THROUGH THE ANGORA GOAT COUNTRY.
The other members of the caravan company, while equally anxious to see
the performance, and no doubt thinking me quite an unreasonable person,
disapprove of the young man's proposition; and the Man-jee severely
reprimands him for talking about resorting to force, and turning to the
others, he lays his forefingers together and says something about Franks,
Mussulmans, Turks, and Ingilis; meaning that even if we are Franks and
Mussulmans, we are not prevented from being at the same time allies and
brothers. From the khan the ascent is more gradual, though in places
muddy and disagreeable from the drizzling rain which still falls, and
about 4 P.M. I arrive at the summit. The descent is smoother, and shorter
than the western slope, but is even more abrupt; the composition is a
slaty, blue clay, in which the caravans have worn trails so deep in
places that a mule is hidden completely from view. There is no room for
animals to pass each other in these deep trench-like trails, and were
any to meet, the only possible plan is for the ascending animals to be
backed down until a wider place is reached. There is little danger of
the larger caravans being thus caught in these " traps for the unwary,"
since each can hear the other's approach and take precautions; but single
horsemen and small parties must sometimes find themselves obliged to
either give or take, in the depths of these queer highways of commerce.
It is quite an awkward task to descend with the bicycle, as for much of
the way the trail is not even wide enough to admit of trundling in the
ordinary manner, and I have to adopt the same tactics in going down as
in coming up the mountain, with the difference, that on the eastern slope
I have to pull back quite as stoutly as I had to push forward on the
western. In going down I meet a man with three donkeys, but fortunately
I am able to scramble up the bank sufficiently to let him pass. His
donkeys are loaded with half-ripe grapes, which he is perhaps taking all
the way to Constantinople in this slow and laborious manner, and he
offers me some as an inducement for me to ride for his benefit. Some
wheelmen, being possessed of a sensitive nature, would undoubtedly think
they had a right to feel aggrieved or insulted if offered a bunch of
unripe grapes as an inducement to go ahead and break their necks; but
these people here in Asia Minor are but simple-hearted, overgrown children;
they will go straight to heaven when they die, every one of them.
At six o'clock I roll into Tereklu, having found ridable road a mile or
so before reaching town. After looking at the cyclometer I begin figuring
up the number of days it is likely to take me to reach Teheran, if
yesterday and to-day have been expository of the country ahead; forty
and one-third miles yesterday and nineteen and a half to-day, thirty
miles a day-rather slow progress for a wheelman, I mentally conclude;
but, although I would rather ride from " Land's End to John O'Groat's "
for a task, than bicycle over the ground I have traversed between here
and Ismidt, I find the tough work interlarded with a sufficiency of novel
and interesting phases to make the occupation congenial. Upon dismounting
at Tereklu, I find myself but little fatigued with the day's exertions,
and with a view to obtaining a little peace and freedom from importunities
to ride after supper, I gratify Asiatic curiosity several times before
undertaking to allay the pangs of hunger - a piece of self-denial quite
commendable, even if taken in connection with the idea of self-protection,
when one reflects that I had spent the day in severe exercise, and had
eaten since morning only a piece of bread.
Not long after my arrival at Tereklu I am introduced to another peculiar
and not unknown phase of the character of these people, one that I have
sometimes read of, but was scarcely prepared to encounter before being
on Asian soil three days. From some of them having received medical
favors from the medicine chest of travellers and missionaries, the
Asiatics have come to regard every Frank who passes through their country
as a skilful physician, capable of all sorts of wonderful things in the
way of curing their ailments; and immediately after supper I am waited
upon by my first patient, the mulazim of the Tereklu zaptiehs. He is a
tall, pleasant-faced fellow, whom I remember as having been wonderfully
courteous and considerate while I was riding for the people before supper,
and he is suffering with neuralgia in his lower jaw. He comes and seats
himself beside me, rolls a cigarette in silence, lights it, and hands
it to me, and then, with the confident assurance of a child approaching
its mother to be soothed and cured of some ailment, he requests me to
cure his aching jaw, seemingly having not the slightest doubt of my
ability to afford him instant relief. I ask him why he don't apply to
the hakim (doctor) of his native town. He rolls another cigarette, makes
me throw the half-consumed one away, and having thus ingratiated himself
a trifle deeper into my affections, he tells me that the Tereklu hakim
is "fenna; " in other words, no good, adding that there is a duz hakim
at Gieveh, but Gieveh is over the Kara Su dagh. At this juncture he seems
to arrive at the conclusion that perhaps I require a good deal of coaxing
and good treatment, and, taking me by the hand, he leads me in that
affectionate, brotherly manner down the street and into a coffee-Maw,
and spends the next hour in pressing upon me coffee and cigarettes, and
referring occasionally to his aching jaw. The poor fellow tries so hard
to make himself agreeable and awaken my sympathies, that I really begin
to feel myself quite an ingrate in not being able to afford him any
relief, and slightly embarrassed by my inability to convince him that
my failure to cure him is not the result of indifference to his sufferings.
Casting about for some way of escape without sacrificing his good-will,
and having in mind a box of pills I have brought along, I give him to
understand that I am at the top of the medical profession as a stomach-ache
hakim, but as for the jaw-ache I am, unfortunately, even worse than his
compatriot over the way. Had I attempted to persuade him that I was not
a doctor at all, he would not have believed me; his mind being unable
to grasp the idea of a Frank totally unacquainted with the noble AEsculapian
art; but he seems quite aware of the existence of specialists in the
profession, and notwithstanding my inability to deal with his particular
affliction, my modest confession of being unexcelled in another branch
of medicine seems to satisfy him. My profound knowledge of stomachic
disorders and their treatment excuses my ignorance of neuralgic remedies.
