Fig. 152. Young Kurd Woman at Gotni, Mush Plain.
Our mid-day stage was the Kurdish village of Gotni, which we reached at two o’clock. It is situated at the foot of the southern border range. With the greatest difficulty we obtained some hay for the horses and a little milk for ourselves. My Swiss had gone in pursuit of the grey colt with the baggage and provisions, and had ended by losing his way. He did not appear before we were all very anxious about him; but the Dutch cheese and white loaves, a present from the missionaries, were not less relished because they arrived after our scanty meal. This was the first village inhabited by Mohammedans in which I was allowed to photograph the women. I obtained this favour by dint of considerable cajolery and judicious presents to the elders and to the ladies themselves. But my success cost me dear during the subsequent journey, and was one of the causes of our bad treatment at Mush. One of my models was a damsel of no little beauty—a full-blooded, strapping girl. It was evident that she was the belle of the whole settlement, and she was certainly an exception and a contrast to the lank creatures who were her comrades ([Fig. 152]).[3] The zaptiehs spoke of the women of Gotni as little addicted to prudery, and, indeed, as amiable sinners. They told me that in exchange for a mirror or kerchief, purchased for ten paras in the bazars, they were in the habit of receiving the supreme favours of these fair ones; and, once contracted, the alliance could always be resumed. A feature of the bargain, upon which they did not fail to lay emphasis, was that their companion provided them with food during their stay.
Proceeding at four o’clock, we arrived in half-an-hour at the promontory which had been our point of course. We were obliged to cross the neck of this rocky cape, in order to avoid a marsh. Nor was the surface of the plain less boggy to which we descended—such is the neglect or inability on the part of the natives to profit by the natural advantages so lavishly bestowed. We were obliged to hug the headlands of the southern barrier for some considerable time. When at last we struck into the open plain on a more north-westerly course, the village which was our goal proved to be completely destitute both of barley and of hay. We were therefore escorted by a peasant to a neighbouring settlement, in the recesses of the spurs. It consisted of some thirty miserable tenements, of which ten belonged to Armenian families and twenty to Kurds. No grain was possessed by this village, but, after much wrangling, a little barley was produced. This sufficed to feed the horses, and we decided to spend the night there; the name of the place was Zirket.
But which of these underground hovels was the least repugnant as a lodging for the night? The first I entered displayed the flicker of a fire of dried manure, and was almost filled by the dim forms of cattle. But I could hear a human cough and the wheezing of sick people; and, as I advanced, I stumbled upon a prostrate figure. It was muffled in a ragged shawl, and I could not see the features; when I touched it on the bare feet it did not move. No better fortune attended a visit to a neighbouring hut; it was more lofty, but it was tenanted by a huddled group of women, one of whom was unable to move from the ground. Returning to my first choice, I ordered the cattle to be ejected, and the sleeper to be taken to an adjacent stable. We slept beside our horses and were attacked in force during the night by a formidable army of minute enemies.
Fig. 153. Armenian Village of Khaskeui. Mush Plain.
The ride to Mush on the following day occupied four-and-a-half marching hours. Our average course was a little north of west. The plain in the neighbourhood of our station was some five to six miles broad, and villages became both larger and more frequent. The same line of high hills still composed the northern barrier, and the Kurdish mountains that on the south. Ice lay upon the puddles during the early morning, but was soon melted by the sun. The marshes continued but were less obstructive; they afford food to large flocks of wild geese. The villages in the plain appeared to be for the most part Armenian, but some Armenian villages are in part inhabited by Kurds.[4] We halted for a meal in one of the largest of these, the Armenian settlement of Khaskeui ([Fig. 153]). It is a typical Armenian dwelling-place, resembling a series of ant-hills; but my illustration does not comprise the knot of venerable trees which adjoin it, an unwonted landmark in the expanse. In Khaskeui there are no less than 300 houses and 2 churches, besides ruins of more ancient sanctuaries. But the school had been closed by order of Government, and only one per cent of the peasants could read or write. I found the priest an ignorant man;—poor fellow, he had been lately imprisoned on a summons for withholding taxes. If only Armenian patriots would see to the reform of the rural clergy, what an inestimable harvest the race would reap! The inhabitants of this village were a good example of Armenian peasantry—such broad shoulders, and massive hips! They were fairly well-to-do, some in easy circumstances ([Fig. 154]). One is impressed by their resolute look.
Fig. 154. Well-to-do inhabitant of Khaskeui, Mush Plain.