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 STANFORD'S COMPENDIUM 
 
 OF 
 
 GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 (NEW ISSUE)
 
 BEDOUIN CHIEF (PALMYRA). 
 By permission of Messrs. Hutchinson & Co. 
 
 [BonJOs
 
 STANFORD'S 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 (NEW ISSUE) 
 
 ASIA 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 SOUTHERN AND WESTERN ASIA 
 
 BY 
 
 A. H. (KEANE, LL.D., F.R.G.S. 
 
 AUTHOR OF 'AFRICA' AND 'CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA' IN THE SAME SERIES; 
 
 'EASTERN GEOGRAPHY,' 'ETHNOLOGY,' 'MAN PAST AND PRESENT,' 'THE 
 
 GOLD OF OPHIF,' 'THE BOER STATES,' 'THE WORLD'S PEOPLES,' FTC. 
 
 MAPS 4/1 f> ILL V rM'A T10XS 
 
 SECOND EDITION, RZV1S ED aKD. CORRECTED 
 
 LONDON: EDWARD STANFORD 
 
 12, 13, 14, LOXO ACRE, W.C. 
 
 1909
 
 ;n<5 s 
 
 K 
 
 PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION 
 
 Since the appearance of the first issue of this volume 
 
 geographical work in Southern and Western Asia has 
 
 been mainly confined to the filling up of details in 
 
 historical regions already fairly well known in their 
 
 broad physical outlines. Actual exploration has been 
 
 chiefly limited to the West and Central Himalayan 
 
 glaciers and passes, and the Sum (Kashmir) uplands, by A. 
 
 C. F. Ferber (1903), Dr. T. G. Longstaff (1905-07), and 
 
 >J)r. and Mrs. Workman (1902-08); the Perso-Afghan 
 
 Jborderknds and Baluchistan, by Sir T. Holdich, Sir 
 
 w 
 
 *H. M'Mahon, and others, in connection with the Perso- 
 
 <t 
 
 uiSistan and Baluch-Afehan Boundary Commissions (1895, 
 
 •1903-05) ; the two headstreams of the Irawadi ascended 
 5$ by Dr. M. Maclaren (1907); the Gunung-Tahan and 
 other heights in the Malay Peninsula, scaled by Mr. J. 
 Waterstradt ; the Jof district of North Arabia visited by 
 the Eev. A. Forder (1902); and new surveys of Lake 
 Urmi, by Mr. R. T. Gunther (1899), and of the Dead 
 Sea by E. Masterman and D. A. Macalister (1901). 
 
 Of political events a foremost place must be given to 
 the Anglo-Russian Convention of August 1907, which, 
 taken in connection with the Anglo-Japanese Agree- 
 ment of August 1905, removes all international troubles 

 
 viii COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 and, humanly speaking, ensures the peace of the Asiatic 
 
 world for many generations, if not for ever. Momentous 
 
 consequences may also result from the constitutions 
 
 granted to Persia in 1906 and to Turkey in 1908, 
 
 although the former was suspended for some months in 
 
 1908. Other political changes are mainly concerned with 
 
 the final settlement of frontiers, as between French Indo- 
 
 China and Siam ; British India, Afghanistan, and Persia ; 
 
 Asiatic Turkey and Egypt, all duly noticed in their 
 
 places. Attention has also been given to the remarkable 
 
 progress of railway enterprise, as in French Indo-China, 
 
 where 900 miles were open to traffic in 1907, and in 
 
 Asiatic Turkey, where the first' special train of the 
 
 Damascus-Mecca trunk line arrived at Medina on August 
 
 22, 1908, a memorable event in the Mohammadan 
 
 world. 
 
 A. H. KEANK 
 
 Akam-Gah, 
 
 79 Broadhttrst Gardens, N.W. 
 
 December 1908.
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 
 
 During the second half of the dying century the African 
 Continent may be said to have enjoyed a monopoly of 
 public interest. So rapid and marvellous have been 
 the developments, both geographical and political, 
 witnessed in that region, that it almost needed the 
 " Armenian atrocities " to recall attention to the scarcely 
 less thrilling and in some respects even more important 
 events that have taken place in the neighbouring con- 
 tinent of Asia since the appearance of the first edition 
 of this work in 1882. In less than two decades, 
 geographical and political movements have yielded such 
 an abundance of fresh materials as to require the expan- 
 sion of that bulky volume of over 750 pages into two 
 of about 550 pages each for the new issue of this series. 
 Those who have not followed the progress of recent 
 geographical research in Asia will have some difficulty in 
 realising the vast amount of work accomplished in this 
 direction by a class of explorers distinguished beyond 
 most of the African pioneers by a more scientific training 
 and a more thorough equipment for their arduous labours. 
 That so much should still remain to be done in a 
 region occupied from remote times mainly by Caucasic 
 and Mongolia peoples far removed from the savage state 
 may perhaps cause some surprise. But it should be 
 remembered that a great part of the Asiatic plateaux 
 and highlands are not only the loftiest on the globe, but
 
 X COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 are also of extremely difficult access. Vast spaces are, 
 moreover, occupied by almost impassable deserts, which 
 may be regarded as an extension of the rainless Saharan 
 zone through Arabia, Persia, Turkestan, and Mongolia, 
 athwart the Asiatic mainland nearly to the shores of the 
 Pacific Ocean. Progress has also been retarded by the 
 absence of highways in arid regions sparsely peopled by 
 lawless nomad tribes. To these natural obstacles have 
 in many places been added the more formidable obstruc- 
 tions of political barriers, which have been but lately 
 broken down in Japan, Korea, and the interior of China, 
 but which are still upheld in Tibet. 
 
 Thanks to the secret journeys of the pundits in the 
 service of the Indian Geological Survey, and to the open 
 expeditions of Mr. Bockhill, Captain Bower. M. Bonvalot, 
 MM. Eoborofsky, Kozlof, and others of the Eussian 
 Pevtsof party, the work of Prjevalsky and earlier 
 explorers has been greatly advanced, and although much 
 remains to be done, Tibet can no longer be spoken of 
 as a terra incognita. ISTey Elias has also had worthy suc- 
 cessors in the Mongolian domain, where signal service 
 has been performed by Mr. A. D. Carey, Colonel M. S. 
 Bell, Mr. and Mrs. Littledale, Captain Younghusband, 
 the Swedish traveller Sven Hedin, and several Eussians. 
 Eecent research in Korea, Manchuria, and Xorth-east 
 Siberia is associated chiefly with the names of Captain 
 Goold-Adams, Captain Cavendish, Mr. H. E. M. James, 
 Captain Younghusband, M. Chersky, and M. J. Martin. 
 To Dr. Edmund Naumann we are indebted for a re- 
 construction of the geological history of the Japanese 
 Archipelago, and to Mr. Oldham for a grand generalisa- 
 tion based on the now all but completed geological survey 
 of British India. Useful work has been done by the 
 Eight Hon. G. X. Curzon in Persia, Annam, Korea, and 
 the Pamirs ; by Prince Henri of Orleans in Central Asia
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION xi 
 
 and Indo- China ; and by M. H. Dauvergne about the 
 head-waters of the Oxus and Tarim basins. The great 
 central ranges — Altai, Tian-shan and Kuen-lun — have 
 been studied chiefly by the brothers Grum Grijimailo, 
 Bogdanovich, Eoborofsky, Grombchevsky, and other 
 members of the Pevtsof expedition ; and their labours 
 have, so to say, been capped by the splendid achieve- 
 ments of Sir W. M. Conway, Captain Younghusband, 
 and Mr. D. W. Freshfield amid the Himalayan and 
 Caucasian glaciers. The main results of all these recent 
 expeditions will be found duly recorded in these two 
 volumes, in which no effort has been spared to present 
 an accurate picture of the present state of geographical 
 knowledge of the Asiatic Continent. 
 
 During the period under consideration the political 
 changes, if not numerous, have been of great and in 
 some instances of far-reaching importance. With one 
 notable exception, the general tendency has been ana- 
 logous to that simultaneously going on in Africa, with 
 the remarkable result that Asia, like its neighbour, has 
 now largely become a political dependency of Europe. 
 In the north Eussia holds undisputed sway from the 
 Urals to the Pacific, and has consolidated her rule in 
 "West Central Asia from the Caspian to the Pamirs. 
 Here the Turkoman tribes, marauders since the dawn of 
 history, have been brought under European control as 
 completely as have the Zulu and Matabili hordes of 
 South Africa. In Southern Asia the British raj domi- 
 nates without a rival from Aden to Singapore, and from 
 the Pamirs to Ceylon. By recent treaties with Afghan- 
 istan, Eussia, and China, the northern frontiers are at 
 last tolerably well defined along the crests of the Hindu- 
 Kush and Himalayas eastwards to the Mekhong. By 
 the Anglo-French treaty of January 1896, the Upper 
 Mekhong has been accepted as the boundary between the 
 VOL. II b
 
 xii COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 British and French possessions in Farther India as far 
 north as China. Thus of independent Indo-China nothing 
 now remains except the almost dismembered kingdom of 
 Siam, which is preserved from extinction only by mutual 
 agreement between her all-powerful neighbours. 
 
 Westwards the British rule is unchallenged in Balu- 
 chistan, while its overlordship is practically accepted by 
 the Amir of Kabul. The frontiers of the British sphere 
 of influence are thus here conterminous with the Persian 
 monarchy, while Persia herself is kept together solely by 
 the jealous watchfulness of British and Eussian rivalry. 
 An analogous position is held by Turkey in Asia, which, as 
 made manifest by passing events (1895-96), is prevented 
 from breaking to pieces, and even permitted for yet a little 
 while to keep the cup of her iniquities at overflow, by 
 the conflicting interests of the leading European Powers. 
 Turning to the Far East, we still meet almost every- 
 where with unmistakable evidences of growing Western 
 influence. A primary result of the Chino-Japanese war 
 of 1894-95 has been to show the utter helplessness of 
 China herself, the lack of the true national spirit cap- 
 able of concerted and heroic action on occasions of 
 extreme emergency, and the consequent dependence of 
 this unwieldy empire on the European Powers for her 
 very existence. After being worsted in the war, she was 
 saved from dissolution by the direct intervention of 
 Eussia, France, and Germany, which prevented the suc- 
 cessful side from gathering most of the legitimate fruits 
 of victory, and even from establishing a protectorate 
 over Korea, ostensible cause of the hostilities. In 
 February 1896 local disturbances even brought about a 
 joint occupation of the capital of this kingdom by the 
 forces of several European Powers. Hence, pending its 
 ultimate fate, it was found convenient to retain the 
 account of Korea in the chapter devoted to the Chinese
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION Xlll 
 
 Empire, of which previous to recent events it had been 
 recognised as a vassal state. 
 
 On the other hand Japan, though debarred by force 
 majeure from a possibly disastrous career of conquest, 
 stands out as the above-mentioned solitary exception to 
 the general tendency of the Asiatic peoples to accept 
 the political supremacy of Europe. Owing to special 
 racial qualities, the Japanese nation has been quickened 
 to new and independent life by her enforced accession 
 to the comity of the "Western States. Instead of being 
 absorbed by the higher culture, she has developed a 
 surprising capacity for assimilating modern ideas, while 
 intensifying the sentiment of nationality, without which 
 she could never hope to enjoy more than an ephemeral 
 existence. Thus in her " splendid isolation," no less 
 than in her commercial capabilities and enterprising 
 spirit, this Island Empire forms the counterpart of that 
 other and greater Island Empire in the Far West, 
 towards which her eyes will naturally turn for active 
 sympathy, as the time approaches to assert her sovereign 
 rights against her colossal Muscovite neighbour. 
 
 An inevitable result of recent exploration in Central 
 Asia has been a large accession of new names to geo- 
 graphical terminology. But many of these new names 
 come to us in such questionable form, disguised under 
 English, Russian, and other phonetic systems, that some 
 confusion will probably prevail before they are made 
 conformable to the standard of transcription as recom- 
 mended by the Royal Geographical Society. The per- 
 plexity is intensified by a superabundance of terminology 
 in some regions, such especially as Korea, where towns, 
 rivers, mountains often bear as many as three names — 
 the native, the Chinese, and the Japanese — each with its 
 European variants. Thus the chief treaty port on the 
 west coast presents itself under such diverse aspects as
 
 XIV COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Chemulpho or Tchemulfo (Korean), Jenchuan or Djen- 
 tchwan (Chinese), and Jinsen or Djinsen (Japanese). 
 The embarrassment is even increased by the intrusion 
 of English or Kussian names, as in Quelpaert Island, 
 where the culminating peak appears as Mount Aula, Ea- 
 han-san, Han-ka-san, and (on the British Admiralty 
 charts) Mount Auckland. Another source of great disorder 
 is the Kussian method of transcription, which, owing to 
 the national incapacity to aspirate vowels, often quite mis- 
 represents the true pronunciation. Thus the Mongolian 
 river Haruha becomes Kharukha, the aspirate being 
 normally hardened to kh. Hamil reappears as Khamil, 
 or according to Chinese utterance as Hami, where the 
 aspirate is preserved, but the final I disappears because 
 of the Chinese incapacity to pronounce closed syllables. 
 
 In these volumes an effort has been made to promote 
 uniformity by indicating where necessary the causes of 
 discrepancy, by giving the more important variants, and by 
 conforming as far as possible to the received method of 
 transcription. Thus dj or dsch is invariably supplanted by 
 / ; tch by ch ; tz (an impossible combination of a surd and 
 a sonant) by ts ; the barbarous oo by u ; y by ai, etc. In 
 some cases, however, established usage is respected — hence 
 Hcmhoiv, not Han-kau ; but Su-chau, and normally au 
 for ow in China, although ovj, if pronounced as in the word 
 how, correctly enough represents the sound. In general all 
 consonants are to be uttered as in English, all vowels as 
 in Italian. But in respect of the vowels, which of course 
 may be either long or short, a new departure is here 
 made, with what advantage experience alone must 
 decide. To accentuate all the long vowels, which in 
 some areas greatly predominate, would have overloaded 
 the text with diacritical marks which are peculiarly 
 irritating to the English eye. Hence the expedient has 
 been experimentally adopted of removing all such marks
 
 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION XV 
 
 from the text to the index, where they will be found 
 carefully indicated. The index will thus largely serve 
 the purpose of a pronouncing dictionary, while the body 
 of the book is freed from needless disfigurement, greatly 
 to the relief both of reader and printer. In accordance 
 with present usage the acute accent (') is exclusively 
 adopted, and it should be noted that the accent here 
 denotes not stress but quantity. Thus Kabul, Yokohdma, 
 Amur, Zarafsh&ib, Mti/rghtib, etc. Specialists will oblige 
 by indicating any errors of omission or commission 
 that they may detect in the use of this accent in the 
 indices of both volumes. 
 
 As in the Africa, the substance of the Ethnological 
 Appendix has either been absorbed in the text or else 
 embodied in the author's Ethnology, recently issued by 
 the Cambridge University Press. 
 
 As regards the illustrations, only three of those in the 
 former issue have been retained in this volume. In 
 connection with the eighty-six which appear here for the 
 first time, acknowledgments are due to Mr. J. Theodore 
 Bent for the use of several blocks illustrating his articles 
 in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, to Sir 
 W. Martin Conway for the use of his original photograph 
 in the view of the Hispar Glacier on page 69, and to 
 the Eight Hon. G. N. Curzon for several cuts borrowed 
 from his works on Persia. The views of Herat and 
 Kandahar have been produced by Mr. W. B. Simpson, 
 R.I.j from original material in his possession. Several 
 cuts have been borrowed, by permission of Messrs. Long- 
 man, from Mr. E. F. Knight's well-known work Where 
 Three Umpires Meet, and thanks are due to Mr. Murray 
 for permission to reproduce several from the works of 
 Lord Dunmore and Mrs. Bishop. 
 
 A. H. KEANE.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 SOUTHERN ASIA 
 
 (AFGHANISTAN, INDIA, INDO-CHINA, MALAY 
 PENINSULA) 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN (KABUL AND KELAT) 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area .... 
 
 2. Belief of the Land : Highlands — Hindu -Kush — Paropamisus 
 
 Safed-koh — Suliman Mountains — Hala and Coast Ranges 
 Desert ...... 
 
 3. Hydrography : Inland and Seaward Drainage — The Hari-rud 
 
 — Helmand and Kabul Basins . 
 
 1. Natural and Political Divisions: Wakhan — Badakhshan— 
 Afghan Turkestan, Afghanistan Proper — Kafiristan— Balu 
 chistan — Kelat — Makran .... 
 
 5. Climate ....... 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Karez Irrigation System 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Afghans — The Brahuis, Baluchis, and Luri 
 
 8. Topography : Kliuhn — Mazar-i-Sherif — Balkh — Herat — Kan 
 
 dahar — Kabul ..... 
 
 9. Highways of Communication : Passes . 
 
 10. Afghan and Baluchi Administration 
 
 11. Statistics : Areas and Populations — Approximate Classification 
 
 by Races and Religions— Chief Towns — Trade Returns — 
 Distances ....... 
 
 14 
 24 
 
 •25 
 28 
 
 33 
 45 
 
 48
 
 XVU1 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 PACE 
 
 1. Boundaries- — Extent — Area ..... 53 
 
 2. Relief of the Land — Geological Retrospect — Pre-Tertiary 
 
 Times : Indo-Africa — Tertiary and Later Times : Indo-Asia 
 
 — The Himalayan and Southern Orographic Systems . 54 
 
 3. Hydrography : The Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Godavari, 
 
 Kistna, Narbada, and Tapti Rivers . . .81 
 
 4. Main Natural and Political Divisions : Kashmir. — Jammu — 
 
 Swat — Chitral — Chilas - — Nepal — Sikkim — Bhutan — India 
 Proper — The Panjab — Sind — Rajputana — Central India 
 Political Agency — North-West Provinces — Behar — Bengal 
 — Assam — The Central Provinces — The Nizam's Dominions 
 — The Madras Presidency — Mysore and Kurg — Travancore — 
 Presidency of Bombay — Gujarat — The Deccan and Konkan 
 — French and Portuguese Possessions — Ceylon — Maldives 
 and Laccadives— The Andamans and Nicobars . . 93 
 
 5. Climate of India . . . . . .133 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna . . . . . .134 
 
 7. Inhabitants : Hindus, Dravidians, Kolarians, and Tibeto- 
 
 Burmese — Caste — Religious Sects — The Kashmirians and 
 Nepalese— The Panjabi Hindus and Sikhs — The Assamese — 
 The Gonds and Bhils— The Nilgiri Hill Tribes— The Parsis 
 — The Indian Muhammadaus — The English and Eurasians . 140 
 
 8. Topography — Srinagar — Lahore — Delhi — Karachi — Agra — 
 
 Cawnpore — Lucknow — Allahabad — Benares — Patna — Mur- 
 sh edabad — Dacca — Calcutta — Jaganath — Nagpur — J abal pu r 
 Bhopal — Indore — Gwalior — Jaipur — Udaipur — Madias — 
 Bellary — Trichinopoly — Madura — Tanjore — Calicut — 
 Mysore — Seringapatam — Bangalore — Haidarabad — Secan- 
 derabad — Bombay — Ahmadabad — Baroda — Surat — Puna — 
 Sholapur — Bijapur — Satara — Ahmadnagar . . .160 
 
 9. Highways of Communication : Canals — Roads — Railways . 189 
 
 10. Administration : The Native States— Social Progress— Education 1 93 
 
 11. Statistics of British India: Areas and Populations — Chief 
 
 Feudatory States — Towns with upwards of 50,000 Inhabit- 
 ants—Population according to Races and Languages and 
 Religion — Chief Rivers — Canals — Finance — Army — Distribu- 
 tion of the British Forces — Education — Literature — Railways 
 — Postal and Telegraph Services— Trade — Miscellaneous . 199
 
 CONTEXTS XIX 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 
 
 PAGB 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area . . . . .210 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Mountain Systems — Cochin-Chinese Coast 
 
 Range ....... 211 
 
 3. Hydrography : The Irawadi, Salwin, Meinam, Mekhong, and 
 
 Song-ka Rivers — Lake Tonle-sap . . . .215 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Manipur — Lower Burma — 
 
 Upper Burma — Siam — French Indo-China: Annam — Cambo- 
 dia — Cochin-China — Malacca and Straits Settlements — Johor 220 
 
 5. Climate ........ 255 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna ...... 257 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Shans, Laos, and Siamese — The Annamese 
 
 and Cambodians — -The Kakhyens, Chins, and Lushai — The 
 Burmese — The Talaings and Karens .... 259 
 
 8. Topography : Ranguu — Moulmain — Prome — Mandalay — 
 
 Bhamo — Bangkok — Ayuthia — Chantabun — Phnom - penh — 
 Saigon — Perak — Singapoi'e ..... 277 
 
 9. Highways of Communication ..... 290 
 
 10. Administration ....... 293 
 
 11. Statistics: Areas and Populations — Chief Towns — Miscellaneous 296 
 
 WESTERN ASIA: MUHAMMAD AN" STATES 
 (TURKEY IN ASIA, ARABIA, AND PERSIA) 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ASIA MINOR 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area ..... 299 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Taurus, Anti - Taurus, and Amanus — 
 
 Passes — Plains — Volcanic Agencies — Geological Formation . 300 
 
 3. Hydrography: Rivers, The Kizil-Irmak, Sakaria, Choruk, 
 
 Khoja-chai, and others — Lake Tuz-gol . . . 304
 
 XX 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions — Islands 
 
 5. Climate . 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna 
 
 7. Inhabitants : Turks, Greeks, Kizil-Bashis 
 
 8. Topography : Chief Towns 
 
 9. Highways of Communication 
 
 PAGE 
 
 308 
 315 
 315 
 317 
 324 
 327 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 
 ARMENIA, KURDISTAN, MESOPOTAMIA 
 
 Boundaries — Extent — Area ..... 329 
 
 Relief of the Land : The Armenian and Kurdistan Uplands — 
 
 The Mesopotamian Lowlands .... 330 
 
 Hydrography : The Tigris and Euphrates — Lake Van . . 337 
 Natural and Political Divisions : Turkish Armenia and Kurd- 
 istan — Mesopotamia . . . . . .342 
 
 Climate ........ 344 
 
 Flora and Fauna ...... 345 
 
 Inhabitants : The Armenians, Kurds, Nestorians. and 
 
 Bedouins ....... 345 
 
 Topography : Chief Towns — Erzerurn, Van, Nineveh, Bagdad, 
 
 Kerbela, Basra ...... 353 
 
 Highways of Communication ..... 366 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area ..... 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon 
 
 3. Hydrography : Jordan — Dead Sea .... 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Gilead and Moab — Land of 
 
 Bashan — Trachonitis — Ala District — Plateau of Aleppo — 
 Canaan — The Plains of Sharon — Galilee — Samaria — Judaea . 
 
 5. Climate ........ 
 
 368 
 369 
 373 
 
 378 
 383
 
 CONTENTS xxi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Cedars of Lebanon 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Syrian Christians — Missionary Work — The 
 
 Maronites, Druses, Nusarieh, and Fellahin . . . 385 
 
 8. Topography : Damascus — Aleppo — Emessa — Beyrut — Nazareth 
 
 — Jerusalem — Hebron — Jericho — Lachish— Gaza . . 391 
 
 9. Highways of Communication ..... 402 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area— Coast-line — Islands . . 405 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Mountains — Plateaux — Lowlands — Deserts 
 
 — Volcanic Tracts ...... 407 
 
 3. Hydrography : Wadies Sirhan, Dawassir, and Er-Rumma — 
 
 Coast-Streams . . . . . .411 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Peninsula of Sinai — West 
 
 Coast (El-Hejas, Yemen) — South Coast (Belad-Aden, Hadra- 
 maut) — Nejd (Jebel - Shammar, Wahhabi Country) — East 
 Coast (El-Hasa, Sultanate of Oman) . . . 412 
 
 5. Climate — Rainless Zone ...... 430 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Horse and Camel . . 432 
 
 7. Inhabitants : Bedouin Life ..... 434 
 
 8. Topography : Mecca— Medina — Hail — Maskat — Aden . . 437 
 
 9. Highways of Communication ..... 447 
 
 10. Administration : Turkish System in Asiatic Turkey generally 
 
 — Social State — Taxation — Justice — Religion — The Ulema — 
 Education ....... 449 
 
 11. Statistics of Asiatic Turkey and Arabia: Areas and Popula- 
 
 tions — Approximate Classification by Races and Religions — 
 Towns with upwards of 4000 Inhabitants . . . 459 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PERSIA 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area — Iranian Plateau — Coast-line — 
 
 Islands ....... 462 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Highlands — Plains — Deserts — The Kavirs 465
 
 XX11 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 PAGE 
 
 3. Hydrography : Inland and Seaward Areas of Drainage — The 
 
 Atrak, Karun, and Taj and Rivers .... 474 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Irak — Sistan — Khorasan — 
 
 The Caspian Provinces — Urmia .... 479 
 
 5. Climate : Rainfall — Prevailing Winds .... 484 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Camel ..... 486 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Modern Persian .... 489 
 
 8. Topography : Tehran — Kum — Isfahan — Shiraz — Persepolis — 
 
 Mashhad — -Kelat — Tabriz — Seaports .... 493 
 
 9. Highways of Communication ..... 504 
 
 10. Administration : The National Council — Army — Education . 505 
 
 11. Statistics : Areas and Populations — Approximate Classification 
 
 by Races and Religions — Memleket (Provinces) — Towns 
 
 with upwards of 10,000 Inhabitants — Miscellaneous . 507 
 
 Index ........ 511
 
 LIST OF MAPS 
 
 Asia, orographical ..... To face page 1 
 
 Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Persia . . . ,,52 
 
 Indian Empire . . . . . • ,, 208 
 
 Indo-China and Malacca . . . . ,, 298 
 
 Asia Minor and the Tigris and Euphrates Basin . ,, 366 
 
 Palestine . . . . . . ,,404 
 
 Arabia ....... ,, 4G0
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 
 
 
 
 PAP.E 
 
 1. Bedouin Chief (Palmyra) . . . Frontisjriece 
 
 2. Swat River Ferry at Abazai 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 3. Wild Asses 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 4. The Amir Abdur-Rahman 
 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 5. Baluch Woman .... 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 6. Herat ..... 
 
 
 
 
 37 
 
 7. Kandahar 
 
 
 
 
 39 
 
 8. Kabul ..... 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
 9. Kelat .... 
 
 
 
 
 44 
 
 10. The Khaibar Pass at Ali-Musjid 
 
 
 
 
 46 
 
 11. Rock Pillars, Spiti Valley 
 
 
 
 
 57 
 
 12. Foot of the Hispar Glacier 
 
 
 
 
 69 
 
 13. Xanga-Parbat . 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 14. The Indus at Torbela, near Gilgit 
 
 
 
 
 83 
 
 15. Leh in Ladak .... 
 
 
 
 
 85 
 
 16. The Kanjat Valley near Chalt . 
 
 
 
 
 96 
 
 17. Chitral Valley . 
 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 18. Kanchinjinga 
 
 
 
 
 105 
 
 19. The Palace of Akbar, Ajmir 
 
 
 
 
 110 
 
 20. Darjiling 
 
 
 
 
 114 
 
 21. Kandy .... 
 
 
 
 
 129 
 
 22. Bengal Tiger . 
 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 23. Aryan Brahman from Kashmir . 
 
 
 
 
 147 
 
 24. Kashmirian 
 
 
 
 
 149 
 
 25. Parsi of Bombay 
 
 
 
 
 156 
 
 26. Tomb of Runjit Singh, Lahore . 
 
 
 
 
 162 
 
 27. City of Srinagar 
 
 
 
 
 163 
 
 28. Street in Peshawar 
 
 
 
 
 164 
 
 29. The Mausoleum of Akbar at Sekandra, 
 
 a subu 
 
 rb of Aj 
 
 rra 
 
 166 
 
 30. The Taj -Mahal at Agra. 
 
 
 
 
 168 
 
 31. Ruins of the Residency, Lucknow 
 
 
 
 
 169 
 
 32. The Fort, Allahabad . 
 
 
 
 
 . 170 
 
 33. Benares .... 
 
 
 
 
 . 172 
 
 34. Calcutta 
 
 
 
 
 . 174 
 
 ■ ■">. 1 Iwalior .... 
 
 
 
 
 . 177 
 
 36. Jaipur .... 
 
 
 
 
 . 178 
 
 37. Trichinopoly 
 
 
 
 
 181 
 
 38. Town Hall, Bombay 
 
 
 
 
 . 185 
 
 39. Deva-faced Clilf on the Irawadi 
 
 
 
 
 . 218
 
 XXVI 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 40. Plain of Bac-ninh, in the Song-ka delta 
 
 41. Street in Hanoi . 
 
 42. The Bay of Along 
 
 43. Manipuri Hut . 
 
 44. Angkor "Wat 
 
 45. Pekan in Pahang 
 
 46. Burman . 
 
 47. Mandalay 
 
 48. Ava 
 
 49. Bangkok : The Royal Palace ami Quay 
 
 50. A Native Family at Home, Tongkin 
 
 51. Phnom-penh 
 
 52. Singapore 
 
 53. Laos .... 
 
 54. Taurus Range, near Tarsus 
 
 55. Rock Carvings near Olba 
 
 56. Limasol, Cyprus 
 
 57. House in the Taurus 
 
 58. A Greek of Smyrna 
 
 59. Smyrna .... 
 
 60. Ruins of Babylon 
 
 61. Lake Van, and the Mountains to the North 
 
 62. Tatar Nomads . 
 
 63. Erzerum 
 
 64. Diarbekr 
 
 65. Supposed Tomb of Jonah, Nineveh 
 
 66. Street in Bagdad 
 
 67. View of Kerbela 
 
 68. Distant view of Mount Hermon 
 
 69. Tiberias .... 
 
 70. The Dead Sea . 
 
 71. Palmyra 
 
 72. The Lake of Galilee 
 
 73. Damascus 
 
 74. Beyrut .... 
 
 75. Jerusalem 
 
 76. Ras Sufsafeh, a spur of Jebel-Musa (the supposed Sinai) 
 
 77. Hajarim, Hadramaut 
 
 78. Barrows on Bahrein Island 
 
 79. Mecca, and the Kaaba . 
 
 80. Medina . 
 
 81. Maskat . 
 
 82. Steamer Point, Aden 
 
 83. The Zard-Kuh in the Bakhtiari country 
 
 84. The Karun River at Shushter . 
 
 85. The Diimlak (Galeodes Araneoides) 
 
 86. Tehran .... 
 
 87. Kum . . . ' . 
 
 88. Fortress of Tabriz
 
 SOUTHERN ASIA 
 
 AFGHANISTAN, INDIA, INDO- CHINA, AND THE 
 MALAY PENINSULA 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 AFGHANISTAN" AND BALUCHISTAN (KABUL AND KELAT) 
 
 1 . Boundaries — Extent — A rea. 
 
 Although now connected politically with British India, 
 the countries forming the subject of this chapter belong 
 geographically to the Iranian world. They were even 
 for many centuries comprised within the Persian mon- 
 archy, from which they are now separated by little more 
 than conventional frontiers. Nevertheless the valley of 
 the Hari-rud, the Sistan depression, and the change of 
 direction in the mountain system of West Makran, offer 
 a sufficiently defined physical parting -line between the 
 western and eastern divisions of the Iranian plateau. 
 The eastern section, stretching thence to the Indus valley 
 and bounded on the south by the Arabian Sea, northwards 
 by the Hindu-Kush and its little-known western exten- 
 sions to the Hari-rud, forms a quadrangular mass about 
 600 miles long north and south, and 5 50 broad east and 
 west, with an area of some 400,000 square miles. 
 
 Of this area about 170,000 square miles are com- 
 prised in the southern division forming the Khanate of 
 VOL. II B
 
 2 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Kelat, and 230,000 in the northern division forming 
 the Amirate of Kabul, States more commonly known as 
 Baluchistan and Afghanistan respectively. But since 
 1873 a large tract, about 70,000 square miles in extent, 
 lying beyond the natural limits of the Iranian plateau, 
 has been recognised as politically belonging to the Amir 
 of Kabul. This tract, known as Afghan Turkestan, lies 
 mainly between the northern scarp of the plateau and 
 the Upper Oxus, the boundary here following the left 
 bank of the river from its source on the Pamir to Khojah 
 Saleh. The northern frontier line runs thence across the 
 Dasht-i-Chul desert a little north of Maruchak on the 
 Murgh-ab river to Zulfikar on the Persian frontier. 
 Towards Persia the dividing line is purely conventional, 
 running, as laid down in 1905, from Koh-i-Malik Siah to 
 the Helmand, and thence to Zulfikar. Towards Baluchistan 
 the line roughly follows the 30 th parallel from Persia to 
 within 30 miles of Quetta, whence it runs north-east to a 
 point on the frontier of British India. Total area nearly 
 300,000 square miles; population (est. 1908) 4,500,000. 
 One of the arrangements arrived at between the 
 Amir and Sir Mortimer Durand in 1894 had reference 
 to a more accurate determination of the frontier towards 
 British India. In the Khaibar section the line west of 
 the Sitsobi Pass, at the head of the Bara valley, will 
 continue to follow the crest of the hills to the Safed- 
 Koh, overlooking the Kurani valley. But east of Landi 
 Kotal the boundary line has been drawn to the Kabul river 
 a few miles below Fort Dakka and Lalpura. From this 
 point to the southern extremity of Chitral, now included 
 in British territory, the boundary coincides with the 
 range of hills between the Mohmand country and Bajaur. 
 In the Kuram valley the line is traced from the Sita 
 Earn peak of the Safed-Koh along the crest of the hills 
 between the Kuram and Khorb rivers as far as the latter
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 6 
 
 stream. The Waziri border has not yet been settled ; but 
 in the Zhob district the line has been drawn from Kandar 
 Domandi at the confluence of the Kandar and Gomal 
 rivers along the Kakar border to Chaman, and thence 
 southwards along the Shorawak frontier, the section 
 from Shorawak to the Helmand being reserved for future 
 settlement. In the unsettled Hindu-Kush border-lands 
 the arrangement is satisfactory. Here Chitral and the 
 neighbouring districts are henceforth recognised as lying 
 within the undivided sphere of British influence, and to 
 England is left the absolute control of all the approaches 
 to India on the south-east side of the Pamirs. Thus 
 British India becomes the guardian of all the passes over 
 the Hindu-Kush and Lahori ranges, which here include 
 the Dora and Nuksan above Chitral, the Ishtragh above 
 Mastuj, the Baroghil, Shundr, and Darkot above Yasin 
 and Gilgit. In return for these concessions the Amir's 
 subsidy was raised from £75,000 to £120,000 in 1893, 
 and he is permitted the free import of arms from India. 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Highlands — Hindu-Kush — Paro- 
 pamis us — Safed - koh — Suliman Mountains — Hala 
 and Coast Ranges — Desert. 
 
 The eastern section of the Iranian plateau rises from 
 the central Hamun depression towards the highlands, 
 by which it is enclosed on the south, east, and north, and 
 which in the north-east gather 'to a head in the Hindu- 
 Kush, connecting the whole system and the tableland 
 itself with the Pamir and great Central Asiatic plateau. 
 
 The recent surveys of the Afghan highlands, covering 
 an area of nearly 30,000 square miles, have shown that 
 while the southern ranges are more elevated, the Hindu- 
 Kush, at least in its western section, is a far less formidable 
 barrier between India and Central Asia than had been
 
 4 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 supposed. " Throughout the whole length of it visible 
 from the Kabul plain, it is by no means an imposing 
 range. No part of it is snow-covered, except for a few 
 months in winter ; there are no grand peaks, no magnifi- 
 cent altitudes. Previous estimates of its general altitude 
 must be reduced by from 1000 to 2000 feet at least. 
 ... It is crossed by mountain paths at intervals along 
 its whole length, from the Irak Pass leading to Bamian to 
 the Khawak Pass, east of which the Hindu-Kush rises 
 into a really formidable mountain chain, increasing gradu- 
 ally eastwards till we arrive at peaks of truly Himalayan 
 proportions. The Tirich Mir, at the Nuksan Pass, is 
 fixed now at 25,000 feet, and others have been seen not 
 far west which cannot differ by many thousand feet. 
 Still, so far as the Koh-i-Daman or the plains of Kabul 
 are concerned, the line of the Hindu-Kush is hardly a 
 defensible, and is certainly a most undesirable, military 
 frontier " (Capt. T. H. Holdich). 
 
 At its north-east end the Hindu-Kush is crossed by 
 the Baroghil Pass, leading from India, Chitral, and 
 Kashmir to the Upper Oxus valley, Kashgar, and 
 Yarkand. To the south-west of the Tirich Mir stretches 
 the still little known Kafiristan section of the system, 
 where, however, at least one pass, the Apaluk mentioned 
 by Major Eaverty, leads to the Oxus basin. 
 
 From the south-west corner of the Pamir the Hindu- 
 Kush runs mainly south-west to about the 68th meridian, 
 whence it is continued for over one hundred miles west- 
 wards by the Koh-i-Baba. Before the survey of Captains 
 Talbot and Maitland in 1885, this range, apparently the- 
 Paropamisus of the ancients, was one of the least-known 
 highland regions on the globe. Its three western ramifi- 
 cations — the Tirband-i- Turkestan, Safed-koh, and Siah- 
 koh — are now known to run nearly parallel through the 
 Hazarajat and Zamindawar to Herat and the Hari-rud,
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 
 
 valley, whence they are continued by the Daman-i-koh 
 system north-westwards through the Little and Great 
 Balkans to Krasnovodsk on the Caspian. Between the 
 Koh-i-Baba and Herat they throw off numerous spurs 
 running almost uniformly north-east and south-west, and 
 forming longitudinal valleys, which drain through the 
 Helmand and other rivers to the Hamun depression. 
 
 Much light has been thrown on the orography of the 
 extreme north-east by recent exploration, and its leading 
 features may now be fairly traced. From the angle 
 formed by the converging Hindu-Kush and Mustagh 
 ranges spring a number of lofty spurs separating the 
 head-streams of the Gilgit Biver. One of these, with 
 many peaks over 20,000 feet high, forms the water- 
 parting between the Chitral and Gilgit basins, and is 
 crossed by the Darkot and Moshabar Passes. Just south 
 of the 36th parallel a remarkable transverse range runs 
 from the Indus at Bunji nearly to Chitral, throwing off a 
 succession of spurs between the Kandia, Swat, Panjkora, 
 and Chitral (Kunar) river valleys. Here the peaks 
 diminish from nearly 20,000 feet to between 4000 and 
 7000 as we proceed southwards to the Kabul river. 
 This transverse range, supposed by Major Tanner to be 
 the Hindu Boj of the Afghans, is an important feature 
 in the physical geography of the Hindu-Kush, as it 
 separates the comparatively rainless tracts of Gilgit, 
 Hunza, and Yasin from the well - watered southern 
 valleys of Panjkora, Kashkar, and Swat. 
 
 From the junction of the Hindu-Kush and Koh-i- 
 Baba an important spur, running eastwards between the 
 Ht-liuand and Ghorband basins, sweeps round the head- 
 waters of the Arghand-ab to the north of Ghazni, and 
 thence trending north-east follows the 34th parallel as 
 the Safed-koh ("White Mountains") between the Kabul 
 and Kuram river basins, eastwards to the plains <>i'
 
 6 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Peshawar. From this range, which culminates with 
 Mount Sikaram(15,620 feet), the whole system of the Suli- 
 man Mountains projects southwards between the Iranian 
 plateau and the valley of the Indus. At right angles 
 with Mount Sikaram runs the Peiwar range, a well-wooded 
 spur crossed by the Peiwar Pass, the scene of General 
 Eoberts's signal victory over the Afghans on 2nd December 
 1878. The main range of this complicate system runs 
 from near the Shutargardan Pass (10,900 feet) south- 
 wards to the great Kund Peak, where it branches off into a 
 number of minor spurs, ultimately merging in the East 
 Baluchistan highlands, which continue to skirt the Indus 
 valley to the coast. Besides the main chain forming the 
 watershed between the Helmand and Indus, it is now ascer- 
 tained that a continuous system of parallel ranges runs 
 from the gorge of the Gomul to about the 30 th parallel. 
 
 South of the Gomul Pass run two main ranges nearly 
 12,000 feet high, which include several remarkably 
 parallel ranges, increasing in number southwards, till 
 no less than twelve distinct ridges are observed where 
 the Nari river pierces the whole system. Many other 
 streams or torrents rising on the eastern slopes of the 
 Inner Sulimans, when swollen with the rains or melting 
 snows, penetrate across the intervening ridges down to 
 the Indus. These darahs, or river gorges, afford easy 
 access at many points from India to the Afghan uplands, 
 so that the whole frontier from Peshawar to Jacobabad 
 is now found to be traversed by a large number of 
 " excellent natural roads and passes " (Holdich). 
 
 Between the Gomul and Kuram (Kurmah) valleys 
 lie the Waziri highlands, and the Safed-koh skirting 
 the Kuram river on the north maintains a uniform level 
 of 12,500, culminating eastwards in a double-peaked 
 mountain 14,680 feet high. North of the Safed-koh 
 project three important spurs, one east of the Logar
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 7 
 
 river traversed by the ill-omened Khurd Kabul defile, 
 another (the Karkacha ridge) washed by the Tezin and 
 Surkh-ab rivers, and a third springing from the inter- 
 section of the meridian of 70° 45' with the main range, 
 and dividing the Khaibar from the Bazar valley. 
 
 Towards Baluchistan the most prominent range is the 
 Khoja Amran (Khwaja Amran), running nearly north 
 and south between the Pishin valley and the Kanda- 
 har country, and forming in this direction the present 
 political frontier of Afghanistan. It culminates with 
 the Khoja Amran Peak, and is crossed in the north by 
 the Psha Pass, in the centre by the Khqjak (8000 feet), 
 in the south by the less known but easier Gwaja; 
 through the Khojak the Indo- Afghan railway is carried by 
 Chaman to New Chanian, within 60 miles of Kandahar. 
 
 North of the Shal district the Khoja Amran ramifies 
 northwards into the Toba and Surkh-ab ridges, the 
 latter enclosing the Pishin valley on the north-east and 
 sloping gently towards Shal (Quetta). Eastwards the 
 hills fall more abruptly, and here the chief approaches 
 from India are through the famous Bolan and Mula river 
 gorges. 
 
 The Suliman system, which culminates with the 
 Takht-i-Suliman (11,298 feet), and which has many 
 other peaks, such as the Takatu between Pishin and 
 Quetta, Chapar and Kalipat farther east, and several 
 others ranging from 10,000 to 12,000 feet, has a mean 
 width of about 150 miles between the Indus and the 
 desert. The whole distance from Sukkur on the Indus 
 to Kandahar through the Bolan and Khojak Passes is 
 410 miles, of which 140 are comprised in the alluvial 
 riverain tract and the Kachi desert as far as Sibi, 
 which is still only 700 feet above sea-level. Beyond 
 the Khojak Pass, which is 90 miles from Kandahar, the 
 land again falls rapidly towards the central desert, so that
 
 8 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the true highlands between the southern end of the Bolan 
 Pass and the Khoja Amran range l between the Pishin 
 valley and the Kandahar district are about 180 miles wide. 
 The southern section between Baluchistan and the 
 Lower Indus has no general native name, but is vari- 
 ously known to Europeans as the Brahui or Hala 
 range. 2 This highland region, which is politically 
 included in the territory of the Khan of Kelat, is 
 approached from the Indus valley through short steep 
 watercourses to a height of 1200 feet. The main ridge, 
 running north and south, throws off various branches 
 east and west. Eleven such offshoots occur between 
 Kelat (6700 feet) and Khozdar (3800) at the foot of 
 the Mula Pass, forming in a tract scarcely 100 miles long 
 as many as thirteen upland plains at various elevations. 
 Viewed as a whole, the Suliman system has a mean 
 height of 8000 to 9000 feet, the plateau to the west 
 averaging 4000 and the plains of the Indus less than 
 1000 feet (Holdich). 
 
 The Baluchistan southern highlands run mainly east 
 and west parallel with the coast from the Indus delta to 
 the Persian frontier, where they change abruptly to the 
 south-west. The intervening valleys ascend successively 
 inland to a height of 2500 feet, and are often of great 
 length. One of them runs from the Khelat hills unin- 
 terruptedly westwards nearly to Bampur in Persia, and 
 70 miles south of it is another stretching for 250 miles 
 westwards to Kasr-Kand also within the Persian frontier, 
 where all these valleys are closed in by the intricate 
 
 1 The Khoja Amran has no general native name, and the term Khoja 
 (properly Khwaja) is merely the name of a peak in the Gwaja Pass at its 
 southern end. Khojak also is rather the name of the river, the bed of 
 which forms the pass, than the pass itself. 
 
 2 The Hala seems to be properly only a small ridge running from 
 Kelat southwards to the Baghwana River, lat. 28° to 29° X. lat., and 66° 
 30' E. long.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 9 
 
 highland system of West Makran. " No difficulty exists 
 for wheeled traffic from one end to the other of these 
 two valleys " (Major Lovett). Farther inland a third 
 parallel range, the Wushuti or Mue Mountains, stretches 
 along the border-land of the two states at a distance of 
 about 280 miles from the coast. 
 
 Most of the inner space enclosed between the 
 northern, eastern, and southern highlands consists of an 
 extensive sandy plateau, at a mean elevation of perhaps 
 3000 feet above the sea, and sinking everywhere to- 
 wards the central Hamun depression. Except along the 
 river banks, this region may be regarded as waste ; and 
 on Holdich's Orographic Map it is described as " The 
 Helmand Desert " {Geographical Journal, November 1900, 
 p. 596). It begins at the foot of the Khoja Amran 
 range, and stretches thence almost uninterruptedly along 
 the Afghan and Baluch border-lands eastwards to Sistan 
 and Persia. This desolate region, locally known as 
 Eegistan, was first traversed in its entire length by the 
 Baluch-Afghan Boundary Commission of 1894-96, and 
 is fully described by Captain A. H. M'Mahon in the 
 Geographical Journal for March 1897. Seen from the 
 neighbourhood of Kandahar, it presents the appearance of 
 endless undulating sand-hills rolling up from the far south. 
 Similar desert tracts are found within the uplands 
 themselves — as, for instance, the Kachi desert below Sibi, 
 90 miles long,and now traversed by a railway, and the Dasht- 
 i-Be-daulat (" Desolate Plain," or, more exactly, " the plain 
 without wealth") in the very heart of the highlands above the 
 Bolan Pass and south of Quetta, 200 square miles in extent. 
 
 3. Hydrography : Inland and Seavjard Drainage — 
 The Hari-rud — Helmand and Kabul Basins. 
 
 The East Iranian drainage system is threefold — two 
 inland to the Hamun, Aralo-Caspian and some smaller
 
 10 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 depressions, one to the Indian Ocean either directly or 
 through the Indus. Afghanistan belongs to all three, 
 but mainly to the Hamun basin, while Baluchistan 
 drains almost exclusively seawards. 
 
 Afghan Turkestan is comprised entirely within the 
 Aralo-Caspian basin, all its rivers flowing from the 
 northern slopes of the Hindu-Kush and Paropamisus to 
 or towards the Oxus and Aral or Caspian. Here we 
 again meet with the same undeveloped or partially dried- 
 up water system which was found prevailing in Arabia 
 and Persia, and which forms such a striking feature of 
 the great Central Asiatic tableland. In the east the 
 Kokcha and Kunduz still reach the Upper Oxus, but 
 as we proceed westwards we find that all the rivers 
 flowing north fail to reach either the main stream or 
 either of the great inland seas. Thus the Dehas-rud 
 (Balkh), rising in the Koh-i-Baba, gets no farther than 
 Mazar-i-Sherif, where it takes the name of Band-i- 
 Barbari, and runs dry in the Siyagird district after a 
 course of over 180 miles; the Sar-i-pul is lost in the 
 sands beyond Shibarghan; the Murgh-ab, after irrigat- 
 ing the Merv oasis, disappears in the Karakum desert, 
 and the same fate overtakes the Hari-rud (Tajand) after 
 skirting the Daman-i-koh on its way to the Caspian. 
 
 The Hari-rud, or river of Herat, has its source in a 
 deep valley 9500 feet above the sea at a point where 
 the Koh-i-Baba ramifies into the Siah-koh and Safed- 
 koh. It flows thence rapidly through an unexplored 
 region down to the town of Obeh, where its waters are 
 largely diverted into irrigating rills. Its course lies 
 thence westwards to Herat and Ghorian, where it turns 
 abruptly northwards along the Persian frontier to its 
 junction with the Keshef-rud above Sarakhs. The united 
 streams now take the name of the Tajand, whose course 
 has been described at p. 479.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 11 
 
 The southern slopes of the Hindu-Kush within the 
 Afghan frontier all drain to the Indus through the Kabul 
 river, which also receives on its right bank several streams 
 from the Koh-i-Baba. Thus the north-eastern portion of 
 Afghanistan is comprised in the Indus basin, to which 
 also belongs the eastern slope of the great watershed 
 of the Suliman, as well as all the intervening outer 
 parallel ridges. But nearly all the land west of this 
 parting line, and south of the northern scarp of the 
 plateau, an area of about 200,000 square miles alto- 
 gether, drains to the great Hammi depression. Of this 
 vast basin the chief stream is the Helmand, which flows 
 from the west side of the Pughman range through a 
 deep channel in the Hazarajat south-westwards to within 
 40 miles of Girishk, where it enters the plains which 
 merge southwards with the Baluchistan desert. Here it 
 is largely utilised for irrigation purposes, and at Girishk 
 is crossed by the great caravan route from Kandahar to 
 Herat. It then sweeps southwards through the fertile 
 Garmsel country, beyond which it turns north-west to 
 the Hamun or Sistan swamp. The Helmand, which 
 has a course of about 700 miles, is never without an 
 abundant supply of water, but in winter after the floods 
 it comes down with great rapidity, sometimes over- 
 flowing its banks in consequence of the neglected state 
 of the old embankments. Its chief tributaries are the 
 Arghand-ab, Tarnak, and Dori, whose united stream 
 joins it from Kandahar a few miles below Girishk. 
 West of the Helmand the Kash-rud, Farrah-rud, and 
 Harut all flow from the Ghor highlands in nearly 
 parallel beds southwards to the Hamun swamp. 
 
 To the same svstem belongs the lagoon Abistada, 
 the only other body of water in East Irania deserving 
 the name of lake. It lies over 7000 feet above the sea 
 some GO miles south-west of Ghazni, and is fed by the
 
 12 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 river of that name. It is about 17 miles by 15 in 
 extent, and, although hitherto supposed to be a closed 
 basin, there is little doubt that during the floods it over- 
 flows to the Arghasan, a tributary of the Arghand-ab. 
 Its water is brackish and very shallow, nowhere exceed- 
 ing 5 or 6 feet in depth. 
 
 The crest of the water-parting between the Helmand 
 and Kabul basins is marked by the Sher-i-Dahan ("Lion's 
 Mouth ") Pass, crossed by the road going south to Ghazni. 
 Eising at a height of about 8400 feet above the sea, the 
 Kabul flows mainly east by Kabul and Jelalabad, to the 
 Indus at Attock. During its rapid course of about 250 
 miles it receives from the Hindu-Kush the Swat, Kunar. 
 (Chitral), Alingar, Tagao, Panjshir, and Ghorband ; from 
 the Safed-koh the Logar, Surkh-ab, Bara, and Tira. Of 
 the northern affluents the most important is the 
 Kunar, which flows from the Baroghil Pass through 
 the Chitral valley for nearly 300 miles down to 
 the main stream, a few miles below Jelalabad. The 
 Yarkhun or Mastuj, as its upper course is called, is 
 often represented as rising in a Lake Karambar Sar, 
 figuring on the maps as also the source of the Karambar 
 or Ashkaman Eiver of Gilgit. But it was always 
 doubted whether an}' basin in this region could have a 
 double outflow, and M. Dauvergne, who returned to India 
 by the Baroghil Pass in 1889, found that there are two 
 distinct lakes separated by a low rocky divide, the 
 Gazkul, source of the Yarkhun (Kunar), and, a few 
 hundred yards farther east, the Karambar Sar, properly 
 Ishky-kul, source of the Karambar or Gilgit river. 
 
 South of the Kabul river are the important Gomul 
 and Knram basins, the former of which covers an area 
 of perhaps 13,000 square miles between the western and 
 eastern Suliman ranges, along which the great trade route 
 from Central Asia to India passed for centuries. The
 
 ;-•'■' f '"Ilh
 
 14 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Kurani, which rises ou the eastern slopes of the great 
 water-parting between the Indus and Helmand basins, 
 is joined on its course to the former river by numerous 
 affluents from the Safed-koh on the north, and from the 
 hilly country of the Mangal tribes on the west and 
 south. 
 
 The Lower Indus receives no important stream from 
 Baluchistan, which seems to be almost as riverless a 
 country as Arabia itself. To its inland drainage belongs 
 the Lora, which rises with several head -streams on the 
 east slope of the Khoja Amran, and after watering the 
 Pishin valley, escapes through the Tang gorge in the 
 Tans range south-westwards to the Lora Hamun 
 (29° 30' N. 65° E.), to which its lower course has now 
 (1908) been traced. This shallow hamun lies 2770 feet 
 above the sea some miles west of the JSTushki railway 
 terminus. On the Makran coast the only noteworthy 
 river is the Dasht or Bhingwur, which is supposed to 
 rise far inland, and to make its way through all the inter- 
 vening ranges and valleys to the sea at Gwattar Bay 
 in 61° 40' E. long. But here scarcely any perennial 
 streams seem to exist. 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions: Wakhan — Baddkh- 
 shan — Afghan Turkestan, Afghanistan Proper — 
 Kafir ista n — Baluchistan — Kelat — Makran. 
 
 Afghanistan as at present constituted comprises three 
 physically distinct regions — the northern slopes of the 
 escarpment forming geographically a part of Western 
 Turkestan, the basin of the Helmand embracing most of 
 the central plateau, and the eastern highlands mostly 
 included in the Indus basin. But to these natural regions 
 the political divisions correspond in part only. Since the 
 foundation of the modern Afghan State by Ahmad Shah
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 15 
 
 in 1747, comparatively little progress has been made 
 towards moulding it into one political system. So hetero- 
 geneous are its ethnical components, so inaccessible many 
 of the highland tracts, and so persistently upheld is the 
 old tribal organisation of the dominant Afghan race itself, 
 that in many places the Amir's authority is merely nominal, 
 in others openly defied, in some never yet recognised. 
 Protracted internecine feuds between the rival branches 
 of the royal Durani (including the Barakzye) tribes, 
 combined with several disastrous foreign wars, first with 
 the Sikhs of the Panjab and then with the British 
 Government of India, have added to the confusion to 
 such an extent that disintegration rather than consolida- 
 tion of empire has lately seemed imminent. As it is, the 
 Amir has been fain to sacrifice external independence, and 
 to accept a somewhat indefinite position of subordinate 
 relationship to the Suzerain of India. 
 
 In the north, Afghan Turkestan, comprising that 
 portion of the land included in the Aralo-Caspian basin, 
 possesses a certain ethnical as well as physical unity, for 
 here the bulk of the people belong to the Usbeg branch 
 of the' Turki stock. It is administratively divided 
 into a number of provinces corresponding with the old 
 Usbeg khanates, all of which have completely lost their 
 autonomy. 
 
 In the extreme north-east is the alpine territory of 
 Wakhan, which consists of two upland valleys traversed 
 by the Sarhad (Panja), the chief southern head-stream of 
 the Oxus. On either side the valleys are hemmed in by 
 lofty mountains, those to the south forming the northern 
 section of the Hindu-Kush, here crossed by some difficult 
 passes, the easiest of which are the Dora and Baroghil 
 (12,000 feet) leading to Chitral and Gilgit. The chief 
 resources of the people are derived from their flocks, 
 mainly sheep and the Tibetan yak. The land is too
 
 16 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 elevated and sterile for tillage, but yields a pasturage 
 like that of the Pamir, possessed of peculiar fattening 
 qualities. In this alpine region the lowest hamlet is 
 8000, and Sarhad, the highest, no less than 11,000 feet 
 above the sea, or higher than the loftiest peaks of the 
 Pyrenees. Yet a little pulse and barley are grown in 
 a few sheltered glens. When Lieutenant John Wood, 
 discoverer of the source of the Oxus, visited Wakhan in 
 1838, he estimated the population at about 1000; but 
 Forsyth, thirty- five years later, raised the number to 
 3000, which agrees with the Russian estimate. The mir 
 or chief, who, like so many others in this region, claims 
 descent from Alexander the Great, resides in Kila-Panja 
 (." Five Ports "), on the Oxus, and close to the Pamir. In 
 Wood's time he was almost independent ; but since then 
 has become tributary through Badakhshan indirectly to 
 Kabul. 
 
 Badakhshan, adjoining Wakhan on the west, comprises 
 the valley of the Kokcha and the little -known tracts 
 enclosed on one side in the great northern bend of the 
 Oxus, and stretching on the other to Kafiristan. Besides 
 the Kokcha, it is watered by the Wardoj, and both 
 streams unite a few miles above Faizabad, the capital, 
 before joining the Oxus. In the upper parts the crops 
 are often nipped by summer frosts. But lower down the 
 more favoured sites yield wheat, barley, mulberries, wal- 
 nuts, pistachios, and pulse. The country is exposed to 
 earthquakes, one of which in 1832 was very destructive 
 to life, and was felt as far south as Lahore. Badakhshan 
 is noted for its mineral wealth, salt, sulphur, iron, and 
 especially the ruby 1 and lapis lazuli, 1 prominently men- 
 
 1 These rubies, which are of a delicate rose colour, were formerly known 
 as balais or balash, a corrupt form of Badakhshan, which Marco Polo calls 
 Balacian. The lapis lazuli takes its name from the district of Lajurd or 
 Lazurd, whence both the words lazuli and azure.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 17 
 
 tioned by Marco Polo. The lapis lazuli mines, which lie 
 close under the crest of the Hindu-Rush, have been fully 
 described by "Wood. 
 
 West of Faizabad the road diverging to the right 
 through Eustak crosses the Oxus to Kulab, Karateghin, 
 and other Trans-Oxian districts. The gold-washings in 
 a small stream between Eustak and the Oxus yielded a 
 revenue of about £100 in 1874. The main road beyond 
 this point still runs westwards over the Lattaband Pass, 
 through Talikhan down to Kunduz. Here the descent 
 from the Badakhshan highlands to the marshy plains 
 of Turkestan, here scarcely 500 feet above sea-level, is 
 attended by a marked change of climate, that of Kunduz 
 being excessively hot and unhealthy especially in summer. 
 
 Kunduz is watered by the river of like name, which 
 rises with several head-streams in the Koh-i-Baba. Be- 
 yond the town of Kunduz it joins the Oxus below Hazrat- 
 Imam. Here are extensive undulating plains yielding 
 good pasturage, and tenanted by nomad Usbegs and 
 Hazaras. From Talikhan and Kunduz there diverge to 
 the left routes which lead over the Sir-alang and Khawak 
 Passes to Kabul. But here the chief highway is the 
 historical route which passes through Bamian and Heibak, 
 joining the Badakhshan road at Khulm or Tashkurgan. 
 This route was traversed for some distance by the British 
 troops with horse artillery in 1839. Near Bamian are 
 two gigantic idols, one of which is said to be 100 feet 
 high, cut in bold relief in the face of the cliff skirting 
 the road. They stand in deep niches, and are clothed in 
 flowing drapery. These idols and caves are generally 
 supposed to be of Buddhist origin, but all memory of the 
 time and hands by which they were executed has long 
 perished. Here also are the stupendous ruins of Ghul- 
 gulch destroyed by Chingiz Khan, besides many other 
 remains, which have been fully described by Masson. 
 VOL. II c
 
 18 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Adjoining Kunduz is the smaller but not less popu- 
 lous khanate of Khulm. It occupies a vital position in 
 the heart of the ancient Baktriana, the converging point 
 of all the natural highways from India, Persia, and 
 Central Asia. Here are the ruins of Baktra and of its 
 successor Balkh, now supplanted by the modern towns of 
 Siyagird, Mazar-i-Sherif, and Khulm. The country has 
 been largely encroached on by the desert, and the Khulm 
 river, flowing from the Kara-koh hills, now no longer 
 reaches the Oxus. In the plains the river of Balkh, here 
 called the " Band-i-Barbari," or " Dyke of the Barbarians," 
 is soon absorbed in irrigation works in the gardens inter- 
 spersed amidst the vast ruins and flourishing towns of 
 this historic land. 
 
 West of Balkh are the four petty Usbeg States of 
 Akcha, Shiba.rghan, Sar-i-pul with Andkhui, and Maimana, 
 lying mostly between the outer spurs of the Paropamisus 
 and the sands by which they are now cut off from the 
 Oxus. This tract is very fertile and well watered by the 
 streams from the mountains, but it is also proverbially 
 unhealthy. Nevertheless here are the populous towns of 
 Shabirkhan and Andkhui, lying close to the Eussian 
 frontier. 
 
 Of these khanates Andkhui alone has retained a 
 certain measure of independence. All the rest are 
 absolutely controlled, and even administered, by Kabul, 
 though the old geographical and political divisions are 
 still preserved. The village of Gurzivan and the Darzat 
 valley in the hills south of Sar-i-pul have also lost their 
 autonomy, though still retaining the empty titles of 
 khanates. 
 
 The Usbeg inhabitants of these districts are not 
 called upon to render military service ; but, according 
 to the authority of Grodekov, which, however, is not 
 above suspicion, they are so heavily taxed that they are
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 19 
 
 impatiently awaiting the arrival of the emancipating 
 Russians. 
 
 On the southern slopes of the Hindu-Kush, bordering 
 eastwards on Kashmir, south-eastwards on the Panjab, 
 are the territories of Kafiristan, Gilgit, Chitral, Swat, 4 and 
 Chilas, which were hitherto conventionally supposed to 
 belong to Afghanistan. But Kafiristan has now been 
 effectively occupied by the Afghans, while the other 
 petty states have since 1893 been brought under the 
 British rule. The change has been caused partly by 
 internal disorders, partly by the movements of the 
 Russians in the Pamir region, which have obliged the 
 Indian authorities to establish a strong frontier in that 
 direction. 
 
 Of Kafiristan, " Land of the Infidel," next to nothing 
 was known before Mr. G. T. Robertson's expedition of 
 1889-90. In 1885 Sir W. Lockhart had crossed from 
 Chitral into the Upper Bashgul valley, returning by another 
 route after a stay of a few days in that district on the 
 north-east frontier. Later M'Nair visited the Kalash 
 territory, which, however, belongs to Chitral and forms 
 no part of Kafiristan proper. Even Robertson's journeys 
 were confined to the eastern and central parts, comprising 
 the whole of the Bashgul basin and the Viron (Presun) 
 valley. But during a residence of over a year in the 
 country he was able to collect much accurate information 
 regarding its physical features, hydrographic system, 
 climate, vegetation, and inhabitants. 
 
 Kafiristan is bounded on the east by Chitral and the 
 Chitral (Kunar) river valley, on the south and west by 
 Afghanistan proper, and on the north by the Hindu- 
 Kush, which is here crossed by the Manclal and some 
 other passes leading into Badakhshan at altitudes of over 
 15,000 feet. Towards Chitral the passes are lower, one 
 falling to 8400 between Utzun and Gurdesh, but still
 
 20 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 difficult and blocked for two or three months in winter. 
 The surface is extremely rugged and mountainous, being 
 disposed in a number of deep, narrow, tortuous river 
 valleys, " into which a varying number of still more 
 difficult, narrower, and deeper valleys, ravines, and glens 
 pour their torrent waters. The hills which separate the 
 main drainage valleys, one from the other, are all of 
 considerable altitude, rugged and toilsome. As a con- 
 sequence, during the winter Kafiristan is practically con- 
 verted into a number of separate communities, with no 
 means of intercommunication." l All the drainage is to 
 the Kabul river, either directly through the Alingar (Kao) 
 and others, or indirectly through the Chitral, which 
 receives on its right bank the Bashgul just above Arun 
 (Arundo), and the Presun with its Kti and Wai affluents 
 at Chigar Sarai. Too little space is left for much tillage 
 between the river banks and the enclosing hills. Hence 
 most of the vegetation is arborescent — pomegranates 
 and other fruit-trees, horse-chestnuts, olives, and ever- 
 green oaks flourishing at the lower elevations, dense pine 
 and cedar forests between 5000 and 8000 or 9000 feet, 
 the willow, birch, juniper, cedar, with wild rhubarb, up to 
 13,000 or 14,000, the limit of all vegetation except 
 coarse grasses and mosses. The whole region abounds in 
 wild romantic scenery, presenting great diversity accord- 
 ing to the different altitudes and aspects of the land. " In 
 many places where the tortured water foams and lashes 
 itself against the rocks, the river almost assumes the 
 nature of a cataract and is indescribably beautiful. Tree- 
 trunks encumber the waterway, jam themselves against 
 the rocks, pile up in picturesque confusion, or hurry 
 round and round in the swirl of a backwater " (ib.). 
 
 Mr. Eobertson is of opinion that the present inhabit- 
 ants are mainly sprung from the old Indian population 
 1 Robertson, Geo. Journal, Sept. 1894, p. 197.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN' 21 
 
 of Eastern Afghanistan, who rejected Islam and took 
 refuge in the eleventh century in the almost inaccessible 
 Hindu-Kush valleys, enslaving or partly blending with 
 the aborigines. These aborigines are still represented by 
 the Presuns, Jazhis, Wai, Arams, and others, while the 
 bulk of the conquering intruders (Katirs, Kams, Madugals, 
 etc.) are collectively known as Siah-Posh, " Black-clad," 
 from the sombre colour of their clothes. Hence, although 
 nearly all have a dark complexion like that of the average 
 Panjabi, there are two distinct types, one high with 
 regular features, " purely Aryan," the other low with 
 flatfish nose, coarse features, and hair worn nearly down 
 to the eyebrows, giving them a singularly forbidding 
 appearance. The women also, who do all the hard work, 
 are for the most part debased and unlovely. There are 
 three linguistic groups : Siah-Posh, Wai (with Ashkun ?), 
 and Presun, the last being absolutely distinct, and not 
 only unintelligible to the other Kafirs, but so difficult 
 that none of them can ever learn the Presun language. 
 Apart from a few Muhammadans towards the frontiers, 
 all are still pagans and polygamists, with from one to 
 four or five wives, who on the death of their master 
 revert to his family, and are either sold or kept by his 
 surviving brothers. They are a brave, freedom -loving 
 people, capable of much self-devotion, and naturally most 
 intelligent, but quarrelsome and excessively covetous. 
 There are, however, no blood feuds, and murderers or 
 homicides are made outcasts for ever or till payment of 
 a ransom, which is so heavy that it is very rarely paid. 
 The tribal system still prevails, each tribe comprising 
 numerous clans, whose affairs are arranged by consultation 
 between the several jasts or headmen, who are not 
 hereditary but chosen for their wealth, valour, or other 
 personal qualities. 
 
 A southern branch of the Siah-Posh Kafirs, or "Black-
 
 22 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Clad Infidels" as they are called by the surrounding 
 Muhammadans, are the Safis and Chaguans, whose domain 
 reaches down to the Kabul river. Masson describes 
 them as a straightforward manly race. 
 
 In Afghanistan proper the political divisions are often 
 far less distinctly defined than in its outlying Turkestan 
 possessions. Some regions in the Hindu-Kush, such as 
 Kafiristan and Swat, as well as nearly the whole of the 
 northern highlands between Bamian and Herat, besides 
 many tracts in the Suliman Mountains, had never acknow- 
 ledged the Amir's authority, and had retained their inde- 
 pendence until the recent partition. Elsewhere, as in the 
 districts of Herat and Kandahar, and even in Kabulistan 
 itself, the tribal organisation still largely prevails, so that 
 the limits of the provinces are scarcely anywhere care- 
 fully laid down, and it becomes impossible to speak of 
 provincial administration in the ordinary sense of the term. 
 Hence, instead of taking the various provinces separately, 
 it will be more convenient to deal with them in connec- 
 tion with the chief towns round which they are grouped. 
 
 In Baluchistan, although more order has recently 
 been introduced, a similar state of things still largely 
 prevails. The Khan of Kelat, who may be said to have 
 frankly accepted the suzerainty of the Kaisar-i-Hind 
 (Emperor of India), is nominal ruler of the whole land. 
 But his authority has often been confined to the Kelat 
 district itself, and is still challenged by many of the 
 tribal chiefs, especially towards the Persian frontier. The 
 natural divisions of the country, the eastern and southern 
 highlands merging inland with the desert, are grouped in 
 seven recognised provinces : Sarawan and Katch-Gandava, 
 including the Mari and Bugti country on the north-east ; 
 Kelat, between these two; Jhalawan on the east; Lus 
 on the south-east ; Makran, comprising the southern coast 
 region ; Kohistan, or the " highlands " of the west.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 23 
 
 Most of the land has now been explored. The north- 
 eastern section lying between the Indus and the Pishin 
 valley, along the Afghan border, and thence southwards 
 to Kelat, has been thoroughly surveyed, and a military 
 station has even been established by the British at 
 Quetta, above the Bolan Pass, and overlooking the Pishin 
 valley. The south coast has also been carefully surveyed 
 by the Admiralty, and somewhat farther inland by the 
 English Telegraph Staff; while the country has been 
 crossed, chiefly from east to west, by Grant, Pottinger, 
 Terrier, Goldsmid, Bellew, M'Mahon, and a few other 
 explorers during the nineteenth century. Still, the sandy 
 plains stretching beyond the hills towards the Hamun 
 depression were first explored by the Baluch- Afghan 
 Boundary Commission, 1894-9 6. Elsewhere the high- 
 land formation everywhere predominates, although in the 
 south the parallel ridges are separated by long and almost 
 level valleys reaching from the Persian frontier to the 
 eastern uplands. This southern region, from the sea to 
 the desert, is usually spoken of collectively as Makran ; 
 but the term should properly be restricted to the strip of 
 land between sea and the first parallel ranges. Here the 
 geographers of Alexander placed the Ichthyophagi, or 
 " Fish-eaters," apparently a mere translation of the local 
 name. 
 
 The country is almost entirely occupied by pastoral 
 tribes under semi-independent sirdars and chiefs. Hence 
 the so-called provinces are not administrative divisions in 
 the ordinary sense, and should be more properly called 
 territories. Besides those above mentioned there are 
 several others current amongst the natives as applicable 
 to particular cantons, especially in Makran and Kohistan. 
 Here there are several semi-independent chiefs, of whom 
 the most powerful was, till recently, the Khan of Kej, 
 in central Makran. But the native ruler was, some ten
 
 24 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 years ago, replaced by a direct nominee of the Khan of 
 Kelat, and although the change was at first followed by 
 disturbances, it has had the effect of somewhat consoli- 
 dating the Khan's authority, and thus barring the further 
 progress of Persia in this direction. 
 
 The Khan or Mir of Kelat, who belongs, not to the 
 Baluch, but to the Brahui stock, concluded a treaty in 
 1877 with England, in virtue of which he has become a 
 feudatory of the Emperor of India. The right had already 
 been secured of occupying at pleasure the mountain passes 
 between Kelat and Afghanistan. But the new treaty 
 places the whole country at the disposal of the British 
 Government for all military and strategical purposes. In 
 return the Khan has acquired a certain prestige amongst 
 the tribal chiefs and sirdars, who no longer seriously 
 question his supremacy, and his subjects have begun to 
 enjoy the blessings of peace. 
 
 5. Climate. 
 
 In Afghanistan the prevailing climatic conditions 
 are dryness combined with great extremes of temperature. 
 Snow lies on the ground for three months in the Kabul 
 and Ghazni districts, and many of the peaks from the 
 Hindu-Kush to Kelat rise above the snow-liue. But so 
 much depends on elevation that Jelalabad, 2000 feet 
 above the sea, is scarcely colder than India, while the 
 winters are almost as severe as those of Kussia on the 
 neighbouring Kohistan uplands. The summer heats, on 
 the other hand, are everywhere intense, more so, in some 
 places, even than in Bengal. At Kabul (6500 feet) the 
 glass rises to 90° and 100°, and in Kandahar even 
 higher. Yet the country is on the whole decidedly 
 salubrious, in this respect presenting a marked contrast to 
 the fever-stricken lowland districts of Afghan Turkestan.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 25 
 
 In Baluchistan also intense heats are followed by 
 almost equally intense colds, the snow lying for two 
 months on the ground even in the Shal and other valleys. 
 The Kej district and some other parts of Makran are said 
 to be the hottest places in the whole of Asia. Even in 
 March Major Lovett registered " 125° F. in the shade in 
 the neighbourhood of Kej." On the other hand, Pottinger 
 found it so cold in February at Kelat that water poured 
 on the ground froze instantaneously. Owing to its 
 proximity to the ocean, Baluchistan receives on the whole 
 more moisture than Afghanistan. The dry season lasts 
 from March till September, but rain or snow falls inter- 
 mittently throughout the winter, and often heavily in 
 February and March. Unfortunately most of it is pre- 
 cipitated on the outer ranges, leaving little for the deserts 
 of the interior, where the sultry heats are intensified by 
 fierce sand-storms. 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna: The Karez Irrigation System. 
 
 Bare, treeless mountains, sandy and absolutely unpro- 
 ductive plains, fertile valleys and riverain tracts, pro- 
 ducing enormous quantities of magnificent fruits and 
 vegetables, besides cereals of various kinds, are the 
 prevailing features almost everywhere from the Upper 
 Oxus to the Indian Ocean, and from Persia to the Indus 
 valley. In the north, however, the southern slopes are 
 often clothed with forests of walnut, birch, oak, and 
 conifers, the latter growing to a height of 10,000 feet. 
 In Afghanistan the asafcetida covers extensive tracts, and 
 here the most productive districts are those of Herat, 
 Kandahar, the Lower Helmand, the valleys of the Kabul 
 and Logar rivers, and the Koh-i-Daman. Wheat, maize, 
 and rice are the staples of food ; the vine and many other 
 fruits are indigenous ; cotton, sugar, and tobacco thrive
 
 26 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 in the well- watered low-lying tracts, and the melon and 
 many other vegetables arrive at astonishing perfection. 
 The apples, the grapes, and pomegranates of Afghanistan 
 are celebrated throughout India. 
 
 In Baluchistan wheat, barley, rice, cotton, pulse, 
 madder, indigo, and tobacco are cultivated ; the date- 
 palm prevails in Makran ; magnificent fruits and vege- 
 tables are grown in the valleys. Asafcetida abounds, 
 and of forest trees the chief are the plantain, walnut, 
 sycamore, wild fig and olive, mulberry, tamarisk, and 
 mimosa. 
 
 The " karez," or underground system of irrigation 
 peculiar to the Iranian plateau, is well suited to this 
 region, and extensively practised. " The soil being 
 naturally open and porous, composed of water- worn 
 stones embedded in a sandy soil, which, however, having 
 a large admixture of lime, hardens at a short distance 
 below the surface into an impermeable conglomerate, it 
 is easy to understand how flowing water may in many 
 places be found 20 or 30 feet from the surface, while on 
 the surface itself for miles round there is nothing but an 
 arid plain. The water thus found is led gradually 
 towards the surface through the karez. A series of wells 
 are dug at intervals of 15 to 25 yards, and connected 
 below by an underground passage, through which the 
 water runs till at last it reaches the surface and is 
 utilised for irrigating the fields " (Capt. R Beavan). 
 
 In East Irania wild animals are comparatively scarce. 
 Lions and leopards of a small type haunt the upper 
 valleys of the Hindu-Kush, where are also met the wolf 
 and two species of bear. The so-called Angora cat is 
 indigenous in Kabulistan, and in the plains the drome- 
 dary or one-humped camel is the chief beast of burden. 
 Here the horse is far inferior to the Turkoman breed. 
 The ass exists in the wild and domestic state, but sheep
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 
 
 27 
 
 and goats form everywhere the chief resources of the 
 pastoral tril >es. 
 
 In Baluchistan the lion, tiger, leopard, and wolf are 
 occasionally met, the jackal, wild dog, fox, wild goat, and 
 
 ass more frequently. There is a distinct species of gazelle 
 {Cfazella fuscifrons), and both species of camel occur, the 
 Baktrian or two-humped on the uplands, the dromedary 
 on the plains, where it is highly valued for its speed by 
 the marauding tribes. Serviceable horses are bred in the 
 north and west, but those of Makran are small, weak, and
 
 28 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 spiritless. In Baluchistan is found the curious Uromastix 
 lizard, one of the most remarkable animals in the world. 
 It looks at a distance somewhat like a rabbit in appear- 
 ance and size, but is really a sort of diminutive saurian, 
 called by the Persians buz-miji, or goat-sucker, from its 
 peculiar habit of bleating like a kid to attract the goats, 
 whose teats it then sucks. Here is also the remarkable 
 horned viper (Eristicophis macmahonii), a new genus con- 
 fined to the Baluch wilderness. 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Afghans — The Brahv.is, Baluchis, 
 and Zuri. 
 
 East Irania presents a greater complexity of races 
 even than Persia itself. For to nearly all the elements 
 contained in the west must here be added at least three 
 others — the Galcha of the Hindu -Kush, the Hindu of 
 the large towns, and the Brahui of Kelat ; this last being 
 distinct in speech, not only from all the others, but from 
 all other known linguistic groups. The subjoined table 
 comprises all the races in the region, classed according to 
 their most probable ethnical affinities : — 
 
 Aryans - 
 
 Galcha 
 Branch. 
 
 Wakhis . 
 Badakhshis . j 
 Siah-Posh Kafirs ) 
 Safis . 
 Cbagnans . 
 Kohistanis 
 
 Afghans 
 
 irantc 
 Branch. ■ 
 
 Tajiks 
 
 
 Baluchis . 
 
 
 Sistanis 
 
 
 Kurds 
 
 
 * Hindkis . 
 
 Iridic 
 
 Lassis 
 
 Branch. 
 
 Jats . 
 
 1 
 
 Luris 
 
 [-Hindu-Kush (northern slopes). 
 
 j- Hindu-Kush (southern slopes). 
 
 Hills north of Kabul. 
 
 f Kabul ; Suliman Mountains, 
 Kandahar, Helmand basin ; 
 Herat, 
 f Herat ; most towns and settled 
 \ districts. 
 Baluchistan lowlands ; Makran. 
 Lower Helmand ; Hamun. 
 Baluch Kohistan. 
 Most large towns. 
 Prov.. Las, So. Baluchistan. 
 
 J- Makran chiefly.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 
 
 29 
 
 
 MONGOLO- 
 
 Tatars 
 
 Mongol 
 Branch. 
 
 Turin 
 
 Branch. 
 
 Hazarahs . 
 Aimaks 
 Usbegs 
 Turkomans 
 Kizil- Basins 
 
 Brahuis 
 
 ) K. highlands between Bainian 
 \ anil Herat. 
 
 Afghan Turkestan. 
 
 Herat, Maimana, andAndkhui. 
 
 Kabul chiefly. 
 \ Mainly East Baluchistan high- 
 / lands. 
 
 Of these various peoples four only possess a decided 
 political or social preponderance in their respective areas 
 — the Usbegs in Afghan Turkestan, the Afghans in 
 Afghanistan, the Brahuis and 
 Baluchis in Baluchistan. The 
 Usbegs, here represented by the 
 Kateghan family, differ in no 
 material respect from their kins- 
 men of the adjoining khanates 
 of Bokhara and Khiva, and will 
 therefore be more conveniently 
 dealt with in the chapter devoted 
 to that region. 
 
 The Afghans, commonly 
 known in India as Pathans, are 
 all Sunnis in religion, but are 
 socially still in the tribal state, 
 a fact that is not sufficiently 
 taken into account in estimating 
 the political situation of the 
 country. There is an Afghan the amir abdur-rahman. 
 race, one in physical type, 
 
 speech, religion, and culture ; but there is, strictly speak- 
 ing, no Afghan nation possessing a distinct sense of its 
 unity as a whole, with common political sentiments and 
 aspirations. Such common sentiments are scarcely felt 
 beyond the several great sections into which the race 
 continues to be divided. The Duranis, the Ghiljis, the 
 Waziris, the Afridis, the Mangals, Momands, Jusafzais, 
 and others, form so many States, as it were, within the
 
 30 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 State, each with its own separate interests, and each 
 capable of combining rapidly for some common tribal 
 object, but all incapable of acting in concert for a 
 common national object, except under a strong ruler, 
 such as Ahmad Khan, or the late Amir, Abdur-Eahman. 
 When Ayub Khan of Herat moved in 1881 against 
 Abdur-Rahman, the people of the intervening Kandahar 
 district refused to pay revenue, not through any love of 
 the Amir, but through indifference to the claims of the 
 rivals for supreme authority. For both Abdur-Eahman 
 and Ayub were chiefs rather of the Durani tribe than of 
 an Afghan nation. And the Duranis themselves are 
 regarded by other almost equally powerful sections merely 
 as usurpers of the sovereignty, their usurpation dating 
 only from the death of Nadir Shah in 1747, when their 
 chief, Ahmad Khan, took advantage of the disorders in 
 Persia to raise the royal standard in Kandahar. Ahmad 
 endeavoured to give a national importance to his tribe, 
 not only by changing its name from Abdali to Durani, 1 
 but also by associating with it some other sections, such 
 as the Jusafzais, Momands, Afridis, Shinwaris, Orakzais, 
 and Turkolanis, under the common designation of Bar- 
 Duranis. But the attempt failed, these sections still 
 retaining their tribal integrity, and refusing to be fused 
 into a common Afghan nationality. 
 
 In the Durani tribe there are several sections, among 
 which are included the two royal branches — the Sud- 
 dozais and the Barakzais. It was to the Suddozais that 
 Shah Suja belonged, who was placed on the throne by 
 the British in 1839, after the first Afghan war. It is 
 to the Barakzais that the equally well -known Dost 
 
 1 Derived not, as is often stated, from the supposed custom ol wearing 
 a pearl (durr) in their right ears, hut from the title of Durr-i-Duran 
 ("Pearl of Pearls"), adopted hy Ahmad when he assumed the royal 
 power.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN ol 
 
 Muhammad and his successors on the throne of Kabul 
 belong. 
 
 The sections themselves are divided into a multi- 
 plicity of minor branches, septs, and clans, 1 offering still 
 further obstacles to a general amalgamation of the whole 
 race. And the race itself is everywhere opposed to other 
 races speaking different languages, such as the Tajiks, 
 Hindkis, Usbegs, Siah-Posh Kafirs, Hazaras, and Aimaks, 
 which, although numerically inferior, possess greater 
 national cohesion, and which in some cases have been 
 able to maintain their independence. 
 
 But for these untoward circumstances the Afghan 
 race, by its warlike spirit and remarkable physical vitality, 
 might seem destined to subdue the surrounding peoples. 
 But their national resources have hitherto for the most 
 part been frittered away in internecine broils and 
 struggles for the local independence of individual chiefs 
 and tribes. 
 
 Yet it would be a mistake to suppose that the 
 Afghans are absolutely incapable, under proper conditions, 
 of turning from turbulent to peaceful ways. Although 
 surrounded by hostile and marauding tribes, the Povin- 
 dahs of the Suliman inner ranges have for ages occupied 
 themselves with tillage, stock-breeding, and trade. These 
 itinerant and warlike dealers, who claim descent from a 
 goatherd of Ghor in the days of the Ghaznevid Mahmud, 
 follow their industrious pursuits in the face of extra- 
 ordinary difficulties. In the summer they pitch their 
 tents on the plains near Kalat-i-Ghilzai and Ghazni, 
 where they pay £60 to the Amir's government for grazing 
 rights, and where the women and children remain under 
 a sufficient guard, while the men are away trading at 
 Samarkand, Bokhara, Herat, or Kabul. In the autumn 
 
 1 Usually termed zais or Jchcls, as in Barakzai, Abdur-Rahnianzai, All 
 Khel, Utman Khel, etc.
 
 32 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 they repair to the Indian plains through the Gomul route, 
 fighting their hereditary foes, the Waziris, on the way, 
 and encamping on the Derajat plains. From this point 
 the men again disperse towards Multan, Lahore, Benares, 
 retailing their raw silk, druggets, clothes, saddlery, horses, 
 saffron, dried fruits, and other wares. In April the 
 
 Povindahs reassemble 
 for the return journey, 
 and ascend the pass 
 towards Kandahar and 
 Ghazni. 
 
 Many other pro- 
 mising elements of 
 future progress exist 
 in the land, such as the 
 Kakar and Tajik agri- 
 culturists, the Hindki 
 traders, met with in 
 every large town, and 
 even the despised Kizil- 
 Bashis of Kabul. 
 
 In Baluchistan the 
 ruling race are not the 
 Baluchis, but the Bra- 
 huis, who are moreover both the aboriginal and the 
 most numerous element. Hence the term Baluchis- 
 tan, unknown in the country itself, is altogether inappro- 
 priate, though it may now be too late to substitute the 
 expression Brahuistan, as some geographers have pro- 
 posed. The Brahuis, whose racial and linguistic affinities 
 still remain an unsolved problem, are predominant in all 
 the eastern highlands ; the reigning Khan and most of 
 the chiefs and nobles are of Brahui stock. But they are 
 no longer independent rulers, having by recent treaties 
 recognised the sovereignty of the British raj. The 
 
 BALUCH WOMAN.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 33 
 
 Baluchis still dwell mainly in the lowlands, and form 
 the rural population both in the direction of India and 
 Persia. Both races are Muhammadans, the Brahuis like 
 the Afghans being Sunnis, the Baluchis like their Persian 
 kinsmen Shiahs for the most part. There can be little 
 doubt that the Baluchis penetrated eastwards originally 
 from Karman, and they are still predominant in the ad- 
 joining districts of Makran and Sistan. Bellew describes 
 them all in two words — needy and hungry. They are 
 true nomads, migrating, like many Afghan tribes, with 
 their families and flocks from the uplands to the lowlands. 
 But some few are settled in villages. 
 
 Distinct both from the Brahuis and Baluchis are the 
 Luri, a sort of gipsies of Indian origin scattered in single 
 families all over the country. They are generally met 
 with as strolling minstrels, potters, tinkers, ropemakers, 
 weavers of mats, and pedlars. They owe no lands, never 
 cultivate the soil, and are regarded as outcasts by the 
 rest of the people. Each troop has a " king," and Pot- 
 tinger noticed their " marked affinity to the gipsies of 
 Europe." 
 
 8. Topography : Khulm — Mazar-i-Sherif — Balkh — 
 IL: i -at — Kandah ar — Ki ibul. 
 
 In Afghan Turkestan the chief places are — 1. Tash- 
 kurgan (New Khulm), at the junction of the Bamian and 
 Badakhshan routes, where the Khulm river emerges from 
 the mountains. It is three miles in circumference, and 
 its houses are built of clay or adobe. The inhabitants 
 are chiefly Tajiks, Kabulis, and Hindkis, trading in live- 
 stock, cottons, leather ware, fruits, and melons. Four 
 miles north of Tashkurgan are the ruins of Old Khulm. 
 which was abandoned by a former Khun, because the 
 water supply was liable to be cut off. 2. Mazar-i-Sherif, 
 
 VOL. II D
 
 34 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 50 miles west of Tashkurgan, capital of Afghan TurkestaD 
 and residence of the Governor-General. It is surrounded 
 by well-cultivated fields and orchards, and in 1885, when 
 Captain Talbot passed through it, the population (Usbegs. 
 Afghans, and Tajiks) was rapidly increasing, although still 
 inferior to that of Tashkurgan. Six miles farther west 
 is the military cantonment of Takhtapul, the arsenal of 
 which has been removed to Mazar. But Mazar is chiefly 
 noted for its mosque, held in great veneration for a tomb 
 supposed to be that of Ali ; and for the shrine of Hazrat 
 Shah, a famous Moslem " saint." 3. Baktra and Balkh, 
 both now ruins on the Delias or Balkh Eiver, a few 
 miles west of Mazar. Baktra, capital of the Grseco- 
 Baktrian monarchy, was one of the oldest cities in 
 Central Asia, and its successor Balkh still bears the 
 title of " Mother of Cities." It was the chief town in 
 Afghan Turkestan till 1872, when a terrible outbreak of 
 cholera caused the seat of government to be removed to 
 Mazar, and in 1878 Balkh was an insignificant village, 
 whose former greatness was attested only by numerous 
 canals and miles of ruins. Here are buried the travellers 
 Moorcroft and Guthrie. 4. Andkhui, on the verge of 
 the desert due west of Balkh, a large but proverbially 
 unhealthy place, of which the Persians say that with 
 its salt water, its scorching sands, venomous flies and 
 scorpions, " it is a real hell on earth." 5. Maimana, on 
 a plain near the foot of the Koh-i-Baba, noted for its 
 excellent horses and textiles woven of wool and camel's 
 hair. Previous to 1874 Maimana was a very large place, 
 with a population estimated at 60,000. But in that 
 year it was besieged and nearly destroyed by the Afghans, 
 who massacred 18,000 of its inhabitants. Since then it 
 has somewhat revived, and must always enjoy a certain 
 importance from its position at the junction of the routes 
 from Herat and Kabul. Captain Talbot describes it as
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 35 
 
 two-thirds the size of Herat, with a large covered bazaar, 
 but badly built with mean houses irregularly distributed 
 over the space enclosed by the walls. 
 
 In Afghanistan the three cities of Herat, Kandahar, 
 and Kabul stand out conspicuously as at once the chief 
 centres of power and population, as well as the most 
 important strategical points in the country. They occupy 
 the three angles of a triangle, whose base crosses the 
 northern scarp of the plateau, and whose apex lies nearly 
 in the centre of the State. Thus Herat and Kabul at 
 the west and east ends of the base respectively are separ- 
 ated by intervening impassable highlands occupied by 
 the hostile and semi-independent Mongolo-Tatar Hazaras 
 and Aimaks. Hence the route from one to the other is 
 deflected southwards to the apex, where Kandahar thus 
 occupies the key of the whole position. North of the 
 scarp is the Turkoman country, now entirely absorbed in 
 the recently organised Prussian Trans - Caspian territory. 
 From this direction the plateau can be approached in the 
 east only by the difficult " Gate of Bamian," in the west 
 by the easy Tajand and Murgh-ab valleys. Here, there- 
 fore, the importance of Herat becomes obvious. And 
 this circumstance itself enhances the importance of 
 Kandahar, which bars the direct and only route from 
 Herat to India, and which lies on the flank of the not 
 impossible route through Bamian and Kabul to India. 
 It is satisfactory to know that under these circumstances 
 the railway has now been completed from the Indus to 
 Quetta above the Bolan Pass, and thence through the 
 Gwaja Pass to Chaman Fort and New Chaman on the 
 main route for Kandahar. 
 
 The city of Herat lies in the well-watered valley of 
 the Hari-rud, or Upper Tajand, which is extremely fertile, 
 and capable of furnishing supplies for an army of occu- 
 pation of 150,000 men. This, coupled with its lofty
 
 3'6 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 ramparts and fortifications, and its central position as the 
 converging point of routes from the Caspian, Mashhad, 
 Merv, Bokhara, and India through Kandahar, has invested 
 it with a strategic importance which has earned for it the 
 title of the " key of India." 
 
 Herat is one of the oldest places in the world, being 
 clearly identified with the Aria of the ancients, which 
 was one of the earliest settlements of the Asiatic Aryans 
 on the Iranian plateau, and gave its name to the vast 
 province of Asia between Persia and Baktriana. jSTo city 
 has experienced greater changes of fortune than Herat, 
 which is said to have been captured and destroyed as 
 many as fifty times, yet had a population of nearly two 
 millions in the twelfth century before it was taken after 
 a six months' siege by Jenghiz-Khan, who butchered all 
 the surviving inhabitants to the number of 1,600,000, 
 forty persons alone escaping the sword of the ruthless 
 Mongols. The district is noted for its healthy climate 
 and balmy atmosphere, due to the northern breezes which 
 prevail during the hot summer months. Hence the 
 Persian saying, " Bring together the soil of Ispahan, the 
 air of Herat, and the waters of Kharezm, and there man 
 will live for ever." 
 
 In Pottinger's time Herat was the great emporium of 
 trade in Central Asia, and though its many vicissitudes 
 of fortune and innumerable sieges have caused its popula- 
 tion to fluctuate excessively, it still contained 50,000 
 inhabitants in 1878, a motley gathering of Afghans, 
 Indians, Tatars, Turkomans, Jews, Tajiks, and others. 
 Carpets of soft texture and brilliant colour are here 
 produced, and the district is noted for its excellent 
 horses, wheat, water, and grapes, of which there are no 
 less than seventeen varieties. 
 
 The road from Herat to Kandahar lies through the 
 fertile but little cultivated Zamindawar country, peopled
 
 
 
 345047 
 
 *M
 
 38 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 by the Duranis as far as the fort of Girishk, near the 
 fords of the Helmand. Although its fortifications are 
 slight, the strong position of Girishk on the main route 
 and in the vicinity of supplies has at all times invested 
 it with strategic importance. About midway between it 
 and Kandahar is Khushk-i-Nakhud, mournfully signalised 
 in 1880 by the defeat of General Burrows at the hands 
 of Ayub Khan. 
 
 Kandahar, the chief city of the south, lies in a level 
 cultivated plain about 7 miles wide, bounded by low hills 
 between the Arghand-ab and Tarnak Rivers. It forms 
 an irregular oblong of about 3 miles circuit, enclosed by 
 a substantial baked-mud wall 27 feet high. Towards the 
 north end is the citadel, shut off by a massive mud wall, 
 and to the west the tomb of Ahmad Shah, within an 
 octagonal structure surmounted by a golden dome. The 
 population is variously estimated at from 50,000 to 
 80,000, of whom the Hindkis are the wealthiest class. 
 During the British occupation they have always developed 
 a profitable trade with Bombay through Shikarpur and 
 Karachi, but at other times are subject to heavy imposts. 
 They import British produce, such as silks, calicoes, 
 muslins, chintzes, merinoes, woollen and broad cloths, 
 cutlery, needles, paper, besides indigo, spice, sugar, drugs, 
 and other Indian produce. Their exports consist of 
 madder, asafcetida, wool, dried fruits, tobacco, raw silk, 
 besides such Persian goods as carpets, copper utensils, 
 arms, turquoises, gold and silver braid, horses and 
 " yabus," or baggage ponies. Whenever the railway is 
 completed to this place Kandahar must become the great 
 emporium of British and Indian produce for Central Asia. 
 Its chief manufactures are silks, felts, and rosaries, of a 
 soft crystallised silicate of magnesia. The melons, grapes, 
 and other fruits of the district are abundant and of 
 excellent quality.
 
 40 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The old citadel, of which many ruins are still stand- 
 ins, is situated a few miles outside the walls of the 
 present city. This citadel has been the scene of remark- 
 able sieges and defences. 
 
 The strategical value of Kandahar is increased by the 
 fact that it is the first place where an army advancing 
 from Herat towards the Indus would naturally rest to 
 recruit its strength. It also gives access to the Ghazni 
 and Kabul road through the Tarnak valley. Its prox- 
 imity to the desert on the south renders one at least 
 of its flanks safe from being turned. As it is further 
 accessible from Persia and India west and east, it has 
 incessantly changed hands during the period of its his- 
 tory — Persians, Usbegs, Afghans, and in recent times 
 the English, having more than once occupied and relin- 
 quished it. 
 
 On the great military and trade route between 
 Kandahar and Kabul the chief stations are Kalat-i- 
 Ghilzai and Ghazni, the former of which is a strong fort 
 standing on a commanding plateau on the right bank of 
 the Tarnak. The fortified town of Ghazni, about as far 
 south-west of Kabul as Kalat-i-Ghilzai is north-east of 
 Kandahar, lies on the left bank of the Ghazni river near 
 a spur of the Gilkoh range, and 7730 feet above the sea. 
 It is surrounded by a lofty stone and brick wall on the 
 top of a mound, and contains a citadel erected on an 
 abrupt knoll at its north end. Besides Afghans it is 
 inhabited by Hazaras and a few Hindki traders, deal- 
 ing chiefly in corn, fruits, madder, sheep's wool, and 
 camel's hair cloth from the Hazara country. Ghazni 
 is memorable for its brilliant capture by Sir John 
 Keane in the first Afghan war. Three miles to the 
 north-east are the ruins of the old city, destroyed in 
 the twelfth century by the Prince of Ghor, who, how- 
 ever, spared the tomb of the renowned Mahmud of
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN" 41 
 
 ni. The entrance to this mausoleum, which is still 
 preserved with careful veneration, was formerly closed 
 by the famous sandal-wood gates brought by Mahmud 
 from Somnath in Guzerat, but sent back to India in 
 1842. 
 
 Crossing the watershed north of Ghazni, between the 
 Helmand and Indus basins, we enter the territory of 
 Kabulistan, which takes its name from the ancient city 
 of Kabul, the present capital of the State. Kabul lies 
 7 miles above the confluence of the Logar and Kabul 
 rivers, at the western extremity of a spacious plain in an 
 angle formed by two converging ridges. It is now an 
 open town, though formerly encircled by brick and mud 
 walls. There are no noteworthy public buildings, and 
 its interest, apart from its being the seat of government 
 for nearly a hundred years, arises chiefly from its position 
 at the junction of routes from Turkestan, Herat, Ghazni, 
 the Kuram valley, and the Panjab by way of -Telalabad. 
 This happy situation has made it an emporium of Central 
 Asiatic trade, notwithstanding the difficulty of the passes 
 connecting it with the Oxus valley. To the south-east 
 stands the Bala Hissar, or citadel, on a commanding 
 knoll at the extremity of the spur overlooking the city. 
 Kabul imports from India calicoes, indigo, spices, drugs, 
 and all kinds of British goods; from Russia broadcloth, 
 silks, velvets, gold and silver lace, paper, and hard- 
 ware, mostly by the long and toilsome route through 
 Bokhara and Bamian. The province yields wheat, 
 barley, and fruits in considerable quantity and of good 
 quality. 
 
 Of the alternative routes between Kabul and Jelala- 
 bad, the northern and more frequented leads over the 
 Lattaband Bass, while the southern follows the narrow 
 Khurd Kabul defile, where about 3000 men, women, and 
 children perished on the occasion of Elphinstone's ill-
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 43 
 
 fated retreat in January 18-12. East of the Karkacha 
 hills lies the equally ill-omened Jagdalak Pass, where the 
 massacre of the retreating troops was continued, a few 
 officers and men alone escaping to Gandamak. At this 
 place, where the last treaty with the British was signed 
 in 1880, a rapid descent leads down to the well- watered 
 plain of Jelalabad, about midway between Kabul and 
 Peshawar. This town forms an irregular quadrilateral 
 surrounded by walls at the junction of roads from India, 
 Kabul, and over the Hindu-Kush from Yarkand. It 
 is fnoted for the brave and successful defence by Sir 
 Pobert Sale in 18-11-42 against overwhelming numbers 
 of Afghans. Hither it was that Dr. Bryden, sole 
 survivor of the Kabul disaster, found his way in January 
 1842. 
 
 Between Jelalabad and Peshawar are the towns of 
 Lalpura and the fort of Ali-Musjid. The latter was 
 captured by the British at the beginning of the war with 
 the Amir Shir Ali. 
 
 Kelat, the capital of Baluchistan, is almost the only 
 town in the country. It is a small fortified place in the 
 centre of the province of Kelat, 6000 feet above the sea, 
 badly built, and presenting an appearance of extreme 
 squalor and decay. Its 12,000 inhabitants include 
 representatives of nearly all the surrounding races — 
 Brahuis, Baluchis, Afghans, Tajiks (here called Dehwars), 
 Jats, and Hindus. Here resides the Khan, surrounded 
 by a bodyguard of troopers, described by Bellew as 
 tatterdemalions. 
 
 A far more important place strategically is Quetta 
 (Shal), the capital of a district near the head of the 
 Bolan Pass and close to the Pishin valley, from which it 
 is separated by Mount Takatu, 10,504 feet high. By 
 treaty with the Khan, Quetta has become an advanced 
 British military station at a vital point on the southern-
 
 44 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 most route from India to Afghanistan, and about mid- 
 way between Shikarpur and Kandahar. Its occupation 
 
 secures the Pishin valley, holds all the unruly Mari, 
 Bugti, and other border tribes in check, keeps open the 
 roads of the Ivhojak and Gwaja passes over the Khoja 
 Amran range, and thus facilitates a rapid advance on
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN' 45 
 
 Kandahar. The valley of Quetta, lying 5500 feel 
 above the sea, is enclosed by mountain ranges which 
 rise from 5000 to 6000 feet higher, and afford 
 a shelter from the fierce sandstorms of the Helmand 
 Desert. 
 
 In Makran, Kej and the other so-called " towns " are 
 mere clusters of hamlets, or insignificant fishing villages 
 on the coast. 
 
 9. Highways of Communication : Passes. 
 
 One of the chief results of the recent hostilities in 
 Afghanistan was the revelation that not two or three, as 
 had been supposed, but at least a score of practicable 
 routes give access from the plains of India to the Iranian 
 plateau. From above Peshawar nearly to Karachi the 
 intervening highlands are almost everywhere pierced by 
 rivers and mountain torrents flowing down to the Indus, 
 many of which run through gorges and ravines affording 
 good passes to the interior. " What we have learnt 
 chiefly in connection with them is this — that most 
 excellent roads are easily constructed along even the 
 worst of them " (Sir T. Holdich). 
 
 Still more surprising was it to find that the Hindu- 
 Kush itself is crossed throughout its whole length by 
 mountain tracks more or less practicable during the 
 summer months from the Khawak westwards to the 
 Irak Pass leading to Bamian. The Paghman range also, 
 parallel and equal to it in height, is crossed by " durras " 
 or paths leading from nearly all the large villages north 
 of Kabul over the intervening Ghorband valley and 
 Hindu-Kush down to Afghan Turkestan. 
 
 At the western extremity of the Paropamisus the 
 Tajand and Murgh-ab valleys also afford ready access 
 from what is now ltussian Turkestan to tlie Herat
 
 46 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 district. Two comparatively easy routes lead southwards 
 to this city, one from Sarakhs through Zulfikar and over 
 the Borkhut hills (900 feet), the other from Merv through 
 Penjdeli and up the Ivushk valley. 
 
 From Peshawar, north-western terminus of the Indian 
 railway system, the great historic route to Kabul enters 
 the Afridi hills near Ali-Musjid, thence following the 
 
 ^''yt^'^yUi* i 
 
 THE KHAIBAR PASS AT ALI-MUSJID. 
 
 Khaibar river over the Khurd Khaibar Pass (3370 feet) 
 north-westwards and south of the Kabul river to Jelala- 
 bad. Here, crossing the Nangnahar plains, it ascends 
 through the narrow Jagdalak defile to the Karkacha hills 
 and the dangerous Khurd Kabul Pass, with an alternative 
 northern route over the Lataband Pass and the hills near 
 Butkhak down to Kabul. 
 
 Farther down, the scarcely less important Kuram 
 route to the capital runs by Thai and the Kuram river 
 to near Fort Kuram, north-westwards, over the Paiwar
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 47 
 
 range and Pass to Ali-Khel at junction of Rivers Earaia 
 and Hazardarakht. Thence it follows the latter river 
 over the Surkai Kotal between the Kuram and Kabul 
 basins to the Shutargardan Pass (10,800 feet), and so on 
 by Dobandi, Khushi, and the Logar valley, north to Kabul. 
 
 South of these two the ancient Gomul route ascends 
 from the Derajat plains over the Kotal-i-Sarwandi water- 
 parting to the Gomul or Gwalari Pass and thence to 
 Ghazni. 
 
 The southernmost route to Afghanistan follows the 
 new line of railway, now completed, from Sakkar on the 
 Indus across the plains and Kachi desert to Quetta, 
 near Pishin, at the head of the Bolan Pass. There are 
 also alternative routes through the Bolan to Quetta, and 
 through the Nari river valley to the Lora river and 
 Pishin valley, and thence over the Khoja Amran range, 
 by the Khojak and Gwaja Passes, and across the Dori 
 and other streams to Kandahar. The latter, though the 
 longer, is the easier of the two, and is followed by the 
 railway through Quetta and over the Gwaja Pass towards 
 Kandahar. 
 
 The usual routes from Herat to Kabul are the 
 northern, round by Maimana and Bamian, and the 
 southern round by Kandahar and Ghazni. But the 
 direct route across the Aimak and Hazara highlands up 
 the Hari-rud and east of Obeli is also occasionally used 
 by the natives, and has been frequently traversed in 
 eight days on horseback. The southern crosses the 
 Zanrindawar Durani domain by Farah, Girishk, and 
 Khushk-i-Nakhud, to Kandahar. Here it follows the 
 Tarnak valley to Kalat-i-Ghilzai, Ghazni, and over the 
 Sher-i-])ahar Pass between the Helmand and Kabul 
 basins, and down the Sliiniz river valley to its junction 
 with the Logar, where it bifurcates through the Wardak 
 and Logar valleys to Kabul.
 
 48 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Beyond those from the Indus through the Bolan and 
 Mula Passes to Quetta and Kelat, some regular routes 
 are now laid down in Baluchistan ; and the longitudinal 
 valleys running east and west parallel with the coast are 
 often traversed, and give easy access from the eastern 
 highlands to Persia. By this highway a camel-load of 
 goods may reach Mashhad from the Chaman terminus of 
 the Quetta railway in about forty days, whereas from 
 Bandar-Abbas it would take from seventy-five to ninety 
 days. In anticipation of these developments the Indian 
 railway system has now (1905) been continued by a 
 branch 83 miles long, running from Quetta south-west 
 to Nushki on the caravan route to Sistan. In 1900 this 
 newly-opened trade route between India and Persia was 
 traversed by Lord Eonaldshay from Nushki to Kuh-i- 
 Malik-Siah on the Persian frontier, distant 460 miles 
 from Quetta, and thence to Nasratabad, present capital 
 of Sistan, and so on all the way through Birjand to 
 Mashhad. Some 360 miles west of Nushki stands 
 the British fortress of Eobat, which here marks the 
 converging points of the Afghan, Baluch, and Persian 
 frontiers. 
 
 10. Afghan and Baluchi Administration. 
 
 During the four decades following the death of the 
 Amir, Dost Muhammad, and the restoration of Shah 
 Shuja by the British forces in 1838, Afghanistan was so 
 torn by tribal and dynastic feuds, that the civil adminis- 
 tration of the country was mainly reduced to the enforced 
 collection of tribute and revenue. But since the acces- 
 sion of the late Amir, Abdur-Kahman, a great improve- 
 ment has taken place in almost every branch of the public 
 service. In theory the government is monarchical under 
 a hereditary Amir (" Prince "), whose authority, however,
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 49 
 
 largely depends on his personal character and power to 
 enforce his mandates. His dominions comprise the four 
 administrative provinces of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, and 
 Afghan Turkestan, which with the district of Badakhshan 
 and dependencies are each under a hakim (formerly naib), 
 responsible to the Amir for the revenue and maintenance 
 of public order. Under the hakim ("governor") the 
 great tribal chiefs retain almost sovereign jurisdiction 
 over the clansmen, dispensing justice somewhat after a 
 feudal fashion, and this loose system of administration 
 has hitherto given free scope to spoliation, embezzlement, 
 and exactions of all kinds, especially in the districts far 
 removed from the seat of government. 
 
 Under the enlightened rule of Abdur-Eahman, con- 
 tinued by his son, Habibullah Khan, who succeeded in 
 October 1901, the central authority has been greatly 
 strengthened, and marked by the introduction of many 
 salutary reforms and improvements carried out by the 
 aid of several experienced Englishmen invited to Kabul 
 for the purpose. Extensive workshops have been erected 
 at Kabul, and provided with plant and machinery of the 
 most varied description. 
 
 In 1905 the new Amir accepted unreservedly the 
 engagements which his father had entered into with the 
 British raj. By the Anglo-Kussian agreement of August 
 1907 England undertakes not to occupy any part of 
 Afghanistan, nor to interfere with its internal administra- 
 tion so long as the Amir bides by his treaty engagements. 
 On the other hand, Russia declares that Afghanistan lies 
 outside the sphere of her influence, and engages that all 
 political relations with the Amir shall henceforth be 
 conducted through the British government. Thus the 
 internal independence of Kabul is guaranteed on both 
 sides, while a Eussian invasion of India through this 
 " buffer state " seems to be indefinitely averted. 
 
 VOL. II E
 
 50 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Some improvement has also taken place in the 
 general administration of Baluchistan, especially since 
 the accession of Mir Muhammad, Khan of Khelat, in 
 1893. His father Khudadad, who had succeeded Nasir 
 Khan II., of the Brahui dynasty, in 1857, had been 
 guilty of so many excesses, culminating with the murder 
 of his Minister and others, that the British authorities 
 were compelled to intervene, and call upon the discredited 
 ruler to abdicate, measures being at the same time taken 
 to prevent a recurrence of such abuses. At present 
 the political power of the Khan of Khelat is little more 
 than nominal. On the one hand he is subsidised, like 
 the Amir of Kabul, by the Indian Government, whose 
 supremacy is acknowledged by several treaties ; on the 
 other his jurisdiction is limited by the great tribal chiefs, 
 so that the greater part of Baluchistan forms a confederacy 
 of chiefs under the suzerainty of the Khan of Khelat. 
 The rest of the country is now practically British territory, 
 the districts of Quetta and the Bolan being administered 
 since 1876 by British officials on behalf of the Khan, 
 while the so-called assigned districts (Pishin, Shorarud, 
 Kachk, Kawas, Harnai, Sibi, and Thai Chotiali), the 
 territories of the Mari and Bugti tribes, the district of 
 Khetran, and the tract between the Zhob valley and the 
 Gomul Pass, are now under direct British rule. There 
 is no standing army, beyond a small corps maintained by 
 the Khan ; all the recent fortifications erected in connec- 
 tion with the general scheme of imperial defence lie within 
 the British territory ; the forts scattered over the Baluch 
 confederacy are of an obsolete type ; in a word, Baluchis- 
 tan as an independent political factor has ceased to exist.
 
 AFGHANISTAN AND BALUCHISTAN 
 
 51 
 
 11. Statistics. 
 Areas and Populations of East Irania and Afghan Turkestan. 
 
 Countries. Area in sq. miles. Population. 
 
 rWakhan . . . . 3,000 
 
 Aralo-Caspian 
 Basin 
 
 Badakhshan 
 
 | Kunduz 
 
 I Balkh . 
 
 I Andkhui 
 
 -{ Shabirkhan 
 Akcha . 
 Sar-i-pul 
 Maimana 
 Gurzivan 
 
 ,. Darzab 
 
 Hindu-Kusli 
 (Southern 
 Slopes) 
 
 Total Afghan Turkestan 
 
 -Kafiiistan 
 
 Afghanistan Proper 
 British Baluchistan 
 Khelat .... 
 
 Grand total . 
 
 8,500 
 
 11. I 
 
 15,000 
 6,000 
 2,500^| 
 3,300 ! 
 2,000 j 
 15,000J 
 2,5001 
 1,500 J 
 
 ro,3oo 
 
 7 
 
 ,000 I 
 
 3,000 
 
 158,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 64,000 
 
 60,000 
 
 270,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 960,000 l 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 217,000j 
 46,000 308,000 
 
 72,000 470,000 
 
 412,300 
 
 6,738,000 
 
 Approximate Classification by Races and Religions. 
 
 Fire- Worshippers 
 Pagans . 
 
 Muhammadans 
 
 Pagans 
 
 Muhammadans 
 
 Wakhis . 
 
 Siah-Posh Kafirs 
 f Safis and Chagnans 
 
 Kohistauis 
 
 Badakhshis 
 
 Afghans . 
 -I Tajiks (Dehwars) 
 
 Baluchis . 
 
