buildings in Tiflis were built by Persians, and thousands were
engaged in the construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway. The permanent
workmen now employed on it are largely Persians, and Askhabad has a
resident population of over twelve thousand. There were said to be
twenty thousand Persians, from the provinces of Azerbaijan and Hamadan,
working last summer on the new railway from Tiflis to Alexandropol and
Kars, now being built, and doubtless many of them will permanently
settle on the line.

It is said that there are half a million thus located and working out of
Persia, but I think that this is an exaggerated estimate. Most of them
retain their nationality, for while they grumble loudly in their own
country, yet when away they swear by it, and save money steadily to
enable them to return home. Their nomadic character is the cause of this
readiness to seek employment abroad. I was told that in 1894-95 twenty
thousand Persian passports were issued from the Embassy in
Constantinople. This would include pilgrims as well as home visitors.
It is this love of country (not in the sense, however, of patriotism as
understood in the West) which makes a Persian cling to his national
representative abroad, and willingly pay for frequent registration as a
subject who is entitled to protection and permission to return home
whenever he may choose. As a rule, the Persian abroad always appears in
the distinctive national dress--the tall black lambskin cap and the coat
with ample skirt of many pleats.

I have mentioned the Persian porters who are seen at Baku; they are also
to be found at Petrovsk and Astrachan, and are generally preferred to
the local labourers, who, in common with their class in Russia, take a
long drink once a week, often unfitting them for their work the
following day. The Persians are of sober habits, and can be relied upon
for regular attendance at the wharfs and loading-stages. They have
learnt, however, to take an occasional taste of the _rakivodka_ spirit,
and when reminded that they are Mohammedans, say that the indulgence was
prohibited when no one worked hard. These porters are men of powerful
physique, and display very great strength in bearing separate burdens;
but they cannot work together and make a joint effort to raise heavy
loads, beyond the power of one man. Singly, they are able to lift and
carry eighteen poods, Russian weight, equal to six hundred and
forty-eight pounds English.

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