There seems to be a larger proportion of superior dwelling-houses in
Tereklu than in Gieveh, although, to the misguided mind of an unbeliever
from the West, they have cast a sort of a funereal shadow over this
otherwise desirable feature of their town by building their principal
residences around a populous cemetery, which plays the part of a large
central square. The houses are mostly two-story frame buildings, and the
omnipresent balconies and all the windows are faced with close lattice-work,
so that the Osmanli ladies can enjoy the luxury of gazing contemplatively
out on the area of disorderly grave-stones without being subjected to
the prying eyes of passers-by. In the matter of veiling their faces the
women of these interior towns place no such liberal - not to say coquettish -
interpretation upon the office of the yashmak as do their sisters of the
same religion in and about Constantinople. The ladies of Tereklu,
seemingly, have a holy horror of displaying any of their facial charms;
the only possible opportunity offered of seeing anything, is to obtain
an occasional glimpse of the one black eye with which they timidly survey
you through a small opening in the folds of their shroud-like outer
garment, that encases them from head to foot; and even this peeping
window of their souls is frequently hidden behind the impenetrable
yashmak. Mussulman women are the most gossipy and inquisitive creatures
imaginable; a very natural result, I suppose, of having had their feminine
rights divine under constant restraint and suppression by the peculiar
social position women occupy in Mohammedan countries. When I have arrived
in town and am surrounded and hidden from outside view by a solid wall
of men, it is really quite painful to see the women standing in small
groups at a distance trying to make out what all the excitement is about.
Nobody seems to have a particle of sympathy for their very natural
inquisitiveness, or even to take any notice of their presence. It is
quite surprising to see how rapidly the arrival of the Frank with the
wonderful araba becomes known among these women from one end of town to
another; in an incredibly short space of time, groups of shrouded forms
begin to appear on the housetops and other vantage-points, craning their
necks to obtain a glimpse of whatever is going on.
In the innocence of an unsophisticated nature, and a feeling of genuine
sympathy for their position, I propose collecting these scattered groups
of neglected females together and giving an exhibition for their especial
benefit, but the men evidently regard the idea of going to any trouble
out of consideration for them as quite ridiculous; indeed, I am inclined
to think they regard it as evidence that I am nothing less than a gay
Lothario, who is betraying altogether too much interest in their women;
for the old school Osmanli encompasses those hapless mortals about with
a green wall of jealousy, and regards with disapproval, even so much as
a glance in their direction. While riding on one occasion, this evening,
I noticed one over-inquisitive female become so absorbed in the proceedings
as to quite forget herself, and approach nearer to the crowd than the
Tereklu idea of propriety would seem to justify. In her absent-mindedness,
while watching me ride slowly up and dismount, she allowed her yashmak
to become disarranged and reveal her features. This awful indiscretion
is instantly detected by an old Blue-beard standing by, who eyes the
offender severely, but says nothing; if she is one of his own wives, or
the wife of an intimate friend, the poor lady has perhaps earned for
herself a chastisement with a stick later in the evening.
Human nature is pretty much the same in the Orient as anywhere else; the
degradation of woman to a position beneath her proper level has borne
its legitimate fruits; the average Turkish woman is said to be as coarse
and unchaste in her conversation as the lowest outcasts of Occidental
society, and is given to assailing her lord and master, when angry, with
language anything but choice.
It is hardly six o'clock when I issue forth next morning, but there are
at least fifty women congregated in the cemetery, alongside which my
route leads. During the night they seem to have made up their minds to
grasp the only opportunity of "seeing the elephant" by witnessing my
departure; and as, "when a woman will she will," etc., applies to Turkish
ladies as well as to any others, in their laudable determination not to
be disappointed they have been patiently squatting among the gray
tombstones since early dawn. The roadway is anything but smooth,
nevertheless one could scarce be so dead to all feelings of commiseration
as to remain unmoved by the sight of that patiently waiting crowd of
shrouded females; accordingly I mount and pick my way along the street
and out of town. Modest as is this performance, it is the most marvellous
thing they have seen for many a day; not a sound escapes them as I wheel
by, they remain as silent as though they were the ghostly population of
the graveyard they occupy, for I which, indeed, shrouded as they are in
white from head to foot, they might easily be mistaken by the superstitious.
My road leads over an undulating depression between the higher hills, a
region of small streams, wheat-fields, and irrigating ditches, among
which several trails, leading from Tereklu to numerous villages scattered
among the mountains and neighboring small valleys, make it quite difficult
to keep the proper road. Once I wander off my proper course for several
miles; finding out my mistake I determine upon regaining the Torbali
trail by a short cut across the stubble-fields and uncultivated knolls
of scrub oak. This brings me into an acquaintanceship with the shepherds
and husbandmen, and the ways of their savage dogs, that proves more
lively than agreeable. Here and there I find primitive threshing-floors;
they are simply spots of level ground selected in a central position and
made smooth and hard by the combined labors of the several owners of the
adjoining fields, who use them in common. Rain in harvest is very unusual;
therefore the trouble and expense of covering them is considered
unnecessary. At each of these threshing-centres I find a merry gathering
of villagers, some threshing out the grain, others winnowing it by tossing
it aloft with wooden, flat-pronged forks; the wind blows the lighter
chaff aside, while the grain falls back into the heap. When the soil is
sandy, the grain is washed in a neighboring stream to take out most of
the grit, and then spread out on sheets, in the sun to dry before being
finally stored away in the granaries. The threshing is done chiefly by
the boys and women, who ride on the same kind of broad sleigh-runner-shaped
boards described in European Turkey.
The sight of my approaching figure is, of course, the signal for a general
suspension of operations, and a wondering as to what sort of being I am.
