Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-28
Punishment Comes Swiftly.

town, which was taken absolutely by sur
prise and suffered an entirely new eX-
perience.
Punishment Comes Swiftly.
The Cossacks loaded thousand carts
with their spoils and carried off thou
sand women, but soon paid the penalty Of
their audacity. Their success made them
reckless, and band of Kirghiz, starting
in pursuit, drove them into the desert.
where all those who were not cut down
i'm their saddles persisted of thirst. The
memory OF their exploit is one of the
most vivid pages in knivan history.
1t was long time before the CossackS
of the Don learned the tate OF their COM
rades, and when the knowledge came to
them they sent out another expedition OF
1000 warriors to punish the Khivans, but
most of them dieu in the desert. n third
expedition Jared even worse, for those
who survived the perils OF thirst and
starvation were captured and made slaves
bt the knivans. several managed TO es-
cape and found their way back TO Rus
STA, from whom a knowledge of khlva
came to Peter the Great.
Shortly after lhat enterprising sovereign
received inf )rmauon from the Governor
OF Siberia that gold TO be found
along the valley of the Anu Daria and
two expeditions were fitted out to explore
the country, one starting from Siberia
and the otner from the Caucasus. The
former went as far as the Valley of the
Syr Dario. The latter fell into the same
trap in which the COssacks had been
caught, and those who survived the desert
were apportioned among their captors as
slaves. The Khan of khiva sent the head
OF Prince Bekovith, the commander OF the
Russian expedition, as present to the
Emir of Bokhara, who, however, was
afraid to accept it.
These events advertised khiva to the
world and several adventuresome spirits
managed to cross the desert and reach
the city. Some of them were allowed to
escape alive, others were detained in
bondage, and the enslavement OF several
Russian adventures who fell into the
hands of the khivans caused that gov
eminent to undertake new expedition in
1875.
An army of 5000 men, with 10000
camels, attempted to cross the desert, but
they were obliged to turn back before
they got half way, and one-third of those
who started reached the shores of the
Caspian in a wretched, starving condi-
ton, with only 1000 of their camels. In
1910 another attempt was made, and up
!, to 1863 and 1870 there were constant and
serious causes OF provocation.
Khivans Defy the Gear.
The Khivans defied the car and all his
army, and felt themselves entirely pro-
tected by the Notifications with which
nature had encompassed them in the form
of a desert. In 1872, however, a new
expedition was sent out under command
of Gen. Kaufman, who had conquered
eastern TurkeStan, with a larger force
and better equipment than any previous
party had been provided with Accom-
panying the expedition were his imperial
highness, the Grand Duke Nicholas Con-
stantinovitch, and the Grand Duke Eu-
oin of oc
much opposition to the undertaking in
Russia, and the vote in the imperial
council, presided over by the emperor in
person, stood thirty-five to nine in favor.
with Prince GOrtchakon, the prime min
lister, in the negative.
Gen. Kaufman was given full powers
and was authorized to enter into negotia-
lions with the khan for his submission
and protectorate from Russia similar to
that which the Ameer of Bokhara had
recently accepted
About five thousand men and eight
thousand camels made up the expedition,
and every precaution was taken for it's
safety AS the column advanced ex-
plorers were sent ahead to find water and
to dig wells in anticipation of the ap-
proach of the troops. In that way was
created a line of water holes which now
marks the Russian trail from Tashkend
to the Aral sea, but there were wide
plateaus of sand where no water could
be found, and for several weeks Gen.
Kaufman led his weary and thirsty men
hither and thither, until the desert of
KiEil Kun was strewn with the skele-
tons and decaying bodies of camels,
horses and human beings, camp equipage,
officers baggage. rifles and other muni-
tionS of war.
Great Loss of Life Incurred.
Much ammunition and stores. which
/ had to be abandoned. were buried in the
sand, with the intention of sending out
detachments to recover them. OF the
l., 900 camels with which the expedition