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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Some Heroes of Travel, by W. H. Davenport
+Adams
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Some Heroes of Travel
+       or, Chapters from the History of Geographical Discovery and Enterprise
+
+
+Author: W. H. Davenport Adams
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 20, 2013  [eBook #42749]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOME HEROES OF TRAVEL***
+
+
+This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler.
+
+                          [Picture: Book cover]
+
+                      [Picture: Map of North Africa]
+
+                         [Picture: Map of Mexico]
+
+
+
+
+
+                          SOME HEROES OF TRAVEL
+
+
+                        _OR_, _CHAPTERS FROM THE_
+                   _HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY_
+                            _AND ENTERPRISE_.
+
+                                WITH MAPS.
+
+                    COMPILED AND REWRITTEN BY THE LATE
+
+                          W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS.
+
+    “Have you been a traveller?”
+
+                                                              SHAKESPEARE.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+              PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE
+           OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION APPOINTED BY THE
+                SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+                                 LONDON:
+
+                SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
+               NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS, W.C.;
+                     43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.
+                                  1893.
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+THE present age is sometimes described as an Age of Commonplace; but it
+has its romance if we care to look for it.  Assuredly, the adventures of
+its travellers and explorers do not lose in importance or interest, even
+when compared with those of their predecessors in days when a great part
+of the world was still “virgin ground.”  In the following pages, this
+thesis is illustrated by a summary of the narratives of certain “Heroes
+of Travel” belonging to our own time; and I believe it will be found that
+for “stirring scenes” and “hair-breadth escapes” they vie with any which
+the industrious Hakluyt, the quaint Purchas, or, coming down to a later
+date, the multifarious Pinkerton has collected.  However, on this point
+the reader has an opportunity of satisfying himself, as, by way of
+contrast, I have prefixed to these Episodes of Recent Travel a succinct
+account of the enterprise of Messer Marco Polo, the Pioneer of Mediæval
+Travellers.
+
+There is no pleasanter mode of learning geography than by studying the
+works of distinguished travellers; and therefore this little book may
+claim to possess some slight educational value, while primarily intended
+to supply the young with attractive but not unwholesome reading.  The
+narratives which it contains have been selected with a view to variety or
+interest.  They range over Mexico, Western Australia, Central Africa, and
+Central Asia.  They include the experiences of the hunter, the war
+correspondent, and the geographical explorer; and, in recognition of the
+graceful influence of women, of a lady traveller, who showed herself as
+resolute and courageous as any of the so-called hardier sex.  And,
+finally, they have the merit, it is believed, of not having appeared in
+previous compilations.
+
+As a companion for the fireside corner, this little book will, I hope, be
+welcome to all English-speaking lads and lasses, who will learn from its
+pages how much may be accomplished by patience, perseverance, and energy.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+                                                                  PAGE
+SIR MARCO POLO, THE VENETIAN, AND HIS TRAVELS IN ASIA                1
+MR. GEORGE F. RUXTON, AND HIS ADVENTURES IN MEXICO AND THE          49
+ROCKY MOUNTAINS
+DOCTOR BARTH, AND CENTRAL AFRICA                                    90
+MR. THOMAS WITLAM ATKINSON, AND HIS ADVENTURES IN SIBERIA          157
+AND CENTRAL ASIA
+ALEXINA TINNÉ, AND HER WANDERINGS IN THE SUDAN                     229
+MR. J. A. MACGAHAN, AND CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS                    260
+COLONEL EGERTON WARBURTON, AND EXPLORATION IN WEST AUSTRALIA       293
+MAJOR BURNABY, AND A RIDE TO KHIVA                                 325
+SIR SAMUEL BAKER, AND THE SOURCES OF THE NILE                      335
+
+                  [Picture: Map of Marco Polo’s Travels]
+
+
+
+
+SIR MARCO POLO, THE VENETIAN,
+AND HIS TRAVELS IN ASIA.
+
+
+WE should be inclined to consider Sir Marco Polo as one of the greatest
+travellers the world has ever seen.  It is true he was not a man of
+genius; that he was not, like Columbus, inspired by a lofty enthusiasm;
+that he displayed no commanding superiority of character.  But when we
+remember the vast compass of his journeys, and the circumstances under
+which they were carried out; when we remember, too, how close an observer
+he was, and how rigidly accurate, and his plenitude of energy and
+perseverance—we feel that he is, beyond all cavil or question, entitled
+to be recognized as the king of mediæval travellers.  Let us take Colonel
+Yule’s summary of his extraordinary achievements:—
+
+“He was the first Traveller to trace a route across the whole longitude
+of Asia, naming and describing kingdom after kingdom which he had seen
+with his own eyes; the Deserts of Persia, the flowering plateaux and wild
+gorges of Badakshan, the jade-bearing rivers of Khotan; the Mongolian
+steppes, cradle of the power that had so lately threatened to swallow up
+Christendom; the new and brilliant Court that had been established at
+Cambaluc: the first Traveller to reveal China in all its wealth and
+vastness, its mighty rivers, its huge cities, its rich manufactures, its
+swarming population, the inconceivably vast fleets that quickened its
+seas and its inland waters; to tell us of the nations on its borders,
+with all their eccentricities of manners and worship; of Tibet, with its
+sordid devotees; of Burma, with its golden pagodas and their tinkling
+crowns; of Laos, of Siam, of Cochin China; of Japan, the Eastern Thule,
+with its rosy pearls and golden-roofed palaces: the first to speak of
+that Museum of Beauty and Wonder, still so imperfectly ransacked, the
+Indian Archipelago, source of those aromatics then so highly prized and
+whose origin was so dark; of Java, the Pearl of Islands; of Sumatra, with
+its many kings, its strange costly products, and its cannibal races; of
+the dusky savages of Nicobar and Andaman; of Ceylon, the Isle of Gems,
+with its sacred Mountain and its tomb of Adam; of India the Great, not as
+a dreamland of Alexandrian fables, but as a country seen and partially
+explored, with its virtuous Brahmans, its obscene ascetics, its diamonds
+and the strange tales of their acquisition, its sea-beds of pearl, and
+its powerful sun: the first in mediæval times to give any distinct
+account of the secluded Christian Empire of Abyssinia and the
+semi-Christian island of Socotra; to speak, though indeed dimly, of
+Zanzibar, with its negroes and its ivory, and of the vast and distant
+Madagascar, bordering on the Dark Ocean of the South, with its Roc {3}
+and other monstrosities; and, in a remotely opposite region, of Siberia
+and the Arctic Ocean, of dog-sledges, white bears, and reindeer-riding
+Tunguses.”
+
+Who can dispute the fame of a man whose name and memory are associated
+with so marvellous a catalogue of discoveries, who anticipated the
+travellers of a later generation in many of their most remarkable
+enterprises?  At one time, the authenticity of his statements was
+frequently and openly impugned; he was accused of exaggeration and
+inexactitude; but the labours of Marsden, Pauthier, and especially of
+Colonel Yule, have shown that his statements, so far as they are founded
+on personal observation, may be implicitly accepted.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+In the early part of the fourteenth century there lived at Venice a
+patrician of good family, named Andrea Polo, to whom were born three
+sons, Marco, Nicolo, and Maffeo.  Nicolo, the second of these sons, was
+the father of our traveller, Marco Polo, who was born in 1254.  Engaged
+in extensive commercial operations, Nicolo, soon after his son’s birth,
+journeyed to Constantinople, and thence proceeded on a trading venture to
+the Crimea, which led to his ascending the Volga for a considerable
+distance, and crossing the steppes to visit Bokhara and the Court of the
+great Kublai Khan, on or within the borders of Cathay.  Kublai, the hero
+of so many legends, had never before seen a European.  He tendered to
+Nicolo and his brother Maffeo (who travelled with him) a right royal
+welcome; was deeply interested in all they told him of the kingdoms and
+states of Europe; and finally resolved on sending them back, with one of
+his own nobles, as ambassadors to the Pope.  In this capacity they
+arrived at Acre in 1269; but as Pope Clement IV. had died in the previous
+year, and no successor had as yet been elected, the two brothers thought
+they might reasonably indulge themselves in a visit to their Venetian
+homes, from which they had been absent for fifteen years.
+
+Nicolo remained at Venice until 1271, when, no Pope having been elected,
+he deemed it well that he should return to the Great Khan to explain the
+delay which had taken place in the fulfilment of his mission.
+Accompanied by his brother Maffeo, and his son Marco, a lad of seventeen,
+he sailed to Acre, and thence to the port of Ayas on the gulf of
+Scanderoon, where he was overtaken by the news that a Pope had at last
+been elected in the person of an old friend of his, Tedoldo Visconti, or
+Pope Gregory X., at that time legate in Syria.  The new Pope immediately
+sent for the two brothers to Acre, and charged them with a cordial
+message for the Khan.  He also sent him two Dominican monks to teach the
+truths of science and Christianity; but they took fright at an early
+stage of the journey, and hurried back to Acre; while the two brothers,
+with young Polo, started overland for the Court of the Great Khan.
+
+Reaching Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, they seem to have
+taken a northern route; traversing successively the regions of Kerman and
+Khorasan, Balkh and Badakshan, and ascending the Upper Oxus to the great
+plateau of Pamir—a route followed by no European traveller, except
+Benedict Goro, until it was undertaken by Captain John Wood, of the
+Indian navy, in his special expedition to the sources of the Oxus in
+1838.  Leaving the bleak wastes of the Pamir, the Polos descended into
+Kashgar, visited Yarkand and Khotand, passed near Lake Lob, and
+eventually traversed the great Desert of the Gobi, since explored by
+several European travellers, to Tangut, the name then applied by Mongols
+and Persians to territory at the extreme north-west of China, both within
+and without the famous Wall.  Skirting the Chinese frontier, they came
+upon the Great Khan at his summer palace of Kaiping-fu, near the foot of
+the Khin-gan Mountains, and about fifty miles north of the Great Wall.
+This must have been in May, 1275, or thereabouts, when Marco Polo was
+close upon one and twenty.
+
+“The king of kings” received the three bold Venetians with much favour.
+“He showed great pleasure at their coming, and asked many questions as to
+their welfare, and how they had sped.  They replied that they had in
+verity sped well, seeing that they found the Khan well and safe.  Then
+they presented the credentials and letters which they had received from
+the Pope, and those pleased him right well; and after that they produced
+some sacred oil from the Holy Sepulchre, whereat he was very glad,
+valuing it greatly.  And next, spying Marco, who was then a young gallant
+(_jeune bacheler_), he asked who was that in their company.  ‘Sire,’ said
+his father, Messer Nicolo, ‘he is my son and your liegeman.’  ‘Welcome is
+he too,’ quoth the Emperor.  But why should I make a long story?  There
+was great rejoicing at the Court because of their arrival; and they met
+with attention and honour from everybody.  So there they abode at the
+Court with the other barons.”
+
+Among young Marco Polo’s gifts appears to have been a facility for
+acquiring languages.  He speedily mastered that of the Tartars, so as
+both to write and speak it; and in a brief space he came to know several
+other languages and four written characters.  He studied also the customs
+of the Tartars and their mode of carrying on war.  His ability and
+prudence greatly recommended him to Kublai, and he began to employ him in
+the public service.  His first embassy was to a country lying a six
+months journey distant; apparently the province of Yun-nan, which he
+reached by way of Shansi, Shensi and Szechuen.  He had been shrewd enough
+to observe that the Khan was disgusted with the rigid officialism of his
+ambassadors, who, on returning from their various missions, would speak
+only of the business they had transacted, whereas he would fain have
+heard of the strange things, peoples, and countries they had seen.  And
+so he took full notes of all he saw, and returned to the Khan’s Court
+brimful of surprising information, to which the prince listened with
+evident pleasure.  “If this young man live,” he said, “he will assuredly
+come to be a person of great work and capacity.”
+
+For seventeen years Marco Polo remained in the Khan’s service, being sent
+on several important embassies, and engaged also in the domestic
+administration.  For three years he held the government of the important
+city of Yangchau.  On another occasion, with his uncle Maffeo, he spent a
+twelvemonth at Kangchau in Tangut.  He also visited Karakorum, the old
+Mongolian capital of the Khans, and penetrated into Champa, or Southern
+Cochin China.  Finally, he seems to have been sent on a mission to the
+Indian Seas, and to have explored several of the southern states of
+India.  And thus it came about that Messer Marco Polo had knowledge of,
+or actually visited, a greater number of the different countries of the
+world than any other man; the more that he was always eager to gain
+information, and to examine and inquire into everything.
+
+Meantime, the Venetians were growing wealthy, and Marco’s father and
+uncle were growing old; and increasing wealth and increasing years raised
+in them an apprehension of what might befall them in case of the aged
+Khan’s death, and a desire to return to their native land.  Several times
+they applied to Kublai for permission to depart; but he was loth to say
+farewell to the men whom he had known and trusted so long, and, but for
+an opportune event, they might never have succeeded in carrying
+themselves and their jewels and gold back to Europe.  In 1286 Arghún
+Khan, of Persia, Kublai’s great-nephew, lost his favourite wife, the
+Khatun Bulaghán.  On her death-bed she charged him to supply her place
+with a daughter of her own tribe, the Mongols of Bayaut; and, desirous of
+fulfilling her dying wish, the bereaved prince despatched three
+ambassadors to Kublai’s Court to seek for him a fitting bride.  The Great
+Khan received them with all honour and hospitality, and then sent for the
+lady Kukachiu, a maiden of seventeen, and a very beautiful and gracious
+person.  On her arrival at Court she was presented to the three
+ambassadors, who declared that the lady pleased them well.
+
+The overland route from Peking to Tabriz was long and dangerous, and the
+envoys decided, therefore, on returning, with their fair charge, by sea.
+While sojourning at the Khan’s Court they had made the acquaintance of
+the three Venetians, and being greatly impressed by their marvellous good
+sense and experience, and by Marco Polo’s extensive knowledge of the
+Indian seas and territories, they entreated the Khan to allow them the
+advantage and protection of their company.  It was with profound
+reluctance that Kublai gave his consent; but when once he had done so, he
+behaved with his wonted splendour of generosity.  Summoning the three
+Venetians to his presence, he placed in their hands two golden “tablets
+of authority,” which secured them a free passage through all his
+dominions, and unlimited supplies of all necessaries for themselves and
+for their company.  He entrusted them also with messages to the King of
+France, the King of England, the King of Spain, and other sovereigns of
+Christendom.  Then he caused thirteen ships to be equipped, each with
+four masts and nine to twelve sails; and when all was ready, the
+ambassadors and the lady, with the three Venetians, took leave of the
+Great Khan, and went on board their ships, with a large retinue, and with
+two years’ supplies provided by the Emperor (A.D. 1292).
+
+The port from which they set out seems to have been that of Zaytou, in
+Fo-kien.  The voyage was long and wearisome, and chequered by much ill
+fortune; and in the course of it two of the ambassadors died, and as many
+as six hundred of the mariners and attendants.  They were detained for
+months on the coast of Sumatra, and in the south of India; nor did they
+arrive at Hormuz until the end of 1293.  There they learned that Arghún
+Khan had been dead a couple of years, and that he had been succeeded by
+his brother Kaikhatu.  The lady, according to the custom of the country,
+became the wife of Arghún’s son, Prince Ghazan, who is spoken of as
+endowed with some of the highest qualities of a king, a soldier, and a
+legislator; but she wept much in bidding farewell to her noble Venetian
+friends.
+
+As for Marco Polo, his father, and uncle, having discharged the trust
+placed in their hands by Kublai Khan, they proceeded to Tabriz, on a
+visit to Kaikhatu; and having sojourned there for some months, journeyed
+homeward by way of Trebizond, Constantinople, and Negropont, arriving in
+Venice in 1295, after an absence of four and twenty years.
+
+The traditional story of their arrival is related by Ramusio:—
+
+“Years of anxiety and travel, and the hardships of many journeys, had so
+changed the appearance of the three Venetians, who, indeed, had almost
+forgotten their native tongue, that no one in Venice recognized them.
+Their clothes, too, were coarse and shabby, and after the Tartar fashion.
+Proceeding to their house in Venice, a lofty and handsome palazzo, and
+known by the name of the Corte del Millioni, they found it occupied by
+some of their relatives, whom they had no small difficulty in convincing
+of their identity.  To secure the desired recognition, and the honourable
+notice of the whole city, they adopted a quaint device.
+
+“Inviting a number of their friends and kindred to an entertainment, they
+were careful that it should be prepared with great state and splendour;
+and when the hour came for sitting down to table, they came forth from
+their chamber, all clothed in crimson satin, fashioned in long robes
+reaching to the ground, such as in those days people wore within doors.
+And when water for ablutions had been served, and the guests were sat,
+they doffed these robes, and put on others of crimson damask, while the
+first suits were, by their orders, cut up and divided among the servants.
+After partaking of some of the dishes, they again retired, to come back
+resplendent in robes of crimson velvet, and when they had again taken
+their seats, the cast-off robes were divided as before.  When dinner was
+over, they did the like with the robes of velvet, after they had attired
+themselves in dresses of the same fashion as those worn by the rest of
+the company.  Much wonder and astonishment did the guests exhibit at
+these proceedings.
+
+“Now, when the cloth had been removed, and all the servants had quitted
+the dining-hall, Messer Marco, as the youngest of the three, rose from
+table, and, going into another chamber, brought forth the three shabby
+dresses of coarse stuff which they had worn, on their arrival in the
+city.  Straightway, with sharp knives they began to rip some of the seams
+and welts, and to draw forth vast quantities of jewels of the highest
+value—rubies and sapphires, carbuncles, diamonds, and emeralds—which had
+all been stitched up in those dresses so artfully that nobody could have
+suspected their presence.  For when they took leave of the Great Khan,
+they had converted all the wealth he had bestowed upon them into this
+mass of precious stones, being well aware of the impossibility of
+carrying with them so great an amount in gold, over a journey of such
+extreme length and difficulty.  The exhibition of this immense treasure
+of jewels and precious stones, all poured out upon the table, threw the
+guests into fresh amazement, so that they appeared bewildered and
+dumfounded.  And straightway they recognized, what they had formerly
+doubted, that the three strangers were indeed those worthy and honoured
+gentlemen of the Polo family whom they had claimed to be; and paid them
+the greatest reverence.  And the story being bruited abroad in Venice,
+the whole city, gentle and simple, hastened to the house to embrace them,
+and make much of them, with every demonstration of affection and respect.
+On Messer Maffeo, the eldest, they conferred an office that in those days
+was of high dignity; while the young men came daily to visit and converse
+with the ever polite and gracious Messer Marco, and to ask him questions
+about Cathay and the Great Khan, all of which he answered with such
+courtesy and kindliness, that every man felt himself in a manner in his
+debt.  And as it chanced that in the narrative which he was constantly
+called on to repeat of the magnificence of the Great Khan, he would speak
+of his revenues as amounting to ten or fifteen ‘millions’ of gold, and,
+in like manner, when recounting other instances of great wealth in those
+remote lands, would always employ the term ‘millions,’ people nicknamed
+him Messer Marco _Millioni_—a circumstance which I have noted also in the
+public books of this Republic where he is mentioned.  The court of his
+house, too, at S. Giovanni Crisostomo has always from that time been
+popularly known as the Court of the Millioni.” {12}
+
+We pass on to 1298, a year which witnessed a fresh outburst of the bitter
+enmity between Genoa and Venice.  The Genoese, intent upon crushing their
+formidable rival, despatched a great fleet into the Adriatic, under the
+command of Lamba Doria.  Off the island of Curzola they were met by a
+more powerful armada, of which Andrea Dandolo was admiral, and one of the
+galleys of which was commanded by Marco Polo.  The battle began early on
+the 7th of September, the Venetians entering into it with the glad
+confidence of victory.  Their impetuous attack was rewarded by the
+capture of the Genoese galleys; but, dashing on too eagerly, many of
+their ships ran aground.  One of these was captured, cleared of its crew,
+and filled with Genoese.  Closing up into a column, the Genoese pushed
+the encounter hotly, and broke through the Venetian line, which the
+misadventure we have spoken of had thrown into disorder.  Throughout the
+long September day the fight was bravely supported; but, towards sunset,
+a squadron of cruising ships arriving to reinforce Doria, the Venetians
+were taken in flank, and finally overpowered.  The victory of the Genoese
+was complete; they captured nearly all the Venetian vessels, including
+the admiral’s, and seven thousand men, among whom were Dandolo and Marco
+Polo.  The former disappointed the triumph of his victors by dashing out
+his brains against the side of his galley; the latter was removed to
+Genoa.
+
+During his captivity Polo made the acquaintance of a Pisan man of
+letters, named Rusticiano, or Rustichello, who was a prisoner like
+himself.  When he learned the nature of Polo’s remarkable experiences,
+this Pisan gentleman, not unnaturally, urged him to record them in
+writing; and it would seem that the great traveller complied with the
+request, and dictated to his new friend the narrative that has since
+excited so much curious interest.  Through the intervention of Matteo
+Visconti, Captain-General of Milan, peace was concluded in May, 1299,
+between Genoa and Venice, and as one of the conditions was the release of
+prisoners on both sides, Messer Marco Polo soon afterwards obtained his
+freedom, and returned to his family mansion in the Corte del Sabbrin.  He
+took with him the manuscript story of his world wanderings, and in 1306
+presented a copy of it to a noble French knight, Thibault de Cipoy, who
+had been sent on a diplomatic mission to Venice by Charles of Valois.
+
+The closing years of a life which, in its spring and summer, had been
+crowded with incident and adventures, were undisturbed by any notable
+event, and in his old age Marco Polo enjoyed the sweetness of domestic
+peace and the respect of his fellow-countrymen.  On the 9th of January,
+1324, “finding himself growing feebler every day through bodily ailment,
+but being by the grace of God of a meek mind, and of senses and judgment
+unimpaired, he made his will, in which he constituted as his trustees
+Donata, his beloved wife, and his dear daughters, Fantina, Bellola, and
+Monta,” bequeathing to them the bulk of his property.  How soon
+afterwards he died, there is no evidence to show; but it is at least
+certain that it was before June, 1325.  We may conclude, therefore, that
+his varied life fulfilled the Psalmist’s space of seventy years.
+
+Marco Polo, says Martin Bucer, was the creator of the modern geography of
+Asia.  He was the Humboldt of the thirteenth century; and the record of
+his travels must prove an imperishable monument of his force of
+character, wide intelligence and sympathy, and unshaken intrepidity.  We
+have thus briefly summarized his remarkable career, and indicated the
+general extent of his travels.  To follow him in detail throughout his
+extensive journeys would be impossible within the limits prescribed to
+us; and we shall content ourselves, therefore, with such extracts from
+his narrative as will best illustrate their more interesting and striking
+features, and indirectly assist us in forming some conception of the man
+himself.
+
+And first, we take his description of the great river of Badakshan and
+the table-land of Pamir—which the wandering Kirghiz call “The Roof of the
+World”—substituting modern names of places for those in the original.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+“In leaving Badakshan, you ride twelve days between east and north-east,
+ascending a river [the Upper Oxus] that runs through land belonging to a
+brother of the Prince of Badakshan, and containing a good many towns and
+villages and scattered habitations.  The people are Mohammedans, and
+valiant in war.  At the end of those twelve days you come to a province
+of no great size, extending indeed no more than three days’ journey in
+any direction, and this is called Wakhan.  The people worship Mohammed,
+and have a peculiar language.  They are gallant soldiers, and have a
+chief whom they call _None_ [No-no?], which is as much as to say Count,
+and they are liegemen to the Prince of Badakshan.
+
+“There are numbers of wild beasts of all kinds in this region.  And when
+you leave this little country, and ride three days north-east, always
+among mountains, you get to such a height that it is spoken of as the
+highest place in the world.  And when you reach this height, you find a
+great lake between two mountains [Lake Sir-i-kol], and out of it a pure
+river [the Oxus] flows through a plain clothed with the most beautiful
+pasture in the world, so that a lean beast would fatten there to your
+heart’s content in ten days.  There are great numbers of all kinds of
+wild beasts; among others, wild sheep of large size, with horns six palms
+in length [the Rass, or _Ovis Poli_].  From these horns the shepherds
+make great bowls out of which to eat their food; and they use the horns
+also to enclose folds for their cattle at night.  Messer Marco was told
+also that the wolves were numerous, and killed many of those wild sheep.
+Hence quantities of their horns and bones were found, and these were made
+into great heaps by the wayside, in order to direct travellers when snow
+lay on the earth.
+
+“The plain is called Pamir, and you ride across it for twelve days
+together, finding nothing but a desert without habitation or any green
+thing, so that travellers are compelled to carry with them whatever they
+have need of.  The region is so lofty and so cold, that not a bird is to
+be seen.  And I must also observe that, owing to this extreme cold, fire
+does not burn so brightly, nor give out so much heat as usual, nor does
+it cook food so thoroughly.
+
+“Now, if we continue our journey towards the east-north-east, we travel
+fully forty days, continually passing over mountains and hills, or
+through valleys, and crossing many rivers and wildernesses.  And in all
+this extent you find neither habitation of man, nor any green thing, and
+must carry with you whatever you require.  The country is called Bolor
+[the Tibetan kingdom of Balti].  The people dwell high up in the
+mountains, and are savage idolaters, living only by the chase, and
+clothing themselves in the skins of beasts.  They are, in truth, an evil
+race.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+[In February, 1838, Captain John Wood crossed the Pamir, and his
+description of it may be compared with the Venetian traveller’s.  “We
+stood, to use a native expression,” he says, “upon the _Báni-i-Duniah_,
+or ‘Roof of the World,’ while before us lay stretched a noble, but frozen
+sheet of water, from whose western end issued the infant river of the
+Oxus.  This fine lake (Sir-i-kol) lies in the form of a crescent, about
+fourteen miles long from east to west, by an average breadth of one mile.
+On three sides it is bordered by swelling hills about 500 feet high,
+while along its southern bank they rise into mountains 3500 feet above
+the lake, or 19,000 feet above the sea, and covered with perpetual snow,
+from which never-failing source the lake is supplied.  Its elevation is
+15,600 feet. . . .  The appearance of the country presented the image of
+a winter of extreme severity.  Wherever one’s gaze rested, a dazzling bed
+of snow covered the soil like a carpet, while the sky above our heads was
+of a sombre and melancholy hue.  A few clouds would have refreshed the
+eye, but none could be anywhere seen.  Not a breath rippled the surface
+of the lake; not a living animal, not even a bird, presented itself to
+the view.  The sound of a human voice had been harmonious music to the
+ear, but, at this inhospitable season of the year, no one ventured into
+these icy realms.  Silence reigned everywhere around us; a silence so
+profound that it oppressed the heart.” {17}
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Of the city of Lop (or Lob) and the great Desert of Gobi, Marco Polo
+writes:—
+
+“Lop is a large town on the border of the desert which is called the
+Desert of Lop, and is situated between east and north-east.  It belongs
+to the Great Khan, and the people worship Mohammed.  Now, such persons as
+propose to cross the desert take a week’s rest in this town to refresh
+themselves and their cattle; and then they make ready for the journey,
+taking with them a month’s supply for man and beast.  On quitting this
+city they enter the desert.
+
+“The extent of this desert is so great, that it is said it would take a
+year and more to ride from one end of it to the other.  And here, where
+its breadth is least, it takes a month to cross it.  It is all composed
+of hills and valleys of sand, and contains not a thing to eat.  But after
+riding for a day and a night you find fresh water, enough mayhap for some
+fifty or one hundred persons with their beasts, but not for more.  And
+all across the desert you will find water in like manner, that is to say,
+in some twenty-eight places altogether you will find good water, but in
+no great quantity; and in four places also you find brackish water.
+
+“Beasts there are none; for there is no food for them.  But there is a
+marvellous thing related of this desert, which is that when travellers
+are on the march by night, and one of them chances to drop behind, or to
+fall asleep or the like, when he tries to regain his company, he will
+hear spirits talking, and suppose them to be his comrades.  Sometimes the
+spirits will call him by name; and thus shall a traveller frequently be
+led astray so that he never finds his party.  And in this way many have
+perished.  Sometimes the travellers will hear as it were the tramp and
+murmur of a great cavalcade of people away from the real line of road,
+and taking this to be their own company, will follow the sound; and when
+day breaks they discover the deception, and perceive that they are in an
+evil plight.  Even in the day time the spirits may be heard talking.  And
+sometimes you shall hear the sound of various musical instruments, and
+still more commonly the rattle of drums.  Hence, in performing this
+journey, it is customary for travellers to keep close together.  All the
+animals, too, have bells at their necks, so that they cannot easily get
+astray.  And at sleeping time a signal is hoisted to show the direction
+of the next march.
+
+“And in this way it is that the desert is crossed.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+As the sea has its mermaids, and the river its water-sprites, Undines, or
+Loreleys, which entice their victims to death, so the deserts and waste
+places of the earth have their goblins and malignant demons.  The awe
+inspired by the vastness and dreary solitude of the wilderness suggests
+to the imagination only gloomy ideas, and it is conceived of as a place
+where no influences or beings favourable to man can exist.  Its sounds
+are sounds of terror; its appearances all foster a sentiment of mystery.
+Pliny tells us of the phantoms that start up before the traveller in the
+African deserts; Mas’udi, of the Ghûls, which in night and solitude seek
+to lead him astray.  An Arab writer relates a tradition of the Western
+Sahara:—“If the wayfarer be alone the demons make sport of him, and
+fascinate him, so that he wanders from his course and perishes.”  Colonel
+Yule remarks that the Afghan and Persian wildernesses also have their
+_Ghûl-i-Beában_, or Goblin of the Waste, a gigantic and fearful spectre
+which devours travellers; and even the Gaels of the West Highlands have
+the desert creature of Glen Eiti, which, one-handed, one-eyed,
+one-legged, seems exactly to answer to the Arabian Nesúas or _Empusa_.
+And it may be added that the wind-swept wastes of Dartmoor, limited as is
+their expanse, are, in the eyes of the peasantry, haunted by mysterious
+and malevolent spirits.
+
+The effect of the Desert on a cultivated mind is well described by Madame
+Hommaire de Hell:—“The profound stillness,” she says, “which reigns in
+the air produces an indescribable impression on our senses.  We scarcely
+dare to interrupt it, it seems so solemn, so fully in harmony with the
+infinite grandeur of the desert.  In vain will you seek a calm so
+absolute in even the remotest solitudes of civilized countries.
+Everywhere some spring murmurs, everywhere some trees rustle, everywhere
+in the silence of the nights some voices are heard which arrest the
+thought; but here nature is, so to speak, petrified, and we have before
+us the image of that eternal repose which the mind is hardly able to
+conceive.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Concerning the customs of the Tartars, Marco Polo writes:—
+
+“The Tartar custom is to spend the winter in warm plains where they find
+good fodder for their cattle, while in summer they betake themselves to a
+cool climate among the mountains and valleys, where water is to be found,
+as well as woods and pastures.
+
+“Their houses are circular, and are made of wands covered with felt.
+These are carried along with them whithersoever they go; for the wands
+are so strongly interwoven, and so well combined, that the framework can
+be made very light.  Whenever these huts are erected, the door is always
+placed to the south.  They also have waggons covered with black felt so
+efficaciously that no rain can enter.  These are drawn by oxen and
+camels, and the women and children travel in them.  The women do the
+buying and selling, and whatever is necessary to provide for the husband
+and household; for the men all lead the life of gentlemen, troubling
+themselves about nothing but hawking and hunting, and looking after their
+goshawks and falcons, unless it be the practice of warlike exercises.
+
+“They live on the meat and milk which their birds supply, and on the
+produce of the chase; and they eat all kinds of flesh, including that of
+horses and dogs, and Pharaoh’s rats, of which there are great numbers in
+burrows on these plains.  Their drink is mare’s milk. . . .
+
+“This is the fashion of their religion: They say there is a most high God
+of Heaven, whom they worship daily with thurible and incense, but they
+pray to him only for health of mind and body.  But they have also a
+certain other god of theirs called Natigay, and they say he is the God of
+the Earth, who watches over their children, cattle, and crops.  They show
+him great worship and honour, and every man hath a figure of him in his
+house, made of felt and cloth; and they also make in the same manner
+images of his wife and children.  The wife they put on the left hand, and
+the children in front.  And when they eat, they take the fat of the meat
+and grease the god’s mouth withal, as well as the mouths of his wife and
+children.  Then they take of the broth and sprinkle it before the door of
+the house; and that done, they deem that their god and his family have
+had their share of the dinner.
+
+“Their drink is mare’s milk, prepared in such a way that you would take
+it for white wine, and a good right drink it is, called by them komiz.
+
+“The clothes of the wealthy Tartars are for the most part of gold and
+silk stuffs, lined with costly furs, such as sable and ermine, vair and
+fox skin, in the richest fashion.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+As in succeeding chapters of this volume we shall have something to say
+about the manners and customs of the Mongolian nomads, we may here be
+content with observing that Marco Polo’s “Natigay” seems identical with
+the “Nongait” or “Ongotiu” of the Buriats, who, according to Pallas, is
+honoured by them as the tutelary god of sheep and other cattle.  Properly
+the divinity consists of _two_ figures, hanging side by side, one of whom
+represents the god’s wife.  These two figures are merely a pair of lanky
+flat bolsters with the upper part shaped into a round disc, and the body
+hung with a long woolly fleece; eyes, nose, breasts, and navel being
+indicated by leather knobs stitched upon the surface.  The male figure
+commonly has at his girdle the foot-rope with which horses at pasture are
+fettered, whilst the female, which is sometimes accompanied by smaller
+figures representing her children, is adorned with all sorts of little
+nick-nacks and sewing implements.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+The Tartar customs of war are thus described:—
+
+“All their harness of war is excellent and costly.  Their arms are bows
+and arrows, sword and mace; but, above all, the bow, for they are capital
+archers, indeed the best that are known.  On their backs they wear armour
+of cuirbouly, {22} prepared from buffalo and other hides, which is very
+strong.  They are excellent soldiers, and passing valiant in battle.
+They are also more capable of hardship than other nations; for many a
+time, if need be, they will go for a month without any supply of food,
+living only on the milk of their mares and on such game as their bows may
+win them.  Their horses also will subsist entirely on the grass of the
+plains, so that there is no need to carry store of barley, or straw, or
+oats; and they are very docile to their riders.  These, in case of need,
+will abide on horseback the livelong night, armed at all points, while
+the horse will be continually grazing.
+
+“Of all troops in the world these are they which endure the greatest
+hardship and fatigue, and cost the least; and they are the best of all
+for making wide conquests of country.  And there can be no manner of
+doubt that now they are the masters of the larger half of the world.
+Their armies are admirably ordered in the following manner:—
+
+“You see, when a Tartar prince goes forth to war, he takes with him, say,
+a hundred thousand horse.  Well, he appoints an officer to every ten men,
+one to every hundred, one to every thousand, and one to every ten
+thousand, so that his own orders have to be given to ten persons only,
+and each of these persons has to pass the orders only to other ten, and
+so on; none having to give orders to more than ten.  And every one in
+turn is responsible only to the officer immediately over him; and the
+discipline and order that comes of this method is marvellous, for they
+are a people very obedient to their chiefs. . . .  And when the army is
+on the march they have always two hundred horsemen, very well mounted,
+who are sent a distance of two marches in advance to reconnoitre, and
+these always keep ahead.  They have a similar party detached in the rear
+and on either flank, so that there is a good look-out kept on all sides
+against surprise.  When they are going on a distant expedition, they take
+no gear with them except two leather bottles for milk, and a little
+earthenware pot to cook their meat in, and a little tent to shelter them
+from rain.  And in case of great urgency, they will ride ten days on end
+without lighting a fire or taking a meal.  On such an occasion they will
+sustain themselves on the blood of their horses, opening a vein and
+letting the blood jet into their mouths, drinking till they have had
+enough, and then staunching it.
+
+“They also have milk dried into a kind of paste to carry with them; and
+when they need food, they put this in water, and beat it up till it
+dissolves, and then drink it.  It is prepared in this way: They boil the
+milk, and when the rich part floats on the top they skim it into another
+vessel, and of that they make butter; for the milk will not become solid
+till this is removed.  Then they put the milk in the sun to dry.  And
+when they go on an expedition, every man takes some ten pounds of this
+dried milk with him.  And of a morning he will take a half-pound of it
+and put it in his leather bottle, with as much water as he pleases.  So,
+as he rides along, the milk-paste and the water in the bottle get well
+churned together into a kind of pap, and that makes his dinner.
+
+“When they come to an engagement with the enemy, they will gain the
+victory in this fashion: They never let themselves get into a regular
+medley, but keep perpetually riding round and shooting into the enemy.
+And as they do not count it any shame to run away in battle, they will
+sometimes pretend to do so, and in running away they turn in the saddle
+and shoot hard and strong at the foe, and in this way make great havoc.
+Their horses are trained so perfectly that they will double hither and
+thither, just like a dog, in a way that is quite astonishing.  Thus they
+fight to as good purpose in running away as if they stood and faced the
+enemy, because of the vast volleys of arrows that they shoot in this way,
+turning round upon their pursuers, who are fancying that they have won
+the battle.  But when the Tartars see that they have killed and wounded a
+good many horses and men, they wheel round bodily, and return to the
+charge in perfect order, and with loud cries; and in a very short time
+the enemy are routed.  In truth, they are stout and valiant soldiers, and
+inured to war.  And you perceive that it is just when the enemy sees them
+run, and imagines that he has gained the battle, that he has in reality
+lost it; for the Tartars wheel round in a moment when they judge the
+right time has come.  And after this fashion they have won many a fight.
+
+“All this that I have been telling you is true of the manners and customs
+of the genuine Tartars.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+We come next to the magnificent city of Chandu—that is, Shangtu, or
+“Upper Towa,” the Chinese title of Kublai Khan’s summer palace at
+Kaiping-fu.  The ruins, both of the city and palace, were extant as late
+as the end of the seventeenth century.
+
+“When you have ridden three days from the city of Chagan Nor [Chagan
+Balghassan], between north-east and north, you come to a city called
+Chandu, which was built by the Khan now reigning.  There is at this place
+a very fine marble palace, the rooms of which are all gilt and painted
+with figures of men and beasts and birds, and with a variety of trees and
+flowers, all wrought with such exquisite art that you regard them with
+delight and astonishment.
+
+“Round this palace is built a wall, enclosing a compass of sixteen miles,
+and inside the park are fountains and rivers and brooks and beautiful
+meadows, with all kinds of wild animals (excluding such as are of
+ferocious nature), which the Emperor has produced and placed there to
+supply food for the gerfalcons and hawks which he keeps in mew.  Of these
+the gerfalcons alone number more than two hundred, without reckoning the
+other hawks.  The Khan himself goes every week to see his birds sitting
+in mew, and sometimes he rides through the park with a leopard behind him
+on his horse’s croup; and then, if he sees any animal that takes his
+fancy, he lets loose his leopard at it, and the game when taken is used
+to feed the hawks in mew.  This he does for diversion.
+
+“Further, at a point in the park where blooms a delightful wood, he has
+another palace built of bamboo, of which I must give you a description.
+It is gilt all over, and most elaborately finished inside.  It is
+supported on gilt and lackered columns, on each of which stands a dragon
+all gilt, the tail being attached to the column, while the head uplifts
+the architrave, and the claws likewise being extended right and left as
+props to the architrave.  The roof also is formed of bamboo, covered with
+a varnish so good and strong that no amount of rain will rot it.  These
+canes are fully three palms in girth, and from ten to fifteen paces in
+length.  They are cut across at each knot, and the pieces are then split
+so as to form from each two hollow tiles, and with them the house is
+roofed; only every such tile has to be nailed down to prevent the wind
+from lifting it.  In short, the whole palace is built of these bamboos,
+which, I may mention, are employed for a great variety of other useful
+purposes.  The construction of the palace is such that it can be taken
+down and put up again with great rapidity; and it can be removed to any
+place which he may desire.  When erected, it is held up by more than two
+hundred (200) ropes of silk.
+
+“The Emperor resides in this park of his, sometimes in the palace of
+marble, and sometimes in that of bamboo, for three mouths of the year,
+namely, June, July, and August; preferring this abode because it is by no
+means hot; in fact, it is very cool.  When the 28th day of August arrives
+he takes his departure, and the bamboo palace is pulled to pieces.  But I
+must tell you what happens when he takes his departure every year on the
+28th of August.
+
+“You must know that the Khan keeps an immense stud of white horses and
+mares; in truth, upwards of two hundred of them, and all pure white
+without a blemish.  The milk of these mares is drunk by himself and
+family, and by no one else, except by the people of one great tribe who
+have also the privilege of drinking it—a privilege granted to them by
+Chingis Khan, on account of a certain victory which, long ago, they
+helped him to win.  The name of the tribe is Horiad [the Uirad or Oirad].
+
+“Now, when these mares are passing across the country, and any one falls
+in with them, be he the greatest lord in the land, he must not presume to
+pass until the mares have gone by; he must either tarry where he is, or
+go a half-day’s round if so need be, so as not to come nigh them; for
+they are to be treated with the greatest respect.  Well, when the Emperor
+sets out from the park on the 28th of August, as I have told you, the
+milk of all those mares is taken and sprinkled on the ground.  And this
+is done at the bidding of the idolaters and idol-priests, who say that it
+is an excellent thing to sprinkle that milk on the ground every 28th of
+August, so that the earth and the air and the false gods shall have their
+share of it, and the spirits likewise that inhabit the air and the earth.
+And thus those beings will protect and bless the Khan, and his children,
+and his wives, and his folk, and his gear, his cattle and his horses, his
+corn, and all that is his.  After this is done, the Emperor is off and
+away.
+
+“But I must now tell you a strange thing that hitherto I have omitted to
+mention.  During the three months of every year that the Khan resides at
+that place, if it should chance to be bad weather, there are certain
+crafty enchanters and astrologers in his train who are such adepts in
+necromancy and the diabolic arts, that they are able to prevent any cloud
+or storm from traversing the spot whereon the imperial palace stands.
+The sorcerers who do this are called Icbit and Kesomin, which are the
+names of two nations of idolaters.  Whatever they do in this way is by
+the help of the devil, but they make these people believe that it is
+compassed by their own sanctity and the help of God.  They always go in a
+state of dirt and uncleanness, devoid of respect for themselves, or for
+those who see them, unwashed, unkempt, and sordidly attired.
+
+“These people have another custom which I must describe to you.  If a man
+is condemned to death, and executed by the lawful authority, they take
+his body, and cook and eat it.  But if any one die a natural death, then
+they will not eat his body.
+
+“There is another marvel performed by these Bacsi [_Bakhshi_, or
+_Bhikshu_], of whom I have spoken as skilled in so many enchantments.
+For when the Great Khan is at his capital and in his great palace, seated
+at his table, which stands on a platform some eight cubits above the
+ground, his cups are set before him on a great buffet in the middle of
+the hall pavement, at a distance of some ten paces from his table, and
+filled with wine, or other good spiced liquor such as they use.  Now,
+when the lord desires to drink, these necromancers, by the power of their
+enchantments, cause the cups to move from their place without being
+touched by anybody, and to present themselves to the Emperor!  This every
+one present may witness, and ofttimes there are more than two thousand
+persons present.  ’Tis a truth, and no lie; and so will the sages of your
+own country who understand necromancy, tell you, for they also can
+perform this marvel.
+
+“And when the idol festivals come round, these Bacsi go to the prince and
+say, ‘Sire, the feast of such a god is come’ (naming him).  ‘My lord, you
+know,’ the enchanter will say, ‘that this god, when he gets no offerings,
+always sends bad weather and spoils our seasons.  So we pray you to give
+us such and such a number of black-faced sheep’ (naming whatever number
+they please).  ‘And we also beg, good my lord, that we may have such a
+quantity of incense, and such a quantity of lign-aloes, and’—so much of
+this, so much of that, and so much of t’other, according to their
+fancy—‘that we may perform a solemn service and a great sacrifice to our
+idols, and that so they may be induced to protect us and all that is
+ours.’
+
+“The Bacsi say these things to the nobles entrusted with the stewardship,
+who stand round the Great Khan, and then repeat them to the Khan, and he
+then orders the nobles to give to the Bacsi anything they have demanded.
+And when they have received the articles, they go and make a great feast
+in honour of their god, and hold grand ceremonies of worship, with grand
+illuminations and quantities of incense of a variety of odours, which
+they make up from different aromatic spices.  And then they cook the
+meat, and set it before the idols, and sprinkle their broth hither and
+thither, saying that in this way the idols obtain their bellyful.  In
+this way it is that they keep their festivals.  You must know that each
+idol has a name of his own, and a feast-day, just as our saints have
+their anniversaries.
+
+“They have also immense minsters and monasteries, some as big as a small
+town, with upwards of two thousand monks, so to speak, in a single
+monastery.  These monks dress more decently than the rest of the people,
+and shave the head and beard.  Some among these Bacsi are allowed by
+their rule to take wives, and they have plenty of children.
+
+“Another kind of devotees is the Sunni, who are more remarkable for their
+abstemiousness, and lead a life of such austerity as I will describe.
+All their life long they eat only bran, which they take mixed with hot
+water.  That is their food; bran, and nothing but bran; with water for
+their drink.  Their life is one long fast; so I may well speak of its
+asceticism as extraordinary.  They have great idols, and very many; but
+they sometimes also worship fire.  The other idolaters who are not also
+of this sect call these people heretics—_Palamis_, as we should
+say—because they do not worship the idols after their fashion.  Those of
+whom I am now speaking would not take a wife on any consideration.  They
+wear dresses of hempen stuff, black and blue, and sleep upon mats; in
+fact, their asceticism is something astonishing.  Their idols are all
+feminine; that is, they bear women’s names.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+[It was after reading Marco Polo’s account of the Great Khan’s palace, as
+it is given in Purchas’s “Pilgrims,” that the poet Coleridge, falling
+asleep, dreamed his melodious dream of Kublai’s Paradise.  When he awoke
+he was able to recall a portion of it, beginning thus:—
+
+    “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
+       A stately pleasure-dome decree:
+    Where Alph, the sacred river, ran,
+    By caverns measureless to man,
+       Down to a sunless sea.
+    So twice five inches of fertile ground
+    With walls and towers were girdled round;
+    And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
+    Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
+    And here were forests, ancient as the hills,
+       Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.”]
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+The principal palace of the Great Khan was situated, however, at Cambaluc
+(the modern Peking), and is thus described by our Venetian:—
+
+“It is enclosed all round by a great wall, forming a square, each side of
+which is a mile in length; that is to say, the whole compass thereof is
+four miles.  This you may depend on; it is also very thick, and a good
+ten paces in height, whitewashed and loop-holed all round.  At each angle
+of the wall is situated a very fine and rich palace, in which the war
+harness of the Emperor is kept, such as bows and quivers, saddles and
+bridles, and bowstrings, and everything needful for an army.  Also,
+midway between every two of these corner palaces is another of the like;
+so that, taking the whole circuit of the enclosed, you will find eight
+vast palaces stored with the great lord’s harness of war.  And you must
+understand that each palace is reserved for only one kind of article; one
+being stored with bows, a second with saddles, a third with bridles, and
+so on, in succession, right round.
+
+“The great wall has five gates on its southern face, the central being
+the great gate, which is opened only for the egress or admission of the
+Great Khan himself.  Close on either side is a smaller one, through which
+all other people pass; and then, towards each angle, is another great
+gate, also open to people in general; so that on that side are five gates
+in all.
+
+“Inside of this wall is a second, enclosing a space that is somewhat
+longer than it is broad.  This enclosure has its eight palaces also,
+corresponding to those of the outer wall, and stored like them with the
+Emperor’s harness of war.  There are likewise five gates on the southern
+face, answering to those in the outer wall; and one gate on each of the
+other faces.  In the centre of the second enclosure stands the Emperor’s
+Great Palace, and I will tell you what it is like.
+
+“You must know that it is the greatest palace ever erected.  Towards the
+north it is in contact with the outer wall, while towards the south lies
+a vacant space which the nobles and the soldiers are constantly
+traversing.  The palace itself hath no upper story, but is all on the
+ground floor; only the basement is raised some ten palms above the
+surrounding soil.  And this elevation is retained by a wall of marble
+raised to the level of the pavement, two paces in width, and projecting
+beyond the base of the palace so as to form a kind of terrace-walk, by
+which people can pass round the building, and this is exposed to view;
+while along the outer edge of the wall runs a very fine pillared
+balustrade, up to which the people are allowed to come.  The roof is very
+lofty, and the walls are covered with gold and silver.  They are also
+adorned with representations of dragons, sculptured and gilt, beasts and
+birds, knights and idols, and divers other subjects.  And on the ceiling,
+too, can nothing be seen but gold and silver and painting.  On each of
+the four sides is a great marble staircase, leading to the top of the
+marble wall, and forming the approach to the palace.
+
+“The hall of the palace is so large that it could easily dine six
+thousand people; and it is quite a marvel to see how many rooms there are
+besides.  The building is altogether so vast, so rich, and so beautiful,
+that no man on earth could design anything superior to it.  The outside
+of the roof also is all coloured with vermilion and yellow and green and
+blue and other hues, which are fixed with a varnish so fine and
+exquisite, that they shine like crystal, and lend a resplendent lustre to
+the palace, visible far around.  This roof is so solidly and strongly
+constructed that it is fit to last for ever.
+
+“On the inner side of the palace are large buildings with halls and
+chambers, where the Emperor’s private property is placed, such as his
+treasures of gold, silver, gems, pearls, and gold plate, and in which the
+ladies and concubines reside.  He occupies himself there at his own
+convenience, and no one else has access to it.
+
+“Between the two walls of the enclosure which I have described are two
+fine parks, and beautiful trees bearing a variety of fruits.  There are
+beasts also of sundry kinds, such as white stags and fallow deer,
+gazelles and roebucks, and fine squirrels of various kinds, with numbers
+also of the animal that gives the musk, and all manner of other beautiful
+creatures, insomuch that the whole place is full of them, and no spot
+remains void except where there is traffic of people going to and fro.
+The parks are covered with abundant grass; and the roads through them
+being all paved and raised two cubits above the surface, they never
+become muddy, nor does the rain lodge on them, but flows off into the
+meadows, quickening the soil and producing that fertility of herbage.
+
+“From the north-western corner of the enclosure extends a fine lake,
+containing abundance of fish of different kinds, which the Emperor hath
+caused to be put in there, so that, whenever he desires any, he can have
+them at his pleasure.  A river enters this lake and issues from it; but a
+grating of iron or brass is put up to prevent the escape of the fish.
+
+“Moreover, about a bowshot from the north side of the palace is an
+artificial hill, made with the earth out of the lake; it is a good
+hundred paces in height, and a mile in compass, and is entirely covered
+with evergreen trees which never lose their leaves.  And I assure you
+that wherever a beautiful tree exists, and the Emperor hears of it, he
+sends for it and has it transported bodily, with all its roots and the
+earth attached to them, and planted upon his hill.  No matter how huge
+the tree may be, he has it carried by his elephants, and in this way he
+has formed the finest collection of trees in all the world.  And he has
+also caused the whole hill to be covered with ore of azure, {35} which is
+very green.  And thus not only are the trees all green, but the hill
+itself is all green likewise; and there is nothing to be seen on it that
+is not green; and hence it is called the Green Mount; and, in good sooth,
+it is well named.
+
+“On the top of the hill, too, stands a fair large palace, which is all
+green outside and in, so that the hill, and the trees, and the palace
+form together a charming spectacle; and it is wonderful to see their
+uniformity of colour.  Everybody who sees it is delighted.  And the Great
+Khan has ordered this beautiful prospect for the comfort, solace, and
+delectation of his heart.
+
+“You must know that besides the palace I have been describing, _i.e._ the
+Great Palace, the Emperor has caused another to be built, resembling his
+own in every respect; and this he has done for his son, when he shall
+reign and be Emperor after him.  Hence it is made just in the same
+fashion, and of the same size, so that everything can be carried on in
+the same manner after his death.  It stands on the other side of the lake
+from the Great Khan’s palace, and a bridge is thrown across from one to
+the other.  The prince I speak of holds now a seal of empire, but not
+with such complete authority as the Great Khan, who remains supreme as
+long as he lives.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Let us now accompany the Emperor on a hunting expedition:—
+
+“After he has sojourned in his capital city for three months, December,
+January, and February, the Great Khan starts on the first day of March,
+and travels southward towards the Ocean Sea, a two days’ journey.  He
+takes with him fully ten thousand falconers and some five hundred
+falcons, besides peregrines, sakers, and other hawks in great number; and
+goshawks also, for flying at the water-fowl.  But do not suppose that he
+keeps all these together by him; they are distributed hither and thither,
+one hundred together, or two hundred at the utmost, as he thinks proper.
+But they are always fowling as they advance, and the greater part of the
+quarry taken is carried to the Emperor.  And let me tell you, when he
+goes thus a-fowling with his gerfalcons and other hawks, he is attended
+by fully ten thousand men, who are placed in couples; and these are
+called _Toscach_, which is as much as to say, ‘Watchers.’  The name
+describes their business.  They are posted from spot to spot, always in
+couples, so that they cover a good deal of ground.  Each of them is
+provided with whistle and hood, so as to be able to call in a hawk, and
+hold it in hand.  And when the Emperor makes a cast, there in no need
+that he should follow it up, for the men I speak of keep so close a watch
+that they never lose sight of the birds, if the hawks require help, they
+are ready to render it.
+
+“The Emperor’s hawks, as well as those of the nobles, have a little label
+attached to the leg to mark them, whereon are written the names of the
+owner and the keeper of the bird.  So that the hawk, when caught, is at
+once identified, and handed over to its owner.  But if not, the bird is
+carried to a certain noble, styled the _Bulargachi_, that is, ‘the Keeper
+of Lost Property.’  And I tell you that anything found without a proper
+owner, whether horse, sword, or hawk, or what not, is taken immediately
+to that official, and he holds it in charge.  Should the finder neglect
+to carry his trover to the Bulargachi, the latter punishes him.
+Likewise, the loser of any article goes to him, and should it be in his
+hands, he immediately gives it up to its owner.  Moreover, the said noble
+always pitches on the highest point of the camp, with his banner
+displayed, in order that those who have lost or found should have no
+difficulty in making their way to him.  Thus, nothing can be lost without
+being quickly found and restored. . . .
+
+“The Emperor, on his journey, is borne upon four elephants in a fine
+pavilion made of timber, lined inside with plates of beaten gold, and
+outside with lion’s skins.  He always travels in this fashion on his
+hunting expeditions, because he is troubled with gout.  He invariably
+keeps beside him a dozen of his choicest gerfalcons, and is attended by
+several of his nobles, who ride on horseback by his side.  And sometimes,
+as they go along, and the Emperor from his chamber is discoursing with
+his nobles, one of the latter will exclaim, ‘Sire, look out for cranes!’
+Then the Emperor has the top of his chamber instantly thrown open, and,
+having marked the cranes, he casts one of his gerfalcons, whichever he
+pleases; and often the quarry is struck in his sight, so that he has the
+most exquisite sport and diversion, as he sits in his chamber or lies on
+his bed; and all the nobles in attendance share the enjoyment with him!
+So it is not without reason I tell you that I do not believe there ever
+existed in the world, or will exist, a man with such sport and enjoyment
+as he has, or with such rare opportunities.
+
+“And when he has travelled until he reaches a place called Cachar Modem,
+there he finds his tents pitched, with the tents of his sons, and his
+nobles, and those of his ladies, and their attendants, so that there
+shall be fully ten thousand in all, and all costly and handsome.  And I
+will tell you how his own quarters are disposed.  The tent in which he
+held his courts is large enough to accommodate a thousand persons.  It is
+pitched with its door to the south, and the nobles and knights remain in
+attendance in it, while the Emperor abides in another close to it on the
+west side.  When he wishes to speak with any person, he causes him to be
+summoned to the great tent.  Immediately behind the latter is a spacious
+chamber, where he sleeps. . . .  The two audience-tents and the
+sleeping-chamber are thus constructed:—Each of the audience-tents has
+three poles, which are of spice-wood, and most artfully covered with
+lion’s skins, striped with black and white and red, so that they do not
+suffer from any weather.  All three apartments are also covered outside
+with similar skins of striped lions, a substance that lasts for ever.
+Inside they are lined with sable and ermine, which are the finest and
+costliest furs in existence. . . .  All the tent-ropes are of silk.  In
+short, I may say that these tents, namely, the two halls of audience and
+the sleeping-chamber, are so costly, that it is not every king could
+afford to pay for them.
+
+“Round about these tents are others, also fine ones and beautifully
+pitched, in which abide the imperial ladies, and the ladies of the
+different princes and officers.  Tents are there also for the hawks and
+their keepers, so that altogether the number of tents on the plain is
+something wonderful.  To see the many people who are thronging to and fro
+on every side and every day there, you would take the camp for a good
+large city.  For you must include the physicians and astrologers and
+falconers, and all the other attendants on so numerous a company; and add
+that everybody has his own household with him, for such is their custom.
+
+“There until the spring the Emperor remains encamped, and all that time
+he does nothing but go hawking among the cane brakes that fringe the
+abundant lakes and rivers in that region, and across broad plains
+plentifully frequented by cranes and swans, and all other kinds of fowl.
+Nor are the rest of the nobles of the camp ever weary of hunting and
+hawking, and daily they bring home great store of venison and feathered
+game of every kind.  Indeed, unless you witnessed it, you would never
+believe what quantities of game are taken, and what marvellous sport and
+diversion they have while residing there in camp.
+
+“Another thing I must mention, namely, that for twenty days’ journey
+round the spot nobody is allowed, whoever he may be, to keep hawks or
+hounds, though anywhere else whoever chooses may keep them.  And
+furthermore, throughout all the Emperor’s territories, nobody, however
+audacious, dares to hunt any of these four animals, namely, hare, stag,
+buck, and roe, from the month of March to the month of October.  Whoever
+should do so would rue it bitterly.  But these people are so obedient to
+their Emperor’s commands, that even if a man were to find one of those
+animals asleep by the roadside, he would not touch it for the world.  And
+thus the game multiplies at such a rate, that the whole country swarms
+with it, and obtains as much as he could desire.  Beyond the time I have
+mentioned, however, to wit, that from March to October, everybody may
+take these animals as he chooses.
+
+“After the Emperor has tarried there, enjoying his sport, as I have
+related, from March to the middle of May, he moves with all his people,
+and returns straight to his capital city of Cambaluc (which is also the
+capital city of Cathay, as you have been told), but all the while
+continuing to take his diversion in hunting and hawking as he travels.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+We pass on to Marco Polo’s description of Tibet, which at one time was
+considered a part of the empire of the Mongol Khans.  Its civil
+administration is ascribed to Kublai Khan:—
+
+“In this region you find quantities of bamboos, full three palms in
+girth, and fifteen paces in length, with an interval of about three palms
+between the joints.  And let me tell you that merchants and other
+travellers through that country are wont at nightfall to gather these
+canes and make fires of them; for as they burn they make such loud
+reports, that the lions and bears and other wild beasts are greatly
+frightened, and make off as fast as possible; in fact, nothing will
+induce them to come near a fire of that kind. {41}  So, you see, the
+travellers make these fires to protect themselves and their cattle from
+the wild beasts, which have so greatly multiplied since the devastation
+of the country.  And it is this multiplication of the wild beasts that
+prevents the country from being reoccupied.  In fact, but for the help of
+these bamboos, which make such a noise in burning that the beasts are
+terrified and kept at a distance, no one would be able even to travel
+through the land.
+
+“I will tell you how it is that the canes make such a noise.  The people
+cut the green canes, of which there are vast numbers, and set fire to a
+heap of them at once.  After they have been burning awhile they burst
+asunder, and this makes such a loud report, that you might hear it ten
+miles off.  In fact, a person unused to this noise, hearing it
+unexpectedly, might easily go into a swoon or die of fright.  But those
+accustomed to it care nothing about it.  Hence those who are not used
+stuff their ears well with cotton, and wrap up their heads and faces with
+all the clothes they can muster; and so they get along until they have
+become used to the sound.  It is just the same with horses.  Those unused
+to these noises are so terrified that they break away from their halters
+and heel-ropes, and many a man has lost his beasts in this way.  So all
+who do not wish to lose their horses are careful to tie all four legs,
+and peg the ropes down strongly, and wrap the heads and eyes and ears of
+the animals closely, and so they save them.  But horses also, when they
+have heard the noise several times, cease to mind it.  I tell you the
+truth, however, when I say that the first time you hear it nothing can be
+more alarming.  And yet, in spite of all, the lions, bears, and other
+wild beasts will sometimes come and do great mischief; for in those parts
+they are very numerous.
+
+“You ride for twenty days without finding any inhabited spot, so that
+travellers are obliged to carry all their provisions with them, and are
+constantly falling in with those wild beasts which are so numerous and so
+dangerous.  After that you come at length to a tract where there are very
+many towns and villages. . . .
+
+“The people are idolaters and an evil generation, holding it no sin to
+rob and maltreat; in fact, they are the greatest brigands on earth.  They
+live by the chase, as well as on their cattle and the fruits of the
+earth.
+
+“I should tell you also that in this country are many of the animals that
+produce musk, which are called in the Tartar language _Gudderi_.  These
+robbers have great numbers of large and fierce dogs, which are of much
+service in catching the musk-beasts, and so they procure an abundance of
+musk.  They have none of the Great Khan’s paper money, but use salt
+instead of money.  They are very poorly clad, for their clothes are only
+of the skins of beasts, and canvas, and buckram.  They have a language of
+their own, and are called _Tebit_.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Speaking of the people who dwell in the provinces to the north-west of
+China, Marco Polo relates the following curious custom:—
+
+“When any one is ill, they send for the devil-conjurors, who are the
+keepers of their idols.  When these are come, the sick man tells what
+ails him, and then the conjurors incontinently begin playing on their
+instruments, and singing, and dancing; and the conjurors dance to such a
+pitch, that at last one of them will fall to the ground lifeless, like a
+dead man.  And then the devil entereth into his body.  And when his
+comrades see him in this plight, they begin to put questions to him about
+the sick man’s ailment.  And he will reply, ‘Such or such a spirit hath
+been meddling with the man, for that he hath angered it and done it some
+despite.’  Then they say, ‘We pray thee to pardon him, and to take of his
+blood or of his goods what thou wilt in consideration of thus restoring
+him to health.’  And when they have so prayed, the malignant spirit that
+is in the body of the prostrate man will, perhaps, answer, ‘The sick man
+hath also done great despite unto such another spirit, and that one is so
+ill-disposed that it will not pardon him on any account.’  This, at
+least, is the answer they get if the patient be like to die.  But if he
+is to get better, the answer will be that they are to bring two sheep, or
+maybe three; and to brew ten or twelve jars of drink, very costly and
+abundantly spiced.  Moreover, it will be announced that the sheep must be
+all black-faced, or of some other particular colour, as it may happen;
+and then all these things are to be offered in sacrifice to such and such
+a spirit whose name is given.  And they are to bring so many conjurors,
+and so many ladies, and the business is to be done with a great singing
+of lauds, and with many lights and store of good perfumes.  That is the
+sort of answer they get if the patient is to get well.  And then the
+kinsfolk of the sick man go and procure all that has been commanded, and
+do as has been bidden, and the conjuror springs to his feet again.
+
+“So they fetch the sheep of the prescribed colour, and slaughter them,
+and sprinkle the blood over such places as have been enjoined, in honour
+and propitiation.  And the conjurors come, and the ladies, in the number
+that was ordered, and when all are assembled and everything is ready,
+they begin to dance and play and sing in honour of the spirit.  And they
+take flesh-broth, and drink, and lign-aloes, and a great number of
+lights, and go about hither and thither, scattering the broth and the
+drink, and the meat also.  And when they have done this for a while, one
+of the conjurors will again fall flat, and wallow there foaming at the
+mouth, and then the others will ask if he have yet pardoned the sick man.
+And sometimes he will answer ‘Yes,’ and sometimes he will answer ‘No.’
+And if the answer be ‘No,’ they are told that something or other has to
+be done all over again, and then he will be pardoned; so this they do.
+And when all that the spirit has commanded has been done with great
+ceremony, then it will be announced that the man is pardoned, and will be
+speedily cured.  So when they at length receive this reply, they announce
+that it is all made up with the spirit, and that he is propitiated, and
+they fall to eating and drinking with great joy and mirth, and he who had
+been lying lifeless on the ground gets up and takes his share.  So when
+they have all eaten and drunken, every man departs home.  And presently
+the sick man gets sound and well.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+[Sir A. Phayre testifies that this account of the exorcism of evil
+spirits in cases of obstinate illness tallies exactly with what he
+himself has seen in similar cases among the Burmese; and, in truth, the
+practice extends widely among the non-Aryan races.  Bishop Caldwell
+furnishes the following description of “devil-dancing” as it still exists
+among the Shanars of Tinnevelly:—
+
+“When the preparations are completed and the devil-dance is about to
+commence, the music is at first comparatively slow; the dancer seems
+impassive and sullen, and he either stands still or moves about in gloomy
+silence.  Gradually, as the music becomes quicker and louder, his
+excitement begins to rise.  Sometimes, to help him to work himself up
+into a frenzy, he uses medicated draughts, cuts and lacerates himself
+till the blood flows, lashes himself with a huge whip, presses a burning
+torch to his breast, drinks the blood which flows from his own wounds, or
+drains the blood of the sacrifice, putting the throat of the decapitated
+goat to his mouth.  Then, as if he had acquired new life, he begins to
+brandish his staff of bells, and to dance with a quick, but wild,
+unsteady step.  Suddenly the afflatus descends; there is no mistaking
+that glare, or those frantic leaps.  He snorts, he stares, he gyrates.
+The demon has now taken bodily possession of him; and though he retains
+the power of utterance and motion, both are under the demon’s control,
+and his separate consciousness is in abeyance.  The bystanders signalize
+the event by raising a long shout, attended with a peculiar vibratory
+noise, caused by the motion of the hand and tongue, or the tongue alone.
+The devil-dancer is now worshipped as a present deity, and every
+bystander consults him respecting his diseases, his wants, the welfare of
+his absent relatives, the offerings to be made for the accomplishment of
+his wishes, and, in short, everything for which superhuman knowledge is
+supposed to be available.”]
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+“And now,” says Marco Polo, in concluding his wonderful narrative,—“and
+now ye have heard all that we can tell you about the Tartars and the
+Saracens and their customs, and likewise about the other countries of the
+world, so far as our researches and information extend.  Only we have
+said nothing whatever about the Greater Sea [the Mediterranean], and the
+provinces that lie round it, although we know it thoroughly.  But it
+seems to me a needless and endless task to speak about places which are
+visited by people every day.  For there are so many who sail all about
+that sea constantly, Venetians, and Genoese, and Pisans, and many others,
+that everybody knows all about it, and that is the reason that I pass it
+over and say nothing of it.
+
+“Of the manner in which we took our departure from the Court of the Great
+Khan you have already heard, and we have related the fortunate chance
+that led to it.  And you may be sure that, but for that fortunate chance,
+we should never have got away, in spite of all our trouble, and never
+have returned to our country again.  But I believe it was God’s pleasure
+we should return, in order that people might learn about the things the
+world contains.  For according to what has been said in the introduction
+at the beginning of the book, there never was man, be he Christian or
+Saracen or Tartar or heathen, who ever travelled over so much of the
+world as did that noble and illustrious citizen of the city of Venice,
+Messer Marco, the son of Messer Nicolo Polo.
+
+“Thanks be to God!  Amen!  Amen!”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+We incline to believe, out of consideration for the modesty of “Messer
+Marco, the son of Messer Nicolo Polo,” that he finished his narrative at
+the word “contains,” and that the last sentence was added by his
+amanuensis.  Yet the assertion it contains does not go beyond the truth.
+Of all the mediæval travellers it may be repeated that Marco Polo is the
+first and foremost; and the world is indebted to him for a vast amount of
+valuable information, which, but for his industry, his perseverance, and
+his intelligence, would have been wholly or partly lost.  We owe to him a
+graphic and, as it is now known to be, an accurate picture of the
+condition of Asia in the thirteenth century; a picture full of lights and
+shadows, but interesting and instructive in every detail.
+
+
+
+
+MR. GEORGE F. RUXTON,
+AND HIS ADVENTURES IN MEXICO AND THE
+ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
+
+
+                                A.D. 1847.
+
+MR. RUXTON’S sweeping condemnation of the Mexicans is, unfortunately,
+confirmed by most reputable authorities, or we might hesitate to
+reproduce it here.  “From south to north,” he says, “I traversed the
+whole of the Republic of Mexico, a distance of nearly ten thousand miles,
+and was thrown amongst the people of every rank, class, and station; and
+I regret to have to say that I cannot remember to have observed one
+single commendable trait in the character of the Mexican; always
+excepting from this sweeping clause the women of the country, who, for
+kindness of heart and many sterling qualities, are an ornament to their
+sex, and to any nation.”  Whatever may be affirmed to the discredit of
+the people, it cannot be doubted that they inhabit a country which was at
+one time the seat of a remarkable civilization, which presents to the
+traveller a succession of remarkable and frequently romantic scenery, and
+a wonderful variety and luxuriance of vegetation.
+
+From the southern frontier of the United States it stretches down to the
+isthmus which connects the northern and southern mainlands of the great
+American continent.  On the west its shores are washed by the waters of
+the Pacific; on the east, by those of the Mexican Gulf and Caribbean Sea.
+Roughly speaking, its area is about 850,000 square miles; its population
+may number ten souls to a square mile.  Its form of government is
+pseudo-republican; and for administrative purposes it is divided into
+twenty-five provinces.  Its capital, Mexico, has 200,000 inhabitants: its
+only other important towns are Puebla, 75,000 inhabitants; Guadalajara,
+65,000; Guanajuata, 50,000; and San Luis and Merida, about 45,000 each.
+
+A glance at the map will show you that Mexico consists in the main of an
+elevated table-land, which in the south rises up into the Cordilleras of
+Central America, and on the east and west descends, by more or less
+gradual terraces, to the sea-coast.  Owing to its geographical position,
+this table-land enjoys the profuseness and beauty of a tropical
+vegetation; on the other hand, its climate is so tempered by its various
+elevations, which lie between 5000 and 9000 feet, that it has been found
+possible to naturalize the European fauna and flora.  A remarkable
+geological feature is the volcanic belt or chain that runs from ocean to
+ocean between the parallels of 18° 15′ and 19° 30′ north latitude, and is
+marked by several active as well as extinct volcanoes.  Among them may be
+named Orizaba, Cittalapetl (“The Mountain of the Star”), Popocatapetl
+(“The Smoking Mountain”), 17,884 feet, Istaccihuatl (“The White Woman”),
+and Toluca.  Most of the mountain chains that break up the table-land are
+of comparatively low altitude; the principal is the Sierra Madre, or Tepe
+Serene.  The two chief streams are the Rio Santiago and the Rio Grande
+del Norte.
+
+In company with a young Spaniard who was travelling as far as Durango,
+Mr. Ruxton quitted Mexico one fine day in September, 1847, bent on
+crossing the country to the United States.  He passed at first through a
+mountainous district, covered with dwarf oak and ilex; afterwards he
+entered upon a tract of open undulating downs, dotted with thickets.
+Villages were few and far between, and when found, not very attractive,
+consisting only of a dozen huts built of adobes, or sun-dried bricks.
+Crossing a rocky sierra, he came to the town of San Juan del Rio; its
+one-storied houses of stone, whitewashed, with barred windows, looking
+out upon a fair expanse of vineyard and garden.  Forty miles beyond lay
+Queretaro; a large and well-built town of 40,000 inhabitants, surrounded
+by gardens and orchards.  Its chief trade is the manufacture of cigars.
+These, as made at Queretaro, are of a peculiar shape, about three inches
+long, square at both ends, and exceedingly pungent in flavour.  Excellent
+pulque is another of its products.  Pulque, the national liquor of
+Mexico, is made from the saccharine juice of the American aloe, which
+attains maturity at the age of eight or fourteen years, and then flowers.
+Only while it is flowering may the juice be collected.  The central stem
+which encloses the coming flower is cut off near the bottom, and a basin
+or hollow exposed, over which the surrounding leaves are closely gathered
+and fastened.  The juice distils into the reservoir thus provided, and is
+removed three or four times during the twenty-four hours, by means of a
+syphon made of a species of gourd called acojote.  One end is placed in
+the liquor, the other in the mouth of the operator, who by suction draws
+up the sweet fluid into the pipe, and forces it out into a bowl.
+Afterwards it receives the addition of a little old pulque, and is
+allowed to ferment for two or three days in earthen jars.  When fresh,
+pulque, according to Mr. Ruxton, is brisk and sparkling, and the most
+cooling, refreshing, and delectable drink ever invented for mortals when
+athirst.  The Mexicans call it “vino divino;” but, admirable as may be
+its qualities, it needs to be very temperately used.
+
+Between Queretaro and Celaya the traveller gradually descends from the
+table-lands, and the air comes upon him with a warm tropical breath.
+Nopalos, or prickly-pears, line the road; the Indians collect the
+fruit—which is savoury and invigorating—with a forked stick.  At Silao
+striking evidence of the geniality of the climate is supplied by the
+variety of fruit exposed for sale: oranges, lemons, grapes, chirimoyas,
+batatas, platanos, plantains, cumotes, grenadillas, mamayos, tunas,
+pears, and apples—a list which would have delighted Keats’s Porphyro when
+he was preparing a refection for his lady-love Madeline.  But if fruit be
+abundant, so are beggars and thieves; and Silao is not a comfortable
+place to live in!  Mexico, according to its climatic conditions, is
+divided into three great divisions—the _Tierras Frias_, or Cold lands;
+the _Tierras Templadas_, or Temperate lands; and the _Tierras Calientes_,
+or Hot lands.  From Celaya our travellers stooped down rapidly into the
+_Tierra Caliente_, and the increased temperature was every day more
+perceptibly felt.  Jalisco, the most important town on their route, is
+situated on the western declivity of Anahuac, a Cordillera which unites
+the Andes of South and Central America with the great North American
+chain of the Rocky Mountains.  Mr. Ruxton describes the table-land on the
+western ridge of the Cordillera as blessed with a fertile soil and a
+temperate climate.  It is studded with the populous towns of Silao, Leon,
+Lagos, and Aguas Calientes.  The central portion, of a lower elevation
+and consequently higher temperature, produces cotton, cochineal, vanilla,
+as well as every variety of cereal produce.  While the littoral, or coast
+region, teems with fertility, and lies in the shadow of immense forests,
+unfortunately it is cursed by the ever-prevalent vomito, or yellow fever,
+and its climate is scarcely less fatal to its inhabitants than to
+strangers.
+
+At La Villa de Leon, a town celebrated for robbers and murderers, Mr.
+Ruxton met with an adventure.  About nine o’clock in the evening he was
+returning from the plaza, which with its great lighted fires, the stalls
+of the market-people, the strange garb of the peasantry, and the
+snow-white sarapos, or cloaks, of the idlers of the town, presented a
+stirring aspect, when, striking into a dark and narrow street, a group of
+vagabonds, at the door of a pulque shop, detected that he was a stranger,
+and, mistaking his nationality, yelled at him: “Let’s kill him, the
+Texan!”  Having no weapon but a bowie-knife, and not desiring an
+encounter with such overwhelming numbers, he turned off into another
+street; but the rascals followed him, renewing their wild cries.
+Happily, a dark doorway invited him to seek its shelter, and while
+crouching in its obscurity, he could see them rush by, knives in hand.
+When he thought they had all passed, he stepped forth, to find himself
+confronted by three wretches who brought up the rear, and who,
+brandishing their knives and rushing headlong at him, cried, “Here he is,
+here he is; kill him!”  As the foremost rushed at him with uplifted
+blade, he swiftly stepped aside, and at the same moment thrust at him
+with his bowie.  The robber fell on his knees with a cry of “Me ha
+matado!” (“He has killed me!”), and fell on his face.  One of his
+companions hastened to his assistance; the other dashed upon Mr. Ruxton,
+but, confused by his calm attitude of preparation, fell back a few paces,
+and finally slunk away.  Mr. Ruxton returned at once to his quarters,
+ordered out the horses, and in a few minutes was on his road.
+
+By way of Aguas Calientes, a very pretty town, and Zacatecas, a populous
+mining town, he proceeded towards the Hacienda (or farm) of San Nicolas,
+with the view of traversing that singular volcanic region, the _Mal
+Pais_.  Down to a comparatively recent period, it would seem to have been
+the theatre of plutonic phenomena of an extraordinary character.  The
+convexity of the district enables the traveller to judge very readily of
+the extent of the convulsion, which has spread to a distance of twelve or
+fourteen miles from the central crater.  The said crater measures about
+fifteen hundred feet in circumference, and its sides are covered with
+dwarf oaks, mezquito, and cocoa trees, which find a rich nourishment in
+the chinks and crevices of the lava.  At the bottom stagnate the green
+and slimy waters of a small lake, which is fringed with rank shrubs and
+cacti, growing among huge blocks of lava and scoriæ.  Not a breath of air
+disturbs its inky surface, save when a huge water-snake undulates across
+it, or a duck and her progeny swim out from their covert among the
+bushes.
+
+“I led my horse,” says Mr. Ruxton, “down to the edge of the water, but he
+refused to drink the slimy liquid, in which frogs, efts, and reptiles of
+every kind were darting and diving.  Many new and curious water-plants
+floated near the margin, and one, lotus-leaved, with small delicate
+tendrils, formed a kind of network on the water, with a superb crimson
+flower, which exhibited a beautiful contrast with the inky blackness of
+the pool.  His Mexicans, as they passed this spot, crossed themselves
+reverently, and muttered an _Ave Maria_; for in the lonely regions of the
+Mal Pais, the superstitious Indian believes that demons and gnomes and
+spirits of evil persons have their dwelling-places, whence they not
+unfrequently pounce upon the solitary traveller, to carry him into the
+cavernous bowels of the earth.  The arched roof of the supposed
+prison-house resounding to the tread of their horses as they pass the
+dreaded spot, they feel a sudden dread, and, with rapidly muttered
+prayers, they handle their amulets and charms to drive away the
+treacherous bogies who invisibly beset the path.”
+
+From the Mal Pais Mr. Ruxton travelled onward to the rancho of La Punta,
+a famous cattle-breeding station.
+
+In the preceding autumn it had been harried by a party of Comanche
+Indians, who, one day, without warning, rode across the sierra and
+swooped down upon it, killing, as they passed, the peones, or labourers,
+whom they found at work in the road.  On their appearance the men made no
+attempt to defend the rancho, but fled at full speed, abandoning the
+women and children to their terrible fate.  Some were carried away
+captives; some pierced with arrows and lances, and left for dead; others
+made the victims of unspeakable outrages.  The ranchero’s wife, with her
+two adult daughters and several younger children, fled from the rancho at
+the first alarm, to conceal themselves under a wooden bridge, which
+crossed a neighbouring stream.  For several hours they escaped detection;
+but at last some Indians drew near their hiding-place, and a young chief
+took his station on the bridge to issue his commands.  With keen eyes he
+examined the spot, and discovered the terror-stricken fugitives; but he
+pretended not to have seen them, playing with them as a cat might with a
+mouse.  He hoped, he was heard to say, that he should find out where the
+women were concealed, for he wanted a Mexican wife and a handful of
+scalps.  Then he leaped from the bridge, and thrust his lance under it
+with a yell of exultation; the point pierced the woman’s arm, and she
+shrieked aloud.  She and her children were forthwith drawn from their
+retreat.
+
+“Alas, alas, what a moment was that!” said the poor woman, as she told
+her painful story.  The savages brandished their tomahawks around her
+children, and she thought that the last farewell had been taken.  They
+behaved, however, with unusual clemency; the captives were released, and
+allowed to return to their home—to find it a wreck, and the ground strewn
+with the dead bodies of their kinsmen and friends.
+
+“Ay de mi!” (“Woe is me!”)
+
+While at La Punta, our traveller was witness of the Mexican sport of the
+“Coléa de toros” (or “bull-tailing”), for the enjoyment of which two or
+three hundred rancheros had assembled from the neighbouring plantations.
+
+A hundred bulls were shut up in a large corral, or enclosure, at one end
+of which had been erected a building for the convenience of the lady
+spectators.  The horsemen, brave in their picturesque Mexican costume,
+were grouped around the corral, examining the animals as they were driven
+to and fro in order to increase their excitement, while the ranchero
+himself, and his sons, brandishing long lances, were busily engaged in
+forcing the wilder and more active bulls into a second enclosure.  When
+this had been effected, the entrance was thrown open, and out dashed,
+with glaring eyes, tossing head, and lashing tail, a fine bull, to gallop
+at his topmost speed over the grassy plain before him, followed by the
+whole crowd of shouting, yelling horsemen, each of whom endeavoured to
+outstrip the other, and overtake the flying animal.  At first they all
+kept close together, riding very equally, and preserving excellent order,
+but very soon superior skill or strength or daring began to tell, and in
+front of the main body shot forth a few of the cavaliers.  Heading them
+all, in swift pursuit of the rolling cloud of dust which indicated the
+bull’s track, rode the son of the ranchero, a boy about twelve years old;
+and as he swayed this way and that when the bull doubled, the women made
+the air ring with their shrill vivas.  “Viva, Pepito! viva!” cried his
+mother; and, dashing his spurs into his horse’s streaming flanks, the
+brave lad ran the race.  But before long the others came up with stealthy
+strides; soon they were abreast of him.  The pace quickened; the horses
+themselves seemed to share the excitement; the men shouted, the women
+screamed; each urged on her favourite—“Alza!—Bernardo!—Por mi amor, Juan
+Maria!—Viva, Pepitito!”  A stalwart Mexican, mounted on a fine roan,
+eventually took the lead, and every moment increased the distance between
+himself and his competitors.  But Pepito’s quick eyes detected a sudden
+movement of the bull, and saw that, concealed by the dust, he had wheeled
+off at a sharp angle from his former course.  In an instant Pepe did the
+same, and dashed in front of him, amid a fresh outburst of cheers and
+vivas.  Getting on the bull’s left quarter, he stooped down to seize his
+tail, and secure it under his right leg, so as to bring him to the
+ground.  But for a manœuvre which requires great muscular power, Pepe’s
+strength was not equal to his spirit, and, in attempting it, he was
+dragged from his saddle, and thrown to the ground, senseless.  Several
+horsemen had by this time come up, and the bold rider of the roan
+galloping ahead, threw his right leg over the bull’s tail, and turning
+his horse sharply outwards, upset the brute in the midst of his fiery
+charge, rolling him over and over in the dust.
+
+Another bull was then let loose, and the wild ride recommenced; nor,
+until the corral was empty, and every horse and horseman completely
+spent, did the game cease.  It is a rude game, though full of excitement;
+a rude game, and, perhaps, a cruel one; but we must not be harsh in our
+judgment, remembering that our English sports and pastimes have not
+always been exempt from a taint of ferocity.
+
+A less manly and much more cruel equestrian game is called “el Gallo”
+(“the Cock)”.  Poor chanticleer is tied by the leg to a post driven into
+the ground, or to a tree, his head and neck being well greased.  At a
+given signal the horsemen start all together, and he who first reaches
+the bird, and seizing it by its neck, releases it from the fastenings,
+carries off the prize.  The well-greased neck generally eludes the eager
+fingers of him who first clutches it; but whoever gets hold of the prize
+is immediately pursued by the rest, intent upon depriving him of it.  In
+the _mêlée_ the unfortunate rooster is literally torn to pieces, which
+the successful horsemen present as _gages d’amour_ to their lady-loves.
+
+At Durango, the capital of Northern Mexico, popularly known as “the City
+of Scorpions,” the traveller was shown a large mass of malleable iron,
+which lies isolated in the centre of the plain.  It is supposed to be an
+aerolite, because identical in physical character and composition with
+certain aerolites which fell in some part of Hungary in 1751.  Durango is
+650 miles from Mexico, and, according to Humboldt, 6845 feet above the
+sea.  At the time of Mr. Ruxton’s visit, it was expecting an attack from
+the Comanche Indians, of whose sanguinary ferocity he tells the following
+“owre true” story:—
+
+Half-way between Durango and Chihuahua, in the Rio Florido valley, lived
+a family of hardy vaqueros, or cattle-herders, the head of whom, a
+stalwart man of sixty, rejoiced in the sobriquet of El Coxo (“The
+Cripple”).  He had eight sons, bold, resolute, vigorous fellows, famous
+for their prowess in horsemanship, their daring and skill at the “colea”
+or “el Gallo.”  Of this goodly company, reminding us of the Nortons in
+Wordsworth’s “White Doe of Rylstone”—
+
+    “None for beauty or for worth
+    Like those eight sons—who, in a ring
+    (Ripe men, or blooming in life’s spring),
+    Each with a lance, erect and tall,
+    A falchion and a buckler small,
+    Stood by their sire,”—
+
+the handsomest and most skilful was, perhaps, the third, by name
+Escamilla, “a proper lad of twenty, five feet ten out of his zapatos,
+straight as an organo, and lithesome as a reed.”  Having been educated at
+Queretaro, he was more refined than his brothers, and had acquired a
+taste for dress, which enabled him to set off his comeliness to the best
+advantage, and made him the cynosure of “the bright eyes” of all the
+neighbouring rancheras.  Next to him came Juan Maria, who was scarcely
+less skilful, and certainly not less daring than his brother, and by good
+judges was reputed to be even handsomer, that is, manlier and more
+robust, though inferior in polish of manner and picturesqueness of
+appearance.  Until Escamilla’s return from Queretaro, he had always been
+victor at “el Gallo” and the “colea,” and had laid his spoils at the feet
+of the beauty of the valley, Isabel Mora, a charming black-eyed damsel of
+sixteen, called from the hacienda where she resided, Isabel de la Cadena.
+It was understood that she accepted them with pleasure, and rewarded the
+suitor with her smiles.
+
+But the course of true love never does run smooth, and in this instance
+it was fated to be interrupted by fraternal treachery.  Escamilla
+contrived to win the fickle beauty’s affections from his brother, who,
+however, instead of resenting the deceit, magnanimously forgave it, and
+withdrew all pretensions to her hand.  Escamilla and Isabel were duly
+affianced, and a day was fixed for their marriage, which was to take
+place at the bride’s hacienda; and in honour of the occasion a grand
+“funcion de toros” was proclaimed, to which all the neighbours (the
+nearest of whom, by the way, was forty miles distant) were duly invited.
+
+Two days before the appointed wedding-day, El Coxo and his eight sons
+made their appearance, extorting an admiring murmur from all beholders
+as, mounted on superb steeds, they rode gaily into the hacienda.
+
+On the following day, leaving Escamilla at home El Coxo and the rest of
+his sons accompanied the master of the hacienda into the plains, to
+assist him in the arduous work of driving in the bulls required for the
+morrow’s sport; while the other rancheros were busy in constructing the
+large corral intended to secure them.
+
+Evening was drawing near; the sun dropped rapidly behind the rugged crest
+of the sierra, investing each ridge and precipice with a luminous glory
+of gold and purple; while the cold grey shadow of the coming night was
+swiftly creeping over the plain beneath.  The cry of the cranes was heard
+in the silence, as, wedge-shaped, like the Macedonian phalanx of old,
+they pursued their aerial flight; the shrill pipe of the mother quail
+summoned together her foraging progeny; the brown hare stole from its
+covert and prowled about in search of food; and the lowing cattle
+assembled on the bank of the stream to quench their thirst before they
+were driven to their stalls.  The peones, or labourers of the farm, with
+slow gait were returning from the scene of their day’s work; while at the
+doors of the cottages the women, with naked arms, were pounding the
+tortillas on stone slabs in preparation for the evening meal.  Everything
+indicated that the hours of labour had passed, and those of rest and
+refreshment come.
+
+Escamilla and Isabel were wandering among the hushed pastures, where the
+last rays of the sun still lingered with a soft subdued radiance,
+building those airy castles in the construction of which happy youth is
+always so eager and so dexterous.  In the distance they saw a little
+cloud of dust rising from the plain; in another direction they heard the
+shouts of the returning cowherds, and the heavy hoofs of the bulls they
+were driving towards the corral.  In advance rode a single horseman,
+swiftly making for the hacienda.
+
+Meanwhile, the cloud of dust rolled onwards rapidly, and out of it
+emerged several cavaliers, who suddenly dashed towards the two happy
+lovers.  “Here come the bull-fighters,” exclaimed Isabel; and with
+natural modesty she added, “Let us return.”
+
+“Perhaps they are my father and brothers,” answered Escamilla.  “Yes,
+look; there are eight of them.  Do you not see?”
+
+Ay, she _did_ see, as her gaze rested on the group of horsemen, who,
+thundering across the mead, were now within a few yards of them.  She
+_did_ see, and the blood ran cold in her veins, and her face turned white
+with fear; for they were Comanche Indians, naked to the waist, horrible
+in their war-paint, and fierce with brandished spears.  Escamilla saw
+them, too, and shrieking, “Los barbaros! los barbaros!” he fled with
+rapid foot, and, like a coward, abandoned his affianced to her fate.
+
+A horseman met him: it was Juan Maria, who, having lassoed a little
+antelope on the plains, was riding in advance of his company to present
+it to the fickle Isabel.  Glancing around, he saw her imminent danger;
+flung down the animal he was carrying in his arms, dashed his spurs
+desperately into his horse’s sides, and hastened to her rescue.  “Salva
+me, Juan Maria!” she cried, “salva me!” (“save me”).  But the
+bloodthirsty savages were before him.  With a ferocious whoop, the
+foremost plunged his spear into her heart, and in a moment her scalp was
+hanging from his saddle-bow.  He did not long enjoy his triumph.  A
+clatter of hoofs caused him to turn; and, behold, Juan Maria, with lasso
+swinging round his head, and his heart beating with the desire of
+vengeance, rode fiercely towards the murderer, heedless of the storm of
+arrows that rained upon him.  The savage shrank from the encounter; but
+the open coil of the lasso, whirling through the air, fell over his head,
+and dragged him to the ground with a fatal crash.
+
+The odds, however, were against Juan Maria, who, surrounded by Indians,
+had no other weapon than a small machete, or rusty sword.  Bating not one
+jot of heart or hope, he rushed on the nearest Indian, and dealt a blow
+at his head, which cleft it open; the savage fell dead.  Daunted by the
+Mexican’s surpassing courage, the others kept at a distance, discharging
+their swift arrows, and piercing him with many wounds.  Spurring his
+horse towards them, he fought on bravely, cheered by the shouts of his
+father and brothers, who were galloping full speed to his support.
+Before they could reach him, an arrow, discharged at but a few paces’
+distance, penetrated his heart.  He slipped heavily from his horse, and
+one of the Comanches rode away in triumph, with the heroic Mexican’s
+scalp as a trophy.
+
+At that moment the Indians were reinforced by some thirty or forty of
+their tribe, and a desperate struggle ensued between them and El Coxo and
+his sons.  The latter, burning with rage at the death of their brother,
+fought with such eager courage, that, outnumbered as they were, they slew
+half a dozen of the Comanches.  It is probable, however, they would have
+been overpowered but for the arrival of the rancheros, who, coming up
+from the hacienda, put the Indians to flight.  As night had darkened in
+the sky, they did not pursue; but returned to the hacienda with the dead
+bodies of Juan Maria and Isabel, who were buried the next day, side by
+side, at the very hour that had been fixed for the unfortunate Isabel’s
+marriage.  As for Escamilla, ashamed of his cowardice, he was seen no
+more in the valley of the Rio Florido, but settled at Queretaro, where he
+afterwards married.
+
+This tragedy occurred on the 11th of October, 1845.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+From Durango Mr. Ruxton proceeded westward for Chihuahua and New Mexico.
+On the second day of his journey an unpleasant incident very sternly
+convinced him of the treachery and bloodthirstiness of the lower
+Mexicans.  He was riding slowly ahead of his native attendant, whom he
+had hired at Durango, when the sudden report of fire-arms, and the whiz
+of a bullet close to his head, caused him to turn sharply round, and he
+beheld his amiable mozo [young man], pistol in hand, some fifteen yards
+behind him, looking guilty as well as foolish.  Drawing a pistol from his
+holsters, Mr. Ruxton rode up to him immediately, and was about to blow
+out his brains, when his terror-stricken and absurdly guilty-looking face
+turned his employer’s wrath into “an immoderate fit of laughter.”
+
+“Amigo,” said Mr. Ruxton, “do you call this being skilled, as you
+boasted, in the use of arms, to miss my head at fifteen yards?”
+
+“Ah, caballero, in the name of all the saints, I did not fire at you, but
+at a duck which was flying over the road.  Your worship cannot believe I
+would do such a thing.”  Now, the pistols which Mr. Ruxton had given him
+to carry were secured in a pair of holsters tightly buckled and strapped
+round his waist.  To unbuckle them at any time was difficult; to unbuckle
+them in time to get one out to fire at a flying duck, was impossible.
+Mr. Ruxton knew that the duck was an invention, and a clumsy one, and to
+prevent another treacherous attack, took from the fellow everything in
+the shape of offensive weapon, including even his knife.  Then, after
+lecturing him severely, he administered a sound thrashing with the
+buckle-end of his surcingle, and promised him that, if he were suspected
+of even dreaming of another attempt at murder, he would be pistolled
+without a moment’s hesitation.
+
+After narrowly escaping a collision with a party of Indians, Mr. Ruxton
+reached a place called El Gallo, where he resided for a couple of days in
+the house of a farmer.  He tells us that in a rancho the time is occupied
+as follows:—The females of the family rise at daybreak, and prepare the
+chocolate, or alde, which is eaten the first thing in the morning.  About
+nine o’clock, breakfast is served, consisting of chile colorado, frijoles
+(beans), and tortillas (omelettes).  Dinner, which takes place at noon,
+and supper at sunset, are both substantial meals.  Meanwhile, the men
+employ themselves in the fields or attending to the animals; the women
+about the house, making clothes, cleaning, cooking, washing.  In the
+evening the family shell corn, and chat; or a guitar is brought, and
+singing and dancing are continued until it is time to retire.
+
+Riding onward from El Gallo, Mr. Ruxton turned aside from the regular
+route to kill an antelope and broil a collop for breakfast.  He was
+descending the sierra to quench his thirst at a stream which flowed
+through a cañon, or deep ravine, when a herd of antelopes passed him, and
+stopped to feed on a grassy plateau near at hand.  He started in pursuit.
+As soon as he got within rifle-shot, he crept between two rocks at the
+edge of the hollow, and raised his head to reconnoitre, when he saw a
+sight which startled him, as the footprint on the sand startled Robinson
+Crusoe.  About two hundred yards from the cañon, and scarcely twice that
+distance from his place of concealment, eleven Comanches, duly equipped
+for war, each with lance and bow and arrow, and the chief with a rifle
+also, were riding along in Indian file.  They were naked to the waist,
+their buffalo robes being thrown off their shoulders, and lying on their
+hips and across the saddle, which was a mere pad of buffalo-skin.  Slowly
+they drew towards the cañon, as if to cross it by a deer-path near the
+spot where Mr. Ruxton lay concealed.  The odds were great; but he was
+advantageously posted, and he held in readiness his rifle, a
+double-barrelled carbine, and a couple of pistols.  If he were attacked,
+he thought he could make a good defence; but, if unobserved, he had
+nothing to gain by attacking them.  On they came, laughing and talking,
+and Mr. Ruxton, raising his rifle and supporting it in the fork of a bush
+which served as a screen, covered the chief with deadly aim.  On they
+came, but suddenly diverged from the deer-path and struck across the
+plain, thereby saving the chief’s life, and probably Mr. Ruxton’s.  As
+soon as they had disappeared, he recrossed the sierra, and returned for
+the night to El Gallo.
+
+The next stage from El Gallo was Mapimi, situated at the foot of a range
+of mountains which teems with the precious metals.  There he got rid of
+his mozo, or native attendant, and engaged in his place a little
+Irishman, who had been eighteen years in Mexico, and had almost forgotten
+his own language.  He readily agreed to accompany him to Chihuahua,
+having no fear of the Indians, though they infested the country through
+which the travellers would have to pass.  They reached Chihuahua,
+however, without misadventure.  Its territory is described as a paradise
+for sportsmen.  The common black or American bear, and the formidable
+grizzly bear, inhabit the sierras and mountains; and in the latter is
+found the carnero cimarron, or big-horn sheep.  Elk, black-tailed deer,
+cola-arieta (a large species of the fallow deer), the common American red
+deer, and antelope, are everywhere abundant.  Of smaller game the most
+numerous are peccaries, hares, and rabbits; and in the streams the
+beavers still construct their dams.  There are two varieties of wolf—the
+white, or mountain wolf, and the cayeute, or coyote, commonly called the
+prairie-dog.  Of birds the most common are the faisan (a species of
+pheasant), snipe, plover, crane, and the quail, or rather a bird between
+a partridge and a quail.
+
+The entomologist would find much to interest him in the plains of
+Chihuahua, and especially an insect which seems almost peculiar to that
+part of Mexico.  From four to six inches in length, it has four long
+slender legs.  Its body, to the naked eye, seems nothing more than a
+blade of grass, and has no apparent muscular action or vitality except in
+the two antennæ, which are about half an inch long.  It moves very slowly
+upon its long legs, and altogether looks not unlike a blade of grass
+carried by ants.  The Mexicans assert that if horse or mule swallow these
+zacateros (so called from _zacato_, grass), it invariably dies; but the
+assertion may well be doubted.  The variety of spiders, bugs, and beetles
+is endless, including the tarantula and the cocuyo, or lantern-bug.  Of
+reptiles the most common are the rattlesnake and the copper-head: both
+are poisonous; and the sting of the scorpion is fatal under some
+conditions.  The grotesque but harmless cameleon abounds in the plains.
+On the American prairies it is known as the “horned frog.”
+
+Vegetation is very scanty in Chihuahua.  The shrub that covers its
+plains, the mezquit, is a species of acacia, growing to a height of ten
+or twelve feet.  The seeds, contained in a small pod, resemble those of
+the laburnum, and are used by the Apache Indians to make a kind of bread,
+or cake, which is not unpleasant to the taste.  This constantly recurring
+and ugly shrub, according to Mr. Ruxton, becomes quite an eyesore to the
+traveller who crosses the mezquit-covered plains.  It is the only thing
+in the shape of a tree seen for hundreds of miles, except here and there
+a solitary alamo or willow, overhanging a spring, and invariably
+bestowing its name on the rancho or hacienda which may generally be found
+in the vicinity of water.  Thus day after day the traveller passed the
+ranchos of El Sauz, Los Sauzes, Los Sauzilles—the willow, the willows,
+the little willows,—or El Alamo, Los Alamitos—the poplar, the little
+poplars.  The last is the only timber found on the streams in northern
+Mexico, and on the Del Norte and the Arkansas it grows to a great size.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Leaving Chihuahua, Mr. Ruxton set out for the capital of New Mexico,
+escorted by three dragoons of the regiment of Vera Cruz, and carrying
+despatches from the governor to the commander of the American troops then
+posted on the frontier.  At El Paso del Norte he entered a valley of
+great fertility; but this delightful change of scenery lasted only as far
+as San Diego, where begins the dreaded and dreadful wilderness
+significantly known as the _Jornada del Muerto_, or “Dead Man’s Journey.”
+Not only is it cursed by an absolute want of water and pasture, but it is
+the favourite foraging-ground of the Apache Indians, who are always on
+the alert to surprise the unwary traveller, to plunder and kill him.
+There is no vegetation but artemisia (sago) and screw-wood (torscilla).
+About half-way lies a hollow or depression called the _Laguna del
+Muerto_, or “Dead Man’s Lake,” but this is hard and dry except in the
+rainy season.  Mr. Ruxton’s horses suffered considerably, but the “Dead
+Man’s Journey” of ninety-five or one hundred miles was performed,
+nevertheless, without accident in twenty-four hours.
+
+At Fray Cristoval Mr. Ruxton came upon the river Del Norte, and thence
+pushed along its banks to the ruins of Valverde, where, encamped in the
+shade of noble trees, he found a trading caravan and a United States
+surveying party, under the command of a Lieutenant Abert.  The traders’
+waggons were drawn up so as to form a corral, or square—a laager, as the
+Boers of South Africa call it—constituting a truly formidable encampment,
+which, lined with the fire of some hundred rifles, could defy the attacks
+of Indians or Mexicans.  “Scattered about,” says Mr. Ruxton, “were tents
+and shanties of logs and branches of every conceivable form, round which
+lounged wild-looking Missourians; some looking at the camp-fires, some
+cleaning their rifles or firing at targets—‘blazes’ cut in the trees—with
+a bull’s-eye made with wet powder on the white bark.  From morning till
+night the camp resounded with the popping of rifles, firing at marks for
+prizes of tobacco, or at any living creature which presented itself.  The
+oxen, horses, and mules were sent out at daylight to pasture on the grass
+of the prairie, and at sunset made their appearance, driven in by the
+Mexican herders, and were secured for the night in the corrals.  My own
+animals roamed at will, but every evening came to the river to drink, and
+made their way to my camp, where they would frequently stay round the
+fire all night.  They never required herding, for they made their
+appearance as regularly as the day closed, and would come to my whistle
+whenever I required my hunting mule.”
+
+Mr. Ruxton remained several days at Valverde in order to recruit his
+animals.  He amused himself by hunting.  Deer and antelope were
+plentiful; so were turkeys, hares, rabbits, and quail on the plain, geese
+and ducks in the river; and he had even a shot—an unsuccessful one—at a
+painter, or panther.  In some men the love of sport amounts to a passion,
+and in Mr. Ruxton it seems to have been equalled or surpassed only by his
+love of adventure.  But about the middle of December the camp broke up,
+the traders departing for Fray Cristoval; while Mr. Ruxton resumed his
+northward journey, in company with Lieutenant Abert’s party.  Crossing
+the Del Norte, he arrived at Socorro, the first settlement of New Mexico
+upon this river.  Here the houses are _not_ painted, but the women _are_;
+they stain their faces, from forehead to chin, with the fire-red juice of
+the alegria, to protect the skin from the effects of the sun.  At
+Galisteo he met with a typical Yankee, of the kind Sam Slick has made us
+familiar with—a kind that is rapidly dying out,—sharp, active,
+self-reliant; a cunning mixture of inquisitiveness, shrewdness, and good
+nature.  On reaching Mr. Ruxton’s encampment he unyoked his twelve oxen,
+approached the camp-fire, and seated himself almost in the blaze,
+stretching his long lean legs at the same time into the ashes.  Then he
+began: “Sich a poor old country, I say!  Wall, strangers, an ugly camp
+this, I swar; and what my cattle ull do I don’t know, for they have not
+eat since we put out of Santa Fé, and are very near give out, that’s a
+fact; and thar’s nothin’ here for ’em to eat, surely.  Wall, they must
+jist hold on till to-morrow, for I have only got a pint of corn apiece
+for ’em tonight anyhow, so there’s no two ways about that.  Strangers, I
+guess now you’ll have a skillet among ye; if yev a mind to trade, I’ll
+jist have it right off; anyhow, I’ll jist borrow it to-night to bake my
+bread, and, if you wish to trade, name your price. . . .  Sich a poor old
+country, say I!  Jist look at them oxen, wull ye!—they’ve nigh upon two
+hundred miles to go; for I’m bound to catch up the sogers afore they
+reach the Pass, and there’s not a go in ’em.”
+
+“Well,” remarked Mr. Ruxton, “would it not be as well for you to feed
+them at once and let them rest?”
+
+“Wall, I guess if you’ll some of you lend me a hand, I’ll fix ’em right
+off; tho’, I tell you! they’ve give me a pretty lot of trouble, they
+have, I tell you! but the critturs will have to eat, I b’lieve!”
+
+The aid asked for was given, and some corn added to the scanty rations
+which he put before his wearied and hungry oxen.  When they had been
+fixed, the Yankee returned to the fire and baked his cake, fried his
+bacon, and made his coffee, while his tongue kept up an incessant
+clatter.  He was all alone, with a journey of two hundred miles before
+him, and his waggon and twelve oxen to look after; his sole thought and
+object, however, were dollars, dollars, dollars!  He caught up every
+article he saw lying about, wondered what it cost and what it was worth,
+offered to trade for it, or for anything else which anybody might be
+disposed to offer, never waiting for an answer, but rattling on, eating
+and drinking and talking without pause; until at last, gathering himself
+up, he said, “Wall, I guess I’ll turn into my waggon now, and some of you
+will, maybe, give a look round at the cattle every now and then, and I’ll
+thank you.”  No sooner said than done.  With a hop, step, and a jump, he
+sprang into his waggon, and was snoring in a couple of minutes.
+
+Next morning, at daybreak, while he was still asleep, Mr. Ruxton resumed
+his journey, and before evening entered Santa Fé, after a ride in all of
+nearly two thousand miles.
+
+There was nothing in Santa Fé to repay him for all he had undergone in
+getting there.  The houses were built of sun-dried mud, and every other
+one was a grocery, that is, a gin or whisky shop, where Mexicans and
+Americans were drinking eagerly or playing monté.  The streets were
+filled with brawlers, among whom Pueblo Indians and priests endeavoured
+to make their way.  Donkey-loads of hoja, or corn-shucks, were hawked
+about for sale.  It was noise everywhere; noise and filth, dirt and
+drink.  The town contains about 3500 inhabitants, and lies at the foot of
+a summit of the eastern chain of the Rocky Mountains, about fourteen
+miles from the river Del Norte.  As for the province, it covers an area
+of 6000 square miles, with a population of 70,000, divided among the
+Mexico-Spanish (descendants of the original settlers), the Mestizos (or
+half-castes), and the Indian Manzos or Pueblos (the aboriginal
+inhabitants).
+
+Mr. Ruxton was so disgusted with Santa Fé, that in a very few days he had
+packed his mules, taken his leave of its profanity, drunkenness, and
+squalidness, and, through the valley of Taos, continued his northward
+route.  The landscape was now ennobled by the majesty of the Rocky
+Mountains, with cool green valleys and misty plains lying among them,
+through which the river had hewn its way in deep rocky cañons.  The
+scenery had assumed a new character of grandeur, and Mr. Ruxton surveyed
+it with admiration.  At the Rio Colorado he crossed the United States
+frontier, and plunged into the wild expanse of snow, with towering peaks
+rising on every side, that lay before him; his object being to cross the
+Rocky Mountains by the trail or track of the Ute Indians, and strike the
+river Arkansas near its head-waters.  The cold was intense, and when a
+cutting wind swept over the bleak plains or roared through the wooded
+valleys, the hardy traveller found scarcely endurable.
+
+Stricken almost to the heart, he suffered the antelope that bounded
+past—hunter as he was!—to go unscathed.  His hands, rigid as those of
+“the Commandant” in the statue-scene of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” dropped
+the reins of his horse, and allowed him to travel as he pleased.  The
+half-breed who attended him, wrapped himself round in his blanket, and
+heaved a sigh at the thought of the fine venison that was being lost.  At
+length, a troop of some three thousand swept almost over them, and Mr.
+Ruxton’s instincts as a sportsman prevailed over the inertness and
+deadness induced by the icy air; he sprang from his horse, knelt down,
+and sent a bullet right into the midst.  At the report two antelopes
+leaped into the air, to fall prostrate in the dust; one of them shot in
+the neck, through which the ball had passed into the body of the other.
+While he was cutting up the prize, half a dozen wolves howled around,
+drawn to the spot by the scent of blood.  A couple of these creatures,
+tamed by hunger, gradually drew nearer, occasionally crouching on their
+haunches, and licking their eager lips as if already partaking of the
+banquet.  Mr. Ruxton flung at them a large piece of meat; whereupon the
+whole pack threw themselves upon it, growling and fighting, and actually
+tearing each other in the wild, fierce fray.  “I am sure,” says our
+traveller, “I might have approached near enough to have seized one by the
+tail, so entirely regardless of my vicinity did they appear.  They were
+doubtless rendered more ravenous than usual by the uncommon severity of
+the weather, and from the fact of the antelope congregating in large
+bands, were unable to prey upon these animals, which are their favourite
+food.  Although rarely attacking a man, yet in such seasons as the
+present I have no doubt that they would not hesitate to charge upon a
+solitary traveller in the night, particularly as in winter they
+congregate in troops of from ten to fifty.  They are so abundant in the
+mountains, that the hunter takes no notice of them, and seldom throws
+away upon the skulking beasts a charge of powder and lead.”
+
+Mr. Ruxton pitched his camp at Rib Creek one night; at La Culebra, or
+Snake Creek, the next; at La Trinchera, or Bowl Creek, on the third.  The
+cold continued excessive.  The blast seemed to carry death upon its
+wings; snow and sleet fell in heavy showers; the streams were covered
+with a solid crust of ice.  But the worst part of the journey was through
+the Vallerito, or Little Valley—the “Wind-trap,” as the mountaineers
+expressively call it—a small circular basin in the midst of rugged
+mountains, which receives the winds through their deep gorges and down
+their precipitous sides, and pens them up in its confined area to battle
+with one another, and with the unfortunates who are forced to traverse
+it.  How they beat and rage and howl and roar!  How they buffet the
+traveller in the face, and clasp him round the body as if they would
+strangle him!  How they dash against the stumbling mules, and whirl the
+thick snow about them, and plunge them into dense deep drifts, where they
+lie half buried!  This “Wind-trap” is only four miles long; and yet Mr.
+Ruxton was more than half a day in getting through it.
+
+Once clear of it, he began the ascent of the mountain which forms the
+watershed of the Del Norte and Arkansas rivers.  The view from the summit
+was as wild and drear as one of the circles in Dante’s “Inferno.”
+Looking back, the traveller saw everywhere a dense white pall or shroud
+of snow, which seemed to conceal but partially the rigid limbs of the
+dead and frozen earth.  In front of him stretched the main chain of the
+Rocky Mountains, dominated by the lofty crest of James’s or Pike’s Peak;
+to the south-east, large against the sky, loomed the grim bulk of the two
+Cumbres Españolas.  At his feet, a narrow valley, green with dwarf oak
+and pine, was brightened by the glancing lights of a little stream.
+Everywhere against the horizon rose rugged summits and ridges, snow-clad
+and pine-clad, and partly separated by rocky gorges.  To the eastward the
+mountain mass fell off into detached spires and buttresses, and descended
+in broken terraces to the vast prairies, which extended far beyond the
+limit of vision, “a sea of seeming barrenness, vast and dismal.”  As the
+traveller gazed upon them, billows of dust swept over the monotonous
+surface, impelled by a driving hurricane.  Soon the mad wind reached the
+mountain-top, and splintered the tall pines, and roared and raved in its
+insatiable fury, and filled the air with great whirls of snow, and heaped
+it up in dazzling drifts against the trees.  Its stern voice made the
+silence and the solitude all the more palpable.  For not a sound of bird
+or beast was to be heard; nor was there sign or token of human life.  In
+such a scene man is made to feel his own littleness.  In the presence of
+the giant forces of Nature he seems so mean and powerless that his heart
+sinks within him, and his brain grows dizzy, until he remembers that
+behind those forces is a Power, eternal and supreme—a Power that seeks
+not to destroy, but to bless and comfort and save.
+
+With no little difficulty, Mr. Ruxton and his guide conveyed their mules
+and horses down the steep eastern side of the mountain into the valley
+beneath.  Across Greenhorn Creek they pushed forward to the banks of the
+San Carlos; and fourteen miles beyond, they struck the Arkansas, a few
+hundred yards above the mouth of Boiling Spring River.  There he was
+hospitably entertained in the “lodge” of a certain mountaineer and
+ex-trapper, John Hawkins.
+
+The home and haunt of the trapper is the vast region of forest and
+prairie known as the Far West.  He extends his operations from the
+Mississippi to the mouth of the western Colorado, from the frozen wastes
+of the north to the Gila in Mexico; making war against every animal whose
+skin or fur is of any value, and exhibiting in its pursuit the highest
+powers of endurance and tenacity, a reckless courage, and an
+inexhaustible fertility of resource.  On starting for a hunt, whether as
+the “hired hand” of a fur company, or working on his own account, he
+provides himself with two or three horses or mules—one for saddle, the
+others for packs—and six traps, which are carried in a leather bag called
+a “trap-sack.”  In a wallet of dressed buffalo-skin, called a
+“possible-sack,” he carries his ammunition, a few pounds of tobacco, and
+dressed deerskins for mocassins and other articles.  When hunting, he
+loads his saddle mule with the “possible” and “trap-sack;” the furs are
+packed on the baggage mules.  His costume is a hunting shirt of dressed
+buckskin, ornamented with long fringes; and pantaloons of the same
+material, but decorated with porcupine quills and long fringes down the
+outside of the leg.  His head bears a flexible felt hat; his feet are
+protected by mocassins.  Round his neck is slung his pipe-holder,
+generally a love token, in the shape of a heart, garnished with beads and
+porcupine quills.  Over his left shoulder and under his right arm hang
+his powder-horn and bullet-pouch, in which are stored his balls, flint
+and steel, and all kinds of “odds and ends.”  A large butcher-knife, in a
+sheath of buffalo-hide, is carried in a belt, and fastened to it by a
+chain or guard of steel.  A tomahawk is also often added, and a long
+heavy rifle is necessarily included in the equipment.
+
+Thus provided (we quote now from Mr. Ruxton), and having determined the
+locality of his trapping-ground, he starts for the mountains, sometimes
+with three or four companions, as soon as the worst of the winter has
+passed.  When he reaches his hunting-grounds, he follows up the creeks
+and streams, vigilantly looking out for “sign.”  If he observes a
+cotton-wood tree lying prone, he examines it to discover if its fall be
+the work of the beaver; and, if so, whether “thrown” for the purpose of
+food, or to dam the stream, and raise the water to a level with its
+burrow.  The track of the beaver on the mud or sand under the bank is
+also examined; and if the “sign” be fresh, he sets his trap in the run of
+the animal, hiding it under water, and attaching it by a stout chain to a
+picket driven in the bank, or to a bush or tree.  A “float-stick” is
+fastened to the trap by a cord a few feet long, which, if the animal
+carry away the trap, floats on the water and indicates its position.  The
+trap is baited with the “medicine,” an oily substance obtained from a
+gland in the scrotum of the beaver.  Into this is dipped a stick, which
+is planted over the trap; and the beaver, attracted by the smell, and
+wishing a close inspection, very foolishly puts his leg into the trap,
+and falls a victim to his curiosity.
+
+When “a lodge” is discovered, the trap is set at the edge of the dam, at
+the point where the amphibious animals pass from deep to shoal water, but
+always beneath the surface.  In early morning the hunter mounts his mule,
+and examines his traps.  The captured animals are skinned, and the tails,
+a great dainty, carefully packed into camp.  The skin is then stretched
+over a hoop or framework of osier twigs, and is allowed to dry, the flesh
+and fatty substance being industriously scraped or “grained.”  When dry,
+it is folded into a square sheet, with the fur turned inwards, and the
+bundle of ten to twenty skins, well pressed and carefully corded, is
+ready for exportation.
+
+During the hunt, regardless of Indian vicinity, the fearless trapper
+wanders far and near in search of “sign.”  His nerves must always be in a
+state of tension; his energies must always rally at his call.  His eagle
+eye sweeps round the country, and in an instant detects any unusual
+appearance.  A turned leaf, a blade of grass pressed down, the uneasiness
+of the wild animals, the flight of birds, are all paragraphs to him,
+written in Nature’s legible hand and plainest language.  The subtle
+savage summons his utmost craft and cunning to gain an advantage over the
+wily white woodman; but, along with the natural instinct of primitive
+man, the white hunter has the advantages of the civilized mind, and, thus
+provided, seldom fails to baffle, under equal advantages, his Indian
+adversary.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+While hunting in the Arkansas valley, Mr. Ruxton met with many exciting
+experiences; the most serious being that of a night in the snow.
+Suspecting that some Indians had carried off his mules, he seized his
+rifle, and went in search of them, and coming upon what he supposed to be
+their track, followed it up with heroic patience for ten miles.  He then
+discovered that he had made a mistake; retraced his steps to the camp,
+and, with his friend, struck in another direction.  This time he hit on
+the right trail, and was well pleased to find that the animals were not
+in Indian hands, as their ropes evidently still dragged along the ground.
+Carrying a lariat and saddle-blanket, so as to ride back on the mules if
+they were caught, away went the two dauntless hunters, nor did they stop
+to rest until midnight.  Then, in the shelter of a thicket and on the
+bank of a stream, they kindled a fire, and thankfully lay down within
+reach of its genial influence.  Alas! a gale of wind at that moment
+arose, and scattering the blazing brands to right and left, soon ignited
+the dry grass and bushes; so that, to prevent a general conflagration,
+they were compelled to extinguish their fire.  To prevent themselves from
+being frozen to death, they started again in pursuit of the missing
+animals, following the trail by moonlight across the bare cold prairies.
+Next day their labours were rewarded by the recovery of the mules, and
+Mr. Ruxton and his Irish companion began to think of returning.  The
+latter, by agreement, made at once for the trapper’s cabin; Ruxton, with
+the animals, turned off in search of some provisions and packs that had
+been left in their hunting encampment.  Since morning the sky had
+gradually clouded over, and towards sunset had blackened into a dense,
+heavy, rolling darkness.  The wind had gone down, and a dead, unnatural
+calm, the sure precursor of a storm, reigned over the face of nature.
+The coyote, mindful of the coming disturbance, was trotting back to his
+burrow, and the raven, with swift wings, laboured towards the shelter of
+the woods.
+
+Lower and lower sank the clouds, until the very bases of the mountains
+were hidden, and the firmament and the earth seemed mingled together.
+Though neither branch nor spray was stirred, the valley rang with a
+hoarse murmur.  Through the gloom the leafless branches of the huge
+cotton-wood trees protruded like the gaunt arms of fleshless phantoms.
+The whole scene was eery and weird, impressing the mind with an
+indefinable sense of awe, with an apprehension of approaching disaster.
+The traveller turned his animals towards the covert of the wood; and
+they, quivering with terror, were not less eager than himself to gain it.
+Two-thirds of the distance still lay before them, when the windows of
+heaven opened, and the storm broke, and a tremendous roar filled the
+valley, and thick showers of sleet descended, freezing as it fell.  The
+lonely traveller’s hunting-shirt was soaked through in a moment, and in
+another moment frozen hard.  The enormous hailstones, beating on his
+exposed head and face—for the wind had carried away his cap—almost
+stunned and blinded him.  The mule he bestrode was suddenly caparisoned
+with a sheet of ice.  To ride was impossible.  He sprang to the ground,
+and wrapped himself in the saddle-cloth.  As the storm beat in front of
+them, the animals wheeled away from the wood, turned their backs upon it,
+and made for the open prairies; still, through the intense darkness,
+whirled and buffeted in clouds of driving snow, Mr. Ruxton steadfastly
+followed them.  His sufferings were indescribable; but he persevered.
+The wind chilled his blood; the sleet wounded his eyes; with difficulty
+his weary feet toiled through the gathering snow, which was soon two feet
+in depth; but he persevered.  This quality of tenaciousness, without
+which no man can become a successful traveller, any more than he can
+become a successful musician, painter, sculptor, engineer, Mr. Ruxton
+possessed in an eminent degree.  He pursued the frightened animals across
+the darkening prairie, until, suddenly, on the leeward side of a tuft of
+bushes, they stood still.  Some vain attempts he made to turn them
+towards the wood; they would not move; so that at length, completely
+exhausted, and seeing before him nothing but inevitable death, he sank
+down behind them in the deep snow, covering his head with his blanket—far
+away from human habitation,—far away from all help, but that of God!
+
+Ah, what a night was that!  How the wind roared over the frozen plain!
+How the snow rolled before it in dense huge billows, that took in the
+darkness a sombre greyish colour!  What horrible sounds surged upon the
+ear and brain of the benumbed watcher, as, with his head on his knees,
+pressed down by the snow as by a leaden weight, with the chilled blood
+scarcely flowing in his veins, and an icy torpor threatening to arrest
+the very motion of his heart, he struggled against the temptation of a
+slumber from which he knew that he should wake no more on earth!  Once
+yield to that fatal sleep, and farewell to life!  Yet how he longed to
+close his aching eyes, to rest his weary brain, to cease from the tumult
+of thought and feeling that confused and exhausted him!  Every now and
+then the mules would groan heavily, and fall upon the snow, and again
+struggle to their legs.  Every now and then the yell of famished wolves
+arose in the pauses of the storm.  So passed the night, or, rather, to
+the hunter it seemed as if it were prolonging itself into day; each
+second was lengthened into a minute, each minute into an hour.  At last,
+by keeping his hands buried in the bosom of his hunting-shirt, he so far
+restored their natural warmth, that he was able to strike a match and set
+light to his pipe, a large one made of cotton-wood bark, that chanced, by
+great good fortune, to be filled with tobacco to the brim.  This he
+smoked with intense delight, and no doubt the stimulus it afforded saved
+his life.
+
+He was sinking, however, into a dreamy drowsiness, when he was roused by
+a movement among the mules, which cheered him by proving that they were
+still alive.  With some difficulty he lifted his head to get a look at
+the weather, but all was pitch dark.  Was it still night?  Suddenly he
+remembered that he was buried deep in snow, and thrusting his arm above
+him, he worked out a hole, through which he could see the sheen of stars
+and the glimmer of blue sky.  After one or two efforts, he contrived to
+stand on his feet, and then he discovered that morning was dawning slowly
+in the east, whore the horizon was clear of clouds.  By dint of constant
+exertion he regained the use of his limbs, and, springing on his horse,
+drove the mules before him at full speed across the prairie, and through
+the valley, until he reached the Arkansas, where he was welcomed as one
+who had risen from the grave.  It took him two days, however, to recover
+from the effects of that fearful night among the snow.
+
+One of Mr. Ruxton’s most agreeable excursions was to the Boiling Spring
+River and the Boiling Fountains, which he found to be situated in the
+midst of picturesque combinations of wood and rock.  These celebrated
+springs issue from round holes in a large, flat white rock, at some
+distance from each other; the gas escapes with a hissing sound, like that
+of water in a state of ebullition; and the taste is peculiarly
+refreshing, like that of, but seeming more pungent than, the very best
+soda-water.  The Indians call them the “medicine” springs, and regard
+them with superstitious reverence as the haunts of a spirit, who, by
+breathing through the transparent fluid, causes the perturbation of its
+surface.  As to this water-spirit the Arapahoes attribute the power of
+preventing the success or bringing about the failure of their war
+expeditions, they never pass the springs without leaving there some
+propitiatory offerings, such as beads, wampum, knives, pieces of red
+cloth, strips of deerskin, and mocassins.  The country round about was
+formerly in the hands of the Shoshone, or Snake Indians, of whom the
+Comanches are a branch: the latter now dwell to the east of the Rocky
+Mountains; the former to the west, or in the recesses of the mountains
+themselves.
+
+The Snake Indians connect a curious legend with these two springs of
+sweet and bitter water.
+
+They say that, hundreds of years ago, when the cotton-wood trees on the
+Rio Colorado were no higher than arrows, and the red man hunted the
+buffalo on the plains, all people spoke the same language, and two
+parties of hunters never met without smoking together the pipe of peace.
+In this happy age, it chanced on one occasion that a couple of hunters,
+belonging to different tribes, met on the bank of a small rivulet, in
+which they designed to quench their thirst.  A bright clear thread of
+water, trickling from a spring in a rock a few feet from the bank, it
+wound its silvery way into the river.  Now, while one of the hunters
+threw himself at once on the ground, and plunged his face into the
+running stream, the other first flung from his back a fine deer, and
+then, turning towards the spring, poured some of the water out as a
+libation to the Great Spirit, who had rewarded his prowess with bow and
+arrow, and caused the fountain to flow, at which he was about to refresh
+himself.
+
+And it came to pass that the other hunter, who had killed no fat buck,
+and had forgotten to make the usual peace-offering, felt his heart swell
+with rage and jealousy; and the Evil Spirit taking possession of him, he
+sought for an excuse to quarrel with the stranger Indian.  Rising to his
+feet with a moody frown upon his brow, he exclaimed—
+
+“Why does a stranger drink at the spring-head, when one to whom the
+spring belongs is content to drink of the water that runs from it?”
+
+“The Great Spirit,” replied the other, “places the cool water at the
+spring, that his children may drink it pure and undefiled.  The running
+water is for the beasts that inhabit the plains.  Au-sa-qua is a chief of
+the Shoshone, and he drinks at the head of the waters.”
+
+“The Shoshone,” answered the first speaker, “is but a tribe of the
+Comanche.  Wa-co-mish is the chief of the great nation.  Why does a
+Shoshone dare to drink above him?”
+
+“He has said it.  The Shoshone drinks at the spring-head; let other
+nations be satisfied with the water of the stream that runs into the
+fields.  Au-sa-qua is chief of his nation.  The Comanche are brothers;
+let them both drink of the same water.”
+
+“The Shoshone pays tribute to the Comanche.  Wa-co-mish leads that nation
+to war.  Wa-co-mish is chief of the Shoshone, as he is of his own
+people.”
+
+“Wa-co-mish lies,” said Au-sa-qua coldly; “his tongue is forked like the
+rattlesnake’s; his heart is as black as the Misho-tunga (evil spirit).
+When the Manitou made his children, whether Shoshone or Comanche,
+Arapaho, Shi-an, or Pá-ui, he gave them buffalo to eat, and the pure
+water of the crystal fountain to quench their thirst.  He said not to
+one, ‘Drink here,’ or to the other, ‘Drink there,’ but gave to all the
+bright clear fountain, that all might drink.”
+
+A tempest of fury swept over the soul of Wa-comish as he listened to
+these words; but he was a coward at heart, and durst not openly encounter
+the cooler and more courageous Shoshone.  But when the latter, hot with
+speaking, again stooped to drink of the refreshing waters, Wa-co-mish
+suddenly threw himself upon him, pressed his head beneath the surface,
+and held it there, until his victim, suffocated, ceased to struggle, and
+fell forward into the spring, dead.
+
+The murderer had satisfied his passion; but was he happy?  No; as he
+gazed at the corpse of his victim, he was seized with a passionate sense
+of remorse and regret.  Loathing himself for the crime he had committed,
+he proceeded to drag the body a few paces from the water, which,
+thereupon, was suddenly disturbed.  The wave trembled to and fro, and
+bubbles, rising to the surface, escaped in hissing gas.  And, as a
+vaporous cloud gradually rose and sank, the figure of an aged Indian was
+revealed to the murderer’s straining eyes, whom, by his noble
+countenance, his long sinewy hand, and his silvery beard, he knew to be
+the great Wau-kan-aga, the father of the Shoshone and Comanche nation,
+still remembered and revered for the good deeds and the heroic acts he
+had done in life.
+
+Stretching out a war-club towards the shrinking, trembling Wa-co-mish, he
+said:
+
+“Accursed of my tribe! this day hast thou snapt the link that bound
+together the mightiest nations of the world, while the blood of the brave
+Shoshone cries to the Manitou for vengeance.  May the water of thy tribe
+be rank and bitter in their throats!”  And, swinging round his ponderous
+war-club, he dashed out the brains of the treacherous Comanche, so that
+he fell headlong into the spring, which, from that day, has ever been
+nauseous to the taste, and an offence to thirsty lips.  But at the same
+time, to preserve the memory of the noble Au-sa-qua, he struck a hard
+flint rock, higher up the rivulet, with his club, and called forth a
+fountain of crystal water, which, even in our own times, is the joy and
+the delight of men.
+
+“Never,” says Mr. Ruxton, “never was there such a paradise for hunters as
+this lone and solitary spot.  The shelving prairie, at the bottom of
+which the springs are situated, is entirely surrounded by rugged
+mountains, and, containing perhaps about two or three acres of excellent
+grass, affords a safe pasture to their animals, which would hardly care
+to wander from such feeding.  Immediately overhead, Pike’s Peak, at an
+elevation of 12,000 feet above the level of the sea, towers high into the
+clouds; whilst from the fountain, like a granitic amphitheatre, ridge
+after ridge, clothed with pine and cedar, rises and meets the stupendous
+mass of mountains, well called ‘Rocky,’ which stretches far away north
+and southward, their gigantic peaks being visible above the strata of
+clouds which hide their rugged bases.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+But here our companionship with Mr. Ruxton ceases.  His travels in the
+United States do not present any uncommon or remarkable feature; do not
+differ from those of the thousand and one sightseers who yearly cross the
+Atlantic, and survey the broad territories of the great Western Republic.
+With a small party he crossed the wide-rolling prairies to Fort
+Leavenworth; thence, passing the Kansas or Caro river, and entering upon
+a picturesque country of hill and dale, well wooded and watered, he
+penetrated into the valley of the Missouri.  Down that noble stream he
+made his way to St. Louis, and afterwards traversed the prairies of
+Illinois to Chicago; not then, as it is now, the capital of the West, and
+the great corn depôt of the Mississippi States.  From Chicago he crossed
+Lake Michigan to Kalamazoo, where he took the rail to Detroit.  A
+Canadian steamer conveyed him to Buffalo.  Thence, by rail, he travelled
+to Albany, and descended the majestic Hudson to New York.  His home
+voyage was swift and prosperous, and he arrived at Liverpool in the
+middle of August, 1847. {89}
+
+
+
+
+DOCTOR BARTH,
+AND CENTRAL AFRICA.
+
+
+                                A.D. 1850.
+
+
+
+I.
+
+
+DR. HEINRICH BARTH, a native of Hamburg, and lecturer at the University
+of Berlin upon geography, had already had some experience of African
+travel, when, in 1849, he learned that Mr. James Richardson had planned
+an expedition from London to Central Africa, with the view of opening up
+the Soudan to European commerce, and substituting for the cruel
+slave-trade the legitimate enterprise of working the natural riches of
+the country.  Dr. Barth obtained permission to accompany it, and with
+another volunteer, also a German, named Overweg, he repaired to
+head-quarters.  The expedition was authorized and supported by the
+British Government.  It met, therefore, with no preliminary difficulties;
+and we may begin our summary of its adventures at Tripoli, whence it
+started for the south on the 24th of March, 1850.  Entering the Fezzan,
+it crossed the rocky and elevated plateau known as the Hammada, and
+through fertile wadys, or valley-basins, separated by precipitous ridges
+and broad wastes of sand, made its way to Mourzouk, the capital, situated
+in a sandy plain, where agricultural labour is possible only under the
+shelter of the date-palms.  The town has no rich merchants, and is not so
+much a commercial depôt as a place of transit.  For Dr. Barth and his
+companions it was, however, the first stage of their journey, and,
+indeed, their true point of departure.  They made all haste, therefore,
+to leave it, and on the 13th of June entered upon their great
+undertaking.  On the 25th, after an unavoidable delay, they quitted
+Tasua, crossed a considerable mass of sand-hills, and descended into a
+more agreeable district, where the heights were crowned by tamarisk
+trees, each height standing alone and isolated, like sentinels along the
+front of an army.  This pleasant variety of scenery did not last long,
+however; they came again upon a soil as rocky as that of the Hammada, and
+met with an alternation of green valleys and sterile promontories,
+similar to that which they had explored before they reached Mourzouk.
+
+They had reached the Wady Elaveu, a huge depression running north and
+south, when, at a distance of two hundred yards from their camp, they
+discovered a pond, forming a centre of life in that solitary region.
+Everybody hastened to enjoy a bath; a crowd of pintados and gangas
+hovered, with bright-coloured wings, above the laughing, frolicking
+company, waiting until they could take their places.  While in this
+vicinity the travellers were disturbed by the conduct of some Towaregs,
+who had been engaged to conduct them to Selompih.  Eventually, some
+slight change was made in the plans of the expedition, which, it was
+determined, should go on to Ghat, and remain there for six days; while
+the Towaregs, on their part, undertook to set out immediately afterwards
+for the Asben.  Striking into the valley of Tanesof, they saw before
+them, revelling in the glow and gleam of the sunset, the Demons’
+Mountain, or Mount Iniden; its perpendicular summit, adorned with towers
+and battlements, showed its white outlines vividly against a dark-blue
+sky.  Westward, the horizon was bounded by a range of sand-hills, which
+the wind swept like a mighty besom, filling the air with sharp, gritty
+sand, and covering the entire surface of the valley.
+
+On the following morning, their course carried them towards an enchanted
+mountain, which the wild legends of the natives have invested with
+picturesque interest.  In spite of the warnings of the Towaregs, or
+perhaps because they had cautioned Dr. Barth not to risk his life in
+scaling that palace of the evil spirits, he resolved on attempting the
+sacrilegious enterprise.  Unable to obtain guides, neither threats nor
+bribes prevailing over their superstitious terrors, he set out alone, in
+the belief that it had been formerly a place of religious worship, and
+that he should find there either sculptures or curious inscriptions.
+Unfortunately, he took with him no provisions but some biscuits and
+dates, and worse food cannot be imagined where there is a want of water.
+Crossing the sand-hills, he entered upon a bare and sterile plain, strewn
+with black pebbles, and studded with little mounds or hillocks of the
+same colour.  Then he followed the bed of a torrent, its banks dotted
+with herbage, which offered an asylum to a couple of antelopes.  Anxious
+for the safety of their young, the timid animals did not move at his
+approach.  Affection inspired them with courage; they raised their heads
+boldly, and waved their tails.  The enchanted palace seemed to recede as
+he advanced; finding himself in front of a dark deep ravine, he changed
+his course, only to find the passage barred by a precipice.  Under the
+glare and glow of a burning sun he undauntedly pursued his way, and at
+last, spent with fatigue and exertion, reached the summit, which was only
+a few feet wide, and could boast neither of sculptures nor inscriptions.
+
+From so lofty a watch-tower the prospect was necessarily extensive; but
+on surveying the plain below with anxious glance, Dr. Barth failed to
+detect any sign of the caravan.  He was hungry and athirst; but his dates
+and biscuit were not eatable, and his supply of water was so limited that
+he durst not indulge himself with more than a mouthful.  Feeble and spent
+as he was, to descend was imperative; he had no water left when he once
+more stood upon the plain.  He dragged his weary limbs onward for some
+time, but at length was forced to own to himself that he did not know the
+direction he ought to take.  He fired his pistol; but it elicited no
+reply.  Wandering further and further from the route, he came upon a
+small grassy oasis, where some huts had been constructed of the branches
+of the tamarisk.  With hopeful heart he hurried towards them; they were
+empty.  Then in the distance he saw a long train of loaded camels
+ploughing their slow way through the sand; no, it was an illusion!—the
+illusion of fever.  When night fell, he descried a fire gleaming redly
+against the darkened sky; it must be that of the caravan!  Again he fired
+his pistol, and again there was no answer.  Still the flame rose steadily
+towards heaven, and seemed to beckon him to a place where he should find
+rest and safety; but he was unable to profit by the signal.  He fired
+again; no answering sound came forth from the silence of the mysterious
+night, and Dr. Barth, on his knees, entrusted his life to the Divine
+Mercy, and waited and watched for the dawn of day.  The dawn came, as it
+comes to all God’s creatures, whether rich or poor, happy or
+wretched—comes with a blessing and a promise that are too often accepted
+without thought or emotion of gratitude; the dawn came, and still the
+calm of the desert remained unbroken.  He loaded his pistol with a double
+charge, and the report, travelling from echo to echo, seemed loud enough
+to awaken the dead; it was heard by no human ear but his own.  The sun,
+for whose beams he had prayed in the night-watches, rose in all its
+glory; the heat became intense; slowly the belated wayfarer crawled along
+the hot sand to seek the scanty shelter afforded by the leafless branches
+of the tamarisk.  At noon there was scarcely shade enough to protect even
+his head, and in an agony of thirst, he opened a vein, drank a little of
+his own blood, and lost all consciousness.  When he recovered his senses,
+the sun had set behind the mountain.  He dragged himself a few paces from
+the tamarisk, and was examining the dreary level with sorrowful eyes,
+when he suddenly heard the voice of a camel.  Never had he listened to
+music so delightful!  For twenty-four hours had his sufferings been
+prolonged, and he was completely exhausted when rescued by one of the
+Towaregs of the caravan who had been sent in search of him.
+
+The caravan spent six days in the double oasis of Ghat and Barakat, where
+crops of green millet, taking the place of barley and rye, indicated the
+neighbourhood of Nigritiá.  The gardens were neatly fenced and carefully
+cultivated; turtle-doves and pigeons cooed among the branches; the clean,
+well-built houses were each provided with a terraced roof.  Dr. Barth
+observed that the male inhabitants worked with industry and intelligence;
+as for the women, almost every one had a babe on her shoulders, and
+children swarmed by the wayside.  As a whole, the population was far
+superior, physically and morally, to the mixed, hybrid race of the
+Fezzan.
+
+They left the gracious and grateful oasis to plunge into the desert, a
+chaos of sandstone and granite rocks.  On the 30th of July, they reached
+the junction-point of two ravines which formed a sort of “four-ways”
+among these confused masses.  The wady which crossed their route was
+about sixty feet broad, but, at a short distance, narrowed suddenly into
+a defile between gigantic precipices upwards of a thousand feet in
+height—a defile which in the rainy season must be converted into a
+veritable cataract, to judge from an excavated basin at the mouth, which,
+when Dr. Barth and his companions passed, was full of fresh and limpid
+water.  This “four-ways,” and these defiles, form the valley of Aguéri,
+long known to European geographers by the name of Amaïs.
+
+The unpleasant intelligence now arrived that a powerful chief, named
+Sidi-Jalef-Sakertaf, projected an expedition against their peaceful
+caravan.  Fortunately, it was only a question of the tribute which, by
+right of might, the Towaregs levy from every caravan that crosses the
+desert.  Sidi-Jalef-Sakertaf was pacified; and the enthusiasts went on
+their way through sterile valleys and frowning defiles that would have
+daunted the courage of any but a votary of science and adventure.
+
+They next arrived at Mount Tiska, which is six hundred feet in height,
+and surrounded by numerous lesser cones.  It forms a kind of geological
+landmark; for the soil, hitherto so broken and irregular, thenceforward
+becomes smooth and uniform, while rising gradually, and the vast plain
+stretches far beyond the limit of vision without anything to interrupt
+its arid monotony.  A two days’ journey brought our travellers to the
+well of Afelesselez.  It is utterly wanting in shade; only a few clumps
+of stunted tamarisks grow on the sandy hillocks; but, desolate as it is
+and uninviting, the caravans resort to it eagerly, on account of its
+supply of fresh water.
+
+Sand; stones; little ridges of quartzose limestone; granite mixed with
+red sandstone or white; a few mimosas, at intervals of one or two days’
+march; abrupt pinnacles breaking the dull level of the sandstones; dry
+and bushless valleys—such were the features of the country through which
+Dr. Barth and his companions wearily plodded.  Herds of buffaloes,
+however, are numerous; as is also, in the higher ground, the _Ovis
+tragelaphis_.
+
+On the 16th of August the travellers, while descending a rocky crest
+covered with gravel, came in sight of Mount Asben.  The Asben or A’ir is
+an immense oasis, which has some claim to be considered the Switzerland
+of the Desert.  The route pursued by Dr. Barth on his way to Agadez
+traversed its most picturesque portion, where, almost every moment, the
+great mountain revealed itself, with its winding gorges, its fertile
+basins, and its lofty peaks.
+
+Agadez is built on a plain, where it seems to lament that the day of its
+prosperity has passed.  At one time it was the centre of a considerable
+commerce; but, since the close of the last century, its population has
+sunk from sixty thousand to seven or eight thousand souls.  Most of its
+houses lie in ruins; the score of habitations which compose the palace
+are themselves in a deplorably dilapidated condition; of the seventy
+mosques which it previously boasted only two remain.  The richer
+merchants shun the market of Agadez, which is now in the possession of
+the Touats, and supported by small traders, who do a little business in
+the purchase of millet when the price is low.
+
+The day after his arrival, Barth repaired to the palace, and found that
+the buildings reserved for the sovereign were in tolerably good repair.
+He was introduced into a hall, from twelve to fifteen yards square, with
+a low daïs or platform, constructed of mats placed upon branches, which
+supported four massive columns of clay.  Between one of these columns and
+the angle of the wall was seated Abd-el-Kadir, the Sultan, a vigorous and
+robust man of about fifty years old, whose grey robe and white scarf
+indicated that he did not belong to the race of the Towaregs.  Though he
+had never heard of England, he received Dr. Barth very kindly, expressed
+his indignation at the treatment the caravans had undergone on the
+frontier of A’ir, and, by-and-by, sent him letters of recommendation to
+the governors of Kanó, Katséna, and Daoura.  Dr. Barth remained for two
+months at Agadez, and collected a number of interesting details
+respecting its inhabitants and their mode of life.  Thus, he describes a
+visit which he paid to one of its more opulent female inhabitants.  She
+lived in a spacious and commodious house.  When he called upon her, she
+was attired in a robe of silk and cotton, and adorned with a great number
+of silver jewels.  Twenty persons composed her household; including six
+children, entirely naked, their bracelets and collars of silver excepted,
+and six or seven slaves.  Her husband lived at Katséna, and from time to
+time came to see her; but it appears that she scarcely awaited his visits
+with the loving expectancy of a Penelope.  No rigid seclusion of women is
+insisted upon at Agadez.  During the Sultan’s absence, five or six young
+females presented themselves at Dr. Barth’s house.  Two of them were
+rather handsome, with black hair falling down their shoulders in thick
+plaits, quick lively eyes, dark complexion, and a toilette not wanting in
+elegance; but they were so importunate for presents, that Dr. Barth, to
+escape their incessant petitions, shut himself up.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Barth rejoined his companions in the valley of Tin-Teggana.  On the 12th
+of December they resumed their march, crossing a mountainous region,
+intersected by fertile valleys, in which the Egyptian balanite and indigo
+flourished, and finally emerging on the plain which forms the transition
+between the rocky soil of the desert and the fertile region of the
+Soudan—a sandy plain, the home of the giraffe and the antelope leucoryx.
+By degrees it became pleasantly green with brushwood; then the travellers
+caught sight of bands of ostriches, of numerous burrows, especially in
+the neighbourhood of the ant-hills, and those of the Ethiopian
+orycteropus, which have a circumference of three yards to three yards and
+a half, and are constructed with considerable regularity.
+
+The wood grew thicker, the ground more broken, the ant-hills more
+numerous.  As the travellers descended an abrupt decline of about one
+hundred feet, they found the character of the vegetation entirely
+changed.  Melons were abundant; the dilon, a kind of laurel, dominated in
+the woods; then appeared an euphorbia, a somewhat rare tree in this part
+of Africa, in the poisonous juice of which the natives steep their
+arrows; parasites were frequent, but as yet lacked strength and pith; in
+a pool some cows were cooling themselves in the shades of the mimosas
+that fringed its banks; the thick herbage flourishing along the track
+impeded the progress of the camels, and against the horizon were visible
+the fertile undulating meads of Damerghue.  Continuing their journey,
+they came upon a scattered village, where, for the first time, they saw
+that kind of architecture which, with some unimportant modifications,
+prevails throughout Central Africa.  Entirely constructed of the stems of
+the sorghum and the _Asclepias gigas_, the huts of Nigritiá have nothing
+of the solidity of the houses of the A’ir, where the framework is formed
+of the branches and trunks of trees; but they are incontestably superior
+in prettiness and cleanliness.  The traveller, in examining them, is
+impressed by their resemblance to the cabins of the aborigines of Latium,
+of which Vitruvius, amongst others, has furnished a description.  More
+remarkable still are the millstones scattered round the huts; they
+consist of enormous panniers of reeds, placed on a scaffolding two feet
+from the ground, to protect them from the mice and termites.
+
+On their arrival at Tagilet, the travellers separated.  Mr. James
+Richardson undertook the road to Zindu, Overweg that to Marádi, and Barth
+to Kanó.  Kúkáwa was named as the place, and about the 1st of April as
+the date, of their reassembling.  Our business here is with Dr. Barth.
+
+At Tasáwa he gained his first experience of a large town or village in
+Negroland proper; and it made a cheerful impression upon him, as
+manifesting everywhere the unmistakable marks of the comfortable,
+pleasant sort of life led by the natives.  The courtyard, fenced with a
+hedge of tall reeds, excluded to a certain degree the gaze of the
+passer-by, without securing to the interior absolute secrecy.  Then, near
+the entrance, were the cool and shady “runfá,” for the reception of
+travellers and the conduct of ordinary business; and the “gída,” partly
+consisting entirely of reed of the best wicker-work, partly built of clay
+in the lower parts, while the roof is constructed only of reeds,—but
+whatever the material employed, always warm and well adapted for domestic
+privacy; while the entire dwelling is shaded with spreading trees, and
+enlivened with groups of children, goats, fowls, pigeons, and, where a
+little wealth has been accumulated, a horse or a pack-ox.
+
+Dr. Barth afterwards arrived at Katséna, a town of considerable size,
+with a population of eight thousand souls.  It was formerly the residence
+of one of the richest and most celebrated princes in Nigritiá, though he
+paid a tribute of a hundred slaves to the King of Bornu as a sign of
+allegiance.
+
+For two centuries, from 1600 to 1800, Katséna appears to have been the
+principal town in this part of the Soudan.  Its social condition,
+developed by contact with the Arabs, then reached its highest degree of
+civilization; the language, rich in form and pure in pronunciation, and
+the polished and refined manners of the inhabitants, distinguished it
+from the other towns of the Háusa.  But a complete and pitiful change
+took place when, in 1807, the Fulbi, raised to the highest pitch of
+fanaticism by the preaching of the reformer, Othmán dan Fódiye, succeeded
+in gaining possession of the town.  The principal foreign merchants then
+emigrated to Kanó; the Asbenáwa also transferred their salt-market
+thither; and Katséna, notwithstanding its excellent position and greater
+salubrity, is now but of secondary importance as the seat of a governor.
+Mohammed Bello, who held that post at the time of Barth’s visit, either
+through capriciousness or suspicion, was very desirous of sending him on
+to Sokoto, the residence of the Emir.  At first he employed persuasion,
+and when that failed, resorted to force, detaining Barth a prisoner for
+five days.  However, the energy and perseverance of the traveller
+overcame every difficulty; and, having obtained his freedom, he directed
+his steps towards the celebrated commercial entrepôt of the Central
+Soudan.
+
+Kanó, as he says, was an important station for him, not only from a
+scientific, but a financial point of view.  After the extortions of the
+Towaregs, and his long delay in A’ir, he was entirely dependent upon the
+merchandise which had been forwarded thither in advance.  On his arrival,
+he had to liquidate a debt which had risen to the large amount of 113,200
+kurdi; and he was much disheartened by the low value set upon the wares
+which were his sole resource.  Lodged in dark and uncomfortable quarters,
+destitute of money, beset by his numerous creditors, and treated with
+insolence by his servant, his position in the far-famed African city,
+which had so long occupied his thoughts and excited his imagination, was
+the reverse of agreeable.  Anxiety acted upon his physical health, and a
+severe attack of fever reduced him to a state of great weakness.  Yet the
+gloomy colours in which he naturally paints his own condition do not
+extend to his description of Kanó.  _That_ is bright, vivid, and graphic.
+
+The whole scenery of the town—with its great variety of clay houses,
+huts, and sheds; its patches of green pasture for oxen, horses, camels,
+donkeys, and goats; its deep hollows containing ponds overgrown with
+water-plants; its noble trees, the symmetric gónda or papaya, the slender
+date-palm, the spreading alléluba, and the majestic bombyx, or
+silk-cotton tree; the inhabitants, gay in diversified costumes, from the
+half-naked slave to the most elaborately dressed Arab—forms an animated
+picture of a world complete in itself; a strange contrast to European
+towns in external form, and yet, after all, in social inequalities, in
+the difference of happiness and comfort, activity and laziness, luxury
+and poverty, exactly similar.
+
+Here a row of shops is filled with articles of native and foreign
+produce, with noisy buyers and sellers in every variety of figure,
+complexion, and dress, yet all intent upon gain, and endeavouring to get
+the advantage of each other; there, a large shed, like a hurdle, full of
+half-naked, half-starved slaves, torn from their quiet homes, from their
+wives, husbands, parents, arranged in rows like cattle, and staring with
+hopeless eyes upon the purchasers, wondering, perhaps, into whose hands
+it would be their lot to fall.  How dark to them the mystery of life!  In
+another part may be seen all that can minister to human ease and comfort,
+and the wealthy buying dainties and delicacies for his table, while the
+poor man eyes wistfully a handful of grain.  Here a rich governor,
+dressed in silk and gaudy clothes, mounted upon a spirited and richly
+caparisoned horse, is followed by a troop of idle, insolent menials;
+there, a blind pauper gropes his way through the restless, excited
+multitude, and fears at every step to be trodden underfoot.  Observe
+yonder a yard neatly fenced with mats of reed, and provided with all the
+comforts which the country affords; a clean, neat-looking cottage, with
+nicely polished clay walls, a shutter of reeds placed against the low,
+well-rounded door, to forbid abrupt intrusion on the privacy of domestic
+life; a cool shed for the daily household work; a fine spreading alléluba
+tree, affording a pleasant shade in the noontide hours, or a stately
+gónda or papaya lifting its crown of feather-like leaves on a slender,
+smooth, and undivided stem, or the tall and useful date-tree, adding its
+charm to the fair scene of domestic peace and comfort,—the matron, in a
+clean black cotton gown wound round her waist, and with her hair trimly
+dressed, busily preparing the meal for her absent husband, or spinning
+cotton, and at the same time urging the female slaves to pound the corn;
+the children, naked and merry, playing about in the sand, or chasing a
+straggling, stubborn goat; earthenware pots and wooden bowls, cleanly
+washed, all standing in order.  Our survey also includes a “máciná”—an
+open terrace of clay, with a number of dyeing-pans, and people actively
+employed in various processes of their handicraft: one man stirring the
+juice, and mixing some colouring wood with the indigo in order to secure
+the desired tint; another drawing a shirt from the dye-pot, or suspending
+it to a rope fastened to the trees; and a couple of men busily beating a
+well-dyed shirt, and singing the while in good time and tune.  Further
+on, a blacksmith with rude tools that an European would disdain, is
+fashioning a dagger, the sharpness of which will surprise you, or a
+formidable barbed spear, or some implement of husbandry; beyond, men and
+women turn an unfrequented thoroughfare to account by hanging up, along
+the fences, their cotton thread for weaving; and, lastly, close at hand,
+a group of loiterers idle away the sunny hours.
+
+Ever and anon comes upon the scene a caravan from Gónja, with the
+much-prized kola-nut, chewed by all who can spare as much or as little as
+“ten kurdi;” or a caravan passes, laden with natron, bound for Núpa; or a
+troop of Asbenáwa, going off with their salt for the neighbouring towns;
+or some Arabs lead their camels, heavily charged with the luxuries of the
+north and east, to the quarters of the opulent; or a troop of gaudy,
+warlike-looking horsemen dash towards the palace of the governor with
+news from some distant province.  Everywhere you see human life in its
+varied forms, the brightest and the most gloomy closely mixed together,
+as in life itself happiness and sorrow are never divided; every variety
+of national form and complexion—the olive-coloured Arab; the dark Kanuri,
+with his wide nostrils; the small-featured, light, and slender
+Ba-Fillanchi; the broad-faced Ba-Wángara; the stout, large-boned, and
+masculine-looking Núpa female; the well-proportioned and comely Ba-Haúshe
+woman.
+
+The regular population of Kanó numbers about 30,000 souls, but is raised
+to 60,000, from January to April, by the influx of strangers.  Its trade
+principally consists of cotton stuffs sold under the form of tebi, a kind
+of blouse; tenkédi, the long scarf or dark blue drapery worn by the
+women; the zunie, a kind of plaid, very bright in colour; and the black
+turban, worn by the Towaregs.  At Kanó are concentrated also the products
+of northern, eastern, and western Africa, flowing thither through the
+channels of Mourzouk, Ghat, Tripoli, Timbúktu, and the whole of Bornú.
+
+Early in March the intrepid traveller resumed his journey, across an open
+and pleasant country.  At Zurrikulo he entered Bornú proper.  The
+beautiful fan-palm was here the prevailing tree; but as Barth advanced,
+he met with the kuka, or _Adansonia digitata_, and the landscape
+brightened with leafiness, and soon he entered upon a pleasant tract of
+dense green underwood.  “The sky was clear,” he says, “and I was leaning
+carelessly upon my little nag, musing on the original homes of all the
+plants which now adorn different countries, when I saw advancing towards
+us a strange-looking person, of very fair complexion, richly dressed and
+armed, and accompanied by three men on horseback, likewise armed with
+musket and pistols.  Seeing that he was a person of consequence, I rode
+quickly up to him and saluted him, when he, measuring me with his eyes,
+halted and asked me whether I was the Christian who was expected to
+arrive from Kanó; and on my answering him in the affirmative, he told me
+distinctly that my fellow-traveller, Yakúb (Mr. Richardson), had died
+before reaching Kúkáwa, and that all his property had been seized.  This
+sad intelligence deeply affected me; and, in the first moment of
+excitement, I resolved to leave my two young men behind with the camels,
+and to hurry on alone on horseback.  But as I could not reach Kúkáwa in
+less than four days, and as part of the road was greatly infested by the
+Tawárek (or Towaregs), such an attempt might have exposed me to a great
+deal of inconvenience.  Therefore, we determined to go on as fast as the
+camels would allow us.”
+
+Four days later, and Dr. Barth saw before him the wall of white clay
+which surrounds the capital of Bornú.  He entered the gate, and of some
+people assembled there inquired the way to the sheikh’s residence.
+Passing the little market-place, and following the dendal, or promenade,
+he rode straight up to the palace which flanks the palace on the east.
+The sheikh received him cordially, and provided him with quarters closely
+adjoining the vizier’s house; these consisted of two immense courtyards,
+the more secluded of which enclosed, besides a half-finished clay
+dwelling, a spacious and neatly built hut, which, he ascertained, had
+been specially prepared for the reception and accommodation of the
+English mission.  It taxed all Dr. Barth’s energy and perseverance to
+obtain the restoration of Mr. Richardson’s property; but he finally
+succeeded.  He also obtained a loan of money on the credit of the British
+Government, which enabled him to satisfy his creditors, pay Mr.
+Richardson’s servants, and provide for the prosecution of the labours
+which had been so unhappily interrupted.
+
+The capital of Bornú consists of two towns, each surrounded by a wall:
+one, inhabited by the rich, is well built, and contains some very large
+residences; the other is a labyrinth of narrow streets of small and
+squalid houses.  Between the two towns spreads an area of about eight
+hundred yards each way, which, throughout its length, is traversed by a
+great highway, serving as a channel of intercommunication.  This area is
+largely peopled; and a picturesque aspect it presents, with its spacious
+mansions and thatched huts, its solid walls of mud and its fences of
+reeds, varying in colour, according to their age, from the brightest
+yellow to the deepest black.
+
+In the surrounding district are numerous little villages, hamlets, and
+isolated farms, all walled.  Every Monday a fair is held between two of
+these villages, lying beyond the western gate; to which the inhabitant of
+the province brings, on the back of his camel or his ox, his store of
+butter and corn, with his wife perched upon the top of the burden; and
+the Yédiná, that pirate of Lake Tchad, who attracts our admiration by the
+delicacy of his features and the suppleness of his figure, his dried
+fish, flesh of hippopotamus, and whips made of the animal’s leathery
+hide.  Provisions are abundant; but to lay in at one time a week’s supply
+is a wearisome and troublesome task, and a task all the more wearisome
+and burdensome, because there is no standard money for buying and
+selling.  The ancient standard of the country, the pound of copper, has
+fallen into disuse; and the currency partly consists of “gábagá,” or
+cotton-strips, and “kungóna,” or cowries.  A small farmer, who brings his
+corn to the market, will refuse cowries, however, and will rarely accept
+of a dollar.  The would-be purchaser, therefore, must first exchange a
+dollar for cowries; then, with the cowries, must buy a “kúlgu,” or shirt;
+and in this way will be able at last to obtain the required quantity of
+corn.
+
+Provisions are not only abundant, but cheap, and the variety is
+considerable.  For corn,—wheat, rice, and millet; for
+fruits,—ground-nuts, the bito, or fruit of the _Balanites Ægyptiaca_, a
+kind of _physalis_, the African plum, the _Rhamnus lotus_, and the
+dúm-palm; for vegetables—beans and onions, and the young leaves of the
+monkey-bread tree.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Dr. Barth had spent three weeks at Kúkáwa, when, on the evening of the
+14th of April, the Sheikh Omar and his vizier departed on a short visit
+to Ngornu, and at their invitation he followed next morning.  The road
+thither was marked with the monotony which distinguishes the
+neighbourhood of the capital.  At first, nothing is seen but the
+_Asclepias gigas_; then some low bushes of cucifera; and gradually trees
+begin to enliven the landscape.  The path is broad and well trodden, but
+generally consists of a deep sandy soil.  There are no villages along the
+road, but several at a little distance.  Two miles and a half from Ngornu
+the trees cease, giving way to an immense fertile plain where cereals are
+cultivated as well as beans.
+
+At Ngornu, the town of “the blessing,” our traveller arrived about an
+hour after noon.  The heat being very great, the streets were almost
+deserted; but the houses, or rather yards, were crowded, tents having
+been pitched for the accommodation of the visitors.  Except the sheikh’s
+residence, scarcely a clay house was to be seen; yet the town gave a
+general impression of comfort and prosperity, and every yard was fenced
+with new “séggadé” mats, and well shaded by leafy koma-trees, while the
+huts were large and spacious.
+
+Early next morning the indefatigable traveller started forth on horseback
+to refresh himself with a view of Lake Tchad, which he supposed to be at
+no great distance, and of which he indulged the brightest visions.  But
+no shining expanse of fair waters greeted his eye; wherever he directed
+his gaze, he saw only an endless grassy, treeless plain, stretching to
+the farthest horizon.  At length, riding through grass of constantly
+increasing freshness and luxuriance, he reached a shallow swamp, the
+irregular and deeply indented margin of which greatly impeded his
+progress.  After struggling for some time to get clear of it, and vainly
+straining his eyes to discover a shimmer of water in the distance, he
+retraced his steps.  Mentioning on his return the ill success he had met
+with, the vizier undertook to send some horsemen to conduct him along the
+shore as far as Káwa, whence he could cross the country to Kúkáwa.
+
+When the time came, however, the vizier’s promise was represented by two
+horsemen only.  With them Dr. Barth started on his excursion, taking a
+north-east direction.  The broad grassy plain seemed to roll away to an
+immeasurable distance, unrelieved by tree or shrub; not a living creature
+was visible, and the hot rays of the sun fell all around like burning
+arrows.  After about half an hour’s ride, he reached swampy ground,
+through which he and his companions forced their horses, often up to the
+saddle.  Thus they arrived on the margin of a fine open sheet of water,
+fringed thickly with papyrus and tall reed, from ten to fourteen feet
+high, among which wound and interwound the garlands of a yellow-flowered
+climbing plant, called “boibuje.”  Turning to the north, and still
+pushing onward through deep water and grass, he made a small creek called
+Dímbebú, and caught sight of a couple of small flat boats, each about
+twelve feet long, and manned by a couple of men, who, on descrying the
+stranger, pulled off from the shore.  They were Búdduma, or Yédiná, the
+pirates of the Tchad, in search of human prey; and Dr. Barth hastened to
+warn of their presence some villagers who had come to cut reeds for the
+roofs of their huts, and evidently had not caught sight of their enemies.
+He then continued his march.  The sun’s heat was intense, but a fresh
+cooling breeze blowing from the lagoon rendered it endurable.  Large
+herds of kelára, a peculiar kind of antelope, started up as he advanced,
+bounding swiftly over the rushes, and sometimes swimming on the silent
+waters.  They are like the roe in shape and size, with their under parts
+white as snow.  At another creek, which the lake pirates sometimes use as
+a harbour, river-horses abounded, and the air echoed with their snorting.
+This was the easternmost period of Dr. Barth’s ride; turning then a
+little west from north, he and his escort marched over drier
+pasture-grounds, and, in about three miles, struck a deeply indented and
+well-sheltered creek, called Ngómaíen.  Here the curiosity of the
+traveller was rewarded by the sight of eleven boats of the Yédiná.  Each
+was about twenty feet long, tolerably broad, with a low waist, and a high
+pointed prow.  They are made of the narrow planks of the fógo-tree,
+fastened together with ropes from the dúm-palm, the holes being stopped
+with bast.
