Chapter XII: Journey in the Desert of the Toorkmuns (2)

Some circumstances here came to our knowledge that called for prudence and caution, and which appeared to excite the justest alarm. As our party had arrived at the Orgunje camp, they found the chief in the act of despatching a body of 350 Toorkmuns on a foray to the frontiers of Persia. Our friends had arrived even in time to give these barbarians the usual “fatha;” for, whatever they felt, it was impossible to appear otherwise than pleased at their intentions. The Yooz-bashee in their presence charged the robbers to be of good cheer, and remember the good work on which they were to be engaged, and the golden “tillas” to be reaped in the country of the Kuzzilbash. “Go,” exclaimed he, “and bring the Prince Royal of Persia, Abbas Meerza himself to the feet of the Khan Huzrut.” The Allamans mounted in a moment, and one of the merchants, who seemed to have had his senses about him, begged that the formidable band would spare our caravan. The Yooz-bashee gave instructions to that effect; but they now shook their heads, and seemed but little disposed to put the honesty of such men to a trial. They turned over all the bearings of the case in their minds, and looked very woful. As a member of the party, I could not help asking for information on the _blessings_ which they had been called on gratuitously to bestow on such a horde. “Fatha,” said a Persian, “I did take the name of the holy Prophet, but it was that these man-selling scoundrels might never return.” Our conductor Ernuzzer himself said, that it was an abomination to have made such a use of the first sentence of the Koran; so easy is it to make the ritual of a faith correspond with the wishes. The doctor and myself, I believe, were the only members of the caravan who would have liked to have a peep at the ferocious Allamans; but I dare say it was fortunate that our curiosity was not gratified. Since such a horde of plunderers was abroad, it was decided that we should march upon Shurukhs, a large Toorkmun settlement, and there await the result of their expedition, which the merchants of the caravan had more desire to hear of than witness. The party had been instructed to proceed by easy marches, as the Toorkmuns always do in their forays, and was expected to return on the tenth day.

~Toorkmuns; their laws of plunder.~

~Training of the horses.~

On the 30th of August we retraced the greater part of yesterday’s route, and travelled down the opposite bank of the river for about sixteen miles, when we again halted among the Toorkmuns in their native state, at an encampment called Kunjookoolan. We here mixed among them without hesitation, and gathered many particulars concerning them. The Toorkmuns are Toorks; but they differ from the Uzbeks, and are entirely devoted to a pastoral life. There are several great tribes of the race, all of whom claim a common origin; we had seen the Ersarees on the Oxus, and were now mingling with the tribe of Saruk, beyond which are the Salore. Towards the Caspian lie the Tuka, Goklan, and Yumood, all of them great tribes, and of which I shall speak as we advance. Among our Saruk acquaintances there was one individual who had passed his days in making incursions into Persia, and in his odious traffic had acquired a perfect knowledge of the language of that country, which enabled me to learn the genuine sentiments of a Toorkmun robber. His name was Noornyaz; and in his forays he had accompanied the largest and smallest parties: he had, indeed, only returned with three captives, that had been secured by the small number of six horsemen. He described the manner of approaching Persia by slow and short stages, and that, after reaching the frontiers, they frequently hovered for days in sight of a fort to watch for a favourable opportunity of capture. If none presents itself, they make a dash in upon the fields in the morning, as the shepherds and husbandmen pursue their occupations, and bear off with speed whoever they may seize. If hotly pursued, they relinquish a spare horse with which every two individuals is provided, and carry off the more valuable slave. In such a transient expedition every thing depends on the fleetness of their horses, and the Toorkmuns accordingly bestow the utmost care upon them. My Toorkmun acquaintance said, that he was now preparing his horse for another foray, which consists in exercising him most severely after a long abstinence from food and water, which brings the animal to a matchless state of hardihood. They do not permit them to taste green forage, but confine them to dry food, which they believe hardens the flesh. They sweat them till their fat entirely disappears, and of this they judge by the quantity of water which the horse drinks, since it is very small if his flesh has been properly reduced. The Toorkmun horse, with such a training, far surpasses in bottom those of Europe and Arabia; but he is a coarse-looking animal, and has neither the sleekness nor beauty of coat which we see in India or our own country. Since the life and fortune of the Toorkmun are identified with the goodness of his horse, we can account for the care and attention that he bestows upon him. The little food to which he is inured enables his rider to provide with ease for his own wants: he carries the grain for the horse and himself, as well as bread and flour: in his advance he sometimes buries these in a well-known place, till he shall return from the foray; and when the Toorkmun retreats into his native desert, he is thus supplied with provisions, though he may have been weeks from his camp, which he shares with the victims of his capture, whom he drags into miserable servitude.

