Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1885-10-17


Any traveller who has crossed the
wild upland region lately occupied by
Russia on the border of Afghanistan,
and has seen the Tucoman camps and
Afghan villages with which it is stud
ded, has surveyed at one glance the
past and the present Central Asia.
The fortress-like Afghan hamlet, with
it's huge gray mud wall and narrow,
sinister lOOp-holes behind which the
low, flat-roofed earthen novels huddled
so closely together as barely to leave
passage room between them. repre-
sents the marauding shepherd of the
east in his more advanced stage Of fix
ed residence in n 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 or pulled down in a
few moments, typifies the same man
in his original character as a wander
ing herdsman, flying from his enemy
or bouncing upon him with equal sud-
denness, s%wooping off with his booty
into the desert like one of it's own vul-
lures, aver occupied with the duties
Of finding grass and water for the
flocks and herds thateformed his whole
possessions, and of anticipating any
foe who wished to cut his throat by
cutting the latter's throat first.
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-caps,' around
which a number of sheep and 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 TUNES and caps
of black sheepskin, handling menac-
ingly the spears and guns which they
have snatched up.
The Turcoman Beg" chief (for
ssuch he is, J greets you with a cultural
"kosh amedeid' (you are welcome)
l more reassurlng than the short curved
l sabre within reach of his hand, which
. shows 10y its notches that its has once
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:
> I'VE never wasted time in pursuing
) them, but beset the water-courses
whittier they must repair sooner orl a
ter. and then we had them at our mer-
S cy." He kindly offers you a seat OF
anewly hayed ana still bloody sheep
t skin and hands you an earthen jar OF
/ milk and a wooden spoon, licking the
! latter clean as a special compliment
L Should you arrive on the day of I'm
! wonted plenty, which results from
9 camel's death by age or disease, yol
> may preface with the blue, stringy
meat a bowl of ''brick-tea" with sal
{ for sugar and rancid fat for cream
; The chiefs little brown girls VIII,
. crowd around you TO play with you
y sash tassels and the fringe of your tur
6 ban, wear a small brass coin imbeddet
! in the skin of the forehead.a Turcomal
Il lady's traditional ornament ever sine
q" Isaiah denounced its Hebrew counter
= Part. But with all this hospitality
you will do wisely not to prolong you
- call, as every Turcoman tent swarm
ID with indigenous creepers'' not class.
t, fed by any botanist-Neu York TINE: