YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

FROM THE COLLECTION MADE BY
CHARLES SHELDON B.A. 1890
OF BOOKS ON NATURAL HISTORY
EXPLORATION • HUNTING & FISHING
GIFT OF FRANCIS P. GARVAN
B.A. 1897

UNEXPLORED BALUCHISTAN.

^'

m^

Woodburyty:pe.

^

Griffith & Farran, London, 1882.

UNEXPLORED BALUCHISTAN.

vv^

A SURVEY, WITH OBSERVATIONS ASTRONOMICAL,
GEOGRAPHICAL, BOTANICAL, ETC.,

OF A ROUTE THROUGH
MEKRAN, BASHKURD, PERSIA, KURDISTAN,
AND TURKEY.

ERNEST AYSCOGHE FLOYER,

F.R.G.S., F.L.S., ETC.

mitt; Sutolbe Sllustrattons ana a iiSlap.

Griffith & Farran,
west corner of st. paul's churchyard, london.
1882.

\The right's of translation and of reproduction are reserved.\

INTRODUCTION.

TO those who have studied the politics and
geographical position of the countries between
Persia and Northern India — countries, a knowledge of
which is of the highest importance to Englishmen at
the present day — the subject of " unexplored Baluch
istan " can scarcely fail td be attractive. To others the
very title may require explanation ; for " Baluchistan,"
known or unknown, is not restricted within
universally accepted limits. Roughly stated, we
may describe it as the region situated between the
longitudinal lines 57 and 67, bounded on the south by
the sea, and on the north by a line sufficiently above
latitude 28 to take in the Kuh-i-Basman and Kuh-i-
Nushadir. This delineation acccords with the Persian
way of regarding the Shah's possessions east of Karman
and Bandar Abbas ; and British India adopts the same
general nomenclature for the Brahui territory west of
the Hala Mountains. The point of junction — or line
5 b

vi INTRODUCTION.
of demarcation — between Western or Persian, and
Eastern or the Khan of Kalat's Baluchistan, is north
at the Mashkid river, and south at the fishing village
of Gwettar.
A glance at the most recent map of Persia will show
how large a portion of territory comprised within the
outlines here indicated needs specific definition, nor
can the several blanks which have long characterized
tracts such as Bashakard, Rudbar, and Irafshan be
disposed of by the term "desert" or "barren rock."
So designated, or by the less definite if more significant
word "unexplored," they cannot but be an eyesore.
to the geographer ; while to the student of Oriental
politics they convey the impression that if it be not
culpable neglect, it must be questionable prudence,
which keeps British India so ignorant of the habitat
of her immediate neighbours and allies. More than
forty years ago wq styled our officers " Political Agents
in Sind and Baluchistan " ; and the former of these
provinces has been actually in our own hands for little
less than that period, while our relations with the latter
have been continuous. It is, moreover, just twenty
years since we established a line of telegraph for
400 miles along the Makran coast, west of Karachi ;
and this was prolonged some six years later to Cape
Jask, with a submarine extension to the island of
Henjam — a station overlapping the extreme limit of
the Baluch country to the westward.

INTRODUCTION. vii
More recently still, the advance to Kwatta and war
with Afghanistan, by strengthening the intimacy of our
relations with the country divided between the Shah
and the Khan, have afforded us new opportunities of
examining its geographical features. But our troops
have moved but of Kandahar as they may move out of
Kwatta, and the blanks in the map of Baluchistan
remain unfilled.
Some years ago, I ventured to make a suggestion
with regard to the employes in the Government
Indo-European Telegraph, of whom it could hardly
be said, while exercising their professional duties at
Fao, Bushahr, Jask, Chahbar, Gwada, and Pasni —
telegraph stations on the coast extending from the
mouth of the Shattu-1-Arab to Karachi — that their
lines were cast in pleasant places. It was to the effect
that they should be encouraged and assisted in carry
ing out volunteer expeditions into the interior. Only
capable and trustworthy men, it was understood, were
contemplated for such occasions ; and this not simply
in the sense of scientific acquirement or fitness for
geographical exploration, but men who would avoid
wounding national susceptibilities and treading upon
local prejudices, as carefully as they would observe the
sun or the stars, register botanical specimens, or take
account of fauna. My ideas were put into shape and
submitted in an official letter ; but the practical object
aimed at was not favourably considered, and it was

viii • INTRODUCTION.
ruled unadvisable to give official encouragement to the
movement of employes out of their respective spheres
of work, even when a holiday had been earned or
failing health demanded temporary change of scene.
Mr. Ernest Floyer was at this time one, of the
Government Indo-European Telegraph Staff in the
Persian Gulf, and one of those whose tastes, attain
ments, and spirit of enterprise would have naturally
singled him out as a competent explorer. Had my
suggestion been acted on, and the presence of English
telegraph clerks at points along the Perso- Baluch coast
line, extending from the Shattu-1-Arab to Karachi,
been utilized under Government approval, I have no
doubt that he would have been one of the first
explorers selected ; but he would then have had certain
general instructions which haply he might rather have
been without, or which he might have been tempted to
consider more formal than serious. As it happened,
Mr. Floyer moved away from his dreary residence at
Jask into the interior, without any authority from his
superiors, but at the same time under no veto to keep
within the limits of a telegraph station : and he went
unhampered by official directions. How he fulfilled
his self-im.posed mission, it is left to the reader to
judge. It would be impertinent in this place to pass
an opinion on the literary merits of his book — in fact,
I have not had the leisure to read it with a critic's '
attention — but I have great pleasure in bearing

INTRODUCTION. ix
testimony to its usefulness in giving life and reality
to extensive tracts which, if little known, are full of
interest, and should have an exceptional charm for
Englishmen, owing to their proximity to British India.
To myself, the unknown province of Bashakard has
always presented attraction. Twice I have crossed
the Bampur plains on its northern side : once I skirted
it on the westward, passing up from Bandar Abbas to
Sistan ; and two journeys from Bampur to seaports of
Makran have made me acquainted with the lands
bordering upon its eastern frontier. Yet I have had
neither time nor opportunity to do more.than communi
cate with its chief by letter. It was reserved for Mr.
Floyer to visit the capital of Saif Oollah. That fierce
old Baluch was, at this period, in difficulties, and
another functionary had been installed in his seat ;
but we are told some stories about him which illus
trate his determined character.
Bashakard, however, is not the only part of Western
Baluchistan that has been visited by our enterprising
traveller. He is to be found camping at places to east,
west, and north of that Perso- Baluch province — always
accompanied by one or two faithful natives, to whose
adventures he pays as much regard as to his own, and
whose individuality he brings out by frequent anecdote
and example. Later on, he takes a more direct course
to the west, enters Persia proper, and traverses the
whole breadth of the Shah's kingdom, through

X INTRODUCTION.
Karman, Yazd, and Ispahan to the Turkish frontier at
Khanikin. Thence to Baghdad and Basra, there
was little more land-travel to be accomplished, and
from Basra to Marseille and London we need feel no
surprise that the author has not attempted any narra
tive of his journey.
Mr. Floyer's removal from the inhospitable shores
of the Persian Gulf to the direction of the Egyptian
telegraph, and my own official residence in Cairo, have
enabled us to renew the associations of bygone years.
They explain, moreover, how I have been asked, and
have consented, to write these few Hnes of preface to
a book which might otherwise have been introduced
under more brilliant auspices. It is not so easy to
decline a spoken as a written request, although it be
demonstrated that non-compliance is to the clear
advantage of the applicant. F. J. GOLDSMID.
Cairo, IOth March, 1882.

CONTENTS.

J

CHAPTER I.
Illness.— Hiring camels. — On march. — ^Old Jellal. — Jemohad and
his family. — We reach Jagin. — The river impassable. — Tajoo. —
Baluch salutations. — The impassability of the river is exploded.
— An anxious crossing. — AbduUa. — Male camels in the breed
ing season. — A day's ibex-shooting. ^-A night march. — Cross
the Sadaich river. — We turn north. — Shur hills. — Chamarops
Ritchiana. — We change guides. — Men in buckram. — Camp in
the Sartapi ........ Pp. 1-26
CHAPTER IL
Pitching camp. — The bivouac. — Ousted by the rain. — Baluchi pow
der. — Toby makes trouble. — "Inchruki daru." — The Gidich
Valley. — Nerium oleandrum, the poison-bush. — Road-making in
its infancy. — Gorgeous colouring of hills. — Irrigation in the Gari
river. — Our reception at Bint. — Pitching camp under difficulties.
— Bint, its products and inhabitants. — The literary and religious
element — Mir Haji. — The pipe of brotherhood. — Diplomacy in
Baluchistan. — Disgust of Salah the orthodox at finding the soi-
disant Sunnis to be Sufis  Pp. 27-55

CHAPTER HI.
Start for Bampur. — Our new companions. — Icy cold wind. — Camels
dangerous at night. — Mountain scenery. — The Fanoch pass. —
Fish and crabs. — Reception at Fanoch. — A Persian slave. —
Jellal as doctor. — The last of the donkeys. — The " Pai-i-duldul-
i-Ali." — We emerge from the mountains and open on the desert.
— Maskhutan. — Quarrel about the cooking. — Our guide Kuli. —
Marri, the valley of desolation. — ^A grotesque scene. — The

xii CONTENTS.
Bampiir desert — A gentleman on a cow. — Reception at
Bampur. ^ — Politics at Bampur. — I am an officer of artillery. —
Messing with the Khan.^ — Barley water. — The position of Persian
and Turkish soldiers compared. — A curious mill. — Awkward
position on a cow. — Old Jellal. — Leave Bampiir. — ^Jellal's camel
wants a breastband. — Small-pox. — ^A horrible banquet. — Frozen
out. — A cold ride. — The Pai-i-duldul-i-Ali renovated. — " Home,
sweet home." — ^Jooji and the fowls ... . Pp. 56-99

CHAPTER IV.
Mehdi, the gay deceiver. — Poor Ghulamshah. — My Prayer-book.^ —
The Sadaich river. — Baggage goes astray. — Asking the way
under difficulties. — We get clear of the hills. — River crossing
in the Mekran. — A ducking. — A long night ride. — White men.
Pp. 100-121
CHAPTER V.
By Sea and Land.
Preparations for a fresh journey. — Henjam Island. — Botanizing. —
Ruined houses. — The Benoo Yass pearl-fishers.— Salt caves. —
Curious well. — " Petrified date-trees." — Intense heat. — " Taking
sights." — Transporting camels by water. — Kishm Island. — Sulky
camel-men. — Lose my way. — Haji Ahmed's garden. — Old man
and bull. — Breakfast. — A delicate question. — Kishm agriculture.
— A thirsty walk. — A drink of water. — Sulky camel-men out
marched. — A barren fig-tree. — A late start and a long night-
march. — Exciting moment. — ^Arrive at Kishm. — The wreckers.
— Unfriendliness of the Sheikh. — Bearded in his majlis. —
Difficulties of shipbuilders. — Start at last.— Among the breakers.
— " There's many a s\\^."— Terra firma at last.— Bandar Abbas.
— Minab. — A Baluch army.— Left in the lurch. — Government
donkeys. — A long march. — On board the steamer. — Curiosities
of postal delivery.— Bahrein donkeys.— A race and a bathe. —
Peairl-fishing. — Abou Shihr (Bushire). — Jask . i^. 122-151
CHAPTER VI.
Western Baluchistan.
Geigen.— The caravan.— Jellal stays behind.— " Marro assuchi."—

CONTENTS, ¦ xiii
Buying camels. — Honesty of the people. — "Great expectations."
— The Tang-i-Duhl. — A crisis. — Alishah. — -Rain again. — An
/ elderly man. — A bad day's sport. — A swarm of locusts. —
Rumours of disaffection. — Difficulty in keeping dead reckoning.
— Pitch plaister. — Dazaka .... Pp. 152-179

CHAPTER VII.
On Foot to Anguhran.
An embassy. — A durbar. — An Arab in difficulties. — Guides and the
route. — A horrible murder. — Bashakard politics. — Negotiations.
— En route for Anguhran. — The Rais All's mountain stronghold.
¦ — Bashakard scenery. — A horned snake. — A night in a Basha-
kardi hut — Demons at last .... Pp. 180-204

CHAPTER VIII.
Seif Allah Khan's fortress. — The river system. — Baliich marriage
difficulties. — Nightmare hyaenas. — The Kagar Koh and ancient
fort. — Leave Rais All's. — Watched off the premises. — Fowls and
eggs. — Geological researches unappreciated. — Partridge shooting
extraordinary. — More murder. — Stealing the guns of the watch.
— The demons are bears. — Camels in trouble with bears and
snakes. — Start for the spring of oil. — The Khan lectures on
botany ........ Pp. 205-229
CHAPTER IX.
We enter Persian Territory.
A ruined village. — Welcomed as traders in fish. — Bivouac stories. —
Ancient burying-ground. — Telling. — Another postal curiosity. —
More doctoring. — ^Mutiny again. — Successful tactics. — Our new
guide Hussein. — We try to become Persians.^ — The " wide wide
world." — Difficult passes. — Manujan. ' — Quack doctoring. —
Bustai-ds. — Bargah. — Red-legged partridges. — Kahnu. Pp. 230-254
CHAPTER X.
Kahnu.—" Your is have some spirits." — A poor slave. — Irrigation. —
Difficulties as a doctor. — The Haliri river. — Butter unex-

CONTENTS.
pectedly.— Washing clothes.— Dosari.— Camp in a graveyard. —
Nasir Khan.— His brutish secretary.— Persian tax-collectors. —
An indigenous pointer dog. — Our new guide. — The " exalted
places " are unable to make good their position.— ^Thoughts of
home. — Dasht-i-Kuch. — Persian carpets . . Pp. 255-278

CHAPTER XI.
We cross the Mountains.
The climb commenced. — Sagdir. — An inhabitant. — Mountain scenery
by starlight. — The Ushteroon Gudar. — The Bag-i-asp-i-Ismail
Khan. — We see our way out of the mountains. — The cherub
exhausted.— The Mahri's misadventure. — Flat ground again. —
Antiquarian discovery. — Our first caravanserai. — The camels too
tall for once.^- Snugly ensconced.— Poor Ghulamshah duped
once more. — A mill. — The cherub gives trouble. — Puzzling the
Persian. — The young lieutenant. — No camel-fodder. — Ridicu
lously large radishes. — " La, hani dilam ha abu." — Hospitable
reception at Raiun. — An amusing incident. — The camels break
down. — Poison. — A weary delay. — Raiiin. — Kirman illuminated
in honour of the Shah having purchased Baghdad. — Persian
steel-workers. — Glass-blower. — Remove to the old fort. — En
route again. — The end of the cherub . . . Pp. 279-304

CHAPTER XIL
We reach Kirman.
A troop of Persian officers. — Ragged rascals.— Hanaka. — The first
ice we saw. — Mahun. — The menagerie. — An obstinate cow. —
Al hamdu lillah. — Kirman at last . . . i^. 305-313

CHAPTER XIII.
Life at Kirman.
A Persian palace.— Interview with the Wakil-al-Mulk. — His know
ledge of English.— Alleged discovery of coal.— I nearly put
my foot in it. — Comfortably installed. — Persian carpets. — Daily
routine in Kirman. — The Commander-in-chief of the forces. —
The box sextant — Topics of conversation with the Khan. —

CONTENTS. XV
Irrigation and windmills. — The Bazaars. — The Mint. — Kashmir
shawl manufactory. — The College. — The Dungeon. — A prisoner
released. — The Hindu colony. — Our mess. — The Khan's
treasurer comes over. — Parting with my Baliichis. — Take leave
of the Khan  Pp. 314-334

CHAPTER XIV.
En Route for Yezd.
Our new caravan. — Muleteers and mules. — Ghulamshah's introduc
tion to a horse. — Our garrulous friend. — He is pounced upon
by the Charvadar. — Extraordinary affection of mules for leading
pony. — Night in a caravanserai. — " Kum Karda." — The Kash-
uwelli. — Value of bells on the march. — Commissariat arrange
ments. — Our soldier escort and his steed. — Night marches. —
A dwarf camel. — Persian way of "bitting" a camel. — Bahra-
mabad— Designs on my Westley- Richards. — A pun in Persian.
— Feeding camels. — The wall and the masjid, or two strings to
the bow. — Anar Fort, and the deputation of distressed agricul
turists. — Annoying curiosity of natives. — The sextant capsized.
— We reach Yezd. — Neglected by the authorities. — Our fanatic
friends. — Syeds. — Their gold mine discoveries. — Their murders.
— Trade and silk manufactures. — The gabrs. — Brobdingnagian
beet-root. — The present city getting gradually buried as the
former one has been. — The soldier gets my gun for his horse.
—We leave Yezd  Pp. 335-355

CHAPTER XV.
Yezd to Ispahan.
The Haji and his horse. — Our new caravan. — A stirring gallop. —
Desertion by the muleteer. — Disaster to the chronometer.—
Worst fears confirmed. — Night march back to Yezd. — The
Haji at home. — Maibut. — The weaver's beam of the Bible
explained.- — Minimum thermometers at night. — More Syeds. —
Warmer weather. — We part company with the Haji. — Difficul
ties ahead. — Snowed up. — Mulberries and vinegar as a diet. —
Thermometer 18° Fahrenheit and no roof. — Fishark. — Attempt
to deceive. — Its consequences. — Triumph on my part. — View

CONTENTS.

across the Ispahan valley. — More night marching.— " Hinges "
upsets the butcha.- — Wild fowl on the Ispahan river. — A tire
some finish.^ — Ispahan at last. — Meet a white man. — Bass' beer.
Pp- 356-368

CHAPTER XVL
Ispahan.
Sad news of our Baliichis. — Defeat of the Customs authorities. — Ispa
han and Yezd. — Destruction by the Affghans. — Chehil Sitiin. —
The shaking minarets. — The governor. — The Ispahan river and
bridges. — Persian carpets. — ^Julfa, — Its cheapness of living,, etc.
• — The Armenians. — Starting for Baghdad. — I buy a new horse. —
Get a new groom. — Start for Kirmanshahan. — Ali Akber. — Cu
rious device of caravanserai doors. — Attempt to levy black mail.
— Muhammad the ruddy-faced deserts us and returns home. — ^An
old shepherd. — Nearly a row at the village of Husseiai. — Deh
Hak and the cold. — Slatedoors. — Ungrateful ophthalmic patients.
— Terrible cold, thermometers below zero. — Durr Kokah. —
Heavy snow. — Kokah and the magpies' parliament — Caravan of
wheat from Kirmanshahan. — A miserable march to Khomain. —
Hadi tums out a trump. — Difficulties as an amateur charvadar. —
Narrow escape of falling into river. — We reach Khomain. Pp- 369-391

CHAPTER xvn.
The charvadar and his best clothes. — We halt. — Deputations from
the natives. — Discovery of America. — The house on fire. —
Bakhtiaris.— Haft Lang and Chahar Lang. — March to Khurum- ¦
abad. — Terrible snow pass. — A real hardship. — Icy cold west
wind always dead in our teeth. — No caravanserai. — The Kursi.
— Difficulties in engaging house room. — The village system. —
Persians essentially nomads.—" Please God, we shall capture
Baghdad this time." — March to Imaret. — Delightful village. —
Our hard times past.— The lake.— The " Ab bazi " and the fish
shooter. — A new kind of wall. — Capons. — A new epoch in the
journey.— Mysterious horsemen.— We strike the telegraph line.
— Dowletabad  7^. 392-408

CONTENTS. xvii
CHAPTER XVIII.
Dowletabad.
Dowletabad. — " Sweep your steps, sir ?" — Shuster and Dizful. —
Attempted expedition there. — Difficulties. — Hadi and the cork
screw. — The charvadar and the popguns. — The post from
Teheran. — The most mendacious man in the country. — The
Telegraph office. — Muhammad of the ruddy face once more turns
up. — The Shahzada arrives. — Grand reception, illuminations
and band. — Load up for Kirmanshahan. — Parrispar. — A useful
bridge. — Grinding oppression. — Pilgrims from Karbala. —
Summer weathtfr at last. — Mistaken for the post. — A courteous
Frenchman (?) in disguise. — "How shall I go outside? Am I
nota Darwish?" — A rainy march to Sahna. — Commencement
of Kurdistan. — More soldiers going to capture Baghdad. — The
little boy whose father was sick. — Bisitun. — Shah Abbas and his
999 caravanserais. — Musuks. — Dogs. — The Kurdi women. —
We arrive at Kirmanshahan .... Pp. 409-432
CHAPTER XIX.
Kirmanshahan.
The ivory binoculars. — Agha Hassan.^More languages than one. —
Spirit rapping. — The little horse distinguishes himselt — Autumn
manoeuvres. — Water under the grass. —The Hissam as Sultana.
, — Drives in the Agha's carriages. — Muhammad Khan. — Haji
Mulla Hussein. — Kurind. — The graveyards of the Ali AUahi
sect. — A Kurind interior. — Horse-hair veils for ladies. — An old
man in difficulties. — From plateau to plain. — A sporting Turko
man telegraphist. — A herd of brood mares. — Toby and the
cows. — Mahmud Bey, our new master of horse. — We cross the
frontier into Turkey. — Difficulties with the Quarantine authori
ties. — Cavalry escort. — Sunstroke. — A puzzled stork. — The con
cert interrupted. — Death of the Bey's horse. — Baghdad. — The
plague. — Basreh. — Marseilles. — London. . Pp. 433-464
Appendix A. ^Observations on Dialects of Western Baluchistan. 465
Appendix B. — Botany  476
Appendix C. — Geography  480
Appendix D. — Meteorology  486
Appendix E. — Translations, etc  505

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Photograph of the Author and his Baluch Servant. . Frontispiece.
Dinner in the Bampur Desert — The " salt " question arises Page 69
Our Station at Jask
Sadaich River
The Fort at Jask .
Abdul Nabi
Camp at Surag .
The Dazaka Pass. — Nig
Baluch Minstrels
Rush Hills .
Two of the Expedition who never returned .
' The Tree of the Fruit of Good and Evil
Map of the Author's Route

ght coming on

85
109121 143
169179
231
345
369 4^26
At end of volume.

ERRATA.
Page 332, top line,/»?-tasbiah, read tashib.
Page 347, line il— at Bairamabad— reaa/ as footnote,
"Bairam, corruption of baran, rain."

UNEXPLORED BALUCHISTAN.

