The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-06
MID PERSIAN pERlLs
THE ROUGH AND THORNY PATHS
TRAVELLED BY TWO ADVEN-
TUROUs AMERICANS.
BRAVED DIRT, DANGER, DEATH.
NATIVES BROUGHT OATS FOR THE
SILENT sTEEDs, But NOT AN
DAT EATEN.
BRAVED DIRT, DANGER, DEATH.
He Wanted to See One of the b.
cyclists Break His Neck, and
Almost Had His Wish.

IL you IOOh dl lIlG lIO1 III w CO.. SpA4ASA
of map of Persia, you may, or you
may not find a spot marked Julia, ly-
ing on the Armenian side of the stream
Araxes. That is the place where, with
two friends, L commenced a bicycle
ride through the land OF the Lion and
the Sun. If you are good at tracing
routes on maps, it will not be long
before the eye drops on TabriZ, and on
the right will be seen KaZvin. Let
your fingers slide in a line almost down
the map, and you will find Teheran,
Kurn, Ispahan and ShiraZ, and then,
with a twist to the left, Bushire will
be discovered on the coast. 1t was at
Bushire we finished our cycling in the
realm of the shah, covering a distance
Of nearly 1900 miles.
II was a curious experience. There
are no fine parks and asphalted roads
in Persia. No cycle sports have ever
been held there. This may be because
there are no cycles. / am glad of this,
for the eyes of the sons of Iran would
be opened, and then they would de-
clare the cyclists to be frauds. At
present they believe any distance can
be covered in no time. AT Teheran [
told a man ! had come from Julia,
only some 500 miles off. What, sahib,
today?" he asked, with the faintest
establishment.
Another man was peerinS curiOusly
at my wheel. The pneumatic tires were
a mystery. He pressed his sallow
thumb on the rubber, and then bland
ly asked: 'Sahib, is this like the heel
of a mans foot? Does it get harder
the more it is used?" 1 wished it did
One day l was talking to the gov
ernor of a village. 1t was blisteringly
hot, and 1 casually remarked it was
cold in America at that time of the
year But it is very hot in Bombay,
isn't it?" Yes, but Bombay isn't New
York. I answered. Surprise spread
over his features, and then he ques-
toned, But are not both Bombay and
New York in Frankistan?" Which
shows that knowledge of geography in
the dominion of the king of kings is
hazy.
Our first day in Persia was charac-
teristic. We had crossed the Araxea
from Armenia, and we started off all
right over abumpy, bone-shaking mule
track, and went hard for black gorge
that gaped in the center of high red
cliffs When we reached the gorge the
path took fancy to occasionally dab
BILE in a stream. AS the stream was
deep, boulders slippery, and our necks
precious, we thought it best to walk.
Now and then we carried the bicycles
q mile or two. Each bicycle, with bag
gage, weighed seventy pounds. OF
course we were wet up to the thighs.
But we soon got used to that. Night
closed in and the moon was good
enough to oblige.
There had been a fearful robbery
in the Duradees pass a few weeks
before; the mail had been attacked,
and bars of gold and bags Of money
for the Persian bank had been pur
Joined. We wondered whether the
robbers would deem it worth while
attacking us. And we had hardly
escaped from the dark hell and were
cautiously and silently wheeling over
faint track, when two horsemen
sprang from nowhere. "Brigandsr'
we Whispered, and noticing the flash
of the foes pistols in the moonlight.
We parleyed at a distance. They
seemed more frightened than we were.
We went searching for one village
and found another. 1t was not MUCH
VI q plolSC, do lClI NIlloSSo SO bul
we were very cold, and very hungry,
and very tired, and very wet. So we
aroused the place, and made them
find us room. And, while we were
being gazed at like wild beasts, we
dangled our frozen legs over a twig
fire and thawed them. One man made
us tea in a dirty pan, and another
fried US sandy rice in a fat-swimming
dish, much dirtier. Then we had to
hJ1c
down to sleep the sleep of the wan
dering cyclist, always keeping the six
shooters within reach.
Poets have much to answer for. l
think 1 got my idea of Persia from
"Lallah Rookh." l Anticipated a gor-
geous land-one big garden-where
there were perfume-laden orange
groves and brilliant rose-bowers, de-
licious retreats, and unlimited sher-
bet; where one would see the fierce
warriors of the turquoise hills and
sip the red weepings of the Shiraz
vine;" where every woman was beau
tiful, every house a palace, every
brook a ripping delight.
And what did I see? Persia I found
to be nearly all desert. The people
were dirty and foul, and the women
more repulsive than the men. Every
thing was in decay. The half of every
town was in ruins. The famous gar
dens We're bedraggled AMI unkempt,
the famous fountains stunk abomina-
bly,, the famous alabaster baths were
of slabs-and cracked slabs-of Yezd
stone. The idea at home is that all
that is Orient must be picturesque
and quaint. romantic and dreamily
poetic. And travellers Try to deceive
themselves it is so, and take a pride
In deceiving their friends and making