Proceedings of the
Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain)
Norton Shaw, Francis Galton, Clements Robert Markham,
William Spottiswoode, Henry Walter Bates, John Scott
Keltie
Published by, 1879
The Road
to Merv. By Major-General Sir H. C. RAWLINSON, K.O.B.
(Read at
the Evening Meeting, January 27th, 1879.)
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The following discussion took place
on the reading of the Paper: —
Captain W. GILL, B.E., said it was
now nearly six years ago since he was in the neighborhood
of the Atreck. It was a remarkable fact that the shore of
the Caspian had changed in the way which Sir Henry
described. When he (Captain Gill) was off Chikishlar, the
boat from which he approached the land could not reach
the shore within two or three miles, as there was a long,
shelving bank. The change in the nature of the shores of
the Caspian might possibly have been caused by the
diversion of the Oxus, that river containing an enormous
body of water. But this was only a theory. There could be
no doubt, however, that at the present time it was
difficult to land anywhere on the south-eastern corner of
the Caspian. The Russians had now only the physical
difficulties to contend with, for no vessels besides
their own were allowed on the sea. The Island of Ashurada,
and the bay to the west and south, were very well
sheltered, and would accommodate a considerable number of
ships, the water being of good depth. The island formed
certainly an admirable position, except for its exceeding
insalubrity, the fevers there being of a severe type. It
formed an excellent spot from which to send supplies to
the interior.
There were three roads towards Merv
from the west, or, at all events, three ways of reaching
that place. The
first was the road to the north, from Kizyl-Arvat along
the northern slope of the Atock. The second followed
the River Atreck, and a third ran along to the south,
passing by Shahrud and Meshed. The lower course of
the Atreck has been well described in the Russian
letters, which had filled up the gap in our knowledge of
the details of this river, although it had been well
known that there was an easy road the whole way up the
Atreck. The road on the north was an excellent one,
being well watered and furnished with supplies. Kariz was
pointed out to him as being especially well supplied with
water. The different ranges of mountains had all more or
less the same characteristics. They were high, with roads
and passes through them, but probably not one-tenth of
the passes were known to geographers. They afforded
excellent positions for small bodies of cavalry, and a
long baggage train moving up along the northern slopes of
the Atock would be liable to attacks from small bodies
descending from the mountains through passes known only
to themselves. There were several points of great
strategic importance, Bojnurd being one, if the road of
the Atreck was considered. There were two roads
from it to the Atreck, one by a narrow defile to the
east, following the river Babaman, the tributary of the
Atreck on which Bojnurd is situated, the other a
difficult road over the Kuh-Akhir Range. These two
passes could easily be held by a force in possession of
Bujnurd, and would render that place an excellent point
for attacks upon any column attempting to move up the Atreck
Valley. Kelat, as Sir Henry Rawlinson had pointed out,
was a very extraordinary place. It was a plateau enclosed
by mountains, was well watered, and grew corn enough to
support all its inhabitants. When he was there the people
looked unhealthy and sick; but as a fortress it was one
of the most remarkable places in the world. There were
only two or three very narrow passes through the
mountains by which it was surrounded, and it was not
commanded by anything within range of artillery. The Teke (Tekke) tribe
were certainly a very important people, inhabiting as
they did the whole of the country to the north of the
Atock, and possessing a very fine breed of horses. If
properly officered, they would probably form a
magnificent body of cavalry. Their horses were perhaps
unequalled by any others in the world ; they were not
small, like Arabs, for he had seen some 16 hands high ;
they resembled English horses, but with a little more
bone, and the distances they covered in a day were quite
astounding. The people themselves were always ready
to fight with anybody, and were only too anxious to be
taken under the protection of the English. They would
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