CHAPTER X.Radford and Osman—The quarrel—Do the Roossians kiss each other?—Bei Bazar—The pig tobacco—Osman's honesty—Forage for five horses—It is a good sign in a horse to be always hungry—The Tchechmet river—The Mudir at Istanos—The Cadi's mule—The tradition about Istanos—Caverns formerly inhabited by marauders—A chasm—The entrance to the caverns—A levee of the inhabitants—No newspapers in the villages—An Armenian priest—The furniture of the room—Has the Conference commenced?—What is it all about?—Russia is strong and we are weak—The other Powers are afraid of Russia—Will England be our ally?—Are the Christians tortured?—Here we get on very well with the Mussulmans—The pack-saddle.There was something on my English servant's mind that evening. He did not look happy, and eyed Osman from time to time with lowering looks."My brother is angry with me, Effendi," said the Turk, in answer to my inquiries. "When he speaks I do not understand, when I speak he does not know what I say.""What is the matter, Radford?" I asked."Please, sir, I ain't had no dinner. I did not prepare anything for you as the cook in the house was a preparing it. Well, when you had finished, and Osman had brought out the dishes, I thought that I should get something to eat. But, no sir! for Osman invited a lot of dirty Turks to come and sit round the victuals. Some of the chaps had just come out of the stable, and their hands were that dirty. Then they began a shoving them into the dishes and a licking their fingers. It turned me hup, that it did. Osman ought to know better, sir. Whenever I cooks for you I always give him a tit-bit for himself."I now explained the matter to Osman, and at the same time informed him that in future he must look after his English companion at dinner-time. The difficulty was amicably arranged, and the two men shook hands together. Osman wishing to show his affection in a more demonstrative manner, this, however, was not appreciated by my domestic."Lor! how they kisses each other, just like a lot of great girls. Do the Roossians kiss each other?""Yes, Radford.""They must be a poor lot then, sir. I havealways heard that one Englishman could lick two Frenchmen, and I believed it; but I'll be blessed if I could not lick half-a-dozen Roossians, if they have no more in them than these 'ere dirty Turks."We left Bei Bazar at daybreak. Osman, as usual, did not take the trouble to lead one of the baggage-horses, but drove the animal before him. Presently we passed through a narrow passage. On each side were two walls; the pack-saddle struck against one them, and Radford's bag, containing the article which he prized perhaps most in the world, some pig tobacco, was torn open."I never seed such a fellow as that Osman," exclaimed my indignant servant, "he is always a telling of us as how he is industrious, and if there is a ha'porth of work to do he will borrow a penny and give it to some chap to do the job for him. I believe, sir, as how that fellow is a cheating the horses of their forage. He told me that he fed them in the morning before I was up. He is a liar he is. I was dressed a long time before him, and when he did show himself, he was busy the whole time a praying and a doing something with a little gallipot he carries in his saddle-bags. I don't believe the horses have had a feed of corn this twenty-four hours."I began myself to be a little sceptical about Osman's honesty. I was paying as much for the forage of the five horses as if I had been in England. The poor brutes were getting thinner every day. I determined to stop at a farmhouse and buy some barley. On giving this to the horses, they ate it ravenously, thus confirming my suspicions."Osman, you did not feed the horses this morning!" I exclaimed."Feed them, Effendi! I fed all of them!""But see how hungry they are, they have eaten all the barley you have just given them.""Yes, sir, they are wonderful horses. They are always hungry. It is a good sign in a horse to be always hungry."I was not to be taken in by this remark, and so desired Radford in future to see the horses fed. At the same time I resolved to keep a sharp look-out on Osman. It was true that a considerable portion of his time was spent in praying; however, I began to be of my English servant's opinion, that when the Turk was not engaged in prayer, he was either planning or executing a theft, and that all these devotions were performed merely with the view of throwing me off my guard.We crossed the Tchechmet; it is a tributary of the Sakaria river, and about thirty yards wide. There was a wooden bridge over the stream, but without any parapets; the height from the water being about twelve feet. This river is fordable in many places, the banks are not precipitous, and the bottom is firm.A messenger, sent forward from the village of Ayash, had informed the Mudir at Istanos, our next