If I am riding along some well-worn by-trail, the women and younger
people invariably betray their apprehensions of my unusual appearance,
and seldom fail to exhibit a disposition to flee at my approach, but the
conduct of their dogs causes me not a little annoyance. They have a noble
breed of canines throughout the Angora goat country - fine animals, as
large as Newfoundlands, with a good deal the appearance of the mastiff;
and they display their hostility to my intrusion by making straight at
me, evidently considering me fair game. These dogs are invaluable friends,
but as enemies and assailants they are not exactly calculated to win a
'cycler's esteem. In my unusual appearance they see a strange, undefinable
enemy bearing down toward their friends and owners, arid, like good,
faithful dogs, they hesitate not to commence the attack; sometimes there
is a man among the threshers and winnowers who retains presence of mind
enough to notice the dogs sallying forth to attack me, and to think of
calling them back; but oftener I have to defend myself as best I can,
while the gaping crowd, too dumfounded and overcome at my unaccountable
appearance to think of anything else, simply stare as though expecting
to see me sail up into space out of harm's way, or perform some other
miraculous feat. My general tactics are to dismount if riding, and
manoeuvre the machine- so as to keep it between myself and my savage
assailant if there be but one; and if more than one, make feints with
it at them alternately, not forgetting to caress them with a handy stone
whenever occasion offers. There is a certain amount of cowardice about
these animals notwithstanding their size and fierceness; they are afraid
and suspicious of the bicycle as of some dreaded supernatural object;
atnd although I am sometimes fairly at my wit's end to keep them at bay,
I manage to avoid the necessity of shooting any of them. I have learned
that to kill one of these dogs, no matter how great the provocation,
would certainly get me into serious trouble with the natives, who value
them very highly and consider the wilful killing of one little short of
murder; hence my forbearance. When I arrive at a threshing-floor, and
it is discovered that I am actually a human being and do not immediately
encompass the destruction of those whose courage has been equal to
awaiting my arrival, the women and children who have edged off to some
distance now approach, quite timidly though, as if not quite certain of
the prudence of trusting their eyesight as to the peaceful nature of my
mission; and the men vie with each other in their eagerness to give me
all desired information about my course; sometimes accompanying me a
considerable distance to make sure of guiding me aright. But their
contumacious canine friends seem anything but reassured of my character
or willing to suspend hostilities; in spite of the friendly attitude of
their masters and the peacefulness of the occasion generally, they make
furtive dashes through the ranks of the spectators at me as I wheel round
the small circular threshing-floor, and savagely snap at the revolving
wheels. Sometimes, after being held in check until I am out of sight
beyond a knoll, these vindictive and determined assailants will sneak
around through the fields, and, overtaking me unseen, make stealthy
onslaughts upon me from the brush; my only safety is in unremitting
vigilance. Like the dogs of most semi-civilized peoples, they are but
imperfectly trained to obey; and the natives dislike checking them in
their attacks upon anybody, arguing that so doing interferes with the
courage and ferocity of their attack when called upon for a legitimate
occasion.
It is very questionable, to say the least, if inoffensive wayfarers
should be expected to quietly submit to the unprovoked attack of ferocious
animals large enough to tear down a man, merely in view of possibly
checking their ferocity at some other time. When capering wildly about
in an unequal contest with three or four of these animals, while conscious
of having the means at hand to give them all their quietus, one feels
as though he were at that particular moment doing as the Romans do, with
a vengeance; nevertheless, it has to be borne, and I manage to come
through with nothing worse than a rent in the leg of my riding trousers.
Finally, after fording several small streams, giving half a dozen
threshing-floor exhibitions, and running the gauntlet of no end of warlike
canines, I reach the lost Torbali trail, and, find it running parallel
with a range of hills, intersecting numberless small streams, across
which are sometimes found precarious foot-bridges consisting of a tree-
trunk felled across it from bank to bank, the work of some enterprising
peasant for his own particular benefit rather than the outcome of public
spirit. Occasionally I bowl merrily along stretches of road which nature
and the caravans together have made smooth enough even to justify a
spurt; but like a fleeting dream, this favorable locality passes to the
rearward, and is followed by another mountain-slope whose steep grade
and rough surface reads " trundle only."
They seem the most timid people hereabout I ever saw. Few of them but
show unmistakable signs of being frightened at my approach, even when I
am trundling-the nickel-plate glistening in the sunlight, I think,
inspires them with awe even at a distance - and while climbing this hill
I am the innocent cause of the ignominious flight of a youth riding a
donkey. While yet two hundred yards away, he reins up and remains
transfixed for one transitory moment, as if making sure that his eyes
are not deceiving him, or that he is really awake, and then hastily turns
tail and bolts across the country, belaboring his long-eared charger
into quite a lively gallop in his wild anxiety to escape from my awe-
inspiring presence; and as he vanishes across a field, he looks back
anxiously to reassure himself that I am not giving chase. Ere kind friends
and thoughtful well-wishers, with all their warnings of danger, are three
days' journey behind, I find myself among people who run away at my
approach. Shortly afterward I observe this bold donkey-rider half a mile
to the left, trying to pass me and gain my rear unobserved. Others whom
I meet this forenoon are more courageous; instead of resorting to flight,
they keep boldly on their general course, simply edging off to a respectful
distance from my road; some even venture to keep the road, taking care
to give me a sufficiently large margin over and above my share of the
way to insure against any possibility of giving offence; while others
will even greet me with a feeble effort to smile, and a timid, hesitating
look, as if undecided whether they are not venturing too far. Sometimes
I stop and ask these lion-hearted specimens whether I am on the right
road, when they give a hurried reply and immediately take themselves
off, as if startled at their own temerity. These, of course, are lone
individuals, with no companions to bolster up their courage or witness
their cowardice; the conduct of a party is often quite the reverse.
Sometimes they seem determined not to let me proceed without riding for
them, whether rocky ridge, sandy depression, or mountain-slope characterizes
our meeting-place, and it requires no small stock of forbearance and
tact to get away from them without bringing on a serious quarrel. They
take hold of the machine whenever I attempt to leave them, and give me
to understand that nothing but a compliance with their wishes will secure
my release; I have known them even try the effect of a little warlike
demonstration, having vague ideas of gaining their object by intimidation;
and this sort of thing is kept up until their own stock of patience is
exhausted, or until some more reasonable member of the company becomes
at last convinced that it really must be "mimkin deyil, " after all;
whereupon they let me go, ending the whole annoying, and yet really
amusing, performance by giving me the most minute particulars of the
route ahead, and parting in the best of humor. To lose one's temper on
these occasions, or to attempt to forcibly break away, is quickly
discovered to be the height of folly; they themselves are brimful of
good humor, and from beginning to end their countenances are wreathed
in smiles; although they fairly detain me prisoner the while, they would
never think of attempting any real injury to either myself or the bicycle.
Some of the more enterprising even express their determination of trying
to ride the machine themselves; but I always make a firm stand against
any such liberties as this; and, rough, half-civilized fellows though
they often are, armed, and fully understanding the advantage of numbers,
they invariably yield this point when they find me seriously determined
not to allow it. Descending into a narrow valley, I reach a road-side
khan, adjoining a thrifty-looking melon-garden - this latter a welcome
sight, since the day is warm and sultry; and a few minutes' quiet, soulful
communion with a good ripe water-melon, I think to myself, will be just
about the proper caper to indulge in after being worried with dogs,
people, small streams, and unridable hills since six o'clock. "Carpoose
?" I inquire, addressing the proprietor of the khan, who issues forth
from the stable.
" Peefci, effendi," he answers, and goes off to the garden for the melon.
Smiling sweetly at vacancy, in joyous anticipation of the coming feast
and the soothing influence I feel sure of its exerting upon my feelings,
somewhat ruffled by the many annoyances of the morning, I seek a quiet,
shady corner, thoughtfully loosening my revolver-belt a couple of notches
ere sitting down. In a minute the khan-jee returns, and hands me a
"cucumber" about the size of a man's forearm.