~Reflections.~

In the catalogue of human miseries there are few more severely felt, and the consequences of which are more destructive to domestic happiness, than the cruel system of man-stealing. Great as are the miseries produced by this, the hordes who engage in it appear to derive none of the luxuries or enjoyment of human life from such an occupation, and live in rags and penury, seemingly without advantage from their devastations. The terror which the Toorkmuns inspire among the people of the neighbouring countries is fearful, nor is this surprising, since they evince such fortitude and persevering energy in their dangerous occupation. We cannot fail to admire their address, and acknowledge their valour, at the time that we deplore the lot of the unhappy country on which they display their prowess. The manners and customs of the Toorkmuns, in the odious practices which they pursue against their fellow man, sap the best principles of human nature, and we consequently find this people wanting in much of the honour which is often seen among half-civilised nations. “A Toorkmun,” the people will tell you, “is a dog, and will only be kept quiet with a bit of bread, like a dog: give it then, is the doctrine of the traveller, and pass on unmolested.” They have likewise the character of being perfidious and treacherous, nor is it altogether unmerited. The Persians have endeavoured, but without success, to put a stop to these reckless inroads of the Toorkmun, but he himself lives in a desert where he is safe, and is encouraged by the ready sale which he finds for his captives in the favoured countries that lie beyond his own desolate region. In their expeditions into Persia, some Toorkmuns are occasionally captured, and an exorbitant ransom has been placed upon their heads, but yet they have been redeemed by their kinsmen. A Toorkmun passes his life either in a foray, or in preparing for one; and it is a disgraceful fact, that the chiefs of Khorasan have long and unnaturally leagued with these enemies of their religion and their country, to barter a still greater portion of unfortunate Persians into their hands, and eternal slavery. Avarice is the most baneful of our vices.

~Meeting of the caravan. Claims against us.~

Now that we were beyond the power of the Orgunje troops, the merchants of the caravan assembled in conclave to bemoan the loss of their money in a new tax, and to devise ways and means to recover it. It appeared to the majority, that the Firingees, that is, ourselves, should bear a portion of the burthen, and the assemblage waited on us in the evening to express their wishes, and request that we would bear one fourth of all the duties. Since the payment of the regular customs had induced the officer to forego the usual fee on each pair of panniers, we had certainly escaped every kind of tax, and this was evidently owing to the wealth and size of the caravan with which we were travelling. The Orgunje officer, too, it was now stated, had been bribed to the amount of ten tillas. It appeared both reasonable and just that we should bear our share of this outlay, and I therefore offered the usual tax of a tilla on each of our camels, since it would tend to diminish the general expenditure of the caravan. It was a point that called for the exercise of discretion and judgment, since a total denial might have converted a friendly into a hostile party; and, on the other hand, it at all times behoved us to be most sparing in our expenses. In the present instance, I had the good fortune to conciliate by my concession the principal merchants of the party. There were several who still called on us to pay a fourth share of the tax; but as I ascertained that no additional expenses had been incurred on our account, and the duties would have been levied whether we had been present or absent, I declined compliance, and stated to them that we were travellers, and their guests, in a foreign land, and hoped for their forbearance and justice. The Toorkmun chief, our friend Ernuzzer, appeared at this stage of our conversation, to enter his protest against such an outrage to hospitality as the demand which had been made upon us; but I had already made up my mind, and passed my word. The rights of the stranger are much respected among these people, and the cry of the many died away into the feeble vociferations of the poorer traders, whose scanty means made them feel more heavily the levy that had been made upon them. In one respect the character of an European in such countries is ill suited for a traveller; he is believed to possess boundless wealth, though he may be sunk in poverty; an Asiatic, in his expenses, has nothing in common with the opinions of an European.

~Continuation of the Desert.~

~Whirlwinds.~

We now commenced our march in the desert westward of the Moorghab river, and made a progress of thirty-seven miles. The tract was entirely different from the opposite side, and about the middle of the journey the desert changed into a level, hard, flat surface, which it ever afterwards preserved. The camels moved up in four strings abreast of each other, and we continued to advance in that order. The tract put me much in mind of the Run of Cutch, though there were patches of bushes, which are not to be seen in that most singular region.[4] The country was destitute of water, but there were many remains of caravansarais and cisterns that had been built by the philanthropic Abdulla Khan of Bokhara. In this neighbourhood, and more particularly while on the banks of the river, we witnessed a constant succession of whirlwinds, that raised the dust to a great height, and moved over the plain like water-spouts at sea. In India these phenomena are familiarly known by the name of _devils_, where they sometimes unroof a house; but I had not seen them in that country either of such size or frequency as now prevailed in the Toorkmun desert. They appeared to rise from gusts of wind, for the air itself was not disturbed but by the usual north wind that blows steadily in this desert.

~The highlands of Persia.~

~Mirage.~

As we halted in the morning of the 1st of September, at a ruin which bore the name of Kalournee, we descried the hills of Persian Khorasan. In the direction where they rose I had observed the atmosphere to be clouded since we reached the banks of the Moorghab, and we might have perhaps seen them sooner, though they still appeared in the haze of distance. As we discovered these mountains at sunrise, a magnificent mirage shone in the same direction. One could trace a river, and its steep and opposite banks; but, as the sun ascended, the appearance vanished, and left the same flat and cheerless country in which we were now encamped. The high banks of the river had no existence, and the water was but vapour set in the rays of light.

