i Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/ridetokhivatrave00burn_0 A RIDE TO KHIVA Travels and A dventures in Ce7itral A sia. FRED BURNABY, Colonel^ Royal Horse Guards. ///- V WITH AN APPENDIX. SIXTEENTH EDITION. Cassell, Fetter, Galpin & Co.: LONDON, PARIS <6 NEIV YORK. [au, rights reserved.] HENRY VILLEBOIS, Esq., OF MARHAM HOUSE, NORFOLK. THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY HIS NEPHEW, PREFACE. The title explains the nature of this work. It is merely a narrative of a ride to Khiva. I have added a short account of Russia’s Advance Eastward. In the course of my journey I had the opportunity of conversing with many Russians in Central Asia. India was a topic which never failed to produce numerous comments. A work has been lately published in St. Peters- burg. The author dilates at considerable length on the Russo- Indian Question. His opinions on this subject are similar to those which I have heard expressed. The author’s remarks are as follows : — “ Another advantage which we have gained consists in the fact that from our present position our power of threatening British India has become real, and ceased to be visionary. In this respect our Central Asian possessions serve only as an itape on the road to further advance, and as a halting-place where we can rest and gather fresh strength. . If in the time of Paul I. an overland expedition to India was con- sidered feasible, it is certainly much more so at the vi PREPAC&. present time, when we have shortened the Interval by such an immense stretch of country. “Asia will not of course ever form the avowed object of dispute between England and Russia, but in the event of a war produced by European complica- tions, we shall clearly be obliged in our own interests to take advantage of the proximity to India which is afforded by our present position in Central Asia. * it- # “ Besides the English,'' the author continues, “ there is another nation whose attitude is also one cf expect- ancy for the Russians — namely, the natives of India. “ The East India Company is nothing less than a poisonous unnatural plant engrafted on the splendid soil of India — a parasite which saps away thf? life of the most fertile and wealthy country in the world. “ This plant can only be uprooted by forcible means; and such an attempt was made by the natives of the country in 1857, though it failed for want of sufficient skill. “ Sick to death, the natives are now waiting for a physician from the North. ^ Some time will naturally elapse before they care to repeat the experiment of 1857; and, as far as can be foreseen, the English will have to deal only with disconnected outbreaks ; but it cannot be said with any certainty that such small sparks of rebellion may not, if supported by an impetus from without, produce a general conflagration through- out the leno'th and breadth of India. In this case the w PREFACE. vii British Government will be unable to reckon on the support of the native troops, numbering 1 24,000 out of a total of 200,000, and the small remnant will barely be sufficient to guard the most important points/' Such are the observations of Captain Terentyeff in his recent work called “ Russia and England in the East." In my own opinion Russia, from her present position, has not the power of even threatening British India. However^, she has the power of threatening points which, should she be permitted to annex them, would form a splendid basis for opera- tions against Hindostan. Merve, Balkh, and Kashgar would make magnificent Stapes . . The former locality is richer than any of the most fertile corn-growing countries in European Russia. Merve is close to Herat; and should the Afghans join with Russia, a direct advance might be made upon India through the Bolan Pass. If Kashgar were permitted to fall into the Tzars possession, we should lose our prestige with the Mohammedans in Central Asia; whilst the occupa- tion of Kashgar would prove a disagreeable thorn in our side, and give rise to endless intrigues. Balkh, from Bokhara, is only a twelve days' march, and from Balkh to Cabul, through the Bamian Pass, it is the same distance. This road, though blocked by the snow in winter, can be traversed by artillery in the summer and autumn months; whilst Bokhara could supply Balkh with any quantity of provisions which Vlll PREFACE. might be required. Should Russia be permitted to annex Kashgar, Balkh, and Merve, India would be liable to attack from three points, and we should have to divide our small European force. We have learnt how much trust can be placed In a Russian statesman's promises. Russia ought to be clearly given to understand that any advance in the direction of Kashgar, Balkh, or Merve, will be looked upon by England as a castes belli. If this is done, we shall no longer hear from the authorities at St. Petersburg that they are unable to restrain their generals in Tur- klstan. At the present moment Great Britain, without any European ally, can drive Russia out of Central Asia. If we allow her to keep on advancing, the same arms which we might now employ will one day be turned against ourselves. THE AUTHOR. Pomerhy Hall, Lnesstershirei CONTENTS I*A«M Introduction ^ . i CHAPTER I. Information about Khiva — Cold in Russia — East Wind — Russian Authorities — Count Schouvaloff — General Milutin — Christianity and Civilization — Anglo-Russian Railways in Central Asia — Preparations for the Journey — The Sleeping Bag — Cockle’s Pills — Arms — Instruments — Apparatus for Cooking 8 CHAPTER II. Waist-belt for Gold — A Servant an Encumbrance when Travelling — Cologne — Russian Diplomatic Agent — The Nord Newspaper — Mr. Disraeli — The Suez Canal Shares — Baron Reuter — S trausberg — Examination of Passports — Of Sleeping Bag — Railway Travelling in Russia — Refreshment Rooms — Russian disregard of Time — Officials easily Suborned — St. Petersburg — Sleigh Drivers — No Russian Piece in any Theatre — A Russian’s Dislike to his own Language — His Contempt for anything purely Russian — Military Rank — A Village Drinking Establishment — ^Jonka — Table d'‘hbte — Fish Soups — India and Education — Agitators — General Kauffmann’s Dislike to Publicity — Mr. Schuyler — Bismarck and the Russian Language — All have their Price — Gold an Open Sesame — Letter to General Milutin — Count Schouvaloff’s Brother not in St. Petersburg i6 CHAPTER III. The Volga Frozen— Navigation Stopped in the Caspian — The Russian Boundary Line in the East — Reports are rife in Russia — The Press is Gagged — General Milutin’s Regard for my Safety — Ignorance of Clerks at Railway Station — Cartridge Case — Insurgents in Herzegovina — Sub- scriptions— England bent upon Money-making — Austria allied with England— The Baltic Provinces — The Russians’ Hatred of Austria and Germany — Bismarck’s Policy— Mr. Leslie, Her Majesty’s Consul in Moscow . > , I * • • • . a , , COJ^T£A77S. CHAPTER IV. i^AGS Railway Officials — Unpunctuality of Trains — Frauds oft tne Railway Com- panies — Old Spirit of Serfdom — Socialistic and Nihilist Tendencies — The Emperor Alexander and the Religious Influence in Russia — The Ecclesiastical Flierachy more powerful than the Tzar — Waiting-rooms at Riajsk — Superstition .ind Dirt — Sizeran ...... 40 CHAPTER V. Twenty Degrees below Zero — Provisions — Wolves in the Neighbourhood — Our Troika — Driving along the Volga — Price of Corn — Bridge being Built over the River — The Sterlet — The Cossacks of the Ural — How to Catch Sturgeon —The three kinds of Caviare 46 CHAPTER VI. A Hole in the Ice — The Two Alternatives — Being Dragged through the Water — Preparing for the Leap — Price of Land — Our First Halting, place— Winnowing Com — Russian Idols . . * , , • 5 j CHAPTER VII. Pins-and-Needles — Spoiled Horses — Driver’s idea of Distance — The Halting- place — Our Fellow Travellers — A Devout but Unwashed Pedlar — A Glorious Sunrise — A Bargain is a Bargain , . , , . . 6l CHAPTER VIII. The Guardian of the Forests — No Sleigh Bells allowed in the Town — Hotel Anaeff — A Curiously-shaped Vehicle — Law about Libel — Price of Provi- sions at Samara — Rate of Mortality amongst the Infant Population — Podorojnayas, or Road Passports — The Grumblers’ Book — Difference of Opinion between my Horses and the Driver 69 CHAPTER IX. Delayed by a Snowstorm — Tchin — Russian Curiosity — A Conservative Inspector — General Kryjinovsky — He tells me that I speak Russian— The Interest the Paternal Government takes in my Movements — Russia and China — A Newly-married Sleigh Driver — A Camel in Love . . 77 CHAPTER X. Sleigh Sickness — A Happy Family— Orenburg— Nipping— Gas from a Char- coal Stove — A Professor of Eastern Languages — The Chief of the Police ■ — Special Order Prohibiting Foreigners from Travelling in Turkistan— Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler — In Search of a Servant — Friendly Interest Russian Officers take in India — Exhibition of Maps — Map of tlie Punjaub — March Routes — General Bazoulek S6 CHAPTER XL The Ural Cossacks — Dissenters — Two Thousand Five Hundred Men Banished — Exiles Flogged — A Battue — Reports about General Kauff- inann — The Tzar's Officers in Turkistan 0.^ CONTENTS, XI CHAPTER XII. A Supply of I’rovisions — A Grocer’s Shop — An Elastic Piece of Goods — Schuyler and MacGahan — A Russian Bank— Gold and Paper — Coutts’ Circular Notes — Cox’s Letter of Credit — What is the Paper Value of a Half Imperial ? — Russia on the verge of Bankruptcy — A Dinner Party — German Military Railway Carriages — The Russian Railway Gauge — Christmas Day — The Chief of the Police — An Intelligent Thief Catcher — A Podorojnaya — Arrival of the Prisoner — “Women, women — there were two with him 1” , , jqq CHAPTER XIII. A Sheepskin Suit — Servant Hunting — A Tartar Dwarf— Nazar — Packing the Sleigh — Kirghiz Camels — Ural Mountains — Krasnogorsk — Bouran — Off the Track — Harness Broken — Driver Loses his Way — Nazar Famished — Keeping Awake under Difficulties — The Rescue — Nazar’s Culinary Composition — Benighted Travellers — The Courier — An Officer and his Wife — The Doctor — Bleeding — Curiosity — Tropical Heat or Extreme Cold, which is the worst to bear ?. , . ^ . .Ill CHAPTER XIV. A Start v/ith the Courier — Tea-money — A Breakdown — The Book for Complaints — Improvement in Scenery — Trade in Shawls — An Eastern Tale — Podgornaya — A Precipice — “Oura!” — The Inn at Orsk — A Basin and a Table Napkin — A Servant with a Joyful Countenance — No Horses at the Stable — A Man who has Horses for Hire — “You have a Grand- mother?” — A Blue-eyed Siren 123 CHAPTER XV. Nomad Tribes — A Picture of Desolation — Nazar is Worn Out — The Inspector — Price of Land, Cattle, and Provisions — The Cattle Pest — Vaccinating the Animals — The Kirghiz do not believe in Doctors — Small Pox — Strict Orders to Prevent Englishm.en travelling in Russian Asia — The Cost of Post Horses — Robbing Peter to pay Paul — Postal Track let out to Contractors — Fort Karabootak — Filthy Stations — Horses wanted — Whipping, the Order of the Day — The Emperor Nicholas — A Snow- storm — Asleep in the Sleigh — Frostbites — Physical Pain — Mental Agony — Cossack Soldiers — Brothers in Misfortune 13^ CHAPTER XVI. Kashgar — English Officers said to be Drilling the Inhabitants — Yakoob Bek’s Envoys — Perfidious Albion — Tashkent — Commerce with Bokhara — A Railway to Tashkent — Irghiz — A Wolf — Terekli — The Boundary Line- How far does Russia extend? — Uncivil Inspector — Bottles Broken by the F rost — Passengers’ Necks — Tartar Sleigh Drivers — A Ruined Contractor — A Team of Camels — Head-over-heels in the Snow — The Kirghiz Horses— A Hundred Miles’ Ride — Two Hundred Miles in twenty-four hours (on two Horses) — Two extraordinary Marches •••»,, 143 Xil CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. PAGE Break-down of the Sleigh — Fresh Vehicle — “The Scavenger’s Daughter” — The Sea of Aral — A Salt Breeze — Less Snow — Christmas Day in Russia •—Amorous Females in Search of a Husband — Supper for Two — Kasala, or Fort Number One — The Garrison — The Aral Fleet — The Inn of MorozofF — Comparisons in Dirt — In Search of a Lodging — “ Go with God, Brother” — The Jews’ Quarter — A Commandant • > • • 154 CHAPTER XVIII. All English Engineer Officer at Kasala — A Russian Scientific Expedi* tion — Surveying the Oxus — The Rapidity of the Stream — A Future Fleet — Transport and Fishing Barges — Lady Smokers — Disturbances in Kokand — The Invalid e Newspaper — Abuse of Yakoob Bek— Dinner — “Anything you ask for” — Cabbage Soup and Cold Mutton — Colonel Goloff — His Residence — An Assembly — The Beauty and Fashion of Kasala — Steamers — Wood instead of Coal — Great Expense to Government — “When we Fight you Fellows in India” — Zakuski — Russian Linguists — System of Teaching Languages — Our Schools in England — Latin and Greek, or French and German — h. Foundation; or, a Two-storied House •••••••••• 163 CHAPTER XIX. Ablutions under Difficulties — The Turkomans — An Escort of Cossacks — Tlie Khan and his Executioner — In Search of Horses — Provisions for the March — Snow instead of Water — Exceptional Winter — Frozen to Death — The Unclean Animal — Kirghiz Amazons — Ural Cossacks — Dissenters and the Tzar — The Town of Kasala and Fever — Kibitkas — Mr. MacGahan and the Fair Sex — A Wife for One Hundred Sheep — The Matrimonial Lottery — A Russian Officer — “ Liquor is the only thing worth living for 1 ” — Shadows of War 173 CHAPTER XX. A Priest — Only one Wife allowed — Russian Bread — The Telegraph in Turkistan — General Milutin might change his Mind — Horse-dealing — Five Pounds for a Horse, Saddle and Bridle, &c. — A Guide — The Expedition to Khiva — ^The Russian Troops on the March — Forty degrees below Zero, Fahrenheit . • • • • , , .184 CHAPTER XXL Water Route from Kasala to Petro-Alexandrovsk — The Irkibai Route — The Winter March Route — General Perovsky — His Expedition — Loss of Nine Thousand Camels — New Year’s Day — Two out of Ten Cossacks Frozen to Death — Major Wood and the Survey of the Oxus — Struggling into the Saddle — “ Your Koxse is Tough” — Ophthalmia — Cotton Bales — The Mohammedans and the Deity — Fatalism — The Will of Allah • , 193 CONTENTS. Xlll CHAPTER XXII. PAGB Camels — Their Rate of March — How to Divide the Marches — The Kibitka — Better be Cold than Blind — A Tartar Cook — The Turkoman’s Appe- tite — A Khivan Caravan — The Main Road goes to Khiva, the Branch Road to the Fort — Drinking Tea with the Khi vans— Sheltering the Camels . 202 CHAPTER XXIII. A Lazy Guide — A Cold Pig — Insubordination — How to Awake Arabs — Plot Embers better than Cold Water — Power of Camels to carry Burdens much exaggerated — Quickest Road to a Tartar’s Affections — Sores from Frostbites 2 10 CHAPTER XXIV. The Guide’s Retaliation — Horses’ Nostrils stuffed up with Icicles — Endurance of the liorses — The Brother-in-Law’s Horses — Kalenderhana — A Sudden Thought — Stchi — The Women expose their Faces — The Kirghiz Poetry — Sheep — A Sign of Manhood in the Bridegroom — ^Jealous Females— Feasting — A Peculiar Pocket — Games — Horse Races — The Girls and their Admirers — The Prettiest Girl in the Tribe — A Simple Marriage Ceremony — “ But supposing she would not have you ?” , , .216 CHAPTER XXV. Disobedience of Orders — A Lesson — A Song about a Sheep — The Impor- tance of a Traveller gauged in Russia by his Furs, in Asia by his Retinue — Worn Out— The Pretty Ice-bearer — Moon-faced Girls — Seville — Giianas—^wymg a Sheep— “Fat !” — A Beautiful Butcher — A Kirghiz Pipe — Kirghiz Tobacco — Heart Disease— Desultory Warfare —Progress of Russia — The Sword and the Gibbet— Christianity and the Bible — A Filthy Habit — Snow for Horses instead of Water — In the Misty Gloom of Awakening Day — Stretching a Point — “ We will go to Kalenderhana” — Ootch Ootkool — Tan Sooloo — Tooz — A Small Salt Lake •••••••••»••« 225 CHAPTER XXVI. The Turkoman on his Donkey — Jana Darya— A once Fertile Country — A Barren Waste — The Grandfather of the Khan — English Horses and Kirghiz Horses — Russian Cavalry — A Sea like Molten Gold — Isles as if of Silver — Kamstakak — A Fresh Water Pond — A Return to Vegetation — Saigak — Pheasants — The Camel Driver is taken ill — The Moullahs — Conjuring the Evil One — A Dog of an Unbeliever — The Guide’s Fight with the Khivan — A Revolver is som.etimes a Peace-maker — Khivan method of Preserving Grass throughout the Winter — Deep Chasms — Tombs — The Vision of the Kirghiz — The Kazan-Tor Mountains — Auri- ferous nature of the Soil <»••#•••. . 236 CONTENTS, xiv CHAPTER XXVIL page Villages Fortified — The Turkoman Raids exaggerated~A Retrospect — The Cossacks Invade Khiva — Urgentch— Peter the Great’s Idea about Khiva and India — Prince Bekovitch — Careful Preparations for the Expedition — Points Selected by the Shores of the Caspian — Forts St, George, Alexander, and Krasnovodsk — March across the Ust Urt — Destruction of the Russians — Expedition in 1859 — Chikishlar Taken — Military Posts Established— Chikishlar Occupied in 1871 — Russian Statement about the Shah’s Recognition of the Tzar’s Claim to Ashourade — Russians Established at Four Points in Turkoman Territory — The Adayefs — Forced Contributions — Taxes Raised 150 per Cent. — Dissatisfaction — Letter from the Khan — Adayefs Overcome — The Khan’s Letters to the Emperor and to the Viceroy of the Caucasus — The Russian Chancellor’s perfect understanding with Mr. Gladstone’s Government — Count Schou- valoff s Statement to Lord Granville — Positive Assurances to Parliament about Khiva — The Force Employed by Kauffmann in his Advance upon Khiva — The different Columns — Difference of Opinion between Kry- jinovsky and Kauffmann — Capture of Khiva — Markosoff’s Failure — War Indemnity — Prince Gortschakoffs Principles — ^Treatment of the Turkomans — General Kryjinovsky’s Statement about this Subject — Court Martial on Two Turkomans — Sentence of Death — Russian Treaty with Khiva — Khivan Territory given to Bokhara 247 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Guide’s Kibitka — His Wife — His Brother-in-Law — Why not go to Khiva? — Domestic Pressure — Eating a Horse — Letter to the Khan — The Moullah — Kapiian or Polkovnik — A Letter in Russian — Tchin — Horse-dealing — A Horse with One Eye— Canals from the Oxus — Jougouroo — The Grey Horse — A Purchase ...... 263 CHAPTER XXIX. The Oozek — A Fragile Bridge — The Oxus — Khivan Taxation — Russian Imports — The Traders — A Slug — A Caravan — Costumes — Saddles— Khivan Horses— Aaleikom — Quarters for the Night — Hospitality — A Khivan House — Melons — Hindostan and England — Railways — An ~ Iron Horse — 500 Versts in twenty-four hours 273 CHAPTER XXX. Oogentch— The Town— The Bazaar— A Barber’s Shop— “These Infidels have Strange Customs” — “Please God you do not get your Throat cut I” — Breakfast with a Khivan Merchant — India a Mine of Wealth in the Eyes of the Russians in Tashkent — There are many Roads to India — A Fort at Merve — Shabbatat Canal — The Bridge — The Cemetery — The Tombs— Fearful Scenes — “Who began the War?” — The Kazabat Canal — Shamahoolhoor — A Sportsman — “You have not got a Wife?” A Breechloader— >“ The Khan has now no Soldiers” ... * 282 CONTENTS, ’ KV CHAPTER XXXI TAca llie Messenger — Two Khivan Noblemen — Minarets — Orchards — Mulberry Trees — Khiva — The Fortifications — The Market-place — The Gallows — How Murderers are put to death — The Muscovite Imagination — Capital Punishment rarely inflicted — The Population — The Schools — Cupolas— The Khivan’s House — A Bath in Khiva — The Bathing Establishment — The Belt which contained my Gold — The Moullah — Captain Abbott — “The Winter killed the Dogs by thousands” — The Khan’s Treasurer — “ They do not love you English People” — “ Four Years ago we were quite as far off Russia as you are at the present time ” — Distinguished Foreigners— Ink Frozen— "“The Russians have not such things” . *294 CHAPTER. XXXIL Breakfast in Khiva — Decorations or Orders — How to obtain them in Russia • — The Procession through the Streets — The Band — The Khan’s Palace— His Guards — Effeminate Boys dressed a little like Women — The Treasury — Khivan Tribute to the Tzar — The Executioner — Nazar’s Trepidation — The Reception Hall — The Audience — The Khan — His description — Tea — The Interpreters — England, “ How far is it from Russia?” — Englishmen and Germans — Wyld’s Map — “Where is India?” — A Compass — An Infernal Machine — Afghanistan — China — War with Russia — “The Russians laughed at you” — “What shall you do about Kasghar ?” — “ Are there Jews in your Country?” — -“The Russians love Money very much”— “ Hum !” 304 CHAPTER XXXIII. The Present Khan — The Law of Succession — The Turkomans and their Tribute — The Royai Gardens — A Summer Palace — How the Sovereign administers Justice — God’s Vengeance — The Prison — The Prisoners — —The Stocks — The Schools — The Moullahs— Reading, Writing, and the Koran — How Schoolmasters are remunerated for their trouble — Preparations for a Start to Bokhara — E hoimne propose, mais Dieu dispose — A Letter — It must have cost a large sum of money sending that Telegram— General Milutin — The Bazaar — A Strict Order — A Nose- ring — The Unclean Animal — A Present from the Khan — His Invitation to Englishmen — His Hospitality , e . . . . , • 3 *J CHAPTER XXXIV. Departure from Khiva — The Khan’s Brother — His rumoured intention of visiting St. Petersburg — Villages — Goryin — The Governor of Anca — Lord Northbrook — Herat — Lahore — Lucknow — Calcutta— Our Soldiers in India — The Cossacks — Indian Teas — The Amou .Darya — Lager — Three Squadrons Picketed out in the open — The Telegram from H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge — Colonel Ivanoff — Misunderstanding between Major Wood and Colonel Ivanoff— Atmosphere of Central XVI CONTENTS, PAOB Asia^ and tTie Colonel's Memory — Letter to General Kolpakovsky — Dinner at IvanofFs — Russia and England — Merve — If taken a Strong Fort would be Built there — Roads to Merve — The Khivans are Quiet People — Court Martial upon the Turkomans — Borrowing to Pay the Interest of Former Loans — Troops at Petro - Alexandrovsk — Ivanoff would shortly receive his Promotion — The Russki Mir {Russian World) —Article on the large number of German Officers in the Russian Army — Marked antipathy to the Germans — The New Military System in a transitory state — Contempt expressed for Austria— The Ladies at Petro- Alexandrovsk 324 CHAPTER XXXV. The Meet — Bokharan and Kirghiz Sportsmen— The Country — The Chase— The Falcons — A Club-house — A Ball — The way of Dancing Quadrilles — Vaises — A Mazurka — Theatricals — Osbaldestone’s Feat — The Daven- port Brothers’ Trick — The Khan’s Treasurer — An Envoy from the Ameer of Bokhara — “ Who is the Khan in the Moon ?” — A Russo- German Scientific Expedition — A Prussian Officer — Nazar and Ivanoff’s Servants — Captain Yanusheff— Shurahan 334 CHAPTER XXXVI. The 1 arantass — The Last Adieux — A Night in the Cold — The Cossacks ; their Arms, Weight, &c. — How they Bivouac — The Ameer of Bokhara — The Sentry — His Punishment — Whipping the Camel Driver — The Kirghiz Postman— A Kirghiz Chapel — A Race back to Kasala— 371 Miles in nine Days and two Hours — A Duel — Mutiny of the Uralsk Cossacks — The Tzarevitch — The Cross of St . George — A Reinforcement of 10,000 Men from Orenburg 343 CHAPTER XXXVII. The District Governor — A Cossack Colonel’s Funeral — The Island in the Sea of Aral — How to join the Amou Darya and Syr Darya Rivers — My Quarters in Morozoff’^ Inn — Letter from General Kolpakovsky — Changing Money — English Sovereigns — Sale of Horses — A Jew and a Greek — S)rmpathy between the Russians and the Greeks — A Rich Young Kirghiz Widow — Love-making through a Third Party — A Boy Husband —Cossacks Marching from Orenburg — Nazar’s Father-in-Law — The Commander of the Battery — Despatches sent from Tashkent to St. Petersburg in twelve Days — A Fat Goose 352 CHAPTER XXXVIII. An Inquisitive Inspector— ** Will England cede us Kasghar?”— The Fortress Afghan — “Are the English Christians?” — “Have you Images?” — “And yet you call yourselves Christians I” — ^The Bath in Uralsk — No one Washed on a Friday — The Chief of the Police — A Murderer — His Punishment — The Ural Cossacks— Sizeran — Good-bye to Nazar . 361 CONTENTS. xvii APPENDIX The Russian Advance Eastward A. « # 0 9 % PACK • 367 APPENDIX Report of Mr. Schuyler .... B. . 391 APPENDIX Russian Immorality in Central Asia , C. APPENDIX Treaty of Peace between Russia and Khiva D. e . . 397 APPENDIX The Promise not to Annex Khivan Territory E. 9 • a e c . 403 APPENDIX F. Treaty concluded between General Kauffmann and Seid Muzafer, Ameer of Bokhara 405 APPENDIX An Afghan Prince on the Importance of Merve G. • a e s . 409 APPENDIX Budget of the Turkistan Government . I-L « 9 a e 0 . 412 APPENDIX L Russian Operations against the Yomud Turkomans , . • . 415 APPENDIX J. Movements of Russian Troops on the Oxus , •„ • • . 419 APPENDIX K. Showing how easily Merve might be taken by the Russians . 424 APPENDIX A Russian Officer on Cossack Bivouacs L. • 0 • ~ • . 425 APPENDIX M. A Russian Officer about the Size and Requirements of a Steppe Train . . 426 APPENDIX N. Ways of Communication by Sea to the East Coast of the Caspian , , 428 A RIDE TO KHIVA. INTRODUCTION. A LOW room, with but little furniture, and that of the simplest kind ; a few telegraphic instruments scattered about here and there in out-of-the-way corners, and mixed up promiscuously with rifles and wooden boxes, some filled with cartridges, others containing provisions for a journey; two or three bottles, labelled “Quinine,” on a rickety wooden table ; several men of various nationalities all talking at the same time, and a Babel of different languages ; — such was the scene around the writer of this work, who was leaning against the window-sill, and glancing from time to time at an old number of an English newspaper. The host was a German gentleman, now several thousand miles from the Fatherland, which he had been induced to leave by an offer of the post of superinten- dent and general manager on a long and important line of recently-constructed telegraph . A graceful girl, with large dark eyes and pearl-white teeth, but whose olive complexion and Oriental dress showed that she was in no way akin to the fairer beauties of Europe, was engaged in handing round small cups of coffee to the most excited talkers of the party, an Italian, Arab, and s A RIDE TO KHIVA. Englishman, the former gesticulating wildly in an endeavour to interpret between his two companions, who were evidently not at all in accord about the subject of conversation. A bright sun, its rays flashing down on a broad stream, nearly the colour of lapis- lazuli, which flowed hard by the dwelling, had raised the temperature of the room to an almost unbearable heat. It was the month of February. In England people were shivering beside their fires or walking in slush or snow; but I was at Khartoum, having just returned from a visit to Colonel Gordon, Sir Samuel Baker’s successor, on the White Nile. It may seem strange thus to commence the narrative of a journey to Central Asia in Central Africa, and yet, had it not been for a remark made by one of the men in the low square room to which I have just referred, in all probability I should never have gone to Khiva. The conversation had lulled, the Arab and Englishman having, by means of the Italian, settled the knotty point as to whether the son of Albion, an officer late in the Khedive’s service, was to receive the salary due to him in its entirety or not; the Mohammedan being of opinion that the Christian ought to be paid the amount subject to a deduction, the native Egyptian officials having always to submit to this system of taxation. However, my English friend did not see it in this light: he had agreed to serve for a certain sum — that sum he must receive — and if the Arab did not pay, why, he would complain to the Khedive. This last remark having been at length translated to the official, the latter succumbed. My compatriot, the question being settled to his satisfaction, came and looked out of the window by my side. It was indeed a picturesque scene. The Blue Nile^ INTRODUCTION. 3 here nearly half a mile from shore to shore, lay smooth and unrippled like a sea of glass almost at our feet. On its vast surface were barges and native boats innumerable, whilst many nuggers — the huge sailing barques of the Arabs, and much used by them in former years when engaged in the slave-trade — were anchored here and there. Gangs of workmen, black as ebony, and stripped to the waist, their well- developed muscles standing out like knotted cords, were busily engaged unloading a freight of ivory bound for Cairo. An enormous saquieh^ or water- wheel, for irrigation purposes, was slowly revolving, put in motion by the united exertions of a bullock and a donkey. The wild yells of a negro lad, whose duty it was to goad the animals should they ever flag, mingled strangely with the creaking sounds of the ponderous woodwork. I wonder where we shall all be this time next year,’’ suddenly remarked my companion. “ God knows,'' was my answer ; “ but I do not think I shall try the White Nile again; if I come to Africa another time I shall select a new line of country." At that moment my eye fell upon a paragraph in the paper. It was to the effect that the Government at St. Peters- burg had given an order that no foreigner was to be allowed to travel in Russian Asia, and that an English- man who had recently attempted a journey in that direction had been turned back by the authorities. I have, unfortunately for my own interests, from my earliest childhood had what my old nurse used to call a most “ contradictorious " spirit, and it suddenly occurred to me. Why not go to Central Asia ? “ Well, I shall try it," was my remark. “ What, Timbuctoo ? " said my friend. ** No, Central Asia;" and I showed 4 A RIDE TO KHIVA, him the paragraph. ‘‘ You will never get there ; they will stop you.’' ^‘They can if they like, but I don’t think they will.” And this trifling incident was the first thing which put the idea into my head of again attempting to reach Khiva. I had intended to go there some few years ago, when the Russians were about to invade the country. I had even started on my journey, meaning to try and find a way into Khiva, vid Persia and Merve, and, if possible, be with the Khivans at the time of the Russian attack. But this project was never realised. A typhoid fever, caught as I was rapidly' travelling through Italy, laid me for four months on a bed of sickness. My leave thus was spent in a very different manner from that originally intended, and I had, as it is commonly termed, a much closer shave for my life than I believe would ever have been the case even if I had been taken prisoner by the most fanatical Turkomans in Central Asia. But the campaign was over. There would be no fighting to see. Our states- men had learned how to appreciate a Russian’s promises at their true value. Samarcand had been annexed to the Tzar’s dominions, the Black Sea Treaty had been repudiated, and Russian troops were quartered in Khivan territory. According to some politicians Khiva was a long way from India, and it really did not signify to England whether Russia annexed it or not. Again, it was urged by others, if Russia does eventually reach our Indian frontier so much the better for England. We shall have a civilized nation as a neighbour instead of the barbarous Afghans. A third argument brought • See Appendix A, The Russian Advance Eastward, and Appendix D, The Treaty with Khiva. INTRODUCTION, 5 forward to defend the action of the Liberal Govern- ment was, that India did not signify so much to us after all, that she was a very expensive possession, and one which we should very likely have taken from us, but one certainly not worth fighting for. This was the opinion of some men who were high in office, and who thus lightly valued one of the brightest jewels in the British crown. The majority of our rulers did not trouble their heads much about the matter. India will last my time was the remark ; Russia is still a long way off ; and our grandchildren must look after them- selves. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof ; and after me the Deluge. Thus the question was allowed to drop, and the minds of our legislators were speedily engrossed in studying the important question as to which would be the better course to pursue — to allow Englishmen to go into public-houses after eleven o’clock at night, or to send them thirsty and supperless to bed. The following autumn the Carlist War was going on. so I went to Spain. After a time my thoughts were no longer occupied with the state of affairs in Central Asia. It was only when my friend, in reply to my observation, had observed, “You will never get there; they will stop you,” that it occurred to me to ask what possible reason the Russian Government could have for pursuing a line of policy which, easily understood when adopted by a barbarous nation like China, was a singular one for even a semi-civilized power. It was the more remarkable, as, from the days of Peter the Great, the regenerator of Russia, his successors have invariably encouraged the inhabitants of Western Europe to visit and freely circulate throughout the Imperial dominions. If it were not for the German 6 A RIDE TO KHIVA, element, which is so largely diffused throughout the governing classes, Russia would never have arrived at even her present state of advancement. Of all the Tzars of Muscovy during the last 200 years the present Emperor is perhaps the sovereign most keenly alive to the advantage of raising the standard of civilization throughout his dominions, by admitting foreigners, particularly Germans, to every office in the empire. The repressive order to which I have alluded, thus absolutely cutting off Asiatic Russia from almost all contact with the more civilized inhabitants of Europe, was in striking contrast to the line of conduct which had previously characterized his reign. There was, then, something behind the scenes — - something that it was desired to hide from the eyes of Europe. What could it be ? Were the generals in Central Asia treating the inhabitants of the conquered districts so cruelly, that the fear of this reaching the Emperor’s ears — not through Russian sources, as this would be impossible, but through the medium of a foreign press —was the origin of the order? Or could it be that though no absolute cruelty had been shown to the people in the -recently -acquired territory, they were being badly governed, and that the bribery and corruption wffiich goes on in Western Russia had taken deeper root when transplanted to the far-off East ? Or was it that the authorities in Turkistan, the enormous territory acquired by Russia within the last few years, were afraid of letting Europe know that instead of having raised the tone of morality amidst the inhabitants of Central Asia, the latter had in many instances brought the Russians down to an Oriental level, and that the IATTRODUCTIOJV. 7 vices and depraved habits of the East were actually being acquired by some of the conquerors ? Judging from the accounts^ of the few travellers who have succeeded in making a way into this com- paratively speaking unknown country, any of the hypotheses above alluded to might have been the origin of the order. But I could not help thinking that there was something more behind the scenes than the mere wish to blind the eyes of Europe to these matters, or to appear as the apostles of Christianity — one of the pleas put forward by the Russian press to defend the system of annexation so steadily persevered in by the Government, There was something beyond all this ; and in that something I felt convinced that , the interests of Great Britain had a share. Peter the Great s will, or rather wishes, have not been forgotten by his successors. The proof of this is best shown by looking at a map of Russia as it was in his days and as it now exists ; whilst in a recent staff map of Turkistan, 1875, compiler has not even dotted in the boundary line from N. lat. 39^2', E. long. 69^38', to N. lat. 44^40', E. long. 79^^49!', thus showing that the boundary line, in his opinion, has not yet been reached. When will that limit be attained ? When is the Russian advance to be barred, and where ? By the Himalayas, or by the Indian Ocean ? This is a question, not for our grandchildren, nor our children, but for ourselves. * See Appendix B, Report of Mr. Schuyler, and Appendix C, Riissiafl linmorality in Central Asia, Extract from Major Wood’s “ Sea of Aral.*’ CHAPTER I. Infonnation about Khiva — Cold in Russia — East Wind — Russian Authorities — Count Schouvaloff — General Milutin — Christianity and Civilization — Anglo- Russian Railways in Central Asia — Preparations for the Journey — The Sleep- ing Bag — Cockle’s Pills — Arms — Instruments — Apparatus for Cooking. Having once resolved to go to Central Asia, the next question was how to execute my intention. On returning to England from Africa I eagerly read every book that could be found, and which seemed likely to give any information about the country which I proposed to visit. Vamberys “Travels,” Abbott’s “From Herat to Khiva,” and MacGahan’s “ Campaigning on the Oxus,” were each in turn studied. Judging by the difficulties that the gallant correspondent of the New York Herald had to overcome before he carried his proj‘ect of reaching Khiva into execution, I felt con- vinced that the task I had laid out for myself was anything but an easy one. The time of year in which I should have to attempt the j*ourney was another obstacle to the undertaking. My leave of absence from my regiment would only commence in December. I had already, in previous journeys through Russia, discovered what the term “ cold ” really means in that country. After reading of the weather experienced by Captain Abbott when travelling in the month of March, in a latitude a good deal to the south of that which seemed to me the most practicable, I felt certain that very careful prepara- THE RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES. 9 tions must be made for a ride through the steppes in mid-winter, or that I should inevitably be frozen. The cold of the Kirghiz desert is a thing unknown I believe in any other part of the world, even in the Arctic regions. An enormous expanse of flat country, ex- tending for hundreds of miles, and devoid of everything save snow and salt lakes, and here and there saksaool^ a species of bramble-tree, would have to be traversed on horseback ere Khiva could be reached. The winds in those parts of Asia are unknown to the inhabitants of Europe. When they grumble at the so-called east wind, they can little imagine what that wind is like in those countries which lie exposed to the full fury of its first onslaught. For there you meet with no warm' ocean to mollify its rigour, no trees, no rising land, no hills or mountains to check it in its course. It blows on uninterruptedly over a vast snow and salt-covered track. It absorbs the saline matter, and cuts the faces of those exposed to its gusts. The sensation is more like the application of the edge of a razor than any- thing else to which it can be compared. There was, besides this, something else to be taken into consideration. I was well aware that no assist- ance could be expected from the Russian authorities. They might not content themselves by indirectly throwing obstacles in my path, but might even stop me by sheer force if they found all other ways fail. The account of the prohibitory order which I had seen published in the English journal was, I had every reason to believe, correct. Should I not find, after crossing the Ural river, and entering Asia, that my long sleigh journey had been to no purpose, and have to retrace my steps through European Russia ? These were my first impressions on arriving in lO A RIDE TO KHIVA. England ; but on talking the matter over with some Russians of my acquaintance, they assured me that I was entirely mistaken ; that, on the contrary, the authorities at St. Petersburg would readily permit Engl'ish officers to travel in Central Asia. It was observed that the order to Vhich I had alluded re- ferred only to merchants or people who tried to smuggle contraband goods into the recently-annexed khanates. A few months later I had the honour of making the acquaintance of his Excellency Count Schouvaloff, the Russian Ambassador in London, and formerly the head of the secret police at St. Petersburg. He was excessively kind, and promised to do what he could to further my plans, but in answer to a straightforward question as to whether I should be permitted to travel in Russian Asia or not, his reply w^as, “ My dear sir, that is a subject about which I cannot give you any answer. The authorities at St. Petersburg will be able to afford you every possible information.’^ It was a diplomatic answer — one which bound the Count to nothing — and I went aw^ay charmed with the tact and affability of the Russian Ambassador. Apparently there was nothing to be learned officially from Russian sources ; but unofficially, and one by one, many little bits of information crept out. I now first learned that General Milutin, the Minister of War at St. Petersburg, was personally much opposed to the idea of an English officer travelling in Central Asia, particularly in that part which lies between the boundaries of British India and Russia. According to him, a Russian traveller, a Mr. Pachino, had not been well treated by the authorities in India.^ This gentleman had * This I believe to be incorrect, as also the other statement — that Mr. Pachino was not permitted to enter Afghanistan. CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION, II not been permitted to enter Afghanistan ; and, in consequence, General Milutin did not see why he should allow an Englishman to do what was denied a Russian subject. Another peculiarity which I remarked In several Russians whose acquaintance I at that time had the honour of making. It may here be not out of place to mention. This was their desire to Impress upon my mind the great advantage it would be for England to have a civilized neighbour like Russia on her Indian frontier ; and when I did not take the trouble to dissent from their views — for It is a waste of breath to argue with Russians about this question — how eager they were for me to impress their line of thought upon the' circle of people with whom I was the more immediately connected. Of course, the arguments brought forward were based upon purely philanthropic motives, upon Christianity and civilization. They said that the two great powers ought to go together hand in glove ; that there ought to be railways all through Asia, formed by Anglo-Russlan companies ; that Russia and England had every sympathy in common which should unite them; that they both hated Germany and loved France; that England and Russia could conquer the world, and so on. It was a line of reasoning delightfully Russian, and though I was not so rude as to differ from my would- be persuaders, and lent an attentive ear to all their eloquence, I could not help thinking that the mutual sympathy between England and Germany is much greater than that between England and Russia ; that the Greek faith as practised by the lower orders in Russia is pure paganism in comparison with the Pro- testant religion which exists in Prussia and Great 12 A RIDE TO KHIVA. Britain ; that Germany and Great Britain are natural allies against Russia, or any other power aggressively disposed towards them ; that Germans and English- men, who are well acquainted with Russia, understand by the term “Russian civilization’' something diametri- cally opposite to what is attributed to it by those people who form their ideas of Muscovite progress from the few Russians whom they meet abroad ; and that the Honduras railway would be a paying concern to its English shareholders in comparison with an Anglo- Russian line, to be constructed in Central Asia with English capital and Russian directors. The time was wearing on, November was drawing to a close, my leave of absence would begin on the first of the following month. On that day I must commence my travels. Preparations were rapidly made. Under the advice of Captain Allen Young, of Arctic fame, I ordered a huge waterproof, and, consequently, air-proof, bag of prepared sail-cloth. The bag was seven feet and a half long, and ten feet round. A large aperture was left on one side, and the traveller could thus take up his quarters inside, and sleep w^ell protected from the cold winds. The bag would also be useful in many other ways, and I found it of great convenience for every purpose save the one for which it was originally intended. The manufacturer, not calculating on the enormous dimensions an individual assumes when enveloped in furs, had not made the aperture large enough. The consequence was that the diffi- culties, when I attempted to take a header into the recess of my sleeping apartment, were almost insur- mountable. Only on one occasion, and when some- what lighter clad than usual, I succeeded in effecting an entrance. Four pairs of the thickest Scotch fishing cockle's p/lls. 13 stockings were also ordered ; and jerseys and flannel shirts of a texture to which people in this country are but little accustomed. Then came a suit of clothes, made by Messrs. Kino, of Regent Street, and in which they assured me it would be impos- sible to feel cold. The clothes, I must admit, were exceptionally well made, and well suited to be worn under a sheepskin attire, but I cannot wish my worst enemy a greater punishment than forcing him to sleep out on the steppes in winter time with mere cloth attire, no matter how thick. Fur or skins of some kind must be worn, or without this precaution the traveller, should he once close his eyes, will undergo a great risk of never opening them again. Two pairs of boots lined with fur were also taken ; and for physic — with which it is as well to be supplied when travelling in out-of-the-way places — some quinine, and Cockle’s pills, the latter a most invaluable medicine, and one which I have used on the natives of Central Africa with the greatest possible success. In fact, the marvellous effects produced upon the mind and body of an Arab Sheik, who was impervious to all native medi- cines, when I administered to him five Cockle’s pills, /vill never fade from my memory ; and a friend of mine, who passed through the same district many months afterwards, informed me that my fame as a “ medicine man ” had not died out, but that the marvellous cure was even then a theme of conversation in the bazaar. So far as I could learn from the books which related to Central Asia, there would be but little game, and nothing particular in the shape of sport. I determined not to take a rifle. The cartridges would have considerably added to the weight of my luggage, the prime object being to travel as light as possible. A RIDE TO KHIVA. 