 Sistauis 
 
 Kurds 
 
 Hindkis . 
 ( Lassis 
 A Lnris 
 { Jats . 
 f Hazarahs . 
 | Aimaks 
 J Usbegs 
 j Turkomans 
 I Kizil-Bashis 
 LBrahuis 
 Pagans and Fire Worshippers 
 Muhammadans, mostly Sunnis 
 
 Total . 
 
 1 GroJekov's estira 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 }■ Galcha Stock. 
 
 •Iranic Stock. 
 
 -Indie Stock. 
 
 - Mongol Stock. 
 
 [■ Tatar Stock. 
 
 Mongoloids ? 
 
 303,000 
 
 6.260,000 
 
 3,000 
 250,000 
 
 100,000 
 
 160,000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 800,000 
 
 80,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 - 50,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 150,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 6,393.000
 
 5 2 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 
 Chief Towns. 
 
 
 
 Pop. 
 
 
 Pop. 
 
 Kabul . 
 
 75,000 
 
 Khulm . 
 
 10,000 
 
 Kandahar 
 
 60,000 
 
 (ihazui . 
 
 8,000 
 
 Herat . 
 
 50,000 
 
 Kelat 
 
 6,000 
 
 Mazar-i-Sherif 
 
 25,000 
 
 Sar-i-pul 
 
 3,000 
 
 Andkhui 
 
 15,000 
 
 Kunduz . 
 
 3,000 
 
 Shabirkhan . 
 
 12,000 
 
 Faizabad 
 
 2,500 
 
 Maimana 
 
 ? 
 
 Jelalabad 
 
 2,000 
 
 Trade Returns (Rough Estimates) for Afghanistan. 
 
 Imports from India (1907), £750,000 ; from Paissian Central Asia and 
 
 Bokhara, £400,000 ; total, £1,150,000. 
 Exports to India, £746,000 ; to Russian Central Asia and Bokhara, 
 
 £400,000 ; total, £1,146,000. 
 Revenue, including Subvention from Indian Government, about 
 
 £870,000. 
 Army (1907) : About 80,000 available troops of all arms. The artillery 
 
 comprises 360 mountain and other guns. 
 War materials are now manufactured at the Kabul arsenal under the 
 
 superintendence of Englishmen in the Amir's service. 
 
 Kabul to Herat 
 Herat to Mashhad. 
 Kandahar to Sukkur 
 Kunduz to Balkh . 
 Kandahar to Herat 
 Kandahar to Kabul 
 Balkh to Bokhara . 
 Balkh to Andkhui . 
 Kabul to Ghazni . 
 Kabul to Jelalabad 
 
 
 Distances. 
 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 . 600 
 
 Kabul to Peshawar 
 
 165 
 
 
 200 
 
 Sukkur to Sibi, by rail . 
 
 140 
 
 
 410 
 
 Sibi by Chaman railway to 
 
 
 
 105 
 
 Kandahar .... 
 
 265 
 
 
 335 
 
 Quetta to Shikarpur, by rail . 
 
 182 
 
 
 290 
 
 Quetta to Nushki by rail 
 
 83 
 
 
 260 
 
 Quetta to Kuh-i-Malik-Siah . 
 
 460 
 
 
 100 
 
 Kohat to Ghazni . 
 
 264 
 
 
 60 
 
 Dera Ismail Khan to Kanda- 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 har, via Sakhi Sarwar 
 
 424
 
 CHAPTER JI 
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 1 . Boundaries — Extent — Area. 
 
 With a few comparatively unimportant exceptions, 
 British India forms a vast geographical and political 
 system, which, if it cannot everywhere yet boast of 
 strictly " scientific frontiers," enjoys none the less at 
 many points the advantage of the grandest natural 
 boundaries of any region on the globe. For it consists 
 mainly of a vast peninsular mass shut off from the 
 Asiatic mainland by the lofty Brahui and Suliman ranges 
 towards the north-west, and on the north by the still 
 loftier Hindu-Kush and Himalaya, while it is elsewhere 
 washed by the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. In 
 outline it presents the form of a somewhat irregular 
 equilateral triangle with its base rooted in the Hima- 
 layas, whence it tapers across 28 degrees of latitude 
 southwards to its apex in the Indian Ocean. Of this 
 triangle the three sides fall about 100 miles short of 
 2000 miles each, the distance between the extreme 
 frontiers of the Panjab and Assam west and east, and 
 from these points to Cape Comorin, at the apex, being as 
 nearly as possible 1900 miles. The coast-line, although 
 broken on the east side only by the small Chilka lagoon 
 near Jaganath, and on the west by the more important 
 inlets of the Katch and Cambay Gulf, has a total length
 
 54 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of nearly 9000 miles. The land frontier is conterminous 
 for nearly 6000 miles with the surrounding States of 
 Persia, Afghanistan, Eussia, China, and Siam. The 
 north-west frontier, as provisionally laid down by the 
 Anglo-Eussian Commission of 1895, coincides west of 
 Lake Victoria on the Great Pamir with the Pamir River 
 to its junction with the Wakhan-su at Kalah Panjah, 
 converging point of British India, Afghanistan, and Asiatic 
 Russia. Eastwards the line follows the crest of the 
 mountain range a little south of Lake Victoria as far as 
 the Benderky and Orta-Bell Passes, and thence north- 
 wards in the direction of Kizil-Rabat on the Ak-su River, 
 and eastwards to the Chinese frontier. But if Kizil- 
 Rabat is found to be north of the latitude of the lake, 
 then the line is to run to the nearest point on the Ak-su 
 south of that latitude, and to be prolonged thence east- 
 wards to the Chinese frontier. It was agreed that the 
 territory between the Hindu-Kush and a line running to 
 the Chinese frontier shall belong to Afghanistan, while 
 all the passes over the Hindu-Kush itself remain definitely 
 under complete British control. Within these borders 
 there is a total area of 1,706,000 square miles, with 
 a population, according to the census of 1901, of 
 294,000,000, and including Ceylon of over 297,000,000, 
 or about one-fifth of mankind. 
 
 2. Relief of the Land — Geological Retrospect. 
 
 A good idea of the general relief of the land will be 
 had by supposing it to subside about 500 or 600 feet 
 below its present level. Such a slight subsidence, alto- 
 gether imperceptible in the northern highlands, would 
 have the effect of flooding all the plains at their base and 
 converting the rest of the triangular mass into an island, 
 shorn of a narrow strip along the east coast, but else-
 
 THE IXD1AX EMPIRE 55 
 
 where almost intact. In other words, the Himalayas in 
 the north would continue to present much the same 
 outlines that they now do. The southern region of the 
 Deccan also, that is, the peninsula proper, forming an 
 elevated plateau 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea, 
 fringed on the north by the Vindhya range, and on the 
 west by the Western Ghats, would be materially affected 
 only on the east side, where a strip of low -lying and 
 partly alluvial coast -lands intervenes between the low 
 and interrupted scarp of the east coast. But the space 
 occupied by the Indus and Ganges valleys, known 
 emphatically as the " Plains of India," and lying mainly 
 between the Himalayas and the northern scarp of the 
 Deccan, would disappear altogether, their place being- 
 occupied by a broad strait or channel connecting the 
 Arabian Sea with the Bay of Bengal. 
 
 That such was the actual condition of things, even 
 in comparatively recent times, has till lately been the 
 generally accepted conclusion of geologists, who held that 
 the Indus and Ganges valleys are old marine beds filled 
 up by the alluvia brought down by those great rivers and 
 their numerous tributaries from the Himalayas and Vind- 
 hyas. And although this view is now shown to be 
 absolutely erroneous by Blandford, Oldham, and others, 
 its mere expression serves to give us a clear conception 
 of the physical geography of India. For we thus see that 
 this region consists of three distinct geological areas : the 
 Deccan, the Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains, and the extra- 
 peninsular Himalayan uplands. 
 
 Pre- Tertiary Times : Indo- Africa. 
 
 Thanks to the labours of the Indian Geological Survey, 
 the results of which have been lucidly summarised by
 
 56 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Mr. R D. Oldham, 1 it is now possible to trace with some 
 confidence the physical history of this region back to the 
 close of the palaeozoic era. At that remote epoch the 
 peninsular area proper, including the Aravalli Hills, the 
 Vindhya range, and the extension of the so-called "Eastern 
 Ghats " across the present Ganges-Brahmaputra delta to 
 the Assam and East Himalayan Mountains, was already, 
 and has since for the most part remained, dry land. 
 But the extra-peninsular area, that is to say, most of the 
 Himalayan region, together with the western (Suliman) 
 and eastern (Arakan-Yoma) mountains, was still a 
 marine bed, which appears to have been alternately up- 
 heaved and submerged several times during the secondary 
 era, and to have assumed its present outlines not earlier 
 than middle or even late tertiary times. The connection 
 between the peninsula (Deccan) and the Asiatic mainland 
 was in fact very slight in pre-tertiary ages, whereas its 
 connection with the African mainland by continuous land 
 across the present Indian Ocean down to the lower chalk 
 period is now placed beyond doubt. Thus the geological 
 record shows that what may be called the present Indo- 
 Asiatic Continent was preceded by an Indo-African Con- 
 tinent, Gondwanaland, as it has been called by Suess in 
 contradistinction to the supposed continent of Lemuria, 
 postulated by Sclater on other grounds, and for a later 
 period. 
 
 As the recently upheaved Himalayas form the great 
 orographic feature of Inclo-Asia, so the far older but now 
 degraded Aravalli range, with its eastern extension, the 
 red sandstones of the Vindhyan system, was the most 
 conspicuous feature of Gondwanaland. From their colour, 
 and the remarkably uniform character maintained over a 
 vast area passing under the later traps of the Deccan, 
 
 1 "The Evolution of Indian Geography," in Geographical Journal, 
 March 1894.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 these sandstones appear to have been deposited by rivers 
 in freshwater lakes and lagoons. They are the waste of 
 
 ROCK PILLARS, SPIT] VALLEY. 
 
 the Aravalli Mountains, just as the later alluvium of the 
 Indo-Gangetic plain are the waste of the Himalayas. 
 
 "As the deposits of the Gangetic plain can be shown to
 
 58 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 be derived from the Himalayas, and to have been formed 
 during the elevation of those mountains, it is difficult to 
 avoid the conclusion that the upper Vindhyan sand- 
 stones were similarly formed of the cUbris washed down 
 from the Aravalli range, and that the period during 
 which they were being deposited represents that of the 
 elevation of the Aravalli Mountains and of their maxi- 
 mum development " (Oldham, loc cit.). 
 
 To the same Indo-African continent, and most prob- 
 ably to the same age as the Aravalli system, belongs 
 the series of hills, such as the Nallamalai and Yellakonda 
 groups, extending north from Madras roughly parallel 
 with the east coast, with which they are also geographi- 
 cally connected. The present coast-line thus appears to 
 have undergone relatively little modification of form and 
 trend since Permian or late palaeozoic times. Hence 
 the remarkable absence of secondary or tertiary marine 
 deposits in the interior of the Deccan, which shows no 
 indication of subsidence during the upper palaeozoic epoch. 
 
 The great earth movement to which were due the 
 Aravalli and Vindhyan heights, was followed by a long 
 period of quiescence, during which was accumulated the 
 vast Gondwana system of rluviatile deposits, showing- 
 evidence of glaciation in Eajputana and elsewhere. 
 Throughout this period the connection was still main- 
 tained north-eastwards with the Assam and East Hima- 
 layan uplands, and also south-westwards through the 
 Laccadives, the Mascarenhas, and South Madagascar with 
 Africa, as plainly shown by the allied floras and faunas 
 of the lower Gondwana (Indian) and Karoo (Cape) series. 
 The plants of the Indian and South African coal-measures 
 are all absolutely identical, and the remarkable Dicynodon 
 and other allied forms of fossil reptiles are equally 
 characteristic of both regions. 
 
 The late Jurassic and early cretaceous (neocomian)
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 59 
 
 marine fossils on the South African seaboard, on the east 
 coast of India, and in the Ivhasi Hills (Assam) are also 
 either identical or closely allied. But those of the same 
 age in Western India are quite distinct, and belong to a 
 different marine zoological province, which extended along 
 Western Asia and North Africa into Europe, and down 
 the east coast of Africa as far south as North Madagascar. 
 The present Indian Ocean was thus evidently decomposed 
 into two distinct basins by the Indo- African continent of 
 the secondary era. 
 
 In the northern basin the marine waters still flowed 
 over the whole of the present Himalayan region, except 
 perhaps the eastern section, which, so far as known, 
 shows no trace of marine deposits, and which probably 
 formed continuous land with Indo-Africa throughout the 
 secondary and late paleozoic eras. On the other hand, the 
 extensive series of marine sediments in Burma, the north- 
 western Himalayas, and the Iranian plateau beyond the 
 Indus, show that in pre-tertiary times all these regions 
 were still mostly, though not continuously, under water. 
 " Unconformable breaks show that there were alterna- 
 tions of land and sea ; but there are no extensive sub- 
 aerial formations, and there is no evidence of any con- 
 siderable disturbance or compression of the rocks. There 
 were periods of placid accumulation of sediments, inter- 
 rupted by times when they were quietly raised above 
 sea-level and exposed to denudation ; but there are not 
 at present sufficient data to allow of our attempting any 
 detailed restoration of the geography until the close of 
 the Jurassic period " (Oldham, ib.). 
 
 Tertiary and Later Times: Indo- Asia. 
 
 The long period of quiescence, which had prevailed 
 throughout most of the secondary era, was followed in
 
 60 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the peninsular area by the greatest outburst of igneous 
 energy of which there is any distinct record on the sur- 
 face of the globe. The eruptions, which have swallowed 
 up much of the old red sandstones of the Vindhyan 
 system, and covered a space of some 200,000 square 
 miles in the Deccan with tuffs and lava sheets several 
 thousand feet thick, were probably associated, or at least 
 coincident, with the great earth-movement in the extra- 
 peninsular area which began before the close of the 
 secondary era, and which brought about the transition 
 from the Indo-African to the Indo-Asiatic continent. 
 This movement thus witnessed the three great events 
 which, so to say, complete the physiographical history 
 of the Indian region taken as a whole, that is to say, the 
 submergence of the land stretching south-westwards from 
 the present west coast, the union of the northern and 
 southern marine basins in the present Indian Ocean, and 
 the upheaval of the western and central Himalayas, of 
 the Suliman range in the extreme west, and of the 
 Arakan Yoma in the extreme east, with its southern 
 extension through the Andeman and Mcobar groups 
 towards Malaysia. But so far from being in the nature 
 of a cataclysm or sudden convulsion, the movement would 
 appear to have been mainly an extremely slow process 
 extending over a great part of the tertiary era, and in 
 fact still continuing. Thus the Himalayas, rising almost 
 imperceptibly during eocene and miocene times, had at- 
 tained an elevation of probably not more than 20,000 feet 
 in the pliocene period, since when they have increased 
 their altitude by only about 9000 feet. A clear proof of 
 their comparatively recent origin is afforded by the 
 presence at heights of 18,000 or 20,000 feet of num- 
 mulitic limestones, which were deposited on the marine 
 bed not later than the middle and upper eocene age, 
 consequently well within the tertiary era. In the eastern
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 61 
 
 and western mountains also, rocks that had no existence 
 before that era are now found upheaved thousands of 
 feet above sea-level. 
 
 Still more modern are the Siwalik foot-hills of the 
 Himalayas, whose pliocene fossils show them to be upper 
 tertiary formations. Originally fluviatile deposits similar 
 to those now being formed on the neighbouring plains, 
 they became cut off from the lowlands and raised to 
 their present height by quite recent disturbances. 
 
 The lowlands themselves, that is to sav, the great 
 Indo-Gangetic plains, are in the nature of a depression 
 caused by the same earth-movement to which the Hima- 
 layas owe their existence. As the land rose in the north 
 above the marine waters, it sank in the south from the 
 peninsular area down nearly to sea-level, above which it 
 has since been raised several hundred feet by the waste 
 of the Himalayas themselves. Hence it is that this 
 depression shows no trace of marine deposits from the 
 meridian of Delhi eastwards to Assam, and in fact may 
 well have originally formed part of the old peninsular 
 area, — its northern seaboard, as it were,— with escarpments 
 towards the great ocean, which in palaeozoic and mesozoic 
 times nearly separated the Asiatic from the Indo-African 
 world. 
 
 So long as the connection was maintained between 
 the East Coast range and the Assam Hills, the Indo- 
 Gangetic plain could have but one seaward outlet for its 
 running waters, that of the Indus, which has maintained 
 itself to the present day. But when a breach was made, 
 either by erosion or subsidence, in the eastern barrier 
 between the Eajmahal and Assam Hills, much of the 
 drainage was diverted from the Indus and carried through 
 the Ganges to the Bay of Bengal. This diversion " must 
 have been a gradual process, whose final stage, the per- 
 manent diversion of the Jumna into the Ganges, may
 
 62 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 even have taken place within the historic period. Before 
 this the waters of the Jumna must have flowed west- 
 wards ; then it may have wandered and flowed alternately 
 into the Ganges and Indus, or into that dry river channel 
 which can still be traced through the desert of Western 
 Eajputana. In its latest stage it probably, like the Cas- 
 siquiare in South America at the present clay, divided its 
 waters between the eastern and the western drainage ; 
 but now no further change can take place, for the river 
 has cut its channel deep below the general level of the 
 plain, and must perforce remain a tributary of the 
 Ganges " (it.). 
 
 Possibly owing to their recent origin and extremely 
 slow upheaval, the Himalayas, despite their great eleva- 
 tion, do not form a divide between the Indian and 
 Tibetan hydrographic systems. The Indo-Gangetic plain 
 receives all the drainage, not only of the southern but 
 also of the northern slopes, through the Indus, Ganges, 
 and San-po (Brahmaputra), whose head- waters all rise on 
 the north side of the range and pierce it at various points 
 on their seaward course. The explanation in this, as in 
 other cases where similar phenomena are presented, may 
 be that as the land rose the rivers were able to keep 
 open their channels by erosion, the two processes going 
 on simultaneously at about the same rate of progress. 
 Thus the equilibrium was maintained throughout tertiary 
 times and down to the present day without any great 
 disturbance of the local hydrography. 
 
 In the peninsular area the subsidence of the land 
 connection with Africa had the result of giving the 
 Deccan a continuous western seaboard, perhaps originally 
 coincident, or nearly so, with the line of the Western 
 Ghats. This chain, now little more than the seaward 
 scarp of a plateau, may thus be regarded as forming in 
 secondary times, not a coast range, but a low inland
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 63 
 
 water-parting between two great hydrographic systems, 
 one of which disappeared in the Indian Ocean during 
 the tertiary era. The other still persists, and comprises 
 all the great rivers of the Deccan except the Narbada 
 and Tapti, which alone have a westerly course to the 
 Indian Ocean, and apparently to that section of it which 
 in Jurassic and cretaceous times lay to the north of Indo- 
 Africa. All the other large peninsular streams flow across 
 the Deccan eastwards to the Bay of Bengal, having their 
 rise, as might be expected from the geological history of 
 the land, on the slopes of the Western Ghats, near the 
 present Indian Ocean, that is, on the east side of the old 
 I ndo- African water-parting, upheaved in eocene or miocene 
 times to its present elevation. Towards the south of the 
 peninsula the Palghat depression between the Western 
 Ghats and the Travancore Hills, if not originally a marine 
 inlet, may perhaps represent one of these ancient water- 
 courses. But the old physical features of the district are 
 so obliterated that it is no longer possible to determine 
 its original trend, which may have been either westwards 
 or eastwards, at a time when the land extended to and 
 far beyond the neighbouring Laccadive Islands. 
 
 With regard to the " Eastern Ghats," their non- 
 existence has been made so evident by the geological 
 survey, that the expression should henceforth be banished 
 from the map of India. " They are a figment of the 
 imagination, the name belonging to the roads that lead 
 to the Mysore plateau having been loosely applied to 
 sundry groups of hills that have no connection with the 
 Mysore plateau, nor with each other. One of these 
 groups, it has been suggested by Mr. Oldham, may be 
 connected with the history of the eastern coast from 
 Madras to Masulipatam. In this case, however, it will 
 be seen, by looking at the geological map, that the par- 
 allelism is not very well marked, and there is no range
 
 64 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 at all having the same relation to the south coast of 
 Madras." 1 
 
 The Himalayan and Southern Orographic Systems. 
 
 Prom the Great Pamir focus of the continental 
 highland systems, the Himalayas seem to break away 
 south-eastwards in three main parallel lines — the Kara- 
 korum and Kailas or Gangri ranges, enclosing between 
 them the valley of the Shayok, and the Himalayas proper, 
 enclosing with the Gangri the Upper Indus valley. The 
 Karakorum or northernmost range is known as the 
 Tsungling, or Mustagh (" Ice Mountains "), to the natives, 
 who reserve the term Karakorum to the pass of that 
 name. Beginning at the knot of Pusht-Khar in 74° 30' 
 E. long., it forms an eastern continuation of the Hindu - 
 Kush, sweeping round the northern frontier of Kashmir, 
 and stretching thence in a south-easterly direction to the 
 neighbourhood of the sources of the Indus in Tibet. Of 
 its eastern continuation beyond the Chang-Chenmo Pass 
 nothing definite is known, and it is still uncertain whether 
 it forms a connection with the Kailas range about the 
 sources of the Indus and San-po, or merges gradually 
 with the Tibetan plateau. The highest elevations occur 
 in the section between the Karakorum Pass and the 
 Gilgit valley, where the Dapsang (28,000 feet), and the 
 peak long marked K 2 on the Indian Survey maps, and 
 now named Godwin -Austen from its first explorer 
 (28,278), are, next to Mount Everest, the highest peaks 
 on the globe. The northern extremity is broken by long 
 transverse valleys, while the southern presents much 
 more abrupt escarpments towards the Indus valley. 
 
 The general direction of the Mustagh from north- 
 west to south-east is maintained at a mean elevation of 
 
 1 K. T. Blandford, Geograph. Jour., March 1894, p. 193.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 65 
 
 18,000 to 19,000 feet for some distance beyond the 
 Karakorum Pass, after which it trends southwards, and 
 again rises to imposing heights along the southern edge 
 of the Tibetan plateau. The snow-line seems to rise on 
 the north side to 18,000, on the south to 18,600 feet, 
 and the Karakorum Pass leading from the Shayok valley 
 to Yarkand is no less than 18,200 feet above sea-level. 
 The Karakorum, rather than the more northern Kuen-hm, 
 forms the true water-parting between the inland Asiatic 
 and southern drainage. All the streams flowing from 
 its southern slopes make their way through the Indus 
 to the Indian Ocean, while those rising on its north 
 side belong to the closed basins of Tibet or Eastern 
 Turkestan. 
 
 In 1887 Captain Younghusband wound up his long 
 ramblings of 7000 miles around and across Central 
 Asia by passing from Kashgaria to India by the shortest 
 but far most difficult route, which leads over the Mustagh 
 Range by two passes of that name (the Old and New), 
 neither of which had previously been crossed either from 
 the north or from the south by any European traveller. 
 Striking south from Yarkand, this explorer reached Dora 
 on the Upper Yarkand-darya by the Tisnaf river valley 
 and the comparatively easy Tupa Dawan (10,400 feet) 
 and Chiragh Saldi (15,000 or 16,000) Passes. Beyond 
 Dora the track led over the Aghil Dawan (16,000 to 
 17,000) Pass down to the Shaksgam, a hitherto unknown 
 head-stream of the Yarkand, which is fed by the snows 
 of Ghusherbrum and Godwin -Austen, and which, after 
 its junction with the Sarpo Leggo from the Mustagh 
 glaciers, joins the main stream below Dora. From the 
 heights above the Shaksgam valley a superb view was 
 obtained of the Mustagh- Karakorum Mountains, whose 
 aspect, seen from this point, " is extremely bold and 
 rugged, as they rise in a succession of needle peaks 
 
 VOL. II F
 
 66 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 like hundreds of Matterhorns collected together ; but the 
 Matterhoru, Mont Blanc, and all the Swiss mountains 
 would have been several hundred feet below me, while 
 these mountains rose up in solemn grandeur thousands of 
 feet above me. Not a living thing was seen, and not a 
 sound was heard ; all was snow and ice and rocky preci- 
 pices " {Geo. Proc, 1888, p. 506). 
 
 Beyond tne Shaksgam the route ascends the Sarpo 
 Leggo torrent right up to the foot of the Mustagh glacier, 
 where it branches to the east over the old and to the 
 west over the new Mustagh Pass, both attaining an 
 extreme altitude of more than 19,000 feet, and both so 
 difficult that they may be regarded as impracticable 
 except by a tour de force. Owing to the accumulations 
 of ice the old had not been used by any native for thirty 
 or forty years, and even the new had been abandoned for 
 the last ten years. Captain Younghusband selected the 
 former, by which, after strenuous efforts and extreme risk, 
 he reached the Baltoro glacier on the southern slope of 
 the range, and made his way thence through the village 
 of Askoli in Baltistan to Skardo on the Upper Indus 
 above the Vale of Kashmir. As he looked back on the 
 pass from the Baltoro snowfields, " it seemed utterly 
 impossible that any man could have got down such a 
 place." 
 
 Noteworthy in this alpine region are the numerous 
 glaciers, the largest of which is the Baltoro, 33 miles 
 long, and flanked on either side by two giant peaks over 
 26,000 feet high. Yet, vast as they are, these glaciers 
 are mere remnants of the enormous ice and snow fields, 
 which formerly covered the whole region of the "Western 
 Himalayas. The upper part of the Baltoro glacier is 
 dominated by the majestic cone of Gusherbrum (26,360 
 feet), visited in 1903 by A. C. F. Ferber. 
 
 Much light was thrown on the general aspect of the
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 67 
 
 Mustagh highlands by the memorable expedition of Mr. 
 \V. M. Conway, who in 1892 explored some of the 
 highest **crests, passes, and glaciers of this alpine region, 
 crossing the greatest glacier pass that exists anywhere in 
 the temperate zone, and reaching the greatest height 
 till then attained by any one on the surface of the globe. 
 Starting from Srinagar, capital of Kashmir, on 15th April.. 
 Mr. Conway first followed the new Gilgit road over the 
 Tragbal and Burzil passes, across the main Himalayan 
 range down to the Indus, which river was crossed at 
 Bunji, and then skirted along its right bank to the 
 Gilgit valley. This valley is taken as a typical example 
 of the action of mud avalanches, whose influence in 
 modifying the surface of the land Mr. Conway thinks 
 has not yet received due attention by geologists and 
 geographers. The lower parts are buried beneath ac- 
 cumulated masses of dSbris, round and angular stones 
 embedded in mud to depths of probably from 500 to 
 1000 feet and more, the Gilgit river flowing in a gorge 
 or canon, which has not been so much cut through as 
 built up by these accumulations. " If the valley were 
 filled up in this fashion to a depth of 2000 or 3000 
 feet, it would resemble the Pamirs, and all the deeply 
 filled valleys which are characteristic of the Central 
 Asian plateau from the middle of Tibet on the east to 
 the upper region of the Oxus on the west. Mud 
 avalanches, I maintain, have done all this work of fill- 
 ing up the valleys, and done it too with great rapidity " 
 (Geographical Journal, Oct. 1893, p. 291). 
 
 After surveying the wooded Bagrot valley sloping 
 southwards from the Eakipushi heights, the party struck 
 north into the rock-bounded Hunza-Nagyr valley, whose 
 turbulent chiefs were brought under direct British con- 
 trol in December 1891. The little Hunza and Nagyi 
 principalities, described in Mr. E. F. Knight's Where
 
 68 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Three Empires Meet (1893), lie on the north and south 
 sides respectively of the Hunza river, as far as the part- 
 ing of the streams, where Nagyr has a river of its own 
 fed by the Hispar and other great glaciers of the region 
 surveyed by Mr. Conway. The scenery of these alpine 
 valleys, all draining to the Indus, is grand beyond the 
 powers of description. " The mountains fling themselves 
 aloft on either hand with astonishing precipitancy, as it 
 were, into the uttermost heights of heaven ; so steeply, 
 in fact, that a spring avalanche falling from the summit 
 of Eakipushi on the south must almost reach the bottom 
 of the valley, whilst I myself saw within a short distance 
 of the houses of Hunza town (Baltit) the snowy dust of 
 a great avalanche, which descended grandly from near 
 the top of the noble peak that rises close behind the 
 place. Eakipushi is 25,500, the Hunza peak 24,000 
 feet high, their summits being separated by a distance of 
 19 miles. Both are visible from base to summit at one 
 and the same time from the level floor of the valley 
 between them, which is not more than 7000 feet above 
 the sea. No mountain view that I saw in the Mustagh 
 surpasses this for grim wonder of colossal scale, com- 
 bined with savage grandeur of forms and contrast of 
 smiling foreground" (ib., p. 294). 
 
 Mr. Conway was unable to determine the exact area 
 of the Hindu-Kush covered by the now familiar names, 
 Mustagh and Karakorum, which on some maps have a 
 north-west trend, thotfgh no range is disposed in this 
 direction ; all run parallel to each other, mainly from 
 west by north to south by east. One extends from 
 Eakipushi along the south side of the Hispar valley to 
 the Hispar pass ; a second to the north forms the north 
 bank of the Hispar valley, and includes the Hunza Peak ; 
 a third still farther north, but not yet surveyed, separ- 
 ates Gujal, that is, the Upper Hunza valley from the
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 69 
 
 Taghdumbash Pamir, close to the proposed new British 
 frontier towards Chinese Turkestan. But both Mustagh 
 and Karakorum appear to be originally the native names, 
 not of ranges, but of passes, as has been pointed out by 
 Colonel Godwin - Austen, who proposes to apply the 
 term Mustagh to that section of the range running west 
 
 FOOT OF THE HXSFAR GLACIER. 
 
 of K 2 as far as the Hunza-Nagyr valley, and Karakorum 
 to the eastern section up to the Chang Chenmo plain. 
 
 Passing from Nagyr to the Hopar basin, the explorer 
 surveyed the Hopar, Hispar, and Barpu glaciers, all of 
 which formerly converged in a single glacier stream; 
 but the Hispar lias now retreated some 2 miles into 
 the mountains, while the Hopar, of which the Barpu is 
 a branch, lias greatly shrunk in width, leaving exposed
 
 70 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 the Hopar plain on its west bank. Above Barpu was 
 unexpectedly discovered a vast series of glacier basins, 
 a view of which was obtained from the crest of the 
 ridge between the Barpu and Hispar valleys. " As we 
 mounted the view developed ; the great glacier basins 
 below revealed their distant recesses, and the cirque of 
 giant peaks behind, all white with nev£, reared themselves 
 aloft against the blue sky and showed the smallness of 
 their outlying satellites, which had seemed to rise so 
 high above us from our camps. The view on the other 
 side was of peculiar interest to us, for we looked for the 
 first time into the Hispar valley and beheld the long 
 avenue of peaks that lined the way up the Hispar 
 glacier towards the unknown snowy regions through 
 which lay our intended route into Baltistan." 
 
 Crossing the Hispar Pass into the Askoli district of 
 North Baltistan, the explorer surveyed the great Baltoro 
 glacier and for the first time ascended the Crystal and 
 Pioneer Peaks. Later, the Skoro Pass was crossed in 
 frightful weather at the enormous altitude of 17,400 
 feet, and farther on the exploring party entered the 
 pleasant and fertile Shigar valley, which to their eyes, 
 accustomed for months to the wilderness of barren rocks 
 and blinding snows, " seemed beyond measure luxuriant. 
 The air, too, was full of colour, and bathed all nature in 
 its tender glow. Busy peasants, driving oxen to tread 
 out the corn, and singing as they drove, made the fields 
 animated and musical. Birds twittered among the trees,, 
 butterflies flitted about in countless numbers, and we 
 walked along as in a dream. The picturesque archi- 
 tecture of the group of mosques in the principal village 
 of Shigar showed that we had returned to regions w r here 
 men have leisure for art." Prom this point the return 
 route lay through Skardo, capital of Baltistan, on the 
 Upper Indus, to Srinagar and Abbotabad, which was
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 71 
 
 reached on 28th October 1892, after an absence of seven 
 months in the Mustagh highlands. 
 
 The great Hispar Pass, as determined by this expedi- 
 tion, extends from the end of the Hispar glacier to the 
 end of the Biafo glacier for a distance of over 80 miles, 
 and is consequently the longest glacier pass in the world 
 outside the Arctic regions. Before Mr. Conway's expedi- 
 tion it appears never to have been crossed in the memory 
 of any living person. 
 
 During his first expedition to the Pamir in 1889 
 Captain Younghusband, starting from Shahidula above 
 the Karakorum Pass (18,550 feet), and following the 
 course of the Easkam (Upper Yarkand-daria), crossed 
 from that basin to the valley of the tributary Oprang 
 Eiver, by the hitherto unvisited Aghil Pass, leading 
 southwards to the K 2 peak, now named Mount Godwin- 
 Austen (28,278 feet). This remarkable depression, how- 
 ever, was found to cross, not the Mustagh range proper, 
 but an unknown chain, which is separated from it by 
 the Oprang valley, and to which its discoverer has given 
 the name of the Aghil range. " It runs in a general 
 north-west direction, parallel to and intermediate be- 
 tween the Mustagh range and the western Kuen-lun 
 Mountains. It is about 120 miles in length, and is 
 broken up into a series of bold upstanding peaks, the 
 highest of which must be close on 23,000 feet." 
 
 From the Aghil Pass and the Oprang valley views were 
 obtained of the loftiest and most extensive glacial region 
 in the temperate zone. Standing on the pass, the observer 
 looks south-westwards up the Oprang valley, " which is 
 bounded on either side by ranges of magnificent snowy 
 mountains, rising abruptly from either bank, and in the 
 distance could be seen the end of an immense glacier flow- 
 ing down from the main range of the Mustagh Mountains.'' 
 
 During the years 1902-1908 Dr. W. Hunter Work-
 
 72 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 man and Mrs. Workman lived, so to say, amid the 
 Himalayan snows and glaciers, and it will be convenient 
 here briefly to summarise their more remarkable exploits. 
 In 1902 three excursions were made to the Karakoram 
 highlands, where the Chogo Lungma and several tributary 
 glaciers were surveyed for the first time. The main 
 ice-stream was found to be over 30 miles long, and one 
 of the tributaries led to a pass 17,500 feet high on the 
 north flank of Mount Haramosh (24,285 feet). Much 
 time was passed in snow camps from 16,000 to over 
 19,000 feet high. In 1903 they visited the Hoh Lumba 
 glacier, which lies west of the Hispar glacier, but is 
 wrongly traced on the Indian Trigonometrical Survey 
 map. It does not join the Hispar, but ends at a pass 
 18,000 feet high, above which a sheer precipice towers 
 from 6000 to 7000 feet. A return was then made to 
 the Chogo Lungma, where three peaks respectively 
 21,500, 22,567, and 23,394 feet were ascended. Now 
 also was discovered the Kero Lungma glacier with its 
 chief branch, the Hulcho Alchori, gained by a snow pass 
 17,000 feet high. In the same year, 1903, the ascent 
 was made for the first time of the twin Hoh Lumba and 
 Sosbon glaciers, which lie in the same Alpine region, but 
 farther east in the direction of Mounts Meru (22,000 
 feet) and Kailas (23,914). The Hoh Lumba, of which 
 the Sosbon is a branch, rises at the " Col des Aiguilles " 
 (Needle Eidge), a pass 18,600 feet high, between aiguilles 
 (peaks) ranging from 19,000 to 20,000 feet. The nearly 
 parallel Sosbon rises more to the east, at the base of a 
 saddle 17,000 feet high, and is commanded by a peak 
 over 22,000 feet which was named Mount Sosbon by 
 the explorers. In 1906-7 the Nun Kun highlands in 
 the Sura district, Kashmir, were thoroughly explored, 
 largely for the first time. The group has a mean altitude 
 of about 20,000 feet, with three peaks over 23,000 feet,
 
 II 1 
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 73 
 
 the highest being 23,447 feet. Pinnacle Peak, the next 
 highest (23,300 feet), was scaled by Mrs. Workman on 
 July 29, 1907, and this was a record not only for women, 
 but for all Alpine climbers. A complete circuit was 
 made of the Nun Kim group, snow-camps were formed 
 at altitudes of 19,000 to over 21,000 feet, and on the 
 Shafar glacier and elsewhere the surface was found strewn 
 with those peculiar formations which are known as nieves 
 penitentes,a.n& had hitherto been observed only on the South 
 American Cordilleras. Prom them one peak 19,080 feet 
 high was named " Mount Nieves Penitentes." 
 
 The Himalayas proper — that is, the " Abode of Snow, 
 as they have been named by the Aryan inhabitants of the 
 plains — constitute, if not the largest, by far the most elevated 
 highland system on the globe. With a breadth of from 
 180 to 220 miles, they stretch in a continuous curve of 
 about 1500 miles along the Indo-Tibetan frontier between 
 72° to 96° E. long, from Kashmir to Assam. The main 
 direction for nearly two-thirds of the distance to Mount 
 Everest (29,002 feet, but raised by Col. Burrard in 1908 
 to 29,141 feet, as the mean of six observations from 
 Darjiling), culminating point of the globe, is north-west 
 and south-east, and thence nearly due east to the Indo- 
 Chinese frontier. Throughout this vast distance a mean 
 elevation is maintained of from 17,000 to 19,000 feet, 
 while as many as forty peaks are known to exceed 24,000 
 f ee t — that is, a height greater than the loftiest summits of 
 the Andes, or probably any other range beyond the Asiatic 
 continent. The Himalayas, which do not form a single chain, 
 but a number of more or less parallel ridges, with spurs often 
 projecting in various directions, may be regarded as forming 
 the southern scarp of the great Central Asiatic tableland, 
 towards which they slope gently, while falling abruptly 
 
 1 From the primitive Aryan root hi, hv, preserved in the Greek x e 'Ma 
 = Latin hiem-s = winter, storm.
 
 74 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 down to the Indian lowlands. Far inland lie the inmost 
 ridges, which from the coast cannot be distinguished from 
 the more advanced chains and transverse sections, often 
 projecting far into the plains, above which they rise in a 
 succession of steep rocky barriers to the Tibetan table- 
 land. The southern foot of the main ridge is skirted by 
 the marshy " Tarai," forming a watery hollow trough of 
 great depth, extremely favourable to the growth of a 
 luxuriant and even rank vegetation, but also perpetually 
 shrouded in noxious exhalations rising from the dank 
 ground. The Tarai, which traverses the British and 
 Xepal frontier for nearly 500 miles east and west, lies at 
 a lower depth than the plains from which it is separated 
 by the outer and lowest ridges of the system. 
 
 A prominent feature of the Himalayas consists of the 
 narrow gorge-like valleys of the advanced spurs, entirely 
 destitute of waterfalls, and seldom presenting favourable 
 sites for human abodes. But a few of the more gently 
 sloping valleys, at elevations of from 6000 to 7000 feet, 
 have been chosen for the summer retreats and sanitaria 
 of the English officials, and even these are occasionally 
 subject to sudden and destructive landslips. 1 
 
 The Himalayas may be divided into a western, a 
 central, and an eastern section. The first begins at 
 Mount JSTanga-Parbat (26,629 feet), where the Indus 
 suddenly trends southwards between Kashmir and Gilgit. 
 Although there are here no well-defined ridges, there are 
 several longitudinal valleys between which the Indus and 
 other rivers flow for hundreds of miles before they can 
 find an outlet southwards. Here also several peaks, 
 besides the Xanga-Parbat, rise above 23,000 feet, the 
 Xanda-Devi attaining an elevation of 25,661 feet. 
 
 1 In the year 1880 the station of Nairn Tal was partly destroyed by 
 one of these landslips, which partly filled in a lake at the foot of the 
 hills.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 75 
 
 * *K*!fe 
 
 NANQA-PAKBAT. 
 
 The central section, forming- the so-called Nepal 
 highlands, and stretching from the source of the Indus fco 
 the Tista, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, is intersected
 
 76 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 by numerous transverse valleys running north and south, 
 and contains the highest summits on the globe. The 
 most conspicuous peaks are the Dhawalagiri (26,826 
 feet) in the west, Gauri-sankar or Mount Everest (29,141) 
 in the east, and Kancbinjinga or Kangchenjunga (28,156) 
 on the Sikkim frontier. In the extreme north tower the 
 glittering summits of the main chain, forming, as it were, 
 the topmost foamy crests of these billow-like formations, 
 which, after sinking twice to a depth of 10,000 feet, 
 again suddenly fall to little over 1000 feet above the level 
 of the plains. But before reaching the lowlands there is 
 another abrupt rise to from 3000 and 4000 feet, formed 
 by a long sandstone ridge rolling away towards the so- 
 called " Bhaver," a dry wooded tract, which in its turn 
 sinks through a succession of long undulations down to the 
 Tarai. 
 
 In 1892 a scientific expedition was undertaken to 
 the Central Himalayan regions of Kumaon, Garhwal, and 
 Hundes for the purpose of studying the extensive trias 
 deposits on the Tibetan frontier west of the Manasarowar 
 Lakes. Starting from Naini Tal, the party, including 
 Dr. Diener and Messrs. L. Griesbach and C. S. Middle- 
 miss, first struck north-east to Milam (11,250 feet), the 
 highest inhabited place in the Bhot Mahals, or Tibetan 
 border region. The Milam glacier, terminating at a 
 height of 11,340 feet two miles north-west of the village, 
 is 12 miles long, being the largest of the ice-streams 
 discharged by the Nanda Devi group. Beyond Milam 
 the route lay over the Utadhura Pass (17,590 feet) to 
 the upper Girthi valley, where some rich fossiliferous 
 trias deposits were discovered on the southern slopes of 
 the Bambanag range (19,000 feet). From this point 
 the journey was continued over the Kiangur Pass 
 (17,000 feet) and the Kisgarh-Chalda Pass (17,400) to the 
 pastures of Lachambelkichak and Chitichun in Hundes.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 77 
 
 After scaling the Chitichun Peak Xo. 1 (17,740), 
 the two Chauambaniali summits (18,320 and 18,360), 
 and Ivangribingri (1 9, 170), the party returned by the Yandi 
 Pass to Milam, and made a fresh start by the Utadhura and 
 Kiangur Passes for the Eimkin Paiar territory, which is 
 claimed by the Tibetans. Here the route was continued 
 along the southern slopes of the watershed as far as the 
 Niti Pass (16,628 feet), the most frequented of the 
 Central Himalayan divide, which led down to the Dhauli 
 Ganga valley, the farthest point reached by the expedition. 
 Scarcely anywhere in the world, not even in the Grand 
 Canon of the Colorado, could more magnificent geological 
 sections be found than those presented by the limestone 
 zone of the Central Himalayas near Eimkin Paiar and on 
 the Silakank, where in some places the whole series of 
 marine deposits from the lower Silurian to the chalk was 
 exposed to view. 
 
 The Kumaon-Garhwal section of the Central Himalayas 
 was again visited in 1 9 5 and 1 9 7 by Dr. T. G. Longstaff, 
 who for the first time scaled the Trisul peak (23,406 feet), 
 explored the Bagiri,Raikana, and other glaciers, surmounted 
 the Bagiri Pass (20,100 feet), and traversed the main axis 
 of the system, which is here dominated by the lofty Nanda 
 Devi (25,660 feet), Trisul, Dunagiri (23,184), and Kamet 
 (25,440) peaks (Gfeograph. Jour., April 1908). 
 
 The eastern section of the Himalayas, running west 
 and east through Sikkim, Bhutan, and north Assam, while 
 maintaining a mean elevation of 16,000 feet, presents no 
 peaks comparable to the giants of the central and western 
 sections. The highest known summit is Chumalarhi 
 (23,933 feet). But much of this region still remains 
 unexplored, and the eastern uplands, where the San-po 
 suddenly disappears in a profound abyss, have never yet 
 been visited by European or native surveyors. 
 
 South of the northern plains rises the triangular
 
 78 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 plateau of the Deccan, which has a mean elevation of 
 from 2000 to 3000 feet, with a general incline east- 
 wards to the Bay of Bengal. The northern scarp of 
 this extensive tableland is formed by the Amarkantale 
 Vindhya range, whose secondary sandstone formations 
 are continued north-eastwards beyond Panna and Bewah 
 nearly to the Ganges below Benares. Here is the water- 
 parting between the streams flowing north to the Ganges 
 basin and west to the Arabian Sea. The left bank of the 
 Sone, which joins the Ganges above Patna, is skirted by 
 the Khaimur range, separated by a broken plateau from 
 the Panna ridge, which traverses Bundelkhand, and is 
 noted for the deep gorges and isolated crags on its north- 
 western slopes. 
 
 The steep southern slopes of the Vindhyas present 
 the aspect of a weather-beaten coast-line, as if the valley 
 of the Narbada now flowing at their base had once 
 formed a deep inlet of the sea. This valley is separated 
 southwards from that of the Tapti Eiver by the parallel 
 Satpura range, which runs from the classic Amarkantak, 
 the source of the Xarbada, westwards for nearly 600 
 miles at a mean elevation of 3000 feet, and culminates 
 with the Pachmarhi hills (4500 feet), rising abruptly 
 from the Narbada valley at Dhupgarh, east of Betul. 
 
 This culminating point of Central India is one of the 
 most hallowed regions in the Hindu world. Here is the 
 renowned shrine of Siva, the Mahadeo, or " Great God," a 
 term sometimes applied to the whole range. The road 
 from Jilpa, the last village on the plains, lies through a 
 romantic region that has been vividly described by J. 
 Forsyth. After crossing the jungle it surmounts the 
 scarp of the Pachmarhi plateau, which presents the aspect 
 ■of a beautiful English landscape ; and here, through breaks 
 in the denSe woodlands, a first glimpse is had of three 
 isolated peaks all aglow in the fiery sunset, and standing
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 79 
 
 out from the purple clouds banked up in the background. 
 East of the plateau the rocky heights descend from an 
 altitude of 2000 feet down to the vast level forest of 
 Sal, while the scarps of the plateau are furrowed with 
 mysterious abysses, one of which, the sacred and almost 
 inaccessible Jambo-Dwip, forms an awe-inspiring natural 
 marvel on the path of the pious pilgrim. These wood- 
 lands are the home of the bison and " sanbar," prince of 
 red deer. 
 
 East of Asirgarh the Bombay- Allahabad Eailway, and 
 the main highway to Central India, cross this chain at a 
 depression 1240 feet above the sea. But west of this 
 point the system is continued to the Western Ghats by 
 a highland tract 40 to 50 miles broad, with a mean 
 height of 2000 feet, and several peaks from 3000 to 
 4000 feet. 
 
 The "Western Ghats begin immediately south of the 
 Kandeish valley, which separates them from the Satpura 
 Mountains. From this point the Ghats — that is " Passes " 
 — run close to the coast along the western edge of the 
 Deccan southwards to the Nilgiri hills, where they meet 
 the eastern coast ranges. The prevailing formation is 
 trap, and indurated lava in the northern and central parts, 
 culminating with the Mahabaleshwar Peak (4800 feet). 
 and succeeded by sandstones and granites in the southern 
 part. Like most coast ranges, the Ghats slope gently 
 inland towards the central tableland, but fall abruptly 
 down to the narrow strip of lowlands separating them 
 from the sea. Here they are scored by the beds of deep 
 watercourses, which in the rainy season are flooded by 
 foaming torrents rushing over precipices and romantic 
 waterfalls down to the coast. Prom the Tapti valley to 
 the Nilgiris Die Ghats maintain a mean elevation of about 
 4000 feet at a uniform distance of 30 to 40 miles from 
 the sea.
 
 80 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The Mlgiris, or " Blue Hills," which culminate with 
 the Dodabetta (8760 feet), form the converging point of 
 the western and eastern ranges, by which the plateau of 
 the Deccan is here enclosed. They cover an area of 700 
 square miles, and are noted especially for their genial 
 and healthy climate, rendering them a favourite resort of 
 Europeans enfeebled by the enervating heats of the 
 plains. 
 
 The eastern coast ranges differ from the Western Ghats 
 chiefly in three respects. They are much less elevated, 
 with a mean height of scarcely more than 1500 feet ; 
 they do not form a continuous chain, being broken up into 
 distinct sections by the valleys of the Godavari, Kistna, 
 and other streams flowing to the Bay of Bengal ; lastly, 
 they run at a much greater distance from the coast, the 
 intervening lowlands averaging from 50 to 80 miles. 
 They stretch from the Mahnadi Eiver valley near 
 Kattak for about 500 miles south-westwards to the 
 nucleus of the Mlgiris, beyond which they fall abruptly 
 southwards to the so-called " Gap," a narrow, deep, trans- 
 verse fissure, scarcely 400 feet above sea -level. North 
 of the Godavari the system attains an elevation of over 
 5000 feet. 
 
 South of the Mlgiris the Palni hills to the west of 
 Madura are crowned by peaks 6500 and 7100 feet. 
 These hills, like the Western Ghats, are extremely salu- 
 brious, and form a sanitarium for Europeans. 
 
 Beyond the above-mentioned " Gap," the extremity 
 of the peninsula is occupied by the independent system 
 of the Cardamum Mountains from about the 8th parallel 
 to Cape Comorin. In these highlands, which culminate 
 in the lofty Anamalli hills (9700 feet), are found the 
 highest elevations south of the Himalayas. They seem 
 to be connected with the mountain system of Ceylon 
 by "Adam's Bridge," a chain of rocky islets stretching
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 81 
 
 between the Gulf of Manar and Palk Strait from the 
 mainland to the northern extremity of the island. 
 
 There remains to be noticed the somewhat isolated 
 Aravalli range, running north-east and south-west across 
 the Bajputana country, which they separate into two 
 natural divisions — desert plains in the north-west, fertile 
 and well -watered rolling lands in the south-east. At 
 their southern extremity is the somewhat detached Mount 
 Abu (5653 feet), highest point of the system, which has 
 a mean elevation of about 2000 feet. Between Meywar 
 and Marwar, where they rise to 4330 feet near the 
 village of Jargo, the hills are crossed by the Dasuri 
 Pass, which is alone practicable for wheeled traffic. The 
 isolated character of the Aravalli range would be made 
 evident by the already suggested subsidence of 600 feet, 
 when they would appear as a long narrow rocky island 
 about midway between the Baluch and Vindhya hills at 
 the western entrance of the strait connecting the Arabian 
 Sea and Bay of Bengal. 
 
 3. Hydrography : The Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, 
 Godavari, Kistna, Narbada, and Tapti Rivers. 
 
 In its water system, as in many other respects, India 
 presents a most striking contrast to the Iranian tableland. 
 While this arid upland region is characterised chiefly by 
 an inland drainage, and by a deficiency of large rivers, 
 the Indian peninsula has absolutely no inland drainage 
 at all, and possesses, in proportion to its size, a greater 
 number of streams, all flowing seawards, than perhaps 
 any other country in Asia. In the north nearly all 
 these streams are collected into three vast systems, flow- 
 ing either through the Indus to the Arabian Sea, or 
 through the Ganges to the Bay of Bengal, or through the 
 Brahmaputra and its affluent the Megna to the same bay. 
 
 VOL. II ( ;
 
 82 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Even the Brahmaputra forms no exception to this general 
 disposition, for its numerous channels are mingled with 
 those of the Ganges delta before reaching the coast. But 
 in the southern plateau of the Deccan there are almost 
 as many river mouths as there are rivers, most of the 
 large streams here forming separate systems, and finding 
 their way in independent channels to the sea. This is 
 true not only of the Mahanadi, Godavari, Kistna, Pennar, 
 Kavari, and others, draining eastwards to the Bay of 
 Bengal, but also of the Narbada, the Tapti, and the 
 innumerable little mountain torrents rushing from the 
 Western Ghats to the Arabian Sea. Thus it happens 
 that, whereas the coast north of the Vindhya hills is 
 broken only by the Indus and Ganges -Brahmaputra 
 deltas, the southern seaboard is scored by at least fifty 
 watercourses from the mouth of the Narbada to that of 
 the Mahanadi. At the same time the volume of water 
 sent seawards through the two great northern deltas is 
 vastly greater than that of all the southern estuaries 
 combined. 
 
 The Indus, like nearly all the great Asiatic rivers, 
 has its farthest sources, not on the seaward slopes of the 
 outer range, but behind the Himalayan escarpment of the 
 Tibetan tableland itself. It rises on the north side of 
 the Kailas range in 31° 20' 1ST., 82° E., near the sources 
 of the Satlaj and San-po, and within 60 miles of the 
 Karnali, farthest head-stream of the Ganges. The Indus 
 flows first north-west through Ladak between the Kailas 
 and main Himalayan range nearly to Gilgit, in 36° IsT., 
 75° E. Here it trends sharply southwards, maintaining 
 this direction for the rest of its course through the Panjab 
 and Sincl to its delta in the Arabian Sea between Katch 
 and Karachi. In its upper course it receives no important 
 tributary except the Shayok joining its right bank from 
 the Karakorum range. But on emerging from the
 
 
 
 m)
 
 84 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Himalayas it collects all the southern drainage of the 
 Hindu -Kush through the Kabul River, which joins its 
 right bank at Attock, almost on the frontier of British 
 India. Lower down it receives the waters of the Suliman 
 uplands mainly through the Kuram and Gomul Rivers. 
 But the chief accession to its volume is from the united 
 waters of the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Satlaj, all 
 flowing from the western Himalayas and through the 
 Panjnad joining the left bank of the main stream at 
 Mithun-Kot in the Derajat, towards the Sind frontier. 
 These four great tributaries, with the Indus itself, give 
 their name to the Panjab — that is, the " Five Waters " — 
 beyond which province the united stream receives no 
 further affluents. 
 
 It is remarkable that throughout its entire course of 
 1800 miles the Indus flows by no important towns, the 
 only places of any consequence on its banks being Sakkar 
 on its right bank, with the opposite town of Rori on the 
 left bank, and Hyderabad near the head of its delta. 
 Multan, Lahore, Amritsar, AVazirabad, and all the other 
 large cities in its basin, which has a total area of 
 373,000 square miles, lie not on the main stream, but 
 on or near the Chenab or other great tributaries. This 
 fact may seem remarkable, inasmuch as the Indus was 
 the first great stream occupied by the Aryans during 
 their migrations from the north-west into the peninsula. 
 The real cause is the shifting character of the banks 
 below Kalabagh. During the rainy season the Indus is 
 subject to sudden inundations which spread for miles 
 along both banks, often causing great devastation, and 
 preventing the foundation even of villages in its imme- 
 diate vicinity. 
 
 From its source to the sea the Indus has a total fall 
 of about 18,000 feet — that is, 8000 to Leh in Ladak, 
 9000 between that place and Attock, 1000 thence to
 
 86 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the coast, a distance of nearly 950 miles. Hence the 
 current in the upper reaches is extremely rapid, and even 
 below Attock it runs at the rate of 6 miles an hour, 
 mostly between high cliffs as far as Kalabagh. Here it 
 enters the plains, suddenly widening to an average 
 breadth of from a half to over one mile, with a mean 
 velocity of rather less than 3 miles an hour. At low- 
 water the tides are felt for nearly 80 miles from the 
 mouth, and the Indus, like most of its great tributaries, 
 is navigable to the foot of the hills for light craft. The 
 delta is very extensive, reaching inland to Hyderabad, 
 and from Karachi to the Eann of Katch, or about 130 
 miles both ways. The mean annual discharge through 
 the mouths or through irrigating canals is estimated at 
 over 150 billion tons, being about 41,000 cubic feet per 
 second in December, and fully ten times that quantity 
 during the August floods. 
 
 Although taking their name from the Indus, the 
 Hindus still regard the Ganges as pre-eminently the great 
 river of India. And in this they are so far justified that, 
 although of shorter length than the Indus, it has a larger 
 area of drainage, comprised entirely within the limits of 
 the peninsula. For the Ganges differs in this respect 
 from the other great Asiatic streams, that it rises, not 
 behind the scarp of the plateau, but on the seaward face 
 of the higher Himalayan range. Its two chief head- 
 streams, the Bhagirati and Alaknanda, flow from an 
 immense mass of snow 14,000 feet above the sea in the 
 upland Garhwal district, 31' N., 79° E. After a southerly 
 course of about 80 miles the two streams unite a little 
 above Hard war, 30° K, where they burst through the 
 outer barrier of the Himalayas, thenceforth flowing in a 
 south-easterly direction through the rich alluvial plain of 
 Northern India to the head of the Bay of Bengal. 
 
 In the Upper Ganges basin small lakes, usually of a
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 87 
 
 temporary character, are occasionally formed by landslips 
 falling across the fluvial beds and blocking the running 
 waters. Thus was formed some years ago the Gudyar 
 Tal lake in the Bireh-ganga valley, British Garhwal, 
 about 16 miles above its confluence with the Alaknanda. 
 In 1869 this lake was entirely filled up by a later land- 
 slip, the water being forced over the natural barrier and 
 causing disastrous flooding lower down the valley. At 
 Gohna in the same valley, 8 miles above the confluence, 
 a similar lake was formed by a series of landslips in 
 1892-93. In August 1894 this basin, 5 miles long, 
 700 yards broad, and 775 feet deep, burst its dam and 
 tore with a velocity of 22 miles an hour down the Alak- 
 nanda valley, destroying all bridges and buildings between 
 Gohna and Hardwar, and rising in some gorges to a 
 height of 160 feet. Gohna, which stands 150 miles 
 above Hardwar at an elevation of 3500 feet, is enclosed 
 by lofty ridges from 12,000 to 15,000 feet high, cul- 
 minating in Trisul and other snowy peaks from 23,000 
 to 25,000 feet above sea- level. 
 
 In the same district of Garhwal rises the Jamna, chief 
 tributary of the Ganges, which pursues a nearly parallel 
 course south of the main stream to their junction at 
 Allahabad. The Jamna carries to the common artery 
 the drainage of Eajputana, Sindhia, and Bandelkhand, 
 collected by the Ohambal, Betwa, and Ken, all of which 
 join its right bank below Agra. Below the junction the 
 united stream still continues to receive several large 
 affluents, of which the chief are the Son from the south, 
 the Gumti, Gogra, Gandak, and Kusi from the Himalayas. 
 At Hardwar the Ganges has a discharge of 7000 cubic feet 
 per second, in the cold season, when the water is at its 
 lowest; at Benares its volume has increased to 19,000, 
 with a breadth in the rainy season of 3000 feet and a 
 rise of 43.
 
 88 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 For about 500 miles from its mouth it maintains a 
 nearly uniform depth of about 30 feet, and a width of 
 over one mile, while the fall from Hardwar to the sea 
 scarcely exceeds 1000 feet. Hence the Ganges would 
 afford one of the finest water highways to be found in 
 any country but for the troublesome and even sometimes 
 dangerous navigation of its shallow tortuous channel and 
 numerous mouths. Of these the southernmost and most 
 frequented is the Hugh, which gives access to large 
 vessels for 100 miles as far as Calcutta. Beyond this 
 point large boats ascend for upwards of 1000 miles along 
 the main stream, and for perhaps five times that distance 
 along its numerous tributaries, northwards to the Hima- 
 layas, southwards to the Vindhyas. " The navigation of 
 the Brahmaputra and its affluents, of the Lower Ganges 
 and its many branches, is quite magnificent, and offers 
 probably one of the finest spectacles of its kind to be 
 seen in the world. Not only every trader and landholder 
 keeps many vessels, but every cultivator or peasant has 
 his boats, and almost every labourer his canoe ; thus the 
 craft may be reckoned by hundreds of thousands. At 
 several points on the great rivers the vessels congregate 
 for several months consecutively, and form floating cities 
 and marts, where many thousands temporarily dwell, 
 where much barter takes place, where monetary trans- 
 actions are arranged, and banking business is done " (Sir 
 R Temple). 1 
 
 The united Ganges -Brahmaputra delta is of vast 
 extent, probably the largest in the world, and of most 
 complicate character, constantly shifting its channels 
 with the annual inundations, and continually advancing 
 towards the sea, which it discolours for a distance of 60 
 miles with over 235,000,000 cubic yards of matter 
 yearly brought down to the coast. The delta extends 
 
 1 India in 1880, p. 319.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 89 
 
 for over eighty miles along the Bay of Bengal, and 
 stretches 200 miles inland, discharging through its 
 innumerable channels 100,000 cubic feet per second 
 during the dry and 500,000 during the wet season from 
 April to August. At this time there is a rise of 32 feet 
 above its ordinary level, which is sufficient to flood the 
 whole country for 100 miles about the junction of the 
 Ganges and Brahmaputra, leaving nothing visible except 
 the tree -tops and the villages built on mounds raised 
 above the highest level of the floods. Besides these 
 inundations the delta is exposed to cyclones and to the 
 phenomenon known as the " Bore," when a tidal wave 
 five to ten feet high rushes up the Hugli with a roar at 
 the rate of 18 miles an hour, often causing a rise of 
 several feet as far up as Calcutta, or even 20 miles 
 above it. 
 
 The upper course of the Brahmaputra had long been 
 one of the most interesting geographical problems await- 
 ing solution. But the explorations of the natives 
 employed by the Indian Survey Office have at last 
 practically confirmed the generally accepted view that 
 the San-po of Tibet, the Dihong of Assam, and the 
 Brahmaputra form a continuous water highway, which 
 has been traced throughout its whole course with the 
 exception of a small gap, where the San-po plunges into 
 a ravine and traverses a still unexplored region of the 
 Himalayas. 
 
 Although belonging properly to Tibetan geography 
 it will be convenient here to deal with the San-po x as 
 forming undoubtedly the true upper course of the Brahma- 
 putra. Its source has now been visited, and from 
 in formation obtained by the Pundit's journey in 1865, it 
 
 1 The word, which in Tibetan means "holy water," occurs in a great 
 variety of forms, such as Tsangbo, Tsambo, Tsanpu, Dzangbo, Sampo, 
 Sambo, Sampu, Sanpu, Sanpo, etc.
 
 90 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 may be fixed with tolerable certainty in 82° E., 30° 35' 
 K, at a height of nearly 16,000 feet above sea-level, a 
 little east of Lake Manasarowar, source of the Satlaj. This 
 lake with the Bakus-tal partly fills the depression between 
 Mounts Gurla and Kailas, sources of the Ganges and 
 Indus. Between the lake and the San-po the water- 
 parting is very low ; yet it suffices to send the Satlaj on 
 a journey of 1000 miles to join the Indus on its way to 
 the Arabian Sea, and the San-po for 1800 miles in the 
 opposite direction to the Ganges delta. 
 
 Flowing first eastwards along the northern base of 
 the inner Himalayan range, the San-po receives several 
 tributaries on both banks, and east of Shigatse it trends 
 north-east with a huge bend, the apex of which lies 
 above the intersection of the 94th meridian with the 
 30th parallel. It then turns south-east, passes through 
 the above-described gorge in the Himalayas, and farther 
 on reappears about 130 miles lower down as the Dihong 
 of Assam. The unexplored gap is occupied by the 
 Passi-Minyong tribes, whose hostile spirit, combined 
 with the rugged character of the land, has hitherto 
 defeated every effort to penetrate into this region, and 
 clear up the mystery by actual observation. 
 
 Near the Buddhist monastery of Tadum (13,000 feet 
 above the sea), where the Mariam-la route enters its 
 valley, the San-po is already navigable for light craft; 
 but lower down the navigation is obstructed at several 
 points by shoals and rapids. It is also crossed by ferries 
 and by light suspension bridges at many places where 
 the stream is narrowed by projecting bluffs. At Che tang, 
 a little below the junction of the Kichu from Lassa and 
 600 miles from its source, it is as large as the Bhine, 
 and in the dry season 1400 feet wide, with a discharge 
 of about 30,000 cubic feet per second, which during the 
 summer rains is probably increased to over 700,000.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 91 
 
 Yet it was long uncertain what became of this vast 
 body of water. Now, however, the explorations, especially 
 of Mr. Xeedham, place beyond doubt the connection of the 
 San-po with the Brahmaputra, not through the Subansiri, 
 the Dibong, or the Lohit (Brahmakanda), but through the 
 Dihong, which is joined near Sadiya by the Dibong from 
 the north and by the Lohit from the east. In 1888 
 Mr. Xeedham ascended the Lohit through the Mishmi 
 hills to the Zayul district near its source a little west of 
 the Lu-Kiang, which is almost certainly the Upper 
 Salwin river. Two points were thus settled, first, that 
 the Irawadi, unless it be the Lu, cannot possibly rise on the 
 Tibetan plateau ; second, that the Lohit cannot possibly 
 be the Upper Brahmaputra, that is, the San-po. Mr. 
 Needham also ascertained that the Dibong, still identified 
 by some authorities with the Kenpu (Gakbo) rising far 
 to the north between the San-po and Lu-Kiang, has in 
 fact a relatively short course of not more than 180 miles 
 altogether. The Subansiri also, which joins the right 
 bank of the Brahmaputra some distance below the triple 
 confluence near Sadiya, is now known to have its rise on 
 the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas. The 
 identity of the San-po with the Dihong is thus established 
 by a simple process of elimination, and this inference is 
 independent of the statements of the Pandit K. P. regard- 
 ing his surveys of the San-po during his stay in the 
 Pemakoi district. Eenewed attempts, made by Mr. 
 Needham in 1901, to pierce the gorge were again thwarted 
 by the determined opposition of the Passi-Minyong people. 
 But even independently of the San-po, the Brahma- 
 putra proper represents a vast river system, filling the 
 whole of the Assam valley, where it collects the waters 
 of the Eastern Himalayas from the north, and those of 
 the Naga, Khassia, and Garo hills from the south and 
 east. Here its chief affluents are the Dubong, Subansiri,
 
 92 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Lohit, or Brahmakunda, the latter of which was long 
 regarded as its true upper source. The main stream 
 flows through the centre of Assam, nearly due west, to 
 the 90 th meridian, where it turns sharply to the south 
 to the already described Ganges delta. Including the 
 San-po, it has a total course of 1800 miles, an estimated 
 area of drainage of rather over 360,000 square miles, 
 and a mean discharge of 146,000 cubic feet per second 
 in the dry season. But this discharge is vastly increased 
 during the summer months, when the incessant rains of 
 this watery region convert the river into a great inland 
 sea, flooding the whole of the Assam lowlands, and 
 cutting off all communication except by boats and 
 causeways raised 10 or 12 feet above the level of the 
 roads. 
 
 In the Deccan six considerable rivers find their way 
 in independent channels to the coast — the Narbada and 
 Tapti westwards to the Arabian Sea ; the Mahanadi, 
 Godavari, Kistna (Krishna), and Kavari eastwards to the 
 Bay of Bengal. Of these by far the largest are the 
 Godavari and Kistna, which are 900 and 800 miles 
 respectively, and jointly drain the greater part of the 
 region between the 14th and 22nd parallels, representing 
 a total area of over 206,000 square miles. They both 
 have their farthest head-streams on the slopes of the 
 Western Ghats, whence they follow nearly parallel 
 winding courses through the Bombay Presidency and the 
 Nizam's Dominions. As they approach the eastern sea- 
 board, the main streams gradually converge, and after 
 traversing the narrowest part of the Madras Presidency, 
 they enter the sea through two large deltas, which, during 
 the floods, overflow into the intervening Lake Colair. 
 This lake, or lagoon, which is the largest in India, is 47 
 miles long by 14 broad, and is entirely formed by the 
 overflow of the Godavari and Kistna, whose lower courses
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 93 
 
 between the hills and the coast are dammed by enormous 
 dykes and connected by an extensive system of canalisa- 
 tion available both for irrigation and navigation purposes. 
 A somewhat similar parallelism is observed by the 
 Xarbada and Tapti, whose valleys are separated by the 
 Satpura range. The two streams rise from the Satpura 
 range in the very heart of the peninsula, and gradually 
 converge towards their respective estuaries near Baroch 
 and at Surat in the Gulf of Cambay. The Narbada 
 presents scenes of enchanting beauty, especially in its 
 upper reaches about Jabalpur. Here it winds for a short 
 distance with a narrow transparent stream of greenish- 
 blue waters, between two glittering walls of snow-white 
 marble, with here and there a vein of dark-green or black 
 basaltic rock considerably heightening the effect of the 
 marble. Near its mouth a fine prospect is also com- 
 manded from the noble railway bridge which crosses the 
 estuary at Baroch. Although much obstructed by rapids, 
 the Narbada is navigable by boats for 250 miles to the 
 falls of Dari. It has a length of 800 miles, or about 
 double that of the Tapti, and the united drainage of these 
 two rivers is somewhat over 63,000 square miles. 
 
 •A. Main Natural and Political Divisions. 
 
 To the three main physical divisions of the peninsula 
 correspond, on the whole, its three great political admin- 
 istrations. Thus the northern highlands and lowland 
 plains are mostly comprised in the Presidency of Bengal 
 with its dependent feudatory States, while the southern 
 plateau of the Deccan is divided between the Presidencies 
 of Bombay and Madras, the former embracing the Western 
 Ghats and Malabar coast-lands, the latter including 
 the eastern or Coromandel coast-lands. Through the 
 universal acceptance of British rule the whole region has
 
 94 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 also in recent times acquired a general political unity, 
 answering to such general physical unity as is derived 
 from its peninsular form and tropical climate. But 
 beneath this broad uniformity we are everywhere con- 
 fronted with a dualism, betrayed especially in the social, 
 religious, and political worlds. Thus we find a society 
 based on caste intermingled with communities which 
 ignore all class distinctions — Brahmanism invaded even 
 in its most hallowed precincts by Islam ; territory 
 administered directly by the paramount power every- 
 where in contact with tributary and even with semi- 
 independent States. 
 
 In the northern highlands, besides the independent 
 States of Bhutan and Nepal, we have the semi-inde- 
 pendent feudatory States of Sikkim, Garwhal (Tirhi), 
 and Kashmir, collectively occupying most of the southern 
 slopes of the inner Himalayan ranges. These States are 
 attached to the Presidency of Bengal, an expression the 
 original meaning of which has become considerably 
 modified. Bengal is still understood to comprise all the 
 British territory not included in either of the other two 
 Presidencies of Bombay and Madras. But as a matter 
 of fact the Bengal Presidency is itself now subdivided 
 into several distinct administrations (including the three 
 Lieutenant-Governorships), which, with those of the two 
 southern Presidencies and attached Native States, will be 
 found fully tabulated at the end of this chapter. 
 
 Kashmir — Jammu — Swat — Chitral — Chilas. 
 
 In the extreme north-west the basin of the Upper 
 Indus, probably the grandest alpine region in the world, 
 is almost entirely comprised in the territory of the 
 feudatory prince Golab Singh, Maharaja of Jammu and 
 Kashmir. This State, which by the treaty of Amritsar,
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 95 
 
 March 16, 1846, accepted the paramount sovereignty of 
 England, embraces within its borders a great variety of 
 climatic, physical, and ethnical conditions, stretching as 
 it does from the hot plains of the Panjab for 280 miles 
 to the eternal snows and glaciers of the Western Hima- 
 layan and frontier Karakorum ranges, and from the 
 Hindu-Kush for -400 miles east to Tibet. It is essen- 
 tially a highland region, almost everywhere mountainous, 
 but having one splendid valley (Kashmir), broad, long, 
 and populous. Moreover, there are many broad upland 
 valleys, extremely fertile, well sheltered by the towering 
 Himalayan crests from the northern blasts, and watered 
 by copious streams all draining to the Indus or to its 
 tributaries. 
 
 Physically speaking, the whole country may be divided 
 into three zones, rising in successive terraces from the 
 Panjab lowlands to the Karakorum range. The lowest 
 and southernmost of these zones comprises the more 
 advanced hilly districts with a mean elevation of 2250 
 feet above sea- level. This is succeeded by the central 
 zone between the Himalayas proper and the Kailas range, 
 from 7000 to 9000 feet high, beyond which follows the 
 truly alpine region of Baltistan, or " Little Tibet," between 
 the Kailas and Karakorum, with a mean elevation of 
 11,000 feet, and culminating with the Godwin-Austen 
 peak, 28,278 feet, next to Everest the highest point on 
 the globe. Here also are the Baltoro and many other 
 glaciers, which, vast as they are, seem to be but the poor 
 remains of the prodigious icefields which must have 
 formerly covered the whole region of the Himalayas. 
 The melting of the snows in the fierce summer sun, 
 combined with the precipitous slopes and the silent 
 action of underground waters, exposes all these upland 
 valleys to sudden fiooclings, avalanches, and landslips, 
 often causing widespread ruin.
 
 96 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 In the central zone lies the lovely vale of Kashmir, 
 4500 square miles in extent, hemmed in on all sides hy 
 snow- clad peaks and watered by the Jhelum, which in 
 its placid winding course flows through the Wular and 
 several other beautiful lakes. Thus pent up, and with 
 an elevation of over 5000 feet above the sea, this 
 romantic valley presents somewhat the appearance of a 
 
 THE KANJAT VALLEY >*EAR CHALT. 
 
 vast cirque with a narrow southern outlet, through which 
 the Jhelum escapes towards the Indus. Kashmir has 
 ever been the theme of Eastern song, an earthly Eden, 
 where prevails a perennial spring, and of which the 
 Mogul emperor, Shah Jahan, was wont to say that he 
 would prefer to sacrifice all his vast Indian dominions 
 rather than be deprived of this delightful retreat. Here 
 the picturescjue elements are the snowy peaks, the 
 romantic gorges, the numerous lakes, streams, and water-
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 97 
 
 falls, the magnificent woodlands and rich flowery meads, 
 — a combination of natural beauties scarcely to be found 
 elsewhere concentrated in an equal area. 
 
 Of the numerous passes leading into the Kashmir 
 valley, and practicable for pack animals, the chief are the 
 Banihal (9700 feet) from the south, the Punch (8500) 
 from the west, and the Pir Panjal (11,500) from Gujarat 
 in the Panjab. After the annexation of the Panjab, 
 Kashmir, which was formerly under Sikh rule, became a 
 vassal state of the British Paj under Gulab Sing, grand- 
 father of the present Maharaja. In recent years the 
 relations with India have become more frequent and more 
 intimate, and the administration has been much improved, 
 thanks to the influence of the British Eesident, Walter 
 R Lawrence, by whom many improvements have been 
 introduced, though not yet everywhere enforced. 1 
 Unfortunately the shawl industry, for which Kashmir 
 was formerly renowned, has been ruined, partly by change 
 of fashion and partly by the Franco-German war, by 
 which the export trade was arrested. The finest goats' 
 hair used in the manufacture of these shawls came, not 
 from the country itself, but from Turfan in Yarkand. 
 
 Nearly one-third of the whole population, or 2,544,000 
 souls, are concentrated in the vale of Kashmir, which 
 might easily support a much larger number. Female 
 infanticide probably exists in the sub-Himalayan tracts, 
 and till lately "suttee," or widow -burning, was still 
 practised in Jammu, where it was more fanatically 
 enforced than elsewhere in India. 
 
 East of the Panjkora valley lies the Swat country, 
 unexplored till 1878, when one of the Indian native 
 surveyors mapped it out from the source of the Swat 
 River in the great transverse range between Bunj on 
 the Indus and the Chitral valley to its junction with the 
 
 1 The Valley of Kashmir, by Walter R. Lawrence, 1895. 
 VOL. II II
 
 98 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Panjkora. Swat formed at one time a powerful state 
 under a venerable chief of great repute for sanctity, 
 called the Akhund, who exercised considerable influence 
 over the unruly tribes of the district. 
 
 Little was known of the highland state of Chitral 
 
 before the year 1893. when the political confusion and 
 
 disorders following on the death of Aman-ul-Mulk, its 
 
 former Mehtar, or ruler, led to the intervention of the 
 
 Indian authorities, and eventually to a more direct 
 
 British control over the administration of the country. 
 
 Chitral lies on the southern slopes of the Hindu-Kush, 
 
 about 200 miles by the nearest route from Peshawar, 
 
 and at a mean elevation of 5200 feet above sea-level. 
 
 Northwards it reaches the crest of the Hindu-Kush 
 
 range, and is conterminous southwards with the petty 
 
 states of Dir and Asmar. The bulk of the inhabitants, 
 
 estimated at from 150,000 to 200,000, are concentrated 
 
 in six large villages extending 3 or 4 miles along both 
 
 banks of the fertile Kunar (Kashkar) Eiver, the fortified 
 
 residence of the Mehtar lying on the right bank. This 
 
 potentate has at different times been tributary to Bada- 
 
 khshan, Afghanistan, and Kashmir, but since December 
 
 1893, his territory forms an integral part of British India. 
 
 Fresh troubles arose in January 1895, when the 
 
 Mehtar, Nizam-ul-Mulk, was murdered by his younger 
 
 brother, Amir-ul-Mulk, who usurped the throne, bid 
 
 defiance to the British authorities, and besieged the 
 
 Agent in the capital. During the ensuing campaign, 
 
 which was distinguished even in the annals of Indian 
 
 border warfare for brilliant execution and many acts of 
 
 great daring and endurance on the part both of the 
 
 English and native forces, the country was rapidly 
 
 reduced, the usurper put to flight, and order secured by 
 
 the permanent military occupation of various strategical 
 
 points along the main routes leading through Swat
 
 100 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 southwards to Peshawar, and through the Dir district 
 eastwards to Kashmir. The new Mehtar, Shuja-ul-Mulk, 
 became a British pensioner, receiving an annual subsidy 
 of 12,000 rupees, besides 8000 per annum in return for 
 the loss of revenue derived from the Khushwaktis district, 
 which was now detached from Chitral. At the durbar 
 held in the capital by Sir George Robertson (September 
 1895) it was announced that State affairs would be left 
 to the Mehtar, assisted by three headmen and the advice 
 of the Political Agent. Traffic in slaves and murderous 
 outrages were strictly forbidden, while the principality 
 was promised security from foreign aggression by the 
 British garrison. At the same time the Baraul Valley 
 towards Kafiristan was transferred to the Khan of Dir, and 
 Bajaur farther south left under tribal rule, arrangements 
 however being made for the improvement of the roads 
 and bridges along all the main lines of communication. 
 
 Captain Younghusband, who in 1893 accompanied 
 a political mission to the district, speaks favourably of 
 Chitral : " It is a delightful country to be stationed in, 
 if it were only not so much cut off from civilisation. 
 The people are a hardy, cheery group of mountaineers, 
 who delight in polo, sport, and shows of any kind. The 
 climate is delightful, and the mountains, though not 
 wooded like those of Kashmir, have patches of forest on 
 many of their slopes, and the villages in the valley 
 bottoms are crowded with fruit trees." The culminating 
 point is the twin -peaked Tirich Mir (25,000 feet), 
 which fills up the head of the Kunar valley at a 
 distance of about 30 miles from the settled parts. 
 
 East of Upper Chitral lie Yasin and Gilgit, the latter 
 of which during the last few years has been the site of a 
 British residency under Major Biddulph. This officer 
 was here stationed on the Kashmir frontier with a view- 
 to control the tribes occupying a district of some strategic
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 101 
 
 and political importance. The River Gil-it drains east- 
 wards to the Indus near the Nanga-Parbat peak, which 
 marks the north-western extremity of the central Hima- 
 layan chain. This region, where the Dard and Afghan 
 races meet about half-way up the valley, has at all times 
 proved most inaccessible to external influences. 
 
 The Chilas district lies on the north-west frontier of 
 Kashmir, between the northern slopes of Nanga-Parbat 
 and the left bank of the Indus, which here flows at an alti- 
 tude of scarcely more than 3400 feet above the sea. But 
 as Xanga-Parbat towers to a height of nearly 27,000 
 feet, it presents towards the Indus valley one of the 
 grandest mountain views in the world. Before the 
 British occupation in 1893 Chilas had never been 
 visited by any European traveller. It is described as an 
 arid, treeless region, which is approached from Astor by 
 the high and difficult Mazeno Pass. The village of 
 Chilas on the Indus was occupied in consequence of an 
 attack made by the natives on a British detachment 
 at Taliche (Talech) on the road to Gilgit below Bunji on 
 the Indus. The Chilasi, who have always been fierce 
 marauders, raiding even into Kashmir, belong to the 
 ethnical group to which Leitner has given the name of 
 I >ards. They are consequently a branch of the Galcha 
 Aryans, who form the bulk of the population in Nagyr, 
 Huiiza, Yasin, Chitral, Kafiristan, and generally of the 
 whole region between Baltistan and Afghanistan proper. 
 A few in the eastern districts are Buddhists, but all the 
 rest Muhammadans, who show the same abhorrence of 
 the cow that other Muhammadans do of the pig and dog. 
 
 .V< pal. 
 
 South-east of Kashmir follow the Native States of 
 Garhwal (Tihri), Nepal, Sikkim, and Bhutan, occupying
 
 102 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 most of the southern slopes of the Himalayas nearly to 
 the great southern bend of the San-po, where it disappears 
 in the North Assam highlands. The central section is 
 almost exclusively comprised in the nominally inde- 
 pendent kingdom of Nepal bordering east on Sikkim and 
 Darjiling, west and south on British territory. Nepal 
 thus consists of a comparatively narrow strip 550 miles 
 long and 100 broad, limited northwards by the crests of 
 the inner Himalayan range (here culminating with 
 Gaurisankar, the highest peak on the globe), and falling 
 in a series of five continuously diminishing terraces and 
 deep intervening troughs down to the Indian plains. 
 One of these troughs is the already described Tarai, which 
 sinks even to a lower level than the open plains, and 
 forms the chief physical feature along its southern border. 
 In some places it is overgrown with a low jungle, very 
 sparsely inhabited, while it consists elsewhere of unin- 
 habitable wastes covered with a coarse growth of grass. 
 Some parts of the Tarai frontier, however, are very fertile. 
 The heart of the country comprises a delightfully well- 
 watered and productive caldron-shaped valley, in which 
 is situated Katmandu, capital of the State. The total 
 area is about 54,000 square miles, with an estimated 
 population (estimated 1908) of 5,000,000. 
 
 Nepal, which is despotically ruled by a hereditary 
 minister of the warlike Ghurka tribe, under a titular 
 Maharaja, abounds in mineral wealth, including copper, 
 iron, lead, arsenic, and sulphur. The principal valley of 
 Katmandu is well known ; it is a sort of second Kashmir. 
 Beyond that, the interior is very little known, and such 
 is the jealousy of the Government that no Englishman is 
 allowed to pass beyond the Katmandu valley under any 
 pretext. Hence no surveys have here been yet carried 
 out, and the British Government is still without exact 
 information regarding the relations between Nepal and
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 103 
 
 China. A mission bearing presents of a prescribed value 
 is said to proceed every five years from Katmandu to 
 Peking, although Xepal, while independent in internal 
 administration, is in the position of a feudatory State to 
 India. 
 
 Siklcim. 
 
 A somewhat similar position was till lately held by 
 the adjoining petty State of Sikkim, which stretches for 
 5 2 miles between Nepal and Bhutan, and for 6 6 between 
 Tibet and India, with an area of about 2800 square 
 miles, and a population (1901) of 59,000 Eongs, or 
 Lepchas, as their Gurkha neighbours call them. Physi- 
 cally, Sikkim forms an eastern continuation of Nepal, 
 from which, however, it is separated by a lofty transverse 
 ridge of the Himalayas, 11,000 to 12,000 feet high, 
 culminating northwards with Mount Kubru (24,015 
 feet). The crest of this ridge is so sharply defined that 
 it may be traversed for 40 or 50 miles at a uniform 
 level almost without a break. Till recently Sikkim owed 
 allegiance both to Tibet and India. The Maharaja, who 
 resides at Tamlang (Tumlong), on the Indian side of the 
 Chola range, in winter, and in summer in the Clmmbi 
 valley on the Tibetan side, accepted allowances from both 
 countries, about £200 from Lhassa, and £1200 from 
 Calcutta, the latter grant beiug made on the condition of 
 his affording every facility for the trade between the two 
 countries. Now, however, he is absolutely a feudatory 
 of the British Empire. By the treaty of March 1889, 
 China recognises the British protectorate, involving direct 
 and exclusive control over the internal administration of 
 Sikkim. A British officer has also been appointed to 
 advise the Maharaja and his council, and to reorganise 
 the administration. The result has been a great improve- 
 ment in the financial and commercial relations, the
 
 104 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 revenue being now about double the expenditure, while 
 the imports and exports advanced from 15,000 Ex. in 
 1891 to over 88,000 Ex. in 1906. 
 
 The Chumbi valley, traversed by the Am-mo-chu, a 
 head -stream of the Brahmaputra, is a south-eastern 
 corner of Tibet, wedged in between Sikkim and Bhutan, 
 near a lovely lacustrine district in east Sikkim. The 
 lakelets, which lie at elevations of 10,000 to 16,000 feet 
 at both sides of the border range, are mostly tarns or 
 closed basins, evidently due to glacier action. 
 
 The existence of glaciers in the Kanchinjinga high- 
 lands having often been denied, the question was set at 
 rest in 1891, when Mr. 0. White, British Eesident at 
 the Court of Sikkim, made an expedition to this alpine 
 district from Tailing. Crossing the Yeumtso-la Pass 
 (15,800 feet), the explorers entered the valley of the 
 Zemu at a point where it was seen to flow from a very 
 large glacier descending from the flanks of Kanchinjinga 
 eastwards down to the level of 13,800 feet. This Zemu 
 glacier, probably the largest in Sikkim, terminates at the 
 head of the stream in a huge wall of ice 400 to 500 feet 
 deep, and is fed from the north by many minor glaciers, 
 of which as many as a dozen were counted ; eight others 
 were seen coming down from the slopes in the north- 
 east, some reaching the main glacier, others ending 
 abruptly in jagged walls of ice, or in more gradual slopes. 
 From the altitude of 17,500 feet, the highest point 
 reached on the Zemu glacier.. Kanchinjinga was seen 
 towering in an almost vertical wall of rock and ice to a 
 further height of nearly 10,000 feet, while to the south 
 of Simiolchnm (Si-imvovonchim, 22,300 feet), a gap in 
 the range falling to 17,450 feet, revealed a magnificent 
 group of lofty peaks not yet entered on the maps. Two 
 other peaks, both over 22,000 feet, were also discovered, 
 one in front, the other to the right of Kanchinjinga. It
 
 THE INDIAN EMl'IKE 
 
 105 
 
 is stated that this hitherto unvisited ice-hound district 
 may now he reached in a fortnight from Darjiling. 
 
 Bhutan. 
 Still less known than Nepal is the State of Bhutan, 
 lying mainly between Tibet and Assam, cast, north, and
 
 106 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TPvAVEL 
 
 south, and stretching from Sikkim for 400 miles eastwards 
 to the unexplored region separating the San-po from the 
 Dihong. The surface is intersected by two parallel ranges 
 intervening between the inner Himalayas and Assam, the 
 first enclosing a bleak and almost uninhabitable tableland ; 
 the second skirting the " Duars," a fertile tract ceded in 
 1866 to the British in return for a yearly subvention of 
 Ks. 50,000. The subsidy, however, is dependent on the 
 good behaviour of the people, and this, combined with the 
 occupation of two strong positions (Baxa and Diwangiri) 
 near the frontier, has sufficed to maintain peace along the 
 borders since the troubles which led to the war of 1865. 
 In the north the country is extremely wild, but 
 elsewhere Bhutan affords some of the grandest and most 
 romantic scenery in the world. In the more sheltered 
 districts Bhutan produces millet, wheat, and rice in 
 abundance. But it is mostly uninhabited, with a popula- 
 tion of scarcely more than 300,000 (?) altogether. It is 
 nominally ruled by the Dharm Eaja, a sort of incarnate 
 Buddha. But the real head of the State is the Deb Eaja, 
 elected every three years by the Penlows or chiefs from 
 their own body. Capital, Punakha or Doscn. 
 
 India Proper — Administrative Provinces. 
 
 In recent years the historical Bengal Presidency has 
 all but disappeared from the official maps of India. 
 While Bombay and Madras have remained unchanged, 
 Bengal has, for administrative purposes, been divided up 
 into six great provinces besides two minor tracts as 
 under : — 1. Bengal : The western section of Bengal 
 proper with one district transferred in 1905 from the 
 Central provinces ; area, including Behar, Orissa, and 
 Chota-Nagpur, 115,819 square miles; capital, Calcutta. 
 2. Eastern Bengal and Assam, constituted in 1905 by 
 fifteen districts of East Bengal and the whole of Assam ;
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 107 
 
 area 106,540 square miles; capital, Dacca. 3. North- 
 Western Provinces and Oudh, in 1902 re-named The 
 United Provinces of Agea and Oudh; area 107,164 
 square miles ; capitals, Allahabad (for Agra), and Lucknow 
 (for Oudh). 4. The Central Provinces, with Berai: 
 added in 1902; area 100,345 square miles; capital, 
 Nagpur. 5. Punjab, with Delhi transferred from the 
 North- Western Provinces in 1859; area 97,209 square 
 miles; capital, Lahore. 6. The North- West Frontier 
 Province, created in 1901 by the trans-Indus districts 
 of Panjab and other tracts on the Afghan frontier ; area 
 16,466 square miles ; capital, Peshawar. Minor changes : 
 At.mir-aIerwara and Kurg ; area 4293 square miles. 
 
 The Punjab and North- West Frontier Province. 
 
 In the extreme north-west the district of Sind is 
 included in the Bombay Presidency. But higher up the 
 whole of the Indus valley, as far as the Hindu-Kush and 
 the Kashmir uplands, is included in the Panjab and the 
 North -West Frontier Provinces. In the north these 
 provinces are very hilly, comprising several ranges separat- 
 ing the upper courses of the large rivers between the Jamna 
 and the Indus. In the extreme north-west the hills beyond 
 the Indus form a sort of connecting link, broken by 
 the Kabul River valley, between the Himalayas and the 
 Suliman range, which skirts the province along its western 
 border for nearly 400 miles." Farther south the open 
 plains fall very gradually from an elevation of about 1600 
 to 200 feet above the sea at the confluence of the Indus 
 with its united tributaries. Here the riverine tracts are 
 generally extremely productive, whereas the so-called 
 " doabs," or " two-waters " — that is, the spaces enclosed 
 between the great rivers, which give their name to the 
 province — often consist of mere wildernesses of scrub and 
 jungle, but generally afford extensive pasture for cattle,
 
 108 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 camels, sheep, and goats. The country between the Indus 
 and Jheluni is generally rugged, cultivated in parts only, 
 and thinly inhabited, intersected by the Salt range, with a 
 mean elevation of 3000 feet, and culminating with the 
 Sakesar peak, 5010 feet. On these heights the salt fre- 
 quently crops out, and there are several large salt deposits. 
 "West of the Indus the range is continued under the name 
 of the Kalabagh hills as far as the Suliman highlands, and 
 the long narrow alluvial strip between these highlands 
 and the river is known as the Upper and Lower Derajat. 
 Besides Kashmir there are over thirty Native States 
 attached to the Panjab. Among the most important of 
 these is Bahawalpur, occupying a strip about 17,000 
 square miles in extent between Pajputana on the south- 
 east and the Satlaj, Panjnad, and Indus on the north- 
 west. Practically the most important are the so-called 
 Phulkhian States (Patiala, Jhind, and Nabha), with a 
 joint area of 7500 square miles in the hilly and plain 
 tracts between Delhi and Lahore. North of these are 
 the " Simla Hill States," traversed by the Upper Satlaj, 
 and reaching eastwards to the Tibetan frontier. None 
 of these are of any size except Basahar (Eampur), which 
 has an area of over 3000 square miles. 
 
 Sind — The Banns of Katch. 
 
 The southern province of Sind, although, as stated, 
 included administratively in the Bombay Presidency, 
 cannot be separated physically from the Panjab. They 
 both merge eastwards in the Eajputana wastes, and the 
 western parts of the Sind lowlands still consist of 
 waterless steppes yielding little beyond a scanty pasture 
 for herds of buffaloes, asses, and camels. Even in the 
 more productive Indus delta barren and swampy tracts 
 are everywhere intermingled with the cultivated fields.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 109 
 
 With but few exceptions, the cultivation in this 
 district depends on a large series of canals drawn from 
 the Indus, which river is to Sind what the Nile is to 
 Egypt, and has caused the province to be called " the 
 lesser Egypt." These channels are filled when the river 
 rises in the summer and are dry when it subsides in the 
 winter. 
 
 The whole of this low-lying delta region is for a long 
 way up stream exposed to the inundations of the Indus, 
 which reach east to the " Thar " or great liajputana 
 desert, and west to the foot of the Baluchistan hills. 
 East of the delta the Gulf of Katch penetrates far inland, 
 skirting the north side of the Gujarat or Kathiawar penin- 
 sula, and gradually merging in the so-called " Kanns " of 
 Katch. These remarkable formations, consisting of two 
 portions, the Great and Little Eann, with a total area of 
 9000 square miles, become sandy, saline swamps, and 
 inland lagoons or arms of the sea, according to the season 
 of the year. When flooded they connect the Gulfs of 
 Katch and Cambay, thus converting the Native States of 
 Gujarat into an island. Northwards they are confined 
 by the Allahband — that is, the clam or mound of Allah, 
 and both dam and lake owe their existence to an earth- 
 quake which occurred in the year 1819. 
 
 Bajputana. 
 
 In most coloured maps of the peninsula a large space 
 towards the north-west will be noticed marked off from 
 British territory proper, as belonging to Native States 
 In the very centre of this region is the small British 
 enclave of Ajmir-Merwara, about 2700 square miles in 
 extent, which is administered by a British officer. It 
 consists partly of an elevated plateau, partly of a 
 picturesque hilly district at the northern extremity of
 
 110 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the Aravalli range, and is politically distinct from the 
 surrounding plains ; for with the exception of this enclave 
 the whole of the region in question is divided amongst a 
 large number of feudatory Native States attached to the 
 Bengal Presidency. These States are disposed in two 
 distinct geographical and political groups, under the 
 control of the Eajputana and Central Provinces 
 respectively. 
 
 The Eajputana Agency has a total area of no less than 
 129,000 square miles, and is bounded north-west by the 
 
 Panjab and Sind, 
 north-east by the 
 North- West Prov- 
 inces, south-west 
 by Sind and Gu- 
 jarat, south-east by 
 the Central Prov- 
 inces. Eajpu- 
 tana is divided by 
 the Aravalli range 
 into two unequal 
 parts, of which the 
 north - western or 
 larger consists to 
 .i great extent of sandy, arid, and unproductive wastes, 
 with some arable and even fertile tracts towards the 
 north and math-east. Here is the Thar, or great 
 sandy desert of Northern India, intersected everywhere 
 by long parallel dunes ~>0 to 100 feet 'high, with few 
 streams or wells, and a scant vegetation of tufty grass 
 and scrub. 
 
 Considerably more elevated and fertile is the south- 
 eastern division of Eajputana, which is diversified by 
 wooded rocky hills, and watered by the Chambal, Banas, 
 and some other large rivers flowing north to the Ganges 
 
 THE PALACE OF AKBAR, AJMIR.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 111 
 
 basin. The country between the Chambal and Patar 
 consists of a rich black loam, highly productive and well 
 cultivated. But even in this division most of the surface 
 is stony, rugged, under jungle, and unfertile, except close 
 to the river banks. 
 
 Of the twenty Eajputana States the largest are Udai- 
 pur (Maiwar), Jaipur, Joclhpur (Marwar), and Jaisul- 
 mir. But all except Shahpura and Lawa belong to 
 the first rank in the empire, being under treaty with 
 the Imperial Government. Of the Bhil tracts between 
 Sirohi and Dungarpur some are directly administered by 
 British Commissioners, while others are either tributary 
 to Udaipur or under the control of Rajput princes. 
 
 The Marwar and Bikanir tracts are essentially 
 pastoral, abounding in cattle, sheep, and a superior breed 
 of camels. But elsewhere Eajputana is mainly agricul- 
 tural, yielding grain, cotton, and opium in considerable 
 quantities. 
 
 Central India Political Agency. 
 
 The Central India Agency comprises all the region 
 lying between Eajputana and the British Central Pro- 
 vinces, and stretches from Gujarat eastwards to Chota- 
 Xagpur and the North-West Provinces. It is divided by 
 British territory into two sections — native Bandelkhand 
 and Baghekhand lying to the east, and the Central India 
 portion to the west of the Jhansi and Lalatpur districts 
 of the North-West Provinces. The eastern section forms 
 a part of the Deccan plateau, here intersected by the 
 Khaimur and Panna ranges, and watered by the Ken. 
 Betwa, and Son, flowing to the Jamna and Ganges. 
 
 The western section consists of a broken upland 
 tract stretching from the Vindhyas northwards to the 
 Jamna, mostly fertile, and well watered by the Chambal, 
 Parbatti, Sind, and Betwa. Wheat, rice, cotton, sugar,
 
 112 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 and especially opium, are the staple products, and iron, 
 copper, and coal, besides diamonds, exist in many places. 
 The diamantiferous district, yielding several thousand 
 pounds' worth yearly, lies some 14 miles north-east of 
 Panna, and the stones here found are of four different 
 tints, all, however, inferior to those of the Kistna valley. 
 The Central India Agency has a total area of 86,000 
 square miles, and comprises nearly sixty feudatory States, 
 of which the largest and most important are Gwalior 
 (Sindhia's), Inclore (Holkar's), Bhopal, and Eewah. Most 
 of the numerous petty States have feudal relations with 
 one 'or other of the larger ones, while their autonomy is 
 guaranteed by the paramount power. 
 
 North- West Provinces — Behar — Bengal. 
 
 The Ganges valley forms a well-defined natural region, 
 occupying the whole space between the Himalayas and 
 .the Deccan, and comprising the separate governments of 
 the North-West Provinces, Oudh, and Bengal, including 
 Behar, in the Bengal Presidency. These vast alluvial plains, 
 watered by the Ganges, Jamna, and their numerous tribu- 
 taries, form the very heart of British India, in which 
 nearly one-half of its entire population is concentrated. 
 The fertility of the soil and the thrifty habits of the 
 people have here produced the same results as in the 
 rich alluvial valleys of the Yang-tse and Hoang-ho. In 
 both of these regions the density of the population is 
 estimated by several hundreds to the square mile, amount- 
 ing in the North-West Provinces to 419, in Oudh to 537, 
 and in Bengal to 548. These proportions are consider- 
 ably more than treble those of Prance and other European 
 States, which are regarded as fairly well peopled, and the 
 census returns for 1901 showed a total of no less than 
 121,000,000 for the three above-mentioned provinces
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 113 
 
 alone. Yet many parts are covered with dense jungle, 
 tenanted only by wild animals, while others are either 
 barren wastes, uninhabitable swampy tracts, or rugged 
 uplands, necessarily but very thinly peopled. Hence the 
 density in the more populous alluvial and cultivated 
 districts is much higher than might be supposed even 
 from these astonishing figures. Such teeming multitudes, 
 which the official returns show to be steadily increasing, 
 especially in Bengal (including Behar), could not possibly 
 be supported even in these exuberant lands except on the 
 most frugal diet, and as a matter of fact rice, the cheapest 
 of all grains, forms the staple, in many cases almost the 
 exclusive, article of food for the great majority through- 
 out the Ganges basin. 
 
 In this basin are comprised, besides the lowland 
 plains, extensive highland tracts, consisting in the north 
 chiefly of the outer Himalayan ridges, and in the south of 
 the more advanced spurs and offshoots of the Vindhyas, 
 which near Benares and other points approach to within 
 a few miles of the Ganges. About Darjiling, in British 
 Sikkim, the hills rise to elevations of from 6000 to 8000 
 feet, commanding a view of Kanchinjinga (28,156 feet), 
 lying 45 miles due north on the frontier of Tibet and 
 independent Sikkim. These Darjiling hills are extremely 
 interesting, not only for their magnificent scenery and 
 glorious vegetation, but also as forming the " divide " 
 between the Ganges and Brahmaputra basins and between 
 the Hindu and Buddhist religious worlds. 
 
 It would be difficult to conceive a greater contrast 
 than that which exists between these cool or cold moun- 
 tains and the watery plains of the Lower Ganges, whence 
 we pass by a natural transition to the still more watery 
 region of the Lower Brahmaputra valley. All this low- 
 lying tract, as far east as the Garo hills and British 
 Burma, is included in the Bengal Provinces, which thus 
 
 VOL. II I
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 115 
 
 consist altogether of four different sections — Behar, en- 
 closed west and north by the North -West Provinces 
 and Xepal ; Chota-Nagpur, stretching from Behar south- 
 wards to the Central Provinces ; Orissa, lying between 
 Chota-Nagpur and the coast ; and Bengal proper, com- 
 prising the united Ganges -Brahmaputra delta, and 
 stretching north to Sikkim, west to Behar, east to 
 Assam, the Lushai hill tribes, Burma, and Arrakan, but 
 overlapping or enclosing the independent Hill Tipperah 
 country on the south-west frontier of Assam. 
 
 Below the Himalayas Behar is mainly alluvial and 
 level, but rises westwards to the Rajmahal hills in the 
 Santhal Parganas. Chota-Nagpur, on the contrary, is 
 an upland rugged country, embracing the eastern spurs of 
 the Vindhyas, with elevations of from 2000 to 4400 
 feet ; while Orissa consists of a flat diluvial tract between 
 these hills and the coast, and an extensive hilly district 
 in the interior occupied by petty tributary States. These 
 hills also form a continuation of the Vindhyan system, 
 which here culminates in the Parasnath (4480 feet), close 
 to the East Indian Railway, about midway between 
 Benares and Calcutta. Far higher are the elevations on 
 the east frontier of Lower Bengal, where the Tipperah 
 highlands, forming a continuation of the Lushai and 
 Manipur ranges, attain an altitude of from 11,000 to 
 12,000 feet. 
 
 West of these hills stretches the great delta with its 
 " thousand mouths," its intricate network of countless 
 channels and backwaters, its highly -cultivated and 
 densely-peopled inland Backergange tract, its almost 
 impenetrable coast region of the Sundarban, 1 covered 
 
 1 This name, which wrongly takes a plural form, Sandurbaas, in 
 English writings, appears to be derived, not from sundar-ban, "fine 
 forest," or siindar- band, "fine embankment," but from sundri (Ileretiera 
 littoralis), a tree still abounding in the district, and ban, "forest."
 
 116 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 with dense jungle, and a prey to wild beasts, terrific 
 cyclones, and deadly exhalations. Here land and water 
 still struggle for the mastery, while unbridled nature 
 laughs at the feeble efforts of man to tame the jarring 
 elements. The work of the day is swept away by the 
 raging night-storm, and the patient labour of years often 
 suddenly disappears in a chaos of widespread ruin. 
 Nevertheless, the Saugor Light, firmly established at the 
 entrance of the Hugli, shines like a beacon of future 
 promise that one day even this wild region will be 
 brought under the control of man. 
 
 The Bhati, " Flooded Lowland," as the Sundarban was 
 formerly called, would thus be restored to its original 
 condition ; for Mr. Eainey has shown that within a com- 
 paratively recent period this alluvial tract stood at a 
 considerably higher level than at present, and was 
 extensively cultivated and inhabited. All over the delta 
 are scattered numerous ruins of brick houses, large tanks, 
 and even temples and palaces, such as the Satgumbaz, a 
 curious structure with seventy-seven domes and " not less 
 than twenty-six arched doors on the four sides, which 
 open into a vast hall 140 feet in length by 96 in width, 
 or an area of 13,440 square feet." In the same locality are 
 the remains of many mosques, reputed to number 360, one 
 of which dates from the year 1459. But a great change 
 was caused some centuries ago by the shifting of the 
 Ganges eastwards to its junction with the Brahmaputra. 
 " The rivers in this tract since then, having no consider- 
 able bulk of fresh water poured into their upper channels, 
 have been mainly fed by the tide coming up from the 
 sea, which renders these streams more or less impregnated 
 with brine, and quite unfit for human beings to drink "' 
 (J. E. Eainey, Geo. Proc, 1891, p. 280).
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 117 
 
 Eastern Bengal and Assam. 
 
 Beyond the Brahmaputra section of the delta lies the 
 province of Assam, occupying the north-eastern extremity 
 of the empire between Bhutan and Tibet on the north, 
 Burma on the east and south-east, the Manipur Lushai 
 and Manipur hill States on the south. The adminis- 
 trative province embraces the Brahmaputra and Surma 
 valleys, with the Naga, Jaintia, Khasi, and Garo hill tracts, 
 and since 1905 the eastern districts of Lower Bengal. 
 
 But Assam proper is confined to the Brahmaputra 
 valley, an extensive alluvial plain 450 miles long by 
 about 50 broad, everywhere enclosed by lofty ranges, 
 except towards the west, where the Brahmaputra escapes 
 towards the Ganges. This plain, however, is diversified 
 by innumerable rivers, boundless woodlands, extensive 
 prairies, and even by isolated ridges at some points 
 approaching close to the Brahmaputra. The number of 
 watercourses is probably greater than in any other country 
 of equal extent, no less than sixty considerable streams 
 having been enumerated in this narrow tract, all con- 
 nected together by a labyrinth of channels and branches. 
 Thanks to this superabundance of water, Assam is one of 
 the most fertile regions in India. But owing to the 
 dense forests and lofty enclosing ranges impeding the free 
 circulation of the air, the moist climate is oppressively 
 hot, and all the more unhealthy because the rainy season 
 continues here longer than in any other part of the empire 
 except Lower Burma. It lasts from March to November, 
 when the low-lying riverine tracts are often completely 
 flooded. The slow evaporation of these liquid masses 
 charges the atmosphere with dank vapours, generating 
 % dysentery, and other malarious disorders. Even 
 during the cold season dense fogs usually prevail in the 
 plains from midnight to noon, enveloping everything in
 
 118 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 an impenetrable misty veil. Assam, however, is beyond 
 the reach of the hot winds, which in May and June con- 
 vert many parts of the peninsula into a glowing furnace. 
 It abounds in coal, iron of excellent quality, sulphur, salt, 
 and petroleum, and after the rainy season the natives 
 search the streams for the gold-dust brought down with 
 the alluvia from the hills. 
 
 The Central Provinces and Berar. 
 
 The Deccan, in the largest sense of the term geo- 
 graphically, is distributed politically between the Central 
 Provinces, forming a portion of the Bengal Presidency, 
 and the two southern Presidencies of Madras and Bombay, 
 together with the Native States, of which by far the most 
 important are the Nizam's Dominions and Mysore. 
 
 The Central Provinces form a British enclave almost 
 everywhere cut off from British territory proper by inter- 
 vening feudatory States. But the broad political bound- 
 aries are the Chota-Nagpore States of Bengal on the north, 
 the tributary Native States (of which some belong to the 
 Orissa province and others to the Madras Presidency) on 
 the east, the Nizam's territory on the south, the Central 
 India Agency on the west and north-west. They form 
 an irregular square (almost a triangle) about 600 miles 
 long east and west, by 500 north and south, with a total 
 area, including the Berars, of over 130,000 square miles. 
 They constitute the northern portion of the Deccan 
 plateau, here divided into two sections by the Satpura 
 range, with a mean elevation of 1500 to 2000 feet, and 
 a general eastward tilt. But the surface is everywhere 
 diversified with hilly plains and river valleys, and on the 
 south it is enclosed by the upland Bastar tract reaching 
 from the coast to the Godavari, and stretching thence, 
 under different names, westwards to the Khandeish plateau.
 
 THE INDIAN EMriEE 119 
 
 This extensive region is traversed by the Narbada, 
 Mahanadi, Wainganga, and Wardha, flowing generally in 
 deep beds, and navigable for long distances during the 
 rainy season. Large tracts are still covered with dense 
 virgin forests, but others are well adapted for the cultiva- 
 tion of cereals, and cotton of the best quality is grown, 
 especially along the right bank of the Wardha. 
 
 The Nizam's Dominions. 
 
 In the Nizam's Dominions are included East and 
 West Berar, forming the Hyderabad Assigned Districts. 
 These were, under the treaties of 1853 and 1861, assigned 
 by the Nizam to the British Government, which, on its 
 part, undertook to maintain a body of troops, to be styled 
 the Haidarabad Contingent; but in 1902 Berar was 
 transferred to the Central Provinces. 
 
 The Nizam's Dominions still form by far the largest 
 and most important of all the Native States in the 
 empire. They comprise the very heart of the Deccan, 
 lying mainly between the two great rivers Godavari and 
 Kistna north and south, and between the Presidencies of 
 Bombay and Madras west and east, and /Stretching about 
 475 miles both ways, with an area (1901) of 82,698 
 square miles. It consists of an elevated plateau, sloping 
 from 2500 down to about 1000 feet towards the 
 coast ranges which skirt its south-eastern frontier. 
 Much of the surface is still waste and covered with low 
 brushwood, but the soil is naturally fertile, and where 
 irrigated produces heavy crops of cotton, cereals, oleaginous 
 plants, and even dates. 
 
 In the Kistna valley within the Nizam's territory 
 are the famous Partial and Kollur diamond-fields, where 
 the "Great Mogul," the " Koh-i-niir," the "Pitt" or 
 " Regent," the " Orlofif " and many other magnificent
 
 120 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 gems were found. The rough stones yielded by these 
 mines were formerly cut and polished in the town of 
 Golconda, about 100 miles farther north, and from this 
 circumstance the diamonds were popularly supposed to 
 be produced at or near Golconda, which is not a dia- 
 mantiferous district. 
 
 The Madras Presidency. 
 
 This Presidency comprises roughly the whole of the so- 
 called "Eastern" and a considerable section of the Western 
 Ghats, the coast -land stretching thence to the Bay of 
 Bengal, and all the southern portion of the peninsula from 
 the Mzam's territory to Cape Comorin. It is thus bounded 
 by the sea on two sides, and landwards by Orissa, the 
 Central Provinces, the Xizam's Dominions, and the Presi- 
 dency of Bombay. Besides Mysore, Kurg, Travancore, 
 and some other smaller Xative States, the chief historic 
 divisions are the Northern Sircars and the Carnatic on the 
 Coromandel coast, South Kanara and Malabar on the 
 west coast, the Balaghat or uplands near the junction of 
 the Eastern and Western coast ranges, and the Nilgiri 
 highlands connecting these ranges south of Mysore. 
 The Presidency stretches across 12 degrees of latitude 
 (8° to 20° X.) on the east side, and across 6 (8° to 14° X.) 
 on the west side, with an extreme length of 1000 miles, 
 breadth 380 miles at the parallel of the capital, and total 
 area 142,000 square miles. It is traversed on both sides 
 by the Ghats, and is generally mountainous towards the 
 south, where the Nilgiris, Palni, Shevaroy, and other 
 hills occupy most of the apex. 
 
 The Malabar or West Coast is a narrow but very 
 fertile and highly-cultivated tract intervening between 
 the shore and the Ghat Mountains. Several shallow 
 inlets, called " backwaters," run sometimes for 150 or
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 121 
 
 280 miles parallel with the coast. For 170 miles from 
 Cape Comorin the east coast is also low, but rocky and 
 fringed with reefs. Navigation is here further obstructed 
 by the so-called " Adam's Bridge," a sandbank stretching 
 from the mainland to the northern extremity of Ceylon, 
 with two open channels only. But even these are too 
 shallow for large vessels, so that all the deep-sea naviga- 
 tion is diverted round the island from the Gulf of Manor 
 and Palk Strait. The Coromandel coast, running from 
 Point Calimir nearly due north to the Kistna delta, 
 retains the character of a low sandy seaboard, the beach 
 shoaling very gently, and preventing large vessels from 
 approaching the land. Beyond the Kistna delta the 
 Golconda coast, as it used to be called, trends north-east- 
 wards for nearly 300 miles to Vizagapatam, and although 
 the hills here approach somewhat nearer to the sea the 
 intervening strip is deltaic, being so low and flat that it 
 is sometimes subject to inundation. But on the northern 
 coast, stretching for 230 miles from Vizagapatam to the 
 Chilka Lake or Lagoon on the frontier of the Bengal 
 Presidency, the hills approach nearer to the shore, which 
 is unbroken by any inlets or large river mouths. 
 
 Mysore and Ktirg. 
 
