Transcriber's Note:
Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
The [Errata] listed at the end of the volume have been corrected in the text.
[Footnote 10] is missing.
This volume contains references to [Volume I.] of this work.
It can be found at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/58738/58738-h/58738-h.htm.
ON HORSEBACK THROUGH ASIA MINOR.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS,
ST. JOHN'S SQUARE.
Photographed from Life by Lock and Whitfield.
ON HORSEBACK THROUGH
ASIA MINOR.
BY
CAPTAIN FRED BURNABY,
AUTHOR OF "A RIDE TO KHIVA."
WITH PORTRAIT AND MAPS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
London:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON,
CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET.
1877.
[All rights reserved.]
PREFACE.
It has been said that a man often writes his book first, his preface last. The author of this work is no exception to the general rule. These volumes contain an account of a journey on horseback through Asia Minor. I was five months in that country, and traversed a district extending over 2000 miles. My limited leave of absence prevented me from staying more than a few days at the important towns which lay on the route.
Although unable to learn so much as was to be desired of the ways and mode of life of the various inhabitants of Anatolia, I had the opportunity of talking to every class of society with reference to the questions of the day—the Conference, and the impending war with Russia. Pachas, farmers, peasants, all of them had something to say about these subjects.
I met people of many different races: Turks, Armenians, Greeks, Turkomans, Circassians, Kurds, and Persians. They almost invariably received me very hospitably.
The remarks which were made by the Mohammedans about the Christians, and by the Armenians about the Turks and Russians, sometimes interested me. I have thought that they might interest the public.
The impression formed in my own mind as to the probable result of the war between Russia and Turkey was decidedly unfavourable to the latter power. Since this work has been written the soldiers of the Crescent have gallantly withstood their foe. My reasons for arriving at the above-mentioned opinion will be found in these volumes. They merely contain a sort of verbal photograph—if the reader will allow me to use the expression—of what I saw and heard during the journey.
A few official reports, referring to the treatment of the members of the United Greek Christians by the Russian authorities will be seen in the Appendices, and amongst other matter a document brought to England by two Circassian Chiefs. It relates to the invasion of Circassia by the Russians. There are also some march routes and descriptions of various districts, taken and translated from different military works.
THE AUTHOR.
Somerby Hall, Leicestershire,
September, 1877.
INTRODUCTION.
It was the autumn of 1876: I had not as yet determined where to spend my winter leave of absence. There was a great deal of excitement in England; the news of some terrible massacres in Bulgaria had thoroughly aroused the public. The indignation against the perpetrators of these awful crimes became still more violent, when it was remembered that the Turkish Government had repudiated its loans, and that more than a hundred millions sterling had gone for ever from the pockets of the British tax-payer. This was very annoying.
We were on the eve of an important election.[1] Some people declared that our Government might have prevented the massacres in Bulgaria; others, that an ostentatious protection had been shown to Turkey, and that Europe had been wantonly disturbed through the instrumentality of our Ministry.
Illustrious statesmen, who were solacing themselves after the toils of the session, by meandering through the rural districts on bicycles, or by felling timber in sylvan groves, hurried up to town.
Two letters appeared in the columns of the leading journal signed by gentlemen belonging to the Church of England, saying that they had seen Christians impaled by the Turks.
Pamphlets were written and speeches made in which the subjects of the Sultan were held up to universal execration. Several distinguished Russians, who happened at that time to be in England, threw oil on the flames which had been kindled.
Ladies, like Madame de Lievens, of whom the late Duke of Wellington wrote,[2] went from salon to salon and extolled the Christian motives of the Tzar. This feminine eloquence proved too much for a few of our legislators, who, like Lord Grey in the year 1829, entertained some old opposition opinions of Mr. Fox's, that "the Turks ought to be driven out of Europe."
It was difficult to arrive at the truth amidst all the turmoil which prevailed. Were the Turks such awful scoundrels? Had the reverend gentlemen, to whom I have already alluded, really seen Christians impaled, or were these clergymen under the influence of a hallucination? There was one way to satisfy my own mind as to whether the subjects of the Porte were so cruel as they had been described. I determined to travel in Asia Minor; for there I should be with Turks who are far removed from any European supervision. Should I not behold Christians impaled and wriggling like worms on hooks in every high road of Armenia, or find an Inquisition and a weekly auto da fé the amusement of the Mohammedans at Van?
Judging from the pamphlets which were continually being written about the inhuman nature of the Turks, this was not at all improbable. I should also have the opportunity of seeing something of the country between the Russo-Turkish frontier and Scutari.
It was the beginning of November. My leave of absence would commence towards the middle of the month. It was time to make preparations for the journey. On this occasion I determined to take an English servant, a faithful fellow, who had been with me in many parts of the world.
Before leaving London I thought that it might be as well to write to the Turkish Ambassador, and ask him if there would be any objection on the part of the authorities in Constantinople to my proposed journey in Asia Minor, at the same time saying that in the event of my obtaining the permission to travel in Anatolia, I should be much obliged to His Excellency if he could supply me with the requisite passport. To this letter I received, by return of post, the most courteous reply. I was informed that every Englishman could travel where he liked in the Turkish Empire, and that nothing was required but the ordinary foreign office passport, one of which His Excellency enclosed.
In the meantime I read all the books I could find which treated of Asia Minor. According to the works of those travellers who have been to Armenia in the winter, the cold would be very great. Indeed Tournefort found the wells in Erzeroum frozen over in July. Milner in his "History of the Turkish Empire," remarks of the mountainous district in Armenia, "Throughout this high region no one thinks, except under most urgent necessity, of travelling for eight months in the year, owing to the snow, ice, and intense cold."
Regimental duty detained me in England during the summer. I could only avail myself of the winter for my journey. I had experienced the cold of the Kirghiz steppes in December and January, 1876, and was of opinion that the clothes which would keep a man alive in the deserts of Tartary, would more than protect him against the climate of Kurdistan. For shooting purposes I determined to take a little single Express rifle, made by Henry, and a No. 12 smooth-bore. A small stock of medicines was put in my saddle-bags in the event of any illness on the road.
My arrangements were completed. I was ready to start.
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER I. | |
| PAGE | |
| The start—Cartridges and medicine bottles—The obeseEnglishman and the Yankee's cook—The refreshment-roomat Dijon—"Ne vous pressez pas, messieurs"—Fellow-passengers—Thesilk-merchant—Thepretty Greek girl who was a friend of MadameIgnatieff—The doctor—The respective merits ofmedicine and Christianity—The Bay of Smyrna—TheGreek ladies are not shy—Come along andsmoke a Nargileh—A café in Smyrna—The Italianprima donna—The Christians and Turks in Smyrna—Newspapersbelieved to be in Russian pay—ThePacha's seraglio—A comely dame—Five hundredrecruits—A doleful melody—To die for the sake ofIslam—People so silly as to think that Gortschakoffwishes for peace—The fat woman—The eunuch indifficulties | [1] |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| The Bosphorus—The commissionnaires—Nothing like theHôtel de Luxembourg—Perdrix aux truffes—Baksheesh—Officialsin the custom-house—A rickety oldcarriage—A Turkish Café Chantant—A vocalist—SultanAbdul Aziz—His kismet—We are all underthe influence of destiny—"Great Sultan, rest inpeace!"—Did Sultan Abdul Aziz really kill himself?—Thepopular belief—He had agreed to sell the fleetto Russia—A Russian force to garrison Constantinople—Twoof the secret police—The other verse—Theaudience—Too much liberty in Constantinople—Englishnewspapers, hostile to Turkey, sold atevery bookstall—An English army of occupation inConstantinople—No gold; nothing but paper—Tradeparalyzed—In search of a servant—A Mohammedanservant; his costume—A coachman to a Pacha—Buffaloesas a means of locomotion—Mr. Schuyler—Mr.Gallenga—Our consul at Belgrade—Mr. Sala—Thestations along the Russian line crowded withtroops—Mr. McGahan very popular with the Christians—TheTurkish newspapers—A ruse on the partof England—An English officer—A strategic position—Someinfluential Armenians—"We have no wishto become Russian subjects"—The Catholics inPoland—Similar treatment required for all sects—Theword of a Christian in a court of law—An Armenianpriest—From Scutari to Kars—The roadblocked by snow—The dread of being seen speakingto a European | [12] |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| The porter at the hotel—A little persuasive force—Trainsin Turkey are not very punctual—Two Englishmen—Snipe-shooting—Therailroad takes a circuitouscourse—Krupp guns—The Christians are toomuch for the Turks in a bargain—Hadem Kui—Nohorse waiting—The station-master—A lanky, overgrownlad—Buyuk Checkmedge and Kara Bournu—Abranch railway required—A station-master'ssalary—The horse—Attacked by a dog—Thedefence of Constantinople—A song in which theTurks delighted—Good-looking Hungarian girls—Thehandsome Italian—"I am not a barrel"—Thesong about the Turcos—Spontaneous combustion—Aspecial Correspondent—Algeria is not Turkey, butit does not much signify | [27] |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| Osman—Five horses for sale—An industrious man—Acemetery—A wall-eyed Turk—A little black—"Heain't got no shoulders"—A horse with a sore back—Aroarer—The blind beggars hear him coming—ATurkish horseshoe—Provisions for the journey—Aprince belonging to the Russian Embassy in the hospital—Aprince a boot-cleaner—Osman's relatives—TheHôtel Royal—A stirrup-cup—Osman's religiousscruples—The boat for Scutari—Shipping our horses—Jealoushusbands—A Turk's seraglio—Was it aTorpedo?—The panels of the Bey's carriage—An explosionof cartridges—Readjusting the luggage—Atorrent of expletives | [39] |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| Scutari—The resting-place of departed Turks—Afrightened horse—Obadiah—Tea and sugar in themud—A rahvan, or ambler—A runaway steed—Osmanalways praying whenever there is work to bedone—The grave-digger—The Hammall—Radford—Throughthe swamp—The Khan at Moltape—Amungo | [54] |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| The proprietor of the establishment—Lingua franca—Gold,not paper—Gold a charm to the Greek—Norooms—The Onbashee—His costume—The guard-house—Aqueer place—"At gitdi! the horse hasgone!"—The Pacha at Scutari—The corporal's demeanourwhen offered a tip—A beautiful country—Thebay of Ismid—A goose plump as a Georgianwoman—A Zaptieh—The chief of the telegraphdepartment in Ismid—A grievance—The appearanceof Ismid—Washing-day—The Pacha of Ismid—Mr.Gladstone—"Gladstone is what you call a Liberal,is he not?"—The Turkish debt—Russian agentsbring about the massacres of Christians | [63] |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
