Merv and Its Surroundings Author(s): Edmond O'Donovan Source: Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society and Monthly Record of Geography, New Monthly Series, Vol. 4, No. 6 (Jun., 1882), pp. 345-358 Published by: Wiley on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1800089 . Accessed: 16/06/2014 05:54

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This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 345 also blacksmiths, carpenters,durry makers,weavers, and barbers. The Takht-i- Suliman properis a niche in a rock about 10 feetbelow the summit,looking as if it had been cut out by hand, and in fronta small ledge, below which the mountain falls precipitously. The legend is that King Solomon used to cause himselfto be transportedby genii to this place and sit thereto enjoy the cool air. There is a shrineon the summit,and many pilgrimsvisit the place, which is approachedby a steep and difficultpath. Colonel H. C. B. Tanner's descriptionof the operationsabout Gilgit shows that all the passes leading across the watershedbetween Gilgit and the Indus have been mapped, and the two most importantones which have been used of late years by Kashmir troops have been visited. A good deal of topographyhas been accom? plished in otherparts of this section of the Indus basin, and Colonel Tanner antici- pates that the subsequent work of the currentyear will have furnishedus with a reliable record of every pass marchingwith the boundary of British and Kashmir territoryon the one side, and the countryof the independenttribes of the Indus on the other,for a distance of over 200 miles,from Gilgit, in the extremenorth-west, to Amb, in the Hazara districtof the Punjab. The work at the headquartersoffices in Calcutta, where the various laborious operations of drawing,compiling, and examining go on, as well as the work of reproductionthrough lithography,copper-plate engraving, and the differentphoto? graphic processes,displays the same unremittingactivity thatever characterisesthis important branch of the Survey Department. The Mathematical Instrument Department,which is chargedwith the importantfunction of supplying the wants of the Marine and Land Survey,the Public Works, Military,and otherGovernment Departments, show a good record of work done, and the Great Trigonometrical Survey Officehas been likewise indefatigablein its varied duties,which include the preparationof a fifthedition of Walker's Turkistan,by far the best map of Central Asia attainable in this or any othercountry. The two last matterscalling fornotice in connectionwith the Indian Survey are the establishmentof various freshstations fortidal observation,by which the number of these points along the Indian coast is now nineteenin all, and the kindredwork of spirit-leveilingby which the opposite localities of Madras and Bombay have been connectedby lines of levels carriedright across the peninsula of India.

Merv and its Surroundings. By Edmond O'Donovan. (A Lecturedelivered at the Evening Meeting,March 27th,1882.) Mr. O'Donovan spoke as follows:? As the President has told you, the subject of my lecture this evening is Merv and its immediate surroundings. I have much to say about portions of the Caspian coast westward of Merv, but the time allotted to me will not permit entering into details on that part of my travels. I shall simply preface what I have to say about Merv by noticing the circumstances which brought me there. I had been detaiied on an exploring expedition to Central Tibet, and while passing through the Trans-Caucasus I learned that an expedition was being fitted out against the Turkomans. It was deemed advisable that I should go with it. I was attached to the expedition under General LazarefF, and accom- No. VI.?June 1882.] 2 a

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panied it for about 200 miles ; but on his death and the advent to power of General Turgukasoff, objection was raised to my presence, and I fled at night across the frontier and gained Persian territory at Astrabad. I subsequently went to Gumush Tepe, on the Giurgan, staying in the same house that Yambery occupied. Then I crossed over to the Akhal Tekke frontier, but I found that the way was blocked to me, the Eussian authorities wishing to prevent me, as an Engiishman, from witnessing operations which they desired to keep secret. I had to contend not only with the natural obstacles of the country, but with a very well-managed political opposition. Still I managed to get to Merv, When I commenced my ride to Merv I was on the extreme north- eastern frontier of Persia at Kelat-i-Nadiri. From there I made my start across to Merv. I knew that I should be obliged to have recourse to a ruse de guerre in order to pass the lines, for the Prime Minister of the Shah had given very strict orders that I should not be allowed to join the Turkoman ranks. I pretended to visit the town of Kahka, giving out that that was my only object. I found a Eussian agent there who had sufficient influence over my escort to induce them to lay down their arms and refuse to accompany me. I then simply rode out of the town, pretending to be about to return to Kelat-i-Nadiri, whence I had started, but when once out of sight of Kahka, I turned due east, not knowing what was to happen to me, but I was determined to get to Merv or to perish in the attempt. Fortune favoured me. I reached Mehna where there is an outlying colony of Tekke Turkomans from Merv, who are nominally paying tribute to Persia, but who are really independent. They received me very well, but they were not quite sure that I was not a Eussian. They knew that Skobeleff was close by, and they were not without doubts that I was a forward agent, but still they allowed me to accompany them to their permanent home at Merv. With them I crossed the Tejend river. You have so often heard of the desert in connection with this ground that you are apt to imagine it is one of those sandy, stony wastes, such as you read of in Central Africa and in different parts of Northern Asia. It is no such thing. The country is perfectly fertile, it is only desert through want of water, and notwith- standing that want of water occasional rains produce a herbage which is quite sufficient for the maintenance of camel trains passing through it. Neither is it correct to say that Merv is the only fertile spot of earth in the midst of this desert. It would be simply necessary to construct a proper series of dams on the Murghab and Tejend rivers, and adopt a scientific system of irrigation, and the desert would become fertile again. The distance from Mehna to Merv is about 120 miles, and as our supply of water was carried in goat-skins upon our saddles, we had to make haste and do the distance in twenty hours. Nothing but Turkoman horses could have done that without water, for I need not tell you, horses

