Mohammed's febrifuge—The doctor's medicine—Zedhane—Daha—Hassan
Bek—Bash—The garrison—We cross the Araxes—The bridge made
by a Circassian—Karakroot—The Circassian horsemen—The
inhabitants—Their eyes and teeth—Gedjerharman—The plain
around Kars—The streets of the town—The sewerage of the
population—The civil governor—The river—The war with the
Persians—Mount Kara Dagh—The fortifications.
The rest had done me good. Mohammed's febrifuge seemed to agree. Later
on, the doctor's medicine arrived. I took a dose, and felt myself much
worse in consequence. I determined to stick to the native remedy.
Day after day passed by. At last I was able to raise myself a little
from the floor. My appetite gradually returned; and one fine morning I
determined to make an attempt to reach Kars. My servants lifted me on
my horse: once on his back, I made them strap me to the high pommel in
front of the saddle—a Turkish one.
The fresh air did wonders, and, though very weak, I managed to reach
Zedhane, a village which we had stopped at on our way to Bayazid, and
which lay on the route between Van and Kars.
We rode to Daha, passing by Kurdali, a small village, seven miles from
Zedhane, and with some strong positions, from a military point of view,
in the neighbourhood. The track was very different to what it had been
a few weeks previous. There was little snow, and we were able to reach
Daha in five hours. Our course was almost due north, and ran through
a broad mountain pass to Hassan Bek, a Kurd hamlet, and from there
to Bash, an Armenian village with a hundred Khans. Here a battalion
was quartered. The men had fought at Alexinatz, and, according to
their lieutenant-colonel, an officer whose acquaintance I had made at
Erzeroum, they were eager to cross bayonets again with the Russians.
We left Bash, and after a two hours' march crossed the Araxes on a
rickety wooden bridge. It had been made by an enterprising Circassian.
There is a ford several miles down the stream, but the Circassian had
thought that, if he were to make this bridge, a great many passengers
would prefer taking the short cut, and would gladly pay a few piastres
for the privilege of crossing the structure.
We came to the village of Karakroot, in which the Circassian lived.
The sheik, a fine-looking man, informed us that here there were only
twenty-five houses, but there were 1005 houses which belonged to people
of his nation in the neighbourhood. In the event of war, the inhabitants
of this district could muster 2000 horsemen. The houses belonging to
these Circassians were far cleaner than any which I had seen in the
Kurdish or Armenian villages. They were all built of wood, with wooden
floors. A small enclosure, made of sharp-pointed stakes, surrounded each
of the dwellings. There were quantities of buffaloes, cows, and sheep
in some adjacent fields, and the granaries were said to be well supplied
with corn and barley.
The inhabitants were smart-looking fellows, and all of them dressed in
their national attire—in tight-fitting sheepskin coats, with the wool
worn inside, and buckled round their waists by a narrow leathern strap,
studded with buttons; broad leather trousers, stuffed into high boots
covered their legs, and small Astrachan caps their heads.
For arms, the men carried long daggers in their waist-belts—many of the
hilts being beautifully worked in silver.
There were several women and girls in the village. They did not conceal
themselves, as is the custom of the Armenian or Turkish women. We had
the opportunity of looking at their faces. I was under the impression
that the Circassian girls were very fair. This is not the case; they
more resemble the Spanish belles, and have a clear olive complexion,
through which you can discern the blue veins. One girl was very
good-looking. She could not have been more than sixteen, and sat the
horse on which she was mounted with more grace and ease than any of her
male companions.
The chief features in all these women are their eyes and teeth. The
former are very large, and the latter small, well-shaped and white as
pearls. Tooth powder is unknown in this district. How they preserve
their teeth so perfectly is to a European an enigma.
You see men of from sixty to seventy years of age who have never lost
a tooth, each one is as white as the purest ivory. The Circassians have
another advantage, from a European point of view, over the Kurds. They
do not sleep in their cow hovels. The stables are separated from the
apartments reserved for the family.
