208 On the Yamud and Gokldn Tribes of Turkomania. 



Shia, had been Sunni, then they themselves must have turned 

 Shia, — as the circumstance of being of the same religion might 

 have interfered perhaps with their present lucrative trade. 

 These religious scruples do not prevent them, however, from 

 capturing persons of their own religious persuasion and their 

 own tribe, with whom they happen to be in enmity, and fixing 

 enormous prices for their release. 



If this thirst for gain renders the heart of the Turkoman cal- 

 lous to the suffering of his fellow-creatures, I found, on the 

 other hand, that the feelings of sympathy are more developed 

 among the inhabitants of Asterabad, than in other parts of 

 Persia, — the danger apprehended from the Turkomans being 

 the tie which unites them. Thus, if any of them falls into 

 the hands of the enemy, subscriptions are made to release the 

 captive, and the whole community takes a lively interest in 

 the sad event. I beg leave to mention here an instance, of 

 which I myself was a witness. 



On riding one evening through the streets of Asterabad, I 

 found a woman kneeling in an open mosque, clinging with 

 both arms to the pulpit, and weeping bitterly. On inquiry, 

 I found that intelligence had just been received of her son 

 being kidnapped by the Turkomans. I recommended the dis- 

 consolate mother to pray with faith, and God would hear her 

 prayer. In the meanwhile, the news spread through the town, 

 horsemen were sent in pursuit of the robbers, but returned 

 without having discovered any traces of them. The boy, a 

 lad of 13, was the son of a common dyer, and had strolled out 

 of the gate with a companion to fetch fuel from the wood close 

 to the walls. A Turkoman, it seems, who had been prowling 

 like a beast of prey, seized on him, while the other lad made 

 his escape. 



The night was far advanced, when a loud noise in the street 

 close to my dwelling aroused our party. It was the lad, who 

 had made his escape from the Turkoman, and was now led in 

 triumph about the streets with joyful acclamations. As I had 

 evinced some interest in the catastrophe, his father brought 

 him to shew me that he was safe. 



It appears that the Turkoman, while it was light, lay hid 

 in the thicket ; as night came on, he issued from his hiding 