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 347 could not be made to drink from leather bags. It is true we came upon a very deep well at Shaitli (Shahidli), about half-way between the Tejend and Merv, but the water there was so mixed with nitrate and chloride of sodium that the horses, though they were thirsty, refused to drink it. The only way in which we could get at it was by lowering a nose- bag into the water and hauling it up as quick as we could. But half the water at least ran through the camel-hair texture, and the horses would not look at it. Late at night we camped in a wood. My companions told me that they were afraid of robbers; I thought this rather peculiar, inasmuch as I was with the most select party of thieves it was possible to find. It reminded me of Gautier's experience in Spain, taking robbers with you to avoid meeting them on the road. While we slept, what is not usual to the desert took place?a tremendous shower of rain commenced falling, and it was nearly four in the morning before we resumed our march. After a couple of hours we arrived at the old caravanserai of Dash Kobat. It is a very extensive establishment indeed, but now inhabited only by jackals and wolves. We remained there for an hour, wringing our garments under the groined arches of the building, once erected by the old authorities of Merv for the service of the caravans that plied in those days between Persia and other parts of Asia. I was then within four hours* ride of Merv, and after the time that I had been waiting, I need not tell you that, however dangerous it was, I was glad to get on there. We continued our journey, and at last began to per- ceive beehive-like houses. I was not quite sure, after all I had heard of Merv, whether I should not see domes and spires flashing in the amber sunset; but instead of this I found some wretched hovels, sheepskin- clothed people, and half-starved cattle feeding in a bog. As I had an overcoat on and an umbrella, I was immediately seized upon as some? thing new and suspicious, and it was taken for granted that I was a Eussian spy. I was taken to the capital. And now let me pause to dispel a delusion that has existed for a long time, namely, that Merv is a great Asiatic city, the possession of which would make the fortune of the possessor at the present time. " There is no such city as Merv. Merv is only a geographical expression." It means a certain amount of cultivated territory where half a million Tekke-Turkomans manage to eke out an existence by pastoral pursuits, plunder, and thievery, combined with the caravan service between Bokhara and Meshed. There is no central point which you can call Merv now, if I except the place which has grown into existence since my arrival. I speak of Koushid Khan Kala, a fort at a point on the river Murghab which, flowing from the Afghan mountains, loses itself in the desert before it reaches the Oxus, and where the Tekke Turkomans think they can oppose the onward approach of the Eussians. 2 a 2

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The Murghab river forms a loop to the westward, and in the curve of the loop is an immense fortress, constructed within the few months I was there, over 1J miles in length and three-quarters of a mile in breadth. It is entireiy of earth. The ramparts are 40 feet in vertical height and 60 feet in base, deeply reveted on the exterior slope. It is intended that when the Eussians attack the place, the entire population shall retire within the walls and there make a desperate fight as they did at Geok Tepe a short time ago. Between the walls of this fortress and the river there are a thousand Turkoman huts, and that is all there is of a central Merv at the present time. Later on I had to visit the ruins of the reputed Alexandrine town and of the Mussulman one. The ruins lay 25 miles to the east of the present central position. They are entireiy deserted, but they show traces of a very high degree of civilisa? tion. The old fort,the Fort of the Unbelievers, as the present Turkomans call it, was one doubtless which Alexander looked upon when he passed through these parts, as the people here say he did, and not very far from the walls is an extensive ruined earthwork, still called the Fort of Iskander, where his army is supposed to have encamped. At present it is like an immense railway embankment running around a quadrangular space some 900 yards on each side. In the midst are traces of houses, broken pottery, and shattered bricks. On the table you will see one of the bricks which I brought from the place. It is enamelled blue, and marks one of the old civilisations, I should say shortly after the time of Alexander. Here also is a bronze lamp. At one period it was damaged, and repaired with gold ; and at another time, probably during the reign of Genghis Khan, it was mended with sheet iron. This was given to me as a curiosity by a Turkoman. This old town was destroyed in a.d. 666, and the Arabs, under the lieutenants of Omar, the fourth Caliph after Mahommed, built a town now known as Sultan Sanjar, only a thousand yards or so distant, for in the idea of those people it is unlucky to occupy the site of a former town. I may perhaps remind you that the old Margiana, Merv as the Persians and ourselves call it to-day, Merou as the Turks call it, is the ' scene of Moore's Yeiled Prophet of Khorassan,' and it is inside these walls that Mokanna is supposed to have held his own against the Mahommedans for such a long time. The town of Sultan Sanjar which stands close by, and of which the towers are still extant, is about 600 yards square. The space within is one mass of crumbling ruins and broken bricks, but in its midst stands a most elaborately constructed tail tomb, under which the bones of the sultan after whom it is called are supposed to lie. The Turkomans consider he was a very holy man indeed, and I had a curious example of the estimation in which he is held as I rode away from the place after examining it. Some two miles from it are two large heaps of brick and stone, which the Turkomans who escorted me said were erected

