The New York herald., 1870-08-20
TIRE Plains of Shinar and Ur of
the Chaldees.
The Pains and Pleasures of a
Caravan Journey.
THE PERILS OF THE WAYSIDE


settling by what route I should return
tA civilization. Frem India I had reached
thg City of tho Caliphs without difficulty on
:. The friendly deck Of the steamboat; but to
70 back by the same road was of course, not
to be thought Of and each Of the three routes
overland from Bagdad to the Syrian coast pre-
sented such tedious and terrible combinations Of
danger, privaton and fatigue that one might well
pause before making his choice from among them.
First there the direct route across the desert
to Damascus, "a distance Of only 500 miles, which
might possibly be accomplished In twelve or fl
teen days on the back of fast camel. Every one,
however, pronounced this journey to be impcss-
BILE for European in mid winter, while, in favor
able weather, it is very hazardous. The cold in
the desert would be inteuse, and we should be
unable to carry even the smallest of tents to
protect ourselves from the rains, which would pro-
badly be both frequent and heavy Night and
day, with perhaps halt Of three hours In the
twenty four for sleep and food, the guide and the
traveller together perched on the hump Of the
same animal, would have to plod wearily on in
the face of piercing winter winds or beneath q
pitiless shower Then there was very great
chance Of our being captnred by the Bedouin,
who would treat us az they have treated many
and leave in the middle of the desert to die. A
safe conduct might be purchased from the agent
Of Abdul Kerim, the sheikh of the most powerful
Of the tribes, the shammar, but that would be Of
no use whatever during at least q third of our
journey. 20 peri ous indeed, is this road, that
very few caravans now go between Bagdad and Da-
maseus; goods are sent all the way round the out
side of the desert to Aleppo. This latter was the
vovtfo ;IoL Ia a,,z ap
thousand camels was preparing fer the jour-
ney at the time. 1t would traverse the outer
ring of the desert, and, as there would be
very little grass, would push on as fast
as possible, and perhaps reach Aleppo in thirty
five or forty days. This was tempting route,
and had there been any prospect Of GA early start
would have been the one selected. But the leader
fthe caravan, after promising two OF three times
that he would leave in four Ave days, confessed
that he might not perhaps be able to arrange his
affairs for another moatl-a delay altogether out Of
the question. Lastly, there was the route Of the
Turkish mail via MorM and Diarbekir, to Aleppo--
1000 miles in length and by 40 means perfectly
safe but still, under the circumstances, the best
Shat could be taken. Less than dozen European
travellers probably traverse it in the course Of
the year. In fact, during the last six months only
however, all the more interesting. One enjoys
m opportunity in such tour Of studying Oriental
manners and habits unmodiasd by intercourse
with the Frank. Perhaps it is as well to add that
nearly the entire country through which this road
passes is known as Koordistau.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY.
From Bagdad to Mosul had compogaon du
poyage, an English-speaking Polish refugee, who
bask kon in fho TrrIri l.
vice as telegraph inspector. This gentleman
was moving himself and his effects to Diarbekir.
Our united baggage aud servants made up small
caravan of dozen mules and horses, and al
though, when we started, we believed the road to
be tolerably quiet, we procured small escort Of
five mounted soldiers, 80 that altogether our party
presented quite an imposing appearance. start,
however, in Asia, is very difficult operation.
There is proverb here that to get outside the
city gates is good first days journey. And so
indeed it ia. TO travel at all you must procure
special teskcreh from the Pacba, q huge manu-
script passport, with big seal at the bottom,
setting forth your name and profession, and call
ing upon tho inhabitants Of the villages on your
route to give you gratutous lodging and food for
yourself and barley for your horses while it COM
tnands the various local authorities to provide as
many men as may be necessary for protecting
escort. The "gratuitouso part of the document
is, of course, mere flower Of rhetoric, and is
simply inserted to protect you from the ex-
tortionate demands of villagers, who might
take some outrageous advantage of your necess
ties if you were wholly in their power. Having
got your teskereh, You make the other necessary
provisions for your journey. You will have to
carry with you nearly everything you may have
occasion to use-your bed and blankets, your
cooking pots and water skins, your little carpet
and cushions--all the thousand and one things Of
which in civilized countries you could procure tie
loan at the poorest cottage. Rising at daybreak
we did our best to get OF as early as possible,
but il was already two O'Clock when everything
had been packed and when the zabadeers having
run away dozen times to take farewell kiss from
their wives and to promise huwa to their children
when they returned enriched with the packsheesh
TO he given them by the Frank efends, were all in
the saddle. Then came long detention at the
gate by the officer of customs, who only let ms
pass after being pacied with handsome douceur
For, in Turkey, there is a system of octroi duties
and one may, perhaps, in passing through the
country have to pay dozen duties on some one
excisable articIe-a duty in each province. The
first day we stopped at Faragat village only five
miles from Bagdad, at the house of the Minister of
Agriculture, a Pole in the service OF the Pacha.
CARAVAN TRAVEL.
Next day We began our journey in serious ear
nest, and settled down into the ordinary routine
Of caravan travel. Rising always an hour before
daybreal, and sometimes carrier, morsel of
bread and a thmblcful of coffee constituted
breakfast. The meal finished, the carpets on
which we had been sitting, the cups from which
we had drunk, the kettle in which the water had
been boiled, were gathered up, and everything
declared ready for packing Until this announce.
ment 10 made the carayaDjeo or muleteers will