 festivities among the Kirghese, 140 
 Weights and Measures of Central Asia, 
 
 474 
 Well of Demerdjan, 581 
 
 Seikiz Khan, 575 
 
 Uzun Kuyu, 566 
 Wells of Karategin, 551 
 
 Kazakhli, 571 
 
 Kum-sebshem, 572, 574 
 Sary Kamish, 561 
 
 Suili, 583 
 
 White asses at Bokhara, 405 
 Wild boar at Porsu, 579 
 
 hens in the desert, 576 
 Wine-cellars in Turkistan, 245 
 
 Winter palace at Khiva, 491 
 of Khan, 492 
 
 Preparing for, 448 
 
 Wives of Emir ofBokhara, 400, 524 
 
 the Kirghese, 150 
 Wolf-hunting by Kirghese, 434 
 
 scare on the Amu, 437 
 Wolff, Dr., Bravery of, 341 
 
 Perils of, in Bokhara, 341 
 
 Return of, to England, 341 
 
 Wolves among sheep at Kabakhli, 433 
 Women of Turkmen ia, 547 
 
 Work, Carlyle on, 3 
 
 YAKOOB as interpreter, 293 
 Yemstchik, Accident to, 164 
 Yomuds of the Khivan khanate, 513 
 
 ZANGS among the Kalmuks, 86 
 Zarafshan province, Education in. 243 
 Public-houses in, 245 
 
 river, Fording of, 219 
 Zenana work, Need of, 525 
 Zindan prison at Bokhara, 398 
 Zulfikar, Russian advance to, 620 
 
 Pass, Discussion on, 622 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury. 
 
WORKS BY DR. LANSDELL, 
 
 THROUGH CENTRAL ASIA: 
 
 WITH AN 
 
 APPENDIX ON THE DIPLOMACY AND DELIMITATION 
 OF THE RUSSO-AFGHAN FRONTIER. 
 
 Illustrated with Seventy-four Engravings, and a Map showing the Frontier 
 as officially negotiated, and the Author s Route. 
 
 Demy 8vo, 700 pages. Price Twelve Shillings. 
 
 BY HENRY LANSDELL, D.D., M.R.A.S., F.R.G.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OF "THROUGH SIBERIA," AND "RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA, INCLUDING 
 KULDJA, BOKHARA, KHIVA, AND MERV." 
 
 The record of a journey through Turkistan, Bokhara, and Turkmenia, 
 giving in narrative form much that has been published in a detailed 
 and statistical manner in the Author's larger work; but adding a com- 
 pendium showing the course of events and diplomatic correspondence 
 which led to the appointment of the Afghan Boundary Commission, with 
 a sketch of the manner in which the delimitation has been performed. 
 The matter is then reviewed from a Russian, English, and general stand- 
 point. The allusions in the larger edition to patriarchal and Persian 
 customs which throw light on Biblical ethnography have been retained, 
 and several engravings added : together with the Author's Itinerary, 
 and two good Indices. The question also is discussed, "Do we know 
 the truth about Siberian prisons ? " 
 
 LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, AND RIVINGTON, 
 ST. DUNSTAN'S HOUSE, FETTER LANE, E.G. 
 
RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA: 
 
 INCLUDING 
 
 KULDJA, BOKHARA, KHIVA, AND MERV, 
 
 Illustrated with Photographic Frontispiece ; Seventy Engravings ; and 
 with Route and Ethnological Maps. 
 
 In Two Volumes. Demy Octavo, 1,500 Pages. Price Two Guineas. 
 
 A journey of 12,000 miles 5,000 by rail, 3,500 by water, and 3.700 on wheels, 
 horses, or camels through Western Siberia to Kuldja : thence through Russian 
 Turkistan and the Kirghese Steppes to Tashkend, Khokand, and Samarkand. 
 Crossing into Bokhara, the Author travelled through the Khanate as guest of the Emir, 
 floated 300 miles down the Oxus to Khiva, and then continued by a new route across 
 the land of the Turkomans and north of Merv to Krasnovodsk. One of Dr. Lansdell's 
 objects (as before in Siberia) was the distribution in prisons and hospitals of the 
 Scriptures, on the Patriarchal and Persian customs of which the work throws light in 
 references to 350 texts. In 77 chapters the book treats more or less fully of all parts of 
 Russian Turkistan, Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva, and Turkmenia, down to the frontier of 
 Afghanistan ; describes many hundreds of miles of country not previously visited by an 
 English Author ; gives 4,300 species of fauna and flora in about 20 lists, with 
 introductions ; adds a bibliography of 700 titles, and an index of 5,000 entries. 
 
 Extracts from Notices of the Press. 
 
 "Altogether Dr. Lansdell has reason to be proud of a work which is really 
 monumental. " The Times. 
 
 "Since the father of history [Herodotus] ... we doubt whether a more com- 
 plete book after its kind has been written. ... At Bokhara, the description of the 
 Emir's reception, and the Author's stay at Kitab, his summer residence, is one 
 of the most graphic bits of Oriental reading which the western world has seen." 
 Church Quarterly Review. 
 
