‘Seistan Persia & Seistan’ [‎129r] (262/617)

&. W. No. 3.
Extract from, the Pioneer, dated the 7th May 1898.
TWO RUSSIAN EXPEDITIONS.
under the ausp^LTof al the t Imperial^eo e 5 ,l 0 r Dg l | xp ? ditio “ to Baluchistan
and the survey to be made is to tX 1 „ P !! 0al Soele , t - T of St - Petersburgh,
of South-Eastern Pe“h nXrto a -e UCh “ may be fouQ<i Practicable
Post, this region of Western Asia has f ,“ rr ?®P ou(leat of the Morning
Muscovite friends- and t i n^ ea S v at h a e P filt H ^“ t dly a ‘ tentions o£
and wherefore of such an undertokfug at the n^t P tb f
«.e nature, indeed, of British intefests in the^stoetl ^“rntv Mcateri
Itussian Mission can hardly fail to strike us as rather unfriendly to its wav ’ if
not distinctly provocatrve. Of course, we are assured that the expedition is
j* f purely scientific character, and its only object the investigation of the
districts abutting on the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . But as two out
“Li!.! ®, ve e ^P erts who are to compose the party are to be Russian staff
omceis, Englishmen may be pardoned for looking a trifle more closely into the
matter.. The term u purely scientific ” is construed very widely by the
Muscovites, and covers a good deal more, as a rule, than appears on the sur
face. The first expedition that entered Manchuria, a decade ago, was stated
to be of ^ a “ purely scientific ” character, but this did not preclude the party
frorn taking a couple of field guns with them, and, of course, the artillerymen
required to work them. It was explained at the time that the guns were for
the purpose of experiments on the velocity of sound at high altitudes. The
explanation wap accepted, and now we see the result. As a matter of fact,
the British Indian authorities have been, and are still, pushing an exhaustive
survey of the whole of Baluchistan and the south-east of Persia as rapidly
as circumstances will permit, and there is no more reason for a Itussian Ex
pedition for this purpose than for a British survey of Eastern Siberia. There
are probably two distinct motives operating with the St. Petersburgh authori
ties in sanctioning the expedition to which we refer. In the first place, they
have been a good deal nettled at the construction of new trade route through
Baluchistan by the British. This road has tapped the commerce between
India and Turkistan, and sent it round by way of our neighbour State, and
the Muscovites would now like to ascertain if it be possible to divert it again.
In the second place, there are a great number of Russian statesmen and public
ists who believe that they ought to secure an outlet somewhere on the Persian
Gulf or its vicinity, and that it is well to begin to look about them in time.
But whatever the motives, or combination of motives may be, the expedition
to Baluchistan is one that will require watching.
The Banish Lieutenant Olafsen’s second expedition to the Pamirs deserves
all the more attention, writes the Standard's T&zxYm correspondent^ as the
comprehensive preparations clearly show that like all the Itussian “ scientific ’
expeditions to distant and unknown regions it will be of very great political
importance. The Czar himself is most keenly interested m it, and has ordered
the official authorities to do all they can to help it. The journey will last
about two years. The expedition will go from St. Petersburgh by land through
Caucasia, Trans-Caucasia and Turkistan to the vil age o£ Osh on the Chinese
frontier, Lnd then to Lake Yashikul which lies twelve thousand feet above the
level of the sea in the Alichur Pamir, the fauna and flora of which are to be
studied It will then go to the Khanate of Wakhan to s udy and survey the
studied, it w g ter m Bokharaj and establish a
numerous ™ins there. It wm spe ^ it wiu g0 up the Amu
^lia t^lhtoa pLto-ranh the ruins there, and then return from its capital,
Darya to Khiva, p g P Caspian. From Osh onward it will con-
Merv, mA Tehran and Enzel!, on the tiaspia unreliability of
Sist of fifteen men and thirty beasts of b " de “ me ^^^ ep 0 uipped ese0 rt of two
the tribes, however, Olafsen w ^ mment The scientific members of the
hundred men from the Bu^a , tbe ^uist p au l S en. The scientific
expedition are the physicist ^ boxes to be earried 0 n horseback, a
equipment is exce , a sounding, astronomical, meteorological
transportable boat tor ttie ia . phonograph to receive specimens of
and all other f--tific mstimmento and ajlmno^ P a[mfaetu nd will
the native dialects._ AU these t o with him a large number
through Russia £ ^ft*/vatoed in Central Asia,
of decorations, which are highly vaiue