"That isn't a carpoose; I want a carpoose-a su carpoose." I explain.
"Su carpoose, yoke" he replies; and as I have not yet reached that
reckless disregard of possible consequences to which I afterward attain,
I shrink from tempting Providence by trying conclusions with the overgrown
and untrustworthy cucumber; so bidding the khan-jee adieu, I wheel off
down the valley. I find a fair proportion of good road along this valley;
the land is rich, and though but rudely tilled, it produces wonderfully
heavy crops of grain when irrigated. Small villages, surrounded by
neglected-looking orchards and vineyards, abound at frequent intervals.
Wherever one finds an orchard, vineyard, or melon-patch, there is also
almost certain to be seen a human being evidently doing nothing but
sauntering about, or perhaps eating an unripe melon.
This naturally creates an unfavorable impression upon a traveller's mind;
it means either that the kleptomaniac tendencies of the people necessitate
standing guard over all portable property, or that the Asiatic follows
the practice of hovering around all summer, watching and waiting for
nature to bestow her blessings upon his undeserving head. Along this
valley I meet a Turk and his wife bestriding the same diminutive donkey,
the woman riding in front and steering their long-eared craft by the
terror of her tongue in lieu of a bridle. The fearless lady halts her
steed as I approach, trundling my wheel, the ground being such that
riding is possible but undesirable. "What is that for, effendi."
inquires the man, who seems to be the more inquisitive of the two.
"Why, to bin, of course! don't you see the saddle?" says the woman, without
a moment's hesitation; and she bestows a glance of reproach upon her
worse half for thus betraying his ignorance, twisting her neck round in
order to send the glance straight at his unoffending head. This woman,
I mentally conclude, is an extraordinary specimen of her race; I never
saw a quicker-witted person anywhere; and I am not at all surprised to
find her proving herself a phenomenon in other things. When a Turkish
female meets a stranger on the road, and more especially a Frank, her
first thought and most natural impulse is to make sure that no part of
her features is visible - about other parts of her person she is less
particular. This remarkable woman, however, flings custom to the winds,
and instead of drawing the ample folds of her abbas about her, uncovers
her face entirely, in order to obtain a better view; and, being unaware
of my limited understanding, she begins discussing bicycle in quite a
chatty manner. I fancy her poor husband looks a trifle shocked at this
outrageous conduct of the partner of his joys and sorrows; but he remains
quietly and discreetly in the background; whereupon I register a silent
vow never more to be surprised at anything, for that long-suffering and
submissive being, the hen-pecked husband, is evidently not unknown even
in Asiatic Turkey.
Another mountain-pass now has to be climbed; it is only a short distance-
perhaps two miles - but all the way up I am subjected to the disagreeable
experience of having my footsteps dogged by two armed villagers. There
is nothing significant or exceptional about their being armed, it is
true; but what their object is in stepping almost on my heels for the
whole distance up the acclivity is beyond my comprehension. Uncertain
whether their intentions are honest or not, it is anything but reassuring
to have them following within sword's reach of one's back, especially
when trundling a bicycle up a lonely mountain-trail. I have no right to
order them back or forward, neither do I care to have them think I
entertain suspicions of their intentions, for in all probability they
are but honest villagers, satisfying their curiosity in their own peculiar
manner, and doubtless deriving additional pleasure from seeing one of
their fellow-mortals laboriously engaged while they leisurely follow.
We all know how soul-satisfying it is for some people to sit around and
watch their fellow-man saw wood. Whenever I halt for a breathing-spell
they do likewise; when I continue on, they promptly take up their line
of march, following as before in silence; and when the summit is reached,
they seat themselves on a rock and watch my progress down the opposite
slope.
A couple of miles down grade brings me to Torbali, a place of several
thousand inhabitants with a small covered bazaar and every appearance
of a thriving interior town, as thrift goes in Asia Minor. It is high
noon, and I immediately set about finding the wherewithal to make a
substantial meal. I find that upon arriving at one of these towns, the
best possible disposition to make of the bicycle is to deliver it into
the hands of some respectable Turk, request him to preserve it from the
meddlesome crowd, and then pay no further attention to it until ready
to start. Attempting to keep watch over it oneself is sure to result in
a dismal failure, whereas an Osmanli gray-beard becomes an ever-willing
custodian, regards its safe-keeping as appealing to his honor, and will
stand guard over it for hours if necessary, keeping the noisy and curious
crowds of his townspeople at a respectful distance "by brandishing a
thick stick at anyone who ventures to approach too near. These men will
never accept payment for this highly appreciated service, it seems to
appeal to the Osmanli's spirit of hospitality; they seem happy as clams
at high tide while gratuitously protecting my property, and I have known
them to unhesitatingly incur the displeasure of their own neighbors by
officiously carrying the bicycle off into an inner room, not even granting
the assembled people the harmless privilege of looking at it from a
distance - for there might be some among the crowd possessed of the fenna
ghuz (evil eye), and rather than have them fix their baleful gaze upon
the important piece of property left under his charge by a stranger, he
chivalrously braves the displeasure of his own people; smiling complacently
at their shouts of disapproval, he triumphantly bears it out of their
sight and from the fell influence of the possible fenna ghuz. Another
strange and seemingly paradoxical phase of these occasions is that when
the crowd is shouting out its noisiest protests against the withdrawal
of the machine from popular inspection, any of the protestors will eagerly
volunteer to help carry the machine inside, should the self-important
personage having it in custody condescend to make the slightest intimation
that such service would be acceptable. Handing over the bicycle, then,
to the safe-keeping of a respectable kahuay-jee (coffee khan employee)
I sally forth in quest of eatables. The kah vay-jee has it immediately
carried inside and set up on one of the divans, in which elevated position
he graciously permits it to be gazed upon by the people, who swarm into
his khan in such numbers as to make it impossible for him to transact
any business. "Under the guidance of another volunteer, who, besides
acting the part of guide, takes particular care that I get lumping weight,
etc., I proceed to the ett-jees and procure some very good mutton-chops,
and from there to the ekmek-jees for bread. This latter person straightway
volunteers to cook my chops. Sending to his residence for a tin dish,
some chopped onions and butter, he puts them in his oven, and in a few
minutes sets them before me, browned and buttered. Meanwhile, he has
despatched a youth somewhere on another errand, who now returns and
supplements the savory chops with a small dish of honey in the comb and
some green figs. Seated on the generous-hearted ekmek-jee's dough-board,
I make a dinner good enough for anybody.
