Arminius Vambery, his life and adventures Part 9

When such a thing happens a couple of men are sent after the animals to bring them back, the caravan continuing their march. One of the caravan, however, is selected to keep up a continual conversation with the men sent out, while they are receding, to prevent their missing their way in the dark night. The melancholy sound of this man's voice is their only guide in the pitchlike darkness, and woe to the poor fellows if a contrary wind hinders them from hearing it. On the 16th of May we perceived in a north-eastern direction the mountain-chain of _Karendag_, and reached it on the afternoon of the same day. We had been told in Etrek that we might look forward to meeting friendly Yomut-Turkomans at this place, but nevertheless there prevailed a general anxiety on that subject, the fear of the possibility of being attacked by some hostile bands being quite as great as the expectation of meeting the former. We dispatched a brave Turkoman to reconnoitre the neighbourhood. Before long we caught sight of solitary tents, and, our apprehensions being dispelled, we asked ourselves what tribe we were to meet. After all they were Yomuts, and we pa.s.sed the whole day with them.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A LIGHT FOR THE COMPa.s.s.]

I was agreeably surprised to find near the Karendag Mountains some old ruins; the fable attaches to them that they are the ruins of Kaaba, G.o.d having from His special love for the Turkomans placed the Kaaba here first, but that Goklen, a lame blue devil, pulled it down, whereupon G.o.d carried the Kaaba to Mecca. And this was the reason why the Turkomans lived in constant enmity with and war against the Goklens, who have descended from Goklen.

The Nomads sojourning in the environs came flocking to see the caravan and to engage in trade with some of its members. In the evening, we being ready to start, one of the buffalo cows presented the caravan with a healthy calf, to the kervanbashi's intense satisfaction. On the road it occurred to him that the calf was too feeble to follow us on foot, and that he must find a place for it on the back of one of the camels.

Myself and Hadji Bilal being the only ones occupying a kedsheve he naturally thought of us, and asked that one of us should give up our place to the newborn animal. Hadji Bilal resigned his basket with the utmost readiness, alleging that he did so out of kind feelings for me, who could not with my lame foot find accommodation everywhere. But no sooner did my counterpoise occupy the hadji's place than I discovered the real cause of his great complaisance--the calf was exhaling a pestiferous smell. It was pa.s.sable at nights, interfering but occasionally with my slumbers, but during the day, when the sun shone out hot, I could hardly bear my sweet-smelling neighbour. Fortunately for me this agony did not last long, the calf departing this life three days afterwards.

From the spot where we started on the 18th of May, it was calculated that the Great Balkan was distant two days' march and Khiva a march of twelve days. Our guides hoped we should find rain water on the flat lands. We had last filled our canteens from the miry water of the two miserable water-tanks of Karendag, and such as it was, it had become, through being shaken up on the camels' backs, a liquid ma.s.s of mud, loathsome both to the smell and taste. We had, nevertheless, to be very economical in the use of it, for there was no prospect of obtaining any water before pa.s.sing the Great Balkan. Our marching from this time onwards became more regular. We usually made three stoppages daily, of one hour and a half, and two hours' duration. The first was before daybreak, when we would bake one day's ration of bread; the second at noon, to afford some rest to both animals and men; and the third before sunset, in order to eat our modest supper, consisting of a little bread and of a few drops of water carefully doled out. The soil of the country through which we pa.s.sed was a hard-baked clay producing scantily and at intervals a few blades of sickly gra.s.s. The blazing sun marked the whole surface with a thousand burning cracks. It is frightfully wearisome for the traveller to see before him everlastingly the boundless plain from which every vestige of life is banished, so much so that even the reaching of a new station is quite a relief, as it affords some rest from the rocking motion of the camel.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE KARENDAG HILLS.]