14 However, as it was as well to have some sort of a gun in the event of falling in with wild fowl, which I had been told abounded in some places, I took a favourite old No. 12 small-bore, and amongst other cartridges a few loaded with ball, in case I should encounter any bears or wolves. A regulation revolver, with about twenty cartridges, made up my defensive arsenal in the event of an attack from the Turkomans. The next thing to be thought of was a cooking apparatus. If I had taken the advice of many kind friends, I should have travelled with a batterie de cuisine sufficient for the wants of M. Soyer himself. But canteens could not be thought of for a moment, on account of the extra weight, so I limited myself to two soldiers’ mess tins, and admirable little utensils they are too, whether for cooking over a spirit-lamp or on a fire, and far superior to any of the more costly and cumbersome articles especially invented to get out of order and perplex the traveller. A trooper’s hold-all, with its accompanying knife, fork, and spoon, completed my kit, and with a thermometer, barometer, and pocket sextant by way of instruments, I was ready to start. Even this amount of luggage was much more than was desirable, and when placing the baggage for my journey — consisting of the sleeping sack, a pair of saddle-bags, railway bag, and gun — into the scales, I found that it weighed exactly eighty-five pounds. An officer in the Foot Guards — my friend K. — wished very much to accompany me in my journey. He would have been a most cheery and agreeable com- panion, as he was accustomed to travel, and capable of roughing it to any amount, but he was ignorant of Russian. By this time I was thoroughly aware of the difficulties that would most likely be thrown in my COUNT SCHOVVALOFF. 1 5 way, and of the little chance I had of getting to Khiva alone, so I was compelled to decline his proposal."^ The day before my departure from London I received a very courteous letter from Count Schou- valoff. He said that as I was provided with letters to General Milutin, the Russian Minister of War, and to General Kauffmann, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the Government of Turkistan, it only remained for him to give me a letter of introduction to his brother at St. Petersburg, and to wish me God speed on my journey. He also added that he had sent off a despatch to the Minister of Foreign Affairs at St. Petersburg, asking him to do everything he could to aid me in my proposed journey. And so at the last moment I began to flatter myself things looked a little brighter, but some observations from Mr. MacGahan, whose acquaintance I was so fortunate as to make at the house of a mutual friend, a few even- ings previous to my departure, made me still rather doubtful of success. “ You will get on very well as far as Fort Number One,” had been the remark, “and then you will have to pull yourself together and make your rush, and again in the same way when you leave Russian territory for India; but it is to be done, though the odds are rather against you.” He had also given me some valuable hints about acquiring a knowledge of the Tartar language, and travelling as light as possible, t * K. was determined not to be idle during his leave, and, as he could not go with me to Russia, went by way of a change to Abyssinia, where, I believe, he had some interesting adventures. t To Mr. MacGahan, and subsequently to Mr. Schuyler, Fiist Secre- tary at the Russian Embassy at St. Petersburg, I am greatly indebted for much valuable information with reference to my journey. CHAPTER IL Waist-belt for Gold— A Servant an Encumbrance when Travelling — Cologne— Russian Diplomatic Agent — The Nord Newspaper — Mr. Disraeli and the Suez Canal Shares — Baron Reuter — Strausberg — Examination of Passports — Of Sleeping Bag — Railway Travelling in Russia — Refreshment Rooms — Russian disregard of Time — Officials easily Suborned — St. Petersburg — Sleigh Drivers > — No Russian Piece in any Theatre — A Russian’s Dislike to his own Language — His contempt for anything purely Russian — Military Rank — A Village Drinking Establishment — Jonka — Table d'‘h6te — Fish Soups — India and Education — Agitators — General Kauffmann’s Dislike to Publicity — Mr. Schuyler — Bismarck and the Russian Language— All have their Price — Gold an Open Sesame — Letter to General Milutin — Count Schouvaloffs Brother not in St. Petersburg. The 30th November, 1875, broke cold and damp. It was one of those disagreeable days that depress and lower the barometer of the human spirit to a semi- despondent level ; but I had finished all my regimental duty, and having provided myself at ThornhilFs with a strong waist-belt to contain the amount of gold I thought necessary for my journey, and which by the way was a most uncomfortable bedfellow, I drove to the Victoria Station, to start by the night mail. I had determined not to take a servant — they are generally in the way, unless they know something of the country travelled in. Under other conditions master and man have to change places. I must say, however, that I was sorry to leave behind my faithful fellow; he had been with me in several parts of the world, and was able to make himself understood by signs and the *few broken words of the language he might pick up, in a manner to me quite incomprehen- A RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC AGENT. sible, but Russian motijiki (peasants) and Tartar camel- drivers would have been too much even for him. Besides, he was a married man, and I did not wish to be saddled with his wife and family in the event of a disaster. Our iron horse galloped merrily over the distance between London and Dover. The passage to Ostend was a favourable one, and the following afternoon at 4 p.M. I found myself again in the familiar old station of Cologne. Two or three hours’ delay, waiting for the night express to Berlin, and once more en route. The capital of Germany was reached the following morn- ing, but I had no time to stop, much as I should have liked to visit the many well-loved old nooks and corners familiar to me in my student days. As it was, I could barely catch the train for St. Petersburg, when I found the carriages very much overcrowded, and with difficulty secured a place. Two Russian gentlemen were in the same carriage. In the course of conversation I found that one had been employed in the diplomatic service in Italy. He said that he had suddenly received a telegram from Prince Gortschakoff, at that tim.e at Berlin, requiring his presence there immediately. The clothes worn in Italy, even in winter, are not necessarily of the warmest texture, and my fellow-traveller, who, by the way, looked in very delicate health, found his journey northward anything but a pleasant one. But his troubles on arriving at the capital were only beginning, for the Prince said to him, I am going to St. Petersburg, and will give you your orders there ; leave by the next train.” It was very cold weather, and the un- fortunate secretar}% unprovided with the necessary i8 A RIDE TO KHIVA, wraps, was miserable at the way the fates had served him. He was an Anglo-phobist, and much chuckled as he told his companion that a violent article against England had appeared in the Nord — a paper which, according to him, is inspired by the Ministry at St. Petersburg — with reference to Mr. Disraeli having purchased the Viceroy of Egypt’s Suez Canal shares. ‘‘ The English are a great nation, but very mad ” observed another Russian. They are sufficiently sane when their interests are concerned,” said the secretary, “ for they have bought these Suez shares, which they will make pay, financially as well as politi- cally speaking. Two years ago they nearly inveigled the Shah into a treaty with Baron Reuter, and that would have given them the control of the whole of Persia ; but, thank goodness, our people checkmated them there, and I do not think England will try that game on again just at present ; as to Strausberg, he is a joke to that fellow Reuter. A nice business the latter would have made out of it, and the English too for the matter of that.” The day wore away, and the night came on cold and bleak, as we rattled northward on our course. The secretary sat shivering in the corner, and the rest of us, enveloped in furs, sought the arms of Morpheus. It was an unusual thing to experience such cold in a North German railway-carriage, as generally they are well warmed by means of stoves, and the more frequent fault to find with them is overheating and stuffiness ; but for some reason or other the stupid attendant had let the fire out, and the result was anything but an agreeable night. Presently we reached the boundary limit between Germany and Russia. A few minutes EXAMINATION OF PASSPORTS. 19 later I found myself, with the rest of the passengers, in a large high hall, set aside for the examination of luggage and inspection of passports. It was not a pleasant thing to be kept waiting in a cold room for at least three-quarters of an hour, whilst some spectacled officials suspiciously conned each pass- port. The Russian secretary himself was not at all impressed with the wisdom of his Government in still adhering to this system, which is so especially invented to annoy travellers. What nonsense it is/’ he re- marked ; ‘‘ the greater scoundrel a man is the greater certainty of his passport being in the most perfect ' order. Whenever I go to France, and am asked for my passport, I avoid the difficulty by saying, * Je suis Anglais ; no passport and the officials, taking me for an Englishman, do not bother me, or make me show it.” I was myself a little uneasy about my own pass. It was one which had done service about five years previously, and I had forgotten to send it to the Russian Consulate previous to my departure from London. However, after looking at the document for some time, and scrutinising its owner very carefully, the official returned it to me. The customs’ examination was easily got through. The only part of my luggage which puzzled the douam officer was the sleeping-bag. He smelt it suspiciously, the waterproof cloth having a strong odour. “ What is it for ?” “ To sleep in.” He put his nose down again, and apparently uncertain in his own mind as to what course to pursue, called for another official, who desired me to unroll it. ‘‘ And you sleep in that big bag?” was the question. “Yes.” “What extra- ordinary people the English are!” observed the man who had inspected my passport, and sotto voce^ 20 ride to imiVA. ** he must be mad ; when the other bystanders drew back a little, thinking that possibly I was dangerous as well. Forward again, in a most commodious and well- arranged carriage — well warmed, fairly lit, and con- taining every convenience the traveller could require during the journey. The Russian trains are con- structed on the American principle. You can walk from one end of them to the other if you like, whilst two attendants in each carriage supply every want of the traveller. I must say that in this 'respect railway travelling in Russia is far better arranged than in England, and the refreshment-rooms are unequalled by any in this country. Everything you ask for is ready at a moment's notice, the dishes are hot and good, whilst the attendance and the bill — a very important adjunct to a travellers pleasure — leave nothing to be desired, the charges being exceedingly moderate. But with all these advantages there is one great drawback, and that is the slowness of the pace, which, when travelling through a vast country like Russia, is a matter of considerable importance. Extreme cold would seem to have the same effect upon the human mind as extreme heat. The indifference to time which characterizes the Russian is only equalled by the low estimation in which it is held by the Spaniard ; whilst the Russian word zavtra (“to-morrow") is used as frequently by the Muscovite as its Spanish equivalent, nianana, by the inhabitant of the Peninsula. But there is something else which may account for the slowness of pace of the trains of Russia, and that is the careless way in which the lines have been constructed. The Government inspectors, by all accounts, are easily suborned. The golden metal has charms for them SLEIGH-DRIVEJ^S. 21 greater than the lives of their countrymen. If the engine-drivers were to attempt even a moderate rate of speed, the sleepers and rails would inevitably give way. This was the explanation given me by a fellow- traveller, when referring to the subject. St. Petersburg was at last reached, the journey having been accomplished in three days and a half from Charing Cross. I had but little delay in obtaining my luggage. In this respect things are well managed in the Russian stations, and I shortly afterwards found myself comfortably lodged in Demout’s Hotel. The day was still young. Determining to take advantage of the early hour, I took a sleigh and proceeded to call upon General Milutin, the Minister of War. The foreigner, unaccustomed to St. Petersburg, is at first a little astonished at the way he is beset, on leaving the portico of his hotel, by the numerous sleigh- drivers who are congfreo^ated outside. “ Where to } Where to ? they cry : when, hearing the stranger stammer out the name of the street, and the name of the person to whom the house belongs — for in Russia, as a rule, houses are known by the name of their pro- prietors, and are not numbered as elsewhere — a brisk competition ensues. “ I will take you for a rouble, sir. Look what a beautiful sleigh I have, and what a fine trotting horse.” “He knows nothing about it ! ” shouts another; “I will take the gentleman for sixty kopecks ! ” and his face assumes an expression as if by his offer he had conferred on you a favour unequalled in the annals of sleigh-drivers. The other fellows then wait a few seconds, to see if the stranger will succumb to the offer; but if not, and you walk forward two or three steps, the drivers change their tone, from sixty to forty, and from that to twenty kopecks (about sixpence in English 22 A RIDE TO KHIVA, money), this being about the value of an average “ course ” in St. Petersburg, for there is no established tariff. The result is that foreigners are more robbed by the sleigh-drivers in that city than even by our London cabmen. General Milutin was not at home, so I was in- formed by a tall servant, the hall porter, when, leaving the letter of introduction and my card, I returned to the hotel. There was no Russian piece going on in any of the theatres that evening, although there were French and German plays, besides an Italian opera. In St. Petersburg there is one capital Russian theatre, the Alexandrensky, and also a national opera house, the Marensky ; but the Alexandrensky is often used for German plays, and thus it sometimes occurs, as on the day when I arrived, that there is no performance going on, in the national idiom, in any theatre in the capital. But, after all, this can be easily explained by the intense dislike many apparently well-educated Russians have to their own language. I have often heard them say, ‘‘It does very well for the moujiki (peasants), but the language for society is French.'' This remark has been made by Russians from the provinces of the interior, whose knowledge of French was so imperfect, and their accent so atrocious, that it jarred on the ear when listening to them. There is no doubt that there is an intense contempt amongst the higher circles throughout the empire for everything purely Russian; it must be foreign to be eagerly sought after. This weakness on the part of the well-to- do classes has a very discouraging effect on the industries of the nation. It would rather surprise people in this country if an Englishman were to IMPORTANCE OF MILITARY RANK, 23 address his wife in a foreign language, and If the cor- respondence between members of the same family were never carried on in English ; or should the daughter of the house be unable to write a letter, save in French, without making the most outrageous faults in grammar as well as spelling. But this surprises no one in Russia. There is not that love of everything national amidst the higher classes ; and to study the real Russ you must not visit St. Petersburg. For there the native is so veneered over with foreign polish, that it is not easy to discover what exists below the surface. A French fencing-master is infinitely preferred to a Russian Socrates. The present Emperor, it is said, has done everything in his power to check this weakness on the part of his subjects. He is a far-seeing man, and the empire owes more to him and to his beneficent rule than to any of his predecessors ; but a deep-rooted custom cannot be ousted in one generation. It will take many years to teach the inhabitants of the capital that this running after everything foreign, to the detriment of national enterprise, will never add to the prosperity of Russia. Another influence which has a deterrent effect on the development of the commercial and agricultural interest throughout the country is the high importance given to military rank, as a Russian country gentleman once bitterly remarked to me, ‘‘In my country a man is nobody unless he eats the bread of the State. He must wear a uniform, he must have a tchin (military rank) or its equivalent, should he serve in the civil service. He must be a consumer instead of a producer ; and then, and then alone, is he a man to be respected and looked up to."' The result is, that all the energies of the nation are expended in what will never bring grist to the mill ; but, if this system 24 A RIDE TO HmVA. be persisted in, it will eventually cause a national bankruptcy. As I was reading a Russian newspaper that after- noon, I came upon a short paragraph which so thoroughly displays the weakness for strong liquors which prevails throughout the empire, that I am tempted to reproduce it. It appeared that in a certain large village a spirit merchant wished to open a drinking establishment ; to do this he had to obtain the consent of the inhabitants. It was determined to put up to auction the right of establishing a house of that sort. This fetched the sum of 3 j 500 roubles, which, divided amongst the population, made exactly 74 roubles a head. The money was paid, and, according to the corre- spondent, the proprietor must have got back the amount he had given in the first three days, as unusual drunkenness prevailed during all that time. When the money was spent things once more took their usual course. Drunkenness is not looked upon with nearly the same feelings of abhorrence in Russia as in England — amongst the military class especially. An officer who can drink all his comrades under the table is looked upon as a hero. The climate undoubtedly has a great deal to do with these ovations to Bacchus ; and when the thermometer is below zero, the body requires much more caloric, both externally as well as internally, than in more temperate zones. The Russian officers, by way of thoroughly keeping out the cold, have invented a singular drink. They call it jonka. After dinner, and when champagne, claret, and liquors have been drunk to an extent of which people in this country have no conception, a huge silver bowl is ^USSIAl^ TABLE D* NOTE. ^3 produced ; brandy, rum, spirits, and wines of all kinds are poured in promiscuously, apples and pears, with all the fruits on the dessert-table, are cut up and tossed into the liquid. It is then set on fire, and when in this state the flaming mixture is poured out into large goblets, which are handed round the table. It is a high trial if the drinking bout has been persisted in for several hours. It is calculated to try the stomachs as well as the heads of the guests. But we are in Russia, et a la gtierre comme a la gzierre, U ntil this excess of drinking goes out of fashion with the upper circles, we cannot be surprised if the lower ones remain equally addicted to it. That evening I dined at the table d'hote. This is comparatively speaking a new institution in Russia, where to dine a la carte is preferred. For any one not accustomed to them, Russian dinners are rather remarkable. Previously to sitting down at table the guests are taken to a side buffet; here in profusion are sardines, caviare pressed and fresh — a delicacy unknown in this country, where the so-called fresh caviare is invariably a little salted — anchovies, and every conceivable relish. Cigarettes are smoked, a glass or so of liquor drank, and the party adjourns to the dinner- table. With the soup little pates made of meat and rice are eaten in lieu of bread. The soups, particularly those made of fish, are excellent, and well suited to a Russian climate, where an enor- mous quantity of nitrogen must be consumed to keep up the animal heat. I found myself seated next to a Russian officer, a general in the Engineers, and had a long conversation vnth him about India. “You English,'^ he said, “are always thinking that we want India ; but you are apt 26 A RIDE TO KHIVA. to forget one equally important point, which is, that some day the natives of that country may wish to govern themselves. I study the course of events in India very closely ; and what do I see ? why, that you are doing everything you possibly can to teach the inhabitants their own strength. You establish schools ; you educate the people ; they read your language — many of them even your newspapers ; and the leading men know what is going on in Europe just as well as you yourselves. But the day will come when some agitators will set these thinking masses in motion ; and then what force have you to oppose to them ? If ever there was a nation determined to commit suicide it is England. She holds India, as she herself allows, by the force of arms, and yet she is doing everything in her power to induce the conquered country to throw off the yoke.” But do you not think,” I observed, “ that when our frontiers touch, as your statesmen wish, there will be more agitators than even now in India ?” He did not reply to this question, but lit a cigarette and turned the conversation. There was a great deal of reason undoubtedly in what he had urged. How- ever, there is one argument in favour of further education in India, which is, that the better educated the natives of India become, the greater probability of their seeing that their own interests are far more likely to be cared for under a British than a Russian rule. But this still leaves open the question of whether they might not prefer to govern themselves, which un- doubtedly will some day be the case. I remember once meeting a highly-educated Hindoo on board a Peninsular and Oriental steamer, and having a long conversation with him. He had AN- ENGLISH SERVANT ALARMED, 27 travelled in England, where he had been extremely well received. On my asking how the English were liked in India, he simply replied, “You are a great nation. The English people are devoted to their national institutions. How should you like a foreign ruler to establish himself in your country ? The following day I called at the British Embassy, but there was no one at home save the Military Attach^, and he was so engaged in having a lesson that he had no time to see me. Later on, I met some old friends, and conversed with them about my proposed journey. They all took a pessimist view of the case. “ Get to Khiva!’' said one man. “You might as well try to get to the moon. The Russians will not openly stop you, but they will put the screw upon our own Foreign Office and force the latter to do so. The Russians are as suspicious as Orientals, and they will imagine that you are sent by your Govern- ment to stir up the Khivans. They will never believe that an officer, for the mere sake of travel, and at his own expense, would go to Khiva.” “ Why,” observed another, “ only a short time ago an officer who was about to start for Turkistan, wanted to take an Eng- lish servant with him. The man, I believe, had been a private in the Second Life Guards. Somehow or other this got to the ears of a Russian General. He sent for the servant, and said, ‘ Did you ever correspond for the Times The man, who looked upon the question as one put to prove his capabilities, answered, ‘ Never did, sir ; but have no doubt I could, if you wish it.' * I tell you what it is,' said the General, ‘ if I catch you writing a line to England about what you see when you are with us, I will have you hanged.' The man became alarmed, He could clean a horse, and his ideas did 2S A RIDE TO KHIVA. not soar above that calling ; but to be told that he was to be hanged if he wrote a letter 1 Why he might want to write home to his friends ! He went to some authorities at St. Petersburg and asked them their advice. The result was, he started with his master, but only got as far as Kazan, for, on arriving at that point, an order was sent to have him turned back.” The Russian soldiers, it seems, are not very par- ticular what they do in Central Asia, and General Kauffmann greatly dislikes publicity. Judging from accounts subsequently given me by eye-witnesses of what has taken place, I cannot help thinking that the General is wise in his generation. In the afternoon I called upon Mr. Schuyler, the United States’ Secretary of Legation at St. Petersburg. He had been to Tashkent and Bokhara, having travelled as far as Fort Number One with Mr. MacGahan, the energetic correspondent of the New York Herald. Mr. Schuyler had been able to gather a great deal of most valuable information in the course of his travels. He is, I believe, the only diplomatist the Russians have ever permitted to visit their Eastern possessions, and is a very keen observer, besides being a thorough master of the Russian language. He had been able to dive considerably below the surface in his endeavours to master the state of affairs in Turkistan. His report was forwarded to Washington, and subsequently pub- lished in a blue-book; the authorities in Turkistan not being very pleased at the way he exposed their ad- ministration.^ Mr. Schuyler gave me some useful hint? * Mr. Schuyler exposes the weak points in the Russian Administration in Turkistan ; but in other respects he is favourable to the Russians and to their policy in Central Asia. He thinks that it is for the interests of the United States for the Russians to be firmly established in Central Asia, 90 as to act as a counterpoise to British influence in the East. SCHUYLER. 29 as to what I should require for my journey. He was engaged in writing a book on his travels. From the first day of his arrival at St. Petersburg he had studied hard to master the Russian language, probably feeling that a diplomatist in a land where he cannot read the newspapers or converse with all classes of society, if necessary, is rather like a fish out of water, and receiv- ing a salary which he has not fairly earned. The German Chancellor showed what he thought of this matter. The very first thing he did, many years ago, when at the Russian Embassy in St. Peters- burg, was to study the Russian language, which he eventually mastered. Bismarck's example is not a bad one to follow ; but until the language be made a compulsory one at the examination of candidates for our Foreign Office, I fear that the business of the British Embassy at St. Petersburg will continue to be transacted through an interpreter. Later on I called upon Count Schcuvaloif’s brother — to whom the Count had so kindly given me a letter of introduction — but he was abroad, so I was informed by the servant, and consequently the letter was of no use. I began to be a little anxious about the letter which I had left at the house of General Milutin, the Minister of War, particularly as I had omitted to fee his hall porter — a great omission on my part, as I was informed by an Englishman, an old resident at St. Petersburg ; and he added, “ nothing whatever can be done in Russia without a judicious disposal of presents. From hall porters to the mistresses of those officials, who give out the railway contracts, all have their price. You will find gold, or rather its equivalent in rouble paper, an open sesame throughout the Russian Empire." 30 A RIDE TO KHIVA. I must say, that for my part, I did not share this opinion about the porters venality. However, as I had written to ask the General If I could have the honour of an Interview, and no reply had been sent, I determined to write another letter, which was couched in the following terms ; — ‘‘To General Milutin, the Minister of War. “Sir, — I trust that you will pardon the liberty I am taking in writing to you without having the honour of your personal acquaintance. “ I wish to have the permission to go to India, vi^ Khiva, Merve, Cabul. But as I had read in some English papers, previous to my departure from London, that the Russian Government had issued an order forbidding Englishmen to travel in Russian Asia, I thought that I ought to address myself to Count Schouvaloff, the Russian Ambassador in London. He said to me, ‘I cannot personally answer your question; but when you arrive at St. Petersburg, the authorities there will give you every information.* Before I quitted London I received a letter from Count Schouvaloff, informing me that he had written officially to the Minister of Foreign Affairs at St. Petersburg with reference to my journey, whilst the Count enclosed me a letter of introduction to his brother, and concluded by wishing me a happy journey. Now, sir, I should much like to know if I can have this permission. If it cannot be granted me, will you do me the honour of writing two lines and tell me frankly. Yes or No. If the answer is No, I shall leave St. Petersburg immediately, because my leave of absence will soon be over, and I do not wish to remain here longer than it is necessary to receive your answer. “ I have the honour to be, etc.** Having dispatched this letter, I began to be a little easier in my mind. I did not think that the General, who, by all accounts, is a most gentlemanlike man, would purposely delay replying to my note ; nor was I wrong in my surmises. In the meantime I was trying to get all the information I could about the route to Khiva. CHAPTER III. The Volija Frozen — Navigation Stopped in the Caspian — The Russian Boundary Line in the East — Reports are rife in Russia — The Press is Gagged — General Milutin’s Regard for my Safety — Ignorance of Clerks at Railway Station- Cartridge Case — Insurgents in Herzegovina — Subscriptions — England bent upon Money-making — Austria Allied with England — The Baltic Provinces — - The Russians’ Hatred of Austria and Germany — Bismarck’s Policy — Mr. Leslie, Her Majesty’s Consul in Moscow. Mr. Schuyler thought that the best way to go to Khiva would be by Astrakhan and the Caspian to Krasnovodsk, and from there across the steppes on horseback to Khiva. This, undoubtedly, would have been the shortest and easiest journey ; but a paragraph which I read in a paper that afternoon showed me that this route was out of the question. The paragraph was to the effect that the accumulation of ice had already prevented navigation in the Caspian, and that the Volga was frozen. I tried to obtain some information from a few Russian officers whose acquaintance I accidentally made, but all to no effect. They did not know them- selves. They believed that there was a post to Khiva, and that the Tartars had carried letters there on horse- back, but whether from Orenburg or from Tashkent no one knew. I now determined, should the reply to my letters to General Milutin be in the affirmative, to go to Oren- burg and seek for further information in that town. In 32 A RIDE TO KHIVA. the event of General Milutin’s answer belnor in the o negative, I had made up my mind to go straight to Persia, and then, skirting the Russian boundary-line, pass via Merve and Bokhara to India. It would have been an interesting journey, though very difficult to know the exact boundary-line in some parts, for, as I have noticed before, in the last Russian Staff Map of Turkistan, dated 1875, the boundary-line extending over a large track of country is not marked by a dotted line, as in other parts of the map ; thus showing that there is a doubt in the mind of the officer by whom it was compiled as to how far Russia extends in that direction. All sorts of reports were circulating with reference to General Kauffmann, the Governor-General of Turkistan, some to the effect that he had sent in his resignation. Again, it was said that he had only received a jewel- mounted sword in return for his services, and that one of his subordinates had been similarly rewarded. One thing, however, seemed very certain, which was, that the General had left Tashkent, and was on his road to St. Petersburg. But whether on account of the recent disturbances in Kokan, or for General Milutin to consult him with reference to a further advance upon Kashgar, were mooted points, and to which no one could give an answer. In fact, there is no country, perhaps, in the universe where reports are so rife as in Russia. The press is gagged, owing to the strict system of censorship which prevails. Gossip runs rampant. Each man embellishes the story he has heard from his neighbours ; when It eventually acquires greater dimensions than that of the three black crows, so happily told by one of our English authors. The letter to General Milutin produced the effect GENERAL MILUTINS REGARD FOR MY SAFETY. 33 I anticipated. The result was a reply, directed, singularly enough, to the British Embassy, although in my own letter I had distinctly written my address as Demout’s Hotel. The communication was to the effect that the Commandants in Russian Asia had received orders to aid me in my journey through the territory under their command : but that the Imperial Government could not give its acquiescence to the extension of my journey beyond Russian territory, as the authorities could not answer for the security or the lives of travellers beyond the extent of the Emperor’s dominions. Now this was so self-evident a statement that I was much surprised at General Milutin for making it. Of course the Russian Government could not be responsible for my safety beyond the Emperor’s dominions, any more than could Her Majesty’s Government be responsible for the life of a traveller passing through Natal to Central Africa. Merve and Herat no more belong to the Emperor of Russia than Central Africa to the Queen of Great Britain ; then how could the Imperial Government at St. Petersburg imagine itself liable for anything hap- pening to me outside Russian territory ? There were only two inferences to be drawn from the letter : either that the General, who is by all accounts a most kind-hearted man, valued my life at a greater price than I did myself — which was ex« ceedingly amiable on his part — or that, for certain military and political reasons, he did not wish me to go to Central Asia. I must say that I was very much surprised at the way he endeavoured to deter me ; and Russian officers must be very different to English ones, if the mere fact 34 A RIDE TO KHIVA, of there being a little risk is sufficient to stop their travelling. I should have much liked to ask General Milutin one question, and to have heard his answer — not given solemnly as the Russian Chancellor makes his promises, but face to face, and as a soldier — Would he, when a captain, have turned his face homeward to St Petersburg simply because he was told by a foreign government that it could not be responsible for his safety? I do not think so; and I have a far higher opinion of the Russian officers than to imagine that they would be deterred by such an argument if used to them under circumstances similar to those in which I found myself. However, there was the letter in black and white. The only thing left for me to do was to write and thank the General for permitting me to travel in Russian Asia, adding in a final postscript that I should probably return either by Tashkent or Teheran. My intention was to go from Khiva to Merve, and so on to Meshed, when I should have been in Persian territory. I could have then gone via Herat and the Bolan Pass to Shikarpoor, and returned either through Cachemire, Kashgar, and Tashkent, or by Cabul, Bokhara, and Kasala to European Russia. The final preparations for the journey were soon made, all my superfluous clothes sent back to England, a pair of high cloth boots, commonly known as valenki, bought to keep out the cold, and the following evening at 8 p.M. I found myself at the railway station en route for Orenburg. A marvellous ignorance seemed to exist amidst the clerks at the booking office when I asked them how far the line extended in the directjon of that town. Did it go to Samara ? No. Could I SUBSCRIPTIONS POP INSURGENTS. 35 take my ticket to Orenburg ? No. Well, how far could I book? None of them could tell me; so, taking a ticket as far as Penza, which I knew was on the line, I proceeded to register my luggage. The box containing my cartridges struck the attention of an official who was standinof beside the scales, and “ Pray what may this be ? ” he observed, looking suspiciously at the case. “ It is very heavy.” He was quite right; cartridges are heavy, and the four hundred which made up my ammunition — and which travelled to Khiva and back again — were often a source of great annoyance to myself as well as my camels. “ They are little things which contain some lead,” I answered. “ Oh ! instruments which contain lead,'' he said. “ Yes,” I replied ; “ very useful instruments ; pray be careful with them ; ” upon which he gave me the receipt. The carriages between St. Petersburg and Moscow are, if possible, more commodious than those which run from the capital to the German frontier. They are also well supplied with sleeping compartments, so the journey can be performed as comfortably as if travel- ling in a Cunard s steamboat. Upon taking my seat, two ladies, dressed in the deepest black, entered the carriage, and solicited sub- scriptions from the different passengers for the wounded insurgents in Herzegovina. “ I suppose some of this money will go to the main- tenance of the hale as well as the sick,” observed a fellow-traveller. “ Poor fellows, they want arms very badly.” “ I would give anything to drive out those Mussulmans,” remarked his companion, producing a 36 A RIDE TO KHIVA, well-filled purse, and making a large donation to the fund. His example was followed by all the other Russians in the carriage. Not wishing to appear conspicuous by not subscribing, I added a trifle, my vis-a-vis saying, ‘‘Thank you, brother. It will help to keep the sore open; the sooner the Turk falls to pieces the better. What is the good of our having a fleet on the Black Sea unless we can command the Dardanelles ? The longer this affair continues in Herzegovina the more likely we are to reach Constantinople.’' “ What will the English say to this ? ” I inquired. “Oh, England ! she goes for nothing now,” he replied. “ She is so bent upon money-making that it will take a great deal of kicking to make her fight. Why, she did not do anything when Gortschakoff repudiated the Black Sea treaty.” “He (Gortschakoff) chose the right time for this,” added a fellow-traveller ; “ it was just after Sedan.” “ After Sedan or before Sedan,” continued the first speaker, “ it would have been all the same ; England is like an overfed bull, she has lost the use of her horns.” “What of her fleet?” I inquired. “Well, what can she do with it ? ” was the answer. “ She can block up the Baltic — but the frost does that for six months in the year, and she can prevent the corn from our Southern Provinces reaching her own markets; bread will be dearer in London, that is all. England will not land troops in the Crimea again.” “ God grant that she may,” said another ; “ our rail- way to Sevastopol is now open.” I here remarked that England was not likely to declare war without having an ally. “ But what if Germany or Austria were to join her ? ” HAIRED OF AUSTRIA AND GERMANY. 37 “As for those pigs of Germans, we must fight them some day or other,” replied the previous speaker, “and when the Tzarevitch is Emperor, please God we will beat them well, and drive every German brute out of Russia ; they fatten on our land at the expense of our brothers.” “ But supposing they get the best of it ? ** “Well, what can they do? they cannot stop in Russia, even if they should be able to assail us. We can play the old game — keep on retiring. Russia is big, and there is plenty of countr}^ at our back.” “ They might take the Baltic Provinces,” I re- marked. “ Take them ! I hope Gortschakoff will give them to Bismarck before long, and arrange that Germany does not interfere with us when we march upon Con- stantinople,” said another of the travellers. “ Arrange with Bismarck ! you might as well arrange with the devil ! ” said the first speaker ; “he will take ever/thing he can, and give us nothing. He is the grea:est enemy we have — except perhaps the people at Vienna! However, they do not count foi much, as with the Czechs and Hungarians, they have plenty oi their hands ; but we must give those Austrians a beating before long.” c> o “ WHch would be most popular, a war with Austria or one with Germany ? ” I inquired. “ With Austria,” was the unanimous reply, “ because we know that we can march to Vienna without any difficult/. We are not prepared for Germany ; our army is not yet sufficiently organised to compete with Moltkes forces. We must bide our time. Besides this, tl'.e Emperor likes his uncle too much. When the Tsarevitch is on the throne then we shall have 38 A RIDE TO KHIVA. a war. Bismarck, too, does not want to fight at present. He would like to see Russia fight England, Austria, and Turkey ; the old fox would sit still himself, and do nothing ; but if we got the best of Austria, he would take Vienna and Holland as his share of the spoil, and as a reward for his exertions ; whilst, if we were beaten, he would take the Baltic Provinces. But perhaps you are a German,” said one of the travellers. “No, I am an Englishman,” was my answer, “and I am very much obliged to you for this interesting conversation.” Moscow was reached early the following morning. Finding that there would be no train to Penza till the afternoon, I took a sleigh, and drove to call on Her Majesty’s Consul, a Mr. Leslie, whose acquaint- ance I had made during a previous visit to Moscow. His post is a purely honorary one, but perhaps in no other Consulate in Europe is so much Ijospitallty shown to Englishmen. Mr. Leslie, from i his long residence in Russia, is well acquainted with the character of the people with whom he ha^ to deal, and is a very valuable member of our Foreign Office. Moscow, with its wide streets, the long -distances from one part of the city to the other, its world- renowned Kremlin, the palaces of its nobles^ embrac- ing vast suites of apartments, parquet floors, ar|d almost Oriental magnificence, has so often been desdribed by travellers, that I will not trouble my readei^ with a description. If I were to do so it would be thej account of what I had seen during previous visits, and, not the experiences of my present journey. As it wai, I had barely time to pay a rapid visit to my friend^ at the Consulate, drink a glass of tea in the Moscow Jraktlr, and hear a well-remembered tune from the olc^ organ i RUSSIAN SLEIGH-DRIVERS. 