CHAPTER I.
Illness. — Hiring camels. — On march. — Old Jellal. — Jemohad and
his family. — We reach Jagin. — The river impassable. — Tajoo. —
Baliich salutations. — The impassability of the river is exploded.
— An anxious crossing. — Abdulla. — Male camels in the breed
ing season. — A day's ibex-shooting. — A night march. — Cross
the Sadaich river. — We turn north. — Shiir hills. — Chamcerops
Ritchiana. — We change guides. — ^Men in buckram. — Camp in
the Sartapi.
IN January 1876, having suffered severely during
some years' hard service in the Persian Gulf, I
was granted my long deferred privilege leave by Her
Majesty's Government, and cast about for the best
way of making the most of it.
I was at that time stationed at Jask, opposite
Maskat, and I at first sought for some means of joining
my friend the Political Agent there, but was com
pelled to abandon the idea, as the only bagla or native
craft available had recently suffered shipwreck, and a
steamer could not be expected in less than a fortnight
The alternative then was a journey up country, and
the Bashakard country seemed to promise best for
such a trip as I proposed to make, but I was met at
B

2 PREPARATIONS FOR A START.
the outset by such fearful accounts of the ice and snow,
that I soon saw it would be impossible to get natives to
travel through a country which they described in terms
which would have been exaggerated even for the arctic
regions. There were, moreover, wars and rumours of
wars, a full account of which I afterwards heard.
My native friends much pressed me to go to Minab,
urging that the road was good, much travelled, and
everything was easy and straightforward. These con
siderations, however, naturally weighed with me in a
direction quite contrary to that expected. I had long
wanted to see what was on the other side of the range
of mountains which runs down this Mekran coast on
which I had spent so many years, and, excepting for
my illness, this seemed as good an opportunity as I
should ever have of crossing them.
In Sir Frederic Goldsmid's map Bint seemed a
good place to make for, and it had advantages in that
none of my people had ever been there, and I had
just as much ground for dilating to my intended com
panions on sheltered valleys and sunny gardens as
they had for warning me of the horrors of death from
freezing. Bint was accordingly fixed upon as our first
point, though I privately resolved that if I only par
tially regained my health. Bint should not be my limit.
Three days were consumed in ransacking the coun
try for camels. The Baluchis are not an enterpris
ing race, and, owing to the unknown nature of my
destination, and the fear of cold, the seven camels I
proposed to load were very difficult to get. It was
now also the breeding season for camels, and all the
full-grown males were more o.r less furious with must.
On the afternoon of the 7th of January seven camels

THE STAFF. 3
duly arrived, and I congratulated myself that only one
seemed very furious. He was a big five year old
male, continually roaring and blowing a large bladder
out of his mouth ; but, though he fully deserved the
epithet of "Old Eblis" which he afterwards acquired,
he was much more tractable than he looked.
Owing to my illness my baggage and establishment
was much more cumbersome than would otherwise
have been necessary, and included a hill tent, a bed,
a chair, and a portable table. Salah, an Arabic mulla,
accompanied me to investigate matters of religion and
superstition ; a wooden-headed Goanese was the cook,
and a sturdy honest boy, called Ghulamshah, the
table servant. Old Jellal, a very Abu Zeid of Surooj*
for shrewdness, carried my gun ; while the five camel
men, who turned out jovial good-natured fellows, were
under contract to pitch, the tent and bring the wood
and water. Toby also must not be forgotten, a good
pious little dog with a black nose, who travelled on the
cook's camel and at night took my bed under his
especial protection.
After about three hours' wrangling about the loads,
the men left for Bint, but as that evening was the feast
of Kurban I allowed them to make only six miles,
stipulating that the following night they should get to
Jagin, about twenty-seven miles away.
I may just mention that the Baluchis here had barely
sufficient knowledge of their religion to know that
* Stories of Abu Zeid of Surooj, the merry arch-rogue and
swindler of Basreh, form many of the poems in the celebrated
Arabic collection, " Makamat al Hariri," portions of which were
translated by Preston, and published at the Cambridge University
Press.

4 JELLAL S DOMESTIC DIFFICULTIES.
there was a feast, and all who could afiford it put on a
new shirt. But of the few we met next day on the
march not one could tell me what feast it was, and all
were glad to accept my suggestion that it was probably
that of Kurban.
As Salah and myself intended starting the next
morning, I turned in early, after a melancholy attempt
to do justice to the princely hospitality of the Jask
Lancers, a cavalry corps who, armed with pig spears
and mounted on donkeys, scoured the surrounding
country for pariah dogs. A violent shower of rain
fell during the night, just to warn us that we were
not going to have fair weather always.
The morning was fine, and, mounting our camels,
we plodded ofif to Jagin across an uninteresting desert,
the monotony of which was only broken three times by
patches of date trees and wheat.
Our road for the first ninety miles lay along the
sandy strip between the hills and the sea ; for, though
the villagers told us that a pass through the hills would
be found nearer than this, I was anxious to meet a
friend who was travelling up from Gwadur along the
telegraph line.
Leaving Jask about lo a.m., we, according to pro
mise, made a short detour to pick up Jellal. The
old man's second wife had recently died, and Mir Ali,
his chief, had provided him with a temporary one until
he should get a little money to buy one of his own
kindred. The locum tenens was a young negress
of violent temper, who had been probably too much
for the Mir's household. She had a rooted aversion
to the old gentleman's four children, and, as we
approached, we heard a hot dispute raging, the lady

JELLAL. 5
threatening that if he did not give her another two
krans Avhich she suspected him of having kept back
she would starve his children.
A shout from us brought the old man out of his hut,
driving his donkey before him with vehement blows
and muttering curses on all women. His pet son —
the one by his first wife — followed him crying and
entreating him not to go, which wrung the old man's
heart, and, added to his other family troubles, made
him glad to get safe ofif.
Old Jellal merits perhaps a somewhat detailed de
scription. He was any age from forty-five to sixty,
about five feet six inches in height, and of remark
ably spare and wiry form. His legs and arms were
thin, the same size all the way down, and covered with
a coarse, crackly hide, which he greased whenever
he could " do '' the cook out of any ghee (clarified
butter), or with the oil supposed to be devoted to my
guns. His head was shaved and covered with a
close-fitting skull-cap, rendered stiff in the orthodox
manner by the grease of years. Huge, bristly, promi
nent eyebrows sheltered his deep sunken bloodshot
grey eyes, with which a thin aquiline nose harmo
nized admirably. His short curly white beard was
at present plastered up in what looked like a mass
of black mud, and, as he trudged along before my
camel, he detailed, in tones that would have drawn
sympathy from a stone, how, owing to the domestic
troubles before alluded to, he had been unable to get
the henna- for his beard until late last night, and con
sequently it could not yet be washed ofif. One likes
to be tidy when going amongst strangers, and the idea
of a Baluch (if old) is to dye his grey beard red and

6 JELLAL
buy a new pow or " puggree." Jellal was game to
the backbone ; endowed with extraordinary powers of
endurance, he would trudge along at four miles an hour
from morning till night, with his rounded back and
legs as straight as if he had never realized the use of
knee joints, or, I often thought, from mere economy of
movement. He had been Mir All's pet shikarri, but
now his wind failed him for the hills and he stuck to
plain game. At night he would— if he could get it-
eat such a quantity of dates and swallow such bowls
¦of mast, lach, dogh, shilanch, cashk and the other
forms of decomposed milk which are a Baluchi's staple
food, that he would sometimes be unable to move for
two hours. He was very loyal, and his work was very
trustworthy ; anything he tied on a camel never came
undone, and if you had told him to call you at three
in the morning he would always be up at half-past two
with everything ready.
He could fast wonderfully, still his appetite was so
insatiable that he never had any money. He was
pleased to be the jest of the whole caravan, but
with his querulous ever-wagging tongue he would, if
he cared to, give such stinging repartees as would
effectually turn the tables against his antagonist. His
donkey was always a young one bought cheap in its
infancy, and his solicitude for it was such that he
rarely rode it, and would nearly double the day's march
in his searches after tufts of the especial grasses his
long experience had taught him were best for the
"child," as he called it. He was well connected, but
his appetite and want of grown-up sons had caused
him to somewhat lose caste, for a Baluch of good
family would die sooner than, even after a three days'

JEMOHAD AND HIS SONS. 7
fast, fail to share his food with any one present or show
the least appearance of haste to eat. The poor fellows
seem to regard their stomachs as the one thing of
which they are ashamed, and for which they grudge
expense. Chatting with the old man, and pushing along as
briskly as the wretched condition of the camels would
allow of, we soon reached the Bahl, a small grassy
hollow about six miles from Jask, and just then in
habited by the villagers whose head-quarters are
Oushdahn. Jemohad (generally pronounced Jemait),
the head man, was another old friend and the shikarri
of the Oushdahn hills (each shikarri having a sort of
hereditary right to the shooting of each hill), and he
accompanied us some distance, recommending to our
especial care his son Zangi, who was Old Eblis' attend
ant for the journey.
The Oushdahn villagers have three camping places,
which are about eight miles one from another, and
in each they spend a portion of the year : Bahl,
being a hollow, collects the rain, which produces a
luxuriant crop of spring grass ; when the flocks have
eaten this it is time to go to Yekdar and look after
Jemohad's "mach " or date grove there. The patches
of wheat, too, previously sown ' there are now about
eight inches high ; and mat-huts, spinning-wheels,
water-skins, and the favoured among the women are
all loaded upon camels and donkeys, and ofif they go,
followed by about a dozen large dogs, and perhaps half
a dozen cows, and thirty or forty goats and sheep.
Oushdahn is next visited, after which they return to
Bahl for the next spring.
Jemohad has four wives and five fine sons : Bangi,

8 MULLA SAFED.
Zangi, Jangoo, Dilwash and Shahi ; all were shikarries,
though Jangoo had married into a strange family and,
devoted all his energies, to agriculture. The old man
was never happy if he did not see them all pretty
often ; Dilwash — a corruption of Dii Kwash or " heart
rejoicer" — had three days before returned from a
journey to Chabar, and he was still in a clean shirt
and the household generally in a state of fete.
From Bahl we took the sandy sea-shore and, passing
Oushdahn, again struck inland towards Sharinah, where
we had tififin under some pleasant shady date-trees.
I must not, however, forget to mention the solitary
traveller we met. Mulla Saeed was formerly Abdul
Nabi's head man, but after that chief's recent defeat
by Mir Yusuf in the struggle for the possession of
Jask fort, he had taken service with Mir Yusuf
Tall, lean, melancholy, very dark, with long straight
hair, Mulla Saeed gives himself out to be an Affghan,
but is generally believed to be a Hindoo. He was
mounted on a fine camel, and his heavy English rifle
was carried by a small slave boy who ran in front.
He was a strange-looking fellow, and in the fluent
Hindustani of his salutation to the feringhi one could
not help noticing, in partial support of the Hindoo
theory of his origin, the ultra- Baluchi accuracy of his
pronunciation of the four-dotted R.
At Sharinah were a few huts, and the villagers came
out to exchange notes. They all wore clean clothes in
honour of the feast of Kurban, the day on which the
procession round the Kaaba at Mekka takes place.
As I have explained, however, the mulla and myself
were the only people who could say what the feast was.
Leaving Sharinah we pressed on to Yekdar, where

MIR ALI AND ABDUL NABI. 9
are more groves of date-trees. These groves being
banked in and full of stagnant water, swarmed with
venomous black mosquitoes, which infuriated both the
camels and ourselves, and rendered driving along the
narrow tops of the banks a rather exciting operation.
By the state of the date groves an idea may be
formed of the antiquity of the owner's family. Here
and at Sharinah the groves were almost all owned by
Mir Ali and his rival Abdul Nabi, and my men (who
were all slaves or vassals of the former) were delighted
to point out his tall full-grown trees and compare them
with the parvenu's groves, which were all newly planted.
The respective characters of these two chiefs — whose
rivalry had for some time torn the country — were gene
rally summed up as follows : Mir Ali is the best man
for the raiats, gives each slave a certain portion of his
date-trees to reside amongst and look after, and allows
him to marry and establish himself permanently. Mir
Ali, however, is old and behind the times. Abdul
Nabi, who in his younger days, after his father's death
at Mekka, was the other's prot^gd, made all his slaves
soldiers, never let them remain long in one place, and
constantly had them in attendance on his journeys
intriguing for soldiers or other assistance.
About sunset we entered the belt of trees which
fringe the banks of the Jagin river, and found the
camp just being pitched on the west bank.
We were not long in finding out that none of the
men had ever pitched a tent before, and their good
nature was far ahead of their energy in the matter.
The first thing I distinguished in the darkness was
three men at one peg, one holding it, a second tapping
it with another peg (the mallet had been voted barbar-

IO A BY-DAY ON THE JAGIN.
ously heavy), and the third sitting firmly by with the
end of a rope in his hands. However, we soon got
matters reorganized, young Zangi, a mere boy, showing
himself especially anxious to deserve his father's re
commendation ; and after dinner we turned in to sleep
to the sound of Old Eblis' hoarse roaring in the
distance as he chased the other camels about; music
varied by the hum of mosquitoes, and the plashing
sound of frequent sand avalanches from the cliff into
the river bed.
In the morning the jungle along the river bed
swarmed with black and common partridges and
grouse which had come from the plains to drink.
Jellal and myself sallied forth before the sun was up.
The morning was lovely, and in about two hours we
had made a mixed bag of a iox, jackal, wild cat, three
black and a brace of common partridges. I should be
ashamed to say how many shots I missed, but my
nerves were utterly out of order, and the jungle was in
places so thick that I could only hear the birds getting
away. Jellal caught two partridges with his hands, a
performance much easier than it sounds, as these birds
after two short flights will sit perfectly quiet in a thick
bush, and if they can be seen may be pounced upon
and secured in the hunter's puggree. The black par
tridges are even more difificult to flush than the brown
ones, and completely exhausted the patience of Jellal,
who was only used to the latter sort. A new comer
to the country, by the way, is always surprised to find
these partridges at night roosting in the trees.
As the Jagin river is a type of several which,
coming down from the hills, cut a constantly changing
route through the strip of sand down to the sea, a

TAJOO. II
short description now may save time afterwards. The
bed of the Jagin is here half a mile wide, and com
posed of the richest silt, which, were the river dammed,
would bear tremendous crops. The only advantage
taken of it is the planting here and there of an inferior
kind of cotton tree. At this time of year, also, the
ground here is covered a foot deep with rich spring
grasses, of which clover is the most common ; there
are, however, but few sheep to eat it, and the people
ridicule the idea of mowing and stacking it as hay for
the dry season.*
Returning to the tent we were met by the un
welcome information that the river was perfectly
impassable, owing to an accumulation of very soft
mud ; the men added that they had been searching for
a ford all the morning, but without success. This was
a blow indeed. I immediately despatched Jellal up
river, and Tajoo, a camel-man, down river, and sat
' down to my breakfast with less appetite than ever.
Tajoo deserves a word of description, for he was my
companion in a subsequent journey which took my
Baluchis so far from home that their hearts failed
them, and while they mutinied, he alone remained
staunch. He was a broad good-humoured fellow,
with colossal legs and a way of plodding along on
them that seemed to defy fatigue. He paid great
court to the cook, and became that worthy's very
handy assistant, though he was, even for a Baluch,
* The inhabitants of Kishm Island, in the Persian Gulf, on the
contrary, jealously preserve their grass and store it up in caves and
storehouses for the hot season. A chance traveller through the
island is not even allowed to turn his camel loose for five minutes'
refreshment.

12 BALUCH SALUTATIONS.
preternaturally dirty. The leather band round his head
far from confined his long thick black tresses, which
hung all over his face and shoulders. He owned
three camels and shares in some others, and now
accompanied . us in charge of his pet Darchi, a light
elegant female camel, hardly up to the weight of
the tent walls, the cook and Toby, all of whom had
fallen to his share. He had traded in donkeys to and
from Oman, and was very proud of being able to
converse with Salah in the latter's own language.
As the sun got high I was lying down on my
bed, and listening lazily to the camel-men's conver
sation outside, when I head a strange voice, and lifting
up the door, saw the men commencing the salutation
with a tall Baluch armed to the teeth. Behind him
stood his camel, held by a woolly-haired little slave
carrying a long matchlock and a large Baluch
banjo. It was impossible to help laughing at the air of
mournful resignation with which he kissed the hands
of each of the camel-men, who in return gravely
kissed his twice. Then commenced the salutation,
which generally occupies four or five minutes, as it is
impolite, or a mark of assumption of superior dignity,
for one man to ask fewer questions about the health of
another than the other does about his. This salutation
is gone through by the commonest camel-man with any
one he may meet in his own country, and I used to
quite dread encountering any strangers on the march,
owing to the delay caused, and the consequent dis
organization of the line of march. Both men generally
speak almost together after the first salaam or " peace "
thus : " Are you ' fit ' ?" " Are you quite well ? " " Is all

THE FRAUD DISCOVERED. 13
well ? " "Is your house (by which wives are under
stood) well ? " During this they join hands, and each
kisses the other's wrist three times ; then " by the
kindness of God all is well," etc., etc. Each then asks
the other for news, both bashfully refuse to give any ;
they ask again, and each solemnly avers that the only
thing of the least interest to him is the state of the
other's health. One man meeting four men will
sometimes go through all this with each one, but
beyond that number the head of the larger party
generally engages the one man in conversation, it
being correct for a number to assume a superiority
over one man.
After the conventional inquiry for news the visitor
took his leave, and seeing that he appeared to be
making straight for the river, I called to my men to
ask him where he was going to ford it, and I could
not help a feeling of surprise that it had not occurred
to them to ask before ; this was quickly followed by
the thought that a personal investigation would give
me a better idea of the real state of affairs than I
could gain through the medium of my men, and put
ting on my hat, I went through the salutation with
our new friend, and told him I would accompany
him to, the ford. We headed a procession and walked
majestically towards the river, he being very careful
never to get a step in advance, and to give me the
precedence whenever the path was narrow. Our
friend was a soldier passing from Abdul Nabi's camp
to his head-quarters at Gabrig, and we afterwards
heard that his business was connected with another
attempt to retake Jask fort.
When we arrived at the water's edge the camel-

14 CROSSING THE RIVER IN THE DARK.
men all assured him that the mud was too soft and
the water too deep ; but I can never forget the haughty
air with which he turned round upon them and,
grounding his gun, asked, " Who says there is mud ?
are not these my tracks of yesterday, when the water
was much higher ? No one would own himself re
sponsible for the assertion, and, without more ado,
he hoisted the little boy on to the camel and, taking
ofif his clothes, walked through the river. The water in
the channel was deep, and the ascent on the other side
was steep, but the crossing was neither soft nor slippery.
Eventually tracing the statement as to the imprac
ticability of the passage to one Dadoo, apparently the
only inhabitant of the place, and a man who would
have had perhaps no unconquerable aversion to selling
us eggs, milk, and fowls for any length of time we
might be induced to stay, I gave orders to load up and
cross at once. After what had passed, it seemed only
natural to find that the camels had been turned out to
graze on the other side of the river. The sun had set
before we had finished loading, but after two stam
pedes (caused by Toby leaping ofif his camel) we got
under way. The worst came at the last in a sudden
descent into about five feet of mud and water, and old
Eblis, who followed close behind me with all the
sugar, flour, and rice, very nearly swayed right over,
being only saved by the prompt interposition of the
camel-men's heads under the boxes.
It was a rather exciting half-hour standing on the
shore watching the camels staggering through the
cold, dark water. However, the food was safe, and
each camel that scrambled dripping up the bank
rendered our anxieties lighter.

ABDULLA. 15
We went just far enough from the bank to escape
mosquitoes, and after successfully expostulating with
Abdulla on the impropriety of pitching the tent so
as to enclose three large milk bushes (a course which
resulted in its being pitched in soft sand, and my
narrowly escaping a horrible death through the fall of
the tent-pole), we had dinner and turned in.
Abdulla was a good old fellow, but too feeble to
do much good at tent-pitching. By virtue of his age,
however, he had become head of the men, an arrange
ment which I refrained from disturbing until I could
find a man more fit for the place, a time which never
came. He was a regular magpie at chattering, and
while the tent was being pitched, would keep up a
constant stream of direction and applause. When all
else failed hirn he would pick up a peg and expatiate
on its beautiful shape : " Ah, this is a splendid peg,
lovely peg this, got quite a point to it, hard as a nail,"
etc., etc.
The next morning was bitterly cold ; we were up
with the partridges, but the camel-men were difificult to
stir ; my own people had been provided with blankets,
etc., but these men, though perfectly aware how cold
the nights would be in the open air, had provided
themselves with nothing more than their ordinary
wide cotton petticoats, shirt, and sheet.
It appeared also that each camel's particular load
had not yet been definitely settled, and we were not
yet to get ofif without much wrangling,^ in which a
small boy, Ismail, with a very shrill voice always took
a prominent part. Three of the camels belonged to
his elder brother Abdulla, and his invariable course
was to plant himself opposite them and object shrilly

1 6 MAD CAMELS.
to each separate article which any one proposed to put
on their backs. Another source of delay was the
" Pig," a camel who unless about twenty minutes were
expended in tying him up so that he could not move
a foot, invariably rose and shook his load ofif at least
twice before it was securely tied on. I had unfortu
nately been unable to get a jemadar or foreman, and
consequently had to do the driving myself ; however,
the loss was only felt for the first two or three
marches, after which each man knew his camel's load,
and understood that he had to do whatever stage I
chose to make, even if he did not finish loading till
noon. This day's stage to the Gabrig river was twenty
miles, and, after emerging from the fertile belt on the
edge of the Jagin, led over sandhills and salt plains
covered with low bushes till we saw the date groves
and trees of Gabrig in the distance. Salah and myself
rode on ahead, the only excitement being passing two
herds of camels, with whom my animal showed a dis
position to engage in battle ; but just after we entered
the Gabrig belt of trees we fell into the very danger
we had taken so much trouble to avoid, that of meet
ing mad male camels. While passing under a sandhill
we heard a tremendous roaring, and in a minute three
enormous camels charged madly down the slope in
front of us. We retired precipitately, though we could
not help admiring these huge animals and the rapidity
with which they can move their apparently unwieldy
legs ; judging only from the sound of their feet when
galloping no one could say that they were not horses,
and pretty active horses too.
We passed here a rather good specimen of a Baluch

GABRIG. 17
burying ground. On the top of some huge shingly
mounds were fourteen or fifteen rectangular enclosures
built of sun-dried bricks ; the walls were about four
feet high in the centre, but rose at each corner of the
building to a high triangular peak. In these were the
graves of the aristocracy, each grave being covered
with white, crimson, or light green pebbles. Outside
all over the surface were similar patches of coloured
pebbles marking the graves of the poorer people.
The walls of the enclosures are to a certain extent
rendered ornamental by triangular recesses fitting one
into another like an endless W, each triangle being
filled up with lines of smaller Ws. The only means
of entrance was a hole through which a man might
crawl on all fours.
Gabrig is so to speak the capital of Abdul Nabi,
who owns the district enclosed on the east and west
by the Jagin and Sadaich rivers, and on the north and
south by the hills and the sea.
Sport was reported to be very good in the hills
behind Gabrig, so the next morning I sent for Rahi, a
shikarri with whom I had had good sport on the
Geigen hills, about seventy miles to the west, and, until
his arrival, strolled about among the jungle on the
river-side botanizing and shooting black partridges.
At noon, however, Rahi had not arrived, so, as ibex
shooting that day was out of the question, I strolled
down to the village to arrange with him about to
morrow. Rahi was a slave of Abdul Nabi, and lived in one of
the six or seven mat huts which accommodated the
latter's household and were placed near a cotton plan
tation apart from any other huts. I found him very
c

1 8 A DAY'S IBEX SHOOTING.
ill, having had twelve days' fever and ague ; however,
we agreed that (being both ill) we would try a day in
the hills, and make as easy work of it as we could.
It was eight miles from the camp to the Guarani
hills, and the way was enlivened by meeting with a
herd of about 700 female camels, into the midst of
which my camel rushed me with the utmost violence.
Our sport was much simplified by the presence in the
low valleys of innumerable mosquitoes, owing to which
the ibex were unable to feed there, and were to be
found only on the tops of the hills. After about three
hours we found a herd of nineteen, among whom three
very fine white ones excited great hopes. Just at the
end of the stalk, however, we came suddenly upon
five other ibex, whom we had not previously seen ;
with two hasty shots I missed with the first barrel but
killed with the second, the result being a young male
with horns about six inches long. Rahi's triumph
over Jellal was great, for the latter, a consummate
" laudator temporis acti," was down upon the new
breed of shikarries, and had not failed to comment with
considerable point on each false move the young man
made in his pugging (tracking).
We got back to camp about sunset, or rather to
the camping ground, 'for the camp had gone on to
Sadaich, and its sole representative was Ghulamshah,
in charge of a kettle, a bag of flour, and a tin of cocoa
and milk. After some cocoa we discussed the respec
tive advantages of going on to-night or waiting till
to-morrow. There was a fine moon, and as the clouds
in the north looked very threatening we decided on
a move. Ghulamshah had a camel for himself and
saddle-bags, Jellal his donkey, and I my camel ; and

A NIGHT MARCH. 19
fording the river, which is about sixty yards wide, and
rather muddy, we bade farewell to Rahi and trudged
off over the sandhills. Camels always travel capitally
by night, and ours, beyond an inclination to fight when
brought together, went along well. The stage was
twenty miles, and when about two-thirds through old
Jellal dismounted and turned in under a sandhill,
promising to come on to camp early.
We arrived, as far as we could guess, at about
2 a.m., and found, as I had half anticipated, that
everybody had gone to sleep and no tent was pitched.
However, with the assistance of a tent-peg, it did
not take long to rouse the men up, and, after I had
pointed out that such a course would inevitably bring
them to a bad end, we soon had some shelter. The
wind was now blowing fresh, and the ground being
mud and shingle did not give good hold to the pegs,
but taking the precaution to be on the windward side
of the pole I turned in.
It appeared to be in about half an hour that I was
awakened by a great flapping, and rising found it
about an hour before sunrise, and the windward corner
peg was actually pulled up. I knocked it in and
turned in again ; but about nine o'clock I was again
roused by a tremendous storm of wind and rain. The
thunder roared just overhead, and the men soon
rushed in with their bags, etc., and four were set to
hold the pole, while two more hammered in despera
tion at the pegs ; these were, however, far too short,
and the men had to sit by the ropes till the squall
blew over.
As soon as the weather cleared up, we took down
the kanats {tent walls) and spread them in the sun to

20 CROSSING THE SADAICH RIVER.
dry, and I sent the men to cut four good stout posts
which we carried with us, and which afterwards
proved invaluable.
The Sadaich river, on the banks of which we were
encamped, was now a roaring muddy torrent, and
we could only congratulate ourselves that our night
march had saved us from being shut up on the wrong.
side of the Gabrig, while our camp was at Sadaich.
The day was spent in drying everything, and an
unsuccessful search for a furious old wild boar, said
to have taken up its residence close to our camp ;
while the servants enjoyed themselves immensely in
bargaining for sheep, fowls, and ghee [clarified butter),
with the result, after much animated discussion, of
the purchase of one bottle of ghee, which I at once
countermanded, as, though ghee is a necessary evil
in the station, out in the jungle the sheep are very fat ;
they are moreover of the fat-tailed sort, and carry
a large reservoir of fat in their tails.
Next morning was fine, and the river was (of
course) pronounced impassable. However, the experi
ence at Jagin had decided me to take the matter
entirely into my own hands ; it was impossible not to
see that otherwise we should be in a fair way to
imitate the man who sat on the bank waiting till
the river should run by. Sending men across with
branches to mark the patches of quicksand, we got
safely across, though at one time I almost feared I
had been precipitate, for one camel got mired and fell.
This was Tajoo's poor Darchi, but luckily her load
was nothing perishable, being the cook and the kanats,
which were quickly removed, and the camel raised
before she had sunk very deep.