 A large portion of the interior is occupied by the 
 Native State of Mysore and the province of Kurg, which 
 are enclosed by the Madras Presidency on all sides except 
 towards the north-west, where Mysore impinges on the 
 Bombay Presidency. It consists of an extensive table- 
 land 290 miles by 230, with an area of over 29,000 
 square miles, filling the angle where the Western and 
 Eastern coast ranges merge in the Nilgiris. The surface 
 is very undulating, and diversified in many places by the 
 remarkable rocky formations known as Drugs, huge piles
 
 122 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 rising either isolatedly or in clusters from 1000 to 1500 1 
 feet above the plateau. Many of these have perennial 
 springs on their summits, which have often been con- 
 verted into almost impregnable strongholds. 
 
 The plateau culminates at Bangalore, which lies due 
 west of Madras, over 3000 feet above sea -level. But 
 the highest peaks are found more to the west, where the 
 Kuduremukha, 6215 feet, forms a striking landmark 
 visible from the sea. Here also two peaks in the Baba- 
 Budan Mountains rise to elevations of 6214 and 6317 
 feet, and on the former is the tomb of Baba-Budan, a 
 Muhammadan saint, from whom the range takes its name. 
 
 The chief rivers of Mysore are the Kavari, Penner, 
 Paler, and Pennair. None of the streams are here 
 navigable, and many are utilised to form artificial reser- 
 voirs, of which there are no less than 38,000 in the 
 State. Some of these are of considerable size, the Suli- 
 kere tank, which is the largest, having a circumference 
 of 40 miles. 
 
 The Native State of Mysore forms no part of the 
 Madras Presidency, but for some years before 1881, 
 when it was restored to the native ruler, 1 it was separ- 
 ately administrated on the model of the Panjab by a 
 Chief Commissioner, directly responsible to the Supreme 
 Government. 
 
 A similar arrangement has been permanently adopted 
 for the adjoining territory of Kurg, a hilly tract 2000 
 square miles in extent, occupying the crests and eastern 
 
 1 This ruler descends through a collateral line from Raj Vodejar, 
 founder of the present State of Mysore in 1610. For thirty-six years 
 the throne was usurped by the Muhammadan soldier of fortune Hyder Ali 
 and his son Tipu Sahib (1763-99). The native dynasty was restored by the 
 English, but in 1831 the Raja was deposed for gross maladministration, 
 and from that time till 1881 Mysore was practically administered by 
 British Commissioners. The present ruler bears the title of Chama 
 Rajendra Vodeyar.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 123 
 
 slopes of the Western Ghats between 12° and 13° N. 
 latitude. The term Knrg, generally written Coorg, is a 
 corrupt form of Kuclagu or Koclumah, meaning " steep 
 mountains," which is a sufficiently accurate description of 
 the land. It consists of a series of steep ridges and deep 
 gorges, densely wooded in the east on the Mysore frontier, 
 more open towards the west. Nearly the whole surface 
 is drained by the head-streams of the Kavari, which here 
 rises in the Brahmagiri range at Tale Kavari, a place of 
 great repute among the Hindus. Here are some temples 
 yearly visited by thousands of pilgrims, who regard the 
 Kavari as a holier river than even the Ganges itself. In 
 their course to the main stream all the mountain torrents 
 form romantic waterfalls, conspicuous among which is that 
 of the Jessy near Merkara, the capital of the territory. 
 
 Eespecting sanctity, however, opinions differ; some 
 Hindus claim it for one river, others for another. But 
 the Ganges still maintains its supremacy among the' 
 majority of Hindus. 
 
 The cardamom plant is indigenous in Kurg, where it 
 is extensively cultivated at elevations of from 2500 to 
 5000 feet above the sea. 
 
 Travancore. 
 
 The two Native States of Cochin and Travancore, 
 occupying the south-western extremity of the peninsula, 
 are under the direct control of the Madras Government. 
 They have a joint area of 8000 square miles, of which 
 about five -sixths arc comprised in Travancore, which 
 embraces the western slopes of the hills and the low- 
 lying coast -lands from Cochin to Cape Comorin. The 
 lowlands are very fertile, and watered by numerous small 
 streams flowing from the hills, which have here a mean 
 elevation of 4000 to 5000 feet, culminating with the
 
 124 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Augustier Peak 7000 feet high. Here the sovereignty 
 as well as the inheritance of property passes in the 
 female line, a custom probably due to the practice of 
 polyandria, formerly universal along the Malabar coast, 
 and still surviving among many of the low-caste hill-tribes 
 in this region. 
 
 Presidency of Bombay. 
 
 Including the already described northern district of 
 Sind, the Bombay Presidency, occupying the north-western 
 section of the peninsula, stretches from the Panjab and 
 Baluchistan for 1100 miles southwards to Mysore, with 
 an average breadth of about 200 miles between the 
 Arabian Sea (Indian Ocean) and Central India. But 
 towards the interior the frontier line is extremely irre- 
 gular, being determined in this direction by the limits of 
 the Panjab, Rajputana, the Central India Agency, Berar, 
 the Nizam's Dominions, the Madras Presidency, and 
 Mysore. It has a total area of over 123,000 square 
 miles, and, exclusive of Sind, comprises three distinct 
 natural divisions — Gujarat, the western portion of the 
 Deccan, including Khandeish, and the Konkans. 
 
 Gujarat. 
 
 Politically, Gujarat comprises mainly the feudatory 
 States of Kattiawar and Katch, and Baroda, besides a 
 portion of British territory proper about the mouth of 
 the Narbada — some of the richest lands of the empire 
 — and the Gulf of Cambay. Physically, it includes the 
 Katch and Kattiawar peninsulas, which consist mostly 
 of rich and highly-cultivated alluvial plains, varied by a 
 few low ridges and isolated eminences. Towards Central 
 India it is skirted by a chain of hills running from
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 125 
 
 Mount Abu at the southern extremity of the Aravallis 
 
 southwards to the western extremity of the Vindhyas. 
 
 The Deccan and Konlcan. 
 
 The Deccan, including the plains of Khandeish, 
 stretches thence over the vast upland between the Eastern 
 and the "Western coast ranges, southwards to Mysore 
 and Madras, including the Nizam's Dominions, and a 
 part of the Bombay Presidency. Geographically, too, it 
 includes the Balaghat districts of the Madras Presidency. 
 This region is watered in the north by the Tapti, in the 
 south by the head-streams of the Godavari and Kistna, 
 which drain the whole of the plateau eastwards to the 
 Bay of Bengal. The hilly district of the Bangs in the 
 north and the Kanara district in the south are mostly 
 covered with dense fore3ts, and the Western Ghat moun- 
 tains are mostly wooded ; but elsewhere the country is 
 open, generally well cultivated, and very fertile along 
 the banks of the rivers. 
 
 The Konkan comprises the narrow strip of coast-lands 
 extending from Bombay between the Western Ghats and 
 the sea southwards to the Portuguese territory of Goa. 
 These coast -lands are everywhere intersected by creeks 
 and short rapid streams or torrents, flowing from the 
 Ghats in separate channels to the sea, and in some places 
 form tolerably sheltered harbours. Hence this rockbound 
 coast is mostly of difficult access, and along the whole 
 seaboard of the Presidency the ports of Karachi, Bombay, 
 and Karwar alone afford a complete refuge to shipping 
 during the prevalence of the south-west monsoon. The 
 lesser harbours are, however, being improved, and at 
 several seasons are already useful.
 
 126 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 French and Portuguese Possessions. 
 
 The only remaining political divisions on the main- 
 land are the fragments of territory still remaining to 
 France and Portugal. Here the French possessions con- 
 sist of five isolated portions, with a joint area of 178 
 square miles, all subordinate to a Governor, residing at 
 Pondicherry. The several settlements are : in Bengal — 
 Chandernagore, on the right bank of the Hugli, 1 7 miles 
 north of Calcutta ; in Madras — Pondicherry, considerably 
 larger than all the rest put together, on the Coromandel 
 coast, 12° X. lat.; Karakal, next in size, in the Kavari 
 delta on the same coast ; Yanaon, or Yanan, on the old 
 Golconda coast at the northern extremity of the Godavari 
 delta; lastly, Mahe, on the Malabar coast, nearly under 
 the same parallel as Pondicherry. 
 
 The Portuguese settlements consist of Goa, Daman, 
 and Diu, all on the west coast, and within the Bombay 
 Presidency, with a total area of 1096 square miles. Goa 
 comprises a small territory, 64 miles long north and 
 south, by 20 broad, on the Malabar coast near the southern 
 limits of the Presidency. It is a fertile, well-watered, 
 and cultivated tract, divided into the two districts of 
 Salsette and Bardes, with a small sheltered harbour, five 
 miles from the now deserted town of Old Goa. The new 
 town of Panjim, or Villa Nova de Goa, lies at the 
 entrance of the harbour, which is defended by several 
 forts. Daman is situated on the Gujarat coast, at the 
 entrance of the Gulf of Cambay, over against Diu, which 
 is a small island on the Kattiawar coast, 170 miles 
 north-west of Bombay. 
 
 Ceylon. 
 
 With the exception of Diu, all the islands in the 
 Indian waters are either British territory or subject to the
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 127 
 
 Supreme Government. They consist of one large island, 
 Ceylon, at the apex of the peninsula ; the four groups 
 of the Audamans, Nicobars, Mergui, and Moscos, in the 
 Bay of Bengal ; and the Laccadives, the Maldives, and 
 Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. 
 
 Ceylon, "Pearl of the Eastern Seas," is almost con- 
 nected with the mainland by Adam's Bridge, a chain of 
 low coral reefs and sandbanks, 62 miles long, running 
 between the Gulf of Manar and Palk Strait. But from 
 the northernmost extremity to Point Calimere on the 
 Coromandel coast the distance is only about 40 miles. 
 The island has the form of a pear, tapering northwards 
 with a total length of 270 miles, an extreme width of 
 146, and an area of over 25,000 square miles. The 
 surface rises gradually from the northern plains to the 
 central highlands, which consist of a series of ridges and 
 intervening upland valleys, culminating with the Pedro- 
 tallagalla Peak, 8260 feet, which overlooks the elevated 
 plateau of Nuwara Eliya, itself 6000 feet above the sea. 
 The other chief summits are Tolapella (7720 feet), Kirri- 
 galpota (7810), and Adam's Peak (7420), an isolated 
 mass on the south-western edge of the central highlands, 
 which was long supposed to be the highest point in 
 the island. 
 
 The central highlands form a complete water-parting, 
 whence a large number of rivers flow in every direction 
 seawards, thus rendering Ceylon one of the best-watered 
 countries in the world. The largest of these streams are 
 the Mahavila - Ganga, running from the Nuwara Eliya 
 plateau northwards to the east coast near Trincomali ; 
 the Kalani- Ganga, Kala-Ganga, and Maha Oya, draining 
 to the west coast. 
 
 The soil is extremely fertile, even in the upland dis- 
 tricts, and is almost everywhere clothed with a rich and 
 varied vegetation. The chief sources of wealth are the
 
 128 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 coco-nut, cinnamon, coffee, and especially tea plantations, 
 besides tobacco in the northern lowlands. The cinnamon 
 groves are restricted chiefly to the south- western districts 
 about Colombo, and the tea and coffee plantations to the 
 upland valleys and mountain slopes. Coffee, at one time 
 the staple product, has in recent years suffered terribly 
 from disease, the yield having fallen from over 825,000 
 cwt. in 1879 to 9000 cwt. in 1901. On the other 
 hand, tea, by which coffee has been largely replaced, 
 thrives well, the exports having risen from about £120,000 
 in 1884 to over £3,450,000 in 1907. Some of the 
 Ceylon tea is of exquisite flavour, and samples have been 
 sold in the London market at quite fabulous prices. 
 
 In the forests, satin-wood, ebony, calamander, and 
 other valuable trees arrive at great perfection. Ceylon 
 also abounds in minerals, such as plumbago, iron, man- 
 ganese, nitre, alum, and salt, besides a great variety of 
 precious stones — rubies, sapphires, amethysts, garnets, 
 and the cat's-eye. 
 
 Ceylon is a Crown Colony, entirely separated from 
 India and administered by a Governor appointed by the 
 King, an Executive Council of five, and a Legislative 
 Council of fifteen. It is divided into nine provinces under 
 Government agents, with a supreme civil and criminal 
 court in the capital, Colombo. This city is connected 
 with the old highland capital, Kandy, by a railway, which 
 has been extended to the tea and coffee plantations of 
 the central province. Colombo has replaced the exposed 
 harbour of Point de Galle on the south-west coast as the 
 port of call for steamers plying in the Eastern waters. 
 
 Maldives and Laccadives. 
 
 Nearly 500 miles due west of Ceylon is the group of 
 the Maldives — that is, Malediva, or " Thousand Islands.''
 
 VOL. II
 
 130 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 It forms a chain of coral islets, comprising 17 atolls, 
 each enclosing deep lagoons fringed with reefs, and richly 
 clothed with coco-nut palms. They also yield millet, 
 fruits, and edible roots. The group is governed by a 
 hereditary Sultan, who resides in the island of Male 
 (Mol), and pays a yearly tribute to the Ceylon Government. 
 
 About 175 miles north of the Maldives are the Lac- 
 cadives, also of coral formation, comprising 20 atolls, 
 besides numerous islets and reefs, mostly barren, or pro- 
 ducing nothing but coco-nuts. They form five separate 
 groups, which, with Minicoy, midway between the Lacca- 
 dives and Maldives, are now attached to the South 
 Kanara district of the Madras Presidency on the opposite 
 Malabar coast. 
 
 The inhabitants of the Maldives are Muhammadans 
 of Malay stock ; those of the Laccadives, a half-caste 
 Indo-Arab race, also Muhammadans. All alike are ex- 
 tremely inoffensive, hospitable, and friendly to Europeans 
 
 These groups were surveyed in 1899-1900 by 
 Mr. J. S. Gardiner, who gives an exhaustive account of 
 their formation in the Geograph. Joum. for March 1902. 
 
 The Andamans and Nicobars. 
 
 The Andamans, with the little Cocos group at their 
 northern extremity, and the Nicobars farther south, form 
 .the scattered links of a chain suggesting a former con- 
 nection of Pegu with Sumatra. The Andamans consist 
 of four large and several smaller volcanic islands, some 
 200 miles west of the Tenasserim coast, with a total 
 length of 200 miles, and an area of 2700 square miles. 
 They are surrounded by dangerous coral reefs, generally 
 mountainous, culminating with Saddle Peak, 2400 feet, 
 in North Andaman, and mostly clothed down to the 
 water's edge with a dense tropical vegetation. In South 
 Andaman is the well-sheltered harbour of Port Blair,
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 131 
 
 chosen as a penal settlement for all India in 1868, when 
 this archipelago was annexed and placed under a u Chief 
 Commissioner of the Andaman and Nieobar Islands," 
 responsible to the head Government. At Port Blair, just 
 south of Mount Harriett (1296 feet), Lord Mayo, 
 Governor-General of India, was assassinated, while on a 
 tour of inspection, by one of the convicts in 1872. 
 East of Middle Andaman, the largest of the group, is 
 Barren Island, a remarkable active volcano, 7 miles in 
 circumference and 1700 feet high. 
 
 The Andamans are notoriously unhealthy, owing to 
 the hot and damp climate, the thermometer ranging from 
 72° to 96° F., with a rainfall averaging about 150 inches, 
 and malarious exhalations rising from the numerous 
 mangrove swamps and creeks intersecting the islands 
 like fiords in all directions. But thanks to their position 
 and excellent harbours, such as Port Cornwallis and 
 Stewart's Sound on the east side of North Andaman, 
 Portman Harbour, Macpherson's Straits, Port Mouat, 
 Port Blair, and other inlets in South Andaman, these 
 islands afford numerous places of refuge to vessels over- 
 taken by cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. Little Anda- 
 man, southernmost of the group, was first surveyed in 
 1887 by Mr. Maurice Portman. It is 27 miles by 15, 
 is encircled by a coral-fringing reef, and its limestone 
 caves contain edible birds' nests. 
 
 The Andamans are identified by Mr. Portman with 
 the Bazacatas or Aginates of Ptolemy, and their present 
 name may possibly be a corruption of Hauuman, the 
 monkey race of the Eamayana. The Malays look on 
 the natives as descendants of this race, and still call 
 them " Orang Handuman." They have visited the 
 islands for hundreds of years in quest of edible birds' 
 nests, trepang, and slaves. Hence the suspicious and 
 somewhat treacherous character of the natives, who.
 
 132 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 however, are far from being ferocious savages and 
 cannibals, as they have been described by superficial 
 observers. They are naturally of a gentle, kindly dis- 
 position, and " they always treat well those who behave 
 well to them, and as they have been strictly looked after 
 by the local government they look on all white men as 
 friends. They are charming companions in the jungle — 
 full of life and fun, quite ready to see the comic side of 
 everything, and always cheerful and good - tempered. 
 They pass their lives in hunting or dancing, their wants 
 being easily satisfied" (Mr. Portman, Geo. Proc, 1888, 
 p. 575). 
 
 Although the women are ill-favoured, the men are 
 often good-looking, with none of the thick lips, high 
 cheek-bones, and fiat noses of the Negro type. " They 
 are probably the most intensely black race in the 
 world " (ib.) ; but although usually grouped with the 
 Aetas, Semangs, and other Negritoes of the Philippines 
 and Malay Peninsula, the Andamanese cannot be re- 
 garded as a dwarfish people, the average height being 
 little under 5 feet, whereas the true Negritoes fall below 
 4 feet 6 inches. Of the irreclaimable Jarawas of the 
 South island very little is known. They appear to be 
 distinct from the other aborigines, are fierce marauders, 
 and live in large communal houses 60 feet long. 
 
 In the Andaman Sea, east of the Andaman group, 
 are the two volcanic islets of Narcondam and Barren, 
 visited in 1891 by the botanist, Mr. D. Prain. Narcon- 
 dam, which rises to a height of 2330 feet above the 
 sea, is clothed with a dense vegetation, from the " beach 
 forest " of coco-nuts, plantains, Pisonia, Terminalia, etc., 
 up to the summit of the cone, which shows no trace of 
 a crater, and in any case has long been extinct. The 
 crater on the inner cone of Barren Island is merely a 
 cinder-heap, almost destitute of vegetation. It seems
 
 THE INDIAN" EMPIRE 133 
 
 highly probable that these islands, with Flat Bock, 
 farther south, form a northern continuation of the 
 volcanic system which traverses Java and Sumatra. 
 
 The Nicobars, lying nearer to Sumatra than to the 
 Andamans, form two groups, separated by Sombrero 
 Channel — Great and Little Nicobar in the south ; Nan- 
 cowry, Kachol, Camorta, Car Nicobar, and a few others, 
 in the north. Nancowry, about the centre of the 
 archipelago, is 225 miles from Port Blair and 550 from 
 Rangoon. The hills in the south are generally covered 
 with forests to their summits, and in the north with grass. 
 The whole group is under the Commissioner resident in 
 Port Blair, while the Mergui Archipelago, as already 
 stated, is attached to Burma. 
 
 Christmas Island, which lies in deep water about 
 190 miles south of Java, was visited in 1897 by 
 Mr. C. W. Andrews, who describes it as a deusely-wooded, 
 rocky mass 12 miles long, and about 43 square miles 
 in extent. The central plateau has a mean height of 
 800 feet, rising in the north-west to an extreme altitude 
 of 11 70 feet. The island, which appears. to have never 
 been inhabited, is mainly of dolomitic limestone formation, 
 with extensive deposits of phosphate of lime, especially 
 on the north side. There are a few indigenous mammals 
 (rats, bats) and birds (pigeons), and a first settlement was 
 made about 1 8 9 by Mr. Andrew Boss. Pop. (1908)950. 
 
 5. Climate of India. 
 
 The general features of the climate of India are 
 mainly determined by five conditions — latitude, the 
 northern highlands, the elevation of the Deccan plateau, 
 the neighbourhood of the western desert, and proximity 
 to the Indian Ocean. The latitude produces tropical 
 heats, tempered on the southern plateau by the general 
 elevation of the land, intensified on the northern plains by
 
 134 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the Himalayas, which refract the vertical summer solar 
 rays, while in winter intercepting the cold atmospheric 
 currents from the bleak Central Asiatic tablelands. The 
 great desert intervening between the upper basin of the 
 Ganges and the lower basin of the Indus helps to cause 
 the hot blasts to blow over the North -West Provinces. 
 The Indian Ocean, surrounding the peninsula on two" 
 sides, supplies a superabundance of moisture during the 
 prevalence of the southern monsoons. None of the Ghats 
 or southern highlands are sufficiently elevated to arrest 
 any large portion of the rain-bearing clouds, which at this 
 time roll up continuously from the seething surface of the 
 surrounding seas, sweeping over the Deccan plateau, 
 penetrating far northwards through the head of the Bay 
 of Bengal, and precipitating all their remaining humidity 
 on the southern slopes of the Himalayas. From these 
 conditions it results that, while great heats prevail every- 
 where, the provinces south of the Satpura range are, on 
 the whole, cooler than the Indus and Ganges basins, and 
 that an unusual quantity of moisture is pretty evenly 
 distributed throughout the peninsula. At certain points 
 the amount of this moisture surpasses the records taken 
 on any other part of the world, varying in Malabar from 
 thirty to forty feet, and in Assam exceeding fifty. 
 
 Attention may here be called to the excellent 
 Climatological Atlas of India and Ceylon, which was 
 issued in 1906 by Messrs. Bartholomew of Edinburgh, 
 under the authority of Sir John Eliot, late Director- 
 General of Indian Observatories. It contains 120 plates 
 of maps, illustrating exhaustively the climatic conditions 
 of the whole region. 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna. 
 
 Although less than half of the peninsula lies within 
 the tropics, the average temperature of the laud is every-
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 135 
 
 where so high that the organic world of the torrid zone 
 naturally predominates greatly over that of the temperate. 
 Owing to their low elevation the eastern parts of the great 
 northern plains are in this respect quite as tropical as the 
 southern plateau of the Deccan. In the north-western 
 part of these great plains and in the upper part of the 
 Deccan, wheat, barley, millets, pulses, European vegetables, 
 and other plants characteristic of the temperate zone are 
 cultivated successfully. The development of the wheat 
 culture within the last few years has been remarkable. 
 But the great staples of food and commerce are rice, jute, 
 indigo, oil-seeds, poppy,betel,all distinctly tropical growths. 
 It is noteworthy that, with a few signal exceptions, the 
 vegetable products of India are on the whole inferior in 
 quality to those of other countries. Thus the cotton, 
 tobacco, sugar, and rice here grown are all surpassed by 
 those of America, while the maize, wheat, wine, fruits, and 
 vegetables cannot be compared with those of Europe, and 
 the betel-nut, cinnamon, spices, and dates are excelled by 
 the corresponding products in the Eastern Archipelago 
 and other parts of Asia. The most notable exceptions 
 are the Malabar coco-nuts, the Bengal indigo, jute, and 
 opium, the coffee and tea of Ceylon, the Nilgiris, Western 
 Ghats, Assam, and Himalayas, all of which are unsur- 
 passed, in some cases unapproached, in flavour. The 
 indigenous uncultivated plants also, such as the cedars, 
 pines, teak, ebony, india-rubber, rhododendrons of the 
 Himalayas are fully equal, if not superior, to those of 
 other regions. 
 
 Amongst the useful plants whose cultivation has been 
 more recently developed, coffee, tea, cinchona, and the 
 Australian Eucalyptus globulosa take a conspicuous part. 
 The eucalyptus has already been naturalised in the Nil- 
 giris, and according to the official report for 1881 there 
 are now over 4,500,000 cinchona trees in Southern India.
 
 136 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 yielding a sufficient supply of bark for the medical depots 
 of all the Presidencies, with a surplus of 3000 lbs. for 
 sale to the public. 1 The cultivation of coffee has become 
 one of the staple industries of Southern India. The 
 plantations now extend almost continuously along the 
 slopes and crests of the "Western Ghats from North 
 Mysore to Cape Comorin, and occupy in the Nilgiris 
 alone no less than 12,000 acres, yielding an annual crop 
 valued at £200,000. 
 
 But the development of tea culture in recent years 
 is still more remarkable, and may be regarded as one of 
 the chief factors in the future economic relations of India 
 and Ceylon with the rest of the world. In the hard- 
 fought battle with the long-established Chinese trade the 
 Anglo-Indian growers have already won the day, having 
 in little over a decade (1881-93) displaced China teas 
 in the British market to the extent of 7 6 million pounds. 
 Between 1900 and 1906 the imports from China fell 
 from £688,000 to £493,000, while those from India 
 and Ceylon rose in 1907 to £8,950,000. "This 
 great industrial revolution has been accomplished by an 
 international rivalry almost without a parallel in the 
 history of the world. The Chinese and the British 
 growers have fought with all the characteristic qualities 
 of the two races. The. economies in production effected 
 by British capital and co-operation have been pitted 
 against the parsimony of the Chinese peasant ; British 
 energy and dash against the inertia with which the 
 Celestial clings to an established livelihood, however 
 slender the subsistence which it yields. 
 
 " As regards quality China has not a chance against 
 India and Ceylon. Her rule-of-thumb methods produce 
 
 1 In connection with this industry it may be mentioned that Dr. Xing, 
 head of the Government cinchona factory in Darjiling, succeeded in 1881 
 in producing sulphate of quinine from cinchona bark.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 137 
 
 an article inferior in flavour and in high-class strength to 
 that which the scientific appliances, the costly machinery, 
 and the chemistry of averted fermentation enable the 
 British tea-planter to send to the market. The Indian 
 and Ceylon teas have now no rival as regards quality in 
 any sea-borne teas in the world." 1 
 
 Having captured the British market, the Anglo- 
 Indian growers have extended the struggle with their 
 Chinese rivals to other tea-consuming countries, especially 
 Australia, and since the Chicago Exhibition (1893) the 
 United States. They have invested altogether about 
 £30,000,000 of capital in this industry, and their 
 plantations are now widely scattered over the peninsula, 
 from Assam in the extreme east to Kangra in the far 
 west, and to Travancore and Ceylon in the extreme 
 south. 
 
 Notwithstanding the reckless destruction of timber 
 that has been going on for ages, large well-wooded tracts 
 are still found, especially on the slopes of the hills in 
 every part of the country. Measures have of late years 
 been taken for the preservation and increase of the 
 forests, which cover an area of about 70,000 square 
 miles altogether. The chief species are the conifers 
 (cedar, pine, fir), the oak, elm, maple, plane, ash, ebony, 
 teak, banyan, sandal-wood, mango, bamboo, sal, and palms, 
 including the date, palmyra, coco- and betel-nut, and other 
 varieties. 
 
 These forests, with the jungle of the plains, are still 
 tenanted by vast numbers of wild animals, birds, and 
 especially reptiles. So destructive are many of these, 
 that about 20,000 human beings and 50,000 head of 
 cattle are yearly destroyed by wild beasts and venomous 
 snakes. Man suffers mostly from the cobra and other 
 reptiles, while the herds are ravaged chiefly by the tiger, 
 1 The Times, August 9, 1894.
 
 138 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 panther, and other large beasts of prey. India is prob- 
 ably the indigenous home of the tiger, which is found in 
 every part of the country, and which, in the Koyal 
 Bengal species, attains his highest development. He 
 preys chiefly on deer, flocks, and herds, but will some- 
 times turn upon man, and once he has tasted human 
 flesh prefers it to any other. The " man-eater," as he is 
 
 
 mfwmmm 
 
 Mm 
 
 ■IjOfcs? 
 
 BENGAL TIGER. 
 
 then called, is one of the greatest scourges of the villages 
 lying on the skirt of the jungle. At present special 
 measures are taken by the authorities to secure the 
 speedy destruction of these animals. 
 
 Scarcely less formidable is the gray panther, or rather 
 leopard, which also occasionally becomes a man-eater. 
 But the cheeta, a somewhat smaller tawny -coloured 
 species, is kept by native princes and trained for hunting. 
 He is conveyed blindfolded in a cart to within a short 
 distance of a herd of deer, when the hood is suddenly 
 removed. In a few wonderful bounds he has seized the
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 139 
 
 quarry, or, missing it, abandons the pursuit, having spent 
 all his energy on a single effort. 
 
 Other large wild animals are the bear and wild boar, 
 very generally the rhinoceros, chiefly in the woods at the 
 foot of the Eastern Himalayas, the bison, gayal (Bibos 
 frontalis) in the Ghats and North Assam hills ; the 
 elephant, still met in large herds in Nepal, the hilly 
 districts of Eastern Bengal, the Nilgiris, and some other 
 parts ; two species of the alligator, the harmless " sharp- 
 nosed," and dangerous " snub-nosed," frequenting not only 
 most of the large rivers, but many of the numerous tanks 
 scattered over the country. Deer and antelopes abound 
 in immense variety, while the ibex, ovis amnion, and fine- 
 fleece-bearing goat and sheep are numerous, especially in 
 the Western Himalayas. 
 
 As a rule, the domestic animals, like the cultivated 
 plants, are inferior to those of most other countries. The 
 sheep, oxen, camels, and especially the horses, are gener- 
 ally of indifferent stock, although some hardy breeds of 
 ponies occur in the Himalayas, and the camel of Bikanir 
 in Eajputana is noted for its great size, strength, and 
 swiftness. Large herds of oxen, camels, sheep, and goats 
 occur chiefly in the Panjab and Eajputana, but India is 
 on the whole more an agricultural than a grazing land. 
 Hence, although there are a vast number of wild tribes 
 in the more inaccessible hilly districts, there are, strictly 
 speaking, no pastoral nomads, except, perhaps, the Ladakhi 
 Champas and a few others of Mongoloid stock, who 
 according to the seasons migrate between the southern 
 and Tibetan slopes of the inner Himalayas in search of a 
 scanty pasturage for their flocks.
 
 140 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 7. Inhabitants : Hindus, Dravidians, Kolarians, and 
 Tibeto-Burmese. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the inhabitants of India 
 belong to one homogeneous type. There is scarcely a 
 country in the world containing a greater diversity of 
 tribes and races in every stage of civilisation, from the 
 cultured European and philosophic Hindu down to the 
 most .degraded savages. A certain outward physical uni- 
 formity, noticeable especially in the prevailing brown, 
 olive-brown, and dark-brown complexions, has no doubt 
 been brought about during the course of ages by the 
 climatic conditions. It is also true that the great bulk 
 of the population is ultimately reducible to two distinct 
 stocks — the mixed Aryan Hindus, 1 chiefly in the northern 
 plains ; and the Dravidians, in the Deccan. But besides 
 these at least two others are also largely represented — 
 the Kolarian, chiefly in the Vindliyan and Satpura 
 ranges between the Aryans and Dravidians, north and 
 south ; and the Mongoloid, inhabitants of the Himalayas, 
 the Assam highlands, and British Burma. 
 
 Whether the absolute aborigines or not, the Kolarians 
 are at all events the first arrivals in the peninsula, where 
 they have scarcely anywhere risen above the lowest 
 grades of human culture. Next came the Dravidians, 
 some of whom, if true Dravidians, still remain at the 
 same low level as the lowest Kolarians, while the great 
 
 1 To avoid confusion it is necessary carefully to note the twofold 
 meaning which this term Hindu has acquired. In its original ethnical 
 sense it means, as here, the Aryan as opposed to the non-Aryan peoples 
 of India. Hence the word Hindustan, or "Country of the Hindus," is 
 properly restricted by native writers to the Indus and Ganges basins, 
 the true home of the Indian Aryans. But in a religious sense Hindu is 
 synonymous with the Brahmanical cult, and is opposed, not to the non- 
 Aryans, but to the Muhammadan and other forms of belief prevalent in 
 the peninsula.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 141 
 
 majority became in course of time susceptible to the 
 civilising influences of the Hindus, who were the last 
 arrivals from the north-west. The land was now full 
 except on the remote northern and north-eastern frontiers, 
 which were gradually occupied by Mongoloid Tibeto- 
 Burman tribes from Central and South-Eastern Asia. 
 
 The subdivisions of the Kolarians and Tibeto-Burmans 
 are chiefly of a tribal — that is, social — character, while 
 those of most Dravidians and all the Hindus are based 
 essentially on linguistic considerations. The Kolarians 
 and Tibeto-Burmans themselves speak a great variety of 
 different dialects, but their classification depends even 
 more on the tribal organisation than on the diversity of 
 those dialects. This is also true of many low-caste 
 Dravidian tribes, especially in the Nilgiris and Malabar 
 highlands. But the vast majority of the Dravidians and 
 all the Hindus are grouped in different branches, bearing 
 much the same relation to each other that, for instance, 
 the great branches of the Latin family bear to each other 
 in Southern Europe. All have long been fused together 
 in one common ethnical, social, and religious system, 
 while still separated one from the other mainly by their 
 different languages, all derived in Europe from the 
 common Latin stock, in India either from a common 
 Sanskritic or from a common but now extinct Dravidian 
 mother-tongue. These points should be borne in mind 
 in estimating the value of the subjoined general grouping 
 of all the Indian races. It is also to be noted that in a 
 comprehensive classification of the human family the 
 Hindus and Tibeto-Burmans would appear as mixed 
 branches of the Caucasic and Mongol stocks respecti\<'I_v, 
 whereas both the Dravidians and Kolarians would stand 
 quite apart, their possible affinities to the other great 
 families of mankind being still undetermined : —
 
 142 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 
 I. Hindus. 
 
 
 
 (Aryan Stock.) 
 
 
 Pop. 1901. 
 
 ( Rambani 
 
 Kashmiri - Bhadarwahi 
 
 1 radari ; Doda 
 V_ Kishtwari 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 (Kashmir 
 [ Jummu . 
 
 } 
 
 2,600,000 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 [Sikhs . 
 
 ) 
 
 
 
 Panjabi A Jats 
 
 > Pan jab . 
 
 
 17,100,000 
 
 \ Changars 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 Sindi .... 
 
 Sind . 
 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 Gujarati and Kachi . 
 
 Gujarat . 
 ( Bombay 
 
 -J Central Provinces 
 (_ Berar . 
 
 N.AV. Provinces 
 
 Rajputana 
 
 \ 
 
 9,930,000 
 
 Marathi and Konkani 
 
 
 18,240,000 
 
 Hindi and /S rdU "■ ' 
 Urdu 1 Marwan 
 
 J 
 
 } 
 
 120,000,000 
 
 V Gwahor, etc. 
 
 Upper Bengal 
 
 J 
 
 
 Bengali .... 
 
 Lower Bengal 
 
 
 44,620,000 
 
 Uriya .... 
 
 ( Orissa ; Ganjam 
 \ Chota-Nagpore 
 
 }' 
 
 9,690,000 
 
 Assamese .... 
 
 Assam Lowlands 
 
 
 1,350,000 
 
 Nepali (Parbliatia) . 
 
 Nepal . 
 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 II. 
 
 Deavidians. 
 
 
 
 Telugu 
 Tamil 
 
 Kanarese 
 
 Malayalini 
 
 Tulu 
 
 Kodagu 
 
 Oraon 
 
 Rajmahal 
 Khondi . 
 
 Gondi 
 
 Tuda 
 Kota 
 
 Sinhalese ? 
 Veddhas ? 
 
 ,'Tirki . 
 J Ekhar . 
 J Barar . 
 ' Minjar 
 
 C Betiah 
 -[ Beniah 
 ^ Maliah 
 Dher ; Gottur ; Koi 
 Badiya ; Madi 
 Wardha, etc. 
 
 f Sirkars, Nizam's . ) 
 
 \ Berar, Mysore . I 
 
 j Karnatic, Travancore \ 
 
 1 Mysore, N. Ceylon j 
 
 { S. Kanara, Mysore, 1 
 
 I Kurg. . . ) 
 
 Malabar Coast 
 
 Kanara, Malabar Hills 
 
 Kurg 
 
 -Chota-Nagpore 
 
 f Rajmahal Hills, N. of \ 
 \ Chota-Nagpore . / 
 
 I Ganjam 
 I Orissa . 
 
 Chota-Nagpore 
 Central Provinces 
 
 20,700,000 
 16,530,000 
 
 10,370,000 
 
 6,030,000 
 540,000 
 150,000 
 
 590,000 
 
 43,000 
 
 >90,000 
 
 1,120,000 
 
 Nilgiris ... 800 
 
 Nilgiris . . 1.200 
 
 S. and W. Ceylon . 1,900.000 
 
 Travancore and E. Cevlon ?3,000
 
 THE INDIAN EMl'IliE 
 
 14; 
 
 III. KoLARIANfi. 
 
 Santhal 
 
 fSaran . 
 I Murmu 
 
 • "| Marli . 
 
 VKisku . 
 
 Munda . { H o" U Larka 
 
 Kharia 
 
 Mal-Paharia ; Juang 
 
 Gadaba . 
 
 Konva 
 
 Kurku 
 
 Mehto 
 Savara 
 
 j" Kala 
 Bhil - ■] Ujvala 
 
 ^ Mina 
 
 -Baghalpur 
 
 V South of the Santhals 
 
 ( Singbkum district 
 
 \ Chota-Nagpore 
 Orissa, N. of Kattak 
 
 J Bustar Hills, left bank 
 
 \ lower Godavari . 
 Banvah . . [ 
 
 f About source of the 
 
 \ Nerbadda . 
 Chota-Nagpore 
 N. Sirkars . . J 
 Vindhyas . . "J 
 Gujarat . V 
 
 Malva, Bundi . J 
 
 Pop. 1901. 
 
 1,790,000 
 
 830,000 
 
 ? 1,000,000 
 
 980,000 
 
 IV. TlBETO-BURMANS. 
 
 {Mongol Stock.) 
 
 Ladakhi ; Gaddi 
 Champa ; Bunan 
 Khauiba ; Balti 
 
 f Rongbo 
 Garhwali -J Kohli . 
 
 ( Kakka 
 Kanawari 
 
 Magar ; Ghurka ; Gurung 
 Pahri ; Sunwar ; Kachari 
 Chepaug ; Kusunda ; Newar 
 Bhrainu ; Kirauti 
 Lepcha ; Yayu ; Murmi ; Limbu 
 Lhopa ; Dimal ; Towang ; Mechi 
 Char Duar ; Thebengea . 
 Miri : Lutukotia 
 Angka ; Mishmi ; Dana ; Abor 
 
 / Hojai ; Garo 
 „ , . Mech ; Koch 
 
 Kachari . j Rabha ' . Chutia 
 
 I Tipperah 
 Singpo ; Kuki . 
 
 Mikir .... 
 
 Khasi .... 
 
 Ladakh, Baltistan 
 
 ►Garhwal 
 
 120.000 
 
 ? 50,000 
 
 230,000 
 
 ? SO, 000 
 ? 750,000 
 
 J-Nepal . 
 
 Sikkim 
 I Bhutan 
 
 t North Assam Highlands ? 50,000 
 
 j Goalpara and Garo"\ 
 
 districts, \ 240,000 
 
 S.W. Assam J 
 
 S. Assam Hills . . ? 200,000 
 
 / Nowgong district, \ 62 00Q 
 | ( lentral Assam J 
 
 Khasia Hills, S. Assam 140,000
 
 144 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 fc 
 
 J I 
 
 Hatigorria . 
 
 Seraa ; Lhota ; Ban par 
 
 Rengma ; Primi, etc. . 
 
 Tablung; Sangloi; Tengsa 
 Banfera ; Mutonia 
 Mohongia ; Nanisang . 
 
 Angami ; Liyang 
 Arung ; Mao ; Mil ram 
 Luhupa ; Maring . J 
 
 01 f Ahom . 
 
 Shans • JKhampti . 
 
 Malays 
 
 Negritoes .... 
 Indo-Arabs 
 "Moormen" (Arabs) 
 
 Balucbis . { gj^ ; tt . ; 
 
 f Afridis 
 Afghans . -J Waziri 
 
 |_Yusafzais, etc. 
 Swatis, Cbitrali, Hunzas . 
 Persians .... 
 
 Parsis ... 
 
 Eurasians 
 Europeans 
 
 Naga Hills, S. 
 S.E. Assam 
 
 and 
 
 V. Sundries. 
 
 Assam 
 
 / Maldives 
 \ Nicobars ? 
 
 Andaman Islands 
 
 Laccadives 
 
 Malabar, Ceylon, etc. 
 
 J- Sind and Derajat J 
 
 -Derajat and Peshawar I 
 
 r 
 
 Peshawar, Hindu-Kush 
 Sind . 
 Gujarat, Surat, 
 Bombay 
 
 India generally 
 
 Pop. 1901. 
 
 210,000 
 
 270,000 
 
 210,000 
 
 250,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 15,000 
 
 200,000 
 
 680,000 
 
 90,000 
 60,000 
 
 700,000 
 
 Caste. 
 
 The religious and social system of the Hindus is every- 
 where in India based on the institution of caste, which was 
 originally introduced to uphold the political supremacy of 
 the fair Aryan intruders over the dark aborigines. But 
 before its introduction a considerable intermixture had 
 already taken place, except perhaps amongst the very 
 highest classes of the Aryan conquerors. 1 The indigenous 
 
 1 Dr. Gustav Oppert's investigations, spread over many years, tend to 
 show that these. Aryan invaders never were numerous, and that their 
 influence on the aborigines was more social and religious than ethnical. 
 Thanks to their higher culture, they imposed their religion on the masses 
 everywhere throughout the peninsula, and their Aryan speech (Sanskrit) 
 on most of the populations in the Indo-Gangetic regions {On the Original 
 Inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India, 1894).
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 145 
 
 elements being by far the most numerous, the Aryans were 
 thus threatened with ultimate absorption, and in fact had 
 in many places become largely assimilated to the natives. 
 They could be saved from extinction only by checking 
 further alliances. Marriage with the dark races was 
 accordingly forbidden by the laws of Manu, and a definite 
 rank was assigned to each shade of colour which had 
 already been developed, while the prohibition itself was 
 referred to divine prescription. Hence caste originally 
 meant colour, and had therefore an ethnical value. But 
 once established, the institution gradually acquired an 
 indefinite development, and the four original castes of 
 Brahmans (priestly order), Kshatryas (warriors), Va/ishyas 
 (citizens, traders, agriculturists), and Sudras (the menial 
 classes) have in course of ages expanded into minute 
 subdivisions almost past counting. The process seems to 
 be even still going on, and the last census returns give 
 2500 main divisions, and in Madras alone nearly 4000 
 minor distinctions. , 
 
 These, however, probably include the Pariahs, or out- 
 castes, a term which originally simply meant " hillmen," 
 and which thus throws considerable light on the institution. 
 It shows that while the three highest orders were reserved 
 for the ruling Aryans, the Sudra mainly comprised the 
 aborigines who had been reduced to a state of thraldom 
 or Helotism; whereas the Pariah embraced the inde- 
 pendent highlanders who were excluded from all the 
 social privileges of the Hindu system. Eefusing to sub- 
 mit to the conquering race, and successfully maintaining 
 their independence in the inaccessible mountain fastnesses 
 of the Vindhyas, the Satpuras, and the Ghats, where so 
 many of them are still found, they were declared to be 
 outlaws; and the term pariah, or highlander, thus- came t<> 
 be synonymous with outcaste. Hence the outcastes must, 
 to some extent at least, be regarded as the last remnants 
 VOL. II l
 
 146 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of the aboriginal elements, and the surviving repre- 
 sentatives of a pre- Aryan or prehistoric culture. 
 
 Although still flourishing, the institution of caste has 
 been somewhat though not largely affected, first by the 
 settlement and spread of Muhainmadans in the land, and 
 then by the establishment of British rule. Hinduism, 
 as a religious system, has always met with the utmost 
 possible toleration both from the Moslem and Christian 
 governments. Hence the Brahmanical or Sacerdotal 
 caste has survived all the political changes by which the 
 land has been convulsed during the past twelve hundred 
 years ; but the Kshatrya, or military caste, naturally lost 
 its vitality under Muhammadan princes, and under the 
 present political system, except in the feudatory Hindu 
 States of Eajputana and the Deccan. 1 On the other hand, 
 sacerdotalism and secular tradition have been strong 
 enough to maintain the class distinctions of the Vaishya, 
 and especially of the Sudra order, which last, with the 
 Pariah, comprises most of the Dravidians and Kolarians 
 of the Deccan. Its main subdivisions at present are : — 
 1. Husbandmen; 2. Graziers; 3. Artisans; 4. Writers; 
 o. Weavers ; 6. Field labourers ; 7. Potters ; 8. Mixed, or 
 broken, mainly sects who have discarded caste and attend 
 to the service of the temples : 9. Fishers and hunters ; 
 10. Barbers; 11. Washermen ; 12. Low castes of various 
 degrees, mersnno; in the outcastes. 
 
 Eedemption from this social yoke will ultimately be 
 found in the spread of education, in such internal up- 
 heavals as are foreshadowed by the Brahmo Samaj and 
 other monotheistic movements, in the silent influences 
 of the higher European culture, quickened by the de- 
 
 1 Some of the Kshatryas, such as the Kbatri of the Panjab, Lave even 
 turned to trade. Many of these hold the same social rank in the north 
 that the Baniyas (Banians) do in the Central Provinces and Southern 
 Presidencies, while others still possess an important status civilly and 
 politically.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 IV 
 
 velopment of the railway system and other levelling 
 institutions. 
 
 The Brahmo sect is described by Professor Monier 
 Williams in a paper read before the Royal Asiatic 
 
 ARYAN BRAHMAN FROM KASHMIR. 
 
 Society, in November 1880, regarding Hindu religious 
 reformers. 
 
 Many of the castes still preserve clear indications of 
 the physical distinctions on which they were originally 
 based. This is especially true of the Brahmans, who are 
 everywhere in the peninsula conspicuous for their in- 
 telligence, retaining much of the common Aryan inherit- 
 ance, and displaying the noble cast of countenance which 
 is characteristic of that race. 
 
 Religious Sects. 
 
 The religious system of the Hindus retains little of 
 the primitive belief of the Aryan race, a few Vedic hymns
 
 148 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 and formulas recited without being understood by the 
 priests being nearly all that survives of the old cult. In 
 modern Brahmanism there are many sects, some of which 
 have sunk to the lowest depths of the grossest supersti- 
 tion. Such are the Aghoris (Aghor-Pants), many of 
 whom belong to the Brahman order. But the two most 
 widespread sects are the worshippers of Siva and Vishnu, 
 who typify the opposite poles of religious thought, the 
 Vaishnava appealing to the deity he worships as the 
 author of all good, while the followers of Siva seek in 
 man alone and his efforts the attainment of supreme 
 happiness. But apart from this fundamental difference, 
 the two sects often meet on common ground. By Hindus 
 generally Brahm is regarded as the creator, Vishnu the 
 preserver, and Siva the destroyer. 
 
 All the civilised Dravidian races — Telugus, Tamils, 
 Kanarese, Malayalims — have long conformed to the Hindu 
 religious system. But nature-worship of a very crude 
 type still prevails among the wild tribes — Tudas, Kolas, 
 Kudagus, Gonds, Khonds — -as well as among most of the 
 Kolarians. All these rude hillmen still retain their 
 primitive usages, practise sorcery, and believe in evil spirits. 
 English and German missionaries, however, have been for 
 some time at work amongst them, and have already suc- 
 ceeded in forming a large number of Christian communities, 
 especially in the Santhal and other Kolarian districts. 
 
 Within the last thirty years, some judicial trials 
 have disclosed practices of the worst social tendency 
 among a sect in Western India called the Maharajas. 
 
 The Kashmirians and Nepalese. 
 
 On the other hand, many of the Hindus, especially in 
 the north, have accepted Islam. The Kashmirians, 
 among the finest of the Hindu races, became Muham-
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 14 l J 
 
 madans some centuries ago, and are mostly Sunnis. 
 They are described as almost European in appearance, 
 and in Kashmir we miss the slender frames, prominent 
 
 KA.SH.MJK1A.Y 
 
 cheek-bones, and other unpleasant features so prevalent in 
 other parts of India. The men are of a square, herculean 
 build, well proportioned, and with a frank expression, 
 while the women are fresh-looking and often decidedly 
 beautiful, with an almost Jewish cast of countenance.
 
 150 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Those of the better classes are scarcely darker than the 
 average natives of Italy. 
 
 The Kashruirians are a shrewd, witty, and cheerful 
 people, but superstitious and somewhat sensuous. They 
 are skilful artisans and traders, but over-shrewd perhaps 
 in bargains ; and although crime in the ordinary sense is 
 almost unknown in the country, Wilsou, in his Abode of 
 Snow, draws a far from flattering picture of their present 
 social state. 
 
 Still there are some Kashmiri Brahmans remarkable 
 for their intellectual ability. 
 
 The non-Aryan or Tibetan inhabitants of Kashmir 
 are found chiefly in Ladakh and Baltistan. Frederick 
 Drew, who has carefully studied this region, attributes to 
 the prevalence of polyandry the sparse population of 
 these upland tracts. Here the partly Hinduised Gaddi 
 tribe produces a startling effect by probably the most 
 astonishing of all head-gears, while the Khampas are 
 noted chiefly for their remarkable lung-power. Living 
 in alpine valleys towards the Tibetan frontier, they find 
 respiration difficult at any lower elevation than 11,000 
 feet above sea-level. Their favourite camping-grounds 
 are the shores of an extensive salt lake in a secluded 
 valley over 13,000 feet above the sea, where they live in 
 tents and practise polyandry. But the kindred Balti 
 race, having adopted the Muhammadan faith, have be- 
 come polygamists, and are consequently now so numerous 
 that many are compelled yearly to migrate south- 
 wards. 
 
 In Nepal there is a mixture of races, languages, and 
 religions. The ruling people are the warlike Ghurkas, 
 of mixed Tibetan stock, but assimilated in speech and 
 religion to the Hindus. The rest of the population are 
 partly a mixed Indo- Tibetan race, like the Buddhistic 
 Newaris, partly Bhutiyas — that is, pure Tibetans — who
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 151 
 
 are mostly nomad shepherds, speaking ten or twelve 
 distinct languages. 
 
 The Panjdbi Hindus and Sikhs. 
 
 In the Central Panjab the chief ethnical element 
 consists of the Jats, a tall, hardy, and robust race, with 
 genuine Caucasic features. These Jats of the Indus valley 
 have never adopted the institution of caste in its integrity, 
 and are regarded by the rest of the Hindus with a feeling 
 which is embodied in the expression " Baheka " l or 
 " aliens." The Hindus themselves are of a superstitious 
 type, addicted to many peculiar observances. At the 
 birth of a son the priest is summoned to cast his horoscope 
 (yaman-putri), and after forty days to give him a name. 
 During the five first years his hair remains uncut, after 
 which he is usually taken to Ivalamuki, where flames are 
 often seen bursting from the ground, and here his hair is 
 cut with much ceremony by a Brahman. Before his 
 twelfth year his head is shaven, and he is instructed by 
 the family priest in the " saudhya " and " gayatri," or 
 sacred texts from the Vedas, and then receives the sacred 
 thread. He is now considered to have reached his 
 majority, and has to observe the six duties incumbent on 
 all Hindus. He wears a solitary tuft of hair on the 
 crown of his head and assumes the " dhoti," or loin-cloth, 
 with the holy marks in red or white on his forehead. 
 
 On attaining his fourteenth year his parents cast about 
 to find him a suitable wife of equal rank with the family. 
 The father, of the girl sends the family barber with six 
 dates and a rupee to the boy's house in token of his will- 
 ingness to accept the alliance. The inmates welcome the 
 
 1 Baheka corresponds exactly to the term "Overn," applied in a like 
 sense by the natives of the Isle of Wight to intruders from the English 
 mainland.
 
 152 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 messenger by smearing the entrance with oil, after which 
 the friends meet, the barber throws the dates and rupee 
 into the bridegroom's lap and makes the sacred marks on 
 his forehead. 
 
 The usages of the Sikhs differ greatly from those of 
 the orthodox Hindus. They never employ the services 
 of Brahmans, nor do they pay any attention to the Vedas 
 or other sacred Hindu writings, replacing them by a so- 
 called " granth " or " book " of their own, which contains 
 their religious code. They marry somewhat later in life 
 than the Hindus, and are a far more vigorous race. The 
 wedding is conducted by the " granthi," who simply reads 
 some appropriate text from the granth. The Sikhs, who 
 never cut the hair or beard, wear close-fitting trousers 
 and a high turban, invariably containing a bit of steel 
 which must never be laid aside. 
 
 Amongst the Muhammadans, Hindus, and Sikhs there 
 are a great number of men called by the name of fakir, 
 and many other names, who lead a life of pious indo- 
 lence and contemplation at the expense of the poorer 
 classes. These ascetics wander about over long distances 
 or pass their days under the trees, amid* the tombs, or at 
 the burning-places, or else herd together like monks in a 
 monastery, under a " mahant " or abbot. Most of them 
 prefer begging under a religious cloak to honest work. 
 In times of political danger or excitement they are mis- 
 chievous in carrying news, false or exaggerated, from 
 place to place. 
 
 The Assamese. 
 
 Assam presents even a greater variety of races, re- 
 ligions, and languages than Nepal. The bulk of the 
 inhabitants consists of Hindus, Muhammadans, immi- 
 grants from Bengal, and numerous Tibeto-Burman tribes 
 on the highlands enclosing the Brahmaputra basin on
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 153 
 
 three sides. The Muhammadans generally understand 
 Hindustani, which serves as the common medium of in- 
 tercourse throughout most of the peninsula ; and since 
 the Government schools have been opened the educated 
 classes have become familiar with English. But the 
 language of the great majority is the Assamese, a Prakrit 
 dialect closely allied to Bengali. Assam takes its name 
 from the Ahoms, 1 the former rulers of the country, who 
 were originally of Shan (Siamese) stock, but who have 
 become nearly everywhere assimilated in speech and 
 religion to the Hindus. They are a very fine, strong-built 
 race, of rather fair complexion, extremely intelligent, and 
 capable of a high degree of culture. The Ahom dynasty 
 was overthrown in 1810 by the Burmese, who were in 
 their turn ejected by the English in 1827. Since then 
 the Ahoms have become some of the most loyal subjects 
 of the British raj. 
 
 The surrounding hills are still peopled by numerous 
 semi-independent wild tribes, such as the Garo, Khasi, 
 Naga, Mishmi, Abor (properly Padam), Kuki, and others, 
 mostly, if not altogether, of Tibeto-Burman stock, whose 
 habits and customs are still but little known. Much 
 valuable information, however, has been supplied regard- 
 ing the Nagas by G. H. Damant and some of the officers 
 engaged in suppressing the unruly Angami tribes in 
 1879-80. Mr. S. E. Peal, however, points out that the 
 true form of this word is not Naga, but Noga, from a root 
 nog, nok, meaning " people." They are so named in the 
 Borunjis, or " History of the Kings of Assam," dating from 
 the thirteenth century ; they are still always called Noja 
 (for Noga) by the Assamese, and Naga only by the 
 Bengali Babus, probably through a popular etymology 
 and confusion with the naga (" snake ") worshippers of 
 
 1 Ahom, is the same word as Assam or Assom, h interchanging with s 
 in Burmese phonetics.
 
 154 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 India (Geo. Proc, 1889, p. 90). But it is to be feared 
 that the form Naga is now too firmly established to be 
 set aside, more especially as it has been extended to the 
 land itself as well as to its people, as in the geographical 
 expression " Naga Hills." 
 
 The Gonds and Bhils. 
 
 Few races present matter of greater interest to the 
 student of human culture than the uncivilised Dravidian 
 and Kolarian tribes of Central India. Many of the Gonds, 
 whose domain in the highlands north of the Deccan is 
 from them called Gondwana, were formerly employed in 
 the coal-pits of the ISTarbada valley and its tributaries. 
 From their infancy they are accustomed to look on every 
 rock, every river, gorge, and cavern, as the abode of a 
 special spirit, who may be propitiated and rendered harm- 
 less by some simple rite. 
 
 Amongst the Bhils of the Vindhyas there are many 
 superstitions showing a striking analogy to those of the 
 West. When a Bhil goes out to fight or rob, if the byru 
 bird is on his right hand he will prosper ; if on his left, 
 nothing will induce him to go. The belief is very strong 
 in witchcraft, and in the powers of the Burwa, or witch- 
 finder, who is consulted in all important cases. " Should 
 any person die without apparent cause, the friends inquire 
 of the burwa, who selects the ugliest old woman in the 
 village, and oracularly attributes the death to her spells. 
 She is thereupon seized and tried, much in the same way 
 as in Europe two centuries ago " (Col. Kincaid). 
 
 The Nilgiri Hill Tribes. 
 
 Many of the dark aborigines of the Nilgiris and 
 other parts of the south, although classed with the Dra-
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 156 
 
 vidians, seem to bear a much greater resemblance to the 
 Kolarians. Such are the Kallar, or " Robbers," on the 
 Tanjore frontier, who " by no means disown their pro- 
 fession or consider it discreditable. Indeed, the caste 
 ranks high among the Sudras, and they have a king, the 
 Tondiman Kaja, who has always beeu a faithful ally of 
 the British. The present well-educated and enlightened 
 Raja receives a salute of twelve guns when visiting 
 Madras. Unscrupulous as thieves, they are men of 
 their word, and to this day are employed by the English 
 residents of Trichinopoly to watch their houses — a 
 trust they faithfully fulfil, and keep off all other thieves. 
 Their skill in tracking equalled that of any savages. 
 Their ordeals and marriage customs agree generally with 
 those of the Bhils, and like them they live in continual 
 dread of witchcraft, being often driven to cruel deeds in 
 revenge for supposed injuries. They are now fast becom- 
 ing peaceable cultivators " (M. J. Walhouse). 
 
 In the Nilgiris dwell the Tudas, Kotas, and one or 
 two other remarkable tribes, Dravidian in speech, but 
 otherwise quite distinct both from the Dravidians of the 
 plains and in some respects even from each other. The 
 practice of polyandry would seem to point at the Bhutyas 
 of Tibet as their remote ancestry, but for the fact that 
 this custom is not confined to that race. Some of them, 
 although not leading a nomad life, present in many par- 
 ticulars a great resemblance to the European gypsies. 
 They betray no trace of a religion beyond what may be 
 implied in a firm belief in witchcraft. They are all very 
 peaceful and inoffensive, occupied either with agriculture 
 or stock-breeding, but these hill tribes seem to be dying 
 out. The Kotas number little over a thousand, while the 
 Tudas have been reduced to about 700 or 800.
 
 156 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The Parsis. 
 
 Amongst the minor heterogeneous ethnical elements of 
 the peninsula, one of the most interesting are the Parsis 
 
 of Bombay, the direct 
 descendants of the 
 Ghebrs, or Old Per- 
 sian fire- worshippers, 
 who fled to India 
 when the Muham- 
 madan invasion burst 
 with all its fury over 
 the Iranian tableland 
 in the seventh cen- 
 tury. Since then 
 they have kept en- 
 tirely aloof from the 
 surrounding peoples, 
 preserving their race 
 and religion alike 
 intact from all ex- 
 traneous influences. 
 They are remarkable 
 for their general in- 
 telligence, business 
 habits, and commer- 
 cial ability; and they 
 sympathise with the 
 English far more 
 than with any of the 
 native races. In 
 
 proportion to their 
 numbers, they are the wealthiest and most influential 
 section of society in Bombay, as well as the most loyal 
 and devoted s^^bjects of the King in India. 
 
 PARSI OF BOMBAY.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 157 
 
 The Indian Muhammadans. 
 
 In this respect they present a striking contrast to 
 the Muhammadans, who must always be regarded as 
 an element, if not of danger, at least of anxiety, to the 
 central government. The Indian Muhammadans, who are 
 chiefly Sunnis, with an influential Shiah minority, are 
 concentrated chiefly in Bengal, the North-West Provinces, 
 and the Panjab,and number altogether (19 01) 63,000,000, 
 or 20 per cent of the whole population, so that the Em- 
 peror of India rules over far more Mussulman subjects 
 than any other sovereign in the East. The Lieutenant- 
 Governor of Bengal alone " has in his jurisdiction as 
 many millions of Moslems as the Sultan of Turkey, and 
 thrice as many as the Shah of Persia. The Indian 
 [Muhammadans are met with on all the coasts, and are 
 emphatically the sailors of the Indian seas. In the 
 interior they are urban rather than rural, employed in 
 some branches of commerce, in retail dealing, in skilled 
 and refined industries, in the army, in public and private 
 service, but seldom connected with agriculture, save in 
 the capacity of landlords. In Sind, however, the agri- 
 cultural population is Muhammadan, both landlords and 
 cultivators. In eastern and northern Bengal, in the 
 region comprising the Brahmaputra basin, and in the 
 united delta of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, the tenants 
 and cultivators are also Muhammadan, while the land- 
 lords are Hindu, with the exception of some prominent 
 and meritorious gentlemen of the Muhammadan faith." 
 
 " Elsewhere in India the Muhammadans, being scat- 
 tered, do much to leaven the mass of native opinion. 
 Besides the discontent engendered among them by historic 
 memories, there is one special circumstance affecting their 
 contentment. Under native rule they enjoyed a large 
 portion, perhaps the lion's share, of the State patronage,
 
 158 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 and at the outset of British rule were found in the front 
 everywhere. But nowadays they are beaten by Hindus 
 in the open competition of mind with mind. It is to this 
 that the Muhammadans themselves attribute the fact that 
 they are falling in wealth and status while the Hindus 
 are rising." 
 
 " The temper and disposition, politically, . of the 
 Muhammadans form one of the many sources of anxiety 
 in India. Some years ago the religious revival com- 
 menced by the Wahhabis in Arabia, the breeze of fanati- 
 cism which ruffled the surface of the Muhammadan world, 
 and other causes difficult to define, excited the Indian 
 Muhammadans considerably. Plots were discovered and 
 State trials instituted ; some grave and melancholy events 
 occurred which need not here be recounted. Within the 
 most recent years, however, the Indian Muhammadans 
 have become comparatively well affected. Be the reasons 
 what they may, the symptoms of disaffection among them 
 have of late abated" (India in 1880, by Sir Eichard 
 Temple). 
 
 An offshoot of the Muhammadan community are the 
 Khojahs, the real descendants of the famous assassins of 
 the Middle Ages. 
 
 The English and Eurasians. 
 
 The dominant English race are still almost aliens in 
 the land. They have nowhere formed any agricultural 
 settlements or permanent trading communities, nor is it 
 likely that any serious attempt will ever be made by them 
 to colonise even the more healthy and temperate upland 
 districts in the Himalayas or highlands of the Deccan. 
 Numerous sanitaria have almost everywhere been estab- 
 lished in the more favourable sites in these districts. 
 But such places are merely visited periodically by the
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 159 
 
 officials and military, who escape during the summer 
 season from the almost intolerable heats of the plains. 
 It may be questioned whether three generations of Eng- 
 lishmen are anywhere to be found in Simla, Darjiling, 
 Mussurie, Utacamand, or any of the many other health- 
 resorts dotted over the uplands of the peninsula. 
 
 Nor has any advance been made towards a fusion of 
 the ruling and subject races. The Anglo-Saxon holds 
 his head even higher than the haughtiest Eajput chiefs 
 claiming descent from the gods and demigods of Hindu 
 mythology. In former times alliances and other con- 
 nections used to be formed between Europeans and Native 
 females, but the result has not been such as to encourage 
 a general spread of the practice. The offspring of Euro- 
 pean fathers and native mothers, called East Indians or 
 Eurasians, 1 hold much the same position in relation to 
 English society that the quadroons or octoroons do to the 
 white classes in the United States. They do not exhibit 
 any marked idiosyncrasy of race. Although both parents 
 may belong to the Aryan stock, and although the English 
 fathers are often distinguished by their physical qualities, 
 and their Indian mothers by personal attractions, the 
 Eurasians themselves do not generally display a striking 
 appearance. They possess many intellectual endowments ; 
 but though quick of apprehension, they seldom acquire 
 solid knowledge so well as Europeans, nor have they 
 equal perseverance. From their mothers they seem to 
 inherit gentleness and amiability. Among them indi- 
 viduals are found eminent in character and ability. 
 
 It fares still worse with the pure -blood European 
 children, who are constitutionally unable to struggle 
 against the enervating effects of the climate, especially 
 in the Ganges valley. Till their sixth year they retain 
 the high complexion of the race and seem healthy enough, 
 
 1 That is, European- Asians.
 
 160 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 but on entering their teens they begin to lose their fresh 
 colour, their features grow pale and wan, the weariness 
 of premature decay, or some unaccountable secret blight, 
 steals over them. Without any decided outward symp- 
 toms of disease, they droop and pine away like hothouse 
 plants deprived of light and air. This light and air must 
 be sought in the home of their forefathers before they 
 attain their sixth year, for nothing but a speedy removal 
 to the fickle but invigorating climate of England will now 
 save them from an early grave or from physical deteriora- 
 tion. Of the Anglo-Indian children thus brought up in 
 Europe, many of the young men return to India before 
 their twentieth year in order to make a career for them- 
 selves in the civil and military services, or else to fill 
 positions secured for them in commercial houses or other 
 employments. 
 
 8. Topography. 
 
 Although consisting mostly of agricultural and rural 
 elements, the population of India is so enormous that 
 enough still remains to overflow into many cities of the 
 first magnitude. The number of large towns is also in- 
 creased by the many administrative divisions and native 
 feudatory States, each with its special capital, the centre 
 of the government of the civil and criminal courts, and 
 of other independent local interests. Thus it happens that 
 besides half a million rural villages there were in 1001 
 over eighty cities with populations of 50,000 and 
 upwards. Many of these are mere aggregates of houses 
 built of dried earth, with roofs of tile or thatch. But 
 others not a few are of vast antiquity, the changeless 
 capitals of shifting empires, reflecting in their monuments 
 the varied tastes of many successive cultures, abounding 
 in antiquarian and art treasures of every sort.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 161 
 
 Srinagar — Kat mandu. 
 
 In the upland regions of the Himalayas one of the 
 most interesting places is Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, 
 which stands on the banks of the Jhelum in the midst 
 of some of the loveliest scenery in the world. Like 
 Venice, Srinagar is a city wherein the streets consist of 
 numerous canals, or rather branches of the river, which 
 traverse the place and connect it with the neighbouring- 
 Lake Dal. The canals are flooded by means of sluices 
 from the lake when the Jhelum is low. But when the 
 river rises above the level of the lake, the sluices are 
 closed by the pressure of the back flow. There are shady 
 poplar avenues in the neighbourhood. The lake is en- 
 livened by the presence of water -fowl with brilliant 
 plumage, while above its lotus - fringed banks majestic 
 trees stand out against the azure sky. On the Dal itself, 
 which is 5 miles long by 2 broad, the fantastic floating 
 gardens recall the chinapas or swimming islands of Lake 
 Tezcuco, near Mexico. Amongst the varied vegetable 
 growths that here delight the eye, conspicuous is the 
 thorny water-nut (Traba bispinosa), yielding a delicious 
 flour and bread. About 60,000 tons of this substance 
 are yearly produced at the larger Lake Wular in the 
 same district. The Jhelum is spanned by several pictur- 
 esque wooden bridges. Near the capital is the Takht-i- 
 Suliman hill (Solomon's throne), from the top of which is 
 seen the panorama of Kashmir, the finest landscape in the 
 Indian Empire. 
 
 The only other large town in the Himalayan States 
 is Katmandu, the present capital of Nepal, including the 
 old capital of Patan close by, lying in a productive and 
 well -watered valley in the heart of the country. The 
 two capitals together make a very interesting locality, 
 with good streets, pleasant houses, many temples of 
 VOL. II M
 
 162 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 unique style and beauty, in its appearance betraying a 
 certain mixture of Indian and Chinese elements. 
 
 TOMB OF KUNJIT SIM;. i..\H< 
 
 Lahore — Delhi — Karachi. 
 
 In the Paujab, the most considerable places are 
 Peshawar, capital of the Frontier Province and terminus of
 
 164 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the Indian railway system towards northern Afghanistan ; 
 
 STREET IX rEsHAWAI!. 
 
 Lahore, capital of the Panjab, on the Eavi, nearly due 
 south of Srinagar ; Amritsar, the old religious capital of
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 165 
 
 the Sikhs, a few miles farther east ; Multan, near the 
 united Chenab and Jhelum, a few miles above the 
 junction of the Satlaj ; Delhi, on the border of the 
 North -West Provinces in the Jamna valley. Lahore, 
 winch is a great railway centre, has in its neighbourhood 
 many ruins of former brilliant epochs, and is still 
 adorned with some fine palaces, mosques, mausoleums, 
 and bazaars. 
 
 But none of these places can compare in interest 
 with Delhi, which was for centuries the proud capital 
 of the Mogul Empire, and the centre of the Moslem 
 world in India. The present city occupies a circuit 
 of little over 7 miles, in the midst of vast ruins, 
 covering an area of 20 square miles. Yet its former 
 greatness is still attested by several magnificent build- 
 ings, conspicuous amongst which are the Jama-Masjid, the 
 largest and finest mosque in India, and the palace of the 
 emperor Shah Jehan. The canal, 120 miles long, con- 
 veying Water from the Jamna where it enters the plains, 
 has been restored by the English. But Delhi never 
 really recovered from the blow inflicted on it in 1739 by 
 Nadir Shah, who carried off vast treasures in gold and 
 precious stones, estimated at from eighty to over a 
 hundred millions sterling. Amongst the prizes of con- 
 quest was the famous Koh-i-nur diamond, the most highly 
 esteemed heirloom in the family of the Mogul dynasty. 
 After a series of almost fabulous accidents, this gem 
 ultimately became an appanage of the Queen of England, 
 who, as Empress of India, inherited all the possessions of 
 that dynasty. 
 
 Haidarabad, which stands on the left bank of the 
 Lower Indus, and the flourishing seaport of Karachi 
 at the western extremity of the delta close to the 
 Baluchistan frontier, are the chief places in the province 
 of Sind. Karachi, which lies close to the Baluch
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 167 
 
 frontier, is the terminus on the Arabian Sea of the 
 Indus Valley State Railway. Defensive works have 
 here been undertaken, and much has also been done 
 to improve the harbour, which is somewhat obstructed 
 by a bar, and affords room only for a limited number of 
 lame vessels. 
 
 Agra — Cawnpore—Lucknow — Allahabad — Benares. 
 
 Few regions in the world present such an array 
 of splendid cities as those which line the banks of 
 the main streams along the Ganges -Jamna valley for 
 a distance of considerably over 800 miles. Between 
 Delhi, capital of the old empire, now arbitrarily in- 
 cluded in the Panjab province, and Calcutta, capital 
 of the new Imperial India at the opposite extremity 
 of this vast river basin, there follow in majestic pro- 
 cession such memorable places as Agra, Cawnpore, Luck- 
 now, Allahabad, Benares, Mirzapur, Patna, Murshedabad, 
 and Dacca. 
 
 At Agra, which, like Delhi, stands not on the Ganges 
 but on its great tributary the Jamna, artistic interest 
 must ever be centred in the Moti-Masjid and Taj-Mahal, 
 two buildings of surpassing loveliness, in which Muham- 
 madan architecture reached its acme under the Mogul 
 emperor Shah Jehan. The Moti - Masjid, or " Pearl 
 Mosque," stands within the enclosure of the old imperial 
 palace, and though inferior in size, is - perhaps superior 
 in design and harmony of proportions to its rival, the 
 Jama - Masjid of Delhi. It is built entirely of white 
 marble, and, with its glorious cupolas, arcades, and lovely 
 surroundings, presents a picture of enchanting beauty, 
 surpassed only, if surpassed, by the peerless Taj-Mahal. 
 This mausoleum, raised by Shah Jehan at a cost of three
 
 168 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Bullions sterling over the grave of his beloved empress 
 Mumtaz-i-Mahal, combines within itself more varied ele- 
 ments of beauty than almost any other building in the 
 world. Site, size, general design, symmetry of parts, 
 
 {From Photo, by Frith S. Co.) 
 
 THE TAJ-MAHAL AT AGRA. 
 
 exquisite finish of details, choice materials, play of colour, 
 and all the delightful surroundings, afford a vision of 
 supreme loveliness, which, seen especially when bathed 
 in the liquid atmosphere of a clear moonlight night, 
 leaves an undying impression on the memory of the 
 spectator.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 169 
 
 The Jamna is here spanned by a railway viaduct 
 right opposite the Mogul fortress and city. 
 
 Cawnpore and Lucknow are names inseparably asso- 
 ciated with the most thrilling events of the Indian 
 
 RUINS ill- THE RESIDENCY, LUCKNOW. 
 
 Mutiny. The most sacred sight in India for men of 
 English blood still must be the monument raised over 
 the well at Cawnpore to the memory of the slaughtered 
 innocents, whose piteous fate inspired their avenging 
 fellow-countrymen with the heroism displayed in the 
 defence and relief of Lucknow. Both places presenl in
 
 170 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 other respects many points of interest, although the 
 ambitious palatial structures of Lucknow plainly mark 
 a period of decadence in the Muhammadan architecture 
 of India. 
 
 THE FORT, ALLAHABAD. 
 
 Standing at the confluence of the Ganges and Jamna, 
 and nearly midway between Bombay and Calcutta on 
 the Great Indian Peninsular Eailway, Allahabad occu- 
 pies perhaps the most central point of the empire. The 
 Jamna is here spanned by a very fine railway viaduct,
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 171 
 
 commanding a view of the tongue of land at the conflu- 
 ence of the two rivers, which is held by a strong fortress 
 containing an arsenal. The native city of Allahabad 
 is not handsome, and has no buildings of note except 
 the Muhammadan tombs in the Khusru gardens. But 
 the European quarter has of late years become very fine, 
 with its railway station, its military barracks, and its civil 
 structures. 
 
 The first great city on the united Ganges and Jamna 
 below Allahabad is Benares, which holds the same posi- 
 tion iu the Brahmanical that Delhi does in the Moslem 
 world. It is crowded with palaces and Hindu temples, 
 and, although none of these are of great size, the numer- 
 ous towers, cones, spires, minarets and porticoes, and 
 flights of steps, present an almost unrivalled river- 
 frontage, nearly three miles in extent. The river view 
 of Benares is one of the most characteristic in the 
 empire. 
 
 But the interior of this city is far from inviting, 
 with its close, dirty, and irregular streets, rickety houses, 
 nauseous smells, repulsive mendicants, and stifling at- 
 mosphere. The great number of palaces is due to the 
 fact that the Hindu chiefs and princes in every part of 
 the empire endeavour to secure a residence in this sacred 
 city, which during the festivals is crowded by pilgrims 
 from all quarters. The innumerable little temples are 
 compared by Bishop Heber to so many shrines " stuck in 
 the angles of the streets and under the shadow of the 
 lofty houses. Their forms, however, are not ungraceful, 
 and many of them are covered over with beautiful and 
 elaborate carvings of flowers, animals, and palm-branches, 
 equalling in minuteness and richness the best specimens 
 of Gothic or Grecian architecture." This description, 
 though written many years ago, is applicable to this 
 day.
 
 172 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 Benares has always been a chief centre of Hindu 
 learning, and the Sanskrit College founded here in 1792 
 is still the principal seat of native instruction in India. 
 
 Muhammadanism is also largely represented in 
 Benares, where there are said to be as many as 300 
 
 mosques, including a structure with lofty minarets, 
 erected by Aurengzeb on the site of a demolished Hindu 
 temple. 
 
 Patna—Mursheddbad — Dacca. 
 
 Lower down the river is the great trading city of 
 Patna, capital of Behar, where the produce of the poppy
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 173 
 
 is collected in order to be prepared as opium, to be sent 
 to Calcutta for exportation to China. The city proper, 
 within the crumbling old fortifications, occupies a com- 
 paratively small space; but the handsome suburbs, with 
 their numerous mosques, temples, streets, and gardens, 
 stretch nearly 10 miles along the river-bank. Patna is 
 much more a Moslem than a Hindu town, and its Mussul- 
 man inhabitants have the reputation of being amongst 
 the most fanatical in India. It is also a large industrial 
 centre, and many of its linens, lacquered aud other wares, 
 find a ready sale at the great annual fair held at Hajipur 
 on the opposite side of the river. 
 
 Near Patna is the railway viaduct over the Sone 
 River, an affluent of the Ganges, one of the longest to be 
 found in any country. 
 
 Between Patna and Calcutta the most important town 
 is Murshedabad, on the Bhagirati near the head of the 
 delta. It is a very large place, extending some 8 or 9 
 miles along both sides of the river. But though it has a 
 large trade, and is in some respects flourishing, those 
 parts which depended on the former court and camp of 
 the Muhammadans present an appearance of decay. The 
 Xawab's palace, however, is a fine structure, built in the 
 European style. 
 
 Dacca has always been the centre of the Muham- 
 madan world of Eastern Bengal. It has a flourishing 
 trade, though some of its fine and delicate manufactures 
 have decayed. Dacca was chosen in 1905 as the capital 
 of the new province of Eastern Bengal and Assam. 
 
 Calcutta — Jaganath. 
 
 On the Hugli, westernmost and largest branch of the 
 Ganges delta, and about 100 miles from its mouth, stands
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 175 
 
 Calcutta, the modern capital of the Indian Empire. It is 
 divided into a European and native city, jointly cover- 
 ing an area of some 15 square miles. The European 
 quarter, which is inhabited chiefly by the -English, has 
 a Western aspect, being laid out with fine spacious 
 thoroughfares, which in the Chowringhee or aristocratic 
 quarter are lined with many fine public buildings and 
 large private residences. It is the frontage of Chowring- 
 hee which has caused Calcutta to be called " The City of 
 Palaces." The houses are built in an architectural 
 style peculiar to Bengal and suitable to the climate. 
 This style is handsome as well as commodious, and may 
 be regarded as an instance of originality on the part 
 of the English. The native city also, in which the 
 native population is collected, has broad straight streets, 
 well laid out, and in that respect differs from the aspect 
 of an ordinary Eastern town. It is interspersed with 
 fine public buildings and some native houses built in 
 the English style ; otherwise the native houses are poorly 
 built, quite inferior to those of the other capitals in 
 India, the climate of Bengal being unfavourable to native 
 architecture. 
 
 But all alike have easy access to the pleasant Eden 
 gardens, which with their tropical vegetation and 
 refreshing ornamental waters form a charming fore- 
 ground to the surrounding government buildings. Here 
 the winding waters, the varied foliage, the amphitheatre 
 of handsome edifices, the forest of masts from the ship- 
 ping in the near distance, the guns of Fort William 
 overlooking the animated scene, produce a very pleasing 
 impression. 
 
 Calcutta is fairly well supplied with water pumped 
 from the Hugli into filtering beds, whence it is conveyed 
 through pipes for a distance of 14 miles to the city. 
 Above the harbour the river is crossed by a pontoon
 
 176 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL * 
 
 bridge, which is one of the best works of its kind exist- 
 ing in any country, and gives easy access to the large and 
 rapidly-increasing suburb of Howra on the opposite bank. 
 Below this bridge the ships are moored together with strong- 
 chain cables along the quays and jetties, an arrange- 
 ment adopted as a precaution against the tremendous 
 cyclones to which the delta is exposed. The intricate 
 navigation of the Hugli, with its treacherous sands and 
 constantly-shifting shoals, is conducted by a pilot service 
 admirably organised by Government, and composed exclu- 
 sively of Europeans with their headquarters in Calcutta. 
 Hence this great capital may be regarded as tolerably 
 safe from the attacks of hostile fleets, which would be 
 wrecked were they to venture into the river without 
 competent pilotage. 
 
 Jaganath (Juggernauth), the most celebrated shrine 
 in India, lies on the Orissa coast not far from the Madras 
 frontier, and about 50 miles south of Kattak. Twelve 
 great festivals, attended by over a million pilgrims, are 
 here annually held in honour of Vishnu. Here is to be 
 seen the huge car which, according to tradition, was sup- 
 posed to be dragged over the bodies of devotee-victims 
 The great temple, which w T as finished at enormous cost 
 in the twelfth century, stands at the head of the main 
 thoroughfare. 
 
 Near here, on the sea-shore, stands the grand Hindu 
 ruin known as "The Black Pagoda." 
 
 Kagpur — Jahalpur — Bhujxd — Indore — Gurdior — 
 Ja ipur — Udaipur. 
 
 In the Central Provinces the only places with popula- 
 tions exceeding 50,000 are Nagpur and Jabalpur. Both 
 are connected with Bombay by north-eastern extensions
 
 VOL. 11
 
 178 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of the Great Indian Peninsular railway system, one 
 branch of which has a central station at Nagpur. Not 
 far from the northern frontier of these Provinces are the 
 important towns of Indore and Bhopal, in the political 
 system which is termed the Central India Agency. 
 Near Bhopal are the Buddhist remains known as the 
 
 Bhilsa Topes. Indore is the capital of Holkar's posses- 
 sions, with one of the finest British Piesidencies in the 
 peninsula. 
 
 Due north of Bhopal and about 70 miles south of 
 Agra stands the famous fortress of Gwalior, one of the 
 largest and strongest in the peninsula. It occupies the level 
 summit of a steep rocky hill 350 feet high, rising abruptly 
 from the surrounding plain, and completely commanding 
 the city of Gwalior, capital of Sindhia's dominions, which
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 179 
 
 lies at its base. Perennial springs, reservoirs, and culti- 
 vated grounds are enclosed within the walls of the 
 stronghold, which is accessible only by steps hewn in the 
 perpendicular side of the rock on which it stands. Yet 
 this apparently impregnable fastness was twice stormed 
 by the British — in 1780 by Major Bruce with a 
 handful of native troops, and again in 1858 by Sir 
 H. Ptose, when held by a strong body of mutinous 
 sepoys. 
 
 Jaipur is the principal town in Kajputana. It 
 is quite modern and well laid out. In respect to 
 arrangement of streets, it is superior to any native city 
 in the empire. It is the seat of much wealth and 
 commerce. 
 
 Udaipur is the very focus of heroic and chivalric 
 traditions. Its palace-crowned hills, its tombs, its lakes 
 and islets, make it the most picturesque city in the 
 empire. 
 
 Madras — Bellary. 
 
 In the Madras Presidency there are few cities of large 
 size, but many of great historic and antiquarian interest. 
 Xone have a population of more than 70,000 except the 
 capital, Trichinopoly and Calicut. There are many dis- 
 advantages in the site occupied by the city of Madras on 
 the open, surf -beaten shores of the Coromandel coast, 
 exposed for months together to the full fury of the 
 north-eastern monsoons. Nor is the climate much more 
 favourable, being intensely hot in summer and not entirely 
 free from the malaria so prevalent along the eastern sea- 
 board. Yet in spite of these adverse outward conditions, 
 Madras has under British rule expanded into a flourishing 
 city of over half a million inhabitants, with many stately 
 public buildings, literary and scientific institutions, educa-
 
 180 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 tional and charitable foundations. Something has even 
 been done to improve the harbour, or rather to create one, 
 by the construction of a large pier of great strength and 
 size, which is capable of further extension. But with 
 nothing but an open and shelving roadstead Madras can 
 never become a great seaport, and must depend for its 
 future expansion almost entirely on the system of railways 
 by. which it is already connected across the peninsula with 
 Bombay, northwards with the Xizam's Dominions and 
 Central Provinces, southwards with Pondicherry, Mysore, 
 Trichinopolv, Madura, and Tuticorin. Madras is pro- 
 tected by Fort St. George, one of the earliest strongholds 
 of the East India Company, and at present one of the 
 arsenals of the empire. In its vicinity, on the sea-shore, 
 are the rock-cut temples of Mahabalihuran, celebrated by 
 Southey's poetry. 
 
 Near the main line from Madras to Bombay are the 
 native rock-fortress and the European cantonment of 
 Bellary. Near Bellary, again, are the wonderful exten- 
 sive ruins of the Hindu city of Bijayanagar. 
 
 Trich inopoly — Madura — Tanjore. 
 
 Trichinopolv, the next largest place in the Presidency, 
 lies m the fertile Kavari valley, a few miles west of 
 Tanjore, and close to the famous temple of Srirangam. 
 These Hindu buildings, which are amongst the most re- 
 markable of their kind in India, occupy the western 
 extremity of a large island in the Kavari, where the chief 
 pagoda stands in the centre of seven separate square 
 enclosures, with a total circuit of nearly four miles. It 
 is a vast structure, surmounted by a gilded dome, beneath 
 which is the statue of the presiding deity, one of whose 
 glittering eyes, abstracted in the last century by a
 
 182 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 French deserter, proved to be a diamond" of almost 
 matchless purity. This gem, known as the Orloff 
 diamond, now figures as the chief ornament in the 
 imperial sceptre of Paissia. Trichinopoly is commanded 
 by a strong fort, perched on a steep granite peak, 500 
 feet high. It is noted for its peculiar style of gold 
 work. In the Protestant Church of St. John repose 
 the remains of Bishop Heber, interred here in the 
 year 1826. 
 
 South of Trichinopoly, and connected with it by rail, 
 lies the ancient city of Madura, with its truly magnificent 
 temples, and other monuments of Hindu art, The palace, 
 built by Tirumal Naik, a former ruler, the finest structure 
 of its kind in India, never fails to excite the astonish- 
 ment of visitors, who stand amidst its vast arcades, 
 courtyards, vestibules, reception chambers, and halls, 
 with their vaulted roofs and arches. Tanjore, at the 
 head of the Kavari delta, also possesses some famous 
 Hindu monuments, including a sacred bull 20 feet high, 
 hewn out of a single granite block. It stands in one of 
 the palace courtyards, but even modern engineers still 
 marvel how it was carved and transported to its 
 present site. 
 
 C< ilicu t — My so re — Ser inga/patam — Bangalore. 
 
 Calicut, on the Malabar coast, lies in one of the most 
 fertile districts of the peninsula, yielding pepper, ginger, 
 cotton, cardamoms, and other tropical products in vast 
 profusion. This was the first Indian seaport visited by 
 Vasco da Gama in 1498, and from the peculiar cotton 
 fabric here formerly manufactured the calicoes of the 
 modern European looms take their name. 
 
 A line drawn from Calicut north-eastwards will very
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 183 
 
 nearly intersect Mysore, Seringapatam, and Bangalore, in 
 every respect the three most interesting places in the 
 State of Mysore, which has again been placed under 
 the administration of the native Raja. The city which 
 gives its name to the State forms a pleasant aggregate 
 of regular streets, avenues, gardens, and temples, the 
 whole commanded by a strong fort, constructed from 
 European designs. This stronghold, which is separated 
 by an esplanade from the city, encloses within its pre- 
 cincts the Eaja's palace, besides the dwellings of many 
 wealthy citizens and other private buildings. But the 
 British Eesidency lies some 5 miles farther south, 
 on the summit of Mysore Hill, 1000 feet above sea- 
 level. 
 
 Seringapatam, on the main head-stream of the Kavari, 
 is chiefly noted for its fortress, which figured so pro- 
 minently in Indian history during the closing decade of 
 the 18th century. This formidable stronghold of Tippu 
 Sultan occupies the west side of a large island in the 
 river, and although considered quite impregnable, was 
 finally stormed by the British in 1799. Its streets, 
 houses, and fortifications remain, but it is now a city ol 
 the dead. 
 
 Bangalore, which lies almost exactly midway between 
 Madras and Mangalore on the opposite coast, and nearly 
 200 miles from both points, is by far the largest city in 
 the interior, south of the Kistna valley. Yet it is quite 
 a modern place, having been founded by Hyder Ali about 
 1780 as a bulwark against the English. The fort has 
 long been disused ; but, thanks to its central position in 
 the midst of an extremely fertile district, the town soon 
 acquired a rapid expansion. Bying at an elevation oi 
 3000 feet above the sea, on the Mysore plateau, it enjoys 
 a delightful climate, and is consequently a favourite 
 resort of Europeans. Here is a large British canton-
 
 184 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 ment, with extensive barracks, library, public gardens, 
 racecourse, and other attractions. From a combination 
 of happy circumstances, Bangalore has thus become, in 
 a few decades, the chief centre for the diffusion of 
 Western ideas amongst the Dravidian inhabitants of the 
 interior of Southern India. 
 
 Ha idarabad — Sccanderabad. 
 
 Haidarabad (Hyderabad), capital of the Nizam's Do- 
 minions, occupies a somewhat central position in a fine 
 climate, the eastern terminus of the native state railway 
 running thence to join the Madras main line. Next to 
 Madras it is the largest city in the Deccan, with a 
 population (1901) of 448,000, and with a picturesque 
 situation. There is a handsome British Eesidency, one 
 remarkable mosque, and one fine gateway. Haidarabad 
 is much more a Moslem than a Hindu city, Pathans, 
 Arabs, and Eohillas being here numerous. 
 
 The neighbouring town of Secanderabad may be re- 
 garded as a European quarter, this being the headquarters 
 of the British subsidiary force in the Nizam's territory. 
 Here are some of the largest and best-constructed canton- 
 ments in India, with extensive barracks, hospital, Pro- 
 testant and Eoman Catholic churches, Masonic Lodge, 
 promenades, public libraries, racket courts, lawn -tennis 
 grounds, and racecourse. 
 
 Near here are the old citadel and the mausolea of 
 Golconda. 
 
 In the north-west corner of the Nizam's Dominions 
 are the rock-cut temples and caves of Ellora (Hindu) 
 and Ajanta (Buddhist), also the hill -fortress of Dao- 
 latabad.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 185 
 
 Bombay. 
 
 Bombay, capital of the Presidency, is not only the 
 most nourishing city in the Indian Empire, but possesses 
 probably more elements of future greatness than any other 
 city in Asia. It occupies the south-east end of the island 
 of like name, which is 8 miles by 3, and which is 
 connected by a mound with the larger island of Salsette. 
 These, with Elephanta and two or three others, form a 
 
 1< IWS HALL, BOMBAY. 
 
 little group close to the Konkan coast, in 18 53' X., 72° 
 48' E., jointly enclosing with the mainland one of the 
 most commodious and expansive harbours in the world.' 
 The space available for shipping is nearly 14 miles long 
 and about 5 broad, with an average depth of 10 to 12 
 fathoms. This splendid natural position has been greatly 
 improved by artificial works, including extensive quays, 
 wharves, and several docks, the finest of which is the. 
 
 1 The word Bombay — i.e. Bom Baliia — means in Portuguese "Good 
 Harbour," although some take it to be a corruption of Mumbai, a small 
 island named alter the goddess Mumba\
 
 186 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Prince's Dock, with an area of 30 acres, completed at 
 a cost altogether of over a million sterling. 
 
 The city consists properly of two parts, a native and 
 European quarter, the latter stretching along the shore of 
 the bay, where a line of magnificent buildings presents 
 an imposing view when seen from Malabar Hill, at the 
 south-west point of the island. The native city has 
 several long streets, which are the finest in the Indian 
 Empire. It is well supplied with good water, brought 
 through pipes from two large artificial lakes embosomed 
 in the picturesque wooded hills forming the advanced 
 spurs of the Western Ghats, which here approach to 
 within 20 miles of the coast. Although the scheme 
 of defences is still incomplete, Bombay is already de- 
 fended by several formidable batteries, as well as by some 
 ironclad war-ships permanently stationed at this port. 
 In case of danger the whole of the shipping might also 
 find absolute security in the inner waters behind the 
 island of Elephanta. When we add that Bombay is the 
 first important place reached by vessels from Europe and 
 the Suez Canal, and that it is directly connected by 
 several railway systems with every part of the peninsula, 
 it will be seen that this great seaport lacks none of the 
 elements calculated to secure it a foremost position 
 amongst the cities of Southern Asia. Between it and 
 Calcutta there is an honourable rivalry for the first posi- 
 tion. Each city has advantages peculiar to itself, and it 
 is hard to say which of the two will ultimately prevail. 
 
 Ahmadabad — Baroda — Surat. 
 
 The Bombay Presidency contains several other large 
 cities, the most important of which are Ahmadabad, 
 Baroda, and Surat in the Northern, Puna and Sholapur
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 187 
 
 in the Central, Dharwar and Belgau.ua in the Southern 
 Division. 
 
 Ahmadabad, which is a very large place at the neck 
 of the Gujarat peninsula, equidistant from the Rann of 
 Katch and the Gulf of Cambay, contains many beautiful 
 specimens of Muhammadan architecture. Unfortunately 
 some of these monuments, including the great mosque 
 of Sultan Ahmad, were shattered or destroyed by the 
 terrible earthquake which seriously injured the place 
 in 1819. Still many fine structures remain to delight 
 the student of architecture. The city is now a great 
 centre of Oriental art, producing exquisite specimens of 
 damascened metal-work, gold and silver plate, mother- 
 of-pearl objects, rich trappings and caparisons for the 
 native princes. 
 
 The late Gaikwar of Baroda was deposed by the para- 
 mount power for maladministration. He was held by the 
 Government of India to have been guilty of an attempt 
 to poison the British Eesident by a dose of diamond-dust. 
 Baroda itself, which lies nearly midway between Ahmada- 
 bad and Surat, has prospered in the sunshine of Maratha 
 royalty, and is a fine city, though not remarkable for 
 architecture. 
 
 Surat occupies a convenient position near the mouth 
 of the Pdver Tapti, about 160 miles by rail clue north 
 of Bombay. It is the natural emporium of the rich 
 Kandeish valley, and covers a large space some 8 miles 
 in circumference on the left bank of the river, 20 miles 
 from the Gulf of Cambay. In the early days of the 
 East India Company it was the principal trading-place 
 on the west coast, but since the eighteenth century it has 
 become quite secondary to Bombay.
 
 188 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Puna — Shola/pur — Bijapur. 
 
 No place in the Central Division of the Bombay 
 Presidency can compare in importance with Puna, which 
 is delightfully situated about 80 miles south-east of 
 Bombay on the Deccan plateau, some 2000 feet above 
 the sea. With its large British cantonments, hospitals, 
 libraries, churches, colleges, and missionary schools, this 
 famous capital of the Peishwas, or heads of the great 
 Maratha confederacy, has in our days become the chief 
 centre for the spread of European culture among the 
 brave but somewhat turbulent Maratha races of Western 
 India. The palace of the Peishwas, built of teakwood, 
 a noble specimen of Maratha architecture, was burnt in 
 1879. 
 
 South - east of Puna, and close to the Nizam's 
 frontier, lies the town of Sholapur, a former strong- 
 hold of the Marathas, with two distinct lines of fortifi- 
 cations. 
 
 A far more interesting place is Bijapur, which lies 
 some 60 miles farther south on a small tributary of the 
 Kistna ; it was the capital of the Muhammadan king- 
 dom, which comprised the Western Deccan, before the 
 establishment of the Mogul Empire. The extent and 
 splendour of the ruins attest the former greatness of this 
 " Palmyra of the Deccau," as it has been called. These 
 ruins, — which are remarkable especially for their great 
 solidity and simple grandeur, and yet a suitable degree 
 of ornamentation, — consist of Muhammadan palaces, 
 mosques, and other structures, many of the domes, 
 spires, and minarets of which are still standing. Among 
 these is a mausoleum, with a cupola, the admiration 
 of architects and the largest yet constructed in the 
 world.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 189 
 
 Satara — Ah madnagar. 
 
 Satara and Ah madnagar are the only other places in 
 the Presidency which call for special mention. They 
 both lie on the Deccan tableland and on small head- 
 streams of the Kistna, the former 70 miles south, the 
 latter 80 miles north-east of Puna. Ahmadnagar has 
 a few good streets and substantial buildings enclosed by 
 a wall, beyond which are a strong stone fort of historic 
 celebrity, a finely -built palace, and on the crest of a 
 neighbouring hill the tomb of Salabat Jung. Satara — 
 much associated with stirring passages of Maratha history 
 ■ — is clustered round the base of a rocky eminence rising 
 800 feet above the surrounding plain, and crowned by 
 the ruins of an ancient citadel. In the neighbourhood 
 are European cantonments, which enjoy a favourable and 
 healthy climate. 
 
 9. Highways of Communication : Canals— Roads — 
 Ilaihvays. 
 
 Under the British administration a system of internal 
 communication has been rapidly developed, which in 
 this respect places India nearly on a level with the 
 most civilised regions of the globe. Apart from the 
 natural channels of the great rivers and their affluents, 
 affording over 10,000 miles of navigable water highways, 
 the irrigation canals, which are constantly increasing, are 
 often navigable by small craft for hundreds of miles. 
 Many of the larger ones have been specially adapted to 
 this purpose, and by a wise provision have thus been 
 made to serve a twofold object. The canals near Cal- 
 cutta and in Orissa, and those of the Madras Presidency,
 
 190 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 are largely utilised in this way. The irrigation system 
 has already assumed magnificent proportions. The chief 
 scenes of these operations are the country between the 
 Jamna and the Ganges, several parts of the Panjab, and 
 the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Kistna, 
 and the Kavari on the east coast, and the delta of the 
 Indus on the north-west coast. Of main channels, great 
 and little, there are no less than 15,000 miles completed, 
 besides countless distributing rills with a total length 
 (1906) of over 35,000 miles in the peninsula. Thus 
 have been brought under irrigation over 20,000,000 acres, 
 mostly of extremely fertile land, at a total expenditure of 
 £31,500,000 sterling, yielding an average interest of 
 about 7 per cent. Further irrigation works now in progress 
 will cost eventually about £30,000,000. 
 
 Although occupied for ages by settled communities, 
 which had attained a high degree of culture long before 
 Britain had emerged from barbarism, India seems to have 
 possessed scarcely any roads before the advent of the 
 English. Neither the ancient Hindu dynasties nor their 
 Moslem conquerors paid any attention to this primary 
 condition of true civilisation. Many of the petty rulers 
 were even directly opposed to the development of easy 
 lines of communication, which would have the immediate 
 effect of opening up the country to the attacks of hostile 
 neighbours. 
 
 Now all this is changed, and although the system is 
 still far from complete, over 65,000 miles of metalled or 
 macadamised highways have been constructed, mostly 
 within the last seventy years. Thus all the great cities have 
 been brought into direct communication with each other, 
 and the uttermost limits of the land have been made 
 accessible to trade and to defensive or offensive warfare. 
 
 The great trunk lines are those running from 
 Calcutta for 1000 miles to Delhi, and thence through
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 191 
 
 Lahore to the frontier at Peshawar; from Bombay for 
 900 miles to the last -mentioned through Agra; from 
 Bombay for S00 miles over the Western Ghats and 
 across the Deccan to Madras ; from Bombay through 
 Gujarat ; from Madras northwards to Bengal, southwards 
 to Trichinopoly and Madura, westwards through Banga- 
 lore to the Malabar coast. Important sections of the 
 system are also the routes running in the Himalayas 
 from Amballa to Simla and beyond it towards Chini, and 
 from the Bengal plains to Darjiliug and thence to the 
 Chola range on the Tibetan frontier ; in the Deccan the 
 roads connecting Mirzapur on the Ganges through Jab- 
 balpur and over the Satpura range with NagpuT in the 
 Central Provinces ; the line running from Poona south- 
 wards to Mysore, and that ascending from Coimbatore to 
 Utacamand in the Nilgiris. 
 
 Most of these highways are solidly constructed, and 
 often present splendid specimens of engineering skill in 
 their gradients, cuttings, causeways, and bridges. Like 
 the old Pioman roads, they are in many places carried 
 right over the Ghats, Vindhyas, and other ranges, and 
 through such difficult passes as the Thai and Bhore in the 
 Western Ghats. The section between the Jhelum and 
 Indus, in the extreme north-west, consists of an almost 
 continuous series of cuttings and embankments for a 
 distance of over 150 miles. 
 
 The Indian railway system, carried out mainly on the 
 wise plans laid down by Lord Dalhousie some forty years 
 ago, has already assumed considerable proportions, and 
 in 1907 a total mileage of over 29,000 miles had been 
 completed. The base of the system is the great trunk 
 line running from Calcutta for 1500 miles up the Ganges 
 valley through Allahabad and Lahore, and across the 
 Indus at Attock to its present terminus at Peshawar on 
 the Afghan frontier. From Allahabad, on this base, the
 
 192 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Great Indian Peninsula runs first over the Bandelkhand 
 hills, down the Narbada valley and through the Satpura 
 range and Western Ghats for 700 miles to Bombay, and 
 thence again over the Western Ghats, through Puna, and 
 across the Deccan for 800 miles to Madras. Thus the 
 three capitals are brought into direct communication with 
 each other and with all the more central and populous 
 parts of the empire. 
 
 Some of the other lines are of great length and of 
 much commercial and strategical importance. Of these 
 perhaps the most vital is the Indus valley line connect- 
 ing Lahore with the sea at Karachi, the nearest port to 
 England, and with a projected branch of 400 miles from 
 Sakkar to Kandahar, already completed far beyond Quetta 
 in the Pish in valley. A second line to this place by the 
 Bolan Pass was opened in 1895. These lines have 
 much political importance in reference to the Eussian 
 Trans-Caspian line to the Oxus. In 1908 the western 
 termini were Chaman for Kandahar and Nushki for Persia. 
 
 Another great section runs from Bombay along the 
 west coast, across the Lower Tapti and Narbada valleys, 
 across Gujarat and Eajputana to the northern trunk line 
 at Agra with a junction to Delhi. Several minor 
 branches ramify from these main lines northwards to 
 the Himalayas at Kurseong for Darjiling, southwards to 
 Gwalior, eastwards to Xagpur and Secanderabad close to 
 Haidarabad, capital of the Nizam's Dominions. From 
 Madras two independent lines radiate, one right across 
 the Deccan through Vellore and Coimbatore to Baipur 
 near Calicut on the Malabar coast, the other southwards 
 through Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura, to Tuticorin 
 and Tinnevelli near the apex of the peninsula. On these 
 lines there are branches to Bangalore, Pondicherry, and 
 Negapatam for Karikal. 
 
 Most of these lines, the materials for which had to be
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 193 
 
 brought mostly from England, were built at an average 
 cost of about £8530 per mile, the total capital already 
 expended amounting to over £244,000,000. They are 
 constructed partly on a narrow, but chiefly on a broad 
 gauge, the former mostly by the State, the latter by 
 private companies, to whom a rate of 5 per cent interest 
 is guaranteed by the Government of India. Railway 
 travelling is growing in popularity, and the various lines 
 already convey (1907) over 271 million passengers 
 yearly. 
 
 The telegraphic system, originally planned by Sir 
 William O'Shaughnessy, may be regarded as complete, 
 comprising a total length (1907) of nearly 68,000 miles. 
 This system is connected by various submarine cables 
 with the whole world. 
 
 10. Administration: The Native States — Social 
 Progress — Education. 
 
 After the mutiny of the Native army of Bengal in 
 1857 the administration of the country passed from the 
 old East India Company to the Crown, and on 1st 
 January 1877 India was constituted an empire, the 
 Queen of England assuming the title of Kaisar-i-Hind, 
 or Empress of India. The sovereign is represented on 
 the spot by the Viceroy and Governor -General, whose 
 headquarters are at Calcutta, but who ordinarily resides 
 during the summer months at Simla in the Himalayas. 
 The Governor-General and the Governors of Madras and 
 Bombay are each aided by Executive Councils, which 
 are like Cabinets on a small scale. There is one Legis- 
 lative Council of the Governor -General for legislation 
 regarding imperial matters. There are also three local 
 Legislative Councils, sitting at Calcutta, Madras, and 
 Bombay respectively. The members of all these Legis- 
 VOL. II o
 
 194 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 lative Councils are appointed by Government and not 
 elected. The Government of India — that is, the Gover- 
 nor-General in Council — is subordinate to Her Majesty's 
 Government in England, represented by the Secretary of 
 State for India in London, who is assisted by a Council. 
 Subordinate to the Governor- General are the Governors 
 of the two Presidencies of Madias and Bombay, the 
 Lieutenant-Governors of Bengal, Eastern Bengal and 
 Assam, United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, Panjab and 
 Burma, the Agent of the N.W. Frontier Province, the 
 Chief Commissioners of the Central Provinces, and of the 
 Minor Charges, and the other Political Agents of the 
 first rank. There are four High Courts of Judicature at 
 Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, and Allahabad respectively, 
 and one Chief Court for the Panjab. As reorganised in 
 1907, the imperial forces are now divided into two 
 Armies — the Northern, with five divisions and three 
 brigades ; and the Southern, with four divisions and the 
 troops in Burma; total 230,000 men; volunteers 
 34,000. There are five Bishoprics, exclusive of the 
 Missionary Bishoprics. The Bishop of Calcutta is also 
 Metropolitan in India. At each of the three 
 Presidency towns there is a bank connected with the 
 Government. 
 
 This is an outline of the machinery by which England 
 from a distance of 8000 miles administers the affairs of 
 295,000,000 people, including a large number of Native 
 States, which recognise the supremacy of the paramount 
 power. As, on the other hand, there are not more than 
 a few thousand Europeans, exclusive of the military, and 
 only a few hundred European civil officers in the whole 
 empire, it will readily be imagined how arduous must 
 be the task imposed on the Government of keeping order 
 amongst such a mass of human beings, consisting of 
 heterogeneous elements. Not perhaps unnaturally, the
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 195 
 
 imperial race, to which such an inheritance has fallen, 
 feels at times more oppressed by a deep sense of its 
 overwhelming responsibilities than elevated by the com- 
 manding position it thus takes amongst the nations of 
 the world. 
 
 All the Native States (some three hundred in 
 number, great and small) may be regarded as placed 
 under the protection of the suzerain power, the only 
 really independent elements being some of the wild and 
 often troublesome hill tribes on the frontiers. Of these 
 States there are three categories — the allied, the tributary, 
 and the protected. The allied are provided by the British 
 Government with a regular contingency of subsidiary 
 troops, for which a fixed charge is made. These represent 
 a total population of over 26,000,000. In the tributary 
 States the Government maintains no regular troops, but 
 undertakes to defend them from any possible attacks from 
 without, receiving in return a regular tribute. Of such 
 States there are about fifty, with some 14,000,000 in- 
 habitants. The protected States, exempt from tribute, 
 stand in the same relation to the supreme authority, and 
 number upwards of ninety, with a joint population of 
 perhaps 21,000,000. 
 
 All three have renounced tiie right of self-defence and 
 of independent diplomatic representation abroad, England 
 guaranteeing them from attack, and acting as mediator in 
 all the differences arising among them. They also main- 
 tain troops numerous enough to preserve peace within 
 their borders. The English Government, moreover, re- 
 serves to itself the right of interfering in the internal 
 administration whenever the native rulers become the 
 oppressors instead of the protectors of their subjects. 
 In fact, however, the Native States are becoming well 
 governed. 
 
 The chiefs, princes, and other representatives of these
 
 196 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 various Native States appear from time to time at the 
 " durbar " or public audience of the Viceroy, for the 
 purpose of paying homage to the Emperor through his 
 representative. 
 
 Under this administration, ensuring the blessings of 
 peace at home and presenting a firm front to any possible 
 assaults from without, the country has made astonishing 
 progress both materially and morally in recent times. A 
 far more radical transformation has taken place than 
 might be suspected at a cursory glance. The removal of 
 the centre of authority from the old inland capitals to the 
 seaboard, — the general disarmament of the people, and 
 the establishment of lasting peace and security in the 
 remotest corners of the empire, — the suppression of savage 
 rites, such as human sacrifices, amongst some wild hill 
 tribes, and of Suttee 1 amongst the Hindus, — the surveys, 
 trigonometrical, topographical, and geological, — the en- 
 lightened legislation, and the establishment of a system of 
 civil and criminal justice, — the releasing of trade from 
 transit duties and other fetters, — the assessment of the 
 land-tax for long terms of years, and the recognition of 
 proprietary right in the land, — the construction of high- 
 ways, railroads, and telegraphic lines, and the extension 
 of artificial irrigation, — the introduction of education on 
 English principles — are all unmistakable evidences of 
 social progress. 
 
 Some of the old native manufactures are dying out in 
 many places, partly through the competition of the English 
 looms, and partly through the introduction of modern 
 machinery, while many of these manufactures continue 
 to flourish. On the other hand, nevertheless, thousands 
 are employed in the jute, cotton, and sugar factories, in 
 
 1 Suttee, or rather Sati (that is, "the pure one"), properly means the 
 widow who immolates herself on the death of her husband, but is com- 
 monly applied in English to the act itself.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 197 
 
 the coal-mines, and in the plantations of tea and cinchona. 
 Xor has the traditional skill of native craftsmen and the 
 hereditary genius of native artists succumbed to Western 
 influences. Thus in Orissa and Southern India the hand- 
 loom still maintains its place, and the most delicate 
 muslins in the world may still be procured from the 
 Dacca weavers, although at very high prices. 
 
 Another result of the English rule is the increased 
 sense of unity that has been developed amongst the 
 various nationalities. The same tendency is shown in 
 the cultivation of the native languages (both classical 
 and living), which formerly received little encourage- 
 ment from the various Persian, Hindi, or Marathi speak- 
 ing conquerors, but which are now fostered in the 
 national education. Five Universities have been estab- 
 lished (much upon the model of the London University) 
 at Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Panjab, and Allahabad 
 respectively, to each of which several colleges, belonging 
 to Government and to private bodies, are affiliated. 
 Three Medical Colleges of the best possible kind, with 
 several Medical Schools and two Colleges of civil engin- 
 eering, also several technical and industrial schools, have 
 been established. Much satisfactory progress has been 
 made in the popular instruction, although much remains 
 still to be done in this direction, and especially as regards 
 female education. In the Panjab the schools and attend- 
 ance have greatly increased ; yet 5 per cent of the 
 children are said to be still unprovided with instruction 
 of any sort. In Bengal and Madras also the elementary 
 schools have been greatly multiplied, and here the wish 
 to learn English is increasing among the middle classes. 
 In Madras the greatest development is in the primary 
 schools and amongst the native Christians. A really 
 sound beginning has also been made with female education. 
 As regards the highest education, the number of students
 
 198 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 who matriculated at the five Universities rose from 4905 
 in 1889 to 7247 in 1906. 
 
 For Lower Burma an Educational Syndicate was 
 established in 1881 for the purpose of controlling the 
 public examinations, which under new regulations will 
 be especially designed to encourage the study of law, 
 medicine, engineering, and the technical arts. 
 
 State expenditure is largely incurred in the shape of 
 grants-in-aid. About half of the educational expenses 
 in the interior of the country are defrayed by the State, 
 and the other half by the people. 
 
 The progress of Christian missions of all Protestant 
 denominations is considerable, and the native Christians 
 of all denominations exceeded 2,923,000 in 1901. The 
 Protestant communities have increased at the rate of 
 about 50 per cent in each decade during the last half 
 century. There are about 450 mission stations and 500 
 European missionaries, 3 missionary bishops, and 300 
 native ordained clergymen. Several colleges and training 
 institutions belong to the missionary bodies. The Ver- 
 nacular Education Society conducts extensive operations 
 in the publication and colportage of books for Christian 
 instruction. The total income of the Protestant missions 
 has been computed at something between £300,000 and 
 £400,000 annually. 
 
 The Eoman Catholic Church has real vitality, and 
 includes Europeans, East Indians, and natives. It has 
 archbishops, bishops, vicars apostolic, and lady superiors. 
 It has many missionary stations, besides colleges, schools, 
 convents, and other religious establishments, and the 
 members of the Eoman Catholic Church exceeded 
 1,524,000 in 1901. 
 
 Further proofs of material and social progress will be 
 revealed in the subjoined tabulated statements of popula- 
 tion, trade, education, etc.
 
 THE IXDIAX EMPIRE 199 
 
 11. Statistics of British India. 
 
 General Results of the 1901 Census. 
 
