JBO'C's Historical Reference |
Merv Oasis Vol. II Page 80 | ||
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FEELING MY WAY. 123 CHAPTER XXXVII. OPENING SCENES AT MEBV. Interviewed by Turkmen - Public opinion - Yassaouli - Persecution - Merv notables - Baba Khan - Aman Niaz Khan - Yusuf Khan - Ophthalmic maladies - Turkmen dress - A Merv Jew - Drinkables at Merv - Religious toleration - Persian intolerance - Kadjar Khan - His appearance - Daily existence - Dust storms - A medjlis - Opium - My Kurd servant - An awkward position - Before the Council of Elders - The old man of the sword - Cross-examination - The Padishah and the 'Coompani' - Favorable wind-up. The afternoon was well advanced before I was fairly installed in my new residence, and as yet the tidings of my arrival had not spread. Only a few Turkmen of the immediate locality ventured near the tent, and even their curiosity was overborne by the awe they felt for the Ferenghi, one of whom, for the first time within the memory of any of them, had actually penetrated into then- inmost recesses. The old mullah remained with me nearly all the evening. Soon after my arrival three or four of the elders of the community tried to draw me out, but I preserved great reticence. I wished to feel my way, and to gain an insight into the characters of my visitors before venturing upon any decided statement or expression of opinion, or giving any explanations, which, however true they might be, might either entangle me with these crooked-minded people or disappoint their expectations. During the first evening I was left comparatively tranquil, but early the next morning a change came over the scene. It was one of the two days Page 124 TROUBLESOME VISITORS. of the week on which the people of the oasis assemble at the bazaar for trading purposes. On each of these occasions several thousand people come together. Long before the sun was well above the horizon a surging crowd had gathered around my tent, the interior of which was also crammed with members of Merv society, all eager to interview the mysterious stranger who had fallen among them, as it were, from the clouds. They were the same sort of dressing-gown robed, sheepskin-clad, gigantic-hatted beings as those whom I have described when writing about my residence among the Yomud Turkmen of the Caspian shore. They sat upon their heels in a kneeling position, their folded arms resting upon the fronts of their thighs, and gazed at me with the ludicrous eagerness which may be observed in baboons and apes when some unfamiliar object meets their eyes. I had been fast asleep, my head resting upon a heap of baggage, and my body covered over with a large sheepskin mantle, but these people waited patiently until it might suit me to let myself be seen, for it is an inviolable piece of etiquette among them never to disturb a sleeper. I was somewhat bewildered by the events of the past few days. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and looked around me, quite unable to understand the sudden and numerous audience who had favored me with their presence. Words cannot describe then" astonishment on beholding my unwonted costume. My short, black, closely buttoned tunic and cord riding-breeches seemed to fill them with amazement. They gazed and gazed as though they could never stop looking at the external appearance of the Ferenghi. It was the gaze of the operator while endeavoring to mesmerize his subject. Simultaneously, from without, scores of eyes peeped through every nook and cranny of the tent walls; and I could hear remarks upon my personal appearance and costume, winding up with a statement of the PERSECUTION. Page 125 conviction of the observers that I was most unmistakably an ' Oroos.' Let it not be imagined that, after the first eagerness of curiosity was satisfied, this sort of thing came to an end. Quite the reverse. As the tidings of my arrival spread, relays upon relays of fresh sightseers thronged to the capital and besieged my abode. Instead of attending to their business in the bazaar, they abandoned everything for the chance of getting a glimpse of me. Sometimes the throng was so terrific that the tent reeled and swayed around me, and I thought it was coming down upon my head - a thing which ultimately happened when the spectators, utterly impatient at not being able to get within reach of the peep-hole, or in line with the 'doorway, tried to lift up the edges of the tent and introduce their heads. This being done simultaneously, and all the tent pegs becoming removed, the thing actually subsided upon me, nearly smothering myself and the more select party inside. Then came a rush of yassaouk, or local police (!), striking right and left with sticks, and shouting reproaches against the sightseers for their violent breach of decorum in thus inconveniencing a stranger guest. All night long, even when I slept, the same state of things continued, both inside and outside the tent. The people seemed never to go to sleep, or to have any desire to do so. The strange cut of my tunic and riding breeches appeared to create an unquenchable thirst on the part of those who had once seen them to see them again. During the first month of my residence at Merv I might be said to have lived in the interior of a much-patronized peep- show, in which I was the central - and, indeed, the only - object of attraction. At first the effect was maddening, but I afterwards fell into a kind of somatic stupor, and began to feel under mesmeric influences. One could not make a move but it was commented upon. The manner of washing my face and hands called forth loud exclamations; and the operation of combing my hair seemed greatly to tickle their fancies. More than once I asked the old mullah whether there were no means of getting rid of the persecution under which I suffered. He shook his head gravely, and said surely I was not harmed by being looked at. When the horribly irritating effect at first produced passed away, I began to look upon my ever-present, passive human tormentors as so many caryatidic appendages of the architecture of my residence. I
had not as yet seen Kadjar Khan, and was very impatient
to do so. He had not yet returned from his tour of
inspection, but was expected hourly. However, I had
visits from persons who ultimately proved to be of much
higher social standing than even the Ichthyic himself.
