The Opelousas courier., 1885-09-05
Among the T'McoMsNsss.

Any traveller who has crossed the
wild upland region lately occupied by
Russia on the border of Afghanistan,
and has seer the Tucoman camps and
Afghan villages with which it is stud
ded, has surveyed at n glance the
past and the present Central Asia.
The fortress-like Afghan hamlet, with
its huge gray mud wall and narrow,
sinister l~oop-holes behind which the
low, ilat- rooted earthen novels huddled
SO closely together rs barely to leave
passage room between them. repre-
sents the ~marauding shepherd of the
east ia his more advanced stage of fin
ed residence in one spot. but still re-
tanning enough of his guerilla nature
to regard every stranger as an enemy
and to build every house like a fort.
The light Turcoman tent of felt and
saplings, set up OF pulled down in a
few moments, typifies the same man
in his original character rs a wander
ing herdsman, flying from his enemy
or bouncing upon him with equal sud-
denness, swooping off with bis booty
into the desert like one of its cwn vul-
lures, ever occupied with the duties
Of finding grass and water for The
flocks and herds that formed his whole
possessions, and Of anticipating any
foe who wished to cut his THROAT by
cutting the latter's throat Grst.
But despite all the these bandit quail.
tiles the Turcoman at home is not a
bad fellow by any means Drawing
bride on the crest of one of those long,
low sWells that break at times the gray
amending sameness of the vast plains
of Central Asia, you see below you a
tiny stream, sharply outlined against
the surrounding desert by the dark
belt of underground fringing it. On
the bank stand a dozen or more huge,
pointed dark gray objects very much
like gigantic 'dunce-eaps," around
which a number of sheep ami cattle
are feeding. A shrlll cry from a tall
figure among them brings out of the
tents a half score quaint. sinewy fell
lows in soiled, white tunics and caps
of black sheepskin, handling menac-
ingly the spears and guns which they
have snatched up.
The Turcoman "Beg," chief (for
such he is. } greets you with a cultural
"Kosh amedeid' (you are w~eleome)
more reassurlng than the short curved
sabre within reach of his hand, which
shows by its notches that it's has onca
done a thrifty business. But its mas.
ter is now a tolerably ~peaceable sub
ject of Russia, converted by that per-
suasive strategy which might give a
hint to the invaders of the Soudan:
"We never wasted time in pursuing
them, but beset the w-ater-courses
whittier they must repair sooner orl a
ter, and then we had them at our mer-
cy." He kindly offers you a seat on
anewly layed ana still bloody sheep
skin and hands you an earthen jar of
milk and a wooden spoon, licking the
latter clean as a special compliment
Should you arrive on the day of I'M
wonted plenty, which results from a
camel's death by age or disease, you
may preface with the blue, stringy
meat a bowl of 'brick-tea" with salt
for sugar and rancid fat for cream.
The chiefs little brown girls who
crowd around you to play with your
sash tassels and the fringe of your tur
ban, wear a small brass coin Undecided
in the skin of the forehead, Turcoman
lady's traditional ornament ever since
Isaiah denounced it's Hebrew counter
part. But with all this hospitality
you will do wisely not to prolong your
call, as every Turcoman tent swarms
with indigenous creepers'' not CLASH
lied by any botanist-NeW York Times.