 The third general census of India, taken on 26 th 
 February 1901, showed a population of 294,361,000 for 
 the British possessions, and including the French and 
 Portuguese enclaves, 295,064,000, or about one-fifth of 
 the population of the whole world, being an increase of 
 over 6,000,000 since the previous census of 1891. 
 Although this increase is nearly equal to the entire 
 population of Belgium in 1900, Mr. J. A. Bains points 
 out in his " General Beport on the Census of India, 
 1891," that the percentage of increase is only 10 '9 6, a 
 comparatively low rate, for in a list of twenty-eight of 
 the chief countries of the world, India ranks only 
 twentieth in this respect, Xew South Wales being the 
 highest and France the lowest. He considers that the 
 present rate of increase is well within the means of sub- 
 sistence of the people of India, showing a density of 
 population of only 167 per square mile, though very 
 unequally distributed, and ranging, for instance, from 537 
 in Oudh to 36 in Kashmir. In fact there appears to be 
 no actual overcrowding, except in a few special localities, 
 such as parts of Behar, of the Deccan and Gangetic 
 valley, and a small tract on the Bombay coast. 
 
 The vast predominance of agricultural over all other 
 interests is shown by the fact that the landowners, 
 tenants, and general labourers, graziers, shepherds, and 
 wool and cotton workers comprise over 70 per cent of 
 the entire population.' In the same report the ethno- 
 logical and religious relations are thus summed up. In 
 the extreme north-west the dominant element comes 
 from West Central Asia, arriving at different times and 
 probably from different sources. Adjoining it on both
 
 200 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 sides of the frontier is a group of still more western 
 origin, but much mingled with the former. The Hima- 
 layan districts, skirting the plains of the Panjab and 
 North- West Provinces, also preserve a considerable element 
 of northern origin ; but here the people farther east and 
 north come from the eastern side of Central Asia, which 
 seems to have peopled the whole range along the British 
 frontier, and in the eastern sections of Upper India the 
 greater part of the Gangetic valley also. Across the 
 Ganges basin the dominant element numerically is a 
 lower race of darker colour and different features, stretch- 
 ing with few interruptions to the extremity of the 
 Peninsula and over the north part of Ceylon. 
 
 In general the element from West Central Asia is 
 found in a comparatively pure state in the Indus valley. 
 It rapidly deteriorates through fusion with dark blood 
 in the direction of the east, until it meets the north- 
 eastern strain in the Ganges delta. The strain of 
 northern blood south of the Central Belt of hills is of 
 the thinnest, and hardly extends into the plains at all. 
 But on the west coast some pure specimens may prob- 
 ably be found, and the general average of the dark 
 type throughout the Peninsula has apparently been 
 raised by prosperity and a long period of peace consider- 
 ably above the level of those tribes that have remained 
 in a somewhat wild state in the hills and forests. 
 
 In respect of religion the Hindu sects of all kinds 
 number 210,000,000, the Muhammadans 62,000,000, 
 the Buddhists over 9,000,000, the Jains 1,330,000, the 
 pagans 8,000,000, the Christians 2,923,000, and the 
 Jews 18,000.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 201 
 
 Areas and Populations. 
 
 British Provinces and Tracts. 
 
 Burma and Shan States 
 East Bengal and Assam 
 Bengal and Beliar 
 United Provinces 
 Ajmir-Merwara 
 Punjab . 
 
 N.W. Frontier Prov 
 British Beluchistan 
 Bombay Presidency 
 Central Provinces . 
 
 Berar . 
 
 Kurg . 
 Madras Presidency . 
 Andaman and Nicobar Islands 
 
 Area in sq. miles. 
 
 236,738 
 
 106,130 
 
 115,819 
 
 107,164 
 
 2,711 
 
 97,209 
 
 16,466 
 
 45,804 
 
 123,064 
 
 82,635 
 
 17,710 
 
 1,582 
 
 141,726 
 
 3,143 
 
 Pop. 1891. 
 
 7,722,053 
 28,259,128 
 49,321,758 
 46,904,791 
 542,358 
 19,009,343 
 
 1,857,504 
 
 18,878,314 
 
 10,165,113 
 
 2,897,491 
 
 173,055 
 
 35,630,440 
 
 15,609 
 
 Pop. 1001. 
 
 10,490,624 
 80,961,459 
 
 50,722,067 
 
 47,691,782 
 
 476,912 
 
 20,330,339 
 
 2,125,480 
 
 308,246 
 
 18,559,561 
 
 9,237,654 
 
 2,754,016 
 
 1S0,607 
 
 38,209,436 
 
 24,649 
 
 Total British Provinces . 1,097,901 221,376,957 232,072,832 
 
 Native States and Agencies. 
 
 
 
 Area in sq. milef 
 
 Pop. 1891. 
 
 Pop. 1901. 
 
 Haidarabad (Nizam's) 
 
 82,698 
 
 11,537,040 
 
 11,141,142 
 
 Baroda . 
 
 
 8,226 
 
 2,415,396 
 
 1,952,692 
 
 Mysore . 
 
 . . 
 
 29,433 
 
 4,943,604 
 
 5,448,923 
 
 Kashmir . 
 
 . . 
 
 80,900 
 
 2,543,952 
 
 2,905,578 
 
 Rajputana 
 
 . . 
 
 128,997 
 
 11,590,504 
 
 9,847,765 
 
 Central India . 
 
 
 77,281 
 
 10,318,812 
 
 8,628,781 
 
 Bombay States 
 
 
 62,792 
 
 8,082,107 
 
 6,719,466 
 
 Central Provinces 
 
 States 
 
 29,435 
 
 2,160,511 
 
 1,196,383 
 
 Madras States 
 
 
 9,608 
 
 3,700,622 
 
 4,186,967 
 
 Bengal States 
 
 
 58,612 
 
 3,326,837 
 
 3,748,544 
 
 U.P. States . 
 
 . , 
 
 5,079 
 
 792,491 
 
 802,097 
 
 Punjab States 
 
 . 
 
 31,497 
 
 4,263,280 
 
 4,424,398 
 
 Baluchistan . 
 
 
 78,530 
 
 
 528,640 
 
 E. Bengal and Assam 
 
 7,184 
 
 
 383,759 
 
 Total Native States 
 
 690,272 
 
 66,075,156 
 
 61,325,376 
 
 French and Port 
 
 uguese Pos 
 
 
 
 
 sessions 
 
 
 1,805 
 
 729,639 
 
 807,198 
 
 Total India 
 
 1,768,447 
 
 288,044,310 
 
 295,168,254
 
 202 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 Native States and Agencies — Continued. 
 
 Area in sq. miles. p p. 1S91. Pop. 1901. 
 
 Ceylon and other Islands • 25,332 3,040,000 3,578,333 
 Straits Settlements and Pro- 
 tected States . . . 37,000 1,100,000 1,484,770 
 Hong Kong .... 406 221,440 320,000 
 
 Total British Asiatic Pos- 
 sessions 
 
 1,831,185 293,106,300 300,551,357 
 
 Towns with upwards of 50,000 Inhabitants (1901). 
 
 Calcutta 
 
 Bombay 
 
 Madras 
 
 Haidarabad 
 
 Lucknow 
 
 Rangoon 
 
 Benares 
 
 Delhi . 
 
 Lahore 
 
 Cawnpore 
 
 Agra . 
 
 Ahniedabad 
 
 Mandalay 
 
 Allahabad 
 
 Amritsar 
 
 Jaipur . 
 
 Bangalore 
 
 How rah 
 
 Puna . 
 
 Patna . 
 
 Bareilly 
 
 Nagpur 
 
 Srinagar 
 
 Surat . 
 
 Mirut . 
 
 Karachi 
 
 Madura 
 
 Trichinopoly 
 
 Baroda 
 
 Peshawar 
 
 Dacca . 
 
 Jubbulpor 
 
 Lashkar 
 
 Rawalpindi 
 
 Multan 
 
 Mirzapur 
 
 Umballa 
 
 Rainpur 
 
 Population. 
 
 1,026,987 
 
 776,000 
 
 509,346 
 
 448,446 
 
 264,049 
 
 234,881 
 
 209,331 
 
 208,575 
 
 202,964 
 
 197,170 
 
 188,000 
 
 185,890 
 
 183,816 
 
 172,032 
 
 162,429 
 
 160,167 
 
 159,046 
 
 157,594 
 
 153,320 
 
 134,785 
 
 131,208 
 
 127,734 
 
 122,618 
 
 119,306 
 
 118,129 
 
 116,663 
 
 105,984 
 
 104,721 
 
 103,790 
 
 95,147 
 
 90,542 
 
 90,316 
 
 89,154 
 
 87,688 
 
 87,394 
 
 79,862 
 
 78,838 
 
 78.75S 
 
 Bhopal . 
 
 Calicut . 
 
 Sbahjahanpu 
 
 Bhagalpur 
 
 Sholapur 
 
 Moradabad 
 
 Faizabad 
 
 Ajmir . 
 
 Gaya 
 
 Salem . 
 
 Aligarh . 
 
 Mysore . 
 
 Jullundur 
 
 Farukhabad 
 
 Imphal . 
 
 Saharanpur 
 
 Darbhanga 
 
 Gorakhpur 
 
 Jodhpur 
 
 Hubli . 
 
 Muttra . 
 
 Kumbakonam 
 
 Moulmein 
 
 Bellary . 
 
 Sialkot . 
 
 Trivandrum 
 
 Tanjore . 
 
 Negapatam 
 
 Alwar . 
 
 Jhanti . 
 
 Kolhapur 
 
 Navanagar 
 
 Patiala . 
 
 Coimbatore 
 
 Bikaner 
 
 Cuddalore 
 
 Cuttack 
 
 Population. 
 77,023 
 76,981 
 76,458 
 75,760 
 75,288 
 75,128 
 75,085 
 73,839 
 71,288 
 70,621 
 70,434 
 68,111 
 67,735 
 67,338 
 67,093 
 66,254 
 66,244 
 64,148 
 60,437 
 60,214 
 60,042 
 59,673 
 58,446 
 58,247 
 57,956 
 57,882 
 57,870 
 57,190 
 56,771 
 55,724 
 54,373 
 53,844 
 53,545 
 53,080 
 53,075 
 52,216 
 51,364
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 203 
 
 Population according to Races and Languages. 1 
 
 
 r Hindi and Urdu 
 
 115,000,000 
 
 ■ 
 
 r Telugu . 
 
 . 20,700,000 
 
 
 Bengali 
 
 44,620,000 
 
 ^ Tamil 
 
 . 16,530,000 
 
 
 Mahrathi 
 
 18,240,000 
 
 c J Malayalim 
 
 . 6,030,000 
 
 
 Panjabi 
 
 17,070.000 
 
 > j Gondi 
 
 . 1,120,000 
 
 
 Gujarati 
 
 9,930,000 
 
 < Tulu . 
 
 540,000 
 
 so 
 
 Kanarese 
 
 10,370,000 
 
 p lOraon 
 
 590,000 
 
 Y 
 
 Uriya . 
 
 9,690,000 
 
 DO 
 
 r 
 
 
 > * 
 
 Sindhi 
 
 3,010,000 
 
 'A 
 
 Santali 
 
 . 1,790,000 
 
 < 
 
 Kashmiri 
 
 2,500,000 
 
 g _ 
 
 Kol ) 
 
 
 
 Assamese 
 
 1,350,000 
 
 < 
 
 Kond V . 
 
 1,700,000 
 
 
 Marwari 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 g 
 
 Bhil J 
 
 
 
 Pushtu 
 
 1,220,000 
 
 W ^ 
 
 
 
 G ya s y • 
 
 300,000 
 
 
 'Burmese . 
 
 7,470,000 
 
 
 .English 
 
 270,000 
 
 
 Bod-pa 
 
 . 2,600,000 
 
 
 
 6 i 
 
 Karen 
 
 890,000 
 
 
 
 9 1- 
 
 Kacchi 
 
 480,000 
 
 
 
 2 A 
 
 Naga 
 
 320,000 
 
 
 
 Chins, Lushai, etc. 280,000 
 
 
 
 
 w Shans, Mons, etc. 1,000,000 
 
 Population according to Religion (1901). 
 
 Hindus 
 
 210,000,000 
 
 Sikhs 
 
 2,195,000 
 
 Muhammadans . 
 
 62,000,000 
 
 Jains 
 
 1,334.000 
 
 Pagans 
 
 8,000,000 
 
 Parsis 
 
 94,000 
 
 Buddhists 
 
 9,100,000 
 
 Jews . . 
 
 IS, 000 
 
 Christians 
 
 2,923,000 
 
 Sundries . 
 
 130,000 
 
 
 Chief Rive 
 
 rs of India. 
 
 
 
 Length. 
 
 
 Length. 
 
 
 Miles. 
 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Brahmaputra and Sai 
 
 l-po . 1800 
 
 Tapti 
 
 440 
 
 Indus 
 
 1800 
 
 Kavari . . 
 
 470 
 
 Ganges 
 
 1500 
 
 Penner 
 
 355 
 
 Irawadi 
 
 1000 
 
 Luni . 
 
 320 
 
 Godavari . 
 
 900 
 
 Sitang 
 
 230 
 
 Kistna 
 
 800 
 
 Brahmani . 
 
 410 
 
 Salwin 
 
 750 
 
 Mahi . 
 
 350 
 
 Narbada 
 
 800 
 
 Baitarani . 
 
 345 
 
 Mahanaddi 
 
 520 
 
 
 
 
 Canalisat 
 
 ion (1906) 
 
 
 Capital expended 
 
 
 
 . £31,500,000 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Main Canals and brai 
 
 iches in the th 
 
 ree Presidencies 
 
 6.000 
 
 Panjab and Sind 
 
 
 
 5,000 
 
 Tan j ore or Kavari sys 
 
 tern . 
 
 . 
 
 3,000 
 
 Distributing Canals . 
 
 
 
 
 
 28,000 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 That is, so far as can be determiner] by language; but it is obvious that this 
 grouping practically resolves itself into a classification according to linguistic families.
 
 204 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 Irrigation Works. 
 
 The Areas of Irrigation in the peninsula exceeded 20,000.000 acres 
 in 1906. Irrigation works in progress (1908) over 5,000,000 acres. 
 
 
 Finance. 
 
 
 Year. 
 
 Revenue. 
 
 Expenditure. 
 
 1882 
 
 75,685,000 R 
 
 <c. ] 72,090,000 Rx. 
 
 1888 
 
 78,760,000 , 
 
 , 80,788,000 
 
 ,, . 
 
 1890 
 
 85,000,000 , 
 
 , 82,473,000 
 
 ,, 
 
 1907 
 
 134,000,000 
 
 , 111,000,000 
 
 >> 
 
 Chief Heads of Income (1907). 
 
 Chief Heads of Outlay (1907). 
 
 Land Revenue . 
 
 £19,000,000 
 
 Army- 
 
 £19,630,000 
 
 Opium 
 
 5,490,000 
 
 Public Works . 
 
 6,444,000 
 
 Salt . 
 
 4,377,000 
 
 Irrigation . 
 
 2,909,000 
 
 Stamps 
 
 3,868,000 
 
 Collection Charges 
 
 7,600,000 
 
 Excise 
 
 5,654,000 
 
 Interest . 
 
 1,418,000 
 
 Customs . 
 
 4,323,000 
 
 Post Office 
 
 1,558,000 
 
 Income Tax 
 
 1,309,000 
 
 Telegraphs 
 
 1,068,000 
 
 Foiest 
 
 1,791,000 
 
 Law and Justice 
 
 3,178,000 
 
 Post Office 
 
 1,659,000 
 
 Police 
 
 3,352,000 
 
 Telegraphs 
 
 914,000 
 
 Education 
 
 1,595,000 
 
 Railways . 
 
 24,658,000 
 
 Medical . 
 
 1,042,000 
 
 Irrigation . 
 
 2,953,000 
 
 Superannuation 
 
 2,942,000 
 
 Civil Departments 
 
 1,534,000 
 
 Famine Relief . 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 
 Army 
 
 (1907). 2 
 
 
 
 Officers. 
 
 Eank and File. 
 
 Total. 
 
 British 
 
 2,681 
 
 71,960 
 
 74,641 
 
 Native 
 
 3,389 
 6,070 
 
 151,858 
 
 155,247 
 
 Total . 
 
 223,818 
 
 229,888 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 Rx. =10 rupees, approximately equivalent to one pound sterling before the year 
 1873 ; but owing to the depreciation of silver the rupee has since then gradually fallen 
 to less than Is. 4d. The loss to India in the exchanges is correspondingly great, 
 and a chief cause of the financial difficulties from which the country has suffered 
 during the last two decades. 
 
 2 Exclusive of the Imperial Service troops, about 20,000 ; and a volunteer force of 
 Europeans and Eurasians, 34,000 in 1907.
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 
 205 
 
 Distribution of the British Forces (1908). 
 
 Northern Army : Peshawar ; Rawal Pindi ; Lahore ; Mirut ; 
 
 Lueknow ; Kohat ; Bannu ; Derajat. 
 Southern Army : Secunderabad ; Puna ; Mhou ; Quetta ; Burma. 
 
 Education (1906). 
 
 Colleges 
 
 185 
 
 Attendance 
 
 Secondary Schools 
 
 5,900 
 
 ,, 
 
 Primary Schools . 
 
 110,000 
 
 ,, 
 
 Technical Schools 
 
 1,776 
 
 ,, 
 
 Universities . 
 
 5 1 
 
 Matriculated 
 
 25,122 
 
 689,580 
 
 •3,820,000 
 
 52,000 
 
 7,217 
 
 State Expenditure on Public Instruction 
 Total able to read and write . 
 
 Rx. 5,297,000 
 15,686,000 
 
 Literature. 
 
 Average yearly publications — English .... 
 Vernacular languages 
 Classical languages of India 
 Periodicals 
 
 . 980 
 . 8340 
 . 950 
 . 1460 
 
 11,730 
 
 Railways. 
 
 Lines open (1906), 29,000 miles. 
 
 Lines in construction or sanctioned, nearly 4000 miles. 
 
 Total capital expenditure, Rx. 385,138,000. 
 
 Passengers carried (1906), 271,063,000. 
 
 Goods, material, and live stock carried, 58,869,000 tons. 
 
 Total working expenses, Rx. 22,000,000. 
 
 Total net earnings, Rx. 22,109,000. 
 
 Postal and Telegraph Services. 
 
 Tear. 
 
 1888 
 1890 
 1907 
 
 Post Offices and 
 Letter Boxes. 
 
 16,967 
 19,196 
 56,703 
 
 Letters, etc., 
 Carried. 
 
 274,399,000 
 311,988,000 
 801,177,000 
 
 Revenue. 
 
 1,214, 000 Rx. 
 1,301,000 „ 
 2,626,000 ,, 
 
 Expenditure. 
 
 1,375,000 Rx. 
 1,377,000 ,, 
 2,402,000 ,, 
 
 Year. Telegraph Lines. Miles of Wire. Despatches. Revenue. Expenditure. 
 
 1888 31,894 miles. 93,500 2,808,000 764,000 Rx. 787,000 Rx. 
 
 1890 35,280 ,, 106,140 1,133,000 767,000 „ 731,000 „ 
 
 1907 67,587 ,, 260,000 11,385,000 1,257,000 ,, 966,000 „ 
 
 Telegraph Offices open (1907), 2438. 
 
 i Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Panjab, and Allahabad, 
 of the matriculated students become graduates. 
 
 Not more than one-fourth
 
 206 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Trade. 
 
 Year. 
 1889 
 1891 
 1907 
 
 Imports. 
 
 86,657,000 R. 
 
 84,155,000 „ 
 
 161,000,000 „ 
 
 Exports. 
 105,367,000 R. 
 111,460,000 „ 
 182,000,000 „ 
 
 Bengal . 
 Burma . 
 Madras . 
 Bombay . 
 Sind " . 
 
 Imports (190V). 
 
 50,500,000 R. 
 9,550,000 „ 
 9,870,000,, 
 
 55,140,000,, 
 9,993,000,, 
 
 Exports (1907). 
 79,500,000 R. 
 15,200,000 „ 
 17,550,000,, 
 50,140,000,, 
 15,880,000,, 
 
 
 1S8S. 
 
 1890. 1906. 
 
 ts to Great Britain 
 ts from Great Britai 
 
 . £30,764,000 
 a . 32,539,000 
 
 £32,669,000 £37,833,000 
 33,641,000 45,181,000 
 
 Chief Customers of India. 
 
 
 Indian Exports to (1907). 
 
 Imports from (1907). 
 
 Great Brita 
 
 in . . 46,937,000 R. 
 
 72,209,000 R. 
 
 China 
 
 18.852,000 „ 
 
 1,493,000 „ 
 
 France 
 
 11,205,000 ,, 
 
 1,462,000 „ 
 
 Italy . 
 
 5,715,000 „ 
 
 1,081,000 „ 
 
 Straits Sett 
 
 lements . 6,528,000 ,, 
 
 2,768,000 ,, 
 
 United Sta 
 
 bes . . 15,623,000 „ 
 
 2,547,000 „ 
 
 Egypt 
 
 1,975,000 „ 
 
 157,000 „ 
 
 Belgium . 
 
 7.197,000 ,, 
 
 4,355,000 „ 
 
 Austria 
 
 6,018,000 „ 
 
 3,068.000 „ 
 
 Australia . 
 
 7,014.000 ,, 
 
 7,014,000 „ 
 
 Japan 
 
 1,610,000 „ 
 
 1,610,000 „ 
 
 Germany 
 
 5,790,000 ,, 
 
 4,372,000 ,, 
 
 Holland 
 
 1,802,000 ,, 
 
 627,000 ,, 
 
 Persia 
 
 386,000 ,, 
 
 476,000 ,, 
 
 Spain 
 
 1,595,000 ., 
 
 1,185,000 ,, 
 
 Chief Imports and Exports (1907). 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Cotton goods 
 
 40,917,000 R. 
 
 Rice 
 
 18,529,000 R. 
 
 Hardware, cutlerj 
 
 ' 12,693,000 „ 
 
 Wheat . 
 
 7,254,000 ,, 
 
 Silks . 
 
 2,393,000 ,, 
 
 Cottons 
 
 34,100,000 ,, 
 
 Sugars . 
 
 8,738,000 ,, 
 
 Opium . 
 
 9,307,000 ,, 
 
 Woollen goods 
 
 2,052,000 ,, 
 
 Oil seeds, etc. 
 
 13,021,000 ,, 
 
 Liquors 
 
 1,856,000 ,, 
 
 Hides and skins 
 
 15,345,000 ,, 
 
 Oils . 
 
 2,767,000 „ 
 
 Jute 
 
 42,600,000 ,, 
 
 Machinery . 
 
 5,790,000 ,, 
 
 Tea 
 
 9,857,000 ,, 
 
 Coal . 
 
 485,000 ,, 
 
 Indigo . 
 
 704,000 ,, 
 
 Provisions . 
 
 2,423,000 ,, 
 
 Coffee . 
 
 996,000 , : 
 
 ClothiDg 
 
 2,112,000 ,, 
 
 Wool . 
 
 831,000 „
 
 Bombay 
 Calcutta 
 Ranjnin 
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 
 Fokeign Trade of the Chief Seaports (1907). 
 
 207 
 
 83,38S,000 R. | Madras 
 120,485,000 ,, I Karachi 
 21,242,000 „ I Tuticorin 
 
 14,320,000 R. 
 
 25,220,000 „ 
 
 2,631,000 „ 
 
 Vessels Entered. 
 British . 
 British Indian 
 Foreign . 
 Native . 
 
 Total . 
 
 No. 
 
 2478 
 350 
 544 
 
 1395 
 
 Shipping (1907). 
 
 Tons. 
 5,466,000 
 
 810,000 
 
 1,2S0,000 
 
 93,500 
 
 4767 6,919,500 
 
 Vessels Cleared. 
 British . 
 British Indian 
 Foreign . 
 Native . 
 
 No. 
 
 2442 
 385 
 558 
 
 1174 
 
 Tons. 
 5,422,275 
 
 99,190 
 1,257,179 
 
 76,809 
 
 4562 6,855,453 
 
 Steamers Entered and Cleared via Suez Canal. 
 
 
 No. Entered. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 No. Cleared. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1883 
 
 711 
 
 1,153,000 
 
 1645 
 
 2,586,000 
 
 1890 
 
 677 
 
 1,332,000 
 
 1608 
 
 3,055,000 
 
 1891 
 
 752 
 
 1,487,000 
 
 1717 
 
 3,309,000 
 
 1906 : British ships cleared, 2336 ; tons, 11,507,000. 
 
 Agricultural Returns (1907). 
 
 Land under cultivation and fallow 
 Land untilled but cultivable . 
 Land not available for cultivation . 
 Land under forests .... 
 
 Land for which no returns are yet available 
 
 207,6S3,000 acres. 
 104,646,000 ,, 
 135,329,000 ,, 
 67,976,000 ,, 
 
 741,907,000 „ 
 
 Chief Crops (1906). 
 
 
 Acres. 
 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Rice . 
 
 73,400,000 
 
 Cotton . . . 13,100,000 
 
 Wheat 
 
 22,402,000 
 
 Oil seeds . . . 12,500,000 
 
 Other grains 
 
 87,852,000 
 
 Indigo . . . 402,000 
 
 Sugar-cane 
 
 2,241,000 
 
 Tobacco . . . 1,018,000 
 
 Tea . 
 
 508,000 
 
 Coffee . . . 99,000 
 
 Other food crops 
 
 4,150,000 
 
 Jute and other fibres 3,792,000 
 
 
 Vital Statistics (1906). 
 
 
 Births per 1000. Deaths per 1000. 
 
 Bengal . 
 
 39-55 38-53 
 
 United Provin 
 
 ces . 
 
 41-24 44-00 
 
 Punjab . 
 
 
 44-40 47-60 
 
 Central Provii 
 
 ices . 
 
 54-02 37-21 
 
 East Bengal a 
 
 nd Assam 
 
 39-37 35-06 
 
 NorthjWest F 
 Madras . 
 
 "Hi Ler Provinces 
 
 35-40 26-80 
 
 
 32-00 21-40 
 
 Bombay 
 
 
 
 33-07 31-84
 
 208 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 Occupations of the Population (1901). 
 
 Agriculture 
 General labour . 
 Food, drink, etc. 
 Weaving . 
 Domestic service 
 Professions 
 Administration 
 Independent 
 Trade 
 
 191,692,000 
 
 17,953,000 
 
 16,759,000 
 
 11,214,000 
 
 10,717,000 
 
 4,928,000 
 
 3,814,000 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 4,198,000 
 
 Wood, cane-matting. 3,790,000 
 Transport, storage . 3,528,000 
 Metals and jewellery 3,711,000 
 
 Stockbreeding, provisions 3,977,000 
 Ligbt, firing, forage . 1,461,000 
 Leather, horns, etc. . 3,242,000 
 Glass, pottery, stoneware 2,143,000 
 Buildings. . . 1,580,000 
 Defence . . . 396,000 
 
 Emigration. 
 
 Total emigrants (1870-1900), 300,000. 
 
 Coolie emigrants (1886), 7980 ; (1888), 6450 ; 
 
 21,125 ; chiefly to Demerara, Trinidad, 
 
 British Colonies. 
 
 (1890), 16,874 ; (1906), 
 Mauritius, and other 
 
 Crime (1905). 
 
 Tried, 1,667,000 ; convicted, 856,000 ; fined, 655,000. 
 
 Sentenced to death, 477 ; to transportation, 1821 ; to imprisonment. 
 
 142,000. 
 Convictions for murder, 1037 ; for cattle-lifting, 6861 ; for theft, 37,670, 
 
 for dacoity, 437. 
 Police, 156,256 ; central gaols, 39 ; district and other gaols, 685. 
 
 
 
 CEYLOK 
 
 
 Provinces. 
 
 
 Area in sq. miles. 
 
 Population (1901). 
 
 Central 
 
 
 2,304 
 
 623,011 
 
 Uva . 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,725 
 
 192,027 
 
 North Central 
 
 
 
 
 
 4,047 
 
 79,110 
 
 Western 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,371 
 
 925,342 
 
 Sabaragamuwa 
 
 
 
 
 
 2,085 
 
 321,755 
 
 North- Western 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,024 
 
 358,845 
 
 Southern . 
 
 
 
 
 
 1,980 
 
 566,925 
 
 Eastern 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,657 
 
 174,288 
 
 Northern . 
 
 
 
 
 
 3,171 
 
 341,985 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 25,364 
 
 3,578,333 
 
 Population 
 
 ACCORDING 
 
 to Race and Religion. 
 
 Singhalese . 
 
 2,331,000 
 
 Buddhists . 
 
 . 2,141,000 
 
 Tamils 
 
 Moormen (Arabs) \ 
 
 953,000 
 
 Hindus 
 
 828,000 
 
 and others / 
 
 228,000 
 
 Muhammadans 
 
 248,000 
 
 Descendants of \ 
 
 23.000 
 
 Christians of alll <^« ™~ 
 
 Europeans ) 
 English 
 
 
 9,0C 
 
 
 
 
 denominations 
 
 j- . t50Z,UUU
 
 I 
 
 
 A
 
 THE INDIAN EMPIRE 209 
 
 Chief Towns : Colombo, pop. (1901), 158,000 ; Kandy, 26,000 ; Galle. 
 
 :J7,000 : Trincomali, 12,000 ; Jaffna, 39,000. 
 Revenue (1906), 35,000,000 Rupees ; Expenditure, 33,000,000 Rupees. 
 Imports (1906), 124,000,000 Rupees ; Exports, 113,000,000 Rupees. 
 Chief Exports : Tea, 61,453,000 Rs. ; Coco-nut products, 30,000,000 ; 
 
 Plumbago, 10,457,000 ; Coffee, 259,000 ; Cinchona, 12,000 ; Areca 
 
 Nuts, 2,000,000. 
 Imports from Great Britain (1906), £1,570,000 ; Exports to Great Britain, 
 
 £4,441,000. 
 Government Schools (1906), 590 ; attendance, 82,000. Grant-in-Aid 
 
 Schools, 1631 : attendance, 163,000. Unaided Schools, 1785 ; 
 
 attendance, 31,000. 
 Railways (1906), 562 miles ; Telegraphs, 3470 miles : Telephone wire, 
 
 553 miles. 
 
 VOL. II
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 
 
 1 . Boundaries — Extent — A rea. 
 
 The south-eastern section of Asia, commonly spoken of 
 collectively as Indo-China, Further India, Trans-Gangetic 
 India, or the " Golden Peninsula," really consists of two 
 distinct peninsular regions — Indo-China proper and 
 Malacca — which differ profoundly from each other in 
 their physical conditions no less than in the ethnical 
 affinities, culture, and religion of their inhabitants. In 
 all these respects the northern peninsular mass of Indo- 
 China still belongs to the Asiatic mainland, whereas 
 Malacca, projecting southwards parallel with the neigh- 
 bouring island of Sumatra, forms, strictly speaking, an 
 integral part of the great Oceanic world. Amongst the 
 great schemes of canalisation projected since the piercing 
 of the Isthmus of Suez, not the least ambitious is the 
 recently-proposed connection of the Bay of Bengal with 
 the China Sea by a canal across the narrow Isthmus of 
 Krah, by which Malacca is at present connected with 
 Indo-China. 
 
 Meantime, Further India, taken in its wider sense, 
 lies almost exactly within the northern torrid zone, 
 stretching from about 3 degrees beyond the tropic of 
 Cancer southwards to Cape Romania, which is the 
 southernmost point of the continent, and which approaches
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 211 
 
 almost to within 1 degree of the equator. This gives an 
 extreme length of about 1800 miles, with a breadth 
 varying from 700 miles in the north to a little over 60 
 miles in the Isthmus of Krah, a total area of over 
 870,000 square miles, and a population vaguely estimated 
 at from 35 to 40 millions. 
 
 The coast-line of Indo-China is far more diversified 
 by bays, bights, gulfs, islands, and headlands than is the 
 somewhat monotonous seaboard of British India. The 
 west coast is watered by the Bay of Bengal, which here 
 forms the Gulf of Martaban. while contracting southwards 
 to the Malacca Strait, between Sumatra and the main- 
 land. East of Malacca the coast is washed by the storm- 
 swept China Sea, which here develops the great Gulfs 
 of Siam and Tongkin, between which the continent is 
 rounded off by the graceful curve of the Cochin- Chinese 
 seaboard. 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Mountain Systems — Cochin- 
 Chinese Coast Range. 
 
 The interior of Indo-China is one of the least-known 
 regions in Asia, and here are concentrated some of the 
 most interesting orographic and hydrographic problems 
 that still await solution from modern research. The 
 surface is covered with a number of parallel mountain 
 ranges running mainly north and south, with intervening 
 longitudinal river valleys broadening southwards to ex- 
 tensive alluvial plains, where are developed some of 
 the largest deltas on the globe. We are not only still 
 ignorant of the real character of these mountain ranges, 
 but we do not even know exactly where the large inter- 
 vening rivers take their rise. Nor does the solution of 
 these difficulties depend on a wider knowledge of the 
 interior of the peninsula itself so much as on the further
 
 212 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 exploration of the Tibeto-Chinese frontier lands, whence 
 the mountains radiate and whence the rivers flow south- 
 wards. Do these mountains form an independent high- 
 land system ? or are they, as many suspect, simply the 
 south-eastern continuation of the Tibetan plateau, cut up 
 into so many separate ridges by fluvial action ? In any 
 case, it is clear that the sources of most of the great rivers 
 must be sought for on the plateau itself, and probably 
 in the great lacustrine region where rise the Hoang-ho 
 and Yang-tse, and where Nain Sing and Bower have 
 discovered a vast system of lakes, some of which appear 
 to drain eastwards. From the explorations of A. K. 
 (Pundit Krishna), it seems evident that here also the 
 Salwin and the Mekhong have their rise. 
 
 In the east of the peninsula the Cochin-Chinese coast 
 range separates the Mekhong basin from the numerous 
 short streams flowing to the China Sea. But the term 
 " range " is somewhat inaptly applied to an intricate 
 system of moderately elevated ridges crossing each other 
 at all angles, and giving rise to a number of rivers, 
 flowing some to the Mekhong, others to the coast. This 
 upland system runs north and south, throwing off numerous 
 spurs and offshots which project seawards, breaking the 
 Cochin -Chinese seaboard into a number of bays, bights, 
 and inlets. It terminates in the extreme south with the 
 headland of Cape St. James, at the entrance of the 
 Saigon Eiver. 
 
 This little-known water-parting between the coast 
 streams and the Mekhong basin was partly surveyed in 
 1892 by Dr. A. Yersin, who crossed it by a hitherto 
 unvisited route from east to west, his main object being 
 to discover the sources of the Sebong (Se-bang), a large 
 affluent of the Mekhong near the Khong rapids. The 
 region traversed is occupied by the Benongs and numer- 
 ous other wild tribes, who hold no intercourse with the
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 213 
 
 Annamese, and who had never before seen or heard of 
 Europeans. They have no kind of political unity, each 
 village forming an independent petty republic, at constant 
 war with its neighbours. The country forms rather a 
 plateau than a coast range, rising to a mean altitude of 
 about 1500 feet above sea-level, and scored by numerous 
 river gorges. It is covered by almost continuous forest 
 stretching from the narrow strip of low-lying Annamese 
 coastlands all the way to the Mekhong. This forest 
 contains many gigantic trees festooned with a great 
 variety of parasitic orchids, and inhabited by elephants, 
 buffaloes, tigers, bears, the wild boar, rhinoceros, many 
 species of monkeys and other animals. Yet some districts 
 are densely peopled, villages of from 100 to 400 inhabit- 
 ants occurring at intervals of six or eight miles, while 
 other parts are absolutely uninhabited ; sometimes the 
 explorer journeyed for a whole week without meeting a 
 single human habitation. He traced the course of the 
 Sebong from its source to the confluence, and found that 
 its basin is separated from that of the Don-nai (river of 
 Saigon) by a high mountain range, which can be crossed 
 only during the dry season. 
 
 Coal is widely diffused throughout the uplands of 
 Tongkiu and Annam, and British capital has already 
 been invested in the mines of Xongson (Nong-sin), 40 
 miles south-west of Turan, and of Hatu, near Hongai, on 
 Along Bay. These have hitherto yielded the best results, 
 and at Hatu Lord Curzon was shown the unique spectacle 
 of a solid seam of black coal exposed to a thickness of 
 180 feet down the entire front of a hill, below which it 
 still continued to an unknown depth. Extensive beds 
 have also been discovered at Yenbai, Laokai, Kwangyen, 
 and other parts of the interior. But opinions differ 
 greatly as to the quality, which evidently varies con- 
 siderably. The best kinds are bituminous, and burn
 
 214 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 well, while others require a great draught and readily 
 crumble to dust, to utilise which a briquette factory has 
 been established at Hongai. The Nongson Concession, 
 visited in 1892 by Consul Parker, covers a space of 
 about four square miles, and contains an abundance of 
 coal, chiefly anthracite. 
 
 The chain running parallel with the coast range 
 between the Mekhong and Meinam valleys merges south- 
 wards in low plateaux west of the Tonle-sap (properly 
 Tale-sap) or Great Cambodian Lake. But it again acquires 
 a considerable elevation at Chantabun, near the coast, 
 whence it runs south-east along the Gulf of Siam, and 
 then trends round to the north-east, here culminating 
 with the Pursat or Krevanh (" Cardamom ") hills south 
 of the Great Lake. 
 
 Between Arakan and Burma runs the Arakan Yoma 
 range, which, north of Sandoway, has a mean altitude of 
 from 6000 to 7000 feet, but farther south falls rapidly 
 in the direction of Cape Negrais. Beyond this point the 
 system is continued seawards by the Preparis and Coco 
 Islands, the Andaman and Nicobar groups. The prevail- 
 ing formations are lime and sandstones of the cretaceous 
 and tertiary epochs, with some igneous rocks, but no 
 erupted lavas or any volcanoes, although Eamri and 
 Cheduba Islands, as well as the neighbouring coast 
 districts, are dotted over with numerous mud volcanoes. 
 These are still very active, periodically ejecting vapours, 
 mud, and even stones, and in 1906 threw up a mud islet 
 19 feet high and 920 long. 
 
 The Yoma range is crossed by a few passes, of which 
 the easiest and most frequented appears to be that of 
 Aeng or An (4700 feet). This pass was followed in 
 1891 by Lieutenant Walker, when he crossed from Burma 
 to Arakan, for the purpose of reporting on the possibility 
 of establishing railway communication between Arakan
 
 IXDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 215 
 
 and Burma. From the main Yoma range, which is the 
 backbone of the whole region, the Kunamchung spur 
 branches off south-eastwards, culminating in Mount 
 Victoria, the highest peak in Burma (10,090 feet). 
 Between it and the Yoma range the Mon river flows for 
 160 miles to the right bank of the Irawadi, a little north 
 of Minbu (Capt. Rigby). 
 
 3. Hydrography : The Irawadi, Salwin, Mcinam, MekTiong, 
 and Song-ka Rivers — Lake Tonle-sap. 
 
 North of the Bramaputra valley the eastern section 
 of the Tibetan plateau seems certainly to be geologically 
 continued eastwards far into Yun-nan and Se-chuen. But 
 in this little-known region, inhabited by the Mosso, Lolo, 
 Si-fan, and other semi-independent aboriginal tribes, there 
 are pressed together an extraordinary number of separate 
 ridges, possibly produced by the action of running waters. 
 Parallel with the Tant-la run several chains, mainly north 
 and south, nearly at right angles with the Kuen-lun 
 system, and these " Cross Pddges," as Blakiston calls 
 them, penetrate far into Burma and Siam, where they 
 form the Indo-Chinese mountain system. Their general 
 direction is indicated by the course of the great rivers, 
 some of which at all events take their rise on the Tibetan 
 plateau, and which flow first north-east, parallel with the 
 Tant-la and the other cross ridges on the Tibeto-Chinese 
 frontier. All these rivers, amongst which must be in- 
 cluded the Irawadi, Salwin, and Mekhong, as well as 
 the Yang-tse and Min, then trend gradually round to 
 the south, flowing in this direction for hundreds of miles 
 in the closest proximity. Nowhere else is there any 
 instance of so many large streams flowing in independent 
 parallel valleys, separated only by single ridges, without 
 uniting into one general water system. All the Large 
 rivers which reach the coast between tin- [rawadi and
 
 216 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Yang-tse deltas, a distance of at least 5000 miles, are 
 confined in their upper courses within the comparatively 
 narrow tract which lies between the eastern tributaries 
 of the Brahmaputra and the head- waters of the Hoang-ho. 
 
 Margary, Gill, M'Carthy,Szechenyi, Walker, Errol Gray, 
 Prince Henry of Orleans, and others who have traversed 
 the ground between Yun-nan and Upper Burma, all speak 
 of the numerous river valleys running north and south 
 which they had to cross between Lake Ta-li-fu and Bhamo. 
 Justus Perthes's map (1881) of Szechenyi's route from 
 Sayang to Bhamo, a distance of about 160 miles as the 
 bird flies, lays down, besides numerous tributaries, no less 
 than four main streams identified by that explorer as the 
 Mekhong, Salwin, and the two great forks of the Ira- 
 wadi. The same phenomenon is described by Desgodins, 
 whose route lay far to the north between Se-chuen and 
 Tibet, and by A. K., who in 1882 also traversed the 
 remarkable region of contiguous river valleys between the 
 Yaug-tse and the Brahmaputra. 
 
 Going eastwards, and keeping within the limits of 
 Indo- China, first comes the Irawadi, formed by the 
 junction of the Nam-kiu in the west, and the Phung-mai 
 in the east, neither of which head-streams has yet (1895) 
 been traced to its source. Hence the problem of the 
 Irawadi still remains unsolved, although Mr. Needham, 
 the Abbe* Desgodins, and A. K. (Pundit Krishna) have 
 finally disposed of its claim to be regarded as the con- 
 tinuation of the Tibetan San-po. During a three years' 
 residence in the valley of the Lu-kiang (Upper Salwin ?) 
 at a convenient place for studying the question, Desgodins 
 ascertained that the two rivers could not possibly be 
 connected, and that consequently the San-po must flow 
 to the Brahmaputra, as has since been placed beyond 
 doubt by Needham and others. 
 
 Much of the confusion regarding the hydrography of
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 217 
 
 the Upper Irawadi and Salwin basins is due to the per- 
 plexing nomenclature of a region where rivers and moun- 
 tains often bear as many as half a dozen different names, 
 which it is not always easy to discriminate. Thus the 
 western and eastern branches of the Upper Irawadi are 
 respectively the Myit Gyi ("Great River") and Myit 
 Gney ("Little River") of the Burmese, the Nam-kiu 
 (Nam-cheo) and Phung-mai of the Shans, and the Mali- 
 kha and Nmai-kha of the Kachin aborigines, while the 
 eastern and really larger branch appears to be identical 
 with the Kuts or Chitom of the Tibetans and the Kinsha- 
 ho of the Chinese. Although the sources of these two 
 branches have not yet been reached, the explorations of 
 Captain Borwiek by steamer from Bhamo (1890), of Eliott, 
 Hobday, and Blewitt by land (1890-91), and of Dr. 
 Malcolm Maclaren up the lower reaches of the two head- 
 streams (1907), have made it evident that both rise 
 within the Indo-Chinese peninsula, the eastern and 
 longest scarcely farther north than 28°30'or29°N. lat., 
 the western certainly on the southern slopes of the 
 Khamti hills, about 28° K, 97° E. Borwick's steamer 
 was arrested on both forks by rapids 4 or 5 miles above 
 the confluence, where Lieutenant Blewitt roughly estimated 
 the discharge of the Phung-mai and Nam-kiu at 33,500 and 
 23,000 cubic feet per second respectively. Lieutenant 
 Eliott also infers that the Lu-kiang (Nam-kong) must be 
 the upper course, not of the Irawadi, as some even still 
 hold, but of the Salwin, as Desgodins always held. In 
 fact this point was regarded as settled till a doubt was 
 raised by M. Loczy, of the Szechenyi expedition, who 
 argued that a stream of such feeble volume as the Lu- 
 kiang could not have its source hundreds of miles away 
 in the heart of the Tibetan plateau. But its feeble 
 volume may be due to a very narrow catchment basin 
 hemmed in between those of the Mekhong and Upper
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 219 
 
 Brahmaputra, while the more copious Irawadi, although 
 so much shorter, draws its supplies from a broader ex- 
 panse between Yun-nan and the eastern bend of the 
 Brahmaputra. Here also the rainfall from the moisture- 
 bearing clouds rolling up from the Indian Ocean is far 
 more copious than in the region farther inland through 
 which the Salwin flows. It may be added that during 
 his second journey through Tibet (1892) Mr. Bockhill 
 crossed a stream, the Chang-tang-chu, about lat. 33°, 
 long. 91° E., which he supposed might be the western- 
 most feeder of the Upper Jyama-nu-chu. Lower down 
 (lat. 32°, long. 94°) he reached the Su-chu, held by the 
 natives to be the same Jyama-nu-chu, which is supposed 
 to be the Upper Salwin. At this point the Su-chu, flowing 
 at an altitude of 13,700 feet on the Tibetan plateau, was 
 already 75 yards wide and from 8 to 10 feet deep. 
 
 At the confluence of the two head-streams the Irawadi 
 is already a majestic stream 500 yards broad, and navi- 
 gable by steamers of considerable size throughout the 
 whole of its course from this point to the delta, a distance 
 of nearly 900 miles. There are no rapids or obstructions 
 of any sort, except about 20 miles above Bhamo, where 
 the stream suddenly narrows from 1000 to 150 yards, 
 rushing with great velocity through a dangerous rocky 
 gorge, in which the navigation is much impeded and at 
 times arrested by swift eddies and backwaters. Below 
 the junction of the two forks, the main-stream is joined 
 on its left bank just above Bhamo by the Ta-ping (Ta-ho) 
 descending from the Yun-nan uplands, and on its right 
 bank below Ava by the Khyendwen (Chindwin), which 
 drains the greater part of the Ohin-Lushai Hill Tracts. 
 The Irawadi has a total length of probably over 1000 
 miles, with a mean discharge in the delta of nearly 
 500,000 cubic feet per second, and of about 2,000,000 
 cubic feet during the floods.
 
 220 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 To the Irawadi system belongs also the Sittang, 
 which, after a course of over 360 miles, unites with the 
 main stream in a common delta. The Sittang drains a 
 region about 22,000 square miles in extent, between the 
 Pegu-Yoma range, separating it from the Lower Irawadi 
 and the Panglung hills forming the divide towards the 
 Salwin. In its broad estuary it collects the running 
 waters of Lower Pegu from the west, and is joined on 
 the east by the Bilin, which also communicates with the 
 Salwin estuary through several creeks and channels. 
 
 Since the completion of the new Myit-kyo canal the 
 Irawadi delta, which begins below Mianan and terminates 
 south-westwards at Cape Negrais, presents a continuous 
 tidal waterway, extending from the Bassein branch for 
 about 370 miles round the Gulf of Martaban to the 
 Salwin estuary at Maulmain. During the floods a great 
 part of this low-lying alluvial region is transformed to 
 an inland sea, and at other times it is intersected in all 
 directions by an intricate system of creeks and channels, 
 most of which are continuously shifting their beds, and 
 are consequently useless for navigation. But the eastern 
 branch of the Irawadi delta proper is permanently 
 accessible for 25 miles to large vessels as far as the port 
 of Eangun, from which it takes the name of the Eangun 
 river. This branch, however, although now communi- 
 cating by several channels with the main stream, is 
 properly speaking the estuary of the Hlaing, which winds 
 along the west foot of the Pegu-Yoma hills, and which 
 before the creation of the alluvial delta must have reached 
 the sea in a channel altogether independent of the Ira- 
 wadi system. At that time the Gulf of Martaban pene- 
 trated inland nearly to the parallel of Prome, and the 
 heights now rising in the midst of the plains above the 
 present head of the delta, some 200 miles from the coast, 
 were formerly so many rocky islets washed by the marine
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 221 
 
 waters. As the alluvial deposits gradually encroached on 
 the sea, the Irawadi proper continued to follow its normal 
 southerly trend ; hence it is that the main deltaic branch, 
 Mowing about midway between the eastern (Eangun) and 
 the western (Xawun or Bassein) mouth, still properly 
 bears the name of Irawadi, that is, Airavati, " Elephant 
 Eiver," as it was named by the Hindu missionaries who 
 introduced Indian culture into this region over 2000 
 years ago. The delta proper, which has altogether nine 
 main branches, and an area of nearly 20,000 square 
 miles, is still advancing seawards, and a submarine bank 
 with a depth of 240 feet already extends beyond the 
 present coast-line over 60 miles into the Gulf of Mar- 
 taban. Since the British occupation costly engineering 
 works have been carried out at various points to control 
 the discharge of the flood-waters, which nevertheless at 
 times break through the dykes, laying extensive fertile 
 tracts under water. 
 
 Assuming that the Lu (Nu, Lutze, Nam-long) is the 
 true upper course of the Salwin, this river must have a 
 length of probably not less than 2000 miles. Eising on 
 the Tibetan plateau, it enters Indo-China through a deep, 
 narrow rocky bed, which may be described as almost a 
 continuous mountain gorge descending from the Langtan 
 (Gulong-Sigong) hills on the Yun-nan frontier. Lower 
 down the Salwin flows first along the eastern frontier of 
 Burma, and then between Pegu and Siam, to its mouth 
 in the Gulf of Martaban. Near the confluence of the 
 Thung-yang, one of the few affluents that join its lower 
 course, the stream is contracted to a width of little over 
 100 feet, and farther down the navigation is almost 
 entirely arrested by numerous reefs and rapids. In this 
 region it rises from 30 to 35 feet during the floods, 
 when the discharge is as much as 600,000 or 700,000 
 cubic feet per second. But even at its mouth the ap-
 
 222 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 proaches to Amherst and Maulmain are obstructed by 
 shifting sandbanks, so that despite its great length the 
 Salwin is practically useless as a highway to the interior. 
 Still farther east comes the Meinam, the " Mother of 
 Waters," the only large Indo-Chinese river whose course 
 lies entirely within the geographical limits of the penin- 
 sula. It flows through the Laos States and Siam proper, 
 mainly southwards, to the head of the Gulf of Siam, 
 which it enters through three channels. Of these the 
 easternmost is the most navigable, but even this is 
 obstructed by a bar with scarcely 4 feet of water at ebb 
 and 12 at flow. Hence large vessels proceeding to 
 Bangkok, 38 miles from its mouth, discharge most of 
 their cargoes in the roadstead. Throughout most of its 
 course the Meinam is fringed by forest trees, behind 
 which the low-lying rice and sugar plains are regularly 
 flooded during the inundations. A few miles above its 
 mouth the Meinam communicates with the Mekhong of 
 Lower Siam, which is really an independent river, 
 although often represented as a branch of the Meinam. 
 
 The Mekhong Basin — Lake Tonle-sap — The Song-ka Basin. 
 
 Beyond the Meinam follows the Lantsang or Kin- 
 lung-kiang, better known as the Mekhong, or great river 
 of Cambodia. 1 Thanks to the famous French expedition 
 of 1864 and several subsequent explorations, there no 
 longer remains much doubt as to the true course of this, 
 the longest of all the Indo-Chinese rivers, which rises in 
 East Tibet and flows through Yun-nan and between Siam 
 and Cochin-China to its delta in Cambodia, at the south- 
 eastern extremity of the continent. Its upper course is 
 
 1 Mekhong is the Lao name of this river, which the Cambodians call 
 the " Tonle Thorn" — i.e. the "Great River" — whence the European 
 expression, the Great River of Cambodia, or simply the Cambodia Paver.
 
 TNDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 223 
 
 separated by a single narrow ridge from that of the 
 Kinsha-kiang or Yangtse-kiang, the two streams here 
 flowing for a long distance in parallel meridional valleys 
 along the eastern scarp of the Tibetan plateau. 
 
 In its lower course the Mekhong is connected with 
 the Tonle-sap or Great Lake of Cambodia, which drains to 
 the river at low water, but which during the inundations 
 receives a back current from the river. The Tonle-sap, 
 which is almost the only lake in Indo-China, has a 
 mean area of about 1000 square miles. But during the 
 summer floods its level is raised nearly 40 feet, by which 
 its length is increased from 70 to 120 miles, and its area 
 is tripled. It abounds to such an extent in fish of every 
 sort, that their capture and cure for exportation forms one 
 of the chief industries of the country. 
 
 " The entry of the great Cambodian lake is at once 
 grand and beautiful. It presents the aspect of a vast 
 inland strait, with its low banks covered with dense and 
 half-submerged forest growths, but encircled in the dis- 
 tance by a vast mountain range, whose farthest crests 
 merge in the azure sky or disappear in the hazy atmo- 
 sphere " (Mouhot). 
 
 " The Tonle-sap may be regarded as a remnant of the 
 marine inlet which formerly penetrated up the present 
 Mekhong delta as far inland as the 13° 30' parallel. 
 This inlet has been tilled in partly by slow upheaval of 
 the land, partly by the alluvia of the great river, by 
 which the delta is still steadily advancing seawards" 
 I Aymonnier). 
 
 A similar process is going on along the east coast, 
 where extensive shallow lagoons have been enclosed by 
 long narrow strips of sand from the sea. Such are the 
 western and eastern lagoons about the Hue River estuary, 
 with their southern continuation the Kohai lagoon, offering 
 an uninterrupted waterway of difficult navigation, which
 
 224 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 extends for over 30 miles from Hue to about halfway to 
 the Bay of Turan. One of the two seaward outlets of these 
 inland waters is already choked by the sands, and during 
 the periodical floods they overflow their low banks far 
 and wide, so that the lagoons and surrounding rice-fields 
 become merged in a single sheet of w T ater. It is evident 
 that in course of time another " Great Lake " will be 
 developed about the Hue River estuary, similar in all 
 respects to the Cambodian Tonle-sap. 
 
 The last important river reaching the coast in an 
 independent channel is the Song-ka (Sang-koi, Nhi-ha, 
 Hong-kiang), or Eed River of Tongkin, which flows from 
 the south Chinese highlands south-eastwards to the head 
 of the Gulf of Tongkin. This river, the navigation of 
 which is open to the Chinese frontier town of Lao-kai in 
 Yun-nan, possesses considerable commercial importance, 
 and the French have already made several attempts to 
 open up a trade with the southern provinces of China 
 through this channel. But a portion of its course is 
 occupied by independent wild tribes, while it is ob- 
 structed at several points by difficult rapids. Hence the 
 Song-ka does not offer the great advantages which the 
 French at first expected to derive from it. Nevertheless, 
 two steamers built specially for this traffic have succeeded 
 in reaching Lao-kai (1891). 
 
 Both the Mekhong and the Song-ka are joined by 
 several important tributaries, many of which have been 
 carefully explored by Aymonnier, Neis, Harmand, and 
 other French naturalists. Dr. Neis completed in 1881 
 the survey of the Don - nai, fixing the position of its 
 source in the rugged highland region, whence it flows to 
 the Mekhong delta. Here he determined two distinct 
 lofty ranges, with an extensive intervening plateau, which 
 it took seven days to cross. 
 
 In 1877 Dr. Harmand explored a considerable portion
 
 VOL. IJ
 
 226 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 of the Si-bang-hieng, an important affluent of the Me- 
 khong, famous for its magnificent tropical scenery. 
 
 The whole of the Mekhong and Song-ka deltas, as 
 well as all the intervening low -lying tracts extending 
 between the Annamese coast range and the sea, ranging 
 from about 5 to 15 or 20 miles in width, consist ex- 
 clusively of alluvial matter washed down by the running 
 waters from the surrounding uplands. The process is 
 still going on, and owing to a combination of favourable 
 conditions, winds and marine currents co-operating with 
 the action of the coast streams, the land is here encroach- 
 ing on the sea at a very rapid rate. The phenomenon 
 was carefully studied and well described by Lord G-. 
 N. Curzon during his visit to the French Indo-Chinese 
 possessions in 1892. "On the maritime fringe the brick 
 or gruel -coloured streams, surcharged with alluvium, 
 leave their detritus, which the tide is not sufficiently 
 powerful to remove, and which gradually solidifies, and 
 gives birth to a rank vegetation of mangroves and other 
 aquatic plants. Sometimes for a while these form float- 
 ing islets, which eventually coalesce and find a common 
 anchorage. Sometimes they are covered with saline 
 swamps, in which case they are utilised by the natives as 
 salt-pans. A little later, as the sea recedes, they can be 
 drained and planted, and in a few years what began as a 
 muddy lagoon is transformed into a rice-field of cloth of 
 gold" (Geograph. Jour., August 1893). 
 
 Hanoi, capital of Tongkin, now 60 miles inland, stood 
 on the seashore in the seventh century A.D., and in the 
 seventeenth century the Dutch traded with the seaport of 
 Hongyen, which is now 35 miles from the coast. Owing 
 to these conditions the river mouths, almost without 
 exception, are obstructed by bars, where the waves break 
 with great fury, and prevent large vessels from gaining 
 access to the estuaries for months together.
 
 INDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 
 
 227 
 
 Another phenomenon of great geological and geo- 
 graphical interest is the peculiar rock-formation, composed 
 of a limestone or marble overlying the Devonian schists, 
 and presenting the most picturesque and fantastic con- 
 
 STREET IN HANOI. 
 
 tours both in the sea at no great distance from the 
 mainland, and also at several points along the river 
 valleys, which had in earlier days been similarly situ- 
 ated. It consists of detached blocks 50 to 500 feet high, 
 with scarped sides, but with summits and ledges over- 
 grown with a superb vegetation. The action of the sea
 
 228 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 has hollowed the interior of these rocks into vast caverns, 
 and carved their surface into strange and fantastic shapes. 
 These formations have received their greatest develop- 
 ment in Along Bay and its prolongation Fai-tsi-long Bay, 
 where thousands of such rocky islets fringe the coast for 
 over 100 miles from the east side of the Eed Eiver delta 
 nearly to the Chinese frontier at Cape Pak-lung. " One 
 may spend days sailing in and out of the islets of this 
 
 
 $S£*- 
 
 ■'\ 
 
 THE BAT OF ALONG. 
 
 astonishing inland sea, which I do not hesitate to char- 
 acterise as one of the wonders of the world, and which 
 far excels the better-known beauties of the Inland Sea of 
 Japan. Low-tunnelled passages, accessible only at low 
 water, conduct to hidden basins or remote caverns in the 
 heart of the rocks, and till recent times afforded an im- 
 penetrable retreat to the corsairs who devastated these 
 waters. Near Turan, maritime port of Hue, a cluster of 
 similar rocks, called by the French the Marble Mountains, 
 rises abruptly from the sand-dunes on the seashore, and 
 is perforated with grottoes, which have been utilised by
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 229 
 
 Buddhist monks for the establishment of one of those 
 retreats wherein they appear uniformly able to combine 
 {esthetic attractions with devotional needs. Their altars 
 are enshrined in the bowels of the earth, and the ecstatic 
 face of the gilded god shines faintly from the cavernous 
 gloom " (Curzon, ib.). 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions: Manipur — Lower 
 Burma — Upper Burma — Siam — Annam — Cam- 
 oodia — French Cochin-China — Malacca and Straits 
 Settlements. 
 
 The political condition of Indo-China has been largely 
 determined by its prominent natural features. To the 
 great river valleys of the Irawadi, Meinam, and Mekhong 
 correspond the ancient historical kingdoms of Burma, 
 Siam, and Annam (Cochin-China), while the still more 
 ancient empire of Cambodia, founded by the primitive 
 Caucasic race of the peninsula, has been gradually re- 
 stricted to the broad alluvial plains and delta of the 
 Lower Mekhong by the later Mongoloid intruders from 
 the north. Malacca, also, almost physically detached 
 from the mainland, has from prehistoric times been 
 occupied by petty States, founded by peoples of Malay 
 stock, either here indigenous or more probably intruders 
 from the neighbouring archipelago of Malaysia. 
 
 Manipur. 
 
 East of Cachar lies the vassal State of Manipur, 
 which acquired some notoriety owing to the rebellion and 
 massacre of 1891. It comprises a valley about 8000 
 square miles in extent, at a mean altitude of 2500 feet 
 above the sea, draining to the Chindwin affluent of the 
 Irawadi, and encircled and partly traversed by several
 
 230 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 mountain ranges between Assam, Eastern Bengal, and 
 Upper Burma. These ranges are generally disposed in 
 the direction from north to south, decreasing in height 
 towards Chittagong and the Lushai territory. They are 
 crossed by three main routes, one from Cachar, one from 
 Kohima in Assam, and one from Tammu on the Upper 
 Burma frontier, all converging in the Manipur valley, 
 which appears to be the bed of an old lacustrine basin, 
 now represented by the small Logtak Lake. 
 
 Owing to the general altitude the climate is relatively 
 temperate, with cool nights and mornings even in the 
 hottest season. The mean annual rainfall also scarcely 
 exceeds 39 or 40 inches, the moisture-laden clouds being 
 intercepted by the encircling hills, which on the north 
 and north-east frontier have a yearly discharge of 120 
 inches and upwards. Hence the slopes are clothed with 
 magnificent forests of teak, fir, bamboo, and many other 
 species, including the tea shrub, indigenous here as it is 
 generally in the uplands between India and China. 
 These forests afford cover to the elephant, tiger, leopard, 
 wild cat, bear, rhinoceros, buffalo, and several kinds of 
 deer. Snakes, though represented by many species, 
 appear to be for the most part harmless. There is a 
 strong, hardy breed of ponies, similar to that of Burma, 
 used as pack animals and mounts, as in the game of 
 polo, which, before its recent spread in India, was known 
 only in Manipur and Ladakh and neighbouring districts 
 at the opposite extremity of the Himalayas. 
 
 The inhabitants form two socially distinct groups — 
 the hillmen, scarely removed from the savage, state, and 
 the Manipuri proper, that is, the settled and civilised 
 population of the valley — collectively numbering about 
 a quarter of a million. In the north the hillmen are 
 not to be distinguished from the neighbouring Nagas, 
 while in the south they form a branch of the widespread
 
 IXDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 
 
 231 
 
 Kuki family. The Manipuri themselves are probably 
 members of the same family, though claiming Aryan 
 descent, and long Hinduised in religion. The language 
 is not Sanskritic, but of Tibeto-Burman stock, cultivated 
 
 MANIPURI HUT. 
 
 and written with a peculiar alphabet, derived, like the 
 Burmese itself, from the Devanagari. 
 
 British supremacy may be said to date from the year 
 1823, when the Indian Government restored Gumbhir 
 Sing, a member of the deposed Manipur family. 
 
 Lower Burma. 
 
 From the Chittagong district forming the south- 
 eastern limit of Bengal proper there stretches a terri-
 
 232 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 tory for about 1000 miles between the Bay of Bengal 
 on the west, and on the east Upper Burma and Siam 
 southwards to about the 10th parallel. This region, 
 which before the annexation of Upper Burma formed 
 the province of British Burma, consists entirely of 
 Burmese territory at various dates in the last century 
 ceded to the English. It comprises three divisions, 
 Arakan, Pegu, and Tenasserim, which completely shut 
 off Upper Burma from the sea, and about the 12th 
 parallel nearly reach across to the Gulf of Siam, be- 
 tween Siam proper and its lower province at the neck 
 of the peninsula of Malacca. In Malacca itself the 
 Straits Settlements, terminating at Singapore at its 
 southern extremity, continue the British domain almost 
 uninterruptedly round the Bay of Bengal to the Eastern 
 Archipelago. 
 
 Arakan, the northernmost division, presents from the 
 coast a fine appearance. The mountains, forming a 
 southern continuation of the Lushai hills, and clothed to 
 their summits with a rich forest vegetation, rise in a 
 succession of parallel ridges from the plains to a height 
 of from 5000 to 6000 feet. The plains themselves are of 
 small extent, being mostly either limited by offshoots of 
 the lower coast ranges, or else hemmed in by wooded 
 tracts, which on the coast consist exclusively of man- 
 grove trees. The lowlands are intersected by countless 
 streams from the hills, while the spring tides flood 
 extensive low-lying districts, forming a labyrinth of 
 channels and backwaters. These watercourses take the 
 place of highways, serving as a means of rapid inter- 
 course between the towns and villages. Mud volcanoes 
 occur both along the coast and on the neighbouring 
 islands, and coal, iron, and petroleum are found in many 
 places, while salt of a fine quality is obtained by 
 evaporation in the numerous tidal estuaries.
 
 INDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 233 
 
 Pegu comprises the region of the Lower Irawadi ami 
 Sittang rivers, which here form a common wide-branch- 
 ing delta, in its main features resembling that of the 
 Brahmaputra-Ganges. The land is mostly low, sandy, or 
 muddy, and in the wet season exposed to destructive 
 floods. But it is well suited for the cultivation of rice, 
 which is here produced in superabundance. Its trade 
 and industries are also furthered by the railways running 
 from Eangun through Prome, and along the Sittang to 
 the Upper Irawadi at Myitkyina above Bhamo. 
 
 The mountain system throughout the whole of this 
 coast region is of a very simple character, consisting of 
 regular and parallel ridges running uniformly north and 
 south, and forming water-partings between all the large 
 rivers, which thus find their way independently to the 
 Bay of Bengal. 
 
 For a portion of its lower course the Salwin forms the 
 border line between Siam and Tenasserim, the southern- 
 most of the three great divisions of Lower Burma. This 
 division, whose southern extremity approaches the insular 
 region of Malaysia, is itself fringed along its entire length 
 by a vast number of islands forming in the north the 
 Moscos, in the south the much larger Mergui Archipelago. 
 A few only of these little-known islands are inhabited, 
 chiefly by Burmese and Karens from the opposite main- 
 land. They are all hilly, with peaks 2000 to 3000 feet 
 high, and are often densely wooded with the caoutchouc 
 and other valuable trees. They are said to abound in 
 minerals, and are tenanted by the tiger, rhinoceros, deer, 
 and a great variety of reptiles. 
 
 South-east of Dumel Island, one of the largest 
 members of the Mergui Archipelago, is situated the 
 r.emarkable Bird's Nest or Elephant group, the Ye-ei- 
 "net-thaik of the Burmese, which consists of six marble 
 rocks, the largest and highest rising to an altitude of
 
 234 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 1000 feet. The precipitous sides of these limestone 
 islets are partly clothed with vegetation, including a 
 species of tree-fern projecting at all angles to a con- 
 siderable distance high above the surrounding waters. 
 But the chief feature are the birds' nest caves, gener- 
 ally opening into the sea below high-water mark. At 
 the head of a deep cave in the large island, a tunnel, 
 fretted with large stalactite knobs, leads into another 
 circular basin of crater-like aspect. Similar basins occur 
 elsewhere, and Commander Alfred Carpenter of the 
 Geological Survey of India thinks that these basins were 
 the floors of vast caverns at a time when the islands 
 were far higher than at present. The work of disintegra- 
 tion by moisture is still in progress, pulling down these 
 marble monuments of a giant age {Geo. Proc, 1888, 
 p. 303). 
 
 The eastern frontier of Tenasserim is formed by a 
 mountain range 5000 feet high, which again acts as a 
 water-parting between the Tenasserim and the Siamese 
 river systems. On the British side the chief river is the 
 Tenasserim, named from the capital, and flowing between 
 the hills and the coast, mainly south, for over 230 miles, 
 of which about 100 are navigable. 
 
 Upper Burma. 
 
 At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Burmese 
 empire was by far the largest and most powerful in Farther 
 India. It occupied nearly the whole of the Irawadi, 
 Sittang, and Salwin basins, with a coast-line stretching 
 for about 900 miles from the head of the Bay of Bengal 
 to the Isthmus of Krah. Since then a series of disastrous 
 wars with the English has caused the gradual loss of all 
 the coast regions — Arakan, Pegu, and Tenasserim — which 
 now constitute the flourishing province of Lower Burma.
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 235 
 
 Thus entirely cut off from the sea, the country remained 
 in a state of chronic trouble until the close of the year 
 1885, when King Thebaw, last of the native rulers, was 
 dethroned, and the administration of Independent Burma 
 taken over by the British authorities. 
 
 Within its limits at the time of the annexation the 
 late kingdom of Ava, as it was often called from one of 
 its ephemeral capitals, was hemmed in on the west 
 and south-west by British Burma, on the north-east 
 by the Chinese province of Yun-nan, on the south-east 
 by the kingdom of Siam. With an extreme length north 
 and south of about 500 miles, and a mean breadth 
 of 300 miles, it had a total area of about 190,000 
 square miles and a population of less than 4,000,000. 
 It is divided into three distinct sections — Burma proper, 
 between 24° 30' and 18° 50' N. latitude, inhabited by 
 the pure Burmese people; North Burma, occupied by 
 the Sing-fu and other semi-independent hill tribes ; and 
 the tributary Shan States to the east. All the Shan or 
 •Laos States stretch eastwards to the Mekhong valley ; 
 but those subject to Burma lie mainly between the 24th 
 and 20th parallels and between 97° to 101° E. long. 
 
 The Burmese rule, which was severely felt by the 
 districts in the proximity of Mandalay, the present seat 
 of government, became continually less oppressive as we 
 proceeded eastwards. In the north-east it was, so to say, 
 overlapped by the Chinese authority, so that it was here 
 often difficult to say where the one ceased and the other 
 began. In some districts the triennial tributevlue to the 
 Burmese Court consisted of such trifles as gilded wax 
 tapers, a little salt and tea, or perhaps a pair of em- 
 broidered shoes, a gold drinking-cup, a silver plume, or 
 suchlike tinsel, and these presents were sent by several 
 of the Shan districts both to China and Burma. The 
 dignity of " tsauwab " or " thabwa " — that is, feudal lord
 
 236 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 — is hereditary in all the ruling families, but the Bur- 
 mese Court conferred the investiture on each successive 
 lord, and designated the next heir. In the principalities, 
 ruled jointly by the Chinese and Burmese, both suzerains 
 generally came to an understanding in the choice of 
 the next heir ; but, in case of disagreement, two 
 chiefs were appointed, and fought it out. But since 
 the annexation of Burma several of these Shan States 
 have been transferred to Siam, and those lying east of the 
 Mekhong bend, which were to constitute the "Buffer State" 
 between the British and French possessions, have been 
 ceded to France by the Anglo-French treaty of January 
 1896. The claims of China have also been settled by the 
 Anglo-Chinese Convention of 1894, in virtue of which she 
 abandons her pretensions to the region north of Bhamo, 
 receiving in return the two important Shan States of 
 Monglem and Kianghung, between the Sal win and Mekhong 
 rivers, which were formerly subject to Burma. In this 
 convention the so-called tribute mission is not referred to, 
 the subject being allowed to drop by mutual consent. 
 
 As in other Indo-Chinese States, the white elephant 
 ranked in Burma next to royalty itself. This elephant 
 had a palace to himself, with a personal chamberlain 
 and estates in the most fertile cotton districts, besides 
 four gold umbrellas and a suite of thirty courtiers. 
 At the same time the expression " white elephant " is 
 extremely elastic, the colour being often of a dirty yellow, 
 or even brown, if only a few light specks can be shown 
 behind the ears, on the forehead or trunk. 
 
 The famous ruby mines of Burma, surveyed by Mr. 
 Bobert Gordon in 1887, lie in the Mogok district, about 
 40 miles from the left bank of the Irawadi, between 
 Mandalay and Bhamo, the nearest station by. the water 
 route being Thabyetkin, about 5 miles above Mandalay. 
 Mogok stands at an altitude of 4100 feet, and the sur-
 
 INDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 237 
 
 rounding ruby hills rise to heights of from 4800 to over 
 6000 feet. The mines are of three kinds: workings in 
 fissure veins of soft material embedded in the crevices of 
 the harder rock caused by shrinkage at a remote geologi- 
 cal epoch ; the Myaw, or washing, which corresponds on 
 a small scale with the hydraulic mining in California and 
 elsewhere ; lastly, the deposits on the flat-bottom lands 
 at depths of from 10 to 30 feet. It is difficult to account 
 for these deposits of nearly pure corundum, from a few 
 inches to a few feet in thickness, lying on a bed of earth 
 in which no stones occur, and covered by a similar layer 
 of porous earth. When brought to the surface the 
 corundum layer sparkles with myriads of rubies mostly 
 too small to be of any value, while the larger stones are 
 rarely free from flaws. Good, flawless stones, from three to 
 five carats in weight, are much more valuable than the best 
 diamonds of like weight ; a five-carat ruby may be worth 
 £3000, while a similar diamond will scarcely fetch more 
 than £300. The present value of the Burmese ruby- 
 fields has not yet been accurately determined. From 
 this source the late King Thebaw is believed to have 
 derived a revenue of from £12,500 to £15,000. 
 
 Siam. 
 
 From Burma and the region of the Irawadi we pass 
 eastwards to the basin of the Meinam, politically compris- 
 ing the kingdom of Siam or Tai — that is, of the " Free." 
 Siam occupies the heart of the Indo-Chinese peninsula 
 between the province of Burma on the west, Yun-nan on 
 the north, Annam and Cambodia on the east. South- 
 wards it includes the strip of territory between Tenas- 
 serim and the Gulf of Siam, as far as the Isthmus of 
 Krah, in 10° K latitude; and beyond this point all the 
 northern section of Malacca nearly to Perak.
 
 238 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Till the late 'nineties the eastern frontier coincided, or 
 was supposed to coincide, with the ill-defined crest of the 
 Amiamese coast range, giving the kingdom a breadth of 
 about 400 miles between the British and French pos- 
 sessions, but narrowing to 60 in the Malay Peninsula, 
 with an extreme length of at least 1000 miles north and 
 south, an area of 360,000 square miles, and a population 
 variously estimated at from 8,000,000 to 10,000,000. 
 It is, however, to be noticed that the frontiers of this 
 unstable kingdom have greatly varied at different periods 
 of its history. At one time they encroached westwards 
 on the conterminous Burmese districts, at another east- 
 wards on those of the ancient state of Cambodia, and at 
 all times were encircled northwards by several Shan 
 or Lao principalities, some independent, others tributary 
 either to Siam, Burma, or China. Such were Xieng-mai, 
 Labong, Lakhong, Pre\ Nan, and Luang-prabang, which 
 was the largest and most powerful of all the Lao States, 
 and before the Muhammadan revolt paid tribute both 
 to China and Siam. But most of these restless Lao 
 peoples, of the same race and speech as the Siamese 
 themselves, were constantly shifting their borders both 
 towards Siam and Burma till the year 1891, when the 
 boundary between these two kingdoms was delimited 
 towards the north-west by international treaties. But 
 the settlement, like others towards Cambodia and Cochin- 
 China on the east side, lasted only a very short time, and 
 in the year 1893 "a budget of fictitious grievances," 
 raised by the French Chauvinist party, and supported by 
 a blockade of the Siamese coast, the appearance of gun- 
 boats at Bangkok, and the seizure of Chantabun, com- 
 pelled the king to accept a treaty which involved a 
 partial dismemberment of the kingdom in favour of his 
 powerful and aggressive neighbour. The eastern frontier
 
 IXDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 239 
 
 was shifted westward to the right bank of the river 
 Mekhong, between Cambodia and Luang-Prabang, Siani 
 thus ceding the whole of the territory between the river 
 and the coast range, a region about 80,000 square miles 
 in extent, with a population vaguely estimated at some 
 two millions. From Luang-Prabang to the British 
 frontier the Mekhong, here running west and east, becomes 
 the northern boundary of Siam. But the little-known 
 region stretching northwards to China, and extending 
 from Tongkin westwards to British Burma, is not appro- 
 priated by France, but through the intervention of Eng- 
 land was reserved to form a future neutral zone or " Buffer 
 State " between Great Britain, China, France, and Siam, 
 the last-named thus sacrificing another slice of territory, 
 estimated at 20,000 square miles, with a population of 
 perhaps 1,000,000. Siam also withdraws all armed 
 vessels and military posts from the provinces of Battam- 
 bang and Siemreap, that is, from the Siamese section of 
 the lake district, Cambodia, and also from within 1 5 miles 
 of the right bank of the Mekhong below Luang-Prabang, 
 France to hold Chantabun until all the terms of the 
 treaty are complied with. The last-mentioned clauses 
 are a practical surrender of the Siamese Cambodian pro- 
 vinces and of the 15-mile zone along the right bank of 
 the Mekhong from Luang-Prabang southwards. A border- 
 land that cannot be held by military tenure is obviously 
 either given over to anarchy or to the control of the more 
 powerful conterminous State. Such an arrangement 
 could only be, as it was meant to be, temporary, and the 
 continued advances of the French in the Upper Mekhong 
 basin resulted in the Anglo-French treaty of January 
 1896, by which the proposed buffer state disappeared, 
 and the Mekhong became the boundary between the 
 British and French possessions from the Nam-Huok
 
 240 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 confluence right up to the Chinese frontier. At the 
 same time both contracting powers agreed to abstain 
 from further encroachments on the kingdom of Siam, 
 which, however, is thus practically reduced to the 
 Meinam basin and the northern section of the Malay 
 Peninsula, with a superficial area of about 200,000 
 square miles and a population of at most 5,000,000. 
 
 Siam proper consists mainly of the low-lying alluvial 
 basin of the Meinam and its numerous tributaries, 
 branches, and backwaters, which form an extensive 
 and intricate delta, like that of Cambodia, continually 
 advancing seawards. The northern background occupied 
 by the Lao or Shan States is a more or less hilly 
 country, which by the 1896 treaty has ceased to form 
 an integral part of the kingdom. Both sides of the 
 Meinam basin are skirted by densely-wooded terrace- 
 like ranges, forming the water-partings towards the 
 Salwin and Mekhong, but whose structure, form, and 
 general elevation were little known before the careful 
 official surveys of Mr. M'Carthy, and the expeditions of 
 Carl Bock, Lord Lamington, Prince Henry of Orleans, 
 and a few other travellers. Even still much of the 
 interior remains an almost unexplored wilderness, mostly 
 covered with dense tropical forests, and thinly inhabited 
 partly by semi-civilised Lao peoples, partly by semi- 
 independent wild tribes. 
 
 It results from Mr. M'Carthy's Government surveys 
 that Siam, within its rectified frontiers, is a far less 
 mountainous region than had hitherto been supposed. 
 The greater part, not only of the Meinam, but also of the 
 Mekhong basin within the Siamese borders, is described 
 as " mostly flat, diversified by isolated hills and broken 
 jagged ridges of limestone mountains." The former is an 
 extensive alluvial plain representing the waste of the 
 northern and western mountains, washed down by the
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 241 
 
 Meinam and its numerous head-waters, and gradually 
 rising from the Gulf of Siam northwards to a height of 
 less than 300 feet. Thus Saraburi, on the Nani-Sak, 70 
 miles north-east of Bangkok, is still only 46 feet above 
 sea-level, while Pechai, on the Nam-Pat, about 280 miles 
 north of the Gulf, has an altitude of not more than 260 
 feet. The rise to the foot of the northern hills would 
 therefore appear to be at the rate of rather less than 
 one foot per mile. Hence to a traveller ascending the 
 Meinam towards Rahaiig the country presents the aspect 
 of an uninterrupted level plain all the way to Chainat, 
 100 miles above Bangkok, where the monotony of the 
 scene is first broken by a few isolated hills. 
 
 The still more extensive eastern region draining to 
 the Mekhong is a moderately elevated plateau, at a mean 
 altitude of less than 600 feet, and nowhere rising above 
 700 feet except near the western hills, which form the 
 divide towards the Meinam basin, and at some points on 
 that section of the Mekhong, which flows west and east 
 below Chieng-Kan. Thus Korat, towards the southern 
 margin, and Nongkhai below Wieng-Chan on the Me- 
 khong, stand at the respective heights of 765 and 727 
 feet, while the intervening space of 283 miles falls 
 towards the centre, as at Pathai-Soang, as low as 450 
 feet. Hence this Siamese section of the Mekhoncr basin 
 is somewhat in the nature of a depression, where the 
 sluggish streams wander about with uncertain flow, 
 developing in many places extensive saline wastes and 
 swamps, or flooded lagoons, such as those of Nong-Han, 
 about 17° 10'N. lat. During the rainy season the whole 
 region " must be a perfect sea, judging from the water- 
 marks on the trees 4 feet up the trunk. There are 
 numerous swamps all over the country, and salt is pro- 
 cured in large quantities. It appears in the form of an 
 efllorescence on the surface of the ground, and on a 
 
 VOL. II R
 
 242 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 cool morning has all the appearance of a hoar frost " 
 (J. M'Carthy, Geo. Proc, 1888, p. 124). 
 
 Thus, in its present reduced limits, Siam consists 
 mainly of two vast level tracts, the alluvial Meinam basin 
 in the west and the slightly elevated Mekhong plateau in 
 the east. Westwards the Meinam plains are limited by 
 the long chain of mountains which forms the frontier 
 towards Burma, and which is continued in an unbroken 
 range to the southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula, 
 Some of the peaks between Siam and Burma have an 
 altitude of 7000 feet, and the system culminates in the 
 Siamese section of the Malay Peninsula in a summit 8000 
 feet high. 
 
 Northwards the Meinam is separated from the Me- 
 khong basin by an irregular orographic system, which 
 breaks away from the western range at a point north-east 
 of Chengmai. Here the divide is so ill-defined that before 
 Mr. McCarthy's surveys the head-waters of the Meinam 
 were commonly supposed to intermingle with the western 
 affluents of the Mekhong. In many places the sources 
 overlap, or approach so near as to appear continuous even 
 on a large scale map. The hills themselves are of low 
 elevation, scarcely anywhere rising to a height of 3000 
 feet. Nor do they form a clearly marked range running 
 west and east, but rather a series of short parallel ridges 
 disposed north and south, some of the intervening valleys 
 opening north in the direction of the Mekhong, others 
 draining south to the Meinam. 
 
 At present the chief wealth of Siam is derived from 
 the rich and well-watered alluvial plains of the Lower 
 Meinam, which yields magnificent crops of tobacco, sugar, 
 cotton, maize, indigo, and especially rice, the staple pro- 
 duct and chief export of the country. Pepper is largely 
 grown in the Shantabun district, and the forests of the 
 western and northern uplands contain many valuable
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 243 
 
 species, such as teak, sapan-wood, ebony, and rose- 
 wood. 
 
 In Malacca the dependent States are Quedah (Kedah), 
 Kalantan, Patani, Ligor, Talung, Tringanu, whose Malay 
 sultans pay merely a nominal tribute to Siam. In 1908 
 negociations were in progress for the cession of Tringanu 
 and Kalantan to Great Britain. 
 
 French Indo-China: Annam, Cambodia, Cochin-China. 
 
 East of Siam the remainder of the Indo-Chinese 
 peninsula is occupied by the protected State of Annam 
 in the east, and the French territory of Cochin- China with 
 the neighbouring vassal kingdom of Cambodia in the south. 
 
 The French have, since 1884, acquired direct or indirect 
 possession of the whole of the region between the Mekhong 
 river and the China Sea. For Annam with Tongkin has 
 by the treaties of 1884-86 become a French vassal State. 
 It consists of a comparatively narrow strip of coast-lands 
 stretching nearly due north and south between the China 
 Sea and the coast range skirting the left bank of the 
 Mekhong. It consists of three distinct sections — Tongkin, 
 or Dang-gnoi — that is, the " Eastern Land," watered by 
 the Song-ka, or Hong-kiang ; Cochin -China, or Dang- 
 kong — that is, the "Interior Land"; and Cliiampa, or 
 Tsiampa, in the extreme south-east corner of the penin- 
 sula. To these must also be added the domain of the semi- 
 independent wild tribes (Moi), and the section of the Lao 
 nation settled on the left bank of the Mekhong, who are 
 subject to Annam. Formerly Annam claimed jurisdiction 
 over Cambodia and the Mekhong delta, but all these 
 districts now form an integral part of French Indo-China, 
 which with the tracts ceded by Siam to France in 1907 
 has a total area of 256,000 square miles, and a population 
 estimated in 1908 at 21,500,000.
 
 244 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Annam proper, or Dang-kong, a narrow strip from 
 10 to 2Q miles wide, extends from about 12° N. on the 
 Chiampa frontier northwards to Tongkin. It is enclosed 
 on the west by bare hills covered with a very sparse vege- 
 tation. The domain of the Moi stretches west of this 
 province from about 10° to 16° N". Under the general 
 designation of Moi, the Annamese comprise all the 
 numerous hill tribes known to the Siamese as Kha, and 
 differing widely from each other in speech, type, and 
 usages. The land of the Laos subject to Annam lies north 
 of Cambodia and the Mekhong, and varies in breadth 
 from 20 to 24 miles. In the south and west are several 
 settled districts, but the east is an arid waste. The 
 plains are enclosed on the north by two ranges, and the 
 rivers are mere mountain torrents. Yet all the accounts 
 of recent travellers represent the country as in a pros- 
 perous state, inhabited by a peaceful and industrious 
 people living under the authority of patriarchal chiefs. 
 They cultivate the land, and have some silk and earthen- 
 ware manufactures. 
 
 Tongkin is very mountainous in the north, where it 
 presents the same general features as the neighbouring 
 Chinese provinces of Yun-nan and Kwang-si. The eastern 
 districts are almost flat, merging seawards in an exten- 
 sive alluvial plain. Most of the streams, which flow 
 mainly in a south-easterly direction, contain large quan- 
 tities of auriferous sands, the washing of which employs 
 thousands of hands. An old wall running along the 
 southern frontier towards Annam from the hills to the 
 coast has been rendered useless since the union of the 
 two States under one sovereign. Next to Korea, Tongkin 
 had persisted most obstinately in the exclusive system as 
 regards foreigners, and the policy even of the central 
 government had been to keep Tongkin in complete seclu- 
 sion from outward influences. But it was at last thrown
 
 IXD0-C1I1XA AXD MALACCA '245 
 
 open to the trade of the world by the commercial treaty 
 concluded between France and Annam in 1874. In 
 1885 the French protectorate was formally recognised by 
 China. 
 
 Tongkin is extremely fertile, and abounds in mineral 
 wealth of all kinds. As many as 14 gold, 7 silver, 3 
 copper, 1 tin, 17 iron, and 3 salt mines have already 
 been opened, while the extensive coal-fields, some reach- 
 ing down to the coast, still remain almost untouched. 
 But the vast resources of the country long remained 
 undeveloped, while it continued a prey to anarchy and 
 to the attacks of regularly-organised bands of marauders. 
 But under French regime peace has everywhere been 
 established with a corresponding growth of trade and 
 the industries. 
 
 The ancient kingdom of Cambodia, which formerly 
 comprised a large portion of Indo-China, has long been 
 restricted to the lower course of the Mekhong between 
 Lake Tonle-sap and the delta. Till recently it even stood 
 for some time in the position of a vassal State to Siam. 
 But since the French occupation of Lower Cochin-China 
 the king of Cambodia has transferred his allegiance to 
 France. His territory forms an extensive and exceed- 
 ingly fertile alluvial plain watered by the Mekhong, the 
 great Lake Tonle - sap, and their numerous affluents, 
 branches, and connecting channels. The plain is diversi- 
 fied in the west by isolated hills and short ridges, and 
 is confined in the north by the Phnom Dongrek range. 
 The space between this range and the northern shores of 
 the lake is strewn with the stupendous ruins of Angkor 
 Wat (properly Naklion Wat) and many other remains, 
 which still attest the former greatness of the Cambo- 
 dian empire, when it formed one of the chief centres 
 of Hindu culture in the East. These monuments, 
 which since 1007 are included in French territory,
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 247 
 
 contain vast archaeological and architectural treasures, 
 which have in recent years been carefully studied by 
 Aymonnier, Delaponte, and other French antiquarians. 
 From their researches, as well as from the inscriptions, 
 some of which have already been deciphered, it appears 
 that these monuments, covering a space of no less than 
 20 square miles, date from different periods between 
 700 and 1100 a.d. They were originally dedicated, not 
 to snake worship nor to Buddhism, as had long been 
 supposed, but to pure Brahmanism, although after the 
 introduction of Buddhist teachings many images of 
 •Hindu deities were replaced by statues of Buddha. 
 The materials employed are a coarse porous red stone 
 for the substructures, a hard fine-grained sandstone for 
 the sculptures, and good durable bricks for the later 
 buildings. Collectively they form "the most remarkable 
 collection of ruins in the world, whether we regard the 
 prodigious magnitude of the ground-plan, the grandiose 
 dimensions of the principal palaces and temples, or the 
 artistic beauty and delicacy of the bas-reliefs and sculp- 
 tures " (Curzon). 
 
 The erection of these monuments, of which there are 
 seven distinct groups, is attributed by some French 
 authorities to the Khmers, a people of Aryan stock, 
 who arrived overland from India, conquered the country, 
 and founded the Cambodian empire, afterwards disappear- 
 ing, or becoming absorbed in the present Cambodian 
 population. But there is no record of any such Aryan 
 invasion of this region, and in all probability the in- 
 vaders were simply Hindu missionaries, who settled in 
 the Mekhong basin, and introduced Aryan culture and 
 orderly government amongst the rude inhabitants of 
 Cambodia, as they did in other parts of Indo-China, as 
 well as of Malaysia, as still attested by the marvellous 
 remains of Ayuthia in Siam, of Pagan in Burma, and of
 
 248 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Borobodo in Java. It is to be noted that Khmer is and 
 always has been the national name of the Cambodians 
 themselves, and that they were almost certainly the 
 builders of these monuments under the guidance of 
 their Hindu teachers. They belong to the same in- 
 digenous stock as the neighbouring Kuy, to whom they 
 give the name of Khmer -dom, that is, " original Khmers," 
 and who dwell chiefly to the north of the Great Lake 
 about the frontiers of Cambodia and Siam. These Kuy, 
 though regarded as wild tribes, possess a considerable 
 degree of culture, and are specially noted for their skill 
 as workers in iron. They speak various dialects of a 
 primitive language, which is also common to the Cam- 
 bodians, but which is neither " Aryan " nor yet in any 
 way related to the Siamese, Annamese, or to any other 
 member of the Indo-Chinese linguistic family. These 
 are all toned languages, and mostly monosyllabic, with 
 no grammatical inflections, whereas Khmer is polysyllabic 
 and spoken without tones. No "Khmers of Aryan 
 speech " are known to history or tradition, and none 
 are needed to account for the monumental remains of 
 Cambodia, any more than for those, for instance, of Java. 
 Cambodia has an extreme length of 240 miles north and 
 south, with a breadth of 180 miles, a total area of 37,000 
 square miles, and a population (1906) of 1,500,000. 
 
 French Cochin- Ch ina. 
 
 The French colony of Lower Cochin-China, which has 
 become the centre of political power east of Siam, comprises 
 the whole of the hot and marshy Mekhong delta. It con- 
 sists of six provinces detached in 1863 from Annam, and 
 now administered by the French marine department. 
 It has an area of some 22,000 square miles of extremely 
 fertile land, with a population (1906) of 2,968,000.
 
 IXDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 249 
 
 TJie Malay Peninsula — The Straits Settlements. 
 
 The Malay Peninsula stretches from 13° 45' X. first 
 southwards to 8° 50' X., and thence south-eastwards to 
 Cape Eomania in 1° 35' X. The angle thus formed is 
 marked by the Isthmus of Krah, which is about 3000 
 feet above sea - level. South of this point rise the 
 Malacca mountains, whose irregular masses fill the whole 
 of the peninsula to its southern extremity. It has an 
 extreme length of about 900 miles, with an area of 
 55,000 and a population of over 2,230,000. The 
 northern section, with an area of 27,000 square miles, 
 and a population of 450,000, is held by petty Malay 
 States tributary to Siam. All the rest is occupied partly 
 by the British possessions, collectively known as the 
 Straits Settlements, partly by a number of Malay States, 
 which have accepted the British protectorate. 
 
 The Straits Settlements, which lie scattered along the 
 west coast, include the province of Wellesley, Malacca, and 
 the two important islands of Singapore and Pulo-Penang. 
 Of the protected States the most important are Perak 
 (Perah), Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, and Johor. 
 
 The interior of the peninsula, which consists of 
 magnificent wooded ranges, intersected by numerous 
 fertile river valleys, is still imperfectly known. But a 
 systematic survey of Perak and the neighbouring districts 
 was begun in 1879 by H. S. Deane, who determined the 
 height of the Shin (6000 to 7000 feet) and Titi Wangsu 
 (7000) ranges, and ascended the navigable Eiver Plus, a 
 tributary of the Perak, for 50 miles to the Jeram Dina 
 rapids. 
 
 In Perak the culminating point appears to be 
 Gunong Kerban (7127 feet), which was ascended in 
 1892 by Mr. G. A. Lefroy, chief surveyor of the Stale 
 Following the course of the Kinta Eiver, here flowing at
 
 250 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 a level of about 1000 feet above the sea, the explorer 
 made the ascent from Batu Shallek, which stands about 
 3400 feet above the sea. Up to a height of about 5000 
 feet Kerban consists of grey granite rocks and boulders, 
 with a shallow soil. Above 5000 feet the granite is 
 overlaid by a schistose formation, which is being rapidly 
 removed by denudation. The evidence of numerous 
 
 PEKAN IN PAHANG. 
 
 landslips in the neighbourhood would point to the fact 
 that the summit was much higher in past ages than it is 
 at present. The crest, in fact, is the remains of a 
 secondary formation, traversed by several quartz veins, 
 which has now disappeared, except on the tops of the 
 higher mountains, and on some isolated hills in the low- 
 lying Larut district. The highest point of the peninsula 
 appears to be Gunong Tahan (7500 to 8000 feet), which 
 lies about the sources of the Kelantan river, and was 
 ascended by Mr. Waterstradt in 1901.
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 251 
 
 There are altogether over 1200 miles of water trans- 
 port, and this region excels in the extent of its forest 
 lands available for plantations. In a total of 5,000,000 
 acres, fully 200,000 are well suited for the cultivation 
 of tea, coffee, cinchona, and indigo. The chief mineral is 
 tin, of which there seem to be vast deposits. Tin also 
 abounds in other parts of the peninsula, and the rich 
 mines of the island of Thalang (Junkse) T lon) on the west 
 coast, about 8° 1ST., employed over 30,000 Chinese hands 
 till 1872, when the works were partly abandoned. 
 
 But a much more important island is Pulo-Penang 
 (" Prince of Wales "), which lies off the coast of the 
 British province of Wellesley at the northern entrance of 
 Malacca Strait. Although scarcely 15 miles long by 7 
 broad, such is the fertility of its soil that it produces 
 large quantities of rice, pepper, cloves, nutmegs, betel, 
 cotton, tobacco, tea, coffee, sugar, and cocoa-nuts. 
 
 At the southern entrance of Malacca Strait, and close 
 to the mainland, lies the little island of Singapore, which, 
 since its occupation by the English in 1819, has become 
 one of the great centres of trade in the East. Formerly 
 almost entirely uncultivated, it is now covered with 
 pepper, sugar, rice, sago, and gambier plantations, on 
 which a large number of Chinese coolies are employed, 
 lint the rapid progress of Singapore is clue not so much 
 to its agricultural produce as to its geographical position 
 on the great trade route between India and China, com- 
 bined with the enlightened policy and liberal institutions 
 of its present rulers. 
 
 The Straits Settlements have a total area of about 
 1G00 square miles, with a mixed Malay and Chinese 
 population (1901) of 611,790.
 
 252 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Johor. 
 
 For a very full account of the Sultanate of Johor 
 with the dependent territory of Moar (Muar), we are 
 indebted to Mr. Harry Lake, engineer in the service of 
 the Sultan, by whom the whole region was surveyed and 
 mapped in the years 1890-92. Johor, which occupies 
 the extremity of the peninsula as far north as about 3° 1/ 
 K latitude, has an area of over 9000 square miles, but 
 being still mostly under primeval forest, the population 
 scarcely exceeds 200,000. As in the rest of the 
 peninsula, the coast-lands are bold and rocky on the 
 east side facing the China Sea, low and swampy on 
 the west along the Strait of Malacca. The interior 
 forms in many places a continuous mass of dense jungle, 
 the low-lying marshy tracts, rising grounds and uplands, 
 being all alike clothed with a rank growth of tropical 
 vegetation, " so thick and closely interlaced with thorny 
 creepers and rattans, that it becomes almost impossible 
 to move a yard in any direction without previously 
 cutting a path. Even on the smaller rivers the foliage 
 and creepers will stretch entirely across from bank to 
 bank, and a way must be cut for canoes to pass under, 
 whilst the river-bed is full of snags and fallen timber, 
 which have to be hacked through or moved before a 
 passage can be effected" (Lake, Geographical Journal, 
 April 1894, p. 283). 
 
 The prevailing geological formation is granite, tra- 
 versed here and there by quartz veins and dykes of 
 intrusive diorites, quartz felsites, and trachytes, and 
 overlaid by clays, clay shales, and beds of laterite, the 
 clays being non-fossiliferous, and probably of palaeozoic 
 origin. Gold occurs in Moar, and iron ores are widely 
 diffused, while the tin deposits, less abundant than 
 farther north, are entirely alluvial. It is noteworthy
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 253 
 
 that, as elsewhere in the Malay Peninsula, the hills of 
 Johor give no indication of the presence of tin oxide in 
 situ, that is, in distinct veins traversing the native rock. 
 The ores yield from a few ounces to as much as 50 or 
 60 lbs. per cubic yard ; but mining operations are carried 
 on in a somewhat primitive manner almost exclusively 
 by Chinese. 
 
 Unlike other parts of the peninsula, Johor proper is 
 not a mountainous region, the main central ranges here 
 breaking into small isolated groups of hills, and culmin- 
 ating in the Blumut group (3100 feet) in the centre of 
 the territory. But the neighbouring district of Moar, 
 politically attached to Johor in 1877, is much more 
 hilly and elevated. Here "Mount Ophir," properly 
 Gunung Ledang, rises to a height of 4150 feet in the 
 midst of a small group of hills, at one time supposed to 
 be the highest land in the peninsula. But Gunung 
 Tahan, and several other peaks farther north, are now 
 known to tower some thousand feet above Ophir, which 
 was so named by the early European adventurers every- 
 where in search of the Biblical Mount Ophir. The 
 district is certainly auriferous, and has yielded consider- 
 able quantities of gold ; but the alluvial deposits are 
 now all but exhausted, while reef-mining, lately intro- 
 duced, has hitherto yielded but poor returns. It has 
 been proposed to make Ophir more accessible by a 
 bridle-path, and establish a health resort for the residents 
 of Singapore, Johor, and Malacca, on the summit, which 
 enjoys a good climate, abundant water, and a splendid 
 view of the surrounding region. 
 
 Of the inhabitants of Johor over 150,000, or fully 
 two-thirds, are Chinese, engaged mainly in mining and 
 agricultural pursuits. They chiefly cultivate pepper and 
 gambier, which, witli rubber and gutta, form the staple 
 products of the country. Gambier, which is used both
 
 254 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 for tanning purposes and as a brown dye, is prepared 
 from the foliage of Uncaria gambir, a climbing plant 
 widely diffused throughout Malaysia. After boiling for 
 some hours the liquor is strained and hardened in cool- 
 ing to a bright yellow clay-like mass, which is cut into 
 cubes, and in this state exported. The trade of Johor, 
 which has steadily increased in recent years, is carried 
 on almost exclusively with Singapore, the great dis- 
 tributor of the produce of the Malay Peninsula. In 
 1906 over 23,500 tons of gambier and 9500 of pepper 
 were exported, besides copra, coffee, tea, areca nuts, rattans, 
 resins, timber, gutta, rubber, and tin, the chief imports 
 being rice (about 50,000 tons annually), salt, fish, sugar, 
 tobacco, hardware, and Manchester goods. 
 
 Although theoretically autocratic, the government of 
 Johor has assumed under the present enlightened ruler 
 almost a constitutional character. Abubakar, hereditary 
 Temenggong (chief) of Johor, w T as recognised by the 
 British Government in 1855 as the de facto sovereign 
 of the State; in 1868 he took the title of Maharaja, 
 which by the treaty of 1885 was changed to that of 
 Sultan. He thus represents the rulers of the former 
 powerful State of Malacca, whose records date from the 
 beginning of the thirteenth century, when the reigning 
 prince, Mahmud Shah, adopted the faith of Islam, and 
 took the title of Sultan. Abubakar, who visited England 
 in 1866, 1878, and 1886, may, in fact, on historic 
 grounds, claim to be the heir of those princes, for Sultan 
 Ahmed, when expelled by the Portuguese from Malacca 
 in 1511, withdrew first to Moar and then to Johor. 
 During the long straggle of 140 years between the 
 Portuguese and the Dutch for the possession of Malacca, 
 Johor took a prominent part, the seat of government 
 being at that time established at Johor Lama on the 
 Johor River. But in 1855 the capital was removed
 
 IXDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 255 
 
 to Johor Bahru, "New Johor," a town of about 15,000 
 inhabitants, pleasantly situated on the Strait of Tebrau, 
 15 miles north-west of Singapore. "Facing the sea is 
 the Istana Laut, the principal residence of the Sultan, a 
 long two-storied building, fitted up with every European 
 comfort and luxury, and looking deliciously fresh and 
 cool in the glaring sunlight. Well-laid-out roads, an 
 esplanade over a mile long, large airy hospitals, water- 
 works and wharves, all testify to the enlightened and 
 energetic administration of the present ruler" (Lake, 
 loc. cit.). 
 
 Abubakar's successor, Ibrahim, is assisted by a 
 Council of State, and the various departments are 
 organised on the model of a British Crown Colony. 
 The Sultan has accepted the British protectorate in 
 so far that, in virtue of the treaty of 1885, the 
 country is controlled by Great Britain in its foreign 
 relations. 
 
 5. Climate. 
 
 Owing to its position between two oceans, and almost 
 entirely within the tropics, the climate of Further India 
 may be described as normally hot, moist, and relaxing, and 
 about the large deltas distinctly enervating and malarious. 
 There is scarcely any cold season except on the northern 
 uplands towards the Tibeto- Chinese frontier, and the 
 rainfall, due mainly to the south-west monsoons, from 
 April to October, ranges from about 90 inches in Singa- 
 pore to over 200 in parts of Burma. Owing to this 
 abundant rainfall the Irawadi is a copious river even 
 before emerging from the last Tibetan highlands, and this, 
 more than any other circumstance, has lent a colour to 
 the theory of its connection with the San-po. 
 
 In the Lower Meinam and Mekhong valleys, notwith-
 
 256 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 standing the excessive heat, the atmosphere remains 
 charged with an unusual quantity of moisture both day 
 and night throughout the greater part of the year. To 
 this cause are due the many diseases, such as dysentery 
 and typhoid fevers, which are here endemic. Exposure 
 to the solar rays is also frequently attended by fatal 
 sunstrokes, although the cholera, which is also endemic, 
 commits less ravages than might be expected. The climate 
 of French Cochin-China and Cambodia seems even to have 
 become less fatal to Europeans of late years. Here the 
 rainfall is scarcely more than 54 inches, while the 
 temperature at Saigon averages about 80° F., the extremes 
 being 75° and 95°, as results from the observations re- 
 corded between the years 1874 and 1881. 
 
 Notwithstanding its proximity to the equator, Malacca 
 would seem to be, on the whole, rather cooler and drier 
 than Indo-China proper. Thus the temperature of the 
 Malacca district at the southern extremity of the penin- 
 sula is described as salubrious and equable, the glass 
 ranging between 72° and 85° F. Even in Singapore and 
 the province of Wellesley it is said seldom to rise above 
 87° or 88° F., and although very damp, the climate of 
 Singapore agrees well with Europeans. On the other 
 hand, that of Pulo-Penang is very oppressive and ener- 
 vating, with a rainfall varying from 60 to 90 inches. 
 The winter months are here the driest, and the northern 
 winds the coolest and most invigorating. 
 
 In the Malay Peninsula the climatic relations are 
 largely determined by its marine position, exposing it to 
 the influence both of the north-east monsoon, which 
 blows steadily from November to April, and of the south- 
 west monsoon prevailing from May to October. The 
 latter is less regular, veering round to west and even to 
 south-east, and at times shifting from day to day. It is 
 also much warmer and somewhat moister than the
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 257 
 
 north-eastern monsoon, which is relatively cold and 
 healthy. In the extreme south (Johor and Singapore) 
 the mean annual temperature is stated to be 80° F. 
 by the Dato Abdul Rahman, who adds that although 
 India is many degrees higher in latitude, Johor is a 
 much cooler region. " Johor and Singapore have been 
 called the Paradise of India" (Geographical Journal, 
 April 1894, p. 298). 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna. 
 
 Owing to its hot and moist climate and naturally 
 fertile soil, the vegetation of the Indo-Chinese peninsula 
 scarcely yields in exuberance and variety to that of the 
 neighbouring archipelagoes. A great part of the surface 
 is still everywhere covered with dense primeval forests, 
 in which teak, eaglewood, gum-trees, the gutta-percha 
 plant, bamboo, dye-woods, cardamum, vanilla, and many 
 other useful tropical plants, are found in great abundance. 
 The staple of agriculture is rice, of which vast quantities 
 are produced, especially in the Irawadi, Meinam, and 
 Mekhong valleys. Other cultivated plants are cotton, 
 tobacco, indigo, the areca palm, the sugar-cane, cloves, cin- 
 namon, coffee, tea, sago, pepper, ginger, besides maize, 
 wheat, and tropical fruits in endless variety and abundance. 
 Such are the jack-fruit, mango, mulberry, tamarind, letch i, 
 bread-fruit, orange, lemon, and pine-apple. Vegetables 
 are less varied, the most generally cultivated being sweet 
 potatoes, beans, radishes, and onious. In Cambodia the 
 hills are overgrown with vanilla, various species of 
 caoutchouc, many oil, gum, and lacquer yielding plants. 
 In north Malacca there is a species of nettle (Urtica 
 heterophylla) which sets up an intense irritation that can be 
 allayed only by the heat of a tire, bathing in a stream being 
 fatal. So the natives reported to Mr. Warington Smyth. 
 
 VOL. II S
 
 258 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Of larger wild animals the most common are the 
 elephant, tiger, leopard, wild boar, rhinoceros, and crocodile. 
 The gibbon and other large species of apes, snakes, and birds 
 abound in all the wooded districts, while the rivers and 
 especially Lake Tonle-sap teem with every variety of fish. 
 The chief domestic animals are the buffalo, ox, and horse, 
 besides the tame elephant, which, contrary to the generally 
 received opinion, breeds in confinement (Dr. Harmand). 
 
 Of bird and insect life in Johor (Malay Peninsula) 
 Mr. Harry Lake gives a vivid description. " Birds of 
 every size and colour, from the tiny, bronze-green sun- 
 bird, and the blue and orange kingfisher, to the big 
 crimson -beaked black hornbill, rise from the trees. 
 Insect life swarms in myriads; dragon -flies of bronze, 
 blue, purple, and vermillion, and butterflies in every 
 shade _ of yellow, from pale primrose to orange, delicate 
 rose -pink and bright crimson, are in endless variety. 
 Now and then a lizard or snake will glide away in the 
 dense undergrowth, while troops of monkeys chatter and 
 skurry off, crashing through the trees, and taking break- 
 neck leaps from branch to branch in their haste to 
 escape the intruders. On each side is primeval forest, 
 huge trees loaded with creepers drooping in a thousand 
 fantastic shapes, dark green foliage, yellow sand and 
 elear water, overhead a blue sky and blazing sunshine. 
 But let a cloud obscure the sun, and the whole aspect 
 changes ; the trees and water look sombre, the birds 
 and butterflies vanish " (Geogi'aphical Journal, April 
 1894, p. 288). 
 
 Amongst the larger fauna of the Malay Peninsula 
 are the tiger, of smaller size, but as powerfully built as 
 his Indian congener ; the leopard, or " starry tiger," as the 
 natives call him, now exceedingly rare ; the wau-wau, or 
 white-handed gibbon, keeping to the tops of the highest 
 trees ; the broh, or pig-tailed monkey ; the black lotang
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 259 
 
 species (Semnojnthecus obscurus) ; the elephant, rhinoceros, 
 bison, tapir, sanibur, and other deer, — some, such as the 
 kijang, of diminutive size. On the other hand, very 
 large monitor lizards are met, as well as crocodiles from 
 18 to 20 feet lona 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The SJians, Laos, and Siamese — The 
 Annamese and Cambodians. 
 
 Till recently Indo-China proper was supposed to be 
 exclusively occupied by peoples of Mongoloid stock, 
 allied in speech to the Tibetan and Chinese branches of 
 that family. But the systematic researches of the 
 French naturalists carried on in the Mekhong valley 
 during the last thirty years have determined the pres- 
 ence in that region of a second ethnical element 
 apparently of Caucasic type, and speaking languages akin 
 to those of the Malayo-Polynesian linguistic family. The 
 Malay race itself has been settled probably from pre- 
 historic times in Malacca, while the true aborigines of 
 this peninsula seem to be a dark race akin to the 
 Negritoes of the Eastern Archipelago, and of which a few 
 surviving tribes still linger in the interior of the country. 
 All the inhabitants of Indo-China, taken in its widest 
 sense, are thus reducible to four distinct groups, as 
 
 under : — 
 
 (a) Mongoloid Stock. 
 
 Khakhun ; Maran . . "1 Upper Irawadi basin 
 
 ( Khakhun ; Maran . . ~j Upp 
 
 Kakhyen 
 
 (h,,, - lo > * Uataung; Lepei 
 ,, i • I Lushai (Dzo) 
 
 JVUK1 . . ^ chin ( Shendu ) 
 
 Rakhaingtha ( " Mugs ") 
 
 f Sgau ; Pwo . 
 
 ,. Bghai ; Tali 
 
 Karen . 
 
 Kiiini 
 
 I 
 
 Mopgha 
 Tungthua 
 
 Awa Kuini 
 
 above Bbamo; east 
 J to Moniein. 
 | Hill Tracts, North 
 J Burma. 
 
 Arakan Plains . . 500,000 
 
 -SArakan Hills, | ? 
 
 I J enassf] irn . . ) 
 
 J Koladyne River, N. Arakan ? 20,000
 
 260 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Taking (Mon) 
 Burmese 
 
 K | Shan 
 
 3 < Siamese 
 
 'a I Lao 
 H \ 
 
 Tongkinese . 
 
 Annamese 
 
 Unclassified 
 wild tribes 
 
 Pegu . . 
 I Tenasserim. Burma 
 \Pegu, Arakan 
 
 J 
 
 500,000 
 2,750,000 
 
 . ~\ Shan States, North Burma, North 
 . / Siam, and Yun-nan 
 . Meinam basin. 
 fLau-pang-kah^ Middle course Mekhong River. 
 (Lau-pang-dun J North and East Siam. 
 Tongkin. 
 Cochin-China. 
 
 -Siam, Cambodia, and Annam frontiers. 
 
 /Tai-shan 
 '\Tai-neua 
 
 (Moi 1 
 J Kha 1 
 I Phnom 
 
 (b) Cattcasic Stock. 
 
 Khmer (Cambodians) 
 
 Khmer-dom (Kuy) 
 
 Samre 
 
 Charay 
 
 Stieng 
 
 Cham 
 
 Chong 
 
 Cambodia, 
 
 Cambodia and Siamese frontier. 
 
 South Lao, near Cambodian frontier. 
 
 1 Annamese and Cambodian frontier. 
 
 Southernmost districts of Annam. 
 South-east Siam, Gulf of Siam. 
 
 Orang Malayu 
 ("Malay Men ") 
 
 Orang Benua 
 ' Men of the Soil 
 
 Orang Laut 
 ("Sea Men") 
 
 Sam-Sams 
 
 (c) Malay Stock. 
 
 /The civilised Malays, dominant throughout the 
 
 \ Malay Peninsula. 
 
 ( The Malay wild tribes, constituting an aboriginal 
 ,-! element intermingled with the Negritoes in the 
 ' { more inaccessible parts of the peninsula. 
 
 /•The semi-civilised floating populations of the straits 
 and inland waters, formerly corsairs, now fishers 
 
 | and sailors; are the "Sea Gipsies" of early 
 
 y English writers. 
 
 I Malayo-Siamese half-breeds about the borders of 
 
 \ Siam proper and Malayland. 
 
 Samangs 
 
 Sakeis 
 Jakuns 
 Besisi 
 Mentras 
 
 (d) Negrito Stock. 
 