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 349 over the remains of two enemies of Sultan Sanjar; every man who had a loaded musket rushed by and discharged it at the rude pile, and those who had not threw stones with vigour against it. Who these buried men were I do not know; but the incident shows how far tradition will carry people who have no literature. To the south-west is the newest city of Merv, that which existed up to ninety-nine years ago; but which was overthro wn by the founder of the present Bokharian family. It was ?defended by Bairam Ali, and has retained his name since. It is now a heap of melancholy ruins. There are remains of baths, and palaces, and ramparts crumbling around, with nothing living but snakes and jackals to be seen, or perhaps some wandering Turkoman looking out for his sheep; and he is perhaps the most dangerous animal to be encountered among the ruins. This is all that remains of Merv?three absolute ruins ; the only central point is such as I have described to you. Merv itself is an oasis peopled by half a million of agricultural semi-nomad people. They acknowledge allegiance to no one except to the Sultan of Turkey; and as they once did me the honour to ask me to represent them in a general way on my return to Europe, they told me to assure the Sultan of Turkey that they would acknowledge no sovereign save him, and they greatly wondered why he had not before this sent several army corps to their relief against the Eussians. When my predecessors in Merv travel reached the oasis?General Abbott, Mr. Taylor Thomson, Burnes, and others?Merv was under the jurisdiction of Khiva, and the adminis? trative centre was Porsa Kala, at the point where the dam renders the oasis fertile. It is now a howling waste of mud ruins, uninhabited even by nomad Turkomans. For some inexplicable reason the Tekke Turkomans have removed their stronghold some 25 miles to the north? ward ; and though I over and over again told them that their present position was useless, I could not persuade them to listen to me. Across the river is built a dam. The river is 80 yards wide and not fordable, owing to the artificial rise of level above the dam. The water, by means of the dam, is raised to a level which makes it flow over the adjoining country; and if an enemy took possession of the dam and broke it down, the whole country would become utterly barren, after a few months at least, and those holding the central stronghold would be forced to surrender. I had a very curious opportunity of seeing how this dam worked. Though there is but very little central administration at Merv, there is sufficient to tell off 700 men for the care of this dam when the melting of the snows of the Afghan moun? tains causes the water to rise in the Upper Murghab. There is a narrow sluice which is lined with fascines of giant reeds; but so great is the ourrent flowing through, some 10 feet in breadth, that it requires a oonstant attention to those fascines to prevent the water tearing them away. The difference between the level of the water on the Upper Murghab and on the Lower is about 7 feet; and that is sufficient to

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destroy any ordinary earthwork, unless constantly attended to, and the reed facing kept in constant repair. Close by are the ruins of Porsa Kala, as I have already said. I will now return to Merv. One of the most peculiar sights to be seen there is the trophies of the victory of the people over the old Persian expedition some twenty-three or twenty-four years ago. Close by where I lived there were some thirty-six cannon, mostly of bronze. Twenty-six of them had been taken from the Persians, and the remainder from the Afghans and Bokharians. The guns are good enough, but the carriages are entireiy rotten; and one of the severest trials to which I was put was to reconstruct some of these carriages and to find shot for them, because from Merv to the Caspian you could not find a pebble as big as an ordinary cockle-shell. I asked them why they depended upon " these cannon, and one of them told me, There are old men amongst us who witnessed the Persian artillery fire, and they know where the shots fell, and at any moment we could dig the shots up and fire them back again." I was surprised at that, because the Tekke Turkomans are people who have a practical and every-day acquaintance with war- fare. Still, they always think that the Eussians will some day come rushing at their earthworks, and that they will be behind them. I do not care to enter into politics, but I shall have to say something about the strategy of the situation as regards the military position in Central Asia. The Turkomans of Merv have only been twenty-six years in the oasis. They formerly inhabited the district around Sarakhs on the upper part of the Tejend river. They were driven from there twenty-seven years ago by the Persians, who objected to the neighbourhood of persons so disagreeable as to insist in carrying off Persian men, their wives, and daughters, and selling them at 51. per head in Bokhara. The Tekke Turkomans finding themselves without pasturage, turned round on the Saruk Turkomans and drove them up the river towards Afghanistan and occupied their territory. The present Tekke Turkomans, therefore, have only been twenty-six or twenty-seven years at the outside in their present situation; and I am the first European who has visited the oasis since the arrival of this particular population. They are divided into two great divisions, those to the eastward, who are styled the Toktamish, and those to the westward, who are called the Otamish. Those two divisions are governed by hereditary khans. Four years ago there was one great chief, Koushid Khan, after whom the central fort is named, who had unified both parties; now his son Baba Khan is chief of the Eastern Turkomans, and a gentleman named Aman Niaz Khan is chief of the Western Turkomans. These two great divisions are, each, further subdivided into two others. The eastern division is divided into Beg and Yekil, of the former of which Baba Khan is a member. On the western bank of the river the Otamish are divided into Bukshih, who live along the river, and