+
+Another ride, and Dr. Barth turned westward—a course which brought him to
+Maduwári, a pleasant village, lying in the shade of trees, where he
+resolved on halting for the night.  From its inhabitants, who belong to
+the tribe of the Sagárti, he obtained much information respecting the
+numerous islands that stud the surface of the lake.  They also told him
+that the open water begun one day’s voyage from Káya, the small harbour
+of Maduwári, and is from one to two fathoms deep.  It stretches from the
+mouth of the Sháry towards the western shore; all the rest of the lake
+consisting of swampy meadow-lands, occasionally inundated.  Next morning,
+on resuming his journey, he was charmed by the bright and gracious
+picture before him.  Clear and unbroken were the lines of the horizon,
+the swampy plain extending on the right towards the lake, and blending
+with it, so as to allow the mind that delights in wandering over distant
+regions a boundless expanse to rove in—an enjoyment not to be found in
+mountainous regions, be the mountains ever so distant.  Thus they
+travelled slowly northwards, while the sun rose over the patches of water
+which brightened the grassy plain; and on their left the village
+displayed its snug yards and huts, neatly fenced and shaded by spreading
+trees.  At Dógoji he came upon a hamlet or station of cattle-breeders,
+where a thousand head were collected; the herdsmen being stationed on
+guard around them, armed with long spears and light shields.  Equidistant
+poles were fixed in the ground, on which the butter was hung up in skins
+or in vessels made of grass.
+
+Turning to the eastward, Dr. Barth reached the creek “Kógorani,”
+surrounded by a belt of dense reeds, and was there joined by a Kánemma
+chief, named Zaitchua, with five horsemen.  The party rode on towards
+Bolè, passing through very deep water, and obtained a view of the widest
+part of the lake they had yet seen.  A fine open sheet of water, agitated
+by a light easterly wind, rippled in sparkling waves upon the shore.  A
+reedy forest spread all around, while the surface was bright with aquatic
+plants, chiefly the beautiful water-lily, or _Nymphoea lotus_.  Flocks of
+waterfowl of every description played about.  At length they reached
+Káwa, a large straggling village, lying among magnificent trees, where
+Dr. Barth’s’ excursion terminated; thence he returned to Kúkáwa.
+
+On the 7th of May he was joined there by Mr. Overweg, and the two
+travellers immediately made their preparations for resuming the work of
+exploration with which they had been charged by the British Government.
+These were completed by the 29th of May (1851), and the two travellers
+then set out for the southward, accompanied by an officer of the sheikh,
+and attended by a small company of servants and warriors.  A singular
+variety of country greeted them as they moved forward: at first it was
+low and swampy; then came a bare and arid soil, planted with scattered
+tamarisks; next, a dense forest, partly inundated in the rainy season,
+and, afterwards, a broad and fertile plain, sprinkled with villages, and
+white with thriving crops of cotton.  This was the district of Uji, which
+comprises several places of a considerable size.  Thence they entered
+upon a fine open country, a continuous corn-field, interrupted only by
+pleasant villages, and shaded here and there by single monkey-bread
+trees, or Adansonias, and various kinds of fig-trees, with their
+succulent dark-green foliage, or large fleshy leaves of emerald green.  A
+fiumara, or water-course, which rises near Aláwó, traverses the plain
+with numerous curves and bends, and passing Dekùa, falls into the Tchad.
+The travellers crossed it twice before they reached Mabani, a large and
+prosperous town, with a population of nine or ten thousand souls, which
+covers the sides and summit of a hill of sand.  From this point their
+road lay through fertile fields, where they were greeted by the sight of
+the first corn-crop of the season, its fresh and vivid green sparkling
+daintily in the sunshine.  Having crossed and recrossed the fiumara, they
+ascended its steep left bank, which in some places exhibited regular
+strata of sandstone.  Here they passed a little dyeing-yard of two or
+three pots, while several patches of indigo flourished at the foot of the
+bank, and a bustling group of men and cattle were gathered round the
+well.  Villages were seen lying about in every direction; and single
+cottages, scattered about here and there, gave evidence of a sense of
+security.  The corn-fields were most agreeably broken by tracts covered
+with bushes of the wild gónda, which has a most delicious fruit, of a
+fine creamy flavour, and of the size of a peach, but with a much larger
+stone.
+
+Mount Délabida marked the border line of a mountainous region.  After
+entering upon the district of Shamo, Barth observed that millet became
+rare, and that the sorghum was generally cultivated.  Here he and his
+party were joined by some native traders; for robbers haunted the
+neighbourhood, and safety was to be found in numbers.  At every step they
+came upon evidences of the misfortunes which had swept and scathed the
+country: traces of ancient cultivation and ruined huts; and thick
+interwoven jungles, where the grass grew so high as to hide both horse
+and rider.  After three hours’ march through this land of desolation,
+they arrived at what had once been a considerable village, but was then
+inhabited only by a few natives, recently converted to the religion of
+the Crescent.  As but a single hut could be found for the accommodation
+of the whole company, Dr. Barth preferred to encamp in the open air.  But
+he had scarcely laid down to rest, when a terrible storm arose, sweeping
+his tent to the ground, and flooding his baggage with torrents of rain.
+To such adventures is the daring traveller exposed!
+
+Though they had embraced Islam, the natives wore no other clothing than a
+strip of leather passed between the legs, and even this seemed by some of
+them to be considered a superfluity.  The observer could not fail to
+remark their harmonious proportions, their regular features, undisfigured
+by tattooing, and, in not a few cases, presenting no resemblance to the
+negro type.  The difference of complexion noticeable in individuals
+presumably of the same race, was remarkable.  With some it was a
+brilliant black; with others a rhubarb colour, and there was no example
+of an intermediate tint; the black, however, predominated.  A young woman
+and her son, aged eight years, formed a group “quite antique,” and worthy
+of the chisel of a great artist.  The child, especially, in no respect
+yielded to the ancient Discophorus; his hair was short and curled, but
+not woolly; his complexion, like that of his mother and the whole family,
+was of a pale or yellowish red.
+
+Re-entering the forest, Dr. Barth observed that the clearings bore the
+imprints of the feet of elephants of all ages.  A wealth of flowers
+loaded the atmosphere with fragrant incense.  But the soil soon
+deteriorated; the trees were nearly all mimosas, and nearly all of
+indifferent growth, with here and there a large leafless Adansonia
+flinging abroad, as if in despair, its gaunt gigantic arms; while the
+herbage consisted only of single tufts of coarse grass, four or five feet
+high.  When things are at their worst they begin to mend; and for the
+traveller there is no motto more applicable than the old proverb, that it
+is a long lane which has no turning.  With intense delight Dr. Barth and
+his companions saw the monotonously gloomy forest giving way to scattered
+clusters of large and graceful trees, such as generally indicate the
+neighbourhood of human labour.  And they soon emerged upon bright green
+meadow-lands extending to the base of the Wandala mountain-range, which
+rose like a barrier of cloud upon the horizon, from north to south.  The
+highest elevation of this range is about 3000 feet; its average elevation
+does not exceed 2500 feet.  Behind it, to a point of 5000 feet above the
+sea, rises the conical mass of Mount Mendefi, first seen by gallant Major
+Denham.  The country now gradually assumed a wilder aspect; rocks of
+sandstone and granite projected on all sides, while, in front, a little
+rocky ridge, densely crowded with bush and tree, seemed to form a _ne
+plus ultra_.  Suddenly, however, a deep recess opened in it, and a
+village was seen, lying most picturesquely in the heart of the rocks and
+woods.  This was Laháula, where the travellers rested for the night.
+Next day they reached Uba, on the border of A’damáwa; A’damáwa, described
+by Dr. Barth as “a Mohammedan kingdom engrafted upon a mixed stock of
+pagan tribes—the conquest of the valorous and fanatic Pállo chieftain,
+A’dáma, over the great pagan kingdom of Fúmbiná.”
+
+Here the camels greatly excited the curiosity of the population; for they
+are rarely seen in A’damáwa, the climate of which these animals are
+unable to endure for any length of time.  Still more vivid was the
+curiosity of the governor and his courtiers, when they saw Dr. Barth’s
+compass, chronometer, telescope, and the small print of his Prayer-Book.
+The Fulbi, he says, are intelligent and civilized, but prone to malice;
+they lack the good nature of the real blacks, from whom they differ more
+in their character than their colour.
+
+At Bagma our travellers were struck by the size and shape of the huts,
+some of them being from forty to sixty feet long, about fifteen broad,
+and from ten to twelve feet high.  They narrowed above to a ridge, and
+were thatched all over, no distinction being made between roof and wall.
+They are so spaciously constructed, in order to provide a shelter for the
+cattle against the inclemency of the weather.  The river separates the
+village, which is inhabited entirely by Mohammedans, into two quarters.
+“The news of a marvellous novelty soon stirred up the whole place, and
+young and old, male and female, all gathered round our motley troop, and
+thronged about us in innocent mirth, and as we proceeded the people came
+running from the distant fields to see the wonder; but the wonder was not
+myself, but the camel, an animal which many of them had never seen,
+fifteen years having elapsed since one had passed along this road.  The
+chorus of shrill voices, ‘Gelóba, gelóba!’ was led by two young wanton
+Púllo girls, slender as antelopes, and wearing nothing but a light apron
+of striped cotton round their loins, who, jumping about and laughing at
+the stupidity of these enormous animals, accompanied us for about two
+miles along the fertile plain.  We passed a herd of about three hundred
+cattle.  Gradually the country became covered with forest, with the
+exception of patches of cultivated ground.”  Through scenery of this
+interesting character, the travellers pushed on to Mbtudi.
+
+Next day their route laid through well-wooded and well-watered pastures,
+and immense fields of millet and ground-nuts, which here form as large a
+proportion of the food of the people as potatoes do in Europe.  Dr. Barth
+liked them very much, especially if roasted, for nibbling after supper,
+or even as a substitute for breakfast on the road.  From Segero the
+travellers proceeded to Sara’wu, and thence to Béhur.  Forest and
+cultivated land alternated with one another to the margin of a little
+lake, lying in a belt of tall thick grass, where the unwieldy river-horse
+snorted loud.  The sky was dark with clouds, and a storm was gathering,
+when the caravan entered the narrow streets of Salléri.  That night it
+obtained but scanty accommodation, and everybody was glad to find the
+next morning bright and cheerful, so that the march could be resumed.
+Their course was directed towards the river Bénuwé.  The neighbourhood of
+the water was first indicated by numerous high ant-hills, which, arranged
+in almost parallel lines, presented a sufficiently curious spectacle.  To
+the north-west towered the insulated colossal mass of Mount Atlantika,
+forming a conspicuous and majestic object in the landscape.  The savannas
+were now overgrown with tall rank grass, and broken by many considerable
+pools, lying in deep hollows; every year, in the rainy season, they are
+under water.  Crossing these low levels with some difficulty, Dr. Barth
+arrived on the banks of the Bénuwé.  A broad and noble stream, it flowed
+from east to west through an entirely open country.  The banks were
+twenty to thirty feet high; while, immediately opposite to the
+traveller’s station, behind a pointed headland of sand, the river Fáro,
+which has its source on the eastern side of Mount Atlantika, came in with
+a bold sweep from the south-east, and poured its tributary waters into
+the Bénuwé.  The Bénuwé, below the point of junction, bends slightly to
+the north, runs along the northern foot of Mount Bágelé, thence traverses
+the mountainous region of the Báchama and Zina to Hamárruwa and the
+industrious country of Korórofa, until it joins the great western river
+of the Kwára, or Niger.
+
+The passage of the Bénuwé, which is here about eight hundred yards wide,
+was safely accomplished in the native canoes, nor did any mishap occur in
+the transit of the Fáro, which measures about six hundred yards.  The
+current of the Fáro has a velocity of about five miles an hour; that of
+the Bénuwé does not exceed three miles and a half.  By way of Mount
+Bágelé, and through the rich low lands of Ribágo, the travellers repaired
+to Yola, the capital of A’damáwa.
+
+
+
+
+II.
+
+
+Yola, the capital of A’damáwa, lies four degrees to the south of Kuka, on
+the Fáro, in a marshy plain, which presents nothing attractive to the eye
+of an artist.  Dr. Barth describes it as a large open place, consisting
+mainly of conical huts, surrounded by spacious court-yards, and even by
+corn-fields; only the houses of the governor and his brothers being built
+of clay.  When he entered it, Lowel, the governor, was in his fields, and
+could not be seen; but on his return the travellers proceeded to his
+“palace” to pay their respects.  They were not allowed an interview,
+however, until the following day, and then it was anything but
+satisfactory.  The officer who had accompanied them from Kuka took the
+opportunity of delivering certain despatches; and as they proved
+displeasing to the governor, he immediately vented his wrath upon Dr.
+Barth, accusing him of treacherous intentions.  The audience terminated
+in confusion, and next day but one, Dr. Barth was ordered to leave Yola,
+on the pretence that his sojourn there could not be allowed unless he
+obtained the authorization of the Sultan of Sokoto.  He was suffering
+from fever, and the heat of the day was excessive, but at once made
+preparations for departure.  Sitting firmly in his large Arab stirrups,
+and clinging to the pommel of his saddle, he turned his horse’s head
+towards Bornú, and, though he fainted twice, was soon invigorated by a
+refreshing breeze, which opportunely rose with healing on its wings.
+
+But he was really ill when he arrived at Kúkáwa, and, unhappily, the
+rainy season had begun.  During the night of the 3rd of August, the storm
+converted his sleeping apartment into a small lake, and his fever was
+seriously aggravated.  The pools which formed in every nook and corner of
+the town were rendered pestiferous by the filth of all kinds which
+stagnated in them.  He ought to have withdrawn to some healthier country,
+but, in order to pay the debts of the expedition and prepare for new
+explorations, was compelled to remain and sell the merchandise which had
+arrived in his absence.  He made all haste, however, to discharge this
+duty; and when, early in September, the Government despatched a body of
+the Welád Shinán—Arab mercenaries whom they had enlisted—to reconquer the
+eastern districts of the province of Kánem, he attached himself to the
+expedition, accompanied by his fellow-traveller, Overweg.
+
+In the course of this new journey they obtained another view of Lake
+Tchad, under peculiar circumstances.  It was about seven o’clock in the
+morning.  Far to their right, a whole herd of elephants, arranged in
+almost military array, like an army of rational beings, slowly proceeded
+to the water.  In front appeared the males, as was evident from their
+size, in regular order; at a little distance followed the young ones; in
+a third line were the females; and the whole were brought up by five
+males of immense size.  The latter, though the travellers were riding
+along quietly, and at a considerable distance, took notice of them, and
+some were seen throwing dust into the air; but no attempt was made to
+disturb them.  There were altogether about ninety-six.
+
+Barth and Overweg returned to Kúkáwa on the 14th of November, but ten
+days afterwards they again sallied forth, accompanying another warlike
+expedition, which had been ordered to march against Mánderá.  It
+presented, however, few features of interest or importance.  The
+indefatigable pioneers were back again in Kúkáwa on the 1st of February,
+1852, and there they remained until the 1st of March.  Though crippled by
+want of means, enfeebled by fever, and beset by a thousand difficulties,
+Dr. Barth resolved on continuing his work of exploration, and, on the
+17th of March, entered into Bagirmi, a region never before visited by
+Europeans.
+
+Bagirmi forms an extensive table-land, with an inclination towards the
+north, and an elevation of 900 to 1000 feet above the sea-level.  It
+measures about 240 miles from north to south, and 150 from east to west.
+In the north lie some scattered mountain ranges, which separate the two
+basins of Lake Fittri and Lake Tchad.  The chief products are sorghum,
+millet, sesamum, poa, wild rice, haricot beans, water-melons, citron, and
+indigo.  Very little grain is cultivated.  The population numbers about
+1,500,000 souls.
+
+On reaching the broad stream of the Koloko, Dr. Barth found that he was
+suspected of treacherous designs against the throne of Bagirmi, and the
+boatmen refused to ferry him across, unless he obtained the Sultan’s
+permission.  Resolved not to be baffled on the threshold of his
+enterprise, he retraced his steps for about two miles, then turned to the
+north-east, and at Mili succeeded in effecting the passage of the river.
+The country through which he advanced was fertile and well cultivated;
+village succeeded village in an almost unbroken series; here and there
+groups of natives issued from the thick foliage; numerous herds of cattle
+were feeding in the rich green water-meadows, and among them birds of the
+most beautiful plumage, and of all descriptions and sizes, sported upon
+nimble wing.  The gigantic pelican dashed down occasionally from some
+neighbouring tree; the marabout stood silent, with head between its
+shoulders, like a decrepit old man; the large-sized azure-feathered
+“dédegami” strutted proudly along after its prey, the plotus, and
+extended its long snake-like neck; and the white ibis searched eagerly
+for food, with various species of ducks, and numerous other lesser birds,
+in larger or smaller flights.
+
+But an unexpected obstacle arrested his progress; an official arrived
+with an intimation that he could not be allowed to continue his advance
+without the formal consent of the supreme authority.  He therefore sent
+forward a messenger with letters to the capital, and retraced his steps
+to Mili, to await his return.  He had not long to wait.  The messenger
+made his appearance on the following day, bearing a document with a large
+black seal, which directed him to proceed to Búgomán, a place higher up
+the river, until an answer could be obtained from the Sultan, who was
+then absent on a campaign in Gógomi.  But on his arrival at Búgomán, the
+governor refused to receive him, and the unfortunate traveller was glad
+to find a resting-place at Bákadá.  There he had time and opportunity to
+meditate on the vast numbers of destructive worms and ants which
+afflicted the land of Bagirmi; especially a terrible large black worm, as
+long as, but much bigger than, the largest of European grubs, which, in
+its millions, consumes an immense proportion of the produce of the
+natives.  There is also an injurious beetle, yellow as to colour, and
+half an inch as to length; but the people of Bagirmi take their revenge
+upon this destroyer by eating him as soon as he has grown fat at their
+expense.  As for the ants, both black and white, they are always and
+everywhere a scourge and a calamity.  Of the termites, or so-called white
+ants, which, by the way, are not really ants, Dr. Barth had unpleasant
+experience.  As early as the second day of his sojourn at Bákadá, he
+observed that they were threatening his couch, which he had spread on a
+mat of the thickest reeds, with total destruction.  To circumvent their
+devices, he elevated it upon three large poles; but in two days’ time
+they had not only raised their entrenchments along the poles to the very
+top, but had eaten through mat and carpet, and accomplished much general
+depredation.
+
+No reply arriving from the Sultan, Barth not unnaturally lost patience,
+and decided on quitting the inhospitable Bagirmi, and returning to
+Kúkáwa.  But he was closely watched; and on arriving at Mili, was
+arrested by order of the governor, who took possession of his arms, his
+baggage, his watch, his papers, his compass, and his horse, and placed
+him in charge of a couple of sentinels.  Happily, while at Bákadá he had
+made a powerful friend, who, making his appearance at Mili, interfered on
+his behalf, obtained the restoration of his property, and conducted him
+in person to Másená, the capital.  There he was lodged in a clay house
+standing in an open courtyard, which was likewise fenced by a low clay
+wall.  The house contained an airy front room, which he found very
+comfortable, and four small chambers at the back, useful for stowing away
+luggage and provisions.
+
+Másená occupies a considerable area, the circumference of which measures
+about seven miles; but only about half this space is inhabited, the
+principal quarter being formed in the midst of the town on the north and
+west of the Sultan’s palace, while a few detached quarters and isolated
+yards lie straggling about as outposts.  Its most distinctive feature is
+a deep trough-like bottom, running from east to west, which in the rainy
+season is filled with water, in the summer with verdure of the greatest
+luxuriance.  To the south of this hollow, or bedá, lies the principal
+quarter, which, however, is by no means thickly inhabited.  In the centre
+stands the palace; which is simply an irregular cluster of clay buildings
+and huts, surrounded by a wall of baked bricks.  Generally speaking, the
+appearance of the town was one of decay and dilapidation; yet, as all the
+open grounds were enlivened with fresh green pasture, it was not
+deficient in a certain charm.  There are no signs of industrial activity.
+The market-place is rather small, and without a single stall or shed.
+The chief feature of interest is the bedá, which is bordered on the
+south-west by picturesque groups of dúm-palms and other trees of fine
+foliage; while at the western end, as well as on the south-east, spreads
+a large tract of market-gardens.
+
+In general, the houses are well built, and the thatched roofs are formed
+with care, and even with neatness; but the clay is not of a good kind for
+building, and the clay houses afford so little security from the rains,
+that most persons prefer to reside during that part of the year in huts
+of straw and reed.
+
+While waiting the Sultan’s arrival, Dr. Barth’s time was chiefly occupied
+in defending himself against the attacks of the large black ant (_Termes
+mordax_).  One day, in particular, he maintained a long and desperate
+encounter with a host of these voracious little insects.  In a thick
+unbroken column, about an inch broad, they had marched over the wall of
+the courtyard, and entering the hall where he abode both day and night,
+advanced right upon the store-room.  But his couch being in their way,
+they immediately assailed his own person, and compelled him to decamp.
+Assisted by his servants, he then fell upon the bandits, killing all the
+stragglers and foragers, and burning the main body of the army as it
+proceeded on its way.  But fresh legions arrived on the scene of war, and
+it took a struggle of two hours’ duration thoroughly to break up their
+lines, and put them to flight.
+
+The insects seemed to have been attracted by the corn which Dr. Barth had
+stored up.  But it must be owned that, if inconvenient in one respect,
+their attacks are beneficial in another; for they destroy all kinds of
+vermin, mice included.  And while they thus act as the “scavengers of the
+houses,” in many parts of Negroland they also render service through
+their very greediness in gathering what man would fain appropriate for
+himself.  They lay in such considerable stores of corn, that the poor
+natives frequently dig out their holes in order to gain possession of
+their supplies.
+
+It was on the 3rd of July that the Sultan appeared before the walls of
+his capital, escorted by about eight hundred cavalry.  At the head of the
+_cortége_ rode the lieutenant-governor, surrounded by a troop of
+cavaliers.  Then came the Barma, followed by a man carrying a spear of
+ancient and peculiar shape, designed to represent the “fetish,” or idol
+of Kénga-Matáya, the original patrimony of the kings of Bagirmi.  Next
+rode the Fácha, or commander-in-chief, who is the second person in the
+kingdom; and after him the Sultan himself, attired in a yellow burnous,
+and mounted on a grey charger, the points of which could hardly be seen
+owing to the amplitude of the war-trappings that hung about him.  Nor was
+the head of his rider much more plainly visible, not only on account of
+the horsemen gathered round him, but more particularly owing to two
+umbrellas—one of green, the other of red—borne on each side of him by a
+couple of slaves.
+
+Six slaves, their right arms clad in iron, fanned the magnificent prince
+with ostrich feathers attached to long poles, while round about him were
+gathered a motley array of his captains and courtiers, gay in burnouses
+of various colours, or in shirts of black or blue.  Behind them followed
+the war-camel, bestridden by the drummer, Kodgánga, who made the echoes
+resound with the clang of a couple of kettle-drums, fastened on each side
+of the animal; and the charivari was swelled by the exertions of three
+musicians, two of whom played upon horns, and the third upon a bugle.
+Mention must be made of the long train of the Sultan’s female slaves, or
+favourites, forty-five in number, all mounted upon horseback, all dressed
+from head to foot in black cloth, and all guarded by a slave on either
+side.  The procession was terminated by a train of eleven camels,
+carrying the baggage.
+
+A day or two afterwards, an officer of the Sultan demanded Dr. Barth’s
+attendance at the palace.  He hastened thither; and being admitted into
+an inner courtyard, found the courtiers sitting on either side of a door,
+which was protected by screenwork made of very fine reeds.  Being desired
+to sit down, along with his companions, and ignorant whom he should
+address, he asked in a loud voice if the Sultan ’Abdel-Kadir were
+present.  A clear voice, from behind the screen, answered that he was.
+When fully satisfied that he was addressing the prince, he proceeded to
+offer his respects, and present the compliments of the great and powerful
+British Government, which desired to be on terms of unity with so
+illustrious a prince.  His speech, which he delivered in Arabic, was
+translated by an interpreter, and received a favourable reply.  His
+presents also were accepted with satisfaction, and the audience ended.
+Next day he had a second audience, at which he expressed his desire to
+return to Kúkáwa.  After some slight delay, he obtained the Sultan’s
+leave to depart, and was supplied with a camel and two horsemen to assist
+him on his journey.  Well pleased with the result of his visit to Másená,
+after the inauspicious circumstances which had attended its commencement,
+he set out on his return to the capital of Bornú, and arrived there in
+safety on the 21st of August.  He was glad to find Mr. Overweg in
+excellent spirits, for liberal supplies had been forwarded by the British
+Government, though looking physically weak and exhausted.  The sheikh
+received him with great cordiality, and he enjoyed a degree of comfort
+and repose to which he had long been a stranger.
+
+His business, however, was to explore unknown countries, and to open up
+new paths to the enterprise of commerce.  Considering it almost
+impossible to penetrate southward, on account of the obstacles thrown in
+his way by the native princes, he meditated a journey westward in the
+hope of reaching the celebrated city of Timbúktu, at one time the centre
+of so many extravagant legends.  The fulfilment of his projects was
+delayed by an unhappy calamity.  During a short excursion in the
+neighbourhood of Kúkáwa, Mr. Overweg got wet, caught a chill, and was
+afterwards seized with a violent fever, which carried him off in a few
+hours (September 27th).  He died, a martyr to science, and one of the
+many victims of African exploration, in his thirtieth year.
+
+A delay of some weeks was the necessary result of this melancholy event;
+but Barth, though left alone, was not to be turned aside from the great
+object of all his labours.  His gaze was directed towards the
+Niger—towards the _terra incognita_ which lay between the route pursued
+by the French traveller, Caillé, and the region in which Lander and Major
+Clapperton had achieved so many important discoveries.  His preparations
+completed, he took final leave of Kúkáwa on the 25th of November; and on
+the 9th of December had crossed the frontier of Háusa.  On the 12th he
+directed his course towards the north-east, and the mountain region of
+Múniyo.  The road waved, serpent-like, through a succession of valleys,
+the green sides of which were covered with groves and villages.  Múniyo
+takes the form of a wedge, or triangle, the apex projecting towards the
+desert.  The home of a peaceful and industrious population, who flourish
+under a mild and orderly government, it presents an agreeable contrast to
+the neighbouring territories, inhabited by nomads.  Its rulers, men of
+courage and energy, have not only been able to defend their country
+against the attacks of the Babus, but to encroach upon the district of
+Diggéra, which had submitted to the latter.  The chief of this
+independent province can bring into the field, it is said, an army of
+1500 horse and 9000 or 10,000 archers; and his revenue amounts to
+30,000,000 kurdi (about £6000) a year, without counting the tax which he
+levies on the crops.
+
+Barth diverged somewhat to the westward in order to visit U’shek, the
+largest corn-producing district in western Bornú; it is characterized by
+a curious alternation of luxuriance and sterility.  At the foot of a
+mountain lies a barren, desolate tract, on the very threshold of which
+lies an undulating country, bright with date-palms and tamarisks, with
+crystal pools and rich grasses.  Around the town of U’shek spreads a
+glittering girdle of corn-fields, onion-beds, cotton-fields, in various
+stages of development.  Here the labourer is breaking up the clods and
+irrigating the soil; there, his neighbour is weeding out his blooming
+crops.  The vegetation everywhere is abundant.  The accumulation of
+refuse prevents you, however, from gaining a general view of the village,
+which lurks in the sheltering folds of the soil; but the main group of
+houses surrounds the foot of an eminence, crowned by the habitation of
+the chief.  Observe that while the huts are made of reeds and the stems
+of millet, the towers in which the grain is pounded are constructed of
+clay, and ten feet in height.
+
+Beyond U’shek stretches a sandy table-land, waving with a dense growth of
+reeds, and intersected by fertile valleys.  Then comes a spur of the
+mountain-range which rises in the south-west; an irregular and broken
+plain, carpeted with grass and broom; a jungle of mimosas, dense thickets
+of capparis, and at intervals small patches of cultivated land.  The
+climate is intensely hot; the very soil seems to burn; and our traveller,
+feeling himself ill, was forced to rest.  During the night, a cold
+north-east wind covered him and his followers with the feathery awns of
+the pennixtum; and they rose in the morning in a condition of
+indescribable uneasiness.  The next night was also cold; but there was no
+wind.
+
+At Badámuni, the fertile fields are brightened with springs, which feed a
+couple of lakes, connected by a canal.  Notwithstanding this channel of
+intercommunication, one of these lakes is of fresh water; the other
+brackish, and strongly impregnated with natron.  It is noticeable that in
+this region all the valleys and all the mountain-chains run from
+north-east to south-west, and the direction of the two lakes is the same.
+Their margin is fringed with papyrus, except that at the point where the
+water turns brackish the papyrus is succeeded by the kumba, the pith of
+which is edible.  Dr. Barth’s two attendants, born on the shores of the
+Tchad, immediately recognized this species of reed as growing in a
+similar manner at the point where that great inland sea touches the
+basins of nature that surround it.  It is a curious circumstance that
+while the lake of fresh water is of a bright blue, and calm and smooth as
+a mirror, the other is green as the sea, and heaves to and fro in
+constant commotion, rolling its foamy waves to the beach, which they
+strew with marine weeds.
+
+The town of Zindu is protected by a rampart and ditch.  Its aspect is
+remarkable: a mass of rock rises in the western quarter; and outside the
+walls stony ridges run in all directions, throwing forth a myriad crystal
+streams, which fertilize the tobacco-fields, and secure for the immediate
+neighbourhood an exceptional fertility.  The landscape is enlivened by
+frequent clumps of date-palms and by the huts of the Touaregs, who
+conduct a brisk trade in salt.  To the south extends an immense piece of
+ground, utilized, at the time of Dr. Barth’s visit, as a garden of
+acclimatization.  It is easy, let us say, to define the ground-plan of
+Zindu, but not to depict the stir and movement of which it is the centre,
+limited as that activity may be, compared with the feverish and
+far-reaching life of the industrial centres of Europe.  Zindu has no
+other manufacture than that of indigo; nevertheless, its commercial
+energy is so great that it may justly be termed “the port of the Soudan.”
+
+Here Dr. Barth received the welcome supply of a thousand dollars, which,
+not to excite suspicion, had been carefully concealed in a couple of
+sugar barrels.  He was enabled, therefore, to purchase the articles
+necessary for barter or gifts in his expedition to Timbúktu, such as red,
+white, and yellow burnouses, turbans, cloves, cutlery, beads, and
+looking-glasses; and on the 30th of January, 1853, he resumed his march.
+
+The country he had to traverse was the scene of incessant warfare between
+the Fulbi and the independent tribes.  At the outset he met with some
+salt merchants from A’ir, whose picturesque encampments would have
+delighted an artist’s eye, but did not add to the security of the roads.
+He arrived in safety, however, on the 5th of February, at Kátséna, and
+took up his quarters in a residence specially assigned to him.  The house
+was spacious; but so full of ants, that, having rested himself for an
+hour on a bank of clay, he found that the freebooters had climbed the
+wall, constructed covered galleries right up to his person, and delivered
+a combined attack upon his shirt, in which they had eaten large holes.
+
+The governor of Kátséna gave our traveller a courteous reception, and
+deigned to accept with evident satisfaction the burnouses, cafton, cup,
+two loaves of sugar, and pistol, which Dr. Barth offered him.  The pistol
+gave him so much pleasure that he asked for a second; and, of course, a
+refusal was impossible.  Thenceforth he ate and drank and walked and
+slept with his two pistols in his belt, and terrified everybody who
+approached him by snapping caps in their face.  It happened that, at this
+time, the ghaladima of Sikoto, inspector of Kátséna, was in the town
+collecting tribute.  He was a frank and simple-natured man, neither very
+generous nor very intelligent, but of benevolent disposition and sociable
+character.  Dr. Barth purchased some silk and cotton stuffs from the
+looms of Mepè and Kanó, and being very anxious to pursue his journey,
+waited for the ghaladima to set out, in order to enjoy the advantage of
+his escort.  It was on the 21st of March that this high official,
+accompanied by our traveller, took his departure.  The governor attended
+them as far as the limits of his jurisdiction, and they had a numerous
+guard; while, as a further protection against mishaps, they steered to
+the south, instead of to the west, in which direction war was raging.
+
+It was the happy time of spring; a bloom was on the earth, and a light
+and perfume in the air; nature put on her greenest attire; the alleluba,
+the parkia, the cucifera, the bombyx rose in masses of foliage.  The
+country through which the travellers rode was fair and fertile, populous
+and well cultivated; the pastures echoed with the low of cattle; the
+fields rejoiced in profuse crops of yams and tobacco.  In the district of
+Maja, cotton, indigo, potatoes were grown on a very large scale.  Beyond
+Kuruyá, a town of 5000 to 6000 souls, the fertility of the land
+increased, if such increase were possible; the many-rooted banyan, or
+Indian fig-tree, displayed its colossal splendour:—
+
+                         “Irregularly spread,
+    Fifty straight columns propped its lofty head;
+       And many a long depending shoot,
+             Seeking to strike its root,
+    Straight, like a plummet, grew towards the ground;
+    Some on the lower boughs, which curved their way,
+       Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round,
+       With many a ring and wild contortion wound;
+       Some to the passing wind, at times, with sway
+             Of gentle motion moving;
+    Others of younger growth, unmoved, were hung
+    Like stone-drops from the cavern’s fretted height.”
+
+Bassiaparkia, sorghum, and millet were abundant.  But at Kulfi the
+travellers reached the limit which divides the Mohammedans from the
+heathens—civilization (imperfect and undeveloped, if you will, but not
+wholly without a respect for law and order) and barbarism.  As Dr. Barth
+advanced, he seemed to pass from spring to winter; cultivation
+disappeared; villages ruined and silent bore witness to the desolating
+work of war; and it was only by the cattle browsing in the scanty
+pastures that he knew the land was not entirely deserted.  At Zekka, a
+town of some importance, with wall and ditch, he separated from the
+ghaladima, and, through a dense forest, pushed forward to the ruins of
+Moniya.  He had intended to halt there, but an armed force had encamped
+at Moniya on the preceding evening, and he retreated into the shelter of
+the forest until the morning.  A day’s march brought him to Zyrmi, a
+considerable town, the governor of which was formerly chief of the whole
+province of Zanfara.
+
+On the 31st of March, he stood on the border of the Gúndúmi Desert, of
+the passage of which Major Clapperton has left so exciting a narrative.
+It is passable only by a forced march.  Dr. Barth began by striking too
+far to the south, and lost valuable time in the midst of an impervious
+jungle.  Recovering the direct track, he marched all that day, all that
+night, without seeing any sign of human life, and until the middle of the
+following day, when he met some horsemen who had been sent forward to
+meet him, with vessels of water.  Two miles further, and he could see the
+village where the Emir Aliyú had pitched his camp; he was then at war
+with the people of Gober.  For thirty hours he and his followers had
+marched without a halt; they were completely spent, and the men, in their
+absolute weariness, fell prostrate upon the ground.  The intrepid Barth
+rallied his energies; his excitement dispelled the sense of fatigue; and
+he searched his baggage for some valuable gift to the Emir, who was to
+depart on the following day, for upon him and his favour the success of
+his enterprise wholly depended.  The day glided by, and he had begun to
+despair of being admitted to an audience; but in the evening the Emir
+sent him an ox, four fat sheep, and four hundred parcels of rice, and a
+message to the effect that he awaited his visit.  It must be owned that
+some of these barbaric potentates do things right royally!
+
+Dr. Barth entered the august presence.  The Emir immediately seized him
+by the hand, made him sit down, and interrupted him when he began to
+excuse himself for not having visited Sokotó before he went to Kúkáwa.
+His two requests, for the Emir’s safe-conduct as far as Timbúktu, and a
+royal letter guaranteeing the lives and property of Englishmen visiting
+his territories, he received very favourably; affirming that his sole
+thought was for the welfare of humanity, and, consequently, he desired to
+promote the friendly intercourse of all nations.  Next day Barth had
+another interview, and offered a second supply of presents.  He describes
+the Emir as a strongly built man, of average stature, with a round, full,
+but not unpleasant face.
+
+On the 4th of April, with the royal letter, of which he had dictated the
+terms, and a hundred thousand kurdis which the prince had generously sent
+to him to defray his expenses during his absence, he took up his
+residence at Vurno, the Emir’s usual abode.  The unsavoury condition of
+the town, which was traversed by a _cloaca_ more disgusting even than
+those of Italy, surprised and shocked him.  Outside the walls, the
+Gulbi-n-rima formed several basins of stagnant water in the middle of a
+plain, where the traveller’s camels sadly pined for pasture.  The
+frontiers of three provinces—Kebbi, Adar, and Gober—meet in this arid
+plain, which, however, after the rainy season, wears a completely
+different aspect.
+
+The town became more and more deserted; daily its notables departed to
+join the Emir; though, as a rule, these warriors cared only for their own
+pleasure, and would sell their weapons for a dram of kola-nut wine.  In
+no part of Negroland did Dr. Barth see less military ardour or more
+physical depression.  Meanwhile, he amused himself by collecting
+topographical details, studying the history of the country, and making
+excursions in the neighbourhood; among others to Sokotó, on the river
+Bugga.  It was not until the 23rd of April that the Emir returned to his
+capital, after an expedition which, if not glorious, had been at least
+successful.  Always generous towards Dr. Barth, he had invited him to
+meet him, and king and traveller went together to the palace.  On the
+same day, Barth made him a present of a musical box, which appears to be
+the prize most eagerly coveted by African potentates.  The Emir, in his
+rapture, summoned his grand vizier to see and hear the marvel; but the
+mysterious box, affected by the climate and the length of the journey it
+had undergone, refused to pour forth its melodious treasures.  However,
+after a day or two’s labour, Dr. Barth succeeded in repairing it, and
+releasing its imprisoned streams of music.  Who shall describe the Emir’s
+excess of joy?  He proved the sincerity of his gratitude by immediately
+giving Dr. Barth a commendatory letter to his nephew, the chief of Gando,
+and the long-expected permission to depart.
+
+Leaving Vurno on the 8th of May, Dr. Barth reached Gando on the 17th.  It
+was the capital of another Fulbi chief, scarcely less powerful than the
+Emir, whose protection was of the greatest importance to the traveller,
+because both banks of the Niger were within his territory.  It was not
+obtained without persevering effort—and many gifts, besides frequent
+bribes to an Arab consul, who had contrived to make himself indispensable
+to the feeble prince.
+
+On the 4th of June our indefatigable explorer entered the deep valleys of
+Kebbi, which, in the rainy season, are converted into extensive
+rice-fields.  At Kombara, the governor hospitably sent him all the
+constituents of a first-class Soudanian repast, from the sheep to the
+grains of salt and the Dodua cake.  Gaumaché, formerly a thriving town,
+is now a village of slaves.  A similarly fatal change has passed over
+Yara; formerly rich and industrious, rank weeds now grow in its silent
+streets.  But life and death lie cheek by jowl in these fertile regions;
+and to the ruined towns and deserted villages immediately succeed
+prolific rice-fields, shaded by clumps of trees.
+
+The whole country was overshadowed by the thunder-clouds of war; yet the
+traveller passed continuously through plantations of yams, and cotton,
+and papyrus, whose fresh green foliage waved above the walls.  He halted
+at Kola, where the governor could dispose of seventy matchlocks and the
+men who handled them; an important personage in the disturbed condition
+of the country, whom it was politic to visit.  The sister of this lord of
+warriors presented Dr. Barth with a fine fat goose—an addition to his
+dietary which rejoiced him greatly.  As he approached Jogirma, the three
+sons of its chief came forth to salute him in their father’s name.  It
+proved to be a much more considerable town than the traveller had
+expected, and the palace was a spacious and even imposing building, in
+its architecture recalling the characters of the Gothic style.  The
+population numbered seven to eight thousand souls, whom civil discord had
+reduced to a pitiful extremity.  It was with no little difficulty that
+Dr. Barth obtained even a supply of millet.
+
+On the 10th he entered a beautiful forest, where the air was heavy with
+the sweet odours of flowering trees; but the place is noted for its
+insalubrity.  Dr. Barth was compelled to remain there for twenty-four
+hours, one of his camels having gone astray; and this circumstance
+appeared so extraordinary, that the neighbouring peasants were in the
+habit of referring to him as “the man who passed a whole day in the
+deadly desert.”
+
+On a quadrangular eminence, about thirty feet high, in the valley of
+Fogha—an eminence built up of refuse—stands a village with some
+resemblance to the ancient town of Assyria.  The inhabitants extract salt
+from the black mud out of which their little hillock rises.  There are
+other villages of a similar character.  The condition of the population
+is most wretched; they suffer continually from the forays of the robbers
+of Dendina.
+
+After a march of two or three miles over a rocky soil, sprinkled with
+bushes and brushwood, Dr. Barth, with intense satisfaction, caught the
+glimmer of water, as if the sun were lighting up a broad mirror, and
+rapidly pushing forward, came, in an hour’s time, to Say, a ferry on the
+great river of the Soudan—the river which has divided with the Nile the
+curiosity of geographers, and attracted the enterprise of the
+adventurous; the river which, perhaps, surpasses the Nile in its promise
+of future commercial industry; the river which we associate with the
+names of so many heroic travellers, from Mungo Park to Cameron,—the
+Niger.
+
+
+
+III.
+
+
+The Niger—all the various names of which (Joliba, Mayo, Eghirrau, Isa,
+Kuara, Baki-a-rua) signify one and the same thing, _the River_—is about
+seven hundred yards broad at the Say ferry, and flows from
+north-north-east to south-south-west with a velocity of three miles an
+hour.  The left bank has an elevation of about thirty feet; the right
+bank is low, and crowned with a town of considerable size.  The traffic
+is incessant; Fulbis and Sourays, with their asses and oxen, continually
+pass to and fro.  The boats in use are constructed of two hollow trunks
+of trees, fastened together, and measure a length of forty feet and a
+breadth of four feet and a half.  With feelings of a mingled character
+Dr. Barth crossed this stately river, the exploration of which has
+necessitated the sacrifice of so many noble lives, and entered the busy
+town of Say.  Its walls form a quadrilateral of fourteen hundred yards;
+the houses of the inhabitants, all built of reeds except the governor’s,
+are scattered in groups over the area they enclose.  In the rainy season,
+a hollow or valley, which cuts across it from north to south, is filled
+with water, which impedes communication, and renders the place
+insalubrious.  When the river is flooded, the town is entirely inundated,
+and all its inhabitants are compelled to migrate.  The market of Say is
+not well provided: the supply of grain is small, of onions _nil_, of rice
+_nil_, though the soil is well adapted to their cultivation; of cotton,
+however, there is always a large quantity; and Say will prove an
+important position for Europeans as soon as the great river route of
+Western Africa begins to be utilized.
+
+Dr. Barth was told by the governor—who had the manners of a Jew, but was
+evidently born of a slave-mother—that he should welcome with joy a
+European vessel bringing to the town the many articles its inhabitants
+needed.  He was astonished to find that the traveller was not a trader;
+and believing that only some very powerful motive could induce any man to
+undertake such an expedition, he grew alarmed at the possibility of
+treacherous and insidious designs, and requested him to leave the place.
+Dr. Barth was by no means unwilling, and on the following day left behind
+him the Niger, which separates the explored regions of Negroland from the
+unexplored, and eagerly directed his course towards the mysterious zone
+which stretched before him.
+
+He had crossed the low swampy island occupied by the town of Say, and the
+western branch of the river, at that season entirely dry, when a great
+storm of thunder and rain broke upon him, and his progress was arrested
+by the rolling clouds of sand which the wind accumulated in his path.
+After a halt of three hours his march was resumed, though the soil was
+flooded with water to a depth of several inches.  The country through
+which he passed had been colonized by the Sourays; it is a dependency of
+the province of Guinea, and the natives were at war both with the
+colonists and the Fulbi.  Thence he entered a well-cultivated district,
+where the Fulbi, who regard the cow as the most useful member of the
+animal world, breed large herds of cattle.  The scenery was varied by
+thickets of mimosas, with here and there a baobab or a tamarisk.  More
+attractive to the traveller, because more novel, were the numerous
+furnaces, six or seven feet high, used for casting iron.
+
+The ground broke up into great irregularities; ridges of rock ran in all
+directions; formations of gneiss and mica schist predominated, with rare
+and beautiful varieties of granite.  There, through banks of twenty feet
+in height, picturesque and rocky, flowed the deep waters of the Sirba.
+To effect the passage, Dr. Barth’s followers could obtain only some
+bundles of reeds; the chief and all the inhabitants of the village
+sitting calmly on the bank, and watching their operations with lively
+interest.  The men had expressive countenances, with effeminate features;
+long plaited hair, which fell upon the shoulders; a pipe in their mouths;
+and, for attire, a blue shirt and wide blue trousers.  The women were
+dumpy and ill proportioned; they wore numerous collars, and pearls in
+their ears; their bosom and legs were naked.
+
+Another storm overtook the travellers, and converted the jungles through
+which they wound their way into a wide expanse of water.  The
+solitariness of the land was broken at one point by a village, charmingly
+enclosed within a quickset hedge; fields of maize were succeeded by a
+tract of forest; then they entered a populous district, where the loaded
+camels laboured heavily through the clayey soil.  At Sibba, where the
+governor, standing at the gate, was explaining to his people certain
+verses of the Koran, Dr. Barth was handsomely lodged in a hut newly
+built, with walls excellently polished, and quite an attractive and
+refreshing appearance.  But, in life, there is always a flavour of
+wormwood in the cup of joy; appearances are proverbially deceitful; and
+Dr. Barth’s beautiful abode proved to be a nest of ants, which committed
+wholesale depredations on his baggage.
+
+The day after his arrival chanced to be the last of the great Mohammedan
+feast of the Ramadan.  That it was to be a day of festival was announced
+at earliest dawn by the sound of merry music; the Fulbi streamed forth
+from their houses, clad in white chemises, as a sign of the white purity
+of their faith; and the governor paraded through the town at the head of
+a _cortége_ of forty horsemen.  As the cadi showed an inclination to
+represent Dr. Barth in the unwelcome capacity of a sorcerer, he deemed it
+prudent to distribute a largess among the people of the procession.
+
+He arrived at Doré, the chief town of Libtako, on the 12th of July.  The
+soil is dry, and troops of gazelles frolic about the arid plain which
+borders on the market-place.  The market, on the occasion of Dr. Barth’s
+visit, was frequented by four or five hundred persons, who were buying or
+selling salt, and cotton stuffs, and copper vessels, and corn, and
+kola-nuts, and asses.  The inhabitants of Doré are partial to ornaments
+made of copper; and Dr. Barth noticed two young girls wearing in their
+hair a copper device of a horseman, sword in hand and pipe in mouth.  The
+pipe, be it observed, is in great request among the Sourays, who seem to
+be of the opinion of Lord Lytton, that “he who doth not smoke hath either
+known no great griefs, or refused himself the softest consolation, next
+to that which comes from heaven.”
+
+Beyond Doré the country was a network of rivers and morasses.  Buffaloes
+were exceedingly numerous.  A venomous fly, very rare to the east of the
+Soudan, seriously annoyed Dr. Barth’s cattle.  It was the wet season;
+rain descended perpetually, as if the floodgates of heaven had been
+opened, and water was everywhere—in front, in rear, on either side;
+water, water, water!  For quiet English gentlemen, living at home at
+ease, or occasionally indulging in a railway journey of a few hundred
+miles, in a comfortable carriage, through fields well cultivated and well
+drained, where rivers seldom break their bounds, or if they do, never
+accomplish greater injury than the overflowing of a green meadow or two,
+it is almost impossible to conceive the difficulty, and even danger, of
+traversing the African plains in the rainy season, of conveying heavy
+baggage through leagues upon leagues of swamps, which the unloaded camel
+finds it laborious to cross.  More than once Dr. Barth was afraid that
+his horse, in spite of its robust vigour, would fail to extricate its
+limbs from the deep mud, and sink with its rider in the slough.  So
+tremendous are the rains, that in a single night they have been known to
+sweep away the fourth part of a large village, and in one house eleven
+goats have perished.
+
+Hitherto Dr. Barth had maintained his quality as a Christian; but on
+entering Dalla, a province belonging to the fanatical chief of Masina,
+who would never have permitted “an infidel” to traverse his territories,
+Dr. Barth thought it advisable to assume the character of an Arab.  But a
+dispute which he had with his host, respecting a pack of dogs that showed
+a decided unwillingness to give place to a stranger, indicated no great
+religious fervour on the part of the population.  Good Mohammedans have
+no liking for the canine race.  The Fulbi will not employ them even as
+guides for their cattle, which they direct by the voice.  All the dogs
+were black; the poultry were black and white.  Dr. Barth observed that
+the crops suffered greatly from the ravages of a large black worm, which
+he had not met with since his expedition into Bagirmi.
+
+On the 5th of August he entered into a region of swamp and morass, and he
+was glad when, to relieve the monotony of the landscape, he caught sight
+of the picturesque Souray villages and the fantastic outline of the chain
+of the Hombori mountains.  The various forms of this singular range, none
+of the peaks of which rise more than eight hundred feet above the level
+of the plain, can hardly be imagined; they irresistibly attract the
+traveller’s eye.  On a gentle slope, composed of masses of rock, is built
+a perpendicular wall, the terraced summit of which is inhabited by a
+native race who have ever maintained their independence.  That these
+heroic hillmen sometimes descend from their fastnesses is shown by their
+flocks of sheep and crops of millet.  Starting from this point, a twofold
+range of remarkable crests extends along the plain, with a curious
+similitude to the ruins of mediæval castles.
+
+Refused admission at Boná, and afraid to enter Nuggera, well known to be
+a hot-bed of fanaticism, Dr. Barth solicited the hospitality of some
+Towaregs, who were encamped in the neighbourhood.  Their chief, a man of
+agreeable physiognomy, with fine features and a fair complexion, placed
+one of his huts at the traveller’s disposal, and sent him some milk and a
+sheep ready cooked.  Next day, his tents of canvas figured in the midst
+of those of his host, and he was besieged by a number of very stout
+ladies, all importunate for gifts.  At Bambara, a considerable
+agricultural centre, surrounded by the canals and affluents of the Niger,
+he resided for several days.  It is situated upon a backwater (mariyet)
+of the river, which, at the time of Barth’s visit, was almost dry.  In
+the ordinary course of things, it ought, in three weeks, to be crowded
+with boats, going to Timbuktú by Oálázo and Saráyamó, and to Dirá by
+Kanima.  The prosperity of the town depends, therefore, on the rains; and
+as these had not begun, the whole population, with the Emir at their
+head, implored the pretended Arab doctor, whom they chose to regard as a
+great magician, to exercise his powers to obtain from the skies a copious
+benediction.  Dr. Barth eluded the request for a formal ceremony, but
+expressed a hope that Heaven would listen to wishes so very reasonable.
+As it happened, there was a slight fall of rain next day, which drew from
+the inhabitants the sincerest gratitude; but, for all that, Dr. Barth was
+very glad to put some distance between himself and Bambara.
+
+On the 1st of September, at Saráyamó, Dr. Barth embarked on one of the
+branches of the Niger, and sailed towards Timbuktú.  The stream was about
+a hundred yards wide, and so thick with aquatic plants that the voyagers
+seemed to be gliding over a prairie.  Moreover, in its bed the asses and
+horses obtained the chief part of their sustenance.  In about two miles
+and a half they entered open water, and the boatmen, whose songs had rung
+the praises of the Julius Cæsar of Negroland, the Sultan Mohammed ben
+Abubakr, carried them, from winding to winding, between banks clothed
+with cucifers, tamarinds, and rich grasses, on which sometimes cattle
+were feeding, and sometimes the gazelle.  The presence of alligators was
+a sign that they approached a broader water, and the channel suddenly
+widened to two hundred yards; its banks alive with pelicans and other
+water-birds, while men and horses went to and fro.  The curves and bends
+of the stream increased, and the banks assumed a more defined and regular
+formation; wider and wider became the water-way, until it reached three
+hundred and forty yards.  Some fires shone out against the evening
+shadows.  At the bottom of a little creek clustered a little village.  In
+no part of the course could any current be discerned; it was a kind of
+lagoon which the voyagers were crossing, and sometimes the wave flowed in
+one direction, sometimes in another.  After two centuries of war, its
+shores, once so animated, have sunk into silence; and Gakovia, Sanyara,
+and many other villages have ceased to be.  There, on the edge of the
+bank, towered aloft a clump of graceful trees, the haunt of numerous
+bees; here, a patch of greensward brightened with the colours of many
+blossoms.  The river now flowed from south-west to north-east, with a
+noble expanse of six hundred yards; its majestic flood rolling like a
+volume of silver in the moonlight, with the reflection of stars sparkling
+thickly on the crests of its waves.
+
+After a pilgrimage of eight months’ duration, Dr. Barth arrived at
+Kabara, the river-port of Timbuktú; and was lodged in a house on the
+highest ground, which contained two large and several small rooms, and a
+first floor.  The inner court was occupied by a numerous and varied
+assortment of sheep, ducks, pigeons, and poultry.  At early dawn, on the
+day after his arrival, our traveller, almost suffocated, left his room;
+but he had scarcely begun his walk before a Towareg chief interrupted
+him, and demanded a present.  Receiving a prompt refusal, he coolly
+announced that, in his quality as a bandit, he could do him a good deal
+of harm.  Dr. Barth, in fact, was _hors la loi_, and the first wretch who
+suspected him of being a Christian might slay him with impunity.  He
+succeeded, however, in getting rid of the Towareg.  Meanwhile, the house
+was crowded with visitors from Timbuktú, some on foot, some on horseback,
+but all wearing blue robes, drawn close to the figure by a drapery, with
+short breeches and peaked straw hats.  All carried lances, while some had
+swords and guns; they seated themselves in the courtyard, overflowed the
+chambers, staring at one another, and asking each other who this stranger
+might be.  In the course of the day, Dr. Barth was “interviewed” by fully
+two hundred persons.  In the evening, a messenger whom he had despatched
+to Timbuktú returned, accompanied by Sidi Alawat, one of the Sultan’s
+brothers.  Dr. Barth confided to him the secret of his Christian
+profession, but added that he was under the special protection of the
+sovereign of Stamboul.  Unfortunately, he had no other proof of his
+assertion than an old firman dating from his former residence in Egypt;
+the interview, however, passed off very agreeably.
+
+On the following day, they crossed the sand-hills in the rear of Kabara;
+the yellow barrenness of the country contrasting vividly with the
+fertility of the verdurous borders of the river.  It is, indeed, a
+desert, infested by roving bands of murderous Towaregs.  Such is the
+well-known insecurity of the route, that a thicket, situated midway,
+bears the significant name of “It does not hear”—that is, it is deaf to
+the cries of a victim.  To the left stands the tree of Wely-Salah, a
+mimosa which the natives have covered with rags in the hope that the
+saint will replace them by new clothes.  As they drew near Timbuktú, the
+sky clouded over, the atmosphere was full of sand, and the city could
+scarcely be seen through the rubbish surrounding it.  A deputation of the
+inhabitants met Dr. Barth, and bade him welcome.  One of them addressed
+him in Turkish.  He had almost forgotten the language, which, of course,
+in his character of a Syrian, he ought to have known; but he recalled a
+few words with which to frame a reply, and then avoided awkward questions
+by spurring his horse and entering the city.  The streets were so narrow,
+that not more than two horsemen could ride abreast; Dr. Barth was
+astonished, however, by the two-storied houses, with their ornamented
+façades.  Turning to the west, and passing in front of the Sultan’s
+palace, he arrived at the house which had been allotted for his
+accommodation.
+
+He had attained the goal of his wishes; he had reached Timbuktú; but the
+anxieties and fatigue of his journey had exhausted him, and he was seized
+with an attack of fever.  Yet never had he had greater need of his energy
+and coolness.  A rumour had already got abroad that a Christian had
+obtained admission into the city.  The Sultan was absent; and his
+brother, who had promised his support, was sulking because he had not
+received presents enough.  On the following day, however, the fever
+having left him, Barth received the visits of some courteous people, and
+took the air on the terrace of his lodging, which commanded a view of the
+city.  To the north could be seen the massive outlines of the great
+mosque of Sankora; to the east, the tawny surface of the desert; to the
+south, the habitations of the Ghadami merchants; while the picture gained
+variety from the presence of straw-roofed huts among houses built of
+clay, long rows of narrow winding streets, and a busy market-place on the
+slope of the sand-hills.
+
+A day or two later, there were rumours of a meditated attack upon his
+residence, but his calm and intrepid aspect baffled hostile designs.  The
+sheikh’s brother made an attempt to convert him, and defied him to
+demonstrate the superiority of his religious principles.  With the help
+of his pupils, he carried on an animated discussion; but Dr. Barth
+confuted him, and by his candour and good sense secured the esteem of the
+more intelligent inhabitants.  A fresh attack of fever supervened on the
+17th; his weakness increased daily; when, at three o’clock in the morning
+of the 26th, a blare of instruments and a din of voices announced the
+arrival of the sheikh, El Bakay, and his warm welcome to the stranger
+dispelled his pains and filled him with a new vigour.  He strongly
+censured his brother’s ungracious conduct; sent provisions to Barth, with
+a recommendation to partake of nothing that did not come from his palace;
+and offered him his choice between the various routes that led to the
+sea-coast.  Could he have foreseen that he was fated to languish eight
+months at Timbuktú, Dr. Barth thinks that he could not have supported the
+idea; but, happily, man never knows the intensity or duration of the
+struggle in which he engages, and marches courageously through the
+shadows which hide from him the future.
+
+Ahmed El Bakay was tall of stature and well proportioned, with an open
+countenance, an intelligent air, and the bearing and physiognomy of a
+European.  His complexion was almost black.  His costume consisted of a
+short black tunic, black pantaloons, and a shawl bound negligently round
+his head.  Between him and Dr. Barth a cordial understanding was quickly
+formed and loyally maintained.  He spoke frequently of Major Laing, the
+only Christian whom he had ever seen; for, thanks to the disguise assumed
+by the French traveller, Caillé, no one at Timbuktú was aware that he had
+at one time resided in their city.
+
+Timbuktú is situated about six miles from the Niger, in lat. 18° N.  Its
+shape is that of a triangle, the apex of which is turned towards the
+desert.  Its circuit at the present time is about three miles and a half;
+but of old it extended over a much larger area.  It is by no means the
+wealthy, powerful, and splendid city which was dreamed of in the fond
+imaginations of the early travellers.  Its streets are unpaved, and most
+of them narrow.  There are a thousand houses clay-built, and, in the
+northern and north-western suburbs, some two hundred huts of reeds.  No
+traces exist of the ancient palace, nor of the Kasba; but the town has
+three large and three small mosques, and a chapel.  It is divided into
+seven quarters, inhabited by a permanent population of thirty thousand
+souls, which is increased to thirty-five or forty thousand from November
+to January, the epoch of the caravans.  Founded early in the twelfth
+century by the Towaregs, on one of their old pasture-grounds, Timbuktú
+belonged to the Souray in the first half of the fourteenth.  Recovered, a
+century later, by its founders, it was snatched from them by Sami Ali,
+who sacked it, then rebuilt it, and drew thither the merchants of
+Ghadami.  As early as 1373 it is marked upon the Spanish charts, not only
+as the entrepôt of the trade in salt and gold, but as the scientific and
+religious centre of the Western Soudan; and exciting the cupidity of
+Mulay Ahmed, it fell, in 1592, with the empire of the Askias, under the
+sway of Marocco.  Down to 1826 it remained in the hands of the Ramas, or
+Maroccan soldiers settled in the country.  Next came the Fulbi; then the
+Towaregs, who drove out the Fulbi in 1844.  But this victory, by
+isolating Timbuktú on the border of the river, led to a famine.  Through
+the intervention of El Bakay, however, a compromise was effected in 1848;
+the Towaregs recognized the nominal supremacy of the Fulbi, on condition
+that they should keep no garrison in the city; the taxes were to be
+collected by two cadis, a Souray and a Fulbi; and the administration, or
+rather the police, was entrusted to two Souray magistrates, controlled
+simultaneously by the Fulbi and the Towaregs, between whom was divided
+the religious authority, represented by the sheikh, a Rama by origin.
+
+Dr. Barth’s residence in Timbuktú was a source of intense dissatisfaction
+to some of the ruling spirits.  Even in the sheikh’s own family it led to
+grave dissensions; and many demanded that he should be expelled.  El
+Bakay remained firm in his support, and, to protect the life of his
+visitor, moved him to Kabara.  Dr. Barth speaks in high terms of this
+liberal and enlightened man, and of the happiness of his domestic circle.
+Europe itself could not produce a more affectionate father or husband;
+indeed, Dr. Barth hints that he yielded too much to the wishes of his
+august partner.
+
+Week after week, the storms of war and civil discord raged more and more
+furious; the traveller’s position became increasingly painful.  His
+bitterest enemies were the Fulbi.  They endeavoured to drag him from the
+sheikh’s protection by force, and when this failed, had recourse to an
+artifice to get him into their power.  The Welád Shinan, who assassinated
+Major Laing, swore they would kill him.  On the 27th of February, 1854,
+the chief of the Fulbi again intimated to the sheikh his request that
+Barth should be driven from the country.  The sheikh peremptorily
+refused.  Then came a fresh demand, and a fresh refusal; a prolonged and
+angry struggle; a situation more and more intolerable; while commerce
+suffered and the people were disquieted by the quarrels of their rulers.
+So it came to pass that, on the night of the 17th of March, Sidi
+Mohammed, eldest brother of El Bakay, beat the drum, mounted his horse,
+and bade Dr. Barth follow him with two of his servants, while the
+Towaregs, who supported them, clashed their bucklers together, and
+shouted their shrill war-cry.  He found the sheikh at the head of a
+numerous body of Arabs and Sourays, with some Fulbi, who were devoted to
+him.  As might be expected, Dr. Barth begged that he might not be the
+cause of any bloodshed; and the sheikh promised the malcontents that he
+would conduct the obnoxious Christian beyond the town.  He encamped on
+the frontier of the Oberay, where everybody suffered terribly from bad
+food and insects.
+
+At length, after a residence of thirty-three days on the creek of
+Bosábango, it was decided that the march should be begun on the 19th of
+April.  On the 25th, after having passed through various encampments of
+Towaregs, they followed the windings of the Niger, having on their left a
+well-wooded country, intersected by marshes, and enlivened by numerous
+pintados.  Then they fell in with the valiant Wughduga, a sincere friend
+of El Bakay, and a magnificent Towareg warrior, nearly seven feet high,
+of prodigious strength, and the hero of deeds of prowess worthy of the
+most famous knight of the Table Round.  Under his escort Dr. Barth
+reached Gogo—in the fifteenth century the flourishing and famous capital
+of the Souray empire, now a small and straggling town with a few hundred
+huts.  Here he took leave of his kind and generous protector; and, with
+an escort of about twenty persons, recrossed to the right bank of the
+river, and descended it as far as Say, where he had passed it the year
+before.  In this journey of one hundred and fifty leagues, he had seen
+everywhere the evidence of great fertility, and a peaceable population,
+in whose midst a European might travel in security; speaking to the
+people, as he did, of the sources and termination of their great
+fostering river—questions which interest those good negroes as much,
+perhaps, as they have perplexed the scientific societies of Europe, but
+of which they do not possess the most rudimentary knowledge.
+
+Arriving at Sokotó and Vurno in the midst of the rainy season, Dr. Barth
+was warmly welcomed by the Emir; but, with strength exhausted and health
+broken, he could not profit by his kindness.
+
+On the 17th of October he arrived at Kanó, where he had been long
+expected; but neither money nor despatches had been forwarded for him—no
+news from Europe had been received.  Yet at Kanó he had arranged to pay
+his servants, discharge his debts, and renew his credits, long since
+exhausted.  He pledged the little property remaining to him, including
+his revolver, until he could obtain the cutlery and four hundred dollars
+left at Zindu; but, alas! these had disappeared during recent intestine
+commotions.  Kanó must always be unhealthy for Europeans; and Dr. Barth,
+in his enfeebled condition, acutely felt the ill effects of its climatic
+conditions.  His horses and camels fell ill, and he lost, among others,
+the noble animal which for three years had shared all his fatigues.
+
+Over every difficulty, every obstacle, that splendid energy which had
+carried the great explorer to the Niger and Timbuktú ultimately
+prevailed; and on the 24th of November he set out for Kúkáwa.  In his
+absence it had been the theatre of a revolution.  A new ruler held the
+reins of government, and Dr. Barth was doomed to encounter fresh
+embarrassments.  It was not until after a delay of four months that he
+was able to resume the journey through the Fezzan.  He followed this time
+the direct route, by Bilma—the route formerly taken by the travellers,
+Denham and Clapperton.
+
+At the end of August he entered Tripoli, where he spent only four days.
+By way of Malta he proceeded to Marseilles; and thence to Paris; arriving
+in London on the 6th of September, 1855.
+
+It may be doubted whether the English public have fully appreciated the
+labours of this persevering explorer.  To us it seems that he occupies a
+high place in the very front rank of African travellers, in virtue not
+only of the work he did, but of the courage, perseverance, skill, and
+energy which he displayed.  He failed in nothing that he undertook,
+though his resources were very limited, and the difficulties in his path
+of the gravest character.  He explored Bornú, A’damáwa, and Bagirmi,
+where no European had ever before penetrated.  He surveyed, over an area
+of six hundred miles, the region which lies between Katséna and Timbuktú,
+though even to the Arabs it is the least known portion of the Soudan.  He
+formed friendly relations with the powerful princes on the banks of the
+Niger, from Sokotó to the famous city which shuts its gates upon the
+Christian.  Five of his best years he dedicated to this astonishing
+enterprise, enduring the gravest privations, and braving the most
+pestilential climates, as well as the most implacable fanaticism.  All
+this he did, without friends, without companions, without money.  Of the
+five brave men who undertook this adventurous expedition, he alone
+returned; and returned loaded with treasure, with precious materials of
+all kinds for the use of the man of science or the merchant—with maps,
+drawings, chronologies, vocabularies, historical and ethnological notes,
+itineraries, botanical and geological data, and meteorological tables.
+Nothing escaped his attention; he was not only a traveller and an
+observer, but a scientific pioneer.  Let us give due honour to a
+Livingstone, but let us not forget the debt we owe to a Barth. {156}
+
+
+
+
+MR. THOMAS WITLAM ATKINSON,
+AND HIS ADVENTURES IN SIBERIA
+AND CENTRAL ASIA.
+
+
+                              A.D. 1849–55.
+
+
+
+I.
+
+
+MR. THOMAS WITLAM ATKINSON among recent travellers is not one of the
+least distinguished.  He ventured into what may be called “virgin
+country”—a region scarcely known to Europeans; carrying his life in his
+hand; animated by the desire of knowledge rather than the hope of fame;
+quick to observe, accurate in his observations, and intelligent in
+combining them into a distinct and satisfactory whole.  For some years he
+lived among the wild races who inhabit Siberia and Mongolia, the Kirghiz
+steppes, Chinese Tartary, and the wilder districts of Central Asia; and
+he collected a vast amount of curious information in reference not only
+to their manners and customs and mode of life, but to the lands which
+they call their own.  The broad and irresistible wave of Western
+civilization has reached the confines of their vast territories, before
+long will pour in upon them, and already is slowly, but surely,
+undermining many an ancient landmark.  In the course of another fifty
+years its advance will have largely modified their characteristics, and
+swept away much that is now the most clearly and picturesquely defined.
+We need, therefore, to be grateful to Mr. Atkinson for the record he has
+supplied of their present condition; a record which to us is one of
+romantic interest, as to the future historian it will be one of authentic
+value.
+
+In introducing that record to the reader, he says:—“Mine has been a
+tolerably wide field, extending from Kokhand on the west to the eastern
+end of the Baikal, and as far south as the Chinese town of Tchin-si;
+including that immense chain Syan-shan, never before seen by any
+European; as well as a large portion of the western part of the Gobi,
+over which Gonghiz Khan marched his wild hordes; comprising a distance
+traversed of about 32,000 versts in carriages, 7100 in boats, and 20,300
+on horseback—in all, 59,400 versts (about 39,500 miles), in the course of
+seven years.”  Neither the old Venetian, Marco Polo, nor the Jesuit
+priests, could have visited these regions, their travels having been far
+to the south; even the recent travellers, Hue and Gobet, who visited “the
+land of grass” (the plains to the south of the great Desert of Gobi), did
+not penetrate into the country of the Kalkas.  It is unnecessary to
+premise that in such a journey, prolonged over so many years, extended
+into so many countries, he suffered much both from hunger and thirst, was
+exposed to numerous tests of his courage and fortitude, and on several
+occasions placed in most critical situations with the tribes of Central
+Asia; that he more than once was called upon to confront an apparently
+inevitable death.  Within the limits to which we are confined, it will be
+impossible for us to attempt a detailed narrative of his labours, but we
+shall hope to select those passages and incidents which will afford a
+fair idea of their value and enterprise.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Armed with a passport from the Czar of All the Russias, which in many a
+difficult conjuncture proved to its bearer as all-powerful as Ali Baba’s
+“Open Sesame,” Mr. Atkinson left Moscow on the 6th of March, intent upon
+the exploration of the wild regions of Siberia.  A ten days’ journey
+brought him to Ekaterineburg, the first Russian town in this direction,
+across the Asiatic boundary.  Here he took boat on the river
+Tchoussowaia, which he descended as far as the pristan, or port, of
+Chaitanskoï.  Thence he made an excursion to the house of an hospitable
+Russian, the director of the Outskinkoï iron-works, traversing a forest
+of pines, which deeply impressed him by its aspect of gloomy grandeur.
+Resuming his river-voyage, {159} he observed that the valley widened
+considerably as he advanced.  On the west bank spread a large extent of
+meadow-land; on the eastern, the soil was partly cultivated, and bloomed
+with young crops of rye.  The pastures shone with fresh strong verdure,
+were already starred with flowers, while the birch trees were hourly
+bursting into leaf.  In this region the change from winter to summer is
+magically sudden, like that of a transformation scene.  At night, you see
+the grass browned by frost, and the trees bare of buds; in twenty-four
+hours, the meadows are covered with fresh greenness, and the woods spread
+over you a thick canopy of vigorous foliage.  But if you come from a
+temperate clime, you miss that sweet and gradual development of bud and
+bloom, of leaf and flower, which is the charm and privilege of spring.
+You miss the rare pleasure of watching the opening violet, the first
+primrose, the early tinge of green upon the hedgerow and in the coppice,
+which you recognize as the heralds and pledges of happy days to come.
+
+At Oslanskoï Mr. Atkinson took his leave of the Tchoussowaia, and
+prepared to cross the Ural Mountains.  But while staying at Nijne-Toura,
+he resolved upon ascending the great peak of the Katchkanar.  The road
+led through a tract of deep forest, which spread over high hills, and
+down into deep valleys, filled with white vapour, through which the
+branches of lightning-stricken pines loomed ghastly like the shivered
+masts of a wreck through the ocean mist.  Towards noon a thunder-storm
+came on, accompanied by heavy rain.  Portions of the forest were so thick
+as completely to exclude the daylight; and Mr. Atkinson and his
+companions frequently found it necessary to cut their way through the
+intertangled growth.
+
+Though bears and other beasts of prey frequent these wilds, Mr. Atkinson
+met with none; the chief danger was a fall in the midst of rocks and
+prostrate trees, which might have been attended with painful
+consequences.  At last they emerged from the forest gloom, at the foot of
+a steep ascent overlaid with huge blocks of stones.  As their horses
+slowly clambered up the rugged acclivity, the sound was heard of the roar
+of water, indicating a cataract close at hand.  It proved to be the
+outcome of a small stream, which tumbled down a steep and rocky bed in a
+succession of shining falls.  Crossing this stream, the riders pursued
+their upward course until at eight o’clock they reached the Katchkanar,
+after a tedious journey of eleven hours.  The guide, a veteran hunter,
+proposed to halt for the night at the foot of some high rocks—a
+proposition readily accepted.  All hands set to work, and soon a great
+fire was blazing, not only for the purpose of warmth, but as a protection
+against the clouds of mosquitoes which swarmed around, and threatened to
+murder sleep.
+
+At three o’clock, Mr. Atkinson was up and about.  The dawn was swiftly
+advancing over the interminable Siberian forest.  Above the vast horizon
+stretched long lines of pale yellow clouds, which every minute became
+more luminous, until they seemed like so many waves of golden light
+rolling and breaking on the far celestial shore.  As the sun gradually
+rose into the heavens, every mountain-top blazed with fire, like gigantic
+altars, and the pines were transformed into columns of gold.  The
+adventurers were soon afoot, and, crossing a little grassy valley, began
+the real ascent.
+
+It was a chaotic mass of loose huge rocks, with snow filling up many of
+the cavities; in other places they passed under colossal blocks, over
+which it would have been no easy task to climb.  Further up they
+stretched across large patches of frozen snow, and reached the foot of
+the high crags of the Katchkanar; many of which stand out like huge
+crystals, not less than one hundred feet in height, and are composed of
+regular courses, with pure magnetic iron ore between their beds, varying
+from one inch to four inches thick.  In some places cubes or crystals of
+iron project from the solid rock, three and four inches square; and in
+others the whole mass seems to be of iron, or some other mineral
+substance.  Climbing one of the highest pinnacles, Mr. Atkinson enjoyed a
+glorious prospect, such as it is difficult for the dweller in plains,
+with their always limited horizons, to form even an idea of.  For
+hundreds of miles the view to the east extended into Siberia, until all
+disappeared in fine blue vapour.  “There is something truly grand,” says
+Mr. Atkinson, “in looking over these black and apparently interminable
+forests, in which no trace of a human habitation, not even a wreath of
+smoke, can be seen to assure us that man is there.  Turning to the north,
+and about one hundred versts distant, Pardinsky Kanem rises out of the
+dark forest (this is one of the highest points in the Ural chain); it is
+partly covered with snow, and shines like frosted silver in the bright
+sun.  All the mountains near are blue, purple, and misty, with a rugged
+foreground of rocks of great height, broken into all shapes and forms.
+In fact, the summit of the Katchkanar is evidently a mountain in ruins,
+the softer parts having been removed or torn away by the hand of time,
+leaving the barren portion, or vertebræ of the mountain, standing like a
+huge skeleton, which, seen at a distance, often assumed the most
+fantastic and picturesque shapes.”
+
+After a brief rest, Mr. Atkinson and his friends began the descent of the
+mountain, taking, however, a circuitous route which secured them a
+variety of scenes, and about seven o’clock in the evening they reached
+the site of their encampment on the preceding night.  There they slept
+until dawn, when they made the best of their way back to Nijne-Toura—a
+long day’s journey.
+
+While at Nijne Mr. Atkinson had an opportunity of seeing something of the
+pastimes popular among the iron-workers of the district.  It was the
+occasion of a popular festival, and the workmen and their families were
+all holiday-making.  Females and children were riding merrily in the
+boxes of the large swings that had been temporarily constructed.  The men
+were wrestling, just as they might do in Devonshire or Cornwall.
+Stripping off his coat, each man tied his long sash firmly round his
+waist; this his antagonist gripped with the right hand, while the left
+was placed on his shoulder; then the struggle began.  One of the athletes
+was so conspicuously superior to the rest in skill and prowess, that at
+length no one would respond to his repeated challenges to try a fall.
+Assuming the honours of championship, he was on the point of quitting the
+arena when a slim-built, but well-proportioned, young man suddenly
+stepped forward as a competitor.  He was evidently a stranger, and his
+appearance was greeted with a good deal of laughter, in which the
+champion readily joined.  The latter acted as if assured of an easy
+victory, but, to the general surprise, a sharp and prolonged contention
+ensued.  The wrestler, angry at the prospect of losing his laurels,
+exerted all his dexterity to throw his daring opponent, and when that
+failed, endeavoured to overcome him by superior strength.  In vain: he
+was flung prostrate on the ground.  Red with shame, he sprang to his feet
+and repeated his challenge.  A second combat followed, and the would-be
+champion, by a second defeat and a heavy fall, was taught a lesson in
+modesty, which it is to be hoped he long remembered.
+
+Meanwhile, the young girls, in their best and brightest costumes, shone
+like a bed of many-coloured tulips.  Some, with hands clasped together,
+walked to and fro, singing simple songs to those plaintive Russian
+melodies which, in their sweet minor keys, are often so beautiful.
+Others joined in a game which resembles our English see-saw.  A plank,
+about seven feet long, was placed on a centre block, six inches high.  At
+each end stood a player, who, by springing up and alighting again on the
+board, caused her companion at the other end to rise higher every time.
+The players in this way would sometimes bound as high as three feet or
+three feet and a half.
+
+From Nijne Mr. Atkinson made several excursions into the mining districts
+of the Ural, and afterwards returned to Ekaterineburg, to complete the
+preparations for his Siberian expedition.  He took with him a young man,
+about twenty-four years old, who spoke German fluently, and bidding adieu
+to his friends, started on his journey.  In spite of every effort, he
+says, a feeling of deep sadness overtook him when his gaze rested for the
+last time on the lofty mountain crest which forms the boundary of Europe.
+But the die was cast; he gave the word “Forward!” and away dashed the
+horses into Asia.  Kamenskoï was the first stage; beyond which he entered
+the valley of the Issetz, and rapidly approached the great monastery of
+St. Tolometz.  It stands on the left bank of the Issetz, near its
+junction with the river Teleta, and in external appearance resembles the
+Kremlin of Moscow.  The walls are strengthened by towers at the angles,
+and close to the east end stands the church, an elegant and a spacious
+edifice.  The road from this point still lay along the high bank of the
+Issetz, which here flows through a well-wooded country and teeming fields
+of wheat and rye.  There are no fences in the fields; but every village
+has its ring-fence of posts and rails, enclosing an area of from two to
+three miles in diameter, with gates on the high-road, and a watchman to
+open and shut them.  Passing station after station, Atkinson crossed the
+Issetz and the Tobol, and struck into the steppes of Ischim—a flat,
+uninteresting tract of country between the rivers Tobol and Ischim.  It
+is watered by several lakes, and the small sandy ridges—they can scarcely
+be called hills—are often covered with pine-woods.
+
+Here he fell in with a large party of convicts, marching, under a strong
+guard, into Eastern Siberia.  There were ninety-seven in the gang, the
+van of which was led by seventeen men and three women, in chains,
+destined for Nertchinsk, more than four thousand versts further.  The
+journey would occupy them eight months.  The others followed in pairs, on
+their way to the government of Irkutsk; they had three thousand versts to
+travel, or a march of six months.  Behind them came telagas {166} with
+baggage, and eleven women riding; some of whom were accompanying their
+husbands into their miserable exile.  In front and on each side rode
+mounted Cossacks, who strictly guarded the prisoners; but what were they
+to do if they escaped?  There was no prospect before them but death by
+starvation.
+
+At the various posting-stations barracks are built, the front buildings
+of which are occupied by the officers, guards, and attendants.  From each
+end, to the distance of about forty or fifty feet, stretches a high
+stockade, which returns at right angles, and runs about sixty feet.  It
+is then carried along the back so as to enclose in all an area of two
+hundred feet by sixty; in the middle are the buildings for the prisoners.
+The stockade is formed of trunks of trees, twelve inches in diameter,
+standing fifteen feet above the ground, and cut to a sharp point at the
+top; placed close together, they form a very strong barrier.  The
+prisoners, moreover, are placed under continual supervision.  They march
+two days, at a rate of twenty to twenty-five versts daily, and rest one.
+A gang leaves Ekaterineburg every Monday morning.
+
+After leaving Kiansk, which Mr. Atkinson anathematizes as “the worst town
+in all Siberia,” he travelled directly south, with the view of visiting
+Lakes Sartian and Tchany, the remains of a great inland sea.  From Lake
+Tchany a chain of lakes, some of which are fifty or sixty versts broad,
+extends south-west for nearly two hundred and fifty versts.  The country
+was low and swampy, but rose occasionally in slight undulations, clothed
+with long coarse grass, and frequently relieved by extensive clumps of
+birch and aspen, or a thick underwood of bushes.  The lakes proved to be
+surrounded by so dense a growth of reeds that the water was visible only
+at a few points.  Beyond, the country was thickly wooded, with large
+pieces of cultivated land, on which were fine crops of wheat and rye
+growing.  The villages were well-built and clean; the inmates looked
+comfortable and cleanly; and large herds of cattle grazed in the village
+pastures.  Speeding onward in his tarantass, as fast as six horses could
+carry him, our traveller crossed the Barabinsky steppe—a region curiously
+unlike that dreariness of monotony, or monotony of dreariness, which is
+generally associated with the name.  The traveller might have been
+excused for thinking himself in some fair district of England, when he
+looked around on hills of gentle slope, covered with noble trees, which
+formed the boundaries of considerable plains, and saw the deer nimbly
+bounding through the fresh green glades.  The view was brightened here
+and there with plantations of large timber; at other points rose
+sheltered belts of young trees; the effect being in each case so
+picturesque as to induce the fancy that art had thus arranged them.  The
+ground teemed with flowers, as if Proserpine’s fertile feet had
+consecrated it—with the bright geranium, pale blue and deep blue
+delphinium, white and dark rich crimson dianthus, peony, and purple
+crocus.  The lakes that studded the expanse, like silver gems in an
+emerald setting, bore expanded on their tremulous wave the blooms of the
+white and yellow _Nymphoea_.  The whole scene was exquisitely sweet and
+tranquil.
+
+But in Siberia changes are frequent and sudden, and to this Eden bit
+quickly succeeded a Slough of Despond.  Crossing a morass in a heavy
+vehicle, drawn by six or seven horses, is not a pleasant sensation;
+happily, the traject was accomplished without accident.  Another and
+another followed; and through each, with hard struggling on the part of
+the horses, and much yelling on the part of the yemtschick, or driver,
+the traveller was carried successfully.  He was thankful, however, when
+the country again improved, and his road once more lay among the hills
+and pastures.  At Krontikha, he was greeted with a noble view of the
+valley of the Ob, one of the great rivers of Siberia.  From one high
+ridge to the other, twelve or fifteen versts is the width of the valley;
+in the middle, with constant undulations, first to one side and then to
+the other, like a coquette between two suitors, the shining stream
+pursues its capricious way, sometimes breaking off into several channels,
+divided by green little patches of island.  Looking to the north-east,
+the traveller discerns, at a distance of one hundred and fifty versts,
+Kolyvan, formerly the chief town of the government—a rank now assigned to
+Tomsk, which lies one hundred and fifty versts further in the same
+direction.  To the north and east the eye rests on a vast level, dark
+with the heavy shadows of forests of pine.
+
+At Barnaoul, the chief town in the mining district of the Altai, Mr.
+Atkinson found himself 4527 versts from St. Petersburg.  After a night’s
+rest he resumed his forward course, and the character of the country soon
+warned him that he was approaching the steppes which extend westward to
+the banks of the Irtisch.  These dreary wildernesses were the home and
+haunt of the Kirghiz, before the Russians drove them across the river,
+and built a line of forts along its bank from Omsk to the mouth of the
+Bouchtarma.  The frontier to the Kirghiz steppe is guarded by a line of
+barracks; the whole length of the line (about 2500 versts) stretching far
+up into the Altai mountain range, and along the boundary of China.  Dull
+beyond description is the landscape here.  The chief product is wormwood;
+and around the fords and watercourses grow only a few bushes and stunted
+willows.
+
+Kolyvan Lake lies at the foot of some offshoots of the Altai chain.  The
+masses of rocks which strew its shores, broken and fantastic of outline,
+present all the appearance of a ruined city.  The granite seems to have
+been forced up in a soft or liquid state; then to have flowed over and
+cooled; after which it has been forced up again and again, with the
+result that it has assumed, in hardening, the most extraordinary forms.
+The rocks on the heights of the Altai are not less remarkable: some mock
+you with the aspect of ruined battlements and feudal keeps; others might
+be mistaken for human heads of a size so colossal that even the magic
+helmet in “The Castle of Otranto” would have been a world too small for
+them.
+
+It is at Oubinskoï, a small town or village on the broad, deep,
+willow-fringed Ouba, that the ascent of the Altai really begins.  Thence
+you cross the Oulba, and ascend a valley full of charming bits for the
+artist, to the silver mines of Riddersk.  About fifteen versts beyond
+rises the snow-crowned height of Ivanoffsky-Belock, the source of the
+Gromotooka, or stream of thunder (“grom”), one of the wildest rivers in
+the Altai.  With a roar like that of thunder it hurls its foaming waters
+down the rugged steep, frequently tearing off and whirling along with it
+huge fragments of rock, and filling the startled air with a din and clang
+which are audible for miles.  At Riddersk Mr. Atkinson was compelled to
+abandon his tarantass; he engaged twenty horses to accompany him, and an
+escort of fifteen men, five of whom carried rifles, while the rest were
+equipped with axes.  A ride of twenty versts, and he reached
+Poperetchwaia, the last village in this part of the Altai.  It is
+occupied by only eighteen families, who live there in the solitude of the
+mountain valley, with the great white peaks around them, ignorant of all
+the events that daily help to make up the history of the age into which
+they have been born—ignorant of the intellectual movements that are
+agitating the minds and filling the thoughts of men.  A strange,
+apparently a useless, life!  A life without action, without hope, without
+purpose!  Surely ten years of our free, busy, progressive English life
+are preferable to a hundred years in this lonely Siberian wild.  Each
+family, we are told, have their horses and cows, and around the village
+is pasture sufficient for large herds.  The stags on the mountains are
+also theirs, and the deer on the hills, and the fish that teem in the
+rivers.  Wild fruit is plentiful; and the bees in their hives produce
+abundance of honey.  It is a Siberian Arcady; but an Arcady without its
+poetic romance.
+
+The patriarch of the village is described by Mr. Atkinson as a fine old
+man, with a head and countenance which would have furnished an artist
+with a model for one of the Evangelists.  Health and happiness shone in
+his face, the ruddy glow of which was set off by his silver-white beard.
+He wore a plain white shirt, hanging over trousers of thin linen, and
+fastened round his waist with a red sash; the trousers were tucked into a
+pair of boots which reached almost to the knee.  In winter, a wolf or
+sheep skin coat is added to this picturesque costume.
+
+In ascending the Altai our traveller plunged into a glorious forest of
+cedars, which, with their gnarled and twisted branches, formed an arched
+roof almost impervious to the sun.  The scene afterwards changed to a
+silvery lake, the Keksa, which slept peacefully in the deep shadows of
+the mountains.  Then came woods of larch, and pine, and birch, all
+freshly green, and breathing a pungent aromatic odour; and grassy glades,
+fit haunts for the Oreads of the Greek, or the fairies of the Teutonic
+mythology, with high cedar-crowned mountains rising on either hand.
+There were no birds; but on the crags stood numerous graceful stags,
+watching suspiciously the passage of the strangers, and from bough to
+bough the black squirrel leaped in his mirth.  Less pleasant inhabitants
+were the flies and mosquitoes, which infested the valley depths and lower
+levels.  Still continuing to ascend, Mr. Atkinson entered a rocky gorge
+that crossed the shoulder of the mountain ridge.  Here the crags
+presented their most savage grandeur.  Time had hewn them into various
+imposing forms: some like turreted battlements and massive towers; others
+like enormous buttresses thrown up to support the huge sides of the
+mountain.  While threading the defile, the travellers were overtaken by a
+terrible storm; the wind raged over the heights and through the ravines
+with a cruel and sudden fury; the lightning like blood-streaks wound
+across the darkened sky; the thunder broke in peal after peal, which the
+echoes caught up and repeated until the air rang as with the din of
+battle.  They sheltered themselves behind a crag until the tempest was
+past, and then began the descent of the other side of the mountain.
+
+Glad were they to find themselves in the more genial lowlands; and
+leaving behind them the Chelsoun chain of the Altai, which they had just
+crossed, they rode at a rapid rate towards Zirianovsky, a mining station
+at the foot of the Eagle Mountains.  The silver mines here are the most
+valuable in the Altai.  Some of the ores, which are exceedingly rich, lie
+at a depth of two hundred and eighty feet; others have been followed to a
+depth of four hundred and ninety feet.  In working them the great
+difficulty to be confronted by the miners is the vast quantity of water
+that almost inundates the mines; but this might be obviated by the
+employment of a steam-engine.  To carry the ore to the smelting-works
+upwards of two hundred horses are employed.  First, it is conveyed in
+small carts, drawn by one horse, to Werchnayan pristan, on the Irtisch, a
+distance of more than one hundred versts; thence it is sent down the
+river in boats to Oust-Kamenogorsk pristan; and from the last place it is
+removed again in carts to Barnaoul, Pavlovsky, and other zavods; making a
+traject of nine hundred versts in all from the mines to the
+smelting-works.
+
+Skirting the base of the Kourt-Choum mountains, which form the boundary
+between the Russian and Chinese empires, Mr. Atkinson turned his face
+southward, and before long arrived at Little Narym—a small outpost of
+Cossacks, stationed on a plain within a few versts of the Russian
+frontier.  He was then on the military road, which extends only about
+twenty versts further, to the last outpost from Western Siberia.  Having
+obtained horses, two telagas, and Cossack drivers, he started down the
+valley of the Narym, which opens into that of the Irtisch, and at
+nightfall entered Great Narym.  To the officer in command he explained
+his project of crossing the Chinese frontier; but was warned that, as
+winter had already set in, and the snow lay deep in the Kourt-Chume
+chain, he would probably be lost or frozen to death if he attempted that
+route.  He was advised to go through the Kirghiz steppe; and the officer
+courteously offered to forward him from one Cossack post to another,
+until he reached the fortress at Kochbouchta.  Mr. Atkinson gladly
+accepted the offer, and arranged to meet his new friend in
+Ust-Kamenogorsk, on the Irtisch, hiring a boat and men to convey him
+thither.  The boat consisted of two small canoes lashed together, five
+feet apart, with beams placed across, and the whole boarded over so as to
+provide a platform, or deck, about fifteen feet by ten.  In the head and
+stern of each canoe sat a strong, sturdy fellow, with a small paddle, not
+much larger than a child’s garden spade; this was used only to guide the
+bark, its progress being sufficiently provided for by the rapidity of the
+current.  Paddling out into the middle of the river, which was more than
+a thousand yards broad, the boatmen soon got into the swing of the
+current, and the voyage began.  “I was watching the changes in the
+scene,” says Mr. Atkinson, “as one mountain peak after another came in
+view; when suddenly, and without any previous intimation, two of the men
+called out that their canoe was filling fast, and that they must make for
+the shore without a minute’s delay!  Before we got halfway to the bank
+she was nearly full of water, and when within about a hundred yards, the
+men cried out that she was sinking; this brought our broad deck down to
+the water on one side, and helped to float her.  The men paddled with all
+their might, and at last we reached a thick bed of reeds, which assisted
+in keeping us afloat, till we succeeded in getting near enough to the
+bank to throw our luggage ashore; and then we landed.”
+
+After some trouble, Mr. Atkinson was able to hire a good boat, used for
+transporting the ore; and the luggage was transferred to it.  Then a new
+difficulty arose; one of the men deserted.  But with great promptitude
+Mr. Atkinson seized a bystander, and kept him prisoner until the deserter
+was given up.  At last, a fresh start was effected.  The sun was setting;
+a keen cutting wind blew up the river; and there was no shelter to be
+obtained, nor wood for a fire, for many versts.  Fast over the valley
+crept the cold shades of night, and swiftly did they steal up the
+mountain sides.  No signs of any resting-place could be discovered, and
+the scenery grew more and more gloomy.  Turning a rocky headland, they
+beheld at a great distance the glimmer of a fire, though whether it was
+in a dwelling, or on the river bank, they could not determine.  Bending
+vigorously to their oars, the boatmen shot forward rapidly; and after a
+long pull arrived at a small Cossack station, where Mr. Atkinson readily
+obtained shelter.
+
+Asia, he remarks, is the land for tea; there it is that a man learns to
+appreciate the herb at its full and proper value.  After refreshing
+himself with the popular beverage, he took a long walk alone on the bank
+of the Irtisch.  The fine, picturesque scenery was seen with impressive
+effect under the influence of a splendid moonlight, which cast the lower
+mountains into deep shade, while a silver lustre rested on the
+snow-crowned peaks, contrasting vividly with the gloom of the valleys.
+“How infinitely small,” says Mr. Atkinson, “the sight of these mighty
+masses made me feel, as I wandered on in my solitary ramble!  Excepting
+myself, I could not see one living thing—all was silent as the grave.  I
+had passed some high rocks that shut out the Cossack post from my view,
+and had entered a valley, running up into the mountains, which lay
+shrouded in dusky shadow.  Two white peaks rose far into the cold, grey
+sky; the full light of the moon shining upon one of them, and aiding much
+in giving a most solemn grandeur to the gloomy scene.  Fancy began to
+people this place with phantoms, ghosts, and goblins of horrible aspect.
+It required but the howling of the wolves to give a seeming reality to
+the creations of the imagination.”
+
+Passing the mouth of the Bouchtarma, Mr. Atkinson descended the river to
+Mount Kamenogorsk.  There he found his friend, the Cossack colonel, who
+provided him with an escort of two stalwart Cossacks, armed with sabre,
+gun, pistol, and long lance.  His party also included an unarmed Cossack
+driver, and his own attendant.  He set out in a light telaga, drawn by
+three horses, and plunged into the solitude of the Kirghiz steppe, which
+extends eastward to Nor-Zaisan and southward to the Tarbogatni Mountains.
+There are many undulations on this vast plain, which in summer affords
+pasturage for immense herds of horses.  While halting on the bank of a
+dried-up stream to dine, Mr. Atkinson observed in the distance a small
+column of white smoke, which he supposed to proceed from a Kirghiz aul,
+or village; but a guide whom he had hired assured him there were no
+encampments in that direction, and that the smoke issued from burning
+reeds on the shores of Lake Nor-Zaisan.  Thitherward the traveller
+immediately proceeded; sometimes over rich pastures, at others over a
+rough tract of ground and stones almost bare of vegetation.  After riding
+a couple of hours, they were able to make out that the steppe was on
+fire, and that all the reeds were feeding the flame; and in due time they
+came upon a miserable Kirghiz yourt, or dwelling, inhabited by a dirty
+Kirghiz woman and four children, three of whom were very ill.  She
+received the stranger, however, with simple hospitality, kindled the
+fire, and set his kettle on it.  In return he made tea for himself and
+the children, who were lying on a voilock, covered up with skins.  He
+then walked to the summit of a neighbouring hill to gain a view of the
+burning steppe.  The fire was still about ten versts to the east, but was
+travelling west, and across Mr. Atkinson’s track, extending in breadth
+some miles across the plain—a great wave of flame, which, accompanied by
+rolling clouds of smoke, ran swiftly along the ground, consuming the long
+grass, and reddening the horizon with a lurid glow.
+
+Next morning Mr. Atkinson resumed his journey, passed a Kirghiz aul, and
+reached the margin of the Nor-Zaisan, but was unable to obtain a glimpse
+of its waters, owing to the dense masses of tall reeds which completely
+encircled it.  He rode across to the Irtisch, but there too the view was
+similarly blocked up.  There was nothing to be done but to return as
+quickly as possible to Kochbouchta, and prepare for the expedition into
+Chinese Tartary, which he had long had in contemplation.  A man of
+irrepressible energy and singularly firm resolution, Mr. Atkinson, when
+his plans were once formed, lost no time in carrying them into execution.
+But while the necessary arrangements were being made, he found time to
+accomplish some short but interesting excursions in the neighbourhood of
+Kochbouchta, visiting the gold mines, and sketching the romantic scenery
+of the valley of the Isilksou.  At length he was ready for his departure,
+and with an escort of three Cossacks, his servant, and his own Cossack
+attendant, he once more crossed the Irtisch, and began his journey across
+the Kirghiz steppe.  All the party were well armed and well mounted, and
+Mr. Atkinson felt competent to encounter, if need be, half a hundred of
+the nomadic bandits, if they should attempt to plunder him.  His servant,
+however, manifested so lively a dread of the robbers of the steppes, and
+so strong a disinclination to a close acquaintance with the Kirghiz, that
+Mr. Atkinson ordered him back to Ust-Kamenogorsk to await his return,
+rightly judging that his fears would render him an incumbrance and an
+impediment rather than a useful auxiliary.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+
+The tribes of the Kirghiz nation spread over the Asiatic steppes from the
+Aral river to the Ala-Tau Mountains.  From time immemorial they have been
+divided into the Great, the Middle, and the Little Hordes.  The Great
+Horde occupies the territory north of the Ala-Tau, extending into China
+and Tartary.  The Middle Horde inhabits the countries lying between the
+Ischim, the Irtisch, Lake Balkash, and Khokand.  The Little, which is by
+far the most numerous Horde, wanders over the undulating plains bounded
+by the Yamba and the Ural, over Turkistan (now under Russian rule), and
+into Siberia.  As a whole, the Kirghiz population may be assumed to
+number about 1,250,000 souls.  They are of Turco-Tartaric origin; and,
+according to Max Müller, Southern Siberia was their mother country.
+Nominally, they own the supremacy of the Great White Czar on the one
+side, and of the Chinese Emperor on the other; but their nomadic habits
+secure their virtual independence.  Each tribe is governed by its sultan
+or chief.  Quarrels and blood feuds between the different tribes are of
+constant occurrence.  Many live wholly by brigandage; swooping down
+suddenly, under cover of night, on the richer auls, or villages, they
+carry off horses, cattle, and other objects of value, besides men, women,
+and children, whom they sell into slavery.  These nocturnal raids are
+called barantas.
+
+The yourt, or tent, of the Kirghiz bears a close resemblance to the
+kibitka of the Kalmucks.  One of the better class is thus described: It
+was formed of willow trellis-work, put together with untanned strips of
+skin, made into compartments which fold up.  It represented a circle of
+thirty-four feet in diameter, five feet high to the springing of the
+dome, and twelve feet in the centre.  This dome is formed of bent rods of
+willow, an inch and a quarter in diameter, put into the mortice-holes of
+a ring about four feet across, which secures the top of the dome, admits
+light, and lets out the smoke.  The lower ends of the willow rods are
+tied with leathern thongs to the top of the trellis-work at the sides,
+which renders it quite strong and secure.  The whole is then covered with
+large sheets of voilock, made of wool and camel’s hair, fitting close, so
+that it is both warm and water-tight.  The doorway is formed of a small
+aperture in the trellis-work, over which hangs a piece of voilock, and
+closes it.  In the daytime this is rolled up and fastened on the roof of
+the yourt.
+
+The reader will not be surprised to learn that the furniture and fittings
+of the yourt are remarkable for their simplicity; the Kirghiz having none
+of the ingenuity of a Robinson Crusoe or the inventiveness of an American
+backwoodsman.  The fire is kindled on the ground in the centre of the
+yourt.  Directly opposite to the door, voilocks are spread; on these
+stand sundry boxes containing the clothing of the family, pieces of
+Chinese silk, tea, dried fruits, and ambas of silver (small squares,
+about two inches and a half long, an inch and a half wide, and
+three-tenths of an inch thick).  Some of the Kirghiz possess large
+quantities of these ambas, which are carefully hoarded up.  Above the
+boxes are bales of Bokharian and Persian carpets, often of great beauty
+and value.  In another part of the yourt lies the large sack of koumis,
+or mare’s milk, completely covered up with voilock to keep it warm and
+promote the fermentation.  And near this bag stands a large leathern
+bottle, sometimes holding four gallons, and frequently enriched with much
+ornament; as are the small bottles which the horseman carries on his
+saddle.  In another place may be seen the large iron caldron, and the
+trivet on which it rests when used for cooking in the yourt.  There are
+usually half a dozen Chinese wooden bowls, often beautifully painted and
+japanned, from which the koumis is drunk; some of them hold three pints,
+others are still larger.  On entering a Kirghiz yourt in summer, each
+guest is presented with one of these Chinese bowls full of koumis.  To
+return the vessel with any koumis in it is considered impolite, and the
+rudeness is one of which a good Kirghiz is assuredly never guilty.
+
+The saddles are deposited on the bales of carpets.  As the wealthy
+Kirghiz greatly esteem rich horse trappings, many of these are beautiful
+and costly.  If of Kirghiz workmanship, they are decorated with silver
+inlaid on iron, in chaste ornamental designs, and are padded with velvet
+cushions; the bridles, and other parts of the equipment, are covered with
+small iron plates, similarly inlaid.
+
+Leathern thongs, ropes made of camel’s hair, common saddles,
+saddle-cloths, and leathern tchimbar hang suspended from the
+trellis-work.  The tchimbar, or trousers, however, are not infrequently
+made of black velvet, richly embroidered with silk, more especially the
+back elevation; and they are so large and loose that a Kirghiz, when he
+rides, can tuck into them the laps of his three or four khalats.  As he
+ties them round his waist with a leathern strap, he presents a most
+grotesque appearance with the centre part of his person bulging like a
+great globe, out of which the very diminutive head and legs protrude.
+
+The national dress of the Kirghiz is the khalat, a kind of pelisse, very
+long and very full, with large sleeves, made of cashmere or silk, and in
+the most dazzling colours; but the poorer nomad substitutes for this
+state dress a horse-skin jacket.  Breeches fastened below the hips by a
+girdle of wool or cashmere, high-heeled madder-coloured boots, and a
+fox-skin cap, rising into a cone on the top, and lined inside with
+crimson cloth, complete his costume.  His weapons are the spear, gun, and
+axe.  The last is a long formidable weapon; the iron head is moderately
+heavy and sharp; the handle, about four and a half feet long, is secured
+by a leathern thong round the wrist.  It is often richly inlaid with
+silver.  The women wear a high calico head-dress, a part of which falls
+over the shoulders and covers up the neck; boots of the same make and
+colour as the men’s, and a long and ample khalat, with, sometimes, a
+shawl tied round the waist.
+
+The Kirghiz begin to make koumis in April.  The mares are milked at five
+o’clock in the morning and about the same time in the evening, into large
+leathern pails, which are immediately taken to the yourt, and emptied
+into the koumis bag.  The latter is five to six feet long, with a
+leathern tube, about four inches in diameter, at one corner, through
+which the milk is poured into the bag, and the koumis drawn out of it.  A
+wooden instrument, not unlike a churning-staff, is introduced into the
+bag, for the purpose of frequently agitating the koumis, which is not
+considered in good condition until after the lapse of twelve to fourteen
+days.  It is drunk in large quantities by such of the Kirghiz as are
+wealthy enough to keep up a considerable stud of brood mares; and every
+Kirghiz, rich or poor, slings his koumis bottle to his saddle in summer,
+and loses no opportunity of replenishing it at the different auls he
+visits.
+
+In crossing the steppe, Mr. Atkinson fell in with the aul of Mahomed, a
+Kirghiz chief, who was reputed to be very wealthy.  Mahomed was a fine
+robust man, about sixty years old, stout and square-built, with broad
+features, a fine flowing grey beard, a pair of small piercing eyes, and a
+fairly pleasant countenance.  He wore on his head a closely fitting silk
+cap, handsomely embroidered in silver; his dress consisting of a large
+robe, or khalat, of pink and yellow striped silk, tied round the waist
+with a white shawl.  His boots were of reddish-brown leather, small, with
+very high heels, causing a real or apparent difficulty in walking.  His
+wife, much younger than himself, and probably not more than thirty or
+thirty-five years of age, had a broad face, high cheek-bones, twinkling
+black bead-like eyes, a small nose, a wide mouth; she was neither pretty
+nor prepossessing; but decidedly in want of a hot bath.  Attired in a
+black kaufa (Chinese satin) khalat, with a red shawl round the waist;
+reddish-brown high-heeled boots, like her husband’s; she also wore a
+rather pointed white muslin cap, the lappets of which, finely wrought on
+the edge with red silk, hung down nearly to her hips.  This couple were
+rich in the world’s goods from a Kirghiz point of view.  Not only was
+their yourt well stocked with voilocks and carpets, and richly ornamented
+weapons, and costly caparisonings, but they owned an amount of live stock
+which would astonish the most opulent English farmer.  The noise in and
+around the aul was deafening.  It was a babel of sounds: the sharp cry of
+the camels, the neighing of the horses, the bellowing of the bulls, the
+bleating of the sheep and goats, and the barking of the dogs, all
+combining in one hideous, ear-shattering chorus.  Mr. Atkinson counted no
+fewer than 106 camels, including their young; besides more than 2000
+horses, 1000 oxen and cows, and 6000 sheep and goats.  Yet even these
+large totals did not represent all the wealth of the Kirghiz chief; for
+he had two other auls, and at each were 1000 horses and numerous cattle.
+It was a picturesque and interesting sight to see the women busily
+milking the cows, and the men conducting the vast herds to their
+pastures.  The horses and camels are driven to the greatest distance, as
+far as ten and fifteen versts; the oxen come next; the sheep remain
+nearest the aul, but still at a distance of five or six versts.
+
+While Mr. Atkinson was sojourning in Mahomed’s aul, a night attack was
+made upon it.  He was aroused, about two hours after midnight, by a
+tremendous noise, which to him, sleeping on the ground, seemed as if it
+issued from some subterranean hollow.  At first he thought it was the
+rumbling of an earthquake, and immediately sat upright.  But the sound
+rolled on, drew nearer and nearer; presently it passed, so that the whole
+earth shook.  Then he knew that the herd of horses was dashing onward at
+full gallop; and when he caught the shrieks of women and the shouts of
+men, he understood that an assault had been made upon the aul by robbers.
+In a moment he seized his rifle, and sallied forth from the yourt, to
+behold the Kirghiz, battle-axe in hand, leap on their horses, and gallop
+towards the point of attack.  The herds were rushing wildly round the
+aul; the Cossacks, with their muskets loaded, were ready for the fray;
+all was confusion and disorder.  Presently the sound of horses swiftly
+approaching could be heard; they came nearer and nearer; in less than two
+minutes a dark troop swept past like a whirlwind at twenty paces distant,
+making the air ring with loud, defiant shouts.  Five bullets whistled
+after them; there was a scream from a horse, but on they dashed.  The
+Kirghiz followed quickly in pursuit, accompanied by two of the Cossacks,
+who had rapidly mounted.  After riding about a verst they came up with
+the robbers, to find they were three times their number, and prepared to
+fight for their booty.  Against such odds no success could be hoped for,
+and accordingly the Kirghiz retired to the aul.  When day dawned it was
+ascertained that this daring razzia had cost Mahomed a hundred horses.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+This was not the only adventure that befell Mr. Atkinson while he made
+Mahomed’s aul his headquarters.  One day, he was returning from an
+excursion to some finely coloured porphyry rocks, when the wind begun to
+blow across the steppe in strong and frequent gusts, and his Kirghiz
+guides announced that a storm was at hand.  Their prediction was
+confirmed by the clouds that gathered about the lower peaks of the Altai,
+and soon a dense mass of blackness, extending for a long distance from
+north to south, rolled rapidly in the direction of the travellers.  Not a
+tree or a rock offered the slightest shelter.  Spurring their horses
+briskly, they galloped over the plain, pursued by the storm, as, in
+Goethe’s ballad, the father and his doomed child are pursued by the Erl
+King.  The gusts of wind ceased, and for a short time a deadly calm
+prevailed.  Meanwhile, the clouds were painfully agitated, as if by some
+internal force, and streams of vapour issuing from their blackness
+whirled rapidly round.  A low murmur stole through the air; gradually it
+deepened and strengthened, until, as the storm broke upon the steppe, it
+swelled into a roar like that of a thousand cannon.  The grasses and low
+bushes were rooted up, and sent flying into the air with fearful
+velocity.  The terrified horses stopped suddenly; nor could they be
+induced to move until the whirlwind had passed by.  Fortunately the
+travellers had not been caught in its vortex, and no serious accident
+occurred.
+
+Leaving the hospitable Mahomed, Mr. Atkinson continued his explorations
+of the steppe, and rode onward to the next aul, which lay to the
+northward, and was reached in two days’ journey.  Here, after the usual
+entertainment, he found himself free to write up his journal—much to the
+astonishment of his companions, the three R’s being unknown in the steppe
+to any but the mullahs, or priests, of the various tribes.  The
+manuscript was a wonder to the children of the wilderness, and they
+regarded its owner as a very wealthy mullah, possessed of the priceless
+treasure of a book full of amulets.  For the mullah sells his amulets, or
+charms, at the rate of a sheep for each scrap of paper, which he has
+covered with unmeaning characters.  Mr. Atkinson’s ring was examined;
+also his knife; also a piece of red sealing-wax.  On a piece of thick
+paper from his sketch-book he took impressions of his seal, and presented
+them to the women of the yourt, who doubtlessly long wore them in their
+caps as talismans or ornaments of special value and importance.  His
+watch was likewise an object of curiosity.  He held it to the ear of a
+woman sitting near him.  Evidently she thought it was alive and talking,
+for she communicated the fact to her companions, and they all expressed a
+wish to hear it speak.
+
+By way of Mount Kamenogorsk, his old quarters, Mr. Atkinson proceeded to
+Barnaoul, which he reached on the 1st of November.  This town is built at
+the junction of the small river Barnaulka with the Ob.  The streets are
+wide, laid out in parallel lines, and intersected by others at right
+angles.  There are three ugly brick churches, and one large hospital.
+Its silver smelting works are on an extensive scale, producing annually
+about nine thousand pounds.  Almost all the gold found in Siberia is also
+smelted here, and cast into bars; and every year six caravans leave with
+the precious metals for St. Petersburg—four in winter by the sledge
+roads, and two in summer.  Barnaoul is the centre for the administration
+of the mines of the Altai, and the residence of the Natchalink, or
+director, as well as of the heads of the principal departments.
+
+The public museum at Barnaoul contains a very good collection of
+minerals, some Siberian antiquities, a few Siberian animals and birds,
+and four tiger-skins.  The wearers of these skins were killed in
+different parts of Siberia; in two instances their capture proving fatal
+to some of the peasants engaged in it, for pea-rifles and hay-forks are
+scarcely fit weapons with which to encounter the fiercest of the beasts
+of prey.  They are seldom found in Siberia; only when driven by hunger do
+they cross the Irtisch, and many peasants do not know them even by name.
+The last of the Barnaoul company, now reposing peacefully in a glass
+case, was discovered, early one morning, prone on the top of a small
+hay-rick, near the village.  The peasant, who had come for some hay for
+his horses, beheld with surprise and terror the strange and formidable
+creature, and shrank from his glaring eyeballs, which seemed to sparkle
+with fire.  At the same moment the peasant’s dog caught sight of him,
+and, with a loud bark, bravely dashed towards the rick.  Growling
+terribly, the tiger sprung to the ground.  The dog met him intrepidly,—to
+be crushed in a moment beneath his heavy paw.  Hastening towards the
+village, the man gave the alarm, and quickly returned with a valiant
+company; some armed with pea-rifles, others with hay-forks and axes.
+Several dogs followed them.  On approaching the rick, they were apprised
+of the enemy’s position by a furious growl.  The dogs made a brilliant
+charge; but the tiger crouched sullenly, and did not spring.  A small
+shot through his hide roused him, and at a bound he was in among the
+dogs, killing a couple of them instantly with his terrible paws, and
+scattering the rest in ignominious flight.  He received two more balls,
+but they served only to inflame his fury, and leaping in among his
+assailants, he felled one of them to the ground, dead.  Again the dogs
+charged him, while the peasants with their hay-forks stabbed him in the
+back and sides.  At last he withdrew slowly towards a bank covered with
+brushwood, followed by the dogs and their masters; but on reaching the
+bank he halted, faced round, growled angrily, and prepared for another
+spring.  His enemies halted, and poured in shot upon him; the dogs barked
+furiously; but he held his ground, and could not be induced to move.
+After a while, encouraged by his inaction, the dogs began to close in
+upon him, and finally it was discovered that a ball had pierced him in a
+vital part, and the beast was dead.
+
+The river Ob, which flows past Barnaoul, is described as a magnificent
+stream, running in a valley twelve versts broad; its numerous small
+branches divide this valley into islands, on which large trees are
+growing.  In May the melting of the snow swells the stream into a great
+flood, which inundates much of the valley, and gradually widens from one
+bank to the other, with the tops of the trees rising above the swirl of
+waters like islands.  At this time many of the scenes along the Ob are
+very grand, especially if seen at sunrise or sunset, when the various
+colouring of the luminous sky is mirrored in the mighty stream, which,
+flashing with golden and crimson lights, rolls through the deep purple
+masses of the forest, to terminate its course in the Arctic Ocean.
+
+The neighbourhood seems to be an attractive one for the sportsman; snipe
+abound in June and July, blackcock in August, and rebchicks, or tree
+partridges, in September.  Wild hen are also plentiful, and in winter,
+hares.  Or if the hunter care for more venturous sport, he may sally out
+against the wolves and bears.
+
+The bears are dangerous antagonists.  A very large one was seen by some
+woodcutters about fifteen versts from the gold mine; and two men, one of
+whom was known as a bold, skilful, and veteran hunter, started in
+pursuit.  They found the beast’s track quite fresh in the long dewy
+grass, and cautiously followed it up, until a low growl warned them of
+his presence.  He sprang out of a thicket, about thirty-five paces
+distant, and confronted his pursuers.  The hunter fired, and his shot
+told, but not in a vital part.  The wounded animal charged immediately,
+the other man reserving his shot until he was within twenty paces.  Then,
+unfortunately, his rifle missed fire.  The bear at once stood on his hind
+legs, and sprang forward against his first assailant, striking him to the
+earth with a blow that stripped his scalp and turned it over his face;
+then, seizing his arm, he began to gnaw and crush it to the bone,
+gradually ascending to the shoulder.  The sufferer called to his
+companion to load and fire; but, losing heart when he saw his friend so
+terribly mangled, the craven took to flight.
+
+Returning to the gold mine, he related what had happened; but it was then
+too late to despatch a party in search of the unfortunate hunter.  At
+daylight next morning, however, they set out, with the craven as guide.
+On arriving at the scene of the affray, no remains of the victim could be
+found but some torn clothing and his rifle; and the trampled grass showed
+that he had been carried off into the thick covert.  The trail was
+pursued with the utmost diligence, and at length, under a heap of
+branches, in a dense thicket of trees and bushes, the hunter’s body was
+discovered, and, strange to say, though grievously mutilated, it still
+throbbed with life.  With tender care the miserable victim was conveyed
+to the gold mine and taken to the hospital, where he was treated with the
+utmost kindness, and all was done that medical skill could do.  For a
+long time he remained unconscious; but at the end of two months a slight
+improvement was noticeable, and he recovered his reason.  His first
+question was about the bear; his next, about his own defeat.  In truth,
+his conversation turned only upon these subjects: he seemed possessed by
+a monomania; was continually asking for his rifle, that he might go and
+kill “Michael Ivanitch” (the bear).  As his strength returned, it was
+thought necessary to place him under restraint, lest his desire to
+contend with his fierce and powerful enemy should lead him into some
+dangerous enterprise.
+
+But when autumn arrived, and laid its magical finger on the forest, the
+monomaniac seemed to have forgotten his hate, so that he was watched with
+less rigour.  He took advantage of his comparative freedom to steal from
+the hospital, gain his own cottage, and, in the absence of his family,
+arm himself with his rifle and axe, and stow away in his wallet a loaf of
+black bread.  Then, as the shades of evening began to fall, he started
+for the forest, and soon disappeared in the gathering gloom.
+
+As soon as his absence from the hospital was known, a close search for
+him was instituted; but in vain.  A week passed by, and it was supposed
+that he had perished, when one day he strode into the hospital, carrying
+on his shoulders the skin of a huge black bear.  Throwing it down, he
+exclaimed, “I told you I would have him.”  Thenceforward he rapidly
+recovered; both his physical and mental health were re-established, and
+he lived to bring down many another “Michael Ivanitch” with his deadly
+rifle.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+A curious incident befell a Cossack officer in the woods of Barnaoul.
+
+Alone and unarmed, he was sauntering through the forest glades, gathering
+specimen plants, when, at a distance of about eight versts from the gold
+mine, he emerged into an open space, where stood a few isolated trees;
+and the same moment he descried, not more than two hundred yards off, a
+she-bear and her two cubs gambolling together.  She, too, recognized his
+presence; and, with a fierce growl, drove her young ones into a tree as
+an asylum, and, resolute to defend them, mounted guard at its foot.
+
+To carry off the cubs as trophies was the Cossack’s resolve, but he
+wanted a weapon.  Retiring into the wood a few steps, he came to a place
+where the woodmen had felled several young birch trees, and from one of
+these he selected four feet of a stout, strong, but manageable stem, with
+which he returned to the scene of action.  At his approach the old bear
+resumed her growling, and moved uneasily to and fro in front of the tree,
+but carefully keeping within a few feet of it.  He continued his advance.
+She growled more savagely, and plainly suspected his hostile intentions.
+Still he moved forward, with his eyes steadfastly fixed upon her.  When
+he was within about fifty paces, she made a fierce rush that would have
+put most men to flight.  He held his ground, and as the cubs began to
+whine, she trotted back towards the tree, in a mood of uncontrolled rage.
+The Cossack followed; she turned; the two antagonists stood face to face
+at a distance of twenty yards.
+
+Retreat was now impossible; and there they stood, gazing keenly on each
+other, and each waiting for an opportunity to attack.  The bear, with
+fiery eyeballs, made a second rush, and at a few paces from her daring
+enemy, rose on her hind legs, either to fell him with her heavy paws or
+crush him in her cruel embrace; but, with wonderful coolness, he brought
+down his club and toppled her over.  In a second she sprang to her feet,
+and prepared to renew the charge; another tremendous stroke laid her on
+the ground.  The combat assumed a desperate and deadly character, and
+several “rounds” were determinedly fought.  Eventually, the Cossack’s
+well-directed blows subdued her courage, and when she could neither
+charge him in front nor get in his rear, she fell back towards the tree,
+still fighting desperately.  Under the tree a fresh spirit was infused
+into the affray, and every time she heard her cubs whine, she returned
+with increased fury to the assault.  She was received, however, with such
+a shower of blows, that, at last dispirited and exhausted, she retreated
+hastily towards the forest, and entered its shades; contriving,
+nevertheless, whenever the gallant Cossack moved towards the refuge of
+her cubs, to make a rush in that direction.
+
+All this time the cubs remained perched among the branches, and the
+officer, considering himself victorious, longed to take possession of his
+prize.  But he could devise no plan of getting at them, and it was
+evident they would not come down at his call.  Luckily, a woodman, on his
+way to the gold mine, rode into the arena.  The Cossack hailed him;
+ordered him to dismount, to take from his saddle the zumka, or leather
+saddle-bags, and, climbing the tree, to thrust the cubs into them, while
+he himself kept watch over the mother bear.  This was done, though not
+without several sharp encounters between the she-bear and the officer;
+and, finally, the peasant threw his heavy bags across his horse, and led
+the way to the ravine, the Cossack covering the rear.  In this fashion
+they marched into Barnaoul; first, the woodman and his horse, next the
+Cossack officer, and behind him the bear.  The march occupied two hours,
+and the unfortunate mother persevered to the very last, not abandoning
+her young ones until their captor had reached the cottages.  Then she
+hastily returned into the forest, and was seen no more.
+
+
+
+III.
+
+
+There is much to attract and impress in the scenery of the lakes of the
+Altai.  Lake scenery in a mountainous country is always picturesque,
+always striking, from the variety of forms which it presents, and its
+endless contrasts of light and shade, and its magical combinations of
+colours.  Moreover, it passes so rapidly from the calmly beautiful to the
+sublime! for at one moment the silver waters sleep as profoundly as a
+babe on its mother’s breast; at another, the storm-wind issues from the
+savage glen, and lashes them into a white wrath.  In the genial days of
+summer it shines and sparkles with a peculiar radiance; a golden glory
+seems to hang upon the mountain sides, and a purple light rests on the
+bosom of the lake.  In the dreary winter, nothing can be grander in its
+gloom; the hollows and the glens are heavy with an eery darkness, through
+which the white peaks show like sheeted phantoms.  In truth, it appeals
+to us by its twofold features of the mountain and the water.  The former
+awakens our awe, lifts us out of our commonplace lives, and fills us with
+a sense of the wonder and mystery of God’s work; it is an embodiment of
+majesty and power, a noble and sublime architecture, the study of which
+awakens the higher and purer impulses of the soul.  Beauty of colour,
+perfection of form, an endless change in the midst of what seems to us an
+everlasting permanency—all those are the mountain’s; all these belong to
+that great cathedral of the earth, with its “gates of rock,” its
+“pavements of cloud,” its snow-white altars, and its airy roof, traversed
+by the stars.  Then as to water; has it not a wonder and a beauty of its
+own?  “If we think of it,” says Ruskin, “as the source of all the
+changefulness and beauty which we have seen in clouds; then as the
+instrument by which the earth we have contemplated was modelled into
+symmetry, and its crags chiselled into grace; then as, in the form of
+snow, it robes the mountains it has made, with that transcendent light
+which we could not have conceived if we had not seen; then as it exists
+in the foam of the torrent, in the iris which spans it, in the morning
+mist which rises from it, in the deep crystalline peaks which mirror its
+hanging shore, in the broad lake and glowing river; finally, in that
+which is to all human minds the best emblem of unwearied, unconquerable
+power, the wild, various, fantastic, tameless unity of the sea; what
+shall we compare to this mighty, this universal element, for glory and
+for beauty? or how shall we follow its eternal changefulness of feeling?”
+Bring the two together, the water and the mountain, and the landscape
+attains its highest character; the picture is then as consummate in its
+mingled beauty and grandeur as Nature can make it; and hence it is, I
+think, that lake scenery has always such a power over the imagination.
+
+The Altin-Kool, or Golden Lake, measuring about one hundred versts in
+length, and from three to twelve in breadth, lies in an enormous chasm,
+with peaks and precipices all around it, some of them two thousand feet
+in height, and so perpendicular as to afford no footing even for a
+chamois.  On the west side of the lake, the mountain pinnacles rise to
+10,500 feet, and on the south several are even loftier.  On the east side
+their elevation is less, but still they reach far above the line of
+vegetation into the region of perpetual snow.  Having engaged some
+Kalmucks, or boatmen, Mr. Atkinson and his companions set out in canoes
+to explore the lake, beginning on the east.  For the first ten versts the
+mountains do not rise very abruptly; they slope to the north, and green
+cedar forests cover them to the very summit, while the banks on the
+opposite side are almost treeless.  Winding round a small headland, the
+lake expands into a splendid basin, with picturesque mountains grouped on
+either shore.  Early in the evening the voyagers stopped near a torrent,
+which poured its foam and din down a narrow gorge, and the Kalmucks
+recommended it as a favourable site for an encampment.  A bed of clean
+white sand, about fifteen feet wide, sloped gradually to the water-side.
+Between the upper rim of the sand and the rocks, large cedars were
+growing, and under these a bulayan, or wigwam, was constructed.  Though
+consisting only of a few bare poles, covered with birch bark, open in
+front, and the ends filled up with branches, it was warm, and it kept out
+the mosquitoes; and within its welcome covert Mr. Atkinson and his party
+contentedly passed the night.
+
+At daybreak, a fresh wind was blowing, and until this subsided the
+Kalmucks could not be induced to move.  Satisfied at last with the
+promise both of sky and mountains, they pushed off, and doubling round a
+rocky point, entered a broad and beautiful bay, curving gracefully in the
+shadow of snow-capped mountains.  At Tasck-tash, a bold headland, the
+lake turns directly south.  Climbing to its summit, Mr. Atkinson enjoyed
+a noble view of the expanse of shining waters—one of those views which
+rests in the memory for ever, and is at all times a beauty and a joy.
+The general character of the landscape is boldness.  Along the west shore
+the rocks dip to the east, at a very sharp angle, while upon their
+foundations the crags rise perpendicularly, and, above all, a
+snow-crowned summit shines like silver against the sapphire sky.  On the
+east, as already stated, the mountains are less abrupt; but one, a
+conspicuous peak, rears a lofty and rounded crest far into the clouds,
+with white vaporous billows clinging to its rugged sides, and the eternal
+snow whitening its remote crest.
+
+As the voyage progressed, the voyagers came upon such mysteries of colour
+as filled them with delight.  Out of the chinks and clefts in the deep
+red granite bloomed bright plants and flowers with tropical luxuriance.
+Some slate rocks, grey, purple, and orange, intervened; the bright yellow
+of the birches lighted up the distant rocks; and the background was
+filled in with the deep purple mountains.  The whole was a wonder of rich
+harmonious colouring, like a symphony of Beethoven’s.  At another point a
+gleaming waterfall leaped boldly over a succession of picturesque rocky
+terraces, the colours of which were bright as those of the rainbow,
+green, yellow, purple, and glowing red.  There was also a white marble,
+spotted with purple; another, white, with veins of bluish purple; and a
+mass of exquisite, deep plum-coloured jasper.  On the third day of their
+exploration, the voyagers entered one of the wildest parts of the lake—a
+deep circular recess in the Karakorum Mountains, into which three streams
+fling their heedless waters, uniting near the brink of a mighty
+precipice, and then tumbling down from ledge to ledge, to pass through a
+natural arch and fall into the lake.  Prom the summit of the cliff, where
+the water takes its first leap, to the level of the lake, is not less
+than two thousand feet.  “Avalanches must sometimes sweep over this
+place, and large trees are bent down and stripped of their branches.
+Huge rocks are torn up and hurled along, crushing and grinding everything
+in their course, as they rush on into the lake.  No man can conceive the
+chaotic confusion into which the mass of ice and rocks has been heaped.
+One enormous stone, weighing not less than a hundred and fifty tons, had
+been placed on its end, on the edge of the rock, in an overhanging
+position towards the lake.”
+
+Various rivers flow into the Altin-Kool, such as the Tchoulishman, the
+Kamga, and the Karbou.  They are navigated by the Kalmucks in light
+canoes, each constructed from the trunk of a single tree.  The poplar is
+much used for this purpose; but, notwithstanding the softness of its
+wood, the labour of canoe-building is very great, owing to the rude
+character of the tools employed.  The sides are cut down to a thickness
+of about three-quarters of an inch; but the bottom, which is usually made
+flat and without a keel, is nearly double the thickness.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Having completed his circumnavigation of the Altin-Kool, Mr. Atkinson,
+with his thirst for new scenes unquenched, started on a visit to the
+source of the river Katounaia.  His route lay past Kolyvan, a town where
+the population is principally employed in cutting and polishing jasper
+and porphyry, and across the river Tchenish.  He then crossed into the
+valley of the Koksa, and descended upon the Yabagan steppe, where he met
+with some Kalmuck auls, and was present at a curious pseudo-religious
+ceremony, the offering up of an annual sacrifice to the Kalmuck deity.  A
+ram was presented by its owner, who desired a large increase to his herds
+and flocks.  It was handed to an assistant of the priest, who duly killed
+it.  Meanwhile, the priest, looking eastward, chanted a prayer, and beat
+on a large tambourine to attract the attention of his god, while he
+petitioned for multitudes of sheep and cattle.  When the ram had been
+flayed, the skin was hoisted on a pole above the framework of the
+bulayan, and placed with its head to the east.  The tambourine was loudly
+beaten, and the wild chant continued.  Then the flesh was cooked in the
+large caldron, and all the tribe partook of the dainty—“there was a sound
+of revelry by night.”
+
+The Kalmuck priest wears a leather coat, over the laps of which impend
+hundreds of strips, with leather tassels on the breast.  He fastens a
+girdle round his waist; and an assortment of brass balls on his back, and
+scraps of iron in front, produces a continuous jingle.  His crimson
+velvet cap is ornamented over the forehead with brass beads and glass
+drops, and at the back with feathers from the tail of the crane.
+
+The Kalmucks who inhabit these steppes own large herds of horses and
+oxen, and flocks of sheep.  Some of the men are sturdy fellows and
+perfect Nimrods; they live by the chase, and spend months alone in the
+mountain wilds.  Mr. Atkinson speaks of them as brave, honest, and
+faithful.  “I have slept at their bulayan, and partaken of their venison.
+A City alderman would be horrified to see the haunch of a fine buck cut
+into small pieces an inch square and half an inch thick, through twenty
+of which a sharp-pointed stick is run, and the thick end stuck into the
+ground in a leaning position near the fire.  Every man here is his own
+cook, and attends to the roast.  The upper piece is first done, when it
+is slipped off, dipped in salt, and eaten quite hot—without currant
+jelly.”
+
+At Ouemonia Lake, the last village in the Altai, Mr. Atkinson halted in
+order to obtain a sufficient number of men and horses for his ascent to
+the source of the Katounaia, and the Bielouka, the highest point in the
+Altai chain.  He was provided by the chief official, or magistrate, with
+an escort of six Kalmucks and two Russians (one of them a veteran
+hunter), and at seven o’clock on Wednesday morning sprang into his saddle
+and rode away.  Including himself and his attendant, the party consisted
+of ten men, with sixteen horses and one dog.  Crossing a little steppe,
+about six versts long, they entered the forest belt which surrounds the
+lower declivities of the forest-range, and through groves of pine, cedar,
+birch, and poplar, began their ascent of the first chain.  Emerging from
+the thick leafy covert, they came upon the bare mountain-side, with a
+storm of rain and sleet beating in their faces, and pursued their way to
+the foot of a lofty acclivity, across which lay their track.  Here they
+rested, in a “cedarn shade,” until the gale had subsided: then _en
+avant_!  Through masses of fallen granite and jasper, interspersed with a
+few giant cedars, they slowly made their way, until they began in earnest
+to climb the great steep; a slow operation and a dangerous, for great
+crags, hurled from the upper heights, hung here and there so insecurely
+as, apparently, to need but a breath to send them crashing downwards in
+an avalanche, and at other places the ledges along which they rode were
+so narrow, that the slightest stumble on the part of their patient horses
+must have precipitated them into destruction!  A painful ride of two
+hours brought them to the summit, which commanded a noble view of the
+Katounaia valley and the mountains to the north.
+
+Their ride was continued over a high plateau, on which huge rocks, rugged
+and curiously wrought, the remains of shattered peaks, stood in their
+awful grandeur; carrying back the imagination through the dim shadows of
+the past to a period long before the present forms of life existed, and
+speaking eloquently of the vast changes which earth has undergone.  Their
+aspect was often that of colossal castles, grim with tower and
+battlement, which fancy peopled with the demons of the mountain and the
+wilderness.  But the travellers could not stay to study them; signs of a
+terrible tempest were visible, and they dashed forward at a hard gallop
+to seek shelter in the valley of the Tschugash.  A group of cedars, with
+a patch of smooth turf, was found on the river bank, and there they
+bivouacked.  The night passed without accident or adventure; and early
+next morning they were again on horseback, and across ridge and valley,
+through scenes of the strangest picturesqueness, pursued their track.
+Across ridge and valley, but in a lofty region always—just below the line
+of perpetual snow, but above the region of vegetation; the eye unrelieved
+by branch of moss or blade of grass; until, towards evening, they
+descended into the valley of the Arriga.  Then they wound over a low
+wooded ridge, and struck into a rugged pass, at the head of which they
+encamped for the night.  The tents were pitched; a huge fire blazed; and
+the hunter having shot a very fine deer, a savour of venison speedily
+perfumed the cool night air.  What with venison and wodky, the travellers
+feasted gloriously, and the echoes rang with the wild songs of the
+Kalmucks.
+
+The morning came, and with it the signal “Forward!”  They ascended the
+bank of the Arriga to its source—a small circular basin of about thirty
+feet diameter, at the foot of a precipice seven or eight hundred feet in
+height.  The basin was deep, with a bed of white pebbles; the water,
+clear as crystal, issuing forth in a copious stream, rolled downward in a
+series of small and shining cascades.  The path, from this point, lay
+across a high mountain, the upper part of which was deep shrouded in
+snow, and it toiled up to the summit in about a hundred bends and curves;
+a summit like a razor-back, not more than twenty-five feet wide.  The
+ascent was arduous and perilous, but still worse the descent on the other
+side, owing to the exceeding steepness.  Accomplishing it in safety, Mr.
+Atkinson found himself in the valley of the Mein.  The river rises at the
+foot of a precipice which reaches far above the snow line, and winds its
+course through a morass which, in the old time, has been a lake, shut in
+by a barrier of rocks, except at one narrow gap, where the little stream
+finds an exit in a fall of about fifty feet deep.  At the head of the
+lake is another cataract, which throws its “sheeted silver’s
+perpendicular” down the precipice in one grand leap of full five hundred
+feet.
+
+Crossing another chain, and still ascending, the explorers reached
+another little lake, the Kara-goll, or “Black Lake,” with its waters
+shining a deep emerald green.  This effect, however, is not produced by
+any surrounding verdure, for the lake is almost encompassed by high
+mountains, and crags of red and yellowish granite, that rise up into the
+region of eternal snow.  At the upper end a huge mass of basaltic rocks,
+of a deep grey colour, forms a fine contrast to the yellow castellated
+forms at their base.  On the opposite side of the lake high precipices of
+granite are backed by grand mountain summits, white with the snows of
+uncounted ages.
+
+Fording the Kara-sou, or “black water”—a stream issuing from the lake—and
+crossing a beautiful valley, the riders entered a thickly wooded region
+which stretches over the lower mountain range down to the Katounaia, and
+arrived on the bank of the river Bitchuatoo.  Thrice had they changed
+from summer to winter in the course of a day’s ride.  Turning to the
+south, they ascended a steep and lofty summit, from which it was supposed
+the Bielouka would be visible.  It proved to be a rocky height that
+towered above all the mountains to the west of the Katounaia, even above
+the loftiest crests of the Chelsoun; and vast and magnificent was the
+panorama which it commanded.  In the foreground, a ridge of huge granite
+crags, tinted with mosses of almost every hue.  In all directions rolled
+chains of snowy peaks, like the storm-tossed waves of a suddenly frozen
+sea; and as they rolled, they gradually ebbed, so to speak, down to the
+far steppes of Chinese Tartary, and were lost in a vapour-shrouded
+horizon.
+
+But the Bielouka was not to be seen, and Mr. Atkinson resumed his ride,
+keeping along the crest of the mountain for about two versts, and then
+striking into a little valley, watered by several lakelets.  A dreary
+place!  There were neither shrubs nor trees; and the barrenness of
+desolation was relieved only by a few patches of short mossy grass.
+Sharp edges of slate, projecting above the surface, showed that the
+upheaval of the strata had been effected perpendicularly.  To the south
+rose “half a mountain” in a precipice of not less than 2500 feet above
+the lakes; while a similarly strange combination of cliffs faced it on
+the north.  Between these precipices, at the head of the valley, towered
+what might be taken for a colossal dome; beyond which a forest of white
+peaks were sharply defined against the blue serene.
+
+The travellers reached the head of the valley, and examined from a near
+point the enormous dome.  From a distance the curve on its sides had
+appeared as regular as if wrought by human skill; but they now found that
+it was piled up with huge blocks of slate and granite, over which it
+would be impossible to take the horses.  A steep ascent to the north
+brought them, however, to its summit.  There the scene was sufficiently
+remarkable: you might have thought that the Titans had been at play, with
+great fragments of slate, granite, jasper, and porphyry for their
+counters.  The horses and most of the men were sent round by the base of
+the cliffs, while Mr. Atkinson, with his servant and the village-hunter,
+scrambled through the chaos to the edge of a vast circular hollow, which
+proved to be a vast volcanic crater, not less than nine to twelve hundred
+feet in diameter, and fully fifty feet in depth.  It was heaped up with
+blocks and boulders and fragments of all sizes, from a cube of twelve
+inches to a mass weighing half a hundred tons.  It is a belief of the
+Kalmucks that this gloomy spot is inhabited by Shaitan, and they regard
+it with superstitious dread.  Certainly, it is eery enough to be haunted
+by many a ghostly legend.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Next day, taking a different track, Mr. Atkinson descended the valley of
+the Tourgau, listening to the music of the stream as it raced over its
+rocky bed with the speed of a “swift Camilla.”  At a point where it
+suddenly swept round the base of some cliffs of slate, the Kalmuck guide
+said that it might be forded, though the passage was very difficult.  “We
+stood on the high bank a few minutes,” says Mr. Atkinson, “and surveyed
+the boiling and rushing water beneath, while immediately above were a
+succession of small falls, varying from six to ten feet in height.  At
+the bottom of the last there was a rapid, extending about twenty paces
+down the river; then came another fall of greater depth; after which the
+torrent rushes onward over large stones until it joins the Katounaia.
+Across this rapid, between the falls, we had to make our passage—not one
+at a time, but five abreast, otherwise we should be swept away.  As we
+could only descend the rocky bank in single file, and scarcely find room
+at the bottom for our horses to stand upon, it was no easy matter to form
+our party before plunging into the foaming water.  Zepta was the first to
+descend; I followed; then came three others, with two led horses.  To go
+straight across was impossible; we could only land on some shelving rocks
+a few paces above the lower fall.  The brave Zepta gave the word, and we
+rode into the rushing waters, knee to knee.  Our horses walked slowly and
+steadily on, as the water dashed up their sides; instinct making them
+aware of the danger, they kept their heads straight across the stream.
+The distance we forded was not more than twenty paces, but we were at
+least five minutes doing it; and it was with no small satisfaction that
+we found ourselves standing on the rocks, some twenty feet above the
+water, wishing as safe a passage to our friends.  When I saw them drawn
+up on the little bank, and then dash into the stream, I felt the danger
+of their position more than when crossing myself.  Their horses breasted
+the torrent bravely, and all were safely landed; the dog was placed on
+one of the pack-horses, where he lay between the bags in perfect
+security.  I am certain that every man felt a relief when the enterprise
+was accomplished, which would have been impossible had the water been
+three inches deeper.”
+
+Continuing their ride down the valley, in about ten hours the party
+reached the river Katounaia and the grassy valley through which it foams
+and flows.  Their route lay up its banks, and speedily brought them to
+the broad swift stream of the Tourgau, which reflects in its water groups
+of cedars and birches, with rows of tall poplars decked in foliage of the
+richest colours.  Fording the Tourgau, they soon afterwards came again
+upon the Katounaia, and crossing it, reached a bend in the valley, which
+presented to them the monarch of the Altai chain, the magnificent
+Bielouka.  Its stupendous mass uplifts two enormous peaks, buttressed by
+huge rocks, which enclose a number of valleys or ravines filled with
+glaciers; these roll their frozen floods to the brink of the imposing
+precipices which overhang the valley of the Katounaia.
+
+Mr. Atkinson determined on attempting the ascent of this regal height.
+It was a bright morning when he started, and the two white peaks shone
+grandly in the early sunshine, which gradually dipped down into the
+valley, and with its fringes of gold touched the sombre cedars.  An
+hour’s ride carried him and his followers to the bifurcation of the
+Katounaia, and then they ascended the north-eastern arm, which rises
+among the glaciers of the Bielouka.  When they had got beyond the last
+tree that struggled up the mountain’s side, they dismounted; and Mr.
+Atkinson, with the hunter, Zepta, and three Kalmucks, pressed forward on
+foot, leaving the others in charge of the horses.  At first they
+clambered over the ruins of a mighty avalanche, which in the preceding
+summer had cloven its way down the precipices, until they reached the
+glacier, stretching far up the mountain, whence wells the Katounaia in
+two little ice-cold, transparent streams.  There they halted for their
+mid-day meal.  Turning to the west, they toiled up a terrific gorge,
+filled with fallen rocks and ice, and then climbed a rugged acclivity
+that, like an inclined plane, reached to the very base of one of the
+peaks of the Bielouka.  Step after step they wearily but persistently
+ascended, until they reached the frozen snow, scaling which for about
+three hundred paces they reached the base of the peak, already at such a
+height as to overlook every summit of the Altai.  Far away to the west
+the vast steppes of the Kirghiz were lost in the blue distance.  To the
+west many a mountain-ridge descended towards the steppes on the east of
+Nor-Zaisan, and to the Desert of Gobi.  The shimmer of a lake was visible
+at several points; while innumerable rivers, like threads of silver,
+traced their fantastic broidery through the dark green valleys.
+
+About a hundred paces further, the adventurers found themselves at the
+head of another glacier, which stretched westward through a deep ravine.
+Beyond it lay the great hollow between the two peaks.  This, in Mr.
+Atkinson’s opinion, it was possible for them to reach, though they could
+not hope to ascend either peak.  They are cones, he says, from eight
+hundred to a thousand feet high, covered with hard frozen snow, with a
+few points of the green slate jutting through.  We imagine, however, that
+to a member of the Alpine Club, to any one who has conquered the
+Matterhorn or the Jungfrau, they would offer no insuperable difficulties.
+
+Mr. Atkinson retraced his steps in safety, gained the spot where the
+Kalmucks were waiting with the horses, and rode rapidly towards the place
+which he had selected for a camp.  Next morning he proceeded to cross the
+mountains by a new route to the mouth of the river Koksa; it proved to be
+the most arduous of his many enterprises.  Hour after hour, his Kalmuck
+guide led him through a wilderness of rocks and sand, and he rejoiced
+greatly when at last they descended towards the wooded region, and caught
+sight of the dark Katounaia winding in a deep valley three thousand feet
+below.  They followed downwards a track made by animals, but, though easy
+for stags and deer, it was difficult for horses.  In many places the only
+traject was a narrow ledge, with deep precipices beneath, and often
+steep, rugged acclivities above.  In one place they had to ride over what
+the Kalmucks call a “Bomb”—a narrow ridge of rocks, passable only by one
+horse at a time.  Should two persons meet on any part of these “Bombs,”
+one of the horses must be thrown over, as it is as impossible to turn
+round as to pass.  On reaching the track by which the Kalmuck hunters
+ascend the mountains, Zepta called a halt, and sent one of his companions
+on foot to the other end of the fearful ridge, hidden from view by some
+high crags, round which the party had to ride.  In less than half an hour
+he returned, but without his cap, which had been left as a signal to any
+hunters who might follow, that travellers were crossing the “Bomb.”
+
+And now we shall allow Mr. Atkinson to speak himself:—
+
+“Zepta and the hunter told me to drop the reins on my horse’s neck, and
+he would go over with perfect safety.  The former led the van; I
+followed, as desired, at three or four paces behind him.  For the first
+twenty yards the sensation was not agreeable.  After that I felt perfect
+confidence in the animal, and was sure, if left to himself, he would
+carry me safely over.  The whole distance was about five hundred paces,
+and occupied about a quarter of an hour in crossing.  In some places it
+was fearful to look down—on one side the rocks were nearly perpendicular
+for five or six hundred feet; and on the other, so steep, that no man
+could stand upon them.  When over, I turned round and watched the others
+thread their way across; it was truly terrific to look at them on the
+narrow and stony path—one false step, and both horse and rider must be
+hurled into the valley a thousand feet below!  These are the perils over
+which the daring sable-hunters often ride.  With them it is a necessity;
+they risk it to obtain food, and not for bravado, or from foolhardy
+recklessness—like that of some men who ride their horses up and down a
+staircase.  Kalmuck and Kirghiz would laugh at such feats.  I have seen
+men who would ride their horses along the roof of the highest cathedral
+in Europe, if a plank, eighteen inches wide, were secured along the
+ridge.  Nor would they require a great wager to induce them to do it;
+theirs is a continual life of danger and hardships; and they never seek
+it unnecessarily.”
+
+This ridge carried them across the valley, and they descended through a
+dense cedar forest to the bank of the river, where they supped splendidly
+on a fine fat buck that had fallen to the guns of Zepta and Mr. Atkinson.
+Next morning, they were again in the saddle _en route_ for Ouemonia,
+where their safe return excited much popular enthusiasm.  Bidding adieu
+to his faithful companions, he crossed the Katounaia, and with a new
+escort rode on towards the Koksa.  Leaving it to the south, he struck the
+river Tschugash, encamped for the night in a clump of pines on its bank,
+and in a day or two arrived at his old quarters on the Tchenish.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Mr. Atkinson’s next expedition was to the great Desert of Gobi, sometimes
+called _Scha-ho_, or the Sandy River.  Beginning upon the confines of
+Chinese Tartary, its vast expanse of sterile wilderness stretches over
+some twelve hundred and fifty miles towards the coasts of the Pacific.
+It consists in the main of bare rock, shingle, and loose sand,
+alternating with fine sand, and sparsely clothed with vegetation.  But a
+very considerable area, though for a great part of the year not less
+monotonously barren, assumes in the spring the appearance of an immense
+sea of verdure, and supplies abundant pasturage to the flocks and herds
+of the Mongolian nomads; who wander at will over the wide
+“prairie-grounds,” encamping wherever they find a sheltering crag or a
+stream of water.  The general elevation of the Gobi above the sea is
+about 3500 feet.
+
+It must be owned that the Gobi is not as black as it is painted.  There
+are fertile nooks and oases, where the sedentary Mongols, and especially
+the Artous, sow and reap their annual crops of hemp, millet, and
+buckwheat.  The largest is that of Kami.  The gloomy picture of “a barren
+plain of shifting sand, blown into high ridges when the summer sun is
+scorching, no rain falls, and when thick fog occurs it is only the
+precursor of fierce winds,” {211} is true only of the eastern districts,
+such as the Han-hai, or “Dry Sea,” or the Sarkha Desert, where, for
+instance, you meet with scarcely any other vegetation than the
+_Salsoloe_, or salt-worts, which flourish round the small saline pools.
+“In spring and summer,” says Malte Brun, “when there is no rain, the
+vegetation withers, and the sun-burnt soil inspires the traveller with
+sentiments of horror and melancholy; the heat is of short duration, the
+winter long and cold.  The wild animals met with are the camel, the
+horse, the ass, the djiggetai, and troops of antelopes.”
+
+It has been observed, and not without reason, that the great Asiatic
+desert has exercised a fatal influence on the destinies of the human
+race; that it has arrested the extension of the Semitic civilization.
+The primitive peoples of India and Tibet were early civilized; but the
+immense wilderness which lay to the westward interposed an impassable
+barrier between them and the barbarous tribes of Northern Asia.  More
+surely even than the Himalaya, more than the snow-crowned summits of
+Srinagur and Gorkha, these desert steppes have prevented all
+communication, all fusion between the inhabitants of the north and those
+of the south of Asia; and thus it is that Tibet and India have remained
+the only regions of this part of the world which have enjoyed the
+benefits of civilization, of the refinement of manners, and the genius of
+the Aryan race.
+
+The barbarians who, when the darkness of ruin hung over the Roman Empire,
+invaded and convulsed Europe, issued from the steppes and table-lands of
+Mongolia.  As Humboldt says {212}:—“If intellectual culture has directed
+its course from the east to the west, like the vivifying light of the
+sun, barbarism at a later period followed the same route, when it
+threatened to plunge Europe again in darkness.  A tawny race of
+shepherds—of Thon-Khiu, that is to say, Turkish origin—the Hiounguou,
+inhabited under sheep-skin tents the elevated table-land of Gobi.  Long
+formidable to the Chinese power, a portion of the Hiounguou were driven
+south in Central Asia.  The impulse thus given uninterruptedly propagated
+itself to the primitive country of the Fins, lying on the banks of the
+Ural, and thence a torrent of Huns, Avars, Chasars, and divers mixtures
+of Asiatic races, poured towards the west and south.  The armies of the
+Huns first appeared on the banks of the Volga, then in Pannonia, finally
+on the borders of the Marne and the Po, ravaging the beautiful plains
+where, from the time of Antenor, the genius of man had accumulated
+monuments upon monuments.  Thus blew from the Mongolian deserts a
+pestilential wind which blighted even in the Cisalpine plains the
+delicate flower of art, the object of cares so tender and so constant.”
+
+
+
+IV.
+
+
+With three Cossacks, seven Kalmucks, eight rifles, and a store of powder
+and lead, Mr. Atkinson passed into the Gobi.  His Kalmucks had their hair
+cut close, except a tuft growing on the top of the head, which was
+plaited into a long tail, and hung far down their back.  The chief was
+named Tchuck-a-bir, a stalwart, powerful fellow, with a fine manly
+countenance, large black eyes, and massive forehead.  He wore a
+horse-skin cloak, fastened round his waist with a blood-red scarf.  In
+warm weather he drew his arms from the sleeves, which were then tucked
+into his girdle, and the cloak draped around him in graceful folds,
+adding to the dignity of his tall and robust form.
+
+Across the Kourt-Choum mountains the travellers took their way, directing
+their course towards the Tanguor chain, many of the peaks of which soar
+above the line of eternal snow.  Ascending one of these summits, they
+enjoyed a noble prospect: immediately beneath them lay the Oubsa-Noor; to
+the south-west were visible the Oulan-Koum Desert and the Aral-Noor; to
+the south lay Tchagan Tala, and the ridges descending down to the Gobi;
+to the south-east the white crests of the Khangai Mountains.  This was
+such a view of Central Asia as never before had European enjoyed.
+
+Keeping far away to the east, they approached the sources of the Selenga
+and Djabakan, in the neighbourhood of which he hoped to meet with the
+Kalka tribes.  In a rich green valley they came upon one of their auls,
+and were hospitably received by Arabdan, the chief, who, according to the
+custom of the desert, at once handed to Mr. Atkinson a bowl of tea.  Not,
+indeed, tea as we English understand it, the clear thin fluid, sweetened
+with sugar and tempered with cream; but a thick “slab” mixture of tea,
+milk, butter, salt, and flour—tea-soup it might appropriately be called.
+Arabdan was tall and thin, between fifty and sixty years of age,
+dark-complexioned, with high cheek-bones, small black eyes, a prominent
+nose, and a scanty beard.  His meagre figure was wrapped in a long
+dark-blue silk khalat, buttoned across his chest; in a leather girdle,
+adorned with a silver buckle, he carried his knife, flint, and steel.
+His helmet-shaped black silk cap was trimmed with black velvet, and
+looked very gay with its two broad red ribbons hanging down behind.  This
+brave costume was completed by a pair of high-heeled, madder-coloured
+boots.  As for the women, one wore a robe of black velvet, the other a
+khalat of red and green silk; the waist of each was defined by a broad
+red sash.  Their hair was fantastically coiffured, falling upon their
+shoulders in a hundred small plaits, some of which glittered with coral
+beads, the principal toilette ornament of the Mongolian women.  Their red
+leather boots were very short and high at the heels, so that they walked
+as badly and awkwardly as English ladies.  The children wore little more
+than nature had provided them with; except that, by rolling in the mud,
+they contrived to coat their bodies with reddish ochre, in striking
+contrast to their elfin locks of jet black.
+
+Externally the yourts of the Kalkas resemble those of the Kalmucks, but
+they differ in the arrangements of the interior.  A small low table is
+placed opposite the doorway, and upon it the upper idols, or household
+gods, and several small metal vases, are set out.  In some are kept
+grains of millet; in others, butter, milk, and koumis—offerings to the
+aforesaid deities.  On the left side of this altar stand the boxes which
+contain the family property, and near them various domestic utensils and
+the indispensable koumis bag.  Opposite lie several piles of voilock, on
+which the family take their rest.
+
+Immediately on Mr. Atkinson’s arrival a sheep was slain to do him honour,
+and it was soon steaming in the iron caldron, with the exception of a
+portion broiled for his special delectation.  Supper, however, was not
+served in the chief’s yourt, but in another; to which everybody repaired
+with appetites which suggested that they had fasted for weeks.  When the
+completest possible justice had been done to the mutton, men, women, and
+children retired to their rude couches.
+
+Next morning our indefatigable traveller was once more in the saddle.  We
+cannot follow him in all the details of his daily journeyings, which
+necessarily bore a close resemblance to one another; but we may accompany
+him on a visit to the great Kalkas chief, Darma Tsyren.  On entering his
+yourt, Mr. Atkinson was entertained with tea-soup as usual.  Then, he
+says—
+
+“The chief sat down in front of me, and the two young men who had
+conducted me sat near him—they were his sons.  Beyond these sat ten or
+twelve other Kalkas, watching my movements with intense interest.  I was
+undoubtedly the first European they had ever seen.  My large felt hat,
+shooting jacket, and long boots, will be remembered for years to come—not
+that I think they admired the costume; theirs is far more picturesque.
+Presently a number of women came into the yourt, and at their head the
+wife of the chief.  She sat down near him, and was joined by her
+daughter; the others got places where they could; but the gaze of all was
+upon me.  No doubt it would have been highly amusing could I have
+understood their remarks, as they kept up an incessant talking.
+
+“At this moment a Cossack brought my samovar into the yourt; and these
+people were much astonished to see the steam puffing out, with no fire
+under it.  One man placed his hand on the top, and got his fingers burnt,
+to the great amusement of his friends.  My dinner of broiled venison was
+brought in on a bright tin plate; this and the knife and fork excited
+their curiosity—such articles being quite new to them.  They watched me
+eat my dinner, and nothing could induce them to move till the plates were
+taken away.  Darma Tsyren had ordered a sheep to be killed, which had now
+been some time in the caldron.  When the announcement was made that it
+was ready, I was soon left to myself; the whole aul, men, women, and
+children, were shortly enjoying the feast.”
+
+From Darma Tsyren Mr. Atkinson obtained the loan of four Kalkas and
+twelve horses, and taking also two of his Kalmucks and two Cossacks, he
+started on a journey to the river Toss.  In the evening he and his party
+encamped in a pretty valley, watered by a small lake, which supplied them
+with some snipes and ducks for supper.  During the night a pack of wolves
+visited the encampment.  On receiving warning of their approach by a
+distant howl, Mr. Atkinson loaded his double-barrelled gun and
+distributed ammunition among his people, in order to give the unwelcome
+visitors a warm reception.  The horses were collected, and picketed in a
+spot between the camp and the lake.  Nearer and nearer came the enemy;
+the tramp of their feet could be heard as they galloped forward.  They
+reached the camp, and through the night air rang their ferocious howl.
+Some dry bushes flung on the fire kindled a sudden flame, which revealed
+their gaunt figures, with eyes flashing and ears and tails erect; and
+immediately a deadly volley crashed into their midst.  With a yell of
+pain and terror they turned tail; and Mr. Atkinson and his party hastened
+to reload their guns, feeling certain they would return.
+
+The fire flickered down among its embers, and for a time all was silent.
+Then arose a stir and an alarm among the horses; and it was discovered
+that the pack had divided, one division stealing upon the animals from
+the water side, the other interposing between them and the camp.  A rush
+and a shout of the Kalmucks and Kalkas drove them back; and a Cossack and
+a Kalmuck wore posted on each flank, to guard the approaches and give the
+alarm.  Moreover, the fire was replenished, and its glare lighted up the
+scene for miles around.  A hush, and a moment of expectation!  Then might
+you see the hungry pack advancing once more to the assault, with eyeballs
+glaring like red-hot iron.  A crack of rifles on the right was followed
+by Mr. Atkinson’s two barrels, one of which brought down its victim,
+while the other, discharged into the midst of the pack, wounded two or
+three.  Gradually the growling ceased; the wolves again retired; but both
+Kalkas and Kalmucks advised that a close watch should be kept, as they
+would certainly make a third effort.
+
+There was little fuel left, and it was necessary, therefore, to be doubly
+vigilant.  The night was one of deep darkness, without moon or stars, and
+nothing could be seen, even at a short distance, except towards the lake,
+where a shimmer of dubious light rested on the waters.  Keen ears and
+eyes were on the alert, but no sight or sound of wolf rewarded their
+watchfulness.  The Kalkas said the wolves were simply waiting until all
+was silent in the camp to make another dash at the horses.  For a long
+time, however, no movement was made, when two of the horses grew uneasy,
+tugging at the thongs and snorting loudly.  At the same time, the clouds
+cleared from the sky, and the stars peering forth threw more light upon
+the lake.  Howling was heard in the distance, and Tchuck-a-bir declared
+that another pack of wolves was approaching.  As they drew near, the
+former pack, still lurking in the shades, began to growl, and it seemed
+possible that a combined attack would be delivered.  In order to renew
+the fire, four of the men, two being armed, crept along the margin of the
+lake, returning in about ten minutes, each with an armful of fuel.  The
+embers were stirred into life, and the brushwood placed ready to be blown
+into a flame when wanted.  Suddenly a great tumult arose; the other
+wolves had come on the scene, and the echoes rang with a medley of
+discordant sounds.  Again the watchers waited; and after their patience
+had been tested for half an hour, the horses began to pull and plunge in
+frenzied terror.  The bushes were lighted, and by their blaze Mr.
+Atkinson saw a group of eight to ten wolves within fifteen paces.  He
+fired both barrels at them; his men also fired; and the herd, with a
+frightful howl, ignominiously fled.  At daylight Mr. Atkinson examined
+the scene of action, and found the carcases of eight wolves.  With their
+skins as trophies, he returned to Darma Tsyren’s aul.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+A day or two later, Mr. Atkinson had an adventure with boars.  Leaving
+four men to guard the camp, he had ridden out, with five followers, in
+search of sport.  Plunging into a thick copse of long grass and low
+bushes, they started more than one boar from his lair, and tracing them
+by their motion in the herbage, galloped in hot pursuit.  As they emerged
+into the open, they could see two large dark grizzly boars about a couple
+of hundred yards ahead, and spurred after them with might and main.
+Rapidly they gained upon the panting brutes, and when within about fifty
+yards, Mr. Atkinson and a Cossack sprang from their horses, fired, and
+wounded one of the boars.  While they reloaded, the rest of the party
+galloped on, and presently other shots wore fired.  The boars had
+separated: one, dashing across the valley, was followed up by two of the
+men; the other was pursued by Mr. Atkinson and his Cossack.  After a
+splendid chase, they drew near enough to see the foam on his mouth, and
+his large tusks gnashing with rage.  The Cossack fired; the ball hit him,
+but did not check his wild, impetuous course.  Swiftly Mr. Atkinson urged
+on his horse, got abreast of the animal at about twenty paces distant,
+and lodged a bullet in his shoulder.  This stopped him, but it took two
+more shots to kill him.  He proved to be a noble fellow, weighing nine
+poods, or about 324 lbs., with long, sharp tusks, which would have been
+formidable weapons in a close encounter.
+
+Leaving the Cossack and a Kalmuck to dress the prize and convey it to the
+camp, Mr. Atkinson, after reloading his arms, hastened to join the rest
+of his party, who were in full chase on the other side of the river, at a
+distance of about three versts.  He rode briskly forward, but the hunt
+was at an end before he reached the river.  His followers, on joining
+him, announced that they had killed a large boar, though not the one
+first started.  He had escaped, and while they were searching for his
+trail amid some reeds and bushes, a large boar sprang in among them, and
+charged at a Cossack’s horse.  When within three or four paces of his
+intended victim he was stopped by a bullet from Tchuck-a-bir’s rifle; but
+he got away before a second shot could be fired, and an animated chase
+began.  He received several balls, but they seemed to have no effect on
+his impenetrable hide.  Rushing into the river, he swam across, at a
+point where it expanded into a deep broad pool; the men followed him, and
+a ball from one of the Kalmucks inflicted a severe wound.  Furious with
+rage and pain, he dashed full at the man who had wounded him; the Kalmuck
+dexterously wheeled his horse aside, and a ball from Tchuck-a-bir laid
+the monster dead.  With two large boars as the spoils of their prowess,
+Mr. Atkinson and his “merry men” returned to camp triumphant.
+
+Mr. Atkinson next travelled in a southerly direction for two days; after
+which he turned to the west, and struck upon the river Ouremjour; his
+object being to enter the Gobi to the north of the great chain of the
+Thian-Chan, or, as he calls them, Syan-Shan Mountains.  These are the
+highest in Central Asia, and amongst them rises that stupendous mass,
+Bogda Oöla, with the volcanoes Pe-shan and Hothaou, to see which was his
+leading purpose and aim.  He gives an animated description of his
+approach to the Syan-Shan.  A bright sun was rising behind the wayfarer,
+but its rays had not yet gilded the snowy peaks in his front.  As he rode
+onward he watched for the first bright gleam that lighted up the ice and
+snow on Bogda Oöla; presently the great crest reddened with a magical
+glow, which gradually spread over the rugged sides, and as it descended,
+changed into yellow and then into silvery white.  For many minutes Bogda
+Oöla was bathed in sunshine before the rays touched any of the lower
+peaks.  But in due time summit after summit shot rapidly into the brave
+red light, and at last the whole chain shone in huge waves of molten
+silver, though a hazy gloom still clothed the inferior ranges.  In these
+atmospheric effects we cannot but recognize a marvellous grandeur and
+impressiveness; there is something sublimely weird in the sudden changes
+they work among the stupendous mountain masses.  Onward fared the
+traveller, obtaining a still finer view of Bogda Oöla, and of some of the
+other peaks to the west; but, as the day advanced, the clouds began to
+fold around its head, and the huge peak was soon clothed with thick
+surging wreaths of vapour.  The lower range of the Syan-Shan is
+picturesque in the extreme; jagged peaks stand out in bold relief against
+the snow-shrouded masses, which tower up some eight to ten thousand feet
+above them, while the latter are clothed with a luminous purple mist that
+seems not to belong to this world.  Mr. Atkinson continued his route in a
+north-westerly direction, towards one of the lower chains which run
+nearly parallel with the Syan-Shan.  Thence he could see the Bogda Oöla
+in all its grand sublimity, and the volcanic peak Pe-shan, with black
+crags outlined against the snow, still further to the west; while beyond
+these a long line of snow-capped summits melted into the vaporous
+distance.
