¥-% <■;< BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HcnrTj W. Sage 1891 A 3/7*1 A:ln3x 3j.H.fa..b CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 924 095 158 444 w* Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://archive.org/details/cu31924095158444 THE EARTH AND ITS INHABITANTS THE UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHY By ELISEE RECLUS EDITED By A. H. KEANE, B.A. MEMB. OF COUNCIL, ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE. VOL. VI. ASIATIC RUSSIA ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS AND MAPS LONDON J. S. VIRTUE & CO., Limited, 294, CITY ROAD LONDON I PRINTED BY J. S, VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITKD, CITY ROAD, CONTENTS. ASIATIC RUSSIA. Chap. I. General Remarks on Asia .... . . . . . Plateaux : Highlands and Lowlands, p. 3. Geological Formation : Igneous Forces, p. 6. Climate: Diminution of Moisture, p. 8. Areas of Inland Drainage, p. 9. Rivers flowing Seawards, p. 12. Temperature, Rainfall, Vegetation, p. 14. Peninsulas, p. 15. Inhabitants, Culture, p. 18. Religions, p. 21. Historical Retrospect, Migrations, p. 23. European Influences, p. 24. Progress of Discovery, p. 25. Political Rivalries, p. 28. Chap. II. Caucasia ■ . . I. Caucasia: The Ponto-Caspian Mountain System, p. 33. The Great Caucasus, p. 34. Geological Formation, Volcanic Action, p. 38. "Water Systems, Snow-line, Rainfall, Glaciers, p. 40. Vegetation, Fauna, p. 43. Inhabitants : Varied Ethnical and Linguistic Elements, p. 46. Russian Conquests : Main Physical Divisions, p. 4S. II. Western Caucasia: Kuban Basin, p. 50. River Systems : Kuban Basin, p. 50. Taman Peninsula, p. 53. Inhabitants : the Cherkesses, p. 54. The Abkhasians and Cossacks, p. 57. Topography, p. 60. III. Central Caucasus : Kuma and Terek Basins, p. 64. River Systems : Kuma Basin, p. 65. The Terek, p. 68. Inhabitants: the Kabards, p. 70. The Osses and Nogai Tatars, p. 71. Topograph}', p. 73. IV. Eastern Caucasia : Daghestan, p. 78. River Systems, p. 79. Inhabitants : the Chechenzes, p. 79. The Lezghians, Tats, and Tatars, p. 83. Topography, p. 86. V. Incur, Rion, and Chorukh Basins : Mingrelia, Imeritia, Svania, Lazistan, p. 88. Climate, Flora and Fauna, p. 91. Inhabitants: the Svans and Rachians, p. 92. The Imeritians, Mingrelians, and Lazes, p. 94. Topography, p. 96. VI. The Kura Basin : Georgia, Transcaucasian Tatary, p. 100. River Systems: the Kura, p. 100. Agriculture, Irrigation Works, Climate, p. 104. Lower Kura Basin : Apsheron Peninsula, p. 106. Inhabit- ants : the Georgians, p. 111. The Khevsurs, Pshavs, and Tushes, p. 116. The Tatars, Talishes, Slavs, and Germans, p. 119. Topography, p. 120. VII. Russian Armenia : Ararat, Ala goz, Plateau of Lake Gok-chai, and Araxis Basin, p. 130. Orography: Ararat, Ala-goz, p. 130. Lake Gok-chai, the Karabagh, Flora and Fauna, p. 136. The Araxis Basin, p. 139. Inhabitants: the Armenians, p. 140. Topography, p. 145. VIII. General Con- dition and Administration of the Caucasus, p. 150. Land Tenure, Agriculture, p. 152. Population, Industries, Trade, Education, p. 154. Religions, Finance, Administration, p. 158. Chap. III. The Aralo-Caspian Basin : Russian Turkestan, the Turkoman Country, Khiva, Bokhara, Region of the Upper Oxus ...... .... I. General Survey, p. 161. II. The Pamir and AlaI, p. 165. Flora, Fauna, Lukes of the Pamir, p. 170. The Alai Highland, p. 171. III. The Tian-shan, p. 175. Orographic System, p. 176. Katun and Yulduz Highlands, p. 179. Semirechinsk Region, p. 182. Ala- tau Highland, p. 183. Lake Issik-kul and Western Tian-shan Highlands, p. 184. IV. Tar- ragatai Highlands and Balkhash Basin, p. 189. Lake Balkhash, p. 191. Semirechinsk River System : the Hi, p. 192. V. The Aralo-Caspian Hydrographic System, p. 193. The Turkestan Deserts, p. 194. Flora and Fauna of Turkestan, p. 195. Water System: the Sir, p. 198. The Oxus River System, p. 201. The Aral Sea, p. 208. The Turkoman Deserts and PAGB 1 33 161 iv CONTENTS. PAGE Highlands, p. 213. The Atrek and Gurgan Rivers, p. 214. The Ust-urt Plateau, p. 215. East Coast of the Caspian, p. 217. VI. Inhabitants of the Aralo-Caspian Regions, p. 219. The Turkomans, p. 220. The Kara-Kalpaks and Kirghiz, p. 225. The Taranchis and Dungans, p. 231. The Uzhegs, p. 233. The Sartes, Tajiks, and Galehas, p. 234. VII. States of the Aralo-Caspian Basin : I. Baktriana, or Afghan Turkestan, p. 237- Wakhan, p. 238. Badak- shan, p. 240. Kunduz and Barman, p. 244. Khulm, Balkh, Andkhoi, p. 247. II. Merv: the Southern Turkomans, p. 250. III. Bokhara, p. 252. Shignan and Roshan, p. 253. Darvaz and Karateghin, p. 253. Hissar : the Iron Gate, p. 255. Topography: Bokhara, p. 257. IV. Khiva, p. 203. V. Russian Turkestan, p. 268. Ferghana Basin : Topography, p. 272. Samarkand, p. 272. Kulja Basin : Topography, 284. Administration of Turkestan, 287. Chap. IV. Sibeeia . . . . . .... 292 I. Sibehia, p. 292. Progress of Conquest and Discovery, p. 293. Water Highways, Portages, Highlands, p. 297. River Systems, p. 300. Northern Seaboard, p. 303. Pacific Seaboard: Transbaikalia, p. 304. Climate, p. 305. Flora, p. 310. Fauna, p. 314. Inhabitants : the Chudes, p. 317. II. The Altai Highlands, p. 319. Flora and Fauna of the Altai, p. 323. Inhabitants : the Kahnuks, Tatars, and Russians, p. 324. Topography, p. 327. III. The Ob Basin: Governments of Akmolinsk, Semipalatinsk, Tomsk, Tobolsk, Easieen Districts of the Governments of Perm and Orenburg, p. 329. The Irtish Basin, p. 330. Course of the Ob, p. 334. Inhabitants of the Ob Basin : the Voguls, p. 338. The Ostiaks, p. 340. The TJral Mining Districts, p. 344. Topography of West Siberia, p. 346. IV. Yenesei-Baikal Basin, p. 352. Basin of the Western Yenesei, p. 352. Inhabitants : the Ohules, p. 355. The Soyots and Karagasses, p. 356. The Tung-uses, p. 358. Topography, p. 361. The Baikal- Angara Basin, p. 364. The Tunka Highlands, p. 366. Lake Baikal, p. 368. The Angara Water System, p. 373. Inhabitants: the Buriats, p. 375. Topography, p. 378. V. Basin of the Lena: Shores of the Arctic Ocean, p. 382. The Lena and its Inhabitants, p. 384. The Yana, Kolima, and Indigirka Rivers, the Arctic Islands, New Siberia, p. 388. Inhabilants: the Yakuts, Yukaghirs, and Chuvantzes, p. 393. Topography, p. 398. VI. Bering Peninsula, Basin of the Anadir, and Kamchatka, p. 399. Bering Strait and Sea, p. 402. Climate: Fauna and Flora, p. 406. Inhabitants: the Chnkchis, p. 408. The Koriaks and Karnehadales, p. 413. Topography, p. 416. VII. The Stanovoi Highlands, Amur Basin, Russian Manchuria, p. 417. The Stanovoi Uplands : the Yablonoi Range, p. 419. The Daurian Plateau, p. 420. The Amur River System, p. 423. The Sungari and Usuri Rivers, p. 425. 'J he Lower Amur and its Delta, p. 428. The Manchurian Seaboard, p. 431. Climate of Manchuria, p. 432. Manchurian Fauna and Flora, p. 434. Inhabitants : the Golds and other Tungus Tribes, p. 436. The Tazi, Mandzi, Giliaks, and Russians, p. 437. The Kamenshiki, p. 440. Topography, p. 442. VIII. Sakhalin, p. 448, Highlands, p. 452. Climate, Fauna, Flora, p. 453. Inhabitants: the Ainos and Oroks, p. 455. Topography, p. 457. IX. Material Condition and Administration of Siberia, p. 459. Social Elements : the Exiles and Outlaws, p. 459. The Siberian Russians : the Commune, p. 463. Religious Sects : the Stranniki, p. 465. Agriculture, the Chase and Fisheries, p. 465, Mining Industries, p. 467. Manufactures, Trade, p. 469. Highways of Communication, the Trakt, Railway Projects, p. 471. Educa- tion, Administration, p. 472. Siberian Political Life, p. 474. Growth of the Russian Empire, p. 475. Merv, p. 47S. The Dera-goz, 481. The Akhal Tekke Country, 483. Races of Asiatic Russia grouped accoeding to their Affinities and Religions, p. 485. Appendix : Statistical Tables . 4S9 Index ... . 497 K i ^^^ ^^E ^^3E- 'i.'j^-jj FOl ^>^ UUJ ™ lS PSPlP ° :a =^> ?vifig flwi'l lj $1 TT 1 ^ jRf^S u»Wr j^"^fe^/^" ? ^ ^ /fiT Vj ! 1 ■ r L l H Mi IB ffl gg J. JlP^ J§i afilS JUL Iff sjjjiS? IB il tjjfe Mb* ,i. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. MAPS PKINTED IN COLOUES. 1. Hypsographical Map of Asia. Frontispiece. 2. Ethnographical Map of tho Caucasus 46 3. Lakes Balkhash and Issik-kul . .191 4. The Delta of the Amu-daria 5. Ethnographical Map of Northern Asia 6. Victoria Bay, or Gulf of Peter the Great PAGI3 20.5 303 432 PLATES. Cliffs in the " Yellow Earth," north of Tai- yuen, Shan-si . To face page 11 The Upper Yang-tse-kiang . 13 The Darial Defile 42 Jews of the Caucasus . . 56 Patigorsk — View takenfrom the Mashuka Slopes 73 Svan Types ... 92 Mingrelian Types and Costumes 95 Georgian Types and Costumes . . Ill Imerian Types and Costumes— Group of Dancers 115 Khevsur in Armour . 118 A Street in Tiflis ... 1 24 Armenian Types and Costumes 140 Town of Girusi . 149 Shchurovskiy Glacier . . .173 Kizil-kum Desert — Dussihai Wells . .194 Lake Iskander-kul 202 Shores of the Caspian . . . 208 Turkoman Customs — Pursuit of the Bride 222 Kirghiz Horsemen . . . To face page 226 Kirghiz crossing a Paver , . 229 Tajiks of Bokhara . . -234 Colossal Idols, Upper Bamian Valley 245 The Iron Gate Defile on the Karshi-Derbent Eoute 257 Bokhara — Assembly in front of the Mosque . 258 Khiva ... . 265 Bukhtarma Valley — Altai Highlands 319 Ostiak Types and Costumes . 341 Yekaterinburg . 34S General View of Tobolsk 350 General View of Omsk 351 Tungus Types and Costumes 359 Irkutsk — View taken before the Fire of 1878 380 Chukchi Types and Costumes 4 OS General view of Petropavlovsk 416 Gold Types and Costumes 436 Port of Ayan, Sea of Okhotsk . . 442 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. ILLUSTBATIONS IN TEXT. ASIATIC RUSSIA. Plateaux and Plains of Central Asia Parallelism of the Main Asiatic Ranges Mount Everest .... The Han-hai : a dried-up Sea- hed r . Arid Regions and Closed Basins of Asia FJO. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Isobars in January ..... 7 . Isobars in July ... 8. Curves of the Eastern Asiatic Seaboard and Islands ....... 9. Density of the Asiatic Populations 10. Distribution of the Asiatic Races 11. Chief Religions of Central Asia 12. Chief Itineraries of Central Asia 13. European Influence in Asia CAUCASIA. It. Bed of the Caspian ..... 15. Geological Formations of tire Central Caucasus ... 1 6. Hot Springs and Naphtha Regions in the Caucasus . . ... 17. Profile of the Caucasus as seen from Pati- gorsk ..... 18. Rainfall of the Caucasus . 19. The Kazbek : View taken from the Kazbek Station 20. Kazbek and Devdoraki Glaciers 21. Forests of the Caucasus 22. The Western Caucasus seen from off Cape Kodor . , ... 23. The Akhtari Liman . 24. The Kuku-Oba Mud Volcano . 25. Abkhasian Type 26. Cossack Sentinel 27. Valley of the Bzib . 28. The Taman Peninsula 29. Valleys of Erosion in the Kuban Basin 30. Passanaur, on the Tiflis-Vladikaykaz Route . . .... 31. The Elbruz Group . 32. Ramification of the Kalaiis 33. Delta and flooded Districts of the Lwer Terek ... 31. The Terek Floods of 1863 . 35. Patigorsk and the Region of Thermal Waters 36. The Vladikavkiz-Ananur Route through the Terek Valley 37. The Tebulos-mta Group 38. Mouths of the Terek and Lower Sulak 39. The Kuba District 40. Nogai Youth 41. Mount GOnib 42. Derbent . 43. Mouth of the Rion 44. Upper Ingur Valley 45. Mingrelian Lady 46. Kutais and the Rion and Kvirila Junction FIG AGE 47. 3 48. 4 49. 6 50. 8 51. 11 52. 13 53. 14 54. 16 55. 17 56. 19 57. 22 5S. 27 59. 29 60. 61. 35 62. 63. 37 64. 65. 39 66. 67. 40 68. 41 69. 70. 43 71. 44 72. 45 73. 60 74. 52 75. 54 76. 5S 77. 59 61 78. 62 79. 63 SO. 65 81. 66 82. 67 68 83. 69 St. 74 85. 86. 76 87. 77 80 81 88. 84 89. 85 90. 87 91. 89 93 92. 95 97 93. PAGB .' Poti . . 98 . Batch . . ■ • 99 , Akhalkalaki Plateau . 101 . Tatar Type . • 102 . The Kura and Araxis Confluence . . 103 Mouths of the Kura . . . 106 Chief Regions of Earthquakes in Caucasia 108 Oscillations of the Baku Coast during the last 1,500 Years . .109 The Apsheron Peninsula . 110 Mtzkhet, Ancient Capital of Georgia 112 The Khevsur, Tush and Pshav Lands 117 The Suram Pass and Mesk Mountains . 121 The Kura Valley between Gori and Mtzkhet . 122 Tiflis . . 125 Yelizavetpol and Vicinity 126 The Telav Basin . . 127 Baku and Cape Bail-Burni 128 Lenkoran .... 129 Recent Russian Conquests 131 Ararat . . . 132 Mount Ararat 133 Ala-goz . . 135 Lake Gok-ehai 136 The Alapolarim Lava Streams . .137 Araxis and Zanga Basin . . .143 Armenian AVoman . . . . .144 The Kars-chai Valley: Kars and Alex- andrapol . . .146 Nakhichevan . . . 14S Progress of Russian Conquest . . .150 Fever Districts in Caucasia 151 Density of the Population of the Caucasus in 1873 per Square Mile . . 153 Highways in Caucasia .... 154 Section of the Route from Vladikavkaz to Jufa . . . 155 Shiahs and Sunnites in Eastern Caucasia 156 Baku Harbour ... .157 Stavropol . . . 1,59 THE ARALO-CASPIAN BASIN. Routes of Explorers in the Aralo- Caspian Basin .... .163 Russian Encroachments in Turkestan . 164 Routes of Explorers in the Eastern Pamir 166 The Alai and Trans-Alai Range . 168 Relief of the Highlands and Plateaux between the Ilindn-Kiish and Tian- shan . . . 170 The Alai Plateau 172 Tho Shchurovskiy Glacier . 173 Routes of Explorers in the Western Pamir 174 Relative Area of the Tian-shan, Alps, and Pyrenees . 175 Relative Relief of the Tian-shan, Alps, and Pyrenees . . 176 Chief Crests of the Tian-shan . . .177 LIST OP ILLUSTEATIONS. 94. Eastern Chains of the Tian-shan 95. Routes of Explorers in the Eastern Tian- shan 96. Ovis Kakelini, Argali, Ovis Poli 97. The Aktogoi Defile .... 98. Western Chains of the Tian-shan . 99. Routes of Explorers in the Western Tian- shan 100. Safiru and Tarbagatai 101. Vegetation of the Kizil-kum 102. Range of Vegetation in Turkestan . 103. Petrov Glacier 104. Lower Part of the Iir-tash Glacier . 105. The Sir Delta . 106. Lake Victoria, or Sari-kul 107. Map in the Catalonian Atlas of 1375 108. Valley of the Uzboi at the A'idin Wells . 109. The Balkan Gulf .... 110. Inundation of the Oxus in 1878 111. The Aral Sea .... 112. Old River Beds of the Aralo-Caspian Basin 113. Ak-tau and Mortviy-kultuk 114. Entrance to the Kara-boghaz 115. The Tuk-karagan Lakes 116. Tentiak-sor 117. Ogurchinskiy Island 118. Kulali Island 119. Turkoman Female Head-dress 120. Tekke Turkoman Oasis in the Atok 121. Area of the Turkoman Raids South of Kizil-arvat 122. A Wealthy Kirghiz 123. A Kirghiz Woman 124. Populations of the Hi Basin 125. Sarte Type . 126. Population of Ferghana . 127. A Tajik Mollah . 128. Kila-panja, on the Upper Oxus : Forts at the Foot of the Pamir 129. East Badakshan .... 130. Badakshan and Kunduz . 131. Bamian Pass and Kunduz Route 132. Ruins of Balkh and Mazar-i-sherif . 133. Saripul and Shibirkhan Valley 134. The Maimene Valley 135. Khanates of Afghan Turkestan West of the Oxus . 136. Merv and Sarakhs Oases . 137. Ak-tash Valley and Mountain 138. Shehr-i-sebs and Karshi . 139. Bokhara: Ruins in the Interior of the City . 140. Oasis of Bokhara 141. Khiva 112. A Minaret in Khiva . 143. Khiva: Exterior of a Mosciue . 144. Krasnovodsk Bay . 145. Cheleken Island and Michael Gulf . 146. Hassan-kaleh Bay . . . . 147. Ashur-adeh .... 148. Valleys of the Atrek and Gurgen . 149. Samarkand 150. Samarkand : Approach to the Citadel PAGE FIO. rA0E 178 151. Samarkand: The Gur-emir Tomb of Tamerlane 272 180 152. Varzaminor : Upper Zarafshan Val- 1S1 ley . . 273 183 153. Oasis of the Zarafshan 275 186 154. From Kokan to Marghilan . 277 155. Khojend: General View 279 187 156. Khojend and Neighbourhood . . 280 190 157. Plain of Tashkend . 281 196 158. A Street in Tashkend . 282 197 159. Kulja and Neighbouring Mines 285 198 160. Disputed Territory in Kulja . . 286 199 161. Chinese Type, Kulja . . 287 201 162. Projected Railway Lines in Western Asia 289 203 20 6 SIBERIA. 207 163. West Siberia, according to Herberstein . 293 208 164. Sakhalin, according to La Perouse . . 295 209 165. Gulf of Castries : La Perouse Gate . 296 210 166. Water Highways and Portages across Siberia . . 298 211 167. Duration of the Frost and Thaw on the 212 Yenisei and Lena . . 300 213 168. Drift Ice on the Banks of the Yenisei 301 214 169. Shores of the Yenisei worn by Glacial 215 Action . . 302 216 1"0. Banksof the Yenisei: Ice-formed Levee 304 217 171. Climate of Yakutsk . 306 221 172. Northern Limit of Forest Vegetation 309 223 173. Trailing Larch 150 Years old : Quarter of the natural Size . 310 224 174. Larch Forest on the Boganida, a Tri- 227 butary of the Katanga. . . 312 228 175. Range of Animal Species in North Asia 313 232 176. The Chindagutui, a Tributary of the 233 Irtish, Province of Semipalatinsk 320 234 177. Lake Teletzkoye 321 235 178. Zme'inogorsk . . . 328 179. Lake Zaisan . . . 330 239 180. The Ust-Kamenogorsk Defile . . 331 241 181. Lakes Chany and Sartlam in 1870 . 332 242 182. Dried-up Streams in the Barnaul District 334 243 183. Projected Canals between the Ob and 244 Yenisei ..... 335 246 184. Network of Streams at the Ob and Ket 247 Junction . . . . 336 185. Lower Course and Mouth of the Ob 337 248 186. Lakes and Marshes in the Iset Basin . 345 251 187. Yekaterinburg and Berezovskiy 348 254 188. Upper Yenisei Basin and Minusinsk 256 Steppes . . . 353 189. Rock Inscription on the Banks op 259 the Yenisei . . 361 260 190. Region of the Yenisei Gold Mines . 362 261 191. From Krasnoyarsk to Kansk . . 363 262 192. The Munku-sardik Group . 365 263 193. Munku-sardik and Kamar-daban . 367 264 194. The " Cup " at the Source of the 266 Oka . . ... 368 267 195. Depths of the Western Baikal 370 268 196. The Angara below the Padunskiy 269 Rapid 374 270 197. Rapids of the Angara . . . 375 271 | 198. Populations of the Irkutsk Government . 381 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. 199. Coast of the Taimir Peninsula 200. Old Lake traversed by the Vitim 201. Lena Delta . 202. Archipelago of New Siberia 203. Routes of Anjou and Wrangell 204. Kontam Bay : the Vega at Anchor 205. Yakutsk ... 206. Volcanoes at Cape Povorotnoii, South of Avacha Bay 207. Bering Sea . . 208. Bering Strait . 209. Currents of the Bering Waters 210. Avacha Bay . 211. Plateaux and Highlands of East Siberia 212. Lake Khanka . 213. Isthmus of Kizi 214. Mouths of the Amur 215. Bay of the Golden Horn 216. Bay of Castries PAGE FIG. 383 217 384 218 386 389 219 390 220 391 221 397 222 223 400 224 403 225 404 226 405 227 415 228 418 229 426 230 428 231 429 430 232 432 233 PAGE Harbour of Olga . . .433 Herbaceous Vegetation on the Islands of the Amur ... 435 Blagoyyeshchensk, on the Amur 444 Nikolayevsk . . 445 America Bay . . 446 The Possiet Inlets . 447 La Perouse Strait . . . 449 Sakhalin : Cape La Jonquiere , 450 Mamia Rinzo Strait , . 451 Sakhalin 453 Aino Girl . . 454 Sakhalin : the Dei Valley . . 456 Port of Muraviov . . 457 Density of the Siberian Population . 460 Produce of East Siberian Sable-hunting from 1850 to 1855 . . 466 Gold-washings in the Amur Basin 468 Vladivostok and the Eastern Bosporus . 473 HYPSOGRAPH 31am.. D eptli of the Sea, Area of Depression. Dovm to 6560 Feet. 6560 to 9800 Feet . Over 9800 Beet . Below the Level of Less than G the JilediterVHjiean. AL MAP OF ASIA levation. of tlie Land above the Level of tke Sea. I I i i : ! Ovwr 1G400 Z'eet eeo toieuiTeet 1640 1o 3280 Feet 3280 to BSSOTeet e560n>lG400Te.eit A UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHY, ASIATIC RUSSIA. CHAPTER I. GENERAL REMARKS ON ASIA. F the great divisions of the globe Asia is by far the largest, com- prising almost exactly one-third of all the dry land, and exceeding in area even the double continent of the New World. It is one- third larger than Africa, and five times more extensive than Europe, which may in some respects be regarded as one of its peninsular appendages. Excluding the Caspian Sea and the eastern districts of the government of Perm, it has a total area of 16,776,000 square miles, and including Japan, the Philippines, and Malaysia, 17,930,000 square miles. But if it takes the foremost rank in size, it is far inferior even to Europe in the variety of its peninsular forms, in the development of its coast-line, in the extent to which the ocean inlets, and with them the marine climate, penetrate into the heart of the land ; nor does it, like Europe, present the great advantage of geographical unity. Divided by lofty tablelands and old sea-beds into absolutely distinct regions, it embraces vast rainless tracts, where the dryness of the atmosphere, the cold, and even the rarefaction of the air offer great difficulties to the migrations of its inhabitants, the more so that the opposite slopes are not connected together by natural valley routes like those of the Alps. Asia may thus have given birth to many local civilisations, but Europe alone could have inherited them, by their fusion raising them to a higher culture, in which all the peoples of the earth may one day take a part. Plateaux — Highlands and Lowlands. Compared with the other continents, Asia is essentially the region of table- lands. Were the dry land to subside uniformly, all the other regions of the VOL. VI. B 2 ASIATIC RUSSIA. globe would have long disappeared, or would be indicated at most by narrow islands and peaks, while the lofty uplands of Central Asia, with the ranges skirting them, still rose above the surrounding waters. The plateaux of Asia, with the regions enclosed by them, form, so to say, a continent within a continent, differing in its climate, its flora, fauna, and inhabitants from the surrounding species. Rising in some places to a height of 20,000 feet and upwards, these plateaux give to the whole of Asia a mean altitude greater than that of the other quarters of the globe. Humboldt calculated the mean of the Asiatic continent at 1,165 feet, which on more recent information KriAmmel raises to 1,650 feet, or one-third more than that of Europe. The Asiatic coast-line is more diversified than that of Africa or South America, especially on the south side, which is varied with large peninsulas, gulfs, and islands. But the central mass, including the plateaux and deserts, presents a great uniformity of outline. This region, limited southwards by the Himalayas, Dapsang, and Karakorum, almost everywhere presents other lofty ranges — in the west the numerous crests of the Pamir, in the north-west the Tian-skan, in the north the Alta'i, in the north-east and east the several chains separated by intervening river valleys. This upland tract, which includes Tibet, Kashgaria, and the Gobi Desert, presents the form of a vast trapeze gradually narrowing towards the west. Near its south-west angle there rises a lofty mountain nucleus formed by the junction of the Himalayas and Karakorum, and marking the centre of gravity of the whole continent. From this central mass, which is otherwise less elevated than many other Asiatic mountain systems, there radiate three vast plains and as many tablelands, disposed like the spokes of a wheel. The lowlands are the plain of Tatary in the north-west, the Tarim basin in the east, and in the south and south-east the depression furrowed by the Indus and Ganges ; the highlands are the Pamir, Tibet, and Iran. The last named doubtless begins with the Hindu-Kush, a mountain range separating the Indus and Oxus valleys ; but this mass is of very small extent, and the uplands attached to it, while less extensive and less elevated, are more geometrical in their outlines than those of Tibet. The Iranian tableland, comprising most of Afghanistan, Baluchistan, and Persia, forms a trapeze whose northern and southern sides are almost perfectly parallel. In the north-west this plateau is continued through Kurdistan, Armenia, and Asia Minor, by other lofty uplands overlooking the waters of the Euxine and Mediterranean. Thus nearly the whole of the continent is intersected by an elevated mass, forming in the west a single, in the east a double line, separating the northern and southern slopes, and leaving between them a few gateways only, through which passed the great historical routes of migration. In the centre of East Asia the Kuen-lun forms a continuation of the Hindu-Kush and more westerly systems. Though its crests fall short of the extreme height attained by those of the Himalayas, this range is on the whole the most elevated on the globe, and probably stretches eastwards across 42° of the meridian, or for a distance of 2,300 miles. It thus forms the eastern half of the continental axis, and is much PLATEAUX-HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. 3 more regular in outline than the western, running in the direction of Europe. The term " Diaphragm," restricted by the Greeks to the mountains on the north Iranian frontier, might equally well be extended to the whole parting line from the Eastern Kuen-lun to the Anatolian Taurus. This would thus correspond with the European diaphragm formed by the Pyrenees, Cevennes, Alps, and Balkans, and roughly continuing the line of the Asiatic " Great Divide." But in the European section, with its rare tablelands and convenient passes, how niuch more numerous are the gaps and breaks of continuity, facilitating the movements of migration from slope to slope ! The ranges skirting or towering above the Asiatic tablelands are mostly of striking regularity in their line of direction, and several consist of distinct ridges, Fig. 1. — Plateaux and Plains of Central Asia. Scale 1 : 21,000,000. E.oF Gr. Regions aBore 6,500 Feet. Regions below 6,500 Feet. , 300 Miles. all running parallel to each other. The Himalayas, culminating with Mount Everest, or Gaurisankar, " the Radiant," the highest point on the globe, develop along the northern frontier of India a perfect arc, whose focus might be in the very heart of Central Asia. The whole system, including both the Terai Hills of Hindustan, and the . Dapsang, Karakorum, and other ranges of South Tibet, also runs in parallel curves north and south of the main range. In the same way the Kuen-lun comprises a great many ridges, all developing uniformly parallel lines. This well-marked parallelism recurs in most of the systems of Siberia, China, Cis and Transgangetic India, Irania, and Western Asia. Speaking generally, the main continental ranges may be said to run chiefly in two directions — east- south-east to west-north-west (Altai, Tarbagatai, "Western Himalayas, Iranian b 2 4 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Mountains, and Caucasus), and east to west, or rather east-north-east to west- south-west (Tian-shan, most of the Siberian chains, and those converging on the Pamir tableland). In many places the ranges forming curves with their convex sides facing southwards, by their intersections, give rise to entanglements and overlappings which disturb the general uniformity of the mountain systems. Thus the ridges forming a continuation of the Himalayas and Dapsang intersect, east of the Pamir, the regular chains running parallel to the Tian-shan and Alta'i. To these crossings are probably due the elevated masses of Kizil-yart and Tagharma, rising above the eastern edge of the Pamir, and from remote times Fig. 2. — Parallelism op the Main Asiatic Banges. According to Richthofen for the Central Asiatic Ranges. Scale 1 : 120,000,000. . 3,000 Miles. known to the Chinese as the Tsung-ling, or " Onion Mountains," from the wild garlic covering all their slopes. Out of these groups has been created the imaginary Bolor range, to which Humboldt had assigned a paramount importance in the orographic structure of Asia. Asia, like Europe, runs mainly east and west, a geographical fact which has had enormous influence on the development of mankind. While Europe and Asia occupy over half of the earth's circumference east and west, but a fourth part only taken north and south, the New World, confined between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, stretches precisely in the inverse direction, across more than a third of the periphery from the Arctic nearly to the Antarctic Circle. The PLATEAUX— HIGHLANDS AND LOWLANDS. 6 contrast is complete in the general disposition of the two continental groups, so that flora, fauna, and races all present analogous contrasts. In Asia the species are easily diffused from one extremity of the continent to the other by following the parallels of latitude, and taking advantage of the breaks of continuity, wherever the upland plateaux present an obstacle to their progress. From the plains of the Oxus to the Atlantic seaboard races have been variously displaced without meeting with climates greatly differing from their own. Hence the mutual influences Fig. 3. — Mount Everest. and the elements of a common civilisation spread over vast spaces. The same cause secured the inevitable intermingling of all the European and Asiatic races, generally producing, in these two divisions of the Old World, a certain unity contrasting forcibly with the diversity characteristic of the western hemisphere. Here the migrations from north to south, or from south to north, were necessarily confined to much narrower limits, the ordinary obstacles presented by plateaux and highlands being intensified by those flowing from differences of latitude. Special 6 ASIATIC RUSSIA. civilisations were thus developed in favoured regions, which had no more than a distant influence on each other, and the peoples remained almost everywhere without coherence or any common bonds of union. For how could the Eskimo share in a common culture with the Prairie Indians, or these with the Mexicans, Mayas, Muiscas, Quichuas, Aymaras, Guaranis, Patagonians? It was even through the interference of Europe that the American aborigines were destined to receive the first impulse which caused them to become members of the common human family. Thanks to the position of the two continents stretching across the northern and southern hemispheres, Europeans of different climates — Portuguese, Spaniards, Italians, French, English, Scotch, Scandinavians — have been able to settle north and south of the equator in regions whose climates resembled their own, thus founding in the two zones a new England, a new Spain, and for a time a new France. Geological Formations — Igneous Forces. Still but partially explored as a whole, Asia remains even now to a large extent an imperfectly known region. The western section, Siberia, with some of the highlands separating it from the central plateau, India, and various tracts of Further India and China are the parts whose formations, disposed in the same order as in Europe, have already been studied and classed by the geologist. Crystalline rocks, old schists, palaeozoic strata, are the chief constituents of the Siberian highlands. The Kuen-lun and the Karakorum seem also to belong to the primitive structure of the continent, whereas the Himalayas, while resting on crystalline masses, have been more recently upheaved during the secondary and tertiary periods. An idea of the tremendous disturbances that have here taken place may be had from the fact that the eocene strata near Leh have been raised to a height of 11,650 feet. The tracts covered with molten lava occupy a great part of the periphery of the continent. Volcanic eminences occur in Siani and Pegu ; half of the Ganges peninsula is strewn with igneous rocks ; hot springs and mud volcanoes bubble up on the crests of argillaceous cones on the Mekran coast, and near the Helmand ; extinct craters are met in South-west Arabia and the Strait of Bab-el- Mandeb, as well as in Abyssinia, on the opposite coast ; the Hejaz also, and the Sinai peninsula, have their ancient lava streams ; in Asia Minor we meet with the burnt plains of Cappadocia, " Phlegrsean Fields" like those of Italy, the Hassan Dagh, Argceus, and other mountains of igneous origin ; in Armenia, Mounts Ararat, Alagoz, and Abul are of the same character ; and Elburz, giant of the Caucasus, is also an old volcano, while the two extremities of this range are marked by boiling mud and naphtha wells. Lastly, Demavend, rising majesti- cally above the southern shores of the Caspian, is a burning mountain, whose crater is not yet quite extinct. The northern ranges, which under various names separate Russian Turkestan and Siberia from the Chinese Empire, must be regarded as forming a section of GEOLOGICAL FORMATIONS— IGNEOUS FORCES. 7 the vast, though, frequently interrupted, ridge stretching from the southern extremity of Africa to that of the New World, and forming an immense crescent round the Indian and Pacific Oceans. But within this is another crescent, the "fiery circle" already traced hy Leopold von Buch. Starting from the volcanoes of New Zealand, it runs through the Philippines and along the Asiatic seaboard northwards, through Japan and the Kuriles, to the Aleutian archipelago and Alaska, whence it is continued in a south-easterly direction to the neighbourhood of Magellan Strait. In the Asiatic section of this crescent the active or barely quiescent volcanoes are reckoned by the hundred, though the only fiery cones still active on the mainland are those of Kamchatka, which connect the Kuriles with the Aleutian group. In some regions of the interior there also occur masses of scoria and lava streams, but the craters whence they flowed have been extinct either since the second half of the tertiary period, or at least for some centuries. The doubts formerly thrown on the reality of the active volcanoes mentioned in the Chinese records, and often referred to by Humboldt, have not yet been finally disposed of. The observations made by Stoliezka, who fancied he had traversed a volcanic district with basalt rocks in the distance, have been called in question. But west of Irkutsk the valley of a tributary of the Oka is filled by a vast lava stream, above which rise two craters. Other craters occur in the valley of the Irkut, and other lava streams farther east, in the basin of the Jida, near Selenghinsk, and on the Vitim plateau, near the north-east angle of Lake Baikal. Lavas and basalts have also flown from the neighbouring Okhotzk Mountains, while vestiges of recent eruptions occur in most of the terraced mountains of Siberia flanking the north-west side of the Mongolian plateaux. The suspension of the lava streams arises from the almost total disappearance of the saline lakes formerly filling the great depressions of Central Asia. Never- theless there is a volcanic tract in the east of the continent south of Aigun, and 540 miles from the coast, where eruptions certainly took place in 1721 and 1722. The detailed reports of the Chinese savants brought to light by Vasilyev leave no doubt as to this fact, which should perhaps be explained by the number of lakes and swamps still found on the plateau. The oscillations which have given its present form to the continent are still going on with sufficient rapidity to enable observers to detect them along a great extent of the seaboard. Thus there can be scarcely any doubt that the northern shores of Siberia are slowly rising above the Arctic Ocean, for islands in the middle of the last century standing at some distance from the coast are now connected with it, not by sand-banks, but by the rocky bed of the sea. Similar phenomena have been observed in the iEgean and Black Seas, as well as along the east side of the Eed Sea, as shown by the upheaved coral banks fringing the coast of Arabia. Traces of recent upheaval have likewise been noted on the shores of Baluchistan and Malabar, in Ceylon, British Burmah, East China, about the Amur delta, and in Kamchatka. Symptoms of subsidence, so much more easily recognised than the upward 8 ASIATIC EUSSIA. motion, have hitherto been detected only at a very few points along the Asiatic seaboard. A part of the coast of Syria, the Great Western Runn between the Indus delta and Katch, the shores of Fo-kien, Ton-kin, and Cochin China, are at present subsiding. But the movement is most perceptible in the Laccadives and Maldives, where the atolls, or circular coral reefs, are slowly disappearing, notwithstanding the efforts of the busy polyps to keep them above the surface. The Chagos Bank has already been entirely engulfed. Climate — Diminution of Moisture. The great elevation of the Asiatic plateaus, with an atmosphere twice as rarefied as that of the lowlands, modifies to a remarkable extent the normal climate of the continent. Already as a whole far more extensive than Europe, Fig. 4. — The Han-hai : A eried-up Sea-bed. According to Richthofen. Scale 1 : 32,000,000. 100" E.of Gr: Sandy or Stony Desert. Upheaved Islands. Recent Lacustrine Depressions. ___^_— _ 000 Miles and consequently less exposed to oceanic influences, it everywhere receives a proportionately less amount of moisture. But the central portions, being almost completely encircled by mountains which arrest the course of wet or snowy winds, receive far less humidity than the average rainfall of the rest of the continent. Still the maritime slopes of the plateaux and highlands do not retain all the moisture brought by the winds, so that torrents and even rivers furrow the slopes facing inland. Some of these streams ultimately find their way to the ocean, but most of them run dry either in the " cirques " where they rise, or at a lower elevation, or else in the deep and winding depression stretching south-west and north-east, between the Kuen-lun and the Tian-shan and Altai mountain systems. At a time when these waters were more abundant the whole of the lower part of the great Asiatic depression was filled by a vast sea nearly as long, east and west ABEAS OP INLAND DRAINAGE, 9 as the Mediterranean, but somewhat narrower. This dried-up sea, the Han-hai of the Chinese, sterns to have stood about 5,000 feet above the actual sea-level, with a depth in some places of 3,000 feet. It occupied between Tibet and the Tian-shan range all the present Tarim basin, forming between the Tian-shan and Altai a ramifying gulf, which Richthofen has called the " Zungarian Basin." Eastwards it joined the Chamo basin through a strait studded with islands, all running in the same direction as the Tian-shan. At present this depression is divided by slight elevations into secondary cavities, each with its dried-up river beds and marshes, or saline incrustations, last remnants of what was once the Asiatic Mediterranean. In spite of the different elevations and latitudes, a singular uniformity is imparted to all these inland regions by the general sterility of the soil, the dryness of the atmosphere, and the sudden vicissitudes of temperature. The rolling steppes of red earth in the Altai region ; the argillaceous plateaux, heavy and grey like a sea of congealed mud ; the less monotonous districts, varied here and there by a few protruding rocks ; the deserts where crescent sandy dunes drive like mighty billows before the wind ; lastly, the stony plains strewn with frag- ments of quartz, chalcedony, jasper, carnelians, amethysts, released from their less solid and vanished matrices, weathered to dust and dispersed by the winds — all these regions form a monotonous whole sublime in the very simplicity of their lines. On these vast tablelands, crossed from horizon to horizon by long furrows like the ground-swell produced by the trade winds, caravans wind their way for days and weeks through a changeless scene of dreary majesty. Even the descent from the plateaux towards the deep depressions produces little change. The upland steppe, 3 miles above sea-level, the bed of the dried-up Mediterranean, the naked lands of Tibet and the Northern Gobi, separated from each other by 18° of latitude, present everywhere the same uniform aspect, broken only by a few oases, whose fresh-water streams, with their fringe of rich herbage, contrast forcibly with the bare mountain crags and steppes of the surrounding plateaux. The species of indigenous plants are nowhere numerous, and even by the running waters few trees are met except the poplar and willow. The nomad shep- herds, who drive their flocks from the lowlands to the uplands, 13,000 to 20,000 feet above sea-level, are little affected by the change. How different all this from the contrast presented in Europe by the luxuriant plains of Lombardy with the rugged Alpine heights ! Areas of Inland Drainage. The expression " Central Asia " is by the Russians wrongly applied to the part of the continent bordering on Europe, and lying within the same Aralo-Caspian depression as the portion of Russia watered by the Volga and its tributaries. Richthofen more correctly restricts this term to the Han-ha'i depression, and the Tibetan tablelands whose waters evaporate without forming streams. This part of the continent is, in fact, distinguished from all the surrounding regions by the 10 ASIATIC RUSSIA. circumstance that the detritus of the plateaux and highlands caused by weathering and erosion remains in the basin itself, whereas it is elsewhere regularly earned away to the sea. The general movement of Central Asia proper is centripetal, that of the periphery centrifugal. But on the Pamir, forming the water-parting between China and the Caspian, there also occur elosed cirques, whose waters do not reach the lowlands. Afghanistan and the Persian tableland have also their isolated basins, their land-locked lakes and marshes; and Asia Minor itself presents saline lakes cut off from all communication with the sea, notwithstanding the greater relative abundance of the rainfall in this sea-girt region. The plains of Syria, Arabia, and" even India, also comprise vast spaees whose waters have no outlet towards the sea. Lastly, the Aralo-Caspian depression is now a land- locked basin, or rather forms a group of distinct basins like that of the Chinese Mediterranean, with which they seem to have formerly communicated through the Straits of Zungaria. Before the present geological epoch the Caspian, Aral, Balkash, and countless other lakes of smaller size were successively isolated like those of the Han-hai. But the two depressions of "Western and Central Asia present a complete contrast, the one in the generally horizontal direction of its plains, the other in the great relief of the surrounding highlands. Taken collectively, all the Asiatic regions with no outlets seawards have an area of perhaps 4,000,000 square miles, equal to that of the whole of Europe. This arid tract is connected through the Arabian peninsula with the zone of waterless deserts occupying nearly the whole of Africa between the Mediterranean seaboard and Sudan. Thus all the eastern hemisphere is crossed obliquely by a belt of arid regions, which barely fringes the south-east corner of Europe, and is divided in nearly equal proportions between Asia and Africa. Historic evidence shows that for the last four thousand years a large portion of Central Asia has been dried up. At one time the region of Lake Lob was occupied by a vast inland sea, the Li-hai, or " "Western Sea," forming a con- siderable section of the ancient Han-hai. But as the process of desiccation progressed this term had to be transferred from the Tarim basin to the Caspian. Skilfully planned works of irrigation may have here and there created a few small oases, but the loss of habitable land has been enormous. Whole kingdoms have disappeared, many cities have been swallowed up in the sands, and certain tracts, formerly accessible to travellers, can no longer be visited, owing to the total absence of water and vegetation. Inhabited districts south of the Lob-nor, traversed by Marco Polo, are now inaccessible. Even beyond the large Asiatic basins on the South Siberian and Mongolian plateaux the same phenomenon of gradual absorption is perceptible, especially in the west. East of Lake Baikal the ancient sheets of water filling the cavities and terraces have been replaced bv countless lakelets, tarns, marshes, forming an ever-changing watery labyrinth. From the Baikal to the Amur, from the Argun to the Khingan Mountains, the land is studded with these lacustrine bodies, recalling a time when the country exhibited the same aspect as the present Finland. East of the western Chinese closed basin the erosive action of running waters AREAS OF INLAND DRAINAGE. 11 has excavated vast canons, revealing the geological structure of the old bed of the steppes. For a Space far larger than the whole of France, North China is composed of a yellow clay, in some places 1,600 to 2,000 feet thick. In the province of Shen-si the atmosphere is nearly always charged with this dust, which gives a yellow hue to roads, houses, trees, fields, wayfarers. This "Yellow Land" (Hoang-tu) has given its name to the Yellow River (Koang-ho), which bears its alluvium to the Yellow Sea (Hoang-haij. The clay is exactly like the loess of the Rhine and Danube valleys of alluvial or glacial origin. It Fig. 5. — Arid Regions and Closed Basins of Asia. Coatpont Projection. Scale 1 : 120,000,000. IO< E.oF Gr. C Perron Deserts. Tracts with no outlet seawards. — — , 3,000 Miles. is not perceptibly stratified like aqueous deposits, nor does it contain fluvial shells, but only the remains of land molluscs. Throughout its whole thickness it is pierced by vertical holes variously ramified, evidently caused by the roots of countless plants, above which the dust of the soil has been successively accumu- lated. Through this porous soil the water percolates rapidly, except where roads have been formed, destroying the fibrous texture of the clay. According to Richthofen, this yellow earth is nothing more than the soil of the steppes formerly deposited by the winds in the closed basins. 12 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The erosion of these vast accumulations is effected by the infiltration of water. Wells are sunk, and underground galleries opened here and there, over which the clay vaults sink in. Thus are formed ravines with vertical walls ramifying in all directions. In many places the plateau seems perfectly horizontal ; yet it is cut up into so many fragments connected by narrow isthmuses that the traveller, unaccompanied by a guide, would inevitably lose his way. The erosion is incessantly advancing in the west, where nothing remains in many river valleys except isolated vertical masses assuming the form of walls, turreted castles, or keeps. Many of these blocks have even been converted into strong- holds pierced with invisible caverns, affording shelter to their occupants. By a remarkable contrast, this clay, formerly covering uninhabited wastes, now yields the heaviest crops in the irrigated districts. The yellow earth even serves as a manure for the neighbouring lands. The Tibetan plateaux would seem to be also composed of a similar clay, and there is reason to believe that geological pheno- mena are taking place corresponding exactly with those of the Lpper Hoang-ho basin. In their aggregate all the geographical zones of Eastern Asia may be said to have shifted westwards. The ravines of the Yellow Land encroach on the plateaux, the sources of the Hoang-ho and its tributaries advance continually farther inland, the coast-line itself stretched formerly farther eastwards, and Japan and the Kuriles are probably the remains of the ancient Asiatic seaboard. Rivers flowing Seawards. Ox the northern slope of the continent the waters drain to the Arctic Ocean through the three mighty rivers Ob, Yenisei, and Lena, though they flow freelv for a portion only of the year. In these northern latitudes the streams are ice-bound or blocked for eight or nine months, besides which their navigation is extremely tedious between frozen tundras destitute of towns, villages, or cultivated lands. The sea voyages from Europe to the mouths of the great Siberian rivers did not begin till about 1600 under the Czar Boris Godunov, but a few years thereafter a decree of the Russian Government closed all trade with the Siberian coast, which was not reopened till 1869 by the Norwegians Carlsen and Johannesen. The Lena, however, was ascended for the first time in 1878 by a vessel accom- panying that of iSordenskjold. But though the communication is now fully established between Europe and the Siberian estuaries, this result can have but little economic importance so long as these northern lands remain unpeopled. Cut off from the rest of the world by ice and the bleak wastes of the seaboard, the Siberian rivers, though flowing to the open sea, may be said to possess no more interest for man than if they drained to inland basins. Even the Amur, flowing under a more favourable climate eastwards to the Sea of Okhotzk, is ice-bound for six months in the year. Thus fully half of Asia, consisting either of inland depressions or of valleys without easy outlets, is deprived of the advantages derived by most other regions from their running waters. From the Pet-chi-li to the Persian Gulf most of the coast lands are abundantly THE UFPEK YAN(i-T8E-KIANG. EIVEES PLOWING SEAWARDS. 13 watered, and some of their rivers are not only amongst the largest on the globe, but are also amongst the most useful for trade and irrigation. Those flowing- eastwards to the Pacific and southwards to the Indian Ocean are disposed in groups presenting striking analogies with each other. Thus the Hoang-ho and Yang-tze-kiang, rising in close proximity, flow first in opposite directions, and after describing vast curves, again approach each other so closely that their deltas have often been nearly united in the Shan-tung peninsula. The Me-khong, the chief river of Indo- China, and, according to Francis Gamier, Fig. 6. — Isobars is January. Scale 1 : 120,000,000. . 3,000 Miles. the largest in volume in Asia, rises in the same highlands, as do likewise the Salwen and Irawady. The Brahmaputra and Ganges also have their sources near each other, but on opposite slopes- of the Himalayas, reuniting only in the common delta formed by their own alluvia. The Indus and Satlaj may likewise be regarded as twin streams, in their upper courses resembling the two last mentioned. Collectively these four rivers represent the four animals of the Hindu legend — elephant, stag, cow, and tiger — which descend to the plains of India from the crest of the sacred moun- tain. The two streams flowing to the Persian Gulf, the Tigris and the Euphrates, also form an analogous group famous in legend and history. Lastly, VOL. VI. C 14 ASIATIC RUSSIA. the Sea of Aral, or inland basin of Turkestan, offers a like phenomenon in the Oxus and Sir-darya, flowing parallel to each other, and at one time apparently united in a common delta. Temperature — Rainfall — Vegetation. The work of geographical exploration being still unfinished, pluviometrical observations arc also necessarily incomplete, the direction and force of the winds and the amount of humidity having been gauged only in the regions accessible to European science, so that tracts as large as all Europe are still almost unknown Fig. 7. — Isobars ix July. Scale 1 : 120,000,000. 3,000 Miles. lands for the meteorologist. Not even a proximate estimate can be formed of the rainfall in the various Asiatic countries, though we know that in the aggregate the climate of Asia contrasts sharply with that of Europe. The latter, almost everywhere sea-girt, receives moisture at all seasons, the mean difference between the driest and wettest months oscillating between 1 and 3, whereas the great bulk of the Asiatic mainland is exposed to atmospheric strata far more regular in their action. East of the transitional zone bordering on Europe, the course of the winds and rains is marked by extreme uniformity. On all the southern and eastern seaboards the driest month yields fifty to sixty times less moisture than the rainy season. In winter the cold atmospheric strata become PENINSULAS. 15 concentrated in Eastern Siberia in the basin of the Lena and its tributaries. The maximum point of cold oscillates about Verkhojansk, where the sky is always clear, the air bright. On some places snow falls so rarely that sleighs are unavailable for a great part of the winter. Then this cold air sets eastwards and southwards, bringing in its wake fine weather and dryness. In summer the reverse process takes place, as shown in Voye'ikov's tentative chart. Siberia, where the barometer in winter marked the greatest pressure, is then exposed to the least atmospheric weight. The sea air is here concentrated from the Pacific and Indian Oceans, filling up the vacuum and bearing with it clouds and rain. Along all the sea- board from the Arabian Sea to the Gulf of Okhotzk the wet monsoon prevails during this period of atmospheric reflux to Eastern Siberia. Ois and Transgangetic India, with the neighbouring archipelagos of Malaysia and the Philippines, probably receive more than half of the whole continental rainfall. In this region, exposed by the barrier of the Himalayas and its eastern extensions to the full play of the tropical currents, the sea air arrives charged with vapours, which are precipitated at the slightest contact with the upland slopes. In summer the southern portion of the continent, having a much higher temperature than the sea, attracts the aerial masses resting on the Indian Ocean, thus ^producing the southern monsoon. Saturated with the moisture arising from the sea as from a seething caldron, this monsoon discharges torrential downpours on the Malabar and Transgangetic coasts, after which it strikes against the advanced Himalayan spurs and other ranges flanking the southern border of the Chinese tablelands. The moist clouds, thus arrested by the lower chains, show that the marine breezes seldom rise higher than from 5,000 to 6,500 feet. But here the tropical rains, real deluges, exceed anything that the inhabitants of the temperate zone have any experience of. Annual rainfalls of 20, 30, and 40 feet are by no means rare in various parts of India, and in the Kassia Hills, overlooking the course of the Lower Brahmaputra, it amounts to 52 feet. Certain Indian valleys have received in one downpour as much water as many French valleys in a twelvemonth. Peninsulas. Thanks to their varied coast-line and reliefs, the regions of Southern Asia, Irania and Arabia alone excepted, present a greater diversity of aspects than the other parts of the continent. The two great peninsulas of India and Indo-China, with the neighbouring archipelagos, are probably unequalled in the richness of their vegetation, the splendour of flower and foliage, and the beauty of the animal species. These are the enchanted isles of the Arab legends, where the sands sparkle with rubies and sapphires, where the trees shed strength and health-giving perfumes, where the birds with their diamond plumage speak with a wisdom unknown to the inhabitants. Many of these islands, gems set in a blue sea, lie nevertheless within the zones of typhoons, earthquakes, and fierce volcanic action. But the vapour- charged sea breezes soon repair the disasters of these agencies, quickly reviving the magnificence of their tropical vegetation. c 2 16 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Comparing continents with continents, the Swede TorbernBergmann remarked in the last century that the large peninsulas, such as Arabia, Hindostan, and Indo-China, nearly all face southwards. These correspond exactly with the Hellenic, Italic, and Iberian peninsulas in Europe, and to a less degree with those of Lower California and Florida in the New World, where the intermediate peninsula has been transformed to an isthmus by the upheaval of the land in Central America. Yig. 8.— Curves of the Eastern Asiatic Seaboard and Islands. Scale 1 : 60,000,000. C. Perron 810 Fathoms and upwards. , 1,200 Miles. The peninsulas of the two continents of the eastern hemisphere, taken in their geographical order, are also distinguished by special and analogous features. Thus Arabia, nearly quadrangular in form, is another Spain in the solidity of its contour and the monotony of its coast-line. India, like Italy, presents more varied outlines, and has a large island at its southern extremity. Lastly, Indo-China and Greece are both alike washed by seas studded with countless islands and islets. These European and Asiatic archipelagos, like the corresponding Antilles in America, PENINSULAS. 17 have all their igneous phenomena, their craters of molten lava — more numerous, however, in Asia than elsewhere. Important geological changes are now taking place in this partially upheaved region, which may in its aggregate be regarded as a sort of isthmus between Asia and Australia. Nevertheless Wallace has noted a sharp line of separation between these two worlds, easily recognised by the difference in the vegetable and animal species peopling the lands situated on either side of this line. In the volcanic chain of the Southern Sundas, Bali belongs to Fig. 9. — Density op the Asiatic Populations, According to Beam and Hanemann.— Coatpont Projection. Scale 1 : 120,000,000, C. Perron □ Per Square Mile. Uninhabited. Under 2. 2 to 18. 18 to £ 36 to 72. 72 to 144. 144 to 288. 288 and , 3,000 Miles. the Asiatic, while Lombok, only 24 miles distant, already forms part of the Australian group. Like the southern, the eastern Asiatic seaboard has also its three peninsulas stretching southwards — Kamchatka, Corea, and Sakhalin — the last apparently an island, but really a peninsula, being connected with the Siberian coast by a bank inaccessible to large vessels. Though possibly mere coincidences, these facts are more probably the result of a law regulating the distribution of dry land, the existence of which can scarcely be questioned, if its explanation must still remain an unsolved problem. 18 ASIATIC EUSSIA. No less remarkable geographical analogies occur in the south-eastern archi- pelago. Thus Sumatra is obviously a peninsula of Malacca, connected with the mainland by the partly submerged isthmus of the Nicobar and Andaman groups. Several of the Malay Islands, Sumatra itself included, are disposed in regular order on openings in the crust of the earth, through which they communicate with an underground lava sea. But the distinctive feature presented by all these insular groups consists in their coast-lines forming a succession of segments of circles. From the north-west extremity of Sumatra to Flores the shores facing the Indian Ocean are developed in the form of a regular arc, and the same is true of Borneo, Palavan, Luzon, and Formosa. The east coast of Corea begins a third curve, which is continued towards the Liu-khieu Islands, while Japan and Sakhalin form a fourth, which in the island of Yesso intersects a fifth, sweeping through the Kuriles along the east side of Kamchatka. Lastly, the chain of the Aleutians, resting on a Kamchatka headland, stretches like a barrier across Bering Strait to Alaska. The radii of these insular curves vary in mean length from 1,100 to 1,200 miles, and the continental seaboard facing them is also disposed in large circular lines. The coasts of Siberia beyond the Amur, the Chinese seaboard between the Yellow Sea and Gulf of Ton-kin, that of Cochin China as far as the Me-khong delta, are all traced as if by the compass. Were the level of the Pacific to be raised from 1,600 to 2,000 feet, the Sikhota-Alin coast range, Russian Manchuria, would be changed to an archipelago like that of Japan, and the- lower valley of the Amur and Sungari would be transformed to a sea, in its outlines resembling that of the Kuriles. In the west the Khingan range also develops a curve parallel to the sweep of the Kuriles, though composed of older rocks. Inhabitants — Culture, About two-thirds of the whole population of the globe are probably concen- trated in Asia ; but these multitudes are far from being evenly distributed over its surface. They are disposed according to the conditions of soil and climate, and, speaking generally, their density may be said to be in proportion to the abundance of the rainfall. Over one-tenth of the land, consisting of sands, rocks, or frozen tablelands, is absolutely uninhabited, and some of these tracts are never even traversed by caravans. In four-fifths of the surface the number of inhabitants scarcely reaches 40 per square mile. But in the remaining fifth, comprising India, parts of Indo-China, the Yang-tze-kiang and Hoang-ho basins, Japan, Luzon, and China, the population is dense enough to give Asia a decided numerical preponderance over the other continents. More than half of mankind are grouped in Southern and Eastern Asia within a space less than one-sixth of the dry land. Thus one of the extremities of Asia presents in this respect a phenomenon analogous to what is witnessed in Western Europe at the other extremity of the Old World. Isolated from each other by plateaux, lofty ranges, or waterless wastes, the Asiatic populations have naturally remained far more distinct than those of Europe. Whatever be the origins, rivalries, or antagonisms of the European ^HABITANTS— CULTUBE. 19 nations, they have none the less the full consciousness of belonging to the same human family, and in many places the interminglings of Iberians and Celts, of Slavs and Finns, of Turks and Albanians, have effaced all primitive differences. But crossings are far from having produced a similar racial uniformity in Asia. Doubtless in the north an ethnical fusion has taken place between many Turki and Mongolian tribes, in the west between Semites and Iranians. Nor are there any Fig. 10. — Distribution op the Asiatic Races. (Scale 1 : 120,000,000. 110' .E.of Gr„ Aryans. Mongolians. Tatars. Enno- Tibetans. Chinese, Semites. Dravidians, Ugriane. Japanese, &c. Caucasians. Eskimo. Africans. Malays. Papuans. , 3,000 Miles. longer to be found completely homogeneous races, except, perhaps, in the Anda- man Islands and Yesso. Yet what striking contrasts are still to bo seen in the greater part of the continent ! The various so-called " Turanian " or Finno-Tataric races mostly form distinct groups, completely separated from the other races in their mental qualities and social habits. In the north the Samoyedes, Ostyaks, and other Siberian tribes form one of the most easily recognised subdivisions. In the east Manchus and Tung uses, in the west Kirghiz and Tatars, represent the QO ASIATIC EUSSIA. Turki stock. The Mongolians and Buriats of the centre are regarded as the typical branch of the Mongol, or Yellow family. On the southern plateaux the Tibetans also form a distinct group, while the basins of the eastern rivers are occupied by the more or less mixed Chinese nation, surpassing all others in numbers, and distinguished from them by well-marked moral and mental features. In the south-east the Malays constitute another division of mankind, which in some of the Sunda Islands and Malacca exhibits characteristics contrasting with those of all the Asiatic peoples. The Arabs also, who with the Jews form the Semitic family, have maintained the primitive purity of their type in the interior of the south-western peninsula. Lastly, the races of India have, so to say, followed each other in successive layers. Although living in the same land, the various ethnical groups, divided into hostile castes, have been developed side by side, while keeping aloof from all physical or social intermixture. The sacred poems of the Hindus relate how the noble races had to struggle with the low-caste tribes, people of black complexion and flat nose, and even with the Anasikas, demons and monkeys. The struggle has ceased, but the law of caste has raised a brazen barrier between these primeval conflicting elements. Speaking generally, the thickly peopled southern and eastern regions may be said to be occupied by cultured races, while the more desert northern tracts were till recently the exclusive domain of savage tribes, the intervening plains and plateaux being held by nomad peoples at the transitional or barbarous stage of civilisation. Yet through a strange, though by no means solitary delusion, the lofty Central Asiatic highlands have often been described in legends as the cradle of mankind, and the influence of these childlike traditions has been felt in many grave scientific works. It seemed natural that these cloud-capped peaks — abode of the gods and immortals — should also be the first home of man created by them, and that the migrations of the tribes should follow the course of the streams, descending to the lowlands from the pure sources springing amidst eternal snows. The Hindus, gazing northwards on the glittering crests of Mount Meru, fancied that here the first rays of light had beamed on their forefathers. The Armenian Ararat, with its snowy cone sweeping a boundless horizon of hills and plains, was also for many peoples the eminence on which the universal father of mortals had first set his foot. Lastly, the Pamir, well named the " Roof of the World," forming the great divide between east and west, was held sacred as the birthplace of the Aryan tribes, who spread thence over Western Asia and Europe. Thus have these uninhabited upland wastes come to be regarded as the cradle of the countless multitudes which, since the appearance of the Aryan race, have dwelt west of the Pamir. But these delusions are henceforth dispelled, and the peoples of the earth have ceased to discover in the regions of perpetual snow the first trace of their ancestors. The geography of traditions and legends is doubtless of great importance, often furnishing valuable hints to the historian ; but, if taken as an exclusive guide, it could lead to nothing but error. The civilisation of modern Europe cannot have had its rise in the arid upland plateaux and desert valleys of Central Asia. Apart INHABITANTS— CULTURE. 21 from what has been developed on the spot, most of its elements must be traced to the Nile basin, to 4he Asiatic coast lands, Asia Minor, Syria, Babylonia, Arabia, Persia, India, and China. All the languages of Europe, except Basque, are of Asiatic origin, and all, whether introduced by the Aryans, Finns, or Tatars, bear witness in their vocabularies to the multiplicity of objects derived from the Eastern civilisations. In prehistoric times especially Asiatic influences must have been most felt by the still barbarous tribes of Europe. Previous to the national and spontaneous development of independent Hellenic culture, the first impulses had come from Asia, where the more advanced peoples had already worked out complete systems of culture. Here were invented the arts of copper casting, of blending the metals into useful alloys, of smelting iron, working in gold and silver. Languages, religions, customs, implements, domestic animals, all came from the East. But after Europe had achieved its first triumph over Asia by the overthrow of Troy, Hellenic culture made rapid progress in the western peninsulas of Asia Minor as well as in Greece itself. Europe began, so to saj', east of the .ZEgean Sea, where the Ionian cities received and transmitted to posterity the inheritance of knowledge bequeathed to them by the Chaldeans, Assyrians, Medes, and Persians. The very name of Asia seems to be of Hellenic origin, restricted at first to a small portion of the Ionian seaboard, and afterwards spread to the Anatolian peninsula and the whole continent. By an analogous phenomenon the name of a small tribe dwelling on the south coast of the Mediterranean was first extended to a Libyan province, and then to all Africa. Religions. But even long after the great centres of civilisation had been shifted from the Mesopotamian regions westwards to Athens and Rome, the religion destined gradually to spread over the West took its rise in an obscure hamlet by the shores of Lake Tiberias. The Arab writers had already observed in mediaeval times that all the great religions, except Buddhism, had their origin in Western Asia, which has given birth to Judaism, the Zoroastrian, Christian, and Mohammedan worships, which, like rhythmical waves of thought, here succeeded each other at regular intervals of about six hundred years. All these systems have otherwise a strong family likeness ; all have been alike influenced by outward surroundings, which in their essential features present striking analogies from the shores of the Caspian to those of the Red Sea. Notwithstanding minor differences, the wilder- nesses of Arabia, Palestine, Chaldsea, and Persia have the same aspect of monotonous grandeur. Buddhism also attempted to penetrate westwards, and traces of its passage are still preserved in the upland valley of Bamian, the main highway of intercourse in former times between India and Western Asia. On this historic spot, 8,600 feet above the sea, in the Hindu-Rush, a Buddhist king ruling over the Upper Oxus basin caused two colossal statues to be hewn in the solid rock, pierced with niches giving access to pilgrims. Other religious monuments mark the track of Buddhism 22 ASIATIC RUSSIA. towards the north, and north-west. But it failed to secure a permanent footing anywhere west of the Pamir and Tian-shan. But Mongols, Chinese, and Tibetans received the Indian missionaries, and, though misunderstanding their doctrine, they at least accepted its name, repeated its formulae, and practised its rites. At present Buddhism, mingled with divers superstitions, prevails in China, Tibet, Japan, Mongolia,, amongst numerous tribes about Lake Baikal, and even in Europe on the shores of the Caspian. In point of numbers it takes the foremost rank amongst the religions of the earth, while geographically Christianity has become the most Fig. 11. — Chief Religions of Central Asia. Scale 1 : 06,000,000. C Per n Christiana. Mohammedans. Brahnians. Buddhists. Shamanists. Pagans. -——=-—— —————— — — 1,200 Miles. widely diffused. In Asia the influence of the latter is limited to the Armenians, Georgians, Nestorians, Maronites, Greeks of Asia Minor, the evangelized tribes of Asiatic Bussia, a few Chinese, Japanese, and Indians, besides European immi- grants and Eurasians. But elsewhere it has become the creed of all the civilised nations of Europe, America, South Africa, and Australasia. Mohammedanism also has spread over a vast domain, stretching mainly south and east of the Christian area. Arabia, its original home, Palestine, nearly all Western Asia as far as the Hindu-Kush, belong to the various Moslem sects. In India the followers of the Prophet are more numerous and influential than elsewhere, while their domain has HISTORIC EETEOSPEOT— MIGRATIONS. 23 also been extended to China and Malaysia. North Africa has also been converted by the Arabs, and Islam is rapidly developing in Sudan, and even approach- ing the Guinea coast. In Europe it is practised only by the Osmanli, Arnauts, Pomaks, and Bosnians of the Balkan peninsula, and by the Tatars and other non- Aryan races of Russia. In the south it has been extirpated by fire and sword, though not before it had exercised a considerable influence on European civilisa- tion. The Spanish Moors were for some time the teachers of the Western nations, nor were the arts and sciences unaffected by the warfare carried on for two centuries by the Crusaders against the Saracens and Turks for the possession of the Holy Land. Historic Retrospect — Migrations. Seen from an elevated standpoint, the great drama of universal history resolves itself into endless struggles, with varying issues, between Europe and Asia. After the initial Asiatic movement a European reaction began in the legendary times which are recalled by the myths of the Argonautio expedition. But the European period begins probably with the first great defeat of Asia, when the free citizens of Athens triumphed over the hosts of Darius and Xerxes. Henceforth the spirit of Western civilisation stood out in bold contrast with that of the East. Greece and the heirs of her greatness understood that the true object of life is to uphold and expand freedom, even at the cost of life itself. But after the glorious struggle ending with the memorable victories of Marathon and Salamis, Europe failed to maintain her rising superiority. Alexander no doubt in a few years overran Asia to the Indus ; but his Macedonian followers ended by becoming Asiatics themselves, leaving successors who sought to continue the work of Darius and Xerxes by attaching Greece to Asia. Even Rome accepted her religion from Palestine, and the seat of empire was shifted to the Bosporus. And while the cultured peoples of the South, the Aryans and Semites, were thus exercising a moral influence on the West, the barbarous tribes of Eastern Europe and of Asia contributed by wholesale migrations to modify the races, if not of the West, at least those of the Sarmatian plains. After the fall of the Roman Empire the eastern continent again acquired an ascendancy, which lasted for a period of a thousand years. In the north the Alans, Avars, Huns, Pecheneghs, Rinnans, Magyars, and other Finns, followed later on by Tatars and Mongolians, penetrated across the steppe lands westwards, and one of those nations founded a state within the circuit of the Carpathians which still flourishes. In the south the Arabs, following the southern shores of the Mediterranean, reached the very heart of Gaul, while between these two great movements the Turks seized the Balkan peninsula, and made the second Rome, the city of Constantine, the capital of their empire. For a time the European world threatened to be swallowed up in the advancing tide of Eastern supremacy. One of the most astounding phenomena of history is the sudden rise in the thirteenth century of the Mongolian Empire, the largest that ever existed. The strictly nomadic population of the East can scarcely be estimated at more than four or five millions, and the fighting element can at no time have exceeded half a 24 ASIATIC EUSSIA. million in these regions. The Mongolian hordes could never of themselves alone have made up those vast hosts spoken of in the mediaeval chronicles. The alarm and terror of the vanquished multiplied in imagination the number of the conquerors, and in tho popular fancy the East seemed to be an officina gentium peopled by vast multitudes, whereas the more favoured regions of the West were really far more populous. The Mongolian conquests were, in fact, achieved by small armies moving quickly from place to place with a unity of purpose, and falling suddenly on enemies too scattered or dismayed to offer an effectual resistance. The detachment sent by Jenghis Khan to Samarkand in pursuit of Sultan Ala- ed-din consisted of no more than 20,000 men, and for three years these warriors triumphantly overran Persia, Khorassan, Armenia, Georgia, the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the plains of the Volga before returning to their master. The Mongols easily reached China by descending from their barren tablelands through the many valleys watered by the tributaries of the Hoang-ho. But towards' the west there was but one route, which all could not reach. During the great displacements of populations vast numbers were crowded into Kashgaria, where they found themselves enclosed by lofty ranges inaccessible to armies. But the bulk of the migratory tribes followed the traditional route along the southern slopes of the Altai, whence they swept over Western Siberia in two streams, one proceeding westwards to Europe, the other southwards to Persia and India. None of these hordes ever returned to their native pastures, except a few of the Astrakhan Kalmuks, who attempted in 1770 to escape from Russian rule to their ancestral homes at the foot of the Altai. And now silence reigns in the restless regions which were once the centre of the Mongolian Empire, and the highway of the Altai is a solitude. The turbulent populations formerly dwelling on the northern frontier of China have been pacified largely through the policy which, by the propagation of Lamaism in Mongolia, has changed a population of warriors into a community of monks. But the traces of the old migrations have not been effaced. The flora and fauna of the two continents have become intermingled, while the peoples them- selves overlap and encroach on each other at various points. Samoyedes and Lapps may still be regarded as Asiatics, and many even of the Mordvinians, Chuvashes, and Cheremissians in Central Russia are more akin in their habits to the remote Siberian Ostyaks than to the surrounding Russian populations. Many Bashkirs, Tatars, Kirghiz, and Kalmuks are also settled in Europe, while, on the other hand, European nations have penetrated far into Asia. Compact Slav communities are settled in Transcaucasia, and even on the Pacific seaboard, while the Hellenes are more numerous in Anatolia than the Osmanli in the Balkan peninsula. European Influekces. Formerly the civilising, the Asiatics now represent the barbarous element in the presence of the Europeans, whose culture, with all its shortcomings, may still be regarded as the focus of education for the Eastern world. The general move- PROGRESS OP DISCOVERY. 25 ment of civilisation has thus been reversed, and intellectual life now radiates from Europe to the remotest corners of the earth. Wherever the European explorers first settled they doubtless began their civilising work by massacring, enslaving, or otherwise debasing the natives. But the beneficial influences of superior races have ever commenced by mutual hatred, mistrust, and antagonism. The conflicting elements everywhere contend for the mastery before they awaken to the conviction that all alike are members of the same human family. Like the civilising action of Asia in former times, that of Europe spread eastwards first from the seaboard. The Portuguese led the way by establishing themselves on the shores of both India and Malaysia ; and these were followed successively by the Spaniards, Dutch, English, and French, who founded factories or forts on the islands and coasts of the same regions. At present Cyprus is an English island, while Asia Minor is at least in theory under the protectorate of Great Britain, whose agents are also establishing her supremacy over Baluchistan, Afghanistan, and possibly even over Persia. Several points on the Arabian and Persian seaboards belong, directly or indirectly, to England, which guards the waters of the Persian Gulf, and reigns as undisputed mistress over India, Ceylon, and part of Indo-China. A large portion of Further India is under French rule, while Holland, England, and Spain, share with a few native sultans the possession of the Eastern Archipelago. Of all the Asiatic nations Japan has been most rapidly transformed under European influences, and in the Chinese seaports whole quarters are already occupied by European or American trading communities. Lastly, all the northern division of the continent owns the sway of Russia, whose Cossack pioneers have since the close of the sixteenth century brought the whole of Siberia under the sceptre of the Czar. Thus about one-half the area and one-third the population of Asia belong henceforth politically to Europe, as appears from the subjoined table of the direct and indirect Asiatic possessions of the various European states : — Asiatic Russia and Dependencies .... British Possessions and Dependencies in Asia Dutch French . . Spanish ..... Portuguese ... ... Total Asia subject to Europe . From the settlements on the seaboard the political conquests and commercial relations of the "West have advanced with ever-increasing rapidity towards the interior, although the work of scientific discovery is still far from complete. There are extensive regions of Central Asia scarcely visited except by solitary explorers, while even in the parts already surveyed many obscure problems remain still to be solved. Progress of Discovery. The ancients, whose navigators never ventured to sail beyond the Indian waters to China, carried on a tedious overland traffic with that country by caravan Area an Sq. Miles. Population. 0,736,000 17,000,000 2,772,000 218,500,000 696,000 26,600,000 56,200 2,760,000 118,200 7,450,000 7,200 770,000 10,385,600 313,080,000 26 ASIATIC RUSSIA. routes, which remained unknown to the "Western conquerors. It will he scarcely possible to discover the exact highway followed by the Greek traders ; but Bactra bein"- at that time the great emporium, the route indicated by Ptolemy most probably penetrated eastwards through the Upper Oxus valley across the southern portion of the Pamir, thence descending by one of the head-streams of the (Echardes (Tarim) to the present basin of Kashgaria. Attempts have even been made to identify the Tash-Kurgan, which lies on a tributary of the Yarkand in Sarikol, with the " Stone Tower " spoken of by the old traders. At the beginning of the Christian era, when their military power was most flourishing, the Chinese subdued Western Tatary, and while their armies were crossing the Tian-shan passes, their merchants and pilgrims were traversing the rougher routes over the " Roof of the World." Hwen-T'sang, the most famous of these pilgrims, describes his journeys with sufficient minuteness to enable us to follow his footsteps across the Pamir and the Upper Oxus valley. Marco Polo also, after leaving Bactra (Balkh), followed a route differing little from that of his Greek predecessors, and running north-east across " the plain of the Pamier, which they say is the highest place in the world." Beyond Yarkand he skirted the Gobi district on the south, entering China proper about the sources of the Hoang-ho. This journey of Marco Polo across the continent from west to east still remains unrivalled after a lapse of six hundred years. As an imperial functionary he also visited most of the Chinese provinces and East Tibet, penetrating into Burmah through the still little- known regions separating Yun-nan from Indo-China. By his enthusiastic account of China, its great cities and eastern islands, he contributed more than any other traveller to stimulate the love of enterprise, and by him was conjured up the phantom pursued by Columbus across the western waters to the goal of a new world. When Marco Polo was making his way over the Pamir, another more northern route to Mongolia had already been traversed by numerous merchants, missionaries, and envoys. In the middle of the thirteenth century the centre of gravity of the Mongol Empire lay about the neighbourhood of the Altai. Hence the main commercial highway naturally converged on Karakorum, capital of the state, and this was the road already followed by the Mongol and Tatar hordes north of the Tian-shan, and along the valley of the Sir-darya. It was also traversed by Plan de Carpin and Rubruk, envoy of Louis IX. Western adventurers now crowded round the imperial tent, and so numerous were the relations of the West with the great Eastern potentate that there was question of founding a chair of the Mongolian language in the Paris Sorbonne. But the empire was soon broken up ; Karakorum ceased to be a capital, and its ruins were forgotten in the sands. Still the route to China along the northern slopes of the Tian-shan, and through Zungaria, remained open to trade. Pegolotti and others followed it in the fourteenth century, and it might have ultimately acquired real commercial importance, had the attention of the Western nations not been diverted to the great oceanic discoveries round the Cape of Good Hope to India, and across the Atlantic to the New World. The long and dangerous highways of Tatary, Zungaria, and Mongolia were now forsaken, and the work of PROG-BESS OF DISCOVERY. 27 Marco Polo has been resumed only in our days. But it is being now prosecuted by many explorers "armed with the resources of science, and protected by the respect with which the natives have learnt to regard the Western nations. From year to year the space still remaining to be explored becomes narrower ; the main features of the mysterious Pamir are already determined ; Northern and Western China have been traversed in every direction. But certain Tibetan districts still remain a terra incognita, pending the exploration of which many important geographical problems must remain unsolved. Asia may still be said to lack Fig. 12. — Chief Itineraries op Central Asia. Scale 1 : 120,000,000. 65° E of Gn 125° C Pery-on Silk Route. = Pundits. ....... Chinese in fifth century. ■ Gabet. — ITwen-T'sang. —»....*«. Francis Garnier. ~-~~ Arabs. +-.++*+ McCarthy. -. — Kicolo and Maffco Tolo. — — Eichthofen. Marco Polo. ...