Page:Kennedy, Robert John - A Journey in Khorassan (1890).djvu/77

 into fine yellow sand, over which the eye can stretch north, east, south, and west without encountering any object save perhaps a solitary pointsman, waving a tattered signal flag in front of his half-buried shanty, or a few desert plants, which have been planted in places along the line in the hope of affording some slight protection to the permanent way, and an idea may be formed of the nature of the obstacles which the Russian engineers had to overcome.

During our passage across the Kara Kum Desert, our train encountered a south-east gale, which blew nearly the whole day, and drove clouds of powdery sand into the railway carriages. After crossing the great wooden bridge over the Oxus, we found the line in many places buried in sand, and our train was constantly brought to a standstill, whilst gangs of men, with spades and shovels, were sent ahead to clear the way. We did not reach the station of Bokhara until nine p.m., five hours late; but next morning we found ourselves, with improved weather, crossing a smiling and well-cultivated country, with trees, gardens, and orchards. We reached Samarcand in the afternoon of Friday,