+
+In the course of his wanderings in Chinese Tartary, our traveller saw
+much of the Kirghiz chiefs, the Sultans of the steppes.  On one occasion,
+while riding in the sterile desert, he fell in with the aul of Sultan
+Ishonac Khan—a stoutly built man, with strong-marked Kalmuck features,
+who, in right of his descent from the famous Genghiz Khan, wore an owl’s
+feather suspended from the top of his cap.  His costume was gallant and
+gay; Chinese silk, richly embroidered.
+
+About fifty versts to the south of Sultan Ishonac’s aul, lie the Barluck
+Mountains, situated between the Tarbagatai and the Alatou Mountains, and
+eastward of the small rocky chain of the Ala-Kool, which extends some
+sixty versts from east to west, and measures about twenty-five in
+breadth.  The highest summit is not more than three thousand feet above
+the plain.  Vegetation thrives on the lower slopes, but the upper parts
+are gloomily bare.  From Sultan Ishonac Khan Mr. Atkinson obtained a loan
+of fresh horses, and of eight of his Kirghiz to escort him to the
+Tarbagatai.  A dreary ride it was,—over sandy hills, through sandy
+valleys, where not even a blade of grass was green.  In many places the
+ground was thickly covered with a saline incrustation, which the horses’
+feet churned up into a pungent dust, that filled every mouth and caused
+intolerable thirst.  Welcome was the glimmer of a lake that relieved by
+its sparkle the dulness of the landscape; but when horse and man rushed
+forward to drink of its waters, to their intense disappointment they
+found them bitter as those of Marah.  Not till the evening of the fifth
+day, when they reached the river Eremil, did they enjoy the luxury of
+fresh water.
+
+Next day they reached the Tarbagatai, in the neighbourhood of the Chinese
+town of Tchoubuchack, and encamped for the night at the foot of a great
+tumulus or barrow, about one hundred and fifty feet high, which is
+surrounded by many smaller barrows.  They are the last resting-places of
+a Kirghiz chief and his people, who belonged to a remote generation, and
+to a race of which these tumuli are the only memorials.  Another day’s
+ride, and they arrived at the aul of Sultan Iamantuck, of whom and his
+family Mr. Atkinson speaks as by far the most intelligent people he met
+with in this part of Asia.  The aul was pitched among high conical tombs
+of sun-burnt bricks, the cemetery of the Sultan’s ancestors; and it
+appears that once a year it was regularly visited by their pious
+descendant and representative.  With another relay of horses and a fresh
+Kirghiz escort, Mr. Atkinson dashed onward, undeterred by the dreariness
+of the sandy level, where neither water nor grass was to be found, and
+the only living things were tarantulas and scorpions.  His course lay
+direct for the Alatou (“Variegated Mountains”), and he could see the
+shining peaks of the Actou (“White Mountain”), which forms its highest
+crest, and raises its summits fourteen to fifteen thousand feet above the
+sea.  After fording the broad deep stream of the Yeljen-sa-gash, he
+arrived on the shore of Lake Ala-kool, measuring about sixty-five versts
+in length by twenty in width, with a rocky island near the north shore,
+erroneously described by Humboldt as the site of a volcano.  It has no
+outlet, yet it receives the tribute of eight rivers; the water is carried
+off by evaporation.
+
+Here Mr. Atkinson struck westward to find the aul of Sultan Bak, the
+Rothschild of the steppes; a man who owns ten thousand horses, and a
+proportionate number of camels, sheep, and oxen.  Wealthy men are not
+always well disposed towards stranger guests, and Sultan Bak evinced his
+dislike of intrusion by sending Mr. Atkinson a diseased sheep!  This was
+immediately returned, with an intimation that Mr. Atkinson wanted neither
+his company nor his gifts; he was the first Sultan who had shown himself
+so discourteous, and though he had a large body, it was clear his heart
+was that of a mouse.  It is not surprising that a message of this kind
+provoked him to wrath.  He ordered the intruders to quit his aul; if they
+did not, his men should drive them into the lake.  But when he found that
+they were well armed, that discretion which is the better part of valour
+enabled him to subdue his temper; he sent one of his finest sheep as a
+peace-offering, with an assurance that they might stay as long as they
+liked, and should have men and horses when they left.  Evidently the
+Kirghiz patriarch knew how to make the best of a bad situation.
+
+Accompanied by his poet, he paid a visit to Mr. Atkinson’s camp, supped
+heartily off his own mutton, and exchanged the warmest professions of
+friendship.  The minstrel, at his master’s bidding, sang wild songs to
+wilder tunes in glorification of the prowess and freebooting expeditions
+of the Sultan and his ancestors, to the great edification of the
+listening Kirghiz.  So the evening passed peacefully, and the Sultan and
+the white man parted on cordial terms.  Next day, Mr. Atkinson was riding
+towards the Karatou, a mountainous chain of dark purple slate; and six
+days later he visited Sultan Boubania, on the river Lepson.  In the
+neighbourhood were many large tumuli, the largest being the most ancient.
+One of these was built up of stone, and formed a circle of 364 feet in
+diameter, with a dome-like mound thirty-three feet in height.  Tradition
+has not preserved the name of the dead honoured with so extraordinary a
+memorial; the Kirghiz attribute it to demons working under the direction
+of Shaitan.  Another kind of tumulus, of more recent construction, was
+circular in plan, but carried up to the height of fifty-four feet, in the
+shape of “a blast furnace,” with an aperture at the top, and lateral
+opening two feet square and four feet from the ground.  In the interior
+were two graves covered with large blocks of stone.  According to the
+Kirghiz, these tombs were built by the people who inhabited the country
+before the Kalmucks.  A third kind, of sunburnt bricks, and Mohammedan in
+design, are ascribed to Timour Khan and his race.
+
+Through the rocky gorge of the Balïïtz, Mr. Atkinson commenced his ascent
+of the Alatou.  His eye rested with pleasure on the richly coloured rocks
+that composed the cliffs on either side—deep red porphyry, flecked with
+veins of white; slate, jasper, and basalt.  He explored several of the
+valleys that break up the lower mass of the mountain chain, and rode
+along many of its elevated ridges.  Sometimes the roar of torrents filled
+his ears; sometimes bright streams and sources sparkled in the sunshine;
+sometimes he saw before him a fair mosaic of wild flowers; sometimes the
+landscape was ennobled by the conspicuous figures of white mountain
+peaks, relieved by a background of deep blue sky; sometimes the distant
+vapours hovered wraith-like above the calm surface of Lake Tengiz.  From
+a plateau not far beneath the line of perpetual snow he obtained a noble
+view of the Actou, and, to the south, of the lofty and picturesque peaks
+of the Alatou; while, nearer at hand, the river Ara poured its thunderous
+waters into a gorge some thousand feet in depth.  The plateau was covered
+with tumuli; one of which, measuring two hundred feet in diameter and
+forty feet in height, was enclosed within a trench, twelve feet wide and
+six feet deep.  On the west side stood four masses of large stones in
+circles; the altars, perhaps, on which, long ago, victims were sacrificed
+to appease some sanguinary deity.  It is a tradition of the Kirghiz that
+these antiquities belonged to a native who, for some unknown cause,
+determined on a great act of murder and self-destruction, and that they
+were constructed before the terrible work was begun.  They say that the
+father killed his wife and all his children, excepting the eldest son, on
+whom devolved the duty of killing, first his father, and then himself.
+
+Mr. Atkinson visited, near the river Kopal, the Arasan, or warm spring,
+which wells up in the centre Of a ravine formed of yellow and purple
+marbles.  Its temperature, all round the year, is 29′ R. or 97° F.  Here,
+in a remote past, the Kalmucks built a bath, which is still frequented by
+Tartars, Kirghiz, and Chinese.  The waters, it is said, are wonderfully
+beneficial for scurvy and other cutaneous disorders.
+
+Another route carried him to the Tamchi-Boulac, or “Dropping Spring,” at
+the foot of the Alatou.  The water oozes out of columnar cliffs in
+myriads of tiny streams that glitter like showers of diamonds; while in
+some parts they seem changed to drops of liquid fire by the reflected
+colouring of the rocks, which vary in colour from a bright yellow to a
+deep red.
+
+For one hundred and three days Mr. Atkinson wandered among the Alatou
+Mountains, exploring peak, precipice, valley, and ravine; surveying
+torrent and river and waterfall; now ascending far above the line of
+perpetual snow, now descending into warm and sheltered woods, where the
+greensward was enamelled with blossoms.  From the eastern end of the
+Alatou, a seventeen days’ ride over hill and steppe brought him to the
+Russian frontier and the comforts of civilization at Semipalatinsk.  But,
+almost as strongly possessed with the spirit of continuous motion as the
+Wandering Jew in the grim old legend, he next set forth on a journey
+across Siberia, from its western boundary on the Irtisch, to its Oriental
+capital, Irkutsk.  In the course of his long journey he visited the Saian
+Mountains; ascended the valley of the Oka; explored a bed of lava and a
+volcanic crater in the valley of the Ojem-a-louk; rode across the rugged
+shoulder of Nouk-a-Daban; and descended the little river Koultouk to Lake
+Baikal, or, as the natives call it, the Holy Sea.  Hiring a small boat,
+with a crew of seven men, he crossed the lake to the mouth of the river
+Angara.  Baikal is the third largest lake in Asia—about four hundred
+miles in length, and varying in breadth from nineteen miles to seventy.
+Though fed by numerous streams, it has only one outlet, the Angara, a
+tributary of the Yenisei.  Lying deep among the Baikal Mountains, an
+off-shoot of the Altai, it presents some vividly coloured and striking
+scenery.  Its fisheries are valuable.  In the great chain of
+communication between Russia and China it holds an important place, and
+of late years its navigation has been conducted by steamboats.  The
+native peoples inhabiting its borders are the Buriats and Tungusians.
+
+Mr. Atkinson spent eight and twenty days in exploring this Alpine sea,
+and afterwards proceeded to Irkutsk. {228}
+
+
+
+
+ALEXINA TINNÉ
+AND HER WANDERINGS IN THE SOUDAN.
+
+
+ABOUT 1862, letters from Khartûm, the capital of Nubia, stimulated the
+curiosity of European geographers by announcing that three courageous
+ladies had undertaken a journey into Central Africa, with the view of
+reaching those mysterious Sources of the Nile which, for generations, had
+been the object of Western research.  At first the news was received with
+suspicion; many persons did not hesitate to speak of it as a hoax; but
+incredulity vanished as the information grew more copious and more
+precise, and it became known that the guiding spirit of the adventure was
+a certain Miss Alexandrina or Alexina Tinné, a lady of great personal
+charms and very wealthy.  It was then unanimously agreed that she was one
+of those brave daughters of England who, in the Continental belief, will
+go anywhere and do anything that is hazardous or eccentric.  And though
+of Dutch extraction she really did owe something to English influences.
+Her father was a Dutch merchant who, after acquiring an ample fortune in
+Demerara, was naturalised in England, and finally settled at Liverpool.
+He died while Alexina (born in October, 1835) was still a child, but the
+wealthy heiress was brought up by her mother as befitted her social
+position.  What impelled her, in her young maidenhood, to plunge into the
+dangers of African exploration—whether her action was due to a love of
+adventure, a thirst after knowledge, a spirit rebelling against the
+conventionalisms of society, or to baffled hope and slighted
+affection—does not seem to be known.  But it is certain that about 1859
+she set out from the Hague, accompanied by her mother and aunt, and
+visited various parts of Egypt and Syria.  For some months she resided at
+Beirut and Tripoli; next she repaired to Damascus; afterwards, to the
+ruins of Palmyra, haunted by the memory of Zenobia; and, finally, she
+dreamed of imitating the romantic career of Lady Hester Stanhope, and
+installing herself as Queen of the Lebanon.  Her mood, however, changed
+suddenly; she returned to Europe, not to resume the monotonous habits of
+social life, but to make preparations for an expedition in search of the
+Sources of the Nile.
+
+In this daring project she appears to have been encouraged partly by her
+own fearlessness of nature; partly by the example of Mrs. Petherick, wife
+of the English consul at Khartûm, whose fame had spread far and wide; and
+partly by the flattering thought that it might be reserved for her, a
+woman, to succeed where so many brave men had failed, and to be the first
+to solve the great enigma of the Nilotic sphynx.  What immortality would
+be hers if she triumphed over every danger and difficulty, and stood,
+where no European as yet had stood, on the margin of the remote
+well-head, the long secret spring, whence issued the waters of Egypt’s
+historic river!  It must be owned that in this ambitious hope there was
+nothing mean or unworthy, and that it could have been possible only to a
+high and courageous nature.
+
+She set out in the month of July, 1861, still accompanied by her mother
+and her aunt, two ladies of mediocre character, who readily yielded to
+the influence of a stronger mind.  A part of the winter was spent in a
+pleasant country house in one of the suburbs of Cairo—a kind of palace of
+white marble, situated in the midst of odorous gardens, and looking out
+upon the ample Nile and the giant forms of the Pyramids.  There they made
+extensive preparations for the contemplated journey; while Alexina spent
+many thoughtful hours in studying the map of Africa, in tracing the
+sinuosities of the White Nile above its point of junction with the Blue,
+in laying down the route which should carry her and her companions into
+the regions of the great lakes.
+
+It was on the 9th of January, 1862, that she and her companions directed
+their course towards Upper Egypt, voyaging in three boats, attended by a
+numerous train of guides, guards, and servants.  In the largest and most
+commodious “dahabeeyah” were installed the three ladies, with four
+European servants and a Syrian cook.  Alexina’s journal, it is said,
+preserves many curious details in unconscious illustration of the mixed
+character of the expedition, which might almost have been that of a new
+Cleopatra going to meet a new Mark Antony; we see the Beauty there as
+well as the Heroine—the handsome woman who is mindful of her toilette
+appliances, as well as the courageous explorer, who does not forget her
+rifle and cartridges.
+
+Passing in safety the first cataract, Miss Tinné’s expedition duly
+arrived at Kousko; where she and her companions took a temporary leave of
+the Nile, tourists, and civilization, and struck across the sandy desert
+of Kousko to Abu-Hammed, in order to avoid the wide curve which the river
+there makes to the westward.  The caravan, besides Miss Tinné’s
+domestics, included six guides and twenty-five armed men.  Of camels
+loaded with baggage and provisions, and dromedaries which carried the
+members of her suite, there were a hundred and ten.  The desert did not
+prove so dreary as it had been painted; sand and rock were often relieved
+by patches of blooming vegetation; the monotony of the plains was often
+broken by ridges of swelling hills.  The camels every evening browsed
+contentedly on the herbage, and quenched their thirst in the basins of
+water that sparkled in the rocky hollows.
+
+The time usually required for crossing the desert is eight to nine days;
+but as Alexina advanced very leisurely, by daily stages not exceeding
+seven or eight hours, she occupied nearly three weeks.  In spite of this
+easy mode of travelling, her mother was so fatigued that, on arriving at
+Abu-Hammed, on the banks of the Nile, she insisted they should again take
+to the river.  A dahabeeyah was accordingly hired, along with six
+stalwart boatmen, who swore on the Koran to keep pace with the swiftest
+dromedaries.  So while the caravan tramped onwards through the burning,
+shifting sand, Alexina and her companions voyaged up the Nile; but the
+rowers soon proved false to their promises, slackened their oars, and
+allowed the caravan to outstrip them.  When reproached with their
+lethargy, they excused themselves on the score of the arduousness of
+their work and the great heat of the sun.
+
+Meanwhile, the caravan had made considerable progress, and at nightfall
+tents were pitched and fires lighted.  As no dahabeeyah could be seen,
+men were sent in search of it; but in vain.  No news of it was obtained
+until the following day, when it was ascertained that the Egyptian
+boatmen had at last laid down their oars in sullen indolence, and that
+Miss Tinné and her companions had been compelled to spend the night in a
+Nubian village.  The misadventure taught them the lesson that in Eastern
+countries it is generally wiser to trust to brutes than to men; the
+boatmen were dismissed, and the travellers once more joined the caravan.
+
+But the heat proved insupportable, driving them to make a second
+experiment of the river traject.  A boat was again hired; again they
+embarked on the glittering Nile; and again an evil fortune attended them.
+Instead of reaching Berber, as they should have done, in four days, the
+voyage was extended to over a week; but it was some compensation for
+their fatigue when, at two hours’ march from the city, they were received
+by some thirty chiefs, mounted upon camels, and attended by janizaries in
+splendid attire, who, with much pomp and circumstance, escorted them to
+the gates of Berber.  There they were received by the governor with every
+detail of Oriental etiquette, installed in pavilions in his gardens, and
+waited upon in a spirit of the most courteous hospitality.  No longer in
+need of a complete caravan, Miss Tinné dismissed her camel-drivers; but,
+desirous of leaving upon their minds an enduring impression, she rewarded
+them with almost prodigal liberality.  Her gold coins were so lavishly
+distributed, that the Arabs, in surprise and delight, broke out into
+unaccustomed salutations; and to this very day, remembering her
+largesses, they sing of her glory, as if she had revived the splendour of
+Palmyra.
+
+There was a policy in this apparently thoughtless profusion.  As a
+natural result, her reputation everywhere preceded her; hospitality was
+pressed upon her with an eagerness which may have been dictated by
+selfish motives, but was not the less acceptable to her and her
+companions.  Women, gathering round her, prostrated themselves at her
+feet.  The young girls danced merrily at her approach; they took her for
+a princess, or, at least, they saluted her as such.
+
+After a residence of some weeks at Berber, the adventurous ladies hired
+three boats, and ascended the Nile to Khartûm, the capital of the
+Egyptian Soudan.  Situated at the confluence of the White and Blue Nile,
+it is the centre of an important commerce, and the rendezvous of almost
+all the caravans of Nubia and the Upper Nile.  Unfortunately, it is one
+of the world’s _cloacinæ_, a kind of moral cesspool, into which the filth
+and uncleanness of many nations pours—Italians, Germans, Frenchmen,
+Englishmen, whom their own countries have repudiated; political gamblers,
+who have played their best card and failed; fraudulent bankrupts,
+unscrupulous speculators, men who have nothing to hope, nothing to lose,
+and are too callous to fear.  The great scourge of the place, down to a
+very recent date, was the cruel slave-traffic, at that time carried on
+with the connivance of the Egyptian Government.  Recently the energetic
+measures of Colonel Gordon have done much towards the extirpation of this
+cancerous growth, and even the moral atmosphere of the town has been
+greatly purified.  To Alexina Tinné the place was sufficiently loathsome;
+but a residence of some weeks’ duration, while preparations were made for
+the advance into Central Africa, was imperative.  She did what she could
+to avoid coming into contact with the “society” of Khartûm, and exerted
+all her energies to stimulate the labours of her subordinates, so that
+she might depart at the earliest possible moment.  At length, provisions
+were collected, and a supply of trinkets to be used as gifts or in
+barter; an escort of thirty-eight men, including ten soldiers fully
+armed, and all bearing a good character for trustworthiness, was engaged;
+and, finally, she hired for the heavy sum of ten thousand francs, a small
+steamboat, belonging to Prince Halim.  With a glad heart she quitted
+Khartûm, and resumed the ascent of the White Nile, passing through a
+succession of landscapes fair and fertile.  As for the river, its quiet
+beauty charmed her; and she compared it to Virginia Lake, the pretty
+basin of water that sparkles in the leafy shades of Windsor Forest.  Its
+banks are richly clothed with trees, chiefly gumtrees, which frequently
+attain the dimensions of the oak.  But the graceful tamarisk is also
+abundant, and myriads of shrubs furnish the blue ape with a refuge and a
+home.  The air glitters with the many-coloured wings of swarms of birds.
+On the bright surface of the stream spread the broad leaves and white
+petals of colossal lilies, among which the hippopotamus and the crocodile
+pursue their unwieldy gambols.
+
+How marvellous the effects of colour when this magical scene is bathed in
+the hot rays of the sunshine!  Through the transparent air every object
+is seen with a distinct outline, and the sense of distance is overcome.
+Where a shadow falls it is defined as sharply as on canvas; there is no
+softening or confusing mist; you see everything as in a mirror.  In the
+noontide heats all nature is as silent here as in a virgin forest; but
+when the cool breath of evening begins to be felt, and that luminous
+darkness, which is the glory of a summer night in Central Africa, spreads
+softly over the picture, the multiform life of earth swiftly re-awakens;
+birds and butterflies hover in the air, the monkeys chatter merrily, and
+leap from bough to bough.  The sounds which then break forth—song and hum
+and murmur, the roll of the river, the din of insects, the cries of the
+wild beasts—seem all to mingle in one grand vesper hymn, proclaiming the
+might and majesty of the Creator.  These are generally hushed as the
+night wears on; and then myriads of fireflies and glow-worms light their
+tiny torches and illuminate the dark with a magical display; while the
+air is charged with sweet and subtle odours exhaled from the corollas of
+the plants which open only during the cool and tranquil hours.
+
+While slowly making her way up the river, Alexina encountered an Egyptian
+pasha, who was returning with a booty of slaves from a recent razzia.
+She eagerly implored him to set the unhappy captives free, and when her
+solicitations failed, purchased eight of the poor creatures, to whom she
+immediately gave their liberty, supplying them also with provisions.
+This has been termed an act of Quixotism; it was rather one of generous
+womanly enthusiasm, and to our thinking redeems the failings of Alexina
+Tinné’s character—compensates for the follies and frivolities which
+encumbered her enterprise.  Her heart was true to every gentle impulse,
+and she ceased not to suffer keenly at the sight of the wretched
+condition of the poor negroes who fell victims to an unholy traffic.
+
+This traffic had aroused such feelings of hatred and revenge in the
+breasts of the riverine tribes of the Nile, that the passage of the river
+had become very dangerous, and the journey by land almost impossible.
+The natives looked upon every white man as a Turk and a slave-dealer; and
+when a boat appeared on the horizon, mothers cried with terror to their
+children, “The Tourké, the Tourké are coming!”  The scarlet tarbouch, or
+fez, added to the repulsion.  “It is the colour of blood just spilled,”
+said a negro to his family.  “It never fades,” they said; “the Turk
+renews it constantly in the blood of the poor black men.”
+
+Fortunately, they were able to distinguish between the boats of the
+slave-dealers and Alexina Tinné’s steamer.  Twice or thrice they
+approached the latter; at first not without fear, but afterwards with
+good courage.  “Is the young lady who commands,” they asked, “the
+Sultan’s sister?  Does she come to assist or to persecute us?”  When
+fully informed of the object of her pacific expedition, they rapidly grew
+familiar and ventured on board her boat.  “Since you mean no evil against
+us,” they cried, “we will do _you_ no harm; we will love you!”  They
+accepted from her hands a cup of tea, and courteously drank it without
+manifesting their repugnance; and they explained to her their usages and
+manners, and supplied her with interesting information respecting the
+surrounding country.  Her reception was so much to her mind, that she
+would have remained for some time among this kindly people, had she not
+felt bound to prosecute her journey to the south.
+
+Once more the sails were unfurled, the fires lighted, and the steamer
+ploughed its steady course towards the land of the Derikas.  Two or three
+villages were seen on the river banks, but the landscape was bare and
+bland, and the adventurous Alexina pursued her voyage until she reached
+Mount Hunaya.  There she landed and pitched her tents.  When it was known
+to be her design to remain in this encampment during the rainy season,
+her followers raised a vehement opposition, protesting that they would be
+devoured by lions or trampled to death by elephants.  Their mistress,
+however, remained firm in her intention; but as the steamer was in need
+of repair, she sent it back to Khartûm in charge of her aunt.
+
+It was during this lady’s enforced residence at Khartûm that she made the
+acquaintance of an Englishman and his wife, whose names have become
+household words in every civilized nation—Sir Samuel and Lady Baker.  Sir
+Samuel, who belongs to the illustrious company of African explorers,
+began his career of adventure by founding an agricultural colony at
+Nuvera Ellia—that is, six thousand feet above the sea, among the breezy
+mountain peaks of Ceylon.  In 1855 he visited the Crimea, and afterwards
+he was engaged in superintending in Turkey the organization of its first
+railway.  In 1861 he started with his wife on a journey of discovery in
+Central Africa, with the design of meeting the Government expedition,
+which, under Captain Speke, had been despatched in search of the Nile
+sources.  In nearly a year he and his wife explored the Abyssinian
+highlands, which form the cradle of the Blue Nile, arriving at Khartûm in
+June, 1862.  There he collected a large company to ascend the Upper Nile,
+and setting out in December, 1862, he reached Gondokoro in February,
+1863, in time to meet Captain Speke and Grant returning victoriously from
+their discovery of the Victoria Nyanza.  Baker furnished them with the
+means of transport to Khartûm, and then pushed forward across a district
+infested by slave-hunters, until he fell in with a great fresh-water
+basin, the Luta N’zize, which he christened the Albert Lake, or Nyanza,
+and ascertained to be one of the chief reservoirs or feeders of the Nile.
+He returned to England in 1866.  Three years later, he accepted from the
+Khedive of Egypt the command of a military force, with unlimited powers,
+for the purpose of annexing savage Africa to the civilized world, and
+opening up its fertile lake-regions to the enterprise of legitimate
+commerce.  The work, which was well done, occupied him until 1873, and
+was afterwards carried on by Colonel Gordon.
+
+In all his adventures, which, as we shall see, were often of a most
+critical character, Sir Samuel was accompanied by his wife, whose
+sympathy consoled, while her example inspired him.  This brave and
+chivalrous lady gave abundant proof of her heroic courage, her devoted
+affection, and her indomitable resolution.
+
+When the repairs of her vessel were completed, Alexina Tinné returned to
+Gebel Hunaya.  She was received with shouts of joy, and with a salute of
+several pieces of artillery, which awakened the greatest trepidation
+among the natives.  Some few incidents had occurred during her absence,
+but none of a very notable character.  One morning, Alexina was reading
+at a short distance from the camp.  Feeling thirsty, she turned towards a
+rivulet which sparkled among the herbage close at hand; but as she
+approached it, the dog which accompanied her barked loudly with affright,
+and showed a manifest unwillingness to draw nearer to the rocks impending
+over the stream.  Accepting this intimation of danger, Alexina stepped
+forward very cautiously, and soon discovered a young panther lurking
+behind the rugged boulders.  She had the presence of mind to stand
+perfectly still, while she summoned her soldiers and servants to her
+assistance.  They speedily came up, and, drawing a cordon round the
+animal, succeeded in capturing it alive.  On another occasion, her men
+killed, before her eyes, a huge crocodile, which was duly stuffed as a
+trophy.  They also caught a great ape, whose head was covered with long
+hair, mixed black and white.  The animal would have been a valuable
+specimen of the African fauna, but, unfortunately, it died within a few
+months of its capture.
+
+On the 7th of July, the steamer, which was heavily loaded and towed two
+boats, left Hunaya, to continue its course up the river.  Between Hunaya
+and the confluence of the Bahr-el-Ghazal (the Gazelle river) the scenery
+is far from being attractive; the river banks are arid, and sunburnt.
+Here and there, however, grow clumps of whispering reeds and aquatic
+plants; while, at other points, the river overflows its limits for two or
+three thousand yards, creating, on each side, an inaccessible swamp.
+
+The voyagers did not pause until they reached the settlement of an Arab
+chief, named Mohammed-Cher, who by his audacity had subjected the
+neighbouring tribes, and ruled supreme over this part of the Soudan.
+When, as frequently happened, he was in want of money, he exercised the
+right of the strong hand, and, at the head of his freebooters, sallied
+forth; destroying villages, slaying the male inhabitants, seizing upon
+the women and children, and carrying off the cattle.  He loved to
+surround himself with barbaric pomp, and paraded upon a magnificent
+horse, the saddle of which was embroidered with gold and silver, and
+sparkled with precious stones.  But when our voyagers arrived at his
+village, this great warrior showed signs of recreancy; he was terrified
+by the Turkish soldiers who occupied the steamer’s deck.  It was supposed
+to be owing to this spasm of alarm that he received the ladies with royal
+honours, sending them sheep, oxen, fruit, vegetables, dancers,
+archæological curiosities; in short, he seemed anxious to offer them all
+he possessed.  Afterwards, however, the secret of his ready liberality
+came out; the swarthy chieftain thought he was doing honour to the
+favourite daughter of the Grand Turk—in his zeal, he was anxious to
+proclaim her Queen of the Soudan.
+
+When his visitors were taking leave, he strongly advised them not to
+advance further to the south.  “Take care,” said he, “you do not come
+into collision with the Shillooks, who are our sworn enemies, and the
+enemies of all who cross their frontiers.  Take care that they do not set
+fire to your boats, as they have already done to all vessels coming from
+Khartûm.”
+
+In spite of these warnings, Alexina Tinné resolutely continued her
+voyage, and, a few days later, anchored off a Shillook village.  The
+sailors, frightened by Mohammed’s story, would not approach it; she
+therefore landed with only an interpreter, an officer, and an escort of
+ten soldiers.  But the news of the arrival of a daughter of the Sultan
+had preceded her, and instead of being received as an enemy, she was
+welcomed with every demonstration of respect.  The Shillooks, as is the
+case with savage tribes in all parts of the world, endeavour to engage
+every stranger in their personal enmities; and they now hoped to secure
+the assistance of the expedition against that terrible Mohammed-Cher,
+who, only a few days before, had shown so much anxiety to proclaim the
+European lady Queen of the Soudan.  When she refused to join in their
+campaign, their disappointment was extreme.  All travellers speak warmly
+of this unfortunate tribe, who suffer scarcely less from Europeans than
+from Arabs.  The conditions under which they live are very pitiful;
+wherever they turn, they are met by enemies.  Constantly falling victims
+to the cruelty of the slave-hunters, it is no wonder that they regard
+with suspicion, and too often treat with ferocity, the strangers who come
+among them; naturally implicating them in the traffic by which they
+suffer so severely.  The slave-hunting abomination is, we must repeat,
+the mortal wound of Central Africa; it impedes commercial enterprise, and
+paralyzes the efforts of the pioneers of Christian civilization.  Let us
+hope that, in the lake regions, the vigorous action of Colonel Gordon has
+greatly diminished, if it has not absolutely rooted out, the evil.
+
+Pressing southward with unshaken resolution, Alexina Tinné reached at
+length the junction of the Sobat with the Nile.  She resolved to ascend
+that tributary as far as it was navigable, calculating that the
+_excursus_, going and returning, would occupy seven or eight days.  The
+valley of the Sobat is more interesting in character than much of the
+course of the White Nile.  Its broad pastures, stretching away to the
+distant horizon, teem with flocks of ostriches and herds of giraffes.
+The river banks are thickly indented by the heavy hoofs of elephants, and
+the colossal animals themselves wander freely over the uplands.  For some
+weeks the voyagers lingered in the Sobat, well pleased with its
+succession of striking scenes; and then they steamed up the Nile again,
+until they reached the mouth of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, the majestic stream
+which, with slow current, traverses Lake Nû.
+
+Here the Nile strikes sharply towards the south, forming a complete right
+angle; and broadens into an imposing expanse of shining waters.
+
+The flora of the surrounding country is very picturesque: tamarinds,
+mimosas, climbing plants, the papyruses, and the euphorbias thrive in
+unchecked luxuriance, as they have thriven for countless centuries, and
+blend together their thick growth of various foliage.  The colouring of
+the flowers is often so intense that the eye aches in contemplating it.
+It should be added that the euphorbia, which is very common in this
+region, yields a poisonous milky juice, in which the natives dip their
+arrows.  A scratch from one of these envenomed weapons will rapidly prove
+mortal.
+
+Beyond Lake Nû, the White Nile breaks into an intricate series of curves
+and meanders, pouring its waters downwards with violent swiftness.  Such,
+indeed, was the strength of the flood, that the steamer was compelled to
+throw off the towing-rope of the two dahabiehs, and the sailors and
+servants landed in order to haul them against the stream.  But in the
+greatest stress of the current the rope broke, and the boats, drifting
+away, were threatened with destruction.  Osman Aga, a resolute and
+courageous soldier, who was on the deck of the steamer, seized another
+rope and leaped instantly into the river.  With vigorous strokes he made
+for the shore.  He had almost gained it, and had flung the rope to his
+expectant comrades, when he suddenly disappeared.  After a while his dead
+body was found, and immediate preparations were made to give it an
+honourable burial.  Wrapped round, according to the custom of the
+country, with twenty yards of calico, it was interred, in the presence of
+the whole crew, at the foot of a patriarchal tree, on the trunk of which
+was cut a commemorative inscription.
+
+Some days after this melancholy event, the expedition ascended the river
+to Heiligenkreuz, where some Austrian Catholic missionaries have founded
+a settlement.  Remaining there until the 15th of September, Alexina Tinné
+made a short excursion into the interior, crossing rivers, traversing
+forests, and meeting with numerous villages, half hidden in leafiness.
+
+As the voyagers approached Gondokoro, they observed that the panoramas
+assumed a grander character; that the landscapes were on a loftier scale.
+Tropical forests extended their deep shades along the river banks; and
+sometimes in their recesses it was possible to catch sight of the remains
+of ancient buildings, at one time, perhaps, inhabited by a busy race.
+Gondokoro, long regarded as the _Ultima Thule_ of the Nile Valley, was
+reached on the 30th of September.  It proved to be the extreme southward
+limit of Alexina Tinné’s explorations.  She ardently longed to advance—to
+share some of the glory resting upon the names of Speke and Grant, Baker
+and Petherick—to see with her own eyes the immense basin of the Victorian
+Sea—to trace to its well-head the course of the Nile; but the obstacles
+thrown in her way proved insurmountable.  Moreover, most of her followers
+were seized with malarious fever, and she herself had an attack, which
+for some days held her life in danger.  When she recovered, she began to
+study the habits and manners of the native tribes residing in the
+neighbourhood of Gondokoro.  They are all Baris, and very ignorant and
+superstitious, but not naturally cruel.  No trade flourishes among them
+like that of the sorcerer, who is also the medicine-man.  When a Bari
+falls ill, he hastens to consult the Punok, who gives him some absurd but
+infallible recipe, and the cure is effected!  One of these magicians
+succeeded in persuading the negroes that he was invulnerable.  Oxen,
+sheep, and presents of all kinds were poured into his willing hands; but
+unluckily he declaimed against the expeditions of the Egyptians, who, not
+having any sense of humour, put him to death.  His dupes, gathering round
+his dead body, waited patiently for his resurrection; and only began to
+doubt when the corpse putrefied.
+
+Among the Bari sorcerers a high rank is held by the “rain-maker”—a
+personage of great repute, to whom the villagers bring oxen, fruits, and
+trinkets, in days of drought, to bribe him to invoke the clouds and their
+treasures of fertilizing rain.  But his position is not without its
+inconveniences; if, after the performance of his rites, the drought
+continues, the people assemble at his house, drag him forth, and without
+more ado, cut open the stomach of the unfortunate Kodjour, on the plea
+that the storms must be shut up in it, as they make no external
+manifestation.  Few are the years in which one of these rain-makers does
+not perish, unless he has the wit to escape out of danger before his
+deception is discovered.
+
+From Gondokoro Alexina Tinné returned without delay to Khartûm, where she
+received the congratulations of the European community; but her rest was
+not of long duration.  She had nothing of the lotos-eater in her
+temperament, and could find contentment only in action.  Hers was the
+true traveller’s character—energetic, active, daring, tenacious, with an
+insatiable thirst for new scenes.  Thwarted in her first design, she
+immediately took up another.  She would ascend the great western
+tributary of the Nile, the Bahr-el-Ghazal, explore the streams which feed
+it, and penetrate into the land of the Nyam-nyam, of whom Doctor Heughlin
+has furnished so interesting an account.  Her preparations were soon
+completed.  This time she and her mother—her aunt remained at Khartûm—did
+not travel alone; their expedition was reinforced by three experienced
+travellers, Doctor Heughlin, the naturalist, Doctor Steudner, and Baron
+d’Ablaing.  The first two started in advance, so as to open up the route
+for the adventurous Alexina, who, with her mother and Baron d’Ablaing,
+quitted Khartûm at the end of February, 1863, in command of a flotilla
+composed of a steamer, a sailing-vessel, and several small boats.
+
+Heughlin, who had set out some days before, passed, on the 31st of
+January, the Gebel Tefafan, a lofty mountain which rises at no great
+distance from the river.  He reached Lake Nû—a point from which the
+voyager has more than two hundred miles to accomplish across the
+Bahr-el-Ghazal.  At that time of the year the river in many places is as
+narrow as a canal, though on both sides bordered by a swampy plain, which
+stretches further than the eye can see, and bears a thick growth of
+gigantic reeds.  At other places it deepens into considerable lakes.
+
+The natives navigate it in light canoes, which they manage with much
+dexterity.  They sit astride the stem, with their legs hanging down in
+the water; and if they fall in with no branches capable of being
+converted into oars, they row with their hands.  The Nouers, who inhabit
+this land of marsh and morass, furnish an apparent exemplification of the
+Darwinian theory: by a process of natural selection they have become
+thoroughly adapted to the conditions of a soil and climate which would
+rapidly kill off an unaccustomed population.  Their muscular strength is
+remarkable; and they are a race of Anaks, averaging from six to seven
+feet in height.  Alexina Tinné records that, in spite of the heat of a
+tropical sun, and the attacks of swarms of insects, they would stand
+erect, with lance in hand, on the summit of the mounds thrown up by
+termites, anxiously watching the steamer and the boats in tow as they
+passed by swiftly and steadily, against wave and current—a type, shall we
+say? of the irresistible progress of civilization.
+
+While Doctor Heughlin, in the true scientific spirit, industriously
+explored the banks of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, Alexina Tinné was making a
+persistent effort to rejoin him.  Innumerable difficulties assailed her.
+When only a few miles from Khartûm, her captain came to tell her, with
+signs of the utmost terror, that the steamer was leaking, and would
+shortly sink.  Her alarm may easily be imagined; but fortunately she was
+never wanting in presence of mind.  She gave orders that the cargo should
+be immediately unloaded; the leak was repaired, and the voyage resumed.
+A few hours later, and the vessel was again in danger, the water rushing
+in with greater violence than before.  A close investigation was made,
+and then it was discovered that the pilot and captain had each agreed to
+bore a hole in the ship’s hull, with the view of putting a stop to a
+voyage which they, as well as the crew, dreaded.  But our heroine was not
+to be conquered.  She at once dismissed a part of the crew, and sent away
+both the captain and the pilot; then, with men pledged to be true to her,
+she sailed away resolutely for the Bahr-el-Ghazal.
+
+At first, she made but slow progress, on account of the mass of tall
+dense grasses and aquatic plants that choked up the stream.  In many
+places it was necessary to clear a way for the steamer with knife and
+axe.  In the sun-baked mud grisly crocodiles swarmed; the snort of the
+hippopotamus rose from amid the reedy tangle; the elephant with calm eyes
+watched the movements of the strangers.  The swamps of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
+are a paradise of wild beasts, and Mademoiselle Tinné saw thousands of
+them wandering to and fro.  But though game is so abundant, to hunt it is
+very difficult.  The sportsman cannot penetrate into the midst of the dry
+and withered vegetation without a crackling of leaves and a snapping of
+stems, which give instant alarm to vigilant and suspicious ears.  No
+sooner does he set foot in the jungle, than, as if warned by some secret
+telegraphic agency, all its denizens take to flight.  But while
+Mademoiselle Tinné’s followers were vainly attempting to pursue the trail
+of the great pachyderms, a huge elephant, which had probably entered too
+far into the river in the keenness of his thirst, was caught up in the
+current, and driven against one of the boats.  The opportunity was not
+neglected; the boatmen immediately assailed the unfortunate animal,
+killed it, and cut it in pieces.
+
+Lake Reg is the highest navigable point of the Ghazal. {249}  Our heroine
+found here a fleet of five and twenty craft, some with cargoes of ivory,
+others with cargoes of dourra or millet.  She was received with
+enthusiasm, which specially manifested itself in the discharge of three
+volleys of musketry—a compliment to which Alexina Tinné replied by
+hoisting the Dutch flag.
+
+As soon as her little flotilla was safely moored among the trading craft,
+the enterprising lady prepared to undertake a journey into the interior.
+But as it was found impossible to collect a sufficient number of porters
+to carry the baggage, she arranged that Doctors Heughlin and Steudner
+should start in search of suitable winter-quarters.  The two travellers
+set out, but the malarious climate broke down their health, and both were
+seized with a dangerous marsh fever.  They suffered greatly; but,
+sustained by their strong will, they pushed forward, crossing, on the 2nd
+of April, the river Djur, and arriving, the same evening, at the village
+of Wau.  Here Doctor Steudner rapidly grew worse.  Before long he was
+unable to walk; he fell into a profound stupor, and passed away, almost
+without pain, on the 10th of April.  Doctor Heughlin describes, with much
+pathos, the feelings of grief and melancholy which overpowered him when
+he buried his friend.  The body was wrapped in Abyssinian cloth and
+covered with leaves; then interred in a deep trench dug at the foot of a
+clump of trees.
+
+On the 17th of April, Doctor Heughlin quitted the lonely shades of Wau,
+and, having lured a large number of porters, returned to Lake Reg.  Then,
+to complete the necessary arrangements for the projected expedition to
+the country of the Nyam-nyam, Baron d’Ablaing went on a trip to Khartûm,
+whence he brought back an abundant supply of provisions.  During his
+absence, Alexina Tinné was visited by Mrs. Petherick, the wife of the
+English consul—a woman not less courageous than herself, who had
+accompanied her husband in most of his explorations.  She claims the
+honour of having added numerous places to the map of Africa, and of
+having been the first European lady who had penetrated into those remote
+regions.
+
+While Alexina Tinné represents Holland, and Mrs. Petherick England,
+Germany is represented by the wife of Sir Samuel Baker, to whom allusion
+has already been made.  A woman of delicate and even feeble appearance,
+with a countenance of remarkable amiability of expression; she possesses,
+as Queen Elizabeth said of herself, “the heart of a man,” and of a brave
+and chivalrous man.  Deeds worthy of the most famous knights have been
+accomplished by this lady, who, it might have been thought, would have
+sunk before the first breath of the Simoom.  One may here be recorded.
+While out hunting, Sir Samuel Baker was attacked by a buffalo, which had
+sprung upon him unperceived through the high thick grasses, and was on
+the point of impaling him on its horns, when Lady Baker, with cool and
+steady aim, raised her rifle, and lodging a bullet between the animal’s
+eyes, stretched it dead on the ground.  A moment’s hesitation, the
+slightest wavering or nervousness, and Sir Samuel would have been lost.
+
+Alexina Tinné, with Mr. and Mrs. Petherick, made numerous excursions in
+the neighbourhood of Lake Reg, in one of which they were surprised by a
+terrible storm.  In the memory of living man no such hurricane had been
+known; and it seemed to spend its worst fury upon the traveller’s
+caravan, which it threatened every moment to sweep from the earth.  When
+it had somewhat subsided, other difficulties arose.  The soldiers who
+formed the escort were not only inveterately idle, but irrepressibly
+dishonest; while as for the negroes, they were contumacious, and refused
+to follow the route indicated by their employer.  A serious disturbance
+was on the point of breaking out, when the gale returned with fresh
+violence, tore down at least half of the encampment, and almost
+suffocated Alexina Tinné amidst the wreckage of her hut.  While it
+lasted, terror prevented her followers from resorting to acts of open
+insubordination; but they regained their audacity as the tempest passed
+away, and, declaring that their supply of food was insufficient, demanded
+larger rations.  A general mutiny seemed imminent; but the fair leader of
+the expedition was equal to the occasion.  Though suffering from bodily
+pain and weakness, she boldly confronted the insurgents; with flashing
+eye, and in a fierce voice, addressed to them a severe reprimand, and
+ordered them to lay down their arms.  Her intrepid demeanour awed them
+into submission, and the encounter ended in their humbly supplicating her
+forgiveness.
+
+The crisis over, her overwrought system gave way.  So serious was her
+illness that at one time recovery seemed impossible, and the deepest
+sorrow was manifested by the whole camp.  Quinine, however, which is the
+sheet-anchor (so to speak) of African travellers, saved her.  A gradual
+improvement took place, and by the 30th of May all danger had
+disappeared.
+
+As soon as she was able to move, she gave orders for the expedition to
+advance.  It travelled by short stages; and when, towards night, Miss
+Tinné came upon a village which promised convenient quarters, she sent
+for the sheikh, and the gift of a few beads was sufficient to make him
+expel from their huts the native families.  Without striking a blow, the
+travellers got possession of the place, and in a few hours had settled
+themselves comfortably, while taking due care of their camels and cattle.
+As for the dispossessed inhabitants, they were left to find what shelter
+or accommodation they could, consoling themselves with the promise of
+ample compensation on the morrow.
+
+The African villages are sometimes of considerable size.  They are nearly
+always surrounded by a belt of cultivated ground, where dourra, sesamum,
+and culinary vegetables grow in profusion.  The flocks scattered over the
+pastures often include some thousands of sheep, though they are never
+killed by the natives for purposes of food.  Miss Tinné purchased
+several; but as soon as it was known that she slaughtered them for
+provision, their owners refused to sell.  The natives apparently make the
+sheep the object of a superstitious _cultus_, as the Lapps do the hare.
+It is true, however, that their scruples vanished at the sight of Alexina
+Tinné’s trinkets; their religion proved unable to withstand the
+temptation of a bright ring or glittering bracelet.  Yet who shall blame
+them when Christians have been known to forswear their faith for equally
+small bribes?  It is a curious fact that each tribe has its favourite
+colour—that while one swears by blue beads, another has eyes only for
+green; so that a tribe which will violate its conscience for a handful of
+blue beads or yellow, will preserve it intact if tested by beads of any
+other colour.  But no bribe is so powerful, will prevail over so many
+vows, will appease so many scruples, as a piece of blue or red cotton.
+This, however, was reserved as a gratification for the chiefs alone; and
+it was a sight to make you laugh or weep, according as your philosophy is
+that of Democritus or Heraclitus, to see them strutting through their
+villages, proud as peacocks in their gaudy attire, haughtier than a mayor
+with his official chain round his portly chest, happier than a Frenchman
+with the ribbon of the Legion of Honour in his button-hole.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+The countries of Djur and Dör, traversed by our caravan, offered a
+succession of the most varied panoramas.  For several days it passed
+through marshy lowlands, covered with a coarse hard grass: the herbage
+was besprinkled with rare flowers, many of which belonged to species
+unknown to European botanists.  As they advanced trees became more
+numerous; groves developed into woods, and woods expanded into a
+luxurious forest, where the eye surveyed with delight a rich network of
+climbing plants and wild vines, spreading from tree to tree, while the
+dense cloud of verdure was lighted up profusely with starry blossoms.  In
+this happy land the mosquito was never found; nor were there any
+injurious insects, except the termites or white ants.
+
+The picture suddenly changed as the travellers penetrated further into
+the interior; immense plains stretched away to a remote horizon, where
+earth and heaven seemed to mingle.  Occasionally, however, the monotonous
+level was broken pleasantly by clumps of graceful trees, forming so many
+isles of greenery, in which the calm bland air was perfumed by the sweet
+odours that rose, like a breath, from magnificent cactuses, orchids, and
+irises.  Thousands of birds, surprised among the tall grasses by the
+passing caravan, sprang aloft and filled the air with the whir of
+winnowing wings.
+
+Enraptured by the beauty of this fortunate and favoured region, Alexina
+forgot the sufferings she had endured, and, giving a free rein to her
+womanly enthusiasm, exclaimed—“This is a delightful country, a marvellous
+land, which compensates us for all our fatigue; yes, and for all our
+outlay!”  These last words may be considered as a striking example of
+bathos, or “the art of sinking,” considering the circumstances under
+which they were pronounced; but it would appear that the enormous
+expenses of the expedition had by this time made a serious inroad even on
+Miss Tinné’s large fortune.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+As for some years a marked diminution had taken place in the number of
+elephants inhabiting the valley of the White Nile, the ivory dealers
+pushed forward into the countries watered by the Bahr-el-Ghazal and the
+Djur.  There they found themselves in a virgin region, which hitherto had
+not been contaminated by the influences of a corrupt civilization.  It
+was a mine to be worked with the happiest results, and accordingly they
+established a series of stations, each in charge of a vakil or manager.
+In the month of November these were visited in person by the traders, who
+loaded their boats with ivory, too frequently adding to their cargoes of
+elephants’ tusks the unfortunate negroes who had served them as guides
+and hunters.  As time went on, they extended their relations, and gave
+free course to their ambition.  They armed the tribes one against
+another, promoted internecine contests, and in this way consolidated
+their cruel and unscrupulous despotism.
+
+Our travellers nearly fell victims to one of these infamous speculators
+in the blood of the feeble and defenceless.  Yielding to his repeated
+pressure, Alexina and her followers advanced to Bongo, where he exercised
+authority.  They were received with a splendid welcome.  On their arrival
+volleys of musketry woke all the surrounding echoes.  Biselli (such was
+the name of their self-appointed host) met them at the entrance to the
+village, and conducted them into a spacious and convenient habitation,
+where, with the most courteous attention, they were served with sherbet,
+coffee, and other refreshing drinks.  No one was forgotten in his profuse
+hospitality; masters and servants were entertained with equal liberality.
+The abrek, the delicious beer of the country, was freely circulated among
+the people, and generously distributed to the very porters.
+
+As Biselli was absolute master in the village and its neighbourhood, and
+owned almost everything, Alexina Tinné requested him to sell some corn
+and oxen.  He answered, like a true gentleman, that for twenty-four hours
+he was her host; that he had abdicated his position as a trader, and had
+no thought but her comfort, and to give her an honourable reception.  His
+profuseness, far from diminishing, largely increased; and his European
+guests were almost ashamed to be the recipients of an hospitality so
+cordial, so unlimited, and so unexpected.
+
+But unfortunately a change came over the spirit of the dream.  Next day,
+clouds gathered on the horizon which had previously been so fair.  The
+travellers wished to hire a small zoriba, or plantation, comprising two
+tents.  Biselli named thirty thalers as the price.  No objection was
+offered, and Miss Tinné’s people began to store the baggage, when he
+suddenly made a demand for two hundred thalers.  This exorbitant sum was
+promptly and firmly refused; he then reduced it to forty thalers, which
+was paid.  Soon afterwards the caravan was in need of dourra, and there
+was no help for it but to apply to Biselli.  Well aware of their
+necessity, the scoundrel charged forty times more than they would have
+had to pay at Khartûm, and on every other article he put in like manner a
+tax of forty or fifty per cent.  The ex-gentleman had resumed his old
+character as an unprincipled speculator.
+
+Our travellers, however, felt that they could no longer endure his
+impositions, and abandoning Bongo and Biselli, returned to Lake Reg.
+Here Alexina’s mother was seized with an illness which carried her off in
+a few days (July 23rd).  Two European servants were also attacked by
+fever, and succumbed to its fatal influence.  Overwhelmed with grief,
+Miss Tinné abandoned her schemes of African exploration, and slowly and
+with difficulty made her way back to Khartûm, to find that her aunt, the
+Baroness van Capellan, had died during her absence (in May, 1864).  As
+soon as she had recruited her strength, she removed to Cairo, where she
+took up her residence, and for four years made a conspicuous figure in
+its brilliant European circle.
+
+The love of new scenes, however, had not been quenched by her adventures,
+and in her yacht she made frequent visits to Naples and Rome, Smyrna and
+Jaffa, Algiers and Tripoli.  While at the latter port, a caravan arrived
+from the Sahara, with the products of the rich lands that lie beyond that
+famous desert.  The incident suggested to her bold imagination the idea
+of an expedition which in romance and interest should eclipse her
+previous enterprise, and she traced the plan of a journey across Tripoli
+to the capital of Fezzan, thence to Kuka, and westward, by way of Wadai,
+Darfur, and Kordofan, to the Nile.  As this route would carry her into
+the territory of the brave but treacherous Towaregs, a race to whom
+plunder and rapine seem the breath of life, she took care to provide
+herself with a sufficient escort, and on the 29th of January, 1869, set
+out from Tripoli at the head of a troop of fifty armed men.  At Sokna, in
+Fezzan, which she reached on the 1st of March, she engaged the services
+of a Towareg chief, one Ik-nu-ken; but at the last moment he failed her,
+and she accepted as guides two chiefs of the same tribe, who professed to
+have been sent by Ik-nu-ken.  These men, in conjunction with her
+attendant, Mohammed, a Tunisian, resolved upon murdering her in order to
+gain possession of her money and valuables.  Soon after her departure
+from Sokna (it was on the 1st of August) they excited a quarrel among the
+camel-drivers, and when Alexina quitted her tent to ascertain the cause,
+one of the Towaregs shot her with a rifle-bullet, mortally wounding her.
+For four and twenty hours she lay dying at the door of her tent, no one
+venturing to offer assistance or consolation.
+
+Such was the melancholy fate of Alexina Tinné!  It is satisfactory to
+know that the murderers who, with their plunder, had escaped into the
+interior, were eventually captured, tried, and sentenced to imprisonment
+for life. {259}
+
+
+
+
+MR. J. A. MACGAHAN,
+AND CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS.
+
+
+I.
+
+
+MR. J. A. MACGAHAN, as special correspondent for the _New York Herald_, a
+journal well known by the liberality and boldness of its management,
+accompanied the Russian army, under General Kauffmann, in its campaigns
+in Central Asia in 1873 and 1874.
+
+Bound for the seat of war, he made his way, in company with Mr. Eugene
+Schuyler, the American _chargé d’affaires_ at St. Petersburg, who desired
+to see something of Central Asia, to Kasala, a Russian town on the
+Syr-Daria (the ancient _Jaxartes_), where he arrived in April, 1873.  He
+describes this town, or fort, as the entering wedge of the Russians into
+Central Asia.  Its population, exclusive of Russian soldiers and
+civilians, consists of Sarts, or Tadjiks, Bokhariots, Kirghiz, and
+Kara-Kalpaks; all being Tartar tribes, in whom an infusion of Aryan blood
+has more or less modified the old Mongolian type.  As for the town, it is
+picturesque enough to a European eye—its low mud houses, with flat roofs,
+windowless, and almost doorless; its bazár, where long-bearded men, in
+bright-coloured robes, gravely drink tea among the wares that crowd their
+little shops; and the strings of laden camels that stalk through its
+streets, presenting a novel combination.  As soon as he had obtained all
+the information he could with respect to the movements of the Russian
+force, Mr. MacGahan resolved on making a dash for the Oxus, hoping to
+reach that river before General Kauffmann’s army had crossed it.  But
+when the Russian authorities learned his design, they at once interfered,
+declaring that the journey was dangerous, if not impracticable, and must
+not be undertaken without leave from the Governor-General.  Mr. MacGahan
+then resolved on pushing forward to Fort Perovsky, as if going only to
+Tashkent; trusting to find there an officer in command who would not be
+troubled by such conscientious scruples about his personal safety.  No
+objection was made to a journey to Tashkent; Mr. MacGahan and Mr.
+Schuyler therefore hurried their preparations, stowed their baggage in a
+waggon, and themselves in a tarantass, and shaking the dust off their
+feet at inhospitable and suspicious Kasala, took their course along the
+banks of the Syr-Daria.
+
+This, the ancient Jaxartes, is one of the most eccentric of rivers.  It
+is continually changing its bed, like a restless traveller; “here to-day,
+and gone to-morrow,” and gone a distance of some eight to ten miles.  To
+adapt it to the purposes of navigation seems almost impossible, or, at
+all events, would be unprofitable; and the best use that could be made of
+its waters would be to irrigate with them the thirsty sands of the desert
+of Kyzil-Kum.
+
+On Mr. MacGahan’s arrival at Fort Perovsky, he proceeded to engage a
+guide and horses, having fully resolved to carry out his bold enterprise.
+From the commandant he was fortunate enough to obtain a passport, and on
+the 30th of April he bade farewell to Mr. Schuyler, and set out.  His
+_cortége_ consisted of Ak-Mamatoff, his Tartar servant, Mushuf, the
+guide, and a young Kirghiz attendant, all mounted, with ten horses to
+carry the baggage and forage.  As a man of peace, he says, he went but
+lightly armed.  Yet a heavy double-barrelled hunting rifle, a
+double-barrelled shot gun (both being breech-loaders), an
+eighteen-shooter Winchester rifle, three heavy revolvers, and one
+ordinary muzzle-loading shot gun throwing slugs, together with a few
+knives and sabres, would seem to make up a tolerable arsenal!  Mr.
+MacGahan, however, assures us that he did not contemplate fighting, and
+that he encumbered himself with these “lethal weapons” only that he might
+be able to discuss with becoming dignity questions concerning the rights
+of way and of property, on which his opinions might differ from those of
+the nomads of the desert, who hold to Rob Roy’s good old rule, that
+
+    “They should take who have the power,
+    And they should keep who can.”
+
+That night our traveller accepted the hospitality of a Kirghiz.  Next
+morning he and his men were in the saddle by sunrise, riding merrily away
+to the south-west, across a country innocent of road or path.  Sometimes
+their course lay through tangled brushwood, sometimes through tall reeds
+which completely concealed each rider from his companions, sometimes over
+low sandy dunes, and sometimes across a bare and most desolate plain.
+Occasionally they heard the loud sharp cry of the golden pheasant of
+Turkistan; then they would pass large flocks and herds of sheep, cattle,
+and horses, quietly grazing; and again they would meet and salute a
+Kirghiz shepherd on horseback.  To eyes that have been trained to _see_
+no desert can be utterly barren of interest; the vigilant observer will
+discover, in the most sterile waste, something of fresh and novel
+character, something suggestive of thick-coming fancies.  For example,
+Mr. MacGahan noted the remarkable difference between the wide stretches
+of the sandy plain and the occasional streaks of ground that had been
+under recent cultivation; and he perceived that the desert had the
+advantage.  Parched and sun-scorched, and without a trace of vegetation,
+was the land that had been irrigated only the year before; while the
+desert assumed a delicate tint of green, with its budding brushwood and
+thin grass, which always springs into life as soon as the snow melts, to
+flourish until stricken sore by the heats of summer.
+
+At nightfall the travellers, weary with eleven hours’ ride, drew up at a
+Kara-Kalpak aul, or encampment, consisting of a dozen kibitkas, pitched
+near a little pond in the centre of a delightful oasis.  The owner of one
+of the kibitkas proved to be the guide’s brother, and gave the party a
+cordial welcome.  The Kara-Kalpaks are nomads like the Kirghiz, but
+though they live side by side with them, and frequently intermarry, they
+seem to belong to a different race of men.  They are taller than the
+Kirghiz, and well-made; their skin is almost as white as that of a
+European; and instead of the small eyes, high cheek-bones, flat noses,
+thick lips, and round beardless faces of the Kirghiz, they have long
+faces, high noses, large open eyes, and are bearded “like the pard.”
+
+“After supper,” says Mr. MacGahan, “I stepped outside the tent to take a
+look on the surrounding scene, and enjoy the cool air of the evening.
+The new moon was just setting; lights were gleaming in every direction
+over the plain, showing that ours was not the only aul in the vicinity.
+The bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle could be heard, mingled
+with the playful bark of dogs and the laughing voices of children, which
+came to us on the still evening air like music.  In places the weeds and
+grass of last year had been fired to clear the ground for the new growth,
+and broad sheets of fire crawled slowly forward over the plain, while
+huge volumes of dense smoke, that caught the light of the flames below,
+rolled along the sky in grotesque fantastic shapes like clouds of fire.”
+
+The kibitka, according to our traveller, is made up of numerous thin
+strips of wood, six feet long, which are fastened loosely together like a
+vine trellis, and can be opened out or folded up compactly, as necessity
+requires.  As the strips are slightly curved in the middle, the
+framework, when expanded, naturally takes the form of a segment of a
+circle.  Four of these frames constitute the skeleton sides of the tent;
+and on their tops are placed some twenty or thirty rafters, properly
+curved, with their upper ends inserted in the hoop, three or four feet in
+diameter, that serves as a roof-tree.  The method of pitching a kibitka
+may be thus described:—As soon as the camel with the felt and framework
+reaches the chosen site, he is made to kneel down, and a couple of women
+seize the framework, which they straightway set up on end, and extend in
+the form of a circle.  Next the doorposts are planted, and the whole
+bound firmly together with a camel’s-hair rope.  Then one of the women
+takes the afore-mentioned wooden hoop, and raising it above her head on a
+pole, the other proceeds to insert in their proper holes the twenty or
+thirty rafters, fastening their basis to the lower framework by means of
+hoops.  When a thick fold of felt has been let down over the framework,
+the kibitka, which measures about fifteen feet in diameter, and eight
+feet in length, is complete.  In appearance it is not unlike a magnified
+beehive of the old pattern.
+
+The Kirghiz nomads are fierce, crafty, often cruel, but they hold the
+life of a guest sacred.  For his property, however, they have no such
+high consideration, and they are not above the temptation of plundering
+him of any article that attracts their fancy.  Their chief amusements are
+horse exercises and falconry.  They love the chase with a true
+sportsman’s passion; loving it for itself, rather than for the game it
+procures, as they can conceive of nothing daintier than a dish of
+mutton—a dish which they prepare with touching simplicity.  For, a sheep
+having been skinned, they cut it into quarters, which they plunge into a
+large caldron of water, and boil for a couple of hours.  Generally, on a
+principle of severe economy, they cook the intestines with the meat, not
+taking the trouble even to separate them.  The guests arrange themselves
+in a circle on carpets of felt; the men, as recognized lords of the
+creation, occupying the foremost places, the women and children sitting
+in the rear.  The smoking quarters of mutton are removed from the pot;
+each man draws his knife, slashes off a cantle, eats until satisfied, and
+passes what is left to his wife and children, who speedily effect a
+clearance.  The dogs come in for the bones.  Afterwards, bowls of the
+liquor in which the meat has been boiled are handed round, and not a
+Kirghiz but swallows the greasy potion with as much zest as an epicure
+takes his glass of dry champagne.  This broth, koumis (fermented mare’s
+milk), and tea, are his customary liquors; but the tea, instead of being
+prepared in the European fashion, is made into a kind of soup with milk,
+flour, butter, and salt.  In every respectable Kirghiz kibitka the women
+keep constantly upon the fire a vessel of this beverage, which they offer
+to visitors, just as a Turk serves up coffee, and a Spaniard chocolate.
+
+In their mode of life the Kirghiz display a certain originality.  They
+spend the three winter months in mud huts on the bank of a river or a
+small stream, and resume their annual migrations as soon as the snow
+begins to melt.  During these migrations they live in tents, and never
+halt in one spot for longer than three days.  Their march is often
+continued until they have travelled three or four hundred miles; then
+they turn round, and retrace the same route, so as to reach their place
+of hibernation before the snow falls.  In their selection of quarters
+they seem guided by some traditions handed down in the different auls;
+and not unfrequently a body of Kirghiz will pass over much excellent
+grazing ground, and travel many a league to inferior pasturage.  The
+hardships they undergo are so many, their pleasures so few and mean,
+their objects so commonplace, that one is tempted to wonder what kind of
+answer an intelligent Kirghiz would return to the question not long ago
+put with some emphasis before the reading public, “Is life worth living?”
+Those higher motives, those purer aspirations which the cultivated
+European mind delights to recognize, are unknown to the wild nomad, and
+he spends day after day, and month after month, in what would seem to be
+a drearily monotonous struggle for existence, under conditions which
+might be supposed to render existence an intolerable burden.  But then he
+can love and suffer as we know civilized men and women love and suffer;
+and love and suffering will invest the harshest, coarsest life with a
+certain grace and consecration.
+
+There was once a young Kirghiz, named Polat, who was affianced to Muna
+Aim, the comeliest maiden in the aul, or community, of Tugluk.  Her
+father, Ish Djan, had received the customary kalym, or wedding present,
+and the marriage day had been appointed.  But before it arrived, “the
+blind fury with the abhorred shears” had “slit” Polat’s “thin-spun life;”
+and Muna Aim was set free from her promise.  Suluk, Polat’s brother, came
+forward, however, and, in his anxiety to recover his brother’s property,
+which she had received as her dower, claimed her as his wife.  The claim
+was supported by her father; but Muna Aim, who had sufficient means to
+live on, considered herself a widow, and refused to marry.  She was
+driven from her father’s kibitka; and taking her camel, with her sheep
+and goats, her clothes and carpets, she bought a little kibitka for
+herself, and lived alone, but not unhappy.  For her heart was really with
+Azim, a young Kirghiz belonging to another aul, and she had consented to
+marry Polat only in obedience to her father.  A second sacrifice she was
+determined not to make.  But the old women grew very angry with Muna Aim,
+as she continued to enjoy her independence.  “What is the matter with
+her?” they cried.  “She will not go to her husband, but lives alone like
+an outlaw.”  She was an innovator, boldly breaking through a traditional
+custom, and they resolved to “reason” with her.  Their arguments were
+those which the strong too often employ against the feeble; they hurled
+at her bad names, and they scratched her face and pulled her hair.  Still
+she would not yield; and in contentment she milked her sheep and goats,
+drove them to the pasture, and drew water for them from the well, waiting
+for some happy turn of fortune which might unite her with her Azim.
+
+At last Suluk also resolved to try the effect of “reason.”  With three or
+four friends he repaired one night to her kibitka, and broke it open,
+resolved to carry her off to his tent, and compel her to be his wife.
+Love and despair, however, lent her so wonderful an energy, that she
+resisted all their efforts.  They dragged her to the door; but she
+clutched at the door-posts with her hands, and held so firmly, that to
+make her let go they were forced to draw their knives and slash her
+fingers.  When they succeeded in hauling her into the open air, her
+clothes were torn from her body, and she was covered with blood from head
+to foot.  She continued her brave struggle; and Suluk, leaping on his
+horse and catching her by her beautiful long hair, dragged her at his
+horse’s heels, until it came out by the roots, and he was compelled to
+leave her on the ground, naked, bleeding, half dead.
+
+Information of this outrage, however, reached the Yarim-Padshah (or “half
+emperor”), as the tribes of Central Asia call the redoubtable General
+Kauffmann; and he despatched a party of Cossacks to seize its author.
+Suluk was speedily captured, and sent, a prisoner, to Siberia; while the
+faithful and courageous Muna Aim recovered her health and her braids of
+long dark hair, and in the winter met the lover for whom she had endured
+so much, and was happily married.
+
+Thus the reader will perceive that romance flourishes even in the
+wildernesses of the Kyzil-Kum; and that a Kirghiz woman can be elevated
+by a true love like an English maiden.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Continuing his ride after the Russians, Mr. MacGahan, when near Irkibai,
+came upon the ruins of an ancient city.  It had once been about three
+miles in circumference, walled, and on three sides surrounded by a wide
+and deep canal, on the fourth by the Yani-Daria.  The wall had been
+strengthened by watch-towers, and on the summit of a hill in the centre
+stood two towers thirty to forty feet in height.  The whole was built of
+sun-dried brick, and was fast crumbling into shapeless mounds.  At
+Irkibai Mr. MacGahan met with every courtesy from the commandant, but
+nothing was known of the whereabouts of General Kauffmann.  There were
+but two courses before the traveller—to return, or go forward.  Mr.
+MacGahan was not the man to retrace his steps until his work was done, if
+it were possible to do it; and he resolved on continuing his progress to
+the Oxus.  On the 7th of May he rode forward.  At first he followed the
+regular caravan route, which, as many traces showed, had also been that
+of the Russian division, under the Grand-Duke Nicholas.  It crosses the
+thirsty desert—twenty leagues without a well.  Fair enough is it to the
+eye, with its rolling lines of verdant hills; but the hills are only
+sand, and the verdure consists of a coarse soft weed that, when it
+flowers, exhales a most offensive odour.  Beneath the broad leaves lurk
+scorpions and tarantulas, great lizards, beetles, and serpents.  The
+traveller, if he lose his way in this deadly waste of delusion, may
+wander to and fro for days, until he and his horse sink exhausted, to
+perish of thirst, with no other covering for their bones than the rank
+and noxious herbage.
+
+Across the gleaming burning sands, while the sun smote them pitilessly
+with his burning arrows, rode our brave traveller and his companions.
+Their lips cracked with thirst, and their eyes smarted with the noontide
+glare, and their weary horses stumbled in the loose shifting soil; but
+rest they durst not until they reached the well of Kyzil-Kak.  How glad
+they were to throw themselves down beside it, while some kindly Kirghiz,
+who had already refreshed their camels and horses, drew for them the
+welcome water!  MacGahan made a short halt here, feeding his horses, and
+sharing with his attendants a light meal of biscuits and fresh milk,
+supplied by the Kirghiz, and then—the saddle again!  Meeting with a
+caravan, he learned from its Bashi, or leader, that the Russian army was
+at Tamdy—that is, instead of being, as he had hoped, within a day’s
+march, it must be upwards of two hundred miles distant; and as it was
+just on the point of starting for Aristan-Bel-Kudluk, which was still
+further south, it was impossible to say when he might overtake it.  His
+disappointment was great; but his cry was still “Onwards!”  By nine
+o’clock next morning the indefatigable traveller reached the foot of the
+grey, bare, treeless heights of the Bukan-Tau.  Though but a thousand
+feet in elevation, they presented, with their glancing peaks, their
+conical summits, their deep valleys, and awful precipices, all the
+characteristics of an Alpine range of mountains.  Resting there for some
+hours, he took up, on the morrow, a line of march around their northern
+slope, and gradually descended into the plain.  From some Kirghiz he
+ascertained that the Grand-Duke Nicholas had joined General Kauffmann two
+days before, and that the united Russian army had then marched for
+Karak-Aty.  The problem of overtaking it seemed more incapable than ever
+of a satisfactory solution.  But, on studying his map, he found that from
+the point which he had reached it was no further to Karak-Aty than to
+Tamdy, and he instantly resolved to follow up a caravan route to the
+south, which promised to lead to the former.
+
+At noon he rode into the little valley of Yuz-Kudak, or the “Hundred
+Wells.”  It was completely bare of vegetation, except a little thin
+grass, but was brightened by a small, narrow runlet, which led, in less
+than a quarter of a mile, to the water.  There, along the valley, bubbled
+about twenty-five or thirty wells or springs; in some the water trickling
+over the surface, in others standing at a depth of from five to ten feet.
+Thence, to the next well, was a distance of twenty-five miles.  The
+country was sandy, but high and broken up, with a low range of mountains
+on the left, extending north-east and south-west.  Next day Mr. MacGahan
+fell in with a Kirghiz aul, where he was hospitably entertained by a
+chief named Bii Tabuk.  From him he learned that Kauffmann had left
+Karak-Aty and arrived at Khala-Ata, one hundred miles further to the
+south, and that the shortest way to Khala-Ata lay right across the desert
+in the direction of the Oxus, a little west of south.  As there was no
+road, nor even a sheep path, Mr. MacGahan sought for a guide, and
+eventually engaged a young Kirghiz at the exorbitant fee of twenty-five
+roubles.  Then, having enjoyed a couple of days’ rest, he started before
+sunrise on that interminable hunt after General Kauffmann, which seemed
+to promise as romantic a legend as the voyage of Jason in search of the
+Golden Fleece, or Sir Galahad’s famous quest of the Sangreal.
+
+He had not ridden far, when, as the issue of a little intrigue between
+his Tartar, his old guide, Mushuf, and his new guide, the last named
+suddenly refused to proceed unless, in addition to the twenty-five
+roubles, he received a horse or the money to buy one.  With prompt
+decision MacGahan dismissed the guide, and when Ak-Mamatoff showed a
+disposition to be recalcitrant, threatened him with his revolver.  This
+display of firmness and courage immediately produced a satisfactory
+effect.  Ak-Mamatoff humbled himself, and to prove the sincerity of his
+penitence, rode to a neighbouring aul, and procured another and more
+trustworthy guide.  Afterwards they all breakfasted, and once more rode
+across the sandy wastes in the direction of Khala-Ata.  Sand, sand, sand,
+everywhere sand.  The horses struggled with difficulty through the huge
+drifts, and on the second night one of them gave up, and had to be left
+behind.  Sand, sand, sand, everywhere sand; by day as by night, and all
+so lonely and silent!  For fifteen days MacGahan had bravely plodded
+through the dreary, inhospitable desert—when and how would his journey
+end?  Still he persevered: stumbling through the low coarse brushwood,
+sliding down into deep sandy hollows; again, clambering painfully up
+steep ascents, where the horses panted and laboured, and strove with the
+heavy inexorable sand; over the hard-bound earth, where their hoof’s rang
+as on a stone pavement; late in the night, he was glad to fling himself
+on the sand to snatch a brief repose.
+
+“We have scarcely shut our eyes,” says this intrepid, indefatigable
+traveller, “when we are called by the guide to renew the march.  It is
+still night, but the desert is visible, dim and ghostly under the cold
+pale light of the rising moon.  Vegetation has entirely disappeared;
+there is scarcely a twig even of the hardy saxaul.  Side by side with us
+move our own shadows, projected long and black over the moonlit sand,
+like fearful spectres pursuing us to our doom.
+
+“Thin streaks of light begin to shoot up the eastern sky.  The moon grows
+pale, the shadows fade out, and at last the sun, red and angry, rises
+above the horizon.  After the sharp cold of the night its rays strike us
+agreeably, suffusing a pleasant sensation of warmth over our benumbed
+limbs.  Then it grows uncomfortably warm, then hot, and soon we are again
+suffering the pangs of heat and thirst; our eyes are again blinded by the
+fiery glare, and our lungs scorched by the stifling noonday atmosphere.”
+
+Throughout that day the ride was continued, and even far into the night.
+Early next morning the traveller reached the summit of the mountain range
+behind which lies Khala-Ata.  With feelings of eager expectancy and hope,
+he spurred forward his horse, and with his field-glass looked down upon
+the bleak bare plain which stretched far away in the direction of
+Bokhara; there, at the distance of eight miles, he saw a dome-like mound,
+encircled by small tents, which shone in the morning sunlight, and at
+various points were grouped masses of soldiers in white uniform, and the
+sheen of steel.  At last, then, he had overtaken Kauffmann!
+
+Though weary and spent, and covered with the dust of the desert, it was
+with a cheerful heart that, at about six o’clock on the morning of the
+16th of May, he rode into the camp and fortress of Khala-Ata, after a
+ride of five hundred miles and a chase of seventeen days.  All the more
+bitter was his disappointment when, on asking the young officer on duty
+to direct him to the quarters of General Kauffmann, he was informed that
+the general had left Khala-Ata, five days before, and by that time must
+certainly have reached the Amu-Darya.  The chase, then, had been
+fruitless; the rider, daring and indefatigable as he had showed himself,
+had missed his mark.  The commandant at Khala-Ata proved to be a Colonel
+Weimam, who received the special correspondent with marked discourtesy,
+and refused to allow him to continue his search for General Kauffmann,
+unless he first obtained that general’s permission.  The sole concession
+he would make was, that he would send on Mr. MacGahan’s letters of
+introduction, and then, if the Russian commander-in-chief expressed a
+wish to see him, he would be at liberty to go.  This arrangement,
+however, would evidently involve a delay of ten or twelve days.  In the
+mean time the army would cross the Oxus, would capture Khiva, and the
+special correspondent’s “occupation” would be “gone.”  Anxiously did Mr.
+MacGahan meditate on the course it would be best for him to adopt.  To
+break through the Russian lines and effect his escape seemed
+impracticable.  In all probability, the swift-footed and ferocious
+Turcoman cavalry were hanging in General Kauffmann’s rear; and how,
+without an escort, was he to make his way through their ranks?  Yet the
+more he reflected, the more he became convinced that this was his only
+chance of reaching the Russian army in time to witness the capture of
+Khiva.  The difficulties in the way, apart from the danger, were
+enormous.  His horses were exhausted; he had neither provisions nor
+forage, nor any means of procuring them; and he might reckon on Colonel
+Weimam’s despatching a squadron of Cossacks to pursue and arrest him.
+Ascertaining, however, that the colonel was about to move forward with a
+couple of companies of infantry, one hundred Cossacks, and two
+field-pieces, he resolved on the bold plan of quitting the camp with the
+cavalry, trusting to the darkness to escape detection, and afterwards
+making a wide circuit to pass the detachment.  Several days passed by in
+wretched inaction.  The heat was oppressive; clouds of dust filled the
+atmosphere, and almost choked the unfortunate victims exposed to its
+irritating influence; provisions were painfully scarce, and Colonel
+Weimam absolutely refused to sell or give a grain of barley to the
+traveller’s starving horses.  At last, about one a.m. on the 14th of May,
+the Russian detachment marched out of camp, and struck to the westward,
+in the direction of Adam-Kurulgan and the Amu-Daria.  Mr. MacGahan and
+his men were on the alert.  “I dropped silently,” he says, “in the rear
+of the Cossacks, who led the column, followed by my people, and when we
+had gained the summit of the low sand-hill, a mile from the camp, over
+which the road led, I as silently dropped out again, turned my horses’
+heads to the west, and plunged into the darkness.”
+
+Once more he was in the open desert, once more he was free, and he could
+not repress a feeling of exultation, though he was suffering from hunger,
+his horses were spent with starvation, and at any moment he might fall
+into the hands of the murderous Turcomans.  A more daring enterprise, or
+one conceived in a more resolute and intrepid spirit, is hardly recorded,
+I think, in the annals of adventure.  When he supposed himself at a
+sufficient distance from the Russian column, he turned sharp round to the
+west, and made as straight as he could for the Amu-Darya, expecting to
+reach it before Colonel Weimam.  But after a hard day’s ride, he found,
+as he approached Adam-Kurulgan, that the Russian soldiers were before
+him!  There seemed no alternative but to return to Khala-ata or surrender
+himself to the obnoxious and despotic Weimam.  Yes; if he could get water
+for his exhausted beasts he might avoid Adam-Kurulgan altogether, and
+still pursue his wild ride to the Oxus!  Some Kirghiz guides, on their
+way to Khala-Ata, informed him that twenty miles further on was
+Alty-Kuduk, or the “Six Wells;” it was not on the road to the Amu, but
+some four miles to the north, and Kauffmann had left some troops there.
+This news revived his drooping spirits.  “Forward!” he cried, and away
+through the deep sand-drifts the little company toiled and struggled.  He
+lost another of his horses, and the survivors were almost mad with
+thirst; but his cry was still “Forward!”  He himself longed for water,
+with a longing unknown to those who have not travelled in the arid desert
+and under the burning sun, for hours and hours, without moistening the
+parched lips; but his only thought was “Forward!”  On the following day
+the brave man’s persistency was rewarded.  He reached the camp of
+Alty-Kuduk, met with a most friendly reception from all its inmates, and
+obtained meat and drink for himself and his men, and barley and water for
+his horses.
+
+A day’s rest, and he was again in the saddle (May 27th).  It was soon
+apparent by the dead camels that lined the road that he had got into the
+trail of the Russian army, and from time to time he could recognize the
+tracks of cannon.  Then he came upon the bodies of Turcoman horses,
+which, as he afterwards learned, had been slain in a skirmish two days
+before.  Towards sunset the character of the country changed: the rolling
+sand dunes disappeared, and the traveller entered upon a level plain,
+which sank away into a lower kind of terrace.  The day drew rapidly to a
+close: lower and lower down the western sky sunk the blood-red sun; at
+last it dropped below the horizon, and as the sky flashed momently with
+broad streaks of red and purple and golden light, the shimmer of water
+became visible in the distance.  It was the Oxus!
+
+It was long after dark when MacGahan reached the river.  He refreshed his
+horses with its waters, and then encamped for the night.  At daylight he
+ascended a hill, and looked out upon the scene.  The broad, calm river,
+winding north and south, sparkled before him, like a belt of silver on a
+golden mantle.  But where was the Russian army?  Where was General
+Kauffmann?
+
+Nowhere could he discover a trace of human habitation, of tent or
+kibitka.  Nowhere could he see a single picket, not even a solitary
+Cossack.
+
+Again was MacGahan disappointed.  I have read of an old superstition
+which represents a cup of gold as the prize of the fortunate mortal who
+shall find the exact spot where a rainbow touches the earth.  And I have
+read that men, believing it, have pursued the radiant iris with eager
+footsteps, only to find her eluding them when most they think themselves
+sure of grasping her.  So was it with our special correspondent.  He had
+hoped to overtake the Russians at Myn-Bulak, but they had vanished; at
+Khala-Ata, but he was too late; and again on the Oxus, but they had
+disappeared.  He was almost tempted to look upon himself as the victim of
+a portentous delusion.  Would there really be a Kauffmann?  Was the
+expedition to Khiva other than a myth?
+
+The tracks of cannon and the ashes of extinct campfires reassured him on
+these points; and, rallying his energies, he set out once more on his
+strange quest, following the course of the Oxus.  That day he rode five
+and forty miles.  At night he encamped, but as Khivans might be prowling
+in the vicinity, he resolved to keep watch.  For hours he paced up and
+down in the darkness, a darkness that would have been death stillness but
+for the murmur of the flowing river; and at length he caught a flash of
+light.  To him, like the light which Columbus saw on the eve of the
+discovery of the New World, it portended the end of his adventure; for it
+proceeded, as he knew, from either a Khivan or a Russian bivouac.  In the
+morning he started early, and had ridden but a short distance, when loud
+upon his ears broke the rolling thunder of artillery!  Then he knew that
+the army was close at hand, and engaged in desperate combat with its
+Khivan enemies.
+
+A few miles more, and Mr. MacGahan reached a sand-hill which afforded him
+an extensive view of the valley of the river.  The opposite bank was
+crowded with horsemen, who were galloping to and fro, while a couple of
+cannon placed in front of a small pit were busily discharging missiles.
+On his own side the Russians were posted in loose order, and looking
+quietly on; their artillery replying to the Khivan fire with whizzing
+shells.  “It was a curious scene,” says our traveller; “and I suppose the
+old Oxus, since the time it first broke from the ice-bound springs of
+Pamir, had never heard such music as this.  Five times before had the
+Russians attempted to reach this very spot, and five times had they
+failed.  Five times had they been driven back, beaten, and demoralized,
+either by the difficulties of the way, the inclemency of the season, or
+the treachery of the Khivans.  The one detachment which had succeeded in
+capturing Khiva had afterwards been slaughtered to the last man; and now
+the Russians stood at last, this bright morning, on the banks of that
+historic river, with their old enemy once more before them.”  The Khivans
+soon retired, leaving the opposite bank entirely free.  Mr. MacGahan then
+started down the river to join the Russian army, and in a short time
+found himself in their midst, overwhelmed with friendly attentions.  News
+of his gallant ride across the Kyzil-Kum had preceded him, so that he was
+received as a man who had quietly done a truly heroic thing.  His first
+duty was to pay his respects to the object of his prolonged quest,
+General Kauffmann.  The general, wrapped up in a Bokharan khalat or gown,
+was seated in an open tent, drinking tea and smoking a cigarette; a man
+of middle age, bald, rather short of stature, beardless, but wearing a
+thick moustache, prominent nose, blue eyes, and a pleasant kindly
+countenance.  He shook hands with MacGahan, asked him to sit down, and
+remarked, with a smile, that he appeared to be something of a
+“molodyeltz” (a brave fellow).  After questioning him respecting his
+adventures, he briefly told the story of his campaign up to that time,
+and gave him full and free permission to accompany the army the rest of
+the way to Khiva.  By the Grand-Duke Nicholas Mr. MacGahan was received
+with equal courtesy.
+
+The traveller now develops into the special correspondent, and his record
+of travel changes into a chronicle of military events.  It would be
+inconsistent with our purpose to follow minutely his narrative of the
+Khivan war; but we shall endeavour to select such passages as throw some
+light on the nature of the country and the character of its inhabitants.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+
+The Khivans, according to Mr. MacGahan, are generally medium-sized, lean,
+muscular fellows, with long black beards, and no very agreeable
+physiognomy.  They dress in a white cotton shirt, and loose trousers of
+the same material, over which is worn a khalat, or long tunic, cut
+straight, and reaching to the heels.  The Khivan khalat, with its narrow
+stripes of dirty brown and yellow, differs very much indeed from the
+beautiful and brilliant khalat of the Bokhariots.  Most of the Khivans go
+barefoot, and they cover their head with a tall, heavy, black sheepskin
+cap, which is heavier, uglier, and more inconvenient than even the
+bearskin of our household troops.  In the neighbourhood of Khiva they
+chiefly cultivate the soil, and their prowess as horticulturists deserves
+to be renowned.  For miles around their capital the country blooms with
+well-kept gardens, where fruit trees of all kinds flourish, and little
+fields of waving corn.  The houses and farmyards are enclosed by stout
+walls, from fifteen to twenty feet high, solidly buttressed, and flanked
+by corner towers.  The entrance is through an arched and covered gateway,
+closing with a massive timber gate.  The farmhouse, a rectangular
+building, from twenty-five to seventy-five yards square, is built of
+dried mud, worked into large blocks like granite, and measuring three or
+four feet square and as many thick.  There is always a little pond of
+clear water close at hand, and this is shaded by three or four large
+elms, while the enclosures are planted with elms and poplars.
+
+Khiva surrendered to the Russians on the 9th.  Mr. MacGahan entered it in
+company with the victorious troops, but confesses to experiencing a
+feeling of disappointment.  The grand or magnificent he had not expected;
+but his dreams of this Oriental city, secluded far away in the heart of
+the desert, had pictured it as impressive and picturesque, and they
+proved entirely false.  Through narrow, dirty, and crooked streets, he
+advanced to the citadel.  Entering by a heavy arched brick gateway, he
+came in sight of a great porcelain tower, shining brilliantly with green,
+and brown, and blue, and purple.  This tower, about one hundred and
+twenty-five feet high, measured about thirty feet in diameter at the
+base, and tapered gradually towards the top, where its diameter was about
+fifteen feet.  It was covered all over with burnt tiles, arranged in a
+variety of broad stripes and figures, as well as with numerous verses of
+the Koran.  With the Khan’s palace, it forms one side of a great square,
+enclosed by the walls of the citadel; the opposite side being occupied by
+a new médressé, and the other two sides by sheds and private houses.
+
+In the palace nothing is worthy of notice except the Khan’s audience
+chamber, or great hall of state.  Of this you can form a good idea if you
+will tax your imagination to conceive a kind of porch, opening on an
+inner court, measuring about thirty feet high, twenty feet wide, and ten
+feet deep, and flanked on either side by towers ornamented with blue and
+green tiles.  The floor was raised six feet, and the roof supported by
+two curved, slender wooden pillars.  The other rooms were mostly dark and
+ill ventilated.  At the back of the hall of state was the Khan’s
+treasury, a low vaulted chamber, the walls and ceilings of which were
+covered with frescoes of vines and flowers, executed on the most
+fantastic principles of colouring.  The gold, silver, and precious stones
+had been removed, but not so the weapons, of which there was a most
+various assortment: swords, guns, daggers, pistols, revolvers, of almost
+every shape and description.  Two or three sabres were of English
+manufacture.  There were also many of the beautiful broad, slightly
+curved blades of Khorassan, inlaid with gold; slender Persian scimitars,
+their scabbards blazing with turquoises and emeralds; and short, thick,
+curved poniards and knives from Afghanistan, all richly enamelled, and
+their sheaths set in precious stones.  In the hurry of the Khan’s
+departure, beautiful carpets had also been left behind, silk coverlets,
+cushions, pillows, khalats, and rich and rare Kashmir shawls.
+
+In another apartment were found about three hundred volumes of books,
+some old telescopes, bows and arrows, and several fine suits of armour,
+which doubtlessly belonged to the era of the Crusades, when the chivalry
+of Europe encountered the Saracens on the plains of Syria and Palestine.
+
+In the course of his wanderings Mr. MacGahan lighted upon the Khan’s
+harem, where his favourite Sultana and some other women still remained.
+As he was an American—or, rather, because they supposed him to be an
+Englishman—the ladies gave him a cordial reception, and entertained him
+to tea.  They were eight in number: three were old and exceedingly ugly;
+three middle-aged or young, and moderately good looking; one was
+decidedly pretty; and the other whom Mr. MacGahan speaks of as the
+Sultana, was specially distinguished by her superior intelligence, her
+exquisite grace of movement, and her air of distinction.  She wore a
+short jacket of green silk, embroidered with gold thread; a long chemise
+of red silk, fastened on the throat with an emerald, slightly open at the
+bosom, and reaching below the knees; wide trousers, fastened at the
+ankles; and embroidered boots.  She had no turban, and her hair was
+curled around her well-shaped head in thick and glossy braids.  Curious
+earrings, composed of many little pendants of pearls and turquoises,
+glanced from her ears, and round her wrists gleamed bracelets of solid
+silver, traced with gold.
+
+The chamber in which these ladies sat was ten feet wide, twenty long, and
+twelve high.  Parts of the ceiling were embellished with coloured
+designs, rude in conception and execution.  Against one side of the room
+were placed elegant shelves, supporting a choice assortment of the finest
+Chinese porcelain.  The floor was strewn with carpets, cushions,
+coverlets, shawls, robes, and khalats, all in admired disorder, together
+with household utensils, arms, an English double-barrelled hunting rifle,
+empty cartridges, percussion caps, and—strange contrast!—two or three
+guitars.  It was evident that preparations for flight had been begun, and
+the principal valuables already removed.
+
+The Khan soon found that nothing was to be gained by flight, and as the
+Russians were disposed to treat him leniently, he decided on returning to
+Khiva, and surrendering to the great Yarim-Padshah, the victorious
+Kauffmann.  Mr. MacGahan, who was present at the interview, describes the
+Asiatic potentate, Muhamed Rahim Bogadur Khan, as at that time a man of
+about thirty years of age, with a not unpleasing expression of
+countenance; large fine eyes, slightly oblique, aquiline nose, heavy
+sensual mouth, and thin black beard and moustache.  He was about six feet
+three inches high, with broad shoulders and a robust figure.  “Humbly he
+sat before Kauffmann, scarcely daring to look him in the face.  Finding
+himself at the feet of the Governor of Turkistan, his feelings must not
+have been of the most reassuring nature.  The two men formed a curious
+contrast; Kauffmann was not more than half as large as the Khan, and a
+smile, in which there was apparent a great deal of satisfaction, played
+on his features, as he beheld Russia’s historic enemy at his feet.  I
+thought there never was a more striking example of the superiority of
+mind over brute force, of modern over ancient modes of warfare, than was
+presented in the two men.  In the days of chivalry, this Khan, with his
+giant form and stalwart arms, might have been almost a demi-god; he could
+have put to flight a regiment single-handed, he would probably have been
+a very Cœur de Lion; and now the meanest soldier in Kauffmann’s army was
+more than a match for him.”
+
+The capital of this Asiatic potentate is, as I have hinted, deficient in
+remarkable characteristics.  With three or four exceptions, the buildings
+are all of clay, and present a miserable appearance.  There are two
+walls—an outer and an inner; the interior enclosing the citadel, which
+measures a mile in length by a quarter of a mile in breadth, and in its
+turn encloses the Khan’s palace and the great porcelain tower.  The outer
+wall is on an average twenty-five feet high, and it is strengthened by a
+broad ditch or moat.  There are seven gates.  The area between the walls
+is at one point converted into a kind of cemetery; at another it is
+planted out in gardens, which are shaded by elms and fruit trees, and
+watered by little canals.  Of the houses it is to be said that the
+interior is far more comfortable than the wretched exterior would lead
+the traveller to anticipate.  Most of them are constructed on the same
+plan.  You pass from the street into a large open court, all around which
+are arranged the different apartments, each opening into the court, and
+seldom having any direct communication with each other.  Facing the north
+stands a high porch, with its roof some seven or eight feet above the
+surrounding walls; this serves to catch the wind, and bring it down into
+the court below on the principle of a wind-sail aboard ship.  The free
+circulation of air thus maintained is, undoubtedly, very pleasant in the
+summer heat, but in a Khivan winter it must have its disadvantages.
+
+With twenty-two médressés, or monasteries, and seventeen mosques, is
+Khiva endowed.  Of the latter, the most beautiful and the most highly
+esteemed is the mosque Palvan-Ata, which raises its tall dome to a height
+of sixty feet, shining with tiles of glaring green.  The interior of the
+dome is very striking: it is covered, like the exterior, with tiles, but
+these are adorned with a beautiful blue tracery, interwoven with verses
+from the Koran.  In a niche in the wall, protected by a copper
+lattice-work, are the tombs of the Khans; and Palvan, the patron-saint of
+the Khivans, is also buried there.
+
+From the mosques we pass to the bazár, which is simply a street covered
+in, like the arcades so popular in some English towns.  The roof consists
+of beams laid from wall to wall across the narrow thoroughfare,
+supporting planks laid close together, and covered with earth.  On
+entering, you are greeted by a pleasant compound scent of spices, by all
+kinds of agreeable odours, and by the confused sounds of men and animals.
+As soon as your eyes grow accustomed to the shade, they rest with delight
+on the rich ripe fruit spread everywhere around you in tempting masses.
+Khiva would seem to be the paradise of fruit epicures.  There are
+apricots, and grapes, and plums, and peaches, and melons of the finest
+quality and indescribable lusciousness.  But if you want more solid fare,
+you can enjoy a pilaoff with hot wheaten cakes, and wash down the repast
+with stimulating green tea.  After which, refreshed and thankful, you may
+sally forth to make your purchases of boots or tobacco or khalats, cotton
+stuffs or silk stuffs, calico from Manchester, muslin from Glasgow, robes
+from Bokhara, or Russian sugar.  This done, you are at leisure to survey
+for a while the motley crowd that surges to and fro.  The Uzbeg, with his
+high black sheepskin hat and long khalat, tall, well-formed, swarthy,
+with straight nose and regular features; the Kirghiz, in coarse
+dirty-brown khalat, with broad, flat, stolid countenance; the Bokhariot
+merchant, with turban of white and robe of many colours; the Persian,
+with quick, ferret-like eyes, and nimble, cat-like motions; and the Yomud
+Turcoman, with almost black complexion, heavy brows, fierce black eyes,
+short upturned nose, and thick lips.  These pass before you like figures
+in a phantasmagoria.
+
+Weary with the noise and shifting sights, you gladly accept an invitation
+to dine with a wealthy Uzbeg, and accompany him to his residence.  The
+day is very warm; in a cloudless sky reigns supreme the sun; and you
+rejoice when you find that your host has ordered the banquet to be spread
+in the pleasant garden, amid the shade of green elms and the sparkle of
+running waters.  Your first duty is to remove your heavy riding-boots,
+and put on the slippers which an attendant hands to you; your second is
+to make a Russian cigarette, and drink a glass of nalivka, or Russian
+gooseberry wine, as a preparation for the serious work that awaits you.
+Then a cloth is spread, and the dinner served.  Fruits, of
+course—apricots, melons, and the most delicious white mulberries; next,
+three or four kinds of dainty sweetmeats, which seem to consist of the
+kernels of different nuts embedded in a kind of many-coloured toffee.
+Into a frothy compound, not unlike ice-cream with the ice left out, you
+dip your thin wheaten cakes, instead of spoons.  Various kinds of nuts,
+and another glass of nalivka, precede the principal dish, which is an
+appetizing pilaoff, made of large quantities of rice and succulent pieces
+of mutton, roasted together.
+
+The dinner at an end, large pipes are brought in.  Each consists of a
+gourd, about a foot high, filled with water; on the top, communicating
+with the water through a tube, rests a bowl, containing the fire and
+tobacco.  Near the top, on either side, and just above the water, is a
+hole; but there is no stem.  The mode of using it is this: you take up
+the whole vessel in your hand, and then blow through one of the holes to
+expel the smoke.  Next, stopping up one hole with your finger, you put
+your mouth to the other, and inhale the smoke into your lungs.  You will
+probably be satisfied with three or four whiffs on this gigantic scale.
+
+Mr. MacGahan had an opportunity of seeing the interior of an Uzbeg house,
+and he thus describes it:—
+
+“There is little attempt at luxury or taste in the house of even the
+richest; and in this respect the poorest seems almost on an equality with
+the most opulent.  A few carpets on the floor; a few rugs and cushions
+round the wall, with shelves for earthenware and China porcelain; three
+or four heavy, gloomy books, bound in leather or parchment; and some pots
+of jam and preserved fruit, generally make up the contents of the room.
+There are usually two or three apartments in the house different from the
+others, in having arrangements for obtaining plenty of light.  In these
+rooms you find the upper half of one of the walls completely wanting,
+with the overhanging branches of an elm projecting through the opening.
+The effect is peculiar and striking, as well as pleasant.  From the midst
+of this room—with mud walls and uneven floor, with the humblest household
+utensils, and perhaps a smoking fire—you get glimpses of the blue sky
+through the green leaves of the elm tree.  A slightly projecting roof
+protects the room from rain; in cold weather, of course, it is abandoned.
+Two or three other rooms are devoted to the silkworms, the feeding and
+care of which form the special occupation of the women.  The worms
+naturally receive a great deal of attention, for their cocoons pay a
+great part of the household expenses.”
+
+But let us suppose that an Uzbeg host closes up the entertainment he has
+provided for us with a dance.
+
+The dancers are two young boys—one about eight, the other about ten years
+of age—with bare feet, a little conical skull-cap on their shaven heads,
+and a long loose khalat drooping to their ankles.  The orchestra is
+represented by a ragged-looking musician, who sings a monotonous tune to
+the accompaniment of a three-stringed guitar.  The boys begin to dance;
+at first with slow and leisurely movements, swaying their bodies
+gracefully, and clapping their hands over their heads to keep time to the
+music.  But as this grows livelier, the boys gradually become more
+excited; striking their hands wildly, uttering short occasional shouts,
+turning somersaults, wrestling with each other, and rolling upon the
+ground.
+
+Towards nightfall, torches will be brought on the scene; some being
+thrust into the ground, and others fastened to the trunks and branches of
+trees.  The comelier of the juvenile dancers now attired himself as a
+girl, with tinkling bells to his wrists and feet, and a prettily
+elaborate cap, also decked with bells, as well as with silver ornaments,
+and a long pendent veil behind.  He proceeds to execute a quiet and
+restrained dance by himself, lasting, perchance, for about a quarter of
+an hour; and the other boy coming forward, the two dance together, and
+enact a love-scene in a really eloquent pantomime.  The girl pretends to
+be angered, turns her back, and makes a pretence of jealousy, while the
+lover dances lightly around her, and endeavours to restore her to
+amiability by caresses and all kinds of devices.  When all his efforts
+fail, he sulks in his turn, and shows himself offended.  Thereupon the
+lady begins to relent, and to practise every conciliatory art.  After a
+brief affectation of persistent ill humour, the lover yields, and both
+accomplish a merry and animated measure with every sign of happiness.
+
+When the Russians left Khiva in the month of August, Mr. MacGahan’s
+mission was ended.  He had been present with them at the fall of Khiva,
+and in the campaign which they afterwards undertook—it would seem, with
+little or no justification—against the Yomud Turcomans.  On the return
+march he accompanied the detachment in charge of the sick and wounded,
+descending the Oxus to its mouth, and then proceeding up the Aral Sea to
+the mouth of the Syr-Daria.  The voyage on the Aral occupied two days and
+a night.  Having entered the Syr-Daria, thirty-six hours’ sailing brought
+the flotilla to Kasala—the point from which, as we have seen, Mr.
+MacGahan had started, some months before, on his daring ride through the
+desert.  After a sojourn of three days, he started in a tarantass for
+Orenburg.
+
+It will be owned, I think, that Mr. MacGahan’s enterprise was boldly
+conceived and boldly executed; that he displayed, not only a firm and
+manly courage, but a persistent resolution which may almost be called
+heroic.  He showed himself possessed, however, of even higher qualities;
+of a keen insight into character, a quick faculty of observation, and a
+humane and generous spirit.
+
+
+
+
+
+                        COLONEL EGERTON WARBURTON,
+                    AND EXPLORATION IN WEST AUSTRALIA.
+
+
+THE north-west of the “island-continent” of Australia seems to have been
+discovered almost simultaneously by the Dutch and Spaniards about 1606.
+Twenty years later, its west coast was sighted; and in 1622 the long line
+of shore to the south-west.  Tasmania, or, as it was first called, Van
+Diemen’s Land, was visited by the Dutch navigator Tasman in 1642.  Half a
+century passed, and Swan River was discovered by Vlaming.  The real work
+of exploration did not begin, however, until 1770, when Captain Cook
+patiently surveyed the east coast, to which he gave the name of New South
+Wales.  In 1798, in a small boat about eight feet long, Mr. Bass, a
+surgeon in the navy, discovered the strait that separates Tasmania from
+Australia, and now perpetuates his memory.  He and Lieutenant Flinders
+afterwards circumnavigated Tasmania; and Flinders, in 1802 and 1803,
+closely examined the south coast, substituting, as a general designation
+of this “fifth quarter of the world,” Australia for the old boastful
+Dutch name of New Holland.  He also explored the great basin of Port
+Philip, and discovered the noble inlets of St. Vincent and Spencer Gulfs.
+In 1788 the British Government selected Botany Bay, on the east coast, as
+a place of transportation for criminals; and from this inauspicious
+beginning sprang the great system of colonization, which, developed by
+large and continual emigration from the mother country, has covered
+Australia with flourishing States.  Tasmania became a separate colony in
+1825; West Australia, originally called Swan River, in 1829; South
+Australia in 1834; Victoria in 1851; Queensland in 1859.  Meanwhile, the
+exploration of the interior was undertaken by a succession of bold and
+adventurous spirits, starting at first from New South Wales.  The barrier
+of the Blue Mountains was broken through, and rivers Macquarie, Darling,
+and Lachlan were in time discovered.  In 1823 Mr. Oxley surveyed the
+Moreton Bay district, now Queensland, and traced the course of the
+Brisbane.  In 1830 Captain Sturt explored the Murray, the principal
+Australian river, to its confluence with Lake Victoria.  In 1840 Mr.
+Eyre, starting from Adelaide, succeeded, after enduring severe
+privations, in making his way overland to King George’s Sound.  In the
+following year he plunged into the interior, which he believed to be
+occupied by a great central sea; he found only the swamp and saline bays
+of Lake Torrens.  Captain Sturt, in 1845, penetrated almost to the
+southern tropic in longitude 130° E., traversing a barren region as
+waterless and as inhospitable as the Sahara.  About the same time Dr.
+Ludwig Leichhardt, with some companions, successfully passed from Moreton
+Bay to Port Errington; but, in 1848, attempting to cross from east to
+west, from New South Wales to the Swan River, he and his party perished,
+either from want of provisions or in a skirmish with the natives.  In the
+same year Mr. Kennedy, who had undertaken to survey the north-east
+extremity of Australia, was murdered by the natives.  Thus Australian
+exploration has had its martyrs, like African.  In 1860 Mr. M’Douall
+Stuart crossed the continent from ocean to ocean, or, more strictly
+speaking, from South Australia to a point in lat. 18° 40′ S., about two
+hundred and fifty miles from the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.  The
+hostility of the natives prevented him from actually reaching the coast.
+In August, 1860, a similar expedition was projected by some gentlemen
+belonging to the colony of Victoria; and, under the command of Robert
+O’Hara Burke, it started from Melbourne for Cooper’s Creek, whence it was
+to proceed to the northern coast.  Some of the members, namely, Burke,
+Mr. Wills, the scientific assistant, and King and Gray, two subordinates,
+succeeded in reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria; but on their return route
+they suffered from want of provisions, and all perished except King.  In
+1862 Mr. M’Douall Stuart renewed his bold project of crossing the
+continent, and starting from Adelaide, arrived in Van Diemen’s Bay, on
+the shore of the Indian Ocean, July 25th.  Numerous other names might be
+added to this list; but we shall here concern ourselves only with that of
+Colonel Egerton Warburton, as one of the most eminent and successful of
+Australian explorers.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Peter Egerton Warburton was born in August, 1813.  After passing through
+the usual examination in the East India Company’s college at Addiscombe,
+he entered the Bombay army in 1834, and served in India until 1853,
+passing the greater part of the time in the Adjutant-General’s
+Department, and rising through each grade until he attained his majority,
+and was appointed Deputy Adjutant-General at head-quarters.  But,
+attracted by the prospects opened up to colonists in New Zealand, he
+resigned the service, intending to proceed thither with his wife and
+family.  Eventually, circumstances led to his preferring South Australia
+as a field for his energies; and soon after his arrival at Adelaide he
+was selected to command the police force of the whole colony—an onerous
+post, which he held with distinction for thirteen years.  He was
+afterwards made commandant of the volunteer forces of the colony of South
+Australia.  In August, 1872, the South Australian Government resolved on
+despatching an expedition to explore the interior between Central Mount
+Stuart and the town of Perth, in West Australia, and chose Colonel
+Warburton as its leader.  Afterwards, the Government drew back, and the
+cost of the expedition was eventually undertaken by two leading
+colonists, Messrs. Elder and Hughes, who authorized Colonel Warburton to
+organize such a party and prepare such an outfit as he considered
+necessary, and provided him with camels and horses.  It was arranged that
+the party should muster at Beltana Station, the head-quarters of the
+camels; thence proceed to the Peake, lat. 28° S., one of the
+head-quarters of the inland telegraph; and, after a détour westward, make
+for Central Mount Stuart, where they would receive a reinforcement of
+camels, and, thus strengthened, would be able to cross the country
+unknown to Perth, the capital of Western Australia.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+With his son Richard as second in command, Colonel Warburton left
+Adelaide on the 21st of September, 1872; reached Beltana Station on the
+26th; and on the 21st of December arrived at Alice Springs (1120 miles
+from Adelaide), the starting-point of his journey westward.  The party
+consisted of himself, his son, T. W. Lewis, two Afghan camel-drivers,
+Sahleh and Halleem, Denis White (cook and assistant camel-man), and
+Charley, a native lad.  There were four riding and twelve baggage camels,
+besides one spare camel; the horses being left at Alice Springs.  All
+needful preparations having been completed, the explorers quitted the
+station on the 15th of April, 1873, and turned their faces westward.
+
+For the first five days not a drop of water was seen, and on the fifth,
+of the supply carried with them only one quart was left, which it was
+necessary to reserve for emergencies.  When they encamped for the night,
+no fire was lighted, as without water they could not cook.  Next day, the
+20th, Lewis and the two Afghans were sent, with four camels, to refill
+the casks and water-bags at Hamilton Springs, about twenty-five miles
+distant.  Meanwhile, a shower of rain descended; all the tarpaulins were
+quickly spread, and two or three buckets of water collected.  What a
+change!  All was now activity, cheerfulness, heartfelt thanksgiving.  A
+cake and a pot of tea were soon in everybody’s hands, and in due time
+Lewis returned with a full supply of water, to increase and partake in
+the general satisfaction.
+
+Keeping still in a general westerly direction, they crossed extensive
+grassy plains, relieved occasionally by “scrub” or bushes, and coming
+here and there upon a spring or well.  “The country to-day,” writes
+Warburton, on one occasion, “has been beautiful, with parklike scenery
+and splendid grass.”  In the “creeks,” as the water-courses are termed in
+Australia, they sometimes found a little water; more often, they were
+quite dry.  “This is certainly,” he writes, “a beautiful creek to look
+at.  It must at times carry down an immense body of water, but there is
+none now on its surface, nor did its bed show spots favourable for
+retaining pools when the floods subsided.”  On the 9th of January they
+struck some glens of a picturesque character.  At the entrance of the
+first a huge column of basalt had been hurled from a height of three
+hundred feet, and having fixed itself perpendicularly in the ground,
+stood like a sentry, keeping guard over a fair bright pool, which
+occupied the whole width of the glen’s mouth—a pool about fifteen feet
+wide, fifty feet long, and enclosed by lofty and precipitous basaltic
+cliffs.  At the entrance, the view does not extend beyond thirty yards;
+but, on accomplishing that distance, you find that the glen strikes off
+at a right angle, and embosoms another pool of deep clear water, circular
+in shape, and so roofed over by a single huge slab of basalt that the
+sun’s rays can never reach it.  There is a second glen, less grand, less
+rugged than the former, but more picturesque.  At the head of it bubble
+and sparkle many springs and much running water.
+
+The surrounding country was clothed with porcupine-grass (spinifex)—a
+sharp thorny kind of herbage, growing in tussocks of from eighteen inches
+to five feet in diameter.  When quite young, its shoots are green; but as
+they mature they assume a yellow colour, and instead of brightening,
+deepen the desolate aspect of the wilderness.  “It is quite uneatable
+even for camels, who are compelled to thread their way painfully through
+its mazes, never planting a foot on the stools, if they can possibly
+avoid it.  To horses on more than one occasion it has proved most
+destructive, piercing and cutting their legs, which in a very short time
+become fly-blown, when the animals have either to be destroyed or
+abandoned.  The spiny shoots are of all heights, from the little spike
+that wounds the fetlock to the longer blade that penetrates the hock.  It
+is one of the most cheerless objects that an explorer can meet, and it is
+perhaps unnecessary to say that the country it loves to dwell in is
+utterly useless for pastoral purposes.”
+
+Coming to a range of granite, steep, bare, and smooth, Colonel Warburton
+clambered up its face on hands and knees, to find there a fine hole or
+basin in the rock, perfectly round and nearly full of water.  This hole
+was, of course, the work of nature, and, strange to say, was on the point
+of a smooth projecting part of the rock, where it would have seemed
+impossible that any water could lodge.  How it was wrought in such a
+place one cannot imagine, but the position was so prominent as to be
+visible from the plain at a considerable distance.
+
+Another day the travellers fell in with a bees’ hive;—unfortunately, it
+was empty.  The Australian bee is stingless, and very little larger than
+our common house-fly, but its honey is remarkably sweet.  The nest, or
+“sugar-bag,” as the bushmen call it, is generally made in a hollow tree.
+They also saw some specimens of the crested dove—one of the loveliest of
+the Australian pigeons.  In truth, it is hardly surpassed anywhere in
+chasteness of colouring and elegance of form, while its graceful crest
+greatly enhances the charm of its appearance.  It frequently assembles in
+very large flocks, which, on visiting the lagoons or river banks for
+water, during the dry seasons, generally congregate on a single tree or
+even branch, perching side by side, and afterwards descending in a body
+to drink; so closely are they massed together while thus engaged, that
+dozens may be killed by a single discharge of a gun.  Their flight is
+singularly swift; with a few quick flaps of the wings they gain the
+necessary impetus, and then sail forward without any apparent exertion.
+
+The diamond-sparrow, or spotted pardalote, was also seen.  This bird
+inhabits the whole of the southern parts of the Australian continent,
+from the western to the eastern border, and is very common in Tasmania.
+It is nearly always engaged in searching for insects among the foliage
+both of the tallest trees and the lowest shrubs, in the garden and
+orchard as in the open forest; and it displays in all its movements a
+remarkable activity, clinging about in every variety of position, both
+above and beneath the leaves, with equal facility.  Its mode of
+nest-building differs from that of every other member of the genus to
+which it belongs.  It first excavates, in some neighbouring bank, a hole
+just large enough to admit of the passage of its body, in a nearly
+horizontal direction, to the depth of two or three feet; at the end of
+this burrow or gallery, it forms a chamber; and in this chamber it
+deposits its nest, which is beautifully woven of strips of the inner bark
+of the Eucalypti, and lined with finer strips of the same or similar
+materials.  In shape it is spherical, about four inches in diameter, with
+a lateral hole for an entrance.  To prevent the ingress of rain the
+chamber is raised somewhat higher than the mouth of the hole.  Mr. Gould,
+the Australian naturalist, speaks of these nests as very difficult to
+detect; they can be found, he says, only by watching for the ingress or
+egress of the parent birds, as the entrance is generally concealed by
+herbage or the overhanging roots of a tree.  Why so neat a structure as
+the diamond-sparrow’s nest should be constructed at the end of a gallery
+or tunnel, into which no light can possibly enter, is beyond
+comprehension; it is one of those wonderful results of instinct so often
+brought before us in the economy of the animal kingdom, without our being
+able to explain them.  The diamond-sparrow rears two broods, of four or
+five each, in the course of the year.  Its song or call is a rather
+harsh, piping note of two syllables, frequently repeated.
+
+The great difficulty which besets the Australian explorer is the want of
+water.  He travels day after day across open grassy plains, relieved by
+few variations of surface, except the sand ridges, to meet with neither
+spring nor watercourse.  Sometimes he comes upon the native wells, but
+these, very frequently, are dry or almost dry; he digs well after well
+himself, but no water rises.  Colonel Warburton’s party suffered severely
+from this deficiency.  They met with much trouble, moreover, through the
+straying of their camels.  Thus, one evening, “Charley,” who acted as
+camel-herd, reported that they had run away southward.  He traced their
+tracks for several miles, and observed that one camel had broken its
+hobbles. {302}  Halleem, the Afghan camel-driver, then mounted the
+Colonel’s riding camel, “Hosee,” and started in search of them at five
+o’clock on a Sunday evening.  He was to push on for five or six miles,
+then camp for the night, and at dawn follow up the tracks vigorously, so
+as to overtake the truants, and return by mid-day.
+
+Monday came, but Halleem and the camels came not with it.  Sahleh, who
+had been exploring in the vicinity of the camp with a gun, returned in
+the evening with the startling information that he had seen Hosee’s
+_return_ track, coming near the camp, and then striking off in a
+north-easterly direction.  Colonel Warburton now also learned for the
+first time that Halleem was occasionally subject to fits, and that while
+they lasted he knew not what he was doing or where he was going.  It was
+evident that such a man ought not to have been trusted alone, and it
+became a question whether Halleem had lost his camel or his wits; the
+latter seemed more probable, as Hosee, if he had come near the other
+camels, would certainly have joined them.
+
+Next day, Monday, July 22nd, the Colonel writes:—“I sent my son and
+Charley with a week’s provisions on our back tracks, to try for Halleem
+first; but, in the event of not finding his _foot_ tracks, to continue
+on, and endeavour to recover the camels.  Lewis also went in the other
+direction, to run up Hosee’s tracks; so that I hoped that by one or other
+of these means I should learn what had become of Halleem.  Unfortunately,
+Lewis, supposing he had only a few hours’ work, took neither food nor
+water.  Now, 6 p.m., it is beginning to rain, and Lewis has not returned.
+I know he will stick to the tracks as long as he can, but I wish he were
+back; if Halleem be demented, he may urge the camel on sixty or seventy
+miles without stopping, and thus get a start in his mad career that will
+make it impossible for Lewis to help him.
+
+“23rd.  It has rained lightly all night.  Lewis is still absent; I am
+greatly grieved at his having nothing to eat.
+
+“1 p.m.  Lewis returned; he had camped with Richard, and so was all
+right.
+
+“It appears from his report that Sahleh, whilst out ‘birding,’ must have
+stumbled upon a mare’s nest, for Lewis soon abandoned the track he
+started on, and turned after Richard to find Halleem’s first camp.  They
+did not find this, but they fell on his tracks of next day, steadily
+following the runaway camels; it is clear, therefore, that Sahleh has
+done his countryman some injustice, and caused much unnecessary alarm. . . .
+Richard returned, having seen Halleem, and promised to take out
+provisions to meet him on his return.
+
+“26th.  Sahleh shot an emu (_Dromaius Novoe Hollandicæ_), a welcome
+addition to our larder.  Every scrap of this bird was eaten up, except
+the feathers.  The liver is a great delicacy, and the flesh by no means
+unpalatable.
+
+“27th and 28th.  Sent provisions to Ethel Creek for Halleem.
+
+“29th.  The camel-hunters returned in the evening, but without the
+camels.  This is a double loss; the camels are gone, and so is our time;
+our means of locomotion are much reduced, whilst the necessity of getting
+on is greatly increased.  Halleem has, however, done all he could do; he
+followed the camels nearly one hundred miles, but as they travelled night
+and day, whilst he could only track them by day, he never could have
+overtaken them.  No doubt these animals will go back to Beltana, where
+alarm will be created as soon as they are recognized as belonging to our
+party.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Such is the Colonel’s simple, unaffected account of what was really an
+annoying and perplexing incident.
+
+At this date (July 29th) the explorers had accomplished seventeen hundred
+miles.  The country continued to present the same general features—plains
+yellow with porcupine-grass, alternating with low hills of sand; but as
+they advanced, the sand-hills became more numerous, and among them lay
+numerous half-dry salt lagoons of a particularly cheerless aspect.  Dense
+spinifex—high, steep sand-ridges, with timber in the flats, and nothing
+for the camels to eat but low scrubby bushes;—that horses should cross
+such a region is obviously impossible.  The want of water again became
+urgent.  From the burnt ground clouds of dust and sand were thrown up by
+the wind, almost choking the travellers, and intensifying their thirst.
+They were temporarily relieved by coming upon a native well.  But the
+country still wore the same cheerless aspect of inhospitality; the
+desolate arid plain extended in every region—a desert of sand, which
+wearied the travellers by its monotony.  Even when they arrived at the
+so-called basaltic hills, there was no water, no sign of green and
+pleasant vegetation.  It was quite an excitement when, for the first
+time, they descried some flock-pigeons.  The birds were very wild, and
+they could kill only three or four, but they were excellent eating, and
+made quite a dainty dish.  Soon after this cheerful episode, Lewis, who
+had been sent on a short excursion south in quest of water, returned with
+intelligence of an Eden oasis which he had discovered in the wilderness.
+A beautiful clump of large gum trees flourished at the bottom of a small
+creek, which was hemmed in by a high sand-hill, and afterwards broke
+through a rocky ridge sprinkled with fine, clear, deep water-holes, one
+hundred feet in circumference.  The rich green foliage of the gum trees
+contrasted vividly with the red sand-hills on either side, and the bare
+rocky barrier in front.  To this delightful spot of greenery, bustard,
+bronze-wing pigeons, owls, and other birds resorted.
+
+Colonel Warburton, however, was averse to retrace his steps, even to
+enjoy a halt in such an “earthly paradise;” and, pushing forward, was
+rewarded for his persistency by discovering a fine large lake of fresh
+water, haunted by ducks, flock-pigeons, and parrots.  He halted on its
+borders for a couple of days.
+
+Of the bronze-wing pigeon, to which allusion has just been made, it may
+be affirmed that it prevails in every part of Australia.  In some
+individuals the forehead is brown, in others buff white; the crown of the
+head and occiput, dark brown, shading into plum colour; sides of the
+neck, grey; upper surface of the body, brown, each feather edged with
+tawny brown; wings, brown, with an oblong spot of lustrous bronze on the
+coverts; the tail feathers, deep grey, with a black band near the tip,
+except the two central, which are brown; under surface of the wing,
+ferruginous; breast, deep wine-colour, passing into grey on the under
+parts; bill, blackish grey; legs and feet, carmine red.  It is a plump,
+heavy bird, and, when in good condition, weighs nearly a pound.  Its
+favourite haunts are the dry hot plains, among the bushes or “scrub.”
+Its speed is very surprising; in an incredibly short time it traverses a
+great expanse of country.  Before sunrise it may be seen in full flight
+across the plain, directing its course towards the creeks, where it
+quenches its thirst.  The traveller who knows its habits can, by
+observing it, determine, even in the most arid places, whether water is
+near at hand; if he descry it wending its way from all quarters towards a
+given point, he may rest assured that there he will obtain the welcome
+draught he seeks.  Mr. Gould says that it feeds entirely upon the ground,
+where it finds the varieties of leguminous seeds that constitute its
+food.  It breeds during August and the four following months, that is, in
+the Australian spring and summer, and often rears two or more broods.
+Its nest is a frail structure of small twigs, rather hollow in form; and
+is generally placed on the horizontal branch of an apple or gum tree,
+near the ground.  On one occasion, Mr. Gould, during a long drought, was
+encamped at the northern extremity of the Brezi range, where he had daily
+opportunities of observing the arrival of the bronze-wing to drink.  The
+only water for miles around lay in the vicinity of his tent, though that
+was merely the scanty supply left in a few small rocky basins by the
+rains of many months before.  Hence, he enjoyed an excellent opportunity
+for observing not only the bronze-wing, but all the other birds of the
+neighbourhood.  Few, if any, of the true insectivorous or fissirostral
+birds came to the water-holes; but, on the other hand, the species that
+live upon grain and seeds, particularly the parrots and honey-eaters
+(_Trichoglossi_ and _Meliphagi_), rushed down incessantly to the margins
+of the pools, heedless of the naturalist’s presence, their sense of peril
+vanquished temporarily by their sense of thirst.  The bronze-wing,
+however, seldom appeared during the heat of the day; it was at sunset
+that, with the swiftness of an arrow, it rushed towards the
+watering-place.  It did not descend at once, says Mr. Gould, to the brink
+of the pool, but dashed down upon the ground at about ten yards’
+distance, remained quiet for a while until satisfied of its safety, and
+then leisurely walked to the water.  After deep and frequent draughts, it
+retired, winging its way towards its secluded nest.
+
+Just before reaching the lake, the Colonel’s party made a capture, a
+young native woman; and they detained her in order that she might guide
+them to the native wells.  On the 1st of September, however, she effected
+her escape by gnawing through a thick hair-rope, with which she had been
+fastened to a tree.
+
+Spinifex and sand resumed their predominance as the travellers left the
+lake behind them.  The heat was very great, and crossing the hot sand and
+the steep hills was trying work.  On the 12th, they rejoiced in the
+discovery of some excellent wells.  Then again came spinifex and
+sand-hills.  These troublesome ridges varied considerably in height and
+in distance from one another; but their elevation seldom exceeded eighty
+feet, and the space between them was not often more than three hundred
+yards.  They lay parallel to one another, running from east to west; so
+that while going either eastward or westward the travellers could keep in
+the intervening hollows, and travel with comparative facility, but when
+compelled to cross them at a great angle, the feet of the camels ploughed
+deep in the sand, and the strain upon the poor animals was terrible.  Yet
+the Australian waste is, after all, less wearisome than the sandy deserts
+of Nubia or the great Sahara; it is sadly deficient in water, but the
+sand-hills disguise their inhospitality with many varieties of shrubs and
+flowers, as well as with acacias and gum trees.  The shrubs are not
+edible, and the trees are of no value as timber, but they serve to hide
+the nakedness of the land.
+
+A grave danger beset them on the 15th.  Their master bull (or male) camel
+had eaten poison, and fell ill; he was of immense value to the
+travellers, not only on account of his great strength, but because
+without his help it would be almost impossible to keep the young bulls in
+order, and they might elope with all the ewe (or female) camels.  They
+administered to him a bottle of mustard in a quart of water—the only
+available medicine—but without any beneficial effect.  In every herd of
+camels, it is necessary to explain, is found a master bull, who, by his
+strength, preserves order among his young brethren.  These gay cavaliers
+are always desirous of a harem to themselves; and, if allowed an
+opportunity, would cut off three or four cows from the herd, and at full
+speed drive them for hundreds of miles.  They are quiet only while under
+subjection to the master bull, and become intractable if, through illness
+or accident, his supremacy should be relaxed.  Colonel Warburton was
+surprised at the marvellous instinct of the young bulls in his little
+camel harem; they knew that their master was ailing almost before the
+camel-men did, and at once showed signs of insubordination, so that it
+was necessary to watch them by night and to knee-halter them.
+
+The old camel did not improve, and on the 16th the Colonel was compelled
+to abandon him.  Three misfortunes followed: on the 17th two riding
+camels were taken ill, having been struck in the loins by the night wind;
+and on the 18th the same fate befell Richard Warburton’s riding camel.
+Thus, in three days the travellers lost four camels.  They endeavoured to
+make some profit out of the misadventure by “curing” a quantity of
+camel-meat.  The inner portions of the animal were first eaten—not the
+liver and other dainty parts only, but the whole; every single scrap was
+carefully consumed, not a shred was wasted.  Then, head, feet, hide,
+tail, all went into the boiling pot.  Even the very bones were stewed
+down, for soup first, and afterwards for the sake of the marrow they
+contained.  The flesh was cut into thin flat strips, and hung upon the
+bushes for three days to be dried by the sun.  The tough thick hide was
+cut up and parboiled, the coarse hair scraped off with a knife, and the
+leathery substance replaced in the pot and stewed until, both as to
+flavour and savour, it bore a disagreeable resemblance to the inside of a
+carpenter’s glue-pot.  As may be supposed, such a dish as this was not so
+nutritious as the roast beef (or mutton) of Old England; but it stifled
+for a while the cry of an empty stomach.  The attack next fell upon the
+head, which was speedily reduced to a polished skull.  As for the foot,
+like cow-heel or sheep’s trotters, it was looked upon as a delicacy, and
+its preparation was a marvel of culinary skill.  First, a good fire was
+lighted, and allowed to burn down to bright red embers, while the foot,
+severed at the hock, was scraped and singed as thoroughly as time
+permitted.  The foot was thrust into the glowing coals, burnt for some
+considerable time, removed, placed on its side on the ground, and
+deprived of its tough horny sole.  After this elaborate series of
+operations, the reader will doubtless suppose that the delicacy is fit
+for the table.  Not a bit of it!  It must be placed in a bucket of water,
+and kept steadily boiling for six and thirty hours; then, and then only,
+may it be served up.  On the whole, we should not consider it a dish for
+a hungry man.
+
+The 21st of September was the anniversary of their departure from
+Adelaide.  Two of the party went out on camels to search for water, and
+two, in a different direction, on foot.  As they had only two riding
+camels left, and these in a weak condition, they threw away their tents,
+and most of their private property, retaining only their guns and
+ammunition, and clothing enough for decency.  Happily, one of the
+reconnoitring parties found a well, to which the travellers at once
+proceeded, and watered the thirsty, weary camels.
+
+After a three days’ halt they resumed their advance, but moved very
+slowly.  They were sick and feeble, and the country was difficult to
+traverse.  Another camel had to be abandoned; so that out of seventeen
+animals, only eight remained.  A plague of insects was added to their
+troubles.  Not only did clouds of common flies buzz and worry around
+them, and legions of ants assail them, but the Australian bee, or
+honey-fly, tormented them by its pertinacious adhesion to their
+persons—an unwelcome adhesion, as it is famed for its intolerable smell.
+To get water they were again compelled to wander from the direct route,
+and at one time they descended as far south as lat. 20° 2′.  Hence they
+began to suffer from want of provisions, and a grim alternative faced
+them: if they pressed forward, they ran the chance of losing their camels
+and dying of thirst; if they halted, they could hope only to prolong
+their lives on sun-dried camel flesh.
+
+On the 3rd of October their condition was critical.  The improvident
+Afghans, having consumed all their flour and meat, had to be supplied
+from the scanty rations of the white men, and Colonel Warburton resolved
+that if water were but once more found, so that he might not be compelled
+to retrace his steps, he would at all risks push forward to the river
+Oakover.  Another riding camel broke down, and was killed for meat.  A
+well was discovered, but the supply of water was so small that only one
+bucketful could be obtained in three hours, and on the second day it ran
+dry.  On the 8th, having slightly recruited their animals, the undaunted
+travellers again moved forward; but one of the camels was still so feeble
+that Colonel Warburton and his son took it in turns to walk.  The Colonel
+had the first stage, and, owing to stoppages from loads slipping off at
+the sand-hills, he soon struck ahead of the camels.  Suddenly, hearing a
+noise behind him, he turned;—nine armed blacks were rushing full upon
+him!  He halted to confront them, and they too stopped, at fifteen yards
+apart; two of them, in bravado, poised their spears, but, on his
+advancing pistol in hand, immediately lowered them, and a parley
+followed, in which, however, as neither understood the other’s language,
+there was very little edification.
+
+The blacks were all chattering round him, when he heard a shot, as he
+supposed, on his “right front.”  In reality it was fired from quite an
+opposite direction; but he was unwilling to answer the signal, because he
+did not wish to lose one of the three charges of his pistol.  Moreover,
+the natives might have supposed that the single discharge had exhausted
+his resources, and have made an attack upon him.  He accompanied them to
+their camp, and got a little water.  The women and children would not
+approach him, but, thanks to his grey beard, the men similarly equipped
+welcomed him readily.  There was a general passing of hands over each
+other’s beards—a sign of friendship, it is to be presumed; for, after
+this little ceremony, the intercourse was conducted on the most amicable
+terms.  Eventually the Colonel resumed his walk across the hot glaring
+sand-hills, until he thought he had covered the required distance, and
+that the camels would soon overtake him; then he stopped, lighted a fire,
+smoked a pipe, and would have indulged in a short nap, had the ants been
+agreeable.  Finding that sleep was impossible, he resolved on returning
+to the camp of the blacks for some more water; but, at that moment, his
+son and Lewis arrived with Charley, who had followed up his tracks, and
+he found that he must retrace his steps, having gone astray.  Exhausted
+by heat, hunger, and fatigue, he could scarcely stagger along; but his
+companions supported his tottering feet, and in the evening he reached
+their encampment.
+
+A good supply of water had been discovered, and, notwithstanding the
+alarming scarcity of provisions, it was indispensable that they should
+halt by it for some days, in order to give the camels an opportunity of
+partially recovering their strength.  Without them the explorers could
+hardly hope to cross the wide and weary wilderness in which they were
+involved.  Their rapidly diminishing store of food they endeavoured to
+eke out by killing such feathered spoil as came within their range—Gular
+parrots, and bronze-wing and top-knot pigeons—and by a mess of boiled
+salt-plant (_Salicornia_).  On the 14th they resumed their weary march.
+
+An entry or two from Colonel Warburton’s journal will afford a vivid idea
+of his distressed condition at this period:—
+
+“19th.  This is Sunday.  How unlike one at home!  Half a quart of flour
+and water at four a.m.; a hard, sinewy bit of raw, that is, sun-dried,
+but uncooked, camel-meat for dinner at two p.m.; supper uncertain,
+perhaps some roasted acacia seeds: this is our bill of fare.  These seeds
+are not bad, but very small and very hard; they are on bushes, not trees,
+and the natives use them roasted and pounded.
+
+“20th.  Got a pigeon; and some flour and water for breakfast.  We can
+only allow ourselves a spoonful of flour each at a time, and it won’t
+last many days even at this rate.
+
+“Killed a large camel for food at sunset.  We would rather have killed a
+worse one, but this bull had, in the early part of our journey, got a
+very bad back, and was unable to work for a long time. . . .
+
+“21st.  Cutting up and jerking camel-meat.  The inside has given us a
+good supper and breakfast.  This is a much better beast than the old,
+worn-out cow we killed before, and we have utilized every scrap, having
+had a sharp lesson as to the value of anything we can masticate. . . .
+
+“25th.  All the camel-meat has been successfully jerked, and we have
+lived since the 20th on bone-broth and gristle.  The birds were getting
+shy, so when we killed the camel we gave them a rest; to-day we go at
+them again.  I hope the water-searchers will return this evening; our
+prospects are not very bright under any circumstances, but if we get
+water anywhere between south and west we shall have a prospect of
+overcoming the difficulties and dangers that threaten us. . . .
+
+“29th.  A short rain squall passed over us last evening; it has cooled
+the ground a little.  Economy is, of course, the order of the day in
+provisions.  My son and I have managed to hoard up about one pound of
+flour and a pinch of tea; all our sugar is gone.  Now and then we afford
+ourselves a couple of spoonfuls of flour, made into paste.  When we
+indulge in tea the leaves are boiled twice over.  I eat my sun-dried
+camel-meat uncooked, as far as I can bite it; what I cannot bite goes
+into the quart pot, and is boiled down to a sort of poor-house broth.
+When we get a bird we dare not clean it, lest we should lose anything.
+
+“More disasters this morning.  One of our largest camels very ill; the
+only thing we could do for it was to pound four boxes of Holloway’s
+pills, and drench the animal. . . .  One of the Afghans apparently wrong
+in his head. . . .  In the evening the camel was still very sick.”
+
+The animal, however, was better on the following day, and the expedition
+again toiled onward across the sands.  Very troublesome were the ants,
+which seemed to have undertaken a deliberate campaign against the
+much-suffering travellers.  They were small black ants, and in such
+numbers that a stamp of the foot on the ground started them in thousands.
+When the wearied men flung themselves down in the shade of a bush to
+obtain the solace of half an hour’s sleep, these pestilent persecutors
+attacked them, making their way through their scanty clothing, and
+dealing sharp painful nips with their strong mandibles.
+
+On the evening of the 1st of November, they began their “rush” or forced
+march for the Oakover river, and across the wearisome sand-hills actually
+accomplished five and twenty miles.  Colonel Warburton then felt unable
+to continue the journey, thirst, famine, and fatigue having reduced him
+to a skeleton, while such was his weakness that he could scarcely rise
+from the ground, or when up, stagger half a dozen steps forward.
+“Charley” had been absent all day, and when he did not return at sunset,
+much alarm was felt about him.  The Colonel knew not what to do.  Delay
+meant ruin to them all, considering their want of food and water; yet to
+leave the camp without the Colonel seemed inhuman, as it was dooming him
+to certain death.  Until nine o’clock in the evening they waited.  Then a
+start was made, but before they had gone eight miles, the poor lad joined
+them.  Notwithstanding the fatigue of the previous night’s travelling,
+the lad had actually walked about twenty miles; he had fallen in with a
+large party of natives, and accompanied them to their water.  “It may, I
+think, be admitted,” says Colonel Warburton, “that the hand of Providence
+was distinctly visible in this instance.”—Is it not in _every_
+instance?—“I had deferred starting until nine p.m., to give the absent
+boy the chance of regaining the camp.  It turned out afterwards that if
+we had expedited our departure by ten minutes, or postponed it for the
+same length of time, Charley would have crossed us; and had this
+happened, there is little doubt that not only myself, but probably other
+members of the expedition, would have perished from thirst.  The route
+pursued by us was at right angles with the course pursued by the boy, and
+the chances of our stumbling up against each other in the dark were
+infinitesimally small.  Providence mercifully ordered it otherwise, and
+our departure was so timed that, after travelling from two to two hours
+and a half, when all hope of the recovery of the wanderer was almost
+abandoned, I was gladdened by the ‘cooee’ of the brave lad, whose keen
+ears had caught the sound of the bells attached to the camels’ necks.  To
+the energy and courage of this untutored native may, under the guidance
+of the Almighty, be attributed the salvation of the party.  It was by no
+accident that he encountered the friendly well.  For fourteen miles he
+followed up the tracks of some blacks, though fatigued by a day of severe
+work, and, receiving a kindly welcome from the natives, he had hurried
+back, unmindful of his own exhausted condition, to apprise his companions
+of the important discovery he had made.”
+
+At the native camp, Colonel Warburton’s party obtained some kangaroo
+meat, and a good supply of fresh water.  They rested for twenty-four
+hours, and the repose and the food together temporarily reinvigorated
+them.  At this time their position was lat. 20° 41′, and long. 122° 30′;
+so that they were only three days’ journey from the Oakover.  Forward
+they went, the country still presenting the two main features of sand and
+spinifex; forward they went, over the cheerless, monotonous plains,
+broken by sand ridges; growing weaker every day, but losing not one jot
+of hope or resolution.  The annals of travel present few examples of more
+heroic tenacity and persistent purpose; few records of suffering more
+patiently borne, or of obstacles more steadfastly overcome.  The highest
+energy, perseverance, and fortitude were necessary to the leader of an
+exploring expedition through so forlorn a wilderness, and these were
+never wanting on the part of Colonel Warburton, whose name, amongst the
+pioneers of civilization in Australia, must always be held in honour.
+
+On the 11th of November, the seven members of the expedition were living
+wholly on sun-dried strips of meat, as devoid of nutriment as they were
+of taste; and as these were almost exhausted, they had to consider the
+probability of having to sacrifice another camel.  They had no salt—a
+terrible deprivation; no flour, tea, or sugar.  Next day, they were
+surrounded by sand-hills, and no water was visible anywhere.  It was
+certain that, unless some providentially opportune help arrived, they
+could not live more than twenty-four hours; for the burning heat and the
+terrible country could not be endured without water.  Not a snake, kite,
+or crow could they discover; one little bird, the size of a sparrow, was
+all that their guns could procure.  Writing in his journal, the Colonel
+calmly says:—“We have tried to do our duty, and have been disappointed in
+all our expectations.  I have been in excellent health during the whole
+journey, and am so still, being merely worn out from want of food and
+water.  Let no self-reproaches afflict any one respecting me.  I
+undertook the journey for the benefit of my family, and was quite equal
+to it under all the circumstances that could reasonably be anticipated,
+but difficulties and losses have come upon us so thickly for the last few
+months that we have not been able to move; thus our provisions are gone,
+but this would not have stopped us could we have found water without such
+laborious search.  The country is terrible.  I do not believe men ever
+traversed so vast an extent of continuous desert.”
+
+Early on the 14th Charley sighted in the distance a native camp, and
+while the remainder of the party, with the camels, kept out of sight, he
+advanced alone towards it.  The blacks received him kindly and gave him
+water, but when he “cooed” for the party to come up, they seem to have
+thought he had entrapped them, and instantly speared him in the back and
+arm, cut his skull with a tomahawk, and nearly broke his jaw.  After
+perpetrating this cruelty, they fled ignominiously.  Colonel Warburton
+took possession of the fire they had kindled, and rejoiced at obtaining
+water.  Charley’s wounds were serious, but they were bound up as
+carefully as circumstances permitted, and it is satisfactory to state
+that he recovered from them.  Another camel was killed, and Charley was
+nursed upon soup.  This supply of meat enabled the expedition to continue
+its march towards the Oakover, which receded apparently as they advanced;
+and they toiled onward painfully, with the hot sun and hot wind
+exhausting their small resource of energy, the ants tormenting them at
+night, the sand and spinifex oppressing them by their monotony.  On the
+25th, to save themselves from starvation, they killed another camel, and
+all hands were employed in cutting up and jerking the meat.  At last, on
+the 4th of December, they camped on a rocky creek, tributary to the
+Oakover, and were able to take leave of the dreadful desert which had so
+long hemmed them in on every side.  Their spirits revived, for there was
+no longer a scarcity of water and they hoped that the river would supply
+them with the means of subsistence.
+
+But they had soon reason to feel that their difficulties were not all at
+an end.  It was pleasant to look on the beautiful trees and profuse
+vegetation of the creek, but the charms of nature will not satisfy
+stomachs that have had no food for two days.  So, on the evening of the
+6th, a third camel was killed.  Next day a few small fish were caught;
+they were greatly relished, and proved of real benefit.  The 8th was
+happily marked by another banquet of fish; but as they had no net or
+fishing apparatus, it was by no means easy work to catch them.  Still,
+the travellers did not grow stronger; want of rest and of wholesome food,
+and the strain of continuous exertion and anxiety for so long a period,
+had undermined the whole system, and they could not rally.
+
+On the 11th they struck the Oakover in lat. 21° 11′ 23″.  This must be a
+noble river, writes the Colonel, when the floods come down.  The bed is
+wide and gravelly, fringed with magnificent cajeput or paper-bark trees.
+How grateful was its lovely and shady refuge from the hot fierce sun
+after the terrible sand-hills among which the travellers had wandered so
+long!
+
+On the 13th Lewis and an Afghan driver, on the only two camels that could
+travel, were sent forward to search for the station of Messrs. Harper and
+Co., and procure some help both in food and carriage.  During his absence
+the Colonel and his companions lived, to use an expressive phrase, from
+hand to mouth.  They could not get the fish to bite; but one day Richard
+Warburton shot a teal, and they rescued from the talons of a hawk a fine
+black duck, which supplied them with a splendid dinner.  They were
+compelled, however, to fall back upon their last camel, though he was so
+lean and worn-out that he did not cut up well.  On the 23rd they rejoiced
+in the capture of a couple of wood-ducks, and they also secured a little
+honey—a delightful novelty for persons who for many weeks had been
+deprived of the strengthening and useful properties of sugar.  Still,
+these occasional “tidbits” could not supply the want of regular and
+nutritious food; and all the travellers could hope for was to stave off
+actual famine.  Day after day passed by, and Lewis did not return.
+Colonel Warburton had calculated that he would be absent about fourteen
+days; but the seventeenth came, and yet there was no sign of Lewis.
+Writing in his journal, Colonel Warburton, on December 20th, sums up his
+position in a few pithy and pregnant sentences:—“We have abundance of
+water, a little tobacco, and a few bits of dried camel.  Occasionally an
+iguana or a cockatoo enlivens our fare; and, lastly, I hope the late rain
+will bring up some thistles or some pig-weed that we can eat.  Our
+difficulties are, to make our meat last, though, so far from doing us
+good, we are all afflicted with scurvy, diarrhoea, and affection of the
+kidneys from the use of it.  We cannot catch the fish; we cannot find
+opossums or snakes; the birds won’t sit down by us, and we can’t get up
+to go to them.  We thought we should have no difficulty in feeding
+ourselves on the river, but it turns out that, from one cause or another,
+we can get very little, and we are daily dropping down a peg or two
+lower.”  But a few hours after making this entry, the Colonel’s long
+period of suffering and anxiety was at an end.  He and his son were lying
+down near the little hut of boughs which they had constructed as a
+shelter, and listlessly eyeing the boy Charley, who had climbed a tree to
+look for honey, when they were startled by his cry—whether a yell of pain
+or shout of joy, it was impossible to determine.  But in a moment the
+cause of his emotion was satisfactorily explained; out from the thick
+brushwood trotted a string of six horses, driven by the gallant Mr.
+Lewis, accompanied by another white man from a station on the De Grey
+river.  They brought an ample supply of nutritious food, and on the
+following day some additional stores came up on camels.  Mr. Lewis’s
+apparent delay was soon explained; the station, which belonged to Messrs.
+Grant, Harper, and Anderson, was one hundred and seventy miles distant.
+
+On the 3rd of January Colonel Warburton started down the river.  For the
+first few days he had to be lifted on his horse’s back, but with good
+food and moderate exercise he regained something of his old strength, and
+the journey to the station was accomplished in a week and a day.  Ten
+days were then given to rest under the hospitable roof of Messrs. Grant,
+and on the 21st he started for Roebourne, one hundred and seventy miles
+further, arriving there on the 26th.  His after stages were Lepack,
+Fremantle, Perth, Albany.  At Glenelg, in South Australia, the Colonel
+and his companions arrived on Easter Sunday, having travelled by land
+four thousand miles, and by sea two thousand miles.
+
+The casualties are quickly recorded: the Colonel lost the sight of one
+eye, and his son’s health was seriously shaken.  Out of seventeen camels,
+only two arrived safely at the station on the De Grey river.
+
+It is almost needless to say that everywhere in West Australia Colonel
+Warburton was received with the public honours due to a man who has
+courageously and successfully accomplished a work of equal difficulty and
+danger.  He was entertained in the most generous and cordial manner, and
+the high utility of his labours was liberally acknowledged.  On his
+return to South Australia he met, of course, with an enthusiastic
+welcome.  A great banquet was given to the explorers, and the Legislative
+Assembly voted the sum of £1000 to the leader, and £500 to be divided
+among the subordinates.  In 1874 the Royal Geographical Society of London
+conferred upon him its gold medal, and a few months later the Queen
+appointed him a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George.
+
+Here closes a simple but stirring narrative, of which it is not, perhaps,
+too much to say, as has been said, that scarcely has a record of terrible
+suffering more nobly borne been given to the world.  Hunger and thirst,
+intense physical exhaustion, the burning heat of a tropic sun, the
+glowing sands of an arid desert—not a single circumstance was wanting
+that could test the heroic endurance and patient heroism of the
+explorers.  The country through which they toiled day after day was
+barren, inhospitable, desolate; a wilderness of coarse yellow herbage, a
+sombre waste of sand-hills.  Their hearts were never cheered by bright
+glimpses of gorgeous scenery, of forests clothed with magnificent
+vegetation, of rivers pouring their ample waters through sylvan valleys;
+everywhere the landscape was melancholy and unprofitable.  He who, with
+his life in his hand, penetrates the frozen recesses of the Polar World,
+and dares its storms of snow and its icy winds, has at least the
+inspiration to support him that springs from the grandeur of huge cliffs
+of ice and vast glaciers and white-gleaming peaks outlined against a deep
+blue sky.  But in the wide Australian interior the landscape is always
+marked by the same monotony of dreariness, the same uniformity of gloom;
+and it tests and taxes the traveller’s energies to rise superior to its
+depressing influences.
+
+The reader, therefore, will feel that “the Municipal Council and
+inhabitants of Fremantle” used no language of undeserved eulogy when, in
+their address of welcome to Colonel Egerton Warburton, they said—
+
+“The difficulties to be overcome in the work of Australian exploration
+are acknowledged to be as formidable as are to be found in any part of
+our globe, and to meet these difficulties requires a combination of
+intelligence, energy, perseverance, and fortitude that few men possess;
+and the fact that you have surmounted all obstacles, and borne up under
+so many privations, has awakened in all our minds the deepest feelings of
+gratitude and admiration.”  {324}
+
+
+
+
+MAJOR BURNABY,
+AND A RIDE TO KHIVA.
+
+
+I.
+
+
+THAT vast and various region of sandy deserts and fertile valleys, of
+broad open plains and lofty highlands, which extends eastward from the
+Caspian Sea to the borders of Afghanistan, and from Persia northward to
+the confines of Siberia, is known to geographers by the name of
+Turkistan, or “the country of the Turks.”  Across it, from north to
+south, strikes the massive chain of the Bolor-tagh, dividing it into two
+unequal portions.  The western division is popularly known as Independent
+Tartary, or Great Bokhara; it covers an area of nearly 900,000 square
+miles—that is, it is ten times as large as Great Britain—and it consists
+of the arid sandy plain of the Caspian and Aral Seas, and of the hilly
+districts which skirt the ranges of the Bolor-Tagh, the Thian-Shan, and
+the Hindu Kush.  The eastern division, or Upper Tartary, probably
+contains 700,000 square miles, and extends from Asiatic Russia on the
+north to Thibet and Kashmir on the south, from Mongolia on the east to
+the Bolor-Tagh on the west.  The Thian-Shan separates its two provinces,
+which the Chinese call Thian-Shan-Pe-lû and Thian-Shan-Nan-lû.  The
+reader’s attention, however, will be here directed only to Western
+Turkistan, which is divided into the Khanates of Khokan (north-east),
+Badakshan (south-east), Bokhara (east), and Khiva (west).  To the north
+stretch the steppes of the nomadic Kirghiz; to the south the hills and
+dales are occupied by the hordes of the Turkomans.  Its two great rivers
+are the Amu-Daria and the Syr-Daria, the ancient _Oxus_ and
+_Jaxartes_,—the former traversing the centre, and the latter the south of
+the district, on their way to the great Arabian Sea; and the valleys
+through which they flow, as well as those of their tributary streams, are
+mostly fertile and pleasant.  As might be inferred from the character of
+the country, the chief resources of the population are the breeding of
+domestic animals, and the cultivation of the soil; but in the towns of
+Khokand, Bokhara, Urgondji, and Karshi, a brisk manufacturing industry
+flourishes, which disposes of its surplus produce, after the local demand
+is satisfied, to the merchants of Russia, Persia, India, and China.
+
+Since 1864, the supremacy of Russia has been steadily advancing in
+Western Turkistan.  In ordinary circumstances, the extension of the power
+of a civilized nation over a number of semi-barbarous states, constantly
+engaged in internecine warfare, is regarded as a just and legitimate
+movement, or, at all events, as one that is inevitable and calls for no
+expression of regret; but the eastward progress of Russia has long been
+considered, by a large party in England, as a menace to the safety of our
+Indian empire.  Every fresh step of the Russian armies has therefore
+excited alarm or created suspicion among those who are known as
+Russophobists.  How far their fear or their mistrust is justifiable or
+dignified it is not our business in these pages to inquire; but it has
+been necessary to allude to it because it was this Russophobism which
+impelled Major (then Captain) Burnaby to undertake the difficult, if not
+dangerous, task of visiting Western Turkistan, that he might see with his
+own eyes what the Russians were doing there.  The Russians had recently
+conquered Khokand and Khiva; it was thought they were preparing for
+further annexations; and Major Burnaby determined on an effort to reach
+Khiva, which during the Russian campaign had been visited, as we have
+seen, by Mr. MacGahan, the war correspondent of the _New York Herald_.
+Having obtained leave of absence from his regiment, the Royal Horse
+Guards, Major Burnaby rapidly equipped himself for his adventurous
+journey.  He was well aware that the Russian authorities did not welcome
+the inquisitive eyes of English travellers, and that from them he could
+expect no assistance.  His confidence in his resources, however, was
+great; he felt _totus in se ipso_; and he did not intend to be baffled in
+his object by anything but sheer force.  The climate was another
+difficulty.  The cold of the Kirghiz desert is a thing unknown in any
+other part of the world, even in the Arctic wastes and wildernesses; and
+he would have to traverse on horseback an enormous expanse of flat
+country, extending for hundreds of miles, and devoid of everything save
+snow and salt-lakes, and here and there the species of bramble-tree
+called saxaul.  The inhabitants of Western Europe can form no conception
+of the force of the winds in Turkistan.  They grumble at the pungent,
+irritating east; but they little imagine what it is like in countries
+exposed to the awful vehemence of its first onset, before its rigour has
+been mitigated by the kindly ocean, and where its wild career is
+unimpeded by trees or rising land, by hills or mountains.
+Uninterruptedly it blows over dreary leagues of snow and salt, absorbing
+the saline matter, and blighting or almost gashing the faces of those
+unfortunates who are exposed to its fury.  But no fear of the east wind
+prevailed over Major Burnaby’s patriotic curiosity.  He provided against
+it as best he could: warm were the garments specially made for him; his
+boots were lined with fur; his hose were the thickest Scottish fishing
+stockings; his jerseys and flannel shirts of the thickest possible
+texture; and he ordered for himself a waterproof and airproof
+sleeping-bag, seven feet and a half long, and two feet round.  A large
+aperture was left on one side, so that the traveller might take up his
+quarters in the interior, and sleep well protected from the wintry
+blasts.  For defensive purposes he took with him his rifle, a revolver,
+cartridges, and ball.  His cooking apparatus consisted of a couple of
+soldier’s mess-tins.  A trooper’s hold-all, with its accompanying knife,
+fork, and spoon, completed his kit; and, by way of instruments, he
+carried a thermometer, a barometer, and a pocket sextant.
+
+On the 30th of November, 1875, Major Burnaby left London.  He arrived at
+St. Petersburg on the 3rd of December, and immediately set to work to
+obtain the necessary authorization for his proposed journey, which he
+defined as a tour to India _viâ_ Khiva, Merv, and Kabul; in other words,
+across Central Asia and Afghanistan.  All that he _did_ obtain was a
+communication to the effect that the commandants in Russian Asia had
+received orders to assist him in travelling through the territory under
+their command, but that the Imperial Government could not acquiesce in
+his extending his journey beyond its boundaries, as it could not answer
+for the security or the lives of travellers except within the Emperor’s
+dominions—a self-evident fact.  The reply was evidently intended to
+discourage Major Burnaby; but Major Burnaby was not to be discouraged.
+It is not in the English character to be daunted by a consideration of
+prospective or possible dangers; certainly, it is not in the character of
+English officers.  So the adventurous guardsman started by railway for
+Orenburg, the great centre and depôt of Central Asiatic traffic.  At
+Riajsk he obtained a vivid illustration of the heterogeneous character of
+the Russian empire, the waiting-room being crowded with representatives
+of different nationalities.  Here stalked a Tartar merchant in a long
+parti-coloured gown, a pair of high boots, and a small yellow fez.  There
+a fur trader, in a greasy-looking black coat, clutched his small leather
+bag of coin.  Here an old Bokharan, in flowing robes, was lulled by opium
+into a temporary forgetfulness of his troubles.  There Russian peasants
+moved to and fro, with well-knit frames, clad in untanned leather, which
+was bound about their loins by narrow leather belts, studded with buttons
+of brass and silver.  Europe and Asia met together in the waiting-room at
+Riajsk station.
+
+The railway went no further than Sizeran, where Major Burnaby and a
+Russian gentleman hired a troika, or three-horse sleigh, to take them to
+Samara.  The distance was about eighty-five miles; but as the thermometer
+marked 20° below zero (R.), the travellers found it necessary to make
+formidable preparations.  First they donned three pairs of the thickest
+stockings, drawn up high above the knee; next, over these, a pair of
+fur-lined low shoes, which in their turn were inserted into leather
+goloshes; and, finally, over all, a pair of enormously thick boots.
+Allow for extra thick drawers and a pair of massive trousers; and add a
+heavy flannel under-shirt, a shirt covered by a thick wadded waistcoat
+and coat, and an external wrap in the form of a large shuba, or fur
+pelisse, reaching to the heels; and you may suppose that the protection
+against the cold was tolerably complete.  The head was guarded with a fur
+cap and vashlik, _i.e._ a kind of conical cloth headpiece made to cover
+the cap, and having two long ends tied round the throat.  Thus accoutred,
+the travellers took their places in the troika, which, drawn by three
+horses harnessed abreast, and with jingling bell, rapidly descended the
+hill, and dashed on to the frozen surface of the river Volga.  Along the
+solid highway furnished by the ice-bound stream, past frozen-in shipping
+and sledges loaded with various kinds of wares, sped the troika;
+sometimes, in its turn, outstripped by other troikas,—drivers and
+passengers all alike white with glittering hoar-frost, until they seemed
+a company of grey-beards.  The solid river flashed like a burnished
+cuirass in the rays of the morning.  Here the scene was varied by a group
+of strangely patterned blocks and pillars; there a fountain gracefully
+shooting upwards with shapely Ionic and Doric columns, reflected a myriad
+prismatic hues from its diamond-like stalactites.  Here a broken Gothic
+arch overhung the shining highway; there an Egyptian obelisk lay half
+buried beneath the snow.  Such were the fantastic shapes into which the
+strong wind had moulded the ice as it was rapidly formed.
+
+Regaining the main road, Major Burnaby and his companion sped on towards
+Samara.  Their first halting-place was a farmhouse, called Nijny Pegersky
+Hootor, twenty-five versts from Sizeran, where some men were winnowing
+corn after a fashion of antediluvian simplicity.  Throwing the corn high
+up into the air with a shovel, they allowed the wind to blow away the
+husks, and the grain fell upon a carpet laid out to catch it.  As for the
+farmhouse, it was a square wooden building, containing two low but
+spacious rooms.  A large stove of dried clay was so placed as to warm
+both apartments; and above it, a platform of boards, not more than three
+feet from the ceiling, supplied the family with sleeping accommodation.
+On the outside of the building a heavy wooden door opened into a small
+portico, at one end of which stood the obraz, or image—as usual an
+appendage to a Russian house, as were the Lares and Penates, or household
+gods, to a Roman house.  The obrazye are made of different patterns, but
+usually represent a saint or the Trinity; they are executed in
+silver-gilt on brass relief, and adorned with all kinds of gewgaws.
+
+A fresh team having been obtained, the travellers resumed their journey;
+but the cold had increased, the wind blew more furiously, and their
+suffering was severe.  In thick flakes fell the constant snow, and the
+driver had much ado to keep the track, while the half-fed horses
+floundered along heavily, and frequently sank up to the traces in the
+gathering drift.  The cracks of the whip resounded from their jaded
+flanks like pistol-shots.  With sarcastic apostrophes the driver
+endeavoured to stimulate their progress:—
+
+“Oh, sons of animals!” (whack!)
+
+“Oh, spoiled one!” (whack!)  This to a poor, attenuated brute.
+
+“Oh, woolly ones!” (whack, whack, whack!)  Here all were upset into a
+snow-drift, the sleigh being three-parts overturned, and the driver flung
+in an opposite direction.
+
+The sleigh was righted; the travellers once more took their seats; and on
+through the darkening day they drove, until they came to a long
+straggling village, where the horses stopped before a detached cottage.
+Benumbed with the bitter cold, Major Burnaby and his companion dashed
+inside, and made haste, in front of a blazing stove, to restore the
+suspended circulation.  Then, while the women of the house made tea in a
+samovar, or urn, they unfroze in the stove some cutlets and bread which
+they had carried with them, and proceeded to enjoy a hearty repast.  In
+one hour’s time they were ready to start; but their driver demurred.  The
+snowstorm was heavy; wolves prowled along the track; the river ice might
+give way.  It was better to wait until the morning, when, with beautiful
+horses, they might go like birds to the next station.  The two travellers
+could do nothing with him, and were compelled to resign themselves to
+pass the night on the hard boards, in an atmosphere infested by many
+unpleasant smells.  A good hour before sunrise all were again in motion.
+The Major and his companion abandoned their heavy troika, and engaged two
+small sleighs with a pair of horses to each, one for themselves and one
+to carry their luggage.
+
+It was a glorious winter morning, and the sun came forth like a
+bridegroom to run his course, invested with indescribable pomp of colour.
+First, over the whole of the eastern horizon extended a pale blue streak,
+which seemed, like a wall, to shut off the vast Beyond.  Suddenly its
+summit changed into rare lapis-lazuli, while its base became a sheet of
+purple.  From the darker lines shot wondrous waves of grey and crystal;
+and in time the purple foundations upheaved into glowing seas of fire.
+The wall broke up into castles, battlements, and towers—all with magical
+gleams, which gradually floated far away, while the seas of flame,
+lighting up the whole horizon, burst through their borders and swelled
+into a mighty ocean.  The sight was one on which the eye of man could
+scarcely gaze.  The sunny expanse of the winter-bound earth reflected as
+in a mirror the celestial panorama.  Shafts of light seemed to dart in
+rapid succession from earth to sky, until at last the vast luminous orb
+of day rose from the depth of the many-coloured radiance, and with its
+surpassing glory put everything else to shame.
+
+The travellers reached Samara—a well-built prosperous town, situated on a
+tributary of the Volga.  There Major Burnaby parted from his companion,
+whose road thenceforward lay in a different direction, and proceeded to
+make his preparations for a drive across the steppes to Orenburg.
+
+He started next morning, in a sleigh which he had purchased, and had
+caused to be well repaired, and took the road towards Orenburg.  The
+country was flat and uninteresting; buried beneath a white shroud of
+sand, with a few trees scattered here and there, and at intervals a
+dreary-looking hut or two.  The first post-station, for changing horses,
+was Smeveshlaevskaya, twenty versts (a verst is two-thirds of an English
+mile); the next, Bodrovsky, where Burnaby arrived a little after sunset.
+After drinking a few glasses of tea to fortify himself against the
+increasing cold (25° below zero, R.), he pushed forward in the hope of
+reaching Malomalisky, about twenty-six and a half versts, about nine p.m.
+But plunging into the heart of a terrible snowstorm, he and his driver
+were so blinded and beaten, and the horses so jaded by the swiftly
+forming snow-drifts, that he was compelled to give the order to return,
+and to pass the night at Bodrovsky.
+
+At daybreak the resolute guardsman was on his way.  In the course of the
+day he fell in with General Kryjonovsky, the governor of the Orenburg
+district, who was bound for St. Petersburg; and a brief conversation with
+him showed that the authorities, as he had suspected, by no means
+approved of his expedition to Khiva.  At one of the stations, the man
+assigned to him as driver had been married only the day before, and
+undertook his duties with obvious reluctance.  His sole desire was to
+return as quickly as possible to his bride, and with this intent he
+lashed his horses until they kicked and jumped in the most furious
+contortions.  The Major was thrown in the air, and caught again by the
+rebound; upset, righted, and upset again; gun, saddle-bags,
+cartridge-cases, and traveller, all simultaneously flying in the air.
+After a third of these rough experiences, the Major resolved to try the
+effect of a sharp application of his boot.
+
+“Why do you do that?” said the driver, pulling up his horse.  “You hurt,
+you break my ribs.”
+
+“I only do to you what you do to me,” replied the Major.  “You hurt, you
+break my ribs, and injure my property besides.”
+
+“Oh, sir of noble birth,” ejaculated the fellow, “it is not my fault.  It
+is thine, oh moody one!” to his offside horse, accompanied by a crack
+from his whip.  “It is thine, oh spoilt and cherished one!” to his other
+meagre and half-starved quadruped (whack!) “Oh, petted and caressed sons
+of animals” (whack, whack, whack!), “I will teach you to upset the
+gentleman.”
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+At length, after a journey of four hundred versts, Orenburg was reached.
