'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎91] (124/714)

FROM ASHKABAD TO KUCIIAN
91
the chosen haunt of rapine and murder, the Turkoman man-hunters
sweeping down like a flame through their sullen gorges, and falling
with sword and musket upon the villages and flocks that presumed
to survive their repeated devastations.
It was said, when the Russians began to build the Ashkabad-
Kuchan road, that they contemplated in the future laying upon it
Projected a ^ ne ra 'l s —whether a railroad or a steam tramway—
railroad that should facilitate their connection with Meshed. As
has been pointed out to me, however, by an English Engineer officer
who has inspected the work, such cannot possibly be the case, the
zigzags by which the ridges are surmounted being of a character
with which, in their present condition, no railroad in the world
could grapple; while the same may be said of many of the
angles on the Persian section of the road between Baj Girha and
Kuchan. It would be easy enough to lay a line of rails from
Kuchan to Meshed, where the track would run upon a level plain.
But no purpose would be served by such an outlay; and it is more
probable, as will be pointed out later on, that, if Meshed is to be
brought into correspondence with the Russian railway system, it
will be from the opposite direction.
From Baj Girha there are two short marches, via Durbadam
and Imam Kuli, to Kuchan. The distance is said to be 12 farsakhs,
nominally 48 miles. I reckon the stages, however, from Ashkabad
as follows : Miles
Between the frontier and Kuchan, the present camel and mule
track does not follow precisely the same line as will the chaussee.
The latter, it is understood, will make a detour by
section of Aughaz, and will avoid other steep or difficult places,
the road Nevertheless, I kept continually striking upon the in
complete works, small segments of the road being finished, others
only marked out, and others again in the hands of the workmen.
I met some hundreds of these in batches, 1 blasting the rocks, or
building unsubstantial bridges, which will probably be destroyed
by the first flood. A German engineer had been engaged to infuse
Ashkabad to Baj Girha
Baj Girha to Persian Do.
Persian Do. to Imam Kuli
Imam Kuli to Kuchan .
. 30
. 2
. 21
. 23
Total
. 76
1 Their wages were about 6^. a day.