The Jasper weekly courier., 1877-04-27
PERSIA.

Following are few excerpts from
- Through Persia by Caravan b,
Arthur Arnold
The visit of the Shah Of Persia "a
Europe couple Of years ago was al
most the first effort 10 break through
the exelusiveneSs of that country. For
many centuries Persia has been a terra
incognita. figuring in fable and story.
and being the object around which
gathered legends narrating the wonder
ful magnificence Of the King and nobil-
ity; but, until lately, modern Persia is
almost unknown. The effort Of Mr..
Arnold 10 enlighten the world as to the
different points Of interest i'm the coun-
try must, therefore, be regarded with
favor and allowance. He does not pro-
pose nor attempt to give historical or
philosophical di>quisition on the people.
the manners. the customs. or the litera-
ture Of the country. He simply travelled
through. visiting the principal cities
and points Of interest in the Kingdom.
and, in pleasant, readable style. tells
what he saw. lie entered Persia from
the Northwest. Beginning his tour at
81 Petersburg. In Russia. he travelled
thence 70 Moscow. to Novgorod, To the
Caspian. across it. and thence by cara
van into Persia.
FIRE WORSHIP.
AT Baku. on the Caspian. the travellers
stopped 10 see the oil wells and other Gu
riosities with which the neighborhood /
aboundcd. This l. the oldest petroleum
region IA the world, and here are to be
found oil wells which have been con-
stantly flowing for thousands Of wears.
Al present the wells are usually operat-
ed BY means of buckets or pumps of very
primitive construction. The oil i gen-
erally found al a depth Of $50 feet. i of
better quality than the Pennsylvania oil. |.
and much less explosive. More sinru-
lar than the OIL wells, however, were the
iire-al;ars and worship.
lt = certainly very wonderful. upon
sandy plain. with not tree nor blade
Df grass In sight, 10 look upon reser
Voir Of liquid fuel thus drawn from this
stony soil; yet, 70 our thinking, there
vas spectacle much more curious
about twelve verst- from Baku, when we !
anne 70 one of the oldest altars in the
World. erect, and flaming with it, I
natural burnt offering 70 this dav. I
,urakhani j. an ancient seat Of proba- 4
~ one of the most ancient forms Of |
Worship For unnumbered ages the gas y
Vhichis generated BY this substerranean :
tore of oil, has escaped through long ;
established and inaccessible assures n >
he limestone crag, Of which the hills IN 1
ne nelghborhood are composed, and b
ke fire of this gas has lighted the pray- /,
r. 81 generations Of priests, a. il blazed :
nd famed away 10 the heavens. For c
ing, long ages the worship Of these
aiming issues Of petroleum cas M
urakhani has been maintained by dele Il
ations of priests from India. who have n
ied and been buried on the spot. ~ 10 n
Icceeded by other devotees from the =
lme conntry. II would, Of course, be D
ossibie to extinguish the blaze, If one y
ere 70 choke the assures, and the peo-
e about the place say that sometimes. n
hen the wind rises 10 hurricane. the q,
re i actually put out. The gas. how i
'er, can then ~ once be relighted with ci
match. y
. We saw this done, not AZ Of yore. h,
ith mysterious incantafions. and the i
rrificd awe Of superstitious worshipcrs. q,
Y IN order TO burn lime for Baku. and Al
purify the oil raised from the natural IN
servoir in which the gas il generated ca
2 thought that never, perhaps, had WI
seen man more TO be piiicd than pe
y poor Indian who Is the successor ~ be
long line Of religiously appointed ca
iardians a this. once wholly sacred as
20. There the light Of this lamp n IA,
'tlire's making tlared on lis formerly W:
'ilowcd altarplace, maid-of-all-work 10 N
" dozen degenerate Persians, now III
blects "a the Christian Car. who MI
ought q nothing but making lime and dl,
warming their messes Of sour milk sia
" unleaycned bread. In another place bil
n gas was conducted frvm the surface II,