On the following day, about noon, the Little Balkan Mountains loomed up before us in the hazy distance. The Turkomans spoke to me in the most laudatory strain of the extent and size of this mountain chain as well as of its beauty and wealth in minerals. The kervanbashi, otherwise always wakeful, feeling oppressed by sleep as the evening set in, left the caravan under the care of the leader of the camels, who led us into such danger that we were all near losing our lives. There are at the foot of the Balkan many salt marshes, covered with a thick white surface, formed by deposits of salt, which it is difficult to distinguish from the solid ground. Into one of these the subst.i.tute of the kervanbashi had taken us, and we had already advanced so far that the animals, owing to the shakiness of the ground under their feet, refused to go on in spite of all urging. We quickly jumped off our animals, and my fright may be imagined when upon touching ground I had a rocking sensation as if seated on a swing, the ground apparently giving way under my feet. The panic became general. Finally the kervanbashi called out that every one should remain where he was until sunrise, when we should be able to extricate ourselves from our perilous position. For three mortal hours we dared not stir and had to remain motionless in our places, having besides to suffer from the pungent soda smell, making our heads dizzy. At length the gray streak in the east a.s.sumed the rosy tints of dawn for which our hearts had been longing. With considerable trouble and exertion the caravan succeeding in getting out of this miry pitfall and in retracing their steps to the solid track. Had we advanced but a little farther into the salt marshes, part of the caravan, if not the whole, would have been doomed to certain destruction.

On the 20th of May we reached the _Little Balkan_, which stretches from the south-east to the north-west. We marched on along its foot on that day and the whole day following. The kervanbashi declared that we had but just now reached the veritable desert. We soon came to the ancient bed of the Oxus, and crossing it we entered on the opposite side a high plateau. By and by the Balkan mountain chain vanished in the blue distance, and the desert in all its awful grandeur spread before us. Man is overwhelmed here by the idea of the infinite. The impression produced by the absence of all sounds, by the very change in the colour and appearance of the sun, is indescribable. Up to this time I always thought that the charm of the desert existed chiefly in the heated imagination of enthusiastic travellers, but I lived to be undeceived in this my supposition.

We camped near _Yeti Siri_ on the 22nd of May. This place owes its name to seven wells which stood there in ancient times, and most of which are now dry. In one or two of them some little water may be found even now, but it is undrinkable owing to its salty taste and nasty smell. The kervanbashi comforted us with the hope of finding rain-water towards evening, but at this moment I was not disposed to exchange the remaining little water (abundantly mixed as it was with mud) which was left in my canteen for the ill-smelling contents of the wells. The animals were watered, and several of the men eagerly competed with them in drinking from this water. After resting a little we resumed our march and, on our way, happened to observe, on a sand mound, raised above the smaller heaps of sand, two empty kedsheves. In the opinion of my fellow-travellers these wooden baskets had belonged to some persons who had died on this spot; and the Turkomans hold in veneration every object once possessed by man. Strange anomaly! to look upon selling men into slavery and carrying desolation into a country as commendable acts, and to couple with such views a tender feeling of piety for a wooden basket--because, forsooth, a man had once sat in it.

We went towards evening with the kervanbashi and a couple of Turkomans, on foot, to look for the hoped-for rain-water. We were all well armed, and went in search of water in different directions. I followed the kervanbashi--with whom I had been on the best terms since the last collision with him. Suddenly he caught sight of footprints in the sand and, lighting our tinder, we followed them up by its feeble light, to the mouth of a cavern. We entered after a slight hesitation, and beheld there, to our utmost horror, a man in perfectly savage condition, with long, unkempt hair and beard, and enormous finger nails, wrapped in chamois skins. At our sight he, too, started, and seizing his lance made a rush at us. I retreated as quickly as I could, but my companion remained perfectly calm, and dropping the arm he had raised and saying in a low voice, "Aman bol!" (Peace be with thee!), he left the dreadful place. Not daring to ask too many questions, I learned from the kervanbashi, on returning, that the man we saw was "Kanli dir" (a man stained with blood). I was afterwards told that this unhappy being had fled from righteous revenge for bloodshed, and had been wandering for years, summer and winter, in the wilderness.

Our companions, like ourselves, returned with empty hands from their search for water, of which not the slightest indication could be found.

It was an appalling thought that the few drops of muddy dregs I still possessed would be used up to-day. That evening I ate a few pieces of bread soaked in boiling water, for I had heard that the water lost its bitter taste by boiling. I determined patiently to bear everything, for in comparison to many of my companions I had every reason to be satisfied with my condition, inasmuch as I was in good health and they were suffering a great deal from the consequences of their having drunk from the brackish water. Some of the Turkomans were suspected of having secreted a quant.i.ty of drinkable water. But to rely upon being supplied, in the desert, with water belonging to another person, would be the height of madness; and indeed any one wishing to borrow or to beg water in the desert is looked upon as demented. I had lost my appet.i.te and could not swallow even a few bits of bread. I dropped on the ground, exhausted and weak, and pitied my hard fate, when all at once I saw every one rising and flocking around the kervanbashi, and some persons beckoning to me to join them with my canteen. The word "water" was enough to infuse new life into me; I jumped up from the ground I had been lying on, and on reaching the crowd I saw the kervanbashi dealing out about two gla.s.ses of clear sweet water to every member of the caravan. This brave Turkoman afterwards told us that for years he had been in the habit of storing away in secret places large quant.i.ties of water, to distribute it in times of great need, when every one is benefited by it. This is a great _sevab_ (pious act), for a Turkoman proverb says: "One drop of water given to the thirsting in the desert will wash away the sins of a hundred years."

