a glance at central asia.—russian conquest in turkestan.—war and diplomacy among the kirghese tribes.—russian taxes and their collection.—turcoman and kirghese raids.—prisoners sold into slavery.—fortified villages and towers of refuge.—commerce in turkestan.—jealousy of foreigners.—travels of vámbéry and others.—vámbéry's narrow escape.—turcoman character.—payments for human heads.—marriage customs among the turcomans.—extent and population of central asia.
when our friends had completed their study of the petrolia of europe they looked around for new worlds to conquer. being in russia, they followed russian tendencies, and turned their eyes in the direction of central asia.
"wouldn't it be a splendid trip," said frank, "to go through central asia to india and the far east? how long would it take, and would it be very expensive?"
"i'm afraid there would be too many difficulties in the way," replied the doctor, with a smile. "in the first place the russians are not inclined to allow men of other nationalities to see what they are doing in the disputed country between their possessions and those of the english. they would treat us very politely, but, in one way and another, would keep us from crossing afghanistan to the english lines. we should not be welcome visitors among the english in northern india. most of them regard americans as more friendly to russia than to england in whatever concerns central asia, and the english officials in the disputed country would not aid our movements."
"what would be our facilities for travelling, supposing we met with no official opposition?"
"starting from baku," replied the doctor, "we could cross the caspian to mikhailovsk in a steamer in from sixteen to eighteen hours. mikhailovsk is in what was once the turcoman country, but is now russian territory. it was permanently occupied in 1869, and since that time russia has been extending her possessions until she is now at the borders of india,[pg 429] with only a narrow strip of territory between the english possessions and her own.
camp scene near the altai mountains.
"from the time of peter the great to the present," the doctor continued, "russia has been steadily pressing farther and farther into asia. if inclined to be a punster, i should say she has advanced steppe by steppe; the kirghese and turcoman steppes have been conquered one after another—sometimes by fighting, and sometimes by diplomacy, but more frequently by a skilful combination of both forms of conquest. the russians have a thorough knowledge of asiatic people, probably because they have so much asiatic blood in their own veins, and in their dealings with the savage or half-civilized natives of this vast country they manage things much better than the english do.
"a large part of the kirghese country was won without actual fighting, though with military assistance. it was generally in this wise:
"two tribes might be at war with each other, and russia, after some negotiation, would come to the aid of the weaker. the presence of a[pg 430] russian battalion of cavalry would be quite sufficient to frighten the stronger tribe into keeping the peace, as its chief would understand that resistance might cost him his dominions. having made matters quiet, the russian commander would propose to leave, and let the chief whose cause he had been espousing take care of himself.
a kalmuck priest.
"the chief would then see for the first time the uncomfortable situation he would be in with the retirement of his ally; the stronger tribe would assail him, and be all the more bitter against him on account of his alliance with the russians. he begged the russians to stay. after some hesitation they consented, provided the management of affairs was handed over to them. they generally received what they wanted, and then proceeded to conquer the other tribe and make themselves master over both.
"sometimes the russians follow another policy; they establish themselves with the weaker tribe, make peace between the two factions, and then build a fort and coolly announce that they will remain permanently. the tribes find it useless to resist, and thus they become subject to russia."
"don't the english accuse the russians of stirring up trouble among the kirghese and turcoman tribes, so as to have an excuse for interference?" one of the youths inquired.
[pg 431]
"i believe they do," the doctor answered. "the russians indignantly deny that such is the case; of course they would deny it, even if confronted with unquestionable proof.
scene on the edge of the kirghese steppe.
"they have sent a great many military expeditions into central asia in the last fifty years. for a long time their base of operations was at orenburg, on the frontier of siberia, but latterly it has been transferred to the shores of the caspian. orenburg is now far in the rear, and its chief use is as a military post, from which order is maintained among the kirghese.
"some of the russian expeditions have turned out disastrously, but they have always followed a disaster by a triumph. in one expedition every man was killed, captured, or perished of starvation or thirst in the desert, but immediately another army was put in motion, and the russians more than recovered the prestige they had lost. the list of the battles fought in central asia is a long one, but longer still is the list of bloodless conquests made through russian diplomacy.