We rode by several more Circassian villages, and after passing
Gedjerharman, which is a nine hours' march from Bash, came to a
district inhabited by Turks and Armenians. The latter complained of
their warlike neighbours the Circassians, and declared that a Turk
had been killed the previous evening, in a quarrel with one of the
mountaineers. All this part of the track was in good order. Seven hours
after leaving Gedjerharman we entered the plain around Kars. In rear
of the town, which is built in the form of a sickle or half-moon, are
some high mountains. A series of detached forts occupying commanding
positions defends the approaches to the citadel. This last stands in
the north-west angle of the town.
Seven battalions of infantry were drilling in the plain. They presented
a more martial appearance than any of the troops which I had previously
seen in Asia Minor.
The streets of Kars were in a filthy state. Every house was crammed with
soldiers. The whole sewerage of the population had been thrown in front
of the buildings. Fortunately the weather was cold. A very disagreeable
smell could be perceived, as our horses stirred up the refuse beneath
their hoofs.
We halted at the house of the civil governor. He had been kind enough
to place a room at my disposal. The following morning I rode out to
visit the fortifications. The river Kars Tchai runs through the town,
and is crossed by three stone bridges, each about forty yards wide. The
Persians in a war with the Turks had tried to turn this river, so as to
cut off the water from the garrison, but failed in the attempt. I first
went to Mount Kara Dagh, which is about 1400 yards from the town, and
commands the road to the Russian fortress at Alexandropol or Gumri. A
small barracks had been erected for half a battalion of infantry; some
earthworks had been thrown up around the position, which was defended
by twelve Krupp guns. The site for the powder magazine had not been
judiciously selected; but, as it is possible that the war may not be
over ere this work is published, the reader will pardon me if I do not
mention its exact situation.
On the plain below, 1600 yards from the Kara Dagh, and 2000 from the
town, was a small redoubt called the Hafeez Pacha Tabia; here there
were nine guns, the battery facing the south. Fifteen hundred-yards
south-west of this point and 3000 from the town, stood the Kanli Tabia,
an important redoubt, in very good repair, and with sixteen guns in
position. The only other defensive works in the plain consisted of a
small redoubt called the Sowaree Tabia, in which were two guns. No
connecting lines had been made to join the different redoubts; the
ground between them was entirely unprotected. On my mentioning this to
an engineer officer who accompanied me, he remarked that it was winter,
and the ground was hard, when the weather became milder, the troops
would commence digging trenches and forming breast-works.
On the north-west of the citadel, and in a commanding position stood the
Veli Pacha Tabia with fourteen guns; and to the right of this battery,
and slightly in advance of it, some earthworks had been thrown up at the
suggestion of Bloom Pacha, a German officer; here there were five guns.
The river separates these works from the Kara Kalpak Tabia, a strong
position adjoining the Kara Dagh, and defended by ten guns.
In the citadel known as the Itch Kale, and which is slightly in rear
of Bloom Pacha Tabia, and on the opposite side of the river, there were
twelve guns. To the left of Veli Pacha Tabia was a battery of thirteen
guns, known as the Tchim Tabia. Closely adjoining this battery, but more
to the west I saw the Tamar Tabia with twenty-three guns; here there was
a barrack for one battalion. Five hundred yards in rear of the Tamar
Tabia stood the Diktipe Tabia with thirteen guns; and about the same
distance behind Diktipe, covering the northern slopes, the Tachmach
Tabia with eighteen guns. On the east of Bloom Pacha Tabia there was a
work with four guns, known as Inglis Tabia; and slightly in advance of
this battery Williams Pacha Tabia with twelve guns. This made up all the
defences on the north side of Kars. Most of these redoubts had been very
much neglected; however, the town was better fortified on the northern
side than from the south. Every facility was afforded to me for viewing
the works in question, and I was permitted to take the angles between
the different positions, besides being shown the exact bearings of all
the powder-magazines.