There was suddenly a great commotion among the outside
crowd, and a general making way of those within the tent,
as three individuals entered, and, gravely saluting me
with much ceremony, took their seats beside me. These
were Kouchid Khan, commonly known as Baba Khan, the son
of the old ruler of Merv. Baba Khan, as I will
henceforward call him, was chief of the Toktamish
division of Turkmen,
those residing in that portion of the oasis which is
situated to the east of the river BABA AND AMAN NIAZ. Page 127 the
fierce sun-light reflected from the marly plain, and the
irritation produced by the dust-storms, so frequent in
this district, and the smoky atmosphere of the huts. Baba
Khan, while apparently speaking to me, was in reality
talking at the crowd within the tent, and endeavoring to
show his keenness of perception by sneering at my stout
denial of being a Russian, and broadly hinting that he
could tell my nationality from the very style of my long
boots - which, by the way, were made in Constantinople.
He, too, had much to say on the standing topic of
conversation, the relative positions of the British and
Russian troops with regard to Merv, the extreme
propinquity of the latter, and the
distance at which the former were cantoned at Aman Niaz Khan was much more agreeable in his manners than his brother chief, and was evidently more of a natural gentleman. His eyes were feeble and watery, and he had the sallow, downcast air which accompanies the excessive use of opium. His features were regular, but wasted. He affected an extreme humility, which I am quite sure he was far from feeling. He told me that his health was very delicate, owing to his excessive consumption of opium, by which, he said, he was gradually ruining his constitution. He could not give it up, he remarked; he had been used to it from childhood. Over his long, sash- girt robe of striped crimson silk was another, of similar material, variously and brilliantly tinted. The ground of the robe was white, and it was so woven as to present a number of irregular patches, or rather splashes, of bright red, blue, yellow, and purple. At a distance he looked as if wrapped up in a large Union Jack. Some of his attendants were similarly attired, the colors varying to green, vermilion, and purple, according to the taste of the wearer. In this respect Aman Niaz and his followers were in distinct contrast to Baba and his men, who were clad in very Page 128 YUSSUF KHAN - MATTHI THE JEW. somber garments. All wore the huge grenadier hats of black curled sheepskin characteristic of the Turkmen, and each had the usual long carving-knife-like dagger stuck in his white sash. Young Yusuf Khan had the most Tartar-like physiognomy of the company - flat nose and high cheek-bones, but his eyes were full and grey, and quite unlike the peeping, slit-like organs of the genuine Kalmuk. Out of reverence to his seniors, he said but little. He was seated on his heels, his hands clasped before him, and concealed beneath his robe of amber-colored camel-hair cloth. He gazed steadfastly before him, as if lost in contemplation, expressing little or no curiosity about me or my belongings. This is considered bon ton in Turkmen society. I spent a weary day, repeating the same answers a hundred times to the same never-varying, tiresome questions, and do not think that I ever talked so long before, in any language; and as that which I used to express myself was Jagatai Tartar, it may be imagined how trying the conversation was to me. One after another the chiefs withdrew, saluting me with ceremonious politeness, and again leaving me at the mercy of the inconsiderate crowd, who seemed to have no regard whatever for my privacy or convenience. Towards
evening one of the few Jews living at Merv, a merchant
named Matthi, paid me a visit. He wore a long robe of
cotton stuff, with narrow red and white stripes, and a
dome-shaped tiara of yellowish brown leather, bordered
round the lower part with fine black Astrakan. His beard,
tinged with grey, was of inordinate length and fullness,
and he carried a staff of some five feet in length, but
no arms. In the East Jews rarely carry weapons of any
kind. I believe that in the Deregez they
are forbidden to do so. Thinking that, like most of his
co-religionists in the but
no word did he understand. He spoke Tartar, Persian,
Hebrew, and some Hindustani. He brought with him a bottle
of arrack, and one of reddish-brown wine from The
Jew merchant told me that there were but seven families
of his religious persuasion at Merv. They had resided
there from time immemorial, and had not among them even a
tradition as to the place from whence they had come
