Page:England & Russia in Central Asia, Vol-2.djvu/15

Rh hanging over their head, the various peoples have never dared in any way to interfere with a Russian traveller during the last three years. Russian travellers had only to take the necessary precautions against the weather, and a sufficient stock of supplies for desert places. English explorers out of the beaten track had to guard against the hostility of man quite as much as the obstacles of nature. In the future we hope that a bolder policy beyond the mountains, and a firmer foot-hold in Afghanistan will give us an equality in all respects with Russia, and will place at our disposal the means of obtaining recent and authentic information concerning all the countries south of the river Oxus.

We may commence with the interesting journey of Faiz Baksh, although the pundit Munphil had before that contributed an instructive report on his travels in Badakshan. For a portion of this we are indebted to Colonel Tule's paper on the Upper Oxus Regions, which will be found in the "Journal of the Royal Geographical Society," referred to below. But the pundit returned to his native State of Bikaneer, where he became Minister to the Rajah, and to judge from the result it was after that elevation difficult to extract anything from him. Yet in the little record that is preserved of what he discovered there is much to be learnt concerning the material condition of, and political aspect of affairs in, Badakshan. When Faiz Baksh was deputed to travel through Afghanistan and 1 *