—... Elias, 1S72. Main Trade Route according to Tcgoletti, 1340. —■•— Sosnovski. Forsyth, 1870. Cooper. .. — Prjevalski. ....... Armand David. •""*• Schlagintweit. i. — ■ 3,000 Miles. geographical unity in its relations with the history of man ; for the interior remains but partially known, while the movements of population and commerce continue still to be made by the seaward routes and coast regions. The progress of trade and discovery must ultimately give to Asia the unity it now lacks, and the result must be a general shifting of equilibrium throughout the whole world. At no distant day the European railway system will be continued eastwards, connecting the cities of the Bosporus with those of India, and enabling goods to be forwarded without break from the Vistula to the Indus basin. Travellers will then flock to those still unknown regions of Eastern Tibet, 28 ASIATIC RUSSIA. the scene of some of the grandest phenomena on the globe. The teeming populations of India and China will then also enter into direct relations with each other, and tho trade routes of Calcutta and Shanghai will meet midway between those emporiums. All these economic revolutions must revive many cities decayed, or even vanished, since the overland routes were abandoned for the safer and easier oceanic highways. Large cities cannot fail again to spring up in Bactriana and Sogdiana, where the main road between Central Europe and India will cross that leading to Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt. But besides the new centres of population that must arise in the West, others will be founded in Central Asia, the rallying-pointa of Chinese and Russians, of the Hindu and European traders. But the precise locality of these new marts must be determined by political as well as by climatic and other physical considerations, for Asia is a battle-field which is destined soon to witness a decisive struggle in the history of mankind. Political Rivalries. The influence of Europe on the Asiatic populations is steadily increasing, so that the vast eastern continent would seem in some respects to be becoming more and more a simple dependency of its little western peninsula. The power of Europe is represented in Asia mainly by the two rival states, England and Russia, differing profoundly from each other in their traditions, political situation, and interests. Russia rules in the northern, England in the southern zone, and many small intermediate peoples struggling to maintain their independence gravitate necessarily to the orbits of these great states. In the extreme east, Japan, while preserving its political autonomy, is striving to rival the European peoples in the form of its administrative system. But the Chinese still cling to their individual nationality. Their power has been but little affected by the recent invasions and treaties with foreign states, and the empire is already beginning to resist farther aggression by the inert force of its teeming populations. But these countless masses have also the strength imparted by industry, toil, and patience, while common sense, methodic habits, unflagging tenacity, render them formidable competitors in the race. Compared with the Hindus, the Chinese have the paramount advantage derived from a thorough mixture of races and national cohesion. Their temperate habits also enable them to become acclimatized under the most varied climes. They are an enduring race, which acquires fresh vitality from oppression and defeat. Hence England and Russia are not the only rivals for supremacy in Asia. Nay, more, the Chinese race cannot fail to clash with the peoples of Europe and North America on the fundamental questions of culture and social habits, before taking an active and intelligent part with them in the work of human progress. This conflict must needs retard the development of mankind until its course be again resumed by a final reconciliation of the ideas common to both elements. The inevitable struggle between these three rival states is still retarded by POLITICAL EIY ALLIES. 29 the vast extent of the partly desert lands separating them. If China is easily accessible by sea, she'is at least completely enclosed landwards. Towards Russian Siberia she has far more solitudes than peopled regions, and hero also Russia, having but few colonies, is incapable of exercising any political pressure on China. Between the " Flowery Land" and British India the zone of separation is formed not by solitudes, but by highlands still scarcely explored. In the west there is still a considerable tract intervening between Prussian territory and India, and here the native element has hitherto maintained a certain political independence. In both Fig. 13. — European Influence in Asia. Scale 1 : 120,000.om. 1,0" E.c-F Gr. C.Perrofi □ t Kussian Subject to Russian Possessions. Influence British Possessions. Subject to British Influence. 3,000 Miles. directions the Turkomans and Afghans have till recently presented a bold front to the Russian and English invaders, who are endeavouring to seize the strategic points of their territory. Influential statesmen have even declared, whether sincerely or not, that this intermediate zone should be permanently respected by the two rival powers, and that the advanced sentinels of British India and Russian Turkestan run little risk of soon meeting on some pass of the Hindu-Kush, or about the sources of the Murghab. From the military point of view China is still far inferior to the two other VOL. VI. D 80 ASIATIC RUSSIA. great Asiatic powers. Although she has had the foresight to utilise the last twenty years of peace to reorganize her army, replenish her arsenals, cast guns, build ironclads, she is scarcely yet strong enough to contend with any European power beyond her own limits. She is also still largely enslaved to official etiquette and deep-rooted traditions, preventing her from freely entering on the new career towards which she is impelled by the course of events. Nevertheless both Government and people are at one in the determination to prevent foreigners from monopolizing the wealth and trade of the country. While receiving them in compliance with the terms of the treaties, the Chinese have contrived to protect their own interests, and while slowly accepting new ideas, they prefer to be their own teachers in applying them to economical purposes. From the material point of view they also possess the strength inherent in numbers. In Manchuria, in Formosa, and in the central regions they are gradually acquiring the land by cultivation, and even in many foreign countries they have attained a decided preponderance. From their over-peoplednative land they are already overflowing into Further India, Malaysia, Australia, the- Sandwich Islands, and the United States. On the other hand, England is unable to contend by means of compact masses for the supremacy in Asia. In the very centre of her power she has nothing to depend upon beyond her European troops and native mercenaries. Still the territory already acquired gives her a tremendous defensive and aggressive power. She not only raises formidable armies in an empire containing one-sixth of the population of the globe, but also a sufficient revenue to be independent of the resources of the home country. The English cannot, of course, reel on the sympathy of their subjects, whom they probably despise too much to expect it of them. The time must also doubtless come, though it may be still remote, when the Hindus will develop a national life and get rid of their foreign masters. Meanwhile the English tenure is far more secure than before the mutiny of 1857, although the majority of the army is composed of sepoys, and all the lovrer functions of the administration are in the hands either of natives or of" Eurasians ; " that is, half-caste Hindus and Europeans. The secret of England's strength lies in the fact that no national spirit has yet been evolved, no public opinion formed, except here and there, and even then deprived of all efficacy in a country which is divided into a multitude of distinct societies by the institution of caste. The English, belonging almost exclusively to the wealthy and influential classes, and unattended by servants of their own nationality, whose menial status mi°ht diminish British prestige, are enabled to live like gods and move in a hi"her world, far above their multitudinous subjects, by whom they are hated, yet feared. Apart from the various questions of internal policy, the main point for England is not only to uphold her sway in Cisgangetic India, but also to con- nect by easy and rapid routes the two centres of her vast empire on which " the sun never sets." She requires the geographical unity of a powerful state for there are still great gaps in her boundless domain. The London and Calcutta highway is not absolutely secured to her fleets and armies, and would be exposed POLITICAL EIVALEIES. SI on the flank were Russia to seize the Dardanelles and upper basin of the Euphrates, or place Cossack garrisons in the strongholds of Afghanistan. Thanks to her fast-sailing fleets, England has hitherto enjoyed a great advantage over her rival for empire ; for British armies are moved from the Thames to the Indus far more expeditiously than feeble Russian columns from the Caspian to the oasis of Merv. Hence, in spite of the maps, England is in reality much nearer to India than are the advanced Muscovite outposts on the Upper Oxus. The Mediter- ranean belongs to the fleets of England, -which is thus enabled to close the Suez Canal at pleasure. She also rules supreme in the Red Sea, on the Arabian sea- board, in the Persian Gulf, and along the coasts of Persia and Baluchistan. But the water highways are insufficient, and she will also have to hold the overland routes beyond Europe. With this object she has already secured the virtual pos- session of Asia Minor and occupied Cyprus, at the extreme corner of the Mediter- ranean, over against the great bend of the Euphrates ; she also holds strong posi- tions in Makran and Baluchistan, and must either now or ultimately annex Kandahar permanently to British India. She is on friendly terms with the Western Asiatic sovereigns, by means of pensions gradually transforming them into vassals, thus avoiding the risk and expense of ruling them directly, for she also enjoys over Russia the great advantage derived from the possession of accu- mulated capital. Her military routes are being rapidly developed, and a line COO miles long will soon connect the Indian railway system with Kandahar, the true key to Afghanistan. Half the distance separating Alexandretta from Calcutta will thus be traversed by English locomotives. But is it not evident from such efforts that the struggle for supremacy in Asia is approaching ? Slower in their movements, because opposed by still unsurmounted physical obstacles, the Russians have, as a military power, advantages of another description over their English rivals. Their territory is not composed of scattered frag- ments, but forms from the shores of Lapland to the Pamir a perfect geogra- phical unity. A large portion of the inhabitants are, moreover, of Russian stock, and this ethnical element is yearly increasing by colonisation. Nor are tho native tribes anywhere numerous enough to cause serious alarm to the Slav settlers, who have become diversely intermingled with them, and who do not maintain a haughty reserve towards the former owners of the land. Perfect fusion is prevented by differences of social habits, and amongst the Moham- medans by religious prejudice. Still the Orthodox Russians and the Moslems of Turkestan do not, like the English and Hindus, hold aloof from each other, as if they belonged to two distinct orders of humanity. Hence national cohesion may be ultimately realised in Asiatic as easily as it has been in European Russia. The Russians will also, like the English, soon doubtless succeed in giving greater material cohesion to their Asiatic Empire by means of military routes, lines of wells, and even railways across the intervening wastes. The railway system, now reaching no farther than the Caucasus, Atrek valley, and river Ural, will bo continued to the foot of the Hindu-Kush, and then formidable armies may in a few weeks be massed on tbe frontiers of the lands hitherto swayed by British influence. d 2 82 ASIATIC RUSSIA. But these frontiers still present many weak points, especially on the Iranian table- land and in the upland valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates. Whether the two rivals wish it or not, whether they seek to precipitate or avoid the conflict, it must sooner or later inevitably come. All the petty intermediate states are already being disintegrated under the pressure of the twofold attraction, and on both sides the intrigues, rivalries, political, commercial, and religious jealousies have silently begun the mighty struggle which must one day burst into open warfare. Thus arc being prepared revolutions of a vital character in the heart of the Old World. The Asiatic lands, where, rightly or wrongly, the cultured races seek their primeval origins, are becoming the scene of a supreme political struggle between the two most powerful nations in Europe. Whatever be the issue, the hope may be entertained that Western Asia and the Indian world will definite^ belong to the domain of Western civilisation, and that thenceforth all the European and Asiatic peoples will accomplish their evolution harmoniously together, so that all may benefit by the progress of each. Thanks to the reaction of Western culture on the Eastern world, mankind, conscious of its unity, has already been enlarged, and political revolutions are preparing for the world a common destiny and solution of the problems affecting the life of nations. CHAPTER II CAUCASIA. L— THE PONTO-CASPIAN MOUNTAIN SYSTEM. I HE Caucasian mountain system is often regarded as belonging to Eui'ope. Hising like a barrier north of the eastern extremity of the Black Sea, it must have seemed to the Greek navigators dis- tinctly severed from Asia, whereas to the traders settled on the northern shores of the Euxine it appeared to form the southern limits of the great Scythian plains. Since that time geographers have discussed the question whether the natural confines of the two continents were indicated by the bed and marsh lands of the Phasis in Colchis, or by the Kimmerian Strait and course of the Tanais. Apart from this question, Hellenic tradition constantly kept in view these mountains, loftier than either Olympus, Etna, Hemus, or the Alps. The history of Greece itself was associated in legend with this distant range, where the first germs of civilisation were sought. Towards the shores of Colchis was directed the famous Argonautic expedition in search of the Golden Fleece, symbolizing the wealth of every sort flowing both from science, trade, and industry. Here, also, the Hellenes endeavoured to find the origin of their race. Deucalion, who peopled Greece, was son of Prometheus, and it was to a rock in the Caucasus that this Titan was bound for having stolen the fire from heaven. A sort of superstition, perhaps associated with the Promethean myth, formerly induced savants to apply the term Caucasian to all the fair European and Asiatic races, thus testifying to the instinctive reverence with which the nations have ever regarded these mountains forming the barrier between two worlds. This border-land was supposed to be still inhabited by the purest representatives of the race, whose beauty, symmetry, and graceful carriage were spoken of as physical advantages peculiar to all the white peoples. Nor has this term Caucasian yet quite disappeared from ordinary language as the synonym of the "White, Aryan, or Indo-European stock. Since the true relief of the land has been determined by Pallas and other explorers, there can be no longer any doubt that the Caucasus belongs to Asia. It is sharply separated from Europe by the deep depression now traversed by the 34 ASIATIC ETJSSIA. Manich, and formerly filled by the waters of the Ponto-Caspian Strait. In the south the system, while preserving its character of a distinct chain, is connected by spurs and a lofty transverse ridge with the Anatolian mountains, so that it forms the advanced mass of the whole continent. Historically, also, the inhabitants of the Caucasus belong to the Asiatic world. Before the intervention of Prussia the Georgians, Mingrclians, Armenians, Kurds, Tatars, and other Transcaucasian peoples maintained relations, whether friendly or hostile, chiefly with the inha- bitants of Anatolia and Persia. The southern slopes facing the sun are also much more densely peopled than those turned towards the arid steppes of Europe. Hence, even after their annexation to Russia, the centre of gravity of these Asiatic lands was naturally found at the southern foot of the Caucasus, where is concen- trated the aggressive force of the empire against the other regions of Western Asia. Recently a considerable strip of Turkish territory has been forcibly added to Transcaucasia, so that this division of the Caucasus, already the most populous, has become nearly as extensive as the northern. It is even larger, if in it be included the province of Daghestan, which, though lying north of the main range. is administratively regarded as part of Transcaucasia.* Tub Great Caucasus. Few ranges are characterized by a more striking unity than the Caucasus, the Kok-kaf or Kaf-dagh of the Turks and Tatars, a section of " the chain that girdles the world," according to the Oriental mythologies. Seen from the distant steppes of Mozdok or Yekaterinogradsk, stretching from horizon to horizon, it seems like a rampart with a thousand sparkling battlements. The poets call it simply the Caucasus, as if it were but one frowning mass reaching from sea to sea for a distance of 720 miles. It is also called the "Great Caucasus," in contradis- tinction to the irregular spurs of the "Little," or rather " Anti-Caucasus " beyond the Kura basin. Approached from the Euxine or the Russian steppes, it seems at first an impalpable vapour, a hazy cloud mingling with the fogs of the sur- rounding swamps ; then it assumes more distinct outlines, breaking into snowy or wooded crests and deep gorges, the whole soon bounding the horizon, towering above the zone of cloud, wind, and storm, eclipsing the sun midway in its course, threatening the lowlands with avalanches and widespread ruin, hurling the foaming torrents in cascades and rapids down to the plains. Accustomed to the sight of boundless steppes or slight eminences, the Russians could not fail to be struck by these lofty summits which seemed to belong to another nature, whose charm was enhanced by the valour and beauty of its inhabitants. * Area and population of Russian Caucasia : — Area in Square Estimated Population Miles. (1SS0). Ciscaucasia 88,900 1,920,000 Daghestan . . . 11,436 500,000 Transcaucasia with Kuba . 75,344 3,250,000 Recent conquests . . . 10,636 200,000 Total 180,316 6,870,000 THE GBEAT CAUCASUS. S5 Russian literature reflects the deep impression produced on the imagination by the sight of the Caucasus, and by the warfare waged against its numerous tribes. Pushkin described in song the romantic scenery of Circassia ; Lermontov inter- preted the traditions of the inhabitants, and made the Caucasus the scene of his novel the " Hero of the Day," which had such a large share in the intellectual development of the rising generation. How many noble spirits have perished, like Lermontov himself, in this region, persecuted during life, all the more honoured in death ! The general south-east and north-west direction of the range suffers but slight deviations. It thus follows the same line as the mountains of Persia, Asia Minor, and so many other Asiatic systems. Its origin is therefore associated with the laws by which a large portion of the crust of the Old "World has been modified. Fig'. 14. — Bed op the Caspian. According to A. Giimma. Scale I 5 500,000. E.of Of. Iferron H to 6 Fathoms. to GO. CO to 120. 120 to ISO. 180 and upwards. • 90 Miles. In the formation of the surrounding lands the Caucasus has even played a more important part than is evident from its apparent relief. With a regularity sur- passing that of all other systems, it is continued beyond the main ridge by argil- laceous hills thrown up by igneous agencies. At either extremity low peninsulas heaving with the pressure of pent-up forces are projected seawards — those of Taman on the west, and Apsheron on the east. The first is scarcely separated from another peninsula, that of Kertch, advancing from the Crimean mountains, while the second stretches across the Caspian in a line marked first by volcanic islets, and then by a submerged bank separating the two great northern and southern marine depressions. On both sides of this bank the lead sinks 1,300 feet deeper than the line of projection of the Caucasus. On the east coast the cape north of the Krasnovodsk peninsula is the starting-point of a chain of 0,3 ASIATIC RUSSIA. heights, hills or single escarpments continuing the line of the Caucasus directly to the Murghah valley between Merv and Herat. Through these eminences and those of North Afghanistan the Caucasian system is connected with that of the Hindu-Hush. The Caucasus resembles the Pyrenees in its direction, in the serrated form of the main range, in its position between two marine basins, and like them also it may be considered as consisting of two sections of unequal length. But if the gap forming the natural limit between the western and eastern sections is not situated in the middle of the range, it lies at all events almost exactly midway between the two seas. Through this depression passes the great military high- way between Russia and Tirlis. On the meridian of this pass the main range contracts on either side to a width of about 60 miles between the two opposite plains, while east and west the highlands spread much farther north and south. The western section, though the narrower, is the higher of the two, for here rise the loftiest summits, six at least of which surpass Mont Blanc, culminating point of Europe.* Daghestan, i.e. " the Highlands," comprising the most important region of the Eastern Caucasus, is lower, but more irregular and rugged, than the western section. The old geographers supposed that the system consisted of a simple unbroken ridge ; but the investigations of Abish and others show that the general relief is much more intricate. The chain is almost everywhere formed by two ridges, and in many places even by three or four running parallel, or nearly so, with each other, and connected at intervals by nuclei, thus presenting a formation analogous to that of the Andes. The upper valleys of the Caucasus generally take the form of cirques, or elongated craters, in which are collected the head-streams, and from which they escape through a deep lateral gorge. From the orographic point of view the Koshtan-tau may be considered the culminating point of the system ; for this peak, which has never been scaled, rises on the parting-line between the two slopes. Between the sources of the Kuban and of the Adai- kokh, 100 miles farther east, the watershed presents no passes lower than 10,000 feet. The first breach below this elevation is the Marnisson Pass (9,540 feet), situated at one of the sudden breaks in the main range, on a transverse ridge branching off at the Zikari Mountains. East of this pass numerous gaps occur at altitudes ranging from 6,500 to 10,000 feet. Although the triangular survey of the Caucasus has long been finished, the work of exploration is still far from complete. Since 1S68 the Kazbek and Elbruz have been ascended by Frcshfield, Moore, and Tucker, accompanied by the Chamonix guide Devouassoud, and several other peaks have also been scaled ; yet the Alpine Clubs have still plenty of work before them, especially in the "Western Caucasus. The northern and southern slopes of the range differ greatly in their general * Chief summits of the Caucasus : — Elbruz . Kashtan-tau Dikh-tau Feet. Feet. 1S.S20 Kazbek 16.S00 17,370 TJshba (Besoch-mta) 16,750 (?) 17,190 Agliish-tau, or Adish-tau . 16,250 (f) THE GREAT CAUCASUS. £7 aspects. The latter is on the whole the more abrupt of the two, and the distance from the central ridge to the plains watered by the Kura is about one-half that which intervenes between the same point and the northern valleys of the Sulak and Terek. In the west a similar contrast is presented by the slopes facing the Kion and Kuban respectively. The descent towards the Kuban is very irregular, being broken first by a series of parallel crests, and then lower down by the pro- jections of the upland limestone terraces resembling the glacis of a rampart, which stretch somewhat confusedly from the Euxine to the Caspian, but which present Fig. 15. — Geological Formations of the Central Caucasus. According to E. Favre. Scale 1 : 1,100,000. E.oF Gr. 45° , C, Perron mi 3 Granites. Paleozoic Lower Jurassic Upper .Jurassic Lower Chalks. Schists. Lauds. Lands. Upper Chalks. Undetermined Angitic Lower Tertiaries. Porphyry. Andesine. . 21 Miles. remarkably distinct outlines about the western hemicycle of the Upper Terek. There is thus developed a vast intermediate valley between the main range and the advanced ridges of Jurassic formation. These terraces slope very gently toward the steppe, whereas the side facing the central chain is broken by steep declivities, some of which present nearly vertical walls over 3,000 feet high. These broken terraces, intersected by rapid torrents, are regarded by the inha- bitants as of far greater importance than the higher eminences of the main range, for the pastures and woodlands are here parcelled out as landed property. Every prominence has its name, whereas till recently the Elbruz and Kazbek were the only peaks of the main range known by name to the kwlanders. 38 ASIATIC EUSSIA. Geological Formation — Volcanic Action. The regularity of the Caucasian system is not confined to the general relief, but is also shown, at least on the northern slopes, in the main features of its geology. The chief range consists principally of crystalline schists, resting here and there on granites, and diminishing in extent as wo go eastwards. The Suram transverse ridge, connecting the Caucasus with the Anti-Caucasus, also consists of crystalline rocks ; hut hero the strata are far less regular than on the northern slopes. Eight and left of the great central chain, the prominences on both slopes arc chiefly composed of limestone and silicious strata of various ages ■ — Jurassic, cretaceous, or eocene. In the north these older formations are covered by the pliocene and more recent steppe lands. In their prevailing characteristics the Urukh, Terek, and Baksan valleys all closely resemble each other. Here the streams rise in wild and rugged granitic cirques, thence traversing marls and sandy clays between glens clotted with numerous villages, beyond which they enter narrow gorges, above whose chalk sides are visible the pastures and woodlands. Lower down stretches the steppe, where the torrents combine to form the Terek. About the middle of the range, between Daghestan and the Western Caucasus, a sort of geological inlet penetrates into the Upper Terek valley, where a vast horizontal plateau of tertiary grits projects like a peninsula between the surround- ing chalks. Here the attraction of the hills is unusually active, the deviation of the plummet towards the intermediate rocks amounting to thirty-eight seconds between Vladikavkaz, at the northern base, and Dushet, south of the range. Porphyries cropping out in the upper regions raise their steep crests above the snow-line, while in the central regions more recent lavas have broken through the crust, especially on the southern slopes. In the north the Elbruz, culminating point of the system, is an old volcano, whicb was probably active when the Euxine and Caspian were still connected by the Manich Strait towards the close of the tertiary or beginning of the following epoch. This mountain terminates in a sort of horseshoe cirque, which seems to be a crater partly fallen in. The Kazbek also is a trachyte cone, while the crests -of the " Eed Hills," farther south, are all volcanic, and the route skirting the Aragva passes along the foot of columnar basalt rocks. Nor are the subterraneous forces still extinct in the Caucasus. Not only are both extremities fringed by boiling mud volcanoes, but numerous mineral and naphtha springs bubble up from underground lakes disposed in symmetrical order on both sides of the range. The hot springs are amongst the most copious in the world, though few of them seem to be associated with the igneous forces lying beneath the main chain. Earthquakes, probably of volcanic origin, occur at frequent intervals in the valleys of the Kura and Araxis, while regular upheavals of the land have taken place at both ends of the range. The steep cliffs overlooking the little harbour of Petrovsk, in Daghestan, are scored by horizontal lines produced by the former action of the waves, although they are now some 300 feet above the present level of the Caspian. On the Abkhasian coast there are also distinct evidences of GEOLOGICAL FORMATION— VOLCANIC ACTION. 39 changes of level, and as high as 500 feet there aro visible old marine snores in every respect resembling those still washed by tho waves of the Black Sea. The marshy springs oozing from tho ground at this elevation contain shell-fish, such as the my sis and gammarus, of tho same species as those now inhabiting tho Euxine, though their presence has been attributed cither to a former communication with that sea, or to the action of water-fowl carrying tho spat backwards and forwards in their plumage. Lake Abraii, near Novo-Bossiisk, also contains a scmi-marino fauna, which has gradually adapted itself to the fresh water. The remains of buildings in the alluvia near Sukhum-Ivaleh, both above and below the surface, show that even in historic times the land has first subsided and then been Fig. 16. — Hot Springs and Na-phtiia Regions in the Caucasus. fVilc l : n.onn.noo. 53° E.of Gr. C.PerrQD Naphtha llcgions. not Springs. Naphtha Wells. ii i, ISO Miles. upheaved, and that it is now again subsiding. The ruins of a fort are at present 15 to IS feet under water, and a large wall has been found even at a depth of 32 feet. After every storm, coins, rings, and other antique objects are constantly thrown up, and in one instance a gold coronet was discovered in the sands. Similar oscillations have occurred on the Baku coast of the Caspian, where the remains of a building aro still visible near the shore. The advanced spurs of the Caucasus arc not high enough to conceal tho central chain from the inhabitants of tho plains. From the steppes of Stavropol, a distance of 120 miles, the snowy Elbruz is distinctly visible, rising in solitary majesty on the horizon. Travellers approaching from the north see it for miles 40 ASIATIC RUSSIA. and miles along the route, constantly increasing in size long before the presence of the range is betrayed by any other peaks to the right or left. But when it suddenly comes in sight it presents a stern, almost a terrible aspect, snow-clad only on the highest crests, here and there furrowed by avalanches, but lacking the charm and variety of the Alpine masses. Being much narrower and simpler in its structure, it is necessarily more uniform than the Alpine system. It is also deficient in grand cascades, its hills having already been furrowed by the action of water into regular river beds. "Water Systems — Snow-line — Rainfall — Glaciers. The absence of detached masses and of broad intervening valleys deprives the Caucasus of great lakes like those of the Alps. No such lacustrine tarns even occur as are so frequently met in the Swiss and Tyrolese highlands. The fresh- water lakes, formerly stretching along the plains at both sides of the range, have been drained since the glacial period. One of these old lakes, contemporary with Fig. 17. — Profile of the Caucasus as seen from Patigoesk. According to FrcshfielLl. the volcanic eruptions, is now replaced by the cultivated fields of Vladikavkaz and Alagir in the Terek valley. Another of equal extent on the south filled the Karthalian basin between Suram and Mtzkhet, disappearing with the bursting of the embankments that confined the waters of the Kura. The whole of the Alazan valley, with that of its tributary the Airi-chai, was also flooded by a lake, which ultimately escaped through a gorge in the advanced spurs of the Caucasus. In fact, all the river valleys, those of the Kuban and its tributaries the Zelenchuck, the Laba, and the Belaya, no less than those of the Kura system, formerly served as lacustrine reservoirs, so that the Caucasian streams, like so many others, may be regarded as reduced lakes or contracted fiords. But the Anti-Caucasus, a vast hilly plateau, or rather an aggregate of irregular masses with axes at various angles, thus presents far more numerous land-locked depres- sions, and this system accordingly offers in its lakes a marked contrast to the Ponto-Caspian chain. Although with a greater mean elevation than those of the Alps, the Caucasian peaks are far less covered with snow and ice, not only in consequence of their more southerly latitude and other climatic conditions, but also owing to the WATER SYSTEMS— SNOW-LINE— RAINFALL— GLACIEES. 41 narrowness of the upper crests, and the absence of cirques where the accumulated snows might serve as reservoirs of glaciers. The snow-line varies considerably with the latitude, exposure, amount of snow or rainfall, direction and force of the winds, and relative position of the several mountain masses. The extreme limits would appear to differ as much as 6,100 feet, for, according to lladde, the lino falls to 8,460 feet on the western slopes of the Garibolo, whereas Parrot fixes it at 14,560 feet on the north-west side of the Great Ararat. Mount Alagoz, rising to a height of 13,660 feet in the Anti-Caucasus, is entirely free of snow in summer, and even in the Great Caucasus Puprecht ascended to an elevation of 12,000 feet on the south side without meeting a single snow-field ; but this was in the eastern section facing the Caspian. Farther west the moist winds from 18. — Rainfall op the Caucasus. Scale 1 : 10,510, 000. ^'Sg^ E.of Gr. C Per III '' "Under 10 Inches. 10 to 20. 40 to 80. . 240 Miles. 80 and upwards. the Euxine often cover the southern slopes with snow. In some of the upper valleys of the Rion basin the snowfall is said to amount to from 16 to 23 feet. On the whole, and apart from local differences, the line of perpetual snow would seem to oscillate on the southern slopes between 9,600 and 11,600 feet, and on the northern between 11,000 and 13,000 feet. Thus the mean limit is about 2,000 feet higher than in the Pyrenees, though they lie in the same latitude. This contrast must be attributed to the greater general dryness of the climate, at least on the northern slopes, and to the greater summer heats of the Caucasus. The portion under perpetual snow begins at the Oshtck, or Oshten, in the west, and extends eastwards to the Kazbek, beyond which the snow rests throughout the year only on isolated peaks. -12 ASIATIC ETTSSIA. The various meteorological stations established along the range have approxi- mately determined the diminution of humidity, owing to -which the snow-line rises gradually eastwards, according as the moist winds recede from the Euxme and approach the Eastern Caucasus, where the continental winds prevail. On the slopes facing the Black Sea the snow or rain fall is three times more abundant than in the centre, and six, eight, or even ten times more so than in the Kura basin and the Apsheron peninsula. At times not a drop of water falls for six months along the lower course of the Kura, for the influence of the west winds from the Euxine reaches no farther than the Suram Mountains, which connect the main range with the Anti-Caucasus, east of Kutais. Tho Caspian itself supplies very little moisture to tho Eastern Caucasus, because the limited amount of humidity brought by north-east winds is mostly discharged on the advanced spurs at the foot of the Dagkestan highlands. Notwithstanding the excessive summer heats of this region and its higher snow- line, the mean annual temperature does not exceed that of the Pyrenees, or even of the Alps. For the cold north-east winds, being untenipered by the warm south-westerly breezes, which are arrested by the Anatolian plateaux, lower the normal temperature of the Caucasus. The climates of Caucasia and Switzerland have a common mean, but the extremes are much greater in the Ponto-Caspian region than in Central Europe. The temperature in summer and winter varies in Switzer- land about 18° or 19°, whereas there was a difference of 27° at Patigorsk in 1876. The absence of snow produces a corresponding scarcity of glaciers. Yet they are numerous enough, especially about the Elbruz, and there is almost continuous ico for a distance of 120 miles between the Juman-tau and the Kaltber, above the Ar-don valley. The lowest glacier is that of Kalcki-don, or Earagan, which drains from the Adai-kokh into the Upper Urukh valley. According to Freshfield the only Swiss glacier of equal length is that of Alech. But as a rule the frozen streams of the Caucasus descend no farther than 7,000 feet above the sea ; that is, several hundred feet above tho corresponding limits in the Swiss Alps. Unlike the snow, they reach a lower point on the northern than on the southern slopes, a fact due to the general relief of the mountains, which are much more abrupt on the south than on the opposite side, where they slope northwards in long valleys. Unmistakable evidences of the passage of former glaciers show that in the Caucasian, as in the European mountain systems, the frozen streams reached a much lower depth formerly than at present. About the outlets of the Malka, Baksan, and Terek valleys there occur erratic boulders suspended at a slight elevation along the slopes of tho bluffs overlooking the plains. The Yermolov stone, near the northern entrance of the Darial Gorge, is 96 feet lono-, with a bulk of 197,900 cubic feet, and similar blocks 26 feet long are met at Vladikavkaz and even 5 miles farther north. In Svania the upland villages now standino- over a mile from the extremity of the glaciers arc built with the detritus of the moraines here stranded from former glaciers. At present the best known and most frequently visited glacier in the Caucasus is the Devdoraki, or Devdoravki, one of the eight that descend from the Kazbek. 5© VEGETATION— FAUNA. 43 It is visible at a distance of over 5 miles west of the valley watered by the Terek, and crossed by the military route between Vladikavkaz and Tiflis. Its lower course is subject to sudden and violent floodings, and while most of the other Caucasian glaciers are retreating, the Devdoraki has advanced 770 feet between the years 1863 and 1876. The general progress of the ice has been calculated Fig. 19. — The Kazbek- View taken from the Kazeek Station. not to exceed 4 inches a day, whereas the average velocity on Mont Blanc is about 12 inches. Vegetation — Fauna. "While the lower limit of the ice-fields is higher in the Caucasus than in the Alps, forest vegetation reaches a higher point. True timber flourishes at a mean elevation of 7,730 feet. Then come the azalea and rhododendron, the dwarf laurel and bright green sorrel, and lastly, the Alpine plants of the pastures. The zone of trees is higher on the northern than on the southern slopes, thanks, doubtless, to their greater humidity ; for, although they receive less rain, they 44 ASIATIC RUSSIA. lose less by evaporation. The greatest elevation is reached, not by evergreen pines, as in Central Europe, nor by the cedar and larch, as in Siberia, but by the birch, while the great forests of the slopes consist chiefly of conifers, the maple, lime, ash, hornbeam, beech, oak, and chestnut. The valuable box, so largely exported to England, and thence to the rest of Europe, forms in certain parts of Lower Transcaucasia impenetrable masses of vegetation, which, especially between Poti and Nikolaya, covers the whole coast of the Black Sea. The queen of Caucasian shrubs is the Azalea Pontica, one of the glories of terrestrial vegetation. This lovely plant, whose blood-red autumn foliage contrasts with the dark green of the fir, occupies a zone at least 6,000 feet in vertical height between the Fig. 20.— Kazbek and Devdoraki Glaciers. From the Map of lie Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 160,000. 44" 95 44° 55' C Perron 3 Miles. advanced offshoots and the slopes upwards of 6,600 feet high. In some places the azalea is replaced by the rhododendron. The traditional belief in the intoxi- cating and even maddening effects of its honey has not been confirmed by more recent observation, and would seem to rest on altogether exceptional facts. In Kabarda, where bee-farming is largely developed, no such evil consequences are attributed to the honey of the azalea. On the lower slopes the wjld vine twines round the trunks of the trees, whose brandies are festooned with its foliage, intermingled with that of other twining plants. The vine is probably here indigenous, and the walnut is also supposed to have originated in the valleys of Imeria. In no other region are there so many stone fruits, several species of which, elsewhere unknown, are found growing wild in the VEGETATION -EAUNA. 45 forests of Karthalia, south-west of the Kazbek. The Caucasus is, in fact, the classic land of fruit trees, and the gardens, especially of Mingrelia, abound in flowers and fruits, to which Western culture might easily impart an exquisite perfume and flavour. But as we proceed eastwards from the well-watered shores of the Euxine to the arid Caspian seaboard the vegetation gradually diminishes ; the forest lands become less numerous as we approach the eastern extremity of the main range ; the dry steppe winds burn up the grass itself, and the solar rays are reflected on the bare rock. Some Russian plants grow with difficulty even at elevations where they find a mean temperature answering to that of their native homes. The Russian soldiers have succeeded in acclimatizing the European Fig. 21. — Forests of the Caucasus. According to Petermatn. Scale 1 : 11,000,000. 40 C. Perron . ISO Miles. vegetables in the upper valleys of Svania, but the beloved birch- tree, which might remind them of their distant fatherland, nowhere acquires a vigorous growth. The cultivated no less than the wild plants reach a much higher elevation on the slopes of the Caucasus than in the Alps, a fact due to the greater summer heats of the former region. In the district destined some day, perhaps, to be pierced by the tunnel of the future Caucasian trunk line between the Ar-don and Lakhva basins, all the upland villages are surrounded by barley- fields to an alti- tude of over 6,500 feet. In Ossetia this cereal reaches the village of Kolota (8,230 feet), and farther south it ripens on the slopes of the Alngoz at an elevation of 8,300 feet. Wheat also is grown as high as 6,700 feet, or 3,300 feet higher than in the Alps ; maize reaches 3,000 feet, and the vine 3,630 feet, near the village of VOL. VI. E 46 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Kurta, in Ossetia ; but the best vintages of Kakhetia are those of the Alazan valley, 2,500 feet above sea-level. Many Caucasian forests have been cleared for agricultural purposes, but many iinore have been wantonly destroyed, and the destruction is still going on in the most reckless manner where timber most abounds. To save the labour of felling the trees, they are burnt down at the risk of setting fire to whole forests. When fodder fails, the trees are destroyed, and the cattle fed with their leaves and sprouts. Hence many regions formerly densely wooded are now bare, and even on the upland slopes the woodlands are rapidly disappearing. In spite of the ravages of man, most of the original wild animals of the Caucasus are still found there. The chamois and the tour, a species of wild goat, frequent the upper valleys, and some herds of the bison or wisant, wrongly described as the aurochs, roam over the forests watered by tributaries of the Kuban at the foot of Mount Elbruz. The Caucasian bear, less formidable than the Russian, is found no higher than 5,000 feet, the limit of fruit trees. Like the wolf and lynx, he inhabits the Abkhasian forests, and Prendel met one within 6 miles of Sukhum-Kaleh. The wild boar haunts the thickets of the lowlands, especially along the banks of tarns and rivers. The tiger, said to have come from the plateaux of Persia, rarely ventures to show himself on the plains of Transcaucasia, and never penetrates into the upland valleys. The leopard, hyena, and jackal are not unfrequently met about the Lower Kura, and the jackal occasionally finds his way across the main range to the forests of the northern slopes. In its fauna and flora Transcaucasia already belongs to the sub-tropical Asiatic world, whereas in this respect Cis- caucasia must still be included in the European zone. Inhabitants — Varied Ethnical and Linguistic Elements. The well-watered Transcaucasian plains might support as great a population as France, and two thousand years ago were probably abundantly peopled. The northern valleys are also fertile enough to supply the wants of millions ; yet Caucasia is on the whole less densely peopled than Russia itself. In the north the steppe prevails, and here the population is restricted to the river banks. In the south also the plains of the Araxis and Lower Kura have remained unpeopled, owing to their extremely unhealthy climate, while in the highlands nearly all the region above the forest zone is a solitude of pasture, rocks, or snows, frequented only by a few herdsmen and hunters. The highest Caucasian village, Kurush, in the Daghestan highlands, about the source of a head-stream of the Samur, is 8,200 feet above sea- level, an elevation nearly equal to that of the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard in the Swiss Alps. But the summits of the chain rise from 6,000 to 9,000 feet above this last inhabited spot of the Caucasus. The most healthy zone lies between 2,500 and 6,650 feet, and here are situated the sanitary stations where most of the officials of Tiflis, Erivan, and Yelisabetpol spend the summer months. The most favourite elevation is 4,000 feet, where the vine, mulberry, and southern cereals still flourish, and where the pure and cool air ETHNOGRAPHICAL MA Scale 1 LONDON J.S\ OF THE CAUCASUS. 600,000. lOnMi'Les INHABITANTS— VARIED ETUNIUAL AND LINGUISTIC ELEMENTS. 17 from tho glaoiera prevails. The Tatars of the hot valleys harvest (heir maize in May, wend their families ami herds to the hills, and soon join them themselves, roturning to the plains in lime lor tho autumn vintage. Some of the insalubrious districts remain uninhabited except by a, few of tho peasantry engaged in irrigating the maize and rice fields. Still (lie population is densest, not in the healthy region ol the advanced spurs, but in (he valleys watered by tho large rivers and traversed by the main highways. Hero the population may easily be doubled as soon as the now forsaken irrigating canals are reopened, thus bringing under cultivation all (ho valleys of the Araxis and Kura. According to tho old chronicles Trans- caucasia was formerly six times more populous than at present. When the Mongolian prince, Bafu Khan, seized (he land in tho thirteenth century he compollod every tenth adult, male to serve in his armies, thus raising a, force of 800,000 men. This would imply a. population of 16,000,000, probably about (he sumo number as in the time of Strabo. At (lie boginning of tho present century commercial relations had fallen oil' to such an oxtent that (ho highways leading from the Euxine (o the Caspian, formerly followed by Greeks, Romans, and Genoese, had been completely abandoned. In L823, for the first (line probably for centuries, merchandise was transported from Kedout-Kaleh to Baku, and (his was considered a memorable event. Even now tho communications between (he two slopes of (he main range are beset with difficulties. It is still untraversed by a line of railway, and till recently tho two divisions of Caucasia were connected by one carriage road only. This route, frequently out of repair, and occasionally even destroyed by avalanches and detritus, runs east of Mount Kazbek through (he gorges of (he Darial, at all times so important in the records of migration and conquest. Known to the ancients as the " Gate of the Caucasus," this route forms in reality a rocky approach, whose issues were defended by strongholds, now replaced by the fortified stations of the Russians. East of tho range tho narrow strip of coast commanded en the one hand by the escarpments of tho Caucasus, limited on the other by (he wafers of the Caspian, offered a second and easier highway to the invading or migrating tribes advancing from Asia to Europe, or from Europe to Asia. Hut (his route might here and there be blocked, and one of the passes at the extremity of a, ridge in Daghestan was barred, like (he Darial Gorge, by a (/< i r!><-nf, or " fortified gate," whence (he name of the town commanding (his part o( the coast. The Euxine seaboard skirting tho Western Caucasus seems since (he Roman epoch never (o have served as an historical route. But at that time (he two divisions o( the kingdom of Mithridates were connected by a road skirting the coast, and at several points milestones are still standing, which the Abkhazians look on as " fairy altars.' But this road has been deserted since tho Byzantine epoch. For centuries this coast-line, some 250 miles long, has been beset by too many natural obstacles, and guarded by tribes of too fierce a character, to serve as a, military route, more especially as the sea was always open to Greeks, Genoese, Turks, and Russians to prosecute their commercial or warlike enterprises with (he peoples o( the Caucasus. The Genoese roads, of which traces have been discovered, did not follow the coast, E 2 48 ASIATIC RUSSIA. but crossed the hills, thus connecting the inland districts with the Euxine seaports. But these great highways were not forced without a struggle, and every fresh invasion scattered fresh fragments of nations amongst the surrounding upland valleys. Thus the Caucasus has become, in the language of Abulfeda, " The Mountain of Languages," an expression still current in Persia. Strabo tells us that the Greek traders frequenting the port of Dioscurias, on the Euxine, met there no less than seventy peoples, all speaking distinct languages, and Pliny adds that in his time one hundred and thirty different idioms were current in the same place. At present the languages and dialects of the Caucasus are still estimated at seventy. But TJslar, first of Caucasian philologists, points out that every local variety is regarded as a distinct language by traders and travellers, and that in reality the numerous Caucasian dialects may be grouped in a small number of families. Thus the thirty of Daghestan are reducible to five radically distinct. Many were formerly spoken by powerful and widely diffused peoples, now represented only by a few remnants lost amongst the hills, and whom a geologist has compared to erratic boulders, the scattered fragments of now vanished mountains. The Caucasus, which stands out so boldly against the boundless and monotonous Russian steppes, contrasts no less strikingly in its varied peoples, races, and languages with the vast Slav world stretching from the Euxine to the Frozen Ocean. Nevertheless the Russians are now slowly penetrating into the valleys on both slopes of the main range, where they already number about 1,400,000, or nearly one-fourth of the whole population. They are in a decided majority in the districts bordering on Russia proper ; that is to say, in the province of Kuban and the government of Stavropol. Even in Transcaucasia they form one of the chief ethnical elements, especially in the towns and military stations, and here and there their Cossack or nonconformist settlements give a great local preponderance to the Slav race. Whilst many native tribes are disappearing either by extermina- tion or forced or voluntary exile, whilst others are slowly diminishing in the struggle for existence with the Russian invaders, the latter are steadily increasing m the north by ceaseless encroachments on the ethnical frontier-lines, in the south by scattered colonies continually expanding, and thus approaching each other and absorbing the intervening spaces.* Russian Conquests— Main Physical Divisions. The long and laborious conquest of the Caucasus, which took about two hundred years, is now a familiar topic. In the north the Russians at first confined them- 1 Population of Caucasia according to races : — Estimated Population. 1858. 1880. Russians , 840,000 1,410,000 Georgians 830,000 1,150,000 Tatars and Turks 825,000 1,330,000 Armenians . . 520,000 720,000 Lezghians and other Highlanders . 1,400,000 1,050,000 Persians, Tals, rind Talishes . . 75,000 120,000 Other races . . . 36,000 90,000 RUSSIAN CONQUESTS— MAIN PHYSICAL DIVISIONS. 49 solves to a lino of fortified stations, where the Cossacks kept constant guard, ready at the first signal to-leap into the saddle. The Transcaucasian provinces were originally nothing but foreign lands possessing no cohesion with the rest of the empire, but the pressure of the dominant race gradually increased. All the lowland tribes were finally subdued, while those of the uplands were compelled from year to year to contract the limits of their warlike incursions. The Russians not only commanded both seaboards, enabling them to lend a helping hand to their allies or subjects in Mingrelia, Imeria, and Georgia, but they were from the first in possession of the breach presented by the Caucasus between the Terek and Aragva valleys. In 1769 the Darial Pass was crossed by 400 Russians, and in 1781, 1705, 179G, and 1790 they again utilised this route. In the beginning of the present century, when Georgia became an integral part of the empire, a military route connecting Transcaucasia with the north was constructed along the Terek and Aragva valleys, whereby Caucasia was henceforth divided into two distinct fragments. Pushkin describes the risks still incurred in 1820 by travellers, traders, and others on this highway. The daily progress under armed escort from station to station was little more than 10 miles. This first route was succeeded by another over the Mamisson Pass, between the Terek and Pion valleys, and by others through the lateral valleys, cutting off the forests in which the highbinders lurked to fall upon the Russian foe. "I should like," said Shamyl, " to anoint with holy oil the trees of my forest, and mingle fragrant honey with the mud of my high- ways, for in these trees and this mud lies my strength." Put although the bogs are far from having disappeared, the upland forests are no longer inaccessible, and their inhabitants have been subdued. In a song by Lermontov the Kazbek is represented as rising in its majesty, and looking with scorn on the puny swarms approaching from the northern plains to scale it. But when it sees them armed with pickaxe, shovel, and hatchet, grubbing in the soil and felling the trees, it trembles to its base, for it now understands that the day of thraldom is at hand. Caucasia consists of a number of distinct physical and ethnical regions, which must bo described apart, although they are becoming daily more united by the bonds of common interests. All the Western Caucasus, tapering towards the Sea of Azov, forms, with the Kuban basin and neighbouring steppes, one of these natural regions ; another comprises the Central Caucasus, the homo of so many different tribes ; while a third embraces tho Eastern Caucasus, whose inhabitants are sometimes collectively known as Gortzi, or "Highlanders." Tho Terek basin, tho plains and lakes of the Kuma, the half-drained bed of a former sea, offer a marked contrast to this highland region. In tho south the Rion and Chorukh basins, partly rescued from tho Turks, arc inhabited by people of one stock, and constitute a fairly well-defined ethnical province. But in the east tho districts watered by the Kura offer no such racial unity, for this region is shared by both Georgians and Tatars. Still it forms at least a distinct geographical province, and tho same may be said of tho Araxis valley, which is occupied by Tatars and Armenians in common. 50 ASIATIC RUSSIA. II.— WESTERN CAUCASUS: KUBAN BASIN. ABKHASIANS, CIRCASSIANS, COSSACKS OF THE BLACK SEA. West of the highlands culminating with Mount Elbruz, the Caucasus becomes a coast range, falling in abrupt escarpments towards the Black Sea. The slope is continued to a great depth under the surface, for even close to the shore the sounding-line reveals a depth of over 12,000 feet. The first section of the coast range w°est of Elbruz retains a great elevation, and is commanded by snowy crests 10 000 to 12,000 feet high. Here also, as in the Central Caucasus, the main ridge is flanked by parallel chains, which with the transverse ridges form long depres- sions, and invariably present their steep sides towards the middle chain, their gentler slopes towards the sea. The tracks across the range ascend the valleys parallel with it until they reach the passes, and thus easily skirt the peaks. Near Mount Elbruz the range rises above the snow-line. Here are the Juman-tau, the Marukh, and in the centre the magnificent Oshten, or Oshtek, beyond which the Fig. 22.— The "Western Caucasus seen from off Cape Kodor. According- to Dubois de Montpereux. crests diminish rapidly in elevation towards the north-west. The last point taking the name of mountain is the Idokopaz, south-east of the port of Novo-Rossiisk, after which there are nothing but hills, whose base merges with the alluvia of the Taman peninsula* The range is crossed by few and little-frequented tracks, and even the military station of Sukhum-Kaleh is unconnected by any direct strategic route with the Kuban valley. Pending the completion in 1883 of the carriage road, travellers are obliged to follow the coast across the sandy and shingly beach. River Systems — Kuban Basin. Although the coast climate is very moist, the streams flowing to the Eusine are too short to be very copious. They are mostly mere torrents, which carry off the * Chief elevations in the Western Caucasus : — Feet. Oshten . . 9,506 Marukh Pass 11,660 Sancharo Pass . 8,000 Nashar Pass (near Mount Elhruz) Psegashko Pass Idokopaz Feet. 9,774 6,360 2,450 RIVER SYSTEMS— KUBAN BASIN. 51 rain-water falling on the uplands. But a few rivers in the southern valleys, such as the Kodar, Bzib, and Mzimta, acquire a certain importance, thanks to the paral- lelism of the main chain and side ridges enclosing their upper courses. Most of these upland valleys bear the traces of old lakes, which have been drained either by the torrents or by underground streams making their way through caverns excavated in the Jurassic limestone rocks. Thus the Michish, represented on most maps as an independent river, is really a branch of the Bzib, passing for 2 miles under the Pskhuv Mountain, and escaping through an outlet near the coast. The Pitzunda River, running close to the Bzib, presents a phenomenon of a different order, for it seems to have changed its course within the historic period from the south to the north of Pitzunda. The Abkhasian streams are of little importance except for irrigation purposes in the lovely gardens and orchards on the coast. Here the palm is associated with European plants, beneath whose shade wind avenues of the rose and jasmine. But most of the streams flowing from the hills now form swamps at the outlet of their valleys, where they poison the atmosphere and decimate the people. Hence the natives generally fix their homes far from the unhealthy coast lands, either in the forests or on the bare plateaux. As soon as the climate has been improved by drainage and clearing the ground of its rank vegetation, this part of the Euxine seaboard, some 240 miles long, will become a second Crimea for the Russians. Still the Abkhasian coast, while warmer and less subject to fogs than the Crimean, has the disadvantage of being less sheltered except on the south side of the lateral ridges. The average high temperature of the water contributes greatly to raise that of the land, which till the end of November stands as high as 58° or 59° Fahr., varying at Sukhum-Kaleh in winter from 45° to 46° Fahr. The south-west gales blow with great violence in spring and autumn, and during their prevalence navigation is very dangerous on a coast destitute of good harbours of refuge. The Abkhasian seaboard is completely sheltered from the cold north-east blasts which sweep the Caspian and Kuma steppes. But at its northern extremity Western Caucasia is not sufficiently elevated to arrest this bora of the Euxine, as it has been called by the Italian and Greek sailors frequenting these waters. On January 12th, 1848, the vessels riding at anchor off Novo-Eossiisk were driven seawards or stranded, and one of them sank with all its crew, borne down by the weight of the dense spray suddenly freezing in the rigging and on deck. The northern slope of the coast range belongs to the Kuban basin. This river, the Kuman of the Nogai Tatars, and Kubin of the Abkhasians, is fed by the Elbruz glaciers, and receives all the torrents and streams of the Western Caucasian valleys, except a few rivulets lost in the steppe before reaching the main stream. Swollen three times during the year by the spring rains, the melting of the snows in summer, and the autumn downpours, it often assumes the proportions of a large river from 700 to over 1,200 feet wide, and upwards of 10 feet deep. But at low water in August and September it is nowhere more than 4 feet deep, and in some years the northern arm of its delta runs dry. All attempts have hitherto failed to render it permanently navigable, although since 1873 the steamers from Kertch 52 ASIATIC EUSSIA. ascend as far as the Tiflisskaya stanitza 1G miles west of the Rostov- Vladikavkaz railway. Beyond this point it is navigable only for flat-bottomed boats. Thirty miles from the coast the Kuban, which has a mean volume estimated at 39,000 cubic feet per second, branches off into two arms, and these again ramify into numerous minor channels. The Protok, the main northern branch, flows Fig. 23. — The Akhtaei Limak. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 610,000. C. Perron 3'J and upwards. Miles. towards the Akhtari liman, an inlet in the Sea of Azov. The Kara-Kuban, the southern and most copious, after traversing the marshy lands of the Taman peninsula, again ramifies below Temruk, discharging partly into the Sea of Azov, partly into the Euxine through a shifting boghar, or sandy channel inaccessible to large craft. The two mouths are distant 66 miles in a straight line, and at least 130 round the coast, The delta itself, which resembles that of the Nile in form TAMAN PENINSULA. 53 consists of alluvial deposits made in the inner basin of a " liman," or lagoon, separated by an older strip of sand from the Sea of Azov. The soil held in solution by the Kuban being in the proportion of 1 to 480, these deposits would have rapidly filled the liman were they not carried away by the current partly to the Sea of Azov, and partly directly to the Euxine. Taman Peninsula. The lower stream has often shifted its bed, and islands and channels have so frequently changed place that the descriptions of the old writers are no longer intelligible. So recently as the fifteenth century the chief discharge was into the Sea of Azov, and since that time it has oscillated between the two branches, every fresh inundation modifying the currents. The Taman peninsula is everywhere studded with marshes and erils, or false rivers, the remains of former freshets, and with river beds and banks showing in their alluvial strata the successive levels of the stream. Although about 24 miles broad, the whole peninsula is frequently transformed to its former insular condition by the lakes and side channels of the main branch. But though thus surrounded by water, this is not a lowland district, for it consists of live parallel chains of hills, occasionally rising 480 feet above sea-level, and separated one from the other by alluvial tracts, which were formerly inlets, and are still partly covered with lakes. The mud volcanoes of the Taman peninsula seem to have been at one time far more active than at present. They run exactly in the line of the axis or con- tinuation of the parallel ridges, and it was in the same line that a volcanic islet was erupted in 1799 near the town of Temruk. This mud islet, which was about 1,330 feet in circumference, with an elevation of 13 feet above the sea, soon disappeared, but was replaced in 1814 by a second cone, which remained some time above the surface. These mud hills of the Taman peninsula are amongst the most remarkable on the globe, for they present the complete succes- sion of phenomena from the simple oozing of mud to distinct volcanic eruptions. The Temruk islet is said to have vomited smoke and flames in 1799, and the Kuku-Oba, or "Blue Hill," 7 miles north-west of Taman, opened its crater in 1794, ejecting flames and fragments of frozen earth to a distance of over half a mile. Other volcanic cones cast up stones, accompanied by argillaceous muds, seaweed, roots of rushes and other aquatic plants, showing that they evidently communicated with the bed of the limans and sea. Formerly numerous frag- ments of Greek and Scythian pottery were found amongst the erupted matter, and in the immediate vicinity of the cones. In explanation of this fact Pallas suggests that the ancients may have been accustomed to throw in vases and other objects as offerings to the volcanoes. The naphtha springs of the peninsula and north side of Western Caucasia also run in the line of the mud cones. The tertiary lands whose clays and marls contain this valuable substance occupy an upheaved area of at least 620 square miles, and are also continued under the limans. Lake Temruk itself contains a 54 ASIATIC RUSSIA. small quantity, which, however, does not prevent the pike, perch, prawns, and other fish from living in its waters. Although wells have heen sunk only in the most promising sites, the results have heen so far quite as satisfactory as might he expected. The works were begun in 1666 in the Kuda-ko, or "Xaphtha Valley," on a piece of ground presented by the Czar to one of his generals. The first well vielded about 2,400 gallons daily, but most of this mineral oil was lost, the reservoir having been swept away by sudden rains. The well itself soon ran dry, but sis others were opened in 1870, which jointly yielded 62,000 tons a vear. After the boring the jets of naphtha often rose to a height of 50 feet above the ground. "VTere the district properly worked and con- nected by rail with the Anapa coast and Kuban basin, it might produce 700,000,000 gallons of distilled oil yearly. mmm 24.— The Kxex-Oba Mcd Volcano. According to Pallas. Scale 1 : 23.000. Ill INHABITANTS — The ChEEEESSES. Few regions of the Old TTorld have shifted their populations more fre- quently than Western Caucasia and the Kuban basin. Since the middle of the century wars, massacres, and exile have caused the disappearance of tribes and whole nations from the valleys limited eastwards by the Elbruz, where they have been replaced by other races. The course of history has been abruptly arrested ; traditions, languages, dialects, have irrevocably perished, nothing remaining in the land except geographical names more or less distorted in the untrained mouth of strangers. In the last century the steppes of Circassia were still mostly peopled by the Cherkesses, who even owned grazing lands north of the Kuma, and procured their salt from the lakes in the ilanich depression. In 1S59 they numbered about 500,000 in TTestern Caucasia, and even in 1864, after the wars ending in the Russian conquest, they were still estimated at 300,000. But now they have ceased to exist as a distinct nationality in the country, and in all Caucasia they will soon be represented by a few individuals only. The Abkhasians also of the Euxine seaboard and southern valleys have mostly disappeared, although nomi- nally subjected to Russian rule since 1810, and treated far more leniently than the Cherkesses. Thev were reduced from about 150,000 in 1864 to 50,000 in CFerr 1,650 Feet. INHABITANTS— THE CHEEKESSES. 55 1877, and whole valleys were completely deserted when over 20,000 emigrated in mass after the struggle between the Eussians and Turks for the possession of Sukkuni-Kaleh during the late war. Their place has been partially supplied by Eussians, and the sites of their former habitations are now known only by romantic graveyards overgrown with the wild plum, apple, pear, and vine. Vanquished by the armies of Xicholas, the Adigheh, or Cherkesses of the northern slopes and Tpper Kuban valleys, preferred exile to permanent subjec- tion to the Kussian yoke, 76,000 alone accepting the conditions offered them by the Eussians. Happy to be rid of such enemies, the Government hastened to facilitate their departure, and their exodus ended in wholesale transportation. A proclamation issued in 1S64, after the last battle, ordered all the Adigheh " to quit their valleys " within a month's time under pain of being treated as prisoners of war. The order was obeyed, and over four-fifths of the people were driven at the point of the sword from valley to valley until they found refuge in Anatolia, Cyprus, the Balkan peninsula, and other parts of Turkey. Thus were 260,000 transported by sea to the temporary depots at Trebizond, Sarnsun, and Sinope during the first six months of 1864, and according to the official returns 398,000 Cherkesses emigrated between 1858 and 1864. It is easy to understand what the sufferings and mortality must have been of these refugees, crowded on board small craft, or exposed in wretched hovels to hunger, cold, and hardships of every sort. In many places more than half had perished of starvation or disease a few months after quitting their homes. And even on reaching the districts assigned to them, they found themselves surrounded by hostile populations, of different race, speech, religion, and customs. They themselves assumed the air of conquerors, con- tinuing their warlike or predatory habits, and seizing with the sword the fruits of the plough. The exile of the Cherkesses was disastrous alike to them and to those with whom they were thrown. Although but few Cherkesses survive in the Caucasus, they have so long been regarded as typical of the Caucasian tribes generally, and they have exercised so much influence on those who have not yet emigrated, that they require to be studied as they existed before the exodus of 1864. At that time their determined resistance to the Eussian invader had earned for them the reputation of being one of the most heroic peoples on the globe. Their chivalrous traditions, the patriarchal simplicity of their habits, their physical beauty and syrnnietry of form, rendered them unquestionably the foremost race in the Caucasus, so that their name came to be often applied in a general way to all the highland tribes. Unfortunately they lived only for war, and the very word Cherkess was usually explained to mean "Brigands," "Banditti," or "Highwaymen," although it more probably derives from the Jterketes of Strabo. Strangers find extreme difficulty in pronouncing their rude and guttural language, and in their warlike expeditions they are said to have made use of a peculiar dialect. The Cherkesses belong probably to the same stock as the Georgians, Lezghians, Chechenzes, and other mixed or non- Aryan tribes of Caucasia, ilostly very handsome, thev are tall, slim, and broad-shouldered, with oval features, light 56 ASIATIC EUSSIA. complexion, brio-lit eyes, abundant hair, mostly black, but occasionally also chestnut and fair. Both sexes consider obesity and other physical defects as disgraceful, and those who are so afflicted abstain from appearing at the public feasts and popular gatherings. Regarding beauty as the privilege of their race, they seldom intermarried with aliens. Their dress, of a remarkably elegant type, is admirably suited to these erect and pliant figures, and has accordingly become a sort of national costume for all the Caucasians, including even the Russian Cossacks and the peaceful Jews, who are sometimes found wearing the ckerkenka, with its cartouch pouch, in their'case "more ornamental than useful." Like the Albanians of the Pindus highlands, with whom they present many points of resemblance, the Cherkesses regard the vendetta as the supreme law. Blood demands blood, and the murderer must die, unless he purchase redemption, or succeed in kidnapping a child from the family of his enemy, in order to bring it up as his own, and then restore it to the paternal home. Family feuds lasted for generations ; yet, unlike his Svanian neighbour, the Cherkess scorned to lurk in stone houses, but, trusting to his strong arm, resided only in slightly constructed wooden huts. Vengeance, however, was never exacted in the presence of women, sacred beings, who might with a gesture arrest the hand of the slayer, and who yet belonged themselves to fathers or husbands claiming the right to kill them with impunity. According to the old custom, the young man seized by force his intended bride. The daughter of the Cherkess knew beforehand that she must quit the paternal home either by a real or feigned abduction, or else be sold in foreign lands ; yet such is the force of habit, that the thought of exile and the life of the harem seldom caused her any dread. Traditionally, however, they con- fidently expected that their beauty, good manners, and poetic language would insure to them the position of legitimate wives of distinguished persons. The boys, on the other hand, were generally brought up, not by their parents, but by an atalik, or "teacher," chosen especially for his physical and moral qualities, his courage, politeness, eloquence, skill in arms and horsemanship. When his education was over the young man returned to his home, but never ceased to regard the atalik as a true father. Thanks to the care thus taken in their education, the Cherkesses claimed to have become " the most polite people in the world.' 7 Although proud of their national freedom, they were not all equal amongst themselves. Yet, while forming three castes of princes, of nobles reduced by intestine feuds, and the simple peasantry, all were grouped in ficiish, or "brother- hoods," and it was these associations of men devoted to each other unto death that rendered their resistance so formidable to the Russians. The authority of the nobles prevailed mostly in the plains, where they had in some places succeeded in establishing a quasi-feudal system. But their peasantry fled to the highland Cherkesses for protection. Hence the incessant wars, resulting in the defeat of the nobles, many of whom adopted the fatal policy of applying to strangers for aid. Below the three classes of freemen there were the slaves, consisting exclu- sively of refugees and prisoners of war. The will of the freemen expressed in the rT-1 i J/% ^l^pis-i rPTTV AT! TTTT7 AT! mrrti A "n THE ABKHASIANS AND COSSACKS. 57 public gatherings had the force of law, and the princes and nobles constituted the executive. The priests, though ranking with the lords, had but little influence, for, owing to the confusions of creeds, the Cherkesses were at once pagans, Christians, and Mohammedans. As pagans they worshipped Shibleh, god of thunder, war, and justice, and to him after the victory were sacrificed the fairest of the flock. They venerated the tree blasted by lightning, beneath which the criminal found a safe refuge. The gods of the air, water, woodlands, fruit trees, and herds, all animated by the breath of the Great Spirit, had also their special worship, and received offerings, if only a few drops solemnly poured out from the goblet. To soothe the stormy sea, and induce it to spare the mariner, mother, wife, or betrothed committed her votive offerings to the mountain torrent, by which they were borne to the Euxine, whose response was the soughing of the winds and the banking up of the clouds. Such was the religion of the ancient Cherkesses ; but till the latter half of tho eighteenth century the nobles mostly claimed to be Christians, and worshipped in the chapels, whose ruins are still met here and there on the hill-tops. But the Sheikh Mansur, whom the Russians afterwards sent to die in the island of Solovetz, in the "White Sea, made nearly all his countrymen Sunnite Moham- medans. The influence of the Crimean khans worked in the same direction, and the faith of Islam became more and more intensified according as hatred of the Christian Muscovite invaders increased. Nevertheless certain Moslem practices, especially polygamy, were not generally introduced, and the old family life held its ground. In religious zeal neither the Cherkesses nor other western high- landers are to be compared with the Eara-chai, or " Black River " Tatars of the southern Kuban valleys, west of Mount Elbruz, who are strict Mohammedans, engaged in trade, and as intermediaries between the northern and southern Caucasian tribes. The Abkhasians and Cossacks. The Abkhasians, who still retain in a slightly modified form the name of Abazes, by which they were known to the Greeks, call themselves Absua, or " People." Before the great emigrations they occupied nearly all the southern slope of the Caucasus between the Ingur and Bzib valleys, and at certain points encroached on the Cherkess territory on the opposite slope. Their speech resembles that of the Adigheh, but they differ greatly from them in appearance and customs. The Absua are shorter, of browner complexion and blacker hair than the Cherkesses, and their features are mostly irregular, with a harsh, wild expression. Hence slaves of this race commanded no more than half the price of their Circassian neighbours. Though of less chivalrous appearance, like them they preferred to live by the sword, or scour the sea as corsairs. Before the Euxine had become a " Russian lake," their long galleys, impelled by oar or sail, and with crews of from one hundred to three hundred men, ventured along all the shores of Anatolia, the Crimea, and European Turkey. Many also took service or became slaves in Egypt, where they were numerously represented amongst the ASIATIC RUSSIA. Fig. 25. — Abkhasian Type. Mamelukes, and where not a few celebrities were natives of some upland Abkhasian valley. Like the Cherkesses, they formed warlike confederacies with their princes, nobles, and freemen, leaving to slaves the hardships of field operations. Some were still unacquainted with money before the Russian rule, exchanges being usually effected by a cow, whose calves represented the interest. It thus some- times happened that after a few years a small - loan had to be repaid by a whole herd. But in 1867 this primitive mode of usury was replaced by that which is in vogue amongst "civilised " nations. Like the Cherkessians also, they were still pagans in thought, while retaining the traces of the old Christian worship in their Moslem creed. Thus they respected churches and the cross, eat pork, and brought to their temples votive offerings of arms, coats of mail, or garments. Even now a chapel, traditionally supposed to have been built by St. Paul on an offshoot of the Marukh, is one of their chief places of pilgrimage. But the most revered temple was still the forest, where they loved to pronounce their solemn vows, and suspend their offer- ings on the branches of the sacred oak. Here were also formerly placed the coffins of their dead, in the belief that | the gaseous explosions would cause the demons to respect their repose. They pay extreme devotion to the departed, and their burial-places are far better cared | * N for than the dwellings of the living. Several thousand Abkhasians still occupy theupper valleys of the Southern Caucasus, whereas the Adigheh have ceased to exist as a distinct nationality on the opposite slopes. Here the Kara-chai alone have succeeded in hitherto resisting the advancing Muscovite element. Elsewhere the Russians are encroaching incessantly on the domain of the now subdued highlanders. The natives of the Caucasus formerly looked towards the south as the source of civilisation, and they received mainly from Georgia their arms, costly stuffs, and letters. Now they are fain to turn towards the north, whence come the ukases, the armies, and the colonists destined one day to absorb them. Great Russians, Little Russians, Cossacks of both branches, take part in this migratory movement, to which the Government has imparted a distinctly military character by organ- izing the settlers in companies, battalions, and regiments. All Western Caucasia may be said to be already Russian. Bohemian colonists also, who have received allotments in Circassia, are gradually amalgamating with the conquering race, and the number of Slav immigrants in the Adigheh territory has already long surpassed that of the natives. THE ABKHASIANS AND COSSACKS. 59 The plains of the Lower Kuban and Taman peninsula have been more subject than most regions to successive changes of population, unaccompanied by any- appreciable mingling of races. The affinities can no longer be determined of the builders of the dolmens scattered over the peninsula and neighbouring lands, but elsewhere unknown in Caucasia. These dolmens are distinguished from those of other countries by the circular opening in the anterior slab, large enough to allow of a child's head being passed through. The history of the Kuban valley does not embrace these monuments of the age of iron, for it reaches back scarcely more than ten centuries, to a time when this region was occupied by the Khazars and Polovtzi, a remnant of whom were the Kumans, who settled in Hungary. Towards the close of the tenth century the Russian colony of Tmutarakan had already been established in the Taman district, where they had formed relations Fig. 26.— Cossack Sentinel. with other Russian settlers in the Crimea. The chronicles describe their struggles with the Yasses and Kosogs, predecessors of the Cherkesses, and an inscribed stone found near Taman, and now in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, bears witness to the advanced state of civilisation of the early Russian settlers in this region. But they were not numerous enough to hold their ground in the midst of hostile populations, and the country was afterwards occupied by Tatar tribes under Mongol princes. At the beginning of the eighteenth century other Russians made their appearance, not as enemies, but as refugees, in this region. These were the JSfekrasovtzi Cossacks, who preferred the rule of the Crimean Khan to that of Peter the Great, and who were afterwards joined by numerous Raskolniks from various parts of the empire. The country was thus soon repeopled by Russians, who cultivated the soil, established fisheries on the rivers and lagoons, and GO ASIATIC RUSSIA. introduced the fine Ukranian cattle since propagated in the Transcaucasian provinces. But these industrious settlers, falling under the Czar's displeasure, were compelled to seek refuge first amongst the Cherkesses, and afterwards in Asiatic and European Turkey. Most of them became ultimately absorbed in the surrounding Moslem populations. They were succeeded by some two thousand Nogai Tatar families from the Crimea, who were in their turn removed in mass by the Russian conquerors to the steppes west of the Don. Henceforth the country formed an integral part of the empire, and was disposed of at the pleasure of Catherine and her all-powerful minister, Potomkin. The unfortunate Lower Dnieper Cossacks, after many vicissitudes, were trans- ferred, in 1793, to the marshy wastes on the right bank of the Kuban. Numbering 17,000 fighting- men, they were at first well received by the Cherkesses, but soon changed from friends to foes and conquerors. The war of conquest was a war of surprises. Redoubts, watch-towers, and fortified stanitzas were established at all strategical points along the Kuban, and to guard against the enemy lurking in its sedgy banks there were formed those formidable plasticni which became the terror of the Cherkess outposts in the protracted border warfare. During these conflicts the Cossacks became gradually assimilated in manners, habits, and dress to the highland Caucasians, from whom they could not always be easily distin- guished. Hand in hand with this hostile struggle of some seventy years, the Cossacks maintained another against the outward surrounding, which is still far from concluded. At their arrival towns, villages, canals, highways, everything had disappeared. The process of resettlement also progressed very slowly in steppe lands, partly destitute of, partly covered by water. In the Kuban delta, where fever is endemic, the rate of mortality is very high, in some years often greatly exceeding that of the births. On an average one-third of the children die in the first year, and half the generation has disappeared between the third and fifth years. Topography. Here there are no large towns. Emigration has carried off most of the inhabitants, the constant wars have laid waste the lands, the absence of roads prevents the transport of produce to the coast, and the coast itself is still unhealthy, and nearly destitute of sheltered havens. Thus are neutralised the great advantages of a region which is, nevertheless, yet destined to become one of the most flourishing in the Old World. Even Suhlmm-Kalch, guarding its southern approach, although chief town of a military district, and notwithstanding its deep and safe harbour, is still an insignificant place. Yet it is supposed to occupy the site of the Hellenic town dedicated by the Milesians, some thirty-two centuries ago, to the Dioscuri, and afterwards known by the name of Sebastopol. The ruins of a Greek city, with its streets, open spaces, and the foundations of its buildings, are still partly visible at a depth of several yards in the Sukhum-Kaleh waters ; the remains of canals, roads, and ancient structures may be traced in the TOPOGRAPHY. 61 neighbourhood ; and the debris of Greek monuments were utilised by the Turks to rebuild, in 1787, the fortress of Sukhum, after it had been destroyed with the town m 1777. The imports and exports of the place have never in the best years amounted to £40,000 ; but the dolphin fishery is productive, and in 1872 as many as 3,800 were taken in the harbour alone. The Tillage of Pttzunda, the Pythius of the Byzantines, was also at one time an important town, as is evident from the ruins in the neighbourhood. A Byzantine church restored by the Eussians is said to lave been built by Justinian in 551. It was to the monastery of this place that the exiled St. Chrysostom withdrew when overtaken by death in 407. It afterwards became the chief Genoese trading station on this coast, and from it most of the Italian traders and missionaries set out, who have left in the TVestern Caucasus so Fig. 27. — Valley op the BziB. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 830,000. LoF b -40°Q0 C.Perrc'"* loiUles many traces of their presence — churches, watch-towers, coins, arms. Many of the latter, inscribed with Latin or French legends, were still met with down to the middle of the present century in these highlands. Beyond Pitzunda follow the old forts of Gagri, Adler or Ardiller (Arduvach), and others. Farther on is the deep and well-sheltered roadstead of Ticapse, at present a mere hamlet, but destined probably to become the chief trading-place on this seaboard. Meantime, Novo-Hossiisk, or Sujuk, is the first town on the coast near the extremity of the Caucasus. It does a considerable trade, although the roadstead, like the neighbouring Bay of Gelenjik, is exposed to the ncrth-east gales. The old Turkish town of Anapa lies on a still more dangerous spot. Thrice taken by the Eussians, it was temporarily suppressed in 1860 in favour of Temruk, administrative capital of the Taman peninsula, At that time Ternruk VOL. VI, F 02 ASIATIC RUSSIA. was a simple Cossack stanitza on a hill 250 feet high, in the centre of the isthmus stretching between two lagoons connected with the Kuban. In its vicinity are the chief mud volcanoes of the Taman peninsula, forming five distinct groups of about a hundred altogether. For some years past the mud has been applied to the treatment of rheumatic complaints. The village of Taman, which gives its name to the peninsula, lies near the strait facing Kertch and Yeni-Kaleh, and a little south-west of the fortress of Phanagoria, which stands on the site of the Greek city of that name. The stanitzas founded by the Cossacks in the districts watered by the Kuban and its tributaries have over the coast villages the advantage of lying at the junctions of the natural routes across the steppes. Several have grown into real towns, although the houses still remain scattered over a large area. In the Fig. 28.— The Taman Peninsula From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 1,100,000. C Perron to 16 Feet. 16 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. 12 Miles. province of Kuban alone there are no less than 146, each with upwards of 2,000 inhabitants, a vast number considering the short period since the colonisation began. In 1872 the population of the Kuban territory rose from 672,000 to 733,000, and, as the normal excess of births over deaths was only 6,000 or 7,000, the immigration could not have been less than 54,000. But such a rapid move- ment, directed without system towards marshy lands, necessarily entails fatal consequences on many of the new arrivals, more especially as the best tracts are already occupied by high officials and members of the imperial family. Between 1860 and 1870 over 325,000 acres were thus disposed of in the province of Kuban and government of Stavropol. The Cossacks do not distribute the land in separate holdings. " To°-eth conquered it," they say, "together we have defended it; it belongs to all of us " TOPOGRAPHY. GS The commune decides every year how the several districts are to be cultivated, and market-garden plots alone are held as private property. Still the officers, being no longer elected by their Cossack comrades, have received with their commission parcels of land, or khutors, intended to enhance their prestige. The example of the superior officers was soon followed by other dignitaries, and the stanitzas thus became surrounded by khutors, from which the herds of the com- monalty were excluded. In 1842 the Government proceeded with the regular distribution of the land according to the rank of the holders — 4,090 acres for Fig. 29. — Valleys of Erosion in the Kuban Basin. From the Map of the Hussion Staff. Scale 1 : 750,000. EofG 40°50 •4i o 2cr 12 Miles. C Pe generals, 1,090 for superior officers, 545 for subalterns, 82 for simple Cossacks. The allotments of the soldiers, constituting the communal domain, were thus cut up into small fragments, and the peasantry protested in vain against a distribution so entirely opposed to their interests. Of late years the Shaloputs and other sectarian communities have acquired a great development in this region, the habits of co-operation giving them exceptional strength, and enabling them to succeed where others fail. The most populous villages are found in the fertile valleys formed by erosion in the limestone terrace facing the Caucasus. The most important of the stanitzas r 2 64 ASIATIC EUSSIA. lyin" - at the very foot of the Caucasian spurs is Maikop, formerly a first-class strategic point, now a chief mart for the produce of the whole country. In the Kuban valley are also the trading towns of Batalpashinskaya ; Nikolayevskaga, near the Karakent coal mines ; Ladovskaya ; and Yekaterinodar. The last named, now capital of the province of Kuban, does a considerable trade, and at its September fairs, frequented by 25,000 of the peasantry, the exchanges amount to about 2,000,000 roubles. Yeisk, founded since 1848, has had a rapid development, thanks to its free trade and productive fisheries, and although its progress has been less marked since its privileges have ceased, it still remains the most populous town on the Caucasian seaboard. Stavropol, capital of the government of like name, stands at an elevation of 2,000 feet on one of the advanced terraces flanking the foot of the Caucasus. Founded as a mere fort in 1776, it long remained without any importance except as a strategical position on the line of the ten fortresses guarding the plains of Ciscaucasia between the Don delta and the town of Mozdok. But thanks to the fertile lands by which it is surrounded, it has now become one of the most flourish- in g places in Russia. North of it stretch a number of populous villages in the Yegorlik and Sredniy-Yegorlik valleys, founded chiefly by peasantry from the centre of Russia ; hence forming not stanitzas, but selos, a circumstance which explains the difference of terminations presented by the names of villages in the Kuban and Yegorlik basins. III.— CENTRAL CAUCASUS. KTJMA AND TEREK BASIN'S. Between Mounts Elbruz and Kazbek the main range rises for a distance of 108 miles above the snow-line. At certain intervals side ridges, with the summits of the range, form huge masses towering like glittering citadels of ice above the surrounding highlands. The Elbruz, with its counterforts, constitutes the most imposing of these masses in the Caucasus. It is the " Holy Mountain " of the Cherkesses, on whose snowy peak is enthroned the " Lord of the World, Kin<* of Spirits." The Adish, Kashtan-tau, and Dikh-tau also form a sort of promontory projecting beyond the main range, and succeeded farther east by a similar group consisting of the Adai-kokh, Tzea-kokh, and neighbouring mountains. Immediately east of this group the chain is broken by the deep gap through which flows the Ar-don ; but the gorge is blocked by a ridge running parallel with the main axis, and culminating with Mount Zikari. In the same way the Zilga-kokh stands at the southern entrance of the depression formed by the torrents flowing between the masses culminating respectively with the Tepli and Kazbek. The latter, which is the Mkinvari of the Georgians, and Urs-kokh, or " White Mountain," of the Ossetes, is still more venerated than Mount Elbruz, thanks probably to its position near the gate of the Caucasus, now known as the RIVER SYSTEMS— KUMA BASIN. G5 Darial Pass. Here is the celebrated grotto, whence the hermits could ascend, by means of an iron chain, to the "Cradle of Bethlehem" and "Abraham's Tent," as the Kazbek peak is variously known to the native Christians.* River Systems — Kuma Basin. The counterforts and terraces falling from the snowy crest of the Caucasus form the various chains of the " Black Mountains," beyond which they develop Fig. 30. — Passanaur, ox the Tiflis-Vladikavkaz Route. into a vast semicircle round the Eabarda plains, terminating northwards with the isolated mass of the Besh-tau. Here the streams converge towards the centre * Mean height of the Caucasus between the Elbruz (18,820 feet) and Adai-kokh (15,485 feet), 12,670 feet. Chief peaks :— Zikari . Zilga-kokh Tepli . Feet. 10,430 12,840 14,000 Mamisson Pass Krestovaya Gora Besh-tau Feet. 9,540 7,542 4,070 ee ASIATIC BUSSIA. of the amphitheatre, like the Alpine torrents collected in the plains of Piedmont, and thus is formed the Terek, the Po of the Caucasus, flowing thence in a swift and copious stream towards the Caspian. Still the waters descending from the more advanced spurs of the Caucasus do not join the Terek, tut drain through the Kalaus and Kurna north and north-eastwards to the steppes. The Kalaus is a true steppe river. "VTith the melting of the snows in spring it overflows its banks far and wide : in summer its stream contracts more and more as it recedes from the hills, and at last runs quite dry before reaching Fig. 31.— The Eussrz Gkocp. 9ilil=s. the ATanieh depression. It also presents the remarkable phenomenon of a double discharge in the direction of the Euxine and Caspian. Entering the ATanich depression at the water-parting, its floods, arrested and divided into two streams by a small eminence, are diverted wen to the ATanich of the Don, east to that which flow; to the Kuma delta. Steep banks enclose a bed i to 3 miles wide, bearing witness to its former importance. But in this space, large enough to con- tain the wat:rs of the ZSTile or Pihone, nothing now flows except a slug-fish stream winding its way from niar-h to marsh through its sedgv channel. EIVT5R SYSTEMS —KUMA BASIN. 67 The Kuma basin is more extensive than that of the Kalaus, and the streams by which it is watered flow from more elevated ground, some of them from moun- tains covered with snow for the greater part of the year. On issuing from its upper valley the Kuma is already a copious river ; but after receiving its last regular affluent, 150 miles from the Caspian, it gradually contracts as it winds through the steppe. A portion of its waters is evaporated, and the rest is diverted right and left to the pastures of the Nogai Tatars and Kalmuks. It often happens that about 60 miles above its former mouth the last drop is turned aside by the dams of the natives. At one time the quantity of water in the Kuma basin was much greater than at present, and a delta began at the point where the river now Fig. 32. — Ramification of the Kalaiis. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 620,000. C Perron ■ Kurgans. 12 Miles. runs dry. The northern branch flowed to the Western Manick, whose bed is now replaced by the lakes and tarns of the Huiduk, strung together like pearls on a necklace. The two other branches of the Kuma, also indicated by fens, pools, and channels, run nearly parallel towards a bay in the Caspian still known as the Kumskiy Proran, or " Mouth of the Kuma." Exceptionally high floods occa- sionally sweep away the dams constructed by the Nogai Tatars, and the lower beds are then temporarily flushed, as in 1879, when the yellow waters of the Kuma again reached the Caspian. Neither the Kuma nor the Kalaus discharges water sufficient to feed a Ponto- Caspian canal, and even if such a project were carried out, Serebrakovskaya, the G3 ASIATIC RUSSIA. intended port of the Kuma, would be inaccessible to vessels drawing more than 2 feet of water, while those drawing over i feet could not approach within 4 miles of the place. The Terek. The Terek is not ono of those rivers which, like the Munich and Kuma, run out before reaching the sea. Its chief sources rise in a cirque about 8,300 feet above sea-level, and it is already a large stream before issuing from the region of Fig. 33.— Delta axd Flooded Districts or the Lotveb Terek. According to Iitvinov. Scale 1 : 1,000,000. E.ofG 46" 20 47°ecr Old Teds of the Terek. Flooded Lands. Kurgans. C Per-roft 4^ — Bursting of the Dyke. Terek Delta in 1S41 . 15 Allies. snows and upland pastures. After skirting the Kazbek group on the south and west, it flows from basin to basin through a series of gorges down to the plains below Yladikavkaz. At the foot of a vast declivity filling the bed of an old lake it collects the waters of the Gusel-don, Fiag-don, Ar-don, and several other rapid streams, beyond which it is joined by the Urukh, and its largest tributary the Malka, with its affluents the Cherek and Baksu. Above the Malka junction it already discharges 17,000 cubic feet per second, and during its further course through the steppe to the Caspian it is joined by the Sunja, another large and THE TEREK. 09 Fig. 31.— The Tekek Floods of 1863. From the Hap of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 650,000. -- ^-ML. rapid river flowing through the country of the Chechenzes, and fed by numerous sulphur streams. One of these is the Melchihi, which is formed by the junction of five copious springs, so hot that several miles lower down it is still unpotable. Below the Sunja, notwithstanding the losses caused by evaporation and irri- gation, the Terek is still copious enough to form a vast delta, with a large number of permanent or intermittent branches frequently shifting with the floods, and changing their relative importance from century to century. One of these is the " Old Terek," formerly the most abundant, but now sur- passed in volume by the "New Terek." The delta comprises a coast-line of about 70 miles, and it seems to have been formerly con- nected on the one hand with the Kuma, on the other with the Sulak by some now partly obliterated channels. West of the present delta are still to be seen the old shores of the Caspian, as well as a number of parallel lines of elongated sand dunes, or bugri, exactly similar to those of the Volga delta, and doubtless formed by the subsidence of the water at the time when the Caspian became separated from the Euxine. According to Baer the alluvia of the Terek are encroaching on the Caspian even more rapidly than those of the Volga. Several inlets have already been choked up, and fishing stations which in 182-5 stood on the coast were, thirty years later on, nearly 10 miles from the sea. The whole coast-line between the Kuma and Terek has advanced from 1,000 to 2,000 yards since 1841 ; but all these new and badly drained tracts are still very unhealthy. During the months of July and August the labourers and gardeners complain of swollen heads, and the marsh fever subjects them to hallucinations of all sorts. The stream of the Terek is amply sufficient to contribute its share towards the navigable canal with which Danilov proposes to connect the Euxine and Caspian. But pending this somewhat remote contingency, its waters and those of its tribu- Taro.umbva -o %-~ f ^ f , Teriumova 1 *s> _T2s» )? EdfG. ) If 45-50' C Perron. Old Beds of the Terek. Kurgans. . 12JIilcs. 70 ASIATIC RUSSIA. taries are utilised in irrigating the bordering steppe lands. The Eristov Canal, fed by the Malka, traverses the northern plains, joining the Terek after a course of 140 miles. Farther north the Kurskiy Canal, also flowing from the Malka, turns the wheels of nineteen mills, and during the floods forms a stream 96 miles lono-. A third, running north of the Sunja junction, irrigates over 250,000 acres. If skilfully utilised, the waters of this river system, which abound in fertilising matter, might extend far north and north-east the rich Kabarda basin, which promises one day to become a magnificent agricultural region. Inhabitants — The Kabards. The Kabards, or Kabardins, who call themselves Kaberta'i, occupy nearly all the northern slope of the Central Caucasus between the Elbruz and Kazbek. They are ethnically closely related to the Cherkesses; like them, a fine race, fonder of wars and strife than of peaceful habits, and distinguished from them only by their harsh speech full of gutturals and sibilants. Their princes claim Arab descent, though the difference which some observers have detected between them and their subjects is probably due to outward circumstances and their occasional alliances with foreign families. The Kabards seem to have come originally from the north-west, probably even from the Crimea, whence they have been gradually driven towards the Terek, first by the Nogai Tatars, and afterwards by the Russians. They have retained something of their former nomad life, and are even now far more devoted to the breeding of horses and sheep than to agriculture. The land is still held in common, the woods and pastures remain undivided, and no one has any claim except to the plot tilled by himself. Such plots, when left uncultivated, revert immediately to the commune. Perhaps more than elsewhere in Caucasia daring robbery is held in honour, but on the condition of its being committed away from the village and tribe, and provided that the robber escape detection. In the latter case he would be exposed to the taunts and jeers of the community. Notwithstanding the Russian laws, it is also still considered highly honourable for the young man to carry off his bride. Some days before the nuptials he steals into the chamber where she awaits him, and whence they escape together. On returning to sue for pardon, he may calculate beforehand on the approval of all who still respect the old usages. The Kabards properly so called number about 32,000. At one time they were the leading nation in Ciscaucasia ; but owing to their exposed geographical posi- tion, they were the first to lose their independence. The Russians easily pene- trated through the Terek valley into the heart of their domain. Forts erected at intervals along the river divided the plains into two distinct regions — Great Kabarda on the west, and Little Kabarda on the east. Between the two runs the great military route over the Caucasus, and here the Russians consequently strove, in the first instance, to establish their power on a solid footing. As early as 1763 some of the Kabards, outwardly Christians, withdrew to Russian territory, settling in the steppe along the middle course of the Terek. At the beginning THE OSSES AND NOGAI TATAES. 71 of the present century upwards of 40,000, flying from Russian rule, sought a refuge amongst the Kuban Tatars, who welcomed and gave them lands, which are still held by the descendants of those "White Kabards." But the bulk of the nation remained in the Upper Terek basin, and their young men were fain to accept service in the imperial armies. Amongst them were first recruited those magnificent " Cherkesses," as they are called, who figure so conspicuously on all state occasions. Returning to their homes, they have ceased to be Kabards, and take pride not in their ancestral freedom, but in their present thraldom. The ancient usages also become slowly modified by constant intercourse with the ruling race, while their national unity is broken by the intrusion of foreign elements. Isolated villages are already occupied by Tatars, Uruspievtzes, Balkars, Xogais, grouped in democratic communities administered by the elders. The country is also traversed by Jewish usurers in search of fresh victims, while groups of Germans are settled here and there, generally on the more fertile lands. The " Scotch " colony north of Patigorsk has even been already completely assi- milated to these Teutonic settlers. On the other hand, the towns, growing daily in size, have become exclusively Russian, and the district north of the ATalka has been entirely Slavonised by the Cossacks, who began to make their appearance in this region during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. The Osses and Xogai Tatars. The Osses, more commonly but less correctly known as Ossetes, are as numerous in the Terek basin as the Kabards, but they have scarcely yet ven- tured on the plains, confining themselves mainly to the upland valleys between Alounts Adai-kokh and Kazbek, west and east. Two-fifths, however, of this nation dwell not on the northern, but on the southern slopes, in the valleys draining to the Rion and Kura, and even on a portion of the Trialetes Hills, south of the Kura plains. They are estimated at upwards of 110.000 altogether, thus forming one of the most important nations in Caucasia, But their fame is due not so much to their power as to the various theories that have been broached touching their origin and affinities. Some have regarded them as Alans ; others as the purest representatives of the Aryans in the Caucasus, akin either to the Teutons or to the Iranians ; while Yivien de Saint- Martin suggests that they may belong to the race of the Ases, like those who migrated to Scandinavia. Lastly, PfafT thinks that they are at least partly of Semite stock. But, judging from the great variety of types and features, ranging from the ideal beautiful to the down- right ugly, they would seem to be a very mixed people, including Georgian, Armenian, Kabard, and other elements. In the Digor district, on the north slope, several noble families are undoubtedly of Tatar origin, whilst others in the southern valley of the Livash-don are of Georgian stock. Apart from numerous exceptions, the bulk of the people are decidedly inferior in physical appearance to the other races of the Caucasus. Their features are generally angular, their forms heavy, and they utterly lack that pleasant expression, that noble air and 72 ASIATIC RUSSIA. graceful carriage, by which the Cherkesses and Kabards are distinguished. The fair type is more common than the brown, and some are met with blue eyes like the Scandinavians, while others resemble the Jewish dealers in their black or brown eyes, and even in their wheedling voice. But whatever be their origin, their speech belongs unquestionably to the Aryan family. Their national name is Iron, and their country Ironiston, words sug- gesting the Iran of Persia. The Digor dialect has a large mixture of Tatar and Cherkess elements, but the pure speech still current in the upland valleys, while ruder than that of the lowlands, abounds in Aryan roots. In their manners and customs the Osses seem also to betray their relationship with the Western nations. They differ from the other Caucasians in their use of the bed, table, and chair ; they salute in the EurojDean fashion, embracing and shaking hands as in the West ; lastly, they brew from barley, and drink their beer from tankards exactly like those of the North German peasantry. In the upper valleys, where wood is scarce, they live in stone towers of great age ; but lower down they build little wooden houses like the Alpine barns, shingle-roofed and weighted with heavy stones. On the whole the Osses do not reflect much credit on the Aryan race. Physically inferior to their highland neighbours, they cannot compare with them in pride, dignity, or courage, although Freshfield calls them the " Gentle- men of the Caucasus." Like their neighbours, they have always been ready to offer themselves to the highest bidder, taking service under the Byzantines, Greeks, or Persians, and returning to their homes to spend in revelry the fruits of their plundering expeditions. They had been so debased by this mercenary trade that they became confirmed marauders, worshipping Saubareg, god of brigandage, who rides a black horse, accompanying and guiding the freebooters on their predatory incursions. But though still ready for murder and pillage when no danger is run, they took care not to defend their liberty against the Prussians at the risk of their lives. Although masters of the central valleys, and consequently of the most important strategical points in the Caucasus, they left the Cherkesses in the west and the Lezghians of Daghestan to fight and perish separately. Instead of occupying the foremost rank in the wars against the aggressor, they waited till victory had decided in favour of the Russians to make up their minds. Poverty had made them the prey of every foreign speculator, and to put an end to all further disputes touching the ownership of the land, the Russian Government declared all the lowlands State property, and removed thither the " unsafe " hillmcn. Most of the Osses used to call themselves Mohammedans, but now they pretend to be Christians, and revere St. Nicholas no less devoutly than the prophet Elias. Besides, they had already changed their religion three times during the ten last centuries, and in spite of their present Christianity they practise polygamy, aggravated by the fact that the first wife treats the children of the others as slaves. Pagan practices even reappear beneath the official religion and the remains of the Moslem creed. During Holy Week they make offerings of bread-and-butter on the altars of the sacred o ft a En O 6h < ft TOPOGEAPHY. 73 groves, in the grottoes, in the former Christian shrines, and then devour the sheep victims of the sacrifice. Their most revered monuments are the sappads, or ancient graves, octagonal structures from 12 to 16 feet high, terminating in a pyramidal roof pierced with holes. In some Oss and Cherkess villages the sappads are numerous enough to form veritable cemeteries ; but since the middle of the century no new ones have been allowed to be built, because of the gases escaping from them and poisoning the atmosphere. Of the non-Caucasian peoples the most numerous in the Kuma and Terek basins are the Nogai Tatars, who roam mostly over the eastern steppes, and along the shores of the Caspian and brackish lakes filled by the winter rains, dried up under the summer suns and winds. Akin to those still met here and there on the banks of the Kuban, and partly descended from the old masters of the Crimea, the Nogais are true Asiatics. Like their poor neighbours the Stavropol and Astrakhan Kalmuks, they dwell in felt tents, and when removing to fresh pastures they place their children in the panniers carried by the camels on whose hump the women are perched, and in this order the caravan crosses the desert wastes. Thus are the familiar scenes of Central Asia repeated on the western shores of the Caspian, though this Asiatic region is being gradually contracted, according as the Mongoloid populations are being driven back by the Russians. During the last fifty years the Nogais of the Caucasus have fallen from 70,000 to half that number. In features, stature, and carriage most of them have become Mongolians, assuming by mixture the flat face, broad nose, prominent cheek bones, small and oblique eyes, high brow, and scant beard of the Kalmuks. They are of a gentle and kindly disposition, but wedded to their old usages, haters of all change, and resisting Slav influences except along the river banks, where tillage and the fisheries bring them into constant contact with the Russians, and where poverty obliges them to hire themselves out to the Armenians and Cossacks. With the sad temperament of all Mongolians, they derive their national name, with a sort of melancholy irony, from a word meaning " Thou shalt be wretched." Some thousands of Turkomans also live in the neighbourhood of Kizlar. According to a tradition, based apparently on a faint reminiscence of submarine geology, these Turkomans crossed over on dry iand from the Krasnovodsk headland to the peninsula of Apsheron. Topography. Patigorsk (in Russian "Five Hills"), the largest town in the Kuma basin, lies at the southern foot of the Mashuka, an advanced spur of the Besh-tau group. This five-crested porphyry cone rising in the middle of the plain was at all times a rallying-point for the steppe nomads. Hence Patigorsk occupies one of the spots in the Caucasus most frequented by divers tribes, Kabards, Nogais, Cossacks, and others, and it has now become a rendezvous for the Russians of all the surrounding provinces, and even for strangers from the rest of Europe. Patigorsk is, in fact, one of the thermal stations whose abundant sulphur springs are held in 74 ASIATIC RUSSIA. the highest repute, and is more frequented than all the rest of the hundred watering- places in Caucasia, with their seven hundred different mineral springs, as enume- rated by Chodzko. "Within a radius of 24 miles the Patigorsk medicinal waters comprise a complete series of such as are recommended by modern therapeutics. The twenty springs in Patigorsk itself, with a temperature varying from 85° to 110° Fahr., and yielding on the average 2\ gallons per second, are typical sulphur springs. About 1'2 miles to the north-east the station of JelesnovodsJc^-\ha.t is, " Iron "Water " — indicates by its very name the nature of its twenty springs, which Fig 35. — Patigorsk and the Eegion of Thermal "Wa-ers. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 600,000. PESS^yp'Sr LoPi CPe 12 Hales. differ greatly in temperature and the amount of their carbonic acid, while varying in the quantity of their discharge, which is affected by the earthquakes. Near the village of Yesentuki, west of Patigorsk, there are also twenty springs, but cold, alkaline, and containing iodine and bromine. In the hills to the south-west occurs the magnificent spring known to the Cherkesses as the Narzan, or " Drink of Heroes," and now distinguished by the less poetic but more accurate name Kislovodsk, or " Acidulated Water." This spring, whose properties are unrivalled, yields over 375,000 gallons of water, and liberates 190,000 cubic feet of carbonic acid daily. The approach to the sacred spring was formerly defended by a wall TOPOGRAPHY. 75 several miles long, flanked by grottoes and by tombs, the traces of which are still visible. Other sources that have not yet been utilised contain chlorine, magnesia, marine salt, while the lakes and pools left in the steppes after the subsidence of the sea have their saline muds tilled with microscopic alga?, like the limans of the Euxine. Tatigorsk covers a large space in the valley of the Podkumok, a southern affluent of the Kuma. It stands at a mean altitude of 1,580 feet above the unhealthy atmosphere of the plains, and its climate is further improved by extensive promenades, parks, and gardens. Fine hotels, houses, arcades, and elegant shops well stocked with Russian, English, French, and Oriental wares, give it the aspect of a European watering-place, though dating only from the year 1830. At the end of the last century invalids came to take the waters " under the fire of the Oherkesses." The Russian lords arrived with retinues of some hundred cavaliers and retainers, long lines of equipages, tents, and supplies, during the treatment encamping in the neighbourhood of the spring. Q-eorgyevsk, north-east of Patigorsk and in the same river basin, was the capital of Ciscaucasia till 1S24. When the administration was removed to Stavropol, it fell to the rank of a simple village, but has since recovered its importance as the agricultural centre of the Kuma basin, and as a station of the Caucasian railway. Its prosperity has also been promoted by some German colonies in the neighbourhood. Farther down, on the Kuma and its western affluents, there are merely a few Cossack stanitzas, some of which, such as Otkazndie, Ah'jcandrovskaya, Blagodarno'ie, Praskoveya, have become towns and important agricultural centres. East of Praskoveya formerly stood the famous city of Mqjar, or Majari, on both banks of the Kuma. The coincidence of names has induced some writers to suppose that jMajar was a capital of the Hungarian Maoyars. But the word, which is of Turki origin, meaning "palace," "edifice," seems to have been the name of one of the four chief cities of the Khazar Empire. The Kipc'hak Tatars were settled here, and various recently discovered documents show that it was still a flourishing place in the fourteenth century, much frequented by Russian traders. In the time of Pallas there were still standing thirty-two buildings in good repair ; now there is nothing to be seen but the remains of towers and heaps of rubbish covering a vast space. The few inscrip- tions that occur refer all of them to the Moslem Tatars, and the medals that have been due up had all been struck at Sarai, on the Volga. Numerous kurgans are scattered about, and the Armenian village of Svatoi-Krest has sprung up in the midst of the ruins. The capital of Kabarda and the chief place in the Terek basin is Vladikavkaz, known to the Osses as Kapkai, or " Gate of the Hills." It lies, in fact, at the foot of the Black Mountains, guarding the entrance to the deep gorges through which the Terek escapes. Standing about 2, 300 feet above sea-level at a point commanding the military route through Central Caucasia, it enjoyed paramount strategical importance during all the wars of the Caucasus, and since the reduction of the hillmen it has become a large commercial emporium. Yet the military 70 ASTATIC RUSSIA. Fig. 36.— The Vladikavkaz-Axanur Route THROUGH THE TEREK VALLEY. From the Map of the Russian Stuff. Scale 1 : 040,000. « i¥$* .;>.w*.-i" and official elements are still predominant, and in 1874 the male was more than double the female population. Till recently the military route from Vladikavkaz across the Caucasus to Tiflis was exposed to destruction from the angry waters of the Terek, while avalanches of snow and detritus swept over it at the issues of the mountain torrents. Even now it is constantly threatened to be overwhelmed by the Devdoraki glacier, and is generally blocked for seventeen days in the year for a space of 8 or 9 miles. Hence heavy engineer- ing works will have to be carried out, should the project be persisted in of running a line of railway through the Terek valley and under the Caucasus from Vladikavkaz to Tiflis. The prosperity of Vladikavkaz and other towns on both slopes of the main range largely depends on the ultimate choice that may be made of the several alternative lines that have been pro- posed. It is probable, however, that, before attacking it directly, the main range will be skirted at its eastern extremity by a line con- necting the towns of Petrovsk, Derbent, and Baku. Tekaterinogmd, on the Terek below Vladi- kavkaz, a former outpost of the Cherkesses, still occupies a vital position near the confluence of the Malka. Here Potomkin founded one of the chain of Russian fortresses in the Caucasus, and seven years later on it was chosen as the capital of the Muscovite posses- sions in this region. But it lost this position in 1790, since when it has remained a simple Cossack stanitza. The political and commer- cial centre of the district is JSfozdok, or " Black Wood," founded in 1759 by a chief of Little Kabarda driven by the fortunes of war into exile. From the first it was a haven of refuge for fugitive Kabards, Osses, Chechenzes, Arme- nians, and Georgians from Transcaucasia. Till recently the Armenians formed by far the most numerous element, and thanks to them Mozdok had become the chief trading-place in Ciscaucasia. The Russian Government had oven favoured it by diverting towards it the military route between Stavropol and Tiflis ; but since the completion of the railway it has lost :Jfe Mm® ■■ |42' 10' H *:■■■■''■ ' ■■' ;■'■■ 44°25 44°45' Miles. TOPOGRAPHY. It the advantages thereby acquired. Henceforth its prosperity must depend exclusively on its position as the natural rallying.point of the surrounding populations, and as the entrepot of the agricultural settlements on the Middle Terek. Grozniy, which has grown up round the fortress of Grroznaya, is now the Fig. 37. — The Tebulos-mta Group. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 255,000. EofG 45° 15' 45° 2 5 C.Perror- , 6 Miles. natural capital of all the Sunja valley, probably the most fertile in Ciscaucasia. Its mineral waters, known since the middle of the last century, are much frequented, but the neighbouring naphtha wells have no great commercial value. VOL. VI. g 78 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Of the numerous towns and villages scattered over the Grozniy plain and surrounding hills the most important are Urns- Mart an, and farther east the Moslem town of Ak-sai, in a well- watered district laid out in gardens. Kizlar, of which mention occurs so early as 1616, was also a place of refuge for fugitives, especially Armenians, who gradually monopolized the local trade. It is happily situated at the head of the Terek delta for traffic and horticulture, the river and its branches supplying all the water needed for irrigating purposes. In 1861 there were in this district over 1,250 flourishing gardens, supplying the Russian markets with all sorts of spring fruits and vegetables. Kizlar is likewise noted for its vineyards, the produce of which, exported from the neighbouring port of Briansk, or Briansko'ie, is used by the Russians in the manufacture of "port," "sherry," "madeira," and other famous southern wines. About 1,250,000 gallons are yearly sold at the Nijni- Novgorod fair. IV.— EASTERN CAUCASIA. DAGHEKTAX. Although boasting of no summits rivalling Mounts Elbruz and Kazbek, the general relief of the eastern is far more considerable than that of the central section of the Caucasus. The depressions between the peaks are relatively very high, while the lateral ridges give to this division an expansion of 2 C of latitude north and south. Here the different altitudes and dispositions of the groups impart far greater variety to the scene, and in many valleys snowy or wooded heights rise all along the line of the horizon. The rugged and tangled masses long afforded a shelter to the natives against the Russians, who were unable to penetrate into the upper valleys except through the winding beds of the mountain torrents or across unknown tracks, where they were exposed to the ambuscades and sudden attacks of the lurking foe. Mount Borbalo, source of the streams flowing to the Terek, Sulak, Xuma, and Alazan, is usually regarded as the western limit of Daghestan. Here the Andi, or principal side ridge, branches from the main range, forming with it the triangular space of the Eastern Caucasus. This region presents somewhat the aspect of a vast plateau scooped into valleys, the higher of which nowhere fall more than about 3,000 feet below the surrounding crests. Abish regards the whole of Daghestan as a system of sedimentary, Jurassic, cretaceous, and tertiarv rocks overlapping each other, and whose folds have been rent and intersected by crevasses. The culminating point of this system is the Tebulos-mta, rising to a height of 14,990 feet in the Andi ridge. Several other mta, or " peaks," in the same chain exceed 13,000 feet, whereas those of the central range vary from 9,750 to about 11,370 feet. Still the line of perpetual snow is reached by several, such as the Sari-dagh, Yitziri, Bazardiuz, Tkhfan-dagh, Baba-dagh, on the main range, and the Alakhdn-dagh, Shalbuz-dagh, Shah-dagh, or Eastern Elbruz, and Iuzil-Kaya, in the northern side ridges. East of the Baba-dagh the mountains INHABITANTS— THE CHECHENZES. 70 fall rapidly towards the Caspian, sinking to mere hills in the Apsheron peninsula. Nearly all these mountains are still known by their Turki or Georgian names.* River Systems. A few of the torrents rising in the advanced spurs of Daghestan flow to the Sunja, the chief southern affluent of the Terek ; but most of these waters are collected by the Sulak, formed by the four torrents which bear the Tatar name of Koi-su. Like the Terek and Ar-don, the Sulak emerges through magnificent gorges on the plains, trending thence eastward to the Caspian. Like them, also, it is gradually encroaching on the sea, and during the floods forms a temporary delta, whose waters are partly mingled with those of the Terek in the vast Bay of Agrakhan, which is rather a lagoon than a marine inlet. In the hope of deepening its channel, Peter the Great diverted to it a permanent stream from the Sidak, but, like so many similar projects undertaken by that czar, the attempt proved abortive : the dykes were swept away by the floods, and the navigable canal choked by the mud. More successful have been the irrigation rills formed some years ago, and bringing under cultivation 150,000 acres about the Lower Sulak. Of the streams flowing to the Caspian south of the Sulak, the Samur alone assumes the proportion of a river. On emerging from the mountains it ramifies into several branches, which are continually shifting their beds in the midst of the sands and shingle. The Samur, and all the torrents traversing the Kuba district, may be said to form a common delta, intermingling their waters, and jointly encroaching on the Caspian. Like the fiumi and fiumare of the eastern slopes of the Apennines, these streams are constantly changing their beds, leaving here and there old channels, false rivers, and stagnant pools no longer traversed by running waters. Hence the Lower Samur district, whose hydrographic system is not yet fully developed, is one of the most unhealthy in the Caucasus, Inhabitants — The Chechexzes. In 1868, at the close of the wars that had laid waste the Caucasian valleys, the Russian Government took a census of the highland population, which was found to number 908,000. In 1870 it was estimated at 995,000, of whom nearly one-half, or about 478,000, were in Daghestan alone. The Cheehenzes and Lezghians of the northern slope between Kabarda and the Caspian form at present an aggregate * Chief altitudes of the Eastern Caucasus : — Mam Range. I Audi Ridge. Feet. Feet. Borbalo 11,120 Tebulos-mta . 14,990 Sari-dagh 12,180 i Kaehu 14,220 Yitzii'i . 12,930 Bazardiuz 14,930 Tkhfaii-dagh 13.970 Baba-dagh 12,100 Diklos-mta . 13,930 Eastern Highlands. Alakhun-dagh 12.930 Shah-dagh 14,100 Atesh-gah (Apsheron) . , 910 ! Shalbuz-dagh 14.1,30 Kizil-Kava 12, 420 a •-' 80 ASIATIC EUSSIA. of at least G70,000 souls. This population is made up of several races differing in origin, religion, manners, and speech, though it is now ascertained that most of the idioms here current are merely varieties of a common stock language. One of them is restricted to the single village of Inukh, consisting of some thirty houses, Fig. 38. — Mouths op the Terek and Lower Sulak. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 ; 720,000. C. Perron to 65 Feet. G5 Feet and upwards. 12 Miles. in South-west Daghestan, and none of them possess any literature except the Avar, which boasts of a few documents written in the Arabic character. Amongst the peoples of the Eastern Caucasus the Chechens, or Chechenzes, estimated at about 140,000, are divided into some twenty different groups, each with a distinct language. Known to the Lezghians by the name of Misjeghi, and to INHABITANTS— THE CHECHENZES. 81 the Georgians as Kjsts, the Chechenzes occupy the whole of West Daghestan, east of the Osses and Kabards, and even descend from the advanced spurs down to the plains. Their territory is traversed by the Sunja, which divides it into " Little Chechniya," the lowland district, and "Great Ghechniya," the highland region. Both the lowlanders and the hillmen fought desperately against the Russians in the last century under Daud Beg and Omar Khan, in the present under Khazi- Mollah and Shamyl. Sunnite Mohammedans of a more fanatical type than the Cherkesses and Abkhasians of the west, they fought with the devotion inspired by religious enthusiasm, combined with a love of freedom and a warlike spirit. Yet Pig. 39. — The Kuba District. From the Map of the Kussian Staff. Scale 1 : 840,000. L of G 4S'BO 4-9" iO C -P&pron . 15 Miles. they were fain to yield at last, and since 1859 Chechniya, the most fertile and salubrious region in Caucasia, has been completely subdued. In 1819 the fortress of Groznaya, now grown into the city of Grosniy, had been built by the invaders on the banks of the Sunja between the two Chechenz territories, and its "threats," as the name implies, were not in vain. Like the Cherkesses, most of the highland Chechenzes were compelled to forsake their ancestral homes, and those who refused to settle in the plains migrated to Turkish Armenia in convoys of one hundred to two hundred families, escorted by Russian guards. Here fresh misfortunes awaited them. After sanguinary struggles with their new neighbours for the possession of the 82 ASIATIC EUSSIA. land, they were several times removed, and the graveyards of each fresh place of exile retained numbers of the emigrants. The Ghcclienzes bear a strong resemblance to the Cherkesses, and, like them, are haughty, well proportioned, active, fond of rich garments, which they wear with an easy grace. Most of them have an aquiline nose, and a restless, almost sinister glance ; yet they are generous, and always maintain a certain dignity of speech and carriage : they kill, but never insult. The women of the better classes wear an elegant robe revealing the figure, and wide silken trousers of a pink colour. Yellow sandals, silver bracelets, and a piece of cloth falling over their shoidders and partly concealing the hair, complete their attire. The Chechenz dwellings are nearly all veritable hovels, cold, dank, and gloomy, some dug out of the ground, others formed of interwoven branches, or of stones rudely thrown together. A group of such dwellings forms one of those auk often seen perched on some steep bluff, like erratic boulders arrested on the brink of the precipice. Before the Russian conquest most of the people lived in republican communes, governing themselves by popular gatherings like those of the primitive Swiss Cantons. Other communities were subject to hereditary khans, whose power dated from the time of the Moslem invasion. But all alike obeyed the adaf, or unwritten code of the common law. Although much dreaded by the lowlanders as brigands and marauders, the Daghestan hillmen, and especially the Chechenzes, more, perhaps, than any other warlike people, revealed the most brilliant qualities of freemen, at least during the final struggle with the Russians. " We are all equal," they were fond of repeat- ing, and in point of fact there were no slaves amongst them except prisoners of war or their descendants. But these often married the daughters of their masters, and thus became members of the family and the equals of all. The Chechenzes carried their pride to a pitch of fanaticism, but their hospitality was boundless, although associated with eccentric practices. The traveller is often met by a band of horsemen swooping wildly down from the camping ground, firing salvoes over his head, then suddenly stopping within ten or fifteen paces, and saluting him with a profound " Sal am aleikum ! " In such a society justice was necessarily regidated by the law of life for life, and, notwithstanding the Russian code, this law is still the only one that is respected. Murder, pillage, robbery with violence, can be expiated only by death, unless the offender allow his hair to grow, and the injured party consent to shave it with his own hands, and make him take the oath of brotherhood on the Koran. It also happens that the law of vendetta is at times suspended by some great feasts. When a hillman discovers that his horse has disappeared, ho sets out in search of it, fully equipped, wrapped in one of those white woollen shrouds which serve as winding-sheets, and provided with a piece of money to pay the priest who has to utter the prayers for the dead. The robber mostly gets rid of his booty b} r selling it in some remote clan, but at the sight of the rightful owner armed for a deadly fight the purchaser restores the animal, takes over the shroud and money, and presents himself before the vendor. Shoidd he happen to be the robber, the priest is called in, and they fight it out. But if THE LEZGHIANS, TATS, AND TATARS. 83 the vendor has himself been deceived, he sets out in his turn with the dread emblems of mortal strife, and thus death at last hounds down its quarry, unless the horse-stealer happens to be a stranger from over the hills. Another custom peculiar to the Ingush tribe illustrates their strong belief in an after-life. When one of the betrothed dies on the wedding-eve, the ceremony is performed all the same, and the dead is joined with the living in a union to be ratified in heaven, the father never failing to pay the stipulated dowry. Christianity still retains a certain hold on the Chechenzes, although all have adopted the Sunnite creed except those of Braguni, on the Sunja. Three churches built on a hill near Kistin in honour of SS. George, Marina, and the Virgin are still much-frequented places of pilgrimage, where rams are offered in sacrifice at certain times. These building's are choked with animal remains. The Lezghians, Tats, and Tatars. Most of the peoples occupying the valleys east of the Chechenzes are grouped under the collective name of Lezghi, or Lezghians. The term has been explained to mean "Brigands," or "Marauders," in Tatar, although it seems more probable to be an old national name, for the Georgians and Armenians have from time immemorial applied the form Lekhi, or LeJcsik, to this nation. The number of Lezghian tribes, constantly changing with wars and migrations, is estimated at from fifty to fifty-five, although Komarov, keeping to the main divisions, indicates the domain of twenty-seven tribes only in his ethnological map of Daghestan. All these have distinct dialects marked by guttural sounds extremely difficult of utterance by the European mouth. They have been grouped by Uslar and Schiefuer in a number of linguistic divisions, the chief of which are the language of the Avars in West Daghestan, and the Dargo and Kura in the east. Most of the tribes being thus unable to converse together, intercourse is carried on by means of a third language — Arabic usually in the west, and the Turki dialect of Azerbeijan in the east. Of all the Lezghian nations the most renowned are the Avars, bordering on the eastern frontier of the Chechenz domain, and comprising over one-fifth of the whole population. Most writers think they may probably be the kinsmen of the Avars who founded on the Danube a large empire, overthrown by Charlemagne. But according to Komarov Avar is of recent origin, meaning in the Lowland Turki " Fugitive," or "Vagrant." Daghestan has too little arable land to enable its half-million of Lezghian population to live on agriculture and stock-breeding. Yet they are skilled tillers of the land, their walled and well-watered plots supplying good corn, fruits, and vegetables. Still they had to depend on emigration and plunder to make good the deficiency of the local supplies. Settled on both slopes of the Caucasus, they Were able to swoop down on the Terek and Sulak plains in the north, or on the fertile southern region of Georgia. No less daring, and even more steadfast than the Chechenzes, they had the disadvantage of being broken up into a great number of free tribes often at feud with each other, while the flower of their youth were Hi ASIATIC EUSSIA. Fig;. 40. — Nogai Youth. accustomed, like the Swiss and Albanians in former times, to hire themselves out as mercenaries to all the surrounding kinglets. In their warfare they displayed more savagery than the Cherkesses, and, unlike them, carried off as a trophy the right hand of their captives when forced to abandon them. The Lczghians never fought in concert till during the final struggles against the Russians in defence of their hearths and altars. All are Afohammedans except the Dido of the Upper Koisu valley in Audi, who have the reputation of being devil worshippers, because they endeavour to conjure the evil one by sacrifices. Although much given to wine -drinking, tobacco smokers, and observers of tradi- tional Christian and pagan rites, the Lezghian^ are none the less zealous Sunnites, and it was owing to their ardent faith alone that they were able for many years to forget their tribal and family rivalries, and make common cause in the ghazavat, or holy war against the infidel. Rally- ing with the Chechenzes round their fellow-countryman Khazi-Hollah, and afterwards round his ward Shamyl (Samuel), of the Koisu-bu tribe, they drove the Russians more than once back to the plains, often compelling them to abandon their more advanced military settlements and isolated garrisons in the hills. Their strength lay mainly in the sjjirit of freedom by which the}' were inspired, and which was kept alive by the deeds of their legendary hero Haji- Alurad, renowned in the wars waged against the khans of the Avars. Rut when the aristocracy of the na'ibs, or governors, was gradually restored, the people, becoming enslaved to their chiefs, ceased to struggle with the same vigour against the Russians. Surrounded on three sides by an ever-narrowing iron circle of forts and military columns, and seeing their territory cut up by great military routes, they were fain to yield after half their numbers had perished from disease, hunger, and the sword. When Shamyl surrendered in 18-39 his followers had dwindled to about four hundred armed men. After the conquest the old family jealousies revived, and the Lezghian districts are now the chief scene of sanguinary strife and murder. About one in every three hundred of the population is either killed or wounded during the year, and the circle of* Kaitago-Tabasseran, west of Derbent, has the melancholy distinction of harbouring more assassins than any other district in the empire. Yet in their neighbourhood dwell the peaceful Ukhbukanes, or Kubiehi, who are chiefly THE LEZGIIIAXS, TATS, AND TATARS. 85 engaged in forging amis for the surrounding hillmen. Indispensable to all, their neutrality is alike respected by all. This industrious tribe claims European descent, but their national name of Frenghi, or Frenki— that is, Franks— is justified neither by their features nor their speech, which is a Dargo dialect. In any case they are a very small community, consisting in 1867 of scarcely 2,000, dwelling in 400 houses. Some of the magal, or tribal confederacies, acquired a considerable degree of prosperity, thanks to their common solidarity and individual freedom. Fis- 41. — Mouxt CruNin. iSfiji i^Si Such was that of the five Dargo clans, whose popular gatherings, which resembled the Swiss landsgenieinden, were held in a plain near Akhusha. This magal received refugees from all nations, and their territory was the most densely peopled in aU Daghestan. The Caspian seaboard, forming the historical highway of migration and conquest between Europe and Asia, was naturally occupied by a motley popidation, in which were represented all the races who had made use of this military and commercial route. 86 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Hence Mongolians, Semites, Aryans, and Tatars are now found crowded together in this narrow strip of coast. The Xogai Tatars hare fixed their tents in the northern steppe bordered by the Sidak. The tract stretching thence to Derbent is occupied chiefly by the Kumik Tatars, numbering over 50,000, and many Armenian traders. Other Tatars, akin to those of Transcaucasia, dwell farther south in the Kuba district. The lingua franca of all these races is the Turki dialect of Azerbeijan, although the Persians, Tats, or Tajiks, about Derbent and between Kuba and the Gulf of Baku, still preserve their language and usages since the time of the Sassanides, when they settled here. "With them evidently came the Jews, who also speak Persian, while their women wear the Iranian garb. But their Persian dialect is mixed with many old Hebrew and Chaldean terms, and according to some authorities those of Kuba, Baku, and Shemakha are descended from the Israelites, who were removed to Persia after the first destruction of the Temple by Salmanazar over two thousand five hundred years ago. The names of their children are those in vogue during the time of the judges, and which have elsewhere been obsolete for the last twenty-five centuries. Host of the Caucasian Jews, however, have become much mingled with, and even absorbed by, the Osses, Georgians, and especially the Tatars, and many villages known by the name of Jut-kend, or "Jewish Town," are now exclusively occupied by communities claiming to be of Tatar stock. Topography. In the highland districts there are no towns, though the Lezghian aids have often been crowded by thousands attracted by local festivities, or rallying round their warrior chiefs. Ehunzak, formerly capital of the Avar Khans, is now a mere ruin, on a bluff commanding a tributary of the Koisu, and itself commanded by the guns of a Russian fort. Ohimri, above the junction of the two rivers Koisu, retains nothing but a reminiscence of the national wars, for here died Khazi-Mollah, and here Shamyl was born. Vcdeno, on a lofty terrace within the Chechniya territory, is an important village overlooked by a Russian fort, which stands on the site of Shamyl's former citadel. Near it is Mount Gunib, whose upper terrace, 40 square miles in extent, served as the last refuge of the Lezghian prophet and prince. Temir-Khan-Shura, in the Kumik Tatar country, stands at an elevation of 1,510 feet in a valley opening towards the Caspian. The lake, or tarn, whence its name, is now drained, although fever is here still endemic. The port of all this district is Petrorsk, during the wars a place of some strategic importance, and with one of the best harbours on the Caspian, sheltered from the west and south winds, and affording good anchorage in 20 feet of water within 800 yards of the shore. Though of recent origin, Petrovsk has already supplanted its southern rival, Tarki, or Tarku, which, with a Tatar population of nearly .12,000 at the beginning of the century, is now a mere village dependent en Temir-Khan-Shura. The narrow defile between the advanced spurs of the Tabasseran range and the coast is guarded by the city of Derbent, or Derbcnd, traditionally founded TOPOGRAPHY. 87 either by the Medes. or by Alexander the Great, but more probably by one of the Sassanides about the close of the fifth century. This unique town and fortress is enclosed between two long parallel walls running from the hills to the sea, flanked by towers and inscribed sepulchral stones. Within this inclined parallelogram the houses and bazaar form in reality but one line of buildings somewhat under 2 miles long. As implied by its Persian name, Derbent is merely a large forti- fied gateway, whence also its various Tatar and Arabic names. All the mediaeval travellers describe its walls as advancing far into the sea; but nothing is now visible of this marine rampart, which may be clue to a local upheaval. Between Fig. 42. — Derbent. Scale 1 : 200,000. H Perron Traces of Old Wall, according to Eichwald. 3 Miles. the town and the present coast-line there stretches a broad strip of land which was formerly perhaps under water. West of Narin-Kaleh, the citadel com- manding it on the west, the wall, here also flanked with towers, follows the crest of the hills in the direction of some distant peak. According to the natives this wall formerly crossed the whole range from sea to sea, and in any case it guarded all the loAvlands at the foot of the Eastern Caucasus, for traces of it are still met at a distance of 18 miles from Derbent. There are few more industrious places in Russia than this Persian town, although its population is said to have fallen from 26,000 in 1825 to little over half that number in 1873. In the district are 1,500 well-watered garden plots, yielding wine, saffron, cotton, tobacco, madder, 8S ASIATIC RUSSIA. and fruits of all kinds. Some naphtha wells and quarries of bituminous schists are worked in the neighbourhood. Le*s picturesquely situated than Perbent. Kuha resembles it in its population and pursuits, its inhabitants consisting chiefly of Mohammedans of the Shiah sect engaged in gardening, and of some thousand .Jews occupied with trade. The climate is so unhealthy that an attempt was made in lS'2-5 to remove the town to a more salubrious site some 10 miles farther north-west. But the people refused to follow the Russian officials, who were fain to return to the old town, where, however, they reside only in winter. In the Samur valley the chief town is Akhti, standing at the junction of two torrents in the heart of the mountains. V.— THE IXGFB. BIOX, AXD CHOBUKH BASIXS. iUXGRELTA IMERITIA, STASIA, LAZISTA3T. This Transcaucasian region, recently enlarged by a slice of territory from Turkey, has long been politically attached to Europe. The Greeks had thrown a hundred and twenty bridges over the Ehasis, and constructed a fine carriage road across the moun- tains between the town of Sarapanes, the present Sharopan. and the Xura valley. To the Greeks and Eomans succeeded the Genoese, and even when the Turks seized the seaboard they did so as masters of Constantinople and heirs of the Byzantine emperors. European influence has also made itself felt in religious matters, most of the inhabitants having been Christians since the first centimes of the Church, whereas the two great divisions of the Moslem faith have prevailed elsewhere in Caucasia. Nevertheless the Ingur and Bion basins have long kept aloof from the general movement of modern culture, and some districts are still in a barbarous state. This region, the Colchis of the ancients, is equalled by few places for the splendour of its vegetation, its natural fertility and resources of every sort. Yet it is but scantily peopled, with scarcely one-half of the relative population of France. The Ingur and Bion basins are both of them sharplv limited bv the Caucasus, Anti-Caucasus, and intermediate Mesk range. From Abkhasia to Lazistan the hills form a complete semicircle, whose lowest point, except near the coast, is at the Suram depression. 8.040 feet above sea-level. This vast semicircle is divided by ridges running parallel with the Great Caucasus into secondary segments, some of which are completely isolated, and form little worlds apart. The I pper Ingur valley, which has become administratively the district of Free Svanra, forms one of these distinct regions, and is typical of those elongated troughs lying between two parallel crests at an altitude of about 6,300 feet, and skirted north and south by snowy ridges. Here the glaciers of the Truiber have carried their advanced moraines to within 2 miles of the Svan village of Jabeshi, in the commune of Mujal, and the village itself, like so many others, is built on MINGEELIA, IMERITIA, SVANIA, LAZISTAN. 89 the detritus of moraines deposited by the old glaciers. The glacial torrents forming the Ingur* arc collected in the depression of Free Svania, which is enclosed by a transverse barrier running south of Mount Elbruz. Hence the Ingur escapes from its upper valley through a narrow and deep rocky defile, in which it flows south-west and south for a distance of 48 miles. From 15 to 30 feet broad, and commanded by granitic or schist escarpments 600 to 1,200 feet high, this gorge presents, nevertheless, a succession of smiling landscapes, thanks to the bushy vegetation of the river banks and to the little mounds of rocky debris at the mouths of the tributary streamlets. Previous to the military expeditirn of Fig. 43. — ilotmi or the Kio.w Sc do 1 : 400,000. G Jliles. 1858 no route had penetrated through this gorge, and Svania communicated with the Mingrelian plains only by a dangerous mountain path. The gorges of the Rion and its head-streams lack the sublimity of those of the Ingur, although all of them present some delightful views. The Eion and Tskhenis, the two chief rivers of this basin, both rise amidst the snows of the Pasis-mta, a word almost identical with that of Phasis, given by the Greeks to the river now known by the Georgian name of Rion, or Rioni. Separated at their sourco by the Garibolo ridge, the two streams diverge more and more, the Tskhenis watering the Svania of the Dadians and Mingrelia, while the Rion flows through Radsha and Imeritia. From the eastern valleys comes the Kvirila, which, 90 ASIATIC RUSSIA. after joining the Khani from the south, unites with the Eion in the fertile plain stretching south of Kuta'is. Here begins the old inlet, which has been gradually rilled in by the alluvia of these mountain torrents. "Where the Eion becomes navigable it is skirted by broad swampy tracts, mostly concealed by their dense aquatic vegetation, and in places even by thickets and forests. But few expanses of still water remain to recall the time when all this district was covered by the sea. Nevertheless, near the coast there remains a remnant of the old inlet, still known by the Greek name of Pakeostom, or " Old Meuth," and which is supposed to have formerly received the waters of the Phasis. In the last century it seems to have co mm unicated by a navigable channel with the sea, and its fauna is still partly marine, although the water is no longer even brackish. It is in some places over 60 feet deep, and is separated from the Euxine by a straight strip of dunes, which the Eion has pierced, its alluvia, like those of the Ingur and other Mingrelian coast streams, gradually encroaching beyond it seawards. According to Strabo the Eion and its tributary, the Kvirila, were navigable to Sarapanes, 90 miles from the present mouth, whereas boats now stop at Orpin, which is about one- third of that distance, and during low water, from July to December, there are scarcely more than 20 inches in the channel. The mountains forming the watershed between the Eion and Xura basins, towards the east and south-east, are continued uninterruptedly by the Surain Hills westwards to the Lazistan coast range. These moimtains, imposing even in the pre- sence of the Great Caucasus, rise above the forest zone to the region of pastures, some reaching an elevation of 8,000 feet, but all falling short of the snow-line, Westwards the Ajara, or Akkaltzikk range, which is the last section of the chain, skirts the Euxine at a distance of little over half a mile from the coast.* Seen from the summits of these Lazistan highlands, which were annexed to Eussia in 1878, the land presents the aspect of a storm-tossed sea. Here the highest point is the Karch-shall, south-east of Batuni, which is 11,430 feet above sea-level, while the mean elevation scarcely exceeds 8,000 feet, or about 2,000 feet above the forest zone. Mount Arsiani has all the appearance of an extinct volcano, and lava streams have been discharged in prehistoric times from several neighbour- ing summits. Their upper slopes are clothed with rich pastures, whose flora is much the same as that of West Europe, while the fruit trees of the valleys rival those of the southern slopes of the Caucasus. Lazistan is an earthly paradise, where the natives have generally shown a keen sense of natural beautv in the choice of the sites for their villages. Each of these villages commands a lovely prospect of flowery meads, steep rocks, mountain torrents, cascades, clumps of trees, and scattered hamlets. * Chief elevations of the Ajara range : — Feet. Kepis-tzkaro, south of Kutaia 9,485 Nagebo . . ... 8,72W Sagalatlo . S,265 Chekhatai 3,355 CLIMATE— FLORA AND FAUNA. 91 All the waters flowing from the Arsiani Hills westwards reach the Chorukh either through the Ajara or the Imarshevi. The main stream rise* south of Trebizond, and after receiving its first affluents flows parallel with the coast and the Upper Euphrates valleys. In this part of Asia Minor all the hills, plateaux, and valleys run uniformly south-west and north-east. But after a course of ahout 180 miles the Chorukh, now swollen by the united waters of the Tortiun and Olti, escapes directly towards the Euxine through a deep gorge intersecting the coast range. Beyond the defile it has formed an alluvial plain projecting beyond the normal coast-line, and thus sei"ving to shelter the harbour of Batum from the west. Although little inferior in volume to the Bion. the Lower Chorukh is even less navigable than the Mingrelian river. This is due to its current, which is so rapid that boats taking four or rive days to ascend from Batum to Artvin make the return trip in eight hours. Climate — Flora anp Fauna. The climate of Transcaucasia is one of the most favourable for vegetation in the temperate zone. Here plants are intermingled in the greatest variety, and assume their loveliest forms. Thanks to the abundant rainfall and to the barrier opposed by the Great Caucasus to the parching north-east winds, the various forest and cultivated species attain a greater elevation than in most other places enjoying the same mean temperature. Thus the walnut flourishes at 5,500 feet in Svania, where the white mulberry and the vine are found at elevations of 3,000 and even 3,400 feet, while in the Upper Eton valley the cotton-tree i> met as high as 2,110 feet. In general the vegetation of TTest Transcaucasia resembles that of Central Europe and the French Atlantic seaboard rather than that of the Mediter- ranean shores, although in many respects the Mingrelian flora seems to belong to both zones. The indigo plant grows by the side of the cotton-tree on the banks of the Eion. where maize is the prevailing cereal. The tea plant is even said to occur in Lazistan, where the camphor-tree has been acclimatized. In the flowering season the pomegranate groves give to this region the aspect of a vast garden : but. on the other hand, the eucalyptus, so useful for its febrifugal properties, has failed, owing to the severity of the Caucasian winters. The orange also, which formerly flourished at Eoti, has disappeared from Transcaucasia since the middle of the last century. The coast region is subject to excessive moisture, while elsewhere there is rather an excess of dryness. The mean temperature of Kutais (58° Fahr.) is somewhat higher than that of the coast towns, an anomaly due to the fierce and parching east wind often prevailing in the Eion valley. This wind loses its virulence as it proceeds westwards, so that at Eoti it is no longer disagree- able, and ceases altogether at Eedut-Kaleh. The magnificent Mingrelian and other "Western Transcaueasiau forests have been exposed to fearful ravages, especially since the finer timbers have been sought after by French and other foreign traders. The walnut has nearly disappeared from all the accessible lowland tracts, while the destruction of the upland forests 92 ASIATIC RUSSIA. is slowly modifying the aspect of the country. Yet but little of the cleared land is brought under cultivation, the primitive methods of tillage still prevail, and no pains are taken to improve the vine, which is here indigenous. Under the universal apathy many cultivated tract? have become overgrown with bracken, while the proprietors, after an absence of a few year?, no longer recognise their former farmsteads, now concealed amidst the rank vegetation. The Ingur and Rion basins are no less noted for their magnificent fauna than for their rich and varied flora. Free Svania, says Radde, " owns the finest cattle in the world." There are two excellent breeds, one small and sprightly, the other strong, majestic, and admirably proportioned. This is the Ukranian race intro- duced by the Ciseaueasian Tatar traders into the Upper Ingur valley, where, under new climatic conditions, its colour has become modified, often assuming the shades and snipes of the tiger. The horse, although not numerous in the upland valleys, is also noted for his strength and action, while the Svanian mules and asses fetch three or four times the price of the lowland breeds. The goat and other smaller domestic animals are likewise distinguished for their sy mm etrical forms and other excellent properties. In the lowlands the marsh fevers are no less injurious to the animals than to man. Here the Mingrelian peasantry fail even to rear poultry, which Toropov does not hesitate to attribute to the malaria. Inhabitants — The Svans and Eachiaxs. The natives themselves are far from being a pure race. Amidst a great variety of types the contrast presented by the fair and brown ilingrelians is very striking. The former are distinguished by a lofty brow and oval face, the latter by broad features and low forehead, though both are alike handsome and of graceful car- riage. From the remotest tunes the eastern shores of the Euxine have been visited by friends and foes of every race, many of whom must have introduced fresh ethnical element*. Arabs, and even negroes, flying from their Turkish masters, have contributed to increase the confusion. Yet, however numerous were the crossings, all have become blended together, jointly tending to develop the beauty of the original type. In the Mingrelian lowlands, and especially on the advanced spurs up to an altitude of about 3,700 feet, nearly all the men are handsome. But in the heart of the highlands, where the struggle for existence becomes more intensified, the features, especially of the women, are often even ugly. Goitre and cretinism are frequent amongst the Svans, and as we ascend the Ingur from the region of maize to the snowy pastures, the change in the appear- ance of the inhabitant is analogous to that which is observed by the traveller passing from the Italian lake* to the Alpine gorges of the Yalais. The Svans, who occupy the Upper Ingur and Tskhenis valleys, are evidently a mixed race, although fundamentally akin to the Georgians, to whom they are also allied in speech. Thev were formerly a powerful nation mentioned by Strabo, and in the fifteenth century they still held the Upper Piion valley. The present INHABITANTS— THE SVANS AND EACHIANS. 03 survivors seem to descend mainly from fugitives driven from the Mingrelian plains by oppression and the calamities of Avar. In the secluded valleys bor- dering on the glaciers they found a secure retreat, almost severed by physical barriers from the rest of the world. More accessible are those of the Upper Tskhenis basin, who have consequently had to endure tbe hardest feudal rule under princes binding them to the glebe. This branch take the name of Dadian Svans, from the ancient Georgian princely title of "Dadian" assumed by tbe governing family. They are scarcely to be distinguished from their Imeritian neighbours, and their speech is a pure Georgian dialect. The Dadishkalian Svans, in the western division of tbe Upper Ingur basin, are also under a feudal lord of Kumik Tatar stock ; but being regarded as serfs, they were emancipated at the expense of the Russian Government when serfdom was everywhere officially abolished, The eastern communities of the Upper Ingur have long maintained Fig. 44. — UrrEit Ingur Valley. From the Map of the Kussian Staff. Scale 1 : 810,000. C Perron , 12 Miles. their independence, and are still often distinguished by the epithet of " Free," although the}' took the oath of obedience to Russia in 1853. And in many resjiects they are still really free, recognising neither lord nor master, and rejecting even the control of the clergy. In the connnunal gatherings all have an equal voice, and important decisions require to be adopted unanimously, the opposition of a single member causing the whole question to lie postponed until unanimity can be secured. Nor docs the commune interfere in personal quarrels, which are f t] ic Jaws o regulated by the lex fa lion is. Nowhere else in the Caucasus vendetta more rigorously adhered to, so that few arc met who have not killed their man. All the houses along the Upper Ingur arc real fortresses, perched on rocky eminences, and commanded by square watch-towers GO to 80 feet high. The doors of these keeps are on the second or third story, and can bo approached only by rude ladders formed of the stems of trees. Hereditary animosities greatly contribute to the reduction of the population pent up in the bleak valley of Free Svania, or Jabe-Shevi ; yet it is still so dense VOL. VI. H 94 ASIATIC RUSSIA. that the people are obliged to emigrate to the neighbouring tribes. In the days of their military power their young men left their homes as conquerors, often under- taking plundering expeditions to the plains, and even in the fourteenth century they were strong enough to burn the city of Kutais. Till recently the excessive population was also checked by the practice of infanticide, in which most of the girls perished, while in hard times grown-up children were sold at prices varying from £30 to £'-50. The small amount of trade carried on by the tribes lower down is monopolized by the Jews, who are grouped in the village of Lakhamuli. These Jews are distinguished from their brethren elsewhere by their warlike habits. But although practising Christian rites and calling themselves Svans, the hill m en of the Upper Ingur contract no alliances with them, and even refuse to eat at their table. All the Svans, estimated at over 12,000, are classed amongst the Christian tribes of Caucasia, and even claim a sort of pre-eminence amongst their co-religionists, pretending that their ancestry were baptized by Christ hi m self. But their Chris- tianity has been developed in a somewhat original manner under the influence of older rites. Thus their little chapels, large enough to accommodate about a dozen, have crypts rilled with the horns of the chamois and wild goat, which are objects of great veneration. The priests, or " papas," form a distinct hereditary caste, though their only privilege is exemption from the laws of vendetta. Although not obliged to keep the lower part of the face covered, the women pass a bandage over their mouths when singing national or religious songs, possibly to prevent the devil from entering. All the Svans are also bound to silence when on the march, or chanting sacred hymns, for the least word might draw down the tempest. Analogous superstitions occur amongst the Norwegian fishermen, the Buriats, and the American hunting tribes. The district of Bacha, comprising the Upper Bion valley, is larger and more populous than the western basins of the Tskhenis and Ingur, and has always offered a route to graziers, traders, and even warlike bands crossing the Caucasus obliquely from the Georgian to the Terek lowlands. Hence the Bachians, who, like most of the people in the government of Kutai's, are of Georgian race and speech, are more civilised than their Svanian neighbours. But they also are too numerous for their largely unproductive territory, so that thousands are forced to emigrate to the lowlands, seldom returning without having amassed a small fortune. Most of the carpenters and sawyers met with in Inieria and Mingrelia are Bachians. The Imekitiaxs, Mixgeelia>~s, axd Lazes. The Georgians of the Upper Bion basin bear the general name of Imeritians, or more properly Imerians ; that is, " Beople of the other side," in reference to the Surani Mountains separating them from the bulk of the nation. The term Imereth, or Imeria, has been applied, with the shifting of the border peoples, at times to all Western Transcaucasia, at times only to its upper section, Mingrelia being usually reserved for the low-lying region comprising the alluvial lands and coast district. Thanks to their damp, miasmatic, and enervating climate, the Mingrelians are ~ mm - mmm ... .- -'- v: ^ --- - THE IMEEITIANS, MINGBELIANS, AND LAZES. 05 mostly of an indolent temperament, while their brethren who have migrated to the dry district of Tiflis are noted for their active habits. A repugnance to labour was also naturally fostered by former devastating inroads, incessant intestine warfaro, and the complete thraldom of the peasantry to their nobles. Here was represented every variety of serfdom, and until 1841 the priests themselves were classed as serfs. Even in recent times the Mingrelian princes were accustomed to apply personally for their tribute. Followed by courtiers, retainers, falconers, dogs, and horses, they would swoop down on some unfortunate vassal, living at his expense as long as the provisions lasted, then betaking themselves elsewhere, and thus making a round of revelry as self-invited guests, and leaving ruin in their wake. No women, especially if well favoured, were safe from these despots, who Fig. 45.— Mixgrelian Lady. carried them off and sold their children _ __-,-» into slavery. Although generally too weak to resist, the Mingrelians were nevertheless occasionally driven by this oppression into revolt, as in 1857 and 1858, when they appealed to arms for the recovery of their captured women, and to get rid of the yoke riveted by their masters round their necks. But all such efforts were quenched in blood, nor was serfdom finally abolished till three years after its suppression in the rest of the empire. But many of its effects still remain, and in a teeming land the Imerians and Mingrelians continue, like the wretched Lombard peasantry, ■**■ ,1 "" i to live almost exclusively on a mess of maize or millet resembling the polenta of Italy. The usual dress is a tattered smock fastened by a cord or strap to the waist, and instead of a hat a bit of cloth retained on the head by a string passed under the chin. The Mingrelian farmstead consists of a wretched hovel of wood or branches, surrounded by badly cultivated maize-fields, with a few lean pigs or goats, and one or two buffaloes wallowing in the muddy pools. Although till recently dwelling beyond the political limits of Russian Trans- caucasia, the Lazes of the Ajara and Chorukh basins are none the less akin in speech and race to the Mingrelians and Georgians. Those still subject to Turkey, and reaching westwards beyond Trebizond, arc also of the same stock, though more or less mixed with other elements, while beyond these limits many geographical names show that in remote times the interior of Asia Minor was largely peopled by Georgians. Boson has established the near relationship of the Laz and Georgian tongues. The language current on the banks of the Chorukh differs little from Mingrelian, though that of the west coast is largely affected by Turkish ii 2 96 ASIATIC RUSSIA. and Greek elements. In their customs also the Lazes resemble the Inierians. Both respect old age, are extremely hospitable, and, while full of curiosity, still maintain a dignified reserve. Like most Caucasians, they are fond of display and rich attire, nor do they deserve the charge of indolence brought against them by careless observers, for their fields are veil tilled and their houses kept in good order. The Laz women combine with beauty and symmetry of form a rare repu- tation for courage. The Moslem Lazes have emigrated in large numbers to Turkish territory since the annexation to Russia in 1878, while the Christians will now probably find their way to Tiflis and the Russian ports on the Euxine. The national character could scarcely fail to be modified under the Turkish regime. Three centuries ago all the Lazes of the Upper Ajara valleys were Christians, and many villages still boast of well-preserved churches in the best Byzantine style of architecture. Certain communes did not conform to the Moslem creed till about the close of the eighteenth century, and several, though nominally followers of the Prophet, are still practically Christian, the two faiths often over- lapping to such an extent that it becomes difficult to say where the one ceases and the other begins. With their religion the Turks also introduced their language into all the towns and large villages, so that the Laz dialect ceased to be current except in the remote rural districts. The Armenian colonies scattered over the land had also forgotten their mother tongue in favour of Turkish, which must now in its turn slowly yield to Russian, just as the Mohammedan must give way to the Christian faith. Topography. The Rion valley, whose commercial importance was already recognised by the prehistoric Argonauts, and where, thirty centuries later on, the Genoese also went in search of the ''Golden Fleece," promises once more to play a large part in the general development of trade. For some years past it has been crossed in its entire length by a railway connecting Tiflis with the Euxine, and this is but a first section of the line destined, sooner or later, to reach the Indus. But the site of the old Greek trading route, like that of their chief emporium Colchis, has long been forgotten. The village of Sharopan, at the junction of the Kvirila and Dzirula, claims to stand on the spot where grew the famous grove penetrated by the legendary Jason in search of the " Golden Fleece." At the gorges of the Khani, south-east of Kuta'is, are the extensive ruins of the former Turkish fortress of Bagdad, whose Moslem inhabitants were driven into exile in the last century. Nevertheless Bagdad is still a considerable village. Kuta'is, the present capital of the province, which comprises most of Western Transcaucasia, is happily situated at the junction of the three valleys watered by the Rion, Kvirila, and Khani, and at the head of the alluvial plain stretching thence to the coast. Standing on the first rising grounds of the advanced spurs of the Caucasus, it is well sheltered from the north wind, while its gardens and parks are abundantly watered by the Rion, which traverses the town. Kuta'is, if not the traditional city of Medea, is at all events a very old place, for it is mentioned by TOPOGRAPHY. 97 Procopius under the name of Kotatission, and it constantly figures in Georgian history, sometimes even as capital of the kingdom, and always as a noted strong- hold. The old town stood on the right bank of the Puon, at the foot of the acropolis ; but the modern lies mainly on the opposite bank. Its most remarkable monument is a ruined cathedral built by the Bagratides early in the eleventh century on the acropolis. On it have been modelled most of the other religious edifices in the country, so that it is rightly regarded as the most precious relic of Georgian art. Thanks to its trade and local industry, chiefly hat-making, Kuta'is has recently made rapid progress, the population rising from 4,000 to 12,000 Fig. 4G. — Kutais axd the Eion and Kyirila Jvkction, From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 440,000. U Perrgp , G Miles. in a few years. In the district is found a species of jet used for bracelets and other ornaments; but the rich Tkvibula coal-fields, some 18 miles to the north-east, have been but little worked. Since 1879 the manganese deposits of the Upper Kvirila valley, estimated at several millions of tons, have also attracted attention. Khoni, at the entrance of the Tskhenis valley, north-east of Kuta'is, is the market town of the Dadian Svans, and lower down is the large village of Kulmlii, near the junction of the Eion and Tskhenis, in the most densely peopled district of Caucasia. Orpiri, the river port of the Rion, at the junction of the Tskhenis, is inhabited by members of the Skoptzi sect, who are mostly wealthy, though the trade of the place has fallen off since the opening of the railway. The two seaports of Redout- OS ASIATIC RUSSIA. I to KalcJt and Po/t are rather shunned by traders on account of the local fevers, and by sailors on account of their bad anchorage. Redout-Kaleh, whose name is TOPOGRAPHY. 