station, that an English traveller was on the road. The official, attended by the Cadi and two or three Zaptiehs, came out to meet us. All the party, with the exception of the gendarmes, were clad in long dark blue dressing-gowns, which draggled some distance below the riders' stirrups. The mule which the Cadi rode was not of a quiet disposition; from time to time he kicked as violently as a mule can kick, at his master's robe, the Cadi saving himself by clinging convulsively to the high pommel of his saddle.Istanos is a little distance from the direct road to Angora. There was no other good halting-place in the neighbourhood, so I determined to make a slight detour and remain there for the night—the more particularly as Istanos is a village of historic fame, the tradition beingstill extant, that it is the place[7]where Alexander the Great cut the Gordian knot. The village, which contains 400 houses—half belonging to Armenians, half to Turks—is on the right bank of the river Owas. A lofty rock overhangs the stream, and according to the Mudir, there were several huge caverns which in days long gone by had been inhabited by bands of marauders.Later on, I procured a guide, and walked to the foot of the rock. A narrow pathway was cut in the solid stone. The track was not more than twelve inches wide, as we ascended it became narrower at every moment. At last we arrived at a spot where the path had given way. There was a chasm about twelve feet wide. The guide hesitated, and no wonder, for if he had essayed the leap and missed it, he must have fallen at least a hundred feet on to the crags below."Effendi," he said, "I will try and cross if you like, but if my foot slips I shall be killed. You can see the entrance to the caverns from the place where you are standing."It was not possible, even if I had wished it, to pass him and try the jump myself. The sunwas nearly down, and ere a rope could be brought, night would be upon us. Reluctantly I retraced my steps, having to go backward for some distance owing to the narrowness of the ledge. Should any other traveller chance to visit Istanos, and be able to stay there a day or two, it would be well worth his while to procure a rope and examine these, as far as I can learn, unexplored grottos.On returning to the Mudir's house, I found a levee of the principal inhabitants, Armenians as well as Turks. I was then informed that they had come to welcome me to their village. The real reason being that they wished to hear the latest news from Constantinople. No newspapers find their way to these out-of-the-way villages. The inhabitants can only learn what is going on in the capital through the arrival of a traveller.An old Armenian priest was one of the visitors. He sat by the side of the Mudir, on a raised platform in the centre of the room. The legs of these two gentlemen were entirely hid from view, and although the room was very chilly where I was sitting, the rest of the party did not seem to feel the low temperature. I now discovered that there was a hole in the platform. A pan of live charcoal had been placed in the recess. Thenatives, enveloped in furs, and with their feet over the embers, were able to withstand the cold. The platform was partly covered with a Persian rug. A divan alongside the walls made up the furniture of the room. In the background and near the door stood the servants of the Mudir, and the less important inhabitants. It was not considered etiquette for them to sit in the presence of their superiors. They remained with arms folded and eyes bent down in token of humility. When the Mudir thought that they had humbled themselves sufficiently, he made a sign to them. They all squatted down on their haunches."Has the Conference commenced?" inquired the Mudir."Yes.""What is it all about?" said another old Turk, the Cadi."It is to see if arrangements can be made so as to prevent war," I replied."But we do not want to go to war with any one," said the Mudir. "Russia wishes to go to war with us.""Why is the Conference not held at St. Petersburg?" asked another of the visitors."Because Russia is strong and we are weak—theother powers are afraid of Russia," said the Cadi."Do Englishmen like Russia?" inquired the Mudir."Some do, and some do not," I replied."Do you?""I like the people, but do not like the government.""Why?""Because it is a despotic form of government, and in my opinion all despotisms are bad.""I like to hear that," said the Mudir."So do I," said each one of the assembled guests, taking the cue from the governor."Will England be our ally in the case of war?" asked the Cadi."I do not know, but I hope so."Some one now entered and spoke a few words to the Mudir. The latter left the room: he was followed by the rest of the visitors, with the exception of the Armenian priest."How do you like the Turks?" I asked."Very well," replied