While discussing these acceptable viands, I am somewhat startled at
hearing one of the worst "cuss-words " in the English language repeated
several times by one of the two Turks engaged in the self-imposed duty
of keeping people out of the place while I am eating - a kindly piece of
courtesy that wins for them my warmest esteem. The old fellow proves to
be a Crimean veteran, and, besides a much-prized medal he brought back
with him, he somehow managed to acquire this discreditable, perhaps, but
nevertheless unmistakable, memento of having at some time or other
campaigned it with "Tommy Atkins." I try to engage him in conversation,
but find that he doesn't know another solitary word of English. He simply
repeats the profane expression alluded to in a parrot-like manner without
knowing anything of its meaning; has, in fact, forgotten whether it is
English, French, or Italian. He only knows it as a "Frank" expression,
and in that he is perfectly right: it is a frank expression, a very frank
expression indeed. As if determined to do something agreeable in return
for the gratifying interest I seem to be taking in him on account of
this profanity, he now disappears, and shortly returns with a young man,
who turns out to be a Greek, and the only representative of Christendom
in Torbali. The old Turk introduces him as a "Ka-ris-ti-ahn " (Christian)
and then, in reply to questioners, explains to the interested on-lookers
that, although an Englishman, and, unlike the Greeks, friendly to the
Turks, I also am a " Ka-ris-ti-ahn; " one of those queer specimens of
humanity whose perverse nature prevents them from embracing the religion
of the Prophet, and thereby gaining an entrance into the promised land
of the kara ghuz kiz (black-eyed houris). During this profound exposition
of my merits and demerits, the wondering people stare at me with an
expression on their faces that plainly betrays their inability to
comprehend so queer an individual; they look as if they think me the
oddest specimen they have ever met, and taking into due consideration
my novel mode of conveyance, and that many Torbali people never before
saw an Englishman, this is probably not far from a correct interpretation
of their thoughts.
Unfortunately, the streets and environments of Torbali are in a most
wretched condition; to escape sprained ankles it is necessary to walk
with a great deal of caution, and the idea of bicycling through them
is simply absurd. Nevertheless the populace turns out in high glee, and
their expectations run riot as I relieve the kahvay-jee of his faithful
vigil and bring forth my wheel. They want me to bin in their stuffy
little bazaar, crowded with people and donkeys; mere alley-ways with
scarcely a twenty yard stretch from one angle to another; the surface
is a disorganized mass of holes and stones over which the wary and
hesitative donkey picks his way with the greatest care; and yet the
popular clamor is "Bin, bin; bazaar, bazaar." The people who have been
showing me how courteously and considerately it is possible for Turks
to treat a stranger, now seem to have become filled with a determination
not to be convinced by anything I say to the contrary; and one of the
most importunate and headstrong among them sticks his bearded face almost
up against my own placid countenance (I have already learned to wear an
unruffled, martyr-like expression on these howling occasions) and fairly
shrieks out, "Bin! bin!" as though determined to hoist me iuto the saddle,
whether or no, by sheer force of his own desire to see me there. This
person ought to know better, for he wears the green turban of holiness,
proving him to have made a pilgrimage to Mecca, but the universal desire
to see the bicycle ridden seems to level all distinctions. All this
tumult, it must not be forgotten, is carried on in perfect good humor;
but it is, nevertheless, very annoying to have it seem that I am too
boorish to repay their kindness by letting them see me ride; even walking
out of town to avoid gratifying them, as some of them doubtless think.
These little embarrassments are some of the penalties of not knowing
enough of the language to be able to enter into explanations. Learning
that there is a piece of wagon-road immediately outside the town, I
succeed in silencing the clamor to so mo extent by promising to ride
when the araba yole is reached; whereupon hundreds come flocking out of
town, following expectantly at my heels. Consoling myself with the thought
that perhaps I will be able to mount and shake the clamorous multitude
off by a spurt, the promised araba yole is announced; but the fates are
plainly against me to-day, for I find this road leading up a mountain
slope from the very beginning. The people cluster expectantly around,
while I endeavor to explain that they are doomed to disappointment - that
to be disappointed in their expectations to see the araba ridden is
plainly their kismet, for the hill is too steep to be ridden. They laugh
knowingly and give me to understand that they are not quite such simpletons
as to think that an araba cannot be ridden along an araba yole. " This
is an araba yole," they argue, "you are riding an araba; we have seen
even our own clumsily-made arabas go up here time and again, therefore
it is evident that you are not sincere," and they gather closer around
and spend another ten minutes in coaxing. It is a ridiculous position
to be in; these people use the most endearing terms imaginable; some of
them kiss the bicycle and would get down and kiss my dust-begrimed
moccasins if I would permit it; at coaxing they are the most persevering
people I ever saw. To. convince them of the impossibility of riding up
the hill I allow a muscular young Turk to climb into the saddle and try
to propel himself forward while I hold him up. This has the desired
effect, and they accompany me farther up the slope to where they fancy
it to be somewhat less steep, a score of all too-willing hands being
extended to assist in trundling the machine. Here again I am subjected
to another interval of coaxing; and this same annoying programme is
carried out several times before I obtain my release. They are the most
headstrong, persistent people I have yet encountered; the natural pig-
headed disposition of the "unspeakable Turk" seems to fairly run riot
in this little valley, which at the point where Torbali is situated
contracts to a mere ravine between rugged heights.
For a full mile up the mountain road, and with a patient insistence quite
commendable in itself, they persist in their aggravating attentions;
aggravating, notwithstanding that they remain in the best of humor, and
treat me with the greatest consideration in every other respect, promptly
and severely checking any unruly conduct among the youngsters, which
once or twice reveals itself in the shape of a stone pitched into the
wheel, or some other pleasantry peculiar to the immature Turkish mind.
At length one enterprising young man, with wild visions of a flying
wheelman descending the mountain road with lightning-like velocity, comes
prominently to the fore, and unblushingly announces that they have been
bringing me along the wrong road; and, with something akin to exultation
in his gestures, motions for me to turn about and ride back. Had the
others seconded this brilliant idea there was nothing to prevent me from
being misled by the statement; but his conduct is at once condemned; for
though pig-headed, they are honest of heart, and have no idea of resorting
to trickery to gain their object. It now occurs to me that perhaps if I
turn round and ride down hill a short distance they will see that my
trundling up hill is really a matter of necessity instead of choice, and
thus rid me of their undesirable presence. Hitherto the slope has been
too abrupt to admit of any such thought, but now it becomes more gradual.
