"There is a fort at Kizil Arvat, and also a bazaar, and we are told that Askabad is similarly provided. Whenever the Russians establish themselves in any part of Turkestan, they build a fort and a bazaar side by side. Hardly has the army pitched its tents before the shops are opened and the natives are invited to come in and trade. All who come are kindly treated; in a little time whatever hesitation the natives may have possessed is gone, and the cheapness of the goods on sale converts the former enemies into friends. There is no doubt that Russia thoroughly understands the Asiatic nature, and deals with it accordingly.
MAP OF TURKESTAN, SHOWING ROUTE OF THE TRANS-CASPIAN RAILWAY.
"Most of our return journey to Mikhailovsk was made in the night, which we did not specially regret, where so much of the route was through the uninteresting desert. We were told that when the railway was started, it was intended to make a narrow-gauge line that would be taken up as soon as the capture of Geok Tepé had been accomplished. But the undertaking had not gone far before the plans were changed and a well-built railway, on the standard gauge of Russia, was the result. The line is well equipped with cars, and at no distant day will form a link in the overland route from England to India.
"When the Russian and Indian lines form a connection near Herat or Candahar, the Vladikavkaz Railway will be completed to Petrovsk, on the Caspian. The traveller may then go from London to Bombay or Calcutta in nine or ten days. His entire journey will be made by rail, with the exception of the passages of the English channel and the Caspian Sea, the former requiring two hours, and the latter an entire day. Russia is already talking of an extension of the line from Tsaritsin, along the lower Volga and around the northern end of the Caspian to a connection with the Trans-Caspian Railway. Should this line be made, the journey to India would be wholly a land route, with the exception of 'The Silver Streak,' between Dover and Calais."
While our friends are musing on the possibilities of the railway to India, and its benefits to commerce and civilization, they have recrossed the Caspian and are once more in the Petrolia of Europe. And now behold them seated in a train of the Trans-Caucasian Railway for a ride to Tiflis and the Black Sea.
A letter in the New York Herald of April 19, 1886, says:
"The Russians have established a military and naval station at Novi Golfe, on the Caspian, twenty-two versts north-west of Mikhailovsk, and connected it with the latter point by railway. In case of war with England, the Russians are prepared to strike heavy blows in Asia. They have two army corps in the Caucasus, and another in Turkestan ready for service on their south-eastern frontier. The vessels of the Kavkas and Mercury Steamship Company, Noble's naphtha fleet, and the Greek and Armenian vessels on the Caspian (which all fly the Russian flag), would be immediately pressed into the service. The Russians believe that, barring bad weather, they could, with these steamers and a number of sailing-vessels in tow, transport sixty thousand men across the Caspian from Astrachan, Baku, and Petrovsk to Novi Golfe and Mikhailovsk in three days.
CROSSING A RIVER IN CENTRAL ASIA.
"The Russians would thus dispose of about one hundred and fifteen thousand men—Army of the Caucasus, sixty thousand; Turkestan, thirty thousand; and fifteen thousand Turcoman auxiliaries. These latter will supply the advance of the Russian columns heading southward from Askabad and Merv.
"The Russians have shown great tact and cleverness in the management of their Turcoman subjects. There is at Merv a skeleton army, or cadre, of three hundred Turcomans, under the command of a Cossack officer named Kalotine. Of the three hundred, one hundred are from Merv, one hundred are Tekkes, and the remainder from other tribes. These men (irregular horse) remain in the service six months. During that time they are paid twenty-five roubles a month, and at its expiration are discharged with the rank of sergeant, but remain liable to military duty in time of war. This plan was adopted to secure good native non-commissioned officers for the fifteen regiments of irregular cavalry. The son of the last Khan of Merv is now a Russian sergeant. Ten native Turcomans hold the rank of captain in the Russian army, and four that of lieutenant, besides which many decorations have been given to those who took part in Alikhanoff's foray.
"The construction of the railway between Askabad and Merv presented great difficulties, on account of the absence of water in many places. To overcome this, artesian wells were dug. The width and current of the Tegend-Bud necessitated an iron bridge at Kara-Bend. The Trans-Caspian Railway is built upon the model of the Trans-Caucasian one, the stations on both being near together, solidly built and comfortable. There are sixteen stations between Mikhailovsk and Askabad (four hundred and twenty-two versts).
| Mikhailovsk to | ||
| Mallakara | 22 | Versts. |
| Bala Ischen | 35 | " |
| Aidin | 29 | " |
| Paraval | 15 | " |
| Atchai-Komm | 16 | " |
| Kasandjik | 31 | " |
| Ossausan | 16 | " |
| Ouchak | 23 | " |
| Kizil-Arvat | 30 | " |
| Koteh | 28 | " |
| Barni | 24 | " |
| Arolman | 30 | " |
| Baharden | 30 | " |
| Keli-Atta | 27 | " |
| Geok-Tepé | 25 | " |
| Besmeni | 21 | " |
| Askabad | 20 | " |