 A dwarfish black race, with woolly hair and extreme prog- 
 nathism, scattered in small groups over the wooded up- 
 lands, mostly keeping aloof, but in places intermingled with 
 the Orang Benua ; are the true aborigines of the peninsula, 
 and the only distinctly Negro people still surviving on the 
 Asiatic mainland. 
 
 1 Moi is the Annamese, K7ia the Laotian and Siamese, Phnom or Penorn the Cam- 
 bodian collective name for all these aboriginal wild tribes, which seem to belong 
 partly to the Mongol, partly to the Caucasic stock.
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 261 
 
 The Kakhyais, Chins, and Lushai. 
 
 From the recent researches of Jenkins, Sladen, Forbes, 
 Errol Gray, Elliot, and others, in Xorth Burma, it appears 
 that the Singfo and Kakhyens, hitherto regarded as 
 two distinct races, are really one and the same people. 
 Although split up into a great number of small tribes, 
 they everywhere call themselves Singfo, properly Chang- 
 paw, that is, "men," but are always spoken of by the 
 Burmese as Kakhyen (Kachin). This is again the same 
 word as Karen, another form of Bakhaing, whence the 
 province of Arakan takes its name. The Singfo claim to 
 be the elder branch of the Burmese family, and although 
 before the annexation nominally subject to the " wun," 
 or governor of Magong, they paid little heed to his 
 mandates, and on all occasions showed contempt and 
 aversion for their " younger brothers," the civilised Bur- 
 mese. They reach eastwards as far as Momein, and are 
 generally regarded as a savage, unruly, and treacherous race. 
 Major Sladen, however, found them friendly and intelli- 
 gent, although extremely suspicious of strangers. They 
 are active traders, and would willingly abandon their law- 
 less and predatory habits were regular commercial rela- 
 tions established across their country between Assam and 
 China. Their religion consists mainly in the worship of 
 good and evil spirits {Nats), to whom they offer sacri- 
 fices. Mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, the sun and 
 moon themselves, are under the influence of these Nats, 
 who seem to be sometimes confounded with the spirits of 
 the departed. 
 
 Despite their claim to be regarded as Burmese, the 
 Kachins are said to be a northern branch of the Karens, 
 who originally dwelt near the Khamti country in a terri- 
 tory regarded as the cradle of the Karen race. The oldest 
 descendants of this stock are stated to be the Mariss,
 
 262 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Lataung, Lepei, Nkum, and Maran tribes. But at pre- 
 sent the most powerful are the Khakhus, that is, " Eiver- 
 head " people (Kha = river, Khu = head), so-called because 
 tlieir domain lies about the iSTam-Tisang, Pungsan-Kha, and 
 other head-waters of the western fork of the Irawadi. 
 Formerly the Kachin villages were ruled by a hereditary 
 Sawbwa, or chief, whose subjects were obliged to cultivate 
 his lands without pay. They were also oppressed by so 
 many other burdens that about 1870 a revolution broke 
 out, resulting in the massacre or deposition of many 
 Sawbwas, who were replaced by Akyis or Salangs (head- 
 men). The villages without Sawbwas are now called 
 Kamlao ("rebel"), in contradistinction to the Kamsa 
 communities still under Sawbwas. 
 
 Much trouble has been caused by the change, the 
 Kamlao villages being practically so many petty republics, 
 in which the headmen exercise little or no power over 
 the unruly classes. But the villages near the Chinese 
 frontier are said to be already tired of the lawlessness 
 prevailing under the new order,- and are now treating for 
 the return of their Sawbwas. On the other hand, the 
 Chinese element is pressing hard on these aborigines, and 
 immigrants from Yun-nan are settling in continually in- 
 creasing numbers in the Kachin domain, both as traders 
 and agriculturists. Some have even penetrated west of 
 the Xam-Kiu branch of the Irawadi, and these are chiefly 
 engaged in collecting rubber, making salt, and gold- 
 washing. They are said to have arrived about 1890 from 
 China at the invitation of a local Sawbwa (Lieutenant 
 Elliot's Report). 
 
 To the same ethnical group as the Kakhyens un- 
 doubtedly belong the Chins and the Lushai, who give 
 their names to the Hill Tracts. This region lies generally 
 between latitudes 21° and 24° north, and longitudes 92°- 
 94° east, the conterminous territories being Manipur and
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 263 
 
 Cachar in the north and north-west, Arakan and Chita- 
 gong in the west, and Burma proper in the south and 
 east. A series of parallel mountain ridges extending 
 about 400 miles north and south, with an extreme 
 breadth of 260 miles, covers the whole surface, and in 
 many places rises to an altitude of over 9000 feet. This 
 excessively rugged territory, almost unknown before the 
 annexation of Upper Burma, has since been traversed in 
 every direction by the various military expeditions, which 
 have been engaged in reducing the lawless hill tribes to 
 order between the years 1886-98. 
 
 As might be expected from its general relief, the 
 Chin-Lushai country " embraces every variety of physical 
 features and climate, from the dense and deadly jungles 
 below, through the tangled mazes of which the ponderous 
 elephant and rhinoceros push their way, to the invigorat- 
 ing summits crowned with pines, where the sheen of the 
 pheasant's wing catches the eye, as, with lightning speed, 
 he skims down the mountain side. People this region 
 with dusky tribes, almost as numerous in dialect and 
 designation as the villages in which they live, owning no 
 central authority, possessing no written language, obeying 
 but the verbal mandates of their chiefs, hospitable and 
 affectionate in their homes, unsparing of age or sex while 
 on the war-path, untutored as the remotest races of Central 
 Africa, and yet endowed with an intelligence which has 
 enabled them to discover for themselves the manufacture 
 of gunpowder." * 
 
 Despite the multiplicity of names by which these 
 aborigines call themselves, or are called by their neigh- 
 bours, they all appear to belong to the same ethnical 
 family as the Nagas of South Assam, the Abors of North 
 Assam, and the Kakhyens of the highlands on the Chinese 
 frontier. The Kuki, that is, " Hill-men," as they are 
 
 1 Surg. -Lieut. -Col. A. S. Reid, Chin-Lushai Land, Calcutta, 1893, p. 2
 
 264 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 collectively called by the Bengalese lowlanders, form two 
 geographically distinct groups — (1) The Dzo (Zao), better 
 known as Lushed, or head-cutters (lu = head, sha — to cut), 
 west of the Koladyne ; (2) The Lai, better known as Chin 
 (Khyen), or Shendu, east of that river. 
 
 Before the annexation, the Lushai raided into British, 
 the Chins into Burmese, territory, as far east as the 
 Chin-dwin (Khyen-dwen) affluent of the Irawadi, and it 
 would appear that this river was so called because it 
 formed the limit of Chin incursions into the Irawadi 
 valley. Hence it is that the Chins were unknown to 
 the English till quite recently, whereas the Lushai had 
 already been heard of in the days of Warren Hastings. 
 " The first record of the raids of these savages dates from 
 1777, when the chief of Chittagong, a district which 
 had been ceded to the British under Clive by Mir Kisim 
 in 17G0, applied for a detachment of sepoys to protect 
 the inhabitants against the incursions of the Kukis, as 
 they were then called " (A. S. Beicl, p. 7). In later 
 expeditions frequent mention occurs of the Baungshes, 
 Soktes or Paites, Looes, Kabui, and many others, all of 
 whom belong to the same Kuki group, although often 
 differing in dress, customs, and even speech. As amongst 
 the Nagas, a great variety of dialects prevails, and these, 
 though probably derived from a common Tibeto-Burman 
 stock, have diverged so widely that some of the Chins 
 living only a few miles apart are mutually unintelligible, 
 while few of the Lushai can make themselves understood 
 by their eastern kinsfolk. 
 
 But the religious beliefs and practices present every- 
 where much the same characteristics, for all the Kuki 
 peoples are still nature-worshippers, so far as they can 
 be said to worship anything. " When they are prosperous 
 they practically worship nothing at all. Sometimes, 
 when wandering through the jungle on a hunting or
 
 IXDO-CHINA AND .MALACCA 265 
 
 trapping excursion, or in quest of roots and leaves to eke 
 out the rice supply, they may here and there tie down 
 the top of a bamboo shoot, and deposit a few humble 
 offerings of flowers and frnit to the spirit guardian of the 
 woods ; or they may fix upon a particular tree, some 
 great forest giant, or some rare species, as the abode of a 
 Nat, and make propitiatory signs, or mutter a few prayers. 
 But they have no regular religious services, though they 
 are in constant fear of the ghostly inhabitants of the cliffs 
 and trees and streams. 
 
 " It is only when they fall upon bad times that they 
 indulge in any organised system of devotion. They 
 ascribe their misfortunes to the anger of the demons, 
 either on account of neglect, or of some particular offence 
 against their dignity. The two spirits most generally 
 recognised and appealed to on these occasions are the Nat 
 of the forest and hills and the Nat of the village. To 
 these pigs and fowls are sacrificed, libations of rice beer 
 are poured out, flowers and fruit and cooked rice are 
 offered, a tiny hut or two are built for them in the 
 branches of a tree, and there are many prostrations and 
 noisy incantations. Nevertheless, in spite of the inter- 
 mittent character of their adorations, they are careful 
 never to run the risk of offending any satyr or dryad. 
 When they make a clearing, they always leave a tree or 
 two standing, so that there may be a dwelling-place for 
 the local Nat, who, if he were evicted, would inevitably 
 revenge himself, not only on the reckless cultivator, but 
 on the entire community. Not unseldom prayers and 
 incantations are scratched on the tree-trunks to soothe 
 the disturbed demon, and lull him into acquiescence in 
 the new conditions of his haunts. But the spirits are 
 not held in anything like real reverence. They are all 
 considered to be evil-minded and malicious. The worship, 
 what there is of it, is entirely deprecatory. No one
 
 266 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 wants the Nats, however easy-going they may be. If 
 there were any method of getting rid of them it would 
 forthwith be adopted, for the spirits never do any good 
 except in the negative kind of way of preventing others 
 of their kind, or strangers of earthly birth, from encroach- 
 ing on their domains and possibly doing mischief" (J. G. 
 Scott, Burma, p. 174). 
 
 The Burmese. 
 
 On the other hand, the civilised Burmese all profess 
 Buddhism, which in Burma seems to have preserved 
 
 itself freer than elsewhere from intruding divinities. 
 Here also the monastic vows are more faithfully observed 
 than in other Buddhist lands, and the bonzes have gener-
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 267 
 
 ally promoted the education of the people. A complete 
 national system of public instruction has been developed, 
 all youths being obliged by law to reside for three years 
 in a " khyung " or religious house, where they minister 
 to the " phungys " or priests, and are by them instructed 
 in reading, writing, the elements of arithmetic and of 
 religion. Hence a knowledge of letters is universal in 
 Burma; and here also the women enjoy a remarkable 
 degree of freedom. 
 
 In their character the Burmese have much in com- 
 mon with the Chinese. They possess a considerable 
 degree of intelligence and independence, and are shrewd 
 and enterprising, although somewhat indolent. Free from 
 the spirit of caste and national prejudices, they readily 
 acknowledge the superiority of the Europeans, and are 
 eager to learn from them. While extremely tolerant, 
 or rather indifferent, to other religious sects, they remain 
 steadfastly attached to their own tenets. Owing to local 
 maladministration there was a constant migration from 
 Independent to British Burma, until the events of 1885. 
 
 TJie Talaings and Karens. 
 
 In Lower Burma the leading races are the Burmese, 
 who are found everywhere in the open country, the Eakh- 
 aingtha, popularly known as "Mugs" in the Arakan plains, 
 the Talaings or Mons of the Irawadi delta, and the Karens 
 of the coast ranges in Pegu and Tenasserim. Bengali 
 immigrants and Muhammadan Hindus are numerous in 
 Arakan, where, however, the indigenous Mugs still con- 
 stitute more than half of the population. They have a 
 strong family likeness to the Burmese, but are of smaller 
 stature and darker complexion. They speak a mono- 
 syllabic language accompanied with great emphasis and 
 much gesticulation. Closely akin to them are the Kayans
 
 268 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 (Khayengs), a rude but inoffensive hill tribe, who live 
 mostly on game killed with poisoned arrows, and resemble 
 the Chinese in their partiality for dog's flesh. 
 
 The Talaings or Mons, if not the aborigines, are at 
 least the earliest known immigrants into Pegu, where 
 they form an isolated linguistic group, now restricted 
 to the east and south of the Irawadi delta in Martaban 
 and North Tenasserim. Wearing the same dress, they 
 differ little from the Burmese in appearance, but are 
 generally of lighter complexion, with more delicate 
 features and a slight growth of beard. But the two 
 races live so intermingled, and alliances are becoming so 
 frequent between them, that the time is perhaps not dis- 
 tant when the Talaings will have become absorbed in the 
 dominant Burmese race. The two languages differ funda- 
 mentally, and affinities have been sought for the Talaing 
 as far east as Cambodia and westwards amongst the 
 Ivolarians of Central India. 1 
 
 The Tenasserim highlands are occupied exclusively by 
 the aboriginal Karens, who still continue to live in the 
 greatest seclusion. Having been formerly subjected to 
 much hard treatment and oppression by the Burmese 
 conquerors of the land, they now avoid, as far as possible, 
 all intercourse with them. They, however, occasionally 
 visit the towns in the lowlands for the purpose of pro- 
 curing by barter the indispensable articles of domestic 
 use. Settling in small communities of twelve or fourteen 
 families near some stream in the higher woodlands, they 
 clear the ground with fire, and cultivate rice, bananas, 
 betel-nut, sweet potatoes, and other vegetables, on the 
 reclaimed space. These products, with some poultry and 
 game, suffice to supply all their daily wants. They are 
 of a less robust build, with less prominent cheek-bones, 
 
 1 Captain C. J. F. S. Forbes's Comparative Grammar of the Languages 
 of Further India. London, 1881.
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 269 
 
 less oblique eyes, and a fairer complexion, than their 
 neighbours, thus approaching in some respects to the South 
 European type. The high colour of the cheeks, often 
 suffused in the young women by a slight blush, is very 
 striking in a region inhabited mostly by yellow or olive- 
 brown races. Possessing no writing system for their rude 
 uncultivated speech, and being destitute of all instruction, 
 they lack all the higher religious conceptions. In the 
 natural phenomena surrounding them, recognising agencies 
 inexplicable to their untutored minds, they attribute them 
 to the Nats, or good and evil spirits. 
 
 The SJians and Siamese. 
 
 The Shans and Laos, who are essentially one race 
 under two names, stand in much the same relation to the 
 Siamese proper that the Talaings and Kakhyens do to the 
 Burmese. Their domain occupies the whole of North 
 Siam and a portion of East Burma, whence it stretches 
 along the Salwin valley far into Yun-nan, and down the 
 Mekhong River to the frontier of Cambodia. Their alle- 
 giance is thus divided between Burma, China, and Siam. 
 But their ethnical and linguistic affinities are entirely 
 with the Siamese proper, all being so many closely related 
 members of the Tai — that is, " Free " or " Noble " race — 
 which seems to have occupied the Yang-tse basin before 
 the arrival of the Chinese in that region. By the Chinese 
 they were partly absorbed, partly driven southwards to 
 their present homes in Yun-nan and Further India. Here 
 many, especially of the Lao tribes, have become inter- 
 mingled with, and often assimilated to, the Kha, as 
 they collectively call the aboriginal wild tribes of the 
 peninsula. 
 
 But the pure Tai stock, which has almost universally 
 adopted Buddhism, is everywhere distinguished by its low
 
 270 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 stature, light yellow complexion, black hair and eyes, 
 small nose, dilated nostrils, and somewhat dull, un- 
 intelligent expression in the eye. The teeth are often 
 dyed an ebony black, while the thick lips acquire a deep- 
 red colour from the universal custom of chewing betel. 
 The Siamese shave the hair of the head, leaving nothing 
 but a tuft on the crown, which is always carefully dressed, 
 especially by the women. The type is on the whole 
 decidedly ugly, although the children are often pretty, 
 and the women retain a certain comeliness till their 
 twentieth year. In the Land of the White Elephant, 
 Vincent remarks that outwardly there is little to dis- 
 tinguish the two sexes, both wearing the " languti," or 
 loin cloth of coloured silk or cotton, with an upper 
 garment varying with the season. The women often add 
 a vest or strip of cloth folded across the breast. But 
 rings, charms, ear-rings, and other jewellery are reserved 
 chiefly for the children of the upper classes, whose naked 
 bodies are often profusely decked with gold and silver 
 spangles and suchlike trinkets. Mouhot tells us that he 
 saw in Bangkok a royal prince, some six or eight years 
 old, so over - weighted with these objects that he was 
 unable to stir. 
 
 Besides betel - chewing, tobacco - smoking is very 
 general, and nearly every one has a cigarette stuck 
 like a clerk's quill behind his ear. The staple food 
 is rice and fish, varied with vegetables, fruits, and 
 spiced soups. 
 
 The Lao domain, now subject to Siam, is divided into 
 a great number of provinces, which are ruled partly 
 by hereditary " Iviao," or princes, partly by governors 
 appointed from Bangkok. The present Kiao of Bassac, 
 on the Cambodian frontier, is the last survivor of the old 
 Lao dynasty, which was deposed in 1828 by the Siamese. 
 The national assemblies in the Lao States are usual! v
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 271 
 
 conducted in the same way as in Siani and Cambodia. 
 Under the Kiao are three dignitaries — the " Opalat," 
 somewhat like the second king of Siani, the " Lats- 
 vong," and the " Latsbut." These positions are also 
 held by members of princely families chosen by the 
 Siamese Government, but all other officials are named 
 by the ruling prince. 
 
 The development of the Lao States has been 
 much retarded by the practice of slave- hunting, which 
 formerly prevailed to a far greater extent than is 
 generally supposed. Regular expeditions were organised 
 by the Lao rulers themselves, or by their immediate 
 subordinates. Constant forays were made amongst the 
 wild tribes, and often even amongst the half-caste Lao 
 communities, especially along the banks of the Mekhong, 
 and the captured victims either distributed among the 
 wealthy Lao families, or forwarded in gangs to Korat, to 
 Cambodia, and even to Bangkok, where they were pub- 
 licly sold as slaves. Dr. Harmand, an eye-witness, thus 
 describes some of the scenes : — " The brother of the prince 
 of Bassac told me without any reserve that he was about 
 taking a trip to the left bank of the Mekhong in order 
 to hunt down the Khas. It seems that when times are 
 bad the Lao mandarins organise these expeditions against 
 the savages. Under some slight pretext a favourable 
 camping - ground is selected, whence forays are made 
 against the surrounding villages. 
 
 " When a sufficient number of all ages and both sexes 
 have been captured, they are bound together and led to 
 Bassac, Stung-treng, and Attroppeu. Here they are pur- 
 chased by native, Chinese, and especially Malay traders, 
 who form them into gangs forwarded chiefly to Bangkok, 
 Korat, and Phnom-penh, capital of Cambodia." * 
 
 1 " Le Laos et les Populations Sauvagus de l'lndo-Cliiiie," in Tow du 
 Monde, July 5, 1879.
 
 272 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The Annamese and Cambodians. 
 
 The inhabitants of Annam, while mainly of Mongoloid 
 stock, present great differences both physically and men- 
 tally. The highlanders are, as a rule, of taller stature, 
 lighter complexion, and ruder habits, than the lowlanders, 
 and many of these tribes still lead a nomad life. 
 
 The settled and civilised inhabitants of Tongkin, 
 Annam, and Cochin -China form a distinct branch of 
 the Mongolic family, which is everywhere characterised 
 by a remarkable uniformity of physical appearance, 
 mental qualities, language, traditions, religion, and social 
 usages. Living in the same geographical environment, 
 and under the same political institutions for countless 
 generations, the diverse elements originally occupying 
 this region — Giao-shi, Muong, Cham, Shan, Khmer, 
 perhaps Negrito and others — have been gradually 
 moulded into a single ethnical group, somewhat more 
 robust and vigorous in the extreme north (Eed Eiver 
 delta), softer and more effeminate in the extreme south 
 (Mekhong delta), coarser and more repulsive along the 
 intermediate coast-lands, but everywhere the same in all 
 essential particulars. 
 
 Although observers are far from unanimous in their 
 appreciations of the physical and mental characteristics 
 of the Giao-shi, 1 a name by which the race was known to 
 the Chinese over 2000 years before the new era, it is 
 generally allowed that they are outwardly the least pre- 
 possessing, or, in plain language, the ugliest, morally the 
 most disagreeable, of all the Indo-Chinese peoples. Even 
 
 1 Giao-shi or Kiao-shi, meaning "Bifurcated Toes," has reference to 
 the abnormal space between the great toe and the others, which still 
 distinguishes them, and which has been regarded as a racial characteristic. 
 But it may be due to the universal habit of riding the hardy little 
 Annaniite pony with a narrow iron stirrup, which is gripped in the cleft 
 between the big toe and the others.
 
 IXDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 273 
 
 Lord Curzon, who is more favourably disposed towards 
 them than perhaps any other writer, applies the epithet 
 "ugliness" especially to the inhabitants of the coast 
 districts between the Red River delta and Hue. He 
 also admits that "the Annamites have the faults insepar- 
 able from an Oriental race that has never been divorced 
 from its own surroundings. They are tricky and deceit- 
 ful, disposed to thieve when they get the chance, 
 mendacious and incurable gamblers, who never lose an 
 opportunity of throwing a die or casting a lot." On the 
 other hand, he declares that he has nowhere met " a more 
 gentle and amicable race. They have the submissive- 
 ness without the nerveless apathy of the Hindu, while 
 they possess industrial aptitudes, rendering them diligent 
 workmen, and an artistic ingenuity which on the one hand 
 makes them excellent cooks, and on the other inspires 
 the various artistic productions, such as inlaid work in 
 mother-of-pearl, embroideries, wood-carving, and jewellery. 
 Though not a courageous people in the sense of inviting 
 or voluntarily meeting clanger, they are very tenacious 
 in resistance, and make capital soldiers against an 
 Asiatic enemy. They are, moreover, hospitable, polite, 
 lively, sentimental, and of easy temper. The women 
 present two types, the wife or concubine, who is merely 
 the brainless instrument of her master's pleasure, and the 
 active and business-like housewife, who toils hard either 
 in the fields or at the oar, and who in the upper ranks 
 of life frequently takes to business and manages all her 
 husband's affairs." 
 
 Much of this is unquestionably true, and the artistic 
 or at least mechanical faculty is certainly well developed, 
 as shown in the surprising skill displayed in the con- 
 struction of the embankments erected to protect the flat 
 lands of the Red River delta against the periodical 
 tli km Is, works involving more patient labour and ingenuity 
 VOL. II T
 
 274 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 than the Wall of China, or even the Grand Canal itself. 
 But other observers are far less complimentary in respect 
 of their moral character, and the Abbe Gagelin, who 
 lived, not for a few months, but for many years in their 
 midst, pronounces them at once insolent and dishonest, 
 and dead to all the finer feelings of human nature. So 
 M. Mouhot: "They are headstrong, revengeful, deceitful, 
 thieves, and liars. Their dirty habits surpass anything 
 I have ever seen, and their food is abominably nasty, 
 rotten fish and dogs being their favourite diet." Hence 
 Mr. J. G. Scott's famous exclamation : " The fewer 
 Annamese there are the less taints there are on the 
 human race." 
 
 The features are of a coarse Mongolic texture, 
 characterised by a dirty yellow or sallow complexion, 
 very prominent cheek-bones, square massive jaw, thick 
 lips, oblique eyes, and long black hair shaven in child- 
 hood, but never cut afterwards, but worn chignon-fashion 
 at the back of the head. These traits are even more 
 pronounced in the women, most of whom are certainly 
 ugly and even repulsive. Polygamy is universally 
 practised, there being no limit except expense to the 
 number of wives, and the Annamese are not a religious 
 people, despite the innumerable shrines and pagodas 
 crowning every wooded knoll and picturesque spot in 
 the landscape. As in China, ancestor worship, which 
 cannot be called a cult in the higher sense, is the domin- 
 ant sentiment, pervading all classes and all orders, from 
 the court through the officials down to the village 
 commune and the humblest peasant family. In other 
 respects the national faith " is a strange and incongruous 
 amalgam of various superstitions, cults, and creeds. 
 Buddhism is more or less widely diffused, but in a very 
 attenuated form, barnacled with all manner of corrup- 
 tions. Chinese ascendency has brought with it the
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 275 
 
 ethics of Confucius and the worship of a host of demi- 
 gods or glorified heroes. But for the most part spirit- 
 worship or a crude demonology may be denominated 
 the popular creed, the majority of the pagodas contain- 
 ing little beyond altars on which a censer smoulders to 
 the genius loci, to the good spirit or evil spirit of the 
 site, to the dreaded tiger, or to the manes of some 
 celebrity of the past. The larger pagodas consist of two 
 or three courts, in the hindermost of which stands the 
 temple beneath a tiled roof, closed round with wooden 
 doors. Fantastic animals, elephants with howdahs, kings 
 and warriors on horseback, or tigers, are painted in 
 fresco, or sometimes fashioned in high relief on the 
 entrance gateway and around the courts ; and a bizarre 
 but brillant effect is produced by fragments of broken 
 pottery stuck in plaster, and forming patterns of 
 dragons on fabulous monsters on the walls and roofs " 
 (Curzon, ib). 
 
 The Cambodians, whose national name is Khmer, may 
 be taken as the typical representatives of the Caucasic 
 element in Further India, of which they are probably the 
 aboriginal inhabitants. Although now restricted to the 
 valley of the Lower Mekhong, their domain formerly 
 occupied a large portion of the peninsula, where they are 
 still represented in a fragmentary way by the Kuys, 
 Charays, Chongs, Stiengs, and other tribes scattered over 
 the hills and forests of East Siam and West Annam. 
 But next to the Cambodians proper, by far the most im- 
 portant section of the race are the Kuys, or Khmer-dom, 
 — that is, "Primitive Khmers," — who are divided into 
 several branches, occupying an extensive region round the 
 northern and eastern shores of Lake Tonle-sap. Here 
 was the original centre of Cambodian culture, the magni- 
 ficent remains of which now lie mostly buried amidst a 
 rank vegetation of a thousand years' growth. The human
 
 276 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 figures sculptured on these Hindu monuments, many of 
 which must be some twenty centuries old, are not only of 
 regular Caucasic type, but are often a faithful reflex of 
 the features, dress, and ornaments of the present Khmer 
 populations. 
 
 Some of these wild tribes are still distinguished by a 
 gentle disposition, a certain innate politeness and cour- 
 tesy, as well as a surprising artistic taste and skill 
 lavished on their dress, ornaments, pipes, quivers, and 
 other objects. These traits may well be the faint reflec- 
 tion of a now extinguished culture still cherished by these 
 children of nature, lost for ages amid their dense wood- 
 lands, which they believe to be the centre of the universe, 
 and which nothing can ever induce them to leave (Mouhot). 
 But the Cambodians themselves seem to have retained little 
 of their former greatness, except an overweening pride and 
 arrogance. They are being gradually absorbed by the sur- 
 rounding Annamese and Laos populations. A strange 
 mystery hangs over this Cambodian race, which, over 1000 
 years ago, built cities and raised monuments amid the 
 swamps of Tonle-sap, vying in size and grandeur with 
 those of the Mesopotamian and Nile valleys. Their cul- 
 ture is certainly of Hindu origin. But by what channel 
 did Hindu influences penetrate to this remote corner of 
 the continent ? And whence came the race itself, with 
 its European features and polysyllabic speech, totally 
 distinct from that of the surrounding Mongoloid peoples, 
 but showing marked affinities to the Oceanic linguistic 
 groups ? Lastly, by what barbaric hordes was their 
 development arrested, their culture extinguished, their 
 cities wasted, their stupendous shrines and monuments 
 left to crumble in the midst of the exuberant tropical 
 vegetation of Angkor and Battambang ? These are 
 questions which cannot yet be answered.
 
 INDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 277 
 
 8. Topography : Rangun — Moulmain — Prome — 
 Ma mlalay — Bh amo. 
 
 In Lower Burma the only large places are Eangun 
 and Moulmain, the two great seaports of Pegu almost 
 facing each other across the Gulf of Martaban. The 
 Shway Dagohn pagoda at Eangun is one of the most 
 remarkable structures of the kind in the Buddhist 
 world. It stands on a wooded eminence, above which 
 its gilded " htee " or umbrella shoots up to a height of 
 300 feet. From a distance it seems to flash in the sun- 
 light above the dark foliage like a fiery meteor. The 
 hills about Moulmain are also crowned with Buddhist 
 pagodas, whence an extensive and varied prospect is com- 
 manded of the city, and the plains watered by three 
 converging streams and enclosed eastwards by the dis- 
 tant Siamese frontier range. There is some literary 
 activity in Eangun, which is gradually becoming the 
 centre of intellectual life for the Buddhist world in Indo- 
 China. Here are several native presses, which have 
 already issued a good many theological, literary, and 
 scientific works, including dramas chiefly adapted from 
 the Sanskrit, Buddhist tracts, often of a very polemical 
 character between the rival Mahagandi and Sulagandi 
 sects, an encyclopaedia of Burmese knowledge (the Kawi 
 Lekhana Dipani), many translations from English works, 
 and some periodical literature. 
 
 In the middle valley of the Irawadi stands the old 
 Burmese city of Prome, with gilded pagodas and wooden 
 pinnacles on the summits of a cluster of hills near the 
 river's bank. 
 
 During his expedition from Burma to Arakan in 
 the year 1891 Lieutenant Walker visited Myohaung 
 (Mrohaung), Ptolemy's Triglyphon, which was the ancient 
 capital of Arakan. At present it has a population of
 
 278 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 scarcely more than 2500, but its former magnificence is 
 still attested by the extensive remains of its fortified en- 
 closures, and especially by two gigantic pagodas, contain- 
 ing 80,000 and 90,000 images respectively. My ohaung is 
 reached by water from Minbya, which does a brisk trade 
 with Akyab, and which stands on the Semra estuary, 
 here nearly four miles wide. 
 
 As might be expected, the few large towns of Upper 
 Burma all lie in the Irawadi valley, which is dis- 
 tinguished both for its picturesque scenery and great 
 fertility. Here is Mandalay, one of the many places 
 to which the seat of government had in recent times 
 been shifted, partly in consequence of revolutions or 
 changes of dynasty, partly through superstitious motives 
 or royal whims. Ava, which had been the capital since 
 1364, gave place about 1740 to Mutshob, which yielded 
 in 1782 to Amarapura. In 1819 the Court returned to 
 Ava, whence it again passed in 1837 to Amarapura, and 
 in 1857 to Mandalay, where it remained till the deposi- 
 tion of King Thebaw (1885). This place lies a few 
 miles above Amarapura, on the same side of the Irawadi. 
 The houses on the river and in the suburbs are of the 
 usual Burmese type — frail structures of bamboo and 
 matting erected on piles sunk in the mud. They are 
 generally small and packed closely together, and their 
 materials are inflammable. Consequently fires once 
 breaking out become extremely disastrous. The main 
 streets are lined mostly with brick houses, but even here 
 the bricks are merely attached to the wooden framework. 
 A pretty effect is presented by the Chinese shops, which 
 are often two stories high. In every direction the eye lights 
 on gilded or painted pagodas, temples, and " Khyungs," or 
 cloisters with schools attached. The city is encircled by 
 a stout brick wall, with a ditch crossed by one or two 
 rude bridges. Here was the scene of the horrible
 
 280 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 butcheries winch accompanied the accession of the late 
 King Thebaw in 1879. Mandalay was occupied by 
 the British under General Prendergast on November 
 28, 1885. 
 
 On the Upper Irawadi lies the important station of 
 Bhamo, in 24° 15' X., at the junction of the Tapeng. 
 This is the starting-point of caravans proceeding east- 
 wards to Yun-nan, and should a regular overland trade be 
 established between British India and "West China, Bhamo 
 must from its position become one of the great emporiums
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 281 
 
 of the East. At present it is a small stockaded town 
 with a few hundred houses, occupied chiefly by Chinese 
 and Shan traders. 
 
 Bangkok — Ayvtli la — C/t antabun. 
 
 Bangkok, the present capital of Siam, lies near the 
 mouth of the Meinam a few miles below Ayuthia, the 
 former seat of government. Bangkok presents a plea- 
 sant prospect from the water, whence a panoramic view is 
 commanded of its glittering palaces and temples sur- 
 rounded by dense masses of a gorgeous tropical vegeta- 
 tion. But the charm is soon dispelled by a closer 
 inspection of the place itself, which consists of a confused 
 aggregate of narrow, muddy lanes, stagnant canals, and 
 wretched hovels, occupied by a mixed Siamese and 
 Chinese population, estimated (1908) at from 400,000 
 to 600,000. As in so many other parts of Further India, 
 the Chinese have here almost monopolised the local 
 trade, while the foreign exchanges are mostly in the 
 hands of English and German merchants. 
 
 Beyond Ayuthia, the site of which is marked by 
 some magnificent Buddhist ruins and a large elephant 
 park, the most noteworthy places in the interior are 
 Baheng in the Meinam basin, north of Bangkok, much 
 spoken of in connection with recent railway projects ; 
 Kheng-mai (Xieng-mai, Zimme), the great capital of the 
 Siamese Shans, on the right bank of the Meping, com- 
 prising an inner and an outer town, both with separate 
 fortifications, and a collective population of probably 
 over 100,000, altogether the largest and most flourish- 
 ing city in the Shan domain ; Xieng-kong on the Me- 
 khong, northernmost town in Siamese territory ; Luang- 
 Prabang, lower down on the left bank of the same river, 
 important as an advanced station on the Franco-Siamese
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 283 
 
 frontier, but with a pestiferous climate, to which the 
 naturalist Henri Mouhot fell a victim in 1861 ; Korat, 
 also a future railway centre, on the plateau north-east of 
 Bangkok, about the water-parting between the Meinam 
 and Mekhong basins. On the south-east, not far from 
 the Cambodian frontier, is the important seaport of Chanta- 
 bun, which gives access to the rich mineral districts of the 
 provinces of Chantabun and Battambang. Lately mining- 
 operations have been centred chiefly at Payrinh, midway 
 between Chantabun and Battambang; but rubies and 
 sapphires, as well as jade, topazes, and other costly 
 stones, appear to abound in the whole region. In 1893 
 the French seized Chantabun, but later restored it, taking 
 in exchange the Siamese districts of Battambang, Siem 
 Eeap, and Sisophon about the Cambodian frontier 
 (Treaty of 1907). 
 
 In Tongkin and Annam the towns everywhere 
 present a somewhat uniform type, consisting for the most 
 part of clusters of villages grouped together within an 
 outer enclosure of walls and moats, and defended by a 
 huge citadel, often spacious enough to contain the whole 
 population. In the villages the houses are thatched with 
 palm-leaves, and built with a watling of bamboos and 
 mud, the interior being disposed in a number of low 
 platforms used as tables by day and bedsteads by night. 
 Every village has its communal hall set apart for muni- 
 cipal and general purposes, and a similar reception-room 
 usually occupies the centre of the richer dwellings, being 
 fitted with a central table, arm-chairs, a shrine at the 
 back, and sleeping stands on either side. These houses 
 are generally built of wood or bricks and roofed with 
 tiles, and the streets even of the smallest hamlets are at 
 least clean and orderly, presenting in this respect a 
 favourable contrast to the filthy towns of China and 
 Korea. The urban nomenclature, however, is exceed inulv
 
 284 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 confused, many towns bearing as many as four distinct 
 names, one for the particular hamlet or group of houses, 
 one for the larger unit of which it forms part, and which 
 
 A NATIVE FAMILY AT HOME, TOXGKIN. 
 
 may contain any number of similar groups, one for the 
 tram or wayside station, and one for the market, which 
 is the most characteristic feature of Annamite towns. 
 Markets are held on stated days, either in an open space 
 in the middle of the village, often tiled or thatched and
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 285 
 
 let out in stalls and booths, or else in some central place 
 between several villages. Marketing is entirely con- 
 ducted by the women, who squat clown amid their wares, 
 and intersperse a ceaseless chatter with the chewing of . 
 the betel leaf. Here are exposed for sale " pigs, chickens, 
 and ducks in hampers, fish, fresh, slimy,shell, and sun-dried, 
 big prawns and tiny land-crabs, cabbages, radishes, the 
 areca-nut, vermicelli, cakes, sweetmeats, and eggs. Else- 
 where will be cheap articles of furniture or raiment, tin 
 lamps for petroleum, pottery, brass ware, opium pipes, 
 bracelets, necklets, amber buttons, palm-leaf hats, turbans, 
 Bombay cottons, and scarves " (Curzon, ib.). 
 
 Hue, capital of Annam, occupies an important 
 strategical position at the mouth of the Eiver Hue on 
 the Cochin-Chinese coast. It was strongly fortified with 
 skilfully-planned outer and inner lines by French engin- 
 eers at the beginning of the nineteenth century. With 
 its extensive arsenal, magazines, walls 60 feet high, and 
 moat 120 feet broad, Hue formerly ranked as one of the 
 strongest military positions in Asia. The king resides in 
 a spacious and fortified palace in an inner enclosure of 
 the citadel 800 yards square; but all these defensive 
 works have not prevented him from sinking to the 
 position of a vassal of France, in whose favour he signed 
 a treaty in 1874 practically accepting the protectorate of 
 that country. The population of Hue, formerly estimated 
 at 100,000, or even 150,000, was found in 190G not 
 to exceed 50,000. 
 
 On the road from Turan to the Nongson coalfields 
 lies the historical city of Faifo, which in the sixteenth 
 century was a great trading centre. But when visited 
 by Consul Parker in 1892 it was found to be a mere 
 depot for the transit of inland goods from the semi- 
 civilised districts of the interior. At present its chief 
 exports are sugar, silk, cinnamon, and edible birds' nests.
 
 286 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 In Tongkin the chief Treaty port is Haiphong on the 
 Lower Song-ka, which is navigable to this point by 
 vessels drawing 8 to 10 feet. At Haiphong the French 
 have a naval station for the ostensible purpose of sup- 
 pressing piracy on the high seas, but which also serves to 
 keep the country in subjection to the mistress of the 
 Mekhong delta. Kesho, capital of Tongkin, which lies 
 some miles above Haiphong, is accessible to large junks 
 drawing from 4 to 6 feet. 
 
 Langson, scene of so many conflicts and even disasters 
 during the early period of the occupation, has now 
 become the chief bulwark of French power towards the 
 Chinese frontier. Its position on a head-stream of the 
 Si-kiang also promises to ensure its future prosperity as 
 the most important centre of international trade in the 
 interior. It is already connected by a good road with 
 Phu-lang-thuong on a branch of the delta navigable by 
 steamers, and from this road a railway now (1907) runs 
 by Bac-ninh to Hanoi and thence to Laokai and Mengtse 
 (280 miles). At one point the line surmounts a pass 
 3000 feet high. Here also a junction has been effected 
 since 1891 between the French telegraph system and 
 a Chinese line running from Canton up the Si-kiang 
 to the frontier. Meantime the trade of Langson is 
 small, and the goods offered for sale are chiefly English 
 and American cottons, soap, matches, umbrellas, besides 
 mirrors, drugs, and crockery from Canton. Mr. Agassiz, 
 who passed through in 1891, doubts whether "this line 
 will be a means of opening up trade with western 
 Kwang-si " (loc. cit.). 
 
 Phnom-penh — Saigon. 
 
 Cambodia some years ago shifted its capital from 
 Udong to the neighbouring Phnom-penh, which is more
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 
 
 287 
 
 conveniently situated at the junction of all the navigable 
 waters in the kingdom.
 
 288 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 The French have chosen for the capital of their 
 Cochin - Chinese settlements the town of Gia - dinh, re- 
 named Saigon, picturesquely and conveniently situated 
 on the Dong-nai. Although lying at some distance from 
 the sea, Saigon is accessible to large vessels, and is much 
 frequented by English and Chinese traders engaged in the 
 foreign and coast trade of Cambodia and Lower Cochin- 
 China. The neighbouring island of Pulo Condor is well 
 adapted to become a depot for the produce of the sur- 
 rounding districts. In 1902 the centre of administration 
 for the whole of French Indo-China was removed from 
 Saigon to Hanoi. 
 
 Perak — Singapore. 
 
 In Siamese Malacca the chief place is Toneah on the 
 island of Junk Seylon, which is said to have a population 
 of 30,000. Of the towns in British Malacca the largest 
 are — Perak, capital of the protected State of that name ; 
 Malacca, on the south-west coast of the peninsula to 
 which it gives its name ; Penang, on the same coast ; 
 and Singapore, unquestionably the most important place 
 in the whole of Indo - China. Notwithstanding its 
 proximity to the equator, the " Lion City," as its 
 name means, enjoys a fairly healthy climate, and this 
 flourishing free port has during the British occupation been 
 transformed from an almost uninhabited rock into one 
 of the great centres of Eastern trade. Very few places 
 in the old or new world present such an example of rapid 
 development as does the city of Singapore, which now 
 counts its population by many tens of thousands and 
 its exchanges by millions. It possesses a magnificent 
 harbour, well sheltered and of easy access, lying at the 
 converging point of the great trade routes between India, 
 China, Japan, the Dutch East Indies, and Australia.
 
 VOL. II
 
 290 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Singapore, which is well laid out, with a Chinese, Malay, 
 and European quarter, is the capital of all the Straits 
 Settlements, with a governor's residence, Protestant 
 cathedral, hospital, schools, and several benevolent 
 institutions. 
 
 9. Highways of Communication. 
 
 In Further India there are few regular roads, and 
 most of the trade routes follow the course of the great 
 rivers and their affluents. Thus travellers and explorers 
 wishing to penetrate from the west into China, ascend 
 the Irawadi to Bhamo, where they follow the caravan 
 route up the Tapeng River valley through the Kakhyen 
 highlands to Manwyne, and so on to Momein on the 
 Yun-imn frontier. Since the reduction of the hill tribes, 
 who formerly levied blackmail on passing caravans, this 
 route is much frequented. 
 
 Before the annexation of Upper Burma, the railway 
 system in the Irawadi basin was limited to the line 
 running from Raugun to Prome, and to another nearly 
 completed from Rangun up the Sittang valley to 
 Tungu near the frontier of the Karen country. Since 
 then the Sittang Valley line has been completed to 
 Mandalay, and the section from Shwebo to Wuntho and 
 Mogaung, with branches from Meitkila Road to Meitkila 
 and to Myitkyina above Bhamo, with another branch to 
 the Shan States in the Salwin valley, has been opened. 
 The surveys have been completed for farther extensions 
 from Mandalay to the Kunlong Ferry, and from Chittagong 
 through the Aeng Pass (Arakan-Yoma Range) to Minhla 
 on the Irawadi. 
 
 The chief highway to the interior of Siam follows 
 the course of the Meinam from Bangkok to Ayuthia 
 and Prabat. Here it trends east over the Dong Phya
 
 292 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Phai range to Korat, whence it rims due north through 
 the Laos country to Luang -Prabaug on the Mekhoug. 
 Bangkok is also connected with Cambodia aud the Lower 
 Mekhoug by a track running eastwards through the 
 Shong country, and over the coast range to Battambang 
 and thence along the south side of the Great Lake to 
 Udong and Phnom-penh. In 1908 about 400 miles of 
 railway had been opened, connecting Bangkok with 
 Paknam, Korat, Lopburi, Paknampo, Pitsanulok, Petri u, 
 Pechaburi, and Xiengmai. 
 
 In Annam all the chief towns are connected by a coast 
 route running from Kesho southwards through Thanh- 
 hoa-noi, Koang-tri, Hue, Kwang-nai, Quin-hon, and Binh 
 Thuan, to Saigon. This is the so-called "Mandarins' 
 Road," a famous historical highway, which was thoroughly 
 restored and extended to Langson on the Chinese frontier 
 by the Emperor Gia-Long at the beginning of the nineteenth 
 century. In Annam it runs close to the sea-shore, and in 
 some places surmounts the projecting spurs by means of 
 steps cut in the face of the rock, and trams or wayside 
 stations for the convenience of travellers and the public 
 service occur at intervals of from 8 to 1 5 miles along the 
 whole route. " In the parts where I travelled upon the 
 Mandarins' Eoad, between Ninh Binh and Hue, it had 
 been in places repaired during the early part of the year 
 (1892) for the passage of the Governor-General, and was 
 commonly a flat track about 20 feet wide, either running 
 upon a bank between the rice plots, or often over hot 
 sands, whilst elsewhere, after rain, it was converted into 
 a horrible bog. The poles of the French telegraph are 
 planted along its side " (Curzon, ib.). 
 
 In French Indo-China railway enterprise has made 
 considerable progress, about 900 miles having been 
 completed in 1908. Besides the already mentioned 
 Hanoi-Laokai line, others are now open from Saigon by
 
 IXDO-CHIXA AND MALACCA 293 
 
 Mytho to Cantho, from Tourane to Hue and Kwangtri, 
 from Phanrang to Langbian, and 530 miles are in 
 progress. 
 
 10. Administration. 
 
 The Burmese Government was a pure despotism, his 
 majesty of " the Golden Feet " ruling as an absolute 
 monarch. Even the British Envoys were required to 
 appear barefooted l in the presence of these despots, 
 whose chief characteristics have too often been cruelty, 
 licentiousness, and arrogance. Hence while court eti- 
 quette was rigidly maintained, the progress of the country 
 was retarded by the policy of its rulers. Anarchy and 
 decay were the prevailing features of the regions subject 
 to the influence of the central government, while the 
 more remote Shan States enjoyed a comparative degree 
 of peace and immunity. The resources of the land were 
 also further drained by the steady migration of the more 
 intelligent and wealthier classes, who were glad to find a 
 refuge in the neighbouring province of British Burma. 
 
 All this is now changed, and since the unification of 
 Burma under British rule the country has undergone a 
 vast change for the better. The population is increasing 
 twice as rapidly as that of India proper, and material 
 progress is advancing even at a still more rapid rate. In 
 Upper Burma the unruly element, represented by numer- 
 ous bands of dacoits or brigands, has been almost every- 
 where reduced to order, and nearly all the frontier hill 
 tribes have tendered their submission. According to the 
 official reports crimes of violence are less frequent in the 
 Upper Irawadi districts even than in the older province 
 of Lower Burma. Since the annexation the internal 
 
 1 The great "Shoe Question," which never was settled, is fully dis- 
 cussed in Col. Laurie's work on A&hi. Pyee ; or, The Superior Country. 
 London, 1882.
 
 294 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 trade has more than doubled, while the sea-borne com- 
 merce of Kangun, the chief outlet of the whole region, has 
 advanced from 120 million rupees in 1886 to 212 
 millions in 1907, and the revenue from 25 to over 84 
 millions in the same period. 
 
 The Siamese and kindred peoples form the only 
 nation that ever had two kings, although this old custom 
 has now fallen into abeyance. The " Wangna," or second 
 king, usually chosen from amongst the nearest relatives 
 of the first king, resided -quietly in his palace without at 
 all interfering in State affairs. 
 
 Siam itself is an electorate, the succession being de- 
 termined by the nobles, who, however, are bound to elect 
 a " Chao Fa " — that is, a prince of royal blood — on both 
 sides. The executive functions are exercised by the king 
 under the advice of a Cabinet consisting of the heads of 
 the various Government departments. Since 1895 there 
 is also a Legislative Council composed of the Ministers 
 of State and others to the number of twelve appointed 
 by the Crown. The total membership was forty-one in 
 1908, its object being "to revise, amend, and complete 
 the legislation of the kingdom." 
 
 Already several useful reforms have been introduced, 
 and both slave trading and domestic slavery, formerly 
 universal, have been abolished. British and other 
 European officials hold high positions in the general 
 administration ; the financial position of the kingdom 
 has been placed on a sound footing ; and the military 
 service has been reorganised, adults between the ages of 
 eighteen and forty being alone liable to serve, and that 
 only for two years. Thus, notwithstanding the ancient 
 traditions of oriental despotism, Siam has made consider- 
 able social progress under the enlightened administration 
 of the reigning sovereign. Free scope has been given to 
 the action of European influences, and while Buddhism
 
 INDOCHINA AND MALACCA 295 
 
 remains the State religion, Christianity is allowed to be 
 preached and practised without any restrictions. To 
 Bishop Pallegoix, for many years head of the French 
 missions in Siam, science is indebted for some of the 
 most valuable contributions to the history and ethnology 
 of that State. 
 
 The Government of Annam is or was so far absolute 
 that the whole authority was centred in the emperor, 
 and emanated from him. The sovereign had his privy 
 council, besides a ministry for the administration of justice, 
 a war office, a ministry of public worship, a board of 
 works, and a home and foreign office. But all this 
 machinery of government has lost its significance since 
 Annam has, by the treaties of 1874 and 1885, become a 
 dependent State now administered by France. 
 
 The ancient kingdom of Cambodia in 1864 accepted 
 the French protectorate. The two provinces of Battam- 
 bang and Angkor, seized by the Siamese in the nineteenth 
 century, but the occupation of which had never been 
 acknowledged by Cambodia, were finally ceded to France 
 by the treaty of 1907, when the new boundary-line 
 was fixed between the two States. Thus were restored 
 to Cambodia the two historical provinces, in which are 
 situated the ancient capital, Angkor, and most of the 
 grand monuments of former Cambodian culture. 
 
 The king of Cambodia was formerly absolute master 
 of the life and property of his subjects, as well as of all 
 the land. The only check to his despotism were certain 
 long-established usages, combined with the fear of causing 
 troubles which might require the intervention of the 
 French. The French did interfere, and the present king, 
 Sisowath, who succeeded his deposed brother, Norodom, 
 is now a mere pensioner of France. For administrative 
 purposes the kingdom is divided into five dey or depart- 
 ments, and fifty-seven khet or districts, the dey being
 
 296 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 formerly governed by the ministers of State, the khet by 
 inferior mandarins named by the king. In 1887 Cam- 
 bodia was united with all the other French possessions 
 in Indo-China in a common Customs Union on the model 
 of the German Zollverein. 
 
 Formerly attached to British India, the Straits 
 Settlements now form a Crown Colony, with a separate 
 administration vested in a Governor at Singapore, a 
 Lieutenant-Governor at Penang, and a Piesident Coun- 
 cillor at Malacca, appointed by the King. The Governor 
 is assisted by Executive and Legislative Councils, of 
 which the Lieutenant-Governor and the Eesident Coun- 
 cillor, above mentioned, are members. The lieutenant- 
 governors of the several settlements are also members of 
 these bodies. Seat of government, Singapore. 
 
 11. Statistics. 
 
 Areas and Populations. 
 
 Upper and Lower Burma .... 
 
 Siam, less tracts ceded to France, 1893, 1907 
 
 [Tongkin .... 
 
 „ Annam .... 
 
 French ^ i • r>i • 
 T n < Cocmn-China 
 
 Indo-China r , . j. 
 
 Cambodia .... 
 
 { Wrested from Siam, 1893, 1907 
 
 Shan and Laos States .... 
 
 Straits Settlements and British Malaya . 
 
 Total Indo-China and Malay Peninsula 
 
 Area in sq. 
 miles. 
 
 237,000 
 200,000 
 46,000 
 52,000 
 20,000 
 37,000 
 80,000 
 20,000 
 37,000 
 
 729,000 
 
 Population 
 (1901-6). 
 
 10,490,000 
 5,000,000 
 6,000,000 
 5,000,000 
 2,968,000 
 1,500,000 
 2,300,000 
 1,000,000 (?) 
 1,625,000 
 
 40,883,000 
 
 Siam. 
 
 Siam proper and Lao States 
 
 C Ligor and Senggora 
 
 Siamese 
 
 Malaya 
 
 ', Kedah 
 [Patani States 
 
 Total 
 
 Area in sq. 
 miles. 
 
 160,000 
 
 17,000 
 
 4,000 
 
 6,000 
 
 187,000 
 
 Population. 
 
 4,000,000 
 250,000 
 250,000 
 100,000 
 
 4,600,000
 
 INDO-CHINA AND MALACCA 
 
 297 
 
 Chief Towns : Bangkok (capital), pop. 500,000 (?) ; Ayuthia, Korat, 
 
 Chantabun, Luaug-Prabang. 
 Revenue (1907), £4,2J0,000. Public Debt, £4,000,000. 
 Army, 20,000 ; Navy, 22 gunboats. 
 Imports (1906), £4,866,000 ; Exports. £7,082.000. 
 British Imports (1906), £670,000 ; Exports to Great Britain, £572,000. 
 
 Chief Imports (1906). 
 
 Chief Exports (1906). 
 
 Cottons . . . £886,000 
 
 Rice 
 
 . £5,547,000 
 
 Hardware . 
 
 
 113,000 
 
 Teak . 
 
 819,000 
 
 Kerosene 
 
 
 90,000 
 
 Pepper 
 
 67,000 
 
 Silks . 
 
 
 170,000 
 
 Salt fish 
 
 140,000 
 
 Sugar . 
 
 
 220,000 
 
 Woods 
 
 18,000 
 
 Cotton yarn . 
 
 
 138,000 
 
 Cattle . 
 
 19,000 
 
 Sundries 
 
 
 2,200,000 
 
 Hides . 
 
 120,000 
 
 Bangkok Shipping (1906) : 804 vessels of 746,000 tons entered ; more 
 
 than half the shipping is now German. 
 Railways : lines open (1906), 400 miles ; see p. 292. 
 Telegraphs (1906) : 2900 miles. 
 
 Post-Offices (1906), 120 ; letters forwarded, 630,000. 
 Since 1885 Siam has been a member of the International Postal Union. 
 
 French Indo-Chixa. 
 
 Total Imports (1906), £9,100,000 ; Exports, £7,200,000. 
 
 Tongkin: Capital, Hanoi; pop. 150,000. 
 
 Revenue and Expenditure, about £800,000. 
 Annam: Capital, Hue; pop. 50,000. 
 Cambodia: Capital, Pnom-Penh ; pop. 50,000. 
 
 Revenue and Expenditure, about £520,000. 
 Cochin-China: Capital, Saigon ; pop. 51,000. 
 
 Revenue and Expenditure, about £l,tj00,000. 
 Kwang Chau Wan, leased from China in 1898 ; area 190 square mile* 
 pop. 150,000. 
 
 British Malaya. 
 
 572,249 
 
 
 Area in sq. 
 
 Population. 
 
 Straits Settlements — 
 
 miles. 
 
 (1901). 
 
 Singapore \ 
 
 
 228,555 
 
 Penang J- . 
 
 1,472 
 
 248,207 
 
 Malacca J 
 
 
 95,487 
 
 Protected States — 
 
 
 
 Perak . 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 329,665 
 
 Selangor 
 
 3,000 
 
 168,789 
 
 Negri Sembilan . 
 
 2,660 
 
 96,028 
 
 Pahang 
 
 . 10,000 
 
 84,113 
 
 Johor . 
 
 9,000 
 
 200,000 (est.) 
 
 Kelantan IcededbyS 
 Tringanu/ 1908 
 
 iam ]l 1,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 Total . 
 
 . 45,660 
 
 
 ■1,850,844 
 
 2,433,093
 
 298 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Straits Settlements (1907). 
 
 Revenue, £1,920,500 ; Expenditure, £1,750,500 ; Debt nil. 
 
 Total Imports, £6S ; 000,000 ; Total Exports, £62,000,000. 
 
 Imports from Great Britain, £7,006,000 ; Exports to Great Britain, 
 
 £15,000,000. 
 Registered Tonnage, 46,000 ; Tonnage entered and cleared, 10,600,000. 
 Vernacular and English Schools, 209 ; Attendance, 17,900. 
 Railways (in Protected States), 24.0 miles open. 
 
 Racial Elements. 
 
 Malays. Chinese. Klings (Indians). 
 
 Singapore"! 
 
 Penang V 215,000 282,000 57,000 
 
 Malacca J 
 
 Cocos or Keeling Islands, twenty small coral islets 700 miles south-west 
 
 of Sumatra ; population (1906) 640. 
 Christmas Island, 190 miles south of Java ; population (1902) 900.
 
 WESTEKN ASIA: MUHAMMADAN STATES 
 
 (TURKEY IN ASIA, ARABIA, AND PERSIA) 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ASIA MINOR 
 
 1 . Bo undaries — Extent — A rea. 
 
 The Asiatic portion of the Turkish Empire comprises 
 with most of Arabia all the south-western section of the 
 continent west of the Tigris. It is thus conterminous east- 
 wards with Persia and Russia, the three empires converging 
 about Mount Ararat. Towards Egypt the boundary, as laid 
 down by the Anglo-Turkish agreement of October 1906, 
 runs from near Taba at the head of the Gulf of Akaba to 
 Rafeh on the Mediterranean. Elsewhere Asiatic Turkey 
 is surrounded by water — Persian Gulf on the east, Arabian 
 Sea on the south, Red Sea, Mediterranean, and iEgean on 
 the west, Black Sea on the north. It comprises four well- 
 marked natural divisions — Arabia and Asia Minor, the 
 basin of the Euphrates and Tigris, and the upland region 
 of Syria and Palestine — which will here be treated under 
 four separate heads, a general survey of the empire being- 
 reserved for the end of the section. 
 
 Asia Minor, or the " Lesser Asia," is so named rela- 
 tively to the Greater Asia of which it forms the western- 
 most projection. But relatively to Europe it is the
 
 300 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 " Anatolia " of the Greeks, and the " Levant " of the 
 Italians — that is, the " Orient," or " Land of the Rising 
 Sun." 1 Projecting far into the Mediterranean, it is 
 washed on three sides by inland seas — the Euxine on the 
 north, Marmora and iEgean with their connecting straits 
 on the west, the eastern section of the Mediterranean 
 on the south. Eastwards it is limited by a somewhat 
 arbitrary line running from Alexandretta Bay east to the 
 great bend of the Euphrates, and thence follows the 
 course of this river to its source, where it trends north- 
 wards to the Euxine, mainly along the valley of the 
 Choruk-su. Anatolia thus lies between 36° and 42° 
 N. latitude, consequently between the same parallels 
 as the southern sections of the three European peninsulas 
 and the northernmost portion of Barbary. Its greatest 
 length from Cape Baba to the Euphrates, west and east, 
 is about 700 miles, and its extreme breadth from Cape 
 Anamur opposite Cyprus to Cape Injeh near Sinope on 
 the Black Sea is rather over 400 miles. Within these 
 limits its area is roughly estimated at about 220,000 
 square miles, or nearly 20,000 more than France, but with 
 scarcely one-fourth of the population of that country. 
 
 2. Belief of the Land : Taurus, Anti- Taurus, and Amanus 
 — Passes — Plains — Volcanic Agencies — Geolog it :< i / 
 Formation. 
 
 Geographically Asia Minor must be regarded as a 
 western extension of the Armenian and Kurdistan high- 
 
 1 Anatolia, from avartWu} ; Levant, from levare, both of which terms 
 mean " to rise," hence are the exact equivalents of the " Orient," from 
 oriri, the corresponding Latin word. But while Anatolia is by the Greeks 
 strictly limited to Asia Minor, Lcvante is by the Italians extended to all 
 the lands lying east of the Mediterranean, and Orient is applied to the 
 East in general. Anadoli, the Turkish form of Anatolia, is more usually 
 restricted to the western and northern provinces of Asia Minor, while 
 the rest of the country is known as Karamania.
 
 ASIA MINOR 301 
 
 lands, from which it can nowhere be separated by any 
 hard-and-fast line. The plateau formation prevails 
 throughout, the interior of the peninsula forming an 
 extensive tableland at a mean elevation of from 3500 
 to 4000 feet above sea-level, and stretching north-east 
 and south-west for a distance of over 200 miles, with an 
 average breadth of about 140 miles. Above this table- 
 land rise several loosely-connected mountain ranges, while 
 over its surface are scattered a number of salt-lakes, 
 morasses, and watercourses, without any visible outflow 
 seawards, besides several streams which find their way 
 mainly northwards to the Euxine, westwards to the 
 iEgean. and southwards to the East Mediterranean. 
 
 The plateau is skirted south and north by two broken 
 mountain ranges, which radiate from the Armenian up- 
 lands, and to which the terms Taurus and Anti-Taurus 
 were somewhat vaguely applied by the Ancients. The 
 Taurus or southern branch, which forms a continuation of 
 what Kiepert calls the " Armenian Taurus," rises close to 
 the Euphrates, where one of its peaks attains an elevation of 
 10,000 feet. From this point it pursues a very irregular 
 course, under the more specific name of the Amanus, 
 down to Karamania, and thence along the Mediter- 
 ranean coast to the iEgean, with ramifications projecting 
 northwards and southwards at various points.* These 
 branches, like the several sections of the main range 
 itself, bear special names, such as the Ala-dagh, the 
 Karmez-dagh, the Bulgar-dagh, the Sultan-dagh, the 
 Jebel-kum, and others, ranging from 7000 to 10,000 
 and even 13,000 feet high. The large island of Cyprus 
 here lies, like a detached fragment of the mountain mass, 
 opposite the angle formed by the Anatolian and Syrian 
 coast-lines, while the south-western extremity of the 
 peninsula is continued seawards by the lofty island of 
 Rhodes, facing which the Massacitus spur terminates and
 
 302 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 culminates with Mount Takhtalu, 7820 feet high. But 
 elsewhere the escarpments of the tahlelancl fall westwards 
 down . to the JEgean, whose southern islands may be 
 regarded as their advanced terminal peaks. Between the 
 hills and the coast space is left in many places for lower 
 valleys, and even for alluvial plains, varying in width, 
 
 TAURUS RANGE. NEAR TARSUS. 
 
 but mostly of great fertility, and sloping gently in all 
 directions seawards. 
 
 The Anti-Taurus, 1 now perhaps better known as the 
 Agha-dagh, forms a western extension of the Lazistan 
 highlands, running in two and occasionally three nearly 
 parallel chains from the neighbourhood of Batum along 
 
 1 This term is by some geographers applied to the Amanus or north- 
 eastern section of the Taurus between the Armenian highlands and 
 
 Adana.
 
 ASIA MINOR 303 
 
 the coast of the Euxine, and at no great distance from 
 the sea, as far as the Bosphorus. Here it throws off a 
 southern branch to the great western network, culminat- 
 ing with the Keshish-dagh (Olympus), the Morad-dagh, 
 and the Kas-dagh (Ida), which rises 5700 feet above the 
 plains of Troy at the head of the Gulf of Edremid. The 
 Anti-Taurus forms a water-parting for the streams rising 
 on the southern slopes of the Armenian uplands, and 
 flowing some westwards and others towards the Euphrates. 
 Like the Taurus, it also throws off* several side ridges 
 seawards and to the interior. Here a number of smaller 
 and more isolated chains run in various directions, and 
 often attain considerable elevations, culminating with the 
 volcanic Ergish-dagh (Argaios), which is 13,100 feet high, 
 and apparently the culminating point of the peninsula. 
 This cone, which is nearly isolated from the Taurus, forms 
 a striking landmark on the plains of Kaisarieh (Csesarea), 
 which here attain an elevation of over 3000 feet. It 
 consists altogether of igneous matter, and its summit 
 terminates with two craters, through which in former 
 times the underground forces found an outlet. In its 
 central section the Taurus itself varies in height from 
 2700 to 5500 feet, while the Asi-Kur (Niphates), one 
 of its loftiest summits, rises above the snow-line. 
 
 Both the Taurus and Anti- Taurus are crossed at 
 various points by passes generally at low elevations and 
 of moderately easy access. Of these the most important 
 strategically and commercially is the Geulek-Boghax, oi 
 " Cilician Gates," a deep gorge, 3300 feet above sea-level, 
 running about 30 miles north of Tarsus over the Taurus, 
 and connecting Anatolia with North Syria and fche 
 Euphrates valley. This famous defile has been followed 
 in all ages by migrating peoples, traders, and conquering 
 hosts. Through it Alexander marched to the overthrow 
 of the Persian Empire, and through it Mehemet Ali in
 
 304 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 recent times twice penetrated into Anatolia on his march 
 to Constantinople. About 100 miles west of this point 
 the Taurus is crossed by a second pass leading from 
 Karaman southwards to the Gok-su valley, and by a third, 
 150 miles still farther west, connecting Isbarta south- 
 wards with Adalia. The chief openings giving access 
 from the Euxine through the Anti-Taurus to the central 
 plateau are those leading from Ineboli to Kastamuni and 
 Angora, from Sinope to Amasia, from Samsun to the 
 same place, and from Trebizond over the Kolat-dagh to 
 Erzerum. 
 
 In the higher regions of the peninsula the chief 
 geological formations seem to be serpentines, granites, and 
 schists, while limestones prevail lower down and almost 
 everywhere in the western provinces. The trachytic 
 formations, which abound in the east, are overlaid towards 
 the centre of the plateau by black volcanic breccia, inter- 
 spersed with blocks of trachyte. Altogether, igneous 
 formations may be regarded as the dominant feature in 
 the geology of Asia Minor. 
 
 3. Hydrography : Rivers, Tlie Kizil-Irmak, Sakaria, 
 Choruk, Khoja-chai, and others — Lake Tuz-gol. 
 
 The chief Anatolian rivers flow in a north-easterly 
 direction to the Black Sea. Of these rivers, which have 
 not all yet been thoroughly explored, the largest is the 
 Kizil-Irmak (Halys), formed by the junction of two 
 head-streams, one rising in the hills south-west of Tokat 
 and flowing westwards, the other rising farther south on 
 the slopes of Taurus and thence flowing first in a westerly 
 and then in a northerly direction. After pursuing a 
 very winding course of about 800 miles, the Kizil-Irmak 
 discharges its waters through two principal channels into
 
 ASIA MINOR 305 
 
 the Euxine below Bafra, and a little to the east of the Gulf 
 of Sinope. Nearly the whole of its lower course below 
 the latitude of Angora, a distance of 280 miles, remained 
 unexplored till 1893, when it was carefully surveyed by- 
 Lieutenant Marker and his associates. North of Kalejik, 
 where the stream plunges into a wild rocky gorge 6 miles 
 long, the explorers discovered several rock-tombs, which 
 date from pre-Hellenic times, and are traditionally attri- 
 buted to the ancient Paphlagonian rulers of the land. 
 Similar remains occur elsewhere in this region, attesting 
 a far denser population than at present. The tombs, 
 which nearly always occupy commanding positions, are 
 cut in the live rock usually at a height of 20 to 50 feet 
 above the alluvial soil. They have always a vestibule, 
 whence a low, wide passage leads to the tomb proper, 
 which contains from one to four chambers. At Osmanjik, 
 farther north, the river is spanned by a fine old stone 
 bridge of fifteen arches, built by Bayazid II., and leading to 
 Haji Hamza and the Devrezchai affluent. Below Cheltek, 
 where it is crossed by a wooden bridge, the Kizil-Irmak 
 pierces the coast range through some rocky gorges, and 
 beyond the thriving town of Bafra it enters the lowlands, 
 where its banks are fringed by a dense belt of woodlands 
 forming overhanging avenues like those of the White 
 Nile tributaries. In summer the stream varies from 60 
 to 330 yards in width, with a velocity of at least 4} 
 miles an hour, and when in flood it is said to be accessible 
 to barges from Bafra to the lvaisarieh district. At other 
 times it is unnavigable by the smallest craft, owing to 
 til-- numerous rapids below the Elmadaghchai confluence 
 {Berlin Geographical Society, January 1894). Some 50 
 miles farther east the Yeshil-Irmak (Iris) enters the 
 Black Sea, about 16 miles to the east of Samsun, afte] 
 (lowing by Tokat and Amasia during a tortuous com >e 
 of nearly 240 miles. 
 
 vol. if x
 
 306 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 But next in importance to the Halys is the Sakaria 
 (Sangarius), which rises near Angora on the tableland, 
 and reaches the Black Sea at a point some 80 miles east 
 of the Bosphorus. The Choruk or Joruk (Bathys), the 
 north-eastern frontier river, crosses Armenian territory 
 and falls into the Euxine just south of Batum. The 
 affluents of the iEgean Sea are important historically 
 rather than geographically. While all are of small size, 
 most of them are renowned in song and legend. Espe- 
 cially famous are the Gediz-chai (Hermus), flowing to 
 the Gulf of Smyrna, and formerly noted for its auriferous 
 sands : the Bakir-chai (Caicus ?), reaching the coast below 
 Pergamus ; the Khojah-chai (Granicus), flowing from the 
 slopes of Ida, and the scene of Alexander's first victory 
 over Darius in 334 B.C.; the Meinder-su, " called Xanthus 
 by the gods and Scamander by men," which with its 
 tributary, the equally famous Simois, traverses the Troas 
 and joins the iEgean at the mouth of the Dardanelles ; 
 lastly, the Buyuk Meinder (Meander), which flows for 
 250 miles through wild mountain gorges and rich alluvial 
 plains to the coast near Miletus, and whose remarkable 
 windings have given a familiar word to the English 
 tongue. Most of these streams bring down much alluvial 
 matter, which has during the historic period choked up 
 many of the old harbours of the Ionian seaboard. Of 
 less consequence are the rivers running south to the 
 Mediterranean, two only of which, the Jihun-chai (Pyra- 
 mus) and Sihun-chai (Carus), are of any considerable 
 size. The " Silver Cydnus," associated with the names 
 of Antony and Cleopatra, reaches this coast close to the 
 mouth of the Sihun. 
 
 Some miles west of the Cydnus follow the two coast 
 streams, Lamas and Kalykadnos (Ghiuk-su), which de- 
 scend from the southern slopes of Taurus, and flow 
 through a district strewn with innumerable ruins of
 
 ASIA MINOR 
 
 307 
 
 towns, palaces, and temples. Here was the famous 
 Cilician kingdom of Olba, at one time ruled by a dynasty 
 of priest-kings who were reduced by the Romans. Olba, 
 
 > : : 
 
 ■■-'■.'.■'■-•• 
 
 — — — 
 
 - 
 
 vJPI^,- '_ 
 
 
 HOCK CARVINGS NEAB OLBA. 
 
 the capital, the site of which was rediscovered by Mr. 
 Theodore Bent in 1 889, stands on the Jebel Hissar 
 (5850 feet), which is still crowned by a ruined fortress 
 four stories Inch, with five chambers on each story.
 
 308 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Close by is the great temple of Jupiter with thirty Cor- 
 inthian columns still in situ, altogether one of the finest 
 ruins in Asia Minor. The Lamas Eiver, whose upper 
 course encloses the Jebel Hissar on the north and east, 
 plunges lower down into an extremely romantic gorge 
 nowhere more than half a mile across, " the stupendous 
 walls of which for miles offer on either side sheer pre- 
 cipices, reaching to the elevation in some places of over 
 2000 feet" (Bent, Geo. Proc, 1890, p. 450). 
 
 A prominent feature of the plateau consists of its 
 numerous fresh and salt water lakes, of which the largest 
 is the Tuz-gol, or " Salt Lake " (Tatta Palus), lying about 
 60 miles north of Konia (Iconium). It is nearly 50 
 miles long by 1 to 1 2 wide ; its waters are very brackish, 
 and the saline incrustations on its banks are rich enough 
 to supply the surrounding districts with salt. It is very 
 shallow, and its area is much diminished by evaporation 
 during the summer months. Of the fresh-water lakes 
 the largest is the Egerdir, which lies 2800 feet above 
 the sea, between the Sultan-dagh and the northern spurs 
 of Taurus, and which is 30 miles long by 9 to 10 broad 
 at its widest point. In the north-west the Isnik-gol, 
 near Brussa, is 50 miles round, and drains to the Sea of 
 Marmora. 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions — Islands. 
 
 The Anatolian peninsula forms in reality as well as 
 in name a miniature of the whole continent. Both con- 
 sist mainly of extensive central plateaux, with an inland 
 and seaward drainage, and both are skirted by lofty 
 ranges, behind which most of the streams have their 
 source, which find their way to the coast. But in Asia 
 Minor the alluvial plains developed by these rivers can- 
 not compare in relative extent with those of the greater
 
 ASIA MINOK 309 
 
 Asia. The escarpments of the plateaux approach every- 
 where so near to the sea that no space is left for great 
 lowland plains such as those of Siberia and China. 
 There are a few low-lying and somewhat marshy tracts 
 about the lower course of the Yeshil-Irmak, Kizil-Irmak, 
 and Sakaria on the Black Sea, along the banks of the 
 Meinder below Smyrna, and about Adalia and Mersina 
 on the south coast. But with these and a few other 
 unimportant exceptions, the whole peninsula may be 
 broadly divided into two main natural divisions — the 
 central plateau, here and there intersected by transverse 
 ridges, and the encircling ranges. This disposition of the 
 surface has largely determined the limits of the eight 
 great vilayets or provinces into which Anatolia is divided 
 for administrative purposes. Two or three — Angora and 
 Sivas — comprise the greater part of the tableland. Of 
 the six others, Adana, Aydin, Kastamuni, and Trebizond 
 coincide with so many distinct sections of the coast 
 ranges, while Brussa and Konia alone include portions 
 both of the plateau and of the seaboard. 
 
 The old historical divisions, which fluctuated con- 
 siderably with the many political and ethnical vicissi- 
 tudes of this region, have been almost entirely effaced by 
 the modern administrative changes of the Ottoman rule. 
 Nevertheless, the names of these ancient states have 
 never quite died out of history, and such memorable 
 geographical terms as Phrygia, Lydia, Pamphylia, Paphla- 
 gonia, Cilicia, Cappadocia, are still familiar to the ordinary 
 reader. How far all the old divisions correspond with 
 the present administrative departments may be seen in 
 the subjoined comparative table : —
 
 310 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Turkish Vila} 
 
 ets. 
 
 Ancient Divisions. 
 
 Brussa (Khodave 
 
 ndikiar) 
 
 Mysia. 
 
 Aj - din (Smyrna) 
 
 
 / Lydia. 
 
 ( Caria. 
 f Lycia. 
 1 Pisidia. 
 • Pamphylia. 
 
 
 
 Konia (Iconium) 
 
 
 
 
 i Isauria. 
 
 
 
 1, Lycaonia. 
 
 Adana 
 
 
 Cilicia. 
 
 Sivas . 
 
 
 Part of Cappadocia 
 f Phrygia. 
 
 Angora 
 
 
 -! Galatia. 
 
 
 
 I^Part of Cappadocia 
 
 Trebizond 
 
 
 Part of Pontus. 
 
 Kastamuni . 
 
 
 f Paphlagonia. 
 1 Bithynia. 
 
 All the islands of the iEgean Sea belonging to 
 Turkey, and collectively known as the Sporades, are 
 grouped together in a separate administrative division 
 called the Vilayet Jezairi Bahr-i-Sefid — that is, the 
 " Vilayet of the White Sea Islands.'' 1 In this division 
 was included the large island of Cyprus till the year 
 1878, when its administration was transferred to Eng- 
 land. Thasos also is attached to the Egyptian Govern- 
 ment, while Samos forms since 1832 a semi-independent 
 tributary Christian State, under the suzerainty of the 
 Porte, by whom its prince is appointed. With these 
 exceptions all the Sporades of the White Sea Vilayet are 
 disposed in five Sanjaks, or " Banners," as under : — 
 
 Sanjaks. 
 Bigha 
 
 Mvtilene . 
 
 Islands. 
 
 Tenedos. 
 Lemnos. 
 
 Samothrace. 
 Imbros. 
 
 Mytilene (Lesbos). 
 
 Population. 
 
 r 26,916 houses, 
 
 of which 
 1 10,544 Greek. 
 { 10, 308 Moslem. 
 r 19,522 houses, 
 
 of which 
 16,594 Greek, 
 L 2,818 Moslem. 
 
 1 The iEirean, for no apparent reason, is always called the "White 
 Sea " by the Turks and Arabs. See Das Vilayet der Inselen des Weissen 
 Meeres, by A. Putter zur Helle. Vienna, 1878.
 
 ASIA MINOR 
 
 311 
 
 Sanjaks. 
 Sakyss 
 
 Kos (Istankoi) 
 Rhodes 
 
 Islands. 
 
 f Khios (Sakyss). 
 \ Ipsaria (Psara). 
 
 Kos. 
 
 Kalymnos. 
 
 Patinos. 
 
 Nisyros. 
 
 Nicaria (Icaria). 
 
 Leros. 
 
 {Rhodes. 
 Karjiathos. 
 Kharki. 
 Kasos. 
 
 Population. 
 
 10,428 houses, 
 nearly all Greek. 
 
 6,394 houses, 
 
 of which 
 6,0S5 Greek. 
 
 r 16,762 houses, 
 
 of which 
 10,270 Greek, 
 . 1,172 Moslem. 
 
 Most of these islands enjoy a delightful climate, and 
 are fertile in oil, wine, silk, honey, corn, figs, oranges, and 
 other fruits. Physically they may be regarded as a con- 
 tinuation of the mainland, belonging mostly to the same 
 geological formation as the opposite coast of Anatolia, 
 and, like it, still subject to violent earthquakes. By one 
 of these Khios (Scio) was nearly ruined in the spring of 
 the year 1881. In the Sporades the Greeks have 
 always maintained a large numerical superiority, and the 
 Turks, still numerous in Lemnos, Tenedos, and a few 
 others, are retrograding like their fellow-countrymen on 
 the mainland. The ownership of the land is rapidly 
 passing from them into the hands of the Greeks, Arme- 
 nians, and Jews. 
 
 Cyprus. 
 
 Cyprus, third largest island in the Mediterranean, 
 presents the rough outlines of a bill-hook, with its sharp 
 convex edge facing the Nile delta, and its handle, the 
 Carpas promontory, projecting north-eastwards to within 
 80 miles of the Gulf of Iskanderun. But Cape Andreas, 
 at the extremity of this headland, is distant only 60 miles 
 from Latakia, the nearest point on the Syrian coast, with 
 which it is now connected by submarine cable. The 
 island is 3584 square miles in extent, with a population
 
 312 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 (1901) of 237,000, two-thirds Greeks and one-third Mu- 
 hammadan Turks. Physically it comprises three distinct 
 sections — (1) The low-lying central Mesaorea Plain, 
 originally a marine bed, as shown by the extensive banks 
 of marine shells, large oysters and others, massed in 
 several places ; (2) The Kyrenian, or Northern range, 
 which runs as a single ridge, with scarcely any spurs, 
 close to the shore from Cape Kormakiti to Cape Andreas, 
 at a mean height of about 1500 feet, with three con- 
 spicuous peaks — Pentedaktylos (2400 feet) near the 
 centre, Buffavento (3140) a little farther west, and Kornos 
 (3105) towards the eastern extremity; (3) The southern 
 highlands, which cover nearly half of the surface, rising 
 and broadening out westwards to a width of 20 miles, 
 and culminating in Mount Troodos (6406 feet), highest 
 point in the island. East of Troodos follow Mounts 
 Adelphe (5305), Machera (4674), and Santa Croce (2260) 
 above Larnaca. 
 
 From Pentedaktylos a copious perennial stream, the 
 Kythrea of the Greeks, rushes down to the central plain, 
 where it supplies power to several mills, and at last runs 
 out in numerous irrigation rills. But all the other water- 
 courses are rather winter torrents than rivers, seldom 
 flowing for more than a few weeks continuously, and 
 usually only for two or three days after heavy down- 
 pours. The largest are Pediseus and Idalia, both of 
 which rise on the slopes of Machera, and after traversing 
 the Central Plain, mingle their waters during the freshets 
 at the silted-up port of the ancient Salamis, just north of 
 Famagusta on the east coast. 
 
 Cyprus, which has no resources except the produce 
 of the land, suffers from three plagues — long droughts, 
 goats, and locusts. The goats, relatively more numerous 
 than in any other region, have been a potent agency in 
 the destruction of the pine and cypress forests, for which
 
 ASIA MINOR 313 
 
 the island was long famous, and which supplied the 
 material for ship-building from Phoenician times down to 
 the late oppressive rule of the Egyptians. The goat 
 nuisance remains unabated ; and the locusts, not migra- 
 tory, but of a species indigenous to the island, although 
 kept under control by an ingenious device invented by 
 an Italian resident, still reappear from time to time. 
 
 The disappearance of the woods, now reduced to 
 about 400 square miles in the southern uplands, has 
 seriously affected agricultural prospects. With the forests 
 went the soil, which " was washed down to the plains, 
 choked the river-beds, and formed malarious swamps; 
 the hills became bare rocks, incapable of growing a blade 
 of grass, and the locust at once took possession of the 
 barren ground, whilst the absence of trees deprived the 
 earth of its annual fertilising agent, leaf-mould. There 
 is now a stony desert at the south-east of the island 
 between Famagusta and Larnaca, where tradition says 
 there was formerly a large forest ; and to the east of the 
 Mesaorea, on the now dry and desolate plateau, there are 
 many limekilns now in ruins, which could not have been 
 supplied except by a vegetation that has now altogether 
 disappeared" (Sir E. Biddulph, Geo. Proc, 1889, p. 711). 
 
 Nevertheless, since the British occupation agricul- 
 tural interests have improved, the exports (cereals, wine, 
 cotton, raisins, silk, cocoons, wool) having advanced from 
 £271,000 in 1902 to nearly £465,000 in 1906, the 
 revenue from £160,000 to £286,000 in the same period, 
 and the population from 186,000 to 237,000 in the 
 decade ending 1901. There is no public debt, and the 
 annual grant from imperial funds to revenue has gradu- 
 ally fallen from £55,000 in 1888 to £28,000 in 1907, 
 although the resources of the island are still burdened 
 with an annual charge of £92,800, payable to Tin key 
 under the Convention of 1878.
 
 314 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The bulk of the population is necessarily concentrated 
 on the arable lowlands, where are situated all the towns 
 — Nicosia, the capital, on the Pediceus, near the centre of 
 the Mesaorea Plain, 14,752 ; Limasol and Larnaca, the 
 two chief ports, both on the south coast, each over 8000; 
 
 
 (From Photo, by BonJUs, Beyront.) 
 
 LIMASOL, CYPRUS. 
 
 Famagusta on the east coast, a place of vast antiquity, 
 which, since the Turkish conquest (1571), has been a 
 city of ruins, with a population (1901) of 3825. 
 
 Cyprus was probably first settled by Pelasgians and 
 Phoenicians in prehistoric times ; to them succeeded 
 Egyptians, Assyrians, early Greeks, Persians, later Greeks, 
 Eomans, Byzantins, Crusaders, Venetians, Turks, Modern
 
 ASIA MINOR 315 
 
 Egyptians, and English. Hence scarcely any other spot 
 in the world is richer in archaeological remains represent- 
 ing successive periods of Eastern and Western culture, 
 following without a break from the remotest ages down 
 to the present day. 
 
 5. Climate. 
 
 Owing to the great diversity in its relief, the climate 
 of Anatolia is so varied that a general description becomes 
 very difficult. In some places the transition from winter 
 to summer may be effected by the traveller within the 
 four -and -twenty hours. Along the west coast, at all 
 times famous for its genial temperature, the thermometer 
 varies in summer from 85° to 98° or 100° F., and here 
 the heavy dews partly compensate for the slight rainfall. 
 On the central plateau the winters are often exceedingly 
 severe, the snow lying deep on the ground for about four 
 months. In Karamania these winters are followed by 
 sultry summers, and here also the rainy days are so few 
 between April and November that the people depend 
 nearly altogether on the tanks and reservoirs for their 
 water. In the mountain passes of the Taurus the winters 
 are excessively severe, and the summers correspondingly 
 oppressive. More favourable is the climate of the north 
 coast, thanks to its mild character and abundant rainfall. 
 But while the interior is generally healthy, malaria, pro- 
 duced by the great heat and moisture, prevails, especially 
 in autumn, near Trebizond and at some other points along 
 the shores of the Euxine. 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna. 
 
 The Anatolian flora, forms a transition between those 
 of Persia and Syria in the east, and ul' Southern Europe 
 in the west. On the south coast we are even reminded
 
 316 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of the Nile valley, while the western seaboard strongly 
 resembles that of the Morea. Owing to their abundant 
 moisture the northern shores possess a magnificent forest 
 vegetation, including the oak, beech, box, ash, plane, and 
 other leafy trees. Here we meet with dense groves of 
 the walnut, quince, mulberry, pomegranate, peach, apricot, 
 plum, and cherry, while the valleys of the Kizil-Irmak, 
 Sakaria, and other streams, afford excellent pasturage. 
 Storax and other plants yielding valuable resins flourish 
 on the Karamanian coast, whose flora resembles that of 
 the shores of Syria. 
 
 In the Taurus grow several forest trees, especially 
 of the coniferous order. But thousands of stately pines 
 are yearly destroyed by fire, which is recklessly applied 
 to them in order to stimulate the yield of turpentine. 
 In Adana the sugar-cane grows well, but does not ripen 
 sufficiently to cause the sap to crystallise. Large quan- 
 tities of excellent grapes, olives, and figs are produced 
 in the southern valleys, while the flora in many parts 
 of the west and south rivals that of Spain and Sicily in 
 splendour and luxuriance. In these respects a striking 
 contrast is presented by the bleak upland plateaux of 
 the interior, which produce little more than a stunted 
 growth of brushwood, some saline plants, wormwood, 
 wild sage, a few species of ferns, and in some districts 
 nothing but two kinds of bramble. Amongst the 
 cereals there is a species of bearded wheat ; but oats 
 are little cultivated, and barley is used as fodder for 
 horses and other animals. The seeds of a species of 
 thistle (Gundelia Toumefortia); which abounds on the 
 Taurus slopes, yield a beverage which forms an excel- 
 lent substitute for coffee, " a little brighter in colour, a 
 little more bitter and aromatic in taste, but practically 
 the same. It grows also in large quantities in Afghan- 
 istan " (Bent).
 
 ASIA MINOR 31 , 
 
 Like the flora, the fauna is akin to that of Southern 
 Europe, but still more to those of Syria and Mesopo- 
 tamia. Amongst the beasts of prey, nowhere numerous, 
 are a few bears, wolves, hyenas, birds, several species 
 of the eat, and wild dog. Jackals are met in the more 
 secluded districts, where the gazelle and other varieties 
 of the antelope also abound. Of domestic animals the 
 buffalo is most commonly employed in agriculture, and 
 even its milk generally replaces that of the common 
 cow, which is rarely seen in the country. The camel 
 is the chief beast of burden, although the horses are 
 strong and well built, and had once a high reputation. 
 The asses also are active and above the average size. 
 The famous long-haired Angora or shawl goat, formerly 
 peculiar to this region, but now found also in Persia, 
 thrives in Anatolia only in a tract about 11,000 square 
 miles in extent, stretching westwards from the Kizil- 
 Irmak. Elsewhere the breed soon degenerates and 
 loses the fine fleecy texture of its coating. The indi- 
 genous sheep belong mostly to the fat-tailed species, 
 common throughout the East from Syria to the Kirghiz 
 steppes. 
 
 Amongst birds the most common are the eagle 
 falcon, bustard, stork, heron, quail, partridge, besides the 
 ordinary European species. Of butterflies the varieties 
 are endless, and many are noted for .their rare and 
 gorgeous colours. The coasts teem with all kinds oi 
 fish, amongst which are the dye-producing cuttle-fishes. 
 Land tortoises, lizards, frogs are common, while leeches 
 are exported in considerable quantities to France and 
 Italy. 
 
 7. Inhabitants: Turks, Greeks, Kizil-Bashis. 
 
 Ethnically speaking, Asia Minor is at presenl tin- 
 true home of the Turks. It is one of the mainstays oi
 
 318 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the Ottoman Empire, from which this power continues 
 to draw most of the resources that have hitherto en- 
 abled it to preserve its footing in the Balkan peninsula. 
 Hence it is that the true character of this race can best 
 be studied in Anatolia. All the western provinces are 
 inhabited chiefly by Turks, who, however, even here are 
 compelled to maintain the struggle for existence with 
 other nationalities, and especially with the Hellenes. 
 Farther east other races, such as the Armenians, Kurds, 
 and Lazis, take part in the rivalry. 
 
 Yet, strange to say, the term " Turk " itself, at one 
 time a proud title from the shores of the Adriatic 
 to the remotest confines of Central Asia, is now carefully 
 eschewed in Anatolia itself, where it has become a by- 
 word of reproach, answering somewhat to the English 
 " boor," or " clod-hopper." And the people themselves 
 have become all the more sensitive on the point, inas- 
 much as the " effendi," or refined " gentleman " from 
 Stambul, regards the terms "Turk" and "Anatolian'' 
 as practically synonymous with "uncouth" or "clownish." 
 The stalwart and sinewy figure of the Anatolian peasant, 
 his rough manners, his harsh dialect, so different in 
 its primitive type from the Arabo-Persian jargon that 
 passes for Turkish in the capital, combined with his 
 rude pronunciation, which has been compared to the 
 gobbling of an enraged turkey-cock, afford a constant 
 source of merriment to the dandies from the other side 
 of the Bosphorus. 
 
 At the same time the social condition of the people 
 must be regarded as backward and unsatisfactory. 
 Since the days of the Trojan war the cultivation of the 
 land has undergone but little improvement, and even 
 the simple art of maintaining meadow lands is still 
 unknown, so that during the dry summer months the 
 herds must still be driven to the uplands in quest of a
 
 ASIA MLNui; 
 
 3 1 9 
 
 sorry pasturage. The fig, the vine, and the olive supply 
 the Turkish peasant with his frugal fare, and enable 
 him to meet his scanty wants. What need, therefore, 
 to trouble himself with refined systems of husbandry '. 
 
 The Turkish village presents a far from inviting 
 appearance. The uncleanly hovels built of adobe, or 
 sun-baked bricks, and pierced with one or two holes 
 
 
 HOUSE IN THE TAURUS. 
 
 for windows, usually comprise two compartments, one 
 for the family, the other for the storage of provisions. 
 The fittings of the interior are extremely simple, the 
 furniture consisting mainly of a straw mat on the floor, 
 a trestle bed with woollen mattress and cotton coverlets 
 in the corner, a rude chest for the linen and best clothes, 
 a few copper vessels and stone water-jars. 
 
 Dr. Carl Scherzer, a shrewd observer and a com- 
 petent judge in Oriental matters, paints the. presenl 
 and the future of the Anatolian Turk in a few pregnant 
 touches: — "The Turk, as a rule, understands his own
 
 320 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 language only, whereas all the other races in the country 
 speak at least two from their infancy. This is due 
 partly to his pride and contempt for all non-Muham- 
 madan peoples, partly to the lack of enterprise and 
 social rivalry. Earnest, reserved, and perhaps some- 
 what indolent, the Turk is still gifted with a fair share 
 of intelligence. But though a keen observer of character, 
 he lacks the business habits and the calculating spirit 
 which have enabled the rival races to monopolise nearly 
 all the trade of the country. In the rural districts 
 the Turks are occupied mainly with agriculture and 
 stock-breeding ; in the towns they either deal in the 
 local products, or else ply such simple trades as suffice 
 to supply the few wants of their existence. Under 
 proper management they make good seamen, and are also 
 well suited for the caravan trade. They are deficient in 
 the qualities of industry, perseverance in the acquisition 
 of wealth, and the upward tendency towards social 
 improvement, and indolence may be regarded as one 
 of their most salient national failings. The morrow 
 troubles them but little; hence they will often pay an 
 exorbitant interest for the means wherewith to tide over 
 temporary embarrassments, and will freely sell their 
 lands without giving a thought to the consequent de- 
 crease of future income. 
 
 " In the districts where they are surrounded by 
 Greek and Armenian communities the Turks have fallen 
 greatly behind ; but, thanks to the natural resources of 
 the land and their own frugal lives, they are seldom 
 reduced to absolute want. The recruiting system is a 
 heavy burden, to which the Muhammadan populations 
 alone have hitherto been subjected." 
 
 The exclusion of the female element from the social 
 life of the Turk helps but to intensify the evil. The 
 continuance of this practice is due mainly to the low
 
 ASIA MINOR 
 
 321 
 
 Btate (if education, which completely fails to meet the 
 requirements of modern ideas. 
 
 It is not perhaps surprising that under such cir- 
 cumstances the energetic, mercurial, and quick-witted 
 Greek should threaten to usurp the inheritance of the 
 
 ^^cfiif 3 
 
 A GREEK OF SMVHNA. 
 
 Turk oven during his lifetime. Occupied with thoughts 
 of gain, a shrewd calculating man of business, a skilful 
 seafarer, and intelligent husbandman, the Greek out- 
 rivals his Moslem neighbour in every pursuit of HI'''. 
 The Learned professions he almosl entirely monopolises, 
 and the doctor, lawyer, teacher, banker are everywhere 
 .sure to be of Hellenic blood. The Greek is invariably 
 vol.. II v
 
 322 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the broker who negotiates all business matters for 
 " his Turkish friend," and he has secured the almost 
 exclusive control over the local and export trade. He 
 is at the same time indefatigable in his efforts to pro- 
 mote scientific and literary work, while also fostering a 
 lively sense of Hellenic nationality. Thus Smyrna has 
 already become a Greek city, and Athens has become 
 the centre of an ably-directed movement aiming especi- 
 ally at the improvement of education amongst the 
 Anatolian Hellenes. With his unflagging efforts to 
 better his social and political status the descendant of 
 the old Ionian stock is gradually resuming possession of 
 the western provinces. 
 
 Other ethnical elements in Asia Minor are the 
 Armenians, Jews, numerous in the large towns, the 
 Gipsies, the Circassians, Abkhasians, Lazis, and the 
 Yuruks, a nomad Turki race occupying the uplands 
 between Erzerum and the plains of North Syria. 
 
 " The many tribes of Yuruks, so called from the 
 Turki sh Turumck, to wander, are almost the only in- 
 habitants of vast districts in the highlands to the west 
 and south of Asia Minor. They are a very peaceable, 
 friendly race, quite distinct from the Afshars, Kurds, 
 Circassians, Bosdans, and other tribes which winter on 
 the Cilician plain, and whose summer pastures or ymlas 
 are farther east. The Turks look upon the Yuruks, 
 from their law-abiding tendencies, as the policemen of 
 the mountains, and they are always ready to give in- 
 formation concerning the suspicious characters who visit 
 their mountains." They are a remarkably fine race, 
 distinctly white, with fair skins and long beards, Muham- 
 madans, polygamists, and great camel breeders, " producing 
 that valuable sort of mule camel common in Asia Minor, 
 a cross between the Bactrian and the Syrian, which 
 is excellent for mountaineering purposes " (Bent).
 
 ASIA MINOR 323 
 
 Mention should also be made of the Kizil-Bashis, or 
 "Red Heads," a remarkable race, also of Turki stock, 
 scattered over Anatolia, Persia, and Afghanistan as t'ai 
 east as Kabul. Outwardly devout Muhammadans, the 
 
 Kizil-Bashis are none the less tenaciously attached i<> 
 their own peculiar tenets and observances. These they 
 never reveal to strangers, and Mordtmann, who fre- 
 quently visited Asia Minor, never succeeded in obtaining 
 any trustworthy information regarding them. He, how- 
 ever, agrees with Van Lennep ] in looking on them as 
 the last survivors of the old pagan communities. But 
 VY. Gifford Palgrave, when British Consul at Trebi- 
 zond in 1868, described them as "a sort of Eastern 
 Mormonites, with a dash of Persian or Shiah supersti- 
 tion." 2 He adds that they are as distinct from the 
 Osmanli as the Saxons are from the Swedes. They 
 call themselves " Eski-Turk " — that is, " Old Turks "— 
 a term often applied to the Anatolian Turkoman tribes, 
 to whom they seem to be closely akin in physique and 
 speech. Although reputed atheists, they are said to 
 be believers in the doctrine of transmigration, are very 
 hospitable, and entirely free from the absurd feelings 
 of jealousy which degrade women to the level of the 
 brute creation in most Muhammadan countries. The 
 fertile plains of Raz Ova and Arc! Ova near Tokat, and 
 the villages between Angora and Amasia, and between 
 Kara-Hissar and Tokat, are the central quarters of the 
 Anatolian Red Heads. 
 
 The Circassians and Abkhasians who have migrated 
 to Turkey since the reduction of West Caucasia by the 
 Russians have never found suitable homes in Asia 
 Minor, where they have consequently become a serious 
 disturbing element. Mrs. Scott- Stevenson, and other 
 
 1 Travels in Little Known Parts of Asia Minor, Lond. 1870. 
 2 Official Report on prov. Trebizond, in Blue-book foi i Vi ',- pari ii.
 
 324 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 recent travellers, represent them as a source of constant 
 trouble, hopelessly indolent, given to plundering and 
 hectoring over the people, levying blackmail right and 
 left, and actually laying siege to the provincial towns. 
 
 8. Topography : Chief Towns. 
 
 The interior of Asia Minor is rich in towns whose 
 names have been famous since classic times, a circum- 
 stance which is apt to give them far greater importance 
 than they now really possess. Such are Kaisarieh 
 (Csesarea), at the north foot of Mount Argaios, which, 
 though much fallen from its former greatness, still 
 derives some importance from its position at the junction 
 of several highways of commerce ; Sivas (Sebaste) on 
 the Kizil-Irmak, and Tokat on the Yeshil-Irmak, 60 
 miles north-west of it, both centres of a considerable 
 inland trade. Farther west, Konia (Iconium), on the 
 road between Brussa and Adana, gives its name to a 
 large vilayet ; formerly capital of the Seljuk empire, 
 its numerous shrines of " saints " still attract devout 
 Moslem pilgrims. Angora, or Engurieh (Ancyra), in 
 the centre of the Angora plateau, is noted for its silky, 
 long-haired animals — cats, dogs, rabbits, and goats, the 
 wool of the last-mentioned forming the staple of its 
 trade. Afiun-Karahissar, midway between Smyrna and 
 Lake Tuz-gol, is the centre of a large opium trade, 
 whence its name, which means " Black Castle of Opium." 
 On the northern route leading thence to the Sea of 
 Marmora stand Kiutayah, or Kutaieh (Cotyseum), near 
 which are some interesting Phrygian remains, and Brussa 
 at the foot of Mount Olympus, whence its classic name 
 of Prusa ad Olympum. It was formerly the capital of 
 Bithynia, and is at present the chief town of the vilayet 
 of Khodavendikiar. A few miles north-east of it are
 
 ASIA MINOR 325 
 
 the once famous towns of Isnik (Nicaea) at the east end 
 of Lake Ascanius, and Ismid, now connected by rail 
 with Scutari, the Asiatic suburb of Constantinople. < >n 
 the coast of the Euxine are the small ports of Sinope, 
 where the destruction of the Turkish fleet by the 
 Russians precipitated the Crimean war of 1854, and 
 Samsun (Amisus), near the mouth of the Kizil-Irmak. 
 East of it lies the flourishing port of Tarabuzun 
 (Trebizond), the great emporium of the overland trade 
 with Armenia and Persia. Here the Greeks under 
 Xenophon, on their memorable retreat northwards from 
 Cunaxa, first struck the coast and hailed the blue waters 
 of the Euxine with shouts of " Thalatta, Thalatta ! " 
 
 But the true emporium of the Levantine trade and 
 the real capital of Asia Minor is Ismir (Smyrna), which 
 is conveniently situated at the head of the gulf of like 
 name, a magnificent inlet of the iEgean, over 40 miles 
 
 ' © © > 
 
 long, forming a vast and well-sheltered harbour with 
 deep water right up to the quays of the city. 
 
 Originally an iEolian, later an Ionian settlement, 
 Smyrna is one of the oldest places in the Hellenic world. 
 It was one of the seven cities that claimed the honour 
 of having given birth to Homer, and the poet's epithet 
 of Melesigcnes has reference to the local belief thai he 
 saw the light on the banks of the neighbouring river 
 Meles. Smyrna also figures amongst the " seven 
 Churches" mentioned in Revelation, and on Mount 
 Pagus is still shown the tomb of its bishop, Polycarp, 
 who suffered under Marcus Aurelius (166 a.d.). But 
 since 1419 it has been held by the Turks, who, how- 
 ever, have failed to greatly modify its essentially lb 1 
 lenic character. Of its estimated population of 210,000 
 in 1907, fully 140,000 are still Greeks, and not more 
 than 40,000 Turks, the remainder comprising 15,000 
 Jews, 10,000 Armenians, and about the same number
 
 326 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of Franks and Levantines (Europeans). All these 
 sections of the community occupy separate quarters, of 
 which the most attractive is that of the Franks, where 
 the French language has become the general medium of 
 
 intercourse. But there are nowhere any fine public 
 buildings, and the most important institution is the 
 large Greek College, the chief centre of neo- Hellenic 
 culture in Asia Minor. It has long been under the 
 protection of England, and occupies quite a district to 
 itself, comprising a museum of antiquities, a large and
 
 ASIA MINOR 327 
 
 valuable library, and other aids to the higher education 
 of the Greek population. The Greeks take the leading 
 part in all municipal affairs, and they have monopolised 
 most of the retail trade of the place. But by far the 
 largest share of the foreign exchauges belongs to Great 
 Britain — about £3,000,000 of the £5,600,000 exports, 
 and £1,116,000 of the £3,400,00*0 imports in 1906. 
 
 Nothing gives us a better idea of the varied natural 
 resources of Anatolia than a glance at the export trade 
 of Smyrna. The tables include such diverse commodi- 
 ties as maize, rice, and other cereals, tobacco, silk, 
 cocoons, opium, madder, valonea, gall nuts, yellow berries, 
 mohair, sponges, besides large quantities of dried figs 
 and raisins of prime quality. 
 
 9. Highways of Communication. 
 
 One of the chief impediments to the development of 
 the resources of Anatolia is the lack of good highways of 
 communication. Eailway enterprise, however, has made 
 some progress in recent years, and in 1907 over 2520 
 miles were open for traffic. The chief lines completed 
 are the Haidar-Pasha- Angora, 358 miles; the Smyrna- 
 Cassaba, 165; the Smyrna-Aidin (British), 320; the 
 Alasher-Afiun-Karahissar, 156 ; the Eski-Shehir-Konia, 
 283; the Bagdad trunk line (German), a first section 
 of which was completed from Konia to Bulgar-leu beyond 
 Eregli (125) in 190-4 and then suspended. But in June 
 1908 this great project was revived, and a further con- 
 cession granted by the Turkish Government for an exten- 
 sion of 520 miles from Eregli through Khora, Adana, 
 Iliunidieh, Bagche, Kazanali, Killis, Tell Hubech, Harran, 
 and Kas-el-Ain to Helif for the Persian Gulf, with a 
 branch (from Killis) to Aleppo. 
 
 Meantime trade ami intercourse are still largely
 
 328 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 dependent on the four main historical highways, the 
 longest of which runs from Scutari through Ismid, Boli, 
 Amasia, and Tokat, right across the northern section of 
 the peninsula to Erzerum and the frontier Russian 
 fortress of Kars. The second, starting from the Euxine 
 at Samsun, strikes the former at Amasia, and again 
 leaves it at Tokat, running thence nearly due south to 
 Sivas. Here it branches off in two directions, south- 
 westwards to Kaisarieh and through the Cilician Gates 
 over the Taurus to the Mediterranean at Mersina, east- 
 wards through Arabkir and Erzinghan to Erzerum. 
 Another branch connects Kaisarieh with the Tigris at 
 Diarbekr. The third main line runs from Trebizond 
 southwards to Erzerum, where it trends eastwards to 
 Bayazid on the Russian frontier, and thence across the 
 Persian border to Tabriz. This has from time imme- 
 morial formed the great highway of communication for 
 Persia with the Euxine and the West. Lastly, the 
 fourth main route runs from the Sea of Marmora south- 
 eastwards through Brussa, Kiutayah, and Konia, to 
 Eregli, beyond which it crosses the Taurus also by the 
 Cilician passes, winding thence by Adaua round Alex- 
 andretta Bay to Skanderun (Alexandretta), where it sends 
 off branches eastwards to Aleppo, southwards to Antiochia. 
 This formerly much-frequented route is now little used 
 for through traffic.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 the euphrates and tigris basin 
 
 (Armenia, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia) 
 
 1 . Bo undaries — Extent — Area. 
 
 Nearly the whole of the eastern provinces, lying be- 
 tween Anatolia and Syria on the west, and the Russian 
 and Persian empires on the east, are drained through 
 the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris to the Persian Gulf. 
 They consist mainly of two great physical divisions 
 — the Armenian and Kurdistan highlands in the north, 
 the Alesopotamian lowlands in the south. But there 
 are nowhere any sharply-defined natural frontiers. The 
 somewhat arbitrary line marking the limits of Turkey 
 in Asia towards Russia and Persia coincides nearly 
 throughout its entire length with the ' eastern frontier 
 of this basin, which thus stretches from Lazistan to 
 the Persian Gulf. On the west the northern uplands 
 merge almost imperceptibly in the Anatolian plateau, 
 while the southern lowlands rise very gradually towards 
 the Syrian highlands and the Arabian tableland. Even 
 in the north Turkish Armenia is cut off from the Black 
 Sea by the portion of Lazistan which is still left to 
 the Porte, and which is administratively included in 
 the Anatolian vilayet of Trebizond. In the south alone 
 the Persian Gulf gives for some distance a decided 
 natural limit. In most maps a graceful curve, described 
 almost with the regularity of the compass, and stretch-
 
 330 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 ing across the Syrian desert from near the Dead Sea 
 to the head of the gulf, is supposed to mark off Turkish 
 territory from independent Arabia. But this line has 
 absolutely no significance at all. In official maps it 
 disappears altogether, or is replaced by a straight line 
 drawn much farther south from about the head of the 
 Gulf of Akaba eastwards to the new vilayet of Basra, 
 which now includes all the Shat-el-Arab district and a 
 large slice of North-East Arabia. The extent of this 
 region will therefore vary enormously according as it 
 is made to include or exclude the Syrian desert and 
 portion of the province of Basra. But taking the 
 southern limit at the 30th parallel, which crosses the 
 head of the Persian Gulf, and the northern at the 
 Lazistan coast range under the 41st parallel, the Meso- 
 potamian basin will have a total length of about 770 
 miles, with an average breadth of 300 from the Busso- 
 Persian frontier to Anatolia and Syria, and an area of 
 over 300,000 square miles. 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : The Armenian and Kurdistan 
 Uplands — The Mesopotamian Lowlands. 
 
 The northern section of this vast region embraces 
 that portion of the Armenian highlands which still 
 remains under the Ottoman rule. It consists mainly of 
 a lofty plateau 4000 to 7000 feet above sea -level, and 
 culminating with Mount Ararat just on the eastern 
 frontier. Its surface is even more mountainous and 
 irregular than that of Anatolia, for within its narrower 
 limits it is crossed by four main ranges, with many 
 secondary branches, forming connecting links between 
 the Caucasian system on the north, the Anatolian on the 
 west, and the Kurdish on the south. But notwith- 
 standing the great mean elevation of the land, only a few
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 331 
 
 of the peaks rise above the line of perpetual snow, and 
 the chains themselves, which are crossed in several direc- 
 tions by accessible passes, are separated from each othei 
 by the deep valleys of the Aras, Chornk. and Euphrates, 
 flowing in three opposite directions to the Caspian, 
 Euxine, and Persian Gulf. The surface of the country 
 between the mountain ranges consists of broad and 
 mostly level steppe-like tablelands at various elevations, 
 and forming a series of terraces one above the other. 
 Deep and narrow valleys, gloomy and occasionally im- 
 posing mountain masses, broad and bleak plateaux, a 
 severe climate, with rigorous winters, followed by dry 
 and sultry summers, a marked absence of forest trees, but 
 in the valleys an abundant and even luxurious vegetation, 
 such is the general physical aspect of the Armenian 
 highlands. 
 
 The Kars district, ceded to Russia in 1878, forms a 
 ruoreed tableland, terminating south-westwards with the 
 
 DO ° . 
 
 lofty Soghanli range, from 7000 to 8000 feet high, 
 beyond which stretches the great valley of the upper 
 Aras (Araxes). This valley, which crosses the district 
 of Erzerum from west to east, is everywhere enclosed by 
 high mountains — on the south by the Aghri-dagh (9 LOO 
 feet), the Bingol-dagh (12,000 feet), and others; on the 
 north by the Shamar-dagh (9227 feet); on the west the 
 Boyun and Palantukan-dagh (7300 feet), close to Erzerum. 
 North of Erzerum the land falls towards the \ alley of 
 the Choruk, beyond which it again rises to the Lazistan 
 coast range, which attains an elevation of 11,000 feet, 
 and forms the northern frontier of Armenia proper. 
 Eastwards the range is pierced by the Choruk. which 
 here trends northwards through a narrow gorge at Artvin, 
 beyond which it flows through alluvial plains to the 
 Euxine at Batum. Here the new Russo-Turkish frontier 
 line has been shifted a few miles westwards bo the coast
 
 332 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 village of Khopa, whence it runs southwards over the 
 hills to the Choruk, thus leaving the eastern and richest 
 division of Lazistan to Russia. The rest of this region, 
 as already stated, is included in the vilayet of Trebizond, 
 which thus stretches between Armenia and the coast 
 eastwards to the Russian frontier. But the Choruk forms 
 a geological and ethnical, as well as a political parting- 
 line. While chalk and Jurassic formations prevail in the 
 south, igneous rocks everywhere crop out in the north, 
 where they form the higher ridges of the coast range. 
 The range itself is also inhabited by the Lazis, a western 
 branch of the Georgian race, and consequently quite dis- 
 tinct from the Armenians, whose northernmost limit is 
 marked by the middle course of the Choruk. 
 
 The great central tableland of Erzerum, which 
 stretches eastwards to Ararat, may be said to be limited 
 southwards by the valley of the Murad, or eastern head- 
 stream of the Euphrates. Here rise the Sunderlyk-dagh, 
 the Ala-dagh, the snowy Sipan-dagh, and other mountains, 
 attaining an elevation of from 10,000 to 12,000 feet, 
 beyond which the plateau maintains a mean altitude of 
 5000 feet eastwards to the frontier town of Bayazid. 
 But it falls southward to the land-locked basin of Lake 
 Van (5360 feet), which may be taken as the southern 
 limit of Armenia proper. 
 
 At some former period the whole of this region must 
 have been a centre of great igneous activity. An old 
 crater may still be traced on the summit of the Bingol- 
 dagh ; the Sipan-dagh terminates in a solitary peak 
 shaped like a truncated cone ; the Mmrud-dagh on the 
 west side of Lake Van has a crater nearly 8 miles in 
 diameter, now containing several tarns, and hot-springs 
 and lava streams, as well as a large crater, may also be 
 detected on the Tendarek-dagh in the north-east. " The 
 basaltic ravines on the slopes of the Bingol and Sipan
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIX 333 
 
 Mountains, and the numerous fragments of obsidian 
 which can be picked up close to the Sipan-dagh, are 
 further evidence of this. In the Hartoshi Mountains 
 and the upper basin of the Great Zab River numerous 
 sulphurous springs are to be met with. Some are hot- 
 springs, some give off sulphuretted hydrogen, and in 
 others the pure sulphur can be gathered from incrusta- 
 tions round the edge of the springs. This is much 
 prized by the Kurds for the manufacture of powder." ' 
 The origin of Lake Van itself has been attributed to a 
 lava stream from the Nimrud-dagh, blocking up the 
 valley to the south of the mountain, and preventing the 
 running waters from escaping to the Tigris basin. 
 
 Since 1 876 the Van district has been separated from the 
 vilayet of Erzerum, and a line drawn from Mush through 
 the lake eastwards to the frontier town of Kotur, ceded 
 to Persia in 1878, will roughly mark off the Armenian 
 from the Kurdistan highlands. But the delimitation is 
 iu every sense arbitrary. The term Kurdistan — that is, 
 " Country of the Kurds " — is so far correct that it is 
 mainly occupied by tribes of Kurdish stock. But, on 
 the other hand, these tribes have spread in almost every 
 direction far beyond its present limits, reaching eastwards 
 t<» the Bakhtiari highlands in Persia, northwards in 
 isolated communities to the parallels of Batum and Titlis. 
 and north-eastwards to Khorasan. Physically, also, the 
 Long and rugged mountain range forming the backbone 
 of Kurdistan stretches beyond the frontier northwards 
 between Lakes Van and Urini to the foot of Ararat. 
 From this point a second chain branches off south west- 
 wards, sweeping round Lake Van and rejoining the eastern 
 range at the Erdosh-dagh. The united chain runs thence 
 with many ramifications south-eastwards to beyond the 
 
 1 Captaiu F. R. Maunsell: "Kurdistan," in Oeograph. J"ur. I'oi 
 February 1894, p
 
 334 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 34th parallel. The main eastern axis thus forms a 
 natural frontier line between Turkey and Persia from 
 Bayazid to Karmanshah, and the whole system encloses 
 an area of nearly 50,000 square miles. 
 