"khanates, chieftaincies, and principalities have been absorbed by russia in her southward and eastward march over the steppes and along the valleys of the rivers. the cities of tashkend, samarcand, khiva, kokan,[pg 432] and bokhara, have passed from the flag of the intolerant moslem to that of the tolerant russian, and with the cities have gone the khanates and principalities of which they were the capitals."
fred asked if the subjugation of these territories had been beneficial to their inhabitants or not.
kirghese group.
"in every way it has been a benefit to them, and none of those who are peaceably disposed would care to return to their old condition. the russian yoke is easy upon the necks of the inhabitants; the russians make no interference with the religion, laws, manners, and customs of the people, excepting where they are manifestly cruel or tyrannical; they allow the natives to do exactly as they like, protect them in the possession of their property, give them facilities of trade never before enjoyed, and in every way better their condition.
"in place of the outrageous taxes formerly levied by the moslem authorities whenever the khan or his officials wanted money, the russians have a fixed annual tax which is never above the easy ability of the subject to pay; it is generally asserted that the taxes in asia are much lighter than those of european russia, to make sure that there shall be no discontent among the people. the russian government requires that every subject shall pay a tax, not so much for the value of the article received as an acknowledgment of subjection.
"in the settled portions of russia the tax is payable in money, but in the wilder regions taxes are collected 'in kind.' on the shores of the arctic[pg 433] ocean and through all the northern part of siberia the yessak, or tax, is one fox-skin; in kamtchatka it was formerly one sable-skin, but since the increase in the price of the fur, one skin is received for every four inhabitants, who arrange the division among themselves. in some of the grain-growing parts of the empire the tax is paid in grain; on the amoor river it is paid in fish, and among the kirghese and turcomans it is paid in cattle, sheep, or horses, which constitute the circulating medium of the country.
kirghese chief and family.
"in return for this tax, and provided the new subject in central asia behaves himself, he has the protection of a powerful government. the russian government has its faults, but it is immeasurably superior to the old way in which these countries were ruled.
"by the religion of the moslem might makes right, and this was the foundation of the governmental system of the kirghese and turcoman tribes, together with the khanates previously mentioned. robbery was a recognized means of making a living; not robbery by detail, as practised by highwaymen and burglars, but wholesale robbery in which entire tribes were concerned. many thousands of people lived by raiding, and the raid[pg 434] was as legitimate a way of acquiring property as selling goods in a shop and making a profit on them."
caravan in russian territory.
frank and fred made an exclamation of surprise as the doctor continued:
"the kirghese who occupy the region immediately south of the altai mountains, and are still found on the southern confines of the baraba steppe, are broken into many independent tribes; they are nomadic in their habits, wandering from place to place in search of pasturage for their immense flocks and herds. in winter they frequent the valleys among the outlying hills of the altai mountains, and in summer descend upon the plains. many of the tribes live altogether on the plains, and their range covers many thousands of square miles.
[pg 435]
"quarrels were numerous among them, chiefly growing out of disputes about pasturage or water, and these are the quarrels in which the russians interfered, both in the interest of humanity and the spread of their power. frequently these disputes led to raids for purposes of plunder; quite as frequently one tribe would make a raid on another with which it was at peace for the sole object of robbery.
"attacks were generally made at night, and if they were successful the robbers would drive off the flocks and herds of the tribe assailed. men, women, and children were taken to be sold into slavery in the markets of khiva and bokhara, or kept among their captors. these slaves were treated with the greatest cruelty; they were severely beaten for the slightest offence or failure to perform what had been ordered, were poorly fed, and often compelled to wear chains. they were generally maimed for life, by means of a horse-hair run through the heel, in order to prevent their escape from captivity.
"all this business was brought to an end by the russians when they occupied the kirghese country. they compelled the tribes to live peacefully with each other, and if any dispute arose about water or pasturage it was referred to the russian commander of the district for adjustment. if one tribe made a raid on another it was compelled to give up the stolen property, and furthermore a heavy fine was levied upon the raiders—half going to the russian government and half to the injured tribe. the russians generally made the fine heavy enough to furnish a percentage for the officers who took the trouble to adjust the differences.