~Plants of the desert.~

As we approached Shurukhs, we could distinguish a gradual, though almost imperceptible rise in the country. We exchanged the shrubs that I have before described, for the tamarisk and the camel’s thorn, which does not grow in the desert. The most singular of the plants which a new zone presented to us, was one called “gyk chenak” in the Toorkee language, which literally means, the deer’s cup. It grows like hemlock or assafœtida (and has as bad a smell), only that a leaf, shaped precisely like a cup, surrounds each knot or division of the plant’s stalk. In this natural bowl the rains of spring are collected, and supply the deer with water. Such is the popular belief, and such is the name. We afterwards saw a plant not unlike the deer’s cup among the hills eastward of Meshid. A gum, like tallow, exuded from it, and it shot up as an annual among the high lands.

~Allamans.~

~Meet an unsuccessful party.~

We had been treading in our last marches on the very ground which had been disturbed by the hoofs of the Toorkmuns who were advancing on Persia. It was with no small delight that we at last lost our traces of the formidable band, which we could discover had branched off the high road towards Meshid. Had we encountered them, a second negotiation would have been necessary, and the demands of robbers might not have been easily satisfied. “Allamans” seldom attack a caravan, but still there are authenticated instances of their having murdered a whole party in the very road we were travelling. Men with arms in their hands, and in power, are not to be restrained. After losing all traces of this band, we came suddenly upon a small party of Allamans, seven in number, who were returning from an unsuccessful expedition. They were young men, well mounted and caparisoned, in the Toorkmun manner; a lance and a sword formed their arms; they had no bows, and but one led horse. Their party had been discomfited, and four of them had fallen into the hands of the Persians. They told us of their disasters, and asked for bread, which some of our party gave them. I wish that all their expeditions would terminate like this.

~Arrival at Shurukhs.~

~Detention.~

We reached Shurukhs at sun-rise on the 2d, after having performed a journey of seventy miles in forty-four hours, including every halt. During this period we had only marched for thirty-two hours, and the camels sometimes stepped out at the rate of two and a half miles an hour, which I had never before seen. All the camels were males, since they are believed to undergo fatigue better than females. Our caravan alighted round an old tomb, with a lofty dome, and it was unanimously decided, that so long as the Allamans were abroad, it would not be prudent to prosecute our journey. It was therefore resolved to _sleep_ in Shurukhs (to use a phrase of their own), the greatest haunt of the Toorkmun robbers; a paradox truly, since we were to settle among thieves to avoid the thieves abroad. We, however, possessed but humble influence in the party, and had only to meet the general wish. The merchandize was piled round the tomb, the people took up a position outside of it, and at night the camels and horses formed a triple barrier. Such were the arrangements for our protection, and, as will be seen, not more than were necessary. The Toorkmuns crowded among us during the day, and brought tunics of camel-cloth for sale, which were readily purchased; but there was not an individual of the caravan who trusted himself at a distance from it: and how could it be otherwise, when we hourly saw the “Allamans” passing and repassing in front of us, and knew that the chief subsistence of the people was derived from these “chupaos?”

~Shurukhs.~

The Toorkmun settlement of Shurukhs consists of a small and weak fort, almost in ruins, situated on a hillock, under cover of which most of the inhabitants have pitched their tenements. There are a few mud houses, which have been built by the Jews of Meshid, who trade with these people; but the Toorkmuns themselves live in the conical houses or khirgahs, peculiar to their tribe. They are constructed of wood, surrounded by a mat of reeds, and covered in the roof with felts, that become black with soot. Shurukhs is the residence of the Salore Toorkmuns, the noblest of the race. Two thousand families are here domiciled, and an equal number of horses, of the finest blood, may be raised in case of need. If unable to cope with their enemies, these people flee to the deserts, which lie before them, and there await the termination of the storm. They pay a sparing and doubtful allegiance to Orgunje and Persia, but it is only an impending force that leads to their submission. When we were at Shurukhs they had a Persian ambassador in chains, and refused to grant a share of the transit duties to the Khan of Orgunje, which they had promised in the preceding month, when that chief was near them. These are commentaries on their allegiance. The Salore Toorkmuns are ruled by twelve _aksukals_, the heads of the different families; but they acknowledge no particular allegiance to any individual person. The country around Shurukhs is well watered by aqueducts from the rivulet of Tejend, which is a little brackish, but its waters are usefully employed in fertilising its fields. The soil is exceedingly rich, and possesses great aptness for agriculture; the seed is scattered, and vegetates almost without labour. The harvest is rich, and they reap it, like true republicans, without a tax. The inhabitants repeat a tradition, that the first of men tilled in Shurukhs, which was his garden, while Serendib or Ceylon was his house! There is not a tree or a bush to enliven the landscape, for the Toorkmuns despise gardening. The crops of wheat and juwaree are here most abundant, and the melons are only inferior to those of Bokhara.