99 composed of a French and Turkish word, both meaning the same thing, is a poor Russian village founded in the present century as the seaport of the rich Lower Ingur district, but now almost forsaken in favour of Poti, situated farther south, at the mouth of the river. Its houses, raised on piles and surrounded by palisades, stretch for a considerable distance along the unhealthy marshy banks of the river, whose floodings convert the town twice a year into a peninsula. The harbour is rendered inaccessible to large vessels by the bar at the mouth of the Rion, all the engineering efforts to remove which have hitherto had but partial success. Hence it is little used except for shipping cereals and raw silk. The exports amounted in Fig. 48. — Batum. From the Map of the Kussian Staff. Scale 1 : 320,000. 6 Miles. C.Perr- 1876 to nearly 5,000,000 roubles, while the imports average scarcely more than 800,000. A much finer harbour is that of Batlim, lying 30 miles to the south-west, and ceded by Turkey in 1878. Even before the annexation it was far more a Russian than a Turkish port, for here the large Odessa steamers transhipped their cargoes in 60 feet of water to smaller vessels capable of crossing the bar at Poti. Although declared a free port by the treaty of Berlin, Batum has none the less already become a strong fortress. But with all its advantages, the peninsula created by the alluvia of the Chorukh on the west is constantly increasing, and threatening to still further restrict the available space in the harbour, which is already insufficient to accommodate more than twelve large vessels. But nothing would be easier than to connect the port with the river by a canal, which, with the railway now being constructed by the town of Uzurgeti to the Poti-Tiflis line, will render Batum the 100 ASIATIC RUSSIA. common outport of the Rion and Chorukh basins. The extraordinary fertility of this region will thus secure it a certain commercial importance in future. The chief exports arc cereals, cotton, the excellent apples known in Russia as " Crimean apples," and the oil yielded by the dolphins taken in the bay. The chief inland town of Russian Lazislan is Artciii, standing on the slope of a hill at the outlet of the gorge of the Lower Chorukh, and at the head of its navigation. It is built in the form of an amphitheatre, with a circuit of not less than 5 miles, including its gardens. Besides dyeing, which is its staple industry, it manufactures silks and other woven stuffs. Its traders, mostly Armenians, have relations through Bat fan with Constantinople and Marseilles. Here the Laz race is said to reach its highest physical perfection, and all the children might serve as models for the painter or sculptor. Ardanuj, on a plateau south of Artvin, was formerly capital of the kingdom, and higher up in the heart of the mountains is Otti, ceded in 1878 by Turkey. Like Artvin, it is a city of fruits and flowers, and the chief trading-place between Ardahan and Erzerum. VII. — THE EXTRA BASIN. GEORGIA, TRANSCAUCASIAN TATAEY. The Kura and Araxis may be regarded as twin, but independent streams. Of nearly equal length, and draining about an equal area, they remain separated throughout their upper and middle course by plateaux and lofty ranges. In the time of Strabo they had even separate mouths, and at present unite their waters in the neighbourhood of the Caspian, scarcely more than 20 feet above the level of that sea. Ethnically also the two river basins are quite distinct. Both arc now no doubt occupied by Tatar peoples, but the Georgians are still predominant in the Upper and Middle Kura valley, whdc the Araxis is chiefly occupied by Armenians. Politically the former belongs entirely to Russia, whereas the latter rises in Turkish territory, and for about half its course its right bank, with all its southern tribu- taries, waters Persian districts. Rivkii Systems — The Kura. The Georgian river known as the Kura, or Kur, names recalling the Greek Kuros (Anglicised Cyrus), has its farthest source in the " Pearl Brook," or " Coral Water," of the Turks, a torrent flowing from a cirque, or old hill-encircled lakelet, through a narrow gorge round the east foot of the Arsiani range. It descends thence through a series of defiles and sudden windings between the Ajara and Trialetes Hills, west and east, down to the plains of Tiflis. In one of these defiles, between Atzkhur and Borjom, it falls altogether about 740 feet through a succession of rapids in the space of 15 miles. The plateau whence flow its head- RIVER SYSTEMS— THE KURA. 101 streams is very irregular, but it becomes much more uniform between Ardahan and Akkaltzik, where it forms the true water-parting between the Kura and Araxis, Math a mean elevation of from 7,000 to 8,000 feet above the Black Sea. The depressions on this monotonous plateau are tilled with lakes draining some to the Araxis, some to the Kura, while others have become brackish tarns with no outflow, and others again half dried-up fens and marshes. The aspect of the land still Fig. 49. — Akhalkalaki Plateau. From tie Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 936,000. E.of G. W? A >T&0M C Per 15 Miles, speaks of a time when it formed a vast lacustrine basin with inlets ramifying into the surrounding hills. This region was formerly lit up by a double line of active volcanoes rising to the east of Akhalkalaki, and running north and south vertically with the axis of the Trialetes range. Mount Samsar, one of these volcanoes, has an oval crater nearly 2 miles long, and its lava streams stretch north-west over a large portion of the plateau. The Great and Little Abul, rising from a common base, resemble in form the double cones of Ararat, and from their trachytic 102 ASIATIC RUSSIA. 50.— Tatar Type. porphyry summits a northern view is afforded, embracing all the Caucasus from Elbruz to the Tebulos-mta. Other extinct volcanoes are disposed in crescent form round the cirque enclosing the romantic Lake Toporovan, which, with its remains of lacustrine dwellings, itself resembles a vast flooded crater. This sublime but gloomy tableland, with its black mountains, yawning abysses, and ancient lava streams, " still haunted by demons and goblins," presents a striking contrast to the winding valley of the Kura, with its leafy shades and sparkling running waters, still occasionally broken by nar- row lava gorges and columnar crystalline cliffs many hundred feet high, and capped with the ruins of ancient castles. All these volcanic highlands and rugged terraces rising to the west of Tiflis form a sort of advanced pro- montory of Asia Elinor, about GO miles long, within whose nar- row limits are brewed nearly all the fierce tempests and hail- storms that burst on the neigh- bouring Karthalian plains. The frequency of these hail- storms has compelled the peasantry to abandon the cultivation of certain districts in this region. A second zone of tempests stretches along the foot of the Yelizavetpol Mountains, preventing the exten- sion of sericulture in consequence of the by thunder '\ worms.* Before its junction with the Aragva, which is scarcely inferior in volume to the main stream, the Kura flows south and south-cast mainly in a line with the Great Caucasus and with the Yora and Alazan, the two tributaries which join it after emerging from the upper * Chief elevations of the Upper Kura basin :— Feet. 10,350 11,125 11,000 great mortality caused amongst the silk- Kizil-Gyaduk, source of the Kura Great Abul ..... Samsar . G-odorebi Enilekli Koyeretin-dagh, -west of the Kura Arjevan Kanli Pass, between the Kura and Chorukh Kojor Pass, between the Akkaltzik plain and Tiflis 10,630 10,165 10,115 9,195 9,050 4,390 EIVEE SYSTEMS-THE KITE A. 103 gorges. At the point where it is crossed by the road from Yelizavetpol to Baku, a little below the confluence of these streams, the Kura is already navigable for craft drawing 4 feet, although, owing to the scant population along its banks, the water highway of some 450 miles has hitherto been little utilised. Fishing is almost the only industry carried on along its lower course, which teems with fish Fig. 51. — The Kura and Auaxis Confluence. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 076,000. X EoFG A_ 59' 40 45° 50' -4S°P0' C Perron Old Canals. 12 Miles. probably more than any other spot on the globe. Here the chartered company captures prodigious quantities of "white fish" and sturgeon, paying a yearly revenue to the Government of not less than 120,000 roubles. Yet according to the descriptions of Pallas these fisheries were even still more productive during the last century, when as many as 15,000 sturgeon were taken in a single day. 104 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Whenever the fishing had to be interrupted for four-and-twenty hours the Kura, here 490 feet wide and 70 feet deep, became one moving mass of fish. The diminution of their numbers has been attributed to the introduction of steam navigation, which frightens away the shoals ascending the river to the spawning grounds. The united volume of the Kura and Araxis is estimated at about 24,000 cubic feet per second, which, in proportion to the area of their basin, is much less than that of the Eion, a difference due to the less abundant rainfall and greater evapo- ration in the region draining to the Caspian. A large portion of the Kura basin consists of almost waterless desert incapable of cultivation, though rich in herbage after the rains, and in spring frequented by Tatar graziers, who drive their herds to the upland pastures in summer. Even in the heart of Georgia, between the Kura and Yora, and thence to the Alazan, we meet with rocky stejipes destitute of permanent dwellings, and above the triple confluence the stony and argillaceous land everywhere presents an aspect of monotonous aridity. During the last century rice was cultivated by the Tatars along the left bank of the Ktna, north of Yelizavetpol. But they were compelled by the inroads of the Lezghians to abandon their fields, and nothing now remains except traces of the old irrigating canals from the Yora, and a few Tatar herdsmen, who are obliged to burrow in the ground to shelter themselves from the cold blasts that sweep the bare Karayaz plateaux in winter. With the first spring days they gladly quit their wretched underground hovels, migrating through the beech forests southwards to the fine Alpine pastures of the Gok-chai. Agriculture — Irrigation Works — Climate. In these lands civilisation has retrograded, since agriculture has been replaced by a nomad pastoral life. Yet in winter during the low waters the Kura and Araxis together have a total volume of 6,800 cubic feet, and in s umm er about 35,000 cubic feet per second might be raised for irrigation purposes. But nothing has been done beyond constructing the so-called " Mary Canal" across the Karayaz steppe between the Kura and Yora. Unfortunately this tract is very unhealthy, so that few venture to risk their lives in reclaiming the land. The Tatar popula- tions, who have retained possession of their lands between Nukha and Shemakha, are still able to show the Russians how a proper system of irrigation may transform the desert to a garden. The torrents descending from the gorges of the Caucasus are arrested, on entering the plains, by dams which divide and subdivide them into countless rills, until the last drop of water is utilised before reaching the Kura. But the irrigation works might be met by channels from this river, by which the whole steppe could be brought under cultivation. Some of the waste spaces are at present dangerous for caravans, owing to the want of fodder and the poisonous herbs, such as the routine wormwood, fatal to horses. The army sent by Peter the Great in 1722 against Shemakha thus lost all its artillery horses, and the same disaster overtook General Tzitzianov's army a century thereafter; AGRICULTURE— IRRIGATION WOEKS— CLIMATE. 105 A portion of the Karabagh and Shirikum steppes between the Kura and Araxis, and those of Mugan stretching from the right bank of the Araxis and Lower Kura to the foot of the Talish Mountains, were formerly cultivated and well- peopled districts. The great city of Bilgan, destroyed by Jenghis Khan, stood on a canal constructed fifteen hundred years ago across the Karabagh steppe, and when Timur restored the canal two centuries afterwards this city reappeared and continued to flourish till the last century. East of the Araxis the traces have been discovered of numerous canals running from its right bank eastwards across the steppe ; but these could not be restored without tapping the river above the old dams, either because its mean level has fallen, or because the land has been raised by its alluvia. One of the canals followed by Toropov is no less than 90 miles long, and on its banks are the remains of a vast city. Ruined caravanserais and choked- up cisterns also mark the site of other now abandoned trade routes. The plain is here and there dotted with barrows, and throughout the peninsula, formed by the junction of the Kura and Araxis, there are numerous lines of earthworks, flanked by redoubts and hillocks used as outposts. The general disappearance of the population, whose presence is shown by all these remains, dates from the Mongolian invasion of the thirteenth century, when those who escaped service in the armies of Batu Khan abandoned their towns and land, and took refuge in the mountains. The irrigating canals now became choked with mud, and the waters of the Kura and Araxis overflowed into the surrounding depressions, where they formed unhealthy morasses, and even real lakes, such as that of Makkmiid-Chalassi, though many of these have since evaporated, leaving nothing behind except saline tracts fringed with a russet border of sickly vegetation. Elsewhere the land is covered as far as the eye can reach with the grey mugwort or the white-flowering delphinium. Yet it would be comparatively easy to restore its fertility to this region, which might support an agricultural population of at least two millions. The survey carried out in 1860 showed that in the lower plains there are over 5,000,000 acres capable of being irrigated. A large portion of the steppe is covered with a black loam, which only awaits the fertilising waters to become one of the granaries of Western Asia. But even as it is the soil at the foot of the Talish Mountains is moist enough to grow vast crops of cereals, and here the Raskolniks have already flourishing villages, which have begun to do a large trade since the restrictions on free intercourse have been removed. Nowhere else in Caucasia has Russian colonisation been more successful. Formerly it was feared that the main obstacle to the reclamation of the land would be the insalubrity of the climate, caused, as in the French Camargue, by the decomposition of organic matter under a fierce sun. But this difficulty seems to have been exaggerated. The intense heats of these plains appear to have been formerly symbolized by the multitudes of venomous snakes said to guard their approach. Even Plutarch tells us that the army of Pompey was arrested by fear of these reptiles, and so recently as 1800 the Russians under General Zubov are said to have found the land in winter covered with vipers in a torpid state. But although wild beasts were even supposed to .avoid this region, Toropov and other 106 ASIATIC EUSSIA. travellers assure us that serpents and scorpions are so rare on the Mugan steppe that they cause no alarm to the graziers frequenting it. They dig up the ground, but only in search of truffles, which here abound. Land and water tortoises are also extremely numerous wherever there is any moisture, and flocks of antelopes Fig. .32. — Mouths of the Kuka. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 820,000. C.Perrpn 12 Miles. are occasionally seen bounding over the plain, while the marshes and runnir waters of the delta attract vast multitudes of birds. Lower Extra Lasix — Apsheron Pexixsfla. Like the Lion, the Kura is continually encroaching on the sea, which it colours for a great distance with its reddish-yellow waters. In the thirty-three years LOWES KITE A BASIN— APSHEEON PENINSULA. 107 between 1829 and 1862 the land advanced about 54 square miles. The main channel has also pierced the line of dunes continuing the normal coast-line, beyond which it has ramified into two branches, each of which has developed a peninsula by connecting islets and sand-banks with the mainland. Between the two advanced streams of the delta there arc also numerous strips of land, evidently formed by the alluvia of the Kura. Only the north-east swell created by the polar winds has reacted on these deposits, causing them to assume a crescent form, with their concave sides facing seawards. The island of Sari, lying south-west of the extreme peninsula of the delta, is disposed in a similar manner by the same waves. All the Lenkoran coast has also been enlarged by the alluvia first carried seawards with the current, and then driven landwards under the action of the Avinds. In the same way a broad belt of marshy land has been formed at the foot of the advanced spurs of the Iranian plateau. But these unhealthy tracts are infested by such dense clouds of mosquitoes that the Tatar natives are obliged to pass the night in pavilions raised like picturesque turrets into the purer atmosphere above their dwellings. The hilly district of Lenkoran, wrenched by Russia from Persia, belongs geographically to that state, for it is merely the escarpment of the lofty terraces rising above the southern shores of the Caspian, and commanded by the Savalan volcano. By holding this district the Russian armies are able to reach within their own territory an elevation of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet, whence they have no further difficulty in penetrating into the Iranian plateaux. Hero the land being abundantly watered by the rains brought by the northern winds blowing steadily from the Caspian, its flora and fauna differ from those of the Caucasus. We are already within the domain of the tiger, while some of the plants flourishing in the dense forests resemble those of the tropics. Still the arborescent vegetation covering the slopes of the Talish range between 650 and 6,000 feet corresponds rather with that of Central Europe. Few regions present a greater contrast in their flora than do the slopes of the Talish and the Mugan steppe, the arid parts of which latter yield only five species of plants. Ethnically, also, the difference is equally marked, for the Talish highlands already belong in this respect to the Iranian domain. In the district north of the Kura, which still retains its old Persian name of Shirvan, a few eminences isolated in the midst of the plain seem to have formerly belonged to the Caucasian system, from which they have gradually become sepa- rated by the erosive action of running water. But this region has also been sub- jected to more sudden changes by underground agencies. Here earthquakes are still frequent, causing great damage, especially to the city of Shemakha, where in 1669 as many as 8,000 persons were in a few seconds buried under a heap of ruins. According to the local chronicles, the village of Lacha, lying farther south, was completely swallowed up, with all its inhabitants, flocks, and herds. Shemakha, with the industrious village of Boskal, was again wasted in May, 1859, after which the seat of Government was transferred to Baku, and most of the inhabitants left the place. Those who remained again sivffereel from a violent 108 ASIATIC RUSSIA. shock in 1872. According to Abish the seismatic waves are here propagated north-west and south-east in a line with the continued axis of the Caucasus, and Shemakha consequently lies at no great distance from the centre of the movement. Explosions of burning naphtha occasionally throw up masses of earth and stones, accompanied with smoke and flames. The botanist Koch found the debris of one of these eruptions covering the steppe for a space of over half a mile, where all the crevasses were filled by brackish water with a slight flavour of naphtha. The Apsheron peninsula, forming the eastern continuation of the Caucasus, too-ether with the coast-line stretching thence southwards to the Kura delta, is the scene of constant igneous activity. Jets of gas, hot springs, mineral oils, mud Fig. 53.— Chief Eegioxs or Earthquakes ix Caucasia. From the Memoirs of tie Geographical Sockty of the Caucasus. Scale 1 : 8,000,000. Eof.G AQ' C PerrQn I May 21st, 1S59. June 20th, 1840. May 30th and 31st, 1859. __________ 150 Miles. volcanoes, and even lava streams bear witness to the internal commotion throughout the region, which, like the segment of a crater, encircles the Gulf of Baku. It would seem as if the forces by which the Caucasus was upheaved were here still at work endeavouring to continue the range across the Caspian. Yet a subsidence has, on the contrary, been going on during recent times, as shown by the building engulfed in the harbour of Baku, and bv the tradition according to which the island of Xargin was formerly attached to the mainland. Khanikov has shown that since the tenth century the seaboard at the eastern extremity of the Caucasus has been subject to various oscillations, rising 60 feet above its present level, then sinking 18 feet below it, and again rising and falling alternately. The whole Apsheron peninsula, with the various islands continuing it eastwards, has evidently LOWER KUBA BASIN— APSHEBON PENINSULA. 109 been upheaved, but not uniformly, for the relief of the land shows traces of numerous folds, due, doubtless, to side pressure. Mud volcanoes arc dotted over the peninsula, all the depressions are tilled with marshy soil, and the coast-line is disposed in curves, like those of the Kura delta. The "Holy Island," north of Apsheron Point, which assumes an analogous form, is of volcanic origin, like all those in the neighbourhood. Kumani, one of them, rose above the surface in 1864, aud Lozi, another, was the scene of three eruptions in 1876, during which stones were thrown as far as Cape Alat, on the mainland. Shoals of seals * frequent the coast of the peninsula, but most fishes are driven away by the exhalations of gas and naphtha. In many places these gases are liberated by simply piercing the surface of the land, and they are so inflammable that a mere spark suffices to set them burning till extiugmshed by a strong wind or heavy shower. The flames will at times even burst forth spontaneously, and during boisterous nights the hillsides have been swept by sheets of phosphorescent light. Even in the middle of the sea the naphtha streams bubble up, clothing the ripples far and near with a thin iridescent, coating. Near Cape Shikov, south of Baku, a gas jet produces such a violent eddy Fig. 54. — Oscillations of the Baku Coast doblsq the last 1,500 Teaks. According to Tvhanikov. M^ r i I -H3 that boats are obliged to cast anchor to avoid being sucked in. Elsewhere the underground forces not only throw up jets of gas, petroleum, ami asphalt, but upheave the very bed of the sea, as was lately seen when an islet rose to the surface near Baku. The legend of Prometheus, who stole tire from heaven, may. in the popular fancy, be possibly associated with the flaming hills and waters of this region. The chief focus of the burning gases lies some 9 miles north-east of Baku, on the margin of a considerable saline pool near the villages of Balakhan and Surakhan. The district, known by the name of Atesh-gah, has become famous as the hallowed shrine of the fire worshippers. Yet this sanctuary, at least in its present form, would not seem to be as old as is generally supposed, dating only from the seventeenth century, when the courts of the Tatar khans of Derbent, Shemakha, and Baku were much frequented by Indian traders. The " Fire Temple " is now a mere redoubt, tolerated in the corner of a vast naphtha and asphalt factory, which is directly fed with combustible gas from the underground fires. The votaries of this * The Caspian Seal [Phoca Caspica) differs specifieally from that of Lake Baikal, though both are related to the Ringed oivAretic Seal (Fliocn fat ida). Both are also referred by Joel A. Allen, " History of North American Pinnipeds," to a pliocene ancestor from the south. — Ed. VOL. VI. I 110 ASIATIC BUSSIA. temple have no longer any notion of a positive creed, and on the altar, by the side of Hindu deities, are seen the vases associated with Parsee worship, Russian images of St. Nicholas, statues of the Virgin, Roman Catholic crucifixes, objects which are all treated with like veneration. The commercial importance of this great natural workshop has been much enhanced of late years, and the sale of rich naphtha plots has already yielded over 3,000,000 roubles to the State. Nothing can be imagined more simple than the structure of these lime-kilns. It suffices to light the gas escaping from the crevassed calcareous layers, and the stones are gradually reduced by the heat to the state desired by the lime burner. In private houses and workshops these jets are used Fig. .35.— The Apsheron Peninsula. Scale 1 : 450,000. 49 ° 40 E.ofG 50'£0 C P e . Mud Volcanoes- Naphtha Welle Gas Jets. Submerged Ruins. . S Miles. for heating, lighting, and cooking, though the illuminating power of the Balakhan gas is much inferior to that of the artificial article, for it possesses far less carbon. To the internal pressure of the gas is due the rising of the naphtha, which is forced upwards through the sandy and shingly layers below the superficial tertiary strata. With the petroleum stream there are carried up large quantities of sand, which accumulates about the orifice, where it gradually forms conic mounds 50 feet hioh. So far the seven hundred naphtha wells sunk in the neighbourhood of Baku have shown no *igns of exhaustion. They supply over five-sixths of the petroleum of the Caucasus. Between 1870 and 1878 the yield was increased over tenfold, and quite a fleet of strainers and sailing vessels has been equipped for the export of this produce, O a a « o H <5 INHABITANTS— THE GEORGIANS. Ill But immense loss is caused by the ignorance of those engaged in the trade. Thus a well at Balakhan, yielding 4,800 tons of naphtha daily, ran waste for four weeks before a reservoir could be prepared to receive the oil. The total yield of naphtha at Baku amounted in 1878 to about 7,000,000 ewt., of which nearly 3,500,000 cwt. were exported. Inhabitants — The Georgians. In Central as in Western Caucasia the most numerous race are the Georgians, or Karthvelians, descendants of the Iberians spoken of by Strabo. The statuettes found in the graves represent exactly the same type and the same style of head-dress as those of the present inhabitants, so that no change has taken place in this respect during the last two thousand years. Masters of the land from the remotest historic times, the Georgians have succeeded, if not in maintaining their independence, at least in preserving their ethnical cohesion and various national idioms. They formerly occupied a wider domain, and although encroached upon at various times by Persians, Modes, Armenians, Mongols, Turks, and now by the Slavs, their territory still stretches from the plains of the Kura to Trcbizond, and from Mount Elbruz to Mount Arsiani. Of all the Caucasian peoples the Georgians, who are estimated at upwards of a million, form the most compact and homogeneous nationality. In Georgia is situated Tiflis, capital of all Transcaucasia. As a political state Georgia, had its periods of prosperity and military fame. Especially in the twelfth century, in the reigns of David the " Restorer," and of Queen Tamara, the Karthveliau kingdom acquired a decided preponderance over all the Caucasian lands, and the name of Tamara has remained popular from the Black Sea to the Caspian. In all the upland valleys she is the theme of countless legends and national songs ; most of the ruins scattered over the land are supposed to be the remains of her palaces and strongholds ; as a ruler of men the popular enthusiasm ranks her with Alexander ; as a saint with St. George and the prophet Elias. But the period of Georgian ascendancy was of short duration, and the invasion of Jenghis Khan was followed by incessant warfare and civil strife, which ended only in 1802, when Georgia was officially incorporated in the Russian Empire. Its geographical situation permitted the inhabitants to maintain their independence and become fused in a compact national body. Most of the Karthvelians dwell on the plains, where the conditions of soil and climate oblige them to live as agricul- turists scattered over the land. Their territory is everywhere enclosed by lofty mountains, whose occupants, pent up in their narrow, bleak, and unproductive glens, cast envious glances on the lowlands, never failing to swoop down whenever an opportunity is offered for making a successful foray. The Georgian territory is, moreover, divided into three distinct parts, clearly defined by forests and mountain ranges. The Kura basin in the east, those of the Rion and Ingur in the centre, and that of the Ohorukh in the west, are so many detached geographical areas, whose inhabitants were naturally involved in different political careers. The severance of the Georgian nationality into distinct fragments was also rendered almost inevitable i 2 112 ASIATIC RUSSIA. by the form of the several districts, all of -which are greatly elongated east and west. The Karthvel, or Karthalians, properly so called, who have retained the collective racial name, are the Georgians dwelling east of the Suram Mountains) in the old lacustrine plain wlio.se centre is occupied by the town of Gori, and which terminates at Mtzkhet, ancient capital of Karthalia, They become blended eastwards with the Grusians of Tiflis, whose name is frequently applied collectively to all the branches Fig-. 56. — Mtzkhet, Ancient Capital of Gj of the Georgian family. The Kakheliaus, the easternmost of these branches, occupy the Yora and Alazan valleys; west of the Suram Mountains dwell the Tmerians and Mingrelians in the Lion, Tskhenis, and Lower Ingur basins ; the Guriaus hold the northern slopes of the Ajara Mountains ; the Lazes a portion of the Chorukh basin west of that range ; lastly, the Svans, with a few other tribes, have found a refuge in the fastnesses of the Upper Caucasus valleys. The various branches of the Xarthalian family cannot all of them converse together, laro-ely INHABITANTS— THE GEORGIAN'S. 113 owing to the foreign words that have crept into the different local idioms. But the general resemblance is very marked throughout the whole region from Trebizond to Tiflis, while amongst the educated Karthalians complete unity of speech has been maintained by the -works of all sorts that hare been published in Georgian. At least since the tenth century there has nourished a Karthalian literature, beginning with a simple translation of the Bible and gradually enriched by religious treatises, epic poems, songs, dramas, scientific writings, and more recently with translations of foreign works and periodical publications. Neverthe- less the cultivation of the Georgian language and the intellectual development of the nation have been arrested bv extreme centralizing tendencies. Since 1807 the Georgian archives and the valuable literary and historical documents found in Tiflis have been removed to St. Petersburg. Studied efforts are also being made to replace Georgian bv Russian, and the latter language is now eompulsorily taught in all the local schools. The national speech, by some grouped with the Aryan, by others with the Ural-Altaic family, would really seem to stand quite apart, a view already held by Klaproth, and since confirmed by Zagarelli, who has paid the greatest attention to the structure of the language. Like the Basque in Europe, Georgian appears to be the surviving representative of a form of speech formerly cm-rent throughout a far wider area, and absolutely distinct from the Aryan, Semitic, and Uralian linguistic stocks. The alphabet in use, at least since the tenth century, is derived, like the Armenian, through the Pahlvi and Zend from the Aramaean. "With the exception of the Lazes, who are mostly Mohammedans, the Kartha- lians belong to the Greek rite, and to their patron saint, George, is with some probability attributed the name of Georgia, whence the Russian Grusia. North of the Rion and Kura this saint is held in greatest veneration, whereas in the region south of those rivers, including the whole of Armenia, the worship of Mary has everywhere replaced that of Ma. or Maya, goddess of the teeming earth and of the harvest. The Georgians are strongly attached to their faith, and notwithstanding their naturally gentle disposition, they have always energetically resisted the successive religious persecutions of the Turks and Persians. The Byzantine style of their churches, introduced from Armenia, assumed in mediaeval times a certain originality, still represented by exquisite naves, belfries, and apses, dating especially from the tenth and two following centuries. Even in the remotest upland valleys the traveller is surprised to meet with churches in a remarkably pure style, mostly standing on pleasant hills in the midst of leafy thickets. Nearly all are so built as to serve also as strongholds, while some arc even subterraneous, betrayed by no outward signs, and capable of sheltering the community in troubled times. In Kakhetia the rocky eminences of the Karayaz steppe overlooking the Yora valley are pierced with caverns, said to have been excavated as churches and convents in the sixth century. In all the hillv districts of Karthalia the peasantry are also acquainted with labyrinthine eaves, the former abode of a trogiodytic people. Hundreds of strange towers are also met, recalling the nuraghi of Sardinia, hut of unknown origin and use, although each is associated with its special legend. 114 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The old method of constructing dwellings has persisted for over two thousand years. Whole villages consist of nothing but holes dug in the ground or hewn out of the rock, revealed from without only by masses of foliage, or by clay roofs on which the women sit in the cool of the summer evenings. In most of the towns many houses are also still covered, instead of a roof, with a layer of hardened earth about 2 feet thick, and inclined just sufficiently to allow the water to run off through the openings in the low wall enclosing the terrace. On this surface there grows a dense leafy vegetation, in which the Lepidimn vesicarium, a species of crucifera, predominates ; but it withers up in summer, and is got rid of by being set on fire, these nightly bonfires often producing a very startling effect as they blaze up suddenly, and as suddenly die out on the housetops. As regards health the clay terraces are far preferable to the European roofs, as they maintain a warmer temperature in winter and a cooler in summer. Yet, through a blind love of everything foreign, the upper classes in Tiflis have begun to build their houses in the Western style. The Georgians of the Kura basin, like their Imerian, Mingrelian, and Laz kindred, fully deserve the reputation for physical beauty which they enjoy. They have the same abundant black hair, large eyes, white teeth, delicate complexion, lithe figures, small hands, that distinguish their western neighbours. Yet the appearance especially of their women, who mostly paint, can scarcely be described as prepossessing. They are cold and unattractive, their features lacking the animated expression and bright smile which intellectual development might he expected to have produced. ilost of the Georgians have a high, almost flushed complexion, due doubtless to excessive indulgence in wine, of which they are ever ready to take copious draughts in honour of their friends, generally with the Tatar words, Allah Verdi, "the gift of God!" The Kakhetians especially, proud of their excellent vintages, consume large quantities, and before the ravages of the o'idium, the usual allowance of the field labourers was here about half a gallon daily. This fiery wine, some of which might compare favourably with the best produced in Europe, is mostly consumed in the country, and one of the most familiar sights in Kakhetia is the well-filled ox or pig skins hanging at the doors of the shops, or crossing the country in waggon-loads. In order to preserve the pliancy of the skins the natives have the horrible practice of flaying the beasts alive, and then smearing the hides with naphtha. This imparts a disagreeable flavour to the liquor, to which, however, even strangers soon get accustomed. Notwithstanding the fertility of the land and relatively sparse population, the peasantry of the Kura basin are generally poor, owning little beyond a few nian°r cattle and sheep, whose wool looks almost like hair. Like the Hingrelians and Imerians, though to a less extent, the Georgians have suffered from the feudal system. However, since 1864 and I860 they have at least ceased to be attached to the glebe, and serfdom has been abolished in Transcaucasia, as elsewhere throughout the empire. But the nobles, who have remained large proprietors, have not all of them yet lost the habit of treating the peasantry as beasts of burden, while practices INHABITANTS— THE GEORGIANS, 115 begotten of slavery in the people themselves have not yet disappeared. They are for the most part uiftleanly and listless, though their naturally choerful, social, and upright disposition is gradually asserting itself, They are said to lie rather loss intelligent than the Caucasian races, and in the schools show less quickness (ban their Tatar and Armenian neighbours in mastering foreign languages and the sciences, though this may be partly due to the fact that the latter are mainly townsfolk, while the former are a rural population. Theft is a crime almost unknown in the Georgian and Armenian communities, the few eases of larceny that come before the Tiflis courts being mostly committed by strangers. At the same time many are addicted to contraband habits. Nor does (heir national legislator, King Vakktang, seem to have entertained any high opinion of their general uprightness. "I have drawn up this code," he writes, "but in Georgia no just sentence has ever yet been, nor ever will be, pronounced." Yet, however barbarous may have been the former Government, it remained for the Russians to introduce corporal punishment of the most degrading form. One of the most remarkable traits of the Georgian race is their love of song and the dance. They have no great musical talent, and their language, with its numerous gutturals and sibilants, is scarcely adapted to melody. Yet none the less do they keep up an incessant chant all day long, accompanying themselves with the (/(tint, or tambourine, and the balalaika, a sort of three-stringed guitar. Some will, so to say, adapt every movement to musical rhythm, and while weeding their maize-fields or engaged in other Held work, the men dispose themselves in groups, singing in various sets snatches of verse suitable to the work in hand, As they advance the chorus becomes more vigorous, and their measured movements more rapid. At the end of the furrow they stop short, shift their places, and in retracing their steps renew the interrupted burden of their song. Despotic masters from gloomy Russia attempted in vain to impose silence on their Trans- caucasian labourers. Unaccompanied by the glad music of the voice, the daily task hung heavy on their hands. Custom lias also given force of law to numerous feast-days analogous to the old holidays of "Merry England." On foot, on horseback, or in their ramshackle carts the whole population flocks to the scene, indicated from afar by some venerable church or cluster of oak-trees, and here the song, the dance, trade, revelry, and religious rites all follow in rapid succession. Worship is itself performed with a sort of blind rapture. Pilgrims present themselves before the priest to have the iron collar removed, with which they had symbolized their temporary thraldom to the patron saint; and when released they immolate to his honour the ram or the bull, which afterwards .supplies the banquet, Frequently some fair white-robed "spouse of the white George " will cast herself at the feet of the faithful, who must either step on her prostrate body or leap over it to reach the hallowed shrine. The Armenians, and even the Moslem Tatars, come to trade, are at times carried away by the religious frenzy, and join in the chorus and Christian rites. To the sacred succeed the profane dances, which often assume the appearance of a free fight, the victors seizing the girdles of the vanquished, enveloping themselves in 116 ASIATIC EUSSIA. the ample folds of their biirkns, or donning their imposing papashes. Formerly the sham fights held in the streets of Tiflis in commemoration of the expulsion of the Persians ended in regular battles, often accompanied by loss of life. The KHETsrRS, Pshavs, anp Tushes. As in the west, so in East Georgia, the ethnical picture is completed by a group of highlanders, who had till recently maintained their independence in their inac- cessible upland retreats. On the one hand are the already described Svans, on the other their Khevsur, Pshav. and Tush neighbours. The highest eastern valleys about Mount Borbalo have afforded a refuge to fugitives of diverse race and speech, who, amidst these secluded upland snows and pastures, have gradually acquired, if not an independent type, at least a distinct physiognomy. Cheehenzes, Lezghians, Georgians, and. according to tradition, even .Jews have entered into the composition of these tribes, although the chief ethnical element is no doubt the Georgian from the south, whose presence is also shown by the prevailing Christian practices. Xevertheless the predominant speech on the northern slopes is of Chechenz origin. Mount Borbalo is no less remarkable as an ethnological than as a water parting. Eastward stretches the Tush district, watered by the two head-streams of the Ko'isu of Audi ; on the south the Alazan of Eakketia, apart from a few Tushes, is mainly occupied by Georgians ; on the south-west the sources of the Tora and Eastern Aragva rise in the Pshav territory ; while the Khevsurs, or " People of the Gorges," dwell in the west and north-west, on both slopes of the central range, though it is impossible to assign definite limits to all these peoples. * They fre- quently shift their quarters, following their flocks to fresh pastures assigned to them by custom, or acquired by the fortunes of war. The Pshavs, who reach farthest clown, or about the altitude of 3,300 feet, thus abutting on the Southern Georgians, are the most civilised of these highlanders, and speak a Georgian dialect. They have greatly increased in numbers since the pacification of the land has enabled them to bring their produce to the Tiflis market. The Tushes, though less numerous and pent up in their rugged valleys everywhere enclosed by snowy mountains, are said to be the most industrious and intelligent of all the hillmen in this part of the Caucasus. Most of the men, being- obliged, like the Savoyards, to emigrate for half the year, bring back from the low- land populations larger ideas and more enterprising habits. Many have even acquired a considerable amount of instruction, besides several foreign languages. Their own is an extremely rude dialect, poor in vowels, abounding in consonants, with no less than nine sibilants and eight gutturals, one of which combines so inti- * Population of Upland Borbalo valleys in 1S76, according to Seidlitz : — Fshara $,150 Khcvsurs . . 6,;>00 Tushes . . ... 5,050 Total ... .... 20,100 THE KHEVSTJRS, PSHAVS. AND TUSHES. 117 mately with, the preceding or following consonants that special signs had to be invented to represent the combined letters. The Khevsurs, completely isolated from each other during the winter by the main range, are still in a very rude and almost barbarous state, although in some Fig. 57. — The Khevsur, Tlsh, and Pshav Lixds, Scale 1 : 850,000. EofC 44»50 45»i6' ' - ■ '. .vl Khevstirs. Tushes. Pshavs. Georgians. ' C'hechcnzes. 15 Miles. respects one of the most remarkable people in Asia. Generally of a lighter brown complexion than the Tushes, they are evidently a very mixed race, varying con- siderabl}' in stature, features, colour of hair and eyes, and in the shape of the cranium. Most of them have a savage aspect ; some are extremely thin, like 118 ASIATIC RUSSIA. walking skeletons with miraculously animated Death'- heads on their shoulder;, and with large hand- and feet, out of all proportion with the rest of the body. From the surroundings they have acquired muscles of steel, enabling them, even when heavily burdened, to scale the steepest cliffs, and often returning across the snow- and rocks from Vladikavkaz with a hundredweight of salt on their backs. Some of the still surviving Khevsur and Pshav customs resemble those of many Red Indian and African wild tribe;. Thus the wife is confined in an isolated hut, round which the husband prowls, encouraging her to support the pains of labour ■with volleys of musketry. After the delivery young girls steal to the place at dawn or dusk 'with bread, milk, cheese, and other comforts, the mother remain- ing: for a month in her retreat, which i- burnt after her departure. The father is cono'ratulated on the birth of a son, and feasts are prepared at his expense, but of which he may not partake. The struggle for existence in this unproductive land has introduced many practices calculated to limit the number of children to three : but infanticide does not prevail as it formerly did aruong-t the Svans. The Khevsurs show great affection for their offspring, though forbidden by custom to caress them in public. The boys are generally named after some wild animal — Bear, Lion, "Wolf, Panther, &c, emblems of their future valour, while the girls receive such tender names as Rose, Pearl, Bright-one, Daughter of the Sim, Little Sun, Sun of my Heart, etc. Afost of the marriages are arranged by the parent- while the children are yet in "long clothes." Nevertheless a formal abduction is still practised, and after the wedding and attendant rejoicings, the young couple avoid being seen together for weeks and months. Yet divorce is frequent, and the example of the Atohani- medans has even introduced polygamy in several Khevsur families. The funeral rites are not practised with the same rigour as formerly, when none were allowed to die under a roof, but compelled to close their eyes in face of sun or stars, and mingle their last breath with the winds. In presence of the body the relatives at first feigned to rejoice, but tears and waitings soon followed, accompanied by mournful songs for the departed. The Khevsurs are very proud of their Christianity, which is certainly of an original type. Their chief divinity is the Cod of TTar. and amongst their other gods and angel* are the Mother of the Earth, the Angel of the Oak, and the Archangel of Property. They keep the Friday like the Moha mm edans, abstain from pork, worship the sacred trees, offer sacrifices to the genii of earth and air. They have priests whose duties are to examine the sick, sprinkle the victim's blood over the people, proclaim the future, prepare the sacred beer, and these dignitaries end by becoming possessed of all the precious stones, old medals, and chased silver vases in the country. The Khevsurs are also, perhaps, the onlv people in the world who still use armour, coats of mail, arm-pieces, and helmets like those of mediceval knights, and formerly general amongst all the Caucasian tribes. Down to the close of the last century the Chechenz Ingushes still wore the shield and coats of mail. The traveller is often startled by the sight of these amied KHEVSUE IN AEMOUE. THE TATARS, TALISHES, SLAVS, AND GERMANS. 119 warriors, who look like lineal descendants of the Crusaders, but whom the law of vendetta alone compels to go about thus cased in iron. All who have to execute or fear an act of vengeance appear abroad with all their offensive and defensive arms, including the terrible spiked gauntlet, which has left its mark on the features of most of the natives. The Tatars, Talishes, Slavs, and Germans. Although far less numerous than the Georgians in the Kura basin, the Tatars still occupy nearly all its eastern section below Tiflis. In several districts they are grouped in compact masses of a far purer type than their kinsmen, the Western Osmanli. By the Byzantines and Arabs they were all confused, under the general name of Khazars, with the peoples at that time predominating on the banks of the Don and Volga. Although presenting every variety of type from the coarsest to the noblest, they are in general scarcely less symmetrical than their Georgian neighbours, while harbouring, under a serious and solemn expression, moral qualities not found in other Caucasian races. Those who have preserved their freedom are remarkably sincere, upright, and hospitable, generally very industrious, and superior to their neighbours as stock-breeders, agriculturists, gardeners, and artisans. They are often even better instructed than the Russians themselves, for most of them can read, while many write Turkish very correctly, and some show themselves familiar with Arabic and Persian. In some respects the Tatars are the civilising element in Caucasia, for their language, the Turki of Azerbeijan, is the general medium of intercourse between the various tribes, so that all the natives are commonly comprised under the col- lective name of Tatars. Amongst them are some representatives of the Kumans and other warlike invaders of Southern Europe, and they coidd not fail to have acquired a decisive influence in the country, but for a certain apathy of character which has caused them to fall into the hands of Armenian speculators and money-lenders. In their habits those of the Lower Kura, Shirvan, and Baku approach nearer to the Persians than to the Turks. They seldom practise poly- gamy, and their women generally work freely with unveiled face. On the whole they are remarkably tolerant, nor does the Shiah sect take advantage of its decided ascendancy to persecute either the Sunnite Mohammedans or their Christian neighbours. In some mixed villages the mayors are chosen alternately from the Armenians and Tatars, and even on the Persian frontier the Christians assist at the Shiah celebrations. Thus at Shusha the funeral processions in honour of Hassan and Hussein are escorted by mounted Cossacks, and attended by military bands. Yet the fanatical actors often bewail those martyrs of the Prophet's family by self-inflicted tortures of a most atrocious description, slashing their heads with knives until they are bathed in gore, burying wooden pegs in their skull, attaching iron clasps to the cheek bones and nostrils, confining the shoulders between two sharp swords which pierce the skin at every step, or loading the arms, breast, and loins with chains and amulets fastened by means of iron hooks 120 ASIATIC RUSSIA. sunk into the flesh. The unhappy victims often fall from exhaustion or loss of blood, while the dervishes and priests continue to excite the populace with songs, prayers, and shouts. In certain eastern districts dwell the Tats, also zealous Shiah sectaries, descend- ants of the former Persian rulers of the country, and whose name is synonymous with that of Tajik, current throughout Turkestan. They are found in compact groups about Baku, and as far north as Kuba. Most of the Lenkoran district, on the Persian frontier, is also occupied by an Iranian people known as Talishes, who have long dwelt in a semi-barbarous state in the secluded region between the highlands and the swamps of the Lower Kura. Their language is not a Persian dialect, but an independent parallel development, showing a certain affinity to the Afghan. Xext to the Georgians and the Tatars, these Tats and Talish Iranians occupy the widest ethnical area in Caucasia, although outnumbered by the Arme- nians, who are grouped in the towns, and especially in Tiflis. Besides all these races there are a few Mongol tribes in the Lower Kura basin, survivors of the old invaders, who live more or less intermingled with the Tatars along the left bank of the Alazan between Signakh and Zakatali. The hilly district overlooking Tiflis on the west is occupied by some Osses, and even Greeks, invited hither to replace the Tatars in 1829. Lastly, the settled population of Eastern Transcaucasia is com- pleted by several Russian and German colonists, some banished, others voluntary emigrants to this region. The Russian nonconformists, compelled in 1838 and subsequent years to settle in Transcaucasia, are mostly Molokanes — that is, " Feeders on Milk" — or Diddio- bortzi — that is, " "Wrestlers in Spirit " — from Taurida. Thanks to their co-operative habits, both are far more prosperous than their Tatar or Georgian neighbours, though in many respects inferior to other Slav colonists. The Germans who, like the Russian dissidents, have also settled near Tiflis and Yelizavetpol, live entirely aloof from the surrounding populations, and by their agricultural skill have con- verted into gardens the lands conceded to them when they migrated in 1817 from TTurteniberg. These Suabian colonists seem, in the course of two generations, to have become remarkably modified under the influence of the physical svu'roundings. Although, thev have contracted no alliances with their Georgian, Armenian, or Tatar neighbours, they no longer resemble their kinsmen in the fatherland, most of them being now distinguished by dark hair, black eyes, oval and regular features, graceful and lithe figures. Topography. The highest town in the Kura basin is Ardahan, a stronghold situated in a fertile cirque at the southern foot of the bluff surmounted by the fortress of Ramazan. By its capture in 1S77 the Russians became masters of the more important passes leading towards the Chorukh and Araxis valleys. But eastwards Ardahan still remains unconnected by easy routes with the rest of Transcaucasia, the volcanic region here traversed by the Kura opposing great obstacles to trade, TOPOGBAPHY. 121 One of the river gorges below Ardahan encloses the celebrated convent of A ardzia, or Yardzish — that is, " Castle of Roses " — entirely excavated in the soft tufa, which is here regularly stratified with layers of black scoria. The underground town contains innumerable cells disposed in stories, and connected by galleries edging the preci- pice 200 feet above the Kura. The larger space, form either chapels, where are still to be seen the remain- of frescoes, or the so-called summer and winter palaces of Queen Tamara. East of these defile, stands the important fortress of Akalkalahi, on an exposed but fertile plateau 5,630 feet above sea-level. Akiska, or Akhaltzik — that is, "Sew Fig. 58. — The Suram Pass axd IIesk Hovstaiks. Scale 1 : 210,000. C PerrcT J Miles. Fort " — which was the old Turkish town of Ak-hissar, or " White Fort," is also an important military town, commanding several of the frontier routes, and in peaceful times the centre of a considerable trade, since the emigration of the Turks chiefly occupied by Armenians, with about a thousand Jew-. The old mosque of its citadel, now a church, is one of the finest monuments in Caucasia. The district abounds in hot springs, amongst which those of Aspinza below Yardzia, and Abbas- Tuman to the north-west, attract numerous bathers to one of the most umbrageous and romantic valley., in this region. Descending from Akhaltzik towards Tiflis by the banks of the Kura, we reach the magnificent gorge, whose entrance is guarded by the pleasant watering-place of Borjom, 2,665 feet above sea-level. i2: 1.5IA. 10 HVS5IA This is the summer resort i "lie wealthy classes from Tiflis. and the ruined build- ings interspersed amongst the modern palaces and villas show that it was a large centre :: population even before the sixteenth century. Here the air is pure and fresh, water dows in abundance, and every eminence is clothed with forests in which the ibex and wild goat are still hunted. S ' i. though small in size, is a busy town, well known to travellers as n resting-place on the route and railway between Tori and Tiflis, It is commanded by a strong castle, which, according to the legend, the owner endeavoured to render impregnable by laying the foundation stone on the only son of a widow. Suram stands at the western extremity of the Karthalian plain, a dried-up lake whose bed is now extremely fertile. The temporary railway at prose::: crossing the Surain :._ -The Kv^a V, between G.:.: am Mr^s-.i ■^v- Hills will probably be ultimately replaced by another running farther south, and piercing the ilesk range by a tunnel in the vicinity of Borjoni. Gori. capital of the district, and ethnological centre of Georgia, stands as nearly as possible in the middle of the old lacustrine basin, not far from the junction of the Kura. Lakhva. and Mejuda. of which the two latter streams descend from the eountrv of the Osses. Gori is happily situated in a fertile and well- watered district at the foot of a bluff crowned by an old citadel. The wheat of this district is the best in Transcaucasia, and its wines are used in Titiis for tempering the more rierv vintages of Kakketia, On a tertiary rock of molasse formation. -3 miles east of Gori. lies the troglodytic town of UrhVtzikhe. no less remarkable than the convent of Yardzia. and much more accessible to visitors by the railway from Titiis. The rock, some 660 teet high, consists of strata of varying hardness, carved, sculptured, and excavated from base to s umm it, so as to present the appearance of a pyramidal group of buildings. These Vrlis grottoes were probably at drst inhabited by TOPOGEAPHY. 123 barbarous troglodytes ; but their successors were acquainted with the arts and comforts of life, and in these underground chambers are found the remains of Greek, Roman, Arab, and Byzantine architecture. Mtzhhet, standing at the outlet of the old Lake of Karthalia, though now an insignificant village, was the residence of the Georgian kings in the fourth and fifth centuries. It occupies a vital position at the junction of the main routes from the Darial defile through the Aragva valley, and from the Caspian and Euxine through the Kura and Rion basins. Hence after its destruction the new capital of Georgia and of all Caucasia was founded in the same neighbourhood, but removed, about a thousand years ago, some 13 miles farther south, to avoid the dangerous proxi- mity of the Osses. The piles of a bridge thrown across the Kura in 1841 arc said to rest on Roman foundations dating from the time of Pompey. But more interesting are the ruins of the cathedral founded by King Mirian in 328, and since then frequently restored. Tiflis, capital of Caucasia and the largest city in Asiatic Russia, was a mere hamlet on the banks of the Kura till the fifth century, when the seat of Govern- ment was transferred hither from Mtzkhet. The Georgian term Tiflis, Tphilis, or Tphilis-Kalaki, means "Hot Town," doubtless in reference to the sulphur spring rising near the Kura, amidst the porphyries and schists of the Tsavkissi fissure. Yet the name might be equally well applied to it from the sultry summer heat reflected by the bare rocks of the surrounding heights on the basin enclosing the city at an elevation of 1,220 feet above the sea. Nothing is visible in every direc- tion except the slopes of hills or yellow and gvey schistous mountains stripped of the forests formerly covering them, and even of the vegetable humus carried away by the winds and rains. The Russians have recent!}' endeavoured to restore these forests, but they have succeeded only in the ravines, on the flats and islands watered by the Kura. Above the quarter where stood the old town, the mono- tonous uniformity of the rocky landscape is broken by ramparts, bastions, and crumbling towers, while the banks of the Kura present a picturesque view with their three bridges, hanging galleries, low many-coloured housetops, and churches flanked by belfries terminating with octagonal pyramids. Nevertheless the general aspect of the place is not cheerful, the grey tones of the brick and wood work con- tributing to produce a depressing effect on the traveller. In 1874 nearly half of the houses were still roofed with earth, giving them the appearance of huts, and forming a strange contrast with the grand edifices in their midst. North-west of the old town stretch the regular streets of the new quarter, flanked by heavy buildings, churches, barracks, palaces, in the ultra-Caucasian Russian style. A broad boulevard, much frequented after sunset, vies in the splendour of its ware- houses with those of the great European capitals. The town is also constantly spreading northwards, especially round about the Poti railway terminus, along the left bank of the Kura, and in the direction of Mtzkhet. In its motley population Tiflis is the worthy capital of the Caucasian regions, xllthough lying within the ethnological limits of Georgia, it is not in a special sense a Georgian city, and even in 1803 of 2,700 houses four only belonged to families 124 ASIATIC RUSSIA. of that nation. The Armenians, constituting one-third of the inhabitants, are the most numerous element, while neither Russians nor Georgians amount to one-fifth, and even amongst the latter must bo included the Imerian and Mingrelian " hewers of Avood and drawers of water." * A large number of the people are unmarried immigrants, temporary residents raising the male population to about two-thirds of the whole, and partly accoimting for the prevailing depravity noticed by all travellers. The bazaars are largely frequented and well stocked with arms, carpets, silks, English or Russian cottons, Paris fancy goods, and other wares. The skilful Armenian jewellers produce various articles of an original type. The baths form another centre of social activity, especially for the Russian, Armenian, and Georgian ladies, who here occupy themselves with the pleasures of the toilet. The city has no remarkable monuments, but possesses a rich natural-history collection, and in the governor's palace may be seen a fine plan in relief of the Caucasus range. Amongst the numerous learned associations noteworthy is the Geographical Society, which is attached to that of St. Petersburg, and has pub- lished valuable documents on Caucasian geography and ethnography. Another institution has been formed to collect the old manuscripts of the Transcaucasian languages. During the oppressive summer heats the parks, pleasure grounds, and botanic gardens in the neighbourhood are frequented by thousands, glad to escape from the close and foul air of the narrow streets. The officials and wealthy traders now also flock to the villas and hostelries of the surrounding uplands. The chief " Sani- torium " is Kojor, whose houses are scattered at an elevation of from 4,400 to 5,000 feet along the slopes of a mountain commanding the Tiflis basin, and where the Georgian kings had also their summer residence. Here are the remains of some ancient forests, and Manglis, Beliy-Kluch, and other more remote retreats in the heart of the hills are still surrounded by extensive woodlands. The numerous alabaster quarries of this district supply the gypsum required by the Tiflis builders. Farther south volcanoes pierced by craters and furrowed by crevasses have accu- mulated vast terraces of lava above the fertile Somkhet district, which is watered by an affluent of the Kura. This country was long the domain of the Orbeliani, a princely family of Chinese origin, who some twenty-three centuries ago settled here as conquerors, followed by Eastern retainers of all races. Various ruins still testify to the former power of the Orbeliani in this region. On one of the numerous streams to the south-west of Tiflis stands the famous Shanikhor column, already mentioned by Abulfeda in the thirteenth century. This finely proportioned minaret, with its pedestal, frieze, capital, and terminal piece, is 180 feet high ; but it is in a very bad state of repair, already inclining from the * Population of Tiflis in 1876 according to nationalities : — 1,592 1,145 388 293 267 1,354 In "boarding-houses, bairacks, hospitals, and prisons, 14,473. Of these 66,147 arc males, 37,877 females. Armenians 37,308 Poles Georgians of all hi anches 21,623 Jews Russians 19,574 Greeks Germans 2,005 Osses Tatars and Turks 2,310 French Persians 1,692 Sundries H W TOPOGRAPHY. 125 perpendicular, and the Kufic inscription on the frieze is no longer legible. It dates probably from the ninth century. The basin of the Shamkhor, which flows by the village of like name, is the most important in Caucasia for its mineral wealth. In a cirque in these porphyry mountains, at an elevation of 5,000 feet, are situated the Kedabek works for reducing the copper ore? extracted from the neighbouring mines. This establishment, purchased in 1863 by some German engineers, gives Fig. 60.— Tifiis. Scale 1 : 36,000. 44.049 44" 51' E ofG. 1,030 Yards. constant employment to 1,000 Persian, Armenian, Tatar, and Greek workmen, and works up, on an average, from 8,000 to 10,000 tons of ore with about 6 per cent, of metal, partly purchased by the Government for the artillery service. It has developed quite a network of railways, and disposes of about 35,000 acres of forests and pastures, and one of the shafts has already been sunk to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet. Near Soglik, in the same basin, are some alum deposits, as rich as those VOL. VI. k 12G ASIATIC RUSSIA. of Tolfa, near Civita Ycccliia, and covering an area of over 12 square miles. These mines have been worked since the time of the Romans, as shown by numerous remains found on the spot. Iron and cobalt are also worked in this part of the Yelizavetpol district. Some 120 miles south-east of Tiflis lies the old city of Gary'a, formerly capital of a khanate of like name, and now renamed Yelizavetpol, as capital of the Russian province of Yelizavetpol. It existed in the eleventh century, but some miles from its present site, where are still to be seen the ruins of the old place, popularly attributed to Alexander the Great, who never visited the Kura basin. A little farther south-east stood Partar, the old capital of the kingdom of Agvania, or Fig. 61. — Yeliz.wetpol and Vicinity. From the Mail of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : GOO.OOO. 46°40' C. Perron . 12 Miles. Albania, in the 'district watered by the Terter above its junction with the Kura. Partav was destroyed in the tenth century, according to the Arab historians, by " Russi " adventurers from beyond the Caucasus, and its site is now indicated by the village of Barda, or Berdaya. This region, was certainly far more densely peopled formerly than at present, and Yelizavetpol itself, rebuilt in the sixteenth century on its present site, was evidently a considerable place, as shown by its extensive ruins and the tine Persian mosque erected here by Shah Abbas. Most of its windowless houses are built of a hardened clay, which is very durable in this dry climate, but which, with the ruins, contributes to give the place an appearance of great age. "With its fine plantations it covers a large area, some 12 miles in circumference ; yet it is so unhealthy that the officials are all obliged to remove in TOPOGBAPHY. 127 summer to the banks of the romantic " Bluo Lake " (Grok-gol), to Ilclcncnclorf, and Ilaji-Kend, near tko wooded hills of tlio soutli. Yolizavetpol is oven noted for a local endemic, tho so-called godovik, or "yearly leprosy," wo named because it lasts about one year in defiance of all remedies. This loathsome disease is probably due Fig. C'2. — The Tklav Basin. From tlio Map of Uio Russian Staff. Sculo 1 : 400,000. C .Perron U Miles. to tho twenty-two cemeteries close to (lie town, mingling their contents with the numerous irrigating rills from the river Ganju, whose waters are often absorbed in this way before reaching' the K'ura. Tho skilful horticulture of its Tatar, Suubian, and Slav inhabitants has brought tho fruits of this district to great perfection, and its cherries especially are the rinoat in Caucasia, They also occupy themselves with k 2 128 ASIATIC EUSSIA. the cultivation of tobacco, cotton, sericulture, spinning, and weaving, while the trade of Yelizavetpol is chiefly in the hands of the Armenians. Shusha, the largest town in this government, is also peopled by Armenians and Tatars. Standing 3,500 feet above the sea on an augite porphyry terrace enclosed by an amphitheatre of hills, its climate is one of the severest in Caucasia, while its flao-paved streets, stone houses, fortified buildings, towers, and posterns give it the Fig. 63.— Bam and Cape Bail-Burni. aspect of a medieval European town. Its Armenian traders, who deal chiefly in silk, have extensive relations with Tiflis, Moscow, and Marseilles. Telav, capital of Kakkctia, and .in the eleventh century the residence of a " King of Kings," is now merely a picturesque village, standing with its ruined forts on the summit of a bluff overlooking the Alazan valley. Yet it has a considerable wine trade, and but for its inconvenient situation might possibly recover some of its former importance. Signakh, also commanding the Alazan valley from an eminence TOPOGRAPHY. 129 Fig. 64. — Lenkoean. From the Map of the Bussian Staff. Scale 1 ; 000,000. 2,600 feet high, was originally a fortress and " place of refuge," as indicated by its Tatar name, but has gradually become a thriving commercial town, with a prepon- derating Armenian population. Nukha, at the foot of the Great Caucasus, is peopled chiefly by Tatars engaged mostly in sericulture and silk-weaving. Here the Khan Hussein built a strong fortress in 1765, which encloses an extremely handsome palace in Persian style. It does a large export trade in raw silk, and since the ravages of the silk disease in the European nurseries it is yearly visited by hundreds of French and Italian buyers. 8/iamakhi, the Shemakha of the Russians, capital of the old province of Shirvan, and formerly the largest city in Transcaucasia, was said to have had a population of 100,000 in the seventeenth century. But it has suffered much from earthquakes, and still more from the hand of man, having been wasted first by Peter the Great, and then by Xadir Shah. Yet ever since the removal of the seat of Government to Baku it has remained the most populous place in the province. It is chiefly engaged in wool- spinning, dyeing, and weaving carpets in the Persian style, said to be the best and most durable in all Asia, and surpassing even those of the French looms in beauty of design, rich- ness of colour, and cheapness. Its seedless pomegranates are also famous throughout the East. Baku, the present capital of the eastern province of Transcaucasia, exhibits quite an Asiatic appearance, with its low flat-roofed houses, tall minarets and palace of its former khans. Close to the blue waters of its bay stands the so-called " Maiden's Tower," a truncated cone, originally, doubtless, a watch- tower, but now used as a lighthouse. But being otherwise destitute of monuments, the dirty, irregular, and dusty town of Baku, and centre of the naphtha trade, possesses no importance except as the Caspian seaport of all Transcaucasia. In its deep and sheltered roadstead at least fifty vessels arc always anchored, some in 20 feet of water within a few yards of the shore, and although still unconnected by rail cither with (Stavropol or Tiflis, it has the largest trade of any Caspian port except Astrakhan. But it has scarcely any industries, and even all the naphtha and 130 ASIATIC RUSSIA. petroleum refining works are carried on at Balakhani and Masbtagi, in the neighbourhood of the "fire springs." Sahtani, or Salyan, the chief town of the Kura delta, and standing near its apex, derives considerable importance from its productive fisheries and horticulture. Lenkoran, or Lenkorud, a maritime town near the Persian frontier, lacks the natural advantages of Baku ; for although its Tatar name means " roadstead," it is o'reatly exposed to the winds and surf, and its shipping is obliged to cast anchor about 2 miles from the coast. The Mard-ab, or " Dead Waters," of the surroi nd- ino- district also render its climate very unhealthy. In these swampy grounds multitudes of ducks and other aquatic birds are taken by the net, and the cultiva- tion of rice, together with a rich Indian flora, has been introduced by the Hindu traders. 8outh of Lenkoran stands the equally inconvenient and insalubrious little port of Astara, at the mouth of a river of like name, which here marks the frontier of the Russian and Persian Empires. From Persia, Astara imports dried fruits, gall nuts, and raw cotton, in exchange for cotton stuffs, iron and copper ware, and samovars. It has a yearly trade of nearly 1,000,000 roubles. VII.— RUSSIAN ARMENIA. ARARAT, ALAGOZ, PLATEAU OF LAKE GOK-CHAT, AND ARAXIS BASIN. The Araxis basin presents on the whole a marked geographical unity, forming, north of the Iranian tableland, a broad semicircular zone, with its convex side facing southwards, and everywhere enclosed by lofty mountains, except near the Caspian, where the hills fall towards the alluvial plains of the Kura and Araxis. Neither of these rivers forms a uniform ethnological domain, for Armenians, Georgians, and Tatars dwell on the banks of the former, while the Araxis valley is occupied by Armenians, Kurds, and other Tatar peoples. Still the Armenians everywhere preponderate not only in culture and influence, but also in numbers. Politically also the Araxis basin is divided between the three converging states, the region of all the head-streams belonging to Turkey, and most of the right bank of the main stream to Persia, while more than half of the whole basin, including the best strategical points for a descent on the Euphrates valley, arc now Russian territory. Russia is thus mistress of the famous Mount Ararat, and of the con- vent of Echmiadzin, the religious capital of the Armenians, and centre of their nationality. Orography — Ararat — Ala-goz. North of the sources of the Araxis the mountains sloping northwards towards the Euxine are cut up by ravines and glens into irregular chains and spurs, such as the Kircchli, Soghanli, and Childir-dagh, which, north of the Kars basin, merge in the lacustrine plateau bordered eastwards by the Abul and Samsar volcanoes. Although presenting serious obstacles to intercommunication, none of these ranges OEOGBAPHY— AEAEAT— ALA-GOZ. 131 attain the altitude of the Caucasus and Anti- Caucasus, the highest summit being the Kizil-dagh, or ''Red Mountain," between the Ears basin and Lake Chiklir, which is only 10,460 feet, and consequently below the normal snow-line. South of the region of the Araxis head-streams the highlands become narrower, but more elevated, here forming a single parting range running east and west between the Araxis and Euphrates or Murad valleys, with several extinct craters over 10,000 feet high, and culminating with the Perli-dagh in the centre, and the Chingil, Fig. 65. — Recent Russian Conquests. Scale 1 : 3,500,000. >A0 4A-° E.qFG. C . P'enro Ceded by the treaty of St. Stefano. w Annexed in 1878. Transcaucasia befon the War. , CO Miles. near the eastern pass leading from Erivan to Bayazid, both about 10,830 feet above the sea. Several streamlets flowing to the Araxis indicate, by their name of Tuzla-su, the nature of their waters, which spring from extensive salt beds. North of the Perli-dagh stands Mount Eurpi, one of the largest masses of rock-salt in the world, rising on a tertiary plain near the point where the Araxis passes through a narrow basalt gorge above its junction with the Arpa-chai. The surrounding hills, destitute of vegetation, and composed of red, blue, green, or grey marls, impart to 132 ASIATIC EUSSIA. the landscape a most motley appearance. The Kulpi salt mines, which are confined to a central layer from 100 to 210 feet thick, have probably been longer worked than any other out of China. The Armenians tell us how Xoah drew his supplies from this source, and even show the very spot where he began his mining operations. In the abandoned parts of the works hammers and other implements are frequently picked up, dating from the stone age. These objects are all made of diorite, a rock found nowhere in the district, and which must have been procured from distant countries. The mining operations are still carried on in a rude manner, and owing to the absence of roads, the produce is limited to the Tiflis and Fig. 66. — Aeaeat. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scile 1 : 320,000.' Djelial -mmm lijAM ^&tei-' E oFG. C Pe . 6 Miles. Erivan markets. Between 1836 and 1876 the average yield has risen from 4,000 to 10,300 tons. Ararat, "historical centre of the Armenian plateau," and central point of the line of tablelands stretching across the eastern hemisphere from the Cape of Good Hope to Bering .Strait, rises above the eastern continuation of the volcanic chain running between the Araxis and the Euphrates. But its snowy crest towers to such a height above the surrounding mountains that they become dwarfed to mere hills, while the hilly plateaux seem to stretch like plains at its base. Its very name of Ararat, probably of Aramaean origin, is synonymous with supereminence, while its Armenian designation, Alasis, is also said to mean " grand,'' or " sublime.'' OBOGEAPHY— ABABAT— ALA-GOZ. 133 The Turks call it A|ri-dagh, or "Steep Mountain," and the Persians Koh-i-Nuh, or "Noah's Mount." This superb mass, grander than the Hellenic Olympuses, naturally became a sacred object to the peoples of the plains, the mysterious summit whence men and animals descended to people the world. The Armenians show the very spot where Noah's ark grounded, and where it is still guarded by genii armed with flaming swords.* Viewed from Nakhichevan, Ararat looks like a compact conic mass rising on the north-west horizon; but from Bayazid on the south, and Erivan on the north, it is seen to consist of two distinct mountains disposed in the direction of the Caucasus-Great Ararat, with a double peak in the north-west ; Little Ararat, with a rounded crest in the south-east, and with a deep intervening depression. Both Fig-. 67. — Mount Aeaeat. masses, with their counterforts, occupy an area of about 380 square miles between the plains of Bayazid and Erivan. Like those of Etna, their slopes are almost everywhere gently inclined, although the ascent is rendered very difficult lower down by occasional lava streams, and higher up by the snows,' nearly always softened under the solar rays in summer. The Armenians speak of the prodigies by which too daring shepherds have ever been prevented from scaling the "Mother of the World," and the failures of Tournefort and Morier lent a colour to their statements. When Parrot at last scaled the highest crest in 1829, they unani- * Elevations of the Araxis and neighbouring- plains : Feet. Great Ararat Little Ararat Intermediate Col 10,760 11,680 8,785 Bayazid (citadel) Echmiadzin Erivan Feet. 6,634 2,810 3,200 134 ASIATIC RUSSIA. mously denied the tintli of his account, and for a long time succeeded in casting a doubt on his veracity, until the exploit was repeated by other adventurers. In 1850 Khodzko passed five whole days on the summit in order to prosecute his work of triangulation in Caucasia. He passed thence south-east to Mount Salivan, 204 miles off, and north-west to Mount Elbruz, distant 264 miles, corresponding by means of heliotropic signals with the astronomers stationed on Mount Akh-dagh, in the centre of the Gok-chai plateau. At an elevation of 11,600 feet, Ararat is still everywhere clothed with vegeta- tion ; but herbage ceases at 12,500 feet, while nothing occurs except an Alpine flora between 13,200 and 14,300, which marks the lino of perpetual snow. The species of the Upper Ararat are all either identical with, or allied to, those of the Alps, but they are much less numerous, a fact doubtless due to the greater dryness of the atmosphere on the Armenian mountain. Its fauna also is comparatively very poor. The wolf, hyena, and perhaps the panther, haunt the thickets at its base about the Araxis ; but higher up nothing is met except an ibex, a polecat, and a species of hare. Although only 3° of latitude farther south than the Pyrenees, the lower slopes are free of snow much earlier, and the snow-line itself is about a mile lower down than on the Iberian range. Still the snow reaches much further down in the ravines of erosion by which its flanks are furrowed. In several gorges these snows become true glaciers, of which the chief is that of St. James, whose cirque has undoubtedly been formed by a former eruption analogous to that of the Val del Bove on Mongibello. In more remote times the glaciers reached much lower, as shown by the scored and polished surface of the trachite rocks. Notwithstanding the vast quantity of snow lying on its slopes, Ararat is almost entirely destitute of water. Wagner failed to discover anything beyond two springs at its base, from which mere rills trickle away amongst the stones. Hence its sides remain arid and parched, while the neighbouring mountains, also of volcanic origin, discharge torrents numerous enough to form vast and deep lakes at their feet. During dry seasons Ararat becomes altogether uninhabitable, the want of shade and moisture driving away the flocks, and even the birds of the air. It is therefore probable that the water from the melting snows disappears in crevasses, or beneath the ashes and lavas, either collecting in underground lakes, or forming a network of hidden streams. These waters, transformed to steam by the subterraneous fires, may perhaps explain the terrible eruption of 1840, when an old crater above the convent of St. James suddenly reopened, ejecting a dense vapour far above the summit of Ararat, and diffusing sulphurous exhalations round about. The mountain groaned threateningly, casting up from the fissure vast quantities of stones and rocks, some weighing as much as 5 tons. Jets of steam escaped through numerous crevasses, and springs of hot water bubbled up from the bed of the Araxis. The convent itself disappeared beneath the debris, together with the rich and popidous village of Arguri, supposed by the Armenians to be the oldest in the world, and to mark the spot where Noah planted the vine on leaving the ark. There perished on tbis occasion, besides the 2,000 inhabitants OROGRAPHY— AEAEAT— ALA-GOZ. 135 of Arg'iiri, several thousands at Erivan, Nakhichevan, and Bayazid, victims of the earthquake felt at those places. Four days afterwards a fresh disaster destroyed nearly all the land under cidtivation about Arguri. The water and slush, collected in the crater partly from the melting snows, burst their barriers, overflowing in long streams of mud down the slopes, and converting the plain into a vast morass. The Arguri eruption is the only one mentioned in historic times, though Ararat Fig. 6S.— Ala-goz. Fiom the Map of the Russian Staff. ; Scale 1 : 300,000. ofG. 44' -4-i°2CT Perron . 6 Miles. has been the scene of frequent and violent earthquakes. The statement of Reineggs that he saw flames and smoke emitted from the summit in 1785 is more than doubtful, for the phenomenon was witnessed by none of the natives. The Allah- ghoz, or rather Ala-goz ("Motley Mountain"), faces Ararat from the opposite side of the Erivan plain. It is a volcanic mass, with a truncated cone 13,900 feet high, but with its counterforts occupying a wider area than its 136 ASIATIC RUSSIA. haughty rival. Its lava streams descend south and east towards the Araxis valley — west and north towards Alexandrapol, in the Arpa-chai basin. It takes its name from the diverse colours of its scoriae, pumice, and obsidians, varied here and there with herbage and bright flowers. Three of the old craters now form as many small lakes, although but few streams reach the plains, the running waters gene- Fig. 69. — Lake Gok-chai. From the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 1,000,000. 44° 50 45°50 Z oEG C Perror. 18 Miles. rally disappearing beneath the scoriao, and feeding the A'iger-gol, a lake lying south of the mountain, and draining through the Kara-su to the Araxis. Lake Gok-chai — The Karabagh — Flora and Fauna. Isolated like Ararat, the Ala-goz is connected only by low ridges with the northern highlands. These run parallel with the Caucasus, and connect the volcanic chain of the Akhalkalaki plateau with the mountains overlooking Lake LAKE GOK-CIIAI— THE KABABAGH— PLOBA AND FAUNA. 