It is just as hard to determine the greatness of such a good action as it is to describe the enjoyment afforded by one swallow of sweet water.

My craving for food was gone, I did not feel any more hunger, and thought I could bear being without water for three days. As far as drinking was concerned I was all right again, but it had all gone wrong with my bread. From want of appet.i.te and in a fit of indolence I thought that instead of using wood for fuel, which it took some time to get as it was at some distance, I would use camel's dung--the regular fuel of the desert--but of this too I had gathered rather less than was needed.

I placed the dough into the hot ashes, but there was not heat enough to bake it into bread, even if it had been left there for a week. I quickly ran off to gather some wood, but it was quite dark when I returned. I immediately set to kindling a little fire, but no sooner was it perceived by the kervanbashi, than he called out to ask "If I wished to betray by the smoke our caravans to the enemy?" I had to put out the fire at once, and take with me the unleavened bread half done.

On the 23rd of May the rays of the sun beat down upon our heads with a scorching heat. The sand to the depth of a foot became so hot, that even the most hardened Asiatic who had never worn either shoe or boot on his feet, was compelled to fasten around them a piece of leather, sandal fashion. It was only ten years later, when a Russian army, led by Colonel Markusoff had crossed this part of the desert, that I learnt that the heat in the month of May reached the height of fifty-four degrees Reaumur (about 152 degrees Fahrenheit) in the sun! No wonder that the effect of the refreshing beverage of yesterday was soon gone, and that I began to be tantalized anew by thirst. At noon we were informed by the kervanbashi that we were not far from Kahriman Ata, a place of resort for pilgrimages. In duty bound we had to dismount and walk for a quarter of an hour until we reached the saint's grave, where we performed our devotions. My distress may be easily imagined at being compelled, worn out with the heat and half dead with thirst, to join the band of pilgrims. The tombs rose on an eminence; they crowded around it and yelled out with dry throats, _telkins_ and citations from the Koran.

Oh cruel saint, I thought within myself, couldst thou not have managed to get thyself buried in some other place, in order to save me the tortures of this pilgrimage! Choking and out of breath I sank down on the grave, which was about thirty feet long, and covered with rams'

horns, the ram's horn being looked upon in Central Asia as a symbol of supremacy. The kervanbashi told us that the saint resting in his grave had been a giant, as tall as the grave was long, and that ever so long ago he had defended the wells hereabouts against evil spirits who had threatened to block them up with stones. The innumerable smaller mounds, surrounding the saint's grave, marked the places where poor travellers, who had lost their lives in different places of the desert either by the hands of robbers or by elemental visitations, were sleeping their eternal sleep. Hearing of the wells placed under the patronage of the saint, my heart was gladdened with a new hope, for I thought we should find drinkable water in the neighbourhood. I hastened to be amongst the first to arrive at the designated spot. I caught sight of a brownish puddle-like spring, and helped myself to its water by taking some into the hollow of my hand. It was as cold as ice, but when I brought it near my lips I had to leave it untasted, it was so brackish, bitter, and ill-smelling. My depression became extreme; for the first time I began to be seriously alarmed about my future.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A WELL IN THE DESERT.]

Luckily for us a heavy rain storm came up during the night, the rain descending in large drops, and towards morning we came to the extremest edge of the sand. It took us three days to pa.s.s through it. We were sure of finding on to-day's road in the loamy ground an abundance of rain-water. The kervanbashi, judging by the numerous footprints of gazelles and wild a.s.ses, antic.i.p.ated with certainty the accomplishment of our hope, but, volunteering no opinion of his own, only pressed forward, and very soon discovered, with his lynx eyes, at a great distance, a pool of rain-water. Su! Su! (water! water!) was on everybody's lips when the kervanbashi had communicated his discovery. We arrived there towards noon, and met on our way, besides the large pool we had seen at a distance, numerous pits filled with the sweetest rain-water. I was the first to run up to them, not to drink, but to fill my goatskin and other vessels with the precious fluid before it became muddy and murky with being stirred up. A quarter of an hour later everybody sat at his breakfast with a feeling of infinite delight.

