Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-10-06
NAPTHA LAND
Tales From Tartar Oppressed City Of Baku Told
By an Observing Traveller

over the floor. Struggling through.
YOU reach villa Petrolia. and then
White Town fBieli Gorodi. so called.
presumably. 10 distinguish II from
Black Town, and not because Of any
particular superiority In cleanliness.
The great bulk Of the oil wells are
situated on a plateau in the center OF
the peninsula, 10 the north and east
OF the town and the refinery suburbs.
The western part 81 the plateau Is
known as %Balakhany, from the village
Of that name; this was the earliest
exploited district. Further east lies
- bonnchi, and then Romany, making
lup = total area Of about four square
miles. The natives sometimes call
II the Baku forest" About 1900
Tor 1900 derricks are crowded togefh-
or In this area, set so closely some
times ~ almost 10 touch each 9th.
or. Built OF wood. at first white. but
soon turning brown from satnraiion
with OIL. they look moi unlike a forest,
and they burn like finder.
Warlike Hin Tribesmen.
Here II Is that the f~iercest fighting
IL taking place. The workmen en-
ployed about the wells number from
10000 10 10000, divided. roughly. into
three races-Armenian. Persian and
Tartar, The Armenians are chiefly
employed In superior positions. The
Persians and Tartars are laborers.
They are Quiet enough as a rule but
among them there is a s~prinkling OF
Lesgians and ~Gruzenians, warlike
tribesmen from the mountains. They
have more brains than the Persian or
Tartar. but they are qnick-tempered
and ~revengeful. Stories are told how
an unpopular oyerseer has been
dropped down a well and the heavy
drill set going III the shaft was liter
ally bored through thy corpse. Many
OF these men haAeng~tnsIsibes which
have never submitted to the Russian
yoke, and IL Ia probably these who are
leading the present riots.
Balakhany IL connected with Black
Town by a branch railway. on which
trains run at uncertain intervals by
a road OF extraordinary badness, and
by about forty pipe lines. which wrig-
gle over the surface like so many
snakes. Half way stands the Tartar
village OF kishli, whose inhabitants
make their living by tapping the pipe
lines and stealing the oil. The naphtha
producers Of Bakn once offered this
village an annual subsidy II It wonld
guarantee the safety Of the lines. but
the Elders Of Kishli replied that they
preferred their own ways. They are
also suspected OF n little brigandage
at the expense Of stray travellers.
A Golden Valley.
Passing westwards from Balakhany,
we find that the plateau ends In a
ridge of hills. which runs southwark
In a semi-circle behind the town
and comes down to the sea about two
miles south Of 1t. The main line OF
! railway TO Tiflis and Hatoum takes 4
bold sweep to the %northward after
leaving Baku In order to cross this
ridge at its lowest point. where, new
ertheless, II has a considerable grad
I5cut " CiIuuu. ~ uttic Suutu VI tHIs
| point the ridge Is cut by a deep gap
called the VOLTS Gate, through which
passes the principal camel road to
the interior.
A the hills come down to the coast
south Of the town they open out into
a small velley, like an anpitheater.
facing the sea. This Ia the Bibi- Eibaf
valley, probably the richest oil field
iii the world in proportion to Its size:
It Is only one and one-half square
miles in extent. A single plot Ut
twenty-seven acres II said to have
yielded as much oil as would fiji 4
lake of the same area and $50 feet IL
depth. There Is a large amount OF
British capital invested in this field;
and the trouble seems to have been
less severe here.
Driving into the valley, which Is
famous for It's winds. you are met by
a singing shower of dust and pebbles
like a volley Of %shrapnel. A phaeton
may easily be overturned. and the
native cart, a high wooden crate rest
ing on the axle OF a pair Of s%even-foOt
wheels, goes down before It at once;
you may see a dozen OF them rolled
over one after another.
The road back to Baku from Bib
Eibat passes Bailouff Point, the ma
val station" where q small revenue
steamer usually represents the Cas-
plan fleet" Of the Russian empire;