WE TURN NORTH. 21
Our stage this day to Surag was luckily a short one
for five miles of the road were slippery mud. Salah
and myself took a long detour to the south and found
about 200 acres of wheat and cotton ; the men plough
ing, etc., were nearly all slaves.
Surag was the pleasantest place we had yet camped
at, and I sat outside till late in the evening with a
huge tree burning in front of me. We were, how
ever, disappointed at seeing nothing of the friend we
expected to meet, as one more stage east was all we
could conveniently make before striking north.
Next evening found us at Kashi, after sixteen very
difficult miles over broken hills, without any definite
road. At one time Salah and myself got into a cui de
sac from which there seemed positively no exit, save
by retracing our steps for upwards of a mile, a most
unpleasant proceeding. Dismounting we prospected,
and, discovering a dry watercourse which appeared to
lead our way, we scrambled down into it, dragging the
camels after us and fervently hoping that the baggage
would have found some better route. Our difificulties
ended here, for the nullah took us along for two or
three miles, then into another nullah by which we got
clear of the hills.
At Kashi, also, there was no sign of our friend ; so
next morning, in a bitter cold wind, we loaded up and
struck away north, ten degrees west, heading for the
Karwan district.
The country here was composed of shingly banks
and plains intersected by small sandy water-courses,
whose course was marked by lines of long grass and
low jungle. Wild thyme was abundant, and in places
scented the whole air.

22 SHUR HILLS.
We had obtained a guide at Kashi, an unfortunate
old fellow with a remarkably fine head, beard, and
Herculean shoulders, but one of whose legs was only
half as long as the other. He had three donkeys
which he rode by turns, was a chatty, good-natured
fellow, but knew nothing of the route.
Crossing the small Kashi river, at this time a chain
of pools and mud, we skirted a large area of low salt
mud-hills, covered with ¦ flakes of bright chrome sand
stone. Leaving this on our left, we passed through
four or five miles of shingly banks, and about noon
arrived at Nowalag, some large salt mud-hills on the
edge of a belt of trees in the district of Karwan.
I shall have so often to mention these salt mud-hills,
that it will save trouble to give here a brief description
of them, and refer to them in future under their native
name of Shur. They are high, sharp-edged ridges
of a whitey-blue mud, and are fairly regular in shape,
the section of the main ridge being an acute-angled
isosceles triangle. From the main ridge spring nu
merous spurs or buttresses of the same construction
as itself The surface has generally a " noduly " ap
pearance, and they are more or less intersected by veins
of gypsum, varying from two to five or six inches in
thickness ; nothing ever grows on them, and they are
found between and at the foot of the other hills, from
the sides of which also patches of shur mud constantly
project ; shur means salt.
Old Jellal added to his enormities in his companions'
eyes by the unbounded and almost unfair demands
he made on the hospitality of the inhabitants. Imme
diately on catching me up here, where I had ^halted
for the baggage, he discovered some goat pugs, and

CHAMAROPS RITCHIANA. 23
was ofif on their track for a bowl of dogh. On this
occasion he repaid his host's hospitality by purchasing
on my behalf a fine young lamb with four horns, a
thing very common here.
Leaving Nowalag in a slightly north-westerly direc
tion, we crossed the Karwan river four times, and
arrived at the Jowdar* hills. The water here was
fairly sweet, but the boulders were white with crusted
salt Winding amongst the Jowdar hills, we crossed
and recrossed the river, the bed of which was now
full of large clumps of fine pish, a plant or tree which
in this country fills the place taken in England by the
oak, ash, elm, bricks, slates, boots, matches, and a host
of other materials.
The pish is Chamcsrops Ritchiana, a fan-palm, and
grows in clumps in the beds of rivers running through
salt ground. The root is a thick, black, fibrous trunk,
which runs along the ground for about twelve or fifteen
feet, throwing up at regular intervals branches which
in favourable soil attain a height of nine feet The
fronds are sometimes four feet from the setting-on to
the tip ; but when so large they appear to lose much
of their toughness, and those a foot or a foot and a
half long are most esteemed. Like other fan-palms,
it dies after flowering and bearing fruit once. It sends
up from the centre a tall straight stem, from which at
regular intervals numerous branches curve out in a
horizontal direction, the whole having a pyramidal
form. The fruit is called Kunar or Kunal, and is eaten
though not much esteemed ; the young white heart

* Ju dar, a place with a rivulet in it

24 WE CHANGE GUIDES.
of the tree is eaten like that of the date. Some trees
produce a fluffy substance which, when soaked in a
solution of trat-wood and dried, furnishes admirable
tinder; the leaves split into fingers and twisted to
gether make tough ropes, the mats made of these
leaves are particularly strong and lasting. In the
hills, where the fan-palm is plentiful, houses are thatched
with it and rendered quite waterproof. It is carried
from the hills to the plains on camels, a good camel
being able to carry ten krans' worth (the value of a
kran is one franc). The pish in the bed of the Kar
wan river resembled miniature date groves, and greatiy
increased the beauty of the river from the high banks.
The night was lovely, and we camped at Pugunzl,
pugunz meaning the heart of the pish tree. Next
morning Mihrap, our guide, objected to the load on
his camel ; and luckily, as we were quarrelling, a man
came up with a camel who was bound also for Bint,
so we gave Mihrap his cottge and engaged Hablbl,
and, after a loading that lasted four hours and included
seven pitched battles, we marched triumphantly up
out of the bed of the Karwan, and after two hours
over a high shingly plateau, we arrived at the foot of
some perfectly barren hills ; here three plain deer
were disturbed just in the line of march, but, though
I made a long detour, I could not get their wind.
After a mile along the base of these hills, we struck
into them, and going slightly westerly, we entered the
Tenk river. Tenk is the same word as Tang [a pass),
and there are three rivers within twenty miles of each
other all bearing this name. This Tenk had rocky
sides and bottom, for we were now fairly in the hills,
and there is but little level ground for about a hundred

MEN IN BUCKRAM. 25
miles due north, when the level of the Lashari plains
is reached.
We followed the course of the Tenk for about a
mile, the bed being about four hundred yards wide,
and the hills on either side from fifty to three hundred
feet high. Here we met two men with camels loaded
with pish. As I had not yet acquired sufficient influ
ence with my men to prevent their exchanging saluta
tions for a quarter of an hour with everybody they
met, I was obliged to let them all sit down and
converse, merely stipulating that one man should go
on with the camels.
The news was that Mir Haji, Chief of Bint had
killed a brother of Hamam Shah, a great man of Surag,
and that thirty men had just preceded us to take Mir
Haji before Hussein Khan, of Kasser Kand, to get
compensation. I pointed out the fact that the only
pugs on the route were those of two camels and one
donkey, and questioned the accuracy of the number
given ; but our informants immediately made it thirty-
five, and it was apparent that before they reached their
destination, Sadaich, a very considerable army would
have gone up. The matter was a blood feud, the
" belli teterrima causa " being a somewhat wealthy
widow, whose frailty appeared to have been less care
fully concealed than usual.
We were now aiming for the Sihran-i-Koh, or crim
son mountain, a hill which in all lights was a soft rich
crimson, and, leaving the Tenk, which was said to
come to an end here, we branched ofif to the right,
down the Sihrani nullah. Following this about a
mile, we turned under the brow of Sihran, and, pass
ing up a steep, narrow defile, we descended on the

26 CAMP IN THE SARTAPL
Other side into the Gari river. Following this a short
time, we crossed another steep defile into the Derai
nullah, and after another tough bit of climbing, entered
the bed of the Sartapi * river, and getting into some
rather more open country, we camped about sunset
* " Sart ap," corruption of " sard ab," — cold water.

CHAPTER II.
Pitching canjp. — The bivouac. — Ousted by the rain. — Baluchi pow
der. — Toby makes trouble.— " Inchruki daru." — The Gidich
Valley. — Nerium oleandrum, the poison-bush. — Road-making in
its infancy. — Gorgeous colouring of hills.- — Irrigation in the Gari
river. — Our reception at Bint. — Pitching camp under difficulties.
— Bint, its products and inhabitants. — The literary and religious
element — Mir Haji. — The pipe of brotherhood. — Diplomacy in
Baluchistan. — Disgust of Salah the orthodox at finding the soi-
disant Sunnis to be Sufis.
To those uninitiated into camel travelling, a sketch of
an arrival at camp may be of interest. This evening,
for instance, the sun had almost gone down upon us
still on the march, for in this country places suitable
for camping only occur about once in six or seven
miles ; we had thus very often the alternative of a
very short stage or a very long one. Now our trusty
guide Hablbl received his wages per diem, and at the
first halting-place after ten miles would swear solemnly
that if we did not stop there we would not find another
suitable place till midnight In this the -camel-men
would clamorously back him up, quite indifferent to
the fact that they could not possibly know anything
about it This, of course, after the first day, resulted
in my taking the matter into my own hands, and
refusing to stop anywhere till 4 p.m. There was
a certain amount of responsibility in thus taking loaded
and tired camels over an endless chaos of barren hills

28 PITCHING CAMP.
throuo-h dark evenings and in the face of the only man
who knew the road, and I often laughed to myself at
the meek manner in which the men submitted, when,
had they but known it, they could so easily have com
pelled a halt ; but we never came to serious harm, and
indeed I never could have made the journey in the
time allowed me had I not thus taken charge.
To-day, declining to stop under the Sihrani hill, and
having also been much delayed by the quarrels over
loading, we were later than usual ; Salah and myself
on ahead were thus glad to find a flat place for the
tent in the Sartapi river ; that was the first thing which
became apparent in the dim light, then water, then
heaps of driftwood caught by the tamarisk trees in the
now dry river bed. Our experienced eyes could not
be deceived in deciding that the dark spots on the hill
sides were lorti {Tavernea Spartcsa) ; we dismounted
and immediately found some trat bushes [salicornia),
the salt meat without which these camels cannot long
retain their health and appetite.
Here was " lizzat" as the Baluchis expressed it
Salah set to work making tea, Ghulamshah hoppled *
our two camels, took ofif their nose reins, and soon
after we heard old Jellal coming along in the distance
abusing his donkey, the guide, the country, and many
other things. How he brightened up when he saw
our evident intention of camping.
" Ah, Sahib, capital place this, water, firewood, and
fodder abundant ; " and in two minutes he had tied his
donkey to a bush, shaken out some of the grass with
which it always arrived loaded, and, getting a handful
* Tied the two hind legs.

THE BIVOUAC. 2g
of dates from Salah, was ofif collecting driftwood.
" Tent here, sahib, eh ? " he would say as he arrived
with a load. " Cook's camp here ; " then he would go
and badger Salah till the latter got the nargilla out
of his saddle-bags, and gave him a handful of tobacco,
for your Baluch is dying for a smoke when tired,
and Jellal was getting old.
Then we hear the merry voices of the camel- men,
and old Eblis strides in with the cook's two heavy
boxes, and announces his arrival by a thundering roar,
showing that at all events he is not much fatigued.
" Al ham du lillah," is the cry, " marro shap bita,
manzila sangin bid " [To-day it began to be night,
and the stage was a heavy one). " Where shall I put
the cookhouse ? " " Where the tent ? " " Is there
any fodder here ? " " Trust the sahib for that ; " and
in six or seven minutes all the camels would be un
loaded, hoppled and turned loose, and the men enjoy
ing a feed of dates and a pull at Salah's nargilla,
meanwhile discussing with Habibi the chances for and
against the presence of the dreaded jur or oleander.
Soon old Abdulla wonders, in a stage whisper,
whether the sahib will have the tent pitched or not,
and on receiving my answer " no," the men prepare
for the night Two take a long stick, and, slinging
the three waterskins across it, go to the stream for
water ; two must go for firewood ; Abdulla gets a
firebrand from our fire and prepares a pot of rice ;
the cook quarrels with and bullies Jellal, who takes
it quietly enough from the man who controls his
rations, and four more men make bags of their sheets
and go ofif with short sickles to cut lorti. The night
is heavenly, and I stroll about the camp and bully

30 ¦ THE BIVOUAC.
the cook at rather short intervals. By the time I
have finished my dinner the men all come in and have
their rice with — at this early stage of their journey —
a little very putrid salt fish. (Their fish was some
times so strong smelling that I had to make special
arrangements for its separate transport.) I sit in my
little arm-chair over a roaring fire. Ghulamshah
makes the bed and covers all with a mackintosh, for
the dew is very heavy. Then the men bring in their
camels, remove the saddles, and come to Salah for
pitch plaister for any fresh sores. The four grass-
cutters announce gladly that they have seen no jur,
and Hablbl, who has been busy with his own camel,
assumes a " told you so " sort of manner.
The camels are all made to kneel with their heads
to the fire, the lorti is apportioned out, and the feeding
commences. It is a picturesque scene ; the glare of
the fire falls redly oii the men's animated faces as they
phafif one another and talk about camels and krans,
the only subjects in which a Baluch is at home. Each
man holds his camel's nose-string in one hand, and
with the other makes up a handy wisp of lorti ; then
he draws the camel's nose down, thrusts one end of
the wisp into its mouth, and pushes it in till the
animal begins to chew. They afterwards consult with
Habibi (in whom, since the triumph about the jur,
they have regained a temporary confidence), and,
hearing it is safe to turn their camels loose, they do
so. The transition is brief from a roaring fire with
its animated surroundings to a few smouldering embers
included by a ring of white-sheeted forms, some of
whom snored fearfully.
The country immediately around us was low shurs

BALUCHI GUNPOWDER. 31
of various colours from chocolate to dull yellow. In
order to get away early we had not pitched the tent,
and were lying in the bed of the river. It was
awkward about 9 p.m., just as we were, turning in,
to find a steady shower, of rain comniencing. We
lit fires in various places to show the way, and soon
carried everything up the side of a hill near, and,
wrapping myself in my mackintosh, I slept well.
Scarcely any rain fell after all, so our change of camp
was hardly needed but that rain might have fallen
farther up the river and washed us out suddenly.
Next morning as we were having breakfast, while
the men loaded the camels, a Baluch rode up, followed
by his slave, also mounted ; the former got ofif to
pay his respects, but he had had all his front teeth
knocked out, and his speech was difificult to under
stand. He was one of the parties interested in the
before-mentioned blood feud, and was on his way to
Bint, where we afterwards met him. His name was
Kerimdad, and he had a great reputation for knowing
all the routes through the hills. He asked, as usual,
for powder, but used the word " marsala," and it was
amusing to see the face of the cook, who overheard
the request and fancied it an attack upon his treasured
curry powder. Baluchi gunpowder is not good, and
a careful analysis of its ingredients could not fail to
surprise an English powder manufacturer. The best
powder is made in Panchgur, Minab, and other small
towns ; that from Bandar Abbas is bad, being probably
imported from Bombay. The Baluchis also make a
sufficientiy powerful sort in the jungle, using probably
trat-wood. The next morning (which was January thfe i8th)

32 TOBY MAKES TROUBLE.
we followed the Sartapi for half an hour between low
shurs, backed by hills averaging 800 feet, and then,
ascending a steep defile, emerged on to a high, shingly
plateau. Straight ahead was the Gou Koh, marked
by Lieut Stifife in his latest chart as 6,400 feet high,
and from which emanates the Gabrig (Gao rig) river.
To our right the almost parallel ranges of Ligandi and
Shariki abutted on to the path.
After about 2\ miles we rounded the N.W. end
of Ligandi and saw the Band-i-Sharlki. These two
very striking ranges are about 1,600 feet high,
and impassable except in a few places even for a
man on foot ; they converge sharply towards the
south-east, and a bitterly cold wind comes down
the gorge. The Shariki nullah, which divides the
hills, contained a little brackish water ; here we saw
two flocks of sheep and goats feeding on the sand
hills, the vegetation of which consisted almost entirely
of trat.
About eight miles after Ligandi we passed between
the end of the Shariki range and a low hogbacked
hill on the left; in the distance to the north were
the blue tops of the Hashingan mountains ; the end
of Sharik was marked by a curious castellated hill,
reminding one of a blanc mange shape. We had been
ascending gradually while crossing this plateau, and
as we entered the wide pass we obtained a more open
view than we had enjoyed since entering the hills.
Mountains all round as far as the eye could reach,
of every colour from chocolate to sky blue.
Toby here was— unwittingly — the cause of a littie
excitement which may be worth mentioning. He
generally rode with the cook, and was quite an adept

TOBY MAKES TROUBLE. 33
at balancing himself on a swaying camel over rough
ground ; to-day, however, he had been allowed to run
on his own littie legs and "hinc Uice lacrimcs." I was
trudging along at the head of the caravan when
word was passed up along the long line that Toby
had frightened a man's camel and given the rider a
severe fall. I was rather annoyed,^ — for of course it is
unwise to travel with a pet dog even in such an un
orthodox Muslim country as this,— but I had mounted
Abdulla, who was rather knocked up, on my riding
camel, and did not quite relish going half a mile back
to investigate the matter.
Shortly afterwards I heard some angry conversation
going on in the rear, and soon two very tall, white-
bearded old Baluchis came riding up to me mounted
on splendid camels ; they both had enormous noses,
such as are only seen on Baluchi faces. On learning
from Zangi — who was close behind me heading the
caravan with Old Eblis— that I was the " waja," one
of them rode up to me, and, perhaps thinking from
my insignificant appearance (for he had never seen a
Feringi), that I might be bullied with impunity, he com
menced a long and loud-voiced string of complaints.
He related with much violent and offensive gesture how
he and his holy friend, — both were Syeds (descendants
of the prophet) he said, — were riding along, when an
evil-minded and immoral dog or fox, as the case might
be, belonging to me, had jumped at their camels and
so frightened them that his friend had fallen to the
ground ; how he had drawn his sword and was on
the point of cutting the dog into pieces, when the
thought occurred to him that the dog was not his,
and he had stayed his hand as became a holy man.

34 INCHRUKI DARU.
and determined to refer the matter to me ; " and
now," he added, " what have you to say ? " Loud
speech of this kind must be met by louder speech in
this country, and, under a certain amount of irritation
at his language towards my doggie and myself, I
proceeded to outtalk him. I commenced by telling
him that I did not consider a person who could not
ride a camel as either a man or a Baluch (a telling
taunt where the men pride themselves so much on
their camel-riding and their nationality). This begin
ning decided my men, who had hitherto been rather
doubtful about taking my part against two Syeds, men
not so common here as at Yazd and other places in
Persia, and I saw that they were with me. I went
on to inform him in my choicest Baluchi that my long
experience of BalQchis had compelled me to come
to the conclusion that, when young, they were not
endowed with much sense, and when old they were,
as a rule, absolute idiots. I finished by assuring him
that, had he defiled my dog with his leaden sword,
I would have beaten him black and blue, and by
advising both him and his friend that next time they
went on a journey they should get a couple of quiet
donkeys to ride on.
The man was beaten on his own ground, and, in a
whining tone, begged for a kaladar [a rupee) to buy
some medicine ; this being scornfully refused, he fell
back upon the old cry "Inchruki daru" [a little
powder). Having my man now well in hand, I with
great dignity ordered Ghulamshah to give him a littie,
at the same time instructing him in Hindustani to give
him the whole flaskful. He expected a thimbleful,
and it was grand to see his face, at first somewhat

THE GIDICH VALLEY. 35
clouded at being referred to the servant, gradually
smile, look cunning, and at last astonished, as the shiny
black stream continued to run into the corner of his
sheet until he had enough to last him about two years
and to give him such a superiority over his fellows as
he had never gained by his religion. We parted the
best of friends, both Syeds imploring me to come and
stay a day or two at their village.
After the Jamki [or forked pass) we commenced a
slight descent ; the ground was in many places white
with salt, studded with luxuriant pish, and ornamented
with vividly green agrich bushes. About 2\ miles
from the Jamki [ov fork) we suddenly broke upon the
magnificent view of the noble Gidich valley.
, This valley was here quite straight for five or six
miles, the bed was partly shingle and partly vertical,
hard, blue clay strata. The valley from top to top
was about a mile broad, the hills on each side sloping
down to the edges of a broad belt of fine tamarisk and
other trees, between which ran the smooth, dark blue
river, at this time sixty yards broad with an average
depth of two feet and a velocity here of about five
miles an hour. Just to the right of our crossing place
it rushes down a natural weir, caused by the projection
of a stratum of the blue clay, which is almost of the
consistency of rock. Altogether it would have been a
charming camping place, — water, fodder and firewood
were abundant, and the men did their best to make
me stop there, — but it was only about two o'clock, and
I knew from experience the value of the guide's assur
ances that we should find no other water till midnight.
Habibi, as usual in such cases, refused point blank
to proceed, stating violently that we were going to

36 THE PAZGA VALLEY.
destruction ; but as he followed when I led on, it was
plain that mine was the right course.
After crossing the river, we turned to the east for
about two miles through low shurs, from the tops of
some of which I noticed little streams of salt water
trickling down. Then we went north over a fairly
level extent of rocky plain, interspersed with shurs full
of six- inch thick veins of pure gypsum. In the blue
distance far ahead was the lofty Band-i-Nllag, the
range through which the Fanoch pass leads, and pro
bably a continuation of the Aphen-i-Band in Basha
kard. We passed a nullah called Shirin Kandag,
[sweet defile) unimportant looking here, but said to
go to sea at Siarag, and, leaving the Miroi Koh on
our left, passed on over another three miles of rough
ground into the Hurdin valley, which was white with
salt, and where the pish flourished in wild luxuriance,
the fronds being four feet long and the plants running
seven feet high.
After some rough travelling and crossing many
small black- watered, rusty-margined, slightly bitter
creeks, we opened upon the Pazga valley just opposite
a striking rock on the top of the opposite elifif, called
Kiinar Kanu. The Pazga here has a much wider bed
than the Gidich, but there is nothing grand about the
view, owing to the hills on both sides being low and
the river split into three channels, all hidden in
dense kash* and kik grasses and gaz, jur, and other
bushes. Here on the Pazga was the regular camping ground
for all caravans passing between Bint and the sea-
' Kash, pampas grass.