| An Armenian Bishop—An economical refreshment—Ramazan—Smokingin the streets—The TurkishGovernment is not so bad—The Koran and a Christianwitness—A telegram from the Pacha at Scutari—Apost-horse to Sabanja—Two Zaptieh—Turkishswords—A horse lost—Four feet of mud—An ox-cartupset in the mud—Woe-begone drivers—Apriest during the Carlist war—Turks and Christianshave an extreme dislike to the dread ordeal—CircassianBashi Bazouks—Women ravished and thenbutchered by the Russians—Sabanja—Scenery—Therewas to have been a railway—A mule underdifficulties | [75] |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
| Camels—The Sakaria—Geiweh—Yakoob Khan—Kashgar—TheGreeks in league with the Tzar—The KaraSu—A strategic position—Terekli—Bashi Bazouksfiring at a target—The river Goonook—A blackslave—Gondokoro—Abou Saood—How to becomerich—Set a slave to catch a slave—Sharab makesone gay—Mudurlu—Absence of shops—Toujourspoulet—English manufactures in Anatolia—A CircassianZaptieh—A precipice—A baggage-horseupset | [86] |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
| Nalihan—Armenian, Turkish, and Circassian visitors—Thestate of the roads—Will there be war?—TheImaum—The Servians—A bellicose old farmer—TheArmenians friends with the Russians—Sunnitesand Shiites—Scenery near Nalihan—Alatai river—ATurkish counterpane—Turkish beds—Osman's Yorgan—Osman'swife—A girl with eyes like a hare,and plump as a turkey—The farmer's nuptial couch—Anuncultivated district—An old Khan—A refugefor travellers—An invalid soldier—A Christian wouldhave let me die like a dog—The votaries of Christianityin the East | [95] |
| CHAPTER X. | |
| Radford and Osman—The quarrel—Do the Roossians kisseach other?—Bei Bazar—The pig tobacco—Osman'shonesty—Forage for five horses—It is a good sign ina horse to be always hungry—The Tchechmet river—TheMudir at Istanos—The Cadi's mule—Thetradition about Istanos—Caverns formerly inhabitedby marauders—A chasm—The entrance to thecaverns—A levee of the inhabitants—No newspapersin the villages—An Armenian priest—The furnitureof the room—Has the Conference commenced?—Whatis it all about?—Russia is strong and we areweak—The other Powers are afraid of Russia—WillEngland be our ally?—Are the Christians tortured?—Herewe get on very well with the Mussulmans—Thepack-saddle | [104] |
| CHAPTER XI. | |
| One lives and learns even from Turks—The Mudir'stwo sons—They like your nation—They rememberthe Crimean War—Suleiman Effendi—The Vice-Consul—Thetown of Angora was to be illuminated—Thetelegram about the Constitution—What doesthe Constitution mean?—Suleiman Effendi on education,and on religious matters—So many roads toheaven—American missionaries—The massacres inBulgaria—The intrigues of Russia—The Circassianshate the Russians—Circassian women butchered andravished by the Russians—An English priest—Theimpalement story—The Vice-Consul's wife—A pianoin Angora—Turkish ladies—A visit to the Pacha—Theaudience-room—The Pacha's son—Only onecannon in Angora—Twenty-five thousand men goneto the war—The clerk—The Bey's library—The newConstitution—The Bey's opinion about it—Turkeyrequires roads and railways—The only carriage inAngora | [116] |
| CHAPTER XII. | |
| The Pacha's carriage—The coachman an Irishman—Christmasday in Angora—The celebrities of the town—Asociety of thieves—Fire in Sivrisa—The Turksand the Armenians—So-called fanaticism—TenPachas in Angora in four years—Cases of litigation—Arrears—Thefirman of November, 1875—The faminein Angora—Deaths during the famine—The goats died—AMohammedan divine—The Russian Ambassadorand the secret societies—The English newspapersand the Bulgarian atrocities—A Turk values his nosequite as much as a Christian—Suleiman Effendi'swife—The Turkish law about property—A dinnerwith a Turkish gentleman—A mixture of nationalities—Myhost and his digestion—Spirits refreshthe stomach—The Prophet and the old woman inMecca—There are no old women in heaven | [129] |
| CHAPTER XIII. | |
| The band—Turkish melodies—Turkish music like a Turkishdinner; it is a series of surprises—Turkish etiquetteat dinner—The pack-horse is lame—The peopleask for many liras—The Postmaster is in bed—Thechief of the police—Horse-copers in Aleppo—Thefair sex in that city—A test for lovers—Weburn our fingers soon enough after marriage—Domesticlife in the harems in Angora—The immoralityin Yuzgat—Mr. Gasparini—Turkish hospitality—Armeniansdress like Turks—Christian women—Greatharmony between Turks and Christians—Armeniantestimony doubtful—The prison at Sivas—Hearsayevidence—A Turkish veterinary surgeon—Horse-dealers—Twopounds offered for the horse—Historyof the Ottoman Empire—The Bey's present—Generosityof the Turks—The devil is not so blackas he is painted | [139] |
| CHAPTER XIV. | |
| Leave Angora—The Effendi wants a turkey—A very oldcock—The cooking-pot—An Armenian woman onhorseback—Baggage upset in the river—Cartridgesin the water—Osman castigating the delinquent—Delayedon the road—Asra Yuzgat—How the inhabitantsbuild their houses—The Caimacan—Hishouse—His servants undress him—He goes to bed—Allthe cartridges spoiled | [153] |
| CHAPTER XV. | |
| The Kizil Ermak—No bridge in the neighbourhood—Howto cross the river—The triangular-shaped barge—Thecurrent—Can my brother swim?—How to embarkthe horses—Osman's expostulation—Bandagingthe horse's eyes—Yakshagan—Fresh post-horses—Anuncivil official—Madeh—Silver-mines—Water in thepits—Proper machinery wanted—Engineers required—Kowakoli—Vines—Howto preserve grapes—Sugarvery dear—A farmer—The Angora famine—Thelate Sultan—Russian assessors—We do not wishto be tortured to change our religion—Allah isalways on the side of justice—Sekili—The pace of aRahvan—Marble hovels—Hospitality—Foreign settlers—AKurdish encampment—The tax-collectors—Thewealth of the Kurdish Sheiks—The DelidscheErmak—Fording the river—A district abounding insalt—Turkoman girls—The many languages spokenin Anatolia—A lunch under difficulties | [163] |
| CHAPTER XVI. | |
| A victim to the famine—Daili—A conversation withsome Turkomans—The massacre of the Teke Turkomansby the Russians—Women violated—Littleboys and girls abused and murdered—The Muscoviteis a beast—Should not you like to cut the throats ofall the Russians?—What is the best way to get ridof a wasp's nest?—A war of extermination—Yuzgat—Acavalcade of horsemen—Mr. Vankovitch—Thetelegram—Our reception—Old friends of the Crimea—Somevisitors—Things have altered for the better—TheChristians at Yuzgat—Armenians and Turksdine together—Mr. Vankovitch's experiences—ThePolish insurrection—General Muravieff—Brutalityto the women at Vilna | [177] |
| CHAPTER XVII. | |
| M. Perrot—Armenian customs—Man and wife—Wekeep our wives for ourselves—My host's niece—Lawabout divorce—Shutting up the wives—Turkish husbands—Howto get a divorce—Marrying a divorcedwoman—Population of Yuzgat—Crime—Mines inneighbourhood—Tax paid in lieu of military service—TheCircassians—Their promise to the TurkishGovernment—Tax on land; on house-property; oncorn—Cattle—Collectors of taxes—Jealousy aboutreligious matters—Dissensions amongst Christians—AmericanMissionaries—A loyal address—Themarket—A bazaar two stories high—Awalk through the town—Gipsy women—An elderlydame—Obstreperous young ladies—The old womandances | [187] |
| CHAPTER XVIII. | |
| The Mosque—The interior of the building—The lampsof different-coloured crystal—The Turks engaged inprayer—Comparison between Christians and Mussulmans—DaravishBey—A wonderful shot—Djerrid—Astrange request—The chase—A Bosnian lady—Hercostume—A side-saddle—Even their women goout hunting—Daravish Bey dressed for the chase—Along shot—The price of a horse's forage—Mostservants rob their masters—A Russian officer—TheArmenian schools—The girls' school—Perhaps youwould like to ask the boys some questions?—Anamateur setter of questions—Mr. Marillier of Harrowschool—A sum—The schoolboys of Yuzgat—Ahalf-holiday | [199] |
| CHAPTER XIX. | |
| A visit to some Greeks—The Turkish administration—Theimpalement story—The law equally bad forTurks and Christians—Peculiarity about the Armeniansand Greeks in Yuzgat—The outskirts of thetown—An immense crowd—Women clad in longwhite sheets—Throwing the Djerrid—The game—Werode better in our time—A marriage procession—Womenriding donkeys—The head of the Mohammedanreligion at Yuzgat—The respective merits ofthe Turkish and Christian faith—Allah is very kindto all true believers—What is the good of insuring?—AnArmenian church—A raised platform enclosedby trellis work—The occupants of the gallery—Thewomen will stare at the men—Ladies distract theattention of the congregation—The Pole's house—Acheap servant | [211] |
| CHAPTER XX. | |
| The gipsies—A fearful instrument—The musicians—Thedancers—The chief of the gipsy women—Her attire—Vankovitch'swife—A glass of raki—The fatwoman—The man with the bagpipes—The dance—Thetwo girls—The old lady accompanies them—Thecastanets—What is the good of dancing?—TheLord Chamberlain, who is he?—The marriage festivalsin a harem—The old woman dances a pas seul—Osman'sinterview with Vankovitch—Oh, Osman!thou descendant of a line of thieves!—What is themeaning of this?—The Effendi's horses—The peopleat the Khans—An undulating country—Mostaphas—Unwillingnessto fight their country's battles—Severalinhabitants killed in Servia—Industriousinsects—A country like the Saxon Switzerland—Adistrict abounding with pine forests—The telegraphwire to Sivas—Saw-mills—Gogderi Soo—A housewith two rooms—The stable—The fire—The harem—Myhost and his wives—Two shots in the air—Theladies—Their legs—The discomfort of theproprietor | [220] |
| CHAPTER XXI. | |
| Sileh Zela—Its position—The old citadel—The soil in theneighbourhood—A battalion of infantry—The Caimacan—Theaudience-chamber—The Cadi—The battaliongoing to Samsoun—The local authorities—TheColonel—England would be neutral—What,desert her old friend of the Crimea?—An ally inAustria—Andrassy—An Imaum—Propensity forfighting—A Christian Bishop—The most welcomemembers of society—Yakoob Khan of Kashgar—TheRussians and the Chinese—The Khivans, Bokharians,and Turkomans—A rising of the Poles—TheArmenians in Sileh—The ancient city—A secretpassage—My tea and sugar—Osman had a sweettooth—My lord's liberality praised—Osman to kneelon his own coat—Tartars—Lazy husbands—A plainplanted with tobacco—Mountains covered with vines—Many-colouredsand-hills—A wonderful phenomenon—Bazar—PachaWilliams—Teesdale—Kars—IsPacha Williams still alive? | [231] |
| CHAPTER XXII. | |
| Tokat—The Caimacan of the town—The battalion is tomarch to Samsoun—A naturalized Englishman—Theroad from Tokat to Sivas—The population ofTokat—The rich inhabitants bribe the gendarmes—Thewant of funds—The officials' salaries in arrear—Armenianschools in Tokat—The Greeks; notmuch reliance to be placed upon them—Khiva—Tashkent—Samarcand—Mussulmansin India—TheBlack Sea and the Russian Fleet—Old soldiers inTokat—The Armenians and Greeks to be suppliedwith fire-arms—Good governors—Osman Bey— ACircassian on Russian atrocities—A statement bythe Russian authorities—Seven hundred familiesnear Labinsky—Men, women, and children at thebreast butchered—English sympathizers with Russia—TheRussians sow the seeds of dissension amongstthe Circassians—Yonn Bek—Many gold imperialsoffered to him | [242] |
| CHAPTER XXIII. | |
| The servant of the house—The Onbashee—Five piastres—Osmandetected—The guilty man—Vankovitch'sremarks—The sentence—May I put Osman inprison?—The barracks—Two old Khans—Thewomen weeping—Immense enthusiasm—Numbersof volunteers—Parading for the march—Men crying—Weshall eat the Russians—The Sergeant—TheMajor of the battalion—The Dervish—A Circassian—TheImaum of the regiment—The Muleteer—Baggageanimals required for the regiment—Abitter cry—The women's wail—The old Major—Thesoldiers' hymn—The standard of the battalion—Goin safety—God be with you! | [253] |
| CHAPTER XXIV. | |
