Page:The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire.djvu/443

Rh men were engaged in a single enterprise. A raid was called a 'chapow' by the Persians; in the Turcoman language it was an 'alaman.'

"A Turcoman leader would announce his intention of making an alaman, but the route was always kept secret through fear of betrayal. The Turcomans are splendid horsemen, and while organizing an expedition they put their steeds under a system of training to enable them to make long and swift marches whenever occasion required. When everything was ready the party started; it travelled slowly until it reached the Persian frontier, and was often weeks on the way.

"Passing the frontier, the hard work of the campaign began. The region selected for the raid was reached as soon as possible; then the invading force was divided into small parties, and each had a particular village assigned to it. Their movements were made so as to catch the people at work in the fields, and capture the cattle before they could be driven into a place of safety. Not only the cattle, but all the men, women, and children that could be seized were taken. The old and useless were slaughtered without mercy; the young or able-bodied were carried off, to be sold into slavery. A wealthy Persian was held for a heavy ransom, but a poor man had no chance of redemption.

"The plundering was kept up as long as there was anything to steal, and then the expedition returned to its own territory. Sometimes in a single raid as many as a hundred thousand horses, sheep, goats, and other animals were captured, and a thousand or more people were carried into slavery."

Frank asked if the Persian Government made no provision for the protection of its people.

"Very little," replied the Doctor; "the Persian troops were in the cities and large towns, which the Turcomans never attacked, and as there was no telegraph through the country, the raiders almost invariably got to a safe distance before a pursuit could be started. Very often the Persian officials on the frontier connived at the raids, and the people were forced to rely upon themselves for protection."

"In what way could they do anything against the robbers?" was the very natural query that followed this statement.

"Their villages are built of mud, and may be called forts," the Doctor replied. "The walls are from twenty to thirty feet thick, and about forty in height; they form a quadrangle, or circle, where cattle can be driven at night, and there is only a single door-way, too low to permit the passage of a man on horseback. The raiders never stop to besiege a place; all their work is done by a sudden dash, and the Turcoman would never