Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-03-07
Lasgird, The Curious.
Letter to the London News.

Persian Letter TO the London News.
We had not proceeded far on our way when
vestges of the former condition OF things met
our eyes. 1t was at place only one hundred
miles from Teheran that We first realized the
dreadful state of danger in which the people
had lived. We found most remarkable village
at which we encamped. Surprising no infOrma-
ton could have been procured. and an arch
biologist had come upon it by accident, he would
have had profound puzzle to unravel and ex-
plain. The name of the village is Lasgrd. The
people ascribe am immense Antiquity TO it, and
say that Las. or Last Il son of Noah, drew ON the
ground tue Slru OF circle when Is the plan
d the structure. Inc hero of this legend is not
very familiar to Biblical scholars in the west,
but he is not unknown in Afghanistan. The
Colosseum at Rome. although oval would
convey some idea OF the general appearance of
I4asgird, only il must Ee conceived as built of
mud which is almost the only building mate
rial of this country. 1t should also be recoI-
lected that the one belongs to a. period of good
architecture, of which it Is celebrated monu-
ment, while the other may be said to be en-
tirely destitute of any pretcnsion of this kind.
The rude mud walls are thick and solid all
round at the base, and rise some thirty or forty
feet, where there is a line of doors, with here
and there a small window between them. BY
means ofprojecting beams, or branches of trees.
over which smaller branches are laid, a Kind OF
gallery is produced, bearing a strong resemb-
lance to those simple forms of birds nests which
are formed OF sticks placed on the upper branches
of trees. The wonder is how the eggs do not roll
over, or that the chicks do not tumble down to
destruction So il is with the galleries of Las
grid; there is no protection the edge Yet
we saw women and children, sheep and goats
upon them. more frail and dangerous
to conceive. There are two tiers of
houses all around, and in some
places there appeared to be three. All had
these galleries in front, either to communicate
with the next house, or, as some did not COM
municate. they were only of use To come out
upon TO sit or work, or for the children to play
upon. To these places seemed the brink
of destruction, while to- the women and children
1t all appeared as safe and comfortable as
thpr
was no getting up To these galleries from the
outside; that would have suited the Turco-
mans. The means of going up was ali on the
inside In some cases there are rough steps
of mud, and in others there are inclined
planes, half ladder and half road, made in the
same way as the galleries. These lead up to
galleries communicating with the houses, which
were an exact repetition OF those on the outside,
the only difference being that they were not so
high up, and there were walls at places which
did duty as a parapet, hence the certainty OF
falling over did not seem quite so great from
the inside as on the outside While Iookino nj
this strange structure from one OF these upper
galleries. an old woman of at least 20 years of
age passed me with a child stuck in some priIn-
1tive way on her back. \ few yards from me
was one OF these means of ascent formed of
sticks, with the remains of mud hanging 10 il:
II would have done for fowls To go up 10 their
TOOStS upon. She clambered up on This To I he
gallery above, but that was not her destination;
her house was one up still higher in a corner
and to reach il she had to crawl up the edge
of a crumbling mud wall not above eighteen
inches wide. ON her left hand a perpen-
dicular descent, enough 10 make any one dizzy
aud death at the bottom OF it if a fall should
occur: although on the other side there was
only a few feet, il the old creature had slipped
the chances are she would have rolled down
and fallen over the gallery with the baby on
her back. The Old lady went up very steadily
and reached her crows nest in perfect safety
could not help thinking that "a few genera
lions of this kind OF thing would undo all our
development. and that we would go back again
TO our original simian condition.
The dwellings of the people were all in the
upper part OF the great circle, and the center was
nlled up with strange moss structures. which
are now falling 10 decay. as there is no longer
any danger from TurcOmanS. These places were
Tor containing the grain of the village and for
receiving the live stock OF the villagers when a
raid occurred. One of a number of wells yraS
pointed out To us within the circle and we were
told that they had three four which were al
ways kept in good order in the DAYS of danger
There l. only one entrance To this circle aud
tnat Is by small entrance scarcely four feet i'm
helgbt, 10 which There II IL stone door working
with a pivot and socket similar to- the ancient
stone doors found in the Hauran and other
parts east OF the SOudan. This stone door of
LaSgtrd l. a very rude ono. being eight inches
thick In some parts, and 10 tells its tale of the
existence OF great danger and the necessity for
protection. Sir Peter LGmSden had "A long CON
yersation with the khet kh0dah and some OF
the principal Villagers, and IL seemed that they
not only a>crlbed the origin of I.aSgird To the
son OF Noah NJ, Is they called him, but they
lkened their strange dwciling-place to the ark
Extreme theoiOSians. who identify the church
with the ark. say all who We're in the ark were
saved; all without We're destroyed. This was
exactly the case with IaSgird. When n chupaO
TOOK place, all who got in were secure all who
We're left outside became victims. A chronic
STATE Oh war existed, and this fortified village
was the result. The Government either could
not or would not defend the people and they
h2Q 70 take means for their own safety