-coveted line of the Jaxartes, and simultaneously with their erection
arose Fort Aralsk, near the embouchure of the river.'

The Russians having thus crossed the great desert tract and established
themselves on the Jaxartes (Sir Daria), from that time came permanently
into contact with the three Khanates of Central Asia, and their progress
since that date has been comparatively easy and rapid.

The Principalities had no military organisation which would enable them
to withstand a great Power; their troops and those of Russia were
frequently in conflict of late years; but the battles were in a military
sense trivial; and the broad result is, that Russia has been for some
years predominant throughout the whole region; and her frontiers are now
continuous with the northern provinces of both Afghanistan and Persia.
It is this latter point which is the important one, so far as we are
concerned, but before entering into its details, it will be well to
consider the nature of the great country over which Russia now rules.

Until within the last few years our information as to its general
character was very limited; but the accounts of numerous recent
travellers all concur in describing it as consisting for the most part
of sterile deserts, deficient in food, forage, fuel and water. There
are a certain number of decayed ancient cities here and there, and there
are occasional oases of limited fertility, but the general conditions
are as just described. With the exception of the one railway from the
Caspian to Samarcand, the means of transport are chiefly pack animals.
Speaking roughly, the dominions of Russia in Central Asia, south of
Orenburg, may be taken as almost equal in geographical extent to those
of our Indian Empire; but there is this striking difference between the
two, that whilst the population of India is computed at 250 millions,