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Sitchmaz who are further removed from it. Besides these divisions there are six others, so that there are twenty-four yaps or divisions, and each is governed by an elder or magistrate, called a hethhoda, and the union of these elders, superintended by the chiefs, constitutes the council which decides the military movements of the Tekke Turkomans. I have anticipated my subject in order that you may have a thorough understanding of what I am going to say to you. When I arrived in Merv, and was still a prisoner suspected of being a Eussian advance agent, I had a visit from Tokme Serdar, who defended Geok Tepe against the Eussians most successfully two years and a half ago. Defeated, he fled to Merv for protection. He called on me and asked what I thought of the present situation. I told him pretty frankly that I believed the Eussians were masters of the Akhal Tekke. He said, " " " Do you think I ought not to surrender myself? I said, That is a " question for you." He said, The Eussians are three days' march off,but the English are twelve days' march, and supposing they were both to advance simultaneously, who will arrive first??the Eussians; and we will then surrender to the first." That was a military man's opinion and I really believe, from my knowledge of Central Asian populations, that he was quite right. I was brought before the Council of Merv to explain myself. I produced my English passport and my passport from the Persian Government at Teheran ; but as very few of them could read Persian, much less English, there was still great doubt as to whether I was a Eussian or not. One of them said I was a " Yellow Eussian." " They divide all Europeans into two kinds?" Yellow Eussians and " " Black" Eussians. The Yellow" Eussians are Eussians, and the " "Black Eussians, those to whom I have the honour to belong. Some of them have seen dark-skinned sepoys, and that is the nationality to which we are supposed to belong. At length, after a month's detention, letters arrived from the minister at Teheran, assuring them that I was a black Eussian and not a yellow one, and accordingly I was set at liberty, and a revulsion set in in my favour. It was believed I was a political agent sent there; and thereupon the existing Khan was dethroned, for reasons I shall give presently. The manner in which he came to the throne is very charac? teristic of Central Asia. When there were rumours of the threatened Eussian invasion of the Akhal Tekke along the slopes of the moun? tains, the Shah of Persia requested the Tekke Turkomans to send their representative agents to Teheran in order that he might discuss with them certain measures of defence. The two hereditary khans declined that office, for so many had been summoned to Teheran and had not come back again, that they did not wish to repeat the experiment. They consequently fixed upon a very useless old person called Kadjar Khan, and retiring themselves from power, elected him to the supreme dignity, sending him to Teheran to do what he could, or,

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 352 MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. failing to do anything, to remain there if he wished. Finding that I was not a yellow Eussian, and thinking some money might be going about the place, they thought it best to resume their old position, and so they dethroned old Kadjar Khan. As neither of them could agree with the other, they resolved to associate a third person with themselves, and they did me the honour of electing me to the triumvirate. This was a very delicate compliment to me. It was intended as a reparation for the duresse in which I had been kept, and also because they firmly believed that the English troops having marched to Kandahar were coming to Herat and thence to Merv to drive the Eussians back to the Caspian. Notwithstanding all my assurance to the contrary, they thought it was only an assumed modesty on my part, and hence they elected me; and on my finger I wear the inaugural ring which was placed there when I was elevated to the office. All this time a very curious correspondence was going on between these gentlemen and the embassy at Teheran and the Foreign Office in London, which shows how very capable of duplicity these same gentle? men are, even if anybody doubted their capacity in this respect, which I do not. I may now simply give a history of my stay in Merv before I enter into any anecdotes of their method of life or the various every-day events which happened to me there. The moment arrived when I thought it would be to my interest to withdraw from Merv. I had been appointed one of a triumvirate?its president; and over my house floated the banner which indicated that I was the commanding khan. Guns had been fired in my honour; servants were at my disposal by the legion; but still, I did not feel easy. I knew they were counting on the arrival of British troops from Herat, that they were counting upon moral, if not physical, support against the invading armies, and that all my popularity and success was based on that hypothesis, and I knew that, with the breaking down of the delusion, all my popularity would cease. Judge then of my horror when I learned it was decided that within two months Kandahar should be evacuated. I immediately took measures to evacuate Merv. This was not so easy as it might seem at first sight. They had attached such a high importance to me, that it was not easy to get them to part company with me. By an extra? ordinary chance, just as the Eussians had taken Geok Tepe, otherwise called Yengi Sheher, I arrived at Merv, and there and then Skobeleff halted his troops at Askabad. The events were synchronous; but the Turkomans set them down as the consequence the one of the other? that because I came to Merv the Eussians had halted; and they drew another conclusion, that if I went away the Eussians would come on again. Therefore they were determined to hold me as a kind of palladium at any price, or as a hostage. Perhaps one- of the most curious illustrations I can give of the ideas they formed was the fact