137 Gok-chai, oast of Erivan. These mountains — Somkhct, Pambak, and others from 8,000 to 10,000 foot "high— stand on such an elevated plateau that the ridge is easily surmounted by passes approached by long and gently sloping inclines. The Eshok-Maidan Pass, on the trade route between Tiffis and Erivan, stands at an altitude of 7/2:30 feet at the north-west angle of a hilly plateau, where the intersection of the various axes of the Caucasus forms a labyrinth of chains radi- ating in all directions, although mainly running north-west and south-east, parallel with the Great Caucasus. Fig. 70. — The Aiapolaium Lava St.ieams. From Dubois fie Montporc is. Sonic 1 : 303,000. The ridges maintain a mean uniform elevation, rising everywhere about 3,300 feet above the plateau forming their common base, although a few extinct cones attain a relative height of 5,000 feet, or about 13,330 above sea-level. This inter- section of ridges of uniform elevation explains the forma- tion of a vast lake filling a cavity in the plateau 0,410 feet above the Euxinc, and in summer only discharging its waters through Zanga, south-west towards the Araxis. This is the Gok- chai, or "Blue Water," of the Tatars, and the Sevanga of the Armenians. Although 550 square miles in extent, or two and a half times larger than Lake Geneva, Chardin is the first European traveller who mentions it. The mean depth varies from 150 to 250 feet, but its waters, fresh in the northern section, slightly brackish in the south, harbour five species only of fish, including the trout and salmon, although these are so numerous that from 2,000 to 3,000 trout have been taken at one haul. The lake forms an irregular triangle, contracted towards the centre by two advancing headlands, and as it is everywhere encircled by grey and snowy moun- tains, the landscape presents on the whole a grand and solemn, though somewhat sombre aspect. The lava and porphyry slopes arc perfectly bare down to the C.oFG 45° 40 45°50' C. Ppnrnn . C Miles. 138 ASIATIC RUSSIA. water's edge, while of the old cities nothing- now survives except crumbling masses, beneath which numerous coins have been found dating from the time of tho Sassanides. The villages also lie hidden away in sheltered nooks, so that little is visible beyond a few hamlets half buried in the ground, and the so-culled "Tombs of the Giants," numerous tumuli scattered over the plateau, which is under snow eight months in the year. Nearly all the cultivable land has long remained fallow, so that the country has again become a desert. Till recently no craft navigated the lake, which, notwithstanding the fierce storms sweeping down from the hills, is often ice-bound in winter. On a volcanic islet in the north-west corner stands the convent of (Sevan, noted throughout Armenia since the ninth century. It would be hard to conceive a more forlorn place of exile than this bleak island of black rocks, whose inhabitants are condemned to silence except for four days in the year. But the villages of the neighbouring plateau have become convalescent retreats for the people of tiro unhealthy town of Erivan, where dangerous fevers arc endemic. East of the Gok-chai and its encircling volcanoes, conspicuous amongst which is the Alapolarim, the labyrinth of intersecting ranges is continued south-east- wards, under the collective name of Karabagh, tho Hani of the Georgians. Although the ravines preserve their snows throughout tho year, not more than three or four of the crests in this region rise above the snow-line. Such arc tho Garnish (12,460 feet), source of the Terter, the Kazangol-dagh, and its southern neighbour, the Kapujish (12,1380 feet), continued southwards towards the town of Ordubat by steep rugged hills crowned with peaks. Houth of these culminating points of Eastern Armenia, and beyond the gorge of the Araxis, rise other moun- tains of equal height, and similarly furrowed with snowy ravines. Between the chain commanded by Mount Kapudish and the Shusha Mountains lies the Zangezur basin, at a mean elevation of 4,000 feet, apparently an old lacustrine depression, like tho Gok-chai, whose waters have been drawn off by the Bcrgushet and Akera Rivers, which unite before reaching the Araxis valley. In the centre of this basin the conic Ishikli, or Kachal-dagh, rises to a height of over 10,000 feet, and the scori;c and ashes ejected by the surrounding volcanoes have been accumu- lated on the bed of the old lake to a thickness of several hundred yards, since deeply furrowed by torrents. The flora of these highlands bears a remarkable resemblance to that of the European Alpine regions. Here are the same beeches, oaks, aspens, undergrowth, and flowering plants. The upland valleys, covered with a. thick layer of black loam, arc very fertile, whence probably the name of Karabagh, or " Black Garden," by which tins country is known. But on the arid slopes, with the thermometer at 104° Eahr. during the summer months, little grows beyond the wild sage and other aromatic plants, while the fauna is chiefly represented by reptiles, scorpions, and formidable tarantolos [Phalangium araneoides). The Karabagh horses, however, which climb the cliffs like goats, are said to be the finest in Transcaucasia. THE ARAXIS BASIN. 139 The Akaxis Basix. The Araxis, or Aras, pre-eminently the Armenian river, rises beyond Russian territory to the south of Erzerum, and receives its first tributaries from the Bingol- dagh volcano, the "Mountain of the Thousand Streams," some of which flow south- wards to the Euphrates. After entering Russian Transcaucasia its still feeble volume is doubled by the junction of the Arpa-chai, or Akhurean, descending from the volcanic plateaux of Alexandrapol and the Ala-goz. Thanks to this supply, it is enabled to contribute largely to the irrigation of the Erivan basin, which woidd else become a desert waste. Diverted southwards by the Gok-chai and Karabagh highlands, it escapes from the old lacustrine bed through a narrow rocky gorge with falls from 200 to 270 feet broad, where its seething waters descend between steep rugged cliffs at an average rate of 15 feet in 1,000 yards, falling at one point as much as 4-5 feet in the same distance. Ordubat, above the Arasbar gorge, is still 3,090 feet above the Caspian, yet within GO miles of this place the river has already reached the lowlands. After receiving the Bergushet it sweeps round the southern base of the Diri-dagh, beyond which it is joined by several torrents from the Persian highlands, idtimately joining the Xura after a course of about 470 miles. At the Diri-dagh it is crossed by the Ehudaferin Bridge, attributed traditionally to Pompev, but which is certainly of more recent date. Higher up are the ruins of another bridge, referred by the natives to Alexander the Great, but which may well be a Roman structure. Below that of Ehudaferin there are no other bridges, and here the former hydraulic works and irrigation canals have been mostly abandoned, so that instead of promoting the fertility of the steppe, they combine with the swamps of the Kura to render this tract of the Caspian seaboard all but uninhabitable. The Araxis is said to be showing a tendency to trend more to the right, and again separate itself from the Kura, and flow inderjendently to the sea, as in the time of Strabo. The Araxis basin is exposed to greater extremes of temperature than most regions in Western Asia. The climate of Erivan is even more severe than that of Tiflis, the temperature falling in winter to — 20" Eahr., and rising in s umm er to 104 J and even 110" Fahr. Hence the frequency of malignant fevers and other epidemics in Erivan. "In Tifli--," says the Armenian, "the young are not to be distinguished from the old ; in Erivan the living are no better than the dead." Fortunately during the summer heats the Erivan plain is swept at nightfall by a cool north or north-west wind, blowing fiercely from the Ala-goz highlands. It generally begins to blow about five p.m. and lasts the greater part of the night, but is accompanied by such clouds of dust, and even sand, that the inhabitants are confined to their houses during its prevalence. All the poplars in the neighbour- hood of Erivan are slightly inclined toward the south-east. These pyramidal poplars are a conspicuous feature of the landscape in the Araxis basin. But a more remarkable plant is the nblbond, a species of elm, whose leafy branches fonn a vast canopy of foliage absolutely impenetrable to the eolar ravs. Although one of the finest ornamental trees in the world, it is found 140 ASIATIC KUSSIA. nowhere beyond the limits of Russian Armenia. The apricot grows in all the gardens, and rice, cotton, and sesame are also cultivated, besides a vine producing a strong wine of a brown colour, somewhat like sherry or madeira. But this vino has to be buried underground in winter, and regularly watered in summer. In this climate everything perishes, and the ground becomes baked like burnt clay, except where the irrigating channels convert the desert to a green oasis. The former irrigation works were all developed by the Persians, and an English engineer now proposes to distribute the waters of the Arpa-ehai over & the desert plains of Sardarabad. Meantime field operations arc carried on in the most primitive fashion. Although skilful traders, the Armenians are bad aeri- eultunsts, but scarcely worse than their Tatar neighbours. In several districts the land is also exposed to the ravages of wild boars, which haunt the brush- wood and sedgy banks of the Lower Araxis. Yet the zealous Tatars hold these unclean beasts in such horror that they will neither soil their hands by pursuing them themselves, nor allow others to interfere with them. Inhabitants — The Armenians. The chief nation in the Araxis basin, numerically the fourth in Caucasia, and second to the Russians alone in influence, are the Armenians, or Hai, Haik, or Haikan, as they call themselves. The term Armenia, of Aramaean origin and probably meaning " highlands," is extremely vague, and applied in a general way to all the region of plateaux overlooked by Ararat. Armenia proper, or Hayasdan — that is, land of the Haik — has shifted its borders from century to century with the political vicissitudes and migrations of the race. At present it comprises most of the Araxis basin, a large portion of the Kura valley, all the Upper Euphrates basin as far as the junction of the two main head- streams, the shores of Lake Van, and a few isolated tracts in Persia about Lake Uruniiyak. The centre of gravity of the nation has been gradually removed northwards from the neighbourhood of Lake Van and the Eastern Euphrates valley, where a village still bears the national name of Haik. But from all parts of the globe the scat- tered fragments of the peo2>lc turn their eves towards Ararat and the plains of the Araxis as their true fatherland. Here they are still found in the most compact and homogeneous masses, and here the Armenian tongue is spoken in the greatest purity, approaching nearest to the old language still employed in the churches, but which has ceased to be current since the close of the fourteenth century. At the time of the Russian conquest in 1828 — 30, about 130,000 Armenians of Persia and Turkey migrated to the Araxis and Kura valleys, here replacing the Kurds and Tatars, who in their turn took refuge in the lands that had remained in the power of the Mohammedans. During the war of 1877-8 a similar cross migration took place. The districts of Ardahan in the Upper Kura valley, and f Ears in the Araxis basin, lost the greater part of their Mussulman inhabitants, receiving in their stead a multitude of Armenians from the Upper Euphrates, the o W s rW- AKMENIAN TYPES AND COSTUMES, INHABITANTS— THE ARMENIANS. 141 Chorukh, and especially from the tract ceded to Russia by the treaty of St. Stefano, but restored to Turkey by the Congress of Berlin. These national move- ments were doubtless attended by a frightful loss of life, and even now religious and racial hatred gives rise to terrible tragedies. But the populations have, on the whole, been grouped more in conformity with their natural affinities. Hitherto no reliable estimate has been formed of the number of Armenians in Asia Minor under Moslem rule, but they are probably less numerous than those subject to Russia.* The whole nation, usually estimated at three and even four millions, wordd seem scarcely to exceed two millions, of whom no less than 200,000 reside in Constantinople. Tinis, the second Armenian city in numerical impor- tance, lies also beyond the limits of Armenia proper, and the same is true of several other Transcaucasian towns in which the Armenian element preponderates. Deprived for centuries of all political unity and national independence, the Armenians have been scattered over the Eastern world since the days of Herodotus, who met them in Babylon. When their country fell a prey to foreign conquerors they preferred to become " strangers amongst strangers than remain slaves in their native land." They migrated in multitudes, and since the eleventh century have been settled in Russia, Poland, Bukovina, and Galicia. At present they are found in all the large emporiums of trade from London to Singapore and Shanghae, everywhere distinguished hj their commercial enter- prise. They have often been compared with the Jews, whom they certainly equal in religious tenacity, spirit of fellowship, mercantde instincts, and commercial skill. But they are less adventurous, and whereas individual Jews have penetrated to the ends of the earth, sustaining alone the struggle for existence, the Armenians seldom advance except in compact groups. The majority of the nation have also remained in their original homes, where they are far from showing the same aversion as do the Jews to agricultural pursuits. In several districts of Trans- caucasia all the peasantry are of Armenian stock, and in some of their villages in the Karabagh district they are occupied temporarily as masons or carpenters, pursuits which the Jews are never found engaged in. Nevertheless the Semitic element probably entered largely into the formation of the Haik race, for numerous migrations and even transportations in mass have taken place from Palestine to Armenia. The Haiks may in a general way be regarded as Aryans closely allied to the Persians ; but during the incessant wars, conquests, and migrations of the last four thousand years they have become mingled with all the neighbouring peoples, and especially with the Jews, multitudes of whom were removed by the Assyrian kings to the Armenian highlands. The Bagratides, the most famous royal race that has ruled over Hayasdan and Georgia, even claim * Probable number of Armenians in the "world : — Caucasia and European Eussia . 840,000 Asiatic Turkey ... . . 760,000 Persia . European Turkey Elsewhere . Total . VOL. VI, 150,000 250,000 60,000 2,060,000 142 ASIATIC BTTSSLL to be descended from David of Israel. Amongst the other foreign elements said to have exercised a considerable influence on the nation, mention is made of the Alani- gonian tribe, introduced in the third century of the new era into Somkhet, in Armenia. bv a prince of Jenasdan— that is, of China. But the chroniclers show clearly that most of these foreigners, arriving, like the Xormans and Varangians, as warriors and mercenaries, were in fact Iranians, probably allied to the Tajiks of the Oxus basin. The Armenian lanoaiaLre is included by all philologists in the Aryan family. Its affinities are chiefly with the Bactrian (••Zend"), its syntax is completely Iranian, and its vocabulary greatly resembles the Greek and Slavonic. Although very harsh and abounding in consonants, it rivals the Hellenic in its wealth of words and grammatical forms, as well as in its flexible structure and unlimited power of word-building. Still the numerous modern varieties have borrowed largely from Turkish and Georgian, and the speech current in the Lower Araxi> basin is a veritable jargon, in which the Tatar element at times prevails over the Haikan, while in Shirvan numerous Armenian communities have forgotten their mother tongue as completely as have the more distant settlements in Bukovina and Transvlvania. In the convent of Echmiadzin, where it is spoken in its purest form, it still remains a purely Iranian dialect, whose origin and development are well illustrated in a local literature, continued uninterruptedly over a period of two thousand Tears. Pock inscriptions in the cuneiform character occur in the A an district. Other Haikan documents are extant in Persian and Greek letters, and in the flourishm? literary period (fifth century a. P.), when three hundred schools were open in the country, the peculiar alphabet now in use was introduced. The people still show a great love of instruction ; schools are supported in all the co mm unes : and the villa trers have often to contend either with the Russian Government, or with the clergy, jealous of the influence exercised by their teachers. The scientific and literary movement has become very active, and in proportion to their numbers the Armenians probably print more books than any other people in the empire. To the former theological, historical, metaphysical, and grammatical works are now added translations of foreign masterpieces, and even in Anatolia are found close students of French literature. In 1S54 about twenty-two Armenian presses were at work in Europe and Asia, issuing periodicals in Tiflis, Constantinople, and other towns, and publishing the old monuments of the language, especially in Moscow, Vienna. Paris, and Venice. The most famous establishment of this sort abroad is the convent founded in 1717 by the monk Hekkitar, or the " Consoler," in the island of San Lazzaro, near Venice. Here are published many valuable documents, and in the library are preserved some rare Oriental manuscripts. The ilekkitarists, like most of the communities residing beyond the limits of Transcaucasia and Turkey, belong to the United Armenian rite, in union with the Poman Church, while preserving some of their traditional practices. But the bulk of the nation hi the Euphrates and Araxis valleys have remained faithful to the old Orthodox cult. The dogmatic differences dividing the nation into two hostile religious sects turn chiefly on the nature of Christ, hell, and purgatory, the authority of the councils, the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and sundry rites. But INHABITANTS— THE AEMENIANS. 143 beneath the outward teaching of both forms are preserved numerous symbols dating from still older religions. The Armenian was the first nation converted in mass by Gregory the " Illuminator," about the beginning of the fourth century. But while changing its deities, it lost few of its traditions, and modified its worship very gradually. The sacred fire is even still commemorated, as in the days of Zoroaster. On the annual feast a recently married couple consume in a copper basin the richest fruits of the earth, flowers of all sorts, ears of corn, the vine and laurel branches. On all important occasions the people turn towards the sun as if to seek for aid from that source. During the great feasts bulls or rams crowned with wreaths and decorated with lighted candles arc led into the churches or under Fig. 71. — Auaxis and Zanga Basin. Prom the Map of the Russian Staff. Scale 1 : 600,000. tilts Jf**s3M:ii 39' 45° 50' 44° ecr EofG 50 C Perron 12 Miles. the sacred trees, and afterwards sacrificed with songs and prayers — evidently the sacrifice of Mithra bequeathed by the old to the new religion. The " Katholicos," or spiritual head of the nation, derives his power from the possession of a precious relic, the right hand of the martyred Gregory. Chosen by the dignitaries of Echmiadzin when not designated by his predecessor, ho is obeyed by all his co-religionists of the Gregorian rite ; he names the bishops, who are nearly always selected from the monkish communities ; and he addresses the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Jerusalem as a superior. Hence the extreme importance attached by the Russian Government to the possession of Ararat and the sacred convent of Echmiadzin. By seizing this strip of territory, so renowned throughout the East, the Muscovites have at the same time secured the spiritual ruler of over 2,000,000 human beings. The St. Petersburg authorities, who usually view with scant favour all religions antagonistic to the Orthodox Greek, l 2 144 ASIATIC KITSSIA. Fig. 72. — Armenian Woman. have accordingly been careful to treat the Katholicos with the greatest respect, thus acquiring a sort of protective right over all the Armenians settled in Turkey. On several occasions excessive zeal for the " Russification " of all the inhabitants of the empire has doubtless led to acts of violence and oppression even in Armenia. But the caprice of governors and political dreams do not prevent the Armenians from, on the whole, exercising a considerable influence in the empire — an influence due to their knowledge of languages, to their tact, often even to their intriguing spirit and adroitness in gaining access to the bureaucratic circle. They have long enjoyed a large share in the government at Constantinople, and they have already begun to play a part in St. Petersburg analogous to that often exercised by wily Italians at the French courts. Even in Trans- caucasia they are gradually taking possession of the soil, and constantly encroaching on their Tatar neighbours. The Armenians of Rus- sian Transcaucasia differ little in their physique from the Georgians, except that their features are generally rounder, their neck shorter and thicker. Many are in- clined to obesity, probably from their sedentary habits. With fine heads of brown hair, large, black, and languid eyes, they seem to be of a gentle and almost melancholy temperament. Yet they do not lack valour in resisting attacks, as shown by the Seven Years' War of Independence, which they sustained in the beginning of the eighteenth century against the Persians in the Karabagh highlands, and since then in many local revolts against the Turks. Though they do not go about armed with an assortment of pistols and daggers, like the Georgians of the Rion basin, they have contrived far better to preserve their liberties, and have never fallen under the hard yoke of serfdom, which has been the lot of most of their neighbours. Notwithstanding the prevailing igno- rance, they betray a remarkable degree of intelligence and aptitude, especially in the acquisition of languages. It has been said that " the intelligence of the Georgians is only in their looks, whereas that of the Armenians is in their head." But on the whole they seem to take life too seriously, and are somewhat indifferent to the charms of poetry, although they have produced some good poets even in recent TOPOGRAPHY. 145 times. Their favourite studies are theology, metaphysics, and philology, and their influence has "been chiefly felt in the more solid walks of literature. Fragments of Eusebius, Philo, Chrysostomus, and other Greek fathers, which were supposed to have been irrevocably lost, have been found in old Armenian trans- lations by the Mekhitarists of Venice and Vienna. In most places the Armenians keep themselves aloof from the surrounding populations, generally forming distinct trading communities, and in the Tatar and Georgian towns rendering themselves no less indispensable, hated, and despised than the Jews in East Europe and Germany. But popular feeling is of little con- sequence to men living quite apart in the seclusion of the family circle, where they still practise patriarchal habits. The grandfather commands — children, sons-in-law, and grandchildren obey. The wife, condemned to silence till the birth of her first child, wears round her neck and the lower part of her face a thick bandage con- cealing the mouth, and obliging her to converse in signs like a dumb creature. Even after childbirth she speaks only in a low voice till advanced in years, but undertakes all the household duties till the marriage of a sister-in-law. Strangers are rarely welcomed into the domestic circle, and many villages might be traversed without suspecting them to be inhabited, so completely are dwellings and gardens walled off from the outer world. The Tatars of the Lower Araxis valley differ in no respects from the Turki tribes of the Kura basin. Here also are found a few Gipsies, besides some Kurdish herdsmen, mostly temporary immigrants from Persian and Turkish Kurdistan. Amongst them are several hundred Yezides, regarded by all their neighbours with a sort of horror as devil- worshippers. The sedentary Kurds are numerous only in the Zangezur district, south-east of the Gok-chai, where they number about 13,000, mostly assimilated in dress, and often even in speech, to the Tatars. Topography. The chief town of the Upper Araxis valley is Kaghizman, pleasantly situated in the midst of trailing vines, cherry, apricot, peach, and other fruit trees. In the same district, but on a tributary of the main stream, lies the capital of Upper Russian Armenia, the celebrated city and fortress of Kars, thrice conquered from the Turks in 1828, 1855, and 1877, and definitely ceded to Russia in 1878. Even before the Russo-Turkisk wars it had often been exposed to attack. Capital of an Armenian kingdom during the ninth and tenth centuries, it was sacked by Tamerlane, by Amurat III., and again by the Persians, its strategical importance constantly attracting the attention of invaders. For it occupies a central position between the upper basins of the Kura, Araxis, Chorukh, and Euphrates, com- manding all the mountain passes between those valleys. At this point the Kars-chai, confined in a narrow rocky bed, makes a double bend, first partly encircling the town, and then sweeping round the citadel. Built of lava blocks, and standing on a black basalt eminence, Kars could formerly defy the attacks of its assailants. But since the invention of artillery it was found necessary to fortify the surrounding heights, and during the late war the eleven detached forts 146 ASIATIC RUSSIA. enclosing an entrenched camp formed a line of defence 11 miles in circumference. These forts, with their basalt and obsidian rocks, are the only attractions of a town which, although G,150 feet above sea-level, enjoys a considerable trade. A carriage road descending eastwards from the Kars-chai to the Arpa-chai valley connects Kars with Alcxandnqml, a Russian stronghold whose fortifications have been continued almost uninterruptedly since 1837. At that time nothing existed here except the village of Gruniri, peopled by Armenian refugees. Situated near the east bank of the Arpa-chai, in a basin commanded on the south by the Ala-goz, and 1,330 feet lower down than Ears, Alexandrapol lies in a better- cultivated district, abundantly watered by the Arpa-chai. It succeeded to Ani, former residence of the Armenian Bagratides, which was destroyed by an earth- quake in 1319, and whose extensive ruins still cover a triangular headland overlooking the right bank of the Arpa-chai. According to probably exaggerated Fig. 73. — The Kars-chai Valley: Kars and Alexandrapol. From the Map of the Kussian Staff. Scale 1 : 800,000. C Perron 15 Miles. accounts of the native chroniclers, Ani had at one time a population of 100,000, with 1,000 churches and other public buildings. South-east of Ani is Talish, which also seems to have been an Armenian capital, the ruins of whose high walls and towers now afford shelter to a wretched hamlet. The whole of the Lower Arpa-chai valley is a land of ruins. To the west are the remains of Pakaran, or " Assembly of the Gods," and a little farther south those of two other capitals, Erovantashad and Erotantagerd, built successively by Erevan II. north of the Araxis and Arpa-chai confluence, and said to have formerly contained 30,000 Jewish and 20,000 Armenian houses. Armavir, also founded by the same king, has left but few remains on a hill overlooking the plain skirted by the Kara-su Canal, near the Araxis. Lastl}-, south of this river stands Kara- Kaleh, the " Black Castle," wrongly supposed by some to have been the ancient Tigranocertes, but still a most picturesque object perched on a frowning precipice, TOPOGRAPHY. 147 with towers built of alternate rows of red porphyry and black lava, at whose feet rush the foaming waters of a mountain torrent. Echmiadzin, the present religious capital of the Haikans, lies to the west of Erivan, nearly in the middle of the plain. In the neighbourhood is the small town of Vagarshabad, but Echmiadzin itself is little more than a vast convent surrounded by a cob-wall, and commanded by a church with pyramidal belfry and side turrets. The lower story of the buildings is concealed by a plain quadrangular enclosure of dull grey walls, so that there is nothing to relieve the monotony of these heavy masses except the surrounding thicket of poplars and fruit trees, a few flower beds, and limpid streams. Yet this monastery, whose name means " the only son has descended," is the capital of the Armenian world. Here, according to the legend, the " Son of God" appeared to Gregory the Illuminator, and at one thunder- stroke hurled the pagan divinities beneath the earth. For here formerly stood Ardimet- Kaghat, the " City of Artemis," the "Armenian Venus," to whose shrine wor- shippers flocked from all quarters. The deities have changed, but for at least five- and-twenty centuries this has remained a hallowed spot. The library contains six hundred and thirty-five old manuscripts, and its printing-press, the oldest in Armenia proper, publishes a periodical and some popular works. One of the bells bears a Tibetan inscription with the famous mystic words, om manipadmi hum, showing that at some unknown epoch Armenia must have had relations with the Buddhist world. Erivan, capital of the chief government in Russian Armenia, and the second city of the Araxis valley, stands at the north-east angle of the old lacustrine basin traversed by the river, and on the banks of the Zanga, here diverted into a thousand irrigating rills. It is chiefly inhabited by Armenians, who have succeeded to the Tatars occupying it under the Persian rule. It holds an important commercial and strategical position at the entrance of the upper valley leading to Tifhs and the Kura basin over the Gok-chai plateau, and its fortress, perched on a columnar basalt cliff, has been the scene of many stirring events. Built mostly in the Persian style, it boasts of some picturesque structures, including a handsome mosque decorated with arabesques, and shaded with magnificent elms. The district, commanding a superb view of Ararat, is very fertile and well watered. But the wretched climate, with its violent changes of temperature, dust, and fevers, would soon depopulate the place, but for its extreme strategical importance on the Turko-Persian frontier and the rich rock-salt mines in the neighbourhood. In summer the Russian officials retire to Semonovka, Delijan, and other sanitaria among the surrounding hills. The copper mines of this region are no longer worked. East of Erivan are the ruins of Bash-Kami, or Garni, another old capital, which the natives pretend was founded four thousand years ago, and which contains the remains of a Greek temple, probably dedicated to the Armenian Venus- But more remarkable than its ruins are its basalt columns, blue, green, red, and other igneous rocks, the scene of former eruptions, through which now foams a mountain stream. In the same wild and rugged region lies Kegart, Kergash, or Airivank, the " Convent of Hell," half of which is hollowed out of the tufa and lavas. In the centre of the plain, watered by the Karni-chai, stood Artaxates, 148 ASIATIC BTJSSIA. built by Artaxias, General of Antiocbus, on tbe plains of Hannibal, and wbicb remained tbe capital of Armenia till destroyed by Corbido in tbe reign of Nero TOPOGEAPHY. 149 It was succeeded by Neronia, which yielded later on to Vagarshabad, and was finally overthrown by Sapor II. in 370, when its 200,000 Armenian and Jewish inhabitants were put to the sword or carried captive into Persia. Nakhichevan, or Nakhijevan, capital of the district stretching south-east of Ararat, is said to be even an older place than Echmiadzin, having been tradi- tionally founded by Noah after planting the first vine on the slopes of Ararat. Its very name means the " First Dwelling," and a mound is shown in the neighbour- hood in which Noah is supposed to be buried. The town, already mentioned by Ponrpey under the name of Naxuana, has been repeatedly rebuilt, and all the present houses are constructed of stones from previous ruins. The gateway of an old palace flanked by two brick minarets bears a Persian inscription surrounded by rich arabesques, and near it stands the "Tower of the Khans," a twelve- sided building bearing a long inscription with letters in relief. Nakhichevan is now inhabited chiefly by Tatars occupied with gardening and vine growing, and has been much reduced since the time of the Persian rule, when it had a population of 40,000. The district is well watered, and in the neighbouring hills are rich salt mines, worked since j)rehistoric times. The millstones, cut from a variegated sand- stone, are highly esteemed throughout Armenia. South-west of Nakhichevan is the frontier station of Jitfa, on the banks of the Araxis, and facing an old Persian caravanserai, which is commanded by a strong- hold perched on a red sandstone escarpment. At the beginning of the seventeenth century Jufa was the richest and most industrious place in Armenia, with a popu- lation of 40,000. But Shah Abbas the "Great" commanded the inhabitants to emigrate in mass to New Jufa, near Ispahan, those who lagged behind being thrown into the river, and the town burnt to the ground. Its most noteworthy remains are its ruined bridge and the tombs of its vast necropolis. In 1854 the population had dwindled to ten families living in a ruined caravanserai. Ordubat stands on the Araxis, below Jufa, near the Migri Gorge, south of the Karabagh Mountains. It is the pleasantest place in Armenia, being in a fertile district watered by numerous streamlets and irrigation rills, and studded with villas scattered over the wooded heights of the neighbourhood. A few miles to the north- west is the thriving village of Akulisi, inhabited by wealthy Armenians. The copper mines of the surrounding hills yielded no more than 117 tons of pure metal in 1877. The double basin of the Bergushet and Altera, between the Ordubat and Shusha Hills, comprises the administrative district of Zangezur, and contains no towns, but several important villages peopled by Armenians, Tatars, and Kurds. The largest is Khinzirak, but the administrative capital is Girtisi, the Koriss of the Armenians ; that is, the " Village of Pillars," so called from the " needles " of tufa rising above the slope of the terrace on which the village is situated. The flat-roofed houses are disposed in the form of a flight of steps, beneath which the inhabitants move about in underground streets. Other dwellings are excavated in the igneous scoria of the terrace, but the present village is a modern place 1,000 feet lower down than the old Girusi. For a few weeks in summer it becomes a busy trading-place, when 50,000 nomads of the surrounding districts drive their flocks to the rich Zangezur pastures. 150 ASIATIC RUSSIA. VIII.— GENERAL CONDITION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE CAUCASUS. The Russians are not recent arrivals in Caucasia. A portion of the Kuban basin was peopled by them since the close of the tenth century, and in 914 others reached Berda, at the foot of the Karabagh Mountains. Over two hundred years ago Stephen Eazin sacked Baku, and in 1723 Peter the Great pushed his conquests to the Persian frontier. For over a century the Muscovite power has secured a Fig. 75. — Progress of Evssiak Conquest. Scale 1 : 10,500,000. 44 40 44 40 4&° Eaf.G C Perron — - n Seventeenth Century. 1700 — 50. lSGO— 64. . 240 Miles. footing in Transcaucasia, which has been gradually annexed to the empire either by conquest, purchase, or voluntary cession. In spite of wars, migrations, wholesale exiles, and the insalubrity of certain districts, the population of Caucasia has rapidly increased since the conquest, although still relatively inferior to that of European Russia. The losses have been repaired by the immigration of the Cossacks, Russian peasantry, and Armenian fugitives, while the popidation of all the provinces has been increased by the normal excess of births over deaths. At the beginning of the military occupation Caucasia was a Russian tomb, fevers more than decimating those attacked during GENERAL CONDITION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE CAUCASUS. 1 51 the course of the year. But experience, quinine, a better hygienic system, and here and there the "draining of the marshy lands, have brought about wonderful improvements, and at present the mortality of the Russians is less than in Bussia proper.* A similar phenomenon has been observed in Algeria, where the French ad Spanish immigrants have gradually become acclimatized. The actual rate of mortality is less in Caucasia than in any other part of the empire, and in this respect the country takes a foremost position in the world. The number of suicides is, on the other hand, rather high, and it is remarkable that they are here about equal in both sexes, whereas in Europe those of men are generally three or four Fig. 76. — Fever Districts in Caucasia. C Perron Endemica. Frequent. Bare. times greater than those of women. Amongst the Armenians and Osses the cases of female suicides are even more frequent than those of males. This is, perhaps, due partly to the enforced silence and monotonous lives of the Armenian women, and partly to the brutal treatment to which the Oss women are subjected. A large portion of Caucasia rising above the zone of cereals can scarcely be inhabited except by a pastoral population. But there are also extensive tracts, formerly under cultivation, which have been rendered unproductive by desolating * Mortality of the army of the Caucasus: — 1837, 1 in 9 of those attacked; 1846, 1 in 17 of those attacked ; 1862, 1 in 41 of those attacked. Total mortality :— 1864, 25 in the 1,000 ; 1872, 19-86 in the ljOOO. Total mortality in the Moscow district, 41-11 in the 1,000. 152 ASIATIC EUSSIA. wars and the abandonment of the irrigation works. The vast plains of Echmiadzin, the Lower Knra, and Araxis have thus been partly changed to deserts, and even the region confined by the Alazan, Yora, and Kura is now a barren steppe, notwith- standing the copious streams surrounding it on all sides. The neglect of the irrigating canals has caused the disappearance of millions, but the population everywhere reappears with the gradual revival of those works and with the progress of the drainage system. Cultivated fields thus succeed to the swamps, and the land becomes at once more healthy and more populous. Land Tenure — Agriculture. In taking possession of Caucasia the Russian Government introduced great changes, often of a contradictory character, in the laws affecting landed property. These were further complicated by all the vicissitudes of conquest, the wasting of cultivated districts, destruction of nomad encampments, depopulation and whole- sale shifting of the people, military and agricultural colonisation. During the first period of Russian rule all the colonies were of a military character. Composed of Cossacks, at once peasantry and soldiers, they had to biuld villages and forts, to till the land, dig canals, open up highways, and keep constant watch against the enemy. One feels amazed at the vast amount of work performed by these men, thanks to whom all the western division of Ciscaucasia has been finally settled. Its settle- ment wordd have been even still more thorough, had not the Government long prevented its peaceful colonisation by the Russian peasantry. Millions of serfs might have migrated to this region had they been free to do so. In all the already peopled districts of Caucasia the Government at first pursued the simple policy of securing the loyalty of the native princes by guaranteeing to them the property of the land, though occasionally compelled, as in Kabardia and Daghcstan, to favour the people against their chiefs. But this system was soon abandoned, and towards the end of the reign of Nicholas every effort was made to gain over the local aristocracy. In many places serfdom was introduced, and large fiefs granted to the nobles. Some of the Kabard princes thus received domains of 30,000, 100,000, and even 250,000 acres, so that the State was afterwards obliged to repurchase many of these lands either for the Cossack settlers, or for the com- munes after the abolition of serfdom. The principle was even laid down in 1863 that the whole of the lands should belong to the communes ; but in practice the large properties were maintained, and in Kabardia alone 140 lots, each of about 1,400 acres, were reserved for influential persons likely to bo useful to the Govern- ment. All the officers of the army also received freehold allotments independently of the lands assigned to the communes, while all the forests and pastures remained undivided. Thus was brought about a state of things analogous to that of Russia. Below the large proprietary class came that of the peasantry, sharing the land according to the communal system of rotation, and paying an average tax to the State of about 3 roubles per family. The serfdom, which under divers forms prevailed throughout most of Caucasia, LAND TENTTKE— AGBICULTURE. 153 was at first aggravated under Russian rule, and even when abolished in 1866 very harsh conditions were imposed on the emancipated. In virtue of " free contracts " they were bound to pay the landlords either 200 roubles or six years' manual labour, children under fifteen years being charged 150 roubles, or ten years of forced labour. "When the serf was at the same time owner of cattle or movable property this was divided into three parts, of which one part only was assigned to the freedman. Hence much misery, especially in the lowland districts. The agricultural produce of Caucasia already suffices for a considerable export trade. Land was formerly valued in Imeria at from 22 to 28 roubles the hectare (2| Fig. 77. — Density of the Population of the Caucasus in 1873 per Square Mile. 1 40" C. Perron m to 10. 10 to 20 20 to 40. 40 to 60. 60 to S ) to 100. 100 and upwards. acres), whereas now it fetches ten times that amount ; but the eastern districts of the Kura and Araxis, exposed to storms and locusts, have increased less rapidly in value. The superabundant cereals are largely used in the distillation of alcohols. Far more than Bessarabia, the Crimea, or the Lower Don valley, Caucasia is the " vineyard of the empire." In 1875 the land under vines still scarcely exceeded 212,000 acres, but the districts where wine might be grown certainly exceed those of France, and they have hitherto escaped the ravages of the phylloxera, though not those of the oidium. Caucasia supplies most of the wines consumed in the empire, the rich vintages of Kakketia being used chiefly for the table, those of Kislar and the Lower Terek for 154 ASIATIC RUSSIA. mixing with other vintages. In the Akhaltzik district the vine is cultivated to a height of 4,800 feet above the sea. Tobacco is also becoming an important crop, 9,840 acres having yielded 1,700,000 kilogrammes of leaf in 1876, and supplying the chief article of export from the Black Sea ports. The Transcaucasian plains produce some cotton, which during the American war increased rapidly, and even found its way for a time to the markets of the West. At present the mean annual yield scarcely exceeds 480 tons. The raw silks of ]\ T ukha and Shemakha are highly appreciated, especially by the French weavers. Since the sjH-cad of the silk disease in the south of France Eastern Caucasia has become one of the most important fields for the production of the finer qualities, In 1848 a number of French female Fig-. 78. — Highways in Caucasia. According to N. de Seidlitz. Scale 1 : 7,680,000. Railways. Railways in progress. -^=— Carriage Roads. 120 Miles. spinners settled in Zugdidi, Nukka, Shemakha, and other towns to teach the native women the art of winding the thread. For many other products, especially fruits and spring vegetables, Caucasia is destined to take the same position as regards Russia as Algeria has taken towards France. Tropical heats prevail in the Araxis valley, and wherever sufficiently watered the soil produces excellent crops. There is also a succession of climates on the mountain slopes, suitable for raising produce of the most varied character. Population — Industries — Trade— Education. The population of Caucasia, nowhere as dense as in Western Europe, is con- centrated especially on the Mingrelian plains, where the climate and vegetation POPULATION— INDUSTRIES— TRADE— EDUCATION. 155 most resemble those of the west of France. In the districts of this region it amounts to about 80 per square mile, and these more densely peopled tracts are at the same time the most flourishing, and have most to spare for export. The chase and forest produce have ceased to be of any economical importance, since most of the plains have been peopled and the mountain slopes largely cleared. But the fisheries are very productive in the Sea of Azov, the Euxine, and especially the Caspian. The Akhtari and Ycisk limans, the river Kuban, the coasts of Poti and Batum, the Lower Terek, and, above all, the Kura and Gulf of Kizil-Agach abound in animal life, and contribute largely to the support of the people and to the export trade to Russia and Persia. Manufactures are still mostly confined to the old traditional industries, and to those connected with mining operations. But implements dating from the stone age are still found in use side by side with the powerful modern machinery now employed at the Baku naphtha wells, the Kedabek copper mines, the Saglik alum works, near Yelizavetpol, and the iron works of Chasash, in the Bolnis valley, 14 miles south- Fig-. 79. — Section of the Koute from Vladikavkaz to Jufa. Scale 1 : 8.000,000, 120 Miles. Soale of Altitudes fifty tiin es larger than that of Distances. west of Tiflis.* This state of things must necessarily continue until the Caucasian provinces are connectod with the rest of the world by means of good roads. Each of the two great divisions has but one railway, one connecting Ciscaucasia with the Russian system by the Rostov- Vladikavkaz line, the other connecting Tiflis with the Euxine. But both slopes of the Caucasus are crossed only by the military routes passing beneath the Kazbek glaciers and over the Mamisson Pass. In the east the range is skirted by the road from Dcrbend to Baku, and in the west the Abkhasian coast route will soon be opened to traffic. The great lines of railway destined to connect Vladikavkaz with Tiflis, Yelizavetgrad with Petrovsk and Baku, Groznaya with Saratov rid Astrakhan, Batum with Rostov, have only just been begun. The line from Tiflis to Baku, which will complete the junction of the two seas, has also * Steam-engines in the Caucasian mines (1876), 91 horse-power, mines (1876), 174 horse-power. Mining returns (1876) : — Silver Lead Copper S10 lbs. 1,785 cwt. 2,550 „ Alum Salt Coal Water engines in the Caucasian 130 tons. 24,530 „ 5,218 „ 156 ASIATIC EUSSIA. been recently taken in hand. For the last twenty years the project has been entertained of a great international line between Europe and India, to follow the west coast of the Caspian via Baku and Lenkoran to Reshd, and so on across the Iranian plateau. Meantime the southern plateaux are approached by one good road only, the military route between Kars and Erzerum forming a continuation of that between Tiflis and Kars via Alexandrapol. One branch of this route descends southwards towards Erivan and the Persian frontier at Jufa. The general trade of Caucasia must long remain inadequate to meet the expenses of the international highways to Asia Minor and Persia. In 1878 the imports and Fig. 80. — Shiahs and Sunnites in Eastern Caucasia. Trom Official Returns. Scale 1 : 2,000,000. 50- EofG C Perron Christians. Shiahs. Bunnitea, — — — — . 30 Miles. exports amounted altogether to about 12,000,000 roubles, or less than 4 roubles per head of the population. Although Persia communicates more easily with Europe by the north than by other routes, its exchanges with Transcaucasia and Astrakhan fall short of 5,000,000 roubles. If Caucasia still lacks the material unity imparted by a well- developed railway POPULATION— INDUSTRIES— TRADE— EDUCATION. 157 system and large commercial marts, it is still more deficient in that moral unity which flows from the sentiment of a common nationality or group of nationalities possessing the same interests and aspirations. Instruction also is hi too backward a state to allow the youth of the various races to acquire that feeling of brotherhood derived from a community of ideas. Nevertheless great progress has been made in this respect, and in many schools the Armenian is now found associated with the Tatar, the Russian with the Georgian. Moreover, a large number of the middle and upper classes send their children abroad. In 1879 there were no less than twentv-eioht Armenians in the various schools and colleges of Zurich. But a great Fig. 81. — Baku Haebove. Scale 1 : 250,000. E c rG 4-9" 50' 50-iQ- C Pe rr Qn to 16 Feet. 16 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. 3 Miles. obstacle to instruction in common is caused not only by the variety of languages, but by the different alphabets in current use. The Abkhasians, Osses, and Daghestan highlanders were altogether unlettered until Lhuillier, Schiefner, Uslar, and others invented writing systems suitable to express the fifty distinct sounds of their languages. Caucasia, more perhaps than any other region, stands in need of some such common system as that proposed by Lepsius in 1852, and subsequently under other forms by Bell, Coudereau, and others. VOL. VI. M 158 ASIATIC BTJSSIA. Religions — Finance — Administration. But Caucasia is noted for its diversity of creeds quite as much as for its great variety of speech. Paganism under many forms still survives amongst the hillmen. Here arc found the two great Moslem sects, numerous especially in the government of Baku,* where they are distinguished from each other by the cut of the hair and by other practices. Here also dwell Jews, converted Israelites, and Judaizing Christians, besides Orthodox Greeks, Georgian and United Armenians, which are the prevailing forms of Christianity. But dissidents are also numerous, far more so even than might be supposed from the official returns. The M olokanes especially have important colonies in the government of Stavropol, near Tiflis, on the Akha- laki plateau, in the Mugan steppe, and they are now spreading in the annexed territories. All these national and religious differences have necessitated different theories and practices in the administration of justice. Hence, after many useless efforts, the Government has been compelled to abstain, at least for the present, from intro- ducing a common system of jurisprudence. Amongst the Moslem highlanders two codes are still maintained — the shariat, or religious code based on the Koran, and the adot, or common law. The former is appealed to only in religious, family, and testamentary questions, while the latter regulates the ordinary affairs of property and communal interests. Its decisions are pronounced in public by elected judges, and certain villages noted for their scrupulous administration of justice have been chosen by usage as veritable courts of appeal in all doubtful cases. Most of the hillmen still foster a feeling of animosity against their conquerors, and recall with pride the days of their ancient independence. Amongst the low- landers, some, like the Nogai Tatars and the Tats, know that they have kinsmen and co-religionists elsewhere, and regard themselves as strangers in the land. Others, like the Kurd shepherds, are immigrant nomads, always ready to strike their tents. The Georgians feel that their destiny is rather to serve the Russians than become their equals, while the Armenians endeavour to make themselves masters of all by the power of money. The Slav invaders, although already the most numerous relatively, have not yet succeeded in giving political cohesion to the population. Their ascendancy is mainly of a military character, and Caucasus remains still for them campaigning ground quite as much as a field for colonisation. From the strategic point of view Asia Minor and Persia are completely open to the armies of the Czar. The Euxine has become a Russian lake, while the Caspian belongs still more exclusively to the northern Power. Here the fleet at anchor in the commodious harbour of Baku may at the first signal ship an armed force for the coast of Mazanderan. Alexandrapol and Kars, strongholds and arsenals of the first importance, threaten the upper basin of the Euphrates, and all the passes are already in the hands of the Russians. In case of a struggle with England for supremacy in Western Asia, Russia occupies a masterly position. The Bosporus has already been three times threatened from the north ; now it may also be attacked ' Mohammedans in the Baku government (1873) : — Shiah sect, 270,787; Sunnites, 206,121. RELIGIONS— FINANCE— ADMINISTRATION. 159 from the east. Jf England reigns supreme in the Mediterranean, she would still look in vain for armies strong enough to oppose the Russians in Asiatic Turkey, of which she has, perhaps imprudently, guaranteed the present limits. Through the Euphrates valley Russia may also at her pleasure advance towards the "holy places " once conquered by the Crusaders, and over which Christians of all sects are endeavouring to acquire a religious preponderance. Is it not further evident that the influence of Russia must increase in that direction with the growth of population in Caucasia ? At all times the peoples of the Ararat and Anti- Caucasus highlands took a large part in the political movements of Western Asia, and these peoples have now become the van of the immense Slavonic nation. Against this formidable power the only barrier would be an alliance of free peoples. But it can scarcely be hoped that the Armenians, Kurds, Turks, and Arabs of the Tigris and Fig. 82. — Stavropol. i 1 : 800,000. ■4I°50 E.oPG 42-50' C.Pe . 15 Miles. Euphrates basins will soon become emancipated, and forget their religious hatreds and national rivalries sufficiently to unite against the common foe. The Caucasian peoples possess no political privileges over the Slav inhabitants of the empire. All alike are subjected to the same autocratic will of the Czar, whom all are equally bound to obey " in spirit no less than in act." None of them enjoy constitutions guaranteeing their rights, though several are still more or less protected by written or unwritten codes. The Czar is represented in Caucasia by a lieutenant-general, or viceroy, with full administrative powers. The families of the former native rulers, while deprived of all political authority, are still in the enjoyment of pensions, privileges, and honours, thanks to the " eternal and faithful submission " sworn by them to the Czar. The Caucasian budget, whose receipts amounted in 1878 to 6,750,000 roubles, is included in the general finances of the empire. Transcaucasia alone, including m 2 160 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Daghestan, has a general budget, which increased from 5,358,470 roubles in 1870 to 8,784,980 in 1880, and which would amply suffice for the local expenditure, were this not doubled and occasionally quadrupled by the maintenance of consider- able forces in the frontier fortresses. The deficit thereby created varies in time of peace from 18,000,000 to 40,000,000 roubles, rising in time of war to 55,000,000 and upwards, and amounting in the ten years between 1869 and 1878 altogether to no less than 343,131,000. The receipts in the whole of Caucasia amounted in 1878 to 16,339,703 roubles, and the expenditure to 71,660,325, leaving a deficit of 55,320,622. The chief receipts are derived from the excise on alcohol, which averages about one-third of the whole income. Caucasia is administratively divided into provinces of very unequal extent, all of military origin, and officially designated either as governments, provinces, circles, or divisions. Tiflis, capital of all Caucasia, is at the same time the chief town of Transcaucasia, while Stavropol, advantageously situated on the line of approach to the centre of the main range, is the chief administrative capital of Ciscaucasia. Daghestan, which would seem to belong properly to the northern, has been included in the southern division. So also the district of Kuba is com- prised in the Transcaucasian government of Baku, doubtless owing to the ethnical and religious unity of the populations dwelling on both slopes in the eastern division of the range. Derbend, or " The Gate," thus remains the political limit of the two regions north and south of the Caucasus. The Appendix contains a table of all the provinces, with their districts, areas, and poprdations according to the official returns for 1873 — 7. Here Daghestan has been separated from Transcaucasia proper. The Trans- Caspian district, depending administratively on the military government of Caucasia, and comprising a portion of the still unsettled Turkoman country, belongs geographically to the Aralo- Caspian region, from which it cannot properly be separated. CHAPTER III. THE ARALO-CASPIAN BASIN. Russian Turkestan, the Turkoman Cctontry, Khiya, Bokhara, Region of the Upper Oxus. I.— GENERAL SURVEY. EST of the Caspian the limits of Europe are clearly defined by the ancient Ponto-Caspian Strait, which runs as a natural dividing line along the foot of the Caucasus. But north and east of the Caspian Europe and Asia are merged together in a vast plain, where dreary wastes of sand, clay, or rock, saline steppes and muddy swamps, stretch from horizon to horizon. Here the only natural limit of the two continents is the lowest part of the elevated tract between the Aral basin and the Ob valley. Both sides of this ridge are studded with countless ill-defined lakelets, the remains of dried-up seas. But beyond it the lowlands stretch away to the foot of the plateaux and highlands forming part of the main continental mountain system. Thus the Aralo- Caspian slope of the Central Asiatic tablelands blends north- westwards with the Russian steppes between Ural and Caspian, while scarcely separated northwards from the Ob valley. But every where else it is sharply defined westwards by the Caspian, southwards by the highlands separating it from Persia and Afghanistan, and stretching in an elongated curve from the south-east corner of the Caspian to the Hindu-Kush. Eastwards and north-eastwards rise the ivpland pastures and snowy peaks of the Pamir, the Tian-shan, and Tarbagatai ranges. The whole region, including the Russian protected states, Wakhan, Badakshan, Balkh, and the Turkoman country, has an estimated area of over 1,200,000 square miles, and to this has now been added a tract of over 400,000 square miles in the Ob basin, henceforth administratively included in the general government of Russian Turkestan.* * Area and population of the Aralo-Casjrian lands : — Russian possessions from the Atrek to the Irtish Khiva . Bokhara Turkoman country Afghan Turkestan Total . Area in Square Miles. 1,520,000 23,000 95,500 60,000 54,000 Probable Population in 1880. 4,500,000 300,000 2,150,000 200,000 950,000 1,752,500 8,100,000 162 ASIATIC RUSSIA. This region, which slopes westwards and northwards to the Caspian, Aral, and Balkhash, is about equally divided into a lowland and highland district. Climate, flora, and fauna vary as much as the geological formations in a land rising in some places to elevations of 20,000 and 22,000 feet ; in others, as along the Caspian shores, sinking below sea-level. Nevertheless a certain analogy is maintained between the eastern highlands and the western lowlands. In both cases the annual variation of temperature is greater than in Europe or any other sea-girt land. In autumn and winter the north-east polar blasts prevail on the plains and uplands, giving place in spring and summer to the hot equatorial winds from the south-west. Thus the normal climate of each season becomes intensified here as elsewhere in the interior of the continent, so that in July this region is included in the isothermals of 20° to 25° Centigrade, a temperature answering- to that of the Cape Yerd Islands, 1,650 miles nearer to the equator, while in January the isothermals are those of Canada, South Greenland, and Spitsbergen, some 1,800 miles nearer to the North Pole. But the variation between the hottest and coldest days is even still greater, averaging no less than 130°, or from about 111° to — 12° and even — 20° Fahr. On the plains the dryness of the atmosphere and absence of dew add to the rigours of the climate. "Whole years have passed without any rainfall, and in 1858 the rains lasted only four hours altogether in the Kara-kum Desert. The moisture borne by the south-west breezes is precipitated on the slopes of the Pamir and in the Tian- shan valleys ; but even here the discharge is relatively far less than on the European and Indian highlands. Another characteristic of Russian Turkestan is the continuous drying up of the soil going on throughout the whole of the present geological epoch. The twin rivers, Oxus and Sir-daria, flowing from the Pamir and Tian-shan nearly parallel to each other, at present discharge their waters into the Aral Sea ; but these formerly far more copious streams united in a common channel, disemboguing in the Caspian. Though still ranking in length amongst the great Asiatic rivers — over 1,200 miles each — they are far inferior in volume to the Siberian, Chinese, and Indian streams flowing seawards. Their basins show evident signs of gradual absorption — old channels now partially filled up, numerous rivers formerly reaching the main streams, but now lost in the sands, or expanding into brackish morasses, thousands of lakelets now indicated only by saline incrustations. Even the large inland seas, such as Aral and Balkhash, have diminished in size, while others have been replaced by the Eulja and Ferghana plains. Owing to this continually increasing dryness a large portion of the country has been transformed to steppe lands even on the higher grounds, as on the Pamir, Tian-shan, and Tarbagatai, where the growth of vegetation is limited to three months, partly by the winter snows, partly by the summer droughts. Such a region is necessarily but thinly inhabited, the average being rather less than four persons to the square mile, or six or seven times less than in Caucasia, notwithstanding its vast extent of waste lands. But the local traditions, historical records, and the ruins of numerous cities leave no doubt that the country was formerly far more densely peopled. The inhabitants have disappeared with the running waters. The powerful empires of the Oxus and Sogdiana basins have GENERAL SURVEY. 163 vanished ; the great centres of Eastern civilisation have become eclipsed ; many cultured people's have reverted to barbarism ; and the nomad has triumphed over the agricultural state. Even the ruling race has changed, the original Aryan element having been largely replaced by Turkomans, Kirghiz, and other Turki peoples.* The upland Pamir valleys from Karateghin to Wakhan are still occupied by Aryan agricultural tribes, some probably autochthonous, others driven to the highlands when the plains were over- run by the nomads from ■ Flg ' 83- ~ EouTES 0F Explorers in the Aralo-Caspian Basin. the north-east. The ethnical Scale 17 : «o,ooo. evolution begun by climatic changes was hastened by wars and massacres. But the urban populations were rendered partly independent of the changed outward conditions by trade and in- dustry, so that the original stock, diversely intermingled with the intruders, has here held its groiuid to the pre- sent time. Aryan and T urki peoples thus continue to dwell in the same towns, forming distinct communi- ties, which adapt themselves to the surroundings accord- ing to their respective tem- peraments and hereditary habits. Hence, in a political sense alone, the Oxus has for ages served as the limit between Iran and Turan. North of this river Iran has at all times maintained a footing in the midst of the Turanian peoples. And now the incentive to a higher development flows once more from a race of Aryan stock. The Russians, strong in the power imparted by a superior culture, are enabled to grapple with the difficulties of climate and vast distances in con- solidating their new Aralo- Caspian conquests. After having surveyed the land as — 300 Miles. * Throughout this work the term Turki is to be taken as practically synonymous with the popular but less accurate Tatar, or " Tartar." Farther on occurs the expression " Turanian," used in a very vague way by most ethnologists. Here it will be strictly limited to the Turki nomad as opposed to the Iranian settled populations. — Ed. 364 ASTATIC RUSSIA. naturalists, traders, or envoys, they have settled down as its political masters. They establish themselves in the already existing towns, found others on more favourable commercial and strategical sites, and have even begun a more systematic colonisa- tion in the upland valleys cast of the Tatar plains, thus assigning definite limits to the nomad regions. Lines of steamers on the two main streams, roads, and, later on, railways, will cause the hitherto insurmountable distances to vanish, thus enabling the Slav element all the more easily to establish its political and social predominance. In the midst of Tajiks, Sartes, and TJzbegs, Tashkend and Samar- Fig. 84. — Russian Encroachments in Turkestan. Scale 1 : 22,000,000. ji3°-: possessions in 1SG5 . 300 Miles. kand arc becoming Russian cities, just as Kazan has been Russified in the midst of the Tatars, Chuvashcs, and Cheremissians of the Volga basin. Since the middle of the present century the Russian power has rapidly advanced in this region, notwithstanding the final limits from time to time laid down by the St. Petersburg authorities. Since the capture of Ak-Mejid, on the Sir, in 1853, a territory of about 460,000 square miles has been acquired, partly through the caprice of some ambitious captain, partly under pretext of chastising some unruly tribe. Gorchakov's circular of 1804 limited the farther advance of the imperial arms to a few settled tracts be3 r ond the nomad districts, " where both interest and reason required them to stop." But since then vast strides have been made towards the subjection of the whole Aralo-Caspian basin, and by the fall of Geok-tepe in January, 1881, the independence of Merv and of the few remaining Turkoman tribes is directly menaced. An official treaty concluded in 1873 between Russia and England includes a large portion of their territory in the Afghan states. But such THE PAMIE AND ALAI. 105 diplomatic triflings cannot prevent Russian influence from making itself more and more felt in these regions, which are cut off from Afghanistan proper by the Hindu-Hush, and which belong physically and ethnically to the Aralo-Caspian basin. All the lowlands stretching from the Caspian to the foot of the Pamir, and from the Iranian tableland to the sources of the Ob and Irtish, may already be considered as practically Russian territory, separated by a single range from British India or its immediate dependencies. East of Turkestan the Russians have for neighbours the Chinese, whose empire is separated from them by the Pamir, the Tian-shan, and farther east by a con- ventional line running through the gates of Zungaria, and at many points offering no obstacle to invasion. But so far from having anything to fear from the possible irruption of some modern Jenghis Khan, here the advantage is entirely on the side of the Russians, both in arms, resources, strategical positions, and military science. II.— THE PAMIR AND ALAI. The Pamir and Tibet, which converge north of India and east of the Oxus, form jointly the culminating land of the continent. Disjuosed at right angles, and parallel, the one to the equator, the other to the meridian, tbey constitute the so- called " Roof," or " Crown of the World," though this expression is more usually restricted to the Pamir alone. With its escarpments, rising above the Oxus and Tarim plains west and east, the Pamir occupies, in the heart of the continent, an estimated area of 30,000 square miles. With its counterforts projecting some 300 miles, it forms the western headland of all the plateaux and mountain systems skirting the Chinese Empire ; it completely separates the two halves of Asia, and forms an almost impassable barrier to migration and warlike incursions. Yet notwithstanding its mean elevation of 13,000 feet above arable land, it has been frequently crossed by small caravans of traders or travellers, and by light columns of troops. The attempt could not fail to be frequently made to take the shortest route across the region separating the Oxus from Kashgaria, and Europe from China. Hence the Pamir has often been traversed by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Italians, Chinese, some as traders, some as explorers, some inspired by religious zeal. But of these travellers very few have left any record of their journey, and all took the lowest routes across the plateau. Here are neither towns nor cultivated land, so that it becomes difficult to identify any of the former routes. It was reserved for modern explorers to convey a general idea of the plateau, by their methodic surveys introducing order into the confused nomenclature of the ancients, reconstructing the geography of Central Asia, and getting rid of the fanciful mountain ranges traced at hap- hazard on the maps. The imaginary "Bolor," which, according to Humboldt, formed the axis of the continent, has already vanished, at least as a line of crested heights, and, like the Imaus of the ancients, it is now merged in the broad table- land of the Pamir. The name itself would seem to have been restricted to a district near the Hindu-Kush, probably identical with the present Dardistan. 106 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Traders from Greece began, about the twelfth century of the new era, if not earlier, to become acquainted with the routes over the Pamir to Serica, or " the Land of Silk." Being already established in Baktriana, on the valley of the Middle Oxus, the Greeks naturally sought to cross the plateau by ascending the Oxus until stopped by some impassable gorge. Ptolemy, relying on older documents, tells us, in fact, that they proceeded northwards to the country of the Comedes, whose name possibly survives in that of the town of Kabadian. Farther on the Fig. 85. — Eoutes or Explorers in the Eastern Pamir. Scale 1 : 4,500,000. E.oF G. C. Perron road followed the foot of the plateau by the valley of the Oxus, and probably of its tributary the Surgh-ab, running thence towards the " Stone Tower," the chief station and resting-place on this dreary journey. This tower Pawlinson seems inclined to identify with one of the numerous tash-kurgan, or cairns, scattered over this region. It stands 11,000 feet above the sea, on a head-stream of the Yarkand, at the eastern base of the Pamir in Sirikol. But it does not seem probable that, in order to pass from the Surgh-ab to the Tarim (Oechardes) valley, THE PAMIR AND ALAI. 167 the caravans would have turned so far to the south-east, besides which Gordon regards this cairn as in any case of recent origin. Two hundred years before the Greeks had crossed the Pamir the Chinese had made the acquaintance of the peoples dwelling on the Sir and Oxus, with whom they had established relations through the passes of the Tsung-ling, or Pamir of the Russian geographers. After Chang-Kien's expedition (probably about 128 A.r>.) trade was rapidly developed, and large Chinese caravans soon found their way directly from the Tarim to the Sir basin in the " Tavan " country. To these caravans has been attributed the introduction into China of the vine, walnut, pomegranate, bean, cucumber, parsley, lucern, saffron, and sesame. Coming from the Tarim valley, the Chinese traders naturally sought to cross the heights at their narrowest point. They skirted on the north-east the Pamir and Alai by the Terek- davan, but we also know from contemporary records that they crossed the Pamir directly by the southern passes in order to reach the Oxus and Ki-pin, or Kabulistan. This direct commercial movement between east and west was interrupted by civil wars and migrations. But the routes over the Pamir were reopened by the Buddhist missionaries and pilgrims. Hwen-T'sang, the most famous of these pilgrims, describes the journey of sixteen years' duration which he made across Central Asia in the first half of the seventh century, and a sufficient number of names in his itinerary have been identified to enable us to follow him over the Southern Pamir through Sirikol, Wakhan, and Badakshan. This is nearly the same route as that taken by Marco Polo in company with his father and uncle in 1272 — 5. But this traveller seems to have passed more to the north, instead of ascending the Upper Oxus crossing the Pamir in a north-easterly direction, travelling " twelve days on horseback " in a region " without dwellings or pasture." In 1603 the Catholic missionary, Benedict Goes, also crossed the Southern Pamir, probably by the same route as Hwen-T'sang. But two hundred years elapsed before it was again approached by a European traveller. In 1838 "Wood ascended a head- stream of the Oxus to the Sari-kul, or Kul-kalian, and with this journey begins the era of modern scientific exploration. In 1868 Hayward visited the south-east corner of the plateau ; the Hindu emissaries of the Indian Topographic Bureau also traversed the " Great" and "Little" Pamir ; the Greek Potagos penetrated, in 1871, from Badakshan to Kaskgar ; and in 1873 Forsyth, Gordon, and Trotter crossed the plateau to Badakshan, and sent a Hindu geometrician to visit Shignan and Roshan. But the Northern Pamir has ceased to be visited ever since the epoch of Chinese supremacy. The Arabs, masters of the Sir valley, sent their trading expeditions by relatively easier routes round the northern base of the Tian-shan, and the same route was followed by the European envoys to the Mongol court. The rediscovery of the Northern Pamir is due to the Hindu Abdul Mejid, who was the first to cross the Pamir from south to north in 1861, and to the Russian explorers, Fedchenko, Kostenko, Muwnketov, Sieverzov, Oshanin, and others. Over four-fifths of the whole area have already been surveyed, and Sieverzov' s expedition of 1878 came within some 30 miles of the English exploration of 1873. About 108 ASIATIC RUSSIA. twenty important points have been determined astronomically ; the elevations of two thousand places have been accurately taken ; and it is now certain that no heights of any consequence have escaped observation. FLOBA, FAUNA, LAKES OF THE PAMIE. 1C9 Although rising 13,000 feet above the Turkestan plains, the Pamir is limited north and south by ranges towering 7,000 and even 10,000 feet higher. On the south the Hindu-Kush, continued by the mountains connecting it with the Kuen- lun, forms the great parting-line of the Indus basin. On the north the Trans- Ala'i and the Alai, forming geographically a section of the Tian-shan, separate the Pamir from the slopes draining to the Sir-daria. But the region thus com- prised between two escarpments running west-south-west and east-north-east is far from presenting a uniform surface, for it is divided into a number of smaller Pamirs by ridges and deep ravines, through which the streams drain, west to the Oxus, east to the Tarim, without any well-defined water-parting. The relief of the uplands, even excluding the distinct ridges, presents deviations of over 3,000 feet, which suffice to produce a certain variety in the climate and scanty flora of the plateau. Still the ridges offer no effectual barrier to the nomad Kirghiz pastors or travellers, and the Pamir is crossed in every direction by a thousand tracks. In the north the eminences attain a relative height of no more than 1,000 to 1,500 feet, while in the centre and between the Rang-kul and Yashil-kul the routes may be compared to artificial highways. In the west General Abramov was able to transport a battery over the Alai, so that with modern appliances the Pamir presents no insurmorvntable obstacles even to well-appointed military expeditions, at least during the four months from June to September. At other times the surface is covered with snow and exposed to fierce gales, rendering the Pamir uninhabitable. Below the upper clays and sands the Alai rocks consist of granites and crystal- line schists. The granites run precisely in the same direction as the Tian-shan and the spurs projecting westwards into the Turkestan lowlands. But the inter- vening spaces are occupied by triassic and other more recent formations. The general tilt of the land is towards the west and south-west, and the somewhat ill-defined water-parting lies much nearer to the Eastern Tarim than to the "Western Aralo- Caspian basin. On its eastern verge also rises Mount Tagharma, or Taghalma, culminating point of the land. This mountain, known also as the Wi-tagh ("House Mount") and Muz-tagh-ata ("Father of the Ice Mounts"), rises, according to Trotter and Kostenko, to a height of 25,500 feet, and is con- tinued south-eastwards by the Chichiklik, which is itself about 20,000 feet high, These highlands, which run transversely with the Tian-shan, are the Tsuno--l m cr, or " Onion Mountains," of the Chinese, and the Kizil-art of the Kashgarians. The Pamir is often swept by terrific gales from the north-east, where its sheltering mountain barrier is broken at several points. On the shores of the Kara-kul and in the sandy gorge of the Kizil-art the very rocks are worn by the sands incessantly playing on them from the north. In these lofty regions the air is generally very dry and clear, except when clouded by the powdered mists of the desert winds. The extremes of temperature occasioned by this transparent atmosphere, combined with the snow-storms, which prevail chiefly in February and March, are amongst the principal dangers to which travellers are exposed. They also suffer much from "mountain sickness " and distressing headaches. 170 ASIATIC EUSSIA. Flora, Fauna, Lakes of the Pamik. The Pamir is frequented in summer by Kirghiz nomads, with their flocks from Khokand and Karateghin in the north, and from Shignan in the west. Cairns are scattered here and there, marking old camping grounds, or the graves of Kirghiz " saints," decked with sheep's horns and fluttering rags. Above the line of arborescent vegetation, indicated by the willow, dwarf birch, juniper, and thorny shrubs, the only available fuel is that afforded by the wood of roots of a species of lavender, while still higher up even this resource fails. Yet in many places, even at altitudes of 13,000 feet, the grass is as thick as on the grazing grounds of West Europe, and perhaps richer. Marco Polo's statement that the Pamir affords the best pasture in the world, fattening a lean hack in ten days, is confirmed by recent explorers and their Wakki guides. In the upland Sirikol valley sloping towards Kashgaria barlej^, haricots, and other plants are cultivated as high as 10,300 feet. Yet the parallel ridges, especially in the north, are almost destitute of vegetation, and here nothing grows except in the moist hollows on the banks of the lakes and rivulets. The fauna is much richer than was formerly supposed. Sieverzov found in 1878 no less than 112 species of birds at an elevation at which on the Alps there Fig. 87. — Relief of the Highlands and Plateaux between the Hindu- Kush and Tlan-shan. Scale 1 : 13,900,000. 1i 1 ! 3^ \ 4~ M I ? 3 J jl>t u de 4'5- r A / a f} S h a 40' n pamin PLcLleau. CPe , 300 Miles. are no more than a dozen. The muddy shores of the lakes show traces of the chamois, hare, deer, fox, bear, wolf, lynx, leopard, and on the Great Pamir are wild goats like those of the Himalayas. But the typical animal of the plateau is the so-called kachkar, or arkhar (Oris poli), a species of sheep over 3 feet high, weighing from 400 to 430 lbs., and distinguished by enormous horns inclined backwards in a double spiral. Formerly very numerous, the kachkar seems to be disappearing from the Pamir, and in the north it was nearly swept away by the epidemic of 1869. Potagos appears to have met a. small species of monkey in the upland valleys of the south ; but the bear has vanished from the north, and the tiger spoken of by some travellers was more probably a leopard. Traces of increasing aridity are no less evident on the Pamir than elsewhere in the Aralo- Caspian basin. A great many lakes have already ceased to overflow, and have been gradually changed to isolated saline or brackish tarns. Such is the THE ALAI HIGHLAND. 171 Sussik-kul in the south, though the Rang-kul still retains its sweetness, thanks to the stream through which it drains to a tributary of the Oxus. In many places the old lakes are now indicated by incrustations of salt and magnesia. The Kara-kul, or " Black Lake," so called from its deep blue colour, is the largest on the Pamir, but seems at present to be passing through a transition period. Situated immediately south of the Kizil-art, it is everywhere enclosed by snowy mountains, but its vast basin is no longer entirely flooded. Its present area is about 120 square miles, but its former extent is clearly marked by numerous islands, peninsulas, swampy flats, and the dazzling white incrustations of magnesia met with along its shores. It is divided into two halves by a ridge running north and south, and connected with the mainland by a strip of sand. Its feeders no longer compensate for the loss by evaporation, the rainfall is very slight, and nearly all the moisture is discharged either as hail in summer or snow in winter. Before Kostenko's visit the lake was represented as draining either to the Kashgar or to the Oxus, or even to both basins. But if it ever existed the outlet through the Markan-su north-east to the Kashgar has long been dried up, while that flow- ing south to the Oxus seems to be intermittent, during high floods still sending a little water through the Chon-su or Ak-baital to that river. Being thus without a regular outflow, its waters have become so bitter that animals will only drink them when suffering from extreme thirst. But they are always clear, and apparently stocked with fish. According to the nomads the level of the lake rises regularly every Friday, a belief Kostenko seems half inclined to credit. Koros- tovzev also speaks of regular risings, without, however, indicating their duration. The Ala'i Highland. North of the Pamir the two parallel ramparts of the Trans- Ala'i and Ala'i belong to the Tian-shan system, and their geological structure, according to Mushketov, is the same. But these diorite and granite masses being separated by the Kog-art and Terek-davan * Passes from that range, they may be regarded as forming an independent system. This western section of the Tian-shan, merging in the Turkestan plains between the Sir and Oxus basins, has a length of 420 miles, and, like the Tian-shan proper, consists of various ridges running either east-north- east or north-west, and crossing each other at intervals. At the north-east corner of the Pamir the two ranges present a remarkably regular appearance. The Ala'i, or Kicki- Ala'i, forming the water-parting between the Sir, Oxus, and Tarim basins, sharply limits the Ferghana depression by a barrier of crests with a mean elevation of from 13,000 to 18,000 feet, which are separated from each other by elevated jmsses. Of these one of the lowest is the Isfairam Pass, 12,000 feet high, at one of the " breaks " in the Ala'i, where the chain suddenly takes a westerly direction. From a neighbouring bluff a view is afforded of the snowy monarch of the Trans- Ala'i, which Fedchonko has named * The Tian-shan passes bear the Tatar names of davtrn or daban, art or yart, bcl and kulal. The davan is a difficult rocky defile, the art a dungcrous gap at a high elevation, the bcl a low and easy pass, the kutal a broad opening between low hills (Fedchonko). 172 ASIATIC RUSSIA. the Kaufmann Peak, and which is probably the culminating point of the whole Tian-shan system. A little farther east rises a group of three other crests, of nearly equal elevation, the Gurumdi of the Kirghiz. The space between the Ala'i and Trans- Ala'i is regarded as forming a separate plateau, a sort of advanced platform or landing-place in the descent from the " Roof of the World " down to the Ferghana valley. It forms the bed of a dried - up lake, at its most elevated jolace, no less than 24 miles broad, and stretching in a narrower channel north-east and south-west. The upper part, known as the Bash- Ala'i, or "Head of the Ala'i," is the "Paradise" of the Kirghiz, though a Fig. 88. — The Ala'i Plateau. Scale 1 : 640,000. 40 C Perron 12 Miles. paradise they can visit only for three or four months in the year. It forms the water-parting between the Oxus and Kashgar basins, and the two streams that here take their rise are both called the Kizil-su, or " Ped River," from the colour of their banks. Most of their tributary rivulets have also a reddish tin°-e, due no doubt to the clays deposited by the old glaciers. In those flowing towards the Western Kizil-su, the Surgh-ab of the Tajiks, Fedchenko discovered a species of trout not met with in any other Turkestan river, and probably allied to that found by Griffith in another tributary of the Oxus near Bamian. This fish seems to have been driven by the change of climate from the plains to the mountain torrents. o o M P i o W THE ALA.] HIGHLAND. 