+At this frontier town, situated almost on the verge of civilization, our
+traveller was compelled to make a short sojourn.  He had letters of
+introduction to present, which procured him some useful friends; a
+servant to engage, provisions to purchase, information to collect about
+the route to Khiva, and his English gold and notes to convert into
+Russian coin.  Through the good offices of a Moslem gentleman, he was
+able to engage a Tartar, named Nazar—not five feet high—as a servant; and
+after some delay he obtained from the military chief a podorojoraya, or
+passport, as far as Kasala, or Fort No. 1.  This pass ran as follows: “By
+the order of His Majesty the Emperor Alexander, the son of Nicolas,
+Autocrat of the whole of Russia, etc., etc.  From the town of Orsk to the
+town of Kasala, to the Captain of the English service, Frederick, the son
+of Gustavus Burnaby, to give three horses, with a driver, for the legal
+fare, without delay.  Given in the town of Orenburg, 15th December,
+1875.”
+
+The next day, Frederick, “the son of Gustavus Burnaby,” with his Tartar
+servant, took their departure from Orenburg, and in a few minutes were
+trotting along the frozen surface of the river Ural.  Every now and then
+they fell in with a caravan of rough, shaggy, undersized camels, drawing
+sleighs laden with cotton from Tashkent; or a Cossack galloped by,
+brandishing his long spear; or a ruddy-faced Kirghiz slowly caracolled
+over the shining snow.  Three stations were passed in safety, and Burnaby
+resolved on halting at the fourth, Krasnojorsk, for refreshment.  But as
+the afternoon closed in, the Tartar driver began to lash his weary jades
+impatiently; as an excuse for his vehemence, pointing to the clouds that
+were rising before them, and the signs of a gathering snowstorm.  Soon
+the air was filled with flakes; the darkness rapidly increased; the
+driver lost his way, and, at length, the team came to a standstill,
+breast deep in a snow-drift.  What was to be done?  It was equally
+impossible to go forward or to return; there was no wood in the
+neighbourhood with which to kindle a fire, no shovel with which to make a
+snow house; nothing could the belated wayfarer do but endure the bitter
+cold and the silent darkness, and wait for morning.  Burnaby suffered
+much from the exposure, but the great difficulty was to prevent himself
+from yielding to the fatal lethargy which extreme cold induces—from
+falling into that sleep which turns inevitably into death.  How he
+rejoiced when the day broke, and he was able to despatch the driver on
+one of the horses for assistance; and how he rejoiced when the man
+returned with three post horses and some peasants, and the road was
+regained, and the journey resumed, and the station reached at last!
+There they rested and refreshed themselves, before, with invigorated
+spirits, they dashed once again into the snow-bound depths of the
+steppes.
+
+After a while the aspect of the country grew more cheery.  The low chain
+of mountains to the north-east was sometimes abruptly broken, and a
+prominent peak thrust its summit into the interval.  Through the fleecy
+snow various coloured grasses were visible.  Olive-tinted branches, and
+dark forests of fir and pine, contrasted strongly with the whitely
+shining expanse that spread as far as the eye could see.  Spider-like
+webs of frozen dew hung from the branches.  The thin icicles glistened
+like prisms with all the colours of the rainbow.  Thus, through a
+succession of fairy landscapes, such as the dwellers in Western lands can
+form but a faint idea of, the travellers dashed onward to Orsk.
+
+Then the face of the country underwent another change.  They were fairly
+in the region of the steppes—those wide and level plains which, during
+the brief summer, bloom with luxuriant vegetation, and are alive with the
+flocks and herds of the nomads, but in the long drear winter, from north
+to south and east to west, are buried deep beneath frozen snow.  Wherever
+you direct your gaze it rests upon snow, snow, still snow; shining with a
+painful glare in the mid-day sun; fading into a dull, grey, melancholy
+ocean as noon lapses into twilight.  “A picture of desolation which
+wearies by its utter loneliness, and at the same time appals by its
+immensity; a circle of which the centre is everywhere, and the
+circumference nowhere.”  Travel, in this world-beyond-the-world, in this
+solitude which Frost and Winter make all their own, tests the courage and
+endurance of a man, for it makes no appeal to the imagination or the
+fancy, it charms the eye with no pleasant pictures, suggests no
+associations to the mind.  But it has its dangers, as Major Burnaby
+experienced.  He had left the station of Karabootak (three hundred and
+seventeen miles from Orsk), and as the road was comparatively smooth, and
+the wind had subsided, he leaned back in his sleigh and fell asleep.
+Unluckily he had forgotten to put on his thick gloves, and his hands,
+slipping from the fur-lined sleeves of his pelisse, lay exposed to the
+full potency of the cold air.  In a few minutes he awoke with a feeling
+of intense pain; and looking at his hands, he saw that the finger-nails
+were blue, blue too the fingers and back of the hands, while the wrists
+and lower part of the arms had assumed the hue of wax.  They were
+frost-bitten!  He called his servant, and made him rub the skin with some
+snow in the hope of restoring the vitality.  This he did for some
+minutes; but, meanwhile, the pain gradually ascended up the arms, while
+the lower portion of the arms was dead to all feeling, all sensation.
+“It is no good,” said Nazar, looking sorrowfully at his master; “we must
+drive on as fast as possible to the station.”
+
+The station was some miles off.  Miles?  Each mile seemed to the tortured
+traveller a league; each league a day’s journey; the physical pain
+consumed him, wore him down as mental anguish might have done.  But at
+last the station was reached; Burnaby sprang from the sleigh, rushed into
+the waiting-room, and to three Cossacks whom he met there showed his
+hands.  Straightway they conducted him into an outer apartment, took off
+his coat, bared his arms, and plunged him into a tub of ice and water up
+to the shoulders.  He felt nothing.
+
+“Brother,” said the eldest of the soldiers, shaking his head, “it is a
+bad job; you will lose your hands.”
+
+“They will drop off,” remarked another, “if we cannot get back the
+circulation.”
+
+“Have you any spirit with you?” asked a third.
+
+Nazar, on hearing this inquiry, immediately ran out, and returned with a
+tin bottle containing naphtha for cooking purposes; upon which the
+Cossacks, taking the Major’s arms out of the icy water, proceeded to rub
+them with the strong spirit.
+
+Rub, rub, rub; the skin peeled under their horny hands, and the spirit
+irritated the membrane below.  At last a faint sensation like tickling—we
+are using the Major’s own words—pervaded the elbow-joints, and he
+slightly flinched.
+
+“Does it hurt?” asked the eldest Cossack.
+
+“A little.”
+
+“Capital, brothers,” he continued; “rub as hard as you can;” and after
+continuing the friction until the flesh was almost flayed, they suddenly
+plunged his arms again into the ice and water.  This time, the pain was
+sharp.
+
+“Good,” exclaimed the Cossacks.  “The more it hurts, the better chance
+you have of saving your hands.”  And after a short time they let him
+remove his arms from the tub.
+
+“You are fortunate, little father,” said the eldest Cossack.  “If it had
+not been for the spirit your hands would have dropped off, even if you
+had not lost your arms.”
+
+“Rough, kind-hearted fellows were these poor soldiers,” adds Major
+Burnaby; “and when I forced on the oldest of them a present for himself
+and comrades, the old soldier simply said, ‘Are we not all brothers when
+in misfortune?  Would you not have helped me if I had been in the same
+predicament?’”
+
+The Major shook his hand heartily, and retired to the waiting-room to
+rest upon the sofa, as the physical shock he had undergone had for the
+moment thoroughly prostrated him.  Moreover, his arms were sore and
+inflamed, the spirit having in some places penetrated the raw flesh; and
+several weeks elapsed before he thoroughly recovered from the effects of
+his carelessness.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+At Terekli, about five hundred miles from Orenburg, our traveller entered
+the province of Turkistan, and found himself in the region which
+acknowledges the authority of General Kauffmann—a restless and ambitious
+soldier, to whose energy much of Russia’s recent advance eastward would
+seem to be due.  He still pushed forward with characteristic resolution,
+braving the terrors of the climate and the dangers of the road in his
+determined purpose to reach Khiva.  At one station no horses were to be
+obtained, and, instead, three gigantic camels were harnessed to the tiny
+sleigh.  A strange spectacle!  “I have tried many ways of locomotion in
+my life, from fire-balloons to bicycles, from canoes and bullocks to
+cows, camels, and donkeys; whilst in the East the time-honoured sedan of
+our grandfathers has occasionally borne me and my fortunes; but never had
+I travelled in so comical a fashion.  A Tartar rode the centre camel.
+His head-gear would have called attention, if nothing else had, for he
+wore a large black hat, which reminded me of an inverted coal-scuttle,
+whilst a horn-like protuberance sticking out from its summit gave a
+diabolical appearance to his lobster-coloured visage.  The hat, which was
+made of sheepskin, had the white wool inside, which formed a striking
+contrast to the flaming countenance of the excited Tartar.  He had
+replaced the usual knout used for driving, by a whip armed with a thin
+cord lash, and he urged on his ungainly team more by the shrill sounds of
+his voice than by any attempt at flagellation, the Tartar seldom being
+able to get more than four miles an hour from the lazy brutes.
+
+“All of a sudden the camel in the centre quickly stopped, and the rider
+was precipitated head-over-heels in the snow.  Luckily, it was soft
+falling; there were no bones broken, and in a minute or two he was again
+in the saddle, having changed the system of harnessing, and placed one of
+the camels as leader, whilst the other two were driven as wheelers.  We
+got on very fairly for a little while, when the foremost of our train
+having received a rather sharper application of the lash than he deemed
+expedient remonstrated with his rider by lying down.  Coaxing and
+persuasion were now used; he was promised the warmest of stalls, the most
+delicious of water, if he would only get up.  But this the beast
+absolutely declined to do, until the cold from the snow striking against
+his body induced him to rise from the ground.
+
+“We now went even slower than before.  Our driver was afraid to use his
+whip for fear of another ebullition of temper on the part of the
+delinquent, and confined himself to cracking his whip in the air.  The
+sounds of this proceeding presently reaching the ears of the leader,
+perhaps made him think that his companions were undergoing chastisement.
+Anyhow, it appeared to afford him some satisfaction, for, quickening his
+stride, he compelled his brethren behind to accelerate their pace; and
+after a long, wearisome drive we arrived at our destination.”
+
+Under the influence of milder weather the aspect of the country rapidly
+modified and brightened, and instead of a uniform sheet of frozen snow,
+broad patches of vegetation met the eye.  On these the Kirghiz horses
+were browsing with evident delight.  How they live through the winter is
+a mystery, as their owners seldom feed them with corn, and they are
+compelled to trust to the scanty grasses which may still be partially
+alive underneath the snow.  Nor are they in any way protected from the
+cold.  As a necessary consequence, the spring finds them reduced to mere
+skeletons, whose ribs are barely covered by their parchment-like skin;
+but they soon gain in flesh and strength when once the rich pasturage of
+the steppes is at their disposal.  Their powers of endurance are
+wonderful; and without rest, or water, or food, they will accomplish
+surprising distances, maintaining a first-rate speed.  An instance is on
+record of a Kirghiz chief having galloped two hundred miles, over a rocky
+and mountainous ground, in twenty-four hours.  A Russian detachment of
+cavalry, mounted on Kirghiz horses, marched 333 miles in six days.
+
+Major Burnaby was soon apprised that he was nearing the Sea (or Lake) of
+Aral by the salt breeze which blew persistently in his face.  The whole
+district for miles around was impregnated with salt, and the springs and
+streams had all a brackish taste and strong saline flavour.  At
+Nicolaivskaya his road touched close upon the north-eastern extremity of
+the sea.  This great inland basin of brackish water is separated from the
+Caspian by the dense plateau of Ust-Urt.  It measures about 260 miles
+from north to south, and 125 from east to west.  On the north-east it
+receives the waters of the Syr-Daria, or Jaxartes; on the south-east
+those of the Amu-Daria, or Oxus.  As it is on the same level with the
+Caspian, we may reasonably suppose that both seas were at one time
+connected.  Owing to the excessive evaporation which takes place, it is
+understood to be decreasing in size.
+
+At Kasala, or Fort No. 1, our traveller struck the Syr-Daria, some forty
+or fifty miles above its outlet in the Aral.  Kasala is inhabited by
+nomad Kirghiz, who pitch their kibitkas in its outskirts in the winter,
+to resume their migratory life with the first breath of spring; by
+Russian and Tartar merchants, who dwell in one-storied houses, built of
+brick or cement; and by a motley population of Greeks, Khivans,
+Bokharans, Tashkentians, and Turcomans generally, attracted thither by
+the hope of gain.  Owing to its geographical position, it is the centre
+of a considerable trade; for all goods to Orenburg from Western Turkistan
+must pass through it.  Its civil population numbers about 5000 souls; its
+garrison consists of about 350 infantry and 400 cavalry, and it is also
+the head-quarters in winter of the sailors of the Aral fleet, which is
+made up of four small steamers of light draught.  As for the fort, it is
+simply an earthwork, constructed in the shape of a half-star, with a
+bastion on the south extending to the bank of the Syr-Daria.  A dry
+ditch, thirty feet broad by twelve feet deep, and a parapet, eight feet
+high and twelve feet thick, surround it.  Sufficiently strong to overawe
+the Kirghiz, it could offer no effective resistance to an European force.
+
+Major Burnaby paid a visit to a Kirghiz kibitka, or tent, and his
+description of it may be compared with Mr. Atkinson’s.  Inside it was
+adorned with thick carpets of various hues, and bright-coloured cushions,
+for the accommodation of the inmates.  In the centre a small fire gave
+out a cloud of white smoke, which rose in coils and wreaths to the roof,
+and there escaped through an aperture left for the purpose.  The fuel
+used is saxaul, the wood of the bramble tree, and it emits an acrid,
+pungent odour.  The women in the tent had their faces uncovered; they
+received their visitor with a warm welcome, and spread some rugs for him
+to sit down by their side.  They were all of them moon-faced, with large
+mouths, but good eyes and teeth.
+
+The master of the kibitka, who was clad in a long brown robe, thickly
+wadded to keep out the cold, poured some water into a large caldron, and
+proceeded to make tea, while a young girl handed round raisins and dried
+currants.  A brief conversation then arose.  The Kirghiz were much
+surprised to learn that their visitor was not a Russian, but had come
+from a far Western land, and were even more surprised to find that he had
+brought no wife with him—a wife, in the opinion of the Kirghiz, being as
+indispensable to a man’s happiness as a horse or camel.  In entering into
+matrimony, the Kirghiz have one great advantage over the other Moslem
+races; they see the girls whom they wish to marry, and are allowed to
+converse with them before the bargain is concluded between the parents,
+one hundred sheep being the average price given for a young woman.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+On the 12th of January Major Burnaby left Kasala for Khiva.  His retinue
+consisted of three camels, loaded with a tent, forage, and provisions,
+his Tartar servant, who bestrode the largest camel, and a Kirghiz guide,
+who, like himself, was mounted on horseback.  His provisions included
+stchi, or cabbage soup, with large pieces of meat cut up in it, which,
+having been poured into two large iron stable buckets, had become hard
+frozen, so that it could be easily carried slung on a camel’s back.  He
+also took with him twenty pounds of cooked meat.  A hatchet, to chop up
+the meat or cut down brushwood for a fire, and a cooking lamp, with a
+supply of spirit, formed part of his equipment.
+
+Crossing the icy surface of the Syr-Daria, our traveller once more
+plunged into the solitude of the steppes, bravely facing the storm-wind
+and the ridges of snow which rolled before it, like the wave-crests of a
+frozen sea.  After a five hours’ march, he called a halt, that the camels
+might rest and be fed—for they will feed only in the daytime; wherefore
+it is wise to march them as much as possible during the night.  Their
+ordinary pace is about two miles and a third in an hour; and the best
+plan is to start at midnight, unload them for about two hours in the day
+to feed, and halt at sunset: thus securing sixteen hours’ work per day,
+and accomplishing a daily journey of at least thirty-seven miles.
+
+The kibitka was soon raised.  “Imagine,” says our traveller, “a bundle of
+sticks, each five feet three inches in length, and an inch in diameter;
+these are connected with each other by means of cross sticks, through the
+ends of which holes are bored, and leather thongs passed.  This allows
+plenty of room for all the sticks to open out freely; they then form a
+complete circle, about twelve feet in diameter, and five feet three in
+height.  They do not require any pressing into the ground, for the
+circular shape keeps them steady.  When this is done, a thick piece of
+cashmar, or cloth made of sheep’s wool, is suspended from their tops, and
+reaches to the ground.  This forms a shield through which the wind cannot
+pass.  Another bundle of sticks is then produced.  They are all fastened
+at one end to a small wooden cross, about six inches long by four broad;
+a man standing in the centre of the circle raises up this bundle in the
+air, the cross upwards, and hitches their other ends by means of little
+leather loops one by one on the different upright sticks which form the
+circular walls.  The result is, they all pull against each other, and are
+consequently self-supporting; another piece of cloth is passed round the
+outside of this scaffolding, leaving a piece uncovered at the top to
+allow the smoke to escape.  One stick is removed from the uprights which
+form the walls.  This constitutes a door, and the kibitka is complete.”
+
+While the Major and his followers were enjoying a meal of rice and
+mutton, and a glass of hot tea, three Khivans rode up to them—a merchant
+and his two servants.  The Khivan merchant was strongly built, and about
+five feet ten inches in height.  He wore a tall, conical black Astrakhan
+hat; an orange-coloured dressing-gown, thickly quilted, and girt about
+the loins with a long, red sash; and over all, enveloping him from hand
+to foot, a heavy sheepskin mantle.  His weapons consisted of a long,
+single-barrelled gun, and a short, richly mounted sabre.  An exchange of
+civilities followed, and then both parties retired to rest.  At about
+three o’clock in the morning, after some difficulty with his guide and
+camel-driver, the Major resumed his march, and for six hours the weary
+tramp and toil over the frost-bound plain continued.  At nine a halt was
+called, soup was made, and the party breakfasted.  By the time they were
+ready to set out again, the Khivan merchant’s caravan had come up, and
+all went on together.
+
+In advance rode the guide, singing a song in praise of mutton, and
+descriptive of his partiality for that succulent meat.  The Kirghiz poets
+make the sheep the special subject of their metrical eulogium; in truth,
+it fills in their poetry as conspicuous a place as the dove in the
+love-songs of the Latin bards.  Nor is to be wondered at.  The sheep
+represents the wealth, the property of the nomads.  During the summer and
+autumn they live upon their milk, and never think of killing them except
+to do honour to a guest by serving up before him a leg of mutton.  In the
+winter they are, of course, obliged very frequently to sacrifice the
+highly esteemed animal, but they live upon horseflesh and camel’s flesh
+as much as they can.  Their clothing is furnished by the sheep, being
+made entirely of sheep’s wool wrought into a coarse homespun.  Finally,
+if they want to buy a horse, a camel, or a wife, they pay in sheep; and a
+man’s worth in the world is reckoned by the numbers of his flock.
+
+On the following day, in the course of their march, the travellers came
+upon a Kirghiz encampment, the members of which were considerably excited
+by Major Burnaby’s announcement of his desire to purchase a whole sheep.
+The head of the principal kibitka, accompanied by a pretty Kirghiz girl,
+hastened to conduct him to the sheepfold, that he might select an animal,
+and the fattest of the flock became his for the small sum of four
+roubles.  The pretty young girl acted as butcher, receiving the skin and
+head in acknowledgment of her trouble, and the carcase was conveyed to
+the Major’s tent, where it was duly cooked, and devoured by his
+followers, who showed the most intense appreciation of his liberality.
+
+The march being resumed, Major Burnaby made for a place called
+Kalenderhana, instead of the Russian settlement of Petro-Alexandrovsky,
+having a shrewd suspicion that if he went thither, as the governor of
+Kasala had desired, he would, in some way or other, be prevented from
+reaching Khiva.  Pushing forward steadily, he left his Khivan merchant
+far behind, and strode across an undulating country in the direction of
+south-south-west.  Next he came into a salt district, barren and dreary;
+and afterwards reached the desert of Jana-Daria, the dried-up bed of a
+river, which is lost in the sand.  Still continuing his march, he came
+upon an unbounded ocean of sand, which, in the glaring sunshine,
+glittered like a sea of molten gold.  When this was traversed, the
+country grew pleasanter and more fertile.  Traces of game appeared.
+Sometimes a brown hare darted through the herbage; while in the distance
+herds of saigak, or antelopes, bounded with elastic tread across the
+sward.  A chain of mountains running east and west rose up before the
+wanderer’s path, and presented a picturesque spectacle, with their broken
+crests, sharp pinnacles, and masses of shining quartz.  Upon their rugged
+sides could be traced the furrows ploughed by the torrents which the
+spring lets loose and feeds with its abundant rains.  Through a dark and
+deep defile, about seven miles long, the little company penetrated the
+mountain barrier of the Kazan-Tor, and descended into a broad plain,
+overspread by a network of canals for irrigation, where a striking
+indication of the desultory but ceaseless hostilities waged between the
+Kirghiz and the Turcomans was presented in the rude fortifications, a
+high ditch and a wattled palisade, that encircled every little village.
+Kalenderhana was fortified in this manner.  Here Major Burnaby was warmly
+welcomed, and in great state escorted to his Kirghiz guide’s house, or
+kibitka, where a curious throng quickly surrounded him, and proceeded to
+examine, and comment unreservedly upon, every part of his attire.  Major
+Burnaby, if less outspoken, was not less curious, and carefully noted
+that the hostess was a good-looking woman, clad in a flowing white
+dressing-gown, with a whiter turban, folded many times around her small
+head.  The brother-in-law, a short hump-backed fellow, had a horse to
+sell, which Major Burnaby expressed his willingness to purchase, if he
+went to Khiva.  The guide had been ordered by the Russian governor of
+Kasala to conduct the Englishman to Petro-Alexandrovsky, and at first he
+was reluctant to run the risk of punishment; but the domestic pressure
+put upon him could not be resisted, and he agreed to go to Khiva, on
+condition that the Major completed his bargain with the horse-dealer.
+This was at last arranged, and a Tartar being sent forward with a letter
+to the Khan, requesting permission to visit his capital, the traveller
+resumed his journey, with Nazar proudly seated astride the new purchase.
+
+A brief ride carried them to the bank of the great Amu-Daria, the Oxus of
+Alexander the Great, which at this time was frozen over, presenting a
+solid highway of ice, half a mile in breadth.  There they met with some
+Khivan merchants—stalwart men, with dark complexions and large eyes,
+dressed in long red thickly wadded dressing-gowns and cone-shaped black
+lambskin hats.  A caravan of camels was crossing the river, and numerous
+arbas, or two-wheeled carts, each drawn by one horse, passed to and fro.
+Every man whom they encountered saluted them with the customary Arab
+greeting, “_Salam aaleikom_!” to which the response was always given,
+“_Aaleikom salam_!”  Soon after crossing the frozen river, Major Burnaby
+determined to halt for the night; and the guide began to look about for
+suitable quarters.  He pulled up at last by the side of a large,
+substantial-looking square building, built of clay.  A rap at the high
+wooden gates brought out an old man bent nearly double with age, who, on
+hearing that the travellers wanted a night’s hospitality, immediately
+called to his servants to take charge of the horses and camels, and
+across the square-walled courtyard ushered Major Burnaby into his house.
+The guest-room was spacious and lofty.  One end of it was covered with
+thick carpets; this was the place of honour for visitors.  In the centre
+a small square hearth was filled with charcoal embers, confined within a
+coping about three inches high.  On the coping stood a richly chased
+copper ewer—which might have been dug out of the ruins of the buried
+Pompeii, so classic was it in shape and appearance—with a long swan-like
+neck, constructed so as to assist the attendant in pouring water over the
+hands of his master’s guests before they began their repast.  On one side
+of the hearth was a square hole about three feet deep, filled with water,
+and reached by a couple of steps.  It was the place of ablution—something
+like the _impluvium_ in a Roman villa—and its sides were lined with
+ornamental tiles.  The windows were represented by two narrow slits, each
+about two feet long by six inches wide, while some open wooden
+trellis-work supplied the place of glass.
+
+After a brief absence the host reappeared, carrying in his hand a large
+earthenware dish full of rice and mutton, while his servants followed,
+with baskets of bread and hard-boiled eggs.  A pitcher of milk was also
+produced, and an enormous melon, weighing quite twenty-five pounds.  When
+the host and his visitor had completed their repast, they began to
+converse, the Khivan asking many questions about the countries which the
+Englishman had travelled.  To his inquiry whether there were camels in
+England, Major Burnaby replied with an amusing description of our
+railways and locomotives.
+
+“We have trains,” he said, “composed of arbas with iron wheels; they run
+upon long strips of iron, which are laid upon the ground for the wheels
+to roll over.”
+
+“Do the horses drag them very fast?” asked the Khivan.
+
+“We do not use live horses, but we make a horse of iron and fill him with
+water, and put fire under the water.  The water boils and turns into
+steam.  The steam is very powerful; it rushes out of the horse’s stomach,
+and turns large wheels which we give him instead of legs.  The wheels
+revolve over the iron lines which we have previously laid down, and the
+horse, which we call an engine, moves very quickly, dragging the arbas
+behind him; they are made of wood and iron, and have four wheels, not
+two, like your arbas in Khiva.  The pace is so great that if your Khan
+had an iron horse and a railway, he could go to Kasala in one day.”
+
+Next morning, after remunerating his host for his hospitality, Major
+Burnaby proceeded towards the goal of his daring enterprise.  He passed
+through the busy trading town of Oogentel, the first in Khivan territory
+on the road from Kalenderhana, and, as an Englishman, attracted the
+attention of the population.  This attention grew into wild excitement,
+when he found his way to a barber, intent upon getting rid of a beard of
+thirteen weeks’ growth.  In Oogentel the people shave their heads and not
+their chins; so that the traveller’s desire to have his chin shaved,
+instead of his head, begat an extraordinary sensation.  An increasing
+crowd gathered round the barber’s shop; moullahs (or priests),
+camel-drivers, and merchants jostling one another in their anxiety to
+obtain good points of view, like the London populace on the Lord Mayor’s
+Show day.  The thought occurred to Major Burnaby that this fanatical
+Moslem multitude might not be displeased if the barber cut an
+unbeliever’s throat, and it was not without a qualm he resigned himself
+to his hands.  No such catastrophe happened, however; but the barber,
+rendered nervous by the accumulated gaze of hundreds of eyes, let slip
+the thin strip of steel which did duty for a razor, and inflicted a
+slight wound on his customer’s cheek.  As no soap was used, and the
+substitute for a razor was innocent of “edge,” the operation was
+sufficiently disagreeable; and if the crowd were sorry, Major Burnaby was
+heartily rejoiced when it came to an end and he was free to continue his
+journey.
+
+At nine versts from Oogentel he and his party crossed the canal of the
+Shabbalat, and rode through a barren tract of sand until they arrived at
+a cemetery.  The tombs were made of dried clay, and fashioned into the
+strangest shapes; while over several of the larger floated banners or
+white flags, from poles ten or twelve feet high, indicating the last
+resting-place of some unknown and unchronicled hero.  _Multi fortes
+vixerunt ante Agamemnona_; but they have found no bard to record their
+deeds of prowess in immortal verse.  The Khivan warriors who fell in
+defence of their wild father-land must sleep for ever in nameless graves.
+
+At a village called Shamahoolhur, the traveller was received with true
+Khivan hospitality.  His entertainer was a fair-looking man, with a
+genial address and a hearty glance in his dark eyes, and appeared, from
+his surroundings, to be possessed of considerable wealth.  He was a
+sportsman, and kept several hawks; these birds being used in Khiva to fly
+at the saigahs and hares.  The bird strikes his victim between its eyes
+with a force which stuns or confuses it, so that it can make no
+resistance or attempt at escape when the hounds seize it.
+
+“Do you not hunt in this way in your country?” said the Khivan.
+
+“No; we hunt foxes, but only with hounds, and we ourselves follow on
+horseback.”
+
+“Are your horses like our own?” he asked.
+
+“No; they are most of them stouter built, have stronger shoulders, and
+are better animals; but though they can gallop faster than your horses
+for a short distance, I do not think they can last so long.”
+
+“Which do you like best, your horse or your wife?” inquired the man.
+
+“That depends upon the woman,” I replied; and the guide, here joining in
+the conversation, said that in England they did not buy or sell their
+wives, and that I was not a married man.
+
+“What! you have not got a wife?”
+
+“No; how could I travel if I had one?”
+
+“Why, you might leave her behind, and lock her up, as our merchants do
+with their wives when they go on a journey!”
+
+The next morning Major Burnaby encountered on the road the messenger he
+had despatched to Khiva.  He was accompanied by two Khivan noblemen, one
+of whom courteously saluted the English traveller, and explained that the
+Khan had sent him to escort him into the city, and bid him welcome.
+
+They rapidly approached the capital, and above its belt of trees could
+see its glittering crown of minarets and domes.  The landscape round
+about it was very pleasant to see, with its leafy groves, its walled
+orchards, and its avenues of mulberry trees; and recalled to the
+traveller’s mind the descriptions which figure in the pages of Oriental
+story-tellers.  A swift ride brought the party to the gates of Khiva.
+The city is built in an oblong form, and surrounded by two walls; of
+which the outer is not less than fifty feet in height, and constructed of
+baked bricks, with the upper part of dried clay.  This forms the first
+line of defence.  At a quarter of a mile within it rises the second wall,
+somewhat lower than the first, and protected by a dry ditch.  It
+immediately surrounds the tower.  The space between the two walls is used
+as a market, and high above the throng of vendors and buyers, and the
+press of cattle, horses, sheep, and camels, rises the cross-beam of the
+ghastly gallows, on which all people convicted of theft are executed.
+
+But as we have already spoken of this now famous city, we must confine
+ourselves in these pages to Major Burnaby’s individual adventures.
+Lodging was provided for him in the house of his escort, and directly on
+his entry he was served with refreshments.  Afterwards he was conducted
+to the bath.  In the evening a succession of visitors arrived; and it was
+late when the Major was at liberty to seek repose.
+
+
+
+II.
+
+
+In the afternoon of the following day two officials arrived from the
+Khan, with an escort of six men on horseback and four on foot, to conduct
+the English officer to the palace.  Mounting his horse, he rode forth,
+preceded by the six horsemen, and with an official on either side; the
+rear being brought up by Nazar, with some attendants on foot, who lashed
+out freely with their long whips when the staring crowd drew
+inconveniently near the _cortége_.  Fresh sightseers arrived every
+moment, for the name of England exercises a charm and a power in Khiva,
+where people are never weary of talking of the nation which holds in fee
+the gorgeous Indian empire, and is regarded as the rival and inevitable
+foe of the White Czar.  The very housetops were lined with curious eyes.
+Through the hum and din of voices the Englishman proceeded to the Khan’s
+residence; a large building, with pillars and domes reflecting the sun’s
+rays from their bright glazed tiles.  At the gates stood a guard of
+thirty or forty men with flashing scimitars.  The company passed into a
+small courtyard, from which a door opened into a low passage, and this
+led to some squalid corridors, terminating in a large square room, where
+was seated the treasurer, with three moullahs, busily engaged in counting
+up his money.  He made a sign to the attendants, and a large wooden box
+was at once pushed forward, and offered to Major Burnaby as a seat.  An
+interval of fifteen minutes, as the playwrights say, followed.  Then a
+messenger entered the room, and announced that the Khan was at liberty to
+receive the stranger.  Away through a long corridor, and across an inner
+courtyard, to the reception-hall—a large dome-shaped tent or kibitka.  A
+curtain was drawn aside, and the Englishman found himself face to face
+with the celebrated Khan.
+
+The portrait he draws of the Khivan potentate differs in some particulars
+from that drawn by Mr. MacGahan (see p. 283):—“He is taller than the
+average of his subjects, being quite five feet ten in height, and is
+strongly built.  His face is of a broad massive type; he has a low square
+forehead, large dark eyes, a short straight nose, with dilated nostrils,
+and a coal-black beard and moustache.  An enormous mouth, with irregular
+but white teeth, and a chin somewhat concealed by his beard, and not at
+all in character with the otherwise determined appearance of his face,
+must complete the picture.  He did not look more than eight and twenty,
+and had a pleasant genial smile, and a merry twinkle in his eye, very
+unusual amongst Orientals; in fact, a Spanish expression would describe
+him better than any English one I can think of.  He is _muy simpatico_. . . .
+The Khan was dressed in a similar sort of costume to that generally
+worn by his subjects, but it was made of much richer materials, and a
+jewelled sword was lying by his feet.  His head was covered by a tall
+black Astrakhan hat, of a sugar-loaf shape.”
+
+Tea having been served in a small porcelain cup, the Khan entered into
+conversation with his visitor, through the medium of Nazar, a Kirghiz
+interpreter, and a moullah.  At first it turned upon the relations
+existing between England and Russia, the Crimean War, the Indian
+Government, and other branches of _la haute politique_; the Khan
+displaying a quick and clear intelligence.  At last he said—
+
+“You do not have a Khan at the head of affairs?”
+
+“No,” replied Burnaby, “a Queen; and her Majesty is advised as to her
+policy by her ministers, who for the time being are supposed to represent
+the opinion of the country.”
+
+“And does that opinion change?”
+
+“Very frequently; and since your country was conquered we have had a
+fresh Government, whose policy is diametrically opposite to that held by
+the previous one; and in a few years’ time we shall have another change,
+for in our country, as the people advance in knowledge and wealth, they
+require fresh laws and privileges.  The result of this is, they choose a
+different set of people to represent them;” and the Major entered on a
+brief exposition of constitutional principles, which to the Khan must
+surely have been unintelligible.
+
+“Can your Queen have a subject’s head cut off?”
+
+“No, not without a trial before our judges.”
+
+“Then she never has their throats cut?” [the Khivan punishment for
+murder].
+
+“No.”
+
+“Hindostan is a very wonderful country,” continued the Khan; “the envoy I
+sent there a few years ago {359} has told me of your railroads and
+telegraphs; but the Russians have railroads, too.”
+
+“Yes,” replied Burnaby; “we lent them money, and our engineers have
+helped to make them.”
+
+“Do the Russians pay you for this?” he inquired.
+
+“Yes; so far they have behaved very honourably.”
+
+“Are there not Jews in your country like some of the Jews at Bokhara?”
+
+“One of the richest men in England is a Jew.”
+
+“The Russians do not take away the money from the Jews?”
+
+“No.”
+
+Here the Khan said a few words to his treasurer, and then remarked, in
+allusion to the tribute he pays to Russia annually:—“Why do they take
+money from me, then?  The Russians love money very much.”  As he said
+this, he shook his head sorrowfully at the treasurer; and the latter,
+assuming a dolorous expression, poured out with a pitiful accent the
+monosyllable “Hum!” which, in Khivan language, seems to convey as
+pregnant a meaning as Lord Burleigh’s shake of the head in “The Critic.”
+
+With a low bow from the Khan, the interview terminated.
+
+On the following day Major Burnaby visited the Khan’s gardens, which lie
+about three-quarters of a mile from the town.  They are five in number,
+surrounded by high walls of sun-dried clay, and each from four to five
+acres in extent.  Entering one of them, our traveller discovered that it
+was neatly laid out and trimly kept.  The fruit trees, arranged in long
+avenues, were carefully cut and pruned; apple, pear, and cherry trees
+abounded.  In the spring melons are grown on a large scale; and in the
+summer trellis-work arbours of vines, loaded with grapes, afford a
+delightful shelter from the sun’s fierce glare.  In a small summer-palace
+here, the Khan holds his court in June and July, and on a raised stone
+daïs outside sits to administer justice.
+
+Returning to Khiva, Burnaby visited the prison and the principal
+school—the invariable accompaniments of civilization, however imperfect.
+But may we not hope that, some day, the school will destroy the gaol, and
+relieve civilization from the reproach of barbarism that still attaches
+to it?  Meanwhile, Nazar was preparing for the Major’s contemplated
+expedition to Bokhara, his tour to Merv and Meshed, and his journey from
+Persia into India, and so back to England.  It was the 27th of January,
+and he had determined to spend only one more day in Khiva.  But his plans
+were upset by an unexpected incident.  On the morning of the 28th, just
+after his return from a ride through the market, he was “interviewed” by
+two strangers, who presented him with a letter from the commandant of
+Petro-Alexandrovsky, the Russian fort he had so determinedly avoided.  It
+was to the effect that a telegram, which had been forwarded _viâ_
+Tashkent, awaited him at the fort, whither he must be pleased to repair
+to receive it.  How or why any person should consider him of importance
+enough to despatch a telegram so many thousands of miles, and should go
+to the expense a sending it from Tashkent where the telegraph ends, to
+Khiva, a distance of nine hundred miles, by couriers with relays of
+horses, Burnaby could not understand.  But there was no help for it.  He
+must hasten to Petro-Alexandrovsky, where he did not want to go, and
+abandon his trip to Bokhara and Merv, where he very much wished to go.
+So he paid a visit to the bazar, and afterwards took leave of the Khan,
+who bestowed upon him the honourable gift of a khalat, or dressing-gown,
+and on the 29th bade adieu to Khiva.
+
+He reached Petro-Alexandrovsky on the second day, and found that the
+important telegram which had travelled so far was one from the Duke of
+Cambridge, Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, requiring his immediate
+return to European Russia.  He found also that the Russian Government had
+given orders for his return by the shortest route to Kasala.  All hope of
+further exploration and adventure in Central Asia had to be abandoned.
+Before leaving Petro-Alexandrovsky, the disappointed traveller had an
+opportunity of accompanying a coursing party, and sharing in a day’s
+novel sport.  There were horses and men of all kinds and shapes,
+Russians, Bokharans, Kirghiz, short-legged men on giant steeds, and
+long-legged men on short-legged horses.  A short colonel, said to be well
+versed in the pastime, acted as master of the hunt.  Behind him were led
+seven or eight greyhounds in couples; while a stalwart Khivan bore on his
+elbow a hooded falcon, graceful enough to have figured in Mr. Tennyson’s
+poetical little drama.  Amid a storm of cries and shouts and yells, the
+hunters rode forward at a rattling pace, crossing a flat open country,
+intersected by a ditch or two; until, after an eight miles’ run, they
+arrived at the cover, a narrow tract of bush and bramble-covered ground
+stretching down to the bank of the frozen Oxus.  Forming in a line, at a
+distance of twenty yards from one another, the horsemen rode through bush
+and bramble.  A sharp yell from a Kirghiz, and after a startled hare,
+which had left its covert, dashed Russians, Bokharans, Englishman, and
+hounds.  On they went, down the slippery river bank, across the shining
+ice, towards a dense bit of copse, where it looked as if poor puss might
+find an asylum from her pursuers.  But at this moment the falcon was
+launched into the air.  A swift swooping flight, and whir of wings, and
+in a second it was perched on its victim’s back, while around it gathered
+the well-trained dogs, with open mouths and lolling tongues, not daring
+to approach the quarry.  The master galloped up, seized the prize, and in
+a few minutes more the hunt was resumed; nor did the horsemen turn their
+faces homeward until five hares had rewarded their chivalrous efforts.
+
+In company with two Russian officers, and an escort of ten Cossacks,
+Major Burnaby, after a pleasant sojourn at Petro-Alexandrovsky, set out
+on his return to Kasala.  As the weather was warmer, and the snow had
+begun to melt, the three officers travelled in a tarantass, drawn by six
+Kirghiz horses; the said tarantass closely resembling a hansom cab which,
+after its wheels have been removed, has been fastened in a brewer’s dray.
+It has no springs, and it runs upon small but solid wooden wheels.  They
+had gone but a few miles before they came again into a land of snow; the
+horses had to be taken out, and a couple of camels substituted.  At night
+they bivouacked, resuming their journey before daybreak.  It was a
+picturesque sight:—“First, the Cossacks, the barrels of their carbines
+gleaming in the moonlight, the vashlik of a conical shape surmounting
+each man’s low cap, and giving a ghastly appearance to the riders.  Their
+distorted shadows were reflected on the snow beneath, and appeared like a
+detachment of gigantic phantoms pursuing our little force.  Then the
+tarantass, drawn by two large camels, which slowly ploughed their way
+through the heavy track, the driver nodding on his box but half awake,
+the two officers in the arms of Morpheus inside, and the heavy woodwork
+creaking at each stride of the enormous quadrupeds.  In the wake of this
+vehicle strode the baggage camels.  The officers’ servants were fast
+asleep on the backs of their animals, one man lying with his face to the
+tail, and snoring hard in spite of the continued movement; another fellow
+lay stretched across his saddle, apparently a good deal the worse for
+drink.  He shouted out at intervals the strains of a Bacchanalian ditty.
+Nazar, who was always hungry, could be seen walking in the rear.  He had
+kept back a bone from the evening meal, and was gnawing it like a dog,
+his strong jaws snapping as they closed on the fibrous mutton.  I
+generally remained by our bivouac fire an hour or so after the rest of
+the party had marched, and seated by the side of the glowing embers,
+watched the caravan as it vanished slowly in the distance.”
+
+At mid-day, on the 12th of February, Burnaby and his companions galloped
+across the frozen highway of the Syr-Daria, and into the streets of
+Kasala, having ridden three hundred and seventy one miles in exactly nine
+days and two hours.  He remained at Kasala for a few days, endeavouring
+to obtain permission to return to European Russia _viâ_ Western Siberia;
+but his application failed, and he was informed that the authorization he
+had received to travel in Russian Asia had been cancelled.  There was
+nothing to be done, therefore, but to complete the necessary preparations
+for his journey to Orenburg.  A sleigh was hired, and amid a chorus of
+farewells from his Russian acquaintances, who showed themselves more
+friendly than their Government, he started on his homeward route, having
+undergone some novel experiences, and seen Khiva, but gathered no
+information of any value to geographers or men of science.  In fact, the
+chief interest attaching to Major Burnaby’s expedition is personal: it
+shows that he was a man of much energy, resolution, and perseverance, and
+he may fairly be complimented on the good use he made of these qualities
+in his bold but unsuccessful Ride to Khiva. {364}
+
+
+
+
+SIR SAMUEL BAKER,
+AND THE SOURCES OF THE NILE.
+
+
+I.
+
+
+OF late years the Lake Regions of Central Africa have offered a fertile
+and attractive field to the explorer.  The interest of the public in
+African discovery, which had for some time been dormant, was revived in
+1849, by the achievements of Dr. Livingstone, who, starting from the
+south, crossed the tropic of Capricorn, and penetrated to the shores of
+Lake Ngami.  In 1853 to 1856 the same great traveller traced the course
+of the river Leeambye or Zambési, and traversed the entire breadth of the
+“black continent” from Angola on the west coast to Zanzibar on the east.
+In 1865 he resumed his labours, striking into the very heart of Africa,
+with the view of tracing out the Sources of the Nile, and entering into a
+fertile country, the resources of which he found to be capable of immense
+development.  For the first two or three years of his absence his letters
+and despatches reached England with some degree of regularity, but at
+length a veil of silence fell across his path, and it began to be feared
+that he, like other explorers, had fallen a victim to his enthusiasm.  An
+expedition in search of the missing traveller was equipped by Mr. Gordon
+Bennett, proprietor of the _New York Herald_, in 1871, and placed in
+charge of Mr. Henry M. Stanley, who had the good fortune to find
+Livingstone at Ujiji, near Unyanyembé, on the 10th of November.  He
+remained with him until the 14th of March, 1872, when he returned to
+England with his diary and other documents.  Dr. Livingstone at this time
+reported that, in his belief, the Nile springs up about six hundred miles
+to the south of the southernmost point of Lake Victoria Nyanza.  In
+November, 1872, a relief or auxiliary expedition, under Lieutenant V.
+Lovett Cameron, started from Zanzibar; but in October, 1873, while at
+Unyanyembé, its leader received the intelligence of Livingstone’s death,
+which had taken place at Ujiji, and soon afterwards the corpse arrived in
+charge of his faithful followers.  Cameron then took up the work of
+exploration, and in spite of immense difficulties, great mental and
+physical suffering, and obstacles of every kind, he made his way to Lake
+Tanganyika, thence to Nyangwé, and after identifying the Lualaba with the
+Kongo, struck to the southward, and passing through regions hitherto
+unexplored, struck the west coast at Benguela.  As a result of his
+observations, Lieutenant Cameron thus sketches the river system of
+Africa:—
+
+“The basin of the Nile is probably bounded on the south-west by the
+watershed reached by Dr. Schweinfurth; on the south of the Albert Nyanza,
+by the high lands between that lake and the Tanganyika, whence the
+watershed pursues a tortuous course to Unyanyembé (where, I believe, the
+basins of the Nile, Kongo, and Lufiji approach each other), and then
+follows a wave of high land running east till it turns up northwards
+along the landward slopes of the mountains dividing the littoral from the
+interior.  Passing by Mounts Kilima Njaro and Kenia, it extends to the
+mountains of Abyssinia, where the sources of the Blue Nile were
+discovered by Bruce [1770], and so on to the parched plains bordering the
+Red Sea, where no rains ever fall.  The western boundary of the Nile
+basin is, of course, the eastern portion of the desert.
+
+“The basins of the Niger and the Ogowai cannot yet be defined with any
+degree of exactitude, and the northern boundary of the basin of the Kongo
+has still to be traced.
+
+“The Zambési drains that portion of the continent south of the Kongo
+system, and north of the Kalahari desert and the Limpopo, the northern
+boundary of the Transvaal Republic; some of its affluents reaching to
+within two hundred and fifty miles of the west coast.
+
+“The mighty Kongo, king of all the African rivers, and second only to the
+Amazon (and perhaps to the Yang-tse-Kiang) in the volume of its waters,
+occupies a belt of the continent lying on both sides of the equator, but
+most probably the larger area belongs to the southern hemisphere.  Many
+of its affluents fork into those of the Zambési on a level tableland,
+where the watershed is so tortuous that it is hard to trace it, and
+where, during the rainy season, floods extend right across between the
+head-waters of the two streams.
+
+“The Kelli, discovered by Dr. Schweinfurth, may possibly prove to be the
+Lowa, reported to me as a large affluent of the Lualaba [or Kongo] to the
+west of Nyangwé; or, if not an affluent of the Lualaba, it most probably
+flows either to the Ogowai or the Tchadda, an affluent of the Niger.”
+
+In 1874 another expedition of discovery was fitted out, at the joint
+expense of the proprietors of the London _Daily Telegraph_ and the _New
+York Herald_, and Mr. H. M. Stanley was appointed to the command.  In
+1875 he reached Lake Victoria Nyanza, and through the good offices of
+Mtesa, King of Uganda, obtained a flotilla of canoes, with which he
+circumnavigated the lake.  It proved to be the largest basin of fresh
+water in the world, occupying the immense area of sixty thousand square
+miles.  Mr. Stanley next pushed on to Lake Albert Nyanza; afterwards
+circumnavigated the northern half of Lake Tanganyika; struck westward to
+the Lualaba at Nyangwé (1876), and thence descended the Lualaba as far as
+the Isangila Falls (June, 1877), whence he crossed the country to
+Kalinda, on the west coast.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+But we must now return to 1857, when Captains Burton and Speke, under the
+auspices of the Royal Geographical Society of London, started from
+Zanzibar to explore the inland lacustrine region; and discovered, to the
+south of the equator, Lake Tanganyika, which they partially explored in a
+couple of canoes.  Captain Burton being taken ill, Speke pushed on to the
+north alone, and discovered the immense basin now known as the Victoria
+Nyanza, which he immediately conceived to be the great reservoir and
+head-waters of the Nile.  To ascertain the truth of this supposition, he
+started again from the east coast in October, 1860, accompanied by
+Captain Grant; crossed the great equatorial table-land of the interior;
+reached the Victoria Nyanza; skirted its shores until they discovered its
+main outlet, which proved to be the Nile, and then traced the course of
+the famous river to Gondokoro, whence, by way of Assouan, Thebes, and
+Cairo, they proceeded to Alexandria.  Their well-directed energy had to a
+great extent solved the geographical problem of ages, and dispelled the
+cloud-land in which the Nile springs had so long been hidden:—
+
+    “The mystery of old Nile was solved; brave men
+       Had through the lion-haunted inland past,
+    Dared all the perils of desert, gorge, and glen,
+       Found the far Source at last.”
+
+With heroic patience they had accomplished on foot their journey of
+thirteen hundred miles, and shown that the parent stream of the Nile,
+even in its earliest course a considerable river, was fed by the vast
+reservoir of the “Victorian Sea.”  What remained to be discovered was the
+feeders of this vast basin, and which among them was indeed the primary
+source of the Nile.  Some fresher light was thrown on the subject by Sir
+Samuel Baker, {369} who, with his wife, underwent some remarkable
+experiences in Central Africa, and earned a right to be included among
+our Heroes of Travel.  Let us now follow him “through scorching deserts
+and thirsty sands; through swamp and jungle and interminable morass;
+through difficulties, fatigues, and sickness,” until we stand with him on
+that high cliff where the great prize burst upon his view, and he saw
+before him one of the chief sources of the Nile in the Luta N’zige, or
+Albert Lake.
+
+                                * * * * *
+
+Accompanied by his courageous and devoted wife, who insisted upon sharing
+his labours and his perils, he sailed up the Nile from Cairo on the 15th
+of April, 1861.  In twenty-six days they arrived at Kousko, whence they
+crossed the Nubian desert, so as to cut off the western bend of the
+river, touching it again at Aboù Hamed.  Eight days more and they reached
+Berber, where they remained until the 11th of June.  A year was spent in
+exploring the Abyssinian frontier and the Abyssinian tributaries of the
+Nile; and the travellers made their appearance at Khartûm on the 11th of
+June, 1862.  Khartûm is a densely populated, unclean, and pestiferous
+town, in lat. 15° 29′, at the junction point of the White and Blue Nile;
+it is the capital of the Soudan, and the seat of a governor-general.
+Twenty years ago it was also the centre of a cruel and desolating
+slave-trade, but the exertions of Sir Samuel Baker and Colonel Gordon
+have done much to lessen its proportions.
+
+Having engaged a Nile boat, or dahabeeyah, and two larger noggens or
+sailing barges, with an escort of forty armed men, and forty sailors, and
+accumulated four months’ supplies of provisions, Sir Samuel set sail from
+Khartûm on the 18th of December, 1862.  On Christmas Day he was slowly
+ascending the river, the banks of which were fringed with immense
+forests.  These trees are the soont (_Acacia Arabica_), which produce an
+excellent tannin; the fruit is used for that purpose, and yields a rich
+brown dye.  The straight smooth trunks are thirty-five feet high, and
+about eighteen inches in diameter.  When in full foliage they look well
+from a distance, but on a closer approach the forest is seen to be a
+desolate swamp, completely overflowed; “a mass of fallen dead trees
+protruding from the stagnant waters, a solitary crane perched here and
+there upon the rotten boughs; floating water-plants massed together, and
+forming green swimming islands, hitched generally among the sunken trunks
+and branches; sometimes slowly descending with the sluggish stream,
+bearing, spectre-like, storks thus voyaging on nature’s rafts to freer
+lands unknown.”  This kind of scenery—depressing enough, no
+doubt—continues for a considerable distance, and so long as it lasts
+deprives the Nile of that romance with which it has been invested by the
+imagination of poets.  There is neither beauty nor interest in it; and
+one is surprised to see the low flat banks studded with populous
+villages.  The flooded plains, however, afford abundant pasture for the
+herds of the Shillooks, who in their choice of a locality are governed by
+considerations of utility, and not by the principles of æstheticism.
+
+The junction of the Sobat takes place in lat. 9° 21′.  This tributary, at
+the point of confluence, is a hundred and twenty yards broad, and flows
+at the rate of two miles and a half per hour.  Still the Nile valley
+presents the same characteristics—broad tracts of marsh and grasses;
+dull, monotonous levels, unrelieved by any vividness of colour.  After
+receiving the Bahr-el-Ghazal, the White Nile turns abruptly to the
+south-east, and winds upward through a flat country, which, in the rainy
+season, is resolved into a system of extensive lakes.  Its highway is
+half choked with floating vegetation, which nurtures innumerable clouds
+of mosquitoes.  The people on its banks belong to the Nuehr tribe; the
+women pierce the upper lip, and wear an ornament about four inches long,
+of beads upon a iron wire, which projects like the horn of a rhinoceros.
+The men are both tall and robust, and armed with lances.  They carry
+pipes that will hold nearly a quarter of a pound of tobacco; when the
+supply of “the weed” fails, they substitute charcoal.
+
+The monotony of the voyage was broken one day by the appearance of a
+hippopotamus close to Sir Samuel’s boat.  He was about half grown, and in
+an instant a score of men jumped into the water to seize him.  The
+captain caught him by the hind-leg; and then the crowd rushed in, and,
+with ropes thrown from the vessel, slipped nooses over his head.  A grand
+struggle ensued, but as it seemed likely to result in a victory for the
+hippopotamus, Sir Samuel slew him with a rifle ball.  The Arab seamen,
+who have an extraordinary appetite, like the old school-men, for the most
+trivial arguments, observing that the animal had been “bullied” and
+scarred by some other and stronger hippopotamus, plunged into a fierce
+contention on the point whether he had been misused by his father or his
+mother.  As they could not agree, they referred the question to the
+arbitration of Sir Samuel, who pacified both parties by the felicitous
+suggestion that perhaps it was his uncle!  They set to work at once with
+willing vigour to cut up the ill-treated hippopotamus, which proved to be
+as fat as butter, and made most excellent soup.
+
+Continuing their “up-river” course, the voyagers came to the country of
+the Kegtah tribe.  Such savages as they saw were equally uncivilized and
+emaciated.  The young women wore no clothing, except a small piece of
+dressed hide across the shoulders; the men, instead of the hide, assumed
+a leopard-skin.  There was greater appearance of intelligence in the
+termites, or white ant, than in these poor half-starved wretches.  The
+white-ant hills here rise like castle-towers above the water of the
+marshes.  Their inmates build them ten feet high in the dry season, and
+when the rains come, live high and dry in the upper stories.  Humanity,
+meanwhile, sickens in the stagnant swamp, and lingers out a miserable
+existence.  The Bohr and Aliab tribes are a degree higher in the scale of
+civilization, but the Shir go beyond them.  They are armed with well-made
+ebony clubs, two lances, a bow and arrows; they carry upon their backs a
+neatly made miniature stool, along with an immense pipe.  The females are
+not absolutely naked; they wear small lappets of tanned leather as broad
+as the hand; at the back of the belt which supports this apron is a tail,
+depending to the lower portions of the thighs—a tail of finely cut strips
+of leather, which has probably given rise to the Arab report that a tribe
+in Central Africa had tails like horses.  The huts here, and all along
+the Nile, are circular, with entrances so low that the inmates creep in
+and out on hands and knees.  The men decorate their heads with tufts of
+cock’s feathers; their favourite attitude, when standing, is on one leg,
+while leaning on a spear, the uplifted leg reposing on the inside of the
+other knee.
+
+All the White Nile tribes are quick to collect their harvest of the
+lotus, or water-lily, seed, which they grind into flour, and make into a
+kind of porridge.  The seed-pod of the white lotus resembles an unblown
+artichoke, and contains a number of light red grains about the size of
+the mustard-seed, but in shape like those of the poppy, and like them in
+flavour.  The ripe pods are strung upon reeds about four feet long,
+formed into large bundles, and carried from the river to the villages, to
+be dried in the sun, and stored away until wanted.
+
+The 1st of February was a “white day” in the voyagers’ calendar, for on
+that day the scenery of the river underwent a welcome improvement.  The
+marshes gave place to dry ground; the well-wooded banks rose four feet
+above the water level; the thickly populated country bloomed like an
+orchard.  At Gondokoro the picture was fresh and pleasant, with a distant
+view of high mountains, and neat villages nestling under the shade of
+evergreen trees.  Gondokoro is not a town, but merely a station of the
+ivory traders, and for ten months of the year is almost a solitude.  Its
+climate is hot and unhealthy.  Sir Samuel Baker did not meet with a
+friendly reception.  The men who profited by the slave-trade regarded him
+with suspicion; they believed he had come to watch their doings, and
+report them to the world.  Their hostility, however, did not disturb his
+composure, and he amused himself in riding about the neighbourhood, and
+studying the place and its inhabitants.  He admired the exquisite
+cleanliness of the native dwellings, which almost rose to the standard of
+the famous village of Brock.  Each house was enclosed by a hedge of the
+impenetrable euphorbia, and the area within was neatly plastered with a
+cement of ashes, cow-dung, and sand.  Upon this well-kept surface stood
+one or more huts, surrounded by granaries of neat wicker-work, thatched,
+resting upon raised platforms.  The huts are built with projecting roofs
+for the sake of shade, and the entrance is not more than two feet high.
+On the death of a member of the family, he is buried in the yard, his
+resting-place being indicated by a pole crowned by a bunch of cock’s
+feathers, and ornamented with a few ox-horns and skulls.  Each man
+carries with him, wherever he goes, his weapons, pipe, and stool, the
+whole (except the stool) being held between his legs when he is standing.
+The Gondokoro natives belong to the Bari tribe: the men are well grown;
+the women are not prepossessing, with good features, and no sign of negro
+blood, except the woolly hair.  They tattoo themselves on stomach, sides,
+and back, and anoint their persons with a peculiar red clay, abounding in
+oxide of iron.  Their principal weapon is the bow and arrow; the arrow
+they steep in the juice of euphorbia and other poisonous plants.
+
+At the secret instigation of the slave-traders, Sir Samuel Baker’s escort
+broke out into open mutiny, declaring that they had not meat enough, and
+demanding leave to carry off the oxen of the natives.  The ringleader, an
+Arab, was so violent that Sir Samuel ordered him to receive twenty-five
+lashes.  The vakeel, Saati, advanced to seize him, when many of the men
+rushed to his rescue; and Sir Samuel was compelled to interfere.  The
+Arab then rushed at his employer; but Sir Samuel knocked him back into
+the middle of the crowd, caught him by the throat, and called to the
+vakeel for a rope to bind him; but in an instant all the mutineers sprang
+forward to his assistance.  How the affair would have ended seems
+doubtful; but as the fray took place within ten yards of the boat, Lady
+Baker, who was ill with fever in the cabin, witnessed the whole of it,
+and seeing her husband surrounded, rushed out, forced her way into the
+middle of the crowd, and called on some of the least mutinous to assist.
+For a moment the crowd wavered, and Sir Samuel seized the opportunity to
+shout to the drummer-boy to beat the drum.  Immediately, the drum beat,
+and in his loudest tones Sir Samuel ordered the men to “fall in.”  The
+instinct of discipline prevailed: two-thirds of the men fell in, and
+formed in line, while the others retreated with the ringleader, declaring
+he was badly hurt.  Then Sir Samuel insisted upon their all forming in
+line, and upon the ringleader being brought forward.  At this critical
+moment, Lady Baker, with true feminine tact, implored her husband to
+forgive the man if he kissed his hand and begged for pardon.  The men
+were completely conquered by this generosity, and called on their
+ringleader to apologize, and that all would be right.  Thus the affair
+ended; but Sir Samuel rightly foresaw in it the promise of future
+troubles.  According to the custom of the White Nile, the men had five
+months’ wages in advance; he had therefore no control over them; yet he
+and his wife were about to penetrate into the midst of a probably hostile
+native population, with an escort on whose faithfulness no reliance could
+be placed.
+
+On the 15th of February, Captains Speke and Grant arrived at Gondokoro,
+from the Victoria Nyanza, and the meeting between them and Sir Samuel was
+necessarily very cordial.  The information they communicated had a
+material effect upon his plans.  He found that they had been unable to
+complete the actual exploration of the Nile—that a most important portion
+remained to be determined.  It appears that in lat. 2° 17′ N. they had
+crossed the Nile, after tracking it from the Victoria Lake; that the
+river then turned suddenly to the west, and that they did not touch it
+again until they arrived in lat. 3° 32′ N., when it was then flowing from
+the west-south-west.  The natives, and Kamrasi, King of Unyoro, had
+assured them that the Nile from the Victoria Nyanza, which they had
+crossed in lat. 2° 17′ N., flowed westward for several days’ journey, and
+at length fell into a large lake called the Luta N’zige (“Dead Locust”);
+that this lake came from the south, and that the Nile, on entering its
+northern extremity, almost immediately made its exit, and as a navigable
+river continued its course to the north through the Koshi and Madi
+countries.  Circumstances prevented Speke and Grant from pushing their
+explorations as far as the Luta N’zige; and the question that remained to
+be answered was, What was the exact position of this lake in the basin of
+the Nile? what was its relation to the great river?
+
+This question Sir Samuel Baker resolved upon settling.  Speke and Grant
+sailed from Gondokoro, homeward bound, on the 26th, and he immediately
+began to prepare for his journey to the Luta N’zige.  His preparations
+were delayed, however, by the mutinous conduct of his escort, and the
+obstacles thrown in his path by the nefarious ivory-traders and
+slave-hunters; and it was the 26th of March before he was able to effect
+a start.  Then, with his escort reduced in number to fifteen men, with
+two faithful servants, Richard and the boy Saat, and a heavily loaded
+caravan of camels and donkeys, with Lady Baker mounted on a good strong
+Abyssinian hunter, Tétel (“Hartebeest”), and Sir Samuel himself on his
+horse Filfil (“Pepper”), and the British flag waving proudly above the
+_cortége_, they left Gondokoro, and began their march into Central
+Africa.
+
+The country was park-like, but dried up by the hot weather.  The soil was
+sandy, but firm, and numerous evergreen trees enlivened the landscape,
+which was further animated by clusters of villages, each surrounded by a
+fence of euphorbia.  It varied greatly in character as the travellers
+advanced; sometimes presenting a magnificent forest, sometimes a dense
+jungle, sometimes a labyrinth of ravines, through which the caravan made
+its way with difficulty.  The view of the valley of Tollogo was
+exceedingly picturesque.  An abrupt granite wall rose on the east side to
+a height of about a thousand feet; from this perpendicular cliff huge
+blocks had fallen, strewing the bottom with a confused mass of fragments,
+among which the natives had built their village.  A slow stream wound its
+way in the hollow, which was nowhere more than half a mile wide, in the
+shade of numerous fig trees.  At Ellyria Sir Samuel narrowly escaped a
+hostile encounter with an ivory-trader’s party, but through the firmness
+and skilfulness of himself and his wife, not only was it avoided, but
+friendly relations were established with its leader.  No supplies,
+however, could be procured from the natives, whose character Sir Samuel
+paints in the darkest colours.  Of the village of Wakkala he gives a
+pleasant description.  The soil was very rich, and the ground being
+protected from the burning sun by the large trees, there was a wealth of
+luscious grass; while the good pasturage, the extensive forest, and a
+plentiful supply of water insured a not less plentiful supply of wild
+animals—antelopes in numerous varieties, rhinoceros, buffaloes,
+elephants, and giraffes.  The next town was Latomé, where the traveller’s
+presence of mind and courage were tested by another mutiny; but again he
+succeeded in defeating the intentions of the insurgents, and reducing
+them to obedience.
+
+Along the foot of the Lafut mountains, which attain a general elevation
+of six to seven thousand feet, the travellers pursued their way.
+Desertions reduced their escort by five men, but they abated not their
+high hopes or spirit of daring enterprise.  They duly arrived at
+Tarangdlé, famous for its fine trees—the chief settlement of the
+Latookas, a fine, frank, and warlike race, who resemble the Irish in
+their readiness to join either in a feast or a fray.  The town contains
+three thousand houses, each of which, as well as the town itself, is
+protected by an iron-wood palisade.  The cattle are kept in large kraals,
+and at various points high platforms are erected, where sentinels keep
+watch and ward both day and night.  The cattle are the wealth of the
+country, and so rich are the Latookas in them, that ten or twelve
+thousand head are housed in every large town.  The natives are constantly
+on guard to prevent the depredations of neighbouring tribes.
+
+“The houses of the Latookas,” says Sir Samuel, “are generally
+bell-shaped, while others are precisely like huge candle-extinguishers,
+about twenty-five feet high.  The roofs are neatly thatched, at an angle
+of about 75°, resting upon a circular wall about four feet high; thus the
+roof forms a cap descending to within two feet and a half of the ground.
+The doorway is only two feet and two inches high, thus an entrance must
+be effected upon all-fours.  The interior is remarkably clean, but dark,
+as the architects have no idea of windows.  It is a curious fact that the
+circular form of hut is the only style of architecture adopted among all
+the tribes of Central Africa, and also among the Arabs of Upper Egypt;
+and that, although these differ more or less in the form of the roof, no
+tribe has ever yet sufficiently advanced to construct a window.  The town
+of Tarangdlé is arranged with several entrances, in the shape of low
+archways through the palisades; these are closed at night by large
+branches of the hooked thorn of the kittur bush (a species of mimosa).
+The main street is broad, but all others are studiously arranged to admit
+of only one cow, in single file, between high stockades; thus, in the
+event of an attack, these narrow passages could be easily defended, and
+it would be impossible to drive off their vast herds of cattle unless by
+the main street.  The large cattle kraals are accordingly arranged in
+various quarters in connection with the great road, and the entrance of
+each kraal is a small archway in the strong iron-wood fence, sufficiently
+wide to admit one ox at a time.  Suspended from the arch is a bell,
+formed of the shell of the Oolape palm-nut, against which every animal
+must strike either its horns or back, on entrance.  Every tinkle of the
+bell announces the passage of an ox into the kraal, and they are thus
+counted every evening when brought home from pasture.”
+
+While at Latooka Sir Samuel was enabled to gratify his passion for the
+chase, and his skill and prowess were rewarded by the capture of an
+elephant.  There is a great difference, or rather, there are three great
+differences between the African and the Asiatic elephant: the back of the
+former is concave, that of the latter convex; the former has an enormous
+ear, the latter a comparatively small one; the head of the former has a
+convex front, while that of the latter exposes a flat surface a little
+above the trunk.  The African animal is much larger than the Asiatic; and
+while the latter seeks the forest depths during the day, and does not
+wander forth upon the plains till towards evening, the former remains all
+day in the vast open prairies, where the thick grass springs to a height
+of twelve feet.  The African elephant feeds chiefly on the foliage of
+trees; the Asiatic is an extensive grass feeder.
+
+The natives hunt the elephant for the sake of the flesh and the tusks.
+Sometimes he is caught in pitfalls; at other times, the grass of the
+prairies is fired, and the elephants gradually driven back into a
+confined area, where they are surrounded and speared to death.  Or,
+should a number of elephants be in the neighbourhood of a village, about
+a hundred men, armed with heavy-bladed lances, post themselves in as many
+trees, while a multitude of natives gradually drive the animals towards
+this ambush, when such as pass near enough are speared between the
+shoulders.  The Bagara Arabs are famous elephant hunters.  Armed with
+bamboo lances, tipped with a sharp iron head, two of them, mounted on
+good horses, sally forth to secure a prize.  On coming in sight of a
+herd, they single out the finest tusker and separate him from the others.
+One man then leads the charge, and the animal, hotly pursued, turns
+against the horse, which the rider so manages as to draw the elephant
+further and further after him, while carefully keeping a safe distance
+ahead.  The other man, meanwhile, is at the elephant’s heels, and
+suddenly dismounting, while at full gallop, plunges his spear into its
+body about two feet below the junction of the tail, driving it with all
+his strength into the abdomen, and then withdrawing it.  If successful in
+his thrust, he remounts his horse and escapes, or takes to flight on
+foot, pursued by the elephant, until the attention of the latter is drawn
+to his first assailant, who in his turn rides up, and inflicts a wound.
+Sometimes the first wound proves fatal; sometimes the process is repeated
+twice or thrice before the animal succumbs; and sometimes the elephant
+overtakes his enemy, in which case the latter must expect no mercy.
+
+On the 2nd of May, 1863, leaving five men in charge of his camp and
+baggage, Sir Samuel started for Obbo, crossing the Kanisti river, and
+travelling through a bold and romantic highland country.  He found the
+vegetation of Obbo rich and various; the soil produced nine kinds of
+yams, and many capital kinds of fruit.  Tobacco flourishes, and ground
+nuts are plentiful.  As for the people, they attire themselves in the
+skin of an antelope or goat, wearing it mantle-wise across their
+shoulders; but when on the warpath, they paint their body with red and
+yellow stripes.  Sir Samuel was received with all the honours by
+Katchiba, the chief of Obbo, and entertained with a grand dance, in which
+more vigour was displayed than elegance.  About a hundred men formed a
+ring; each holding in his hand a small cup-shaped drum, formed of
+hollowed wood, over the perforated end of which was lightly stretched the
+skin of an elephant’s ear.  In the centre was placed the chief dancer,
+wearing, suspended from his shoulders, an immense drum, also covered with
+elephant’s ear.  The dance commenced with a wild but agreeable chorus,
+the time being kept by the big drum, and the small _tympana_ striking in
+at certain periods, with so much precision as to give the effect of a
+single instrument.  The figures varied continually, and the whole
+terminated with a “grand galop” in double circles, at a tremendous pace,
+the inner ring revolving in a contrary direction to the outer.
+
+Sir Samuel returned to Latooka, and collecting his baggage and escort,
+started again for Obbo on the 13th of June.  Here he and his wife
+remained for several months, waiting for a favourable opportunity to
+resume their southward march.  Their quinine was exhausted, and
+consequently they suffered much from fever.  Sir Samuel, in lieu of
+horses, purchased and trained for their contemplated journey three robust
+oxen, named respectively, “Beef,” “Steaks,” and “Suet.”  He also obtained
+a supply of porters to carry his luggage, and arranged with Ibrahim, the
+friendly trader, that he should accompany him to Unyoro with a guard of
+one hundred men.  It was the 5th of January, 1864, before the expedition
+started.  On the very first day, however, one of the oxen bolted; and Sir
+Samuel was compelled to purchase another of one of the Turks at the price
+of a double-barrelled gun.  Three days’ march through a beautiful country
+brought them to the Asua river, in lat. 3° 12′ N.  Its bed was almost
+dry.  On the 13th they arrived at Shooa.  This is characterized as a
+lovely place.  A noble mountain of granite ascended in a sheer precipice
+for about eight hundred feet from its base; perfectly abrupt on the
+eastern side, the other parts were of gradual inclination, covered with
+fine forest trees, and picturesquely studded with villages.  The
+surrounding country, with its trees and rivulets and greensward, might
+have been taken for an English park, but for the granite rocks that rose
+at intervals like the gray ruins of ancient castles.
+
+Shooa is a land of milk and honey.  The travellers found fowls, butter,
+and goats abundant and ridiculously cheap; and as beads were highly
+valued, they effected some good bargains.  The women flocked to see the
+white lady, bringing her gifts of milk and flowers, and receiving beads
+and bracelets in return.  They were gentle in manner, and evidently
+anxious to establish friendly relations.  Sir Samuel was struck by the
+superior cultivation of the country.  Large quantities of sesamum were
+grown and carefully harvested, the crop being collected in oblong frames
+about twenty feet long and twelve feet high.  These were inclined at an
+angle of about 60°; the pods of the sesamum plants hanging on one facet,
+so that the frames resembled enormous brushes.  When fully dried, the
+crop was removed to the granaries, of which there were two kinds: the
+wicker-work plastered over with cow-dung, supported on four posts, with a
+thatched roof; and a simpler contrivance, which may be thus described:—A
+stout pole, twenty feet long, was fixed upright in the earth, and, at
+about four foot from the ground, a bundle of strong and long reeds was
+tied tightly round it.  Round these reeds, at intervals, were fastened
+hoop of wicker-work, until the structure assumed the shape of an inverted
+umbrella half expanded.  When this is filled with grain, fresh reeds are
+added, until the work has extended to within a few feet of the top of the
+pole.  The whole is then crowned with a covering of reeds, securely
+strapped, and resembles nothing in the world so much as one of those
+cigars which slightly bulge in the middle.
+
+At Shooa all Sir Samuel’s Obbo porters absconded, being afraid to enter
+Kamrasi’s country, and he found so much difficulty in supplying their
+places, that he resolved on leaving behind him every article that was not
+absolutely indispensable.  How different an appearance his expedition
+presented to that which it had worn on leaving Khartûm!  It was shorn of
+all its “pride and circumstance;” but its leader remained as resolute and
+as hopeful as ever, and started from Shooa on the 18th of January,
+determined to press forward to the Luta N’zige.  After passing Fatiko, a
+village perched like an eagle’s eyrie on a rocky table-land, he entered
+upon a sea of prairies, an immense undulating expanse of verdure, dotted
+with a few palms.  As his guide lost the road, Sir Samuel proposed to
+clear the country to the south by firing the prairies, and a strangely
+picturesque spectacle was the result.  In a few minutes the flames roared
+before them, and waves upon waves of fire, and clouds upon clouds of
+smoke, rolled away to the far horizon.  Flocks of buzzards and swarms of
+beautiful fly-catchers thronged to the spot, to prey upon the innumerable
+insects that endeavoured to escape from the approaching conflagration,
+which continued to extend until arrested by a reedy swamp.
+
+On the 22nd, the expedition reached the Victoria White Nile, or, as it is
+sometimes called, the Somerset river, and proceeded through the
+magnificent forest that crowned its bank to the Karuma Falls.  The river
+here was about a hundred and fifty yards wide, and flowed between lofty
+cliffs, which were green with vines, bananas, and palms.  The falls,
+however, are very insignificant, not exceeding five feet in height.  Just
+above them is a ferry, and Sir Samuel and Lady Baker crossing by it,
+found themselves in Unyoro, King Kamrasi’s country, and in his town or
+village of Atado.  Speke and Grant had left behind them pleasant
+memories, so that Baker, as their friend and countryman, received a
+hearty welcome.  A large hut was placed at the disposal of his wife and
+himself, and in exchange for fresh beef—Sir Samuel ordering an ox to be
+killed for the purpose—the natives furnished liberal quantities of flour,
+beans, and sweet potatoes.  A brisk market was quickly set going, and
+whole rows of girls and women arrived, bringing baskets filled with the
+desired provisions.  The women, we are told, were neatly dressed in short
+double-skirted petticoats: many had the bosom bare: others wore a piece
+of bark-cloth, plaid-wise, across chest and shoulders.  Bark-cloth, which
+is exclusively used throughout Equatorial Africa, is the produce of a
+kind of fig tree.  The bark is stripped off in large pieces, soaked in
+water, and beaten with a mallet.  In appearance it much resembles
+corduroy, in colour tanned leather; the finer qualities are peculiarly
+soft to the touch, like woven cotton.
+
+The travellers were struck by the difference between the Unyoro people
+and the tribes they had previously seen.  On the north side of the Nile
+the natives were either wholly naked, or wore only a piece of skin across
+their shoulders.  The river seemed to mark the limit or _ne plus ultra_
+of savagedom, for the inhabitants of Unyoro shrank like Europeans from
+the indecency and shame of nakedness.  Their higher civilization was
+shown also by their manufactures: their smiths were very skilful, and
+used iron hammers instead of stone; they converted into fine wire the
+thick brass and copper wire which they received from Zanzibar; and their
+pottery showed a certain degree of taste in conception.
+
+“The natives,” writes Sir Samuel, “are particularly neat in all they do;
+they never bring anything to sell unless carefully packed in the neatest
+parcels, generally formed of the bark of the plantain, and sometimes of
+the inner portions of reeds stripped into snow-white stalks, which are
+bound round the parcels with the utmost care.  Should the plantain cider,
+‘marossa,’ be brought in a jar, the mouth is neatly covered with a
+finger-like mat of these clean white rushes split into shreds.  Not even
+tobacco is brought for sale unless most carefully packed.  During a
+journey, a pretty, bottle-shaped, long-necked gourd is carried, with a
+store of plantain cider; the mouth of the bottle is stopped with a bundle
+of the white rush shreds, through which a reed is inserted that reaches
+to the bottom; thus the drink can be sucked up during the march without
+the necessity of halting; nor is it possible to spill it by the movement
+of walking.
+
+“The natives,” he adds, “prepare the skins of goats very beautifully,
+making them as soft as chamois leather; these they cut into squares, and
+sew them together as neatly as would be effected by a European tailor,
+converting them into mantles, which are prized far more highly than
+bark-cloth, on account of their durability.  They manufacture their own
+needles, not by boring the eye, but by sharpening the end into a fine
+point, and turning it over, the extremity being hammered into a small cut
+in the body of the needle to prevent it from catching.”
+
+The arrival of Sir Samuel Baker being made known to Kamrasi, he requested
+him to pay a visit to his capital, and sent a legion of porters to carry
+his baggage.  Lady Baker suffered much from illness on the journey, which
+she performed in a litter; and Sir Samuel was also attacked by a
+debilitating fever.  His first interview with “the king” took place on
+the 10th of February.  He describes him as a fine-looking man, whose
+extremely prominent eyes gave a peculiar expression to his countenance;
+about six feet high; and dressed in a long robe of bark-cloth, draped in
+graceful folds.  The nails of his hands and feet were carefully tended,
+and his complexion was about as dark a brown as that of an Abyssinian.
+He sat upon a copper stool, with a leopard-skin carpet spread around him,
+and was attended by about ten of his principal chiefs.  Of his character
+as a man Sir Samuel Baker speaks in the most unflattering terms; he was
+grasping, mean, mendacious, and a coward.  After some delay, and by dint
+of repeated bribes, Sir Samuel obtained from him a supply of natives to
+carry the baggage to the lake, where canoes were to be provided for the
+voyage to Magango, a village situated at the junction of the Somerset
+river.  He went to take leave of the royal savage, and was astonished by
+the insolent demand that Lady Baker should be left with him!  Sir Samuel
+drew his revolver; Lady Baker broke out into invectives in Arabic, which
+the woman, Bachuta, translated as nearly as she could, and with indignant
+emphasis, into the language of Unyoro; in short, “a scene” ensued!
+Kamrasi was completely cowed, and faltered out, “Don’t be angry!  I had
+no intention of offending you by asking for your wife; I will give you a
+wife, if you want one, and I thought you might have no objection to give
+me yours; it is my custom to give my visitors pretty wives, and I thought
+you might exchange.  Don’t make it fuss about it: if you don’t like it,
+there’s an end of it; I will never mention it again.”  Sir Samuel
+received the apology very sternly, and insisted upon starting.  Kamrasi
+did not feel in a position to interpose any further delay, and the march
+to the lake began.
+
+On the road a very painful incident occurred.  The expedition had reached
+Uafour river, which ran through the centre of a marsh, and, although
+deep, was so thickly covered with matted and tangled water grass and
+other aquatic plants, that a natural floating bridge, some two feet in
+thickness, was available for crossing.  The men passed it quickly,
+sinking merely to the ankles, though beneath the tough vegetation was
+deep water.  It was equally impossible to ride or be carried over this
+fickle surface; Sir Samuel therefore led the way, and begged his wife to
+follow on foot as quickly as possible, keeping exactly in his track.  The
+river was about eighty yards wide, and Sir Samuel had scarcely
+accomplished a fourth of the distance, when, looking back, he was
+horrified to see her standing in one spot, and sinking gradually through
+the weeds, while her face was distorted and perfectly purple.  She fell,
+as if stricken dead.  Her husband was immediately by her side, and, with
+the help of some of his men, dragged her through the yielding vegetation,
+across to the other side.  There she was tenderly laid beneath a tree,
+and her husband bathed her head and face with water, thinking she had
+fainted.  But he soon perceived that she was suffering from a sunstroke;
+and, removing her to a miserable hut close at hand, he watched anxiously
+for some sign of returning consciousness.  We shall quote his own words
+in all their pathetic simplicity:
+
+“There was nothing to eat in this spot.  My wife had never stirred since
+she fell by the _coup de soleil_, and merely respired about five times a
+minute.  It was impossible to remain; the people would have starved.  She
+was laid gently upon her litter, and we started forward on our funeral
+course.  I was ill and broken-hearted, and I followed by her side through
+the long day’s march over wild park lands and streams, with thick forest
+and deep marshy bottoms; over undulating hills, and through valleys of
+tall papyrus rushes, which, as we brushed through them on our melancholy
+way, waved over the litter like the black plumes of a hearse.  We halted
+at a village, and again the night was passed in watching.  I was wet, and
+coated with mud from the swampy marsh, and shivered with ague; but the
+cold within was greater than all.  No change had taken place; she had
+never moved.  I had plenty of fat, and I made four balls of about half a
+pound, each of which would burn for three hours.  A piece of a broken
+water-jar formed a lamp, several pieces of rag serving for wicks.  So in
+solitude the still calm night passed away as I sat by her side and
+watched.  In the drawn and distorted features that lay before me I could
+hardly trace the same form that for years had been my comfort through all
+the difficulties and dangers of my path.  Was she to die?  Was so
+terrible a sacrifice to be the result of my selfish exile?
+
+“Again the night passed away.  Once more the march.  Though weak and ill,
+and for two nights without a moment’s sleep, I felt no fatigue, but
+mechanically followed by the side of the litter as though in a dream.
+The same wild country diversified with marsh and forest.  Again we
+halted.  The night came, and I sat by her side in a miserable hut, with
+the feeble lamp flickering while she lay, as in death.  She had never
+moved a muscle since she fell.  My people slept.  I was alone, and no
+sound broke the stillness of the night.  The ears ached at the utter
+silence, till the sudden wild cry of a hyæna made me shudder as the
+horrible thought rushed through my brain, that, should she be buried in
+this lonely spot, the hyæna would . . . disturb her rest.
+
+“The morning was not far distant; it was past four o’clock.  I had passed
+the night in replacing wet cloths upon her head, and moistening her lips,
+as she lay apparently lifeless on her litter.  I could do nothing more;
+in solitude and abject misery in that dark hour, in a country of savage
+heathens, thousands of miles away from a Christian land, I beseeched an
+aid above all human, trusting alone to Him.
+
+“The morning broke; my lamp had just burnt out, and, cramped with the
+night’s watching, I rose from my seat, and seeing that she lay in the
+same unaltered state, I went to the door of the hut to breathe one gasp
+of the fresh morning air.  I was watching the first red streak that
+heralded the rising sun, when I was startled by the words, ‘Thank God,’
+faintly uttered behind me.  Suddenly she had awoke from her torpor, and
+with a heart overflowing I went to her bedside.  Her eyes were full of
+madness!  She spoke, but the brain was gone!”
+
+
+
+II.
+
+
+Happily, after suffering for some days from brain fever, Lady Baker
+recovered consciousness, and thenceforward her progress, though slow, was
+sure.  After a brief rest, the march to the lake was resumed by the
+undaunted travellers; for the devoted wife would not allow any
+consideration of her comfort or safety to come between her husband and
+the accomplishment of the work he had undertaken.  At a village called
+Parkani, the guides informed them that they were only a day’s journey
+from the lake.  In the west rose a lofty range of mountains, and Sir
+Samuel Baker had conjectured that the N’zige lay on the other side of it,
+but he was told that it actually formed its western or further boundary.
+Only a day’s journey!  That night Sir Samuel could hardly sleep; his
+brain was fired with the thought that he was within so short a distance
+of the Source of the Nile—that in a few hours he might drink of the
+waters of its mysterious fountain.  He was up before sunrise on the 14th
+of March, and crossing a deep cool valley between the hills, ascended the
+slope, gained the summit, and there, before him, flashing in the light of
+morning like a sea of quick-silver or a huge mirror of polished steel,
+lay the long-sought lake!  The height on which he stood was about fifteen
+hundred feet above its level, so that he could survey the entire expanse
+of those welcome waters which had created fertility in the heart of the
+desert, and made the fame and wealth and glory of Egypt.  He resolved
+that thenceforth they should bear a great name, and as the eastern
+reservoir of the Nile had been named after the Queen of England, he
+determined that the western should commemorate her lost and lamented
+consort, Prince Albert.  It is therefore now known as the Albert Lake.
+
+With some difficulty, but with a grateful heart, he and his wife
+descended the steep to the shore of the silent, shining lake, and took up
+their quarters in a fishing village called Vacovia.  It was a wretched
+place, and the soil was strongly impregnated with salt; but discomforts
+were forgotten in the joy of a great discovery.  Sir Samuel proceeded to
+collect all the information he could relative to its position.  The chief
+of the village told him that its breadth was immense, but that large
+canoes had been known to cross from the other side after four days and
+nights of hard rowing.  That other side, the west, was included in the
+great kingdom of Malegga, governed by King Kajoro, who traded with
+Kamrasi from a point opposite to Magango, where the lake contracted to
+the width of one day’s voyage.  South of Malegga was a country named
+Tori, and the lake extended into the kingdom of Karagwé, with whose
+sovereign, Rumanika, Speke and Grant had maintained a friendly
+intercourse.  Karagwé partly bounded the lake on the eastern side, and
+next to it, towards the north, came Utumbi; then, in succession, came
+Uganda, Unyoro, Chopé.
+
+The Albert Nyanza formed a vast basin of water, lying far below the
+general level of the country, and receiving all its drainage.  It was
+surrounded by precipitous cliffs, which left but a narrow strip of sand
+between them and the swelling waves, and bounded on the west and
+south-west by huge mountain-ranges, from five to seven thousand feet in
+altitude.  Sir Samuel Baker, after a careful survey, concluded that it
+was the one great reservoir which received everything, from the passing
+shower to the roaring mountain torrent that drained from Central Africa
+towards the north.  Speke’s Victoria Nyanza was a reservoir situated at a
+considerable elevation, receiving the waters from the west of the
+Kitangulé river, its principal feeder; but as the Albert Lake extended
+much farther north than the Victoria, it took up the river from the
+latter, and monopolized the entire head-waters of the Nile.  In Sir
+Samuel’s opinion the Albert was the great reservoir, while the Nile was
+the eastern source; the parent streams that created these lakes were from
+the same origin, and the Kitangulé poured its waters into the Victoria,
+to be eventually received by the Albert.  The discoveries of Mr. Stanley,
+however, impose on geographers the necessity of considerably modifying
+Sir Samuel Baker’s hypothesis, without detracting from the importance of
+his discovery.  The Albert Lake really holds an inferior position to the
+Victoria, which unquestionably receives the parent waters of the Nile;
+but it is not the less one of its great reservoirs.
+
+Having obtained a canoe at Vacovia, Sir Samuel explored the north-eastern
+coast of the Albert, and after a voyage of thirteen days arrived at
+Magango, where the Nile, or Somerset river, after a winding course from
+the Victoria Nyanza, flows calmly into its basin, to quit it again a few
+miles further north, and make its way towards Egypt and the
+Mediterranean.  At Magango the lake is about seventeen miles wide, but to
+the north it ends in a long strip or neck which a growth of tall green
+rushes almost conceals.  After leaving the lake, the Nile smoothly
+descends its green valley, and is navigable for boats until it reaches
+Agunddo, where it dashes headlong over a precipice of thirty or forty
+feet.
+
+Having completed his survey of the Albert, as far as his means admitted,
+Sir Samuel determined, instead of retracing his steps to Kamrasi’s
+residence at ’Mroolli, to trace the course of the Somerset or Nile river
+up to Karuma Falls, to which point Speke and Grant had followed it
+downwards.  The canoes having been got ready, Baker and his wife began
+their river voyage.  About two miles from Magango the width contracted
+from 500 to 250 yards.  As they proceeded, the river gradually narrowed
+to about 180 yards, and when the men ceased paddling, they could
+distinctly hear the roar of water.  Arriving at a point where the river
+made a slight turn, they saw the sandbanks covered with crocodiles; like
+logs of timber, they lay together.  The cliffs on either side were steep
+and rugged, and the whole picture was rich in various colouring.  Foliage
+of the intensest green clothed each rocky projection, and through a
+narrow cleft or gap in the precipices the river plunged down before them
+in one vast leap of about 120 feet.  The fall of waters was white as
+snow, and contrasted magnificently with the dark walls that held it in,
+while the graceful palms of the tropics and wild plantains increased the
+beauty of the view.  This noble cataract, the grandest on the Nile, Sir
+Samuel named the Murchison Falls, in honour of the famous geologist and
+geographer.
+
+It was impossible, of course, to pass the cataract, and the voyagers made
+haste to land and collect their oxen and attendants in order to resume
+their journey.  The route they took was parallel to the river, which
+continued to flow in a deep and picturesque ravine.  From an island
+called Palooan, a succession of islets broke its course until near the
+Karuma Falls.  These islets belonged to two chiefs, Rionza and Fowooka,
+who were bitter enemies of the King of Unyoro, Kamrasi.  On arriving at
+this point, Sir Samuel found that they were at that very time engaged in
+hostilities, and that it would be impossible for him to continue along
+the bank of the river.  Obstacles of every kind were thrown by the
+natives in the onward path of the travellers, but in spite of ill health,
+weakness, and weariness, they slowly pushed forward.  Not the least of
+their troubles was the scarcity of suitable provisions, and they grew so
+feeble that at last even their brave hearts gave way, and they began to
+despair of reaching Gondokoro—to resign themselves to the thought of
+being buried in that inhospitable land.  “I wrote instructions in my
+journal,” says Sir Samuel, “in case of death, and told my headman to be
+sure to deliver my maps, observations, and papers to the English consul
+at Khartûm; this was my only care, as I feared that all my labour might
+be lost should I die.  I had no fear for my wife, as she was quite as bad
+as I, and if one should die, the other would certainly follow;—in fact,
+this had been agreed upon lest she should fall into the hands of Kamrasi
+at my death.  We had struggled to win, and I thanked God that we had won;
+if death were to be the price, at all events we were at the goal, and we
+both looked upon death rather as a pleasure, as affording rest; there
+would be no more suffering; no fever, no long journey before us, that in
+our weak state was an infliction; the only wish was to lay down the
+burthen.”
+
+From this wretched position Sir Samuel delivered himself, by undertaking
+to assist Kamrasi in his war against Fowooka.  Whether this was a
+legitimate proceeding on the part of a scientific explorer, who had no
+interest in the quarrel of either party, may well be doubted, but the
+alliance led to his obtaining an immediate supply of provisions.  Natives
+were sent to assist him and his wife in their journey to Kamrasi’s camp
+at Kisoona.  But what was their surprise to find that the Kamrasi whom
+they had interviewed at ’Mrooli was not, after all, the real Kamrasi, the
+King of Unyoro, but his brother, M’Gami, whom Kamrasi had ordered to
+personate him, in an access of alarm as to the traveller’s possible
+designs.  Sir Samuel was indignant at the deception, and it was with some
+difficulty that M’Gami could prevail upon him to forgive it.  At last he
+consented to visit the king, and something like an amicable understanding
+was established between them.  He was well supplied with provisions of
+all kinds, and both his wife and himself slowly recovered their health
+and spirits.  By a dexterous use of the British flag he repelled an
+attempted invasion of Fowooka’s warriors; and he rendered various
+services to Kamrasi, which met, we need hardly say, with no adequate
+reward.  It was the middle of November before, in company with a caravan
+of ivory-traders under his old friend Ibrahim, Sir Samuel was able to
+resume his return journey to Gondokoro.  The caravan consisted of about
+seven hundred porters and eighty armed men, with women and children; in
+all, about one thousand people.  To provision such a body was necessarily
+difficult, and there was no meat, although flour was abundant.  Sir
+Samuel’s skill as a hunter was put into requisition to supply a little
+variety to the bill of fare; and his bringing down a fine hartebeest was
+an event which gave very general satisfaction.
+
+Five days after leaving the Victoria Nile, the caravan arrived at Shooa,
+where Sir Samuel and his wife received a hearty welcome.  Some months
+were spent in this pleasant locality, the Turks profiting by the
+opportunity to make razzias upon the neighbouring tribes, so that, for
+many miles around, the blackened ruins of villages and the desolated
+fields bore witness to their reckless cruelty; cattle were carried off in
+thousands, and a fair and fertile region was converted into a dreary
+wilderness.  The captives made were detained to be sold as slaves.  On
+one occasion, among the victims brought in to the Turkish camp was a
+pretty young girl of about fifteen.  She had been sold by auction, as
+usual, the day after the return from the razzia, and had fallen to the
+lot of one of the men.  A few days later, there appeared in the camp a
+native from the plundered village, intent upon ransoming the girl with a
+quantity of ivory.  He had scarcely entered the gateway, when the girl,
+who was sitting at the door of her owner’s hut, descried him, and
+springing to her feet, ran with all the speed her chained ankles
+permitted, and flung herself into his arms, with the cry of “My father!”
+Yes; it was her father who, to rescue his child from degradation, had
+nobly risked his life in his brutal enemy’s camp.
+
+The Turks who witnessed this particular incident, far from being touched
+by any emotion of pity, rushed on to the unfortunate native, tore him
+from his daughter, and bound him tightly with cords.  At this time Sir
+Samuel was in his tent, assisting some of his men to clean his rifles.
+Suddenly, at a distance of less than a hundred paces, he heard three
+shots fired.  The men exclaimed, “They have shot the abid (native)!”
+“What native?” inquired Sir Samuel; and his men replied by narrating the
+story we have just recorded.  Sir Samuel at first refused to believe it,
+but it proved to be true in every detail, even in the last; for, bound to
+a tree, lay the wretched father, shot dead with three balls.
+
+In the month of February the caravan started for Gondokoro.  The route
+lay at first through a fertile and pleasant country, crossing twice the
+Un-y-Ami river, and touching at its point of junction with the Nile, in
+lat. 3° 32′ N.  On the north bank of the Un-y-Ami, about three miles from
+its mouth, Sir Samuel saw the tamarind tree—the “Shadder-el-Sowar” (or
+“Traveller’s Tree”), as the trading parties called it—which indicated the
+limit of Signor Miani’s explorations from Gondokoro, and the furthest
+point reached by any traveller from the north prior to Sir Samuel Baker’s
+enterprise.  The journey was continued through a fine park-like extent of
+verdant grass, covered with stately tamarind trees, which sheltered among
+their branches great numbers of the brilliant yellow-breasted pigeon.
+Ascending a rocky eminence by a laborious pass, Sir Samuel, from the
+summit, which was eight hundred feet high, saw before him the old
+historic river.  “Hurrah for the old Nile!” he said, and contemplated
+with eager gaze the noble scene before him.  Flowing from the westward,
+with many a curve and bend, was the broad sheet of unbroken water, four
+hundred yards wide, exclusive of the thick belt of reeds on either
+margin.  Its source could be clearly traced for some scores of miles, and
+the range of mountains on the west bank was distantly visible that the
+travellers had previously sighted, when on the route from Karuma to
+Shooa, at a distance of sixty miles.  This chain begins at Magango, and
+forms the Koshi frontier of the Nile.  The country opposite to Sir
+Samuel’s position was Koshi, which extends along the _west_ bank of the
+river to the Albert Lake.  The country which he was traversing extends,
+under the name of Madi, along the _east_ bank to the confluence of the
+Somerset Nile, opposite Magango.
+
+The Nile here enters a rocky valley between Gebel Kookoo and the western
+mountains, and foams and frets around and against rock and island, until,
+suddenly contracting, it breaks into a roaring torrent, and dashes
+furiously onward in the shadow of perpendicular cliffs.  Waterfall
+succeeds to waterfall, and it is difficult to identify the swollen,
+thunderous, angry river with the calm clear stream that brightens the
+fertile pastures of Shooa.  In this part of its course it receives the
+Asua.  Through dense thickets of bamboos, and deep ravines which, in the
+season of rains, pour their turbid tribute into the great river, the
+caravan made its way; but in passing through a gorge between two rocky
+hills it was attacked by a body of the Bari natives, who were lying in
+ambush.  Their bows and arrows, however, proved ineffectual against the
+musketry of the Turks, and they retired discomfited.  This was the last
+important incident of the journey to Gondokoro, where, after an absence
+of upwards of two years, Sir Samuel and Lady Baker arrived in safety.
+
+But what was their disappointment to find there neither letters nor
+supplies!  Their friends and agents had long since given them up as dead;
+never believing that travellers could penetrate into that far and savage
+south, and return alive.  There was no news from home; no money; no
+conveyance provided to take them back to Khartûm.  With characteristic
+energy Sir Samuel confronted his disappointment, and instead of wringing
+his hands and waiting for the help that would not come, he set actively
+to work, engaged a dahabeeyah for the sum of four thousand piastres
+(£40), removed his baggage on board, collected provisions, took friendly
+leave of Ibrahim and the traders, and, with the flag of Old England
+flying at his masthead, set sail from Gondokoro.  There is very little to
+be said about the voyage to Khartûm.  Sir Samuel shot some antelopes, and
+the progress of the dahabeeyah beyond the junction of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
+was considerably impeded by that natural dam of floating vegetation,
+intermingled with reeds, sunburnt wood, and mud that here forms so signal
+an obstruction to the navigation of the Upper Nile.  To allow of the
+passage of boats a canal has been cut, about ten feet wide, but it
+requires constant clearance, and its transit is not accomplished without
+considerable difficulty.  Two days’ hard work from morning till night
+carried the voyagers through it, and with feelings of relief and
+exultation they found themselves once more on the open Nile and beyond
+the dam.  But as they floated past the Sobat junction, the terrible
+plague broke out on board their vessel, carrying off two of the crew, and
+the boy Saat, who had served them so long and so faithfully.  It was a
+sad conclusion to an expedition which, though fraught with sufferings,
+trials, and dangers, had, on the whole, been crowned with complete
+success.
+
+It was the evening of the 5th of May, 1865, when Sir Samuel and Lady
+Baker entered Khartûm, to be welcomed by the whole European population as
+if they had risen from the dead.  On the 1st of July they left it for
+Berber.  In making the passage of the Cataracts they narrowly escaped
+shipwreck; their boat, as it sped along under full sail before a high
+gale of wind, struck broadside upon a sandbank.  About sixty yards below
+rose a ridge of rocks on which it seemed certain that the vessel would be
+driven, if it cleared the bank; so that to avoid Scylla was to rush into
+Charybdis.  Sir Samuel, however, proved equal to the occasion.  An anchor
+was laid up stream; the crew hauled on the cable, and the great force of
+the current pressing against the vessels’ broadside, she wore gradually
+round.  All hands then laboured to clear away the sand, which, when
+loosened by their hands and feet, the swift full current rapidly carried
+away.  For five hours they remained in this position, with the boat
+cracking, and half filled with water; however, a channel was opened at
+last, and slipping the cable, Sir Samuel hoisted sail, and with the
+velocity of an arrow, the head of the vessel swung round, and away she
+went, plunging through the swirling, boiling water, and clearing the
+rocks by a few inches.
+
+They arrived at Berber, and procuring camels, started east for Souakim on
+the Red Sea, a distance of two hundred and seventy-five miles.  There
+they obtained passage on board an Egyptian Government steamer, and in
+five days landed at Suez.  Here ends the record of their heroic
+enterprise. {404}
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+                                    A
+
+A’damáwa, 116; capital of 119
+
+Africa, exploration in, 365, 366
+
+Agadez, 97; customs of inhabitants of, 98
+
+Alatou Mountains, the, 222, 225, 227
+
+Albert Nyanza, the, 391–393
+
+Aliyú, the Emir, 135
+
+Altai, lakes of the, 193
+
+Altin-Kool, Lake, 195
+
+Alty-Kuduk, camp of, 277
+
+American camp at Valverde, 70
+
+American trapper, an, 71
+
+Amu-Daria, the, 278, 350, 351
+
+Ara, river, the, 226
+
+Aral, Lake or Sea of, 343
+
+Arkansas valley, 80
+
+Asben, Mount, 96
+
+Asua, river, 384
+
+Atado, town of, 386
+
+Atkinson, Thomas Witlam, travels in Siberia and Central Asia, 157–228
+
+Australia, sketch of discovery in, 293–295
+
+                                    B
+
+Bacsi, the, enchantments of, 29
+
+Badakshan, the river, 14
+
+Badámuni, 130
+
+Bielouka Mountains, the, 206
+
+Bagara Arabs, the, 382
+
+Bagirmi, 121
+
+Bagma, 116
+
+Baikal Lake, 228
+
+Baker, Sir Samuel and Lady, discover the Albert Nyanza, 238
+
+Baker, Lady, illness of, 390–392
+
+Baker, Sir Samuel, travels in Africa, 365–404
+
+Barnaoul, mines of, 186
+
+Barth, Dr., African travels of, 90–156
+
+Bear, adventure with a, 189
+
+Beaver-trapping, 79
+
+Bénuwé, the river, 118
+
+Berber, 403
+
+Boiling Spring River, legend of, 84
+
+Bokhara, 323
+
+Bornú, 105; capital of, 106
+
+Bronze-wing pigeon, the, 305, 306
+
+Búdduma, or African Lake pirates, 110
+
+Bull-tailing, Mexican sport of, described, 57
+
+Burnaby, Major, travels in Khiva, 325–364
+
+                                    C
+
+Caldwell, Bishop, quoted, 45
+
+Cambaluc, visited by Marco Polo, 32
+
+Camels in Australia, 308–310, 315; in Turkistan, 341, 342
+
+Cameron, Lieutenant, 366
+
+Chandu, city of, described, 25
+
+Chihuahua, 67
+
+Chinese, curious superstition of the, 43
+
+Coleridge, quoted, 31
+
+Comanche Indians, the, story of, 56, 59
+
+Cossack officer, a, adventure of, 191
+
+                                    D
+
+D’Ablaing, Baron, 247
+
+Darma Tsyren, Mr. Atkinson’s visit to, 215
+
+Demons’ Mountain, the, 92
+
+“Devil-dancing,” 45
+
+Diamond-sparrow, the, 300, 301
+
+Doré, African town of, 142
+
+Durango, Mexican town of, 59
+
+                                    E
+
+Ekaterineburg, 164
+
+Elephant-hunting, 381, 382
+
+El Gallo, sport of, described, 66
+
+Eremil, river, 223
+
+Errington, Port, 239
+
+Escamilla, story of, 60–63
+
+                                    F
+
+Flinders, Lieutenant, 293
+
+Fogha, valley of, 138
+
+Frost-bitten, 338–340
+
+Fulbi, the, 101
+
+                                    G
+
+Ghat, oasis of, 95
+
+Ghûls, the, 19
+
+Glenelg, 322
+
+Gobi, the Great Desert of, 17, 18, 212–214
+
+Golden Lake, the, 195
+
+Gondokoro, 247, 374, 375
+
+Grant, Captain, 241, 368, 377
+
+                                    H
+
+Heiligenkreuz, missionary settlement of, 246
+
+Heughlin, Dr., 249
+
+Hommaire de Hell, Madame, quoted, 19
+
+                                    I
+
+Ivory-dealers, the African, 255
+
+                                    J
+
+Jana-Daria, desert of, 349
+
+Jornada del Muerto, the, 69
+
+                                    K
+
+Kaiping-fu, described, 25
+
+Kalenderhana, 349
+
+Kalmucks, the, manners and customs of, 198, 199
+
+Kamrasi, the chief of Unyoro, 388, 389, 398
+
+Kanó, town of, 100
+
+Kara-Kalpaks, the, 263
+
+Karakorum Mountains, the, 197
+
+Karuma Falls, the, 386
+
+Kasala, 260, 335, 336, 343, 364
+
+Katchiba, African chief, 383
+
+Katounaia, the, 200
+
+Katséna, town of, 100
+
+Kauffmann, General, 280
+
+Khala-Ata, fortress of, 274
+
+Khan of Khiva, palace of, 283; description of, 285, 357–359
+
+Khartûm, town of, 234, 370, 402
+
+Khiva, described, 282, 283, 285, 287, 355, 356, 360
+
+Khivans, the, account of, 281
+
+Kibitka, a, described, 179, 180, 264, 344, 346
+
+Kirghiz chief, a, description of, 182, 183
+
+Kirghiz tribes, the, habits of, 178–182, 264–267
+
+Kolyvan Lake, 169
+
+Kongo, the, 367
+
+Kublai Khan, Marco Polo’s visit to the court of, 25
+
+Kúkáwa, in Bornú, 106
+
+Kyzil-Kum, desert of, 261, 263
+
+                                    L
+
+Latookas, tribe of the, 379–381
+
+Lepson, river, 225
+
+Lindsay, Hon. Robert, quoted, 41
+
+Livingstone, Dr., 364, 365
+
+Lop, or Lob, city of, 17
+
+Luta N’zige, the, 377
+
+                                    M
+
+MacGahan, Mr. J. A., with the Russian army in Khiva, 260–292
+
+Maduwári, 111
+
+Magango, 395
+
+Mal Pais, the, description of, 55
+
+Mapimi, 67
+
+Marco Polo, travels of, in Central Asia, 1–48
+
+Másená, 124
+
+Mexicans, the, character of, 49; sports of, 59
+
+Mexico, geographical characteristics of, 50, 51
+
+Mongols, the, habits of, 20–22
+
+Morzouk, 91
+
+Muna Aim, story of, 267, 268
+
+Múniyo, 129
+
+Murchison Falls, the, 396
+
+                                    N
+
+Nicholas, the Grand-Duke, 280
+
+Niger, the, description of, 139; basin of, 367
+
+Nile, the, scenery of, 235, 236, 371, 400, 401; basin of, 367
+
+Nô, Lake, 243, 244
+
+Nor-Zaisan, Lake, 176
+
+Nuehr tribe, the, 372
+
+                                    O
+
+Oakover, river, 315, 320
+
+Obbo, 383
+
+Oogentel, 353
+
+Orenburg, 335
+
+Overweg, Mr., joins Dr. Barth, 112; death of, 128
+
+                                    P
+
+Pamir, table-land of, described, 16
+
+Pardalote, the, 300, 301
+
+Peking (anc. Cambaluc), 32
+
+Perovsky, Fort, 261
+
+Petro-Alexandrovsky, 361, 362
+
+Phayre, Sir A., quoted, 54
+
+Pike’s Peak, 88
+
+Porcupine-grass, 299
+
+Palque, Mexican drink of, described, 51
+
+                                    Q
+
+Queretaro, 51
+
+                                    R
+
+Ramusio, quoted, 9
+
+Rancho, a Mexican, described, 66
+
+Reg, Lake, 249
+
+Richardson, Mr. James, African traveller, death of, 106
+
+Rio Colorado, the, 78
+
+Rocky Mountains, in the, 74, 75
+
+Ruxton, Mr. George F., travels in Mexico, 49–89
+
+                                    S
+
+Sagárti, the, 111
+
+Samara, Russian town of, 331
+
+Santa Fé, 73
+
+Say, town of, 139
+
+Sesamum, the, cultivation of, 385
+
+Shamo, country of, 114
+
+Shillooks, the, character of, 242–244, 371
+
+Shir, the, African tribe of, 373
+
+Shooa, described, 384, 385, 399
+
+Snake Indians, the, 85
+
+Snow-storm in Arkansas, 81
+
+Sobat, the, 371
+
+Somerset, the, 386, 391
+
+Sourays, the, 111
+
+Speke, Captain, travels of, 368, 369, 377
+
+Stanley, Mr. H. M., 368
+
+Steudner, Dr., death of, 250
+
+Syr-Daria, the, 260, 345
+
+                                    T
+
+Tartars, the, described by Marco Polo, 20–25
+
+Tasáwa, 100
+
+Tchad, Lake, 110, 120
+
+Terekli, 340
+
+Thian-Shan, the, 325
+
+Tibet, description of, 40–43
+
+Timbuktu, described, 150
+
+Tinné, Alexina, travels of, in the Soudan, 230–259
+
+Tiska, Mount, 96
+
+Tollogo, 378
+
+Towaregs, the, 92, 95
+
+Traveller’s Tree, the, 400
+
+Turkistan, boundaries and divisions of, 325, 326
+
+                                    U
+
+Uafour river, 389
+
+Unyoro, country of, 387, 388
+
+U’shek, 129
+
+Uzbegs, the, customs of, 288; a house of, 289, 290; dance of, 290, 291
+
+                                    V
+
+Vacovia, 394
+
+Valverde, American camp at, 70
+
+Venice, rivalry of, with Genoa, 12
+
+Victoria Nyanza, the, 369
+
+Victoria White Nile, the, 386, 395
+
+Volga, the, sleighing on, 330
+
+                                    W
+
+Wakkala, 379
+
+Warburton, Colonel Egerton explores West Australia, 293–324
+
+White Nile, the, 244
+
+Wood, Captain John, quoted, 16
+
+Wordsworth, quoted, 60
+
+                                    Y
+
+Yule, Colonel, quoted, 1, 2, 17
+
+Yuz-Kudak, valley of, 271
+
+                                    Z
+
+Zacatero, 68
+
+Zambési, the, 367
+
+Zindu, 131
+
+
+
+
+NOTES
+
+
+{3}  The roc, a gigantic bird, which figures in the Eastern fable of
+Sinbad the Sailor.
+
+{12}  A rich, quaint, walled-up doorway, in semi-Monastic, semi-Byzantine
+style, still extant in the Corte del Sabbrin, or Corta Sabbonicia, is
+nearly all that remains of the house of Messer Marco Palo.
+
+{17}  A summary of the Russian explorations of the Pamir, by Sievertzof,
+has been published in Kettler’s “Zeitschrift für wissenschaftliche
+Geographie.”
+
+{22}  _Cuir-bouilli_, leather softened by boiling, during which process
+it took any form or impression required, and afterwards hardened.
+
+{35}  Probably _malachite_, or carbonate of copper.
+
+{41}  The Hon. Robert Lindsay writes:—“At night each man lights a fire at
+his post, and furnishes himself with a dozen joints of the large bamboo,
+one of which he occasionally throws into the fire, and the air it
+contains being rarefied by the heat, it explodes with a report as loud as
+a musket.”—“Lives of the Lindsays,” iii. 191.
+
+{89}  G. F. Ruxton, “Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains.”
+London, 1861.
+
+{156}  Heinrich Barth, “Travels and Discoveries in North and Central
+Africa.”  Second edition.  London, 1857.
+
+{159}  The scenery of the Tchossowaia valley is warmly praised by Sir
+Roderick Murchison.  “A more picturesque river-gorge,” he says, “was
+certainly never examined by geologists.  Between the hamlet of Kinist and
+Ust-Koiva we passed through scenes even surpassing in beauty those higher
+up the stream, and to which it would require the pencil of a professed
+artist to do justice.  The river runs in a limestone gorge, in which are
+cliffs of every variety of form, occasionally exposing large caverns
+along their vertical faces, with trees and flowers grouped about in the
+clefts—rocks varying in colour from black to white.”—“Geology of the
+Oural,” p. 188.
+
+{166}  A four-wheeled waggon, made without either nail, bolt, or springs.
+
+{211}  Mrs. Somerville, “Physical Geography,” i. 105.
+
+{212}  Humboldt, “Ansichten der Natur,” i. 8.
+
+{228}  T. W. Atkinson, “Oriental and Western Siberia.”  London, 1858.
+
+{249}  It is, in reality, nothing more than a curve of the river, which
+forms an island of about half a mile in length, called Meschra-el-Reg.
+
+{259}  Augustus Petermann, _Mittheilungen_; Dr. Heughlin, “Reise in das
+Gobiet, des Weissen Nil, etc.”
+
+{302}  These consist of a few links of chain, with a swivel in the
+middle, and a steel strap with a buckle at either end.  They are fastened
+round the animal’s fore-legs just above the hoof, so as to confine the
+feet together, and render straying difficult.
+
+{324}  Colonel Egerton Warburton, C.M.G., “Journey across the Western
+Interior of Australia,” with Introduction, etc., by C. H. Eden.  Edited
+by H. W. Bates.  London, 1875.
+
+{359}  During the viceroyalty of Lord Northbrook.
+
+{364}  “A Ride to Khiva: Travels and Adventures in Central Asia.”  By
+Fred Burnaby, Captain, Royal Horse Guards.  Second edition.  London,
+1876.
+
+{369}  Our gallant explorer was not knighted until 1866, but throughout
+this chapter we shall use the title by which he is so well and so
+honourably known.
+
+{404}  Sir Samuel White Baker, “The Albert Nyanza, Great Basin of the
+Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources.”  London, 1866.
+
+
+
+
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+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII" />
+<title>Some Heroes of Travel, by W. H. Davenport Adams</title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Some Heroes of Travel, by W. H. Davenport
+Adams
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Some Heroes of Travel
+       or, Chapters from the History of Geographical Discovery and Enterprise
+
+
+Author: W. H. Davenport Adams
+
+
+
+Release Date: May 20, 2013  [eBook #42749]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOME HEROES OF TRAVEL***
+</pre>
+<p>This ebook was transcribed by Les Bowler.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/coverb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Book cover"
+title=
+"Book cover"
+src="images/covers.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/fpb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Map of North Africa"
+title=
+"Map of North Africa"
+src="images/fps.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/mexicob.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Map of Mexico"
+title=
+"Map of Mexico"
+src="images/mexicos.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h1>SOME HEROES OF TRAVEL</h1>
+<p style="text-align: center"><i>OR</i>, <i>CHAPTERS FROM
+THE</i><br />
+<i>HISTORY OF GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY</i><br />
+<i>AND ENTERPRISE</i>.</p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><b>WITH MAPS.</b></p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">COMPILED AND
+REWRITTEN BY THE LATE</span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">W. H. DAVENPORT ADAMS.</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;Have you been a traveller?&rdquo;</p>
+<p style="text-align: right">SHAKESPEARE.</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">PUBLISHED
+UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE</span><br />
+<span class="GutSmall">OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION
+APPOINTED BY THE</span><br />
+<span class="GutSmall">SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN
+KNOWLEDGE.</span></p>
+
+<div class="gapshortline">&nbsp;</div>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p style="text-align: center">LONDON:</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN
+KNOWLEDGE,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, CHARING CROSS,
+W.C.;</span><br />
+<span class="GutSmall">43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.C.</span><br
+/>
+1893.</p>
+<h2><a name="pagev"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+v</span>PREFACE.</h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> present age is sometimes
+described as an Age of Commonplace; but it has its romance if we
+care to look for it.&nbsp; Assuredly, the adventures of its
+travellers and explorers do not lose in importance or interest,
+even when compared with those of their predecessors in days when
+a great part of the world was still &ldquo;virgin
+ground.&rdquo;&nbsp; In the following pages, this thesis is
+illustrated by a summary of the narratives of certain
+&ldquo;Heroes of Travel&rdquo; belonging to our own time; and I
+believe it will be found that for &ldquo;stirring scenes&rdquo;
+and &ldquo;hair-breadth escapes&rdquo; they vie with any which
+the industrious Hakluyt, the quaint Purchas, or, coming down to a
+later date, the multifarious Pinkerton has collected.&nbsp;
+However, on this point the reader has an opportunity of
+satisfying himself, as, by way of contrast, I have prefixed to
+these Episodes of Recent Travel a succinct <a
+name="pagevi"></a><span class="pagenum">p. vi</span>account of
+the enterprise of Messer Marco Polo, the Pioneer of
+Medi&aelig;val Travellers.</p>
+<p>There is no pleasanter mode of learning geography than by
+studying the works of distinguished travellers; and therefore
+this little book may claim to possess some slight educational
+value, while primarily intended to supply the young with
+attractive but not unwholesome reading.&nbsp; The narratives
+which it contains have been selected with a view to variety or
+interest.&nbsp; They range over Mexico, Western Australia,
+Central Africa, and Central Asia.&nbsp; They include the
+experiences of the hunter, the war correspondent, and the
+geographical explorer; and, in recognition of the graceful
+influence of women, of a lady traveller, who showed herself as
+resolute and courageous as any of the so-called hardier
+sex.&nbsp; And, finally, they have the merit, it is believed, of
+not having appeared in previous compilations.</p>
+<p>As a companion for the fireside corner, this little book will,
+I hope, be welcome to all English-speaking lads and lasses, who
+will learn from its pages how much may be accomplished by
+patience, perseverance, and energy.</p>
+<h2><a name="pagevii"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+vii</span>CONTENTS.</h2>
+<table>
+<tr>
+<td><p>&nbsp;</p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span
+class="GutSmall">PAGE</span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Sir Marco Polo, the Venetian, and his
+Travels in Asia</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page1">1</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Mr. George F. Ruxton, and his
+Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page49">49</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Doctor Barth, and Central
+Africa</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page90">90</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Mr. Thomas Witlam Atkinson, and his
+Adventures in Siberia and Central Asia</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page157">157</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Alexina Tinn&eacute;, and her
+Wanderings in the Sudan</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page229">229</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Mr. J. A. Macgahan, and Campaigning on
+the Oxus</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page260">260</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Colonel Egerton Warburton, and
+Exploration in West Australia</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page293">293</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Major Burnaby, and a Ride to
+Khiva</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page325">325</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p><span class="smcap">Sir Samuel Baker, and the Sources of
+the Nile</span></p>
+</td>
+<td><p style="text-align: right"><span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page335">335</a></span></p>
+</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<p style="text-align: center">
+<a href="images/mpb.jpg">
+<img alt=
+"Map of Marco Polo&rsquo;s Travels"
+title=
+"Map of Marco Polo&rsquo;s Travels"
+src="images/mps.jpg" />
+</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page1"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 1</span>SIR
+MARCO POLO, THE VENETIAN,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND HIS TRAVELS IN ASIA.</span></h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">We</span> should be inclined to consider
+Sir Marco Polo as one of the greatest travellers the world has
+ever seen.&nbsp; It is true he was not a man of genius; that he
+was not, like Columbus, inspired by a lofty enthusiasm; that he
+displayed no commanding superiority of character.&nbsp; But when
+we remember the vast compass of his journeys, and the
+circumstances under which they were carried out; when we
+remember, too, how close an observer he was, and how rigidly
+accurate, and his plenitude of energy and perseverance&mdash;we
+feel that he is, beyond all cavil or question, entitled to be
+recognized as the king of medi&aelig;val travellers.&nbsp; Let us
+take Colonel Yule&rsquo;s summary of his extraordinary
+achievements:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He was the first Traveller to trace a route across the
+whole longitude of Asia, naming and describing kingdom after
+kingdom which he had seen with his own eyes; the Deserts of
+Persia, the flowering plateaux and wild gorges of Badakshan, the
+jade-bearing rivers of Khotan; the Mongolian steppes, <a
+name="page2"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 2</span>cradle of the
+power that had so lately threatened to swallow up Christendom;
+the new and brilliant Court that had been established at
+Cambaluc: the first Traveller to reveal China in all its wealth
+and vastness, its mighty rivers, its huge cities, its rich
+manufactures, its swarming population, the inconceivably vast
+fleets that quickened its seas and its inland waters; to tell us
+of the nations on its borders, with all their eccentricities of
+manners and worship; of Tibet, with its sordid devotees; of
+Burma, with its golden pagodas and their tinkling crowns; of
+Laos, of Siam, of Cochin China; of Japan, the Eastern Thule, with
+its rosy pearls and golden-roofed palaces: the first to speak of
+that Museum of Beauty and Wonder, still so imperfectly ransacked,
+the Indian Archipelago, source of those aromatics then so highly
+prized and whose origin was so dark; of Java, the Pearl of
+Islands; of Sumatra, with its many kings, its strange costly
+products, and its cannibal races; of the dusky savages of Nicobar
+and Andaman; of Ceylon, the Isle of Gems, with its sacred
+Mountain and its tomb of Adam; of India the Great, not as a
+dreamland of Alexandrian fables, but as a country seen and
+partially explored, with its virtuous Brahmans, its obscene
+ascetics, its diamonds and the strange tales of their
+acquisition, its sea-beds of pearl, and its powerful sun: the
+first in medi&aelig;val times to give any distinct account of the
+secluded Christian Empire of Abyssinia and the semi-Christian
+island of Socotra; to speak, though indeed dimly, of Zanzibar,
+with its negroes and its ivory, and of the vast and distant
+Madagascar, bordering on the Dark <a name="page3"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 3</span>Ocean of the South, with its Roc <a
+name="citation3"></a><a href="#footnote3"
+class="citation">[3]</a> and other monstrosities; and, in a
+remotely opposite region, of Siberia and the Arctic Ocean, of
+dog-sledges, white bears, and reindeer-riding
+Tunguses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Who can dispute the fame of a man whose name and memory are
+associated with so marvellous a catalogue of discoveries, who
+anticipated the travellers of a later generation in many of their
+most remarkable enterprises?&nbsp; At one time, the authenticity
+of his statements was frequently and openly impugned; he was
+accused of exaggeration and inexactitude; but the labours of
+Marsden, Pauthier, and especially of Colonel Yule, have shown
+that his statements, so far as they are founded on personal
+observation, may be implicitly accepted.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>In the early part of the fourteenth century there lived at
+Venice a patrician of good family, named Andrea Polo, to whom
+were born three sons, Marco, Nicolo, and Maffeo.&nbsp; Nicolo,
+the second of these sons, was the father of our traveller, Marco
+Polo, who was born in 1254.&nbsp; Engaged in extensive commercial
+operations, Nicolo, soon after his son&rsquo;s birth, journeyed
+to Constantinople, and thence proceeded on a trading venture to
+the Crimea, which led to his ascending the Volga for a
+considerable distance, and crossing the steppes to visit Bokhara
+and the Court of the great Kublai Khan, on or within the borders
+of Cathay.&nbsp; Kublai, the hero of so many legends, had never
+before seen a European.&nbsp; He tendered to Nicolo and his
+brother Maffeo (who travelled with <a name="page4"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 4</span>him) a right royal welcome; was deeply
+interested in all they told him of the kingdoms and states of
+Europe; and finally resolved on sending them back, with one of
+his own nobles, as ambassadors to the Pope.&nbsp; In this
+capacity they arrived at Acre in 1269; but as Pope Clement IV.
+had died in the previous year, and no successor had as yet been
+elected, the two brothers thought they might reasonably indulge
+themselves in a visit to their Venetian homes, from which they
+had been absent for fifteen years.</p>
+<p>Nicolo remained at Venice until 1271, when, no Pope having
+been elected, he deemed it well that he should return to the
+Great Khan to explain the delay which had taken place in the
+fulfilment of his mission.&nbsp; Accompanied by his brother
+Maffeo, and his son Marco, a lad of seventeen, he sailed to Acre,
+and thence to the port of Ayas on the gulf of Scanderoon, where
+he was overtaken by the news that a Pope had at last been elected
+in the person of an old friend of his, Tedoldo Visconti, or Pope
+Gregory X., at that time legate in Syria.&nbsp; The new Pope
+immediately sent for the two brothers to Acre, and charged them
+with a cordial message for the Khan.&nbsp; He also sent him two
+Dominican monks to teach the truths of science and Christianity;
+but they took fright at an early stage of the journey, and
+hurried back to Acre; while the two brothers, with young Polo,
+started overland for the Court of the Great Khan.</p>
+<p>Reaching Hormuz, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, they seem
+to have taken a northern route; traversing successively the
+regions of Kerman and Khorasan, Balkh and Badakshan, and
+ascending the <a name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+5</span>Upper Oxus to the great plateau of Pamir&mdash;a route
+followed by no European traveller, except Benedict Goro, until it
+was undertaken by Captain John Wood, of the Indian navy, in his
+special expedition to the sources of the Oxus in 1838.&nbsp;
+Leaving the bleak wastes of the Pamir, the Polos descended into
+Kashgar, visited Yarkand and Khotand, passed near Lake Lob, and
+eventually traversed the great Desert of the Gobi, since explored
+by several European travellers, to Tangut, the name then applied
+by Mongols and Persians to territory at the extreme north-west of
+China, both within and without the famous Wall.&nbsp; Skirting
+the Chinese frontier, they came upon the Great Khan at his summer
+palace of Kaiping-fu, near the foot of the Khin-gan Mountains,
+and about fifty miles north of the Great Wall.&nbsp; This must
+have been in May, 1275, or thereabouts, when Marco Polo was close
+upon one and twenty.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The king of kings&rdquo; received the three bold
+Venetians with much favour.&nbsp; &ldquo;He showed great pleasure
+at their coming, and asked many questions as to their welfare,
+and how they had sped.&nbsp; They replied that they had in verity
+sped well, seeing that they found the Khan well and safe.&nbsp;
+Then they presented the credentials and letters which they had
+received from the Pope, and those pleased him right well; and
+after that they produced some sacred oil from the Holy Sepulchre,
+whereat he was very glad, valuing it greatly.&nbsp; And next,
+spying Marco, who was then a young gallant (<i>jeune
+bacheler</i>), he asked who was that in their company.&nbsp;
+&lsquo;Sire,&rsquo; said his father, Messer Nicolo, &lsquo;he is
+my son and your liegeman.&rsquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;Welcome is he
+too,&rsquo; quoth the Emperor.&nbsp; <a name="page6"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 6</span>But why should I make a long
+story?&nbsp; There was great rejoicing at the Court because of
+their arrival; and they met with attention and honour from
+everybody.&nbsp; So there they abode at the Court with the other
+barons.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Among young Marco Polo&rsquo;s gifts appears to have been a
+facility for acquiring languages.&nbsp; He speedily mastered that
+of the Tartars, so as both to write and speak it; and in a brief
+space he came to know several other languages and four written
+characters.&nbsp; He studied also the customs of the Tartars and
+their mode of carrying on war.&nbsp; His ability and prudence
+greatly recommended him to Kublai, and he began to employ him in
+the public service.&nbsp; His first embassy was to a country
+lying a six months journey distant; apparently the province of
+Yun-nan, which he reached by way of Shansi, Shensi and
+Szechuen.&nbsp; He had been shrewd enough to observe that the
+Khan was disgusted with the rigid officialism of his ambassadors,
+who, on returning from their various missions, would speak only
+of the business they had transacted, whereas he would fain have
+heard of the strange things, peoples, and countries they had
+seen.&nbsp; And so he took full notes of all he saw, and returned
+to the Khan&rsquo;s Court brimful of surprising information, to
+which the prince listened with evident pleasure.&nbsp; &ldquo;If
+this young man live,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;he will assuredly
+come to be a person of great work and capacity.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>For seventeen years Marco Polo remained in the Khan&rsquo;s
+service, being sent on several important embassies, and engaged
+also in the domestic administration.&nbsp; For three years he
+held the government of <a name="page7"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 7</span>the important city of Yangchau.&nbsp;
+On another occasion, with his uncle Maffeo, he spent a
+twelvemonth at Kangchau in Tangut.&nbsp; He also visited
+Karakorum, the old Mongolian capital of the Khans, and penetrated
+into Champa, or Southern Cochin China.&nbsp; Finally, he seems to
+have been sent on a mission to the Indian Seas, and to have
+explored several of the southern states of India.&nbsp; And thus
+it came about that Messer Marco Polo had knowledge of, or
+actually visited, a greater number of the different countries of
+the world than any other man; the more that he was always eager
+to gain information, and to examine and inquire into
+everything.</p>
+<p>Meantime, the Venetians were growing wealthy, and
+Marco&rsquo;s father and uncle were growing old; and increasing
+wealth and increasing years raised in them an apprehension of
+what might befall them in case of the aged Khan&rsquo;s death,
+and a desire to return to their native land.&nbsp; Several times
+they applied to Kublai for permission to depart; but he was loth
+to say farewell to the men whom he had known and trusted so long,
+and, but for an opportune event, they might never have succeeded
+in carrying themselves and their jewels and gold back to
+Europe.&nbsp; In 1286 Argh&uacute;n Khan, of Persia,
+Kublai&rsquo;s great-nephew, lost his favourite wife, the Khatun
+Bulagh&aacute;n.&nbsp; On her death-bed she charged him to supply
+her place with a daughter of her own tribe, the Mongols of
+Bayaut; and, desirous of fulfilling her dying wish, the bereaved
+prince despatched three ambassadors to Kublai&rsquo;s Court to
+seek for him a fitting bride.&nbsp; The Great Khan received them
+with all honour and hospitality, and then sent for the lady
+Kukachiu, a maiden of <a name="page8"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 8</span>seventeen, and a very beautiful and
+gracious person.&nbsp; On her arrival at Court she was presented
+to the three ambassadors, who declared that the lady pleased them
+well.</p>
+<p>The overland route from Peking to Tabriz was long and
+dangerous, and the envoys decided, therefore, on returning, with
+their fair charge, by sea.&nbsp; While sojourning at the
+Khan&rsquo;s Court they had made the acquaintance of the three
+Venetians, and being greatly impressed by their marvellous good
+sense and experience, and by Marco Polo&rsquo;s extensive
+knowledge of the Indian seas and territories, they entreated the
+Khan to allow them the advantage and protection of their
+company.&nbsp; It was with profound reluctance that Kublai gave
+his consent; but when once he had done so, he behaved with his
+wonted splendour of generosity.&nbsp; Summoning the three
+Venetians to his presence, he placed in their hands two golden
+&ldquo;tablets of authority,&rdquo; which secured them a free
+passage through all his dominions, and unlimited supplies of all
+necessaries for themselves and for their company.&nbsp; He
+entrusted them also with messages to the King of France, the King
+of England, the King of Spain, and other sovereigns of
+Christendom.&nbsp; Then he caused thirteen ships to be equipped,
+each with four masts and nine to twelve sails; and when all was
+ready, the ambassadors and the lady, with the three Venetians,
+took leave of the Great Khan, and went on board their ships, with
+a large retinue, and with two years&rsquo; supplies provided by
+the Emperor (<span class="GutSmall">A.D.</span> 1292).</p>
+<p>The port from which they set out seems to have been that of
+Zaytou, in Fo-kien.&nbsp; The voyage was long and wearisome, and
+chequered by much ill <a name="page9"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 9</span>fortune; and in the course of it two
+of the ambassadors died, and as many as six hundred of the
+mariners and attendants.&nbsp; They were detained for months on
+the coast of Sumatra, and in the south of India; nor did they
+arrive at Hormuz until the end of 1293.&nbsp; There they learned
+that Argh&uacute;n Khan had been dead a couple of years, and that
+he had been succeeded by his brother Kaikhatu.&nbsp; The lady,
+according to the custom of the country, became the wife of
+Argh&uacute;n&rsquo;s son, Prince Ghazan, who is spoken of as
+endowed with some of the highest qualities of a king, a soldier,
+and a legislator; but she wept much in bidding farewell to her
+noble Venetian friends.</p>
+<p>As for Marco Polo, his father, and uncle, having discharged
+the trust placed in their hands by Kublai Khan, they proceeded to
+Tabriz, on a visit to Kaikhatu; and having sojourned there for
+some months, journeyed homeward by way of Trebizond,
+Constantinople, and Negropont, arriving in Venice in 1295, after
+an absence of four and twenty years.</p>
+<p>The traditional story of their arrival is related by
+Ramusio:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Years of anxiety and travel, and the hardships of many
+journeys, had so changed the appearance of the three Venetians,
+who, indeed, had almost forgotten their native tongue, that no
+one in Venice recognized them.&nbsp; Their clothes, too, were
+coarse and shabby, and after the Tartar fashion.&nbsp; Proceeding
+to their house in Venice, a lofty and handsome palazzo, and known
+by the name of the Corte del Millioni, they found it occupied by
+some of their relatives, whom they had no small difficulty in
+convincing of their identity.&nbsp; To secure the desired
+recognition, and the <a name="page10"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 10</span>honourable notice of the whole city,
+they adopted a quaint device.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inviting a number of their friends and kindred to an
+entertainment, they were careful that it should be prepared with
+great state and splendour; and when the hour came for sitting
+down to table, they came forth from their chamber, all clothed in
+crimson satin, fashioned in long robes reaching to the ground,
+such as in those days people wore within doors.&nbsp; And when
+water for ablutions had been served, and the guests were sat,
+they doffed these robes, and put on others of crimson damask,
+while the first suits were, by their orders, cut up and divided
+among the servants.&nbsp; After partaking of some of the dishes,
+they again retired, to come back resplendent in robes of crimson
+velvet, and when they had again taken their seats, the cast-off
+robes were divided as before.&nbsp; When dinner was over, they
+did the like with the robes of velvet, after they had attired
+themselves in dresses of the same fashion as those worn by the
+rest of the company.&nbsp; Much wonder and astonishment did the
+guests exhibit at these proceedings.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, when the cloth had been removed, and all the
+servants had quitted the dining-hall, Messer Marco, as the
+youngest of the three, rose from table, and, going into another
+chamber, brought forth the three shabby dresses of coarse stuff
+which they had worn, on their arrival in the city.&nbsp;
+Straightway, with sharp knives they began to rip some of the
+seams and welts, and to draw forth vast quantities of jewels of
+the highest value&mdash;rubies and sapphires, carbuncles,
+diamonds, and emeralds&mdash;which had all been stitched up in
+those dresses so <a name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+11</span>artfully that nobody could have suspected their
+presence.&nbsp; For when they took leave of the Great Khan, they
+had converted all the wealth he had bestowed upon them into this
+mass of precious stones, being well aware of the impossibility of
+carrying with them so great an amount in gold, over a journey of
+such extreme length and difficulty.&nbsp; The exhibition of this
+immense treasure of jewels and precious stones, all poured out
+upon the table, threw the guests into fresh amazement, so that
+they appeared bewildered and dumfounded.&nbsp; And straightway
+they recognized, what they had formerly doubted, that the three
+strangers were indeed those worthy and honoured gentlemen of the
+Polo family whom they had claimed to be; and paid them the
+greatest reverence.&nbsp; And the story being bruited abroad in
+Venice, the whole city, gentle and simple, hastened to the house
+to embrace them, and make much of them, with every demonstration
+of affection and respect.&nbsp; On Messer Maffeo, the eldest,
+they conferred an office that in those days was of high dignity;
+while the young men came daily to visit and converse with the
+ever polite and gracious Messer Marco, and to ask him questions
+about Cathay and the Great Khan, all of which he answered with
+such courtesy and kindliness, that every man felt himself in a
+manner in his debt.&nbsp; And as it chanced that in the narrative
+which he was constantly called on to repeat of the magnificence
+of the Great Khan, he would speak of his revenues as amounting to
+ten or fifteen &lsquo;millions&rsquo; of gold, and, in like
+manner, when recounting other instances of great wealth in those
+remote lands, would always employ the term
+&lsquo;millions,&rsquo; people nicknamed him <a
+name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 12</span>Messer Marco
+<i>Millioni</i>&mdash;a circumstance which I have noted also in
+the public books of this Republic where he is mentioned.&nbsp;
+The court of his house, too, at S. Giovanni Crisostomo has always
+from that time been popularly known as the Court of the
+Millioni.&rdquo; <a name="citation12"></a><a href="#footnote12"
+class="citation">[12]</a></p>
+<p>We pass on to 1298, a year which witnessed a fresh outburst of
+the bitter enmity between Genoa and Venice.&nbsp; The Genoese,
+intent upon crushing their formidable rival, despatched a great
+fleet into the Adriatic, under the command of Lamba Doria.&nbsp;
+Off the island of Curzola they were met by a more powerful
+armada, of which Andrea Dandolo was admiral, and one of the
+galleys of which was commanded by Marco Polo.&nbsp; The battle
+began early on the 7th of September, the Venetians entering into
+it with the glad confidence of victory.&nbsp; Their impetuous
+attack was rewarded by the capture of the Genoese galleys; but,
+dashing on too eagerly, many of their ships ran aground.&nbsp;
+One of these was captured, cleared of its crew, and filled with
+Genoese.&nbsp; Closing up into a column, the Genoese pushed the
+encounter hotly, and broke through the Venetian line, which the
+misadventure we have spoken of had thrown into disorder.&nbsp;
+Throughout the long September day the fight was bravely
+supported; but, towards sunset, a squadron of cruising ships
+arriving to reinforce Doria, the Venetians were taken in flank,
+and finally overpowered.&nbsp; The victory of the Genoese was
+complete; they captured nearly all the Venetian vessels,
+including <a name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+13</span>the admiral&rsquo;s, and seven thousand men, among whom
+were Dandolo and Marco Polo.&nbsp; The former disappointed the
+triumph of his victors by dashing out his brains against the side
+of his galley; the latter was removed to Genoa.</p>
+<p>During his captivity Polo made the acquaintance of a Pisan man
+of letters, named Rusticiano, or Rustichello, who was a prisoner
+like himself.&nbsp; When he learned the nature of Polo&rsquo;s
+remarkable experiences, this Pisan gentleman, not unnaturally,
+urged him to record them in writing; and it would seem that the
+great traveller complied with the request, and dictated to his
+new friend the narrative that has since excited so much curious
+interest.&nbsp; Through the intervention of Matteo Visconti,
+Captain-General of Milan, peace was concluded in May, 1299,
+between Genoa and Venice, and as one of the conditions was the
+release of prisoners on both sides, Messer Marco Polo soon
+afterwards obtained his freedom, and returned to his family
+mansion in the Corte del Sabbrin.&nbsp; He took with him the
+manuscript story of his world wanderings, and in 1306 presented a
+copy of it to a noble French knight, Thibault de Cipoy, who had
+been sent on a diplomatic mission to Venice by Charles of
+Valois.</p>
+<p>The closing years of a life which, in its spring and summer,
+had been crowded with incident and adventures, were undisturbed
+by any notable event, and in his old age Marco Polo enjoyed the
+sweetness of domestic peace and the respect of his
+fellow-countrymen.&nbsp; On the 9th of January, 1324,
+&ldquo;finding himself growing feebler every day through bodily
+ailment, but being by the grace of God of a meek mind, and <a
+name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 14</span>of senses and
+judgment unimpaired, he made his will, in which he constituted as
+his trustees Donata, his beloved wife, and his dear daughters,
+Fantina, Bellola, and Monta,&rdquo; bequeathing to them the bulk
+of his property.&nbsp; How soon afterwards he died, there is no
+evidence to show; but it is at least certain that it was before
+June, 1325.&nbsp; We may conclude, therefore, that his varied
+life fulfilled the Psalmist&rsquo;s space of seventy years.</p>
+<p>Marco Polo, says Martin Bucer, was the creator of the modern
+geography of Asia.&nbsp; He was the Humboldt of the thirteenth
+century; and the record of his travels must prove an imperishable
+monument of his force of character, wide intelligence and
+sympathy, and unshaken intrepidity.&nbsp; We have thus briefly
+summarized his remarkable career, and indicated the general
+extent of his travels.&nbsp; To follow him in detail throughout
+his extensive journeys would be impossible within the limits
+prescribed to us; and we shall content ourselves, therefore, with
+such extracts from his narrative as will best illustrate their
+more interesting and striking features, and indirectly assist us
+in forming some conception of the man himself.</p>
+<p>And first, we take his description of the great river of
+Badakshan and the table-land of Pamir&mdash;which the wandering
+Kirghiz call &ldquo;The Roof of the
+World&rdquo;&mdash;substituting modern names of places for those
+in the original.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>&ldquo;In leaving Badakshan, you ride twelve days between east
+and north-east, ascending a river [the Upper Oxus] that runs
+through land belonging to a brother of the Prince of Badakshan,
+and containing a good <a name="page15"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 15</span>many towns and villages and scattered
+habitations.&nbsp; The people are Mohammedans, and valiant in
+war.&nbsp; At the end of those twelve days you come to a province
+of no great size, extending indeed no more than three days&rsquo;
+journey in any direction, and this is called Wakhan.&nbsp; The
+people worship Mohammed, and have a peculiar language.&nbsp; They
+are gallant soldiers, and have a chief whom they call <i>None</i>
+[No-no?], which is as much as to say Count, and they are liegemen
+to the Prince of Badakshan.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There are numbers of wild beasts of all kinds in this
+region.&nbsp; And when you leave this little country, and ride
+three days north-east, always among mountains, you get to such a
+height that it is spoken of as the highest place in the
+world.&nbsp; And when you reach this height, you find a great
+lake between two mountains [Lake Sir-i-kol], and out of it a pure
+river [the Oxus] flows through a plain clothed with the most
+beautiful pasture in the world, so that a lean beast would fatten
+there to your heart&rsquo;s content in ten days.&nbsp; There are
+great numbers of all kinds of wild beasts; among others, wild
+sheep of large size, with horns six palms in length [the Rass, or
+<i>Ovis Poli</i>].&nbsp; From these horns the shepherds make
+great bowls out of which to eat their food; and they use the
+horns also to enclose folds for their cattle at night.&nbsp;
+Messer Marco was told also that the wolves were numerous, and
+killed many of those wild sheep.&nbsp; Hence quantities of their
+horns and bones were found, and these were made into great heaps
+by the wayside, in order to direct travellers when snow lay on
+the earth.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The plain is called Pamir, and you ride across it for
+twelve days together, finding nothing but a desert <a
+name="page16"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 16</span>without
+habitation or any green thing, so that travellers are compelled
+to carry with them whatever they have need of.&nbsp; The region
+is so lofty and so cold, that not a bird is to be seen.&nbsp; And
+I must also observe that, owing to this extreme cold, fire does
+not burn so brightly, nor give out so much heat as usual, nor
+does it cook food so thoroughly.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, if we continue our journey towards the
+east-north-east, we travel fully forty days, continually passing
+over mountains and hills, or through valleys, and crossing many
+rivers and wildernesses.&nbsp; And in all this extent you find
+neither habitation of man, nor any green thing, and must carry
+with you whatever you require.&nbsp; The country is called Bolor
+[the Tibetan kingdom of Balti].&nbsp; The people dwell high up in
+the mountains, and are savage idolaters, living only by the
+chase, and clothing themselves in the skins of beasts.&nbsp; They
+are, in truth, an evil race.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>[In February, 1838, Captain John Wood crossed the Pamir, and
+his description of it may be compared with the Venetian
+traveller&rsquo;s.&nbsp; &ldquo;We stood, to use a native
+expression,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;upon the
+<i>B&aacute;ni-i-Duniah</i>, or &lsquo;Roof of the World,&rsquo;
+while before us lay stretched a noble, but frozen sheet of water,
+from whose western end issued the infant river of the Oxus.&nbsp;
+This fine lake (Sir-i-kol) lies in the form of a crescent, about
+fourteen miles long from east to west, by an average breadth of
+one mile.&nbsp; On three sides it is bordered by swelling hills
+about 500 feet high, while along its southern bank they rise into
+mountains 3500 feet above the lake, or 19,000 feet above the sea,
+and covered with perpetual snow, from which never-failing source
+the <a name="page17"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 17</span>lake
+is supplied.&nbsp; Its elevation is 15,600 feet. . . .&nbsp; The
+appearance of the country presented the image of a winter of
+extreme severity.&nbsp; Wherever one&rsquo;s gaze rested, a
+dazzling bed of snow covered the soil like a carpet, while the
+sky above our heads was of a sombre and melancholy hue.&nbsp; A
+few clouds would have refreshed the eye, but none could be
+anywhere seen.&nbsp; Not a breath rippled the surface of the
+lake; not a living animal, not even a bird, presented itself to
+the view.&nbsp; The sound of a human voice had been harmonious
+music to the ear, but, at this inhospitable season of the year,
+no one ventured into these icy realms.&nbsp; Silence reigned
+everywhere around us; a silence so profound that it oppressed the
+heart.&rdquo; <a name="citation17"></a><a href="#footnote17"
+class="citation">[17]</a></p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Of the city of Lop (or Lob) and the great Desert of Gobi,
+Marco Polo writes:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Lop is a large town on the border of the desert which
+is called the Desert of Lop, and is situated between east and
+north-east.&nbsp; It belongs to the Great Khan, and the people
+worship Mohammed.&nbsp; Now, such persons as propose to cross the
+desert take a week&rsquo;s rest in this town to refresh
+themselves and their cattle; and then they make ready for the
+journey, taking with them a month&rsquo;s supply for man and
+beast.&nbsp; On quitting this city they enter the desert.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The extent of this desert is so great, that it is said
+it would take a year and more to ride from one end of it to the
+other.&nbsp; And here, where its breadth <a
+name="page18"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 18</span>is least, it
+takes a month to cross it.&nbsp; It is all composed of hills and
+valleys of sand, and contains not a thing to eat.&nbsp; But after
+riding for a day and a night you find fresh water, enough mayhap
+for some fifty or one hundred persons with their beasts, but not
+for more.&nbsp; And all across the desert you will find water in
+like manner, that is to say, in some twenty-eight places
+altogether you will find good water, but in no great quantity;
+and in four places also you find brackish water.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Beasts there are none; for there is no food for
+them.&nbsp; But there is a marvellous thing related of this
+desert, which is that when travellers are on the march by night,
+and one of them chances to drop behind, or to fall asleep or the
+like, when he tries to regain his company, he will hear spirits
+talking, and suppose them to be his comrades.&nbsp; Sometimes the
+spirits will call him by name; and thus shall a traveller
+frequently be led astray so that he never finds his party.&nbsp;
+And in this way many have perished.&nbsp; Sometimes the
+travellers will hear as it were the tramp and murmur of a great
+cavalcade of people away from the real line of road, and taking
+this to be their own company, will follow the sound; and when day
+breaks they discover the deception, and perceive that they are in
+an evil plight.&nbsp; Even in the day time the spirits may be
+heard talking.&nbsp; And sometimes you shall hear the sound of
+various musical instruments, and still more commonly the rattle
+of drums.&nbsp; Hence, in performing this journey, it is
+customary for travellers to keep close together.&nbsp; All the
+animals, too, have bells at their necks, so that they cannot
+easily get astray.&nbsp; <a name="page19"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 19</span>And at sleeping time a signal is
+hoisted to show the direction of the next march.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And in this way it is that the desert is
+crossed.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>As the sea has its mermaids, and the river its water-sprites,
+Undines, or Loreleys, which entice their victims to death, so the
+deserts and waste places of the earth have their goblins and
+malignant demons.&nbsp; The awe inspired by the vastness and
+dreary solitude of the wilderness suggests to the imagination
+only gloomy ideas, and it is conceived of as a place where no
+influences or beings favourable to man can exist.&nbsp; Its
+sounds are sounds of terror; its appearances all foster a
+sentiment of mystery.&nbsp; Pliny tells us of the phantoms that
+start up before the traveller in the African deserts;
+Mas&rsquo;udi, of the Gh&ucirc;ls, which in night and solitude
+seek to lead him astray.&nbsp; An Arab writer relates a tradition
+of the Western Sahara:&mdash;&ldquo;If the wayfarer be alone the
+demons make sport of him, and fascinate him, so that he wanders
+from his course and perishes.&rdquo;&nbsp; Colonel Yule remarks
+that the Afghan and Persian wildernesses also have their
+<i>Gh&ucirc;l-i-Be&aacute;ban</i>, or Goblin of the Waste, a
+gigantic and fearful spectre which devours travellers; and even
+the Gaels of the West Highlands have the desert creature of Glen
+Eiti, which, one-handed, one-eyed, one-legged, seems exactly to
+answer to the Arabian Nes&uacute;as or <i>Empusa</i>.&nbsp; And
+it may be added that the wind-swept wastes of Dartmoor, limited
+as is their expanse, are, in the eyes of the peasantry, haunted
+by mysterious and malevolent spirits.</p>
+<p>The effect of the Desert on a cultivated mind is well
+described by Madame Hommaire de Hell:&mdash;&ldquo;The <a
+name="page20"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 20</span>profound
+stillness,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;which reigns in the air
+produces an indescribable impression on our senses.&nbsp; We
+scarcely dare to interrupt it, it seems so solemn, so fully in
+harmony with the infinite grandeur of the desert.&nbsp; In vain
+will you seek a calm so absolute in even the remotest solitudes
+of civilized countries.&nbsp; Everywhere some spring murmurs,
+everywhere some trees rustle, everywhere in the silence of the
+nights some voices are heard which arrest the thought; but here
+nature is, so to speak, petrified, and we have before us the
+image of that eternal repose which the mind is hardly able to
+conceive.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Concerning the customs of the Tartars, Marco Polo
+writes:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Tartar custom is to spend the winter in warm plains
+where they find good fodder for their cattle, while in summer
+they betake themselves to a cool climate among the mountains and
+valleys, where water is to be found, as well as woods and
+pastures.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Their houses are circular, and are made of wands
+covered with felt.&nbsp; These are carried along with them
+whithersoever they go; for the wands are so strongly interwoven,
+and so well combined, that the framework can be made very
+light.&nbsp; Whenever these huts are erected, the door is always
+placed to the south.&nbsp; They also have waggons covered with
+black felt so efficaciously that no rain can enter.&nbsp; These
+are drawn by oxen and camels, and the women and children travel
+in them.&nbsp; The women do the buying and selling, and whatever
+is necessary to provide for the husband and household; for the
+men <a name="page21"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 21</span>all
+lead the life of gentlemen, troubling themselves about nothing
+but hawking and hunting, and looking after their goshawks and
+falcons, unless it be the practice of warlike exercises.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They live on the meat and milk which their birds
+supply, and on the produce of the chase; and they eat all kinds
+of flesh, including that of horses and dogs, and Pharaoh&rsquo;s
+rats, of which there are great numbers in burrows on these
+plains.&nbsp; Their drink is mare&rsquo;s milk. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;This is the fashion of their religion: They say there
+is a most high God of Heaven, whom they worship daily with
+thurible and incense, but they pray to him only for health of
+mind and body.&nbsp; But they have also a certain other god of
+theirs called Natigay, and they say he is the God of the Earth,
+who watches over their children, cattle, and crops.&nbsp; They
+show him great worship and honour, and every man hath a figure of
+him in his house, made of felt and cloth; and they also make in
+the same manner images of his wife and children.&nbsp; The wife
+they put on the left hand, and the children in front.&nbsp; And
+when they eat, they take the fat of the meat and grease the
+god&rsquo;s mouth withal, as well as the mouths of his wife and
+children.&nbsp; Then they take of the broth and sprinkle it
+before the door of the house; and that done, they deem that their
+god and his family have had their share of the dinner.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Their drink is mare&rsquo;s milk, prepared in such a
+way that you would take it for white wine, and a good right drink
+it is, called by them komiz.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The clothes of the wealthy Tartars are for the most
+part of gold and silk stuffs, lined with costly furs, <a
+name="page22"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 22</span>such as sable
+and ermine, vair and fox skin, in the richest fashion.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>As in succeeding chapters of this volume we shall have
+something to say about the manners and customs of the Mongolian
+nomads, we may here be content with observing that Marco
+Polo&rsquo;s &ldquo;Natigay&rdquo; seems identical with the
+&ldquo;Nongait&rdquo; or &ldquo;Ongotiu&rdquo; of the Buriats,
+who, according to Pallas, is honoured by them as the tutelary god
+of sheep and other cattle.&nbsp; Properly the divinity consists
+of <i>two</i> figures, hanging side by side, one of whom
+represents the god&rsquo;s wife.&nbsp; These two figures are
+merely a pair of lanky flat bolsters with the upper part shaped
+into a round disc, and the body hung with a long woolly fleece;
+eyes, nose, breasts, and navel being indicated by leather knobs
+stitched upon the surface.&nbsp; The male figure commonly has at
+his girdle the foot-rope with which horses at pasture are
+fettered, whilst the female, which is sometimes accompanied by
+smaller figures representing her children, is adorned with all
+sorts of little nick-nacks and sewing implements.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>The Tartar customs of war are thus described:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All their harness of war is excellent and costly.&nbsp;
+Their arms are bows and arrows, sword and mace; but, above all,
+the bow, for they are capital archers, indeed the best that are
+known.&nbsp; On their backs they wear armour of cuirbouly, <a
+name="citation22"></a><a href="#footnote22"
+class="citation">[22]</a> prepared from buffalo and other hides,
+which is very strong.&nbsp; They are excellent soldiers, and
+passing valiant in battle.&nbsp; <a name="page23"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 23</span>They are also more capable of
+hardship than other nations; for many a time, if need be, they
+will go for a month without any supply of food, living only on
+the milk of their mares and on such game as their bows may win
+them.&nbsp; Their horses also will subsist entirely on the grass
+of the plains, so that there is no need to carry store of barley,
+or straw, or oats; and they are very docile to their
+riders.&nbsp; These, in case of need, will abide on horseback the
+livelong night, armed at all points, while the horse will be
+continually grazing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of all troops in the world these are they which endure
+the greatest hardship and fatigue, and cost the least; and they
+are the best of all for making wide conquests of country.&nbsp;
+And there can be no manner of doubt that now they are the masters
+of the larger half of the world.&nbsp; Their armies are admirably
+ordered in the following manner:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You see, when a Tartar prince goes forth to war, he
+takes with him, say, a hundred thousand horse.&nbsp; Well, he
+appoints an officer to every ten men, one to every hundred, one
+to every thousand, and one to every ten thousand, so that his own
+orders have to be given to ten persons only, and each of these
+persons has to pass the orders only to other ten, and so on; none
+having to give orders to more than ten.&nbsp; And every one in
+turn is responsible only to the officer immediately over him; and
+the discipline and order that comes of this method is marvellous,
+for they are a people very obedient to their chiefs. . . .&nbsp;
+And when the army is on the march they have always two hundred
+horsemen, very well mounted, who are sent a distance of two
+marches in advance to <a name="page24"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 24</span>reconnoitre, and these always keep
+ahead.&nbsp; They have a similar party detached in the rear and
+on either flank, so that there is a good look-out kept on all
+sides against surprise.&nbsp; When they are going on a distant
+expedition, they take no gear with them except two leather
+bottles for milk, and a little earthenware pot to cook their meat
+in, and a little tent to shelter them from rain.&nbsp; And in
+case of great urgency, they will ride ten days on end without
+lighting a fire or taking a meal.&nbsp; On such an occasion they
+will sustain themselves on the blood of their horses, opening a
+vein and letting the blood jet into their mouths, drinking till
+they have had enough, and then staunching it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They also have milk dried into a kind of paste to carry
+with them; and when they need food, they put this in water, and
+beat it up till it dissolves, and then drink it.&nbsp; It is
+prepared in this way: They boil the milk, and when the rich part
+floats on the top they skim it into another vessel, and of that
+they make butter; for the milk will not become solid till this is
+removed.&nbsp; Then they put the milk in the sun to dry.&nbsp;
+And when they go on an expedition, every man takes some ten
+pounds of this dried milk with him.&nbsp; And of a morning he
+will take a half-pound of it and put it in his leather bottle,
+with as much water as he pleases.&nbsp; So, as he rides along,
+the milk-paste and the water in the bottle get well churned
+together into a kind of pap, and that makes his dinner.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When they come to an engagement with the enemy, they
+will gain the victory in this fashion: They never let themselves
+get into a regular medley, but keep perpetually riding round and
+shooting into the <a name="page25"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+25</span>enemy.&nbsp; And as they do not count it any shame to
+run away in battle, they will sometimes pretend to do so, and in
+running away they turn in the saddle and shoot hard and strong at
+the foe, and in this way make great havoc.&nbsp; Their horses are
+trained so perfectly that they will double hither and thither,
+just like a dog, in a way that is quite astonishing.&nbsp; Thus
+they fight to as good purpose in running away as if they stood
+and faced the enemy, because of the vast volleys of arrows that
+they shoot in this way, turning round upon their pursuers, who
+are fancying that they have won the battle.&nbsp; But when the
+Tartars see that they have killed and wounded a good many horses
+and men, they wheel round bodily, and return to the charge in
+perfect order, and with loud cries; and in a very short time the
+enemy are routed.&nbsp; In truth, they are stout and valiant
+soldiers, and inured to war.&nbsp; And you perceive that it is
+just when the enemy sees them run, and imagines that he has
+gained the battle, that he has in reality lost it; for the
+Tartars wheel round in a moment when they judge the right time
+has come.&nbsp; And after this fashion they have won many a
+fight.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All this that I have been telling you is true of the
+manners and customs of the genuine Tartars.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>We come next to the magnificent city of Chandu&mdash;that is,
+Shangtu, or &ldquo;Upper Towa,&rdquo; the Chinese title of Kublai
+Khan&rsquo;s summer palace at Kaiping-fu.&nbsp; The ruins, both
+of the city and palace, were extant as late as the end of the
+seventeenth century.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When you have ridden three days from the city of Chagan
+Nor [Chagan Balghassan], between <a name="page26"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 26</span>north-east and north, you come to a
+city called Chandu, which was built by the Khan now
+reigning.&nbsp; There is at this place a very fine marble palace,
+the rooms of which are all gilt and painted with figures of men
+and beasts and birds, and with a variety of trees and flowers,
+all wrought with such exquisite art that you regard them with
+delight and astonishment.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Round this palace is built a wall, enclosing a compass
+of sixteen miles, and inside the park are fountains and rivers
+and brooks and beautiful meadows, with all kinds of wild animals
+(excluding such as are of ferocious nature), which the Emperor
+has produced and placed there to supply food for the gerfalcons
+and hawks which he keeps in mew.&nbsp; Of these the gerfalcons
+alone number more than two hundred, without reckoning the other
+hawks.&nbsp; The Khan himself goes every week to see his birds
+sitting in mew, and sometimes he rides through the park with a
+leopard behind him on his horse&rsquo;s croup; and then, if he
+sees any animal that takes his fancy, he lets loose his leopard
+at it, and the game when taken is used to feed the hawks in
+mew.&nbsp; This he does for diversion.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Further, at a point in the park where blooms a
+delightful wood, he has another palace built of bamboo, of which
+I must give you a description.&nbsp; It is gilt all over, and
+most elaborately finished inside.&nbsp; It is supported on gilt
+and lackered columns, on each of which stands a dragon all gilt,
+the tail being attached to the column, while the head uplifts the
+architrave, and the claws likewise being extended right and left
+as props to the architrave.&nbsp; The roof also is formed of
+bamboo, covered with a varnish so good and strong that no amount
+of rain will rot it.&nbsp; <a name="page27"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 27</span>These canes are fully three palms in
+girth, and from ten to fifteen paces in length.&nbsp; They are
+cut across at each knot, and the pieces are then split so as to
+form from each two hollow tiles, and with them the house is
+roofed; only every such tile has to be nailed down to prevent the
+wind from lifting it.&nbsp; In short, the whole palace is built
+of these bamboos, which, I may mention, are employed for a great
+variety of other useful purposes.&nbsp; The construction of the
+palace is such that it can be taken down and put up again with
+great rapidity; and it can be removed to any place which he may
+desire.&nbsp; When erected, it is held up by more than two
+hundred (200) ropes of silk.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Emperor resides in this park of his, sometimes in
+the palace of marble, and sometimes in that of bamboo, for three
+mouths of the year, namely, June, July, and August; preferring
+this abode because it is by no means hot; in fact, it is very
+cool.&nbsp; When the 28th day of August arrives he takes his
+departure, and the bamboo palace is pulled to pieces.&nbsp; But I
+must tell you what happens when he takes his departure every year
+on the 28th of August.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must know that the Khan keeps an immense stud of
+white horses and mares; in truth, upwards of two hundred of them,
+and all pure white without a blemish.&nbsp; The milk of these
+mares is drunk by himself and family, and by no one else, except
+by the people of one great tribe who have also the privilege of
+drinking it&mdash;a privilege granted to them by Chingis Khan, on
+account of a certain victory which, long ago, they helped him to
+win.&nbsp; The name of the tribe is Horiad [the Uirad or
+Oirad].</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Now, when these mares are passing across the <a
+name="page28"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 28</span>country, and
+any one falls in with them, be he the greatest lord in the land,
+he must not presume to pass until the mares have gone by; he must
+either tarry where he is, or go a half-day&rsquo;s round if so
+need be, so as not to come nigh them; for they are to be treated
+with the greatest respect.&nbsp; Well, when the Emperor sets out
+from the park on the 28th of August, as I have told you, the milk
+of all those mares is taken and sprinkled on the ground.&nbsp;
+And this is done at the bidding of the idolaters and
+idol-priests, who say that it is an excellent thing to sprinkle
+that milk on the ground every 28th of August, so that the earth
+and the air and the false gods shall have their share of it, and
+the spirits likewise that inhabit the air and the earth.&nbsp;
+And thus those beings will protect and bless the Khan, and his
+children, and his wives, and his folk, and his gear, his cattle
+and his horses, his corn, and all that is his.&nbsp; After this
+is done, the Emperor is off and away.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;But I must now tell you a strange thing that hitherto I
+have omitted to mention.&nbsp; During the three months of every
+year that the Khan resides at that place, if it should chance to
+be bad weather, there are certain crafty enchanters and
+astrologers in his train who are such adepts in necromancy and
+the diabolic arts, that they are able to prevent any cloud or
+storm from traversing the spot whereon the imperial palace
+stands.&nbsp; The sorcerers who do this are called Icbit and
+Kesomin, which are the names of two nations of idolaters.&nbsp;
+Whatever they do in this way is by the help of the devil, but
+they make these people believe that it is compassed by their own
+sanctity and the help of God.&nbsp; They always go in a <a
+name="page29"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 29</span>state of dirt
+and uncleanness, devoid of respect for themselves, or for those
+who see them, unwashed, unkempt, and sordidly attired.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;These people have another custom which I must describe
+to you.&nbsp; If a man is condemned to death, and executed by the
+lawful authority, they take his body, and cook and eat it.&nbsp;
+But if any one die a natural death, then they will not eat his
+body.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is another marvel performed by these Bacsi
+[<i>Bakhshi</i>, or <i>Bhikshu</i>], of whom I have spoken as
+skilled in so many enchantments.&nbsp; For when the Great Khan is
+at his capital and in his great palace, seated at his table,
+which stands on a platform some eight cubits above the ground,
+his cups are set before him on a great buffet in the middle of
+the hall pavement, at a distance of some ten paces from his
+table, and filled with wine, or other good spiced liquor such as
+they use.&nbsp; Now, when the lord desires to drink, these
+necromancers, by the power of their enchantments, cause the cups
+to move from their place without being touched by anybody, and to
+present themselves to the Emperor!&nbsp; This every one present
+may witness, and ofttimes there are more than two thousand
+persons present.&nbsp; &rsquo;Tis a truth, and no lie; and so
+will the sages of your own country who understand necromancy,
+tell you, for they also can perform this marvel.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And when the idol festivals come round, these Bacsi go
+to the prince and say, &lsquo;Sire, the feast of such a god is
+come&rsquo; (naming him).&nbsp; &lsquo;My lord, you know,&rsquo;
+the enchanter will say, &lsquo;that this god, when he gets no
+offerings, always sends bad weather and spoils our seasons.&nbsp;
+So we pray you to give us such <a name="page30"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 30</span>and such a number of black-faced
+sheep&rsquo; (naming whatever number they please).&nbsp;
+&lsquo;And we also beg, good my lord, that we may have such a
+quantity of incense, and such a quantity of lign-aloes,
+and&rsquo;&mdash;so much of this, so much of that, and so much of
+t&rsquo;other, according to their fancy&mdash;&lsquo;that we may
+perform a solemn service and a great sacrifice to our idols, and
+that so they may be induced to protect us and all that is
+ours.&rsquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Bacsi say these things to the nobles entrusted with
+the stewardship, who stand round the Great Khan, and then repeat
+them to the Khan, and he then orders the nobles to give to the
+Bacsi anything they have demanded.&nbsp; And when they have
+received the articles, they go and make a great feast in honour
+of their god, and hold grand ceremonies of worship, with grand
+illuminations and quantities of incense of a variety of odours,
+which they make up from different aromatic spices.&nbsp; And then
+they cook the meat, and set it before the idols, and sprinkle
+their broth hither and thither, saying that in this way the idols
+obtain their bellyful.&nbsp; In this way it is that they keep
+their festivals.&nbsp; You must know that each idol has a name of
+his own, and a feast-day, just as our saints have their
+anniversaries.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They have also immense minsters and monasteries, some
+as big as a small town, with upwards of two thousand monks, so to
+speak, in a single monastery.&nbsp; These monks dress more
+decently than the rest of the people, and shave the head and
+beard.&nbsp; Some among these Bacsi are allowed by their rule to
+take wives, and they have plenty of children.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another kind of devotees is the Sunni, who are <a
+name="page31"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 31</span>more
+remarkable for their abstemiousness, and lead a life of such
+austerity as I will describe.&nbsp; All their life long they eat
+only bran, which they take mixed with hot water.&nbsp; That is
+their food; bran, and nothing but bran; with water for their
+drink.&nbsp; Their life is one long fast; so I may well speak of
+its asceticism as extraordinary.&nbsp; They have great idols, and
+very many; but they sometimes also worship fire.&nbsp; The other
+idolaters who are not also of this sect call these people
+heretics&mdash;<i>Palamis</i>, as we should say&mdash;because
+they do not worship the idols after their fashion.&nbsp; Those of
+whom I am now speaking would not take a wife on any
+consideration.&nbsp; They wear dresses of hempen stuff, black and
+blue, and sleep upon mats; in fact, their asceticism is something
+astonishing.&nbsp; Their idols are all feminine; that is, they
+bear women&rsquo;s names.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>[It was after reading Marco Polo&rsquo;s account of the Great
+Khan&rsquo;s palace, as it is given in Purchas&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;Pilgrims,&rdquo; that the poet Coleridge, falling asleep,
+dreamed his melodious dream of Kublai&rsquo;s Paradise.&nbsp;
+When he awoke he was able to recall a portion of it, beginning
+thus:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;In Xanadu did Kubla Khan<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; A stately pleasure-dome decree:<br />
+Where Alph, the sacred river, ran,<br />
+By caverns measureless to man,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Down to a sunless sea.<br />
+So twice five inches of fertile ground<br />
+With walls and towers were girdled round;<br />
+And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,<br />
+Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;<br />
+And here were forests, ancient as the hills,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.&rdquo;]</p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p><a name="page32"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 32</span>The
+principal palace of the Great Khan was situated, however, at
+Cambaluc (the modern Peking), and is thus described by our
+Venetian:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It is enclosed all round by a great wall, forming a
+square, each side of which is a mile in length; that is to say,
+the whole compass thereof is four miles.&nbsp; This you may
+depend on; it is also very thick, and a good ten paces in height,
+whitewashed and loop-holed all round.&nbsp; At each angle of the
+wall is situated a very fine and rich palace, in which the war
+harness of the Emperor is kept, such as bows and quivers, saddles
+and bridles, and bowstrings, and everything needful for an
+army.&nbsp; Also, midway between every two of these corner
+palaces is another of the like; so that, taking the whole circuit
+of the enclosed, you will find eight vast palaces stored with the
+great lord&rsquo;s harness of war.&nbsp; And you must understand
+that each palace is reserved for only one kind of article; one
+being stored with bows, a second with saddles, a third with
+bridles, and so on, in succession, right round.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The great wall has five gates on its southern face, the
+central being the great gate, which is opened only for the egress
+or admission of the Great Khan himself.&nbsp; Close on either
+side is a smaller one, through which all other people pass; and
+then, towards each angle, is another great gate, also open to
+people in general; so that on that side are five gates in
+all.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Inside of this wall is a second, enclosing a space that
+is somewhat longer than it is broad.&nbsp; This enclosure has its
+eight palaces also, corresponding to those of the outer wall, and
+stored like them with <a name="page33"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 33</span>the Emperor&rsquo;s harness of
+war.&nbsp; There are likewise five gates on the southern face,
+answering to those in the outer wall; and one gate on each of the
+other faces.&nbsp; In the centre of the second enclosure stands
+the Emperor&rsquo;s Great Palace, and I will tell you what it is
+like.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must know that it is the greatest palace ever
+erected.&nbsp; Towards the north it is in contact with the outer
+wall, while towards the south lies a vacant space which the
+nobles and the soldiers are constantly traversing.&nbsp; The
+palace itself hath no upper story, but is all on the ground
+floor; only the basement is raised some ten palms above the
+surrounding soil.&nbsp; And this elevation is retained by a wall
+of marble raised to the level of the pavement, two paces in
+width, and projecting beyond the base of the palace so as to form
+a kind of terrace-walk, by which people can pass round the
+building, and this is exposed to view; while along the outer edge
+of the wall runs a very fine pillared balustrade, up to which the
+people are allowed to come.&nbsp; The roof is very lofty, and the
+walls are covered with gold and silver.&nbsp; They are also
+adorned with representations of dragons, sculptured and gilt,
+beasts and birds, knights and idols, and divers other
+subjects.&nbsp; And on the ceiling, too, can nothing be seen but
+gold and silver and painting.&nbsp; On each of the four sides is
+a great marble staircase, leading to the top of the marble wall,
+and forming the approach to the palace.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The hall of the palace is so large that it could easily
+dine six thousand people; and it is quite a marvel to see how
+many rooms there are besides.&nbsp; The building is altogether so
+vast, so rich, and so <a name="page34"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 34</span>beautiful, that no man on earth could
+design anything superior to it.&nbsp; The outside of the roof
+also is all coloured with vermilion and yellow and green and blue
+and other hues, which are fixed with a varnish so fine and
+exquisite, that they shine like crystal, and lend a resplendent
+lustre to the palace, visible far around.&nbsp; This roof is so
+solidly and strongly constructed that it is fit to last for
+ever.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the inner side of the palace are large buildings
+with halls and chambers, where the Emperor&rsquo;s private
+property is placed, such as his treasures of gold, silver, gems,
+pearls, and gold plate, and in which the ladies and concubines
+reside.&nbsp; He occupies himself there at his own convenience,
+and no one else has access to it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Between the two walls of the enclosure which I have
+described are two fine parks, and beautiful trees bearing a
+variety of fruits.&nbsp; There are beasts also of sundry kinds,
+such as white stags and fallow deer, gazelles and roebucks, and
+fine squirrels of various kinds, with numbers also of the animal
+that gives the musk, and all manner of other beautiful creatures,
+insomuch that the whole place is full of them, and no spot
+remains void except where there is traffic of people going to and
+fro.&nbsp; The parks are covered with abundant grass; and the
+roads through them being all paved and raised two cubits above
+the surface, they never become muddy, nor does the rain lodge on
+them, but flows off into the meadows, quickening the soil and
+producing that fertility of herbage.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;From the north-western corner of the enclosure extends
+a fine lake, containing abundance of fish of different kinds,
+which the Emperor hath caused to be <a name="page35"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 35</span>put in there, so that, whenever he
+desires any, he can have them at his pleasure.&nbsp; A river
+enters this lake and issues from it; but a grating of iron or
+brass is put up to prevent the escape of the fish.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Moreover, about a bowshot from the north side of the
+palace is an artificial hill, made with the earth out of the
+lake; it is a good hundred paces in height, and a mile in
+compass, and is entirely covered with evergreen trees which never
+lose their leaves.&nbsp; And I assure you that wherever a
+beautiful tree exists, and the Emperor hears of it, he sends for
+it and has it transported bodily, with all its roots and the
+earth attached to them, and planted upon his hill.&nbsp; No
+matter how huge the tree may be, he has it carried by his
+elephants, and in this way he has formed the finest collection of
+trees in all the world.&nbsp; And he has also caused the whole
+hill to be covered with ore of azure, <a name="citation35"></a><a
+href="#footnote35" class="citation">[35]</a> which is very
+green.&nbsp; And thus not only are the trees all green, but the
+hill itself is all green likewise; and there is nothing to be
+seen on it that is not green; and hence it is called the Green
+Mount; and, in good sooth, it is well named.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;On the top of the hill, too, stands a fair large
+palace, which is all green outside and in, so that the hill, and
+the trees, and the palace form together a charming spectacle; and
+it is wonderful to see their uniformity of colour.&nbsp;
+Everybody who sees it is delighted.&nbsp; And the Great Khan has
+ordered this beautiful prospect for the comfort, solace, and
+delectation of his heart.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You must know that besides the palace I have <a
+name="page36"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 36</span>been
+describing, <i>i.e.</i> the Great Palace, the Emperor has caused
+another to be built, resembling his own in every respect; and
+this he has done for his son, when he shall reign and be Emperor
+after him.&nbsp; Hence it is made just in the same fashion, and
+of the same size, so that everything can be carried on in the
+same manner after his death.&nbsp; It stands on the other side of
+the lake from the Great Khan&rsquo;s palace, and a bridge is
+thrown across from one to the other.&nbsp; The prince I speak of
+holds now a seal of empire, but not with such complete authority
+as the Great Khan, who remains supreme as long as he
+lives.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Let us now accompany the Emperor on a hunting
+expedition:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;After he has sojourned in his capital city for three
+months, December, January, and February, the Great Khan starts on
+the first day of March, and travels southward towards the Ocean
+Sea, a two days&rsquo; journey.&nbsp; He takes with him fully ten
+thousand falconers and some five hundred falcons, besides
+peregrines, sakers, and other hawks in great number; and goshawks
+also, for flying at the water-fowl.&nbsp; But do not suppose that
+he keeps all these together by him; they are distributed hither
+and thither, one hundred together, or two hundred at the utmost,
+as he thinks proper.&nbsp; But they are always fowling as they
+advance, and the greater part of the quarry taken is carried to
+the Emperor.&nbsp; And let me tell you, when he goes thus
+a-fowling with his gerfalcons and other hawks, he is attended by
+fully ten thousand men, who are placed in couples; and these are
+called <i>Toscach</i>, which is as much as to say,
+&lsquo;Watchers.&rsquo;&nbsp; The name describes <a
+name="page37"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 37</span>their
+business.&nbsp; They are posted from spot to spot, always in
+couples, so that they cover a good deal of ground.&nbsp; Each of
+them is provided with whistle and hood, so as to be able to call
+in a hawk, and hold it in hand.&nbsp; And when the Emperor makes
+a cast, there in no need that he should follow it up, for the men
+I speak of keep so close a watch that they never lose sight of
+the birds, if the hawks require help, they are ready to render
+it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Emperor&rsquo;s hawks, as well as those of the
+nobles, have a little label attached to the leg to mark them,
+whereon are written the names of the owner and the keeper of the
+bird.&nbsp; So that the hawk, when caught, is at once identified,
+and handed over to its owner.&nbsp; But if not, the bird is
+carried to a certain noble, styled the <i>Bulargachi</i>, that
+is, &lsquo;the Keeper of Lost Property.&rsquo;&nbsp; And I tell
+you that anything found without a proper owner, whether horse,
+sword, or hawk, or what not, is taken immediately to that
+official, and he holds it in charge.&nbsp; Should the finder
+neglect to carry his trover to the Bulargachi, the latter
+punishes him.&nbsp; Likewise, the loser of any article goes to
+him, and should it be in his hands, he immediately gives it up to
+its owner.&nbsp; Moreover, the said noble always pitches on the
+highest point of the camp, with his banner displayed, in order
+that those who have lost or found should have no difficulty in
+making their way to him.&nbsp; Thus, nothing can be lost without
+being quickly found and restored. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Emperor, on his journey, is borne upon four
+elephants in a fine pavilion made of timber, lined inside with
+plates of beaten gold, and outside with lion&rsquo;s skins.&nbsp;
+He always travels in this fashion on his <a
+name="page38"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 38</span>hunting
+expeditions, because he is troubled with gout.&nbsp; He
+invariably keeps beside him a dozen of his choicest gerfalcons,
+and is attended by several of his nobles, who ride on horseback
+by his side.&nbsp; And sometimes, as they go along, and the
+Emperor from his chamber is discoursing with his nobles, one of
+the latter will exclaim, &lsquo;Sire, look out for
+cranes!&rsquo;&nbsp; Then the Emperor has the top of his chamber
+instantly thrown open, and, having marked the cranes, he casts
+one of his gerfalcons, whichever he pleases; and often the quarry
+is struck in his sight, so that he has the most exquisite sport
+and diversion, as he sits in his chamber or lies on his bed; and
+all the nobles in attendance share the enjoyment with him!&nbsp;
+So it is not without reason I tell you that I do not believe
+there ever existed in the world, or will exist, a man with such
+sport and enjoyment as he has, or with such rare
+opportunities.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And when he has travelled until he reaches a place
+called Cachar Modem, there he finds his tents pitched, with the
+tents of his sons, and his nobles, and those of his ladies, and
+their attendants, so that there shall be fully ten thousand in
+all, and all costly and handsome.&nbsp; And I will tell you how
+his own quarters are disposed.&nbsp; The tent in which he held
+his courts is large enough to accommodate a thousand
+persons.&nbsp; It is pitched with its door to the south, and the
+nobles and knights remain in attendance in it, while the Emperor
+abides in another close to it on the west side.&nbsp; When he
+wishes to speak with any person, he causes him to be summoned to
+the great tent.&nbsp; Immediately behind the latter is a spacious
+chamber, where he sleeps. . . .&nbsp; The two audience-tents and
+the <a name="page39"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+39</span>sleeping-chamber are thus constructed:&mdash;Each of the
+audience-tents has three poles, which are of spice-wood, and most
+artfully covered with lion&rsquo;s skins, striped with black and
+white and red, so that they do not suffer from any weather.&nbsp;
+All three apartments are also covered outside with similar skins
+of striped lions, a substance that lasts for ever.&nbsp; Inside
+they are lined with sable and ermine, which are the finest and
+costliest furs in existence. . . .&nbsp; All the tent-ropes are
+of silk.&nbsp; In short, I may say that these tents, namely, the
+two halls of audience and the sleeping-chamber, are so costly,
+that it is not every king could afford to pay for them.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Round about these tents are others, also fine ones and
+beautifully pitched, in which abide the imperial ladies, and the
+ladies of the different princes and officers.&nbsp; Tents are
+there also for the hawks and their keepers, so that altogether
+the number of tents on the plain is something wonderful.&nbsp; To
+see the many people who are thronging to and fro on every side
+and every day there, you would take the camp for a good large
+city.&nbsp; For you must include the physicians and astrologers
+and falconers, and all the other attendants on so numerous a
+company; and add that everybody has his own household with him,
+for such is their custom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There until the spring the Emperor remains encamped,
+and all that time he does nothing but go hawking among the cane
+brakes that fringe the abundant lakes and rivers in that region,
+and across broad plains plentifully frequented by cranes and
+swans, and all other kinds of fowl.&nbsp; Nor are the rest of the
+nobles of the camp ever weary of hunting and <a
+name="page40"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 40</span>hawking, and
+daily they bring home great store of venison and feathered game
+of every kind.&nbsp; Indeed, unless you witnessed it, you would
+never believe what quantities of game are taken, and what
+marvellous sport and diversion they have while residing there in
+camp.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Another thing I must mention, namely, that for twenty
+days&rsquo; journey round the spot nobody is allowed, whoever he
+may be, to keep hawks or hounds, though anywhere else whoever
+chooses may keep them.&nbsp; And furthermore, throughout all the
+Emperor&rsquo;s territories, nobody, however audacious, dares to
+hunt any of these four animals, namely, hare, stag, buck, and
+roe, from the month of March to the month of October.&nbsp;
+Whoever should do so would rue it bitterly.&nbsp; But these
+people are so obedient to their Emperor&rsquo;s commands, that
+even if a man were to find one of those animals asleep by the
+roadside, he would not touch it for the world.&nbsp; And thus the
+game multiplies at such a rate, that the whole country swarms
+with it, and obtains as much as he could desire.&nbsp; Beyond the
+time I have mentioned, however, to wit, that from March to
+October, everybody may take these animals as he chooses.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;After the Emperor has tarried there, enjoying his
+sport, as I have related, from March to the middle of May, he
+moves with all his people, and returns straight to his capital
+city of Cambaluc (which is also the capital city of Cathay, as
+you have been told), but all the while continuing to take his
+diversion in hunting and hawking as he travels.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>We pass on to Marco Polo&rsquo;s description of Tibet, <a
+name="page41"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 41</span>which at one
+time was considered a part of the empire of the Mongol
+Khans.&nbsp; Its civil administration is ascribed to Kublai
+Khan:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;In this region you find quantities of bamboos, full
+three palms in girth, and fifteen paces in length, with an
+interval of about three palms between the joints.&nbsp; And let
+me tell you that merchants and other travellers through that
+country are wont at nightfall to gather these canes and make
+fires of them; for as they burn they make such loud reports, that
+the lions and bears and other wild beasts are greatly frightened,
+and make off as fast as possible; in fact, nothing will induce
+them to come near a fire of that kind. <a
+name="citation41"></a><a href="#footnote41"
+class="citation">[41]</a>&nbsp; So, you see, the travellers make
+these fires to protect themselves and their cattle from the wild
+beasts, which have so greatly multiplied since the devastation of
+the country.&nbsp; And it is this multiplication of the wild
+beasts that prevents the country from being reoccupied.&nbsp; In
+fact, but for the help of these bamboos, which make such a noise
+in burning that the beasts are terrified and kept at a distance,
+no one would be able even to travel through the land.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I will tell you how it is that the canes make such a
+noise.&nbsp; The people cut the green canes, of which there are
+vast numbers, and set fire to a heap of them at once.&nbsp; After
+they have been burning awhile they burst asunder, and this makes
+such a loud report, that you might hear it ten miles off.&nbsp;
+In fact, <a name="page42"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 42</span>a
+person unused to this noise, hearing it unexpectedly, might
+easily go into a swoon or die of fright.&nbsp; But those
+accustomed to it care nothing about it.&nbsp; Hence those who are
+not used stuff their ears well with cotton, and wrap up their
+heads and faces with all the clothes they can muster; and so they
+get along until they have become used to the sound.&nbsp; It is
+just the same with horses.&nbsp; Those unused to these noises are
+so terrified that they break away from their halters and
+heel-ropes, and many a man has lost his beasts in this way.&nbsp;
+So all who do not wish to lose their horses are careful to tie
+all four legs, and peg the ropes down strongly, and wrap the
+heads and eyes and ears of the animals closely, and so they save
+them.&nbsp; But horses also, when they have heard the noise
+several times, cease to mind it.&nbsp; I tell you the truth,
+however, when I say that the first time you hear it nothing can
+be more alarming.&nbsp; And yet, in spite of all, the lions,
+bears, and other wild beasts will sometimes come and do great
+mischief; for in those parts they are very numerous.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You ride for twenty days without finding any inhabited
+spot, so that travellers are obliged to carry all their
+provisions with them, and are constantly falling in with those
+wild beasts which are so numerous and so dangerous.&nbsp; After
+that you come at length to a tract where there are very many
+towns and villages. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The people are idolaters and an evil generation,
+holding it no sin to rob and maltreat; in fact, they are the
+greatest brigands on earth.&nbsp; They live by the chase, as well
+as on their cattle and the fruits of the earth.</p>
+<p><a name="page43"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+43</span>&ldquo;I should tell you also that in this country are
+many of the animals that produce musk, which are called in the
+Tartar language <i>Gudderi</i>.&nbsp; These robbers have great
+numbers of large and fierce dogs, which are of much service in
+catching the musk-beasts, and so they procure an abundance of
+musk.&nbsp; They have none of the Great Khan&rsquo;s paper money,
+but use salt instead of money.&nbsp; They are very poorly clad,
+for their clothes are only of the skins of beasts, and canvas,
+and buckram.&nbsp; They have a language of their own, and are
+called <i>Tebit</i>.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Speaking of the people who dwell in the provinces to the
+north-west of China, Marco Polo relates the following curious
+custom:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When any one is ill, they send for the devil-conjurors,
+who are the keepers of their idols.&nbsp; When these are come,
+the sick man tells what ails him, and then the conjurors
+incontinently begin playing on their instruments, and singing,
+and dancing; and the conjurors dance to such a pitch, that at
+last one of them will fall to the ground lifeless, like a dead
+man.&nbsp; And then the devil entereth into his body.&nbsp; And
+when his comrades see him in this plight, they begin to put
+questions to him about the sick man&rsquo;s ailment.&nbsp; And he
+will reply, &lsquo;Such or such a spirit hath been meddling with
+the man, for that he hath angered it and done it some
+despite.&rsquo;&nbsp; Then they say, &lsquo;We pray thee to
+pardon him, and to take of his blood or of his goods what thou
+wilt in consideration of thus restoring him to
+health.&rsquo;&nbsp; And when they have so prayed, the malignant
+spirit that is in the body of the prostrate man will, perhaps,
+answer, &lsquo;The sick <a name="page44"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 44</span>man hath also done great despite unto
+such another spirit, and that one is so ill-disposed that it will
+not pardon him on any account.&rsquo;&nbsp; This, at least, is
+the answer they get if the patient be like to die.&nbsp; But if
+he is to get better, the answer will be that they are to bring
+two sheep, or maybe three; and to brew ten or twelve jars of
+drink, very costly and abundantly spiced.&nbsp; Moreover, it will
+be announced that the sheep must be all black-faced, or of some
+other particular colour, as it may happen; and then all these
+things are to be offered in sacrifice to such and such a spirit
+whose name is given.&nbsp; And they are to bring so many
+conjurors, and so many ladies, and the business is to be done
+with a great singing of lauds, and with many lights and store of
+good perfumes.&nbsp; That is the sort of answer they get if the
+patient is to get well.&nbsp; And then the kinsfolk of the sick
+man go and procure all that has been commanded, and do as has
+been bidden, and the conjuror springs to his feet again.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;So they fetch the sheep of the prescribed colour, and
+slaughter them, and sprinkle the blood over such places as have
+been enjoined, in honour and propitiation.&nbsp; And the
+conjurors come, and the ladies, in the number that was ordered,
+and when all are assembled and everything is ready, they begin to
+dance and play and sing in honour of the spirit.&nbsp; And they
+take flesh-broth, and drink, and lign-aloes, and a great number
+of lights, and go about hither and thither, scattering the broth
+and the drink, and the meat also.&nbsp; And when they have done
+this for a while, one of the conjurors will again fall flat, and
+wallow there foaming at the mouth, and then the <a
+name="page45"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 45</span>others will
+ask if he have yet pardoned the sick man.&nbsp; And sometimes he
+will answer &lsquo;Yes,&rsquo; and sometimes he will answer
+&lsquo;No.&rsquo;&nbsp; And if the answer be &lsquo;No,&rsquo;
+they are told that something or other has to be done all over
+again, and then he will be pardoned; so this they do.&nbsp; And
+when all that the spirit has commanded has been done with great
+ceremony, then it will be announced that the man is pardoned, and
+will be speedily cured.&nbsp; So when they at length receive this
+reply, they announce that it is all made up with the spirit, and
+that he is propitiated, and they fall to eating and drinking with
+great joy and mirth, and he who had been lying lifeless on the
+ground gets up and takes his share.&nbsp; So when they have all
+eaten and drunken, every man departs home.&nbsp; And presently
+the sick man gets sound and well.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>[Sir A. Phayre testifies that this account of the exorcism of
+evil spirits in cases of obstinate illness tallies exactly with
+what he himself has seen in similar cases among the Burmese; and,
+in truth, the practice extends widely among the non-Aryan
+races.&nbsp; Bishop Caldwell furnishes the following description
+of &ldquo;devil-dancing&rdquo; as it still exists among the
+Shanars of Tinnevelly:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;When the preparations are completed and the devil-dance
+is about to commence, the music is at first comparatively slow;
+the dancer seems impassive and sullen, and he either stands still
+or moves about in gloomy silence.&nbsp; Gradually, as the music
+becomes quicker and louder, his excitement begins to rise.&nbsp;
+Sometimes, to help him to work himself up into a frenzy, he uses
+medicated draughts, cuts and lacerates <a name="page46"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 46</span>himself till the blood flows, lashes
+himself with a huge whip, presses a burning torch to his breast,
+drinks the blood which flows from his own wounds, or drains the
+blood of the sacrifice, putting the throat of the decapitated
+goat to his mouth.&nbsp; Then, as if he had acquired new life, he
+begins to brandish his staff of bells, and to dance with a quick,
+but wild, unsteady step.&nbsp; Suddenly the afflatus descends;
+there is no mistaking that glare, or those frantic leaps.&nbsp;
+He snorts, he stares, he gyrates.&nbsp; The demon has now taken
+bodily possession of him; and though he retains the power of
+utterance and motion, both are under the demon&rsquo;s control,
+and his separate consciousness is in abeyance.&nbsp; The
+bystanders signalize the event by raising a long shout, attended
+with a peculiar vibratory noise, caused by the motion of the hand
+and tongue, or the tongue alone.&nbsp; The devil-dancer is now
+worshipped as a present deity, and every bystander consults him
+respecting his diseases, his wants, the welfare of his absent
+relatives, the offerings to be made for the accomplishment of his
+wishes, and, in short, everything for which superhuman knowledge
+is supposed to be available.&rdquo;]</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>&ldquo;And now,&rdquo; says Marco Polo, in concluding his
+wonderful narrative,&mdash;&ldquo;and now ye have heard all that
+we can tell you about the Tartars and the Saracens and their
+customs, and likewise about the other countries of the world, so
+far as our researches and information extend.&nbsp; Only we have
+said nothing whatever about the Greater Sea [the Mediterranean],
+and the provinces that lie round it, although we know it
+thoroughly.&nbsp; But it seems to me a needless <a
+name="page47"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 47</span>and endless
+task to speak about places which are visited by people every
+day.&nbsp; For there are so many who sail all about that sea
+constantly, Venetians, and Genoese, and Pisans, and many others,
+that everybody knows all about it, and that is the reason that I
+pass it over and say nothing of it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Of the manner in which we took our departure from the
+Court of the Great Khan you have already heard, and we have
+related the fortunate chance that led to it.&nbsp; And you may be
+sure that, but for that fortunate chance, we should never have
+got away, in spite of all our trouble, and never have returned to
+our country again.&nbsp; But I believe it was God&rsquo;s
+pleasure we should return, in order that people might learn about
+the things the world contains.&nbsp; For according to what has
+been said in the introduction at the beginning of the book, there
+never was man, be he Christian or Saracen or Tartar or heathen,
+who ever travelled over so much of the world as did that noble
+and illustrious citizen of the city of Venice, Messer Marco, the
+son of Messer Nicolo Polo.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thanks be to God!&nbsp; Amen!&nbsp; Amen!&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>We incline to believe, out of consideration for the modesty of
+&ldquo;Messer Marco, the son of Messer Nicolo Polo,&rdquo; that
+he finished his narrative at the word &ldquo;contains,&rdquo; and
+that the last sentence was added by his amanuensis.&nbsp; Yet the
+assertion it contains does not go beyond the truth.&nbsp; Of all
+the medi&aelig;val travellers it may be repeated that Marco Polo
+is the first and foremost; and the world is indebted to him for a
+vast amount of valuable information, which, but for his industry,
+his perseverance, and his intelligence, <a
+name="page48"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 48</span>would have
+been wholly or partly lost.&nbsp; We owe to him a graphic and, as
+it is now known to be, an accurate picture of the condition of
+Asia in the thirteenth century; a picture full of lights and
+shadows, but interesting and instructive in every detail.</p>
+<h2><a name="page49"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 49</span>MR.