THE POISON-BUSH. 37
board, and we found a caravan, which had arrived
that day from Bint, carrying about ninety bags of
dates, for sale at Sadaich and at whichsoever of the
scattered mitags (or small settlements) on the way
they might find purchasers. The men called upon us
in the evening, and — as had done all the other people
we had met since leaving Jask — commiserated me
greatly on the wretched condition of my riding camel.
This was a matter of indifference to me, as I had
walked nearly the whole of each stage since entering
the hills, and I never asked them if they had a better
one which I could hire, for I felt sure they had.
Here also at Pazga is the jQr or gish tree, which is
poison for camels. This beautiful bush [oleander) is
fatal to all beasts except donkeys. , Camels, goats and
sheep will not, as a rule, eat it of their own accord,
but a single leaf getting into the fodder cut for them
would kill those who ate it Some camels may be
trusted to graze in the middle of it, while others eat
any green shrub they see.
The morning of the 20th was gloomy, and Habibi
said the river filled very rapidly, and that, if rain was
falling up country, we should be unable to get out of
the valley, which, soon after we left camp, narrowed to
a width of about half a mile with broad low hills and
shurs on each side, thickly studded with gaz, pish and
kash grass [tamarisk, chamcerops, and pampas).
After about a mile and a half we struck the Kahir-
gazl ; the strata were perpendicular and remarkably
regular here, the bluish shur mud being about six
inches thick and the chocolate coloured sandstone
about four inches.
Soon after we crossed into the Kalkia district, and

38 FORMATION OF THE HILLS.
following the small Kalkia stream for about a mile,
left it on the right bank.
The surface of these hills, which are composed of
alternate strata of shur mud and brown sandstone, is
always covered with a thick layer of loose angular
flakes of the sandstone ; the size of these flakes is pro
portionate to the thickness of the sandstone strata.
This layer appears to be created by the rain washing
away the shur mud and leaving the sandstone ridges
bare, which, from exposure to alternate heat and wet,
crack ofif and fall all over the surface.
Flere we came upon almost the first animal life we
had met with since entering the hills. Flocks of rusty
coloured birds were frequent ; they were the size of
sparrows but of rather more elongated body, and their
note exactly resembled the creaking of a loosely made
rusty iron wire gate.
After two miles the sandstone strata were not alter
nated by strata of shur. Ahead were two high hills to
our right ; on our left were shur with horizontal strata
of gypsum for twelve feet from the surface, and above
that was three feet of shingle and mud. After another
mile and a quarter we re-entered the Pazga valley,
the banks of which were regularly sloped, perpen
dicular strata of sandstone and shur.
Here were two large rugged hills on our right and
one on our left ; the former covered with huge boulders
of a purple shiny stone. The view was magnificent,
immense boulders of dark green, crimson, and purple,
intersected by a network of wavy white veins. The
hills were simply of every colour of the rainbow.
We crossed the Pazga river, which was here three
times as large as at our camping place, then passed a

ROAD-MAKING IN ITS INFANCY. 39
shrine, called — like all the others on this route— Pir
Tari, consisting simply of a heap of stones to which
every passer-by contributed something. Men mounted
on camels will throw their sticks on to it and men on
foot will pick up a stone and throw it on, and, should
their suass [grass sandals) be worn out, they will keep
them till they come to a ziarat [shrine) and drop them
there. The origin of this puzzled me at first, but afterwards,
while journeying along the pilgrims' road to Kerbela,
I found ziarats exactly similar, and received, both from
pilgrims and natives of the country, what I have no
doubt to be the true explanation.
On the stony parts of the Kerbela road through
Kurdistan these stone heaps are especially frequent,
and immediately suggest the idea that they are crude
attempts at road-clearing, and the natives all say that
the mullas have given out that it behoves all true
believers passing along the road, to cast at least one
stone on each heap, to make the road easier to the
holy pilgrims, thereby becoming part-sharers in the
latter's sanctity. The custom has been introduced
into Baluchistan, where it is certainly particularly
wanted, while the reason for it is not realized by such
splendid hill walkers as the Baluchis, who always aver
that each heap marks the burial place of some saint
Often, when ahead of the caravan in Baluchistan, I
have made a heap of stones by the side of the tract,
and, when the men got near, have ostentatiously
thrown a stone on to it, and my example was always
unhesitatingly followed.
Rounding the foot of the right hand Kalkia hill,
we again crossed the Pazga, past two large snowy white

40 GORGEOUS COLOURING OF HILLS.
boulders in mid-stream. The river here was twenty
feet wide, with an average depth of one and a half feet ;
around us the hills were positively of every imaginable
hue. Passing on up a very difficult defile, called the
Ridagon Darag, we entered a sea of hills of such
rich and variegated tints as must really be seen to be
believed. After a mile and a half through this richly coloured
sea of hills, we entered the small Hadar or Halirt
river, on the banks of which are many small settle
ments. The strata here were perpendicular and wavy,
as if the material had been moved when half consoli
dated. We passed between two of four conical hills
called the Katal Janin, a name which may or may not
have an Arabic derivation.* One of these peaks was
of a rich blood red. We were now heading for the
Siga PQsht hill, which was about half a mile distant
All around were curiously shaped tall peaks, on which
the chief shrubs were dihir, agrich, and tulari ; the
latter is, in BalQch phraseology, lorti's brother, and is
another species of that much esteemed camel vetch,
whose place it fills entirely in these latitudes.
At the foot of the Siga Pusht is another shrine, also
called Pir Tari, and here abounded a sort of sweet
potato, the leaves of which have no white lines and
curl round over the ground like young snakes, instead
* Soon after leaving Marrick, the second stage on the Bahomadi
route from Jask to Anguhran, the capital of Bashakard, is a pass called
Katal Zan or Katal Janin. I could get no explanation of the name
further than that the camels, if not led, would sometimes break their
loads against the sides of the pass. There is another place near
Oushdahndarri, where the road leads up a narrow cleft in the rocks,
which bears the same name.

IRRIGATION IN THE GARI RIVER. 41
of Sticking up. Here also was much trat jungle, and
the road was crossed by another very faint track, along
which came a solitary donkey, who stared at us in
mute surprise.
In the hills we entered now the shur strata are
much thicker than the sandstone, which results in the
flake covering being very thin and small.
Passing the Siga Pusht hill we entered a wide valley
full of trees and shrubs. Here we re-entered the
Pazga river into which the Siga Pusht stream runs ;
here was a fenced patch of wheat in the bed of the
river, which was about a quarter of a mile wide and
contained much tall kash growing to the height of
thirteen feet.
We entered the Siga Pusht stream, the bed of which
we followed about three-quarters of a mile, when we
entered the Gari river again near the Gari Drap (or
Gari river hollow). The bed was white with salt, and
here about four hundred yards wide. We passed a
large settlement containing many extensive groves of
tall date-trees, many fenced gardens of tobacco, beans,
and spaces reserved for rice when the season should
come in, about two months hence. The water appeared
to stand here some time, judging by the presence of
many water weeds, while the existence of siriks (or
upper storied huts) on the tops of all the neighbouring
hills betokened the presence of many consequent
mosquitoes. This was quite a delightful oasis in the sea of barren
hills through which we had been travelling. Its ir
rigation was quite scientific, and therewere many small
well-built bridges. The walls of the gardens had the
appearance of being built of English bricks, so regularly

42 IRRIGATION IN THE GARI RIVER.
square were the flakes of sandstone of which they were
composed. The strata of the hills here were alternately
brown sandstone and good earth, not at all salt To
our left was a many-coloured mountain, which looked
as if it had been struck by lightning, boulders the size
of houses lying about it anyhow. One canal, which
had been dug to bring the water direct from higher up
the river, was upwards of a mile in length, and was
crossed by two strong bridges of mud and stone.
Here we overtook a stout good-humoured looking
man, who was returning to his native place ; he had
very much the expression of a jovial English farmer,
and hospitably offered us some of his travelling pro
visions of shilanch, a very hard and sour cheese. He
said that Mir Haji's brother was the chief man at
Gari Drap, and that there were but three or four
families of importance, the rest of the houses being
occupied by servants and slaves.
We passed up the river bed, which was very broad
and shingly, studded with bushes. Settlements are
dotted all along this river ; on our left was the village
of Daskir, and on our right Rah Gudar, while straight
ahead was Tarampog. The river here was very rapid,
fifty feet broad with an average depth of one foot, and
is said to originate from the Band-i-Nilag and is with
the Gidich and the Pazga an almost perennial tributary
of the Rapsh.*
Passing up the river bed we went between the
villages of Tarampog and Rendag. All around were
* I received many conflicting statements as to whether this river
dried up in the hot weather, and think the truth to be that it would
dry up in a very dry year, and continue running during the summer
succeeding a moderate rainfall.

CAMP NEAR BINT. 43
date and other trees, behind which were almost barren
hills. About two miles after emerging from the river
bed the road to the Fanoch pass branched off to our
left past some date- trees, called Umkan. All the date-
trees here were in a most slovenly condition, and Salah,
who was used to the Basrah farming, animadverted on
the owners in no measured terms, assuring me that if
they were but properly looked after, the yield would
be fully a quarter more than it is.
We were now heading for a large, conical hill called
the Si Purg, and one and a half miles after leaving the
road to Fanoch, we crossed the small rocky-bedded
stream Zangutan, which here flows east, has but small
volume with a deep bed, and a width of about three
hundred yards. It is said to be a tributary of the
Rapsh and perennial, but the latter is doubtful. We
crossed the river by another Pir Tari, and camped
about 4 p.m. under a hill, weather very gloomy and
threatening. I was convinced that Bint must be very close, but
the guide, as usual, denied it, and his statement that
no fodder could .be got further on was accidentally
corroborated by our seeing a string of donkeys carry
ing camel fodder towards Bint We were content to
camp, for, should it be at all a large place, involving
a ceremonious arrival, we should perhaps be able to
perform the operation better after a short stage than
after a long one.
During the night it rained pretty steadily, and when
the sun rose it was entirely obscured by an inky sky,
from which a heavy, perpendicular rain poured down
as if it never intended to stop. We had, in a measure,
turned the tables on the camel-men, for had they taken

44 RECEPTION AT BINT.
our advice, they would now have been safely housed
in Bint. They wore a mutinous aspect at first, but a
little chaff at the badness of their nasib [or fortune) put
them into a good humour, and they loaded up in the
pouring rain cheerily enough.
Bint proved to be about three miles away, and
agreeably surprised us in being a much larger place
than we expected. It consisted on first view of a
high, steep hill crowned by a square mud fort sur
rounded by many other similar flat-topped buildings.
On each side were a mile or two of date-trees, in front
was a shingly plain sprinkled with grass, and on the
right was the curious, conical hill Si Purg. As we
advanced through the rain we saw every flat roof
covered with people, while numbers poured out from
town towards us. We counted 140 before dismount
ing, and, in spite of the wet, they still poured out
Kerimdad (the man who had overtaken us at Sartapi)
had warned the Mir of our visit, and the latter had
consequently deferred his journey to Geh, on the blood
feud business before mentioned ; and now, before the
tent was fairly pitched, he sent word that he wished
to come and see me.
The tent was pitched under great difficulties, owing
to the crowd, the rain, and the elastic hardness of the
ground, which sent the pegs flying into the air unless
held down very firmly. The mallet, if once laid down,
was not found under half an hour's search, for the
ground being wet, it formed at once a convenient
roosting place for at least five humped-up shivering
natives, who completely concealed it from view.
Our ancient shikarri Jellal had, it appeared, married
the daughter of the Mir's choush (or head man) and the

BINT—ITS PRODUCTS AND INHABITANTS. 45
two men immediately struck up a friendship, the choush
(Keramshah) being very useful in exj)elling the crowd
from the tent while the walls were being fastened up.
I was not clearly given to understand which was the
Mir in the procession which soon entered the tent, but
naturally addressed myself to the fat, unhealthy man
to whom the others gave precedence. He, however,
spoke but little, and as his friends insisted on his
sitting on my .portable camp bed (an operation which,
even after much practice, I dared not perform) he lost
much dignity by finding himself suddenly sink to the
ground and become overwhelmed under a mass of
bedding. I found conversation much more practicable with
a spare energetic man who sat next to him, and
who spoke good Persian, not using any ceremony
but speaking directly to the point, and clearly. This
was Mir Haji, the chief He answered all my ques
tions without hesitation, and freely asked me about
anything he wanted to know. The fat man I found
was Abd el Kadir, who was the elder brother, but
took no part in the government, and rusticated at Gari
Darap. Sheep at Bint are poor and dear, and both camel
fodder and firewood are brought from a distance of
four miles. The bringing in of firewood gives occupa
tion to about thirty boys and donkeys, the latter of
whom spend the middle of the day on the shingly
plain, making a journey for wood morning and
evening. Most of the cloth worn is home made. The
manufacturers sit in holes in their gardens before their
rather clumsy treadle looms, and produce a coarse

46 BINT— ITS PRODUCTS.
white cotton cloth, and coarse gauzy handkerchiefs,
dyed red, green, and blue, and often embroidered with
red and green silk, while the women make minutely
embroidered skull caps.
Long cloths from Dizzak are much prized both
here and elsewhere, the cotton of that district being
described as of such long staple that a single seed fills
the palm of one's hand. None of the productions
could be of the least value out of the country, except,
perhaps, the skull caps, of which our men carried away
a good many considering their price was a dollar each.
Boots, belts, and leather pouches are cheap and
fairly well made. Couzas [pr porous water bottles) also
are made from the blue clay of the Gidich, a name said
to be derived from the Gil clay, the "1" suffering a not
uncommon change into " d."
Mir Haji readily gave me the definition of many
names of places through which we had passed, but the
untrained native mind has so much of the common
sort of ingenuity, a little exercise of which gives so
fatal a facility for discovering coincidences, that I only
give them for what they are worth.
Bint he said, was formerly the Arabic " beit," being
applied when his great grandfather first built the fort
Sartapi is possibly " Sard ab " [cold water), while
Maskhutan was given as the residence of that tribe
(" Maskan," a residence, Ar.). This it undoubtedly
is, but it appears rather a strain to drop the " n " of
Maskan, which may be the first syllable.
After the Mir's departure we received several of the
pillars of the state, all of whom were immensely civil,
and perpetually apologising for bothering us ; and
then, leaving the tent in charge of Jellal and Toby,

BINT— ITS PRODUCTS. 47
Salah and myself started for a stroll in the gar
dens. At this season of the year these were really
delicious ; they were well irrigated, and the borders
of each water lead were a foot deep in luxurious
spring verdure of more than a hundred different kinds.
Mallow and clover were the most common, and a
beautiful crimson iris, a dwarf purple orte, and English
celery were among the most noticeable.
As nearly as we could estimate, there were about
one hundred acres of cereals, in the following order of
their respective areas : English horsebeans, wheat, rice,
barley, and a very small quantity of tobacco. Dates
are abundant but carelessly looked after. A man in
the gardens pointed out nineteen distinct sorts, ohly
one or two of which were recognisable in Arabic.
The ground destined for rice still contained last
year's stalks.
The irrigation is carried on by a canal made by the
father of Mir Haji, and the latter taxes all his subjects
for the use of it The arrangements for the distribu
tion of the water are bad, some crops of beans drown
ing while others are withering. The stream is led
into four fields, making a total of about six acres, daily,
and the landholders (all great men) take their turns
according to their rank, and not according to their
acreage. The ground is a stiff clay, more adapted for
building forts than cultivation, and requires constant
manuring. All the cotton is grown at Dasht, a word
the meaning of which I could not definitely ascertain,
whether it were a place, or generally the open country ;
it is, however, plentiful at Gari Darap.
Returning to tiffin we found that Mir Haji had sent

48 THE LITERARY AND RELIGIOUS ELEMENT.
US a sheep, a bag of about ninety pounds of dates,
several mans of rice, shilanch (or sour cheese), and,
on hearing that we wanted some mats for a cookhouse,
sent bodily the entire dome roof of one of his circular
cottages. After tiffin we received a deputation of the
mullas of the. town.
Religion is of great importance in the towns, but
among the nomadic part of the population is entirely
absent. The mullas of Bint represent themselves as
Sunni of the sect of Abu Hanifah, while they are really
unadulterated Sufis. None of the representatives of
the literary talent at Bint were more than mere youths,
and they appear to retain little of their religion after
arriving at a marriageable age. They were a cadaver
ous, sickly-looking set, and constantly interrupted the
conversation by ostentatiously remarking that they
had forgotten to say their prayers.
The main subjects of conversation were, as usual,
the tyranny of the Gajars (or Persians), and the
Baluchis' intense desire that the English should take
their country, an event they confidently expected to
take place shortiy. They asked eagerly for Hafiz, but
could not read the shikasta [running hand) of my MS.
copy. They had better success with a Hereford
Gulistan, and much enjoyed droning over the stories
at the end of Forbes' Persian Grammar. Two or
three professed a knowledge of Arabic, but could not
read a word in any Arabic book but the Kuran, their
chanting of which was painful. We puzzled two of
them very much with a very plainly written copy of
some Turkish poems, and they failed to discover it
was anything but Persian.
Here and at Bampur were the only places at which

THIEVING PROPENSITIES OF INHABITANTS. 49
I was asked anything about my religion. One very
vigorous old man, who had brought his son, and who
prefaced all his remarks by poking me up violently
with a thick staff, asked me to read him some Hafiz,
and, while I was singing one of the hackneyed old
odes to an admiring crowd, he abruptly changed the
topic to my religion, and called upon me triumphantly,
as a sort of test, to read something from the Kuran.
Believing at the time that the people were, as they
gave themselves out to be, orthodox Sunni, I turned
upon him with the greatest indignation, asking him
fiercely how he dared to mention in the same breath,
a volume of love song and the word of God. He left
me at once, congratulating myself on the success of my
rebuke, which the after discoveries of Salah led me to
think was more due to the tone in which it was de
livered than to the force of the argument it contained.
The evening sun was now striking on the wet walls
of the tent, and rendering it very unpleasant ; so,
having got rid of my visitors with some difficulty, I
strolled out through the gardens down to the broad
river at their back. The gardens are about half a
mile wide, and, towards the south, reach the edge of
the river bed, which, however, is so broad and full
of large loose shingle, that I did not get to the chan
nel itself
Returning to the tent we made all safe for the
night, Mir Haji having sent purposely to warn us of
the thieving propensities of his subjects.
The barometer here gave approximately an eleva
tion of 2,000 feet above the level of the sea, and the
climate was nearly that of England, only that the sun
at noon had more power than was agreeable. E

so HOUSES OF BINT.
I had, in the course of the day, mentioned to Jellal
my intention of making a rapid march to Bampur;
and he had been, unsuccessfully, canvassing for three
good camels to carry him, myself, and two camel
men. The following day, however, we proposed to
return Mir Haji's visit when we would mention our
difficulty. Accordingly, the following morning we walked
across the common, and, entering through a breach in
a curious natural sandstone wall, climbed up some
steep, narrow and filthy streets, whose uses for pro
gression were subordinate to their value as manure
beds. We had noticed every day donkeys passing
into the town laden with Kik grass roots, and now
found every nook and corner throughout the town
spread deep with Kik grass and old rice straw.
The houses of Bint, Fanoch, Maskhutan, and
other Baluch towns, are simply built in what resembles
an English crew-yard, or yard for wintering cattle in,
and the smell at some seasons must be fearful. The
quantity of rice straw lying about, the sparrows, and
the substantial look of the well-thatched houses, give
the place at the back the appearance of a very
slovenly English homestead. The ascent to Mir
Haji's house, which crowned the hill, was steep,
Avinding, and, owing to the late rains, very slippery.
There was no regular path, but the thick manure
straw helped one's feet, and the various inequalities
in the flat roofs gave one occasional hold for one's
hands. Arrived at the summit, we entered a fair-
sized rectangular room, along one side of which
were, seated on their haunches, Abd el Kadir, Mir
Haji, and various chief people of the land. A

MIR HAJL SI
cradle, swung by goats'-hair ropes, ornamented with
cowrie shells, occupied one end of the room, and
contained the Mir's fondly loved son and heir ; while
at the other fend, opposite to the chiefs, was a large
chahar pai, or fourfooted bedstead, on which I gravely
seated myself My men herded with the Mir's men
clustering round the door, joining in the conversation
with perfect freedom and invariable respect. The
mud-plastered walls were hung with many English
glass bottles, wrapped in network of camel's hair,
ornamented with cowries ; and I noticed many curious
brass rosewater vases, apparently of Russian manufac
ture. We had a brisk conversation about routes,
trade, and education ; the Russians, and the Affghans,
who have made themselves a terrible name here. I
was often asked to predict how much longer the Shah
would live. Then a very humble kalian was pro
duced, the bottom of which was an English cut glass
decanter, which I smoked, without appearing to make
a point of it, through the hollow of my hand, so
as not to put the Mir into a dilemma about using the
mouthpiece after me. His men were evidentiy rather
proud of his being able to sport a kalian like a
"civilized Persian." In my subsequent journeyings, I
often heard it commented on that Mir Haji had
smoked a kalian with me, a fact here regarded in
much the same light as Brigham Young's blessing a
Gentile is among the Mormons.
Of course, during the interview, we did not mention
our business. Of course the Mir protested that his
country, his house, camels, and men were all at my
service ; and of course I protested that the only thing
that could bring balm unto my anxious mind was the

52 DIPLOMACY IN BALUCHISTAN.
assurance that he and his family were quite well, and
that anything else was mere supererogation. After
regaining my tent, I sent Salah with many civil
speeches to the Mir to get me three good camels that
same night.
Now Salah had been rather proud of an opportunity
for showing his superior intelligence and capacity for
managing the barbarians, and went on his way revolv
ing in his mind many elaborate diplomatic speeches,
which should induce the Mir to grant our request
Old Jellal, however, accompanied him as interpreter,
and completely put his nose out of joint ; for, on
arriving within earshot of the chief, he shouted out in
his most peremptory tone : " The Sahib requires three
camels immediately." Subsequent experience showed
that the Jellal style of negociation was the right one,
involving as it did a kind of assumption of superiority
on our part It was, as a bit of brag, far more suited
to the natives, who would have regarded civility as a
sign of weakness.
The manners of Baluchis to their Mirs are not
unlike those of the Bedawin, who, when entering the
presence of their chief, walk straight up to him, and
brandishing their long stick, shout at him : " Salam
Ya mahfuth" [Peace, oh thou protected of God).
This was nearly my last night in Bint, and I will
here insert extracts from Salah's diary kept at Bint
while I was at Bampur : —
" The school was simply a side room branching out
of the Masjid, which was about sixty feet square,
well and neatly built of mud, and matted with pish
matting. The Imam of the Masjid was likewise the
schoolmaster. He knew a little Arabic, which he

SALAH'S DIARY. S3
said he had acquired in Mekka. He knew also a
little Persian, but the instruction is carried on in
Baluchi. The average attendance is ten boys, some
of whom read the Kuran, and some Hafiz. One of
the former, at my request, read the 1 7th chapter ; he
read it well, but, as usual in this country, with manifest
total inappreciation of its meaning. The Imam said
that when one of his pupils had finished the Kuran,
he received from the boys' parents ten reals, and,
during the date season, small presents of dates."
The next is translated verbatim.
" Then I entered the Masjid, and saw in the re
cesses in the walls fragments of leaves from the
Kuran. I saw also a book wrapped in green cloth,
embroidered with gold, and on my asking one of them
'What is that?' he rephed, 'the book of Hafiz, the
Shirazi ; ' and when I begged to see it, he took it
reverently in both hands and gave it unto me. And
when I saw that it was really Hafiz, I said unto him :
' Why do you put this book here, for verily it treats
of wine, and love, and debauchery ? ' Then he denied
this, saying vehemently, ' Speak not thus, for the book
is clean and divested of all such matters. Where,
then, should it be placed if not here ?' And I
answered unto him saying, ' This is a Masjid, the house
of God, and there should be in it nothing but the
word of God and the traditions of the prophets.
This book is for the youthful and ignorant, nor is it in
any way a religious work.' And he answered, saying,
' On the contrary ; the author of this work was of the
very root of religion itself ; and as touching the matter
you mention concerning wine and love, it is not at all
as you imagine. " Wine " is the drinking in of the

54 SALAH'S DIARY.
love of God ; " Love " is a longing for God ; ' and he
recounted unto me the meanings of various words
even as they are given in the dictionary of the Sufi
sect Now I was then silent, and verily, judging by
appearances, it will not be long before the people shall
have abandoned the Kuran, and set up Hafiz in
Muhammad's place."
I would have given much to have been present
when the bigoted old Sunni Salah got nonplussed by
the carnal views of his plausible friend.
The following again are extracts : —
" I asked him if, on the day of assembly for prayer,
he used the whole ' Khutbah ' ; and on his answering
' no,' I inquired why, and he answered that there were
here no well defined rules of religion, nor any known
law against unbelief and wickedness, adding that in
his views of religion the prayer of Juma should only
be used in places where there were well defined laws
and a just ruler.
"He also said that the people were of the sect of
Abu Hanifah, their religion Islam ; they are Sunnis,
and abuse the Persians, whom they refer to as
accursed Rafizis (deserters of their religion). There
is no regular trade here ; after a good year superfluous
dates are sold to the Baluchis around, and sheep
and ghee are sent to Maskat and Bandar Abbas, in
exchange for cotton cloths and silk, the latter for
purposes of embroidery. There is no coin in the
country less than half a kran.
"Mir Haji pays annually to Mir Hussain of Kasser
Kand 2,500 tomans."
In the afternoon the Mir came to bid farewell, as
he left for Geh on the following morning. He was

READING THE KURAN AS A CHARM. 55
accompanied by his favourite little son, whom my
quinine had enabled to rise from his sick bed. He
was about three feet high, but had read through the
whole Kuran ; a process here regarded in much the
same light as vaccination in England, and supposed
to shield the youth from all sorts of evil eye, etc. We
gave him some skeins of raw silk, and to my intense
joy, and Salah's despair, he begged for the latter's
accordion. He left, and was soon mounted on his
little gray horse, promising that the camels should
arrive in about an hour.