173 Fig. -The Shchtjrovskiy Glacier. Scale 1 : 320,000. West of the Isfairam and Kara-kazik Pass the Alai rises graduall}' in a parallel line with some northern ridges traversed by the streams flowing to Ferghana. It is connected by spurs with these ridges, the whole constituting, north of the sources of the Zarafshan, a highland region rising 6,000 or 7,000 feet above the snow- line, and sending down mighty glaciers to the surrounding upland valleys. From the highest peak of these high- lands, the culminating point of the Ala'i JF~T-- i — T<^ : " ? ^§-'^'-S : !\\V§'' !/l ^^iSfB, proper, the Shchurovskiy glacier flows northwards, while from the slopes of the Khotur-tau and neighbouring mountains there descend numerous torrents and cascades, a phenomenon elsewhere as rare in the Central Asiatic highlands as on the slopes of the Caucasus. Here the forests, far inferior in beauty to those of Europe, are com- posed largely of the archa, a species of juniper (Junipcrui pseudo-sabina}, which flourishes at an elevation of 5,000 feet and upwards. The Kara-tau, which forms a western, continuation of the Ala'i, main- tains an altitude of over 13,000 feet to the south of Tashkend, beyond which it falls somewhat rapidly in the direc- tion of Samarkand, while throwing off at a sharp angle another spur towards the north-west. The various sections of these mountains, which are inter- rupted by broad gaps, are known by different names, such as the Ura-tepe, the Julan or Sausar-tau, Kara-tau, and Nura-tau. The parallel ridges running between the Ala'i and Western Pamir have a greater mean altitude than the outer chain ; but they are divided by mountain torrents into a number of distinct frag- ments, nowhere forming any decided water-parting. Thus the Trans- Alai is divided on the west of the Karateghin Moun- tains by the Ters-agar, whence flow two streams in opposite directions, northwards to the Tuz-altin-dara, a tributary of the Surgh-ab, southwards to the Muk-su. Farther west the Surgh-ab itself pierces the Karateghin range to effect a junction with the VOL. VI. N C Perron . 6 Miles. 17-1 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Muk-sn, which is formed by three head-streams, one of which is fed by a glacier over a mile broad, and at its lower extremity about 100 feet thick. The Sel-su valley is filled by a still larger glacier, at least 10 miles long, which Oshanin, the first explorer of this region, has named after the celebrated traveller Fedchenko. Fig. 90.— Routes of Explorers in the Western Pamir. According to Krapotkin. Scale 1 : 3,G00,000. \ Kto^/Sl C.Perrpo . CO Miles. West of the Alai, whore all the parallel chains converge in a snowy plateau sending down glaciers to the surrounding cirques, the two parallel Zarafshan and Hissar ranges are also pierced by river valleys. But here the chains begin to branch off like a fan, gradually falling towards the plains, where they reappear here and there in isolated rocky eminences. Between Samarkand and Hissar some THE TIAN-SHAN. 175 of the peaks still rise above the snow-line, and although less elevated than the Kaufmann Peak of the Trans- Alai, they perhaps present a grander appearance, thanks to their greater relative height above the surrounding district.* III.— THE TIAN-SHAN. Of the Asiatic mountain systems sloping northwards this is the largest both in extent, elevation, the abundance of its snows and glacier masses. The title of Tian-shan, or " Celestial Mountains," was conferred on it by the Chinese, doubtless from the elevation of its snowy peaks blending with the fleecy welkin. Its lofty crests have ever formed one of the chief barriers to migration, conquest, and commercial intercourse, and these mountains have at all times been avoided eastwai'ds by the Zungarian passes. Till recently the Russians themselves, notwithstanding their military resources and superior culture, have stopped short at the northern base of Fig. 91. — Relative Abea op the Tian-shan, Alps, and Pyrenees. Scale 1 : 54,000,000. Pyrenees. Alps. Tian-shan. . 60O Miles. the range, which for them formed the limit of the known world, and which was masked by vast deserts, swamps, and shallow lakes. Its passes are approached by no great river valley except that of the Sir-daria, which, like all the other streams flowing from the Tian-shan, is lost in a land-locked lake. Although forming the chief mountain mass of Asia north of the Himalayas and Kuen-lun, this range is nevertheless of far less hydrographic importance than the secondary * Chief elevations of the Pamir and Ala'i system : — Pamir. Feet. Feet. Bash- Ala'i . ... 11,000 Kizil-art Pass 14,240 Alai'-tagh, highest point 19,330 Kara-kul 13,400 .Alai-tagh, mean height . 16,000 Uz-bel Pass, south of Kara-kul 15,100 Shchurovskiy Glacier, lower extremity . 11,900 15,500 Kaufmann Peak, Trans- Alai Ters-agar Pass 25,000 9,850 Alai. Trans-Alai snow-line 14,160 Terek-da van 10,460 Shelveli 25,000 Isfairam 12,000 Saudal ....... 25,000 Kavuk . 13,300 Chabdara (Hissar Mountains) 18,600 Kara-kazik 14,630 N Hasreti- Sultan 2 15,U00 176 ASIATIC RUSSIA. masses, where rise the great Siberian rivers — Ob, Yenisei, and Lena. The Tian- shan is, in fact, entirely comprised within the central region of the continent, which has an exclusively inland drainage. It belongs to the region of steppes, deserts, half dried- up lakes and saline marshes, which form the " inner continent " enclosed within the Asiatic mainland. Nor is it inhabited except very thinly in the valleys, on its outskirts, and on some of its plateaux, so that while twenty-five times larger, it has less than one-tenth the population of the Swiss Alps. It also forms an ethnical and political parting-line, on the one hand limiting the domain of the Mongolians, Kirghiz, Zungarians, and Tajiks, on the other forming almost every- where the political frontier of the Russian and Chinese Empires. According to the most recent surveys this system forms altogether a more extensive highland mass than all the European mountains collectively, from the Eastern Carpathians to the Sierra Nevada. The term Tian-shan, restricted by Semyonov to the crests north of the Issik-kul, and by Humboldt to the chains between the rivers Narin and Kashgar, is extended by Hwen-T'sang to the region Fig. 92. — Kelatiye Relief of the Tian-shan, Alps, and Ptkenees. Scale 1 ■ 54.0011,(100. ISSO, is:cc lice: 3750 iSCO 3250 : ,£. "ftrr% •to Vertical fifty times Uirger than the Horizontal Scjle 600 Miles. C-Pe east of the Khan-tengri, and the geographic unity of the vast highland tract stretching from Zungaria to the Turkestan ranges has now for the first time been recognised by Sieverzov. "As I proceeded south-westwards," says this traveller, " I had snowy crests for months together on my left. After passing the Ala-tau of Semirechinsk, I sighted the white Talgar and the other peaks of the Ala-tau beyond the Hi. The Alexander Chain was succeeded still by others and others, and the Celestial Mountains seemed to continue in an endless line of sierras." Orographic System. The Tian-shan begins in Mongolia with a simple rocky crest rising above the bed of the " Dried-up Sea," the Han-hai of the Chinese. But this' crest, which runs west-south-westwards, is soon joined by a second, and then by several others, connected by intermediate plateaux, and broadening their bases till they have stretched across 8° of latitude. Towards the centre the plateau supporting the ranges gradually narrows, and the parallel ridges become reduced in numbers, until at last the Tian-shan, towards its western extremity, loses its name and merges with a few rocky eminences in the Turkestan lowlands. The various chains runnine OEOGEAEHIC SYSTEM. 177 east and west are collectively about 1,500 miles long, with a mean breadth of at least 240 miles, and a total area of 400,000 square miles. All the ridges do not run uniformly east-north-east and west-south-west, or simply east and west, for several stretch in parallel lines south-east and north-west, or else east-south-east and west-south-west. These last are formed of diorites, while the main chain consists of granites and syenites. The whole system is intersected by one only of the secondary chains, that which skirts the Ferghana plains on the east, forming the western escarpment of all the central plateau. The outer chains spread out like a fan beyond the main range, thus enclosing vallevs of triangular shape. The Sir-daria and its tributaries, like the other streams flowing to the steppe lakes, run first eastwards through one of the intermediate valleys of the Tian- shan proper, and are then deflected north-west by the outer chains. In the heart Fig. 93. — Chief Crests of the Tiax-shax. Scale 1 : 22,000,»0. 43 Turkestan iff E of G C Perron O Old Lakes. of the svstem all the vallevs, like those of the Alai, Pamir, and East Siberia, belon°- to very old geological epochs, for triassic and Jurassic strata have here been regularly deposited between the crysta llin e, Devonian, and carboniferous crests of the mam ranges. Here are also vast layers of loess, in some places 1,000 feet thick, and by their uniform yellow-grey colour imparting a wearisome monotonv to the landscape. Till the middle of the present century the Tian-shan was one of the least-known regions on the globe. But since then the steady progress of Russian power and influence has enabled many explorers to traverse it in every direction, so that little remains to be done beyond making a more exhaustive study of its structure and products. The work of exploration begun in 1856 by Semyonov has been ably continued by Yalikhanov, Golubev, Yenyukov, Sieverzov, Reinthal, Mushketov, Prejvalsky, Regel, &c. Yaluable itineraries remain still to be published, which will probably clear up many doubtful points, and help to remove the confusion occasioned 178 ASIATIC RUSSIA. by the various Tatar, Zungarian, Russian, and Chinese nomenclatures. Great uncer- tainty also sometimes prevails regarding measurements, the various barometrical and other estimates of altitudes often presenting discrepancies of several hundred feet. The Tian-shan proper begins about 120 miles east of the town of Hanoi (Khamil), and soon reaches an elevation of from 7,000 to 10,000 feet. The Kosheti-davan Pass, on the route between Ilami and Barkul north and south, is no less than 9,100 feet high, an altitude probably maintained as far west as the Bogdo Mountains. But immediately beyond this point there occurs a profound gap Fig. 94. — Eastern Chains or the Tian-shan. Scale 1 : 8,600,000. S<3s*/~Aam'cA I ofG S5' C Perro through which runs the road from Urumtsi (Urnritsi) to Turfan and Pishan. All this section is encircled by a narrow belt of verdure, watered by streams flowing in parallel channels from the gorges, and soon losing themselves in the sands, or expanding into morasses on the lowlands. Around this green belt there stretch westwards two inlets of the old Asiatic Mediterranean, which have been gradually changed to gobi, or deserts. The hills between Barkul and Hami, thus rising like a headland above the wastes, have played a prominent part in the history of the world. Standing like a barrier between two great historical highways, they deflected the westward waves of migration, some to the Tarim basin and Kashgaria, KATUN AND YULDUZ HIGHLANDS. 179 others through {he narrow JNomin-mingin-gobi gateway between the Barkul Hills and the advanced • spurs of the Altai north-westwards to Zungaria. Here the Mongolians were easily enabled to skirt on the north the whole Tian-shan system by availing themselves of the numerous passes opening westwards to the Hi basin, north-westwards to Lake Balkhash, northwards to the Blaek Irtish and LakeZaisan. These depressions between Mongolia and Siberia have a mean altitude of probably not more than 3,300 feet, and the highest point on the route from Barkul north- west to the Blaek Irtish is only 2,545 feet. The existence of an oblique chain, sup- posed by Bichthofen to run north-west from Barkul to the Tarbagatai Mountains, has not been confirmed by Potantin's explorations, though a small ridge runs from the extremity of the Tian-shan at Barkul in a north-westerly direction, again joining the main range west of the town. This is the outer rim of an ancient lake, of which nothing now remains except the small Barkul basin, to which this town owes its Tatar name. Beyond the Barkul heights nothing occurs in the north-west as far as the valley of the Black Irtish, except irregular masses representing the islands and peninsulas of the old sea flowing between the Altai and Tian-shan highlands. Katun and Yulduz Highlands. West of the Urumtsi defile and of the old Turfan inlet the main range rises above the snow-line, and takes the name of Katun, or Katin. This section, one of the least known in the system, is probably one of the highest, and undoubtedly exceeds 16,000 feet. No mention is made by the Chinese writers of any pass over it, and all the caravan routes skirt it east and west, while the lakes on both sides of the chain seem to point at extensive snow-fields on the uplands. Regel recently found vast glaciers about the sources of the Kash, which flows from the Katun highlands westwards to the Kunges and Hi, Here the Tian-shan system develops into several parallel ridges, while south of the Katun runs another chain through whose gorges the torrents from the main range escape to the plains. West of one of these gorges, traversed by an affluent of Lake Bogla-nor (Bostan-nor, or Bagrach-kul), the Tian-shan forms four parallel snowy ridges, known, like the neighbouring lake, by several different names, and enclosing two vast basins over 7,000 feet high. These so-called " stars " (Great and Little Yulduz) are the beds of old lakes, which now form natural pasture-lands watered by streams flowing to Lake Bogla-nor. It was in one of these vast cirques that Tamerlane, on his expe- dition against Kashgaria, assembled five armies from five different points of the Tian-shan, and ordered them to exterminate all the inhabitants of the land between Lakes Zaisan and Bogla-nor north and south. The imperial tent stood in the middle of the plain, and the " Destroyer of the Universe " ascended his golden throne glittering with gems, and round about were the less sumptuous, but still gorgeous tents of his emirs. All received rich presents, and the troops were inflamed with rapture.. These grazing grounds are the "Promised Land" of the nomad fiastors, who here find the richest pastures for their flocks, and the finest climate, free even in summer from flies and mosquitoes. Yet Prejvalsky found this 180 ASIATIC RUSSIA. magnificent region completely abandoned in 1876. Plundered in 1865 by the Moslem Zungariaus, the 50,000 Yulduz nomads had been driven, some south-east- wards to Lake Bogla-nor, others north-westwards to the Hi valley. Loft thus masters of the wilderness, the wild ruminants have hero become very numerous. Among them are the Oris poll in flocks of thirty to forty, the mountain goat {Capra Sibirica), the maral, a species of deer.* But neither the Oms karelim, the Ovix poll, nor the argali is anywhere met in the Eastern Tian-shan. The wolf, fox, and other beasts of prey are also numerous in this section of the range, which is the exclusive home of the white-clawed bear ( Umis leuconyx). According to their aspect, the mean direction of the winds, and amount of rain- Fig. 95. — Routes oj? Explorers in the Eastern Tian-shan. Scale 1 : 9,670,000. 44V A'J E.ofG C Perron ■—- 1-» - —- ~ Piejv.ilsky, 1876. -i—. — i — i — ' Kuropatkm, 1S76-7. — — — Rafailov, 1874. Sosnosky, 1874—9. Kegel, 1876-9. -■ — - Great Chinese Highway . 120 Miles. fall, the slopes of the Eastern Tian-shan present many striking contrasts. The southern and generally more abrupt slopes, being unable to retain much moisture, are nearly all treeless, while the northern are well wooded, the pine flourishing in some places as high as 8,000 feet, the upper limit of arborescent vegetation. On the northern slopes of the Narat, or Nara-tau, running north of the Little Yulduz, * Sieverzov tells us that the young horns of the maral, while still filled with Mood and not yet hardened, are highly esteemed by the Chinese, who pay from £6 to £20 the pair for them on the Siberian frontier. Hence the maral has always been eagerly chased ; and since the wild animal has become rare, the Cossacks of the Kiakhta district have succeeded in domesticating it. Polakoff has recently stated that this industry has become widely diffused in Western Siberia, where tame herds of fifty to seventy head are now to be met. Unfortunately the horns of the domesticated animal have lost many of the qualities for which they are chiefly valued as an article of trade. — Editor. to KATUN AND YULDUZ HIGHLANDS. IMH 181 the forests on the banks of the Zanma consist almost exclusively of the " Tian-shan pine " and of a species of ash, while the apple, apricot, and other fruit trees abound in the Kunges valley, and in most of the basins north of these mountains. M o 182 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Semirechinsk Region. After branching' off towards the north-west from the main range the northern section of the Tian-shan takes successively various names, such as those of the Iren-khabirgan, Boro-khoro, and Talki. North of the Kulja plain, separating it from the Tian-shan proper, it unites with other parallel ridges in a hilly plateau furrowed bv running waters, and forming a promontory above the plains and steppes of Semirechinsk, the "Country of the Seven Rivers." Westwards this plateau ramifies into peninsular chains continued by isolated masses, between which the streams flow to Lake Balkhash, or are lost in the desert. The principal of these masses, which still attain an elevation of over 8,000 feet, rises like a rocky wall between Semirechinsk and the Hi valley, but is crossed by several available passes. Like the main range, it runs south-west and north-east, and this is also the direction of the Zungarian Ala-tau, which branches from the plateau at an acute angle with the Iren-khabirgan chain. This range, which is over ISO miles lono- forms the natural frontier of the Russian and Chinese Empires, and is crossed only by two serviceable passes, those of Tentek and Lepsa, The system is con- tinued through Chinese territory eastwards to the Tarbagatai Mountains by the Barluk range, which is over 6,000 feet high. The space between the Zungarian Ala-tau and the Tian-shan proper forms the Tian-shan-pelu plain, formerly a marine basin, which rises gradually westwards to the elongated plateau, whose northern and southern escarpments are formed by the Ala-tau and the Boro-khoro with the Talki respectively. Lake Sairam, occupying a depression between wooded heights in this plateau, is scarcely 700 feet from the Talki Pass, and at the foot of a steep escarpment, formerly followed by the imperial route from Pekin to Kulja. The lake is slightly brackish, and is 150 square miles in extent, with an altitude, according to Ma-frveyev, of 6,000 feet. It is very deep, and exposed to fierce storms, much dreaded by the Mongolians, who call it the Seri-ob-nor, or " Great "Water." One of the most majestic ranges in the whole Tian-shan system is the Xian- shan, or Temurlik, rising abruptly above the Kulja plains over against the Boro- khoro escarpments. It is sharply defined east and west by the rivers Tekes and Kesen, flowing' from the south. The Tekes vallev communicates with the Issik-kul basin by the low Santash Pass, on which stands a huge sail- fas, or cairn, traditionally attributed to the army of Tamerlane. North of this pass the Kegen escapes from its upper valley through the most formidable gorge yet discovered in the Tian-shan. This cleft in the rocks has a depth of from 1,000 to 1,600 feet, between walls in many places rising vertically from the foaming stream. The Kegen is here joined by three other torrents, the three Merke, also rushing through profound canons of crystalline conglomerates. Through the greater part of the gorge the main stream, here known as the Aktogoi, and lower down as the Charin, falls from ledo'e to ledge iii white masses of foam, while elsewhere its black waters are collected in deep and apparently motionless pools. From the bottom of this abyss the projecting rocks completely shut out the heavens, and the explorer seems lost in the bowels of the earth. ALA-TAU HIGHLAND. 183 The Charin, which is the largest affluent of the IK, is accompanied on the west by another river, the Chilik, separated from it by the Jalanash plateau, a lofty steppe said to be 4,000 feet high, and contrasting with the surrounding mountains in the total absence of trees and the general poverty of its fauna and flora. Ala-tau Highland. The two parallel ranges running north of the Issik-kul basin arc both known by the somewhat common Tatar name of Ala-tau, or " Chequered Mountains," that on the north being the Ala-tau beyond the Hi, the other the Ala-tau Kungei. They really form but one granite ridge, intersected longitudinally by a limestone valley, Fig. 97. — The AktogoI Deeile. Scale 1 : 000,000. C Perraa , 12 Miles, whence flow, on the one hand, the Chilik, on the other the Great Kebin, a main head-stream of the Chu. Thanks to the neighbourhood of Verniy, these highlands are amongst the best known in the whole Tian-shan system. Consisting chiefly of granites, with some nietamorphous schists, limestones, and sandstones, the ^Northern Ala-tau is flanked towards the steppe by low porphyry hills strewn with erratic boulders from the main range. The remains of moraines are still visible in several valleys, and an enormous glacier formerly filled all the upper cirques whence flows the Turgen. At present there is not a single glacier in either of the Ala-tau ranges, although rising towards the centre above the snow-line, which is here about 11,000 feet above sea-level. Here the pine flourishes between 5,800 and 8,600 feet. But the apple and other leafy trees have been mostly destroyed by the improvidenl Cossacks and other Russian settlers in this region. 184 ASIATIC EITSSIA. The two Ala-tau chains, which have a total length of about 150 miles, are limited eastwards by the San-tash Pass and the Aktogo'i defile, westwards by the Bikini defile, which is traversed by the river Chu, and which separates them abruptly from the Alexander Mountains. This gloomy gorge is strewn with enormous blocks, between which rise fantastic porphyry pillars. But it lacks the savage grandeur of the Aktogo'i gorge. Below the junction of the Great Kebin the Chu crosses the western continuation of the Northern Ala-tau, after which it receives the Little Kebin at the head of a broad plain skirted by two detached branches of the Tian-shan, which merge gradually with the desert. The southernmost of these chains, another Ala-tau, now more usually known as the Alexander Mountains, is a snowy range running east and west over 180 miles, and culminating with the Hamish, or Mount Semyonov of the Russians. Lake Issik-kul and Western Tian-shan Highlats. The geographical centre of the whole Tian-shan system is the Great Issik-kul, or " Hot Lake," as it is called by the natives. It is encircled on all sides by mountains, on the north by the Ala-tau Kungei, on the south by the Ala-tau Terskei, the vast amphitheatre forming an oval tract of over 400 miles in circumference. The Issik- kul is not only the largest lake in the Tian-shan highlands, but the only great survivor of the numerous reservoirs that formerly filled the basins between the parallel ridges. But it was at one time far larger than at present, as shown by the water marks on the hillsides 200 feet above its actual level, and in the Biiam defile, 30 miles west of its present limits. Even in the ten years from 1867 to 1877 it has fallen nearly 7 feet, implying at least a temporaiy, if not a permanent, drying up of the land. The river Chu, which formerly flowed to its western corner, now reaches it only through the sluggish and intermittent Kutemaldi, which is flooded only during the freshets and melting of the snows. According to a Kirghiz tradition the Kutemaldi was dug by the inhabitants of the country, anxious to get rid of the Issik-kul, but, owing to a miscalculation, they gave a new affluent instead of an outlet to the lake. Yet, although it has no present outflow, it is about ten times larger than Lake Geneva, its area being estimated at 2,300 square miles. It stands some 5,000 feet above sea-level, but never freezes, whence, according to Sieverzov, its name the " Hot Lake," though this title is more probably due to the numerous hot springs round its shores. The lake is slightly brackish and teems with fish, of which, however, not more than four species have been discovered in its clear blue waters. In 1872 the first boat worthy of the name was launched on its surface ; yet its desert shores seem to have been formerly thickly peopled. Crania, bones, and various objects of human industry are occasionally thrown up by the waves, and bits of iron and potsherds have been found by Kolpakovsky at a depth of 3 or 4 feet. East of Lake Issik-kul are grouped the Khan-tengri Mountains, which may be regarded as the dominant mass of the whole Tian-shan system. Although exceeded in height by the principal Trans- Alai peaks, the Khan-tengri contains the greatest LAKE ISSIK-KUL. 185 number of snowy crests, glaciers, and streams flowing- to the four points of the compass, and it is also crossed by the most frequented pass between the northern and southern slopes, and leading from Kulja to Eastern Turkestan. The Khan-tengri forms part of the southern chain, which begins south of the Great Yulduz basin, and runs under divers names thence westwards. To the Kok-teke succeeds the Geshik-hashi, beyond which follow the Shalik-tau and the Muz-art-tau, which last is crossed by the broad but dangerous Muz-art Pass, at a height, according to Regel, of about 11,600 feet. The passage is easier in winter than summer, the crevasses being then filled with frozen snow, but although it has been crossed by Kaulbars, Kostenko, Dilke, Regel, and others, no European traveller has hitherto continued the journey southwards to Kashgaria. West of the Muz-art stretches a world of glaciers and lofty crests in a highland region, of which little is known beyond the fact that several of its glaciers, especially that at the source of the Sari-jassi, a tributary of the Tarim, are comparable in length to the Aletsch glacier in the Valais Alps. From the Muz-art-tau to the western extremity of the Sari-jassin-tau the snowy range maintains for over 60 miles a mean elevation of more than 16,500 feet. All the peaks overtop Mont Blanc by at least 3,000 feet, and southwards rises in solitary grandeur the Khan- tengri, or Kara-gol-bas. Beyond a chaos of peaks, whence flow the head-streams of the Tarim and Sir, the mountains resume their normal direction from east to west. They form with their parallel chains an enormous mass, no less than 210 miles broad north of Kashgar. The outer are far more elevated than the central ridges, between which flows the Narin, the chief affluent of the Sir. Although pierced at intervals by streams running south-eastwards to Kashgaria, the Kok-shaal, or southern range, maintains a mean altitude of over 15,000 feet, while several sunnnits in the Kok- kiya section exceed 16,600 feet. These highlands, whose escarpments slope towards Chinese Turkestan, are amongst the least-known regions of the continent, although crossed towards their western extremity by the Turug-art, an easy pass well known to traders. It is a very barren region, with bare hills and scattered ridges, between which are the channels of dried-up rivers. The slope is very gentle even northwards to the Ak-sai plateau and the Chatir-kul. This lake, which is said to be destitute of fish, is all that remains of an extensive inland sea formerly flowing between the southern range and the parallel Kubergenti, Ak-bash, and Kara-koin chains on the north. Although it has no apparent outlet, its waters are still quite fresh. The hills- skirting it northwards are crossed by the Tash-robat Pass, which, like the Turug-art, is open all the year round to the caravans between Verniy and Kashgaria. West of the Turug-art the southern range attains a great elevation, and from a pass on a parallel chain north of it Osten-Sacken distinguished no less than sixty- three snowy peaks. It runs at first north-east and south-west, then turning west and north-west in a line with the extreme spurs of the northern chains, and intersecting the parallel ridges of the Central Tian-shan in such a way as to intercept their waters. But the innumerable lakes thus formed have now run dry, mainly through 186 ASIATIC RUSSIA. the defile by which the Narin escapes westwards. Here the Tian-shan system is completely limited by the Ferghana plains, but at the south-west corner of the Tian-shan proper various offshoots run south-westwards, connecting the main range with the Ala'i and the Pamir. But till the beginning of the tertiary period a large marine strait still connected Ferghana and Kashgaria through the Kog-art, thus completely separating the Pamir from the Tian-shan plateau. The whole Tian-shan system was at that time crossed from north-east to south-west by- a Fig. 98. — Western Chains of the Tian-shan. Scale 1 : 9,000,000. 40' /,.£*/*£. Step/se /Cars/' E ofG Tachkend, 75' ■ 2J0 Miles chain of inland seas, of which all that now remains is the Issik-kul. Those of Kulja and Ferghana have long been drained off. North of the Upper Sarin valley the main range is known as the Terskei Ala-tau, or Ala-tau " of the Shade," in contradistinction to the Kungei Ala-tau, or Ala-tau " of the Sun," skirting the other side of the Issik-kul. Owino- to the o T eater moisture of its slopes the former is far better wooded, the pine forests and pastures at many points reaching the snow-line. It culminates with the Ugus-bas, which attains an elevation of over 16,500 feet. Near the Barskaun Pass, on its southern slopes, rises the Narin, chief head-stream of the Sir, while other affluents flow from the southern region of the Ak-shiirak glaciers, south of which rise the farthest sources of the Kashgarian Ak-su. A large portion of the country comprised between the Terskei Ala-tau and the Kok-shaal north and south forms an extensive plain, or WESTERN TIAN-SHAN. 187 sirt, strewn with, sandstones, many- coloured marls, gypsum, and saline incrustations, and studded with tarns, but nearly destitute of vegetation. This bleak region is exposed to snow-storms even in June and July, and in some years the snow never melts in the hollows throughout the summer. The Terskei Ala-tau is continued westwards under divers names, as are all the parallel chains with which it is connected by transverse ridges. The lacustrine plains are probably more numerous here than elsewhere in the Tian-shan system. But of all the formerly flooded basins one only remains, the Son-kul, a fresh-water lake about the size of Lake Geneva, encircled by steep sides of green porphyry, and Fig. 99. — Routes of Explokeks in the Western Tian-shan. Scale 1 : 000,000. E.ofG Postal Highways. Divers Routes. Valiklianov, 1858. Golubev, 1839. Venyukov, 1859-60. Sieverzov, 1854—68. Osten-Sackcn, 1867. 8JT_ Reinthal, 1S68. Kanltars, 1869. Kostenko, 1S76. Kuropatkin, 187G-7. Prejvalsky, 1S77. Hegel, 1876-9. Forsyth, 1874. C Perron 120 Miles. draining through a small stream to the JNarin. One of the most remarkable of these dried-up plains is the Kashkar valley, source of the Kashkar, the main head- stream of the Chu. It communicates by the Shamsi Pass with the northern plain. North of Kokan the Tian-shan is continued by the Talas-tau, from 2,500 to 3,000 feet high, which branches off in several ridges from the Alexander Mountains, and falls gradually south-west, west, and north-westwards to the steppes. The Kara-tau, or " Black Mountain," the last spur of the Tian-shan towards the north- west, seldom exceeds 6,500 feet in height, but is geographically of great importance, as forming the water-parting between the Sir and Chu basins. It also abounds most in coal, iron, copper, and argentiferous lead. 188 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The contrast between the Eastern and Western Tian-shan highlands is, on the whole obvious enough. The former are far more compact, with fewer lateral rido-es and valleys, and presenting more the appearance of a plateau crossed by lofty parallel chains. Notwithstanding the great age of its rocks, the Tian-shan has preserved its primitive aspect far better than the Swiss Alps. It is less worn by rains, snows, and glaciers, and its slopes have been clothed with a broad belt of forest vegetation rising at least 2,500 feet above the level of the seas, which formerly washed its base. Ileneo considerable differences have arisen in the way in which its flora and fauna have been distributed. Whilst the Alps have been invaded by the forest species of the surrounding plain after the retreat of the ice, the lower zone of the Tian-shan has been the point of dispersion for the species spreading upwards to the higher valleys, and downwards to the surrounding steppes, according as the waters subsided. The history of their inhabitants may also be explained by the relief and geographical position of these highlands. The steppes, or ancient lacustrine basins encircling them, being mostly incapable of cultivation, are mainly occupied hy nomad pastors, who have even prevented agricultural peoples from settling in the upland valleys. Hither they resort themselves with their flocks in summer, so that the whole region has been held by these nomad tribes from time immemorial. Split up into small communities by their conflicting interests, and constantly at feud for the possession of the richer pastures, they were unable to unite in compact masses against the common enemy, and Chinese, Mongolians, and Russians have thus easily succeeded in successively subduing the Tian-shan highlands. The Russians took a hundred years to subdue the Caucasus, whereas a few sotnias of Cossacks overran the valleys of the boundless Tian-shan almost without exchanging a shot. Historically as well as hydrographically this region belongs to a land- locked basin.* Chief elevations of the Tian-shan system: — Feet. Eastern Tian-shan. Kosheti Pass Katun Mountains Little Yulduz Plateau Great Yulduz ,, Narat Pass Tian-shan, north of Knlja. P.oro-khoro Mountains, mean height Sitirti Pass Talki „ Altin-imel Pass K Town of Kulja San-tash Pass Khan-tengri Muz-art Ugus-bas Barskau Pass Zauka Central Tian-shin. 9,100 1-5,660 8,000 6,000 9,950 6.5H0 5,860 6,360 6,050 4,430 2,100 6,750 21,000 11,11)0 17,700 12,000 12,975 Upper Narin Valley . Talgar (Ala-tau beyond the Hi) Almati ,, ,, Lake Issik-kul Fort Narin Verniy Western Tian-shan. Turiig-art Tass Kara-bel ,, Kog-art ,, Tash-rohat ,, Chatir-kul „ Son-kul ,, Sham si ,, Hamish (Alexander Chain) Kara-bura (Talas-tau) . Min-jilke (Kara-tau) Kokan Tashkend Upper limit of trees Feet. 11,660 15,300 14,000 4,380 6,870 3,100 11 12 10 13 11 9 12 15. 11. 7. 1, l> 9,000 to 10, 660 040 ,675 100 ,130 ,550 ,025 ,550 .ooo ,000 ,310 506 000 TARBAGATAI HIGHLANDS AND BALKHASH BASIN. 189 IV.— TARBAGATAI HIGHLANDS AND BALKHASH BASIN. The space, about 240 miles broad, separating the extreme Eastern Tian-shan and the Zungarian Ala-taii from the Altai system, doubtless offers wide openings between Mongolia and Asiatic Russia. But apart from these historically impor- tant routes, the plateaux and mountains are so disposed as to form a sort of isthmus between the Tian-shan and Altai highlands. Of this isthmus the cen- tral mass is the Tarbagatai — that is, the " Tarbagan," or "Marmot" Mountains — which run mainly east and west, and are about equal to the Pyrenees in length and elevation, their chief peaks scarcely exceeding the Nethu or Mont Perdu of that range. Like the Tian-shan, the Tarbagatai presents two different axes, one running north-east and south-west, the other north-west and south-east. The first, which is parallel with the Southern Tian-shan, is followed by the Barluk and TJr-koshar, forming the southern range, and with some of its crests reaching the region of perpetual snows. The northern or main chain runs parallel with the Northern Tian-shan, and both axes converge eastwards, here culminating above the plains of the Irtish with Mounts Sauru and Muz-tau. The ravines of these snowy moun- tains are filled with glaciers, which at some points descend below the forest zone. But in all other directions the range rapidly falls, westwards with the volcanic Mantak, eastwards with the Kara-adir ridges, and northwards offering an easy passage from the Balkhash slope to that of the Orkhu-nor in Mongolia. The Tarbagatai proper is separated from the other chains by low depressions, scarcely more than 3,300 feet above sea-level. Here we ascend the streams flow- ing from the water-parting almost imperceptibly, and no mountains are visible except at a great distance ; but the heaps of stones disposed like moraines bear evidence of former glacial action. West of these depressions the Tarbagatai rises gradually, though even here few of its peaks reach the snow-line. On the southern slope the only snowy crest is the Tas-tau, culminating point of the Marmot system. Except along the banks of the torrents the heights are mostly treeless, but covered with rich Alpine pastures, the common resort of the nomads from both slopes. The Tas-tau, which has been ascended several times since the journey of Schrenck in 1840, ends in two peaks, one of which is known to the Chinese as the Bannar Mount, from the yearly practice they had of hoisting a flag on its summit. Both are composed of dolomite and argillaceous schists. Granites and porphyries also enter largely into the constitution of the Tarbagatai rocks, though the most extensive formations seem to be carboniferous limestones, schists, and sandstones. Coal has been discovered on the southern slope near the Chinese town of Chuguchak, and the Russian explorers have found large masses of native copper and iron ores in the ravines. In the northern valley of the Ters-airik, sloping towards Lake Zaisan, about one hundred Chinese gold-washers are employed in collecting the gold dust here mixed with the old alluvia. Some of the numerous mounds scattered over the heights and plains, and which have caused the term oho, VOL. VI. O 3 90 ASIATIC RUSSIA. or oba (tomb, cairn), to enter so largely into the local geographical nomenclature, still contain many gold objects, often collected by the Kirghiz. The Tarbagatai is usually supposed to terminate at the Kara-kol Pass, or farther west, at the bluffs overlooking the town of Sergiopol. But the system is still continued westwards by the Denghiz-tau, running north of Lake Balkhash, and merging with the water-parting between the Aralo-Caspian and Ob basins. To this system also belong the picturesque Arkat rocks stretching northwards in the direction of Semipalatinsk. All these mountains are crossed by easy passes, allow- ing travellers to avoid the higher portion of the range between the plains of the great Lakes Ala-kul and Zai'san. Nevertheless tki.o very section is crossed by Fig-. 100. — SaOru and Tatibagatai. Scale 1 : 1,900,000. 43' 1 ^S. v: *%£ ! ''-•W>vi wHmmij' 86°Q0 C Perror> «— 20 Miles. the Khabar-assu, the most frequented and historically the most important of all the passes. It runs east of the Tas-tau, and has always been much used by the Kashgar traders proceeding to the Troitzk, Orenburg, and Irbit fairs, and by the Tatars and Russians making their way southwards from the Siberian lowlands. Factories of Bukhariot merchants were formerly established at Tumen, Tobolsk, Tara, and Tomsk, and a colony of 300 Mohammedans near Tomsk still recalls these commercial relations. But the progress of this country was arrested in 1745 by the vexatious measures of the Russian Government, which established frontier custom-houses, prohibited the trade in rhubarb under pain of death, and finally put a stop to all passenger traffic. But trade has since somewhat revived, and a rich Kirghiz lias built a caravanserai on the pass for the convenience of the LAKES BALKHAS 76 78°E.of( TtrtwnbyA S]om . Height ah ove Sea L evel 1000to33t)Of* 3300ta6600f* 0vw6€00£? S g a I e 1 LONDON , J S.VII SH and ISSIK-KU L. : 3,000,000. Depth of 1 aires lOoEJWiles VnderlSfp le to SO f<- Over50rt' LAKE BALKHASH. 191 Sarte merchants, who serve as agents for the exchanges between Paissia and China.* The Pamir and Tian-shan have both an inland drainage eastwards to the Tarim, westwards to the Aralo-Caspian basin. The Tarbagatai alone sends eastwards a few streams to the Irtish, thus belonging partly to the Arctic basin. With this single exception all the Turkestan highlands are comprised in the Central Asiatic inland water systems. Most of their streams flow naturally froni the convex side of the vast crescent of plateaux and mountains facing the moist west winds. Hence the largest rivers flow to the Turkestan and Semirechensk plains, and here also are the largest lakes, some of which are vast enough to deserve the name of seas. Nevertheless this hydrographic system is far less important even than that of East Russia, where the Caspian is fed by the Yolga, whereas here the Sir and Oxus are lost in the Aral, and the Ili in Lake Balkhash. Lake Balkhash But the geological structure of the land shows that it was formerly far more abundantly watered. Apart from the seas of the tertiary epoch, it is certain that even recently the Balkhash stretched 240 miles farther east and south-east to the depression of the plateau now partly filled by the Ebi-nor, and that towards the west it was four times broader than at present. At that time the Zungarian Ala- tau projected like a promontory in the middle of a continuous sea, now divided into a number of distinct lakes and morasses. The regions formerly under water are indicated by their argillaceous soil, saline wastes, and shifting sands. Even within the historic period the Balkhash formed a single sheet of water with the Sassik-kul, Ala kul, and Jalanash-kul. In the seventeenth century it is said to have filled all the cavity separating it from the Aral, according to one authority sending two affluents to this basin. But this statement is highly improbable, for certain species of its fauna imply a long period of isolation. The Balkhash has still a very large area. The Chinese knew it as the Si-hai, or " Western Sea," though this name has also been applied to the Aral and the Caspian. The neighbouring Kirghiz tribes call it either the Denghiz, or "sea" simply, as if there were no other, or the Ak-denghiz or Ala-denghiz, the " White Sea," or " Motley Sea," probably on account of the islands by which its surface is diversified. Third in size of the land-locked basins of the continent, it has an estimated mean area of about 8,700 square miles. But no very exact measure- ment can be taken of a lake without well-defined contours or solid banks, whose southern shores especially shift with the shifting north and south winds. Its limits * Chief elevations of the Tarbagatai : — Feet. Feet. Barluk Mountains, mean height 4,660 Alet Pass 6,000 Jairsky Pass 6,036 Tarbagatai, mean height 6,000 Muz-tau (Sauru) . 11,330 ,, snow-line 9,200 Manrak, highest peaks 5,000 Sauru, snow-line 10,956 Chagan-obo Pass 4,755 Denghiz-tau, mean height 4,000 Khabar-as=u „ 9,570 Arkat 2,560 Taa-tau 9,860 192 ASIATIC EUSSIA. arc lost in one place in extensive marshes and flats, in another in forests of reeds from 12 to 16 feet high, the haunt of the wild boar and of myriads of water-fowl. But the northern shores, formed by the escarpments of a plateau rising in two terraces above the water, are more sharply defined, and are even varied by a few rocky headlands. Here the lake is deep, but elsewhere it is so shallow as to pre- sent the appearance rather of a vast flooded morass. The depth nowhere exceeds 70 feet, and as the average seems to be about 30 feet, its volume may be estimated at some 200,000,000 of cubic j'ards, or twice that of Lake Geneva, which is never- theless thirty-six times less extensive in superficial area. Its water, which is usually ice-bound from the end of November to the beginning of April, is clear, and abounds in fish, but is so salt, especially in its southern division, that it proves fatal to animals driven by thirst to drink it. Of the other reservoirs in this lacus- trine region the Ala-kul is the most saline, while the Sassik-kul is scarcely brackish. The contrast presented by the two shores of the Balkhash is chiefly due to the relative amount of running 1 water discharged into each. Along- the whole northern coast, which, even excluding the thousand little inlets, is about 420 miles long, the lake does not receive a single permanent stream. The Tokrun runs completely dry after periods of long drought, and the same is the case with the steppe " wadies " of the southern shore. But the Zungarian and Trans-Ilian Ala-tau also drain to these plains, and the streams sent down by them are sufficiently copious to reach the lake with their alluvia. The vast semicircle of low tracts formed by these deposits is a striking witness to the influence these waters have had in modifying the geological aspect of the land. At no distant future the sand and soil brought down cannot fail to divide the Balkhash into separate basins, such as those of the lacus- trine Ala-kul group. Semirechixsk River System — The III The Hi, chief affluent of the Balkhash, is a large river, at least as regards its course, which is no less than 900 miles long. Formed by the junction of the Tekes and Kunges, it receives through the first the icy waters of the Muz-art and of a large portion of the Central Tian-shan, while the Kunges brings it the torrents from the Narat and other chains of the Eastern Tian-shan. In the Kulja plain the Hi flows in a rapid stream in a bed 200 to 400 yards wide, and from 3 to 20 feet deep, skirted northwards by a high cliff, which is formed by the counterforts of the Altin-imel chain. It is navigable for small boats for over half its course, and Husk, where it is deflected north-westwards by the outer Tian-shan ridges, is reached during the floods by larger craft from the lake. At a defile marking the limit of its middle and lower course certain Buddhist figures and Tibetan inscrip- tions on the porphyry rocks seem to indicate that the empire of the Dungans formerly stopped at this point. Farther down, the stream, already reduced by evaporation, enters its delta, which during the floods covers a triangular space o'f over 5,000 square miles, although at other times the southern branch done is filled. Of the other feeders of the Balkhash none are navigable for any considerable portion of the year, and several are even cut off from the lake by strips of san d THE ARALO -CASPIAN HYDRO-GRAPHIC SYSTEM. 193 for several months together. The Kara-tal, fed by the snows of the Zungarian Ala-tau, is one of the " seven rivers," whence the region comprised between that range and the Balkhash takes the name of Semirechinskiy Krai, though the terms Country of the Three, Ten, or Twenty Rivers might be just as appropriate according to the number of streams taken into account. The seven more important are the Kara-tal and its tributary the Kok-su, the Biyen, Ak-su and Sarkan, Baskan and Lepsa. The Hi is sometimes added to the number, because the administrative province of Semirechinsk also comprises that basin. The Kara-tal, the longest, though not the most copious, of the seven streams, seems to have been formerly largely utilised for irrigating purposes. The Lepsa, which is the largest in volume of the Ala-tau rivers, unites with the Ak-su at its mouth, and forms a vast delta of shifting channels. Its swamps are the most northern haunts of the tiger. The Aya-guz, sometimes included in the number of the " seven rivers," flows from the Tarbagatai to the eastern extremity of the lake, to which it carries down some gold dust. Its now desert banks are strewn with the ruins of ancient Buddhist cities. Lakes Sassik-kul and Ala-kul are also fed by streams from the Ala-tau, though the largest affluent of this double basin is the Churtu, Emil, or Imil, flowing west- wards from the Tarbagatai. Notwithstanding- the general tendency to subsidence, these streams occasionally produce the opposite phenomenon in the Ala-kul, whose level, according to the Kirghiz, steadily rose from the year 1850 to 1862. The districts formerly under water are usually the most sterile, owing to the sands and hard clays mixed with saline particles of 'which they largely consist. The lakes have thus become deserts, and vegetation has ceased along the shores of the old lacustrine basin. West of the Balkhash the contours of a clried-up sea, equal in extent to that lake, may still be traced north of the Western Tian-shan from the Alexander Mountains to the advanced spurs of the Kara-tau. This basin is now replaced by the sands and clays of the Muyun-kum, or Ak-kurn steppe. V.— THE ARALO-CASPIAN HYDROGRAPHIC SYSTEM. The Sir and Oxus, the Aral Sea and Trans-Caspian District. The wilderness of lakes, swamps, and streams, which run dry in summer, and which are partly avoided even by the nomads, forms, at the foot of the wooded Tian-shan slopes, the approach to the vast region of lowland steppes stretching thence across the whole of Turkestan, and beyond the river Ural into the heart of Russia. These stejDpes present almost everywhere the appearance of boundless and perfectly level arid tracts, though most of them are really rolling lands undulating as regularly as a tropical sea under the influence of the trade winds. But the very uniformity of these waves tends to conceal the intervening troughs, and the traveller is often startled by the sudden disappearance of horsemen, and even of whole caravans, in these depressions. The absence of any landmarks, trees, or buildings which might serve as points of comparison, prevents the eye from forming any estimate of the heights and hollows, while the refraction of the 194 ASIATIC RUSSIA. luminous rays in the morning sun tends to magnify the size of every conspicuous object, Hillocks scarcely 200 feet high appear like imposing eminences, an eagle on the wing revives our reminiscences of the fabulous roc, tufts of herbage assume the proportions of forest trees. With the rising sun the heated and mostly cloudless atmosphere quivers incessantly like the blasts of a furnace, imparting to everything a waving and shifting form, and when the sky is overcast the dense clouds of burning sands envelop all objects in a ruddy glamour. The monotonous appearance of the steppes is intensified in winter, when the broken surface is smoothed over by the snows. But their diverse aspects are revealed in the early spring, when the swollen streams and meres have assumed their normal level, and the nomads have fired the dry brushwood of the pastures. Now the young plants spring up rapidly, and the arid surface of the land is clothed as by enchantment with verdure and prairie flowers. The variety is enhanced by the varying tints of sands, clays, rocks, sweet and saline waters, and the different character of the soil is clearly reflected in its diversified fauna and flora. But this springtide splendour and wealth of colour soon disappear. The extremes of temperature, sultry in the hot season, and Arctic in the cold, allow but a few species of plants to flourish, and even these are presently burnt up by the scorching suns. Many grey and dusty tracts then resume their monotonous aspect, again broken only by a brief revival of vegetation during the few rainy days of autumn. But this promised return of spring is soon arrested by the keen winter blasts, nipping the tender herbage and muffling all nature in a snowj^ mantle. The absence of running waters and the dryness of the atmosphere tend to increase the uniformity imparted to the land by the boundless extent of the plains. The desert begins within 1 or 2 miles of the river banks, stretching thence beyond the horizon in a dreary succession of moving sands, reedy tracts, saline moors or muddy swamps, treacherous quagmires in winter, baked hard as the rock in summer. Yet with endless labour and a careful system of irrigation the Kirghiz contrives to bring a few strips of land under cultivation. By a system of low embankments the land is parcelled into a number of square plots like those of marine salines, and when these are flooded they are successively drained off by openings in the parting dykes. The method of cultivation somewhat resembles that practised in Egypt. The Turkestan Deserts. The deserts properly so called occupy probably about half of the whole Turkestan steppe between the Ob basin and the Iranian plateau. In the north the region limited by the lower course of the Chu and Sari-su is usually known to the natives as the Bek-pak-dala, and to the Russians as the Golodnaya steppe, or "Hunger Steppe." South of the Chu stretches the Ak-kum ("White Sa d-") while a large portion of the country, limited by the Sir and Oxus north and south' is occupied by the Kizil-kum, or " Bed Sands." Between the Sir and TJr 1 Tf ' are the Kara-kum, or " Black Sands," but another and far more extensive region of " Black Sands" occupies most of the triangular space bordered north f K R I S n FLORA AND FAUNA OF TURKESTAN. 195 the Uzboi valley, north-east by the Oxus, south by the oases stretching along- the foot of the Iranian "plateau. Several other smaller sandy wastes are scattered over the rest of Turkestan. Of these desert regions, which, notwithstanding their different names, are all alike of a greyish colour, few are more dreaded by the Kirghiz than the Bek-pak- dala, whose limestone or argillaceous bed is here and there crossed by barkham, or sandy dimes. It is traversed by the road from Tashkend to Akmolinsk, but the absence of water and fodder obliges the caravans to make long detours. Here the summer temperature rises in the shade of the tent to 97° Fahr., and in the open to 111 and 112° Even in the cool of the evening the soles of the wayfarer's feet become scorched, and the dog accompanying him finds no repose till he has burrowed below the burning surface. Some of the southern deserts are still more terrible. During the early expeditions against the Tekke Turkomans hundreds were killed by the heat of the sands, while the mortality of those mounted on camels was still greater. The "Black Sands" north of the Aral are more easily accessible, thanks to the parallel depressions running north-west and south-east between lines of dunes 25 to 30 feet high. These depressions are covered with a fine herbage, and even with a few plants, such as the sand osier and the wild olive. They were formerly cultivated, as appears from the still visible traces of irrigating canals. The dunes themselves have a flora, consisting of plants whose roots penetrate deeply into the soil in search of moisture. Springs of pure water, supplied by the infiltration of snow and rain, occur here and there at their feet. In some places frozen masses have even been discovered beneath the accumulated sands, by which they were preserved for years from the summer heats. Many of the argillaceous and salt-strewn steppes are dreaded even far more than the sandy wastes. Here are the most dangerous quagmires, where the camels sink in the mud after the slightest shower. Here also the caravans suffer most from thirst, and although the stages are marked by wells, it often happens that the water has been poisoned by the carcasses of animals. The wells are usually sunk about 12, but occasionally to a depth of 40 feet. Flora and Fauna of Turkestan. The feeble Aralo-Caspian flora is limited chiefly to shrubs an., thorny plants, the soil being neither rich nor moist enough to develop a forest vegetation. True forests occur only in the north-western tracts watered by the Ural and Emba. The Russians everywhere fell the trees improvidently, while the Kirghiz are never at their ease till they have cleared the land of its timber. But both races alike will respect and regard with a sort of veneration the few solitary trees occurring at intervals in the desert. The branches are often covered with ribbons, horsehair, medals, and other votive offerings, and in passing every devout Kirghiz will piously mutter the name of Allah. While in some respects resembling those of Russia, the Orenburg steppes have a far less varied flora. As we proceed eastwards and southwards in Turkestan the 196 ASIATIC RUSSIA. vegetation everywhere becomes poorer, until we reach the foot of the mountains, where another zone begins. In the whole of this region no more than 1,152 species of phanerogamic plants have been discovered, and in the open steppe far from the rivers the flora is reduced to a few typical species, " brown as the camel's hair," covering hundreds and thousands of square miles. In certain tracts nothing is met except a mugwort of a blackish colour ; in others the soil is covered with a blood- red alkaline vegetation. In the space comprised between the Aral and Caspian east and west, and stretching from the Emba to the Atrek north and south, there are only 329 species altogether, less than are found in the smallest French canton. The Turkestan flora, such as it is, is geologically of recent origin. The species have all advanced from the surrounding res-ions according as the waters subsided. Fie-. 101. — Vegetation of the Kizil-ktjm. But in the struggle for the possession of the land the southern have prevailed over the northern species. Thus the saksa ill (Anabasis ammodmdroii) and the jida, or wild olive, arc constantly advancing from Persia, and driving the poplars back to their northern homes. It is interesting to observe how all these plants adapt themselves to the changed conditions of soil and climate in the steppe. To resist the wind they acquire a more pliant stem, or present a smaller surface to its fury by dropping their foliage. To diminish the evaporation their bark becomes a veritable carapace, and their pith is mingled with saline substances. They clothe themselves with hairs and thorns, distilling gums and oils, whereby the FLOBA AND FAUNA OF TURKESTAN. 197 evaporation is still further reduced. Thus are able to flourish lav from running waters such plants as the saksaul, which, though perfectly leafless, produces both flowers and fruits. So close is its grain that it sinks in water, and emits sparks when struck with the axe. The grassy steppes are not covered uniformly with herbage, as in the western prairies, but produce isolated tufts occupying scarcely a third of the whole surface. The short period of growth and bloom is utilised by the plants with remarkable energy. With the first warm days of spring the Orenburg steppes become covered with tulips, mingled here and there with the lily Fig. 102. — Kange or Vegetation in Turkestan. Scale 1 : 15,000,000. % y'o _vj:.*: S( : ;v Grassy Arg-ilhceous Steppe- lieserts. s Saline Sands. ZnrRfshan Khivan Deserts. Flora. - 300 Miles. Oasis. Forests. and iris. But in a few weeks the land has resumed its wonted dull grey aspect ; the plants have withered and been scattered by the winds. Like its flora, the Turkestan fauna presents a singular uniformity of types through- out vast spaces. But thanks to the variety of relief between the steppe and the mountains, the species are relatively more numerous. In the Aralo-Caspian basin alone Sieverzov reckons forty-seven species of mammalia and ninety-seven of birds, while all the crevasses in the ground are alive with snakes, lizards, and scorpions. The thickets skirting the rivers harbour most of the quadrupeds — tiger, ounce, 198 ASIATIC RUSSIA. wild cat, wolf, fox, wild boar; but on the open plain nothing lives except gregarious animals, such as the gazelle and wild ass, which are able rapidly to traverse great distances in search of food and moisture. The domestic animals are limited by the .nature of the climate to the camel, horse, ass, and sheep. The only settled parts of the land consist of narrow oases constantly threatened by the sands, and often wasted by the locust. But the whole country is inhabited or at least traversed, by the nomads Fig. 103. — Petrov Glacier. Scale 1 : 216,000. IK m zeros' C.P« 3 Miles. shifting their camping grounds with the seasons, and tending their flocks now in the open plain, now at the foot of hills and in the neighbourhood of streams and wells. Water System — The Sir. The Aralo-Caspian basin is studded with lacustrine spaces, remnants of the old inland sea of Turkestan. Numerous funnel-shaped cavities also occur, especially north and north-east of the Aral, many from 80 to 100 feet deep, and filled mostly with salt or brackish water, while marine shells are embedded in the clays and sands of their sides. Saline marshes, strewn over the steppe side hj side with the fresh-water lakes and tarns, also contain thick layers formed by the remains of marine organisms. These shells of the cardium, mytilus, turritella, and others still common in the Aral, seem to prove that this sea formerly reached nearly to the present water-parting between the Ob and Aralo-Caspian basins. This is a strong argument in favour of the theory that the Caspian itself was at one tune connected by a marine inlet with the Arctic Ocean. Of the former influents of the Aral, the Sir and Oxus alone now reach its shores. The Sir, or Yaxartes of the ancients, and the Shash, or Sihun of the Arabs, rises in the heart of the Tian-shan. One of its head-streams flows from a lake in the Ala-t.au Terskei on the Barskaun Pass ; another drains the marshes of the Zanka Pass. But the most copious torrent escapes from the Petrov glacier, whose crystal- line mass, some 9 miles long, and scored by five moraines, fills' a crevasse of astonishing regularity in the Ak-shiirak Hills. Another glacier of smaller proper WATER SYSTEM— THE SEE. 199 tions, the Iir-tash, is remarkable for the shape of its basin, the entrance of which is blocked by rocks! In its upper course the Sir changes its name with every fresh tributary. On leaving the Petrov glacier it is the Yak-tash, then the Taragai to the junction of the Karasai, and after receiving the Karakol it becomes the Great Narin. Below the double confluence of the Ulan and Kurmekti the Narin enters the Kapchegai defile, which no explorer has yet succeeded in penetrating to survey the falls, which must here be very fine, for the river descends, in this space of about 46 miles, altogether from 3,000 to 3,220 feet. United with the Little Narin, the Fi S- 104.— Low^k Part of the Iir-tash Glacier. stream flows successively through scale l : 13,000. several of those ancient lacustrine beds which are so common in the Western Tian-shan, and then passes through two other romantic gorges before emerging from the highlands on to the Ferghana plains. South of the town of Namangan it receives the muddy Kara-daria, at whose con- fluence it at last takes the name of Sir. But no sooner does it acquire majestic proportions than it begins to be impoverished. Notwithstand- ing the tributaries still flowing to it from the mountains skirting it on the north, its volume is continuously diminished in the Ferghana plain and lower down. In the vast amphi- theatre of plateaux and hills en- closing Ferghana its affluents are mostly absorbed in a system of irri- gation works, which has converted a large portion of the plain into a blooming garden. The triangular space comprised between the Sir and the Kara-daria is the most fertile tract in all Turkestan. But most of the streams are absorbed in irrigation works before reaching the banks of the Sir. The climate of Ferghana, though severe, is subject to less extremes of heat and cold than the more exposed lowland steppes. Here the pre- vailing colour is blue. "Everything," says M. de Ujfalvy, " assumes a turquoise hue — sky, rocks, the plumage of raven and blackbird, and even the walls of the buildings." Above Khojend the Sir escapes from the old Ferghana lake by skirting the Choktal Mountains, thence pursuing a north-westerly course parallel with the Oxus and the Kara-tau range. It seems to flow farther north than formerly, and at one 0. Perron . G60 Feet. 200 ASIATIC RUSSIA. time probably traversed tbe Tus-kane morass, which forms a curve of over 120 miles north of the Nura-tau Mountains, and which presents the appearance of a river bed. It seems to have then effected a junction with the Oxus, near the Sheik- jeili eminence, where traces still remain of an old channel. Like the Chu, its lower course at present describes a wide circuit round the basin of an ancient sea, for the Kizil-kum, no loss than the Ak-kum and the Kara-kum, is a dried-up sea-bed, formerly united in a single sheet of water with the Aral. The Chu, which is the main stream of the Terskei Ala-tau and Alexander range, no longer reaches the lower course of the Sir. Although very copious in its upper reaches, it receives no permanent affluents below Karagati, where it branches off into several channels, which gradually run dry in the sands. The Talas also, which escapes from the Tian-shan through the Auli-ata defile, expands into extensive morasses before reaching the Chu. But below both of these rivers fresh water is found at a depth of from 4 to 6 feet, showing that their streams still filter through under- ground. West of the Chu the Sari-su, known in its upper course as the Yaman-su, and in its lower as the Yan-su, was also at one time a tributary of the Sir, but is now lost in the steppe sands after a course of over 480 miles. It rises north of Lake Balkhash, on a plateau forming the water-parting between the Ob basin and the region of inland drainage. Several other rivers rising in the same district become exhausted before reaching the Sir or the Aral Sea. Amongst them are a number of Kara-su, or " Black Waters," flowing through peat beds, and noted amongst all the Turkestan streams for their resistance to the action of frost, apparently never freezing in winter. Throughout its lower course the Sir has frequently shifted its channel even in recent times. Sultan Baber, who flourished early in the sixteenth century, tells us that the Sihun (Sir) at that time ran dry in the sands before reaching any other body of water. At present the Yani, or Jani-daria, branches off from the main stream about 7 miles below Fort Perovsky, and disappears intermittently with the natural changes of the principal current and the irrigation works of the Kirghiz. After ceasing to flow from 1820 to 1848 it resumed its south-westerly course in the latter year, without, however, reaching either the Oxus or the Aral, and at present it is lost in Lake Kukcha-denghiz after a course of some 180 miles. But below this basin there is abundant evidence that it formerly flowed to Lakes Kungrad and Dau-kara in the Oxus delta. On the other hand, the present relief of the land is altogether opposed to the statement of old writers that at one time the Sir even reached the Caspian. At least, it can have done so only through the Yani-daria and the Oxus. The main channel of the Sir at present ramifies again a little below the Yani- daria outlet into two streams, both of which have changed their course and volume. The southern branch was formerly the more copious, but it has gradually fallen off to such an extent that it is now known as the Jaman-daria, or "Bad River" mostly evaporating in the swamps. The Kara-uzak, or northern branch, at first a mere irrigation canal, now carries the main stream north-west to the north-east end f the Aral. The average amount of water disekaro-ed intn rtn'*, ,„, ■ a o a lu ulL o rnih sea is at present estimated at no more than one-half of its whole volume above the triple ramification at the head of the delta. Here the discharge at low water seems to be about o THE OXTTS EIVEE SYSTEM. 201 31,000 cubic feet per second, and the mean about 90,000 cubic feet. But farther down a vast amount is lost by evaporation in the channels, false rivers, and extensive marshes of the delta. This is the paradise of hunters, abounding in wolves, deer, the wild boar, fox, hare, wild goat, badger, besides the pheasant, heron, ibis, crane, goose, duck, and a species of flamingo. But the tiger seems to have disappeared since the middle of the present century. The navigation of the Lower Sir is at once uncertain and dangerous. The Russian flotilla is seldom able to cross the bar, which at times has scarcely 3 feet of w r ater. The steamers often run aground on the sand-banks, the stream is blocked by ice for four months in winter, and infested by dense clouds of midges in summer, while the rapid current and the want of fuel increase the obstacles opposed to a regular Fig. 105.— The Sir Delta. Scale 1 : 712,000. E.ofG. 6i"io 0I°4O" C .Perron to 16 Feet. 16 Feet and upwards. 12 Miles. system of navigation. The attempts hitherto made have been in the interests of war and conquest rather than of trade, and in the actual conditions the waters of the Sir are much more capable of being utilised for irrigation than for any other purpose. By a well-devised system vast tracts might be reclaimed from the desert, and it is certain that the cultivated land was formerly far more extensive than at present. A network of canalisation has already been projected, which, if carried out, will draw off over 2,000 cubic feet per second in order to water about 250,000 acres of M r aste lands. The Oxus River System. The western slope of the Pamir drains entirely to the Amu-daria, or Oxus, whose head-streams thus occupy a space over 180 miles broad between the Hindu- Kush and the Ala'i south and north. From this region come all the supplies of the main 202 ASIATIC RUSSIA. stream, which for over one-half of a course estimated altogether at about 1,500 miles does not receive a single tributary. The chief source of this famous river, known to the Arabs as tbe Jihun, still remains to be determined. The relative size of its Pamir head-streams has not yet been ascertained. When Wood visited Lake Victoria (Sari-kul) in 1838, he had no doubt that ho had discovered the long-sought source of the Oxus ; but it now seems more probable that the chief branch is the Ak-su, or " White Paver " of the Kirghiz, which rises east of the Great Pamir and of Lake Victoria. This Ak-su may possibly be the Vak-shu of Sanscrit writers, which name may have been changed to Oxsos (Oxus) by the Greeks. If so, this plateau must have been frequented by Kirghiz or other Turki nomads long before the time of Alexander, for the name of the river has no meaning except in their language. Southernmost of the Upper Oxus head-streams is the Sarhad, a river of the Little Pamir, first scientifically explored by the Mirza Suja, in the service of the Indian Government. It rises in the same depression as the Ak-su, but flows in the opposite direction south-westwards to the main stream at Langar-kisht. The Ak-su itself, known in a portion of its course as the Murgh-ab, rises in Lake Gaz-kul, or Oi-kul, which often disappears under the avalanches of snow from the Ak-tash and neighbouring hills. Flowing from this lake, first eastwards, as if to the Tarim basin, the Ak-su soon trends northwards, and after receiving a tributary from Mount Tagharma takes a westerly course, joining the Southern Oxus after it has traversed the Wakkan, Badakshan, Shignan, and Roshan highlands. Farther down the united streams are joined by their last great affluent, the Surgh-ab, flowing from the Trans- Ala'i and Karateghin Mountains. Beyond this point the Oxus, escaping from the gorges of the advanced Pamir plateaux, receives no more contributions from the south, and veiy little on its right bank. Even the Zarafshan is exhausted before reaching the Oxus. It rises at the foot of the Zarafshan glacier, on the slopes of the Alai-tagh, which, according to Mishen- kov, is 30 miles long. From every snowy cirque of the surrounding mountains the Zarafshan receives numerous torrents, besides a considerable tributary which flows at an elevation of 7,350 feet through the romantic Lake Iskander, so named in memory of Alexander the Great. This fresh- water basin, which is encircled by hills over 3,000 feet high, has a present depth of 200 feet, but the water-marks on the surrounding slopes show that its former level was over 300 feet hioher. After entering the Samarkand plain the Zarafshan, whose Persian name means the" Gold Distributor," in reference cither to its auriferous sands, or more probably to the fertilising properties of its waters, is divided into countless irrigation rivulets watering over 1,200,000 acres of arable land. Within CO miles of the Oxus it is completely exhausted, though the extent to which its natural and artificial channels arc flooded varies considerably with the amount of snow and rain, and even with the vicissitudes of peace and war, by which agricultural operations are so largely affected. 8 y South of the Oxus another large river, the Murgh-ab of Merv, also runs dry Ion o- before reaching the main stream, of which it was formerly an affluent but fr ° THE OXUS RIVER SYSTEM. 203 which it is now separated by a desert. Rising in the Garjistan Mountains, Afghan- istan, the Murgh-ab receives all the streams from the northern slopes of the Herat highlands, after which it branches off into numerous channels in the plain, 204 ASIATIC RUSSIA. ultimately losing itself in the sands beyond the Merv oasis. To the same basin also belongs the Ileri-rud, or river of Herat, which pierces the border range of the Iranian plateau, but runs dry before reaching the Murgh-ab. The sands blown about by the winds north of the irrigation deltas of these two rivers have so completely effaced the ancient beds that it is no longer possible to toll in which direction they ran. Judging from the general tilt of the land towards the north- west, parallel with the Gulistan and Turkmenian Mountains, they would seem to have flowed not to the present Oxus, but to the western branch, which at one time reached the Caspian. The lines of wells across the desert follow the same direction. Throughout its lower course below Balkh the Amu follows a normal north- westerly course. At Kilip, whore the Russians have commenced its regular embankment, its bed is narrowed to about 1,000 feet by the last advancing spurs of the Ilissar Mountains. But in the plains it broadens to an average width of over 2,300 feet, with a depth of 20 feet, and a velocity in the flood of from 5,500 to 11,000 yards per hour. In some places it is considerably over a mile wide even at low water ; but here it is studded with low islands overgrown with willows and tall grasses. Its banks, eaten away by the current, are nearly everywhere steep, and before reaching the cultivated districts it even passes a belt of fossiliferous chalk rocks, pierced by a gorge 1,100 feet wide at Toyu-boyin. The current presses generally on the right bank, as is the case with the Yolga and Siberian rivers, all being alike affected by the lateral movement produced by the rotation of the earth. The Amu brings down a considerable quantity of alluvia, causing its waters to be usually of a muddy yellow colour, though not depriving them of their pleasant taste. Like the Nile, it has its regular risings, caused by the melting of the snow, and lasting from May to October. During the cold season it is at times completely ice-bound, and may then be crossed by the caravans proceeding from Merv to Bokhara. Since 1874 regular measurements have been taken of its discharge, which at Pitniak, just below Toyu-boyin, is estimated at 125,000 cubic feet per second. For its total area of drainage, amounting without the Zarafshan and Murgh-ab to about 120,000 square miles, this would represent an annual rainfall of about 12 inches per square mile in excess of the quantity lost by evaporation, an excess mainly due to the abundant snows of the Pamir. The actual discharge is exceeded in Europe only by the Volga and Danube, and while only one-half that of the Shat-el-Arab (Euphrates and Tigris), it nearly equals that of the Nile. During exceptional floods, such as that of 1878, it even surpasses the mean of the Mississippi. At Nukus, where it ramifies into several branches to reach the Aral it has already lost half the volume discharged at Toyu-boyin, a loss due mainly to the amount diverted from its left bank to water the oasis of ICWa t\ ■ .a. UJ - -ivnna. .During the irrigating season, from the middle of April to the end of J u l y , tllc cultivated knds of Kharezm, estimated at about 4,250 square miles, absorb some 9K(\ i -iv <■ , c ! n ,n i- ii-,' oiiiion cubic feet of water, or one-seventh of the entire annual discharge wln'ln +i, t ° ' " U11 e the sedimentary deposits arc estimated at 16,6G0,000 tons, a quantity sufficient to ni KO ^^ ^ , , disc me level of THE DELTA OF l"h-awn "by A_.Slom Scale .1:1 THE AMU DARIA. E. of Gar. 11,420,000. 50 Miles THE OXTJS RIVER SYSTEM. 205 the land eight-tenths of a millimetre every year. But while the alluvia thus deposited in the artificial canals are annually cleared out, never obstructing the free circulation in the irrigating rills, the natural beds winding towards the Aral become yearly more and more choked up. Here are formed sand-banks and shifting bars dangerous to navigation, and imparting to the stream a natural tendency to overflow into the irrigating works. Geologically speaking, the Oxus delta consists properly of the alluvial plain yearly fertilised by its waters. The triangular space comprised between the Aral and the two exterior branches, Taldik on the west and Yani-su on the east, is a delta only in appearance, for this tract does not consist of alluvial deposits at all. They are older formations, through which the stream has cut various fortuitous channels, and in which the mean slope is much greater than in the true alluvial plains. From Nukus to the mouths, a distance of over 70 miles in a straight line, the total fall exceeds 60 feet, whereas from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico, a much greater distance, it amounts to no more than a few inches at low water. True deltas are formed only at the mouths of the several branches in the Aral, where the bars already exclude vessels drawing over 4 feet of water, while farther up the dense growth of reeds, from 20 to 25 feet high, stops all craft except the skiffs of the Khiva fishermen. Nevertheless the steamer Perovsky, drawing rather more than 40 inches, succeeded in 1875 in forcing its way by the Yani-su, Lake Dau-kara, and the Kuvan-jerma, or " New Cut," up to Nukus, to the great astonishment of the natives. Since then the navigation of the Lower Oxus has never been interrupted, notwithstanding the obstacles at the entrance and the swift current, which the steamers often find great difficulty in surmounting. Formerly the Taldik, or western branch, was the deepest ; but like the Darialik, lying still farther westwards, it has been gradually choked up by the natural tendency of the river to be deflected more and more towards the east. The great changes that have taken place in the course of the Oxus within the historic period are amongst the most remarkable physiographic phenomena, com- parable in recent times only to the periodical displacements of the Hoang-ho. That the region of the Lower Oxus is not a true delta, and that the river has not yet cut regular channels through it, is explained by the fact that the Amu has flowed in this direction only during a recent epoch, or probably for not over three hundred and fifty years. During the first half of the sixteenth century it was, in fact, an affluent of the Caspian. But even that was but a temporary jshenomenon, the Oxus having oscillated twice between the Caspian and the Aral since the time of the Greek historians. In the days of Strabo the Oxus, " largest of all Asiatic rivers except those of India," flowed to the Caspian, and the trade between the Euxine and India followed this river, continuing the valley of the Kur eastwards of the Hyrcanian Sea. But in the time of the first Arab and Turkish writers the Oxus, described by Edrisi as "superior in volume, depth, and breadth, to all the rivers of the world," had been diverted northwards to the Aral. In the fourteenth century it had again resumed its course to the Caspian, towards which there is a relatively steep incline, for the bifurcation of the present and the old bed below Yani-urgenj is 140 feet above the VOL. VI. P 206 ASIATIC KUSSIA. level of the Aral, and 380 feet above that of the Caspian. The new channel was blocked for about two hundred years ; but towards the middle of the sixteenth century the Amu, for the second time during the historic epoch, shifted its course from the Caspian to the Aral. Few geographical questions have given rise to more discussion than these periodical displacements of the Oxus. Some have oven denied that it reached the Caspian in the time of the Greeks, attributing the old bed to prehistoric times. The dunes and clay eminences here and there obstructing the channel have been appealed to in proof that the Caspian branch has been dried up for ages, notwith- standing the unanimous testimony of the natives to the contrary. The difference in the faunas of the two seas, which have in common only one species of salmon, have also been referred to in support of the same view. Nevertheless the historic evidence on the subject is complete, and the documents quoted by Rawlinson, Yide, and others place it be} r ond doubt that the Western peoples were perfectly acquainted Fig. 107. — Map in the Catalonian Atlas of 1375. E educed Scale. with the "river of Urgenj " — that is, the Oxus — as a tributary of the "Sea of Baku" — that is, the Caspian. A map in the Catalonian atlas of 1375 even shows the Sir and Amu as united in one stream, and this is in accordance with contemporary state- ments. At the same time it is impossible to fix the precise date of the return of the Oxus to the Aral. In 1559, when Jenkinson visited Turkestan, it had already ceased to flow to the Caspian, but it still watered the fields west of Kiuiia-uro-eni, and the traveller himself was able to embark at this city. A little later on Abul- Grhazi, Khan of Urgenj in the beginning of the sixteenth ccnturv, tells us that about 1575 the river, being deflected constantly eastwards, at last abandoned the Urgenj oasis and discharged all its waters into the Aral. The old Caspian branch, which has an average width of 1,100 yards, has now been thoroughly surveyed, and is as well known as if it were still flooded. Its steep argillaceous banks are cut by the stream to a depth of from 60 to 70 feet ■ the sand-banks rising to the surface and the islands in the midst of the river still be recognised, while the deeper depressions are often filled with lono- J. l THE OXUS EIVEE SYSTEM. 207 following the windings of the stream. But the water has mostly become salt, and the banks are covered with crystalline deposits. A few fresh-water pools even remain, often surrounded with poplar and wild olive thickets. The Uzboi, as this branch is called, was at one time supposed to have a second moxith south of the island of Cheleken, in the so-called Khiva Bay. But Stebnitzky failed to discover any traces of this branch, though another, forming the true delta of the Old Amu, certainly flowed south of the Darja peninsula. The Turkomans still show the traces of the irrigating rills diverted from the Lower Oxus, which did not end its course in the plain, but made its way through a defile flanked north and south by the Great and Little Balkan respectively. The different sections of this abandoned branch were formerly known by various names — Laudan, Darialik, Kunia-daria, Uzboi, Engiunj, Deudan ; but it is now generally named the Uzboi from the Khiva country to the Balkan Gulf. It begins east of the Amu delta with three channels, the Fig. 108.- - Valley of the Uzboi at the Aidin Wells. Scale 1 : 146,240. ~V wmm. y aidin Wells f^W. 54-° 35' E.of G. 54°45' C.Perrcrt S Miles. Darialik, Deudan, and Tonu, of which the first two reunite near Lake Sari-kamish. Beyond this double lake, which was formerly a vast lacustrine basin far more salt than the sea itself, the Uzboi flows southwards to turn the Ust-urt escarpments, after which it trends westwards, piercing the mountain chain which forms a con- tinuation of the Caucasus east of the Caspian. Beyond this point it joins the Ak- tam " wady," and falls into the fiord-like Gulf of Balkan in the South Caspian, after a total course of about 480 miles. The ruins of towns and villages on its upper course between the Amu delta and Sari-kamish belong evidently to two epochs answering to the two periods during which it flowed to the Caspian. The older towns imply a far higher degree of culture and wealth than the more recent, which differ in no respect from those of the modern khanate of Khiva, Accord- ing to the natives another channel branched off near Charjui far above the present delta, and flowed due west across the now desert Kara-kum steppes. v 2 203 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The Aral Sea. The Balkan Gulf penetrates far inland, and the sandy tracts, saline de-ore ' ns and extensive morasses found along the course of the Uzhoi give it rather the appear- ance of an old marine strait or chain of lakes than of a simple river bed. At some remote geological epoch, and before serving to carry off the waters of the Oxus, the Uzboi probably received those of the Aral Sea, which at that time stood at a higher level than at present, and may have thus communicated directly with the Caspian. "When this region was well wooded, as is expressly stated by Strabo and repeated by the Arab writers of the tenth century, the Aral basin no doubt stretched south-westwards to the Ust-urt plateau. Its level was naturally subject to considerable vicissitudes from century to century, not only according to the greater or less rainfall, but also in consequence of the changes in the course of the Oxus. Hence, while some features point at a higher, others imply a lower level Fig. 109.