 "Upon Russian Central Asia there is no book in the English language, and probably 
 not in any language, to be compared with it." Church Missionary Intelligencer. 
 
 " The journey, of which this book is a complete record, is a wonderful achievement, 
 and worthy to be placed among the great travels of the world." British Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 " His two volumes deserve the warmest commendation. They are real monuments 
 of courage, and of patience, and of knowledge." Whitehall Review. 
 
 " Two large volumes . . . which we venture to say will take a distinguished place 
 in the historical literature of our country." Ecclesiastical Gazette. 
 
 " In a word, the ethnologist, geologist, and naturalist will find these volumes not 
 only very pleasant reading, but also most valuable for reference." Natttre. 
 
 "The record of his travels is a work which does credit to our literature . . . 
 interesting adventures follow each other like episodes in a well-constructed drama. "- 
 Athentzum. 
 
 " He is full of fun as well as of information." Graphic. 
 
 " Entirely free from political bias." Globe. 
 
 "The book is an excellent one . . . and it is a first-rate model to those who 
 wish to know how a book of travel should be written." Academy. 
 
 "It car^t but raise the reputation of Dr. Lansdell as a great traveller, a careful 
 observer, an an attractive writer. " Medical Times. 
 
 LONDON : SAMPSON LOW & CO., FETTER LANE, E.G. 
 
 AMERICA: HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN, & CO., BOSTON. 
 
 GERMAN TRANSLATION: FERDINAND HIRT & SON, LEIPZIG. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTERS. 
 
 i. INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 FROM LONDON TO 
 
 I, 6, 7, 
 
 Ml, 12. 
 
 * ' 
 
 JOURNEY 
 OMSK. 
 
 GEOGRAPHY, ECONOMY, AND 
 ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
 PROVINCES OF AKMOLINSK, 
 SEMIPOLATINSK, AND SEMI- 
 RECHIA. 
 
 FROM OMSK TO KULDJA. 
 
 9, 20. HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN 
 ADVANCE UP THE IRTISH. 
 
 15 17. ETHNOLOGY, ETC., OF THE 
 CHINESE VALLEY OF ILL 
 
 24 28* ) FROM KULDJA TO TASHKEND. 
 
 21 23. THE KlRGHESE AND THEIR 
 PATRIARCHAL CUSTOMS. 
 
 25,26,29. METEOROLOGY, GEOLOGY, 
 COMMUNICATIONS, AND 
 
 STATISTICS OF THE SYR- 
 DARIA AND AMU-DARIA 
 PROVINCES. 
 
 27, 41. THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE UP 
 THE SYR-DARIA. 
 
 30, 31. OUR STAY AT TASHKEND. 
 
 3 2 >35>37' FROM TASHKEND TO KHO- 
 KAND AND SAMARKAND. 
 
 CHAPTERS. 
 
 , ANTIQUITIES AND TOPO- 
 36, 38, J GRAPHY OF MUHAMMADAN, 
 39, 40. ) JEWISH, AND RUSSIAN 
 
 ( SAMARKAND. 
 42 44. SIBERIAN, PETERSBURG, AND 
 
 CENTRAL ASIAN PRISONS. 
 45 48. FROM SAMARKAND THROUGH 
 
 KARSHI TO BOKHARA. 
 49 51. THE HISTORY, COLLEGES, AND 
 
 JEWS OF BOKHARA. 
 52, 53. THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITU- 
 TIONS, POPULATION, CUS- 
 TOMS, AND DISEASES OF 
 BOKHARA. 
 
 54, 55. FROM BOKHARA TO CHARJUI. 
 
 j THE Oxus CUPPER AND 
 
 5659, ) LOWER, ANCIENT AND 
 
 70. j MODERN), AND FLOATING 
 
 I DOWN IT. 
 60. FROM FORT PETRO-ALEXAN- 
 
 DROVSK TO KHIVA. 
 6163. THE OASIS, CAPITAL, AND 
 
 MOSQUES OF KHIVA. 
 64 66. FROM KHIVA TO THE NORTH 
 
 OF THE KHANATE. 
 
 6769, f DESERT TRAVEL FROM KUNIA 
 71, 72. J URGENJ TO THE CASPIAN. 
 
 73. TURKMENIA AND THE TURKOMANS. 
 
 74. THE TURKOMAN OASES. 
 
 75. THE RUSSIAN ADVANCE TO MERV. 
 
 76. MERV AS ANNEXED. 
 
 77. FROM KRASNOVODSK TO BAKU 
 
 AND HOMEWARDS. 
 
 33, 34. HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF 
 FERGHANA, AND THE PAMIR. 
 
 A LIST, BIBLICALLY ARRANGED, OF 350 TEXTS ILLUSTRATED OR REFERRED TO. 
 
 CHRONOLOGY OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA, FROM B.C. 329 TO A.D. 1884. 
 