39 in that time-honoured restaurant, when I was once more dashing through the streets to the station, my half-drunken Jehu shouting out at the top of his voice, “ Beregis, beregis!'" (take care). He generally contrived to utter the warning sound just after he had driven into the sleigh of some fellow- Jehu. The latter. In return for the collision, used that peculiar class of language which is not exclusively confined to Russian drivers. CHAPTER IV. RailviT.y Officials — Unpunctuality of Trains — Frauds on the Railway Companies— Old Spirit of Serfdom — Socialistic and Nihilist Tendencies — The Emperoi Alexander and the Religious Influence in Russia — The Ecclesiastical Hier- archy more powerful than the Tzar — Waiting-rooms at Riajsk — Superstition and Dirt — Sizeran. On the track again, but this time alone in my com- partment, till I was joined by an official whose business it was to inspect the line between Moscow and Riazan. His chief object was to find out if any unnecessary delays took place at the different stations on this railway, a number of complaints having been lately made about the unpunctuality of the trains. It was supposed to be the station-masters’ fault, and that these officials, being slack in the performance of their duty, were the main cause of the delay. “ I could easily find them out,” remarked the inspector, if it were not for the confounded telegraph, but that beats me. The rogues are all in collusion the one with the other, and as soon as ever they see me on the platform they telegraph the intelligence to their brethren down the line.” It appeared that there used formerly to be a great deal of fraud committed on the railway companies in Russia by the guards of the trains. They would ask a passenger when about to take his ticket at the booking office — “ What class are you going by ? ” If by the first or second, the guard would say, “ Take a third- class ticket; give me a few roubles, and I will let you go THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER. 41 first class, as I am guard of the train by which you will travel.” But, according to the inspector, this system of roguery has now been put down. The result is a better return on the railway capital, although up to the present time the lines have been anything but remune- rative as an investment. From the inspector I found out that I ought to have taken my ticket to Sizeran. This was the temporary terminus of the line in the direction of Orenburg. It was too late now to pay the difference ; I must wait till we arrived at Penza, when I should just have time to get a new ticket and re-label my luggage. It was a bitterly cold night, in spite of all our furs. At Riazan, where it was necessary to wait an hour, and to change trains, a Russian nobleman, who had entered the carriage at an intermediate station, was furious with an old man, the stoker. The latter had omitted to keep up the fire. The nobleman lost his temper, and swore fearfully at the old fellow : the culprit trembling and crying out as if he were under the lash of a whip. It will take a long time to thoroughly eliminate the spirit of serfdom in Russia. It is several years since the peasants were emancipated, but the men who have been brought up as slaves find it difficult to get rid of a feeling of awe when they are in the presence of their superiors. Perhaps it is as well that things follow on in this groove. It would be a bitter day for Russia should the socialistic and nihilist tendencies which are being developed in her larger towns become extended amidst her rural population. At the present moment the love for the Emperor predominates over every feeling but one amidst the peasantry. This devotion to their Father, as he is termed, is well deserved, for 42 A RIDE 70 KHIVA, the Emperor Alexander underwent an enormous per- sonal risk when at one stroke of the pen he did away with slavery in his dominions. It was a step which required great moral courage on the part of its origi- nator. Few Emperors would have risked mortally offending the upper classes of the country to do an act of justice to the lower. Probably the only influence which could be brought to bear upon a peasant’s mind, to such an extent that I believe it would counterbalance his affection for the Tzar, is the religious one. In perhaps no country in the world has this element so powerful a sway as in Russia. In religion, coupled with superstition, lay a power which could even thwart the wishes of the Emperor Nicholas himself. The ecclesiastical hier- archy is certainly more powerful than the Tzar. Hitherto the two dominant influences have gone hand in glove together. It is as well that it should be so, for any rupture between them would inevitably lead to a revolution. In the waiting-room at Riajsk waiters were hurrying about with glasses of scalding tea, which were eagerly called for by the traveller. In fact, the amount of this beverage that a Russian can drink is somewhat astonish- ing to a stranger. The traditional washerwoman of our country, whose capabilities in this respect are supposed to be unrivalled, would have no chance what- ever if pitted against a subject of the Tzar. A large samovar (a brass urn) stood on the refreshment table. The water was kept to boiling point, not by a spirit lamp, as in England, but by a funnel which fitted into the centre of the urn, and was filled with red-hot charcoal. Economy was evidently the order of the day with some of the travellers. Instead of putting WAITING-ROOMS AT RIAJSN 43 the sugar in their glasses, they would take a lump in their mouths, and thus sweeten the scalding draught. I took advantage of our delay at Riajsk, and walked throuofh the other waiting-rooms. These were crammed with third-class passengers. It was a strange sight to see the mixture of different nationalities, which, huddled together like sheep, lay in different attitudes on the floor. Here a Tartar merchant, his head covered with a small yellow fez, whilst a long parti-coloured gown and pair of high boots completes his attire, was fast asleep in a corner. A woman, her face covered with a thick white veil, lay folded in his arms, whilst a child, enveloped in a bundle of rags, was playing with the fur cap of its parent. Next to them a man, whose peculiarly-shaped nose showed a distinct relationship to the tribe of Israel, was breathing hard through his nasal organ. From time to time he clutched convul- sively at a small leather bag, which, half hidden beneath a greasy-looking black coat, was even in his dreams a source of anxiety. Peasants in every posture, their well-knit frames clad in untanned leather, which was tightly girt about their loins with narrow leather belts studded with buttons of brass and silver, re-echoed the Hebrew’s melody. An old Bokharan in flowing robes sat listlessly with his legs twisted up under him, beside the stove. He appeared to be under the influence of opium, and was possibly dreaming of celestial houris and bliss to come. A smart-looking lad, perhaps his son, judging from the likeness between them, had with- drawn a little from the rest of the throng, apparently not very well pleased by his vicinity to the Russian peasants. The Mohammedans of Central Asia have certainly one great advantage over the moujik, and that is in 44 A RIDE TO KHIVA. their love for water. If the Russian peasant could be persuaded to be more particular in his ablutions, it would be conducive, if not to his own comfort at least to that of his fellow-travellers. Superstition and dirt are twin brothers in Russia. I have frequently observed that the more particular a peasant is in his adoration of the various Idols {pbrazye) which are prominently displayed on the threshold of every cottage, the more utterly he is forgetful of the advantages of soap and water. At Penza I had barely time to secure another ticket on to Sizeran, where my railway travelling would terminate. Presently I found myself in a large saloon carriage. Here almost every seat was taken, and the porters had piled upon them some railway bags and parcels belonging to passengers travelling in another carriage. These articles had been put in whilst the owners were In the waiting-rooms, the object being to diminish the length of the train; This was attained, but at the cost of considerable discomfort to the travellers, who were eagerly searching for their lost property by the dim light of a smoky tallow dip. In the course of conversation with one of the party, a tall and very stout middle-aged man, I discovered that my shortest route to Orenburg would be through Samara. He said that he was going to the last- mentioned town, and proposed that we should hire a troika — a three-horse sleigh — and travel together. I readily embraced the offer, when after a few hours more travelling we stepped out on the platform ol the station at Sizeran. Here my companion was evidently well known, for the railway officials and porters respectfully saluted him, and hastened to bring our luggage to the waiting-room. I must say SIZERAN. 45 that I was surprised to find so good a refreshment- room so far from the capital. With but very short halts, for the purpose of changing trains, we had been travelling for more than sixty hours, and all this time in the direction of Asia, on nearing which you expect at each stride to leave civilization farther and farther in your wake. But the buffet at Sizeran left nothing to be desired. In a very short time as good a break- fast was supplied as could be obtained in any French restaurant. We now had to think over the preparations for our sleigh journey. After a little bargaining my companion made arrangements with a farmer in the neighbourhood to supply us with a sleigh and relays of horses as far as Samara. The distance is about eighty-five miles, and there is no regular government postal station between the two towns. CHAPTER V. Twenty Degrees below Zero — Provisions — Wolves in the Nelghbourhoofl — Oar Troika — Driving along the Volga — Price of Corn — Bridge being built over the River — The Sterlet — The Cossacks of the Ural — How to Catch Sturgeon — The Three Kinds of Caviare. *‘You had better put on plenty of clothes,” was the friendly caution I received from my companion as I entered the dressing-room. “ The thermometer marks 20 degrees below zero (Reaumur), and there is a wind.” People in this country who have never experienced a Russian winter have little idea of the difference even a slight breeze makes when the mercury stands low in the thermometer, for the wind then cuts through you, furs and all, and penetrates to the very bones. Deter- mining to be on my guard against the frost, I dressed myself, as I thought, as warmly as possible, and so as to be utterly impervious to the elements. First came three pairs of the thickest stockings, drawn up high above the knee. Over them a pair of fur-lined low shoes, which in their turn were inserted into leather goloshes, my limbs being finally deposited in a pair of enormous cloth boots, the latter reaching up to the thigh. Previously I had put on some extra thick drawers and a pair of trousers, the astonishment of the foreman of Messrs. Kino’s establishment, “ Lord love you, sir ! ” being his remark, when I tried them on, “ no cold can get through them trousers anyhow.” I FROVISIONS J-OR THE JOURNEY. 47 must confess that I rather chuckled as my legs assumed herculean proportions, and I thought that I should have a good laugh at the wind, no matter how cutting it might be : but ^olus had the laugh on his side before the journey was over. A heavy flannel under-shirt, and shirt covered by a thick wadded waist- coat and coat, encased my body, which was further enveloped in a huge shuba, or fur pelisse, reaching to the heels. My head was protected with a fur cap and bashlik, a sort of cloth headpiece of a conical shape made to cover the cap, and having two long ends which tie round the throat. Being thus accoutred in all my armour, I sallied forth to join my companion, who, an enormous man naturally, now seemed a very Colossus of Rhodes in his own winter attire. How people would have laughed if they could have seen us in Piccadilly in our costumes ! I think you will do,’' said my friend, scanning me well over ; but you will find your feet get very cold for all that. It takes a day or so to get used to this sleigh travelling, and though I am only going a little beyond Samara I shall be uncommonly glad when my journey is over.” He was buckling on his revolver ; and as we were informed that there were a great many wolves in the neighbourhood, I tried to do the same. This was an impossibility, the man who made the belt had never foreseen the gigantic proportions my waist would assume when clad in this Russian garb. I was obliged to give it up in despair, and contented myself by strapping the weapon outside my saddle bags. For provisions for possibly a thirty-six hours’ journey, and as nothing could be bought to eat on the 48 A RIDE TO KHIVA, road, I provided myself with some cutlets and chicken, which fitted capitally into the mess tins, My com- panion agreed to furnish the tea and bread, the former an article without which no true Russian will ever travel. He had not much baggage with him, and my own had been reduced to as little as possible ; but we soon discovered that it was impossible to stow away the luggage in the first sleigh that had been brought for our inspection. When my railway bag, saddle bags, cartridge box, gun, and sleeping sack had been put inside, and were well covered with straw, I essayed to sit upon them, but found that there was too little distance from the improvised seat to the roof. My back was nearly bent double in conse- quence. Bring out another sleigh,” said my friend. ** How the wind cuts ; does it not ? ” he continued, as the breeze whistling against our bodies made itself felt in spite of all the precautions we had taken. The vehicle now brought was broader and more commodious than the previous one, which, somewhat in the shape of a coffin, seemed especially designed so as to torture the occupants, particularly if, like my companion and self, they should happen to be endowed by Nature with that curse during a sleigh journey — however desirable appendages they may be when in a crowd — long legs. Three horses abreast, their coats white with pendent icicles and hoar-frost, were harnessed to the sleigh. The centre animal was in the shafts, and had his head fastened to a huge wooden head collar, bright with various colours. From the summit of the head collar was suspended a bell. The two outside horses were harnessed by cord traces to splinter-bars attached to the sides of the sleigh. The obiect of all this is to ON THE VOLGA, 49 make the animal in the middle trot at a brisk pace. His two companions gallop, their necks arched round in a direction opposite to the horse in the centre. This poor beast's head is tightly reined up to the head collar. A well-turned-out troika with three really good horses, which get over the ground at the rate of twelve miles an hour, is a pretty sight to witness, particularly if the team has been properly trained, and the outside animals never attempt to break into a trot, whilst the one in the shafts steps forward with high action. But the constrained position in which the horses are kept must be highly uncomfortable to them. It is not calculated to enable a driver to get as much pace out of his animals as they could give him if harnessed in another manner. Off we went at a brisk pace, the bell dangling from our horse's head collar, and jingling merrily at every stride of the team. The sun rose high in the heavens. It was a bright and glorious morning, in spite of the intense cold, and the amount of oxygen we inhaled was enough to elevate the spirits of the most dyspeptic of mankind. Presently, after descending a slight declivity, our Jehu turned sharply to the right; then came a scramble, and a succession of jolts and jerks, as we slid down a steep bank, and we found ourselves on what appeared to be a broad high road. Here the sight of many masts and shipping which, bound in by the iron fetters of a relentless winter, would remain embedded in the ice till the ensuing spring, showed me that we were on the Volga. It was an animated spectacle, this frozen highway, thronged with peasants who strode beside their sledges, which were bringing cotton and other so A RIDE TO KHIVA, goods from Orenburg to the railway. Now a smart troika would dash by us, its driver shouting as he passed, when our Jehu, stimulating his steeds by loud cries and frequent applications of the whip, would vainly strive to overtake his brother coachman. Old and young alike seemed like octogenarians. Their short thick beards and moustaches were white as hoar- frost from the congealed breath. According to all accounts the river had not been long frozen, and till very recently steamers laden with corn from Southern Russia had plied between Sizeran and Samara. The price of corn is here forty kopecks the poud of forty pounds, whilst the same quantity at Samara could be purchased for eighteen kopecks. An iron bridge was being constructed a little further down the Volga. Here the railroad was to pass, and it was said that in two years’ time there would be railway communi- cation, not only between Samara and the capital, but even at far as Orenburg. Presently the scenery became very picturesque as we raced over the glistening surface, which flashed like a burnished cuirass beneath the rays of the rising sun. Now we approach a spot where seemingly the waters from some violent blast or other had been in a state of foam and commotion, when a stern frost transformed them into a solid mass. Pillars and blocks of the shining. and hardened element were seen modelled into a thousand quaint and grotesque patterns. Here a fountain perfectly formed with Ionic and Doric columns was reflecting a thousand prismatic hues from the diamond-like stalactites which had attached themselves to its crest. There a huge obelisk, which, if of stone, might have come from ancient Thebes, lay half buried beneath a pile of fleecy snow. Further on we came to THE COSSACKS OE THE URAL. 5t what might have been a Roman Temple or vast hall in the palace of a Caesar; where many half-hidden pillars and monuments erected their tapering summits above the piles of the debris. The wind had done in that northern latitude what has been performed by some violent Pre-adamite agency in the Berber desert. Take away the ebon blackness of the stony masses which have been there cast forth from the bowels of the earth, and replace them on a smaller scale by the crystal forms I have faintly attempted to describe. The resemblance would be striking. Now we came to some fishing-huts, which were constructed on the frozen river. The traffic in the finny tribe which takes place in this part of Russia is very great, the Volga producing the sterlet (a fish unknown in other rivers of Europe) in large quantities. I have often eaten them, but must say I could never appreciate this so-called delicacy. The bones are of a very glutinous nature, and can be easily masticated. The taste of a sterlet is something between that of a barbel and a perch, the muddy flavour of the former predominating. However, they are an expensive luxury, as to be in perfection for the table they should be taken out of the water alive, and put at once into the cooking- pot. A good-sized fish will often cost from thirty to forty roubles, and sometimes even a great deal more. The distance to St. Petersburg from the Volga is considerable. In most of the restaurants in the capital the pro- prietors keep sterlet alive in small ponds. The intend- ing purchaser goes there to select a fish for his dinner, the owner of the restaurant dragging it out of the water with a landing-net for his customer’s inspection. “ The Cossacks of the Ural have a singular way of 52 A RIDE TO KHIVA. catching sturgeon/^ observed my companion, “ and it is a method, I believe, unknown in any other part of Europe. At certain times in the winter the men assemble in large numbers by the side of the river, and, dismounting from their horses, cut a deep trench across the stream from one of its banks to the other. They lower their nets into the water, and arrange them so as to block up the entire channel, when, getting on their horses, they will ride for seven or eight miles along the banks. They then form a line of horsemen reaching from shore to shore, and gallop down in the direction of the nets. The fish, hearing the clatter of a thousand hoofs, swim away from the sound, and dart like lightning in the opposite direction. Here their course is at once arrested, and they become entangled in the trammels. The quantity of sturgeon is at times so large,” he continued, that the sheer weight of the fish is sufficient to force a passage through the nets, a blank day being the result to the fishermen.” In England the sturgeon is looked upon as being rather coarse eating, and as unfit for the table, but in Russia it is highly appreciated. When served up in cold slices, with jelly and horseradish sauce, it is by no means to be despised, and I have eaten many a worse dish on this side the Channel. The part of the sturgeon most liked by the Russians is the roe (the far- famed caviare). A Russian will take this out whilst the fish is almost alive, and devour it with the greatest gusto, for the fresher the caviare is the more it is liked. There are three kinds of caviare in Russia — the quite fresh, when no salt whatever has been added; then the slightly salted, which is the caviare generally exported to this country and to other parts of Europe; and irOtV TO CATCH STURGEON. S3 finally, the pressed caviare, which is the second quality pressed into cakes. This is used for sandwiches and other relishes. A little pressed or fresh caviare and a glass or so of Russian vodki, taken a minute before sitting down at the dinner-table, gives a wonderful stimulus to the appetite, and is a strong incentive to thiiy>t. CHAPTER VI. A Hole in the Ice — The two Alternatives — Being Dragged through the Water- Preparing for the Leap — Price of Land — Our First Halting-place — Winnow* ing Com— Russian Idols. The road now changed its course, and our driver directed his steeds towards the bank. Suddenly we discovered that immediately in front of us the ice had broken beneath a horse and sleigh, and that the animal was struggling in the water. The river here was fortunately only about four feet deep, so there would not be much difficulty in extracting the quad- ruped, but what to ourselves seemed far more important was to solve the knotty problem of how to get to land. For between our sleigh and the shore was a wide gulf, and there seemed to be no possibility of driving through it without a wetting. “ Pleasant,” muttered my companion, “pleasant, very; let us get out and have a good look round, to see if we cannot find a place where we can get across in safety.” “ I will pull you through,” observed our Jehu, with a broad grin on his lobster-coloured countenance, and apparently much amused with the state of things. “No, O son of an animal,” retorted my companion; “ stay here till we return.” After considerable search we found a spot where the water channel was certainly not much more than twelve feet across. Some' peasants who were fishing in the river came up and volunteered their assistance. BEING DRAGGED THROUGH THE HEATER. 55 One of them produced a pole about eight feet long, with which, he said, we could jump the chasm. My companion looked at me with a melancholy smile, in which resolution and caution struggled for the mastery. “ It is very awful,” he said, “very awful, but there is no other alternative, and I much fear that we must.” X With these words he seized the pole, and carefully inserted one end of it in the muddy bottom. “ If the ice gives way when I land on the other side ! ” he suddenly observed, releasing his hold of the leaping- bar. “ Why, if it does, you will get a ducking,” was my remark, “but be quick, the longer you look at it the less you will like it, and it is very cold standing here; now then, jump over.” “ I have been just thinking,” went on my com- panion, “ whether it would not be better to be pulled through in the sleigh, for then I shall only get the lower part of my body wet. But if the confounded ice breaks, which must also be taken into considera- tion, for I am not at all light” (this was certainly the case, as with his furs and other clothes he must have weighed at least twenty stone), “ nor am I so active as I was, why, I shall get in, and very likely be frozen to death in consequence.” At this moment his apprehensions were very nearly realised. The ice gave way under one of his feet, and let it in to about a foot of water. Retracing his steps rapidly, my companion remarked, “ I shall be dragged through, and not for all the joys of Paradise will I entrust myself to that confounded pole.” It was an awful moment, and I cannot say that I relished the situation. There are minutes in a man’s 5^5 A RIDE TO KHIVA, life when the heart has a strong inclination to jump into his mouth. It is a very disagreeable sensation, and one which I have sometimes experienced when riding at a Leicestershire so-called bullfinch, not being quite aware of what was on the other side ; but then there was a gallery of other men looking on, a wonderful incentive. This time there were no spectators save a few grinning moujiki and my companion, who, as he had not faced the obstacle himself, thought that it would be better and more dignified if I were to follow his example. Dignity appeared to me to be out of the question, particularly when placed between the two alterna- tives of being dragged through the water or risking a jump into the channel. It was a disagree- able choice, but I selected the latter, at the same time being a little annoyed at the chaffing remarks of the grinning peasants. They greatly enjoyed our discomfiture, and were passing sot to voce observations on the size of my companion and myself, eminently true, but highly disrespectful. How fat they are!” said one. “ No, it’s their furs,” observed another. ‘‘How awkward he is,” continued a third; “why, I could jump it myself!” “I tell you what it is, my friend,” I at length observed, “if you continue this conversation I think it very likely you will jump either over or in, for I want to find out the exact distance, and am thinking of throwing you over first, in order to satisfy my mind as to how wide it is, and how deep.” This remark, uttered in rather a sharp tone, had the desired effect. Seizing the pole convul- sively, I prepared for the deap, which, nothing to a man not clad in furs, was by no means a contemptible PRICE OF LAND, 57 one in my sleigh attire. One, two, three ! a bound, a sensation of flying through the air, a slip, a scramble, and I found myself on the other side, having got over with no more damage than one wet leg, the boot itself being instantly covered with a shining case of ice. “ Come along quick cried my friend, who by this time had been dragged through ; “ let us get on as quickly as possible.’^ And without giving me time to see if my cartridges or other baggage on the bottom of the sleigh had suffered from the ducking, we rattled off once more in the direction of Samara. Estates have become much dearer in the neigh- bourhood of Sizeran since the railway has been opened up to that town. A desyatin of land (27 acres) now costs twenty roubles, whilst in Samara it can be purchased for half that price. Land gives a good return for the capital invested upon it in Russia. A proprietor thinks that he has reason to grumble if he does not receive from six to eight per cent, on the purchase-money, clear and free from any deductions. An English gentleman, a well-known M.P., fore- seeing the rise which would take place in the value of property near Samara, had bought a large and beautiful estate in that neighbourhood. According to my com- panion he would double the capital invested should he in the course of two or three years wish to part with his purchase. We were now gradually nearing our first halting- place. It was a farmhouse known by the name of Nijny Pegersky Hootor, twenty-five versts distant from Sizeran. Some men were engaged in winnowing corn in a yard hard by the dwelling. The system they employed to separate the husks from the grain 58 A RIDE TO EIin^A. probably dates from before the flood, for, throwing the corn high up into the air with a shovel, they let the wind blow away the husks, and the grain de- scended on to a carpet set to catch it in the fall. It was then considered to be sufficiently winnowed, and fit to be sent to the mill. The farmhouse was fairly clean, and for a wonder there were no live animals inside the dwelling. ^ It is no uncommon thing in farmhouses in Russia to find a calf domesti- cated in the sitting-room of the family, and this more particularly during the winter months. But here the good housewife permitted no such intruders, and the boards were clean and white, thus showing that a certain amount of scrubbing was the custom. The habitation, which was of a square shape, and entirely made of wood, contained two good-sized, but low rooms. A large stove made of dried clay was so arranged as to warm both the apartments. A heavy wooden door on the outside of the building gave access to a small portico, at the other end of which there was the customary obraz, or image, which is to be found in almost every house in Russia. These obrazye are made of different patterns, but generally take the form of a picture of saints or of the Trinity. They are executed in silver-gilt on brass relief, and adorned with tawdry fringe or other gewgaws. The repeated bows and crosses made by the peasantry before these idols is very surprising to an English- man, who may have been told that there is little dif- ference between the Greek religion and his own, but if this is the case, the sooner the second commandment is omitted from our service the better. It may be said that the Russian peasantry only look upon these images as symbols, and that in reality they are praying KUSSIAN IDOLS, 59 to the living God. Let any one who Indulges in this delusion travel in Russia, and talk to the inhabitants with reference to the obrazye, or go to Kiev at the time of a pilgrimage to the mummified saints in that sanctuary. I think he will then say that no country in the world is so imbued with superstitious credences as Russia. Above the stove, which was about five feet high, a platform of boards had been erected at a distance of about three feet from the ceiling. This was the sleeping resort of the family, and occasionally used for drying clothes during the day. The Russian moujik likes this platform more than any other part of the habitation. His great delight is to lie there and perspire profusely, after which he finds himself the better able to resist the cold of the elements outside. The farmhouse in which I now found myself had cost in building two hundred roubles, about twenty-six pounds of our money. Her home was a source of pride to the good housewife, who could read and write, an accomplishment not often possessed by the women of this class in the provinces of Russia. By this time our former team had been replaced by three fresh horses. The driver who was to accom- pany us had nearly finished making his own pre- parations for the sleigh journey. Several long bands of cloth, first carefully warmed at the stove, were successively wound round his feet, and then having put on a pair of thick boots, and stuffed some hay into a pair of much larger dimensions, he drew the latter on as well, when, with a thick sheepskin coat, cap, and vashlik, he declared that he was ready to start. The cold was very intense when we quitted the threshold. The thermometer had fallen several 6o A RIDE TO KHIVA, degrees during the last half-hour. The wind had in- creased, and it howled and whistled against the eaves of the farmhouse, bearing millions of minute snowy flakes before it in its course. Presently the sound of a little stamping on the bottom of the sleigh announced to me that the cold had penetrated to my companion's feet, and that he was endeavouring to keep up the circulation. CHAPTER VII, Pins-and-Needles — Spoiled Horses — Driver’s idea of distance — The Halting-place — Our Fellow Travellers — A Devout but Unwashed Pedlar — A Glorious Sunrise — A Bargain is a Bargain. Very soon that so-called plns-and-needles sensation, recalling some snowballing episodes of my boyish days, began once more to make itself felt. I found myself commencing a sort of double shuffle against the boards of the vehicle. The snow was falling in thick flakes. With great difficulty our driver could keep the track. His jaded horses sometimes sank up to the traces in the rapidly-forming drifts. They floundered heavily along the now thoroughly hidden road. The cracks of his whip sounded like pistol-shots against their jaded flanks. Volumes of invectives issued from his lips. “ Oh I sons of animals ! — [whack]. “ Oh ! spoiled one ! ” — [whack]. This to a brute which looked as if he had never eaten a good feed of corn in his life. Oh ! woolly ones ! [whack ! whack ! whack !]. Oh I Lord God I '' This as we were all upset into a snow-drift, the sleigh being three-parts overturned, and our J ehu precipitated in the opposite direction. “How far are we from the next halting-place ? suddenly inquired my companion, with an ejaculation which showed that even his good temper had given way, owing to the cold and our situation. 6 ? A RIDE TO KHIVA. ** Only four versts, one of noble birth,” replied the struggling Jehu, who was busily engaged endeavouring to right the half-overturned sleigh. A Russian verst about nightfall, and under such conditions as I have endeavoured to point out to the reader, is an un- known quantity. ' A Scotch mile and a bit, an Irish league, a Spanish legua, or the German stunde, are at all times calculated to call forth the wrath of the traveller, but in no way equal to the first-named division of distance. For the verst is barely two- thirds of an English mile, and when, after driving for another hour, we were told that there were still two versts more before we could arrive at our halting-place, it began fully to dawn upon my friend that either our driver’s knowledge of distance, or otherwise his veracity, was at fault. At last we reached a long straggling village, formed of houses constructed much in the same way as that previously described. Our horses stopped before a de- tached cottage. The proprietor came out to meet us at the threshold. Samovar, samovar!” (urn), said my companion. “Quick, quick, samovar!” Hurrying by him, and hastily throwing off our furs, we endeavoured to regain our lost circulation beside the walls of a well- heated stove. In a few minutes, and when the blood had begun once more to flow in its proper channels, I began to look round and observe the other occupants of the room. These were for the most part Jews, as could easily be seen by that peculiarity of feature which unfailingly denotes any members of the tribe of Israel. Some half-open boxes of wares in the corner showed their trade. The men were hawkers of fancy jewellery and other finery calculated to please the wives gf OUR FELLOW TRAVELLERS. 63 the farmers or better-to-do peasants in the neighbour- hood. The smell was anything but agreeable. The stench of sheepskins, unwashed humanity, and some oily cooking going on in a very dirty frying-pan, at last caused my companion to inquire if there was no other room vacant. We were shown into a small adjoin- ing apartment. Here the smell, though very pungent, was not quite so disagreeable as in the one inhabited by the family. “ This is a little better,’' muttered my companion, unpacking his portmanteau, and taking out a tea-pot, with two small metal cases containing tea and sugar. Quick, Tetka, Aunt !” he cried (this to the old woman of the house), “ quick with the samovar! ” when an aged female, who might have been any age from eighty to a hundred, for she was almost bent double by decrepitude, carried in a large copper urn, the steam hissing merrily under the influence of the red-hot charcoal embers. By this time I had unstrapped the mess-tins, and was extracting their contents. “ Let me be the carver,” said my friend, at the same time trying to cut one of the cutlets with a knife ; but he might as well have tried to pierce an iron-clad with a pea-shooter, for the meat was turned into a solid lump of ice. It was as hard as a brickbat, and when we tried the bread it was equally impenetrable ; in fact, it was only after our provisions had been placed within the stove for about ten minutes that they became in any way eatable. In the meantime my companion had concocted a most delicious brew, and with a large glass of pale or rather amber-coloured tea, with a thin slice of lemon floating on the top, I was beginning to realise how pleasant it is to have been made thoroughly uncomfortable. It is only aftei 64 A RIDE TO KHIVA, having experienced a certain amount of misery that you can thoroughly appreciate what real enjoyment is. What is pleasure ? asked a pupil of his master. “ Absence of pain,” was the philosopher s answer, and let any one who doubts that a feeling of intense enjoyment can be obtained from drinking a mere glass of tea, try a sleighing journey through Russia with the thermometer at 20 ^. below zero (Reaumur), and a wind. In about an hour’s time we were ready to start. Not so our driver; and to the expostulations of my companion, he replied, ‘‘No, little father, there is a snowstorm, we might be lost, and I might be frozen. Oh, Lord God ! there are wolves ; they might eat me ; the ice in the river might give way, and we might all be drowned. For the sake of God let us stop here ! ” “ You shall have a good tea present,” I observed, “ if you will drive us.” “ Oh, one of noble birth,” was his answer, “ we will stop here to-night, and Batooshka, little father, also,” pointing to my companion; “but to-morrow we will have beautiful horses, and go like birds to the next station.” It was useless attempting to persuade him. Resigning ourselves to our fate, my companion and self lay down on the planks to obtain what sleep could be found, notwithstanding the noise that was going on in the next room. The Jew pedlars were occupied in trying to sell some of their wares, and drive a bargain with the antique mistress of the house. Notwithstanding her age, she was keenly alive to her own interests. The shrill female accents mingling with the nasal ejaculations of the Hebrews were not at all conducive to slumber. ^ A Rtjssian term for a money gift to an inferior. A DEVOUT BUT UNWASHED PEDLAR. 65 Presently another pedlar, enveloped in sheepskins and covered with snow, strode into our room. He began to cross himself and perform his devotions before an obraz which was attached to one of the walls. As soon as this act of worship was finished, he commenced bargaining with the owner of the house, trying to per- suade the man to let him have a horse to drive to the next station at a lower rate than the one ordinarily paid. But the proprietor was proof against all this kind of eloquence, and the pedlar, finding that his entreaties were useless, returned once more to our room, and kicking off his boots by the side of my companion’s head, announced his intention of passing the night in our company. This the Russian gentleman objected to in very strong terms. In addition to the smell of the pedlar’s body and his garments, there was good reason to believe that a vast amount of what it is not necessary here to mention inhabited his beard and clothes. No, brother,” said my companion, firmly, at the same time taking up the pedlar’s sheepskin between his finger and thumb, when holding it at arm’s length before him he deposited the filthy garment in the other room. Go there, brother, for the sake of God, and pass the night with your fellows.” It was in vain attempting to sleep. The new arrival had brought a still further element of discord amidst the assembled pedlars. They were a strange party in that room, the proprietor, his mother, his wife, and her sister, two or three children, and five pedlars, all huddled together promiscuously, and adding by their number to the foul air which poisoned the interior of the dwelling. What surprised me most was to see how healthy the children looked. I should have imagined that tney would have been poor, weak, delicate little 66 A RIDE TO KHIVA. things, but no ] and the eldest, a chubby lad about ten years old, apparently the picture of health, looked as if bad smells and v/ant of ventilation decidedly agreed with him. The Russian peasants are not ignorant of the good old maxim that the early bird gets the worm. The few hours’ daylight they enjoy during the winter months makes it doubly necessary for them to observe this precept. We were all up a good hour before sunrise, my companion making the tea, whilst our driver was harnessing the horses, but this time not three abreast, for the road was bad and narrow. We had determined to have two small sleighs with a pair of horses to each, and put our luggage in one vehicle whilst we travelled in the other. Off we went, a motley crew. First the unwashed pedlar who had wished to be my companion’s bedfellow the night before ; then our luggage sleigh, and finally my friend and self, who brought up the rear, with a careful eye upon our effects, as the people in that part of the country were said to have some difficulty in distinguishing between mettm and tuum. The sunrise was bright and glorious, and in no part of the world hitherto visited have I ever seen aurora in such magnificence. First, a pale blue streak, gradually extending over the whole of the Eastern horizon, arose like a wall barring the unknown be- yond. Suddenly it changed colour. The summit became like lapis-lazuli, the base a sheet of purple. Waves of grey and crystal radiated from the darker hues. They relieved the eye, appalled by the vastness of the barrier. The purple foundations were in turn upheaved by seas of fire. The eye was dazzled by the glowing brilliancy. The wall of colours floating in A BARGAIN IS A BARGAIN, 67 Space broke up into castles, battlements, and towers. They were wafted by the breeze far away from our view. The seas of flame meanwhile had lit up the whole horizon. They burst through their borders. They formed one vast ocean. The eye quailed beneath the glare. The snowy carpet at our feet reflected like a camera the wonderful panorama overhead. Flakes of light in rapid succession bound earth to sky. At last the globe of sparkling light appeared arising from the depths of the ocean of fire. It dimmed the sur- roundings of the picture. Presently a sudden check and exclamation of our Jehu told us that the harness had given way, and a conversation, freely interlarded with epithets exchanged between the driver and the pedlar, showed that there was decidedly a difference of opinion between them. It appeared that the man of commerce was the only one of the party who knew the road. Having dis- covered this fact, he determined to make use of his knowledge by refusing to show the way unless the proprietor of the horses, who drove the vehicle con- taining our luggage, would abate a little from the price he had demanded for the hire of the horse in his, the pedlar s, sleigh, “ A bargain is a bargain I ” cried our driver, wishing to curry favour with his master, now a few yards behind him. “ A bargain is a bargain ! Oh, thou son of an animal, drive on ! ’’ It is very cold,’* muttered my companion. For the sake of God,” he shouted, “ go on 1 ” But neither the allusion to the pedlar’s parentage, nor the invocation of the Deity, had the slightest effect upon the fellow’s mercenary soul. “ I am warm, and well wrapped up,” he said ; “ ii is all the same to me if we wait here one hour or ten 68 A RIDE TO KHIVA, and with the most provoking indifference he com- menced smoking — not even the manner in which the other drivers aspersed the reputation of his mother appearing to have the smallest effect. At last the proprietor, seeing it was useless holding out any longer, agreed to abate somewhat from the hire of the horse. Once more the journey continued over a break- neck country, though at anything but a breakneck pace, until we reached the station — a farmhouse — ■ eighteen versts from our sleeping quarters, and, ,as we were informed, forty-five from Samara. CHAPTER VIIL The Guardian of the Forests — No Sleigh Bells Allowed in the Town — Hotel Anaeff — A Curiously-shaped Vehicle — Law about Libel — Price of ProvisiorxS at Samara — Rate of Mortality amongst the Infant Population — Podorojnayas, or Road Passports — The Grumblers’ Book — Difference of Opinion between my Horses and the Driver. The Guardian of the Forests stepped into the dwelling whilst we were waiting for fresh horses. He said that there were many wolves in the neighbourhood, and that they did a great deal of damage to the flocks ; at the same time informing us that he had shot several wolves that winter, and one only two days before. The keeper was a wel’l-built, sturdy fellow, and seeing my gun, proposed that we should stop a day or so, remark- ing that he could show us some capital sport. But my companion was obliged to hasten to his property ; and as for myself, the 14th of April — the termination of my leave of absence — rose up like a bugbear in my mind’s eye. Every day was precious. I had no time, much as I should have liked to accept the invitation'. About six hours more brought us to the river Samara — here a broad stream which runs into the Volga. We dashed over a road made on its glistening surface, when the driver, pulling up his horses and getting down to tie up the bell on the head collar, informed us that we were about to enter the town. No bells were allowed within the suburbs, for fear of frightening any horses unaccustomed to the tinkle. 