acrossasiaminoro00chiluoft

272 ACROSS ASIA MINOR ON FOOT
the railway itself emerging from a tunnel. And then
as I took in more, I discovered construction-trains
bumping along with the jangle of couplings, engines
puffing, and gangs of men labouring like ants ; in
all it was a sudden and unexpected glimpse into
Europe. And yet it was also a view that stirred
deep tribal instincts and made a tribesman of me
like any. On this high spur of the Bulgar Dagh I
was a British tribesman with a bird's-eye view of
subtle hostile operations contrived hy German tribes
for the undoing of my own.
From this point of vantage, indeed, one could not
help reflecting long on the purpose and origin of the
railway. But chiefly one marvelled that any British
person could ever regard the commercial penetration
of Asia Minor as the ultimate and praiseworthy aim
of this great German undertaking. One recalled, too,
as a point of interest, that behind this German thrust
for national gain and dominion in the East lay a
strain of sentiment reaching farther than many supposed—a
thin strain, perhaps, but a potent one. A
friendly German remarked to me once that many
reasons existed why his country should find especial
interest in Asia Minor.
*'
It is really not so very far from the home of
the Germanic peoples," he explained, taking a wide
geographical view. "It is the Asiatic hinterland of
united Germany, and is quite accessible. Perhaps
you know that in the days of the Crusades Frederic
Barbarossa, who is one of our national heroes, reached
Asia Minor overland from middle Europe with a
German army. It exceeded 100,000 men, and with
it he fought many victorious battles after crossing
the Dardanelles. At Konia he won a great victory.
After Konia he continued his advance, but was
drowned among the Taurus mountains, within sight
of the sea. That German army of the twelfth century
marched from middle Europe to Palestine,
and wrote a chapter of our history in which we
take great pride. Asia Minor has been an eastern