| Osman Bey—A Circassian feud—Will there be a risingin the Caucasus?—If England were to help us—Awonderful servant—Mohammed—His Captain—AnArmenian doctor—Business is flat—The Christianpopulation to be armed—Visitors asking favours—Yourreward will be in heaven—A subscription—Promotionthrough favouritism—A sad story—Acruel father—A servant arrested for debt—Failureof justice | [264] |
| CHAPTER XXV. | |
| Mohammed's horse—The Effendi's barley—The road fromTokat to Sivas—A very pretty girl—Tchiflik—Complaintsmade against the Circassians—Highly cultivatedsoil—The Tchamlay Bel mountain—A Turkkilled—A wonderful gun—Yenihan—The YeldezErmak—The Kizil Ermak—Sivas—A ruined citadel—Theimportance of Sivas from a military point ofview—My entry into Sivas—The guard—An Italianengineer—Three American missionaries—A housepillaged | [275] |
| CHAPTER XXVI. | |
| The prison in Sivas—Christian prisoners—The gaoler—Kurdsand Circassians—A few Armenians—Falsestatement made to me by Christians—The old murderer—Thefirman for his execution—Kept in suspense—OurGovernor dislikes shedding blood—IssekPacha—He may die—His residence—The law inTurkey about murder—Mercenary dealings—Laxjustice | [284] |
| CHAPTER XXVII. | |
| The Governor calls—A great honour—The Khedive'streasurer—The Pacha's carriage—The Turks andChristians—The Russian Government—The Armeniansubjects of the Porte—The seeds of disaffection—GeneralIgnatieff—The treasurer—The Italianlady—Erzingan—The Governor's invitation—Thecold in the country—The Pacha was nearly frozento death—His march from Kars to Erzeroum—Deepchasms along the track—The Conference is over—TheMissionaries' home—American hospitality—Theladies—A Turkish woman in the streets of NewYork—A Chinese lad—New Orleans—The Anglo-Indiantelegraph—The Franco-German War—Thepotato plant—The Armenians more deceitful thanthe Turks—The converts to Protestantism—TheTzar's Government does not tolerate any religionsave its own—The superstitions attached to theGreek faith | [295] |
| CHAPTER XXVIII. | |
| An Armenian Monastery—A large garden—Farms belongingto the Monks—The Bishop—A fast day—TheTurkish finance—The Armenian merchants inSivas—The telegraph employed by them—The riseand fall in caime—The breath of scandal—A formerGovernor of Sivas—A suspicious case—His Eminencecannot marry—Are Protestant Bishops allowedto marry?—The chapels belonging to the Monastery—Acurious altar—A strange tradition—Themartyrs of Sivas—A picture of one of the Kings ofArmenia—The Kings and the Church—Things arevery different now—Privileges of the Monks—TheRussian war with Persia—An Armenian General—Hassan,Khan of Persia—Sugar—How to make alarge fortune | [307] |
| CHAPTER XXIX. | |
| The principal mosque—An ostrich egg—Curious custom—Thedancing dervishes—A regiment of cavalryleaves Sivas—The arms of the men—Appearance ofthe horses—A short route to Erzeroum—Dudusa—TheKizil Ermak—Scenery—Glass replaced by alabaster—Araid on an Armenian village—The robberscaught—Women said to have been outraged—Kotnu—Anaccident—The Zaptiehs out of temper—Mohammed'sappetite—A comparison between Mohammedand Osman | [316] |
| CHAPTER XXX. | |
| Snow—The path covered by it—The scenery—Upset ina snowdrift—Nearly down a chasm—Probing theground—A consultation—Teaching my followersmanners—May he die of the plague—A baggage-horseknocked up—Yarbasan—A dirty village—Thefarmer committing himself to Providence—Visitinghis friends—The Zaptiehs—Their remarks—TheGiaour threatened to beat us—The Inglis giaour isdifferent to the Armenian giaour | [325] |
| CHAPTER XXXI. | |
| The river Dumrudja—How to cross the river?—A waterfallin the neighbourhood—Thanksgivings—Crossingthe mountain—A house of refuge—Divriki—Itsappearance—The number of houses—Theriver Tchalt Tchai—The Captain—His evolutions—Lor!what a cropper—Serve him right, sir—AAstley's performance—My host—Mines in the neighbourhood—Peoplewith brains—Houses formerlybuilt of hewn stone—Cause of the decline of theTurkish power—Wives chosen for their looks—Howto breed a good foal—A Turk's opinion of Europeanwomen—They uncover their faces—What ridiculouscreatures they must be—The Citadel—The Persians—TheGreek fire—The view of Divriki—Sport—Arifle used as a shot gun—One of your best shots—TheKurds—Gunpowder—It is manufactured by theKurds—All Powder is sent from Constantinople—Costto the Government of cartridges—The Pachaof Sivas—His astrologer—Christians who are usurers—Turkishfamilies ruined | [333] |
| CHAPTER XXXII. | |
| Usury laws in Turkey—An Armenian in prison for debt—TheCaimacan—The Turkish creditor—HanistanEreek's father—A Government cannot be imprisonedfor debt—The redif soldiers—Their unwillingness toserve—The Armenians not to be trusted—Yanoot—Apicture of desolation—A Jordan road—Turkish soldiersdo not grumble—Arabkir—A silk-merchant—Myhost—His library—Pretty covers—A Russianservant—He was taken prisoner during the Crimeanwar | [344] |
A MAP OF CAPT. BURNABY'S ROUTE
Stanford's Geogl. Estabt., Charing Cross.
London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington.
![[View larger image]](#4323814326197168360_i_maplg.jpg.id-7019982474805212046.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
ON HORSEBACK THROUGH ASIA MINOR.
CHAPTER I.
The start—Cartridges and medicine bottles—The obese Englishman and the Yankee's cook—The refreshment-room at Dijon—"Ne vous pressez pas, messieurs"—Fellow-passengers—The silk-merchant—The pretty Greek girl who was a friend of Madame Ignatieff—The doctor—The respective merits of medicine and Christianity—The bay of Smyrna—The Greek ladies are not shy—Come along and smoke a Nargileh—A café in Smyrna—The Italian prima donna—The Christians and Turks in Smyrna—Newspapers believed to be in Russian pay—The Pacha's seraglio—A comely dame—Five hundred recruits—A doleful melody—To die for the sake of Islam—People so silly as to think that Gortschakoff wishes for peace—The fat woman—The eunuch in difficulties.
"Be quick, sir; you have no time to lose!" cried an officious porter in the Charing Cross Station, as he bustled me into a first-class carriage; and I found myself in the same compartment with a Queen's messenger bound for St. Petersburg. Time fled rapidly by, and I had hardly realized to myself that London was left behind, ere I was walking down those very uncomfortable steps which lead to the Calais boat. A rough passage with a number of Gauls, who all talked loud at starting, but whose conversation gradually died away in mournful strains, and we steamed into Calais harbour; five hours later I was having my luggage examined in the waiting-room in Paris.
"Sir, they ain't found the cartridges, for I took good care to mix them up with the medicine bottles," whispered my servant Radford, as he mounted the box of our fiacre, and I drove away to a hotel, somewhat relieved in my mind, as I was not quite sure whether carrying loaded cartridges is permitted on the Chemin de Fer du Nord. I did not remain long in Paris. The 2000 miles ride which lay before me across Asia Minor would take up every day of my leave. There was no time to lose, and in a very few hours I was in a railway station taking tickets for Marseilles. The night mail was just about to start. There were none but first-class carriages. The result was that servants and masters had to travel together.
"You will sit in that carriage," said an obese and rubicund Englishman to his groom, pointing to my compartment; "I cannot go with servants;"—and he entered another carriage. Farther on I saw the portly personage in the refreshment-room at Dijon. He was talking to a little Frenchman, and apparently on the best of terms with him. The sound of their voices was mingled with the jingling of glasses and the clinking of knives and forks. Every one was eating as fast as he could. The waiters were serving the different travellers with lightning rapidity, and the proprietor of the buffet was calling out from time to time in a deep bass voice,—
"Ne vous pressez pas, messieurs. Il y a encore 10 minutes avant le départ du train."
"Who is the little man?" I inquired of a talkative Yankee who was sitting by my side during the table d'hôte.
"He, sir? He is my cook, and I am taking him with me to Nice."
The obese Englishman heard the remark, and became more rubicund than before.
"I reckon I have collapsed him," muttered the American. "If I have to travel with his darned servant, I don't see why he should not travel with mine."
The train rattled on. Each man in our crowded compartment tried to compose himself to sleep; the red light from the American's cigar gradually died away, and the individual himself, coolly lolling his head on his neighbour's shoulder, sank into semi-unconsciousness.
The morn broke bright and glorious. Winter was left behind; we were in the land of orange-trees and olives.
The steamer for Constantinople started at four o'clock that afternoon, so we drove straight from the station in Marseilles to the harbour. Here I found a splendid vessel belonging to Les Messageries Maritimes, and which was already getting up steam. The captain was bustling about, giving orders. The crew were hauling in the ponderous anchors.
There were not many passengers on board; only a silk merchant from Lyons, a rabid republican, and a pretty Greek girl,—a friend of Madame Ignatieff, the wife of the Russian ambassador at Constantinople,—who, after paying a visit to some friends in Paris, was again on her way to Constantinople. Our vessel was soon steaming ahead. She ploughed her way splendidly through the waters, and hardly a motion could be perceived inside the spacious saloon which formed the dining-room of the passengers. We were but a small party. The captain, a cheery tar who had been in every part of the world, and knew more stories about the unguardedness of the fair sex than perhaps any other mortal living. The doctor, a somewhat bilious and elderly gentleman, who became easily excited on all religious questions, and gave short dissertations between the courses on the respective merits of medicine and Christianity. The silk-merchant, who cursed the empire, and then informed us that trade had never been so flourishing as under Napoleon's rule. Presently he told me in a whisper that some Frenchmen wished for another Emperor, and he concluded, with an oath, that if there were, he would head a revolution and sacrifice his own life—yes, his own life!—sooner than that the Prince Imperial should sit upon the throne of France.
We steam into the bay of Smyrna; the picturesque and undulating coast is shaded in a framework of azure clouds; the sea, blue as lapis lazuli, is dotted with numerous vessels; flags of almost every nation in the world float in the balmy air; the clean white houses, with their many-coloured wooden shutters, brighten up the glorious landscape; and boatmen, dressed in garbs of many hues and fashions, throng the sides of our vessel.
"I am going on shore," said the silk-merchant, who was surrounded by a crowd of vociferous Greeks. "Our steamer will not start for several hours. Let us dine in a café, and see if the fair sex in this part of Turkey is as beautiful as some travellers would have us believe."
I accepted his proposal, and we walked through the streets of Smyrna. The town, clean as it looked from the harbour, proved to be a hideous deception. The streets were narrow and dirty, and the odour which everywhere met our olfactory nerves, was strongly suggestive of typhus. Women were seated in the patios or open courts of the houses, and the Greek ladies in Smyrna are evidently not shy. They boldly returned the inquisitive glances of my companion and myself, and appeared rather pleased than otherwise at our curiosity.
"Well, I can't say much for their beauty," observed my companion. "They have good eyes and hair, but all of them look as if they had not washed their faces for at least a fortnight. Come along and smoke a Nargileh. If there is one thing I love, it is a Nargileh, and when I am inhaling the tobacco I imagine myself to be a Pacha surrounded by my seraglio."