70 A RIDE TO KHIVA, A rapid drive through some fine broad streets, the well-built houses announcing that the inhabitants were comfortably off in this world’s goods, and five minutes later I found myself beneath the roof of the Hotel Anaeif, a much better hostelry than I should have thought to encounter so far away from a railway. There was no time to be lost, for the day was well advanced. We at once commenced making prepara- tions for our journey onward; my fellow-traveller leaving me at this point, as his estate was not on the road to Orenburg. I was sorry to shake hands with him and to say good-bye. He was a very cheery com- panion, and a drive over the steppes alone and without a soul to speak to for several hundred miles was not an inviting prospect. Mats a la guerre comme a la guerre, and the same saying equally applies to a winter journey through Russia. I resigned myself to the situation, speedily forgetting all cares in the bustle of laying in a stock of provisions for the road, and in the search for a sleigh which I had here to buy to convey me and my fortunes to Orenburg, or, perhaps, to Khiva. Presently a cofiin-shaped vehicle was driven up for my inspection. I now discovered that one of the runners was cracked, and not in a fit state for the journey. The owner of the sleigh used all his elo- quence to persuade me that there was an advantage in having a damaged runner, and seemed much surprised when I informed him that I did not share this opinion ; however, seeing me obdurate, he promised to have the vehicle repaired, and ready to start by the break of day. The law of libel is stringently applied in Russia, judging by a paragraph which I saw in a newspaper RUSSIAN LAW ABOUT LIBEL. 71 tliat evening. It appeared that the editor of the magazine Dalo had been summoned by a Mr. Wein- berg for calling him a beggar. The editor, according to the evidence, had previously asked the plaintiff to translate a work. On its completion, Mr. W. wrote to his employer requesting the payment of fifty roubles, which would make up the difference of the amount due. No answer being returned, he called in person, and said he would not leave without the money. Upon this, the editor sent him down a rouble note, wrapped up in a piece of paper, on which was written, “ I give you this for your begging,’' or words to that effect. The advocate for the defence apologised for his client, who, he said, was an old man ; but the Court, not seeing the point of the argument, sentenced the editor to two weeks’ imprisonment — undoubtedly a well-merited punishment ; though in England I much doubt if the offender would have even been mulcted in damages for the expression. The Russian law for libel, or rather insult (oskorblenie), is very voluminous. Many words which in this country would not come within the statute for libel are followed by a heavy punishment in the Tzar’s dominions. The people at Samara were looking forward to the rapid completion of the railway from Sizeran to that town. The proprietors of land were the most interested in this matter, as then they would be able to obtain a better market for their corn. Provisions were very cheap, the best beef only costing seven kopecks per pound, and bread two and a half kopecks, while twenty bottles of vodki could be purchased for four roubles ; thus enabling the inhabitants of that highly-favoured community to get drunk, if they wished, at even a lower rate than that announced on a placard hung some 72 A RIDE TO KHIVA, years ago outside a public-house in Ratcliff Highway, and couched in the following terms : Take notice. — Get drunk and be made happy, all for a penny.” Mutton was even cheaper than beef, and to be bought for six kopecks a pound, whilst a first-rate cow could be readily purchased for thirty roubles, and a hundred fresh eggs for one rouble and a half. When I jotted down the list of prices, which was furnished me by the polite secretary at Anaeff s Hotel, I began to think that what I had read in my boyhood about the latitude and longitude of the promised land must be a myth. Samara was evidently that much desired region, and would be an abode of bliss to all those me- lancholy and matrimony-in-search- of young bachelors who occasionally forward a mournful dirge to our daily press, and inquire if a man can marry on a hundred a year. Why of course he can ! Only let him go to Samara, and he can keep a seraglio into the bargain, provided he feeds the ladies on beef and mutton. The only country I have ever visited where pro- visions cost less than in Samara was in the Soudan in Africa. There a fat sheep could be purchased for four shillings — a hundred eggs for the same price — whilst on the White Nile the value even of human beings was so depreciated as to be almost incredible. Many people in this country will utterly disbelieve that a mother could sell her own child for a small quantity of corn. That child himself had not a high opinion of his paternal roof, for later on, when his master, an Englishman, who was passing by the lad s village, told him to go back to his mother, the boy began to cry, and then said, in broken Arabic, “ No, sir, mother has no clothes ; you have given me clothes. Mother gave kATE OF MORTALITY. 73 me nothing to eat, here there is plenty. Father gives me stick, and here nothing to do but eat, drink, and cook. Please let me stop ! ’’ Poor little Agau, he afterwards returned with me to Cairo, and I have no doubt by this time has quite forgotten his father, mother, and the domestic fetish, in the virtues and vices of Pharaoh’s capital. But although Samara, and, in fact, all the south- eastern part of Russia, offers many inducements to the settler on account of the low value of land and the cheapness of provisions, there is, in spite of these advantages, one great drawback to the country. This is the rate of mortality, the more particularly amongst the Infantine population. Out of i,ooo children born, j 345 die in the first five years, 40 in the next five, 19 in I the subsequent term, and the same number ere two I decades have been completed. Thus, out of 1,000 ' children, 423 will not reach their twentieth birthday. From another table of statistics I took the following figures : — Out of 10,000 children born, 3,830 die the ; first year, 975 in the second, and 524 in the third, j Whether this excessive mortality is caused by the I extreme rigour of the winter months, or by the love of spirit drinking on the part of the parents, which causes j them to neglect their offspring, is a difficult question to answer. Probably both these Influences have a good I deal to do with the matter. I have frequently heard educated Russians defend this theory, and curse the I foundling hospitals, which, originally started to diminish the evil, have, in their opinion, only succeeded in augmenting immorality, whilst they have greatly added to the mortality throughout the empire. There is a regular postal road, which goes from Samara to Orenburg. The authorities have recently 74 A RIDE TO KHIVA, established a new system along this route, which has superseded the old order of things with reference to podorojnayas^ or passports. Formerly the traveller, previously to starting, had to visit the police, tell them where he was going, and the number of horses he required for his sleigh. They would then give him a printed document, containing his description, and an order to the postmasters of the different stations to forward him on towards his destination. But now all this antiquated system has been abolished, and a volnaya potchta, or free post, is established between Samara and Orsk, a town about 140 miles beyond Orenburg. All the traveller has to do is to ask at the different post-stations for the necessary horses. They will be immediately furnished him, or as soon as possible after the order has been given. The traveller pays in ad- vance four kopecks per horse for each verst travelled. I was called at daybreak the following morning. The few preparations required to be made were soon finished, and I found myself in my newly-purchased sleigh, which had been thoroughly repaired, driving along in the direction of Smweshlaevskaya, the first station arrived at when travelling towards Orenburg, and about twenty versts from Samara. The country was a dead flat, and of a most uninteresting description. A few trees scattered here and there made by their scarcity the bleak and naked appearance of the adjacent surroundings the more conspicuous. Naught save snow here, there, and everywhere. No signs of life save a few melancholy crows and jackdaws, which from time to time made a short flight to stretch their pinions, and then returned to perch by the side of some kitchen chimney, and extract from the rapidly rising THE GRUMBLERS BOOK, 73 smoke as much warmth as possible. The route much resembled the road between Sizeran and Samara ; for, indeed, in winter-time everything in Russia is either alike or hidden from view, buried beneath its blanch white pall of snow. The station-houses along the line of road I was then travelling were fairly clean. The furniture gene- rally consisted of a horsehair sofa and some wooden chairs, whilst a few coloured prints of the Emperor and other members of the Royal Family of Russia were hung about the walls, and made up the attempt at decoration. A book in which to inscribe complaints was also kept, and any traveller who felt himself aggrieved could write down his grievance, which would be subsequently investigated by an inspector, whose duty it was to perform this task once a month. I sometimes used to while away the time whilst wait- ing for fresh horses by turning over the pages of the grumblers’ book — occasionally, indeed, having to add my own grievance to the list — the badness of the horses being a frequent source of annoyance to the passengers. I reached Bodrovsky, the next station, a little after sunset, only halting sufficient time to drink a few glasses of tea, in order the better to resist the rapidly-increas- ing cold, the thermometer having fallen to 25® below zero (Reaumur), and started again for Malomalisky, about 26^ versts distant. I hoped to reach this point about 9 P.M., and there refresh the inner man before proceeding on my journey. It is hungry work, sleigh- driving in the winter, and the frame requires a good deal of support in the shape of food in order to keep up the vitality. However, it is no good forming any plans in which time is concerned in Russia. The 76 A RIDE TO KHIVA. natives have a Mohammedan-like indifference to the clock, and travellers must succumb, however unwil- lingly, to the waywardness of the elements. Presently I became aware by some pistol-like cracks — the sounds of the whip reverberating from the backs of my horses — that there was a difference of opinion between them and the driver. A blinding snow had come on ; the darkness was so great that I could not distinguish the driver. Our jaded animals were floundering about in all directions, vainly en- deavouring to hit off the original track, from which it was evident that they had strayed. The man now got down from his box, and, leaving me in charge of the horses, made a wide cast round on foot, hoping to discover the road. CHAPTER IX. Delayed Ly a Snowstorm — Tchin — Russian Curiosity — A Conservative Inspector — General Kryjinovsky — He tells me that I speak Russian — The Interest tlie Paternal Government takes in my Movements — Russia and China — A Newly- married Sleigh Driver — A Caanel in Love. The snow all this time was falling in a manner un- known to people in this country. It was piling itself up against the sleigh in such volumes that I foresaw, if we did not speedily reach the station, we should in- evitably be buried alive. After about half an hour’s search the driver returned, and said to me, “ Oh, Lord God ! — you are a misfortune. Let us turn back.” I replied, “If you have lost the way, how can you turn back ? Besides, if you know the road, we are now half- way, so it is just as easy to go forward as to return.” He had found the track, but by this time the sleigh was so buried in the snow that the horses could not stir it. There was only one thing to do, which was for me to get out and help him to lift the vehicle, when we eventually succeeded in regaining the path. The fellow was a good deal surprised at this action on my part, for Russian gentlemen as a rule would almost prefer to be frozen to death than do any manual labour. Presently he said, “ One of noble birth, what shall we do now ? ” “ Go on.” But at last, finding that it was no use, and that the snow in front of us had drifted over the track to a much greater extent than over that part of the road which we had left behind^ I A RIDE TO KHIVA, 78 was reluctantly obliged to give the order to return* This he obeyed with the greatest alacrity, the horses as well as the driver showing, by their redoubled exer- tions, that they were well aware of the change of direction. There is nothing so disheartening to a traveller who wishes to get forward rapidly as the frequent snow- storms which occur in winter in this part of Russia. Days upon days of valuable time are thus lost, whilst any attempt to force a way through at all hazards will only lead to the extreme probability of your being frozen to death, without enabling you in any way to accelerate your arrival. The inspector at the station laughed heartily when vre returned, and said that it was very fortunate I had not to pass the night out in the open. He had previously advised us not to attempt the journey that evening, but wait for day- light. However, I did not believe him, and conse- quently had to buy my experience. He was very anxious to know what my tchin (rank) was; whether I was voennye (military) or statsky (a civilian) ; and the spelling of my name caused him a good deal of perplexity. Of all the countries in which it has been my fate to travel, the land where curiosity is most rampant is decidedly Russia. Whether this comes from a dearth of public news and subjects for conversation, or from something innate and specially characterising the Scla- vonic race, it is difficult to say. The curiosity of the fair sex, which in other countries is supposed to be the ne phts ultra of inquisitiveness, is in the land of the Tzar far outstripped by the same peculiarity in the male inhabitants. Of course I am alluding the more particularly to the lower orders, not to the upper A conservative inspector. 79 classes, though even with the latter it is a feature that cannot help striking the foreigner. The inspector was a thorough old conservative, and greatly mourned the new order of things, and that he could no longer demand the traveller’s podorojnaya, or pass. “ Why,” he said, “ I do not know who I am addressing ; I may be talking to a shopkeeper, and call him your Excellency, or address a Grand Duke as simply one of noble birth.” “ Yes,” chimed in some travellers who were benighted like myself, “ and rogues can travel now, for they are not obliged to go to the police.” I was rather amused at this. There was decidedly a wish on the part of the other wayfarers to know who I was ; so, pulling my English passport out of my pocket, I said to the inspector, “ There, you can look at my podorojnayaP He turned it upside down ; and then said, “ Ah, yes I you are a Greek, but what a beautiful crown that is on it ! You must be some great personage, going to Tashkent.” “ Perhaps so,” I replied, assuming an air of importance. There is a royal highness coming through soon,” said the inspector ; “ I heard it from a pedlar who went by yesterday ; and one of his officers is travelling on in front to make preparations. Perhaps his Excellency,” turning to me, “is that gentleman.” “No,” was my answer, when one of the company, who appeared a little annoyed at my evident unwillingness to undergo this process of pumping, remarked that there had been several robberies in the neighbourhood. “ Yes, there have,” said another, and the assemblage all looked at me as much as to say, “ You are the man ; now, do not deny it ; we shall not believe you.” So the evening wore on, till one by one we laid ourselves down to rest, when a sound, very suggestive 8o A RIDE TO KHIVA. of a pigsty, awoke the echoes of the night. On looking out at daybreak, I found that the wind had subsided, and the thermometer had risen to within a few degrees of freezing point. There was no time to be lost, particularly as I could not tell how long this exceptional order of things would last ; so, ordering fresh horses, I recommenced the journey. A great deal of snow had fallen during the night, and it was fortunate that we had returned to the station, as in some places, only a little distance beyond the spot from which my driver had retraced his steps, were drifts eight and ten feet deep. “ Praise be to God that we did not fall in!'^ said my Jehu, pointing them out to me as he drove by ; ‘‘I might have been frozen.’^ A single line of telegraph ran along the side of the road, being part of the wire which connects the capital with Tashkent. The high poles from which the line was suspended served as a capital landmark to point out the route which we must follow. Presently the scenery changed, and some plantations here and there relieved the eye, tired by continually gazing over the endless waste. Low trucks on wooden runners, drawn by two or four horses, and laden with iron rails for the con- struction of the railway, encountered us on the path. In many places we had great difficulty in passing, owing to the narrowness of the road. My Jehu's vocabulary of expletives was more than once thoroughly exhausted upon the heads of the sleighmen. They had, as it appeared, purposely tried to upset our sleigh by charging it vv^ith their heavily-laden vehicles. A few stations further on the road I met General Kryjinovsky, the Governor of the Orenburg district, who was on his wav to St. Petersburg, accompanied by PATERIVAL GOVERNMENT. 8i his wife and daughter. He had highly distinguished himself in his early career in Turkistan, and to this he owes the important post entrusted to his charge. He is a little spare man, with a keen glance and deter mined eye, and if I might be allowed to judge from our brief interview, he was not the sort of individual who would care to give me much information about my journey, of which he did not seem to approve. “You must remember,’’ he said, “on no account are you to go to India or to Persia. You must retrace your steps to European Russia along the same road by which you go. You speak Russian, I hear?” he suddenly remarked, looking fixedly at me. Our con- versation up to that time had been carried on in French. “Yes,” I replied; “but how clever you are to have made this discovery, considering that we have not spoken one word in your language, and you have never seen me before.” This took the general a little aback, and he slightly changed colour. He had evidently received a communication from some authorities at St. Petersburg, to the effect that I was acquainted with Russian, generally an unknown tongue to foreigners, and to a certain extent had let the cat out of the bag. He now observed, “ Oh, I only supposed you did so.” In the meantime his wife and daughter were taking off their furs in the same apart- ment. The accommodation for ladies is of the most meagre kind in these roadside stations, there are no retiring-rooms whatever, and the fair sex have in this respect to put up with much more discomfort than the men. As I drove away after our interview I pondered the general’s words well over in my mind — “ You must 82 ^ RIDE TO KHIVA. not go to India; you must not go to Persia; and you must retrace your steps exactly by the same route you go” It was really very extraordinary to see how much interest this paternal government in St. Peters- burg took in my movements. Here I was travelling in a country where the rulers defend the despoliation of the inhabitants in Central Asia, and the annexation of their territory, on the ground that it is done for the purpose of Christianity and civilization. And yet the government of this civilized nation made as much fuss about my travelling in Central Asia as any mandarin at Pekin, whose permission I might have had to ask for a journey through the Celestial Empire. It will take the Russians a long time to shake off from themselves the habits and way of thought in- herited from a barbarous ancestry. Grattez le Russe et volts troitverez le Tartare^ cest une insulte attx Tar tares. This is a hackneyed expression ; however, it is a true one. It requires but little rubbing to disclose the Tartar blood so freely circulated through the Muscovite veins. Some distance further on the road I observed a strong disinclination evinced by the man whose business it was to drive me to the next halting-place. He was a fresh-looking, sturdy fellow, and I could not under- stand the evident dislike he had for his fare, the more particularly as I had made a point of well tipping the | respective drivers in order to get on as fast as possible. ; What is it ? ” I inquired of the station-master. “ Is i he ill ? “No,’' was the reply; “he was married yesterday, that is all.” It seemed somewhat cruel to | tear away the poor fellow from the conjugal bliss that awaited him in the next room, but there was no help tor it. No other driver could be procured, and the A CAMEL IN LOVE. 83 duty must be performed. If I had not before remarked that there was something amiss with the fellow, I should very soon have found it out by the extraordinary mo- tions his horses imparted to the sleigh. He lashed the animals. They kicked and jumped, performing antics which slightly resembled the con- vulsive twitchings of an individual suffering from St. Vitus. I was thrown in the air and caught again by the rebound ; upset, righted, and upset again, without having had time to realise the first disaster ; cartridge cases, gun, saddle-bags, and self, all flying in the air at the same instant, the enamoured driver forgetting everything in the absorbing influence of his passion, save the desire to return to the side of his adored Dulcinea. I once rode a camel in love; this was in the Great Korosko desert. He was known by the name of the Magnoon, or the Mad Camel ; but whether on account of his susceptible heart or not I cannot say. I shall never forget on one occasion, when the amorous quad- ruped had accidentally become separated from the Juliet of his affection, a sweet creature, that carried the sheik of our party. She was very old, but this was no deterrent in the eyes of her ardent admirer, who was miserable when not at her side. I had ridden on a little ahead of the party when the voice of Juliet, who was being saddled in the desert, and who vented her woes in weird squeals and sounds appropriate to her race, was wafted by the breeze to the attentive ears of her admirer. He was a very long and a very tall camel, and in an instant he commenced to rear. My position became both ludicrous and precarious. Ludicrous to every one but myself, who was interested in the matter more than any one except Romeo. 1 84 J RIDE to KHiVA, found that I was, as it were, slipping down the steep roof of a house, with nothing to hold on by but a little peg about four inches long, which projected from the front part of the saddle. It was an awful moment, but he did not keep me long in suspense. Performing an extraordinary movement, he suddenly swung himself round on his hind legs, and ran as fast as ever he could in the direction of the fair enticer. A camel's gait is a peculiar one ; they go something like a pig with the fore, and like a cow with the hind legs. The motion is decidedly rough. At this moment my steed was seized with a strange and convulsive twitching which threatened to capsize the saddle. My position became each second more ridiculous and appalling. I was a shuttlecock, Romeo's back was the battledore. At every moment I was hurled into the air. The fear of missing the saddle and falling on the ground was continually in my mind. The little projecting knob, which seemed an instrument of torture like the impaling sticks used to punish the unfaithful in China, was also a source of consternation. I do not think I have ever felt a more thorough sensation of relief than when, on arriving at our encampment, Romeo halted by the side of his Juliet. The episode with Romeo had been an alarming one. It was nothing to being driven by this amorous young Russian 'as a charioteer. At last, after having been deposited with all my luggage for the third time in the snow, I resolved to appeal to his feelings by a sharp application of my boot. Why do you do that?" he said, pulling up short. ‘‘You hurt, you break my ribs." M RUSSIAN CHARIOTEER. S5 ** I only do to you what you do to me/^ was my reply; “you hurt, you break my ribs, and property besides.” “ Oh, one of noble birth,” ejaculated the fellow, “ it is not my fault. It is thou, oh, moody one ! ” — to his offside horse, accompanied by a crack from his lash. “It is thou, oh, spoilt and cherished one I ” — to his other meagre and half-starved quadruped, (Whack I) “ Oh, petted and caressed sons of animals ” (whack, whack, whack !), “ I will teach you to upset the gentleman ! ” CHAPTER X. Sbigh Sickness — A Happy Family — Orenburg — Nipping — Gas from a Charcoal Stove — A Professor of Eastern Languages — The Chief of the Police — Special Order Prohibiting Foreigners from Travelling in Turkistan — Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler — In Search of a Servant — Friendly Interest Russian Officers take in India — Exhibition of Maps — Map of the Punjaub — March Routes — General Bazoulek, It was hard work, this perpetual travelling. Where- ever the roads were passable I kept steadily journeying onward, and gradually diminished the distance that lay between myself and Orenburg. F or the last hundred versts there were scarcely any travellers, save at one station, where I met a few officers who were on their way to Samara. They did not much fancy the piece of road which lay before them, and told me that the winter we were having was the most exceptionally cold season they had ever experienced in those latitudes. Occasionally the road for a few miles would take quite a different aspect. A succession of ridge and furrow was formed by the wind, which had billowed up the snow before it in a strange and fantastic manner. The motion my sleigh would then assume was not at all of an agreeable character. Any person who suffers from crossing the Channel would have found that a journey in a sleigh can, under certain circumstances, be quite as disagreeable. On the evenings v/hen there was no storm, when the roads were smooth and the horses .good, it was very agreeable travelling. The stars and othei constellations lit up Oi^EiVBl/A'G. 87 the heavens with extraordinary brightness, and made the night as clear as day. The “ tinkle, tinkle, tinkle” of the sleigh-bells, changing time as the horses changed their pace, now ringing fast and furiously, then dying away as our animals struggled up some eminence, helped to wile away the hours. When about sixty versts from Orenburg, I was told that a short cut off the road would diminish the distance considerably. I determined to avail myself of this information, and take the risk of not being able to find horses at the farm- houses on the road, where the farmers, if they have any animals in their stables, are only too glad to let them out to the travellers. Presently we arrived at a cottage the fac-simile of an Irish hovel. Here were some unclean four-footed ones, sharing the habitation with the two-legged inmates. Pigs, calves, men, women, and children were huddled together round a huge stove, which barely warmed the ill-built and wretched hovel. But the horses supplied me were good, and finally we crossed the Samara river. Once more some signs of civilization. A few brick houses were to be seen. My driver leaped from his seat and tied up the bell on the horse’s head collar. We were approaching a town. Shortly afterwards we dashed up the principal street at a good swinging gallop, my sleighman shouting cheerily and cracking his whip at every bound. Orenburg was reached. A few minutes later I found myself in a well-warmed room, enjoying a wash, the luxury of which can only be appreciated by those who have driven 400 versts through Russia in the winter, and who have thus practically become acquainted with the slight respect the Russians show to the good old maxim, Cleanliness is next to Godliness.” The latter 88 j To tcmvA, quality, as displayed in a Russian devotee, is more allied with dirt than anything else I can mention. It was evident that I was rapidly leaving civiliza- tion behind me. No bed-linen could be procured. On my asking for a towel, the nearest approach to this commodity which could be obtained was a table- napkin. Russians, when journeying in these regions, carry about their own bed-linen, pillow-cases, &c., and either dispense with sheets altogether, or are con- tented with a rug. The architect who had designed this hotel was evidently a stranger to comfort as this is understood in other countries. To go from the dining- rooms to the bed-rooms it was necessary to pass through an open courtyard. This, as the thermometer was at that time occasionally 30^ below zero (Reaumur), did not conduce to the traveller s comfort. The people staying in the inn were chiefly officers. A well-worn billiard-table in a room down-stairs was being played on incessantly night and day. The attendant at a bar where caviare, salt fish, anchovies, sour kraut, and all kinds of relishes, with spirits and liquors, could be procured, had not a spare moment to himself. In fact, there is no country in the world, not even the United States, where so much of what is commonly termed nipping goes on as in Russia. Probably the extreme cold to a certain extent permits the inhabitants to take such liberties with their stomachs. But the in- creasinof numbers of Russian visitors who are each summer to be seen at Carlsbad, and their general com- plaint — liver — is a clear sign that dram-drinking, if persisted in, eventually sows the seed of disease. When I awoke the following morning it was with a splitting headache and a feeling of oppression, which, A Pj^OJ^BSSOi? OF FASTFFAT LANGUAGES. except when once half-sufifocated by the gas out of a balloon, I cannot remember to have ever before ex- perienced. I had a great deal of difficulty in raising myself from my bed. On opening the door of the room and breathing the cold but pure air, my legs gave way under me. Staggering forward, I fell down. It then flashed across my mind that the stove had been shut up too soon the previous evening, the consequence being that the poisonous gas from the charcoal had escaped into the sleeping apartment. Fortunately, however, the room which had been given me was a large one. The stoves in Russia, though admirably arranged so as to keep up a due degree of warmth in the house, require considerable care. Any neglect in this respect will lead to disagreeable consequences. Indeed, seldom does a winter pass without some traveller or other falling a victim. Later in the day I drove to the house of an American 'gentleman, a Mr. G , for whom I had a letter of introduction. He received me with the usual hospitality of his nation, and promised to do everything he could to further my views. But as for information about the road to Khiva, he could give me none. All the news and gossip about Tash- kent, Samarcand, and about the recent disturbances at Kokan, he had, so to speak, at his Angers ends. Khiva, however, was a sealed book to him. He recommended me to call upon a Mr. Bektchourin, a Tartar gentleman, the Professor of Eastern Languages at the Russian Military Academy, who, he said, knew more about the subject than any other man in Orenburg. On returning to my hotel, the waiter informed me that the chief of the police had sent an order that I 90 A RIDE TO KHIVA. was to attend at the police-office immediately. It seemed a little strange his forwarding me this com- munication through a servant at the inn, and not through some more official channel. However, at once obeying the command, I proceeded to the resi- dence of the police officer, and shortly afterwards was shown into the chiefs room. He held, it appeared, the rank of a colonel in the army, and said that he wished to know why I had come to Orenburg. I replied that “ I was going to Russian Asia ; when he remarked, “ I cannot allow you to do this, unless you have permission from the authorities in St. Peters- burg. There is a special order prohibiting foreigners from travelling in Turkistan.’' I showed him the letter I had received from General Milutin, which was written in P'rench, He perused it with difficulty, and to all appearance was not well acquainted with that language. He then said, By what route do you propose to go ? I replied by Kasala, and perhaps from there to Tashkent, and so on to Khiva . . , anyhow, first of all to Kasala. . . . “Yes,” he said, “ that is your best plan ; for there you will be able to obtain information which no one here can give you.” From the police-office I drove off to call upon Mr. Bektchourin, the Tartar gentleman. On my ringing the bell Mr. Bektchourin opened the door himself. He was a tall, noble-looking old man, in a long Eastern dressing-gown. It was fastened around his waist with a sash, whilst a fez cap on his head betokened an allegiance to the faith of Islam. He was a little surprised to see a stranger, but courteously invited me to enter his abode. When I had explained the object of my visit — which was, first to know if he could give me any information IN SEARCH OF A SERVANT. 91 about the route to Khiva, and secondly if he would recommend me a Tartar servant who could speak Russian — he said, “ My good sir, I will do everything I can ; but first of all you must drink some tea.” A servant entered with some glasses of this beverage. Bektchourin handed me a cigarette, lit one himself, and slowly sipped the thought-inspiring liquid. Presently he remarked, “First of all, my good sir, as to going to Khiva ; it is winter, the Syr Darya-Jaxartes and Amou Darya (Oxus) rivers are frozen up. The diffi- culties and hardships will be immense. You will have to ride on horseback over 500 versts of snow-covered steppes. If it had been summer you would have had no difficulty whatever. Once arrived at Kasala, better known as Fort Number One, you could have gone in a steamer, and have been landed within a few miles of Petro-Alexandrovsk, our fort in Khivan terri- tory. There would have been no fatigue or danger. In winter, however, it is very different. I sincerely advise you to give up the idea altogether, or to come back in the summer and then perform the journey.” I here remarked that it was not likely that I should have taken the trouble to travel even so far as Orenburg in the winter without having made up my mind previously to leaving London as to what my intentions were. “ Quite right, my good sir,” continued the kind old gentleman, “ quite right. If you mean to go I will help you ; but at the same time it was only right of me to say what my opinion is about the matter ; and, indeed,” he added, “ I really cannot give you any information as to the routes. At this time of the year all will de- pend upon how much snow has fallen in the steppes. This you can only find out at Kasala. As to recom- mending you a servant, I do not know of one at 92 A RIDE TO KHIVA. present, but will make every inquiry. Not that I much care about the task,’’ he continued, '‘for there was an American gentleman here not long ago with the Secretary of the United States Legation at St. Petersburg, Messrs. MacGahan and Schuyler were their names. I was asked to recommend them a ser- vant, and to get them one in twenty-four hours. “ How I toiled and slaved ! My good wife, too, asked all the people of her acquaintance, and we hunted everywhere to find an honest Tartar servant; not but that there are plenty of honest Tartars,” he added; “ quite as many as Christians ; but Mr. Schuyler required a man who could speak Russian, and who, to a certain extent, was accustomed to European ways. Well, we searched everywhere, and at the last moment a fellow offered himself for the situation. I could hear of nothing against his character, and the fact was I had no time to make inquiries. But the next thing I heard was that the servant had turned out to be a scoundrel, and that Mr. MacGahan, who wrote a very interesting book about his journey, had adverted to me in it, and said that I had recommended the man. Now, if I get you a servant, perhaps you will write a book and say the same as Mr. MacGahan has done, that is, if you are not pleased with your servant ; but I tell you candidly that I cannot in any way be responsible for his character, although I will do my best to find you an honest fellow.” No one could have been kinder than Mr. Bek- tchourin ; he assured me that he would make every inquiry with reference to the object I had in view ; whilst I relieved his mind by promising to speak to Mr. MacGahan, so that when another edition of “Campaigning in the Oxus” came out, Mr. Bektchourin’s INTEREST OF RUSSIAN OFFICERS IN INDIA. 93 explanation of the circumstances might be appended in a note. Probably on account of the military element in the hotel, the newspapers were represented by the Invalide. On turning oyer the leaves of an old number of this journal, I cartie across a paragraph which showed the friendly interest the Russian officer who wrote it evidently took in India. It was to the effect that at a late exhibition of maps in Paris, the more recent British maps of the Attrek and Afghanistan were not to be found, but that an interest- ing map of the Punjaub, with all the various march- routes, and which the compiler had particularly not intended to be published, was to be seen in the exhibition. The following day I called upon General Bazoulek, the Governor tern now that Kryjinovsky was away. He was a good-looking man of about five-and-forty, and a little pompous in his demeanour. In Kryjin- ovsky’s absence he was all-powerful at Orenburg, and he duly endeavoured to impress upon me the import- ance of his position. He could give me no information whatever as to how to go to Khiva, his remark being the same stereotyped one repeated ever so many times before — “You must go to Kasala, and there you will be able to obtain every information.’' On inquiry if there was a post to Khiva, his answer was, “ I believe so, but I do not know by what route it goes.” In fact, the ignorance displayed by all the officials with whom I came in contact might have surprised any one aware of the great importance attached to the study of geography by the Russian military authorities. I could not explain it to myself otherwise than by assuming that the real solution of the problem con- sisted in the politeness of the officers, who preferred being thought ignorant to rude. CHAPTER XI. Tlie Ural Cossacks— Dissenters— Two Thousand Five Hundred Men Banished— Exiles Flogged — A Battue— Reports about General Kauffmann— The Tzar’s Officers in Turkistan. The principal topic of conversation at Orenburg was a recent emeute amidst the Ural Cossacks. It appeared that the inhabitants of the town of Uralsk, as also many of the people in that neighbourhood, had become excessively discontented with the military law of universal conscription. Previously to the promul- gation of the new edict, the better-to-do classes had not sent their sons to serve, and the ranks were filled with recruits from the poorer orders. But now all was changed ; money would no longer purchase a substi- tute, and grievous discontent possessed the minds of the Ural Cossacks. Most of them were Raskolniki dissenters from the Greek Church, and belonged to the old faith (Staroi vara). When they were ordered to send their sons to serve they rebelled, and openly called the Emperor Antichrist. This was too much for the pious-minded authorities at St. Petersburg; 2,500 of the malcontents had been banished from Uralsk to Central Asia, whilst it was said at Oren- burg that 2,000 more would speedily follow. The delinquents had been marched from Oren- burg to Kasala, and from that place it was in- tended to transport them to Khivan territory. A detachment of 500 had been already sent to Nookoos, a small fort recently constructed by the THE URAL COSSACKS. 95 Russians on the right bank of the Amou Darya. It appeared that the commander at Kasala had experienced much difficulty with the men when he ordered them to march under escort to Nookoos. They absolutely refused to stir. At last he ordered them to be attached to camels by cords, and then commanded the Orenburg Cossacks to flog the prisoners with their whips. This had been done with great barbarity. I was assured that three of the victims had died under the lash. The commandant of Kasala had written to St. Petersburg to know what was to be done with the remainder of the exiles. G now informed me of a battue which had taken place by order of Kryjinovsky a few weeks previous to my arrival, with the object of destroying some wolves, which had been doing a vast amount of damage in the neighbourhood. Several miles of country had been enclosed by beaters, who gradually reduced the circle. However, the wolves proved too much for the sports^ men, and the latter were not able to bag a single animal. I must say I had become rather sceptical as to the existence of these carnivorous beasts — that is to say in any large numbers ; I had now travelled over five hundred versts of country and had not seen or heard a single one. That there were wolves I did not deny,. but was inclined to believe that both their numbers and depredations were much exaggerated. Kauffmann, the Governor-General of Turkistan, was said to have sent for two more regiments from European Russia. They were to be despatched to Turkistan immediately, he himself being now on his road to St. Petersburg. People in Orenburg said that he was not in very good favour at court, for having u 96 A RIDE TO KHIVA. pushed the Russian arms further in Central Asia than had been either the wish or intention of the Emperor. It was declared that the Tzar himself was very much opposed to this system of annexation in the East, and had only been induced to permit it on the represen- tations of his generals that they were surrounded by lawless tribes, who carried off and imprisoned Russian subjects. It is easy to make a good case if the counsel for the plaintiff is the only one heard. The Kokandians and Khivans have not had the opportunity of putting forward their side of the question, so, as is naturally to be supposed, the Russian generals have invariably carried the day. Indeed, we cannot wonder at the Tzars officers in Turkistan being so eager to continue in their line of conquest. Taken for the most part from poor but well-born families, having no inheritance but the sword, no prospect save promotion, they thirst for war as the only means at hand for rapidly rising in the service. A life in Central Asia in time of peace is looked down upon with contempt. With everything to be gained by v/ar and nothing by peace, we need not be surprised should every little pretext be sought for to provoke reprisals on the part of the native population. Europe then hears of the cruelties committed by the brutal fanatics in Central Asia, of Russian magnanimity, and of Mohammedan intolerance. Exeter Hall is quieted by the idea of a crusade against the Mussulmans. The lust for conquest is cloaked in a garb called Christianity. The sword and the Bible go forth together. Thousands of the natives are mown down by that evangelical weapon, the breechloader ; and one day we read in our morning newspapers that a territory larger than France and THE KHAN OF KOKAM. 