From this station to Khiva we could without interruption fill our skins with sweet water, and our further progress became, comparatively speaking, contrasted with our former experiences, a pleasure trip. In the evening we reached a place where everything pointed to the mastery of a genuine spring, and camped amidst small lakes set in frames of verdant meadows. My thoughts involuntarily reverted to my sorrowful plight of yesterday, and it was with some difficulty I could persuade myself that the landscape before me was not an idle dream. To add to our satisfaction, the kervanbashi announced to the caravan that the danger from attacks was over, and that we should be permitted to build our fires after to-night. Our Turkoman fellow-travellers attributed the abundance of water to the fact that we, the hadjis, had been with them.

We refilled our canteens and gaily proceeded on our journey.

XXI.

IN KHIVA.

Towards evening we arrived at the ravine beyond which spread the so-called plain of _Kaflankir_ (Tigerland). The ascent to this table-land, which is about three hundred feet high, was excessively fatiguing to men and animals alike. The Turkomans allege that Kaflankir had been anciently an island formed by two arms of the Oxus, which were flowing all around it. It is undeniable that this tract of land differs greatly from the surrounding wilderness in its structure, the luxuriance of its vegetation, and the great number of animals it harbours. We had met, it is true, thus far with solitary gazelles and wild a.s.ses on our march, but here we saw them browsing in flocks by hundreds. On one occasion we saw an immense cloud of dust approaching from the north, coming nearer and nearer. The kervanbashi and the Turkomans immediately seized their arms, and their impatience increased the nearer the cloud drew. We finally succeeded in discovering that it was caused, apparently, by a troop of hors.e.m.e.n advancing in full gallop, in a regular line. The Turkomans dropped their arms. Fifty paces from us we perceived a herd of animals wildly running and almost concealed by the dust; and one minute later we heard a sound reminding one of the sudden halt of a troop of a thousand hors.e.m.e.n in line. We saw before us innumerable wild a.s.ses, stopping suddenly in serried ranks. These strong and lively animals stood staring at us for a second, and then started away like the whirlwind in a western direction.

On the 28th of May we came to _Shor Gol_ (salt lake) in the plateau of Kaflankir. We took a rest of six hours in order to go through the ablutions commanded by Islam, which for some time we had been compelled to neglect. On this occasion my fellow-travellers opened their bundles, and every one of them found a spare shirt in it; I was the only one who had none. Hadji Bilal offered me the loan of one, but I declined it with thanks, well knowing that in my apparent poverty lay my greatest security. My face was covered by a layer of dust an inch thick. I had numerous occasions, in the desert, to wash it off, but I preferred keeping it on as a protection against the heat of the sun. Truth to tell, not only myself, but all the others were dreadfully disfigured by the _teyemmun_, or washing with the sand, the subst.i.tute for the ablutions with water, ordered by the Prophet to travellers in the desert. After my friends had been washing and dressing, I saw only what great lords they looked like in comparison to me. Several of them offered to lend me parts of their wardrobe, but I thanked them cordially, and in refusing their kind offers, I announced to them that I should wait until the Khan of Khiva supplied me with a garment.

We had been toiling on for four days in the high plateau of Kaflankir, when one morning my eyes were gladdened by the sight of numerous tents on our right and left. The occupants of these tents came flocking out to meet us, receiving us with the friendly greeting of "Aman gheldinghiz!" (Happily come!) Ilias having many friends amongst the people who were encamped here, he proceeded at once to procure from them hot bread and other Kurban (they were just then celebrating this, one of the most important holidays of Islam) gifts. He came back very soon from his errand, loaded down with meat, bread, and _kimiss_ (a sharp and acid beverage brewed of mare's milk), all of which he distributed amongst us. Before long Nomads living at a greater distance were arriving to shake hands with us, and thus perform an act pleasing to G.o.d. For our share in this pious act we were remembered by gifts of great quant.i.ties of camel's, horse's and sheep's flesh.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AN ASININE ARMY.]

As we were preparing our tea on the evening of the 30th of May, we were startled by the wild scampering of the camels which we had turned loose.