CHAPTER III.
Start for Bampiir. — Our new companions. — Icy cold wind. — Camels
dangerous at night. — Mountain scenery. — The Fanoch pass. —
Fish and crabs. — Reception at Fanoch. — ^A Persian slave.—
Jellal as doctor. — The last of the donkeys.- — The " Pai-i-duldul-
i-Ali." — We emerge from the mountains and open on the desert
— Maskhiitan. — Quarrel about the cooking. — Our guide Kuli. —
Marri, the valley of desolation. — ^A grotesque scene. — The
Bampur desert. — A gentleman on a cow. — Reception at
Bampur. — Politics at Bampiir. — I am an officer of artillery. —
Messing with the Khan. — Barley water. — The position of Persian
and Turkish soldiers compared. — A curious mill. — Awkward
position on a cow. — Old Jellal. — Leave Bampiir. — Jellal's camel
wants a breastband. — Small-pox. — A horrible banquet. — Frozen
out.— -A cold ride. — The Pai-i-duldul-i-Ali renovated. — " Home,
sweet home." — Jooji and the fowls.
Although promised, the camels did not of course
arrive that night, and the' next morning there was a
bitterly cold gale from the north. Contrary, however,
to our expectations, about ten o'clock three magnificent
camels turned up. Two huge ones were furious with
must, roaring, foaming, and blowing bladders from
their throats. The third, destined for Jellal and the
saddlebags, was a powerful three-year-old.
A short parley sufficed to engage them, though the
men expressed great dread of the cold, and at the
most would only promise that if possible they would
do the journey to Bampur and back in sixteen days.
Now I had only ten days which I could possibly spare,
and that would leave me only six days for the journey
.56

OUR NEW COMPANIONS. 57
home from Bint to Jask, which I had determined to
make by a new route. However, I trusted to getting
up very early in the mornings and making friends
with the two men whom the camel owner sent with
me, and who could not be expected to be quite so
sparing of the camels as the owner himself
Some little description will perhaps be welcome of
these our new companions on the road. First as
regards the hiring the camels. The spokesman in the
transaction was named Shukari, pronounced here like
the English word "sugary." He denied all interest
in the camels, giving as his reason for appearing in
the matter that • his " waja " had ordered him to
provide three first-rate camels ; and that he had with
difficulty procured three and consented to accompany
them and their two owners to make a bargain with
me, as the two men were too much afraid of the
Feringi to be able to speak up to and make terms with
him. He said that his honour was concerned in my
getting through my intended journey safely ; that the
two men who would be with me were his " brothers,"
and he enlarged freely on the extreme cold we should
experience, pronouncing the Persian word " sard " as
" swart" The two " musty" camels belonged to Abdulla, a
short stout jovial little man, with a round nose, bright
Httle black eyes, and an irresistibly comic vehement
way of speaking. The three-year-old belonged to
Barja, a tall powerful man with an extremely hand
some, intelligent face, and a fine brown beard. Barja,
in Persian, means handsome and fine-eyed, which our
friend was to an unusual degree. Barja acted as
Abdulla's elder brother, and it was amusing, when

S8 ICY COLD WIND.
turning in for the night, to watch AbduJla wind
himself up in his " pow," or headcloth, and lie down,
and then call to Barja to come and tuck him up in
his blanket which office the latter would laughingly
perform with all the tenderness of an English mother.
We started in silence against a bitter north wind,
Abdulla and Barja first on the big camel, followed by
myself and Jellal with the saddlebags. My camel
was very "musty," and I involuntarily "shikarred" three
unfortunate individuals whom we met on the road, to
their great terror. We cut off a large bend in the
river, and then travelled up the bed, the sides of which
were studded with gaz and other trees, under which
were frequent heaps of dead bunches of leaves col
lected and laid by the natives to rot for manure. The
wind was dead in our faces, and icy cold, accompanied
by sleet and driving rain.
About 3 p.m. the men halted, and said it was
impossible to go any farther, as, even were the
weather good, the day was so far advanced that we
should not be able to get through the pass before
nightfall. Not very much unsatisfied with my first
day's work, and feeling very unwell, I camped under
the high cliff of a nullah which ran into the river, and
the material of which was entirely mud and shingle.
Here was the first gaz roghan, or oil tamarisk, which
we had hitherto met with, and we found afterwards
that all the tamarisks in the Fanoch pass and those
composing the Bampiir tree belt were of this sort.
The fruit is collected and sold for one kran a man
(or weight of 6 lbs), and the oil expressed from it for
three krans per man.
We had rather an exciting night, the account of

CAMELS DANGEROUS AT NIGHT. S9
which, as it is a fair sample of the next nine nights,
I extract verbatim from my note-book.
"8 p.m., turning in. Much trouble with big llro
[full-grown male camel), whose true character is now
coming out, notice his master's hand half bitten off".
He won't eat, but rolls on the ground, crushing bushes.
"They will none of them eat each handful of lorti
being forced into their mouths, and so far down their
throat that they must choke or chew. They chew
reluctantly. " IO p.m. New sensation, to turn in on the ground
within six feet of three enormous llros, all frothing at
the mouth with must. The two lesser ones have
sided against the largest. Barja lies on one side of
the fire with the reins of the two former round his
wrist, and Abdulla lies on the other with the big one's
rein round his. They have stampeded three times
already, but none of us are as yet damaged. The
big one is tied both hind and fore-legs, and has just
invaded us on his knees and haunches, with the result
of filling my bed with gravel.
"11.30 p.m. The big one has worked himself
within a yard of my feet, and stretching his neck along
the ground gone to sleep. I note with pain that he is
within biting distance, and follow his example. Shortly
afterwards awakened by our friend's arrival, backwards
this time. After a fearful struggle with the two men
he is extricated, one leg from the fire, the other from
my pillow. I endeavour to conceal from myself the
fact that I am directly in his route to the other two
camels, whose destruction appears to be his object.
The attempt is a failure, not to say a miserable one.
Observing blood coming from the hole in his nose

6o MOUNTAIN SCENERY.
through which the rein-knot passes, the probability
presents itself that said rein-knot will come out A
cord is passed up through his nose and tied through
the hole, so that he cannot get away without carrying
away three inches of his nose. His 'waja ' then goes
to sleep again, rein in hand.
" The men agree that they are not frightened for
themselves, but fear for the smaller camels. Their
reflections do not include me. Old Jellal, to whom
has been allotted the largest share of blankets, sticks
himself under a tamarisk-tree and sleeps with great
indifference. The struggles occasionally half wake him
up, only to mutter a few curses at all camels and regrets
for his chok or child, by which he means his pet donkey,
which he has entrusted to his relative Keramshah,
whom he appears already to hate and distrust, feeling
sure that he will starve the darling."
Early in the morning it was icy cold, cloudy, and
there was a strong north-east wind. The men de
clared that it was impossible to proceed, but by distri
buting all my remaining rugs, and threatening to ride
in my shirt-sleeves to disgrace them, I got them to
start. After about five miles, sometimes paddling up
the stream, sometimes along the banks of sand and
shingle, we fairly entered the pass at Giri, a huge blood-
red rock under which was a large pool, said to be very
deep. There was a striking contrast between the deep
rich colour of the rock and the pale sea-green of the
pool. About three miles farther on the scenery about the
Kelat-i-Zangi is wildly beautiful — a reckless jumble of
hills and rocks of every imaginable shape, size, and
colour. It is literally true that on this occasion, when

IHE FANOCH PASS. 6i
everything was wet with rain, pure lamp-black was
the only shade of colour not represented ; and when I
add that the main colours were bright red, soft crimson
velvet, snowy white, purpled steel, and all shades of
green from dark to emerald, I have said what I can
to give a faint idea of the utterly grotesque magnificence
of this extraordinary pass. Oxide of iron gives every
tint of red, from the palest pink to rich crimson ; lead
gives every shade of yellow, copper gives green, and
the untinged limestone snowy white.
Sitting now in a house where I know the temperature
will soon rise to no, it seems odd that I brought away
no specimen, nor any sketch, and the reasons in my
note-book do not seem half so conclusive as they did
then. That my hands were numbed and could scarcely
form a letter, and that my saddle would be soaked if I
dismounted for five minutes, were not insuperable
difficulties. The main one was, that I could not get
any idea of the length or practicability of the remainder
of the stage, so as to estimate how much time I could
spare. The men could only say, " It's a long, long
way," and they pressed eagerly on, muffled up to the
eyes and silent.
They had never been through the pass in such
weather, and feared lest at a place ahead there should
be so much water that we should have to return all
the way to our last night's camp to find a safe resting
place. The river hgre filled its bed, on each side were
steep rocks, so our progress was generally against a
rushing stream about three feet deep ; that is to say,
between and over the huge boulders which filled it,
and round which the eddies excavated disagreeably
deep and sudden hollows.

62 FISH AND CRABS.
From twelve to fifteen feet above the present water
were the marks of high water, and the river foaming
down with a depth and volume such as this indicates
must be a sight inexpressibly grand.
The least degree of mossiness would render this
pass impracticable, save in the dry weather, and the
roaring of the water was such that my camel seemed
at one time to lose its head altogether. By a vigorous
effort he had scrambled up to the top of a smooth
round white flint boulder, and after balancing for a few
seconds, his next step should have been to drop his
fore-legs over the opposite side into a raging miniature
whirlpool four feet deep. Instead of this he turned
round and round, roaring piteously, and from the
excited shouts and gestures of the men there were
evidently just grounds for apprehension that he might
put one foot off the very confined standing place, and
break his leg. As vigorous an application of the stick
as my numbed condition would allow put him on the
right course, and we struggled on for about four miles ;
when we opened on a straight piece of about a quarter
of a mile long and piled up high on either side with
huge smooth snow-white boulders. At the end, half-
hidden in watery clouds, was a lofty hill of the Band-i-
Nilag range. This piece of the pass, though easy
looking, was very difficult, necessitating that the two
men riding double should dismount and go ahead, and
find out a path.
Here we were near the end of the pass, and having
heard that there was no firewood at Fanoch we halted
to collect some of the dried uprooted gaz roghan
bushes. Here we saw fish, about six inches long, and
what surprised me more was a brown crab about an

RECEPTION AT FANOCH. 63
inch and a half iri diameter. We found afterwards
that the Bint people prided themselves very much on
their fish, assuming for them a great superiority over
sea-fish. They were long, narrow, and gracefully
tapered, colourless underneath, and of a light ash
colour on their backs.
We marched under a lofty perpendicular wall of
purple rock, a section of the backbone of the Band-i-
Nilag ; and emerging from the pass, and turning up the
bank on our right, we entered the date-trees of Fanoch.
A short mile to our right were the remains of a fort
said to have been destroyed by the Affghans. From
the north, slightly on our left, comes a tributary to the
Bint river of about one-fourth the latter's volume.
Rounding a high dark purple bluff, on which was a
small but very commandingly placed mud fortification,
we ascended a steep hill covered with circular thatched
huts looking like English wheat-stacks. Every foot of
space between the houses was here laid deep in rice
stalks, grass .roots, etc., for manure. Chakar Khan was
absent, and a slave of Mir Haji showed us into one of
his master's houses which was empty, warm, and in
the meaning of the word to which I had recently
become accustomed, clean. Here, as soon as we were
installed and my carpets spread, we received about a
hundred ofthe aristocracy, and their manners, or absence
of manners, were decidedly annoying.
Edwin Pierce, whose studies in the Baluch dialect
have been as successful as laborious, used often to
remark on the difficulty he found in persuading the
natives that he understood and could speak their
language. I had experienced this difficulty, but in the
earlier parts of my journey candour had compelled me

64 A PERSIAN SLAVE.
to attribute it to my imperfect knowledge of Baluchi.
Now, however, the case was dififerent, yet nothing that
Jellal could say would induce them to address a single
word to me. They passed remarks freely about me,
and when I showed any appreciation of them they
nudged one another, saying wonderingly, "He under
stands." They would not believe that my clothes and
big boots could have come from any place but Kirman,
which place they spoke of much as English country-
people speak of London.
We were much struck with one man who made him
self very prominent He was a huge, black- whiskered
fellow, with enormous moustaches, a heavy swagger,
and a deep hoarse voice. He wore Persian dress, had
even thick worsted gloves, and knitted list stockings.
His conversation was of horses, and I unhesitatingly
put him down as an up-country Persian employed as a
groom to Chakar Khan's two horses, but I was very
much surprised to find he was a slave. My dress of a
pea-jacket, white moleskins, and big boots took his
fancy immensely, and I more than once heard him
pointing out that " This was the style of the Shah,"
etc., adding : " Now you know the Shah is a wonderful
king, any one oppressed or ill-used has only got to go
to his house and say : ' Where's the king ? ' and the
king immediately comes out and does him justice."
I could not believe that this man was a slave, but
three people told me so, and as I had no opportunity of
speaking to him privately and did not think my position
justified open inquiries, I had to leave the matter
unsettled. Murad Khan, Chakar's deputy, pressed me
to take one of his horses, and get to Bampur in two
days, but I was not disposed to leave my small baggage

JELLAL AS DOCTOR. 65
behind, and only used his offer to point a violent
harangue at my camel-men on their folly in persisting
that the journey was a five days' business. As we got
more familiar, the people became very importunate for
medicines for all sorts of diseases, chiefly for head
aches of two years' (?) standing. I was soon tired of
protesting that I had left all medicines at Bint ; but
Jellal, without a hint, took up the r61e of doctor with a
happy audacity only paralleled by Abu Zeid of Surooj.
The grave way in which he would find out from a
man where his pet shrine was and then tell him it was
there, and recommend him to go and sacrifice a goat
there, was not more amusing than their expressions
of wonder at his apparent intimate knowledge of the
locality. No twinkle in his rugged old eyelids ever
betrayed the solemn and thoughtful manner in which
he ordered powdered rice, solutions of gypsum, or
pills of mud.
Chakar Khan's people sent us in a very good dinner,
and I invited his eldest son to dine with me. He was
a nice shy little boy, dressed in a goat's-hair frock-
coat, deeply embroidered with red floss silk, the badge
of " royalty," and wore scarlet silk trousers. I may
claim the credit of having permanently settied his age ;
for, on my asking how old he was, his friends said they
did not know, and referred to me. On my proposing,
as a guess, " ten," they expressed great wonder, and
considered my decision as an additional proof that
Feringis know everything.
The houses here were some circular, and some
oblong, the latter being adapted for a second storey.
The walls were well and straightiy built of hard blue
clay. In the case of the oblong houses, trunks of
F

66 THE LAST OF THE DONKEYS.
date-trees were put across, covered first with mats,
and then with clay. But the circular huts were the
best, for the walls were twelve feet high, and the roof
was a dome-shaped construction of date-sticks, covered
with mats and thatched with pish leaves, the whole
being kept in its place by a network of rope.
The muezzin here seemed a practical sort of man,
for instead of inciting his parishioners to prayer in
the orthodox but, to them, unintelligible Arabic, he
paraded the streets crying, in Persian, " Biro namaz,"
[go to prayer). Murad Khan presented me with a
capital brown cotton sheet from Dizzak [small for
tress), after which for the fourth time we cleared
the house, and making up the fire turned in.
Next morning was very cold, and in spite of strenu
ous exertions it was an hour after sunrise before we
got fairly ofif, accompanied by about twenty men and
boys mounted on donkeys, all provided with large mat
bags for bringing in grass roots for manure and fire
wood. This was the last we saw of donkeys, which,
being imported from Oman get dearer in proportion to
their distance from the coast
We passed the Pai-i-dulditl-i-Ali, at this time a
series of circles about a yard in diameter, rendered
distinct by being bare of the shingle which here
covered the flat plain we were traversing. These
marks are said to be the footprints of All's mare,
though doctors disagree on the question whether
Duldul was a mare or a mule, and whether it belonged
to Ali or Muhammad. We crossed one brackish
nullah (or water-course) full of pizgh, a tall rush used for
making soft mats, and passing over alternate stony
plains and steepish stony hills, we entered a dry

MASKHUTAN. 67-
shingly water-course full of pish (or dwarf palni).
Here was the last of the pish, and shortiy after
wards the last of the hills. There was but one path,
so I had been enabled to take the lead, and tra
velling fast, we made ten miles by about 10.30 a.m.,
and reached the boundary of the hills. Before us lay
the desert, the mirage over which gave it exactly the
appearance of a sea, while in the blue distance were the
snow-covered Basman and Torik ranges. Our course
had hitherto been north, but now we struck to the
east. The country was sand mixed with red gravel,
from the surface of which now and then a huge
streaked red and white boulder protruded, and the
whole was thinly studded with the golden tinted pir,
the vivid green agrich, trat, and ishwarak — bushes
for which the Latin equivalent will be found in the
Botanical appendix. About 4 p.m. we crossed a dry
nullah called Murgh, and an hour before sunset
sighted Maskhutan, situated among low hills, between
which the barren sand changed to a light soil bearing
thin grass and a few babul trees.
Here we overtook a small boy, panting under the
weight of an ordinary donkey-load of firewood, a sight
which rather aggravated old Jellal, for instead of using
his pet donkey for such labour at home he now found
that he might have used some of the children of his
second wife. Our Fanoch experience decided me to
pass through the town and camp on the other side ;
so we held on our way, past date groves in which
the water was standing a foot deep, past canals
for irrigation, attended to by unwholesome looking
people in Persian dress, and ascended the steep low
hill on which the town was perched.