We turned into a café; it was surrounded by a large garden. Some Greek merchants were playing at dominoes; an Italian prima donna, who might have been any age from seventy to a hundred, was singing a popular air; men with game and fish for sale walked up and down, regardless of interrupting the ancient vocalist, and offered their wares to the visitors. Presently my companion moved uneasily in his chair; some drops of perspiration stood on his forehead, and his face was becoming rapidly green under the influence of the Turkish Nargileh.
"I think I have had enough," he remarked. "The room is very hot. Au revoir." And he returned to our vessel.
In the meantime I proceeded to call upon a friend in the town. This gentleman informed me that the Christians and Turks in Smyrna were on the best of terms; however, he added that certain papers, believed to be in Russian pay, were constantly announcing that there would shortly be a massacre of the Christians; it was said that this was done to excite bad blood between the two sects.
The shrill sound of the steamer's whistle announced that she was getting up steam. Hastily retracing my steps, I arrived on board just as the crew were weighing anchor. The original number of passengers had by this time received a considerable addition. Greeks, Armenians, and Turks were walking about or lying stretched along the deck. Women and children were huddled up in close proximity with the men. A Babel of different languages was going on around me, and an old Greek woman was having an animated squabble with one of the ship's officers, the subject of discussion being as to whether the ancient female had paid the proper fare. The French officer could speak but little Greek, and the shrill-voiced dame no French; in consequence of this it was difficult for them to arrive at any satisfactory solution of the matter.
A Pacha, his son, and the chief of the telegraphs, were the only first-class passengers. However, four ladies, the Pacha's seraglio, had been accommodated on the deck; they were reclining on some cushions in close juxtaposition with their attendant—a negro. The voice of this sable gentleman was pitched in a feminine key, and he was busily engaged in arranging some pillows beneath the stoutest of the ladies—a comely dame who would have turned the scale at probably sixteen stone. Two pointer dogs in a large hamper, which was directed to a Bey in Constantinople, added their barking to the general clamour, and some horses, bound to Stamboul, were fastened by head-collars to the bulwarks, no horse-boxes being provided. Farther on, and towards the steerage end of the vessel, were 500 recruits, on their way to Servia, and in high spirits at the idea of shortly encountering the Russians.
It was a lovely evening, and I walked along the deck with the captain, gazing curiously at his motley passengers. The stars shone bright, as became an Eastern clime; a gradually freshening breeze for the moment had cleared the horizon.
"We shall have an easy passage," I remarked.
"Yes, for good sailors," was the reply; "but it will be a little rough for those poor women,"—pointing to the pacha's harem—"and for the half-clad recruits yonder."
The latter did not seem to anticipate the treat that was in store for them. They were scattered in groups about the deck, many of them squatting upon their haunches, and attired for the most part in rags and many-coloured patchwork.
Presently a doleful melody was heard; the dirge which reached our ears told us of the readiness of these embryo warriors to meet the foe and die for the sake of Islam.
"They will die quite soon enough," remarked the captain drily, as the last verse died away. "Look down there," he added, pointing to the ship's hold; "our vessel is laden with 300 tons of lead, and once a week for several months past the steamers belonging to the Messageries Maritimes have been freighted with a similar cargo. This is all going to Odessa. It will be odd if some of the lead does not soon find its way back to the true believers, in the shape of bullets."
"The Russian Government is putting itself to great expense," he continued; "however, there are people so silly as to think that Gortschakoff wishes for peace; and in spite of all his preparations they actually believe in the Conference!"
The captain now left me, but I remained on deck. The freshening gale gradually imparted an oscillating movement to our steamer. The rain fell in large drops. Some of the sailors covered the ladies of the harem with an awning. The horses began to kick, and the dogs in the hamper to bark. A melancholy groan could be heard from that part of the vessel appropriated by the soldiers. The first to succumb was the fat woman; in despairing tones she called for assistance. The black attendant rushed to the rescue and convulsively grasped the lady's head. It was a funny spectacle—that enormous pumpkin-shaped face supported by two black hands. The now hazy moon cast a shadowy beam on the negro's countenance: from black it changed to green; it assumed a diabolical expression. The vessel lurched; he lost his balance; dropping his mistress's head, he fell down upon the pointers. They set up a savage growl. The eunuch started to his feet; his hair bristled with alarm; he felt himself all over. However, there was no damage done, and with a sorrowful mien he returned to the side of his mistress.
CHAPTER II.
The Bosphorus—The commissionnaires—Nothing like the Hôtel de Luxembourg—Perdrix aux truffes—Baksheesh—Officials in the custom-house—A rickety old carriage—A Turkish Café Chantant—A vocalist—Sultan Abdul Aziz—His kismet—We are all under the influence of destiny—"Great Sultan, rest in peace!"—Did Sultan Abdul Aziz really kill himself?—The popular belief—He had agreed to sell the fleet to Russia—A Russian force to garrison Constantinople—Two of the secret police—The other verse—The audience—Too much liberty in Constantinople—English newspapers, hostile to Turkey, sold at every bookstall—An English army of occupation in Constantinople—No gold; nothing but paper—Trade paralyzed—In search of a servant—A Mohammedan servant; his costume—A coachman to a Pacha—Buffaloes as a means of locomotion—Mr. Schuyler—Mr. Gallenga—Our consul at Belgrade—Mr. Sala—The stations along the Russian line crowded with troops—Mr. McGahan very popular with the Christians—The Turkish newspapers—A ruse on the part of England—An English officer—A strategic position—Some influential Armenians—"We have no wish to become Russian subjects"—The Catholics in Poland—Similar treatment required for all sects—The word of a Christian in a court of law—An Armenian priest—From Scutari to Kars—The road blocked by snow—The dread of being seen speaking to a European.
The following morning my servant awoke me with the announcement that we had arrived in the Bosphorus, and that he had not been able to eat his supper. By this last piece of intelligence he wished to convey to my mind that the storm had been more than usually violent. I was soon dressed, and, going on deck, found it crowded with interpreters from the different hotels. During previous sojourns in Constantinople, I had learnt by experience the discomfort of some of the purely British establishments. I had made up my mind on this occasion to try a French hotel. My hands were filled with cards announcing the merits of the different inns. The commissionnaires were deafening me with their shouts, each man bawling louder than his fellow, when the silk-merchant declared in a loud voice that there was nothing like the Hôtel de Luxembourg, and he added that the perdrix aux truffes and the vol-au-vent à la financière, as supplied by the chef of that establishment, were something—yes, something; and he kissed the tips of his fingers as he made the last remark, so as to show his appreciation of the exquisiteness of those dishes.
"Perhaps the gentlemen do not wish their luggage examined?" said an officious Greek, the commissionnaire of the Luxembourg. "I will give a baksheesh to the officials in the custom-house, and they will pass the luggage at once. But if we do not give them any money," he added, with a knowing grin, "they will detain you at least an hour, and rumple all the shirts in your portmanteaus."
"Will it be much money?" inquired my companion, who, very reluctant to open his purse-strings, was equally averse to having his shirt-fronts rumpled.
"No, sir, leave it to me," replied the Greek, with an air of great importance.
"I know that this scoundrel will rob us!" ejaculated the silk-merchant. "But we are in his hands. We must pay, whether we like it or not."
We arrived at the custom-house. An elderly official approached the Greek, and, pointing to us, said something in his ear.
"We shall be robbed, I know we shall," muttered my companion excitedly. "If I could only speak the language, I would just give that official a piece of my mind."
The Greek now put some money into the inspector's hand, and the latter, opening and shutting a hat-case, announced that the examination was over. Some porters carried our luggage up the steep hill which led from the port to Pera. We followed in a rickety old carriage. The springs were very weak, and the vehicle rolled from side to side as our horses panted along the wretchedly dirty street. Presently, to the relief of my companion and self, who were neither of us feather weights, the driver pulled up at our destination.
In the evening I went to a Turkish Café Chantant. It was a curious sight. Solemn-looking Turks were seated round the room, each man smoking his Nargileh. Little active-looking Greeks with cigarettes in their mouths, were eagerly reading the most recent telegrams, and discussing the chances of peace or war. In the interval between the songs a small knot of younger Turks loudly applauded a vocalist, and the latter began to sing about Sultan Abdul Aziz, of all his glory, and how at last pride turned his head. He did foolish things, went mad, and killed himself. "But it was not his fault," continued the singer, in another verse, "it was his kismet. If he had been destined to die a natural death, or on the battle-field, he would have done so. We are all under the influence of destiny. Sultans are like the rest of the world. Great Sultan, rest in peace!"
I had the good fortune to be accompanied by a friend, an old resident in Constantinople. He was a perfect master of Turkish, and he readily translated to me each verse of the song.
"What is your opinion about Abdul Aziz's death?" I inquired of my companion, as the last strains of the melody died away. "Did he really kill himself, as the world would have us believe? or did some one else save him the trouble?"
My companion laughed ironically, paused for a few moments, and then remarked,—
"No one knows the exact facts of the case, but the popular belief is that he was assassinated. Indeed, the Turks say that he had agreed to sell the fleet to Russia, and had consented to allow a Russian force to garrison Constantinople."
"There is no doubt of one thing," continued my friend, "viz. that the late Sultan was thoroughly under Ignatieff's thumb. The ambassador could do what he liked with him. The Softas found it out, and feared the consequences. From these facts the public have jumped to the conclusion that he was assassinated."
"But look," added my companion, pointing to two men in the corner of the room, "there are two of the secret police. If they were not here, we should very likely have had another verse or so, more explicit as to the Sultan's fate. The audience would have been delighted if the singer had given us the popular version of Abdul Aziz's death."
"Are there many secret police?" I inquired.
"No, there is, if anything, too much liberty in Constantinople; the papers write what they like, and abuse the Government freely, hardly any of them being suppressed in consequence, whilst some English newspapers which are more bitter against Turkey than even the Russian journals, are sold at every bookstall."
"Do you think that there is any chance of another massacre of Christians?" I remarked.
"Not the slightest; that is to say, if Ignatieff does not arrange one for some political purpose. The Turks and Christians get on very well together here, whatever they may do in other parts of the country. However, there is one thing which would be very popular with all classes, and that is, an English army of occupation in Constantinople."
"Why so?" I inquired.
"Because this would bring some gold into the country. We have now nothing but paper. Your people would spend money, and business would go on better. Why, for the last six months trade has been almost paralyzed. In fact, to tell you the truth, all classes would be very glad to see the English at Constantinople. Not for the sake of your good system of government, as you flatter yourselves in London, or through fear of being massacred by Bashi Bazouks, but simply because you have gold. Unless you bring us some, we shall all soon be ruined."
On the following day I informed the proprietor of the hotel that I wanted a servant who could speak Turkish, to accompany me during my journey. The moment that this became known I was beset by all sorts of individuals, Armenians and Greeks, eager to offer their services. Each man brought his testimonials, and declared that he was the only honest man in Constantinople, and that all the other applicants were thieves, and would certainly rob me. If ever I appeared to have a predilection for one of the candidates, I was immediately informed by the others that the man had been in prison for six months, or else that he was suspected of murder.
In consequence of this I determined to follow the advice of an Englishman who knew Turkey well, and take a Mohammedan servant, who could speak no other language than his own. In that case he would be less likely to have learned any bad habits from the Armenians, and at the same time I should be compelled to speak to him in Turkish, and thus improve my knowledge of that language.
