The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-01-19

tnlarbeklr tllNl bhkuhu NCtuDlto NOWhTu HhciIs
aimee Tor three or four months. the upper Tigrs
isuaygablo for RATS and flatboats. Now. Mosul
has very picturesque but perfectly useless forth
e,,tions. and with the occupation OF Diarbekr
wonlJ ho as good rs taken. There would be no.
hing absolutely novel in this line OF invasion.
TbeFmparor Trajan. and two centuries later the
Emneror Julian descended the Euphrates Ia
much shaiiOwer riyerl with large fleets. put to-
gelhcr ia tho Armenian Mountains. to the Per-
sian Gulf. distance Of eleven hundred miles.
NOW. the Tigris having not only greater depth.
hut a much more rapid current is far better
ADAPTED for the transport Of troops and stores
e,long ago as 1929 the strategic bearing Of
those facts was recognized by the Duke Of We'll
nnetou. In memorandum submitted to the
Government Of India. he distinctly admits that
the Russians. once in possession OF Kars. could
not bc hlndcrcd from Selling the whole OF Mes
opo,amia. No doubt a careful study Of these
physical conditions had its weight in determin-
ing the convention 10y which England agreed to
protect Asatc Turkey.
A traveller. southwark bound. would OF
course pursue his journey to Bagdad by boat,
buttherc are rs yet no steamers plying between
that city and Mosul, and therefore Mr. Geary.
in his nOrihward course. had to follow on horse.
hack tho post route on the eastern side OF the
Tiers The Journey by barge may be- accom-
plishcd rs we have said. in three days. or. in
the most sluggish state OF the current within
Owe. and it is In many ways agreeable. Not that
any very large or interesting towns lie directly
on the bank-kerkook stands at soma distance
to the eastward-but both edges Of the river are
irngej for hundreds OF miles with rows Of
date palms. aud the valley is dotted with in
numorablc villages. interspersed with fields Of
waving grain. The extraordinary lightnoss
and fertility Of the soil arc attested by the fact
that abundant harvests are procured by n mere
scratching Of the surface. Sometimes n
small brandy bush is tied to DON
keys tail. and couple Of broken bricks
being laid on it to keep the thorny branches
clos to the ground the animal Is driven slowly
forward and backward until the field is
plouGhed. Yet with such primitive methods 81
tillage. last year the enormous quantity Of
10000 tons Of grain were exported from Bag
dad u bombay and England. Mr.. Geary was
convinced that this amount might be Occupied
by tho reopening 81 some OF tho old canals and
the construction o. few wagon roads in Lower
Mesopoiama. And hero we may refer briefly
TO some VI the other natural products poured
into the same entrepot. One OF the chief cx-
ports OF Bagdnd used to be rough Sleeps wool.
and although In the year 1877 there was u great
falling OIL owing TO a sudden depreciation ~
price In continental markets. stlll over $500 900
worth was sent 20 Europe The soil 81 Mesopo-
tamia is capable " producing cotton Of the best
quality VA unlimited quantities. although the
pehithcrtO exported has been inferior. owing
10 negligence in selecting seed or I'm cleaning
Tho produce. Sesame. COLA and MAKO thrive
admirably; there is also grcat abundance "
mulberry trees and experiments tried with silk
are reported to have been satisfactory. Rice.
too. Of good quality. is produced. and since the
administration Of Midhat Pasha. in 1870. stops
have been taken to introduce sugar-cane cult
walton. Finally W. may mention that horses In
Baelnd and the surrounding country are ex-
trcmoly cheap. nm Arab charger which would
fetch $3.50 ut Bombay being ohtainahlc for $50
or $50. Even with the present wretchcd system
% fiscal collection the province RENTS 10 Con-
stantnol,e a surplus Of soma s2.jOO.O00 and
Mr.. Grary cannot $50 why Turkish Arabia.
the lrak OF the Caliphs. should not be made To
yield revenue larger than that of Egypt and
that too. without undue pressure on the popu-
lation.
Their seem TO be few vcstiges in modern
Daeiad oi archite turo belonging to the brilliant
era of the Aha.sii Caiiphate. The oldest nina
ret. for instance. which. moreover. has outla-ted
its mosque was built by the Caiph Mus,ansic
as late a. 1873. Nevertheless. the general as
pect Of the city is strikinSly Saracenc. The
town lies On aleyel plain. bnt above the fiat roofs
Of Us houses spring the high domes Of mosques
an a protu-ion u miuarets all covered with
encaust1 tiles. whose prevailing colors are blue
and green. In almost every courtyard il "A
c.unp oi dat" palm. and mulberry trees. while
gardens and groves mark the course OF tho
river which here flows wide and deep in
straight line for miles. Lying in u boat at even
ing on the bosom Of the TiGris it is still easy to
reral the Gag lad Of Haroun Alras'hid. Tho
population oi the city is very mixed. but Arabic
Il tie language spoken 10y all residents. Of
whatever birth or descent Tho Arab element
Is constantly recruited by accessions from the
neigh r,ng desert tribes hut IL IL sail that the
settlers soon deteriorate in their physical and
L raj traits, IN generation or two the men
los tArir iron constitutions, and their wives DO
not ENJOY that reputation for incorruptihe
chns'iy which belongs % the daughters ~ tho
B'd0uin-. The Jews number nearly q third ~
ut luh lhiiaut-. and they have always enjoyed
~ bagIal a consideration seldom accorded 10
uem els where in Islam. The American com
muulB likewise is large aud the rights OF rs
member, are carefully rec pected. 1t Is note
WORTHY indeed. how completely the tolerance
char site Of Abassil rule has survived in
Hi- au''nt capital after centuries Of Turkish
nAa' %. OfGrcck residents in BagdaI there
az" AYt rltuy. and these ar" almost all cOnuectet
Wa. % f.rnMeut 0niccs. The same thing may
sl.4 o. t.3 TurAs. Of whom there are very
J." among the non-onieias. At present the
Lur'p an community j. extremely restricted
IN numbers. some years ago several bushes,
uru- w"r" established here. but the comprti-
ton ~ Armenian mud Jewish houses proved
100 E'.i for most o; them. Several Germans.
LaN"s r. ure living IN thu city. and the Officers
oitA' Ea,lsA steamers plying on the river. ~
wei as those Of the seven Turkish steam
Ee-- i.s, are Engli-hmen. and have their homes
IN litgisl. Mr. Geary tells us that nearly all
Ln-1pr who settle here while still bachelors
marry Armenian ladies'. 10 whose remarkable
u '.Aat Ao the author boar, his testimony.
w. hl'' no need 10 examine Mr. Geary's ac-
court " Ea-sorah or Of the Turkish shore Of
hr Persian Gun. because the question Of an eX-
tension ui projected railway southwark from
bHglal j. not likely At present to be seriously
considered. The distance from the city Of the
tn..p.- Bombay by way " Bushire and Kur-
ia'A' nut less than 1900 miles. aud, a. We
Lay" 20 %, there Is already frequent aud regu-
Wfs'"ar communication hetw'en these points.
But MI IrAry seems 10 have demonstrated that
HH 4