The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-22

ographer and Author-sIission to
 YakuB Beg-Strict DiscIpIInarinn-
 His Home Life-Hatred of Display
 and Ostentation-simpIIcity of
 Equipment on the Field
 Among the memories of my nine years wanderings in Asia which l treasure and value most, says Dr. Sven Hedin. in the London Times, not the least valuable are the hours I have spent in General Kuropatkin's colnpa- ny. And of all the distinguished men l have met, between St. Petersburg and Pekin and between Irkutsk ans Haid- arabad, there is only one who has left upon me the same deep and abiding impression-namely, Lord Curzon. II is in the hands of these two men that the destinies of Asia have during the last few years in great part rested.
 Even though these two typical repre- sentatives of two great peoples are, by reason of their national characteristics, very different from one another; on the other hand, as both possess some of the best and noblest human qualities, they are in several respects like one another, and have many points in common. Tn his manner and bearing General Kuro- patkin is quite as simple and natural as Lord Curzon, and. like the Viceroy of India, he treats all who are subject to his authority as men, listening to such as need help. and treating all, even the meanest among them, wit the greatest consideration, kindliness and Doliteness.
 Both are true ond zealous patriots, both have devoted their life and best powers to the service of the country which gave them birth, and both are deeply sensible of the heavy responsi. bility which rests upon them. By a pure chance there is one point in which their careers are singularly alike. Both are geographers and explorers, and both authors within the field Of scientific geography, and both have won for themselves an honored place in the history of geographical discovery in Asia. General Kuropatkin's travels were made in that part of Asia the DO. Htical future of which was to such a great extent destined to be placed in his own hands, and in his book, "Kash- garia, he has described, in a manner that cannot be excelled, his Journey through the East Turkestan of Yakub Beg's time.
 But 1t was not of this 1wished to speak, but about the personal impress sions which General Kuropatkin made upon me. Alexei Nicolaievitch. Kuro- patkin is the central figure in the great and striking drama which is now being enacted in the theater of war in Man churia, and which all the world is watching in breathless expectation. At this present moment he is the man who instinctively but inevitably excites our interest in the highest degree.
 As young man he served in the French foreign legion in Algiers and took part in several mission sohari- ennes, and these he has described with the same admirable degree of accuracy and Knowledge that he has displayed in all the military experiences of his varied and remarkable life. It was in Algiers he learned to speak French with such wonderful purity; though he does not speak 1t with the vivacity and gesticulation of a Frenchnan, but speaks it slowly and quietly, yet with perfect mastery. Of other books that he has written may mention a capital description of the Russo Turkish war and several bandbooks on strategy and the science of war. It was as chief of the staff to Skobeleff that he learned the practical side of war
 Yet how unlike is he to Skobeleff! The latter loved war for it's own sake, and, like the Japanese, greeted the stir ring trumpet signal to charge as the invitation to a feast-a man who, on his white horse and with the breast of his white uniform glittering with bril- liants and decorations, loved to gallop to the front with sublime contempt for the showers of bullets falling all around him. General Kuropatkin re gards was entirely from it's serious side as an unavoidable evil, an art that must be studied with industry and thoroughness, leaving nothing to chance or to the enthusiasm of the mo ment. In point of popularity with the army he even rivals his former chief; but whereas Skobeleffff by his mere presence possessed the power to eIectri- fy his men and kindle their enthusiasm, Kuropatkin inspires in his troops 8 feeling Of unruff1ed calmness, conf dence and security. They look upon him as their father, and know that he takes the same interest in every man that marches in the ranks that he would in his own son.
 In 1876 Skobeleff, then still a young man, conquered the Khenate of Kho- kand, expelled it's last ruler, Khedjer Khan; pacified the country within a couple of months, and converted it into. q Russian oblast under the name of Fergana. But the Kara Kirghiz and Kipchaks, who led nomad existenc in the mountainous regions that sur- rounded the new province, were not so easily subdued Some of them offered opposition; others fled across the mountains Yakub Beg of Kashgar, from whom they had 8 friendly recep- tion. At that time Yakub Beg, who as an actual fact is one of the most nota- ble of modern conquerors, was at the height of his power, having risen from the very lowest position a man could occupy in his country namely, that of