The next morning a Turk came to the hotel, and offered himself for the situation. He was dressed in the Circassian style, and wore a short brown serge jacket, dotted across the breast with empty cartridge cases. His head was covered by a red fez or cap, encircled by a green turban. A loose pair of light blue trousers, fastened at the waist by a crimson sash, and a pair of boots, half-way up the knee, completed his attire. He was a tall, fine-looking fellow, and said that he had previously been coachman to a Pacha, that he was a good groom, and would be faithful to me as an Arab steed to his Arab master. It was a pretty speech, but as I had seen some horses in the desert which invariably kicked whenever their master approached them, it did not produce the effect upon my mind which probably the faithful man desired. However I was in a hurry to get a servant; so I agreed to take the fellow, and give him 4l. per month and his food. In the meantime he said that he knew of some horses for sale, and that he would bring them to the hotel in the course of a few days.
I had previously ascertained that my best plan would be to purchase a stud in Constantinople. In many parts of my proposed journey I should be off the postal track, and then it would be difficult to hire any horses—indeed it would sometimes be impossible, as the natives in certain parts of Kurdistan make use of buffaloes as a means of locomotion. I had once ridden a cow during an African journey. The motion is very uncomfortable; I had no wish to repeat the experiment with a buffalo.
Later on an invitation arrived for me to breakfast with Mr. Schuyler, the distinguished diplomatist, and the author of the highly-interesting volume, "Turkistan." On arriving at his house I found some of the guests already assembled. Amongst others, there were Mr. Gallenga, the Times' correspondent, and Mr. White, our consul at Belgrade.
Presently there was a ring at the bell, and who should come in but Mr. Sala, the well-known correspondent of the Daily Telegraph. His arrival was quite an unexpected pleasure for our host. Mr. Sala had only reached Constantinople half an hour before, and had come to us straight from the harbour. He had left England about three weeks previously, and first had gone to St. Petersburg. Here he had been introduced to several Russian journalists. He related in a very amusing way their conversation about England's policy towards Turkey, an account of which Mr. Sala had duly posted to the Daily Telegraph.
From St. Petersburg he had made his way to Odessa, and had come on viâ the Black Sea to Constantinople. He described all the stations along the Russian line as crowded with troops and blocked by military railway carriages; whilst he laughed incredulously when some of our party gave it as their opinion that the Conference would lead to peace.
Our host opined that the different representatives at the Conference would never agree, and that war would inevitably be the result. He had recently returned from a visit to Philippopolis, where he had been staying with Mr. McGahan, the gentleman who wrote such harrowing accounts of the massacres in Bulgaria to the Daily News. Mr. McGahan, it appeared, had made himself very useful to Lady Strangford in assisting her to distribute the funds which had been subscribed for the destitute families in the East, and was immensely popular with the Christians.
Meanwhile the Turkish newspapers, it was said, were very divided in their opinions as to the Conference. The majority of them, however, were inclined to believe that it was a ruse of Russia to gain time for her military preparations, and of England to make Russia unpopular, and to sow discord between her and the other powers.
Later on in the day I met an English officer in the Engineers, who had come to Constantinople during his leave, and was spending his time, in company with some other officers, in surveying a position between the Sea of Marmora and the Black Sea, and which is immediately in front of Constantinople. He was staying at a small village about twenty miles from Constantinople, and asked me to spend a day with him and his friends, when we could ride over the ground which he was surveying. As I was curious to see the country in that neighbourhood, I readily assented to his proposal. It was agreed that I should leave Constantinople by the seven o'clock train on the following morning, and that he should send a horse to meet me at a little station about twenty miles from the city.
Mr. Gallenga had been kind enough to give me an introduction to some influential Armenians in Pera. On returning to my hotel I found two of these gentlemen awaiting my arrival. They were very disappointed to hear that I had engaged a Turkish servant, as they said they could have procured an honest Armenian, and they kindly volunteered to provide me with letters of recommendation to the different Armenian dignitaries in the chief towns which lay in my route.
It was easy to gather from the conversation of one of these gentlemen that he was not well-disposed to the idea of possibly one day becoming a Russian subject.
"What is your opinion of the wish which General Ignatieff is said to have expressed, about making Bulgaria independent of the Porte?" I inquired.
"That would never do," replied one of my visitors. "We have difficulty enough, as it is, in keeping our people quiet in Armenia: they will be very indignant if the Christians in Europe are granted privileges which the Armenians in Asia are not permitted to share."
"The fact is," observed the other, "that we have no wish to become Russian subjects. Should this happen, we know very well what would be the result. We should not be permitted to use our own language, and considerable pressure would be brought to bear to induce us to change our religion. We are aware of what has been done to the Catholics in Poland;[3] we have no wish to be treated in the same manner."
"What we require is similar treatment for all sects," observed the first speaker, "and that the word of a Christian when given in a court of law should be looked upon as evidence, and in the same light as a Mohammedan's statement. If the Caimacans (Deputy Governors) and Cadis of the different towns in the interior were only compelled to do us justice in this respect, we should not have much cause to grumble. However, if the Russians were to go to Van, our fellow-countrymen would be ten times worse off than they are at present."
Just then an Armenian priest entered the room. He stooped, and was apparently on the wrong side of sixty, but he had a quick, penetrating glance, when he chose to raise his eyes from the floor, and it was evident that there was plenty of vigour in his brain, however little there might be in his body.
"This English gentleman wishes to learn some particulars about the road to Van," observed one of the Armenians; "I want you to give him all the information in your possession."
"He will find it very difficult to reach Van at this season of the year, on account of the snow, and he will run a considerable risk of being robbed or murdered by the Kurds," replied the priest, without raising his eyes from the ground.
"Have you ever been from Scutari to Van?" I inquired.
"No, nor hardly any one else. You had better go by the Black Sea to Trebizond, ride from there to Erzeroum, and it is only twelve days from that town to Van; but you would probably find the road blocked by the snow."
It was clear that this priest could not help me much about my route, so I determined to take a map, Kiepert's Turkey in Asia, and strike a line across country as nearly as possible to Erzeroum. On arriving there I should probably be able to obtain some information about the state of the roads.
In the meantime the priest and his companions had left the hotel—not together, but one by one—as the old man remarked that this would be less likely to attract attention. Indeed subsequently, and throughout my journey, I frequently remarked the same dread of being seen speaking to an European on the part of the Armenian priests. Whether this arises from the fact that they are afraid of being suspected of conspiring against the Turkish Government, or it is the result of a guilty conscience, I cannot say.
Armenian newspapers frequently publish news which cannot be agreeable to the Government, and they are not interfered with by the authorities.
Armenians are not thrown into prison or banished from the capital without this being at once published to the world. Then why so much timidity on the part of the Armenian priests? If they are not engaged in seeking to undermine the Government, one would have thought that they had nothing to fear.
CHAPTER III.
The porter at the hotel—A little persuasive force—Trains in Turkey are not very punctual—Two Englishmen—Snipe-shooting—The railroad takes a circuitous course—Krupp guns—The Christians are too much for the Turks in a bargain—Hadem Kui—No horse waiting—The station-master—A lanky, overgrown lad—Buyuk Checkmedge and Kara Bournu—A branch railway required—A station-master's salary—The horse—Attacked by a dog—The defence of Constantinople—A song in which the Turks delighted—Good-looking Hungarian girls—The handsome Italian—"I am not a barrel"—The song about the Turcos—Spontaneous combustion—A special Correspondent—Algeria is not Turkey, but it does not much signify.
I had ordered the porter at my hotel to call me early on the following morning, as the train started at seven, and it was quite half an hour's walk to the station. Luckily I awoke myself, and on looking at my watch, found it was about half-past six. Hastily dressing, I hurried downstairs, and found the individual whose business it was to awake me, fast asleep under a billiard table in the café belonging to the hotel. He grumbled at being disturbed, and did not fancy the idea of carrying my box to the station. It was necessary to use a little persuasive force, so, seizing a billiard cue, I gave him a violent poke in the side.
"Get up directly! I shall miss the train!"
"Please God you will not," replied the Turk, with a yawn.
I had no time to lose, so, taking the recumbent man by the collar, I lifted him bodily on his legs, put my bag in his hand, and, with another push from the billiard cue, precipitated him down the steps into the street.
"You want me to go to the station, Effendi!" said the fellow, now thoroughly aroused.
"Yes."
"But the train will be gone."
"Not if we run."
"Run!" replied the porter, very much astonished, "and what will the Effendi do?"
"Run too."
And with another thrust from the billiard cue, I started him down Pera.
Fortunately for me, trains in Turkey are not very punctual in starting. On arriving at the railway, about ten minutes past seven, I found that I had time to take my ticket to Hadem Kui, a small station an hour and a half from Constantinople. There were two Englishmen in the same carriage as myself, one of them an old friend whose acquaintance I had made some years previous in Madrid. They intended to stop at a swamp a few miles from the city, and spend the day snipe-shooting.
Upon my remarking that the railway seemed to take a very circuitous course, my friend smiled.
"Yes," he said, "when the line was about to be constructed, the Government agreed to pay so much per mile,—the result has been that, although the country is level, the line is not quite so straight as it might be."
"Poor Turks!" said his companion, "they are always being abused by the Christians, and yet the latter make a very good thing out of them. Why, only the other day, a quantity of Krupp guns were brought here. The cost price was 150l. per gun, but the Turks had to pay 750l."
"The Christians are too much for them in a bargain," he added.
My fellow-travellers now left the train, which had stopped at the side of a wide marsh, and before our engine was again in motion, the report of a gun made me aware that their sport had already commenced.
Half an hour later I arrived at the little station of Hadem Kui. "Is there a horse waiting for me?" I inquired. "No," was the answer of the station-master, a Hungarian. "Can I hire an animal?" "No," was the reply. "How far is it to the village where Colonel H—— is living?" "Seven miles." "What sort of a road?" "No road at all, but deep mud up to the horse's girths." "When does the next train go back to Constantinople?" "Not till seven p.m."
I certainly did not bless my friend H——. To kick my heels about for twelve hours in a station destitute of a waiting-room, and with nothing to occupy my time, was not an agreeable prospect.
"I tell you what you had better do," said the station-master, "send a boy with a note to your friend. There is probably some misunderstanding about the horse, and the boy will be able to get to the village and back again in a few hours."
A lanky, overgrown lad volunteered to take the letter, and, tucking up his ragged trousers till his bare thighs were thoroughly exposed to view, he took off his boots, and started. In a few minutes I could see him wading through mud at least two feet deep. A heavy M. F. H. would have found himself considerably out of his element if suddenly put down with his field and hounds in that line of country. Imagine layers of the heaviest Bedfordshire plough-fields all heaped one on the top of the other, and then you will fall short in attempting to realize the nature of the soil. If ever an invading army were to make use of the railway from Adrianople for an advance upon Constantinople, and the line between Buyuk Checkmedge on the Sea of Marmora, and Kara Bournu on the Black Sea, be selected by the Turks as a last point from which to defend the capital, the difficulty in transporting heavy guns and baggage to the centre of this position would be enormous. The defenders will have to make a small branch railway in rear of the line of defence, or it will be impossible for them to supply their army.
The station-master now invited me to sit down in his room, and wait till an answer to my note arrived. He was suffering from fever, and complained of the unhealthy nature of the soil. He could not sleep at night, and what most worried him was the incessant click of the telegraph dial. It was a very busy time, and any number of messages were always passing.
"I can read them as they pass, simply by the sound," he continued, "and that incessant click, click, click, all night, is enough to drive a man mad. My brain aches. I toss from side to side. I see devils sitting on the telegraph-box."
"Take my word for it, sir," he added, "there is nothing which breaks a man down so quickly as being a station-master in Turkey."
"What is your salary?" I inquired.
"Only 80l. a year. It is not enough to keep a wife," he added. "If I had a wife the life would be easier, but there are no women here. I shall end by hanging myself upon one of my own telegraph-posts—I know I shall if I stay here much longer."