Before we had time to investigate the cause of their fright, five hors.e.m.e.n appeared all of a sudden keeping straight towards us at the top of their horses' speed. We, too, immediately ran to our arms, and in a second we stood prepared to meet them. But the hors.e.m.e.n slackened their pace and the Turkomans soon discovered that they had been mistaken in supposing them to be hostile, for they only wanted to go with us as members of our caravan.

On the following morning we came to an Uzbeg village belonging to _Akyap_ (the white ca.n.a.l). At this place we had entirely left behind us the wilderness lying between Gomushtepe and Khiva. Here I saw Uzbegs for the first time, and I found them very kind and friendly people. As usual we made, with our visits, the round of all the houses, and earned with our fatihas a plentiful harvest. We might still have reached Ilias's dwelling-place on the same day, but he had his dose of vanity and did not wish us to arrive there unexpectedly. We therefore pa.s.sed the night, within two hours' march of his home, at the house of a rich uncle of his, who entertained us most sumptuously. In the interval he sent word of our arrival to his wife, and next morning, on the 1st of June, we entered the village of Akyap. The numerous kinsmen and friends of Ilias came out to meet us, receiving us most cordially. To me he offered a handsome tent, for my quarters, but I preferred his garden, for my soul had long been yearning for the shade of trees. After a brief rest we resumed our march towards the capital, which we reached in safety on the following day. The capital, seen at a distance, surrounded by gardens and surmounted by its many towers and cupolas, makes a pleasing impression upon the traveller. In entering through the main gate of the city I could not shake off a certain fear of being found out or suspected by the Khan of Khiva, whose cruelty was condemned by the Tartars themselves, and at whose hands I had reason to expect a much sterner treatment than even from the Turkomans. I had heard that the Khan makes a slave of every stranger suspected by him, and that only recently this had been the sad fate of a Hindoo, alleged to be of princely origin. But by this time I was accustomed to brave almost any danger without losing my presence of mind. I therefore kept perfectly cool, and only busied myself devising schemes by means of which I might outwit the superst.i.tious tyrant. I had collected, on the way, reliable and full information about every prominent man in Khiva who had visited Constantinople. The name of a certain Shukrullah Bey, who had there pa.s.sed ten years in the capacity of an amba.s.sador to the Sublime Porte, was most frequently mentioned, in this connection. I had a sort of hazy recollection of having met this man at the house of the Turkish Secretary of State. This Shukrullah Bey, I reflected, knows Stambul well; he must be familiar with the language and manners current with its better cla.s.ses. Now I should pretend to a former acquaintanceship with him, and force it upon him whether he wants it or no; and as I thought myself fully capable of acting the character of a man from Stambul to such a perfection as to impose upon a native of that place, I felt sure that I should not to be suspected by the late amba.s.sador of the Khan of Khiva, who would be thus obliged in a manner to countenance me.

Many people were already waiting for us at the gate, offering us bread and dried fruit. For years there had not arrived such a numerous party of hadjis; and people came crowding around, and gaping at us from every street in the city. We were greeted on all sides by the words, "Aman essen gheldinghiz!" (Happily arrived!) "Ha shahbazim! Ha arslanim!" (My falcon! My lion!) As soon as we arrived at the bazaar, Hadji Bilal began with a _telkin_ (a hymn). My voice being the loudest of all, I could not help being moved upon people kissing my hands, feet, and even the loosely hanging rags of my garment, as if I had been some first-cla.s.s saint or had just descended from heaven. We put up, according to the custom of the country, at the caravansary, used at the same time for a Custom House, and I set out, before long, in search of Shukrullah Bey. I had been told that he was now without any employment or office, and was living in a cell at the Medresse of Mehemmed Emin, the finest building in Khiva. I introduced myself to him through one of his attendants as an Effendi come from Stambul, adding that I had known him there and wished to pay him my respects in pa.s.sing through Khiva. The old gentleman was quite astonished at so strange an occurrence and came out himself to receive me, but was quite startled upon seeing before him a tattered beggar in rags. He nevertheless took me into his room, and no sooner had I p.r.o.nounced a few words with the genuine Stambul accent, than he began to inquire, with increasing interest, after his friends at the Turkish capital, the political configurations, the new Sultan, and so forth.

