154 REPOET — 1873. 



There is no nation, perhaps, which has so much reason to value geogi*aphical 

 science and the art of map-making at a high rate as the Russians. In their rapid 

 advance across the steppes and mountain-ranges of Northern Asia southward into 

 the valley of the Amoor and Manchuria on the east, and to Khiva and Samarcand 

 in the west, they have taken many courses ; but in all they have had the im- 

 mense advantage of not only knowing^ the territories they coveted, but being able 

 to place them accurately on maps. The late Mr. Atkinson, a great traveller in 

 Siberia and Central Asia, gives more than one graphic and, there is every reason to 

 believe, perfectly veracious account of how negotiations for territory with Asiatics 

 may be successfully and even peacefully conducted, at a very small cost when thus 

 aided and prepared. First an exploring party starts for some unknown region, 

 ostensibly, it may be, for hunting, well armed and prepared to note accurately the 

 physical features of any country they may traverse. The first exploration accom- 

 plished, a second follows, better provided for an actual survey and geological and 

 mineralogical researches. These being completed, negotiations are opened with 

 the chief of the tribe to whom the territory in question belongs. One of these 

 transactions in 1848 ended in a considerable district in the Kirghis Steppe, lying 

 between the Targ Abatai and the Irtisch, already ascertained to possess valuable 

 silver- and lead-mines, being transferred from the Sultan and chiefs of the Great 

 Horde of Kirghis to the Emperor of Russia (or, as he is better known to the 

 Kirghis, the " Great White Khan ") for a sum of 250 roubles, a gold medal, a sword 

 of honour, and half a dozen handsome khalats or robes for the Sultan, Mulla, and 

 the five or six head chiefs. 



In these mysterious and hitherto inaccessible regions of Inner or Central Asia, 

 geographical knowledge is almost a necessary qualification in any Power which 

 seeks further intercourse and access. To Russia, of course, it is matter of primary 

 importance, situated as she is in direct contact along all her southern border with 

 the nomade races which occupy the vast regions stretching across the continent 

 between her and all the southern ports and seas ; but scai-cely more so, perhaps, 

 than to Great Britain, as another great Asiatic Power, — the only one of equal 

 pretensions, strength, and influence in the East by its command of Western 

 resources and Asiatic territory. A knowledge of the geogiaphv of the regions 

 lying between the Caspian and the Amoor is, indeed, power of the most valuable 

 Innd. When the Russians secured possession of the upper portion of the Zarafshan 

 valley about Saware, they commanded the waters on which Bokhara depends for 

 its fertility and existence, and of com-se obtained a means of easy conquest. Thus, 

 whether for conquest or for commerce, Geography is the best ally and a necessary 

 pioneer. If we look again at the map, showing the complex systems of mountains 

 separating the plains of India from Eastern Turkestan and the upper tablelands 

 and valleys of Central Asia, we shall find that they are not simple ranges, like the 

 Alps or the Pyrenees, which can be crossed by a single pass, as Mr. Shaw has so 

 well shown, but are composed of many chains, enclosing considersible countries 

 within their valleys. Thibet and Cashmere are examples of this. Eleven passes, 

 we are told, have to be crossed in travelling from India to Turkestan ; and of these, 

 only two are lower than the summit of Mont Blanc. Yet, thanks to the labours 

 of many geographic explorers, impassable as these mountain-barriers seem, we 

 know now that they are penetrated m such a manner by rivers, and so accessible by 

 comparatively easy routes, that they form no insurmountable obstacle to peaceful 

 commerce, although capable of a complete defence against force. Take, again, that 

 range of the Thian Shan to the north and the Himalayan system to the south, 

 which converge together as they run westward, and unite in a vast boss supporting 

 the high plateau of Pamir, which the natives call the Bam-i-dunya, or " Upper 

 floor of the World." Numerous valleys penetrate into it from east and from west, 



peculiarity which makes it far easier to traverse from east to west than from north 

 to south — a fact which you wiU see at once has a most important bearing on the 

 trade-routes. 



The latest advance in this direction of Russia is fixed at present at Kulja, where 

 she has established an important trading centre. This has been obviously dictated 

 by a knowledge of geographical features giving her access to Eastern Turkestan ; 

 for although Kulja appears to be separated by difficult snowy mountains, yet these 