As I expected, the proposition is heralded with unanimous shouts of
approval, and I take particular care to stipulate that after this they
are to follow me no farther; any condition is acceptable to them as long
as it includes seeing how the thing is ridden. It is not without certain
misgivings that I mount and start cautiously down the declivity between
two rows of turbaned and fez-bedecked heads, for I have not yet forgotten
the disagreeable actions of the mob at Adrianople in running up behind
and giving the bicycle vigorous forward pushes, a proceeding that would
be not altogether devoid of danger here, for besides the gradient, one
side of the road is a yawning chasm. These people, however, confine
themselves solely to howling with delight, proving themselves to be well-
meaning and comparatively well-behaved after all. Having performed my
part of the compact, a few of the leading men shake hands, and express
their gratitude and well-wishes; and after calling back several youngsters
who seem unwilling to abide by the agreement forbidding them to follow
any farther, the whole noisy company proceed along footpaths leading
down the cliffs to town, which is in plain view almost immediately below.
The entire distance between Torbali and Keshtobek, where tomorrow forenoon
I cross over into the vilayet of Angora, is through a rough country for
bicycling. Forest-clad mountains, rocky gorges, and rolling hills
characterize the landscape; rocky passes lead over mountains where the
caravans, engaged in the exportation of mohair ever since that valuable
commodity first began to be exported, have worn ditch-like trails through
ridges of solid rock three feet in depth; over the less rocky and
precipitous hills beyond a comprehensive view is obtained of the country
ahead, and these time-honored trails are seen leading in many directions,
ramifying the country like veins of one common system, which are necessarily
drawn together wherever there is but one pass. Parts of these commercial
by-ways are frequently found to be roughly hedged with wild pear and
other hardy shrubs indigenous to the country-the relics of by-gone days,
planted when these now barren hills were cultivated, to protect the
growing crops from depredation. Old mill-stones with depressions in the
centre, formerly used for pounding corn in, and pieces of hewn masonry
are occasionally seen as one traverses these ancient trails, marking the
site of a village in days long past, when cultivation and centres of
industry were more conspicuous features of Asia Minor than they are to-
day; lone graves and graves in clusters, marked by rude unchiselled
headstones or oblong mounds of bowlders, are frequently observed,
completing the scene of general decay. While riding along these tortuous
ways, the smooth-worn camel-paths sometimes affording excellent wheeling,
the view ahead is often obstructed by the untrimmed hedges on either
side, and one sometimes almost comes into collision, in turning a bend,
with horsemen, wild-looking, armed formidably in the manner peculiar to
the country, as though they were assassins stealing forth under cover.
Occasionally a female bestriding a donkey suddenly appears but twenty
or thirty yards ahead, the narrowness and the crookedness of the hedged-in
trail favoring these abrupt meetings; shrouded perhaps in a white abbas,
and not infrequently riding a white donkey, they seldom fail to inspire
thoughts of ghostly equestriennes gliding silently along these now half-
deserted pathways. Many a hasty but sincere appeal is made to Allah by
these frightened ladies as they fancy themselves brought suddenly face
to face with the evil one; more than once this afternoon I overhear that
agonizing appeal for providential aid and protection of which I am the
innocent cause. The second thought of the lady - as if it occurred to her
that with any portion of her features visible she would be adjudged
unworthy of divine interference in her behalf - is to make sure that her
yashmak is not disarranged, and then comes a mute appeal to her attendant,
if she have one, for some explanation of the strange apparition so
suddenly and unexpectedly confronting them.
In view of the nature of the country and the distance to Keshtobek, I
have no idea of being able to reach that place to-night, and when I
arrive at the ruins of an old mud-built khan, at dusk, I conclude to sup
off the memories of my excellent dinner and a piece of bread I have in
my pocket, and avail myself of its shelter for the night. While eating
my frugal repast, up ride three mule-teers, who, after consulting among
themselves some minutes, finally picket their animals and prepare to
join my company; whether for all night or only to give their animals a
feed of grass, I am unable to say. Anyhow, not liking the idea of spending
the whole night, or any part of it, in these unfrequented hills with
three ruffianly-looking natives, I again take up my line of march along
mountain mule-paths for some three miles farther, when I descend into a
small valley, and it being too dark to undertake the task of pitching
my tent, I roll myself up in it instead. Soothed by the music of a
babbling brook, I am almost asleep, when a glorious meteor shoots athwart
the sky, lighting up the valley with startling vividness for one brief
moment, and then the dusky pall of night descends, and I am gathered
into the arms of Morpheus. Toward morning it grows chilly, and I am but
fitfully dozing in the early gray, when I am awakened by the bleating
and the pattering feet of a small sea of Angora goats. Starting up, I
discover that I am at that moment the mysterious and interesting subject
of conversation between four goatherds, who have apparently been quietly
surveying my sleeping form for some minutes. Like our covetous friends
beyond the Kara Su Pass, these early morning acquaintances are unlovely
representatives of their profession; their sword-blades are half naked,
the scabbards being rudely fashioned out of two sections of wood, roughly
shaped to the blade, and bound together at top and bottom with twine;
in addition to which are bell-mouthed pistols, half the size of a Queen
Bess blunderbuss. This villainous-looking quartette does not make "a
very reassuring picture in the foreground of one's waking moments, but
they are probably the most harmless mortals imaginable; anyhow, after
seeing me astir, they pass onl with their flocks and herds without even
submitting me to the customary catechizing. The morning light reveals
in my surroundings a most charming little valley, about half a mile wide,
walled in on the south by towering mountains covered with a forest of
pine and cedar, and on the north by low, brush-covered hills; a small
brook dances along the middle, and thin pasturage and scattered clumps
of willow fringe the stream. Three miles down the valley I arrive at a
roadside khan, where I obtain some hard bread that requires soaking in
water to make it eatable, and some wormy raisins; and from this choice
assortment I attempt to fill the aching void of a ravenous appetite;
with what success I leave to the reader's imagination. Here the khan-jee
and another man deliver themselves of one of. those strange requests
peculiar to the Asiatic Turk. They pool the contents of their respective
treasuries, making in all perhaps, three medjedis, and, with the simplicity
of children whose minds have not yet dawned upon the crooked ways of a
wicked world, they offer me the money in exchange for my Whitehouse
leather case with its contents. They have not the remotest idea of what
the case contains; but their inquisitiveness apparently overcomes all
other considerations. Perhaps, however, their seemingly innocent way of
offering me the money may be their own peculiar deep scheme of inducing
me to reveal the nature of its contents. For a short distance down the
valley I find road that is generally ridable, when it contracts to a
mere ravine, and the only road is the bowlder strewn bed of the stream,
which is now nearly dry, but in the spring is evidently a raging torrent.