— The Balkan Gulp. , Scale 1 : 1,750,000. 54°Q0 C Perron ) Miles. than at present. It no doubt takes the title of " sea," which it in some respects deserves, if not for its depth, at least for its extent. Still it depends for its very existence on its two great feeders, the Oxus and the Sir, and should these shift their course again to the Caspian, it woidd disappear in a few years. But the Oxus has certainly failed to reach it twice in historic times, while one branch of the Sir has also flowed through the Oxus to the Caspian. Consequently there can be no reasonable doubt that the Aral has at various times been reduced to the proportions of a small steppe lake. In 1870 Stebnitzky estimated its area exclusive of its four chief islands, at 26,300 square miles. Its deepest part, washino- the eastern cliffs of the Ust-urt plateau, is nowhere more than 225 feet ; in the centre it falls to 170 feet ; but elsewhere, and especially on its southern and eastern shores it is little more than a flooded morass, shifting its limits with the direction of the winds. Taking the mean depth at 40 or even 50 feet, its volume cannot exceed rs a H O « o W THE AEAL SEA. 209 1,233,434,000,00(1 cubic yards, or only 11 times that of Lake Geneva, which is nevertheless 116 times smaller in extent. The mean discharge of the Oxus amounting to 35,000, and of the Sir to 42,000 cubic feet per second, the quantity contributed by both of these feeders, inde- pendently of smaller affluents, which arc dry for most of the year, is consequently about 77,000 cubic feet per second. But this is precisely the quantity which would be lost by a yearly evaporation of 1,020 millimetres. The actual evaporation is estimated by Schmidt and Dohrandt at 1,150 millimetres, so that CA^en after Fig. HO. — Inundation of the Oxus in 1878. Scale 1 : 2,500,000. [ or.G 58 Land floodcii. , 36 Miles. allowing for the slight rainfall on the basin the evaporation must be in excess of the inflow. Hence the lake is diminishing in size, and the Gulf of Aibughir, west of the Oxus delta, which had nearly 4 feet of water in 1848, had been reduced in 1870 to a mere swamp, completely separated from the Aral by an isthmus of mud and reeds, and in 1872 it had disappeared altogether. It is now partly wooded, and occasionally flooded from the Oxus. The basin has thus in a few years been reduced in size by about 1,400 square miles. A vast extent of sands on the northern shores forms part of the lake on Gladishcv and Muravin's map prepared in 1740, and on the slopes of the western dill's the old water-marks are visible 210 ASIATIC RUSSIA. 140 and even 250 feet above the present level. On the east side the Kirghiz show a mosque originally built at the water's edge, but now standing many miles from the lake. The sands are thus incessantly encroaching on the waters, and the progress of the dunes along their shores may be followed with the eye. Numerous Fig. 111.— The Akal Sea. Scale 1 : 4,000,000. E.drG 5 C.P&rrtjri to 32 Feet. 32 to 64 Feet. 160 Feet and upwards . 30 Miles. islands, formerly mere shoals and banks, now contribute to justify the Turk! name of the Lake Aral-denghiz, or " Sea of Islands." But far more rapid must have been the change when the Oxus s hif ted its channel to the Caspian. "Were such an event to recur, the lake woidd lose one- twentieth of its volume in the very first year, and in a quarter of a century the THE ARAL SEA. 211 water would havo. everywhere disappeared except from tiro depressions reduced to the proportions of the other steppe lakes. The Greek and Roman writers, who describe the Oxus as an affluent of the Caspian, make no mention at all of the Aral, which they could not have possibly overlooked, had it at that time occupied anything like so large an area as at present. Hut at the time of the Arab conquest, when the Oxus had again abandoned the Caspian, the Aral is known to contemporary writers, one of whom, Khorezmi. a native of the country, gives it a circumference of about. 100 leagues. This is about one-third of its actual periphery, which, apart from the smaller indentations, may be estimated at S00 miles. But with the return of Fig. 112. — Olp Kivek Bkps of the Aralo-Caspian Bast So.iJo t : 18,900,000, CFer-ron Old W:lteveoursos . :i0 Miles. the Oxus to the Caspian the Aral again drops out of sight. Even Marco Pole, who crossed from the Yolga to the Oxus steppes, makes no allusion to its existence. Hence we may conclude that with the shifting of its affluents the Aral oscillated between the conditions of a sea and a steppe swamp. The quantity of salt contained in its waters also depends upon its volume. At present it is so slightly brackish that wild and domestic animals freely drink it. and 11 in 1.000 may be taken as the mean proportion of all the salts held in solution, which is about one-third less than in the Caspian, while it contains nearly three times the quantity of gypsum. Hence the composition of its waters shows clearly that the Aral is not a remnant of an oceanic basin. In its fauna, 212 ASIATIC RUSSIA. which has only recently been carefully studied, both fresh and salt water species are represented. The former, however, prevail, although not including the sturgeon and sterlet of the Caspian. Falk, Pallas, and others have spoken of seals, which woidd have a more intimate connection with the Arctic Ocean and the Caspian. But Maksheyev has shown that this animal is unkn own in the Aral, which has altogether only one-third of all the species found in the Caspian. On the other hand, the scaphirhynchus, a species of fish supposed to have been exclusively American, has been found both in the Sir and the Oxus. The shallows, sudden storms, and scanty population of its shores prevent the navigation of the Aral from acquiring any great expansion. Hitherto it has been utilised mainly for military purposes ; but a project has been spoken of which would connect this basin with the inland navigation of Europe by restoring the old course of the TJzboi as far as the Grulf of Balkan. This project, already entertained by Peter the Great, has even been partly co mm enced, and a portion of the Oxus has Fig. 113. — Ak-tatj and Moettit-kultuk. Scale 1 : 4,000,000. " : Mm^" -JI4 °fXi ^fa-/C/foAoit 4tf 54-° EofG C Perron 60 Miles. again been directed towards the Caspian. During the great floods of 1878 the TJzboi received a discharge of 31,500 cubic feet per second, most of which was lost in the surrounding swamps, a current of 13 feet alone reac hin g the Sari-kamish lakes. In 1879 the supply from the canal constructed to the TJzboi scarcely exceeded 2,100 cubic feet per second, but by means of side dykes the new river was diverted to the Sari-kamish basins. Nevertheless, these basins being nearly 50 feet below the level of the Caspian, it would be necessary to flood a space of about 400 square miles before their waters would be raised high enough to flow to the Caspian. They might doubtless be avoided by means of an artificial canal. But unless the bars of the Amu are removed, and the course of this river and of the Sir regulated by embankments, the advantage of restoring the TJzboi is not apparent. In a region where the few oases are exposed to the advancing sands every drop of water should be employed for irrigation purposes. THE TURKOMAN DESERTS AND HIGHLANDS. 213 •The Turkoman Deserts and Highlands. The Kara-kum, or " Black Sands," a vast triangular space stretching south of the Aral between the Amu, the Uzboi, the Tekke Turkoman hills, and the Merv oasis, might again be changed by the fertilising waters to a productive land. These soli- tudes, strewn with the ruins of many populoxis cities, are now scarcely traversed by a few difficult tracks lined at long intervals with wells, which are often found [Fig. 114. — Entrance to the Kara-boghaz. Scale 1 : 91,000. 52-53 52*55' to 16 Feet. 16 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards __„___ i; Miles. empty or too brackish to be potable. Here " every drop of water is a drop of life." Shifting sands, carefully avoided by the caravans, sweep in a succession of dunes over vast distances. Elsewhere the argillaceous soil, hard and crevassed, re-echoes under the horse's hoof, or saline quagmires beguile by their mirages the unwary traveller to their treacherous beds. The land is mostly bare, producing little beyond a few tufts of thistles or dwarfish thorny plants. The saksaul thickets are now rare in the desert south of the Oxus, having been mostly destroyed during the last 214 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Fig. 115. -The Tuk-karaoan Lakes. Scale 1 : 510.000. century. But some of the slopes skirting the wilderness on the south-west are almost verdant, thanks to the slight rainfall and the few springs rising at the foot of these heights. A zone of cultivated lands thus separates the desert from the Iranian highlands. These are the so-called Atok, the home of the Tekke Turko- mans — the Akhal-atok in the west, the Deregez-atok in the centre, and the Kelat- atok in the east. The Great Balkan, north of the old mouth of the Oxus in the Caspian, is the chief summit in those uplands, which might be called the " Turkoman Caucasus," forming as they do a con- tinuation of the Great Caucasus east of the Caspian. North of the Great Balkan and of its western extension to the peninsula enclosing the entrance of the Krasnovodsk Bay, there stretches a hilly region, which blends in the so-called "Trans-Caspian territory" with the Ust-urt plateau. Southwards the less imposing Little Balkan, clothed with a few patches of scant vegetation, forms the extremity of the frontier chain of the Iranian plateau, which runs with remarkable uniformity in a south-easterly direction, and which is known to the Turkomans on the north, and the Persians on the south, by different names. Nearest to the Little Balkan is the Kuran-dagh, followed successively by the Kopet (Kopepet- dagh), or Daman-i-koh, and the Gidistan Mountains, highest of the range, and interrupted eastwards by the ITeri-rud and Murgh-ab valleys. C Pcrtort li Miles. The Atrek and Gurgan Rivers. Although the Kuran and Kopet-dagh may be regarded as the outer rim of the southern uplands, there nevertheless intervenes between them and the plateau proper a broad valley watered by the river Atrek. Here, also, as in the Tian-shan system, the crests cross each other, one running north-west and south-east, the other taking nearly the line of the meridian, and in the angle formed by these two ridges is developed an irregular and hilly plain sloping towards the Caspian. Although over 300 miles long, the Atrek, even near its mouth, is usually but a feeble stream some 30 feet broad. It has been almost completely exhausted by irrigation works and evaporation before reaching the Caspian. But during the spring floods THE TTST-TJRT PLATEAU. 215 its waters expand to a width of from 6,500 to over 8,000 feet. Farther south flows a smaller stream, which, however, never runs dry, and which abundantly waters the Astrabad plains about the south-east corner of the Caspian. This is the Gurgan (Jorjan, Hurgan, Vchkran), or " Wolf River," which abounds in fish, and which, although less than 120 miles long, has acquired great historical importance, and has given its name to the whole region vaguely known, to the ancients as Hyrcania. At one time the lower course of this river, at another that of the Atrek, is taken as the natural frontier of Persia, and it was by ascending their valleys that the Russians have been able to turn the Turkoman positions in their natural strongholds of the Daman-i-koh. Formerly the passage of the Gurgan was defended by the Kizil-alan, or " Red Wall," intended to protect the agricultural populations of Persia against the Turkoman nomads, the accursed Yajug and Majug ("Gog and Magog"), as they were called by the mediaeval Arab writers. Like most of the ruined structures of Fig. 116. — Tentiak-sor. Scnle 1 : 770,000. Eof G C. Perron . 120 Miles. Central Asia, this wall was attributed to Alexander the Great, who, according to the legend, erected it in a few days with the aid of an army of genii. But it seems rather to have been the work of Khosroes Anurshivan, and when it was built the level of the Caspian appears to have been lower than at present, for its western section advances some miles into the sea. Its ruins may be traced to the sources of the Gurgan, and even to Bujnurd, in the Upper Atrek valley, so that it must have been over 310 miles long altogether. Little now remains of it except a line of mounds 4 to 6 feet high and 30 feet broad, commanded at intervals of 1,000 paces by ruined towers. The TJst-urt Plateau. Between the Aral and the Caspian a plateau of limited extent stands like a rocky island between the marine waters and the low steppes formerly flooded by the great inland sea of Turkestan. This is the TJst-urt, or " High Plain," so 216 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Fig 117. — Oguechinskit Island. Scale 1 : 300,000. named in contradistinction to the Ast-urt, or " Low Plain," of the Kirghiz. It is a typical tableland in its isolation and steep escarpments. The inequalities of the surface are due chiefly to the snows and rains, which have worn the upper strata and excavated countless little cavities with no outlets either to the Aral or the Caspian. Nearly everywhere the Ust-urt is limited by a chink, or cliff, which would render it inaccessible but for the ravines by which it is pierced at intervals. From its base spring a number of fresh-water streams with a slight taste of sulphur. West of the Aral Sea the chink forms a continuous wall, in some places over 330 feet high, and certain mysterious structures in the form of truncated pyramids occur here and there along the edge of the cliffs. The plateau consists entirely of tertiary rocks, thus con- trasting sharply with the plains stretching east of the Aral. Its chief eminences attain an altitude of 660 feet above the lake, consequently over 830 feet above the Mediterranean, besides which the Ak-tau, or "White Mountain," forms a small rocky chain running south-east and north-west beyond the plateau far into the Caspian, where it forms the Mangishlak peninsula. Most of the parts hitherto visited by Russian explorers have been found destitute of vegetation. But there are numerous pastures in the flats, and the southern portion of the plateau deserves rather the title of " Plain of the Gazelle," or of the "Wild Horse," or of the "Wild Ass," than that of Kaflankir, or " Plain of the Tiger," conferred on it by the Txvrkonians. This region is even occupied by a Kirghiz population, who, however, are obliged con- stantly to shift their quarters. The shortest road from the Caspian to the Oxus delta runs from the eastern extremity of the Mortviy-kultuk Bay north-east across the Ust-urt to Kungrad, a distance in a straight line of 250 miles. It was utilised by the Russian traders for the first time in 1878, and was found to present no obstacles to caravans. It is lined at intervals by twelve wells, sufficient for two hundred camels. A railway has to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. — — 6 Miles. EAST COAST OF THE CASPIAN. 217 recently been projected to connect the Caspian and Aral by tbe line of lakes and saline marshes, which probably represent a strait, at one time running between the Mortviy-kultuk Bay on the Caspian, and the Chernichev inlet on the Aral. East Coast of the Caspian. Some of the basins on the east side of the Caspian, penetrating far into the steppe, may be regarded as distinct lakes, forming the transition between that sea and the saline waters scattered Fig;- 118. — Kui.ali Island. Scale 1 : 270,000. over the Turkestan desert. One of these is the Kara- boghaz, or " Black Abyss," which is nearly isolated from the Caspian, forming an oval expanse some 6,400 square miles in extent. Limited westwards by a slight sand embankment, it communicates with the sea only through a channel from 650 to 2,650 feet broad, and scarcely 4 feet deep at its entrance. A current from the Caspian sets steadily across the strait at the rate of from 3 to 4 miles an hour. This dangerous channel is carefully avoided even by explorers, and Jerebtzov was the first to jtenetrate through it to survey the shores of the inner basin. The cause of the rapid current has been ex- plained by Baer. The Kara- boghaz has only a mean depth of from 12 to 40 feet, and is everywhere exposed to the winds and summer heats, so that here the evaporation is excessive, necessitating a con- stant inflow to repair the loss. But while evaporating the moisture, the inland basin retains the salt from the Caspian, and thus becomes constantly more saline. It is said to be already uninhabitable, and the fish carried through from the Caspian become blind in five days. Saline incrusta- tions are beginning to bo deposited on the bottom, and the basin is fast becoming 1G Feet and upwards. Miles. 218 ASIATIC EUSSIA. a vast salt-pan, drawing from the Caspian a daily supply estimated by Baer at 350 000 tons of salt, or about as much as is consumed in the whole Russian Empire in six months. The other basins on the east coast, and especially about the Mangishlak peninsula, and the Tuk-karagan headland, offer every degree of salinity according to the amount of evaporation and of salt water received from the Caspian. Some, like the Ashchai-sai, between the Kara-boghaz and the Mangishlak peninsula, having already ceased to communicate with that sea, have dried up, and their basins are now filled with salt, in some instances covered by sand. The Kara-boghaz is connected by a chain of swamps, saline depressions, and lakelets with the Mortviy-kultuk, another saline reservoir, which is gradually being cut off from the north-west gulf of the Caspian. It is already little more than a steppe lake, with a mean depth of less than 7 feet ; it is being constantly invaded by the sands of the desert, raising its level, and rapidly changing it to a vast salt marsh. But before it becomes completely detached from the Caspian, the Kaidak, or Kara-su (" Black Water") channel, stretching south-westwards towards the Kara-boghaz, will itself have been changed to a salt lake. It fills a long and deep fissure commanded by the steep cliffs, which form a continuation of the TJst- urt chink. In the sixteenth century, when the steppe tribes were still independent of Russia, the great international fair was held on the shores of the Kara-su. At that time the bar separating this fiord from the Mortviy-kultuk could be easily crossed, but it is now almost inaccessible, and in 1843 the Russians were obliged to abandon the fortress of Novo-Alexandrovsk, which they had erected in 1826 on the east side of the Kara-su. The Mortviy-kultuk is already twice as salt as the Caspian, while the salinity of the Kara-su even exceeds that of the Gulf of Suez, the most intensely salt of all basins communicating directly with the ocean. The whole region stretching north-east of the Caspian, and connected by a chain of swamps with the Aral basin, presents the same evidences of transition from the sea to steppe lakes. Here are nothing but low-lying, marshy, and reedy tracts, which again become flooded after the prevalence for a few days of the fierce west winds. Until the year 1879 the Russian officials were in the habit of avoiding the swampy and saline region of the Tentiak-sor hj skirting its northern limits, and the Astrakhan and Guryev fishermen had taken advantage of this negligence to cure their fish without paying the regular tax. Notwithstanding the vast alluvial deposits brought down by the Yolga and other rivers from the west, this side of the Caspian is still much deeper than the opposite. Off the Turkoman coast, between Krasnovodsk and Chikishlar, depths of 28 fathoms do not occur within distances of from 30 to 45 miles of the shore, whereas on the European side 330 fathoms are reached at corresponding distances from the coast. A submerged shore stretches from the Krasnovodsk peninsula to the coast of Mazendcran, and the long island of Ogurchinskiy, or the " Cucumber," as the Russians call it, is evidently a remnant of that shore. North of the Mangrshlak peninsula the island of Kulali forms a similar sandy dune of the characteristic crescent shape so common to shifting sands. The Caspian has INHABITANTS OF THE AEALO-OASPIAN EEGIONS. 219 evidently been subject to frequent changes of level since its separation from the Euxine. While the bugri of the Yolga delta show that at one time the waters subsided rapidly, the contours of the Cucumber and Kulali Islands, moulded by the regular action of the waves, are, on the other hand, a proof of a period of upheaval. The direct observations taken between 1830 and 18G3, compared with the marks scored by Lenz in a rock near Baku, show a subsidence of 46 inches. The two trigonometrical surveys of the Caucasus made in 1830 and 1860 show almost identical results, so that in 1860 the Caspian must have been more than 86 feet below the level of the Euxine. VI.— INHABITANTS OF THE ARALO-CASPIAN REGIONS. Although commonly known as Turkestan or Tatary, this part of the Asiatic continent is not exclusively occupied by peoples of Turki stock, and it is even probable that the original population was Aryan. But however this be, these boundless steppe lands are ethnically a region of contrasts. The opposition presented by the wonderful gardens watered by the Amu and the Sir to the frightful wildernesses of the "Bed" and "Black Sands" reappears in the inhabitants themselves, some occupied with agriculture and industry, other nomad pastors sweeping the desert and ever preying on the wealth amassed by their sedentary neighbours in the fertile oases. Commercial relations are established from town to town, but between townsfolk and nomads incessant warfare was formerly the normal and natural state. The desert encroaches on the oasis, and the wandering shepherd threatens the tiller of the soil. Such was the struggle carried on from the remotest antiquity, interrupted only by foreign conquest, which for a time associated the Aralo-Caspian basin with other regions, but which also swept away all local civilisation b} r wholesale slaughter. Nowhere else have the conflicting elements been more evenly balanced ; nowhere else has even religion assumed such a decided dualistic character. It was in the land of the Baktrians — a paradise of verdure encompassed by a wilderness of sands — that was developed the Iranian Mazdeism, the worship of the twin and irreconcilable principles of good and evil engaged in a ceaseless struggle for the ascendancy. Ormuzd and Ahriman have each their hosts of spirits who do battle in the heavens, while mankind takes part in the everlasting conflict on earth. At the same time the division into a nomad and a settled clement is far more an ethical and traditional than an ethnical distinction. Iran and Turan are symbolic expressions rather than terms answering to an outward reality. Amongst the sedentary and cultured races of the Aralo-Caspian regions the Turki and even the Mongol elements are strongly represented, while the Aryans, descendants of Parthian and Persian, also form a certain section of the wandering population in the Oxus basin. According to the political vicissitudes, corresponding largely with those of the local climate, the cultured agricultural nations and the pastoral steppe tribes each prevailed in their turn, while now one, now another of the contending 220 ASIATIC BUSSIA. elements was favoured by the foreign conquerors — Iranians, Macedonians, Arabs, Mongols, Russians. Thanks to the Slav preponderance, the Aryans are now once more in the ascendancy, but there is room for all in a land whose resources, if properlv utilised, would largely suffice for Iranian and Turanian alike. The actual population of the whole region, about which the greatest uncertainty still prevails, is roughly estimated at about 7,000,000, or less than 4 to the square mile. Still more uncertain are the attempts at classification according to speech and origin. All that can be positively asserted is that the " Turanian" element is the strongest, forming probably over two-thirds of the entire population. The Turkomans. Of the Turanians the chief branches are the Kirghiz and the Turkomans, or Turkmenians, the latter of whom roam over the south-western parts from the Ust-urt plateau to Bal kh , a vast domain of altogether about 200,000 square miles. Estimated at nearly 1,000,000, they are divided into numerous tribes and sub-tribes, grouped in hordes, each of which again comprises a number of clans or families. These are again often further modified by conquest and migrations, but the main divisions are maintained, and from political causes often acquire a distinctive character. Since the fall of Geok-tepe and the submission of the Akhal Tekkes in 1881, the whole of the Turkoman race may be regarded as either directly or indirectly subject to Prussian control. About 200,000 are nominal subjects of the Khan of Khiva, and these are gradually blending with the sedentary Sartes and the Uzbegs. Most of the Yomuds are no doubt tributaries of Persia, but for eight months in the year they camp north of the Atrek, and are then obliged to select a Khan responsible to the Russian Government. The Ersari recognise the authority of the Emir of Bokhara, himself dependent on the Muscovites, and the El-Eli owe an enforced allegiance to the ephemeral rulers of Afghan Turkestan. The Tekkes and Sariks of Merv still maintain their political independence, but the Salors, originally also of Merv, and claiming to be the noblest of the race, are now subject to the Tekkes. The classification of all these tribes is beset with difficulties, and the greatest discrepancies prevail in the different estimates of travellers and explorers. According to Petrusevich the chief divisions are as under : — Tekkes of Jlerv . . 50,000 Kibittas, or 250,000 souls. Tekkes of the Atok 30,000 ., 150,000 „ Ersari . . 40.000 ., 200. 1'OO .. Yomuds 20,000 ., 100.000 Sariks . . 20,000 „ 100.000 Goklans 9,000 ., -15,000 ., Chudors 6.000 , 30.000 El-Eli 3,000 ,, 15,000 Salors 3,000 ,, 15,000 Most of the Turkomans, especially those on the skirts of the desert between the Atrek and Oxus, have preserved the characteristic traits of the race — broad brow, small and piercing oblique eyes, small nose, rather thick lips, ears projecting from the head, black and scant beard, short thick hair. In the Atrek vallev and the THE TURKOMANS. 221 highlands skirting the Iranian plateau there is a largo mixture of Persian Llood, due to the women carried off in their constant raids on the frontier. But while thus partly losing his Tatar expression, the Atrek Turkoman still retains his piercing glance, proud and martial bearing, by which he is distinguished from the Kirghiz, Uzbegs, Kara-Kalpaks, and other branches of the race. They are mostly Fig. 110.— Turkoman Female Head-dress. also of tall stature, very vigorous and active. Except in Mcrv and a few other places, all dwell in the kibitka, or felt tent, and the strength of the tribe is estimated according to the number of these tents, which are reckoned to contain about five souls each. Their whole furniture is restricted to a few rugs and couches. The national dress consists for both sexes of a long silk smock reaching from the shoulders to the ankles, to which the men add the chapan, or hhalnt, somewhat like a European VOL. VI. Q 222 ASIATIC EUSSIA. dressing-gown, and as head-dress a light fur cap. The women usually wear nothing but the long smock, adding on special occasions a large shawl, girdle, red or yellow boots, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. They will sometimes even pass rings through the cartilage of the nostrils, and commonly attach to the breast little caskets of amulets resembling cartouch boxes, and which accompany their move- ments with a metallic clink. Coins, coloured gems, true or false, gold and silver ornaments, deck their head-dress, which occasionally assumes such proportions that the face seems to be enframed like a holy image in its shrine. They do not veil their features, like other Mohammedan women, for, as they say, "how can we, poor steppe people, conform to town usages ? " The Turkomans of the Daman-i-koh oasis recognise no chiefs. " We are a people without a head," they say haughtily ; " we are all equal, and each of us is a king ! We can endure neither the shade of a tree nor the shadow of a chief." Some members of the tribe no doubt take the title of ak-sakal, or " "White Beard," bay, bii (Bey), or even Khan. But this is mere make-belief, and no one dreams of showing them any more deference than to other warriors, unless specially distin- guished for courage or other virtues, or unless they have secured a following by the sale of corn on credit. Those known as the " Good " — that is, the wealthy, the men of experience, the bravest in the field — enjoy great influence in the council, when weighty matters are under discussion. But they have no judicial authority, and nobody ever appeals to any one in case of theft, injury, or other wrongs. He avenges himself as best he can, and feuds are thus handed down from generation to generation, unless the original offence is repaired by a monetary compensation. The steppe life is mainly regulated by the deb, or unwritten code, which requires all to respect their peaceful neighbours, to practise hospitality, and to keep their pledged word. The Turkomans are distinguished from the surrounding peoples — Persians, Afghans, Bokhariots — by greater uprightness and less corrupt morals. In war alone they give full bent to their innate ferocity, while in the ordinary relations of life distinguishing themselves for their strict honesty. Amongst them it is the debtor, not the creditor, who keeps the receipts for borrowed money, in order not to forget the extent of his obligations. The document is no concern of the creditor, though it may be feared that the " civilisation " introduced by the Russians will tend to modify these customs. Amongst the Turkomans the practice of simulated abduction still prevails. The intended bride, enveloped in a long veil and with a kid or lamb in her arms, mounts on horseback, gallops off at full speed, and by sudden turns pretends to escape from the abductor pursuing her at the head of a troop of friends. Two or three days after the wedding she feigns a fresh escape, remaining a full year with her parents, in order to give her husband time to go kidnapping, and thus pay her dowry in captive slaves. Other social events are associated with old symbolic customs. Thus it is not sufficient to weep for the dead, but every day for a twelve- month the relations and friends are expected to vent their grief in dismal howlings at the very hour when the death took place, without, however, for a moment interrupting their ordinary pursuits. They thus often take to howling in the very TTIE TURKOMANS. 22.3 act of eating, drinking, or smoking, to the great amazement of the uninformed " stranger within their gates." If the departed mis a famous warrior, a yoksa, or barrow, is raised over his grave. Every bravo of the tribe contributes at least seven bushelfuls of earth to the mound, whence those hillocks 25 to 30 feet high dotted over the steppe. All the Turkomans speak closely related varieties of the Jagatai Turki language, and all are Sunnite Mussulmans. The most zealous are probably those of the Persian frontier, who find in their pious hatred of the Shiah sectaries a pretext for their forays and the hard fate they impose upon the captives. They also claim the right of plundering and murdering the orthodox Khivans and Bokhariots, but only in Fig. 120. — Tekke Turkoman Oasis in the Atok. Scale 1 : 4,200,000. C. Perron . 60 Miles. virtue of the lex talionis calling upon them to avenge former massacres. So recently as 1830 they ventured in frail barks on the Caspian, to capture slaves on the Baku coast, and the Russian naval station of Ashu-rade was founded to check their incursions. Since then their ships of war have become fishing craft. Certain Persian districts have become completely depopulated by these raids, and elsewhere the surviving inhabitants shut themselves up in villages resembling fortresses, where the scouts watch clay and night to give the alarm. In more exposed places towers are erected at intervals of 100 paces. Yet in spite of all these precautions the number of Persians captured during one century has been estimated at a million, and as many as 200,000 slaves were at one time in bondage in Turkestan. q 2 221 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Stile 1 : 3,320,000. ^Marauder by profession, the "black" Turkoman devotes himself entirely to this one pursuit. He tends and trains his horse, his comrade in toil and danger, leaving all other work to the women and slaves. In the saddle he *' knows neither father nor mother," and his highest ambition is to bring back captives to the camp. When he starts on an alaman, or foray, at midnight — for he loves darkness like the beast of prey — an khan, or itinerant dervish, never fails to bless him and beg the favour of heaven on his noble enterprise. All feeble or decrepit captives are slaughtered, the rest are chained in Fij. 121.— Area of the Turkoman- Raids Sottth of gangs and driven away at the point KlZIL-AF.VAT. . " oi tne spear. Ihe priest alone is spared, lest his fate might bring ill-luck on the freebooters. Formerly most of the j^risoners were destined to perish miserably in bondage. But manv of their son^. and often the slaves themselves, gradually bettered their condition by their tact or intelligence, mostly far superior to that of their masters. After being sold in the Khiva and Bokhara markets, manv Persian captives succeeded in becoming traders, high officials, or governors of districts. In the still semi-independent khanates to them are usually intrusted the more delicate and best-paid duties. Although originally Shiah heretics, they soon conform to the prevalent Sunnite form of worship. Since the abolition of the slave trade in the khanates, captures are now made only with a view to their ransom, a trade formerly carried on by some of the Khorassan chiefs themselves, who often made handsome profits by the sale of their own subiects. Forts. _ co ^liies Of late years the raids have greatly diminished, owing mainly to the pro- gress of the Russians on the west, north, and north-ea^t. but also partly to a more systematic resistance on the side of Persia. Here the Turkomans now find them- selves opposed by Kurd colonists settled by the Persian Government in the upland valleys, and who bravely defend their new homes. The Turkomans, seeing them- selves thus hemmed in on all sides, are gradually obliged to turn from pillage to fanning'. The Goklans are already mostly peaceful agriculturists, and cultivate the silkworm with success. Numerous Tekke hordes also are now settled on the l cfG THE KARA-KALPAKS AND KIEGHTZ. 225 land, and enlarging the domain of their oasis by means of irrigating works. Their moral tone has even improved, and in their interviews with European travellers they will warmly defend themselves against the charge of brigandage. The national saying, " If marauders attack thy father's tent, take part in the plunder," has lost all significance, and most of the tribes easily pass from the nomad to the settled state. The cultivation of certain alimentary plants is even consistent with a semi-nomad existence. To raise the cereal known from them as the Polygonum Tartaricum (sarrasin), the Tatars fire the surface vegetation, sow and reap within two or three months, and then betake themselves elsewhere. The herdsmen migrate regularly with the seasons between the same pastures on the Iranian tableland and in the plains, and are thus in a transition state between a nomad and settled life. Hence the Russians expect to reduce the tribes of South Turkestan as they have already reduced their northern kinsmen, by erecting forts commanding their winter camping grounds. They have also established depots for provisions at certain intervals, and are pushing on the line of railway running from the south-east corner of the Caspian towards Askhabad and Merv. The horse and camel, inseparable companions of the nomad Turkoman, must naturally diminish in numbers, at first through the hopeless struggle with the Russians, and then through the increasing development of agriculture. Most of the native camels are of the Baktrian or dromedary species, with one hump only, smaller and weaker than the Arabian, but more capable of enduring heat. They can make 24 miles a day under a burden of 400 or even 500 lbs. They move untrammelled about the tents, and will occasionally return to the steppe for months at a time. The Turkoman horses, a cross between the Arab and the native breed, although unshapely, have scarcely their equals for staying power. Instances have been cited of 600 miles covered in five or six consecutive days ; for, as the proverb goes, " One brigand's journey is better than two of a merchant." These horses, highly esteemed by the Russian officers, have longer heads, narrower chests, more shaggy legs than the pure Arab, but they are less affected by climate, hunger, and thirst. Brought up with the children in the tent, and caressed by woman's hand, they are remarkably gentle and intelligent, and carry their heads well. The Turkoman horse is well cared for, and he may often be seen with a warm felt housing when the tent is in shreds and the family in rags. The Kara-Kalpaks and Kirghiz. The Kara-Kalpaks, or " Black Caps," form geographically the transition between the southern Turkomans and northern Kirghiz. Survivors of a powerful nation, they are still represented in a fragmentary way throughout a vast area — in tho Russian Governments of Astrakhan, Perm, and Orenburg, in the Caucasian province of Kuban, and in Tobolsk, Siberia. Scattered by forced or voluntary migrations over these extensive regions, they still claim to belong originally to the Kharezm. A few small groups are found in the Zarafshan valley, but the bulk of the race still forms a compact body in the humid plains of the Lower Oxus, and along the east 226 ASIATIC EUSSIA. coast of the Aral Sea. Here they number probably 50,000, and in the whole Russian Empire about 300,000. On the Aral Sea the Black Caps, so named from their high sheepskin head-dress, are mostly tall and robust, with broad flat face, large eyes, short nose, prominent chin, broad hands. Yet their women have the reputation of being the most beautiful in Turkestan. But they can scarcely be said to present a distinct racial type. Widely diffused as ' they are amongst different peoples, they seem to have been diversely mixed, and in Tatary they blend imperceptibly with the hybrid Sartes. Of a gentle, peaceful disposition, and devoted to agriculture, they arc generally the butt of their nomad neigh- bour's, who regard them as the dullest of mankind. And there are certainly some grounds for this view, for their expression lacks fire, and they generally look stolidly on with open mouth and hanging lower lip. In a few generations this lethargic race will probably have ceased to exist as an independent nationality in Turkestan. The great Kirghiz nation, numbering perhaps 2,000,000, according to Krasovsky even 3,000,000 souls, and whose domain, as large as all European Russia, stretches from the Lower Volga to the Tarim basin, and from the Oxus delta to the Irtish river, is numerically the most important nomad race in Asia. But it has no ethnical cohesion, and is split up into endless subdivisions. The people compare themselves to the sea-sands, scattered far and near by the winds, but never diminishing in numbers. The two main divisions of the race answer to the relief of the land. In the Aralo-Caspian and Ob basins dwell the Kirgkiz- Kazaks, by far the more numerous. In the upland Tian-shan, Alai, and Pamir valleys roam the Burut, or Kara-Kirghiz ("Black Kirghiz"), called also Diko- kamennie Kirghiz!, or "Wild Mountain Kirghiz," the "Block Kirghiz" of English writers. The Kirghiz call themselves Kaizaks, or Kazaks, although the term Kirghiz, or rather Krghiz, is not unknown, and interpreted by them to mean " Forty Girls," in reference to their legendary descent from forty young women and a red dog. They are divided into four hordes : the Great Horde (Ulu-Yuz), the oldest, chiefly south of Lake Balkash and near the Tian-shan ; the Middle Horde (Urta-Yuz), mainly in the low hilly region between the Aralo-Caspian and Ob basins ; the Bukeyevskaya, or Inner Horde, in the Orenburg steppes ; the Little Horde (Kachi-Yuz), stretching westwards far into European Russia. In spite of its name this horde is by far the most important in numbers, socially and politi- cally. As with the Turkomans, the soi/kz, or confederacy, is divided into secondary groups, and these into clans and families comprising from five to fifteen tents each. Each of these auls, or little communities, lives in absolute independence, reluctantly acknowledging the supreme control of the Russians, but recognising no other authority except that of the heads of families and the arbitrators chosen by them- selves to settle their differences. The Russians are satisfied with imposing a tax of about five shillings per tent ; bid. they find some difficulty in discovering all the encampments hid away in the hollows, between sand dunes, amongst the reedy marshes, or under cover of the forests, and the camping grounds they come is w rail THE KARA-KALPAKS AND KIRGHIZ. 227 Fio\ 122. — A Wealthy Kirghiz. upon are often found abandoned by the tribes migrating- to and fro with the seasons. Hence the official returns are always under the truth, although fresh defardters yearly come to light. In 1837, the first year of the impost, 15,500 tents only could be discovered in Orenburg, but these had increased in 1846 to 67,280, and in 1862 to upwards of 155,000. In 1872 the first census taken in the provinces of Turgai and Uralsk returned 605,000 nomads, and the Buke- yevskaya horde, west of the Ural River, is variously estimated at from 160,000 to over 200,000 souls. Being without chiefs, all the Kirghiz consider themselves as more or less nobles. When two meet together, the first question is, "Who are your seven ancestors ? " and all, down to the children eight years old, can repeat in reply their genealogies to the seventh generation. Those on whom the Hussians have conferred certain privileges, and whom they have made " sultans," without, how- ever, exempting them from the poll tax, are surrounded by a riff-raff of Teleguts, or refugees, strangers, and slaves, forming bands of armed retainers during the former intestine wars, and who now tend their masters' flocks and till his land. This class is much despised by the free nomads, and is excluded from all clanship, living apart from the tribe in separate camps with their masters, who are equally hated by the people. The bits, or "elders," are the judges elected by the clan, to whom all appeal for a settlement of their disputes. Each tribe is distinguished by a particular rallying cry used by the members in their festive and hostile gatherings. The Kirghiz language, which is spoken with great uniformity by all the tribes, is of pure Turki stock, unaffected by foreign influences, beyond a few Mongol, Arab, and Persian words. In the north Russian has already made some encroachment on its domain, and the Orenburg Kirghiz even converse in this language. But the Slav colonists have probably borrowed more in their colloquial speech from the nomads than these have from their conquerors. Of all the Kirghiz tribes, the Kipchaps of the Middle Horde seem to have best preserved their original type, ancient usages, and purity of speech. The origin of the race has been much discussed by ethnologists, some of whom have even regarded them as Aryan Scythians like those of the Euxine shores. But their most marked affinities are now with the Mongols and Tatars, with whom they form one linguistic group. They have squat figures, short thick necks, small and oblique eyes, scant beard, tawny or dirty brown complexion. Obesity is common amongst the Orenburg tribes, and is considered by the nobles as a sort of distinctive mark enhancing their dignity. They are mostly very robust, but indolent and soft uncouth, and heavy in their carriage, and slightly bandy-legged from passing 228 ASIATIC RUSSIA. half their time in the saddle. Like the Nogai Tatars, they are often dull and morose, and few amongst them have the courtesy, heartiness, and o-ood-humour of the Bashkirs, or the defiant look of the Turkomans. In their songs the women celebrate the indolence of the men and their own laborious life. Accustomed to regular work, they are generally more graceful than the men, whom they also surpass in moral qualities. On feast days they love to deck themselves in high velvet or brocaded caps adorned with placpies of metal, pearls, and embroidery, and prolong their tresses to Fig. 123.-A Kmoim Woman. the ground by means of ribbons and horsehair. They use rouge and other cosmetics even more freely than Euro- pean women. The steppe Kirghiz are essentially nomads, shifting their quarters on the slightest pretext, a bad omen, a storm, and the like. In 1820 most of the Astrakhan tribes left their camping grounds in order to return to Asia, on the simple report that the Government was preparing to have their census taken. .Even the "sultans" have declined to occupy the fixed dwellings erected for them, and continue to live in tents, locking up all their valuable effects in the houses, for all ' alike feel that a sedentary life in settled abodes would eventually entail loss of freedom. The Kirghiz yurt, like those of the Kalmuks and tne Turkoman kibitkas, is a simple framework of wood, covered with red cloth for some of the " sultans," with white felt for the wealthy, and with ordinary felt for the common folk, the very poor substituting for felt bark of trees, reed, or grass matting. In half an hour a whole aid has vanished, migrating northwards in summer and southwards in winter. The Kirghiz-Kazaks lack the warlike spirit of their Turkoman kinsmen. Nevertheless they long resisted the Slav invaders, and even when accepting the Czar's supremacy in 1734, they fancied they were merely performing an idle formality. Hence, when they found that the Russians meant it serioush', the wai was renewed, and lasted intermittently for over a century. A last revolt took place in 1870, when they destroyed a Russian village and besieged Fort if. NHHHll 1 mm' JlSiP fliffi JHH HI iiPi m o THE KARA-KALPAKS AND KIRGHIZ. 229 Alcxandrovsk. But they are naturally of a peaceful temperament, and their occasional barantas, or armed forays, are usually restricted to horse-stealing. Their arms are chiefly used in the chase, of which they are excessively fond, eagerly pursuing the steppe wolf, and training the falcon, vulture, and even the royal eagle to capture the quarry. But the employment of the eagle is not unattended with danger, for when they lose sight of the wolf or fox, these birdd will swoop down on their master instead, striking him from the saddle, burying their talons in his flesh, and tearing out his eyes. The Kazaks call themselves Sunnites, but are such strangers to all fanaticism that they might just as well pass for Shamanists or pagans. Some will even tell the inquiring traveller that they do not know to what religion they belong. They have become Mohammedans only since their contact with the Russians, who have mainly contributed to make them followers of the Prophet by taking the fact for granted. Still the great bulk of the people remain what they always were, while accepting the elements of terror from all the surrounding religions. Their Mohammedanism consists chiefly in hating Christians and the Shiah heretics, and in believing themselves privileged to rob, plunder, and even slaughter them. Their religious practices have otherwise little to do with the precepts of the Koran. They dread especially the evil eye, and never fail to deck the head of the young camel in party-coloured ribbons in order to protect him from evil influences. Everything is construed into an omen for good or evil — the fall of a thread on a black or white stone, the red or yellow hue of the flame from oil thrown on the fire, and the like. They endeavour to conjure the wicked spirits by sacrifices or the offering of hair, rags or ribbons attached to reeds, bushes or stakes fixed in the ground. In the mountains they also suspend shreds of garments to the branches of the trees shading the medicinal springs. AVhen setting out on a journey or warlike expedition they sew to the back of their hats one or two little bags containing written prayers, intended at once to give them luck and inspire them with courage. Of all Mohammedan practices polygamy has been most readily accepted, not by the masses, who are too poor to pay more than once the kalim, or price of a spouse, but by the wealthy owners of hundreds and thousands of live stock. As amongst most barbarous peoples, the formality of a sham abduction is still kept up here and there. But girls are often really carried off as the prize of war. They are sought especially amongst the Kalmuks of the Tian-shan, for the Kazaks are by tradition exogamous, seeking alliances outside the tribe or race, a circumstance which sufficiently explains the striking physical resemblance between them and their Mongolian neighbours. The old customs associated with the burial of the dead are still maintained in full vigour. The mourning rites, including much wailing and weeping, are renewed on the fortieth, and again on the hundredth day of the funeral, on the first, and lastly on the ninth anniversary. The relatives beat their breasts and utter lamentations night and morning before a " lay figure " dressed in the garments of the departed. The funeral mounds on the crests of the hills, marked by spears with horsehair banners, are objects of great respect. Some ■S30 ASIATIC RUSSIA. hills arc entirely covered with pyramids, turrets, domes, porticos, and other monu- ments in honour of the dead. These monuments will sometimes take the form of cradles for infants, or of the tents in which their parents lived. Xumerous barrows occur also on the open steppe, one of which, on the hanks of the Turgai, is 106 feet high and 966 feet round. At these places the people make their genuflexions, offering clothes, provisions, and money to their departed friends. These gifts are appropriated by the poor wayfarers as presents from the dead ; but they are themselves expected to make some slight offering in return. Although in the general development of human culture husbandry is regarded as an advance upon the pastoral state, this is not the case with the Kirghiz. Amongst them the farm labourer is a person fallen from a better position, who has lost all the pleasures of life and freedom. Most of them are still nomads, and those who are compelled, for want of herds, to till the land about the Russian can- tonments in the second generation relinquish the name of Kazak, dress in the Russian fashion, and call themselves Christians. Along the outskirts of the Kirghiz domain the Russian traders get the natives into their power by means of loans at exorbitant rates of interest, and their example finds faithful imitators in the interior of the steppe amongst the "khans," or wealthy Kazaks. Some of these khans are owners of hundreds of camels, thousands of horses, and as many as 20,000 sheep. The horned cattle introduced since about 1750 are rather less numerous, and ill adapted to the climate. In 1872 the live stock included altogether 120,000 camels, 1,720,000 horses, 600,000 oxen, 2,000,000 sheep, and 180,000 goats. TJnacclimatized animals perish from the rigour of the climate. The attempts to introduce the Baktrian dromedary have failed, the two-humped camel alone thriving on these steppes. The sheep, all of the fat-tailed breed, are usually so strong and tall that the children amuse themselves by mounting them. The flocks are always guided by a few goats, and at the beginning of winter, before the streams are frozen hard enough to bear their weight, hundreds sometimes perish in the attempt to follow their light-footed leaders. The Kirghiz horse, though of sorry appearance, does his 50 and even 60 miles a day at a trot, eats what he can pick up, sleeps on the sands, and resists the extremes of heat and cold. In their ba'igas, or races, the Kirghiz and Kalmuk jockeys easily do 12 miles in half an hour, and some riders have been known, by relays of horses, to cover ISO miles in 34 hours. The finer breeds, karaba'ir, or " half blood," and argamal', or " full blood," have less staying powers. The Kara-Kirghiz, or Buruts, numbering from 350,000 to 400.000 on both slopes of the Tian-shan, differ but slightly in type, speech, and customs from their steppe kindred. Xevcrtheless they are evidently more affected by Mongol influ- ences, and are not to be distinguished physically from the Kalmuks. Most of their women are regarded by the Russians as very ugly. They do not veil their features, and on gala days wear a head-dress like that of their Turkoman sisters, covered with coins and medals, and making a jingling noise at every step. Of drunken and dirty habits, they never wash, and merely wipe their kitchen utensils THE TAEANCHIS AND DUNGANS. 231 with the finger, for fear of "wilful waste." The B units are altogether ruder and more ignorant than the steppe Kirghiz, but have the reputation of being more honest and open. Notwithstanding their present debased condition they seem to have been formerly a civilised people, and the Chinese speak of the " Ki-si-li- tzi " as a powerful industrious nation in commercial relations with distant lands. But multitudes were swept south and west by the waves of migration, and those who remained behind were gradually driven to the upland valleys. Then came the Russians, who exterminated all the Siberian steppe Kirghiz east of the Irtish. Of their old civilisation they have retained several industries, and they can still build windmills, forge iron, and weave fine materials. Though lacking the aristocratic vanity of the Kazaks, their manaps, or chiefs, have acquired great power in some tribes, disposing even of the lives of their subjects. The memory of their past glories has not quite perished, and their poets and improvisatori still sing of the heroes (batir\ who pierced a thousand men at a spear's thrust, and raised up the mountain on which slumbered their bride. Attempts have been made to discover in these songs the fragments of epic poems, and some of their invocations breathe a Yedic spirit. " 0, thou on high, Lord of heaven ! thou who causest the verdure to spring from the ground, and the leaves from the tree ; thou who clothest the bones with flesh and the head with hair, heaven, who hast given birth to the stars ! " You, riders sixty, who have given us father, and thou, Pai TJlguen, who hast given us mother ! " Give us cattle, give us bread, give a chief to the house, give us a blessing ! " The Kara-Kirghiz are divided into many tribes. Those of the west are grouped under the collective name of On, or "Eight," those of the Tian-shan slopes forming the Sol, or "Left" branch. The latter are in close contact with the Tian-shan Kalmuks, partly descended from those who escaped from the Astrakhan steppes in 1771, and large numbers of whom perished on the route. Vanquished by the Kirghiz in a battle fought south of Lake Balkhash, the Kalmuks took refuge in the Eastern Tian-shan valleys by the side of their kins- men, the Torgs, or Torguts, Buddhists like themselves, and of kindred speech. The Asiatic Kalmuks differ little from their European brethren. They have the same flat face, narrow oblique eyes, pale lips, sad smile, massive frame. The women of many tribes dye their teeth black. The Kalmuks have trained the ox as a beast of burden and for the saddle. No people have suffered more from the ravages of small-pox. A family attacked in winter is a family lost, and should any one enter the tent unguardedly he gets drunk on brandy, while his friends drive the evil one out of his body with scourges. The Kalmuks pay little heed to the dead, seldom burying them, and usually leaving the bodies to be devoured by the camp dogs. The Taranciiis and Duxgans. In the fertile valley of the Hi the predominant people are the Taranchis, an agricultural nation of Turki stock, but evidently largely affected by Aryan elements. 232 ASIATIC RUSSIA. They are descended from Kashgarian colonists settled here by the Chinese in the middle of last century. Although nominal Mussulmans, they have little know- ledge of the precepts of the Koran, and the women never veil their features. All the inhabitants of the Hi basin except a few Russians came originally from Chinese territory in the south and east. The best known are the Dungans, who dwell chiefly in the towns. The Solons, descended from military Tungus colonists settled here in the eighteenth century, are dying out from the effects of opium. The Sibos, or Shibos, who formed with the Solons an army of eight " banners," were of pure Manchu stock, but have now become much mixed with native elements. This region of Kulja has in modern times been the scene of the most frightful massacres, often ending in the extermination of whole races. In 1758 the Manchus Fig. 124. — Populations of the Ili Basin. Scale 1 : 6,000,000. E.ofG 84° C Perron Russians. Kirgbiz-Kazaks. Kalmuks. Kara-Kirghiz. Tarancbis. 60 Miles. Dungans. Kashgarians. are said to have put to death all the Kalmuks of the Ili plain without distinction of age or sex. Over a million hmnan beings appear to have perished on this occa- sion. A century afterwards the Taranchis and Dungans, introduced by the Manchus to replace the Kalmuks, avenged on their masters the blood they had caused to flow. A civil war, in which no prisoner was spared, raged between the colonists and their rulers, ending in 1865 with the wholesale massacre of the Manchus, Solons, and Shibos, the young women alone escaping. Popidous cities were changed to heaps of ruins, and according to the native accounts nearly 2,000,000 perished altogether. When the Taranchi and Dungan ride succeeded to the Chinese no more than 130,000 people remained in the formerly populous valley of the Hi. THE UZBEGS. 233 The Uzbegs. Before the arrival of the Russians in the Sir and Amu basins the political supremacy in the civilised states belonged to the Uzbegs of Turki stock, speaking the Jagatai or Uigur, one of the most polished languages of the Tatar family. But of the million Uzbegs dwelling in the Aralo-Caspian lands a large portion are certainly mixed with Iranian elements, as shown by their features, carriage, and character. From Ferghana to Khiva, and thence to Afghan Turkestan, the contrast between the different tribes calling themselves Uzbegs is often as great as between different races. The most striking trait of those crossed with Persians is the full Iranian beard associated with the flat features and oblique eyes of the Turki Fig. 125.— Saute Type. race. The Uzbegs claim descent from the famous Golden Horde, so named apparently from the gold leaf covering the poles of the royal tent. But the Mongol and Tatar elements had evidently long been intermingled in their race. The famous Uigurs, from whom they take their present speech, form probably the chief Tatar element in the Uzbeg populations of the present day. The national name means " freeman," unless it comes from one of their rulers of the Jenghis Khan dynasty, by whom they were converted to Islam early in the fourteenth century. But such as they are, the Uzbegs still present a marked contrast, on the one hand with the pure nomads of the country, on the other with the completely sedentary Aryans. Formerly more civilised and agricultural than at present, they have again partly returned to the nomad state, some even passing the whole year in a tent set up in the garden, and using their house as a granary. Still divided into tribes and clans, some bearing the same name as those of the Kirghiz, they reckon as part of their nation certain clans which might equally be claimed by the Kara-Kirghiz. Such are the Turuks, or Turks, of Ferghana, possibly the near kinsmen of those of like name who have risen to such historical importance farther west. Of all the Uzbeg tribes the Manghits, to whom belong the Khans of Bokhara, claim to be the oldest and noblest. They are zealous Sunnites, and nearly all the " saints," as well as the brigands, over nine-tenthsof the entire population, are Uzbegs. Yet the Mollahs, or sacerdotal class, arc nearly all Tajiks, especially in the Zarafshan district. Although the political masters of the country for centuries, the Uzbegs have remained honest and upright 234 ASIATIC RUSSIA. compared with the Iranians, who form the bulk of the officials and tax-gatherers. The contrast between the character of the two races is illustrated by the legend of a princess, who had promised her hand to whoever of her two suitors should dig an irrigation canal across the Bek-pok-dala steppe. The Uzbeg set to work honestly, and continued to dig till he came to a cascade, which is still shown. But he lacked the time to finish the work. The Tajik took things more easily. Before the appointed day he had spread reed matting over the surface of the desert, and when the princess ascended her tower to see the waters of the canal sparkling in the Fig. 126. — Population op Ferghana. Scale 1 : 8,000,000. iTrPTmTTTpTn i > 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 -' ■!!Jj!:i!!!!!!!i!!!ii!' L of G Russians. Sartes. Tajiks Kara-Kirghiz. Sartes and Turkomans. (Galenas). Uzbeg-s. 240 Miles. T~T~ Kirfrhiz- Kazaks. distance he showed her his work glittering in the sun. The unsuccessful rival in despair hurled his spade into the air, and in its fall the instrument cleaved his head from his body. The Sartes, Tajiks, and Gtalchas. The loss of political power will probably tend to bring the Uzbegs into closer contact with the Sartes, and in some places even blend them into one nationality. The Sartes are a mixed people, in whom the Iranian element prevails. The term, however, has a social rather than an ethnical meaning, all the settled inhabitants of the towns and villages except the cultured Tajiks being called Sartes, irre- spective of their origin. Some writers even include the Tajiks in this class, which would thus comprise all the civic population of Turkestan. " When a stranger presents himself and eats your bread call him a Tajik ; when he is gone you may '''Uianii sc THE SAETES, TAJIKS, AND GALCHAS. 235 Fig. 127.— A Tajik Mollah. call him a Sarte.V Such is the local etiquette in the matter. As soon as the Kirghiz or Uzbeg nomad settles in a town his children become Sartes. The term is also applied to the Mazang or sedentary Gipsies, as opposed to the Luli, or nomad Gipsies, and to the Kurams of various stock — Uzbeg, Kazak, Kara-Karpak — settled in the neighbourhood of Tashkend. Most of the Ferghana people call themselves Kuram, or " confused," or " mixed," so conscious are they of their varied origin. The language of the Sartes varies with the locality — Turki in Ferghana and Kulja, Persian in Khojend and Samarkand. Representing the mixed element in these regions, the Sartes are increasing most rapidly, and although now despised by those of purer race, are destined ultimately to prevail. The Kirghiz, making a play of words with their name, call them Sari-it, or " Yellow Dogs," and would feel dishonoured by an alliance with them. They have a general resemblance to the Jews in character, and even in features, and fully deserve their name, if it really means " broker," although, according to Lerch, it has simply the sense of " citizen." Like the Jews, also, they are fond of instruction, and are far more enlightened than the Uzbegs. They are gradually turning to agricul- ture and reclaiming the uplands, and, according to Fedchenko, their colonies thrive best. The Aryan race is represented in Turkestan mainly by the Tajiks, kinsmen of those who, under the name of Tates, dwell on the opposite side of the Caspian. The word Tajik, meaning "Crowned," seems to show that when so named the race held the political supremacy. It still belongs to them from the economic point of view, for most of the merchants, bankers, and landed proprietors belong to this class. In several districts they call themselves Parsivan — that is, Persians ; and they are really Iranians, differing but slightly from those of Persia, and even their speech is but little affected by Turki, Arabic, or Mongol elements. Nevertheless their frame is somewhat more massive than that of the Persian proper, while the type of features remains much the same. They have a long head and high brow, expressive eyes shaded by dark eyebrows, finely chiselled nose, florid complexion, full brown hair and beard. Those of the Upper Oxus valley bear a striking resemblance to the Kashmirians. The Tajiks foi-m evidently the intellectual aristocracy of Turkestan, where all who pride themselves on polite manners endeavour to imitate 236 ASIATIC RUSSIA. their speech. But beneath the exterior culture are concealed many social vices — avarice, rapacity, gambling, and licentious morals. The Galchas, agricultural highlanders on the western slopes of the Pamir, in Kohistan, Wakhan, Karateghin, Shignan, Darvaz, and Badakshan, are also of Iranian stock, but of a purer type than the Tajiks. Their chiefs claim descent from Alexander, and thd people from the armies of the Macedonian king, and they are noted especially for their broad head, the delicacy and beauty of their slightly arched nose, and firm lips. De Ujfalvy has met with some closely resembling the Celtic peasantry of Savoy. Of the five Kohistan tribes four arc able to converse together, while the fifth, the Yagnaubs of the Yagnaub valley, have a distinct Aryan speech, unintelligible to the others. The Galchas contrast favourably with the Sartes and Tajiks in their simple habits and upright character. Amongst them hospitality is a sacred duty, and every village contains a house reserved for strangers. Slavery has never existed in any Galcha land, where all arc alike free and in the enjoyment of self-government. Although polygamy is authorised by their religion, they seldom have more than one wife. Still women are not con- sidered the equals of the men, and of the inheritance the sons take two-thirds, the daughters one-third only. The Tajik Mussulmans of Upper Turkestan have preserved some traces of the old fire-worship, and it was probably through them that certain practices associated with this cult have been propagated to the extremities of Siberia. During the feast of the fire or sun bonfires arc kindled like those of the Bal-tinne in Ireland, supposed, like them, to purify all passing through the flames. The sick make the round of the fire and pass over it thrice, and when too weak to do this they fix their gaze on the flames while being exorcised. Amongst most of the Galchas lights must not be blown out, and torches are kept burning round the cradle of the new-born and the couch of the dying. Here and there along the banks of the Panja, or southern branch of the Upper Oxus, arc still to be seen certain towers attributed to the Zardushti, or Fire-worshijipers. To the numerous races of this region have recently been added some Great Russians, Little Russians, Poles, and other Slavs. Though numbering scarcely a tenth of the population, the jjiolitical supremacy of their race secures for them an influence out of all proportion with their numbers. Yet, apart from the military element, the Russian colonists proper have hitherto played a very subordinate part in the development of the land. The Cossacks have even become more assimilated to the Kirghiz than these to their conquerors. In many places they have adopted the dress and habits of the natives, even dwelling like them in tents. Nevertheless the Russification of these races has already begun at certain points, usually the farthest removed from Europe. To the Cossack soldiery occupying isolated stanitzas in the Tian-shan highlands have here and there succeeded free colonists engaged in reclaiming the land. A peasant from the centre of Russia, sent in 1865 by his commune to explore the Issik-kul districts, settled there, and in two years was joined by a hundred others. Since then fresh colonies have been established in the Tian-shan valleys, and the work of the plundering Cossacks has BAKTRIANA, OR AFGHAN TURKESTAN. 237 now been replaced by a systematic cultivation of the soil. Groups of Russian settlers are spreading regularly between the Irtish and Farm valleys, and this line will doubtless be soon extended through Ferghana towards the Western Pamir valleys. The Russians already form, from Caucasia to the Urals and thence to the Tian-shan, a complete semicircle round the Turkestan populations, and this zone grows yearly broader and longer. Kirghiz and Turkomans, Uzbegs, Sartes, and Tajiks, enclosed within the compass of the advancing Slav populations, must sooner or later undergo the fate of the Kazan Tatars, Chuvashes, and Mordvinians of the Yolga. VII.— STATES OF THE ARALO-CASPIAN BASIN. I.— BAKTRIANA, OR AFGHAN TURKESTAN. The states or provinces of this region can have no well-defined frontiers. A plateau on the east, highlands on the south and western deserts form their natural limits, and these limits advance or recede with the abundance of the snows, the rich pastures, the progress of irrigation, the encroachments of the sands. For a portion only of its course the Oxus serves as northern frontier to these Turkestan districts, here separating them from Bokhara. Of the populations of the Western Pamir those in the north are regarded as gravitating towards Bokhara, those in the south towards Afghanistan. But above these minor states there is already cast the double shadow of the rival powers aiming at the supremacy in Asia. Behind Bokhara looms Russia, already mistress of that land ; beyond Afghanistan, England reigns supreme over the Indian peninsula, and the inhabitants of the intermediate region, although still enjoying a semi-independent status, feel none the less that their future destiny is involved in the rivalry of these two powers. The diplomatic negotiations between London and St. Petersburg had in 1872-3 provisionally arranged that the northern limits of Afghanistan should include north of the natural frontiers formed by the Hindu- Kush and its western extensions, the districts of Wakhan, Badakshan, Kunduz, Khulm, Balk, and Maimene. The two states thus disposed of territories and peoples seldom even visited by European travellers, and still but partially explored. While seizing the strategic points in Afghanistan near the Indian frontier, England naturally seeks to extend this state northwards, and thus so far reduce the future domain of Russia. But Russia herself, pending the complete conquest and assimilation of the already-acquired possessions, can afford to wait. Geographically the Upper Oxus and all the northern slope of the Iranian and Afghan plateau belong to the Aralo-Caspian basin, and the growing influence of the Slav power cannot fail sooner or later to unite in a single political group the various parts of this vast region. During several months of the year Afghan Turkestan is completely cut off from Afghanistan proper, and thus remains exposed to the free advance of the Russian arms. The historical importance of this region is well known. Here are, west of the immense semicircle of highlands and plateaux enclosing the Chinese Empire, the first depressions affording a passage over the great " divide " between the north and VOL. VI. k 288 ASIATIC EUSSIA. south of the continent. Here passed pilgrims, traders, migratory tribes, and con- quering armies. Here converged the various civilisations, with their religions, customs, and products. Here crossed the great highways of the Asiatic nations, all the more important at a time when the ocean highways were still unavailable for the commerce of the world. The routes connecting the Oxus and Indus valleys have further the immense advantage over those between Turkestan and Persia that they nearly everywhere traverse cultivated and inhabited lands, and avoid the great waterless deserts. Hence large and opulent cities could not fail to spring up along the line of these main continental routes. Here have reigned mighty rulers whose estates have stretched from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the Siberian plains, and whose capitals counted their inhabitants by hundreds of thousands. A rich harvest of discoveries may be anticipated in these Asiatic lands, destined possibly to throw light on many doubtful points in the world's history. And in this centre of gravity of the whole continent rather than at Constantinople may we not expect to see ultimately solved the great problem of political equilibrium between Europe and Asia known as the " Eastern Question ? " Wakhan. In the Oxus basin the easternmost state is Wakhan, which is traversed by the Panja, or Sarkad, the southern branch of the Amu, for a distance of 150 miles from its source on the Little Pamir to the great bend of Ishkashim. But this extensive tract is so elevated, cold, and unproductive, that it is uninhabitable except in the sheltered spots along the river banks. The lowest hamlet is no less than 9,000, and Sarkad, the highest, 12,000 feet above sea-level. A few scattered dwellings rising still higher are occupied in summer. The only trees growing in these uplands are willows and dwarf shrubs, and nothing is crdtivated except pulse and barley. Fat- tailed sheep, however, besides yaks and other horned cattle, are reared, and the people take pleasure in the pursuit of the wild goat, deer, Ovispoli, and in falconry. The Wakhi people are of mixed Tajik and TJzbeg stock, speaking both a Turki dialect, which is their mother tongue, and Persian with strangers. Many of them are of a handsome type, with the delicate f eatures of the Iranians, nor are light hair and blue eyes by any means rare amongst them. All are devout Shiite Mussulmans, sending their tithes regularly to their spiritual head at Bombay, though still retaining traces of the old fire-worship and of customs distinguishing them from other Mohammedans. They show greater respect than most Eastern peoples towards their women, and the wife generally takes charge of the household expenditure. Forsyth estimates the population at about 3,000, which corresponds with a Russian document, according to which there are altogether 550 dwellings in Wakhan. The country is said to have been formerly much more populous, and even recently "Wakhi colonists have settled in Sirakol and Eashgaria. But the importance of Wakhan is obviously due, not to its inhabitants, but to its geographical position on the main route between the Aralo-Caspian and Tarim basins. Through this valley lies the easiest approach to the Pamir, followed of late j^ears by Wood, Forsyth, Gordon, and others, probably in the footsteps of Marco Polo. Comparatively easy WAKHAN. 239 passes, used throughout the year by the Kirghiz and natives, lead southwards across the Hindu-Kush to Chitral and Kanjud ; that is, to the Upper Indus basin. To fc o to protect the caravan trade from pillage, strongholds have been erected in this desolate Sarhad valley, and two well-preserved towers are still standing at Kila-panja, or r 2 240 ASIATIC RUSSIA. the "Five Forts," a few miles below the junction of the two streams from the Great and Little Pamir. Here resides the Mir of Wakhan, who, like all the other chiefs of this region, claims descent from Alexander the Great. When Wood visited the country in 1838 it was practically independent of Badakshan, a tributary of Afghanistan. Before 1873 the yearly tribute consisted of slaves, generally obtained by border raids. The constant warfare resulting from this system explains the depopulation of the land and the solitude of the Pamir pastures, formerly much frequented by the Kirghiz nomads in summer. Badakshan. Since 1869 Badakshan has been dependent on xlfghanistan, sending it a yearly tribute of about £7,200 and 500 horses. But its geographical limits are so clearly defined that this state cannot fail to retain a certain political importance. It is separated from Chitral and Kafiristan by the Hindu-Rush, here crossed by foot passes only, at elevations of over 16,000 feet above the sea. The area of Badakshan is estimated at about 8,000 square miles, and its population at 150, 000, concentrated mostly in the lower valleys sloping gently towards the Oxus. The Badakshani are nearly all Tajiks, Persian in speech, and Sunnites in religion. A few Uzbegs and other Turki peoples have settled in the interior, but on the whole the race has preserved the purity of its fine Iranian type. Badakshan is divided naturally into two parts, an eastern section, bordering on Wakhan and traversed by the Panja, here trending northwards, and a western, watered by the Kokcha, or Kuckka, i.e. " Green " River, flowing to the Middle Oxus. Southwards runs the crest of the Hindu- Hush, crossed by the Nuskan Pass (17,000 feet) and the somewhat easier Dora Pass (16,000 feet). The two natural divisions of the country are separated by an elevated spur of the Hindu- Kush running northwards to the high plateaux skirted by the Oxus. This ridge is usually crossed by a difficult pass over 11,000 feet high, connecting the Kokcha and Panja valleys, often blocked by snow, and from the end of autumn to the middle of spring exposed to the fierce east or " Wakhan " wind. The chief centre of population in this region is the village of Ishkashim, on the south bank of the Panja, where it turns north- wards to Shignan and Roshan. Ishkashim thus lies at the intersection of the natural routes running east and west and north and south, and acquires additional importance from the famous ruby mines situated 19 miles farther down the river. These gems, the more highly prized of which are of a fine rose-red tint, were formerly known as balas, or balais rubies, a word derived from Balakshan, a corrupt form of Badakshan. The Emir of Kunduz, having acquired possession of the mines by conquest, and being dissatisfied with the yield, seized all the inhabitants, and sold them, to the number of five hundred families, into bondage. When Wood visited the district it was still almost deserted and the mines abandoned. But the works have since been resumed for the benefit of the Amir of Afghanistan. South Badakshan also possesses mines famous throughout the East, the turquoise and lapis lazuli dejiosits in the southern slopes of the Hindu-Kush, near the sources of the Kokcha, in the Lajurd, or Lazurd district, whence the terms BADAKSHAN. 241 lazuli and azure. In the black and white limestone rocks the mines open here and there irregularly about 1,600 feet above the river. But none of them run very far in, owing to the frequent subsidence of the galleries, none of which are propped up. The finest lapis lazuli occurs generally in the black limestone. Less valued Fig. 129. — East Badakshan. Sole 1 : 1,500.000. C.Perro.D 30 Miles. are the nili, of a fine indigo colour ; the asmani, a light blue ; and the suvsi, of a greenish hue. The works have been frequently interrupted from wars and other causes ; yet the stones are always in the hands of the B okhara, Kabul, and Kashgar dealers. The annual yield varies from about 1,250 to 2,500 lbs. weight. The 242 ASIATIC RUSSIA. Kokcka basin, one of the niost remarkable in Asia for its mineral -wealth, is usually known by the name of Hamak-kan, or "All Mines," for it also contains rich copper, lead, alum, sulphur, and iron deposits, which have been worked from the remotest times. Copper and lead are likewise found in the mountains farther north, and in the Hoja-Mohammed chain, stretching northwards to the great bend of the Oxus. Several of the mountain torrents also wash down gold dust. Thanks to these resources and to the influence of the Greek artists of the Hellenic period in Baktriana, the Badakshani have become the best metal-workers in the East. Badakshan is also exceptionally favoured by its healthy climate, the purity of its waters, its leafy vegetation and fertile valleys. Its apples, peaches, grapes, and melons are famous in all the surrounding lands. Its horses, too, are highly prized by the Afghan Government for their strength and sure-footedness, while its sheep Fig. 130. — Badakshan and Kunduz. Scale 1 : 3,600,000. Eof G 69° C Perron supply a portion of the wool used in weaving the wonderful Kashmir shawls. Herds of swine also abound in the less populous districts ; yet with all these resources the people remain mostly miserably poor, owing largely to the still prevalent feudal system, the devastating wars, the raids of the Kunduz Uzbegs, and the heavy taxes of the Amir of Kabul, aggravated by his local vassal. Till recently these princes were engaged in the slave trade, seizing even travellers passing through the country. Theoretically " infidels" alone could be enslaved, but under this term were included the Shiah heretics, and many good Sunnites were often compelled by torture to confess themselves followers of Ali. However, the exigencies of trade relieved the Hindki and Jewish merchants from the risk of capture. In spite of wars, oppression, and slavery, the Badakshan Tajiks are described in flattering terms by the few travellers that have visited the land. They are generally courteous, respectful to their elders, and upright. The women, often of BADAKSHAN. 243 s#«So a very fair type, are attractive, industrious, good housewives, and although Mohammedans, the poorer, at least, amongst them are not obliged to go about veiled, and enjoy free intercourse with their friends. In Wood's time the capital of Badakshan was Jurm. or -Term, a group of scattered hamlets with over 1,500 inhabitants. Faizabad. the old capital, some 30 miles to the north-west, and also in the Kokcha vallev. was then a mere heap of ruins, with the walls of a fortress still standinsr on a bluff on the left ri ?' m — Bami ^ rAi5 tSB KuXDrz KorTE - a . Scale 1 : 2,500,000. bank of the river. Faizabad has somewhat revived since it has again become the capital, yet in 1866 it had only four hundred houses. The country suffered much from the invasion of the Kunduzi in 1S"29. and in 1832 an earthquake destroyed most of the villages. Packs of wolves replaced the population of many districts, and travellers did not venture to cross the land without escorts. The site is still unknown of the citv of Badakshan. at one time the capital of the state, and often wTonglv identified with Faizabad. It stood, probably, farther east in the Dasht-i-baharak plain, about the confluence of the three rivers. Zardeo. Sarghilan, and Yardoj. or Badak- shan. Here is. at present, a summer residence of the emir. In the western division of the country rises a magnificent peak south of the town of fleshed, and known as the Takht-i-Suliman, or " Soliman's Throne." so called from a king who, according to the legend, took refuge here from the scorpions of the plain. A chain of hands, reaching from the base to the summit of the mountain, passed his food up ; but the scorpions were not to be done, for one of them, concealing himself in a bunch of grapes, was passed up also, and thus contrived to inflict the deadly sting. The present capital lies too much in the heart of the mountains to become a larare trading-place. Bustak. rendezvous of the Hindki. Afghan, and Bokhara ■ - ,.-"- - S^" V - '■-----.---:_■. lliltf 1 - ~ 30 Miles. 244 ASIATIC RUSSIA. merchants, is better situated on the plain, some 25 miles east of the Kokcka and Oxtis confluence, and at the junction of the Kashgar, Chitral, Balkh, and Hissar caravan routes. KUXDTJZ A-VD BaMIAX. "West of Badakshan, the region comprised between the Oxus and the continua- tion of the Hindu-Kush depends also on Afghanistan politically, but a sharp contrast still exists between the populations of both slopes. The comparatively easy passes connecting the Oxus and Indus basins have at all times attracted divers races towards Baktriana. Through this route the Aryan invaders passed in prehistoric times towards Fig. 132. — Ruixs of Balkh and Mazar-i-sherif. Scale 1 : 1,800,000. India. Alexander also crossed the Paropamisus, or Indian Caucasus, to annex Sogdiana to his empire. The Mongols and kindred races followed the same road from the north, and in subsequent times retraced their steps through these passes from the south. Here the Afghan Iranians have retained the predominance ; but in the north the Fzbeg Tatars have acquired the political supremacy, and in all the provinces west of Badakshan they now form the most numerous element. Lastly, most of the passes, including that of Barman, the most important of all, are guarded by the Hazarahs, Shiah tribes of Mongol stock, but, since the sixteenth century, of Persian speech. The Surgh-ab river of Kunduz, known as the Ak-serai, in its lower 24 jiiies. course receives its first waters from the Koh-i-baba, or " Father of the Moun- tains. '' One of its head-streams rises at the ITaji-kak Pass, not the lowest, but the easiest of the "Indian Caucasus," and open seven months in the year. East of this pass, which is better known as the " Grate of Barnian," the Surgh-ab skirts the northern foot of the Hindu-Kush, and here the valleys of several of its tributaries also lead to passes over the main range. From the comparatively low Kauak Pass the Indar-ab flows west to the Surgh-ab, and in a distance of about 130 miles between the Kauak and Haji-kak Passes, Markham enumerates sixteen others over the Hindu- Kush. Seen from the depression in which the Indar-ab and Surgh-ab approach each other, the range appears in all its majesty, from its dark base to its snowy peaks. The crest has an elevation of '20,000 feet, but with depressions of 6,600 and even KTJNDUZ AND BAMIAN. 