A letter now arrived from Captain F——, a friend of H——'s, to say that, in the absence of the latter, he had opened my letter, and in consequence had sent me a horse. Such a horse as he was too, with no shoulders, and only about thirteen hands high; when I mounted the animal and had let out the stirrups to their last hole they were too short. I had the cramp. When I rode without stirrups my legs were in the mud. It was a choice of evils—the cramp or the mud, and the mud gained the day.
At last I came to the little village where Colonel H—— and his friend were residing. An Armenian servant now informed me that his master was busy surveying, but that he would soon return. The other officer, who had sent me the horse, was also out, but was shortly expected home. In about three hours both of them arrived. H—— had lost his way in the dark. He had been attacked by a dog; the savage brute had bitten his boot, and H—— had only saved himself by using his revolver. He had ordered a man to bring me a horse, but from the officer not being able to speak Turkish his instructions had been misunderstood.
The room was not a large one, and only a few feet square. There was no other, so we shared it between us, I being accommodated on the floor. We were up at daybreak, and rode over the position, a succession of rising slopes, which looked as if nature had made them especially for the defence of Constantinople. The distance from the Sea of Marmora to the Black Sea is twenty-four or twenty-five miles;[4] but each flank, being covered by lakes and rivers, could be easily watched and secured. The extent of the real fighting-ground would be by these features reduced to nine or ten miles of plain, but with favourable undulations affording a good command over the front. Batteries could be so arranged as to enfilade each other at every point, and should fifty thousand reliable troops ever make a stand at this position, it would be a very difficult one to carry.
This time my friend had mounted me on a different sort of animal to the one which I had ridden on the previous day. He was a stout grey cob, with good shoulders: when I mounted him the first thing which he did was to try and run away. I turned his head towards a neighbouring height, and let him gallop through the deep mud. To my astonishment on arriving at the summit he continued pulling. There was evidently some good stuff in that horse, and I determined to buy him. His owner was not in the village, so I left word that if he would send the cob to Constantinople, I would give 10l. for the animal—a very fair price taking into consideration the market price of horses in the capital.
Meantime, after having said good-bye to my hospitable entertainers, I turned my face towards the railway-station. A line of telegraph-posts served me as a guide, and I arrived at the booking-office in time to catch the train.
An acquaintance, a friend of the silk-merchant, called upon me later in the evening. He proposed that we should go together to a café, and hear a song which a French girl sang every night, and one in which the Turks delighted.
The café, or rather music hall, was a fine building, crowded with men of all nationalities. Good-looking Hungarian and Italian girls took the place of waiters, and bustled about, receiving orders from the more than usually excited true believers. Many of the latter, in spite of the Prophet's injunction, were freely partaking of raki. Volumes of smoke from the cigarettes and chibouks of the spectators had created a dense atmosphere in the building. Some of the attendants were remarkably handsome girls. Indeed, as I subsequently learnt, the proprietor of the café would not engage an ugly woman, his idea being that the Turks, his chief customers, came quite as much to look at and talk to his waitresses, as to see the performance. It must have been a hard trial for the digestive organs of the better-looking of these girls. One in particular, a tall and very handsome Italian, with large dark eyes and an innocent expression, which probably her character belied, was in great request, the Turks always inviting her to share the raki or the coffee which she brought them. The performance lasted from eight p.m. till about two in the morning; it was a wonder that her constitution could stand the trial. I called for a cup of coffee, and when she handed it to me, I asked in Italian what she would like for herself. The girl's eyes sparkled on being addressed in her native tongue.
"Nothing, signore," she said; "I am not a barrel, although the Turks think I am; but you are not a Turk. However, I cannot afford to offend them, for the proprietor pays us no wages; all I have is what the visitors give me. It is a dreadful life, signore. Chocolate, raki, and beer. I only sip, but I have to swallow a little all the same; then there is lemonade, coffee, mastic, and occasionally, when gentlemen like yourself come here—champagne. It is such a mixture. I have a pain sometimes," she continued, at the same time pointing to the bodice of her dress, "I wish to cry, but I have to run about, smile, wait upon the visitors, and drink with them—it is a dreadful life. Oh, if I could only return to Florence!"
A Turk seated near me, and who was eagerly gazing at the girl, made a sign to her.
"I must go," she said. "He is a friend of the proprietor—I dare not offend him."
Presently she was sipping some punch from his glass. My friend caught my eye, and laughed.
"Yes," he said, "she is adding punch to the other mixtures. Poor child, it will be a wonder if she does not go off by spontaneous combustion some day. But, hush! the famous singer is just going to give us the song about the Turcos."
A tall and rather stout French girl now came upon the stage. Some long black tresses were hanging down her back. Her dress, which was made of white muslin, was very low in front, and a flaming red sash encircled her waist. The song had reference to the bravery of the Turcos, how they died for France, and how France loved them.
The girl had a good voice. As the last notes died away in the hall, the Turks became greatly excited. Shouts of applause resounded through the building. Close to my table were two Englishmen. One of them appeared to be a correspondent of some newspaper. His pocket-book was open on the table. He was taking notes. "Patriotic song," he remarked to his companion, "capital scene for a graphic letter—sympathy between French and Turks—you see she says France loves the Turks." "Nonsense," said his companion, "she is singing about the Turcos in Algeria, not about the Turks—you have written it all wrong." The Special changed colour for a moment, and then muttered, "Confound it! yes! Algeria is not Turkey, but it does not much signify." And he went on writing.
CHAPTER IV.
Osman—Five horses for sale—An industrious man—A cemetery—A wall-eyed Turk—A little black—"He ain't got no shoulders"—A horse with a sore back—A roarer—The blind beggars hear him coming—A Turkish horseshoe—Provisions for the journey—A prince belonging to the Russian Embassy in the hospital—A prince a boot-cleaner—Osman's relatives—The Hôtel Royal—A stirrup-cup—Osman's religious scruples—The boat for Scutari—Shipping our horses—Jealous husbands—A Turk's seraglio—Was it a torpedo?—The panels of the Bey's carriage—An explosion of cartridges—Readjusting the luggage—A torrent of expletives.
The following morning I was awoke by a tap at the door, and who should enter my room but the newly-engaged servant, Osman.
"Effendi," he said, "I have five horses for you to see. They are in a large yard close to the hotel. Splendid horses they are too. I am so industrious," he added, "the Effendi will find this out for himself soon. I am not like other Turks—I like working; I have been running all over Constantinople after the horses, for I heard that the Effendi was in a hurry to start. When will he go and see the animals?"
About half an hour later I accompanied the industrious man to a small plot of ground not far from Pera. It was surrounded by a high wall, and, judging from the number of loose stones which lay about, had once been a cemetery. But cemetery or not it was all the same to Osman, who had not the same reverence for the dead as the rest of his countrymen.
"There are a great many stones," I observed.
"All the better, Effendi," was the reply; "we shall ride over a number of stones on the road to Kars, and a little sooner or later for the horses does not make much difference."
The steeds were now led in, accompanied by their owner, a wall-eyed Turk. They were not much to look at, if one estimated them from an English standard, but I had learnt, in previous travels that one cannot always judge of Eastern horses by their appearance. I desired my English servant, Radford, to mount the best-looking one of the lot, a little black, about fourteen hands high. He was very thin, and looked as if he had never been given a good feed of corn, but his legs were fine and hard. He put down his feet flat when he walked, and did not go on his toes, which last is a fatal defect to a horse if about to march for many days in succession. Radford eyed the animal from head to foot.
"Lor! sir," he said, "this 'ere horse will never carry me. He ain't got no shoulders!"
"Never mind," I replied. "Jump on him and try."
There was no saddle, and my man had to mount bare back. "Very good," I added, as the animal appeared to carry his burden without any difficulty, "take him round at a hard canter."
The little brute now began to pull hard, and bounded over the rough stones in a way that showed he was well accustomed to such obstacles.
"Does he pull?" I inquired.
"Pull, sir? He pulls my harms off!"
This was enough for me, and I determined to buy the animal; as a horse that walks well, and will pull with fourteen stone on his back, is not a bad one for a long journey.
The next one produced for my inspection was covered with a rug, the other horses not being provided with any such clothing.
"What is that for?" I inquired, pointing at the cloth.
"Effendi, I put it on him because I was afraid that he might catch cold," replied the owner.
"Never mind, take it off. When I buy horses I like to see them first."
"He thinks, sir," remarked my faithful servant, "that we buy 'orses as they marry their wives—that is, without looking at them. I should not be surprised, sir, if that 'ere 'orse had a sore back."
The man's remark proved true, and on taking off the cloth a raw place of at least six inches square was exposed to view.
"He has a sore back," I remarked to the owner. "Take him away."
"Sore back! Yes, he has; it will soon get well. The Effendi would like this horse though, and he is a great friend of the horse the Effendi has just looked at—they eat out of the same manger. The Effendi had better buy him."
"Get on that little bay," I said to my servant, not paying any attention to the Turk's observation. As my man went past at a trot, I heard a sound which at once made me aware that there was something the matter with the horse's wind.
"He is a roarer," I remarked.
"Effendi, he makes a noise, but he is stout and strong. He would make a capital pack-horse."
The horse was sound in other particulars, and as a roarer for slow marching is as good as any other animal, I determined to buy him—at the same time telling the owner that the fact of the horse's wind not being all right would considerably deteriorate from his value.
"Deteriorate from his value!" said the man, his wall-eye glaring at me ferociously. "No, Effendi, he makes a little noise, but that is nothing; he is a useful horse, and when I let him out on hire in Constantinople he never runs over the blind beggars. He gives warning of his approach, and they hear him coming."
I had by this time selected two more horses, and now came the knotty point of what price I was to give for the four.
"How much do you want for them?" I inquired.
"How much, Effendi? Sixty liras (Turkish pounds of 18s.) I want, and not a piastre less; even then I should be a ruined man."
"Sixty liras! Sixty dogs and sixty sons of dogs!" I replied, attempting to address him in the language easiest understood by a Turkish peasant.
"Ah! Effendi," said the horse-dealer, "you know the value. To you there is much brain, but the Effendi's eyes will show him that sixty liras are nothing for the horses—besides, sixty liras, what are they? Sixty grains from the sand on the seashore to the gold in the Effendi's purse."
I was not going to be bamboozled in that way: taking forty liras from my pocket, I showed him the money.
"There," I said, "that is all I shall give you, and all that your horses are worth."
"Look! forty liras!" The man attempted to impart to his countenance an indignant air, but the sight of the gold was too much for him. "Only forty liras!"
"Yes," I said, "and if you will not sell them, I will buy my horses from another dealer," and I turned to go away.
"No, Effendi, do not stir!" cried the owner hastily. "But forty liras—let us say forty-one—one lira more—just one—for a baksheesh."
"Very well," I said, and I handed him the money.
Meantime, Osman, the Turkish servant, led my newly-acquired property to a stable which he had engaged for me in the neighbourhood.
Later on in the afternoon I received a communication from my friend H——, in which he said that he had sent the grey horse to Constantinople by the bearer of the letter, but that the owner of the animal would not take less than sixteen liras for him. As I had thoroughly tried the animal I determined to accept the offer, and my stud was now complete.
The final preparations for the journey were soon made. All the horses were fresh shod, and now I found that a Turkish horseshoe is very different to the one which we use in this country. It consists of a thin circular piece of iron, with a very small hole in the centre, not bigger than a shilling; almost the entire surface of the hoof being thus protected by the metal.
Two English saddles were bought for myself and Radford, a Turkish saddle was provided for Osman, and two pack-saddles for the baggage-horses. Saddle-bags, corn-sacks, and nose-bags had been also purchased, and a supply of tea and such other necessaries as would be difficult to obtain when once we had quitted the capital.