When, in the course of conversation, we became better acquainted, Shukrullah Bey thus apostrophized me: "For the love of G.o.d, what has induced thee, Effendi, to come from Stambul, that earthly paradise, to these fearful countries?" I then told him that I belonged to an order of dervishes, that my _pir_ (spiritual chief) had sent me on this journey, and that a _murid_ (a novice) is bound to obey the commands of the _pir_, even at the risk of his life. My new acquaintance was highly pleased with my explanations, and only wished to know the name of the dervish order to which I belonged, and when I told him that of the _Nakishbend_, he became aware that Bokhara was the object of my pilgrimage. He was desirous of immediately arranging quarters at the Medresse for me, but I declined, excusing myself by mentioning my fellow-travellers whom I had left behind, and went away promising to renew my visit very soon.

An officer from the Court came to me on the following day, bringing with him presents, destined for me, from the Khan, and orders from the latter to make my appearance at the _ark_ (palace) that very evening, in order to bestow on him, the Khan, my fatiha, it being the Hazret's (his majesty's) most cherished wish to receive the blessing of a dervish coming from the Holy Land. I told him I should obey. I called upon Shukrullah Bey in the afternoon, as he wished to be present at the audience, and was conducted by him to the palace of the Khan. On our way there he gave me directions how to comport myself, and described to me the ceremonial I was to observe on being presented to the Khan. He informed me, at the same time, that not being on good terms with the _mehter_ (minister), who looked on him as his rival, his, Shukrullah Bey's, recommendation might perhaps injure me rather than be of benefit to me. But following the prevailing custom, I nevertheless had myself first introduced to the mehter. His ante-chamber, it being audience day, was cramful of people who, on our entrance, respectfully made way for us, standing aside. Some women present were pointing at me, saying: "This is the dervish from Constantinople, who will bestow benediction on our Khan. May the Lord hearken to his words!"

I found the mehter in a porch, surrounded by his men, who smiled at every word uttered by him. His dark complexion and long beard reaching to his chest showed him to be a Persian. When he saw me approaching him he said something to his attendants. I marched up boldly to him, saluted him with becoming gravity, and immediately sat down in the princ.i.p.al place belonging by rights to a dervish. After saying the customary prayer, followed by every one's stroking his beard, and responding with a loud "Amen," I exchanged the usual formal courtesies with the mehter.

Then he told me that the Hazret--at which word everybody rose from his seat--wished to see me, but that he would be very glad if I could produce a couple of lines from the Emba.s.sy at Teheran or the Sultan. I replied that my journey had no worldly aims, that I required nothing of anybody, but that for the safety of my person I had brought with me a firman provided with the _tugra_ (the Sultan's seal). In saying this I handed the mehter my pa.s.sport, which he kissed with great reverence, rubbing the seal against his forehead: then he rose and said he would give the doc.u.ment to the Khan. Shortly afterwards he returned, announcing to me that the Khan was ready to receive me. Shukrullah Bey entered first, and I had to wait until the necessary preparations were made. Although I was introduced as a dervish, the Khan had been informed by Shukrullah Bey that I knew every distinguished pasha in Constantinople. After a while I was taken by the arm by two officers, the curtain was drawn aside, and I saw before me _Seid Mehemmed Khan Padishahi Kharezm_, the Khan of Khiva, seated on a terrace-like platform, a round velvet cushion supporting one arm, and holding a short gold sceptre in his other hand. Strictly adhering to the ceremonial prescribed for me, I lifted my hand, all present and the Khan himself following my example, recited a brief _sura_, a short pa.s.sage from the Koran, two _alahumu sellahs_ (G.o.d be praised) and a short prayer. As the Khan was taking hold of his beard in order to respond with "Amen" at the termination of the prayer every one called out, "Kabul bolgai!" (May thy prayer be heard!). Thereupon I drew near the prince, who held out his hand, and after having gone through the _mussafeha_ (the salutation prescribed by the Koran--the two persons in giving a greeting extend an outstretched hand to each other), I retreated a few steps, and there was an end to the ceremony. The Khan now commenced to make inquiries about the object of my journey, and the impression the Turkomans, the great desert, and Khiva had made upon me. I replied that I had undergone a great many trials and sufferings, but that the sight of the _Hazret's djemal mubarek_ (his Majesty's blessed beauty) compensated me abundantly for all my sufferings. "I thank Allah," I continued, "for allowing me to have this extraordinary good fortune, and I believe that I must look upon this signal favour of _Kismet_ (fate) as a good omen for the safe progress of my journey." I was asked by the Khan if I intended to remain a long time in Khiva, and whether I was provided with the necessary wherewithal for my journey. I answered to him that before continuing my journey I intended visiting the graves of all the saints reposing in the blessed soil of the Khanate, and that as to being provided with the needful travelling expenses, we dervishes did not trouble ourselves about such worldly trifles; the _nefes_ (holy spirit) which was given to me by my _pir_ (chief of the dervish order) on my journey would sustain life in me for four or five days without taking any food. Therefore I had no other wish but that G.o.d might prolong his Majesty's life to one hundred and twenty years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AUDIENCE WITH THE KHAN OF KHIVA.]

