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CHAPTER XXII.

CAPTURE OF GEOK TEPE—1881. to 1869 the Russian advance into Central Asia was conducted from Orenburg and the various military posts of Western Siberia. Year by year the frontier was pushed to the southward, and the map of the Asiatic possessions of Russia required frequent revision. The long chain of the Altai Mountains passed into the control of the Czar; the Aral Sea became a Russian lake; and vast territories with a sparse population were brought under Russian rule. As mentioned previously, in the account of the fall of Khiva, most of this conquest was a bloodless one, as it was fought chiefly by the diplomatist, though backed always by the military power.

The Kirghese, who occupy the region immediately south of the Altai Mountains, and are still found on the southern confines of the Baraba Steppe, are broken into many independent tribes; they are nomadic in their habits, wandering from place to place in search of pasturage for their immense flocks and herds. In winter they frequent the valleys among the outlying hills of the Altai Mountains, and in summer descend upon the plains. Many of the tribes live altogether on the plains, and their range covers many thousands of square miles. Quarrels were numerous among them, chiefly growing out of disputes about pasturage or water, and in these quarrels the Russians interfered, both in the interest of humanity and the spread of their power. They usually 415