the old man, at the same time blowing his nose in his dressing-gown, pocket handkerchiefs being apparently unknown in this part of Turkey. "Here," he added, "thepopulation is half Armenian and half Turk, this makes a considerable difference. In other villages, where the Mohammedans outnumber the Christians, the latter sometimes suffer.""What do you mean by suffer? Are they tortured?""No, never," replied the priest, "but if a Turk were to strike an Armenian, and the latter were to hit him back, all the Turks in the neighbourhood would set upon the Christian. Then, if the Christian should complain to the Mudir, the Turk would bring witnesses to say that the Armenian called him the grandson or great-grandson of a dog. The Christian's word would not be taken as evidence. But things are much better than they used to be, and here we get on well with the Mussulmans."My English servant was very much excited that evening. At dinner-time he put down my plate with a bang on the table, and every now and then looked at Osman with an air of supreme contempt."What has happened?" I at last inquired. "Have you and Osman been fighting, or are you both in love with the same woman?""No, sir, but that Hosman he ain't taken the pack-saddle off our horse's back since we leftScutari. Every night I tells him about it, and he takes no notice of me whatever. I expect that our oss has an awful back—a nasty unfeeling brute is Hosman, sir. How would he like a saddle on his own back night and day for fourteen days?""Well," I said, "go to the stable, take off the saddle, and tell me in the morning if the horse's back is sore or not."I did not share the apprehensions of my English servant. The Turkish pack-saddle is admirably suited for a long journey. During previous expeditions in the East, I had seen some Tartars who kept their horses saddled for weeks and even months together, and all this without in any way injuring the animals. The two English riding-saddles which I had brought from Constantinople, had already proved a source of annoyance to me. Our steeds had lost a great deal of flesh, owing to the long and frequent marches, and the panels required fresh stuffing. The grey horse which I rode had been slightly rubbed. In consequence of this I had changed saddles with Osman, who was much lighter than myself. The Turkish saddle not having a panel, is better adapted for longmarches. Unfortunately it is an uncomfortable one for the horseman: my own experience being that the English saddle galls the steed, but the Turkish one the rider.
Radford and Osman—The quarrel—Do the Roossians kiss each other?—Bei Bazar—The pig tobacco—Osman's honesty—Forage for five horses—It is a good sign in a horse to be always hungry—The Tchechmet river—The Mudir at Istanos—The Cadi's mule—The tradition about Istanos—Caverns formerly inhabited by marauders—A chasm—The entrance to the caverns—A levee of the inhabitants—No newspapers in the villages—An Armenian priest—The furniture of the room—Has the Conference commenced?—What is it all about?—Russia is strong and we are weak—The other Powers are afraid of Russia—Will England be our ally?—Are the Christians tortured?—Here we get on very well with the Mussulmans—The pack-saddle.
There was something on my English servant's mind that evening. He did not look happy, and eyed Osman from time to time with lowering looks.
"My brother is angry with me, Effendi," said the Turk, in answer to my inquiries. "When he speaks I do not understand, when I speak he does not know what I say."
"What is the matter, Radford?" I asked.
"Please, sir, I ain't had no dinner. I did not prepare anything for you as the cook in the house was a preparing it. Well, when you had finished, and Osman had brought out the dishes, I thought that I should get something to eat. But, no sir! for Osman invited a lot of dirty Turks to come and sit round the victuals. Some of the chaps had just come out of the stable, and their hands were that dirty. Then they began a shoving them into the dishes and a licking their fingers. It turned me hup, that it did. Osman ought to know better, sir. Whenever I cooks for you I always give him a tit-bit for himself."
I now explained the matter to Osman, and at the same time informed him that in future he must look after his English companion at dinner-time. The difficulty was amicably arranged, and the two men shook hands together. Osman wishing to show his affection in a more demonstrative manner, this, however, was not appreciated by my domestic.
"Lor! how they kisses each other, just like a lot of great girls. Do the Roossians kiss each other?"
"Yes, Radford."
"They must be a poor lot then, sir. I havealways heard that one Englishman could lick two Frenchmen, and I believed it; but I'll be blessed if I could not lick half-a-dozen Roossians, if they have no more in them than these 'ere dirty Turks."