+GEORGE F. RUXTON,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND HIS ADVENTURES IN MEXICO AND
+THE</span><br />
+<span class="GutSmall">ROCKY MOUNTAINS.</span></h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">A.D. 1847.</p>
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Ruxton&rsquo;s</span> sweeping
+condemnation of the Mexicans is, unfortunately, confirmed by most
+reputable authorities, or we might hesitate to reproduce it
+here.&nbsp; &ldquo;From south to north,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;I
+traversed the whole of the Republic of Mexico, a distance of
+nearly ten thousand miles, and was thrown amongst the people of
+every rank, class, and station; and I regret to have to say that
+I cannot remember to have observed one single commendable trait
+in the character of the Mexican; always excepting from this
+sweeping clause the women of the country, who, for kindness of
+heart and many sterling qualities, are an ornament to their sex,
+and to any nation.&rdquo;&nbsp; Whatever may be affirmed to the
+discredit of the people, it cannot be doubted that they inhabit a
+country which was at one time the seat of a remarkable
+civilization, which presents to the traveller a succession of
+remarkable and frequently romantic scenery, and a wonderful
+variety and luxuriance of vegetation.</p>
+<p>From the southern frontier of the United States <a
+name="page50"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 50</span>it stretches
+down to the isthmus which connects the northern and southern
+mainlands of the great American continent.&nbsp; On the west its
+shores are washed by the waters of the Pacific; on the east, by
+those of the Mexican Gulf and Caribbean Sea.&nbsp; Roughly
+speaking, its area is about 850,000 square miles; its population
+may number ten souls to a square mile.&nbsp; Its form of
+government is pseudo-republican; and for administrative purposes
+it is divided into twenty-five provinces.&nbsp; Its capital,
+Mexico, has 200,000 inhabitants: its only other important towns
+are Puebla, 75,000 inhabitants; Guadalajara, 65,000; Guanajuata,
+50,000; and San Luis and Merida, about 45,000 each.</p>
+<p>A glance at the map will show you that Mexico consists in the
+main of an elevated table-land, which in the south rises up into
+the Cordilleras of Central America, and on the east and west
+descends, by more or less gradual terraces, to the
+sea-coast.&nbsp; Owing to its geographical position, this
+table-land enjoys the profuseness and beauty of a tropical
+vegetation; on the other hand, its climate is so tempered by its
+various elevations, which lie between 5000 and 9000 feet, that it
+has been found possible to naturalize the European fauna and
+flora.&nbsp; A remarkable geological feature is the volcanic belt
+or chain that runs from ocean to ocean between the parallels of
+18&deg; 15&prime; and 19&deg; 30&prime; north latitude, and is
+marked by several active as well as extinct volcanoes.&nbsp;
+Among them may be named Orizaba, Cittalapetl (&ldquo;The Mountain
+of the Star&rdquo;), Popocatapetl (&ldquo;The Smoking
+Mountain&rdquo;), 17,884 feet, Istaccihuatl (&ldquo;The White
+Woman&rdquo;), and Toluca.&nbsp; Most of the mountain chains that
+break up <a name="page51"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+51</span>the table-land are of comparatively low altitude; the
+principal is the Sierra Madre, or Tepe Serene.&nbsp; The two
+chief streams are the Rio Santiago and the Rio Grande del
+Norte.</p>
+<p>In company with a young Spaniard who was travelling as far as
+Durango, Mr. Ruxton quitted Mexico one fine day in September,
+1847, bent on crossing the country to the United States.&nbsp; He
+passed at first through a mountainous district, covered with
+dwarf oak and ilex; afterwards he entered upon a tract of open
+undulating downs, dotted with thickets.&nbsp; Villages were few
+and far between, and when found, not very attractive, consisting
+only of a dozen huts built of adobes, or sun-dried bricks.&nbsp;
+Crossing a rocky sierra, he came to the town of San Juan del Rio;
+its one-storied houses of stone, whitewashed, with barred
+windows, looking out upon a fair expanse of vineyard and
+garden.&nbsp; Forty miles beyond lay Queretaro; a large and
+well-built town of 40,000 inhabitants, surrounded by gardens and
+orchards.&nbsp; Its chief trade is the manufacture of
+cigars.&nbsp; These, as made at Queretaro, are of a peculiar
+shape, about three inches long, square at both ends, and
+exceedingly pungent in flavour.&nbsp; Excellent pulque is another
+of its products.&nbsp; Pulque, the national liquor of Mexico, is
+made from the saccharine juice of the American aloe, which
+attains maturity at the age of eight or fourteen years, and then
+flowers.&nbsp; Only while it is flowering may the juice be
+collected.&nbsp; The central stem which encloses the coming
+flower is cut off near the bottom, and a basin or hollow exposed,
+over which the surrounding leaves are closely gathered and
+fastened.&nbsp; The juice distils into the reservoir thus <a
+name="page52"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 52</span>provided, and
+is removed three or four times during the twenty-four hours, by
+means of a syphon made of a species of gourd called
+acojote.&nbsp; One end is placed in the liquor, the other in the
+mouth of the operator, who by suction draws up the sweet fluid
+into the pipe, and forces it out into a bowl.&nbsp; Afterwards it
+receives the addition of a little old pulque, and is allowed to
+ferment for two or three days in earthen jars.&nbsp; When fresh,
+pulque, according to Mr. Ruxton, is brisk and sparkling, and the
+most cooling, refreshing, and delectable drink ever invented for
+mortals when athirst.&nbsp; The Mexicans call it &ldquo;vino
+divino;&rdquo; but, admirable as may be its qualities, it needs
+to be very temperately used.</p>
+<p>Between Queretaro and Celaya the traveller gradually descends
+from the table-lands, and the air comes upon him with a warm
+tropical breath.&nbsp; Nopalos, or prickly-pears, line the road;
+the Indians collect the fruit&mdash;which is savoury and
+invigorating&mdash;with a forked stick.&nbsp; At Silao striking
+evidence of the geniality of the climate is supplied by the
+variety of fruit exposed for sale: oranges, lemons, grapes,
+chirimoyas, batatas, platanos, plantains, cumotes, grenadillas,
+mamayos, tunas, pears, and apples&mdash;a list which would have
+delighted Keats&rsquo;s Porphyro when he was preparing a
+refection for his lady-love Madeline.&nbsp; But if fruit be
+abundant, so are beggars and thieves; and Silao is not a
+comfortable place to live in!&nbsp; Mexico, according to its
+climatic conditions, is divided into three great
+divisions&mdash;the <i>Tierras Frias</i>, or Cold lands; the
+<i>Tierras Templadas</i>, or Temperate lands; and the <i>Tierras
+Calientes</i>, or Hot lands.&nbsp; From Celaya our travellers
+stooped down rapidly into the <i>Tierra Caliente</i>, and the <a
+name="page53"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 53</span>increased
+temperature was every day more perceptibly felt.&nbsp; Jalisco,
+the most important town on their route, is situated on the
+western declivity of Anahuac, a Cordillera which unites the Andes
+of South and Central America with the great North American chain
+of the Rocky Mountains.&nbsp; Mr. Ruxton describes the table-land
+on the western ridge of the Cordillera as blessed with a fertile
+soil and a temperate climate.&nbsp; It is studded with the
+populous towns of Silao, Leon, Lagos, and Aguas Calientes.&nbsp;
+The central portion, of a lower elevation and consequently higher
+temperature, produces cotton, cochineal, vanilla, as well as
+every variety of cereal produce.&nbsp; While the littoral, or
+coast region, teems with fertility, and lies in the shadow of
+immense forests, unfortunately it is cursed by the ever-prevalent
+vomito, or yellow fever, and its climate is scarcely less fatal
+to its inhabitants than to strangers.</p>
+<p>At La Villa de Leon, a town celebrated for robbers and
+murderers, Mr. Ruxton met with an adventure.&nbsp; About nine
+o&rsquo;clock in the evening he was returning from the plaza,
+which with its great lighted fires, the stalls of the
+market-people, the strange garb of the peasantry, and the
+snow-white sarapos, or cloaks, of the idlers of the town,
+presented a stirring aspect, when, striking into a dark and
+narrow street, a group of vagabonds, at the door of a pulque
+shop, detected that he was a stranger, and, mistaking his
+nationality, yelled at him: &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s kill him, the
+Texan!&rdquo;&nbsp; Having no weapon but a bowie-knife, and not
+desiring an encounter with such overwhelming numbers, he turned
+off into another street; but the rascals followed him, renewing
+their wild cries.&nbsp; <a name="page54"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 54</span>Happily, a dark doorway invited him
+to seek its shelter, and while crouching in its obscurity, he
+could see them rush by, knives in hand.&nbsp; When he thought
+they had all passed, he stepped forth, to find himself confronted
+by three wretches who brought up the rear, and who, brandishing
+their knives and rushing headlong at him, cried, &ldquo;Here he
+is, here he is; kill him!&rdquo;&nbsp; As the foremost rushed at
+him with uplifted blade, he swiftly stepped aside, and at the
+same moment thrust at him with his bowie.&nbsp; The robber fell
+on his knees with a cry of &ldquo;Me ha matado!&rdquo; (&ldquo;He
+has killed me!&rdquo;), and fell on his face.&nbsp; One of his
+companions hastened to his assistance; the other dashed upon Mr.
+Ruxton, but, confused by his calm attitude of preparation, fell
+back a few paces, and finally slunk away.&nbsp; Mr. Ruxton
+returned at once to his quarters, ordered out the horses, and in
+a few minutes was on his road.</p>
+<p>By way of Aguas Calientes, a very pretty town, and Zacatecas,
+a populous mining town, he proceeded towards the Hacienda (or
+farm) of San Nicolas, with the view of traversing that singular
+volcanic region, the <i>Mal Pais</i>.&nbsp; Down to a
+comparatively recent period, it would seem to have been the
+theatre of plutonic phenomena of an extraordinary
+character.&nbsp; The convexity of the district enables the
+traveller to judge very readily of the extent of the convulsion,
+which has spread to a distance of twelve or fourteen miles from
+the central crater.&nbsp; The said crater measures about fifteen
+hundred feet in circumference, and its sides are covered with
+dwarf oaks, mezquito, and cocoa trees, which find a rich
+nourishment in the chinks and crevices of the lava.&nbsp; At the
+bottom <a name="page55"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+55</span>stagnate the green and slimy waters of a small lake,
+which is fringed with rank shrubs and cacti, growing among huge
+blocks of lava and scori&aelig;.&nbsp; Not a breath of air
+disturbs its inky surface, save when a huge water-snake undulates
+across it, or a duck and her progeny swim out from their covert
+among the bushes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I led my horse,&rdquo; says Mr. Ruxton, &ldquo;down to
+the edge of the water, but he refused to drink the slimy liquid,
+in which frogs, efts, and reptiles of every kind were darting and
+diving.&nbsp; Many new and curious water-plants floated near the
+margin, and one, lotus-leaved, with small delicate tendrils,
+formed a kind of network on the water, with a superb crimson
+flower, which exhibited a beautiful contrast with the inky
+blackness of the pool.&nbsp; His Mexicans, as they passed this
+spot, crossed themselves reverently, and muttered an <i>Ave
+Maria</i>; for in the lonely regions of the Mal Pais, the
+superstitious Indian believes that demons and gnomes and spirits
+of evil persons have their dwelling-places, whence they not
+unfrequently pounce upon the solitary traveller, to carry him
+into the cavernous bowels of the earth.&nbsp; The arched roof of
+the supposed prison-house resounding to the tread of their horses
+as they pass the dreaded spot, they feel a sudden dread, and,
+with rapidly muttered prayers, they handle their amulets and
+charms to drive away the treacherous bogies who invisibly beset
+the path.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From the Mal Pais Mr. Ruxton travelled onward to the rancho of
+La Punta, a famous cattle-breeding station.</p>
+<p>In the preceding autumn it had been harried by a party of
+Comanche Indians, who, one day, without <a
+name="page56"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 56</span>warning, rode
+across the sierra and swooped down upon it, killing, as they
+passed, the peones, or labourers, whom they found at work in the
+road.&nbsp; On their appearance the men made no attempt to defend
+the rancho, but fled at full speed, abandoning the women and
+children to their terrible fate.&nbsp; Some were carried away
+captives; some pierced with arrows and lances, and left for dead;
+others made the victims of unspeakable outrages.&nbsp; The
+ranchero&rsquo;s wife, with her two adult daughters and several
+younger children, fled from the rancho at the first alarm, to
+conceal themselves under a wooden bridge, which crossed a
+neighbouring stream.&nbsp; For several hours they escaped
+detection; but at last some Indians drew near their hiding-place,
+and a young chief took his station on the bridge to issue his
+commands.&nbsp; With keen eyes he examined the spot, and
+discovered the terror-stricken fugitives; but he pretended not to
+have seen them, playing with them as a cat might with a
+mouse.&nbsp; He hoped, he was heard to say, that he should find
+out where the women were concealed, for he wanted a Mexican wife
+and a handful of scalps.&nbsp; Then he leaped from the bridge,
+and thrust his lance under it with a yell of exultation; the
+point pierced the woman&rsquo;s arm, and she shrieked
+aloud.&nbsp; She and her children were forthwith drawn from their
+retreat.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Alas, alas, what a moment was that!&rdquo; said the
+poor woman, as she told her painful story.&nbsp; The savages
+brandished their tomahawks around her children, and she thought
+that the last farewell had been taken.&nbsp; They behaved,
+however, with unusual clemency; the captives were released, and
+allowed to <a name="page57"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+57</span>return to their home&mdash;to find it a wreck, and the
+ground strewn with the dead bodies of their kinsmen and
+friends.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ay de mi!&rdquo; (&ldquo;Woe is me!&rdquo;)</p>
+<p>While at La Punta, our traveller was witness of the Mexican
+sport of the &ldquo;Col&eacute;a de toros&rdquo; (or
+&ldquo;bull-tailing&rdquo;), for the enjoyment of which two or
+three hundred rancheros had assembled from the neighbouring
+plantations.</p>
+<p>A hundred bulls were shut up in a large corral, or enclosure,
+at one end of which had been erected a building for the
+convenience of the lady spectators.&nbsp; The horsemen, brave in
+their picturesque Mexican costume, were grouped around the
+corral, examining the animals as they were driven to and fro in
+order to increase their excitement, while the ranchero himself,
+and his sons, brandishing long lances, were busily engaged in
+forcing the wilder and more active bulls into a second
+enclosure.&nbsp; When this had been effected, the entrance was
+thrown open, and out dashed, with glaring eyes, tossing head, and
+lashing tail, a fine bull, to gallop at his topmost speed over
+the grassy plain before him, followed by the whole crowd of
+shouting, yelling horsemen, each of whom endeavoured to outstrip
+the other, and overtake the flying animal.&nbsp; At first they
+all kept close together, riding very equally, and preserving
+excellent order, but very soon superior skill or strength or
+daring began to tell, and in front of the main body shot forth a
+few of the cavaliers.&nbsp; Heading them all, in swift pursuit of
+the rolling cloud of dust which indicated the bull&rsquo;s track,
+rode the son of the ranchero, a boy about twelve years old; and
+as he swayed this way and that when <a name="page58"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 58</span>the bull doubled, the women made the
+air ring with their shrill vivas.&nbsp; &ldquo;Viva, Pepito!
+viva!&rdquo; cried his mother; and, dashing his spurs into his
+horse&rsquo;s streaming flanks, the brave lad ran the race.&nbsp;
+But before long the others came up with stealthy strides; soon
+they were abreast of him.&nbsp; The pace quickened; the horses
+themselves seemed to share the excitement; the men shouted, the
+women screamed; each urged on her
+favourite&mdash;&ldquo;Alza!&mdash;Bernardo!&mdash;Por mi amor,
+Juan Maria!&mdash;Viva, Pepitito!&rdquo;&nbsp; A stalwart
+Mexican, mounted on a fine roan, eventually took the lead, and
+every moment increased the distance between himself and his
+competitors.&nbsp; But Pepito&rsquo;s quick eyes detected a
+sudden movement of the bull, and saw that, concealed by the dust,
+he had wheeled off at a sharp angle from his former course.&nbsp;
+In an instant Pepe did the same, and dashed in front of him, amid
+a fresh outburst of cheers and vivas.&nbsp; Getting on the
+bull&rsquo;s left quarter, he stooped down to seize his tail, and
+secure it under his right leg, so as to bring him to the
+ground.&nbsp; But for a man&oelig;uvre which requires great
+muscular power, Pepe&rsquo;s strength was not equal to his
+spirit, and, in attempting it, he was dragged from his saddle,
+and thrown to the ground, senseless.&nbsp; Several horsemen had
+by this time come up, and the bold rider of the roan galloping
+ahead, threw his right leg over the bull&rsquo;s tail, and
+turning his horse sharply outwards, upset the brute in the midst
+of his fiery charge, rolling him over and over in the dust.</p>
+<p>Another bull was then let loose, and the wild ride
+recommenced; nor, until the corral was empty, and every horse and
+horseman completely spent, did the game cease.&nbsp; It is a rude
+game, though full of <a name="page59"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 59</span>excitement; a rude game, and,
+perhaps, a cruel one; but we must not be harsh in our judgment,
+remembering that our English sports and pastimes have not always
+been exempt from a taint of ferocity.</p>
+<p>A less manly and much more cruel equestrian game is called
+&ldquo;el Gallo&rdquo; (&ldquo;the Cock)&rdquo;.&nbsp; Poor
+chanticleer is tied by the leg to a post driven into the ground,
+or to a tree, his head and neck being well greased.&nbsp; At a
+given signal the horsemen start all together, and he who first
+reaches the bird, and seizing it by its neck, releases it from
+the fastenings, carries off the prize.&nbsp; The well-greased
+neck generally eludes the eager fingers of him who first clutches
+it; but whoever gets hold of the prize is immediately pursued by
+the rest, intent upon depriving him of it.&nbsp; In the
+<i>m&ecirc;l&eacute;e</i> the unfortunate rooster is literally
+torn to pieces, which the successful horsemen present as <i>gages
+d&rsquo;amour</i> to their lady-loves.</p>
+<p>At Durango, the capital of Northern Mexico, popularly known as
+&ldquo;the City of Scorpions,&rdquo; the traveller was shown a
+large mass of malleable iron, which lies isolated in the centre
+of the plain.&nbsp; It is supposed to be an aerolite, because
+identical in physical character and composition with certain
+aerolites which fell in some part of Hungary in 1751.&nbsp;
+Durango is 650 miles from Mexico, and, according to Humboldt,
+6845 feet above the sea.&nbsp; At the time of Mr. Ruxton&rsquo;s
+visit, it was expecting an attack from the Comanche Indians, of
+whose sanguinary ferocity he tells the following &ldquo;owre
+true&rdquo; story:&mdash;</p>
+<p>Half-way between Durango and Chihuahua, in the Rio Florido
+valley, lived a family of hardy vaqueros, or cattle-herders, the
+head of whom, a stalwart man <a name="page60"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 60</span>of sixty, rejoiced in the sobriquet
+of El Coxo (&ldquo;The Cripple&rdquo;).&nbsp; He had eight sons,
+bold, resolute, vigorous fellows, famous for their prowess in
+horsemanship, their daring and skill at the &ldquo;colea&rdquo;
+or &ldquo;el Gallo.&rdquo;&nbsp; Of this goodly company,
+reminding us of the Nortons in Wordsworth&rsquo;s &ldquo;White
+Doe of Rylstone&rdquo;&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;None for beauty or for worth<br />
+Like those eight sons&mdash;who, in a ring<br />
+(Ripe men, or blooming in life&rsquo;s spring),<br />
+Each with a lance, erect and tall,<br />
+A falchion and a buckler small,<br />
+Stood by their sire,&rdquo;&mdash;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>the handsomest and most skilful was, perhaps, the third, by
+name Escamilla, &ldquo;a proper lad of twenty, five feet ten out
+of his zapatos, straight as an organo, and lithesome as a
+reed.&rdquo;&nbsp; Having been educated at Queretaro, he was more
+refined than his brothers, and had acquired a taste for dress,
+which enabled him to set off his comeliness to the best
+advantage, and made him the cynosure of &ldquo;the bright
+eyes&rdquo; of all the neighbouring rancheras.&nbsp; Next to him
+came Juan Maria, who was scarcely less skilful, and certainly not
+less daring than his brother, and by good judges was reputed to
+be even handsomer, that is, manlier and more robust, though
+inferior in polish of manner and picturesqueness of
+appearance.&nbsp; Until Escamilla&rsquo;s return from Queretaro,
+he had always been victor at &ldquo;el Gallo&rdquo; and the
+&ldquo;colea,&rdquo; and had laid his spoils at the feet of the
+beauty of the valley, Isabel Mora, a charming black-eyed damsel
+of sixteen, called from the hacienda where she resided, Isabel de
+la Cadena.&nbsp; It was understood that she accepted them with
+pleasure, and rewarded the suitor with her smiles.</p>
+<p><a name="page61"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 61</span>But the
+course of true love never does run smooth, and in this instance
+it was fated to be interrupted by fraternal treachery.&nbsp;
+Escamilla contrived to win the fickle beauty&rsquo;s affections
+from his brother, who, however, instead of resenting the deceit,
+magnanimously forgave it, and withdrew all pretensions to her
+hand.&nbsp; Escamilla and Isabel were duly affianced, and a day
+was fixed for their marriage, which was to take place at the
+bride&rsquo;s hacienda; and in honour of the occasion a grand
+&ldquo;funcion de toros&rdquo; was proclaimed, to which all the
+neighbours (the nearest of whom, by the way, was forty miles
+distant) were duly invited.</p>
+<p>Two days before the appointed wedding-day, El Coxo and his
+eight sons made their appearance, extorting an admiring murmur
+from all beholders as, mounted on superb steeds, they rode gaily
+into the hacienda.</p>
+<p>On the following day, leaving Escamilla at home El Coxo and
+the rest of his sons accompanied the master of the hacienda into
+the plains, to assist him in the arduous work of driving in the
+bulls required for the morrow&rsquo;s sport; while the other
+rancheros were busy in constructing the large corral intended to
+secure them.</p>
+<p>Evening was drawing near; the sun dropped rapidly behind the
+rugged crest of the sierra, investing each ridge and precipice
+with a luminous glory of gold and purple; while the cold grey
+shadow of the coming night was swiftly creeping over the plain
+beneath.&nbsp; The cry of the cranes was heard in the silence,
+as, wedge-shaped, like the Macedonian phalanx of old, they
+pursued their aerial flight; the shrill pipe of the mother quail
+summoned together her foraging progeny; the brown hare stole from
+its covert and <a name="page62"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+62</span>prowled about in search of food; and the lowing cattle
+assembled on the bank of the stream to quench their thirst before
+they were driven to their stalls.&nbsp; The peones, or labourers
+of the farm, with slow gait were returning from the scene of
+their day&rsquo;s work; while at the doors of the cottages the
+women, with naked arms, were pounding the tortillas on stone
+slabs in preparation for the evening meal.&nbsp; Everything
+indicated that the hours of labour had passed, and those of rest
+and refreshment come.</p>
+<p>Escamilla and Isabel were wandering among the hushed pastures,
+where the last rays of the sun still lingered with a soft subdued
+radiance, building those airy castles in the construction of
+which happy youth is always so eager and so dexterous.&nbsp; In
+the distance they saw a little cloud of dust rising from the
+plain; in another direction they heard the shouts of the
+returning cowherds, and the heavy hoofs of the bulls they were
+driving towards the corral.&nbsp; In advance rode a single
+horseman, swiftly making for the hacienda.</p>
+<p>Meanwhile, the cloud of dust rolled onwards rapidly, and out
+of it emerged several cavaliers, who suddenly dashed towards the
+two happy lovers.&nbsp; &ldquo;Here come the
+bull-fighters,&rdquo; exclaimed Isabel; and with natural modesty
+she added, &ldquo;Let us return.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Perhaps they are my father and brothers,&rdquo;
+answered Escamilla.&nbsp; &ldquo;Yes, look; there are eight of
+them.&nbsp; Do you not see?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Ay, she <i>did</i> see, as her gaze rested on the group of
+horsemen, who, thundering across the mead, were now within a few
+yards of them.&nbsp; She <i>did</i> see, and the blood ran cold
+in her veins, and her face turned white <a
+name="page63"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 63</span>with fear;
+for they were Comanche Indians, naked to the waist, horrible in
+their war-paint, and fierce with brandished spears.&nbsp;
+Escamilla saw them, too, and shrieking, &ldquo;Los barbaros! los
+barbaros!&rdquo; he fled with rapid foot, and, like a coward,
+abandoned his affianced to her fate.</p>
+<p>A horseman met him: it was Juan Maria, who, having lassoed a
+little antelope on the plains, was riding in advance of his
+company to present it to the fickle Isabel.&nbsp; Glancing
+around, he saw her imminent danger; flung down the animal he was
+carrying in his arms, dashed his spurs desperately into his
+horse&rsquo;s sides, and hastened to her rescue.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Salva me, Juan Maria!&rdquo; she cried, &ldquo;salva
+me!&rdquo; (&ldquo;save me&rdquo;).&nbsp; But the bloodthirsty
+savages were before him.&nbsp; With a ferocious whoop, the
+foremost plunged his spear into her heart, and in a moment her
+scalp was hanging from his saddle-bow.&nbsp; He did not long
+enjoy his triumph.&nbsp; A clatter of hoofs caused him to turn;
+and, behold, Juan Maria, with lasso swinging round his head, and
+his heart beating with the desire of vengeance, rode fiercely
+towards the murderer, heedless of the storm of arrows that rained
+upon him.&nbsp; The savage shrank from the encounter; but the
+open coil of the lasso, whirling through the air, fell over his
+head, and dragged him to the ground with a fatal crash.</p>
+<p>The odds, however, were against Juan Maria, who, surrounded by
+Indians, had no other weapon than a small machete, or rusty
+sword.&nbsp; Bating not one jot of heart or hope, he rushed on
+the nearest Indian, and dealt a blow at his head, which cleft it
+open; the savage fell dead.&nbsp; Daunted by the Mexican&rsquo;s
+surpassing <a name="page64"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+64</span>courage, the others kept at a distance, discharging
+their swift arrows, and piercing him with many wounds.&nbsp;
+Spurring his horse towards them, he fought on bravely, cheered by
+the shouts of his father and brothers, who were galloping full
+speed to his support.&nbsp; Before they could reach him, an
+arrow, discharged at but a few paces&rsquo; distance, penetrated
+his heart.&nbsp; He slipped heavily from his horse, and one of
+the Comanches rode away in triumph, with the heroic
+Mexican&rsquo;s scalp as a trophy.</p>
+<p>At that moment the Indians were reinforced by some thirty or
+forty of their tribe, and a desperate struggle ensued between
+them and El Coxo and his sons.&nbsp; The latter, burning with
+rage at the death of their brother, fought with such eager
+courage, that, outnumbered as they were, they slew half a dozen
+of the Comanches.&nbsp; It is probable, however, they would have
+been overpowered but for the arrival of the rancheros, who,
+coming up from the hacienda, put the Indians to flight.&nbsp; As
+night had darkened in the sky, they did not pursue; but returned
+to the hacienda with the dead bodies of Juan Maria and Isabel,
+who were buried the next day, side by side, at the very hour that
+had been fixed for the unfortunate Isabel&rsquo;s marriage.&nbsp;
+As for Escamilla, ashamed of his cowardice, he was seen no more
+in the valley of the Rio Florido, but settled at Queretaro, where
+he afterwards married.</p>
+<p>This tragedy occurred on the 11th of October, 1845.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>From Durango Mr. Ruxton proceeded westward for Chihuahua and
+New Mexico.&nbsp; On the second day of his journey an unpleasant
+incident very sternly convinced him of the treachery and
+bloodthirstiness of <a name="page65"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+65</span>the lower Mexicans.&nbsp; He was riding slowly ahead of
+his native attendant, whom he had hired at Durango, when the
+sudden report of fire-arms, and the whiz of a bullet close to his
+head, caused him to turn sharply round, and he beheld his amiable
+mozo [young man], pistol in hand, some fifteen yards behind him,
+looking guilty as well as foolish.&nbsp; Drawing a pistol from
+his holsters, Mr. Ruxton rode up to him immediately, and was
+about to blow out his brains, when his terror-stricken and
+absurdly guilty-looking face turned his employer&rsquo;s wrath
+into &ldquo;an immoderate fit of laughter.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Amigo,&rdquo; said Mr. Ruxton, &ldquo;do you call this
+being skilled, as you boasted, in the use of arms, to miss my
+head at fifteen yards?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Ah, caballero, in the name of all the saints, I did not
+fire at you, but at a duck which was flying over the road.&nbsp;
+Your worship cannot believe I would do such a thing.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Now, the pistols which Mr. Ruxton had given him to carry were
+secured in a pair of holsters tightly buckled and strapped round
+his waist.&nbsp; To unbuckle them at any time was difficult; to
+unbuckle them in time to get one out to fire at a flying duck,
+was impossible.&nbsp; Mr. Ruxton knew that the duck was an
+invention, and a clumsy one, and to prevent another treacherous
+attack, took from the fellow everything in the shape of offensive
+weapon, including even his knife.&nbsp; Then, after lecturing him
+severely, he administered a sound thrashing with the buckle-end
+of his surcingle, and promised him that, if he were suspected of
+even dreaming of another attempt at murder, he would be pistolled
+without a moment&rsquo;s hesitation.</p>
+<p><a name="page66"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 66</span>After
+narrowly escaping a collision with a party of Indians, Mr. Ruxton
+reached a place called El Gallo, where he resided for a couple of
+days in the house of a farmer.&nbsp; He tells us that in a rancho
+the time is occupied as follows:&mdash;The females of the family
+rise at daybreak, and prepare the chocolate, or alde, which is
+eaten the first thing in the morning.&nbsp; About nine
+o&rsquo;clock, breakfast is served, consisting of chile colorado,
+frijoles (beans), and tortillas (omelettes).&nbsp; Dinner, which
+takes place at noon, and supper at sunset, are both substantial
+meals.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the men employ themselves in the fields
+or attending to the animals; the women about the house, making
+clothes, cleaning, cooking, washing.&nbsp; In the evening the
+family shell corn, and chat; or a guitar is brought, and singing
+and dancing are continued until it is time to retire.</p>
+<p>Riding onward from El Gallo, Mr. Ruxton turned aside from the
+regular route to kill an antelope and broil a collop for
+breakfast.&nbsp; He was descending the sierra to quench his
+thirst at a stream which flowed through a ca&ntilde;on, or deep
+ravine, when a herd of antelopes passed him, and stopped to feed
+on a grassy plateau near at hand.&nbsp; He started in
+pursuit.&nbsp; As soon as he got within rifle-shot, he crept
+between two rocks at the edge of the hollow, and raised his head
+to reconnoitre, when he saw a sight which startled him, as the
+footprint on the sand startled Robinson Crusoe.&nbsp; About two
+hundred yards from the ca&ntilde;on, and scarcely twice that
+distance from his place of concealment, eleven Comanches, duly
+equipped for war, each with lance and bow and arrow, and the
+chief with a rifle also, were riding along in Indian file.&nbsp;
+They were naked to the waist, their buffalo robes being thrown
+off their <a name="page67"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+67</span>shoulders, and lying on their hips and across the
+saddle, which was a mere pad of buffalo-skin.&nbsp; Slowly they
+drew towards the ca&ntilde;on, as if to cross it by a deer-path
+near the spot where Mr. Ruxton lay concealed.&nbsp; The odds were
+great; but he was advantageously posted, and he held in readiness
+his rifle, a double-barrelled carbine, and a couple of
+pistols.&nbsp; If he were attacked, he thought he could make a
+good defence; but, if unobserved, he had nothing to gain by
+attacking them.&nbsp; On they came, laughing and talking, and Mr.
+Ruxton, raising his rifle and supporting it in the fork of a bush
+which served as a screen, covered the chief with deadly
+aim.&nbsp; On they came, but suddenly diverged from the deer-path
+and struck across the plain, thereby saving the chief&rsquo;s
+life, and probably Mr. Ruxton&rsquo;s.&nbsp; As soon as they had
+disappeared, he recrossed the sierra, and returned for the night
+to El Gallo.</p>
+<p>The next stage from El Gallo was Mapimi, situated at the foot
+of a range of mountains which teems with the precious
+metals.&nbsp; There he got rid of his mozo, or native attendant,
+and engaged in his place a little Irishman, who had been eighteen
+years in Mexico, and had almost forgotten his own language.&nbsp;
+He readily agreed to accompany him to Chihuahua, having no fear
+of the Indians, though they infested the country through which
+the travellers would have to pass.&nbsp; They reached Chihuahua,
+however, without misadventure.&nbsp; Its territory is described
+as a paradise for sportsmen.&nbsp; The common black or American
+bear, and the formidable grizzly bear, inhabit the sierras and
+mountains; and in the latter is found the carnero cimarron, or
+big-horn sheep.&nbsp; <a name="page68"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 68</span>Elk, black-tailed deer, cola-arieta
+(a large species of the fallow deer), the common American red
+deer, and antelope, are everywhere abundant.&nbsp; Of smaller
+game the most numerous are peccaries, hares, and rabbits; and in
+the streams the beavers still construct their dams.&nbsp; There
+are two varieties of wolf&mdash;the white, or mountain wolf, and
+the cayeute, or coyote, commonly called the prairie-dog.&nbsp; Of
+birds the most common are the faisan (a species of pheasant),
+snipe, plover, crane, and the quail, or rather a bird between a
+partridge and a quail.</p>
+<p>The entomologist would find much to interest him in the plains
+of Chihuahua, and especially an insect which seems almost
+peculiar to that part of Mexico.&nbsp; From four to six inches in
+length, it has four long slender legs.&nbsp; Its body, to the
+naked eye, seems nothing more than a blade of grass, and has no
+apparent muscular action or vitality except in the two
+antenn&aelig;, which are about half an inch long.&nbsp; It moves
+very slowly upon its long legs, and altogether looks not unlike a
+blade of grass carried by ants.&nbsp; The Mexicans assert that if
+horse or mule swallow these zacateros (so called from
+<i>zacato</i>, grass), it invariably dies; but the assertion may
+well be doubted.&nbsp; The variety of spiders, bugs, and beetles
+is endless, including the tarantula and the cocuyo, or
+lantern-bug.&nbsp; Of reptiles the most common are the
+rattlesnake and the copper-head: both are poisonous; and the
+sting of the scorpion is fatal under some conditions.&nbsp; The
+grotesque but harmless cameleon abounds in the plains.&nbsp; On
+the American prairies it is known as the &ldquo;horned
+frog.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Vegetation is very scanty in Chihuahua.&nbsp; The shrub that
+covers its plains, the mezquit, is a species of acacia, growing
+to a height of ten or twelve feet.&nbsp; <a
+name="page69"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 69</span>The seeds,
+contained in a small pod, resemble those of the laburnum, and are
+used by the Apache Indians to make a kind of bread, or cake,
+which is not unpleasant to the taste.&nbsp; This constantly
+recurring and ugly shrub, according to Mr. Ruxton, becomes quite
+an eyesore to the traveller who crosses the mezquit-covered
+plains.&nbsp; It is the only thing in the shape of a tree seen
+for hundreds of miles, except here and there a solitary alamo or
+willow, overhanging a spring, and invariably bestowing its name
+on the rancho or hacienda which may generally be found in the
+vicinity of water.&nbsp; Thus day after day the traveller passed
+the ranchos of El Sauz, Los Sauzes, Los Sauzilles&mdash;the
+willow, the willows, the little willows,&mdash;or El Alamo, Los
+Alamitos&mdash;the poplar, the little poplars.&nbsp; The last is
+the only timber found on the streams in northern Mexico, and on
+the Del Norte and the Arkansas it grows to a great size.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Leaving Chihuahua, Mr. Ruxton set out for the capital of New
+Mexico, escorted by three dragoons of the regiment of Vera Cruz,
+and carrying despatches from the governor to the commander of the
+American troops then posted on the frontier.&nbsp; At El Paso del
+Norte he entered a valley of great fertility; but this delightful
+change of scenery lasted only as far as San Diego, where begins
+the dreaded and dreadful wilderness significantly known as the
+<i>Jornada del Muerto</i>, or &ldquo;Dead Man&rsquo;s
+Journey.&rdquo;&nbsp; Not only is it cursed by an absolute want
+of water and pasture, but it is the favourite foraging-ground of
+the Apache Indians, who are always on the alert to surprise the
+unwary traveller, to plunder and kill him.&nbsp; There <a
+name="page70"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 70</span>is no
+vegetation but artemisia (sago) and screw-wood (torscilla).&nbsp;
+About half-way lies a hollow or depression called the <i>Laguna
+del Muerto</i>, or &ldquo;Dead Man&rsquo;s Lake,&rdquo; but this
+is hard and dry except in the rainy season.&nbsp; Mr.
+Ruxton&rsquo;s horses suffered considerably, but the &ldquo;Dead
+Man&rsquo;s Journey&rdquo; of ninety-five or one hundred miles
+was performed, nevertheless, without accident in twenty-four
+hours.</p>
+<p>At Fray Cristoval Mr. Ruxton came upon the river Del Norte,
+and thence pushed along its banks to the ruins of Valverde,
+where, encamped in the shade of noble trees, he found a trading
+caravan and a United States surveying party, under the command of
+a Lieutenant Abert.&nbsp; The traders&rsquo; waggons were drawn
+up so as to form a corral, or square&mdash;a laager, as the Boers
+of South Africa call it&mdash;constituting a truly formidable
+encampment, which, lined with the fire of some hundred rifles,
+could defy the attacks of Indians or Mexicans.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Scattered about,&rdquo; says Mr. Ruxton, &ldquo;were tents
+and shanties of logs and branches of every conceivable form,
+round which lounged wild-looking Missourians; some looking at the
+camp-fires, some cleaning their rifles or firing at
+targets&mdash;&lsquo;blazes&rsquo; cut in the trees&mdash;with a
+bull&rsquo;s-eye made with wet powder on the white bark.&nbsp;
+From morning till night the camp resounded with the popping of
+rifles, firing at marks for prizes of tobacco, or at any living
+creature which presented itself.&nbsp; The oxen, horses, and
+mules were sent out at daylight to pasture on the grass of the
+prairie, and at sunset made their appearance, driven in by the
+Mexican herders, and were secured for the night in the
+corrals.&nbsp; My own animals roamed at will, but every evening
+came to <a name="page71"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+71</span>the river to drink, and made their way to my camp, where
+they would frequently stay round the fire all night.&nbsp; They
+never required herding, for they made their appearance as
+regularly as the day closed, and would come to my whistle
+whenever I required my hunting mule.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Ruxton remained several days at Valverde in order to
+recruit his animals.&nbsp; He amused himself by hunting.&nbsp;
+Deer and antelope were plentiful; so were turkeys, hares,
+rabbits, and quail on the plain, geese and ducks in the river;
+and he had even a shot&mdash;an unsuccessful one&mdash;at a
+painter, or panther.&nbsp; In some men the love of sport amounts
+to a passion, and in Mr. Ruxton it seems to have been equalled or
+surpassed only by his love of adventure.&nbsp; But about the
+middle of December the camp broke up, the traders departing for
+Fray Cristoval; while Mr. Ruxton resumed his northward journey,
+in company with Lieutenant Abert&rsquo;s party.&nbsp; Crossing
+the Del Norte, he arrived at Socorro, the first settlement of New
+Mexico upon this river.&nbsp; Here the houses are <i>not</i>
+painted, but the women <i>are</i>; they stain their faces, from
+forehead to chin, with the fire-red juice of the alegria, to
+protect the skin from the effects of the sun.&nbsp; At Galisteo
+he met with a typical Yankee, of the kind Sam Slick has made us
+familiar with&mdash;a kind that is rapidly dying
+out,&mdash;sharp, active, self-reliant; a cunning mixture of
+inquisitiveness, shrewdness, and good nature.&nbsp; On reaching
+Mr. Ruxton&rsquo;s encampment he unyoked his twelve oxen,
+approached the camp-fire, and seated himself almost in the blaze,
+stretching his long lean legs at the same time into the
+ashes.&nbsp; Then he began: &ldquo;Sich a poor old country, I
+say!&nbsp; Wall, <a name="page72"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+72</span>strangers, an ugly camp this, I swar; and what my cattle
+ull do I don&rsquo;t know, for they have not eat since we put out
+of Santa F&eacute;, and are very near give out, that&rsquo;s a
+fact; and thar&rsquo;s nothin&rsquo; here for &rsquo;em to eat,
+surely.&nbsp; Wall, they must jist hold on till to-morrow, for I
+have only got a pint of corn apiece for &rsquo;em tonight anyhow,
+so there&rsquo;s no two ways about that.&nbsp; Strangers, I guess
+now you&rsquo;ll have a skillet among ye; if yev a mind to trade,
+I&rsquo;ll jist have it right off; anyhow, I&rsquo;ll jist borrow
+it to-night to bake my bread, and, if you wish to trade, name
+your price. . . .&nbsp; Sich a poor old country, say I!&nbsp;
+Jist look at them oxen, wull ye!&mdash;they&rsquo;ve nigh upon
+two hundred miles to go; for I&rsquo;m bound to catch up the
+sogers afore they reach the Pass, and there&rsquo;s not a go in
+&rsquo;em.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Well,&rdquo; remarked Mr. Ruxton, &ldquo;would it not
+be as well for you to feed them at once and let them
+rest?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Wall, I guess if you&rsquo;ll some of you lend me a
+hand, I&rsquo;ll fix &rsquo;em right off; tho&rsquo;, I tell you!
+they&rsquo;ve give me a pretty lot of trouble, they have, I tell
+you! but the critturs will have to eat, I
+b&rsquo;lieve!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The aid asked for was given, and some corn added to the scanty
+rations which he put before his wearied and hungry oxen.&nbsp;
+When they had been fixed, the Yankee returned to the fire and
+baked his cake, fried his bacon, and made his coffee, while his
+tongue kept up an incessant clatter.&nbsp; He was all alone, with
+a journey of two hundred miles before him, and his waggon and
+twelve oxen to look after; his sole thought and object, however,
+were dollars, dollars, dollars!&nbsp; He caught up every article
+he saw lying about, wondered what it cost and what it was worth,
+offered to trade for it, or for anything else which <a
+name="page73"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 73</span>anybody might
+be disposed to offer, never waiting for an answer, but rattling
+on, eating and drinking and talking without pause; until at last,
+gathering himself up, he said, &ldquo;Wall, I guess I&rsquo;ll
+turn into my waggon now, and some of you will, maybe, give a look
+round at the cattle every now and then, and I&rsquo;ll thank
+you.&rdquo;&nbsp; No sooner said than done.&nbsp; With a hop,
+step, and a jump, he sprang into his waggon, and was snoring in a
+couple of minutes.</p>
+<p>Next morning, at daybreak, while he was still asleep, Mr.
+Ruxton resumed his journey, and before evening entered Santa
+F&eacute;, after a ride in all of nearly two thousand miles.</p>
+<p>There was nothing in Santa F&eacute; to repay him for all he
+had undergone in getting there.&nbsp; The houses were built of
+sun-dried mud, and every other one was a grocery, that is, a gin
+or whisky shop, where Mexicans and Americans were drinking
+eagerly or playing mont&eacute;.&nbsp; The streets were filled
+with brawlers, among whom Pueblo Indians and priests endeavoured
+to make their way.&nbsp; Donkey-loads of hoja, or corn-shucks,
+were hawked about for sale.&nbsp; It was noise everywhere; noise
+and filth, dirt and drink.&nbsp; The town contains about 3500
+inhabitants, and lies at the foot of a summit of the eastern
+chain of the Rocky Mountains, about fourteen miles from the river
+Del Norte.&nbsp; As for the province, it covers an area of 6000
+square miles, with a population of 70,000, divided among the
+Mexico-Spanish (descendants of the original settlers), the
+Mestizos (or half-castes), and the Indian Manzos or Pueblos (the
+aboriginal inhabitants).</p>
+<p>Mr. Ruxton was so disgusted with Santa F&eacute;, that <a
+name="page74"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 74</span>in a very few
+days he had packed his mules, taken his leave of its profanity,
+drunkenness, and squalidness, and, through the valley of Taos,
+continued his northward route.&nbsp; The landscape was now
+ennobled by the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, with cool green
+valleys and misty plains lying among them, through which the
+river had hewn its way in deep rocky ca&ntilde;ons.&nbsp; The
+scenery had assumed a new character of grandeur, and Mr. Ruxton
+surveyed it with admiration.&nbsp; At the Rio Colorado he crossed
+the United States frontier, and plunged into the wild expanse of
+snow, with towering peaks rising on every side, that lay before
+him; his object being to cross the Rocky Mountains by the trail
+or track of the Ute Indians, and strike the river Arkansas near
+its head-waters.&nbsp; The cold was intense, and when a cutting
+wind swept over the bleak plains or roared through the wooded
+valleys, the hardy traveller found scarcely endurable.</p>
+<p>Stricken almost to the heart, he suffered the antelope that
+bounded past&mdash;hunter as he was!&mdash;to go unscathed.&nbsp;
+His hands, rigid as those of &ldquo;the Commandant&rdquo; in the
+statue-scene of Mozart&rsquo;s &ldquo;Don Giovanni,&rdquo;
+dropped the reins of his horse, and allowed him to travel as he
+pleased.&nbsp; The half-breed who attended him, wrapped himself
+round in his blanket, and heaved a sigh at the thought of the
+fine venison that was being lost.&nbsp; At length, a troop of
+some three thousand swept almost over them, and Mr.
+Ruxton&rsquo;s instincts as a sportsman prevailed over the
+inertness and deadness induced by the icy air; he sprang from his
+horse, knelt down, and sent a bullet right into the midst.&nbsp;
+At the report two antelopes <a name="page75"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 75</span>leaped into the air, to fall
+prostrate in the dust; one of them shot in the neck, through
+which the ball had passed into the body of the other.&nbsp; While
+he was cutting up the prize, half a dozen wolves howled around,
+drawn to the spot by the scent of blood.&nbsp; A couple of these
+creatures, tamed by hunger, gradually drew nearer, occasionally
+crouching on their haunches, and licking their eager lips as if
+already partaking of the banquet.&nbsp; Mr. Ruxton flung at them
+a large piece of meat; whereupon the whole pack threw themselves
+upon it, growling and fighting, and actually tearing each other
+in the wild, fierce fray.&nbsp; &ldquo;I am sure,&rdquo; says our
+traveller, &ldquo;I might have approached near enough to have
+seized one by the tail, so entirely regardless of my vicinity did
+they appear.&nbsp; They were doubtless rendered more ravenous
+than usual by the uncommon severity of the weather, and from the
+fact of the antelope congregating in large bands, were unable to
+prey upon these animals, which are their favourite food.&nbsp;
+Although rarely attacking a man, yet in such seasons as the
+present I have no doubt that they would not hesitate to charge
+upon a solitary traveller in the night, particularly as in winter
+they congregate in troops of from ten to fifty.&nbsp; They are so
+abundant in the mountains, that the hunter takes no notice of
+them, and seldom throws away upon the skulking beasts a charge of
+powder and lead.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Mr. Ruxton pitched his camp at Rib Creek one night; at La
+Culebra, or Snake Creek, the next; at La Trinchera, or Bowl
+Creek, on the third.&nbsp; The cold continued excessive.&nbsp;
+The blast seemed to carry death upon its wings; snow and sleet
+fell in heavy <a name="page76"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+76</span>showers; the streams were covered with a solid crust of
+ice.&nbsp; But the worst part of the journey was through the
+Vallerito, or Little Valley&mdash;the &ldquo;Wind-trap,&rdquo; as
+the mountaineers expressively call it&mdash;a small circular
+basin in the midst of rugged mountains, which receives the winds
+through their deep gorges and down their precipitous sides, and
+pens them up in its confined area to battle with one another, and
+with the unfortunates who are forced to traverse it.&nbsp; How
+they beat and rage and howl and roar!&nbsp; How they buffet the
+traveller in the face, and clasp him round the body as if they
+would strangle him!&nbsp; How they dash against the stumbling
+mules, and whirl the thick snow about them, and plunge them into
+dense deep drifts, where they lie half buried!&nbsp; This
+&ldquo;Wind-trap&rdquo; is only four miles long; and yet Mr.
+Ruxton was more than half a day in getting through it.</p>
+<p>Once clear of it, he began the ascent of the mountain which
+forms the watershed of the Del Norte and Arkansas rivers.&nbsp;
+The view from the summit was as wild and drear as one of the
+circles in Dante&rsquo;s &ldquo;Inferno.&rdquo;&nbsp; Looking
+back, the traveller saw everywhere a dense white pall or shroud
+of snow, which seemed to conceal but partially the rigid limbs of
+the dead and frozen earth.&nbsp; In front of him stretched the
+main chain of the Rocky Mountains, dominated by the lofty crest
+of James&rsquo;s or Pike&rsquo;s Peak; to the south-east, large
+against the sky, loomed the grim bulk of the two Cumbres
+Espa&ntilde;olas.&nbsp; At his feet, a narrow valley, green with
+dwarf oak and pine, was brightened by the glancing lights of a
+little stream.&nbsp; Everywhere against the horizon rose rugged
+summits and ridges, snow-clad and pine-clad, and partly <a
+name="page77"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 77</span>separated by
+rocky gorges.&nbsp; To the eastward the mountain mass fell off
+into detached spires and buttresses, and descended in broken
+terraces to the vast prairies, which extended far beyond the
+limit of vision, &ldquo;a sea of seeming barrenness, vast and
+dismal.&rdquo;&nbsp; As the traveller gazed upon them, billows of
+dust swept over the monotonous surface, impelled by a driving
+hurricane.&nbsp; Soon the mad wind reached the mountain-top, and
+splintered the tall pines, and roared and raved in its insatiable
+fury, and filled the air with great whirls of snow, and heaped it
+up in dazzling drifts against the trees.&nbsp; Its stern voice
+made the silence and the solitude all the more palpable.&nbsp;
+For not a sound of bird or beast was to be heard; nor was there
+sign or token of human life.&nbsp; In such a scene man is made to
+feel his own littleness.&nbsp; In the presence of the giant
+forces of Nature he seems so mean and powerless that his heart
+sinks within him, and his brain grows dizzy, until he remembers
+that behind those forces is a Power, eternal and supreme&mdash;a
+Power that seeks not to destroy, but to bless and comfort and
+save.</p>
+<p>With no little difficulty, Mr. Ruxton and his guide conveyed
+their mules and horses down the steep eastern side of the
+mountain into the valley beneath.&nbsp; Across Greenhorn Creek
+they pushed forward to the banks of the San Carlos; and fourteen
+miles beyond, they struck the Arkansas, a few hundred yards above
+the mouth of Boiling Spring River.&nbsp; There he was hospitably
+entertained in the &ldquo;lodge&rdquo; of a certain mountaineer
+and ex-trapper, John Hawkins.</p>
+<p>The home and haunt of the trapper is the vast region of forest
+and prairie known as the Far West.&nbsp; <a
+name="page78"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 78</span>He extends
+his operations from the Mississippi to the mouth of the western
+Colorado, from the frozen wastes of the north to the Gila in
+Mexico; making war against every animal whose skin or fur is of
+any value, and exhibiting in its pursuit the highest powers of
+endurance and tenacity, a reckless courage, and an inexhaustible
+fertility of resource.&nbsp; On starting for a hunt, whether as
+the &ldquo;hired hand&rdquo; of a fur company, or working on his
+own account, he provides himself with two or three horses or
+mules&mdash;one for saddle, the others for packs&mdash;and six
+traps, which are carried in a leather bag called a
+&ldquo;trap-sack.&rdquo;&nbsp; In a wallet of dressed
+buffalo-skin, called a &ldquo;possible-sack,&rdquo; he carries
+his ammunition, a few pounds of tobacco, and dressed deerskins
+for mocassins and other articles.&nbsp; When hunting, he loads
+his saddle mule with the &ldquo;possible&rdquo; and
+&ldquo;trap-sack;&rdquo; the furs are packed on the baggage
+mules.&nbsp; His costume is a hunting shirt of dressed buckskin,
+ornamented with long fringes; and pantaloons of the same
+material, but decorated with porcupine quills and long fringes
+down the outside of the leg.&nbsp; His head bears a flexible felt
+hat; his feet are protected by mocassins.&nbsp; Round his neck is
+slung his pipe-holder, generally a love token, in the shape of a
+heart, garnished with beads and porcupine quills.&nbsp; Over his
+left shoulder and under his right arm hang his powder-horn and
+bullet-pouch, in which are stored his balls, flint and steel, and
+all kinds of &ldquo;odds and ends.&rdquo;&nbsp; A large
+butcher-knife, in a sheath of buffalo-hide, is carried in a belt,
+and fastened to it by a chain or guard of steel.&nbsp; A tomahawk
+is also often added, and a long heavy rifle is necessarily
+included in the equipment.</p>
+<p><a name="page79"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 79</span>Thus
+provided (we quote now from Mr. Ruxton), and having determined
+the locality of his trapping-ground, he starts for the mountains,
+sometimes with three or four companions, as soon as the worst of
+the winter has passed.&nbsp; When he reaches his hunting-grounds,
+he follows up the creeks and streams, vigilantly looking out for
+&ldquo;sign.&rdquo;&nbsp; If he observes a cotton-wood tree lying
+prone, he examines it to discover if its fall be the work of the
+beaver; and, if so, whether &ldquo;thrown&rdquo; for the purpose
+of food, or to dam the stream, and raise the water to a level
+with its burrow.&nbsp; The track of the beaver on the mud or sand
+under the bank is also examined; and if the &ldquo;sign&rdquo; be
+fresh, he sets his trap in the run of the animal, hiding it under
+water, and attaching it by a stout chain to a picket driven in
+the bank, or to a bush or tree.&nbsp; A &ldquo;float-stick&rdquo;
+is fastened to the trap by a cord a few feet long, which, if the
+animal carry away the trap, floats on the water and indicates its
+position.&nbsp; The trap is baited with the
+&ldquo;medicine,&rdquo; an oily substance obtained from a gland
+in the scrotum of the beaver.&nbsp; Into this is dipped a stick,
+which is planted over the trap; and the beaver, attracted by the
+smell, and wishing a close inspection, very foolishly puts his
+leg into the trap, and falls a victim to his curiosity.</p>
+<p>When &ldquo;a lodge&rdquo; is discovered, the trap is set at
+the edge of the dam, at the point where the amphibious animals
+pass from deep to shoal water, but always beneath the
+surface.&nbsp; In early morning the hunter mounts his mule, and
+examines his traps.&nbsp; The captured animals are skinned, and
+the tails, a great dainty, carefully packed into camp.&nbsp; The
+skin is then stretched over a hoop or framework of osier twigs,
+<a name="page80"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 80</span>and is
+allowed to dry, the flesh and fatty substance being industriously
+scraped or &ldquo;grained.&rdquo;&nbsp; When dry, it is folded
+into a square sheet, with the fur turned inwards, and the bundle
+of ten to twenty skins, well pressed and carefully corded, is
+ready for exportation.</p>
+<p>During the hunt, regardless of Indian vicinity, the fearless
+trapper wanders far and near in search of
+&ldquo;sign.&rdquo;&nbsp; His nerves must always be in a state of
+tension; his energies must always rally at his call.&nbsp; His
+eagle eye sweeps round the country, and in an instant detects any
+unusual appearance.&nbsp; A turned leaf, a blade of grass pressed
+down, the uneasiness of the wild animals, the flight of birds,
+are all paragraphs to him, written in Nature&rsquo;s legible hand
+and plainest language.&nbsp; The subtle savage summons his utmost
+craft and cunning to gain an advantage over the wily white
+woodman; but, along with the natural instinct of primitive man,
+the white hunter has the advantages of the civilized mind, and,
+thus provided, seldom fails to baffle, under equal advantages,
+his Indian adversary.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>While hunting in the Arkansas valley, Mr. Ruxton met with many
+exciting experiences; the most serious being that of a night in
+the snow.&nbsp; Suspecting that some Indians had carried off his
+mules, he seized his rifle, and went in search of them, and
+coming upon what he supposed to be their track, followed it up
+with heroic patience for ten miles.&nbsp; He then discovered that
+he had made a mistake; retraced his steps to the camp, and, with
+his friend, struck in another direction.&nbsp; This time he hit
+on the right trail, and was well pleased to find that the animals
+were not in Indian hands, as their ropes evidently still dragged
+<a name="page81"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 81</span>along the
+ground.&nbsp; Carrying a lariat and saddle-blanket, so as to ride
+back on the mules if they were caught, away went the two
+dauntless hunters, nor did they stop to rest until
+midnight.&nbsp; Then, in the shelter of a thicket and on the bank
+of a stream, they kindled a fire, and thankfully lay down within
+reach of its genial influence.&nbsp; Alas! a gale of wind at that
+moment arose, and scattering the blazing brands to right and
+left, soon ignited the dry grass and bushes; so that, to prevent
+a general conflagration, they were compelled to extinguish their
+fire.&nbsp; To prevent themselves from being frozen to death,
+they started again in pursuit of the missing animals, following
+the trail by moonlight across the bare cold prairies.&nbsp; Next
+day their labours were rewarded by the recovery of the mules, and
+Mr. Ruxton and his Irish companion began to think of
+returning.&nbsp; The latter, by agreement, made at once for the
+trapper&rsquo;s cabin; Ruxton, with the animals, turned off in
+search of some provisions and packs that had been left in their
+hunting encampment.&nbsp; Since morning the sky had gradually
+clouded over, and towards sunset had blackened into a dense,
+heavy, rolling darkness.&nbsp; The wind had gone down, and a
+dead, unnatural calm, the sure precursor of a storm, reigned over
+the face of nature.&nbsp; The coyote, mindful of the coming
+disturbance, was trotting back to his burrow, and the raven, with
+swift wings, laboured towards the shelter of the woods.</p>
+<p>Lower and lower sank the clouds, until the very bases of the
+mountains were hidden, and the firmament and the earth seemed
+mingled together.&nbsp; Though neither branch nor spray was
+stirred, the valley rang <a name="page82"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 82</span>with a hoarse murmur.&nbsp; Through
+the gloom the leafless branches of the huge cotton-wood trees
+protruded like the gaunt arms of fleshless phantoms.&nbsp; The
+whole scene was eery and weird, impressing the mind with an
+indefinable sense of awe, with an apprehension of approaching
+disaster.&nbsp; The traveller turned his animals towards the
+covert of the wood; and they, quivering with terror, were not
+less eager than himself to gain it.&nbsp; Two-thirds of the
+distance still lay before them, when the windows of heaven
+opened, and the storm broke, and a tremendous roar filled the
+valley, and thick showers of sleet descended, freezing as it
+fell.&nbsp; The lonely traveller&rsquo;s hunting-shirt was soaked
+through in a moment, and in another moment frozen hard.&nbsp; The
+enormous hailstones, beating on his exposed head and
+face&mdash;for the wind had carried away his cap&mdash;almost
+stunned and blinded him.&nbsp; The mule he bestrode was suddenly
+caparisoned with a sheet of ice.&nbsp; To ride was
+impossible.&nbsp; He sprang to the ground, and wrapped himself in
+the saddle-cloth.&nbsp; As the storm beat in front of them, the
+animals wheeled away from the wood, turned their backs upon it,
+and made for the open prairies; still, through the intense
+darkness, whirled and buffeted in clouds of driving snow, Mr.
+Ruxton steadfastly followed them.&nbsp; His sufferings were
+indescribable; but he persevered.&nbsp; The wind chilled his
+blood; the sleet wounded his eyes; with difficulty his weary feet
+toiled through the gathering snow, which was soon two feet in
+depth; but he persevered.&nbsp; This quality of tenaciousness,
+without which no man can become a successful traveller, any more
+than he can become a successful musician, painter, sculptor,
+engineer, Mr. Ruxton possessed in <a name="page83"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 83</span>an eminent degree.&nbsp; He pursued
+the frightened animals across the darkening prairie, until,
+suddenly, on the leeward side of a tuft of bushes, they stood
+still.&nbsp; Some vain attempts he made to turn them towards the
+wood; they would not move; so that at length, completely
+exhausted, and seeing before him nothing but inevitable death, he
+sank down behind them in the deep snow, covering his head with
+his blanket&mdash;far away from human habitation,&mdash;far away
+from all help, but that of God!</p>
+<p>Ah, what a night was that!&nbsp; How the wind roared over the
+frozen plain!&nbsp; How the snow rolled before it in dense huge
+billows, that took in the darkness a sombre greyish colour!&nbsp;
+What horrible sounds surged upon the ear and brain of the
+benumbed watcher, as, with his head on his knees, pressed down by
+the snow as by a leaden weight, with the chilled blood scarcely
+flowing in his veins, and an icy torpor threatening to arrest the
+very motion of his heart, he struggled against the temptation of
+a slumber from which he knew that he should wake no more on
+earth!&nbsp; Once yield to that fatal sleep, and farewell to
+life!&nbsp; Yet how he longed to close his aching eyes, to rest
+his weary brain, to cease from the tumult of thought and feeling
+that confused and exhausted him!&nbsp; Every now and then the
+mules would groan heavily, and fall upon the snow, and again
+struggle to their legs.&nbsp; Every now and then the yell of
+famished wolves arose in the pauses of the storm.&nbsp; So passed
+the night, or, rather, to the hunter it seemed as if it were
+prolonging itself into day; each second was lengthened into a
+minute, each minute into an hour.&nbsp; At last, by keeping his
+hands buried in the bosom of his <a name="page84"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 84</span>hunting-shirt, he so far restored
+their natural warmth, that he was able to strike a match and set
+light to his pipe, a large one made of cotton-wood bark, that
+chanced, by great good fortune, to be filled with tobacco to the
+brim.&nbsp; This he smoked with intense delight, and no doubt the
+stimulus it afforded saved his life.</p>
+<p>He was sinking, however, into a dreamy drowsiness, when he was
+roused by a movement among the mules, which cheered him by
+proving that they were still alive.&nbsp; With some difficulty he
+lifted his head to get a look at the weather, but all was pitch
+dark.&nbsp; Was it still night?&nbsp; Suddenly he remembered that
+he was buried deep in snow, and thrusting his arm above him, he
+worked out a hole, through which he could see the sheen of stars
+and the glimmer of blue sky.&nbsp; After one or two efforts, he
+contrived to stand on his feet, and then he discovered that
+morning was dawning slowly in the east, whore the horizon was
+clear of clouds.&nbsp; By dint of constant exertion he regained
+the use of his limbs, and, springing on his horse, drove the
+mules before him at full speed across the prairie, and through
+the valley, until he reached the Arkansas, where he was welcomed
+as one who had risen from the grave.&nbsp; It took him two days,
+however, to recover from the effects of that fearful night among
+the snow.</p>
+<p>One of Mr. Ruxton&rsquo;s most agreeable excursions was to the
+Boiling Spring River and the Boiling Fountains, which he found to
+be situated in the midst of picturesque combinations of wood and
+rock.&nbsp; These celebrated springs issue from round holes in a
+large, flat white rock, at some distance from each other; the gas
+escapes with a hissing sound, like that of water in a state of
+ebullition; and the taste is <a name="page85"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 85</span>peculiarly refreshing, like that of,
+but seeming more pungent than, the very best soda-water.&nbsp;
+The Indians call them the &ldquo;medicine&rdquo; springs, and
+regard them with superstitious reverence as the haunts of a
+spirit, who, by breathing through the transparent fluid, causes
+the perturbation of its surface.&nbsp; As to this water-spirit
+the Arapahoes attribute the power of preventing the success or
+bringing about the failure of their war expeditions, they never
+pass the springs without leaving there some propitiatory
+offerings, such as beads, wampum, knives, pieces of red cloth,
+strips of deerskin, and mocassins.&nbsp; The country round about
+was formerly in the hands of the Shoshone, or Snake Indians, of
+whom the Comanches are a branch: the latter now dwell to the east
+of the Rocky Mountains; the former to the west, or in the
+recesses of the mountains themselves.</p>
+<p>The Snake Indians connect a curious legend with these two
+springs of sweet and bitter water.</p>
+<p>They say that, hundreds of years ago, when the cotton-wood
+trees on the Rio Colorado were no higher than arrows, and the red
+man hunted the buffalo on the plains, all people spoke the same
+language, and two parties of hunters never met without smoking
+together the pipe of peace.&nbsp; In this happy age, it chanced
+on one occasion that a couple of hunters, belonging to different
+tribes, met on the bank of a small rivulet, in which they
+designed to quench their thirst.&nbsp; A bright clear thread of
+water, trickling from a spring in a rock a few feet from the
+bank, it wound its silvery way into the river.&nbsp; Now, while
+one of the hunters threw himself at once on the ground, and
+plunged his face into the running stream, the other first flung
+from his <a name="page86"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+86</span>back a fine deer, and then, turning towards the spring,
+poured some of the water out as a libation to the Great Spirit,
+who had rewarded his prowess with bow and arrow, and caused the
+fountain to flow, at which he was about to refresh himself.</p>
+<p>And it came to pass that the other hunter, who had killed no
+fat buck, and had forgotten to make the usual peace-offering,
+felt his heart swell with rage and jealousy; and the Evil Spirit
+taking possession of him, he sought for an excuse to quarrel with
+the stranger Indian.&nbsp; Rising to his feet with a moody frown
+upon his brow, he exclaimed&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why does a stranger drink at the spring-head, when one
+to whom the spring belongs is content to drink of the water that
+runs from it?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Great Spirit,&rdquo; replied the other,
+&ldquo;places the cool water at the spring, that his children may
+drink it pure and undefiled.&nbsp; The running water is for the
+beasts that inhabit the plains.&nbsp; Au-sa-qua is a chief of the
+Shoshone, and he drinks at the head of the waters.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Shoshone,&rdquo; answered the first speaker,
+&ldquo;is but a tribe of the Comanche.&nbsp; Wa-co-mish is the
+chief of the great nation.&nbsp; Why does a Shoshone dare to
+drink above him?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;He has said it.&nbsp; The Shoshone drinks at the
+spring-head; let other nations be satisfied with the water of the
+stream that runs into the fields.&nbsp; Au-sa-qua is chief of his
+nation.&nbsp; The Comanche are brothers; let them both drink of
+the same water.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Shoshone pays tribute to the Comanche.&nbsp;
+Wa-co-mish leads that nation to war.&nbsp; Wa-co-mish is chief of
+the Shoshone, as he is of his own people.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page87"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+87</span>&ldquo;Wa-co-mish lies,&rdquo; said Au-sa-qua coldly;
+&ldquo;his tongue is forked like the rattlesnake&rsquo;s; his
+heart is as black as the Misho-tunga (evil spirit).&nbsp; When
+the Manitou made his children, whether Shoshone or Comanche,
+Arapaho, Shi-an, or P&aacute;-ui, he gave them buffalo to eat,
+and the pure water of the crystal fountain to quench their
+thirst.&nbsp; He said not to one, &lsquo;Drink here,&rsquo; or to
+the other, &lsquo;Drink there,&rsquo; but gave to all the bright
+clear fountain, that all might drink.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>A tempest of fury swept over the soul of Wa-comish as he
+listened to these words; but he was a coward at heart, and durst
+not openly encounter the cooler and more courageous
+Shoshone.&nbsp; But when the latter, hot with speaking, again
+stooped to drink of the refreshing waters, Wa-co-mish suddenly
+threw himself upon him, pressed his head beneath the surface, and
+held it there, until his victim, suffocated, ceased to struggle,
+and fell forward into the spring, dead.</p>
+<p>The murderer had satisfied his passion; but was he
+happy?&nbsp; No; as he gazed at the corpse of his victim, he was
+seized with a passionate sense of remorse and regret.&nbsp;
+Loathing himself for the crime he had committed, he proceeded to
+drag the body a few paces from the water, which, thereupon, was
+suddenly disturbed.&nbsp; The wave trembled to and fro, and
+bubbles, rising to the surface, escaped in hissing gas.&nbsp;
+And, as a vaporous cloud gradually rose and sank, the figure of
+an aged Indian was revealed to the murderer&rsquo;s straining
+eyes, whom, by his noble countenance, his long sinewy hand, and
+his silvery beard, he knew to be the great Wau-kan-aga, the
+father of the Shoshone and Comanche nation, still <a
+name="page88"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 88</span>remembered
+and revered for the good deeds and the heroic acts he had done in
+life.</p>
+<p>Stretching out a war-club towards the shrinking, trembling
+Wa-co-mish, he said:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Accursed of my tribe! this day hast thou snapt the link
+that bound together the mightiest nations of the world, while the
+blood of the brave Shoshone cries to the Manitou for
+vengeance.&nbsp; May the water of thy tribe be rank and bitter in
+their throats!&rdquo;&nbsp; And, swinging round his ponderous
+war-club, he dashed out the brains of the treacherous Comanche,
+so that he fell headlong into the spring, which, from that day,
+has ever been nauseous to the taste, and an offence to thirsty
+lips.&nbsp; But at the same time, to preserve the memory of the
+noble Au-sa-qua, he struck a hard flint rock, higher up the
+rivulet, with his club, and called forth a fountain of crystal
+water, which, even in our own times, is the joy and the delight
+of men.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Never,&rdquo; says Mr. Ruxton, &ldquo;never was there
+such a paradise for hunters as this lone and solitary spot.&nbsp;
+The shelving prairie, at the bottom of which the springs are
+situated, is entirely surrounded by rugged mountains, and,
+containing perhaps about two or three acres of excellent grass,
+affords a safe pasture to their animals, which would hardly care
+to wander from such feeding.&nbsp; Immediately overhead,
+Pike&rsquo;s Peak, at an elevation of 12,000 feet above the level
+of the sea, towers high into the clouds; whilst from the
+fountain, like a granitic amphitheatre, ridge after ridge,
+clothed with pine and cedar, rises and meets the stupendous mass
+of mountains, well called &lsquo;Rocky,&rsquo; which stretches
+far away north and <a name="page89"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+89</span>southward, their gigantic peaks being visible above the
+strata of clouds which hide their rugged bases.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>But here our companionship with Mr. Ruxton ceases.&nbsp; His
+travels in the United States do not present any uncommon or
+remarkable feature; do not differ from those of the thousand and
+one sightseers who yearly cross the Atlantic, and survey the
+broad territories of the great Western Republic.&nbsp; With a
+small party he crossed the wide-rolling prairies to Fort
+Leavenworth; thence, passing the Kansas or Caro river, and
+entering upon a picturesque country of hill and dale, well wooded
+and watered, he penetrated into the valley of the Missouri.&nbsp;
+Down that noble stream he made his way to St. Louis, and
+afterwards traversed the prairies of Illinois to Chicago; not
+then, as it is now, the capital of the West, and the great corn
+dep&ocirc;t of the Mississippi States.&nbsp; From Chicago he
+crossed Lake Michigan to Kalamazoo, where he took the rail to
+Detroit.&nbsp; A Canadian steamer conveyed him to Buffalo.&nbsp;
+Thence, by rail, he travelled to Albany, and descended the
+majestic Hudson to New York.&nbsp; His home voyage was swift and
+prosperous, and he arrived at Liverpool in the middle of August,
+1847. <a name="citation89"></a><a href="#footnote89"
+class="citation">[89]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page90"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 90</span>DOCTOR
+BARTH,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND CENTRAL AFRICA.</span></h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">A.D. 1850.</p>
+<h3>I.</h3>
+<p><span class="smcap">Dr. Heinrich Barth</span>, a native of
+Hamburg, and lecturer at the University of Berlin upon geography,
+had already had some experience of African travel, when, in 1849,
+he learned that Mr. James Richardson had planned an expedition
+from London to Central Africa, with the view of opening up the
+Soudan to European commerce, and substituting for the cruel
+slave-trade the legitimate enterprise of working the natural
+riches of the country.&nbsp; Dr. Barth obtained permission to
+accompany it, and with another volunteer, also a German, named
+Overweg, he repaired to head-quarters.&nbsp; The expedition was
+authorized and supported by the British Government.&nbsp; It met,
+therefore, with no preliminary difficulties; and we may begin our
+summary of its adventures at Tripoli, whence it started for the
+south on the 24th of March, 1850.&nbsp; Entering the Fezzan, it
+crossed the rocky and elevated plateau known as the Hammada, and
+through fertile wadys, or valley-basins, separated by precipitous
+ridges and broad <a name="page91"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+91</span>wastes of sand, made its way to Mourzouk, the capital,
+situated in a sandy plain, where agricultural labour is possible
+only under the shelter of the date-palms.&nbsp; The town has no
+rich merchants, and is not so much a commercial dep&ocirc;t as a
+place of transit.&nbsp; For Dr. Barth and his companions it was,
+however, the first stage of their journey, and, indeed, their
+true point of departure.&nbsp; They made all haste, therefore, to
+leave it, and on the 13th of June entered upon their great
+undertaking.&nbsp; On the 25th, after an unavoidable delay, they
+quitted Tasua, crossed a considerable mass of sand-hills, and
+descended into a more agreeable district, where the heights were
+crowned by tamarisk trees, each height standing alone and
+isolated, like sentinels along the front of an army.&nbsp; This
+pleasant variety of scenery did not last long, however; they came
+again upon a soil as rocky as that of the Hammada, and met with
+an alternation of green valleys and sterile promontories, similar
+to that which they had explored before they reached Mourzouk.</p>
+<p>They had reached the Wady Elaveu, a huge depression running
+north and south, when, at a distance of two hundred yards from
+their camp, they discovered a pond, forming a centre of life in
+that solitary region.&nbsp; Everybody hastened to enjoy a bath; a
+crowd of pintados and gangas hovered, with bright-coloured wings,
+above the laughing, frolicking company, waiting until they could
+take their places.&nbsp; While in this vicinity the travellers
+were disturbed by the conduct of some Towaregs, who had been
+engaged to conduct them to Selompih.&nbsp; Eventually, some
+slight change was made in the plans of the expedition, which, <a
+name="page92"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 92</span>it was
+determined, should go on to Ghat, and remain there for six days;
+while the Towaregs, on their part, undertook to set out
+immediately afterwards for the Asben.&nbsp; Striking into the
+valley of Tanesof, they saw before them, revelling in the glow
+and gleam of the sunset, the Demons&rsquo; Mountain, or Mount
+Iniden; its perpendicular summit, adorned with towers and
+battlements, showed its white outlines vividly against a
+dark-blue sky.&nbsp; Westward, the horizon was bounded by a range
+of sand-hills, which the wind swept like a mighty besom, filling
+the air with sharp, gritty sand, and covering the entire surface
+of the valley.</p>
+<p>On the following morning, their course carried them towards an
+enchanted mountain, which the wild legends of the natives have
+invested with picturesque interest.&nbsp; In spite of the
+warnings of the Towaregs, or perhaps because they had cautioned
+Dr. Barth not to risk his life in scaling that palace of the evil
+spirits, he resolved on attempting the sacrilegious
+enterprise.&nbsp; Unable to obtain guides, neither threats nor
+bribes prevailing over their superstitious terrors, he set out
+alone, in the belief that it had been formerly a place of
+religious worship, and that he should find there either
+sculptures or curious inscriptions.&nbsp; Unfortunately, he took
+with him no provisions but some biscuits and dates, and worse
+food cannot be imagined where there is a want of water.&nbsp;
+Crossing the sand-hills, he entered upon a bare and sterile
+plain, strewn with black pebbles, and studded with little mounds
+or hillocks of the same colour.&nbsp; Then he followed the bed of
+a torrent, its banks dotted with herbage, which offered an asylum
+to a couple of antelopes.&nbsp; Anxious for the safety of their
+young, the timid animals did <a name="page93"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 93</span>not move at his approach.&nbsp;
+Affection inspired them with courage; they raised their heads
+boldly, and waved their tails.&nbsp; The enchanted palace seemed
+to recede as he advanced; finding himself in front of a dark deep
+ravine, he changed his course, only to find the passage barred by
+a precipice.&nbsp; Under the glare and glow of a burning sun he
+undauntedly pursued his way, and at last, spent with fatigue and
+exertion, reached the summit, which was only a few feet wide, and
+could boast neither of sculptures nor inscriptions.</p>
+<p>From so lofty a watch-tower the prospect was necessarily
+extensive; but on surveying the plain below with anxious glance,
+Dr. Barth failed to detect any sign of the caravan.&nbsp; He was
+hungry and athirst; but his dates and biscuit were not eatable,
+and his supply of water was so limited that he durst not indulge
+himself with more than a mouthful.&nbsp; Feeble and spent as he
+was, to descend was imperative; he had no water left when he once
+more stood upon the plain.&nbsp; He dragged his weary limbs
+onward for some time, but at length was forced to own to himself
+that he did not know the direction he ought to take.&nbsp; He
+fired his pistol; but it elicited no reply.&nbsp; Wandering
+further and further from the route, he came upon a small grassy
+oasis, where some huts had been constructed of the branches of
+the tamarisk.&nbsp; With hopeful heart he hurried towards them;
+they were empty.&nbsp; Then in the distance he saw a long train
+of loaded camels ploughing their slow way through the sand; no,
+it was an illusion!&mdash;the illusion of fever.&nbsp; When night
+fell, he descried a fire gleaming redly against the darkened sky;
+it must be that of the caravan!&nbsp; Again he fired his pistol,
+and again there <a name="page94"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+94</span>was no answer.&nbsp; Still the flame rose steadily
+towards heaven, and seemed to beckon him to a place where he
+should find rest and safety; but he was unable to profit by the
+signal.&nbsp; He fired again; no answering sound came forth from
+the silence of the mysterious night, and Dr. Barth, on his knees,
+entrusted his life to the Divine Mercy, and waited and watched
+for the dawn of day.&nbsp; The dawn came, as it comes to all
+God&rsquo;s creatures, whether rich or poor, happy or
+wretched&mdash;comes with a blessing and a promise that are too
+often accepted without thought or emotion of gratitude; the dawn
+came, and still the calm of the desert remained unbroken.&nbsp;
+He loaded his pistol with a double charge, and the report,
+travelling from echo to echo, seemed loud enough to awaken the
+dead; it was heard by no human ear but his own.&nbsp; The sun,
+for whose beams he had prayed in the night-watches, rose in all
+its glory; the heat became intense; slowly the belated wayfarer
+crawled along the hot sand to seek the scanty shelter afforded by
+the leafless branches of the tamarisk.&nbsp; At noon there was
+scarcely shade enough to protect even his head, and in an agony
+of thirst, he opened a vein, drank a little of his own blood, and
+lost all consciousness.&nbsp; When he recovered his senses, the
+sun had set behind the mountain.&nbsp; He dragged himself a few
+paces from the tamarisk, and was examining the dreary level with
+sorrowful eyes, when he suddenly heard the voice of a
+camel.&nbsp; Never had he listened to music so delightful!&nbsp;
+For twenty-four hours had his sufferings been prolonged, and he
+was completely exhausted when rescued by one of the Towaregs of
+the caravan who had been sent in search of him.</p>
+<p><a name="page95"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 95</span>The
+caravan spent six days in the double oasis of Ghat and Barakat,
+where crops of green millet, taking the place of barley and rye,
+indicated the neighbourhood of Nigriti&aacute;.&nbsp; The gardens
+were neatly fenced and carefully cultivated; turtle-doves and
+pigeons cooed among the branches; the clean, well-built houses
+were each provided with a terraced roof.&nbsp; Dr. Barth observed
+that the male inhabitants worked with industry and intelligence;
+as for the women, almost every one had a babe on her shoulders,
+and children swarmed by the wayside.&nbsp; As a whole, the
+population was far superior, physically and morally, to the
+mixed, hybrid race of the Fezzan.</p>
+<p>They left the gracious and grateful oasis to plunge into the
+desert, a chaos of sandstone and granite rocks.&nbsp; On the 30th
+of July, they reached the junction-point of two ravines which
+formed a sort of &ldquo;four-ways&rdquo; among these confused
+masses.&nbsp; The wady which crossed their route was about sixty
+feet broad, but, at a short distance, narrowed suddenly into a
+defile between gigantic precipices upwards of a thousand feet in
+height&mdash;a defile which in the rainy season must be converted
+into a veritable cataract, to judge from an excavated basin at
+the mouth, which, when Dr. Barth and his companions passed, was
+full of fresh and limpid water.&nbsp; This
+&ldquo;four-ways,&rdquo; and these defiles, form the valley of
+Agu&eacute;ri, long known to European geographers by the name of
+Ama&iuml;s.</p>
+<p>The unpleasant intelligence now arrived that a powerful chief,
+named Sidi-Jalef-Sakertaf, projected an expedition against their
+peaceful caravan.&nbsp; Fortunately, it was only a question of
+the tribute which, by right of might, the Towaregs levy from
+every <a name="page96"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+96</span>caravan that crosses the desert.&nbsp;
+Sidi-Jalef-Sakertaf was pacified; and the enthusiasts went on
+their way through sterile valleys and frowning defiles that would
+have daunted the courage of any but a votary of science and
+adventure.</p>
+<p>They next arrived at Mount Tiska, which is six hundred feet in
+height, and surrounded by numerous lesser cones.&nbsp; It forms a
+kind of geological landmark; for the soil, hitherto so broken and
+irregular, thenceforward becomes smooth and uniform, while rising
+gradually, and the vast plain stretches far beyond the limit of
+vision without anything to interrupt its arid monotony.&nbsp; A
+two days&rsquo; journey brought our travellers to the well of
+Afelesselez.&nbsp; It is utterly wanting in shade; only a few
+clumps of stunted tamarisks grow on the sandy hillocks; but,
+desolate as it is and uninviting, the caravans resort to it
+eagerly, on account of its supply of fresh water.</p>
+<p>Sand; stones; little ridges of quartzose limestone; granite
+mixed with red sandstone or white; a few mimosas, at intervals of
+one or two days&rsquo; march; abrupt pinnacles breaking the dull
+level of the sandstones; dry and bushless valleys&mdash;such were
+the features of the country through which Dr. Barth and his
+companions wearily plodded.&nbsp; Herds of buffaloes, however,
+are numerous; as is also, in the higher ground, the <i>Ovis
+tragelaphis</i>.</p>
+<p>On the 16th of August the travellers, while descending a rocky
+crest covered with gravel, came in sight of Mount Asben.&nbsp;
+The Asben or A&rsquo;ir is an immense oasis, which has some claim
+to be considered the Switzerland of the Desert.&nbsp; The route
+pursued by Dr. Barth on his way to Agadez traversed its most <a
+name="page97"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 97</span>picturesque
+portion, where, almost every moment, the great mountain revealed
+itself, with its winding gorges, its fertile basins, and its
+lofty peaks.</p>
+<p>Agadez is built on a plain, where it seems to lament that the
+day of its prosperity has passed.&nbsp; At one time it was the
+centre of a considerable commerce; but, since the close of the
+last century, its population has sunk from sixty thousand to
+seven or eight thousand souls.&nbsp; Most of its houses lie in
+ruins; the score of habitations which compose the palace are
+themselves in a deplorably dilapidated condition; of the seventy
+mosques which it previously boasted only two remain.&nbsp; The
+richer merchants shun the market of Agadez, which is now in the
+possession of the Touats, and supported by small traders, who do
+a little business in the purchase of millet when the price is
+low.</p>
+<p>The day after his arrival, Barth repaired to the palace, and
+found that the buildings reserved for the sovereign were in
+tolerably good repair.&nbsp; He was introduced into a hall, from
+twelve to fifteen yards square, with a low da&iuml;s or platform,
+constructed of mats placed upon branches, which supported four
+massive columns of clay.&nbsp; Between one of these columns and
+the angle of the wall was seated Abd-el-Kadir, the Sultan, a
+vigorous and robust man of about fifty years old, whose grey robe
+and white scarf indicated that he did not belong to the race of
+the Towaregs.&nbsp; Though he had never heard of England, he
+received Dr. Barth very kindly, expressed his indignation at the
+treatment the caravans had undergone on the frontier of
+A&rsquo;ir, and, by-and-by, sent him letters of recommendation to
+the governors of Kan&oacute;, Kats&eacute;na, <a
+name="page98"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 98</span>and
+Daoura.&nbsp; Dr. Barth remained for two months at Agadez, and
+collected a number of interesting details respecting its
+inhabitants and their mode of life.&nbsp; Thus, he describes a
+visit which he paid to one of its more opulent female
+inhabitants.&nbsp; She lived in a spacious and commodious
+house.&nbsp; When he called upon her, she was attired in a robe
+of silk and cotton, and adorned with a great number of silver
+jewels.&nbsp; Twenty persons composed her household; including
+six children, entirely naked, their bracelets and collars of
+silver excepted, and six or seven slaves.&nbsp; Her husband lived
+at Kats&eacute;na, and from time to time came to see her; but it
+appears that she scarcely awaited his visits with the loving
+expectancy of a Penelope.&nbsp; No rigid seclusion of women is
+insisted upon at Agadez.&nbsp; During the Sultan&rsquo;s absence,
+five or six young females presented themselves at Dr.
+Barth&rsquo;s house.&nbsp; Two of them were rather handsome, with
+black hair falling down their shoulders in thick plaits, quick
+lively eyes, dark complexion, and a toilette not wanting in
+elegance; but they were so importunate for presents, that Dr.
+Barth, to escape their incessant petitions, shut himself up.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Barth rejoined his companions in the valley of
+Tin-Teggana.&nbsp; On the 12th of December they resumed their
+march, crossing a mountainous region, intersected by fertile
+valleys, in which the Egyptian balanite and indigo flourished,
+and finally emerging on the plain which forms the transition
+between the rocky soil of the desert and the fertile region of
+the Soudan&mdash;a sandy plain, the home of the giraffe and the
+antelope leucoryx.&nbsp; By degrees it became pleasantly green <a
+name="page99"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 99</span>with
+brushwood; then the travellers caught sight of bands of
+ostriches, of numerous burrows, especially in the neighbourhood
+of the ant-hills, and those of the Ethiopian orycteropus, which
+have a circumference of three yards to three yards and a half,
+and are constructed with considerable regularity.</p>
+<p>The wood grew thicker, the ground more broken, the ant-hills
+more numerous.&nbsp; As the travellers descended an abrupt
+decline of about one hundred feet, they found the character of
+the vegetation entirely changed.&nbsp; Melons were abundant; the
+dilon, a kind of laurel, dominated in the woods; then appeared an
+euphorbia, a somewhat rare tree in this part of Africa, in the
+poisonous juice of which the natives steep their arrows;
+parasites were frequent, but as yet lacked strength and pith; in
+a pool some cows were cooling themselves in the shades of the
+mimosas that fringed its banks; the thick herbage flourishing
+along the track impeded the progress of the camels, and against
+the horizon were visible the fertile undulating meads of
+Damerghue.&nbsp; Continuing their journey, they came upon a
+scattered village, where, for the first time, they saw that kind
+of architecture which, with some unimportant modifications,
+prevails throughout Central Africa.&nbsp; Entirely constructed of
+the stems of the sorghum and the <i>Asclepias gigas</i>, the huts
+of Nigriti&aacute; have nothing of the solidity of the houses of
+the A&rsquo;ir, where the framework is formed of the branches and
+trunks of trees; but they are incontestably superior in
+prettiness and cleanliness.&nbsp; The traveller, in examining
+them, is impressed by their resemblance to the cabins of the
+aborigines of Latium, of which Vitruvius, amongst others, has
+furnished a <a name="page100"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+100</span>description.&nbsp; More remarkable still are the
+millstones scattered round the huts; they consist of enormous
+panniers of reeds, placed on a scaffolding two feet from the
+ground, to protect them from the mice and termites.</p>
+<p>On their arrival at Tagilet, the travellers separated.&nbsp;
+Mr. James Richardson undertook the road to Zindu, Overweg that to
+Mar&aacute;di, and Barth to Kan&oacute;.&nbsp;
+K&uacute;k&aacute;wa was named as the place, and about the 1st of
+April as the date, of their reassembling.&nbsp; Our business here
+is with Dr. Barth.</p>
+<p>At Tas&aacute;wa he gained his first experience of a large
+town or village in Negroland proper; and it made a cheerful
+impression upon him, as manifesting everywhere the unmistakable
+marks of the comfortable, pleasant sort of life led by the
+natives.&nbsp; The courtyard, fenced with a hedge of tall reeds,
+excluded to a certain degree the gaze of the passer-by, without
+securing to the interior absolute secrecy.&nbsp; Then, near the
+entrance, were the cool and shady &ldquo;runf&aacute;,&rdquo; for
+the reception of travellers and the conduct of ordinary business;
+and the &ldquo;g&iacute;da,&rdquo; partly consisting entirely of
+reed of the best wicker-work, partly built of clay in the lower
+parts, while the roof is constructed only of reeds,&mdash;but
+whatever the material employed, always warm and well adapted for
+domestic privacy; while the entire dwelling is shaded with
+spreading trees, and enlivened with groups of children, goats,
+fowls, pigeons, and, where a little wealth has been accumulated,
+a horse or a pack-ox.</p>
+<p>Dr. Barth afterwards arrived at Kats&eacute;na, a town of
+considerable size, with a population of eight thousand
+souls.&nbsp; It was formerly the residence of one of the <a
+name="page101"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 101</span>richest and
+most celebrated princes in Nigriti&aacute;, though he paid a
+tribute of a hundred slaves to the King of Bornu as a sign of
+allegiance.</p>
+<p>For two centuries, from 1600 to 1800, Kats&eacute;na appears
+to have been the principal town in this part of the Soudan.&nbsp;
+Its social condition, developed by contact with the Arabs, then
+reached its highest degree of civilization; the language, rich in
+form and pure in pronunciation, and the polished and refined
+manners of the inhabitants, distinguished it from the other towns
+of the H&aacute;usa.&nbsp; But a complete and pitiful change took
+place when, in 1807, the Fulbi, raised to the highest pitch of
+fanaticism by the preaching of the reformer, Othm&aacute;n dan
+F&oacute;diye, succeeded in gaining possession of the town.&nbsp;
+The principal foreign merchants then emigrated to Kan&oacute;;
+the Asben&aacute;wa also transferred their salt-market thither;
+and Kats&eacute;na, notwithstanding its excellent position and
+greater salubrity, is now but of secondary importance as the seat
+of a governor.&nbsp; Mohammed Bello, who held that post at the
+time of Barth&rsquo;s visit, either through capriciousness or
+suspicion, was very desirous of sending him on to Sokoto, the
+residence of the Emir.&nbsp; At first he employed persuasion, and
+when that failed, resorted to force, detaining Barth a prisoner
+for five days.&nbsp; However, the energy and perseverance of the
+traveller overcame every difficulty; and, having obtained his
+freedom, he directed his steps towards the celebrated commercial
+entrep&ocirc;t of the Central Soudan.</p>
+<p>Kan&oacute;, as he says, was an important station for him, not
+only from a scientific, but a financial point of view.&nbsp;
+After the extortions of the Towaregs, and his <a
+name="page102"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 102</span>long delay
+in A&rsquo;ir, he was entirely dependent upon the merchandise
+which had been forwarded thither in advance.&nbsp; On his
+arrival, he had to liquidate a debt which had risen to the large
+amount of 113,200 kurdi; and he was much disheartened by the low
+value set upon the wares which were his sole resource.&nbsp;
+Lodged in dark and uncomfortable quarters, destitute of money,
+beset by his numerous creditors, and treated with insolence by
+his servant, his position in the far-famed African city, which
+had so long occupied his thoughts and excited his imagination,
+was the reverse of agreeable.&nbsp; Anxiety acted upon his
+physical health, and a severe attack of fever reduced him to a
+state of great weakness.&nbsp; Yet the gloomy colours in which he
+naturally paints his own condition do not extend to his
+description of Kan&oacute;.&nbsp; <i>That</i> is bright, vivid,
+and graphic.</p>
+<p>The whole scenery of the town&mdash;with its great variety of
+clay houses, huts, and sheds; its patches of green pasture for
+oxen, horses, camels, donkeys, and goats; its deep hollows
+containing ponds overgrown with water-plants; its noble trees,
+the symmetric g&oacute;nda or papaya, the slender date-palm, the
+spreading all&eacute;luba, and the majestic bombyx, or
+silk-cotton tree; the inhabitants, gay in diversified costumes,
+from the half-naked slave to the most elaborately dressed
+Arab&mdash;forms an animated picture of a world complete in
+itself; a strange contrast to European towns in external form,
+and yet, after all, in social inequalities, in the difference of
+happiness and comfort, activity and laziness, luxury and poverty,
+exactly similar.</p>
+<p>Here a row of shops is filled with articles of native and
+foreign produce, with noisy buyers and <a
+name="page103"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 103</span>sellers in
+every variety of figure, complexion, and dress, yet all intent
+upon gain, and endeavouring to get the advantage of each other;
+there, a large shed, like a hurdle, full of half-naked,
+half-starved slaves, torn from their quiet homes, from their
+wives, husbands, parents, arranged in rows like cattle, and
+staring with hopeless eyes upon the purchasers, wondering,
+perhaps, into whose hands it would be their lot to fall.&nbsp;
+How dark to them the mystery of life!&nbsp; In another part may
+be seen all that can minister to human ease and comfort, and the
+wealthy buying dainties and delicacies for his table, while the
+poor man eyes wistfully a handful of grain.&nbsp; Here a rich
+governor, dressed in silk and gaudy clothes, mounted upon a
+spirited and richly caparisoned horse, is followed by a troop of
+idle, insolent menials; there, a blind pauper gropes his way
+through the restless, excited multitude, and fears at every step
+to be trodden underfoot.&nbsp; Observe yonder a yard neatly
+fenced with mats of reed, and provided with all the comforts
+which the country affords; a clean, neat-looking cottage, with
+nicely polished clay walls, a shutter of reeds placed against the
+low, well-rounded door, to forbid abrupt intrusion on the privacy
+of domestic life; a cool shed for the daily household work; a
+fine spreading all&eacute;luba tree, affording a pleasant shade
+in the noontide hours, or a stately g&oacute;nda or papaya
+lifting its crown of feather-like leaves on a slender, smooth,
+and undivided stem, or the tall and useful date-tree, adding its
+charm to the fair scene of domestic peace and comfort,&mdash;the
+matron, in a clean black cotton gown wound round her waist, and
+with her hair trimly dressed, busily preparing the meal for her
+absent husband, or <a name="page104"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+104</span>spinning cotton, and at the same time urging the female
+slaves to pound the corn; the children, naked and merry, playing
+about in the sand, or chasing a straggling, stubborn goat;
+earthenware pots and wooden bowls, cleanly washed, all standing
+in order.&nbsp; Our survey also includes a
+&ldquo;m&aacute;cin&aacute;&rdquo;&mdash;an open terrace of clay,
+with a number of dyeing-pans, and people actively employed in
+various processes of their handicraft: one man stirring the
+juice, and mixing some colouring wood with the indigo in order to
+secure the desired tint; another drawing a shirt from the
+dye-pot, or suspending it to a rope fastened to the trees; and a
+couple of men busily beating a well-dyed shirt, and singing the
+while in good time and tune.&nbsp; Further on, a blacksmith with
+rude tools that an European would disdain, is fashioning a
+dagger, the sharpness of which will surprise you, or a formidable
+barbed spear, or some implement of husbandry; beyond, men and
+women turn an unfrequented thoroughfare to account by hanging up,
+along the fences, their cotton thread for weaving; and, lastly,
+close at hand, a group of loiterers idle away the sunny
+hours.</p>
+<p>Ever and anon comes upon the scene a caravan from
+G&oacute;nja, with the much-prized kola-nut, chewed by all who
+can spare as much or as little as &ldquo;ten kurdi;&rdquo; or a
+caravan passes, laden with natron, bound for N&uacute;pa; or a
+troop of Asben&aacute;wa, going off with their salt for the
+neighbouring towns; or some Arabs lead their camels, heavily
+charged with the luxuries of the north and east, to the quarters
+of the opulent; or a troop of gaudy, warlike-looking horsemen
+dash towards the palace of the governor with news from some
+distant province.&nbsp; Everywhere you see human life in its <a
+name="page105"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 105</span>varied
+forms, the brightest and the most gloomy closely mixed together,
+as in life itself happiness and sorrow are never divided; every
+variety of national form and complexion&mdash;the olive-coloured
+Arab; the dark Kanuri, with his wide nostrils; the
+small-featured, light, and slender Ba-Fillanchi; the broad-faced
+Ba-W&aacute;ngara; the stout, large-boned, and masculine-looking
+N&uacute;pa female; the well-proportioned and comely
+Ba-Ha&uacute;she woman.</p>
+<p>The regular population of Kan&oacute; numbers about 30,000
+souls, but is raised to 60,000, from January to April, by the
+influx of strangers.&nbsp; Its trade principally consists of
+cotton stuffs sold under the form of tebi, a kind of blouse;
+tenk&eacute;di, the long scarf or dark blue drapery worn by the
+women; the zunie, a kind of plaid, very bright in colour; and the
+black turban, worn by the Towaregs.&nbsp; At Kan&oacute; are
+concentrated also the products of northern, eastern, and western
+Africa, flowing thither through the channels of Mourzouk, Ghat,
+Tripoli, Timb&uacute;ktu, and the whole of Born&uacute;.</p>
+<p>Early in March the intrepid traveller resumed his journey,
+across an open and pleasant country.&nbsp; At Zurrikulo he
+entered Born&uacute; proper.&nbsp; The beautiful fan-palm was
+here the prevailing tree; but as Barth advanced, he met with the
+kuka, or <i>Adansonia digitata</i>, and the landscape brightened
+with leafiness, and soon he entered upon a pleasant tract of
+dense green underwood.&nbsp; &ldquo;The sky was clear,&rdquo; he
+says, &ldquo;and I was leaning carelessly upon my little nag,
+musing on the original homes of all the plants which now adorn
+different countries, when I saw advancing towards us a
+strange-looking person, of very fair complexion, richly dressed
+<a name="page106"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 106</span>and
+armed, and accompanied by three men on horseback, likewise armed
+with musket and pistols.&nbsp; Seeing that he was a person of
+consequence, I rode quickly up to him and saluted him, when he,
+measuring me with his eyes, halted and asked me whether I was the
+Christian who was expected to arrive from Kan&oacute;; and on my
+answering him in the affirmative, he told me distinctly that my
+fellow-traveller, Yak&uacute;b (Mr. Richardson), had died before
+reaching K&uacute;k&aacute;wa, and that all his property had been
+seized.&nbsp; This sad intelligence deeply affected me; and, in
+the first moment of excitement, I resolved to leave my two young
+men behind with the camels, and to hurry on alone on
+horseback.&nbsp; But as I could not reach K&uacute;k&aacute;wa in
+less than four days, and as part of the road was greatly infested
+by the Taw&aacute;rek (or Towaregs), such an attempt might have
+exposed me to a great deal of inconvenience.&nbsp; Therefore, we
+determined to go on as fast as the camels would allow
+us.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Four days later, and Dr. Barth saw before him the wall of
+white clay which surrounds the capital of Born&uacute;.&nbsp; He
+entered the gate, and of some people assembled there inquired the
+way to the sheikh&rsquo;s residence.&nbsp; Passing the little
+market-place, and following the dendal, or promenade, he rode
+straight up to the palace which flanks the palace on the
+east.&nbsp; The sheikh received him cordially, and provided him
+with quarters closely adjoining the vizier&rsquo;s house; these
+consisted of two immense courtyards, the more secluded of which
+enclosed, besides a half-finished clay dwelling, a spacious and
+neatly built hut, which, he ascertained, had been specially
+prepared for the reception and accommodation of the English
+mission.&nbsp; <a name="page107"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+107</span>It taxed all Dr. Barth&rsquo;s energy and perseverance
+to obtain the restoration of Mr. Richardson&rsquo;s property; but
+he finally succeeded.&nbsp; He also obtained a loan of money on
+the credit of the British Government, which enabled him to
+satisfy his creditors, pay Mr. Richardson&rsquo;s servants, and
+provide for the prosecution of the labours which had been so
+unhappily interrupted.</p>
+<p>The capital of Born&uacute; consists of two towns, each
+surrounded by a wall: one, inhabited by the rich, is well built,
+and contains some very large residences; the other is a labyrinth
+of narrow streets of small and squalid houses.&nbsp; Between the
+two towns spreads an area of about eight hundred yards each way,
+which, throughout its length, is traversed by a great highway,
+serving as a channel of intercommunication.&nbsp; This area is
+largely peopled; and a picturesque aspect it presents, with its
+spacious mansions and thatched huts, its solid walls of mud and
+its fences of reeds, varying in colour, according to their age,
+from the brightest yellow to the deepest black.</p>
+<p>In the surrounding district are numerous little villages,
+hamlets, and isolated farms, all walled.&nbsp; Every Monday a
+fair is held between two of these villages, lying beyond the
+western gate; to which the inhabitant of the province brings, on
+the back of his camel or his ox, his store of butter and corn,
+with his wife perched upon the top of the burden; and the
+Y&eacute;din&aacute;, that pirate of Lake Tchad, who attracts our
+admiration by the delicacy of his features and the suppleness of
+his figure, his dried fish, flesh of hippopotamus, and whips made
+of the animal&rsquo;s leathery hide.&nbsp; Provisions are
+abundant; but to lay in at one time a week&rsquo;s supply is a
+wearisome and troublesome task, <a name="page108"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 108</span>and a task all the more wearisome
+and burdensome, because there is no standard money for buying and
+selling.&nbsp; The ancient standard of the country, the pound of
+copper, has fallen into disuse; and the currency partly consists
+of &ldquo;g&aacute;bag&aacute;,&rdquo; or cotton-strips, and
+&ldquo;kung&oacute;na,&rdquo; or cowries.&nbsp; A small farmer,
+who brings his corn to the market, will refuse cowries, however,
+and will rarely accept of a dollar.&nbsp; The would-be purchaser,
+therefore, must first exchange a dollar for cowries; then, with
+the cowries, must buy a &ldquo;k&uacute;lgu,&rdquo; or shirt; and
+in this way will be able at last to obtain the required quantity
+of corn.</p>
+<p>Provisions are not only abundant, but cheap, and the variety
+is considerable.&nbsp; For corn,&mdash;wheat, rice, and millet;
+for fruits,&mdash;ground-nuts, the bito, or fruit of the
+<i>Balanites &AElig;gyptiaca</i>, a kind of <i>physalis</i>, the
+African plum, the <i>Rhamnus lotus</i>, and the d&uacute;m-palm;
+for vegetables&mdash;beans and onions, and the young leaves of
+the monkey-bread tree.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Dr. Barth had spent three weeks at K&uacute;k&aacute;wa, when,
+on the evening of the 14th of April, the Sheikh Omar and his
+vizier departed on a short visit to Ngornu, and at their
+invitation he followed next morning.&nbsp; The road thither was
+marked with the monotony which distinguishes the neighbourhood of
+the capital.&nbsp; At first, nothing is seen but the <i>Asclepias
+gigas</i>; then some low bushes of cucifera; and gradually trees
+begin to enliven the landscape.&nbsp; The path is broad and well
+trodden, but generally consists of a deep sandy soil.&nbsp; There
+are no villages along the road, but several at a little
+distance.&nbsp; Two miles and a half from Ngornu the trees cease,
+giving way to an <a name="page109"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+109</span>immense fertile plain where cereals are cultivated as
+well as beans.</p>
+<p>At Ngornu, the town of &ldquo;the blessing,&rdquo; our
+traveller arrived about an hour after noon.&nbsp; The heat being
+very great, the streets were almost deserted; but the houses, or
+rather yards, were crowded, tents having been pitched for the
+accommodation of the visitors.&nbsp; Except the sheikh&rsquo;s
+residence, scarcely a clay house was to be seen; yet the town
+gave a general impression of comfort and prosperity, and every
+yard was fenced with new &ldquo;s&eacute;ggad&eacute;&rdquo;
+mats, and well shaded by leafy koma-trees, while the huts were
+large and spacious.</p>
+<p>Early next morning the indefatigable traveller started forth
+on horseback to refresh himself with a view of Lake Tchad, which
+he supposed to be at no great distance, and of which he indulged
+the brightest visions.&nbsp; But no shining expanse of fair
+waters greeted his eye; wherever he directed his gaze, he saw
+only an endless grassy, treeless plain, stretching to the
+farthest horizon.&nbsp; At length, riding through grass of
+constantly increasing freshness and luxuriance, he reached a
+shallow swamp, the irregular and deeply indented margin of which
+greatly impeded his progress.&nbsp; After struggling for some
+time to get clear of it, and vainly straining his eyes to
+discover a shimmer of water in the distance, he retraced his
+steps.&nbsp; Mentioning on his return the ill success he had met
+with, the vizier undertook to send some horsemen to conduct him
+along the shore as far as K&aacute;wa, whence he could cross the
+country to K&uacute;k&aacute;wa.</p>
+<p>When the time came, however, the vizier&rsquo;s promise was
+represented by two horsemen only.&nbsp; With them <a
+name="page110"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 110</span>Dr. Barth
+started on his excursion, taking a north-east direction.&nbsp;
+The broad grassy plain seemed to roll away to an immeasurable
+distance, unrelieved by tree or shrub; not a living creature was
+visible, and the hot rays of the sun fell all around like burning
+arrows.&nbsp; After about half an hour&rsquo;s ride, he reached
+swampy ground, through which he and his companions forced their
+horses, often up to the saddle.&nbsp; Thus they arrived on the
+margin of a fine open sheet of water, fringed thickly with
+papyrus and tall reed, from ten to fourteen feet high, among
+which wound and interwound the garlands of a yellow-flowered
+climbing plant, called &ldquo;boibuje.&rdquo;&nbsp; Turning to
+the north, and still pushing onward through deep water and grass,
+he made a small creek called D&iacute;mbeb&uacute;, and caught
+sight of a couple of small flat boats, each about twelve feet
+long, and manned by a couple of men, who, on descrying the
+stranger, pulled off from the shore.&nbsp; They were
+B&uacute;dduma, or Y&eacute;din&aacute;, the pirates of the
+Tchad, in search of human prey; and Dr. Barth hastened to warn of
+their presence some villagers who had come to cut reeds for the
+roofs of their huts, and evidently had not caught sight of their
+enemies.&nbsp; He then continued his march.&nbsp; The sun&rsquo;s
+heat was intense, but a fresh cooling breeze blowing from the
+lagoon rendered it endurable.&nbsp; Large herds of kel&aacute;ra,
+a peculiar kind of antelope, started up as he advanced, bounding
+swiftly over the rushes, and sometimes swimming on the silent
+waters.&nbsp; They are like the roe in shape and size, with their
+under parts white as snow.&nbsp; At another creek, which the lake
+pirates sometimes use as a harbour, river-horses abounded, and
+the air echoed with their snorting.&nbsp; <a
+name="page111"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 111</span>This was
+the easternmost period of Dr. Barth&rsquo;s ride; turning then a
+little west from north, he and his escort marched over drier
+pasture-grounds, and, in about three miles, struck a deeply
+indented and well-sheltered creek, called
+Ng&oacute;ma&iacute;en.&nbsp; Here the curiosity of the traveller
+was rewarded by the sight of eleven boats of the
+Y&eacute;din&aacute;.&nbsp; Each was about twenty feet long,
+tolerably broad, with a low waist, and a high pointed prow.&nbsp;
+They are made of the narrow planks of the f&oacute;go-tree,
+fastened together with ropes from the d&uacute;m-palm, the holes
+being stopped with bast.</p>
+<p>Another ride, and Dr. Barth turned westward&mdash;a course
+which brought him to Maduw&aacute;ri, a pleasant village, lying
+in the shade of trees, where he resolved on halting for the
+night.&nbsp; From its inhabitants, who belong to the tribe of the
+Sag&aacute;rti, he obtained much information respecting the
+numerous islands that stud the surface of the lake.&nbsp; They
+also told him that the open water begun one day&rsquo;s voyage
+from K&aacute;ya, the small harbour of Maduw&aacute;ri, and is
+from one to two fathoms deep.&nbsp; It stretches from the mouth
+of the Sh&aacute;ry towards the western shore; all the rest of
+the lake consisting of swampy meadow-lands, occasionally
+inundated.&nbsp; Next morning, on resuming his journey, he was
+charmed by the bright and gracious picture before him.&nbsp;
+Clear and unbroken were the lines of the horizon, the swampy
+plain extending on the right towards the lake, and blending with
+it, so as to allow the mind that delights in wandering over
+distant regions a boundless expanse to rove in&mdash;an enjoyment
+not to be found in mountainous regions, be the mountains ever so
+distant.&nbsp; Thus they travelled slowly northwards, while the
+sun <a name="page112"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 112</span>rose
+over the patches of water which brightened the grassy plain; and
+on their left the village displayed its snug yards and huts,
+neatly fenced and shaded by spreading trees.&nbsp; At
+D&oacute;goji he came upon a hamlet or station of
+cattle-breeders, where a thousand head were collected; the
+herdsmen being stationed on guard around them, armed with long
+spears and light shields.&nbsp; Equidistant poles were fixed in
+the ground, on which the butter was hung up in skins or in
+vessels made of grass.</p>
+<p>Turning to the eastward, Dr. Barth reached the creek
+&ldquo;K&oacute;gorani,&rdquo; surrounded by a belt of dense
+reeds, and was there joined by a K&aacute;nemma chief, named
+Zaitchua, with five horsemen.&nbsp; The party rode on towards
+Bol&egrave;, passing through very deep water, and obtained a view
+of the widest part of the lake they had yet seen.&nbsp; A fine
+open sheet of water, agitated by a light easterly wind, rippled
+in sparkling waves upon the shore.&nbsp; A reedy forest spread
+all around, while the surface was bright with aquatic plants,
+chiefly the beautiful water-lily, or <i>Nymphoea lotus</i>.&nbsp;
+Flocks of waterfowl of every description played about.&nbsp; At
+length they reached K&aacute;wa, a large straggling village,
+lying among magnificent trees, where Dr. Barth&rsquo;s&rsquo;
+excursion terminated; thence he returned to
+K&uacute;k&aacute;wa.</p>
+<p>On the 7th of May he was joined there by Mr. Overweg, and the
+two travellers immediately made their preparations for resuming
+the work of exploration with which they had been charged by the
+British Government.&nbsp; These were completed by the 29th of May
+(1851), and the two travellers then set out for the southward,
+accompanied by an officer of the <a name="page113"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 113</span>sheikh, and attended by a small
+company of servants and warriors.&nbsp; A singular variety of
+country greeted them as they moved forward: at first it was low
+and swampy; then came a bare and arid soil, planted with
+scattered tamarisks; next, a dense forest, partly inundated in
+the rainy season, and, afterwards, a broad and fertile plain,
+sprinkled with villages, and white with thriving crops of
+cotton.&nbsp; This was the district of Uji, which comprises
+several places of a considerable size.&nbsp; Thence they entered
+upon a fine open country, a continuous corn-field, interrupted
+only by pleasant villages, and shaded here and there by single
+monkey-bread trees, or Adansonias, and various kinds of
+fig-trees, with their succulent dark-green foliage, or large
+fleshy leaves of emerald green.&nbsp; A fiumara, or water-course,
+which rises near Al&aacute;w&oacute;, traverses the plain with
+numerous curves and bends, and passing Dek&ugrave;a, falls into
+the Tchad.&nbsp; The travellers crossed it twice before they
+reached Mabani, a large and prosperous town, with a population of
+nine or ten thousand souls, which covers the sides and summit of
+a hill of sand.&nbsp; From this point their road lay through
+fertile fields, where they were greeted by the sight of the first
+corn-crop of the season, its fresh and vivid green sparkling
+daintily in the sunshine.&nbsp; Having crossed and recrossed the
+fiumara, they ascended its steep left bank, which in some places
+exhibited regular strata of sandstone.&nbsp; Here they passed a
+little dyeing-yard of two or three pots, while several patches of
+indigo flourished at the foot of the bank, and a bustling group
+of men and cattle were gathered round the well.&nbsp; Villages
+were seen lying about in every direction; and single cottages,
+scattered about <a name="page114"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+114</span>here and there, gave evidence of a sense of
+security.&nbsp; The corn-fields were most agreeably broken by
+tracts covered with bushes of the wild g&oacute;nda, which has a
+most delicious fruit, of a fine creamy flavour, and of the size
+of a peach, but with a much larger stone.</p>
+<p>Mount D&eacute;labida marked the border line of a mountainous
+region.&nbsp; After entering upon the district of Shamo, Barth
+observed that millet became rare, and that the sorghum was
+generally cultivated.&nbsp; Here he and his party were joined by
+some native traders; for robbers haunted the neighbourhood, and
+safety was to be found in numbers.&nbsp; At every step they came
+upon evidences of the misfortunes which had swept and scathed the
+country: traces of ancient cultivation and ruined huts; and thick
+interwoven jungles, where the grass grew so high as to hide both
+horse and rider.&nbsp; After three hours&rsquo; march through
+this land of desolation, they arrived at what had once been a
+considerable village, but was then inhabited only by a few
+natives, recently converted to the religion of the
+Crescent.&nbsp; As but a single hut could be found for the
+accommodation of the whole company, Dr. Barth preferred to encamp
+in the open air.&nbsp; But he had scarcely laid down to rest,
+when a terrible storm arose, sweeping his tent to the ground, and
+flooding his baggage with torrents of rain.&nbsp; To such
+adventures is the daring traveller exposed!</p>
+<p>Though they had embraced Islam, the natives wore no other
+clothing than a strip of leather passed between the legs, and
+even this seemed by some of them to be considered a
+superfluity.&nbsp; The observer could not fail to remark their
+harmonious proportions, their regular features, undisfigured by
+tattooing, <a name="page115"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+115</span>and, in not a few cases, presenting no resemblance to
+the negro type.&nbsp; The difference of complexion noticeable in
+individuals presumably of the same race, was remarkable.&nbsp;
+With some it was a brilliant black; with others a rhubarb colour,
+and there was no example of an intermediate tint; the black,
+however, predominated.&nbsp; A young woman and her son, aged
+eight years, formed a group &ldquo;quite antique,&rdquo; and
+worthy of the chisel of a great artist.&nbsp; The child,
+especially, in no respect yielded to the ancient Discophorus; his
+hair was short and curled, but not woolly; his complexion, like
+that of his mother and the whole family, was of a pale or
+yellowish red.</p>
+<p>Re-entering the forest, Dr. Barth observed that the clearings
+bore the imprints of the feet of elephants of all ages.&nbsp; A
+wealth of flowers loaded the atmosphere with fragrant
+incense.&nbsp; But the soil soon deteriorated; the trees were
+nearly all mimosas, and nearly all of indifferent growth, with
+here and there a large leafless Adansonia flinging abroad, as if
+in despair, its gaunt gigantic arms; while the herbage consisted
+only of single tufts of coarse grass, four or five feet
+high.&nbsp; When things are at their worst they begin to mend;
+and for the traveller there is no motto more applicable than the
+old proverb, that it is a long lane which has no turning.&nbsp;
+With intense delight Dr. Barth and his companions saw the
+monotonously gloomy forest giving way to scattered clusters of
+large and graceful trees, such as generally indicate the
+neighbourhood of human labour.&nbsp; And they soon emerged upon
+bright green meadow-lands extending to the base of the Wandala
+mountain-range, which rose like a barrier of cloud upon the
+horizon, from north to south.&nbsp; The <a
+name="page116"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 116</span>highest
+elevation of this range is about 3000 feet; its average elevation
+does not exceed 2500 feet.&nbsp; Behind it, to a point of 5000
+feet above the sea, rises the conical mass of Mount Mendefi,
+first seen by gallant Major Denham.&nbsp; The country now
+gradually assumed a wilder aspect; rocks of sandstone and granite
+projected on all sides, while, in front, a little rocky ridge,
+densely crowded with bush and tree, seemed to form a <i>ne plus
+ultra</i>.&nbsp; Suddenly, however, a deep recess opened in it,
+and a village was seen, lying most picturesquely in the heart of
+the rocks and woods.&nbsp; This was Lah&aacute;ula, where the
+travellers rested for the night.&nbsp; Next day they reached Uba,
+on the border of A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa; A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa,
+described by Dr. Barth as &ldquo;a Mohammedan kingdom engrafted
+upon a mixed stock of pagan tribes&mdash;the conquest of the
+valorous and fanatic P&aacute;llo chieftain, A&rsquo;d&aacute;ma,
+over the great pagan kingdom of F&uacute;mbin&aacute;.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here the camels greatly excited the curiosity of the
+population; for they are rarely seen in A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa,
+the climate of which these animals are unable to endure for any
+length of time.&nbsp; Still more vivid was the curiosity of the
+governor and his courtiers, when they saw Dr. Barth&rsquo;s
+compass, chronometer, telescope, and the small print of his
+Prayer-Book.&nbsp; The Fulbi, he says, are intelligent and
+civilized, but prone to malice; they lack the good nature of the
+real blacks, from whom they differ more in their character than
+their colour.</p>
+<p>At Bagma our travellers were struck by the size and shape of
+the huts, some of them being from forty to sixty feet long, about
+fifteen broad, and from ten to twelve feet high.&nbsp; They
+narrowed above to a ridge, and were thatched all over, no
+distinction being made between roof and wall.&nbsp; They are so
+spaciously <a name="page117"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+117</span>constructed, in order to provide a shelter for the
+cattle against the inclemency of the weather.&nbsp; The river
+separates the village, which is inhabited entirely by
+Mohammedans, into two quarters.&nbsp; &ldquo;The news of a
+marvellous novelty soon stirred up the whole place, and young and
+old, male and female, all gathered round our motley troop, and
+thronged about us in innocent mirth, and as we proceeded the
+people came running from the distant fields to see the wonder;
+but the wonder was not myself, but the camel, an animal which
+many of them had never seen, fifteen years having elapsed since
+one had passed along this road.&nbsp; The chorus of shrill
+voices, &lsquo;Gel&oacute;ba, gel&oacute;ba!&rsquo; was led by
+two young wanton P&uacute;llo girls, slender as antelopes, and
+wearing nothing but a light apron of striped cotton round their
+loins, who, jumping about and laughing at the stupidity of these
+enormous animals, accompanied us for about two miles along the
+fertile plain.&nbsp; We passed a herd of about three hundred
+cattle.&nbsp; Gradually the country became covered with forest,
+with the exception of patches of cultivated ground.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Through scenery of this interesting character, the travellers
+pushed on to Mbtudi.</p>
+<p>Next day their route laid through well-wooded and well-watered
+pastures, and immense fields of millet and ground-nuts, which
+here form as large a proportion of the food of the people as
+potatoes do in Europe.&nbsp; Dr. Barth liked them very much,
+especially if roasted, for nibbling after supper, or even as a
+substitute for breakfast on the road.&nbsp; From Segero the
+travellers proceeded to Sara&rsquo;wu, and thence to
+B&eacute;hur.&nbsp; Forest and cultivated land alternated with
+one another to the margin of a little lake, lying in a belt of
+tall thick <a name="page118"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+118</span>grass, where the unwieldy river-horse snorted
+loud.&nbsp; The sky was dark with clouds, and a storm was
+gathering, when the caravan entered the narrow streets of
+Sall&eacute;ri.&nbsp; That night it obtained but scanty
+accommodation, and everybody was glad to find the next morning
+bright and cheerful, so that the march could be resumed.&nbsp;
+Their course was directed towards the river
+B&eacute;nuw&eacute;.&nbsp; The neighbourhood of the water was
+first indicated by numerous high ant-hills, which, arranged in
+almost parallel lines, presented a sufficiently curious
+spectacle.&nbsp; To the north-west towered the insulated colossal
+mass of Mount Atlantika, forming a conspicuous and majestic
+object in the landscape.&nbsp; The savannas were now overgrown
+with tall rank grass, and broken by many considerable pools,
+lying in deep hollows; every year, in the rainy season, they are
+under water.&nbsp; Crossing these low levels with some
+difficulty, Dr. Barth arrived on the banks of the
+B&eacute;nuw&eacute;.&nbsp; A broad and noble stream, it flowed
+from east to west through an entirely open country.&nbsp; The
+banks were twenty to thirty feet high; while, immediately
+opposite to the traveller&rsquo;s station, behind a pointed
+headland of sand, the river F&aacute;ro, which has its source on
+the eastern side of Mount Atlantika, came in with a bold sweep
+from the south-east, and poured its tributary waters into the
+B&eacute;nuw&eacute;.&nbsp; The B&eacute;nuw&eacute;, below the
+point of junction, bends slightly to the north, runs along the
+northern foot of Mount B&aacute;gel&eacute;, thence traverses the
+mountainous region of the B&aacute;chama and Zina to
+Ham&aacute;rruwa and the industrious country of Kor&oacute;rofa,
+until it joins the great western river of the Kw&aacute;ra, or
+Niger.</p>
+<p>The passage of the B&eacute;nuw&eacute;, which is here about
+<a name="page119"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 119</span>eight
+hundred yards wide, was safely accomplished in the native canoes,
+nor did any mishap occur in the transit of the F&aacute;ro, which
+measures about six hundred yards.&nbsp; The current of the
+F&aacute;ro has a velocity of about five miles an hour; that of
+the B&eacute;nuw&eacute; does not exceed three miles and a
+half.&nbsp; By way of Mount B&aacute;gel&eacute;, and through the
+rich low lands of Rib&aacute;go, the travellers repaired to Yola,
+the capital of A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa.</p>
+<h3>II.</h3>
+<p>Yola, the capital of A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa, lies four degrees
+to the south of Kuka, on the F&aacute;ro, in a marshy plain,
+which presents nothing attractive to the eye of an artist.&nbsp;
+Dr. Barth describes it as a large open place, consisting mainly
+of conical huts, surrounded by spacious court-yards, and even by
+corn-fields; only the houses of the governor and his brothers
+being built of clay.&nbsp; When he entered it, Lowel, the
+governor, was in his fields, and could not be seen; but on his
+return the travellers proceeded to his &ldquo;palace&rdquo; to
+pay their respects.&nbsp; They were not allowed an interview,
+however, until the following day, and then it was anything but
+satisfactory.&nbsp; The officer who had accompanied them from
+Kuka took the opportunity of delivering certain despatches; and
+as they proved displeasing to the governor, he immediately vented
+his wrath upon Dr. Barth, accusing him of treacherous
+intentions.&nbsp; The audience terminated in confusion, and next
+day but one, Dr. Barth was ordered to leave Yola, on the pretence
+that his sojourn there could not be allowed unless he obtained <a
+name="page120"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 120</span>the
+authorization of the Sultan of Sokoto.&nbsp; He was suffering
+from fever, and the heat of the day was excessive, but at once
+made preparations for departure.&nbsp; Sitting firmly in his
+large Arab stirrups, and clinging to the pommel of his saddle, he
+turned his horse&rsquo;s head towards Born&uacute;, and, though
+he fainted twice, was soon invigorated by a refreshing breeze,
+which opportunely rose with healing on its wings.</p>
+<p>But he was really ill when he arrived at K&uacute;k&aacute;wa,
+and, unhappily, the rainy season had begun.&nbsp; During the
+night of the 3rd of August, the storm converted his sleeping
+apartment into a small lake, and his fever was seriously
+aggravated.&nbsp; The pools which formed in every nook and corner
+of the town were rendered pestiferous by the filth of all kinds
+which stagnated in them.&nbsp; He ought to have withdrawn to some
+healthier country, but, in order to pay the debts of the
+expedition and prepare for new explorations, was compelled to
+remain and sell the merchandise which had arrived in his
+absence.&nbsp; He made all haste, however, to discharge this
+duty; and when, early in September, the Government despatched a
+body of the Wel&aacute;d Shin&aacute;n&mdash;Arab mercenaries
+whom they had enlisted&mdash;to reconquer the eastern districts
+of the province of K&aacute;nem, he attached himself to the
+expedition, accompanied by his fellow-traveller, Overweg.</p>
+<p>In the course of this new journey they obtained another view
+of Lake Tchad, under peculiar circumstances.&nbsp; It was about
+seven o&rsquo;clock in the morning.&nbsp; Far to their right, a
+whole herd of elephants, arranged in almost military array, like
+an army of rational beings, slowly proceeded to the water.&nbsp;
+In front appeared the males, as was evident from their size, in
+<a name="page121"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 121</span>regular
+order; at a little distance followed the young ones; in a third
+line were the females; and the whole were brought up by five
+males of immense size.&nbsp; The latter, though the travellers
+were riding along quietly, and at a considerable distance, took
+notice of them, and some were seen throwing dust into the air;
+but no attempt was made to disturb them.&nbsp; There were
+altogether about ninety-six.</p>
+<p>Barth and Overweg returned to K&uacute;k&aacute;wa on the 14th
+of November, but ten days afterwards they again sallied forth,
+accompanying another warlike expedition, which had been ordered
+to march against M&aacute;nder&aacute;.&nbsp; It presented,
+however, few features of interest or importance.&nbsp; The
+indefatigable pioneers were back again in K&uacute;k&aacute;wa on
+the 1st of February, 1852, and there they remained until the 1st
+of March.&nbsp; Though crippled by want of means, enfeebled by
+fever, and beset by a thousand difficulties, Dr. Barth resolved
+on continuing his work of exploration, and, on the 17th of March,
+entered into Bagirmi, a region never before visited by
+Europeans.</p>
+<p>Bagirmi forms an extensive table-land, with an inclination
+towards the north, and an elevation of 900 to 1000 feet above the
+sea-level.&nbsp; It measures about 240 miles from north to south,
+and 150 from east to west.&nbsp; In the north lie some scattered
+mountain ranges, which separate the two basins of Lake Fittri and
+Lake Tchad.&nbsp; The chief products are sorghum, millet,
+sesamum, poa, wild rice, haricot beans, water-melons, citron, and
+indigo.&nbsp; Very little grain is cultivated.&nbsp; The
+population numbers about 1,500,000 souls.</p>
+<p>On reaching the broad stream of the Koloko, Dr. Barth found
+that he was suspected of treacherous <a name="page122"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 122</span>designs against the throne of
+Bagirmi, and the boatmen refused to ferry him across, unless he
+obtained the Sultan&rsquo;s permission.&nbsp; Resolved not to be
+baffled on the threshold of his enterprise, he retraced his steps
+for about two miles, then turned to the north-east, and at Mili
+succeeded in effecting the passage of the river.&nbsp; The
+country through which he advanced was fertile and well
+cultivated; village succeeded village in an almost unbroken
+series; here and there groups of natives issued from the thick
+foliage; numerous herds of cattle were feeding in the rich green
+water-meadows, and among them birds of the most beautiful
+plumage, and of all descriptions and sizes, sported upon nimble
+wing.&nbsp; The gigantic pelican dashed down occasionally from
+some neighbouring tree; the marabout stood silent, with head
+between its shoulders, like a decrepit old man; the large-sized
+azure-feathered &ldquo;d&eacute;degami&rdquo; strutted proudly
+along after its prey, the plotus, and extended its long
+snake-like neck; and the white ibis searched eagerly for food,
+with various species of ducks, and numerous other lesser birds,
+in larger or smaller flights.</p>
+<p>But an unexpected obstacle arrested his progress; an official
+arrived with an intimation that he could not be allowed to
+continue his advance without the formal consent of the supreme
+authority.&nbsp; He therefore sent forward a messenger with
+letters to the capital, and retraced his steps to Mili, to await
+his return.&nbsp; He had not long to wait.&nbsp; The messenger
+made his appearance on the following day, bearing a document with
+a large black seal, which directed him to proceed to
+B&uacute;gom&aacute;n, a place higher up the river, until an
+answer could be obtained from the Sultan, who was <a
+name="page123"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 123</span>then absent
+on a campaign in G&oacute;gomi.&nbsp; But on his arrival at
+B&uacute;gom&aacute;n, the governor refused to receive him, and
+the unfortunate traveller was glad to find a resting-place at
+B&aacute;kad&aacute;.&nbsp; There he had time and opportunity to
+meditate on the vast numbers of destructive worms and ants which
+afflicted the land of Bagirmi; especially a terrible large black
+worm, as long as, but much bigger than, the largest of European
+grubs, which, in its millions, consumes an immense proportion of
+the produce of the natives.&nbsp; There is also an injurious
+beetle, yellow as to colour, and half an inch as to length; but
+the people of Bagirmi take their revenge upon this destroyer by
+eating him as soon as he has grown fat at their expense.&nbsp; As
+for the ants, both black and white, they are always and
+everywhere a scourge and a calamity.&nbsp; Of the termites, or
+so-called white ants, which, by the way, are not really ants, Dr.
