Sir Alexander Burnes

“ What a long Fursukh is that of Khorasan, says a traveller, who has toiled from sun-rise nearly to sun-set, and who can no longer cling to his jaded horse, but by the prong in front of his saddle. An European, who canters and gallops onwards, can form no just conception of the fatigue of a forty-mile stage in Khorasan, where every step must be walked, and there is no inn or refreshment at the end of it. ”

“ The roads through many parts of the country were blocked up by the falling of stones, and the river of Budukhshan was hemmed in for five days, by a hill that tumbled in upon it. This great convulsion of nature occurred at midnight, and scarcely a family in the country but deplored the loss of some of its members. It was felt at Mooltan and Lahore, but the centre of its violence appears to have been the valley of the Oxus. The natives of Budukhshan are Tajiks; they are very fond of society, and such is their hospitality, that, it is said, bread is never sold in the country. ”

“ The Uzbeks are incapable of conducting matters of state; for, except the priests, they are without education. Moorad Beg has therefore evinced the most unerring proof of his own superiority in the selection of such a man to conduct his government. It is to him that the merchant owes the protection of his property; and that the chief himself reigns without a rival in the countries which he has subdued. ”

“ The extent of trade which may be carried on through an inland country must always be limited, as compared with one possessing a sea-coast and harbours. In these Persia is not altogether wanting; but her population neither navigates the sea which washes her southern shores, nor the Caspian, that approaches her capital. The shipping of both is in the hands of foreigners, who have it in their power to lead the taste of the country by the nature of their exports, and to increase their quantity as occasion and opportunity present themselves. ”

“ It would be difficult, in the most civilised kingdom of Asia, to furnish the authentic data, which are so necessary to our European notions for the establishment of such an important point; but the inward Custom-house receipts prove it. To the justice and equity of Dost Mahommed Khan, the chief of Cabool, we must mainly attribute a change so beneficial to Britain. Once effected, the fabrics of Russia have failed to vie with our own, and an outlet for our exports, which we owe to the wisdom of a chief, has been improved by the superiority of the exports themselves. ”

“ There are means of improving our exports to the Punjab, if shipped by the Indus. It has been seen that the country is without copper, brass, tin, lead; all of which are bulky articles, difficult of transport by land, and which could be imported with profit. Wrought iron might also be introduced: locks, keys, padlocks, bolts, screws, hinges, and such dead weight have now a steady sale, and are imported by land. But the great desideratum of this country is woollens; and, in a climate where the cold is greater than in other parts of India, they become an object to the people. ”

“ The Uzbeks were intimidated at the sight of troops whom they believed they had surprised, and fled with precipitation, leaving the heroines of Merve their virtuous victors: nor is this a solitary instance of female triumph over man. The people of Merve, in their loss of country and liberty, retain the same reputation for valour which characterised their ancestors; and, to this day, when they quit the country, their valiant partners are held in Bokhara as a pledge of their fidelity, and may on no account cross the Oxus. ”

“ A well-stored treasury, with an army in arrears and clamouring for pay, increasing duties on the merchant and trader, exorbitant taxes on the husbandman, with embezzlement of the public revenues, and a general corruption in the higher officers of the state, are not symptoms favourable to the durability of a government. Yet the endurance of the people in an Asiatic kingdom, depends more on the power of the prince, than the inclinations of the community ”

“ In a religious war with the Seiks, an infuriated population may be always raised, and has proved itself formidable on a late occasion, when the Syud Ahmed preached his crusade in this country; yet the whole of these, combined, form a diminutive force, as compared with his neighbours on the east and west,—the Seiks, and his brother of Cabool. The political influence of Peshawur is as limited as its military power. The Seiks have exacted a tribute from it since the death of the Vizier’s brother, Azeem Khan, and retain a son of the chief as a hostage for its fulfilment. ”

“ These feelings make it agreeable to travel in a caravan, for the detentions are much fewer than would really be imagined. The more I mingled with Asiatics in their own sphere, and judged them by their own standard, I imbibed more favourable impressions regarding them. One does not see in civilised Europe that generous feeling, which induces the natives of Asia, great and small, to share with each other every mouthful that they possess. Among Mahommedans we have no distinction of gentleman and villain,—at least, so far as hospitality is concerned. The khan fares as simply as the peasant ”

“ Nor are the weavers of the adjoining countries more successful in this branch of art than our own countrymen: the shawls of Lahore and Delhi, though woven by natives of the valley, and with the same materials, are wanting in the fineness of those prepared in Cashmere, and have the degenerated appearance of a coarse woollen, but little superior to our own manufactures. If implicit reliance is to be placed on the people, the shawl derives its beauty from the water in which the wool is dyed, and which is peculiar to Cashmere. ”

“ The navigation of the Indus and its tributary rivers, when laid open to the merchant, must [396] advance the interests of commerce. In the revival of an ancient channel to exchange the goods of distant nations, we behold with equal pleasure the advantages of British supremacy in India, and an increased outlet for the commodities of our commercial country. An enquiry into the condition and manufactures of every region which adjoins this great river, as well as those situated between it and the Caspian Sea, seems, therefore, opportunely to suggest itself. ”