We left Bei Bazar at daybreak. Osman, as usual, did not take the trouble to lead one of the baggage-horses, but drove the animal before him. Presently we passed through a narrow passage. On each side were two walls; the pack-saddle struck against one them, and Radford's bag, containing the article which he prized perhaps most in the world, some pig tobacco, was torn open.
"I never seed such a fellow as that Osman," exclaimed my indignant servant, "he is always a telling of us as how he is industrious, and if there is a ha'porth of work to do he will borrow a penny and give it to some chap to do the job for him. I believe, sir, as how that fellow is a cheating the horses of their forage. He told me that he fed them in the morning before I was up. He is a liar he is. I was dressed a long time before him, and when he did show himself, he was busy the whole time a praying and a doing something with a little gallipot he carries in his saddle-bags. I don't believe the horses have had a feed of corn this twenty-four hours."
I began myself to be a little sceptical about Osman's honesty. I was paying as much for the forage of the five horses as if I had been in England. The poor brutes were getting thinner every day. I determined to stop at a farmhouse and buy some barley. On giving this to the horses, they ate it ravenously, thus confirming my suspicions.
"Osman, you did not feed the horses this morning!" I exclaimed.
"Feed them, Effendi! I fed all of them!"
"But see how hungry they are, they have eaten all the barley you have just given them."
"Yes, sir, they are wonderful horses. They are always hungry. It is a good sign in a horse to be always hungry."
I was not to be taken in by this remark, and so desired Radford in future to see the horses fed. At the same time I resolved to keep a sharp look-out on Osman. It was true that a considerable portion of his time was spent in praying; however, I began to be of my English servant's opinion, that when the Turk was not engaged in prayer, he was either planning or executing a theft, and that all these devotions were performed merely with the view of throwing me off my guard.
We crossed the Tchechmet; it is a tributary of the Sakaria river, and about thirty yards wide. There was a wooden bridge over the stream, but without any parapets; the height from the water being about twelve feet. This river is fordable in many places, the banks are not precipitous, and the bottom is firm.
A messenger, sent forward from the village of Ayash, had informed the Mudir at Istanos, our next station, that an English traveller was on the road. The official, attended by the Cadi and two or three Zaptiehs, came out to meet us. All the party, with the exception of the gendarmes, were clad in long dark blue dressing-gowns, which draggled some distance below the riders' stirrups. The mule which the Cadi rode was not of a quiet disposition; from time to time he kicked as violently as a mule can kick, at his master's robe, the Cadi saving himself by clinging convulsively to the high pommel of his saddle.
Istanos is a little distance from the direct road to Angora. There was no other good halting-place in the neighbourhood, so I determined to make a slight detour and remain there for the night—the more particularly as Istanos is a village of historic fame, the tradition beingstill extant, that it is the place[7]where Alexander the Great cut the Gordian knot. The village, which contains 400 houses—half belonging to Armenians, half to Turks—is on the right bank of the river Owas. A lofty rock overhangs the stream, and according to the Mudir, there were several huge caverns which in days long gone by had been inhabited by bands of marauders.
Later on, I procured a guide, and walked to the foot of the rock. A narrow pathway was cut in the solid stone. The track was not more than twelve inches wide, as we ascended it became narrower at every moment. At last we arrived at a spot where the path had given way. There was a chasm about twelve feet wide. The guide hesitated, and no wonder, for if he had essayed the leap and missed it, he must have fallen at least a hundred feet on to the crags below.
"Effendi," he said, "I will try and cross if you like, but if my foot slips I shall be killed. You can see the entrance to the caverns from the place where you are standing."
It was not possible, even if I had wished it, to pass him and try the jump myself. The sunwas nearly down, and ere a rope could be brought, night would be upon us. Reluctantly I retraced my steps, having to go backward for some distance owing to the narrowness of the ledge. Should any other traveller chance to visit Istanos, and be able to stay there a day or two, it would be well worth his while to procure a rope and examine these, as far as I can learn, unexplored grottos.
On returning to the Mudir's house, I found a levee of the principal inhabitants, Armenians as well as Turks. I was then informed that they had come to welcome me to their village. The real reason being that they wished to hear the latest news from Constantinople. No newspapers find their way to these out-of-the-way villages. The inhabitants can only learn what is going on in the capital through the arrival of a traveller.