Everything was now ready for the start, so I hastened to say good-bye to my numerous friends. Whilst visiting one of them—an English lady—a Russian acquaintance called upon her, to solicit subscriptions for a hospital. This building, as it appeared, was being used for all classes of patients, and a prince at the Russian Embassy was at that time occupying one of the wards.
"I went to see him yesterday," said the visitor. He complains dreadfully of the quietness of the establishment."
"Perhaps he would like a barrel organ in the passage," observed my hostess.
"That is what I said to him," replied the lady. "If he had his own way, he would give a ball there before long."
It would rather astonish English people if they were told that a person holding the position of a Secretary of Embassy was inhabiting a building which in this country is reserved for the impecunious, but no one in Russia thinks anything of such matters; there are so many princes. Not many years ago, a prince could have been seen cleaning the visitors' boots at Dusaux's Hotel in Moscow.
It was Friday, December the 8th, 1876. I have always been a disbeliever in the sailors' superstition about leaving a port on a Friday, and although several of my friends, particularly the Greek, entreated me to postpone my departure till the following day, I determined to run the risk of offending the Fates, and at once to commence my journey.
The street in front of the Hôtel Luxembourg was filled with a crowd of idlers from an early hour. It had been rumoured about that the Giaour was mad enough to wish to go to Kars from Scutari by land, instead of by the Black Sea and Erzeroum, and that he was about to start. The Turk had spread the news. His friends and family had come to see him off. In the meantime, he himself was busily engaged in loading the pack-horses, but occasionally found time to glance superciliously at his admiring and awe-struck relatives. At last everything was ready; giving Osman the little travelling sword, I desired him to strap it round his waist. The crowd of relations were now more excited than before. The bystanders took the liveliest interest in the proceedings. "Osman has got a sword," said one. "He is buckling it on," said another.
Osman's air of importance increased tenfold when I desired him to sling my little sporting-rifle on his shoulder. There was a faint approach to a cheer from a little boy in the crowd. This was instantly suppressed, and in the midst of all the excitement we rode down the streets of Pera.
Several friends of mine were staying at the Hôtel Royal; as we passed their windows they invited me to take a stirrup-cup, and in addition poured out a bumper for the Turk. However, Osman could not be induced to drink. He was more particular in this respect than many of his fellow-countrymen. He handed the glass to Radford. The latter was not displeased at the Turk's religious scruples, as he thus got two glasses for himself instead of one. He at once tossed off the contents, and smiling benignantly returned the tumbler to his companion. I now shook hands with my friends at the Royal, and we continued our journey towards the port.
"Good-bye, old fellow," cried my hospitable entertainers.
"We shall meet again soon," was my answer.
"Let us hope this side of Hades," said another, and we rode onward towards Galata.
An acquaintance, a Greek gentleman, accompanied me as far as the port. Here I discovered that one boat for Scutari had just started, and that it would be at least three hours before there would be another. This threw out my plans. I had wished to march my horses about five hours that day, but in consequence of the delay, and the shortness of the evenings at this season of the year, night would be on us before we had left Scutari.
The steamer arrived. A wide platform was pushed out from the deck to the shore, and two carriages with some horses, belonging to a Turkish Bey, were taken on board. Then came Radford and Osman, each leading two horses: I followed with the little grey. The carriages and animals belonging to the Bey were placed towards the bow of the vessel, and the other horses near the engines.
The sea was as calm as a duck-pond. In Osman's opinion it was unnecessary to tie up our steeds to the bulwarks. The animals which belonged to the Bey were simply held by their grooms, and stood quietly enough by the carriages. Everything looked couleur de rose, and I went up the ladder to a sort of raised deck, which arched over the place reserved for horses, cattle, and other merchandise. Here several Turkish ladies were sitting. They were engaged in sipping glasses full of water. One, who appeared to be the elder of the party, had some sugar in her pocket; producing it, she carefully sugared the tumblers of her companions, and then sugared her own. The faces of these ladies could be clearly seen through the very thin muslin texture which served them as veils. They were not prepossessing, and sadly wanted expression—a defect which I subsequently observed in almost every Turkish woman whose countenance I had the opportunity of seeing. We need not be surprised at this. I have been informed by the Turks themselves that very few women, not one per 1000, can read or write. They amuse themselves with gossip and eating. Their mental faculties become absorbed. They live for the moment, and pine after the coarser and more sensual pleasures. The domestic life in a Turkish family is often not a happy one; the elder and less favoured wives hate to desperation the more attractive and younger additions to the harem. The middle-aged spouse is goaded to madness at being deprived of those favours which the more comely wife is allowed to share. She endeavours to poison her lord's ear with respect to the new arrival. The jealous husband does not know what to believe, his home becomes a pandemonium.
Suddenly a loud report, followed by another, and then another, aroused me from my reflections; a tremendous noise could be heard below our feet, and men's voices expostulating in anger.
What had happened? One of the Turkish ladies let her tumbler fall, the faces of the other passengers became white. Was it a torpedo which General Ignatieff had set to blow up the Mohammedans, or had the engine burst?
I hurried downstairs. The first thing which met my gaze was the black horse, "Obadiah"—I had named him after a favourite old charger—lying stretched out on deck, and my English servant seated on the animal's head. Osman was holding one end of the grey horse's halter, the animal amusing himself meanwhile by lashing out with his heels at the panels of the Bey's carriage. Fortunately the other horses had remained quiet. The Bey's servants, instead of attempting to save the panels of their master's carriage, vented their wrath by numerous expletives, and were keeping as far as possible from the scene of action.
"Well, I'll be d—d!"
This ejaculation, uttered in a strong Celtic accent, attracted my attention, as I was busily engaged holding up the grey's foreleg to keep him from doing any more damage to the Bey's vehicle. The forcible exclamation issued from the lips of an engineer who happened to be engaged on board the boat.
"What has happened?" I asked.
"Happened, sir! The Lord only knows. We were down below. There was an explosion on deck. I ran upstairs and saw smoke coming out of that box. All the horses were topsy-turvy."
The box in question contained about 500 loaded cartridges, which I was taking for sporting purposes.
"What does it all mean, Radford?" I inquired.
"Lor, sir, it was that black 'orse Obadiah, as was the bottom of all the mischief. He is that artful. He stood quiet enough till we started and the paddles began to turn; he then began to kick, and frightened the grey. That 'ere Turk," pointing to Osman, "was a-praying by the side of the paddle-boxes, and not taking any account of the hanimals, drat him! Obadiah upset his pack-saddle and then stamped on the cartridge-box; some of them have gone off. Hosman left off praying and began to swear, that's all he did; and as for them there Turks in charge of the other 'orses, they did nothing. Obadiah slipped up and I sat on his head to keep him quiet."
Luckily no great damage was done except to the Bey's carriage. We commenced putting the pack-saddle on Obadiah, but before this operation was completed our vessel arrived at Scutari. The steamer would only stop a few minutes at the port. There was no time to properly arrange the baggage. The greater part of it had to be carried out by hand. A crowd of idlers stood on the shore; some of them, recognizing Osman, came to help us in adjusting the saddle, each individual offering advice as to how the baggage should be strapped to the saddle; Osman meanwhile talking to his friends about the awful danger which he had incurred, and how, had it not been for him, the steamer and all the passengers must inevitably have gone to the bottom. The Bey's carriage drove past us; the servants on the box vented their indignation at the damage done to their master's panels in some strong language. Osman answered them in a torrent of expletives, which, translated into Saxon, would frighten a Billingsgate fishwoman. The bystanders joined in the chorus, and it was some time before we were ready to start.
CHAPTER V.
Scutari—The resting-place of departed Turks—A frightened horse—Obadiah—Tea and sugar in the mud—A rahvan, or ambler—A runaway steed—Osman always praying whenever there is work to be done—The grave-digger—The Hammall—Radford—Through the swamp—The Khan at Moltape—A mungo.
The shades of evening were falling fast as we rode through the town. Presently, leaving behind the dirty lanes and filthy streets, the main features of Scutari, we emerged upon the open country. The road was in a dreadful state, at least a foot of black mud was piled on the strata below. In order the better to avoid the dirt we rode along a raised path which overhung the highway, Osman and Radford each leading a baggage-horse. In about half an hour we arrived at a place where the highway ascended rapidly for a few hundred yards. The footpath rose yet more abruptly, and here and there large sections of it had fallen into the road below. We were passing by the cemetery at Scutari. Thousands of grave-stones which mark the resting-place of departed Turks lay scattered here and there. A deep silence reigned around, and the place appeared a desert, tenanted only by the dead. Suddenly I heard a noise behind me; a sound of horse's hoofs striking violently against some hard substance. I looked round. The first thing which met my gaze was the horse Obadiah, the source of all our previous difficulties, with his pack-saddle under the girth. In the hurry of re-saddling him at Scutari the yarn breastplate and crupper had not been well adjusted, nor had they been properly buckled. The saddle had turned, and Obadiah was amusing himself by a second time kicking at my cartridge-boxes, gun-case, and tins of tea and sugar. Clash went his iron hoof against one of the cases, away flew the white sugar into the black mud. A bang resounded from the gun-case, and that went spinning in another direction. Fortunately the boxes of cartridges had rolled to a little distance, and were just out of reach of the now infuriated beast's heels. Osman, in a moment of fear had released the animal's halter; dismounting from his own steed, he tried to get to Obadiah's head. This was by no means an easy task; the path was very narrow, in fact there was barely room enough for a horse to walk. To reach the pack animal it was necessary to descend to the road, which lay some feet below us, and then climb up the steep and muddy bank.
Whilst this was being done I took charge of Osman's horse, the roarer, and which he had selected for his own riding, because, he said, the animal was a rahvan or ambler. He had rubbed his trousers when he made this remark, and had grinned complacently: by this gesture he sought to convey to my mind, that his skin was tender, and that he did not wish to be galled during the journey.
A noise in front now called my attention to that direction. The horse that Radford was leading had become alarmed, and in his struggles to release himself was half-way over the bank.
"Let him go!" I cried to my servant, fearing that he would be dragged over the steep incline.
Down fell the animal on his back, and all the remainder of my luggage was covered with the slimy clay. The horse was a little shaken by the fall and did not attempt to rise—he lay prostrate and helpless in the midst of the havoc which he had created. Meantime Obadiah, who had been frightened to death by the luggage which was hanging round his heels, had kicked away his trammels. Osman approached him from the bank, and tried to get to his head. It was in vain. The horse sprang back a yard or so, plunged and kicked, then slipping like his fellow steed, he rolled down the steep. He was none the worse for the fall, and bounding on his legs, dashed headlong along the road—his saddle and everything he had previously carried lying scattered in every direction.
The sun by this time had long since set. It was nearly dark. Letting go Osman's horse, I galloped after the runaway, but it was useless; in a moment he disappeared from view. There was nothing to be done but to return to my party, and collect the luggage.
"Our fate is a bad one," said Osman. "The horse—curse his mother—has gone, what shall be done? Praise be to Allah that the Effendi is not hurt." "I have worked very hard," he added.
"It is all your fault," I remarked angrily. "It would serve you right if I were to break your head. You ought to have seen that the pack-saddle was properly put on the horse at Scutari."
"Saddle, Effendi? It was all owing to the saddle. It did not fit the horse."
"What does he say, sir?" inquired the English servant.
"Say?—confound him! he says it is the fault of the saddle."
"Saddle, sir! no, it ain't. It is all the fault of his confounded praying. Why, whenever there is any work to be done, he is always down on his knees and a-banging his head against the ground. Real hard work his praying is, sir, and no mistake. I catched him at it this morning in the hotel; then he had another turn on board the steamer—and, look, sir, there he is again. Drat him, he has taken my coat to kneel on!" And rushing up, my servant dragged his property from beneath the prostrate Mohammedan.
