. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across the English in Northern India. Most of them regardAmericans as more friendly to Russia than to England in whatever con-cerns Central Asia, and the English officials in the disputed country wouldnot aid our movements. What would be our facilities for travelling, supposing we met withno official opposition ? Starting from Baku, replied the Doctor, we could cross the Caspianto Mikhailovsk in a steamer in from sixteen to eighteen hours. Mikhai-
. The boy travellers in the Russian empire: adventures of two youths in a journey in European and Asiatic Russia, with accounts of a tour across the English in Northern India. Most of them regardAmericans as more friendly to Russia than to England in whatever con-cerns Central Asia, and the English officials in the disputed country wouldnot aid our movements. What would be our facilities for travelling, supposing we met withno official opposition ? Starting from Baku, replied the Doctor, we could cross the Caspianto Mikhailovsk in a steamer in from sixteen to eighteen hours. Mikhai-lovsk is in what was once the Turcoman country, but is now Russian terri-tory. It was permanently occupied in 18G9, and since that time Russiahas been extending her possessions until she is now at the borders of India, RUSSIAN DIPLOMACY IN CENTRAL ASIA. 429 with only a narrow strip of territory between the Enghsli possessions andher own, From the time of Peter tlie Great to tlie present, the Doctor con-tinued, Russia has been steadily pressing farther and farther into inclined to be a punster, I should say she has advanced steppe by steppe;. CAMP SCENE NEAR THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS. the Kirghese and Turcoman steppes have been conquered one after anoth-er—sometimes by fighting, and sometimes by diplomacy, but more fre-quently by a skilful combination of both forms of conquest. The Russianshave a thorough knowledge of Asiatic people, probably because they haveso much Asiatic blood in their own veins, and in their dealings With thesavage or half-civilized natives of this vast country they manage thingsmuch better than the English do. A large part of the Kirghese country was won without actual fight-ing, though with military assistance. It was generally in this wise: Two tribes might be at war with each other, and Russia, after somenegotiation, would come to the aid of the weaker. The presence of a 430 THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. E-ussian battalion of cavalry wou
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