Villages—Arab Dize—Shadili—Shalendili—Karenee—Kurds—Radford
wishes to bleed the inhabitants—Persian men with their
beards dyed red—Every part of a woman is false—These
Persians are a nation of women—The old fire-worshippers'
superstition—Gardens—Irrigation—Soldiers—The flint
fire-locks—They are unclean ones, these Persians—The little
dogs do some things well—A Persian will kiss you on one cheek,
and will stab you behind your back.
We rode along a flat country. A few hills could be seen on our
bridle-hand. The track was in capital order for the march. After
passing several small hamlets—amongst others, Arab Dize, Shadili, and
Shalendili—we pulled up at a large village called Karenee. It was
inhabited by Kurds, all of them being Persian subjects. Here there
were 350 houses. Judging by the number of people who came to ask for
medicine, so soon as I dismounted from my horse, the whole population
was unwell. It appeared that the Persian in whose house I had stopped
on the previous evening had sent word to the chief proprietor in this
Kurdish village, to say that a celebrated hakim was on his way. No
amount of expostulation saved us from the intrusion of the inhabitants.
Every one wished me to look at his tongue and to feel his pulse.
Radford, who was in another room, was interrupted in his cooking by a
crowd of the humbler Kurds, who believed that, when the master was so
great a hakim, his servant must necessarily have some medical skill.
Presently my servant entered.
"What has happened?" I remarked.
"I cannot get on with my cooking, sir," was the reply. "They will
come and shove out their dirty tongues just over my cooking-pot. Some
of the people who have got nasty diseases and sore legs insist upon
showing them to me. Quite turns me hup, that it does. I had two boxes
of hantibilious—I have given them all away. If I had only a pair of
champagne nippers, sir, I would draw the rascals' teeth, perhaps that
would take away their taste for my doctoring. Do you think it would do
any harm if I were to bleed one or two of them, sir?"
"Could you stop the bleeding after the operation?" I inquired.
"That, sir, is just what was passing in my mind. If I thought as how I
could, I would have taken a little blood from each of them in turn. It
would have cooled them down a little, and they would not have been so
anxious for my company in future."
On reaching a village about three hours' distance from our sleeping
quarters, we heard that the short road over the mountains to Van was
blocked by the snow, and that it would be absolutely necessary to go by
Khoi, and by a circuitous route which I had hoped to avoid.
I did not believe the statement, and ordered the guide to take the
mountain track. The man reluctantly consented. Higher and higher we
ascended the steep which divided us from the capital of Armenia. The
snow at each moment became more deep. At last the guide halted, and
distinctly refused to advance.
"I shall lose my life," he said. "You can do what you like with your
own, but I have children for whom to provide."
The Usebashe interfered.
"The fellow is telling the truth about the road," he said. "I too, like
yourself, thought that he was deceiving us. We had better go to Khoi."
There was nothing to be done but turn round and continue towards that
town. It was about fifty miles distant from us. We halted for the night
at a Kurdish village called Melhamee. Here the inhabitants received us
very discourteously. If it had not been for the Usebashe, who reminded
them of the laws of hospitality which are prescribed by their religion,
I much doubt whether we should have obtained a resting-place. They had
learnt that I was an Englishman, and were under the impression that they
would be pleasing the Russians if they threw difficulties in our way.
"We know who you are," said a Kurd, "and the people in Erivan know who
you are too. The Russians are our friends," he continued.
"Take care that your friends do not eat you some day," said the Usebashe.
"They will eat you first, and we shall help them!" said the Kurd.
This aroused the captain's indignation. I thought that there would
have been a disturbance. But, after a little more verbal warfare, the
belligerents parted.
"All the people in this village are in Russian pay," said the Usebashe,
"and that is why they are so hostile to you as well as to ourselves.
These men," he continued, "are foolish enough to believe in the
Russians, and think that because the Tzar's agents give them money and
presents, this same sort of treatment will be continued. Poor fools!
they will find their mistake some day."
We rode by men driving before them oxen laden with wood for fuel. There
were many villages on either side of the track. The Persian inhabitants,
attired in loose blue garments, and with their beards dyed red, gazed
curiously upon us as we passed.
Some of the greater dandies amidst these gentlemen had their
finger-nails also stained; and unless a man has his beard dyed a bright
colour, he has very little chance of meeting with the approval of the
fair sex. A stout red-haired Welshman would have what is termed _un
grand succes_ amidst the ladies in these regions.
"These Persians are ridiculous creatures," said the Usebashe. "Only
think of the men dyeing their beards red! One would have thought that
black would have been a more appropriate colour."
"Some of our English women dye their hair a light colour," I remarked.
"With women I can understand it," said the Usebashe. "Every part of
a woman is false from her tongue to her smile, dyeing her hair red,
enables her to carry on the deception; but for men to dye their hair
red—they might as well form part of a harem at once! However, these
Persians are a nation of women."
And the Usebashe pointed contemptuously at a little knot of men who were
seated outside a small dwelling, and watching eagerly for the moment
when the sun would disappear behind the hills.
I have often wondered whether something connected with the old
fire-worshippers' superstition has a lurking-place in the minds of the
Persians or Kurds. Day after day, and at the same hour, I have seen the
entire inhabitants of a village turn out and gaze intently upon the
great orb of light slowly sinking into space on the distant horizon.
I have questioned them about this subject. They indignantly repudiate
the idea of any act of worship to the sun; they say that they do so
because it is their habit, and because their fathers, grandfathers, and
ancestors did the same thing before them.
We rode by many gardens surrounded by high walls; some of these
enclosures were five or six acres in extent. Cherry, apple, peach, and
mulberry trees abound throughout the district; A plentiful water-supply,
which is brought from the mountains by means of artificial dykes,
irrigates the various orchards. Little trenches intersect each other at
many places along the fields, and when the proprietor wishes, he can at
once place his land under water. This must be an inestimable boon to
the inhabitants during the hot months, as otherwise their entire crop
would be destroyed by the heat.
Soldiers dressed in a dirty sort of French uniform, but with black
sheepskin hats of the extinguisher shape, sat outside the guard-houses
in the different villages. They looked askantly at the Usebashe as he
passed—for the Usebashe was in uniform. A wonderful sort of blue cape
covered the upper part of his person, and red knickerbockers, stuffed in
high boots, his extremities. A curved scimitar hung from his waist-belt.
The red fez on his head, and on our guide's, showed their allegiance to
the Sultan.
The two men clad in European costumes were also a source of wonder to
the soldiers. Some of them gripped the flint fire-locks with which they
were armed, and made a movement as if they would like to have had a shot
at our little party.
"Yes, you dogs! I have no doubt but that you would like to do so," said
the old Usebashe, shaking his fist at them, after we had got to a safe
distance. "However, your guns are only serviceable up to fifty yards,
it takes you five minutes to load them! They are unclean ones, these
Persians; do you not think so, Effendi?" continued the old Usebashe.
"I have seen so little of them I cannot judge. But, their roads and
houses are much better and cleaner than those which you have in Turkey.
"That is true," said the captain sorrowfully. "The little dogs can do
some things well, but they are sly and deceitful. A Persian will kiss
you on one cheek, and will stab you behind your back. He will call
himself your friend, and will slander you to your neighbours. He will
offer you the best horse in his stable: the offer comes from his lips,
and not from his heart. When you know them better, you will find this
out for yourself."