+Barth had unpleasant experience.&nbsp; As early as the second day
+of his sojourn at B&aacute;kad&aacute;, he observed that they
+were threatening his couch, which he had spread on a mat of the
+thickest reeds, with total destruction.&nbsp; To circumvent their
+devices, he elevated it upon three large poles; but in two
+days&rsquo; time they had not only raised their entrenchments
+along the poles to the very top, but had eaten through mat and
+carpet, and accomplished much general depredation.</p>
+<p>No reply arriving from the Sultan, Barth not unnaturally lost
+patience, and decided on quitting the inhospitable Bagirmi, and
+returning to K&uacute;k&aacute;wa.&nbsp; But he was closely
+watched; and on arriving at Mili, was arrested by order of the
+governor, who took possession of his arms, his baggage, his
+watch, his papers, his <a name="page124"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 124</span>compass, and his horse, and placed
+him in charge of a couple of sentinels.&nbsp; Happily, while at
+B&aacute;kad&aacute; he had made a powerful friend, who, making
+his appearance at Mili, interfered on his behalf, obtained the
+restoration of his property, and conducted him in person to
+M&aacute;sen&aacute;, the capital.&nbsp; There he was lodged in a
+clay house standing in an open courtyard, which was likewise
+fenced by a low clay wall.&nbsp; The house contained an airy
+front room, which he found very comfortable, and four small
+chambers at the back, useful for stowing away luggage and
+provisions.</p>
+<p>M&aacute;sen&aacute; occupies a considerable area, the
+circumference of which measures about seven miles; but only about
+half this space is inhabited, the principal quarter being formed
+in the midst of the town on the north and west of the
+Sultan&rsquo;s palace, while a few detached quarters and isolated
+yards lie straggling about as outposts.&nbsp; Its most
+distinctive feature is a deep trough-like bottom, running from
+east to west, which in the rainy season is filled with water, in
+the summer with verdure of the greatest luxuriance.&nbsp; To the
+south of this hollow, or bed&aacute;, lies the principal quarter,
+which, however, is by no means thickly inhabited.&nbsp; In the
+centre stands the palace; which is simply an irregular cluster of
+clay buildings and huts, surrounded by a wall of baked
+bricks.&nbsp; Generally speaking, the appearance of the town was
+one of decay and dilapidation; yet, as all the open grounds were
+enlivened with fresh green pasture, it was not deficient in a
+certain charm.&nbsp; There are no signs of industrial
+activity.&nbsp; The market-place is rather small, and without a
+single stall or shed.&nbsp; The chief feature of interest is the
+bed&aacute;, which is bordered on the <a name="page125"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 125</span>south-west by picturesque groups of
+d&uacute;m-palms and other trees of fine foliage; while at the
+western end, as well as on the south-east, spreads a large tract
+of market-gardens.</p>
+<p>In general, the houses are well built, and the thatched roofs
+are formed with care, and even with neatness; but the clay is not
+of a good kind for building, and the clay houses afford so little
+security from the rains, that most persons prefer to reside
+during that part of the year in huts of straw and reed.</p>
+<p>While waiting the Sultan&rsquo;s arrival, Dr. Barth&rsquo;s
+time was chiefly occupied in defending himself against the
+attacks of the large black ant (<i>Termes mordax</i>).&nbsp; One
+day, in particular, he maintained a long and desperate encounter
+with a host of these voracious little insects.&nbsp; In a thick
+unbroken column, about an inch broad, they had marched over the
+wall of the courtyard, and entering the hall where he abode both
+day and night, advanced right upon the store-room.&nbsp; But his
+couch being in their way, they immediately assailed his own
+person, and compelled him to decamp.&nbsp; Assisted by his
+servants, he then fell upon the bandits, killing all the
+stragglers and foragers, and burning the main body of the army as
+it proceeded on its way.&nbsp; But fresh legions arrived on the
+scene of war, and it took a struggle of two hours&rsquo; duration
+thoroughly to break up their lines, and put them to flight.</p>
+<p>The insects seemed to have been attracted by the corn which
+Dr. Barth had stored up.&nbsp; But it must be owned that, if
+inconvenient in one respect, their attacks are beneficial in
+another; for they destroy all kinds of vermin, mice
+included.&nbsp; And while they thus act as the &ldquo;scavengers
+of the houses,&rdquo; in many parts of <a
+name="page126"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 126</span>Negroland
+they also render service through their very greediness in
+gathering what man would fain appropriate for himself.&nbsp; They
+lay in such considerable stores of corn, that the poor natives
+frequently dig out their holes in order to gain possession of
+their supplies.</p>
+<p>It was on the 3rd of July that the Sultan appeared before the
+walls of his capital, escorted by about eight hundred
+cavalry.&nbsp; At the head of the <i>cort&eacute;ge</i> rode the
+lieutenant-governor, surrounded by a troop of cavaliers.&nbsp;
+Then came the Barma, followed by a man carrying a spear of
+ancient and peculiar shape, designed to represent the
+&ldquo;fetish,&rdquo; or idol of K&eacute;nga-Mat&aacute;ya, the
+original patrimony of the kings of Bagirmi.&nbsp; Next rode the
+F&aacute;cha, or commander-in-chief, who is the second person in
+the kingdom; and after him the Sultan himself, attired in a
+yellow burnous, and mounted on a grey charger, the points of
+which could hardly be seen owing to the amplitude of the
+war-trappings that hung about him.&nbsp; Nor was the head of his
+rider much more plainly visible, not only on account of the
+horsemen gathered round him, but more particularly owing to two
+umbrellas&mdash;one of green, the other of red&mdash;borne on
+each side of him by a couple of slaves.</p>
+<p>Six slaves, their right arms clad in iron, fanned the
+magnificent prince with ostrich feathers attached to long poles,
+while round about him were gathered a motley array of his
+captains and courtiers, gay in burnouses of various colours, or
+in shirts of black or blue.&nbsp; Behind them followed the
+war-camel, bestridden by the drummer, Kodg&aacute;nga, who made
+the echoes resound with the clang of a couple of kettle-drums,
+fastened on each side of the animal; and the charivari <a
+name="page127"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 127</span>was swelled
+by the exertions of three musicians, two of whom played upon
+horns, and the third upon a bugle.&nbsp; Mention must be made of
+the long train of the Sultan&rsquo;s female slaves, or
+favourites, forty-five in number, all mounted upon horseback, all
+dressed from head to foot in black cloth, and all guarded by a
+slave on either side.&nbsp; The procession was terminated by a
+train of eleven camels, carrying the baggage.</p>
+<p>A day or two afterwards, an officer of the Sultan demanded Dr.
+Barth&rsquo;s attendance at the palace.&nbsp; He hastened
+thither; and being admitted into an inner courtyard, found the
+courtiers sitting on either side of a door, which was protected
+by screenwork made of very fine reeds.&nbsp; Being desired to sit
+down, along with his companions, and ignorant whom he should
+address, he asked in a loud voice if the Sultan
+&rsquo;Abdel-Kadir were present.&nbsp; A clear voice, from behind
+the screen, answered that he was.&nbsp; When fully satisfied that
+he was addressing the prince, he proceeded to offer his respects,
+and present the compliments of the great and powerful British
+Government, which desired to be on terms of unity with so
+illustrious a prince.&nbsp; His speech, which he delivered in
+Arabic, was translated by an interpreter, and received a
+favourable reply.&nbsp; His presents also were accepted with
+satisfaction, and the audience ended.&nbsp; Next day he had a
+second audience, at which he expressed his desire to return to
+K&uacute;k&aacute;wa.&nbsp; After some slight delay, he obtained
+the Sultan&rsquo;s leave to depart, and was supplied with a camel
+and two horsemen to assist him on his journey.&nbsp; Well pleased
+with the result of his visit to M&aacute;sen&aacute;, after the
+inauspicious circumstances which had attended its commencement,
+he set out on his return to the capital <a
+name="page128"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 128</span>of
+Born&uacute;, and arrived there in safety on the 21st of
+August.&nbsp; He was glad to find Mr. Overweg in excellent
+spirits, for liberal supplies had been forwarded by the British
+Government, though looking physically weak and exhausted.&nbsp;
+The sheikh received him with great cordiality, and he enjoyed a
+degree of comfort and repose to which he had long been a
+stranger.</p>
+<p>His business, however, was to explore unknown countries, and
+to open up new paths to the enterprise of commerce.&nbsp;
+Considering it almost impossible to penetrate southward, on
+account of the obstacles thrown in his way by the native princes,
+he meditated a journey westward in the hope of reaching the
+celebrated city of Timb&uacute;ktu, at one time the centre of so
+many extravagant legends.&nbsp; The fulfilment of his projects
+was delayed by an unhappy calamity.&nbsp; During a short
+excursion in the neighbourhood of K&uacute;k&aacute;wa, Mr.
+Overweg got wet, caught a chill, and was afterwards seized with a
+violent fever, which carried him off in a few hours (September
+27th).&nbsp; He died, a martyr to science, and one of the many
+victims of African exploration, in his thirtieth year.</p>
+<p>A delay of some weeks was the necessary result of this
+melancholy event; but Barth, though left alone, was not to be
+turned aside from the great object of all his labours.&nbsp; His
+gaze was directed towards the Niger&mdash;towards the <i>terra
+incognita</i> which lay between the route pursued by the French
+traveller, Caill&eacute;, and the region in which Lander and
+Major Clapperton had achieved so many important
+discoveries.&nbsp; His preparations completed, he took final
+leave of K&uacute;k&aacute;wa on the 25th of November; and on the
+9th of December had crossed the frontier of H&aacute;usa.&nbsp;
+On the 12th <a name="page129"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+129</span>he directed his course towards the north-east, and the
+mountain region of M&uacute;niyo.&nbsp; The road waved,
+serpent-like, through a succession of valleys, the green sides of
+which were covered with groves and villages.&nbsp; M&uacute;niyo
+takes the form of a wedge, or triangle, the apex projecting
+towards the desert.&nbsp; The home of a peaceful and industrious
+population, who flourish under a mild and orderly government, it
+presents an agreeable contrast to the neighbouring territories,
+inhabited by nomads.&nbsp; Its rulers, men of courage and energy,
+have not only been able to defend their country against the
+attacks of the Babus, but to encroach upon the district of
+Digg&eacute;ra, which had submitted to the latter.&nbsp; The
+chief of this independent province can bring into the field, it
+is said, an army of 1500 horse and 9000 or 10,000 archers; and
+his revenue amounts to 30,000,000 kurdi (about &pound;6000) a
+year, without counting the tax which he levies on the crops.</p>
+<p>Barth diverged somewhat to the westward in order to visit
+U&rsquo;shek, the largest corn-producing district in western
+Born&uacute;; it is characterized by a curious alternation of
+luxuriance and sterility.&nbsp; At the foot of a mountain lies a
+barren, desolate tract, on the very threshold of which lies an
+undulating country, bright with date-palms and tamarisks, with
+crystal pools and rich grasses.&nbsp; Around the town of
+U&rsquo;shek spreads a glittering girdle of corn-fields,
+onion-beds, cotton-fields, in various stages of
+development.&nbsp; Here the labourer is breaking up the clods and
+irrigating the soil; there, his neighbour is weeding out his
+blooming crops.&nbsp; The vegetation everywhere is
+abundant.&nbsp; The accumulation of refuse prevents you, <a
+name="page130"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 130</span>however,
+from gaining a general view of the village, which lurks in the
+sheltering folds of the soil; but the main group of houses
+surrounds the foot of an eminence, crowned by the habitation of
+the chief.&nbsp; Observe that while the huts are made of reeds
+and the stems of millet, the towers in which the grain is pounded
+are constructed of clay, and ten feet in height.</p>
+<p>Beyond U&rsquo;shek stretches a sandy table-land, waving with
+a dense growth of reeds, and intersected by fertile
+valleys.&nbsp; Then comes a spur of the mountain-range which
+rises in the south-west; an irregular and broken plain, carpeted
+with grass and broom; a jungle of mimosas, dense thickets of
+capparis, and at intervals small patches of cultivated
+land.&nbsp; The climate is intensely hot; the very soil seems to
+burn; and our traveller, feeling himself ill, was forced to
+rest.&nbsp; During the night, a cold north-east wind covered him
+and his followers with the feathery awns of the pennixtum; and
+they rose in the morning in a condition of indescribable
+uneasiness.&nbsp; The next night was also cold; but there was no
+wind.</p>
+<p>At Bad&aacute;muni, the fertile fields are brightened with
+springs, which feed a couple of lakes, connected by a
+canal.&nbsp; Notwithstanding this channel of intercommunication,
+one of these lakes is of fresh water; the other brackish, and
+strongly impregnated with natron.&nbsp; It is noticeable that in
+this region all the valleys and all the mountain-chains run from
+north-east to south-west, and the direction of the two lakes is
+the same.&nbsp; Their margin is fringed with papyrus, except that
+at the point where the water turns brackish the papyrus is
+succeeded by the kumba, the pith of which is edible.&nbsp; Dr.
+Barth&rsquo;s two attendants, born on <a name="page131"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 131</span>the shores of the Tchad, immediately
+recognized this species of reed as growing in a similar manner at
+the point where that great inland sea touches the basins of
+nature that surround it.&nbsp; It is a curious circumstance that
+while the lake of fresh water is of a bright blue, and calm and
+smooth as a mirror, the other is green as the sea, and heaves to
+and fro in constant commotion, rolling its foamy waves to the
+beach, which they strew with marine weeds.</p>
+<p>The town of Zindu is protected by a rampart and ditch.&nbsp;
+Its aspect is remarkable: a mass of rock rises in the western
+quarter; and outside the walls stony ridges run in all
+directions, throwing forth a myriad crystal streams, which
+fertilize the tobacco-fields, and secure for the immediate
+neighbourhood an exceptional fertility.&nbsp; The landscape is
+enlivened by frequent clumps of date-palms and by the huts of the
+Touaregs, who conduct a brisk trade in salt.&nbsp; To the south
+extends an immense piece of ground, utilized, at the time of Dr.
+Barth&rsquo;s visit, as a garden of acclimatization.&nbsp; It is
+easy, let us say, to define the ground-plan of Zindu, but not to
+depict the stir and movement of which it is the centre, limited
+as that activity may be, compared with the feverish and
+far-reaching life of the industrial centres of Europe.&nbsp;
+Zindu has no other manufacture than that of indigo; nevertheless,
+its commercial energy is so great that it may justly be termed
+&ldquo;the port of the Soudan.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here Dr. Barth received the welcome supply of a thousand
+dollars, which, not to excite suspicion, had been carefully
+concealed in a couple of sugar barrels.&nbsp; He was enabled,
+therefore, to purchase the articles necessary for barter or gifts
+in his expedition to <a name="page132"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 132</span>Timb&uacute;ktu, such as red, white,
+and yellow burnouses, turbans, cloves, cutlery, beads, and
+looking-glasses; and on the 30th of January, 1853, he resumed his
+march.</p>
+<p>The country he had to traverse was the scene of incessant
+warfare between the Fulbi and the independent tribes.&nbsp; At
+the outset he met with some salt merchants from A&rsquo;ir, whose
+picturesque encampments would have delighted an artist&rsquo;s
+eye, but did not add to the security of the roads.&nbsp; He
+arrived in safety, however, on the 5th of February, at
+K&aacute;ts&eacute;na, and took up his quarters in a residence
+specially assigned to him.&nbsp; The house was spacious; but so
+full of ants, that, having rested himself for an hour on a bank
+of clay, he found that the freebooters had climbed the wall,
+constructed covered galleries right up to his person, and
+delivered a combined attack upon his shirt, in which they had
+eaten large holes.</p>
+<p>The governor of K&aacute;ts&eacute;na gave our traveller a
+courteous reception, and deigned to accept with evident
+satisfaction the burnouses, cafton, cup, two loaves of sugar, and
+pistol, which Dr. Barth offered him.&nbsp; The pistol gave him so
+much pleasure that he asked for a second; and, of course, a
+refusal was impossible.&nbsp; Thenceforth he ate and drank and
+walked and slept with his two pistols in his belt, and terrified
+everybody who approached him by snapping caps in their
+face.&nbsp; It happened that, at this time, the ghaladima of
+Sikoto, inspector of K&aacute;ts&eacute;na, was in the town
+collecting tribute.&nbsp; He was a frank and simple-natured man,
+neither very generous nor very intelligent, but of benevolent
+disposition and sociable character.&nbsp; Dr. Barth purchased
+some silk and cotton stuffs from the <a name="page133"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 133</span>looms of Mep&egrave; and
+Kan&oacute;, and being very anxious to pursue his journey, waited
+for the ghaladima to set out, in order to enjoy the advantage of
+his escort.&nbsp; It was on the 21st of March that this high
+official, accompanied by our traveller, took his departure.&nbsp;
+The governor attended them as far as the limits of his
+jurisdiction, and they had a numerous guard; while, as a further
+protection against mishaps, they steered to the south, instead of
+to the west, in which direction war was raging.</p>
+<p>It was the happy time of spring; a bloom was on the earth, and
+a light and perfume in the air; nature put on her greenest
+attire; the alleluba, the parkia, the cucifera, the bombyx rose
+in masses of foliage.&nbsp; The country through which the
+travellers rode was fair and fertile, populous and well
+cultivated; the pastures echoed with the low of cattle; the
+fields rejoiced in profuse crops of yams and tobacco.&nbsp; In
+the district of Maja, cotton, indigo, potatoes were grown on a
+very large scale.&nbsp; Beyond Kuruy&aacute;, a town of 5000 to
+6000 souls, the fertility of the land increased, if such increase
+were possible; the many-rooted banyan, or Indian fig-tree,
+displayed its colossal splendour:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&ldquo;Irregularly
+spread,<br />
+Fifty straight columns propped its lofty head;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; And many a long depending shoot,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Seeking to
+strike its root,<br />
+Straight, like a plummet, grew towards the ground;<br />
+Some on the lower boughs, which curved their way,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; With many a ring and wild contortion wound;<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Some to the passing wind, at times, with sway<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Of gentle motion
+moving;<br />
+Others of younger growth, unmoved, were hung<br />
+Like stone-drops from the cavern&rsquo;s fretted
+height.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><a name="page134"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+134</span>Bassiaparkia, sorghum, and millet were abundant.&nbsp;
+But at Kulfi the travellers reached the limit which divides the
+Mohammedans from the heathens&mdash;civilization (imperfect and
+undeveloped, if you will, but not wholly without a respect for
+law and order) and barbarism.&nbsp; As Dr. Barth advanced, he
+seemed to pass from spring to winter; cultivation disappeared;
+villages ruined and silent bore witness to the desolating work of
+war; and it was only by the cattle browsing in the scanty
+pastures that he knew the land was not entirely deserted.&nbsp;
+At Zekka, a town of some importance, with wall and ditch, he
+separated from the ghaladima, and, through a dense forest, pushed
+forward to the ruins of Moniya.&nbsp; He had intended to halt
+there, but an armed force had encamped at Moniya on the preceding
+evening, and he retreated into the shelter of the forest until
+the morning.&nbsp; A day&rsquo;s march brought him to Zyrmi, a
+considerable town, the governor of which was formerly chief of
+the whole province of Zanfara.</p>
+<p>On the 31st of March, he stood on the border of the
+G&uacute;nd&uacute;mi Desert, of the passage of which Major
+Clapperton has left so exciting a narrative.&nbsp; It is passable
+only by a forced march.&nbsp; Dr. Barth began by striking too far
+to the south, and lost valuable time in the midst of an
+impervious jungle.&nbsp; Recovering the direct track, he marched
+all that day, all that night, without seeing any sign of human
+life, and until the middle of the following day, when he met some
+horsemen who had been sent forward to meet him, with vessels of
+water.&nbsp; Two miles further, and he could see the village
+where the Emir Aliy&uacute; had pitched his camp; he was then at
+war with the people of Gober.&nbsp; <a name="page135"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 135</span>For thirty hours he and his
+followers had marched without a halt; they were completely spent,
+and the men, in their absolute weariness, fell prostrate upon the
+ground.&nbsp; The intrepid Barth rallied his energies; his
+excitement dispelled the sense of fatigue; and he searched his
+baggage for some valuable gift to the Emir, who was to depart on
+the following day, for upon him and his favour the success of his
+enterprise wholly depended.&nbsp; The day glided by, and he had
+begun to despair of being admitted to an audience; but in the
+evening the Emir sent him an ox, four fat sheep, and four hundred
+parcels of rice, and a message to the effect that he awaited his
+visit.&nbsp; It must be owned that some of these barbaric
+potentates do things right royally!</p>
+<p>Dr. Barth entered the august presence.&nbsp; The Emir
+immediately seized him by the hand, made him sit down, and
+interrupted him when he began to excuse himself for not having
+visited Sokot&oacute; before he went to
+K&uacute;k&aacute;wa.&nbsp; His two requests, for the
+Emir&rsquo;s safe-conduct as far as Timb&uacute;ktu, and a royal
+letter guaranteeing the lives and property of Englishmen visiting
+his territories, he received very favourably; affirming that his
+sole thought was for the welfare of humanity, and, consequently,
+he desired to promote the friendly intercourse of all
+nations.&nbsp; Next day Barth had another interview, and offered
+a second supply of presents.&nbsp; He describes the Emir as a
+strongly built man, of average stature, with a round, full, but
+not unpleasant face.</p>
+<p>On the 4th of April, with the royal letter, of which he had
+dictated the terms, and a hundred thousand kurdis which the
+prince had generously sent to him <a name="page136"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 136</span>to defray his expenses during his
+absence, he took up his residence at Vurno, the Emir&rsquo;s
+usual abode.&nbsp; The unsavoury condition of the town, which was
+traversed by a <i>cloaca</i> more disgusting even than those of
+Italy, surprised and shocked him.&nbsp; Outside the walls, the
+Gulbi-n-rima formed several basins of stagnant water in the
+middle of a plain, where the traveller&rsquo;s camels sadly pined
+for pasture.&nbsp; The frontiers of three provinces&mdash;Kebbi,
+Adar, and Gober&mdash;meet in this arid plain, which, however,
+after the rainy season, wears a completely different aspect.</p>
+<p>The town became more and more deserted; daily its notables
+departed to join the Emir; though, as a rule, these warriors
+cared only for their own pleasure, and would sell their weapons
+for a dram of kola-nut wine.&nbsp; In no part of Negroland did
+Dr. Barth see less military ardour or more physical
+depression.&nbsp; Meanwhile, he amused himself by collecting
+topographical details, studying the history of the country, and
+making excursions in the neighbourhood; among others to
+Sokot&oacute;, on the river Bugga.&nbsp; It was not until the
+23rd of April that the Emir returned to his capital, after an
+expedition which, if not glorious, had been at least
+successful.&nbsp; Always generous towards Dr. Barth, he had
+invited him to meet him, and king and traveller went together to
+the palace.&nbsp; On the same day, Barth made him a present of a
+musical box, which appears to be the prize most eagerly coveted
+by African potentates.&nbsp; The Emir, in his rapture, summoned
+his grand vizier to see and hear the marvel; but the mysterious
+box, affected by the climate and the length of the journey it had
+undergone, refused to pour forth its melodious treasures.&nbsp;
+However, after a day or two&rsquo;s labour, Dr. <a
+name="page137"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 137</span>Barth
+succeeded in repairing it, and releasing its imprisoned streams
+of music.&nbsp; Who shall describe the Emir&rsquo;s excess of
+joy?&nbsp; He proved the sincerity of his gratitude by
+immediately giving Dr. Barth a commendatory letter to his nephew,
+the chief of Gando, and the long-expected permission to
+depart.</p>
+<p>Leaving Vurno on the 8th of May, Dr. Barth reached Gando on
+the 17th.&nbsp; It was the capital of another Fulbi chief,
+scarcely less powerful than the Emir, whose protection was of the
+greatest importance to the traveller, because both banks of the
+Niger were within his territory.&nbsp; It was not obtained
+without persevering effort&mdash;and many gifts, besides frequent
+bribes to an Arab consul, who had contrived to make himself
+indispensable to the feeble prince.</p>
+<p>On the 4th of June our indefatigable explorer entered the deep
+valleys of Kebbi, which, in the rainy season, are converted into
+extensive rice-fields.&nbsp; At Kombara, the governor hospitably
+sent him all the constituents of a first-class Soudanian repast,
+from the sheep to the grains of salt and the Dodua cake.&nbsp;
+Gaumach&eacute;, formerly a thriving town, is now a village of
+slaves.&nbsp; A similarly fatal change has passed over Yara;
+formerly rich and industrious, rank weeds now grow in its silent
+streets.&nbsp; But life and death lie cheek by jowl in these
+fertile regions; and to the ruined towns and deserted villages
+immediately succeed prolific rice-fields, shaded by clumps of
+trees.</p>
+<p>The whole country was overshadowed by the thunder-clouds of
+war; yet the traveller passed continuously through plantations of
+yams, and cotton, and papyrus, whose fresh green foliage waved
+above the walls.&nbsp; He halted at Kola, where the governor
+could <a name="page138"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+138</span>dispose of seventy matchlocks and the men who handled
+them; an important personage in the disturbed condition of the
+country, whom it was politic to visit.&nbsp; The sister of this
+lord of warriors presented Dr. Barth with a fine fat
+goose&mdash;an addition to his dietary which rejoiced him
+greatly.&nbsp; As he approached Jogirma, the three sons of its
+chief came forth to salute him in their father&rsquo;s
+name.&nbsp; It proved to be a much more considerable town than
+the traveller had expected, and the palace was a spacious and
+even imposing building, in its architecture recalling the
+characters of the Gothic style.&nbsp; The population numbered
+seven to eight thousand souls, whom civil discord had reduced to
+a pitiful extremity.&nbsp; It was with no little difficulty that
+Dr. Barth obtained even a supply of millet.</p>
+<p>On the 10th he entered a beautiful forest, where the air was
+heavy with the sweet odours of flowering trees; but the place is
+noted for its insalubrity.&nbsp; Dr. Barth was compelled to
+remain there for twenty-four hours, one of his camels having gone
+astray; and this circumstance appeared so extraordinary, that the
+neighbouring peasants were in the habit of referring to him as
+&ldquo;the man who passed a whole day in the deadly
+desert.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>On a quadrangular eminence, about thirty feet high, in the
+valley of Fogha&mdash;an eminence built up of refuse&mdash;stands
+a village with some resemblance to the ancient town of
+Assyria.&nbsp; The inhabitants extract salt from the black mud
+out of which their little hillock rises.&nbsp; There are other
+villages of a similar character.&nbsp; The condition of the
+population is most wretched; they suffer continually from the
+forays of the robbers of Dendina.</p>
+<p><a name="page139"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 139</span>After
+a march of two or three miles over a rocky soil, sprinkled with
+bushes and brushwood, Dr. Barth, with intense satisfaction,
+caught the glimmer of water, as if the sun were lighting up a
+broad mirror, and rapidly pushing forward, came, in an
+hour&rsquo;s time, to Say, a ferry on the great river of the
+Soudan&mdash;the river which has divided with the Nile the
+curiosity of geographers, and attracted the enterprise of the
+adventurous; the river which, perhaps, surpasses the Nile in its
+promise of future commercial industry; the river which we
+associate with the names of so many heroic travellers, from Mungo
+Park to Cameron,&mdash;the Niger.</p>
+<h3>III.</h3>
+<p>The Niger&mdash;all the various names of which (Joliba, Mayo,
+Eghirrau, Isa, Kuara, Baki-a-rua) signify one and the same thing,
+<i>the River</i>&mdash;is about seven hundred yards broad at the
+Say ferry, and flows from north-north-east to south-south-west
+with a velocity of three miles an hour.&nbsp; The left bank has
+an elevation of about thirty feet; the right bank is low, and
+crowned with a town of considerable size.&nbsp; The traffic is
+incessant; Fulbis and Sourays, with their asses and oxen,
+continually pass to and fro.&nbsp; The boats in use are
+constructed of two hollow trunks of trees, fastened together, and
+measure a length of forty feet and a breadth of four feet and a
+half.&nbsp; With feelings of a mingled character Dr. Barth
+crossed this stately river, the exploration of which has
+necessitated the sacrifice of so many noble lives, and entered
+the busy town of <a name="page140"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+140</span>Say.&nbsp; Its walls form a quadrilateral of fourteen
+hundred yards; the houses of the inhabitants, all built of reeds
+except the governor&rsquo;s, are scattered in groups over the
+area they enclose.&nbsp; In the rainy season, a hollow or valley,
+which cuts across it from north to south, is filled with water,
+which impedes communication, and renders the place
+insalubrious.&nbsp; When the river is flooded, the town is
+entirely inundated, and all its inhabitants are compelled to
+migrate.&nbsp; The market of Say is not well provided: the supply
+of grain is small, of onions <i>nil</i>, of rice <i>nil</i>,
+though the soil is well adapted to their cultivation; of cotton,
+however, there is always a large quantity; and Say will prove an
+important position for Europeans as soon as the great river route
+of Western Africa begins to be utilized.</p>
+<p>Dr. Barth was told by the governor&mdash;who had the manners
+of a Jew, but was evidently born of a slave-mother&mdash;that he
+should welcome with joy a European vessel bringing to the town
+the many articles its inhabitants needed.&nbsp; He was astonished
+to find that the traveller was not a trader; and believing that
+only some very powerful motive could induce any man to undertake
+such an expedition, he grew alarmed at the possibility of
+treacherous and insidious designs, and requested him to leave the
+place.&nbsp; Dr. Barth was by no means unwilling, and on the
+following day left behind him the Niger, which separates the
+explored regions of Negroland from the unexplored, and eagerly
+directed his course towards the mysterious zone which stretched
+before him.</p>
+<p>He had crossed the low swampy island occupied by the town of
+Say, and the western branch of the river, <a
+name="page141"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 141</span>at that
+season entirely dry, when a great storm of thunder and rain broke
+upon him, and his progress was arrested by the rolling clouds of
+sand which the wind accumulated in his path.&nbsp; After a halt
+of three hours his march was resumed, though the soil was flooded
+with water to a depth of several inches.&nbsp; The country
+through which he passed had been colonized by the Sourays; it is
+a dependency of the province of Guinea, and the natives were at
+war both with the colonists and the Fulbi.&nbsp; Thence he
+entered a well-cultivated district, where the Fulbi, who regard
+the cow as the most useful member of the animal world, breed
+large herds of cattle.&nbsp; The scenery was varied by thickets
+of mimosas, with here and there a baobab or a tamarisk.&nbsp;
+More attractive to the traveller, because more novel, were the
+numerous furnaces, six or seven feet high, used for casting
+iron.</p>
+<p>The ground broke up into great irregularities; ridges of rock
+ran in all directions; formations of gneiss and mica schist
+predominated, with rare and beautiful varieties of granite.&nbsp;
+There, through banks of twenty feet in height, picturesque and
+rocky, flowed the deep waters of the Sirba.&nbsp; To effect the
+passage, Dr. Barth&rsquo;s followers could obtain only some
+bundles of reeds; the chief and all the inhabitants of the
+village sitting calmly on the bank, and watching their operations
+with lively interest.&nbsp; The men had expressive countenances,
+with effeminate features; long plaited hair, which fell upon the
+shoulders; a pipe in their mouths; and, for attire, a blue shirt
+and wide blue trousers.&nbsp; The women were dumpy and ill
+proportioned; they wore numerous collars, and pearls in their
+ears; their bosom and legs were naked.</p>
+<p><a name="page142"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+142</span>Another storm overtook the travellers, and converted
+the jungles through which they wound their way into a wide
+expanse of water.&nbsp; The solitariness of the land was broken
+at one point by a village, charmingly enclosed within a quickset
+hedge; fields of maize were succeeded by a tract of forest; then
+they entered a populous district, where the loaded camels
+laboured heavily through the clayey soil.&nbsp; At Sibba, where
+the governor, standing at the gate, was explaining to his people
+certain verses of the Koran, Dr. Barth was handsomely lodged in a
+hut newly built, with walls excellently polished, and quite an
+attractive and refreshing appearance.&nbsp; But, in life, there
+is always a flavour of wormwood in the cup of joy; appearances
+are proverbially deceitful; and Dr. Barth&rsquo;s beautiful abode
+proved to be a nest of ants, which committed wholesale
+depredations on his baggage.</p>
+<p>The day after his arrival chanced to be the last of the great
+Mohammedan feast of the Ramadan.&nbsp; That it was to be a day of
+festival was announced at earliest dawn by the sound of merry
+music; the Fulbi streamed forth from their houses, clad in white
+chemises, as a sign of the white purity of their faith; and the
+governor paraded through the town at the head of a
+<i>cort&eacute;ge</i> of forty horsemen.&nbsp; As the cadi showed
+an inclination to represent Dr. Barth in the unwelcome capacity
+of a sorcerer, he deemed it prudent to distribute a largess among
+the people of the procession.</p>
+<p>He arrived at Dor&eacute;, the chief town of Libtako, on the
+12th of July.&nbsp; The soil is dry, and troops of gazelles
+frolic about the arid plain which borders on <a
+name="page143"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 143</span>the
+market-place.&nbsp; The market, on the occasion of Dr.
+Barth&rsquo;s visit, was frequented by four or five hundred
+persons, who were buying or selling salt, and cotton stuffs, and
+copper vessels, and corn, and kola-nuts, and asses.&nbsp; The
+inhabitants of Dor&eacute; are partial to ornaments made of
+copper; and Dr. Barth noticed two young girls wearing in their
+hair a copper device of a horseman, sword in hand and pipe in
+mouth.&nbsp; The pipe, be it observed, is in great request among
+the Sourays, who seem to be of the opinion of Lord Lytton, that
+&ldquo;he who doth not smoke hath either known no great griefs,
+or refused himself the softest consolation, next to that which
+comes from heaven.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Beyond Dor&eacute; the country was a network of rivers and
+morasses.&nbsp; Buffaloes were exceedingly numerous.&nbsp; A
+venomous fly, very rare to the east of the Soudan, seriously
+annoyed Dr. Barth&rsquo;s cattle.&nbsp; It was the wet season;
+rain descended perpetually, as if the floodgates of heaven had
+been opened, and water was everywhere&mdash;in front, in rear, on
+either side; water, water, water!&nbsp; For quiet English
+gentlemen, living at home at ease, or occasionally indulging in a
+railway journey of a few hundred miles, in a comfortable
+carriage, through fields well cultivated and well drained, where
+rivers seldom break their bounds, or if they do, never accomplish
+greater injury than the overflowing of a green meadow or two, it
+is almost impossible to conceive the difficulty, and even danger,
+of traversing the African plains in the rainy season, of
+conveying heavy baggage through leagues upon leagues of swamps,
+which the unloaded camel finds it laborious to cross.&nbsp; More
+than once Dr. Barth was afraid that his horse, in spite of its
+robust vigour, <a name="page144"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+144</span>would fail to extricate its limbs from the deep mud,
+and sink with its rider in the slough.&nbsp; So tremendous are
+the rains, that in a single night they have been known to sweep
+away the fourth part of a large village, and in one house eleven
+goats have perished.</p>
+<p>Hitherto Dr. Barth had maintained his quality as a Christian;
+but on entering Dalla, a province belonging to the fanatical
+chief of Masina, who would never have permitted &ldquo;an
+infidel&rdquo; to traverse his territories, Dr. Barth thought it
+advisable to assume the character of an Arab.&nbsp; But a dispute
+which he had with his host, respecting a pack of dogs that showed
+a decided unwillingness to give place to a stranger, indicated no
+great religious fervour on the part of the population.&nbsp; Good
+Mohammedans have no liking for the canine race.&nbsp; The Fulbi
+will not employ them even as guides for their cattle, which they
+direct by the voice.&nbsp; All the dogs were black; the poultry
+were black and white.&nbsp; Dr. Barth observed that the crops
+suffered greatly from the ravages of a large black worm, which he
+had not met with since his expedition into Bagirmi.</p>
+<p>On the 5th of August he entered into a region of swamp and
+morass, and he was glad when, to relieve the monotony of the
+landscape, he caught sight of the picturesque Souray villages and
+the fantastic outline of the chain of the Hombori
+mountains.&nbsp; The various forms of this singular range, none
+of the peaks of which rise more than eight hundred feet above the
+level of the plain, can hardly be imagined; they irresistibly
+attract the traveller&rsquo;s eye.&nbsp; On a gentle slope,
+composed of masses of rock, is built a perpendicular wall, the
+terraced summit of which is <a name="page145"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 145</span>inhabited by a native race who have
+ever maintained their independence.&nbsp; That these heroic
+hillmen sometimes descend from their fastnesses is shown by their
+flocks of sheep and crops of millet.&nbsp; Starting from this
+point, a twofold range of remarkable crests extends along the
+plain, with a curious similitude to the ruins of medi&aelig;val
+castles.</p>
+<p>Refused admission at Bon&aacute;, and afraid to enter Nuggera,
+well known to be a hot-bed of fanaticism, Dr. Barth solicited the
+hospitality of some Towaregs, who were encamped in the
+neighbourhood.&nbsp; Their chief, a man of agreeable physiognomy,
+with fine features and a fair complexion, placed one of his huts
+at the traveller&rsquo;s disposal, and sent him some milk and a
+sheep ready cooked.&nbsp; Next day, his tents of canvas figured
+in the midst of those of his host, and he was besieged by a
+number of very stout ladies, all importunate for gifts.&nbsp; At
+Bambara, a considerable agricultural centre, surrounded by the
+canals and affluents of the Niger, he resided for several
+days.&nbsp; It is situated upon a backwater (mariyet) of the
+river, which, at the time of Barth&rsquo;s visit, was almost
+dry.&nbsp; In the ordinary course of things, it ought, in three
+weeks, to be crowded with boats, going to Timbukt&uacute; by
+O&aacute;l&aacute;zo and Sar&aacute;yam&oacute;, and to
+Dir&aacute; by Kanima.&nbsp; The prosperity of the town depends,
+therefore, on the rains; and as these had not begun, the whole
+population, with the Emir at their head, implored the pretended
+Arab doctor, whom they chose to regard as a great magician, to
+exercise his powers to obtain from the skies a copious
+benediction.&nbsp; Dr. Barth eluded the request for a formal
+ceremony, but expressed a hope that Heaven would listen to wishes
+so <a name="page146"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 146</span>very
+reasonable.&nbsp; As it happened, there was a slight fall of rain
+next day, which drew from the inhabitants the sincerest
+gratitude; but, for all that, Dr. Barth was very glad to put some
+distance between himself and Bambara.</p>
+<p>On the 1st of September, at Sar&aacute;yam&oacute;, Dr. Barth
+embarked on one of the branches of the Niger, and sailed towards
+Timbukt&uacute;.&nbsp; The stream was about a hundred yards wide,
+and so thick with aquatic plants that the voyagers seemed to be
+gliding over a prairie.&nbsp; Moreover, in its bed the asses and
+horses obtained the chief part of their sustenance.&nbsp; In
+about two miles and a half they entered open water, and the
+boatmen, whose songs had rung the praises of the Julius
+C&aelig;sar of Negroland, the Sultan Mohammed ben Abubakr,
+carried them, from winding to winding, between banks clothed with
+cucifers, tamarinds, and rich grasses, on which sometimes cattle
+were feeding, and sometimes the gazelle.&nbsp; The presence of
+alligators was a sign that they approached a broader water, and
+the channel suddenly widened to two hundred yards; its banks
+alive with pelicans and other water-birds, while men and horses
+went to and fro.&nbsp; The curves and bends of the stream
+increased, and the banks assumed a more defined and regular
+formation; wider and wider became the water-way, until it reached
+three hundred and forty yards.&nbsp; Some fires shone out against
+the evening shadows.&nbsp; At the bottom of a little creek
+clustered a little village.&nbsp; In no part of the course could
+any current be discerned; it was a kind of lagoon which the
+voyagers were crossing, and sometimes the wave flowed in one
+direction, sometimes in another.&nbsp; After two centuries of
+war, its shores, once so <a name="page147"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 147</span>animated, have sunk into silence;
+and Gakovia, Sanyara, and many other villages have ceased to
+be.&nbsp; There, on the edge of the bank, towered aloft a clump
+of graceful trees, the haunt of numerous bees; here, a patch of
+greensward brightened with the colours of many blossoms.&nbsp;
+The river now flowed from south-west to north-east, with a noble
+expanse of six hundred yards; its majestic flood rolling like a
+volume of silver in the moonlight, with the reflection of stars
+sparkling thickly on the crests of its waves.</p>
+<p>After a pilgrimage of eight months&rsquo; duration, Dr. Barth
+arrived at Kabara, the river-port of Timbukt&uacute;; and was
+lodged in a house on the highest ground, which contained two
+large and several small rooms, and a first floor.&nbsp; The inner
+court was occupied by a numerous and varied assortment of sheep,
+ducks, pigeons, and poultry.&nbsp; At early dawn, on the day
+after his arrival, our traveller, almost suffocated, left his
+room; but he had scarcely begun his walk before a Towareg chief
+interrupted him, and demanded a present.&nbsp; Receiving a prompt
+refusal, he coolly announced that, in his quality as a bandit, he
+could do him a good deal of harm.&nbsp; Dr. Barth, in fact, was
+<i>hors la loi</i>, and the first wretch who suspected him of
+being a Christian might slay him with impunity.&nbsp; He
+succeeded, however, in getting rid of the Towareg.&nbsp;
+Meanwhile, the house was crowded with visitors from
+Timbukt&uacute;, some on foot, some on horseback, but all wearing
+blue robes, drawn close to the figure by a drapery, with short
+breeches and peaked straw hats.&nbsp; All carried lances, while
+some had swords and guns; they seated themselves in the
+courtyard, overflowed the chambers, staring at one another, and
+<a name="page148"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 148</span>asking
+each other who this stranger might be.&nbsp; In the course of the
+day, Dr. Barth was &ldquo;interviewed&rdquo; by fully two hundred
+persons.&nbsp; In the evening, a messenger whom he had despatched
+to Timbukt&uacute; returned, accompanied by Sidi Alawat, one of
+the Sultan&rsquo;s brothers.&nbsp; Dr. Barth confided to him the
+secret of his Christian profession, but added that he was under
+the special protection of the sovereign of Stamboul.&nbsp;
+Unfortunately, he had no other proof of his assertion than an old
+firman dating from his former residence in Egypt; the interview,
+however, passed off very agreeably.</p>
+<p>On the following day, they crossed the sand-hills in the rear
+of Kabara; the yellow barrenness of the country contrasting
+vividly with the fertility of the verdurous borders of the
+river.&nbsp; It is, indeed, a desert, infested by roving bands of
+murderous Towaregs.&nbsp; Such is the well-known insecurity of
+the route, that a thicket, situated midway, bears the significant
+name of &ldquo;It does not hear&rdquo;&mdash;that is, it is deaf
+to the cries of a victim.&nbsp; To the left stands the tree of
+Wely-Salah, a mimosa which the natives have covered with rags in
+the hope that the saint will replace them by new clothes.&nbsp;
+As they drew near Timbukt&uacute;, the sky clouded over, the
+atmosphere was full of sand, and the city could scarcely be seen
+through the rubbish surrounding it.&nbsp; A deputation of the
+inhabitants met Dr. Barth, and bade him welcome.&nbsp; One of
+them addressed him in Turkish.&nbsp; He had almost forgotten the
+language, which, of course, in his character of a Syrian, he
+ought to have known; but he recalled a few words with which to
+frame a reply, and then avoided awkward questions by spurring his
+horse and <a name="page149"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+149</span>entering the city.&nbsp; The streets were so narrow,
+that not more than two horsemen could ride abreast; Dr. Barth was
+astonished, however, by the two-storied houses, with their
+ornamented fa&ccedil;ades.&nbsp; Turning to the west, and passing
+in front of the Sultan&rsquo;s palace, he arrived at the house
+which had been allotted for his accommodation.</p>
+<p>He had attained the goal of his wishes; he had reached
+Timbukt&uacute;; but the anxieties and fatigue of his journey had
+exhausted him, and he was seized with an attack of fever.&nbsp;
+Yet never had he had greater need of his energy and
+coolness.&nbsp; A rumour had already got abroad that a Christian
+had obtained admission into the city.&nbsp; The Sultan was
+absent; and his brother, who had promised his support, was
+sulking because he had not received presents enough.&nbsp; On the
+following day, however, the fever having left him, Barth received
+the visits of some courteous people, and took the air on the
+terrace of his lodging, which commanded a view of the city.&nbsp;
+To the north could be seen the massive outlines of the great
+mosque of Sankora; to the east, the tawny surface of the desert;
+to the south, the habitations of the Ghadami merchants; while the
+picture gained variety from the presence of straw-roofed huts
+among houses built of clay, long rows of narrow winding streets,
+and a busy market-place on the slope of the sand-hills.</p>
+<p>A day or two later, there were rumours of a meditated attack
+upon his residence, but his calm and intrepid aspect baffled
+hostile designs.&nbsp; The sheikh&rsquo;s brother made an attempt
+to convert him, and defied him to demonstrate the superiority of
+his religious principles.&nbsp; With the help of his pupils, he
+carried on <a name="page150"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+150</span>an animated discussion; but Dr. Barth confuted him, and
+by his candour and good sense secured the esteem of the more
+intelligent inhabitants.&nbsp; A fresh attack of fever supervened
+on the 17th; his weakness increased daily; when, at three
+o&rsquo;clock in the morning of the 26th, a blare of instruments
+and a din of voices announced the arrival of the sheikh, El
+Bakay, and his warm welcome to the stranger dispelled his pains
+and filled him with a new vigour.&nbsp; He strongly censured his
+brother&rsquo;s ungracious conduct; sent provisions to Barth,
+with a recommendation to partake of nothing that did not come
+from his palace; and offered him his choice between the various
+routes that led to the sea-coast.&nbsp; Could he have foreseen
+that he was fated to languish eight months at Timbukt&uacute;,
+Dr. Barth thinks that he could not have supported the idea; but,
+happily, man never knows the intensity or duration of the
+struggle in which he engages, and marches courageously through
+the shadows which hide from him the future.</p>
+<p>Ahmed El Bakay was tall of stature and well proportioned, with
+an open countenance, an intelligent air, and the bearing and
+physiognomy of a European.&nbsp; His complexion was almost
+black.&nbsp; His costume consisted of a short black tunic, black
+pantaloons, and a shawl bound negligently round his head.&nbsp;
+Between him and Dr. Barth a cordial understanding was quickly
+formed and loyally maintained.&nbsp; He spoke frequently of Major
+Laing, the only Christian whom he had ever seen; for, thanks to
+the disguise assumed by the French traveller, Caill&eacute;, no
+one at Timbukt&uacute; was aware that he had at one time resided
+in their city.</p>
+<p>Timbukt&uacute; is situated about six miles from the <a
+name="page151"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 151</span>Niger, in
+lat. 18&deg; N.&nbsp; Its shape is that of a triangle, the apex
+of which is turned towards the desert.&nbsp; Its circuit at the
+present time is about three miles and a half; but of old it
+extended over a much larger area.&nbsp; It is by no means the
+wealthy, powerful, and splendid city which was dreamed of in the
+fond imaginations of the early travellers.&nbsp; Its streets are
+unpaved, and most of them narrow.&nbsp; There are a thousand
+houses clay-built, and, in the northern and north-western
+suburbs, some two hundred huts of reeds.&nbsp; No traces exist of
+the ancient palace, nor of the Kasba; but the town has three
+large and three small mosques, and a chapel.&nbsp; It is divided
+into seven quarters, inhabited by a permanent population of
+thirty thousand souls, which is increased to thirty-five or forty
+thousand from November to January, the epoch of the
+caravans.&nbsp; Founded early in the twelfth century by the
+Towaregs, on one of their old pasture-grounds, Timbukt&uacute;
+belonged to the Souray in the first half of the fourteenth.&nbsp;
+Recovered, a century later, by its founders, it was snatched from
+them by Sami Ali, who sacked it, then rebuilt it, and drew
+thither the merchants of Ghadami.&nbsp; As early as 1373 it is
+marked upon the Spanish charts, not only as the entrep&ocirc;t of
+the trade in salt and gold, but as the scientific and religious
+centre of the Western Soudan; and exciting the cupidity of Mulay
+Ahmed, it fell, in 1592, with the empire of the Askias, under the
+sway of Marocco.&nbsp; Down to 1826 it remained in the hands of
+the Ramas, or Maroccan soldiers settled in the country.&nbsp;
+Next came the Fulbi; then the Towaregs, who drove out the Fulbi
+in 1844.&nbsp; But this victory, by isolating Timbukt&uacute; on
+the border of the river, led to <a name="page152"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 152</span>a famine.&nbsp; Through the
+intervention of El Bakay, however, a compromise was effected in
+1848; the Towaregs recognized the nominal supremacy of the Fulbi,
+on condition that they should keep no garrison in the city; the
+taxes were to be collected by two cadis, a Souray and a Fulbi;
+and the administration, or rather the police, was entrusted to
+two Souray magistrates, controlled simultaneously by the Fulbi
+and the Towaregs, between whom was divided the religious
+authority, represented by the sheikh, a Rama by origin.</p>
+<p>Dr. Barth&rsquo;s residence in Timbukt&uacute; was a source of
+intense dissatisfaction to some of the ruling spirits.&nbsp; Even
+in the sheikh&rsquo;s own family it led to grave dissensions; and
+many demanded that he should be expelled.&nbsp; El Bakay remained
+firm in his support, and, to protect the life of his visitor,
+moved him to Kabara.&nbsp; Dr. Barth speaks in high terms of this
+liberal and enlightened man, and of the happiness of his domestic
+circle.&nbsp; Europe itself could not produce a more affectionate
+father or husband; indeed, Dr. Barth hints that he yielded too
+much to the wishes of his august partner.</p>
+<p>Week after week, the storms of war and civil discord raged
+more and more furious; the traveller&rsquo;s position became
+increasingly painful.&nbsp; His bitterest enemies were the
+Fulbi.&nbsp; They endeavoured to drag him from the sheikh&rsquo;s
+protection by force, and when this failed, had recourse to an
+artifice to get him into their power.&nbsp; The Wel&aacute;d
+Shinan, who assassinated Major Laing, swore they would kill
+him.&nbsp; On the 27th of February, 1854, the chief of the Fulbi
+again intimated to the sheikh his request that Barth should be
+driven from the country.&nbsp; The sheikh peremptorily <a
+name="page153"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+153</span>refused.&nbsp; Then came a fresh demand, and a fresh
+refusal; a prolonged and angry struggle; a situation more and
+more intolerable; while commerce suffered and the people were
+disquieted by the quarrels of their rulers.&nbsp; So it came to
+pass that, on the night of the 17th of March, Sidi Mohammed,
+eldest brother of El Bakay, beat the drum, mounted his horse, and
+bade Dr. Barth follow him with two of his servants, while the
+Towaregs, who supported them, clashed their bucklers together,
+and shouted their shrill war-cry.&nbsp; He found the sheikh at
+the head of a numerous body of Arabs and Sourays, with some
+Fulbi, who were devoted to him.&nbsp; As might be expected, Dr.
+Barth begged that he might not be the cause of any bloodshed; and
+the sheikh promised the malcontents that he would conduct the
+obnoxious Christian beyond the town.&nbsp; He encamped on the
+frontier of the Oberay, where everybody suffered terribly from
+bad food and insects.</p>
+<p>At length, after a residence of thirty-three days on the creek
+of Bos&aacute;bango, it was decided that the march should be
+begun on the 19th of April.&nbsp; On the 25th, after having
+passed through various encampments of Towaregs, they followed the
+windings of the Niger, having on their left a well-wooded
+country, intersected by marshes, and enlivened by numerous
+pintados.&nbsp; Then they fell in with the valiant Wughduga, a
+sincere friend of El Bakay, and a magnificent Towareg warrior,
+nearly seven feet high, of prodigious strength, and the hero of
+deeds of prowess worthy of the most famous knight of the Table
+Round.&nbsp; Under his escort Dr. Barth reached Gogo&mdash;in the
+fifteenth century the flourishing and famous capital of the
+Souray empire, <a name="page154"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+154</span>now a small and straggling town with a few hundred
+huts.&nbsp; Here he took leave of his kind and generous
+protector; and, with an escort of about twenty persons, recrossed
+to the right bank of the river, and descended it as far as Say,
+where he had passed it the year before.&nbsp; In this journey of
+one hundred and fifty leagues, he had seen everywhere the
+evidence of great fertility, and a peaceable population, in whose
+midst a European might travel in security; speaking to the
+people, as he did, of the sources and termination of their great
+fostering river&mdash;questions which interest those good negroes
+as much, perhaps, as they have perplexed the scientific societies
+of Europe, but of which they do not possess the most rudimentary
+knowledge.</p>
+<p>Arriving at Sokot&oacute; and Vurno in the midst of the rainy
+season, Dr. Barth was warmly welcomed by the Emir; but, with
+strength exhausted and health broken, he could not profit by his
+kindness.</p>
+<p>On the 17th of October he arrived at Kan&oacute;, where he had
+been long expected; but neither money nor despatches had been
+forwarded for him&mdash;no news from Europe had been
+received.&nbsp; Yet at Kan&oacute; he had arranged to pay his
+servants, discharge his debts, and renew his credits, long since
+exhausted.&nbsp; He pledged the little property remaining to him,
+including his revolver, until he could obtain the cutlery and
+four hundred dollars left at Zindu; but, alas! these had
+disappeared during recent intestine commotions.&nbsp; Kan&oacute;
+must always be unhealthy for Europeans; and Dr. Barth, in his
+enfeebled condition, acutely felt the ill effects of its climatic
+conditions.&nbsp; His horses and camels fell ill, and he lost,
+among others, the noble <a name="page155"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 155</span>animal which for three years had
+shared all his fatigues.</p>
+<p>Over every difficulty, every obstacle, that splendid energy
+which had carried the great explorer to the Niger and
+Timbukt&uacute; ultimately prevailed; and on the 24th of November
+he set out for K&uacute;k&aacute;wa.&nbsp; In his absence it had
+been the theatre of a revolution.&nbsp; A new ruler held the
+reins of government, and Dr. Barth was doomed to encounter fresh
+embarrassments.&nbsp; It was not until after a delay of four
+months that he was able to resume the journey through the
+Fezzan.&nbsp; He followed this time the direct route, by
+Bilma&mdash;the route formerly taken by the travellers, Denham
+and Clapperton.</p>
+<p>At the end of August he entered Tripoli, where he spent only
+four days.&nbsp; By way of Malta he proceeded to Marseilles; and
+thence to Paris; arriving in London on the 6th of September,
+1855.</p>
+<p>It may be doubted whether the English public have fully
+appreciated the labours of this persevering explorer.&nbsp; To us
+it seems that he occupies a high place in the very front rank of
+African travellers, in virtue not only of the work he did, but of
+the courage, perseverance, skill, and energy which he
+displayed.&nbsp; He failed in nothing that he undertook, though
+his resources were very limited, and the difficulties in his path
+of the gravest character.&nbsp; He explored Born&uacute;,
+A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa, and Bagirmi, where no European had ever
+before penetrated.&nbsp; He surveyed, over an area of six hundred
+miles, the region which lies between Kats&eacute;na and
+Timbukt&uacute;, though even to the Arabs it is the least known
+portion of the Soudan.&nbsp; He formed friendly relations with
+the powerful princes on the <a name="page156"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 156</span>banks of the Niger, from
+Sokot&oacute; to the famous city which shuts its gates upon the
+Christian.&nbsp; Five of his best years he dedicated to this
+astonishing enterprise, enduring the gravest privations, and
+braving the most pestilential climates, as well as the most
+implacable fanaticism.&nbsp; All this he did, without friends,
+without companions, without money.&nbsp; Of the five brave men
+who undertook this adventurous expedition, he alone returned; and
+returned loaded with treasure, with precious materials of all
+kinds for the use of the man of science or the
+merchant&mdash;with maps, drawings, chronologies, vocabularies,
+historical and ethnological notes, itineraries, botanical and
+geological data, and meteorological tables.&nbsp; Nothing escaped
+his attention; he was not only a traveller and an observer, but a
+scientific pioneer.&nbsp; Let us give due honour to a
+Livingstone, but let us not forget the debt we owe to a Barth. <a
+name="citation156"></a><a href="#footnote156"
+class="citation">[156]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page157"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 157</span>MR.
+THOMAS WITLAM ATKINSON,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND HIS ADVENTURES IN SIBERIA</span><br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND CENTRAL ASIA.</span></h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">A.D. 1849&ndash;55.</p>
+<h3>I.</h3>
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. Thomas Witlam Atkinson</span> among
+recent travellers is not one of the least distinguished.&nbsp; He
+ventured into what may be called &ldquo;virgin
+country&rdquo;&mdash;a region scarcely known to Europeans;
+carrying his life in his hand; animated by the desire of
+knowledge rather than the hope of fame; quick to observe,
+accurate in his observations, and intelligent in combining them
+into a distinct and satisfactory whole.&nbsp; For some years he
+lived among the wild races who inhabit Siberia and Mongolia, the
+Kirghiz steppes, Chinese Tartary, and the wilder districts of
+Central Asia; and he collected a vast amount of curious
+information in reference not only to their manners and customs
+and mode of life, but to the lands which they call their
+own.&nbsp; The broad and irresistible wave of Western
+civilization has reached the confines of their vast territories,
+before long will pour in upon them, and already is slowly, but
+surely, undermining many an ancient landmark.&nbsp; In the course
+of another fifty years its advance will <a
+name="page158"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 158</span>have
+largely modified their characteristics, and swept away much that
+is now the most clearly and picturesquely defined.&nbsp; We need,
+therefore, to be grateful to Mr. Atkinson for the record he has
+supplied of their present condition; a record which to us is one
+of romantic interest, as to the future historian it will be one
+of authentic value.</p>
+<p>In introducing that record to the reader, he
+says:&mdash;&ldquo;Mine has been a tolerably wide field,
+extending from Kokhand on the west to the eastern end of the
+Baikal, and as far south as the Chinese town of Tchin-si;
+including that immense chain Syan-shan, never before seen by any
+European; as well as a large portion of the western part of the
+Gobi, over which Gonghiz Khan marched his wild hordes; comprising
+a distance traversed of about 32,000 versts in carriages, 7100 in
+boats, and 20,300 on horseback&mdash;in all, 59,400 versts (about
+39,500 miles), in the course of seven years.&rdquo;&nbsp; Neither
+the old Venetian, Marco Polo, nor the Jesuit priests, could have
+visited these regions, their travels having been far to the
+south; even the recent travellers, Hue and Gobet, who visited
+&ldquo;the land of grass&rdquo; (the plains to the south of the
+great Desert of Gobi), did not penetrate into the country of the
+Kalkas.&nbsp; It is unnecessary to premise that in such a
+journey, prolonged over so many years, extended into so many
+countries, he suffered much both from hunger and thirst, was
+exposed to numerous tests of his courage and fortitude, and on
+several occasions placed in most critical situations with the
+tribes of Central Asia; that he more than once was called upon to
+confront an apparently inevitable death.&nbsp; Within the limits
+to <a name="page159"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 159</span>which
+we are confined, it will be impossible for us to attempt a
+detailed narrative of his labours, but we shall hope to select
+those passages and incidents which will afford a fair idea of
+their value and enterprise.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Armed with a passport from the Czar of All the Russias, which
+in many a difficult conjuncture proved to its bearer as
+all-powerful as Ali Baba&rsquo;s &ldquo;Open Sesame,&rdquo; Mr.
+Atkinson left Moscow on the 6th of March, intent upon the
+exploration of the wild regions of Siberia.&nbsp; A ten
+days&rsquo; journey brought him to Ekaterineburg, the first
+Russian town in this direction, across the Asiatic
+boundary.&nbsp; Here he took boat on the river Tchoussowaia,
+which he descended as far as the pristan, or port, of
+Chaitansko&iuml;.&nbsp; Thence he made an excursion to the house
+of an hospitable Russian, the director of the Outskinko&iuml;
+iron-works, traversing a forest of pines, which deeply impressed
+him by its aspect of gloomy grandeur.&nbsp; Resuming his
+river-voyage, <a name="citation159"></a><a href="#footnote159"
+class="citation">[159]</a> he observed that the valley widened
+considerably as he advanced.&nbsp; On the west bank spread a
+large extent of meadow-land; on the eastern, the soil was partly
+cultivated, and bloomed with young crops of rye.&nbsp; The
+pastures shone with fresh <a name="page160"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 160</span>strong verdure, were already starred
+with flowers, while the birch trees were hourly bursting into
+leaf.&nbsp; In this region the change from winter to summer is
+magically sudden, like that of a transformation scene.&nbsp; At
+night, you see the grass browned by frost, and the trees bare of
+buds; in twenty-four hours, the meadows are covered with fresh
+greenness, and the woods spread over you a thick canopy of
+vigorous foliage.&nbsp; But if you come from a temperate clime,
+you miss that sweet and gradual development of bud and bloom, of
+leaf and flower, which is the charm and privilege of
+spring.&nbsp; You miss the rare pleasure of watching the opening
+violet, the first primrose, the early tinge of green upon the
+hedgerow and in the coppice, which you recognize as the heralds
+and pledges of happy days to come.</p>
+<p>At Oslansko&iuml; Mr. Atkinson took his leave of the
+Tchoussowaia, and prepared to cross the Ural Mountains.&nbsp; But
+while staying at Nijne-Toura, he resolved upon ascending the
+great peak of the Katchkanar.&nbsp; The road led through a tract
+of deep forest, which spread over high hills, and down into deep
+valleys, filled with white vapour, through which the branches of
+lightning-stricken pines loomed ghastly like the shivered masts
+of a wreck through the ocean mist.&nbsp; Towards noon a
+thunder-storm came on, accompanied by heavy rain.&nbsp; Portions
+of the forest were so thick as completely to exclude the
+daylight; and Mr. Atkinson and his companions frequently found it
+necessary to cut their way through the intertangled growth.</p>
+<p>Though bears and other beasts of prey frequent these wilds,
+Mr. Atkinson met with none; the chief <a name="page161"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 161</span>danger was a fall in the midst of
+rocks and prostrate trees, which might have been attended with
+painful consequences.&nbsp; At last they emerged from the forest
+gloom, at the foot of a steep ascent overlaid with huge blocks of
+stones.&nbsp; As their horses slowly clambered up the rugged
+acclivity, the sound was heard of the roar of water, indicating a
+cataract close at hand.&nbsp; It proved to be the outcome of a
+small stream, which tumbled down a steep and rocky bed in a
+succession of shining falls.&nbsp; Crossing this stream, the
+riders pursued their upward course until at eight o&rsquo;clock
+they reached the Katchkanar, after a tedious journey of eleven
+hours.&nbsp; The guide, a veteran hunter, proposed to halt for
+the night at the foot of some high rocks&mdash;a proposition
+readily accepted.&nbsp; All hands set to work, and soon a great
+fire was blazing, not only for the purpose of warmth, but as a
+protection against the clouds of mosquitoes which swarmed around,
+and threatened to murder sleep.</p>
+<p>At three o&rsquo;clock, Mr. Atkinson was up and about.&nbsp;
+The dawn was swiftly advancing over the interminable Siberian
+forest.&nbsp; Above the vast horizon stretched long lines of pale
+yellow clouds, which every minute became more luminous, until
+they seemed like so many waves of golden light rolling and
+breaking on the far celestial shore.&nbsp; As the sun gradually
+rose into the heavens, every mountain-top blazed with fire, like
+gigantic altars, and the pines were transformed into columns of
+gold.&nbsp; The adventurers were soon afoot, and, crossing a
+little grassy valley, began the real ascent.</p>
+<p>It was a chaotic mass of loose huge rocks, with snow filling
+up many of the cavities; in other places <a
+name="page162"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 162</span>they passed
+under colossal blocks, over which it would have been no easy task
+to climb.&nbsp; Further up they stretched across large patches of
+frozen snow, and reached the foot of the high crags of the
+Katchkanar; many of which stand out like huge crystals, not less
+than one hundred feet in height, and are composed of regular
+courses, with pure magnetic iron ore between their beds, varying
+from one inch to four inches thick.&nbsp; In some places cubes or
+crystals of iron project from the solid rock, three and four
+inches square; and in others the whole mass seems to be of iron,
+or some other mineral substance.&nbsp; Climbing one of the
+highest pinnacles, Mr. Atkinson enjoyed a glorious prospect, such
+as it is difficult for the dweller in plains, with their always
+limited horizons, to form even an idea of.&nbsp; For hundreds of
+miles the view to the east extended into Siberia, until all
+disappeared in fine blue vapour.&nbsp; &ldquo;There is something
+truly grand,&rdquo; says Mr. Atkinson, &ldquo;in looking over
+these black and apparently interminable forests, in which no
+trace of a human habitation, not even a wreath of smoke, can be
+seen to assure us that man is there.&nbsp; Turning to the north,
+and about one hundred versts distant, Pardinsky Kanem rises out
+of the dark forest (this is one of the highest points in the Ural
+chain); it is partly covered with snow, and shines like frosted
+silver in the bright sun.&nbsp; All the mountains near are blue,
+purple, and misty, with a rugged foreground of rocks of great
+height, broken into all shapes and forms.&nbsp; In fact, the
+summit of the Katchkanar is evidently a mountain in ruins, the
+softer parts having been removed or torn away by the hand of
+time, leaving the barren portion, or vertebr&aelig; of the
+mountain, <a name="page163"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+163</span>standing like a huge skeleton, which, seen at a
+distance, often assumed the most fantastic and picturesque
+shapes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>After a brief rest, Mr. Atkinson and his friends began the
+descent of the mountain, taking, however, a circuitous route
+which secured them a variety of scenes, and about seven
+o&rsquo;clock in the evening they reached the site of their
+encampment on the preceding night.&nbsp; There they slept until
+dawn, when they made the best of their way back to
+Nijne-Toura&mdash;a long day&rsquo;s journey.</p>
+<p>While at Nijne Mr. Atkinson had an opportunity of seeing
+something of the pastimes popular among the iron-workers of the
+district.&nbsp; It was the occasion of a popular festival, and
+the workmen and their families were all holiday-making.&nbsp;
+Females and children were riding merrily in the boxes of the
+large swings that had been temporarily constructed.&nbsp; The men
+were wrestling, just as they might do in Devonshire or
+Cornwall.&nbsp; Stripping off his coat, each man tied his long
+sash firmly round his waist; this his antagonist gripped with the
+right hand, while the left was placed on his shoulder; then the
+struggle began.&nbsp; One of the athletes was so conspicuously
+superior to the rest in skill and prowess, that at length no one
+would respond to his repeated challenges to try a fall.&nbsp;
+Assuming the honours of championship, he was on the point of
+quitting the arena when a slim-built, but well-proportioned,
+young man suddenly stepped forward as a competitor.&nbsp; He was
+evidently a stranger, and his appearance was greeted with a good
+deal of laughter, in which the champion readily joined.&nbsp; The
+latter acted as if assured of an easy victory, but, to the <a
+name="page164"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 164</span>general
+surprise, a sharp and prolonged contention ensued.&nbsp; The
+wrestler, angry at the prospect of losing his laurels, exerted
+all his dexterity to throw his daring opponent, and when that
+failed, endeavoured to overcome him by superior strength.&nbsp;
+In vain: he was flung prostrate on the ground.&nbsp; Red with
+shame, he sprang to his feet and repeated his challenge.&nbsp; A
+second combat followed, and the would-be champion, by a second
+defeat and a heavy fall, was taught a lesson in modesty, which it
+is to be hoped he long remembered.</p>
+<p>Meanwhile, the young girls, in their best and brightest
+costumes, shone like a bed of many-coloured tulips.&nbsp; Some,
+with hands clasped together, walked to and fro, singing simple
+songs to those plaintive Russian melodies which, in their sweet
+minor keys, are often so beautiful.&nbsp; Others joined in a game
+which resembles our English see-saw.&nbsp; A plank, about seven
+feet long, was placed on a centre block, six inches high.&nbsp;
+At each end stood a player, who, by springing up and alighting
+again on the board, caused her companion at the other end to rise
+higher every time.&nbsp; The players in this way would sometimes
+bound as high as three feet or three feet and a half.</p>
+<p>From Nijne Mr. Atkinson made several excursions into the
+mining districts of the Ural, and afterwards returned to
+Ekaterineburg, to complete the preparations for his Siberian
+expedition.&nbsp; He took with him a young man, about twenty-four
+years old, who spoke German fluently, and bidding adieu to his
+friends, started on his journey.&nbsp; In spite of every effort,
+he says, a feeling of deep sadness overtook him when his gaze
+rested for the last time on the lofty mountain <a
+name="page165"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 165</span>crest which
+forms the boundary of Europe.&nbsp; But the die was cast; he gave
+the word &ldquo;Forward!&rdquo; and away dashed the horses into
+Asia.&nbsp; Kamensko&iuml; was the first stage; beyond which he
+entered the valley of the Issetz, and rapidly approached the
+great monastery of St. Tolometz.&nbsp; It stands on the left bank
+of the Issetz, near its junction with the river Teleta, and in
+external appearance resembles the Kremlin of Moscow.&nbsp; The
+walls are strengthened by towers at the angles, and close to the
+east end stands the church, an elegant and a spacious
+edifice.&nbsp; The road from this point still lay along the high
+bank of the Issetz, which here flows through a well-wooded
+country and teeming fields of wheat and rye.&nbsp; There are no
+fences in the fields; but every village has its ring-fence of
+posts and rails, enclosing an area of from two to three miles in
+diameter, with gates on the high-road, and a watchman to open and
+shut them.&nbsp; Passing station after station, Atkinson crossed
+the Issetz and the Tobol, and struck into the steppes of
+Ischim&mdash;a flat, uninteresting tract of country between the
+rivers Tobol and Ischim.&nbsp; It is watered by several lakes,
+and the small sandy ridges&mdash;they can scarcely be called
+hills&mdash;are often covered with pine-woods.</p>
+<p>Here he fell in with a large party of convicts, marching,
+under a strong guard, into Eastern Siberia.&nbsp; There were
+ninety-seven in the gang, the van of which was led by seventeen
+men and three women, in chains, destined for Nertchinsk, more
+than four thousand versts further.&nbsp; The journey would occupy
+them eight months.&nbsp; The others followed in pairs, on their
+way to the government of Irkutsk; they had three thousand versts
+to travel, or a march of six months.&nbsp; <a
+name="page166"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 166</span>Behind them
+came telagas <a name="citation166"></a><a href="#footnote166"
+class="citation">[166]</a> with baggage, and eleven women riding;
+some of whom were accompanying their husbands into their
+miserable exile.&nbsp; In front and on each side rode mounted
+Cossacks, who strictly guarded the prisoners; but what were they
+to do if they escaped?&nbsp; There was no prospect before them
+but death by starvation.</p>
+<p>At the various posting-stations barracks are built, the front
+buildings of which are occupied by the officers, guards, and
+attendants.&nbsp; From each end, to the distance of about forty
+or fifty feet, stretches a high stockade, which returns at right
+angles, and runs about sixty feet.&nbsp; It is then carried along
+the back so as to enclose in all an area of two hundred feet by
+sixty; in the middle are the buildings for the prisoners.&nbsp;
+The stockade is formed of trunks of trees, twelve inches in
+diameter, standing fifteen feet above the ground, and cut to a
+sharp point at the top; placed close together, they form a very
+strong barrier.&nbsp; The prisoners, moreover, are placed under
+continual supervision.&nbsp; They march two days, at a rate of
+twenty to twenty-five versts daily, and rest one.&nbsp; A gang
+leaves Ekaterineburg every Monday morning.</p>
+<p>After leaving Kiansk, which Mr. Atkinson anathematizes as
+&ldquo;the worst town in all Siberia,&rdquo; he travelled
+directly south, with the view of visiting Lakes Sartian and
+Tchany, the remains of a great inland sea.&nbsp; From Lake Tchany
+a chain of lakes, some of which are fifty or sixty versts broad,
+extends south-west for nearly two hundred and fifty versts.&nbsp;
+The country was low and swampy, but rose occasionally in slight
+undulations, clothed with long coarse <a name="page167"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 167</span>grass, and frequently relieved by
+extensive clumps of birch and aspen, or a thick underwood of
+bushes.&nbsp; The lakes proved to be surrounded by so dense a
+growth of reeds that the water was visible only at a few
+points.&nbsp; Beyond, the country was thickly wooded, with large
+pieces of cultivated land, on which were fine crops of wheat and
+rye growing.&nbsp; The villages were well-built and clean; the
+inmates looked comfortable and cleanly; and large herds of cattle
+grazed in the village pastures.&nbsp; Speeding onward in his
+tarantass, as fast as six horses could carry him, our traveller
+crossed the Barabinsky steppe&mdash;a region curiously unlike
+that dreariness of monotony, or monotony of dreariness, which is
+generally associated with the name.&nbsp; The traveller might
+have been excused for thinking himself in some fair district of
+England, when he looked around on hills of gentle slope, covered
+with noble trees, which formed the boundaries of considerable
+plains, and saw the deer nimbly bounding through the fresh green
+glades.&nbsp; The view was brightened here and there with
+plantations of large timber; at other points rose sheltered belts
+of young trees; the effect being in each case so picturesque as
+to induce the fancy that art had thus arranged them.&nbsp; The
+ground teemed with flowers, as if Proserpine&rsquo;s fertile feet
+had consecrated it&mdash;with the bright geranium, pale blue and
+deep blue delphinium, white and dark rich crimson dianthus,
+peony, and purple crocus.&nbsp; The lakes that studded the
+expanse, like silver gems in an emerald setting, bore expanded on
+their tremulous wave the blooms of the white and yellow
+<i>Nymphoea</i>.&nbsp; The whole scene was exquisitely sweet and
+tranquil.</p>
+<p><a name="page168"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 168</span>But
+in Siberia changes are frequent and sudden, and to this Eden bit
+quickly succeeded a Slough of Despond.&nbsp; Crossing a morass in
+a heavy vehicle, drawn by six or seven horses, is not a pleasant
+sensation; happily, the traject was accomplished without
+accident.&nbsp; Another and another followed; and through each,
+with hard struggling on the part of the horses, and much yelling
+on the part of the yemtschick, or driver, the traveller was
+carried successfully.&nbsp; He was thankful, however, when the
+country again improved, and his road once more lay among the
+hills and pastures.&nbsp; At Krontikha, he was greeted with a
+noble view of the valley of the Ob, one of the great rivers of
+Siberia.&nbsp; From one high ridge to the other, twelve or
+fifteen versts is the width of the valley; in the middle, with
+constant undulations, first to one side and then to the other,
+like a coquette between two suitors, the shining stream pursues
+its capricious way, sometimes breaking off into several channels,
+divided by green little patches of island.&nbsp; Looking to the
+north-east, the traveller discerns, at a distance of one hundred
+and fifty versts, Kolyvan, formerly the chief town of the
+government&mdash;a rank now assigned to Tomsk, which lies one
+hundred and fifty versts further in the same direction.&nbsp; To
+the north and east the eye rests on a vast level, dark with the
+heavy shadows of forests of pine.</p>
+<p>At Barnaoul, the chief town in the mining district of the
+Altai, Mr. Atkinson found himself 4527 versts from St.
+Petersburg.&nbsp; After a night&rsquo;s rest he resumed his
+forward course, and the character of the country soon warned him
+that he was approaching the steppes which extend westward to the
+banks of the Irtisch.&nbsp; <a name="page169"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 169</span>These dreary wildernesses were the
+home and haunt of the Kirghiz, before the Russians drove them
+across the river, and built a line of forts along its bank from
+Omsk to the mouth of the Bouchtarma.&nbsp; The frontier to the
+Kirghiz steppe is guarded by a line of barracks; the whole length
+of the line (about 2500 versts) stretching far up into the Altai
+mountain range, and along the boundary of China.&nbsp; Dull
+beyond description is the landscape here.&nbsp; The chief product
+is wormwood; and around the fords and watercourses grow only a
+few bushes and stunted willows.</p>
+<p>Kolyvan Lake lies at the foot of some offshoots of the Altai
+chain.&nbsp; The masses of rocks which strew its shores, broken
+and fantastic of outline, present all the appearance of a ruined
+city.&nbsp; The granite seems to have been forced up in a soft or
+liquid state; then to have flowed over and cooled; after which it
+has been forced up again and again, with the result that it has
+assumed, in hardening, the most extraordinary forms.&nbsp; The
+rocks on the heights of the Altai are not less remarkable: some
+mock you with the aspect of ruined battlements and feudal keeps;
+others might be mistaken for human heads of a size so colossal
+that even the magic helmet in &ldquo;The Castle of Otranto&rdquo;
+would have been a world too small for them.</p>
+<p>It is at Oubinsko&iuml;, a small town or village on the broad,
+deep, willow-fringed Ouba, that the ascent of the Altai really
+begins.&nbsp; Thence you cross the Oulba, and ascend a valley
+full of charming bits for the artist, to the silver mines of
+Riddersk.&nbsp; About fifteen versts beyond rises the
+snow-crowned height of Ivanoffsky-Belock, the source of the
+Gromotooka, or stream of thunder (&ldquo;grom&rdquo;), one of the
+wildest rivers in the <a name="page170"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 170</span>Altai.&nbsp; With a roar like that
+of thunder it hurls its foaming waters down the rugged steep,
+frequently tearing off and whirling along with it huge fragments
+of rock, and filling the startled air with a din and clang which
+are audible for miles.&nbsp; At Riddersk Mr. Atkinson was
+compelled to abandon his tarantass; he engaged twenty horses to
+accompany him, and an escort of fifteen men, five of whom carried
+rifles, while the rest were equipped with axes.&nbsp; A ride of
+twenty versts, and he reached Poperetchwaia, the last village in
+this part of the Altai.&nbsp; It is occupied by only eighteen
+families, who live there in the solitude of the mountain valley,
+with the great white peaks around them, ignorant of all the
+events that daily help to make up the history of the age into
+which they have been born&mdash;ignorant of the intellectual
+movements that are agitating the minds and filling the thoughts
+of men.&nbsp; A strange, apparently a useless, life!&nbsp; A life
+without action, without hope, without purpose!&nbsp; Surely ten
+years of our free, busy, progressive English life are preferable
+to a hundred years in this lonely Siberian wild.&nbsp; Each
+family, we are told, have their horses and cows, and around the
+village is pasture sufficient for large herds.&nbsp; The stags on
+the mountains are also theirs, and the deer on the hills, and the
+fish that teem in the rivers.&nbsp; Wild fruit is plentiful; and
+the bees in their hives produce abundance of honey.&nbsp; It is a
+Siberian Arcady; but an Arcady without its poetic romance.</p>
+<p>The patriarch of the village is described by Mr. Atkinson as a
+fine old man, with a head and countenance which would have
+furnished an artist with a model for one of the
+Evangelists.&nbsp; Health and <a name="page171"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 171</span>happiness shone in his face, the
+ruddy glow of which was set off by his silver-white beard.&nbsp;
+He wore a plain white shirt, hanging over trousers of thin linen,
+and fastened round his waist with a red sash; the trousers were
+tucked into a pair of boots which reached almost to the
+knee.&nbsp; In winter, a wolf or sheep skin coat is added to this
+picturesque costume.</p>
+<p>In ascending the Altai our traveller plunged into a glorious
+forest of cedars, which, with their gnarled and twisted branches,
+formed an arched roof almost impervious to the sun.&nbsp; The
+scene afterwards changed to a silvery lake, the Keksa, which
+slept peacefully in the deep shadows of the mountains.&nbsp; Then
+came woods of larch, and pine, and birch, all freshly green, and
+breathing a pungent aromatic odour; and grassy glades, fit haunts
+for the Oreads of the Greek, or the fairies of the Teutonic
+mythology, with high cedar-crowned mountains rising on either
+hand.&nbsp; There were no birds; but on the crags stood numerous
+graceful stags, watching suspiciously the passage of the
+strangers, and from bough to bough the black squirrel leaped in
+his mirth.&nbsp; Less pleasant inhabitants were the flies and
+mosquitoes, which infested the valley depths and lower
+levels.&nbsp; Still continuing to ascend, Mr. Atkinson entered a
+rocky gorge that crossed the shoulder of the mountain
+ridge.&nbsp; Here the crags presented their most savage
+grandeur.&nbsp; Time had hewn them into various imposing forms:
+some like turreted battlements and massive towers; others like
+enormous buttresses thrown up to support the huge sides of the
+mountain.&nbsp; While threading the defile, the travellers were
+overtaken by a terrible storm; the wind raged over the heights
+and through the ravines with a cruel and sudden <a
+name="page172"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 172</span>fury; the
+lightning like blood-streaks wound across the darkened sky; the
+thunder broke in peal after peal, which the echoes caught up and
+repeated until the air rang as with the din of battle.&nbsp; They
+sheltered themselves behind a crag until the tempest was past,
+and then began the descent of the other side of the mountain.</p>
+<p>Glad were they to find themselves in the more genial lowlands;
+and leaving behind them the Chelsoun chain of the Altai, which
+they had just crossed, they rode at a rapid rate towards
+Zirianovsky, a mining station at the foot of the Eagle
+Mountains.&nbsp; The silver mines here are the most valuable in
+the Altai.&nbsp; Some of the ores, which are exceedingly rich,
+lie at a depth of two hundred and eighty feet; others have been
+followed to a depth of four hundred and ninety feet.&nbsp; In
+working them the great difficulty to be confronted by the miners
+is the vast quantity of water that almost inundates the mines;
+but this might be obviated by the employment of a
+steam-engine.&nbsp; To carry the ore to the smelting-works
+upwards of two hundred horses are employed.&nbsp; First, it is
+conveyed in small carts, drawn by one horse, to Werchnayan
+pristan, on the Irtisch, a distance of more than one hundred
+versts; thence it is sent down the river in boats to
+Oust-Kamenogorsk pristan; and from the last place it is removed
+again in carts to Barnaoul, Pavlovsky, and other zavods; making a
+traject of nine hundred versts in all from the mines to the
+smelting-works.</p>
+<p>Skirting the base of the Kourt-Choum mountains, which form the
+boundary between the Russian and Chinese empires, Mr. Atkinson
+turned his face <a name="page173"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+173</span>southward, and before long arrived at Little
+Narym&mdash;a small outpost of Cossacks, stationed on a plain
+within a few versts of the Russian frontier.&nbsp; He was then on
+the military road, which extends only about twenty versts
+further, to the last outpost from Western Siberia.&nbsp; Having
+obtained horses, two telagas, and Cossack drivers, he started
+down the valley of the Narym, which opens into that of the
+Irtisch, and at nightfall entered Great Narym.&nbsp; To the
+officer in command he explained his project of crossing the
+Chinese frontier; but was warned that, as winter had already set
+in, and the snow lay deep in the Kourt-Chume chain, he would
+probably be lost or frozen to death if he attempted that
+route.&nbsp; He was advised to go through the Kirghiz steppe; and
+the officer courteously offered to forward him from one Cossack
+post to another, until he reached the fortress at
+Kochbouchta.&nbsp; Mr. Atkinson gladly accepted the offer, and
+arranged to meet his new friend in Ust-Kamenogorsk, on the
+Irtisch, hiring a boat and men to convey him thither.&nbsp; The
+boat consisted of two small canoes lashed together, five feet
+apart, with beams placed across, and the whole boarded over so as
+to provide a platform, or deck, about fifteen feet by ten.&nbsp;
+In the head and stern of each canoe sat a strong, sturdy fellow,
+with a small paddle, not much larger than a child&rsquo;s garden
+spade; this was used only to guide the bark, its progress being
+sufficiently provided for by the rapidity of the current.&nbsp;
+Paddling out into the middle of the river, which was more than a
+thousand yards broad, the boatmen soon got into the swing of the
+current, and the voyage began.&nbsp; &ldquo;I was watching the
+changes in the scene,&rdquo; says <a name="page174"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 174</span>Mr. Atkinson, &ldquo;as one mountain
+peak after another came in view; when suddenly, and without any
+previous intimation, two of the men called out that their canoe
+was filling fast, and that they must make for the shore without a
+minute&rsquo;s delay!&nbsp; Before we got halfway to the bank she
+was nearly full of water, and when within about a hundred yards,
+the men cried out that she was sinking; this brought our broad
+deck down to the water on one side, and helped to float
+her.&nbsp; The men paddled with all their might, and at last we
+reached a thick bed of reeds, which assisted in keeping us
+afloat, till we succeeded in getting near enough to the bank to
+throw our luggage ashore; and then we landed.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>After some trouble, Mr. Atkinson was able to hire a good boat,
+used for transporting the ore; and the luggage was transferred to
+it.&nbsp; Then a new difficulty arose; one of the men
+deserted.&nbsp; But with great promptitude Mr. Atkinson seized a
+bystander, and kept him prisoner until the deserter was given
+up.&nbsp; At last, a fresh start was effected.&nbsp; The sun was
+setting; a keen cutting wind blew up the river; and there was no
+shelter to be obtained, nor wood for a fire, for many
+versts.&nbsp; Fast over the valley crept the cold shades of
+night, and swiftly did they steal up the mountain sides.&nbsp; No
+signs of any resting-place could be discovered, and the scenery
+grew more and more gloomy.&nbsp; Turning a rocky headland, they
+beheld at a great distance the glimmer of a fire, though whether
+it was in a dwelling, or on the river bank, they could not
+determine.&nbsp; Bending vigorously to their oars, the boatmen
+shot forward rapidly; and after a long pull arrived at a small
+Cossack station, where Mr. Atkinson readily obtained shelter.</p>
+<p><a name="page175"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 175</span>Asia,
+he remarks, is the land for tea; there it is that a man learns to
+appreciate the herb at its full and proper value.&nbsp; After
+refreshing himself with the popular beverage, he took a long walk
+alone on the bank of the Irtisch.&nbsp; The fine, picturesque
+scenery was seen with impressive effect under the influence of a
+splendid moonlight, which cast the lower mountains into deep
+shade, while a silver lustre rested on the snow-crowned peaks,
+contrasting vividly with the gloom of the valleys.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;How infinitely small,&rdquo; says Mr. Atkinson, &ldquo;the
+sight of these mighty masses made me feel, as I wandered on in my
+solitary ramble!&nbsp; Excepting myself, I could not see one
+living thing&mdash;all was silent as the grave.&nbsp; I had
+passed some high rocks that shut out the Cossack post from my
+view, and had entered a valley, running up into the mountains,
+which lay shrouded in dusky shadow.&nbsp; Two white peaks rose
+far into the cold, grey sky; the full light of the moon shining
+upon one of them, and aiding much in giving a most solemn
+grandeur to the gloomy scene.&nbsp; Fancy began to people this
+place with phantoms, ghosts, and goblins of horrible
+aspect.&nbsp; It required but the howling of the wolves to give a
+seeming reality to the creations of the imagination.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Passing the mouth of the Bouchtarma, Mr. Atkinson descended
+the river to Mount Kamenogorsk.&nbsp; There he found his friend,
+the Cossack colonel, who provided him with an escort of two
+stalwart Cossacks, armed with sabre, gun, pistol, and long
+lance.&nbsp; His party also included an unarmed Cossack driver,
+and his own attendant.&nbsp; He set out in a light telaga, drawn
+by three horses, and plunged into the solitude <a
+name="page176"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 176</span>of the
+Kirghiz steppe, which extends eastward to Nor-Zaisan and
+southward to the Tarbogatni Mountains.&nbsp; There are many
+undulations on this vast plain, which in summer affords pasturage
+for immense herds of horses.&nbsp; While halting on the bank of a
+dried-up stream to dine, Mr. Atkinson observed in the distance a
+small column of white smoke, which he supposed to proceed from a
+Kirghiz aul, or village; but a guide whom he had hired assured
+him there were no encampments in that direction, and that the
+smoke issued from burning reeds on the shores of Lake
+Nor-Zaisan.&nbsp; Thitherward the traveller immediately
+proceeded; sometimes over rich pastures, at others over a rough
+tract of ground and stones almost bare of vegetation.&nbsp; After
+riding a couple of hours, they were able to make out that the
+steppe was on fire, and that all the reeds were feeding the
+flame; and in due time they came upon a miserable Kirghiz yourt,
+or dwelling, inhabited by a dirty Kirghiz woman and four
+children, three of whom were very ill.&nbsp; She received the
+stranger, however, with simple hospitality, kindled the fire, and
+set his kettle on it.&nbsp; In return he made tea for himself and
+the children, who were lying on a voilock, covered up with
+skins.&nbsp; He then walked to the summit of a neighbouring hill
+to gain a view of the burning steppe.&nbsp; The fire was still
+about ten versts to the east, but was travelling west, and across
+Mr. Atkinson&rsquo;s track, extending in breadth some miles
+across the plain&mdash;a great wave of flame, which, accompanied
+by rolling clouds of smoke, ran swiftly along the ground,
+consuming the long grass, and reddening the horizon with a lurid
+glow.</p>
+<p>Next morning Mr. Atkinson resumed his journey, <a
+name="page177"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 177</span>passed a
+Kirghiz aul, and reached the margin of the Nor-Zaisan, but was
+unable to obtain a glimpse of its waters, owing to the dense
+masses of tall reeds which completely encircled it.&nbsp; He rode
+across to the Irtisch, but there too the view was similarly
+blocked up.&nbsp; There was nothing to be done but to return as
+quickly as possible to Kochbouchta, and prepare for the
+expedition into Chinese Tartary, which he had long had in
+contemplation.&nbsp; A man of irrepressible energy and singularly
+firm resolution, Mr. Atkinson, when his plans were once formed,
+lost no time in carrying them into execution.&nbsp; But while the
+necessary arrangements were being made, he found time to
+accomplish some short but interesting excursions in the
+neighbourhood of Kochbouchta, visiting the gold mines, and
+sketching the romantic scenery of the valley of the
+Isilksou.&nbsp; At length he was ready for his departure, and
+with an escort of three Cossacks, his servant, and his own
+Cossack attendant, he once more crossed the Irtisch, and began
+his journey across the Kirghiz steppe.&nbsp; All the party were
+well armed and well mounted, and Mr. Atkinson felt competent to
+encounter, if need be, half a hundred of the nomadic bandits, if
+they should attempt to plunder him.&nbsp; His servant, however,
+manifested so lively a dread of the robbers of the steppes, and
+so strong a disinclination to a close acquaintance with the
+Kirghiz, that Mr. Atkinson ordered him back to Ust-Kamenogorsk to
+await his return, rightly judging that his fears would render him
+an incumbrance and an impediment rather than a useful
+auxiliary.</p>
+<h3><a name="page178"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+178</span>II.</h3>
+<p>The tribes of the Kirghiz nation spread over the Asiatic
+steppes from the Aral river to the Ala-Tau Mountains.&nbsp; From
+time immemorial they have been divided into the Great, the
+Middle, and the Little Hordes.&nbsp; The Great Horde occupies the
+territory north of the Ala-Tau, extending into China and
+Tartary.&nbsp; The Middle Horde inhabits the countries lying
+between the Ischim, the Irtisch, Lake Balkash, and Khokand.&nbsp;
+The Little, which is by far the most numerous Horde, wanders over
+the undulating plains bounded by the Yamba and the Ural, over
+Turkistan (now under Russian rule), and into Siberia.&nbsp; As a
+whole, the Kirghiz population may be assumed to number about
+1,250,000 souls.&nbsp; They are of Turco-Tartaric origin; and,
+according to Max M&uuml;ller, Southern Siberia was their mother
+country.&nbsp; Nominally, they own the supremacy of the Great
+White Czar on the one side, and of the Chinese Emperor on the
+other; but their nomadic habits secure their virtual
+independence.&nbsp; Each tribe is governed by its sultan or
+chief.&nbsp; Quarrels and blood feuds between the different
+tribes are of constant occurrence.&nbsp; Many live wholly by
+brigandage; swooping down suddenly, under cover of night, on the
+richer auls, or villages, they carry off horses, cattle, and
+other objects of value, besides men, women, and children, whom
+they sell into slavery.&nbsp; These nocturnal raids are called
+barantas.</p>
+<p>The yourt, or tent, of the Kirghiz bears a close resemblance
+to the kibitka of the Kalmucks.&nbsp; One of the better class is
+thus described: It was formed of <a name="page179"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 179</span>willow trellis-work, put together
+with untanned strips of skin, made into compartments which fold
+up.&nbsp; It represented a circle of thirty-four feet in
+diameter, five feet high to the springing of the dome, and twelve
+feet in the centre.&nbsp; This dome is formed of bent rods of
+willow, an inch and a quarter in diameter, put into the
+mortice-holes of a ring about four feet across, which secures the
+top of the dome, admits light, and lets out the smoke.&nbsp; The
+lower ends of the willow rods are tied with leathern thongs to
+the top of the trellis-work at the sides, which renders it quite
+strong and secure.&nbsp; The whole is then covered with large
+sheets of voilock, made of wool and camel&rsquo;s hair, fitting
+close, so that it is both warm and water-tight.&nbsp; The doorway
+is formed of a small aperture in the trellis-work, over which
+hangs a piece of voilock, and closes it.&nbsp; In the daytime
+this is rolled up and fastened on the roof of the yourt.</p>
+<p>The reader will not be surprised to learn that the furniture
+and fittings of the yourt are remarkable for their simplicity;
+the Kirghiz having none of the ingenuity of a Robinson Crusoe or
+the inventiveness of an American backwoodsman.&nbsp; The fire is
+kindled on the ground in the centre of the yourt.&nbsp; Directly
+opposite to the door, voilocks are spread; on these stand sundry
+boxes containing the clothing of the family, pieces of Chinese
+silk, tea, dried fruits, and ambas of silver (small squares,
+about two inches and a half long, an inch and a half wide, and
+three-tenths of an inch thick).&nbsp; Some of the Kirghiz possess
+large quantities of these ambas, which are carefully hoarded
+up.&nbsp; Above the boxes are bales of Bokharian and Persian
+carpets, often of great <a name="page180"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 180</span>beauty and value.&nbsp; In another
+part of the yourt lies the large sack of koumis, or mare&rsquo;s
+milk, completely covered up with voilock to keep it warm and
+promote the fermentation.&nbsp; And near this bag stands a large
+leathern bottle, sometimes holding four gallons, and frequently
+enriched with much ornament; as are the small bottles which the
+horseman carries on his saddle.&nbsp; In another place may be
+seen the large iron caldron, and the trivet on which it rests
+when used for cooking in the yourt.&nbsp; There are usually half
+a dozen Chinese wooden bowls, often beautifully painted and
+japanned, from which the koumis is drunk; some of them hold three
+pints, others are still larger.&nbsp; On entering a Kirghiz yourt
+in summer, each guest is presented with one of these Chinese
+bowls full of koumis.&nbsp; To return the vessel with any koumis
+in it is considered impolite, and the rudeness is one of which a
+good Kirghiz is assuredly never guilty.</p>
+<p>The saddles are deposited on the bales of carpets.&nbsp; As
+the wealthy Kirghiz greatly esteem rich horse trappings, many of
+these are beautiful and costly.&nbsp; If of Kirghiz workmanship,
+they are decorated with silver inlaid on iron, in chaste
+ornamental designs, and are padded with velvet cushions; the
+bridles, and other parts of the equipment, are covered with small
+iron plates, similarly inlaid.</p>
+<p>Leathern thongs, ropes made of camel&rsquo;s hair, common
+saddles, saddle-cloths, and leathern tchimbar hang suspended from
+the trellis-work.&nbsp; The tchimbar, or trousers, however, are
+not infrequently made of black velvet, richly embroidered with
+silk, more especially the back elevation; and they are so large
+and loose <a name="page181"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+181</span>that a Kirghiz, when he rides, can tuck into them the
+laps of his three or four khalats.&nbsp; As he ties them round
+his waist with a leathern strap, he presents a most grotesque
+appearance with the centre part of his person bulging like a
+great globe, out of which the very diminutive head and legs
+protrude.</p>
+<p>The national dress of the Kirghiz is the khalat, a kind of
+pelisse, very long and very full, with large sleeves, made of
+cashmere or silk, and in the most dazzling colours; but the
+poorer nomad substitutes for this state dress a horse-skin
+jacket.&nbsp; Breeches fastened below the hips by a girdle of
+wool or cashmere, high-heeled madder-coloured boots, and a
+fox-skin cap, rising into a cone on the top, and lined inside
+with crimson cloth, complete his costume.&nbsp; His weapons are
+the spear, gun, and axe.&nbsp; The last is a long formidable
+weapon; the iron head is moderately heavy and sharp; the handle,
+about four and a half feet long, is secured by a leathern thong
+round the wrist.&nbsp; It is often richly inlaid with
+silver.&nbsp; The women wear a high calico head-dress, a part of
+which falls over the shoulders and covers up the neck; boots of
+the same make and colour as the men&rsquo;s, and a long and ample
+khalat, with, sometimes, a shawl tied round the waist.</p>
+<p>The Kirghiz begin to make koumis in April.&nbsp; The mares are
+milked at five o&rsquo;clock in the morning and about the same
+time in the evening, into large leathern pails, which are
+immediately taken to the yourt, and emptied into the koumis
+bag.&nbsp; The latter is five to six feet long, with a leathern
+tube, about four inches in diameter, at one corner, through which
+the milk is poured into the bag, and the koumis drawn out of
+it.&nbsp; <a name="page182"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+182</span>A wooden instrument, not unlike a churning-staff, is
+introduced into the bag, for the purpose of frequently agitating
+the koumis, which is not considered in good condition until after
+the lapse of twelve to fourteen days.&nbsp; It is drunk in large
+quantities by such of the Kirghiz as are wealthy enough to keep
+up a considerable stud of brood mares; and every Kirghiz, rich or
+poor, slings his koumis bottle to his saddle in summer, and loses
+no opportunity of replenishing it at the different auls he
+visits.</p>
+<p>In crossing the steppe, Mr. Atkinson fell in with the aul of
+Mahomed, a Kirghiz chief, who was reputed to be very
+wealthy.&nbsp; Mahomed was a fine robust man, about sixty years
+old, stout and square-built, with broad features, a fine flowing
+grey beard, a pair of small piercing eyes, and a fairly pleasant
+countenance.&nbsp; He wore on his head a closely fitting silk
+cap, handsomely embroidered in silver; his dress consisting of a
+large robe, or khalat, of pink and yellow striped silk, tied
+round the waist with a white shawl.&nbsp; His boots were of
+reddish-brown leather, small, with very high heels, causing a
+real or apparent difficulty in walking.&nbsp; His wife, much
+younger than himself, and probably not more than thirty or
+thirty-five years of age, had a broad face, high cheek-bones,
+twinkling black bead-like eyes, a small nose, a wide mouth; she
+was neither pretty nor prepossessing; but decidedly in want of a
+hot bath.&nbsp; Attired in a black kaufa (Chinese satin) khalat,
+with a red shawl round the waist; reddish-brown high-heeled
+boots, like her husband&rsquo;s; she also wore a rather pointed
+white muslin cap, the lappets of which, finely wrought on the
+edge with red silk, hung down nearly to her hips.&nbsp; This
+couple were rich in the <a name="page183"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 183</span>world&rsquo;s goods from a Kirghiz
+point of view.&nbsp; Not only was their yourt well stocked with
+voilocks and carpets, and richly ornamented weapons, and costly
+caparisonings, but they owned an amount of live stock which would
+astonish the most opulent English farmer.&nbsp; The noise in and
+around the aul was deafening.&nbsp; It was a babel of sounds: the
+sharp cry of the camels, the neighing of the horses, the
+bellowing of the bulls, the bleating of the sheep and goats, and
+the barking of the dogs, all combining in one hideous,
+ear-shattering chorus.&nbsp; Mr. Atkinson counted no fewer than
+106 camels, including their young; besides more than 2000 horses,
+1000 oxen and cows, and 6000 sheep and goats.&nbsp; Yet even
+these large totals did not represent all the wealth of the
+Kirghiz chief; for he had two other auls, and at each were 1000
+horses and numerous cattle.&nbsp; It was a picturesque and
+interesting sight to see the women busily milking the cows, and
+the men conducting the vast herds to their pastures.&nbsp; The
+horses and camels are driven to the greatest distance, as far as
+ten and fifteen versts; the oxen come next; the sheep remain
+nearest the aul, but still at a distance of five or six
+versts.</p>
+<p>While Mr. Atkinson was sojourning in Mahomed&rsquo;s aul, a
+night attack was made upon it.&nbsp; He was aroused, about two
+hours after midnight, by a tremendous noise, which to him,
+sleeping on the ground, seemed as if it issued from some
+subterranean hollow.&nbsp; At first he thought it was the
+rumbling of an earthquake, and immediately sat upright.&nbsp; But
+the sound rolled on, drew nearer and nearer; presently it passed,
+so that the whole earth shook.&nbsp; Then he knew that the herd
+of horses was dashing onward at full <a name="page184"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 184</span>gallop; and when he caught the
+shrieks of women and the shouts of men, he understood that an
+assault had been made upon the aul by robbers.&nbsp; In a moment
+he seized his rifle, and sallied forth from the yourt, to behold
+the Kirghiz, battle-axe in hand, leap on their horses, and gallop
+towards the point of attack.&nbsp; The herds were rushing wildly
+round the aul; the Cossacks, with their muskets loaded, were
+ready for the fray; all was confusion and disorder.&nbsp;
+Presently the sound of horses swiftly approaching could be heard;
+they came nearer and nearer; in less than two minutes a dark
+troop swept past like a whirlwind at twenty paces distant, making
+the air ring with loud, defiant shouts.&nbsp; Five bullets
+whistled after them; there was a scream from a horse, but on they
+dashed.&nbsp; The Kirghiz followed quickly in pursuit,
+accompanied by two of the Cossacks, who had rapidly
+mounted.&nbsp; After riding about a verst they came up with the
+robbers, to find they were three times their number, and prepared
+to fight for their booty.&nbsp; Against such odds no success
+could be hoped for, and accordingly the Kirghiz retired to the
+aul.&nbsp; When day dawned it was ascertained that this daring
+razzia had cost Mahomed a hundred horses.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>This was not the only adventure that befell Mr. Atkinson while
+he made Mahomed&rsquo;s aul his headquarters.&nbsp; One day, he
+was returning from an excursion to some finely coloured porphyry
+rocks, when the wind begun to blow across the steppe in strong
+and frequent gusts, and his Kirghiz guides announced that a storm
+was at hand.&nbsp; Their prediction was confirmed by the clouds
+that gathered about <a name="page185"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 185</span>the lower peaks of the Altai, and
+soon a dense mass of blackness, extending for a long distance
+from north to south, rolled rapidly in the direction of the
+travellers.&nbsp; Not a tree or a rock offered the slightest
+shelter.&nbsp; Spurring their horses briskly, they galloped over
+the plain, pursued by the storm, as, in Goethe&rsquo;s ballad,
+the father and his doomed child are pursued by the Erl
+King.&nbsp; The gusts of wind ceased, and for a short time a
+deadly calm prevailed.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the clouds were painfully
+agitated, as if by some internal force, and streams of vapour
+issuing from their blackness whirled rapidly round.&nbsp; A low
+murmur stole through the air; gradually it deepened and
+strengthened, until, as the storm broke upon the steppe, it
+swelled into a roar like that of a thousand cannon.&nbsp; The
+grasses and low bushes were rooted up, and sent flying into the
+air with fearful velocity.&nbsp; The terrified horses stopped
+suddenly; nor could they be induced to move until the whirlwind
+had passed by.&nbsp; Fortunately the travellers had not been
+caught in its vortex, and no serious accident occurred.</p>
+<p>Leaving the hospitable Mahomed, Mr. Atkinson continued his
+explorations of the steppe, and rode onward to the next aul,
+which lay to the northward, and was reached in two days&rsquo;
+journey.&nbsp; Here, after the usual entertainment, he found
+himself free to write up his journal&mdash;much to the
+astonishment of his companions, the three R&rsquo;s being unknown
+in the steppe to any but the mullahs, or priests, of the various
+tribes.&nbsp; The manuscript was a wonder to the children of the
+wilderness, and they regarded its owner as a very wealthy mullah,
+possessed of the priceless treasure of a book full of
+amulets.&nbsp; For the mullah sells his <a
+name="page186"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 186</span>amulets, or
+charms, at the rate of a sheep for each scrap of paper, which he
+has covered with unmeaning characters.&nbsp; Mr. Atkinson&rsquo;s
+ring was examined; also his knife; also a piece of red
+sealing-wax.&nbsp; On a piece of thick paper from his sketch-book
+he took impressions of his seal, and presented them to the women
+of the yourt, who doubtlessly long wore them in their caps as
+talismans or ornaments of special value and importance.&nbsp; His
+watch was likewise an object of curiosity.&nbsp; He held it to
+the ear of a woman sitting near him.&nbsp; Evidently she thought
+it was alive and talking, for she communicated the fact to her
+companions, and they all expressed a wish to hear it speak.</p>
+<p>By way of Mount Kamenogorsk, his old quarters, Mr. Atkinson
+proceeded to Barnaoul, which he reached on the 1st of
+November.&nbsp; This town is built at the junction of the small
+river Barnaulka with the Ob.&nbsp; The streets are wide, laid out
+in parallel lines, and intersected by others at right
+angles.&nbsp; There are three ugly brick churches, and one large
+hospital.&nbsp; Its silver smelting works are on an extensive
+scale, producing annually about nine thousand pounds.&nbsp;
+Almost all the gold found in Siberia is also smelted here, and
+cast into bars; and every year six caravans leave with the
+precious metals for St. Petersburg&mdash;four in winter by the
+sledge roads, and two in summer.&nbsp; Barnaoul is the centre for
+the administration of the mines of the Altai, and the residence
+of the Natchalink, or director, as well as of the heads of the
+principal departments.</p>
+<p>The public museum at Barnaoul contains a very good collection
+of minerals, some Siberian antiquities, <a
+name="page187"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 187</span>a few
+Siberian animals and birds, and four tiger-skins.&nbsp; The
+wearers of these skins were killed in different parts of Siberia;
+in two instances their capture proving fatal to some of the
+peasants engaged in it, for pea-rifles and hay-forks are scarcely
+fit weapons with which to encounter the fiercest of the beasts of
+prey.&nbsp; They are seldom found in Siberia; only when driven by
+hunger do they cross the Irtisch, and many peasants do not know
+them even by name.&nbsp; The last of the Barnaoul company, now
+reposing peacefully in a glass case, was discovered, early one
+morning, prone on the top of a small hay-rick, near the
+village.&nbsp; The peasant, who had come for some hay for his
+horses, beheld with surprise and terror the strange and
+formidable creature, and shrank from his glaring eyeballs, which
+seemed to sparkle with fire.&nbsp; At the same moment the
+peasant&rsquo;s dog caught sight of him, and, with a loud bark,
+bravely dashed towards the rick.&nbsp; Growling terribly, the
+tiger sprung to the ground.&nbsp; The dog met him
+intrepidly,&mdash;to be crushed in a moment beneath his heavy
+paw.&nbsp; Hastening towards the village, the man gave the alarm,
+and quickly returned with a valiant company; some armed with
+pea-rifles, others with hay-forks and axes.&nbsp; Several dogs
+followed them.&nbsp; On approaching the rick, they were apprised
+of the enemy&rsquo;s position by a furious growl.&nbsp; The dogs
+made a brilliant charge; but the tiger crouched sullenly, and did
+not spring.&nbsp; A small shot through his hide roused him, and
+at a bound he was in among the dogs, killing a couple of them
+instantly with his terrible paws, and scattering the rest in
+ignominious flight.&nbsp; He received two more balls, but they
+served only to inflame his fury, and <a name="page188"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 188</span>leaping in among his assailants, he
+felled one of them to the ground, dead.&nbsp; Again the dogs
+charged him, while the peasants with their hay-forks stabbed him
+in the back and sides.&nbsp; At last he withdrew slowly towards a
+bank covered with brushwood, followed by the dogs and their
+masters; but on reaching the bank he halted, faced round, growled
+angrily, and prepared for another spring.&nbsp; His enemies
+halted, and poured in shot upon him; the dogs barked furiously;
+but he held his ground, and could not be induced to move.&nbsp;
+After a while, encouraged by his inaction, the dogs began to
+close in upon him, and finally it was discovered that a ball had
+pierced him in a vital part, and the beast was dead.</p>
+<p>The river Ob, which flows past Barnaoul, is described as a
+magnificent stream, running in a valley twelve versts broad; its
+numerous small branches divide this valley into islands, on which
+large trees are growing.&nbsp; In May the melting of the snow
+swells the stream into a great flood, which inundates much of the
+valley, and gradually widens from one bank to the other, with the
+tops of the trees rising above the swirl of waters like
+islands.&nbsp; At this time many of the scenes along the Ob are
+very grand, especially if seen at sunrise or sunset, when the
+various colouring of the luminous sky is mirrored in the mighty
+stream, which, flashing with golden and crimson lights, rolls
+through the deep purple masses of the forest, to terminate its
+course in the Arctic Ocean.</p>
+<p>The neighbourhood seems to be an attractive one for the
+sportsman; snipe abound in June and July, blackcock in August,
+and rebchicks, or tree partridges, <a name="page189"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 189</span>in September.&nbsp; Wild hen are
+also plentiful, and in winter, hares.&nbsp; Or if the hunter care
+for more venturous sport, he may sally out against the wolves and
+bears.</p>
+<p>The bears are dangerous antagonists.&nbsp; A very large one
+was seen by some woodcutters about fifteen versts from the gold
+mine; and two men, one of whom was known as a bold, skilful, and
+veteran hunter, started in pursuit.&nbsp; They found the
+beast&rsquo;s track quite fresh in the long dewy grass, and
+cautiously followed it up, until a low growl warned them of his
+presence.&nbsp; He sprang out of a thicket, about thirty-five
+paces distant, and confronted his pursuers.&nbsp; The hunter
+fired, and his shot told, but not in a vital part.&nbsp; The
+wounded animal charged immediately, the other man reserving his
+shot until he was within twenty paces.&nbsp; Then, unfortunately,
+his rifle missed fire.&nbsp; The bear at once stood on his hind
+legs, and sprang forward against his first assailant, striking
+him to the earth with a blow that stripped his scalp and turned
+it over his face; then, seizing his arm, he began to gnaw and
+crush it to the bone, gradually ascending to the shoulder.&nbsp;
+The sufferer called to his companion to load and fire; but,
+losing heart when he saw his friend so terribly mangled, the
+craven took to flight.</p>
+<p>Returning to the gold mine, he related what had happened; but
+it was then too late to despatch a party in search of the
+unfortunate hunter.&nbsp; At daylight next morning, however, they
+set out, with the craven as guide.&nbsp; On arriving at the scene
+of the affray, no remains of the victim could be found but some
+torn clothing and his rifle; and the trampled grass showed that
+he had been carried off into the thick covert.&nbsp; The trail
+was pursued with the utmost diligence, and <a
+name="page190"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 190</span>at length,
+under a heap of branches, in a dense thicket of trees and bushes,
+the hunter&rsquo;s body was discovered, and, strange to say,
+though grievously mutilated, it still throbbed with life.&nbsp;
+With tender care the miserable victim was conveyed to the gold
+mine and taken to the hospital, where he was treated with the
+utmost kindness, and all was done that medical skill could
+do.&nbsp; For a long time he remained unconscious; but at the end
+of two months a slight improvement was noticeable, and he
+recovered his reason.&nbsp; His first question was about the
+bear; his next, about his own defeat.&nbsp; In truth, his
+conversation turned only upon these subjects: he seemed possessed
+by a monomania; was continually asking for his rifle, that he
+might go and kill &ldquo;Michael Ivanitch&rdquo; (the
+bear).&nbsp; As his strength returned, it was thought necessary
+to place him under restraint, lest his desire to contend with his
+fierce and powerful enemy should lead him into some dangerous
+enterprise.</p>
+<p>But when autumn arrived, and laid its magical finger on the
+forest, the monomaniac seemed to have forgotten his hate, so that
+he was watched with less rigour.&nbsp; He took advantage of his
+comparative freedom to steal from the hospital, gain his own
+cottage, and, in the absence of his family, arm himself with his
+rifle and axe, and stow away in his wallet a loaf of black
+bread.&nbsp; Then, as the shades of evening began to fall, he
+started for the forest, and soon disappeared in the gathering
+gloom.</p>
+<p>As soon as his absence from the hospital was known, a close
+search for him was instituted; but in vain.&nbsp; A week passed
+by, and it was supposed that he had perished, when one day he
+strode into the hospital, <a name="page191"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 191</span>carrying on his shoulders the skin
+of a huge black bear.&nbsp; Throwing it down, he exclaimed,
+&ldquo;I told you I would have him.&rdquo;&nbsp; Thenceforward he
+rapidly recovered; both his physical and mental health were
+re-established, and he lived to bring down many another
+&ldquo;Michael Ivanitch&rdquo; with his deadly rifle.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>A curious incident befell a Cossack officer in the woods of
+Barnaoul.</p>
+<p>Alone and unarmed, he was sauntering through the forest
+glades, gathering specimen plants, when, at a distance of about
+eight versts from the gold mine, he emerged into an open space,
+where stood a few isolated trees; and the same moment he
+descried, not more than two hundred yards off, a she-bear and her
+two cubs gambolling together.&nbsp; She, too, recognized his
+presence; and, with a fierce growl, drove her young ones into a
+tree as an asylum, and, resolute to defend them, mounted guard at
+its foot.</p>
+<p>To carry off the cubs as trophies was the Cossack&rsquo;s
+resolve, but he wanted a weapon.&nbsp; Retiring into the wood a
+few steps, he came to a place where the woodmen had felled
+several young birch trees, and from one of these he selected four
+feet of a stout, strong, but manageable stem, with which he
+returned to the scene of action.&nbsp; At his approach the old
+bear resumed her growling, and moved uneasily to and fro in front
+of the tree, but carefully keeping within a few feet of it.&nbsp;
+He continued his advance.&nbsp; She growled more savagely, and
+plainly suspected his hostile intentions.&nbsp; Still he moved
+forward, with his eyes steadfastly fixed upon her.&nbsp; When he
+was within about fifty paces, she made a fierce rush that would
+have put most men <a name="page192"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+192</span>to flight.&nbsp; He held his ground, and as the cubs
+began to whine, she trotted back towards the tree, in a mood of
+uncontrolled rage.&nbsp; The Cossack followed; she turned; the
+two antagonists stood face to face at a distance of twenty
+yards.</p>
+<p>Retreat was now impossible; and there they stood, gazing
+keenly on each other, and each waiting for an opportunity to
+attack.&nbsp; The bear, with fiery eyeballs, made a second rush,
+and at a few paces from her daring enemy, rose on her hind legs,
+either to fell him with her heavy paws or crush him in her cruel
+embrace; but, with wonderful coolness, he brought down his club
+and toppled her over.&nbsp; In a second she sprang to her feet,
+and prepared to renew the charge; another tremendous stroke laid
+her on the ground.&nbsp; The combat assumed a desperate and
+deadly character, and several &ldquo;rounds&rdquo; were
+determinedly fought.&nbsp; Eventually, the Cossack&rsquo;s
+well-directed blows subdued her courage, and when she could
+neither charge him in front nor get in his rear, she fell back
+towards the tree, still fighting desperately.&nbsp; Under the
+tree a fresh spirit was infused into the affray, and every time
+she heard her cubs whine, she returned with increased fury to the
+assault.&nbsp; She was received, however, with such a shower of
+blows, that, at last dispirited and exhausted, she retreated
+hastily towards the forest, and entered its shades; contriving,
+nevertheless, whenever the gallant Cossack moved towards the
+refuge of her cubs, to make a rush in that direction.</p>
+<p>All this time the cubs remained perched among the branches,
+and the officer, considering himself victorious, longed to take
+possession of his prize.&nbsp; But he could devise no plan of
+getting at them, and it was <a name="page193"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 193</span>evident they would not come down at
+his call.&nbsp; Luckily, a woodman, on his way to the gold mine,
+rode into the arena.&nbsp; The Cossack hailed him; ordered him to
+dismount, to take from his saddle the zumka, or leather
+saddle-bags, and, climbing the tree, to thrust the cubs into
+them, while he himself kept watch over the mother bear.&nbsp;
+This was done, though not without several sharp encounters
+between the she-bear and the officer; and, finally, the peasant
+threw his heavy bags across his horse, and led the way to the
+ravine, the Cossack covering the rear.&nbsp; In this fashion they
+marched into Barnaoul; first, the woodman and his horse, next the
+Cossack officer, and behind him the bear.&nbsp; The march
+occupied two hours, and the unfortunate mother persevered to the
+very last, not abandoning her young ones until their captor had
+reached the cottages.&nbsp; Then she hastily returned into the
+forest, and was seen no more.</p>
+<h3>III.</h3>
+<p>There is much to attract and impress in the scenery of the
+lakes of the Altai.&nbsp; Lake scenery in a mountainous country
+is always picturesque, always striking, from the variety of forms
+which it presents, and its endless contrasts of light and shade,
+and its magical combinations of colours.&nbsp; Moreover, it
+passes so rapidly from the calmly beautiful to the sublime! for
+at one moment the silver waters sleep as profoundly as a babe on
+its mother&rsquo;s breast; at another, the storm-wind issues from
+the savage glen, and lashes them into a white wrath.&nbsp; In the
+genial days <a name="page194"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+194</span>of summer it shines and sparkles with a peculiar
+radiance; a golden glory seems to hang upon the mountain sides,
+and a purple light rests on the bosom of the lake.&nbsp; In the
+dreary winter, nothing can be grander in its gloom; the hollows
+and the glens are heavy with an eery darkness, through which the
+white peaks show like sheeted phantoms.&nbsp; In truth, it
+appeals to us by its twofold features of the mountain and the
+water.&nbsp; The former awakens our awe, lifts us out of our
+commonplace lives, and fills us with a sense of the wonder and
+mystery of God&rsquo;s work; it is an embodiment of majesty and
+power, a noble and sublime architecture, the study of which
+awakens the higher and purer impulses of the soul.&nbsp; Beauty
+of colour, perfection of form, an endless change in the midst of
+what seems to us an everlasting permanency&mdash;all those are
+the mountain&rsquo;s; all these belong to that great cathedral of
+the earth, with its &ldquo;gates of rock,&rdquo; its
+&ldquo;pavements of cloud,&rdquo; its snow-white altars, and its
+airy roof, traversed by the stars.&nbsp; Then as to water; has it
+not a wonder and a beauty of its own?&nbsp; &ldquo;If we think of
+it,&rdquo; says Ruskin, &ldquo;as the source of all the
+changefulness and beauty which we have seen in clouds; then as
+the instrument by which the earth we have contemplated was
+modelled into symmetry, and its crags chiselled into grace; then
+as, in the form of snow, it robes the mountains it has made, with
+that transcendent light which we could not have conceived if we
+had not seen; then as it exists in the foam of the torrent, in
+the iris which spans it, in the morning mist which rises from it,
+in the deep crystalline peaks which mirror its hanging shore, in
+the broad lake and glowing river; finally, <a
+name="page195"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 195</span>in that
+which is to all human minds the best emblem of unwearied,
+unconquerable power, the wild, various, fantastic, tameless unity
+of the sea; what shall we compare to this mighty, this universal
+element, for glory and for beauty? or how shall we follow its
+eternal changefulness of feeling?&rdquo;&nbsp; Bring the two
+together, the water and the mountain, and the landscape attains
+its highest character; the picture is then as consummate in its
+mingled beauty and grandeur as Nature can make it; and hence it
+is, I think, that lake scenery has always such a power over the
+imagination.</p>
+<p>The Altin-Kool, or Golden Lake, measuring about one hundred
+versts in length, and from three to twelve in breadth, lies in an
+enormous chasm, with peaks and precipices all around it, some of
+them two thousand feet in height, and so perpendicular as to
+afford no footing even for a chamois.&nbsp; On the west side of
+the lake, the mountain pinnacles rise to 10,500 feet, and on the
+south several are even loftier.&nbsp; On the east side their
+elevation is less, but still they reach far above the line of
+vegetation into the region of perpetual snow.&nbsp; Having
+engaged some Kalmucks, or boatmen, Mr. Atkinson and his
+companions set out in canoes to explore the lake, beginning on
+the east.&nbsp; For the first ten versts the mountains do not
+rise very abruptly; they slope to the north, and green cedar
+forests cover them to the very summit, while the banks on the
+opposite side are almost treeless.&nbsp; Winding round a small
+headland, the lake expands into a splendid basin, with
+picturesque mountains grouped on either shore.&nbsp; Early in the
+evening the voyagers stopped near a torrent, which poured its
+foam and din <a name="page196"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+196</span>down a narrow gorge, and the Kalmucks recommended it as
+a favourable site for an encampment.&nbsp; A bed of clean white
+sand, about fifteen feet wide, sloped gradually to the
+water-side.&nbsp; Between the upper rim of the sand and the
+rocks, large cedars were growing, and under these a bulayan, or
+wigwam, was constructed.&nbsp; Though consisting only of a few
+bare poles, covered with birch bark, open in front, and the ends
+filled up with branches, it was warm, and it kept out the
+mosquitoes; and within its welcome covert Mr. Atkinson and his
+party contentedly passed the night.</p>
+<p>At daybreak, a fresh wind was blowing, and until this subsided
+the Kalmucks could not be induced to move.&nbsp; Satisfied at
+last with the promise both of sky and mountains, they pushed off,
+and doubling round a rocky point, entered a broad and beautiful
+bay, curving gracefully in the shadow of snow-capped
+mountains.&nbsp; At Tasck-tash, a bold headland, the lake turns
+directly south.&nbsp; Climbing to its summit, Mr. Atkinson
+enjoyed a noble view of the expanse of shining waters&mdash;one
+of those views which rests in the memory for ever, and is at all
+times a beauty and a joy.&nbsp; The general character of the
+landscape is boldness.&nbsp; Along the west shore the rocks dip
+to the east, at a very sharp angle, while upon their foundations
+the crags rise perpendicularly, and, above all, a snow-crowned
+summit shines like silver against the sapphire sky.&nbsp; On the
+east, as already stated, the mountains are less abrupt; but one,
+a conspicuous peak, rears a lofty and rounded crest far into the
+clouds, with white vaporous billows clinging to its rugged sides,
+and the eternal snow whitening its remote crest.</p>
+<p><a name="page197"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 197</span>As
+the voyage progressed, the voyagers came upon such mysteries of
+colour as filled them with delight.&nbsp; Out of the chinks and
+clefts in the deep red granite bloomed bright plants and flowers
+with tropical luxuriance.&nbsp; Some slate rocks, grey, purple,
+and orange, intervened; the bright yellow of the birches lighted
+up the distant rocks; and the background was filled in with the
+deep purple mountains.&nbsp; The whole was a wonder of rich
+harmonious colouring, like a symphony of Beethoven&rsquo;s.&nbsp;
+At another point a gleaming waterfall leaped boldly over a
+succession of picturesque rocky terraces, the colours of which
+were bright as those of the rainbow, green, yellow, purple, and
+glowing red.&nbsp; There was also a white marble, spotted with
+purple; another, white, with veins of bluish purple; and a mass
+of exquisite, deep plum-coloured jasper.&nbsp; On the third day
+of their exploration, the voyagers entered one of the wildest
+parts of the lake&mdash;a deep circular recess in the Karakorum
+Mountains, into which three streams fling their heedless waters,
+uniting near the brink of a mighty precipice, and then tumbling
+down from ledge to ledge, to pass through a natural arch and fall
+into the lake.&nbsp; Prom the summit of the cliff, where the
+water takes its first leap, to the level of the lake, is not less
+than two thousand feet.&nbsp; &ldquo;Avalanches must sometimes
+sweep over this place, and large trees are bent down and stripped
+of their branches.&nbsp; Huge rocks are torn up and hurled along,
+crushing and grinding everything in their course, as they rush on
+into the lake.&nbsp; No man can conceive the chaotic confusion
+into which the mass of ice and rocks has been heaped.&nbsp; One
+enormous stone, weighing not less than a hundred <a
+name="page198"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 198</span>and fifty
+tons, had been placed on its end, on the edge of the rock, in an
+overhanging position towards the lake.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Various rivers flow into the Altin-Kool, such as the
+Tchoulishman, the Kamga, and the Karbou.&nbsp; They are navigated
+by the Kalmucks in light canoes, each constructed from the trunk
+of a single tree.&nbsp; The poplar is much used for this purpose;
+but, notwithstanding the softness of its wood, the labour of
+canoe-building is very great, owing to the rude character of the
+tools employed.&nbsp; The sides are cut down to a thickness of
+about three-quarters of an inch; but the bottom, which is usually
+made flat and without a keel, is nearly double the thickness.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Having completed his circumnavigation of the Altin-Kool, Mr.
+Atkinson, with his thirst for new scenes unquenched, started on a
+visit to the source of the river Katounaia.&nbsp; His route lay
+past Kolyvan, a town where the population is principally employed
+in cutting and polishing jasper and porphyry, and across the
+river Tchenish.&nbsp; He then crossed into the valley of the
+Koksa, and descended upon the Yabagan steppe, where he met with
+some Kalmuck auls, and was present at a curious pseudo-religious
+ceremony, the offering up of an annual sacrifice to the Kalmuck
+deity.&nbsp; A ram was presented by its owner, who desired a
+large increase to his herds and flocks.&nbsp; It was handed to an
+assistant of the priest, who duly killed it.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the
+priest, looking eastward, chanted a prayer, and beat on a large
+tambourine to attract the attention of his god, while he
+petitioned for multitudes of sheep and cattle.&nbsp; When the ram
+<a name="page199"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 199</span>had been
+flayed, the skin was hoisted on a pole above the framework of the
+bulayan, and placed with its head to the east.&nbsp; The
+tambourine was loudly beaten, and the wild chant continued.&nbsp;
+Then the flesh was cooked in the large caldron, and all the tribe
+partook of the dainty&mdash;&ldquo;there was a sound of revelry
+by night.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Kalmuck priest wears a leather coat, over the laps of
+which impend hundreds of strips, with leather tassels on the
+breast.&nbsp; He fastens a girdle round his waist; and an
+assortment of brass balls on his back, and scraps of iron in
+front, produces a continuous jingle.&nbsp; His crimson velvet cap
+is ornamented over the forehead with brass beads and glass drops,
+and at the back with feathers from the tail of the crane.</p>
+<p>The Kalmucks who inhabit these steppes own large herds of
+horses and oxen, and flocks of sheep.&nbsp; Some of the men are
+sturdy fellows and perfect Nimrods; they live by the chase, and
+spend months alone in the mountain wilds.&nbsp; Mr. Atkinson
+speaks of them as brave, honest, and faithful.&nbsp; &ldquo;I
+have slept at their bulayan, and partaken of their venison.&nbsp;
+A City alderman would be horrified to see the haunch of a fine
+buck cut into small pieces an inch square and half an inch thick,
+through twenty of which a sharp-pointed stick is run, and the
+thick end stuck into the ground in a leaning position near the
+fire.&nbsp; Every man here is his own cook, and attends to the
+roast.&nbsp; The upper piece is first done, when it is slipped
+off, dipped in salt, and eaten quite hot&mdash;without currant
+jelly.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At Ouemonia Lake, the last village in the Altai, Mr. Atkinson
+halted in order to obtain a sufficient number of men and horses
+for his ascent to the source of the <a name="page200"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 200</span>Katounaia, and the Bielouka, the
+highest point in the Altai chain.&nbsp; He was provided by the
+chief official, or magistrate, with an escort of six Kalmucks and
+two Russians (one of them a veteran hunter), and at seven
+o&rsquo;clock on Wednesday morning sprang into his saddle and
+rode away.&nbsp; Including himself and his attendant, the party
+consisted of ten men, with sixteen horses and one dog.&nbsp;
+Crossing a little steppe, about six versts long, they entered the
+forest belt which surrounds the lower declivities of the
+forest-range, and through groves of pine, cedar, birch, and
+poplar, began their ascent of the first chain.&nbsp; Emerging
+from the thick leafy covert, they came upon the bare
+mountain-side, with a storm of rain and sleet beating in their
+faces, and pursued their way to the foot of a lofty acclivity,
+across which lay their track.&nbsp; Here they rested, in a
+&ldquo;cedarn shade,&rdquo; until the gale had subsided: then
+<i>en avant</i>!&nbsp; Through masses of fallen granite and
+jasper, interspersed with a few giant cedars, they slowly made
+their way, until they began in earnest to climb the great steep;
+a slow operation and a dangerous, for great crags, hurled from
+the upper heights, hung here and there so insecurely as,
+apparently, to need but a breath to send them crashing downwards
+in an avalanche, and at other places the ledges along which they
+rode were so narrow, that the slightest stumble on the part of
+their patient horses must have precipitated them into
+destruction!&nbsp; A painful ride of two hours brought them to
+the summit, which commanded a noble view of the Katounaia valley
+and the mountains to the north.</p>
+<p>Their ride was continued over a high plateau, on which huge
+rocks, rugged and curiously wrought, the <a
+name="page201"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 201</span>remains of
+shattered peaks, stood in their awful grandeur; carrying back the
+imagination through the dim shadows of the past to a period long
+before the present forms of life existed, and speaking eloquently
+of the vast changes which earth has undergone.&nbsp; Their aspect
+was often that of colossal castles, grim with tower and
+battlement, which fancy peopled with the demons of the mountain
+and the wilderness.&nbsp; But the travellers could not stay to
+study them; signs of a terrible tempest were visible, and they
+dashed forward at a hard gallop to seek shelter in the valley of
+the Tschugash.&nbsp; A group of cedars, with a patch of smooth
+turf, was found on the river bank, and there they
+bivouacked.&nbsp; The night passed without accident or adventure;
+and early next morning they were again on horseback, and across
+ridge and valley, through scenes of the strangest
+picturesqueness, pursued their track.&nbsp; Across ridge and
+valley, but in a lofty region always&mdash;just below the line of
+perpetual snow, but above the region of vegetation; the eye
+unrelieved by branch of moss or blade of grass; until, towards
+evening, they descended into the valley of the Arriga.&nbsp; Then
+they wound over a low wooded ridge, and struck into a rugged
+pass, at the head of which they encamped for the night.&nbsp; The
+tents were pitched; a huge fire blazed; and the hunter having
+shot a very fine deer, a savour of venison speedily perfumed the
+cool night air.&nbsp; What with venison and wodky, the travellers
+feasted gloriously, and the echoes rang with the wild songs of
+the Kalmucks.</p>
+<p>The morning came, and with it the signal
+&ldquo;Forward!&rdquo;&nbsp; They ascended the bank of the Arriga
+to its source&mdash;a small circular basin of about thirty feet
+<a name="page202"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+202</span>diameter, at the foot of a precipice seven or eight
+hundred feet in height.&nbsp; The basin was deep, with a bed of
+white pebbles; the water, clear as crystal, issuing forth in a
+copious stream, rolled downward in a series of small and shining
+cascades.&nbsp; The path, from this point, lay across a high
+mountain, the upper part of which was deep shrouded in snow, and
+it toiled up to the summit in about a hundred bends and curves; a
+summit like a razor-back, not more than twenty-five feet
+wide.&nbsp; The ascent was arduous and perilous, but still worse
+the descent on the other side, owing to the exceeding
+steepness.&nbsp; Accomplishing it in safety, Mr. Atkinson found
+himself in the valley of the Mein.&nbsp; The river rises at the
+foot of a precipice which reaches far above the snow line, and
+winds its course through a morass which, in the old time, has
+been a lake, shut in by a barrier of rocks, except at one narrow
+gap, where the little stream finds an exit in a fall of about
+fifty feet deep.&nbsp; At the head of the lake is another
+cataract, which throws its &ldquo;sheeted silver&rsquo;s
+perpendicular&rdquo; down the precipice in one grand leap of full
+five hundred feet.</p>
+<p>Crossing another chain, and still ascending, the explorers
+reached another little lake, the Kara-goll, or &ldquo;Black
+Lake,&rdquo; with its waters shining a deep emerald green.&nbsp;
+This effect, however, is not produced by any surrounding verdure,
+for the lake is almost encompassed by high mountains, and crags
+of red and yellowish granite, that rise up into the region of
+eternal snow.&nbsp; At the upper end a huge mass of basaltic
+rocks, of a deep grey colour, forms a fine contrast to the yellow
+castellated forms at their base.&nbsp; On the opposite side of
+the lake high precipices of <a name="page203"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 203</span>granite are backed by grand mountain
+summits, white with the snows of uncounted ages.</p>
+<p>Fording the Kara-sou, or &ldquo;black water&rdquo;&mdash;a
+stream issuing from the lake&mdash;and crossing a beautiful
+valley, the riders entered a thickly wooded region which
+stretches over the lower mountain range down to the Katounaia,
+and arrived on the bank of the river Bitchuatoo.&nbsp; Thrice had
+they changed from summer to winter in the course of a day&rsquo;s
+ride.&nbsp; Turning to the south, they ascended a steep and lofty
+summit, from which it was supposed the Bielouka would be
+visible.&nbsp; It proved to be a rocky height that towered above
+all the mountains to the west of the Katounaia, even above the
+loftiest crests of the Chelsoun; and vast and magnificent was the
+panorama which it commanded.&nbsp; In the foreground, a ridge of
+huge granite crags, tinted with mosses of almost every hue.&nbsp;
+In all directions rolled chains of snowy peaks, like the
+storm-tossed waves of a suddenly frozen sea; and as they rolled,
+they gradually ebbed, so to speak, down to the far steppes of
+Chinese Tartary, and were lost in a vapour-shrouded horizon.</p>
+<p>But the Bielouka was not to be seen, and Mr. Atkinson resumed
+his ride, keeping along the crest of the mountain for about two
+versts, and then striking into a little valley, watered by
+several lakelets.&nbsp; A dreary place!&nbsp; There were neither
+shrubs nor trees; and the barrenness of desolation was relieved
+only by a few patches of short mossy grass.&nbsp; Sharp edges of
+slate, projecting above the surface, showed that the upheaval of
+the strata had been effected perpendicularly.&nbsp; To the south
+rose &ldquo;half a mountain&rdquo; in a precipice of not less
+than 2500 feet above the lakes; while a <a
+name="page204"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 204</span>similarly
+strange combination of cliffs faced it on the north.&nbsp;
+Between these precipices, at the head of the valley, towered what
+might be taken for a colossal dome; beyond which a forest of
+white peaks were sharply defined against the blue serene.</p>
+<p>The travellers reached the head of the valley, and examined
+from a near point the enormous dome.&nbsp; From a distance the
+curve on its sides had appeared as regular as if wrought by human
+skill; but they now found that it was piled up with huge blocks
+of slate and granite, over which it would be impossible to take
+the horses.&nbsp; A steep ascent to the north brought them,
+however, to its summit.&nbsp; There the scene was sufficiently
+remarkable: you might have thought that the Titans had been at
+play, with great fragments of slate, granite, jasper, and
+porphyry for their counters.&nbsp; The horses and most of the men
+were sent round by the base of the cliffs, while Mr. Atkinson,
+with his servant and the village-hunter, scrambled through the
+chaos to the edge of a vast circular hollow, which proved to be a
+vast volcanic crater, not less than nine to twelve hundred feet
+in diameter, and fully fifty feet in depth.&nbsp; It was heaped
+up with blocks and boulders and fragments of all sizes, from a
+cube of twelve inches to a mass weighing half a hundred
+tons.&nbsp; It is a belief of the Kalmucks that this gloomy spot
+is inhabited by Shaitan, and they regard it with superstitious
+dread.&nbsp; Certainly, it is eery enough to be haunted by many a
+ghostly legend.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Next day, taking a different track, Mr. Atkinson descended the
+valley of the Tourgau, listening to the music of the stream as it
+raced over its rocky bed with <a name="page205"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 205</span>the speed of a &ldquo;swift
+Camilla.&rdquo;&nbsp; At a point where it suddenly swept round
+the base of some cliffs of slate, the Kalmuck guide said that it
+might be forded, though the passage was very difficult.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;We stood on the high bank a few minutes,&rdquo; says Mr.
+Atkinson, &ldquo;and surveyed the boiling and rushing water
+beneath, while immediately above were a succession of small
+falls, varying from six to ten feet in height.&nbsp; At the
+bottom of the last there was a rapid, extending about twenty
+paces down the river; then came another fall of greater depth;
+after which the torrent rushes onward over large stones until it
+joins the Katounaia.&nbsp; Across this rapid, between the falls,
+we had to make our passage&mdash;not one at a time, but five
+abreast, otherwise we should be swept away.&nbsp; As we could
+only descend the rocky bank in single file, and scarcely find
+room at the bottom for our horses to stand upon, it was no easy
+matter to form our party before plunging into the foaming
+water.&nbsp; Zepta was the first to descend; I followed; then
+came three others, with two led horses.&nbsp; To go straight
+across was impossible; we could only land on some shelving rocks
+a few paces above the lower fall.&nbsp; The brave Zepta gave the
+word, and we rode into the rushing waters, knee to knee.&nbsp;
+Our horses walked slowly and steadily on, as the water dashed up
+their sides; instinct making them aware of the danger, they kept
+their heads straight across the stream.&nbsp; The distance we
+forded was not more than twenty paces, but we were at least five
+minutes doing it; and it was with no small satisfaction that we
+found ourselves standing on the rocks, some twenty feet above the
+water, wishing as safe a passage to our friends.&nbsp; When I saw
+them <a name="page206"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+206</span>drawn up on the little bank, and then dash into the
+stream, I felt the danger of their position more than when
+crossing myself.&nbsp; Their horses breasted the torrent bravely,
+and all were safely landed; the dog was placed on one of the
+pack-horses, where he lay between the bags in perfect
+security.&nbsp; I am certain that every man felt a relief when
+the enterprise was accomplished, which would have been impossible
+had the water been three inches deeper.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Continuing their ride down the valley, in about ten hours the
+party reached the river Katounaia and the grassy valley through
+which it foams and flows.&nbsp; Their route lay up its banks, and
+speedily brought them to the broad swift stream of the Tourgau,
+which reflects in its water groups of cedars and birches, with
+rows of tall poplars decked in foliage of the richest
+colours.&nbsp; Fording the Tourgau, they soon afterwards came
+again upon the Katounaia, and crossing it, reached a bend in the
+valley, which presented to them the monarch of the Altai chain,
+the magnificent Bielouka.&nbsp; Its stupendous mass uplifts two
+enormous peaks, buttressed by huge rocks, which enclose a number
+of valleys or ravines filled with glaciers; these roll their
+frozen floods to the brink of the imposing precipices which
+overhang the valley of the Katounaia.</p>
+<p>Mr. Atkinson determined on attempting the ascent of this regal
+height.&nbsp; It was a bright morning when he started, and the
+two white peaks shone grandly in the early sunshine, which
+gradually dipped down into the valley, and with its fringes of
+gold touched the sombre cedars.&nbsp; An hour&rsquo;s ride
+carried him and his followers to the bifurcation of the
+Katounaia, and <a name="page207"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+207</span>then they ascended the north-eastern arm, which rises
+among the glaciers of the Bielouka.&nbsp; When they had got
+beyond the last tree that struggled up the mountain&rsquo;s side,
+they dismounted; and Mr. Atkinson, with the hunter, Zepta, and
+three Kalmucks, pressed forward on foot, leaving the others in
+charge of the horses.&nbsp; At first they clambered over the
+ruins of a mighty avalanche, which in the preceding summer had
+cloven its way down the precipices, until they reached the
+glacier, stretching far up the mountain, whence wells the
+Katounaia in two little ice-cold, transparent streams.&nbsp;
+There they halted for their mid-day meal.&nbsp; Turning to the
+west, they toiled up a terrific gorge, filled with fallen rocks
+and ice, and then climbed a rugged acclivity that, like an
+inclined plane, reached to the very base of one of the peaks of
+the Bielouka.&nbsp; Step after step they wearily but persistently
+ascended, until they reached the frozen snow, scaling which for
+about three hundred paces they reached the base of the peak,
+already at such a height as to overlook every summit of the
+Altai.&nbsp; Far away to the west the vast steppes of the Kirghiz
+were lost in the blue distance.&nbsp; To the west many a
+mountain-ridge descended towards the steppes on the east of
+Nor-Zaisan, and to the Desert of Gobi.&nbsp; The shimmer of a
+lake was visible at several points; while innumerable rivers,
+like threads of silver, traced their fantastic broidery through
+the dark green valleys.</p>
+<p>About a hundred paces further, the adventurers found
+themselves at the head of another glacier, which stretched
+westward through a deep ravine.&nbsp; Beyond it lay the great
+hollow between the two <a name="page208"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 208</span>peaks.&nbsp; This, in Mr.
+Atkinson&rsquo;s opinion, it was possible for them to reach,
+though they could not hope to ascend either peak.&nbsp; They are
+cones, he says, from eight hundred to a thousand feet high,
+covered with hard frozen snow, with a few points of the green
+slate jutting through.&nbsp; We imagine, however, that to a
+member of the Alpine Club, to any one who has conquered the
+Matterhorn or the Jungfrau, they would offer no insuperable
+difficulties.</p>
+<p>Mr. Atkinson retraced his steps in safety, gained the spot
+where the Kalmucks were waiting with the horses, and rode rapidly
+towards the place which he had selected for a camp.&nbsp; Next
+morning he proceeded to cross the mountains by a new route to the
+mouth of the river Koksa; it proved to be the most arduous of his
+many enterprises.&nbsp; Hour after hour, his Kalmuck guide led
+him through a wilderness of rocks and sand, and he rejoiced
+greatly when at last they descended towards the wooded region,
+and caught sight of the dark Katounaia winding in a deep valley
+three thousand feet below.&nbsp; They followed downwards a track
+made by animals, but, though easy for stags and deer, it was
+difficult for horses.&nbsp; In many places the only traject was a
+narrow ledge, with deep precipices beneath, and often steep,
+rugged acclivities above.&nbsp; In one place they had to ride
+over what the Kalmucks call a &ldquo;Bomb&rdquo;&mdash;a narrow
+ridge of rocks, passable only by one horse at a time.&nbsp;
+Should two persons meet on any part of these &ldquo;Bombs,&rdquo;
+one of the horses must be thrown over, as it is as impossible to
+turn round as to pass.&nbsp; On reaching the track by which the
+Kalmuck hunters ascend the mountains, Zepta called a halt, and
+sent one of his companions <a name="page209"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 209</span>on foot to the other end of the
+fearful ridge, hidden from view by some high crags, round which
+the party had to ride.&nbsp; In less than half an hour he
+returned, but without his cap, which had been left as a signal to
+any hunters who might follow, that travellers were crossing the
+&ldquo;Bomb.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>And now we shall allow Mr. Atkinson to speak
+himself:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Zepta and the hunter told me to drop the reins on my
+horse&rsquo;s neck, and he would go over with perfect
+safety.&nbsp; The former led the van; I followed, as desired, at
+three or four paces behind him.&nbsp; For the first twenty yards
+the sensation was not agreeable.&nbsp; After that I felt perfect
+confidence in the animal, and was sure, if left to himself, he
+would carry me safely over.&nbsp; The whole distance was about
+five hundred paces, and occupied about a quarter of an hour in
+crossing.&nbsp; In some places it was fearful to look
+down&mdash;on one side the rocks were nearly perpendicular for
+five or six hundred feet; and on the other, so steep, that no man
+could stand upon them.&nbsp; When over, I turned round and
+watched the others thread their way across; it was truly terrific
+to look at them on the narrow and stony path&mdash;one false
+step, and both horse and rider must be hurled into the valley a
+thousand feet below!&nbsp; These are the perils over which the
+daring sable-hunters often ride.&nbsp; With them it is a
+necessity; they risk it to obtain food, and not for bravado, or
+from foolhardy recklessness&mdash;like that of some men who ride
+their horses up and down a staircase.&nbsp; Kalmuck and Kirghiz
+would laugh at such feats.&nbsp; I have seen men who would ride
+their horses along the roof of the highest cathedral in Europe,
+if a plank, eighteen <a name="page210"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 210</span>inches wide, were secured along the
+ridge.&nbsp; Nor would they require a great wager to induce them
+to do it; theirs is a continual life of danger and hardships; and
+they never seek it unnecessarily.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>This ridge carried them across the valley, and they descended
+through a dense cedar forest to the bank of the river, where they
+supped splendidly on a fine fat buck that had fallen to the guns
+of Zepta and Mr. Atkinson.&nbsp; Next morning, they were again in
+the saddle <i>en route</i> for Ouemonia, where their safe return
+excited much popular enthusiasm.&nbsp; Bidding adieu to his
+faithful companions, he crossed the Katounaia, and with a new
+escort rode on towards the Koksa.&nbsp; Leaving it to the south,
+he struck the river Tschugash, encamped for the night in a clump
+of pines on its bank, and in a day or two arrived at his old
+quarters on the Tchenish.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Mr. Atkinson&rsquo;s next expedition was to the great Desert
+of Gobi, sometimes called <i>Scha-ho</i>, or the Sandy
+River.&nbsp; Beginning upon the confines of Chinese Tartary, its
+vast expanse of sterile wilderness stretches over some twelve
+hundred and fifty miles towards the coasts of the Pacific.&nbsp;
+It consists in the main of bare rock, shingle, and loose sand,
+alternating with fine sand, and sparsely clothed with
+vegetation.&nbsp; But a very considerable area, though for a
+great part of the year not less monotonously barren, assumes in
+the spring the appearance of an immense sea of verdure, and
+supplies abundant pasturage to the flocks and herds of the
+Mongolian nomads; who wander at will over the wide
+&ldquo;prairie-grounds,&rdquo; encamping wherever they find a
+sheltering crag or a stream of water.&nbsp; <a
+name="page211"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 211</span>The general
+elevation of the Gobi above the sea is about 3500 feet.</p>
+<p>It must be owned that the Gobi is not as black as it is
+painted.&nbsp; There are fertile nooks and oases, where the
+sedentary Mongols, and especially the Artous, sow and reap their
+annual crops of hemp, millet, and buckwheat.&nbsp; The largest is
+that of Kami.&nbsp; The gloomy picture of &ldquo;a barren plain
+of shifting sand, blown into high ridges when the summer sun is
+scorching, no rain falls, and when thick fog occurs it is only
+the precursor of fierce winds,&rdquo; <a
+name="citation211"></a><a href="#footnote211"
+class="citation">[211]</a> is true only of the eastern districts,
+such as the Han-hai, or &ldquo;Dry Sea,&rdquo; or the Sarkha
+Desert, where, for instance, you meet with scarcely any other
+vegetation than the <i>Salsoloe</i>, or salt-worts, which
+flourish round the small saline pools.&nbsp; &ldquo;In spring and
+summer,&rdquo; says Malte Brun, &ldquo;when there is no rain, the
+vegetation withers, and the sun-burnt soil inspires the traveller
+with sentiments of horror and melancholy; the heat is of short
+duration, the winter long and cold.&nbsp; The wild animals met
+with are the camel, the horse, the ass, the djiggetai, and troops
+of antelopes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>It has been observed, and not without reason, that the great
+Asiatic desert has exercised a fatal influence on the destinies
+of the human race; that it has arrested the extension of the
+Semitic civilization.&nbsp; The primitive peoples of India and
+Tibet were early civilized; but the immense wilderness which lay
+to the westward interposed an impassable barrier between them and
+the barbarous tribes of Northern Asia.&nbsp; More surely even
+than the Himalaya, more than the snow-crowned summits of Srinagur
+and Gorkha, these <a name="page212"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+212</span>desert steppes have prevented all communication, all
+fusion between the inhabitants of the north and those of the
+south of Asia; and thus it is that Tibet and India have remained
+the only regions of this part of the world which have enjoyed the
+benefits of civilization, of the refinement of manners, and the
+genius of the Aryan race.</p>
+<p>The barbarians who, when the darkness of ruin hung over the
+Roman Empire, invaded and convulsed Europe, issued from the
+steppes and table-lands of Mongolia.&nbsp; As Humboldt says <a
+name="citation212"></a><a href="#footnote212"
+class="citation">[212]</a>:&mdash;&ldquo;If intellectual culture
+has directed its course from the east to the west, like the
+vivifying light of the sun, barbarism at a later period followed
+the same route, when it threatened to plunge Europe again in
+darkness.&nbsp; A tawny race of shepherds&mdash;of Thon-Khiu,
+that is to say, Turkish origin&mdash;the Hiounguou, inhabited
+under sheep-skin tents the elevated table-land of Gobi.&nbsp;
+Long formidable to the Chinese power, a portion of the Hiounguou
+were driven south in Central Asia.&nbsp; The impulse thus given
+uninterruptedly propagated itself to the primitive country of the
+Fins, lying on the banks of the Ural, and thence a torrent of
+Huns, Avars, Chasars, and divers mixtures of Asiatic races,
+poured towards the west and south.&nbsp; The armies of the Huns
+first appeared on the banks of the Volga, then in Pannonia,
+finally on the borders of the Marne and the Po, ravaging the
+beautiful plains where, from the time of Antenor, the genius of
+man had accumulated monuments upon monuments.&nbsp; Thus blew
+from the Mongolian deserts a pestilential wind which blighted
+even in the Cisalpine plains the delicate flower of art, the
+object of cares so tender and so constant.&rdquo;</p>
+<h3><a name="page213"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+213</span>IV.</h3>
+<p>With three Cossacks, seven Kalmucks, eight rifles, and a store
+of powder and lead, Mr. Atkinson passed into the Gobi.&nbsp; His
+Kalmucks had their hair cut close, except a tuft growing on the
+top of the head, which was plaited into a long tail, and hung far
+down their back.&nbsp; The chief was named Tchuck-a-bir, a
+stalwart, powerful fellow, with a fine manly countenance, large
+black eyes, and massive forehead.&nbsp; He wore a horse-skin
+cloak, fastened round his waist with a blood-red scarf.&nbsp; In
+warm weather he drew his arms from the sleeves, which were then
+tucked into his girdle, and the cloak draped around him in
+graceful folds, adding to the dignity of his tall and robust
+form.</p>
+<p>Across the Kourt-Choum mountains the travellers took their
+way, directing their course towards the Tanguor chain, many of
+the peaks of which soar above the line of eternal snow.&nbsp;
+Ascending one of these summits, they enjoyed a noble prospect:
+immediately beneath them lay the Oubsa-Noor; to the south-west
+were visible the Oulan-Koum Desert and the Aral-Noor; to the
+south lay Tchagan Tala, and the ridges descending down to the
+Gobi; to the south-east the white crests of the Khangai
+Mountains.&nbsp; This was such a view of Central Asia as never
+before had European enjoyed.</p>
+<p>Keeping far away to the east, they approached the sources of
+the Selenga and Djabakan, in the neighbourhood of which he hoped
+to meet with the Kalka tribes.&nbsp; In a rich green valley they
+came upon one of their auls, and were hospitably received by
+Arabdan, <a name="page214"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+214</span>the chief, who, according to the custom of the desert,
+at once handed to Mr. Atkinson a bowl of tea.&nbsp; Not, indeed,
+tea as we English understand it, the clear thin fluid, sweetened
+with sugar and tempered with cream; but a thick
+&ldquo;slab&rdquo; mixture of tea, milk, butter, salt, and
+flour&mdash;tea-soup it might appropriately be called.&nbsp;
+Arabdan was tall and thin, between fifty and sixty years of age,
+dark-complexioned, with high cheek-bones, small black eyes, a
+prominent nose, and a scanty beard.&nbsp; His meagre figure was
+wrapped in a long dark-blue silk khalat, buttoned across his
+chest; in a leather girdle, adorned with a silver buckle, he
+carried his knife, flint, and steel.&nbsp; His helmet-shaped
+black silk cap was trimmed with black velvet, and looked very gay
+with its two broad red ribbons hanging down behind.&nbsp; This
+brave costume was completed by a pair of high-heeled,
+madder-coloured boots.&nbsp; As for the women, one wore a robe of
+black velvet, the other a khalat of red and green silk; the waist
+of each was defined by a broad red sash.&nbsp; Their hair was
+fantastically coiffured, falling upon their shoulders in a
+hundred small plaits, some of which glittered with coral beads,
+the principal toilette ornament of the Mongolian women.&nbsp;
+Their red leather boots were very short and high at the heels, so
+that they walked as badly and awkwardly as English ladies.&nbsp;
+The children wore little more than nature had provided them with;
+except that, by rolling in the mud, they contrived to coat their
+bodies with reddish ochre, in striking contrast to their elfin
+locks of jet black.</p>
+<p>Externally the yourts of the Kalkas resemble those of the
+Kalmucks, but they differ in the arrangements of the
+interior.&nbsp; A small low table is <a name="page215"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 215</span>placed opposite the doorway, and
+upon it the upper idols, or household gods, and several small
+metal vases, are set out.&nbsp; In some are kept grains of
+millet; in others, butter, milk, and koumis&mdash;offerings to
+the aforesaid deities.&nbsp; On the left side of this altar stand
+the boxes which contain the family property, and near them
+various domestic utensils and the indispensable koumis bag.&nbsp;
+Opposite lie several piles of voilock, on which the family take
+their rest.</p>
+<p>Immediately on Mr. Atkinson&rsquo;s arrival a sheep was slain
+to do him honour, and it was soon steaming in the iron caldron,
+with the exception of a portion broiled for his special
+delectation.&nbsp; Supper, however, was not served in the
+chief&rsquo;s yourt, but in another; to which everybody repaired
+with appetites which suggested that they had fasted for
+weeks.&nbsp; When the completest possible justice had been done
+to the mutton, men, women, and children retired to their rude
+couches.</p>
+<p>Next morning our indefatigable traveller was once more in the
+saddle.&nbsp; We cannot follow him in all the details of his
+daily journeyings, which necessarily bore a close resemblance to
+one another; but we may accompany him on a visit to the great
+Kalkas chief, Darma Tsyren.&nbsp; On entering his yourt, Mr.
+Atkinson was entertained with tea-soup as usual.&nbsp; Then, he
+says&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The chief sat down in front of me, and the two young
+men who had conducted me sat near him&mdash;they were his
+sons.&nbsp; Beyond these sat ten or twelve other Kalkas, watching
+my movements with intense interest.&nbsp; I was undoubtedly the
+first European they had ever seen.&nbsp; My large felt hat,
+shooting jacket, <a name="page216"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+216</span>and long boots, will be remembered for years to
+come&mdash;not that I think they admired the costume; theirs is
+far more picturesque.&nbsp; Presently a number of women came into
+the yourt, and at their head the wife of the chief.&nbsp; She sat
+down near him, and was joined by her daughter; the others got
+places where they could; but the gaze of all was upon me.&nbsp;
+No doubt it would have been highly amusing could I have
+understood their remarks, as they kept up an incessant
+talking.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;At this moment a Cossack brought my samovar into the
+yourt; and these people were much astonished to see the steam
+puffing out, with no fire under it.&nbsp; One man placed his hand
+on the top, and got his fingers burnt, to the great amusement of
+his friends.&nbsp; My dinner of broiled venison was brought in on
+a bright tin plate; this and the knife and fork excited their
+curiosity&mdash;such articles being quite new to them.&nbsp; They
+watched me eat my dinner, and nothing could induce them to move
+till the plates were taken away.&nbsp; Darma Tsyren had ordered a
+sheep to be killed, which had now been some time in the
+caldron.&nbsp; When the announcement was made that it was ready,
+I was soon left to myself; the whole aul, men, women, and
+children, were shortly enjoying the feast.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From Darma Tsyren Mr. Atkinson obtained the loan of four
+Kalkas and twelve horses, and taking also two of his Kalmucks and
+two Cossacks, he started on a journey to the river Toss.&nbsp; In
+the evening he and his party encamped in a pretty valley, watered
+by a small lake, which supplied them with some snipes and ducks
+for supper.&nbsp; During the night a pack of wolves visited the
+encampment.&nbsp; On receiving warning of their approach by a
+distant howl, Mr. Atkinson <a name="page217"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 217</span>loaded his double-barrelled gun and
+distributed ammunition among his people, in order to give the
+unwelcome visitors a warm reception.&nbsp; The horses were
+collected, and picketed in a spot between the camp and the
+lake.&nbsp; Nearer and nearer came the enemy; the tramp of their
+feet could be heard as they galloped forward.&nbsp; They reached
+the camp, and through the night air rang their ferocious
+howl.&nbsp; Some dry bushes flung on the fire kindled a sudden
+flame, which revealed their gaunt figures, with eyes flashing and
+ears and tails erect; and immediately a deadly volley crashed
+into their midst.&nbsp; With a yell of pain and terror they
+turned tail; and Mr. Atkinson and his party hastened to reload
+their guns, feeling certain they would return.</p>
+<p>The fire flickered down among its embers, and for a time all
+was silent.&nbsp; Then arose a stir and an alarm among the
+horses; and it was discovered that the pack had divided, one
+division stealing upon the animals from the water side, the other
+interposing between them and the camp.&nbsp; A rush and a shout
+of the Kalmucks and Kalkas drove them back; and a Cossack and a
+Kalmuck wore posted on each flank, to guard the approaches and
+give the alarm.&nbsp; Moreover, the fire was replenished, and its
+glare lighted up the scene for miles around.&nbsp; A hush, and a
+moment of expectation!&nbsp; Then might you see the hungry pack
+advancing once more to the assault, with eyeballs glaring like
+red-hot iron.&nbsp; A crack of rifles on the right was followed
+by Mr. Atkinson&rsquo;s two barrels, one of which brought down
+its victim, while the other, discharged into the midst of the
+pack, wounded two or three.&nbsp; Gradually the growling ceased;
+the wolves <a name="page218"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+218</span>again retired; but both Kalkas and Kalmucks advised
+that a close watch should be kept, as they would certainly make a
+third effort.</p>
+<p>There was little fuel left, and it was necessary, therefore,
+to be doubly vigilant.&nbsp; The night was one of deep darkness,
+without moon or stars, and nothing could be seen, even at a short
+distance, except towards the lake, where a shimmer of dubious
+light rested on the waters.&nbsp; Keen ears and eyes were on the
+alert, but no sight or sound of wolf rewarded their
+watchfulness.&nbsp; The Kalkas said the wolves were simply
+waiting until all was silent in the camp to make another dash at
+the horses.&nbsp; For a long time, however, no movement was made,
+when two of the horses grew uneasy, tugging at the thongs and
+snorting loudly.&nbsp; At the same time, the clouds cleared from
+the sky, and the stars peering forth threw more light upon the
+lake.&nbsp; Howling was heard in the distance, and Tchuck-a-bir
+declared that another pack of wolves was approaching.&nbsp; As
+they drew near, the former pack, still lurking in the shades,
+began to growl, and it seemed possible that a combined attack
+would be delivered.&nbsp; In order to renew the fire, four of the
+men, two being armed, crept along the margin of the lake,
+returning in about ten minutes, each with an armful of
+fuel.&nbsp; The embers were stirred into life, and the brushwood
+placed ready to be blown into a flame when wanted.&nbsp; Suddenly
+a great tumult arose; the other wolves had come on the scene, and
+the echoes rang with a medley of discordant sounds.&nbsp; Again
+the watchers waited; and after their patience had been tested for
+half an hour, the horses began to pull and plunge in frenzied
+terror.&nbsp; The bushes were lighted, and by <a
+name="page219"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 219</span>their blaze
+Mr. Atkinson saw a group of eight to ten wolves within fifteen
+paces.&nbsp; He fired both barrels at them; his men also fired;
+and the herd, with a frightful howl, ignominiously fled.&nbsp; At
+daylight Mr. Atkinson examined the scene of action, and found the
+carcases of eight wolves.&nbsp; With their skins as trophies, he
+returned to Darma Tsyren&rsquo;s aul.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>A day or two later, Mr. Atkinson had an adventure with
+boars.&nbsp; Leaving four men to guard the camp, he had ridden
+out, with five followers, in search of sport.&nbsp; Plunging into
+a thick copse of long grass and low bushes, they started more
+than one boar from his lair, and tracing them by their motion in
+the herbage, galloped in hot pursuit.&nbsp; As they emerged into
+the open, they could see two large dark grizzly boars about a
+couple of hundred yards ahead, and spurred after them with might
+and main.&nbsp; Rapidly they gained upon the panting brutes, and
+when within about fifty yards, Mr. Atkinson and a Cossack sprang
+from their horses, fired, and wounded one of the boars.&nbsp;
+While they reloaded, the rest of the party galloped on, and
+presently other shots wore fired.&nbsp; The boars had separated:
+one, dashing across the valley, was followed up by two of the
+men; the other was pursued by Mr. Atkinson and his Cossack.&nbsp;
+After a splendid chase, they drew near enough to see the foam on
+his mouth, and his large tusks gnashing with rage.&nbsp; The
+Cossack fired; the ball hit him, but did not check his wild,
+impetuous course.&nbsp; Swiftly Mr. Atkinson urged on his horse,
+got abreast of the animal at about twenty paces distant, and
+lodged a bullet in his shoulder.&nbsp; This stopped him, but it
+took two more shots to kill <a name="page220"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 220</span>him.&nbsp; He proved to be a noble
+fellow, weighing nine poods, or about 324 lbs., with long, sharp
+tusks, which would have been formidable weapons in a close
+encounter.</p>
+<p>Leaving the Cossack and a Kalmuck to dress the prize and
+convey it to the camp, Mr. Atkinson, after reloading his arms,
+hastened to join the rest of his party, who were in full chase on
+the other side of the river, at a distance of about three
+versts.&nbsp; He rode briskly forward, but the hunt was at an end
+before he reached the river.&nbsp; His followers, on joining him,
+announced that they had killed a large boar, though not the one
+first started.&nbsp; He had escaped, and while they were
+searching for his trail amid some reeds and bushes, a large boar
+sprang in among them, and charged at a Cossack&rsquo;s
+horse.&nbsp; When within three or four paces of his intended
+victim he was stopped by a bullet from Tchuck-a-bir&rsquo;s
+rifle; but he got away before a second shot could be fired, and
+an animated chase began.&nbsp; He received several balls, but
+they seemed to have no effect on his impenetrable hide.&nbsp;
+Rushing into the river, he swam across, at a point where it
+expanded into a deep broad pool; the men followed him, and a ball
+from one of the Kalmucks inflicted a severe wound.&nbsp; Furious
+with rage and pain, he dashed full at the man who had wounded
+him; the Kalmuck dexterously wheeled his horse aside, and a ball
+from Tchuck-a-bir laid the monster dead.&nbsp; With two large
+boars as the spoils of their prowess, Mr. Atkinson and his
+&ldquo;merry men&rdquo; returned to camp triumphant.</p>
+<p>Mr. Atkinson next travelled in a southerly direction for two
+days; after which he turned to the west, and <a
+name="page221"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 221</span>struck upon
+the river Ouremjour; his object being to enter the Gobi to the
+north of the great chain of the Thian-Chan, or, as he calls them,
+Syan-Shan Mountains.&nbsp; These are the highest in Central Asia,
+and amongst them rises that stupendous mass, Bogda O&ouml;la,
+with the volcanoes Pe-shan and Hothaou, to see which was his
+leading purpose and aim.&nbsp; He gives an animated description
+of his approach to the Syan-Shan.&nbsp; A bright sun was rising
+behind the wayfarer, but its rays had not yet gilded the snowy
+peaks in his front.&nbsp; As he rode onward he watched for the
+first bright gleam that lighted up the ice and snow on Bogda
+O&ouml;la; presently the great crest reddened with a magical
+glow, which gradually spread over the rugged sides, and as it
+descended, changed into yellow and then into silvery white.&nbsp;
+For many minutes Bogda O&ouml;la was bathed in sunshine before
+the rays touched any of the lower peaks.&nbsp; But in due time
+summit after summit shot rapidly into the brave red light, and at
+last the whole chain shone in huge waves of molten silver, though
+a hazy gloom still clothed the inferior ranges.&nbsp; In these
+atmospheric effects we cannot but recognize a marvellous grandeur
+and impressiveness; there is something sublimely weird in the
+sudden changes they work among the stupendous mountain
+masses.&nbsp; Onward fared the traveller, obtaining a still finer
+view of Bogda O&ouml;la, and of some of the other peaks to the
+west; but, as the day advanced, the clouds began to fold around
+its head, and the huge peak was soon clothed with thick surging
+wreaths of vapour.&nbsp; The lower range of the Syan-Shan is
+picturesque in the extreme; jagged peaks stand out in bold relief
+against the snow-shrouded masses, which tower up some <a
+name="page222"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 222</span>eight to
+ten thousand feet above them, while the latter are clothed with a
+luminous purple mist that seems not to belong to this
+world.&nbsp; Mr. Atkinson continued his route in a north-westerly
+direction, towards one of the lower chains which run nearly
+parallel with the Syan-Shan.&nbsp; Thence he could see the Bogda
+O&ouml;la in all its grand sublimity, and the volcanic peak
+Pe-shan, with black crags outlined against the snow, still
+further to the west; while beyond these a long line of
+snow-capped summits melted into the vaporous distance.</p>
+<p>In the course of his wanderings in Chinese Tartary, our
+traveller saw much of the Kirghiz chiefs, the Sultans of the
+steppes.&nbsp; On one occasion, while riding in the sterile
+desert, he fell in with the aul of Sultan Ishonac Khan&mdash;a
+stoutly built man, with strong-marked Kalmuck features, who, in
+right of his descent from the famous Genghiz Khan, wore an
+owl&rsquo;s feather suspended from the top of his cap.&nbsp; His
+costume was gallant and gay; Chinese silk, richly
+embroidered.</p>
+<p>About fifty versts to the south of Sultan Ishonac&rsquo;s aul,
+lie the Barluck Mountains, situated between the Tarbagatai and
+the Alatou Mountains, and eastward of the small rocky chain of
+the Ala-Kool, which extends some sixty versts from east to west,
+and measures about twenty-five in breadth.&nbsp; The highest
+summit is not more than three thousand feet above the
+plain.&nbsp; Vegetation thrives on the lower slopes, but the
+upper parts are gloomily bare.&nbsp; From Sultan Ishonac Khan Mr.