 In the north the surface is very rugged and mountain- 
 ous, but one extensive plateau, from 4000 to 7000 feet 
 high, is developed between the Erdosh-dagh and Jebel- 
 Judi, 1 which, running nearly west and east from Jezireh 
 to Persia, rises from about 2000 feet at its western 
 extremity to upwards of 13,000 in the Jawar and Kow- 
 andiz peaks near the Persian frontier. Beyond this 
 range the country is generally level, varied only with a 
 few low ridges culminating with the Jebel-Hamrin, about 
 midway between Mosul and Bagdad. Here Kurdistan 
 and Mesopotamia proper may be said to overlap, for, 
 while the former at this point reaches southwards to the 
 34° N. lat. beyond the Tigris, the latter stretches between 
 the two rivers northwards to the 37° N. lat. 
 
 The prevailing geological formation in the north is 
 limestone, with red sandstones and conglomerate. Here 
 the hills generally present bare crests with rugged slopes 
 partly overgrown with dwarf cedars, junipers, and valonea. 
 Limestones and sandstones also prevail along the southern 
 frontier range, but intermingled with schists, quartz, and 
 granites. Here the bleak brown hills present jagged 
 outlines and steep sides, often deeply scored by the action 
 of the mountain torrents which lower down flow through 
 narrow winding valleys. Copper, lead, and iron ores are 
 said to abound in the west, and in several places amongst 
 the hills of the Euphrates ; but the only minerals avail- 
 able for export are salt from Van, sulphur, alum, naphtha, 
 and a little iron. 
 
 South of the province of Erzerum and west of Take 
 Tan, the Armenian and Kurdistan highlands slope con- 
 
 1 Dagh is the Turkish and Jebel the Arabic word for " Mountain."
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 335 
 
 tinually southwards to the plains of Mesopotamia, and 
 westwards to the Euphrates, which here marks the eastern 
 limits of Anatolia, The tract between the Van district 
 and the Euphrates, east and west, and between the Murad 
 and Khabur Eivers, north and south, is often spoken oi 
 as "Kurdistan" in a more restricted sense, and on many 
 maps figures as the Turkish province of Kurdistan ; but 
 this use of the word can scarcely be justified. There is no 
 Turkish province of the name, and the country as above 
 limited is mostly comprised in the vilayet of Diarbekr. 
 Most of this vilayet is watered both by the Tigris and 
 the Euphrates, consequently nearly as far north as Diar- 
 bekr it belongs geographically to the region commonly 
 designated as Mesopotamia — that is, the Interriverain 
 Country, or what in India would be spoken of as a 
 " Doab," or "Land of Two Waters." It also belongs 
 ethnically to two distinct domains, for the Kurdish and 
 Aral) nomad tribes, of Iranian and Semitic stock respect- 
 ively, here meet on common ground. The term El-Jesireln 
 or " The Island," as Mesopotamia is always called by the 
 Turks and Arabs, was formerly limited to the land strictly 
 lying between the two rivers southwards to the old wall 
 by which they were connected above Bagdad. The tract 
 from this point to the Persian Gulf (that is, the ancient 
 Babylonia) was and is still known as Irak-Arabi (that is, 
 Irak of the Arabs), to distinguish it from the Irak of 
 Persia. But the whole region from Diarbekr to the G-ulf 
 and from Syria to the Persian frontier is now commonly 
 spoken of as Mesopotamia, the two divisions being some- 
 times distinguished as Upper and Lower Mesopotamia. 
 It has a total area of perhaps 180,000 square miles; 
 but it everywhere presents remarkable uniformity in its 
 physical and ethnical conditions. 
 
 In the extreme north the land rises towards the 
 Armenian and Kurdish highlands : but even here the
 
 i6 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 mean elevation is little more than 1500 feet above the 
 sea, The upland tract between Jesireh and Mardin is a 
 stony waste, offering a scanty pasturage to the flocks and 
 herds of the nomads in winter and spring. But the 
 plains stretching farther west towards Urfa and Harran, 
 and southwards to the low Sinjar hills, are well watered 
 
 EDINS OF BABYLOX 
 
 and very productive. These Sinjar hills form an isolated 
 ridge, 7 miles wide and 40 miles long, midway between 
 the Tigris and Euphrates, about the parallel of Mosul 
 Farther south the land is nowhere more than 600 feet 
 above sea- level. It may be regarded as a northern 
 extension of the Persian Gulf, which at one time probably 
 reached to within 80 miles of the Mediterranean, but 
 which has been gradually filled in by the alluvia of the
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASI.X 337 
 
 great rivers, and by the advancing sands of the desert. 
 Indeed, before the formation of the Syrian coast ra 
 the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf were possibly con- 
 nected, thus isolating Arabia from the rest of the con- 
 tinent, and offering a direct water highway from the 
 Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Owing to this geological 
 origin of Mesopotamia, the soil is found to consist every- 
 where of a sandy clay, abounding in excellent agricultural 
 properties, and incapable of cultivation only where water 
 fails. Its astounding fertility is sufficiently shown by 
 the fact that it still remains unexhausted after having 
 supported the teeming populatians of the Akkadian, 
 Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires, from the 
 dawn of history down to comparatively recent times. 
 The number and vastness of the ruins scattered over this 
 region from Babylon to Nineveh still bear witness to its 
 former flourishing material condition ; and since the 
 cuneiform writings abounding in these ruins have yielded 
 up their secret to the ingenious labours of modern science, 
 we now know that the Mesopotamian plains have been 
 the scene of successive cultures, rivalled in splendour and 
 antiquity by those only of the Nile valley. 
 
 3. Hydrography : Tlie Tigris and Euphrates — Lake Van. 
 
 With the exception of a small area in the extreme 
 north, the whole of this region drains through the 
 Euphrates and Tigris to the Persian Gulf. Since the 
 rectification of the Eusso-Turkish frontier in 1878, the 
 valley of the Kur (Cyrus) belongs entirely to the liussian 
 territory of Transcaucasia. But the Choruk and the 
 Aras (Araxes) still flow for a considerable distance 
 through Turkish Armenia before crossing the frontier 
 on their course to the Euxine and the Caspian. The 
 Choruk, which rises in tin- uplands west of Erzerum, is 
 
 VOL. II Z
 
 338 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 joined below Baiburt by a tributary from the west, 
 after which it flows along the southern base of the 
 Lazistan coast range eastwards to the Prussian frontier. 
 Here it bends northwards altogether within Eussian 
 territory, and reaches the sea close to Batum, after a 
 precipitous course of about 200 miles. The Aras rises 
 at the north foot of the Bingol-dagh 30 miles south of 
 Erzerum, and flows north-eastwards to the frontier, 
 which it soon reaches at a point considerably to the 
 west of Kars and Ararat. In Turkish Armenia, of which 
 it drains a very small area, it is little more than a rapid 
 mountain torrent. 
 
 All the rest of the Armenian and nearly the whole 
 of the Kurdish highlands belong to the basin of the 
 twin rivers Euphrates and Tigris, which flow mainly 
 in a south-easterly direction across the Mesopotamian 
 plains. Rising on the Armenian terrace lands, they 
 pursue on the whole a parallel course, although often 
 approaching and diverging from each other, until they at 
 last mingle their waters at Kurnah, where the united 
 stream takes the name of the Shat-el-Arab about 120 
 miles above its delta at the head of the Persian Gulf. 
 Above Kurnah their channels approach nearest to each 
 other at Bagdad. But in 1903 the bursting of the 
 barrage at Musseyib caused the lower Euphrates river- 
 bed to run dry for a distance of nearly 150 miles, the 
 whole volume of water passing down the Hindiye canal 
 to Samawa above Suk-e-Shuyukh. 
 
 The Euphrates proper is formed by the junction of two 
 creat head-streams — the Kara-su or western branch, and 
 the Murad or eastern branch, whose sources lie over 120 
 miles apart, in the very heart of the Armenian high- 
 lands. The Kara-su — that is, " Black Water " — rises 
 some 20 miles to the north-east of Erzerum, and flows 
 for 270 miles south-westwards to Keban-Maaden, a few
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 339 
 
 miles west of Kharput. Here it is joined from the east 
 by the Murad, which Hows from the Ala-dagh south 
 of Bayazid, and near the Russian frontier, and has a 
 total course through Armenia and Kurdistan of about 
 300 miles. Some 60 miles south of the junction the 
 Euphrates pierces the Upper Taurus near Arghana, be- 
 yond which it trends southwards through the vilayet of 
 Aleppo, here coming within 80 miles of the sea. But 
 about the 36th parallel it turns somewhat abruptly to 
 the south-east, and henceforth retains this direction to 
 the Gulf. It is navigable for over 1100 miles for small 
 steamers to Bir (Birejik), near Urfa, the point where 
 it is crossed by the great caravan route from Syria to 
 Bagdad. 
 
 The Tigris is also formed by an eastern and a 
 western head -stream, the former rising close to Bit lis, 
 near the west side of Lake Van, the latter flowing from 
 the neighbourhood of Kharput by Diarbekr to the con- 
 fluence above Finduk. Beyond this point it pursues a 
 southerly course by Mosul to Bagdad, and between these 
 points is joined on its left bank by the Great and Little 
 Zab, and some other tributaries from the Kurdistan 
 highlands. It is navigable for vessels of light draught 
 to Nimrud, 20 miles below Mosul, and again for 300 
 miles by rafts from Mosul to Diarbekr. But owing to 
 the rapidity of the current the traffic is all down 
 stream, and is still carried on mainly by a primitive 
 style of craft, winch is broken up al Bagdad, and trans- 
 ported by camels back to Mosul. The journey between 
 these points occupies three or four days during the 
 Hoods, ami from twelve to fourteen at other limes. 
 
 Below Bagdad the main streams arc connected by 
 several channels and intermittent watercourses, of which 
 the chief are the Nahr Isa or Saklawiyah canal ami 
 the Shat-el-Hai. Higher up the Euphrates is joined
 
 340 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 on its left bank by the Belik near Eakkah, and by the 
 Khabur at Kerkesia. The latter flows intermittently 
 through the desert from the Karijah-dagh hills, 20 
 miles west of Mardin, round the western extremity of 
 the Sinjar hills. During the floods it is joined by 
 several streams, which at other times run dry in the 
 sands. Below the junction of the Khabur there stretches 
 a desolate desert tract between the Euphrates and the 
 Tigris, which is overgrown with wormwood, and still 
 haunted, as in the time of Xenophon, by the wild ass, 
 ostrich, and bustard. This region is visited by terrific 
 whirlwinds, such as that which on 21st May 1836 nearly 
 overwhelmed the English Euphrates Expedition under 
 Colonel Chesney. 
 
 Below Kurnah the Shat-el-Arab traverses a flat and 
 fertile plain, dotted over with villages, and covered with 
 artificially irrigated meadow-lands and date groves. At 
 Mohammerah (Mohamra), 40 miles above its mouth, and 
 20 miles below Basra, it is joined by the Karun from 
 Persia, and here properly begins the delta, of which one 
 arm only is navigable. For six months in the year this 
 delta is converted into a swampy lacustrine district by 
 the floods caused by the melting of the snows about 
 the head-streams in spring, and occasionally by the 
 autumn rains. Erom its mouth to Bagdad the main 
 stream is navigable throughout the year for steamers 
 of considerable size. For some years past an English 
 line plying between Basra and Bagdad has contributed 
 much towards the development of the resources of Meso- 
 potamia. 
 
 In the whole of the Mesopotamian basin there 
 is only one body of still water deserving the name 
 of lake. This is the magnificent Lake Van, by far 
 the largest in Asiatic Turkey, renowned alike for its 
 romantic beauty and historic associations. It occupies
 
 THi: EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 
 
 .".41 
 
 an irregular triangular 
 space, 80 miles by 
 30, about 5260 feet 
 above sea-level, on the 
 border -land between 
 the Armenian and 
 Kurdistan highlands. 
 From the snowy 
 Sipan-dagh, towering 
 above its northern 
 shore, it is seen to 
 occupy "' the centre 
 of a magnificent 
 valley, surrounded on 
 three sides by densely- 
 wooded mountains, 
 whose forests of firs, 
 chestnut, beech, wal- 
 nut, and asli merge in 
 the broad belt of 
 gardens and melon- 
 grounds that fringe 
 most of the shore line 
 as far as the eye can 
 reach." * Its waters, 
 which are diversified 
 with several lovely 
 islets and teem with 
 very salt, 
 no present 
 
 fish, are 
 and have 
 outflow. 
 Dr. R. 
 
 Sieuer has 
 
 shown thai the ie\ els 
 
 1 J. C. M 'Coan, Our Ncio 
 Protectorate, i. 45.
 
 342 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 both of Lake Van and of Urmia are subject to periodical 
 changes, which appear to coincide with the periods of 
 climatic variation which, according to Brtickner, occur on 
 the surface of the globe. Thus, during the present century, 
 these lakes reached their periodic maxima (greatest 
 heights) in the years 1810, 1840-50, and 1876-80, 
 while the level of Van has been generally lower in the 
 first than in the second half of the century {Globus, vol. 1. 
 1894, p. 73). 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Turkish Armenia 
 and Kurdistan — Mesopotamia. 
 
 The Mesopotamian basin comprises two natural divi- 
 sions only — the Armenian and Kurdistan uplands, where 
 all the rivers have their sources, and the alluvial plains 
 of Mesopotamia proper, which may be regarded as the 
 creation of those rivers. To these two natural divisions 
 correspond the Turkish administrative divisions of Erze- 
 runu Aziz, Diarbekr, Bitlis, Van, Mosul, Bagdad, and 
 part of Basra, with total area 215,000 square miles, 
 and population 3,900,000. 
 
 The Armenian and Kurdistan highlands, which form 
 a border -land between three empires, possess neither 
 physical, ethnical, nor political unity. Thus their drain- 
 age is partly to the Euxine through the Choruk - su, 
 partly to the Caspian through the Kur and Aras, 
 partly inland to the closed basins of Lakes Van and 
 Urmia, but mainly through the Euphrates and Tigris 
 to the Persian Gulf. Ethnically, also, they are occupied 
 by peoples of four distinct stocks — the Lazis, a branch 
 of the Georgian race ; the Armenians and Kurds, 
 members of the Iranian family ; the Turks and Tatars, 
 of Turki origin ; the Arabs, Jews, and so-called " Nes- 
 torians," of Semitic blood. Lastly, these highlands,
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 343 
 
 taken in their widest sense, are politically distributed 
 between the empires of Eussia, Persia, and Turkey, 
 which here converge round the base of Ararat, their 
 culminating point. The late changes that have taken 
 place on the Eusso-Turkish and Turko-Persian frontiers 
 have even increased rather than diminished the difficulty 
 of drawing any clear parting -line between the three 
 states, whose boundaries are here almost everywhere 
 purely conventional and even arbitrary. In Armenia 
 the Eusso-Turkish frontier-line is now deflected con- 
 siderably westwards in the direction of Erzerum, thus 
 leaving Ardahan, Olti, and Kars to Eussia, to which 
 power the seaport of Batum on the Black Sea was also 
 ceded by the Berlin Congress of 1878. 
 
 In Mesopotamia the northern and southern sections 
 of El-Jesireh and Irak-Arabi differ greatly in their 
 main features. The transition from the elevated plateau 
 of Diarbekr to the alluvial plains is effected by the 
 extensive open tract which maintains an elevation of 
 over 1500 feet between the Tigris and the western 
 bend of the Euphrates. Here the hilly wooded districts 
 in the north are succeeded by grassy steppes or arid 
 wastes, which are converted into highly-productive oases 
 wherever water abounds. Such is the fertile districl 
 stretching from Urfa southwards to Harran, where 
 splendid crops of maize, tobacco, and cotton are raised. 
 Below Mosul the date-palm begins to make its appear- 
 ance, and this plant forms the prevailing feature in 
 the landscape throughout the level alluvial plains of 
 Irak from Bagdad to Basra. In the extreme south the 
 numerous back-waters and channels of the two main 
 streams merge imperceptibly in the lagoons and morasses 
 of the Shat-el-Arab delta. But these magnificent lands, 
 so well suited for agriculture, are now little cultivated. 
 The nomads and even the scantily-settled population rely
 
 344 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 mainly on the produce of their flocks and herds, and the 
 country shows the same signs of misrule, ruin, and decay 
 that are elsewhere visible in Asiatic Turkey. " Except 
 around Bagdad the traveller now sees hardly a trace of 
 the date-groves, the vineyards, and the gardens which 
 excited the admiration of Xenophon " (M'Coan). 
 
 5. Climate. 
 
 The Armenian climate, pleasant enough in spring 
 and autumn, is excessively severe in winter and summer. 
 During the long winter months from October to May 
 the ground is mostly covered with snow, while the mid- 
 summer heats are most oppressive. These conditions 
 also prevail in Kurdistan, where, however, the variations 
 of temperature are not so great as farther north. Here, 
 also, the winter is of shorter duration, with correspond- 
 ingly longer springs and autumns. In Mesopotamia the 
 mild but short winters become the pleasantest part of 
 the year. But they are succeeded by sultry summers, 
 during which the plains become scorched and bare. 
 Here the Samiel, or " poison wind," prevails in the same 
 season ; and the disease known as the " Aleppo button," 
 or " Bagdad date-mark," is seldom absent from the towns 
 fringing the desert. This mysterious affection, which is 
 probably caused by the bite of a fly, though troublesome 
 is never fatal, usually lasting about a twelvemonth. No 
 cure has yet been discovered, but some doctors claim to 
 possess the power of driving it from one part of the body 
 to another. 
 
 Throughout the Mesopotamian basin the annual 
 rainfall is below the average. Summer is everywhere 
 very dry, but much snow falls on the uplands in 
 winter ; and in Upper Mesopotamia abundant rains 
 prevail from December to March. Farther south vege-
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 345 
 
 tation and husbandry depend largely on artificial irri- 
 gation, which has been practised in this region from 
 the remotest times. 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna. 
 
 In Armenia there is a marked absence of forest 
 trees, and so deficient is the supply of wood that in 
 many places cattle-droppings form the staple of fuel. 
 The well- watered valleys abound in fruits and cereals ; 
 but the bleak plateaux are generally bare, or covered 
 with a scanty vegetation of grass. Far more varied is 
 the flora of Kurdistan, where the hills are often clothed 
 with forests of oak, ash, walnut, and pine trees. Here 
 also the lower grounds yield rich crops of maize, wheat, 
 pulse, hemp, besides tobacco, cotton, mulberries, grapes, 
 melons, and other southern fruits. In Mesopotamia 
 the vegetation becomes more decidedly tropical, and the 
 Shat-el-Arab district produces some of the finest dates 
 in the world. 
 
 Wild animals have almost disappeared from this 
 region. But the towns are infested by packs of pariah 
 dogs, which, while doing the work of the scavenger, are 
 occasionally dangerous to the people. M'Coan tells us 
 that on one occasion he nearly fell a victim to the half- 
 jackal breed of Erzerum. 
 
 Their countless flocks of sheep form the chief wealth 
 both of the Kurdish and Arab nomads, and the latter 
 also possess many camels, and perhaps the purest breed 
 of Arab horses in Asia. 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Armenians, Kurds, Nestorians, 
 and Bedouins. 
 
 Although the seat of some of the earliest human 
 cultures, the Mesopotamia!! basin is still largely occu-
 
 346 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 pied by a noinad population. Its inhabitants belong to 
 four distinct stocks — the Iranian, represented in the 
 northern highlands by the Armenians and Kurds ; the 
 Semitic, represented in the north by the so - called 
 " Nestorians " or Chaldeans, and in the plains by the 
 Arab Bedouins ; the Turki, which, besides some Tatar 
 tribes, supplies the ruling element found chiefly in the 
 towns ; lastly, the Caucasian, of which there are two 
 branches — Lazis in the extreme north, and Circassians, 
 many of whom have migrated in recent years from 
 Russian to Turkish territory. 
 
 The centre of gravity of the Armenian nationality, 
 which formerly lay about the basin of Lake Van, has 
 been gradually shifted northwards to the neighbourhood 
 of the Ala-goz and the famous monastery of Echmiadzin, 
 both within the Russian frontier. The race, like the 
 country itself, has long lost its political unity, and is now 
 distributed over the Russian, Turkish, and Persian empires. 
 Nevertheless, over one-third of the people still continued 
 to reside under the Ottoman rule before the organised 
 massacres of 1892-96. They are distinguished as much 
 by their features, dress, and social habits as by their 
 distinct Christianity from the surrounding Kurdish and 
 Turkish Muhammadans, by whom they have always 
 been hated, both as Christians and for their success in 
 accumulating wealth. Like the Jews, the Armenians, 
 after the loss of their independence, turned to trade, which 
 till lately was almost entirely in their hands. They 
 owned nearly all the capital of the country, so that the 
 money market was ruled by them. The great influence 
 thus ensured to them naturally caused mutual heart- 
 burnings and rivalries amongst themselves, while against 
 the common enemy they combined together and spared 
 no sacrifice for the general weal. Surpassing others in 
 shrewdness, the main object of the Armenian dealers was
 
 348 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 to purchase cheap wares of attractive appearance, and 
 then retail them advantageously. Thus they often 
 succeeded in amassing great wealth, which, however, 
 they were always careful to conceal. 
 
 Timid and taciturn, they displayed at least an out- 
 ward obedience to their rulers, whom they inwardly 
 despised. Naturally of a mild disposition, they have 
 scarcely ever sought to recover their independence by 
 force of arms ; and even when driven to despair by the 
 butcheries of 1894-96, they made a resolute stand 
 against their oppressors only in the town and district of 
 ZeituD. But here the conditions were somewhat peculiar, 
 and Zeitun till about 1870 still enjoyed a measure of 
 political independence. It occupies a strong position 
 north by east of Aleppo on the slopes of the Cilician 
 Taurus, in a district which was till lately spoken of as 
 an isolated fragment of free Armenia. 
 
 Among the Armenians the women are little better 
 off than among the Moslems, being practically the 
 drudges of the household. But while the sensual Turk 
 often becomes the slave of his handmaiden, the Armenian 
 man of business still remains the head of the family. All 
 menial work is performed by the wife, who waits on her 
 husband at his meals, which she never shares with him. 
 Although unveiled indoors, she is never seen by strangers, 
 even at entertainments withdrawing to a room set apart 
 for the purpose. This is usually raised a few feet above 
 the level of the large central hall, and shut off by means 
 of a wooden lattice, whence, without being seen, the 
 women command a view of the banquet below. 
 
 The Armenian race, whose national name is Hai, 
 Haik, or Haikan, formerly numbered some 8,000,000, 
 but is now (1908) reduced to little over 2,400,000, 
 distributed as under : —
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 349 
 
 Caucasia and Russia 
 
 in Europe . 
 
 900,000 
 
 Turkish Armenia 
 
 . 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 Persian Armenia 
 
 
 200,000 
 
 Turkey in Europe 
 
 
 300,000 
 
 Elsewhere 
 
 
 60,000 
 
 
 2,460,000 
 
 "While the settled and peaceful Armenians have been 
 constantly losing ground, the nomad and lawless Kurds 
 have long spread far beyond the limits of the region to 
 which their progenitors, the Karduchi, seem to have been 
 confined. In classic times Armenia included the whole 
 of the Van district southwards to the 38th parallel, 
 and Sachau l has determined the site of Tigranocerta, 
 one of its many capitals, at the village of Tel Ermen, 
 or the " Armenian Hill," a little to the south-west of 
 Mardin, within the limits of Upper Mesopotamia. But 
 all this region is now mainly occupied by the Kurds, 
 some of whose tribes reach far southwards to the vilayet 
 of Diarbekr, while others have encroached upon the 
 Armenian district round about Ararat, and are found as 
 far north as the 41st parallel, about the head-waters of 
 the Kur. Others are scattered over parts of Asia Minor, 
 North Syria, West Persia, and the highlands between 
 Khorasan and the Turkoman country. Semi-independent 
 Kurdish tribes still form a dreaded cordon round about 
 the upland town of Van. Still more formidable is the 
 Hormakli branch, occupying the snowy Bingol-dagh south 
 of Erzerum, between the two forks of the Euphrates. 
 
 Although not always so chivalrous as they have been 
 described by the few travellers who have occasionally 
 visited them, they still possess the proud and frank 
 address of independent highland tribes. Nor can it be 
 
 1 Uebcr die Lage von Tigranocerta. Berlin, 1881. This place was 
 hitherto supposed to lie much farther north, at or near Diarbekr, on the 
 Upper Tigris.
 
 350 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 denied that many of their lawless propensities and 
 notorious indifference to the rights of property must be 
 attributed to the maladministration of their Turkish and 
 Persian rulers. Under some of their semi-independent 
 chiefs a general rising took' place on the Turko-Persian 
 frontier in 1880-81, during which the most deplorable 
 excesses were committed, and in 1908 the Urmi district 
 was again wasted with fire and sword almost up to the 
 very gates of Tabriz. 
 
 But the worst qualities of the race have been 
 developed in the Nestorian district of Hakhiari, about 
 the head-waters of the Great Zab. This tract stretches 
 from the Persian border-land westwards to the Jebel-Judi, 
 between the Zab and Tigris. But the Nestorians are also 
 found in the extreme north-west of Persia, about Lake 
 Urmia, and in small communities scattered over Upper 
 Mesopotamia. They may almost be regarded as the last 
 surviving erratic boulders of a formerly powerful Christian 
 sect, at one time widely diffused over the vast region 
 stretching from the Euphrates to Western China. But 
 few travellers have succeeded in penetrating to their 
 present home in the Kurdish highlands, a circumstance 
 probably due as much to the inaccessible nature of this 
 alpine region as to the savage character of its Christian 
 Nestorian and Moslem Kurdish inhabitants. The heart 
 of the country can be reached only by the Zab valley, on 
 either side of which lie the dangerous haunts of the fierce 
 Leihun tribe, the name of whose dreaded chief, Bedr 
 Khan, is still remembered after nearly four generations 
 by the surrounding Christian communities. Feuds and 
 forays are still frequent enough, especially in the Tiyari 
 district, where nestle the stone huts of the Nestorians 
 under the shade of mighty walnut trees in the well- 
 watered valleys, here everywhere encircled by snowy 
 crests.
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 351 
 
 The Xestorians,who number altogether about 200,000, 
 reject both the name " Nesturi " and the doctrine of 
 Xestorius. The term is probably a corruption of 
 ' Nessarani," from Nazareth, commonly applied in the 
 East to the Christians. But however this be, they call 
 themselves Kaklani, or Chaldeans, and claim to be the 
 survivors of the old Christian people of Mesopotamia, 
 who were of Chaldean or Assyrian stock. Those of 
 Mosul and others still speak a corrupt Semitic tongue, 
 which they call modern Chaldean, and which is certainly 
 an Aramaic dialect closely allied to Syriac. 
 
 Notwithstanding their lawless and predatory habits, 
 the Kurds have developed a few simple industries. They 
 breed a degenerate species of the Angora goat, from the 
 hair of which are woven rugs and carpets which have 
 found their way to the European market. They also 
 produce coarse woollen, silken, and cotton stuffs, besides 
 earthenware, leather work, hardware, and especially 
 arms. The widely-scattered tribes of Kurdish stock 
 number altogether probably about 3,000,000, of whom 
 1,250,000 live in Turkey. 
 
 While the Armenians are certainly intruders in their 
 present domain, the Kurds appear to represent the ab- 
 original pre-Aryan race, which at a remote period ex- 
 tended almost continuously from the southern slopes of 
 the Caucasus throughout the whole of the present 
 Armenia, Lazistan, and Kurdistan. This race, the Allo- 
 phylian of Herodotus, spoke an archaic form of the 
 Caucasian language, which still survives amongst the 
 Georgians, Mingrelians, Lazes, and most other South 
 Caucasian peoples. That it was also the primitive 
 speech of the Kurds may be inferred from the cuneiform 
 inscriptions discovered in the Van district, which Pro- 
 fessor A. H. Sayce has deciphered by means of the 
 Georgian language. At present, however, the Kurds are
 
 352 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of Aryan speech, having adopted a rude Iranian dialect 
 at some unknown period, probably under Persian in- 
 fluences. But the ethnology of this region has still to 
 be worked out, and, as is the case with so many nomad 
 peoples, there appears to be clear evidence of two very 
 distinct races, one of noble type, probably representing 
 a conquering people of Aryan speech, the other more 
 debased, representing the primitive Allophylian element 
 of Georgian speech, now assimilated to the conquerors. 
 
 In Upper Mesopotamia the Kurdish and Arab nomads 
 are intermingled. But farther south the bulk of the 
 population beyond the walls of the towns consists of 
 Bedouin tribes, whose subjection to the Porte is of a very 
 loose character, and who may in some respects be regarded 
 as the true masters of the land. Besides, the Ottoman 
 Government is quite incapable of introducing a practical 
 system of culture even into the arable tracts of Irak- 
 Arabi. For many years past the governors, pressed by 
 the Anazeh, Shammar, Montefik, Beni-Laam, and other 
 powerful Bedouin tribes, have been able to do little more 
 than keep things from tumbling to pieces. Here, as else- 
 where, the history of the last fifty years has been nothing- 
 more than a constant feud, in which the advantage has 
 frequently been on the side of the foes of Ottoman rule. 
 Could the Arab tribes be induced to combine their forces, 
 the Government would find it no easy matter to hold in 
 check the powerful hordes, which often number from 
 10,000 to 20,000 mounted warriors. Along the Shat- 
 el-Arab there is little more than an outward show of 
 authority, which is to some extent rather endured than 
 obeyed.
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 353 
 
 8. Topography: Chief Towns — Erzerum, Van, 
 Nineveh, Bagdad, Kerbela, Basra. 
 
 The constant encroachments of Eussia have left to 
 Turkish Armenia no towns of any note, except Erzerum, 
 capital of the vilayet of like name. Even this place is 
 important rather for its strategical position, and as the 
 entrepot of the caravan trade between Persia and the 
 Euxine, than for its size or population. It lies in a 
 fertile district some 30 miles north of the Bingol-dagh, 
 and 100 miles south-east of Trebizond on the great 
 commercial highway leading from that town over the 
 plateau to the Persian frontier. But, like most fortified 
 towns, it is irregularly built, its narrow dirty streets, 
 flanked by mean houses, being crowded together in the 
 small space enclosed by its lofty walls. Here the 
 Moslem largely prevails over the Christian element, 
 although Erzerum is the metropolis of the Armenian 
 Church in union with Eome, as Echmiadzin is of the 
 Orthodox or Independent Armenian Christians. Its 
 mosques are very numerous, and it is a chief halting- 
 place for Persian pilgrims en route for Mecca. 
 
 A more interesting place is Van, which, though the 
 chief town in East Kurdistan, is inhabited mostly by 
 Armenians. It is picturesquely situated on the east 
 side of the lake, above which rises an isolated rock 
 crowned with its citadel. Van has suffered much both 
 from earthquakes and from the turbulent Kurdish 
 nomads of the surrounding district. Some time back 
 these marauders took advantage of a fire in the bazaar to 
 plunder the Armenian shops and houses, and since then 
 its trade has greatly declined. 
 
 In Mesopotamia nearly all the large towns are 
 situated, not on the Euphrates, but on the Tigris. Of 
 vol. ii 2 a
 
 
 
 - : 
 
 IflliliiiiiiiiiiiiilMlllttlililiiill'l
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 355 
 
 these the northernmost is Diarbekr, capital of a vilayet, 
 and lying on the western head-stream of the Tigris in a 
 debatable land, where the Kurdish, Armenian, Syrian, 
 and Arab races meet on common ground. It is the seat 
 of a Chaldean patriarch, and does a considerable trade by 
 river and caravan. 
 
 In the Shakh district near Jezireh-ibn-Omar, on the 
 left bank of the Upper Tigris, are some extensive ruins, 
 visited in 1892 by Captain F. B. Maunsell, and by him 
 identified with the ancient city of Bezabde. " For some 
 two miles to the east were scattered extensive remains 
 of masonry walls, with towers at intervals. The Kurds 
 have many traditions about this place, and the guide 
 said that seven distinct walls could be traced which 
 used to encircle the town. At the top of the ascent we 
 entered the village of Shakh through a gateway in a 
 strong masonry wall, which evidently formed part of 
 the line of fortifications on this side. Eunning north 
 is a side valley lined with cliffs, down which comes 
 a large stream. I ascended this for nearly 1^ mile, 
 and found a number of chambers cut in the side of the 
 cliff, which had apparently been used for dwellings. 
 One of these measured 20 feet long, 15 feet broad, and 
 10 feet high, with a door and window, all cut in the 
 hard limestone, and still in excellent preservation. Higher 
 up the cliff to the east was a large arched opening lead- 
 ing into a chamber 60 feet long, 30 feet broad, and 
 30 feet high. This the Kurds called the council- 
 chamber. Along the base of the cliff could be traced 
 the line of an aqueduct, 3 feet wide and 2 feet deep, 
 cut in the rock for nearly 1^ mile. In former times 
 this must have been a place of considerable importance, 
 and I think it may be taken as the site of the Roman 
 city of Bezabde, capital of the Zabicene province. This 
 lias never been definitely fixed ; but hitherto it has been
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 357 
 
 supposed to be in the neighbourhood of Fenduk, higher 
 up the Tigris " (Maunsell, loc cit.) 
 
 Lower clown the river, and in the heart of the 
 ancient Assyria, stands the town of Mosul, once noted 
 for its fine cotton fabrics, which from this place are still 
 known as muslins. Here the Tigris breaks through its 
 southern mountain barrier, which forms a natural bound- 
 ary between the Kurdistan highlands and the Meso- 
 potamian plains. Although a poverty-stricken and 
 decaying place, Mosul must always remain a hallowed 
 spot in the eyes of the antiquarian, thanks to the neigh- 
 bouring ruins of Nineveh, which have of late years been 
 so successfully explored. Eastwards there stretches an 
 extensive cultivated tract, limited on the north by the 
 steep walls of an irregular limestone range, and extend- 
 ing beyond the horizon southwards to the confluence of 
 the Great Zab, where the right bank of the main stream 
 is already fringed by the Mesopotamian steppe. The 
 small plateau thus circumscribed is broken only by low 
 hills crowned with numerous hamlets, generally associ- 
 ated with those mysterious Kurgans (mounds or barrows), 
 which are found scattered over Western Asia, the Balkan 
 peninsula, Russia, and as far west as the Pomeranian 
 and Mecklenburg marsh-lands. Close to these countless 
 tumuli stand the villages of the agricultural Kurds, 
 while the whitewashed tombs of Moslem "saints" 
 are dotted over the boundless grassy plains. On this 
 plateau the ruins of Nineveh cover a space about 18 
 miles in length along the river, and extend nearly 12 
 miles from its left bank, thus occupying an area of over 
 200 square miles, or rather more than that of London. 
 The famous mound of Kuyunjik, where the excavations 
 were begun in 1841, faces Mosul, while those of Nimrud 
 occupy the angle formed by the confluence of the Tigris 
 and Great Zab, 18 miles farther south. Here Layard
 
 ooi 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 discovered the colossal winged bulls, lions with human 
 heads, and winged sphinxes placed as guardians at the 
 entrances of the royal palaces, and now preserved in 
 the British Museum. Since then all the European 
 collections have been enriched by the artistic treasures 
 brought to light in the intervening space. The arrow- 
 headed writings of the brick libraries, which are now 
 
 SUPPOSED TOMB OF JONAH, XIXEYEH. 
 
 deciphered, show that Nineveh was the centre of an 
 Assyrian or Semitic civilisation of great antiquity, but 
 still modern compared with that of the Akkads of 
 Babylonia, whose ethnical affinities have not yet been 
 determined. 
 
 Below the ruins of Nimrud the Tigris is joined on 
 its left bank by the Great Zab, in whose lower valley is 
 Arbil, which preserves the name and memory of Alex- 
 ander's decisive victory over Darius (331 B.C.); higher
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BAsIX 359 
 
 up stands the frowning stronghold of Kowandiz in the 
 very heart of the Kurdistan highlands. From Kowandiz 
 the southern track over the hills leads through Kerkuk, 
 the chief place in the Little Zab basin, to Sulaimanieh, 
 on a head-stream of the Diala, which, though of recent 
 origin (1778), has acquired great importance, thanks to 
 its strong strategical position near the Persian frontier. 
 Sulaimanieh, which is also a flourishing centre of • trade 
 for the surrounding populations, is a typical Kurdish 
 town of some 2500 houses, "nearly all single-storied 
 with flat roofs. The narrow, winding streets of the 
 bazaar, with the stalls on either hand, are shaded from 
 the sun by an arrangement of branches and leaves 
 stretched across overhead. The articles displayed for 
 sale reflect the tastes of these warlike Kurdish moun- 
 taineers, always fond of something bright and showy in 
 their accoutrements, and a good weapon by their side. 
 The principal manufactures are saddles and horse furni- 
 ture, shoes and leather-work generally, the leather being 
 cleverly dyed in various brilliant colours. A curious 
 assortment of flint-locks and guns, swords, knives, and 
 daggers of all shapes, round shields of bullock hide, 
 belts with a row of pouches for powder and bullets, and 
 felt saddle-cloths embroidered with coloured worsted, 
 made a very interesting display. A fair quantity of 
 Manchester piece-goods, cotton kerchiefs, etc., could be 
 seen; but to a Kurd, a Martini rifle or a good horse, 
 looted from some Arab on the plains, is of more value 
 thai) very many yards of cloth. Of eatables there was 
 the universal Kurdish drink of curdled milk called yaurt, 
 cheese, raisins, and several kinds of dried fruits, chiefly 
 plums and apricots" (Maunsell, ib.). 
 
 Nearly midway between Mosul and the Persian 
 Cull' is situated the famous city of Bagdad, in what 
 was once one of the richest and most productive regions
 
 ;eo 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 in the world. This city was formerly the most brilliant 
 capital of the Moslem world. Arriving with the Persian 
 caravan from Mandali, we enter the city by the gate 
 
 STREET IN BAGDAD. 
 
 of Sheikh Diner. The archway has long since fallen 
 in, and the soft -hoofed camels struggle painfully over 
 the breaches formed by time in the dilapidated bastions. 
 In the first purlieus we meet with nothing but piles of 
 rubbish, stagnant waters, and cesspools, while a pack of
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 361 
 
 pariah dogs is scattered in all directions by the shrill 
 voice of the leader of the caravan. Over the city 
 swoops the vulture of the wilderness, and at its very 
 gates flocks of carrion crows settle unmolested on the 
 putrid carcasses strewn about. 
 
 East of the river is the district of New Bagdad, 
 containing the Government offices and the chief com- 
 mercial and public buildings. On the right bank is 
 the old town, enclosed by an extensive tract of orange 
 and date groves. Towards the desert this quarter is 
 protected by a wall with two gates, leaving the part 
 facing the river unenclosed. No other large city of 
 Asiatic Turkey is influenced by the desert to the same 
 extent as is Bagdad ; no other stands in such direct 
 contact with Central Arabia. The purest Arabic dialect 
 is here current, and here still prevail the Bedouin 
 manners in the social life of the people, and especially 
 in their intercourse with the non-Muhammadan element. 
 Yet, in spite of their religious fanaticism, their general 
 bearing is preferable to that of most other Asiatic 
 Mussulmans, because of the very sincerity of their 
 belief, combined with the natural dignity and frankness 
 peculiar to the Moslem Arab. The population is of a 
 very motley character, being composed, according to 
 some authorities, of 150,000 Muhammadans of various 
 races, some 18,000 Jews, 2000 " Nestorians," nearly the 
 same number of Latin Christians, several hundred 
 Armenians and Syrians, and scarcely more than 20 
 Europeans. The collective population was estimated in 
 1908 at 145,000. Bagdad, though shorn of the great- 
 ness for which it was once famed, still possesses import- 
 ance commercially and politically, which it owes to its 
 situation on the great water highway in a country nearly 
 destitute of land routes. 
 
 Up to this point the Tigris is navigable throughout
 
 362 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 the year for steamers of considerable size, while from 
 the north there daily arrive the so-called " Kelleks," a 
 sort of craft made of inflated goat-skins, boarded over. 
 On these are floated down quantities of lumber from 
 the Kurdistan uplands, the boatmen returning with the 
 empty skins in company with the caravans. But still 
 more characteristic of Bagdad is the " quffe," or coracle, 
 consisting of a round hull 6 to 8 feet broad, with sides 
 curved inwards, constructed mostly of strong reeds and 
 well pitched on the outside. When the bridge of boats 
 becomes broken, the communication is kept open by 
 means of these frail craft. The type is of great an- 
 tiquity, being represented on the old Assyrian reliefs, 
 and described by Herodotus, who states that these boats 
 were built in Armenia. 
 
 In the untidy soldiers slouching about the streets, in 
 the evil-smelling bazaars and ruined mosques, in the 
 rotten bridge of boats, and the mean dusty post-ofhce, 
 one reads at every step that the curse of Turkish inani- 
 tion lies as heavily or even more heavily on this once 
 prosperous and magnificent city than even on many other 
 Turkish towns. Pestilences have devoured it ; the very 
 Euphrates, to which the country owes its history and 
 former opulence, has helped in the work by bursting its 
 banks, and by rendering the country to the west a 
 marsh, and so bringing fever and ill-health to the ill- 
 fated city. " The glory of the city of the Caliphs has 
 indeed departed" (H. S. Cooper, p. 278). 
 
 West of the Euphrates, though at no great distance 
 from Bagdad, lies the village of Kerbela, a spot held 
 in great veneration by the Shiah or Persian Muham- 
 madans. Here is the tomb of Hosein, the Prophet's 
 grandson, and son of Ali, whom the Shiahs regard as 
 his true successor hi the Caliphate. They believe that 
 by living or dying here they have nothing to fear in
 
 -■ z — — :
 
 364 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the next world, being thereby rendered irresponsible 
 for their conduct in life. So strong is this belief, that 
 many leave instructions in their wills to have their 
 remains brought from great distances and buried in this 
 hallowed place. Hence many thousands of bodies are 
 yearly brought from Persia and elsewhere and laid in 
 the ground at Kerbela. The place is also visited by 
 numerous caravans of Shiah pilgrims, all who have per- 
 formed this pilgrimage henceforth bearing the proud 
 title of " Kerbelai." 
 
 A little south of Kerbela, and on the Euphrates, 
 stands the town of Hillah, opposite which are the 
 ruins of Babylon, scattered over a wide tract of country. 
 " Hillah, which may be called the present represent- 
 ative of ancient Babylon, situated as it almost certainly 
 is within the ancient boundaries, and built of bricks 
 gathered from the ruins, is a place of considerable im- 
 portance, situated on both banks of the Euphrates, which 
 is here less than 200 yards wide, and of a gentle current. 
 The town is prettily set in palm-groves, and is surrounded 
 by a mean brick or mud wall. There are bazaars on 
 both sides of the river, but those on the right bank 
 appear more extensive, and that part of the town is 
 indeed the principal. The population seems to be in- 
 creasing, as Layard put it down at 8000 or 9000, and 
 Gratton Geary in 1878 states that it was then estimated 
 at 20,000. The population is chiefly Arab, but there is 
 a considerable fraternity of Jews. It is indeed an 
 interesting fact that ever since the Babylonian captivity 
 this remarkable race has dwelt in considerable numbers 
 in the vicinity of ancient Babylon " (H. S. Cooper, 
 p. 334). 
 
 Below Hillah the two chief riverside ports are 
 Kornah (Kurnah) at the Tigris - Euphrates confluence, 
 and Basra (Basora) on the Shat-el-Arab, 50 miles in a
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 365 
 
 straight line Lelovv the junction. According to a local 
 tradition Kornah occupies the site of the " Garden of 
 Eden " ; but despite its position at the converging point 
 of the two great rivers, it is a mere village situated on a 
 narrow point of land covered with luxuriant date-palm 
 groves. Between Kornah and Basra the Shat-el-Arab is 
 a copious stream, from 250 to 300 yards wide, with a 
 depth of from 60 to 90 feet. 
 
 The present port of Basra is a modern place lying on 
 the right bank of the river about 2 miles from the 
 famous city of Basra, which was founded by Caliph Omar 
 in the seventh century. But an earlier town existed on 
 the site of old Basra or Zobeir, which stood on a canal 
 supposed to be the old Pallacopas mouth of the Euphrates. 
 " From time immemorial there must of necessity have 
 been a port here, where all the trade of the East would 
 make its way to Babylon and Seleucia in the earlier days, 
 and to Ctesiphon, Kufa, and Bagdad in later times. 
 It was this trade which raised the mediaeval Balsora to 
 such importance, and, as Layard has remarked, it was 
 the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope route which 
 ruined its trade" (H. S. Cooper, p. 416). But its 
 position is so favourable for traffic that, despite the 
 surrounding marshy and malarious district, Basra still 
 continues to be an important emporium of Asiatic Turkey 
 for eastern produce. Ships of 500 tons burden reach 
 this point, and since the establishment of the English 
 line of steamers, affording regular communication with 
 Bagdad and the Gulf, its prosperity has considerably 
 revived. The distance from Bagdad to the Gulf is 570 
 miles by water, and the English steamers generally take 
 about four days on the up trip and two days on the 
 return journey between Basra and Bagdad.
 
 366 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 9. Highways of Communication. 
 
 In the Mesopotamian basin there are scarcely any 
 roads properly so called. The two great arteries of the 
 Tigris and Euphrates still continue to be the chief 
 highways of communication. But the desert is crossed 
 in various directions by caravan tracks, and in the 
 extreme north there is one good road, the already- 
 mentioned route connecting Trebizond through Erzerum 
 and Bayazid with Persia. Erzerum is also connected 
 eastwards by a military road with Kars, and south- 
 eastwards through Yangali with Van. From Van an 
 important route runs southwards through Mosul, and 
 down the Tigris valley to Bagdad, and another west- 
 wards through Mush and Kharput to Anatolia. Of the 
 caravan routes across the desert, by far the most im- 
 portant is that which strikes the Euphrates at Bir 
 (Birejik), here bifurcating through Urfa northwards to 
 Diarbekr, south-eastwards down the Mesopotamian low- 
 lands to Bagdad. Another route runs from Diarbekr 
 along the left bank of the Tigris through Finduk to 
 Mosul, here crossing to the west bank, which it follows 
 to Bagdad. Mosul is also reached from Diarbekr by 
 an alternative route via Mardin and Nisibin (Nisibis). 
 But the most direct route between the Mediterranean 
 and the Persian Gulf runs from Alexandretta through 
 Aleppo to Kalaat-Jabar on the Euphrates, thence fol- 
 lowing the right bank of that river via Anah and Hit 
 to Kalat-Ambar. Here it crosses over and pursues a 
 straight course south-eastwards to Bagdad. This route 
 is not essentially different from the line which has been 
 examined and partly surveyed for the project of the 
 Euphrates Valley Railway. The line is proposed to run 
 from Alexandretta to Bagdad, and thence south-east- 
 wards to Basra. At Bagdad it would form a junction
 
 iATES BASIN. 
 
 To Face page 366
 
 ASIA MINIMI AM) THE TIGRIS & EUPHRATES BASIN.
 
 THE EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS BASIN 367 
 
 with the great Bagdad trunk-line, which, starting from 
 Scutari, is intended to connect the Bosphorus with the 
 Persian Gulf through Anatolia and Mesopotamia. There 
 has been speculation also regarding the possibility of 
 carrying a railway from Mesopotamia on to India, through 
 Persia and Afghanistan or Baluchistan. 1 Meantime there 
 are no railways in the Mesopotamian basin, the present 
 terminus of the Bagdad line being Bulgar-leu near Eregli 
 in Asia Minor. For the projected extension through 
 Mesopotamia to the Persian Gulf see p. 327. 
 
 1 See the publications on the Euphrates Valley Railway and India 
 Her NeigKbows, by Mr. W. P. Andrew, chairman of the Sind, 
 Panjab, and Delhi Railway Company.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area. 
 
 The Mesopotamian plains are separated by the great 
 Syrian desert from the Mediterranean coast region, 
 which here stretches nearly in a straight line from the 
 Sinai Peninsula northwards to Anatolia. The desert 
 forms a chalk and limestone tableland gradually rising 
 to an altitude of over 2000 feet above the sea, stretch- 
 ing away southwards into the peninsula of Arabia, but 
 on the west sinking abruptly down to the long, deep, 
 and narrow depression of El-Ghor, which forms the 
 eastern limit of the southern section of the coast region 
 known as Palestine or the Holy Land. Farther north 
 the desert merges imperceptibly in the plains of 
 Damascus and Aleppo ; consequently Syria, or the 
 northern section of this region, presents no natural well- 
 defined limits towards the east. Elsewhere the bound- 
 aries of the whole land are sufficiently clear — the sea on 
 the west, the Amanus (eastern Taurus) on the north, 
 the Euphrates on the north-east, Rafeh near El-Arish on 
 the south-west, Arabia Petrsea on the south. This gives 
 a total length north and south of about 430 miles, with 
 a mean breadth of 100, narrowing in the south to 50, 
 expanding northwards to 150. The area is officially 
 given at 115,000 square miles, of which not more than
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 369 
 
 12,000 are comprised in Palestine. The distinction 
 between the terms Syria and Palestine, no longer 
 recognised in the East, is still retained in the West 
 by reason of the religious associations with which the 
 southern division is inseparably associated. Palestine 
 is cut oft' by the Lower Orontes and Mount Hermon 
 from Syria proper, measuring from this point to the 
 southern end of the Dead Sea about 160 miles, with an 
 average breadth of 70. 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. 
 
 While this strip of coast land serves on the one 
 hand to cut off the desert from the sea, it forms on the 
 other a connecting link between the Anatolian and 
 Arabian tablelands. It is everywhere too mountainous 
 to allow the plateau formation to be clearly developed. 
 But the mass of the land has a mean elevation of prob- 
 ably 3000 feet, above which rise two parallel mountain 
 ranges, clearly marked in the centre, less distinctly de- 
 fined in the north, and southwards breaking into an 
 irregular upland region, where the hills and low ridges 
 still form two systems west and east of the El-Ghor 
 depression, round which they meet and become interlaced 
 in the Arabian uplands. 
 
 The coast line, running nearly due north and south, 
 is varied by but few and unimportant headlands and 
 inlets, the section south of Beyrut forming almost a 
 straight line, broken only by the bold promontory of 
 .Mount Carmel nearly midway between Beyrut and 
 .bill;! (Joppa). Throughout its entire length the coast is 
 followed by the outer chain of mountains, leaving but a 
 narrow strip of lowlands between their base and the 
 sea. In Palestine this range is little more than the 
 
 vol. ii 2 b
 
 370 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 escarpment of the broad and hilly plateau of Judaea, 
 beyond which the plain of Sharon stretches seawards 
 from Csesarea southwards to Gaza. Beyond Carmel the 
 hills still recede sufficiently to make room for the less 
 extensive plain of Acre, after which they continue to 
 rise in height and approach constantly nearer to the 
 coast. North of the valley of the Lower Leontes (Nahr- 
 el-Litany) they culminate in the two parallel chains of 
 the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, which form the great 
 physical feature of this region. The Anti-Lebanon, or 
 inner range, falls gradually northwards down to the 
 plains of Upper Mesopotamia. But the Lebanon, or 
 Jebel-el-Gharbi — that is, "Western Eange " — is con- 
 tinued by the less elevated Jebel-Nusarieh as far as the 
 plain of Antiochia, about the 36 th parallel. North of 
 this plain the Jebel-Nusarieh is continued by the Giaour- 
 dagh and Akma-dagh to the Taurus above the Gulf of 
 Alexandretta. 
 
 The Lebanon or central coast range runs for about 
 9 miles south-west, at some points approaching to within 
 8 or 1 miles of the Mediterranean. Seen from a vessel 
 out at sea it presents the appearance of bare, rocky walls, 
 here and there surmounted by a few snow-clad peaks, of 
 which the highest are the Dhor-el-Khodih (10,200 feet), 
 and the Jebel-Makmel (10,000 feet). From these the 
 range takes the name of the Lebanon or " White Moun- 
 tains," a name which was already current in the time of 
 Moses (Deut. i. 7), and which has never since dropped 
 out of history. Notwithstanding its rugged aspect sea- 
 wards, the Lebanon, which is properly limited southwards 
 by the valley of the Lower Leontes, really contains many 
 fertile slopes and valleys, well cultivated and thickly 
 peopled. 
 
 Eastwards it is separated by the still more fertile 
 valley of the Bekaa (Coele-Syria) from the Anti-Lebanon
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 
 
 373 
 
 or inner range, whose naked rocky walls present far 
 more varied outlines than the coast range. Although
 
 372 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 with a lower mean elevation, the southern extremity of 
 the Anti-Lebanon rises in the Jebel-es-Sheikh (Mount 
 Hermon) to an altitude of 9,200 feet, the culminating 
 point of the Syrian highlands, some 30 miles south- 
 west of Damascus. Beyond this^ point it throws off 
 two branches towards the south-west and south-east, 
 thus enclosing the upper sources of the Jordan, and 
 merging eastwards in the rocky uplands of Gilead and 
 Moab. 
 
 An expedition was made to North Syria in 1892 by 
 the Eev. Dr. Post and Professor West, for the purpose of 
 extending to the Lebanon region the accurate map of 
 Palestine published by the Palestine Exploration Fund. 
 Excluding the south-eastern flanks of Hermon, both the 
 Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon were found to be of limestone 
 formation. The effects of erosion by water are far more 
 distinct on the Lebanon chain, a fact due to the heavier 
 rainfall to which it is exposed ; the romantic wadies 
 which furrow its western slopes find no counterpart in 
 the tame watercourses of the Anti-Lebanon. Lebanon is 
 a single ridge, above which rises a series of commanding 
 peaks, while the Anti-Lebanon is of much more compli- 
 cated structure. It is rooted in the great ridge of 
 Hermon in the south, from which five ridges diverge 
 northwards like the ribs of a fan. The space included 
 between these ridges is a plateau ranging from 4000 to 
 5500 feet above sea-level, while the intervening ridge 
 ranges from 7000 to 8557 feet in absolute height, The 
 conical summit of Halaim, at the northern extremity of 
 the second ridge going westwards, is characterised by a 
 more distinctive flora than the rest of the system.
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE o / 3 
 
 3. Hydrography : Jordan — Dead Sea. 
 
 Syria and Palestine are still sometimes represented as 
 being intersected in their entire length by a deep depres- 
 sion called in the north El-Bekaa, in the south El-Ghor. 
 But more accurate recent surveys have shown that this 
 view is entirely erroneous, and that El-Bekaa and El- 
 Ghor are totally distinct formations. Although the term 
 El-Bekaa means a " deep plain," the tract in question, 
 answering to the ancient Ccele-Syria — that is, " Hollow 
 Syria " — is only " deep " or " hollow " relatively to the two 
 lofty ranges of the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, between 
 which it lies. In itself the Bekaa is not a depression at 
 all, but a plateau at an average elevation of no less than 
 2000 feet above the sea. On the other hand, the Ghor 
 is not only a true depression, but the very deepest in the 
 earth's crust, falling in the basin of the Dead Sea to a 
 depth of 1292 feet below the Mediterranean, or over 4000 
 feet below the Bekaa. Nevertheless, these two features 
 of the country are still to some extent connected by its 
 hydrography, which they largely regulate. At the famous 
 ruins of Baalbek, under the 34th parallel and about mid- 
 way between Antiochia and the Dead Sea, the Bekaa attains 
 its greatest elevation of about 3000 feet above the sea, 
 and here is consequently the chief water-parting of the 
 whole region. Round about Baalbek rise the four main 
 streams — Jordan, Leontes, Orontes, and Abana — which 
 flow in four opposite directions, south to the Dead Sea, 
 south-west and north-west to the Mediterranean, east to 
 the Bahr-el-Ateibeh beyond Damascus. At Lake Merom 
 the Jordan reaches the trough of the Ghor, which it 
 henceforth follows throughout its entire course to the 
 Dead Sea. The Leontes and Orontes traverse the 
 southern and northern sections of the Bekaa respectively, 
 while the Abana pierces through the deep gorges of
 
 374 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Anti- Lebanon down to the smiling plains of Damascus. 
 Of the four rivers, the Jordan and Orontes will here 
 claim a more detailed description. 
 
 The Orontes (Nahr-el-Asy) rises with two head- 
 streams on the western slopes of Anti-Lebanon, some 10 
 miles north of Baalbek, flowing thence northwards to 
 the neighbourhood of Horns (Emessa), where it expands 
 into the lakelet of Kades, 6 miles long by 2 broad. 
 Beyond this point it continues its northerly course by 
 Hamah (Epiphania), and through narrow rocky gorges 
 for about 50 miles to the northern extremity of the 
 Nusarieh range, where it trends suddenly westwards and 
 south-westwards through the plains of Antiochia to the 
 coast, which it reaches near Suedia (Seleucia), after a 
 winding course of about 150 miles. At its northern 
 bend it receives on its right bank the Kara-su, its only 
 important tributary, flowing from the Lake of Antioch 
 4 miles off. 
 
 The Jordan (Sheriat-el-Kebir) is formed by three 
 small head-streams, the farthest of which rises between 
 Baalbek and Mount Hermon. The united stream falls 
 thence over seven low terraces southwards to the muddy 
 little Lake Merom (El-Huleh), which lies at the head 
 of the Ghor in a fertile basin, fringed on the north by 
 an almost impenetrable reedy swamp, and enclosed on 
 the south by a spacious elevated plain. This plain sinks 
 southwards sufficiently to afford an outlet for the Jordan, 
 which now pursues its impetuous course through the 
 deep rocky fissure of the Ghor for 10 miles to the Sea 
 of Galilee (Lake Gennesareth or Tiberias). The fall in 
 this short space is nearly 700 feet, and at this point the 
 trough of the Jordan has already descended to 682 feet 
 below the Mediterranean. 
 
 Lake Tiberias is a sheet of clear water, now as of 
 old abounding in fish, and encircled on all sides by lofty
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 
 
 375 
 
 mountain walls and hills, which in spring are covered 
 with a soft grassy carpet, but which heconie parched up 
 during the dry summer months. Although often described 
 as a deep basin with depths of over 800 feet, Tiberias is 
 comparatively speaking a shallow depression. The sound- 
 ings taken by Lieutenant Molyneux in 1847 nowhere 
 exceeded 156 feet, and the results of this survey are 
 
 
 confirmed by the researches of M. Barrois in 1890 
 (Gomptes Bendus, Paris Geo. Soc, 1893). West of the 
 lake stretches the fertile plain of Gennesareth (El- 
 Ghuweir or "the Little Ghor"); but the Ghor itself 
 continues still to fall for about 200 miles between the 
 Giliad hills and the escarpment of the plateaux of Galilee 
 and Samaria, southwards to the Dead Sea. The total fall 
 in this space amounts to 610 feet, so that at its lowest 
 level the Jordan has descended to'.-i depth of L292 feet
 
 376 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 below the Mediterranean through a chasm, which is by 
 far the longest and deepest on the surface of the earth. 
 All further extension of the river southwards is thus 
 rendered impossible, although it will be seen farther on 
 
 THE DEAD SEA. 
 
 that the Ghor itself continues its southerly course into 
 the Arabian peninsula. 
 
 The Dead Sea (Asphaltites Lake, or Bahr-Lut, that 
 is, " Sea of Lot ") is enclosed within a basin formed by 
 naked limestone cliffs, 2500 feet high on its east and 
 1500 on its west side. It is nearly 50 miles long north
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 377 
 
 and south, with an average width of 8 miles and a mean 
 depth of 1300 feet, but shoaling southwards to the ford 
 between the Lisan promontory and the shallow west shore. 
 Its water is nearly as clear and blue as that of the 
 Mediterranean, but salt, slimy, and foetid beyond descrip- 
 tion ; its taste like a mixture of brine and rancid oil ; and 
 its buoyancy so great that the human body will not sink 
 in it, strive as the bather may. Bitumen bubbles up 
 plentifully from the bottom, and with the sulphur, nitre, 
 and rock-salt that abound along the shore, sufficiently 
 explains the density and the nauseous taste and smell of 
 the water. The tale that the water and the exhalations 
 from it are alike fatal to animal life is less than half true. 
 The 26 per cent of saline matter precludes indeed the 
 existence of fish ; but birds fly along its shores and over 
 its surface as lively as in the mountains on either side. 
 From the observations made in 1 9 1 by Mr. Macalister and 
 Mr. Masterman, it would appear that there are variations of 
 level in the Dead Sea ranging from about 1^- to 2\ inches. 
 It is joined from the east by the Wady Mojib (Anion), 
 which was surveyed in 1898 by the Kev. P. Cady, and 
 found to enter the sea by a wide chasm and an immense 
 delta extending many hundred feet beyond the shore-line. 
 At the south end of the lake lies the rock-salt ridge 
 of the Jebel-Usdum, beyond which extends the desolate 
 salt marsh of Es-Sebkah, fed by the Wady-es-Safieh flow- 
 ing from the Wady-el-Arabah. This now dried-up water- 
 course forms a southern continuation of the Ghor depression. 
 But it does not extend, as was long supposed, to the Gulf 
 of Akaba at the head of the Eed Sea, but only to a water- 
 parting near the Bedouin camping-ground of Arabah, some 
 500 or 600 feet above the Mediterranean. The Wady-el- 
 Arabah is regarded by Edward Hull as a line of main fault 
 or fracture continuous with the Jordan Valley, which, 
 however, never reached the Gulf of Akabah. Terraces of
 
 378 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 marl, silt, etc., occurring at 100 feet above the Mediter- 
 ranean, show that the level of the Dead Sea itself was 
 formerly 1400 feet higher than now, filling a depression 
 200 miles long north and south {Mount Seir, Sinai, and 
 Western Palestine, 1885). 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Giliad and Moab — 
 Zand of Bashan — Trachonitis — Ala District — 
 Plateau of Aleppo — Canaan — The Plains of Sharon 
 — Galilee — Samaria — Judaea. 
 
 Before the late nineties Giliad and Moab, whose posi- 
 tion beyond the Jordan is indicated by their ancient name 
 of Peraea, were a veritable terra incognita. But notwith- 
 standing the lawlessness of their Bedouin inhabitants, their 
 numerous cromlechs, ruins, and other interesting monu- 
 ments have of late years tempted several European 
 explorers to penetrate into its most secluded retreats. 1 
 
 Seen from the western shores of the Dead Sea, Moab 
 looks like a mountain range, but is in reality merely the 
 verge of a rocky upland plateau about 2500 feet above 
 the sea, or 4000 feet above the level of the lake. This 
 plateau, which is furrowed by deep valleys, stretches 
 eastwards for about 25 miles to a bare limestone range, 
 conventionally regarded as the limit of the land towards 
 Arabia. Moab was formerly a well-peopled region. But 
 the eye everywhere lights on ruined villages. Even now, 
 badly cultivated as it is, the land is rich and fertile, and 
 large tracts of a fine red sandy loam, needing no manure, 
 still produce heavy wheat crops. All the streams flow 
 westwards through deep rocky beds to the Dead Sea. 
 
 The Moabite country is continued northwards by the 
 
 1 The Palestine Exploration Fund, after completing the survey of 
 
 Palestine proper, extended its labours to the region beyond the Jordan, 
 
 where over 1000 square miles have already been surveyed, and many 
 hundred ruins examined.
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 379 
 
 volcanic plateau of the Land of Bashan, which attains an 
 elevation of from 4000 to 5600 feet eastwards in the 
 Hauran uplands. Including the three districts of the 
 Leja (Western Trachonitis), Nukrah, and El-Jebel, this 
 region runs 60 miles north and south, and nearly 40 
 east and west. The Leja is mostly a stony plain ; but 
 the Nukrah is a rich tract, containing many small towns 
 and villages, unfortunately exposed to the frequent raids 
 of the Anazeh Bedouins, while the Jebel, or " Highlands," 
 marking the extreme eastern limits of Palestine towards 
 the desert, abound in ruined towns still partly peopled 
 by the Druses. 
 
 Between the Hauran and the Oasis of Damascus 
 there stretches a broad expanse of volcanic " tell," covered 
 with recent tertiary and pliocene craters, which, although 
 seemingly scattered about in wild confusion, really lie in 
 three tolerably parallel lines, inclining slightly north and 
 south. This is the Eastern Trachonitis (Tulul-el-Safa), 
 towards the northern verge of which stand the stupendous 
 ruins of Palmyra (Tadmor), under the 35 th parallel, in 
 38° E. long, and 120 miles north-east of Damascus. The 
 ruins cover a space of about 3 square miles, and con- 
 spicuous amongst them are the sixty columns still stand- 
 ing of the magnificent Temple of the Sun. This " City 
 of the Palms," as both names mean, dates back to the 
 time of Solomon, and is for ever associated with the sad 
 fate of the hapless Queen Zenobia. 
 
 Still more interesting to archaeologists is the Ala 
 region between the vilayets of Damascus and Aleppo. It 
 forms an extensive basaltic upland tract, stretching for 
 many miles east of the Orontes valley. Here are the 
 ruins of many cities, which have evidently been rebuilt 
 over and over again, besides numbers of remarkable tombs 
 and fortified camping -grounds. Lew Europeans besides 
 the English travellers Burton and Drake have visited this
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 381 
 
 extraordinary land, within whose limits, though figuring 
 on the maps as a blank space or portion of the Syrian 
 Desert, the Arabs have indicated the sites of no less than 
 365 ruined cities. 
 
 In the extreme north the extensive inland plateaux 
 of Aleppo, Umk, and Aintab occupy all the space between 
 the great bend of the Euphrates and the coast range. 
 Although intersected by several low ridges, they contain 
 many fine and fertile level tracts, thickly peopled by 
 Turkoman and Armenian agriculturists. This region 
 marks the extreme limits of both of these races towards 
 the south-west. In the west of the Umk plateau lies 
 the Bahr-el-Abiad, or Lake of Antioch, a fine sheet of 
 water 8 miles by 6, formed by the junction of several 
 steppe streams, and draining to the Orontes. 
 
 Eeturning southwards and re-crossing the Jordan from 
 Moab, we enter the small territory of Canaan, the " Land 
 of Promise," or Palestine proper, ever venerable as the 
 scene of the history of the " Chosen People," and as the 
 Holy Land of Christianity. This region consists of an 
 irregular hilly plateau falling west of the Jordan down to 
 the level coast lands. This narrow low-lying tract, com- 
 prising the ancient land of the Philistines, was at one 
 time studded with large towns and thickly inhabited by 
 a restless warlike population. But at present the only 
 noteworthy places are Gaza, Jaffa, and Ascalon, along a. 
 coast stretching in an almost unbroken monotonous line 
 northwards to Cape Carmel. This headland, enclosing the 
 Bay of Acre on the south, forms the northern extremity 
 of the Jebel-Mar-Elias (1800 feet), which runs through 
 the old lands of Manasseh and Asher north-westwards 
 between the plains of Sharon and Acre. The rich plain 
 of Sharon, of which only a small part is now under 
 cultivation, stretches some 15 or 20 miles inland, and 
 skirts the coast from above Ctesarea to Gaza, beyond
 
 ;s2 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 which its loamy soil gradually mingles with the sands of 
 Arabia Petrsea. 
 
 The tablelands rising immediately behind Sharon 
 comprise in the north the old land of Galilee lying mainly 
 between the Leontes and Carmel, Samaria in the centre, 
 and Judsea in the south. The regions which fall abruptly 
 eastwards to the El-Ghor depression are generally de- 
 
 THE LAKE OF GALILEE. 
 
 scribed as of Jurassic formation. But Dr. Oscar Fraas 
 has lately shown that they consist rather of chalk deposits 
 with hippurites and other fossil shells. The same forma- 
 tion prevails throughout the land east of Jordan, the 
 Sinai Peninsula north of the zone of primitive rocks, and 
 the Nile valley far beyond Karnak. 
 
 Galilee, the northern division of Palestine, is a hilly 
 district from 2000 to 3000 feet above the sea, sinking
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 383 
 
 eastwards abruptly to the Jordan and Lake Gennesareth, 
 and southwards to the rich alluvial plain of Esdraelon 
 (Jezril). Here are many pleasant fertile valleys, varied 
 with bold mountains and splendid woodlands stretching 
 northwards to Mount Hermon. 
 
 South of the plain of Esdraelon the plateau again 
 rises to the central district of Samaria, where are also 
 many well -watered and cultivated valleys, producing 
 heavy crops and fruits in abundance. Here the pro- 
 minent landmarks are the rocky Mounts Ebal (3076 
 feet) and Gerizim (2849 feet), rising close together about 
 34 miles due north of Jerusalem. 
 
 The southern district of Judaea is traversed by a 
 somewhat ill-defined ridge of bare treeless hills, known 
 collectively as the Mountains of Judah. These hills form 
 a small water-parting between Kedron and other brooks 
 flowing east to the Dead Sea, west to the Mediterranean. 
 But although rich beyond any other land in hallowed 
 memories and stirring events, Judaea is on the whole a 
 somewhat bleak, arid country, far less productive than 
 any other part of Palestine. 
 
 5. Climate. 
 
 In this region climate depends far less on latitude 
 than on the relief of the land. Even in small districts 
 the greatest diversity prevails, according to the varying 
 altitudes. Thus on the exposed upland plateau beyond 
 the Jordan the glass falls at night to 22° F., or 10° 
 below freezing-point, when it stands at 76° P. on the 
 shores of the neighbouring Dead Sea. In general a 
 cold temperature prevails on the higher slopes of the 
 Lebanon and other ranges rising above the snow-line. 
 Here the winters, almost as severe as on the southern 
 shores of the Baltic, are followed by genial springs
 
 384 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 summers scarcely warmer than in England, and fresh 
 autumns. Along the west coast and the Jordan valley 
 the summer heat is very oppressive, the winter mild, and 
 rain falls in both seasons. Malaria is prevalent at 
 certain marshy spots along the coast, especially near 
 Tripoli and Alexandretta. Central and South Palestine 
 and the vilayet of Damascus enjoy a warm, dry climate, 
 with mild winters and slight rainfall. Here the hot 
 desert winds prevail in summer, drying up the rivulets, 
 and reducing the land to an arid waste. At Jerusalem 
 the mercury rises to 79° at sunset in midsummer, sink- 
 ing to 49° in January — hottest and coldest means. 
 
 A remarkable feature of the Bekaa is the violent, 
 almost tornado-like wind which prevails, especially in the 
 central districts, where it blows regularly every day for 
 some hours in the afternoon. 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Cedars of Lebanon. 
 
 As a rule, vegetation is much more varied and 
 luxuriant in the north than in the south. In Syria the 
 slopes and many of the coasts are often densely wooded, 
 whereas in Judsea " the hill vegetation is everywhere 
 scanty, and the general aspect of the country east and 
 south of Sharon rugged, desolate, and barren " (M'Coan). 
 
 The turpentine tree and the ballud, the species of oak 
 which produces the gall-nut of commerce, are common 
 features even beyond the Jordan. The vine, olive, orange, 
 and other Southern fruits, besides the mulberry, cereals, 
 and dates of splendid quality, abound in Sharon, the 
 Damascus district, the sheltered Lebanon valleys, and 
 generally throughout Galilee and Samaria. The tobacco 
 especially of the Latakia district facing Cyprus is noted 
 far and wide for its delicate flavour, and the rose of 
 Sharon still remains more than a reminiscence.
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 385 
 
 On the other hand, the historic cedars of Lebanon 
 have almost become a thing of the past. At a solitary 
 spot a few miles below Tripoli, and not tar from Cannobin, 
 seat of the Maronite patriarch, there still survives all that 
 remains of what must be regarded as undoubtedly the 
 most venerable tree in the whole world — the tree to which 
 the Psalmist compares the vine " brought out of Egypt," 
 the boughs of which " were like the goodly cedars " (Ps. 
 lxxx. 10). In 1875 Fraas counted altogether 377 plants 
 of all sizes, but there remain five only of the gigantic 
 trees, whose trunks measure upwards of 30 feet round. 
 Burton and Drake, who visited the place some years 
 ago, were also greatly disappointed at the appearance of 
 these " Christmas trees on a large scale," which from a 
 distance looked like a clump of enclosed pines, and on 
 a closer inspection were found to consist of a few 
 decayed old stems. 1 
 
 Of wild animals the chief are the Syrian bear, the 
 hyaena, jackal, boar, panther, and ounce. There is a 
 small but hardy breed of horses, but the camel and 
 mule are also employed as beasts of burden, especially 
 for the transit trade between the coast and the interior. 
 Fat -tailed sheep are numerous, but the Angora breed 
 soon degenerates. 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Syrian Christians — Missionary 
 Work — The Maronitcs, Druses, Nusarieh, and 
 Fellahin. 
 
 With the exception of a few wandering Kurdish and 
 Turkoman tribes in the extreme north, and of the Turkish 
 officials in the large towns, all the inhabitants of Syria 
 and Palestine belong to the Semitic stock. The modem 
 Syrian, who represents the Aramaean branch of that stock, 
 
 1 Unexplored Syria. London, 1872. 
 VOL. II 2 C
 
 386 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 is the result of a happy blending of races, in which 
 the Semitic element largely predominates. The natural 
 endowments of the people are displayed in the best light 
 by the Christian section of the community. The Syrian 
 Christians are a highly intelligent people, with a rare 
 capacity for adopting European ideas. The admixture 
 of Greek and Arab blood has evidently in no way im- 
 paired the good qualities of their Phoenician and Aramaean 
 forefathers. And Phoenicians, the inhabitants of the 
 coast districts, still remain in their enterprising spirit, 
 commercial skill, and love of travel. In Marseilles, 
 Liverpool, and Manchester there are several Syrian 
 merchants, furthering the interests of their native land, 
 and extending their trading relations even to Scandinavia 
 and North America. The prosperous condition of the 
 Beyrut Christians is the natural result of their intelligent 
 industry. Here are found none of those proletariate 
 classes, who cause so much anxiety in the large European 
 cities. Everybody is either a merchant or else engaged 
 in some settled industry, while still preserving the fresh- 
 ness of the simple patriarchal family life. The women 
 are comely, and, although without much book-learning, 
 good mothers, thrifty housewives, and devotedly attached 
 to their husbands. They associate little with the outer 
 world, passing their days in happy seclusion in the 
 midst of their families. Their reading is limited to their 
 Arabic prayer-books, and the harmless Beyrut Revieic, 
 while novel-reading and piano-strumming are accomplish- 
 ments which are still rare, except, perhaps, where the 
 superficial French culture has been introduced. 
 
 There is no lack of girls' schools, though instruction 
 is here limited mainly to the study of English or French. 
 The " Sisters of Charity," however, have an excellent 
 training school, where woman's work is taught, and where 
 native teachers are trained. The rival houses of the
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 387 
 
 " Sisters of Nazareth " and of " Prussian Deaconesses " are 
 also highly spoken of. The American missionaries are 
 also doing good work, aiming especially at practical 
 objects. The native Protestant community already 
 numbers several hundred families in Beyrut, where the 
 money flowing in from Great Britain and from beyond 
 the Atlantic has enabled them to build a handsome 
 church, besides supporting several schools and a printing 
 establishment. 
 
 Even in the Lebanon, Protestant views are making 
 rapid progress, notwithstanding the existence of some 
 good Eoman Catholic institutions. Of these, the most 
 noteworthy is the college of the Melchite Greeks, which 
 is admirably conducted, and already numbers several 
 hundred pupils. The Jesuit College at Ghazir is also 
 efficiently managed, and this is also true of the Lazarist 
 College at Antura. Both are exclusively French estab- 
 lishments, and as most of the young men of Beyrut 
 have been educated at one or other of them the French 
 language has become very general amongst the upper 
 classes. It has already almost entirely superseded 
 Italian, which prevailed in the last generation. 
 
 In the year 1862 the district of the Lebanon was 
 detached from the vilayet of Damascus, and formed into 
 a separate pashalik, administered by a Christian governor 
 under the control of the European legations. But the 
 limits of this new government depart considerably from 
 the natural limits of Mount Lebanon, having been laid 
 down solely in accordance with the religious interests of 
 the people. Hence districts where the majority were 
 Muliaminadans continue to form part of the Syrian pro- 
 vince, while all the Christian communities were included 
 in that of the Lebanon. But Tripoli, Beyrut, and Sail hi 
 (Sidon), the three most important seaports, were also 
 attached to Syria, so that the boundaries of the modern
 
 388 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 district of the Lebanon are extremely irregular. It 
 comprises an area of rather over 2000 square miles, 
 with a population of 250,000, mostly Christians. 
 
 The Lebanon Christians call themselves Maronites, 
 from the national saint, Maron, a famous recluse sup- 
 posed to have flourished about the year 400. They 
 are the direct descendants of the orthodox community 
 as constituted in the seventh century, and although 
 united with Eome since the time of the first Crusades, 
 they still retain many local privileges and peculiarities, 
 such as a married clergy, administration of the sacra- 
 ment under both species, celebration of mass in the 
 Syriac language, but otherwise according to the Latin 
 rite, together with their own hagiology and national 
 feasts. They are devotedly attached to their religion, 
 and are in other respects a brave and energetic people. 
 Their villages, and 200 monasteries, are perched like 
 eyries on the spurs and slopes of the main range, and 
 are often surrounded by corn-fields waving over artificial 
 terraces, so disposed as to prevent the rich loam from 
 being washed away. 
 
 Unfriendly neighbours of the Maronites are the mys- 
 terious Druses, settled partly in the Acre district south 
 of the Lebanon, partly in the remote Hauran uplands, 
 on the verge of the desert. The origin and peculiar 
 tenets of this half-pagan people have not yet been 
 satisfactorily explained. Though apparently having some 
 affinity in faith to the Mussulmans, they jealously 
 preserve a sort of secret doctrine, said to have been 
 handed down from the ancient Egyptians. In fact, how- 
 over, they make no outward profession of any religion, 
 although believing in a God. Physically they are a fine 
 race, brave, with something of poetry and heroism, but 
 also fierce, cruel, and treacherous. 
 
 Druses and Maronites lived for ages amicably to-
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 389 
 
 gether until bitter feuds sprang up between them during 
 the nineteenth century. Sudden raids were followed by 
 sanguinary reprisals, and the restoration of order was 
 frequently attended with much bloodshed. Since 1860 
 the Druses began to withdraw from the Lebanon and 
 settle in the Hauran uplands, and in the Lebanon 
 district they now (1907) number scarcely more than 
 30,000. But in Hauran they find themselves opposed 
 to new enemies, the Arab Bedouins and the Circassians 
 who settled in the province of Damascus after their 
 expulsion from the Caucasus by the Kussians. In 1895 
 the Druses flew to arms, driven to desperation by the 
 raids of these tribes and the oppression of the Turkish 
 pashas. But all these forces acting in concert, they 
 were completely routed towards the end of the year, 
 when twenty of their villages were burnt and all the 
 inhabitants of both sexes put to the sword. 
 
 There are some 50,000 Christian Greeks in the 
 Lebanon. Some " Ishmaelites ". also dwell here, descended 
 from the murderous sect of " Assassins," who have given 
 a familiar word to most European languages. Here also 
 are some 15,000 Mussulmans on the skirts of the range, 
 and about the same number of Meteollis or Shiah sec- 
 taries, who are generally regarded with suspicion by their 
 neighbours. 
 
 North of the Lebanon we enter the domain of the 
 mysterious Nusarieh race, which gives its name to the 
 northern coast range, and forms the majority of the 
 population along the whole of these uplands, and even 
 beyond the Amanus mountains, right into Cilicia, as far 
 as Adana and Tarsus. Here dwelt from the remotest 
 times the Nazarini, of whom the ancients seem to have 
 known as little as we do of their direct descendants, the 
 Xnsarieh. These highlanders live and die in their moun- 
 tain homes, which they never willingly Leave. Tillage
 
 390 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 and stock-breeding afford them a sufficient livelihood, 
 but while conducting themselves as true followers of the 
 Prophet in the presence of their Moslem neighbours, 
 they maintain profound secrecy on the subject of their 
 peculiar worship. Their speech is the Arabic dialect 
 elsewhere current in the Syrian highlands. Throughout 
 Syria, where they are called Fellahin, and are said to 
 number from 120,000 to 180,000, they have the repu- 
 tation of being irreclaimable and desperate highwaymen. 
 
 The great bulk of the present population of Palestine, 
 which scarcely exceeds 800,000 altogether, consists of 
 Arabs, partly Bedouin nomads, partly Fellahin, or settled 
 agriculturists. They dwell mostly in wretched mud 
 hovels, or amidst the ruins of old buildings. They all 
 speak Arabic, and are mainly followers of Muhammad. 
 A few Christian communities are found in Nazareth and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 But till recently the Jews had almost disappeared 
 from the land of their forefathers. Except in Jerusalem 
 they were scarcely anywhere to be found within the limits 
 of Palestine proper. But since the outbreak of religious 
 persecution in Kussia, and the spread of the " Anti- 
 Semitic Movement" in Germany and Austria, large 
 numbers of Israelites have migrated, some to the New 
 World, some to the Holy Land. In his annual report 
 for 1894, Bishop Blyth, the Anglican Bishop of Jeru- 
 salem, states that "about 100,000 Jews have entered 
 Palestine during the last few years, of whom 65,000 
 have come within the last seven years, and the arrival of 
 a vast number is imminent." Lately also a few Pro- 
 testant enthusiasts, mostly from Wurtemberg, have settled 
 about Mount Carmel, in Jaffa, and a few other places. 
 But it is somewhat premature to speak, as some already 
 do, of the German colonisation of the Holy Land.
 
 SYBIA AND PALESTINE 391 
 
 8. Topography : Damascus — Aleppo — Emessa — Beyrut — 
 Xa za reth — Jerusalem — Hebron — Jericho. 
 
 In Anatolia and Mesopotamia most of the old cities 
 have either disappeared or sunk to the position of obscure 
 hamlets, whose sites have with difficulty been identified. 
 In Syria, on the contrary, although Tyre, Tad mor, Baalbek, 
 and some other famous places have shared the same fate, 
 many of the most venerable cities in the world, such as 
 Damascus, Aleppo, Emessa, Beyrut, Jerusalem, not only 
 continue to flourish but retain their ancient names in 
 more or less modified forms. This, however, is true only 
 of the region west of the El-Ghor and Bekaa depressions, 
 beyond which hundreds of formerly prosperous towns have 
 been swallowed up in the sands continually advancing 
 westwards from the desert. 
 
 Da m asctis — A leppo. 
 
 Here an almost solitary exception is Damascus, which 
 claims to be the oldest city in the world, and which. 
 owing to the favourable conditions of the soil and climate, 
 still continues to maintain its political and commercial 
 supremacy almost on the verge of the wilderness. It lies 
 
 Led amid gardens and orchards at an elevation of 
 2300 feet above the sea, in a district which owes its 
 exuberant fertility to the Abana and Pharpar flowing 
 eastwards from the Anti-Lebanon and Mount Hermon. 
 Owing to its thoroughly Oriental aspect it is one of the 
 most interesting cities in the East. The Arabs have 
 corrupted its name to Esh-Sham, which term they have 
 extended to the whole of Syria. But when they wish to 
 speak more particularly of the capital, they lose them- 
 selves in raptures about "the breath of heaven," "the 
 mole on the cheek of the earth," " the plumage of the
 
 STRIA AND PALESTINE 393 
 
 peacock," "the necklace of beauty," and suchlike Oriental 
 imagery. For them it is one of the four Edens, although 
 the city proper, enclosed within its crumbling walls and 
 projecting towers, is far from corresponding with the 
 favourable impression produced by a more distant prospect. 
 The irregular and narrow streets wind along between high 
 dead walls, broken at long intervals by small grated 
 windows, but nowhere relieved by any touches of art. 
 The monotonous piles of dull stone are varied only by a 
 few ancient gateways, which alone make any attempt at 
 architectural display. 
 
 Of great historic interest is the former Church of 
 St. John, now the largest mosque in Islam. But more 
 attractive are the numerous bazaars, in extent and rich- 
 ness surpassing most of those elsewhere met with in 
 Eastern cities. Amongst their motley throngs nearly all 
 the peoples of the East are represented. 
 
 Nearly due north of Damascus are Horns (Emessa), 
 Hamah (Epiphania), and Aleppo. Horns is still a con- 
 siderable place on the right bank of the Orontes. Hamah, 
 on the same river and a little farther north, is an almost 
 exclusively Moslem town, in the neighbourhood of which 
 is the interesting Ala district described farther back. 
 Still farther north, and about midway between the 
 Euphrates and the coast, is Aleppo, second only to 
 Damascus in size and importance. Capital of a vilayet, 
 it does a considerable local and transit trade, and is 
 occupied with some long-established industries. An old 
 aqueduct still supplies it with water from some perennial 
 springs 8 miles off. Aleppo was wasted by a terrific 
 earthquake in 1822, since which time it has never quite 
 recovered its former prosperity. 
 
 "The general aspect of the interior of the town is 
 extremely substantial for an Oriental city. The streets 
 are built of excellent freestone, well-fashioned, and the
 
 394 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 masonry fairly well put together. They are, however, 
 crooked, and of course narrow, although there are one or 
 two by which a carriage can enter the bazaars. The 
 bazaars themselves are extensive, and, as a rule, fairly 
 wide, arched or covered over, and the shops (square 
 niches in the wall, in which sits the merchant among his 
 merchandise) are often larger though less characteristic 
 than those of Cairo. Manchester cotton and prints are 
 seen everywhere, which ugly, but cheap and serviceable, 
 manufactures are cutting out the beautiful old silks of 
 native make. Separate bazaars are devoted to separate 
 wares ; and the curious traveller can inspect markets 
 teeming with wool, cotton, or hides, or tramp through 
 long alleys hung with festoons of red slippers or silk 
 kaffiehs. 
 
 The citadel is by far the most interesting and re- 
 markable place in the town. It is placed rather towards 
 the east of the centre of the walled city, upon the highest 
 ground within the walls. The great mound upon which 
 the ancient fortifications stand is roughly circular, and 
 surrounded by a wide and deep ditch, close on three- 
 quarters of a mile in circumference. The mound itself is 
 about 200 feet high, and although usually said to be 
 artificial, appears to be only partly so, live rock having 
 been found near the summit. The citadel probably occu- 
 pied part, if not the whole, of the site of the ancient 
 Beraea, and it may be compared with some of the large 
 mounds which stud the great plains of Northern Syria 
 and Mesopotamia " (H. S. Cooper, Through Turkish 
 Arabia, 88). Bercea was the Greek name of the old 
 Syrian fortress of Chalybon, a name still surviving in 
 the Arab Haleb, whence Alej^o.
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 
 
 395 
 
 Coast Towns. 
 
 All the chief seaports of Syria are still found on the 
 coast of whal was formerly the land of the Phoenicians, 
 
 the most famous navigators of antiquity. Amongst them 
 
 an- Latakia (Laodicea), with a sheltered but shallow 
 harbour ; Tarabulus (Tripoli), at the foot of a spur of the 
 Lebanon, nearly destroyed by the explosion of a powder- 
 magazine in L864; Beyrut (Berytus), 50 miles farther 
 down, next to Smyrna the largest and most flourishing 
 seaport in the Levant. It stands on a noble bay extend-
 
 396 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 ing in crescent-shape between the spurs of the Lebanon 
 and the sea, and boasts of some fine new quarters and 
 splendid villas, interspersed with shady groves and 
 gardens. Of the population about two-thirds are Syrian 
 Christians. 
 
 Nearly all the southern ports — Sidon, Tyre, Acre, 
 Csesarea, and Ascalon — have gradually lost most of their 
 trade since the stirring days of the Crusades, and are 
 now little more than fishing villages with a small local 
 traffic. 
 
 Jaffa (Joppa), however, between Csesarea and Ascalon, 
 has recovered all its former prosperity, thanks partly 
 to the great development of the orange industry, partly 
 to the opening of the Jerusalem railway, of which it 
 has been chosen as the seaward terminus. The Jaffa 
 oranges, noted for their size and flavour, are now ex- 
 ported in increasing quantities to Europe, America, and 
 even India. In 1892 nearly 1880 acres were planted, 
 new groves are being constantly laid out, and the yearly 
 exports now average 36,000 boxes, while the population 
 has risen from 12,000 in 1878 to 45,000 in 1907. 
 Owing to this trade Jaffa now ranks next to Beyrut in 
 importance amongst the Syrian seaports. 
 
 Alexandretta (Iskandrun), in the extreme north, has 
 of late years acquired some importance as the out-port 
 of Aleppo. Here is by far the finest harbour on the 
 whole coast, and, notwithstanding its unhealthy climate, 
 Alexandretta cannot fail to become a flourishing place 
 should the projected railway line ever be executed which 
 is to run from the coast at this point through Aleppo to 
 the main trunk-line in the Euphrates valley.
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 397 
 
 Nazareth — Jerusalem — Lachish — Gaza. 
 
 In Galilee still the most important place is Nazareth 
 (En-Xasirah), west of Mount Tabor, and 1100 feet above 
 the sea. It has now a Christian population of about 
 7000. The chief place in Samaria is the busy little 
 town of Xablus (Xeapolis or Shechem), lying in a fertile 
 and well - watered valley between Mounts Ebal and 
 Gerizim, and on the route from Damascus to the coast. 
 Here still survives a small community of about 200 
 Samaritans, who, like their forefathers, continue to 
 worship on Holy Gerizim. Amongst them is jealously 
 preserved the precious codex of the Pentateuch in the 
 old Samaritan dialect and in the archaic Hebrew char- 
 acter. Samaria, which gave its name to the land, has 
 dwindled to a hamlet now called Sebastieh, a little to 
 the north-west of Xablus. 
 
 From the summit of Gerizim, looking southwards, 
 the eye lights on a limestone plateau, rising 2600 feet 
 above the Mediterranean and nearly 4000 above the 
 Dead Sea, connected northwards with the great table- 
 land of Judaea, and on the three other sides enclosed by 
 rugged gorges. Here stands Jerusalem, to the Christian 
 the most hallowed of all places. It is even by the 
 worshippers of Allah regarded as El-Kuds, or " The Holy 
 Place." Here are still the Holy Places, the Church and 
 Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre, to w r hich are ever turned 
 the footsteps of thousands of pilgrims from the West. 
 
 No writer has more vividly described the outward 
 aspect of Jerusalem than Chateaubriand. "In the heart 
 of a mountain range lies a desert basin, enclosed on all 
 sides by yellow, rocky heights. These heights are open 
 only towards the east, thus affording a prospect of the 
 depression of the Dead Sea and the distant hills of 
 Arabia. In the middle of this stony landscape, on an
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 399 
 
 uneven and inclined plain, encircled by walls that once 
 crumbled beneath the blows of the battering-ram, and 
 are now propped by tottering towers, we behold some 
 scattered heaps of ruins, — ruins overgrown with a few 
 solitary cypresses, aloes, and prickly pears, and over- 
 built by Arab huts resembling whitewashed sepulchres, — 
 and such is the mournful picture now presented by 
 Jerusalem. At the first sight of this forsaken spot, the 
 heart is overcome by an overwhelming sense of despond- 
 ency. But this feeling disappears as we gradually pass 
 from desolation to desolation, and at last reach the 
 boundless open space, which, so far from oppressing, 
 rather inspires us with a certain sense of cheerfulness 
 and buoyancy. Unwonted sights everywhere reveal a 
 land crowded with hallowed memories. The sultry sun, 
 the fierce eagle, the modest hyssop, the stately cedar, the 
 barren lig-tree — here are concentrated all the poetry 
 and all the imagery of Holy Writ. In every name 
 lurks a mystery, every cavern lifts a corner of the veil 
 shrouding the future, every hill-top echoes with the song 
 of the prophet. By these rushing waters God Himself 
 has spoken to man, and their dried-up beds, the rocks 
 rent asunder, the yawning graves, still bear witness to 
 His voice. Still hushed seems the wilderness, awe- 
 stricken, and as if afraid to break the silence ; for it has 
 heard the voice of the Everlasting." 
 
 The present generation has undertaken with thought- 
 ful piety again to rescue the ancient sites of the Holy 
 Land from the accumulated clibris of ages, and to deter- 
 mine their identity with the actual spots traditionally 
 bearing their name. Attention has naturally been 
 centred in Jerusalem, and great results have already 
 been achieved, especially by the English " Palestine 
 Exploration Fund," which has been at work since 1875. 
 
 Since the opening of the railway to the coast, the
 
 400 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 Holy City is rapidly being modernised, and promises 
 soon to become a great trading centre for all the sur- 
 rounding districts as well as for the land of Moab beyond 
 the Jordan. The city has already far outgrown its 
 former limits ; fields and vineyards have been covered 
 with houses, especially in the direction of the west, where 
 an entirely new quarter called " Modern Jerusalem " has 
 sprung up, and the population has risen from 30,000 in 
 1880 to 70,000 in 1907. A public garden has been 
 opened outside the Jaffa Gate, and the trade in olive oil, 
 olive wood, and mother-of-pearl articles, such as crucifixes 
 and rosaries for the pilgrims to the Holy Places, is 
 rapidly increasing. A company has even been formed to 
 collect the bitumen floating on the Dead Sea, for which 
 there is a great demand in Europe. Sailing boats have 
 been placed on the lake, and it is proposed to establish 
 a steam ferry for the purpose of tapping the resources of 
 Moab, a region abounding in cereals, fruits, and cattle. 
 Kerak, the chief town of Moab, is now held by a Turkish 
 garrison, and the hitherto unruly and predatory Arab 
 tribes have been reduced to order. As soon as direct 
 communications are established it is expected that all 
 the produce of Moab, now forwarded by long caravan 
 routes around the north and south ends of the Dead Sea, 
 will find its way through Jerusalem to the coast {British 
 Consular Report, 1894). 
 
 Six miles south of Jerusalem is Bethlehem, where 
 the great Church of St. Mary marks the traditional site 
 of the birthplace of the Saviour. Ten miles still farther 
 south is Hebron, one of the oldest places in the world, 
 and traditionally associated with the life and death of 
 Abraham. The wretched village of Eriha (Eiha), 18 
 miles north-east of Jerusalem, and near the north end 
 of the Dead Sea, is supposed to occupy the site of the 
 equally ancient town of Jericho.
 
 SYRIA AND PALESTINE 401 
 
 A mound standing on a bluff, 60 feet above the 
 Wady-el-Hesy torrent, 1G miles east of Gaza, has 
 been thoroughly explored by Mr. F. J. Bliss of the 
 Palestine Exploration Fund, and found by him to con- 
 tain the accumulated remains of as many as eleven 
 cities, which here succeeded each other from about 2000 
 to 400 or 300 B.C. The oldest settlements were cer- 
 tainly pre-Israelitish, perhaps Amoritic, and one of the 
 ruined cities is identified by Mr. Bliss with the Lachish 
 captured by Joshua (x. 32). Here was found a burnt 
 clay tablet bearing the name of Zimrida, probably the 
 Zimridi, Egyptian Governor of Lachish during the 
 eighteenth dynasty, one of whose despatches occurs 
 amongst the documents discovered by Sayce at Tell-el- 
 Amarna in Upper Egypt. Hence this city dates prob- 
 ably from about 1450 B.C. 1 Gaza itself was also at that 
 time a flourishing city of the Philistines, which long held 
 out against the Israelites, and which even still remains a 
 place of some importance on the historic trade route 
 between Palestine and Egypt. But the site has shifted, 
 so to say, with the shifting sands of the desert, on the 
 verge of which it stands ; and along its eastward track 
 are found the remains of ancient structures, statues, 
 potsherds, and other objects buried beneath the advancing 
 dunes. About the identity of Gaza (Ghazzeh) there is 
 no doubt, for its record is complete for a period of some 
 4000 years in Egyptian, Biblical, Greek, Boman, Arabic, 
 mediaeval, and recent documents. 
 
 Beyond the Jordan there appear to be no inhabited 
 places deserving the name of town. This region, before 
 the survey by the Palestine Exploration Fund, was very 
 little known, and rendered almost inaccessible by the 
 lawless character of its Bedouin inhabitants. When 
 M'Coan visited the Dead Sea in the seventies he was 
 1 P. J. Bliss, A Mound of Mamj Cities, 1894. 
 
 VOL. II 2d
 
 402 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 plundered by some Moat) Arabs at the ford of the 
 Jordan, near Jericho. But the marauders seldom ex- 
 tended their raids quite so far west. The district is 
 now pacified, and one or two points held by Turkish 
 garrisons. 
 
 9. Highioays of Communication. 
 
 In the north a much-frequented caravan route runs 
 from Alexandretta, the natural port of Aleppo, through 
 that city eastwards to the Euphrates at Bir, here rami- 
 fying westwards to Diarbekr and Kurdistan, southwards 
 to Bagdad. As far as Aleppo this route is now acces- 
 sible to wheeled traffic ; above the village of Beilan it 
 crosses the coast range at an altitude of over 2000 feet, 
 thence descending at a gentle incline down to the plain of 
 Aleppo. From this point the great caravan and pilgrims' 
 route to Medina and Mecca, now (1908) being super- 
 seded by the locomotive, follows the Orontes valley by 
 Hamah and Horns to Damascus, running thence through 
 the Hauran southwards to Arabia. Damascus itself is 
 connected with Beyrut by a splendid specimen of French 
 engineering, which is carried over the Anti-Lebanon and 
 Lebanon, and across the Bekaa, for a distance of 65 
 miles. This fine highway, now followed by a narrow 
 gauge railway, constructed for most of the way on 
 the "Abt rack rail" system, gives access to the 
 magnificent ruins of Baalbek (Heliopolis), formerly the 
 chief centre of the worship of the Sun God, whose 
 temple is justly regarded as one of the wonders of 
 the world. Baalbek is also connected with Damascus 
 by another road through the rocky valley of the \Vady 
 Yafu'ah, near which it passes the village of Surghaya, 
 4500 feet above the sea, the highest inhabited point 
 of the Anti-Lebanon. The way lies thence across a 
 stony upland plain to the village of Dumar, where it
 
 SYEIA AND PALESTINE 403 
 
 strikes the French main highway. Another well-known 
 route runs from Damascus across the Upper Jordan 
 valley and through Nablus south - westwards to the 
 coast at Jaffa, where it converges on the main road 
 from the coast to Jerusalem. But the highways are 
 not kept in good repair, and most of the other routes 
 across the country are mere caravan tracks or bridle 
 paths. 
 
 From Aleppo three routes run to Bagdad and the 
 Persian Gulf — (1) The Euphrates valley route, by cara- 
 van to the river at Meskineh, then down the valley 
 through Hamman, Deir, Anah, and the Hit bitumen 
 springs to Feluja ferry and bridge, whence a short cut 
 leads across El-Jezireh (" The Island ") to Bagdad. This 
 route was traversed and carefully described by Mr. H. S. 
 Cooper in 1894 {Through Turkish Arabia). (2) By Bir, 
 Urfa, and Mardin to Mosul, and thence by kellek (raft) 
 down the Tigris to Bagdad. (3) By Bir to Diarbekr, and 
 thence by kellek to Mosul and Bagdad. 
 
 In Syria railway enterprise began with a roundabout 
 line of 54 miles, running from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and 
 opened for traffic in 1892. Since then great progress 
 has been made, and altogether about 1050 miles were 
 completed in 1908. The chief lines are the Beyrut- 
 Damascus (96 miles), with a branch that runs from 
 Eayak by Baalbek, Horns (Emessa), and Hama (Epiphania) 
 to Aleppo (295) ; the Haifa, which starts from two points 
 on the coast — Haifa and Acre — at opposite extremities 
 of the bay which is enclosed on the south by Mount 
 Carmel, the two sections converging at the apex of the 
 bay and then running inland to Deraa or Derat (105) ; 
 the Damascus-Mecca, or Hamidie-Hejaz, as it is officially 
 called, which runs from Damascus by the historical 
 pilgrims' route towards Arabia, and was open in 1907 
 as far as Alakhzar, 463 miles from Damascus, or about
 
 404 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 700 from Aleppo via the Kayak branch. This trunk 
 line, which effects a junction with the Haifa at Derat, 
 reached Medina in August 1908, and is progressing to- 
 wards Mecca (1100 miles) via Rabigh and Jidda (Jeddah), 
 while operations have already been commenced from 
 Medina southwards. In the extreme north also this line 
 is to be extended from Aleppo to Killis or Tell-Hahesh, so 
 as to effect a junction with the Anatolian system through 
 the Bagdad line now also progressing eastwards (see p. 327). 
 The Beyrut-Damascus-Hauran line already referred 
 to was opened in 1896 to Mezerib, a total distance of 
 140 miles. By this route easy access may be gained 
 from Damascus to Petra, the most remarkable ruined city 
 in Arabia. It stands about six hours' " donkey-ride " 
 from Maan, a station on the trunk-line half-way between 
 the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Akaba. The whole of this 
 region (Arabia Petreea) was thoroughly surveyed and 
 mapped in 1896-1902 by Prof. Alois Musil of Vienna.
 
 A map of 
 
 THE HOLY LAND 
 
 showing the rhiei" 
 PHYSICAL FEATURES 
 compile*! chiefly from, the 
 Snrv^ot'uiePalesrtmt' Exploration Fund I ^-.A" 8 * 
 
 ZtOTUWn ^tart/crxtit (hog*- JBstatP 
 
 London B&rand Stanford, L2, L3 & M. I g Acre, W C
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 AKABIA 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area — Coast-line — Islands. 
 
 Although with no very clear limits towards the north, 
 Arabia is on the whole one of the best-defined regions in 
 Asia. In the north it falls, on the one hand, gradually 
 towards the Mesopotamian plains, while on the other 
 merging almost imperceptibly in the uplands of East 
 Palestine and Syria. Here the so-called " Syrian 
 Desert," reaching to about the 35th parallel, might with 
 more propriety be regarded as the " Arabian Desert " ; 
 for in its physical and ethnical features it bears a much 
 greater resemblance to the southern peninsula than to 
 the surrounding regions of Syria and Mesopotamia. Like 
 Arabia proper, its watercourses are mere " wadies " ; its 
 soil sandy, and in parts destitute of vegetation; its 
 climate dry and almost torrid ; and from time imme- 
 morial it has been exclusively occupied by nomad tribes 
 of pure Arab stock. 1 Hence many geographers look 
 upon it as merely a northern extension of the peninsula 
 wedged in between the Euphrates and the Syrian high- 
 lands, and only in a conventional sense separated from 
 Arabia proper. A. convenient line, however, may be 
 
 1 The Sebaa Bedouins, a branch of the great Anazeh family, reach 
 northwards beyond the ruins of Tadnior, and are met even in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Aleppo.
 
 406 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 drawn from El-Arish or the Suez Canal to the 
 Euphrates delta at the head of the Persian Gulf, leaving 
 the vilayets of Damascus and Bagdad on the north, and 
 including on the south all that has at all times and 
 indisputably formed part of Arabia in the strictest 
 sense. Elsewhere the peninsula is surrounded by water 
 — the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman on the east, the 
 Arabian Sea on the south, the Eed Sea and Suez Canal 
 on the west. Its great axis, running north-west and 
 south-east, measures, as the bird flies, about 1200 miles 
 between the head of the Gulf of Suez (29° 58' K, 
 32° 30' E.) and the Eas-el-Had (22° 23' K, 60° K). 
 The mean breadth between the Eed Sea and Persian 
 Gulf is about 600 miles, with a total area estimated at 
 rather over one million square miles, and a population 
 of probably not more than five millions. 
 
 The shores of Arabia, which stretch from Suez to 
 the Euphrates delta for a total length of nearly 4000 
 miles, present on the whole a somewhat uniform aspect, 
 and, except in the Persian Gulf, are diversified by few 
 islands or inlets. In the Eed Sea the coast is fringed 
 by extensive coral reefs, forming here and there groups 
 of sunken rocks and islets, which render the navigation 
 very dangerous. Between the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb 
 and Oman, separating the peninsula from Africa and 
 Persia, the coast is generally elevated and rocky, but 
 low and flat thence to the head of the Persian Gulf. 
 The whole coast-line has been admirably surveyed by 
 Moresby, Haines, Elwon, Saunders, Carless, Wellsted, 
 Cruttenden, and other officers of the Anglo-Indian navy, 
 mainly between the years 1819 and 1860. 
 
 Of the islands the chief are the small group marking 
 the entrance of the Gulf of Akaba ; Farsan, off the 
 Tehama coast ; Perim, in the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, 
 a British stronghold which lies within 2 miles of
 
 ARABIA 407 
 
 the south-west coast; the Kuria-Muria (Kurian) 
 Murian) group and Moseirah, in the Arabian Sea; 
 lastly, in the Persian Gulf the Bahrein Archipelago, 
 centre of an important pearl fishery. The large island of 
 Socotra, although occupied by an Arab population, and 
 politically attached to British India, belongs geographi- 
 cally to Africa, and has been described in the volume of 
 this series devoted to the northern section of that con- 
 tinent. Some of the islands in the Red Sea are volcanic, 
 and one of them, the Jebel-Tir, is still active. Igneous 
 rocks also crop out at Aden and at other points of the 
 coast. 
 
 2. Relief of the Land : Mountains — Plateaux — Lowlatids 
 — Deserts — Volcanic Tracts. 
 
 Arabia, taken as a whole, is with good reason re- 
 garded as • one of the least inviting regions on the face 
 of the globe. The large blank spaces which still meet 
 the eye as it lights on a map of this peninsula bear 
 silent witness to our scanty knowledge of the interior. 
 The glowing and shifting sands of the great southern 
 desert have very seldom been visited, and never yet 
 traversed by any European traveller, and fully one- 
 half of this enormous region still remains entirely 
 unexplored. In its general physical aspect, its climatic 
 conditions, fauna, and flora, it so closely resembles the 
 adjacent African mainland that it seems almost more 
 like an eastern extension of this continent than an in- 
 tegral part of Asia. 
 
 The bulk of the land consists of a quadrangular 
 mass broadening southwards, and largely covered with 
 arid plains, sandy in the south, gravelly or stony in 
 the north, the whole constituting a vast plateau at a 
 mean elevation of probably 3000 feet above the sea.
 
 408 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The gravelly plain of El-Hamad in the extreme north 
 falls to 2500; but the red sand desert of Nefud, between 
 El-Hamad and the Jebel-Shammar, rises to 3000 and 
 3200, while the land continues to rise thence south- 
 wards to 4000 and 5000 feet in the Wahhabi country. 
 Blunt ascertained that from Meshed Ali near the 
 Euphrates in Irak-Arabi (32° 1ST.) there is a regular 
 ascent of 10 feet in the mile to Hail in the Shammar 
 highlands (27° 1ST.) ; and the whole peninsula may be 
 said to culminate towards the extreme south-west 
 corner, where the Yemen uplands attain an elevation of 
 from 6000 to nearly 11,000 feet. Thus we see that the 
 tableland is tilted somewhat uniformly towards the 
 north-east and east, so that in a developed water system 
 the drainage would mainly be to the Lower Euphrates 
 and Persian Gulf. 
 
 As in the Sahara, the arid tracts are broken by 
 hilly districts and even ranges, where the -valleys are 
 watered by short streams or rivulets, and occupied by 
 settled populations residing hi small towns and villages. 
 Thus a large portion of the central plateau, comprising 
 the so-called Nejd — that is, " High Land " — consists of 
 fertile hilly tracts everywhere surrounded by uninhabit- 
 able wastes and intersected by several ridges running in 
 various directions. The term Nejcl is applied to several 
 tracts of this character, hence a certain vagueness insep- 
 arable from its use. But the Nejd proper includes, 
 according to Blunt, all the high-lying land enclosed by 
 the Nefuds, or deserts proper. It thus comprises the 
 three provinces of Jebel-Shammar in the north, Kasim 
 in the centre, and Aared or the Wahhabi country in the 
 south, and lies mainly between 24° and 28° N. latitude. 
 It is in no sense a political, but purely a geographical 
 expression, by which may be understood the whole of 
 the interior, bounded on the north by the red sand
 
 AKABIA 409 
 
 Nefud, on the south by the great unexplored Daklina, 
 or sandy desert, eastwards by desert tracts separating it 
 from the Turkish province of El-Hasa, westwards by 
 the Turkish province of El-Hejas. The arable districts 
 in Xejd, the Hejas, Yemen, and elsewhere are so ex- 
 tensive as to raise the more or less productive lands to 
 about two-thirds of the whole area, leaving not more 
 than one-third of absolutely desert and uninhabitable 
 wastes, lying chiefly in the south. These wastes are 
 variously termed Dakhna (Dahna), Ahkaf, Nefud, or 
 Hamad, according to the greater or less depth or shifting 
 nature of the sands, or the more or less compact char- 
 acter of the soil. The sands, which rest on basalt, 
 limestone, but mainly granitic, beds, have, according to 
 Palgrave, a mean depth of 400 feet, attaining in some 
 places as much as 600 feet. They prevail in the vast 
 unexplored region comprising most of the south, between 
 Xejd and the Hadramaut coast range north and south, 
 and between Yemen and Oman west and east. Here 
 almost absolute sterility is the dominant feature, whereas 
 in the northern Nefud, between El-Hamad and the 
 Jebel-Shammar, not only the hollows but all parts of 
 the plain are well clothed with shrubs. "After a rainy 
 winter I have little doubt that the whole of this Nefud 
 is covered with grass and flowers. Indeed the Nefud 
 explains to me the existence of horses and sheep in 
 Nejd " (W. S. Blunt). 
 
 The most clearly developed and best known mountain 
 system is the extensive range skirting the Red Sea at a 
 distance of one to three days' journey from the coast. 
 In the Asir district, south of Mecca, this range attains an 
 altitude of about 8500 feet, and between this point and 
 the Strait of Bab-el- Mandeb it broadens out in the Yemen 
 highlands, where every condition combines to render the 
 south-west corner of the peninsula deserving of the name
 
 410 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 of Arabia Felix, applied to it by the ancients. These 
 highlands are continued along the south coast by a series 
 of disconnected ridges, which again rise in the extreme 
 south-east to the Jebel-Akhdar, running at an elevation 
 of 6000 to 7000 feet along the Gulf of Oman from the 
 Eas Ha*dd to the Eas Mussendum. From this point to 
 the head of the Persian Gulf the coast is generally low 
 and flat. 
 
 In the interior the Nejd is crossed by several ridges, 
 of which the largest and best known is the Jebel-Sham- 
 mar, running nearly east and west under the 27 th 
 parallel at an altitude of about 6000 feet. Farther 
 south the Jebel - Toweyk attains probably an equal 
 elevation in Aared, on the northern skirts of the Great 
 Desert. 
 
 Lowland plains occur chiefly in El-Hasa on the Per- 
 sian Gulf, and along the shores of the Eed Sea. Here 
 the long narrow strip of the Tehama — that is, Low or 
 Hot Land — stretches from Mecca to Mokha, between the 
 coast and the Jebel-Hejas, or " Separating Eange," as the 
 term is commonly interpreted. 
 