An hour of this delectable exercise, and I emerge into a region of
undulating hills, among which are scattered wheat-fields and clusters
of mud-hovels which it would be a stretch of courtesy to term villages.
Here the poverty of the soil, or of the water-supply, is heralded to
every observant eye by the poverty-stricken appearance of , the villagers.
As I wheel along, I observe that these poor half-naked wretches are
gathering their scant harvest by the laborious process of pulling it up
by the roots, and carrying it to their common threshing-floor on donkeys'
backs. Here, also, I come to a camp of Turkish gypsies; they are dark-
skinned, with an abundance of long black hair dangling about their
shoulders, like our Indians; the women and larger girls are radiant in
scarlet calico and other high-colored fabrics, and they wear a profusion
of bead necklaces, armlets, anklets, and other ornaments dear to the
semi-savage mind; the younger children are as wild and as innocent of
clothing as their boon companions, the dogs. The men affect the fez and
general Turkish style of dress, with many unorthodox trappings and
embellishments, however; and with their own wild appearance, their high-
colored females, naked youngsters, wolfish-looking dogs, picketed horses,
and smoke-browned tents, they make a scene that, for picturesqueness,
can give odds even to the wigwam-villages of Uncle Sam's Crow scouts,
on the Little Big Horn River, Montana Territory, which is saying a good
deal. Twelve miles from my last night's rendezvous, I pass through
Keshtobek, a village that has evidently seen better days. The ruins of
a large stone khan take up all the central portion of the place; massive
gateways of hewn stone, ornamented by the sculptor's chisel, are still
standing, eloquent monuments of a more prosperous era. The unenterprising
descendants of the men who erected this substantial and commodious retreat
for passing caravans and travellers are now content to house themselves
and their families in tumble-down hovels, and to drift aimlessly and
unambitiously along on wretched fare and worse clothes, from the cradle
to the grave. The Keshtobek people seem principally interested to know
why I am travelling without any zaptieh escort; a stranger travelling
through these wooded mountains, without guard or guide, and not being
able to converse with the natives, seems almost beyond their belief.
When they ask me why I have no zaptieh, I tell them I have one, and show
them the Smith & Wesson. They seem to regard this as a very witty remark,
and say to each other: "He is right; an English effendi and an American
revolver don't require any zapliehs to take care of them, they are quite
able to look out for themselves." From Keshtobek my road leads down
another small valley, and before long I find myself in the Angora vilayet,
bowling briskly eastward over a most excellent road; not the mule-paths
of an hour ago, but a broad, well-graded highway, as good, clear into
Nalikhan, as the roads of any New England State. This sudden transition
is not unnaturally productive of some astonishment on my part, and
inquiries at Nalikhan result in the information that my supposed graded
wagon-road is nothing less than the bed of a proposed railway, the
preliminary grading for which has been finished between Keshtobek and
Angora for some time.
This valley seems to be the gateway into a country entirely different
from what I have hitherto traversed. Unlike the forest-crowned mountains
and shrubbery hills of this morning, the mountains towering aloft on
every hand are now entirely destitute of vegetation; but they are in
nowise objectionable to look upon on that account, for they have their
own peculiar features of loveliness. Various colored rocks and clays
enter into their composition; their giant sides are fantastically streaked
and seamed with blue, yellow, green, and red; these variegated masses
encompassing one round about on every side are a glorious sight-they are
more interesting, more imposing, more grand and impressive even than the
piny heights of Kodjaili. Many of these mountains bear evidence of mineral
formation, and anywhere in the Occident would be the scene of busy
operations. In Constantinople I heard an English mineralist, who has
lived many years in the country, express the belief that there is more
mineral buried in these Asia Minor hills than in a corresponding area
in any other part of the world; that he knew people who for years have
had their eye on certain localities of unusual promise waiting patiently
for the advantages of mineral development to dawn upon the sluggish mind
of Osmanli statesmen. At present it is useless to attempt prospecting,
for there is no guarantee of security; no sooner is anything of value
discovered than the finder is embarrassed by imperial taxes, local taxes,
backsheesh, and all manner of demands on his resources, often ending in
having everything coolly confiscated by the government; which, like the
dog in the manger, will do nothing with it, and is perfectly contented
and apathetic so long as no one else is reaping any benefit from it.
The general ridableness of this chemin de fer, as the natives have been
taught to call it, proves not to be without certain disadvantages, for
during the afternoon I unwittingly manage to do considerable mischief.
Suddenly meeting two horsemen, when bowling at a moderate pace around a
bend, the horse of one takes violent exception to my intrusion, and, in
spite of the excellent horsemanship of his rider, backs down into a small
ravine, both horse and rider coming to grief in some water at the bottom.
Fortunately, neither man nor horse sustained any more serious injury
than a few scratches and bruises, though it might easily have resulted
in broken bones. Soon after this affair, another donkey-rider takes to
his heels, or rather to his donkey's heels across country, and his long-
eared and generally sure-footed charger ingloriously comes to earth; but
I feel quite certain that no damage is sustained in this case, for both
steed and rider are instantly on their feet; the bold steeple-chaser
looks wildly and apprehensively toward me, but observing that I am giving
chase, it dawns upon his mind that I am perhaps after all a human being,
whereupon he refrains from further flight.