245 8,300 feet interrupting- the snow-line, which here runs with remarkable uniformity at an altitude of about 15,000 feet. Through the Haji-kak and Irak Passes the town of Bamian communicates with the Helmand basin as well as with the Kabul highlands, while through the Chibr Pass it enjoys direct co mm unication with the Gosband valley, forming part of the Indus basin. Bamian thus commands a great part of Afghanistan, and its strategic importance was at all times understood, as shown by the ruins of fortifica- tions belonging to different epochs, and succeeding each other on the cliffs and along the defiles of the valley. This town is supposed to have been the ancient Paro-Vami, while some, with Carl Bitter, identify it with the Alexandria ad Caucasum, founded by the Macedonian conqueror. It acquired special importance in the religious history of the Eastern nations. Amongst the ruins left by the Mongols after the destruction of the place in 1220 are numerous traces apparently of temples, as well as of stupas, as those religious monuments in the form of towers are called, which are found in so many regions visited by the Buddhist missionaries. The place itself has been named But-Bamian, or Bamian " of the Idols," from two rudely carved human figures representing the divinity, Silsal (Sersal) and Shamama. These rock figures, known also as the Red and White Idols, stand at a conspicuous point on the great highway of trade, migration, and conquest, and are so large that the caravans find accommodation in the openings let into the skirts of their robes. According to Burns they are 120 and 70 feet high respectively. The Hindus raise their hands in passing them, but others pelt them with stones, and the lower portions have been partly demolished by cannon balls. Most of the paintings decorating the figures have disappeared, but the nimbus round their heads still remains. They are pierced within with stairs and recesses, and the adjoining rocks are also perforated in every direction. A whole people could put up in these "twelve thousand" galleries, which occupy the slopes of the valley for a distance of about 8 miles. Isolated bluffs are pierced with so many chambers that they look like beehives. Notwithstanding the pilfering going on for generations, coins, rings, and other gold and silver objects are still found here. Some cuneiform inscriptions have been discovered on the rocks, but most of the coins and medals, dating from the Mussulman period, bear Kufic legends. No traces have yet been met with of the recumbent statue of Buddha, 1,000 feet long, seen here by the Chinese Hwen-T'sang in the seventh century. Although belonging geographically to Turkestan, Bamian is nevertheless usually included in Afghanistan proper. It lies on the Surgh-ab, over 3,000 feet below the Haji-kak Pass, which is itself 12,385 feet above sea-level. The Ak-robat, or ""White Caravanserai" Pass, immediately north of the town, and the Kara-kotal, or "Black Pass," in the Kara-koh, or " Black Mountains," are both over 10,000 feet, yet accessible to waggons and even to artillery. Between the two runs a small but difficult ridge known as the Dandan-shikan, or "Teeth-breaker." North of the Kara-kotal the road following the Khulm River traverses some formidable defiles, interrupted by pleasant valleys, the rocks skirting one of which are crowned with ruined forts showing the strategical importance formerly 246 ASIATIC RUSSIA. 133. — Sartitl and Shibiukhan Valley. Scale 1 : 400,000. attached to this point. Altogether these northern slopes of the Indian Caucasus are niore inviting and verdant than the rugged heights of Afghanistan. But the marshy plains at their feet, especially the low-lying Kunduz, or Ak-serai valley, are amongst the most unhealthy in Central Asia. " If you want to die go to the Kunduz," says the Badakshan rjro- verh, and of 100,000 Badakshani forcibly removed hither by Murad Beg in 1830, all but 6,000 are said to have perished within eight years. The town of Kunduz itself, although capital of a state, even in the time of Murad Beg consisted merely of a few hundred mud houses, some reed huts, and Uzbeg tents scattered over gardens, wheat-fields, and swamps. Talikhan, lying farther east at the foot of the range between Kunduz and Badak- shan, seems to have been a far more important place. It held out for seven months against Jenghis Khan, and Marco Polo describes it as a large city and a great corn, fruit, and salt mart. The salt mountains whence it drew its supplies lay to the east and south-east, especially near Ak-bulak in Badak- shan. Here also is the Lattaband Pass, followed by the caravans proceeding from Kunduz to Badakshan and the Pamir. It commands a view of the Koh-i-ambar, a remarkabty regular cone rising 2,660 feet above the plains, which according to the leg-end was C Perron , C Miles. brought from India, and which is consequently said to grow none but Indian plants. The lion haunts the plains stretching north of these hills, but he is met nowhere north of the Oxus. The population of Kunduz is esti- mated by the Russian officials at 400,000, or about 36 per square mile in a total area of some 11,000 square miles. Though not much for a country abounding in fertile and well-watered vallc3's, this is a vastly higher proportion than prevails in the Russian possessions, on which account this territory, so conveniently situated at the gates of the Ilindu-Kush, naturally seems to the Muscovites the necessary KHULM, BALKH, ANDKHOI. 247 complement of their Turkestan domain. Travellers speak favourably especially of the Kunduz women, as excellent housewives, although held by the men in less consideration than their dogs. Khulm, Balkh, Akdkhoi. Khulm, or Khulum, is not so large, but is relatively as densely peopled, as Kunduz, although not so well watered as that region. The Kunduz, or Ak- serai River, fed by the snows of the Hindu- Kush and the Koh-i-baba, is copious enough to reach the Oxus, whereas the Khulm River, flowing from advanced spurs of the Kara-koh, is absorbed by irrigation works on entering the plains. But the geographical position of Khulm, occupying the centre of the old Baktriana, is one of vital importance. Here converges the highway of Persia and India over the Bamian Pass, and here is the natural centre of the vast amphitheatre of highlands Fig. 134. — The Maimene Valley. Scale 1 : 370,000. f, h®l met y 64" 5' Ma.iTmane! 64'Q5 E Of G 6 Miles. and plateaux stretching from Meshed in Persia to Bokhara. Balkh, "the Mother of Cities," was formerly the converging point of all the great commercial highways of this region. But after its destruction by Jenghis Khan in P220 it ceased to be the centre of traffic, and before the middle of the present century Khulm was the most important place in Baktriana. Its Tajik population of 10,000 had a large trade in skins of dogs, cats, foxes, and lambs. It is encircled by extensive gardens and orchards, and even the bed of the intermittent stream is periodically converted into a garden. The present town is a modern place lying about 5 miles from the ancient Khrdm, now a heap of ruins. Balkh, formerly so famous as an imperial capital and holy place, the city in which Zoroaster preached, later on a centre of Hellenic culture and of Buddhism, is now little more than a vast ruin. For a circuit of over 18 miles nothing is visible except heaps of bricks, enamelled tiles, and other debris. The marble temples seen by the pilgrim Hwen-T'sang in all their beauty, and whose ruins were admired by Marco Polo, have disappi ■eared altogether. Even the few Uzbeg 248 ASIATIC KUSSIA. encampments and Tajik hamlets scattered over the plain were completely abandoned after the visitation of cholera in 1S72, and " when Balkh shall rise from its ruins," say the natives, " the world will soon end." Since 1858 Takht-i-pul, some 12 miles farther cast, has been the political centre of Afghan Turkestan. But the urban population, according to Grodckov amounting in 1878 to 25,000, has removed to the neighbouring sanctuary of Mazar-i-shcrif ("Tomb of the Sherif "), famous even beyond the Iiindu-Ivush for the ceaseless miracles here wrought at the shrine of the prophet Ali. Mazar-i-sherif, whose four blue minarets are visible in the distance, lies still within the limits of the region watered b}^ the Balkh, or Dehas River, whose farthest head-streams rise in the Koh-i-baba and Sufid-koh. In the lowlands this stream, though still rapid, becomes a mere embanked canal, the Bcnd-i-barbari, or " Dyke of the Barbarians," which, after a Fig. 135. -Khanates op Afghan Turkestan West of the Oxrs. Scale 1 ; 1,780,000. C Pefrron 120 Miles. course of over 180 miles, runs dry in the gardens of Sujagird, north of Balkh. Whether Sujagird was a suburb of Balkh or an independent city, its ruins still cover a vast space, some 8 miles long, north and south on the road to the Oxus. Farther west other streams also flowing through Afghan territory fail to reach the Oxus, though their waters serve to clothe with verdure the oases around the towns of Ak-cha, Saripul, Shibirkhan, and Andkhoi, peopled by Iranians, Turko- mans, and Uzbegs. Thanks to the abundance of its waters, the most flourishing of these places is said to be Shibirkhan, whose melons Marco Polo described as the finest in the world. "When Ferrier visited it in 1845 it had a population of 12,000. Saripul had 3,000 in 1818, but being pent up by the hills in a cirque subject to malaria, it is a very unhealthy jDlace. The only trees flourishing in the Saripul and Shibirkhan valley are the saksaul and the tamarind, though a few plants have been recently brought from Bokhara. KHULM, BALKH, ANDKHOI. 249 Next to Mazar-i-sherif the most populous town in Afghan Turkestan is And- khoi, which, according to Vambery, had 15,000 inhabitants in 1863. But most of them were living in tents amid the ruins of a city encompassed by -the desert. The Maimene, a stream flowing through its gardens, has very little water in its bed, and this is so brackish that strangers cannot drink it. " Salt water, burning sands, venomous flies and scorpions, such is Andkhoi, and such is hell," says a Persian poet quoted by Vambery. Yet its horses, whose genealogy the natives trace back to the steed of the Persian Hercules, Rustem, are renowned throughout Tatary, as is also the so-called ner or nar breed of dromedaries, distinguished for their flowing manes, elegant forms, and great strength. Andkhoi also formerly sent to Persia those black lambskins known in Europe as "Astrakhans," but since the destruc- tion of the place by the Afghans in 1840 its trade in these articles has not revived. Maimene, lying amongst the hills, is watered by the same river Nari, which nearly runs dry in the gardens of Andkhoi. Its brave Uzbeg inhabitants long maintained their independence amidst the rival claims of Persia, Bokhara, and Afghanistan,, but they are now tributary to Kabul, though soon probably destined to become an advanced outpost of the northern colossus at the threshold of the Iranian plateau. Here Maimene occupies an important strategical position, and according to Rawlinson, if Herat is the key to India, Maimene is the key to Herat. On the other hand, Grodekov asserts from personal knowledge that the route from Maimene to Herat is too difficult for military purposes. But however this be, Maimene is the chief trading station between Herat and Bokhara, and commands several mountain passes, so that its possession woidd be a great prize in the hands of either of the rival powers contending for the mastery in Asia. In 1863 Vambery gave it a population of from 15,000 to 18,000, which more recent, but probably exaggerated, Russian estimates raised to 60,000. But in 1874 it was besieged by an Afghan army of 10,000 and twenty guns, which had already taken Saripul and Shibirkhan. The siege lasted six months, ending in the slaughter of 18,000 of its inhabitants, since when Maimene has remained a decayed village exposed to Turkoman raids. The population of the whole khanate, estimated by Vambery at 300,000, is reduced by the Russian officers to 100,000. A brisk trade in horses, carpets, dried fruits, chiefly in the hands of the Jews, is carried on at the Maimene fairs. All the khanates between the Indian Caucasus and the Oxus are at present subject to Afghanistan, except that of Andkhoi, which is still semi- independent. The geographical divisions have remained unaltered, and the village of Gurzivan and the small centres of the population in the Darzab valley, in the mountains south and south-west of Saripul, have preserved the title of khanate, though they have lost their autonomy. The Uzbeg natives are not required to render military service, their Afghan masters fearing they might use their arms to recover their independence. But the weight of taxation falls all the more heavily on them. According to Grodekov they are impatiently awaiting the arrival of the Russians ; but they do nothing for their own freedom, and can scarcely defend themselves from the Turkoman marauders. Thus have a hundred years of oppression broken the spirit of these Turki peoples, formerly so renowned for their bravery. 250 ASIATIC RUSSIA. II.— MERV— THE SOUTHERN TURKOMANS. " Independent Tatary," which till recently covered such a wide area, is now reduced to a single narrow oasis encompassed by the sands, and already menaced on three sides by the Russian amis. One famous spot alone still lies beyond the Afghan frontier, or the territory directly or indirectly subject to Russia. This is the ancient Merv of the Persians, the Maur of the Uzbegs, which occupies a strategic position of some importance, which disputes with Balkh the title of " Mother of the Cities of Asia," and which formerly called itself "King of the Universe" (8hah-i-Jehan\ In the neighbourhood are still to be seen the ruins of Antiochia Margiana, or Merv-i-mukan, as it is now called, the ancient Hellenic city founded by Antiochus Sotcr. During the Arab ascendancy Merv, like Samar- kand and Bokhara, became a great centre of learning, and the famous historian Yakut studied in its libraries. But the place fell a prey to the ruthless Mongols under Jenghis Khun, and its inhabitants, to the number, it is said, of 700,000, were led out of the city, told off in batches like beasts for the shambles, and all slaughtered in cold blood. Yet Merv revived from this fearful disaster, and was again a popidous place in 1795, when Murad, Emir of Bokhara, destroyed the embankment retaining the waters of the Murgh-ab in an artificial lake, ruined the town and its gardens, and restored a great part of the country to the desert. Some 40,000 of the people, chiefly silk-weavers and other artisans, were removed to Bokhara, where their descendants still occupy a separate quarter. Merv passed subsequently into the hands of the Khan of Khiva, but since 1834 it has been held by the Tekke Turkomans, and its normal population now consists of 2,000 or 3,000 Uzbegs, while the Tekkes, Sariks, and Salors have camping grounds in the neighbourhood. It is the chief rallying-point of the Turkoman nomads, who, according to Petrusevich, have 50,000 tents in the Merv oasis. But the views hitherto entertained regarding its great strategical importance have been consider- ably modified since the advance of the Russians along the northern face of the Attok. Mr. Donovan, correspondent of the Daily News, imprisoned here for some weeks during the summer of 1881, also found that Merv still remains the assemblage of wretched mud huts described by Conolly in 1840; The opinion is now generally held that in their advance on Herat the Russians can safely leave Merv on the left until it suits their convenience to occupy it, meantime availing themselves of the easier and more direct route along the valley of the river T'ejend. The oasis of cultivated land, which Strabo tells us was surrounded by Antiochus with a wall 180 miles in circumference, stretches 75 miles north and south, with a mean width of 7 miles. Its fertility is famous throughout the East, and is maintained by 2,000 Turkoman labourers, who attend throughout the year to the irrigation works. Great changes have taken place in the Merv country since the people have become more independent of the Khivan and Bokhara rulers. The reputation they formerly enjoyed amongst their neighbours is reflected in the local proverb, " If you meet a viper and a Mervi, kill the Mcrvi first, and then crush the viper." THE SOUTHERN TURKOMANS. 251 Fearing to extend their forays to the Oxus, now held by the Russians, and com- pelled to come to terms with the Persians, Danian-i-kok Kurds, and Afghans, the Merv people have mostly relinquished their marauding habits ; pillage and murder are no longer held in honour as formerly ; and some moralising preachers have already ventured to broach Fig. 136. — Merv axd Sakakhs Oases. Scale 1 : 310,000. Naoukal the doctrine that there is no glory in slaughtering one's neighbours. Ilouses have been built in the oasis, irrigating rills have been dug, and the zone of cul- ture extended. Fruit trees are being brought by the caravans from Bokhara, trade has been somewhat revived, and dealers from Meshed and Bokhara are now settled in the district. Between Merv and Meshed the Tekkes and their allies, the Salors, press hard upon the Persian stronghold of Sarakhs (Sharaks), situated in an oasis watered by the Heri- rud, or Tenjen, the river of Herat. Like Merv and Maimene, this is one of the strategical points which, in the hands of a military power, may have the most vital consequences for the peoples of the Iranian plateau. The Jews of Meshed, trading with the neighbouring Turkomans, have here erected a few mud houses ; but till recently the only dwellings were the so- called kirghas, wood or reed huts covered with felt. The surrounding oasis is no less productive than that of Merv, and the two places dispute the honour of having given birth to the first husbandman. West of Sarakhs, for a stretch of over 360 miles, the Turkomans have no towns properly so called. But some of their camping grounds on the banks of the streams C. Perron 30 Milea. 252 ASIATIC EUSSIA. are encircled by defensive walls, often enclosing thousands of kibitkas. Eight villages of Eshabad have each a population of about 2,000, and before its capture by the Russians in 1881 Geok-tepe had some 15,000 inhabitants. Of the old Parthian towns nothing now remains, or at least their ruins have not yet been discovered. The city of Nissa, containing the tombs of the Parthian kings, is said to have stood at the issue of a valley at the foot of the Daman- i-koh. It may perhaps be the present Nias, lying east of the Turkoman fortress of Kizil-arvat, or rather Kizil-robat — that is, the " Ped Caravanserai" — in a district recently visited by Baker and Gill. Since the fall of Geok-tepe all the Turkoman tribes of this region have practically accepted Russian sovereignty. The limits of the Trans- Caspian territory have been extended eastwards to Askabad, and every effort is being made to complete the line of railway from the Caspian to Banii, the new capital of this province. In virtue of an imperial ukase issued in May, 1881, all the Akhal Tekke country is now incorporated in the Trans- Caspian territory, which is itself placed under the supreme administration of the Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasus. It is also stated that in a short time Russia will accept the Protectorate of the Merv Turkomans, a delegate from whom visited St. Petersburg in the spring of the year 1881. It is obvious that the time is rapidly approaching when the whole of the Turkoman domain will form an integral part of the Russian Empire, whose southern limits will then stretch nearly in a straight line along the northern frontiers of Persia and Afghanistan from the south-east end of the Caspian to the neighbourhood of the Hindu-Kush. III.— BOKHARA. Still nominally independent, this state is one of those which must henceforth con- form their policy to the will of the Czar. Without being obliged to keep gar- risons in its fortresses or to pay the salaries of civil administrators, Russia nevertheless holds the routes leading through Bokhara to the Hindu-Kush. Hence, in advancing upon Merv or Herat, her armies can now draw their supplies as well from the Bokhara oasis as from the shores of the Caspian. On the other hand, the Bokhara Government, protected by its powerful lord paramount, has no longer aught to fear from Turkoman or Afghan, and whole provinces have even been made over to it by a. stroke of the pen. Thus by the will of Russia several states of the Upper Oxus — Shignan, Roshan, Darvaz, Karateghin — formerly depending partly on Kunduz or Badakshan, are now incorporated in Bokhara, and the Russians have thus become the masters of the Pamir passes. Within its new limits Bokhara occupies a space about half the size of France, with a population of over 2,000,000.* It lies nearly altogether on the right bank of the Oxus, whence its old name of Trans- oxiana, or Maverannahr, a word having precisely the same meaning. The term Sogdiana is properly limited to the valley of the Sogd, or present Zarafshan, henceforth shared by the Russian and Bokhara Governments between them. The upland regions of the Bokhara Pamir, traversed by the Panja, Murgh-ab, and Surgh-ab, are nearly uninhabitable, or visited only in summer by the Kirghiz * Area of Bokhara, 95,600 square miles; probable population, 2,130,000. DARVAZ AND KARATEGHIN. 253 nomads. In the centre of the Pamir there are no villages above Tash-kurgan, and the Murgh-ab (Ak-tu) may be followed for over 120 miles to the snow-line and the Ak-tash Mountain without meeting a single hamlet. Below the Ishkashim bend in Badakshan the Panja, or Sarhad, continues to flow northwards to the Murgh-ab and other streams of the Western Pamir, whose junction forms the Amu-daria. In this part of the Oxus basin are the three petty states of Shignan, Roshan, and Darvaz, which since mediasval times have been visited by no European travellers. Yet the communications between Badakshan and the Upper Oxus valleys are frequent, and in 1875 Captain Trotter was able to send his native assistant, Abdul Subhan, to explore the course of the Panja for a distance of 96 miles below the Ishkashim bend to Wamur, capital of Roshan. On the other hand, the Hindu explorer, Subadar Shah, ascended the Oxus in 1874 from Western Badakshan to the Roshan frontier, leaving but a small and unimportant gap between the two itineraries. Shignan and Roshan. Shignan (Shugnan, Shugdan) and Roshan, no part of which is probably lower than 6,500 feet above the sea-level, have received from the lowlands the name of Zuchan — that is, " Land of Two Lives " — as if the pure air and water of this region insured to its inhabitants twice the average term of life. But there are few to enjoy this excellent climate. According to Wood there were in 1838 only 300 families in Shignan and 1,000 in Roshan, all Iranians ; but in 1873 the population increased altogether to 4,700 families, or about 25,000 soids. As in Wakhan, the slave trade was the cause of the depletion of the land. In 1869 the prince still trafficked in his own subjects, an adult man or woman being valued at from £12 to £18, which was equivalent to 10 to 15 bulls, 5 to 8 yaks, or 2 Kirghiz muskets. At the time of Forsyth's visit the two states had only one emir, residing at Wamur (Varnar), capital of Roshan. Kila-bar-panja, on the left bank of the river, consists of 1,500 houses. Wamur, like most of the other villages, stands on the right bank with a western aspect, which is here blighter and warmer than that facing eastwards. Darvaz and Karateghin. Darvaz, bordering on Roshan below the junction of the Panja and Murgh-ab, is also peopled by Tajiks, speaking Persian and preserving many Mazdean traditions, although now Sunnitc Mussulmans. In Darvaz the Oxus begins to trend westwards, and on its more sheltered banks the cultivated plants of the temperate zone, and even cotton, begin to appear. Nib-kumb, Kila-kumb, or Kaleh-i-kumb, the cajfital, is sometimes known as the " Prison of Iskander," having been traditionally built by Alexander of Maccdon to confine the rebels. A garrison of 5,000 Bokhariots occupies Darvaz, whose inhabitants energetically resisted the conquest. Karateghin, separated from Ferghana by the Alai-tagh range, is a romantic land of mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, traversed by the Kizil-su, or "Red River," VOL. vi. s '254 ASIATIC RUSSIA. > Wfd/'% I in * N' ill iff .iPW ■■^™# SI » '' 'Til' } ^/*-.i ; }lf||j||||ii|j[|;iM 1 ijl:i Hi!ilH|:i||iiij:lii ! .,rl | jr It^iM^t'iltlHtljiii i which lower down is known successively as the Surgh-ab and Waksh (Vaksh, or Vakhsh). Here also the old Aryan population has held its ground, and the Galchas, although officially converted to Islam, have preserved their old customs HISSAR— THE IRON GATE. 255 recalling those qf Zoroastriau times, and continue to speak Persian. They are very industrious, engaged in weaving, metal-working, gold- washing, and rock-salt mining, while in summer they do a considerable trade with Kokan, Bokhara, and Kashgaria. But these pursuits are insufficient for the support of the people, all of whom being proprietors, and reluctant to divide the land indefinitely, many are obliged to emigrate to the lowlands. All the water-carriers of Tashkend are natives of Karateghin, and many schoolmasters in Turkestan are from the same place. Although the country has a mean elevation of 6,500 feet, Fedchenko estimates the population at upwards of 100,000, occupying over 400 kishlaks, generally surrounded b}^ orchards. The prince, another "descendant of Alexander," resides in Garni (Harm), a cluster of 350 houses on the right bank of the Surgh-ab. In the neighbourhood is a copious hot spring of carbonated water. Hissar — The Iron Gate. The district of Hissar, lying west of Karateghin, was for the first time accurately surveyed by the Russians, Vishnevsky, Mayev, and Schwarz, in 1875. We now know that its eastern division is traversed by the Surgh-ab, or Waksh, flowing to the Oxus below Hazret-imam in Kunduz. "West of this river the country is divided into parallel zones by the broad valleys of the Kafirnahan, Surkhan, and Shirabad-daria. Below Garm there are no towns except Kurgan-tube on the right bank of the river. But a little farther down are the ruins of Lakman, which seems to have been formerly a considerable place, and where are the remains of a bridge across the Waksh. Opjiosite the junction of this liver with the Oxus stood Takhta-kuvat, associated with many local legends. Lastly, near the Patta- hissar Pass, on the caravan route from Bokhara to Mazar-i-sherif, are the ruins of Termez, which stretched for 15 miles along the Oxus between the river Sarkhan and the ruins of Muja, another city abandoned in recent times, but still overlooked by a tall minaret. Termez was formerly known by the Tajik name of Gul-gula, the " Noisy," the noise of its bazaars having been heard at Baktra (Balkk), 54 miles off ! In the ruins of these cities many gold and silver objects, especially Greek coins, have been discovered, nearly all of which find their way to India. Gold- washing is activety carried on along the banks of the Waksh. All the towns of Hissar — Faizabad, Kafirnahan, Dushambe, Hissar, Karatagh, Eegar, Sari-chus, Yurchi, Denau, Baisun, Shirabad — stand on tributaries of the Oxus, and most of them near the region of snows and glaciers. The low-lying riverain tracts are here as unhealthy as on the Kunduz side, and to guard against the fevers and rheumatism caused by the sudden changes of temperature, the natives never lay aside their fur robes even in the height of summer. Hissar, which gives its name to the whole district, lies 96 miles north of the Oxus, in the upper valley of the Kafirnahan, and above the fever zone. Its inhabitants, estimated at 10,000, are chiefly engaged in the production of arms, knives, and hardware, exported by the pilgrims to Persia, Turkey, and Arabia. Some of the damascened blades with chased gold or silver hilts are of exquisite workmanship, and unequalled even in Europe for the temper of the steel. s 2 256 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The original Aryan population of Hissar has been mostly displaced by intruders of TCirki stock. The Galchas are still found in some upland villages, and Faizabad, Kafirnahan, and a few more towns are peopled by Tajiks ; but elsewhere the Uzbegs and Sartes form the chief element. Hence, in Bokhara, Hissar is called Uzbekistan. "West of the Hissar Mountains several broad valleys running in the direction of the Oxus are watered by streams whose junction forms the Kashka. Here have been founded some states which have often played an important part in history. Shehr-i-sebs (Skakh-i-sabz), on a torrent flowing from Mount Hazret-i-Sultan at the southern issue of a pass over the Samarkand-tau Mountains, is one of those capitals which for a time acquired great influence in Turkestan. It consists in reality of two fortified towns, Kilab above, and Shehr below, formerly enclosed by one wall, but separated by extensive intervening gardens, whence their common Fig. 138. — Shehu-i-sebs and Karshi. Scale 1 : 1,200,000. 391 JlffeSisM" 65°50 66°50' ECrf G C Perron . 24 Miles. name of Shehr-i-sebs, or " City of Verdure." The larger of the two is Shehr, with a popidation of about 20,000 and 90 mosques ; Kilab has some 15,000 inhabitants. In the beginning of the fourteenth century the village of Kesh, birthplace of Tamerlane, occupied the site of the present Shehr-i-sebs. The master of Asia, wishing to make it the capital of his empire, built many edifices here, but soon recognised the superior advantages of Samarkand, to which he transferred his residence. Of his palace, the Ak-serai, or " White Castle," one of the " seven wonders of the world," nothing now remains except some towers and the huo-e brick pillars flanking the main entrance. Their walls are still lined with white and blue porcelain slabs, embellished with arabesques and Persian and Arabic inscriptions. Tradition points to one of these towers as that from which forty courtiers sprang spontaneously after a paper which a gust of wind had blown from the hands of their dread sovereign. THE IRON GATE DEFILE ON THE KARSHI-DEBEENT ROUTE. TOPOGRAPHY— BOKHARA . 257 The population of this district consists chiefly of Kenegez, Sunnite Uzbegs, as famous for their valour and endurance as the women are for their beauty. It required a Russian expedition to reduce Shehr-i-sebs in 1840, and its inhabitants have never tolerated slavery in their midst. Its gardens, watered by the Kashka, produce excellent fruits, and its annexation has been of great advantage to Bokhara, for the valley yields cereals, tobacco, cotton, hemp, fruits, and vegetables in abundance, while the hills are rich in minerals. The salt mines of Hazar, south-west of Shehr-i-sebs, supply all the demands of Samarkand, and Ilazar is also a large market for cattle and farm produce. One of the southern branches of the Kashka rises in a highland district formerly famous for containing one of the " wonders of the. world." This is a defile 40 to 05 feet broad, and nearly 2 miles long, traversed by the route leading from Balkh to Samarkand by the Shirabad Paver, Shehr-i-sebs, and the Samarkand- tau range. When visited by the pilgrim Hwen-T'sang this defile was closed by folding gates, strengthened with bolts and adorned with belfries. Eight centuries afterwards O'lavijo, Spanish envoy to the court of Tamerlane, also passed through the " Iron Gate," but the artificial structure had disappeared, and the place is now called Buzgola-khana, or the " Goat Hut." But the nearest town retains the significant name of Derbent, like that of the Caspian " Gate." Topography — Bokhara. The important town of Karshi lies in a vast plain near the junction of the two main branches of the Kashka, which receives all the waters of the hills between Shehr-i-sebs and Derbent. The walls of Karshi have a circuit of over 5 miles, with a population of 25,000. It produces excellent arms and knives, exported to Persia and Arabia, besides elegant ewers, and copper dishes artistically chased and embellished with incrustations of silver ; but its chief resource is derived from the surrounding oasis, in which tobacco especially is grown. The river is skirted by a fine promenade lined with the silver poplar, and the natives are renowned for their good taste, wit, and intelligence. Karshi lies at the converging point of the routes from Bokhara, Samarkand, Ilissar, Balkh, and Maimene, within 00 miles of the Oxus, but separated from it by the sands in which the Kashka runs dry. Where crossed by the route to Andkhoi and Maimene, the river is guarded by the fortified town of Kilif. Hero the Oxus, confined on one side by rocks, is only 1,200 feet broad, but is said at some points to be 250 and even 330 feet deep. Lower down another ferry is defended by Karikji Fort on the right, and Kerki on the left bank. All the middle course from Baktriana to Khiva has been assigned by Russia to Bokhara, this state being required to maintain the ferries and keep in good repair the caravan- serais on both sides. The population on the left bank consists chiefly of Ersari Turkomans tributary to the emir, and in return protected by him from the other nomads. After Kerki the only fortified place possessed by Bokhara on the west bank is Charjui, on the direct route between the capital and Merv, and facing the 258 ASIATIC RUSSIA. former junction of the Zarafshan. Charjui has become the entrepot of trade between Bokhara and Khiva. By seizing Samarkand and the upper and middle valley of the Zarafshan, Russia has placed at her mercy the city of Bokhara and all the other towns on the lower course of the river. The construction of an embankment to retain the waters of the Zarafshan in a large reservoir would suffice to dry up all the arable lands of Bokhara proper, and compel the inhabitants to emigrate. The extension of tillage in the Samarkand district has analogous consequences, a larger quantity of water being needed for the works of irrigation. Hence, since the Russian occupa- tion of Samarkand, Bokhara has suffered from a steadily diminishing supply, resulting in a gradual migration of the people irp stream. Thus, apart from her immeasurably superior military strength, the mere possession of Samarkand insures for Russia the absolute control of Bokhara. Bokhara, "the Xoble " (Sherif), as it is called on the coins struck by the emir, is not one of the fine cities of the East ; nor is it even one of the old cities of Sogdiana, although traditionally supposed to have been founded by Alexander. Its narrow, winding, and now nearly deserted streets, its dilapidated and grimy monuments, the sluggish waters of its canals often running dry altogether, its dreary and shadeless open spaces, do not recall the days when its emir was the mightiest ruler in Central Asia. The chief mosque is overlooked by a minaret 160 feet high, whence criminals were precipitated, and to which access was allowed only to the mollahs and executioners with their victims. The bazaars of Bokhara still attract traders from every quarter. At least two-thirds of the population, reduced from 140,000 in 1830 to 70,000 in 1880, are Tajiks. Turkomans and Fzbegs, more or less mixed with Iranian elements, are also numerous, while the Kirghiz pitch their tents in the open spaces as if they were in the middle of the desert. Russians likewise, and other Europeans in their wake, begin to show themselves in the streets, and the bazaars are occupied by many Jews and Hindus, or "Multani," as they are here called, from the city of Multan, regarded in Turkestan as the metropolis of India. Bokhara is especially famous as a centre of learning. " Elsewhere the light descends from above; in Bokhara it radiates upwards," as Mohammed himself certified when translated to heaven. At any rate an intense love of letters was here developed at various epochs between the ninth and fourteenth centuries. As in Spain, the mingling of Aryan and Arab cultures had the happiest results for science, and the Iranians of Bokhara converted to Islam, and more or less assimilated to the Arabs, became the poets, doctors, and shining lights of Transoxiana. Bokhara, the " City of Temples," as the name means in Mongolian, is still a city of schools, containing, besides 360 mosques, over 100 medresseh, or colleges, where the pupils learn to read the Koran. But traditional methods and mere routine have killed science, and little now is taught beyond empty formulas. The fervid faith of this " Rome of Islam " has itself degenerated to a system of shams, veilino- corruption and hollowness beneath the outward forms of worship. The decrees of the priesthood are faithfully observed ; the people always wear their winding- TOPOGRAPHY— BOKHARA. 259 sheet as a turban round the head; they eon the prescribed prayers, regularly visit the shriue of Baha-eddiu, the national saint of Turkestan. But meantime friend- ship is poisoned by treason, espionage has become the chief instrument of govern- ment, and vice in every form is installed at the gates of the mosques. Although far less flourishing than formerly, the industry of Bokhara is still considerable, and the bazaars are stocked with man}' objects of local produce. Here are fabricated the beautiful striped cotton goods known by the name of alaja, Fig. 130. — Bokhara: Ruins in the Interior of the City. excellent leather for the native boots and slippers, silken tissues " delicate as the spider's web." Nor has the Russian occupation of Samarkand or the rising com- mercial importance of Tashkend yet deprived Bokhara of its extensive inter- national trade. It still remains the groat central mart between Nijni-Novgorod and Peshawar ; India and Afghanistan send hither their drugs and dyes, tea, earthenware, books, and especially the so-called kahili, or English wares. From Persia come other woven goods, arms, and books ; from Merv, arms and valuable 200 ASIATIC EUSSIA. horses ; from Herat, fruits, wool, skins ; while through Khiva most of the manufactured articles are forwarded to the Volga basin. Russian merchandise is naturally found in the greatest quantity in the Bokhara bazaars, purchased, however, by the native dealers in Moscow, Nrjni- Novgorod, or Orenburg, and by them brought to the great mart of the Zarafshan. The whole of this important traffic, valued at nearly £6,000,000, is in the hands of the Bokhara, Afghan, Hindu, and Jewish traders. In 1S76 there was only one Russian merchant in the place, and certain branches of commerce formerly monopolized by the Russians have now been appropriated by the natives. Hence Bokhara is threatened with ruin not by the commercial rivalry of Samarkand or other towns occupied by the Russians, but by the gradual loss of water from the uplands. The shifting dunes are already yearly encroaching on the oasis, filling the irrigation canals, and slowly changing the country to a Fig. 140. — Oasis of Bokhara. Scale 1 : 2.000.000. 40 .-Va'-cfjnd^i Yan?- kourgan Rorr.ildn- . Koyouk-Maznr -\ ^ . I Ziyaoumedin ) Bokha •Bo^ouzdin Kara-Kaul. •Pankend Baikound /UrnJ tclioul . Stippt - ' "l\ V" J/ Sour} govs* -Aou/ E of G. C Perron desert. The destruction of the saksaul forests resulted in changing the firmly bound hillocks into moving sands, driven by the winds to the conquest of the arable tracts. The canals formerly derived from the Sir have also long been abandoned, and the time when the whole oasis will be restored to the desert is merely a question of calculation. Quite recently the rich Yardandzi territory has been invaded ; the Romitan district, west of Bokhara, was swallowed up in 1808, when 16,000 families are said to have been compelled to take refuge in Khiva. Tens of thousands have migrated in the same way to Samarkand and the Zarafshan valley. The city of Bokhara itself is seriously threatened, the people awaiting the catastrophe as an immutable dispensation of Allah, and unless the progress of the dunes can be arrested their ruin is really inevitable. Thus in former times have perished Khoju-oba, 24 miles north-west of Bokhara, and the famous Baikund, 20 miles west of it. Bokhara suffers also from the bad TOPOGRAPHY— BOKHARA. 261 quality of its waters, aud from its unhealthy climate. Ulcers of all kind- are very common, especially amongst the women, and in summer one-tenth or even one-fourth of the people are attacked by the tilaria medinensis, a parasite bred in the flesh of the feet or arms, and which can scarcely he got rid of except by excision, a surgical operation skilfully performed by the local barbers. Besides the capital several other towns have been founded in the Zarafshan valley, and especially in the iliankal district towards the Russian frontier. Here village succeeds village, and the whole country is a vast garden, still justifying the saying formerly applied to all the country between Tashkend and Khiva, that •• a eat could pass along the roofs from town to town." The largest places Fit:. HI.— Khit*. Scale 1 : 2SJXX). a » m Mosques. Palace of the Eh.ui. Schools. Cuviv.inserai. Baciar. _____ l.OSO T.irds- in Miankal are Zivaweddin, Yani-kurgan. and Kerrm'neh, peopled chiefly by Uzbegs, who are here excellent agriculturists. Below Bokhara the chief station on the route to Charjui is Kara-kul. or " Black Lake." During the floods the river reaches this point, where a basin still known as the Benghiz. or " Sea." receives the overflow, which evaporates without cross- ing the sands to the Osus. Iu 1S'20, when the water must have been far more abundant than at present. Kara-kul is said to have had a population of 00.000. a number which wotdd now inevitably perish of thirst iu a district formerly irrigated by a network of canals from the Oxus, Zarafshan. and Sir. The khanate of Bokhara still maintains its local administration and the outward forms of government. But the substance has vanished, the Emir, or ■• Head of the Faithful " and master of the lives of his subjects, having now to 202 ASIATIC RUSSIA. reckon with one more powerful than himself — the Governor-General of Russian Turkestan. Even within his borders the Russian fort of St. George was erected in 1872 at Kala-ata, to guard the direct route between Tashkend and Khiva. Henceforth Christian strangers have to fear neither torture nor inrprisonment, and even the much-abused Jews now find protection from extortion, while the slave markets are closed and the traffic in human flesh at least outwardly sup- pressed. The treaty of 1873 abolishing the slave trade also secured to the Russians the free navigation of the Oxus, and the right to construct quays and Fig. 142. — A MlNAHET IN KlIIVA. <£0CV5&J depots along its banks. All the towns of Bokhara were thrown open to Russian trade, the subjects of the Czar were authorised to exercise every industry on an equal footing with the natives, and were allowed to settle as landowners in the khanate. A Russian minister was also accredited to the emir's court, intrusted to watch over the execution of the treaty, while police regulations were framed to prevent any one from passing from Russian to Bokhara territory without the formal authorisation of the imperial Government. The police of Russia thus penetrates farther than her armies into the heart of the continent, and through KHIVA. 238 her vassal state^hc con now make herself foil on (lio Kashmir ami Afghan frontiers, Of the commercial advantages secured to her by the treaty she has so far scarcely made any use Tlio Bokhara army, now useless for military purposes, has become a sort of irregular police, composed of Sarte volunteers ami Persian Ereedmen formerly sold by (lie Turkomans in the Bokhara market. The words of command, framed by the Cossack deserter Popov, who became commander-in-chief, arc delivered in Fig. 143, — Kuivas Exterior or a Mosque. Russian, bill mixed with some English and Titrki terms, and the uniform of the troops is a distant imitation of that of the Indian sepovs. IV — KIII\ A Khiva, like Bokhara, is also a vassal state: but ow ing to its geographical posi- tion much more directly dependent on Russia. The right bank of the Ainu, which separates the khanate from the Russian possessions, is lined with forts and fortifications, whence the troops of the Car might in four-and-twentv hours reduce the whole oasis, Although the official area of the country is stated to be 23, 000 square miles, with a population of 700,000, most of the land is a desert, blending imperceptibly with the irrigated tracts. Where the canals stop the 264 ASIATIC RUSSIA. last permanent villages cease, so that the whole settled population is. so to say, grouped under the guns of the Russian strongholds. It took the Muscovites over one hundred and fifty years to finally subdue a region defended on the south, west, and north-west by almost impassable wastes. On two occasions, in 1703 and 1740, the khans had declared themselves Russian subjects, but the treaties Fig. 141. — Krasxovodsk Bat. Scale 1 : 290,000. Lof G 5o"5' to 10 Feet. : Feet. :"!'2 Feet and upwards. Hiles. had remained inoperative, and the people persisted in their hostility to the foreigner. In 1717 the Kabardian Prince Iiekovieh Oherkaskiy, sent by Peter the Great to give a body-guard to the khan, and thus prepare for Russian supremacy, made a first expedition against the country, which ended in a com- plete disaster. In 1839 the campaign conducted by Perovskiy, at the head of 20,000 men and a train of 10,000 camels, also ended in failure. But a decisive : «B * " ' BP KHIVA. 265 invasion took place in 1873, when columns of troops from the Caspian, Orenburg, the Sir, and Tashkend overran the country from all quarters simultaneously. Khiva was taken almost without a blow, and the only serious struggles were not with the inhabitants of the oasis, but with their temporary allies the Turkomans of the Caspian. Expeditions are still from time to time sent against them to protect the Lower Oxus districts from their forays. Of all the cultivated regions in Turkestan, Khiva best deserves the encomiums of the Eastern poets. Everywhere water flows in abundance, bordered by poplars, elms, and other trees ; the fields are encircled by avenues of mulberries ; the white houses are like bowers buried in foliage and flowers ; the nightingale, scarcely elsewhere known in Tatary, here warbles in every rose-bush. The land, yearly renewed by the alluvia of the river, is inexhaustibly fertile, producing magnificent fruits and vegetables. Its melons and pistachio nuts are renowned even in Pekin, and the Emperors formerly exacted a certain quantity of them from their Kash- garian tributaries. Compared with that of other Turkestan countries the popula- tion of Khiva is consequently very dense, and might be doubled, or even tripled, without overtaxing the resources of the land. Khiva, capital of this ancient region of Kharezm, or Khovarczm, a term said to mean "Lowlands," is scarcely more than an aggregate of mud hovels, between which wind narrow lanes, muddy or dusty according to the seasons. It is enclosed by a low earth wall lined with pools of slimy water. In the centre another earthen wall, 26 to 30 feet high, surrounds the citadel, residence of the khan and principal functionaries. Here also are the chief mosques and schools, none of which are architecturally remarkable except the edifice containing the tomb of the Mussulman saint Polvan, or Pehlivan, patron of Khiva. The western quarter, laid out in gardens and shady terraces, is a much more pleasant resort. Here the avenues intermingle with the canals, and above the crenellated walls of the citadel the dunes and minarets stand out against a background of blue sky. In the other quarters there are more cemeteries than gardens, the abodes of the dead here mingling with those of the living. Before the expedition of 1873 Khiva was one of the chief slave markets in Asia. Here the Turkomans sold their gangs of captives taken or purchased on the Caspian shores, and along the Persian, Herat, and Afghan borders. The most highly prized as labourers were the Russians ; all belonged mostly to the khan and other dignitaries, and many often rose to the highest positions in the State. On the arrival of the Russian troops in 1873 they revolted in several places, and plundered their owners' houses. The latter appealed to the Czar's generals, and presently the bodies of rebel slaves wore dangling from gibbets set up in the very centre of the slave market. The captives were slaughtered wholesale, and to prevent the survivors from escaping, the Khivans sliced off their calves or the soles of their feet, filling the sores with chopped horsehair. The Russian Governor- General, who had been hailed by these wretched creatures as their liberator, tardily resolved to justify their hopes. The abolition of slavery was proclaimed, and the emancipated captives, to the number of 37,000, set out to return to their homes. 266 ASIATIC RUSSIA. But ou the routes across the desert thousands fell victims to disease, exhaustion, and the Turkoman marauders. At the time of the Russian occupation the population of the city of Khiva was estimated at 4,000 or 5,000 souls, chiefly half-caste Uzbegs and Iranians, besides Sartes and emancipated Persians, speaking the local Turki dialect. Most of the Khivans are of disagreeable and even harsh appearance, their features being uenerally marked by small-pox, cutaneous eruptions, ophthalmic affections, the abuse of opium or bashish. The children have a pleasant expression, but all vivacity disappears with age, And decrepitude soon sets in. Owing to the high Fig. 145. C'lIELEKEN IsEAND AND MlCHAEL GuLF. Scale 1 : 810,000. to 16 Feet. 16 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. 12 Miles. Persian caps worn all the year round, the ears of the men stand out from the head, a trait by which they may be recognised at a glance amongst the other inhabitants of Turkestan. The turban is worn only by the clergy. The trade and industry of Khiva are unimportant. Some inferior silks and strong cottons are manufactured; but most of the woven and other goods are imported from Russia. In the bazaars may also be purchased some English cottons, and the green tea imported from India through Kabul and Bokhara. The chief merchants trading with Russia, Persia, and Afghanistan reside, not in Khiva itself, but in Urgenj, the largest city of the khanate, 24 miles north-west of the KHIVA. 267 capital, near the left bank of the river. Urgenj is surrounded by mud walls, and has a present population of 30,000. It was till recently known as Yani-urgenj, or " New Urgenj," to distinguish it from the Kunia-urgenj, or old town, destroyed by Tamerlane, and in the sixteenth century utterly ruined, when the Oxus receded farther east. The famous town of Kungrad, on the Taldik, is threatened by Fig. 146. — Hassan-kaleh Bay. Scale 1 : 300,000. to 16 Feet. H 16 Feet and upwards 6 Miles. 1 a similar fate, since this branch has dwindled to a sluggish stream lost amidst the reeds. Khojeili, at the head of the delta proper, over against the fortress of Nukus, has, on the other hand, acquired some importance through its traffic with the surrounding nomads. It is said to bo entirely peopled by Hajis, Mecca pilgrims, here called Hoja, or Khoja, whence its name. 208 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The Kh.an of Khiva, like the Emir of Bokhara, is in theory master of the land and life of his subjects, and till recently he made terrible use of his power by the still remembered torture, " bug pits," sword, rope, and stake. But these horrors, on which custom had always imposed certain limits, are now at an end. The true master of the land is now the Russian resident, armed with the treaty of 1873, in which the khan declares himself " the humble servant of the Emperor of all the Russias." To the Czar's subjects he grants free trade in all his cities, besides the free navigation of the Oxus, engaging to supply sites for the Russian depots, and to keep in good repair the artificial works executed by his conquerors along the course of the river. He recognises the prior claim of all Russian creditors, and constitutes himself a debtor to the St. Petersburg Government in the sum of Fig. 147. — Ashck-ai>eh. Scale 1 : 770,000. rur^m 53°-0 55"30 Eof G' C . PerTOQ. to 16 Feet. 16 to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. 12 Miles. 2,200,000 roubles, the last instalment of which will be paid off in 1893. If not, the whole khanate is pledged for the amount. Khiva is, in fact, a Russian province, thouo-h still unrarrisoned. V.— KUSSIAN TURKESTAN. The portion of the Aralo- Caspian basin actually annexed to Russia is far more extensive, though relatively more scantily peopled, than the tributary or less inde- pendent states. Lying more to the north, it comprises less fertile tracts, while the regions towards which Slav colonisation is being attracted are the farthest removed from Russia proper. Steppes 900 miles broad separate these New Russias from the mother country, and the forts and postal stations connecting the colonies with the Ural and Volga basins very slowly grow into villages and towns. Amongst the lands still lacking a sedentary population, the least inhabited is the vast province stretching from the Caspian to the Aral west and east, and from RUSSIAN TTJBKESTAN. 269 the Ural to the Ateek river, north and south. This region, officially known as the " Trans- Caspian Division," depends on the government of Caucasia, and has hitherto been regarded as little more than a simple coast district over against Baku, whence troops and supplies are most easily forwarded. The -only fixed establishments are a few fortresses and entrenched camps at the more accessible points on the coast, or the most convenient as centres of attack against the nomads of the interior. Some of the forts have already been abandoned, either for want of water, their unhealthy climate, or utter usclcssness. Several fortified stations on the Manghishlak peninsula arc now a mere heap of ruins ; but the somewhat Fig. 148. — Valleys of the Atrek and Gurcen. Scale 1 : 2,005,000. C Person 1C to 32 Feet. 32 Feet and upwards. CO Miles. thriving fishing village of Nikolayevsk has sprung up near Fort Alexandrovsk, under shelter of the Tuk-kuragan headland. Of all the coast stations the most important is Krasnovodsk, the old Kizil-su, or " Red Water," at the head of the peninsula running west of the Balkan Gulf. The neighbouring pastures, springs, and arable lands, besides the deep water of the bay, which scarcely ever freezes, insure to Krasnovodsk a lasting importance. When the harbour works are completed a commercial city may hero be rapidly developed. Although with scarcely 500 inhabitants, Krasnovodsk took rank as a town in 1877. It has already some stone houses, a club, and a public garden, but still lacks perfectly fresh water. Pending the construction of an aqueduct, it depends for its supply on sea- water distilled by condensing apparatus. VOL. VI. T 270 ASIATIC RUSSIA. The naphtha wells, at the foot of the neighbouring Little Balkan hills, have been hitherto little worked, through fear of the marauding Turkomans. But over '2,000 wells have been sunk in the island of Cheleken, at the southern entrance of the Balkan Gulf. The naphtha is here remarkably pure and abundant. A single well, opened in 1S74, yielded 100 tons per day, and the whole island maybe said to rest on a vast biluminous lake. Krasnovodsk also exports sulphur from the south of the Kara-boghaz, and salt from the coast lagoons. It is now the chief outport of Khiva on the Caspian, having replaced Kohneh-bazar, lying farther south on the so-called Bay of Khiva. Lastly, it may serve as the base of the military Fig. 149. — Samabkaxd . Scale 1 ; 170,000. E nfG. 66'55' C Perron operations which will probably ere long be directed from the Caspian towards Merv, fleshed, or Herat.* The camp of Chikishlar, near the Bay of Hassan-kaleh, which receives the waters of the Atrek, is much less favourably situated. Troops can here be landed only on flat-bottomed boats, and the neighbourhood yields no supplies of any sort. The desert begins at the very gates of the fort ; yet numerous scattered ruins show that this region was formerly covered with towns and villages. One emporium has succeeded another in this south-eastern corner of the Caspian, which is traversed by a great historical route leading from Western Asia to the Tian-shan Jo o * Yearly movement between Krasnovodsk and Khiva (187-1 — 7), 32 caravans, 5,104 camel-loads. Mean annual yield of naphtha (1871 — 7), 3,840 tons. RUSSIAN TURKESTAN. 271 and China. Abuskun, whose ruins are now marked by the Gumish-tope, or " Silver Cliff," between the Hassan-kaleh Bay and the mouth of the Gurgen, was an important mart in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Its destruction is said to have been caused by a rising of the Caspian, produced by the inundations of the Oxus, when this river had resumed its course to the Balkan Bay. Abuskun was successively replaced by Nini-mardan, a few miles south of the Gurgen, and Alkoni, at the entrance of the Bay of Astrabad. At present Ashur-adeh, at the extremity of the long peninsula enclosing this bay, would be the natural harbour of these waters but for the extremely unhealthy climate of the surrounding low-lying swampy district. North of Chikishlar are Ak-tepe, or the " White Cliff," and Fitr. loO.— Samarkand ; Aithoach to the Citadel. Geuk-tepe, or the " Yellow Cliff," round which the Yomuds have often pitched their tents. In the Gurgen valley are the ruins of Jordan, the ancient Hyrcaniapolis, or " Wolf Town," a name which passed to the whole country and to the Caspian itself, often called the Hyrcanian Sea. About 70 miles north-east of Chikishlar lies the ruined city of Mazduran, whose Persian name indicates its position between Iran and Turan. According to the legend an archer endowed with supernatural force shot an arrow from the banks of the Gurgen, which fell on the site of Mazduran, and thus determined the limits of the two empires. The former importance of this place is shown by its extensive ruins, especially those of its aqueducts, which, at least in length, were surpassed only by those of the Roman Empire and the Ganges basin. One of these aqueducts traversed the district between the Atrek and its tributary the Sumbar, crossed the latter river, and after watering the plains of Mazduran discharged into the Caspian after a total course of 95 miles. ASIATIC EOBSIA. Ferghaxa Bamx — Topography. In the Russian possessions in Turkestan east of the Oxus is the Zarafshan valley. After leaving the_ highlands this river is distributed hv numerous irriga- tion rills over the Penjakent district, beyond which the system of canals is still farther developed to the north of Samarkand and to the south-west towards Bokhara. T , these fertilising waters of the SogoL or Zarafshan, the ancient Sogdiana was indebted for it; fertility in the niidst of a vast semicircle of sands, and to the Fm. :::— = E-E3HB 1 [1MB =:rj.r cause is due its present population of 30,000, of whom two-thirds are of Czbeg stock. According to the Mazdean legend the Sogol is the second Eden, ■■ Ereat-e-I r- ::i~ — ::I :: Orrriz-l." Samarkand, capital of this famous land lies either on the site or close to the old city :r Marcanda, whence its name, which, however, -ome refer to the Arab ^omar, wh« U -: the place and introduced the Moslem religion in 043. Residence of the Samanides rr ::r_ the middle of r^-r ninth to the eleventh centurv. it became — '- '-'-'- ~— ~ -~~- -"" '--- -" "- "~- - r pes :-e ;r.i science," and one of the largest cities in Asia. It w - defended - 110,000 men against Jenghis Khan, but after its jverthrow jy him the ] >] ulati n was reduced to 2-5,000 families. Later on it jecame the cii": :: Tizi^r-iCr s vast empire, Dot it was again wasted bv the FERGHANA BASIN— TOPOGRAPHY. 273 nomads, and in the year 1700 had only one inhabitant. The ruins of the old city are stmvn over the plain and surrounding heights ; but its chief monuments date from 27-1 ASTATTD ETTSSTA. the (imp of Tamerlane and his successors. From a distance lire visible above ils walls the large blue domes and (lie minarets of its mosques, its palaces and colleges. In the north-oast it is commanded by (lie Ohupan-ata eminence, crowned with picturesque ruins and (be tomb of a saint. At (la 1 foot of (bis bill (be great canals of irrigation branch off in all direct ions. Since the Russian occupation a new quarter has sprung up wesi of the citadel, regularly laid out with streets and avenues radiating like a fan towards the desert. But we must visit the labyrinth of narrow lanes in the Moslem quarter to realise what Samarkand was in the days of its greatness. Its magnificent schools, now schools only in name, are unrivalled for the splendour of their architecture, the details of which betray (be Persian orighi of their first designers. Most of (he palaces dating from the Timur dynasty are now in ruins, though (ho facades, towers, or domes of a few are still in good repair. The chief public square, the Righistan, is flanked on three sides by the finest colleges in the place, including (he Ulug-bcg, founded in 1420, the renowned school of mathematics and astronomy, which in the fifteenth century made Samarkand one of the holy places of science. The most magnificent mosque in the city and in all Central Asia is (he Shah Zindeh, or " Living King," so called from a defender of Islam, now buried in (lie building, but destined one day to rise again and reconquer (he world (o (he faith of the Prophet. Tamerlane rests under (bo crypt of another mosque, (he Gur-emir, on an eminence near (he citadel, and still commanded by a minaret of rare elegance. In the vicinity are the tombs of his wives, with inscriptions commemorating his lame. The citadel, comprising n whole quarter of the town, and in which the Russians have sot up their administrative and military bureaux, also contains mosques, tombs, and the old palace of the emir, now a hospital. In a court of (his palace stands a large marble block, 5 feet high and 10 feet long, said to have been brought by Tamerlane from Brusa, and to have been used by him and his successors as a throne, and on it were also beheaded the unsuccessful pretenders to the sovereignty. The inhabitants of Samarkand, more than half of whom are Tajiks, are more zealous " believers " than those of Tashkent! and other places in Russian Turkestan. According to the old saying, while Mecca is the " Heart," Samarkand is the " Head of Islam." At the same time their religious fervour does not prevent the people from driving a brisk trade with their Russian masters, though the chief traders are Jews, Hindus, and Afghans. Almost the sole industry of the place is agriculture, which has converted the surrounding plain to a garden in the wilderness. The population has risen from about 8,000 in 1834 to over 30,000 in 1880, and, (banks to its happy situation in the neighbourhood of hills and health) 1 valleys, Samarkand cannot fail to become a chief centre of European civilisation in Turkestan. Ascending the valley of the Zarafshan by the fortress of Pcniakont, (he traveller reaches Kohistan, the romantic land of the Galchas, with its gorges, cascades, and snowy ranges. Here arc also some remarkable phenomena resembling those of volcanoes in eruption. The Kanlagh Mountain contains rich coal beds in TOPOGRAPHY. 275 combustion, omitting donso volumes of smoko and mophitic gases, and at night easting ii, lurid Light against the sky. In the higher valleys of this region pastures, crops, and thickets fringe tho rivor banks, or, as at Varzaminor, clothe the upland alluvia] torracos forming tho basins of dried-up lakes. The auriferous sands of (ho Zarafshan are now searched only l>y o few wretched gold-washers. Tho most populous part of tho oasis is that which forms a continuation of tho Miankal district of Bokhara, tloro tho villagos form almost a continuous town from Katti-kurgan to Ponshambo, while tho orchards proscnt from a distance the appoaranco <>l' oxtensivo woodlands. Some 21 milos south-east of Samarkand lies tho (own of Urgut, noted for its horoic defence against the Russians. Farther south a defile loads over the Samarkand-tail down to Shehr-i-sebs, while in the Kig. 153. — Oanih oi 1 ' tiim Zauafshan. Boalc 1 : 600,000, ■ ~^ ""V. FWhsmbb / " ,■ •'••«. 'Im/'i ■ .,' ' ,.<&/% '4k eouro^- — -^4_ .. : 7 -- mm v ■ h •-* ' Ici^vTibfiiS ■: if":' *ty .;- Stone Bridge. j\' ! '<'! Gamark L'.off; •:WmMi!t-W I I l°pn C Perron north-oast a largo gap in tho Kara-tau range in traversed by tho route from Samarkand to Tashkond and tho little river Jizok. This is tho defile of Jilanuti, or of tho "Snakes," so named cither from its mcandoring Btream or from the roptiles gliding amid its rocks. This important pass, guarded on tho north by tho (own of Jizak, or the " K<'\'," is ono of tho historic highways of Asia, and tho Rcono of many a sanguinary strugglo for tho possession of Zarafshan or Sir-daria. Wost of it risos to a height of 400 foot a pyramidal slaty roch known us tho "Gate of Tamerlane," though the two Porsian inscriptions on its faco make no allusion to (liis conquoror. The abundance of wator flowing from (he Tian-shnn valleys to Ferghana gives to (his basin a eroat agricultural value, In tho heart of tho mountains the Narin 27G ASIATIC RUSSIA. Hows at loo groat an elevation above the sen to permit of any largo (owns springing up on its banks ; but on emerging from the ivppcr gorges and entering (ho north- east, pari of the berghann basin il soon becomes skirled with (owns and villages. On ils lofl bank stands the town of Ueh-kurgnn, in the midst of u fertile oasis. But the valleys watered by the torrents from (he Toshktal Mountains am more productive than (lie lands fringing the northern hunk of the main stream. Thoy are laid out chiefly in gardens and orchards, while (he oases on the lel'i side are mostly under cereals. The banks of (lie Sir between the (wo /ones are occupied by steppes. Iloneo (lie necessity of an exchange of commodities between (ho northern valleys and (he southern plains. NdHiantjan is the chief (own of (he oasis lying a( a distance from (lie river. It is a largo place, with a bazaar containing one thousand shops, and with a cof ton- spinning industry for the materials worn by (lie natives. As ninny us 300,000 sheep from (lie northern steppes are yearly sold al (liis place, and here also are constructed wooden floats on which fruits, skins, and felts are senl down (be Sir to lYrov.sk and Kazalinsk. In (he neighbourhood are rich naphtha springs and coal beds. TCohhiid, lying north-west of Namangan, in a well-cultivated district, claims to bo the oldest (own in Ferghana, and ils Tajik inhabitants are (he lines! of their rare in Turkestan. C/ius/, on a stream (lowing from (lie ('liok)al Mountains, is a busy place, producing knives almost as highly prized as those of Ilissnr. Of (he mineral wealth in (he neighbouring hills the sail mines alone have hitherto been worked. On a sleep cliff on the right hank of (ho Sir stands Ak-si, al one (inie capital of Kokan, and famous for its melons. Populous (owns are also situated in (he valley of (ho Kara-daria, or " Black Rivor," whoso junction with the Narin below Balikchi forms (lie Sir. Uzghvnt, at the issue of Ihe Tian-shau defiles, has become famous from (he shrine of lluji Yusuf, (he frequent resort of pilgrims. In this district is the frontier stronghold of Gulcha, guarding Ihe Terek-davan Pass against (he Chinese, Atidijnn, tho chief town in this basin, though at a distance from Ihe river, receives ils waters through tho irrigation canals. It is one of the pleasantos( places in Ferghana, (hanks to ils shady gardens and deer park in Ihe middle of Ihe (own. In the Kugnran valley, lying to tho north-east, are the carbonated and sulphur hot springs of Jalabad-ayup, much frequented by the Sarles. Osh, south-cast of Andijnn, and on the same river Ak-bara, a tributary of tho Kara-su, occupies the issue of a fertile and healthy valley leading to the Alai and I anil r. I lore is I hi' famous Tukht-i-Suleiiuau (" Solomon's 'throne " ), a mountain the theme of so many Hasten) legends ; and here, according to some, (he wise kill"' .summoned Ihe genii to execufo his inundates, while according to others it was here that ho was assassinated. The rock, which is much frequented by pilgrims, com- mands ,i superb view of Ihe surrounding highlands. Several important towns are scattered over Ihe Ferghana basin wosl of Ihe Ak- bara valley. Naukat, Arnran, and Axmkch stand on a stream flowing to tho plain south of Andijan. Farther on are Shavlkhan, now much reduced, and Mm'tjhifan, in (he midst of extensive gardens, al (he point where the Shah-i-mardan River, TOPOGBAPHY. 277 flowing from the Ala'i glaciers, ramifies into a number of irrigating rills. Owing to its healthy climate Marghilan has been chosen for the capital of Ferghana, although the new Russian town springing up here lies some 9 miles from the old Sarte town. Besides gardening the chief industry of the local Sartes is camel-hair, wool, and silk weaving. South-west of Marghilan is the picturesque valley of the Isfairan, the entrance Fig. 154. — FkOM FvOK-i>- TO ilAEGHILAX. Scale 1 : 1,000,000. ^" Per ran. 15 Miles. to which is guarded by the small town of Uch-Mrgan. Farther south is Vadil, a pleasant summer retreat on the Shah-i-mardan Paver, leading to the town of like name, one of the most frequented places of pilgrimage in Ferghana, thanks to the tomb of Ali, which it claims to possess in common with so many other Moslem towns, 27$ ASIATIC EC3SIA. Hie route from Yadil to Kotan, or rather Khatami, runs north-west by the foot of f 1h> "inoTrfamg to IMAf™, whpre H ratere thp plain, htro watered by Jnimnw> raMe rills from die river Soldi. Saltan, formerly capital of die state of like name, which has aw hef*""* the Russian province of Ferghana, is still die chief phase in the country in papulation, trade, and social culture. It was founded about one hundred and fifty years ago, and is veil laid oat with broad, regular, and tolerably dean streets, with extensive gardens in some quarters. Its Tajik inhabitants speak a remarkably pare Persian dialect. They are skilled artisans, larger/ engaged in paper-making, weaving, minting, gold and silver work, and other industries. The coin most generally earreut in Turkestan, and even beyond die Tian-shan, is die b£ l » im* -eri-e yokr wEnis. snd pedsaps lodged at Ae soot of saase jmajecfmg HaSL ^^^ 10= sbsss are pQedcne en Ae oAer, dauiagr «p Aerirer,. aad cwi- it ■» 3iie -1c4 f=er ia a &w fcaaxs. Tnd^ rv; escape, iee and water spread ! — ^ s " ~ g "^gii-si "ai-r baafcs. sw^epnur away dae sfciaglg. ia one plat z - x = 1 ^- — ^^-^-sr ?«gfzig the grand wiA deep lai x uws . Tfeas sie Ae est. jriirij ^5:»irSai it Am] aetiaa. E 1 ^- =>:■£>=- Asa Ae r->^-=. of Eazopeaa Basa, Aose of Sibpr^ ETHNOGRAPHICAL Th-nwn }>v A Slam. after Coalmen , MMdjendarif.Verivulirox', Ttiltich mid C!ha\>7mrip . Sen ^P OF NORTHERN ASIA NORTHERN SEABOARD. 303 to the pole, present" the remarkable phenomenon of a normal lateral pressure on their right hanks. This side thus becomes continually sapped and corroded, while the left bank, covered -with alluvia, and here and there furrowed by old channels, is steadily abandoned by the receding waters. Hence the contrast presented by the relief of both banks. The left, stdl swept by the current and gradually formed by alluvial deposits, is flat, and generally at the level of high water. The right, constantly eroded by the lateral pressure of the stream, and representing the original soil, rises in hills or steep cliffs along the course of the river. So universal is this feature that even before sighting a river the natives will speak by anticipa- tion of its " high bank " and " low bank." As in Bussia, the towns are usually erected on the " high," or right bank, which is less exposed to inundations. But this advantage is dearly purchased, and several recently founded towns, such as Tobolsk, Semipalatinsk, and Narim, have already had to be partially reconstructed. Nobthekx Seaboard. The northern seaboard of Siberia, though washed by colder waters, is less indented by fiords than those of Norway and Scotland. The inlets resemble those of Scandinavia only between the Kara and Yenisei mouths. The Kara Sea, the Ob and Taz estuaries, the Gidf of Yenisei, and their various indentations ; lastly, the lakes, at one time marine bays, but now separated from the sea, give a Norwegian aspect to this region. But east of the Yenisei the coast-line becomes far more uniform, broken by rare inlets, few of which penetrate far inland. This dearth of fiords is due to the slight inclination of the mainland and of its submarine con- tinuations, precluding the formation of true glaciers on the coast, the action of which might have prevented the original indentation from beino- gradually effaced. The present seaboard itself is an old marine bed gradually upheaved above the Arctic waters. The old coast-line has been traced by Erman, Middendorff, and others over 120 miles inland, and upwards of 330 feet above the present sea-level. Quantities of drift-wood, the so-called "Adam's" or 'Noah's wood," have been found at great distances from the ocean. Here also have been met numerous bays which have become lakes, or quite dried up, besides perfectly preserved frozen banks of shell-fish in no respect differing from the species now inhabiting the Arctic seas. Headlands have even been recognised which were islands when seen by earlier explorers. Several phenomena of a like character were recently observed by Bove, of the Nordenskjold expedition, near Bering Strait. The disappearance of the whale has by some been attributed to the upheaval of the sea-bed, while Erman, with others, has suggested that the remains of trees occurring on the coast represent the forests that fhrarished on the spot at a time when the climate was much warmer than at present. But the condition in which this " Adam's wood" is found shows that it is really so much drift-wood, barked and otherwise affected by glacial action. It consists of conifers like those which are still floated down the great Siberian rivers. In the course of ages " mountains of timber " have thus been accumulated x 2 304 ASIATIC RUSSIA. almost everywhere along the shores of the Frozen Ocean and around the coasts of New Siberia, Novava Zemlya, Franz-Joseph Land, and Spitsbergen. The current of the Siberian rivers is strong enough perceptibly to affect the normal marine currents. On entering the sea the streams have naturally an eastward tendency, derived from the rotation of the earth on its axis. But this is also the direction of the waters from the tropical seas, which, after rounding Scandinavia and Novaya Zemlya, continue to flow slowly eastwards along the Siberian seaboard. This tendency is doubtless preserved by the action of the fluvial currents, for near the coast the water is far less salt than in the Atlantic. Between K> Fia:. 170. — Banks of the Yenisei: Ice-foemed Levee. ! 2 the Khatanga Fiord and the Lena estuary the proportion of salt is only as 1 to 100, or about one-third of the normal quantity- On these shores the sea is so shallow that two-thirds of its volume are probably of fluvial origin. Pacific Seaboard — Transbaikalia. Along the shores of the Okhotsk and Bering Seas the slope is too short to allow of any large rivers. Here the ranges forming the water-parting run near the Pacific seaboard, and some head-streams of the Lena rise actually within 60 miles of the Sea of Okhotsk. The only important river north of the Amur draining to CLIMATE. 305 the Pacific is the Anadir, which falls into the gulf of like name between Bering Strait and Kamchatka. But south of the Sea of Okhotsk the Amur, draining all the lacustrine basins which formerly covered the plateaux of Dauria and Mongolia, escapes through a gap in the coast range to the Pacific. The middle course of this river, forming the frontier-line between Russia and China, is free of ice for six or seven months in the year. But the lower reaches flowing north-cast and north present the same phenomena, as the rivers of North Sibei'ia. The annual break-up is retarded down stream ; the ice forming temporary dams on the reefs and ledges arrests the floods, causing them to overflow and break down their banks, uproot the forests, and cover the land with mud and stones. The plateaux separating the Lena and Amur basins seem of all the Siberian lands to have best preserved the aspect of the country after the glacial period. Hero every cavity is still filled with a lake or a marsh ; the rivulets and livers are mere links in a chain of lacustrine basins of all sizes ; pino-covcrcd moraines here and there, cleared by the action of water, recall the presence of ancient glaciers ; and there is altogether something unfinished in the general aspect of the land, as if the transition were not yet completed from one geological epoch to another. The rivers have not yet scooped out their valleys or regulated the fall of their beds. In all these respects the Siberian plateaux resemble those of Finland and Scandinavia, which, like them, are mainly composed of granites, schists, and other crystalline rocks. Most of the myriad lakes and lakelets of these tablelands have already disappeared, either drained off by the rivers or filled in by their alluvia. But Lake Baikal, one of the largest, still remains. This great inland sea, occupying two continuous cavities in the plateau between the Yenisei, Lena, and Amur basins, stood formerly at a far higher level than at present. It drains now through the Angara to the Yenisei. But it is nevertheless geographically distinct from that basin. Its valley runs nearly at light angles with the Angara, and its bed sinks several hundred yards below sea-level. Its outlet merely carries off the surface waters. Climate. Such a vast region as Siberia, affected in the west by Atlantic, in the cast by Pacific influences, and stretching north and south across 29° of latitude, must obviously present great diversities of climate. Even this bleak land has its temperate zones, which the Slav colonists of the north are fond of calling their "Italics." Nevertheless, as compared with Europe, Siberia, may, on the whole, be regarded as a country of extreme temperatures — relatively great heats, and, above all, intense colds. The very term " Siberian " has justly become synonymous with a land of winds, frosts, and snows. The mean annual temperature in this region comprised between the rivers Anabara and Indigirka is 20° Fahr. below freezing point. The pole of cold, oscillating diversely with the force of the lateral pressure from Yakutsk to the Lena estuary; is the meteorological centre round which the atmosphere revolves. Here are to a large extent prepared the elements of the 306 ASIATIC RUSSIA. climate of West Europe. Owing to the general movements of the atmosphere, alternating between north-east and south-west, and between south-west and north- east, constant relations arc maintained between the European seaboard and Siberia, the former exchanging its moisture and mild temperature for the cold and bright skies of the latter. In Northern Siberia the thermometer remains in winter below 20° Fahr., and even falls at times to 55° Fahr. On December 31st, 1871, the glass marked — 69° Fahr. at Yeniseisk. During the three summer months the average is -59 J Fahr., 0t S/ou . *50- Jo- io' 20- /O- \ \ \ \ S *P< \ \ * Fig. 171. — Climate of Yakutsk. \ \ *.*&6 >Af* _ L .. J April O' JO' 20" 30- #V SO' /' "^Afay ;i/c//ie July C Perron often exceeding 86° and occasionally 101° at Yakutsk, a greater heat than usually prevails some 2,000 miles nearer the equator. As in Lapland, the baked surface of the tundras is so hot as to be almost unendurable to pedestrians. Altogether the climate of Yakutsk, or rather of the Lower Lena basin, is the most typical on the globe of extreme or continental temperature. Altitude compensating for latitude, the South Siberian highlands might at first sight be supposed to be as cold as the northern tundras. But such is not the case, and it has been shown that the higher we ascend towards the southern ranges the warmer it becomes. Thus up to a certain still undetermined point the tempera- CLIMATE. 307 ture rises with the elevation of the land. Similar observations have been made in the Alps and Pyrenees ; but what is the exception in Europe is the normal condi- tion in East Siberia, where it is caused by the brightness and calmness of the atmosphere. The hot air radiates into space, while tbe cold and denser atmo- spheric strata sink with their weight to the surface of the earth. Thus all the meteorological conditions here combine to raise the temperature of the higher and diminish that of the lower strata. Relatively warm currents of air prevail in the upper regions above the cold air resting on the lowland plains, and on Mount Alibert (7,400 feet) the wind in winter sets steadily from the comparatively warm north-west, south-west, and west quarters. Such, combined with the dry climate, are the causes which prevent the formation of glaciers on the Daurian, Aldan, and Stanovoi highlands. Even the mountains 2,000 to 3,000 feet high on the north coast, east of the Taimir peninsula, have but few snow-fields, and Nor- denskjold could not positively determine the presence of any real glaciers. These eminences fall short even of the snow-line, and in summer are quite free of snow, except perhaps where it is lodged in the deep ravines. Travellers speak of the Siberian winters with mingled feelings of terror and rapture. An infinite silence broods over the land — all is buried in deep sleep ; the animals hibernate in their dens, the streams have ceased to flow, disappearing beneath the ice and snow ; the earth, of a dazzling whiteness in the centre of the landscape, but grey in the distance, nowhere offers a single object to arrest the gaze. The monotony of endless space is broken by no abrupt lines or vivid tints. The only contrast with the dull expanse of land is the everlasting azure sky, along which the sun creeps at a few degrees only above the horizon. In these intensely cold latitudes it rises and sets with hard outlines, unsoftened by the ruddy haze elsewhere encircling it on the edge of the horizon. Yet such is the strength of its rays that the snow melts on the housetop exposed to its glare, while in the shade the temperature is 40° to 50° below freezing point. At night, when the firmament is not aglow with the many-tinted lights and silent coruscations of the aurora borealis, the zodiacal light and the stars still shine with intense bright- ness. Probably no other region of the globe is so favourably circumstanced for astronomic observation. Here the atmosphere is absolutely pure, unsullied except perhaps on the river banks, whence rises a dense fog charged with icy particles, or in the neighbourhood of the vast herds shrouded in their vapoury exhalations. And man dares to face these tremendous frosts, while animals seek shelter in their lairs. The raven alone risks the open air with a feeble and slow flight, its wake marked by a slender hazy streak. Yet these Siberian winters are less unendur- able than strangers might suppose. If well nourished, warmly clad, and wrapped in furs, they have nought to fear, for few climates are more healthy than that of East Siberia, with its perfectly dry, still, and pure atmosphere. ~No case of con- sumption has ever occurred at Chita, in the bleak Transbaikal province, where the mercury remains frozen for weeks together. To this severe winter, which fissures the surface and rends the rocks of the rivers into regular basalt-like columns, there succeeds a sudden and delightful 308 ASIATIC EUSSIA. spring. So instantaneous is the change that nature seems as if taken by surprise and rudely awakened. The delicate green of the opening leaf, the fragrance of the budding flowers, the intoxicating halm of the atmosphere, the radiant bright- ness of the heavens, all combine to impart to mere existence a voluptuous gladness. To Siberians visiting the temperate climes of Western Europe spring seems to be unknown beyond their lands. But these first days of new life are followed by a chill, gusty, and changeful interval, arising from the atmospheric disturbances caused by the thawing of the vast snowy wastes. A relapse is then experienced analogous to that too often produced in England by late east winds. The apple blossom is now nipped by the night frosts fall in g in the latter part of Hay. Hence no apples can be had in East Siberia, although the summer heats are otherwise amply sufficient for the ripening of fruits. After the fleeting summer winter weather again soon sets in. It will often freeze at night in the middle of July ; after the 10th of August the sear leaf begins to fall, and in a few days all are gone, except perhaps the foliage of the larch. The snow will even sometimes settle early in August on the still leafy branches, bending and breaking them with its weight. Below the surface of the ground winter reigns uninterrupted even by the hottest summers. About the middle of the last century Gmelin revealed to science the astonishing fact that from about