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CHAPTER XXIV.

TURKESTAN, AFGHANISTAN, BALUCHISTAN.

To the east and northeast of Persia is a large area divided among several nations. This whole country deserves careful study, because it appears destined to be of immense importance as the probable battle ground for the future possession of India.

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Inhabiting the northern districts of this country are the Turkoman tribes of countless horsemen fierce plunderers who ride with amazing swiftness, and who many times have made raids upon the people dwelling between Bokhara and Meshed. These wild and lawless tribes owe allegiance to no chief in particular, but will follow the one who can assemble the greatest number of warriors to ride forth and plunder the surrounding country. They have no fixed home, but move their black tents from one plain to another, when compelled by want of pasturage for their cattle.

For many years Russia has been, and is yet, expanding her possessions in the Far East. The advance made by the Russians in Central Asia has already given them control of Turkestan, and the only barrier now remaining between their outposts and the Indian Empire is the kingdom of Afghanistan. To complete her dominion over this land of barbarism, Russia has built the TransCaspian railroad through the heart of the old Tartar Empire. Besides opening up the country and developing all its resources, the railroad is a highway for the introduction of the methods and ideas of western nations.

Afghanistan is a rocky, mountainous land, in whose valleys abundant harvests are grown. In the fertile lowlands, grapes, apricots, pears, plums, corn, and tobacco may be raised. To the southwest is a vast sand desert stretching away towards the Persian frontier.

On the oases of the desert are groves of date palms, refreshing the wearied traveler by their grateful shade and luscious fruit. To the north are the snow-crowned Hindu-Kush Mountains; and to the east are the Suliman Mountains, overlooking the Indus and the Vale of Cashmere.

The Afghans inhabiting this rugged land are a restless and warlike race, and they exhibit the same intrepid courage found among the mountaineers of all

countries.

Although a small country, Afghanistan has been the scene of many wars. Men of great renown and events of world-wide importance are associated with its history. Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Tamerlane are among the warriors who added to their fame in Afghanistan. These famous conquerors were followed by the founders of the Mogul Empire, who swept over this country and forced their way through its mountain passes on their way to India.

The great cities of Afghanistan are Herat in the west, Kabul in the east, and Kandahar in the center. Of these cities, Herat is of great military importance, and, because of its position, has been called the "Gate of India." Built upon a height commanding the surrounding country, the walls and towers of Herat make it a fortress of vast strength. The principal roads

from the Caspian Sea to the Khyber Pass lead through Herat, so that, in time of war, the nation holding this ancient city could control the fate of western India. In addition to its commanding position, the city of Herat, surrounded by a country of great fertility, could furnish all the supplies needed by a large army while conducting a war against the Indian Empire. For all these reasons there is no other such camping ground between the Caspian Sea and India, and it cannot be wondered at that England watches with keen suspicion every move in this direction made by the Russians.

The city of Kandahar is another stronghold against the advance of an enemy toward the passes through the mountains into India. The extension of the railroad into these regions is of great importance not only from the effect upon commerce, but also from a military point of view.

To the south of Afghanistan lies the rugged land of Baluchistan. It is bounded by India on the east and by Persia on the west, while to the south for a distance of more than five hundred miles the waves of the Arabian Sea break along its coast.

Baluchistan is a very mountainous region. Until within a few years, but little was known of the remoter sections of this land, where sandy deserts, dangerous to cross, are very common. There are no lakes of large size in Baluchistan, and no rivers of importance flow through it. Towns and villages are few and are widely separated.

The inhabitants live very much as the Turcomans do, and their principal possessions are herds of camels and flocks of sheep. As a consequence a large majority of the inhabitants of Baluchistan are nomads, wandering from place to place in search of pasturage for their cattle.

The capital is Kelat, a fortified town and the center of trade for the interior of the country. It is about seven thousand feet above sea level, and has, in consequence, an agreeable climate. It is not an attractive place. The streets are narrow and filthy, and the bazaar, although it is supplied with all kinds of necessaries, is not like the bazaars to be seen in the large cities of India and Japan.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE HOME OF THE ARAB.

THE peninsula forming the extreme southwestern corner of Asia is the home of the Arab. It is a land of great interest, not so much for the country itself, or the places to be seen there, as for its interesting history.

"O'er Arabia's desert sands

The patient camel walks,

'Mid lonely caves and rocky lands
The fell hyena stalks.

"On her cool and shady hills

Coffee shrubs and tam'rinds grow;
Headlong fall the welcome rills

Down the fruitless dells below.

“The fragrant myrrh and healing balm

Perfume the passing gale;

Thick hung with dates the spreading palm
Towers o'er the peopled vale."

Although some parts of Arabia are mentioned in the oldest historical records, and its shores were familiar to the earliest navigators, the greater portion of its territory has remained almost unknown. This is because so much of this land is a desert and has been but little explored by travelers.

Arabia forms a triangular peninsula, with its base, nearly a thousand miles long, resting on the Indian Ocean. Its eastern coast is washed by the Persian Gulf and its western coast by the Red Sea.

Arabia as a whole is not a fertile country, but is a high table-land, rising here and there to mountain ranges. In the southwestern portion are tracts of fertile country, and along the slopes of the mountains are rich pastures and cultivated fields. All along the coast are vast stretches of sand, at intervals reaching far inland to where they join the great desert, a wide waste of burning sand.

In the olden time Arabia was divided into three portions, the rocky, mountainous country on the north; the great central desert; and the fertile land to the south, known as Arabia Felix, meaning the happy country. This last region is now known as Yemen, and is the most favored portion of all Arabia. Here vegetation is abundant, and the date palm yields its rich fruit, which is the staple food for large numbers of the natives. Great quantities of dates are ex

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