+Atkinson obtained a loan of fresh horses, and of eight of his
+Kirghiz to escort him to the Tarbagatai.&nbsp; A dreary ride <a
+name="page223"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 223</span>it
+was,&mdash;over sandy hills, through sandy valleys, where not
+even a blade of grass was green.&nbsp; In many places the ground
+was thickly covered with a saline incrustation, which the
+horses&rsquo; feet churned up into a pungent dust, that filled
+every mouth and caused intolerable thirst.&nbsp; Welcome was the
+glimmer of a lake that relieved by its sparkle the dulness of the
+landscape; but when horse and man rushed forward to drink of its
+waters, to their intense disappointment they found them bitter as
+those of Marah.&nbsp; Not till the evening of the fifth day, when
+they reached the river Eremil, did they enjoy the luxury of fresh
+water.</p>
+<p>Next day they reached the Tarbagatai, in the neighbourhood of
+the Chinese town of Tchoubuchack, and encamped for the night at
+the foot of a great tumulus or barrow, about one hundred and
+fifty feet high, which is surrounded by many smaller
+barrows.&nbsp; They are the last resting-places of a Kirghiz
+chief and his people, who belonged to a remote generation, and to
+a race of which these tumuli are the only memorials.&nbsp;
+Another day&rsquo;s ride, and they arrived at the aul of Sultan
+Iamantuck, of whom and his family Mr. Atkinson speaks as by far
+the most intelligent people he met with in this part of
+Asia.&nbsp; The aul was pitched among high conical tombs of
+sun-burnt bricks, the cemetery of the Sultan&rsquo;s ancestors;
+and it appears that once a year it was regularly visited by their
+pious descendant and representative.&nbsp; With another relay of
+horses and a fresh Kirghiz escort, Mr. Atkinson dashed onward,
+undeterred by the dreariness of the sandy level, where neither
+water nor grass was to be found, and the only living things were
+tarantulas and scorpions.&nbsp; His course lay direct for the
+Alatou <a name="page224"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+224</span>(&ldquo;Variegated Mountains&rdquo;), and he could see
+the shining peaks of the Actou (&ldquo;White Mountain&rdquo;),
+which forms its highest crest, and raises its summits fourteen to
+fifteen thousand feet above the sea.&nbsp; After fording the
+broad deep stream of the Yeljen-sa-gash, he arrived on the shore
+of Lake Ala-kool, measuring about sixty-five versts in length by
+twenty in width, with a rocky island near the north shore,
+erroneously described by Humboldt as the site of a volcano.&nbsp;
+It has no outlet, yet it receives the tribute of eight rivers;
+the water is carried off by evaporation.</p>
+<p>Here Mr. Atkinson struck westward to find the aul of Sultan
+Bak, the Rothschild of the steppes; a man who owns ten thousand
+horses, and a proportionate number of camels, sheep, and
+oxen.&nbsp; Wealthy men are not always well disposed towards
+stranger guests, and Sultan Bak evinced his dislike of intrusion
+by sending Mr. Atkinson a diseased sheep!&nbsp; This was
+immediately returned, with an intimation that Mr. Atkinson wanted
+neither his company nor his gifts; he was the first Sultan who
+had shown himself so discourteous, and though he had a large
+body, it was clear his heart was that of a mouse.&nbsp; It is not
+surprising that a message of this kind provoked him to
+wrath.&nbsp; He ordered the intruders to quit his aul; if they
+did not, his men should drive them into the lake.&nbsp; But when
+he found that they were well armed, that discretion which is the
+better part of valour enabled him to subdue his temper; he sent
+one of his finest sheep as a peace-offering, with an assurance
+that they might stay as long as they liked, and should have men
+and horses when they left.&nbsp; Evidently the Kirghiz patriarch
+knew how to make the best of a bad situation.</p>
+<p><a name="page225"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+225</span>Accompanied by his poet, he paid a visit to Mr.
+Atkinson&rsquo;s camp, supped heartily off his own mutton, and
+exchanged the warmest professions of friendship.&nbsp; The
+minstrel, at his master&rsquo;s bidding, sang wild songs to
+wilder tunes in glorification of the prowess and freebooting
+expeditions of the Sultan and his ancestors, to the great
+edification of the listening Kirghiz.&nbsp; So the evening passed
+peacefully, and the Sultan and the white man parted on cordial
+terms.&nbsp; Next day, Mr. Atkinson was riding towards the
+Karatou, a mountainous chain of dark purple slate; and six days
+later he visited Sultan Boubania, on the river Lepson.&nbsp; In
+the neighbourhood were many large tumuli, the largest being the
+most ancient.&nbsp; One of these was built up of stone, and
+formed a circle of 364 feet in diameter, with a dome-like mound
+thirty-three feet in height.&nbsp; Tradition has not preserved
+the name of the dead honoured with so extraordinary a memorial;
+the Kirghiz attribute it to demons working under the direction of
+Shaitan.&nbsp; Another kind of tumulus, of more recent
+construction, was circular in plan, but carried up to the height
+of fifty-four feet, in the shape of &ldquo;a blast
+furnace,&rdquo; with an aperture at the top, and lateral opening
+two feet square and four feet from the ground.&nbsp; In the
+interior were two graves covered with large blocks of
+stone.&nbsp; According to the Kirghiz, these tombs were built by
+the people who inhabited the country before the Kalmucks.&nbsp; A
+third kind, of sunburnt bricks, and Mohammedan in design, are
+ascribed to Timour Khan and his race.</p>
+<p>Through the rocky gorge of the Bal&iuml;&iuml;tz, Mr. Atkinson
+commenced his ascent of the Alatou.&nbsp; His eye rested with
+pleasure on the richly coloured rocks <a name="page226"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 226</span>that composed the cliffs on either
+side&mdash;deep red porphyry, flecked with veins of white; slate,
+jasper, and basalt.&nbsp; He explored several of the valleys that
+break up the lower mass of the mountain chain, and rode along
+many of its elevated ridges.&nbsp; Sometimes the roar of torrents
+filled his ears; sometimes bright streams and sources sparkled in
+the sunshine; sometimes he saw before him a fair mosaic of wild
+flowers; sometimes the landscape was ennobled by the conspicuous
+figures of white mountain peaks, relieved by a background of deep
+blue sky; sometimes the distant vapours hovered wraith-like above
+the calm surface of Lake Tengiz.&nbsp; From a plateau not far
+beneath the line of perpetual snow he obtained a noble view of
+the Actou, and, to the south, of the lofty and picturesque peaks
+of the Alatou; while, nearer at hand, the river Ara poured its
+thunderous waters into a gorge some thousand feet in depth.&nbsp;
+The plateau was covered with tumuli; one of which, measuring two
+hundred feet in diameter and forty feet in height, was enclosed
+within a trench, twelve feet wide and six feet deep.&nbsp; On the
+west side stood four masses of large stones in circles; the
+altars, perhaps, on which, long ago, victims were sacrificed to
+appease some sanguinary deity.&nbsp; It is a tradition of the
+Kirghiz that these antiquities belonged to a native who, for some
+unknown cause, determined on a great act of murder and
+self-destruction, and that they were constructed before the
+terrible work was begun.&nbsp; They say that the father killed
+his wife and all his children, excepting the eldest son, on whom
+devolved the duty of killing, first his father, and then
+himself.</p>
+<p>Mr. Atkinson visited, near the river Kopal, the <a
+name="page227"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 227</span>Arasan, or
+warm spring, which wells up in the centre Of a ravine formed of
+yellow and purple marbles.&nbsp; Its temperature, all round the
+year, is 29&prime; R. or 97&deg; F.&nbsp; Here, in a remote past,
+the Kalmucks built a bath, which is still frequented by Tartars,
+Kirghiz, and Chinese.&nbsp; The waters, it is said, are
+wonderfully beneficial for scurvy and other cutaneous
+disorders.</p>
+<p>Another route carried him to the Tamchi-Boulac, or
+&ldquo;Dropping Spring,&rdquo; at the foot of the Alatou.&nbsp;
+The water oozes out of columnar cliffs in myriads of tiny streams
+that glitter like showers of diamonds; while in some parts they
+seem changed to drops of liquid fire by the reflected colouring
+of the rocks, which vary in colour from a bright yellow to a deep
+red.</p>
+<p>For one hundred and three days Mr. Atkinson wandered among the
+Alatou Mountains, exploring peak, precipice, valley, and ravine;
+surveying torrent and river and waterfall; now ascending far
+above the line of perpetual snow, now descending into warm and
+sheltered woods, where the greensward was enamelled with
+blossoms.&nbsp; From the eastern end of the Alatou, a seventeen
+days&rsquo; ride over hill and steppe brought him to the Russian
+frontier and the comforts of civilization at Semipalatinsk.&nbsp;
+But, almost as strongly possessed with the spirit of continuous
+motion as the Wandering Jew in the grim old legend, he next set
+forth on a journey across Siberia, from its western boundary on
+the Irtisch, to its Oriental capital, Irkutsk.&nbsp; In the
+course of his long journey he visited the Saian Mountains;
+ascended the valley of the Oka; explored a bed of lava and a
+volcanic crater in the valley of the Ojem-a-louk; rode across the
+rugged shoulder of Nouk-a-Daban; and descended <a
+name="page228"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 228</span>the little
+river Koultouk to Lake Baikal, or, as the natives call it, the
+Holy Sea.&nbsp; Hiring a small boat, with a crew of seven men, he
+crossed the lake to the mouth of the river Angara.&nbsp; Baikal
+is the third largest lake in Asia&mdash;about four hundred miles
+in length, and varying in breadth from nineteen miles to
+seventy.&nbsp; Though fed by numerous streams, it has only one
+outlet, the Angara, a tributary of the Yenisei.&nbsp; Lying deep
+among the Baikal Mountains, an off-shoot of the Altai, it
+presents some vividly coloured and striking scenery.&nbsp; Its
+fisheries are valuable.&nbsp; In the great chain of communication
+between Russia and China it holds an important place, and of late
+years its navigation has been conducted by steamboats.&nbsp; The
+native peoples inhabiting its borders are the Buriats and
+Tungusians.</p>
+<p>Mr. Atkinson spent eight and twenty days in exploring this
+Alpine sea, and afterwards proceeded to Irkutsk. <a
+name="citation228"></a><a href="#footnote228"
+class="citation">[228]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page229"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+229</span>ALEXINA TINN&Eacute;<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND HER WANDERINGS IN THE
+SOUDAN.</span></h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">About</span> 1862, letters from
+Khart&ucirc;m, the capital of Nubia, stimulated the curiosity of
+European geographers by announcing that three courageous ladies
+had undertaken a journey into Central Africa, with the view of
+reaching those mysterious Sources of the Nile which, for
+generations, had been the object of Western research.&nbsp; At
+first the news was received with suspicion; many persons did not
+hesitate to speak of it as a hoax; but incredulity vanished as
+the information grew more copious and more precise, and it became
+known that the guiding spirit of the adventure was a certain Miss
+Alexandrina or Alexina Tinn&eacute;, a lady of great personal
+charms and very wealthy.&nbsp; It was then unanimously agreed
+that she was one of those brave daughters of England who, in the
+Continental belief, will go anywhere and do anything that is
+hazardous or eccentric.&nbsp; And though of Dutch extraction she
+really did owe something to English influences.&nbsp; Her father
+was a Dutch merchant who, after acquiring an ample fortune in
+Demerara, was naturalised in England, and finally settled at
+Liverpool.&nbsp; He died while Alexina (born in October, <a
+name="page230"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 230</span>1835) was
+still a child, but the wealthy heiress was brought up by her
+mother as befitted her social position.&nbsp; What impelled her,
+in her young maidenhood, to plunge into the dangers of African
+exploration&mdash;whether her action was due to a love of
+adventure, a thirst after knowledge, a spirit rebelling against
+the conventionalisms of society, or to baffled hope and slighted
+affection&mdash;does not seem to be known.&nbsp; But it is
+certain that about 1859 she set out from the Hague, accompanied
+by her mother and aunt, and visited various parts of Egypt and
+Syria.&nbsp; For some months she resided at Beirut and Tripoli;
+next she repaired to Damascus; afterwards, to the ruins of
+Palmyra, haunted by the memory of Zenobia; and, finally, she
+dreamed of imitating the romantic career of Lady Hester Stanhope,
+and installing herself as Queen of the Lebanon.&nbsp; Her mood,
+however, changed suddenly; she returned to Europe, not to resume
+the monotonous habits of social life, but to make preparations
+for an expedition in search of the Sources of the Nile.</p>
+<p>In this daring project she appears to have been encouraged
+partly by her own fearlessness of nature; partly by the example
+of Mrs. Petherick, wife of the English consul at Khart&ucirc;m,
+whose fame had spread far and wide; and partly by the flattering
+thought that it might be reserved for her, a woman, to succeed
+where so many brave men had failed, and to be the first to solve
+the great enigma of the Nilotic sphynx.&nbsp; What immortality
+would be hers if she triumphed over every danger and difficulty,
+and stood, where no European as yet had stood, on the margin of
+the remote well-head, the long secret <a name="page231"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 231</span>spring, whence issued the waters of
+Egypt&rsquo;s historic river!&nbsp; It must be owned that in this
+ambitious hope there was nothing mean or unworthy, and that it
+could have been possible only to a high and courageous
+nature.</p>
+<p>She set out in the month of July, 1861, still accompanied by
+her mother and her aunt, two ladies of mediocre character, who
+readily yielded to the influence of a stronger mind.&nbsp; A part
+of the winter was spent in a pleasant country house in one of the
+suburbs of Cairo&mdash;a kind of palace of white marble, situated
+in the midst of odorous gardens, and looking out upon the ample
+Nile and the giant forms of the Pyramids.&nbsp; There they made
+extensive preparations for the contemplated journey; while
+Alexina spent many thoughtful hours in studying the map of
+Africa, in tracing the sinuosities of the White Nile above its
+point of junction with the Blue, in laying down the route which
+should carry her and her companions into the regions of the great
+lakes.</p>
+<p>It was on the 9th of January, 1862, that she and her
+companions directed their course towards Upper Egypt, voyaging in
+three boats, attended by a numerous train of guides, guards, and
+servants.&nbsp; In the largest and most commodious
+&ldquo;dahabeeyah&rdquo; were installed the three ladies, with
+four European servants and a Syrian cook.&nbsp; Alexina&rsquo;s
+journal, it is said, preserves many curious details in
+unconscious illustration of the mixed character of the
+expedition, which might almost have been that of a new Cleopatra
+going to meet a new Mark Antony; we see the Beauty there as well
+as the Heroine&mdash;the handsome woman who is mindful of her
+toilette appliances, <a name="page232"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 232</span>as well as the courageous explorer,
+who does not forget her rifle and cartridges.</p>
+<p>Passing in safety the first cataract, Miss
+Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s expedition duly arrived at Kousko; where she
+and her companions took a temporary leave of the Nile, tourists,
+and civilization, and struck across the sandy desert of Kousko to
+Abu-Hammed, in order to avoid the wide curve which the river
+there makes to the westward.&nbsp; The caravan, besides Miss
+Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s domestics, included six guides and
+twenty-five armed men.&nbsp; Of camels loaded with baggage and
+provisions, and dromedaries which carried the members of her
+suite, there were a hundred and ten.&nbsp; The desert did not
+prove so dreary as it had been painted; sand and rock were often
+relieved by patches of blooming vegetation; the monotony of the
+plains was often broken by ridges of swelling hills.&nbsp; The
+camels every evening browsed contentedly on the herbage, and
+quenched their thirst in the basins of water that sparkled in the
+rocky hollows.</p>
+<p>The time usually required for crossing the desert is eight to
+nine days; but as Alexina advanced very leisurely, by daily
+stages not exceeding seven or eight hours, she occupied nearly
+three weeks.&nbsp; In spite of this easy mode of travelling, her
+mother was so fatigued that, on arriving at Abu-Hammed, on the
+banks of the Nile, she insisted they should again take to the
+river.&nbsp; A dahabeeyah was accordingly hired, along with six
+stalwart boatmen, who swore on the Koran to keep pace with the
+swiftest dromedaries.&nbsp; So while the caravan tramped onwards
+through the burning, shifting sand, Alexina and her companions
+voyaged up the Nile; but the rowers <a name="page233"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 233</span>soon proved false to their promises,
+slackened their oars, and allowed the caravan to outstrip
+them.&nbsp; When reproached with their lethargy, they excused
+themselves on the score of the arduousness of their work and the
+great heat of the sun.</p>
+<p>Meanwhile, the caravan had made considerable progress, and at
+nightfall tents were pitched and fires lighted.&nbsp; As no
+dahabeeyah could be seen, men were sent in search of it; but in
+vain.&nbsp; No news of it was obtained until the following day,
+when it was ascertained that the Egyptian boatmen had at last
+laid down their oars in sullen indolence, and that Miss
+Tinn&eacute; and her companions had been compelled to spend the
+night in a Nubian village.&nbsp; The misadventure taught them the
+lesson that in Eastern countries it is generally wiser to trust
+to brutes than to men; the boatmen were dismissed, and the
+travellers once more joined the caravan.</p>
+<p>But the heat proved insupportable, driving them to make a
+second experiment of the river traject.&nbsp; A boat was again
+hired; again they embarked on the glittering Nile; and again an
+evil fortune attended them.&nbsp; Instead of reaching Berber, as
+they should have done, in four days, the voyage was extended to
+over a week; but it was some compensation for their fatigue when,
+at two hours&rsquo; march from the city, they were received by
+some thirty chiefs, mounted upon camels, and attended by
+janizaries in splendid attire, who, with much pomp and
+circumstance, escorted them to the gates of Berber.&nbsp; There
+they were received by the governor with every detail of Oriental
+etiquette, installed in pavilions in his gardens, and waited upon
+in a spirit of the most courteous hospitality.&nbsp; <a
+name="page234"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 234</span>No longer
+in need of a complete caravan, Miss Tinn&eacute; dismissed her
+camel-drivers; but, desirous of leaving upon their minds an
+enduring impression, she rewarded them with almost prodigal
+liberality.&nbsp; Her gold coins were so lavishly distributed,
+that the Arabs, in surprise and delight, broke out into
+unaccustomed salutations; and to this very day, remembering her
+largesses, they sing of her glory, as if she had revived the
+splendour of Palmyra.</p>
+<p>There was a policy in this apparently thoughtless
+profusion.&nbsp; As a natural result, her reputation everywhere
+preceded her; hospitality was pressed upon her with an eagerness
+which may have been dictated by selfish motives, but was not the
+less acceptable to her and her companions.&nbsp; Women, gathering
+round her, prostrated themselves at her feet.&nbsp; The young
+girls danced merrily at her approach; they took her for a
+princess, or, at least, they saluted her as such.</p>
+<p>After a residence of some weeks at Berber, the adventurous
+ladies hired three boats, and ascended the Nile to Khart&ucirc;m,
+the capital of the Egyptian Soudan.&nbsp; Situated at the
+confluence of the White and Blue Nile, it is the centre of an
+important commerce, and the rendezvous of almost all the caravans
+of Nubia and the Upper Nile.&nbsp; Unfortunately, it is one of
+the world&rsquo;s <i>cloacin&aelig;</i>, a kind of moral
+cesspool, into which the filth and uncleanness of many nations
+pours&mdash;Italians, Germans, Frenchmen, Englishmen, whom their
+own countries have repudiated; political gamblers, who have
+played their best card and failed; fraudulent bankrupts,
+unscrupulous speculators, men who have nothing to hope, nothing
+to lose, and are too callous to fear.&nbsp; The great scourge of
+the place, <a name="page235"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+235</span>down to a very recent date, was the cruel
+slave-traffic, at that time carried on with the connivance of the
+Egyptian Government.&nbsp; Recently the energetic measures of
+Colonel Gordon have done much towards the extirpation of this
+cancerous growth, and even the moral atmosphere of the town has
+been greatly purified.&nbsp; To Alexina Tinn&eacute; the place
+was sufficiently loathsome; but a residence of some weeks&rsquo;
+duration, while preparations were made for the advance into
+Central Africa, was imperative.&nbsp; She did what she could to
+avoid coming into contact with the &ldquo;society&rdquo; of
+Khart&ucirc;m, and exerted all her energies to stimulate the
+labours of her subordinates, so that she might depart at the
+earliest possible moment.&nbsp; At length, provisions were
+collected, and a supply of trinkets to be used as gifts or in
+barter; an escort of thirty-eight men, including ten soldiers
+fully armed, and all bearing a good character for
+trustworthiness, was engaged; and, finally, she hired for the
+heavy sum of ten thousand francs, a small steamboat, belonging to
+Prince Halim.&nbsp; With a glad heart she quitted Khart&ucirc;m,
+and resumed the ascent of the White Nile, passing through a
+succession of landscapes fair and fertile.&nbsp; As for the
+river, its quiet beauty charmed her; and she compared it to
+Virginia Lake, the pretty basin of water that sparkles in the
+leafy shades of Windsor Forest.&nbsp; Its banks are richly
+clothed with trees, chiefly gumtrees, which frequently attain the
+dimensions of the oak.&nbsp; But the graceful tamarisk is also
+abundant, and myriads of shrubs furnish the blue ape with a
+refuge and a home.&nbsp; The air glitters with the many-coloured
+wings of swarms of birds.&nbsp; On the bright surface of the
+stream spread the broad leaves and <a name="page236"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 236</span>white petals of colossal lilies,
+among which the hippopotamus and the crocodile pursue their
+unwieldy gambols.</p>
+<p>How marvellous the effects of colour when this magical scene
+is bathed in the hot rays of the sunshine!&nbsp; Through the
+transparent air every object is seen with a distinct outline, and
+the sense of distance is overcome.&nbsp; Where a shadow falls it
+is defined as sharply as on canvas; there is no softening or
+confusing mist; you see everything as in a mirror.&nbsp; In the
+noontide heats all nature is as silent here as in a virgin
+forest; but when the cool breath of evening begins to be felt,
+and that luminous darkness, which is the glory of a summer night
+in Central Africa, spreads softly over the picture, the multiform
+life of earth swiftly re-awakens; birds and butterflies hover in
+the air, the monkeys chatter merrily, and leap from bough to
+bough.&nbsp; The sounds which then break forth&mdash;song and hum
+and murmur, the roll of the river, the din of insects, the cries
+of the wild beasts&mdash;seem all to mingle in one grand vesper
+hymn, proclaiming the might and majesty of the Creator.&nbsp;
+These are generally hushed as the night wears on; and then
+myriads of fireflies and glow-worms light their tiny torches and
+illuminate the dark with a magical display; while the air is
+charged with sweet and subtle odours exhaled from the corollas of
+the plants which open only during the cool and tranquil
+hours.</p>
+<p>While slowly making her way up the river, Alexina encountered
+an Egyptian pasha, who was returning with a booty of slaves from
+a recent razzia.&nbsp; She eagerly implored him to set the
+unhappy captives <a name="page237"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+237</span>free, and when her solicitations failed, purchased
+eight of the poor creatures, to whom she immediately gave their
+liberty, supplying them also with provisions.&nbsp; This has been
+termed an act of Quixotism; it was rather one of generous womanly
+enthusiasm, and to our thinking redeems the failings of Alexina
+Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s character&mdash;compensates for the follies
+and frivolities which encumbered her enterprise.&nbsp; Her heart
+was true to every gentle impulse, and she ceased not to suffer
+keenly at the sight of the wretched condition of the poor negroes
+who fell victims to an unholy traffic.</p>
+<p>This traffic had aroused such feelings of hatred and revenge
+in the breasts of the riverine tribes of the Nile, that the
+passage of the river had become very dangerous, and the journey
+by land almost impossible.&nbsp; The natives looked upon every
+white man as a Turk and a slave-dealer; and when a boat appeared
+on the horizon, mothers cried with terror to their children,
+&ldquo;The Tourk&eacute;, the Tourk&eacute; are
+coming!&rdquo;&nbsp; The scarlet tarbouch, or fez, added to the
+repulsion.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is the colour of blood just
+spilled,&rdquo; said a negro to his family.&nbsp; &ldquo;It never
+fades,&rdquo; they said; &ldquo;the Turk renews it constantly in
+the blood of the poor black men.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Fortunately, they were able to distinguish between the boats
+of the slave-dealers and Alexina Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s
+steamer.&nbsp; Twice or thrice they approached the latter; at
+first not without fear, but afterwards with good courage.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Is the young lady who commands,&rdquo; they asked,
+&ldquo;the Sultan&rsquo;s sister?&nbsp; Does she come to assist
+or to persecute us?&rdquo;&nbsp; When fully informed of the
+object of her pacific expedition, they rapidly grew familiar and
+ventured on board her boat.&nbsp; &ldquo;Since you <a
+name="page238"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 238</span>mean no
+evil against us,&rdquo; they cried, &ldquo;we will do <i>you</i>
+no harm; we will love you!&rdquo;&nbsp; They accepted from her
+hands a cup of tea, and courteously drank it without manifesting
+their repugnance; and they explained to her their usages and
+manners, and supplied her with interesting information respecting
+the surrounding country.&nbsp; Her reception was so much to her
+mind, that she would have remained for some time among this
+kindly people, had she not felt bound to prosecute her journey to
+the south.</p>
+<p>Once more the sails were unfurled, the fires lighted, and the
+steamer ploughed its steady course towards the land of the
+Derikas.&nbsp; Two or three villages were seen on the river
+banks, but the landscape was bare and bland, and the adventurous
+Alexina pursued her voyage until she reached Mount Hunaya.&nbsp;
+There she landed and pitched her tents.&nbsp; When it was known
+to be her design to remain in this encampment during the rainy
+season, her followers raised a vehement opposition, protesting
+that they would be devoured by lions or trampled to death by
+elephants.&nbsp; Their mistress, however, remained firm in her
+intention; but as the steamer was in need of repair, she sent it
+back to Khart&ucirc;m in charge of her aunt.</p>
+<p>It was during this lady&rsquo;s enforced residence at
+Khart&ucirc;m that she made the acquaintance of an Englishman and
+his wife, whose names have become household words in every
+civilized nation&mdash;Sir Samuel and Lady Baker.&nbsp; Sir
+Samuel, who belongs to the illustrious company of African
+explorers, began his career of adventure by founding an
+agricultural colony at Nuvera Ellia&mdash;that is, six thousand
+feet above the sea, among the breezy mountain peaks <a
+name="page239"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 239</span>of
+Ceylon.&nbsp; In 1855 he visited the Crimea, and afterwards he
+was engaged in superintending in Turkey the organization of its
+first railway.&nbsp; In 1861 he started with his wife on a
+journey of discovery in Central Africa, with the design of
+meeting the Government expedition, which, under Captain Speke,
+had been despatched in search of the Nile sources.&nbsp; In
+nearly a year he and his wife explored the Abyssinian highlands,
+which form the cradle of the Blue Nile, arriving at Khart&ucirc;m
+in June, 1862.&nbsp; There he collected a large company to ascend
+the Upper Nile, and setting out in December, 1862, he reached
+Gondokoro in February, 1863, in time to meet Captain Speke and
+Grant returning victoriously from their discovery of the Victoria
+Nyanza.&nbsp; Baker furnished them with the means of transport to
+Khart&ucirc;m, and then pushed forward across a district infested
+by slave-hunters, until he fell in with a great fresh-water
+basin, the Luta N&rsquo;zize, which he christened the Albert
+Lake, or Nyanza, and ascertained to be one of the chief
+reservoirs or feeders of the Nile.&nbsp; He returned to England
+in 1866.&nbsp; Three years later, he accepted from the Khedive of
+Egypt the command of a military force, with unlimited powers, for
+the purpose of annexing savage Africa to the civilized world, and
+opening up its fertile lake-regions to the enterprise of
+legitimate commerce.&nbsp; The work, which was well done,
+occupied him until 1873, and was afterwards carried on by Colonel
+Gordon.</p>
+<p>In all his adventures, which, as we shall see, were often of a
+most critical character, Sir Samuel was accompanied by his wife,
+whose sympathy consoled, while her example inspired him.&nbsp;
+This brave and <a name="page240"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+240</span>chivalrous lady gave abundant proof of her heroic
+courage, her devoted affection, and her indomitable
+resolution.</p>
+<p>When the repairs of her vessel were completed, Alexina
+Tinn&eacute; returned to Gebel Hunaya.&nbsp; She was received
+with shouts of joy, and with a salute of several pieces of
+artillery, which awakened the greatest trepidation among the
+natives.&nbsp; Some few incidents had occurred during her
+absence, but none of a very notable character.&nbsp; One morning,
+Alexina was reading at a short distance from the camp.&nbsp;
+Feeling thirsty, she turned towards a rivulet which sparkled
+among the herbage close at hand; but as she approached it, the
+dog which accompanied her barked loudly with affright, and showed
+a manifest unwillingness to draw nearer to the rocks impending
+over the stream.&nbsp; Accepting this intimation of danger,
+Alexina stepped forward very cautiously, and soon discovered a
+young panther lurking behind the rugged boulders.&nbsp; She had
+the presence of mind to stand perfectly still, while she summoned
+her soldiers and servants to her assistance.&nbsp; They speedily
+came up, and, drawing a cordon round the animal, succeeded in
+capturing it alive.&nbsp; On another occasion, her men killed,
+before her eyes, a huge crocodile, which was duly stuffed as a
+trophy.&nbsp; They also caught a great ape, whose head was
+covered with long hair, mixed black and white.&nbsp; The animal
+would have been a valuable specimen of the African fauna, but,
+unfortunately, it died within a few months of its capture.</p>
+<p>On the 7th of July, the steamer, which was heavily loaded and
+towed two boats, left Hunaya, to continue its course up the
+river.&nbsp; Between Hunaya and the <a name="page241"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 241</span>confluence of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
+(the Gazelle river) the scenery is far from being attractive; the
+river banks are arid, and sunburnt.&nbsp; Here and there,
+however, grow clumps of whispering reeds and aquatic plants;
+while, at other points, the river overflows its limits for two or
+three thousand yards, creating, on each side, an inaccessible
+swamp.</p>
+<p>The voyagers did not pause until they reached the settlement
+of an Arab chief, named Mohammed-Cher, who by his audacity had
+subjected the neighbouring tribes, and ruled supreme over this
+part of the Soudan.&nbsp; When, as frequently happened, he was in
+want of money, he exercised the right of the strong hand, and, at
+the head of his freebooters, sallied forth; destroying villages,
+slaying the male inhabitants, seizing upon the women and
+children, and carrying off the cattle.&nbsp; He loved to surround
+himself with barbaric pomp, and paraded upon a magnificent horse,
+the saddle of which was embroidered with gold and silver, and
+sparkled with precious stones.&nbsp; But when our voyagers
+arrived at his village, this great warrior showed signs of
+recreancy; he was terrified by the Turkish soldiers who occupied
+the steamer&rsquo;s deck.&nbsp; It was supposed to be owing to
+this spasm of alarm that he received the ladies with royal
+honours, sending them sheep, oxen, fruit, vegetables, dancers,
+arch&aelig;ological curiosities; in short, he seemed anxious to
+offer them all he possessed.&nbsp; Afterwards, however, the
+secret of his ready liberality came out; the swarthy chieftain
+thought he was doing honour to the favourite daughter of the
+Grand Turk&mdash;in his zeal, he was anxious to proclaim her
+Queen of the Soudan.</p>
+<p><a name="page242"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 242</span>When
+his visitors were taking leave, he strongly advised them not to
+advance further to the south.&nbsp; &ldquo;Take care,&rdquo; said
+he, &ldquo;you do not come into collision with the Shillooks, who
+are our sworn enemies, and the enemies of all who cross their
+frontiers.&nbsp; Take care that they do not set fire to your
+boats, as they have already done to all vessels coming from
+Khart&ucirc;m.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In spite of these warnings, Alexina Tinn&eacute; resolutely
+continued her voyage, and, a few days later, anchored off a
+Shillook village.&nbsp; The sailors, frightened by
+Mohammed&rsquo;s story, would not approach it; she therefore
+landed with only an interpreter, an officer, and an escort of ten
+soldiers.&nbsp; But the news of the arrival of a daughter of the
+Sultan had preceded her, and instead of being received as an
+enemy, she was welcomed with every demonstration of
+respect.&nbsp; The Shillooks, as is the case with savage tribes
+in all parts of the world, endeavour to engage every stranger in
+their personal enmities; and they now hoped to secure the
+assistance of the expedition against that terrible Mohammed-Cher,
+who, only a few days before, had shown so much anxiety to
+proclaim the European lady Queen of the Soudan.&nbsp; When she
+refused to join in their campaign, their disappointment was
+extreme.&nbsp; All travellers speak warmly of this unfortunate
+tribe, who suffer scarcely less from Europeans than from
+Arabs.&nbsp; The conditions under which they live are very
+pitiful; wherever they turn, they are met by enemies.&nbsp;
+Constantly falling victims to the cruelty of the slave-hunters,
+it is no wonder that they regard with suspicion, and too often
+treat with ferocity, the strangers who come <a
+name="page243"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 243</span>among them;
+naturally implicating them in the traffic by which they suffer so
+severely.&nbsp; The slave-hunting abomination is, we must repeat,
+the mortal wound of Central Africa; it impedes commercial
+enterprise, and paralyzes the efforts of the pioneers of
+Christian civilization.&nbsp; Let us hope that, in the lake
+regions, the vigorous action of Colonel Gordon has greatly
+diminished, if it has not absolutely rooted out, the evil.</p>
+<p>Pressing southward with unshaken resolution, Alexina
+Tinn&eacute; reached at length the junction of the Sobat with the
+Nile.&nbsp; She resolved to ascend that tributary as far as it
+was navigable, calculating that the <i>excursus</i>, going and
+returning, would occupy seven or eight days.&nbsp; The valley of
+the Sobat is more interesting in character than much of the
+course of the White Nile.&nbsp; Its broad pastures, stretching
+away to the distant horizon, teem with flocks of ostriches and
+herds of giraffes.&nbsp; The river banks are thickly indented by
+the heavy hoofs of elephants, and the colossal animals themselves
+wander freely over the uplands.&nbsp; For some weeks the voyagers
+lingered in the Sobat, well pleased with its succession of
+striking scenes; and then they steamed up the Nile again, until
+they reached the mouth of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, the majestic stream
+which, with slow current, traverses Lake N&ucirc;.</p>
+<p>Here the Nile strikes sharply towards the south, forming a
+complete right angle; and broadens into an imposing expanse of
+shining waters.</p>
+<p>The flora of the surrounding country is very picturesque:
+tamarinds, mimosas, climbing plants, the papyruses, and the
+euphorbias thrive in unchecked <a name="page244"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 244</span>luxuriance, as they have thriven for
+countless centuries, and blend together their thick growth of
+various foliage.&nbsp; The colouring of the flowers is often so
+intense that the eye aches in contemplating it.&nbsp; It should
+be added that the euphorbia, which is very common in this region,
+yields a poisonous milky juice, in which the natives dip their
+arrows.&nbsp; A scratch from one of these envenomed weapons will
+rapidly prove mortal.</p>
+<p>Beyond Lake N&ucirc;, the White Nile breaks into an intricate
+series of curves and meanders, pouring its waters downwards with
+violent swiftness.&nbsp; Such, indeed, was the strength of the
+flood, that the steamer was compelled to throw off the
+towing-rope of the two dahabiehs, and the sailors and servants
+landed in order to haul them against the stream.&nbsp; But in the
+greatest stress of the current the rope broke, and the boats,
+drifting away, were threatened with destruction.&nbsp; Osman Aga,
+a resolute and courageous soldier, who was on the deck of the
+steamer, seized another rope and leaped instantly into the
+river.&nbsp; With vigorous strokes he made for the shore.&nbsp;
+He had almost gained it, and had flung the rope to his expectant
+comrades, when he suddenly disappeared.&nbsp; After a while his
+dead body was found, and immediate preparations were made to give
+it an honourable burial.&nbsp; Wrapped round, according to the
+custom of the country, with twenty yards of calico, it was
+interred, in the presence of the whole crew, at the foot of a
+patriarchal tree, on the trunk of which was cut a commemorative
+inscription.</p>
+<p>Some days after this melancholy event, the expedition ascended
+the river to Heiligenkreuz, where <a name="page245"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 245</span>some Austrian Catholic missionaries
+have founded a settlement.&nbsp; Remaining there until the 15th
+of September, Alexina Tinn&eacute; made a short excursion into
+the interior, crossing rivers, traversing forests, and meeting
+with numerous villages, half hidden in leafiness.</p>
+<p>As the voyagers approached Gondokoro, they observed that the
+panoramas assumed a grander character; that the landscapes were
+on a loftier scale.&nbsp; Tropical forests extended their deep
+shades along the river banks; and sometimes in their recesses it
+was possible to catch sight of the remains of ancient buildings,
+at one time, perhaps, inhabited by a busy race.&nbsp; Gondokoro,
+long regarded as the <i>Ultima Thule</i> of the Nile Valley, was
+reached on the 30th of September.&nbsp; It proved to be the
+extreme southward limit of Alexina Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s
+explorations.&nbsp; She ardently longed to advance&mdash;to share
+some of the glory resting upon the names of Speke and Grant,
+Baker and Petherick&mdash;to see with her own eyes the immense
+basin of the Victorian Sea&mdash;to trace to its well-head the
+course of the Nile; but the obstacles thrown in her way proved
+insurmountable.&nbsp; Moreover, most of her followers were seized
+with malarious fever, and she herself had an attack, which for
+some days held her life in danger.&nbsp; When she recovered, she
+began to study the habits and manners of the native tribes
+residing in the neighbourhood of Gondokoro.&nbsp; They are all
+Baris, and very ignorant and superstitious, but not naturally
+cruel.&nbsp; No trade flourishes among them like that of the
+sorcerer, who is also the medicine-man.&nbsp; When a Bari falls
+ill, he hastens to consult the Punok, who gives him some absurd
+but <a name="page246"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+246</span>infallible recipe, and the cure is effected!&nbsp; One
+of these magicians succeeded in persuading the negroes that he
+was invulnerable.&nbsp; Oxen, sheep, and presents of all kinds
+were poured into his willing hands; but unluckily he declaimed
+against the expeditions of the Egyptians, who, not having any
+sense of humour, put him to death.&nbsp; His dupes, gathering
+round his dead body, waited patiently for his resurrection; and
+only began to doubt when the corpse putrefied.</p>
+<p>Among the Bari sorcerers a high rank is held by the
+&ldquo;rain-maker&rdquo;&mdash;a personage of great repute, to
+whom the villagers bring oxen, fruits, and trinkets, in days of
+drought, to bribe him to invoke the clouds and their treasures of
+fertilizing rain.&nbsp; But his position is not without its
+inconveniences; if, after the performance of his rites, the
+drought continues, the people assemble at his house, drag him
+forth, and without more ado, cut open the stomach of the
+unfortunate Kodjour, on the plea that the storms must be shut up
+in it, as they make no external manifestation.&nbsp; Few are the
+years in which one of these rain-makers does not perish, unless
+he has the wit to escape out of danger before his deception is
+discovered.</p>
+<p>From Gondokoro Alexina Tinn&eacute; returned without delay to
+Khart&ucirc;m, where she received the congratulations of the
+European community; but her rest was not of long duration.&nbsp;
+She had nothing of the lotos-eater in her temperament, and could
+find contentment only in action.&nbsp; Hers was the true
+traveller&rsquo;s character&mdash;energetic, active, daring,
+tenacious, with an insatiable thirst for new scenes.&nbsp;
+Thwarted in her first design, she immediately took up
+another.&nbsp; She would ascend the great western <a
+name="page247"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 247</span>tributary
+of the Nile, the Bahr-el-Ghazal, explore the streams which feed
+it, and penetrate into the land of the Nyam-nyam, of whom Doctor
+Heughlin has furnished so interesting an account.&nbsp; Her
+preparations were soon completed.&nbsp; This time she and her
+mother&mdash;her aunt remained at Khart&ucirc;m&mdash;did not
+travel alone; their expedition was reinforced by three
+experienced travellers, Doctor Heughlin, the naturalist, Doctor
+Steudner, and Baron d&rsquo;Ablaing.&nbsp; The first two started
+in advance, so as to open up the route for the adventurous
+Alexina, who, with her mother and Baron d&rsquo;Ablaing, quitted
+Khart&ucirc;m at the end of February, 1863, in command of a
+flotilla composed of a steamer, a sailing-vessel, and several
+small boats.</p>
+<p>Heughlin, who had set out some days before, passed, on the
+31st of January, the Gebel Tefafan, a lofty mountain which rises
+at no great distance from the river.&nbsp; He reached Lake
+N&ucirc;&mdash;a point from which the voyager has more than two
+hundred miles to accomplish across the Bahr-el-Ghazal.&nbsp; At
+that time of the year the river in many places is as narrow as a
+canal, though on both sides bordered by a swampy plain, which
+stretches further than the eye can see, and bears a thick growth
+of gigantic reeds.&nbsp; At other places it deepens into
+considerable lakes.</p>
+<p>The natives navigate it in light canoes, which they manage
+with much dexterity.&nbsp; They sit astride the stem, with their
+legs hanging down in the water; and if they fall in with no
+branches capable of being converted into oars, they row with
+their hands.&nbsp; The Nouers, who inhabit this land of marsh and
+morass, furnish an apparent exemplification of the Darwinian <a
+name="page248"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 248</span>theory: by
+a process of natural selection they have become thoroughly
+adapted to the conditions of a soil and climate which would
+rapidly kill off an unaccustomed population.&nbsp; Their muscular
+strength is remarkable; and they are a race of Anaks, averaging
+from six to seven feet in height.&nbsp; Alexina Tinn&eacute;
+records that, in spite of the heat of a tropical sun, and the
+attacks of swarms of insects, they would stand erect, with lance
+in hand, on the summit of the mounds thrown up by termites,
+anxiously watching the steamer and the boats in tow as they
+passed by swiftly and steadily, against wave and current&mdash;a
+type, shall we say? of the irresistible progress of
+civilization.</p>
+<p>While Doctor Heughlin, in the true scientific spirit,
+industriously explored the banks of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, Alexina
+Tinn&eacute; was making a persistent effort to rejoin him.&nbsp;
+Innumerable difficulties assailed her.&nbsp; When only a few
+miles from Khart&ucirc;m, her captain came to tell her, with
+signs of the utmost terror, that the steamer was leaking, and
+would shortly sink.&nbsp; Her alarm may easily be imagined; but
+fortunately she was never wanting in presence of mind.&nbsp; She
+gave orders that the cargo should be immediately unloaded; the
+leak was repaired, and the voyage resumed.&nbsp; A few hours
+later, and the vessel was again in danger, the water rushing in
+with greater violence than before.&nbsp; A close investigation
+was made, and then it was discovered that the pilot and captain
+had each agreed to bore a hole in the ship&rsquo;s hull, with the
+view of putting a stop to a voyage which they, as well as the
+crew, dreaded.&nbsp; But our heroine was not to be
+conquered.&nbsp; She at once dismissed a part of the crew, <a
+name="page249"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 249</span>and sent
+away both the captain and the pilot; then, with men pledged to be
+true to her, she sailed away resolutely for the
+Bahr-el-Ghazal.</p>
+<p>At first, she made but slow progress, on account of the mass
+of tall dense grasses and aquatic plants that choked up the
+stream.&nbsp; In many places it was necessary to clear a way for
+the steamer with knife and axe.&nbsp; In the sun-baked mud grisly
+crocodiles swarmed; the snort of the hippopotamus rose from amid
+the reedy tangle; the elephant with calm eyes watched the
+movements of the strangers.&nbsp; The swamps of the
+Bahr-el-Ghazal are a paradise of wild beasts, and Mademoiselle
+Tinn&eacute; saw thousands of them wandering to and fro.&nbsp;
+But though game is so abundant, to hunt it is very
+difficult.&nbsp; The sportsman cannot penetrate into the midst of
+the dry and withered vegetation without a crackling of leaves and
+a snapping of stems, which give instant alarm to vigilant and
+suspicious ears.&nbsp; No sooner does he set foot in the jungle,
+than, as if warned by some secret telegraphic agency, all its
+denizens take to flight.&nbsp; But while Mademoiselle
+Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s followers were vainly attempting to pursue
+the trail of the great pachyderms, a huge elephant, which had
+probably entered too far into the river in the keenness of his
+thirst, was caught up in the current, and driven against one of
+the boats.&nbsp; The opportunity was not neglected; the boatmen
+immediately assailed the unfortunate animal, killed it, and cut
+it in pieces.</p>
+<p>Lake Reg is the highest navigable point of the Ghazal. <a
+name="citation249"></a><a href="#footnote249"
+class="citation">[249]</a>&nbsp; Our heroine found here a fleet
+of five and <a name="page250"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+250</span>twenty craft, some with cargoes of ivory, others with
+cargoes of dourra or millet.&nbsp; She was received with
+enthusiasm, which specially manifested itself in the discharge of
+three volleys of musketry&mdash;a compliment to which Alexina
+Tinn&eacute; replied by hoisting the Dutch flag.</p>
+<p>As soon as her little flotilla was safely moored among the
+trading craft, the enterprising lady prepared to undertake a
+journey into the interior.&nbsp; But as it was found impossible
+to collect a sufficient number of porters to carry the baggage,
+she arranged that Doctors Heughlin and Steudner should start in
+search of suitable winter-quarters.&nbsp; The two travellers set
+out, but the malarious climate broke down their health, and both
+were seized with a dangerous marsh fever.&nbsp; They suffered
+greatly; but, sustained by their strong will, they pushed
+forward, crossing, on the 2nd of April, the river Djur, and
+arriving, the same evening, at the village of Wau.&nbsp; Here
+Doctor Steudner rapidly grew worse.&nbsp; Before long he was
+unable to walk; he fell into a profound stupor, and passed away,
+almost without pain, on the 10th of April.&nbsp; Doctor Heughlin
+describes, with much pathos, the feelings of grief and melancholy
+which overpowered him when he buried his friend.&nbsp; The body
+was wrapped in Abyssinian cloth and covered with leaves; then
+interred in a deep trench dug at the foot of a clump of
+trees.</p>
+<p>On the 17th of April, Doctor Heughlin quitted the lonely
+shades of Wau, and, having lured a large number of porters,
+returned to Lake Reg.&nbsp; Then, to complete the necessary
+arrangements for the projected expedition to the country of the
+Nyam-nyam, <a name="page251"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+251</span>Baron d&rsquo;Ablaing went on a trip to Khart&ucirc;m,
+whence he brought back an abundant supply of provisions.&nbsp;
+During his absence, Alexina Tinn&eacute; was visited by Mrs.
+Petherick, the wife of the English consul&mdash;a woman not less
+courageous than herself, who had accompanied her husband in most
+of his explorations.&nbsp; She claims the honour of having added
+numerous places to the map of Africa, and of having been the
+first European lady who had penetrated into those remote
+regions.</p>
+<p>While Alexina Tinn&eacute; represents Holland, and Mrs.
+Petherick England, Germany is represented by the wife of Sir
+Samuel Baker, to whom allusion has already been made.&nbsp; A
+woman of delicate and even feeble appearance, with a countenance
+of remarkable amiability of expression; she possesses, as Queen
+Elizabeth said of herself, &ldquo;the heart of a man,&rdquo; and
+of a brave and chivalrous man.&nbsp; Deeds worthy of the most
+famous knights have been accomplished by this lady, who, it might
+have been thought, would have sunk before the first breath of the
+Simoom.&nbsp; One may here be recorded.&nbsp; While out hunting,
+Sir Samuel Baker was attacked by a buffalo, which had sprung upon
+him unperceived through the high thick grasses, and was on the
+point of impaling him on its horns, when Lady Baker, with cool
+and steady aim, raised her rifle, and lodging a bullet between
+the animal&rsquo;s eyes, stretched it dead on the ground.&nbsp; A
+moment&rsquo;s hesitation, the slightest wavering or nervousness,
+and Sir Samuel would have been lost.</p>
+<p>Alexina Tinn&eacute;, with Mr. and Mrs. Petherick, made
+numerous excursions in the neighbourhood of Lake Reg, in one of
+which they were surprised by a <a name="page252"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 252</span>terrible storm.&nbsp; In the memory
+of living man no such hurricane had been known; and it seemed to
+spend its worst fury upon the traveller&rsquo;s caravan, which it
+threatened every moment to sweep from the earth.&nbsp; When it
+had somewhat subsided, other difficulties arose.&nbsp; The
+soldiers who formed the escort were not only inveterately idle,
+but irrepressibly dishonest; while as for the negroes, they were
+contumacious, and refused to follow the route indicated by their
+employer.&nbsp; A serious disturbance was on the point of
+breaking out, when the gale returned with fresh violence, tore
+down at least half of the encampment, and almost suffocated
+Alexina Tinn&eacute; amidst the wreckage of her hut.&nbsp; While
+it lasted, terror prevented her followers from resorting to acts
+of open insubordination; but they regained their audacity as the
+tempest passed away, and, declaring that their supply of food was
+insufficient, demanded larger rations.&nbsp; A general mutiny
+seemed imminent; but the fair leader of the expedition was equal
+to the occasion.&nbsp; Though suffering from bodily pain and
+weakness, she boldly confronted the insurgents; with flashing
+eye, and in a fierce voice, addressed to them a severe reprimand,
+and ordered them to lay down their arms.&nbsp; Her intrepid
+demeanour awed them into submission, and the encounter ended in
+their humbly supplicating her forgiveness.</p>
+<p>The crisis over, her overwrought system gave way.&nbsp; So
+serious was her illness that at one time recovery seemed
+impossible, and the deepest sorrow was manifested by the whole
+camp.&nbsp; Quinine, however, which is the sheet-anchor (so to
+speak) of African travellers, saved her.&nbsp; A gradual
+improvement took <a name="page253"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+253</span>place, and by the 30th of May all danger had
+disappeared.</p>
+<p>As soon as she was able to move, she gave orders for the
+expedition to advance.&nbsp; It travelled by short stages; and
+when, towards night, Miss Tinn&eacute; came upon a village which
+promised convenient quarters, she sent for the sheikh, and the
+gift of a few beads was sufficient to make him expel from their
+huts the native families.&nbsp; Without striking a blow, the
+travellers got possession of the place, and in a few hours had
+settled themselves comfortably, while taking due care of their
+camels and cattle.&nbsp; As for the dispossessed inhabitants,
+they were left to find what shelter or accommodation they could,
+consoling themselves with the promise of ample compensation on
+the morrow.</p>
+<p>The African villages are sometimes of considerable size.&nbsp;
+They are nearly always surrounded by a belt of cultivated ground,
+where dourra, sesamum, and culinary vegetables grow in
+profusion.&nbsp; The flocks scattered over the pastures often
+include some thousands of sheep, though they are never killed by
+the natives for purposes of food.&nbsp; Miss Tinn&eacute;
+purchased several; but as soon as it was known that she
+slaughtered them for provision, their owners refused to
+sell.&nbsp; The natives apparently make the sheep the object of a
+superstitious <i>cultus</i>, as the Lapps do the hare.&nbsp; It
+is true, however, that their scruples vanished at the sight of
+Alexina Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s trinkets; their religion proved
+unable to withstand the temptation of a bright ring or glittering
+bracelet.&nbsp; Yet who shall blame them when Christians have
+been known to forswear their faith for equally small <a
+name="page254"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+254</span>bribes?&nbsp; It is a curious fact that each tribe has
+its favourite colour&mdash;that while one swears by blue beads,
+another has eyes only for green; so that a tribe which will
+violate its conscience for a handful of blue beads or yellow,
+will preserve it intact if tested by beads of any other
+colour.&nbsp; But no bribe is so powerful, will prevail over so
+many vows, will appease so many scruples, as a piece of blue or
+red cotton.&nbsp; This, however, was reserved as a gratification
+for the chiefs alone; and it was a sight to make you laugh or
+weep, according as your philosophy is that of Democritus or
+Heraclitus, to see them strutting through their villages, proud
+as peacocks in their gaudy attire, haughtier than a mayor with
+his official chain round his portly chest, happier than a
+Frenchman with the ribbon of the Legion of Honour in his
+button-hole.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>The countries of Djur and D&ouml;r, traversed by our caravan,
+offered a succession of the most varied panoramas.&nbsp; For
+several days it passed through marshy lowlands, covered with a
+coarse hard grass: the herbage was besprinkled with rare flowers,
+many of which belonged to species unknown to European
+botanists.&nbsp; As they advanced trees became more numerous;
+groves developed into woods, and woods expanded into a luxurious
+forest, where the eye surveyed with delight a rich network of
+climbing plants and wild vines, spreading from tree to tree,
+while the dense cloud of verdure was lighted up profusely with
+starry blossoms.&nbsp; In this happy land the mosquito was never
+found; nor were there any injurious insects, except the termites
+or white ants.</p>
+<p><a name="page255"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 255</span>The
+picture suddenly changed as the travellers penetrated further
+into the interior; immense plains stretched away to a remote
+horizon, where earth and heaven seemed to mingle.&nbsp;
+Occasionally, however, the monotonous level was broken pleasantly
+by clumps of graceful trees, forming so many isles of greenery,
+in which the calm bland air was perfumed by the sweet odours that
+rose, like a breath, from magnificent cactuses, orchids, and
+irises.&nbsp; Thousands of birds, surprised among the tall
+grasses by the passing caravan, sprang aloft and filled the air
+with the whir of winnowing wings.</p>
+<p>Enraptured by the beauty of this fortunate and favoured
+region, Alexina forgot the sufferings she had endured, and,
+giving a free rein to her womanly enthusiasm,
+exclaimed&mdash;&ldquo;This is a delightful country, a marvellous
+land, which compensates us for all our fatigue; yes, and for all
+our outlay!&rdquo;&nbsp; These last words may be considered as a
+striking example of bathos, or &ldquo;the art of sinking,&rdquo;
+considering the circumstances under which they were pronounced;
+but it would appear that the enormous expenses of the expedition
+had by this time made a serious inroad even on Miss
+Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s large fortune.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>As for some years a marked diminution had taken place in the
+number of elephants inhabiting the valley of the White Nile, the
+ivory dealers pushed forward into the countries watered by the
+Bahr-el-Ghazal and the Djur.&nbsp; There they found themselves in
+a virgin region, which hitherto had not been contaminated by the
+influences of a corrupt civilization.&nbsp; It was a mine to be
+worked with the happiest results, <a name="page256"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 256</span>and accordingly they established a
+series of stations, each in charge of a vakil or manager.&nbsp;
+In the month of November these were visited in person by the
+traders, who loaded their boats with ivory, too frequently adding
+to their cargoes of elephants&rsquo; tusks the unfortunate
+negroes who had served them as guides and hunters.&nbsp; As time
+went on, they extended their relations, and gave free course to
+their ambition.&nbsp; They armed the tribes one against another,
+promoted internecine contests, and in this way consolidated their
+cruel and unscrupulous despotism.</p>
+<p>Our travellers nearly fell victims to one of these infamous
+speculators in the blood of the feeble and defenceless.&nbsp;
+Yielding to his repeated pressure, Alexina and her followers
+advanced to Bongo, where he exercised authority.&nbsp; They were
+received with a splendid welcome.&nbsp; On their arrival volleys
+of musketry woke all the surrounding echoes.&nbsp; Biselli (such
+was the name of their self-appointed host) met them at the
+entrance to the village, and conducted them into a spacious and
+convenient habitation, where, with the most courteous attention,
+they were served with sherbet, coffee, and other refreshing
+drinks.&nbsp; No one was forgotten in his profuse hospitality;
+masters and servants were entertained with equal
+liberality.&nbsp; The abrek, the delicious beer of the country,
+was freely circulated among the people, and generously
+distributed to the very porters.</p>
+<p>As Biselli was absolute master in the village and its
+neighbourhood, and owned almost everything, Alexina Tinn&eacute;
+requested him to sell some corn and oxen.&nbsp; He answered, like
+a true gentleman, that for twenty-four hours he was her host;
+that he <a name="page257"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+257</span>had abdicated his position as a trader, and had no
+thought but her comfort, and to give her an honourable
+reception.&nbsp; His profuseness, far from diminishing, largely
+increased; and his European guests were almost ashamed to be the
+recipients of an hospitality so cordial, so unlimited, and so
+unexpected.</p>
+<p>But unfortunately a change came over the spirit of the
+dream.&nbsp; Next day, clouds gathered on the horizon which had
+previously been so fair.&nbsp; The travellers wished to hire a
+small zoriba, or plantation, comprising two tents.&nbsp; Biselli
+named thirty thalers as the price.&nbsp; No objection was
+offered, and Miss Tinn&eacute;&rsquo;s people began to store the
+baggage, when he suddenly made a demand for two hundred
+thalers.&nbsp; This exorbitant sum was promptly and firmly
+refused; he then reduced it to forty thalers, which was
+paid.&nbsp; Soon afterwards the caravan was in need of dourra,
+and there was no help for it but to apply to Biselli.&nbsp; Well
+aware of their necessity, the scoundrel charged forty times more
+than they would have had to pay at Khart&ucirc;m, and on every
+other article he put in like manner a tax of forty or fifty per
+cent.&nbsp; The ex-gentleman had resumed his old character as an
+unprincipled speculator.</p>
+<p>Our travellers, however, felt that they could no longer endure
+his impositions, and abandoning Bongo and Biselli, returned to
+Lake Reg.&nbsp; Here Alexina&rsquo;s mother was seized with an
+illness which carried her off in a few days (July 23rd).&nbsp;
+Two European servants were also attacked by fever, and succumbed
+to its fatal influence.&nbsp; Overwhelmed with grief, Miss
+Tinn&eacute; abandoned her schemes of African exploration, and <a
+name="page258"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 258</span>slowly and
+with difficulty made her way back to Khart&ucirc;m, to find that
+her aunt, the Baroness van Capellan, had died during her absence
+(in May, 1864).&nbsp; As soon as she had recruited her strength,
+she removed to Cairo, where she took up her residence, and for
+four years made a conspicuous figure in its brilliant European
+circle.</p>
+<p>The love of new scenes, however, had not been quenched by her
+adventures, and in her yacht she made frequent visits to Naples
+and Rome, Smyrna and Jaffa, Algiers and Tripoli.&nbsp; While at
+the latter port, a caravan arrived from the Sahara, with the
+products of the rich lands that lie beyond that famous
+desert.&nbsp; The incident suggested to her bold imagination the
+idea of an expedition which in romance and interest should
+eclipse her previous enterprise, and she traced the plan of a
+journey across Tripoli to the capital of Fezzan, thence to Kuka,
+and westward, by way of Wadai, Darfur, and Kordofan, to the
+Nile.&nbsp; As this route would carry her into the territory of
+the brave but treacherous Towaregs, a race to whom plunder and
+rapine seem the breath of life, she took care to provide herself
+with a sufficient escort, and on the 29th of January, 1869, set
+out from Tripoli at the head of a troop of fifty armed men.&nbsp;
+At Sokna, in Fezzan, which she reached on the 1st of March, she
+engaged the services of a Towareg chief, one Ik-nu-ken; but at
+the last moment he failed her, and she accepted as guides two
+chiefs of the same tribe, who professed to have been sent by
+Ik-nu-ken.&nbsp; These men, in conjunction with her attendant,
+Mohammed, a Tunisian, resolved upon murdering her in order to
+gain possession of her money and valuables.&nbsp; Soon <a
+name="page259"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 259</span>after her
+departure from Sokna (it was on the 1st of August) they excited a
+quarrel among the camel-drivers, and when Alexina quitted her
+tent to ascertain the cause, one of the Towaregs shot her with a
+rifle-bullet, mortally wounding her.&nbsp; For four and twenty
+hours she lay dying at the door of her tent, no one venturing to
+offer assistance or consolation.</p>
+<p>Such was the melancholy fate of Alexina Tinn&eacute;!&nbsp; It
+is satisfactory to know that the murderers who, with their
+plunder, had escaped into the interior, were eventually captured,
+tried, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. <a
+name="citation259"></a><a href="#footnote259"
+class="citation">[259]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page260"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 260</span>MR.
+J. A. MACGAHAN,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND CAMPAIGNING ON THE OXUS.</span></h2>
+<h3>I.</h3>
+<p><span class="smcap">Mr. J. A. Macgahan</span>, as special
+correspondent for the <i>New York Herald</i>, a journal well
+known by the liberality and boldness of its management,
+accompanied the Russian army, under General Kauffmann, in its
+campaigns in Central Asia in 1873 and 1874.</p>
+<p>Bound for the seat of war, he made his way, in company with
+Mr. Eugene Schuyler, the American <i>charg&eacute;
+d&rsquo;affaires</i> at St. Petersburg, who desired to see
+something of Central Asia, to Kasala, a Russian town on the
+Syr-Daria (the ancient <i>Jaxartes</i>), where he arrived in
+April, 1873.&nbsp; He describes this town, or fort, as the
+entering wedge of the Russians into Central Asia.&nbsp; Its
+population, exclusive of Russian soldiers and civilians, consists
+of Sarts, or Tadjiks, Bokhariots, Kirghiz, and Kara-Kalpaks; all
+being Tartar tribes, in whom an infusion of Aryan blood has more
+or less modified the old Mongolian type.&nbsp; As for the town,
+it is picturesque enough to a European eye&mdash;its low mud
+houses, with flat roofs, windowless, and almost doorless; its
+baz&aacute;r, where long-bearded men, in bright-coloured robes,
+gravely drink tea among the wares that crowd their little shops;
+and <a name="page261"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 261</span>the
+strings of laden camels that stalk through its streets,
+presenting a novel combination.&nbsp; As soon as he had obtained
+all the information he could with respect to the movements of the
+Russian force, Mr. MacGahan resolved on making a dash for the
+Oxus, hoping to reach that river before General Kauffmann&rsquo;s
+army had crossed it.&nbsp; But when the Russian authorities
+learned his design, they at once interfered, declaring that the
+journey was dangerous, if not impracticable, and must not be
+undertaken without leave from the Governor-General.&nbsp; Mr.
+MacGahan then resolved on pushing forward to Fort Perovsky, as if
+going only to Tashkent; trusting to find there an officer in
+command who would not be troubled by such conscientious scruples
+about his personal safety.&nbsp; No objection was made to a
+journey to Tashkent; Mr. MacGahan and Mr. Schuyler therefore
+hurried their preparations, stowed their baggage in a waggon, and
+themselves in a tarantass, and shaking the dust off their feet at
+inhospitable and suspicious Kasala, took their course along the
+banks of the Syr-Daria.</p>
+<p>This, the ancient Jaxartes, is one of the most eccentric of
+rivers.&nbsp; It is continually changing its bed, like a restless
+traveller; &ldquo;here to-day, and gone to-morrow,&rdquo; and
+gone a distance of some eight to ten miles.&nbsp; To adapt it to
+the purposes of navigation seems almost impossible, or, at all
+events, would be unprofitable; and the best use that could be
+made of its waters would be to irrigate with them the thirsty
+sands of the desert of Kyzil-Kum.</p>
+<p>On Mr. MacGahan&rsquo;s arrival at Fort Perovsky, he proceeded
+to engage a guide and horses, having fully resolved to carry out
+his bold enterprise.&nbsp; From the <a name="page262"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 262</span>commandant he was fortunate enough
+to obtain a passport, and on the 30th of April he bade farewell
+to Mr. Schuyler, and set out.&nbsp; His <i>cort&eacute;ge</i>
+consisted of Ak-Mamatoff, his Tartar servant, Mushuf, the guide,
+and a young Kirghiz attendant, all mounted, with ten horses to
+carry the baggage and forage.&nbsp; As a man of peace, he says,
+he went but lightly armed.&nbsp; Yet a heavy double-barrelled
+hunting rifle, a double-barrelled shot gun (both being
+breech-loaders), an eighteen-shooter Winchester rifle, three
+heavy revolvers, and one ordinary muzzle-loading shot gun
+throwing slugs, together with a few knives and sabres, would seem
+to make up a tolerable arsenal!&nbsp; Mr. MacGahan, however,
+assures us that he did not contemplate fighting, and that he
+encumbered himself with these &ldquo;lethal weapons&rdquo; only
+that he might be able to discuss with becoming dignity questions
+concerning the rights of way and of property, on which his
+opinions might differ from those of the nomads of the desert, who
+hold to Rob Roy&rsquo;s good old rule, that</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;They should take who have the power,<br />
+And they should keep who can.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>That night our traveller accepted the hospitality of a
+Kirghiz.&nbsp; Next morning he and his men were in the saddle by
+sunrise, riding merrily away to the south-west, across a country
+innocent of road or path.&nbsp; Sometimes their course lay
+through tangled brushwood, sometimes through tall reeds which
+completely concealed each rider from his companions, sometimes
+over low sandy dunes, and sometimes across a bare and most
+desolate plain.&nbsp; Occasionally they heard the loud sharp cry
+of the golden pheasant of Turkistan; <a name="page263"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 263</span>then they would pass large flocks
+and herds of sheep, cattle, and horses, quietly grazing; and
+again they would meet and salute a Kirghiz shepherd on
+horseback.&nbsp; To eyes that have been trained to <i>see</i> no
+desert can be utterly barren of interest; the vigilant observer
+will discover, in the most sterile waste, something of fresh and
+novel character, something suggestive of thick-coming
+fancies.&nbsp; For example, Mr. MacGahan noted the remarkable
+difference between the wide stretches of the sandy plain and the
+occasional streaks of ground that had been under recent
+cultivation; and he perceived that the desert had the
+advantage.&nbsp; Parched and sun-scorched, and without a trace of
+vegetation, was the land that had been irrigated only the year
+before; while the desert assumed a delicate tint of green, with
+its budding brushwood and thin grass, which always springs into
+life as soon as the snow melts, to flourish until stricken sore
+by the heats of summer.</p>
+<p>At nightfall the travellers, weary with eleven hours&rsquo;
+ride, drew up at a Kara-Kalpak aul, or encampment, consisting of
+a dozen kibitkas, pitched near a little pond in the centre of a
+delightful oasis.&nbsp; The owner of one of the kibitkas proved
+to be the guide&rsquo;s brother, and gave the party a cordial
+welcome.&nbsp; The Kara-Kalpaks are nomads like the Kirghiz, but
+though they live side by side with them, and frequently
+intermarry, they seem to belong to a different race of men.&nbsp;
+They are taller than the Kirghiz, and well-made; their skin is
+almost as white as that of a European; and instead of the small
+eyes, high cheek-bones, flat noses, thick lips, and round
+beardless faces of the Kirghiz, they have long faces, high noses,
+large open eyes, and are bearded &ldquo;like the pard.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page264"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+264</span>&ldquo;After supper,&rdquo; says Mr. MacGahan, &ldquo;I
+stepped outside the tent to take a look on the surrounding scene,
+and enjoy the cool air of the evening.&nbsp; The new moon was
+just setting; lights were gleaming in every direction over the
+plain, showing that ours was not the only aul in the
+vicinity.&nbsp; The bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle
+could be heard, mingled with the playful bark of dogs and the
+laughing voices of children, which came to us on the still
+evening air like music.&nbsp; In places the weeds and grass of
+last year had been fired to clear the ground for the new growth,
+and broad sheets of fire crawled slowly forward over the plain,
+while huge volumes of dense smoke, that caught the light of the
+flames below, rolled along the sky in grotesque fantastic shapes
+like clouds of fire.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The kibitka, according to our traveller, is made up of
+numerous thin strips of wood, six feet long, which are fastened
+loosely together like a vine trellis, and can be opened out or
+folded up compactly, as necessity requires.&nbsp; As the strips
+are slightly curved in the middle, the framework, when expanded,
+naturally takes the form of a segment of a circle.&nbsp; Four of
+these frames constitute the skeleton sides of the tent; and on
+their tops are placed some twenty or thirty rafters, properly
+curved, with their upper ends inserted in the hoop, three or four
+feet in diameter, that serves as a roof-tree.&nbsp; The method of
+pitching a kibitka may be thus described:&mdash;As soon as the
+camel with the felt and framework reaches the chosen site, he is
+made to kneel down, and a couple of women seize the framework,
+which they straightway set up on end, and extend in the form of a
+circle.&nbsp; <a name="page265"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+265</span>Next the doorposts are planted, and the whole bound
+firmly together with a camel&rsquo;s-hair rope.&nbsp; Then one of
+the women takes the afore-mentioned wooden hoop, and raising it
+above her head on a pole, the other proceeds to insert in their
+proper holes the twenty or thirty rafters, fastening their basis
+to the lower framework by means of hoops.&nbsp; When a thick fold
+of felt has been let down over the framework, the kibitka, which
+measures about fifteen feet in diameter, and eight feet in
+length, is complete.&nbsp; In appearance it is not unlike a
+magnified beehive of the old pattern.</p>
+<p>The Kirghiz nomads are fierce, crafty, often cruel, but they
+hold the life of a guest sacred.&nbsp; For his property, however,
+they have no such high consideration, and they are not above the
+temptation of plundering him of any article that attracts their
+fancy.&nbsp; Their chief amusements are horse exercises and
+falconry.&nbsp; They love the chase with a true sportsman&rsquo;s
+passion; loving it for itself, rather than for the game it
+procures, as they can conceive of nothing daintier than a dish of
+mutton&mdash;a dish which they prepare with touching
+simplicity.&nbsp; For, a sheep having been skinned, they cut it
+into quarters, which they plunge into a large caldron of water,
+and boil for a couple of hours.&nbsp; Generally, on a principle
+of severe economy, they cook the intestines with the meat, not
+taking the trouble even to separate them.&nbsp; The guests
+arrange themselves in a circle on carpets of felt; the men, as
+recognized lords of the creation, occupying the foremost places,
+the women and children sitting in the rear.&nbsp; The smoking
+quarters of mutton are removed from the pot; each man draws his
+knife, slashes off a cantle, eats until satisfied, and <a
+name="page266"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 266</span>passes what
+is left to his wife and children, who speedily effect a
+clearance.&nbsp; The dogs come in for the bones.&nbsp;
+Afterwards, bowls of the liquor in which the meat has been boiled
+are handed round, and not a Kirghiz but swallows the greasy
+potion with as much zest as an epicure takes his glass of dry
+champagne.&nbsp; This broth, koumis (fermented mare&rsquo;s
+milk), and tea, are his customary liquors; but the tea, instead
+of being prepared in the European fashion, is made into a kind of
+soup with milk, flour, butter, and salt.&nbsp; In every
+respectable Kirghiz kibitka the women keep constantly upon the
+fire a vessel of this beverage, which they offer to visitors,
+just as a Turk serves up coffee, and a Spaniard chocolate.</p>
+<p>In their mode of life the Kirghiz display a certain
+originality.&nbsp; They spend the three winter months in mud huts
+on the bank of a river or a small stream, and resume their annual
+migrations as soon as the snow begins to melt.&nbsp; During these
+migrations they live in tents, and never halt in one spot for
+longer than three days.&nbsp; Their march is often continued
+until they have travelled three or four hundred miles; then they
+turn round, and retrace the same route, so as to reach their
+place of hibernation before the snow falls.&nbsp; In their
+selection of quarters they seem guided by some traditions handed
+down in the different auls; and not unfrequently a body of
+Kirghiz will pass over much excellent grazing ground, and travel
+many a league to inferior pasturage.&nbsp; The hardships they
+undergo are so many, their pleasures so few and mean, their
+objects so commonplace, that one is tempted to wonder what kind
+of answer an intelligent Kirghiz would return to the question not
+<a name="page267"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 267</span>long ago
+put with some emphasis before the reading public, &ldquo;Is life
+worth living?&rdquo;&nbsp; Those higher motives, those purer
+aspirations which the cultivated European mind delights to
+recognize, are unknown to the wild nomad, and he spends day after
+day, and month after month, in what would seem to be a drearily
+monotonous struggle for existence, under conditions which might
+be supposed to render existence an intolerable burden.&nbsp; But
+then he can love and suffer as we know civilized men and women
+love and suffer; and love and suffering will invest the harshest,
+coarsest life with a certain grace and consecration.</p>
+<p>There was once a young Kirghiz, named Polat, who was affianced
+to Muna Aim, the comeliest maiden in the aul, or community, of
+Tugluk.&nbsp; Her father, Ish Djan, had received the customary
+kalym, or wedding present, and the marriage day had been
+appointed.&nbsp; But before it arrived, &ldquo;the blind fury
+with the abhorred shears&rdquo; had &ldquo;slit&rdquo;
+Polat&rsquo;s &ldquo;thin-spun life;&rdquo; and Muna Aim was set
+free from her promise.&nbsp; Suluk, Polat&rsquo;s brother, came
+forward, however, and, in his anxiety to recover his
+brother&rsquo;s property, which she had received as her dower,
+claimed her as his wife.&nbsp; The claim was supported by her
+father; but Muna Aim, who had sufficient means to live on,
+considered herself a widow, and refused to marry.&nbsp; She was
+driven from her father&rsquo;s kibitka; and taking her camel,
+with her sheep and goats, her clothes and carpets, she bought a
+little kibitka for herself, and lived alone, but not
+unhappy.&nbsp; For her heart was really with Azim, a young
+Kirghiz belonging to another aul, and she had consented to marry
+Polat only in obedience to her father.&nbsp; A second <a
+name="page268"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 268</span>sacrifice
+she was determined not to make.&nbsp; But the old women grew very
+angry with Muna Aim, as she continued to enjoy her
+independence.&nbsp; &ldquo;What is the matter with her?&rdquo;
+they cried.&nbsp; &ldquo;She will not go to her husband, but
+lives alone like an outlaw.&rdquo;&nbsp; She was an innovator,
+boldly breaking through a traditional custom, and they resolved
+to &ldquo;reason&rdquo; with her.&nbsp; Their arguments were
+those which the strong too often employ against the feeble; they
+hurled at her bad names, and they scratched her face and pulled
+her hair.&nbsp; Still she would not yield; and in contentment she
+milked her sheep and goats, drove them to the pasture, and drew
+water for them from the well, waiting for some happy turn of
+fortune which might unite her with her Azim.</p>
+<p>At last Suluk also resolved to try the effect of
+&ldquo;reason.&rdquo;&nbsp; With three or four friends he
+repaired one night to her kibitka, and broke it open, resolved to
+carry her off to his tent, and compel her to be his wife.&nbsp;
+Love and despair, however, lent her so wonderful an energy, that
+she resisted all their efforts.&nbsp; They dragged her to the
+door; but she clutched at the door-posts with her hands, and held
+so firmly, that to make her let go they were forced to draw their
+knives and slash her fingers.&nbsp; When they succeeded in
+hauling her into the open air, her clothes were torn from her
+body, and she was covered with blood from head to foot.&nbsp; She
+continued her brave struggle; and Suluk, leaping on his horse and
+catching her by her beautiful long hair, dragged her at his
+horse&rsquo;s heels, until it came out by the roots, and he was
+compelled to leave her on the ground, naked, bleeding, half
+dead.</p>
+<p>Information of this outrage, however, reached the <a
+name="page269"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+269</span>Yarim-Padshah (or &ldquo;half emperor&rdquo;), as the
+tribes of Central Asia call the redoubtable General Kauffmann;
+and he despatched a party of Cossacks to seize its author.&nbsp;
+Suluk was speedily captured, and sent, a prisoner, to Siberia;
+while the faithful and courageous Muna Aim recovered her health
+and her braids of long dark hair, and in the winter met the lover
+for whom she had endured so much, and was happily married.</p>
+<p>Thus the reader will perceive that romance flourishes even in
+the wildernesses of the Kyzil-Kum; and that a Kirghiz woman can
+be elevated by a true love like an English maiden.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Continuing his ride after the Russians, Mr. MacGahan, when
+near Irkibai, came upon the ruins of an ancient city.&nbsp; It
+had once been about three miles in circumference, walled, and on
+three sides surrounded by a wide and deep canal, on the fourth by
+the Yani-Daria.&nbsp; The wall had been strengthened by
+watch-towers, and on the summit of a hill in the centre stood two
+towers thirty to forty feet in height.&nbsp; The whole was built
+of sun-dried brick, and was fast crumbling into shapeless
+mounds.&nbsp; At Irkibai Mr. MacGahan met with every courtesy
+from the commandant, but nothing was known of the whereabouts of
+General Kauffmann.&nbsp; There were but two courses before the
+traveller&mdash;to return, or go forward.&nbsp; Mr. MacGahan was
+not the man to retrace his steps until his work was done, if it
+were possible to do it; and he resolved on continuing his
+progress to the Oxus.&nbsp; On the 7th of May he rode
+forward.&nbsp; At first he followed the regular caravan route,
+which, as <a name="page270"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+270</span>many traces showed, had also been that of the Russian
+division, under the Grand-Duke Nicholas.&nbsp; It crosses the
+thirsty desert&mdash;twenty leagues without a well.&nbsp; Fair
+enough is it to the eye, with its rolling lines of verdant hills;
+but the hills are only sand, and the verdure consists of a coarse
+soft weed that, when it flowers, exhales a most offensive
+odour.&nbsp; Beneath the broad leaves lurk scorpions and
+tarantulas, great lizards, beetles, and serpents.&nbsp; The
+traveller, if he lose his way in this deadly waste of delusion,
+may wander to and fro for days, until he and his horse sink
+exhausted, to perish of thirst, with no other covering for their
+bones than the rank and noxious herbage.</p>
+<p>Across the gleaming burning sands, while the sun smote them
+pitilessly with his burning arrows, rode our brave traveller and
+his companions.&nbsp; Their lips cracked with thirst, and their
+eyes smarted with the noontide glare, and their weary horses
+stumbled in the loose shifting soil; but rest they durst not
+until they reached the well of Kyzil-Kak.&nbsp; How glad they
+were to throw themselves down beside it, while some kindly
+Kirghiz, who had already refreshed their camels and horses, drew
+for them the welcome water!&nbsp; MacGahan made a short halt
+here, feeding his horses, and sharing with his attendants a light
+meal of biscuits and fresh milk, supplied by the Kirghiz, and
+then&mdash;the saddle again!&nbsp; Meeting with a caravan, he
+learned from its Bashi, or leader, that the Russian army was at
+Tamdy&mdash;that is, instead of being, as he had hoped, within a
+day&rsquo;s march, it must be upwards of two hundred miles
+distant; and as it was just on the point of starting for <a
+name="page271"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+271</span>Aristan-Bel-Kudluk, which was still further south, it
+was impossible to say when he might overtake it.&nbsp; His
+disappointment was great; but his cry was still
+&ldquo;Onwards!&rdquo;&nbsp; By nine o&rsquo;clock next morning
+the indefatigable traveller reached the foot of the grey, bare,
+treeless heights of the Bukan-Tau.&nbsp; Though but a thousand
+feet in elevation, they presented, with their glancing peaks,
+their conical summits, their deep valleys, and awful precipices,
+all the characteristics of an Alpine range of mountains.&nbsp;
+Resting there for some hours, he took up, on the morrow, a line
+of march around their northern slope, and gradually descended
+into the plain.&nbsp; From some Kirghiz he ascertained that the
+Grand-Duke Nicholas had joined General Kauffmann two days before,
+and that the united Russian army had then marched for
+Karak-Aty.&nbsp; The problem of overtaking it seemed more
+incapable than ever of a satisfactory solution.&nbsp; But, on
+studying his map, he found that from the point which he had
+reached it was no further to Karak-Aty than to Tamdy, and he
+instantly resolved to follow up a caravan route to the south,
+which promised to lead to the former.</p>
+<p>At noon he rode into the little valley of Yuz-Kudak, or the
+&ldquo;Hundred Wells.&rdquo;&nbsp; It was completely bare of
+vegetation, except a little thin grass, but was brightened by a
+small, narrow runlet, which led, in less than a quarter of a
+mile, to the water.&nbsp; There, along the valley, bubbled about
+twenty-five or thirty wells or springs; in some the water
+trickling over the surface, in others standing at a depth of from
+five to ten feet.&nbsp; Thence, to the next well, was a distance
+of twenty-five miles.&nbsp; The country was sandy, but <a
+name="page272"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 272</span>high and
+broken up, with a low range of mountains on the left, extending
+north-east and south-west.&nbsp; Next day Mr. MacGahan fell in
+with a Kirghiz aul, where he was hospitably entertained by a
+chief named Bii Tabuk.&nbsp; From him he learned that Kauffmann
+had left Karak-Aty and arrived at Khala-Ata, one hundred miles
+further to the south, and that the shortest way to Khala-Ata lay
+right across the desert in the direction of the Oxus, a little
+west of south.&nbsp; As there was no road, nor even a sheep path,
+Mr. MacGahan sought for a guide, and eventually engaged a young
+Kirghiz at the exorbitant fee of twenty-five roubles.&nbsp; Then,
+having enjoyed a couple of days&rsquo; rest, he started before
+sunrise on that interminable hunt after General Kauffmann, which
+seemed to promise as romantic a legend as the voyage of Jason in
+search of the Golden Fleece, or Sir Galahad&rsquo;s famous quest
+of the Sangreal.</p>
+<p>He had not ridden far, when, as the issue of a little intrigue
+between his Tartar, his old guide, Mushuf, and his new guide, the
+last named suddenly refused to proceed unless, in addition to the
+twenty-five roubles, he received a horse or the money to buy
+one.&nbsp; With prompt decision MacGahan dismissed the guide, and
+when Ak-Mamatoff showed a disposition to be recalcitrant,
+threatened him with his revolver.&nbsp; This display of firmness
+and courage immediately produced a satisfactory effect.&nbsp;
+Ak-Mamatoff humbled himself, and to prove the sincerity of his
+penitence, rode to a neighbouring aul, and procured another and
+more trustworthy guide.&nbsp; Afterwards they all breakfasted,
+and once more rode across the sandy wastes in the direction of
+Khala-Ata.&nbsp; Sand, sand, sand, <a name="page273"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 273</span>everywhere sand.&nbsp; The horses
+struggled with difficulty through the huge drifts, and on the
+second night one of them gave up, and had to be left
+behind.&nbsp; Sand, sand, sand, everywhere sand; by day as by
+night, and all so lonely and silent!&nbsp; For fifteen days
+MacGahan had bravely plodded through the dreary, inhospitable
+desert&mdash;when and how would his journey end?&nbsp; Still he
+persevered: stumbling through the low coarse brushwood, sliding
+down into deep sandy hollows; again, clambering painfully up
+steep ascents, where the horses panted and laboured, and strove
+with the heavy inexorable sand; over the hard-bound earth, where
+their hoof&rsquo;s rang as on a stone pavement; late in the
+night, he was glad to fling himself on the sand to snatch a brief
+repose.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have scarcely shut our eyes,&rdquo; says this
+intrepid, indefatigable traveller, &ldquo;when we are called by
+the guide to renew the march.&nbsp; It is still night, but the
+desert is visible, dim and ghostly under the cold pale light of
+the rising moon.&nbsp; Vegetation has entirely disappeared; there
+is scarcely a twig even of the hardy saxaul.&nbsp; Side by side
+with us move our own shadows, projected long and black over the
+moonlit sand, like fearful spectres pursuing us to our doom.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Thin streaks of light begin to shoot up the eastern
+sky.&nbsp; The moon grows pale, the shadows fade out, and at last
+the sun, red and angry, rises above the horizon.&nbsp; After the
+sharp cold of the night its rays strike us agreeably, suffusing a
+pleasant sensation of warmth over our benumbed limbs.&nbsp; Then
+it grows uncomfortably warm, then hot, and soon we <a
+name="page274"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 274</span>are again
+suffering the pangs of heat and thirst; our eyes are again
+blinded by the fiery glare, and our lungs scorched by the
+stifling noonday atmosphere.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Throughout that day the ride was continued, and even far into
+the night.&nbsp; Early next morning the traveller reached the
+summit of the mountain range behind which lies Khala-Ata.&nbsp;
+With feelings of eager expectancy and hope, he spurred forward
+his horse, and with his field-glass looked down upon the bleak
+bare plain which stretched far away in the direction of Bokhara;
+there, at the distance of eight miles, he saw a dome-like mound,
+encircled by small tents, which shone in the morning sunlight,
+and at various points were grouped masses of soldiers in white
+uniform, and the sheen of steel.&nbsp; At last, then, he had
+overtaken Kauffmann!</p>
+<p>Though weary and spent, and covered with the dust of the
+desert, it was with a cheerful heart that, at about six
+o&rsquo;clock on the morning of the 16th of May, he rode into the
+camp and fortress of Khala-Ata, after a ride of five hundred
+miles and a chase of seventeen days.&nbsp; All the more bitter
+was his disappointment when, on asking the young officer on duty
+to direct him to the quarters of General Kauffmann, he was
+informed that the general had left Khala-Ata, five days before,
+and by that time must certainly have reached the Amu-Darya.&nbsp;
+The chase, then, had been fruitless; the rider, daring and
+indefatigable as he had showed himself, had missed his
+mark.&nbsp; The commandant at Khala-Ata proved to be a Colonel
+Weimam, who received the special correspondent with marked
+discourtesy, <a name="page275"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+275</span>and refused to allow him to continue his search for
+General Kauffmann, unless he first obtained that general&rsquo;s
+permission.&nbsp; The sole concession he would make was, that he
+would send on Mr. MacGahan&rsquo;s letters of introduction, and
+then, if the Russian commander-in-chief expressed a wish to see
+him, he would be at liberty to go.&nbsp; This arrangement,
+however, would evidently involve a delay of ten or twelve
+days.&nbsp; In the mean time the army would cross the Oxus, would
+capture Khiva, and the special correspondent&rsquo;s
+&ldquo;occupation&rdquo; would be &ldquo;gone.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+Anxiously did Mr. MacGahan meditate on the course it would be
+best for him to adopt.&nbsp; To break through the Russian lines
+and effect his escape seemed impracticable.&nbsp; In all
+probability, the swift-footed and ferocious Turcoman cavalry were
+hanging in General Kauffmann&rsquo;s rear; and how, without an
+escort, was he to make his way through their ranks?&nbsp; Yet the
+more he reflected, the more he became convinced that this was his
+only chance of reaching the Russian army in time to witness the
+capture of Khiva.&nbsp; The difficulties in the way, apart from
+the danger, were enormous.&nbsp; His horses were exhausted; he
+had neither provisions nor forage, nor any means of procuring
+them; and he might reckon on Colonel Weimam&rsquo;s despatching a
+squadron of Cossacks to pursue and arrest him.&nbsp;
+Ascertaining, however, that the colonel was about to move forward
+with a couple of companies of infantry, one hundred Cossacks, and
+two field-pieces, he resolved on the bold plan of quitting the
+camp with the cavalry, trusting to the darkness to escape
+detection, and afterwards making a wide circuit to pass the
+detachment.&nbsp; Several days passed by in wretched <a
+name="page276"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+276</span>inaction.&nbsp; The heat was oppressive; clouds of dust
+filled the atmosphere, and almost choked the unfortunate victims
+exposed to its irritating influence; provisions were painfully
+scarce, and Colonel Weimam absolutely refused to sell or give a
+grain of barley to the traveller&rsquo;s starving horses.&nbsp;
+At last, about one a.m. on the 14th of May, the Russian
+detachment marched out of camp, and struck to the westward, in
+the direction of Adam-Kurulgan and the Amu-Daria.&nbsp; Mr.
+MacGahan and his men were on the alert.&nbsp; &ldquo;I dropped
+silently,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;in the rear of the Cossacks, who
+led the column, followed by my people, and when we had gained the
+summit of the low sand-hill, a mile from the camp, over which the
+road led, I as silently dropped out again, turned my
+horses&rsquo; heads to the west, and plunged into the
+darkness.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Once more he was in the open desert, once more he was free,
+and he could not repress a feeling of exultation, though he was
+suffering from hunger, his horses were spent with starvation, and
+at any moment he might fall into the hands of the murderous
+Turcomans.&nbsp; A more daring enterprise, or one conceived in a
+more resolute and intrepid spirit, is hardly recorded, I think,
+in the annals of adventure.&nbsp; When he supposed himself at a
+sufficient distance from the Russian column, he turned sharp
+round to the west, and made as straight as he could for the
+Amu-Darya, expecting to reach it before Colonel Weimam.&nbsp; But
+after a hard day&rsquo;s ride, he found, as he approached
+Adam-Kurulgan, that the Russian soldiers were before him!&nbsp;
+There seemed no alternative but to return to Khala-ata or
+surrender himself to the obnoxious and despotic Weimam.&nbsp;
+Yes; if he could get water for his exhausted beasts he <a
+name="page277"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 277</span>might avoid
+Adam-Kurulgan altogether, and still pursue his wild ride to the
+Oxus!&nbsp; Some Kirghiz guides, on their way to Khala-Ata,
+informed him that twenty miles further on was Alty-Kuduk, or the
+&ldquo;Six Wells;&rdquo; it was not on the road to the Amu, but
+some four miles to the north, and Kauffmann had left some troops
+there.&nbsp; This news revived his drooping spirits.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;Forward!&rdquo; he cried, and away through the deep
+sand-drifts the little company toiled and struggled.&nbsp; He
+lost another of his horses, and the survivors were almost mad
+with thirst; but his cry was still &ldquo;Forward!&rdquo;&nbsp;
+He himself longed for water, with a longing unknown to those who
+have not travelled in the arid desert and under the burning sun,
+for hours and hours, without moistening the parched lips; but his
+only thought was &ldquo;Forward!&rdquo;&nbsp; On the following
+day the brave man&rsquo;s persistency was rewarded.&nbsp; He
+reached the camp of Alty-Kuduk, met with a most friendly
+reception from all its inmates, and obtained meat and drink for
+himself and his men, and barley and water for his horses.</p>
+<p>A day&rsquo;s rest, and he was again in the saddle (May
+27th).&nbsp; It was soon apparent by the dead camels that lined
+the road that he had got into the trail of the Russian army, and
+from time to time he could recognize the tracks of cannon.&nbsp;
+Then he came upon the bodies of Turcoman horses, which, as he
+afterwards learned, had been slain in a skirmish two days
+before.&nbsp; Towards sunset the character of the country
+changed: the rolling sand dunes disappeared, and the traveller
+entered upon a level plain, which sank away into a lower kind of
+terrace.&nbsp; The day drew rapidly to a close: lower and lower
+down the western sky <a name="page278"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 278</span>sunk the blood-red sun; at last it
+dropped below the horizon, and as the sky flashed momently with
+broad streaks of red and purple and golden light, the shimmer of
+water became visible in the distance.&nbsp; It was the Oxus!</p>
+<p>It was long after dark when MacGahan reached the river.&nbsp;
+He refreshed his horses with its waters, and then encamped for
+the night.&nbsp; At daylight he ascended a hill, and looked out
+upon the scene.&nbsp; The broad, calm river, winding north and
+south, sparkled before him, like a belt of silver on a golden
+mantle.&nbsp; But where was the Russian army?&nbsp; Where was
+General Kauffmann?</p>
+<p>Nowhere could he discover a trace of human habitation, of tent
+or kibitka.&nbsp; Nowhere could he see a single picket, not even
+a solitary Cossack.</p>
+<p>Again was MacGahan disappointed.&nbsp; I have read of an old
+superstition which represents a cup of gold as the prize of the
+fortunate mortal who shall find the exact spot where a rainbow
+touches the earth.&nbsp; And I have read that men, believing it,
+have pursued the radiant iris with eager footsteps, only to find
+her eluding them when most they think themselves sure of grasping
+her.&nbsp; So was it with our special correspondent.&nbsp; He had
+hoped to overtake the Russians at Myn-Bulak, but they had
+vanished; at Khala-Ata, but he was too late; and again on the
+Oxus, but they had disappeared.&nbsp; He was almost tempted to
+look upon himself as the victim of a portentous delusion.&nbsp;
+Would there really be a Kauffmann?&nbsp; Was the expedition to
+Khiva other than a myth?</p>
+<p>The tracks of cannon and the ashes of extinct campfires
+reassured him on these points; and, <a name="page279"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 279</span>rallying his energies, he set out
+once more on his strange quest, following the course of the
+Oxus.&nbsp; That day he rode five and forty miles.&nbsp; At night
+he encamped, but as Khivans might be prowling in the vicinity, he
+resolved to keep watch.&nbsp; For hours he paced up and down in
+the darkness, a darkness that would have been death stillness but
+for the murmur of the flowing river; and at length he caught a
+flash of light.&nbsp; To him, like the light which Columbus saw
+on the eve of the discovery of the New World, it portended the
+end of his adventure; for it proceeded, as he knew, from either a
+Khivan or a Russian bivouac.&nbsp; In the morning he started
+early, and had ridden but a short distance, when loud upon his
+ears broke the rolling thunder of artillery!&nbsp; Then he knew
+that the army was close at hand, and engaged in desperate combat
+with its Khivan enemies.</p>
+<p>A few miles more, and Mr. MacGahan reached a sand-hill which
+afforded him an extensive view of the valley of the river.&nbsp;
+The opposite bank was crowded with horsemen, who were galloping
+to and fro, while a couple of cannon placed in front of a small
+pit were busily discharging missiles.&nbsp; On his own side the
+Russians were posted in loose order, and looking quietly on;
+their artillery replying to the Khivan fire with whizzing
+shells.&nbsp; &ldquo;It was a curious scene,&rdquo; says our
+traveller; &ldquo;and I suppose the old Oxus, since the time it
+first broke from the ice-bound springs of Pamir, had never heard
+such music as this.&nbsp; Five times before had the Russians
+attempted to reach this very spot, and five times had they
+failed.&nbsp; Five times had they been driven back, beaten, and
+demoralized, either by the difficulties of the way, the <a
+name="page280"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 280</span>inclemency
+of the season, or the treachery of the Khivans.&nbsp; The one
+detachment which had succeeded in capturing Khiva had afterwards
+been slaughtered to the last man; and now the Russians stood at
+last, this bright morning, on the banks of that historic river,
+with their old enemy once more before them.&rdquo;&nbsp; The
+Khivans soon retired, leaving the opposite bank entirely
+free.&nbsp; Mr. MacGahan then started down the river to join the
+Russian army, and in a short time found himself in their midst,
+overwhelmed with friendly attentions.&nbsp; News of his gallant
+ride across the Kyzil-Kum had preceded him, so that he was
+received as a man who had quietly done a truly heroic
+thing.&nbsp; His first duty was to pay his respects to the object
+of his prolonged quest, General Kauffmann.&nbsp; The general,
+wrapped up in a Bokharan khalat or gown, was seated in an open
+tent, drinking tea and smoking a cigarette; a man of middle age,
+bald, rather short of stature, beardless, but wearing a thick
+moustache, prominent nose, blue eyes, and a pleasant kindly
+countenance.&nbsp; He shook hands with MacGahan, asked him to sit
+down, and remarked, with a smile, that he appeared to be
+something of a &ldquo;molodyeltz&rdquo; (a brave fellow).&nbsp;
+After questioning him respecting his adventures, he briefly told
+the story of his campaign up to that time, and gave him full and
+free permission to accompany the army the rest of the way to
+Khiva.&nbsp; By the Grand-Duke Nicholas Mr. MacGahan was received
+with equal courtesy.</p>
+<p>The traveller now develops into the special correspondent, and
+his record of travel changes into a chronicle of military
+events.&nbsp; It would be inconsistent with our purpose to follow
+minutely his narrative of <a name="page281"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 281</span>the Khivan war; but we shall
+endeavour to select such passages as throw some light on the
+nature of the country and the character of its inhabitants.</p>
+<h3>II.</h3>
+<p>The Khivans, according to Mr. MacGahan, are generally
+medium-sized, lean, muscular fellows, with long black beards, and
+no very agreeable physiognomy.&nbsp; They dress in a white cotton
+shirt, and loose trousers of the same material, over which is
+worn a khalat, or long tunic, cut straight, and reaching to the
+heels.&nbsp; The Khivan khalat, with its narrow stripes of dirty
+brown and yellow, differs very much indeed from the beautiful and
+brilliant khalat of the Bokhariots.&nbsp; Most of the Khivans go
+barefoot, and they cover their head with a tall, heavy, black
+sheepskin cap, which is heavier, uglier, and more inconvenient
+than even the bearskin of our household troops.&nbsp; In the
+neighbourhood of Khiva they chiefly cultivate the soil, and their
+prowess as horticulturists deserves to be renowned.&nbsp; For
+miles around their capital the country blooms with well-kept
+gardens, where fruit trees of all kinds flourish, and little
+fields of waving corn.&nbsp; The houses and farmyards are
+enclosed by stout walls, from fifteen to twenty feet high,
+solidly buttressed, and flanked by corner towers.&nbsp; The
+entrance is through an arched and covered gateway, closing with a
+massive timber gate.&nbsp; The farmhouse, a rectangular building,
+from twenty-five to seventy-five yards square, is built of dried
+mud, worked into large blocks like granite, and measuring three
+or four feet <a name="page282"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+282</span>square and as many thick.&nbsp; There is always a
+little pond of clear water close at hand, and this is shaded by
+three or four large elms, while the enclosures are planted with
+elms and poplars.</p>
+<p>Khiva surrendered to the Russians on the 9th.&nbsp; Mr.
+MacGahan entered it in company with the victorious troops, but
+confesses to experiencing a feeling of disappointment.&nbsp; The
+grand or magnificent he had not expected; but his dreams of this
+Oriental city, secluded far away in the heart of the desert, had
+pictured it as impressive and picturesque, and they proved
+entirely false.&nbsp; Through narrow, dirty, and crooked streets,
+he advanced to the citadel.&nbsp; Entering by a heavy arched
+brick gateway, he came in sight of a great porcelain tower,
+shining brilliantly with green, and brown, and blue, and
+purple.&nbsp; This tower, about one hundred and twenty-five feet
+high, measured about thirty feet in diameter at the base, and
+tapered gradually towards the top, where its diameter was about
+fifteen feet.&nbsp; It was covered all over with burnt tiles,
+arranged in a variety of broad stripes and figures, as well as
+with numerous verses of the Koran.&nbsp; With the Khan&rsquo;s
+palace, it forms one side of a great square, enclosed by the
+walls of the citadel; the opposite side being occupied by a new
+m&eacute;dress&eacute;, and the other two sides by sheds and
+private houses.</p>
+<p>In the palace nothing is worthy of notice except the
+Khan&rsquo;s audience chamber, or great hall of state.&nbsp; Of
+this you can form a good idea if you will tax your imagination to
+conceive a kind of porch, opening on an inner court, measuring
+about thirty feet high, twenty feet wide, and ten feet deep, and
+flanked on either side by towers ornamented with blue and green
+<a name="page283"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+283</span>tiles.&nbsp; The floor was raised six feet, and the
+roof supported by two curved, slender wooden pillars.&nbsp; The
+other rooms were mostly dark and ill ventilated.&nbsp; At the
+back of the hall of state was the Khan&rsquo;s treasury, a low
+vaulted chamber, the walls and ceilings of which were covered
+with frescoes of vines and flowers, executed on the most
+fantastic principles of colouring.&nbsp; The gold, silver, and
+precious stones had been removed, but not so the weapons, of
+which there was a most various assortment: swords, guns, daggers,
+pistols, revolvers, of almost every shape and description.&nbsp;
+Two or three sabres were of English manufacture.&nbsp; There were
+also many of the beautiful broad, slightly curved blades of
+Khorassan, inlaid with gold; slender Persian scimitars, their
+scabbards blazing with turquoises and emeralds; and short, thick,
+curved poniards and knives from Afghanistan, all richly
+enamelled, and their sheaths set in precious stones.&nbsp; In the
+hurry of the Khan&rsquo;s departure, beautiful carpets had also
+been left behind, silk coverlets, cushions, pillows, khalats, and
+rich and rare Kashmir shawls.</p>
+<p>In another apartment were found about three hundred volumes of
+books, some old telescopes, bows and arrows, and several fine
+suits of armour, which doubtlessly belonged to the era of the
+Crusades, when the chivalry of Europe encountered the Saracens on
+the plains of Syria and Palestine.</p>
+<p>In the course of his wanderings Mr. MacGahan lighted upon the
+Khan&rsquo;s harem, where his favourite Sultana and some other
+women still remained.&nbsp; As he was an American&mdash;or,
+rather, because they supposed him to be an Englishman&mdash;the
+ladies gave him a <a name="page284"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+284</span>cordial reception, and entertained him to tea.&nbsp;
+They were eight in number: three were old and exceedingly ugly;
+three middle-aged or young, and moderately good looking; one was
+decidedly pretty; and the other whom Mr. MacGahan speaks of as
+the Sultana, was specially distinguished by her superior
+intelligence, her exquisite grace of movement, and her air of
+distinction.&nbsp; She wore a short jacket of green silk,
+embroidered with gold thread; a long chemise of red silk,
+fastened on the throat with an emerald, slightly open at the
+bosom, and reaching below the knees; wide trousers, fastened at
+the ankles; and embroidered boots.&nbsp; She had no turban, and
+her hair was curled around her well-shaped head in thick and
+glossy braids.&nbsp; Curious earrings, composed of many little
+pendants of pearls and turquoises, glanced from her ears, and
+round her wrists gleamed bracelets of solid silver, traced with
+gold.</p>
+<p>The chamber in which these ladies sat was ten feet wide,
+twenty long, and twelve high.&nbsp; Parts of the ceiling were
+embellished with coloured designs, rude in conception and
+execution.&nbsp; Against one side of the room were placed elegant
+shelves, supporting a choice assortment of the finest Chinese
+porcelain.&nbsp; The floor was strewn with carpets, cushions,
+coverlets, shawls, robes, and khalats, all in admired disorder,
+together with household utensils, arms, an English
+double-barrelled hunting rifle, empty cartridges, percussion
+caps, and&mdash;strange contrast!&mdash;two or three
+guitars.&nbsp; It was evident that preparations for flight had
+been begun, and the principal valuables already removed.</p>
+<p>The Khan soon found that nothing was to be gained by flight,
+and as the Russians were disposed <a name="page285"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 285</span>to treat him leniently, he decided
+on returning to Khiva, and surrendering to the great
+Yarim-Padshah, the victorious Kauffmann.&nbsp; Mr. MacGahan, who
+was present at the interview, describes the Asiatic potentate,
+Muhamed Rahim Bogadur Khan, as at that time a man of about thirty
+years of age, with a not unpleasing expression of countenance;
+large fine eyes, slightly oblique, aquiline nose, heavy sensual
+mouth, and thin black beard and moustache.&nbsp; He was about six
+feet three inches high, with broad shoulders and a robust
+figure.&nbsp; &ldquo;Humbly he sat before Kauffmann, scarcely
+daring to look him in the face.&nbsp; Finding himself at the feet
+of the Governor of Turkistan, his feelings must not have been of
+the most reassuring nature.&nbsp; The two men formed a curious
+contrast; Kauffmann was not more than half as large as the Khan,
+and a smile, in which there was apparent a great deal of
+satisfaction, played on his features, as he beheld Russia&rsquo;s
+historic enemy at his feet.&nbsp; I thought there never was a
+more striking example of the superiority of mind over brute
+force, of modern over ancient modes of warfare, than was
+presented in the two men.&nbsp; In the days of chivalry, this
+Khan, with his giant form and stalwart arms, might have been
+almost a demi-god; he could have put to flight a regiment
+single-handed, he would probably have been a very C&oelig;ur de
+Lion; and now the meanest soldier in Kauffmann&rsquo;s army was
+more than a match for him.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The capital of this Asiatic potentate is, as I have hinted,
+deficient in remarkable characteristics.&nbsp; With three or four
+exceptions, the buildings are all of clay, and present a
+miserable appearance.&nbsp; There <a name="page286"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 286</span>are two walls&mdash;an outer and an
+inner; the interior enclosing the citadel, which measures a mile
+in length by a quarter of a mile in breadth, and in its turn
+encloses the Khan&rsquo;s palace and the great porcelain
+tower.&nbsp; The outer wall is on an average twenty-five feet
+high, and it is strengthened by a broad ditch or moat.&nbsp;
+There are seven gates.&nbsp; The area between the walls is at one
+point converted into a kind of cemetery; at another it is planted
+out in gardens, which are shaded by elms and fruit trees, and
+watered by little canals.&nbsp; Of the houses it is to be said
+that the interior is far more comfortable than the wretched
+exterior would lead the traveller to anticipate.&nbsp; Most of
+them are constructed on the same plan.&nbsp; You pass from the
+street into a large open court, all around which are arranged the
+different apartments, each opening into the court, and seldom
+having any direct communication with each other.&nbsp; Facing the
+north stands a high porch, with its roof some seven or eight feet
+above the surrounding walls; this serves to catch the wind, and
+bring it down into the court below on the principle of a
+wind-sail aboard ship.&nbsp; The free circulation of air thus
+maintained is, undoubtedly, very pleasant in the summer heat, but
+in a Khivan winter it must have its disadvantages.</p>
+<p>With twenty-two m&eacute;dress&eacute;s, or monasteries, and
+seventeen mosques, is Khiva endowed.&nbsp; Of the latter, the
+most beautiful and the most highly esteemed is the mosque
+Palvan-Ata, which raises its tall dome to a height of sixty feet,
+shining with tiles of glaring green.&nbsp; The interior of the
+dome is very striking: it is covered, like the exterior, with
+tiles, but these <a name="page287"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+287</span>are adorned with a beautiful blue tracery, interwoven
+with verses from the Koran.&nbsp; In a niche in the wall,
+protected by a copper lattice-work, are the tombs of the Khans;
+and Palvan, the patron-saint of the Khivans, is also buried
+there.</p>
+<p>From the mosques we pass to the baz&aacute;r, which is simply
+a street covered in, like the arcades so popular in some English
+towns.&nbsp; The roof consists of beams laid from wall to wall
+across the narrow thoroughfare, supporting planks laid close
+together, and covered with earth.&nbsp; On entering, you are
+greeted by a pleasant compound scent of spices, by all kinds of
+agreeable odours, and by the confused sounds of men and
+animals.&nbsp; As soon as your eyes grow accustomed to the shade,
+they rest with delight on the rich ripe fruit spread everywhere
+around you in tempting masses.&nbsp; Khiva would seem to be the
+paradise of fruit epicures.&nbsp; There are apricots, and grapes,
+and plums, and peaches, and melons of the finest quality and
+indescribable lusciousness.&nbsp; But if you want more solid
+fare, you can enjoy a pilaoff with hot wheaten cakes, and wash
+down the repast with stimulating green tea.&nbsp; After which,
+refreshed and thankful, you may sally forth to make your
+purchases of boots or tobacco or khalats, cotton stuffs or silk
+stuffs, calico from Manchester, muslin from Glasgow, robes from
+Bokhara, or Russian sugar.&nbsp; This done, you are at leisure to
+survey for a while the motley crowd that surges to and fro.&nbsp;
+The Uzbeg, with his high black sheepskin hat and long khalat,
+tall, well-formed, swarthy, with straight nose and regular
+features; the Kirghiz, in coarse dirty-brown khalat, with broad,
+flat, stolid countenance; the Bokhariot merchant, <a
+name="page288"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 288</span>with turban
+of white and robe of many colours; the Persian, with quick,
+ferret-like eyes, and nimble, cat-like motions; and the Yomud
+Turcoman, with almost black complexion, heavy brows, fierce black
+eyes, short upturned nose, and thick lips.&nbsp; These pass
+before you like figures in a phantasmagoria.</p>
+<p>Weary with the noise and shifting sights, you gladly accept an
+invitation to dine with a wealthy Uzbeg, and accompany him to his
+residence.&nbsp; The day is very warm; in a cloudless sky reigns
+supreme the sun; and you rejoice when you find that your host has
+ordered the banquet to be spread in the pleasant garden, amid the
+shade of green elms and the sparkle of running waters.&nbsp; Your
+first duty is to remove your heavy riding-boots, and put on the
+slippers which an attendant hands to you; your second is to make
+a Russian cigarette, and drink a glass of nalivka, or Russian
+gooseberry wine, as a preparation for the serious work that
+awaits you.&nbsp; Then a cloth is spread, and the dinner
+served.&nbsp; Fruits, of course&mdash;apricots, melons, and the
+most delicious white mulberries; next, three or four kinds of
+dainty sweetmeats, which seem to consist of the kernels of
+different nuts embedded in a kind of many-coloured toffee.&nbsp;
+Into a frothy compound, not unlike ice-cream with the ice left
+out, you dip your thin wheaten cakes, instead of spoons.&nbsp;
+Various kinds of nuts, and another glass of nalivka, precede the
+principal dish, which is an appetizing pilaoff, made of large
+quantities of rice and succulent pieces of mutton, roasted
+together.</p>
+<p>The dinner at an end, large pipes are brought in.&nbsp; Each
+consists of a gourd, about a foot high, filled <a
+name="page289"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 289</span>with water;
+on the top, communicating with the water through a tube, rests a
+bowl, containing the fire and tobacco.&nbsp; Near the top, on
+either side, and just above the water, is a hole; but there is no
+stem.&nbsp; The mode of using it is this: you take up the whole
+vessel in your hand, and then blow through one of the holes to
+expel the smoke.&nbsp; Next, stopping up one hole with your
+finger, you put your mouth to the other, and inhale the smoke
+into your lungs.&nbsp; You will probably be satisfied with three
+or four whiffs on this gigantic scale.</p>
+<p>Mr. MacGahan had an opportunity of seeing the interior of an
+Uzbeg house, and he thus describes it:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There is little attempt at luxury or taste in the house
+of even the richest; and in this respect the poorest seems almost
+on an equality with the most opulent.&nbsp; A few carpets on the
+floor; a few rugs and cushions round the wall, with shelves for
+earthenware and China porcelain; three or four heavy, gloomy
+books, bound in leather or parchment; and some pots of jam and
+preserved fruit, generally make up the contents of the
+room.&nbsp; There are usually two or three apartments in the
+house different from the others, in having arrangements for
+obtaining plenty of light.&nbsp; In these rooms you find the
+upper half of one of the walls completely wanting, with the
+overhanging branches of an elm projecting through the
+opening.&nbsp; The effect is peculiar and striking, as well as
+pleasant.&nbsp; From the midst of this room&mdash;with mud walls
+and uneven floor, with the humblest household utensils, and
+perhaps a smoking fire&mdash;you get glimpses of the blue sky
+through the green <a name="page290"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+290</span>leaves of the elm tree.&nbsp; A slightly projecting
+roof protects the room from rain; in cold weather, of course, it
+is abandoned.&nbsp; Two or three other rooms are devoted to the
+silkworms, the feeding and care of which form the special
+occupation of the women.&nbsp; The worms naturally receive a
+great deal of attention, for their cocoons pay a great part of
+the household expenses.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>But let us suppose that an Uzbeg host closes up the
+entertainment he has provided for us with a dance.</p>
+<p>The dancers are two young boys&mdash;one about eight, the
+other about ten years of age&mdash;with bare feet, a little
+conical skull-cap on their shaven heads, and a long loose khalat
+drooping to their ankles.&nbsp; The orchestra is represented by a
+ragged-looking musician, who sings a monotonous tune to the
+accompaniment of a three-stringed guitar.&nbsp; The boys begin to
+dance; at first with slow and leisurely movements, swaying their
+bodies gracefully, and clapping their hands over their heads to
+keep time to the music.&nbsp; But as this grows livelier, the
+boys gradually become more excited; striking their hands wildly,
+uttering short occasional shouts, turning somersaults, wrestling
+with each other, and rolling upon the ground.</p>
+<p>Towards nightfall, torches will be brought on the scene; some
+being thrust into the ground, and others fastened to the trunks
+and branches of trees.&nbsp; The comelier of the juvenile dancers
+now attired himself as a girl, with tinkling bells to his wrists
+and feet, and a prettily elaborate cap, also decked with bells,
+as well as with silver ornaments, and a long pendent veil
+behind.&nbsp; He proceeds to execute a quiet and <a
+name="page291"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 291</span>restrained
+dance by himself, lasting, perchance, for about a quarter of an
+hour; and the other boy coming forward, the two dance together,
+and enact a love-scene in a really eloquent pantomime.&nbsp; The
+girl pretends to be angered, turns her back, and makes a pretence
+of jealousy, while the lover dances lightly around her, and
+endeavours to restore her to amiability by caresses and all kinds
+of devices.&nbsp; When all his efforts fail, he sulks in his
+turn, and shows himself offended.&nbsp; Thereupon the lady begins
+to relent, and to practise every conciliatory art.&nbsp; After a
+brief affectation of persistent ill humour, the lover yields, and
+both accomplish a merry and animated measure with every sign of
+happiness.</p>
+<p>When the Russians left Khiva in the month of August, Mr.
+MacGahan&rsquo;s mission was ended.&nbsp; He had been present
+with them at the fall of Khiva, and in the campaign which they
+afterwards undertook&mdash;it would seem, with little or no
+justification&mdash;against the Yomud Turcomans.&nbsp; On the
+return march he accompanied the detachment in charge of the sick
+and wounded, descending the Oxus to its mouth, and then
+proceeding up the Aral Sea to the mouth of the Syr-Daria.&nbsp;
+The voyage on the Aral occupied two days and a night.&nbsp;
+Having entered the Syr-Daria, thirty-six hours&rsquo; sailing
+brought the flotilla to Kasala&mdash;the point from which, as we
+have seen, Mr. MacGahan had started, some months before, on his
+daring ride through the desert.&nbsp; After a sojourn of three
+days, he started in a tarantass for Orenburg.</p>
+<p>It will be owned, I think, that Mr. MacGahan&rsquo;s
+enterprise was boldly conceived and boldly executed; that he
+displayed, not only a firm and manly courage, <a
+name="page292"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 292</span>but a
+persistent resolution which may almost be called heroic.&nbsp; He
+showed himself possessed, however, of even higher qualities; of a
+keen insight into character, a quick faculty of observation, and
+a humane and generous spirit.</p>
+<h2><a name="page293"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+293</span>COLONEL EGERTON WARBURTON,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND EXPLORATION IN WEST
+AUSTRALIA.</span></h2>
+<p><span class="smcap">The</span> north-west of the
+&ldquo;island-continent&rdquo; of Australia seems to have been
+discovered almost simultaneously by the Dutch and Spaniards about
+1606.&nbsp; Twenty years later, its west coast was sighted; and
+in 1622 the long line of shore to the south-west.&nbsp; Tasmania,
+or, as it was first called, Van Diemen&rsquo;s Land, was visited
+by the Dutch navigator Tasman in 1642.&nbsp; Half a century
+passed, and Swan River was discovered by Vlaming.&nbsp; The real
+work of exploration did not begin, however, until 1770, when
+Captain Cook patiently surveyed the east coast, to which he gave
+the name of New South Wales.&nbsp; In 1798, in a small boat about
+eight feet long, Mr. Bass, a surgeon in the navy, discovered the
+strait that separates Tasmania from Australia, and now
+perpetuates his memory.&nbsp; He and Lieutenant Flinders
+afterwards circumnavigated Tasmania; and Flinders, in 1802 and
+1803, closely examined the south coast, substituting, as a
+general designation of this &ldquo;fifth quarter of the
+world,&rdquo; Australia for the old boastful Dutch name of New
+Holland.&nbsp; <a name="page294"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+294</span>He also explored the great basin of Port Philip, and
+discovered the noble inlets of St. Vincent and Spencer
+Gulfs.&nbsp; In 1788 the British Government selected Botany Bay,
+on the east coast, as a place of transportation for criminals;
+and from this inauspicious beginning sprang the great system of
+colonization, which, developed by large and continual emigration
+from the mother country, has covered Australia with flourishing
+States.&nbsp; Tasmania became a separate colony in 1825; West
+Australia, originally called Swan River, in 1829; South Australia
+in 1834; Victoria in 1851; Queensland in 1859.&nbsp; Meanwhile,
+the exploration of the interior was undertaken by a succession of
+bold and adventurous spirits, starting at first from New South
+Wales.&nbsp; The barrier of the Blue Mountains was broken
+through, and rivers Macquarie, Darling, and Lachlan were in time
+discovered.&nbsp; In 1823 Mr. Oxley surveyed the Moreton Bay
+district, now Queensland, and traced the course of the
+Brisbane.&nbsp; In 1830 Captain Sturt explored the Murray, the
+principal Australian river, to its confluence with Lake
+Victoria.&nbsp; In 1840 Mr. Eyre, starting from Adelaide,
+succeeded, after enduring severe privations, in making his way
+overland to King George&rsquo;s Sound.&nbsp; In the following
+year he plunged into the interior, which he believed to be
+occupied by a great central sea; he found only the swamp and
+saline bays of Lake Torrens.&nbsp; Captain Sturt, in 1845,
+penetrated almost to the southern tropic in longitude 130&deg;
+E., traversing a barren region as waterless and as inhospitable
+as the Sahara.&nbsp; About the same time Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt,
+with some companions, successfully passed from Moreton Bay to <a
+name="page295"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 295</span>Port
+Errington; but, in 1848, attempting to cross from east to west,
+from New South Wales to the Swan River, he and his party
+perished, either from want of provisions or in a skirmish with
+the natives.&nbsp; In the same year Mr. Kennedy, who had
+undertaken to survey the north-east extremity of Australia, was
+murdered by the natives.&nbsp; Thus Australian exploration has
+had its martyrs, like African.&nbsp; In 1860 Mr. M&rsquo;Douall
+Stuart crossed the continent from ocean to ocean, or, more
+strictly speaking, from South Australia to a point in lat.
+18&deg; 40&prime; S., about two hundred and fifty miles from the
+coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria.&nbsp; The hostility of the
+natives prevented him from actually reaching the coast.&nbsp; In
+August, 1860, a similar expedition was projected by some
+gentlemen belonging to the colony of Victoria; and, under the
+command of Robert O&rsquo;Hara Burke, it started from Melbourne
+for Cooper&rsquo;s Creek, whence it was to proceed to the
+northern coast.&nbsp; Some of the members, namely, Burke, Mr.
+Wills, the scientific assistant, and King and Gray, two
+subordinates, succeeded in reaching the Gulf of Carpentaria; but
+on their return route they suffered from want of provisions, and
+all perished except King.&nbsp; In 1862 Mr. M&rsquo;Douall Stuart
+renewed his bold project of crossing the continent, and starting
+from Adelaide, arrived in Van Diemen&rsquo;s Bay, on the shore of
+the Indian Ocean, July 25th.&nbsp; Numerous other names might be
+added to this list; but we shall here concern ourselves only with
+that of Colonel Egerton Warburton, as one of the most eminent and
+successful of Australian explorers.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Peter Egerton Warburton was born in August, 1813.&nbsp; <a
+name="page296"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 296</span>After
+passing through the usual examination in the East India
+Company&rsquo;s college at Addiscombe, he entered the Bombay army
+in 1834, and served in India until 1853, passing the greater part
+of the time in the Adjutant-General&rsquo;s Department, and
+rising through each grade until he attained his majority, and was
+appointed Deputy Adjutant-General at head-quarters.&nbsp; But,
+attracted by the prospects opened up to colonists in New Zealand,
+he resigned the service, intending to proceed thither with his
+wife and family.&nbsp; Eventually, circumstances led to his
+preferring South Australia as a field for his energies; and soon
+after his arrival at Adelaide he was selected to command the
+police force of the whole colony&mdash;an onerous post, which he
+held with distinction for thirteen years.&nbsp; He was afterwards
+made commandant of the volunteer forces of the colony of South
+Australia.&nbsp; In August, 1872, the South Australian Government
+resolved on despatching an expedition to explore the interior
+between Central Mount Stuart and the town of Perth, in West
+Australia, and chose Colonel Warburton as its leader.&nbsp;
+Afterwards, the Government drew back, and the cost of the
+expedition was eventually undertaken by two leading colonists,
+Messrs. Elder and Hughes, who authorized Colonel Warburton to
+organize such a party and prepare such an outfit as he considered
+necessary, and provided him with camels and horses.&nbsp; It was
+arranged that the party should muster at Beltana Station, the
+head-quarters of the camels; thence proceed to the Peake, lat.
+28&deg; S., one of the head-quarters of the inland telegraph;
+and, after a d&eacute;tour westward, make for Central Mount
+Stuart, where they would receive a reinforcement of camels, and,
+<a name="page297"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 297</span>thus
+strengthened, would be able to cross the country unknown to
+Perth, the capital of Western Australia.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>With his son Richard as second in command, Colonel Warburton
+left Adelaide on the 21st of September, 1872; reached Beltana
+Station on the 26th; and on the 21st of December arrived at Alice
+Springs (1120 miles from Adelaide), the starting-point of his
+journey westward.&nbsp; The party consisted of himself, his son,
+T. W. Lewis, two Afghan camel-drivers, Sahleh and Halleem, Denis
+White (cook and assistant camel-man), and Charley, a native
+lad.&nbsp; There were four riding and twelve baggage camels,
+besides one spare camel; the horses being left at Alice
+Springs.&nbsp; All needful preparations having been completed,
+the explorers quitted the station on the 15th of April, 1873, and
+turned their faces westward.</p>
+<p>For the first five days not a drop of water was seen, and on
+the fifth, of the supply carried with them only one quart was
+left, which it was necessary to reserve for emergencies.&nbsp;
+When they encamped for the night, no fire was lighted, as without
+water they could not cook.&nbsp; Next day, the 20th, Lewis and
+the two Afghans were sent, with four camels, to refill the casks
+and water-bags at Hamilton Springs, about twenty-five miles
+distant.&nbsp; Meanwhile, a shower of rain descended; all the
+tarpaulins were quickly spread, and two or three buckets of water
+collected.&nbsp; What a change!&nbsp; All was now activity,
+cheerfulness, heartfelt thanksgiving.&nbsp; A cake and a pot of
+tea were soon in everybody&rsquo;s hands, and in due time Lewis
+returned with a full supply of water, to increase and partake in
+the general satisfaction.</p>
+<p><a name="page298"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+298</span>Keeping still in a general westerly direction, they
+crossed extensive grassy plains, relieved occasionally by
+&ldquo;scrub&rdquo; or bushes, and coming here and there upon a
+spring or well.&nbsp; &ldquo;The country to-day,&rdquo; writes
+Warburton, on one occasion, &ldquo;has been beautiful, with
+parklike scenery and splendid grass.&rdquo;&nbsp; In the
+&ldquo;creeks,&rdquo; as the water-courses are termed in
+Australia, they sometimes found a little water; more often, they
+were quite dry.&nbsp; &ldquo;This is certainly,&rdquo; he writes,
+&ldquo;a beautiful creek to look at.&nbsp; It must at times carry
+down an immense body of water, but there is none now on its
+surface, nor did its bed show spots favourable for retaining
+pools when the floods subsided.&rdquo;&nbsp; On the 9th of
+January they struck some glens of a picturesque character.&nbsp;
+At the entrance of the first a huge column of basalt had been
+hurled from a height of three hundred feet, and having fixed
+itself perpendicularly in the ground, stood like a sentry,
+keeping guard over a fair bright pool, which occupied the whole
+width of the glen&rsquo;s mouth&mdash;a pool about fifteen feet
+wide, fifty feet long, and enclosed by lofty and precipitous
+basaltic cliffs.&nbsp; At the entrance, the view does not extend
+beyond thirty yards; but, on accomplishing that distance, you
+find that the glen strikes off at a right angle, and embosoms
+another pool of deep clear water, circular in shape, and so
+roofed over by a single huge slab of basalt that the sun&rsquo;s
+rays can never reach it.&nbsp; There is a second glen, less
+grand, less rugged than the former, but more picturesque.&nbsp;
+At the head of it bubble and sparkle many springs and much
+running water.</p>
+<p>The surrounding country was clothed with porcupine-grass
+(spinifex)&mdash;a sharp thorny kind of <a
+name="page299"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 299</span>herbage,
+growing in tussocks of from eighteen inches to five feet in
+diameter.&nbsp; When quite young, its shoots are green; but as
+they mature they assume a yellow colour, and instead of
+brightening, deepen the desolate aspect of the wilderness.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;It is quite uneatable even for camels, who are compelled
+to thread their way painfully through its mazes, never planting a
+foot on the stools, if they can possibly avoid it.&nbsp; To
+horses on more than one occasion it has proved most destructive,
+piercing and cutting their legs, which in a very short time
+become fly-blown, when the animals have either to be destroyed or
+abandoned.&nbsp; The spiny shoots are of all heights, from the
+little spike that wounds the fetlock to the longer blade that
+penetrates the hock.&nbsp; It is one of the most cheerless
+objects that an explorer can meet, and it is perhaps unnecessary
+to say that the country it loves to dwell in is utterly useless
+for pastoral purposes.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Coming to a range of granite, steep, bare, and smooth, Colonel
+Warburton clambered up its face on hands and knees, to find there
+a fine hole or basin in the rock, perfectly round and nearly full
+of water.&nbsp; This hole was, of course, the work of nature,
+and, strange to say, was on the point of a smooth projecting part
+of the rock, where it would have seemed impossible that any water
+could lodge.&nbsp; How it was wrought in such a place one cannot
+imagine, but the position was so prominent as to be visible from
+the plain at a considerable distance.</p>
+<p>Another day the travellers fell in with a bees&rsquo;
+hive;&mdash;unfortunately, it was empty.&nbsp; The Australian bee
+is stingless, and very little larger than our common house-fly,
+but its honey is remarkably sweet.&nbsp; The <a
+name="page300"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 300</span>nest, or
+&ldquo;sugar-bag,&rdquo; as the bushmen call it, is generally
+made in a hollow tree.&nbsp; They also saw some specimens of the
+crested dove&mdash;one of the loveliest of the Australian
+pigeons.&nbsp; In truth, it is hardly surpassed anywhere in
+chasteness of colouring and elegance of form, while its graceful
+crest greatly enhances the charm of its appearance.&nbsp; It
+frequently assembles in very large flocks, which, on visiting the
+lagoons or river banks for water, during the dry seasons,
+generally congregate on a single tree or even branch, perching
+side by side, and afterwards descending in a body to drink; so
+closely are they massed together while thus engaged, that dozens
+may be killed by a single discharge of a gun.&nbsp; Their flight
+is singularly swift; with a few quick flaps of the wings they
+gain the necessary impetus, and then sail forward without any
+apparent exertion.</p>
+<p>The diamond-sparrow, or spotted pardalote, was also
+seen.&nbsp; This bird inhabits the whole of the southern parts of
+the Australian continent, from the western to the eastern border,
+and is very common in Tasmania.&nbsp; It is nearly always engaged
+in searching for insects among the foliage both of the tallest
+trees and the lowest shrubs, in the garden and orchard as in the
+open forest; and it displays in all its movements a remarkable
+activity, clinging about in every variety of position, both above
+and beneath the leaves, with equal facility.&nbsp; Its mode of
+nest-building differs from that of every other member of the
+genus to which it belongs.&nbsp; It first excavates, in some
+neighbouring bank, a hole just large enough to admit of the
+passage of its body, in a nearly horizontal direction, to the
+depth of two or three feet; at the end of this <a
+name="page301"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 301</span>burrow or
+gallery, it forms a chamber; and in this chamber it deposits its
+nest, which is beautifully woven of strips of the inner bark of
+the Eucalypti, and lined with finer strips of the same or similar
+materials.&nbsp; In shape it is spherical, about four inches in
+diameter, with a lateral hole for an entrance.&nbsp; To prevent
+the ingress of rain the chamber is raised somewhat higher than
+the mouth of the hole.&nbsp; Mr. Gould, the Australian
+naturalist, speaks of these nests as very difficult to detect;
+they can be found, he says, only by watching for the ingress or
+egress of the parent birds, as the entrance is generally
+concealed by herbage or the overhanging roots of a tree.&nbsp;
+Why so neat a structure as the diamond-sparrow&rsquo;s nest
+should be constructed at the end of a gallery or tunnel, into
+which no light can possibly enter, is beyond comprehension; it is
+one of those wonderful results of instinct so often brought
+before us in the economy of the animal kingdom, without our being
+able to explain them.&nbsp; The diamond-sparrow rears two broods,
+of four or five each, in the course of the year.&nbsp; Its song
+or call is a rather harsh, piping note of two syllables,
+frequently repeated.</p>
+<p>The great difficulty which besets the Australian explorer is
+the want of water.&nbsp; He travels day after day across open
+grassy plains, relieved by few variations of surface, except the
+sand ridges, to meet with neither spring nor watercourse.&nbsp;
+Sometimes he comes upon the native wells, but these, very
+frequently, are dry or almost dry; he digs well after well
+himself, but no water rises.&nbsp; Colonel Warburton&rsquo;s
+party suffered severely from this deficiency.&nbsp; They met with
+much trouble, moreover, through the straying of their <a
+name="page302"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+302</span>camels.&nbsp; Thus, one evening, &ldquo;Charley,&rdquo;
+who acted as camel-herd, reported that they had run away
+southward.&nbsp; He traced their tracks for several miles, and
+observed that one camel had broken its hobbles. <a
+name="citation302"></a><a href="#footnote302"
+class="citation">[302]</a>&nbsp; Halleem, the Afghan
+camel-driver, then mounted the Colonel&rsquo;s riding camel,
+&ldquo;Hosee,&rdquo; and started in search of them at five
+o&rsquo;clock on a Sunday evening.&nbsp; He was to push on for
+five or six miles, then camp for the night, and at dawn follow up
+the tracks vigorously, so as to overtake the truants, and return
+by mid-day.</p>
+<p>Monday came, but Halleem and the camels came not with
+it.&nbsp; Sahleh, who had been exploring in the vicinity of the
+camp with a gun, returned in the evening with the startling
+information that he had seen Hosee&rsquo;s <i>return</i> track,
+coming near the camp, and then striking off in a north-easterly
+direction.&nbsp; Colonel Warburton now also learned for the first
+time that Halleem was occasionally subject to fits, and that
+while they lasted he knew not what he was doing or where he was
+going.&nbsp; It was evident that such a man ought not to have
+been trusted alone, and it became a question whether Halleem had
+lost his camel or his wits; the latter seemed more probable, as
+Hosee, if he had come near the other camels, would certainly have
+joined them.</p>
+<p>Next day, Monday, July 22nd, the Colonel
+writes:&mdash;&ldquo;I sent my son and Charley with a
+week&rsquo;s provisions on our back tracks, to try for Halleem
+first; but, in the event of not finding his <i>foot</i> tracks,
+to continue on, and endeavour to recover the camels.&nbsp; Lewis
+also <a name="page303"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+303</span>went in the other direction, to run up Hosee&rsquo;s
+tracks; so that I hoped that by one or other of these means I
+should learn what had become of Halleem.&nbsp; Unfortunately,
+Lewis, supposing he had only a few hours&rsquo; work, took
+neither food nor water.&nbsp; Now, 6 p.m., it is beginning to
+rain, and Lewis has not returned.&nbsp; I know he will stick to
+the tracks as long as he can, but I wish he were back; if Halleem
+be demented, he may urge the camel on sixty or seventy miles
+without stopping, and thus get a start in his mad career that
+will make it impossible for Lewis to help him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;23rd.&nbsp; It has rained lightly all night.&nbsp;
+Lewis is still absent; I am greatly grieved at his having nothing
+to eat.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;1 p.m.&nbsp; Lewis returned; he had camped with
+Richard, and so was all right.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;It appears from his report that Sahleh, whilst out
+&lsquo;birding,&rsquo; must have stumbled upon a mare&rsquo;s
+nest, for Lewis soon abandoned the track he started on, and
+turned after Richard to find Halleem&rsquo;s first camp.&nbsp;
+They did not find this, but they fell on his tracks of next day,
+steadily following the runaway camels; it is clear, therefore,
+that Sahleh has done his countryman some injustice, and caused
+much unnecessary alarm. . . . Richard returned, having seen
+Halleem, and promised to take out provisions to meet him on his
+return.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;26th.&nbsp; Sahleh shot an emu (<i>Dromaius Novoe
+Hollandic&aelig;</i>), a welcome addition to our larder.&nbsp;
+Every scrap of this bird was eaten up, except the feathers.&nbsp;
+The liver is a great delicacy, and the flesh by no means
+unpalatable.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;27th and 28th.&nbsp; Sent provisions to Ethel Creek for
+Halleem.</p>
+<p><a name="page304"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+304</span>&ldquo;29th.&nbsp; The camel-hunters returned in the
+evening, but without the camels.&nbsp; This is a double loss; the
+camels are gone, and so is our time; our means of locomotion are
+much reduced, whilst the necessity of getting on is greatly
+increased.&nbsp; Halleem has, however, done all he could do; he
+followed the camels nearly one hundred miles, but as they
+travelled night and day, whilst he could only track them by day,
+he never could have overtaken them.&nbsp; No doubt these animals
+will go back to Beltana, where alarm will be created as soon as
+they are recognized as belonging to our party.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Such is the Colonel&rsquo;s simple, unaffected account of what
+was really an annoying and perplexing incident.</p>
+<p>At this date (July 29th) the explorers had accomplished
+seventeen hundred miles.&nbsp; The country continued to present
+the same general features&mdash;plains yellow with
+porcupine-grass, alternating with low hills of sand; but as they
+advanced, the sand-hills became more numerous, and among them lay
+numerous half-dry salt lagoons of a particularly cheerless
+aspect.&nbsp; Dense spinifex&mdash;high, steep sand-ridges, with
+timber in the flats, and nothing for the camels to eat but low
+scrubby bushes;&mdash;that horses should cross such a region is
+obviously impossible.&nbsp; The want of water again became
+urgent.&nbsp; From the burnt ground clouds of dust and sand were
+thrown up by the wind, almost choking the travellers, and
+intensifying their thirst.&nbsp; They were temporarily relieved
+by coming upon a native well.&nbsp; But the country still wore
+the same cheerless aspect of inhospitality; the desolate arid
+plain extended in every region&mdash;a desert of sand, <a
+name="page305"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 305</span>which
+wearied the travellers by its monotony.&nbsp; Even when they
+arrived at the so-called basaltic hills, there was no water, no
+sign of green and pleasant vegetation.&nbsp; It was quite an
+excitement when, for the first time, they descried some
+flock-pigeons.&nbsp; The birds were very wild, and they could
+kill only three or four, but they were excellent eating, and made
+quite a dainty dish.&nbsp; Soon after this cheerful episode,
+Lewis, who had been sent on a short excursion south in quest of
+water, returned with intelligence of an Eden oasis which he had
+discovered in the wilderness.&nbsp; A beautiful clump of large
+gum trees flourished at the bottom of a small creek, which was
+hemmed in by a high sand-hill, and afterwards broke through a
+rocky ridge sprinkled with fine, clear, deep water-holes, one
+hundred feet in circumference.&nbsp; The rich green foliage of
+the gum trees contrasted vividly with the red sand-hills on
+either side, and the bare rocky barrier in front.&nbsp; To this
+delightful spot of greenery, bustard, bronze-wing pigeons, owls,
+and other birds resorted.</p>
+<p>Colonel Warburton, however, was averse to retrace his steps,
+even to enjoy a halt in such an &ldquo;earthly paradise;&rdquo;
+and, pushing forward, was rewarded for his persistency by
+discovering a fine large lake of fresh water, haunted by ducks,
+flock-pigeons, and parrots.&nbsp; He halted on its borders for a
+couple of days.</p>
+<p>Of the bronze-wing pigeon, to which allusion has just been
+made, it may be affirmed that it prevails in every part of
+Australia.&nbsp; In some individuals the forehead is brown, in
+others buff white; the crown of the head and occiput, dark brown,
+shading into plum colour; sides of the neck, grey; upper surface
+of <a name="page306"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 306</span>the
+body, brown, each feather edged with tawny brown; wings, brown,
+with an oblong spot of lustrous bronze on the coverts; the tail
+feathers, deep grey, with a black band near the tip, except the
+two central, which are brown; under surface of the wing,
+ferruginous; breast, deep wine-colour, passing into grey on the
+under parts; bill, blackish grey; legs and feet, carmine
+red.&nbsp; It is a plump, heavy bird, and, when in good
+condition, weighs nearly a pound.&nbsp; Its favourite haunts are
+the dry hot plains, among the bushes or
+&ldquo;scrub.&rdquo;&nbsp; Its speed is very surprising; in an
+incredibly short time it traverses a great expanse of
+country.&nbsp; Before sunrise it may be seen in full flight
+across the plain, directing its course towards the creeks, where
+it quenches its thirst.&nbsp; The traveller who knows its habits
+can, by observing it, determine, even in the most arid places,
+whether water is near at hand; if he descry it wending its way
+from all quarters towards a given point, he may rest assured that
+there he will obtain the welcome draught he seeks.&nbsp; Mr.
+Gould says that it feeds entirely upon the ground, where it finds
+the varieties of leguminous seeds that constitute its food.&nbsp;
+It breeds during August and the four following months, that is,
+in the Australian spring and summer, and often rears two or more
+broods.&nbsp; Its nest is a frail structure of small twigs,
+rather hollow in form; and is generally placed on the horizontal
+branch of an apple or gum tree, near the ground.&nbsp; On one
+occasion, Mr. Gould, during a long drought, was encamped at the
+northern extremity of the Brezi range, where he had daily
+opportunities of observing the arrival of the bronze-wing to
+drink.&nbsp; The only water <a name="page307"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 307</span>for miles around lay in the vicinity
+of his tent, though that was merely the scanty supply left in a
+few small rocky basins by the rains of many months before.&nbsp;
+Hence, he enjoyed an excellent opportunity for observing not only
+the bronze-wing, but all the other birds of the
+neighbourhood.&nbsp; Few, if any, of the true insectivorous or
+fissirostral birds came to the water-holes; but, on the other
+hand, the species that live upon grain and seeds, particularly
+the parrots and honey-eaters (<i>Trichoglossi</i> and
+<i>Meliphagi</i>), rushed down incessantly to the margins of the
+pools, heedless of the naturalist&rsquo;s presence, their sense
+of peril vanquished temporarily by their sense of thirst.&nbsp;
+The bronze-wing, however, seldom appeared during the heat of the
+day; it was at sunset that, with the swiftness of an arrow, it
+rushed towards the watering-place.&nbsp; It did not descend at
+once, says Mr. Gould, to the brink of the pool, but dashed down
+upon the ground at about ten yards&rsquo; distance, remained
+quiet for a while until satisfied of its safety, and then
+leisurely walked to the water.&nbsp; After deep and frequent
+draughts, it retired, winging its way towards its secluded
+nest.</p>
+<p>Just before reaching the lake, the Colonel&rsquo;s party made
+a capture, a young native woman; and they detained her in order
+that she might guide them to the native wells.&nbsp; On the 1st
+of September, however, she effected her escape by gnawing through
+a thick hair-rope, with which she had been fastened to a
+tree.</p>
+<p>Spinifex and sand resumed their predominance as the travellers
+left the lake behind them.&nbsp; The heat was very great, and
+crossing the hot sand and the steep hills was trying work.&nbsp;
+On the 12th, they <a name="page308"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+308</span>rejoiced in the discovery of some excellent
+wells.&nbsp; Then again came spinifex and sand-hills.&nbsp; These
+troublesome ridges varied considerably in height and in distance
+from one another; but their elevation seldom exceeded eighty
+feet, and the space between them was not often more than three
+hundred yards.&nbsp; They lay parallel to one another, running
+from east to west; so that while going either eastward or
+westward the travellers could keep in the intervening hollows,
+and travel with comparative facility, but when compelled to cross
+them at a great angle, the feet of the camels ploughed deep in
+the sand, and the strain upon the poor animals was
+terrible.&nbsp; Yet the Australian waste is, after all, less
+wearisome than the sandy deserts of Nubia or the great Sahara; it
+is sadly deficient in water, but the sand-hills disguise their
+inhospitality with many varieties of shrubs and flowers, as well
+as with acacias and gum trees.&nbsp; The shrubs are not edible,
+and the trees are of no value as timber, but they serve to hide
+the nakedness of the land.</p>
+<p>A grave danger beset them on the 15th.&nbsp; Their master bull
+(or male) camel had eaten poison, and fell ill; he was of immense
+value to the travellers, not only on account of his great
+strength, but because without his help it would be almost
+impossible to keep the young bulls in order, and they might elope
+with all the ewe (or female) camels.&nbsp; They administered to
+him a bottle of mustard in a quart of water&mdash;the only
+available medicine&mdash;but without any beneficial effect.&nbsp;
+In every herd of camels, it is necessary to explain, is found a
+master bull, who, by his strength, preserves order among his
+young brethren.&nbsp; These <a name="page309"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 309</span>gay cavaliers are always desirous of
+a harem to themselves; and, if allowed an opportunity, would cut
+off three or four cows from the herd, and at full speed drive
+them for hundreds of miles.&nbsp; They are quiet only while under
+subjection to the master bull, and become intractable if, through
+illness or accident, his supremacy should be relaxed.&nbsp;
+Colonel Warburton was surprised at the marvellous instinct of the
+young bulls in his little camel harem; they knew that their
+master was ailing almost before the camel-men did, and at once
+showed signs of insubordination, so that it was necessary to
+watch them by night and to knee-halter them.</p>
+<p>The old camel did not improve, and on the 16th the Colonel was
+compelled to abandon him.&nbsp; Three misfortunes followed: on
+the 17th two riding camels were taken ill, having been struck in
+the loins by the night wind; and on the 18th the same fate befell
+Richard Warburton&rsquo;s riding camel.&nbsp; Thus, in three days
+the travellers lost four camels.&nbsp; They endeavoured to make
+some profit out of the misadventure by &ldquo;curing&rdquo; a
+quantity of camel-meat.&nbsp; The inner portions of the animal
+were first eaten&mdash;not the liver and other dainty parts only,
+but the whole; every single scrap was carefully consumed, not a
+shred was wasted.&nbsp; Then, head, feet, hide, tail, all went
+into the boiling pot.&nbsp; Even the very bones were stewed down,
+for soup first, and afterwards for the sake of the marrow they
+contained.&nbsp; The flesh was cut into thin flat strips, and
+hung upon the bushes for three days to be dried by the sun.&nbsp;
+The tough thick hide was cut up and parboiled, the coarse hair
+scraped off with a knife, and the leathery substance replaced in
+the pot and <a name="page310"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+310</span>stewed until, both as to flavour and savour, it bore a
+disagreeable resemblance to the inside of a carpenter&rsquo;s
+glue-pot.&nbsp; As may be supposed, such a dish as this was not
+so nutritious as the roast beef (or mutton) of Old England; but
+it stifled for a while the cry of an empty stomach.&nbsp; The
+attack next fell upon the head, which was speedily reduced to a
+polished skull.&nbsp; As for the foot, like cow-heel or
+sheep&rsquo;s trotters, it was looked upon as a delicacy, and its
+preparation was a marvel of culinary skill.&nbsp; First, a good
+fire was lighted, and allowed to burn down to bright red embers,
+while the foot, severed at the hock, was scraped and singed as
+thoroughly as time permitted.&nbsp; The foot was thrust into the
+glowing coals, burnt for some considerable time, removed, placed
+on its side on the ground, and deprived of its tough horny
+sole.&nbsp; After this elaborate series of operations, the reader
+will doubtless suppose that the delicacy is fit for the
+table.&nbsp; Not a bit of it!&nbsp; It must be placed in a bucket
+of water, and kept steadily boiling for six and thirty hours;
+then, and then only, may it be served up.&nbsp; On the whole, we
+should not consider it a dish for a hungry man.</p>
+<p>The 21st of September was the anniversary of their departure
+from Adelaide.&nbsp; Two of the party went out on camels to
+search for water, and two, in a different direction, on
+foot.&nbsp; As they had only two riding camels left, and these in
+a weak condition, they threw away their tents, and most of their
+private property, retaining only their guns and ammunition, and
+clothing enough for decency.&nbsp; Happily, one of the
+reconnoitring parties found a well, to which the travellers at
+once proceeded, and watered the thirsty, weary camels.</p>
+<p><a name="page311"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 311</span>After
+a three days&rsquo; halt they resumed their advance, but moved
+very slowly.&nbsp; They were sick and feeble, and the country was
+difficult to traverse.&nbsp; Another camel had to be abandoned;
+so that out of seventeen animals, only eight remained.&nbsp; A
+plague of insects was added to their troubles.&nbsp; Not only did
+clouds of common flies buzz and worry around them, and legions of
+ants assail them, but the Australian bee, or honey-fly, tormented
+them by its pertinacious adhesion to their persons&mdash;an
+unwelcome adhesion, as it is famed for its intolerable
+smell.&nbsp; To get water they were again compelled to wander
+from the direct route, and at one time they descended as far
+south as lat. 20&deg; 2&prime;.&nbsp; Hence they began to suffer
+from want of provisions, and a grim alternative faced them: if
+they pressed forward, they ran the chance of losing their camels
+and dying of thirst; if they halted, they could hope only to
+prolong their lives on sun-dried camel flesh.</p>
+<p>On the 3rd of October their condition was critical.&nbsp; The
+improvident Afghans, having consumed all their flour and meat,
+had to be supplied from the scanty rations of the white men, and
+Colonel Warburton resolved that if water were but once more
+found, so that he might not be compelled to retrace his steps, he
+would at all risks push forward to the river Oakover.&nbsp;
+Another riding camel broke down, and was killed for meat.&nbsp; A
+well was discovered, but the supply of water was so small that
+only one bucketful could be obtained in three hours, and on the
+second day it ran dry.&nbsp; On the 8th, having slightly
+recruited their animals, the undaunted travellers again moved
+forward; but one of the camels was still so feeble that <a
+name="page312"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 312</span>Colonel
+Warburton and his son took it in turns to walk.&nbsp; The Colonel
+had the first stage, and, owing to stoppages from loads slipping
+off at the sand-hills, he soon struck ahead of the camels.&nbsp;
+Suddenly, hearing a noise behind him, he turned;&mdash;nine armed
+blacks were rushing full upon him!&nbsp; He halted to confront
+them, and they too stopped, at fifteen yards apart; two of them,
+in bravado, poised their spears, but, on his advancing pistol in
+hand, immediately lowered them, and a parley followed, in which,
+however, as neither understood the other&rsquo;s language, there
+was very little edification.</p>
+<p>The blacks were all chattering round him, when he heard a
+shot, as he supposed, on his &ldquo;right front.&rdquo;&nbsp; In
+reality it was fired from quite an opposite direction; but he was
+unwilling to answer the signal, because he did not wish to lose
+one of the three charges of his pistol.&nbsp; Moreover, the
+natives might have supposed that the single discharge had
+exhausted his resources, and have made an attack upon him.&nbsp;
+He accompanied them to their camp, and got a little water.&nbsp;
+The women and children would not approach him, but, thanks to his
+grey beard, the men similarly equipped welcomed him
+readily.&nbsp; There was a general passing of hands over each
+other&rsquo;s beards&mdash;a sign of friendship, it is to be
+presumed; for, after this little ceremony, the intercourse was
+conducted on the most amicable terms.&nbsp; Eventually the
+Colonel resumed his walk across the hot glaring sand-hills, until
+he thought he had covered the required distance, and that the
+camels would soon overtake him; then he stopped, lighted a fire,
+smoked a pipe, and would have indulged in a short nap, had the
+ants been agreeable.&nbsp; Finding that <a
+name="page313"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 313</span>sleep was
+impossible, he resolved on returning to the camp of the blacks
+for some more water; but, at that moment, his son and Lewis
+arrived with Charley, who had followed up his tracks, and he
+found that he must retrace his steps, having gone astray.&nbsp;
+Exhausted by heat, hunger, and fatigue, he could scarcely stagger
+along; but his companions supported his tottering feet, and in
+the evening he reached their encampment.</p>
+<p>A good supply of water had been discovered, and,
+notwithstanding the alarming scarcity of provisions, it was
+indispensable that they should halt by it for some days, in order
+to give the camels an opportunity of partially recovering their
+strength.&nbsp; Without them the explorers could hardly hope to
+cross the wide and weary wilderness in which they were
+involved.&nbsp; Their rapidly diminishing store of food they
+endeavoured to eke out by killing such feathered spoil as came
+within their range&mdash;Gular parrots, and bronze-wing and
+top-knot pigeons&mdash;and by a mess of boiled salt-plant
+(<i>Salicornia</i>).&nbsp; On the 14th they resumed their weary
+march.</p>
+<p>An entry or two from Colonel Warburton&rsquo;s journal will
+afford a vivid idea of his distressed condition at this
+period:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;19th.&nbsp; This is Sunday.&nbsp; How unlike one at
+home!&nbsp; Half a quart of flour and water at four a.m.; a hard,
+sinewy bit of raw, that is, sun-dried, but uncooked, camel-meat
+for dinner at two p.m.; supper uncertain, perhaps some roasted
+acacia seeds: this is our bill of fare.&nbsp; These seeds are not
+bad, but very small and very hard; they are on bushes, not trees,
+and the natives use them roasted and pounded.</p>
+<p><a name="page314"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+314</span>&ldquo;20th.&nbsp; Got a pigeon; and some flour and
+water for breakfast.&nbsp; We can only allow ourselves a spoonful
+of flour each at a time, and it won&rsquo;t last many days even
+at this rate.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Killed a large camel for food at sunset.&nbsp; We would
+rather have killed a worse one, but this bull had, in the early
+part of our journey, got a very bad back, and was unable to work
+for a long time. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;21st.&nbsp; Cutting up and jerking camel-meat.&nbsp;
+The inside has given us a good supper and breakfast.&nbsp; This
+is a much better beast than the old, worn-out cow we killed
+before, and we have utilized every scrap, having had a sharp
+lesson as to the value of anything we can masticate. . . .</p>
+<p>&ldquo;25th.&nbsp; All the camel-meat has been successfully
+jerked, and we have lived since the 20th on bone-broth and
+gristle.&nbsp; The birds were getting shy, so when we killed the
+camel we gave them a rest; to-day we go at them again.&nbsp; I
+hope the water-searchers will return this evening; our prospects
+are not very bright under any circumstances, but if we get water
+anywhere between south and west we shall have a prospect of
+overcoming the difficulties and dangers that threaten us. . .
+.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;29th.&nbsp; A short rain squall passed over us last
+evening; it has cooled the ground a little.&nbsp; Economy is, of
+course, the order of the day in provisions.&nbsp; My son and I
+have managed to hoard up about one pound of flour and a pinch of
+tea; all our sugar is gone.&nbsp; Now and then we afford
+ourselves a couple of spoonfuls of flour, made into paste.&nbsp;
+When we indulge in tea the leaves are boiled twice over.&nbsp; I
+eat my sun-dried camel-meat uncooked, as far as I can bite it;
+what I <a name="page315"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+315</span>cannot bite goes into the quart pot, and is boiled down
+to a sort of poor-house broth.&nbsp; When we get a bird we dare
+not clean it, lest we should lose anything.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;More disasters this morning.&nbsp; One of our largest
+camels very ill; the only thing we could do for it was to pound
+four boxes of Holloway&rsquo;s pills, and drench the animal. . .
+.&nbsp; One of the Afghans apparently wrong in his head. . .
+.&nbsp; In the evening the camel was still very sick.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The animal, however, was better on the following day, and the
+expedition again toiled onward across the sands.&nbsp; Very
+troublesome were the ants, which seemed to have undertaken a
+deliberate campaign against the much-suffering travellers.&nbsp;
+They were small black ants, and in such numbers that a stamp of
+the foot on the ground started them in thousands.&nbsp; When the
+wearied men flung themselves down in the shade of a bush to
+obtain the solace of half an hour&rsquo;s sleep, these pestilent
+persecutors attacked them, making their way through their scanty
+clothing, and dealing sharp painful nips with their strong
+mandibles.</p>
+<p>On the evening of the 1st of November, they began their
+&ldquo;rush&rdquo; or forced march for the Oakover river, and
+across the wearisome sand-hills actually accomplished five and
+twenty miles.&nbsp; Colonel Warburton then felt unable to
+continue the journey, thirst, famine, and fatigue having reduced
+him to a skeleton, while such was his weakness that he could
+scarcely rise from the ground, or when up, stagger half a dozen
+steps forward.&nbsp; &ldquo;Charley&rdquo; had been absent all
+day, and when he did not return at sunset, much <a
+name="page316"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 316</span>alarm was
+felt about him.&nbsp; The Colonel knew not what to do.&nbsp;
+Delay meant ruin to them all, considering their want of food and
+water; yet to leave the camp without the Colonel seemed inhuman,
+as it was dooming him to certain death.&nbsp; Until nine
+o&rsquo;clock in the evening they waited.&nbsp; Then a start was
+made, but before they had gone eight miles, the poor lad joined
+them.&nbsp; Notwithstanding the fatigue of the previous
+night&rsquo;s travelling, the lad had actually walked about
+twenty miles; he had fallen in with a large party of natives, and
+accompanied them to their water.&nbsp; &ldquo;It may, I think, be
+admitted,&rdquo; says Colonel Warburton, &ldquo;that the hand of
+Providence was distinctly visible in this
+instance.&rdquo;&mdash;Is it not in <i>every</i>
+instance?&mdash;&ldquo;I had deferred starting until nine p.m.,
+to give the absent boy the chance of regaining the camp.&nbsp; It
+turned out afterwards that if we had expedited our departure by
+ten minutes, or postponed it for the same length of time, Charley
+would have crossed us; and had this happened, there is little
+doubt that not only myself, but probably other members of the
+expedition, would have perished from thirst.&nbsp; The route
+pursued by us was at right angles with the course pursued by the
+boy, and the chances of our stumbling up against each other in
+the dark were infinitesimally small.&nbsp; Providence mercifully
+ordered it otherwise, and our departure was so timed that, after
+travelling from two to two hours and a half, when all hope of the
+recovery of the wanderer was almost abandoned, I was gladdened by
+the &lsquo;cooee&rsquo; of the brave lad, whose keen ears had
+caught the sound of the bells attached to the camels&rsquo;
+necks.&nbsp; To the energy and courage of this untutored native
+may, under the guidance of the Almighty, <a
+name="page317"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 317</span>be
+attributed the salvation of the party.&nbsp; It was by no
+accident that he encountered the friendly well.&nbsp; For
+fourteen miles he followed up the tracks of some blacks, though
+fatigued by a day of severe work, and, receiving a kindly welcome
+from the natives, he had hurried back, unmindful of his own
+exhausted condition, to apprise his companions of the important
+discovery he had made.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At the native camp, Colonel Warburton&rsquo;s party obtained
+some kangaroo meat, and a good supply of fresh water.&nbsp; They
+rested for twenty-four hours, and the repose and the food
+together temporarily reinvigorated them.&nbsp; At this time their
+position was lat. 20&deg; 41&prime;, and long. 122&deg;
+30&prime;; so that they were only three days&rsquo; journey from
+the Oakover.&nbsp; Forward they went, the country still
+presenting the two main features of sand and spinifex; forward
+they went, over the cheerless, monotonous plains, broken by sand
+ridges; growing weaker every day, but losing not one jot of hope
+or resolution.&nbsp; The annals of travel present few examples of
+more heroic tenacity and persistent purpose; few records of
+suffering more patiently borne, or of obstacles more steadfastly
+overcome.&nbsp; The highest energy, perseverance, and fortitude
+were necessary to the leader of an exploring expedition through
+so forlorn a wilderness, and these were never wanting on the part
+of Colonel Warburton, whose name, amongst the pioneers of
+civilization in Australia, must always be held in honour.</p>
+<p>On the 11th of November, the seven members of the expedition
+were living wholly on sun-dried strips of meat, as devoid of
+nutriment as they were of taste; and as these were almost
+exhausted, they <a name="page318"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+318</span>had to consider the probability of having to sacrifice
+another camel.&nbsp; They had no salt&mdash;a terrible
+deprivation; no flour, tea, or sugar.&nbsp; Next day, they were
+surrounded by sand-hills, and no water was visible
+anywhere.&nbsp; It was certain that, unless some providentially
+opportune help arrived, they could not live more than twenty-four
+hours; for the burning heat and the terrible country could not be
+endured without water.&nbsp; Not a snake, kite, or crow could
+they discover; one little bird, the size of a sparrow, was all
+that their guns could procure.&nbsp; Writing in his journal, the
+Colonel calmly says:&mdash;&ldquo;We have tried to do our duty,
+and have been disappointed in all our expectations.&nbsp; I have
+been in excellent health during the whole journey, and am so
+still, being merely worn out from want of food and water.&nbsp;
+Let no self-reproaches afflict any one respecting me.&nbsp; I
+undertook the journey for the benefit of my family, and was quite
+equal to it under all the circumstances that could reasonably be
+anticipated, but difficulties and losses have come upon us so
+thickly for the last few months that we have not been able to
+move; thus our provisions are gone, but this would not have
+stopped us could we have found water without such laborious
+search.&nbsp; The country is terrible.&nbsp; I do not believe men
+ever traversed so vast an extent of continuous desert.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Early on the 14th Charley sighted in the distance a native
+camp, and while the remainder of the party, with the camels, kept
+out of sight, he advanced alone towards it.&nbsp; The blacks
+received him kindly and gave him water, but when he
+&ldquo;cooed&rdquo; for the party to come up, they seem to have
+thought he had entrapped <a name="page319"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 319</span>them, and instantly speared him in
+the back and arm, cut his skull with a tomahawk, and nearly broke
+his jaw.&nbsp; After perpetrating this cruelty, they fled
+ignominiously.&nbsp; Colonel Warburton took possession of the
+fire they had kindled, and rejoiced at obtaining water.&nbsp;
+Charley&rsquo;s wounds were serious, but they were bound up as
+carefully as circumstances permitted, and it is satisfactory to
+state that he recovered from them.&nbsp; Another camel was
+killed, and Charley was nursed upon soup.&nbsp; This supply of
+meat enabled the expedition to continue its march towards the
+Oakover, which receded apparently as they advanced; and they
+toiled onward painfully, with the hot sun and hot wind exhausting
+their small resource of energy, the ants tormenting them at
+night, the sand and spinifex oppressing them by their
+monotony.&nbsp; On the 25th, to save themselves from starvation,
+they killed another camel, and all hands were employed in cutting
+up and jerking the meat.&nbsp; At last, on the 4th of December,
+they camped on a rocky creek, tributary to the Oakover, and were
+able to take leave of the dreadful desert which had so long
+hemmed them in on every side.&nbsp; Their spirits revived, for
+there was no longer a scarcity of water and they hoped that the
+river would supply them with the means of subsistence.</p>
+<p>But they had soon reason to feel that their difficulties were
+not all at an end.&nbsp; It was pleasant to look on the beautiful
+trees and profuse vegetation of the creek, but the charms of
+nature will not satisfy stomachs that have had no food for two
+days.&nbsp; So, on the evening of the 6th, a third camel was
+killed.&nbsp; Next day a few small fish were caught; they were
+greatly relished, and proved of real benefit.&nbsp; The 8th <a
+name="page320"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 320</span>was happily
+marked by another banquet of fish; but as they had no net or
+fishing apparatus, it was by no means easy work to catch
+them.&nbsp; Still, the travellers did not grow stronger; want of
+rest and of wholesome food, and the strain of continuous exertion
+and anxiety for so long a period, had undermined the whole
+system, and they could not rally.</p>
+<p>On the 11th they struck the Oakover in lat. 21&deg; 11&prime;
+23&Prime;.&nbsp; This must be a noble river, writes the Colonel,
+when the floods come down.&nbsp; The bed is wide and gravelly,
+fringed with magnificent cajeput or paper-bark trees.&nbsp; How
+grateful was its lovely and shady refuge from the hot fierce sun
+after the terrible sand-hills among which the travellers had
+wandered so long!</p>
+<p>On the 13th Lewis and an Afghan driver, on the only two camels
+that could travel, were sent forward to search for the station of
+Messrs. Harper and Co., and procure some help both in food and
+carriage.&nbsp; During his absence the Colonel and his companions
+lived, to use an expressive phrase, from hand to mouth.&nbsp;
+They could not get the fish to bite; but one day Richard
+Warburton shot a teal, and they rescued from the talons of a hawk
+a fine black duck, which supplied them with a splendid
+dinner.&nbsp; They were compelled, however, to fall back upon
+their last camel, though he was so lean and worn-out that he did
+not cut up well.&nbsp; On the 23rd they rejoiced in the capture
+of a couple of wood-ducks, and they also secured a little
+honey&mdash;a delightful novelty for persons who for many weeks
+had been deprived of the strengthening and useful properties of
+sugar.&nbsp; Still, these occasional &ldquo;tidbits&rdquo; could
+not supply the <a name="page321"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+321</span>want of regular and nutritious food; and all the
+travellers could hope for was to stave off actual famine.&nbsp;
+Day after day passed by, and Lewis did not return.&nbsp; Colonel
+Warburton had calculated that he would be absent about fourteen
+days; but the seventeenth came, and yet there was no sign of
+Lewis.&nbsp; Writing in his journal, Colonel Warburton, on
+December 20th, sums up his position in a few pithy and pregnant
+sentences:&mdash;&ldquo;We have abundance of water, a little
+tobacco, and a few bits of dried camel.&nbsp; Occasionally an
+iguana or a cockatoo enlivens our fare; and, lastly, I hope the
+late rain will bring up some thistles or some pig-weed that we
+can eat.&nbsp; Our difficulties are, to make our meat last,
+though, so far from doing us good, we are all afflicted with
+scurvy, diarrhoea, and affection of the kidneys from the use of
+it.&nbsp; We cannot catch the fish; we cannot find opossums or
+snakes; the birds won&rsquo;t sit down by us, and we can&rsquo;t
+get up to go to them.&nbsp; We thought we should have no
+difficulty in feeding ourselves on the river, but it turns out
+that, from one cause or another, we can get very little, and we
+are daily dropping down a peg or two lower.&rdquo;&nbsp; But a
+few hours after making this entry, the Colonel&rsquo;s long
+period of suffering and anxiety was at an end.&nbsp; He and his
+son were lying down near the little hut of boughs which they had
+constructed as a shelter, and listlessly eyeing the boy Charley,
+who had climbed a tree to look for honey, when they were startled
+by his cry&mdash;whether a yell of pain or shout of joy, it was
+impossible to determine.&nbsp; But in a moment the cause of his
+emotion was satisfactorily explained; out from the thick
+brushwood trotted a string of six horses, driven by the gallant
+<a name="page322"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 322</span>Mr.