 A conspicuous feature of the peninsula are the so- 
 called Harm, or volcanic tracts, strewn with basalt and 
 other igneous rocks. The northern harra south of the 
 land of Bashan is described by Blunt as " a vast plain 
 strewn with volcanic boulders — a black, gloomy region." 
 The harra appear to occupy a wider extent of North 
 Arabia than is generally supposed. In some districts 
 C. M. Doughty found lava beds in the lateral valleys 600 
 feet deep, with numerous extinct volcanoes and volcanelli. 
 On the route from Kheiber to Hail he crossed a craggy 
 lava-field rising to a height of 6000 feet, and forming 
 the divide between the waters running east to the Wady- 
 er-Eumma and west to the Wady-el-Humth. Signs of 
 volcanic action are still seen in the Harra, smoke issuing
 
 ARABIA 4 1 1 
 
 from the crevices of the Kheiber, and steam from the 
 summit of the Jebel Ethnan (" Travels in North -West 
 Arabia," in Proceedings of the Eoyal Geographical Society, 
 1884). 
 
 3. Hydrography : Wadies Sirhan, Dawasir, and 
 Er-Rumma — Coast-Streams. 
 
 Arabia is almost a riverless region, in which the nahr, 
 or perennial stream, is mostly replaced by the wady, or 
 intermittent and dried -up watercourse. These water- 
 courses, generally dry for nine or ten months in the year, 
 occur everywhere — in the highlands, on the plateaux, in 
 the lowlands, and even in the deserts, and especially in 
 the northern Hamad. Here the great Wady Sirhan runs 
 at an elevation of 1850 feet in a south-easterly direction 
 from the Hauran highlands to the Jof district on the 
 skirts of the Nefud. It is fed by the Wady-er-Eajel in 
 the extreme north-west, and for over 200 miles between 
 Kaf and Jof the wells are plentiful along its whole course. 
 Hence it is much frequented during the summer by 
 marauding tribes, who claim the right of plundering all 
 comers, and acknowledge no authority except that of the 
 tribal chief. Less known is the Wady Dawasir, which 
 receives the Nejran, Bisheh, and other streams on its left 
 bank, and drains all the Asir and Southern Hejas high- 
 lands northwards to the Bahr-Salumeh, the only known 
 lake in the whole peninsula. The Aftan, another large 
 wady, runs from the borders of Nejd and the southern 
 desert eastwards to the Persian Gulf. But the most 
 important watercourse in Arabia seems to be the un- 
 explored Wady-er-Kumma, which flows between the 
 Sirhan and the Dawasir from the Hejas coast i 
 right across the peninsula in a north-easterly direction 
 towards the Lower Euphrates, for a total length of nearly
 
 412 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 800 miles. With a more abundant rainfall, this would 
 augment the Shat-el-Arab, and give unity to the now dis- 
 jointed water systems of South-west Asia. As it is, the 
 Wady-er-Eumnia, our knowledge of which is mainly due 
 to Wetzstein's studies, 1 receives during the rains a vast 
 quantity of water through countless affluents, some rising 
 apparently in the far south. 
 
 Perennial coast -streams occur chiefly in Yemen, where 
 their short courses have been accurately determined by 
 Manzoni. 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Peninsula of Sinai — 
 West Coast (El-Hejas, Yemen) — South Coast (Belad- 
 Aden, Hadramaut) — Nejd (Jebel-Shammar, Wahhabi 
 Country) — East Coast (El-Hasa, Sultanate of Oman). 
 
 If physically and ethnically one, Arabia is politically 
 a disjointed land. The bulk of the inhabitants being 
 still in the tribal state, there can be no question of a 
 common national sentiment as developed in the west. 
 Hence nearly all the coast lands have fallen to the 
 stranger, while even in the interior Nejd is distracted 
 between the waning Wahhabi and rising Shammar rulers, 
 the only two that here claim sovereign power. 
 
 By the ancients the whole peninsula was broadly 
 divided into three great sections, Arabia Petrma, Deserta, 
 and Felix. The first and last of these answer roughly to 
 the modern divisions of the Peninsula of Sinai in the 
 north-west, and Yemen in the south-west. But Arabia 
 Petrpea, which confounded the great central tableland 
 with the surrounding wastes, highlands, and lowlands, 
 must necessarily disappear as the collective name of a 
 
 1 Wetzstein's views receive fresh confirmation from M. Huber, who in 
 December 1880 penetrated to Kheiber.
 
 ARABIA 413 
 
 region which we now know to be composed of several 
 sections differing widely in their physical features. Such 
 are — in the centre the plateau of Xejd, the northern 
 Nefud, and the great Southern Desert; on the west coast 
 El-Hejas ; on the south and south-east coasts Hadramaut 
 and Oman ; on the east coast El-Hasa or Bahrein. There 
 are no doubt many other geographical expressions of a 
 more or less local character ; but these may be taken as 
 the great natural divisions of the land, and they have 
 the convenience of also corresponding on the whole with 
 its political distribution. Thus the coast lands of El- 
 Hasa, Yemen, and Hejas answer to so many Turkish 
 vilayets ; Sinai is administered by Egypt ; Hadramaut, 
 or at least its south-western section bordering on Yemen, 
 is controlled by England, firmly entrenched on the rock 
 of Aden. Oman and Nejd are under more or less inde- 
 pendent native rule ; all the rest is a prey to the Bedouin 
 or the sands. 
 
 Sinai Peninsula. 
 
 A line drawn from the Dead Sea through the Wady- 
 el-Arabah to the Gulf of Akaba will mark the natural 
 limits of the Sinai Peninsula on the east. From its base 
 on the Mediterranean this triangular section projects with 
 its southern apex far into the Red Sea, thus developing 
 east and west the Gulfs of Akaba and Suez. The triangle 
 will be almost mathematically perfect, if we take the Suez 
 Canal as its north-western limit. But here the conven- 
 tional frontier between Egypt and Arabia is drawn from 
 Suez through the sands north-eastwards to Eafeh, on 
 the Mediterranean. Hence the mouth of the little River 
 Arish, which lies a little west of Eafeh, is the converging 
 point of two continents, and of the three famous lauds of 
 Palestine, Arabia, and Egypt. 
 
 The Sinai Peninsula forms a rocky limestone plateau
 
 414 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 intersected by rugged gorges, and in the north comprising 
 the extensive desert of Et-Tih, which ascends southwards 
 to the alpine region of Sinai proper. This desert waste 
 covers an area of some 10,000 square miles, where a 
 sparse population of perhaps 4000 nomad Bedouins finds 
 a difficulty in procuring sustenance from the arid soil. 
 
 RAS SUFSAFEH, A SPUR OF JEBEL-MUSA (THE SUPPOSED SINAl). 
 
 Here the land derives its grandeur and peculiar 
 charm from the very nakedness of its rocky heights. In 
 some of the wadies the hillsides are scored by countless 
 seams of the brightest hues, their fantastic designs pro- 
 ducing an indescribable pictorial effect. What is seem- 
 ingly the mere outline of a distant landscape reflects a 
 charming and almost phantasmagoric vista, as if the bare
 
 ARABIA 415 
 
 rocks were clothed with woods or vineyards, or their 
 summits capped with eternal snows. 
 
 It is remarkable that the scriptural name of Sinai, 
 given to the mountain where Moses communed with 
 Jehovah and received the tables of the law from above, 
 is now unknown in the land. When asked for Mount 
 Sinai, the Bedouin will shake his head or point to the 
 Jebel-Musa (Moses' Mount), one of the highest in the 
 peninsula, where a shrine has been erected to the Jewish 
 lawgiver. A Muhammadan mosque has also been erected 
 there. But we do not know for certain that this is the 
 Sinai of Holy Writ, which many have identified rather 
 with the Jebel-Serbal (6734 feet), lying a two days' 
 journey farther north, while Beke thinks it was the 
 Barghir, or Jebel-en-Nur (Mountain of Light), a peak 
 5000 feet high in the range bounding the Arabah valley 
 on the east. The view from the granite crest of the 
 Jebel-Musa shows that it is eclipsed by several surround- 
 ing peaks, such as the Jebel-Katharine (8536 feet), the 
 more southerly Um-Shaumer (8449 feet), and the Jebel- 
 Gosh (8300 feet), which have rarely been visited by 
 modern explorers. In fact, this alpine region, whose 
 geological formation corresponds with that of the Euro- 
 pean Alps, and which still bears traces of former 
 glaciers, is still largely an unknown land. It may be 
 added that Professor A. H. Sayce regards the term 
 Sinai Peninsula as altogether a misnomer, tracing the 
 belief that Mount Sinai lay in the peninsula to the 
 Christian anchorites of the second century. He shows 
 from the Old Testament records and the Egyptian 
 monuments that Mount Sinai was certainly not in the 
 peninsular region named from it. The Yam Svf of 
 Exodus, translated " Eed Sea" in the Bible, he identifies 
 with the Gulf of Akaba, and he is inclined to look for 
 Sinai "on the borders of Midian and Edom, among the
 
 416 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 ranges of Mount Seir, and in the neighbourhood of the 
 ancient sanctuary of Kadesh-barnea, whose site at 'Ain 
 Kadis has been rediscovered in our own day " (Asiatic 
 Quarterly Revievj, July 1893). 
 
 El-Hejas — Yemen. 
 
 The west coast of Arabia is comprised in the Turkish 
 vilayets of Hejas and Yemen, which have no well-defined 
 limits towards the interior. Theoretically El-Hejas 
 stretches in the north half across the peninsula, where 
 it is supposed to meet the eastern district of El-Hasa, 
 which is now included in the vilayet of Basra. But 
 between these two provinces lies the powerful state of the 
 Emir of the Shammar, which cannot properly be regarded 
 as forming part of the Ottoman dominions. El-Hejas, 
 however, extends beyond the coast range inland far 
 enough to include the cities of Medina and Mecca and 
 the whole of the El-Asir district bordering southwards 
 on Yemen, which comprises the rest of the south-west 
 coast down to the neighbourhood of Aden. The two 
 vilayets have thus a total length of about 1200 miles, 
 varying in breadth from 60 to 150 between the sea 
 and the western limits of Nejd. El-Hejas consists mainly 
 of the sandy, barren, and torrid plain of the Tehama, 
 varying from 30 to 80 miles in width along the coast, 
 and of the mountain range or highlands with a mean 
 elevation of 3000 feet, separating it from Nejd. The 
 Tehama, which term is by some writers applied to the 
 whole seaboard from above Jidda to Mokha, but by 
 others restricted to the southern section between Yemen 
 and the coast, seems to have formerly formed part of 
 the bed of the sea, from which it has been slowly 
 upheaved. It abounds in marine fossils and saline 
 deposits, and appears to be advancing according as the
 
 AKABIA • 417 
 
 sea continues to recede. Although everywhere extremely 
 hot and generally very unhealthy, it contains, especially 
 in the south, many well -watered and fertile tracts, 
 affording good pasturage and yielding heavy crops. 
 
 But the chief value of Hejas is rather of a political 
 than an economical character, giving to the master of 
 the " holy cities " a great prestige, and perhaps his best 
 title to the Caliphate, or headship of Islam. Yemen 
 is, on the contrary, valuable for its own sake, — a land 
 of fertile and well-watered valleys, rich pastures, and 
 perennial streams, and dotted over with numerous 
 flourishing towns and villages. Fully one-fifth of the 
 entire population is concentrated in this narrow corner 
 of the peninsula, where settled and agricultural com- 
 munities, elsewhere extremely rare, have existed from 
 the dawn of history. This exceptional position is partly 
 due to the greater mean elevation of the land, partly 
 to its rich soil and happy configuration, calculated to 
 receive from the Indian Ocean and retain in its sheltered 
 valleys an abundance of moisture. Formerly the sove- 
 reignty of the Porte in Yemen existed almost more 
 in theory than in reality. But vigorous efforts have 
 been made since 1868 to revive its old claim to abso- 
 lute sovereignty, and at one time the Turkish and 
 English forces had almost come into collision in the 
 neighbourhood of Aden. The Imam of Sana, formerly 
 the chief potentate in Yemen, is now a mere puppet in 
 the hands of the Turks, and his capital as well as all 
 the other strategical points in Yemen is occupied by a 
 Turkish garrison. Of the other local " Sultans," some 
 are tributary to the Turk, others allied by treaty with 
 the British. " The native chiefs, locally called 'Sultans,' 
 still exercise their old patriarchal sovereignty, and the 
 writ of the Padishah runs little beyond the range of his 
 cannon" (M'Ooan). 
 
 VOL. II 2 E
 
 418 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Owing more perhaps to the jealousy of the Turkish 
 authorities than to the fanaticism of the natives, Yemen 
 continues to be almost as secluded a land as Tibet itself. 
 Few travellers penetrate far inland, and only one or two 
 have traversed the country in an oblique direction from 
 the Gulf of Aden to the Red Sea. This feat, however, 
 was accomplished in 1892 by Mr. Walter B. Harris, 
 although the people were at the time in open revolt 
 against the Turk. Starting from Aden, Mr. Harris 
 passed through Lahej and across the desert to the 
 mountainous Khoreiba district, whence he reached the 
 Turkish frontier town of Kataba. From this point, 
 travelling in disguise, mostly by night, and hiding by 
 day in the jungle, he passed through Yeriin and Dhamar 
 to the capital, Sana, taking nearly three weeks to cover 
 the whole distance of nearly 300 miles. Here he was 
 arrested by the Turks, thrown into a pestiferous prison, 
 and ultimately conducted under escort to Hodeidah on 
 the Eed Sea, this section of 200 miles being traversed in 
 five days. Mr. Harris speaks of the wonderfully beauti- 
 ful scenery through which he passed, and confirms the 
 statements of other travellers regarding the surprising- 
 fertility and careful cultivation of the plateau, which 
 stands at a mean elevation of from 7000 to 9000 feet 
 above sea-level. There is a good supply of water, and 
 in many districts streams of considerable size. 
 
 More definite information is supplied by General 
 F. T. Haig, who in 1887 followed nearly the same route, 
 but in the reversed direction from Hodeidah through 
 Sana to the south coast at Shugra, 60 miles from Aden. 
 After crossing the Tehama, here some 25 miles wide, the 
 route from Hodeidah scaled a series of ridges by exceed- 
 ingly steep inclines, surmounting the crests at passes 
 which ranged from 4000 to 10,010 feet. This extreme 
 altitude occurred in the district between Suk-el-Khamis
 
 AKABIA 419 
 
 and Sana, and as the hills on either side of the path 
 rose about 400 feet higher, it is evident that some of 
 the crests in Yemen must approach, if they do not exceed, 
 11,000 feet. 
 
 General Haig was struck both by the magnificence 
 of the scenery and by the immense development of the 
 terrace system of cultivation along the slopes of the 
 steepest mountains. Iu one district the whole mountain 
 side, for a height of 6000 feet, was terraced from top to 
 bottom. " The crops had all been removed ; only some 
 lines of coffee trees here and there were to be seen, but 
 everywhere, above, below, and all around these, endless 
 flights of terraced walls met the eye. One can hardly 
 realise the enormous amount of labour, toil, and perse- 
 verance which these represent. The terraced walls are 
 usually from 5 to 8 feet in height, but towards the top 
 of the mountain they are sometimes as much as 1 5 and 
 18 feet. They are built entirely of rough stone laid 
 without mortar. I reckoned on an average that each 
 wall retains a terrace not more than twice its own height 
 in width, and I do not think I saw a single breach in 
 one of them unrepaired" {Geo. Proc, 1887, p. 482). 
 
 In Yemen two rainy seasons are distinguished, spring 
 and autumn, when heavy showers of a few hours' dura- 
 tion are of almost daily occurrence. Hence there is 
 generally an abundance of water for irrigating the ter- 
 raced and other lands, which arc very fertile and every- 
 where carefully tilled, although in a somewhat primitive 
 fashion. The chief crops are coffee, indigo and other 
 dyes, vegetables, such as cabbages and cauliflowers, which 
 grow to an enormous size, grapes also very large and of 
 excellent flavour, and a profusion of other fruits, such as 
 figs, walnuts, peaches, pears, and apricots. Yet despite 
 all this abundance, despite the richness of the soil and 
 the surprising industry of the inhabitants, the bulk of
 
 420 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 the people themselves are miserably poor, ill-fed, and 
 rudely clothed in undressed sheepskins, worn the woolly 
 side in. This is due to the corrupt and oppressive 
 administration, the heavy taxes usually levied by military 
 force, the venal dispensation of justice, and the many 
 other evils inherent to the Turkish system of govern- 
 ment. Such places as Dhamar and Yerim bear the 
 stamp of Turkish rule — decay, poverty, and squalor; 
 and even in the capital, Sana, the bazaars are poor, and 
 the general aspect of the town reflects the social condi- 
 tion of its inhabitants, " an Arab population, intensely 
 hating the few thousand Turks by whom it is held down, 
 heavily taxed, and generally obliged to furnish gratis the 
 supplies required for the large garrison of Turkish 
 soldiers." 
 
 A den—Hadramaut. 
 
 The extreme south-west corner from the Strait of 
 Bab-el-Mandeb to Cape Seilan, east of Aden, and reach- 
 ing inland to the Jaffa range, comprises the so-called 
 Belad-Aden, or Country of Aden, and besides Aden 
 itself includes the Sultanate of Lahej and several of the 
 surrounding tribes, under British protection. The pro- 
 tectorate comprises altogether a tract 200 miles long by 
 40 broad, with a population (1901) of over 41,000. 
 " With these tribes we have distinct treaty engage- 
 ments ; we subsidise them so long as they are of good 
 behaviour — that is to say, pay them blackmail to the 
 extent of 12,000 dollars a year, and trouble ourselves 
 no further about them than occasionally to interfere to 
 put down a disturbance, or to decide some disputed 
 question of succession " (Haig, loc. cit.). 
 
 East of the Belad-Aden the little-known region of 
 Hadrainaut stretches between the great desert and the 
 sea eastwards to Oman. The interior of this vast but
 
 ARABIA 
 
 421 
 
 sparsely-peopled tract was almost a perfect blank until 
 some light was thrown upon it by the travels of A. von 
 Wrede a few years ago. This explorer assures us that, 
 the term Hadramaut applied by geographers to the 
 entire south coast is by the natives restricted to its 
 inland or northern section. It is in any ease a very 
 old name, for Ptolemy places the Adrainitse in this 
 
 HAJAKIM, hadramaut. 
 
 very region between the Homeritaj of Yemen and the 
 < )manit;e of Oman. The land here rises from the coast 
 in a succession of terraces to the Jebel-IIamra (5284 
 feet), which is connected north-eastwards with the 
 Jebel-Dahura, probably 8000 feet high. This is the 
 highest of the terraces, and beyond it the land slopes 
 gently northwards. Here Wrede descended by very 
 difficult and dangerous tracks down to tiie Wady Ddan, 
 which ilows through the land of the Yssa tribe (Belad- 
 beni-Yssa) northwards, apparently to the verge of the
 
 422 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 desert. This district is bordered on the west by Belad- 
 el-Hasan, on the east by Belad-Hamum, all three being 
 bounded on the north by Hadramaut proper. But how 
 far this region extends northwards, and whether the 
 sandy desert of El-Akkaf (Bahr-es-Saffi) really begins 
 with the Wady Iiakhiya, a branch of the Doan, are 
 points on which Wrede throws no light. 
 
 The" southern coast lands are on the whole level, 
 and are succeeded by a hilly tract of moderate height, 
 beyond which the upland plains or ranges begin to 
 fall northwards to a depression between the high- 
 lands and the vast inland plain of El-Jauf (Gof). 1 
 A bold attempt to penetrate into the interior from the 
 west coast was made by the French Jew Joseph Halevy 
 in 1870. 
 
 Since then little was added to our knowledge of the 
 interior of Hadramaut till the year 1893, when Shibam, 
 which claims to be the capital, or at least the residence 
 of the most powerful Sultan, was reached from the south 
 coast both by Leo Hirsch and Theodore Bent. Starting 
 from Makalla, 280 miles east of Aden, Hirsch made his 
 way up the Wady Howera valley to the Jol or Magad 
 plateau, which forms the water-parting between the 
 streams which flow, when they do flow, south to the Gulf 
 of Aden, and north to the great Wady Masila. The 
 surface of the plateau consists of a thick crystalline 
 limestone resting on a reddish rock of igneous origin, 
 which was exposed by the erosive action of running 
 waters. Crossing this desolate tract in a north-westerly 
 direction, Hirsch struck the Wady Doan, a head-stream 
 of the Wady Masila, opposite the town of Sif, the farthest 
 point reached by Wrede. Thence the route lay north 
 and east through Meshhed Ali, Hora, Shibam, Tariba, 
 
 1 There are several Jaufs or Jofs in Arabia, because the word simply 
 means "low land " in opposition to Nejd, or " high land."
 
 ARABIA 423 
 
 and Terim, all of which places are situated in the fertile 
 and well-cultivated valley of the Masila, which appears 
 to be the main watercourse of Hadramaut. In some 
 districts plantations of the date and dum palm (Ithamnm 
 nabeca) extend for miles, and the whole region seemed 
 more like an eastern extension of Yemen than a section 
 of the inhospitable Hadramaut wilderness. Shibam 
 itself is a relatively large place, extending some dis- 
 tance along the right side of the valley, with many 
 gardens, much cultivated land, " numberless mosques," 
 and a settled population of about 6000. A highly- 
 prized tobacco is grown in the Wady Eiyan valley, 
 which was crossed on the more easterly return journey to 
 Makalla. The neighbouring town of Naga lies in the 
 midst of the most luxuriant vegetation, and coal appears 
 to be plentiful in this district. When Hirsch passed 
 through, the local chief was opening a mine, and had 
 already sank a shaft 130 feet deep. Elsewhere gold and 
 lead were heard of, and this expedition plainly shows 
 that some parts of Hadramaut possess capabilities and 
 natural resources far beyond what had hitherto been 
 suspected. But the country possesses no political unity, 
 and is still occupied by independent hostile tribes, the 
 most powerful of which appear to be the Kaaitys, with 
 capital, Shibam ; their eastern neighbours and bitter 
 enemies the Kathiri, with chief towns, Saiun and Terim : 
 the Sari, Nehds, and others, towards the west and north- 
 west. 
 
 A little west of Cape Fartak on the Hadramaut coast 
 lies the independent Sultanate of Keshin (properly Gishin) 
 which was visited and surveyed by Dr. W. Hein in 
 1902. Here the old Mehri (Himyaritic) language is 
 still current, and in it are preserved many national 
 songs and legends.
 
 424 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Nejd — Shammar and Wahhabi States. 
 
 Of all the main divisions of the peninsula the great 
 central tableland of Nejd or Negd is certainly one of 
 the most interesting. It has been fairly well explored 
 by Sadleir, Wallin, Eeinaud, Palgrave, Pelly, Guar- 
 mani, and most recently by Mr. and Lady Anne Blunt. 
 During the early portion of the century the whole of 
 this region belonged to the powerful and fanatical 
 Wahhabi State, whose capital, originally at Derayeh, is 
 now at Riad. But of late years Mumammad Ibn 
 Eashicl, Emir of the Shammar nation in the extreme 
 north, has not only asserted his independence, but is at 
 present by far the most powerful potentate in Nejd. 
 His territory is bordered southwards by the Kasim 
 country, separating it from the Wahhabi State. North- 
 wards his influence extends beyond the Nefud right 
 away to the oases of Kaf and Ittery in the Wady 
 Sirhan in 38° E. long., 31° N. lat., east from the Dead 
 Sea. The inhabitants of these oases acknowledge Ibn 
 Eashid as their suzerain, " paying him a yearly tribute 
 of £4 for each village" (Blunt). The people of the 
 intervening district of Jauf on the northern verge of 
 the Nefud also acknowledge his authority, which reaches 
 westwards to Teyma (27° 30' N. lat., 37° E. long.), some 
 80 miles from the Eed Sea. He further commands the 
 new pilgrim road from Persia, which formerly passed 
 southwards through Eiad, but now runs through Hail, 
 capital of his dominions. This alone brings him in a 
 revenue of £20,000, besides giving him enormous influ- 
 ence throughout the whole of the north from Mecca and 
 Medina to the Lower Euphrates valley. Ibn Eashid's 
 green and purple banner has thus become the symbol 
 of authority in all the land enclosed by Hejas and 
 Palestine on the west, the Syrian Desert on the north,
 
 ARABIA 425 
 
 Irak-Arabi and El-Hasa on the east. Yet he himself, 
 although at present by far the most powerful personage 
 in the peninsula, is content to pay a small annual 
 tribute to the Sherif of Mecca in recognition of the 
 Sultan's suzerainty, such is still the potent influence of 
 the acknowledged head of Islam. 
 
 " Although this Richard of the Xejd reached the 
 throne over the murdered body of his young nephew 
 Bender, and by the massacre of sixteen possible future 
 pretenders, he governs his subjects wisely and firmly. 
 His rule is described as mild and just, and the mejliss 
 or public court of justice is still daily held in the 
 palace-yard, where the Emir appears, just as Mr. Pal- 
 grave describes his predecessors, surrounded by officers 
 of state and a body-guard of 800 soldiers. . . . He is 
 on terms of alliance with all the Bedouins south of the 
 Nefud, and every year brings him in fresh tributaries 
 from among the former dependants of Ibn Saoud [the 
 Wahhahi ruler]. Taxation is light, service in the army 
 voluntary, and Ibn Eashid's government eminently 
 popular. Nowhere in Asia can be found a more pros- 
 perous, contented, and peaceable community than in 
 Jebel-Shammar " (Blunt). 
 
 And thus has statesmanship succeeded where fana- 
 ticism failed. For the once formidable but now almost 
 extinct Wahhabi State had its rise in what was in its 
 origin essentially a religious movement. It aimed at the 
 reform of Islam, but it soon degenerated into a purely 
 political system, upheld by terror and blind fanaticism. 
 It was founded in the middle of the last century by 
 Abd-el-Wahhab, but owed its subsequent expansion to 
 his successor Ibn Saud, in whose family the office of 
 Imam, or spiritual and temporal head, has since re- 
 mained. By the beginning of the present century the 
 Wahhabi empire had spread over most of the peninsula,
 
 426 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TEAVEL 
 
 and even aimed at creating a united Arabia by the 
 expulsion of the Turks. But it never quite recovered 
 the blow it received in 1819, when the Egyptian troops 
 destroyed Derayeh, and dissipated the Wahhabite dream 
 of universal empire. Their power is now virtually 
 limited to the highland territory of Aared, bounded 
 north-westwards by the independent district of Kasim, 
 and encircled elsewhere mostly by the sands. 
 
 In their religious views the Wahhabi are the most 
 rigorous of monotheists, setting their face against all 
 undue veneration of the Prophet, saints, relics, or aught 
 else in the least savouring of idolatry. Their cere- 
 monial is extremely simple, and they carry to a heroic 
 degree the Eastern virtues of hospitality and almsgiving. 
 Their political system is based substantially on the 
 cultivation of the land, and thus was developed a 
 powerful and industrious peasantry, said at one time to 
 have numbered nearly 2,000,000, and capable of raising 
 an army of 60,000 disciplined warriors. But in Central 
 Arabia the seat of power has passed from Eiad to 
 Hail ; nor can the result be regarded otherwise than as 
 satisfactory. The collapse of the Wahhabite movement, 
 whose influence was at one time felt even in India, 
 lessens the fear of the peace of the world being again 
 threatened by a revival of Moslem fanaticism. The 
 apprehension, however, of disturbance being produced by 
 this cause, from time to time, is not extinguished. 
 
 El-Hasa — Bahrein — Oman. 
 
 The east coast of Arabia, which is washed by the 
 Persian Gulf, projects almost to a sharp point at the 
 Eas Mussendum, where the Strait of Ormuz separates 
 it from the Persian mainland, and connects the Persian 
 Gulf with that of Oman. The northern section of this
 
 ARABIA 427 
 
 coast (El-Hasa) is officially included in the Turkish 
 vilayet of Basra, the southern and western frontiers of 
 which are arbitrarily drawn according to the caprice of 
 the Ottoman functionaries. But El-Hasa is naturally 
 limited southwards by the projecting headland of Eas 
 llekkan, which encloses the group of the Bahrein Archi- 
 pelago, claimed by Turkey, and valuable for its pearl 
 fishery. Bahrein, as the strip of coast between Capes 
 Bekkan and Mussendum is sometimes called, forms a 
 sort of neutral land between the vilayet of El-Hasa on 
 the north and the independent native State of Oman, 
 which comprises all the rest of the east coast and the 
 whole of the south-east corner of the peninsula. 
 
 Although pearl fishing is carried on all along the 
 east coast of Arabia, the industry is chiefly centred in 
 the Bahrein Archipelago. It gives employment to several 
 thousand boats of from four to ten tons burden during the 
 season from May to September, the average annual yield 
 being from £200,000 to £300,000. Nearly all the 
 proceeds go to the speculators, while the unfortunate 
 divers are kept in a state of servitude worse than slavery. 
 The truck system prevails in its worst form, the fishers 
 being compelled to sell their pearls to their employer at 
 his own price, and to hire their boats and purchase their 
 provisions from him at extortionate charges. In the 
 Bahrein Archipelago occurs the somewhat rare pheno- 
 menon of fresh-water springs on the bed of the sea, so 
 that the natives dive for their water as they do for their 
 pearls. These pursuits are carried on under great risks, 
 the surrounding waters being infested by sharks and 
 sword-fishes. 
 
 The Bahrein group, comprising the large island of 
 Bahrein, 27 miles long by 1 wide, the much smaller 
 horseshoe -shaped Moharek, Sitrah, Sayeh, Arad, and a 
 few other rocky islets, forms since 1784 a little princi-
 
 428 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 pality ruled by the royal house of El Kalifah, chiefs of 
 the Uttubi Arab tribe from the neighbouring mainland. 
 After some unsuccessful attempts made both by the 
 Persians and Turks to annex the archipelago, the present 
 Sheikh Esau accepted the British protectorate in 1875, 
 and since then peace has been preserved. The group, 
 which was held by the Portuguese for about a century 
 
 (1520?— 1622) was well 
 known to the ancients, and 
 the remarkable sepulchral 
 mounds of round form ex- 
 plored in 1889 by Mr. Theodore Bent, prove that the 
 islands have been inhabited from remote times. These 
 barrows, covering a great part of the large island, and 
 ranging from a few feet to 40 feet in height, are of 
 unknown origin. But from their peculiar structure and 
 the nature of their contents, Mr. Bent attributes them to 
 the Phoenicians. He even concludes that Bahrein must 
 have been the cradle of the Phrenician race, and in any
 
 ARABIA 429 
 
 case he has at least placed beyond doubt that the archi- 
 pelago was one of the chief seats of that seafaring people 
 long before the dawn of history. Two of the islands 
 were known to Strabo by the familiar Phoenician names 
 of Tyros and Arados, and one member of the group, close 
 to Moharek off the north-east point of Bahrein, still 
 bears the designation of Arad. The present inhabitants 
 are chiefly Arabs from the neighbouring mainland and the 
 African slaves employed in the pearl fisheries. Manameh 
 on Bahrein is the present commercial capital, while 
 Moharek, facing it on the opposite side of the narrow inter- 
 vening strait, is the seat of Government. Both are rela- 
 tively large places, each with a population of about 8000. 
 
 The Sultan of Oman, formerly more popularly known 
 as the Imam of Maskat, * at one time ruled over an 
 extensive territory on the East Coast of Africa. But this 
 was assigned in 1856 to a brother of the reigning 
 Sultan, and now constitutes the protected State of 
 Zanzibar. He, however, still claims jurisdiction over 
 Germansir, a strip of the opposite Persian coast, stretch- 
 ing from about the 28th parallel to the west frontier of 
 Persian Mekran, and including the port of Bundar Abbas 
 (Gombrun) and the large island of Kishm. 
 
 On the Arabian mainland the north-east coast is 
 rocky, but well supplied with good natural harbours, 
 while the south coast west of Cape Hadd is flat, and 
 sheltered only by the island of Moseirah. At a distance 
 of 50 or 60 miles from the sea there runs a mountain 
 range, the Jebel-Akhdar, parallel with the crescent- 
 shaped east coast, beyond which the surface is dotted 
 with a number of true oases, abounding in water, in- 
 credibly fertile, and covered with an exceedingly dense 
 growth of vegetation. 
 
 1 His proper title is Sayid, or "Sovereign." He never assumed the 
 religious dignity of Imam commonly attributed to him.
 
 430 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 The Sultan of Oman maintains a small navy to keep 
 down piracy in these waters. He has also long enjoyed 
 the benefit of a close alliance with England, which, while 
 adding to his prestige amongst his own subjects, guaran- 
 tees him from any overt acts on the part of Turkey or 
 Persia. His States are fairly well governed, justice is 
 efficiently administered, and peace secured within his 
 borders, which merge everywhere inland with the desert. 
 
 5. Climate : Rainless Zone. 
 
 The prevailing climatic conditions are intense heat 
 and dryness. The zone of maximum heat on the sur- 
 face of the globe in July embraces the whole of the 
 Persian Gulf, the greater part of the Eed Sea, and of the 
 intervening Arabian peninsula. This also comprises one 
 of the rainless regions, where rain falls only at intervals 
 of from one to three or four years. Even the periodical 
 wet seasons, to which Yemen and some other favoured 
 tracts are exposed, are occasionally interrupted by 
 counter-atmospheric currents from Africa, and then whole 
 provinces have to depend for two or three years at a 
 time on their wells, tanks, and other reservoirs. It is 
 the vicinity of the African Sahara that prevents Arabia 
 from enjoying, as India does, the full benefit of the moist 
 winds from the Indian Ocean. Hence in summer, when 
 India is often deluged by tropical downpours, the south 
 coast of Arabia swelters under the vertical rays of a 
 fierce sun, and the parched-up land finds no shelter 
 either in an overcast sky or a leafy vegetation. Thus 
 has been developed in the course of ages the great 
 Southern Desert, surpassing the Sahara itself in absolute 
 aridity and barrenness. But as the land rises towards 
 the Yemen highlands the glass naturally falls, the 
 nights become pleasantly cool, and the tanks here freeze
 
 ARABIA 431 
 
 in winter. At elevations of 6000 feet storms become 
 frequent, and are at times accompanied by heavy showers. 
 The heat probably reaches its maximum in the low- 
 lying coast district of the Tehama on the Red Sea, and 
 along the west coast of the Persian Gulf. From the 
 bare rocky w r alls skirting both sides of these land-locked 
 basins the sunbeams are reflected with redoubled strength 
 on the glowing waters, thus producing an enormous 
 evaporation, which converts the surrounding atmosphere 
 into a vapour-bath. For Europeans a trip across the 
 Persian Gulf is considered at these times extremely 
 perilous, and the unhealthy climate of the Tehama has 
 become proverbial. On the other hand, the high central 
 plateau of Nejd enjoys a climate described by Palgrave 
 as one of the most salubrious in the world. Here the 
 pure air, dry atmosphere, and moderate temperature 
 have proved highly favourable to the development of 
 animal life, although the lack of moisture has prevented 
 a corresponding vegetable growth. Altogether, the most 
 favoured region in this respect is Yemen, where the 
 glass, even in July, seldom rises above 90° F. At Sana, 
 Niebuhr found that it did not exceed 85°, while in the 
 neighbouring Tehama it stood at 98° F. in the shade. 
 Here also snow falls occasionally, and it freezes during 
 the three winter months, while at Loheia (Tehama coast) 
 the glass never falls much below 80° F. in January. 
 Such is the astounding difference in temperature pro- 
 duced by the relief of the land in the same district. 
 
 Sand-storms prevail very generally, but are not 
 dangerous to travellers, except, perhaps, in the great 
 Southern Desert. On the other hand, the extent of the 
 range of the simooms, or poisonous winds, seems to have 
 been exaggerated.
 
 432 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Horse and Camel. 
 
 The most valuable plants are the date-palm, of 
 which over 130 varieties are reckoned growing in all 
 the oases, and supplying the chief staple of food ; coffee, 
 indigenous in Yemen, and largely exported from Mocha, 
 whence the " Mocha coffee " of commerce ; aromatic and 
 medicinal plants, chiefly along the south and west coast, 
 producing frankincense, myrrh, gum-arabic, balsam, senna, 
 which have supplied the markets of the world for ages. 
 The vine is cultivated for its fruit ; the peach, apricot, 
 almond, fig, and other fruits of excellent quality, are 
 produced in Yemen, and cotton is cultivated in Oman. 
 Of the few forest trees the chief are the sycamore, the 
 nebek or thorny lotus, the cassia, and the manna-yielding 
 ash. Yemen, and some other parts, also yield maize, 
 millet, wheat, barley, durra, lentils, tobacco, madder, 
 indigo. Characteristic of Nejd is the ghatha, which grows 
 to 12 or 15 feet high, and yields the purest charcoal in 
 the world. It abounds in the northern half of the Nefud, 
 and is found as far north as Kaf in the Hamad. 
 
 Amongst the wild animals are the lion, panther, 
 leopard, wolf, wild boar, jackal, gazelle, fox, monkey, 
 wild cow, or white antelope (Beatrix antelope, genus 
 Ornyx ?), ibex, webber (marmot ?), horned viper, cobra, 
 bustard, buzzard, hawk. The locust abounds in Arabia, 
 but is here rather preyed upon than the spoiler. " It 
 is not generally known how excellent locusts are as 
 food. . . . The red locust, which is, I believe, the female, 
 is the best eating, and should be plain boiled. In taste 
 it resembles green wheat, having a very delicate vege- 
 table flavour. Horses thrive on them, and nearly every 
 animal in the desert devours them. Our dogs caught 
 and ate them greedily. A camel will occasionally 
 munch them in with their pasture, and a hyaena I shot
 
 ARA1UA 433 
 
 was found to be full of them. Locusts should.be gathered 
 iu the morning while the clew is still on their wings " 
 (Blunt). 
 
 The chief domestic animals are the ass, mule, fat- 
 tailed sheep, and above all the camel and horse. Of the 
 latter there are two classes : the kadishi, of unknown 
 pedigree, used for rough work; and the kokhlani. or 
 koheileh, whose genealogies have been recorded for over 
 2000 years, and which spring traditionally from Solo- 
 mon's studs. They are mostly of small size, between 13 
 and 14 hands high, but symmetrical, hardy, and endowed 
 with extraordinary staying power. The best breed, 
 formerly in the Xejd, is now said to be found amongst 
 the Anazeh and other Bedouin tribes of Mesopotamia. 
 But opinions differ on the point, and while Blunt holds 
 that "the tale of a distinct Xejd breed is entirely fabu- 
 lous," Bawlinson still considers that the Anazeh is " of 
 much inferior blood to a real Xejd horse." Nejd is 
 supposed to abound in horses, but this would seem to be 
 a mistake. Burckhardt long ago remarked that here they 
 are comparatively rare, and that the Bedouins of the rich 
 Mesopotamian plains own the largest stock. This view 
 is now confirmed by Blunt, who asserts that " horses of 
 any kind are exceedingly rare in Xejd." Here " the 
 camel is the universal means of locomotion with the 
 Bedouins. The townsmen go on foot." 
 
 But for the camel the desert would be absolutely 
 uninhabitable. Of this animal there are several species, 
 or rather varieties, abounding especially in Xejd, hence 
 termed Omm-el-Bel, or " Mother of Camels." The Xejd 
 "Ship of the Desert" will pass four and even live days 
 in the summer heats without a drop of water; but those 
 most suited for riding are said to come from Oman. 
 
 VOL. II I F
 
 434 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 7. Inhabitants : Bedouin Life. 
 Few Asiatic lands can boast of a more homogeneous 
 population than Arabia, which belongs from remote times 
 to the branch of the Semitic family who have always 
 called themselves Arabs, at least in the north. It is 
 a very old word, occurring both in the Hebrew and 
 Greek, though not in the Latin or the authorised 
 English text of Deuteronomy. There are doubtless many 
 divisions and subdivisions into tribal and sub -tribal 
 groups ; but all are essentially one in origin, physique, 
 speech, and religion. The only true distinction that can 
 now be recognised is rather of a social than an ethnical 
 character — that is to say, the distinction between the 
 settled agricultural element residing in towns and villages 
 and the nomad Bedouins of the wilderness. The former 
 are met everywhere in more or less numerous communi- 
 ties, wherever the land is fit for cultivation — in El-Hejas 
 (Mecca, Medina, Taif ) ; in Nejd (Hail, Derayet, Eiad) ; 
 in Oman (Maskat) ; but especially in Yemen, where the 
 settled political status preponderates over the tribal 
 organisation of camp-life. 
 
 Some readers may possibly be surprised at the term 
 " organisation " applied to the social condition of the free 
 children of the desert ; but the popular ideas regarding 
 the habits, customs, and usages of the tented Arab are in 
 many respects erroneous. He is usually represented as 
 ceaselessly roaming with his tents and flocks from place 
 to place, whereas there is perhaps no people less given to 
 wandering, or more attached to their homes, than the true 
 Bedouins. 1 Hence Arabic is almost the only language 
 that has a perfect equivalent in the term watan (Jb») 
 to the English word home. They have their allotted 
 winter and summer camping -grounds, seldom changing 
 
 1 This very word Bcdawi, plural Bcdawiun, means rather pastor, stock- 
 breeder, than nomad.
 
 ARABIA 435 
 
 their settlements except when removing from one to the 
 other with the seasons. While en route they never pitch 
 their tents, sleeping in the open, wrapped in their flowing 
 garments. Their encampments resemble those of the 
 gipsies, only the occupants are perhaps somewhat wilder 
 and more picturesque in appearance. Women in dark- 
 brown cloaks grinding the corn with primitive hand- 
 mills, or weaving cloth for the tents ; children, goats, and 
 dogs, all playing together in happy harmony ; the men 
 lounging about smoking, or drinking coffee, form on the 
 whole a not unpleasant scene of homely life. 
 
 The Bedouins are often represented as highwaymen 
 and robbers from their birth. Their ideas regarding the 
 rights of property differ seriously from those prevalent 
 in the West ; but these very ideas of theirs are based 
 on a keen sense of right, and grow out of the proud 
 spirit which resents the intrusion of strangers or hostile 
 tribes on their domain. It must be allowed that among 
 them there are what may be called marauding tribes by 
 profession ; but even these have a certain traditional 
 code of law and honour, strange as the word may sound 
 in such an association, a code which all alike accept and 
 implicitly obey. A curious illustration of this spirit is 
 afforded by the circumstances attending the attack on 
 Mr. Blunt's party in the Wady Sirhan in the year 1878. 
 " Lady Anne and I," he writes, " happened to be separated 
 from the rest of our party, and were sitting under a 
 ghatha bush eating our midday meal of dates, when we 
 suddenly heard the galloping of horse-hoofs in the sand. 
 Looking up, we saw a dozen Bedouins bearing down on 
 us with their lances. . . . Our thick cloaks saved us 
 from the points of the lances, and my Bedouin head-rope 
 saved my head ; and when we had cried ' Dahil,' ' I yield,' 
 and given up our mares, they left off knocking us about. 
 It then turned out that our captors were a party of Koala,
 
 436 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 friends of our own and of Muhammad's, though they 
 knew nothing of us personally ; and after we had sworn 
 to our identity, they brought us back our mares and 
 everything that had been dropped in the scuffle." 
 
 Jonas Hanway also vindicates the Bedouins from the 
 animadversions of some writers in the 1 8 th century. " Their 
 skill in horsemanship, and their capacity of bearing the 
 heat of their burning plains, give them a superiority over 
 their enemies. Hence every petty chief ponsiders him- 
 self as a sovereign prince, and as such exacts customs 
 from all passengers. When they plunder caravans 
 travelling through their territories they consider it as 
 reprisals on the Turks and Persians, who often make 
 inroads into their country and carry away their corn and 
 their flocks." 1 
 
 Amongst themselves and towards all placed under 
 their protection their sense of honour and trustworthi- 
 ness are beyond suspicion. Owing to the fearful severity 
 of the custom of blood-revenge, murder is of much rarer 
 occurrence in the wilderness than in more civilised lands. 
 The character of the country and their social habits 
 develop a sort of clannish confederacy amongst the several 
 tribes, as well as a certain common sympathy with all 
 belonging to the Arab race. The Turi or the Maghrabi 
 tribes have now a salutary dread of " the Consul." 
 
 In other respects the contrast between the social 
 relations of the Bedouin and those of the "more civilised " 
 inhabitants of the towns and villages is very much to the 
 advantage of the former. Their simple diet and the pure, 
 untainted atmosphere which they breathe render them 
 healthy in mind and body. They are cheerful and even 
 possessed of a fund of humour, and will often endure the 
 greatest hardships without a murmur. Their demeanour 
 is courteous and even refined. 
 
 1 The Revolutions of Persia, part v. pp. 221, 222.
 
 ARABIA 431 
 
 As with most Eastern peoples, parents are treated 
 with the greatest respect by their children while under 
 age. But as soon as the young Bedouin is old and 
 strong enough to set up an independent establishment, 
 he considers himself released from this duty, henceforth 
 regarding himself in the light of an equal. 
 
 On the men naturally falls the care of supporting 
 the tribe, the means of doing which are often scanty 
 enough. Their chief source of wealth is derived from 
 the camel. The escorting of travellers, pilgrims, and 
 goods is a profitable branch of industry, but restricted 
 to the few tribes recognised as the duly authorised 
 ghvfara, or " protectors." 
 
 A limited trade is also carried on with Suez and 
 Cairo, the Arabs supplying charcoal, millstones, ibex 
 horns, gum-arabic, and the like, in exchange for corn 
 and tobacco. A few inhabiting such fertile districts as 
 the Feiran own a little land, on which they cultivate 
 tobacco, bartering or selling it to the neighbouring tribes. 
 Owners of sheep and goats turn the hair and wool of 
 these animals to account, and use the milk in spring, but 
 seldom kill them except in sacrifices. Another article 
 of trade is the " munn," or manna, a glutinous saccharine 
 substance exuding from the tamarisk tree for about two 
 months, " while the apricot is in blooni." 
 
 8. Topography : Mecca — Medina — Hail — Masked — Aden. 
 
 In a land "of which probably not more than one-tenth 
 is arable, t<»wns cannot be numerous. The largest appear 
 to be Maskat, capital of Oman (25,000); Sana, capital 
 of Yemen, officially given at 50,000, but estimated by 
 Haig at not more than 30,000, or at most 35,000; 
 Mecca 60,000, and its seaport Jidda 30,000. Hut by
 
 438 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 far the most important are the two " holy cities " of 
 Hejas, Mecca and Medina, towards which the eyes of one 
 hundred millions of Muhammadans are constantly turned, 
 from the shores of Marocco to the distant islands of the 
 Eastern Archipelago. 
 
 Mecca, the Borne of Islam, is an un walled city 
 situated in a narrow sandy valley enclosed by rocky 
 eminences from 200 to 500 feet high, and about 65 
 miles from Jidda, its port on the Eed Sea. The valley 
 is scarcely 600 yards broad, narrowing southwards to 
 about 300, where it is almost blocked by the Beit-Ullah 
 (God's house), the great mosque enshrining the famous 
 Kaaba. The whole building forms a rectangle 250 paces 
 long by 200 broad, of which the north side is formed by 
 four rows of pillars, the other three of three rows each, 
 arched over, and so disposed that each group of four 
 supports a little cupola, making altogether 152 of these 
 structures. Along its entire length suspended from the 
 arches are glass lamps, all of which are kept burning 
 during the Bamadan, or fasting season. The oldest pillars 
 are hewn out of the neighbouring rock ; the others, con- 
 sisting of marble, granite, and porphyry, are mostly offer- 
 ings of the Faithful, and include some antiques from the 
 old temples of Syria and Egypt. 
 
 Within the mosque is the Kaaba, or " Holy House," 
 a small, massive building about 40 feet high. Tradition 
 associates this unpretending and curious little structure 
 with a multitude of marvels and legends, one more pre- 
 posterous than another. On the north side is a doorway 
 leading through steps inlaid with gold and silver to the 
 inner sanctuary. In a corner lies the famous " black 
 stone," supposed to have been given by God to Abraham, 
 but now known to be a meteoric block descended, if not 
 from heaven, at least from the interplanetary spaces. 
 West of the Kaaba is the " golden channel," carrying off
 
 440 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 from the flat roof the rain-water, which is reputed to be 
 endowed with miraculous properties. 
 
 Access to Mecca is rendered extremely difficult in 
 consequence of the ceremonies imposed on all wishing to 
 visit the birthplace of the Prophet, and expressly designed 
 to exclude unbelievers. Yet the feat was 'accomplished 
 during the nineteenth century by Burckharclt, Wallin, 
 Palgrave, Burton, Thos. Keane (?), and perhaps by others, 
 mostly disguised as pilgrims. 
 
 In Mecca resides the great Sherif of Mecca and 
 Medina, a far more important dignitary than the Turkish 
 Vali or Governor of Hejas, As guardian of the holy 
 shrine of Islam he receives a heavy annual stipend from 
 the Porte, in return acknowledging the suzerainty and 
 caliphate of the Sultan. 
 
 About seventy miles south-east of Mecca is the small 
 but pleasant town of Taif, to which the pashas condemned 
 for the murder of Sultan Abdul -Aziz were banished. 
 It is one of the most interesting places in Arabia, sur- 
 rounded by gardens and vineyards, from which Mecca 
 has been supplied with fruits for ages. 
 
 Nearly under the same meridian as Mecca, and 240 
 miles farther north, lies the almost equally venerated 
 city of Medina. Hither fled the Prophet when his 
 obdurate fellow-citizens were deaf to his voice, and from 
 this flight dates the Muhammadan era, 1 Here also is 
 his tomb, a shrine second only in sanctity to the Kaaba 
 itself. Medina lies at an elevation of 3000 feet above 
 the sea, close to a range of hills running north and south 
 between Hejas and Nejd. It is built of solid stone, but 
 the streets are very narrow, and everywhere lined with 
 lodging-houses for the convenience of pilgrims. The great 
 mosque containing the Prophet's tomb is approached by 
 the main street from the gate of Cairo. It is smaller 
 1 That is, the Hijra, or " Flight."
 
 ARABIA 
 
 441 
 
 than that of Mecca, and is supposed to have been really 
 built by Muhammad himself. His coffin is encased in 
 silver, and covered with a heavy marble slab. 
 
 By far the most important place in the south-wesl is 
 Sana, capital of Yemen, and seat of an Imam, who enjoys 
 a nominal jurisdiction under the Turks, real masters of 
 the land. Sana, which is perhaps the finest and best- 
 built city in the whole of Arabia, has been visited of 
 
 
 late years by Wrede, Halevy, Manzoni, Haig, Harris, and 
 other Englishmen. It lies in a fine, well-cultivated 
 upland valley, 7280, or, according to Haig, 7700 feet 
 above sea-level, about 140 miles north-east of Hodeida, 
 its port on the Red Sea, and 260 from Aden. Its walls, 
 about six miles in circumference, are mounted with 
 cannon, but pointed towards the town, and they enclose 
 two stone palaces of the Imam, besides a great number 
 of highly-ornamental mosques, baths, and caravansaries. 
 As generally throughout the Yemen highlands, the
 
 442 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 houses, two, three, and even four stories high, are all 
 built of solid stone, whereas those of the Tehama low- 
 lands are usually of mud with thatched roofs. But 
 there is little attempt at architectural display, beyond a 
 peculiar style of ornamental carving on the walls and 
 round the windows. There is a separate Jewish quarter 
 with a population of 5000, about one-twelfth of all the 
 Jews in Yemen, and General Haig was shown the scarcely 
 distinguishable ruins of a Christian church dating from 
 pre-Muhammadan times. The Jews have twenty-three 
 synagogues and twenty schools, attended by 700 boys ; 
 female education is almost entirely neglected, whereas all 
 the male population can read Arabic. Numerous ruins 
 are shown over the waste spaces within the enclosures, 
 and there can be no doubt that Sana was formerly a 
 much larger city than at present, with a reputed popula- 
 tion of no less than 200,000 so recently as the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 Though now eclipsed by Sawakin and Massowah, 
 Hodeidah was a few years ago the busiest seaport in the 
 Eed Sea. " There was more life and movement in the 
 streets and crowded bazaars than I had seen elsewhere, 
 more signs of trade and business generally. Being the 
 principal port of Yemen, most of the coffee and hides, 
 which are the staple exports of the country, are shipped 
 from here" (Haig, ib. p. 480). The population is esti- 
 mated at from 25,000 to 30,000, and the market is well 
 supplied with fruits and vegetables ; but the water has 
 to be drawn from wells at some distance from the town, 
 and there is no harbour, so that steamers have to ride at 
 anchor in an open roadstead 1^ mile off the shore. 
 
 In the interior the most noteworthy places are 
 Hail and Eiad, capitals of Jebel-Shammar and Aared 
 respectively. 
 
 Hail lies 3500 feet above the sea, not to the south,
 
 ARABIA 
 
 443 
 
 as is usually stated, but to the east of the Jebel-Aja, a 
 granite range 6000 feet high/which ends abruptly at this 
 point. Here is the Emir's castle, occupying a position 
 of immense natural strength in the Jebel-Aja. Dependent 
 on the Emir is the chief of the fertile and thickly peopled 
 Jof district, which was visited in 1902 by the Rev. A. 
 Forder. Jof, the capital, has a total population of about 
 80,000, and the neighbouring Sakata, 30,000. 
 
 Eiad, which has succeeded Dereyah as capital of the 
 TVahhabi State, lies in the heart of the Aared country, 
 enclosed north and south by the Jebel-Toweyk, and 
 about 280 miles south-east of Hail. It is a large place, 
 with a population of probably 30,000 ; but nothing is 
 known of its present state, as no European has visited it 
 since the time of Palgrave. 
 
 On the east coast the only large place is Maskat, 
 capital of Oman, which, although extremely hot l and un- 
 healthy, is the centre of nearly all the import and export 
 trade in these waters. For this position it is indebted 
 more to its well-sheltered and convenient harbour than to 
 the fact that it is the seat of government and residence of 
 the Sultan. It is built in a series of terraces rising one 
 above the other on the side of the frowning precipices 
 enclosing its picturesque bay. But though presenting a 
 pleasant prospect from a distance, a nearer view reveals 
 the usual features of large Oriental towns — narrow, dirty, 
 and gloomy streets, tasteless buildings, and masses of 
 dead walls, beyond which stretches a swampy suburb 
 occupied by nomad Arabs and African slaves. The 
 
 1 The heat of Maskat, which is proverbial throughout the East, is thus 
 jocularly referred to by a writer of the fifteenth century quoted by Lord 
 Curzon: "It was so intense that it burned the marrow in the bones; 
 the sword in its scabbard melted like wax, and the gems which adorned 
 the handle of the dagger were reduced to coal. In the plains the chase 
 became a matter of perfect ease, for the desert was filled with roasted 
 gazelles " {Persia and the Persian Question).
 
 AEA.BIA 445 
 
 townspeople themselves are a motley mixture of Arabs, 
 Persians, Syrians, Indians, and even Kurds and Afghans, 
 who have either taken refuge here from oppression at 
 home, or else have been attracted to the place by its 
 great facilities for trade. 
 
 Politically by far the most important place in the 
 southern section of the peninsula is Aden, occupied since 
 1838 by the English, who from this stronghold and the 
 neighbouring island of Perim command the whole of 
 the Eed and Arabian Seas, and keep open the water 
 highway to British India and the far East. But besides 
 forming one of the most important links in the chain 
 that girdles the eastern hemisphere from London to Hong- 
 kong, this Gibraltar of the Indian Ocean is also a free 
 port, doing a considerable trade with the interior, and 
 with a population (including Perim) of 41,000 in 1901. 
 Yet it lies perched on a bare rock in an indescribably 
 barren and desolate coast district, a hotbed of the most 
 deadly diseases, altogether one of the most uninviting 
 and unhealthy spots on the surface of the globe, and in 
 summer sultry almost beyond endurance. The old town 
 lies in the very crater of an extinct volcano, 1775 feet 
 high, whose sides, which have partly fallen in, are 
 crowned with formidable works bristling with cannon. 
 
 Aden lies well within the rainless zone, where no 
 rain falls at times for intervals of two or even three years. 
 Hence for its water-supply it is dependent on wells, 
 tanks, condensers, and the magnificent old reservoirs in 
 the neighbourhood, which have been recently restored. 
 Here are two good harbours, formed partly by the adjacent 
 island of Sirah, and, thanks to its convenient and com- 
 manding position near the entrance of the Red Sea, Aden 
 has become one of the chief coaling depots and calling 
 stations lor steamers in the Indian waters. It is also an 
 important political centre, barring the further advance of
 
 ARABIA 447 
 
 the Turk, and guaranteeing the good government of 
 Lahej and the other States on the south coast. By the 
 Anglo-Turkish agreement of April 1905, the Aden pro- 
 tectorate was enlarged by a new frontier line towards 
 Yemen drawn from Husn Murad opposite Perim north- 
 eastwards to Lakmat ash-Shub, thus enclosing a total area 
 of about 9000 square miles, and a population of over 
 60,000. The Kuria Muria group, which is also British, 
 has area 1382 square miles, and pop. (1901) about 
 12,000. Aden, which is probably the Arabia Eudaemon 
 of the ancients, is administered by a Resident responsible 
 to the Government of Bombay. 
 
 9. Highways of Communication. 
 
 In Arabia there are scarcely any roads properly so 
 called. But the peninsula is crossed everywhere except 
 in the south by well-trodden caravan routes, whose direc- 
 tion is mainly determined by the greater or less abundance 
 of wells and other reservoirs along their course. There 
 is so little local trade and so much visiting of the holy 
 places from all quarters of Islam, that these routes 
 naturally converge on Mecca and Medina. The two 
 main highways are what might be called the Sunnite 
 and the Shiah haj, 1 the former from the north for the 
 convenience of the orthodox Turk, the latter from the 
 east for the heretical Persian. 
 
 The northern pilgrim road starts from Damascus and 
 runs nearly due south through the Hauran highlands and 
 the Eoala, Sherarat and Harb Bedouin territories between 
 El-Hejas and the Nefud to Medina and Mecca. The 
 chief intermediate stations are Kalaat Belka, east of the 
 
 1 Haj means "pilgrimage," whence the " Haji," or pilgrim in a 
 pre-eminent sense, who has visited the holy places, a personage who holds 
 his head very high in the East.
 
 448 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Dead Sea ; Maan, east of the Wady-el-Arabah ; Tebuk, 
 and Medain Salah, east of the Eed Sea. The journey to 
 Medina takes thirty days, and the pilgrim caravan is 
 usually escorted by the governor of Damascus. But this 
 route is not now so much frequented as formerly, the 
 pilgrims from Anatolia and Syria preferring the less 
 fatiguing and more expeditious journey by steamer through 
 the Suez Canal and Eed Sea to Jidda, whence they 
 reach Mecca by easy stages in three or four days. Since 
 the opening of the canal the pilgrim traffic of Jidda by 
 sea has increased to from 45,000 to 50,000 yearly. 
 Many also still reach Jidda by land from the Barbary 
 States, Sudan, and Egypt, by a route from Cairo across 
 the Sinai peninsula and down the coast of Hejas. For 
 the Hamidie-Hejaz railway which is now (1908) ad- 
 vancing from Damascus to Mecca see p. 403. 
 
 The eastern or rather north-eastern road from Persia 
 runs from Bagdad through Kerbela and Meshed Ali, 
 nearly due south, to the wells of Shaibeh (27° 10' K, 
 44° E.), here turning west to Hail and thence south-west 
 to Medina. This line traverses the domain of the 
 Montefik and Daffir Bedouins in the north, the Jebel- 
 Shammar State, and the Harb Bedouin country in the 
 west. In lat. 2S°-29° and long. 44° 20' it touches the 
 famous reservoirs built by Zobeyde, wife of Harun-el- 
 Bashid, for the special use of the pilgrims. A caravan 
 route from the Hauran through the Wady Sirhan, the 
 Jauf Oasis, and the Nefud, strikes this line at Hail, and 
 is continued thence south-eastwards through Bereydah 
 and the ruins of Dereyah to Eiad. A track from Eiad 
 through Yemamah reaches the Persian Gulf at El-Katif 
 above the Bahrein islands. But no certain lines are 
 known to run from this direction southwards. Eiad, 
 however, seems to be connected westwards through Taif 
 with Mecca, and this route, if it exists, nearly completes
 
 ARABIA 449 
 
 the main lines crossing the peninsula. Blunt denies the 
 existence of a Roman road said to have formerly run 
 from Melakh on the Syrian frontier across the Hamad 
 to Basra on the Shat-el-Arab. 
 
 In the foregoing chapters — Asia Minor, Euphrates 
 and Tigris Basin, Syria and Palestine — the headings 10 
 (Administration), and 11 (Statistics) have not been 
 included, these subjects having been reserved for the 
 present chapter. It was thought best to combine Arabia 
 with Turkey in Asia for this purpose, because some parts 
 of Arabia either belong to, or are claimed by, Turkey, 
 while other parts are independent. 
 
 10. Administration: Turkish System in Asia fir Turkey 
 generally — Social State — Taxation — Justice — Reli- 
 gion — The Ulema — Education. 
 
 Before the new Constitution of 1908 the government 
 of Turkey was an absolute despotism, limited by many 
 social and religious checks. The Sultan's personal action 
 was largely controlled by that of the Grand Vizier and 
 Divan (Prime Minister and Cabinet). But he still 
 nominated not only all the members of the Divan, but all 
 the provincial governors and lieutenant-governors, whose 
 tenure of office being precarious, the incentive to rapacity 
 often became irresistible. 
 
 Since 1867 Asiatic Turkey is divided for adminis- 
 trative purposes into vilayets or provinces, sanjaks 
 (" banners "), answering to the French arrondissements, 
 kazas or districts, and nahies or communes. The vila- 
 yets, mostly named from the chief town, are governed by 
 valis, ranking as mushirs or pashas of the highest on lei- ; 
 the sanjaks by caimacans or lieutenant-governors, ranking 
 as rnutessarifs or second-class pashas; the kazas by 
 
 VOL. II 2 G
 
 450 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TPtAVEL 
 
 mudirs, elected in theory by the inhabitants, but in 
 reality by the valis ; the nahies by muktars or mayors, 
 ostensibly elected for a year, but really named by the 
 mudir. There are a great number of other officials, of 
 whom it may be affirmed that " not one owes his post 
 to personal merit or qualification, but all to bribery or 
 intrigue. The vali himself buys his appointment from 
 some palace favourite or other patron at the Porte. . . . 
 The same may be said of the cadis (magistrates), of the 
 commandant of the police, and of the directors of the 
 customs " (M'Coan). This of course applies to times prior 
 to 1908, when taxation was largely based on the old tithe 
 system, and as the tithes themselves were farmed out, 
 ample scope was given to extortion, the sum raised always 
 far exceeding that imposed by the Treasury. Justice also, 
 although the civil and criminal codes are based on sound 
 principles of equity, was dispensed by servile ministers in 
 such a manner as to become an additional instrument 
 of oppression. In all the courts bribery was a recognised 
 factor, and although the Turk is personally honest and 
 upright, the Turkish official had under this system 
 become the incarnation of servility and corruption. 
 Even the Christian assessors associated with their 
 Moslem rulers seem to have been deeply tainted by the 
 prevailing laxity. M'Coan mentions the case of a 
 Christian member of a civil court waiting on the advo- 
 cate of some parties in a pending case, and arranging 
 for a bribe of £100 to secure judgment in their favour. 
 This judge was later "president of one of the Stambul 
 courts, a rich and respected functionary." 
 
 The real grievance of the Christians was that their 
 testimony carried but little weight, even when not 
 absolutely rejected, in all the courts of the empire. 
 " What we require," said one of them to Captain Burnaby 
 in Smyrna, "is similar treatment for all sects, and that
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF TURKEY IN ASIA 451 
 
 the word of a Christian when given in a court of law 
 should be looked upon as evidence and in the same 
 light as a Muhammadan's statement. If the Caimacans 
 and Cadis were only compelled to do us justice in this 
 respect, we should not have much cause to grumble." 
 
 But the maladministration of the Asiatic section of 
 the Turkish empire was essentially, oue might say 
 necessarily, of a chronic character, prior to the sweeping- 
 changes which have already been introduced under 
 the new regime. To understand the chaotic state 
 of things which had practically prevailed ever since 
 the displacement of the Christian Byzantine for the 
 Muhammadan Osmanli power, it should be remembered 
 that where Islam rules supreme there can be no equality 
 unless the whole population accept the Mussulman faith. 
 Under this system Church and State are inseparably 
 interwoven, and the prescriptions of the Koran are ex- 
 tended not only to religious matters, but also to the dis- 
 pensation of justice both civil and criminal, to the rights 
 of inheritance, and to all social institutions. It is as if 
 the States of Christendom were exclusively administered 
 in accordance with the precepts of the Jewish dispensation. 
 Thus two classes only are recognised — the faithful, who 
 enjoy the full rights of citizenship, and the infidels, 
 who have in principle no civil status. They are essen- 
 tially " rayahs " — a subject herd, who pay a poll-tax, but 
 can neither own land nor bear arms, and for whom there 
 is no salvation here or hereafter. Hence the official form 
 of burial certificates granted to the Christians of Turkey 
 ran thus : " We certify to the priest of the Church of 
 
 that the impure, putrid, stinking carcase of , 
 
 damned (i.e. deceased) this day, may be concealed under- 
 ground." * Even the Muhammadans themselves, although 
 also suffering from misgovernment, were opposed to any 
 
 1 Canon MacColl, in The Nineteenth Century, December 1895, p. 1079.
 
 452 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TPtAVEL 
 
 change that was not in accordance with the immutable prin- 
 ciples of the Koran, and that would affect their position as 
 the ruling class. This is perhaps the chief reason that the 
 various projects of reform promulgated or promised during 
 the nineteenth century, under pressure of the European 
 powers — the Hatt-i-Humayun, the Hatt-i-sherif of 1853, 
 the agreement of 1878 with Great Britain, the promises 
 made the same year in the Treaty of Berlin (Arts. 61,62), 
 and the scheme of reform for Anatolia and Armenia an- 
 nounced in 1895 — all proved abortive till civil rights were 
 granted to all alike under the new Constitution of 1908. 
 In Armenia the situation had in recent times been 
 aggravated by the religious dissensions of the Christians 
 themselves, as well as by their resistance here and there 
 to intolerable oppression, and by the action of the 
 Armenian Committee, which had its headquarters in 
 London, and which aimed at political independence. 
 But such aspirations could never be realised under the 
 former system, because the nation no longer exists as a 
 compact body still occupying the old Armenian domain, 
 but is scattered in small communities over the empire, 
 and divided into three more or less hostile sections — the 
 Gregorian or Orthodox Christians (75 per cent), the 
 Protestants (15 per cent), and the Uniates or Eoman 
 Catholics (10 per cent). In their ancient territory — the 
 " Great Armenia " as it is called, in contradistinction to 
 the " Little Armenia " of Eussian Transcaucasia — they are 
 still most numerous, but were here not only subject to 
 Turkish misrule, but also exposed to the systematic raids 
 of the surrounding predatory Kurdish tribes. Hitherto 
 these evils were to some extent endurable, because it was 
 in the interest of the civil authorities to keep the lawless 
 freebooters under some kind of control. But, apparently 
 owing to a belief in the spread of the political propaganda, 
 secret orders were issued about the year 1890, instructing
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF TURKEY IN ASIA 453 
 
 the local governors to act henceforth in concert with the 
 Knrdish raiders. That such a compact was made is 
 evident from the fact that many of these fierce nomads 
 were organised as a corps of irregular cavalry named after 
 the Sultan himself, and it is matter of public notoriety 
 that they co-operated with the regular Turkish troops 
 in the horrible butcheries perpetrated in 1894 in the 
 Sassun district a little west of Lake Van. These atro- 
 cities, in which 2000 souls were said to have perished, 
 aroused the indignation of Christendom. But although 
 the worst reports were fully confirmed by an international 
 Commission of Inquiry (1895), and although joint re- 
 monstrances were made to the Turkish government by all 
 the great powers acting in apparent concert through their 
 representatives in Constantinople, the massacres were 
 repeated in Erzerum, Kaisarieh, Sivas, Zeitun, Urfa, and 
 many other places, until the Armenians of the Asiatic 
 provinces were driven either to take arms in self-defence 
 or to seek safety in exile, or even embrace Islam to save 
 their lives and property. The object of the Sultan's 
 government in fomenting these disorders was not so 
 much to defy the voice of Christendom as to solve the 
 Armenian question by extirpating the Armenian nation. 
 Despite the protests of the powers, and their insistence 
 on the immediate introduction of the feeble measure of 
 reform extorted from the Sultan, this truly Machiavellian 
 policy continued to be relentlessly pursued to the begin- 
 ning of the year 1896, when it seemed likely to be 
 crowned with a large measure of success. At that time, 
 according to the extremely defective Turkish returns, 
 nearly 30,000 Armenians had been killed in various 
 towns and rural districts of Asia Minor, and 425,000 
 reduced to starvation. It is no exaggeration to say that 
 between 1890-96 the Armenian inhabitants of Anatolia 
 were reduced by half a million, partly by butcheries and
 
 454 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 famine, partly by emigration and absorption in the 
 Mnhammadan population. 
 
 But in speaking of the former Turkish government 
 a distinction should always be drawn between the 
 " Palace," that is, the Sultan's residence at Yildiz, and 
 the "Sublime Porte," that is, the official heads of the 
 Administration. The situation will be best understood 
 by assuming a spirit of direct antagonism, based on con- 
 flicting interests, permanently prevailing between, say, 
 Windsor Castle and Downing Street. In his official 
 report presented to the Sultan in October 1895, and 
 later in other writings, 1 Murad Bey, late Imperial Com- 
 missioner to the Public Debt, clearly shows that a great 
 gulf existed between the Cabinet and the Palace, where 
 the Sultan was surrounded by sycophants, favourites, and 
 unscrupulous adventurers. In their hands the Sultan 
 himself, however well intentioned, was helpless, and it is 
 made clear that for a long time the palace had been a 
 hotbed of intrigue, overruling the action of the Ministers, 
 consulting personal interests alone, and fomenting dis- 
 orders throughout the provinces, for the express purpose 
 of upholding the former state of affairs and preventing 
 the introduction of the urgently needed reforms. As a 
 remedy for the prevailing chaos, Murad Bey suggested the 
 dismissal of the Sultan's favourites, the suppression of 
 privileges, the establishment of all races and religions on 
 a footing of equality, the constitution of a deliberative 
 Assembly, freedom of the press, a general amnesty, and 
 the limitation of the power of the Palace (that is, of the 
 Sultan's autocracy) to the choice of the Grand Vizier to 
 be appointed by the European Ambassadors. A change 
 in the succession to the Crown and other practical 
 measures in harmony with modern ideas were also proposed 
 
 1 Especially Le Palais de Yildiz et le Sublime Porte, Paris, December 
 1S95.
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF TURKEY IN ASTA 455 
 
 and this liberal programme forms the very essence of the 
 190S Constitution. 
 
 Religion — The Ulema. 
 
 The Sultan is primarily not so much a temporal 
 sovereign as the accepted Caliph, or spiritual head of 
 Islam. Hence the organic laws of the empire weir all 
 based on the Koran, to which the last appeal had to be 
 made in all emergencies. 
 
 The cardinal doctrine of the Muhammadan religion is 
 pure theism, formulated in the words " There is but one 
 God " ; and besides the Prophet, it accepts the divine 
 mission both of Moses and Christ. "The Son of Mary" 
 especially is acknowledged as the Word proceeding from 
 God, as the Messiah of the Jews, Mediator with God in 
 heaven, and the appointed Judge of all. A final judg- 
 ment, an after state, a heaven and a hell, good and bad 
 spirits, and guardian angels, are amongst the tenets of 
 this religion. Most of its rites, such as punctilious and 
 ceremonious prayer, ablutions, circumcision, pilgrimage, 
 abstinence from alcoholic drinks, are either positively 
 good or at the least harmless ; while some parts of its 
 morality, inculcating the virtues of almsgiving, truth, 
 sobriety, mercy to the brute creation, are to be com- 
 mended. 
 
 " islam," or the Muhammadan faith (literally " sub- 
 mission to God "), differs, in Asiatic Turkey, from most 
 other religions in the absence of a true priesthood. For 
 the Ulema 1 — that is, the " wise " or " learned " — were 
 originally nothing more than a body of interpreters, insti- 
 tuted to study and expound the text of the Koran. But 
 as the Koran contains the secular as well as the religious 
 
 1 From the Arabic root Jg Urn, knowledge, science, comes the ad 
 jective dllin, learned, wise, of which the plural is ulema.
 
 456 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 code, this body could not fail gradually to usurp a pre- 
 ponderating influence in the councils of the State. This 
 influence it long enjoyed and exerted in a spirit hostile 
 not only to Christianity, but to all true progress not in 
 accordance with the " letter of the law.'' At present 
 the head of this college is the Sheikh-ul-Tslam, or " Head 
 of the Faith " — that is, next after the Caliph, but in 
 purely spiritual matters enjoying a power paramount 
 even to that of the Sultan himself. 
 
 Education is still in an extremely backward state, 
 and must continue so until emancipated from the control 
 of the Ulema, whose interest it is to restrict its range to 
 the reading and expounding of the Koran. Attempts at 
 reform were made so far back as 1845, when the principle 
 of secularisation was adopted and a new university 
 founded in Constantinople. Primary instruction was soon 
 afterwards made compulsory, but through the influence 
 of the Ulema it was restricted to reading, writing, ele- 
 mentary arithmetic, and the study of the Koran. Even 
 in the mekteb or secondary schools, and to a large extent 
 in the medresseh or colleges, the teachers are all members 
 of the Ulema, with the inevitable result that education 
 still resolves itself into a training calculated more to 
 fill the mosques and uphold the old system than to pro- 
 duce enlightened and liberal-minded citizens. So much, 
 however, has been secured that the bulk of the people, 
 even in Asiatic Turkey, can now at least read and write. 
 
 The above" description is applicable to Asiatic Turkey. 
 But Arabia, which is included in this chapter, gave birth 
 to a religion that has extended to several other countries 
 besides the Turkish dominions. The Muhammadans are 
 divided into two sects, the Sunnis and the Shiahs. The 
 Sunnis are usually regarded as the orthodox party. 
 They acknowledge the succession of the four Caliphs who 
 inherited the spiritual and temporal supremacy bequeathed
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF TURKEY IN ASIA 457 
 
 by the Prophet Muhammad himself. Their name indi- 
 cates those who follow the true tradition. The Shiahs 
 are usually regarded as sectaries, as their name implies. 
 They are considered as heretics by the Sunnis, who 
 formed the dominant party for many generations. In 
 this age, however, they contribute an influential minority. 
 Originally they followed Hasan and Hosen, the grandsons 
 of the Prophet by his daughter Fatima and her husband 
 Ali. The grandsons took up arms against the Caliphs, 
 successors of the Prophet, and were slain in battle. 
 Their memory is revered as that of martyrs. The two 
 religious centres of the sect are Mashhad in the north-east 
 corner of Persia, and Kerbela on the border of Arabia 
 and Mesopotamia. In all the world there is no place 
 more heartily venerated by millions of people than 
 Kerbela. In the main the Shiah country is Persia ; 
 but Bokhara, Constantinople, Bagdad, Cairo, Delhi, 
 Kabul, are Sunni. The Mogul emperors of India were 
 Sunni, though, as will be seen hereafter, there are many 
 Shiah sectaries in India. The Sunnis and the Shiahs in 
 India have their respective watch-cries. The Sunnis say 
 " Dam-i-chahar yar " ; or " Hail to the four disciples of 
 the Prophet" (that is, the Caliphs). The Shiahs say 
 " Dam-i-pauj-tan " ; or, " Hail to the five relations of the 
 Prophet " ; meaning that the descendants have a prior 
 claim over those who were the disciples only. The 
 Sunnis mean that the disciples were nominated as lawful 
 successors, and that allegiance is therefore due to them. 
 
 In Asiatic Turkey the Muhammadan attitude is 
 apparently becoming more and more tolerant. 
 
 ( mtside Asiatic Turkey, however, the Muhammadan 
 faith maintains its hold upon the hearts and minds of the 
 influential classes among its adherents. It has priestly 
 classes bearing the names of Mufti, Molavi, Mullah. 
 They are hearty and sincere zealots. Their religious
 
 458 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 sentiments, originally pure and lofty, often degenerate 
 into bigotry and fanaticism. From time to time, as for 
 instance the Wahhabi movement in Central Arabia, efforts 
 are made to reinvigorate the austere strictness of the 
 Prophet and the Caliphs, his immediate successors. But 
 veneration for the Prophet, his Koran, and his Tradition, 
 never causes the people to forget the attributes of God 
 (Allah), which ever have been, and still are, defined and 
 formulated with extraordinary accuracy and fidelity. 
 The merits of such tenets still infuse potent life into the 
 religion. Though the name of " the most merciful " is 
 constantly invoked, yet something the reverse of mercy and 
 charity, as understood by Christians, is really presented. 
 Almsgiving is indeed proclaimed to be a duty in the 
 loftiest terms. But kindness is really reserved for those 
 within the pale. For all outside the pale, fierce intoler- 
 ance and an almost sanguinary animosity is declared. 
 These are charged with " unbelief," and the term Kafir, 
 or unbeliever, is still regarded as a severe inculpation. 
 For all that, in countries such as British India, where 
 Muhammadans are brought into contact with Europeans, 
 the common humanity asserts itself, and there many 
 good, faithful, and friendly Muhammadans are to be 
 found. 
 
 The Muhammadan nations are retrograding, and 
 the retrogression is in part attributable to their religion. 
 The following sentences are taken from the Rede Lecture 
 delivered at Cambridge in 1881 by Sir William Muir, 
 one of the first authorities on the subject : — 
 
 " Some, indeed, dream of an Islam in the future, 
 rationalised and regenerate. All this has been tried 
 already, and has miserably failed. The Koran has so 
 encrusted the religion in a hard unyielding casement of 
 ordinances and social laws, that if the shell be broken the 
 life is gone. A rationalistic Islam would be Islam no
 
 ADMINISTRATION OF TURKEY IN ASIA 
 
 459 
 
 longer. The contrast between our own faith and Islam 
 
 is most remarkable. . . 
 living germs of truth 
 religious liberty, and 
 civilisation. In Islam 
 
 . There are in our Scriptures 
 which consist with civil and 
 will expand with advancing 
 it is just the reverse. The 
 Koran has no such teaching as with us has abolished 
 polygamy, slavery, and arbitrary divorce, and has elevated 
 woman to her proper place. As a Reformer, Mahomet 
 did advance his people to a certain point, but as a 
 Prophet he left them fixed immovably at that point for 
 all time to come. . . . The tree is of artificial planting ; 
 instead of containing within itself the germ of growth 
 and adaptation to the various requirements of time and 
 clime and circumstance, expanding with the genial sun- 
 shine and rain from heaven, it remains the same forced 
 and stunted thing as when first planted some twelve 
 centuries asro." 
 
 11. Statistics of Asiatic Turkey and Arabia. 
 
 Areas and Populations. 
 
 
 Vilayets and 
 
 
 
 Ana in 
 
 Population 1 
 
 Mutessarifats. sq. miles. 
 
 (1885 94) 
 
 
 r Ismid .... 4,296 
 
 246,824 
 
 
 Brussa 
 
 
 
 •j<;.248 
 
 1,300,000 
 
 
 Bigha 
 
 
 
 2,895 
 
 129,047 
 
 
 Archipelago 
 
 
 
 4,963 
 
 325,866 
 
 
 Candia 
 
 
 
 2,949 
 
 294,192 
 
 Asia Minor . 
 
 Smyrna 
 
 
 
 17,370 
 
 1,390,7S3 
 
 Castamuiri 
 
 
 
 19,300 
 
 1,009,460 
 
 
 Anghora . 
 
 
 
 32,339 
 
 892.901 
 
 
 Kunia 
 
 
 
 •"'"'. : )73 
 
 1, OSS, 100 
 
 
 Adaua 
 
 
 
 14,494 
 
 402, 139 
 
 
 Sivas 
 
 
 
 32,308 
 
 996,1 -v. 
 
 
 Trebizoml 
 
 
 
 12,082 
 
 L,047,700 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 204,618 
 
 9,123,432 
 
 i According to the tirst census of the Ottoman Empire, begun in 1885 and not yet 
 - 1 ' >compL ted. Uence some of the figures are still approximate only, while those 
 for Arabia are merely conjectural. The estimates for this region, where no trustworthy 
 data are available, differ enormously.
 
 460 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Armenia 
 
 and 
 Kurdistan 
 
 Vilayets and 
 Mutessarifats. 
 
 'Erzerum . 
 
 lamuret-ul-Aziz 
 Diarbekr . 
 Bitlis 
 
 fEl'2 
 
 Ma 
 
 - Dia. . 
 
 Bitlis 
 
 l.Yan . 
 
 Mesopo- (J 03 ? 1 . 
 
 TAMIA 1 g agdad 
 
 iasra 
 
 - na 
 (Ba 
 
 Total 
 
 Total 
 
 
 ' Aleppo 
 
 
 Zor . 
 
 Syria and 
 
 Svria 
 
 Palestine 
 
 Bevrut 
 
 
 Jerusalem 
 
 
 ^Lebanon . 
 
 Turkish fHejaz 
 Arabia \ Yemen 
 
 Total 
 
 Total 
 
 Total Asiatic Turkey 
 
 Independent/ Oman 
 
 Arabia \ Shammar, Bahrein, etc. 
 
 Area in 
 sq. miles. 
 
 29,614 
 14,614 
 1S,074 
 11.522 
 15.440 
 
 115,144 
 
 96,500 
 77,200 
 
 173,700 
 682,931 
 
 S2,000 
 500,000 
 
 Population 
 (1SS5-94). 
 645,702 
 575,:J14 
 471.462 
 388,625 
 376,297 
 
 89,264 
 
 2,457,400 
 
 29,220 
 
 300,280 
 
 54,503 
 
 850,000 
 
 16,482 
 
 200,000 
 
 100,205 
 
 1,350,280 
 
 30,304 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 3S,600 
 
 100,000 
 
 24.009 
 
 1,000.000 
 
 11.773 
 
 533,500 
 
 8,222 
 
 341,600 
 
 2,200 
 
 245,000 
 
 3,720,600 
 
 3,500,000 (?) 
 2,500,000 (?) 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 21,608,055 
 
 1,500,000 
 3,500,000 (?) 
 
 Grand Total, Asiatic Turkey and Arabia 1,264,931 27,651,712 
 
 Turkish territory ceded 1878 to Russia (Batum, Kars, etc.) 
 „ „ to England (Cyprus) . 
 
 „ „ to Persia (Kotur) 
 
 Total .... 
 
 Population. 
 
 415,000 
 
 209,000 
 
 5,000 
 
 629,000 
 
 Approximate Classification by Races and Religions. 
 
 .Moslem 1 
 22,105,000 
 
 /'Turks : Anatolia, Armenia, Syria, etc. 
 Arabs : Arabia, Mesopotamia, Syria . 
 Syrians : Syria ..... 
 Kurds : Kurdistan, Armenia, Anatolia 
 Circassians and Abkhasians : Anatolia 
 Yuruk Turkomans : Anatolia, Syria . 
 Lazis : Lazistan, Anatolia . 
 
 ^Meteollis : Syria .... 
 
 . 10,500,000 
 
 7,600,000 
 
 1,750,000 
 
 1,500.000 
 
 400,000 
 
 200,000 
 
 200,000 
 
 15,000 
 
 1 All Sunnis, except the Meteollis, who are of the Shiah sect, but with peculiar rites.
 
 Stanford* Geou . .
 
 STATISTICS OF TUEKEY IX ASIA 
 
 461 
 
 Christian 1 
 3,610,000 
 
 Sundries 
 260,000 
 
 {Greeks : Anatolia, Syria 
 Syrians : Syria ..... 
 Armenians : Armenia, Anatolia . 
 Maronites : Syria .... 
 , Nestorians : Mesopotamia, Kurdistan 
 Druses : Syria, Hauran 
 Jews : Anatolia, Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia 
 Xusairieh : Syria, Anatolia 
 Kizil-Bashis : Anatolia 
 Yezides : Anatolia, Mesopotamia 
 Isbmaelites : Syria .... 
 
 2,000 
 
 3:." 
 
 760,000 
 
 2£ 
 
 u."0,000 
 
 - 
 
 30,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 27,550,000 
 
 Towns with upwards of 4000 Inhabitants. - 
 
 Ismid 
 Mardin . 
 Riad . 
 Saida 
 Hail . 
 Kurnah . 
 Latakia . 
 Nablus . 
 Tarsus . 
 Rowandiz 
 Taif 
 
 Mokha . 
 Nazareth 
 Arabkir . 
 Van bo . 
 Acre 
 Bayazid 
 Bethhlu'in 
 Hebron . 
 Loht-ia . 
 
 
 Pop. 
 
 
 Pop. 
 
 Damascus 
 
 . 250,000 
 
 Aden 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Smyrna. 
 
 . 200,000 
 
 Aintab . 
 
 . 30,000 
 
 Bagdad . 
 
 . 145,000 
 
 Angora . 
 
 . 30,000 
 
 Aleppo . 
 
 . 200,000 
 
 Jidda . 
 
 . 30,000 
 
 Jerusalem 
 
 . 70,000 
 
 Kerbela 
 
 . 65,000 
 
 Beyrut . 
 
 . 118,000 
 
 Scutari . 
 
 . 30,000 
 
 Brussa . 
 
 . 76.000 
 
 Tripoli . 
 
 . 30,000 
 
 Erzerum 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Van 
 
 . 30,000 
 
 Kaisarieh 
 
 . 72,000 
 
 Amassia 
 
 . 25,000 
 
 Maskat . 
 
 . 25,000 
 
 Bitlis . 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Sana 
 
 . 50,000 
 
 Chios 
 
 . 25,000 
 
 Sivas 
 
 . 43,000 
 
 Hodeida 
 
 . 25,000 
 
 Adana . 
 
 . 45,000 
 
 Konia . 
 
 . 60,000 
 
 Mecca . 
 
 . 60,000 
 
 Gaza 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Mosul . 
 
 . 61,000 
 
 Hill ah . 
 
 . 20,000 
 
 Trebizond 
 
 . 35,000 
 
 Horns . 
 
 . 20,000 
 
 Diarbekr 
 
 . 34,000 
 
 Medina . 
 
 . 48,000 
 
 Manissa 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Rhodes . 
 
 . 20,000 
 
 Tokat . 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Jaffa 
 
 . 45,000 
 
 Urfa . 
 
 . 40,000 
 
 Basra . 
 
 . 15,000 
 
 Edessa . 
 
 . 35,000 
 
 
 
 p.,.. 
 
 15,000 
 15,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 10,000 
 
 9,000 
 
 8,000 
 
 7,000 
 
 6,i 
 
 6,000 
 5,000 
 
 5,000 
 5,000 
 5,000 
 
 i Of these about 800,000 are " Uniates "—that is, in union with the Church of Rome. 
 2 These figures are mostly approximative.
 
 CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 PERSIA 
 
 1. Boundaries — Extent — Area — Iranian Plateau — 
 Coast-line — Islands. 
 
 East of the Persian Gulf and of the Mesopotamian basin, 
 which may be regarded as its northern extension, the 
 land rises abruptly to a vast upland region, occupying 
 the whole space between the Tigris and Indus valleys. 
 From its earliest known inhabitants, the Iranian branch 
 of the Aryan race, this region has received the name of 
 the Iranian plateau. In relation to the general highland 
 system of the eastern hemisphere, it must be regarded as 
 forming the connecting link between the great central 
 and western tablelands. For it is united through the 
 Paropamisus and Hindu-Kush eastwards with the Great 
 Pamir, the focus of the Asiatic system, and through the 
 Armenian highlands westwards with the Anatolian table- 
 land, whence the uplands are continued across the iEgean 
 to the Balkan ranges and the Alps, the focus of the 
 European system. 
 
 This vast tableland, which has a total area of about 
 one million square miles, presents the form of a trapeze, 
 enclosed on the south by the Arabian Sea, on the north 
 by the Aralo-Caspian depression, eastwards by the Indus 
 valley, westwards by the Persian Gulf and Mesopotamian 
 basin. It is encircled on all sides by distinct mountain
 
 PERSIA 463 
 
 ranges, which descend everywhere abruptly to the sur- 
 rounding waters and depressions, except in the north-west, 
 where they merge in the still more elevated Kurdistan 
 and Armenian highlands. Through these the plateau 
 is supposed to be connected with the Caucasus range 
 traversing the Ponto-Caspian isthmus. But here there 
 is a deep intervening depression through which the Kur 
 (Cyrus) flows east to the Caspian, while farther west 
 the valley of the Eion (Phasis), draining to the Euxine, 
 forms a less marked line of separation between the two 
 systems. 
 
 The Iranian plateau thus forms a clear geographical 
 unit. But ethnically and politically it is a divided land. 
 Although the original home of Aryan peoples, it has for 
 acjes been the battlefield of " Iran " and " Turan " — that 
 is, of the rival Caucasic and Mongolo-Tatar races. This 
 struggle, combined with the spread of Islam in the seventh 
 century, has brought about a final rupture of the old 
 Persian Empire, which formerly gave political unity to 
 the land. The eastern section of the plateau is thus at 
 present occupied by the independent States of Afghan- 
 istan and Kelat (Baluchistan), the western by all that 
 now remains of the ancient Persian monarchy, which at 
 one time stretched from the Bosphorus to the Indus. And 
 even here the sceptre of the " king of kings " has passed 
 from the old native Persian dynasties to a house of the 
 intruding Turanian race. The usurper Nadir Shah was 
 khan of the Afshar Turki tribe, and the present ruling 
 family belongs to the rival Qajar Turki elan. 1 
 
 "Within its present limits, as laid down by various 
 treaties with Russia and Turkey, and by the Sistan-Afghan 
 Boundary Commissions of 1870 and 1905, Persia is 
 
 Bence the title of the Late Shah — 
 
 Nasr uil-din Shah Qajar 
 
 j\>-\J ili ,.^a)! -oil
 
 464 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 bounded on the north — 1st, by the Bussian territory of 
 Transcaucasia, the frontier line here following the Eiver 
 Aras (Araxes) for the greater part of its course to the 
 plain of Mogan and the Lenkoran district on the Caspian, 
 which are included in Transcaucasia ; 2nd, by the south 
 coast of the Caspian ; 3rd, by the new Bussian Trans- 
 caspian territory, formerly the Tekke Turkoman country. 
 Here the frontier has not yet been determined by the 
 Busso- Persian Boundary Commission of 1881 ; but it 
 will probably run from the south-east end of the Caspian, 
 along the Atrak Biver and Kopet-dagh, through Askabad 
 to Sarakhs on the Tajand Biver. Westwards, Persia 
 borders on Asiatic Turkey, the limits following a line 
 already laid down at p. 329. But even here the frontier 
 question, referred to an International Commission so far 
 back as 1843, is not yet finally settled, and fierce disputes 
 arise between the conterminous States as to the possession 
 of certain villages, such a dispute having occurred so 
 recently as 1889 (Curzon). On the south-west and 
 south, the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea form the natural 
 limits, but towards the Afghan and Baluchistan frontiers 
 the frontier had long remained uncertain, until it was 
 finally settled by the Perso-Sistan Boundary Commis- 
 sion of 1903-5. Here the dividing-line which, as laid 
 down by Sir F. Goldsmid in 1872, had divided Sistan 
 between Persia and Afghanistan along the main bed of 
 the lower Helmand, was disturbed by the sudden 
 shifting of that river in 1896 westwards to the 
 Bud-i-Bariun. The doubts and disputes thus caused 
 were partly settled by Sir H. M'Mahon, who drew a 
 conventional line from Band-i-Sistan through the Tara- 
 kum-Bamrud area from Siah-Kuh to Koh-i-Malik-Siah, 
 thus leaving the whole of the great Hamun, that is, 
 the periodically flooded deltaic basin of the Helmand, 
 entirely to Bersia. The boundary line is continued
 
 PERSIA 405 
 
 south to Gwattar on the coast near the little river 
 Dasht, and extended north through Zultikar to Sarakhs, 
 on the Russo-Persian frontier. Thus more than half 
 of the Iranian plateau remains to Persia, which forms 
 an irregular triangular mass with a base running 
 from below Mount Ararat for about 1000 miles south- 
 east to the Gulf of Oman, and with nearly equal sides 
 of 700 miles north and east from Ararat to Sarakhs, 
 and thence to the south coast at Gwattar in 61° 30' E. 
 long. Its contour has been compared to that of a cat on 
 a footstool, and as Persia is specially famous for its cats, 
 the fitness of the resemblance cannot be denied. The 
 total area is about 628,000 square miles, with a popula- 
 tion roughly estimated (1907) at 9,500,000, or fourteen 
 to the square mile. 
 
 Notwithstanding its extensive oceanic coast -line of 
 over 900 miles from Fao to Gwattar, Persia is almost 
 destitute of islands. In the Arabian Sea scarcely a reef 
 exists, and in the Persian Gulf, besides a few rocks and 
 the small but important islands of Larak and Ormuz, 
 nothing but the Kishm group of islands claimed by the 
 Sultan of Oman. Off the Caspian coast also there is a 
 total absence of islands, and even here the little rock of 
 Ashurada in the south-east corner has been ceded to 
 Russia. The importance of Ashurada as a Russian 
 station is considerable. 
 
 2. Relief of the land: Highlands — Plains — Deserts — 
 The Kavirs. 
 
 Since the surveys of Klianikoff, Lovett, Sykes, and 
 others, between the years 1858 and 1906, our notions 
 regarding the extent, direction, and elevation of the Per- 
 sian mountain systems have been fundamentally modified, 
 
 VOL. II 2 II
 
 466 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Yet the old ideas still hold their ground in popular 
 treatises, which continue to represent the country as 
 mainly a vast sandy plain fringed on the north and west 
 by continuous escarpments. The truth is that the land 
 is almost everywhere traversed by lofty ranges to such an 
 extent that the strictly highland would seem to prevail 
 greatly over the plateau formation. Even the plains 
 themselves often stand at a considerable elevation above 
 the sea, so that the Persian tableland, taken as a whole, 
 has a mean altitude of from 3000 to 5000 feet. The 
 ranges also, which, with few exceptions, run with surpris- 
 ing regularity in the direction from north-west to south- 
 east, are far higher than was supposed, and so perfect is 
 the parallelism that it actually influences the direction of 
 the atmospheric currents in all the central and western 
 provinces. It is noteworthy that the same direction was 
 followed by the repeated shocks of earthquake felt in 
 September 1881 in the Khoi district, Azairbijan. The 
 disposition of the ranges, especially in the interior, is 
 still far from being perfectly understood; but we now 
 know that some of the ridges run for over 100 miles at 
 mean altitudes of from 8000 to 10,000, rising in some 
 places to 16,000 or 17,000 feet. The most extensive 
 and loftiest seems to be the Kuh- Dinar, 1 traversing the 
 western province of Fars, in the normal direction, at an 
 elevation of perhaps 17,000 or 18,000 feet. Although 
 still unexplored it is perfectly visible from the Persian 
 Gulf at a distance of 130 miles over intervening coast 
 ranges known to be 10,000 feet high. Yet this is about 
 the height given on many old maps to a doubtful Mount 
 Daena, assumed to be the culminating point of the Kuh- 
 Dinar. 
 
 1 Kuh or Koh ( j X) is the Persian term for mountain, as in Koh-i-Nur, 
 
 "Mountain of Light." Like the Arabic Jebel and Turki Dayh, it is 
 used also for a continuous chain.
 
 PEKSlA 
 
 46V 
 
 tan 
 
 
 THE ZAKD-KIH IN THE ItAKIITIAUl COI Mi:i. 
 
 On his journey of 1889 from Shushter across Luris 
 a total distance of about 250 miles, Mi Henrj
 
 468 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Blosse Lynch had to cross no less than ten mountain 
 ridges by passes ranging in height from over 1000 
 to 8650 feet. The highest stood farthest inland near 
 Paradomba, 54 miles south by west of Isfahan. Like 
 so many other modern travellers, Mr. Lynch was struck 
 .by the highland character of the zone between the coast 
 and the tableland of the interior. " The mountain range 
 of Southern Persia, part of the great system of Europe 
 and Asia, presents a succession of parallel ridges and 
 valleys from north-west to south-east. To reach the 
 Persian plateau from the plains of Khuzistan you cross 
 the grain of the range ; but the steep ascents are followed 
 by more gentle declivities ; each wall of rock is but a step 
 to higher levels, until, after a tedious march of about 200 
 miles, you discern the features of the open tableland at 
 an altitude of about 6000 feet above the sea" (Geo. Proc, 
 1890, p. 534). 
 
 The volcanic Damavand, highest peak of the Elburz 
 chain fringing the south coast of the Caspian, usually 
 marked 14,700 feet on the maps, has been fixed by the 
 Eussian Caspian Survey at 18,600, while Napier and 
 Wells estimate it at 19,429 feet; and Mount Savalan, 
 between Tabriz and the Caspian, has been raised also 
 by the Caspian Survey from 11,000 to 14,000 feet. 
 Damavand, however, was again reduced to 17,930 
 feet by the Swedish traveller, Sven Hedin, who reached 
 the summit in 1890. This giant of the Elburz range, 
 which had first been ascended by Sir Taylor Thomson in 
 1837, and later by Brugsch Pasha, towers to a height of 
 nearly 9000 feet above the sedimentary rocks (lias and 
 Jurassic lime and sandstone) of the adjoining parallel 
 chains. The crater, which Sven Hedin found to be of 
 elliptical form, about 1500 yards across, appears to be, if 
 not quite extinct, certainly quiescent and reduced to the 
 condition of a solfatara. Round the edge were lartje
 
 PERSIA 469 
 
 blocks of porphyry and sulphur, and the atmosphere was 
 charged with a sulphurous odour. 
 
 The Kuru-Kuh range, running south-eastwards to 
 Yazd, maintains for a long way a height of 10,000 feet, 
 and is continued towards the volcanic Kuh-i-Basman 
 (10,000 to 12,000 feet) by the snowy Kuh-Banan 
 and other lofty ridges, culminating with the Kuh-Hazar 
 (14,550 feet). South-east of this point the Kuli-i- 
 Xaushada volcano in Sarhad rises to 12,000 or 15,000 
 feet. 
 
 In the Eampur or south-eastern corner of Persia the 
 normal north-westerly direction is broken by the coast 
 ranges, which run either south-west or west and east, 
 parallel with the sea. The only other important excep- 
 tion to the general parallelism occurs in the north, where 
 the eastern section of the Elburz sweeps round the Caspian 
 in a north-easterly direction from Mount Damavand to 
 the valley of the Eiver Gurgan. 
 
 In the north-west the separate ranges merge in the 
 general highland systems of Luristan, Kurdistan, and 
 Armenia, w T here several snowy peaks fall little short of 
 15,000 feet. In the north-east the Khorasan frontier is 
 usually supposed to be separated from the Turkestan 
 depression by a continuous range running between 
 Afghanistan and the Caspian, and connecting the Hindu- 
 Kush through the Paropamisus and Ghor mountains with 
 the Elburz range. But here also the main direction is 
 south-east and north-w 7 est from the Harirud valley to the 
 Great and Little Balkans near Krasnovodsk on the 
 Caspian. >v \Thus the Kuren-dagh, 1 the Kopet-dagh, and the 
 other unsurveyed sections of the north Khurasan high- 
 lands, run, not in a continuous line, but rather at an 
 
 1 Although from 8000 to 11,000 feet high, the Kuren-dagb was s.-arcely 
 known till its rediscovery by V. Baker in 1873 (see Clouds in //<■ East, p. 
 239).
 
 470 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TKAVEL 
 
 obtuse angle with the north Afghan system, and the 
 break of continuity is well marked by the valley of the 
 Hari-rud and Tajand, giving easy access from Turkestan 
 to Herat. It follows that the northern scarp of Khorasan 
 forms an eastern continuation, not of the Elburz, but of 
 the Caucasus, a fact which has only recently been deter- 
 mined beyond doubt. 
 
 The Persian or western section of the Iranian plateau 
 has thus a mean altitude of probably not less than 5000 
 feet, with a general tendency to rise towards all the sea- 
 boards and the western and northern frontiers. Between 
 the coast ranges and the sea there are scarcely any low- 
 land or alluvial plains except those of Khuzistau at the 
 head of the Persian Gulf, and a few strips north of 
 Bushahr and east of Bundar -Abbas. On the Caspian 
 also the only alluvial tract of importance is the^delta of 
 the Safid-rud, noted for its great fertility. But in the 
 interior, besides the rich plain of the Urmia basin in the 
 extreme north-west, extensive level tracts everywhere 
 occur between the parallel ridges. Those of Isfahan and 
 Shiraz in the west maintain an altitude of about 5000 
 feet, rising south-eastwards to perhaps 6000 feet. But 
 eastwards and north-eastwards the land falls continuously 
 to tKe two great depressions of Sistan and Khorasan, 
 probably not more than 1300 or 1400 feet above sea- 
 level. Here the plains become more extensive, but also 
 more arid, the grassy valleys gradually yielding to sandy 
 and saline swamps and wastes. Eastwards a perpetual 
 struggle for the mastery seems to be going on between 
 the arable tracts and the shifting sands, which have 
 already absorbed even some towns and villages, such 
 as Phages south-east of Tehran, and which are now 
 threatening to swallow up Yazd in the very heart of the 
 country. 
 
 Still farther east the sands themselves yield to those
 
 PERSIA 471 
 
 dreary saline marshy tracts so characteristic of East 
 Persia, which are termed Kavir in the north and A 
 in the south. Here all the water from the surrounding 
 streams and from the slight rainfall is collected in the 
 depressions, where it forms a saline efflorescence with a 
 thin whitish crust, beneath which the moisture is retained 
 for a considerable time. ' Thus are produced those danger- 
 ous and impassable slimy quagmires, which in winter arc 
 covered with brine, in summer by a thick incrustation of 
 salt. 
 
 By far the most extensive of these saline wastes is 
 the Dasht-i- Kavir, or Great Salt Desert of Khorasan, 
 which, with its southern continuation the Desert of Lut 
 in Karman, occupies a great part of East Persia. The 
 northern desert, which is much more salt than the 
 southern, and apparently separated from it by a distinct 
 water-parting, is divided into two great and several minor 
 sections, drained by the Shurab, Kara-su, and other streams, 
 which unite to form the Great Kavir. There are some 
 other large formations of a similar character, north of 
 Kum, west of Yazd, and south of Khaf, while " the 
 ordinary kavirs are innumerable " (St. John). 
 
 Such is the general character of the Kavirs, at least 
 in the northern and eastern districts. But Mr. C. E. 
 Biddulph, who in 1891 traversed the western parts, 
 crossing the Darya-i-JSaniak ("Salt Sea") east of Kum 
 and Kashan, distinguishes between the ordinary saline 
 efflorescences of the Great Kavir ami the true salt de- 
 pressions. The Great Kavir, he remarks, is not accurately 
 described as the "Great Salt Desert," much of the sur- 
 face being covered with soil quite free from salt ami 
 unproductive only because of the absence of water. 
 " The saline efflorescence, known locally by the term 
 'kavir,' appears only in portions of this desert, ami then 
 not necessarily upon low ground, for its appearance is nut
 
 472 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 owing to any deposit of salt left upon the surface of the 
 ground by the evaporation of water containing salt in 
 solution which has covered it, but rather to the presence 
 of salt in the composition of the soil, which, owing to the 
 action of dew or some slight rainfall, has worked itself 
 up from below. This efflorescence is common in Sind, 
 Baluchistan, and Panjab, where it is found in places 
 covering the ground for many miles, but seldom exceed- 
 ing the thickness of a stout sheet of paper. The Darya-i- 
 Namak, on the contrary, constitutes an extensive tract of 
 hollow ground covered with an incrustation of solid salt 
 several feet in thickness in most places, and in some 
 parts it might be said of almost unknown depth, which it 
 must have taken many centuries to form " {Geo. Proc, 
 1891, p. 647). 
 
 The mean altitude of the Kavirs above the sea 
 appears to be little over 500 or 600 feet, and some 
 authorities have even asserted that parts of the Great 
 Kavir are actually at a lower level than the Caspian. 
 But where it was skirted and partly crossed by Lieu- 
 tenant Vaughan on his journey through Central Persia in 
 1889-90, the elevation is stated to be "between 1400 
 and 2400 feet." The general aspect of the great salt 
 swamp has been described in graphic language by this 
 traveller. " As we quitted the defile a sudden turn in 
 the road presented to our astonished gaze what at first 
 sight looked like a vast frozen sea, stretching away to 
 the right as far as the eye could reach in one vast 
 glistening expanse. A more careful examination proved 
 it to be nothing; more than salt formed into one immense 
 sheet of dazzling brilliancy, while here and there upon 
 its surface pools of water, showing up in the most 
 intense blue, were visible. A peculiar haze, perhaps 
 caused by evaporation, hangs over the whole scene, which, 
 though softening the features of the distant hills, does not
 
 PERSIA 173 
 
 obliterate their details. This swamp, lying at a low 
 level in the centre of the great desert, receives into its 
 bed the drainage from an immense tract of territory. All 
 the rivers flowing into it are more or less salt, and carry 
 down to it annually a great volume of water. The fierce 
 heat of the desert during the summer months causes a 
 rapid evaporation, the result being that the salt con- 
 stantly increases in proportion to the water, until at last 
 the ground becomes caked with it" (Geo. Proc, 1890, 
 p. 590). 
 
 On the road between Tehran and Kum, a little to 
 the north-west of the Darya-i-Namak, is situated the new 
 lake, which made its appearance in 1883, and of which 
 an account has been published by the late Shah of Persia. 
 In this account it is identified with a lake of Savah, 
 which is mentioned in history, but which dried up about 
 1300 years ago. Its appearance has been attributed 
 either to waters (springs ?) bubbling up in this depression, 
 or more probably to the bursting of a dyke on the left 
 bank of the Kara-Chai tributary of the Kum River. The 
 lake, which has a circuit of about 40 miles, is disposed 
 in two basins communicating through a narrow passage, 
 and its blue waters, clear and brackish, have revived the 
 tradition or legend of a great inland sea, which in pre- 
 Muhammadan times covered a great part of the Dasht-i- 
 Kavir. " There were probably a number of distinct lakes, 
 now patches, of salt desert, which are spoken of in tin- 
 popular legends of Persia as a vast sea extending from 
 Kazvin on the north to Kerman and Mekran on the 
 south, from Savah on the west to the Sistan depression 
 in the east. These legends, which I have heard al many 
 places on the confines of the desert, not only speals of a 
 great sea, but also mention ships, islands, ports, and light- 
 houses. The old tower on the hills north-east of Kazvin 
 is popularly called a lighthouse, and the village Barchin,
 
 474 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 north of Yezd, and not far from Maibud, is called an 
 old seaport arid custom-house " (General A. Houtum 
 Schindler, Geo. Proc, 1888, p. 625). 
 
 3. Hydrography : Inland and Seaward Areas of Drainage 
 — The Atrak, Karun, and Tajand Rivers. 
 
 In any case it cannot be doubted that the greater 
 part of the interior has a distinct inland drainage like 
 that of so many other Asiatic tablelands. For while the 
 average elevation of the plateau is about 5000 feet, it 
 rises to 8000 towards the Tigris valley and all the sur- 
 rounding seas. In fact, the true basin-like character not 
 only of Persia but of the whole Iranian plateau is fully 
 established by a comparison of the inland and outer areas 
 of drainage. Of this plateau about 230,000 square miles 
 drain to the Indian Oceau, and 250,000 to the Aralo- 
 Caspian depression, leaving no less than 550,000 to the 
 inland drainage. Of this area over 200,000 belong to 
 the Helmand or Sistan basin (160,000 in Afghanistan 
 and Baluchistan, 40,000 in East Persia), and the total 
 inland drainage of Persia proper has been estimated at 
 somewhat less than two -thirds of its whole area, as 
 thus : — 
 
 Square Miles. 
 
 To the Indian Ocean . . . 130,000 
 
 Aral and Caspian . . . 100,000 
 
 -r (Lake Sistan .... 50,000 
 
 J - Lake Urmia .... 20,000 
 
 ►3 [Kavirs and other depressions . 330,000 
 
 Total Area . . 630,000 
 
 The rivers draining the western and south-western 
 uplands to the Indian Ocean diminish in size from 
 north-west to south-east. Thus by far the largest are the 
 Karkhah, Karun, and Jarahi, flowing from the Kurdistan
 
 PERSIA 475 
 
 and Luristan highlands through Khuzistan and Arabistan 
 to the Shat-el-Arab at the head of the Persian Grul£ The 
 Karun, which with the Diz forms a stream navigable to 
 the first range of hills, formerly flowed direct to the sea, 
 but now sends most of its waters through an art ili cial 
 channel to the Shat-el-Arab at Mohammerah, close to 
 the mouth of the Jarahi. 
 
 Having been recently thrown open to free navigation, 
 the Karun, which is the only navigable river in Persia, 
 has acquired exceptional importance from the commercial 
 standpoint. Its upper course was crossed several times 
 by Mr. Lynch on his route from Shushter to Isfahan. 
 The Kuh-i-Eung, its farthest headstream, rises in the 
 Zendeh-Kuh range so near the Zendeh-rud, or river of 
 Isfahan, that Shah Abbas the Great attempted to connect 
 the two basins by cutting a passage between the inter- 
 vening ridge. "The course of the Karun through the 
 mountains is remarkable : where it yields to the laws of 
 nature it defies them. The point where we last crossed 
 it is nearly due east of Shushter, and about 115 miles 
 in a straight line from it. Through the whole distance 
 the range is thrown across the river's path. . . . Beyond 
 Dopulun the Karun turns to south-west, and after a long 
 bend reverses its original direction, and flows north-west 
 to the plains above Shushter. Between Dopulun and 
 Godar-i-Balutak the Karun is fed by two considerable 
 tributaries, the Ab-i-Bazuft and the Ab-i-Bors. The 
 Ab-i-Bazuft flows south-east from the district of Bazufl ; 
 the Ab-i-Bors enters the Karun on its left bank, coining 
 from Felat and Sadat, but the point of junction seems 
 only vaguely known. North of Shushter the Shur-i- 
 Labahri taints or tempera the glacier water with its salt 
 stream. The Karun during its coins.' anion- the moun- 
 tains is swift and deep; its colour, and that of the 1. lazuli 
 River, is a grass green " (loc. cit.).
 
 476 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 At Shushter, where it begins to be navigable, the 
 Karun turns sharply round to the south, and flows for 
 some 50 miles partly through the Abi-i-gargar, origin- 
 ally an artificial canal, now the chief navigable branch, 
 partly in the natural channel of the Abi-i-shateit or 
 Karun proper, to Bund-i-Kir, where it is joined on the 
 right bank by the Ab-i-diz, or river of Dizful, descending 
 from the Zagros mountains in the north-west. About 45 
 miles below the confluence the main stream is obstructed 
 by the Ahwaz rapids, formed by several red sandstone 
 reefs projecting right across the channel. " Of these 
 reefs five are distinctly perceptible in low water ; and it 
 is the water eddying above their summits, or tearing 
 between the gaps by which they are separated, that con- 
 stitutes the famous rapids of Ahwaz, and creates that 
 practical barrier to continuous navigation which has 
 always impeded, and continues to impede, the mercantile 
 development of the Karun route. On the largest reef 
 are visible the massive remains of the great bund or dam 
 that was built across the river, probably in the Sassanian 
 epoch, to hold up the waters for irrigation purposes " 
 (Lord Curzon, Geo. Proc, 1890, p. 519). 
 