My words seemed to have pleased his Royal Majesty, for he ordered that I should be given twenty gold pieces and a strong a.s.s. I did not accept the money, under the pretext that it was a sin for a dervish to be possessed of money, but accepted the animal, adding, however, the request to select, if possible, a white one, for it was one of that colour which the sacred law prescribed for pilgrimages. I was about to withdraw, when I was asked by the Khan to be at least his guest during the short time I intended to pa.s.s at the capital, and to accept during this time from his treasury, daily, two _tenghes_ (a sixpence) for my board. This offer, too, was declined with thanks, and I retired after having given my final benediction. Upon returning, I was greeted most respectfully with _selam aleik.u.ms_ (Peace be unto you!) by the people who were thronging the courtyard of the palace and the bazaar. I did not breathe freely until I found myself in safety within the four walls of my cell.

Every feature in the Khan's face betrayed the debauched, worn-out, dull-minded, inhuman tyrant; his eyes were deeply sunken, his lips of a pallid white, and his voice was shaky. I was profoundly thankful for his exceptional kindness to me, and was pleased to think that I now could employ the time I had in wandering through the Khanate to my heart's content without any interference.

There was not much to be seen at the capital itself, and what little there was worthy of note might have been easily looked at in a couple of days. But my time was entirely taken up by invitations from the Khan, the government officials and prominent merchants. Since it had become generally known that I was in the good graces of the king, everybody wished me and my dervish companions to be his guests. It was a real torture for me, to have to accept six and even eight invitations a day.

I recall with a shudder, to this day, the number of times I had to sit down, early in the morning, between three and four o'clock, to a plate of rice swimming in a gravy of mutton fat. The _Toshebaz_ (the name of the cloister where I was quartered) comprised a mosque and a large water-tank, and was therefore looked upon as a public building, and continually swarming with visitors. This offered me a very good opportunity of observing the dress, the mode of life and all the doings of the Uzbegs, and to become personally acquainted with several of them.

The men wear tall pyramid-shaped fur caps on their head, and enormously large boots of Russian leather of shapeless bulk on their feet, besides which their costume consists in summer of only a long shirt. The women wear turbans of immense size, consisting of from fifteen to twenty Russian pocket handkerchiefs rolled one into the other, and are compelled, poor creatures, to drag jars of water during the greatest heat, having on their feet tremendously large boots, and m.u.f.fled up in their manifold dresses. Often women were stopping at my door asking for a little _khakishifa_ (health-powder) which the pilgrims bring with them from _Medina_, from the house of the Prophet, and which is used as a medicine against all sorts of ailings; or they would beg for a _nefes_ (holy breath) and give a detailed account of their bodily sufferings. I had, of course, to comply with all requests, and touching the sore place I blew or breathed on it three times. Thereupon the patient heaved a deep sigh, and many of them insisted that they immediately felt relieved from pain. Both I and my hadji friends had reason to be gratified with the brilliant success of our dealing in the holy breath, for I myself earned fifteen gold pieces for the heavenly article.

I soon had occasion to become convinced that the mehter, the Khan's minister, was trying to injure me for no other reason except that he hated Shukrullah Bey, who patronized me. He could not very well doubt my being a Turk, but he endeavoured to make the Khan believe that I had put on the dervishship as a mask merely for some secret mission from the Sultan on which I was now going to Bokhara. Information of his perfidiousness had already reached me, and I was not at all surprised at being again invited to the Khan's court, a few days only after my first audience. A large company was present, and he received me immediately with the question, if it was true that I was versed in worldly knowledge too, and that I could write in a flowery style. He wished me to write something for him in the fashion of Stambul, which he was very desirous to see. I very well knew that the request was made in consequence of the mehter's machinations against me, who enjoyed the reputation of being clever in fine and flowery writing and had made inquiries respecting me of my hadji-companions. I produced my writing materials and wrote as follows: "High, mighty and terrible king and lord! I, thy poorest humblest servant, immersed in thy royal graces, keeping before my eyes the proverb that every fine writer is a fool, have hitherto occupied myself but little with studies of fine writing. On the other hand I recalled that other saying, that every fault becomes a virtue as soon as it pleases the king, and found courage to write down these lines."

