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 Siberia, Voyages on the Amoor, Volga, and Other Rivers, a Visit to Central Asia, Travels among the Exiles, and a Historical Sketch of the Empire from Its Foundation to the Present Time

CHAPTER XXI.

Chapter 2167 wordsPublic domain

A GLANCE AT CENTRAL ASIA.--RUSSIAN CONQUEST IN TURKESTAN.--WAR AND DIPLOMACY AMONG THE KIRGHESE TRIBES.--RUSSIAN TAXES AND THEIR COLLECTION.--TURCOMAN AND KIRGHESE RAIDS.--PRISONERS SOLD INTO SLAVERY.--FORTIFIED VILLAGES AND TOWERS OF REFUGE.--COMMERCE IN TURKESTAN.--JEALOUSY OF FOREIGNERS.--TRAVELS OF VÁMBÉRY AND OTHERS.--VÁMBÉRY'S NARROW ESCAPE.--TURCOMAN CHARACTER.--PAYMENTS FOR HUMAN HEADS.--MARRIAGE CUSTOMS AMONG THE TURCOMANS.--EXTENT AND POPULATION OF CENTRAL ASIA. 428