Wheeling down the gentle declivity of a broad, smooth road that almost
deserves the title of boulevard, leading through the vineyards and gardens
of Nalikhan's environments, at quite a rattling pace, I startle a quarry
of four dears (deers) robed in white mantles, who, the moment they observe
the strange apparition approaching them at so vengeful a speed, bolt
across a neighboring vineyard like the all-possessed. The rapidity of
their movements, notwithstanding the impedimenta of their flowing shrouds,
readily suggests the idea of a quarry of dears (deer), but whether they
are pretty dears or not, of course, their yashmaks fail to reveal; but
in return for the beaming smile that lights up our usually solemn-looking
countenance at their ridiculously hasty flight, as a reciprocation pure
and simple, I suppose we ought to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The evening at Nalikhan is a comparatively happy occasion; it is Friday,
the Mussulman Sabbath; everybody seems fairly well-dressed for a Turkish
interior town; and, more important than all, there is a good, smooth
road on which to satisfy the popular curiosity; on 'this latter fact
depends all the difference between an agreeable and a disagreeable time,
and at Nalikhan everything passes off pleasantly for all concerned. Apart
from the novelty of my conveyance, few Europeans have ever visited these
interior places under the same conditions as myself. They have usually
provided themselves beforehand with letters of introduction to the pashas
and mudirs of the villages, who have entertained them as their guests
during their stay. On the contrary, I have seen fit to provide myself
with none of these way-smoothing missives, and, in consequence of my
linguistic shortcomings, immediately upon reaching a town I have to
surrender myself, as it were, to the intelligence and good-will of the
common people; to their credit be it recorded, I can invariably count
on their not lacking at least the latter qualification. The little khan
I stop at is, of course, besieged by the usual crowd, but they are a
happy-hearted, contented people, bent on lionizing me the best they know
how; for have they not witnessed my marvellous performance of riding an
araba, a beautiful web-like araba, more beautiful than any makina they
ever saw before, and in a manner that upsets all their previous ideas
of equilibrium. Have I not proved how much I esteem them by riding over
and over again for fresh batches of new arrivals, until the whole
population has seen the performance. And am I not hobnobbing and making
myself accessible to the people, instead of being exclusive and going
straightway to the pasha's, shutting myself up and permitting none but
a few privileged persons to intrude upon my privacy . All these things
appeal strongly to the better nature of the imaginative Turks, and not
a moment during the whole evening am I suffered to be unconscious of
their great appreciation of it all. A bountiful supper of scrambled eggs
fried in butter, and then the miilazim of zaptiehs takes me under his
special protection and shows me around the town. He shows me where but
a few days ago the Nalikhan bazaar, with all its multifarious merchandise,
was destroyed by fire, and points out the temporary stalls, among the
black ruins, that have been erected by the pasha for the poor merchants
who, with heavy hearts and doleful countenance, are trying to recuperate
their shattered fortunes. He calls my attention to two-story wooden
houses and other modest structures, which, in the simplicity of his
Asiatic soul, he imagines are objects of interest; and then he takes me
to the headquarters of his men, and sends out for coffee in order to
make me literally his guest. Here, in his office, he calls my attention
to a chromo hanging on the wall, which he says came from Stamboul -
Stamboul, where the Asiatic Turk fondly imagines all wonderful things
originate.This chromo is certainly a wonderful thing in its way. It
represents an English trooper in the late Soudan expedition kneeling behind
the shelter of a dead camel, and with a revolver in each hand keeping at
bay a crowd of Arab spearmen. The soldier is badly wounded, but with
smoking revolvers and an evident determination to die hard, he has checked,
and is still checking, the advance of somewhere about ten thousand Arab
troops. No wonder the people of Keshtobek thought an Englishman and a
revolver quite safe in travelling without zaptiehs; some of them had
probably been to Nalikhan and seen this same chromo.
When it grows dark the mulazim takes me to the public coffee-garden,
near the burned bazaar, a place which ia really no garden at all only
some broad, rude benches encircling a round water-tank or fountain, and
which is fenced in with a low, wabbly picket-fence. Seated crossed-legged
on the benches are a score of sober-sided Turks, smoking nargilehs and
cigarettes, and sipping coffee; the feeble light dispensed by a lantern
on top of a pole in the centre of the tank makes the darkness of the
"garden" barely visible; a continuous splashing of water, the result of
the overflow from a pipe projecting three feet above the surface, furnishes
the only music; the sole auricular indication of the presence of patrons
is when some customer orders "kahvay" or "nargileh" in a scarcely
audible tone of voice; and this is the Turk's idea of an evening's
enjoyment.
Returning to the khan, I find it full of happy people looking at the
bicycle; commenting on the wonderful marifet (skill) apparent in its
mechanism, and the no less marvellous marifet required in riding it.
They ask me if I made it myself and hatch-lira ? (how many liras ?) and
then requesting the privilege of looking at my teskeri they find rare
amusement in comparing my personal charms with the description of my
form and features as interpreted by the passport officer in Galata. Two
men among them have in some manner picked up a sand from the sea-shore
of the English language. One of them is a very small sand indeed, the
solitary negative phrase, "no;" nevertheless, during the evening he
inspires the attentive auditors with respect for his linguistic
accomplishments by asking me numerous questions, and then, anticipating
a negative reply, forestalls it himself by querying, "No?" The other
"linguist" has in some unaccountable manner added the ability to say
"Good morning " to his other accomplishments; and when about time to
retire, and the crowd reluctantly bestirs itself to depart from the
magnetic presence of the bicycle, I notice an extraordinary degree of
mysterious whispering and suppressed amusement going on among them, and
then they commence filing slowly out of the door with the "linguistic
person" at their head; as that learned individual reaches the threshold
he turns toward we, makes a salaam and says, "Good-morning," and everyone
of the company, even down to the irrepressible youngster who was cuffed
a minute ago for venturing to twirl a pedal, and who now forms the rear-
guard of the column, likewise makes a salaam and says, "Good-morning."
Quilts are provided for me, and I spend the night on the divan of the
khan; a few roving mosquitoes wander in at the open window and sing their
siren songs around my couch, a few entomological specimens sally forth
from their permanent abode in the lining of the quilts to attack me and
disturb my slumbers; but later experience teaches me to regard my slumbers
to-night as comparatively peaceful and undisturbed. In the early morning
I am awakened by the murmuring voices of visitors gathering to see me
off; coffee is handed to me ere my eyes are fairly open, and the savory
odor of eggs already sizzling in the pan assail my olfactory nerves. The
khan-jee is an Osmanli and a good Mussulman, and when ready to depart I
carelessly toss him my purse and motion for him to help himself-a thing
I would not care to do with the keeper of a small tavern in any other
country or of any other nation. Were he entertaining me in a private
capacity he would feel injured at any hint of payment; but being a khan-
jee, he opens the purse and extracts a cherik - twenty cents.