68 APPEARANCE OF MASKHUTAN.
The Persian dress here was no proof of the Persian
origin of the wearer. The Baluch of Mekran would
scorn to wear any but a Baluch dress, and would par
ticularly object to a Persian costume. Here, however,
the Persian is more feared and the Baliich more ignor
ant, and they wear these dresses with a feeling modi
fied but somewhat like that with which the African
savage wears a red coat and no trousers.
The towns of Fanoch and Bint have been compared
to English crew-yards but in Maskhiitan the manure
had got ahead of the straw, and the town had every
appearance of being built in a large pigstye. We
passed through it, detailing Barja to purchase another
water-skin for the desert journey; and crossing the
broad river-bed, down which a shallow stream mean
dered, we camped at the foot of some low hills on the
opposite side. We found a snug nook under some
pir bushes, and soon had the kettle boiling, when to
our horror the entire population of Maskhutan ap
peared, garments held aloft, wading across the river.
I prorpptly seized my sketch-book, and nerved by de
spair scaled the nearest mountain. My sketch was
barely finished when four perspiring men, dressed in
their best clothes, toiled up over the ridge before me,
and without a word of salutation, of any kind sat down
and began to criticise me. After about ten minutes
they made up their minds, and coming up, the best
dressed man asked me if I hadn't a rupee or an old
shirt that I could give him.
Begging him to wait a minute I retreated to the
camp, where I found Jellal prescribing for about sixty
diseased people. One woman who had been blind for
twenty years, tasked the old man's ingenuity to its

4. -> ^,.-»% •%

Dinner in the bampur desert
The Salt question arises

QUARREL ABOUT THE COOKING. 69.
utmost, but he got rid of her at last with a small chip
ofif my only cake of soap, which he recommended her
to suck. An infallible specific could not have made
her happier.
That night we had a grand quarrel over the cook
ing. Our meal was rice boiled, with some pieces of
the legs of mutton which I had brought from Bint
chopped up in it. This was generally prepared by
Jellal, and when I had eaten my fill the other three
finished the pot. Some dates afterwards played the
part of pudding. In such simple cooking there was
only one point on which we could disagree, and we
discovered it with perfectly human promptitude. There
is no doubt that Jellal did habitually put in too much
salt The salt was a hard blackish stony lump, and
the old man's way of chipping off lumps with the
handle of his knife was quite reckless. When pressed
home upon the subject, he generally fell back upon the
fact that our contract with the camel-men did not in
clude feeding them, and would point out quite clearly
that if they didn't like it they might leave it This,
however, did not conduce to such satisfactory relations
as I was anxious to establish with the men, and I
refused to hold his view of the matter.
After an animated argument we settled the difficulty
by the apparently simple expedietit of taking it in turns
to cook, Abdulla officiating when it came to my turn,
and it was amusing to hear each one chaff the other's
cooking, and prophesy what luxury we should enjoy
when it came to his turn.
The river here ran south, and the date groves, backed
by low jagged hills, stretched some miles down the
opposite or western shore. Just opposite us, the river

-70 OUR GUIDE, KULL
bank was a steep cliff, which, being piled up with large
white stones, made a pretty contrast with the rich
green grass growing under the date-trees on the top
of the bank. The water of the river was perfectly
drinkable, but had evidently received contributions
from some of the innumerable brackish springs which
are found all over this part of the country.
There was a slight Persian element in Maskhutan,
and the inhabitants seemed capable of a rough division
into three classes ; viz., Persians, long-haired wild-
looking Lasharis, and wiry careworn BalQchis. The
Persians have probably been introduced by Mir Huti,
who is in the Persian interest and communicates freely
with Bampur. The Baluchis here are of the Hot tribe,
and are vigorous men of great endurance. We en
gaged one old man for one rupee to take us to Bampur
in two days, and after one day's rest to bring us back
in two more. Unlike any native we had hitherto met,
our new comrade Kuli was immensely broad, short,
and bandy-legged. His mouth was enormous, and his
face a mass of carbuncles and wrinkles. He wore a
skull-cap, a shirt and drawers, and an enormous karch
or reversible knife. This consisted of a strong blade
1 8 inches long, one half sharpened and the other
jagged like a saw. The handle was a thick piece of
wood like the handle of a razor, and the blade being
fixed to it by a pivot in the middle, either end was
available, according to whether it was purposed to cut
grass or wood. These knives were common at Mask
hutan, and general north of it The name is probably
an abbreviation of kah chin, grass-cutter. Most of the
others I saw were smaller than Kuli's.
Kuli proved a most disagreeable addition to our

OUR ESCORT FROM MASKHUTAN. 71
mess. The other three men ate like gentlemen.
There was no hurry, no tearing or gnawing ; on the
contrary, all was extreme politeness. Kuli, however,
was a perfect ogre. I believe that he had never be
fore seen food of any sort on three consecutive days,
and I know he could never have tasted meat. Except
ing the wool, horns and hoofs, he would eat ravenously
any part of a sheep nearly raw, and he would gnaw
and crack the bones with his teeth like a dog. After
joining our party he had always in the breast of his
shirt some old bone which he would draw out and
suck at any leisure moment. We often met men with
a craving for flesh and tobacco, -but it was never car
ried to such an extreme or displayed so coarsely as in
Kuli. He was not to receive his rupee until we had
returned to Maskhutan within the stipulated time ; so
very early in the morning he arrived, wearing a good
woollen blanket, and commenced a querulous tirade
against the camel-men, which soon got us on march.
As on leaving Fanoch we had been accompanied by
a crowd of men going for grass-roots and firewood, on
leaving Maskhutan we had an escort of men on a
similar errand, mounted upon cows, the stupidity and
wilfulness of which animals gave us many a hearty
laugh before we shook them off. At a subsequent
period I had much experience in cow-riding, and of
all animals in the world for stupidity, woodenness,
pig-headedness, and obstinacy, commend me to a
badly-fed cow. I am not at all sure that I exaggerate
in saying that the fact of the people having to ride
cows is partly responsible for a modification of the
dialect, new and unique phrases being necessary to

72 MARRL
give adequate expression to their exasperated feelings.
Before us was the desert, on our left the distant
Basman range, and on our right, at about three miles,
the low ranges Baggink, Gasumal, and Band-i-lagi.
At this period of our journey, Abdulla could answer
no question except in rhyme and tune, and I will
mention his answer to my question about the hills. I
interrupted an apparently endless song about Feringi,
about hunting, etc., with my question : " What are the
names of those hills to our right ? " Jogging along
on his camel before me, he at once makes his answer
fit into the tune he was singing :
" Hama Koh, Ham^ Koh, Just a Kiini, Just a Kiini,
i Baggink wa Gasumali
Gasumal wa Band-i-lagi."
After three miles, we crossed the stream J eh,
flowing eastward. Soon afterwards we overtook a
caravan of donkeys, carrying tobacco from Mohterabad
to Bampur. They were a jovial party, and one youth,
who was playing a flute, addressed me in Hindustani.
He had been at Hyderabad, in Sinde, and in Karachi ;
but when I asked what had been his occupation, he
could only say " Karm wallah," or "labouring man."
They all wore huge knitted list stockings, with a
division for the toe-string of the suass, or grass
sandals. At eight miles we saw the pale blue Lashari
range, two days' journey to south-east, and soon after
passed a row of large, dry pits, dug to lead down to
the water, the first set of Kahns we had yet seen. To
our left were the date-trees of Dariabad, and after
another two miles through scattered fir-trees we
reached that complete picture of desolation, Marri.
Two hundred miserable date- trees in every stage

THE VALLEY OF DESOLATION. 73
of withering decay and mutilation, leant this way and
that, or rotted prostrate, over a dreary white salt
tract, the glare of which was only relieved by brown
rust and tricklings of black, poisonous-looking water.
It made even the desert round it look comparatively
hospitable. Here we watered for the journey from a small hole
scraped in the black gravel, a few yards away from a
bitter stream. At this time of the year there would
be water at Luchan Chah and at Geshkok, but as our
camel-men had never before travelled this route, Kuli
and I had arranged a conspiracy to pass the first
stage, Liichan Chah, and call the second one by its
name. Here was a pir, or holy spot, on which Kuli
reverently deposited a handful of , wretched dates.
There was no mark of any sort to indicate the holy
spot, nor could he give any account whatever of its
antecedents. General Goldsmid, in his able account
of Baluchistan, speaks of the number of " Shia " shrines
in this Sunni country. With all deference for such an
authority, I believe the facts to be as follows : —
Firstly, that throughout the country, from Geshkok
to the coast, nothing whatever is known of either the
Shia or the Sunni religion, except the name and a few
Arabic formula. Secondly, that not one Baluchi in
five hundred will trouble himself to guess at the origin
of any shrine. Thirdly, that, by the more sensible,
these shrines are simply looked upon as charms at
which the observance of fitting ceremonies is easy,
may bring luck, and can do no harm ; while the
motive that leads others to add their stone, is just that
which makes one sheep follow the one before him.
As I have before mentioned, I have frequentiy com-

74 A GROTESQUE SCENE.
menced shrines, and seen them religiously added to by
every member of the caravan, and I have also heard
discussions as to whether a certain heap of stones was
a shrine or not. I have elsewhere stated that the
religion of the country is confined to eight or ten boys
and youths in each town boasting a mulla ; and the
only fairly so-called Shia shrine I met with — the Pai-i-
duldul-i-Ali — owes its permanence to its propinquity to
Fanoch. In calling this a Shia shrine, it may be well
to remember the difficulty as to the ownership of the
Duldul. To resume our story, however. The sand-grouse
here were absurdly tame, and I learnt for the first
time that Katangar and Chakxil, which I had hitherto
considered synonymous, were two different species.
The white efflorescence which covered the ground
was so active that an old grass sandal, which did not
appear to have been there more than a week, was
thickly encased in it. It was not salt, but had more
the taste of stale soda-water, and was I think nitrate
of soda.
We had much difficulty in persuading the camels to
drink, and while the three men were making the usual
uncouth noises of invitation, I collected some of the
powder. When at a little distance, I turned round,
and the aspect of our party struck me as irresistibly
comic. Barja is resplendent in my rowing " sweater,"
covered by a scarlet blanket, worn as a coat ; while as
a head-gear, he wears my huge London rowing-club
muffler. Abdulla, a most excitable little man, is,
as usual, having a fight with his enormous camel.
He has a spare flannel shirt and another scarlet
blanket, while his small black eyes twinkk out from

STRANGE DRESSES. 7^
under a huge dark plaid. His language to his camel
is extraordinary, being a string of oaths, professions of
belief in the unity of God, obscene curses, and scraps
of the Fatihat, the opening Muslim prayer. He, of
course, is quite ignorant of the Arabic, and the Divine
formulas of Islam are merely fine hearty-sounding
words to swear in.
Kuli is saying his prayers by the pir (or shrine), and
Jellal sits tranquilly by munching dates, clothed in
the remains of an old flannel shirt and an Inverness
cape made of a third scarlet blanket The natives'
own clothes merely serve as waist-bands. I suppose
a more extraordinary group of figures never passed
through that desolate spot Marri. The men were
everywhere very proud of the English clothing, and
even at Bampur, where I expected them to appear in
their ordinary garb, they strutted about with the utmost
complacency. Kuli soon hurried us on to the march,
and as the rest of the stages were entirely over heavy
sandhills, I shall simply give extracts from my note
book, joined together in readable form. Our chief
anxiety was to espy camel fodder, for the camel-men
had agreed to travel from sunrise to sunset, if I would
stop for them to cut fodder whenever we passed a good
quantity. My own private anxiety was to make the
pace while we were travelling as good as possible.
" Course from Marri nearly east, at thirteen miles
(from Maskhutan) passed between low hills Dirbum
three miles on the left, and Kahnok three miles on
the right; jungle, thinly scattered petto-bushes,* no
other sort At eighteen miles crossed the low Gangja
* " Petto," a spiny-leaved bush, undeterminable.

76 THE BAMPUR DESERT.
hills, the perpendicular brown sandstone strata of
which were so regular as to give exactly the appear
ance of a well-ploughed rounded mound in England.
Hills studded with small white prickly plant siggichk,*
four-fifths of each little bush of which was dead, and
quite white and stiff At twenty miles, course N.E.;
at twenty-one miles, view of open country, all sand
hills. Crossed some large ones called the Allod Rig.
At twenty-seven, struck a dry nullah and followed it
for a mile. Here to our right was Liichan Chah. The
men had stopped behind to cut lorti [Taverniera
spartczd) but I pressed on, hoping that they would not
fall in with any wandering Lasharis and get an inkling
of our whereabouts. When they rejoined us Abdulla's
jovial temper was gone ; he had been bitten in the foot,
and had had a bad fall from his camel, who never
would let both men get up. At the thirty-eighth mile,
on topping a very high sandhill, we saw Bampur fort
in the distance. Mutiny was gradually brewing,
Jellal, who was in the secret, pretending to join.
We struggled through another two miles, and then,
the men having four times dismounted and flatly re
fused to go any farther, we gave in, and camped at
sunset. Then we had a grand quarrel, for the men
knew enough of the distances to discern that we had
arrived at Geshkok, which was, in fact, about three
sand-ridges ahead. It ended, however, in a hearty
laugh, for they were good fellows, though terribly
afraid of over-taxing their camels ; and we congratu
lated ourselves on having brought plenty of camel-

* " Siggichk," a small leathery-leaved plant, undeterminable.

A GENTLEMEN ON A COW. y-j
fodder, for there was nothing but petto here, and it
was pitch dark soon after we arrived."
It was bitterly cold that night on the sand, and very
early the next morning we were up and trudging over
the high heavy sandhills. We soon arrived at Gesh
kok, which, though marked as a town in Pottinger's
map, exhibits no traces of anything of the sort It is,
as the name implies, simply a place in the sandhills
where the rain-water stands for a long time, and
whither consequently the wandering Lasharis, the
Bedawin of the country, occasionally resort, and
pitch their goats'-hair tents. Four or five stunted
pir bushes offered very inferior camel-fodder ; and
though Kuli said that the pool would last three
months more, I felt inclined to doubt it. Here we
passed a camel-caravan, the members of which were
still fast asleep, a fact significantly pointed out to me
by my camel-men; and indeed, before our journey was
over it was a standing joke against me that we always
did pass caravans when they were asleep, and when,
according to our camel-men, we should have been
asleep likewise.
Two miles more travelling over deep sand ; after
Geshkok we topped a high hill, and saw in the north
west a broad belt of trees in which the forts of Kasi-
mabad and Bampur were visible, the former bearing
W. and the latter N. 70' E. The roads here divided,
and taking the path to Bampur we entered a series of
stony hills and shingly plains. At six miles from the
corner the path between Kasimabad and Isfaka crossed
ours. Here we met a donkey caravan carrying grain
from BampQr. They were accompanied by an ele
gantly attired Persian gentleman mounted on a

78 RECEPTION AT BAMPUR.
benevolent-looking but obstinate cow, on which I
found he proposed to ride to Isfaka. At six miles
from the Isfaka crossing we entered the belt of trees,
which were nearly all gaz roghan, and shamefully
cut about by the natives for firewood. The belt was
about two miles broad, and after crossing the broad
shallow river which flows westward through the centre
of it, we found ourselves in a network of well kept up
canals for irrigation. The water was said to be led
from here to Kasimabad, though I did not see why it
should be, as that place was in the tree belt and ap
peared to be equally near the river.
Along the northern bank were many small huts
built of rice-straw and looking very snug and clean.
The trees near them were reduced to maimed stumps,
and looked very melancholy. Still going north-east,
we came to extensive arable ground, which two months
hence would be sown with rice. Passing through this
we approached the Bampur fort, and after a steep
descent into the courtyard, unloaded about noon
under a magnificent kunar tree. The delight of hear
ing good Teherani Persian, after so much of that
slovenly Baliich dialect, was one I shall never forget.
The Khan was asleep when I arrived, but the major
domo of the establishment led me into a large empty
room which looked over a wide court surrounded by
the officers' quarters, kitchen, granary, threshing room,
etc. In the centre was a square raised mud platform,
and near by, a tank from which kalians (the Persian
water-pipes) were filled. One end of the room was
soon carpeted, and I received some of the officers, who
appeared agreeably surprised at my speaking Persian,
and when, having lost my pipe, I called for a kalian

THE KHAN'S TENT. 79
their delight knew no bounds. The soldiers were
clean and well dressed, and were much puzzled to
find out what could be the object of my visit.
Begging for privacy, I had a good cold douse, and
donned my court suit, which consisted of a white coat
and trousers, a clean shirt, a fez, and a loose pair of
shoes; and the Khan waking soon after I was escorted
into his presence by a Considerable procession. There
were three large walled gardens adjoining the fort,
and passing through the first of these we received the
salute of four sentries, who appeared from two guard
tents, and walked up a gravel path to a very fine large
tent, where we were received in a most cordial manner
by the Khan. The tent was a very handsome one,
and the walls were covered with various devices in
green and red appliqud work. Across the centre of
the tent, and occupying three-fifths of its area, was a
raised oblong platform, half of which was carpeted,
and used as a divan, while the other half was covered
with a silk canopy, under which was a large bed and
some cushions. Round the tent-pole was a trophy of
guns, some really beautiful specimens of Persian work
manship being placed alongside of infamous "Brumma
gem " imposture. I was eagerly asked my opinion of
the latter, and though I did not attempt to conceal that
I thought them rubbish, I was glad to be able truth
fully to dilate more upon the excellence of the Persian
weapons than upon the inferiority of the others.
The Khan was an educated Persian gentleman, and
was most hospitable, even to the extent of messing me
at his own " table," a kindness I had hardly expected
from him after seeing the length of his prayers. The
month, however, of Moharram was approaching, and

8o POLITICS AT BAMPUR.
I afterwards had occasion to observe that the Persians,
as well as the Turks and Roman Catholics, fully appre
ciate the power of religion as a weapon for governing
ignorant people. Throughout Irak the tone of the
Turkish press is this : " We are the elected of God,
the Sultan is the commander of the faithful. We live
in Islam bool, or the place of Islam (a corruption of
Stambool). Be very careful how you do anything
against men so highly favoured by God."
The Persians here had to speak to men more
ignorant than the men of Irak, and their cue was a
rigorous performance of the outward observances of
their religion, and great display on occasions of festival.
The preparations for the Moharram were extensive,
and the Khan invited all the Baliichis to come and
see the play, even men whom he had just threatened
with a beating.
We sat talking till evening, our conversation in
cluding a great variety of subjects, and fresh visitors
constantly arriving. The Khan inquired whether we
had seen any symptoms of mines on our journey ; and
in a discussion of Mekran politics wished to give the
impression that all the sheikhs of the country were
under his control, an idea pretty nearly correct, with
the exception of the coast tribes, which are under the
Governor of Minab. By a mere accident I consider
ably strengthened the suspicion that I was an artillery
officer, a suspicion arising from the fact that I wore
large metal buttons on my coat. I had come up the
Fanoch pass with a constant attention to the pos
sibility of getting my baggage through, and when
asked by the commander of artillery whether cannon
could come by this route, I unhesitatingly replied that

MESSING WITH THE KHAN. Si
small ones could. There could be no doubt after this
that I was an officer, and I was not allowed to enter
the fort or see the guns. I learnt, however, from
an old braggart who headed the procession which
escorted me from my quarters to the Khan's tent,
quite as much as I should have done from a personal
inspection. I could not ascertain anything definite about Pottin
ger's assertion that the hill on which the fort was
built was hollow ; though there was every probability
of .extensive subterraneous excavations. One thing
was apparent, that by no possible arrangement could
the guns of the fort be brought to bear upon anything
under one hundred yards from the foot of the hill.
The Khan messed well, and he invited four or five
very good fellows to dinner, so we had a very pleasant
evening. Just before dinner I got into a hopeless
mystery through the Khan's trying to find out if I had
not any beer or brandy with me. He finessed dread
fully for about a quarter of an hour, to my utter
confusion, nor did I at once comprehend that ab-i-jo
[barley water) meant beer. On my assuring him that
when in a Muslim country I never used such things,
he produced a mysterious bottle containing a decoction
which he had himself made from dates, and kept by
him in case of illness. This I declined politely.
At Fanoch I had been told much of the Bampur
military band, but here I heard nothing of it, nor
of the bugle and drilling mentioned by General
Goldsmid. Bampur is, for the country, a very large, well kept
mud fort, crowning a high steep hill. It is about
three miles north of the river, the interval being filled
G

82 SOLDIERS AT BAMPUR.
partly by trees and partly by arable ground. Along
the banks of the river are about two hundred huts of
rice straw, but the importance of the place lies entirely
in the fort To the south of this is the camp of the
soldiers, who are accommodated partly in tents, partly
in rice-straw huts. They work in the fields as day
labourers, as, indeed, do most Persian soldiers, a fact
which the commandant of some Turkish troops at a
place where I was stationed used to mention with
derision ; while the truth was, that his men, to whom
field labour was not allowed, got no pay, and were
obliged to steal everything they wanted.
There are here two hundred artillerymen, nine
cannon, from six to three pounders, with horses for
three of them, and one hundred infantry. The arms
were Enfield rifles, the English powder of which was
greatly appreciated by our camel-men, whose former
hatred of the Gajars was soon changed into a feeling of
profound respect The Khan's chief business seemed
to be getting his tribute paid, pacifying the Baluchi
blood feuds, and arranging the agriculture in the im
mediate vicinity of his fort He gave seed to the
small farmers, and, whatever the season, exacted a
fixed, and not very small, rate of interest
We witnessed many interviews in which the farmer
protested that he had sown the seed but it had not
come up, while the Khan stated clearly his opinion that
the man had secreted the grain. In my own experi
ence of agriculture in this country, I have always found
that the men who hoe in the seed will, if not watched,
bury large quantities in holes.
The artillerymen, too, frequently came and com
plained that they fotind it impossible to get fodder

A CURIOUS MILL. 83
for their horses, and the Khan, to them, as to all others
complaining of arrears of pay, read a letter from Mlr
Huti, saying that the latter had collected about 700
tomans* and would shortly bring it. I noticed that the
kunar (Arabic "nabak ") trees were the finest we had
ever seen, and they must be very old.
A curious mill was at work in the square courtyard
where my quarters were.f It consisted of a lever
twelve feet long resting on a fulcrum placed three feet
from one end. A man by standing on the short
end raised the long end high in air. This was pro
vided with a heavy iron pestle, and when the man
jumped ofif it came down forcibly into a round mortar
or hole in the ground. The wheat thus pounded was
re-pounded and sifted by five Baluchi women, who
sat and quarrelled shrilly in the court We had been
told that there were many camels here, but we saw
none, nor could I find that any considerable number
were away feeding in any distant pasture, as might
have been the case.
Almost all loads were carried on cows, and the very
smallest children seemed to be considered equal to the
charge of one. We saw one poor child crying bitterly
on the top of a mountain of grass piled on the back
of a cow, who was grazing with perfect indifference,
its master with the stick having left it for a time
for some other work.
Old Jellal had an interview with the Khan which
will be told to generation after generation of his

* A toman is worth about Ss. ^d.
t I have since seen a series of similar mills worked by steam at
Damietta in Egypt.

84 OLD JELLAL AND THE KHAN.
family. I had mentioned his practice of medicine, and
in the course of conversation had enlarged consider
ably on his wonderful shrewdness, and the Khan be
coming interested sent for him. The old man arrived,
smiling and blushing up to the roots of his hair at
the honour ; and thinking that the emergency required
a special and new sort of salutation said, bowing :
" Khush amadid Khan " [you are very welcome).
The Khan, fairly taken aback at having the words
taken out of his mouth, stammered and said : " And
you also are very welcome." The servants served
him with tea, brought him a kalian, and humoured
their master's caprice to the full, leaving the old man
in such a state of bashful delight that he did not
know what to do with himself
This little civility to Jellal was well conceived, and
had the effect it was probably meant to produce, for
the old fellow has never ceased talking of BampQr
and Mirza Hussain Khan, the number of whose horses
I recently heard him giving at 9,000. In fact the
number of conversations between " the Khan and
me," and relations of what " I said to him " and " he
said to me," that sprung from this interview could not
have failed to gratify that nobleman's desire for popu
larity. The next evening was the ist of Moharram,
and I determined to leave in the afternoon, for I had
no interest in seeing the religious ceremonies which
take place during the first ten days of this month, and
I could not but be much in the way.
The camel-men were delighted at the prospect of an
early start, for they had come prepared to purchase
carpets, shoes, sheets, shawls, and all sorts of articles
of commerce, and had found shoes the only things

OUR STATION AT JASK.