 MAPS SHOWING AUTHOR'S ROUTE AND REGIONS INHABITED BY PRINCIPAL RACES. 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 A. THE FAUNA OF RUSSIAN TURKISTAN, WITH GENERAL PREFACE, INTRODUCTIONS, 
 
 AND ENUMERATION OF 3,000 SPECIES; viz.: MAMMALIA, 83; AVES, 385; 
 REPTILIA, 33 ; PISCES, 87; MOLLUSCA, 54; ARANEAE, 146 ; CRUSTACEA, 52 ; 
 COLEOPTERA, 556; MELLIFERA, 438; SPHEGIDAE, 183; SCOLIIDAE, 30; 
 MUTILLIDAE. l8; FORMICIDAE, 36; CHRYSIDIFORMES, 54; LEPIDOPTERA, 
 744; NEUROPTERA, 95 ; ORTHOPTERA, 74; VERMES, 47. 
 
 B. THE FLORA OF RUSSIAN TURKISTAN. A GENERAL PREFACE, WIOTH NAMES OF 
 
 92 FAMILIES AND 1.200 SPECIES IN LATIN AND ENGLISH, ALSO T, : LOCALITY 
 AND ALTITUDE WHERE FOUND, AND THE TIME OF BLOSSOM OR FKUIT. 
 
 C. BIBLIOGRAPHY OF RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA OF 700 TITLES, CHRONOLOGICALLY 
 
 AND TOPICALLY ARRANGED, WITH ALPHABETICAL LIST OF AUTHORS. 
 
 GENERAL INDEX OF 50 PAGES. 
 
TH ROUGH SI BERIA 
 
 Illustrated with Engravings and Maps. 
 
 FIFTH EDITION. IN ONE VOLUME, DEMY OCTAVO, 800 PAGES. PRICE 10s. 6d. 
 
 [A bait t 20 copies remain of the Library Edition at 30s., in two volumes, printed on thicker 
 with more engravings, a photographic frontispiece, and an ethnological map.} 
 
 A journey of 8,000 miles from the Urals to the Pacific, on the rivers Obi, Amur, and 
 Ussuri, and by the hire of a thousand horses. The Author travelled privately on an 
 expedition of a philanthropic and religious chai'acter to the penal establishments of Siberia, 
 and describes his visits to nearly all its hospitals, prisons, and mines, giving a mass of 
 authentic information concerning the exiles such as has never been published before. 
 The book treats of all parts of the country, as to its geography, natural history, and 
 inhabitants, both Russian and aboriginal ; whilst 3,000 miles of the Amur and Ussuri 
 are here described by an English Author as an eyewitness for the first time. 
 
 Extracts from 200 Notices of the English, Irish, Scotch, American, 
 Australian, French, Finnish, German, and Swedish Press. 
 
 The Times. (One column.} "The reader will . . . find in Mr. Lansdell's 
 volumes all that can interest him about Siberia." 
 
 The Athenaeum. (Five columns.} "With the exception of Mr. Mackenzie 
 Wallace's ' Russia,' the best book on a Russian subject which has appeared of late years 
 is Mr. Lansdell's ' Through Siberia.' " 
 
 Fraser's Magazine. (Thirteen pages.} "His testimony ... is simply the 
 best that exists." O.K. . . . (a Russian writer.) 
 
 The Academy. (Four columns)" We are of opinion that * Through Siberia ' is 
 much more entertaining, and certainly more readable, than many novels." 
 
 The Church Times, (Two columns.} "Englishmen have every reason to be 
 proud of this work ; for it ... can only result in making the name of our country 
 more honoured and respected than any mere victory of arms would do/' 
 
 Church Missionary Intelligencer. (Four pages. ) " It is altogether different 
 from even the higher class of books of travel. It teems with information of every 
 possible kind." 
 
 Harper's Monthly Magazine. (One column.}" Since the time of Howard, 
 no one has given us so full and fair an account of Russian prisons as is now presented to 
 us by Mr. Lansdell." 
 
 Revue des deUX Mpndes. (Twelve pages.} "Qu'on n'aille pas s'imaginer 
 apres cela que M. Lansdell soit un fanatique ... II estime qu'une sage philosophic et 
 une piete sincere ne sont inconciliables ni avec la belle humeur ni avec ces honnetes 
 petits plaisirs qui assaisonnent la vie." 
 
 The Baptist. (Two columns.} " A man who undertakes to set matters in a true 
 light before the eyes of the world deserves the gratitude of all parties. This Mr. Lansdell 
 has done." 
 
 The Guardian. (Two columns.} " It touches upon political and social questions 
 of great interest, and offers information upon the internal administration of the Russian 
 empire, which is not readily obtained elsewhere." 
 
 LONDON : SAMPSON LOW & CO., FETTER LANE, E.G. 
 AMERICA: HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN, & CO., BOSTON. 
 GERMAN TRANSLATION : HERMANN COSTENOBLE, JENA. 
 SWEDISH TRANSLATION : ALBERT BONNIER, STOCKHOLM. 
 DANISH TRANSLATION : O. H. DELBANCO, COPENHAGEN. 
 
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 BERKELEY 
 
 Return to desk from which borrowed. 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 REC'D L.D 
 
 ! I 
 
 LD 21-100m-ll,'49(B7146sl6)476 
 
M311954