~Alarms.~

Two days after our arrival at Shurukhs, and when I venture to say we had often congratulated ourselves at the near prospect of successfully terminating our journey, we experienced an alarm that at least showed our congratulations were premature. One of the Toorkmun chiefs of the place appeared in our part of the encampment, and summoned the Hajee, one of our people, to attend him, near enough for me to overhear their conversation. He commenced a long list of interrogatories regarding us, and stated that he had heard from persons in the caravan that we possessed great wealth, and had travelled into the remotest parts of Toorkistan. Such being the case, continued he, it was impossible for him to grant us permission to prosecute our journey, until the commands of Ullah Koli, Khan of Orgunje, were received concerning us. This formidable announcement would even have appeared more frightful, had not the Toorkmun added on his departure, that his fellow chiefs were ignorant of our presence in the caravan, and that we might perhaps consider his good wishes not unworthy of being purchased. The matter was however serious, since it discovered that there were persons in the caravan who were ill-disposed towards us, and it was certain that the Toorkmuns had the power of enforcing all which the person in question had threatened. Immediate measures were necessary, and I lost no time in adopting them. There were five or six merchants of respectability in the caravan, and I went to the two principal persons, whom I have before named, and related the affair to them with perfect candour. I should have gone to Ernuzzer the Toorkmun, but he had in former days lived at Shurukhs, and, in his change to the life of a citizen, had forfeited much of the influence he might be supposed to possess among his countrymen; nor did I even unfold to him the circumstances till we reached Meshid. I observed that the communication equally excited the uneasiness of the merchants, and once more discovered that these people were really concerned for our safety. They poured forth their wrath against the informer, and expressed in unequivocal language the fears which they entertained from the Vizier of Bokhara on one side, and the Prince Royal of Persia on the other. One of the merchants advised that I should immediately produce the firman of the King of Bokhara; but in this I differed, and the opinion of the other was more in consonance with my own judgment. Abdool undertook to negotiate the _feeding of the dog of a Toorkmun_; but it may be imagined that there was little to cheer us under such circumstances. A cheerful countenance was, however, indispensable, that we might the better meet the difficulties, and, if possible, frustrate the hopes of the villain who had betrayed us.

~Dissipation of them.~

The first piece of intelligence which assailed us on the following morning was the loss of a beautiful little black pony, which had been stolen from his pickets during night. It is customary in this country to chain the horse’s leg to the iron pin, and then padlock it; but we had not adopted this precaution. I regretted this loss more than I might have done a more serious misfortune. The sturdy little creature had followed me from Poona in the centre of India, had borne me in many a weary journey, and I cannot tell how much it vexed me to leave him in such a country, and in such hands. The whole caravan assembled to express their regret at the theft, and assured me that I should either have the pony or his value; but they did not understand that in my estimation he stood above all price. I was obliged to turn to other matters, and it was a more solid source of consolation to find that we had satisfied the demands, and silenced the threats of the Toorkmun chief at a most moderate sacrifice. He became master of our stock of tea, and we should have added the sugar, had it been worth presenting; and this peace offering, crowned with two gold tillas (each valued at about six and a half rupees), satisfied a chief who had us in his power. Doonmus, for so he was named, was the “Aksukal” of 300 families, and one of those who share in the plunder and taxation of Shurukhs. We were much indebted in this difficulty to Abdool, who happened to be an acquaintance of the Toorkmun, and whom we had brought over to us by some acts of civility. We might not have escaped so readily from the talons of any of the others; and it was curious that the fellow who had wished to profit by us was the friend of the merchant with whom we were most intimate.

~Toorkmun customs.~

This sunshine of our prosperity admitted of our entering with greater spirit into our enquiries regarding the Toorkmuns, and I gathered some characteristic incidents of the people. They are as romantic in their customs of marriage as in their habits of plunder. They do not enter into the conjugal state with the simple forms of Mahommedans; for the communication between the sexes is unrestrained, and attachments are formed that ripen into love. But the daughter of a Toorkmun has a high price, and the swain, in despair of making a legitimate purchase, seizes his sweetheart, seats her behind him on the same horse, and gallops off to the nearest camp, where the parties are united, and separation is impossible. The parents and relatives pursue the lovers, and the matter is adjusted by an intermarriage with some female relation of the bridegroom, while he himself becomes bound to pay so many camels and horses as the price of his bride. If the person be rich, these are generally paid on the spot; but if, as more often happens, he is without property, he binds himself to discharge his debt, which is viewed as one of honour; and he proceeds on forays to Persia, till he has gained enough to fulfil his engagement. His success in these generally converts him into a robber for the rest of his days; and the capture of the Kuzzilbash has now become indispensable to settle in life the family of a Toorkmun. The young lady, after her Gretna Green union, returns to the house of her parents, and passes a year in preparing the carpets and clothes, which are necessary for a Toorkmun tent; and, on the anniversary of her elopement, she is finally transferred to the arms and house of her gallant lover.

~Fortitude of a slave.~

A circumstance lately happened at Shurukhs, which was repeated to us by many of the people, and exhibits additional examples of the love of liberty, and the despair which is inspired by the loss of it. A Persian youth, who had been captured by the Toorkmuns, dragged out a miserable life of servitude in Shurukhs. He was resolved to be free, and chose the opportunity of his master being at an entertainment, to effect his object. He saddled the best horse of his stable, and on the very eve of departure was discovered by the daughter of his lord, who attempted to give the alarm. He drew his sword, and put the girl to death. Her cries alarmed the mother, whom he also slew; and as he was bidding his final farewell to Shurukhs, the master himself arrived. The speed of the horse, which had so often been employed in the capture of his countrymen, now availed this fugitive, who was pursued, but not overtaken; and thus, by an exertion of desperate boldness, did he regain his liberty, leaving his master to deplore the loss of his wife and his daughter, his horse and his slave.