97 England together has been added to the Tzars dominions. But it does not signify, observe some of our legislators. The sooner Russia and India touch each other the better. How much better for India to have a Russian neighbour on her frontier, instead of the barbarous Afghans! Russia herself is apparently well aware of the advantage of having civilized neighbours on her western frontier ; as it is, on that frontier she is obliged to keep concentrated two-thirds of her available forces. People in this country who advocate the two empires touching are not perhaps aware that our Indian army would then have to be increased to three times its present strength, and in spite of that precaution there would be less security for ourselves. It now wanted only two days to Christmas. I had already been four days In Orenburg, and, as far as I could see, was as far off as ever from obtaining a servant. Getting into my sleigh, I hurried off to the house of my friend Bektchourin. I found him, as usual, clad in his dressing-gown, but this time he was not alone. Several Easterns were sharing his hospitality, and Imbibing large glasses of strong green tea, which, I was told, is the kind most appreciated In Central Asia It was fortunate that I had called at that hour. It gave me the opportunity of making the acquaintance of the Khan of Kokan, formerly a sovereign, but now an exile far from his own country; and detained in European Russia by the order of the Tzar. He was a swarthy, strong-built fellow. His captivity did not seem to have pressed much on his soul. He had readily adopted European customs, and had actually gone so far as to give a ball. This, I was informed^ 98 A RIDE TO KHIVA. had been a great success, many of the fair damsels In Orenburg having attended it. A wicked report ran to the effect that a great competition was going on amongst certain of the ladies with the view of convert- ing the handsome Khan to the Greek faith, and so on to matrimony according to the Russian rites. But, taking into consideration a Mohammedan’s innate horror of idols or image-worship, and that the Khan is already blessed with four wives, this would seem rather a hope- less task. However, everything might be gained in the event of success, and it was said that a union with the convert would not be displeasing to some of the less favoured fair ones of Orenburg. Fabulous reports of his wealth were spread about the town. Great delight was evinced in every quarter on its being announced that he had elected to live in Orenburg, and was about to purchase a house in the neighbour- hood. He had been prompted to take this step by his friendship with Mr. Bektchourin, and with General Kryjinovsky, the Governor of the province. According to my Tartar acquaintance, the Khan’s wealth had been much exaggerated. He was not by any means the Groesus he had been represented. On leaving Kokan he had taken with him a large quantity of treasure in gold and silver specie, but had been robbed on the road. At the time of which I write he had only 120,000 roubles — about 15,000 of our money — not much in the eyes of an English match- maker, but a glittering bait to the husband-seeking dames of Orenburg. Bektchourin now said that he had discovered a Bokharan who would accompany me as a servant; and that the man could speak Russian, Tartar, and Persian, and would be very useful as an interpreter. AN AGED MOTHER. Q9 However, later on Bektchourin came to the hotel, and with a long face informed me that he did not think the fellow would suit. Mrs. Bektchourin had been making inquiries, and had discovered that the Bokharan’s papa and mamma smoked opium, whilst it was currently rumoured that their son partook of his parents’ taste. An opium-smoker as a servant would have been an intolerable nuisance. In consequence of this Mr. Bektchourin had brought with him a young Russian, who had been a clerk in a counting-office, and could speak Tartar. He was ready to accompany me. How- ever, I discovered that his idea was to travel as an equal, and that he had no intention to act as a servant. In fact, he had so great an idea of his own importance that I felt that the Bokharan, opium and all, would have been more eliffible as an attendant. o What was to be done I beQ^an to think that I might as well search for the philosopher’s-stone as for a servant in Orenburg. But Bektchourin was by no means disheartened. “ I will find one,” he said, ‘‘ never fear and a few hours later another candidate for the post turned up in the shape of a man who had been to Tashkent with Mr. David Ker. He informed me that Mr. Bektchourin had sent him to the inn, and that Mrs. Bektchourin had lent him five roubles to take his passport out of pawn, a Jew having previously ad- vanced some money on this document. As the Tartar appeared a likely sort of fellow, I agreed to accept his services, twenty-five roubles a month being the wages, and all found. “ Perhaps, one of noble birth,” said the man, “ you would not object to give me two months* wages on account ? I have an aged mother, and should like to leave a little money to support her during my absence/’ 100 A RIDE TO KHIVA, Filial affection is undeniably a good trait in a man's character. I was delighted ; I had secured a prodigy. I blessed Bektchourin, who had sent me such a paragon of virtue, and I gave the servant the money, he promising to return to the hotel early the following morning. The difficulties of the journey seemed half over already, and I went to bed convinced that at last I was in a fair way to make a start. Hope told a flattering tale. I awoke the next morn- ing at about five o’clock, and commenced my pre- parations. However, no man arrived. A few hours later I rang the bell for the head waiter of the inn. “ Did you see the servant I engaged yesterday ? ” “Yes, one of noble birth, I saw him.” “ Why has he not come here this morning ? he was to have been here at six ! ” , . “ Perhaps, one of noble birth, you gave him some money ? ” “ Yes,” was my reply, “for his bedridden mother.” An irrepressible grin caused the lantern jaws of the head waiter to open from ear to ear. A cavernous mouth was disclosed. A few yellow teeth bristling at irregular intervals in the huge recess appeared to take their share in his amusement. U nrolling a long tongue he caressed the stumpy fangs, and licked his lips with an air of the greatest possible enjoyment. “ Flis bedridden mother ! •- Hee ! heel hee! Oh! the son of an animal 1 ” and the tears poured down the fellow’s face as he became convulsed with laughter. “ You will not see him again,” he continued, “ until he has spent the money; he has gone to kootif' (drink and make merry, the acme of a Russian’s happiness). “ Oh I the cunning pigeon 1 ” and the head waiter left the room evidently much delighted at the way I had been taken HE HAS GONE TO KOOTIt!' 10 1 in by his countryman. At first I could hardly bring myself to believe in the waiter’s version of the matter. The delinquent had such an honest-looking counte- nance, and my vanity was somewhat insulted at the idea of my having been so duped. No ; it was more likely that he would turn up later. Comforting my mind as well as I could with this reflection, I went out with my friend G to purchase some provisions for the journey. CHAPTER XII, A Supply of Provisions — A Grocer’s Shop — An Elastic Piece of Goods — Schuyler and MacGahan — A Russian Bank — Gold and Paper — Coutts’ Circular Notes — Cox’s Letter of Credit — What is the Paper Value of a Half Imperial ? — Russia on the verge of Bankruptcy — A Dinner Party — German Military Railway Carriages — The Russian Railway Gauge — Christmas Day — The Chief of the Police — An Intelligent Thief Catcher — A Podorojnaya — Arrival of the Prisoner — “Women, Women — there were two with him I” G , though he was an American citizen, a man of the world in its fullest sense, and had travelled from the States to Orenburg, was not an efficient adviser with reference to the supply of provisions required by a traveller. Indeed, if I had taken my friend’s advice I should have bought the contents of nearly every shop in Orenburg. The grocers looked delighted as G put aside tin after tin of preserved meats. At last I was obliged to remonstrate — “ So I many thanks, but how can I carry them ? ” Carry them 1 ” continued my imperturbable friend; “ a sleigh is the most elastic piece of goods I know ; it will stretch to any amount. Schuyler and MacGahan took a great deal more. I am only just beginning; we will go to another store presently. These sweet lozenges — they are excellent ; try some ; ” and to the grocer, “ Put qlb. of this chocolate aside, and some pickles too — delicious ; a few bottles — very good. Now, then, about candles and spirits for cook- ing, and a cooking apparatus; and a lamp. You A SUPPLY OF PPOFP^/OxYS, 103 had better have some carpenter s tools, in case the sleigh breaks, and lots of stout cord and nails. A carpet would be also a good thing to take to sit down upon ; and some wine and spirits to present to the Russian officers. They like wine, and although you don’t drink yourself, they do ; just a dozen or so,” he added with a supplicating glance. “ Well, as you like — but it would be better. Then you must have presents for the natives. A few looking-glasses and ornaments. You will find them very useful.” It was really necessary to make a stand of some sort against my good-intentioned companion, who, not accustomed to travel himself, evidently thought that the entire contents of an upholsterer’s or grocer’s shop were indispensable requisites for a journey on the steppes. “ I tell you what it is,” I observed, I shall not take a quarter of the things which you have put aside for me, and certainly not purchase any more. It was as much as I could do to stow myself away in my sleigh when travelling without a servant from Samara here, and the vehicle would never hold half these things, which are for the most part quite unnecessary.” “ Not at all,” said my acquaintance, giving vent to his feelings by squirting some tobacco juice on the floor. “ Not at all. Schuyler and MacGahan had two sleighs. Capital ; the thing is settled.” Then to the shopman. “ A few pounds of cocoa. I shall soon have finished,” he added. It was useless arguing with him, and the only thing to be done was to allow the shopman to put aside the different articles, and to say that I would call another day, select what I wanted, and then pay the bill. I now proceeded to the bank, as the amount of 104 A RIDE TO KHIVA, Russian gold in half-imperials, which I brought from St. Petersburg, was more than would be required for my journey. The money was very heavy and cumber- some as carried in my waist-belt, and so I determined to convert a certain proportion of the precious metal into bank notes. There is a curious circumstance in connection with the paper currency in Russia which is not generally known by foreigners. On the face of every note is printed the following announcement : — “ The bank will pay the owner on demand the amount of roubles stamped on the paper in either gold or silver.'' * A most just and excellent arrangement if it were only carried out; but, on the contrary, it is extremely difficult to obtain gold in Russia, and during my stay at St. Petersburg I had to wait nearly an hour at Venekin's Bank whilst the clerk was sent out to buy half-imperials. Finally, I had to pay six roubles eighteen kopecks for each coin, the value stamped on it being five roubles, fifteen kopecks. On my going to the Government Bank at Orenburg and inquiring if I could change some half-imperials into paper, the cashier declined to give more than five roubles, seventy-five kopecks for each piece. I would not accept these terms, and went to the Commercial Bank, the cashier here offering six roubles. On my producing some English sovereigns he greatly admired them, and said that they were very beautiful, but refused to give me any roubles in exchange, unless I would first pay the cost of a telegram to the head of the firm in St. Petersburg, so as to inquire what price he would give. I then discovered that no': one else in Orenburg would change the sovereigns on any terms whatever, and so had to accept these conditions. ® Literally in. svonkom meiala^ in ringing metal. RUSSIA ON THE VERGE OP BANKRUPTCY. IO5 The following day I was informed that the Com- mercial Bank would change my English gold, though at a much lower rate than that which I had received at St. Petersburg. After the difficulties experienced with the sovereigns it can easily be imagined that the cashier did not look with much respect upon Coutts’ circular notes, or upon a letter of credit from Cox & Co., the well-known bankers and army agents in Craig s Court. The bills might just as well have been waste paper in so far as the official was concerned, and when I told him that the paper of these two English bankers was looked upon in London as being as good as gold^ the clerk shook his head, and evidently did not believe me. In spite of the amount of silver which is supposed to be found In Russia, there is a great deficiency of this metal In the banks ; the cashiers object to pay any one more than five roubles, or fourteen shillings, in silver pieces, and confine their business almost exclusively to paper notes. When a Russian Is about to leave Orenburg for a long drive by post, and a supply of silver is absolutely necessary, he has to send different people as commissioners to the bank ; each man will then receive five roubles’ worth of silver, and in this manner the traveller can eventually get sufficient small change for his journey. Indeed, without a certain supply of silver coin it is almost impossible to travel in Russia, the station inspectors hardly ever having any change. The amount of paper in circulation throughout the Tzar’s dominions is somewhat startling to a foreigner, and if the financial prosperity of a nation can be gauged by the amount of gold it possesses Russia must be on the verge of bankruptcy. In the evening I dined with a party of Russian io6 A RIDK TO RmVA. officers, amongst others the chief of the telegraphs at Orenburg. The conversation turned on the chance ot any immediate rupture with Germany ; and one of the guests assured me that it would be impossible for a German army to make use of its own railway-carriages on the Russian lines, as the gauge has been made purposely of a different width to that employed in Germany and Austria. However, another of the party here remarked that, according to a recent account, the Prussians had got over this difficulty, an Engineer officer having invented a system for building carriages and engines by which the wheels can be made to fit any kind of line, and that if this statement were true a German advance would not necessarily be impeded on account of the difference of gauge. The telegraph official was very inquisitive, and asked a great many questions about my journey, finally stating to G , “ You may depend upon it we shall never see him again. He has been sent out by his Government, and when he has done what they want, he will return, but not by this road.” It was Christmas Day. I had been exactly twenty- five days on my journey — enough time to go from ; London to New York and back — and was still no ' further on my road than Orenburg. All of a sudden Mr. Bektchourin was announced, his first question being, “Have you seen the servant?” “Yes,” was my reply, “ not only seen him, but engaged him, and given in advance fifty roubles, on account of his bed- ridden mother. He was to have been here yesterday morning at six, but he has not turned up.” “ Oh, the dove I ” said Mr. Bektchourin ; “ oh, the ■ cunning little scoundrel. You do not know how he has deceived my wife. He came to her in my absence, , THE CHIEF OF THE POLICE IO7 and said that he had seen me, and then persuaded her to lend him five roubles to take his passport out of pawn. She gave him the money, and he has bolted with it. Oh, the cunning one ! ” — and Mr. Bektchourin shook his fist with rage — “ but we will catch him. His little back shall smart. , My dear sir, I will go to the police ; and the good man hurried off as fast as he could in that direction. Later on I called on the same authorities, and was fortunate enough to find Colonel Dreir, the Chief of the Force at Orenburg. He informed me that Mr. Bektchourin had been already there, and that the case was in the hands of Sergeant Solovef, the most intelligent of the thief-catchers in the district. As he uttered these words, the colonel touched a bell, and desired the servant to summon the sergeant. A moment afterwards the latter stood before us. He was a stout-built fellow, with a firm, resolute mouth, and a hawk-like nose and eye. He saluted in the military fashion, and remained at attention, standing stiff and erect before his chief. “You have heard of this English gentleman who has been robbed by a Tartar servant ? ** “ I have heard.’’ “ The roofue must be cauoht.” “ I will catch him.” “ The money must be got back.” “ The money shall be got back — if he has not spent it,” muttered the sergeant. “ Immediately.” “ Immediately.” “ Go at once,” said the colonel. “ I obey,” was the answer ; and the sergeant, swinging round on his heel, saluted, and left the room. io8 A RIDE TO KHIVA, The difficulties of obtaining a servant at Orenburg seemed to be so great that I made up my mind not to delay a day longer on that account, but to go alone on my travels — at all events, so far as Kasala. Once there, I could try again, and see whether in that part of the world an honest Tartar was such a rara avis as in Orenburg. In the meantime. Colonel Dreir gave me an order for a podorojnaya as far as Fort [Number One (Kasala), and told me to go to the Kaznacheistvo, or Treasury, where the necessary document could be obtained. On receiving the pass, I found that it was worded as follows BY THE ORDER OF HIS MAJESTY THE EMPEROR ALEXANDER, The Son of Nicolas, AUTOCRAT OF THE WHOLE OF RUSSIA, etc., etc. From the town of Orsk to the town of Kasala, to the Captain of the English service, Frederick, the son of Gustavus Burnaby, to give three horses, with a driver, for the legal fare, without delay. Given in the town of Orenburg, 15th Dec., 1875. I had barely returned to my hotel, when Bektchourin was again announced; and whilst we were drinking some tea, the clashing of a sword-scabbard on the staircase, and a considerable noise and clamour going on outside, warned us that something unusual was occurring. The head waiter now entered the room. H is face wore a look of intense importance, coupled with admiration for something he had seen. He was evidently bursting to impart to me a startling piece of news ; and if he had been an English groom, I should have thought that my best horse had broken his leg. Well, what is it ? ” I inquired. “Is the house on fire, or your wife dead?” “No, one of noble birth; THE DELINQUENT CAUGHT 109 they have caught him.” What, the thief ? ” cried Bektchourin. Yes ; the sergeant has him outside. The rogue is v/eeping ; the servants are all looking on — the lodgers, too : they all know that he is caught. It is grand ; praise be to God I May the sergeant bring him in ? ” “ By all means,” I said. A moment later the door opened, and the delinquent was precipitated into the room. The sergeant followed. His mien was imposing. He took two short steps, then a long one, advanced to the side of the prisoner, placed his left hand on the culprit’s shoulder, and saluted majestically with the right. It was a comical gathering — the servants in the room, their hair bristling with awe; the lodgers outside, eager to know what was the matter ; the head waiter wiping his perspiring forehead with a table- napkin — which he had brought me as a substitute for a towel — his huge mouth extended from ear to ear, and alternately opening and shutting with astonish- ment ; the prisoner pleading for mercy ; the sergeant erect and consequential ; whilst Bektchourin, who was more excited than I could have believed it possible for an Oriental to become, was shaking his fst in the culprit’s face. ‘‘ So they have caught you, brother. Ah ! my little pigeon, you have come back. So you wanted to throw discredit on our race. Oh, you dear one ! But now, stick, stick, stick I you shall have it I Ah, my love 1 you may cry,” as the prisoner groaned at the allusion to the whipping in store for him. But the money, sergeant, the money; what has he done with it ? and where did you catch him ? ” The policeman was not gifted with the same command of language as his interrogator, and to gain time to collect his thoughts he once more saluted, then no A RIDE TO KHIVA. jerked out, He spent twenty-five roubles in drink — there are twenty-five here. Women, women — there were two with him 1 and having disburdened himself of this statement, the sergeant produced the money he had taken from the culprit, and laid it on the table. “ For the sake of Heaven, pardon me,*^ cried the prisoner, going down on his knees, and trying to kiss Bektchourin's feet ; but I drank, she drank, we all drank. I will return the money.” “ Very well,” said Bektchourin. First of all the money, and then we will take into consideration the whipping ; so remove him, sergeant, and see if he is able to make good the deficiency.” CHAPTER Xm. A Sheepskin Suit — Servant Hunting — A Tartar Dwarf— Nazar — Packing the Sleigh — Kirghia Camels — Ural Mountains — Krasnogorsk — Bouran — Off the Track — Harness Broken — Driver Loses his* Way — Nazar Famished — Keeping Awake under Difficulties — The Rescue — Nazar’s Culinary Composition — Benighted Travellers — The Courier — An Officer and his Wife — The Doctor — Bleeding — Curiosity — Tropical Heat or Extreme Cold, which is the worst to bear ? The excitement created in the household by the prisoners arrival having calmed down, I set out with my friend G to see if I could purchase a sheepskin suit such as is worn by the Russian peasantry. In the meantime, Bektchourin very good- naturedly went off in search of a servant. I must get you one,” he said. “ You shall not go alone. It shall not be said that there is not one honest Tartar servant in Orenburg.” G drove me to a street mainly inhabited by dealers in sheepskin. On entering one of the shops, we were nearly compelled to beat a retreat, owing to the smell. A few years ago the Thames on a hot summers afternoon, and at low water, had a bouquet peculiarly its own, and one which startled the olfactory nerves ; but the odour in this little Russian shop was infinitely more disgusting. The sheepskins were in every stage of preparation. The heat thrown out by a large drying-stove was very great, and only the absolute necessity of ordering some warm clothes forced me to remain for an instant II2 J RIDE TO KHIVA. in the establishment. The things I had brought from St. Petersburg were of no use for the journey on horseback. The shuba or pelisse, which reached to my feet, would not have been suitable attire when I was in the saddle, and sheepskin garments, in spite of their disagreeable smell, are much the warmest clothes that can be worn. I was measured for a riding-coat, the wool to be worn inside, for some trousers of the same material, and for a pair of high stockings, or rather buckets, also made of sheepskin; These last would be drawn on over four pairs of fishing stockings, and in their turn be encased in some high cloth boots — experience had already taught me that any leather about the feet is a mistake — and when my new clothes were put on over those which had been made for me in London, I thought myself proof against any amount of frost. In the evening Bektchourin returned to the hotel, accompanied by a Tartar, the most diminutive of his race, and certainly not five feet high. I was informed that he was of noble birth, his father having been an officer in the Russian army ; but the family was poor, and Nazar — this was his name — liked travelling and adventure. The man expressed himself as ready to do anything and go anywhere. He said that he never drank. I found out that he could speak Russian very well, and also the Kirghiz dialect. Bektchourin said that he could answer for the fellow s honesty, and as he wanted fifty roubles on account to leave with his wife, I agreed to advance this amount, though with a slight feeling of hesitation after the way I had been taken in by the man with the aged mother. The money was paid; Bektchourin embracing me said good-bye, and it was agreed that the servant should PACKING THE SLEIGH, II3 come to the inn the following morning, when we would start on our travels. Long before daybreak I was up making prepa- rations, and by the time the Tartar arrived, I had packed up most of the provisions. And then came the tug of war, for there were the servant, sleigh, horses, and luggage; but how on earth to put the luggage into the vehicle, and afterwards to find room for my legs, this was a problem which it appeared impossible to solve. Nazar first arranged the parcels in one manner and then in another, but all to no purpose. At last, the inventive genius of the head waiter came to the rescue, when by firmly tying some of the provision boxes to the edges of the sleigh, there was sufficient space left for me to sit down. Fortunately my servant was a dwarf; his personal luggage being adapted to his stature. Balancing himself on the top of the gun-case and saddle-bags, he looked round for orders. “ Off ! I cried ; and away we galloped down the principal street of Orenburg, escorted by the good wishes and farewells of the inmates of the hotel. A biting east wind, but a bright clear atmosphere, and in a few moments I was driving along the river Oural. Every now and then we encountered a caravan of camels drawing sleighs laden with cotton from Tashkent. Any one only accustomed to the camels of the Libyan sands would hardly recognise any affinity between the undersized and shaggy animals with lion- like manes which are met with in the steppes, and the huge sleek “ ships of the desert to be found in the African Sahara. Nature has supplied the Kirghiz camels with every requisite for resisting a bitterly cold clime, and the hardy beasts could be seen striding A RIDE TO KHIVA, II4 through the snow where it was four feet deep, and where horses would have been of no avail. Here a Cossack galloped by us, brandishing his long spear as he quickly vanished in the distance ; and then we met some Kirghiz wanderers, their ruddy faces — red as lobsters — offering a striking contrast to the sallow- visaged Russians I had left behind. I must say I congratulated myself on the purchase of the sheepskin clothes. In the keen air which surrounded us it was impossible to perceive the slightest smell, and for the first time during my sleigh journey I was feeling tolerably warm. We arrived at the station-house in capital time. In less than ten minutes fresh post-horses were harnessed and I was again en route. Nothing could have been more uninteresting than the country through which we were travelling ; naught but a bleak white plain, save for the low ridge of Ural mountains which, lying far away on our left, slightly broke the monotony of the scene. Three stations had been left behind us ; I had determined to put another stage — Krasnogorsk — be- tween myself and Orenburg. Nazar was a little famished ; he had started without any breakfast, and a delighted expression passed over his countenance when I announced to him my intention of halting a short time at Krasnogorsk. '‘Excellent milk there,” he remarked, at the same time smacking his lips; ‘‘eggs, too. Please God we will stop.” I was myself beginning to experience a sensation of emptiness in my inner man; the glass of tea and rusk I had swallowed before leaving Orenburg were not very staying condiments, and I desired the driver to hurry on as fast as possible. However, the old “ BO UR AN.'* 1 1 5 proverb, “ The more haste the less speed/' proved, alas, to be a true one. The afternoon was drawing to a close, and the golden orb could be seen dimly descending in the far- off west, when I became aware, by the numerous exclamations of my Tartar driver, principally con- sisting, as I afterwards ascertained, of strong express sions, that he was not at all contented with his horses. At starting I had remarked upon their appearance. They were as thin as laths, or, as Jorrocks would have said, “as herring-gutted as greyhounds," the ribs of the animal in the shafts looking as if they might at any moment pierce the skin. The driver had harnessed his beasts in what the Russians call goose fashion, that is to say, one in the shafts and the other two as leaders. His short whip, with lash some twelve feet long, and which previously he had allowed to trail behind the sleigh, was now continually in the air, whilst the thong, thick as my wrist at the handle end, resounded from the flanks of the over-taxed animals — sounds like pistol shots breaking the deep stillness of the snowy waste. In answer to the question as to what was the matter, the one word “ Bouran” was his answer; and, by the way, the gradually-rising gale was beginning to drift the snow across our path, it became evident that we were about to encounter a heavy storm. Presently the atmosphere became denser with flaky particles, the cold becoming more and more intense. The last rays of the setting sun had disappeared from view, and in spite of all my wraps I began to feel the first insidious onslauo^ht of the elements. Darker and darker grew the shades around, till at last I could barely distinguish the driver s back ; and my little Tartar servant, perched like a monkey at his 116 A RIDP TO KHIVA, side, informed me, in a melancholy tone, that we had lost our way. It was the case. We were off the track, whilst our wearied animals, up to their flanks and breast deep in the snow, were vainly endeavouring to plough a passage forward. A final effort, caused by the pitiless lash of our driver s whip, and the goaded steeds burst through the barrier. Up and down went the sleigh, bounding wildly over the treacherous fur- row, till at last one of the horses stumbled and fell, breaking his rope harness, and bringing us to a dead halt. Our team had collapsed, that was evident, and the driver seemed to have equally succumbed, for he left off swearing, and his whip, which up to that moment had never ceased cracking, lay stretched out behind the vehicle. He got off the seat, and having with difficulty succeeded in raising the fallen animal, jumped on his back and made a wide cast round in the hope of discovering the track. “ I am starving,’' said my little Tartar in a melan- choly tone; ‘T had no breakfast, my belt is very loose,” and suiting the action to the words he commenced tightening the strap around his waist, in order the better to resist the wolf inside. I had some bread and chocolate in my pocket, and dividing it with him, we stopped for a while the pangs of hunger. In about an hour’s time the driver returned, and in a mournful tone informed me that he had lost his way, that we must sleep out, and that in all probability we should be frozen. Not a pleasant piece of intelligence with the thermometer below zero, and a hurricane searing the face as if it were with a red-hot iron if we ex- posed the smallest piece of skin to its onslaught, whilst the flakes, drifting higher and higher around the sleigh, kEEPING AWAKE UNDER DIFFICULTIES, II7 threatened, if the storm continued much longer, to bury us alive. There was no wood in the neighbourhood — nothing with which we could make a fire — and the sleeping-sack, which I at once thought of, proved useless, owing to the small size of the aperture. We had no shovel to make a snow house, and there was naught to do save to sit it out the lifelong night. My hands and feet first began to smart, and the nails to ache as if they were being scorched over a fire — a nasty burning, gnawing sensation which ate into the joints and then died away in a dull feeling of in- describable numbness which seized all the limbs. The pain was considerable, although it did not amount to that agony experienced from severe frostbites, and which I had to undergo later on in the journey., A heavy weight seemed to bear me down, and I dosed off for a second, till aroused once more to the reality of existence by the groaning of my little servant. He was murmuring something to himself in a low tone, but not one word of complaint ever escaped his lips. I desired him to get inside, and giving the Tartar coachman all the furs that could be spared, we pulled ourselves together, as it is commonly termed, strung our nerves for the occasion, and determined not to go to sleep. There was now no more pain, and my thoughts began to wander to far-off places, whilst well-known faces came and looked at me, then flitted away in the waste, and were replaced by well-spread banquet-halls, laden with viands which vanished as in my dream I strove to partake. It was over, and I was lost to con- sciousness, when I was suddenly aroused by a sharp tap on my elbow and a violent shaking from the hands ii8 A RIDE TO KH1VJ2, of my follower. ‘‘ Do not close your eyes, sir,*^ he said, “ or you will never open them again.'’ It was a hard task making the effort, but it was done, and presently I had in my turn to keep him from succumbing to the cold. All this time the driver was uttering some grunting exclamations from beneath the snow, which my slight knowledge of the Tartar lan- guage did not allow me to comprehend ; loud hoarse sounds and ejaculations blurting forth at intervals and breaking the stillness of the night, for the wind had fallen and a dead silence reigned around. ‘‘What is he doing?” I inquired of my servant, “ is he praying ? ” “ No, sir,” was the reply ; “ he is only lamenting his fate, and swearing at the horses for having brought us into this plight.” So the night wore on, and those only who have laid on a sick bed, and heard the endless tick of the clock as the hands go round the dial, can tell how glad we were when the first faint streak of colour in the far-off east warned us that the day was breaking. We then pulled out the driver from beneath his cold white canopy, and found him, though very stiff, otherwise not much the worse for his night’s lodging. He shook the snow from off his furs, and then stretching himself two or three times to see if his joints were all right, pro- ceeded to mount one of the horses, and said that he would ride off to the next station for help. This he did, making his way as best he could to the road now distant from us nearly a mile, at times disappearing from our gaze as horse and rider struggled through the piled-up snowy ridges. An hour sped by, and yet another, but there -was no longer any danger in seeking sleep, and at mid-day BENIGHTED TRAVELLERS, SI9 I was aroused by a friendly pressure from the hand of a farmer, who had been summoned to our assistance by the driver. “Well, brother,/ said the jolly, round-faced old countryman ; “ cheer up, we have arrived in time, praise be to God I” “ Now, then, children,’' to some of his labourers who had come with him, and who were provided with spades and shovels, “dig out the sleigh.” This was soon done, a well-earned remuneration be- stowed on the kind-hearted peasants, when with three fresh horses we soon regained the road, and an hour later the station. It had been a slow journey, for we had taken twenty- one hours to go eighteen miles ; however, we were fortunate in not having lost something else besides time. A little while after our arrival, having partaken of a strange culinary composition of Nazar’sp made of rice, eggs, and chocolate, boiled in milk, over a spirit lamp — this strange mixture proving in our ravenous state the most savoury of dishes — I felt myself once more in working order and ready to start. My bad luck still continued. The Fates were again unfavourable. On arriving at the next station I found congregated there four passengers, all prevented from travelling by a snow-storm. Among them was the courier with the mail from Orenburg to Tashkent, a short, thick-set, sturdy-looking fellow, with a revolver at his waist, and a determined dare-devil expression on his countenance, not the sort of fellow that any Kirghiz or Tartar marauders would be likely to get the better of in an encounter. He told me that the storm was very great, it was useless attempting to go forward for the present, as if he were to do so he certainly would be benighted 120 A RIDE TO KHIVA. on the road, and very likely be frozen. The wind, according to him, was the main difficulty, for, cutting keenly against the horses faces, it caused them so much pain that the poor beasts could not face it. This, he said, was the reason that travellers found themselves so constantly driving off the track. Then came an officer and his young wife, who were returning to St. Petersburg from Tashkent. The lady looked little capable of resisting the rough life she would have to lead before reaching the railway at Sizeran. They had a comfortable close sleigh, arranged with every requisite for keeping the travellers protected from the elements, but in spite of this the lady, who unfortunately looked in a delicate state of health, had suffered a great deal in the journey. Notwithstanding all the precautions which had been taken, she had found it impossible to keep her feet warm, the circulation in her extremities being sometimes quite checked by the cold wind which penetrated to the bones through carriage wraps and all. Another benighted traveller was a doctor on his way to visit a patient who lived in a village about fifty miles further on the road. The sick man’s residence was situated miles from a physician, and he had to send all the way to Orenburg for medical assistance. It appeared that he was suffering from a violent quinsy, or sore throat, an illness which is exceedingly rapid in its effects ; the despatch for the doctor had been sent off eight days previous, and probably when the son of Esculapius arrived he would find that the invalid had either recovered entirely or had been buried in the family vault. The medical gentleman had come away without any caustic, and eagerly inquired if any of us had a medicine chest or could supply the deficiency. BLEEDING. 121 My own travelling companions, the Cockle's pills and some bottles of cholera medicine, did not seem to be applicable in the case mentioned, though, if the sick man had been an Arab, I should have administered the former freely, and probably with success, as faith is worth any amount of physic and effects most mar- vellous cures. Bleeding is still very much in vogue amidst the Russian practitioners, and one of the party suggested that a little blood-letting might be advisable, and lower the patient’s inflammation. The doctor shook his head, and immediately com- menced a long professional dissertation, which he interlarded with various Latin words, in order to duly impress us with his classical education. He did not seem entirely to dislike the idea of the lancet, which I have but little doubt he eventually tried upon the unfortunate patient. There was not much reticence amongst the party, each traveller being plied with different questions, and having to submit to a cross-examination as to who he was, from whence he came, where he was going to, and what was his business. In fact, the inquiries were of so exhaustive a character, the more particularly those made by the surgeon, that I had serious thoughts of telling him my age, income, and what I had for dinner the previous evening, in the hope of fully satisfying his curiosity. The evening wore on, and one by one our party lay down to sleep or to find what rest they could obtain on the wooden planks of the floor, the lady being accom- modated upon the sofa. In spite of the hardness of the boards we were all speedily plunged in the arms of Morpheus, the cold winds and exposure having 122 A RIDE TO KHIVA. taken more out of me than any other clime which I had hitherto experienced. The burning rays of a tropical sun on an African Sahara dry up the sap of the human frame. A long camel journey fatigues the rider, but nothing like the pitiless cold and physical suffering which inevitably accompany a winter tour through Russia. At long intervals travellers arrived from Orenburg, and then the repose of our party would be broken for a moment by the new comers, who strode in to take a share of the planks. There was no light in the room, and the fresh arrivals, in their endeavours to find a clear space on the floor, freely trod upon the body of the courier. Some strong language issued from the lips of the man with the letter-bags, for which he was rebuked by the son of Esculapius, who even at that hour of the night could not refrain from inflicting upon us a quotation. CHAPTER XIV, A Start with the Courier — Tea-money — A Breakdown — The Book for Complaints — Improvement in Scenery — Trade in Shawls — An Eastern Tale — Podgor- naya — A Precipice — Oura — The Inn at Orsk — A Basin and a Table Napkin — A Servant with a Joyful Countenance — No Horses at the Stable — A Man who has Horses for Hire — You have a Grandmother — A Blue-eyed Siren. I DETERMINED to take advantage of the presence of the man with the mails, and said that I would continue the journey with him, hoping by this means the quicker to reach my destination. The courier had no objection, and, after a considerable delay in obtaining horses for our sleighs we started. There was an advan- tage in accompanying him, for he was well provided with shovels and spades to dig out his vehicle in the event of the horses straying from the path and stumbling into a snowdrift. The main difficulty I should have would be to keep up with him, this being owing to the superiority of the teams which are supplied for the post. However, I hoped to do this by the means of tea-money, an open sesame to the affections of Russian sleigh-drivers, and which I had hitherto found their most vulnerable point. Let it be known that you tip handsomely, and your J ehu will drive you along regardless of his master s interest, whilst the regulation ten versts an hour can often be converted fnto half as much again. Alas ! all my calculations were upset ; once more I was doomed to disappointment. I began to think that there was some influence behind the scenes, purposely 124 A RIDE 70 KHIVA. doing its best to retard me on my journey. The tinkle of the bell on the courier’s sleigh resounded in my ears for the first half-hour or so, when I fell asleep. On awaking a few moments later I found that the sounds were lost in the distance ; my horses were travelling at a foot pace. The driver, who had descended from his seat, was flogging his poor beasts unmercifully, vainly endeavouring to get them into a trot. '' How far are we from the station behind us ?” I inquired. “ Five versts” was the answer. I looked at my watch. We had been one hour and a-half coming about three miles, and in spite of the sleighman’s whip and imprecations, it seemed im- possible that his weak team could drag us to the next stage. It was no use going on, so I desired him to return immediately. On arriving at the station I sent for the inspector, and also for the book in which travellers in- scribe any complaint they may wish to make. I wrote in it that the courier and myself had been detained forty-five minutes, counting from the time when our horses had been first ordered, and that the animals which had been supplied me were so bad that they could not go out of a walk. I concluded my remarks by expressing a hope that the inspector would be punished for keeping such useless animals in his establishment. Having written down my grievance, I read it out to the interested party, to the great satisfaction of some other travellers who, like myself, had suffered from his carelessness. The man now became seriously alarmed, and said that he had never been complained of before, ffORSES FULL OF FIRE AND BURSTING WITH CORN 1 25 that he would be ruined, and that if I would only pardon him on this occasion he would never err against another traveller. “ Please, little father, pardon,’' he cried; ^‘and I will send you on with three beautiful horses, full of fire and bursting with corn.” Will you promise to make up for the lost time and to catch the post at the next station ? If so, I will pardon you, but if not, you shall suffer for your care- lessness.” The man caught at the chance, and I wrote down at the bottom of the page that I would forgive him if he fulfilled these conditions, which, much to my surprise, he succeeded in doing. The country now improved very much in appearance. The low chain of mountains on my left was sometimes broken abruptly for a mile or so. Occasionally a single giant would rear itself up into space before us as if by its altitude to block the intervening gap. Various-coloured grasses could be seen through the fleecy snow. Golden-tinted and bright chestnut were the hues which predominated amidst the rising vegeta- tion. Olive-coloured bramble, and sombre fir and pine forests, strongly contrasted with the pale carpet glisten- ing beneath a mid-day sun. Spider-like webs of frozen dew were pendent from the branches. The tenuous icicles reflected through their transparent surface all the prismatic colours of a rainbow. Here a myriad threads of icy film spanned the frequent bushes. There, broken by a pitiless beam from the orb over- head, they hung in silky tresses, and floated in the rising breeze. Gnarled stumps and quaintly-shaped blocks of timber, half-hid from the gaze by their wintry raiment, might have been antediluvian giants of 126 A RIDE TO EfflVA, a former world, awakened to existence, and shaking off their snowy coverlet. A considerable trade is carried on in the district between Orenburg and Orsk in shawls and neck- wrappers. These are made of gossamer-like webs of goats’-hair woven into the articles above-mentioned. They are marvellously light, a very large shawl, which can be put into an ordinary-size official envelope, not weighing more than a few ounces. What most sur- prises the traveller is the excessive warmness of these Oriental wraps, as well as the softness of their texture. Many of them are so delicately made that they can be passed through a finger-ring. Any one who has seen the extraordinary lightness and softness of this material can understand what the author of an Eastern tale had in his mind’s eye when he invented the story of the fairy tent which could shelter an army, and was yet so light as to be hardly perceptible to the touch. Amongst other kinds of shawls offered for sale at the various station-houses on the road, and where the good woman and her daughters entreat the traveller to purchase in so plausible and winning a manner that it is difficult to say nay, are wraps made of hares’-down. This is woven by the wives of the farmers and peasants in the neighbourhood into very warm shawls, and which are softer, if possible, than those made of goats’-hair, although they are not nearly so light. The price of these articles of female attire is not by any means exorbitant. A good shawl can be obtained for from thirty to forty roubles. I feel convinced that if some of our London tradespeople were to send their travelling-agents to those parts, a very profitable return would be made on the capital invested; for the A PRECIPICE. 