The Cecil Whig., 1875-11-13
GLIMPSES AT FAR OFF PLACES,

engaged as chief director in putting I'D the
overland telegraph line to India, has re.
Gently published a narration of the Journey
and adventures of his expedition. 1t gives
sketches of countries and places, which are
little known to western people, or even to
travellers. One of the journeys taken was
from the mouth of the Shat ell Arab. the
great river formed by the confluence of the
Euphrates and Tigris, to Constautinople,
through Turkish Arabia, Turkish Kurds
tan, Upper Mesotopamia, and Asia Minor.
They passed through Bagdad, one of the
capitals of the Arabian Nights and Haroun
AL Raschid, city of which the imagina
ton paints very bright pictures. Now for
reality:
The streets are narrow, dirty, gloomy,
and irregular; there is nothing about the
dwelling houses, even the best, to make
them desirable, except it be the position
which in some cases combines the advan-
tages of garden and river. Here and there
is prettily doomed mosque, but painfully
like crockery finjan,' or coffee cup, of
blue flower pattern. Perhaps the most re-
markable characteristic of the town is the
large concourse of Mohammedans whether
Persian, Turk, or Arab; and when to these
are added the Syrian and Chaldean Chris
tians Jews and Armenians, it may we'll be
conceived that the public thoroughfares are
not wanting in picturesque groups and the
echo of divers tongues. The gardens, in
spite of the exeggeration of Eastern poets,
who would lead the reader to imagine every
garden kind ofterrestrial paradise, exhibit
nothing in comparison to the higher-cared-
for horticulture of Europe. There is wild
ness and untidness which may be very
charming in their way, but which are not
like to meet with approval from the fastidi-
Gus ha6itues of Chiswick and like fashiona-
BILE resorts both at home and abroad Still |
there are flowers and shrubs meriting fav-
orable notice, and the orange trees and |
pomegranates are not to be sighted
The grounds known as the gardens par
excellence, are traversed by a wide thorough
fare intersected by water courses roughly |
bridged over as in India On either side,
long mud walls, with gates more or less
rude or ornamented, mark the different
allotments. Some are private property,
some 'wakf' or religious bequests. But
the term garden is here again not accord
ing to our English dictionary. There are,
rather, date plantations, overgrown with
gross and wild vegetation, and varied with
irregularly planted trees. The river of
Bagdad is no doubt the main feature of the
place; but muddy walls and muddy waters
are too much the rule, and fresh green
trees and bright edifices too much the excep-
tion to make the tout ensemble attractive"
ANGoRA.
We have notice of Angora, which, ac-
cording to Sir Frederick, has what may be
called detsrminate reputation for goats,
and an indeterminate reputation for cats.
''To the truth of the first he adds, 81
can testify from the sight of the most lovely
of their species-exquisite little caprioing
quadrupeds of dropping silky coats. admira-
tion of which even the fatigue of weary
march could not restrain. AS regards the
cats, my experience of them is confined to
specimens shown in Europe, for not one
could find in Angora, where they told me
l must be looking for the Van kedisi,' or
cat of the Lake Van.
The famous goats, producing wool re-
nowned over the world, abound in the vi
cinity Of the town from which they derive
their name. 1t is said that they are only ,
found within certain circumscribed limits,
which may be defined as between the left ,
bank of the Kizil Irmak and Sevri Hisar,
the latter place marking the most southerly {
point, and the Black Sea being the north ,
ern boundary. A space of 500 geographi t
cal square miles may here be assigned, |
from which removal would cause deteriora-
ton. 1t is represented to be known fact {
that if transferred to the east bank of the {
kizil Irmak, they suffer from the nal de ,
pays. Many are lost from exposure, but {
the losses are made up for by herding with t
common goats, and caste is supposed to be i
recovered in the third generation. The {
Angora goat gives, l have learnt, one Okla, ,
or "A ounces avoirdupois, of wool; and the I
quantity supplied throughout the wool re- ,
gion is estimated at from $780, 900 to 40O,- I
900 okas, 1. e., 962, 500 lbs. to 10000 lbs.
From the same authority it appears that
4O, 900 okas, 10000 lbs are expended in a
thread manufacture in Asia Minor itself, of q
which more than half is sent to Holland, a
and s, 900 to 10, 900 okas Q7, 500 lbs are con-
verted into home made shawls and stuff a
THE FIRES OF BAKU.
In the course of his voyage through the
Caspian, Sir Frederick landed at Baku, in d
in order to look at the wonderful natural
fires in the neighborhood.
''To say that these fires are curious, are
worth seeing, is to say nothing. They are
marvellous, and worthy of classification
among natural wonders. There is a large
tract of ground near the sea, on the penin-
sula of Absharan, out of which gas issues
in profusion. The whole soil appears to {
be impregnated here with naphtha, and
the application of fire to the vaporous
region will cause flame to arise, extin- +
guishabfe only by water or smothering
Many flames are aroused and kept alive for
use in various ways. In the kitchen of our
host, for instance, they played a conspcu- .
Gus part, cooked his meat, boiled his water, .
warmed such things as had need of warm =
ing, and served to economize domestic labor
The aspect Of the fires at night gives the N
notion of a watchful camp. Many are built :
upon; that is, the fire is carried through
a conductor raised upon it. Each of the
two stone pillars at the factory gate is thus :
with a high, bright flame
TEHERAN.
"Teheran, albeit the modern capital of
Persia, is described as { a confused mass of
narrow and miserably- paved streets, with r
outlying passages and highways Of more ;,
promise, such as here and there an embryo :,