GENERAL ANNENKOFF'S VIEWS. 163 



CHAPTER Xy.^ 



THE TRANSCASPIAN RAILWAY IN 1903. 



Origin of the idea of railway communication with Central Asia — The 

 chimerical conception of M. de Lesseps — With the defeat of Lomakin, 

 railway schemes are revived — Lack of suitable transport — General 

 AnnenkoflF's line — England suspicious — The Pendjeh incident — 

 Renewal of work on the Transcaspian railway — Completion of the 

 line — Leave Baku — Krasnovodsk — On board the train — Geok Tep^^e 

 — A false report — The steppe in spring — Khiva — Merve — The 

 Murgab branch to the Afghan frontier — A desert of sand — The 

 bridge over the Oxus — Eeach Bokhara. 



" The great difficulty Russia has to contend with 

 in Central Asia consists in immense distances, inter- 

 sected by waterless wastes, which impede the progress 

 of armies. In overcoming this, the camel, however 

 useful for peaceful caravan purposes, has been tried 

 and found utterly wanting." ^ And Russia wanted 

 above all things to send armies into Central Asia, 

 so with commendable wisdom she lost no time in 

 making such arrangements as would enable her to 

 do so. 



^ For the facts concerning the construction of the railway I am 

 indebted to Lord Curzon's 'Eussia in Central Asia,' Messrs Skrine 

 and Ross's ' Heart of Asia,' and Mr C. Marvin's ' Russians at Merve 

 and Herat ' ; while to the proprietors of ' The Times ' I am also indebted 

 for permission to make use of an article of my own descriptive of the rail- 

 way at the present day, which has already appeared in their columns. 



- ' The Akhal Tekke Oasis and Roads to India.' General Annenkoff. 

 Translated by Charles Marvin. 