 Below Ahwaz the Karun, here a stately stream from 
 300 to 450 yards wide, 12 to 14 feet deep at high water, 
 and with a velocity of 4 to 5 miles an hour, bifurcates 
 some 2 miles above Mohammerah. A portion of its 
 waters continues still to flow for over 40 miles through 
 the Bahmeshir, its natural bed, to the head of the Persian 
 Gulf, a little east of and parallel with the Shat-el-Arab, 
 consequently entirely through Persian territory. But 
 most of its volume was diverted at an unknown date by 
 the artificial Haffar Canal to the Shat-el-Arab, about 40 
 miles above Fao, at the entrance to the estuary. Of the 
 two branches the Haffar, 400 to 500 yards wide and 20 
 to 30 feet deep, is alone navigable, so that all the traffic
 
 478 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Jias at present to pass through Turkish territory in order 
 to reach the interior of Persia. Turkey, apparently 
 jealous of the development of trade by this route, has 
 lately erected fortifications on the Shat-el-Arab, by which 
 the waterway may be blocked at any moment. Hence 
 the Karun can scarcely become a great highway of inter- 
 national commerce until the Bahmeshir branch is rendered 
 navigable by dredgings or embankments, and the Ahwaz 
 rapids removed by blasting or turned by a ship canal. 
 Such operations are not to be contemplated under the 
 present Persian administration. 
 
 South of the Karun follows the sluggish river Tab, 
 which has helped to form the Arabistan delta, one of the 
 most extensive and fertile alluvial plains in Persia. But 
 from this point to the Indus not a single navigable stream 
 reaches the coast. Noteworthy is the Minab, which, 
 though scarcely marked on the maps, drains all the 
 extensive plains across the hills to the north-east of 
 Bandar-Abbas. 
 
 Of those flowing to the Caspian by far the largest 
 is the Kizil-Uzun (Safid-rud, or "white river"), which 
 drains an area of 25,000 square miles east and south of 
 Lake Urmia. The opposite or south-western coast of 
 the Caspian is reached by the Gurgan and Atrak, the 
 latter of which possesses great political importance, as 
 marking the possible future Russo- Persian frontier line 
 in this direction. In the absence, perhaps, of actual 
 information, its course has been variously laid down, 
 apparently according to the political proclivities of the 
 cartographers. But it is now known to be identical 
 with the Germeh-rud (Germe Khaneh), which rises near 
 Kabushan (Kushan) on the southern slope of the Kuren- 
 dagh, 6000 feet above the sea, about 58° 50' E. long., 
 and 37° 30' 1ST. lat. It flows thence mainly north-west 
 through Shirvan and Bujnurd along the southern base
 
 PERSIA 479 
 
 of the Kuren-dagh and through the Goklan Turkoman 
 country to the Caspian at Hasan Kuli Bay. Although 
 over 300 miles long, the Atrak is scarcely more than 30 
 feet broad at its mouth, except during the spring floods, 
 when it overflows its banks to a width of 7000 or 8000 
 feet. At other times it is nearly exhausted by irrigation 
 canals and evaporation before reaching the Caspian. 
 Near Kabushan also rises the Keshef-rud, which, how- 
 ever, flows south-east past Mashhad to the left bank 
 of the Hari r rud, their junction forming the Taj a ml. 
 This river, which offers the most accessible approach 
 from Turkestan to Herat, does not end in the sands 
 near Sarakhs, as is generally supposed, but expands into 
 a swamp in the Attok country about 58° E. long. With 
 a sufficiency of moisture it would doubtless reach the 
 Caspian between the Great and Little Balkans. 
 
 The inland drainage, notwithstanding its vast extent, 
 receives no rivers of any size, and most of them become 
 brackish before losing themselves in the lakes or the 
 desert. The largest are the Aji-chai and Jaghatu, flowing 
 to lake Urmia (TJrmi) ; the already-mentioned Ivara-su 
 (Hamadan-rud) and Shurab, disappearing in the Great 
 Kavir ; the Zainda-rud, watering the Isfahan district, and 
 running dry in the unexplored salt marsh of Gavkhana : 
 the Kur (Bendamir), chief feeder of the salt lake Bakh- 
 tegan (Bichegan, or Niriz) ; lastly, the Mashkel, which 
 filters rather than flows along the Baluchistan frontier 
 northwards to the Hamun-i-Mashkel in the Karan desert, 
 which is separated by a range of hills from the shallow 
 Hamun of the Helmand. 
 
 4. Natural and Political Divisions : Irak — Sistan — 
 Khorasan — The Caspian Provinces — Urmia 
 
 From the foregoing account of its physical constitu- 
 tion, it is evident that the western section of the Iranian
 
 480 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 plateau presents two well-marked natural divisions only 
 — the central and lowland plains, and the highlands, by 
 which they are enclosed on every side except towards the 
 Helmand basin. But while the plains are mainly com- 
 prised in the two great provinces of Khorasan and 
 Karman, the uplands with the narrow intervening coast 
 strips are, for administrative purposes, subdivided into 
 nine other governments, as shown in the statistical tables 
 at the end of this chapter. 
 
 These " Memleket," as they are called, are grouped 
 round Irak-Ajemi, which forms the political centre of 
 the State. Here are situated both Isfahan and Tehran, 
 the old and new capital. Irak slopes from the Kurdi- 
 stan highlands eastwards down to the Khorasan wastes, 
 and rises northwards to the Elburz range, separating it 
 from the Caspian. Southwards it reaches to the Kuh- 
 Dinar range, thus including in its general administra- 
 tion the subordinate divisions of Ardalan, Luristan, and 
 Kashan. Here are some rich grassy plains and fertile 
 valleys, which when well watered yield excellent crops 
 of cereals and fruits. But in the east most of the land 
 is waste, and already invaded by the sands continually 
 advancing westwards. 
 
 North and south of Irak-Ajemi lie the provinces of 
 Azairbijan, Luristan, and Khuzistan, the latter including 
 the rich alluvial plain of Arabistan at the head of the 
 Persian Gulf. Along the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea 
 stretch the extensive governments of Farsistan, Karman, 
 and that portion of Makran assigned by the Baluchistan 
 Boundary Commission to Persia. These coast regions 
 consist of lofty highlands rising in terraces rapidly in- 
 land, and with their main axes running north-west and 
 south-east everywhere except in Makran, where they run 
 partly south-west and north-east, partly west and east 
 parallel with the coast.
 
 PERSIA 481 
 
 North of Makran, and almost in the very centre of 
 the Iranian plateau, lies the deep depression of Sistan, 
 since 1905 entirely included in Persia, but geographic- 
 ally belonging mainly to the Afghan drainage system. 
 It is an extensive level and low-lying tract on the 
 borders of Afghanistan, Persia, and Baluchistan, partly 
 filled by the Hamun (Sistan) Lake or swaflap, which 
 receives the Helmand, Farrah, and other large rivers from 
 the east, but only a few insignificant streams from Persia. 
 The basin does not, however, form a single expanse of 
 water, but is divided into the three depressions fed by 
 the Farrah, Helmand, and Zirreh. 1 The so-called plain 
 of Hamun is generally dry, and the presence of a large 
 lake at this spot, as marked on most maps, can be 
 explained only by supposing that in spring a few pools 
 or tarns are formed in the channels about the river 
 mouths, and occasionally united by floods in a continuous 
 sheet of water some 70 miles long by 25 broad, but 
 scarcely ever more than three or four feet deep. Its 
 margin is covered with a dense growth of reeds, tenanted 
 by numerous herds of wild hogs. The water, wrongly 
 described as brackish, is quite fresh, while its bed 
 seems to be gradually rising, owing to the mass of 
 detritus and mud brought down by its influents. Although 
 fish are scarce, it is much frequented by geese, ducks, and 
 other water-fowl. 
 
 Sir Frederic Goldsmid of the English Boundary 
 Commission distinguishes two districts in this region — 
 Sistan proper and Outer Sistan. The former, with an 
 area of perhaps 980 square miles, has a settled popula- 
 tion of 35,000, besides 10,000 nomads, — one-third 
 Persians, Baluchis, and Afghans, the rest " Sistanis." 
 The country is generally flat, with a sandy alluvial soil, 
 
 1 The Zirreh, formerly supposed to drain south to the Arabian Sea, 
 Hows, on the contrary, north to the Hamun-i- Sistan basin. 
 
 VOL. II 2 I
 
 482 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 growing shrubs, but no trees. There is no lack of 
 irrigation by means of rills and rivulets, and the land 
 is fertile, yielding melons in profusion, -besides the staple 
 products, wheat and barley, and excellent pasturage. 
 
 Outer Sistan comprises the country stretching along 
 the right bank of the Helmand some 120 miles farther 
 up, and properly forming part of Afghanistan. 
 
 The whole of the north-east is comprised in the vast 
 province of Khorasan. which was carefully explored by 
 a Russian expedition conducted by Khanikoff in 1858, 
 and since then visited by Baker, Napier, MacGregor, 
 M'Mahon, and other travellers. Its eastern section, 
 contrary to the general impression, has been found to be 
 very hilly, and the southern portion even bears the name 
 of Kuhistan, 1 or " Highlands." But between the ranges 
 there extend broad tracts of waste lands eastwards to 
 Afghanistan, westwards to Irak-Ajemi. 
 
 In this region traces are still everywhere met of 
 the abject fear formerly inspired by the neighbouring 
 Turkoman hordes, whose predatory raids the feeble 
 Persian Government was powerless to resist. But 
 this source of trouble has been removed since the 
 Russian occupation of the Attak in 1881. But so 
 great was at times the distress from hunger that it 
 got the better of the intense fear with which the 
 people regarded their hereditary i'oe. Bellew tells us 
 that the inhabitants of Mashhad crowded out of the 
 gates of the city in the hope of being seized and carried 
 into captivity by the Turkoman marauders, preferring a 
 
 1 From Kuh, mountain, and the ending stdn or istdn, so universal in 
 Persian geographical nomenclature. This ending has the general meaning 
 of country, as in Farsistan, Afghanistan, Turkestan, etc. It comes from 
 the Aryan root tan, as in the Latin tendo, with the primary idea of exten- 
 sion, whence a large open space, a plain, and land in general. In this 
 sense it has travelled with the spread of the Aryan race eastwards to 
 Hindustan, westwards to Aqui-tania, and Bri-tania.
 
 PERSIA 483 
 
 crust of bread in exile and slavery to a lingering death 
 by starvation at home. The Turkomans spared none but 
 
 the Arabs, paid no respect to sex or age, and all unable 
 to pay a sufficient ransom were carried off and publicly 
 sold in the slave-market of Khiva before its suppression by 
 the Russians in 1874. But since the Perso-Turkoman 
 has become a Perso - Eussian border-land, slave -raiding 
 has everywhere been completely suppressed. 
 
 The open country visited by Bellew was found to be 
 dotted over with a peculiar kind of tower, formed by a 
 round mud wall 14 feet high enclosing an empty space 
 open to the sky, and with a low entrance accessible 
 only on ail fours. The moment the Turkoman horse- 
 men were detected, the people took refuge with their 
 docks in these buildings, which offered them a safe if 
 • 'lnporary refuge. 
 
 The provinces of Ghilan and Mazandaran comprise 
 the wooded northern slopes of the Elburz, besides a more 
 or less extensive strip of flat alluvial coast-land between 
 that range and the Caspian. This tract, often swampy 
 and exposed to deadly fevers, and producing chiefly rice, 
 cotton, silk, and some sugar-cane, is mostly covered with 
 dense forests, like the neighbouring mountains them- 
 selves. Herein it presents a striking contrast to the 
 bare, desert, or arid regions to the south of the Elburz — 
 that is to say, to the rest of Persia, which has been 
 caustically described as a land divided into two sections 
 — a salt waste and a saltless waste. 
 
 The extreme north-west between the Caspian and 
 Turkey — that is, the "cat's head" in the general contour 
 —is comprised in the province of Azairbijan. It is 
 partly cut oh' from the Caspian by the Russian district 
 of Lenkoran, and the Russo- Persian frontier is here 
 braced by the River Aras almost from the foot of Mount 
 Ararat nearly to its junction with the Kur In this
 
 484 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 upland region, where Mount Savalan attains an altitude 
 of 15,792 feet, the great feature is the remarkable closed 
 basin of Lake Urmi (Urmia, Urumia, and other variants, 
 but properly Urmi, from the town of Urmi on its west 
 side), which has been carefully surveyed by Mr. E. T. 
 G-iinther (Geograph. Jour. Nov. 1899). The lake, now 
 4100 feet above sea level, lies in a former marine basin 
 about 20,000 square miles in extent, and has itself an 
 area of 1795 square miles, but is very shallow, with a 
 mean depth of 20 feet, and nowhere exceeding 50 feet. 
 The water is intensely saline, about three-fifths as salt as 
 that of the Dead Sea, hence is destitute of fish life, and 
 its only fauna is an Artemia, a species of crustacean 
 formerly supposed to be a jelly-fish. There is a small 
 group of rocky coraline islands 10 miles off the east 
 coast, with which they appear to have once been con- 
 nected, and the lake is fed from the east by the Aji-chai, 
 rising at Mount Savalan, and by the Jaghatu-chai and 
 other smaller streams from the south and west. Other 
 rivers rising in the district flow in three opposite 
 directions — the Safid-rud east to the Caspian, the Kara- 
 rud north to the Aras, and the Zab south-west to the 
 Tigris. The lake is subject to constant changes of level 
 both with the seasons of the year and with less regular 
 cycles. The town of Urmi has for many years been the 
 centre of a flourishing American mission. 
 
 5. Climate : Rainfall — Prevailing Winds. 
 
 The climate of Persia is on the whole continental, 
 great dryness being combined with excessive heat, and 
 in many of the uplands with extreme cold. On the 
 northern ranges snow falls as early as November, and it 
 sometimes freezes in Tehran as late as the middle of 
 March. Between these ranges and the Caspian the
 
 PERSIA 485 
 
 heat is almost tropical, with an abundance of rain, result- 
 inc in the rich and varied vegetation of Ghilan and 
 Mazandaran. The sultry and unhealthy climate of tin- 
 Persian Gulf seaboard has already been noted. That 
 of Sistan in the extreme east is also very unhealthy, 
 and subject to great extremes of temperature. 
 
 North-west and south-east winds prevail throughout 
 the year with great uniformity, their direction being 
 largely determined by the Black and Arabian Seas at 
 these two quarters, and by the remarkable parallelism of 
 the intervening mountain ranges. The atmosphere of 
 the central plateau being rarefied by the great heat of 
 the sun, the cooler currents from the Euxine and Indian 
 Oceans set in to fill up the vacuum ; and as the former 
 are the colder of the two, the north-west naturally 
 prevail over the south-west winds. On the south-west 
 coast these two currents often meet, so that a gale from 
 the north-west is often raging at Bushahr in the Persian 
 Gulf when Bandar- Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz is 
 exposed to the fury of a south-easter. As most of tin- 
 moisture is also brought from the latter quarter, it 
 follows that the prevailing winds are dry, especially as 
 the rain-clouds from the Black Sea and Caspian are 
 mostly arrested by the Armenian and Elburz highlands, 
 while much of the moisture from the Indian Ocean itself 
 is precipitated on the southern and western coast ranges. 
 Hence, excluding the Caspian basin and a few other 
 more favoured tracts, the average annual rainfall on the 
 Persian plateau is probably less than ten inches, and in 
 the eastern Kavir region and Sistan not more than half 
 that quantity. " Were it not that the lofty hills store 
 the moisture in the shape of snow, nine-tenths of Persia 
 would be the arid desert that half of it now is. As 
 it is, cultivation over the greater part of the country 
 is possible only by artificial irrigation, either by canals
 
 486 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 or by the system of wells connected by underground 
 channels called kandt or Jcariz, and peculiar to the 
 Iranian plateau " (St John). 
 
 6. Flora and Fauna : The Camel. 
 
 The results of this deficient rainfall are seen, not 
 only in the undeveloped water system, but also in the 
 vegetation, which is characterised by the absence of 
 trees and even large shrubs almost everywhere except 
 on the outer slopes of the coast ranges. The date-palm 
 flourishes along the sandy shores of the Persian Gulf, 
 but the oaks and other trees of the Bakhtiari and other 
 inner ranges are mostly stunted, and true forests are 
 found only on the northern slopes of the Elburz. Here 
 large tracts are covered with dense plantations of mag- 
 nificent timber, especially cedars, elms, oaks, the walnut, 
 beech, and the valuable box tree. Wheat and barley 
 are here cultivated to a height of several thousand feet, 
 while the lowlands yield cotton, sugar, silk, grapes, figs, 
 cherries, peaches, plums, and other fruits, in great pro- 
 fusion. Indigo, rice, tobacco, and madder are also 
 cultivated in this region, as well as in the Urmia basin, 
 and on the Isfahan and Shiraz plains, which are almost 
 the only other really fertile tracts in the whole kingdom. 
 Pasture lands are much more extensive, occupying most 
 of the elevated longitudinal valleys and slopes of the 
 parallel ranges in the west and north-east. Hence the 
 Kurdish, Lur, Farsistan, and North Khorasan highlands 
 have been held for ages by nomad pastoral tribes both 
 of Iranian and Turanian stock. The eastern low-lying 
 plains of Khorasan and Karman are almost destitute of 
 vegetation, producing little beyond sands and salt. In 
 Sistan tamarisks and dwarf mimosas are a prevailing 
 feature.
 
 PERSIA 487 
 
 Farsistan is still haunted by the Lion, while the 
 tiger, leopard, chitah (used for hunting), hyaena, wolf, 
 
 lynx, jackal, and some smaller beasts of prey, infest the 
 northern provinces skirting the Caspian seaboard. The 
 Copra cegagrus, the supposed ancestor of the domestic- 
 goat, is spread over the whole Iranian plateau, and the 
 bustard (Otis houbara), here indigenous, is hawked or 
 followed with the gun. Here also the pheasant is 
 indigenous, and the woodlands are enlivened by the 
 song of blackbird, thrush, and bulbul or Eastern nightin- 
 gale. Fish abound in the Persian Gulf and Caspian, 
 and the sturgeon fisheries of the rivers flowing to the 
 latter sea are very productive. But fresh- water fish are 
 rare, and Urmia and the other lakes are almost destitute 
 of animal life. 
 
 With the exception of the Mazandaran black cattle 
 and the familiar " Persian cat," the domestic animals 
 are mostly of inferior stock. The goats, however, of 
 Karman yield a hair equal almost to that of Kashmir, 
 while the fat-tailed sheep supplies the chief staple of 
 animal food. Its wool, also, is of good quality, and 
 either woven into fabrics of various sorts or else left 
 on the skins, which are then cut into garments much 
 affected especially by the nomad Iliat tribes. The chief 
 beast of burden is the mule — a strong, hardy, and sure- 
 footed animal, well adapted to the rude tracks in the 
 highland districts. The camel is also employed for the 
 caravan trade across the sandy plains, and there is a 
 useful breed of small horses, crossed with Arab blood 
 and noted for their speed and shapely forms. The hair 
 of the camel forms the woof and cotton the warp of 
 the camel's hair cloth for which Persia is famous. It is 
 woven very closely so as to be quite waterproof. The 
 camel is not only a very unmanageable beast, but also 
 extremely timid and scared by the least unwonted sound
 
 488 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 or sight. The jambaz, or riding camel, is, however, an 
 exception, and this breed is also noted for its speed and 
 endurance. 
 
 Lieutenant Vaughan describes the curious dumlak and 
 some other remarkable reptiles and insects of the great 
 central wilderness traversed by him in 1890. "All the 
 snakes I saw were brown, exactly resembling in colour and 
 
 the DtJMLAK (Galeodes Araneoides). 
 
 appearance a piece of dead stick. Some of them used to 
 climb bushes, and hitching their tails round a bough 
 would stick their bodies out in imitation of a withered 
 branch, and thus remain motionless for hours. My 
 servant said that they were waiting for a bird to come 
 and perch on them, when they would immediately strike 
 it. There was also a curious spider called the dumlak. 
 He had long hairy legs, formed of shell like those of a 
 crab, while his body was soft and attained the size of a
 
 PERSIA 
 
 489 
 
 walnut. They were provided with two pairs of curved 
 crab-like claws, which carried a row of teeth like a saw 
 on their inner surface. They spin no web, but run about 
 on the surface of the ground with great velocity, seizing 
 any beetles or insects which fall in their way. The 
 natives say that they are very poisonous, and that all 
 insects living in the desert are so, even though the same 
 species may be found harmless elsewhere" (loc. cit.). 
 
 7. Inhabitants : The Modern Persian. 
 
 In its ethnical constituents Persia presents a most 
 striking contrast to the Arabian peninsula. Here all 
 the inhabitants belong to one primeval stock, with 
 scarcely any intrusion of foreign elements. But in Persia 
 not only are the two fundamental Asiatic types fully 
 represented, but several distinct branches of each divide 
 the land into a number of ethnical groups presenting 
 almost as great a variety of races as is found in any 
 other part of the continent. This will be at once 
 evident from the subjoined table of the inhabitants of 
 Persia classed according to their several racial affinities : — 
 
 CAUCASIC 
 TYPE. 
 
 Tajiks (Persians). 
 
 Aryans. < 
 
 Iranic 
 Branch. 
 
 Indie 
 Branch. 
 
 Haik 
 Branch. 
 
 /-Tajiks 
 
 Kurds. 
 ■< I, ill's. 
 
 La 
 I Ba 
 
 aks or Leks. 
 
 luchis. 
 
 I ( ripsies. 
 
 \. I ;ils. 
 
 [•Armenians. 
 
 Semites. 
 
 Arabs. 
 
 .IcWS. 
 
 ( Jhaldeans (" Nestorians "). 
 
 MONGOLO-TATA1 
 TYPE. 
 
 ( Mongol | Aymaks. 
 Branch. I Eazarahs. 
 
 1 b3 
 
 Turk i 
 RANCH. 
 
 /"Turkomans. 
 \ Kizil-I; islns.
 
 490 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Nevertheless the bulk of the people still belong to 
 the old indigenous Iranian stock. These western Ir- 
 anians, or Persians proper, are everywhere throughout 
 Central Asia known exclusively as Tajiks, and in West 
 Irania as Tats, possibly a contracted form of the same 
 word. In the north and east Turan has largely en- 
 croached on Iran ; but elsewhere the old race has held 
 its ground, hemmed in between the Arabs on the west, 
 the Armenians on the north, and the Turkoman tribes 
 on the north-east and east. 
 
 In religion the Persians belong almost exclusively 
 to the Shiah sect, and often harbour feelings of rancour 
 towards their western neighbours the Sunnite Turks. 
 The Persians, often called Qajar, 1 from the tribal name 
 of the reigning dynasty, and usually recognised by the 
 kulah, or characteristic black lambskin head-dress, are 
 very extravagant in their dress, the jube, or outer gar- 
 ment, often costing from £40 to £50. On the other 
 hand, they seem to be economical in respect to under 
 linen. In fact, when judged by the Persian standard, 
 the Turk himself appears to be a model of cleanliness. 
 
 The domestic garb of the women is unattractive, the 
 smock reaching only to the hips, from which hangs a 
 short and very wide skirt. 
 
 The Persians, especially of pure blood, have readi- 
 ness of wit and persuasiveness of manner. More 
 nervous in action, more animated in conversation, and 
 of quicker apprehension, yet in their moral and mental 
 temperament they stand on a lower level than the 
 descendants of the Tatars and "White Hordes." The 
 Turk is a man of few words and serious speech, the 
 Persian is at once a fluent rhetorician and a skilful 
 sophist. He possesses more taste and a greater natural 
 sense of beauty than the Osmanli; in these respects 
 
 1 Pronounced in some districts "like our word cudgel" (St. John).
 
 PEUS1A 491 
 
 offceD betraying a strong likeness both to the Greek and 
 the Jew. And though he is apparently more fanatical 
 than the Sunnite Muhammadan, yet European ideas 
 
 ought to find more acceptance with him than under the 
 sway of the Crescent. The splendour and the power 
 of the state seem with the Turk to be bound up with 
 his religion, for " the glory of Islam is the glory of the 
 Osmanli." But not so with the Persian, whose fore- 
 fathers were Persians before the appearance of Islam, 
 and whose nationality had already acquired a recognised 
 political status ages before the days of the Prophet. 
 The Ottoman, again, is a stock-breeder, a husbandman, 
 and a soldier ; the Persian, above all, a trader and an 
 artist. And that the natives of Irania descend from an 
 ancient and long -civilised race is agreeably evident to 
 the stranger in the politeness, courteous and even re- 
 fined demeanour of the people, whether they belong to 
 the urban or rural classes. 
 
 But from the old despotic systems they have in- 
 herited the taint of cruelty. The savage sentences 
 imposed, especially for murder, theft, and political 
 offences, are carried out in a cold-blooded manner, which 
 implies that some feelings at least have long been dead- 
 ened to all sentiments of humanity. A frightful story 
 is told of a slave in Shiraz, twelve years old, who had 
 accidentally shot his master's son, and who was .sen- 
 tenced by the governor to be crucified. Here also 
 Bower witnessed the execution of eleven robbers in one 
 morning. The criminals being arranged all in a row and 
 smoking a halidn, the executioner walked up, slipped 
 their heads under his left arm, and cut their throats one 
 after the other in the most matter-of-fact way. 
 
 Mr. E. G. Browne, author of A Year' Amowjst the 
 Persians, insists on the political importance of the fact 
 that the reigning dynasty is of Turki race. "The whole
 
 492 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 history of Persia, from the legendary wars between the 
 Kiyanian kings and Afrasiyab down to the present day, 
 is the story of a struggle between the Turkish races whose 
 primitive home is in the region east of the Caspian Sea 
 and north of Khorasan, on the one hand, and the southern 
 Persians, of almost pure Aryan race, on the other. The 
 distinction is well marked even now, and the old antipathy 
 still exists, finding expression in anecdotes illustrative of 
 Turkish stupidity and dulness of wit. Ethnologically, 
 therefore, there is a marked distinction between the 
 ' people ' of the north and the people of the south — a 
 distinction which may be most readily apprehended by com- 
 paring the sullen, moody, dull-witted, fanatical, violent 
 inhabitants of Azarbaijan with the bright, versatile, clever, 
 sceptical, rather timid townsfolk of Kirman. In Fars, 
 also, good types of the Aryan Persian are met with, but 
 there is a large intermixture of Turkish tribesmen, like 
 the Kashka'is, who have migrated and settled there. 
 Indeed the intermixture has now extended very far, but 
 in general the terms ' northern ' and ' southern ' may, 
 with reservation, be taken to represent a real and signifi- 
 cant difference of type in the inhabitants of Persia. 
 Since the downfall of the Caliphate and the lapse of the 
 Arabian supremacy, the Turkish has generally been the 
 dominant race ; for in the physical world it is commonly 
 physical force which wins the day, and dull, dogged 
 courage bears down versatile and subtle wit. Thus it 
 happens to-day the Kajars rule over the kinsmen of 
 Cyrus and Shapur, as ruled in earlier days the Ghaz- 
 navids and the Seljuks. But there is no love lost between 
 the two races, as any one will admit who has taken the 
 trouble to find out what the southern peasant thinks of 
 the northern court, or how the Kajars regard the cradle 
 of Persia's ancient greatness " (A Year Amongst the 
 Persians, 1893, p. 99).
 
 PERSIA 493 
 
 8. Topography : Tehran — Kum — Isfahan — Shiran — 
 Persepolis — Mashhad — Kelat — Tabriz — Seaports. 
 
 From the outward conditions of soil and climate it 
 naturally follows that nearly all the settled population 
 and large towns are found concentrated in the western 
 provinces, where the land contracts between the Caspian 
 and Mesopotamian basin. The desert region east of the 
 53rd meridian, comprising about two-thirds of the king- 
 doin, contains scarcely any noteworthy places except 
 Mashhad, Tabbas, Yazd, and Karinan, which form so 
 many stepping-stones across the saline and sandy wastes 
 from north to south. But west of that line are situ- 
 ated not only the mediaeval and modern capitals, but 
 also the ruins of the ancient Persepolis, besides Shiraz, 
 Kasht, Kasvin, Tabriz, Bnshahr, Shustar, Karmanshah, 
 Hamadan, Kashan, and several other towns, which either 
 still are or have been important centres of trade and 
 culture during the long annals of the Persian empire. 
 
 Tehran, the present capital, lies far to the north, 
 almost at the foot of the Elburz mountains, where they 
 culminate in the majestic Damavand. From the summit 
 of this quiescent volcano the city is perfectly visible, 
 lying in the midst of an arid steppe, apparently one of 
 the most unlikely spots to form the political centre of a 
 large monarchy. Although it has been the capital since 
 the year 1788, Tehran has scarcely a respectable build- 
 ing to show except the quadrangular palace of the Shah, 
 absorbing nearly one-fourth of the enclosed space, and 
 the mansions occupied by some of the nobles and the 
 European legations. The streets are mostly narrow, 
 crooked, and badly paved, and lined with mean houses, 
 whose uninviting exterior corresponds with their miser- 
 able internal appearance and fittings. The bazaars, 
 however, contain a good show of the various artistic
 
 PERSIA 495 
 
 objects for which Persia has at all times been famous. 
 Thanks to its political importance, Tehran has consider- 
 ably increased in size of late years. The old walls, four 
 miles in circumference, have everywhere been encroached 
 upon, and the new quarters have now been enclosed by 
 an outer wall and ditch enclosing a space much larger 
 than the whole of the old town. In summer, when the 
 heat is almost intolerable, the Court, embassies, and 
 wealthy citizens retire to Gulahak and other pleasant 
 retreats on the neighbouring hills. The road to these 
 places passes the Kasr-i-Qajar, or " Palace of the Qajar," 
 which, though now seldom occupied by the Shah, stands 
 on an imposing site in the midst of beautiful grounds 
 that have been compared by Oriental fancy with those 
 of Versailles. 
 
 About 85 miles on the road from Tehran to Isfahan 
 lies the town of Kum, which is held next in sanctity to 
 Mashhad " the Holy." Here is the famous shrine of 
 Masuma Fatima, the sister of the Imam Kiza, the 
 gilded dome of which has been completed by the Shah, 
 Xasr-ud-din, and also contains the remains of ten kings 
 and 444 "saints." It is usual to visit this shrine 
 before proceeding to Mashhad or Kerbela, and Kum 
 has become a favourite spot for the interment of the 
 Faithful, whose bodies are brought hither from great 
 distances. But the town itself is mostly in ruins, of 
 its 20,000 houses not more than 6000 being at present 
 occupied. "Its streets and bazaars are deserted, and 
 dangerous from the innumerable holes and pitfalls with 
 which they abound; and its general condition provides 
 an impressive commentary on the state of absolute stag- 
 nation which seems to be one of the chief characteristics 
 of the Muhammadan religion" (Major E. Smith). 
 
 On the western border of [rak-Ajemi lies Hamadan, 
 the ancient Ecbatana, where the Jews still show the
 
 PERSIA 497 
 
 tombs of Esther and Mordocai. Farther south, the 
 apex of an isosceles triangle, whose base connects 
 Hamadan with Tehran, marks the site of Isfahan, the 
 mediaeval capital of the kingdom, and the centre of 
 Muhammadan culture in Persia. Isfahan, which was at 
 one time probably larger than any of the old or more 
 recent capitals, lies in a pleasant, well-cultivated plain, 
 almost midway between the Caspian and Persian Gulf, 
 and between Karman and the Turkish frontier south- 
 east and north-west, about 300 miles from all these 
 points, consequently in the most central habitable part 
 of the State. Notwithstanding the many calamities it 
 has suffered and the loss of prestige following the 
 removal of the seat of government northwards, it is still 
 a large place and the centre of many flourishing in- 
 dustries. It is still adorned by several magnificent 
 edifices, dating mostly from its former periods of pros- 
 perity, conspicuous amongst which are the large royal 
 palace, the Chhar Bagh, the royal mosque (Masjid-i- 
 Shah), said to be the most sumptuous in the whole 
 Muhammadan world, and the great bazaar of Shah- 
 Abbas. Under Shah- Abbas (1587-1628), who made it 
 his capital, Isfahan reached its greatest splendour, and 
 had at that time no less than 1800 caravansarais, 270 
 public baths, over 100 large mosques, and a population 
 estimated at 750,000.* Even still it ranks with the 
 foremost cities of the East, and, according to the local 
 saying, but for Lahore it would be equal to half the 
 world. It suffered severely during the famine of 1871, 
 but has since then sufficiently revived to give the 
 general impression that it must have fitly represented 
 the regal state and grandeur of modern Persia. 
 
 1 Even when captured by the Afghans under Mir Mahmud in 1722, 
 "it was esteemed the largest and most magnificent city in Asia, with 
 600,000 inhabitants " (Jonas Hanway, iii. 122). 
 
 VOL. II 2 K
 
 •498 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Shiraz, capital of Farsistan, occupies one of the most 
 favoured sites in Persia, at an elevation of 4500 feet 
 above the sea, about 220 miles south of Isfahan, and 
 120 east of Bushahr, its port on the Persian Gulf. 
 Nestling amid rose gardens, vineyards, and cypress 
 groves, Shiraz, although like Isfahan a mere shadow of 
 its former greatness, still retains a certain importance, 
 due largely to its excellent wine, in flavour like the 
 royal Hungarian Tokai, and to its rosewater and attar 
 of roses industries. Its delightful situation has been 
 the everlasting theme of the Persian poets, and the first 
 sight of its soft dark -green vegetation, above which 
 towers the lofty dome of the Shah-Cherak mosque, is 
 naturally calculated to produce some enthusiasm after 
 the traveller's eye has lighted for weeks together on 
 nothing but arid sandy wastes. The abundance of water 
 here produces a flora of tropical luxuriance, and to the 
 charms of a magnificent and varied vegetation are added 
 those of a limpid blue sky and a perennially mild atmo- 
 sphere. Unfortunately a soft climate, a fertile soil, and 
 an easy life have had an enervating effect on the 
 inhabitants. 
 
 South and east of Shiraz are the two salt lakes 
 Mahalu and Bakhtegan (Niriz), and 25 miles to the 
 north-east lie the extensive ruins of Persepolis. Con- 
 spicuous amongst them is the so-called palace of Darius, 
 said to have been destroyed by Alexander, and occupy- 
 ing a terrace 1430 by 800 feet, approached by steps cut 
 in the rock. Vast portals and sphinxes, with many still 
 standing pillars and walls covered with sculptures and 
 cuneiform inscriptions, still attest the former magnifi- 
 cence of the royal palace of the Achaemenides. 
 
 Some miles south by east of Lar, which gives its 
 name to the province of Laristan, lies the town of Bastak, 
 which, although a place of 5000 inhabitants and capital
 
 PERSIA 499 
 
 of a well-peopled district within a few marches of Lingah 
 on the Persian Gulf, was unknown to European geo- 
 graphers before its " discovery " by Lieutenant Vaughan 
 in 1890. It stands on a plain encircled by heights, from 
 which " it presents a most picturesque appearance, being 
 surrounded by green fields and large plantations of date- 
 trees. There is no bazaar, the place being decidedly 
 unsettled, and subject to occasional inroads of hostile 
 tribes. Two months ago the brother of the present khan 
 was murdered in the streets of the town while on his 
 way to the mosque to pray. The murderer was another 
 brother, who wished to become khan himself " (Lieutenant 
 Vaughan, loc. cit.). It is noteworthy that the surrounding 
 populations are not Shiah but Sunni Muhammadans. 
 
 In the north-east the only noteworthy place is 
 " Mashhad-i-mukaddas," or " Mashhad the Holy," capital 
 of Khorasan, and the religious and trading centre of 
 East Persia. Next to Mecca and Kerbela, this is the 
 most hallowed spot in the Moslem world, for here re- 
 poses under a gorgeous gilded dome their most revered 
 saint, the Imam Riza. His shrine, to which no "infidel" 
 is allowed access, is yearly visited by over 100,000 
 votaries from all parts. Although slumbering in his 
 sumptuous tomb for centuries, Eiza is still treated as if 
 he were actually living. " His shrine is enormously 
 rich, possessing land and property in all parts of Persia, 
 and attached to it is a large establishment of officials and 
 servants" (Major E. Smith). This traveller adds: "Holy 
 as Mashhad is said to be, we were struck with the great 
 amount of drunkenness prevalent there amongst the 
 followers of the Prophet." 
 
 About 50 miles north of Mashhad, and 60 west of 
 Sarakhs, in 37° K lat. and 60° E. long., lies the extra- 
 ordinary natural fortress of Kelat, about 3400 feet above 
 the sea, and close to the new Russo - Persian frontier.
 
 500 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Very little was known of this marvellous place until 
 it was visited by Colonel MacGregor and by Valentine 
 Baker, the latter of whom calls it " one of the wonders 
 of the world," describing it as a gigantic stronghold 
 formed by Nature herself, with very little aid from 
 man. "The walls are mountains of from 800 to 1200 
 feet high, and with a sheer perpendicular scarp between 
 300 and 600 feet. It is an irregular oblong about 
 21 miles long by 5 to 7 broad. There are only five 
 entrances, through narrow natural scarps, and these 
 are fortified. The ground enclosed within is very rich, 
 and it might be a perfect garden, and self-supplying. A 
 stream runs right through the place, in at the southern 
 entrance and out at the northern. There are also 
 several springs within the fortress, and an ample supply 
 of good water could thus be obtained for the cultiva- 
 tion of the whole interior. But everything about it 
 now betokens utter ruin and neglect" (Clouds in the 
 East, p. 201). Owing to this neglect, the fortress, 
 where a battalion of troops with cavalry and some guns 
 are maintained, has become so unhealthy that the gar- 
 rison is often decimated by typhus, and constantly 
 deserting its post. 
 
 Near the north-west frontier lies Tabriz (Taurus), the 
 largest city and principal commercial emporium of the 
 kingdom. It stands at the base of the high and rocky 
 Mount Sahend, about 5000 feet above the sea, and on 
 the Aji-chai, 36 miles above its entrance into Lake 
 Urmia. Tabriz, which contains no remarkable buildings 
 except the citadel, originally a mosque, over 600 years 
 old, at one time possessed a large number of khans, 
 splendid mosques, public baths, and a population of 
 550,000, now reduced to one -third of that number. 
 The neighbourhood is extremely fertile, producing large 
 quantities of magnificent grapes and other fruits.
 
 PERSIA ."ill 
 
 Of the seaports, the most noteworthy are Rasht and 
 Barfrush on the Caspian: Mohammerah od the Shat-el- 
 Arab; and Bushahr, Bandar -Abbas, and Lingah on the 
 Persian Gulf. Rasht, capital of Ghilan, stands at the 
 head of the shallow lagoon 01 backwater of Enzeli, where 
 all the shipping stops. It is a thoroughly Persian town, 
 with dirty, close streets, and very unhealthy, as is most 
 of this low-lying, swampy coast. The importance of this 
 
 t >gg 
 
 jfcHIH : 
 
 
 mm '" 
 
 FORTRESS OF TABRIZ. 
 
 flourishing seaport is in great measure due to its large 
 export trade in silk, all the raw silk of the province 
 being shipped at Rasht. 
 
 Barfrush lies at the mouth of a large sluggish stream 
 :'.00 feet broad, here crossed by a solid brick bridge. It 
 is surrounded by dense forests, is noted for its numerous 
 schools and colleges, and docs a considerable trade in 
 silk and cotton. The population, said at one time to 
 have amounted to 200,000, has now fallen to less than 
 one-fourth of that number. 
 
 Although at present a wretched place, built of mud
 
 502 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 and bricks, squalid, half-ruined and dirty, Mohammerah 
 seems destined to a prosperous future. It occupies an 
 advantageous position about a mile from the Shat-el- 
 Arab, close to the Turkish frontier on the right bank of 
 the Karun, which here joins the main stream, and which 
 was thrown open to international trade by the Anglo- 
 Persian Convention of 1888. Mohammerah must thus 
 eventually become the chief outlet for the produce of 
 West Persia ; but meantime the attempts made to 
 develop the traffic of the country by the Karun water- 
 course have not been very successful. In 1892 the 
 Bombay and Persian Gulf SS. Company had withdrawn 
 their boats, and when Mr. Cooper passed down connec- 
 tion with Ahwaz on the Upper Karun was maintained 
 only by a small steam-launch. " Persian pigheadedness 
 will probably for some time stand in the way of the 
 successful development of trade" {op. cit., p. 425). But 
 behind " Persian pigheadedness " stands the more formid- 
 able obstacle of Eussian jealousy and intrigue. 
 
 Bushahr (Bushire, Abu-Shahr), the chief port on the 
 Persian Gulf, lies 150 miles from the Euphrates delta and 
 about 120 miles west of Shiraz, from which it is separated 
 by the lofty coast range here culminating in the Kuh 
 Hormuj Peak (6500 feet). The anchorage, which is 
 of somewhat difficult access, is distant 2 miles from 
 the town, which stands on a long sandstone ridge separ- 
 ated from the mainland by a saline swamp. Bushahr is 
 a modern place, dating from the time of Nadir Shah ; 
 hence the common derivation of its name from Abu- 
 SJiair, " Father of Cities," cannot be correct (Curzon). 
 It was occupied by the British during the Persian war 
 (1856-57), and is at present the chief emporium of the 
 British and Indian trade with the southern provinces ; 
 but although presenting a pleasant appearance from a 
 distance, a nearer approach reveals the usual uninviting
 
 PERSIA 503 
 
 features of Persian towns. From this point to the Indus 
 the only port of the least importance is Bundar- Abbas, a 
 small place facing the island of Kislmi in Hormuz Strait. 
 It is inhabited chiefly by Arabs, who carry on a consider- 
 able coasting trade in fish, salt, and fruits ; but the heat 
 is so intense that the place is almost deserted in summer. 
 The Sultan of Oman has long claimed jurisdiction over 
 Bundar- Abbas and the neighbouring strip of coast and 
 adjacent island of Kishm. 
 
 Bundar- Abbas has inherited some of the trade, but 
 none of the splendour of the remarkable island of Ormuz 
 (Hormuz), which gives its name to the strait, and which 
 in the seventeenth century had a population of 40,000, 
 now reduced to less than 500. At that time Sir Thomas 
 Herbert (quoted by Curzon) speaks of its "houses furnished 
 with gilded leather, and India and China rarities. Buzzar 
 [bazaar] rich and beautiful, splendid churches [Portu- 
 guese], and castle regularly and strongly fortified " {Persia 
 and the Persian Question). The remains of water reser- 
 voirs, mosques, and numerous other structures are still 
 visible, and excite the astonishment of travellers in an 
 arid island now destitute of vegetation and fresh water, 
 and containing nothing but salt, sulphur, and iron ores. 
 Eock salt and sulphur peaks are visible from the coast, 
 and there are several volcanic cones, besides a remark- 
 able natural curiosity, " a broad stream of water flowing 
 to the sea covered with a dazzling crust of salt, and in 
 the centre, but not mixing with it, a blood-red streamlet 
 tinged with iron ore. A Portuguese fort and lighthouse 
 still exist, the former said to be a wonderful construction 
 of dressed stone" (H. S. Cooper, p. 451). After their 
 expulsion from Persia, the Parsees sojourned some 
 time on Ormuz Island in the eighth century, before 
 finally taking refuge in India from their Muhammadan 
 persecutors.
 
 504 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGEAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 9. Highways of Communication. 
 
 In Persia there are one or two good roads of short 
 length — as, for instance, that which runs from Tehran 
 for a few miles to the villas and villages on the southern 
 slope of the Elburz. But all the rest are mere caravan 
 tracks or bridle-paths, whose character depends more on 
 the nature of the land than on the hand of man. The 
 wretched state of these routes is the universal theme of 
 travellers, who are more surprised to find any attempts 
 at repairs than disappointed at the universal neglect. 
 " The absence of roads is the curse of the country. The 
 whole traffic is carried on by mules on the mountains, 
 and camels on the plains, no wheeled carriages existing " 
 (Baker's Clouds in the East). 
 
 The main highways, such as they are, run in all 
 directions, and even across most of the kavirs between 
 all the large towns and the Eusso- Turkish frontiers. 
 Towards Afghanistan and Baluchistan there seem to be 
 scarcely any recognised tracks, and those that formerly 
 existed have been mostly closed and lost through political 
 jealousies. A Persian army could no doubt again find 
 its way from Mashhad to Herat ; but for much of the 
 way the route for baggage and artillery would have to be 
 rebuilt. The English Boundary Commission of 1870, 
 coming up from the coast to Sistan, was often guided more 
 by compass and the stars than by any perceptible paths, 
 and it would probably be impossible to get from Yazd 
 or Karman direct to the Helmand basin. Here the best 
 track, starting from the Hamun swamp, seems to run 
 through Birjand and Kaian, or more to the west through 
 Tun northwards to Mashhad, south-westwards across the 
 Sarhad country to Bam, where it strikes the path running 
 from Bampur north-westwards to Karman, and so on 
 through Yazd, Agda, and Nam to Isfahan, and thence
 
 PERSIA 505 
 
 through Kashan and Kurn northwards to Tehran. Here 
 it would meet the northern route continued from Mash- 
 had through Sabzawar, Shahrud, Damghan, and Samnau, 
 thus completing the circuit of East Persia. A pilgrims' 
 route from Mashhad to Yazd and Isfahan follows the 
 watershed between the northern and southern deserts, the 
 chief stations being Tun, Tabas, and Gustan, with a branch 
 at Tabas, passing direct either through Ardakan or Xain 
 to Isfahan. The two capitals are connected by trade 
 routes, with Bushahr and Bandar- Abbas on the Persian 
 Gulf, with Easht and Enzeli on the Caspian, and through 
 Tabriz and Erzerum, with Trebizond on the Euxine. 
 
 After the Shah Nasr-ud-din's return from Europe in 
 1875 an extensive railway scheme was projected, which 
 began and ended with a line 6 miles long opened in 1888 
 from Teheran to Abdul Azim. But a tolerably complete 
 telegraphic system has been developed under the direction 
 of Sir F. Goldsmid, by which Persia is brought into direct 
 communication with the rest of the world. The lines are 
 laid down in duplicate, one ashore and one submarine, 
 from Karachi, Indus delta, along the coast to Jashak, 
 whence both are submarine to Bushahr. Here they 
 bifurcate, one branch running through Shiraz, Isfahan, 
 Tehran, and Tabriz, to the Bussian system at Tiflis, the 
 other crossing the Gulf to Fao, and thence running 
 through Bagdad, Diarbekr, and Constantinople, to the 
 various Western systems. 
 
 10. Administration: The National Council — Army — 
 Education. 
 
 Persia, ruled by the Shah-in-Shah (King of Kings), 
 had always been an absolute monarchy throughout 
 historic times till the year 1906, when a National 
 Council (Majlis-i-Shora-i-Milli) was for the first time 
 established. The number of members was for the present
 
 506 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGKAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 fixed at 156 (60 for Tehran and 96 for the provinces), 
 eligible for two years by members of the reigning 
 dynasty, clergy, nobles, landowners, merchants, and 
 tradesmen. Their number may eventually be increased 
 to 200 ; and there is also to be a Senate of 60 members, 
 30 to be appointed by the Shah, and 30 to be elected 
 on behalf of the National Council. Provision is further 
 made for procedure in case of differences between the 
 two Chambers, and for a cabinet composed of eight to 
 carry on the executive government. The kingdom is 
 divided into 33 provinces under governors-general, who 
 are directly responsible to the Central Government. 
 Rural and town councils are also to be created, and at 
 these municipal elections all subjects will have a right 
 to vote. The reigning Shah, Mohammad Ali, who 
 succeeded his father, Muzaffar-ed-din in 1907, receives a 
 civil list of £100,000, and the succession is secured to 
 his eldest son or next male heir whose mother was a 
 Qajar princess. The sudden introduction of representative 
 institutions was for a time followed by much political 
 and social unrest, friction between the National Council 
 and the Crown, court intrigues, murder of high officials, 
 Kurdish raids, anarchy in the provinces, and other 
 disorders. In June 1908 the Shah effected a coup d'dtat, 
 wrecking the Parliament Buildings, hanging twelve of its 
 members, and dismissing the rest to reassemble in three 
 months, presumably under greatly modified conditions. 
 
 By the Anglo-Russian Convention of August 1907 
 (see p. 49) Great Britain and Russia agree to limit their 
 respective spheres of influence in Persia to the provinces 
 adjoining the Russian frontier in the north, and the British 
 frontier in the south. The British line runs from Kasr-i- 
 Shirin through Isfahan, Yezd, and Kakhk to the Afghan 
 frontier above Herat, and Russia agrees to recognise 
 the British sphere marked off by a line running from the
 
 PERSIA 507 
 
 Afghan frontier through Birjand and Karman to Bunder 
 Abbas on the coast. Both powers recognise the inde- 
 pendence of Persia, as they do that of Afghanistan and 
 Tibet in the two other sections of the Convention. 
 
 The nominal strength of the army is 105,000 men, 
 of whom perhaps not more than one-third are ever under 
 arms at a time. The rest form a sort of reserve, which, 
 though mostly unarmed and engaged in husbandry, are 
 liable to be called out at any moment. Their arms con- 
 sist of old English or French muskets, supplemented by 
 a few thousands of home make, and perhaps a hundred 
 available guns of small calibre, with a few Uchatius rifled 
 cannon introduced in 1881. The officers are mostly 
 ignorant and untrained, while the men, with their shabby 
 and tattered uniforms, look more like half-starved mendi- 
 cants or highwaymen than guardians of the peace. They 
 are drilled after the English fashion, but in a very lax 
 way, and are seldom regularly paid. But their physique, 
 being drawn almost exclusively from the hardy Turko- 
 man, Kurd, and Luri tribes of Azairbijan, Kurdistan, and 
 the Bakhtiari highlands, is magnificent. 
 
 Public instruction, which had hitherto been mainly con- 
 fined to religious teaching, is at present being thoroughly 
 revised and improved. The nucleus of a university was 
 formed in 1881 in Isfahan, and there are numerous 
 colleges in which instruction is given in the Oriental and 
 European languages, besides various branches of art and 
 science, mostly under European supervision. 
 
 11. Statistics — Areas and Populations. 
 
 Various Estimates. 
 
 
 Area in sq. miles. 
 
 Population 
 
 Wagner . 
 
 637,000 
 
 6,000,000 
 
 Ritter 
 
 045,000 
 
 5,500,000 
 
 Almanac de Gotha . 
 
 660,000 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 St. John . 
 
 610,000 
 
 10,000,000 
 
 Dickson (1885) 
 
 <;ii0,000 
 
 7,653,000
 
 508 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 According to an estimate based on the statistics of 
 the Persian Home Office, and on the observations of 
 travellers, the population exceeded 7,650,000 in 1881, 
 and was estimated in 1907 at about 9,500,000, dis- 
 tributed between the urban, rural, and nomad elements 
 as under : — 
 
 Town residents 
 
 Village residents (peasantry") 
 
 Nomad tribes 
 
 2,500,000 
 5,000,000 
 2,000,000 
 
 9,500,000 
 
 Approximate Classification by Races and Religions. 
 
 Moslem, 
 mostly 
 Shiahs, 
 
 6,770,000 
 
 Christians, 
 175,000 
 
 Iranians. 
 Tajiks and Tats (Persians), all the Towns and 
 
 Agricultural Districts 5,000,000 
 
 Kurds proper, Persian Kurdistan . . . 300,000 
 
 Mikri Kurds, Azairbijan .... 50,000 
 
 Shadilu and other Kurds, N. Khorasan ranges 50,000 
 
 Luri proper, Luristan ..... 370,000 
 
 Bakhtiari Luri, Pish-i-Kuli ... 250,000 
 
 Laks or Leks, 1 Fars, Irak, Mazandarau . . 100, 000 
 
 Makrani Baluchis ) M k g . Karman 1Qom 
 Sistani Baluchis ) 
 
 Tatars. 
 Turki Iliats, Irak, Khorasan, etc. . . . 500,000 
 Turkomans (Goklans, etc.), Mazandaran, Astra- 
 bad 50,000 
 
 Mongols. 
 
 Taemuri Ayniaks, 2 South and East Khorasan 250,000 
 
 Hazarahs, 2 towards Herat frontier . . . 50,000 
 
 Semites and Sundries. 
 
 ,. Arabs, 3 Arabistan, Fars, Laristan, etc. . . 350,000 
 
 Armenians, Isfahan, Tehran, Urmia . . 150,000 
 
 Chaldeans (" Nestorians "), Urmia . . . 25,000 
 
 1 Many of tlie Laks, known as "Nasari"and " Ali-Ilahi," reject the Prophet, hence 
 are not regarded as true " Believers." 
 
 2 All Sunnis, although the Hazarahs of Afghanistan are Shiahs. 
 
 3 Many of these Arabs have become Shiahs, and are in other respects also assimi- 
 lated to the Persians.
 
 PERSIA 
 
 509 
 
 Sundries, 
 53,000 
 
 /'Jews, the large towns 
 I Kizil-Bashis, Khorasan, Karman 
 1 Ghebrs, 1 chiefly Yazd 
 V. Gipsies and Jats, Karman, Irak, etc. 
 
 Total 
 
 16,000 
 
 12,000 
 
 7,000 
 
 ? 20,000 
 
 7,650,000 
 
 Approximate Areas and Populations of the Memleket (Provinces). 
 
 
 
 Area in sq. miles. 
 
 Population. 
 
 
 fAstrabad 
 
 10,000 
 
 250,000 
 
 North . 
 
 J Mazandaran . 
 
 8,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 • JGhilan .... 
 
 6.000 
 
 600,000 
 
 
 VAzairbijan 
 
 35,000 
 
 1,700,000 
 
 
 I'Irak-Ajemi . 
 1 Ardelan 
 . -| Khuzistan 
 
 115,000 
 
 1,800,000 
 
 
 6,000 
 
 200,000 
 
 West . 
 
 30,000 
 
 800,000 
 
 
 1 Luristan 
 VFarsistan 
 
 30,000 
 
 400,000 
 
 
 60,000 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 
 (Laristan 
 . - Karman, with Kohistan, Mak 
 [ ran, and Sistan . 
 
 20,000 
 
 120,000 
 
 South . 
 
 
 
 
 150,000 
 
 820,000 
 
 East . 
 
 Khorasan 
 
 140,000 
 
 960,000 
 
 Total 
 
 610,000 
 
 9,650,000 
 
 Towns with upwards of 10,000 Inhabitants. 
 
 
 
 
 Pop. 
 
 
 
 Pop. 
 
 Tehran . . . 280,000 
 
 Kashan 
 
 . 
 
 Tabriz . 
 
 
 
 200,000 
 
 Dizful . 
 
 
 25,000 
 
 Isfahan 
 
 
 
 80,000 
 
 Khoi . 
 
 
 25,000 
 
 Mashhad 
 
 
 
 60,000 
 
 Zenjan 
 
 
 24,000 
 
 Barfrush 
 
 
 
 50,000 
 
 Shuster 
 
 
 20,000 
 
 Karman 
 
 
 
 60,000 
 
 Burujird 
 
 
 20,000 
 
 Yazd . 
 
 
 
 45,000 
 
 Kum . 
 
 
 30,000 
 
 Urmi . 
 
 
 
 40,000 
 
 Bandar-Abbas 
 
 
 20,000 
 
 Rasht . 
 
 
 
 40,000 
 
 Sari 
 
 
 15.000 
 
 Kazvin 
 
 
 
 40,000 
 
 Mohammerah 
 
 
 15,000 
 
 Hamadan 
 
 
 
 30,000 
 
 Nishapur 
 
 
 11,000 
 
 Karmanshah 
 
 
 30,000 
 
 Bushahr 
 
 
 10,500 
 
 Shiraz . 
 
 
 50,000 
 
 Astrabad 
 
 
 10,000 
 
 Revenue (1907). 
 
 
 Income. Expenditure. 
 
 Debt (1907). 
 
 £1,700,000 £1,700,000 
 
 £3,250,000 
 
 1 Descendants of the old Persian Zoroastrians. Their numbers have been greatly 
 over-estimated. Blackie gives 40,000 ; but in the town and district of Yazd, when 
 they are chiefly concentrated, Major E. Smith found they had dwindled to 3S00 in 1S71. 
 They are easily recognised by a uniform turban of a drab or dust colour.
 
 510 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Trade (1906). 
 
 Imports.* 
 £6,441,000 
 
 Exports.2 
 £4,886,000 
 
 Post Offices . 
 
 Letters forwarded \ , n _„«.„,,_, N 
 
 Receipts j (no returns) 
 
 Postal Service (1907) 
 140 
 
 Telegraph Offices . . 131 
 
 ,, Lines, miles . ' 6,312 
 
 Wires, ,, . 10,754 
 Despatches (no returns) 
 
 Distances in English Miles. 
 
 Tehran to Kum . 
 
 87 
 
 Kum to Isfahan . 
 
 158 
 
 Isfahan to Yazd . 
 
 191 
 
 Yazd to Karnian . 
 
 219 
 
 Kannan to Bam . 
 
 136 
 
 Bam to Bampur . 
 
 242 
 
 Bampur to Gwadar 
 
 220 
 
 Bushahr to Shiraz 
 
 120 
 
 Rasht to Tehran 
 Tabriz to Tehran 
 Mashhad to Tehran 
 Mashhad to Sistan 
 Sistan to Karman 
 Sistan (Nasirabad) to Bam 
 Bam to Bandar-Abbas 
 Shiraz to Isfahan 
 
 ISO 
 360 
 558 
 582 
 360 
 246 
 248 
 220 
 
 i Chief imports — Cottons and other woven goods, hardware, glass, paper, metals, 
 tea, sugar. 
 
 2 Chief exports — Silk, tobacco, skins, carpets, rugs, opium, gums, rice, dried fruits, 
 pearls, cotton, wool. Trade mainly with England, India, and Russia.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Aared, 408, 443 
 Abana river, 373 
 Abbotabad, 70 
 Abdul. Azim, 505 
 Ab-i-Bazuft river, 475 
 Ab-i-B6rs river, 475 
 Ab-i-diz river, 476 
 Abi-i-gargar viver, 476 
 Abi-i-shateit river, 476 
 Abistada lagoou, 11 
 Abors, 153, 263 
 Abu mountaiu, 81, 125 
 Abii-Shahr, 502 
 Acre, 381, 396 
 
 bay, 381 
 Adalia, 309 
 Adam's Bridge, 80, 121, 127 
 
 peak, 127 
 Adana, 309, 324, 327 
 Adelphe mountain, 312 
 Aden, 407, 420, 445 
 Aeng pass, 214 
 Afghanistan, 2, 22 
 Afghan Turkestan, 2, 15 
 Afghans, 28, 29 
 Afiun-Karahissar, 324, 327 
 Afridi hills, 46 
 Afshtars, 322 
 Agda, 504 
 
 Agha-dagh mountains, 302 
 Aghil Dawan pass, 65, 71 
 
 mountains, 71 
 Aghri-dagh mountains, 331 
 Agra, 167 
 Ahmadabad, 186 
 Ahmaduagar, 180 
 Ahoms, 153 
 Ahwaz, 476 
 Aidin, 327 
 
 Aimaks, 31 
 
 Ain-Qadis, 416 
 Aintab, 381 
 Ajanta, 184 
 Aji-chai river, 500 
 Ajmir, 110 
 Ajmir-Merawa, 110 
 Ajmir-Merwara, 106, 109 
 Akaba gulf, 330, 377, 406 
 Akcha, 18 
 Ak-su river, 54 
 Akyab, 278 
 
 Ala-dagh mountains, 301, 332 
 Alakhzar, 403 
 Alaknanda river, 87 
 Alasher, 327 
 Aleppo, 328, 381, 393 
 Alexandretta, 300, 328, 396 
 Ali-musjid, 43, 46 
 Alingar river, 12, 20 
 Allahabad, 170 
 Allahband, 109 
 Along Bay, 213, 228 
 Amanus mountains, 301 
 Anianus mountain, 368 
 Amarapiira, 278 
 Amarkantak, 78 
 Amarkantale, 78 
 Amasia, 304, 327 
 Amherst, 222 
 Am-mo-chu river, 104 
 Aimits.'ir, 84, 164 
 An pass, 214 
 Anah, 366 
 Anamalli liills, 80 
 \n;iini'ir cape, 300 
 Anatolia, 300 
 Ancyra, 324 
 Andaman islands, 130
 
 512 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Andkhui, 18, 34 
 
 Andreas cape, 311 
 
 Angkor Wat, 245 
 
 Angora, 309, 324 
 
 Annam, 213, 243 
 
 Annamese, 272 
 
 Anti- Lebanon, 369 
 
 Antioch lake, 381 
 
 Antiochia, 328, 374 
 
 Anti-Tarus, 301 
 
 Antiira, 387 
 
 Apaliik pass, 4 
 
 Arabah, 377 
 
 Arabia, 405 
 
 Arabian sea, 299 
 
 Arabistau, 480 
 
 Arabs, 352 
 
 Arad island, 427 
 
 Arakan, 232 
 
 Arakan-yoma mountains, 56, 214 
 
 Aralo-Caspian basin, 10 
 
 Aramaeans, 385 
 
 Ararat mountain, 299, 330, 332 
 
 Aras river, 331, 337 
 
 Aravalli hills, 125 
 
 mountains, 57, 81 
 Arbil, 358 
 Ardahan, 343 
 Ardakau, 505 
 Ard Ova, 323 
 Argaios mountain, 303 
 Arghana, 339 
 Arghand-ab river, 5, 11 
 Arghasan river, 12 
 Arisb river, 413 
 Armenia, 342 
 Armenians, 320, 346 
 Arnon river, 377 
 Arun, 20 
 Ascalon, 396 
 Ashkaman river, 12 
 Askurada, 465 
 Asia Minor, 299 
 Asi-kur mountain, 303 
 Asir, 409 
 Asirgarb, 79 
 Askoli, 66, 70 
 Asmar, 98 
 Assam, 117 
 Assamese, 152 
 Atrak river, 464 
 Attock, 84 
 Attroppeu, 271 
 Augustier peak, 124 
 
 Ava, 278 
 Aydin, 309 
 Ayuthia, 247, 281 
 Azairbijan, 480, 483 
 Aziz, 342 
 
 Baalbek, 373, 374, 402 
 Baba-Biidan mountains, 122 
 Baba, cape, 300 
 Bab-el-Mandeb, 406, 420 
 Babylon, 365 
 Backergange, 115 
 Bac-ninh, 286 
 Badakhshan, 16 
 Bafra, 305 
 Bagarathy river, 173 
 Bagche, 327 
 Bagdad, 335, 359 
 Baghelkhand, 111 
 Bagiri glacier, 77 
 Bagiri pass, 77 
 Bagrot, 67 
 Bahawalpiir, 108 
 Bahrein islands, 407, 427 
 Bahr-el-Abiad, 381 
 
 es-Safifi, 422 
 Baipur, 192 
 Bajaur, 2, 100 
 Bakhtegan lake, 498 
 Bakhtiari mountains, 467, 507 
 Bakir-chai river, 306 
 Baktra, 18, 34 
 Baktriana, 18 
 Balaghat, 125 
 Balkan mountains, 5, 469 
 Balkh, 18, 34 
 
 river, 10 
 Baltistan, 65, 70, 95 
 Baltit, 68 
 
 Baltoro glacier, 66, 95 
 Baluchis, 32 
 Baluchistan, 2, 22 
 Bam, 504 
 
 Bambanag mountains, 76 
 Bamian, 4, 47 
 Bampiir, 8, 465, 469 
 Banas river, 110 
 Bandelkhand, 111 
 Band-i-Barbari, 10, 18 
 Band-i-Sistan, 464 
 Bangalore, 122, 183 
 Bangkok, 281 
 Banipal pass, 97 
 Bara river, 2, 12
 
 INDEX 
 
 51: 
 
 Barak river, 117 
 
 Baraul river, 100 
 
 Barchin, -173 
 
 Bardes, 126 
 
 Barfrush, 501 
 
 Baroch, 93 
 
 Baroda, 124, 1S7 
 
 Baroghil pass, 3. 4, 12, 15 
 
 Bari'ii glacier, 69 
 
 Barren Island, 132 
 
 Basahar, 108 
 
 Bash an, 379 
 
 Bashgul river, 19, 20 
 
 Basora, 364 
 
 Basra, 330, 340, 364 
 
 Bassac, "J 71 
 
 Bassein, 221 
 
 Bastak, 498 
 
 Bastar, 118 
 
 Bathys river, 306 
 
 Batlis, 342 
 
 Battambang, 277. 2S3 
 
 Bayazid, 328, 339 
 
 Bedouins, 434 
 
 Behar, 112, 172 
 
 Bekaa, 370 
 
 Belad-el-Hasan, 422 
 
 Hamum, 422 
 Belgaum, 187 
 Belik river, 340 
 Bellary, 179, 180 
 Benares, 171 
 Bendamir river, 479 
 Benderkv. .". 1 
 Bengal, 93, 112 
 Berars, 118, 119 
 Bertea, 394 
 Bethlehem, 400 
 Betwa river, 87, 1 11 
 Beyrut, 387, 395 
 Bezabde, 355 
 Bhagirati river, 86, 173 
 Bhamo, 216, 219, 280 
 Bhati, 116 
 Bhaver, the, 76 
 Bhil tracts, 111 
 Bbils, 153 
 BhingwtiT river, 1 1 
 
 ■'. 112, L78 
 Bhore pass, 191 
 . 106 
 r, 71 
 Bigha, 310 
 Bijapiir, 188 
 
 VOL. II 
 
 Bijayanagar, 179 
 BikaniT tracts, 111 
 Bilin river. 220 
 Bingol-dagh mountain, 331 
 Binh Thuan, 292 
 Bir, 339 
 
 Bireh-ganga river, 87 
 Birejik, 339 
 Birjand, 504 
 Bithynia, 310 
 Bolan pass, 7, 43 
 Boli, 32S 
 Bombay, 185 
 
 presidency, 93, 124 
 Borkhut hills, 46 
 Bosdans, 322 
 Bosphorus, 303 
 Boyiiu mountain, 331 
 Brahmagiri mountains, 123 
 Brahmakunda river, 92 
 Brahmaputra river, 62, 81, 89 
 Brahiii, 28, 32 
 
 mountains, 8 
 Brussa, 308, 324 
 Buffavento mountain, 312 
 Bugni river, 106 
 Bugti, 22 
 Bujnurd, 478 
 
 Biilgar-dagh mountains, 301 
 Bulgar-leu, 327 
 Bundar-Abbas, 429, 470, 503 
 Bund-i-Kir, 476 
 Bunj, 97 
 Buuji, 5 
 Burma, 231 
 Burmese, 266 
 Bushahr, 470, 498, 502 
 Butkhak, 46 
 Buzuk Meinder river, 306 
 
 Cachar 229 
 
 e'a, 303, 324, 381, 396 
 i laicus river, 306 
 Calcutta, 173 
 Calicut, 178, 182 
 Calimere point, 121, 127 
 Cambay, gulf, 43, 93 
 Cambodia, 243, 245 
 
 river, 22- 
 ( lambodians, 272, '_'75 
 
 i ta island, 133 
 Canaan, 381 
 Cannobin, 400 
 Cantho, 292 
 
 2 L
 
 5J4 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Cappadocia, 309 
 Cardamiim mountains, 80 
 Caria, 310 
 Carrael mountain, 369 
 
 cape, 381 
 Carnatic, 120 
 Carus river, 306 
 Cassaba, 327 
 Cawnpore, 165, 169 
 Central India Agency, 111 
 Central provinces, 118 
 Ceylon, 126 
 Chagnans, 22 
 Chaldeans, 346, 351 
 Chamau, 3, 7, 35 
 Chambal river, 87, 110 
 Chanambaniali peaks. 77 
 Chandernagore, 126 
 Chang-Chenmo pass, 64, 69 
 Chang-tang-chii river. 219 
 
 Chantabiin, 214, 283 
 
 Chapar peak, 7 
 
 Charays, 275 
 
 Cheduba islands, 214 
 
 Chelek, 305 
 
 Chenab river, 81 
 
 Chctang, 90 
 
 Chiampa, 243 
 
 Chieng-kan, 241 
 
 Chigar Sarai, 20 
 
 Chilas, 19, 101 
 
 Chilka lagoon, 53 
 
 Chindwin river, 219, 229 
 
 Cliingmai, 242 
 
 Chins, 261 
 
 Chiragh Saldi pass, 65 
 
 Chitichiin, 76 
 peaks, 77 
 
 Chitral, 3, 19, 98 
 river, 5, 12 
 
 Chittagong, 230 
 
 Chogo Lungma glacier, 72 
 
 Chola mountains, 103 
 
 Choruk river, 306, 337 
 
 Choruk-su river, 300, 331 
 
 Chota-Nagpiir, 115 
 
 Christmas island, 127, 133, 29S 
 
 Ohumalarhi peak, 77 
 
 Chiimbi. 103, 104 
 
 Cilicia, 309 
 
 Cilician Gates, 303, 328 
 
 Cochin, 123 
 
 Cochin-China, 243 
 
 Cochin- Chinese mountains. 212 
 
 Cocos islands, 298 
 Ccele-Syria, 370, 373 
 Coimbatore, 192 
 Col des Aiguilles, 72 
 Colair lake, 92 
 Colombo, 128 
 Comoriu, cape, 53, 80, 121 
 Coroniandel, 93, 120 
 "Cross Ridges," 215 
 Crystal peak, 70 
 Ctesiphon, 365 
 Cydnus river, 306 
 Cyprus, 310, 311 
 
 Dacca, 173 
 
 Daena mountain, 466 
 
 Dakhna, 409 
 
 Dakka, Fort, 2 
 
 Daman, 126 
 
 Daman-i-koh, 5 
 
 Damascus, 372, 391 
 
 Damavand mountain, 468 
 
 Damghan, 505 
 
 Dangs, 125 
 
 Daolatabad, 185 
 
 Dapsang peak, 64 
 
 Dardanelles, 306 
 
 Dari falls, 93 
 
 Darjiling, 73, 113 
 
 Darkot pass, 3, 5 
 
 Darya-i-Namak, 471 
 
 Darzat, 18 
 
 Dasht-i-Be-Daiilat, 9 
 
 Dasht-i-Chiil, 2 
 
 Dasht-i-Kavir, 471 
 
 Dasht river, 14 
 
 Dasuri pass, 81 
 
 Dead Sea, 373, 376 
 
 Deccan, 92 
 
 Dehas-riid river, 10 
 
 Delhi, 165 
 
 Deraa, 403 
 
 Derajat, 108 
 
 Derat, 403 
 
 Dereyah, 443, 448 
 
 Devrezchai, 305 
 
 Dhamar, 418 
 
 Dharwar, 187 
 
 Dhaiili Ganga, 77 
 
 Dhawalgiri mountain, 76 
 
 Dhor-el-Khodih mountain, 370 
 
 Dhupgarh, 78 
 
 Diarbekr, 328, 339, 355 
 
 Dibong river, 91
 
 INDEX 
 
 515 
 
 Dilions river. S9, 90 
 
 Dir, &S 
 
 Dili, 126 
 
 Dizfiil, 476 
 
 Dobandi, 47 
 
 Dodabetta peak. 80 
 
 Dong Phva Phai mountains, 290, 292 
 
 Don-nai river, 213. 221 
 
 Dora pass, 3, 15, 65 
 
 Dori river, 11 
 
 Dosen, 106 
 
 Dravidians, 140 
 
 Druses, 388 
 
 Duars, 106 
 
 Dumar, 402 
 
 Duniel island, 233 
 
 Dunagiri peak. 77 
 
 Diingarpur, 111 
 
 Eastern Bengal and Assam province, 
 
 106 
 "Eastern Ghats," 63 
 Ebal mountain, 383, 397 
 Ecbatana, 495 
 Echmiadzin, 353 
 Edom, 415 
 Edremid gulf, 303 
 Egerdir lake, 308 
 El-Akkaf, 422 
 El-Arish river, 368 
 El-Bekaa, 373 
 EHbiirz mountains, 468 
 Ek-phanta island, 185 
 
 islands, 233 
 El-Ghor, 368, 369, 373 
 El-Hamad, 408 
 El-IIdsa, 409, 426 
 El-Hejas, 409, 416 
 El-Huleli lake, 374 
 El-Jebel, 379 
 Ellora, 184 
 Elmadaghchai, 305 
 Emessa, 374, 393 
 English, the, of India, 158 
 Enzeli lagoon, 501 
 Epiphania, 374 
 Erd6sh-dagh mountains, 333 
 
 Ergish-dagh mountain, 303 
 Eriha, 400 
 Brzerdm, 327, 353 
 Erzinghan, 328 
 Bsdraelon, :;-:; 
 Eski-Sbehir, 327 
 
 K-ki-Turks, 323 
 
 3 bkah marsh, 377 
 Et-Tih desert, 41 1 
 Euphrates river, ^29, 338 
 Eurasians, 158 
 Everest, Mount, 64, 73, 76 
 
 Faifo, 285 
 
 1 'a- 1 si-long bay, 22S 
 
 Faizabad, 17 
 
 Famagiista, 313, 314 
 
 Fao, 476 
 
 Farrah-nid river, 11, 481 
 
 Fars, 466 
 
 Farsan island, 406 
 
 Farsistan, 4S0 
 
 Felujah, 403 
 
 Find'iik, 339 
 
 Flat Rock, 133 
 
 Fort William, 173 
 
 French Cochin-China, 248 
 
 Gakpo river, 91 
 Gaiacia, 310 
 Galchas, 28 
 Galilee, 3S2 
 
 lake, 374 
 Gamala, 404 
 Gandak river, 87 
 Gandamak, 42 
 Ganges delta, S2, 88 
 
 river, 86 
 Gangri mountains, 64 
 Gap, the, 80 
 Garhwal, 76, 94, 101 
 Garo, 117 
 Garos, 153 
 
 ( ;auri-sankar mountain, 76 
 Gavkhana, 479 
 Gaza, 370, 401 
 Gediz-chai river, 306 
 Gennesareth lake, 374 
 Gerizim mountain, 383, 397 
 i rermansir, 429 
 (lenueh-rud river, 478 
 Geulek-Boghaz, 303 
 (ihats mountains, 55, 79 
 Chazir, 387 
 Ghazni, 5, 11, 40 
 Ghilan, 483 
 ( Ihii'ik-su river, 306 
 Ghnr, 11, 469 
 Gh6rband, 5, 45 
 
 river, 12
 
 516 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Ghorian, 10 
 Gkulgulch, 17 
 Ghurian, 464 
 Ghiirkas, 150 
 
 Ghusherbnini peaks, 65, 72 
 Gia-la-Sindong, 91 
 Gilgit, 3, 67, 100 
 
 river, 5, 12, 67 
 Giliad, 372, 375 
 Girishk, 11, 38 
 Girth i valley, 76 
 Gishin, 423 
 Goa, 126 
 
 Godavari river, 92 
 Godwin-Austen peak, 64, 71 
 Gof, 422 
 Gogra river, 87 
 Gohna, 87 
 Golconda, 120, 184 
 Gonial pass, 6, 47 
 
 river, 3, 6, 12 
 Gonds, 154 
 Gondwanaland, 56 
 Granicus river, 306 
 Great Kavir, 471 
 
 Pamir, 54, 64 
 
 zab river, 333 
 Greeks, 320 
 Giidada river, 107 
 Gudyar Tal lake, 87 
 Gujarat, 124, 187 
 Gumti river, 87 
 Gun, 505 
 
 Gunong Kerban mountain, 249 
 Gunong Tahan, 250 
 Gurdesh pass, 19 
 Giirgan river, 478 
 Giirla mountain, 90 
 Gurzivan, 18 
 Gusberbrum Cone, 66 
 Giistan, 505 
 Gwaja pass, 7, 44 
 Gwalari pass, 47 
 Gwalior, 112, 178 
 Gwattar, 464 
 
 bay, 14 
 
 Hadd cape, 429 
 Hadramaut, 409, 420 
 Hafl'ar canal, 476 
 Haidarabad (Sind), 165 
 
 (Deccan), 184 
 Haifa, 403 
 Hail, 410, 442 
 
 Haiphong, 286 
 
 Haji Hamza, 305 
 
 Hajipur, 173 
 
 Hakhiari, 350 
 
 Hala mountains, S 
 
 Halaim mountain, 372 
 
 Halys river, 304 
 
 Hama, 403 
 
 Hamadan, 495 
 
 Hamadan-rud, 479 
 
 Hamadieh. 327 
 
 Hamah, 374, 393 
 
 Hamman, 403 
 
 Hamun depression, 3, 5, 10, 11 
 
 Lora. 14 
 
 i-Masbkel, 479 
 
 lake, 481 
 Hanoi, 226, 288 
 Haramosb mount. 72 
 Hardwar, 87 
 Hari-riid river, 1, 4. 10 
 Harra, 410 
 
 Harran, 327, 336, 343 
 Harriet mountain, 131 
 Hartoslii mountains, 333 
 Hariit river, 11 
 Hasan Kuli bay, 479 
 Hatu, 213 
 Haunin, 379, 404 
 Hazarajat, 11 
 Hazaras, 31 
 Hazardarakht, 47 
 Hazrat-Imam, 17 
 Hebron, 400 
 Hejas, 409 
 Heliopolis, 402 
 Helmand river, 5, 480, 481 
 Herat, 4, 35, 479 
 
 river, 10 
 Hermon mountain, 369, 372 
 Hermus river, 306 
 Ilillah, 364 
 
 Himalayas, mountains, 60, 73 
 Hindiye canal, 338 
 Hindkis, 31 
 
 Hindu-Kush mountains, 1, 3, 54 
 Hindii-R6j mountains, 5 
 Hindus, 140 
 Hindustan, 140 
 Hispar glacier, 69, 71 
 pass, 68 
 valley, 68 
 Hit, 366, 403 
 Hlaing river, 220
 
 INDEX 
 
 517 
 
 Hodeida, 418, 441 
 Hoh Lumba glacier, 72 
 Horns, 374, 393, 403 
 Hongai, 213 
 Hongzen, 226 
 Hopar glacier, 69 
 
 river. 69 
 Mora. 422 
 
 Hormiiz island, 503 
 Howra, 175 
 Hue river, 223 
 
 town, 224, 285 
 I high river, SS, 175 
 Hulcho Alchori glacier, 72 
 Bnndes, 76 
 Hunza, 5, 67, 101 
 
 peak, 68 
 
 river, 68 
 
 town, 68 
 Husn Murad, 447 
 
 Icaria island, 311 
 
 Icouium, 308 
 
 Ida mountain, 303 
 
 Id ilia river, 312 
 
 Imbros island, 310 
 
 India, 107 
 
 Indian Empire, 53 
 
 Indo- African continent, 58 
 
 Indo-China, 210 
 
 Indore, 112, 178 
 
 Indus river, 6, 82 
 
 Ineboli, 304 
 
 [njeh cape, 300 
 
 [psaria island, 311 
 
 Irak pass, 4 
 
 [rak-Ajemi, 480 
 
 [rak-Arabi, 335, 352 
 
 Iranians, 346 
 
 Irawadi delta, 220 
 
 river, 216 
 Isauria, 310 
 Isfahan, 468, 497 
 Iskanderun, 311, 396 
 Ismir, 325 
 Isnik, 325 
 Isnik-g61 lake, 308 
 Ittery, 424 
 
 Jabalpiir, 93, 176 
 Jacobabad, ti 
 Jaffa, 369, 396 
 mountains, 120 
 
 Jaganatb, 176 
 Jagdalak pass, 43 
 
 Jaghatii river, 479, IS 4 
 Jaintia, 117 
 Jaipur, 111, 178 
 Jaisulmi'r, 111 
 Jambo-Dwip, 79 
 Jammii, 94, 97 
 Jamna river, 87 
 Jarabi river, 174 
 Jarawas, 132 
 Jargo, 81 
 Jats, 151 
 Jauf, 422 
 Jebel-Kiim, 301 
 Hissar, 307 
 Hamrin, 334 
 Judi, 334, 350 
 el-Gharbi, 370 
 Nusurieh, 370 
 Makmel, 370 
 esh-Sheikh, 372 
 Usdum, 377 
 mar-Elias, 381 
 Tir, 407 
 Shammar, 408 
 Akbdar, 410, 429 
 Toweyk, 410, 443 
 Hejas, 410 
 Ethnan, 411 
 .Musa, 415 
 en-Niir, 415 
 Katharine, 415 
 Gosh, 415 
 Hamra, 421 
 Dabiira, 421 
 Aja, 443 
 Jeddah, 404 
 Jelalabad, 12, 42 
 Jericbo, 400 
 Jerusalem, 397 
 Jezireh-ibn-Omar, 355 
 Jezreel, 403 
 Jezril, 383 
 Jhansi, 111 
 Jhc'liim river, 84, 108 
 .liiind, 108 
 
 Jidda, 404, 416, 437, 448 
 Jihiin-cbai river, 30G 
 Jilpa, 78 
 J6dhpur, 111 
 Jof, 411, 443 
 Joh6r, 249, 252 
 Bahru, 255
 
 518 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Johor Lama, 254 
 
 river, 254 
 Joppa, 369, 396 
 Jordan river, 373, 374 
 Joriik river, 306 
 Judaja, 3S3 
 Judah mountains, 3S3 
 Junkseylon, 251, 2S8 
 Jyama-mi-chu river, 219 
 
 Kabul, 2, 35, 41 
 
 river, 2, 5, 11 
 Kabiilistan, 41 
 Kachal island, 133 
 Kachi desert, 7 
 Kachins, 261 
 Kades lake, 374 
 Kaf, 411, 424 
 Kafiristan, 4, 19 
 Kafirs, 20, 31 
 Kaian, 504 
 
 Kailas mountains, 64, 82, 90 
 Kaisarieh, 303, 324 
 Kakar, 3 
 Kakhk, 506 
 Kakhyens, 261 
 Kalaat Belka, 447 
 Kalaat-Jabar, 366 
 Kalabagh, 86, 108 
 Kala-Ganga river, 127 
 Kalah Panjab, 54 
 Kalani-Ganga river, 127 
 Kalantan, 243, 297 
 Kalash, 19 
 Kalat-Ambar, 366 
 Kalat-i-Ghilzai, 40 
 Kalejik, 305 
 Kalipat peak, 7 
 Kalykadnos river, 306 
 Kalymnos island, 311 
 Kamet peak, 77 
 Kanara, 120, 125 
 Kancliinjinga mountain, 76, 104 
 Kandahar, 7, 35, 3S 
 Kandar river, 3 
 
 Domandi, 3 
 Kandeish, 79 
 Kandia river, 5 
 Kandy, 12S 
 
 Kangcbenjunga mount, 76 
 Kangribingri peak, 77 
 Kanjat valley, 96 
 Kao river, 20 
 Kara-Chai river, 473 
 
 Karachi, 82, 125, 165 
 Karaia river, 47 
 Karakal, 126 
 Kara-koh hills, 18 
 Karakorum mountains, 64, 95 
 
 pass, 65 
 Karambar river, 12 
 
 Sar lake, 12 
 Karan desert, 479 
 Kara-su river, 338, 374 
 Karens, 261, 267 
 Karijah-dagh hills, 340 
 Karkacka mountains, 7, 43 
 Karkhah river, 474 
 Karman, 480, 504, 506 
 Karmanskah, 334 
 Karmez-dagh mountains, 301 
 Karnali river, 82 
 Karpathos island, 311 
 Kars, 331 
 
 Kariin river, 340, 474 
 Karwar, 125 
 Kas-dagh mountain, 303 
 Kashan, 505 
 Kashkar river, 5 
 Kashmir, 94, 97 
 Kashmirians, 148 
 Kash-rdd river, 11 
 Kasim, 408 
 Kasos island, 311 
 Kasr-i-shirin, 506 
 Kastamuni, 304, 309 
 Kataba, 418 
 Katch, 43, 124, 187 
 Katch-Gandava, 22 
 Kathiawar, 109, 124 
 Katmandu, 102. 161 
 Kattak, 80, 176 
 Kavari river, 92, 122, 180 
 Kavirs, 471 
 Kazanali, 327 
 Kazvin, 473 
 Keban-Maaden, 338 
 Kedah, 243 
 Kedron, brook, 383 
 Keeling island, 298 
 Kej, 23, 45 
 Kelat, 2, 22, 24, 43 
 
 fortress, 499 
 Ken river, 87, 111 
 Kenpu river, 91 
 Kerak, 400 
 Kerbela, 362, 448 
 Kerkesia, 340
 
 INDEX 
 
 519 
 
 Kerkur, 3">9 
 
 Kero Lungma glacier, 72 
 
 Kesbef-nid river, 10, 47'.' 
 
 Keshin, 423 
 
 Kesbish-dagb mountains, 303 
 
 . 2S6 
 Khalnir river, 335, 340 
 Khaf, 471 
 Kbaibar, 2 
 
 river, 46 
 Khainnir mountains, 78, 111 
 Khakhus. 262 
 Khamti, 261 
 
 lulls, 217 
 Khandeish, 118 
 Kharki island, 311 
 Kharpiit, 339 
 Khasi hills, 59, 91, 117 
 Khasi tribes, 153 
 Khawak pass, 4 
 Kheiber, 410 
 Kheng-mai, 281 
 Khios island. 311 
 Khmers, 2 17, 275 
 Khodavendikiar, 310 
 Kboi, 466 
 
 Khojah Aiuran mountains, 7, 4 4 
 Khojah-chai river, 306 
 Khojah-Saleh, 2 
 Khdjak pass, 7, 4 4 
 Khopa, 332 
 Khora, 327 
 Khorasan, 333, 469 
 Khorb river, 2 
 Kh6reiba, 41 - 
 Khor Maksar, 447 
 Khozdar, 8 
 Khulm, 17, 33 
 
 khanate, 18 
 Khurd-Kabul pass, 7. 42 
 Khurd-Khaibar pass, 46 
 Khiishi, 17 
 
 Khiishk-i-Nakhud, 38 
 Khiishwaktis, 100 
 Khuzistan, 468 
 Khwaja Aiuran, 7 
 Khyendwen river, 219 
 
 ; , ;.■::•, 
 
 Kiang-Kheng, 292 
 Kian^'-mai, 292 
 Kiangiir pa . 76 
 Kichu river, 90 
 Kila-Panja, 16 
 Killis, 327 
 
 Ein-lung-kiang river, 222 
 
 Kinsha-ho river, 217 
 
 Kinsha-kiang river, 223 
 
 Kinta river, 2 19 
 
 Kirrigalp6ta peak, 127 
 
 Kisgarh-Chalda pass, 7''. 
 
 Kishfin, 404 
 
 Kishm island, 42!'. 
 
 Kistna river, 92 
 
 Kiutavah, 324 
 
 Kizil-Bashis, 323 
 
 Kizil-Irmak river, 30 1 
 
 Kizil-Rabat, 54 
 
 Kizil-Uzun river, 17 s 
 
 Koang-tri, 292 
 
 Kohai lagoon, 223 
 
 K6h-i-Baba, 4, 5, 10 
 
 Koh-i-Malik Sfah, 2, 164 
 
 Kdhima, 230 
 
 K6histan, 22 
 
 Kokcha river, 10, 16 
 
 KolariaDS, 140 
 
 Kollur, 119 
 
 Konia, 306, 324, 328 
 
 Konkans, 124, 125 
 
 Kopet-dagh mountains, 464, 169 
 
 Korat, 241, 271, 283, 292 
 
 Kormakiti cape, 312 
 
 Kornah, 364 
 
 Eornos mountain, 312 
 
 Kos island, .''.11 
 
 Kotal-i-Sarwandi, 4 7 
 
 Kotas, l. r >"> 
 
 Kntur, 333 
 
 Krah isthmus, 210, 234 
 
 Krasnovodsk, 469 
 
 Krevanh hills, 214 
 
 Krishna river, 92 
 
 Kti river, 20 
 
 Kdbra mountain, ~\ ( >"' 
 
 Kudiiremiikha peal;. 122 
 
 K .ii a, 365 
 
 Banan, 469 
 Kidi-Diuar mountains, 165 
 Kuh-Hazar, 469 
 Kuli Eormuj, 502 
 Kuh-i-Basman, 469 
 Kuh-i-Naushada, 169 
 Kuh-i-Riing, 17-"' 
 Kuki. 153, 263 
 Kiilab, 17 
 Kum, 471, 495 
 Kumaon, 76 
 Kiimlong, 290
 
 520 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Kunar river, 5, 12 
 Kiind peak, 6 
 Kiinduz district, 17 
 
 river, 10 
 
 town, 17 
 Kiir river, 337 
 Kuram, 2, 46 
 
 river, 2, 5, 6, 12 
 Kurdistan, 333 
 Kurds, 322, 333, 349, 351 
 Kiiren-dagh mountains, 469 
 Kiirg, 106, 120, 121 
 Kiiria-Muria islands, 407, 447 
 Kurnah, 338, 340, 364 
 Kuru-Kuh mountains, 469 
 Kiisi river, 87 
 Kiitaieh, 324 
 Kuts river, 217 
 Kiiys, 248, 275 
 Kuyunjik, 357 
 Kwang Chau Wan, 297 
 Kwang-nai, 292 
 Kwangtri, 293 
 Kwangyen, 213 
 Kyrenian mountains, 312 
 Kythrea river, 312 
 
 Laccadive islands, 130 
 Lachdmbelkichak, 76 
 Lachish, 401 
 Ladak, 82 
 Lahej, 447 
 Lahore, 84 
 Lahori mountains, 3 
 Lakmat ash-Sliub, 447 
 Lalatpiir, 111 
 Lalpiira, 2, 43 
 Lamas river, 306 
 Landi Kotal, 2 
 Langbian, 293 
 Langson, 286 
 Langtan hills, 221 
 Lantsang river, 22 2 
 Laodicea, 395 
 Laokai, 213, 2S6 
 Laos, 270 
 Lar, 498 
 Larak, 465 
 Laristan, 498 
 Larnaca, 313 
 Lariit, 250 
 
 Latakia, 311, 384, 395 
 Lattaband pass, 17, 41 
 Lawa, 111 
 
 Lazis, 342 
 
 Lazistan, 329 
 
 Lebanon mountains, 369 
 
 Leh, 84 
 
 Leja, 379 
 
 Lemnos island, 310 
 
 Lenkoran, 483 
 
 Leontes river, 370, 373 
 
 Leros island, 311 
 
 Lesbos island, 310 
 
 Levant, the, 300 
 
 Ligor, 243 
 
 Limasol, 314 
 
 Lingah, 501 
 
 Little Tibet, 95 
 
 Logar river, 6, 7, 12 
 
 Logtak lake, 230 
 
 Loheia, 431 
 
 Lohit river, 91, 92 
 
 Lopburi, 292 
 
 Lora Hanum, 14 
 
 Lora river. 14 
 
 Lower Burma, 231 
 
 Luang-Prabang, 239, 281 
 
 Lucknow, 169 
 
 Lu-Kiang river, 91, 217, 221 
 
 Luri, 33, 507 
 
 Liiristan, 467 
 
 Lushai, 261 
 
 hills, 115, 232 
 Lut desert, 471 
 Lycaonia, 310 
 Lydia, 309 
 
 Maau, 404, 448 
 Machera mountain, 312 
 Maepherson's strait, 131 
 Madras, 178 
 
 Presidency, 93, 120 
 Madura, 180 
 Mseander river, 306 
 Mahabaleshwar peak, 79 
 Mahabalihiiran, 180 
 Mahalu lake, 498 
 Mahanadi river, 80, 82, 92 
 Maha-Oya river, 127 
 Mahavila-Ganga river, 127 
 Mahe, 126 
 Maimana, 18, 34 
 Maiwar, 111 
 Makalla, 422 
 Makran, 14, 22, 45, 480 
 Malabar, 120 
 
 hill, 186
 
 INDEX 
 
 521 
 
 Malacca, 210 
 
 strait, 251 
 Malay peninsula, 2 10 
 Maldive islands, 128 
 Manameh, 429 
 Blanar gulf, 81, 121 
 Manasar6war lakes, 70 
 Mandal pass, 19 
 Mandalay, u7 s 
 Mandali, 36C 
 Mandarins' road, 292 
 Mangalore, 183 
 Manipiir, 229 
 
 mountains, 115 
 Mansaraiir lake, 90 
 Marathas, 188 
 Mardin, 336, 340 
 Man, 22 f 
 Mariam-la, 90 
 Marmora sea, 308 
 Maronites, 388 
 Martaban, 220 
 
 gulf, 211, 220 
 Maruchak, 2 
 Marwar, 111 
 Masbhad, 482, 499 
 Mashkel river, 404, 479 
 Masila river, 423 
 Maskat, 429, 437, 443 
 Massacitus mountains, 301 
 Mastug pass, 3 ; river, 12 
 Maulmain, 222 
 Mazandaran, 483 
 Mazar-i-Sherif, 10, 18, 33 
 Mazeno pass, 101 
 Mecca, 437, 43S 
 Medina, 438, 440 
 Megna river, 81 
 Mehri, 423 
 Meinam river, 222 
 Meinder-su river, 306 
 Mc-itkila, 290 
 Mekh6ng river, 222 
 Mekran, 429 
 Melchites, 387 
 Mcngtse, 286 
 Mergiii islands, 133, 233 
 Merkera. 128 
 Mer6m lake, 373 
 Mersina, 30'.'. 327 
 Meru mount, ', 2 
 Mi loi i a, 312 
 M.-shed-Ali, 40S-448 
 M potamia, 334, 342 
 
 Mezerib, 404 
 
 Midian, 415 
 
 Milam glacier, 76 
 
 Miletus, 306 
 
 Minab river, 478 
 
 Minbya, 278 
 
 Minliia, 290 
 
 Mirut, 202 
 
 Mirzapiir, 191 
 
 Misluni, 153 
 
 M6ab, 372, 378 
 
 Moar, 252 
 
 Mogok, 236 
 
 Mohammerah, 340, 476, 502 
 
 Mokha, 416 
 
 Monglem, 236 
 
 Mons, 267 
 
 Morad-dagh mountain, 303 
 
 Moseos islands, 127, 233 
 
 Moseirali island, 429 
 
 Moshabar pass, 5 
 
 Mosul, 336, 339, 357 
 
 Moulmein, 277 
 
 Mudania, 327 
 
 Mue mountains, 9 
 
 Mugs, 267 
 
 Miila pass, 7, 8 
 
 Miiltan, 84, 165 
 
 Muongs, 272 
 
 Murad river, 332, 338 
 
 Miirgh-ab river, 2, 10 
 
 Miirshedabad, 1 ','■'< 
 
 Mush, 333 
 
 Musseyib, 338 
 
 Mustagh glacier, 66 
 
 mountains, 5, 64 
 
 new and old passes, 65, 66 
 Miitshob, 278 
 Myitkyina, 233, 290 
 Myohaung, 277 
 Mysia, 310 
 Mysore, 120, 121, 180, 183 
 
 hill, 183 
 Mytilene island, 310 
 
 V.lil,;., 108 
 
 Nablus, 397 
 Naga, 423 
 hills, 117 
 
 158, 263 
 Nagpur, 176 
 Nagyr, 67, 101 
 Nabr Esa canal, 339 
 Nain, 504
 
 522 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Nami Tal, 76 
 
 Nam-Huok river, 239 
 
 Nam-kiu river, 216 
 
 Nam-Sak river, 241 
 
 Nancowry island, 133 
 
 Nanda Devi mountains, 76, 77 
 
 Nanga-Parbat mountain. 74 
 
 Narbada river, 63, 78, 92, 119 
 
 Narcondam island, 132 
 
 Nari river, 6 
 
 Nasratabad, 48 
 
 Nawa, 404 
 
 Nazareth, 397 
 
 Nazarini, 388 
 
 Needle Ridge, 72 
 
 Nefud, 408, 447 
 
 Negapatam, 193 
 
 Negrais lake, 214 
 
 Negri Sembilan, 249 
 
 Nejd, 408, 424 
 
 Nepal, 101 
 
 Nepalese, 150 
 
 Nestorians, 342, 346 
 
 Newaris, 150 
 
 New Bagdad, 361 
 
 New Chaman, 7 
 
 Nicjea. :j25 
 
 Nicaria island, -jl 1 
 
 Nicobar islands, 131, 133 
 
 Nicosia, 314 
 
 Nieves Penitentes mountain, 73 
 
 Nilgiri mountains, 79, 80, 120 
 
 Nimrud, 35S 
 
 Nimrud-dagh mountain, 332 
 
 Nineveh, 357 
 
 Niriz lake, 479, 498 
 
 Nisibin, 366 
 
 Nisyros island, 311 
 
 Nizam's dominions, 119 
 
 Noharek island, 427 
 
 Nong-Han lagoon, 241 
 
 Nongkhai, 241 
 
 Nongson, 213, 2S5 
 
 North-West Frontier Province, 
 
 107 
 Nukrah, 379 
 Nuksan pass, 3, 4 
 Nun Kun mountains, 73 
 Niisariehs, 388 
 Nushki, 48 
 Nuwara Eliya, 127 
 
 Obeh, 10 
 Odemish, 327 
 
 106, 
 
 Olba, 307 
 
 Old Kbulm, 33 
 
 Olti, 343 
 
 Olympus mountain, 303 
 
 Oman, 409, 429, 437 
 
 gulf, 406 
 Ophir mountain, 253 
 Oprang river, 72 
 Orissa, 115 
 Ormuz, 465, 503 
 
 strait, 426 
 Orontes river, 369. 373, 374 
 Orta-Bell pass, 54 
 Osmanjik, 305 
 Oudh, 112 
 Oxus river, 15 
 
 Pachmarhi, 78 
 
 Pagan, 247 
 
 Paghman mountains, 45 
 
 Pagiis mountain, 325 
 
 Pahang, 249 
 
 Pak-lung cape, 228 
 
 Paknam, 292 
 
 Paknampo, 292 
 
 Palantukan-dagh mountains, 331 
 
 Paler river, 122 
 
 Palestine, 368, 381 
 
 Palghat depression, 63 
 
 Palk strait, 81, 121 
 
 Pallecopas, 365 
 
 Palmyra, 379 
 
 Palni hills, 80, 120 
 
 Paraphilia, 309 
 
 Panghing hills, 220 
 
 Panja river, 15 
 
 Panjab, 84, 106 
 
 Panjim, 126 
 
 Panjkora river, 5 
 
 Panjnad river, 84, 108 
 
 Panjshira river, 12 
 
 Panna, 78, 111 
 
 Paphlagonia, 309 
 
 Paradomba, 468 
 
 Parasnath mountain, 115 
 
 Parbatti river, 111 
 
 Pariahs, 145 
 
 Paropamisus mountains, 4, 462 
 
 Parsis, 156 
 
 Partial, 119 
 
 Patani, 243 
 
 Pathia-Soang, 241 
 
 Patiala, 108
 
 INDEX 
 
 523 
 
 Patmos island, 311 
 
 Pat n:i. 17o 
 Payrinh, 2S3 
 Peehaburi, 292 
 Pediseus river, 312 
 Pedrotallagalla peak. 127 
 Pegu, 234 
 
 Pegu-yoma mountains, 220 
 Peiwar mountains, o'. 17 
 
 pass, o'. 47 
 Penang, 2S8 
 Pennair river, 122 
 Penner river, 122 
 Pentedaktvlos mountain, 312 
 Perak, 249, 288 
 PL-rim island, 406, 445 
 Persia, 462 
 
 Persian Gulf. 329, 406 
 Persians. 490 
 Peshawar, 5, 6, 163 
 Petra. 4" 4 
 Petrin. 292 
 Phanrang, 293 
 Pharpar, 391 
 
 Phnom Dongrek mountains, 245 
 Phuom-penh, 271, 286 
 Phoenicians, 386 
 Phrygia. 309 
 Phulkhian states, 10S 
 Phung-mai river, 216 
 Pinnacle peak, 73 
 Pioneer peak, 70 
 Pir Panjal pass, 97 
 Pishin, 7, 43 
 Pisidia, 310 
 Pitsanulok, 292 
 Plus river, 249 
 Point de Galle, 128 
 Pondicherry, 126, 180 
 Port Blair, 131 
 
 Cornwallis, 131 
 
 Mouat, 131 
 Portman harbour, 131 
 Prabat, 290 
 Preparis islands, 214 
 Presun river, 20 
 220 
 pa .7 
 Piilo Condor, 288 
 Pulo-Penang, 249, 251 
 Puna, 188 
 I'miakha, 106 
 Punch pass, 97 
 Pursat, 21 1 
 
 Piisht-Khar, 64 
 Pyramus river, 306 
 
 Quedah, 243 
 Quetta, 2, 7, 43, 4S 
 Quin-hon, 292 
 
 ,404 
 Rafeh, 299 
 
 ;, 241 
 Raikana glacier. 77 
 Rajmahal, 61, 115 
 Rajputana, 109. 110 
 Rakhaintha, 267 
 Rakipushi, 67, 68 
 Rakkah, 340 
 Rakus-tal lake, 90 
 Raniri islands, 214 
 Ramrud, 464 
 Rangun, 220, 277 
 Rann of Kateh, S6, 109, 187 
 Ras-el-Ain, 327 
 Rasht, 501 
 Raskam river. 71 
 Ras Mussendiim, 426 
 Ravi river, 84, 163 
 Rayak, 403 
 Raz Ova, 323 
 Red river, 224 
 Rejistan, 9 
 Rewah, 78, 112 
 Rhages, 470 
 Rhodes island, 301, 311 
 Riad, 424, 443 
 Riha, 400 
 Rimkin Paiar, 77 
 Robat, 48 
 
 Romania, Cape, 210 
 Rori, 84 
 Rowandiz, 359 
 Rud-i-Pariun, 464 
 Rustak, 17 
 
 Sabzawar, 505 
 
 Saddle peak, 130 
 
 Sadiya, 91 
 
 Safed-K6h mountains, 2, 4, 5, 14 
 
 Safid-riid river, 478 
 
 Safis, 22 
 
 Sahcnd mountain, 500 
 
 Saida, 387 
 
 Baigon, 288 
 
 Saii'in, 423 
 Sakaka, 443
 
 524 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Sakaria river, 306 
 Sakesar peak, 108 
 Saklawiyah canal, 339 
 Sal forest. 79 
 Salamis, 312 
 Salsette, 126, 185 
 Salwin river, 91, 221 
 Samaria, 375, 382 
 Samawa, 338 
 Samnan, 505 
 Samos island, 310 
 Samothrace island, 310 
 Samsun, 305, 325 
 Sana, 419, 437, 441 
 Sandoway, 214 
 San-po river, 62, 82, 89, 216 
 Santa Croce mountain, 312 
 Saraburi, 241 
 Sarakhs, 10, 464, 499 
 Sarhad river, 15 
 
 town, 16 
 Sar-i-pul, 10 
 Sarpo Leggo river, 65 
 Satara, 189 
 Satlaj river, 82, 84, 90 
 Satpiira mountains, 78. 79, 115 
 Savalan mountain, 484 
 Sayang, 216 
 Scamander river, 306 
 Scutari, 325 
 Sebaste, 324 
 Sebastieh, 397 
 Sebong river, 212 
 Secanderabad, 184 
 Seir mountain, 416 
 Selangor, 249 
 Seleucia, 365 
 Semra, 278 
 Seringapatam, 183 
 Shafar glacier, 73 
 Shahidiila, 71 
 Shahnid, 505 
 Shaibeh, 448 
 Shakh, 355 
 Shaksgam river, 65 
 Shal, 7 
 
 Shamar-dagh mountains, 331 
 Shammar, 416, 424 
 Shans, 153, 269 
 Sharon plains, 381 
 Shat-el-Arab, 330, 338, 478 
 Shat-el-Hai, 339 
 Shayok river, 64, 82 
 Sheckem, 397 
 
 Sher-i-Dahan pass, 12 
 Shevaroy hills, 120 
 Shibam, 422 
 Shibarghan, 10, 18 
 Shigar valley, 70 
 Shikarpur, 38 
 Shin mountains, 249 
 Shiraz, 470, 498 
 Shirvan. 478 
 Sholapur, 188 
 Shong, 292 
 Shugra, 418 
 Shundr pass, 3 
 Shiinem, 403 
 Shurab river, 471 
 Shiir-i-Labahri river, 475 
 Shushter, 467, 475 
 Sluitargardan pass, 6, 47 
 Shwebo, 290 
 Siah-koh mountains, 4 
 Siah-kuh, 2, 464 
 Siah-Posh Kafirs, 21, 31 
 Siam, 237 
 
 gulf of, 214 
 Siamese, 269 
 Si-bang-hieng river, 226 
 Sibi, 7 
 
 Sidon, 387, 396 
 Sif, 422 
 
 Sihun-ckai river, 306 
 Sikaram mountain, 6 
 Sikhs, 151 
 Sikkim, 94, 103 
 Silakank, 77 
 Simiolchiim, 104 
 Simla, 191, 193 
 
 Hill States, 108 
 Simois river, 306 
 Sinai peninsula, 413 
 Sind, 108 
 
 river, 111 
 Singapore, 249, 251. 2S8 
 Singar hills, 336, 340 
 Sipan-dagh mountain, 332 
 Sircars, 120 
 Sistan, 1, 11, 473 
 
 lake, 451 
 Sita-Ram peak, 2 
 Sitsobi pass, 2 
 Sittang river, 220 
 Sivas, 309, 324 
 Siwalik hills, 61 
 Siyagird, 10, 18 
 Skanderun, 328
 
 INDEX 
 
 525 
 
 Skardo, 66 
 Sk6r<5 pass, 70 
 Smyrna, 
 
 gulf of, 306 
 Soghanli mountains, 331 
 Sou river, 78, 87, 111 
 Song-ka river, 224, 226 
 Sosbou glacier, 72 
 Sosbon mountain, 73 
 Sporades islands, 310 
 Srinagar, 101 
 Stewart's Sound, 131 
 Straits Settlements. 249 
 Stung-trentr, 271 
 Subansiri river, 91 
 Su-chu river, 219 
 Suk el Khamis, 41 B 
 Suk-e-Shuyuk, 33 S 
 Sukkur, 7, 84 
 Sulaimanieh, 359 
 
 Suliruan mountains, 6, 7. 54, 56, 60 
 Siiltan-dagh mountains, 301, 308 
 Sundarbau, 115 
 
 Sunderlvk-dagh mountains, 332 
 Surat, 93, 187 
 Surkai Kotal, 47 
 Surkh-ab river, 7 
 Sum district, 7 11 
 Swat, 97 
 
 river, 5, 12, 97 
 Syria. 368 
 Syrian desert, 405 
 Syrians. 385 
 
 Tab river, 478 
 Taba, 299 
 Tabas, 505 
 
 Mount, 397 
 Tabriz, 500 
 Tadm6r, 379 
 Ta-ho river, 219 
 Tai race, 269 
 Taif, 440 
 
 I river, 10 
 Tajiks, 31, 490 
 Takatu peak, 7, 43 
 Takhtalu mountain. 302 
 Takhtapiil, 34 
 Takht-i-SulimaD peak, 7 
 hill, 101 
 . 267 
 
 Tale Kavari, 12:; 
 
 Tale-sap lake. 21 1 
 Taliche (Talech), 101 
 
 Talikhan. 17 
 Tailing, 104, 243 
 Tamlang, 103 
 Tanmiu. 230 
 Tang gorge, 1 4 
 
 mountains, 14 
 Tanjore, 1S2 
 Taut-la mountain-, 215 
 Ta-ping river, 21 'J 
 Tapti river. 63, 92 
 Tarai, 74, 102 
 Tarakun, 464 
 Tariba, 122 
 Taruak river, 11 
 Tarsus, 303, 38S 
 Tash-kurgan, 33 
 Tasichozong, 107 
 Tassisiidon, 107 
 Tatars, 346 
 Tats, 490 
 Tatta Palus, 308 
 Taurus mountains, 301 
 Tehama, 410, 416 
 Tehran, 493 
 Tel Ermen, 349 
 Tell Hahesb, 404 
 Tell Hubech, 327 
 Tenasserim, 233, 234 
 Tendarek-dagh mountain, 332 
 Tenedos island, 310 
 Terim, 423 
 Tezin river, 7 
 Thabyetkin, 236 
 Thai, 46 
 
 pass, 191 
 Thalang, 251 
 Thar desert, 109, 1 1 
 Thung-yang river, 221 
 Tiberias lake, 374 
 Tibeto-Burmans, 141 
 Tigranocerta, 349 
 Tigris river, 329, 337 
 Tihri, 101 
 Tinnevelli, 192 
 Tipperah, 115 
 Tira river, 12 
 
 Tirband-i-Turkestan mountains, 4 
 Tirich Mn- peak, 4, 100 
 Tirhi, 94 
 Tisnaf river, <; 1 
 Tista river, 75 
 Ti1 i Wangsu mountains, 2 19 
 
 Tiyan. ' 
 
 Tuba mountains, 7
 
 526 
 
 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
 
 Tokat, 304, 324 
 Tolapella peak, 127 
 Tcmgkin, 213, 243 
 
 gulf, 224 
 Tonle-sap lake, 223, 245 
 Trachelitis, 379 
 Travancore, 120, 123 
 Trebizond, 309, 325 
 Trichinopoly, 180, 182 
 Trmeomali, 127 
 Tringanu, 243, 297 
 Tripoli, 384, 387, 395 
 Trisul mountain, 77, 87 
 Troodos mountain, 312 
 Tsiampa, 243 
 Tsung-ling mountains, 64 
 Tudas, 155 
 Tumlong, 103 
 Tun, 505 
 Tiingngu, 290 
 Tiipa Dawan pass, 65 
 Turin, 285 
 Turkish Armenia, 353 
 Turks, 317, 346 
 Tuticorin, 180, 192 
 Tiiz-gol lake, 308 
 Tvre, 391 
 
 Udaipiir, 111, 178 
 
 Udong, 286 
 
 Umk, 381 
 
 Um-Shaumer mountain, 415 
 
 United Provinces of Agra aud Oudh, 
 
 106 
 Upper Burma, 234 
 Urfa, 336, 339, 453 
 Urmi lake, 333, 342, 484 
 Usbegs, 29 
 Utadhura pass, 76 
 Utziin, pass, 19 
 
 Vale of Kashmir, 66, 95, 96 
 Van, 353 
 
 lake, 332, 340 
 Vellore, 192 
 Victoria lake, 54 
 Vindhya mountains, 55, 78 
 Vizagapatam, 121 
 
 Wady-el-Arabah, 377, 413 
 es-Safiel, 377 
 
 Wady Mojib, 377 
 
 el-Hesy, 401 
 
 Yafu'ah, 402 
 
 Hawera, 422 
 
 el-Hiimth, 410 
 
 er-Riimma, 410 
 
 Sirhan, 411, 448 
 
 er-Rajel, 411 
 
 Dawasir, 411 
 
 Aftan, 411 
 
 Doan, 421 
 
 Rakhiyah, 422 
 Wahhabi, 425, 443 
 Wai river, 20 
 Wainganga river, 119 
 Wakhan, 15 
 
 river, 54 
 Wardak, 47 
 Wardha river, 119 
 Wardoj river, 16 
 Wazirabiid, 84 
 Waziri. 3 
 
 Wellesley province, 251 
 Western Ghats, 63, 79 
 Wieng-Chan, 241 
 Wular lake, 161 
 
 river, 96 
 Wiintho, 290 
 Wushiiti mountains, 9 
 
 Xieng-koug, 281 
 Xieng-mai, 281 
 
 Yangali, 366 
 Yarkand river, 65 
 Yarkhun river, 12 
 Yasin, 3, 100 
 Yazd, 469, 504 
 Yemamah, 448 
 Yemen, 408, 416, 417 
 Y^enbai, 213 
 Yerim, 418 
 
 Yeshil-Irmak river, 305 
 Yeumtso-la pass, 104 
 Yoma mountains, 214 
 Yuruks, 322 
 
 Zab river, 333, 339 
 Zabicene, 355 
 Zagros mountains, 476 
 Zainda-riid, 479
 
 1XI»EX 
 
 527 
 
 Zamindawar, i. 38 
 Zard-Ruh mountains, 4C7 
 Zayul, 91 
 
 Zeitiin, a 18. 45S 
 
 Zemu river, 104 
 
 glacier, 104 
 
 Zendeh-Kuh, 175 
 
 Zhcib, 3 
 Ziiiinn . 281 
 Zirreli river, 4 S 1 
 
 , 365 
 Zulfikar, 164 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printea by R. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh.
 
 ^. fi.s.
 
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