These high-sounding t.i.tles pleased the Khan very much, but the mehter was too stupid to perceive the drift of my allusions. I was told to sit down and, having been treated with bread and tea, called upon by the Khan to come and talk with him. Politics were, this time, the exclusive topic of our conversation, but I, remaining faithful to the character of a dervish, showed but little interest in the matter, and every word had to be forced out of me. All this while the mehter was attentively listening and keenly scanning the expression of my countenance in the hope of my saying something to justify his suspicions, but it was all to no purpose. The Khan sent me away again with the repeated a.s.surance of his good graces, and told me to draw upon his treasurer for my daily stipend. He ordered a _yasaul_ (a court officer) to take me to the treasurer. I found the treasurer, who paid me at once the sum as directed, singularly employed. He was arranging the _khilat_ (robe of honour), that is, those garments which were destined to be sent to the camp in order to invest with them the heroes, in reward of their bravery. There were four different sorts of silk suits of clothing, all of them the most glaring colours, richly embroidered with flowers in gold; and dividing them into four groups, he called them suits of four heads, suits of twelve heads, suits of twenty and of forty heads.

This nomenclature struck me as very odd, all the more so as there was not the slightest trace of a head to be seen on those garments. Instead of answering my question the treasurer told me to meet him in a large public square on the following morning. I was there at the appointed time. I found about a hundred hors.e.m.e.n, who had just arrived from the camp, covered with dust, each of them leading a couple of prisoners, amongst them women and children, who were tied either to the horses'

tails or the saddle-bows, each horseman bringing with him, besides, a sack which was thrown across the saddle. As soon as they arrived each of them handed over the prisoners, he had brought with him, as a present to the Khan, or some other grandee of the land; then they removed the sacks from the saddles and taking hold of the two sides of the one end they spilled their contents on the ground as one does with potatoes. But these were human heads, the heads of slaughtered enemies, which were rolling at the feet of the official who wrote down their number. He first carefully counted the number of heads brought by each horseman and then gave a receipt for the same, the servant kicking them meanwhile into a heap. The hors.e.m.e.n galloped away with their receipts, which were drafts upon the treasurer for their respective rewards, in the shape of robes of honour of four, twenty or forty heads.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A ROAD IN CENTRAL ASIA.]

The Yasaul who was to take me to the treasurer had, before doing so, another order to attend to; I was therefore obliged to go with him.

There were three hundred Tchaudor (a Turkoman tribe) prisoners of war in the third courtyard, and it was in reference to these that the Yasaul had received the Khan's orders. These unfortunate people were all covered with rags, and looked, owing to their fear of death and the starving they had to undergo for days past, like dead men risen from their graves. They were already divided into two groups, those under forty years of age who were fit to be sold as slaves or to be made a present of, and those who owing to their position or advanced age are looked upon as _aksakals_ (graybeards or chieftains), and were subject to the punishments meted out by the Khan. Those of the first cla.s.s were led away by their escorts, in bands of fifteen tied to each other by iron collars. The second group were antic.i.p.ating with patient resignation, like sheep taken to the slaughter-house, the horrible fate in store for them. Part of them were sent to the block or to the gallows; eight of them, of an advanced age, lay down on their backs at a hint from the executioner. In this situation their hands and feet were tied, and he, kneeling on their chests, and stabbing with a sharp knife the eyes of each of them, in turn, deprived them of their eyesight.

After he had accomplished his cruel task he wiped his b.l.o.o.d.y knife on the grey beard of one of his victims. It was a dreadful sight to see these miserable people, after the fetters had been removed from their hands and feet, in their groping attempts to rise from the ground. Some knocked their heads against one another, others sank to the ground again from sheer exhaustion, moaning and beating the ground with their feet in their agony. I shall think with horror of this scene as long as I live.

I bestowed upon the Khan my blessing upon taking leave. He asked me to come back by the way of Khiva as he wished to send with me an amba.s.sador to Constantinople, whose mission it would be to obtain from the new Sultan the customary confirmation for himself. I replied that it was sinful to think of the future, but we should see by and by what _Kismet_ (fate) ordains. I then took leave of every one whose acquaintance I had made, or whose friendship I had gained, during my stay of one month in Khiva.

XXII.

FROM KHIVA TO BOKHARA.