The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-11-06
INTO PERSIA ON A BICYCLE.

liit NoTIi On d BicScit, HIS iSdChSd ID
breez. Persia. The following interesting
letter. which We are allowed to use in adj
vance Of its publication in 0uting. details
some Of the riders experiences in passing
through the almost tracklcss wastes Of
Asia:
I reached Tabreez yesterday, Septem-
Der IS, after a %journeY of 3s9 miles, as reg
istered by cyclometer, from Erzeroum,
the point from which / last wrote. Thus
far my experience in Persia has proved
even more novel and interesting than III
Asiatic Turkey: and, leaving ont, %ofcourse.
the question of literary merit, ] have no
hesitation in saying that the series of pa
pers. descriptive OF this part Of the jour
ney. will prove a real treat to the readers
of the magazine, and more novel and en-
tertaining than either the American por-
ton published last Spring, or those on the
European part of the tour now appearing.
On the OUT from Erzeroum here, | passed
close to the foot of Mt. Ararat. | have
been honored and entertained by klans,
and have slept in, and partaken of hospi-
tality in the famous black tents" of wild
Kurds. against which these same khans
had warned me to beware. Nobody thinks
of travelling without guards in this coun-
try. but | have ventured alone anywhere
and everywhere, and have SO far escaped
molestation, though have several times
had TO display my revolver. | find the
/ -. ,.u..s.I. .a.mS..+sya rnra
than anything alleged against the Ameri-
caus,-and it is an everyday occurrence for
me to rush away from bowling nlobs of
villagers, who insist on OBTAINING me until
the Khan of the village and every indiyid-
ual has seen me ride, and inspected the
bicycle. 1t is a great wonder that the BIZ
cycle hasn' t become disabled long since, for
| am literally compelled to mou and, at
least. attempt to ride in all sorts of i'm
possible places before the people will con
sent to my departure; and often the only
way [ can convince them of the impossi-
bilfty OF complying with their demands, is
to convince them with the revolver; how
ever, | haven't had occasion, SO far, to 50
I llutl DIS llZAAtGn Il NtDpEC III lAAI " AtN4- '
erything about it being in perfect order, ex-
cept that the rubber tire of the small
wheel is getting worn down. Everybody
goes armed here; but l nave SO far man
aged TO avoid serious orouble,-the mere
sight of a six-shooter being sufficient to
scatter them like so many sheep. These
people do not mean harm, simply wishing
to satisfy their Curiosity, but frequently it
is impossible to ride at the place, and they
will not take no" for an answer. On the
other hand, they are very kind and hospit-
able. sometimes refusing to accept any
payment whatever for such accomfnoda-
ton as they can afford. ! have found the
country less mountainous in Persia than in
wheeled vehicles, and consequently of
~wagon-roads. The great camel caravan
routes afford a greater proportion Of rida-
ble pathway, however, than | anticipated,
enabling me to do fifty miles a day between
Hoi and Tabreez. besides going at least ten
miles out of my direct course to reach a
village for the night. The distance trav-
ersed from Ismidt to Tabreez is / 202 miles.
800 Of which is Turkish measurement by
post hours. between Bel Bazaar, where my
cyelometer pin was broken, and sivas,
where | had it repaired again; and the re-
mainder actual measurement by cyclone
ter. 1t is somewhere near 400 miles from
here to Teheran, where | shall have to re-
- r.. Al. --,-+o-. orJ ac +hara = M n p
ticular hurry 1 shall probably accept the
invitation of Mr.. Abbott, the English con-
sui here, and Messrs. Oldfather and Whip
pie. the American missionaries, to remain
for a couple of days. The journey to Te-
heran will probably occupy about ten days,
more or less. according as | find the roads.
On the way | pass through Mana, the
place celebrated for the poisonous bug.
whose bite brings on violent fever. ! I'M
derstand that these insects are only in the
houses, consequently shall either c%ontrive
to pass through the district during the
daytime, or sleep out in the open
Through Asia Minor, from Sivas to Err
zeroum, there are well-deined caravan
routes from oilc iHipvtbalibb o"h W oAoA"Ni
but the mountain trails are the most abrupt
| ever traversed; in this respect they are
much more difficult to overcome with a
bicycle than anything | experienced in tie
Rockies. where the ascents are compare
lively gradual. Often these mountain
trails are churned up by the feet of pack
animals that nave traversed them all
through the rainless summer months until
several inches of loose material covers the
surface. and this, in addition to the steep
ness. makes it impossible to ascend save
by pushing the bicycle ahead with rear
wheel aIoft like ascending a pair of stairs:
sometimes | nave this highly interesting
task to accomplish for miles at a stretch;
but in the valleys there is invariably found
a good average proportion of ridable road,
and the last forty miles Of my road to Err
zeroum. traversed in half a day, was a
macadam road, part of the great Trebizond
and Persian caravan route. From Sivas
to Erzeroum the c~yclometer registered 30s
miles, and in spite Of mountains and bridge
less streams | averaged over forty miles a
day. Perhaps l should not average quite