An old Armenian priest was one of the visitors. He sat by the side of the Mudir, on a raised platform in the centre of the room. The legs of these two gentlemen were entirely hid from view, and although the room was very chilly where I was sitting, the rest of the party did not seem to feel the low temperature. I now discovered that there was a hole in the platform. A pan of live charcoal had been placed in the recess. Thenatives, enveloped in furs, and with their feet over the embers, were able to withstand the cold. The platform was partly covered with a Persian rug. A divan alongside the walls made up the furniture of the room. In the background and near the door stood the servants of the Mudir, and the less important inhabitants. It was not considered etiquette for them to sit in the presence of their superiors. They remained with arms folded and eyes bent down in token of humility. When the Mudir thought that they had humbled themselves sufficiently, he made a sign to them. They all squatted down on their haunches.
"Has the Conference commenced?" inquired the Mudir.
"Yes."
"What is it all about?" said another old Turk, the Cadi.
"It is to see if arrangements can be made so as to prevent war," I replied.
"But we do not want to go to war with any one," said the Mudir. "Russia wishes to go to war with us."
"Why is the Conference not held at St. Petersburg?" asked another of the visitors.
"Because Russia is strong and we are weak—theother powers are afraid of Russia," said the Cadi.
"Do Englishmen like Russia?" inquired the Mudir.
"Some do, and some do not," I replied.
"Do you?"
"I like the people, but do not like the government."
"Why?"
"Because it is a despotic form of government, and in my opinion all despotisms are bad."
"I like to hear that," said the Mudir.
"So do I," said each one of the assembled guests, taking the cue from the governor.
"Will England be our ally in the case of war?" asked the Cadi.
"I do not know, but I hope so."
Some one now entered and spoke a few words to the Mudir. The latter left the room: he was followed by the rest of the visitors, with the exception of the Armenian priest.
"How do you like the Turks?" I asked.
"Very well," replied the old man, at the same time blowing his nose in his dressing-gown, pocket handkerchiefs being apparently unknown in this part of Turkey. "Here," he added, "thepopulation is half Armenian and half Turk, this makes a considerable difference. In other villages, where the Mohammedans outnumber the Christians, the latter sometimes suffer."
"What do you mean by suffer? Are they tortured?"
"No, never," replied the priest, "but if a Turk were to strike an Armenian, and the latter were to hit him back, all the Turks in the neighbourhood would set upon the Christian. Then, if the Christian should complain to the Mudir, the Turk would bring witnesses to say that the Armenian called him the grandson or great-grandson of a dog. The Christian's word would not be taken as evidence. But things are much better than they used to be, and here we get on well with the Mussulmans."
My English servant was very much excited that evening. At dinner-time he put down my plate with a bang on the table, and every now and then looked at Osman with an air of supreme contempt.
"What has happened?" I at last inquired. "Have you and Osman been fighting, or are you both in love with the same woman?"
"No, sir, but that Hosman he ain't taken the pack-saddle off our horse's back since we leftScutari. Every night I tells him about it, and he takes no notice of me whatever. I expect that our oss has an awful back—a nasty unfeeling brute is Hosman, sir. How would he like a saddle on his own back night and day for fourteen days?"
"Well," I said, "go to the stable, take off the saddle, and tell me in the morning if the horse's back is sore or not."
I did not share the apprehensions of my English servant. The Turkish pack-saddle is admirably suited for a long journey. During previous expeditions in the East, I had seen some Tartars who kept their horses saddled for weeks and even months together, and all this without in any way injuring the animals. The two English riding-saddles which I had brought from Constantinople, had already proved a source of annoyance to me. Our steeds had lost a great deal of flesh, owing to the long and frequent marches, and the panels required fresh stuffing. The grey horse which I rode had been slightly rubbed. In consequence of this I had changed saddles with Osman, who was much lighter than myself. The Turkish saddle not having a panel, is better adapted for longmarches. Unfortunately it is an uncomfortable one for the horseman: my own experience being that the English saddle galls the steed, but the Turkish one the rider.