The Golodnaya zone of cultivation extends only a verst or so beyond Golodnaya station; between this little oasis and Chernaievo, the next station, there is a barren wilderness. After leaving Golodnaya and crossing the Emperor Nicholas I. Canal by an iron bridge, 8 sagenes in length, the line proceeds north-east beyond the Syr Daria, where it turns sharply to the east in order to make the junction with the main line from Krasnovodsk to Andijan. Owing to the lack of cultivation and the scarcity of population no commercial importance can be ascribed to Chernaievo. Attached to the little station is a small hospital with a capacity of ten beds, while the railway workshops employ a permanent staff of 100 workmen. The depôt at this point, on account of the junction between the line from Tashkent and the extension to Andijan, is out of proportion with the requirements of the neighbourhood. Of course here, as at every station on the line, there is a large store of naphtha, 50,000 poods being held against emergency in the naphtha reservoir. [Illustration: PEASANTS FROM THE GOLODNAYA STEPPE] In relation to Chernaievo, it would be a pity to avoid mention of the distinguished soldier who, subsequently Governor-General of Turkestan and dying in disgrace in August of 1898, gave his name to the place. Under happier circumstances Chernaieff might have become the Clive of Central Asia. It was he who, suffering defeat before Tashkent on October 2, 1854, and determining to remove so signal a stain from the prestige of the Russian forces, repeated his attack at a moment when he had received explicit orders from Alexander II. to refrain from doing so. With the Imperial despatches in his pocket he led his small forces to the onslaught and it was only when victory had been secured that he made himself acquainted with his instructions. The reply he despatched to his august sovereign is as historical as the famous signal which Nelson displayed at Trafalgar. “Sire,” he wrote,[6] “Your Majesty’s order, forbidding me to take Tashkent, has reached me only in the city itself which I have taken and place at your Majesty’s feet.” The Tsar was angry at the breach of discipline and, although he accepted the fruits of General Chernaieff’s daring, he never restored his officer to favour. Superseded by General Romanovski and stung to the quick by this treatment, Chernaieff retired from the service, a broken-hearted man. Beyond Chernaievo, situated amid most arid surroundings and in a locality where the water is salt, is Obrutchevo, so called in honour of the former Chief of the General Staff, General Obrutcheff. Nine versts further is Lomakino, which derives its name from General Lomakin, an officer of repute in the Turcoman Expedition of 1879. Between Lomakino and Jizak the line enters the province of Samarkand.