127 shawls in question would demand a ready sale in this country. Just before reaching Podgornaya, a halting-place on the highway, the road became very precipitous. It was a dark night, though fortunately unaccompanied by wind ; but a thick mist — which had upraised itself from the mass of vegetation which abounded through- out the district — made it extremely difficult for our driver to see the path before him. The road was bad, and in some places dangerous— now descending a steep decline, then taking a sudden bend, when a hair- breadth to right or left would have caused a general smash. At last we came to a spot where the slope was fearfully abrupt. At its steepest part our road branched off at right angles from the line in which we had been previously driving, and which terminated in a precipice. It was not quite the sort of spot that any one would have cared to drive over on a dark night. As for myself, I was unaware of the dangers of the route. They only became apparent when I was returning along the same track by daylight, and homeward bound from Khiva. The two drivers had a long discussion before they would attempt the descent. When they at last com- menced operations, it was with the greatest care, and one sleigh at a time, the two drivers stepping slowly backwards, and leading the sliding steeds of my vehicle, after which they returned for the sleigh with the post. A slip would have been fatal ; but luckily the Fates were on our side, and let us pass in safety. The weather became much warmer on approaching Orsk, and I began to flatter myself that the real cold of the journey was over, little anticipating what wa3 still in store. 128 A RIDE TO KHIVA. After crossing a few frozen streams, we entered the town, my driver crying out “Oura ! ” ^ at every moment to his horses, which, like himself, did not appear to be sorry that they had come to the end of the stage. The town is a clean-looking one. The houses are well built, and an air of comfort reigned around, delightful to behold after the rough work we had been going through for the last few days. The driver pulled up at a little inn known by the name of the Tzarskoe Selo. It was filled with farmers and peasants, many of them much the worse for liquor; and at a bar just within the portico a man was engaged in pouring out vodki, which was eagerly demanded by the customers. The amount of this spirit, which is quite as strong as whiskey, that a Russian moujik can drink would be an interesting theme for Sir Wilfrid Lawson to dilate upon in one of his periodical dissertations on the advantages of temperance. If the teetotalers of England, like some of their missionary brethren, should ever think of making converts abroad, they would have a magnificent field for their labours in Russia. Often when driving through the streets I have been struck by the sight of some figure or other prostrate in the snow. ‘‘What is it?’’ I would ask; “is he dead?” “No; only drunk,” would be the reply, followed by a laugh, as if it were a good joke to see a man who had made a beast of himself. It may be that in proportion to the population there are not more drunkards in the Tzars dominions than in England, or rather Scotland ! but, at all events, to get drunk * A Tartar word, from which, perhap our word “hurrah” comes. It signifies “ beat,” A SERVANT WITH A JOYFUL COUNTENANCE. 1 29 lowers a man m the opinion of the public in our country. It is a feather in his cap in Russia. Fortunately, there was a vacant room in the inn, and here I was at once supplied with the smallest of basins and a table napkin. In the meantime I despatched Nazar to the post to desire the inspector to send me three horses immediately. There was no time to lose, and I wanted to hurry forward that afternoon. Presently my man returned with a joyous coun- tenance, which betokened something disagreeable. In fact, in all countries where I have hitherto travelled, human nature, as typified in domestics, is much the same; they invariably look pleased when they have a piece of bad news to impart to their masters. “ What is it ? I asked. “ Sleigh broken ? No, sir. No horses to be had; that is all. General Kauffmann went through early this morning and took them all. The inspector says you must wait till to- morrow, and that then he will have a team ready for you. It is nice and warm,” continued Nazar, looking at the stove. “We will sleep here, little father ; eat till We fill our clothes, and continue our journey to-morrow.” “ Nazar,” I replied, giving my countenance the sternest expression it could assume, “ I command ; you obey. We leave in an hours time. Go and hire some horses as far as the next stage. If you find it impossible to obtain any at the station, try and get some from a private dealer ; but horses I must have.” In a few minutes my servant returned with a still more joyful countenance than before. The inspector would not send any horses, and no one could be found in the town who was willing to let out his animals on hire. There was nothing to be done but to search myself A RIDE TO KHIVA, 130 Nazar had evidently made up his mind to sleep at Orsk. However, I had made up mine to continue the journey. Leaving the inn, I hailed a passing sleigh, the driver appearing to me to have a more intelligent expression than his fellows. Getting into the vehicle, I inquired if he knew of ^any one who had horses for hire. Yes,” was the answer. One of his relatives had some. The house to which I was driven was shut up No one was at home. I began to despair, and think that I should have as much difficulty in obtaining horses at Orsk as I had in procuring a servant at Orenburg. I now determined to try what gold, or rather silver, would do, and said to the driver, “ If you will take me to any one who has horses for hire I will give you a rouble for yourself.’' ‘‘A whole rouble!" cried the man, with a broad grin of delight. Jumping off his seat, he ran to a little knot of Tartars, one of whom was bargain- ing with the others for a basket of frozen fish, and began to ply them with questions. In a minute he returned. “ Let us go," he said ; and with a “ Burr " (the sound which is used by Russians to urge on their horses) and a loud crack with his lash, we drove rapidly in another direction. I had arrived at the outskirts of the town. We stopped before a dirty-looking wooden cottage. A tall man, dressed in a long coat reaching to his heels, bright yellow trowsers, which were stuffed into a pair of red leather boots, whilst an enormous black sheepskin cap covered his head, came out and asked my business. I said that I wanted three horses to go A MAN WHO HAS HORSES FOR HIRE, I3I to the next stage, and asked him what he would drive me there for, the regular postal tariff being about two roubles. “ One of noble birth,” replied the fellow, ‘‘ the roads are bad, but my horses will gallop the whole way. They are excellent horses ; all the people in the town look at them, and envy me. They say how fat they are ; look, how round. The Governor has not got any horses like mine in his stable. I spoil them ; I cherish them ; and they gallop like the wind ; the people look, wonder, and admire. Come and see the dear little animals.’’ “ I have no doubt about it. They are excellent horses,” I replied ; but what will you take me for ? ” “ Let us say four roubles, your excellency, and give me one on account. One little whole silver rouble, for the sake of God let me put it in my pocket, and we will bless you.” All right,” was my answer. Send the horses to the Tzarskoe Selo Inn immediately.” Presently the fellow rushed into my room, and, bowing to the ground, took off his cap with a grandiose air. Drawing out the money I had given him from some hidden recess in the neighbourhood of his skin, he thrust the rouble into my hand, and exclaimed, ‘‘ Little father, my uncle owns one of the horses ; he is very angry. He says that he was not consulted in the matter, and that he loves the animal like a brother. My uncle will not let his horse leave the stable for less than five roubles. What is to be done ? I told him that I had agreed to take you, and even showed him the money ; but he is hard- tiearted and stern.” “ Very well/’ I said ; “ bring round the horses.” 132 A RIDE TO KHIVA, In a few minutes the fellow returned and exclaimed, “ One of noble birth, I am ashamed ! ” “ Quite right,” I said ; ‘‘ you have every reason to be so. But go on, is your uncle s horse dead ? ” “ No, one of noble birth, not so bad as that ; but my brother is vexed. He has a share in one of the animals, he will not let me drive him to the next station for less than six roubles,” and the man putting on an expression in which cunning, avarice, and pretended sorrow were blended, stood on one leg, and added, “ What shall we do ? ” I said, You have a grandmother ?” “Yes,” he replied, much surprised. “How did you know that ? I have ; a very old grandmother.” “Well,” I continued, “go and tell her that, fearing lest she should be annoyed if any accident were to happen during our journe}^ — for you know misfortunes occur sometimes ; God sends them,” I added, piously (“Yes, He does,” interrupted the man; “we are simple people, your excellency;”) “and not wishing to hurt the old lady's feelings, should the fore leg of your uncle's horse or the hind leg of your brother’s suffer on the road, I have changed my mind, and shall not go with you to-day, but take post-horses to-morrow.” The man now became alarmed, thinking that he was about to lose his fare. He rubbed his fore- head violently, and then exclaimed, “I will take your excellency for five roubles.” “ But your brother ? ” “ Never mind, he is an animal ; let us go.” “ No,” I answered. “ I shall wait — the post-horses are beautiful horses. I am told that they gallop like the wind ; all the people in the town look at them, and the inspector loves them.” STAJ^r AG Am, “ Let us say four roubles, your excellency/* But your uncle might beat you. I should not like you to be hurt.’* No,” was the answer, we will go ; ” and the knotty point being thus settled, we drove off much to the dissatisfaction of my little servant, Nazar — a blue-eyed siren in Orsk having, as the Orientals say, made roast meat of his heart, in spite of his being a married maa. CHAPTER XV. Nomad Tribes — A Picture of Desolation — Nazar is Worn Out — The Inspector- Price of Land, Cattle, and Provisions — The Cattle Pest — Vaccinating the Animals — The Kirghiz do not Believe in Doctors — Small Pox — Strict Orders to Prevent Englishmen travelling in Russian Asia — The Cost of Post Horses — Robbing Peter to pay Paul — Postal Track let out to Contractors — Fort Karabootak — Filthy Stations — Horses wanted — Whipping, the Order of the Day — The Emperor Nicholas — A Snow Storm— Asleep in the Sleigh — Frostbites — Physical Pain — Mental Agony — Cossack Soldiers — Brothers in Misfortune. The aspect of the country now underwent an entire chanofe. We had left all traces of civilisation behind US, and were regularly upon the steppes. Not the steppes as they are described to us in the summer months. Then hundreds of nomad tribes, like their forefathers of old, migrate from place to place, with their families, flocks, and herds. The dreary aspect of this vast flat expanse is relieved by picturesque kibitkas, or tents, and hundreds of horses, grazing on the rich grass, are a source of considerable wealth to the Kirghiz proprietors. A large dining-table covered with naught but its white cloth is not a cheery sight. To describe the country for the next one hundred miles from Orsk, I need only extend the table cover. For here, there, and everywhere was a dazzling, glaring sheet of white, as seen under the influence of a midday sun ; then, gradually softening down as the god of light sank into tne west, it faded into a vast melancholy-looking colourless ocean. This was shrouded in some places A PICTURE OF DESOLATION-. ?35 from the view by filmy clouds of mist and vapour. They rose in the evening air and shaded the wilder- ness around. A picture of desolation which wearied, by its utter loneliness, and at the same time appalled by its immensity ; a circle of which the centre was everywhere, and the circumference nowhere. Such were the steppes as I drove through them at nightfall or in the early morn ; and where, fatigued by want of sleep, my eye searched eagerly, but in vain, for a station. On arriving at the halting-place, which was about twenty-seven versts from Orsk, Nazar came to me, and said, “ I am very sleepy ; I have not slept for three nights, and shall fall off if we continue the journey.’' When I began to think of it, the poor fellow had a good deal of reason on his side. I could occasionally obtain a few moments’ broken slumber, which was out of the question for him. I felt rather ashamed that in my selfishness I had overdriven a willing horse, and the fellow had shown first-class pluck when we had to pass the night out on the roadside. Saying that he ought to have told me before that he wanted rest, I sent him to He down. He stretched his limb§ alongside the stove, and In an instant was fast asleep. The inspector was a good-tempered, fat old fellow, with red cheeks and an asthmatic cough. He had been a veterinary surgeon in a Cossack regiment, and consequently his services were much in request with the people at Orsk. He informed me that land could be bought on these flats for a rouble and a half a desyatin (27 acres) ; that a cow cost £ 2 > 2s. 6d. ; a fat sheep, two years old, 12s. 6d. ; and mutton or beef, a penny per pound. A capital horse could be 136 A RIDE TO KHIVA, purchased for three sovereigns, a camel for los., whilst flour cost is. 4d. the pood of 40 lbs. These were the prices at Orsk, but at times he said that provisions could be bought at a much lower rate, par- ticularly if purchased from the Tartars themselves. The latter had suffered a great deal of late years from the cattle pest, and vaccinating the animals had been tried as an experiment, but, according to my informant, with but slight success. The Kirghiz themselves have but little faith in doctors or vets. It is with great difficulty that the nomads can be persuaded to have their children vac- cinated ; the result is, that when small-pox breaks out amongst them it creates fearful havoc in the population. Putting this epidemic out of the question, the roving Tartars are a peculiarly healthy race. The absence of medical men does not seem to have affected their longevity. The disease they most suffer from is ophthalmia, which is brought on by the glare of the snow in winter, and by the dust and heat in the summer months. After leaving Orsk, the podorojnaya or passport system came in force, and my pass and self underwent the most rigid scrutiny ; the officials at the stations being very much alarmed lest any one should escape their vigilance and drive by the stations without having his papers examined. I could not help asking the inspector, at a place where the examination was carried on in a very searching manner, if some horrible crime had not been committed in the neighbourhood, as it appeared to me that he was on the look out for a criminal. “ No,'' said the man ; that is not the reason ; but we. do not want any foreigners, particularly English- ARRIVAL A7 A^ARABOOTAr, 137 men, in these parts ; our orders in this respect are very strict.’’ The cost of travelling was now reduced from four kopecks per horse to^ two and a half ; however, we found that a traveller did not gain much by this reduction, as the amount paid for the podorojnaya very nearly made up for the difference. I now learned that the postal track was let out to some contractors, who receive a subsidy for carrying the post, and at the same time have to keep a certain number of horses for the convenience of passengers. The stations were filthily dirty, and the sofas in a disgusting state. Indeed, there were no arrangements made for washing, or for ablutions of any kind. It seems that the Russians are of opinion that soap and water are not required when travelling, and that the less washing done on these occasions the better. On arriving at Karabootak, a small fort the Russians have built, 317 miles from Orsk, I found that the term fort was a misnomer. The place is not fortified in any sense so as to resist a disciplined force, although a few resolute men could doubtless hold it for a long time against any number of Kirghiz or Tartar horsemen. I was obliged to halt for a time at this station. There was a snowstorm going on, whilst the wind howled and whistled about the house, driving before it in its course such clouds of flaky particles that no horse could face its onslaught. Later on, and when the wind had a little abated, I asked the inspector to give an order for three horses to be harnessed to my sleigh. But there were no animals in the stable, and we had to wait several hours before some could be procured. As a rule» however, there was but little delay, and I3B A RIDE TO KHIVA, the inspectors carried out their instructions to the letter. Formerly, and even in European Russia, passengers were sometimes detained for days waiting for horses at the stations, the inspectors not troubling their heads about any traveller, unless he happened to be an officer. There is a story to the effect that a French- man, who had been kept waiting a long time for post- horses, and who could not induce the inspector to give him any, was much astonished by the behaviour of a Russian captain. The latter, on asking for a fresh team, was told that there were no animals in the stable. However, he at once procured a whip, and chastised the official, the result of the whipping being the instant discovery of some horses. The Frenchman seized the idea, and taking his cane followed the example set him, which he found a most marvellous specific in the course of his travels through Russia. Only a few years ago whipping was the order of the day ; and, according to some accounts, the late Emperor Nicholas himself occasionally administered chastisement to his officers. But whipping in these days is out of the question, and so I had to remain kicking my heels about in the waiting-room, although in this instance I had a suspicion that the inspector had some horses in the stable. After waiting for several hours I was informed that some horses had been procured. The snowstorm had somewhat lulled, but the wind was almost as high as ever, and the cold more im^nse than anything hitherto experienced. On leaving the station I had forgotten to put on my thick gloves, and took my seat in the sleigh, with each hand folded in the sleeve of its fellow, FROSTBITTEN, 139 the fur pelisse in this way forming a sort of muff, and protecting my hands from the cold. The road was less jolty than usual, and the sleigh glided along, com- paratively speaking, smoothly. The change of motion before long produced an effect; leaning back in the vehicle, I fell fast asleep. In the course of my slumber my hands slipped from the warm fur covering in which they were in- serted, resting themselves on the side of the sleigh, unprotected by any thick gloves, and exposed to the full power of the biting east wind. This, if impossible to withstand when stationary or on foot, was now doubly dangerous owing to the movement of the sleigh, which, going in an opposite direction, added considerably to the force with which the wind blew. In a few minutes I awoke, a feeling of intense pain had seized my extremities; it seemed as if they had been plunged into some corrosive acid which was gradually eating the flesh from the bones. I looked at my finger-nails ; they were blue, the fingers and back part of my hands were of the same colour, whilst my wrists and the lower part of the arm were of a waxen hue. There was no doubt about it, I was frostbitten, and that in no slight degree ; so calling to my servant, I made him rub the skin with some snow in hopes of restoring the vitality. This he did for several minutes, but all this time the same pain previously described was gradually ascending up my arms, whilst the lower portions of the limbs were lost to all sensation, dead to pain — dead to every sense of feeling — hanging quite listlessly by my side, Nazar in vain using all his energies so as to restore circulation. ‘‘ It is no good,’' he said, looking sorrowfully at me; 140 A RIDE TO KHIVA. ‘‘we must get on as fast as possible to the station. How far off is it?” he inquired of the driven “ Seven miles,” was the answer. “ Go as fast as you can,” I cried. The pain, which by that time had ascended to the glands under my arms, had become more acute than anything I had hitherto experienced. Apparently, extreme cold acts in two ways on the nervous system : sometimes, and more mercifully, by bringing on a slumber from which the victim never awakes, and at others by consuming him, as it were, over a slow fire, and limb by limb. All this time the perspiration was pouring down my forehead, my body itself being as if on fire, the pain gradually ascending the parts attacked. There are moments in a man’s life when death itself would be a relief ; it was about the day that an unfortunate criminal^ would have to undergo the last dread sentence of the law, and I remember dis- tinctly the thought occurring to my mind, as to whether the physical pain I was then undergoing was less than the mental agony of the poor wretch on the drop. Would the distance that separated us from the station ever be traversed ? Each mile seemed to me a league, and each league a day’s journey. At last we arrived. Hurrying to the waiting-room, I met three Cossacks to whom I showed my hands. The soldiers led me into an outer room, and having taken off my coat and bared my arms, they plunged them up to the shoulder in a tub of ice and water. However, there was now no sensation whatever, and the limbs, which were of a blue colour, floated pain- lessly in the water. Wainwright. KIND-HEARTED COSSACKS, 141 The elder of the Cossacks shook his head and said— “ Brother, it is a bad job, you will lose your hands.’' ‘‘ They will drop off,” remarked another, “ if we cannot get back the circulation.” “ Have you any spirit with you ? ” added a third. Nazar on hearing this ran out and brought in a tin bottle containing naphtha for cooking purposes, upon ivhich the Cossacks, taking my arms out of the icy water, proceeded to rub them with the strong spirit. Rub, rub, rub, the skin peeled under their horny hands, and the spirit irritated the membrane below At last a faint sensation like tickling pervaded the elbow-joints, and I slightly flinched. “ Does it hurt ? ” asked the elder of the Cossacks. A little.” “ Capital, brothers,” he continued, “ rub as hard as you can ; ” and after going on with the friction until the flesh was almost flayed, they suddenly plunged my arms again into the ice and water. I had not felt anything before, but this time, the pain was very acute. Good,” said the Cossacks. “ The more it hurts the better chance you have of saving your hands.' And after a short time they let me take them out of the tub. “You are fortunate, little father,” said the elder of the Cossacks. “If it had not been for the spirit your hands would have dropped off, if you had not lost your arms as well.” Rough, kind-hearted fellows were these poor soldiers ; and when I forced on the elder of them a present for himself and comrades, the old soldier simply added, “Are we not all brothers when in misfortune ? Would you not have helped me if I bad been in a like predicament ?” 142 A RIDE TO KHIVA, I shook hIs hand heartily, and went to the waiting- room to rest on the sofa, as the physical shock just undergone had for the moment thoroughly prostrated me. My arms also were sore and inflamed, the spirit having in some places penetrated the raw flesh ; and it was several weeks before I thoroughly recovered from the effects of my carelessness. CHAPTER XVI. Kisligar — English Officers said to be Drilling the Inhabitants — Yalcoob llek’s Envoys*— Perfidious Albion — Tashkent- — Commerce with Bokhara — A Rail- way to Tashkent — Irghiz — A Wolf — Terekli — The Boundary Line — How Far does Russia Extend? — Uncivil Inspector — Bottles Broken by the Frost — Passengers* Necks — Tartar Sleigh-Drivers — A Ruined Contractor — A Team of Camels — Head-over-heels in the Snow — The Kirghiz Horses — A Hundred Miles’ Ride — Two Hundred Miles in Twenty-four Hours (on two horses) — Two Extraordinary Marches. A FEW stations further on I met an officer who asked very eagerly if I were going to Kashgar — he had found out, by inquiry from the inspector, who I was — and he afterwards assured me that there were thirty English officers in the above-mentioned Khanate en- gaged in drilling the inhabitants. He said that my compatriots had already organised a force of 10,000 men to resist the Russian advance, and declared that this information had come from Yakoob Bek's envoys, who had been sent from Kashgar to Tashkent, and who had stated it to the Russians. I assured my informant that there was no truth whatever in the story, but with no effect; and he seemed thoroughly impressed with the idea that I was another agent of perfidious Albion, sent either to stir up the Kokandians or aid the Kashgarians against the designs of their Northern foe. I could not help re- marking that if such were my designs it would have been far easier for me to have gone from India to Kashgar than to have come through Russia, and, as it K 144 A RIDE TO RBIVA, . were, through the heart of the enemy's country ; but even this argument had no effect. Tashkent, accord- ing to him, was a sort of Paradise, the climate was excellent, and the inhabitants actually boasted a theatre. He said that the city contained 5,000 Europeans and about 75,000 natives, besides the garrison. The commerce with Bokhara was rapidly increasing, and Tashkent becoming a great emporium for all mer- chandise to and from Central Asia. According to my informant, the great desire of General Kauffmann, the Governor-General of the Pro- vince of Turkistan, was to establish a railway from European Russia to Tashkent. The road from Oren- burg vid Orsk, Kasala, and the town of Turkistan, had been surveyed, and was impracticable, owing to the nature of the soil. The line which would eventu- ally unite the Capital with the East would most likely pass through Western Siberia, and before very long some decisive steps would be taken with the object of carrying this idea into execution. As we were nearing Irghiz, another fortress on the Orenburg-Tashkent road, which is on a larger scale than the stronghold at Karabootak, although equally unserviceable, should it ever be attacked by a force belonging to a civilised power, Nazar suddenly exclaimed, ^‘Wolf!" and, seizing my gun-case, com- menced unstrapping it. But the animal showed no disposition to allow me to come to close quarters, and he slunk away as soon as he saw us, at a good jog-trot, not giving a chance for a shot. After another long and uninteresting drive through the same sort of desert snow-covered country which I have previously attempted to describe, we came to Terekli, a station which divides the territory under THE PICKLES FROZEN, 145 General Kauffmann's authority from the vast province which acknowledges the /government of Kryjinovsky, the Governor- General at Orenburg. I was now 7614 versts, or nearly 500 miles, from Orenburg, and about to enter the Province of Turkistan, which extends from this point to a line not yet decided upon by the Russian geographers. A colonel was in the waiting-room, and he had desired the inspector not to allow any travellers to enter this apartment, for the official refused to allow me to go there, and took me into a little den inhabited by himself Here thepodorojnaya again underwent a most rigid examination. The inspector was very uncivil, saying if I wanted to rest I might stop in his room, but by no means enter the one set aside for travellers ; and he then remarked that it was a gross piece of presumption on my part to think of associating with so exalted an individual as a Russian colonel. The station-houses were much more comfortably arranged than those which I had seen in General Kryjinovsky's district. They were no longer con- structed of wood, which, by the way, was so infested with insects as to be a perpetual source of torment to the traveller, but of cement. The stoves, too, were better arranged, and the waiting-rooms furnished with divans covered with Oriental rugs, where we could rest, spared from the war hitherto waged on us by the insect tribe. Nazar now came to me with a melancholy face. “The bottles are broken,” he said. On looking I found that the contents of some bottles of strong pickles had become frozen into a solid mass of ice, and that in consequence the glass had been fractured. On A RIDE TO AI/IFA, a closer inspection, I found that the other bottles were in a similar state, and all of them had to be thrown away. The havoc made by the frost was the more remarkable as the articles in question had been care- fully packed in cotton wool and in wooden cases, which in their turn had been thickly covered with hay. The disregard shown for the passengers* necks by the Tartar sleigh-drivers in General Kaulfmann*s district was, if possible, even greater than in Kryjinovsky*s province. Whenever the road allowed, the driver made his horses gallop the whole way, never once letting them trot. There was a notice put up in the waiting- rooms at each station to the effect that if a traveller should urge his driver to go more than the regulation pace, ten versts an hour, and in consequence any damage occur to the horses, that the traveller was to be fined forty roubles. I could not help thinking that in Russian Asia the authorities cared less for the travellers* lives than for horses, there being no punishment whatever for the drivers should they upset their fares. To put it more tersely, I could not harm a horse for less than forty roubles, whilst my driver might break my neck for nothing. At another station Nazar, who had jumped off the sleigh to order a fresh team, ran back to inform me that there were no horses in the stables. It appeared on inquiry that the man who had contracted to supply the track with horses had been ruined. The animals, which under the most favourable circumstances never received much care during the winter, had been half- starved, some had died, and others been seized by the creditors in liquidation of their accounts. The conse- quence was that instead of being supplied with three fresh horses, their place was taken by three gigantic A TEAM OF CAMELS, H7 camels. I should have thought that one of these enor- mous quadrupeds would Have sufficed to draw my tiny vehicle; but no! the order on the podorojnaya was to supply the bearer with three horses, and the number must be adhered to — such was the explanation given me by Nazar. It was a strange sight to see these gigantic beasts harnessed by ropes to the little vehicle. I have tried many ways of locomotion in my life, from fire balloons to bicycles, from canoes and bullocks to cows, camels, and donkeys ; whilst in the East the time- honoured sedan of our grandfathers has occasionally borne me and my fortunes, but never had I travelled in so comical a fashion. A Tartar rode the centre camel. His head-gear would have called attention, if nothing else had, for he wore a large black hat, which reminded me of an inverted coal-scuttle, whilst a horn-like protuberance sticking out from its summit gave a diabolical appear- ance to his lobster-coloured visage. The hat, which was made of sheepskin, had the white wool inside, which formed a striking contrast to the flaming coun- tenance of the excited Tartar. He had replaced the usual knout used for driving, by a whip armed with a thin cord lash, and he urged on his ungainly team more by the shrill sounds of his voice than by any attempt at flagellation, the Tartar seldom being able to get more than four miles an hour from the lazy brutes. All of a sudden the camel in the centre quickly stopped, and its rider was precipitated head-over-heels on the snow. Luckily, it was soft falling; there were no bones broken, and in a minute or so he was again in the saddle, having changed the system of harnessing, and placed one of the camels as leader, IaS a ride to rCHIVA. vAilst the other two were driven as wheelers. We ofot on very fairly for a little while, when the foremost of our train having received a rather sharper application of the lash than he deemed expedient, remonstrated with his rider by lying down. Coaxing and persuasion were now used ; he was promised the warmest of stalls, the most delicious of water, if he would only get up. But this the beast absolutely declined to do, until the cold from the snow striking against his body induced him to rise from the ground. We now went even slower than before. Our driver was afraid to use his lash for fear of another ebullition of temper on the part of the delinquent, and con- fined himself to cracking his whip in the air. The sounds of this proceeding presently reaching the ears of the leader, perhaps made him think that his com- panions were undergoing chastisement. Anyhow, it appeared to afford him some satisfaction, for quickening his stride he compelled his brethren behind to acce- lerate their pace, and after a long wearisome drive we eventually arrived at our destination. The country now began to change its snowy aspect, and parti-coloured grasses of various hues dotted the steppes around. The Kirghiz had taken advantage of the more benignant weather, and hundreds of horses were here and there to be seen picking up w^hat they could find. In fact it is extraordinary how any of these animals manage to exist through the winter months, as the nomads hardly ever feed them with corn, trusting to the slight vegetation which exists beneath the snow. Occasionally the poor beasts perish by thousands. A Tartar who is a rich man one week may find himself a beggar the next. This comes from the frequent snowstorms, wher» the THE HORSES OF TARTARS. 149 thermometer sometimes descends to from 40 to 50 degrees below zero, Fahi^enheit; but more often from some slight thaw taking place for perhaps a few hours. This is sufficient to ruin whole districts. The ground becomes covered with an impenetrable coating of ice, and the horses simply die of starvation, not being able to kick away the frozen substance, as they do the snow from the grass beneath their hoofs. No horses which I have ever seen are so hardy as these little animals, which are indigenous to the Kirghiz steppes ; perhaps for the same reason that the Spartans of old excelled all other nations in physical strength, but with this difference, that nature doles out to the weakly colts the same fate which the Spartan parents apportioned to their sickly off- spring. The Kirghiz never clothe their horses even in the coldest winter. They do not even take the trouble to water them, the snow eaten by the animals supplying this want. Towards the end of the winter months, the ribs of the poor beasts almost come through their sides; but once the snow disappears and the rich vegetation which replaces it in the early spring comes up, the animals gain flesh and strength, and are capable of performing marches which many people in this country would deem impossible, a ride of a hundred miles not being at all an uncommon occurrence in Tartary. Kirghiz horses are not generally well shaped, and cannot gallop very fast, but they can traverse enormous distances without water, forage, or halting. When the natives wish to perform any very long journey, they generally employ two horses ; on one they carry a little water in a skin and some corn, whilst they ride the other, changing from time to time to ease the animals. 150 A RIDE TO KHIVA, It is said that a Kirghiz chief once galloped with a Cossack escort (with two horses per man) 200 miles in twenty-four hours. The path extended for a considerable distance over a mountainous and rocky district. The animals, however, soon recovered the effects of the journey, although they were a little lame for the first few days. An extraordinary march was made by Count Borkh to the Sam, in May, 1870. The object of his expedi- tion was to explore the routes across the Ust Urt, and if possible to capture some Kirghiz afils (villages), which were the head-quarters of some marauding bands from the town of K ungrad. The Russian officer determined to cross the northern Tchink, and by a forced march to surprise the tribes which nomadised on the Sam. Up to that time only small Cossack detach- ments had ever succeeded in penetrating to this locality. To explain the difficulties to be overcome, it must be observed that the Ust Urt plateau is bounded on all sides by a scarped cliff, known by the name of the Tchink. It is very steep, attaining in some places an elevation of from 400 to 600 feet. The tracks down its rugged sides are blocked up by enormous rocks and loose stones. Count Borkh resolved to march as lightly equipped as possible, and without baggage, as he wished to avoid meeting any parties of the nomad tribes on his road. His men carried three days’ rations on their saddles, whilst the artillery took only as many rounds as the limber-box would contain. The ex- pedition was made up of 150 Orenburg Cossacks, 60 mounted riflemen, and a gun, which was taken more by way of experiment than for any other reason, the authorities being anxious to know if artillery could be transported in that direction. AN EXTRAORDINARY MARCH, The troops at the outset met with serious obstacles in the passes over the northern Tchink ; horses and men coming down every minute. The gun had to be dragged up the first pass by fifty dismounted Cossacks supplied with ropes. But, notwithstanding the diffi- culties experienced, the troops marched sixty miles, and did not halt till they had descended the following day to Kurgan Tchagai. Now commenced a long sterile sandy steppe. There was no forage underfoot, and no water save at considerable intervals, the wells being i8o feet deep. However, the little force again marched for sixty miles without a halt, when its leader was obliged to abandon the enterprise and retrace his steps, owing to the absolute dearth of provisions ; the Kirghiz having received timely warning of his approach, and made off a few hours before the arrival of the party. The troops reached their quarters (Jebyske) on the sixth day, after a march of 266 miles over a deso- late and arid country. The heat had been excessive, the thermometer sometimes reaching 117 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, whilst the nights were cold and frosty. The insufficiency of supplies had been so felt that the men on the fourth day of the expedition were obliged to kill and eat a Cossack s horse. There were no sick in the party, and only twelve horses, which had been ridden by the riflemen, were found to have suffered from sore backs. This being occasioned by the men not having properly adjusted their saddles before mounting. Similar rapidity characterised a raid made by Count Borkh in the summer of 1869 upon the aul of the Kirghiz Amantai, a chief who nomadised at that time on the Teress-Akhana, a tributary of the Khobda. Count Borkh, who was then constructing the Ak- 152 A HIDE TO KHIVA, Tiube Fort, formed a flying column of 70 Orenburg Cossacks, and riding nearly 133 miles in two days^ through a little-known country, reached Murtuk. Here intelligence was received that Amantai was nomadising with his kinsmen, the Chiklins. The ties of clanship are held in great esteem among the Kirghiz, and the whole success of the detachment de- pended upon its falling upon the Chiklins unawares. The object of the detachment was favoured by the inclemency of the weather, which was such as is seldom experienced even in the steppes. Taking advantage of the darkness. Count Borkh ordered the Cossacks to tie up their sabres, cover their stirrup-irons, and put nose-bags over their horses mouths, to prevent them neighing. In utter darkness, and amid the howling of the storm, the Cossacks passed among the sleeping adls. They were led by a trusty guide. Occasional flashes of lightning lit up, for a moment, their path. At daybreak the detachment was far on its road. The leader perceived on the banks of a rivulet the traces of some Kirghiz, who had just quitted the spot. He trotted forward, and soon descried in a large ravine some aiils, among which was that of Amantai. It was necessary to gallop at the enemy as quickly as possible, so as not to give the Kirghiz time to recover. Forbidding the Cossacks to fire. Count Borkh dashed at the aids and commanded the astonished Kirghiz to surrender Amantai. He was at once given up. Apprehending an attack on their return journey, the Cossacks formed a sort of movable square, and throwing out a chain of skirmishers around the herd which they had captured (about 900 head), prepared. AN' EXTRAORDINARY MARCH, 253 in the event of attack, to dismount and fire over the saddle. The Kirghiz followed at a respectful distance, but observing the precautions which had been taken, commenced gradually to drop off. The detachment reached Ak-Tiube in six days, without any loss. It had marched 333 miles. Only two horses were lame. From the incidents which I have cited, it will be at once seen that the Kirghiz horses yield to none in strength and endurance. A nation which is able to dispose of from 300,000 to 400,000 horsemen,^ mounted upon steeds such as I have described, is a very formidable embodiment of military power. It must be remembered that the Cossacks are constituted no longer as irregular cavalry. They are being as highly trained as any troops in Russia. Great atten- tion is paid to their shooting, and they are continually being instructed in dismounted service. The Russian cavalry bought its experience in the Crimea. Formerly it was the worst-led force in Europe ; it is now well supplied with intelligent officers. In the next war in which Russia is engaged, her Cossacks will be found a very different foe from those undisciplined and badly armed horsemen whom we encountered in the Crimea ^ A number which will each year increase, owing to the law of military conscription. It is said that this law is shortly to be applied to the Kirghiz. CHAPTER XVII. Break-down of the Sleigh — Fresh Vehicle — The “Scavenger*® Daughter” — Tf.e Sea of Aral — A Salt Breeze — Less Snow — Christmas Day in Russia — Amorous Females in Search of a Husband — Supper for Two — Kasala, or Fort Number One — The Garrison — The Aral Fleet — The Irm of Morozoff— Comparisons in Dirt— In Search of a I.odging — “Go with God, Brother” — The Jews’ Quarter — A Commandant. The jolting imparted by the motion of the camels to the sleigh had been too much for the wooden framework. An inspector who gave me this information declared that it would be impossible for us to continue the journey save in another carriage. Nazar, however, was of opinion that this statement on the part of the official was an interested one, and only made to induce me to hire one of his own vehicles. But as the chances appeared tolerably evenly balanced in favour of my sleigh reaching Kasala, or of my being left on the road — not a pleasant thing to look forward to, in the month of J anuary, in the steppes — I determined to be on the safe side, and leave it behind, though with feelings of regret, as if I were parting with an old friend ; for it had carried myself and fortunes for more than a thousand miles. The sleigh in which we now found ourselves was still more like a coffin than the one I had abandoned. In addition to being narrow, it was short. After once wedging myself in, there was no possibility of stretching my legs till I arrived at the next station. There is in the Tower a singular instrument of THE scavenger's DAUGHTER^' 155 torture, invented by some diabolical genius of the Middle Ages. It is called the ‘‘ Scavenger’s Daughter.” The victim who was wedded, as it was termed, to this fiendish contrivance could not make the slightest move- ment, his limbs and body being compressed into the smallest space. Of such a nature was the sleigh in which I was now travelling. If Dante had ever been placed in a similar predicament, he would un- doubtedly have added yet another way of punishing the ungodly to the long list of torments in his “ Inferno.” Our driver pulled up at a station called Soppak. We were rapidly nearing Kasala. When we con- tinued our journey, we passed by some small salt-lakes, which were covered with thick ice. Far away in the distance, and about forty versts from us, lay the Sea of Aral. This, according to the inspector, was also frozen for several versts from its shores, thus rendering navigation impossible. A salt breeze was blowing straight in our faces. It parched and dried up the skin, and, in spite of the cold weather, produced a state of feverishness. The tea which we drank was not at all calculated to quench our thirst, as the only water which could be procured had a brackish taste and strong saline flavour. In fact, the whole country in this district is impregnated with salt for miles around, and undoubtedly at some not very remote date has been covered by the sea. The snow became less and less. At last the horses could scarcely drag the vehicle over the thinly- covered ground ; and when we stopped at a halting- place about five stations from Kasala, it was necessary to abandon the sleigh, and hire a carriage. Slowly we rolled along the road, a rough and fatiguing one for A RIDE TO KHIVA, ^56 the half-starved horses, which were so weak from want of food that they could hardly put one leg before another. Presently another heavy snow-storm warned us that winter was still raging on in front. The evening was well advanced. The last station but one had been reached, so I resolved to sleep there, and enter the town the following morning, not knowing where I should be able to find accommoda- tion should we arrive at Kasala in the still hours of the night. There was no inspector in the station, for it was Christmas Day — not according to our English reckoning, for that had been passed at Orenburg, but the Russian anniversary of the same event, which is celebrated according to the Old Style, and takes place twelve days after our own. The official, finding it dull all alone, had given himself a holiday, and gone off* to Fort Number One, there to eat, drink, and be merry. I must say I was sorry not to have been able to arrive in time for the anniversary of this time-honoured festival, which is kept by the Russians with not one whit less pomp or feasting than in our own country. With them, as with us, it is customary for all the members of a family to assemble beneath one roof. Rich and poor relations unite together, the festive board is spread, and unusual hospitality prevails. Later on a Christmas tree laden with fruit and presents rejoices the souls of the more juvenile population. Pleasure, however, has its dark side, and vodki, like punch, cannot be drank with impunity. The appearance of the Russians the morning after the feast plainly tells its tale. Russian girls frequently amuse themselves at this time of year by attempting to discover what sort of a husband will eventually lead them to the altar. A IN SEARCH OF A HUSBAND. 