+Lewis, accompanied by another white man from a station on the De
+Grey river.&nbsp; They brought an ample supply of nutritious
+food, and on the following day some additional stores came up on
+camels.&nbsp; Mr. Lewis&rsquo;s apparent delay was soon
+explained; the station, which belonged to Messrs. Grant, Harper,
+and Anderson, was one hundred and seventy miles distant.</p>
+<p>On the 3rd of January Colonel Warburton started down the
+river.&nbsp; For the first few days he had to be lifted on his
+horse&rsquo;s back, but with good food and moderate exercise he
+regained something of his old strength, and the journey to the
+station was accomplished in a week and a day.&nbsp; Ten days were
+then given to rest under the hospitable roof of Messrs. Grant,
+and on the 21st he started for Roebourne, one hundred and seventy
+miles further, arriving there on the 26th.&nbsp; His after stages
+were Lepack, Fremantle, Perth, Albany.&nbsp; At Glenelg, in South
+Australia, the Colonel and his companions arrived on Easter
+Sunday, having travelled by land four thousand miles, and by sea
+two thousand miles.</p>
+<p>The casualties are quickly recorded: the Colonel lost the
+sight of one eye, and his son&rsquo;s health was seriously
+shaken.&nbsp; Out of seventeen camels, only two arrived safely at
+the station on the De Grey river.</p>
+<p>It is almost needless to say that everywhere in West Australia
+Colonel Warburton was received with the public honours due to a
+man who has courageously and successfully accomplished a work of
+equal difficulty and danger.&nbsp; He was entertained in the most
+generous and cordial manner, and the high utility of his labours
+was liberally acknowledged.&nbsp; On his <a
+name="page323"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 323</span>return to
+South Australia he met, of course, with an enthusiastic
+welcome.&nbsp; A great banquet was given to the explorers, and
+the Legislative Assembly voted the sum of &pound;1000 to the
+leader, and &pound;500 to be divided among the
+subordinates.&nbsp; In 1874 the Royal Geographical Society of
+London conferred upon him its gold medal, and a few months later
+the Queen appointed him a Companion of the Order of St. Michael
+and St. George.</p>
+<p>Here closes a simple but stirring narrative, of which it is
+not, perhaps, too much to say, as has been said, that scarcely
+has a record of terrible suffering more nobly borne been given to
+the world.&nbsp; Hunger and thirst, intense physical exhaustion,
+the burning heat of a tropic sun, the glowing sands of an arid
+desert&mdash;not a single circumstance was wanting that could
+test the heroic endurance and patient heroism of the
+explorers.&nbsp; The country through which they toiled day after
+day was barren, inhospitable, desolate; a wilderness of coarse
+yellow herbage, a sombre waste of sand-hills.&nbsp; Their hearts
+were never cheered by bright glimpses of gorgeous scenery, of
+forests clothed with magnificent vegetation, of rivers pouring
+their ample waters through sylvan valleys; everywhere the
+landscape was melancholy and unprofitable.&nbsp; He who, with his
+life in his hand, penetrates the frozen recesses of the Polar
+World, and dares its storms of snow and its icy winds, has at
+least the inspiration to support him that springs from the
+grandeur of huge cliffs of ice and vast glaciers and
+white-gleaming peaks outlined against a deep blue sky.&nbsp; But
+in the wide Australian interior the landscape is always marked by
+the same monotony of <a name="page324"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 324</span>dreariness, the same uniformity of
+gloom; and it tests and taxes the traveller&rsquo;s energies to
+rise superior to its depressing influences.</p>
+<p>The reader, therefore, will feel that &ldquo;the Municipal
+Council and inhabitants of Fremantle&rdquo; used no language of
+undeserved eulogy when, in their address of welcome to Colonel
+Egerton Warburton, they said&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The difficulties to be overcome in the work of
+Australian exploration are acknowledged to be as formidable as
+are to be found in any part of our globe, and to meet these
+difficulties requires a combination of intelligence, energy,
+perseverance, and fortitude that few men possess; and the fact
+that you have surmounted all obstacles, and borne up under so
+many privations, has awakened in all our minds the deepest
+feelings of gratitude and admiration.&rdquo;&nbsp; <a
+name="citation324"></a><a href="#footnote324"
+class="citation">[324]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page325"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+325</span>MAJOR BURNABY,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND A RIDE TO KHIVA.</span></h2>
+<h3>I.</h3>
+<p><span class="smcap">That</span> vast and various region of
+sandy deserts and fertile valleys, of broad open plains and lofty
+highlands, which extends eastward from the Caspian Sea to the
+borders of Afghanistan, and from Persia northward to the confines
+of Siberia, is known to geographers by the name of Turkistan, or
+&ldquo;the country of the Turks.&rdquo;&nbsp; Across it, from
+north to south, strikes the massive chain of the Bolor-tagh,
+dividing it into two unequal portions.&nbsp; The western division
+is popularly known as Independent Tartary, or Great Bokhara; it
+covers an area of nearly 900,000 square miles&mdash;that is, it
+is ten times as large as Great Britain&mdash;and it consists of
+the arid sandy plain of the Caspian and Aral Seas, and of the
+hilly districts which skirt the ranges of the Bolor-Tagh, the
+Thian-Shan, and the Hindu Kush.&nbsp; The eastern division, or
+Upper Tartary, probably contains 700,000 square miles, and
+extends from Asiatic Russia on the north to Thibet and Kashmir on
+the south, from Mongolia on the east to the Bolor-Tagh on the
+west.&nbsp; The Thian-Shan separates its two provinces, which the
+Chinese call Thian-Shan-Pe-l&ucirc; and
+Thian-Shan-Nan-l&ucirc;.&nbsp; The reader&rsquo;s attention, <a
+name="page326"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 326</span>however,
+will be here directed only to Western Turkistan, which is divided
+into the Khanates of Khokan (north-east), Badakshan (south-east),
+Bokhara (east), and Khiva (west).&nbsp; To the north stretch the
+steppes of the nomadic Kirghiz; to the south the hills and dales
+are occupied by the hordes of the Turkomans.&nbsp; Its two great
+rivers are the Amu-Daria and the Syr-Daria, the ancient
+<i>Oxus</i> and <i>Jaxartes</i>,&mdash;the former traversing the
+centre, and the latter the south of the district, on their way to
+the great Arabian Sea; and the valleys through which they flow,
+as well as those of their tributary streams, are mostly fertile
+and pleasant.&nbsp; As might be inferred from the character of
+the country, the chief resources of the population are the
+breeding of domestic animals, and the cultivation of the soil;
+but in the towns of Khokand, Bokhara, Urgondji, and Karshi, a
+brisk manufacturing industry flourishes, which disposes of its
+surplus produce, after the local demand is satisfied, to the
+merchants of Russia, Persia, India, and China.</p>
+<p>Since 1864, the supremacy of Russia has been steadily
+advancing in Western Turkistan.&nbsp; In ordinary circumstances,
+the extension of the power of a civilized nation over a number of
+semi-barbarous states, constantly engaged in internecine warfare,
+is regarded as a just and legitimate movement, or, at all events,
+as one that is inevitable and calls for no expression of regret;
+but the eastward progress of Russia has long been considered, by
+a large party in England, as a menace to the safety of our Indian
+empire.&nbsp; Every fresh step of the Russian armies has
+therefore excited alarm or created suspicion among those who are
+known as Russophobists.&nbsp; How far <a name="page327"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 327</span>their fear or their mistrust is
+justifiable or dignified it is not our business in these pages to
+inquire; but it has been necessary to allude to it because it was
+this Russophobism which impelled Major (then Captain) Burnaby to
+undertake the difficult, if not dangerous, task of visiting
+Western Turkistan, that he might see with his own eyes what the
+Russians were doing there.&nbsp; The Russians had recently
+conquered Khokand and Khiva; it was thought they were preparing
+for further annexations; and Major Burnaby determined on an
+effort to reach Khiva, which during the Russian campaign had been
+visited, as we have seen, by Mr. MacGahan, the war correspondent
+of the <i>New York Herald</i>.&nbsp; Having obtained leave of
+absence from his regiment, the Royal Horse Guards, Major Burnaby
+rapidly equipped himself for his adventurous journey.&nbsp; He
+was well aware that the Russian authorities did not welcome the
+inquisitive eyes of English travellers, and that from them he
+could expect no assistance.&nbsp; His confidence in his
+resources, however, was great; he felt <i>totus in se ipso</i>;
+and he did not intend to be baffled in his object by anything but
+sheer force.&nbsp; The climate was another difficulty.&nbsp; The
+cold of the Kirghiz desert is a thing unknown in any other part
+of the world, even in the Arctic wastes and wildernesses; and he
+would have to traverse on horseback an enormous expanse of flat
+country, extending for hundreds of miles, and devoid of
+everything save snow and salt-lakes, and here and there the
+species of bramble-tree called saxaul.&nbsp; The inhabitants of
+Western Europe can form no conception of the force of the winds
+in Turkistan.&nbsp; They grumble at the pungent, irritating east;
+but they little imagine what it is like in countries exposed to
+<a name="page328"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 328</span>the
+awful vehemence of its first onset, before its rigour has been
+mitigated by the kindly ocean, and where its wild career is
+unimpeded by trees or rising land, by hills or mountains.&nbsp;
+Uninterruptedly it blows over dreary leagues of snow and salt,
+absorbing the saline matter, and blighting or almost gashing the
+faces of those unfortunates who are exposed to its fury.&nbsp;
+But no fear of the east wind prevailed over Major Burnaby&rsquo;s
+patriotic curiosity.&nbsp; He provided against it as best he
+could: warm were the garments specially made for him; his boots
+were lined with fur; his hose were the thickest Scottish fishing
+stockings; his jerseys and flannel shirts of the thickest
+possible texture; and he ordered for himself a waterproof and
+airproof sleeping-bag, seven feet and a half long, and two feet
+round.&nbsp; A large aperture was left on one side, so that the
+traveller might take up his quarters in the interior, and sleep
+well protected from the wintry blasts.&nbsp; For defensive
+purposes he took with him his rifle, a revolver, cartridges, and
+ball.&nbsp; His cooking apparatus consisted of a couple of
+soldier&rsquo;s mess-tins.&nbsp; A trooper&rsquo;s hold-all, with
+its accompanying knife, fork, and spoon, completed his kit; and,
+by way of instruments, he carried a thermometer, a barometer, and
+a pocket sextant.</p>
+<p>On the 30th of November, 1875, Major Burnaby left
+London.&nbsp; He arrived at St. Petersburg on the 3rd of
+December, and immediately set to work to obtain the necessary
+authorization for his proposed journey, which he defined as a
+tour to India <i>vi&acirc;</i> Khiva, Merv, and Kabul; in other
+words, across Central Asia and Afghanistan.&nbsp; All that he
+<i>did</i> obtain was a communication to the effect that the
+commandants in <a name="page329"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+329</span>Russian Asia had received orders to assist him in
+travelling through the territory under their command, but that
+the Imperial Government could not acquiesce in his extending his
+journey beyond its boundaries, as it could not answer for the
+security or the lives of travellers except within the
+Emperor&rsquo;s dominions&mdash;a self-evident fact.&nbsp; The
+reply was evidently intended to discourage Major Burnaby; but
+Major Burnaby was not to be discouraged.&nbsp; It is not in the
+English character to be daunted by a consideration of prospective
+or possible dangers; certainly, it is not in the character of
+English officers.&nbsp; So the adventurous guardsman started by
+railway for Orenburg, the great centre and dep&ocirc;t of Central
+Asiatic traffic.&nbsp; At Riajsk he obtained a vivid illustration
+of the heterogeneous character of the Russian empire, the
+waiting-room being crowded with representatives of different
+nationalities.&nbsp; Here stalked a Tartar merchant in a long
+parti-coloured gown, a pair of high boots, and a small yellow
+fez.&nbsp; There a fur trader, in a greasy-looking black coat,
+clutched his small leather bag of coin.&nbsp; Here an old
+Bokharan, in flowing robes, was lulled by opium into a temporary
+forgetfulness of his troubles.&nbsp; There Russian peasants moved
+to and fro, with well-knit frames, clad in untanned leather,
+which was bound about their loins by narrow leather belts,
+studded with buttons of brass and silver.&nbsp; Europe and Asia
+met together in the waiting-room at Riajsk station.</p>
+<p>The railway went no further than Sizeran, where Major Burnaby
+and a Russian gentleman hired a troika, or three-horse sleigh, to
+take them to Samara.&nbsp; The distance was about eighty-five
+miles; but as <a name="page330"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+330</span>the thermometer marked 20&deg; below zero (R.), the
+travellers found it necessary to make formidable
+preparations.&nbsp; First they donned three pairs of the thickest
+stockings, drawn up high above the knee; next, over these, a pair
+of fur-lined low shoes, which in their turn were inserted into
+leather goloshes; and, finally, over all, a pair of enormously
+thick boots.&nbsp; Allow for extra thick drawers and a pair of
+massive trousers; and add a heavy flannel under-shirt, a shirt
+covered by a thick wadded waistcoat and coat, and an external
+wrap in the form of a large shuba, or fur pelisse, reaching to
+the heels; and you may suppose that the protection against the
+cold was tolerably complete.&nbsp; The head was guarded with a
+fur cap and vashlik, <i>i.e.</i> a kind of conical cloth
+headpiece made to cover the cap, and having two long ends tied
+round the throat.&nbsp; Thus accoutred, the travellers took their
+places in the troika, which, drawn by three horses harnessed
+abreast, and with jingling bell, rapidly descended the hill, and
+dashed on to the frozen surface of the river Volga.&nbsp; Along
+the solid highway furnished by the ice-bound stream, past
+frozen-in shipping and sledges loaded with various kinds of
+wares, sped the troika; sometimes, in its turn, outstripped by
+other troikas,&mdash;drivers and passengers all alike white with
+glittering hoar-frost, until they seemed a company of
+grey-beards.&nbsp; The solid river flashed like a burnished
+cuirass in the rays of the morning.&nbsp; Here the scene was
+varied by a group of strangely patterned blocks and pillars;
+there a fountain gracefully shooting upwards with shapely Ionic
+and Doric columns, reflected a myriad prismatic hues from its
+diamond-like stalactites.&nbsp; <a name="page331"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 331</span>Here a broken Gothic arch overhung
+the shining highway; there an Egyptian obelisk lay half buried
+beneath the snow.&nbsp; Such were the fantastic shapes into which
+the strong wind had moulded the ice as it was rapidly formed.</p>
+<p>Regaining the main road, Major Burnaby and his companion sped
+on towards Samara.&nbsp; Their first halting-place was a
+farmhouse, called Nijny Pegersky Hootor, twenty-five versts from
+Sizeran, where some men were winnowing corn after a fashion of
+antediluvian simplicity.&nbsp; Throwing the corn high up into the
+air with a shovel, they allowed the wind to blow away the husks,
+and the grain fell upon a carpet laid out to catch it.&nbsp; As
+for the farmhouse, it was a square wooden building, containing
+two low but spacious rooms.&nbsp; A large stove of dried clay was
+so placed as to warm both apartments; and above it, a platform of
+boards, not more than three feet from the ceiling, supplied the
+family with sleeping accommodation.&nbsp; On the outside of the
+building a heavy wooden door opened into a small portico, at one
+end of which stood the obraz, or image&mdash;as usual an
+appendage to a Russian house, as were the Lares and Penates, or
+household gods, to a Roman house.&nbsp; The obrazye are made of
+different patterns, but usually represent a saint or the Trinity;
+they are executed in silver-gilt on brass relief, and adorned
+with all kinds of gewgaws.</p>
+<p>A fresh team having been obtained, the travellers resumed
+their journey; but the cold had increased, the wind blew more
+furiously, and their suffering was severe.&nbsp; In thick flakes
+fell the constant snow, and the driver had much ado to keep the
+track, while the <a name="page332"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+332</span>half-fed horses floundered along heavily, and
+frequently sank up to the traces in the gathering drift.&nbsp;
+The cracks of the whip resounded from their jaded flanks like
+pistol-shots.&nbsp; With sarcastic apostrophes the driver
+endeavoured to stimulate their progress:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, sons of animals!&rdquo; (whack!)</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, spoiled one!&rdquo; (whack!)&nbsp; This to a poor,
+attenuated brute.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, woolly ones!&rdquo; (whack, whack, whack!)&nbsp;
+Here all were upset into a snow-drift, the sleigh being
+three-parts overturned, and the driver flung in an opposite
+direction.</p>
+<p>The sleigh was righted; the travellers once more took their
+seats; and on through the darkening day they drove, until they
+came to a long straggling village, where the horses stopped
+before a detached cottage.&nbsp; Benumbed with the bitter cold,
+Major Burnaby and his companion dashed inside, and made haste, in
+front of a blazing stove, to restore the suspended
+circulation.&nbsp; Then, while the women of the house made tea in
+a samovar, or urn, they unfroze in the stove some cutlets and
+bread which they had carried with them, and proceeded to enjoy a
+hearty repast.&nbsp; In one hour&rsquo;s time they were ready to
+start; but their driver demurred.&nbsp; The snowstorm was heavy;
+wolves prowled along the track; the river ice might give
+way.&nbsp; It was better to wait until the morning, when, with
+beautiful horses, they might go like birds to the next
+station.&nbsp; The two travellers could do nothing with him, and
+were compelled to resign themselves to pass the night on the hard
+boards, in an atmosphere infested by many unpleasant
+smells.&nbsp; A good hour before sunrise all <a
+name="page333"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 333</span>were again
+in motion.&nbsp; The Major and his companion abandoned their
+heavy troika, and engaged two small sleighs with a pair of horses
+to each, one for themselves and one to carry their luggage.</p>
+<p>It was a glorious winter morning, and the sun came forth like
+a bridegroom to run his course, invested with indescribable pomp
+of colour.&nbsp; First, over the whole of the eastern horizon
+extended a pale blue streak, which seemed, like a wall, to shut
+off the vast Beyond.&nbsp; Suddenly its summit changed into rare
+lapis-lazuli, while its base became a sheet of purple.&nbsp; From
+the darker lines shot wondrous waves of grey and crystal; and in
+time the purple foundations upheaved into glowing seas of
+fire.&nbsp; The wall broke up into castles, battlements, and
+towers&mdash;all with magical gleams, which gradually floated far
+away, while the seas of flame, lighting up the whole horizon,
+burst through their borders and swelled into a mighty
+ocean.&nbsp; The sight was one on which the eye of man could
+scarcely gaze.&nbsp; The sunny expanse of the winter-bound earth
+reflected as in a mirror the celestial panorama.&nbsp; Shafts of
+light seemed to dart in rapid succession from earth to sky, until
+at last the vast luminous orb of day rose from the depth of the
+many-coloured radiance, and with its surpassing glory put
+everything else to shame.</p>
+<p>The travellers reached Samara&mdash;a well-built prosperous
+town, situated on a tributary of the Volga.&nbsp; There Major
+Burnaby parted from his companion, whose road thenceforward lay
+in a different direction, and proceeded to make his preparations
+for a drive across the steppes to Orenburg.</p>
+<p><a name="page334"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 334</span>He
+started next morning, in a sleigh which he had purchased, and had
+caused to be well repaired, and took the road towards
+Orenburg.&nbsp; The country was flat and uninteresting; buried
+beneath a white shroud of sand, with a few trees scattered here
+and there, and at intervals a dreary-looking hut or two.&nbsp;
+The first post-station, for changing horses, was
+Smeveshlaevskaya, twenty versts (a verst is two-thirds of an
+English mile); the next, Bodrovsky, where Burnaby arrived a
+little after sunset.&nbsp; After drinking a few glasses of tea to
+fortify himself against the increasing cold (25&deg; below zero,
+R.), he pushed forward in the hope of reaching Malomalisky, about
+twenty-six and a half versts, about nine p.m.&nbsp; But plunging
+into the heart of a terrible snowstorm, he and his driver were so
+blinded and beaten, and the horses so jaded by the swiftly
+forming snow-drifts, that he was compelled to give the order to
+return, and to pass the night at Bodrovsky.</p>
+<p>At daybreak the resolute guardsman was on his way.&nbsp; In
+the course of the day he fell in with General Kryjonovsky, the
+governor of the Orenburg district, who was bound for St.
+Petersburg; and a brief conversation with him showed that the
+authorities, as he had suspected, by no means approved of his
+expedition to Khiva.&nbsp; At one of the stations, the man
+assigned to him as driver had been married only the day before,
+and undertook his duties with obvious reluctance.&nbsp; His sole
+desire was to return as quickly as possible to his bride, and
+with this intent he lashed his horses until they kicked and
+jumped in the most furious contortions.&nbsp; The Major was
+thrown in the air, and caught again by the rebound; <a
+name="page335"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 335</span>upset,
+righted, and upset again; gun, saddle-bags, cartridge-cases, and
+traveller, all simultaneously flying in the air.&nbsp; After a
+third of these rough experiences, the Major resolved to try the
+effect of a sharp application of his boot.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why do you do that?&rdquo; said the driver, pulling up
+his horse.&nbsp; &ldquo;You hurt, you break my ribs.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;I only do to you what you do to me,&rdquo; replied the
+Major.&nbsp; &ldquo;You hurt, you break my ribs, and injure my
+property besides.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Oh, sir of noble birth,&rdquo; ejaculated the fellow,
+&ldquo;it is not my fault.&nbsp; It is thine, oh moody
+one!&rdquo; to his offside horse, accompanied by a crack from his
+whip.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is thine, oh spoilt and cherished
+one!&rdquo; to his other meagre and half-starved quadruped
+(whack!) &ldquo;Oh, petted and caressed sons of animals&rdquo;
+(whack, whack, whack!), &ldquo;I will teach you to upset the
+gentleman.&rdquo;</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>At length, after a journey of four hundred versts, Orenburg
+was reached.&nbsp; At this frontier town, situated almost on the
+verge of civilization, our traveller was compelled to make a
+short sojourn.&nbsp; He had letters of introduction to present,
+which procured him some useful friends; a servant to engage,
+provisions to purchase, information to collect about the route to
+Khiva, and his English gold and notes to convert into Russian
+coin.&nbsp; Through the good offices of a Moslem gentleman, he
+was able to engage a Tartar, named Nazar&mdash;not five feet
+high&mdash;as a servant; and after some delay he obtained from
+the military chief a podorojoraya, or passport, as far as Kasala,
+or Fort No. 1.&nbsp; This pass ran as follows: &ldquo;By the <a
+name="page336"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 336</span>order of
+His Majesty the Emperor Alexander, the son of Nicolas, Autocrat
+of the whole of Russia, etc., etc.&nbsp; From the town of Orsk to
+the town of Kasala, to the Captain of the English service,
+Frederick, the son of Gustavus Burnaby, to give three horses,
+with a driver, for the legal fare, without delay.&nbsp; Given in
+the town of Orenburg, 15th December, 1875.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The next day, Frederick, &ldquo;the son of Gustavus
+Burnaby,&rdquo; with his Tartar servant, took their departure
+from Orenburg, and in a few minutes were trotting along the
+frozen surface of the river Ural.&nbsp; Every now and then they
+fell in with a caravan of rough, shaggy, undersized camels,
+drawing sleighs laden with cotton from Tashkent; or a Cossack
+galloped by, brandishing his long spear; or a ruddy-faced Kirghiz
+slowly caracolled over the shining snow.&nbsp; Three stations
+were passed in safety, and Burnaby resolved on halting at the
+fourth, Krasnojorsk, for refreshment.&nbsp; But as the afternoon
+closed in, the Tartar driver began to lash his weary jades
+impatiently; as an excuse for his vehemence, pointing to the
+clouds that were rising before them, and the signs of a gathering
+snowstorm.&nbsp; Soon the air was filled with flakes; the
+darkness rapidly increased; the driver lost his way, and, at
+length, the team came to a standstill, breast deep in a
+snow-drift.&nbsp; What was to be done?&nbsp; It was equally
+impossible to go forward or to return; there was no wood in the
+neighbourhood with which to kindle a fire, no shovel with which
+to make a snow house; nothing could the belated wayfarer do but
+endure the bitter cold and the silent darkness, and wait for
+morning.&nbsp; Burnaby suffered much from the exposure, but the
+great <a name="page337"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+337</span>difficulty was to prevent himself from yielding to the
+fatal lethargy which extreme cold induces&mdash;from falling into
+that sleep which turns inevitably into death.&nbsp; How he
+rejoiced when the day broke, and he was able to despatch the
+driver on one of the horses for assistance; and how he rejoiced
+when the man returned with three post horses and some peasants,
+and the road was regained, and the journey resumed, and the
+station reached at last!&nbsp; There they rested and refreshed
+themselves, before, with invigorated spirits, they dashed once
+again into the snow-bound depths of the steppes.</p>
+<p>After a while the aspect of the country grew more
+cheery.&nbsp; The low chain of mountains to the north-east was
+sometimes abruptly broken, and a prominent peak thrust its summit
+into the interval.&nbsp; Through the fleecy snow various coloured
+grasses were visible.&nbsp; Olive-tinted branches, and dark
+forests of fir and pine, contrasted strongly with the whitely
+shining expanse that spread as far as the eye could see.&nbsp;
+Spider-like webs of frozen dew hung from the branches.&nbsp; The
+thin icicles glistened like prisms with all the colours of the
+rainbow.&nbsp; Thus, through a succession of fairy landscapes,
+such as the dwellers in Western lands can form but a faint idea
+of, the travellers dashed onward to Orsk.</p>
+<p>Then the face of the country underwent another change.&nbsp;
+They were fairly in the region of the steppes&mdash;those wide
+and level plains which, during the brief summer, bloom with
+luxuriant vegetation, and are alive with the flocks and herds of
+the nomads, but in the long drear winter, from north to south and
+east to west, are buried deep beneath frozen snow.&nbsp; <a
+name="page338"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 338</span>Wherever
+you direct your gaze it rests upon snow, snow, still snow;
+shining with a painful glare in the mid-day sun; fading into a
+dull, grey, melancholy ocean as noon lapses into twilight.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;A picture of desolation which wearies by its utter
+loneliness, and at the same time appals by its immensity; a
+circle of which the centre is everywhere, and the circumference
+nowhere.&rdquo;&nbsp; Travel, in this world-beyond-the-world, in
+this solitude which Frost and Winter make all their own, tests
+the courage and endurance of a man, for it makes no appeal to the
+imagination or the fancy, it charms the eye with no pleasant
+pictures, suggests no associations to the mind.&nbsp; But it has
+its dangers, as Major Burnaby experienced.&nbsp; He had left the
+station of Karabootak (three hundred and seventeen miles from
+Orsk), and as the road was comparatively smooth, and the wind had
+subsided, he leaned back in his sleigh and fell asleep.&nbsp;
+Unluckily he had forgotten to put on his thick gloves, and his
+hands, slipping from the fur-lined sleeves of his pelisse, lay
+exposed to the full potency of the cold air.&nbsp; In a few
+minutes he awoke with a feeling of intense pain; and looking at
+his hands, he saw that the finger-nails were blue, blue too the
+fingers and back of the hands, while the wrists and lower part of
+the arms had assumed the hue of wax.&nbsp; They were
+frost-bitten!&nbsp; He called his servant, and made him rub the
+skin with some snow in the hope of restoring the vitality.&nbsp;
+This he did for some minutes; but, meanwhile, the pain gradually
+ascended up the arms, while the lower portion of the arms was
+dead to all feeling, all sensation.&nbsp; &ldquo;It is no
+good,&rdquo; said Nazar, looking sorrowfully at his master;
+&ldquo;we must drive on as fast as possible to the
+station.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="page339"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 339</span>The
+station was some miles off.&nbsp; Miles?&nbsp; Each mile seemed
+to the tortured traveller a league; each league a day&rsquo;s
+journey; the physical pain consumed him, wore him down as mental
+anguish might have done.&nbsp; But at last the station was
+reached; Burnaby sprang from the sleigh, rushed into the
+waiting-room, and to three Cossacks whom he met there showed his
+hands.&nbsp; Straightway they conducted him into an outer
+apartment, took off his coat, bared his arms, and plunged him
+into a tub of ice and water up to the shoulders.&nbsp; He felt
+nothing.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Brother,&rdquo; said the eldest of the soldiers,
+shaking his head, &ldquo;it is a bad job; you will lose your
+hands.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;They will drop off,&rdquo; remarked another, &ldquo;if
+we cannot get back the circulation.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Have you any spirit with you?&rdquo; asked a third.</p>
+<p>Nazar, on hearing this inquiry, immediately ran out, and
+returned with a tin bottle containing naphtha for cooking
+purposes; upon which the Cossacks, taking the Major&rsquo;s arms
+out of the icy water, proceeded to rub them with the strong
+spirit.</p>
+<p>Rub, rub, rub; the skin peeled under their horny hands, and
+the spirit irritated the membrane below.&nbsp; At last a faint
+sensation like tickling&mdash;we are using the Major&rsquo;s own
+words&mdash;pervaded the elbow-joints, and he slightly
+flinched.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Does it hurt?&rdquo; asked the eldest Cossack.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;A little.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Capital, brothers,&rdquo; he continued; &ldquo;rub as
+hard as you can;&rdquo; and after continuing the friction until
+the flesh was almost flayed, they suddenly plunged his arms again
+into the ice and water.&nbsp; This time, the pain was sharp.</p>
+<p><a name="page340"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+340</span>&ldquo;Good,&rdquo; exclaimed the Cossacks.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;The more it hurts, the better chance you have of saving
+your hands.&rdquo;&nbsp; And after a short time they let him
+remove his arms from the tub.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You are fortunate, little father,&rdquo; said the
+eldest Cossack.&nbsp; &ldquo;If it had not been for the spirit
+your hands would have dropped off, even if you had not lost your
+arms.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Rough, kind-hearted fellows were these poor
+soldiers,&rdquo; adds Major Burnaby; &ldquo;and when I forced on
+the oldest of them a present for himself and comrades, the old
+soldier simply said, &lsquo;Are we not all brothers when in
+misfortune?&nbsp; Would you not have helped me if I had been in
+the same predicament?&rsquo;&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The Major shook his hand heartily, and retired to the
+waiting-room to rest upon the sofa, as the physical shock he had
+undergone had for the moment thoroughly prostrated him.&nbsp;
+Moreover, his arms were sore and inflamed, the spirit having in
+some places penetrated the raw flesh; and several weeks elapsed
+before he thoroughly recovered from the effects of his
+carelessness.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>At Terekli, about five hundred miles from Orenburg, our
+traveller entered the province of Turkistan, and found himself in
+the region which acknowledges the authority of General
+Kauffmann&mdash;a restless and ambitious soldier, to whose energy
+much of Russia&rsquo;s recent advance eastward would seem to be
+due.&nbsp; He still pushed forward with characteristic
+resolution, braving the terrors of the climate and the dangers of
+the road in his determined purpose to reach Khiva.&nbsp; At one
+station no horses were to be obtained, and, instead, <a
+name="page341"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 341</span>three
+gigantic camels were harnessed to the tiny sleigh.&nbsp; A
+strange spectacle!&nbsp; &ldquo;I have tried many ways of
+locomotion in my life, from fire-balloons to bicycles, from
+canoes and bullocks to cows, camels, and donkeys; whilst in the
+East the time-honoured sedan of our grandfathers has occasionally
+borne me and my fortunes; but never had I travelled in so comical
+a fashion.&nbsp; A Tartar rode the centre camel.&nbsp; His
+head-gear would have called attention, if nothing else had, for
+he wore a large black hat, which reminded me of an inverted
+coal-scuttle, whilst a horn-like protuberance sticking out from
+its summit gave a diabolical appearance to his lobster-coloured
+visage.&nbsp; The hat, which was made of sheepskin, had the white
+wool inside, which formed a striking contrast to the flaming
+countenance of the excited Tartar.&nbsp; He had replaced the
+usual knout used for driving, by a whip armed with a thin cord
+lash, and he urged on his ungainly team more by the shrill sounds
+of his voice than by any attempt at flagellation, the Tartar
+seldom being able to get more than four miles an hour from the
+lazy brutes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;All of a sudden the camel in the centre quickly
+stopped, and the rider was precipitated head-over-heels in the
+snow.&nbsp; Luckily, it was soft falling; there were no bones
+broken, and in a minute or two he was again in the saddle, having
+changed the system of harnessing, and placed one of the camels as
+leader, whilst the other two were driven as wheelers.&nbsp; We
+got on very fairly for a little while, when the foremost of our
+train having received a rather sharper application of the lash
+than he deemed expedient remonstrated with his rider by lying
+down.&nbsp; Coaxing <a name="page342"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 342</span>and persuasion were now used; he was
+promised the warmest of stalls, the most delicious of water, if
+he would only get up.&nbsp; But this the beast absolutely
+declined to do, until the cold from the snow striking against his
+body induced him to rise from the ground.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We now went even slower than before.&nbsp; Our driver
+was afraid to use his whip for fear of another ebullition of
+temper on the part of the delinquent, and confined himself to
+cracking his whip in the air.&nbsp; The sounds of this proceeding
+presently reaching the ears of the leader, perhaps made him think
+that his companions were undergoing chastisement.&nbsp; Anyhow,
+it appeared to afford him some satisfaction, for, quickening his
+stride, he compelled his brethren behind to accelerate their
+pace; and after a long, wearisome drive we arrived at our
+destination.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Under the influence of milder weather the aspect of the
+country rapidly modified and brightened, and instead of a uniform
+sheet of frozen snow, broad patches of vegetation met the
+eye.&nbsp; On these the Kirghiz horses were browsing with evident
+delight.&nbsp; How they live through the winter is a mystery, as
+their owners seldom feed them with corn, and they are compelled
+to trust to the scanty grasses which may still be partially alive
+underneath the snow.&nbsp; Nor are they in any way protected from
+the cold.&nbsp; As a necessary consequence, the spring finds them
+reduced to mere skeletons, whose ribs are barely covered by their
+parchment-like skin; but they soon gain in flesh and strength
+when once the rich pasturage of the steppes is at their
+disposal.&nbsp; Their powers of endurance are wonderful; and
+without rest, or water, or food, they will accomplish surprising
+distances, maintaining a <a name="page343"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 343</span>first-rate speed.&nbsp; An instance
+is on record of a Kirghiz chief having galloped two hundred
+miles, over a rocky and mountainous ground, in twenty-four
+hours.&nbsp; A Russian detachment of cavalry, mounted on Kirghiz
+horses, marched 333 miles in six days.</p>
+<p>Major Burnaby was soon apprised that he was nearing the Sea
+(or Lake) of Aral by the salt breeze which blew persistently in
+his face.&nbsp; The whole district for miles around was
+impregnated with salt, and the springs and streams had all a
+brackish taste and strong saline flavour.&nbsp; At Nicolaivskaya
+his road touched close upon the north-eastern extremity of the
+sea.&nbsp; This great inland basin of brackish water is separated
+from the Caspian by the dense plateau of Ust-Urt.&nbsp; It
+measures about 260 miles from north to south, and 125 from east
+to west.&nbsp; On the north-east it receives the waters of the
+Syr-Daria, or Jaxartes; on the south-east those of the Amu-Daria,
+or Oxus.&nbsp; As it is on the same level with the Caspian, we
+may reasonably suppose that both seas were at one time
+connected.&nbsp; Owing to the excessive evaporation which takes
+place, it is understood to be decreasing in size.</p>
+<p>At Kasala, or Fort No. 1, our traveller struck the Syr-Daria,
+some forty or fifty miles above its outlet in the Aral.&nbsp;
+Kasala is inhabited by nomad Kirghiz, who pitch their kibitkas in
+its outskirts in the winter, to resume their migratory life with
+the first breath of spring; by Russian and Tartar merchants, who
+dwell in one-storied houses, built of brick or cement; and by a
+motley population of Greeks, Khivans, Bokharans, Tashkentians,
+and Turcomans generally, attracted thither by the hope of <a
+name="page344"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 344</span>gain.&nbsp;
+Owing to its geographical position, it is the centre of a
+considerable trade; for all goods to Orenburg from Western
+Turkistan must pass through it.&nbsp; Its civil population
+numbers about 5000 souls; its garrison consists of about 350
+infantry and 400 cavalry, and it is also the head-quarters in
+winter of the sailors of the Aral fleet, which is made up of four
+small steamers of light draught.&nbsp; As for the fort, it is
+simply an earthwork, constructed in the shape of a half-star,
+with a bastion on the south extending to the bank of the
+Syr-Daria.&nbsp; A dry ditch, thirty feet broad by twelve feet
+deep, and a parapet, eight feet high and twelve feet thick,
+surround it.&nbsp; Sufficiently strong to overawe the Kirghiz, it
+could offer no effective resistance to an European force.</p>
+<p>Major Burnaby paid a visit to a Kirghiz kibitka, or tent, and
+his description of it may be compared with Mr.
+Atkinson&rsquo;s.&nbsp; Inside it was adorned with thick carpets
+of various hues, and bright-coloured cushions, for the
+accommodation of the inmates.&nbsp; In the centre a small fire
+gave out a cloud of white smoke, which rose in coils and wreaths
+to the roof, and there escaped through an aperture left for the
+purpose.&nbsp; The fuel used is saxaul, the wood of the bramble
+tree, and it emits an acrid, pungent odour.&nbsp; The women in
+the tent had their faces uncovered; they received their visitor
+with a warm welcome, and spread some rugs for him to sit down by
+their side.&nbsp; They were all of them moon-faced, with large
+mouths, but good eyes and teeth.</p>
+<p>The master of the kibitka, who was clad in a long brown robe,
+thickly wadded to keep out the cold, <a name="page345"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 345</span>poured some water into a large
+caldron, and proceeded to make tea, while a young girl handed
+round raisins and dried currants.&nbsp; A brief conversation then
+arose.&nbsp; The Kirghiz were much surprised to learn that their
+visitor was not a Russian, but had come from a far Western land,
+and were even more surprised to find that he had brought no wife
+with him&mdash;a wife, in the opinion of the Kirghiz, being as
+indispensable to a man&rsquo;s happiness as a horse or
+camel.&nbsp; In entering into matrimony, the Kirghiz have one
+great advantage over the other Moslem races; they see the girls
+whom they wish to marry, and are allowed to converse with them
+before the bargain is concluded between the parents, one hundred
+sheep being the average price given for a young woman.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>On the 12th of January Major Burnaby left Kasala for
+Khiva.&nbsp; His retinue consisted of three camels, loaded with a
+tent, forage, and provisions, his Tartar servant, who bestrode
+the largest camel, and a Kirghiz guide, who, like himself, was
+mounted on horseback.&nbsp; His provisions included stchi, or
+cabbage soup, with large pieces of meat cut up in it, which,
+having been poured into two large iron stable buckets, had become
+hard frozen, so that it could be easily carried slung on a
+camel&rsquo;s back.&nbsp; He also took with him twenty pounds of
+cooked meat.&nbsp; A hatchet, to chop up the meat or cut down
+brushwood for a fire, and a cooking lamp, with a supply of
+spirit, formed part of his equipment.</p>
+<p>Crossing the icy surface of the Syr-Daria, our traveller once
+more plunged into the solitude of the <a name="page346"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 346</span>steppes, bravely facing the
+storm-wind and the ridges of snow which rolled before it, like
+the wave-crests of a frozen sea.&nbsp; After a five hours&rsquo;
+march, he called a halt, that the camels might rest and be
+fed&mdash;for they will feed only in the daytime; wherefore it is
+wise to march them as much as possible during the night.&nbsp;
+Their ordinary pace is about two miles and a third in an hour;
+and the best plan is to start at midnight, unload them for about
+two hours in the day to feed, and halt at sunset: thus securing
+sixteen hours&rsquo; work per day, and accomplishing a daily
+journey of at least thirty-seven miles.</p>
+<p>The kibitka was soon raised.&nbsp; &ldquo;Imagine,&rdquo; says
+our traveller, &ldquo;a bundle of sticks, each five feet three
+inches in length, and an inch in diameter; these are connected
+with each other by means of cross sticks, through the ends of
+which holes are bored, and leather thongs passed.&nbsp; This
+allows plenty of room for all the sticks to open out freely; they
+then form a complete circle, about twelve feet in diameter, and
+five feet three in height.&nbsp; They do not require any pressing
+into the ground, for the circular shape keeps them steady.&nbsp;
+When this is done, a thick piece of cashmar, or cloth made of
+sheep&rsquo;s wool, is suspended from their tops, and reaches to
+the ground.&nbsp; This forms a shield through which the wind
+cannot pass.&nbsp; Another bundle of sticks is then
+produced.&nbsp; They are all fastened at one end to a small
+wooden cross, about six inches long by four broad; a man standing
+in the centre of the circle raises up this bundle in the air, the
+cross upwards, and hitches their other ends by means of little
+leather loops one by one on the different upright sticks which
+form the circular walls.&nbsp; <a name="page347"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 347</span>The result is, they all pull against
+each other, and are consequently self-supporting; another piece
+of cloth is passed round the outside of this scaffolding, leaving
+a piece uncovered at the top to allow the smoke to escape.&nbsp;
+One stick is removed from the uprights which form the
+walls.&nbsp; This constitutes a door, and the kibitka is
+complete.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>While the Major and his followers were enjoying a meal of rice
+and mutton, and a glass of hot tea, three Khivans rode up to
+them&mdash;a merchant and his two servants.&nbsp; The Khivan
+merchant was strongly built, and about five feet ten inches in
+height.&nbsp; He wore a tall, conical black Astrakhan hat; an
+orange-coloured dressing-gown, thickly quilted, and girt about
+the loins with a long, red sash; and over all, enveloping him
+from hand to foot, a heavy sheepskin mantle.&nbsp; His weapons
+consisted of a long, single-barrelled gun, and a short, richly
+mounted sabre.&nbsp; An exchange of civilities followed, and then
+both parties retired to rest.&nbsp; At about three o&rsquo;clock
+in the morning, after some difficulty with his guide and
+camel-driver, the Major resumed his march, and for six hours the
+weary tramp and toil over the frost-bound plain continued.&nbsp;
+At nine a halt was called, soup was made, and the party
+breakfasted.&nbsp; By the time they were ready to set out again,
+the Khivan merchant&rsquo;s caravan had come up, and all went on
+together.</p>
+<p>In advance rode the guide, singing a song in praise of mutton,
+and descriptive of his partiality for that succulent meat.&nbsp;
+The Kirghiz poets make the sheep the special subject of their
+metrical eulogium; in truth, it fills in their poetry as
+conspicuous a place as <a name="page348"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 348</span>the dove in the love-songs of the
+Latin bards.&nbsp; Nor is to be wondered at.&nbsp; The sheep
+represents the wealth, the property of the nomads.&nbsp; During
+the summer and autumn they live upon their milk, and never think
+of killing them except to do honour to a guest by serving up
+before him a leg of mutton.&nbsp; In the winter they are, of
+course, obliged very frequently to sacrifice the highly esteemed
+animal, but they live upon horseflesh and camel&rsquo;s flesh as
+much as they can.&nbsp; Their clothing is furnished by the sheep,
+being made entirely of sheep&rsquo;s wool wrought into a coarse
+homespun.&nbsp; Finally, if they want to buy a horse, a camel, or
+a wife, they pay in sheep; and a man&rsquo;s worth in the world
+is reckoned by the numbers of his flock.</p>
+<p>On the following day, in the course of their march, the
+travellers came upon a Kirghiz encampment, the members of which
+were considerably excited by Major Burnaby&rsquo;s announcement
+of his desire to purchase a whole sheep.&nbsp; The head of the
+principal kibitka, accompanied by a pretty Kirghiz girl, hastened
+to conduct him to the sheepfold, that he might select an animal,
+and the fattest of the flock became his for the small sum of four
+roubles.&nbsp; The pretty young girl acted as butcher, receiving
+the skin and head in acknowledgment of her trouble, and the
+carcase was conveyed to the Major&rsquo;s tent, where it was duly
+cooked, and devoured by his followers, who showed the most
+intense appreciation of his liberality.</p>
+<p>The march being resumed, Major Burnaby made for a place called
+Kalenderhana, instead of the Russian settlement of
+Petro-Alexandrovsky, having a shrewd suspicion that if he went
+thither, as the <a name="page349"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+349</span>governor of Kasala had desired, he would, in some way
+or other, be prevented from reaching Khiva.&nbsp; Pushing forward
+steadily, he left his Khivan merchant far behind, and strode
+across an undulating country in the direction of
+south-south-west.&nbsp; Next he came into a salt district, barren
+and dreary; and afterwards reached the desert of Jana-Daria, the
+dried-up bed of a river, which is lost in the sand.&nbsp; Still
+continuing his march, he came upon an unbounded ocean of sand,
+which, in the glaring sunshine, glittered like a sea of molten
+gold.&nbsp; When this was traversed, the country grew pleasanter
+and more fertile.&nbsp; Traces of game appeared.&nbsp; Sometimes
+a brown hare darted through the herbage; while in the distance
+herds of saigak, or antelopes, bounded with elastic tread across
+the sward.&nbsp; A chain of mountains running east and west rose
+up before the wanderer&rsquo;s path, and presented a picturesque
+spectacle, with their broken crests, sharp pinnacles, and masses
+of shining quartz.&nbsp; Upon their rugged sides could be traced
+the furrows ploughed by the torrents which the spring lets loose
+and feeds with its abundant rains.&nbsp; Through a dark and deep
+defile, about seven miles long, the little company penetrated the
+mountain barrier of the Kazan-Tor, and descended into a broad
+plain, overspread by a network of canals for irrigation, where a
+striking indication of the desultory but ceaseless hostilities
+waged between the Kirghiz and the Turcomans was presented in the
+rude fortifications, a high ditch and a wattled palisade, that
+encircled every little village.&nbsp; Kalenderhana was fortified
+in this manner.&nbsp; Here Major Burnaby was warmly welcomed, and
+in great state escorted to his Kirghiz <a
+name="page350"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+350</span>guide&rsquo;s house, or kibitka, where a curious throng
+quickly surrounded him, and proceeded to examine, and comment
+unreservedly upon, every part of his attire.&nbsp; Major Burnaby,
+if less outspoken, was not less curious, and carefully noted that
+the hostess was a good-looking woman, clad in a flowing white
+dressing-gown, with a whiter turban, folded many times around her
+small head.&nbsp; The brother-in-law, a short hump-backed fellow,
+had a horse to sell, which Major Burnaby expressed his
+willingness to purchase, if he went to Khiva.&nbsp; The guide had
+been ordered by the Russian governor of Kasala to conduct the
+Englishman to Petro-Alexandrovsky, and at first he was reluctant
+to run the risk of punishment; but the domestic pressure put upon
+him could not be resisted, and he agreed to go to Khiva, on
+condition that the Major completed his bargain with the
+horse-dealer.&nbsp; This was at last arranged, and a Tartar being
+sent forward with a letter to the Khan, requesting permission to
+visit his capital, the traveller resumed his journey, with Nazar
+proudly seated astride the new purchase.</p>
+<p>A brief ride carried them to the bank of the great Amu-Daria,
+the Oxus of Alexander the Great, which at this time was frozen
+over, presenting a solid highway of ice, half a mile in
+breadth.&nbsp; There they met with some Khivan
+merchants&mdash;stalwart men, with dark complexions and large
+eyes, dressed in long red thickly wadded dressing-gowns and
+cone-shaped black lambskin hats.&nbsp; A caravan of camels was
+crossing the river, and numerous arbas, or two-wheeled carts,
+each drawn by one horse, passed to and fro.&nbsp; Every man whom
+they encountered saluted them with the <a
+name="page351"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 351</span>customary
+Arab greeting, &ldquo;<i>Salam aaleikom</i>!&rdquo; to which the
+response was always given, &ldquo;<i>Aaleikom
+salam</i>!&rdquo;&nbsp; Soon after crossing the frozen river,
+Major Burnaby determined to halt for the night; and the guide
+began to look about for suitable quarters.&nbsp; He pulled up at
+last by the side of a large, substantial-looking square building,
+built of clay.&nbsp; A rap at the high wooden gates brought out
+an old man bent nearly double with age, who, on hearing that the
+travellers wanted a night&rsquo;s hospitality, immediately called
+to his servants to take charge of the horses and camels, and
+across the square-walled courtyard ushered Major Burnaby into his
+house.&nbsp; The guest-room was spacious and lofty.&nbsp; One end
+of it was covered with thick carpets; this was the place of
+honour for visitors.&nbsp; In the centre a small square hearth
+was filled with charcoal embers, confined within a coping about
+three inches high.&nbsp; On the coping stood a richly chased
+copper ewer&mdash;which might have been dug out of the ruins of
+the buried Pompeii, so classic was it in shape and
+appearance&mdash;with a long swan-like neck, constructed so as to
+assist the attendant in pouring water over the hands of his
+master&rsquo;s guests before they began their repast.&nbsp; On
+one side of the hearth was a square hole about three feet deep,
+filled with water, and reached by a couple of steps.&nbsp; It was
+the place of ablution&mdash;something like the <i>impluvium</i>
+in a Roman villa&mdash;and its sides were lined with ornamental
+tiles.&nbsp; The windows were represented by two narrow slits,
+each about two feet long by six inches wide, while some open
+wooden trellis-work supplied the place of glass.</p>
+<p>After a brief absence the host reappeared, carrying <a
+name="page352"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 352</span>in his hand
+a large earthenware dish full of rice and mutton, while his
+servants followed, with baskets of bread and hard-boiled
+eggs.&nbsp; A pitcher of milk was also produced, and an enormous
+melon, weighing quite twenty-five pounds.&nbsp; When the host and
+his visitor had completed their repast, they began to converse,
+the Khivan asking many questions about the countries which the
+Englishman had travelled.&nbsp; To his inquiry whether there were
+camels in England, Major Burnaby replied with an amusing
+description of our railways and locomotives.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We have trains,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;composed of
+arbas with iron wheels; they run upon long strips of iron, which
+are laid upon the ground for the wheels to roll over.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do the horses drag them very fast?&rdquo; asked the
+Khivan.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;We do not use live horses, but we make a horse of iron
+and fill him with water, and put fire under the water.&nbsp; The
+water boils and turns into steam.&nbsp; The steam is very
+powerful; it rushes out of the horse&rsquo;s stomach, and turns
+large wheels which we give him instead of legs.&nbsp; The wheels
+revolve over the iron lines which we have previously laid down,
+and the horse, which we call an engine, moves very quickly,
+dragging the arbas behind him; they are made of wood and iron,
+and have four wheels, not two, like your arbas in Khiva.&nbsp;
+The pace is so great that if your Khan had an iron horse and a
+railway, he could go to Kasala in one day.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Next morning, after remunerating his host for his hospitality,
+Major Burnaby proceeded towards the goal of his daring
+enterprise.&nbsp; He passed through <a name="page353"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 353</span>the busy trading town of Oogentel,
+the first in Khivan territory on the road from Kalenderhana, and,
+as an Englishman, attracted the attention of the
+population.&nbsp; This attention grew into wild excitement, when
+he found his way to a barber, intent upon getting rid of a beard
+of thirteen weeks&rsquo; growth.&nbsp; In Oogentel the people
+shave their heads and not their chins; so that the
+traveller&rsquo;s desire to have his chin shaved, instead of his
+head, begat an extraordinary sensation.&nbsp; An increasing crowd
+gathered round the barber&rsquo;s shop; moullahs (or priests),
+camel-drivers, and merchants jostling one another in their
+anxiety to obtain good points of view, like the London populace
+on the Lord Mayor&rsquo;s Show day.&nbsp; The thought occurred to
+Major Burnaby that this fanatical Moslem multitude might not be
+displeased if the barber cut an unbeliever&rsquo;s throat, and it
+was not without a qualm he resigned himself to his hands.&nbsp;
+No such catastrophe happened, however; but the barber, rendered
+nervous by the accumulated gaze of hundreds of eyes, let slip the
+thin strip of steel which did duty for a razor, and inflicted a
+slight wound on his customer&rsquo;s cheek.&nbsp; As no soap was
+used, and the substitute for a razor was innocent of
+&ldquo;edge,&rdquo; the operation was sufficiently disagreeable;
+and if the crowd were sorry, Major Burnaby was heartily rejoiced
+when it came to an end and he was free to continue his
+journey.</p>
+<p>At nine versts from Oogentel he and his party crossed the
+canal of the Shabbalat, and rode through a barren tract of sand
+until they arrived at a cemetery.&nbsp; The tombs were made of
+dried clay, and fashioned into the strangest shapes; while over
+several of the <a name="page354"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+354</span>larger floated banners or white flags, from poles ten
+or twelve feet high, indicating the last resting-place of some
+unknown and unchronicled hero.&nbsp; <i>Multi fortes vixerunt
+ante Agamemnona</i>; but they have found no bard to record their
+deeds of prowess in immortal verse.&nbsp; The Khivan warriors who
+fell in defence of their wild father-land must sleep for ever in
+nameless graves.</p>
+<p>At a village called Shamahoolhur, the traveller was received
+with true Khivan hospitality.&nbsp; His entertainer was a
+fair-looking man, with a genial address and a hearty glance in
+his dark eyes, and appeared, from his surroundings, to be
+possessed of considerable wealth.&nbsp; He was a sportsman, and
+kept several hawks; these birds being used in Khiva to fly at the
+saigahs and hares.&nbsp; The bird strikes his victim between its
+eyes with a force which stuns or confuses it, so that it can make
+no resistance or attempt at escape when the hounds seize it.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do you not hunt in this way in your country?&rdquo;
+said the Khivan.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; we hunt foxes, but only with hounds, and we
+ourselves follow on horseback.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are your horses like our own?&rdquo; he asked.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; they are most of them stouter built, have stronger
+shoulders, and are better animals; but though they can gallop
+faster than your horses for a short distance, I do not think they
+can last so long.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Which do you like best, your horse or your wife?&rdquo;
+inquired the man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;That depends upon the woman,&rdquo; I replied; and the
+guide, here joining in the conversation, said that <a
+name="page355"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 355</span>in England
+they did not buy or sell their wives, and that I was not a
+married man.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;What! you have not got a wife?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No; how could I travel if I had one?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Why, you might leave her behind, and lock her up, as
+our merchants do with their wives when they go on a
+journey!&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The next morning Major Burnaby encountered on the road the
+messenger he had despatched to Khiva.&nbsp; He was accompanied by
+two Khivan noblemen, one of whom courteously saluted the English
+traveller, and explained that the Khan had sent him to escort him
+into the city, and bid him welcome.</p>
+<p>They rapidly approached the capital, and above its belt of
+trees could see its glittering crown of minarets and domes.&nbsp;
+The landscape round about it was very pleasant to see, with its
+leafy groves, its walled orchards, and its avenues of mulberry
+trees; and recalled to the traveller&rsquo;s mind the
+descriptions which figure in the pages of Oriental
+story-tellers.&nbsp; A swift ride brought the party to the gates
+of Khiva.&nbsp; The city is built in an oblong form, and
+surrounded by two walls; of which the outer is not less than
+fifty feet in height, and constructed of baked bricks, with the
+upper part of dried clay.&nbsp; This forms the first line of
+defence.&nbsp; At a quarter of a mile within it rises the second
+wall, somewhat lower than the first, and protected by a dry
+ditch.&nbsp; It immediately surrounds the tower.&nbsp; The space
+between the two walls is used as a market, and high above the
+throng of vendors and buyers, and the press of cattle, horses,
+sheep, and camels, rises the cross-beam of the ghastly gallows,
+on which all people convicted of theft are executed.</p>
+<p><a name="page356"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 356</span>But
+as we have already spoken of this now famous city, we must
+confine ourselves in these pages to Major Burnaby&rsquo;s
+individual adventures.&nbsp; Lodging was provided for him in the
+house of his escort, and directly on his entry he was served with
+refreshments.&nbsp; Afterwards he was conducted to the
+bath.&nbsp; In the evening a succession of visitors arrived; and
+it was late when the Major was at liberty to seek repose.</p>
+<h3>II.</h3>
+<p>In the afternoon of the following day two officials arrived
+from the Khan, with an escort of six men on horseback and four on
+foot, to conduct the English officer to the palace.&nbsp;
+Mounting his horse, he rode forth, preceded by the six horsemen,
+and with an official on either side; the rear being brought up by
+Nazar, with some attendants on foot, who lashed out freely with
+their long whips when the staring crowd drew inconveniently near
+the <i>cort&eacute;ge</i>.&nbsp; Fresh sightseers arrived every
+moment, for the name of England exercises a charm and a power in
+Khiva, where people are never weary of talking of the nation
+which holds in fee the gorgeous Indian empire, and is regarded as
+the rival and inevitable foe of the White Czar.&nbsp; The very
+housetops were lined with curious eyes.&nbsp; Through the hum and
+din of voices the Englishman proceeded to the Khan&rsquo;s
+residence; a large building, with pillars and domes reflecting
+the sun&rsquo;s rays from their bright glazed tiles.&nbsp; At the
+gates stood a guard of thirty or forty men with flashing
+scimitars.&nbsp; The company passed into a small <a
+name="page357"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 357</span>courtyard,
+from which a door opened into a low passage, and this led to some
+squalid corridors, terminating in a large square room, where was
+seated the treasurer, with three moullahs, busily engaged in
+counting up his money.&nbsp; He made a sign to the attendants,
+and a large wooden box was at once pushed forward, and offered to
+Major Burnaby as a seat.&nbsp; An interval of fifteen minutes, as
+the playwrights say, followed.&nbsp; Then a messenger entered the
+room, and announced that the Khan was at liberty to receive the
+stranger.&nbsp; Away through a long corridor, and across an inner
+courtyard, to the reception-hall&mdash;a large dome-shaped tent
+or kibitka.&nbsp; A curtain was drawn aside, and the Englishman
+found himself face to face with the celebrated Khan.</p>
+<p>The portrait he draws of the Khivan potentate differs in some
+particulars from that drawn by Mr. MacGahan (see p.
+283):&mdash;&ldquo;He is taller than the average of his subjects,
+being quite five feet ten in height, and is strongly built.&nbsp;
+His face is of a broad massive type; he has a low square
+forehead, large dark eyes, a short straight nose, with dilated
+nostrils, and a coal-black beard and moustache.&nbsp; An enormous
+mouth, with irregular but white teeth, and a chin somewhat
+concealed by his beard, and not at all in character with the
+otherwise determined appearance of his face, must complete the
+picture.&nbsp; He did not look more than eight and twenty, and
+had a pleasant genial smile, and a merry twinkle in his eye, very
+unusual amongst Orientals; in fact, a Spanish expression would
+describe him better than any English one I can think of.&nbsp; He
+is <i>muy simpatico</i>. . . .&nbsp; The Khan was dressed in a
+similar sort of costume to that <a name="page358"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 358</span>generally worn by his subjects, but
+it was made of much richer materials, and a jewelled sword was
+lying by his feet.&nbsp; His head was covered by a tall black
+Astrakhan hat, of a sugar-loaf shape.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Tea having been served in a small porcelain cup, the Khan
+entered into conversation with his visitor, through the medium of
+Nazar, a Kirghiz interpreter, and a moullah.&nbsp; At first it
+turned upon the relations existing between England and Russia,
+the Crimean War, the Indian Government, and other branches of
+<i>la haute politique</i>; the Khan displaying a quick and clear
+intelligence.&nbsp; At last he said&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;You do not have a Khan at the head of
+affairs?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No,&rdquo; replied Burnaby, &ldquo;a Queen; and her
+Majesty is advised as to her policy by her ministers, who for the
+time being are supposed to represent the opinion of the
+country.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;And does that opinion change?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Very frequently; and since your country was conquered
+we have had a fresh Government, whose policy is diametrically
+opposite to that held by the previous one; and in a few
+years&rsquo; time we shall have another change, for in our
+country, as the people advance in knowledge and wealth, they
+require fresh laws and privileges.&nbsp; The result of this is,
+they choose a different set of people to represent them;&rdquo;
+and the Major entered on a brief exposition of constitutional
+principles, which to the Khan must surely have been
+unintelligible.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Can your Queen have a subject&rsquo;s head cut
+off?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No, not without a trial before our judges.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Then she never has their throats cut?&rdquo; [the
+Khivan punishment for murder].</p>
+<p><a name="page359"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+359</span>&ldquo;No.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Hindostan is a very wonderful country,&rdquo; continued
+the Khan; &ldquo;the envoy I sent there a few years ago <a
+name="citation359"></a><a href="#footnote359"
+class="citation">[359]</a> has told me of your railroads and
+telegraphs; but the Russians have railroads, too.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes,&rdquo; replied Burnaby; &ldquo;we lent them money,
+and our engineers have helped to make them.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Do the Russians pay you for this?&rdquo; he
+inquired.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Yes; so far they have behaved very
+honourably.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Are there not Jews in your country like some of the
+Jews at Bokhara?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;One of the richest men in England is a Jew.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Russians do not take away the money from the
+Jews?&rdquo;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;No.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>Here the Khan said a few words to his treasurer, and then
+remarked, in allusion to the tribute he pays to Russia
+annually:&mdash;&ldquo;Why do they take money from me,
+then?&nbsp; The Russians love money very much.&rdquo;&nbsp; As he
+said this, he shook his head sorrowfully at the treasurer; and
+the latter, assuming a dolorous expression, poured out with a
+pitiful accent the monosyllable &ldquo;Hum!&rdquo; which, in
+Khivan language, seems to convey as pregnant a meaning as Lord
+Burleigh&rsquo;s shake of the head in &ldquo;The
+Critic.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>With a low bow from the Khan, the interview terminated.</p>
+<p>On the following day Major Burnaby visited the Khan&rsquo;s
+gardens, which lie about three-quarters of a mile from the
+town.&nbsp; They are five in number, surrounded by high walls of
+sun-dried clay, and each from four to five acres in extent.&nbsp;
+Entering one of <a name="page360"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+360</span>them, our traveller discovered that it was neatly laid
+out and trimly kept.&nbsp; The fruit trees, arranged in long
+avenues, were carefully cut and pruned; apple, pear, and cherry
+trees abounded.&nbsp; In the spring melons are grown on a large
+scale; and in the summer trellis-work arbours of vines, loaded
+with grapes, afford a delightful shelter from the sun&rsquo;s
+fierce glare.&nbsp; In a small summer-palace here, the Khan holds
+his court in June and July, and on a raised stone da&iuml;s
+outside sits to administer justice.</p>
+<p>Returning to Khiva, Burnaby visited the prison and the
+principal school&mdash;the invariable accompaniments of
+civilization, however imperfect.&nbsp; But may we not hope that,
+some day, the school will destroy the gaol, and relieve
+civilization from the reproach of barbarism that still attaches
+to it?&nbsp; Meanwhile, Nazar was preparing for the Major&rsquo;s
+contemplated expedition to Bokhara, his tour to Merv and Meshed,
+and his journey from Persia into India, and so back to
+England.&nbsp; It was the 27th of January, and he had determined
+to spend only one more day in Khiva.&nbsp; But his plans were
+upset by an unexpected incident.&nbsp; On the morning of the
+28th, just after his return from a ride through the market, he
+was &ldquo;interviewed&rdquo; by two strangers, who presented him
+with a letter from the commandant of Petro-Alexandrovsky, the
+Russian fort he had so determinedly avoided.&nbsp; It was to the
+effect that a telegram, which had been forwarded <i>vi&acirc;</i>
+Tashkent, awaited him at the fort, whither he must be pleased to
+repair to receive it.&nbsp; How or why any person should consider
+him of importance enough to despatch a telegram so many thousands
+of miles, and should go to the expense a sending it from Tashkent
+<a name="page361"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 361</span>where
+the telegraph ends, to Khiva, a distance of nine hundred miles,
+by couriers with relays of horses, Burnaby could not
+understand.&nbsp; But there was no help for it.&nbsp; He must
+hasten to Petro-Alexandrovsky, where he did not want to go, and
+abandon his trip to Bokhara and Merv, where he very much wished
+to go.&nbsp; So he paid a visit to the bazar, and afterwards took
+leave of the Khan, who bestowed upon him the honourable gift of a
+khalat, or dressing-gown, and on the 29th bade adieu to
+Khiva.</p>
+<p>He reached Petro-Alexandrovsky on the second day, and found
+that the important telegram which had travelled so far was one
+from the Duke of Cambridge, Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief,
+requiring his immediate return to European Russia.&nbsp; He found
+also that the Russian Government had given orders for his return
+by the shortest route to Kasala.&nbsp; All hope of further
+exploration and adventure in Central Asia had to be
+abandoned.&nbsp; Before leaving Petro-Alexandrovsky, the
+disappointed traveller had an opportunity of accompanying a
+coursing party, and sharing in a day&rsquo;s novel sport.&nbsp;
+There were horses and men of all kinds and shapes, Russians,
+Bokharans, Kirghiz, short-legged men on giant steeds, and
+long-legged men on short-legged horses.&nbsp; A short colonel,
+said to be well versed in the pastime, acted as master of the
+hunt.&nbsp; Behind him were led seven or eight greyhounds in
+couples; while a stalwart Khivan bore on his elbow a hooded
+falcon, graceful enough to have figured in Mr. Tennyson&rsquo;s
+poetical little drama.&nbsp; Amid a storm of cries and shouts and
+yells, the hunters rode forward at a rattling pace, crossing a
+flat open country, intersected by a ditch or two; <a
+name="page362"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 362</span>until,
+after an eight miles&rsquo; run, they arrived at the cover, a
+narrow tract of bush and bramble-covered ground stretching down
+to the bank of the frozen Oxus.&nbsp; Forming in a line, at a
+distance of twenty yards from one another, the horsemen rode
+through bush and bramble.&nbsp; A sharp yell from a Kirghiz, and
+after a startled hare, which had left its covert, dashed
+Russians, Bokharans, Englishman, and hounds.&nbsp; On they went,
+down the slippery river bank, across the shining ice, towards a
+dense bit of copse, where it looked as if poor puss might find an
+asylum from her pursuers.&nbsp; But at this moment the falcon was
+launched into the air.&nbsp; A swift swooping flight, and whir of
+wings, and in a second it was perched on its victim&rsquo;s back,
+while around it gathered the well-trained dogs, with open mouths
+and lolling tongues, not daring to approach the quarry.&nbsp; The
+master galloped up, seized the prize, and in a few minutes more
+the hunt was resumed; nor did the horsemen turn their faces
+homeward until five hares had rewarded their chivalrous
+efforts.</p>
+<p>In company with two Russian officers, and an escort of ten
+Cossacks, Major Burnaby, after a pleasant sojourn at
+Petro-Alexandrovsky, set out on his return to Kasala.&nbsp; As
+the weather was warmer, and the snow had begun to melt, the three
+officers travelled in a tarantass, drawn by six Kirghiz horses;
+the said tarantass closely resembling a hansom cab which, after
+its wheels have been removed, has been fastened in a
+brewer&rsquo;s dray.&nbsp; It has no springs, and it runs upon
+small but solid wooden wheels.&nbsp; They had gone but a few
+miles before they came again into a land of snow; the horses had
+to be taken out, <a name="page363"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+363</span>and a couple of camels substituted.&nbsp; At night they
+bivouacked, resuming their journey before daybreak.&nbsp; It was
+a picturesque sight:&mdash;&ldquo;First, the Cossacks, the
+barrels of their carbines gleaming in the moonlight, the vashlik
+of a conical shape surmounting each man&rsquo;s low cap, and
+giving a ghastly appearance to the riders.&nbsp; Their distorted
+shadows were reflected on the snow beneath, and appeared like a
+detachment of gigantic phantoms pursuing our little force.&nbsp;
+Then the tarantass, drawn by two large camels, which slowly
+ploughed their way through the heavy track, the driver nodding on
+his box but half awake, the two officers in the arms of Morpheus
+inside, and the heavy woodwork creaking at each stride of the
+enormous quadrupeds.&nbsp; In the wake of this vehicle strode the
+baggage camels.&nbsp; The officers&rsquo; servants were fast
+asleep on the backs of their animals, one man lying with his face
+to the tail, and snoring hard in spite of the continued movement;
+another fellow lay stretched across his saddle, apparently a good
+deal the worse for drink.&nbsp; He shouted out at intervals the
+strains of a Bacchanalian ditty.&nbsp; Nazar, who was always
+hungry, could be seen walking in the rear.&nbsp; He had kept back
+a bone from the evening meal, and was gnawing it like a dog, his
+strong jaws snapping as they closed on the fibrous mutton.&nbsp;
+I generally remained by our bivouac fire an hour or so after the
+rest of the party had marched, and seated by the side of the
+glowing embers, watched the caravan as it vanished slowly in the
+distance.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>At mid-day, on the 12th of February, Burnaby and his
+companions galloped across the frozen highway of the Syr-Daria,
+and into the streets of Kasala, having <a
+name="page364"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 364</span>ridden
+three hundred and seventy one miles in exactly nine days and two
+hours.&nbsp; He remained at Kasala for a few days, endeavouring
+to obtain permission to return to European Russia
+<i>vi&acirc;</i> Western Siberia; but his application failed, and
+he was informed that the authorization he had received to travel
+in Russian Asia had been cancelled.&nbsp; There was nothing to be
+done, therefore, but to complete the necessary preparations for
+his journey to Orenburg.&nbsp; A sleigh was hired, and amid a
+chorus of farewells from his Russian acquaintances, who showed
+themselves more friendly than their Government, he started on his
+homeward route, having undergone some novel experiences, and seen
+Khiva, but gathered no information of any value to geographers or
+men of science.&nbsp; In fact, the chief interest attaching to
+Major Burnaby&rsquo;s expedition is personal: it shows that he
+was a man of much energy, resolution, and perseverance, and he
+may fairly be complimented on the good use he made of these
+qualities in his bold but unsuccessful Ride to Khiva. <a
+name="citation364"></a><a href="#footnote364"
+class="citation">[364]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page365"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 365</span>SIR
+SAMUEL BAKER,<br />
+<span class="GutSmall">AND THE SOURCES OF THE NILE.</span></h2>
+<h3>I.</h3>
+<p><span class="smcap">Of</span> late years the Lake Regions of
+Central Africa have offered a fertile and attractive field to the
+explorer.&nbsp; The interest of the public in African discovery,
+which had for some time been dormant, was revived in 1849, by the
+achievements of Dr. Livingstone, who, starting from the south,
+crossed the tropic of Capricorn, and penetrated to the shores of
+Lake Ngami.&nbsp; In 1853 to 1856 the same great traveller traced
+the course of the river Leeambye or Zamb&eacute;si, and traversed
+the entire breadth of the &ldquo;black continent&rdquo; from
+Angola on the west coast to Zanzibar on the east.&nbsp; In 1865
+he resumed his labours, striking into the very heart of Africa,
+with the view of tracing out the Sources of the Nile, and
+entering into a fertile country, the resources of which he found
+to be capable of immense development.&nbsp; For the first two or
+three years of his absence his letters and despatches reached
+England with some degree of regularity, but at length a veil of
+silence fell across his path, and it began to be feared that <a
+name="page366"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 366</span>he, like
+other explorers, had fallen a victim to his enthusiasm.&nbsp; An
+expedition in search of the missing traveller was equipped by Mr.
+Gordon Bennett, proprietor of the <i>New York Herald</i>, in
+1871, and placed in charge of Mr. Henry M. Stanley, who had the
+good fortune to find Livingstone at Ujiji, near
+Unyanyemb&eacute;, on the 10th of November.&nbsp; He remained
+with him until the 14th of March, 1872, when he returned to
+England with his diary and other documents.&nbsp; Dr. Livingstone
+at this time reported that, in his belief, the Nile springs up
+about six hundred miles to the south of the southernmost point of
+Lake Victoria Nyanza.&nbsp; In November, 1872, a relief or
+auxiliary expedition, under Lieutenant V. Lovett Cameron, started
+from Zanzibar; but in October, 1873, while at Unyanyemb&eacute;,
+its leader received the intelligence of Livingstone&rsquo;s
+death, which had taken place at Ujiji, and soon afterwards the
+corpse arrived in charge of his faithful followers.&nbsp; Cameron
+then took up the work of exploration, and in spite of immense
+difficulties, great mental and physical suffering, and obstacles
+of every kind, he made his way to Lake Tanganyika, thence to
+Nyangw&eacute;, and after identifying the Lualaba with the Kongo,
+struck to the southward, and passing through regions hitherto
+unexplored, struck the west coast at Benguela.&nbsp; As a result
+of his observations, Lieutenant Cameron thus sketches the river
+system of Africa:&mdash;</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The basin of the Nile is probably bounded on the
+south-west by the watershed reached by Dr. Schweinfurth; on the
+south of the Albert Nyanza, by the high lands between that lake
+and the Tanganyika, whence the watershed pursues a tortuous
+course to <a name="page367"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+367</span>Unyanyemb&eacute; (where, I believe, the basins of the
+Nile, Kongo, and Lufiji approach each other), and then follows a
+wave of high land running east till it turns up northwards along
+the landward slopes of the mountains dividing the littoral from
+the interior.&nbsp; Passing by Mounts Kilima Njaro and Kenia, it
+extends to the mountains of Abyssinia, where the sources of the
+Blue Nile were discovered by Bruce [1770], and so on to the
+parched plains bordering the Red Sea, where no rains ever
+fall.&nbsp; The western boundary of the Nile basin is, of course,
+the eastern portion of the desert.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The basins of the Niger and the Ogowai cannot yet be
+defined with any degree of exactitude, and the northern boundary
+of the basin of the Kongo has still to be traced.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The Zamb&eacute;si drains that portion of the continent
+south of the Kongo system, and north of the Kalahari desert and
+the Limpopo, the northern boundary of the Transvaal Republic;
+some of its affluents reaching to within two hundred and fifty
+miles of the west coast.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The mighty Kongo, king of all the African rivers, and
+second only to the Amazon (and perhaps to the Yang-tse-Kiang) in
+the volume of its waters, occupies a belt of the continent lying
+on both sides of the equator, but most probably the larger area
+belongs to the southern hemisphere.&nbsp; Many of its affluents
+fork into those of the Zamb&eacute;si on a level tableland, where
+the watershed is so tortuous that it is hard to trace it, and
+where, during the rainy season, floods extend right across
+between the head-waters of the two streams.</p>
+<p><a name="page368"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+368</span>&ldquo;The Kelli, discovered by Dr. Schweinfurth, may
+possibly prove to be the Lowa, reported to me as a large affluent
+of the Lualaba [or Kongo] to the west of Nyangw&eacute;; or, if
+not an affluent of the Lualaba, it most probably flows either to
+the Ogowai or the Tchadda, an affluent of the Niger.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>In 1874 another expedition of discovery was fitted out, at the
+joint expense of the proprietors of the London <i>Daily
+Telegraph</i> and the <i>New York Herald</i>, and Mr. H. M.
+Stanley was appointed to the command.&nbsp; In 1875 he reached
+Lake Victoria Nyanza, and through the good offices of Mtesa, King
+of Uganda, obtained a flotilla of canoes, with which he
+circumnavigated the lake.&nbsp; It proved to be the largest basin
+of fresh water in the world, occupying the immense area of sixty
+thousand square miles.&nbsp; Mr. Stanley next pushed on to Lake
+Albert Nyanza; afterwards circumnavigated the northern half of
+Lake Tanganyika; struck westward to the Lualaba at Nyangw&eacute;
+(1876), and thence descended the Lualaba as far as the Isangila
+Falls (June, 1877), whence he crossed the country to Kalinda, on
+the west coast.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>But we must now return to 1857, when Captains Burton and
+Speke, under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society of
+London, started from Zanzibar to explore the inland lacustrine
+region; and discovered, to the south of the equator, Lake
+Tanganyika, which they partially explored in a couple of
+canoes.&nbsp; Captain Burton being taken ill, Speke pushed on to
+the north alone, and discovered the immense basin now known as
+the Victoria Nyanza, which he immediately conceived to be the
+great <a name="page369"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+369</span>reservoir and head-waters of the Nile.&nbsp; To
+ascertain the truth of this supposition, he started again from
+the east coast in October, 1860, accompanied by Captain Grant;
+crossed the great equatorial table-land of the interior; reached
+the Victoria Nyanza; skirted its shores until they discovered its
+main outlet, which proved to be the Nile, and then traced the
+course of the famous river to Gondokoro, whence, by way of
+Assouan, Thebes, and Cairo, they proceeded to Alexandria.&nbsp;
+Their well-directed energy had to a great extent solved the
+geographical problem of ages, and dispelled the cloud-land in
+which the Nile springs had so long been hidden:&mdash;</p>
+<blockquote><p>&ldquo;The mystery of old Nile was solved; brave
+men<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Had through the lion-haunted inland past,<br />
+Dared all the perils of desert, gorge, and glen,<br />
+&nbsp;&nbsp; Found the far Source at last.&rdquo;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>With heroic patience they had accomplished on foot their
+journey of thirteen hundred miles, and shown that the parent
+stream of the Nile, even in its earliest course a considerable
+river, was fed by the vast reservoir of the &ldquo;Victorian
+Sea.&rdquo;&nbsp; What remained to be discovered was the feeders
+of this vast basin, and which among them was indeed the primary
+source of the Nile.&nbsp; Some fresher light was thrown on the
+subject by Sir Samuel Baker, <a name="citation369"></a><a
+href="#footnote369" class="citation">[369]</a> who, with his
+wife, underwent some remarkable experiences in Central Africa,
+and earned a right to be included among our Heroes of
+Travel.&nbsp; Let us now follow him &ldquo;through scorching <a
+name="page370"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 370</span>deserts and
+thirsty sands; through swamp and jungle and interminable morass;
+through difficulties, fatigues, and sickness,&rdquo; until we
+stand with him on that high cliff where the great prize burst
+upon his view, and he saw before him one of the chief sources of
+the Nile in the Luta N&rsquo;zige, or Albert Lake.</p>
+
+<div class="gapspace">&nbsp;</div>
+<p>Accompanied by his courageous and devoted wife, who insisted
+upon sharing his labours and his perils, he sailed up the Nile
+from Cairo on the 15th of April, 1861.&nbsp; In twenty-six days
+they arrived at Kousko, whence they crossed the Nubian desert, so
+as to cut off the western bend of the river, touching it again at
+Abo&ugrave; Hamed.&nbsp; Eight days more and they reached Berber,
+where they remained until the 11th of June.&nbsp; A year was
+spent in exploring the Abyssinian frontier and the Abyssinian
+tributaries of the Nile; and the travellers made their appearance
+at Khart&ucirc;m on the 11th of June, 1862.&nbsp; Khart&ucirc;m
+is a densely populated, unclean, and pestiferous town, in lat.
+15&deg; 29&prime;, at the junction point of the White and Blue
+Nile; it is the capital of the Soudan, and the seat of a
+governor-general.&nbsp; Twenty years ago it was also the centre
+of a cruel and desolating slave-trade, but the exertions of Sir
+Samuel Baker and Colonel Gordon have done much to lessen its
+proportions.</p>
+<p>Having engaged a Nile boat, or dahabeeyah, and two larger
+noggens or sailing barges, with an escort of forty armed men, and
+forty sailors, and accumulated four months&rsquo; supplies of
+provisions, Sir Samuel set sail from Khart&ucirc;m on the 18th of
+December, 1862.&nbsp; On Christmas Day he was slowly ascending
+the river, the banks of which were fringed with immense
+forests.&nbsp; <a name="page371"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+371</span>These trees are the soont (<i>Acacia Arabica</i>),
+which produce an excellent tannin; the fruit is used for that
+purpose, and yields a rich brown dye.&nbsp; The straight smooth
+trunks are thirty-five feet high, and about eighteen inches in
+diameter.&nbsp; When in full foliage they look well from a
+distance, but on a closer approach the forest is seen to be a
+desolate swamp, completely overflowed; &ldquo;a mass of fallen
+dead trees protruding from the stagnant waters, a solitary crane
+perched here and there upon the rotten boughs; floating
+water-plants massed together, and forming green swimming islands,
+hitched generally among the sunken trunks and branches; sometimes
+slowly descending with the sluggish stream, bearing,
+spectre-like, storks thus voyaging on nature&rsquo;s rafts to
+freer lands unknown.&rdquo;&nbsp; This kind of
+scenery&mdash;depressing enough, no doubt&mdash;continues for a
+considerable distance, and so long as it lasts deprives the Nile
+of that romance with which it has been invested by the
+imagination of poets.&nbsp; There is neither beauty nor interest
+in it; and one is surprised to see the low flat banks studded
+with populous villages.&nbsp; The flooded plains, however, afford
+abundant pasture for the herds of the Shillooks, who in their
+choice of a locality are governed by considerations of utility,
+and not by the principles of &aelig;stheticism.</p>
+<p>The junction of the Sobat takes place in lat. 9&deg;
+21&prime;.&nbsp; This tributary, at the point of confluence, is a
+hundred and twenty yards broad, and flows at the rate of two
+miles and a half per hour.&nbsp; Still the Nile valley presents
+the same characteristics&mdash;broad tracts of marsh and grasses;
+dull, monotonous levels, unrelieved by any vividness of
+colour.&nbsp; After receiving <a name="page372"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 372</span>the Bahr-el-Ghazal, the White Nile
+turns abruptly to the south-east, and winds upward through a flat
+country, which, in the rainy season, is resolved into a system of
+extensive lakes.&nbsp; Its highway is half choked with floating
+vegetation, which nurtures innumerable clouds of
+mosquitoes.&nbsp; The people on its banks belong to the Nuehr
+tribe; the women pierce the upper lip, and wear an ornament about
+four inches long, of beads upon a iron wire, which projects like
+the horn of a rhinoceros.&nbsp; The men are both tall and robust,
+and armed with lances.&nbsp; They carry pipes that will hold
+nearly a quarter of a pound of tobacco; when the supply of
+&ldquo;the weed&rdquo; fails, they substitute charcoal.</p>
+<p>The monotony of the voyage was broken one day by the
+appearance of a hippopotamus close to Sir Samuel&rsquo;s
+boat.&nbsp; He was about half grown, and in an instant a score of
+men jumped into the water to seize him.&nbsp; The captain caught
+him by the hind-leg; and then the crowd rushed in, and, with
+ropes thrown from the vessel, slipped nooses over his head.&nbsp;
+A grand struggle ensued, but as it seemed likely to result in a
+victory for the hippopotamus, Sir Samuel slew him with a rifle
+ball.&nbsp; The Arab seamen, who have an extraordinary appetite,
+like the old school-men, for the most trivial arguments,
+observing that the animal had been &ldquo;bullied&rdquo; and
+scarred by some other and stronger hippopotamus, plunged into a
+fierce contention on the point whether he had been misused by his
+father or his mother.&nbsp; As they could not agree, they
+referred the question to the arbitration of Sir Samuel, who
+pacified both parties by the felicitous suggestion that perhaps
+it was his uncle!&nbsp; <a name="page373"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 373</span>They set to work at once with
+willing vigour to cut up the ill-treated hippopotamus, which
+proved to be as fat as butter, and made most excellent soup.</p>
+<p>Continuing their &ldquo;up-river&rdquo; course, the voyagers
+came to the country of the Kegtah tribe.&nbsp; Such savages as
+they saw were equally uncivilized and emaciated.&nbsp; The young
+women wore no clothing, except a small piece of dressed hide
+across the shoulders; the men, instead of the hide, assumed a
+leopard-skin.&nbsp; There was greater appearance of intelligence
+in the termites, or white ant, than in these poor half-starved
+wretches.&nbsp; The white-ant hills here rise like castle-towers
+above the water of the marshes.&nbsp; Their inmates build them
+ten feet high in the dry season, and when the rains come, live
+high and dry in the upper stories.&nbsp; Humanity, meanwhile,
+sickens in the stagnant swamp, and lingers out a miserable
+existence.&nbsp; The Bohr and Aliab tribes are a degree higher in
+the scale of civilization, but the Shir go beyond them.&nbsp;
+They are armed with well-made ebony clubs, two lances, a bow and
+arrows; they carry upon their backs a neatly made miniature
+stool, along with an immense pipe.&nbsp; The females are not
+absolutely naked; they wear small lappets of tanned leather as
+broad as the hand; at the back of the belt which supports this
+apron is a tail, depending to the lower portions of the
+thighs&mdash;a tail of finely cut strips of leather, which has
+probably given rise to the Arab report that a tribe in Central
+Africa had tails like horses.&nbsp; The huts here, and all along
+the Nile, are circular, with entrances so low that the inmates
+creep in and out on hands and knees.&nbsp; The men decorate their
+heads with tufts of cock&rsquo;s feathers; their favourite
+attitude, <a name="page374"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+374</span>when standing, is on one leg, while leaning on a spear,
+the uplifted leg reposing on the inside of the other knee.</p>
+<p>All the White Nile tribes are quick to collect their harvest
+of the lotus, or water-lily, seed, which they grind into flour,
+and make into a kind of porridge.&nbsp; The seed-pod of the white
+lotus resembles an unblown artichoke, and contains a number of
+light red grains about the size of the mustard-seed, but in shape
+like those of the poppy, and like them in flavour.&nbsp; The ripe
+pods are strung upon reeds about four feet long, formed into
+large bundles, and carried from the river to the villages, to be
+dried in the sun, and stored away until wanted.</p>
+<p>The 1st of February was a &ldquo;white day&rdquo; in the
+voyagers&rsquo; calendar, for on that day the scenery of the
+river underwent a welcome improvement.&nbsp; The marshes gave
+place to dry ground; the well-wooded banks rose four feet above
+the water level; the thickly populated country bloomed like an
+orchard.&nbsp; At Gondokoro the picture was fresh and pleasant,
+with a distant view of high mountains, and neat villages nestling
+under the shade of evergreen trees.&nbsp; Gondokoro is not a
+town, but merely a station of the ivory traders, and for ten
+months of the year is almost a solitude.&nbsp; Its climate is hot
+and unhealthy.&nbsp; Sir Samuel Baker did not meet with a
+friendly reception.&nbsp; The men who profited by the slave-trade
+regarded him with suspicion; they believed he had come to watch
+their doings, and report them to the world.&nbsp; Their
+hostility, however, did not disturb his composure, and he amused
+himself in riding about the neighbourhood, and studying the place
+and its inhabitants.&nbsp; He admired the exquisite <a
+name="page375"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 375</span>cleanliness
+of the native dwellings, which almost rose to the standard of the
+famous village of Brock.&nbsp; Each house was enclosed by a hedge
+of the impenetrable euphorbia, and the area within was neatly
+plastered with a cement of ashes, cow-dung, and sand.&nbsp; Upon
+this well-kept surface stood one or more huts, surrounded by
+granaries of neat wicker-work, thatched, resting upon raised
+platforms.&nbsp; The huts are built with projecting roofs for the
+sake of shade, and the entrance is not more than two feet
+high.&nbsp; On the death of a member of the family, he is buried
+in the yard, his resting-place being indicated by a pole crowned
+by a bunch of cock&rsquo;s feathers, and ornamented with a few
+ox-horns and skulls.&nbsp; Each man carries with him, wherever he
+goes, his weapons, pipe, and stool, the whole (except the stool)
+being held between his legs when he is standing.&nbsp; The
+Gondokoro natives belong to the Bari tribe: the men are well
+grown; the women are not prepossessing, with good features, and
+no sign of negro blood, except the woolly hair.&nbsp; They tattoo
+themselves on stomach, sides, and back, and anoint their persons
+with a peculiar red clay, abounding in oxide of iron.&nbsp; Their
+principal weapon is the bow and arrow; the arrow they steep in
+the juice of euphorbia and other poisonous plants.</p>
+<p>At the secret instigation of the slave-traders, Sir Samuel
+Baker&rsquo;s escort broke out into open mutiny, declaring that
+they had not meat enough, and demanding leave to carry off the
+oxen of the natives.&nbsp; The ringleader, an Arab, was so
+violent that Sir Samuel ordered him to receive twenty-five
+lashes.&nbsp; The vakeel, Saati, advanced to seize him, when many
+of the men rushed to his rescue; and Sir Samuel was <a
+name="page376"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 376</span>compelled
+to interfere.&nbsp; The Arab then rushed at his employer; but Sir
+Samuel knocked him back into the middle of the crowd, caught him
+by the throat, and called to the vakeel for a rope to bind him;
+but in an instant all the mutineers sprang forward to his
+assistance.&nbsp; How the affair would have ended seems doubtful;
+but as the fray took place within ten yards of the boat, Lady
+Baker, who was ill with fever in the cabin, witnessed the whole
+of it, and seeing her husband surrounded, rushed out, forced her
+way into the middle of the crowd, and called on some of the least
+mutinous to assist.&nbsp; For a moment the crowd wavered, and Sir
+Samuel seized the opportunity to shout to the drummer-boy to beat
+the drum.&nbsp; Immediately, the drum beat, and in his loudest
+tones Sir Samuel ordered the men to &ldquo;fall in.&rdquo;&nbsp;
+The instinct of discipline prevailed: two-thirds of the men fell
+in, and formed in line, while the others retreated with the
+ringleader, declaring he was badly hurt.&nbsp; Then Sir Samuel
+insisted upon their all forming in line, and upon the ringleader
+being brought forward.&nbsp; At this critical moment, Lady Baker,
+with true feminine tact, implored her husband to forgive the man
+if he kissed his hand and begged for pardon.&nbsp; The men were
+completely conquered by this generosity, and called on their
+ringleader to apologize, and that all would be right.&nbsp; Thus
+the affair ended; but Sir Samuel rightly foresaw in it the
+promise of future troubles.&nbsp; According to the custom of the
+White Nile, the men had five months&rsquo; wages in advance; he
+had therefore no control over them; yet he and his wife were
+about to penetrate into the midst of a probably hostile native
+population, with an escort on whose faithfulness no reliance
+could be placed.</p>
+<p><a name="page377"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 377</span>On
+the 15th of February, Captains Speke and Grant arrived at
+Gondokoro, from the Victoria Nyanza, and the meeting between them
+and Sir Samuel was necessarily very cordial.&nbsp; The
+information they communicated had a material effect upon his
+plans.&nbsp; He found that they had been unable to complete the
+actual exploration of the Nile&mdash;that a most important
+portion remained to be determined.&nbsp; It appears that in lat.
+2&deg; 17&prime; N. they had crossed the Nile, after tracking it
+from the Victoria Lake; that the river then turned suddenly to
+the west, and that they did not touch it again until they arrived
+in lat. 3&deg; 32&prime; N., when it was then flowing from the
+west-south-west.&nbsp; The natives, and Kamrasi, King of Unyoro,
+had assured them that the Nile from the Victoria Nyanza, which
+they had crossed in lat. 2&deg; 17&prime; N., flowed westward for
+several days&rsquo; journey, and at length fell into a large lake
+called the Luta N&rsquo;zige (&ldquo;Dead Locust&rdquo;); that
+this lake came from the south, and that the Nile, on entering its
+northern extremity, almost immediately made its exit, and as a
+navigable river continued its course to the north through the
+Koshi and Madi countries.&nbsp; Circumstances prevented Speke and
+Grant from pushing their explorations as far as the Luta
+N&rsquo;zige; and the question that remained to be answered was,
+What was the exact position of this lake in the basin of the
+Nile? what was its relation to the great river?</p>
+<p>This question Sir Samuel Baker resolved upon settling.&nbsp;
+Speke and Grant sailed from Gondokoro, homeward bound, on the
+26th, and he immediately began to prepare for his journey to the
+Luta N&rsquo;zige.&nbsp; His preparations were delayed, however,
+by the <a name="page378"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+378</span>mutinous conduct of his escort, and the obstacles
+thrown in his path by the nefarious ivory-traders and
+slave-hunters; and it was the 26th of March before he was able to
+effect a start.&nbsp; Then, with his escort reduced in number to
+fifteen men, with two faithful servants, Richard and the boy
+Saat, and a heavily loaded caravan of camels and donkeys, with
+Lady Baker mounted on a good strong Abyssinian hunter,
+T&eacute;tel (&ldquo;Hartebeest&rdquo;), and Sir Samuel himself
+on his horse Filfil (&ldquo;Pepper&rdquo;), and the British flag
+waving proudly above the <i>cort&eacute;ge</i>, they left
+Gondokoro, and began their march into Central Africa.</p>
+<p>The country was park-like, but dried up by the hot
+weather.&nbsp; The soil was sandy, but firm, and numerous
+evergreen trees enlivened the landscape, which was further
+animated by clusters of villages, each surrounded by a fence of
+euphorbia.&nbsp; It varied greatly in character as the travellers
+advanced; sometimes presenting a magnificent forest, sometimes a
+dense jungle, sometimes a labyrinth of ravines, through which the
+caravan made its way with difficulty.&nbsp; The view of the
+valley of Tollogo was exceedingly picturesque.&nbsp; An abrupt
+granite wall rose on the east side to a height of about a
+thousand feet; from this perpendicular cliff huge blocks had
+fallen, strewing the bottom with a confused mass of fragments,
+among which the natives had built their village.&nbsp; A slow
+stream wound its way in the hollow, which was nowhere more than
+half a mile wide, in the shade of numerous fig trees.&nbsp; At
+Ellyria Sir Samuel narrowly escaped a hostile encounter with an
+ivory-trader&rsquo;s party, but through the firmness and <a
+name="page379"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 379</span>skilfulness
+of himself and his wife, not only was it avoided, but friendly
+relations were established with its leader.&nbsp; No supplies,
+however, could be procured from the natives, whose character Sir
+Samuel paints in the darkest colours.&nbsp; Of the village of
+Wakkala he gives a pleasant description.&nbsp; The soil was very
+rich, and the ground being protected from the burning sun by the
+large trees, there was a wealth of luscious grass; while the good
+pasturage, the extensive forest, and a plentiful supply of water
+insured a not less plentiful supply of wild
+animals&mdash;antelopes in numerous varieties, rhinoceros,
+buffaloes, elephants, and giraffes.&nbsp; The next town was
+Latom&eacute;, where the traveller&rsquo;s presence of mind and
+courage were tested by another mutiny; but again he succeeded in
+defeating the intentions of the insurgents, and reducing them to
+obedience.</p>
+<p>Along the foot of the Lafut mountains, which attain a general
+elevation of six to seven thousand feet, the travellers pursued
+their way.&nbsp; Desertions reduced their escort by five men, but
+they abated not their high hopes or spirit of daring
+enterprise.&nbsp; They duly arrived at Tarangdl&eacute;, famous
+for its fine trees&mdash;the chief settlement of the Latookas, a
+fine, frank, and warlike race, who resemble the Irish in their
+readiness to join either in a feast or a fray.&nbsp; The town
+contains three thousand houses, each of which, as well as the
+town itself, is protected by an iron-wood palisade.&nbsp; The
+cattle are kept in large kraals, and at various points high
+platforms are erected, where sentinels keep watch and ward both
+day and night.&nbsp; The cattle are the wealth of the country,
+and so rich are the Latookas in them, that <a
+name="page380"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 380</span>ten or
+twelve thousand head are housed in every large town.&nbsp; The
+natives are constantly on guard to prevent the depredations of
+neighbouring tribes.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The houses of the Latookas,&rdquo; says Sir Samuel,
+&ldquo;are generally bell-shaped, while others are precisely like
+huge candle-extinguishers, about twenty-five feet high.&nbsp; The
+roofs are neatly thatched, at an angle of about 75&deg;, resting
+upon a circular wall about four feet high; thus the roof forms a
+cap descending to within two feet and a half of the ground.&nbsp;
+The doorway is only two feet and two inches high, thus an
+entrance must be effected upon all-fours.&nbsp; The interior is
+remarkably clean, but dark, as the architects have no idea of
+windows.&nbsp; It is a curious fact that the circular form of hut
+is the only style of architecture adopted among all the tribes of
+Central Africa, and also among the Arabs of Upper Egypt; and
+that, although these differ more or less in the form of the roof,
+no tribe has ever yet sufficiently advanced to construct a
+window.&nbsp; The town of Tarangdl&eacute; is arranged with
+several entrances, in the shape of low archways through the
+palisades; these are closed at night by large branches of the
+hooked thorn of the kittur bush (a species of mimosa).&nbsp; The
+main street is broad, but all others are studiously arranged to
+admit of only one cow, in single file, between high stockades;
+thus, in the event of an attack, these narrow passages could be
+easily defended, and it would be impossible to drive off their
+vast herds of cattle unless by the main street.&nbsp; The large
+cattle kraals are accordingly arranged in various quarters in
+connection with the great road, and the entrance of each kraal is
+a small archway in the <a name="page381"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 381</span>strong iron-wood fence, sufficiently
+wide to admit one ox at a time.&nbsp; Suspended from the arch is
+a bell, formed of the shell of the Oolape palm-nut, against which
+every animal must strike either its horns or back, on
+entrance.&nbsp; Every tinkle of the bell announces the passage of
+an ox into the kraal, and they are thus counted every evening
+when brought home from pasture.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>While at Latooka Sir Samuel was enabled to gratify his passion
+for the chase, and his skill and prowess were rewarded by the
+capture of an elephant.&nbsp; There is a great difference, or
+rather, there are three great differences between the African and
+the Asiatic elephant: the back of the former is concave, that of
+the latter convex; the former has an enormous ear, the latter a
+comparatively small one; the head of the former has a convex
+front, while that of the latter exposes a flat surface a little
+above the trunk.&nbsp; The African animal is much larger than the
+Asiatic; and while the latter seeks the forest depths during the
+day, and does not wander forth upon the plains till towards
+evening, the former remains all day in the vast open prairies,
+where the thick grass springs to a height of twelve feet.&nbsp;
+The African elephant feeds chiefly on the foliage of trees; the
+Asiatic is an extensive grass feeder.</p>
+<p>The natives hunt the elephant for the sake of the flesh and
+the tusks.&nbsp; Sometimes he is caught in pitfalls; at other
+times, the grass of the prairies is fired, and the elephants
+gradually driven back into a confined area, where they are
+surrounded and speared to death.&nbsp; Or, should a number of
+elephants be in the neighbourhood of a village, about a hundred
+<a name="page382"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 382</span>men,
+armed with heavy-bladed lances, post themselves in as many trees,
+while a multitude of natives gradually drive the animals towards
+this ambush, when such as pass near enough are speared between
+the shoulders.&nbsp; The Bagara Arabs are famous elephant
+hunters.&nbsp; Armed with bamboo lances, tipped with a sharp iron
+head, two of them, mounted on good horses, sally forth to secure
+a prize.&nbsp; On coming in sight of a herd, they single out the
+finest tusker and separate him from the others.&nbsp; One man
+then leads the charge, and the animal, hotly pursued, turns
+against the horse, which the rider so manages as to draw the
+elephant further and further after him, while carefully keeping a
+safe distance ahead.&nbsp; The other man, meanwhile, is at the
+elephant&rsquo;s heels, and suddenly dismounting, while at full
+gallop, plunges his spear into its body about two feet below the
+junction of the tail, driving it with all his strength into the
+abdomen, and then withdrawing it.&nbsp; If successful in his
+thrust, he remounts his horse and escapes, or takes to flight on
+foot, pursued by the elephant, until the attention of the latter
+is drawn to his first assailant, who in his turn rides up, and
+inflicts a wound.&nbsp; Sometimes the first wound proves fatal;
+sometimes the process is repeated twice or thrice before the
+animal succumbs; and sometimes the elephant overtakes his enemy,
+in which case the latter must expect no mercy.</p>
+<p>On the 2nd of May, 1863, leaving five men in charge of his
+camp and baggage, Sir Samuel started for Obbo, crossing the
+Kanisti river, and travelling through a bold and romantic
+highland country.&nbsp; He found the vegetation of Obbo rich and
+various; the soil <a name="page383"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+383</span>produced nine kinds of yams, and many capital kinds of
+fruit.&nbsp; Tobacco flourishes, and ground nuts are
+plentiful.&nbsp; As for the people, they attire themselves in the
+skin of an antelope or goat, wearing it mantle-wise across their
+shoulders; but when on the warpath, they paint their body with
+red and yellow stripes.&nbsp; Sir Samuel was received with all
+the honours by Katchiba, the chief of Obbo, and entertained with
+a grand dance, in which more vigour was displayed than
+elegance.&nbsp; About a hundred men formed a ring; each holding
+in his hand a small cup-shaped drum, formed of hollowed wood,
+over the perforated end of which was lightly stretched the skin
+of an elephant&rsquo;s ear.&nbsp; In the centre was placed the
+chief dancer, wearing, suspended from his shoulders, an immense
+drum, also covered with elephant&rsquo;s ear.&nbsp; The dance
+commenced with a wild but agreeable chorus, the time being kept
+by the big drum, and the small <i>tympana</i> striking in at
+certain periods, with so much precision as to give the effect of
+a single instrument.&nbsp; The figures varied continually, and
+the whole terminated with a &ldquo;grand galop&rdquo; in double
+circles, at a tremendous pace, the inner ring revolving in a
+contrary direction to the outer.</p>
+<p>Sir Samuel returned to Latooka, and collecting his baggage and
+escort, started again for Obbo on the 13th of June.&nbsp; Here he
+and his wife remained for several months, waiting for a
+favourable opportunity to resume their southward march.&nbsp;
+Their quinine was exhausted, and consequently they suffered much
+from fever.&nbsp; Sir Samuel, in lieu of horses, purchased and
+trained for their contemplated journey three robust oxen, named
+respectively, &ldquo;Beef,&rdquo; &ldquo;Steaks,&rdquo; and <a
+name="page384"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+384</span>&ldquo;Suet.&rdquo;&nbsp; He also obtained a supply of
+porters to carry his luggage, and arranged with Ibrahim, the
+friendly trader, that he should accompany him to Unyoro with a
+guard of one hundred men.&nbsp; It was the 5th of January, 1864,
+before the expedition started.&nbsp; On the very first day,
+however, one of the oxen bolted; and Sir Samuel was compelled to
+purchase another of one of the Turks at the price of a
+double-barrelled gun.&nbsp; Three days&rsquo; march through a
+beautiful country brought them to the Asua river, in lat. 3&deg;
+12&prime; N.&nbsp; Its bed was almost dry.&nbsp; On the 13th they
+arrived at Shooa.&nbsp; This is characterized as a lovely
+place.&nbsp; A noble mountain of granite ascended in a sheer
+precipice for about eight hundred feet from its base; perfectly
+abrupt on the eastern side, the other parts were of gradual
+inclination, covered with fine forest trees, and picturesquely
+studded with villages.&nbsp; The surrounding country, with its
+trees and rivulets and greensward, might have been taken for an
+English park, but for the granite rocks that rose at intervals
+like the gray ruins of ancient castles.</p>
+<p>Shooa is a land of milk and honey.&nbsp; The travellers found
+fowls, butter, and goats abundant and ridiculously cheap; and as
+beads were highly valued, they effected some good bargains.&nbsp;
+The women flocked to see the white lady, bringing her gifts of
+milk and flowers, and receiving beads and bracelets in
+return.&nbsp; They were gentle in manner, and evidently anxious
+to establish friendly relations.&nbsp; Sir Samuel was struck by
+the superior cultivation of the country.&nbsp; Large quantities
+of sesamum were grown and carefully harvested, the crop being
+collected in oblong frames about twenty feet long and twelve feet
+high.&nbsp; <a name="page385"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+385</span>These were inclined at an angle of about 60&deg;; the
+pods of the sesamum plants hanging on one facet, so that the
+frames resembled enormous brushes.&nbsp; When fully dried, the
+crop was removed to the granaries, of which there were two kinds:
+the wicker-work plastered over with cow-dung, supported on four
+posts, with a thatched roof; and a simpler contrivance, which may
+be thus described:&mdash;A stout pole, twenty feet long, was
+fixed upright in the earth, and, at about four foot from the
+ground, a bundle of strong and long reeds was tied tightly round
+it.&nbsp; Round these reeds, at intervals, were fastened hoop of
+wicker-work, until the structure assumed the shape of an inverted
+umbrella half expanded.&nbsp; When this is filled with grain,
+fresh reeds are added, until the work has extended to within a
+few feet of the top of the pole.&nbsp; The whole is then crowned
+with a covering of reeds, securely strapped, and resembles
+nothing in the world so much as one of those cigars which
+slightly bulge in the middle.</p>
+<p>At Shooa all Sir Samuel&rsquo;s Obbo porters absconded, being
+afraid to enter Kamrasi&rsquo;s country, and he found so much
+difficulty in supplying their places, that he resolved on leaving
+behind him every article that was not absolutely
+indispensable.&nbsp; How different an appearance his expedition
+presented to that which it had worn on leaving
+Khart&ucirc;m!&nbsp; It was shorn of all its &ldquo;pride and
+circumstance;&rdquo; but its leader remained as resolute and as
+hopeful as ever, and started from Shooa on the 18th of January,
+determined to press forward to the Luta N&rsquo;zige.&nbsp; After
+passing Fatiko, a village perched like an eagle&rsquo;s eyrie on
+a rocky table-land, he entered upon a sea of <a
+name="page386"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 386</span>prairies,
+an immense undulating expanse of verdure, dotted with a few
+palms.&nbsp; As his guide lost the road, Sir Samuel proposed to
+clear the country to the south by firing the prairies, and a
+strangely picturesque spectacle was the result.&nbsp; In a few
+minutes the flames roared before them, and waves upon waves of
+fire, and clouds upon clouds of smoke, rolled away to the far
+horizon.&nbsp; Flocks of buzzards and swarms of beautiful
+fly-catchers thronged to the spot, to prey upon the innumerable
+insects that endeavoured to escape from the approaching
+conflagration, which continued to extend until arrested by a
+reedy swamp.</p>
+<p>On the 22nd, the expedition reached the Victoria White Nile,
+or, as it is sometimes called, the Somerset river, and proceeded
+through the magnificent forest that crowned its bank to the
+Karuma Falls.&nbsp; The river here was about a hundred and fifty
+yards wide, and flowed between lofty cliffs, which were green
+with vines, bananas, and palms.&nbsp; The falls, however, are
+very insignificant, not exceeding five feet in height.&nbsp; Just
+above them is a ferry, and Sir Samuel and Lady Baker crossing by
+it, found themselves in Unyoro, King Kamrasi&rsquo;s country, and
+in his town or village of Atado.&nbsp; Speke and Grant had left
+behind them pleasant memories, so that Baker, as their friend and
+countryman, received a hearty welcome.&nbsp; A large hut was
+placed at the disposal of his wife and himself, and in exchange
+for fresh beef&mdash;Sir Samuel ordering an ox to be killed for
+the purpose&mdash;the natives furnished liberal quantities of
+flour, beans, and sweet potatoes.&nbsp; A brisk market was
+quickly set going, and whole rows of girls and women arrived,
+bringing baskets filled with the desired provisions.&nbsp; The <a
+name="page387"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 387</span>women, we
+are told, were neatly dressed in short double-skirted petticoats:
+many had the bosom bare: others wore a piece of bark-cloth,
+plaid-wise, across chest and shoulders.&nbsp; Bark-cloth, which
+is exclusively used throughout Equatorial Africa, is the produce
+of a kind of fig tree.&nbsp; The bark is stripped off in large
+pieces, soaked in water, and beaten with a mallet.&nbsp; In
+appearance it much resembles corduroy, in colour tanned leather;
+the finer qualities are peculiarly soft to the touch, like woven
+cotton.</p>
+<p>The travellers were struck by the difference between the
+Unyoro people and the tribes they had previously seen.&nbsp; On
+the north side of the Nile the natives were either wholly naked,
+or wore only a piece of skin across their shoulders.&nbsp; The
+river seemed to mark the limit or <i>ne plus ultra</i> of
+savagedom, for the inhabitants of Unyoro shrank like Europeans
+from the indecency and shame of nakedness.&nbsp; Their higher
+civilization was shown also by their manufactures: their smiths
+were very skilful, and used iron hammers instead of stone; they
+converted into fine wire the thick brass and copper wire which
+they received from Zanzibar; and their pottery showed a certain
+degree of taste in conception.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The natives,&rdquo; writes Sir Samuel, &ldquo;are
+particularly neat in all they do; they never bring anything to
+sell unless carefully packed in the neatest parcels, generally
+formed of the bark of the plantain, and sometimes of the inner
+portions of reeds stripped into snow-white stalks, which are
+bound round the parcels with the utmost care.&nbsp; Should the
+plantain cider, &lsquo;marossa,&rsquo; be brought in a jar, the
+mouth is neatly covered with a finger-like mat of these clean <a
+name="page388"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 388</span>white
+rushes split into shreds.&nbsp; Not even tobacco is brought for
+sale unless most carefully packed.&nbsp; During a journey, a
+pretty, bottle-shaped, long-necked gourd is carried, with a store
+of plantain cider; the mouth of the bottle is stopped with a
+bundle of the white rush shreds, through which a reed is inserted
+that reaches to the bottom; thus the drink can be sucked up
+during the march without the necessity of halting; nor is it
+possible to spill it by the movement of walking.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The natives,&rdquo; he adds, &ldquo;prepare the skins
+of goats very beautifully, making them as soft as chamois
+leather; these they cut into squares, and sew them together as
+neatly as would be effected by a European tailor, converting them
+into mantles, which are prized far more highly than bark-cloth,
+on account of their durability.&nbsp; They manufacture their own
+needles, not by boring the eye, but by sharpening the end into a
+fine point, and turning it over, the extremity being hammered
+into a small cut in the body of the needle to prevent it from
+catching.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>The arrival of Sir Samuel Baker being made known to Kamrasi,
+he requested him to pay a visit to his capital, and sent a legion
+of porters to carry his baggage.&nbsp; Lady Baker suffered much
+from illness on the journey, which she performed in a litter; and
+Sir Samuel was also attacked by a debilitating fever.&nbsp; His
+first interview with &ldquo;the king&rdquo; took place on the
+10th of February.&nbsp; He describes him as a fine-looking man,
+whose extremely prominent eyes gave a peculiar expression to his
+countenance; about six feet high; and dressed in a long robe of
+bark-cloth, draped in graceful folds.&nbsp; The nails of his
+hands and <a name="page389"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+389</span>feet were carefully tended, and his complexion was
+about as dark a brown as that of an Abyssinian.&nbsp; He sat upon
+a copper stool, with a leopard-skin carpet spread around him, and
+was attended by about ten of his principal chiefs.&nbsp; Of his
+character as a man Sir Samuel Baker speaks in the most
+unflattering terms; he was grasping, mean, mendacious, and a
+coward.&nbsp; After some delay, and by dint of repeated bribes,
+Sir Samuel obtained from him a supply of natives to carry the
+baggage to the lake, where canoes were to be provided for the
+voyage to Magango, a village situated at the junction of the
+Somerset river.&nbsp; He went to take leave of the royal savage,
+and was astonished by the insolent demand that Lady Baker should
+be left with him!&nbsp; Sir Samuel drew his revolver; Lady Baker
+broke out into invectives in Arabic, which the woman, Bachuta,
+translated as nearly as she could, and with indignant emphasis,
+into the language of Unyoro; in short, &ldquo;a scene&rdquo;
+ensued!&nbsp; Kamrasi was completely cowed, and faltered out,
+&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t be angry!&nbsp; I had no intention of
+offending you by asking for your wife; I will give you a wife, if
+you want one, and I thought you might have no objection to give
+me yours; it is my custom to give my visitors pretty wives, and I
+thought you might exchange.&nbsp; Don&rsquo;t make it fuss about
+it: if you don&rsquo;t like it, there&rsquo;s an end of it; I
+will never mention it again.&rdquo;&nbsp; Sir Samuel received the
+apology very sternly, and insisted upon starting.&nbsp; Kamrasi
+did not feel in a position to interpose any further delay, and
+the march to the lake began.</p>
+<p>On the road a very painful incident occurred.&nbsp; The
+expedition had reached Uafour river, which ran <a
+name="page390"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 390</span>through the
+centre of a marsh, and, although deep, was so thickly covered
+with matted and tangled water grass and other aquatic plants,
+that a natural floating bridge, some two feet in thickness, was
+available for crossing.&nbsp; The men passed it quickly, sinking
+merely to the ankles, though beneath the tough vegetation was
+deep water.&nbsp; It was equally impossible to ride or be carried
+over this fickle surface; Sir Samuel therefore led the way, and
+begged his wife to follow on foot as quickly as possible, keeping
+exactly in his track.&nbsp; The river was about eighty yards
+wide, and Sir Samuel had scarcely accomplished a fourth of the
+distance, when, looking back, he was horrified to see her
+standing in one spot, and sinking gradually through the weeds,
+while her face was distorted and perfectly purple.&nbsp; She
+fell, as if stricken dead.&nbsp; Her husband was immediately by
+her side, and, with the help of some of his men, dragged her
+through the yielding vegetation, across to the other side.&nbsp;
+There she was tenderly laid beneath a tree, and her husband
+bathed her head and face with water, thinking she had
+fainted.&nbsp; But he soon perceived that she was suffering from
+a sunstroke; and, removing her to a miserable hut close at hand,
+he watched anxiously for some sign of returning
+consciousness.&nbsp; We shall quote his own words in all their
+pathetic simplicity:</p>
+<p>&ldquo;There was nothing to eat in this spot.&nbsp; My wife
+had never stirred since she fell by the <i>coup de soleil</i>,
+and merely respired about five times a minute.&nbsp; It was
+impossible to remain; the people would have starved.&nbsp; She
+was laid gently upon her litter, and we started forward on our
+funeral course.&nbsp; I was ill and broken-hearted, and I
+followed by her side through <a name="page391"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 391</span>the long day&rsquo;s march over wild
+park lands and streams, with thick forest and deep marshy
+bottoms; over undulating hills, and through valleys of tall
+papyrus rushes, which, as we brushed through them on our
+melancholy way, waved over the litter like the black plumes of a
+hearse.&nbsp; We halted at a village, and again the night was
+passed in watching.&nbsp; I was wet, and coated with mud from the
+swampy marsh, and shivered with ague; but the cold within was
+greater than all.&nbsp; No change had taken place; she had never
+moved.&nbsp; I had plenty of fat, and I made four balls of about
+half a pound, each of which would burn for three hours.&nbsp; A
+piece of a broken water-jar formed a lamp, several pieces of rag
+serving for wicks.&nbsp; So in solitude the still calm night
+passed away as I sat by her side and watched.&nbsp; In the drawn
+and distorted features that lay before me I could hardly trace
+the same form that for years had been my comfort through all the
+difficulties and dangers of my path.&nbsp; Was she to die?&nbsp;
+Was so terrible a sacrifice to be the result of my selfish
+exile?</p>
+<p>&ldquo;Again the night passed away.&nbsp; Once more the
+march.&nbsp; Though weak and ill, and for two nights without a
+moment&rsquo;s sleep, I felt no fatigue, but mechanically
+followed by the side of the litter as though in a dream.&nbsp;
+The same wild country diversified with marsh and forest.&nbsp;
+Again we halted.&nbsp; The night came, and I sat by her side in a
+miserable hut, with the feeble lamp flickering while she lay, as
+in death.&nbsp; She had never moved a muscle since she
+fell.&nbsp; My people slept.&nbsp; I was alone, and no sound
+broke the stillness of the night.&nbsp; The ears ached at the
+utter silence, till the sudden wild cry <a
+name="page392"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 392</span>of a
+hy&aelig;na made me shudder as the horrible thought rushed
+through my brain, that, should she be buried in this lonely spot,
+the hy&aelig;na would . . . disturb her rest.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The morning was not far distant; it was past four
+o&rsquo;clock.&nbsp; I had passed the night in replacing wet
+cloths upon her head, and moistening her lips, as she lay
+apparently lifeless on her litter.&nbsp; I could do nothing more;
+in solitude and abject misery in that dark hour, in a country of
+savage heathens, thousands of miles away from a Christian land, I
+beseeched an aid above all human, trusting alone to Him.</p>
+<p>&ldquo;The morning broke; my lamp had just burnt out, and,
+cramped with the night&rsquo;s watching, I rose from my seat, and
+seeing that she lay in the same unaltered state, I went to the
+door of the hut to breathe one gasp of the fresh morning
+air.&nbsp; I was watching the first red streak that heralded the
+rising sun, when I was startled by the words, &lsquo;Thank
+God,&rsquo; faintly uttered behind me.&nbsp; Suddenly she had
+awoke from her torpor, and with a heart overflowing I went to her
+bedside.&nbsp; Her eyes were full of madness!&nbsp; She spoke,
+but the brain was gone!&rdquo;</p>
+<h3>II.</h3>
+<p>Happily, after suffering for some days from brain fever, Lady
+Baker recovered consciousness, and thenceforward her progress,
+though slow, was sure.&nbsp; After a brief rest, the march to the
+lake was resumed by the undaunted travellers; for the devoted
+wife <a name="page393"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+393</span>would not allow any consideration of her comfort or
+safety to come between her husband and the accomplishment of the
+work he had undertaken.&nbsp; At a village called Parkani, the
+guides informed them that they were only a day&rsquo;s journey
+from the lake.&nbsp; In the west rose a lofty range of mountains,
+and Sir Samuel Baker had conjectured that the N&rsquo;zige lay on
+the other side of it, but he was told that it actually formed its
+western or further boundary.&nbsp; Only a day&rsquo;s
+journey!&nbsp; That night Sir Samuel could hardly sleep; his
+brain was fired with the thought that he was within so short a
+distance of the Source of the Nile&mdash;that in a few hours he
+might drink of the waters of its mysterious fountain.&nbsp; He
+was up before sunrise on the 14th of March, and crossing a deep
+cool valley between the hills, ascended the slope, gained the
+summit, and there, before him, flashing in the light of morning
+like a sea of quick-silver or a huge mirror of polished steel,
+lay the long-sought lake!&nbsp; The height on which he stood was
+about fifteen hundred feet above its level, so that he could
+survey the entire expanse of those welcome waters which had
+created fertility in the heart of the desert, and made the fame
+and wealth and glory of Egypt.&nbsp; He resolved that thenceforth
+they should bear a great name, and as the eastern reservoir of
+the Nile had been named after the Queen of England, he determined
+that the western should commemorate her lost and lamented
+consort, Prince Albert.&nbsp; It is therefore now known as the
+Albert Lake.</p>
+<p>With some difficulty, but with a grateful heart, he and his
+wife descended the steep to the shore of <a
+name="page394"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 394</span>the silent,
+shining lake, and took up their quarters in a fishing village
+called Vacovia.&nbsp; It was a wretched place, and the soil was
+strongly impregnated with salt; but discomforts were forgotten in
+the joy of a great discovery.&nbsp; Sir Samuel proceeded to
+collect all the information he could relative to its
+position.&nbsp; The chief of the village told him that its
+breadth was immense, but that large canoes had been known to
+cross from the other side after four days and nights of hard
+rowing.&nbsp; That other side, the west, was included in the
+great kingdom of Malegga, governed by King Kajoro, who traded
+with Kamrasi from a point opposite to Magango, where the lake
+contracted to the width of one day&rsquo;s voyage.&nbsp; South of
+Malegga was a country named Tori, and the lake extended into the
+kingdom of Karagw&eacute;, with whose sovereign, Rumanika, Speke
+and Grant had maintained a friendly intercourse.&nbsp;
+Karagw&eacute; partly bounded the lake on the eastern side, and
+next to it, towards the north, came Utumbi; then, in succession,
+came Uganda, Unyoro, Chop&eacute;.</p>
+<p>The Albert Nyanza formed a vast basin of water, lying far
+below the general level of the country, and receiving all its
+drainage.&nbsp; It was surrounded by precipitous cliffs, which
+left but a narrow strip of sand between them and the swelling
+waves, and bounded on the west and south-west by huge
+mountain-ranges, from five to seven thousand feet in
+altitude.&nbsp; Sir Samuel Baker, after a careful survey,
+concluded that it was the one great reservoir which received
+everything, from the passing shower to the roaring mountain
+torrent that drained from Central Africa towards the north.&nbsp;
+Speke&rsquo;s Victoria Nyanza was a reservoir <a
+name="page395"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 395</span>situated at
+a considerable elevation, receiving the waters from the west of
+the Kitangul&eacute; river, its principal feeder; but as the
+Albert Lake extended much farther north than the Victoria, it
+took up the river from the latter, and monopolized the entire
+head-waters of the Nile.&nbsp; In Sir Samuel&rsquo;s opinion the
+Albert was the great reservoir, while the Nile was the eastern
+source; the parent streams that created these lakes were from the
+same origin, and the Kitangul&eacute; poured its waters into the
+Victoria, to be eventually received by the Albert.&nbsp; The
+discoveries of Mr. Stanley, however, impose on geographers the
+necessity of considerably modifying Sir Samuel Baker&rsquo;s
+hypothesis, without detracting from the importance of his
+discovery.&nbsp; The Albert Lake really holds an inferior
+position to the Victoria, which unquestionably receives the
+parent waters of the Nile; but it is not the less one of its
+great reservoirs.</p>
+<p>Having obtained a canoe at Vacovia, Sir Samuel explored the
+north-eastern coast of the Albert, and after a voyage of thirteen
+days arrived at Magango, where the Nile, or Somerset river, after
+a winding course from the Victoria Nyanza, flows calmly into its
+basin, to quit it again a few miles further north, and make its
+way towards Egypt and the Mediterranean.&nbsp; At Magango the
+lake is about seventeen miles wide, but to the north it ends in a
+long strip or neck which a growth of tall green rushes almost
+conceals.&nbsp; After leaving the lake, the Nile smoothly
+descends its green valley, and is navigable for boats until it
+reaches Agunddo, where it dashes headlong over a precipice of
+thirty or forty feet.</p>
+<p>Having completed his survey of the Albert, as far <a
+name="page396"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 396</span>as his
+means admitted, Sir Samuel determined, instead of retracing his
+steps to Kamrasi&rsquo;s residence at &rsquo;Mroolli, to trace
+the course of the Somerset or Nile river up to Karuma Falls, to
+which point Speke and Grant had followed it downwards.&nbsp; The
+canoes having been got ready, Baker and his wife began their
+river voyage.&nbsp; About two miles from Magango the width
+contracted from 500 to 250 yards.&nbsp; As they proceeded, the
+river gradually narrowed to about 180 yards, and when the men
+ceased paddling, they could distinctly hear the roar of
+water.&nbsp; Arriving at a point where the river made a slight
+turn, they saw the sandbanks covered with crocodiles; like logs
+of timber, they lay together.&nbsp; The cliffs on either side
+were steep and rugged, and the whole picture was rich in various
+colouring.&nbsp; Foliage of the intensest green clothed each
+rocky projection, and through a narrow cleft or gap in the
+precipices the river plunged down before them in one vast leap of
+about 120 feet.&nbsp; The fall of waters was white as snow, and
+contrasted magnificently with the dark walls that held it in,
+while the graceful palms of the tropics and wild plantains
+increased the beauty of the view.&nbsp; This noble cataract, the
+grandest on the Nile, Sir Samuel named the Murchison Falls, in
+honour of the famous geologist and geographer.</p>
+<p>It was impossible, of course, to pass the cataract, and the
+voyagers made haste to land and collect their oxen and attendants
+in order to resume their journey.&nbsp; The route they took was
+parallel to the river, which continued to flow in a deep and
+picturesque ravine.&nbsp; From an island called Palooan, a
+succession of islets broke its course until near the <a
+name="page397"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 397</span>Karuma
+Falls.&nbsp; These islets belonged to two chiefs, Rionza and
+Fowooka, who were bitter enemies of the King of Unyoro,
+Kamrasi.&nbsp; On arriving at this point, Sir Samuel found that
+they were at that very time engaged in hostilities, and that it
+would be impossible for him to continue along the bank of the
+river.&nbsp; Obstacles of every kind were thrown by the natives
+in the onward path of the travellers, but in spite of ill health,
+weakness, and weariness, they slowly pushed forward.&nbsp; Not
+the least of their troubles was the scarcity of suitable
+provisions, and they grew so feeble that at last even their brave
+hearts gave way, and they began to despair of reaching
+Gondokoro&mdash;to resign themselves to the thought of being
+buried in that inhospitable land.&nbsp; &ldquo;I wrote
+instructions in my journal,&rdquo; says Sir Samuel, &ldquo;in
+case of death, and told my headman to be sure to deliver my maps,
+observations, and papers to the English consul at Khart&ucirc;m;
+this was my only care, as I feared that all my labour might be
+lost should I die.&nbsp; I had no fear for my wife, as she was
+quite as bad as I, and if one should die, the other would
+certainly follow;&mdash;in fact, this had been agreed upon lest
+she should fall into the hands of Kamrasi at my death.&nbsp; We
+had struggled to win, and I thanked God that we had won; if death
+were to be the price, at all events we were at the goal, and we
+both looked upon death rather as a pleasure, as affording rest;
+there would be no more suffering; no fever, no long journey
+before us, that in our weak state was an infliction; the only
+wish was to lay down the burthen.&rdquo;</p>
+<p>From this wretched position Sir Samuel delivered <a
+name="page398"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 398</span>himself, by
+undertaking to assist Kamrasi in his war against Fowooka.&nbsp;
+Whether this was a legitimate proceeding on the part of a
+scientific explorer, who had no interest in the quarrel of either
+party, may well be doubted, but the alliance led to his obtaining
+an immediate supply of provisions.&nbsp; Natives were sent to
+assist him and his wife in their journey to Kamrasi&rsquo;s camp
+at Kisoona.&nbsp; But what was their surprise to find that the
+Kamrasi whom they had interviewed at &rsquo;Mrooli was not, after
+all, the real Kamrasi, the King of Unyoro, but his brother,
+M&rsquo;Gami, whom Kamrasi had ordered to personate him, in an
+access of alarm as to the traveller&rsquo;s possible
+designs.&nbsp; Sir Samuel was indignant at the deception, and it
+was with some difficulty that M&rsquo;Gami could prevail upon him
+to forgive it.&nbsp; At last he consented to visit the king, and
+something like an amicable understanding was established between
+them.&nbsp; He was well supplied with provisions of all kinds,
+and both his wife and himself slowly recovered their health and
+spirits.&nbsp; By a dexterous use of the British flag he repelled
+an attempted invasion of Fowooka&rsquo;s warriors; and he
+rendered various services to Kamrasi, which met, we need hardly
+say, with no adequate reward.&nbsp; It was the middle of November
+before, in company with a caravan of ivory-traders under his old
+friend Ibrahim, Sir Samuel was able to resume his return journey
+to Gondokoro.&nbsp; The caravan consisted of about seven hundred
+porters and eighty armed men, with women and children; in all,
+about one thousand people.&nbsp; To provision such a body was
+necessarily difficult, and there was no meat, although flour was
+<a name="page399"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+399</span>abundant.&nbsp; Sir Samuel&rsquo;s skill as a hunter
+was put into requisition to supply a little variety to the bill
+of fare; and his bringing down a fine hartebeest was an event
+which gave very general satisfaction.</p>
+<p>Five days after leaving the Victoria Nile, the caravan arrived
+at Shooa, where Sir Samuel and his wife received a hearty
+welcome.&nbsp; Some months were spent in this pleasant locality,
+the Turks profiting by the opportunity to make razzias upon the
+neighbouring tribes, so that, for many miles around, the
+blackened ruins of villages and the desolated fields bore witness
+to their reckless cruelty; cattle were carried off in thousands,
+and a fair and fertile region was converted into a dreary
+wilderness.&nbsp; The captives made were detained to be sold as
+slaves.&nbsp; On one occasion, among the victims brought in to
+the Turkish camp was a pretty young girl of about fifteen.&nbsp;
+She had been sold by auction, as usual, the day after the return
+from the razzia, and had fallen to the lot of one of the
+men.&nbsp; A few days later, there appeared in the camp a native
+from the plundered village, intent upon ransoming the girl with a
+quantity of ivory.&nbsp; He had scarcely entered the gateway,
+when the girl, who was sitting at the door of her owner&rsquo;s
+hut, descried him, and springing to her feet, ran with all the
+speed her chained ankles permitted, and flung herself into his
+arms, with the cry of &ldquo;My father!&rdquo;&nbsp; Yes; it was
+her father who, to rescue his child from degradation, had nobly
+risked his life in his brutal enemy&rsquo;s camp.</p>
+<p>The Turks who witnessed this particular incident, far from
+being touched by any emotion of pity, rushed on to the
+unfortunate native, tore him from <a name="page400"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 400</span>his daughter, and bound him tightly
+with cords.&nbsp; At this time Sir Samuel was in his tent,
+assisting some of his men to clean his rifles.&nbsp; Suddenly, at
+a distance of less than a hundred paces, he heard three shots
+fired.&nbsp; The men exclaimed, &ldquo;They have shot the abid
+(native)!&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;What native?&rdquo; inquired Sir
+Samuel; and his men replied by narrating the story we have just
+recorded.&nbsp; Sir Samuel at first refused to believe it, but it
+proved to be true in every detail, even in the last; for, bound
+to a tree, lay the wretched father, shot dead with three
+balls.</p>
+<p>In the month of February the caravan started for
+Gondokoro.&nbsp; The route lay at first through a fertile and
+pleasant country, crossing twice the Un-y-Ami river, and touching
+at its point of junction with the Nile, in lat. 3&deg; 32&prime;
+N.&nbsp; On the north bank of the Un-y-Ami, about three miles
+from its mouth, Sir Samuel saw the tamarind tree&mdash;the
+&ldquo;Shadder-el-Sowar&rdquo; (or &ldquo;Traveller&rsquo;s
+Tree&rdquo;), as the trading parties called it&mdash;which
+indicated the limit of Signor Miani&rsquo;s explorations from
+Gondokoro, and the furthest point reached by any traveller from
+the north prior to Sir Samuel Baker&rsquo;s enterprise.&nbsp; The
+journey was continued through a fine park-like extent of verdant
+grass, covered with stately tamarind trees, which sheltered among
+their branches great numbers of the brilliant yellow-breasted
+pigeon.&nbsp; Ascending a rocky eminence by a laborious pass, Sir
+Samuel, from the summit, which was eight hundred feet high, saw
+before him the old historic river.&nbsp; &ldquo;Hurrah for the
+old Nile!&rdquo; he said, and contemplated with eager gaze the
+noble scene before him.&nbsp; Flowing from the westward, with
+many a curve and bend, was the broad <a name="page401"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 401</span>sheet of unbroken water, four
+hundred yards wide, exclusive of the thick belt of reeds on
+either margin.&nbsp; Its source could be clearly traced for some
+scores of miles, and the range of mountains on the west bank was
+distantly visible that the travellers had previously sighted,
+when on the route from Karuma to Shooa, at a distance of sixty
+miles.&nbsp; This chain begins at Magango, and forms the Koshi
+frontier of the Nile.&nbsp; The country opposite to Sir
+Samuel&rsquo;s position was Koshi, which extends along the
+<i>west</i> bank of the river to the Albert Lake.&nbsp; The
+country which he was traversing extends, under the name of Madi,
+along the <i>east</i> bank to the confluence of the Somerset
+Nile, opposite Magango.</p>
+<p>The Nile here enters a rocky valley between Gebel Kookoo and
+the western mountains, and foams and frets around and against
+rock and island, until, suddenly contracting, it breaks into a
+roaring torrent, and dashes furiously onward in the shadow of
+perpendicular cliffs.&nbsp; Waterfall succeeds to waterfall, and
+it is difficult to identify the swollen, thunderous, angry river
+with the calm clear stream that brightens the fertile pastures of
+Shooa.&nbsp; In this part of its course it receives the
+Asua.&nbsp; Through dense thickets of bamboos, and deep ravines
+which, in the season of rains, pour their turbid tribute into the
+great river, the caravan made its way; but in passing through a
+gorge between two rocky hills it was attacked by a body of the
+Bari natives, who were lying in ambush.&nbsp; Their bows and
+arrows, however, proved ineffectual against the musketry of the
+Turks, and they retired discomfited.&nbsp; This was the last
+important incident of the journey to Gondokoro, where, after an
+absence of <a name="page402"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+402</span>upwards of two years, Sir Samuel and Lady Baker arrived
+in safety.</p>
+<p>But what was their disappointment to find there neither
+letters nor supplies!&nbsp; Their friends and agents had long
+since given them up as dead; never believing that travellers
+could penetrate into that far and savage south, and return
+alive.&nbsp; There was no news from home; no money; no conveyance
+provided to take them back to Khart&ucirc;m.&nbsp; With
+characteristic energy Sir Samuel confronted his disappointment,
+and instead of wringing his hands and waiting for the help that
+would not come, he set actively to work, engaged a dahabeeyah for
+the sum of four thousand piastres (&pound;40), removed his
+baggage on board, collected provisions, took friendly leave of
+Ibrahim and the traders, and, with the flag of Old England flying
+at his masthead, set sail from Gondokoro.&nbsp; There is very
+little to be said about the voyage to Khart&ucirc;m.&nbsp; Sir
+Samuel shot some antelopes, and the progress of the dahabeeyah
+beyond the junction of the Bahr-el-Ghazal was considerably
+impeded by that natural dam of floating vegetation, intermingled
+with reeds, sunburnt wood, and mud that here forms so signal an
+obstruction to the navigation of the Upper Nile.&nbsp; To allow
+of the passage of boats a canal has been cut, about ten feet
+wide, but it requires constant clearance, and its transit is not
+accomplished without considerable difficulty.&nbsp; Two
+days&rsquo; hard work from morning till night carried the
+voyagers through it, and with feelings of relief and exultation
+they found themselves once more on the open Nile and beyond the
+dam.&nbsp; But as they floated past the Sobat junction, the
+terrible plague broke out on board their vessel, carrying off two
+of <a name="page403"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 403</span>the
+crew, and the boy Saat, who had served them so long and so
+faithfully.&nbsp; It was a sad conclusion to an expedition which,
+though fraught with sufferings, trials, and dangers, had, on the
+whole, been crowned with complete success.</p>
+<p>It was the evening of the 5th of May, 1865, when Sir Samuel
+and Lady Baker entered Khart&ucirc;m, to be welcomed by the whole
+European population as if they had risen from the dead.&nbsp; On
+the 1st of July they left it for Berber.&nbsp; In making the
+passage of the Cataracts they narrowly escaped shipwreck; their
+boat, as it sped along under full sail before a high gale of
+wind, struck broadside upon a sandbank.&nbsp; About sixty yards
+below rose a ridge of rocks on which it seemed certain that the
+vessel would be driven, if it cleared the bank; so that to avoid
+Scylla was to rush into Charybdis.&nbsp; Sir Samuel, however,
+proved equal to the occasion.&nbsp; An anchor was laid up stream;
+the crew hauled on the cable, and the great force of the current
+pressing against the vessels&rsquo; broadside, she wore gradually
+round.&nbsp; All hands then laboured to clear away the sand,
+which, when loosened by their hands and feet, the swift full
+current rapidly carried away.&nbsp; For five hours they remained
+in this position, with the boat cracking, and half filled with
+water; however, a channel was opened at last, and slipping the
+cable, Sir Samuel hoisted sail, and with the velocity of an
+arrow, the head of the vessel swung round, and away she went,
+plunging through the swirling, boiling water, and clearing the
+rocks by a few inches.</p>
+<p>They arrived at Berber, and procuring camels, started east for
+Souakim on the Red Sea, a distance <a name="page404"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 404</span>of two hundred and seventy-five
+miles.&nbsp; There they obtained passage on board an Egyptian
+Government steamer, and in five days landed at Suez.&nbsp; Here
+ends the record of their heroic enterprise. <a
+name="citation404"></a><a href="#footnote404"
+class="citation">[404]</a></p>
+<h2><a name="page405"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+405</span>INDEX.</h2>
+<p style="text-align: center">A</p>
+<p>A&rsquo;dam&aacute;wa, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page116">116</a></span>; capital of <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page119">119</a></span></p>
+<p>Africa, exploration in, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page365">365</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page366">366</a></span></p>
+<p>Agadez, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page97">97</a></span>; customs of inhabitants of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page98">98</a></span></p>
+<p>Alatou Mountains, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page222">222</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page225">225</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page227">227</a></span></p>
+<p>Albert Nyanza, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page391">391</a></span>&ndash;393</p>
+<p>Aliy&uacute;, the Emir, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page135">135</a></span></p>
+<p>Altai, lakes of the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page193">193</a></span></p>
+<p>Altin-Kool, Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page195">195</a></span></p>
+<p>Alty-Kuduk, camp of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page277">277</a></span></p>
+<p>American camp at Valverde, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page70">70</a></span></p>
+<p>American trapper, an, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page71">71</a></span></p>
+<p>Amu-Daria, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page278">278</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page350">350</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page351">351</a></span></p>
+<p>Ara, river, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page226">226</a></span></p>
+<p>Aral, Lake or Sea of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page343">343</a></span></p>
+<p>Arkansas valley, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page80">80</a></span></p>
+<p>Asben, Mount, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page96">96</a></span></p>
+<p>Asua, river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page384">384</a></span></p>
+<p>Atado, town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page386">386</a></span></p>
+<p>Atkinson, Thomas Witlam, travels in Siberia and Central Asia,
+<span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page157">157</a></span>&ndash;228</p>
+<p>Australia, sketch of discovery in, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page293">293</a></span>&ndash;295</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">B</p>
+<p>Bacsi, the, enchantments of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page29">29</a></span></p>
+<p>Badakshan, the river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page14">14</a></span></p>
+<p>Bad&aacute;muni, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page130">130</a></span></p>
+<p>Bielouka Mountains, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page206">206</a></span></p>
+<p>Bagara Arabs, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page382">382</a></span></p>
+<p>Bagirmi, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page121">121</a></span></p>
+<p>Bagma, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page116">116</a></span></p>
+<p>Baikal Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page228">228</a></span></p>
+<p>Baker, Sir Samuel and Lady, discover the Albert Nyanza, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page238">238</a></span></p>
+<p>Baker, Lady, illness of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page390">390</a></span>&ndash;392</p>
+<p>Baker, Sir Samuel, travels in Africa, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page365">365</a></span>&ndash;404</p>
+<p>Barnaoul, mines of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page186">186</a></span></p>
+<p>Barth, Dr., African travels of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page90">90</a></span>&ndash;156</p>
+<p>Bear, adventure with a, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page189">189</a></span></p>
+<p>Beaver-trapping, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page79">79</a></span></p>
+<p>B&eacute;nuw&eacute;, the river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page118">118</a></span></p>
+<p>Berber, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page403">403</a></span></p>
+<p>Boiling Spring River, legend of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page84">84</a></span></p>
+<p>Bokhara, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page323">323</a></span></p>
+<p>Born&uacute;, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page105">105</a></span>; capital of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page106">106</a></span></p>
+<p>Bronze-wing pigeon, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page305">305</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page306">306</a></span></p>
+<p>B&uacute;dduma, or African Lake pirates, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page110">110</a></span></p>
+<p>Bull-tailing, Mexican sport of, described, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page57">57</a></span></p>
+<p>Burnaby, Major, travels in Khiva, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page325">325</a></span>&ndash;364</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">C</p>
+<p>Caldwell, Bishop, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page45">45</a></span></p>
+<p>Cambaluc, visited by Marco Polo, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page32">32</a></span></p>
+<p>Camels in Australia, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page308">308</a></span>&ndash;310, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page315">315</a></span>; in
+Turkistan, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page341">341</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page342">342</a></span></p>
+<p><a name="page406"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
+406</span>Cameron, Lieutenant, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page366">366</a></span></p>
+<p>Chandu, city of, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page25">25</a></span></p>
+<p>Chihuahua, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page67">67</a></span></p>
+<p>Chinese, curious superstition of the, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page43">43</a></span></p>
+<p>Coleridge, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page31">31</a></span></p>
+<p>Comanche Indians, the, story of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page56">56</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page59">59</a></span></p>
+<p>Cossack officer, a, adventure of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page191">191</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">D</p>
+<p>D&rsquo;Ablaing, Baron, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page247">247</a></span></p>
+<p>Darma Tsyren, Mr. Atkinson&rsquo;s visit to, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page215">215</a></span></p>
+<p>Demons&rsquo; Mountain, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page92">92</a></span></p>
+<p>&ldquo;Devil-dancing,&rdquo; <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page45">45</a></span></p>
+<p>Diamond-sparrow, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page300">300</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page301">301</a></span></p>
+<p>Dor&eacute;, African town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page142">142</a></span></p>
+<p>Durango, Mexican town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page59">59</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">E</p>
+<p>Ekaterineburg, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page164">164</a></span></p>
+<p>Elephant-hunting, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page381">381</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page382">382</a></span></p>
+<p>El Gallo, sport of, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page66">66</a></span></p>
+<p>Eremil, river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page223">223</a></span></p>
+<p>Errington, Port, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page239">239</a></span></p>
+<p>Escamilla, story of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page60">60</a></span>&ndash;63</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">F</p>
+<p>Flinders, Lieutenant, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page293">293</a></span></p>
+<p>Fogha, valley of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page138">138</a></span></p>
+<p>Frost-bitten, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page338">338</a></span>&ndash;340</p>
+<p>Fulbi, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page101">101</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">G</p>
+<p>Ghat, oasis of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page95">95</a></span></p>
+<p>Gh&ucirc;ls, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page19">19</a></span></p>
+<p>Glenelg, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page322">322</a></span></p>
+<p>Gobi, the Great Desert of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page17">17</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page18">18</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page212">212</a></span>&ndash;214</p>
+<p>Golden Lake, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page195">195</a></span></p>
+<p>Gondokoro, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page247">247</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page374">374</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page375">375</a></span></p>
+<p>Grant, Captain, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page241">241</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page368">368</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page377">377</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">H</p>
+<p>Heiligenkreuz, missionary settlement of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page246">246</a></span></p>
+<p>Heughlin, Dr., <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page249">249</a></span></p>
+<p>Hommaire de Hell, Madame, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page19">19</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">I</p>
+<p>Ivory-dealers, the African, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page255">255</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">J</p>
+<p>Jana-Daria, desert of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page349">349</a></span></p>
+<p>Jornada del Muerto, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page69">69</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">K</p>
+<p>Kaiping-fu, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page25">25</a></span></p>
+<p>Kalenderhana, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page349">349</a></span></p>
+<p>Kalmucks, the, manners and customs of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page198">198</a></span>, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page199">199</a></span></p>
+<p>Kamrasi, the chief of Unyoro, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page388">388</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page389">389</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page398">398</a></span></p>
+<p>Kan&oacute;, town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page100">100</a></span></p>
+<p>Kara-Kalpaks, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page263">263</a></span></p>
+<p>Karakorum Mountains, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page197">197</a></span></p>
+<p>Karuma Falls, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page386">386</a></span></p>
+<p>Kasala, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page260">260</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page335">335</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page336">336</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page343">343</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page364">364</a></span></p>
+<p>Katchiba, African chief, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page383">383</a></span></p>
+<p>Katounaia, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page200">200</a></span></p>
+<p>Kats&eacute;na, town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page100">100</a></span></p>
+<p>Kauffmann, General, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page280">280</a></span></p>
+<p>Khala-Ata, fortress of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page274">274</a></span></p>
+<p>Khan of Khiva, palace of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page283">283</a></span>; description of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page285">285</a></span>, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page357">357</a></span>&ndash;359</p>
+<p>Khart&ucirc;m, town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page234">234</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page370">370</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page402">402</a></span></p>
+<p>Khiva, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page282">282</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page283">283</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page285">285</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page287">287</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page355">355</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page356">356</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page360">360</a></span></p>
+<p>Khivans, the, account of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page281">281</a></span></p>
+<p>Kibitka, a, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page179">179</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page180">180</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page264">264</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page344">344</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page346">346</a></span></p>
+<p>Kirghiz chief, a, description of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page182">182</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page183">183</a></span></p>
+<p>Kirghiz tribes, the, habits of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page178">178</a></span>&ndash;182, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page264">264</a></span>&ndash;267</p>
+<p>Kolyvan Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page169">169</a></span></p>
+<p>Kongo, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page367">367</a></span></p>
+<p>Kublai Khan, Marco Polo&rsquo;s visit to the court of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page25">25</a></span></p>
+<p>K&uacute;k&aacute;wa, in Born&uacute;, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page106">106</a></span></p>
+<p>Kyzil-Kum, desert of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page261">261</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page263">263</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><a name="page407"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 407</span>L</p>
+<p>Latookas, tribe of the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page379">379</a></span>&ndash;381</p>
+<p>Lepson, river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page225">225</a></span></p>
+<p>Lindsay, Hon. Robert, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page41">41</a></span></p>
+<p>Livingstone, Dr., <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page364">364</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page365">365</a></span></p>
+<p>Lop, or Lob, city of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page17">17</a></span></p>
+<p>Luta N&rsquo;zige, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page377">377</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">M</p>
+<p>MacGahan, Mr. J. A., with the Russian army in Khiva, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page260">260</a></span>&ndash;292</p>
+<p>Maduw&aacute;ri, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page111">111</a></span></p>
+<p>Magango, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page395">395</a></span></p>
+<p>Mal Pais, the, description of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page55">55</a></span></p>
+<p>Mapimi, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page67">67</a></span></p>
+<p>Marco Polo, travels of, in Central Asia, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page1">1</a></span>&ndash;48</p>
+<p>M&aacute;sen&aacute;, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page124">124</a></span></p>
+<p>Mexicans, the, character of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page49">49</a></span>; sports of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page59">59</a></span></p>
+<p>Mexico, geographical characteristics of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page50">50</a></span>, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page51">51</a></span></p>
+<p>Mongols, the, habits of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page20">20</a></span>&ndash;22</p>
+<p>Morzouk, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page91">91</a></span></p>
+<p>Muna Aim, story of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page267">267</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page268">268</a></span></p>
+<p>M&uacute;niyo, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page129">129</a></span></p>
+<p>Murchison Falls, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page396">396</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">N</p>
+<p>Nicholas, the Grand-Duke, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page280">280</a></span></p>
+<p>Niger, the, description of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page139">139</a></span>; basin of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page367">367</a></span></p>
+<p>Nile, the, scenery of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page235">235</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page236">236</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page371">371</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page400">400</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page401">401</a></span>; basin of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page367">367</a></span></p>
+<p>N&ocirc;, Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page243">243</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page244">244</a></span></p>
+<p>Nor-Zaisan, Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page176">176</a></span></p>
+<p>Nuehr tribe, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page372">372</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">O</p>
+<p>Oakover, river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page315">315</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page320">320</a></span></p>
+<p>Obbo, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page383">383</a></span></p>
+<p>Oogentel, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page353">353</a></span></p>
+<p>Orenburg, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page335">335</a></span></p>
+<p>Overweg, Mr., joins Dr. Barth, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page112">112</a></span>; death of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page128">128</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">P</p>
+<p>Pamir, table-land of, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page16">16</a></span></p>
+<p>Pardalote, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page300">300</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page301">301</a></span></p>
+<p>Peking (anc. Cambaluc), <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page32">32</a></span></p>
+<p>Perovsky, Fort, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page261">261</a></span></p>
+<p>Petro-Alexandrovsky, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page361">361</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page362">362</a></span></p>
+<p>Phayre, Sir A., quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page54">54</a></span></p>
+<p>Pike&rsquo;s Peak, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page88">88</a></span></p>
+<p>Porcupine-grass, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page299">299</a></span></p>
+<p>Palque, Mexican drink of, described, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page51">51</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">Q</p>
+<p>Queretaro, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page51">51</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">R</p>
+<p>Ramusio, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page9">9</a></span></p>
+<p>Rancho, a Mexican, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page66">66</a></span></p>
+<p>Reg, Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page249">249</a></span></p>
+<p>Richardson, Mr. James, African traveller, death of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page106">106</a></span></p>
+<p>Rio Colorado, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page78">78</a></span></p>
+<p>Rocky Mountains, in the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page74">74</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page75">75</a></span></p>
+<p>Ruxton, Mr. George F., travels in Mexico, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page49">49</a></span>&ndash;89</p>
+<p style="text-align: center">S</p>
+<p>Sag&aacute;rti, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page111">111</a></span></p>
+<p>Samara, Russian town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page331">331</a></span></p>
+<p>Santa F&eacute;, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page73">73</a></span></p>
+<p>Say, town of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page139">139</a></span></p>
+<p>Sesamum, the, cultivation of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page385">385</a></span></p>
+<p>Shamo, country of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page114">114</a></span></p>
+<p>Shillooks, the, character of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page242">242</a></span>&ndash;244, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page371">371</a></span></p>
+<p>Shir, the, African tribe of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page373">373</a></span></p>
+<p>Shooa, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page384">384</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page385">385</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page399">399</a></span></p>
+<p>Snake Indians, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page85">85</a></span></p>
+<p>Snow-storm in Arkansas, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page81">81</a></span></p>
+<p>Sobat, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page371">371</a></span></p>
+<p>Somerset, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page386">386</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page391">391</a></span></p>
+<p>Sourays, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page111">111</a></span></p>
+<p>Speke, Captain, travels of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page368">368</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page369">369</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page377">377</a></span></p>
+<p>Stanley, Mr. H. M., <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page368">368</a></span></p>
+<p>Steudner, Dr., death of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page250">250</a></span></p>
+<p>Syr-Daria, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page260">260</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page345">345</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center"><a name="page408"></a><span
+class="pagenum">p. 408</span>T</p>
+<p>Tartars, the, described by Marco Polo, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page20">20</a></span>&ndash;25</p>
+<p>Tas&aacute;wa, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page100">100</a></span></p>
+<p>Tchad, Lake, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page110">110</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page120">120</a></span></p>
+<p>Terekli, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page340">340</a></span></p>
+<p>Thian-Shan, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page325">325</a></span></p>
+<p>Tibet, description of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page40">40</a></span>&ndash;43</p>
+<p>Timbuktu, described, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page150">150</a></span></p>
+<p>Tinn&eacute;, Alexina, travels of, in the Soudan, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page230">230</a></span>&ndash;259</p>
+<p>Tiska, Mount, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page96">96</a></span></p>
+<p>Tollogo, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page378">378</a></span></p>
+<p>Towaregs, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page92">92</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page95">95</a></span></p>
+<p>Traveller&rsquo;s Tree, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page400">400</a></span></p>
+<p>Turkistan, boundaries and divisions of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page325">325</a></span>, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page326">326</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">U</p>
+<p>Uafour river, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page389">389</a></span></p>
+<p>Unyoro, country of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page387">387</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page388">388</a></span></p>
+<p>U&rsquo;shek, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page129">129</a></span></p>
+<p>Uzbegs, the, customs of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page288">288</a></span>; a house of, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page289">289</a></span>, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a href="#page290">290</a></span>; dance of,
+<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page290">290</a></span>,
+<span class="indexpageno"><a href="#page291">291</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">V</p>
+<p>Vacovia, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page394">394</a></span></p>
+<p>Valverde, American camp at, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page70">70</a></span></p>
+<p>Venice, rivalry of, with Genoa, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page12">12</a></span></p>
+<p>Victoria Nyanza, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page369">369</a></span></p>
+<p>Victoria White Nile, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page386">386</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page395">395</a></span></p>
+<p>Volga, the, sleighing on, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page330">330</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">W</p>
+<p>Wakkala, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page379">379</a></span></p>
+<p>Warburton, Colonel Egerton explores West Australia, <span
+class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page293">293</a></span>&ndash;324</p>
+<p>White Nile, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page244">244</a></span></p>
+<p>Wood, Captain John, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page16">16</a></span></p>
+<p>Wordsworth, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page60">60</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">Y</p>
+<p>Yule, Colonel, quoted, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page1">1</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page2">2</a></span>, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page17">17</a></span></p>
+<p>Yuz-Kudak, valley of, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page271">271</a></span></p>
+<p style="text-align: center">Z</p>
+<p>Zacatero, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page68">68</a></span></p>
+<p>Zamb&eacute;si, the, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page367">367</a></span></p>
+<p>Zindu, <span class="indexpageno"><a
+href="#page131">131</a></span></p>
+<h2>NOTES</h2>
+<p><a name="footnote3"></a><a href="#citation3"
+class="footnote">[3]</a>&nbsp; The roc, a gigantic bird, which
+figures in the Eastern fable of Sinbad the Sailor.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote12"></a><a href="#citation12"
+class="footnote">[12]</a>&nbsp; A rich, quaint, walled-up
+doorway, in semi-Monastic, semi-Byzantine style, still extant in
+the Corte del Sabbrin, or Corta Sabbonicia, is nearly all that
+remains of the house of Messer Marco Palo.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote17"></a><a href="#citation17"
+class="footnote">[17]</a>&nbsp; A summary of the Russian
+explorations of the Pamir, by Sievertzof, has been published in
+Kettler&rsquo;s &ldquo;Zeitschrift f&uuml;r wissenschaftliche
+Geographie.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="footnote22"></a><a href="#citation22"
+class="footnote">[22]</a>&nbsp; <i>Cuir-bouilli</i>, leather
+softened by boiling, during which process it took any form or
+impression required, and afterwards hardened.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote35"></a><a href="#citation35"
+class="footnote">[35]</a>&nbsp; Probably <i>malachite</i>, or
+carbonate of copper.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote41"></a><a href="#citation41"
+class="footnote">[41]</a>&nbsp; The Hon. Robert Lindsay
+writes:&mdash;&ldquo;At night each man lights a fire at his post,
+and furnishes himself with a dozen joints of the large bamboo,
+one of which he occasionally throws into the fire, and the air it
+contains being rarefied by the heat, it explodes with a report as
+loud as a musket.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Lives of the
+Lindsays,&rdquo; iii. 191.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote89"></a><a href="#citation89"
+class="footnote">[89]</a>&nbsp; G. F. Ruxton, &ldquo;Adventures
+in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains.&rdquo; London, 1861.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote156"></a><a href="#citation156"
+class="footnote">[156]</a>&nbsp; Heinrich Barth, &ldquo;Travels
+and Discoveries in North and Central Africa.&rdquo;&nbsp; Second
+edition.&nbsp; London, 1857.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote159"></a><a href="#citation159"
+class="footnote">[159]</a>&nbsp; The scenery of the Tchossowaia
+valley is warmly praised by Sir Roderick Murchison.&nbsp;
+&ldquo;A more picturesque river-gorge,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;was
+certainly never examined by geologists.&nbsp; Between the hamlet
+of Kinist and Ust-Koiva we passed through scenes even surpassing
+in beauty those higher up the stream, and to which it would
+require the pencil of a professed artist to do justice.&nbsp; The
+river runs in a limestone gorge, in which are cliffs of every
+variety of form, occasionally exposing large caverns along their
+vertical faces, with trees and flowers grouped about in the
+clefts&mdash;rocks varying in colour from black to
+white.&rdquo;&mdash;&ldquo;Geology of the Oural,&rdquo; p.
+188.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote166"></a><a href="#citation166"
+class="footnote">[166]</a>&nbsp; A four-wheeled waggon, made
+without either nail, bolt, or springs.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote211"></a><a href="#citation211"
+class="footnote">[211]</a>&nbsp; Mrs. Somerville, &ldquo;Physical
+Geography,&rdquo; i. 105.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote212"></a><a href="#citation212"
+class="footnote">[212]</a>&nbsp; Humboldt, &ldquo;Ansichten der
+Natur,&rdquo; i. 8.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote228"></a><a href="#citation228"
+class="footnote">[228]</a>&nbsp; T. W. Atkinson, &ldquo;Oriental
+and Western Siberia.&rdquo;&nbsp; London, 1858.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote249"></a><a href="#citation249"
+class="footnote">[249]</a>&nbsp; It is, in reality, nothing more
+than a curve of the river, which forms an island of about half a
+mile in length, called Meschra-el-Reg.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote259"></a><a href="#citation259"
+class="footnote">[259]</a>&nbsp; Augustus Petermann,
+<i>Mittheilungen</i>; Dr. Heughlin, &ldquo;Reise in das Gobiet,
+des Weissen Nil, etc.&rdquo;</p>
+<p><a name="footnote302"></a><a href="#citation302"
+class="footnote">[302]</a>&nbsp; These consist of a few links of
+chain, with a swivel in the middle, and a steel strap with a
+buckle at either end.&nbsp; They are fastened round the
+animal&rsquo;s fore-legs just above the hoof, so as to confine
+the feet together, and render straying difficult.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote324"></a><a href="#citation324"
+class="footnote">[324]</a>&nbsp; Colonel Egerton Warburton,
+C.M.G., &ldquo;Journey across the Western Interior of
+Australia,&rdquo; with Introduction, etc., by C. H. Eden.&nbsp;
+Edited by H. W. Bates.&nbsp; London, 1875.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote359"></a><a href="#citation359"
+class="footnote">[359]</a>&nbsp; During the viceroyalty of Lord
+Northbrook.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote364"></a><a href="#citation364"
+class="footnote">[364]</a>&nbsp; &ldquo;A Ride to Khiva: Travels
+and Adventures in Central Asia.&rdquo;&nbsp; By Fred Burnaby,
+Captain, Royal Horse Guards.&nbsp; Second edition.&nbsp; London,
+1876.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote369"></a><a href="#citation369"
+class="footnote">[369]</a>&nbsp; Our gallant explorer was not
+knighted until 1866, but throughout this chapter we shall use the
+title by which he is so well and so honourably known.</p>
+<p><a name="footnote404"></a><a href="#citation404"
+class="footnote">[404]</a>&nbsp; Sir Samuel White Baker,
+&ldquo;The Albert Nyanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and
+Explorations of the Nile Sources.&rdquo;&nbsp; London, 1866.</p>
+<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOME HEROES OF TRAVEL***</p>
+<pre>
+
+
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