St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1893-12-23
IN AN ARABIA.
a Curious I'eisi,r Method Of Con
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a Curious petsitr Method OF Con
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Two means Of conveyance are oren to
US from Trebizoud to Erzeroum-elther
q train of pack horses and mules, or al
ARABIA, which will carry all our baggage"
and in which our drugoman aud cook
can sleep We decide upon the latte,
but VIC should have lost less time had We
taken pack horses.
An ar ,ba, it should be explained. is a
great numbering tented wagon, much
lighter than it appears to be, and not
unlike an American ''prairlc schooner. "
The best arabas are built in Russia. The
cart has four wheels, but no springs; the
sides slope inward from above, and the
tail projects backward beyond the hoopcd
tent which covers the forward part.
The four horses are Larncsstl abreast to
single long pole. This vehicle seems
at first sight t. be rudcly and c1nn>iiy
constructed, but upon examination It
will be found that the toughest wood
and the best iron and steel only are en-
ployed. This cart will stand any
amount of rough usage, and the threat
ching perls through which ours passed
unscqthed are almost beyond belief. 1t
is not easy to give the faintest notion of
the roads, if roads they can be called,
over which Our arabas labored with ever.
increasing vicissitudes, and as we ap-
preached the souing passes near the
boundary Of Persia they rolled and thun-
dered ever the rocks, stra;ning and
pitching like Ski ps in foul weather.
Let tho reader Imagine a heavy army
wagon, laden with baggage and men,
dragged by four horses over the higher
passes of the A ps--not over macada-
mixed roads, such as the SimplOn, but
over mule tracks like the Grimsel Pass,
and sometimes as high as the Dent du-.
Midland then over sections of road
partly destroyed by laudslides and
heavy rains, and down the slippery
banks of rivers or the beds of mountain
torrents. Imagine these passes of six,
seven, or nine thousand feet III height to
occur not once Ortwlce only, bat day after
day and week after week, through the viii
dcrness of mountains south Of Ararat and
along the borders of kurdistan. We
once rode hundred yards in the ARABIA
down the bed of river, and the sensa-
ton was like that Of being tossed in a
blanket.
Two hours from Trebizond we reach
a stretch of deep mire. The men 60 on
in front to rcconnoitre, and conclude to
drive ahead; the horses sink deeper as
they adva &c, the mud reaches their
girths, and the wagon wheels are buried
to the hubs. Blows and kicks avail
nothing, and the poor animals soon
cease to struggle. Then the baggage Is
taken out and carried to place OF safety,
and some laborers are found who dig out
Il passage with their shovcls. \ mule
train coming in the opposite direction is
even in worse plight; one heavily laden
donkey is only kept from sinkin- out Of
sight by his broad pack stddle; an Old
worn out horse after found, ring close to
the bank where the mud is dcerest, re-
) gns himself to his fate. tormcntea on
one hand by showers Of blows and kicks.
and on the other by clouds Of flies which
settle On his face, the only visible por-
ton. But all are rescued after heroic
efforts. and few hours further on this
scene is partly repeated, but we eXtricate
ourselves with less difficulty llarpers
Magazine.