~Toorkmun customs.~

I have mentioned that our camp at Shurukhs lay by the shrine of a Mahommedan saint. He flourished 824 years since, under the name of Aboolfuzzul Hoosn, as appears by an inscription on the tomb, and he is yet revered by all the Toorkmuns. If one of them fall sick, he invokes the manes of the saint; if his horse or his camel suffer from disease, he circumambulates his tomb, in the hope and conviction of relief. The Toorkmuns have no mosques; they say their prayers in the tent or in the desert, without ablution, and without a carpet. They have few Moollahs or priests, for the church has little honour among them, and they are but poor followers of the prophet. They have no education to assuage the fiercer passions, which renders the men unsusceptible of pity, and the women indifferent to chastity. The men perform all the out-door employments, and the women work at home. The Toorkmuns are a race of people who court alternate activity and idleness. Abroad they evince the greatest spirit, and at home saunter about in idleness and indolence. They are fond of their horses, and of singing songs in honour of them. At night I have listened to the panegyrics on the feats of the “Chupraslee” and “Karooghlee” horses, the never-ending theme of praise. “Karooghlee” means a warrior as well as a horse, but it describes a famous breed now said to be extinct. “Chupraslee,” though it means but swift, is applied to a particular horse of reputed speed. I longed to record some of these Toorkmun songs, but at Shurukhs we could gather only these few lines:--

~A song.~

“I keep an Arab horse for the day of battle,
I live on that day under his shade,
In the conflict I slay a hero,--
Keep an Arab horse, hold a shield of iron.
Kurooghlee!

“In the day of battle I bend my bow of iron,
Erect on my horse, no one can dismount me.
I am an only child, I have no brother or sister,--
Keep an Arab horse, hold a shield of iron.
Kurooghlee!

“If I breathe, the ice of the mountains melts,
The water of my eyes would turn a mill,
So said Jonas the Puree,--
Keep an Arab horse, hold a shield of iron.
Kurooghlee!”

~A Toorkmun house.~

After the alarm which we had already experienced in Shurukhs, it was not desirable that we should mingle much with the people; but I had great curiosity to see them, and our Toorkmun Ernuzzer said I was invited to a friend’s house, and I accompanied him without further consideration. I was very agreeably surprised to find these wandering people living here, at least, in luxury. The tent or khirgah was spacious, and had a diameter of about twenty-five feet. The sides were of lattice-work, and the roof was formed of laths, which branched from a circular hoop, about three feet in diameter, through which the light is admitted. The floor was spread with felts and carpets, of the richest manufacture, which looked like velvet. Fringed carpets were also hung up round the tent, which gave it a great finish, and their beauty was no doubt enhanced by their being the work of wives and daughters. On one side of the tent was a small press, in which the females of the family kept their clothes, and above it were piled the quilts on which they slept. These are of variegated coloured cloth, both silk and cotton. From the circular aperture in the roof, three large tassels of silk were suspended, differing in colour, and neatly wrought by some fair young hand. Altogether, the apartment and its furniture bespoke any thing but an erratic people; yet the host explained to me that the whole house could be transported on one camel, and its furniture on another. On my return I expressed my surprise at such comfort, but my companions in the caravan bade me not wonder at such a display, since the Toorkmuns were _man-eaters_ (adum khor), and got their food for nothing. Many a nation has been written down as cannibals on as slight grounds; but the people merely meant to tell me that they lived on the proceeds of man-selling. Before I quitted the tent, the host produced bread and melons, according to their custom, of which we partook, with about fifteen other Toorkmuns, who had dropped in. They cut up a melon with great dexterity and neatness, separate the pulp from the skin, which is not thicker than that of an orange, by a single sweep of the knife, then dividing it into a dozen pieces. I listened for about half an hour to their conversation, the subject of which I could comprehend to be slaves and horses. They took me for a native of Cabool, from the loongee which I wore as a turban, nor did I undeceive them. They all got up as I left, and bade me good-bye with all the respect of a good Mahommedan. They might not have injured me had they known the truth, but they would have detained me with endless questions; and, as it was, I saw their customs without inconvenience. I was never so much struck with the Tatar features as in this assemblage. The Toorkmun has a skull like a Chinese, his face is flat, his cheek bones project, and his countenance tapers to the chin, which has a most scanty crop of hair. He is by no means ugly, and his body and features are alike manly. Their women are remarkably fair, and often handsome.

~Toorkmun mode of feasting.~

I might have followed up my acquaintance, and dined with the Toorkmuns in the evening; but, since I did not do so, I shall describe their feast from Toorkmun authority. When they invite a stranger to dinner, they send to say they have killed a sheep. They are not very choice in their cookery. Their cakes are baked about two feet in diameter, and an inch thick, of the coarsest flour, and generally mixed up with slices of pumpkin. These are always eaten fresh. When the party assembles, the cloth is spread, and each person crumbles down the piece of cake which is laid before him. The meat is then brought, which consists of one entire sheep, boiled in a huge Russian pot. They separate the flesh from the bones, and tear it into as small pieces as the bread, with which it is mixed. They shred about a dozen of onions, and throw the whole mess into the pot where the meat has been boiled, and mix it up with the soup. It is then served out in wooden bowls, one of which is placed before every two persons. Their mode of eating is as singular as that of preparation; they fill their open hand, and commencing from the wrist, lick it up like dogs, holding the head over the bowl, which catches all that falls. Each of the two in his turn fills his hand, and holds his head over the bowl. Melons follow, and the repast concludes with a pipe of tobacco. The women do not eat with the men.

~Success of the Allamans.~

On the seventh day after our arrival at Shurukhs, when every one was enquiring about the “Allamans,” or robbers, who had preceded us, they began to drop in upon us by twos and threes, with their horses lame and jaded, and by evening upwards of a hundred had arrived. They stopped by the caravan, and gave us a glowing account of their foray, congratulating themselves in boastful strains at their success. They had made their descent near Meshid four days previously, about ten in the morning, and rode up to the very walls of the city, driving men and animals before them. Not a soul appeared to arrest their progress; and when they numbered their spoil a few miles from the city, they found 115 human beings, 200 camels, and as many cattle. Since then they had returned without haste, and now skirted Shurukhs for refreshment. On the way they had already divided their booty. A fifth was given to the Khan of Orgunje, and the party had to congratulate themselves at the number of able-bodied men, and the few _white-beards_, old ones, among their prisoners. Returning through the hills, they encountered the videttes of a small party of horse, who are stationed to give information at Durbund, which lies between Shurukhs and Meshid. In the scuffle, one of the Toorkmuns was wounded, and they captured one of the videttes and fifteen horses. They put the unfortunate Persian to death, as an offering to God for the success which attended them; since they pretend to consider the murder of a heretic Kuzzilbash as grateful to the Almighty; and they generally kill most of the old persons who fall into their hands, as a propitiatory offering to the Creator. The Toorkmuns, indeed, defend their capture of these unfortunate human beings, on the ground of their conversion to a true religion, and consequent salvation. Unhappily for mankind, the history of the world presents us with too many and similar instances of this mistaken and religious zeal. The Spaniards pursued their conquests in the New World under the specious pretence of disseminating Christianity; they sacked the empires of Mexico and Peru, and butchered their inoffending inhabitants; while their priests impiously blessed their inhuman outrages.[5] They, too, like the Toorkmuns, propitiated their king by a present of a fifth of their spoil. Human nature, under king or khan, is the same in all countries, whether we contemplate the frenzy and avarice of the Spaniards in America, or the roaming Toorkmun in the Scythian deserts.

The opportunity which was afforded us of seeing these robbers, inspired a good opinion of their courage, for many of them were indifferently armed. They all had swords, most had light, long lances, quite different from those used by the Uzbeks, and a few had small matchlocks. Their horses looked quite done up, and walked as if on beds of gravel; but they had been thirteen days in motion, with scanty food and much work. While we admire the courage of these men, what shall we think of the Persians, who are encamped within two days’ journey of Meshid, under the heir-apparent of their throne, and numbering an army of twenty thousand men?

~Inconveniences.~

~Mad camel.~

The return of the Orgunje Allamans should have now settled our movements, but some timid being spread a rumour that half of the robbers yet lay in wait for our caravan on the Persian frontier. Our departure was therefore still put off, and I cannot say that I felt comfortable in such quarters. We had no tent or shelter for ten days but the rotten walls of an old tomb, which were infested with reptiles. Though our bed had always been the ground, and we had long ceased to feel the aches which one experiences from an occasional bivouac in civilised life, we could not now spread a carpet, lest we should appear too rich among the Toorkmuns, who stated in upon us at all times, and frequently asked us questions. Our bread, too, had been ten times coarser than “bannocks of barley meal,” not half so palatable. We could with great difficulty read or write for a single hour during the day, and the time passed as heavily as possible, exhausting our patience. During our detention, one of the camels was said to have gone mad, whether from ennui or some more cogent cause I knew not. The poor creature foamed at the mouth, groaned, and refused its food. The case was referred to us, as he was pronounced to be possessed of a devil; but of course without avail. At length they fell on the expedient of frightening the camel, by clashing a lighted torch before his eyes and body, and kindling reeds and furze under his nose. They also passed a red-hot iron over his head; and the animal assuredly improved under this rough treatment, of burning the devil who had lodged in so ugly a creature.