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. 353 that they brought me all kinds of strips of cloth and asked me to manufacture a Union Jack to be hoisted in the centre of the fortress. I declined the task. Then a chief came to me and asked me about the English cavalry, and whether the horses were marked. I said they were; and he asked me if I would draw him a diagram of the brand " on the cavalry horses. I drew Y.E." with a crown. He immediately snatched the paper up lest I should repent of having given him the design, and having caused a brand to be made on its pattern, com? menced branding all the horses, so that if the Eussians came they would be able to state that they were English horses ; but the funniest part of " it was that the brand bore a direct Y.E." ; and you will see the horses " in Merv to-day with E.Y.," and the crown very often turned upside down. At all events, I deemed it wise to evacuate Merv myself, and I told them that a new frontier was being decided upon, that the Eus? sians claimed Sarakhs, and that the Turkomans would be cut offfrom the rest of the world and placed between two fires,?cut off from Herat and every other point that they had hitherto been supplied from. I asked them if they were prepared to send a representative to the council at Meshed, a council which existed only in my own imagination. They considered seriously, and they asked whether the members of the " council could speak Turkoman. I said, Certainly not; only European " languages." They said, Are you prepared to represent us on that " " council ? I pretended to hesitate. I said, It would be dangerous for me to leave Merv at present, as the Eussians might catch me ; but if you wish it, in your service I will risk my life and go to Meshed." Accordingly, with a nominal escort of 50 horsemen, but which swelled to 150 before leaving the precincts of Merv, I left for Meshed. That is the story of my leaving Merv, and it is very lucky I left it, for within a very short time afterwards the news came of the evacuation of Can? dahar, and we know now that the Eussian caravans are plying freely to Merv. I have as briefly as I could within the time allotted to me sketched out to you the circumstances of modern Merv, and the peculiar situation in which she finds herself at present. It is forbidden by the rules of the Eoyal Geographical Society to enter into political questions, but I think that strategical ones are not considered out of place on an occa? sion like this. It might be that the Khan of Khiva or Bokhara may try to invade India, and it would be just as well if I should mention the circumstances which would enable the Khan of Bokhara to take possession of Afghanistan if he tried. A great deal has been said about a foreign enemy occupying Merv with a view to attack Herat, as the Persians did some thirty-nine or forty years ago. Now supposing that enemy came from the direction of the Caspian, advanced along the mountains, and struck upon the Tejend river, he would find along its banks a large supply of forage. I have seen hundreds of tons of