"russian goods were introduced among these nomadic people, markets were opened, and every facility was offered for the increase of commerce. long caravans were constantly in motion between orenburg, sempolatinsk, and other points in russian territory, and khiva, bokhara, and samarcand, far to the east. they traversed the kirghese and turcoman country, and wherever they went they found a material difference in the matter of safety, whether the territory was under russian rule or remained independent. if the latter, the caravans were constantly liable to attack and plunder; if the former, they were invariably free from molestation.
"the capture of bokhara, samarcand, and khiva reduced the slave-markets of the turcoman raiders, but by no means put an end to their plundering expeditions. the independent turcomans were estimated to be about a million in number, divided into several tribes, who sometimes warred upon each other, but constantly upon the persians and other peaceable people. in the wars between khiva and bokhara, samarcand and[pg 436] kokan, they took sides with those who would pay the most for their services.
kirghese raid on a hostile tribe.
"down to very recently the whole of northern persia was subject to turcoman raids, and agriculture was carried on under great difficulties.[7] the raids were sometimes carried up to within a hundred miles of teheran, or about five hundred miles inside the persian boundary. they were organized months beforehand, and sometimes as many as five or six thousand[pg 437] men were engaged in a single enterprise. a raid was called a 'chapow' by the persians; in the turcoman language it was an 'alaman.'
"a turcoman leader would announce his intention of making an alaman, but the route was always kept secret through fear of betrayal. the turcomans are splendid horsemen, and while organizing an expedition they put their steeds under a system of training to enable them to make long and swift marches whenever occasion required. when everything was ready the party started; it travelled slowly until it reached the persian frontier, and was often weeks on the way.
"passing the frontier, the hard work of the campaign began. the region selected for the raid was reached as soon as possible; then the invading force was divided into small parties, and each had a particular village assigned to it. their movements were made so as to catch the people at work in the fields, and capture the cattle before they could be driven into a place of safety. not only the cattle, but all the men, women, and children that could be seized were taken. the old and useless were slaughtered without mercy; the young or able-bodied were carried off, to be sold into slavery. a wealthy persian was held for a heavy ransom, but a poor man had no chance of redemption.
"the plundering was kept up as long as there was anything to steal, and then the expedition returned to its own territory. sometimes in a single raid as many as a hundred thousand horses, sheep, goats, and other animals were captured, and a thousand or more people were carried into slavery."
frank asked if the persian government made no provision for the protection of its people.
"very little," replied the doctor; "the persian troops were in the cities and large towns, which the turcomans never attacked, and as there was no telegraph through the country, the raiders almost invariably got to a safe distance before a pursuit could be started. very often the persian officials on the frontier connived at the raids, and the people were forced to rely upon themselves for protection."
"in what way could they do anything against the robbers?" was the very natural query that followed this statement.
"their villages are built of mud, and may be called forts," the doctor replied. "the walls are from twenty to thirty feet thick, and about forty in height; they form a quadrangle, or circle, where cattle can be driven at night, and there is only a single door-way, too low to permit the passage of a man on horseback. the raiders never stop to besiege a place; all their work is done by a sudden dash, and the turcoman would never[pg 438] think of dismounting to pass the low door-way. inside there is a stone door which may be closed to prevent ingress; it is thick and strong, and once inside of their mud village the people are safe.
lasgird—a fortified village in northern persia.
"here is a picture of one of these villages," said the doctor; "it is called lasgird, and is about a hundred miles east of the capital of persia. you will observe that there is a double tier of dwellings on the top of the circular wall; the enclosed space accommodates the cattle and other live-stock of the village, and is also utilized for the storage of grain. on the outside, near the top, there is a balcony made of projecting timbers covered with branches of trees; it has no outer railing, and must be a very unsafe place for a promenade. inside of such a retreat the people had nothing to fear, as the turcomans have no artillery and did not care to stay long enough to batter down the walls."
fred remarked that it must be difficult for those at work in the fields at any distance to get to the village before they were overtaken by the raiders on their swift horses.
tower of refuge.