157 favourite manner of doing this is by so-called divination. The amorous female who is tired of a celibate life sits, in the mystic hours of the night, between two large mirrors. On each side she places a candle, and then eagerly watches until she can see twelve reflected lights. If the Fates are pro- pitious, she ought also to discern the husband she desires portrayed in the glass before her. Another method of divination is to have supper laid for two. If the young lady is in luck, the apparition of the future husband will come and sit down beside her ; but in order to secure success, the girl must not divulge to any one her intention of thus attempting to dive into futurity. There is a story told in Russia to the effect that the daughter of a rich farmer was in love with a young lieutenant, and he, suspecting that she would probably have supper laid for two, climbed the wall of the garden, and, sitting down by her side, partook of the prepared banquet ; the girl being under the impression that it was his apparition, and not the real Simon Pure. On leaving the room, the officer forgot his sword, which he had unbuckled before he sat down to supper. The girl, finding the weapon after his I departure, hid it in the cupboard as a memento of the r visit. Later on she married another suitor, and he, 1 fancying that there was some rival who supplanted him i in his wife's affection, and one day discovering the f sword, was confirmed in his suspicions, and killed her in a fit of passion. ' Sometimes the inquisitive husband-seeker will take a I candle, and, melting the wax, pour it on the snow, after I which she strives to discern in the hardened substance i the likeness of him she seeks ; whilst a very favourite i 1 1 158 A RIDE TO KHIVA. amusement at this season of the year, and when several girls are congregated under the same roof, is to divine by the aid of a cock. Each girl taking some corn, makes a small heap on the floor, and there conceals a ring. The chanticleer is then introduced, and is let loose beside the corn. Presently he begins to peck at the heaps of grain. At last one of the rings is exposed to view, when its owner, according to the popular belief, will outstrip her companions in the race for matrimony. We left our quarters at daybreak. I had been in- formed that there was an inn at the fort, and determined to drive there at once, and not to go to the regular postal station at Kasala, so as to avoid losing any time. As we neared our destination, the country on both sides of the road was covered with sheets of ice. The frozen water was an overflow from the Syr Darya, or Jaxartes, which in the autumn had risen far above its banks and inundated the country in the neighbourhood. The air was bright and pure, and my spirits rose with the idea that probably my sleigh- travelling was over, and that now I was about to com- mence another phase in my journey — the march to Khiva. From the information which I had been able to gather on the road, it appeared that there was snow on the ground all the way from Kasala to the newly- annexed khanate. If so, it was all the better for my journey, as we should have no difficulty about water. We now drove into the little town of Kasala, other- wise known as Kasalinsk, or Fort Number One. The inhabitants are composed of nomad Kirghiz, who pitch their kibitkas or tents in the outskirts of the town, and there pass the winter, migrating once more in the early spring ; of Russian and Tartar merchants, who live in one-storied brick or cement-built houses ; whilst Jews^ FORT NUMBER ONE, 159 Greeks, Khivans, Tashkentians, Bokharans, and repre- sentatives of almost every country in Asia, are to be met with in the streets. Kasala is a place possessing considerable commercial importance in Central Asia, owing to its geographical position. All goods coming to Orenburg from Bokhara, Khiva, Tashkent, and Kokan have to pass it on the way. The entire population is about 5,000. At the time of my visit it was garrisoned by a local infantry force of 350 men, under a comman- dant, and a cavalry regiment of about 400 strong. In addition to this force, there were the sailors of the Aral fleet. This consisted of four small steamers, drawing but little water, and able to ascend the Amou Darya to within a few miles of Petro-Alexandrovsk, a Russian fort, built on Khivan soil. This territory has been recently annexed to the Russian Empire, in spite of Count Schouvaloff’s assurance* to her Majesty’s late Govern- ment. The crews of these vessels augmented the garrison by about 750 men. There were a few nine and four-pounders, and a small detachment of artillery permanently stationed within the walls. There were also fourteen small guns, capable, however, of throwing a ten-pound shell. These had been taken out of the steamers, and were available should they be required. The fort itself is in the shape of a half star. It Is an earthwork, defended on the south by a bastioned front which Extends to the banks of the Syr Darya, here about half a verst wide. The fort is surrounded by a dry ditch and a parapet about eight feet high and twelve thick, the ditch being about thirty feet broad and twelve deep. Within the structure there are ® See Anpendix E. The promise not to annex Khivan territory. A RIDE TO KHIVA> i6p barracks sufficiently large to contain 2,000 troops, and also warehouses filled with stores. These buildino-s are constructed of bricks and dried clay. The plan of the fortification is badly designed, and the place might be very easily taken ; however, it answers the purpose for which it was intended, namely, to check the Kirghiz. The hostelry to which we were bound was called the Inn of Morozoff. Morozoff being a speculative Russian who had built a small one-storied house and roughly furnished it, trusting to make his profits out of the officers of the garrison and the Russian merchants who were continually passing through Kasala. On inquiring if I could have a room, the waiter, a man of Jewish type, informed me that the town was full, and that there would be no room vacant for several days. However, he gave us the name of an individual who kept a sort of lodging-house. ‘Ht is very dirty,'' observed the waiter, but I dare say you don't mind that," and he looked con- temptuously at my sheepskin attire. The man who addressed us was himself begrimed with dirt, and Morozoff 's inn, in point of cleanliness, would have been surpassed by the pigstyes in many of our Leicestershire farms. However, there are comparisons in dirt. ^ The proprietor of the lodging- house where I now betook myself was even more unwashed than the waiter above mentioned. Rooms ? " said he ; '‘no: we are here five and six in a room, and our passages are full too." " Do you know of any other lodging-house ? " I inquired. " Lodging-house ? no ; go with God, brother with these words he slammed the door in my face, d Mohammedan's paradise, i 6 i leaving Nazar and myself looking pensively at each other outside. He is the son of an animal ! exclaimed my faithful follower; ‘‘ but it is cold here. One of noble birth, what shall we do ? An idea struck me. Drive to the Jews' quarters,” I said to the sleighman, thinking that perhaps amongst the tribes of Israel I might find quarters for the night. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were now visited but in vain, and the Mohammedan inhabitants were equally impervious to an offer. The fact was, that a feast peculiar to the followers of the Prophet happened to fall on the same date as the Russian Christmas. People had come from every part of Asia to meet their friends and relatives. Unusual rejoicing was going on. The Russian making his heart gay with vodki, whilst the follower of Islam, after stuffing himself with pillaffs of rice and mutton, was seeking in the fumes of opium relief from the cares of this world, and a foretaste of the one to come ; a Mohammedan's paradise consisting of an unlimited seraglio, which costs nothing to keep, and where the female inhabitants require no guardians, do not quarrel or pull his beard, and are always young. As it was impossible to find any lodgings in Kasala, I resolved to drive to the fort and see if the commandant could do anything for us. This officer received me very courteously, and at once sent his servant to search everywhere in the town for rooms. In the meantime he offered me an apartment in his own house. A large brass basin was brought in, and I now enjoyed the luxury of soap and water, which was well appreciated after a continuous journey for twelve days. A RIDE TO KHIVA. i6j Foreigners cannot understand an Englishman’s love of water, and look upon us as dirty for re- quiring so much washing. Russians consider a vapour bath once a week an embarras de richesse in so far as cleanliness is concerned, whilst the mere idea of any one having a cold bath every morning is beyond their comprehension, and another proof of the eccentricity appertaining to an insular character. The room in which I found myself was furnished in the simplest manner, a bedstead and a few wooden chairs being all the furniture; however, it was clean, and free from insect life. Presently, the servant sent out by the commandant in search of lodgings returned. He had been everywhere in Kasala and there was not a room, or even the share of a room, to be had. I now learned that privacy is not considered at all essential in the steppes, where three or four officers will often share the same apartment CHAPTER XVin. Ail English Engineer Officer at Kasala — A Russian Scientific Expedition — Surveying the Oxus — The Rapidity of the Stream — A Future Fleet — Transport and Fishing Barges — Lady Smokers — Disturbances in Kokan — The Invalide Newspaper — Abuse of Yakoob Bek — Dinner — “Anything you ask for” — Cabbage Soup and Cold Mutton — Colonel Goloff — His Resi- dence — An Assembly — The Beauty and Fashion of Kasala — Steamers — Wood instead of Coal — Great Expense to Government — “ When we Fight you Fellows in India ” — Zakuski — Russian Linguists — System of Teaching Languages — Our Schools in England — Latin and Greek, or French and German — A Foundation ; or, a Two-storied House. The Commandant pressed me to remain beneath his roof, at least until such time as I could find sleeping quarters. His wife now informed me that an English engineer officer ^ had resided beneath their roof the previous summer, and had subsequently accompanied a Russian scientific expedition as far as Petro-Alexandrovsk, the object of his journey being to survey the Oxus. The members of the expedition had, at the time my compatriot was with it, navigated the stream to the fort, but since his departure some Russian officers had ascended the river seventy versts beyond that part; indeed, the Commandant informed me that when a steamer then being built was finished, I which would draw but little water and steam twenty ' versts per hour, it would be able to ascend the stream for a much greater distance, and perhaps to the source of the river. The chief obstacle hitherto experienced * Major Wood. 164 ^ ^0 KHIVA. had been the rapidity of the current, and as the engines on the vessels in commission were of little horse-power, it had been difficult to make headway against the stream. Permission had been given to a merchant to build a fleet of fishing vessels for the Sea of Aral, which is said to abound with the finny tribe. This would doubtless be a great convenience, as in case of necessity these barges could be used to transport troops up the Oxus. The distance from the Sea of Aral to European Russia is considerable. The Black and Caspian Seas abound with every kind of fish. It is to be feared that the enterprising individual who is about to construct this fleet of fishing barges will find his speculation anything but a lucrative one, although from a military point of view it will be extremely useful. My hostess poured out some tea, and, handing me a cigarette, lit one for herself. This is not at all an exceptional proceeding in Russia, where the women smoke as much as the men. In the best society at St. Petersburg it is not at all an uncommon spectacle to see the married women and aged chaperones in- dulging in cigarettes. Fortunately the girls have not as yet taken to the habit. The disturbances in Kokan, by all accounts, had been much exaggerated, and the Russian troops had not at any time been in danger. An officer who had passed through Kasala, on his road from Tash- kent to St. Petersburg, had said ^That his comrades and self were very surprised to find that they were such great heroes. This was all owing to the Invalide newspaper, for the Russian military journal had be- '^'‘ANYTHim YOU ASK FOr!^ 1 6$ lauded the officers under Kauffinann to a ridiculous extent : but that it was well this organ had done so, as there would now be plenty of medals and decora- tions. If the paper would only continue its abuse of Yakoob Bek, it would very likely bring about a campaign in the summer against Kashgar, and that this was the wish of General Kauffinann, the Governor- General of Turkistan.'' I now proceeded to Morozoff s hostelry to see what could be obtained for dinner, as I felt excessively hungry, the keen air of the steppes having produced a most healthy appetite. On asking the same domestic who had greeted me in the morning what there was to eat — “ Anything you ask for,” was the immediate reply. This, when submitted to investigation, proved to be slightly incorrect, for some cabbage soup and cold mutton were the sole contents of the larder. ‘‘We have magnificent wine,” observed the servant, producing a bottle of port as black as ink, and which appeared to be a concoction of Russian spirits, thickened with soot. “ Delicious ! taste it ; our wine is famous all over the country.” The room in which I found myself was of an oblong shape, and without any furniture save a table and bench. A few sheepskins in a corner showed that the apartment was already taken. In reply to my inquiry I was informed that three merchants had slept there, but that they not being at home the waiter had taken possession of their room. According to him, it was a delightful Christmas. More vodki had been drank the previous evening than had ever been known in the annals of Fort Number One. Universal drunkenness still prevailed, i66 A klDE TO KHIVA. and the inhabitants in consequence were thoroughly enjoying themselves. I ordered a sleigh, but had some difficulty in obtaining one, as there were only five of these vehicles in Kasala. I then drove to the house of Colonel Goloff, the District Governor. He was not at home, but engaged in paying visits to the families of the principal officials in the garrison, as it is the custom in Russia to call on your friends during the Christmas week, and offer them the congratulations of the season. His servant, however, told me that the Governor would soon return, so I resolved to await his arrival. The house was a substantial and well-built edifice, but only one storey high, like almost every other building in Kasala. The two sentinels outside the building, and whom I could distinguish through the thick double-glass windows, every now and then took a short run backwards and forwards in front of their sentry-boxes, so as to keep up the circulation in their feet, the cold being very great. A small entrance-hall afforded every convenience to the visitor for hanging up his fur pelisse and depositing his goloshes. Four large and lofty rooms opening one into the other formed the dwelling apartments of the family. There were fine parquet floors in each of these rooms. Some full length mirrors, with a few chairs and tables, constituted the entire fur- niture. Large stoves set in the walls were arranged so as to impart a genial warmth throughout the build- ing, whilst three or four back rooms, used as offices and kitchen, looked out upon a small garden and stable which were behind the Colonel's residence. Presently the rattle of a sleigh which stopped before the portico announced to me that the Governor A PEREMPTORY WAY OP SHOWING HOSPITALITY. I67 had returned, and a minute later he entered the room. He was a tall but somewhat corpulent man, evidently on the wrong side of fifty, and clad in a dark blue uniform. I introduced myself to him, and apolo- gised for the liberty I had taken in calling. He said that he had heard from the authorities at St. Petersburg that I was on my way, at the same time observing that he could not allow me to remain under the Commandant’s roof. “ His house is small,” remarked the Governor ; “ besides that, he has a wife and children ; here, I am all alone, my family has gone to Russia. You must come and stay with me.” “ Nay, you must,” he added, somewhat sharply, as I hesitated to intrude myself on his hospitality ; so thanking him for the invitation, I drove back to the Commandant’s quarters. It was with difficulty that I could persuade him to let me depart, and then it was only by saying that the Governor had expressed his wish, or rather orders, on this subject in such a peremptory manner that it was impossible for me to refuse. On returning to the Governor’s I found the recep- tion-room ^filled with officers who had come to offer him the usual Christmas congratulations. He then told me that there would be an assembly at his house later on in the evening, when I should have the opportunity of seeing all the beauty and fashion of Kasala. The apartments were thrown open and fairly lit. Shortly afterwards the ladies began to arrive, all of them being in high dress, and little coteries were speedily formed. Some settled down to play whist, regardless of the buzz of conversation around them. A RIDE TO KHIVA, 1 68 Others promenaded about the rooms with the lady of their choice. Men and women all with cigarettes in their mouths, and filling the apartments with clouds of smoke. There was no stiffness anywhere, and every- thing was done to make a stranger feel thoroughly at home. General Kauffmann had passed through Kasala a few days previous, and had left a very pleasant im- pression upon the fairer part of the community, with whom the aged General was decidedly a favourite, and many remarks were made as to why he had gone to St. Petersburg. One of the officers spoke Portuguese, having been some time at Lisbon. He had been attached to a Russian squadron which had sailed to America a few years ago, and he was now doing duty on board a vessel belonging to the Aral fleet. He informed me that his ship drew but little water, not more than from three to four feet, and that she could steam from Petro-Alexandrovsk to Tashkent ; the great difficulty, however, was the scarcity of fuel, for they had to burn wood instead of coal. It was very difficult to carry a sufficient supply of this article, which was very bulky, for a long journey, whilst the expense to the Govern- ment was enormous. The officers in the garrison were unanimous In envying the luck of their more fortunate comrades in Kokan, who had been engaged during the recent disturbances, and they bitterly complained of the slowness of promotion and the dreary existence at Kasala. ‘‘ Anything for a change,'* remarked one of them, a dashing little fellow with several medals, **we are bored to death here/' “ Yes," added another, “when we fight you fellows RUSSIAN LINGUISTS. 1 69 in India then we shall have some promotion; as to fighting with the Kokandians we might as well shoot pheasants ; none of our seniors get killed/' “ I don't think England will interfere with us about Kashgar," remarked an officer apparently much older than his comrades. “ Who knows, and who cares ?’' said another ; “if we do fight we will shoot at each other in the morning, and liquor up together when there is a truce. Come along and have a drink," and with these words he led me into an adjoining room where some servants had just brought in what the Russians call Zakuski— caviare, salt-fish, little bits of bread and cheese, slices of highly-flavoured sausage, and spirits of every kind. I was surprised to find that so few of the party could speak French ; in fact there was hardly a lady present who could converse in this language, indeed, they did not blush when acknowledging their ignorance. It was quite a pleasure to meet with some people who were not ashamed of their own language. There is a general opinion in England that Russians are good linguists, because their own tongue is so difficult that all others become easy to them afterwards. This is an entire fallacy. The true reason why some Russians speak two or three foreign languages well, and with a perfect pronunciation, is the attention that is paid to the subject, the more particularly in Moscow and the capital. There the child has an English or French nurse as soon as he is able to speak, and he learns the foreign languages at the expense of his own, for the pronunciation first acquired is the one to which we generally adhere. By the time he is ten or eleven years old he often speaks French, 17C A RWE TO KHIVA, German, and English, whilst these languages are gram- matically studied as he gets older. Now in England we fall into the opposite extreme ; we usually neglect the modern languages, and even omit the study of our natural tongue. We occupy the whole of our boy^s scholastic and college career with the study of Latin and Greek, imagining that we are laying a good foundation for the lad to learn modern languages later on in life, and when he leaves college. But this is then a hopeless task ; after twenty it is very exceptional to find any one who can tutor himself to a new pronunciation. Lads and men when leaving school or college have generally but little time for further education. The result is that we are as a nation the worst linguists in the world. As it is, our schools are kept up for the advantage of the masters, who having been trained themselves in a special branch of study, would be ruined if any other system of education were insisted upon by the parents. The masters benefit, the boys suffer. If, at our schools, Latin and Greek were made to change places in relative importance with French and German, many lads on entering life would find that they had built a two-storied house, instead of having merely laid the foundation of an edifice which they will never have time to complete. The evening wore on. Thicker and thicker grew the clouds of tobacco-smoke which escaped from the lips of the smokers. Some servants now brought in two magnificent sturgeon, which were placed on the supper-table. The host walked up to his different guests and invited them to partake. Tobacco did not affect the appetites of the party, and a bite and then a whiff would often be indulged in by some of the THE SUPPER-TABLE, 171 guests. Wines of all kinds were placed on the table. The clinking of champagne-glasses, as the guests pledged their host, mingled frequently with the con- versation. “So you are going to Kashgar?’^ said a young officer, who had been so kind as to point out to me the different celebrities of the evening. “ No.’^ “ Why do you not go there ? ” he continued ; “ you would meet a quantity of English officers who are teaching Yakoob Bek’s men to fight.” “ Do not talk politics,” said another, his senior ; “ of course we shall have to fight England some day ; but the English, although they fought against us in the Crimea, were much better fellows than the French.” Trays were now brought in with dishes containing small beefsteaks and fried potatoes, which were replaced at intervals of about half an hour by fresh courses. But it was getting very late, and with difficulty I could keep my eyes open. It was ten days since I had taken off my clothes to sleep, and a sleigh journey over the steppes takes a little out of any man’s constitution. Fortunately my host observed my inability to keep awake, and volunteered to show me my sleeping apartment. “ You have brought your bed-linen ?” he remarked. “ But of course you have. You are too old a soldier not to have done so,” and with these words he shut a door which separated me from the rest of the company. I had fortunately, in anticipation of some such event, brought an air mattress from England. It did not weigh above two or three pounds, was easily inflated, and very portable. This, being blown up 172 A RIDE TO KHIVA, and placed on the floor, made a capital couch ; whilst, as I had no sheets or blankets with me, I did what the Russians do under similar circumstances, and lay down with my pelisse as a blanket. The door of the apartment was thin. The partition-wall which separated my room from those occupied by the guests offered little impediment to the sound; but ringing laughtet and jingling of glasses do not keep a man from sleeping if he is once really exhausted, and I speedily became lost to consciousness. CHAPTER XIX. Ablutions under Difficulties — The Turkomans — An Escort of Cossacks — The Khan and his Executioner — In Search of Horses — Provisions for the March — Snow instead of Water — Exceptional Winter— Frozen to Death — The Unclean Animal — Kirghiz Amazons — Ural Cossacks — Dissenters and the Tzar — The Town of Kasala and Fever — Kibitkas— Mr. MacGahan and the Fair Sex — A Wife for One Hundred Sheep — The Matrimonial Lottery — A Russian Officer — “Liquor is the only thing worth living for” — Shadows of War. The following morning at ten, Nazar, coming into my room, informed me that Colonel Goloff was dressing, and that breakfast would soon be ready. On asking for a basin, I was informed that it was not the custom to wash in the sleeping apartment, but that a regular room was set aside for this purpose. I was then taken into a sort of scullery, with a sink and large copper utensil. In the last-mentioned article was a supply 9f water. This, on pulling a string attached to a plug in the vessel, streamed out from an aperture in the side. It was a primitive sort of arrangement, as I could only wash one hand at a time, and very cold, as there was no stove, whilst the icicles hung about the window- frames. Under these circumstances the morning ablutions became a tedious process, and rather a pain than a pleasure. The Colonel now entered my room, and invited me to breakfast. The repast was of a frugal nature; it merely consisted of tea and dry bread, more sub- stantial food being considered quite out of place at 172 A RIDE TO KHIVA, and placed on the floor, made a capital couch ; whilst, as I had no sheets or blankets with me, I did what the Russians do under similar circumstances, and lay down with my pelisse as a blanket. The door of the apartment was thin. The partition-wall which separated my room from those occupied by the guests offered little impediment to the sound; but ringing laughtef and jingling of glasses do not keep a man from sleeping if he is once really exhausted, and I speedily became lost to consciousness. CHAPTER XIX. Ablutions under Difficulties — The Turkomans — An Escort of Cossacks — The Khan and his Executioner — In Search of Horses — Provisions for the March — Snow instead of Water — Exceptional Winter— Frozen to Death — The Unclean Animal — Kirghiz Amazons — Ural Cossacks — Dissenters and the Tzar — The Town of Kasala and Fever — Kibitkas — Mr. MacGahan and the Fair Sex — A Wife for One Hundred Sheep — The Matrimonial Lottery — A Russian Officer — “Liquor is the only thing worth living for” — Shadows of War. The following morning at ten, Nazar, coming into my room, informed me that Colonel Goloff was dressing, and that breakfast would soon be ready. On asking for a basin, I was informed that it was not the custom to wash in the sleeping apartment, but that a regular room was set aside for this purpose. I was then taken into a sort of scullery, with a sink and large copper utensil. In the last-mentioned article was a supply water. This, on pulling a string attached to a plug in the vessel, streamed out from an aperture in the side. It was a primitive sort of arrangement, as I could only wash one hand at a time, and very cold, as there was no stove, whilst the icicles hung about the window- frames. Under these circumstances the morning ablutions became a tedious process, and rather a pain than a pleasure. The Colonel now entered my room, and invited me to breakfast. The repast was of a frugal nature; it merely consisted of tea and dry bread, more sub- stantial food being considered quite out of place at 174 A RIDE TO KHIVA, such an hour of the day ; the habit the Russians have of eating supper in the early hours of the morning not being conducive to appetite. My host then informed me that he had himself been five times to Petro-Alexandrovsk. The Turkomans, he said, gave a great deal of trouble, as they crossed the Oxus, when the river was frozen, and made frequent raids upon the Kirghiz, carrying off their sheep and cattle. Indeed, on this account he thought that it would be better for me to have an escort of Cossacks ; for then,'' he added, it can accompany you to our fort, and Colonel Ivanoff, the Chief of the Amou Darya district, will send you on to Khiva, which is about sixty miles from Petro- Alexandrovsk, with a fresh escort." On asking what would happen to me if I were to visit the Khan's capital alone and unprotected — That would never do ! " he said. “ Why, the Khan would very likely order his executioner to gouge out your eyes, or would keep you in a hole in the ground for five or six days before he admitted you to an audience. The Khivans are very dangerous people." I thanked him very heartily for the information, which, I dare say, was given in a friendly spirit. It was refreshing to find that the good Governor of Kasala valued my life so highly, and I shall always feel deeply indebted to him for his kindness. He now promised to get me a guide; and, ringing a bell, desired the servant to send for a Kirghiz officer. The latter could communicate with his country- men, and tell them that I wanted to buy some horses, for the journey would have to be accomplished on horseback, and it was impossible to hire any animals in Kasala. FORAGE FOR THE JOURNEY. 175 / Camels would also be required, and a kibitka, or circular tent. As for provisions, the Colonel re- commended me to take some stchi, cabbage soup, with meat cut up in it. This, he declared, was very portable, as it would become frozen, and keep for any amount of time, whilst it might easily be carried in iron stable-buckets. The principal difficulty for a traveller, in his opinion, was the forage ; a sufficient supply of it must be taken for a fourteen days' journey, twelve pounds of barley per diem being the ordinary allowance for a horse. This would add enormously to the weight of baggage, as for three horses we should require thirty-six pounds of barley a day, or 504 pounds for the march. According to the Colonel, I need not burden the caravan by taking a supply of water, as in all probability there would be snow on the ground the whole way. However, I had better purchase some sacks, so that in the event of it appearing likely that any part of the route before us would be thinly covered with snow, we could put some in our sacks and thus carry it on the camels. The cold would be my greatest enemy, as the winter we were then experiencing was the most severe he had ever known at Kasala, and several people had been frozen to death. When we had finished our breakfast, the Governor left me till dinner, which he said would be on the table about 2 p.m., and departed to go through his routine of duties, when I determined to walk through the town and look at the Kirghiz population. I took Nazar with me to act as interpreter, in the event of my wishing to converse with any of the inhabitants who could not speak Russian. The little man was full of admiration at the splendour and luxury M A RIDE TO ICHIVA, 178 our visit, and, laying down fresh rugs on the ground, invited me to sit by their side. As a rule, there could not be much said for the beauty of their ap- pearance; indeed, making every allowance for Mr. MacGahan's advocacy of the fair sex in Tartary, I cannot help thinking that the energetic correspondent is either extremely susceptible, or else very easily pleased, as a moon-faced, red-cheeked girl, the acme of perfection from a Kirghiz point of view, does not quite answer to my ideas of a beauty. Most of the women have good eyes and teeth, but the breadth of the face and the size of the mouth take off from these advantages ; whilst the girls are not at all graceful, although on horseback they appear to per- fection. An elderly man, clad in a long brown dressing- gown thickly wadded to keep out the cold, was the proprietor of the kibitka. Pouring some water into a huge cauldron, which was suspended from a tripod over the fire, he proceeded to make the tea, whilst a young girl handed round some raisins and dried currants. The inmates were surprised when I told them that I was not a Russian, but had come from a land far away towards the setting sun. '‘Anglitchanin, Englishman,'' said Nazar; and the party gravely repeated the word Anglitchanin. One of the men now inquired if I had brought my wife with me, and he was astonished on hearing that I was unprovided with a helpmate, the whole party being of the opinion that such an appendage was as necessary to a man's happiness as his horse or camel. The Kirghiz have one great advantage over the other Mohammedan races. They have the oppor- BIDDING FOR A WIFE, 179 tunity of seeing the girls whom they wish to marry, and of conversing with them before the bargain is concluded with their parents — one hundred sheep being the average price given for a young woman. Among those Tartars who have fixed residences, and who do not migrate from place to place, this state of things is not allowed. Here the man who wishes to buy a wife has to run a considerable risk, for he seldom has an opportunity of judging of her looks, temper, or disposition. The girl always keeps her face covered when in public, and is concealed from the men as much as possible. The man s mother, or some other female relative, occasionally acts as his agent, and arranges so that her client may be hid behind some cupboard in their house. They then invite the girl to visit them, when the latter, thinking herself alone, is induced to uncover her face. The suitor now makes a mental calculation as to how much she is worth. The bidding then commences, the young lady’s parents asking at first much more than they will eventually take. “She "has sheep’s eyes, and is lovely,” says her mother. “Yes,” replies the female relative, the wife-seeker’s advocate, “ she has sheep’s eyes, but is not moon- faced, and has no hips whatever! Let us say 200 roubles.” And so the bidding goes on, until eventually, the bargain being concluded, the ceremony, such as it is, takes place, very few preliminaries being considered necessary. “ Do you like Kasala ?” I inquired of the best- looking of the girls. “ No,” replied an aged female, not giving tho l8o A RIDJB. TO KHIVA. maid I addressed time to speak ; “ we all prefer the steppes/^ And with these words she glanced contemp- tuously at her daughter, who, as Nazar afterwards informed me, liked the slight civilisation that Kasala was able to afford better than the beauties of nature and the trackless wastes in Tartary. On leaving the kibitka I proceeded to MorozofPs hostelry to call upon a young Russian officer, to whom I had been introduced the previous evening. I found my acquaintance at home. He inhabited a small room in company with another officer, who had been waiting for six weeks to join his regiment at Petro- Alexandrovsk, and who, to all appearance, did not much fancy the journey, as he was still at Kasala when I returned there six weeks later. The room was fitted up very simply. The furni- ture consisted of two small bedsteads; some coloured French prints and photographs were suspended from the walls, whilst a few books [and two strong wooden chairs completed the arrangements. The officers were glad to see a visitor, and have an opportunity of talking about St. Petersburg. One of them at once produced some bottles of vodki, and was much surprised to find that I was not addicted to strong drinks. ‘‘ You do not mean to say that the officers in your army do not get drunk?’' he said. ‘‘Why, liquor is the only thing worth living for ! ” and he tossed off a tumbler of the pure spirit. The main difficulty, however, was to disabuse my friends’ minds of the idea that I had been sent out by the English Government, and that the authorities at home paid for my expenses. “ And so you might have spent all your leave of absence in St. Petersburg, and yet only remained there ten days 1 How very strange I said the elder of the j UlADOWS OF WAR. • iSl two, evidently wondering how I could have stopped for so brief a time at this elysium in the eyes of a Russian officer. This gentleman had been in the Guards, but, like many of his comrades, had outstripped his allowance and run into debt. In consequence of this he had been removed to an appointment at Kasala, which happened at that time to be vacant ; and my young friend now found himself acting as a sort of police magistrate — rather a change from his former life at St. Petersburg. Existence in the fort, according to him, was fearfully dull — hardly any female society, and but little to do. Now at Khiva there was always the prospect of a war with the Turkomans, or some little excitement in the shape of a rebel- lion to suppress, and then men might have a chance of seeing service. In fact, you cannot be with Russian officers in Central Asia for half an hour without remarking how they long for a war. It is very natural ; and the wonder to my mind is why Russia has not extended herself still farther in Central Asia. If it had not been for the Emperor, who is, by all accounts, opposed to this rapid extension of his dominions, the Russians would already be on our Indian frontier. Nothing would be so popular with the officers in Central Asia, or indeed, for the matter of that, in European Russia also, as a war with England about India; and as the only public opinion which can be said to exist in the Tzars empire is represented by the military class, which in a few years will absorb all the male population of the nation, we ought to be thoroughly prepared for any emergency. Indeed, should Russia be permitted to annex Kashgar, Balkh, i 82 A RIDE TO KITIVA^ and Merve,^ an invasion of India would be by no means so difficult or impossible as some people would have us believe. Russia, if her reserves were called out, •would be able to dispose of 1,300,000 men. In the event of a campaign the 847,847 men in her active establishment could be reckoned upon as available for offensive purposes. The Province of Turkistan is the one which most closely adjoins our Indian empire. Here, according to Russian data, there are 33,893 men. I use the term Russian data because we have no means of knowing whether these figures are accurate. At the present moment, the greater part of the forces in the Western Siberian, Orenburg, and Kazan districts might be concentrated in the neighbourhood of Tash- kent and Samarcand, and no one in this country would be the wiser. We have no consular agents in any of the towns through which these troops would have to march on their road to Turkistan. No Englishmen are allowed to travel in Central Asia. Owing to the Russian newspapers being completely in the hands of the authorities, the information which is published may be purposely intended to mislead. If the Governor- General in Turkistan were forming large iiapes^ or depots, of provisions and arms in Samarcand, Khiva, and Krasnovodsk, we should be equally ignorant, until awaking up one morning we might discover that instead of our having to fight an enemy 2,000 miles distant from his base of operations that a base had been formed within 350 miles of our Indian frontier, which was as well supplied with all the requisites for war as St. Petersburg or Moscow. * For importance of Merve from a military point of view, sed Appendix G. MILITARY DISTRICTS, In the Caucasus there is a standing army of 151,161 men within easy water communication of Ashourade. Along the valley of the Attrek to Herat there are no natural obstacles to impede an advancing force ; indeed, if the Afghans, tempted by the idea of looting the rich cities in the plains of India, were to join an invader, he might give us a little trouble.^ * The Russian Empire is divided into fourteen military districts (besides the Province of the Don Cossacks). Most of these districts include several governments, which are specified below. The follow- ing table shows the number of soldiers in each district DISTRICTS. 1. St. Petersburg— ’X\\\s includes the governments of St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Pskof, Olonetz, Archangel, Esthonia ... 