The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1873-07-22

useless. The Jaxartes is somewhat
though not much better, but it has no,
yet been determined to what extent it il
available. The railway is the only Ger.
tain means of rapid communication, but
the distances are so great and the local
resources so few that it can not be looked
for at present.
The khanate of Khiva is defined by the
geographers as lying between latitude
&c. and 45 north, and longitude So Q
and GA Q cast bounded north by the the
Kirghiz Steppe and the Aral Sea, east by
Bokhara and the Kizikum Desert, south
by Khorassan, and west bv the Caspian
Sea. 1t has an area of 10000 square
onn ",eS; coSnd and population estimated at g.
JOo'ooo. , Most of the land is an arid
mainly along the Oxas, where there j.
considerable agriculture. Oe.on "a Nv.
tensively cultivated, and great num,,ars Of
sheep, goats, horses, and dromedaries ar,
raised. Silk, cotton, and woolen fabrics
are made. and large quantities of the raw
materials are exported to Russia by cara.
vans. Most Of the work is performed by
slaves, and the capitol ol Kniva is grea,
slave mart.
The Russian conquest will doubtless
break up this traffic, and it is for this rea.
son that Persia favors instead of opposing
the Muscovite ambition. More thar
twenty thousand Persians are held il
bondage in Khiva; occasionally these
slaves escape to Russia, and are protect
ed, and it is this protection of fugitives
which has caused much of the i'll feeling
between Russia and Khiva. In Barnaul
Western Siberia, l saw several persons
who had thus escaped, and from the lips
of one of them, an officer of the Persian
army, | heard the terrible story of hi.
sufferings during a seven years captivity
and of the cruel treatment visited upor
him and his fellow prisoners.
khivo, the capital, is situated on 9
plain near the Oxus has population o
little over 10000. aud is surrounded BY
mud walls, easily broken by the modern
appliances of war The Turcoman slave
hunters bring their captives to the city
where they are sold in the public square
in the same way that slaves are sold a
the barracoons on the African coast
Sometimes when tribes in various part.
of the khanate are in revolt, the troops o.
the emir are sent to chastise them. The
heads Of the slain are brought in by the
victors, and paid for at stipulated prices
The prisoners, such as are under forty
years of age, are sold into slavery; the
old men are beheaded or tortured, accord
ing to the will Of the khan Vambery
thus describes the treatment of party o.
rebel prisoners brought into Khiva at the
time Of his visit: THE young men were
chained together by their iron collars ii
numbers of ten to fifteen, and led away
the old men awaited submissively the
punishment awarded to them. While
several were led to the gallows or block
saw how, a. sign from the executioner
eight aged men placed themselves dowr
on their backs upon the, earth. The1
"... ,neu Dound hand and foot, and the
executioner gougcd out their eyes in turn
kneeling to do so on the breast Of eact
poor wretch and after every operation hi
wiped his knife, dripping with d,upor
the white beard Of the hoory unfortun
ate"
The Khvans have all the appliances o
torture known to ancient or modern times
The bare enumeration of them, with tn,
briefest desert rtion, would cause the mos
stoical Of readers to shiver with horror.
Humanity will be greatly benefited BY
Russias absorption Of Khiva. The Gre
scent must give way to the Gross, anC
the mercy and love taught by the Nazer
enc must be substituted for the cruelty
enjoined by him who preached death tt
unbelievers, and spread his religion witt
fire and sword.