Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-08-07
THE FLIGHT OF THE KALMUCKS.

Spea Correspondence

y. CURI1S.
: and the Chicago Record Herald.
ing them before they reached their desti-
nation 49,.
In reality. the fight was no revolt. but,
as De Quincy says, 1t was return TO
their old allegiance; since in the year
1916 the ancestors of these people re-
VOTED from the Emperor of China, rouno
their way westward across the desert and
settled upon land given them by the Car
of Russia on the banks of the Volga
river. There they had lived in prosperity,
but not In peace for a century and a hair,
subject to heavy taxation, military con-
scrpton, and various other forms OF
persecution Having tried both govern
ments they were convinced that China
was the land OF promise and Russia the
house OF bondage. De Quincy sums up
the story in these words:
There is no great event in modern
history, or perhaps 1t may be said broad
ly. none in all history
Tartar from its earliest records,
r1;uh4 less generally known or
6"'' more striking to the
imagination than the flight eastward of
a principal Tartar nation across the
boundless steppes Of Asia The terminus
a quo OF this light and the terminus ad
QUEEN are equally magnifcent-the might
lest of Christian thrones being the one.
the mightiest OF pagans the other. In the
abruptness Of its commencement and the
fierce velocity Of it's execution we read
the wild barbaric character of those who
conducted the movement, an eXo-
dus in SO far resembling the great spirit
ual exodus of the IsraeliteS under Moses
and Joshua, as well as in the very pc
cuiiar distinction of carrying along with
them their entire families. women chill
dren, slaves, their nerds Of cattle and of
sheep, their horses and their camels.''
This flight was the result of a con-
spiracy on the part of an unsuccessful
candidate for the throne of the Kali
mucks. who induced them to undertake
the exodus by misrepresentation, by a
forged invitation from KEN Long, the
reignng Emperor of China, and a forged
document giving the movement the sane
ton Of the Dalai Lama, in Tibet. This
tribe OF Tartars belonged to the Buddhist
sect. They brought their religion with
them from China, when they came to
Russia, and had suffered much perSecu-
ton because of their adherence to it. The
representative of the Dalai Lama was a
priest or bishop named LOOsang, who not
only declared the movement to be ordered
by God, but fixed the date upon which it
should take place.
On the 9Th day of January, 1851 the
day solemnly appointed by the lama, the
entire nation burned their
Eastward homes and started east
Start. sna u sor u,,' ,ae.u .ne EN- HOOKS
companied by wagons and camels loaded
with their household goods and agri-
cultural implements, without dreaming of
the terrible experience that awaited
them. During the first week they made
about 800 miles, and, their departure
having been discovered, the Russian gov
eminent ordered a pursuit by a force of
Cossacks. The first battle resulted in
terrible slaughter. 1t is said that not
less than eighty thousand of the fugitiveS,
including many women and children, were
killed. Then began a race across the
desert between the purSuers and the pur
sued which continued all the spring and
summer until the horde which started
with about COG, coo men, women and chill
dren was reduced to 100000, two-thirds of
those who started having fallen upon the
desert, victims to famine, fatigue, heat
and the destroying scimitars of the Cos
sacks. the KirghiZ and the BashkirS, the
semi-savage nomads of Turkestan
The Khan of the Kalmucks sent mes
sengers ahead to notify the Emperor of
China Of the movement, and the latter
was hunting in the extreme western
frontier Of China when the Kalmuck
host, now in the last eXtremities of eX-
haustion appeared.
The first intimation of their approach
was the clouds of dust that rose upon the
horizon. and then the scouts reported to
the emperor that the pilgrims, who were
three months ahead of their time, were
pursued by their enemies. He therefore
summoned all the military forces within
call to the rescue of the fugitives.
~
During the last ten days they had
been traversing a hideous desert and
the horrors of thirst had
Frantic reached the fiercest extrem-
MI ity. Therefore, when the
~'"0"' fugitives and their pursuers
came in sight of Lake Tenghis they
rushed with maddening eagerness into
the water. forgetful Of all things but
one mighty instinct. But the next
moment arose the final scene of parting
vengeance" de Quincy writes. Far
and wide the waters Of the solitary
lake were dyed red with blood and
Bashkirs, hewing off heads as fast as
the sWaths fall before the mowers
scythe: there stood unarmed Kalmucks
in death grapple with their detested
IOeSs OILeuIlmeS DOtn SINKING below
the surface from weakness or from
struggle and perishing in each others
arms. Every moment the water grew
more polluted; yet every moment fresh
myriads came up to the lake and rush
ed in. not able to resist their frantic
thirst. Wheresoever the lake was
shallow enough to allow Of men rails
ing their heads above the water, there,
for scores of acres, were to be seen
ali forms of CHASTITY fear Of agonizing
struggle, of spasmsa of commissions, of
mortal conflict, death and the fear of
death; revenge and the lunacy of re-
venge: hatred and the frenzy of hatred,
until the neutral spectators, Of whom
there were not few, averted their
eyes in horror"
The Chinese cavalry came to the
rescue of the fugitives and slaughtered
all of the Bashkirs and Kirshiz who
escaped from the lake.
Here ends the tale OF the Kalmuck
wanderings in the desert" de Quincy
concludes his story. Every possible
alienation and refreshments for their
exhausted bodies had already been pro-
vided by Kien Long with the most
princely munificence, and lands of
great fertility were assigned them in
ample extent" Thus, after memorable
years Of misery, the kalmucks were
replaced in territorial possessions and
in comfort equal, perhaps, or even su-
perior, to those they had enioved in