LEAVE BAMPUR. 87
procurable. We had agreed also to sacrifice a sheep
on arrival ; but the sheep here were bad and dear, so
we decided to postpone our feast
On the morning of the 28th I went some distance
from the fort to sketch it, accompanied by the talkative
old fellow I have mentioned before, who came to see
I did nothing treasonable. On my return to bid
adieu to the Khan he anxiously looked over my port
folio, and seemed relieved at finding no ground-plans,
elevations, or other treason. After a cordial farewell
we mounted and set ofif west through the tree belt
for Kasimabad. The old major-domo refused bak
shish point blank, while our talkative friend when
offered a dollar said it was too little. Affecting great
embarrassment I got him to give it me back, and rode
off" leaving him waiting for the five at which he valued
his services. The Khan gave me a firman to all the
skeikhs on our route to provide me with anything
necessary, and old Jellal began gloating over the way
he intended to loot them with its help. But I pointed
out to the men that having received voluntarily every
possible kindness and hospitality from all BalQchis I
had hitherto met, I could not think of accepting any
thing that might be given me under the compulsion of
a Persian firman. Jellal, however, was not to be done,
and retained the paper. After crossing the river and
recovering my pipe from a shrill young woman of the
village who had found it, we halted for a few minutes
that I might don my moleskins, which Jellal had
hitherto been carrying at arms' length. He had, ac
cording to orders, washed them directly on arrival at
BampQr; but, fearing they would be stolen, he had
then in excess of caution hidden them away in a dark

88 "WANTS A BREASTBAND."
hole in the wall, and when I wanted to start they were
soaking wet.
This gave rise to a rather amusing incident I
had been very angry. The manner in which I had
thought it necessary to point out the old man's
stupidity to him had reduced him to a state of terri
fied silence. We were crossing numerous canals, and
I was riding ahead. Now some camels jump, and
in doing so they will, unless they have a breastband,
jerk the saddle back over their tails. This occurred
to Jellal, but he daren't say a word until, seeing that
he must slide hopelessly over the camel's tail, I heard
in a trembling voice, " Sahib ! Sahib ! th — this camel
wants a breastband ; " and, looking round, saw the
old fellow lying along the camel's back, grasping the
wool of its shoulders, with the middle of the saddle
about over the animal's tail. The hearty laugh which
none of us could resist, restored harmony amongst us
completely. A dull grey evening, with occasional moaning
gusts of cold wind, closed over us as we passed
through a quantity of withered silk-cotton-fibre trees
[calotropis) and entered the half-ruinous mud enclosure
dignified by the name of the Kalat-i- Kasimabad. I
observed that although Persian was here rather more
general than Baluchi, nobody attempted the proper
Arabic pronunciation of Kalat, a fort
The place looked wintry and desolate, and its few
inhabitants melancholy and pinched with cold, as
they huddled themselves up in handsome Rudbar
" mashuks " or cloaks. The head man was a slave
of the Bampur Governor, and civilly enough showed
me a respectable empty mat hut Jellal, however, had

SMALLPOX. 89
managed to secrete the firman, and while I was not
looking produced it, and was already authoritatively
demanding fowls, milk, eggs, etc., when I disgusted
him by quietly taking the paper from the head man's
hand before he had read a word, and putting it into
my pocket.
The north wind blew violently direct from the snow-
covered Basman mountains, and in spite of a good fire
and the unusual luxury of a hut, we hardly slept that
night. We heard broken observations about small
pox, and our friends would not let us have any milk
to drink ; but the discovery that our comfortable house
had just been emptied by that disease was reserved for
the morning. When just about to start, I expressed
to the head man a hope that I had not inconvenienced
any one by occupying the hut. " Oh, no," he said,
"they're all dead." "Ah!" I said; "smallpox?"
" Yes," he answered ; " God has sent it."
It was freezing hard that morning, and had we been
in England there would have been no doubt that the
white thick appearance to the north was snow. As it
was, in spite of smallpox, I purchased a Rudbar cloak,
and was afterwards very thankful I had done so. We
struck away across the desert for Geshkok, where the
pool' was covered with thin ice ; nor did the weather
become pleasant till two in the afternoon.
At 4 p.m., after a very fast ride, for camels go their
best when furious with must as ours were, we arrived
at LQchan Chah, merely a place in the desert with
wells and a few stunted trees, and finding here some
Lasharis tending their camels, we thought it a good
opportunity for our promised sheep. The Lasharis
made some difficulty at first, saying that we were at

90 A HORRIBLE BANQUET.
their huts, and the laws of hospitality demanded that
they should kill for us. We however, agreed to
accept from them a skin bag of " chach " (a kind of
sour milk), and bought from them a sheep for a dollar.
The Lasharis preferred to take away and eat with
their families the stomach, etc., rather than just come
and eat their fill with us. This arrangement having
been completed, a blazing fire was lit, and there ensued
a most horrible debauch.
The sheep was hastily slaughtered close to the
camp fire, and without the customary invocation. The
men commenced to skin it in the usual way, but
their eagerness got the better of them, and reflecting
that they could not prepare the skin and take it with
them, they tore it off in patches. As soon as the flesh
appeared, they pulled ofif pieces and thrust them into
the fire to singe, and soon their teeth were engaged
in singed and cindery morsels of the still warm body
which their hands were skinning. Parts of the en
trails were, as agreed upon, given to the Lasharis, and
the men huddled round the fire, each with his portion
of the raw flesh on the sand before him, chewing and
singeing, gnawing at the bones and tearing at the
sinews with a feverish energy that was horrible.
It was no longer two men eating diffidently any
thing that might be left after I had finished. Here
was a whole sheep which they had earned and
determined to enjoy to the utmost My humble
portion of the liver fried in the fat of the tail was
spon despatched ; but a horrible fascination compelled
me to sit watching the men till late at night Jellal's
nearly toothless condition soon made him give up ; but
what I have before written concerning Kuli's perform-

FROZEN OUT. 91
ances conveys but a faint idea of the scene enacted
by that ogre, Abdulla, and Barja. Abdulla had just
had another bad fall from his camel, which objected
to be re-saddled to go and fetch water from the wells
about a mile away, and which, when his master was
down, had bitten him severely. He was really
frightened this time, and evidently determined to
smother his feelings in a tremendous dinner.
The Lasharis are fine wiry fellows, each wearing a
" karch" in one side of his waistband, and an appar
atus for spinning wool in the other. When asked
who was the Lashari chief, they repHed that there
were many chiefs, but the only one worthy of the
name was Mir Huti, of Pip, two days south-east
These men were Huts themselves, and said that in
their wanderings they often reached Chabar on the
coast. One of them sold me for six krans a coat
which he had just completed. Its material resembled
coarse strong woollen sacking, its shape that of a frock
coat double-breasted, with no buttons and the sleeves
very clumsily set on. These men possess few camels,
which must be able to eat all kinds of fodder, and
they own many very small donkeys, goats, and sheep.
They drive these with them wherever in the sandy
waste they may find scanty dried grass, and carry the
patches of woollen cloth, which, supported on small
sticks, are regarded as tents, and which are in fact
miniature copies of the Eeliaut tent Next morning
my upper covering was frozen as hard as a
board, and the scanty spring plants which subsisted
under the shelter of the now bare petto bushes were
white with hoarfrost which did not thaw all day.
When I awoke, Abdulla and Barja were still singeing.

92 A CARAVAN OF LASHARIS.
chewing, and gnawing, and appeareci to have been at
work pretty well all night, for there was only a head
and a leg left of the sheep killed last night, and not
even the offal had been thrown away. Just before
leaving camp two large flocks of sheep and goats, in
number about six hundred, wefe driven past us, causing
us to wonder greatly where they could find sustenance.
I may here mention that the natives when purchasing
animals chiefly look to the vigour with which they
feed. If the reader will watch a flock of sheep feed
ing in any place where the herbage is short and scanty,
he will notice some bite off the short grass with a
kind of nervous eagerness, and walk quickly over the
patches intervening between the grassy spots. Others
feed along leisurely, snuffing the bare patches to see
if there is anything on them. A BalQch would have
nothing to say to these last.
Soon we overtook a caravan of Lasharis changing
their residence. It consisted of ten minute donkeys
and about as many men and women, but was spread
over a line of at least five miles. The first whom
we overtook were two women in men's tattered blue
calico clothing, driving before them two donkeys
laden with the goats'-hair tents of the family. The
next member we met was a solitary donkey plodding
along through the heavy sand, with, I suppose, an
intuitive knowledge of the way. He was mounted
by a jet black cock, who was evidently master of the
situation, for he was sound asleep with his head under
his wing. Then we overtook another donkey with the
sticks of the tent and the family cooking pot, then
some men, and so on till we had passed the whole
caravan.

A SNOWSTORM. 93
Wolves and obaras [otis houbara, a species of bustard)
are very numerous here, and we saw no less than eight
of the latter cowering down close by the track to avoid
the keen wind. We passed Marri, where Kuli de
posited some more dates, and getting off the sand on
to firm ground, rode hard on to MaskhQtan. Here
we left Kuli immensely happy with a whole dollar, in
stead of the stipulated rupee, for his five days' running
and filling our masaks or water skins, passed on and
camped about five miles on towards Fanoch.
The men were extremely indignant at.the extra five
miles, but it was evident we were going to have a
snowstorm, and five miles extra before it burst on us
might be of use to one tied to time as I was. Partly
I suppose owing, to their recent heavy meal, they did
not recover their temper as soon as usual, and turned
in vowing that I should not drive the camels on to
Fanoch to-morrow. This, at the worst, could only
have resulted in my having to walk the remaining
three or four-and-twenty miles to Fanoch, where I
could get fresh camels, and I was sure they dare not
do otherwise than bring Jellal and the saddle-bags
safely in.
We awoke next morning covered in snow. We
were lying against a thicket of pir trees, and just as
I put my head out a flock of little pin kolaks * in
them burst out into one of those warm gushing trills
of soft melody compared with which, so long as it lasts,
the songs of the nightingale and bulbul are but com
mon chirping. My mind conjured up a picture of a
¦
* One of the Timalinae or Babbling Thrushes, probably Hetero-
morpha unicolor. No. 376, Jerdon's " Birds of India."

94 A COLD RIDE.
row of little soft brown birds nestling together on a
frozen bough, and agreeing that it was so cold they
wouldn't get up just yet Their song is a long trill,
beginning from a very high note and going down
about an octave, dividing each note as nearly as I
could guess into three. They only give it just when
they wake, and its tone is indescribably melodious.
After two long trills they disperse like magic, chirping
and evidently setting to work hunting for some break
fast. Abdulla and Barja were still inanimate bundles,
but near the fireplace was a second heap of smoulder
ing ashes which I knew from experience contained
the head of their sheep. The head, just as cut from
the animal, is buried in the ashes of a fire, and the
ashes again are buried deep in sand. The cooking
lasts the whole night and the result is delicious.
One call to old Jellal was enough, and after a few
very indecent observations on the filthiness of the
country he had come to he soon had a blaze and
roused up the camel-men. They consumed the
sheep's head in silence, and, as I expected, declared
it impossible to move till the snow stopped. After a
violent harangue, in which my line was that this snow
storm would last three days — a statement I backed up
by pretended reference to my prismatic compass, they
appeared partially convinced, and though declaring that
the camels would die, they reluctantly went to fetch
them. I reduced my clothes to what was barely
necessary, and made them put on the extra ones.
We began the march about 9.30 a.m., the north wind
sweeping the snow across our path and bedding us up
pretty thick on our right sides. It froze hard, and my
bare fingers were intolerably cold. Never while duck-

THE PAI-I-DULDUL-I-ALI. 95
shooting in the Lincolnshire marshes did I feel such
a through and through shivering. I started Abdulla
singing, but on trying to join in to keep the game
going had to collapse with a melancholy quaver.
At about four miles we passed a caravan taking
shelter under some pish, and my men immediately
decided to stop. Jellal and myself, however, pushed
on, and finding themselves left behind, the camel-men
followed. Again they stopped, and this time I said I
would leave them and go on, and on their refusing to
let me have a camel, started ofif walking. Again
Abdulla came after me, and half laughing, half angry,
said they would come on. My saddle this time was
thick with snow, and I tore a long ridge of frozen snow
from the inside of the breast flap of my pea-jacket.
Another three miles, and Barja, the large, the
handsome, the shikarri, got down from behind Ab
dulla and scuttled away under a pish bush. He was
a mass of blankets, but could not stand it Abdulla
made much of his own heroic conduct in abandoning
his own brother and following me. It certainly was a
very fierce snowstorm, and to give an idea of the
cold I may mention that the skin of my right thigh,
upon which the snow had accumulated and frozen, all
peeled ofif in the next three days.
In another hour or so, to my joy, we turned to the
south, and got along much better with the wind on
our backs. About two miles from Fanoch it stopped,
and the sun coming out we dismounted and made a
fire. Barja rejoined us, and rallying him a little we
singed some pieces of meat and had some dates.
Remounting, we came upon the Pai-i-duldul-i-Ali
again, and I was surprised to find the marks distinct.

96 AT FANOCH AGAIN.
regular, and extending nearly a mile along the road,
after which they turned into a ground plan of a house
marked in white stones and evidently intended for a
masjid. I carefully examined the spots, now about a
yard in diameter, and fairly accurate circles. Where
the snow had been blown away were, as I expected,
marks of fingers. On my suggesting to the men that
this was done by the priests on account of the Mo
harram, they laughed, saying it probably was so.
They had not the least interest in the matter, and I
have before mentioned that religion in this country is
confined to the mullas and youths in the town.
We trotted on, and gained our old quarters at
Fanoch, The men sat up late, telling yarns of the
perils they had gone through, every sentence epding
with "ispeet, ispeet, ispee-et cho shira" [white, white,
whi-ite like milk).
Chakar Khan was still absent at Geh, but his
people sent us in a dinner very good in quality, but
lamentably small in quantity. The thin, large wafers
of ground rice were very dainty food. Our calculations
for the journey had been pretty exact My tea was
out, three little Chakar Khans finished my sugar, arid
the eldest of them, on my giving him the empty cocoa-
tin, asked whether it was made of silver.
Judging from the cold on the plains, I began to be
afraid that I should have another difficulty to get the
men through the pass, so next morning I rose about
an hour before sunrise, and got Jellal to make a fire.
Outside was a cross-bar for suspending the water-
skins of the various houses near, and every skin was
as hard as a stone, with icicles two feet long hanging
down from it

THROUGH THE PASS. 97
The men, however, were now very obedient. Barja
was ashamed, and I had told Abdulla he might keep
the red blanket he wore as a testimonial.
The men were on the march by sunrise, I having
gone on half an hour before them to take a sketch
of the pass. I walked through the date groves, and
was surprised to find those on the east side a
perfect swamp from innumerable warm springs which
trickled from the hills into the river. This, in the
cold season, caused a constant steam to hang around
the entrance of the pass. The first three or four
miles were dark and cold, but the wind was moderate,
and we got occasional glimpses of the sun as we zig
zagged through the hills.
The pass was about as full as it was when we
passed it before ; but it lost much of its wild beauty
from the hills being dry. The same bright colours
were there, but their velvety richness and deepness
of tone were gone, and were now hard and matter of
fact We rode fast, and about four in the afternoon
we sighted my tent ; Toby sitting in front, Salah just
going into it from the cook-house, and the Portuguese
cook the centre of an admiring ring of natives, who
were watching him trying to cook something.
The men were all delighted to see me. I was some
four hours under the nine days in which I had under
taken to do the journey, and they were proud of my
success. Poor old Abdulla, with the fever, roused up
to kiss my hand. " Sharin atkagi, sharin atkagi,"
[you have come along well) was the cry, and even
my two companions, who had declared it was a sixteen
days' business, shared in the glory of the achievement
The time had gone heavy with them, nine days wait-
H

98 ''HOME, SWEET HOME."
ing ; and everybody had told thern that the sahib was
mad to talk about doing it so quickly, — the camel-meri
wouldn't let him, etc., etc. It was a good hard ride
such as Baluchis cau appreciate, arid, better than that,
it was a promise kept, and kept under difficulties.
Everything in the camp was in perfect order, clean
and swept ; in fact, unchanged, but for one thing to be
mentioned hereafter.
My first proceeding was to take ofif all my clothes
and hand them over for inspection, together with those
that the men had worn, and putting on others I then
sallied forth to make the rounds of the establishment.
The camels and men were all right with the exception
of poor old Abdulla, who had fever, but whom two
ten-grain doses of quinine fairly set on his legs. The
other Abdulla and Barja took an affectionate leave
of me, and I turned into bed, very well satisfied with
my journey and its results so far, and, surrounded as I
was by old friends, feeling very much as if I had got
home at last.
Just as I was getting drowsy, however, an incident
occurred worth recording. I have, mentioned that I
had with me a wooden-headed Portuguese cook —
poor old Jos6, or "Jooji" as the BalQchis averaged
his name. He was a good cook, too stupid to make
any exorbitant perquisites, and too proud to learn a
word of BalQchi. He was a short little fellow with
huge black beard and moustaches. He was fat and
puffy, and his appearance as he came in on his camel
after a long march was quite heartrending. He was
immensely religious, and on his saints' days I used to
hear him holding forth to the camel-men in Hindustani,
and explaining that St Francis was now walking

JOOJI AND THE FOWLS. 99
about under the earth near where he was, and might,
on the least provocation, be expected to turn up and
want to know why he was not holding a service. And
he would occasionally go to the length of explaining
what excuses he would offer to his holiness ; such
excuses bearing mainly on the reprobate and barbarous
condition of the people by whom he was surrounded.
All this, being of course to them perfectly unintel
ligible, the men took with the utmost good humour.
To-night, while waiting for sleep, I heard his voice
outside addressing in choice Hindustani and with
terms of most lavish endearment some person or other
unknown, and imploring her to " come down and go
home like a darling." " Ah ! light of my life," he
went on, " how can you behave thus cruelly ? You
know that this is a barbarous country and full of wild
beasts, how can you remain there, keeping me up,
when you know I want to go to bed ! "
I gradually roused up on hearing this, and knowing
that no one in the camp could possibly understand
this Hindustani except myself, I had the curiosity to
put my head out of the tent door to see what could
be going on. Josd was shutting up the fowls of the
establishment in a portable coop we carried. It was
always rather a chase, and, as I have said, Jos6 was
fat He had, however, got them all in but the old
cock, who, having eluded pursuit, had flown up to the
top of the tent, and in that elevated position peacefully
gone to sleep, regardless alike of the cook's blandish
ments and his inefifectual pokes with a too-short stick.

CHAPTER IV.
Mehdi, the gay deceiver. — Poor Ghulamshah. — My Prayer-book. —
The Sadaich river. — Baggage goes astray. — Asking the way
under difficulties.— We get clear of the hills.— River crossing
in the Mekran.— A ducking.— A long night ride.— White men.
NEXT morning a more detailed inspection has to
be gone through. All friendly as we are, " dis
cipline must be maintained," as Mr. Bagnet says, and
Ghulamshah and Jellal are both on the charge sheet
Ghulamshah has been seized with a violent desire to
trade, and has borrowed all the camel-men's money and
purchased quantities of guns, swords, and shields. He
is instructed that unless these things are disposed of
before night he will be discharged. Old Jellal, for
once detected in using my name in an unauthorized
manner, is reduced to the ranks, i.e., to mess with the
camel-men on dates and rice instead of with " Jooji,"
and get tea, sugar, and meat. The weather was cold,
but not nearly so cold as at the top of the pass,
and we settled to start for Jask on the following day.
It was young Zangi's turn to go and fetch wood and
water for the camp, and he was instructed to bring in
all the camels. We heard much talk of a large cara
van of Persian gipsies who had lately been expelled
from Bint for stealing and had left for Jask. These
caravans of Persian gipsies or beggars are rather
common, and tales of their adroitness in cheating are
rife in the land. They are often very wealthy, and

MEHDI, THE GA Y DECEIVER. loi
not long ago the Commissioner of Sinde despatched
from Karachi some four hundred such vagrants, who
arrived at Jask equally well provided with money and
wits, Mir Haji was still at Geh, but his wazir, Keramshah,
had orders to supply all our wants. We demanded
a guide for the Gabrig route to the sea and fifty mans
of Bint rice. The Bint rice being only last year's
crop had a strong wheat flavour, and was much nicer
than the withered stuff some years old that is exported
from India mixed with lime to keep ofif the weevils.
The rice was ready and everything packed that night,
but our guides were not forthcoming, though every
assurance was given that they should be at the camp
before sunrise next morning. We were, however, to
leave one of our party behind. Poor Ghulamshah
came to the tent in the evening and said in a faltering
voice that he would please take his discharge, and
sorry as I was I bade him farewell. The matter was
this. While I had been away at BampQr the camp
had been rather dull ; Salah's readings of Persian
stories could not fail to pall, after a time, upon people
with a very limited knowledge of the Persian language,
as exhibited in the graceful anecdotes at the end of
Forbes' Persian Grammar, and they were consequently
very glad of the constant visits of one Mehdi. This
Mehdi was a jovial young fellow, a capital singer, with
an inexhaustible repertoire of Baluch ballads and a
great talent for playing the flute. He had moreover a
most winning, plausible tongue, and would have shone
as, what is called in Bombay, a European loafer. See
ing Ghulamshah in a good service and drawing good
pay, he laid himself out to captivate that guileless

102 MEHDI AND GHULAMSHAH.
youth. He was an accomplished swindler, and not
only borrowed Ghulamshah's clothes, but induced him
to make the aforesaid purchases, on each of which he
of course received a commission. When, however,
the stern edict came out, which I have before men
tioned, he was at first nonplussed, but, recovering,
took Ghulamshah to his arms, swore he should marry
his sister, and evolved the plan which will be developed
shortly. Next morning we were up early, but many delays
arose. The loads had of course all to be readjusted,
and the quarrelling lasted till ten o'clock.
Just before starting our guides turned up, and who
should they be but Mehdi and Ghulamshah. Keram
shah, the wazir, who was responsible, was of course
not forthcoming. As far as their guidance went, these
two knew no more about the proposed difficult route
than I did : however, my men were good fellows and
made no objection to taking my guidance. I had a
good inkling of how matters stood, but said nothing,
and gave the word to lead on. We were late at start
ing certainly, but I determined to make Pazga that
evening; so giving my camel to Abdulla, who was still
sick, I marched alongside the caravan with a long stick,
and, as we were lightly loaded, kept the pace up to
over three miles an hour.
We took, after crossing the Zangutan, a more easterly
road than before, and soon arrived at Gari Darap.
Here his perfidious " friend " left Ghulamshah to get
some provisions for the journey from one of the huts.
We never saw him again.
It was observed that he wore at the time a coat,
shirt, and trousers, and carried a gun, shield, and

MY OWN GUIDE. 103
sword belonging to his dupe. The latter, full of shame
and mortification, walked bravely and stolidly on for two
long stages,* refusing even the men's kindly offers of
food, and too proud to go near " Jooji," his late comrade.
After the two days we had a general amnesty ; both
Jellal and Ghulamshah were reinstated, the former
literally crying over the back of my neck, and the
latter kissing my hand with tears in his eyes and
settling down to a much-needed hearty meal.
We followed our former route to Pazga, and, save
noting that the rivers did not appear to have got any
smaller, found ourselves travelling over fairly well
remembered ground, in which nothing new could be
found. We reached our old camping place about an
hour before sunset, and had the tent pitched to punish
the men for quarrelling over the loading.
Next day we got off about sunrise. Ramadhan, the
one black sheep in our flock, tried to make some
difficulty about travelling through unknown mountains
without a guide, but from inquiries I had made, I felt
sure I could find the Gabrig road, so I exhibited
my prismatic compass and went ahead on foot to
pioneer the route, accompanied by Jellal and his
darling donkey, whom he hourly commiserated in
affectionate terms on the frightful treatment he felt
sure it must have received at the hands of Keramshah
during our absence at BampQr.
After travelling about two miles among chaotic
barren hills, we found three paths. Taking the one
to the extreme right, we followed a creek bed two
miles to the west, and then crossed the Gidich, where
* A boy still in his teens.