We were some distance from Scutari, and about two hours from Moltape, a village in which I intended to pass the night. I determined to send Osman back to the town, and desired him to hire a Hammall, or man with a baggage-horse. In the meantime, Radford and myself could keep guard over our luggage.
The night grew darker and darker. The white grave-stones could be barely discerned. Leaving my English servant to sit upon the luggage in the road, I waded through the mud to a cleaner spot in the cemetery. Sitting down on one of the broken monuments, I awaited Osman's arrival. Presently I heard the sound of steps close behind me. The locality does not bear a good reputation, so grasping my revolver, I prepared for an attack.
"Peace be with you!" was the new comer's salutation, and in a few minutes I discovered that he was the grave-digger, or person in charge of the cemetery. His house, or hovel, was not far off, and he invited me to go there and share his fire. It would not have been safe to have left the luggage, so I declined the offer. Soon afterwards the sound of horses' hoofs in the distance announced the approach of Osman. He was accompanied by a Hammall. The latter, placing the fallen luggage upon his animal, jumped himself on the top of all.
"We had better go back to Scutari, Effendi," said Osman. "It is late; there will be no village for the next three hours. In Scutari there is good accommodation."
I had no wish to turn back. We had already lost at least half a day through Osman's stupidity; I resolved to continue the march to Moltape, and halt there for the night. Osman could start at daybreak for Scutari, and make inquiries about the lost horse.
"Shall you find him?" I inquired of the Turk.
"Find him, Effendi? of course I shall find him. I will not eat, drink, or sleep till my lord's property is restored;" by way of substantiating this statement, Osman took a piece of bread out of his pocket and began to eat.
"Well," I observed, "you said that you were going to starve till you had found my horse, and you are eating already."
"It is bad for a man with an empty stomach to be exposed to the night air. I shall be all the better able to look for the Effendi's horse to-morrow, and please God I will find him," was the answer.
We continued our journey through the deep mud, the Hammall riding in front as guide. The moon rose and threw her pale shadows on the scene. The Hammall, who was perched up on the top of a pile of luggage, uttered, from time to time, shrill cries. Cracks from his whip resounded from the flanks of his over-taxed steed. Radford rode pensively in rear; the bowl of a short wooden pipe glared with the red-hot ashes of some tobacco. Nothing ever seemed to afflict my English servant. I was going to Kars—well, he must go too; if I had told him that I was going up in a fire balloon, he would have been equally ready to accompany me. I wish we had four hundred thousand men like him in the British army. The soldier who will ask no questions, will go where you like, and die in his place if you tell him to do so, is preferable, in my mind, to the more educated individual who reflects, weighs probabilities, and sometimes runs away.
Now a light appeared in the distance, and then another. The swamp through which we had been riding was gradually replaced by harder soil. A few whitewashed cottages were met with at intervals along our path. Presently we rounded a corner, and a large village was exposed to view. The Hammall rode up to a house which was detached from the rest, and in the centre of the town. He leaped from his horse, and, coming to my side, held the stirrup-leather for me to dismount. We had arrived at a Khan, or resting-place for travellers. On lifting up the latch, or rather pulling at a piece of string which was used as a substitute for a handle, the door opened.
I found myself in a large, low room. So soon as my eyes became accustomed to the dense atmosphere, I discovered that almost all the available space was filled with soldiery. On one side of the room there were a succession of broad wooden shelves, ascending towards the roof, these too were tenanted. It was difficult to put a foot down upon the floor without treading upon the face or body of some follower of the Prophet. The smell which arose from so much humanity was anything but agreeable. A mungo, or circular iron pan on a tripod, was filled with burning charcoal, and placed on a stool so as to be removed from the immediate vicinity of the sleepers. It gave out a blue and sulphurous flame. The charcoal had not been properly burned through previous to being placed in the mungo. It added some poisonous fumes to the unhealthy atmosphere.
CHAPTER VI.
The proprietor of the establishment—Lingua franca—Gold, not paper—Gold a charm to the Greek—No rooms—The Onbashee—His costume—The guard-house—A queer place—"At gitdi! the horse has gone!"—The Pacha at Scutari—The corporal's demeanour when offered a tip—A beautiful country—The bay of Ismid—A goose plump as a Georgian woman—A Zaptieh—The chief of the telegraph department in Ismid—A grievance—The appearance of Ismid—Washing-day—The Pacha of Ismid—Mr. Gladstone—"Gladstone is what you call a Liberal, is he not?"—The Turkish debt—Russian agents bring about massacres of Christians.
The proprietor of the establishment, a Greek, slowly raised himself from a recumbent position. His head was bound up in what appeared to be a red stocking; the toe part of this article of attire hung carelessly over his left shoulder. He was a dirty-looking little fellow, and had a large wen on one side of his forehead. Nature had determined to make him as hideous as possible, and some fellow-mortal had added to her handiwork, for a large scar, barely cicatrized, and apparently inflicted by a knife, extended right across his face. This scar and the wen were, in the daytime, a perpetual resort for blue-bottle flies. These insects, I subsequently observed, had a great affection for the frontispiece of the proprietor.
"What do you want?" he asked in lingua franca, that undefined mixture of Italian, French, Greek, and Spanish, which is spoken throughout the Mediterranean.
"I want a place to sleep in."
"Place to sleep in? Sleep here," and he slowly subsided into his original position.
Osman now began to address him, and in a whining tone said that I was his Effendi, a great person with gold, not paper, in my pocket, and that I would pay liberally for accommodation. The allusion to the gold acted like a charm upon the Greek.
"Gold!" he said. "Gold! Let me see it!"
I took out a lira (Turkish pound), and spinning it carelessly in the air, let it fall on an earthenware dish. The coin gave out a metallic ring. The Greek clutched at the fallen lira; but the nimble Osman was too quick for him, and picking it up returned it to me.
"I have no rooms but this," said the proprietor eagerly; "but I have a stable. Why not sleep in the stable? You want a stable for your horses, and I will put down some clean straw for the Effendi."
Our horses were all this time tied up to a post outside. I was on the point of accepting his offer, so as to gain shelter for them as well as for ourselves, when the door opened. A strange figure loomed in sight.
"The Onbashee (corporal)," said the proprietor in a cringing tone, springing to his feet; and seizing several soldiers who were asleep on a bench, he rolled them on to the floor, thus making room for the new arrival. The latter, a dumpy-looking man, with a fez on his head, red regimental trousers, and a short yellow dressing-gown, sat down on the bench, and beckoned to me to sit by his side. The occupants of the room by this time were thoroughly aroused. A small boy, the exact counterpart of the proprietor minus the scar and wen, speedily made some coffee. The fragrant beverage was duly handed first to the Onbashee and myself, and then to Osman and Radford, the head of the latter being in close proximity to the ceiling of the establishment.
I addressed the corporal, and told him that I was an English traveller, who wanted a night's lodging.
"English!" he cried, then springing to his feet he respectfully saluted, and said, "I thought, Effendi, that you were an Italian or a countryman of the Greek here," pointing to the proprietor of the place. "Come along, sir," leaving the building, he led me to a small building, apparently a guard-house, for in the room below there were ten soldiers, some rifles and accoutrements being suspended on a rack on the wall. Ascending a few rickety stairs, I entered a small lobby. It was about ten feet square, and had no furniture save a wooden ledge.
"This is my room," said the Onbashee. "You and the other Englishman can sleep here. I will sleep downstairs with the men." Then bringing two blankets he threw them down on the ledge, saluted in a military fashion, and disappeared.
"Queer place, sir," said Radford, looking round. "However, it is better than the hole downstairs. Shall I sleep here, sir, or in the stable?"
"On the floor," I replied. "Go and look after the horses, and then bring up some rugs."
At daybreak Osman started for Scutari in search of the lost horse. A few hours later I took my gun, and went to see if I could find any snipe in a marsh near the town. About six p.m. Osman returned. It was easy to see from his crestfallen face that he had heard no news of the lost Obadiah.
"At Gitdi! The horse has gone, Effendi," he said. "I have been to every farm-house near here, and no one has seen a black gelding with his tail cut short. Praise be to Allah that I cut all the horses' tails before starting; our animal will be different from the others in the neighbourhood, and will be easily distinguished."
"I went to the Pacha at Scutari," he added, "he has given orders to the police to search for the horse. When he is found, he will be sent after the Effendi by train to Ismid."
Gitdi (it has gone), I began to hate that word. Later on, if our tea had been stolen, Osman invariably greeted me with gitdi. It is the first word which a traveller in Turkey hears, he is kept in mind of it during his entire journey. There was nothing to be done but to hire another baggage-horse, and give orders for a start at daybreak.
A few minutes before leaving Moltape, I went to the corporal, and put in his hand a dollar (medjidi), in return for the accommodation he had given me. There were several soldiers present. He declined the present with a grandiose air, adding that his home was mine, and that all strangers were welcome to the abode. However, a few minutes later, when I was alone, he approached, and putting out his hand, said, "Effendi, no one is looking, I will accept a present." Human nature in all countries is much the same. The corporal's demeanour before the soldiers much resembled that of a railway porter when offered a tip in the presence of a railway director.
We rode through a beautiful country. Our track lay across a plain. It was surrounded by undulating hills. Pretty villas with Venetian windows decked their crests. Vines, fig, and other fruit trees studded the rising slopes. A few hours later the path became very bad. We made our way across deep, half hidden ruts, which compelled us to advance with the greatest care for fear of breaking the horses' legs.
We ascend a steep incline, and then, far away in the distance, and across the bay of Ismid, are cone-shaped hills covered with fleecy snow.
The path turned, we rode along the seashore. The railway ran along the side of the track, now ascending in tortuous coils, now disappearing altogether from our view, to appear once more in the distance, and almost level with the azure deep. Not a ripple disturbed the surface of the waters; coloured rocks and stones met our gaze as we glanced into the abyss below; festoons of variegated sea-weed hung from the rugged cliffs.
The sun's rays were fierce and scorching. In spite of its being the month of December, there was a glare as if on a July day. I was not sorry when, on reaching the crest of an adjacent hill, Osman dismounted, and suggested a halt for lunch.
"A capital spot, Effendi," he remarked, "there is a spring of fresh water, a cave, and firewood. I have a beautiful goose, plump as a Georgian woman, in the saddle-bags. My brother," pointing to Radford, "shall cook him. Our stomachs grieve now, but soon they shall be comforted."
He led the way to a sort of cavity in the rock. A fire was kindled, and the goose, the subject of Osman's admiration, was shortly simmering on the embers.
Presently the track became worse, if possible, than before. Several wooden bridges over deep and narrow gullies had to be crossed. There were no parapets to the bridges. Here and there holes a foot square let us see the stream below. Then we traversed lanes of water, in some places up to the horses' girths. The Hammall went first, and wended his way with caution. Two ditches skirted the borders of the track; the rain had fallen heavily, and had one of our horses made a mistake or floundered, his rider would have found himself in at least six feet of water.
We were nearing Ismid, the Nicomedia of ancient history. Our tired animals seemed aware of its proximity; they quickened their pace. Very shortly afterwards we rode into the town. I had sent forward a messenger to tell the chief of the police that an English traveller was coming to Ismid, and to ask him to provide me with lodgings for the night, there being no hotels in the place.
I was met at the entrance of the town by a Zaptieh, or gendarme. Going before us, he led the way to a house kept by a Greek. Here I found two clean rooms furnished in the European fashion. The Zaptieh, after inquiring if I had any orders to give him, left the room, saying that he would report my safe arrival to the Pacha.