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 354 MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.?DISCUSSION. tree trunks stranded on its shores; there is a large mass of reeds and canes, and the water is excellent. Wood, forage, and water are some of the greatest requirements of an army, and the banks of the Tejend have all that. That river leads directly to the walls of Herat itself. There is no necessity whatever to go to Merv. It would be going around the two sides of a triangle instead of the hypothenuse, and the only object of going there would be to secure either its friendship or its submission. Merv contains a population of 500,000, out of which at least 70,000 horsemen could be raised, and those 70,000 acting on the flank of a line of communications could do immense injury to an army trying to advance along the line of the Tejend. Should anybody want to go to Merv at present, it must be with a view of securing their friendship, their neutrality, or their submission, as the case may be. So much for the military question. Again, Merv and the Turkoman country generally, lying between the Oxus and the Caspian, has hitherto represented in the Central Asian mind all that was free, independent, and unconquerable, and the moment that a fragrnent of that independence is brought under the control of one nation or another, the whole of Central Asia is on the side of the conqueror. Those are my strategical views on the subject. They are my honest appreciations of the situation, and who shall say whether the conquest of Merv be for the better or for the worse, whether it be in the interests of civilisation or not. For my part I cannot forget the fact that it is not so many years ago that the Mus- covite arms arrived at Khiva and Bokhara, and sent back 40,000 Persian captives to their homes who had long pined in captivity there. This was one great step in progress, something that had never been heard of before perhaps in the whole of Central Asian history; and if to-day these devastating Turkomans are wiped out by some who perhaps are not as liberal as we should be, who shall say whether it is not for the better ? The President, in introducingthe lecturerto the Meeting, said the unusually large attendancethat eveningshowed how widely Mr. O'Donovan's most interesting articles in the Daily News had been read by the English public, and how well they had been appreciated. Those who were present on the 27th June last, when Colonel Stewart read his importantpaper on the bordersof the Turkoman country, and the tribes of the district,would recollect that he spoke of having met Mr. O'Donovan on more than one occasion,and that hc succeededin impressinghim with the belief that he was an Armenian horse-dealer. Colonel Stewart told them that Mr. O'Donovan was, at the time he was readinghis paper,shut up in Merv,but that his knowledgeof his characterenabled him to prophesythat he would keep himself safe while there,and contriveto leave it at the propermoment. He was happy to say that both those prophecieshad been fulfiiled,though the risks were greaterthan Colonel Stewart probably expected. However,Mr. O'Donovan was now present to speak forhimself. In the hour allotted tohim forhis address,he could mentiononly a very small portionof his experience,but they would all be glad to hear that he was engaged in writingfor the generalpublic a full recordof his strangeadventures.

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Afterthe readingof the paper? Sir Henry Rawlinson said that he was afraid that any observationshe could offerwould fall very flat afterthe graphic and interestinglecture which had been addressed to them by Mr. O'Donovan. Having moreover,on two previousoccasions in that theatre/andbefore the same audience,said all he had to say of any consequence upon Merv, he was ratherat a loss to make furtherremarks on the subject. He was far fromimpugning Mr. O'Donovan's accuracy; in fact his descriptionshad been singularlyfaithful and graphic; but therewere a fewpoints on which he thought explanation was desirable. Mr. O'Donovan had informedthem, no doubt to the astonishmentof many, that what was called the Desert of Merv,was reallyno desert at all; that it was merelya dry,hard, alluvial plain; but it would have added to the forceof his descriptionif he had stated that that was the physical characteristicof the countryonly as faras the Murghab,beyond which therereally was a sandy desert. The explanation of this physical distinctionwas curious. In very early historic times the so-called desert of Merv was the garden of the East. A large branch of the Oxus, probablythree-quarters of the volume of the river,.flowedthrough it, and it was only in consequence of the course of the river being turned to the north that the vast alluvial plain he was describinghad become a desert. The old bed of the river was still to be seen. It ran throughthe Turkoman desert,absorbing the Murghab and the Tejend, and so on to the Caspian. Classical scholars might rememberthat Herodotus gave a very curious account of a great reservoircalled Aktj?(iii. c. 117) at a point a little to the north-westof Merv.* There really did seem to have been a great centrallake in those days, fed by the Oxus, the Murghab and the Tejend, and supplied with sluices throughwhich water was distributedover the face of the plain. The cultivationwas enormous,and owing to the fertilityof the soil and the admirableclimate, the productswere most abundant. Pliny, indeed, stated that the district of Daremm in Apavortene (or Abiverd), eastward of the Caspii, was the most fertilepart of Asia. In formertimes also it must be remembered that the high road to Merv ran fromthe south of the Caspian to Askabad, and so on by Abiverd,north of the mountains; and if water were supplied to the desertat the presentday the hard, dry,alluvial soil would again become fertile. He did not wish to be hypercritical,but in one or two points he must correctMr. O'Donovan. In the firstplace, Alexander did not visit Merv in his march eastward; in fact, the nearest point to it at which he passed was a long way to the south. After the death of Bessus in Parthia he went straightto Zarangia (or Seistan) by Susa and Artacoana (Zuzen and Kain), and never approached the districtin which Merv was situated. It was also entirelya poeticallicence to speak of the death of the Yeiled Prophet as having taken place at Merv. Moore might have made it so, but the real tragedytook place at Siyam in the hills bounding the plain of Kesh, on the other side of the Oxus, where the Russian and Bokharian frontiersnow meet. With regard to previous travellerswho had been at Merv, it should be noted that Sir Alexander Burnes, Stirling,General Abbott, Shakespeare, Sir Taylor Thomson, Wolff, and more recentlya Frenchman, Bloqueville, had all been there, but he doubted if any of them had obtained so good a knowledge of the countryand the peculiaritiesof the people,both ethnographicallyand politically,as Mr. O'Donovan. Mr. O'Donovan had remindedthem that they were not allowed at the Geographical

* The fivenations who dweltupon the Aces and receivedits waterare statedby Herodotus to have been the Chorasmians,Hyrcanians, Parthians, Sarangians,and Thanain sea ns, all of whomare connectedwith the Oxus,Ochus, and Heri-rudor Tejend. Aces is probablythe sameword as Ochus, and may be the originalof the modernOguez, by which name the river-bedis now known.

