The Monticellonian., 1916-10-12

conditions reign, and where
life is going on just as il has for the
last 1000 years, unmoved by what is
passing over it. writes Montgomery
Schuyler To the New York Times.
Not easy of access to foreigners at any
time. Russian Turkestan. since the be
ginning of the war. has been Il terra
ineognita To the traveller. and so far as
| am aware | was the first to visit it
since that time The country is always
under military rule and since its an
nexation by the Russian empire has
been administered as u military ter
ritory by the war office. Through the
necessary official channels | obtained
permission to visit Turkestan. accom-
panied by my wife, and started off
from Petrograd in the middle of Il
snowstorm with intense cold and every
evidence of midwinter.
We arrived after some five and IA
half days steady travelling at fash
kent. the administrative capital of Rus
sian Turkestan.
This is a new city built by the Rus
slams after the occupation of the neigh
boring districts between 1865 and 1868.
1t is laid out in the manner of all new
Russian places, with wide boulevards
radiating from a center as planned and
running straight out into the country
through fields and swamps. looking
confidently TO the future for the growth
and population to come, for in the Rus
sian empire. as nowhere else, the peo-
pie follow the flag, and indeed, some
times precede il in this part Of the
world.
Tashkent is obviously and unmistak-
ably city of the future and allow
anee must be made for its present
struggling character. There are how
ever. many handsome administrative
buildings aud military and educational
establishments.
Beautiful in Early Spring.
Turkestan is now reached from Pc
trograd and Moscow by railway via
0renburg to Tashkent, or across the
Caspian by steamer, a sea trip of only
about 36 hours from Baku to Krasno-
vodsk The most interesting way to
20 is as we did. out by Tashkent and
back through KrasnOvodsk and Baku.
At Tashkent / was Joined by Rus
sian officer, who had been detailed to
accompany me on my travels in Turke-
stan. and who proved to be not only
a charming companion, but of great
help in arranging the details Of the
journey and in getting the necessary
transportation and accommodations.
We had already begun to feel the
coming of spring after leaving the Cral
mountains near Orenburg, and as we
sped or rather crawled south and east
the snow disappeared and the air be-
came milder and balmier until as we
stepped out of the train at Tashkent
we were i'll the full glory of the early
spring There are few loyelier sights
than the coming OF spring after the
damp and unpleasant winter of Tur-
kestan. There is hardly ever any wind
in TaShkent and the calm day after
day is curious to the stranger within
its gates. The rain and warm wealth
er rapidly bring on the vegetation, and
soon everything is covered with deli
cate green. which blends with the pink
and brown mud walls, the clear blue
of the sky. and the glittering gold and
yellow of the Russian Orthodox
church edifices.
From Tashkent we started on de-
tour of kokand, seeing en- route the
fertile cotton fields of the Ferghana
and Kokand districts, of which the
city of Skobelovo is the administra-
tive center. This town also is new
and without interest. Some miles
away is the old and ruined city which
il has replaced. whose crumbling mud
walls and deserted streets bear wit
ness to the power of the railroad to
draw people tn itself.
Dead Age Is Revitalized.
From Andijan, near the border of
/ Chinese Turkestan. the Transcaspian
railroad stretches to the port of kras-
novodsk. on the shore of the Caspian
I