The Opelousas courier., 1900-04-07
fRF CITY OF SgEGES
listory of Ilerat, Which the Russians are
Coveting.

Some English travellers through CO..
| raj Asia haze written home that Rus
ia is modifying troops along the from.
Ger coutigutGls with Persia and AT
thanistan. This looks serious. 1t
means a revival Of those ugly JUNIORS
bout the bear Of Europe. 1t means
hat the Ear is looking with covetous-
less ON India, furnishing with starva-
ion as it Is.
For Herat, the key to India" lays
Tut a few hundred miles to the south
vest of Ashkabah. where the mobili.
'ation is reported as taking place.
Englishmen at home, in the security
VI their cheerful newspapers. do not
consider the danger imminent. They
cad of the physical character of cen
raj Asia; they have heard Of bound
ess steppes, so arid that the frugal
rartars have to move their camps
weekly for fresh forage ground; OF the
deserts and marches into which large
'ivers disappear; of the towering, al
most impossible mountains, and they
| leel secure.
But Englishmen who have gone
hro2gh that country do IL smile so
,ontentedly. They see how Russia has
,urmounted obstacle after obstacle.
They know of the modern railway that
connects Batum. the best harbOr on the
| asst coast Of the Black Seaa. with
Baku, on the Caspian, passing through
riffs, the capital of Transcaucasla.
They know Of the large squadron OF
Russian men-of-war on the Caspian,
| :entered 1t Baku, where 4 powerful
| station is fully equipped in every way;
If the fleet OF steamers, built to be
lsed as transports, that belong to the
rranscaucasian Railway. With these
facilities for transportation they see
| now quickly Russia can and does land
| infantry. cavalry and artillery on the
eastern shore of the Caspian at kras-
| aOyodSk.
They know. too, of the other railway
| that leads from there to Ashkabad,
the key to Herat," and goes on ovet
tle steppes and desert to kOusilld
Khan KaleiI, which Is lear the ruins of
The ancient Merry, s % often a bone OF
contention on account of the immense
oasis it controls.
When an army has two good roads
| by which to attack it may be assumed
that 1t will divide and attack by both.
| This the Russians can easily do. They
can leave Ashkabad, in Russian Turke-
| stan, march south to SHERMAN, in Per
ria. where they would be on the high,
way that runs almost southeast
| through Meshed. crosses the Afghan.
| istan border in open country anu
| makes straight for Herat. The shah
| would not cause trouble. as il is well
| known that he is at the beck and call
Of the cZar.
Herat is the fifty times besieged
city. II the sieges are accurately
| counted, the result is fifty-two. 1t was
| the capital Of Timur; it was fought for
| by the Mohammedans, by the Persians.
| by the ameers Of Kabul. and there was
always an Ameer of Herat anxious lo
'egain his patrimony. The years when
Ierat has not seen fighting have been
are, and Herat is 81 very old town.
During the present century it has
| >een unsuccessfully besieged in 1881
md 1898 by the Persians, and taken
| " them in 1856; regained by Dost Mo
BANNED. Ameer Of kabul, in 1868; lost
| " him to an Ameer of Herat, and re-
gained by Kabul in 1881 under the
present ameer, A~bburrahman Khan.
And why is Herat 1.-The key to India,
when it is situated in the extreme
| northwest of Afghanistan, nearly CIV
| niles, as the crow MES, from the In
| liam frontier? Because Herat Is the
controlling point of the approaches &c
| he only two passes into India that are
| reversed by railroads.
One highway, that goes eastward
| rom Herat, keeps south of the Hindoo
| Eush and reaches Kabul. whence ther
6 n short route through Kabul Pass to
| peshawar. Here lat Peshawar) com
nences one of the important railways
If India. a great trunk line, as it con
aects at Lahore for all points in the
4 india DeninSula.