Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-11
A Great Highway.


 From e Letter From Central Asia to the London
 Daily News.l
 The African frontier commission has come thus far on it's way toward the field of it's proposed operations. Another march or two and the Caspian will be left on the west. The road we go along is a celebrated highway. From the most ancient times down to the present day it has been the great road from the West to the East; from Europe to Central Asia, to Hindostan and far Cathay. Since the date of Vasco de Gama the wealth of produce carried must have declined; and yet in the face of the greatest obstacles it is still a highway of commerce. We pass long car avans of camels laden with heavy burdens on our march. The condition of Central Asia and its marauding Turcomans has done much to make commerce impossible along this highway. That is now thing of the past, and as tine route becomes safe the trans port of the produce of all the countries it leads to will be revived. The policy of the Shah and his government may be against railways, but the iron horse will come in due time in spite of opposition. A line from Tifiis to Teheran is talked of; that will link the capital of Persia with Batoum. Let this become an accomplished fact, and it's contin- uation on to Shahrud, Nishapur, Meshed and Herat will surely follow. The railway from India is already across the Indus, and is being made to Quetta. It requires no great amount of prophetic vision to tell what will be the result, and the result may not be so far distant when this old road will become again. under new conditions, at least one of the great highways to the far East.
 All the towns and villages we passed are walled in with towers and gates which are shut at night. At Samnan there ara some large inc1osures outside the gates of the town; the walls are very high. We noticed small doors of stone not over three feet i'll height. These stone doors speak for them selves and tell their tale. There are towers in many of the fields. These were for the people at work, in cases of sudden alarm, when there was no time to reach the village. The workers in the fields, by squeezing themselves through narrow opening in the bottom, which could be closed with a stone. might thus escape, and the Turcoman would lose his prize. The mills here, which are driven by water, are on the outside of the villages, and notice that each of them has a mud tower as a refuge when Alaman came along. It is said that some of the Gov ernors on the frontier, who could have stopped raids, allowed them to pass west ward in order to catch them on their return laden with the spoil they had captured. This was profitable to the Governor, who thus bagged everything. Cases of this kind must have been exceptional, or it would soon have stopped the traffic. The raiders would have ceased if they seldom or never managed to get back to their own country again. The whole credit for the suppression of this sys- tenn is due to Russia. It has been her move nent into Central Asia which has enabled her to lay the strong hand upon it, and it Central Asia which suppressed these raids has also led to the necessity for defining the Afghan frontier, so that this mission is not quite unconnected with the past state of af- fairs, of which we have seen such marked ev- idence along the road we have come.
 In the East ruins are expected and infer ences cannot always be made from them Here, where all buildings are of mud, it is still more difficult to judge of remains. Wher man dies the son avoids the fathers house the son builds new one and the old one If left to tumble down. This adds much to the appearance of general decay in Persia. Along the road weshave marched the tumble down state of things is great. Much of it 1 is no doubt owing to the destructive visits ] of the Turcomans. Peace will now reign along this great highway, and it must have an effect for the better on everything. h some of the larger places, which from thei1 size may be called towns, building was going on and this is sure sign of improvement. It is not so long since there was only one post W1tn 10GG0fS on GDlS TOd0 III II1C now there is 8 post every week between Ie- heran and Meshed.- That one man on a horse can carry in one bag whole week's correspondence, for such space of ground does not say much for the extent of busi- ness or the letter writing habits Of the popu- lation. Still, it is a better state of things than existed before, and give the fact as an evidence of improvement. A road in the East does not mean way that is embarked where the ground is low or hollow, or that high places have been cut down; neither does it mean that rivers and streams have been bridged. It is word signifying that 1t is a track over which people are in the habit Of passing from one place to another. It is a trail or series of trails made by the feet of men and beasts as they have gone over the soil Such is the highway over which we have travelled. The road is good one, but that only means that the ground IS level There are very few bad bits between here and Teheran, and the bad bits are comparatively easy, 4 very little labor would make 1t a good road, and wheeled vehicles could pass along it's whole length. The making of railway would also be work of little dit1- culty. Numerous culverts would be required for the irrigation streams, but there 1s' no river to bridge or valley to require v1aduct, neither is there anywhere spot where tun- nel would have to be made. There are as cents and descents, but they are gradual The line ought to be cheap one.
 The road is at present thronged with pil grims on their way to Meshed. suspect that they are not yet free from fear of the Turcomans. for they travel in large parties men, women and children. As a rule they start in the evening, and reach the caravan. al sery in the early morning, and thus have the daylight to cook their food, for washing themselves or their clothes, and other neees sary work connected with long journey 1 We hear the men, after they have said then nravers in the evening and are about to star aI1 yaisa their voices to the highest pitch to e,.s eather, and give long continued shout
 Sgbich has wild harmony in it. This they l do three or four times, As they are all Shias | .I.-- I.o, c..n,,rr,od That fhea 1rnrds of fhiI