Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1905-10-17
THE GIANT CAUCASUS
A REGION or GLOOM AND TERROR
AND pEsoLATIoN.
The Strange Mixture OF Races Dating
Back From Immemorisi Antiquity
That Peoples the slopes OF These
snow Capped Mountains.

The traveller who should seek TO cross
from the southern plains Of Russia
over into Persia or Arabia by the land
between the Caspian and the Black
seas would find himself confronted by
a sight which for gloom and terror has
hardly any equal In the world. writes
W. u. HOdgEOn In the London News.
Rising sheer from the vast arid plain,
like a great foam crested blllow about
20 break on a desolate beach, a billow
10000 feet high and $40 miles long. the
snow capped Caucasus stretches across
from sea to sea with dreadful. threat.
ening. savage majesty OF mien.
Its peaks are not so high as many OF
the Alps. Il has not the projecting
spurs aud isolated. craggy heights
whose groupings give new and beauti-
ful views at every step. II j. just an
immense mountain chain, an unbroken
fold or crease on the earth's surface.
Though the Alps have higher peaks the
lowest pass across the Caucasus u
nearly double the height Of the Alpine
crossing places. The Caucasus has no
lakes. only turbid, muddy rivers flow
ing from the ice fields OF It's central
ridge. Even these are missing IN the
east. where the ridge lowers toward
the Caspian.
But the terror and desolation Of the
Causasus forever kept apart the PEG
Piles 20 the north and south. on the
one hand civilizations rose and fell
the Babylonian, the Assyrian. the
Greek. the Egyptian. the Roman, the
republics OF the middle ages-but to
the north the great plains were ever In
habted by the wild. lawless nomads.
And 20 from the very beginnings OF
time the Causasus has stayed the hui
man tide. and. as conquering races
swept all before them below. the weak.
the peaceable. the unfit. have been
driven higher and higher into inaccessl- /
BILE gorges and wild, bog covered val |
leys
A strange mixture OF races. dating |
back from immemorable antiquity. has |
been washed up like surf on TO the |
slopes Of these giant mountains. The |
I'd. the KurIn. the Avar. the Tush. be- !
long % races that persisted before Eu- |
rope was discovered. Seven languages
are spoken In the Caucasus. each unin.
10 the tribes using the rest. 1
Some Of them are related TO the early /
tongues OF Europe: others have no
known affinities and seem 70 be- among
the languages OF Babel that did not
catch on"
Here amid these mountains we have
he ghosts OF ancient peoples who have
gone under in the world struggle
There may well be tribesmen here
whose ancestor was driven high by the
hood and settled within sight OF Ara
at and his cousin. Noah. There are
It'll tribes who array themselves In
helmets and chain armor and carry
pears like those OF 1900 years ago.
others have strange ritual practices
hat have come down from the dawn
4 the world mingling their pagan rites
With worship OF the Christ God" and
he angels OF the river. the forest and
he mountain. They have blood feuds
which go on for generations. Ike those
4 Corsica In the past.
II Is a mistake TO suppose that Rus
Ia took the Caucasus by n general
Tarilke movement There was no
eed. Divided by religion into Chris
ians. Mohammedans and pagans, d.
ided nv languages which made them
mutually unlntelllgible, the tribes OF
his strange museum OF bygone races
ould take no united action
Throughout the first three-quarters OF
be nineteenth century Russia was EN-
loyed In absorbing the Caucasus piece
y piece. Only two OF the Caucasian
aces made anything like strong re
stance. In the east Mohammedan
rophet. Shamyl OF the Avar stock.
hitch overran a great part OF Europe
! the seventh century ana was only I