~Departure from Shurukhs.~

~Increased caravan.~

At length, on the 11th of September, after a detention of ten long days, we joyfully quitted Shurukhs at sunrise. The Toorkmuns maintained their character to the last. After giving us leave, and agreeing to tax us at the first stage, they waited till we had fairly started, and then sent orders to stop the caravan. They demanded a tilla and a half on every camel; which is the customary transit duty for an escort to the Persian frontier. The party came only a few miles, and then returned, tired of escorting; nor were we sorry to get so well rid of them. Our caravan had now been increased by the junction of two others, which had come up during our stay, and formed a numerous body: but I fear there were more timid than fighting hearts among us. There were men, women, and children; merchants, travellers, pilgrims, and emancipated slaves. There were Uzbeks, Arabs, Persians, Afghans, Hindoos, Jews, natives of Budukhshan and Cashmeer; Toorks and Toorkmuns; a Nogai Tatar, a wandering Kirghiz from Pameer, and ourselves, natives of Europe. Last, not least, was a young Persian girl, about fifteen years old, whom we had picked up at Shurukhs, and who was said to be of exquisite beauty. She had been captured by the Toorkmuns; and her loveliness overcoming their avarice, she had at first been detained by her captor. The arrival of our caravan and so many merchants, however, tempted his cupidity; and he offered his charge for sale. A merchant of Tehran purchased her for seventy-seven gold tillas; and the poor girl, who was walking about a few hours before, and saw and was seen by every one, was now literally packed up in a pannier. She had changed her character from slave to wife; for it signifies nought that she may have another husband, since she is surely born again who comes out of the hands of the Toorkmuns. This was a leap year; but a lady may be there allowed at all times to fall in love. The fair one of whom I speak made a set at the first merchant who visited her; and stated, as an inducement to her purchase, that she would join any creed they liked. This Persian girl is not the first of her sex who has changed her doctrines with her name.

~Entrance into Persia.~

We halted in the afternoon at a cistern, eighteen miles distant from Shurukhs, the fort of which was yet visible; for we had travelled over level country, broken in some places by gravelly hillocks. At the third mile we crossed the dry and pebbly bed of the small river of Tejend, which rises in the neighbouring hills, and is lost in the sands. This is not the Herat river, nor is it the Ochus, for no such great river as appears in our maps has existence. Its pools were saline, and much of the soil was also salt. There were remnants of civilisation, but neither fields nor inhabitants. We again set out about eight at night with a full moon; and, after an advance of seven or eight miles, entered among defiles and hills, and found ourselves at Moozderan or Durbund, the frontier post in Persia, a little after sunrise, and forty-five miles from Shurukhs. The whole of the latter part of the route lay in a deep ravine, where there is imminent danger in travelling from the “Allamans” of the desert. We pushed on with great celerity and greater fear: every instrument of war was in requisition, every match was lit, and the slightest sound brought the horsemen to a halt; for we hourly expected to encounter the Toorkmuns. After a night of such anxiety, we beheld with pleasure the look-out towers of Durbund, eleven of which crown the crest of the range, and command its passage. We here found a few irregular soldiers, the first subjects of the “Great King” whom we encountered. They were dispirited after the attack of the Toorkmuns, since this was the party which had lost their horses, and some of their fellow-soldiers.

~Moozderan or Durbund.~

After we had surmounted the pass of Durbund, our caravan alighted in the fields beyond the fort of Moozderan, which stands on an isolated spur of table-land, as you descend the pass. The place was once peopled; but the Khan of Orgunje some years since seized its inhabitants _en masse_, and razed their defences. In repair, it might protect the road into Persia; but a peasant cannot risk his life unless he receives the protection of his king. There is a beautiful fountain of tepid water, which springs up under Moozderan; and makes for itself, and some kindred streams, a channel down the valley, where the fruit trees and gardens of the exiled inhabitants may still be seen. It appeared a charming spot to us after so long a sojourn among desolation. The men on the pass showed us a cave, of which they had many fabulous tales, describing it to be without a termination. It was lately the scene of great slaughter and distress, for the population retired into it when pressed by the Khan of Orgunje; and as they issued like bees from the hive, they were put to death or sent in perpetual exile across the desert.

~Approach to Meshid.~

Our arrival in Persia afforded the greatest source of joy to many of the persons in the caravan, who, though natives of Bokhara, were yet Shiahs. I thought that when we quitted that holy city, we should have done with such sanctified spots; but the capital which we were now approaching, Meshid i Mookuddus, the sacred Meshid, appeared, by every account, to be even more holy than Bokhara. When we should behold its gilded dome, I now heard that every one would fall down and pray. The Persians here began to speak boldly of their creed, which they had so long concealed; and the spirit of the place might now be discovered by the tale of a person in the caravan, who was by no means illiterate. A merchant, who had lately travelled to Meshid, overloaded one of his camels, which fled, immediately on its reaching the city, to the shrine of the holy Imam Ruza, and lowed out its complaints. The animal was received, I presume, into the list of the faithful, since the priests of the shrine added him to their flock, adorned him with housings and bells, and gave him precedence of all other camels. The merchant confessed his cruelty, sued for forgiveness, and was pardoned at the sacrifice of his camel. To these and such tales an European must always listen and wonder; for though we have asserted, on the authority of the Koran itself, that the creed of the Mahommedan is not supported by miracles, its votaries admit no such doctrine; and enumerate the hundred thousand deviations from the laws of nature, which have happened for the benefit of the Mahommedan church. I had ventured among the Uzbeks to speak of the Koran and its contents, which I admitted I had read in translation. “Fool that you are,” was the reply; “how is it possible to transfer that holy book to another language, when every letter of every word has a distinct and individual meaning, that is only to be comprehended in the original?” I never afterwards paraded my biblical research; for while I found my knowledge of their Koran arraigned, I also heard, for the first time, that the Old and New Testament were nowhere to be found but as an incorporation with the Koran, since the copies of both Jews and Christians were vitiated forgeries! The arts of the priests of Islam bring to our remembrance the similar impositions of the Catholic church in by-gone ages. In Europe, however, the churchmen did really understand the learned language of the scriptures; but, among the Mahommedans, there are Moollahs who can only read, while they do not understand their version. There are of course many scholars, but there are distinct classes who _do_ and _do not_ understand; nor do they hesitate to speak of their learning or their ignorance, since the reading of the Koran is a sublime occupation, that covers the worst of sins.