"so it is," was the reply, "and to further protect themselves they had towers of refuge in their fields, where they could run in case of danger. some of the towers had ladders on the outside which were drawn up as[pg 439] the turcomans approached, while others were entered by narrow door-ways similar to those of the villages. on the hills there were signal-towers where watchmen were stationed; when the dust of an approaching alaman was seen, the watchmen gave warning and the people fled for safety."
"what a life to lead!" said one of the youths. "always apprehensive of danger, and never knowing when the murderous turcomans might come!"
"it was much like the life of the early settlers of new england," said the doctor, "when the indians were liable to come at any moment, and the men carried their guns to church on sunday. the same condition of things has continued until quite recently on our western frontier, and still exists in a few places in texas and new mexico. but the difference is that in our country it never lasted for many years in any one place, while in persia the situation was the same for centuries.
"these turcoman thieves hampered agriculture in the way i have described, and they also restricted commerce by plundering the caravans. merchants travelled with an armed escort and in large numbers. even this did not save them from attack, as a great caravan was unwieldy, and often the robbers would dart in and seize a few camels laden with merchandise while the escort was so far away in another part of the line that it could not rush to attack the marauders until they had finished their work and departed. and remember that for centuries trade has followed this dangerous route!
"a curious thing about these raids is that the departure of a plundering[pg 440] expedition was always accompanied by religious ceremonies. the mollahs, or moslem priests, gave their blessing to the thieves, and prayed for allah's favor upon the enterprise. when the party returned laden with plunder, and driving slaves and stolen cattle in great number, the same priests offered prayers in thanks for allah's blessing, and a portion of the proceeds of the expedition was set apart for the cause of religion."
framework of turcoman tent.
"then they must be of a different religion from the persians," fred observed, "as they would not be likely to make war upon people of their own faith."
the tent covered.
"unfortunately for your theory, that was not the case," the doctor answered. "persians and turcomans are all moslems; they have different sects, just as have the adherents of the christian religion, but in a general way they may be said to be of the same faith. moslems make war upon each other with very little hesitation; the only thing in which they appear to be united is in their hatred of all other religions than their own."
"i suppose they have not received travellers with any courtesy," said[pg 441] frank. "do they permit foreigners to visit their country and study its character?"
interior of tent.
"not at all," was the reply, "if they can prevent it, and they are not at all particular about the mode of prevention. of course, since the country was occupied by russia there has been a change in this respect, and under russian protection a stranger may travel there with comparative safety.
"in former times most of the europeans who ventured into turkestan (the collective name for the countries of central asia) paid the penalty of their temerity with their lives. russians, englishmen, germans, and others perished, and not one explorer in ten returned to tell the story of his travels. two english ambassadors, colonel stoddart and captain conolly, ventured into bokhara about 1840, and were murdered, the former after four years' imprisonment, and the latter after a twelvemonth.
"stoddart was repeatedly tortured, and finally was promised his freedom if he would embrace the moslem religion. to save his life he consented, and went through the required ceremony; the emir of bokhara continued to torture him, and finally ordered the heads of both conolly and stoddart to be cut off in the public square of bokhara.
"stoddart was executed first, and then the emir offered conolly his freedom if he would become a moslem. 'no,' said he, 'i prefer to die. stoddart became a moslem and you have killed him. go on with your work.' the emir nodded to the executioner, and the work of execution was completed.
"wood, another englishman, who went to bokhara to ascertain what[pg 442] had become of stoddart and conolly, was imprisoned for some time, and narrowly escaped with his life. a more fortunate explorer was arminius vámbéry, a hungarian, who travelled through central asia disguised as a dervish from constantinople. at the very outset of his journey he was obliged to wait for three-quarters of a year in teheran before he could find the right kind of party to travel with. in his character of dervish he associated with pilgrims like himself, who wished to visit the moslem shrines of bokhara and samarcand. they were twenty-four in number, and nearly all of them were distinguished for their poverty. they intended to beg their way through the country and back again; vámbéry had a little money, which he carefully concealed, as it would not be in accordance with his assumed character of dervish to be known to have any ready cash.
vámbéry's reception by turcoman chief on the caspian shore.