previous to settling in the oasis. Very possibly they
were a remnant of the old traders who had formerly
followed their avocations in the city of VOL. II. K Page 130 KADJAR KHAN, THE ICHTHYAR. convert to the Mussulman faith. In my opinion, the superior religious toleration among the Turkmen is due far more to complete indifference in regard to such subjects than to any greater liberality of mind on their part. In Merv, as a rule, but little heed is paid to anyone's religious belief, provided he be possessed of money. The Mussulman there would draw tears to the eyes of the Wahabees whom Palgrave describes. Opium smoking and arrack drinking are the common and wide-spread vices. In fact, the Mervli are Mussulmans in very little more than name. It
was only after sunset on the second day that Kadjar Khan,
the Ichthyic, made his appearance. Owing to the
excessive crowd in the tent, he had been sitting not far
from me for an hour before I was aware of the fact; the
intense democracy of the population, as well as other
circumstances which became known to me afterwards,
preventing the display of any of those external signs of
respect usually shown to the chief magistrate of a State,
however small it may be. He was in every respect a
remarkable- looking man. Tall and gaunt, he was clad in
simple robes of the soberest tint. His aquiline features
were the exact counterpart of those of the bust of Julius
Caesar at the HIS APPEARANCE AND CONDUCT. Page 131 reminded
of the time and place that it came back to my memory. In
the early portion of the preceding year he had been at
Teheran, together with twelve other Turkmen
of note, endeavoring to come to an understanding with the
Shah about the relations of Merv with The experience of each succeeding day was similar to that of the one which preceded it, the annoyance caused by importunity and intrusion still continuing, and becoming aggravated by the fact that the charm of novelty wore off. People came from far and near to look at me, and during the first fortnight I had not a single moment of privacy or undisturbed repose. I was closely confined to my tent, for whenever I tried to go outside the door I was Page 132 A WEARY TIME. followed by a number of persons, evidently told off to look after me, and to warn me that I should not go straying about, ' lest,' they said, ' the dogs might bite you.' It is true that these dogs were really dangerous, and a stranger, even though a Turkmen, approaching the place, ran imminent risk of being pulled in pieces unless the animals were called off by their proprietors. During the day the heat, within the tent, was stifling ; and at times dust storms arose, drifting the powdered marl, and forcing it through every chink of the tent, until it filled one's ears and nostrils, and insinuated its way into the saddle-bags and among one's eatables. It was wearisome work, sitting there all day to be stared at, with absolutely nothing to do. If I attempted to read a page of one of the few books that I had with me, I was tormented by demands for explanations as to its nature, what it contained, &c. I could not even think, on account of the incessant questionings ; and I really believe that, unless relief had come in one form or another, I should have become demented. On the seventh day after my arrival, advantage being taken of the assembly of people at the bazaar, a general medjlis, or council of the Merv chiefs and elders, was summoned to investigate my case, and to decide what my standing at Merv should be - a friendly one or the reverse, and to examine the evidence pro and can. with regard to my being a Russian. My Kurd servant was lying in a corner, stupefied with the fumes of opium, which he had been smoking to deaden his fears of the possible result of the reunion of the redoubtable Merv elders. He was in the last extremity of fear, and had the conviction, which he more than once expressed to me, that we had not the slightest chance of escaping with our lives. This Kurd had done me a world of harm, and his action bade fair to place me in serious jeopardy of, at best, a GHOLAM RIZA. Page 133 lengthened detention. He had formerly
been a professional raider in the service of the Emir
Hussein Khan, the Governor of Kuchan. His business then
was to conduct parties of horsemen into the neighboring Turkmen
territory, and to secure as many sheep and cattle, as
well as heads of the inhabitants, as possible, in the same
fashion as that adopted by the henchmen of the Khan of
Deregez. He quarreled with his chief, and was gaining
his living in a heterogeneous manner when I met with him.
The British Consular Agent at Page 134 SUMMONED BEFORE THE MEDJLJS.
