The Great Trek of the Russian Mennonites to Central Asia, 1880-1884, Fred Richard Belk, 1976

lings of the town were all of adobe, and camels roamed the clean, beautiful streets and marketplaces. All races of people were here: Russians, Kirghiz, Sarts, Tartars, Bukharans, and Jews; here also the Syr Darya flowed southeastward toward Tashkent. Governor Kaufmann had left orders for the inhabitants to allow the party of Mennonites to stay in Kasalinsk for the winter if they wished. In fact, the gov- ernor remained helpful and accommodating throughout the remainder of the journey and always seemed well informed about their progress.” Upon leaving Kasalinsk, the train was delayed by a broken axle and a camel falling through a weak bridge. But after this delay they traveled parallel to the Syr Darya, and on the first of November reached Fort Perovsk, still some 500 miles from Tashkent. Here they encountered a terrain more difficult than any they had passed through. Two wagons tipped over in the rocky road. Winter weather set in, the temperature fell to near zero, and it began to snow so hard that cooking in the open was impossible; wet clothes re- mained frozen for days, fuel was difficult to find, and the horses were without shelter.** In mid-November the frozen group reached the city of Turkestan, encamped near the Russian quarter of the town, and bought needed supplies. While there, they were notified that the first wagon train had reached Kaplan Bek, and that negotia- tions with Kaufmann were going well. With this encouragement they hurriedly left the city and headed for Tashkent.” In a few days they reached the turbulent waters of the Aries River, from which they could see the Terek hills in the distance. They had been told that when this range was crossed, their journey was almost complete. Kirghiz natives helped the Mennonites across. Half of the wagons were pulled across the dangerous river with the aid of the teams of the rest of the group. One young man riding a Beginning the Trek 95 team of horses back across the river to the next wagon was suddenly swept into the current. Witnesses say he would have perished if it had not been for an alert Kirghiz who jumped from the steep bank into the water and with his long knife cut the lines and har- nesses in which the horses had become entangled and pulled both the young man and the horses out of the water. It was not the first time that these natives had rescued the Mennonites.** On the following day they reached the city of Chimkent, which was almost flooded from the rain. But here they found a friendly reception, food, and poplar trees which reminded them of their homes at Képpental. As they left the city for the south, the rocky foothills through which they had been traveling turned into a mountain range. The rain and snow continued, and they made only four miles the first day. Slushy roads impeded their progress, and once again they found soaked diapers and clothes frozen like chunks of ice. Crossing these mountains proved to be a mor