"from teheran they went north to the turcoman country, which then extended westward to the shores of the caspian sea. on landing, they[pg 443]
[pg 444] were greeted by the turcoman chief who ruled in that district; he was very hospitable, and entertained them for a whole month merely for the sake of having visitors.
"in a caravan of turcoman horsemen they journeyed to khiva, crossing a desert region where for days they had only the water they carried on their saddles. they fell short of water, and while their suffering was severe they were relieved by the chief of the caravan, who had an extra store concealed in his baggage. as he doled it out to the pilgrims he said it had always been his custom to carry an extra supply of water while crossing the desert, and distribute it when most needed. but this same man had proposed a few days before to leave vámbéry to perish in the desert, on the mere suspicion that he was a european in disguise.
"vámbéry gives an excellent description of the turcoman character, which has been fully confirmed by other travellers, and later by the russian conquerors of turkestan. they are honest in their dealings with each other, and often display much tenderness; at the same time they are the most brutal of slave-masters and man-stealers, and capable of the severest cruelty. vámbéry says that one day a turcoman said it was a sin to destroy a basket in the desert, because it had once been the seat of a man on a camel; the same man denied a drop of water to a slave whom he had fed on salt-fish for two days, and his delight at the suffering of his victim was equal to that of a countryman over the antics of a clown at a circus.
receiving payment for human heads—khiva.
"some of the tribes, in their wars with each other, cut off the heads of those whom they slay in battle, and bring them home as trophies; vámbéry happened to be present in khiva when, one day, the khan's treasurer was paying for human heads. as each warrior came forward he emptied his sack on the ground, and an accountant made note of the number of skulls and the name of their owner.
turcoman trophy—a russian head.
"the payment was not in money, but in robes of honor, which were of different colors, according to the number of slain to each warrior's credit. some received the robe of forty heads, others the robe of twenty, and others that of ten, five, or four. it was like the different degrees of the decorations awarded by the rulers of the nations of europe, or the rewards of merit issued by a school-teacher to diligent and well-behaved pupils.
"another time vámbéry was in the public square of khiva when about three hundred prisoners of war were brought in. they were separated into two divisions, those who had not reached their fortieth year, and were to be sold as slaves or given as presents, being placed in one category. they were chained together and led away, and then the old men were brought forward for punishment; and what do you suppose it was?
[pg 445]
[pg 446]
"these gray-bearded old men were tied hand and foot and placed flat on their backs on the ground. then their eyes were gouged out, the executioner kneeling on the breast of each to perform his dreadful work. each time when he finished with a victim he deliberately wiped his knife on the latter's flowing beard. vámbéry says the scene will make him shudder as long as he lives, and no wonder.
"and yet he found the people of khiva full of pious charity. the same khan who had ordered this cruel treatment of prisoners of war, loaded the supposed dervish and his companions with presents, and showed them every kindness. when vámbéry left in the direction of bokhara, he was mounted on a good donkey, and had plenty of clothing, provisions, and money, which had been given him by the faithful.
"vámbéry says he one day asked a robber who was noted for piety, how he could sell his brother religionists into slavery. the robber replied that the holy book, the koran, was certainly more precious than man, and yet it was bought or sold for a few small coins. he added that joseph, the son of jacob, was a prophet, but was sold into slavery without being any the worse for it. his argument was forcible, and the stranger concluded it was best not to oppose it."
frank asked how the women of the turcoman tribes were treated by their lords and masters.
"women among the turcomans have an inferior position, as in all moslem countries," the doctor replied. "they are far more the slaves of their husbands than their equals; sometimes they are treated with great kindness, but more frequently their lives are full of hardship. they perform most of the labor of the camp and village, the men being chiefly occupied with the care of the flocks and herds, making expeditions for the sake of plunder, or warring on neighboring tribes.