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 356 MERV AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.?DISCUSSION. " Society to plunge into politics, and thereforehe had spoken only of strategics." He (Sir Henry) would followhis example. The public generallyshould be brought to look with care at the relativepositions of two great European powers in regard to the-line between the Caspian and India. Mr. O'Donovan had very trulysaid that therewas no necessityto attributehostile views to the Russian Government. They certainlyhad greatlybenefited civilisation in curbingthe Turkomans,and generally theirgovernment in Khiva, in Samarkand,and in Khojend had been verysuperior to that which previouslyexisted there. But at the same time politicianscould not be guided exclusively by humanitarianconsiderations. They had to look mainly afternational interests,so that it was quite legitimate forEnglishmen to watch the Eussian movementswith interestand vigilance. From the Caspian to the Indus it so happened that Herat was as nearlyas possible the half-wayhouse, 800 miles fromeach end. From Askabad, the Eussian centre,to the Caspian was 400 miles, and the same distance to Herat. On the English side fromthe Indus to Candahar was also 400 miles; and as the Eussians had run a line of railwayfrom Krasnovodsk to Kisil-Arvat, so the English had run a line fromthe banks of the Indus to Sibi But there the parallel stopped, for if Russia were to continue her railway to Sarakhs as was generally expected, and the English were to continue theirs to Candahar, the formercountry would have a very great advantage, the distance from Sarakhs to Herat being only 250 miles, whereas from Candahar to Herat the distance was nearly400 miles. These were interestingpoints in strategical geography,and it was just as well to keep them in mind. Sir Henrythen pointed out on the wall-maphung forthe illustrationof the lecture the probableline of the Russian advance, observing that although a direct march along the Atok fromAskabad to Sarakhs would traversePersian territory,and could not thereforebe undertakenwithout some special diplomaticarrangement, yet Russia would always have the power of advancing by the line of the Tejend, which was beyond the Persianjurisdiction. If Russia indeed desiredto advance by that line he did not see that there were any strategicmeans of stopping her, and from the Tejend she would only have to follow up the stream to reach the walls of Herat. He was now referringto military possibilities,not to any immediateintention to carry the scheme into execution. He did not indeed believe that there was any such intentionat present. At the same time it was worth observingthat in historythere had neverbeen any high road up the Tejend to Herat. Armies had always marchedacross to that city fromNishapur. He did not know whetherMr. O'Donovan had obtained any informationin regard to that line of country,but he himself had not been able to find any trace of a route up the Tejend from Sarakhs; there was no route indeed from Sarakhs to the south given in the old geographies,except one which clung to the hills skirting the desert, till it crossed the Murghab at Merv-el-Rud,and then continued along the hills by Talikhan and Faryab to Mymenehand Balkh. Mr. O'Donovan had mentionedthe city of Sultan Sanjar. From about the year800 to 1200 a.d. was the culminatingperiod of Merv's populousness and glory. Sultan Sanjar, of the old Seljukian dynastyof Togrel Beg, who lived between1000 and 1100, fixedhis capital at Merv. He was buried there,and his tomb was still one of the great places of pilgrimage. Merv continued in a fiourishingcondition until the time of JenghisKhan, who destroyedthe city. It was believed that 4,000,000 personswere killed at Merv,Nishapur, Balkh, and Herat, the loss in Merv alone being estimatedat 1,000,000. Colonel St. John said he had never been within 600 miles of Merv, but it was his good fortunesome eight or nine years ago to be employed in making a map of Persia, and at that timehad learned a good deal about those countries; his informa? tion, however,had since been greatlysupplemented by the travels of Major George