“ There is, perhaps, no inland country of the globe which possesses greater facilities for commerce than the Punjab, and there are few more rich in the productions of the mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms. Intersected by five navigable streams, it is bounded on the west by one of the largest rivers of the Old World. To the north it has the fertile and fruitful vale of Cashmere to limit its sceptre; so placed, that it can export without trouble its costly fabrics to the neighbouring kingdoms of Persia and Tartary, China and India. ”

“ Nothing is more remarkable to a traveller in Toorkistan than the entire want of chiefs, or Sirdars, among the people, as in India and Cabool. Here there are no great men, no Khans, or nobles, and no one of consequence, but the court and the priesthood. The whole of the governments are either held by slaves or dependents of the minister; and every town and village is ruled by the Moollahs or Khwajus, the descendants of the first Caliphs. ”

“ Samarcand and Bokhara have afforded a theme for glowing description to the historians, and poets of all ages. The country in which they lie forms a portion of Toorkistan, or the land of the Toorks, and is so denominated by the people themselves. Bokhara is an isolated kingdom, of small extent, surrounded by a desert. It is an open champaign country, of unequal fertility. In the vicinity of its few rivers the soil is rich; beyond, barren and unproductive. It owes its importance to its central position, since it is placed between Europe and the richest regions of Asia. ”

“ They are constructed of wood, surrounded by a mat of reeds, and covered in the roof with felts, that become black with soot. Shurukhs is the residence of the Salore Toorkmuns, the noblest of the race. Two thousand families are here domiciled, and an equal number of horses, of the finest blood, may be raised in case of need. If unable to cope with their enemies, these people flee to the deserts, which lie before them, and there await the termination of the storm. They pay a sparing and doubtful allegiance to Orgunje and Persia, but it is only an impending force that leads to their submission. ”

“ The land is not less fruitful in the munitions of war, than in corn and money. It abounds in horses, mules, and camels. The Dunnee horse, found between the Jelum (Hydaspes) and Indus, is well known, but no attention is paid to rearing it; and from the horses of Runjeet Sing’s regular cavalry, one could not imagine that his country produced that noble animal. The mules from the banks of the Jelum are strong, and capable of bearing great burdens; while the camels on the southern parts of the Punjab are equally serviceable. The cattle are small and ill-conditioned, but numerous. ”

“ The importance of Bokhara does not arise from the extent of its territories, but the position in which they stand. The fame which it enjoys as a kingdom is to be traced to the days of the Chaghtyes. It then included all Mawur ool Nuhr, or the country between the rivers Oxus and Jaxartes, extended to Kharasm and the Caspian, and far into Khorasan. That age of splendour has long since passed; but the favourable site of the capital still invests it with a great influence among the natives of Transoxiana. ”

“ A march of thirty-eight miles brought us to the site of a village called Shahbaz; but we had now lost all traces of inhabitants, though the country was rich. The tribe of Gireilee had in former years tilled the soil, and tended their cattle: but human beings appear to be considered in these countries as much property as horse-flesh; and Aga Mahommed Khan had transferred the whole race to Mezenderan. The rich pastures of the country lay neglected: for what peasant would seek his abode near the Tuka Toorkmuns, whose tents lie but a few miles distant beyond the hills. ”

“ The Spaniards pursued their conquests in the New World under the specious pretence of disseminating Christianity; they sacked the empires of Mexico and Peru, and butchered their inoffending inhabitants; while their priests impiously blessed their inhuman outrages. [5] They, too, like the Toorkmuns, propitiated their king by a present of a fifth of their spoil. Human nature, under king or khan, is the same in all countries, whether we contemplate the frenzy and avarice of the Spaniards in America, or the roaming Toorkmun in the Scythian deserts. ”

“ Most of the people were Toorkmuns of the Oxus, dressed in high sheepskin caps, like the natives of Orgunje. There were about 2000 or 3000 people in the bazar; but there was very little bustle and confusion, though there was much both of buying and selling. The custom of having market days is uncommon in India and Cabool, but of universal use in Toorkistan: it perhaps gives a stimulus to trade, and is most convenient; since all the people of the country, for miles round, assemble on the occasion. Every person seems to think it incumbent upon him to be present. ”

“ As the base of the government of Bokhara is the Koran, and the whole community are, or desire to be, considered spiritual, it will fully account for the exception in favour of the church. That engine and the state go heart in hand in Toorkistan, and give mutual support to each other. There is no shadow of popular government; but still, there is no evidence of discontent under such a system of rule, though people could not be more thoroughly enslaved than the Uzbeks. ”

“ The Russians have also established a friendly feeling with the chief of Kokan: they have impressed the whole of the Uzbeks with high notions of their power, to the detriment of all other European nations; but they have yet to eradicate, by their future conduct, other opinions, which have been as universally adopted, that they want truth and honour in their diplomacy. Setting aside the physical obstacles which present themselves to the Russians making a conquest of Bokhara, the people are generally inimical to them. ”

“ Speed is at all times looked on as an inferior quality to bottom. At the marriage festivals, where horseraces form a part of the amusement, the Toorkmuns decide their matches, which are generally a few sheep, on a course of twenty or twenty-five miles. Youths of eight and ten years of age ride the horses; and the spirit with which these sports are carried on by the Toorkmuns is not surpassed in any country. The favourite horse afterwards moves throughout the neighbourhood as if the owner had the encouragement of a farming association in the deserts of Toorkmania. ”