"husbands sell their wives as they sell cattle or sheep, and the poor creatures have no redress for their wrongs. a husband buys his wife from her parents, and she has very little voice in the transaction; the price is generally based upon the social standing of the parties, and the ability of the purchaser to pay for the property. among nearly all the nomad tribes of turkestan the marriage ceremony includes a race for the bride; the game is called k?kbüri (green wolf), and is decidedly interesting.
k?kbüri—a race for a bride.
"the girl is mounted on a swift horse, and carries the carcass of a lamb before her on the saddle. she is given a certain start in advance of the bridegroom and his friends; they follow on horseback, and unless the bridegroom can take the lamb from her hands during the race the match is 'off.' she makes a show of resistance, and generally leads the party a[pg 447] long distance, but the affair having been negotiated beforehand, is pretty sure to end in the surrender of the lamb. in some tribes the girl must be lifted from the saddle by the bridegroom, who carries her on his own horse back to the point of starting.
"there is this difference in the treatment of the women of turkestan and those of most other moslem countries," the doctor continued, "that they are not required to cover their faces. in turkey, egypt, and arabia the moslem woman who leaves her face uncovered commits an act of great impropriety, but this is not the case in turkestan. many of the women are quite pretty in their youth, but their good looks do not last long. the men are of good height and figure, and their manners are grave and dignified. the hair and beard are dark, and the complexion may be set down as a light shade of brown."
frank asked how many tribes and people were included in turkestan or central asia, and how great was the population.
[pg 448]
view of the citadel of khiva.
"that is a very difficult question to answer," said the doctor, "in fact it is impossible to do so exactly. the census-taker is unknown in central asia, except in the cities and towns; even there he does not enumerate the whole population, but only the heads of families and the men capable of bearing arms. turkestan includes all the country between the caspian sea and the 110th degree of longitude east, and from siberia southward to persia, afghanistan, and thibet. turkestan means 'the land of the turks.' on the maps it is generally divided into eastern and western turkestan, the former lying partly in the chinese empire, and the latter covering the vast plain of the caspian and aral seas. the population is variously estimated at from eight to twelve millions. russia has absorbed nearly all of western turkestan, and the russian officials think they have at least eight millions of people in their new possessions.
"the tribes and provinces are divided and subdivided so that they are not easy to name. western turkestan was formerly known as independent[pg 449] tartary, and comprises the turcoman steppes, the khanates of khiva, bokhara, samarcand, and kokan, together with balkh and some smaller provinces which are in dispute between russia and afghanistan. these disputes have led to quarrels between russia and england, and quite likely will lead to war at no distant day.
an ozbek head.
"the people dwelling in turkestan are mainly of the turkish race; their language is turkish, and the country was the seat of the race that spread its boundaries by a career of conquests, which did not stop until it entered europe and pressed as far westward as the walls of vienna. briefly we may say the inhabitants of turkestan are ozbeks or uzbeks (the[pg 450] dominant race), turcomans, kirghese, karakalpaks, tajiks, persians, kipchaks, and a few arabs, hindoos, and jews. the ozbeks are the most civilized people of the country, and are mainly settled in the cities and towns; they fill most of the official positions, and their leading families can trace their descent for centuries. the persians are mostly descended from those who have been stolen by the turcomans and sold into slavery, and the arabs, hindoos, and jews may be regarded as wanderers who have been drawn there by business or accident.
"i have already told you something of the kirghese, whose country was the first to be absorbed by russia. the other people of turkestan besides those just mentioned are not sufficiently numerous or important to deserve special description. if you wish further particulars, you will find them in schuyler's 'turkestan,' vámbéry's 'travels in central asia,' 'history of bokhara,' and shaw's 'high tartary, yarkand, and kashgar.'"
the conversation was interrupted by a gentleman who called to ask if doctor bronson and his young friends would like to make a trip to the other side of the caspian sea. a steamer was to leave in two or three hours for mikhailovsk, and the next morning would see them landed in the country where, until quite recently, the turcomans reigned and robbed at will.
the invitation was promptly accepted, and when the steamer left baku our friends were among her passengers. what they saw and heard will be told in the next chapter.