2 . Fhiland 3. Vilna — Including Vilna, Kovno, Grodno- Vitebsk, Minsk, Mohilev, Livonia, and Courland 4. Warsaw — Including Warsaw, Kalisz, Ki^lce, Lomsha, Radom, Lublin, Petrikau, Plock, Siedlec, Suwalki 5. Kiev — Includes Kiev, Podolia, Volhynia 6. Odessa — Includes Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Tavrida, ^ and Bessarabia 7. Includes Kursk, Oriel, Tchernigov, Poltava, Kharkof, and Voronetz 8. Moscow — Includes Moscow, Tver, Jaroslav, Vologda, Kostroma, Vladimir, Nijni-Nov- gorod, Smolensk, Kaluga, Riazan, and Tambov 9. Kazan — Includes Kazan, Perm, Viatka, Simbirsk, and Samara 10. Caucasus — Includes the provinces of Kuban, Terek, Daghestan, Zakhatali ; the govern- ments of Tiflis, Erivan, Baku, Stavropol, and Kutais 11. Orenburg and U fa ... ••• ••• 12. Western Siberia 13. Eastern Siberia 14. Turkistan — Comprising the government of that name MEN. 84,353 14,787 93,370 113,686 58,816 63,391 65.457 85,024 34,300 151,161 14,680 16,256 18,673 33,893 Total number of men ... 847,847 CHAPTER XX. A Priest — Only one Wife allowed — Russian Bread — The Telegraph in Turlcistan — General Milutin might change his Mind — Horse-dealing — Five Pounds for a Horse, Saddle and Bridle, &c. — A Guide — The Expedition to Khiva — The Russian Troops on the March — Forty degrees below Zero, Fahrenheit. On returning to the Governor’s I found that gentleman awaiting me for dinner. In the course of conversa- tion he said that the Kirghiz officer had sent round to inform his compatriots that I wished to purchase some horses, and that several animals would be brought for my inspection on the following morning. The priest now came in — he was a man about thirty, of an unwashed appearance, and with long uncombed locks reaching half way down his back. On the Colonel’s invitation, he sat down by my side. He was a married man. The Greek religion allows every Russian priest to marry; but if his wife dies, the reverend gentleman cannot marry again. This is not a bad rule for the women, as the husbands look after all their ailments with the greatest care. Our conversation was chiefly about horses, when I discovered that the visitor had one for sale, and that this was the object of his visit. The Kirghiz, he informed me, do not have their horses shod, except when about to travel over very rocky ground. In winter and in summer the active little animals traverse the deserts, the hoof itself affording ample protection, and a lame or unsound steed is with RUSSIAN BREAD. i8s them a rarity, whilst a hundred miles In a day has frequently been accomplished by some of the Kirghiz horsemen. I had arrived at Kasala at a bad time for a man who, like myself, v/ished to push forward im- mediately. The following morning on inquiring if any horses had been brought for my inspection, I was informed that the festival was not over. The Kirghiz were still engaged in stuffing themselves with rice and mutton, and in drinking sour mare’s milk (koomyes). They could not be induced to leave their houses, even on the chance of selling a horse to a Christian. I thought that Nazar’s services might be put into requisition, so I desired him to go into the town and proclaim to his co-religionists that I was prepared to give a good price provided that they could bring me some animals which would suit. Under other circumstances I should continue my journey along the sleigh road to Fort Perovsky, and buying horses at that spot, ride from there to Petro-Alexandrovsk, my idea being that if the Tartars at Kasala^ heard that I was going to leave the fort and purchase horses elsewhere, they would take a little more interest in the matter. I also desired him to make arrangements about the preparation of some stchi, or cabbage soup, for the journey, and also to order forty pounds of bread, of which half was to be made as light as possible. The Russian bakers possess the secret of making bread which is not much heavier than rusks would be, if made of the same size as the loaves in question. This is a great advantage in the desert, for at times, when no firewood can be obtained, the ordinary bread becomes so hard frozen that it has to be chopped with an axe ; i86 A RIDE TO KHIVA, whilst a knife is utterly useless against the granite-like substance into which the flour is converted. Indeed, on one occasion I broke my best knife when attempting to cut a loaf of frozen bread. My real intentions were not in favour of continuing the journey to Perovsky, if this could possibly be avoided, for by doing so we should be nearer the Capital of Turkistan. St. Petersburg is now in direct electric communication with Tashkent, whilst I believe that the wire has been recently extended so far as Kokan. The distance is about 670 miles from Kasala to Tashkent. There is also a wire from St. Petersburg to Orsk, which is about 500 miles from Kasala; but any communication coming from St. Petersburg would be more likely to pass through the head-quarters of General Kauffmann than by another route. I was not desirous to approach nearer to Tash- kent than was absolutely necessary, as, although I had obtained permission to travel in Russian Asia from General Milutin, the Minister of War, it was not impos- sible that he might change his mind — such in fact having been the opinion of my friends at St. Peters- burg, who had advised me to lose no time on the road. Nazar’s message to his countrymen proved of the greatest use. My departure for Perovsky would have affected them in their most susceptible point — the pocket — and in spite of its being feast-time they pro- ceeded in search of all the animals which could be obtained in Kasala. Now, the Kirghiz are not like the Arabs in one respect, though similar to them in many others. The descendant of Ishmael will seldom sell his horses, no matter how much money you may offer for these animals ; whilst the Tartars will sell everything they have for PURCHASING A HORSE, 187 money. ' The result was they began to think that it might be a good occasion to palm off some of their lame animals and utterly worthless screws upon the innocent Christian ; or, if I would not fall into the trap set for me by the Faithful, to take advantage of my inex- perience with reference to the average price of horses in that part of the world, and sell me a good animal, but at three times its market value. However, the steppe coper is not unique in this respect, and he would not get much the best of a London dealer. Forthwith there appeared a procession before the Governors house. This was composed of excited natives, looking, many of them, like animated bundles of rags, so thickly were they enveloped in shreds and tatters. Each of these animated bundles was astride on some sort of quadruped — camels, horses, donkeys, all were brought on the scene, forming a comical picture, which will never be effaced from my memory. The horses were, for the most part, of the worst description; that is to say, so far as appearance was concerned. Their ribs in many instances almost pro- truded ‘through the skin, the proprietors of the quadrupeds having apparently been engaged in solving the knotty point as to how near they could reduce them to a straw-a-day diet without their animals suc- cumbing to the experiment. Don Quixote’s steed, the far-famed Rosinante, was by all accounts not the best-fed of animals. The poor brutes which can be seen each summer expiring beneath the horns of the bulls in the Plaza de Toros of Seville do not carry much flesh, but many of them would have been equine Daniel Lamberts if compared with the horses now brought for my inspection. If ever there was a Banting system especially i88 A RIDE TO KHIVA, devised for four-footed animals, that system had been carried out to its fullest extent. Some of the poor beasts were so weak that they could hardly move one leg before the other. Except for their excessive lean- ness they looked more like huge Newfoundland dogs than as connected with the equine race, and had been turned out in the depth of winter with no other covering save the thick coats which nature has given them. The late Mr. Tattersall himself could not have eulogised any animals brought to the hammer more than did these red-faced, high cheek-boned, ferret-eyed Tartars their respective quadrupeds ; whilst each man commented on his neighbours property in terms ot scorn and derision. At last, after rejecting a number of jades which looked more fit to carry my boots than their wearer, I selected a little black horse. He was about fourteen hands in height, and I eventually became his owner, saddle and bridle into the bargain, for the sum oi this being considered a very high price at Kasala. The saddlery was of the most gaudy description, the saddle being made of highly-painted wood, richly decorated with gilding and enamel, whilst a small knob about six inches long, sticking up at the pommel, looked especially contrived for the impalement of the rider. The following day the Kirghiz official, who had been desired to procure a guide, called upon me with a candidate for that office. The latter was a tall, muscular-looking man, with a cunning and avaricious expression about the corners of his mouth whenever he indulged in a smile. His head attire consisted of a tall black sheepskin hat, of the sugar-loaf pattern; the thick wool around the A GUIDE. 189 lower part of it was so arranged as to protect his eyes against the glare of the snow. His neck was encircled by a dirty goat’s-hair shawl, which had been once white, but was now almost of the same hue as his coarse black beard and moustache. A bright yellow dressing-gown, thickly wadded to protect the wearer from cold, was girt around his waist by a green sash. Yellow leather trousers were drawn over his lathy legs, whilst an enormous pair of boots, the toes of which were turned up and culminated in formidable-looking points — fearful weapons to deliver a kick with — pro- tected his extremities. For arms he carried a short scimitar, which was buckled around his waist by a narrow leather strap. However, the sword was not of much use, as it had been little cared for, and was very rusty, whilst the steel of which the scimitar was manu- factured was of an utterly worthless character. He announced himself as ready to guide me to Petro- Alexandrovsk, the Russian fort, and his com- panion, the Kirghiz official, said that the man had acted as guide to the troops which marched upon Khiva during the expedition against that country, and that he could be thoroughly depended upon. An agreement was soon made by which he was to provide me with some camels. He would also bring his own horse, whilst if I could not find at Kasala an animal worth buying for Nazar, the little man should be mounted upon a camel. The price the guide first demanded for his services was very exorbitant, being three times more than the ordinary tariff; however, after a little bargaining, he became more moderate in his demands. When everything had been arranged he proceeded in search of some camels, and I deter- mined to start in thirty-six hours. 190 Jl RIDE TO KHIVA, In the meantime Nazar had tied my recently-ac- quired purchase to a cart which stood In the Governor’s orchard, and had gone in search of a shoeing smith. I did not know what sort of ground would have to be traversed once we were on the other side of Khiva, and if it were of a rocky nature, horseshoes would be indis- pensable. N ose-bags and horse-rugs had also to be pur- chased, two rugs to be put under the saddle, whilst the third was to be strapped above it, and thus to inter- pose between the seat of the rider and the wooden framework of the saddle, this being the system adopted in the steppes, and with great success, as the horses hardly ever have sore backs. The following day I called upon the Commandant to say good-bye and thank him for all his kindness. He informed me in the course of our conversation that the Russian troops which marched against Khiva ^ carried nothing but their arms and ammunition, their great-coats and knapsacks having been transported on camels. Occasionally, he said, the men would accom- plish fifty versts (thirty-three miles) in a day. At times the heat was very great, and the troops were then only served out with tea and biscuits, as meat was supposed to have an injurious effect upon their marching powers. The Kirghiz, he said, lived entirely upon milk during the hot weather, and only killed their sheep in the winter months, or when obliged by sheer necessity. The nomad tribes could not exist with- out their flocks, which form their chief source of wealth, cattle being very scarce amongst them. The Kirghiz, however, possessed plenty of horses, and a man s riches would not be estimated by the number of roubles he * This expedition took place in the spring and summer months of ^ . 4 N EXCEPTIONAL IV/NTEE, 19 1 had, as in Russia, but by the quantity of horses and sheep in his possession. “ I am afraid you will have a terribly cold journey,’* said the old officer, as he shook hands with me and said farewell; ^‘the thermometer was down to 32 degrees below zero (Reaumur) yesterday (40 degrees Fahren- heit), and indoors it was bad enough. We piled as much wood in the stove as it would hold, and sat in our furs all day long, but in spite of this the cold made itself felt.” The winter we were then experiencing was an exceptional one even for that part of the world, and when I returned to the Governor’s house I found the Kirghiz, who were engaged in putting up a kibitka in the garden for me to look at, grumbling as much as the Russians at the cruelty of the elements. IS CHAPTER XXI, Water Route from Kasala to Petro-Alexandrovsk — The Irkibai Route — The Winter March Route — General Perovsky — His Expedition — Loss of Nine Thousand Camels — New Year’s Day — Two out of Ten Cossacks Frozen to Death — Major Wood and the Survey of the Oxus — Struggling into the Saddle — ^Your Plorse is Tough — Ophthalmia — Cotton Bales — The Moham^ medans and the Deity — Fatalism — The Will of Allah. The water route to Petro-Alexandrovsk was closed to me by the frost, but it affords easy communication in summer with the Khivan khanate. Indeed, should the Russian Government ever permit Englishmen to travel in their Asiatic dominions, Khiva wil^probably become known to Mr. Cook, and on the list of his personally- conducted tours. However, besides the water route by the Jaxartes, Sea of Aral, and Oxus, there are several land routes used respectively in summer and winter. One way of reaching Petro-Alexandrovsk is the track taken by the column which marched from Kasala on Khiva during the war. This route, striking slightly to the south-east, brings the traveller to the Irkibai ford, and then diverging to the south-west continues to Kiptchak. From there the traveller can proceed along the banks of the Amou Darya river to within a short distance of the fort. This is a very circuitous route, the great advantage it possesses being a sufficient supply of wells on the road to make it a practicable one during the summer months. The climate of the Kirghiz steppes being just as remarkable by its intense DETAILS OF ROUTE. 193 heat during J une, J uly, and August, as by its extreme cold throughout the winter. Wyld's map of Khiva and the surrounding territories shows this line of march, which occupies about twenty-five days, very correctly. Then there is another road which Is known as the winter march road. It is a much shorter way from Kasala to Petro-Alexandrovsk, the Russian fort in K hi van territory. This road leads south by east to Balaktay. It then turns south and slightly south-west to Tan Sooloo, which is 124 miles from Kasala, Diverging to the west, it continues south to Kara- batoor, about 303 miles from Kasala. Finally passing Tadj Kazgan and Kilte Moonar, it goes straight to Petro-Alexandrovsk, a distance by march route of 371 miles from Fort Number One. This road, however, is impracticable in summer, as there are scarcely any wells along it. Those which exist contain water so salt and brackish as to be only fit for camels, whilst human beings and horses can only drink it when reduced to extreme necessity. Along this route there are wells at Balaktay, 30 miles from Kasala ; at Berd Kazgan, 66 miles further on, there is more water ; the traveller then must journey for 81 miles to a place where there are some very brackish wells, and from thence it is 126 miles to Karabatoor, where first you find water fit for human consumption. After this there is a plentiful supply of water till you reach Petro-Alexandrovsk. I enter thus minutely into details about this route, as It is not marked down in any English map that I have seen, and in the one in my possession it is not shown accurately, Karabatoor being represented as close to the Oxus, whereas In reality it Is 67 miles frcm that river. I ani not aware that the above’ 194 A RIDE TO KHIVA. mentioned road has been travelled by any Englishman save myself ; indeed, it is seldom used except by the Tartars or Cossacks on their way to and from Khiva, and when the snow, which covers the ground for ten weeks in the year, supplying the place of water, renders the journey possible. It is a very arduous march, however, and one which requires a great many preparations beforehand, as everything has to be taken by the traveller in the shape of provisions for himself, barley for his horses, and occasionally fuel to burn in those places where saksaool, the firewood of the steppes, is not to be found. He must also not forget bags to carry snow, should it appear likely that for any long distance there will be a deficiency of this substitute for water. The result was, I found that for myself, whose only personal luggage consisted of a change of clothes, a few instru- ments, and my gun, and for my Tartar servant, I could not do with less than three camels and two horses. It will be easy from these few details to imagine the preparations which General Perovsky had to make in the year 1839, when he attempted to take Khiva in the winter, and why he failed. Intense frost, heavy snowstorms, and want of provisions compelled him to retire when only half-way from Orenburg, having lost two-thirds of his men, nine thousand camels, and an immense quantity of horses, from illness, cold, and hunger — the expense of the expedition amounting to six and a half millions of roubles. The sum for those days appears a large one, but it is not so if we con- sider that the invading column consisted of three and a half battalions of infantry, two regiments of Ural, and four sotnias, or 750 Orenburg Cossacks, besides twenty-two guns and a rocket battery. In all of four READY TO START 195 thousand five hundred men, accompanied by a large intendance, and, in addition to horse transport, ten thousand camels, with two thousand Kirghiz drivers. It may be thought that the Khivan enemy assisted in the destruction of the Russian expedition. But this was not the case ; the greater part of Perovsky’s forces never saw the foe, and there were only slight engage- ments with advanced parties, in each of which the Khan’s troops were put to flight. The cold on New Year s Day, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, Russian style, or the 1 2 th of January accord- ing to our calendar, was the greatest I ever remember to have experienced. The sentries posted outside the Governor’s and Commandant’s houses were obliged to wear the thickest of goloshes stuffed with hay, and to keep running backwards and forwards the whole time they were on duty, to prevent their feet freezing. The instant any man left the house his moustache was frozen into a solid block of ice. If his nose were exposed to the wind for a minute or so it turned first blue and then white, whilst, as to touching anything in the shape of metal with the bare hand, you might as well have taken hold of a red-hot iron. Everything was ready for a start. Three camels and a Turkoman driver were at the door laden with the kibitka, forage, &c. I had declined the offer of an escort. Indeed, it would have been hard upon the poor Cossacks, giving them a long useless journey over the steppes, merely on account of the Turkomans ; and it was as well I did so, as out of a party of ten soldiers at that time marching from Petro-Alexandrovsk, I was subsequently informed that two had been frozen to death and several others frostbitten, the uniform of a 196 A RIDE to KHIMA, Cossack not being nearly so proof against the onslaught of the elements as the thick furs, sheepskins, &c., which can be worn by a private individual. The guide rode his own horse, one, if possible, a little thinner than mine. The little Tartar servant was seated on a huge corn sack, balanced on the other side by a bundle of firewood, and perched upon the tallest of the camels. He smiled lugubriously as he bade farewell to his numerous acquaintances, and turning to me said — ** Please God we shall not be frozen.'* To which I devoutly replied — Inshallah." In spite of some drawbacks to the road selected, such as our being obliged to use melted snow instead of water, and to carry more firewood than would be required along the other track, for me it possessed several advantages. First of all I could get to Petro-Alexandrovsk in half the time employed if I took the Irkibai route, and secondly I should see a new track, or, at least, one which was not marked on Mr. Wyld’s map of Khiva, whilst however much I might wish to visit Khiva in the summer, and sail across the Sea of Aral, circumstances over which I had no control would prevent my carry- ing this into execution. For provisions I had supplied myself with stchi or cabbage soup, with large pieces of meat cut up in it. This, poured into two large iron stable buckets, had become hard frozen, and was thus easily carried slung on the back of a camel. Twenty pounds' weight of cooked meat was also taken, and a hatchet to chop up our frozen food, or to cut down brushwood for a fire. A cooking lamp with a supply of spirit to be used under A STRONG PRESENTIMENT. 1Q7 the mess-tins, in the event of our fuel running short, made up the baggage. Although I had hired the camels as far as Petro- Alexandrovsk, I had not the slightest intention of going there if it could be avoided. I had the permis- sion of General Milutin, the Russian Minister of War, to travel in Russian Asia, and considered myself at liberty to change my direction at pleasure without con- sulting any officers subordinate to him in the Russian service. However, the rumours which had reached my ears about Major Wood’s journey made me very doubtful as to whether General Milutin might not change his mind, and I had a strong presentiment that I should never see Khiva if, like my compatriot, I once were to find myself in Fort Petro - Alexandrovsk. Indeed, as I subsequently learned from Major Wood’s lips, he had never been permitted to go within sixty versts of the Khan’s capital, and when he expressed a wish to Colonel Ivanoff, the Commandant of the garrison, to be allowed to see Khiva, that officer in- formed^him that there was a strict order from General Kauffmann on this subject, and no such permission could be granted. Since Major Wood’s departure the river Oxus has been surveyed for a considerable distance beyond the fort. It is to be hoped that when a more extended survey takes place, the military authorities at St. Petersburg will ask Major Wood to participate in it. It is as important to Englishmen as to Russians to know how far the mighty stream is navigable. Another reason also induced me to ride to Khiva without going to Petro - Alexandrovsk. In the event of the Russian Commandant permitting me to enter A RIDE to KHIVA. the capital, which was highly improbable, I felt convinced that it would be with an escort, and then I should be taken about to see everything couleitr de rose, or as the Russians would like me to see it, and not be permitted to take my time and wander free and unrestrained about the city. I was also curious to know whether the Khivan sovereign was as great a barbarian as the Russians made him out to be. It was only after a great deal of struggling that I managed to get into the saddle. Although my horse was only fourteen hands high, my sheepskin clothes and other thick garments were very heavy, and could not have weighed less than fifty pounds. The stirrup-irons also, though huge of their kind, were barely large enough, as Nazar had covered them with felt, so as to prevent my feet freezing to the steel. The little animal groaned as I gained my seat. The guide here made a remark to Nazar, and a wolfish expression passed over his countenance. It wore a hungry sort of look, and he glared at my horse in such a peculiar manner that it attracted my attention. “ What does he say, Nazar I inquired. “He says that your horse has very little fat, but that he Is tough,’’ was the reply. “ I hope so,” I observed, “the poor beast has to carry me a long way, and he is very much over- weighted.” “ No, sir, you do not understand me,” continued my domestic. “He means that when your horse breaks down and we have to kill him, that he will be very tough food.” “ What I you do not intend to say that the fellow wants to eat my horse ? ” I remarked indignantly. “Oh, yes, the brute will never get to Petro- ^ tV£ C£OSS THE SYR DARYA. 1^9 Alexandrovsk, and then we will all have such a feast,” and my little Tartar’s eyes glistened as much as the guide’s had done, as he gloated over the anticipated banquet, horseflesh being considered a great delicacy by the inhabitants of those regions. We soon crossed the Syr Darya river, the Jaxartes of ancient history, which bathes the southern side of Fort Number One. A high road had been made over its frozen surface, which glistened beneath the rays of a midday sun like a vast sheet of burnished steel. The steamers belonging to the Aral fleet lay embedded in the ice, the black funnels and smoky appear- ance of the vessels contrasting strongly with the bright colours worn by the peasantry who strolled along the banks. A few exiled Cossacks from Uralsk were grouped together busily engaged conversing with a Tartar, who had just arrived from Orenburg. They were trying to learn some tidings of the old folks at home ; whilst two wild-looking Kirghiz were haggling with a knot of Khivans, the latter wishing to buy a sheep which the natives had for sale. A little way from the town we came upon hundreds of cotton bales lying scattered along the path. No one was left in charge of them, and the huge bundles seemed at the disposal of any would-be thief. It appeared that they had been brought from Bokhara ; the camel-drivers had gone on to Kasala to feast with their friends in that town, but would return when the festival was over, and then continue the journey to Orenburg. In the meantime their master’s property was left in the steppe, this affording a striking proof of the happy-go-lucky disposition of the Tartar camel- drivers. 200 A RIDE TO KHIVA, ** Will not some of the cotton be stolen I inquired of Nazar. If God pleases,"' was the pious answer. The Mohammedans invariably throw upon the Deity the responsibility for any mischance that may occur through their own negligence. The doctrine of fatalism thus covers a multitude of sins. I subsequently discovered that the only way to impart a little circumspection to my careless camel-driver when, after smashing my boxes, he ex- cused himself on the ground that the Almighty had been the cause of his disaster, was to administer to the delinquent a slight chastisement. This having been inflicted, I exclaimed, “ Brother, it was the will of God. You must not complain; it was your destiny to break my property and mine to beat you. We neither of us could help it, praise be to Allah.’^ This method of dealing with my party had a capital effect upon them, and much more care was afterwards taken in loading and unloading the camels. Kasala now lay far in our wake, and naught could be seen save an endless white expanse. A gale came on. The wind howled and whistled, billowing before it broad waves of snow. Our eyes began to run, and the eyeballs to ache ; the constant glare and cutting breeze half blinded us as we rode. The horses waded heavily through the piled-up ridges. The poor beasts suffered like ourselves ; their eyes were encrusted with frozen tears ; and it was as much as we could do to urg^e them forward. I had taken the precaution to bring some tinted spectacles from England in order to protect my eyes from this evil, which gives rise to many cases of ophthalmia amidst the nomad tribes, the dust and sun SPECTACLES WITH SIDE SPRINGS Ui^tLE^S. ^01 \ in the summer months being nearly as trying as the cutting winds and dazzling snow throughout the winter. However, my shades proved to be useless. The side- springs were made of steel, and directly they touched my cheeks I felt as if they had been seared with a red- hot poker. There was nothing to be done but to pull my cap well over my eyes, and look as best I could through the dark fur. This somewhat shaded the glaring mirror at our feet, and relieved the aching CHAPTER XXII. Camels — Their Rate of March — How to divide the Marches — The Kibitka'* Better be Cold than Blind — A Tartar Cook — The Turkoman’s Appetite— A Khivan Caravan — The Main Road goes to Khiva, the Branch Road to the Fort — Drinking Tea with the Khivans — Sheltering the Camels. After marching for about five hours, the guide asked me to halt the caravan. The sun was fast disappear- ing in the west. We had started late, and as it is always as well to make a short journey on the first day, in order to see how the saddles fit, and if the luggage has been well adjusted on the camels, I consented, but with the express stipulation that we must strike our camp and start again at twelve thajt night. Camels will only feed in the daytime, and the best plan is to march them as much as possible during the night. They walk very slowly, and as a rule cannot go more than two miles and a third an hour. This is the average rate of a caravan; however, they walk a little faster at night than during the day. It is always as well to halt at sunset and start at midnight, unloading the camels for about two hours in the day to feed. By this means the traveller ought to get sixteen hours per day steady work from his caravan, and march at least thirty-seven miles. All this time the Turkoman driver and guide were engaged in putting up the kibitka ; this was intended to screen us from the bitterly cold wind which, coming DESCRIPTION OF A KIBITKA. 203 Straight from the east, whistled across the desert, unchecked by mountain or forest. The kibitkas^ are very simple in their construction. I will endeavour briefly to describe them. Imagine a bundle of sticks, each five feet three inches in length, and an inch in diameter ; these are connected with each other by means of some cross sticks, through the ends of which holes are bored and leather thongs passed. This allows plenty of room for all the sticks to open out freely, they then form a complete circle about twelve feet in diameter and five feet three in heis^ht. They do not require any forcing into the ground, for the circular shape keeps them steady. When this is done a thick piece of cashmar^ or cloth made of sheep’s wool, is suspended from their tops, and reaches to the ground. This forms a shield through which the wind cannot pass. Another bundle of sticks is then produced. They are all fastened at one end to a small I wooden cross about six inches long by four broad ; a 1 man standing in the centre of the circle raises up this bundle in the air, the cross upwards, and hitches their || other ends by means of little leather loops one by one i on the different upright sticks which form the circular 1 walls. The result is they all pull against each other, I and are consequently self-supporting ; another piece of ' cloth is passed round the outside of this scaflblding, ; leaving a piece uncovered at the top to allow the ! smoke to escape. One stick is removed from the * uprights which form the walls. This substitutes a I door, and the kibitka is complete. I j I * Lieutenant Stumm, a German officer who accompanied the Russian ^ j expedition to Khiva, highly approved of these kibitkas for military pur- 4 poses. He brought one back with him to show to the military authorities 1 “ 204 A RIDE TO KHIVA, A fire IS now lit in the middle of the tent, some snow put in a kettle, which is suspended from a tri- pod of three sticks above the flames, and under the influence of a few glasses of scalding tea the way- farer makes himself as comfortable as circumstances will admit. However, the smoke from the damp wood filled the tent. It was of so pungent a character that we found it impossible to keep on the roof. Our eyes, which had suflered from the wind and glare, now smarted from the smoke. It was impossible to keep them open. “ The wood is damp,” said the guide ; better be cold than be blind,” and unhooking the upper frame- work of the kibitka he left only the walls standing. It was a glorious evening, the stars as seen from the snow-covered desert were brig^hter and more dazzling than any I had hitherto witnessed. From time to time some glittering meteor would shoot across the heavens. A momentary track of vivid flame traced out its course through space. Showers of orbs of falling fire flashed for one moment and then disap- peared from our view. Myriads of constellations and worlds above sparkled like gems in a priceless diadem. It was a magnificent pyrotechnic display. Nature being the sole actor in the spectacle. It was well worth a journey even to Central Asia. Ij In the meantime the guide, who took upon himself I the office of de misinCy was occupied with an iron I pot, his special property. He was busily engaged throwing into this receptacle slices of meat which I with difficulty he had hacked from a piece of frozen I mutton. A few handfuls of rice were next added, and I ^ome hunches of ntutton fat. This he extracted from g I THE GUIDE’S CULINARY SKILL, 20$ hiding-place In his clothes, and the culinary compound was speedily crackling over the red-hot embers of our fire. It was not a very appetising spectacle, nor a dish that Baron Brisse would have been likely to add to any of his menus^ but after a ride across the steppes in midwinter the traveller soon loses every other feeling in the absorbing one of hunger, and at that time I think I could have eaten my great grandfather if he had been properly roasted for the occasion. Nazars face assumed a most voracious aspect. Seizing a large wooden ladle he buried it in the cooking mass, then first of all filling his own mouth, with a look of supreme satisfaction he handed me the ladle. The guide, baring his arm to the elbow, plunged his hand Into the pot, and throwing about a quarter of a pound of Its contents within his capacious jaws, bolted it at one swallow. His eyes nearly started out of his head with the effort. He smiled condescendingly, pointed to the viands, the result of his culinary skill, and, rubbing his stomach slowly, gave me to understand that the meat was done to a turn. The Turkoman sat in a corner of the kibitka. He was taking some little square biscuits or cakes, made of flour, salt, and fat, from a small bag which had been attached to the saddle of his donkey. His coun- tenance wore a melancholy expression, for the biscuits were frozen as hard as brickbats. From time to time he would lay one of the cakes upon the embers, and when it was thawed through, hand it to one of my party. “Yackshe’' (good) he said to me, looking at the smoking mutton with a beseeching look, as much as to say, Let me, too, partake; when, notwithstanding the 2o6 A RIDE TO KHIVA, disapproving looks of Nazar and the guide, who wished to eat it all themselves, I desired him to squat down by their side. It was a quaint sight, the two wild figures before me, with their bare arms thrust alternately into the pot, every now and then swearing and looking fiercely at the Turkoman, who, to make up for lost time, ate much more rapidly than they did. I myself was supplied with a large saucerful of rice and meat, which, in spite of the rough manner in which it had been prepared, proved a very savoury compound. Whilst thus engaged, three K hi vans rode up to us. One was a merchant, who had been to Orenburg. He had there disposed of his cotton bales, and was now returning to Khiva with a supply of Russian goods in the shape of knives, saucers, cups, and bright-coloured chintzes, such as find a ready sale in the Khan’s territory. He was a strong-built, sturdy fellow, and about five feet ten in height. A tall, cone-shaped black Astrakhan hat covered his head, whilst his body was clad in an orange-coloured dressing-gown, thickly quilted, and girt tightly around his loins with a long red sash. A heavy sheepskin mantle enveloped him from head to foot, and with his coal-black beard and piercing dark eyes, he would have been worth a large sum to an artist as a model. For weapons, the Khivan had armed himself with a long single-barrelled gun. This was ornamented with damascene work, and had a large bell-shaped muzzle. The barrel was very thin, and I could not help thinking that the firearm, should it be discharged, would be much more dangerous to its owner than to his foe. A short richly-mounted sabre completed his offensive arsenal. He was accompanied by two countrymen, hi§ THE MERCHANT PROPOSES TO JOIN US. 20J servants. They kept a careful eye on their master’s goods, and were similarly armed. The party would have made the fortune of any London stage manager who might have required some brigands for a piece, could they have been placed on the boards as I saw them then attired. The merchant had twelve camels and four camel- drivers with him, besides five led horses. He himself rode a very nice-looking grey, which I afterwards tried to purchase, but no offer would tempt the owner to part with his animal. He could speak a little Russian, having learnt that language when trading at Orenburg. On my offering him a glass of tea, he squatted down by the fire and proposed that we should continue the journey together, when our united caravans would run less risk if attacked by any band of marauding Kirghiz. He also informed me that the track on which we had that day been travelling led straight to Khiva, but that a little further on the road, at a place known by the Kirghiz as Tan Sooloo, there was a branch road which would take us to Petro-Alexandrovsk. My guide, however, did not appear much struck with the new arrival, and here observed that we were not going to Khiva but to the Russian Fort, and that his orders were to take me to Petro-Alexandrovsk, whilst Nazar whispered in my ear that the Khivan and his followers would be dangerous companions, the more particularly as their party was, numerically speaking, far stronger than our own. It was evident that neither my servant nor the guide much liked the proposed addition to our caravan, the real reason being that they thought the Khivans’ appetite might perhaps surpass the Turkoman’s, and should 1 208 A RIDE TO KHIVA, extend my hospitality to the former as well as to the camel-driver, there would be little left for themselves to eat. My mind was soon made up about the matter. I had learned one piece of important information. This was with reference to the road to Khiva. I determined, if the merchant could only be per- suaded to march as rapidly as ourselves, to join his party. On mentioning this to Nazar, he shook his head, and remarked that we should be at least twenty days reaching Khiva, even supposing that our guide would accompany us there, as the heavily-laden camels of the trader would never be able to keep up with our own. The thought then occurred to me that the amount of barley I had brought for the horses would only last fourteen days, and hearing from the Khivan’s lips that he did not expect to reach his destination for at least three weeks, I gave up the idea. After staying at our fireside for about half an hour, the merchant left, and in a short time sent a message by one of his servants asking me if I would honour him by drinking tea with himself and followers. I found the party encamped in a small ravine, about a hundred yards from my own kibitka, and seated round a fire. They had sheltered themselves in the same way as ourselves, and, in addition, had raised up an embank- ment of snow in the direction of the wind, so as to be better protected from its gusts. The camel-drivers had unloaded their animals, and were engaged in shovel- ling away the snow, so as to leave a dry spot upon which the huge beasts could lie down. Should this not be done, and the camels rest on the snow, the heat of their bodies converts it into water, and the A BASIN OF TEA. 209 animals get cold in the stomach, an illness which gene- rally proves fatal to them. The luggage and saddles were placed around the cleared spot so as to protect the camels from the wind, and I found that my Turkoman had joined the party, and that his three beasts were also within the enclosure. The merchant, producing a pillow and piece of carpet, made me sit in the place of honour, nearest the fire. Presently he handed me a tin slop-basin, full of what he called tea, but which was the nastiest beverage it has ever been my bad luck to taste. It was not tea in our sense of the word, but a mixture which had a peculiar flavour of grease, salt, and tea-leaves. Swal- lowing my nausea as best I could in order to avoid offending my host, I drank off the nasty draught, and exclaimed, in the best Tartar I could master for the occasion, Excellent ! ” My host was much pleased at my appreciation of the beverage, and said, “ Now I see that you are not a Russian’^ (Nazar having previously informed him that I was an Englishman). Strange to say, Russians do not like my tea. Good tea comes from Hindostan. You will drink some more?’' Fortunately Nazar now came to my rescue. He called attention to the stars, said that it was late, and that we were going to start early ; so shaking hands with my host, I escaped from his well-meant but decidedly disagreeable hospitality. CHAPTER XXIII. A Lazy Guide — A Cold Pig — Insubordination — How to awake Arabs — Hot Embers better than Cold Water — Power of Camels to Carry Burdens imrch Exaggerated — Quickest Road to a Tartar’s Affections — Sores from Frostbites. I FOUND the guide lying at full length on an old piece of carpet, which he had placed by the fire. He showed no readiness to resign his place on my arrival. The little Tartar, however, soon removed him, for taking up the cooking-pot, which was by that time filled with ice and water, he poured a portion of the contents on the head of the delinquent. The latter started up, uttered some fearful language at this summary pro- ceeding, which he did not seem to relish, then rolling the folds of his sheepskin tighter round his body, he threw himself down a few yards further off from the fire. “We shall have trouble with him,'' said my faithful follower; “he says that we are not to start till to-morrow morning. I told him that you would strike the camp at midnight. He remarked in that case we should o-o alone, and that he would return to Kasala." It was not pleasant at the outset of the expedition to find this insubordination in one of my party, and J felt that the only thing for me to do was to bring matters to a climax before the refractory spirit communicated itself to the camel-driver. “We shall march at twelve,’* I observed “ crdl me INSUBORDINA TlOrr. 2 I 1 if I am not awake ; ’’ and buckling my sheepskin tightly around me, I soon fell fast asleep. It is a curious fact that almost every one of us, if we really wish to awake at a certain hour, invariably do so, and the more frequently a little before the time. The result was that at half-past eleven I started up thinking that I had overslept myself, but as half an hour at least was required to saddle and load the camels, I determined to awake the guide. Walking up to his side I shook him well ; he slowly opened his eyes, but seeing me, emitted a grunt of displeasure, and turned over again. It is always diffi- cult arousing this class of people, particularly when they have once made up their minds to sleep till morning. In the deserts of Africa I used to have the greatest trouble with them, one old Sheik, who acted as head man to my party, being the most sleepy of mortals. However, I discovered a method of arousing him, which proved invariably efficacious. His attire was scanty and slightly indecent according to our ideas. It merely consisted of a large sheet ; this he was wont to wind many times round his body, and sleep, thus pro- tected from the winds, which are very cutting at night- time in the Sahara. No amount of kicking would then awake the old fellow, and I found that the best plan was to gradually roll him over and over until the piece of calico was unwound, and the aged gentleman began to feel the cold breeze against his nude body. This invariably produced the desired effect, and, arising from the sand, he, in his turn, would visit the other camel-drivers, and perform on them the same operation. However, my Kirghiz guide and Turko- man camel-driver wore no such light apparel. Their sheepskin garments were tightly strapped around their