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Napier and others. He thought that Mr. O'Donovan undervalued the purely strategical situation of Merv. A great range of mountains extended from the Caspian to China, dividing northernfrom southern Asia in a very marked manner. For countless ages it had been the great boundarybetween Aryan and Turanian. There was one gap in those mountains,and that was defended by Merv. The two rivers,the Murghab and the Tejend, ran throughthe gap, and therealways had been a city of great importancesome where in the neighbourhoodof Meshed, and on the other side there was Herat. Those were the two fortresessprotecting the rear of the situation,while Merv was the advanced post. While those threepositions were held in forceby any strongpower no invasionfrom Northern Asia could be possible, When Merv had been forcedit had always been fromthe Oxus. Mr. O'Donovan in his strategic remarkshad talked about Bokhara. The people who were on the Caspian were also in Bokhara, so that he did not see why an advance shouldnot come fromBokhara as well as fromthe Caspian, and in that case Mervwould have verygreat importance.That Merv was now merelya howlingwilderness was a politicalaccident caused by the fall of the great empiresof India and Persia. In the old days when Afghanistanwas divided between India and Persia, there were no such things as inroads of Turkomansto carryoff 40,000 people into captivity; and although he did not wish to make any political observation,the people who preventedthe Persians fromoccupying Herat were not altogetherguiltless as regardsthose 40,000 slaves. Colonel Sir Lewis Pelly said that twenty-twoyears ago he received fromSir Henry Rawlinson,who was then Minister at Teheran, instructionsto proceed to Meshed, and so to Herat; then to cross Afghanistanand Beluchistan,and report to the Yiceroy on the intermediateterritories. He went by the ordinaryroute to Meshed,and there turnedsouth along the Turkomanterritory to Herat. At that time the Turkoman territorywas in great commotion,owing to the attack of the Persian army,numbering 30,000 fightingmen with the usual proportionof camp foliowers; but between Meshed and Khaf the countryhad been absolutely desolated by the Turkomans. He never venturedacross any valley without firstsending to the top of the watershed to ascertain whetherthere were any marauders in the neighbourhood. Nothing was more common than for him to come upon villages fromwhich every soul had been carried off,leaving the pots and pans lying about just as they were when the raid took place. He understoodthat now that state of things had been altered by the proceedingsof the Russians. Whilst he was at Herat, he was the guest of SirdarAhmed Khan, a relative of Dost Mohammed. His host one day told him that the Persian army had been defeatedat Merv, and had divided into two columns,one retreatingdirect to the Persian frontieralong the line of Sarakhs, and the remainderthrough the territoryof the Seluk Turkomansup the line of the Murghab. He was asked to go out and see if he could be of any assist? ance. He thereforewent and foundthe debris of the Persian armywith theirPrince Governorsitting like so many crows in the desert,most of them unarmedand many of them without uniforms. He went to the Prince Governor,in a small tent,who said they had trusted on theirway down to the Seluk Turkomans, who received themwith greatkindness, but immediatelyon discoveringthe mess they were in, set upon them. The Persians had then fled,and were endeavouringto reach Herat or to cross the Persian frontier. The Prince Governorfirst of all asked him if he had come to laugh at them or to assist them. He (Sir Lewis Pelly) replied that he never laughed at men in distress,and that he would be glad to assist him in taking his footsore men to Herat. He then went to the second in command who was " " evidentlypreparing to depart. He said to him, You are not going to leave ? The " commanderreplied Yes, I am going to mount and be off." Remonstranceswere in vain, and he rode off,leaving the army in the desert. Sir Lewis said that if he

This content downloaded from 62.122.73.86 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:54:00 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 358 A JOURNEYIN THE ATLAS AND THE were a Russian officerhe would undoubtedlypress upon the Czar by all justifiable means to get hold of Herat. It was the natural capital of a CentralAsian kingdom, and the very fact of a Russian pro-consulbeing there would cause everyman who valued his property,his trade,and his life,to look towardthat central government, and the whole countryfor a radius of 200 miles would naturallyconcentrate around him in the most peacefulmanner.

A Journey in the Atlas and the Northern Part of the Algerian Sahara.

By Valentin de Gorloff.

(Read at the Evening Meeting,April 24th,1882.)

My object in the present paper is to give the Society some account of a journey in which I have been engaged during the last six months in Algeria and the Algerian Sahara. I will first give a brief sketch of the region through which I travelled. It is divided into three parts: the " first lies between the sea and the mountains, and is called the Tell" ; the second is formed by the Atlas range, and is called "the High Plateaux"; the third is the desert. I did not penetrate far south into the Sahara, but I think I may say, I am the first European traveiler who attempted the journey without escort, except Arabs. The other travellers who have visited Wargla accompanied either military expeditions or caravans. The regions south of Wargla, Ain el Taiba and El Golea, although they have sometimes recognised French authority and paid tribute, cannot be regarded as forming part of the French possessions. The country beyond Wargla is dangerous. Any one travelling without an escort would run great risks of being plundered or killed. The Chaambas inhabiting those regions are great friends of the marauding Tuaregs, und cannot be relied on. I left Algiers the 14th of last December, and reached Laghouat by diligence, after five days' journey. With the kind help of some French onicers I instantly began my preparations for my trip to Wargla. These, however, were soon stopped by the military commander of that district, who declared that he would not take the responsibility of my safety if I went alone. He then proposed my joining, at Metlili, a column of troops under the command of Colonel Belin, who were about to proceed with a convoy of provisions to Wargla. To join the troops was most %irksome to me, on account of loss of time and liberty; but I was powerless to start alone, so I accepted the offer,resolved if possible to escape from my guard on the very first opportunity, and organised my caravan accordingly. I engaged a guide who knew the desert well, but whose character did not bear investigation, having been formerly an insurgent. I then

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