CHAPTER II. MUKHTAR PASHA A PASHA'S TENT OUR GUIDE DESERTS ERZEROUM BRIGANDAGE-A METHOD FOR DISPERSING BRIGANDS-A A LIFE on the ocean wave may have charms for some, though the eternal uncertainty of its wicked ways may do something to mar one's appreciation of it; if, indeed, I were called on to describe the most delightful life under the sun, I should, much as I personally like the briny, leave the sea out of the question, and hark back to those 'pleasant old days of the past,' when, leaving that element behind me, well-mounted. and full of the brightest expectations, I rode up country in the direction of Erzeroum. I refer, be it understood, to those hours out of the twenty-four spent in the open, since I would erase for ever from my memory those would-be sleeping moments passed in Asiatic khans. As far as one could judge, it seemed that the recent Russian victory at Ardahan had paralysed for the moment the hand of Mukhtar Pasha, towards whose camp I was hastening, threatening as it did, indirectly, Erzeroum, and even the base of operations, Trebizond itself, towards which, with his numerically speaking-very inferior forces, many thought Mukhtar would have retreated, leaving Kars and Erzeroum to their fate; but he was too good a player at the game of war not to hold this last card in reserve, and by a series of clever movements he drew on the foe, giving battle just where he had in each case decided-this, too, against great odds, not only as far as the numbers of the enemy were concerned, but in the utter want of all order as to his reinforcements and supplies. Being sent to take supreme command in Asia too late to go in for any systematic organisation of his own, he at least hoped for support from the rear; indeed, for some time, he was absolutely without cavalry, save a few troopers, who were barely enough for orderly duty; while, on the other hand, the Russians had 15,000 cavalry on the frontier observing his movements, at a moment when Mukhtar had not the wherewithal to make an ordinary reconnaissance, though certainly he was afterwards reinforced by 500 Circassians and fifty Kurdish irregulars, who were soon busily occupied scouring the enemy's frontier. In the meantime we were another day's march nearer camp, again ensconced, as I have said, in a dirty khan, forgathering as usual with sheep, buffaloes, goats, and oxen. On our third night up country we became so disgusted with the utter filth of our surroundings, that, having made what meal we could off youart, black bread, pilaff (rice boiled in grease from the tails of native sheep), we elected to sleep in the open, rather than submit to another night with the animalcules of a khan. Now it happened that Holmes had brought with him a curiously-striped tent from Constantinople, which we found, at a pinch, would accommodate us all; so we erected it in the narrow village roadway, which it completely occupied, and, lying down booted and spurred, though as yet new to campaigning in Asia Minor, we were soon all fast asleep. It was early dawn, when I was awakened suddenly by a horribly tickly-creepy sort of sensation all over me, and in a few seconds-far less time than I take to describe it-I found myself outside our tent vigorously shaking myself, which to those inside must have appeared most ludicrous; for now and again, I remember, I varied the shaking by a grotesque hop, fantastic skip, and idiotic jump, followed by a loud scrunch, and a still louder big, big 'D,' which proclaimed that yet another black-beetle had gone over to the majority. The tent, I discovered, was literally alive with them. The heat of this little excitement over, I became suddenly aware of bustle and commotion all round me. Surely the whole village, aware of my great antipathy to black-beetles, had not come out to see my most undignified expressions of horror! Had I been mistaken for an acrobat? No; oh dear, no! a thing far more absurd than this had happened, I soon discovered. The jabber of hundreds of voices in many tongues was tremendous; while far above the babel of humanity came the braying of asses, snorting of camels, and the peculiar low grunt of buffaloes-in truth, a whole armycorps of nondescript irregulars had halted just behind us on their way to the army of Ahmed Mukhtar Pasha. We found they had actually been waiting patiently there for many hours -poor things!--not having dared to disturb the most illustrious pashas who, sleeping so soundly, had thus blocked the way. It was Holmes's tent that had done it. The stripes, we discovered, denoted a pasha of high degree; a fact of which, though innocent till then, we did not fail to avail ourselves on many subsequent occasions, and so, assuming a virtue we did not possess, we struck our tent, magnanimously and graciously, as great pashas should, and allowed the long straggling contingent to defile past us, while we discussed our primitive breakfast. I think, since our mode of life and surroundings, as far as our halts were concerned, were all more or less alike, I may describe, once for all, what sort of place an ordinary upcountry Anatolian village is. In the first place, you are never quite sure, coming from higher ground, if you are in a village street-or on its housetops, which are made of mud and rough-hewn trees; and since these roofs are perfectly flat, having holes in the centre which serve for chimneys, it is not at all an uncommon thing, when walking unsuspectingly along, to slip through some weak point, and suddenly find yourself on the floor of a khan; indeed, one correspondent, riding in hot haste from the heights above, actually went head over heels, horse, rider, and all, into one of these mud cabins, much to the danger of himself and its inmates. There is no evidence of shops in these clusters of rough hovels, the great khan being the caravanserai at which all travellers stop, and where all supplies and information, such as they are, are to be found. Big-eyed buffaloes wander at will through what I suppose, for want of a better name, one must call its main street; while the camels of the passing stranger pick up unconsidered trifles where they can. The absence of a sufficient supply of water is much felt of course by Europeans, the nearest stream being, as a rule, at some considerable distance, though the natives have, I understand, never been heard to complain on that score, having no maudlin sentiment with reference to water, save perhaps for the purpose of coffee-making. We did occasionally find a primitive Turkish bath, which we invariably made our quarters for the night: a place, I assure you, which, rough though it might be, considering our exceptional ablutions, was something to be sought after. Curiously enough, few villages were without their idiot, or, as they in more complimentary terms put it-their Wise Man. Very much to be envied, too, is this village fool: He takes a side glance and looks down. Beware! I always had a strong suspicion that he was not by any means D such a fool as he looked. He was fed, clothed, and idolised, his parents if alive being thought specially favoured by Allah. He had a seat in every khan, and dreamed away a most negative existence at his own sweet will. The village idiot is supposed to exercise charms of every imaginable kind, and to make him presents of beads or tinsel finery, or to deck his long unkempt hair with grass or weeds, is thought a special privilege. The people in the villages keep very much within their mud hovels, which is, perhaps, just as well, for what with their faces bedaubed with indigo, their nails tinted a bright saffron with henna, and their generally begrimed appearance, they do not improve the aspect of their miserable surroundings from a comfortable point of view; though, picturesquely speaking, dirty yashmacks, turbans, many-coloured unmentionables, gaudy jackets, arms of every obsolete description, and pointed shoes have special attractions. Brigandage too, was, at the time of which I write, so much an institution in Asia Minor, that it would have been difficult to say which villages were or were not affected, though some were inhabited wholly and solely by gentlemen who devoted themselves to the desperate craft of 'stand and deliver;' and marvellously picturesque some of these fellows were, with their brilliant belongings and formidable-looking weapons, as they galloped from ambush to try conclusions with the passing traveller. Half-way between Trebizond and Erzeroum lies Baiburt, a town small enough in itself, but, by comparison with the tiny villages we had passed, of no little importance. We put up at the chief khan, which overlooked the market-place. Here we heard that two of the sons of Queen Victoria had recently passed through. It appeared that they were accorded a regal reception by those poor benighted people, at which they themselves expressed no little astonishment, which can be easily understood, as I afterwards learnt they were the two sons of Consul Zohrab of Erzeroum who had been thus glorified, as they were returning from school at Smyrna. While partaking of what scant refreshment Baiburt afforded, we saw that no ordinary excitement was going on outside; so, while our horses and men rested, we strolled out to ascertain its cause. It appeared that two brigands had just been caught red |