Here I was, then, in a very awkward position. From hearing my servant reiterate the statements which had sprung from his own imagination, stimulated by his fears, the authorities had begun to attach some kind of importance to what he said, and to believe that after all I might be some kind of envoy, dispatched to Merv by reason of the very critical position with reference to the advancing Russian forces. I had to dispel these illusions, and at the same time to make known the nature of my business among them - by no means an easy task. The council of elders had been sitting for over an hour when I was summoned to attend it. I confess that it was not without a considerable degree of trepidation that I obeyed the summons. Issuing from my tent, I was led through a surging crowd to a wide waste space in the rear, where, on the marly earth, some two hundred persons were seated in a circle of twenty yards in diameter. An immense gathering of the public pressed around them; for at Merv the entire population, of both sexes and all ages and conditions, are privy to the important deliberations of the Council of State. Within the circle, and close to one side of it, was laid a large felt rug, on which I was requested to be seated. Then followed a dead silence. Everyone was scrutinizing myself and my garb. I had expressly donned all that was left me of European clothing, lest, as I have said, I should be accused of having tried to disguise myself in Eastern attire ; and I feel sure that I presented a singular appearance, considering the unavoidable mixture of garments I was compelled to put on. I cast a rapid glance around me when I was seated THE OLD MAN OF THE SWORD. Page 135 cross-legged on my rug. There were young and old, well- dressed and shabbily-attired men in the assembly. The general expression of countenance was far from reassuring ; but there were some faces that gave me confidence. The gathering before me was doubtless fairly representative, so far as types were concerned, of the population of Merv, and I was greatly struck by the general absence of the Kalmuk type. The physiognomies before me would readily have passed for European, and the only peculiarity noticeable was the absence, in the main, of beard upon the sides of the jaws. Fully a third of the number, however, had beards of respectable dimensions - a sign, probably, of admixture of Persian blood. There was a general whispering for some time, and then, from the opposite part of the circle, I was addressed in thundering bass tones. The speaker was a man of colossal proportions and of advanced age, as the long white beard which swept his breast denoted. He was rather well dressed, in the fashion of the country, one which probably dates back to a very remote period. His formidable name, as I afterwards learned, was Killidge Ak-Saghal, or the Old Man of the Sword. He said, in tones of one accustomed to send his voice afar in the tumult of combat, ' Who and what are you, and what brings you here ?' This was a comprehensive question, and I answered in the same fashion. I said that I was a native of that part of Frangistan called England, and that my present occupation was observing and reporting on the progress of the Russian arms; and that, fleeing before General Skobelev's advance, I had arrived at Merv. Then ensued a pause, during which my statement was discussed throughout the assembly. ' What proof can you give of the truth of your statement ? ' said the Old Man of the Sword. Hereupon I deftly produced Page
136 CROSS-EXAMINATION. my
pocket-book, and unfolded the various documents which I
possessed, some in English, others in Persian, testifying
to my identity and occupation. The old man, who seemed
tacitly recognized as the speaker of the assembly, and
who furthermore possessed the rare accomplishments of
reading and writing, not only his own language, but also
that of Persia, gravely examined my papers, which he
subsequently read aloud and translated into Turkmen
idiom for the benefit of the assembly. A murmur of
approval followed. ' But,' said the militant elder, ' how
can anyone tell but that you are not a Russian who has
murdered some Englishman and taken his papers ?' I began
to perceive that my interlocutor was a wag, and wished to
show his humor to the company. I said, gravely, that
there were means of showing that this supposition was
untenable, by a reference to the British agent at DECISION
OF THE COUNCIL. Page 137 as was currently reported in the East,
that the Padishah of England was a lady. In
a little while I began to gain ground, and could easily
perceive the truth of the adage that ' we easily believe
that which we wish.' This council of dignitaries
concluded by convincing themselves that I was an
Englishman, and had come to Merv for the purpose
of doing what my Kurd had
so industriously circulated to be my object. After an
hour's discussion I was told that I might withdraw. I was
led back to my tent, from whence I could hear the loud
and eager debate which ensued. While
awaiting the final decision of the council, the moments
were anxious ones for me. For all I could tell, sentence
of immediate death might be pronounced upon me, and I
endeavored to steel my mind for the very worst. In half
an hour I was again summoned. From the smiling faces
around I knew that a favorable decision had been arrived
at. The thunder-voiced old Nestor told me that I was not
to be killed, for which I felt duly thankful, considering
the state of concern in this regard in which I had been
living for some days, and up to that moment. ' But,' said
he, ' you are to remain a prisoner until a reply can be
received from Abass Khan, the English agent at Chapter 30 - Chapter 31 - Chapter 32 - Chapter 33 - Chapter 34 - Chapter 35 - Chapter 36 - Chapter 37 - Chapter 38 - Chapter 39 - Chapter 40 |
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| These
are my notes on some important historical works. I have
edited and where possible standardized spellings. The
subject of the works has not and will not change but they
are not word for for word identical with the originals.
For instance in the case of General Mikhail_Dmitrievich
Skobelev I adopted the more common use of Skobelev
rather than Skoboloff. If this presents a problem then
find another source. Barry O'Connell Some other works:
Last count I have over 29,000 web pages in my notes. My main sites are www.SpongoBongo.com and www.PersianCarpetGuide.com
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