4 i;Xl'l,ORATIONS IN TURKKSTAN. 
tlie work. Prince Hilkofs orders (>l)tained for us tlic continuous use of a car 
throughout our stay in Turkestan. 
While I became deeply indebted to the general hospitality of all with whom we 
came in contact, I am under special obligations to several gentlemen to whose ready 
assistance the expedition owes much of its success. From their excellencies Count 
Cassini and the Hon. Joseph H. Choate, Assistant Secrctan- of State Mr. Herl)ert 
Pierce, and Baron \-on Richthofen I reccixed \alual)le letters to St. Petersburg. 
There, from His K.xcellency Mr. Semenof, vice-president of the Imperial Geograph- 
ical Society, 1 had letters of great importiuice to high authorities in Turkestan, as 
well as from Generals Stubendorf and Artemonof. Valuable assistance was rendered 
b}- Mr. McCormick, our ambassador, and Mr. Ridler, secretar}- of the embassy. 
Their Excellencies Prince Hilkof, Minister of Ways and Communications ; Mr. 
Plehve, Minister of the Interior, and Mr. Yermolof, Minister of Agriculture, gave 
me circular letters to all the employees of their departments ; while from the office 
of the Minister of War, who has control of Turkestan, orders were telegraphed to 
extend any desired aid to the members of the expedition. ]\I)- plans were also 
cordially furthered by the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, which 
passed a resolution asking the Minister of the Interior to facilitate our journe>- ; by 
Mr. Karpinsky, then director of the Imperial Geological vSun'ey ; Professor Schmidt, 
and Mr. Bogdanovitch, and by Mr. Tchernachef, now director of the Imperial 
Geological Sur\'e)'. 
In Turkestan we enjoyed the hospitality and assistance of their Excellencies 
the Governor-General and Madame Ivanof ; General Mediusky, governor of Sam- 
arkand; General Nalifkin, vice-governor of Fergana, and Madam Nalif kin ; (General 
Ussakovsky, governor of Transcaspia; Colonel and Madame \'olkovnikof, local 
governor of Krasuovodsk ; Colonel Kukol-Yasnoiwlski, governor of Askhabad ; 
General Ulianin, director of the Trans-Caspian railwaj- ; General Poslovsk}-, General 
Gedeonof, and Colonel Poulovtsoff. I owe the success of our Pamir expedition largely 
to the active interest and help of Colonel Zaitza, governor of Osh. To Baron 
Cherkasof, political agent at Bokhara, I owe nuich for his kindness during my visit 
to that place. At Old Mer\' we were entertained with great hospitality bj- Mr. 
Dubosof, superintendent of the Imperial estate. 
Using the railroad as a base and having horses and escorts wherever needed, 
we made flj'iug excursions to many points, at different distances from the railroad, 
both in going and coming. 
From Askhabad we made an excursion across the mountains of Khorassan into 
Persia, accompanied by Mr. Yanchevetzki, the secretar)- of the governor, and his 
intimate acquaintance with the water problems and with the countrj- from the Aral 
south was of great use to us. On our return to Askhabad we were joined by Mr. 
Richard Norton, who accompanied me throughout the journey. 
The next stop was at Old Mer\', where we spent sex-eral days among the exten- 
sive ruins. Thence, passing by Bokhara, and making only a preliminary visit to 
Samarkand, we went to Tashkent, the residence of the governor-general of Turkes- 
tan. Here the party divided. Professor Da\is and Mr. Huntington going eastward 