~Tarantulla.~

~Adventure.~

We could not yet consider ourselves within the protection even of the holy Meshid, which was thirty-eight miles from Moozderan; we therefore moved at nightfall. In the bustle of departure I killed a huge reptile of a “tarantulla,” or an enormous spider, crawling on my carpet. Its claws looked like those of a scorpion, or small lobster, but the body was that of a spider. I was assured of its poisonous nature, and the natives insisted that it squirted its venom instead of stinging. We were soon on the wing, and wound our way up the valley of the Tejend, which was now a beautiful brook. We commenced our journey in terror, and ere long met with an adventure that increased the rapidity of our march. About midnight the braying of a donkey intimated to some palpitating hearts that we were in the neighbourhood of human beings, where none should exist. The shout of “Allaman, Allaman!” spread like lightning; and the caravan, in a moment, assumed the appearance of a regiment in open column, closing up in double march to form a square. The foremost camels squatted instantly, and the others formed behind them. Matches were lit on every side, swords were drawn, pistols loaded, and the unhappy merchants capered in front of their goods, half mad with fear and fury. The unarmed portion of the caravan took post among the camels, which really formed a tolerable square, increased as they were to the number of one hundred and twenty. The anxiety was intense, it was general; the slaves were more terrified than the rest, for they well knew the fate of capture by the Toorkmuns. After about a quarter of an hour’s detention, one of the party discovered that the Allamans, of whom we were standing in such awe, were a party of twenty poor wandering Eimauks, who had been gathering die (boozghoom) on the hills. They were more terrified than us, for their number made their fate inevitable had we been Toorkmuns. Immediately the mistake was discovered, a shout of delight raised the camels, and the caravan moved on at double its usual speed, with seven or eight camels abreast; nor did it stop at the prescribed halting-ground, but pushed on some eight or ten miles farther when the day dawned. No sooner had we finished a scanty meal than it was again in motion, and a little after mid-day we reached Ghoozkan, the first inhabited village in Persia, and about fourteen miles from Meshid.

~Ghoozkan slaves.~

~Troubled country.~

We halted a few hours at Ghoozkan, and had an opportunity of observing the supreme joy of the poor slaves, who had now reached their native land in safety. Many of the merchants gave them clothes and money to assist in their journey homewards, and it was with pleasure that we joined in the charitable feelings of the caravan. A few ducats purchased much happiness. Ghoozkan is peopled by Teimurees, a tribe of Eimaks, and has a population of about a thousand souls. They were a miserable looking set of beings, who used bandages as stockings, and covered their heads with brown sheep-skin caps. The whole of the inhabitants turned out to see us pass, and many of the poor creatures asked, in melancholy strains, of the different passengers, if we did not bring letters from their captive friends in Toorkistan. The Toorkmuns seldom spare Ghoozkan in their forays; and the last party had carried off six of their children, and put four of their peasants to death. One wonders that human beings would consent to live in such a spot. The circle of the villages around Meshid gets more circumscribed yearly, and in the one which we first entered every field had its tower, built by the cultivator, as a defence to which he might fly on seeing the approach of a Toorkmun. What a state of society, that requires the ploughshare and the sword in the same field! We loaded the camels after a watch of night, and set out for Meshid, the gates of which we reached long before the sun had risen, not more to our own joy than that of the poor Persian slaves, who had performed every step of the journey with a palpitating breast.

CHAP. XIV.

KHORASAN.

~Arrival in Meshid.~

At dawn, on the morning of the 14th of September, we found our caravan waiting, in anxious expectation, under the walls of Meshid. At sunrise the keys of the gate were brought, which was at once thrown open to us. A new scene burst upon our view, with a rapidity which one only sees in theatrical representation. We had left a desert and the wandering Toorkmuns, and now advanced, in stately order, through a crowded city, arresting the notice of all the inhabitants. We had exchanged the broad face and broader turbans of the Toork and Tartar for the slim and long-faced Kuzzilbash, with a fur cap on his head, and his ringlets curling up behind, who now stood idly looking at us, with his hands in his pockets. The street which we entered was spacious and handsome; an aqueduct passed through it, and its banks were shaded by trees, while the splendid cupola and gilded minarets of the shrine of Imam Ruza terminated the perspective. A hundred and twenty camels passed up this avenue, and entered the spacious caravansarai of the Uzbeks. We followed in course, and seated ourselves on the balcony of the building, that we might the better observe the busy scene of the area beneath us. The inundation had, however, filled this extensive caravansarai, and we were necessitated to seek for an abode in a humbler place, which we found hard by.