I04 BALUCH MEASURES OF DISTANCE.
we were assured of being on the right track by finding
the traces of a caravan which had spent the preceding
night there. When I speak of roads, I must be under
stood to mean, not so much a path or track, but more
an absence of obsta-cle, such as precipices, shQr banks
too steep for a loaded camel to pass, cliffs, and huge
boulders. Following the noble Gidich river, we
came to a settlement of two huts, and a flock of sheep
and goats which had recently arrived from Sadaich.
The inhabitants, when they had recovered from their
surprise at finding a white man talking BalQchi, told
us that we were on the right route, and that three
miles on the path would divide, that on the left being
the Sadaich route and that on the right leading to
Gabrig. The BalQch has no measure of distance. In a
village two or three distances well known to all are
used as standards of comparison. A new route will
be described as farther than from Jask to Yekdar and
not so far as from Geigen to Oushdahn. If you ask
a strange BalQch he will at first try you with his
standards, and finding these convey no information,
he proceeds as follows. He will turn round slowly,
and face towards the direction ; theri, if it's very far,
stand on tiptoe, or even get upon a sand-hillock, and
stretching out his hand repeat in a high crooning
voice "oo-oo-ooh," over there. From the height to
which he raises his voice and his head you estimate
the distance, but it is obvious that you must apply a
correction, both for the " height of the observer," and
the compass of his voice, and the method is not very
satisfactory. A man from the huts kindly accom
panied us up the right bank of the Gidich by a path

OVERTAKE A CARAVAN. 105
so very steep that I thought it best to wait and see
the baggage up it There was a better though slightly
longer road to the north, but the baggage was close
behind us and we resolved to risk it They did
struggle up, the men all collecting, and pushing behind
each camel in its turn, and, on the descent, hanging on
to their tails ; but three camels shifted their loads, and
caused half an hour's delay. We were now on a
high shingly plain, and recognised in the distance the
Band-i-Shariki. At fifteen miles from starting we
were about five miles to the west of the Jamki.
Here a road crossed ours, evidently leading to Sartarpi,
and now we overtook the caravan whose camping-
place we had passed in the morning. There were
seven magnificent liros, carrying, some ten, some
twelve bags of dates each. Three or four donkeys
accompanied them, some carrying two bags. The
men were on foot, and the camels were spread over
a good deal of ground, each feeding whenever he
came to a lorti bush. The speculation was a joint
concern, no one man owning more than four or five
bags, and each owner being either present or repre
sented by some relation. They were three days from
Bint, making for Sadaich, but would sell a basket of
dates wherever they found a hut, and would probably
take back salt fish, ghee, and blue cloth. They were
very courteous.
Leaving Shariki to the left, and sighting our old
friend the Sihran-i-Koh to the south-east, we marched
another six miles over this level plain ; at the twenty-
first mile from starting descended by a steep path
winding through shQrs into the bed of the Surini
river, and after following its winding bed for two

io6 JELLAL'S SNORING.
miles entered the Sadaich, of which it is a tributary.
Here was such an admirable camping place that
though we might have marched another hour we
determined to camp. The sandy bed of the river was
full of lorti that, had apparently never been grazed
upon, and was well-grown, plentiful and tender. A
cliff seventy feet high to the north-west kept ofif the
wind ; almost every bush was piled up with drift-wood,
and the water was abundant and delicious. The
BalQchis, who are great connoisseurs of water, pro
nounced this the sweetest we had yet found. Here
also were sweet potatoes and agghir, one of the three
kinds of truffles with which Mekran abounds. Our
friends of yesterday passed us soon after we had
camped, and next morning, true to our custom, we
repassed them fast asleep about a mile down river.
By the way, it was at this camp we had a laugh at old
Jellal. I was then, as now, an extremely bad sleeper,
and never allowed any one to sleep in, or even near,
my tent This night however, was cold, and, as it
was the night of the amnesty before mentioned, I
relaxed the rule, and Jellal turned in near the tent
pole. But he had not been there half an hour before
the most fearful snoring compelled me ¦ to hunt him
out. He gathered up his bed and went away to
where some men were still sitting round the camp fire.
He evidently anticipated some chaff at his ill-success
at getting a better sleeping-place than they had, and
took up a plan of defence before they could speak by
saying in an awestruck voice, " Verily, there is no
God but one God ! Do you know that you common
people have no conception of the sanctity of our
sahib ? "

MY PRAYER-BOOK. 107
" What is it then ? " they asked, startied out of their
original intention.
" Verily," went on the old man, " I believe that if
our sahib did but not keep a dog he would be per
fectly invisible except to the angels, on account of his
extreme holiness."
"Ah!" said a man, "and if he didn't eat pig" (this
was Ramadhan).
" Eat pig ! " said Jellal, fiercely, "and who are you,
to say the sahib eats pig ? Do I not mess with Jooji ?
Do I not see everything he eats ? "
Chorus of men : " No, no, he doesn't eat pig," and
Ramadhan is sat upon.
I may observe that I did not eat pig, but the assertion
to the contrary would not have met with such a prompt
contradiction from Jellal had not his position as one of
" J ooji's" mess rendered it possible to argue that if I
ate pig some of the pots in which his food was prepared
must be unclean. " Now," proceeded Jellal, when he
had sufficiently prepared his audience, " Do you know
why the sahib won't let any one sleep in his tent ? "
Chorus : " Why is it ? "
" Why," answered Jellal, " so far from eating pig,
(this was for Ramadhan) he spends the whole night
in saying prayers, and, of course, he does not want to
be interrupted."
He was implicitly believed, and I heard him a day
or two afterwards clinching his argument by pointing
out to some one that my huge Persian Dictionary was
a Prayer-book. But to resume. The Sadaich where we were now
encamped was considerably larger than the same river
when it debouches into the sea. Of the numerous

io8 THE SADAICH RIVER.
streams in the hills but three or four get through the
sand strip between the hills and the sea, and these
very much reduced in volume ; the rest are lost in
the sand. This river Sadaich emanates from beyond
the Band-i-Nilag, through which it forms the Shimsan
pass and gives a good road to the interior. With the
exception of four or five ascents up the steep cliff on
one side or the other, to avoid a larger bend than
usual, our march hence led down the valley of this
fine river. Sometimes a mile through tall rich spring
vegetation (much cardam,ine pratensis*), sometimes
over rough large shingle thickly studded with feathery
tamarisk, and sometimes down the broad shallow river
itself The bed, cut a hundred feet deep into the
shingly plain, was about a mile and a half wide, and
the present low water channel ran pretty regularly
from side to side, leaving rounded corners called
kuches (Persian, " kunj "). Each kuch had a name, but
none of our men knew it, and each kuch throughout
the march would have made a good camping-place for
any one carrying his own food. With this preface
I will extract direct from my note-book.
" February ^th. — One mile from camp, emerged from
Sadaich valley up steep defile on right bank. Course
west for two miles over shingly plain, leaving Sihran
behind us ; then down defile into valley, which from
top of bank looked beautifully green and well wooded.
Crossed to south bank, and followed this for about
three miles ; then up steep path over very high bank
or cliff and crossed river twice in quick succession.
Fourth crossing dangerous, unless made in right place.
* Cuckoo flower.

BAGGAGE GOES ASTRAY. in
Ledge of rock slopes up from east bank to middle of
stream, and then ends abruptly in about seven feet
of water. At fifth crossing river runs right across bed
from cliff to elifif; high hills on both sides. After
sixth crossing narrow pass. High shQrs on north and
sandstone and shQrs on south.
" Between seventh and eighth crossings a kuch one
and a half miles wide, very pretty, with much long
grass and many trees ; eighth crossing fronting a long,
saw-backed hill apparently about six miles distant.
After ninth crossing ascended steep defile on north
bank. No vestige of a track seen yet since leaving
camp, and we were very glad of the tracks of two
camels which we found here.
" Shortly afterwards met d shikarri called Shamrad.
His companion was on ahead with the two camels
whose pugs we had seen, and which were loaded with
pish for Sadaich. He himself was looking for gurand
[hill sheep), which abound here.
" After two miles, turned south again, fronting the
saw-backed hill of SQrag, Crossed river again, and
then turned four hundred yards up river on west bank.
Receiving Shamrad's assurance that there was no road
straight on, did not depute Jellal to wait and warn
baggage of our sudden turn. There was a road, or, at
least, a possibility of going that way, and my negli
gence led baggage astray, for our pugs while crossing
the river could not be seen on the rough shiugle.
Wound about through shurs. General direction
north-west, leaving SQrag behind, and fronting for
long I lai rarige, west end of which is Gabrig and east
end Sadaich. Saw three goirand close to road, which
in the shur clay became rather better defined, and

112 RETURN OF THE BAGGAGE.
Shamrad left us in pursuit. Again entered Sadaich
valley, and halted about an hour before sunset"
We were waiting for baggage to arrive, when a well-
dressed man with a mounted slave and a spare camel
passed us. They told us that soon after starting the
next day the road would divide, and we must keep to
the right for Gabrig. They were on their way to
Bint, being servants of Mir Haji,
Night set in, and here we were, Salah and myself
and our camels, and Jellal and his donkey. We
crouched over a fire, as the night wind soon got un
pleasantly cool. We had given up our baggage for
the night, and were regretting that we had nothing to
eat, when, suddenly, we heard voices in the darkness,
Jellal rushed in the direction indicated, and shouted
vigorously in reply ; but the echoes in the hills all
round confused us utterly, and it was impossible to say
whence the voices came. At last, after much anxiety,
the men arrived, both themselves and their animals,
quite exhausted. They had missed our sudden turn,
which cut across a bend of about six miles of the worst
possible travelling, and followed the river till at last
they saw our fire.
We had hit upon what had evidently been the
camping ground of the Persians mentioned as having
been driven from Bint, and were soon established in
their quarters. We served out dates and rice, and
soon cheered up all hands with the exception of Tajoo,
whose beautiful riding camel, never meant for burdens,
had been mired three times, and was quite " kein " or
done up.
I should have much liked to give the camels and
men a day's rest, but we were bound to go forward.

INQUIRING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. iiJ".
and early on the 6th we loaded up, and crossed the
river for the twelfth time, and made a south-west course
for the south-east end of the GuranI hills. After the
thirteenth crossing we made a westerly course through
much rich spring grass ; and here we overtook Sham
rad and the two camels carrying pish, and travelled in
company for a time. Soon afterwards we ascended a
steep defile up the right bank. From the top of this
was a grand view of the broad, blue river, winding
through a grassy, well-wooded bottom, hemmed in on
both sides by fine hills. Passing an old burying
ground, we parted from our friends, who took the
Sadaich road to the left, and entering on a steep
decline, soon arrived at a shingly tract covered with
innumerable goat paths. Here were three huts ; and
we had been so much puzzled by the numerous goat-
paths that immediately on seeing them the men rushed
ahead to ask the way and have a smoke. But they
found that the sole inhabitant was a toothless old
woman, who, do what she would, could not utter a
single intelligible word.
Our whole party followed up, and acting upon the
usually-received theory that any one whom they could
not understand must be deaf, commenced a vigorous
yelling that would have been amusing had I not felt
that time was precious. Old Jellal, who had taken
the lead, was the first to give in, and, wrought up to
the highest pitch of exasperation, he recommended
her, in a despairing yell, to go and get some one to
bury her, and rushed off" muttering and shaking his
head. The old lady, who could produce no sort of
noise but an eager gabble, on hearing this un- Muslim
advice, retired into her hut The direction in which

114 ANNOYING BALUCHI HABIT.
she pointed was over an almost inaccessible hill, but
taking a south-westerly course, we sighted a river
which seemed to go our way.
Here; we met a small boy who, however, was nearly
as exasperating as the old woman had been, owing to
a habit Baluchis have which had annoyed us through
out the journey, but I have not mentioned it
hitherto, as I was under the impression that it was
merely caused by my own presence. This was a
habit of prefacing every remark or reply with a broad
admiring grin, and " You are BalQchis, aren't you ? "
It was meant as a sort of compliment ; 9.nd though I
cannot think of any exact English equivalent, it meant
pretty nearly, " You're sensible sort of fellows, ain't
you ? " The Lasharis, when we first met them at
LQchan Chah, had driven Abdulla to open reviling bj'
their constant use of this expression in reply to a
simple question about the road. It is one evidence of
that strong feeling of nationality which is a prominent
feature in the BalQch character.
By this youth's advice we forded the river, of which
I have unaccountably omitted to note the name, but
which I think must be the Haimani, and after some
delay, owing to two camels getting mired, Jellal and
myself led the way down its banks.
The place was overrun with goat-runs, and we with
difficulty kept sight of the pugs of a camel which had
preceded us. I may note here that the track of a
camel going for a hundred yards in a straight line
gives pretty sure indication of a road. With practice
also it can be seen whether the camel is loaded or not.
After a quarter of a mile along the banks, we
rounded a high bluff, and kept on a south-westerly

CLEAR OF THE HILLS. 115
course through some fairly open ground. In one of
my detours in search of the road, I came across a
beautiful little oasis in which were the remains of a
very large date grove. The trees seemed all to have
been dead for years, probably owing to a change of
course in the river that previously watered them.
There are in the Mekran many instances of whole
tracts of trees being destroyed in this way ; and
though these are generally found where the river cuts
its way through soft sand, and makes a new course
yearly, still in the hills a landslip might easily produce
this effect. Here the broad shingly bed of apparently
the same river, Haimani threw us off the trail ; but
two very high hills, one on either side, limited our
choice of roads ; and after passing through about four
miles of high shQrs, we crossed a broad slope with a
long, abrupt cliff" on our right, and some high shurs to
the left. This rough slope, covered with loose stones
and flakes of sandstone, severely tried the feet of men
and camels, and we made our way without a vestige of
path through shQrs for another three miles, and find
ing two good water-holes, stopped to refresh. Here
were pugs of innumerable gurand and plain deer.
We now seemed to be getting near the limits of the
hills, and marching over a flat salt plain down a nullah
we came upon a little open place behind the Huni
mountains. Here were huts, trees, and sheep, and
after their long weary march over rugged pathless
hills without a guide, my party evinced a strong desire
to camp then and there. There was, however, still an
hour to sunset, and ascending one more very steep
defile we fairly emerged on to the open plain and
camped under some bushes.

u6 IMPORTUNATE BEGGARS.
To-day's march had been from sunrise to sunset,
and nearly all bad travelling for man and beast. The
camels' feet were nearly all bleeding, and those of
Jellal, whose suass [grass sandals) had given out, and
his donkey, which was used to plains, were fearfully
swollen. There was a small village near, and some
of the inhabitants presented a type of feature dififerent
from any we had seen before. They were very clean
cut, olive-brown in colour, and the eyes were very
large and bright. The head man came and begged
very hard and in a disgusting manner for a nargilla.
When we killed a sheep, all the men importuned the
cook for little bits of ofifal, which they singed and ate
greedily. They wanted to purchase my mashuk, or
Persian cloak — the " small-pox coat," and in fine I
had to order them out of the camp. They had but
just come to this place, having been formerly residents
at Gabrig, but Abdul Nabi had extorted from them
such taxes that they thought they should feel safer
farther away.
We were now, so to speak, at home. Our course
lay straight for the huge Markoh bluff due west
Instead of winding amongst pathless hills, our road lay
spread before us over a soft sandy plain, for traversing
which the camel's feet are well adapted. Only the
two broad shallow rivers Gabrig and Jagin lay between
us and Jask, and next morning we loaded up very
early in high spirits, Salah and I, on ahead, got first
to the river, and, as might have been expected, came
to grief in trying to rush the camels over a likely look
ing place without first sending a man over to sound
the depth.
A river rurinirig across the sandstrip has a very

RIVER CROSSING IN THE MEKRAN. 117
different appearance from the same stream while wind
ing through the rocky hills. We exchange clear trans
parent water with firm shingly bottom for a broad
rushing swirling sheet of muddy stufif through which
you can see nothing, and the bottom of which is but
one remove from a quicksand. The bed may be about
three hundred yards broad, and, at this season, the
channel of the Gabrig is about one hundred yards
wide. One bank, the one on which the everchanging stream
impinges for the present, is a sand-clifif from two or
three to even thirty feet high, and this cliff gives ofif
every now and then an avalanche of sand which is
whirled away as soon as it touches the water.
The other bank is a gentle sand-slope, and there are
frequent sand islands, generally covered with a slippery
slime very fatal for a camel, whose feet sometimes slip
apart and split the wretched animal up.
The first operation on arriving on the banks of a
river of this kind is to halt and send two men forward
to walk across, and find out how the bottom is. They
throw their clothes over their heads, and walk in with
sticks, now and then staggering about and getting stuck
in a softer place than usual. The rest of the men
stand on the bank and chaff, while the sounders chaff
back and yell "min! min!" or "quicksand," Some
times they can go straight over, the mud and water
averaging about up to their waist except in the deep
channel under the sand-clifif, where it may take them
up to their arm -pits.
Sometimes there is a bad place, the position of which
is at once marked by a tamarisk stick. Sometimes it
is all rather soft, and then the men all "betach," i.e.,

-ii8 RIVER CROSSING IN THE MEKRAN.
march across and across, and tread down a path, thus
reversing the order of things in Dr. Norton Shaw's
" Traveller's Remembrancer," where it is said that a
ford will sometimes be good enough for the first two
or three to cross and impracticable for the remainder.
Sometimes one camel is unloaded and led across and
across. Again, if the camels are very heavily loaded,
all hands turn to and cut armfuls of the never-failing
tamarisk and lay it down across the river, treading it
into the mud.
When the path is ready, the lightest loaded camel
goes first with three or four men on each side sup
porting the load, and two behind with big sticks, to
induce him, should he get mired, to use his utmost
efforts at once before he siriks hopelessly deep.
Orie by one the camels are rushed across and driven
up a small path dug out in the sand-cliffi
With a number of men the operation of crossing one
of these rivers is simple enough, but it was a different
matter for Salah and myself without any attendants.
However, we forced the camels down the slope, and
chancing the quicksands, were soon staggering and
slipping about in the swirling muddy flood. They got
frightened, and waltzed round and round, trying to
get back to the shore. We managed, however, to get
them on to a small mud island in the middle of the
stream. Then came the tug of war !
The next half was deep, and the only landing pre
sented to us was a straight sand-cliff about three feet
high. Beat as we might, and objurgate as we might,
it seemed of no use. We were bound to go, however,
as the shiny mud island we were dancing about on
might at any moment lead to a fatal slip. At last,

A DUCKING. 119
roaring with fear and utterly bewildered, they plunged
in again ; but finding himself unable to keep his legs
together, down went my camel on his knees. Squelch
went Salah's just behind me. Water up to our thighs.
By a vigorous application of a stout camel-stick I got
mine up again, only to stagger forward two steps and
down again. This time I had to get ofif as quick as
lightning, for he threw himself viciously on one side,
with the evident intention of putting me into the mud
and rolling on me — this docile long-sufifering ship of
the desert !
We were hopelessly wet now, and Salah had to stand
in the water holding the two nose-strings, while I went
and cut a fresh stick, and he pulling in front and I
battering thero behind, we got them across.
We and our saddles (consisting of our bedding and
blankets) were not in a nice condition to ride the
remaining ten miles into camp, which we eventually
fixed about half way between Gabrig and Jagin.
At camp we had a thorough wash, a dinner, and
half an hour's snooze ; after which, tempted by the
brilliant moon and our nearness to English friends, we
remounted and set off for Jask,
We got, however, rather more of a journey than we
expected, for very soon after starting the moon dis
appeared altogether behind clouds, and the difficulty
and discomfort of a camel ride over extremely rough
undulating sand-hills on a pitch dark night, requires
to be experienced to be believed.
The circumstances under which I took my leave
had rendered it impossible for me to be too particular
about my choice of riding camels, and the motion of
those on which Salah and I rode was, even on plain

320 A LONG NIGHT RIDE.
ground, and by daylight, when you could prepare for
dropping suddenly over a bank or straddling over a
nullah, as much like falling down stairs as it is plea
sant to think of
But to-night, strive as we would to pierce the gloom
and make out something of the ground two paces
ahead of us, we bumped, stumbled, and jolted in a
most horribly spine-breaking, bone-dislocating manner,
.Suddenly, just in front of the camel, would loom up a
huge sand-hill, and we would lean forward and grasp
tight the front of the saddle, under the impression that
the camel would have almost to stand on his hind-
legs to climb up it, when, with a groan, down he
would go into a nullah four feet deep, and the im
agined mountain would prove to be perhaps a bush,
but at all events anything but the ascent it was thought
to be.
However, to turn back was as difficult as to travel
forwards, so we pushed on, wishing earnestly for dawn,
and consoling ourselves with the prospect of meeting
with our friends at Jask.
Suddenly, before we expected it, we found ourselves
among the trees which fringe the bank of the Jagin
river, and matters became critical, as this river has in
places a forty feet cliff", and a camel's instinct cannot
be trusted like that of a horse. Here we were com
pelled to halt for a time, but fortune was kind, and
a glimmer of moon was vouchsafed to us, sufficieut to
show that we had halted exactly where a caravan
had recently crossed ; the tamarisk bushes all about
having been entirely destroyed to form a path.
We expected much trouble with the camels, but the
tamarisk road reassured them, and Salah, going first,

CO <
T)

O

UJ

WITH WHITE MEN AGAIN. 121
manoeuvred his camel so skilfully as to prevent it
from setting mine the bad example of lying down, and
we struggled up the opposite bank just as grey dawn
enabled us to see a dozen or so sleepy white herons
standing in a shallow pool.
Jagin was a favourite old head-quarters for shooting,
and I had more than once pitched my tent on the very
spot where we now halted. It has now probably been
carried away piecemeal, for it was then perilously near
the undermining river.
Remounting, we jogged along over a salt plain, past
the Yekdar date groves, and over the sand-hills, until
we sighted the Sharinah date groves, where we stopped
about ten minutes to refresh on the unusually juicy
Kiinar berries [Ziziphus lotus ). Taking then the
track to the sea, we rounded the Oushdahn headland ;
at 3 p.m. we sighted Jask, and an hour and a half
after that were shaking hands with white men, and
being cordially congratulated on our safe return.
The men and camels dropped in during the next
three or four days, and were sent off" happy to their
homes, with their waistbelts full of money.

CHAPTER V.
By Sea and Land.
Preparations for a fresh journey. — Henj'am Island. — Botanizing. —
Ruined houses. — The Benoo Yass pearl-fishers. — Salt caves. —
Curious well. — " Petrified date-trees." — Intense heat. — " Taking
sights." — Transporting camels by water. — Kishm Island. — Sulky
camel-men.- — Lose my way. — Haji Ahmed's garden. — Old man
and buU.^ — Breakfast — A delicate question. — Kishm agriculture.
— A thirsty walk. — A drink of water. — Sulky camel-men out
marched. — A barren fig-tree. — -A late start and a long night-
march. — Exciting moment. — Arrive at Kishm. — The wreckers.
—Unfriendliness of the Sheikh. — Bearded in his majlis. —
Difficulties of shipbuilders. — Start at last. — Among the breakers.
— " There's many a slip." — Terra firma at last.^ — Bandar Abbas.
— Minab.^ — A Baliich army.^ — Left in the lurch. — Government
donkeys. — A long march. — On board the steamer. — Curiosities
of postal delivery. — Bahrein donkeys. — A race and a bathe. —
Pearl-fishing. — Abou Shihr (Bushire). — Jask.
I REMAINED some time at Jask performing my
official duties, digging tanks, planting trees and a
date grove on the hitherto barren sandspit on which
we lived ; but soon commenced preparations for an
other and longer journey. The better to carry out
these preparations, which included reading up botany,
geology, entomology, observations astronomical, me
teorological, etc., I obtained my transfer to Henjam, a
small desert island in the Persian Gulf
I must thank the officers of H,M.S, Arab for put
ting me in the way of learning to "take sights," They

HENJAM ISLAND. 123
gave me the necessary books, I borrowed a sextant,
improvised an artificial horizon by pouring quicksilver
into the lid of a tin box, and made such progress that
by the time my instruments came out from Europe I
was quite handy in their use,
Salah, the Arabic mulla, accompanied us to keep
the accounts of the establishment, Jellal, the shikarri,
came as caterer, for the island of Henjam is utterly
barren, and we had to get what sheep, fowls, and ducks
we could from the neighbouring island, Kishm, "Jooji,"
the Portuguese cook, came with much grumbling at
going to a place where there was no ghee, while
Ghulamshah also, and a couple of old women to
grind corn, etc, completed the tale,
Henjam, to a person with nothing to do, is anything
but a lively place. It is about five miles by three, and
almost entirely composed of rugged hills, which look
absolutely barren at first, but which to careful botaniz
ing, in March and April yielded over a hundred
specimens, the names of which, so far as they were
determinable at Kew, will be found in an appendix to
this book. One delicately pretty plant was a new
species, and I was gratified to hear that it had been
entered at Kew' as " Reaumuria Floyeri,"
This island must have had a curious history in the
old piratical times. There are scattered all over it
the ruins of thousands of stone huts, concerning the
former inhabitants of which nothing definite is now
known. Hundreds of huge tanks hewn out in the
solid limestorie, arid plastered with ari almost imperish
able cemerit, are everywhere abundant. The patches
in the hollows between the hills where a little soil has
collected, have, in aricierit times, all beeri jealously

124 RUINED HOUSES.
walled iri. Rairi was apparently much more abundant
300 or 400 years ago than it is now, and enabled
people to add dates, beans, and goats' milk, to an
otherwise never-changing diet of dried fish. At the
north end of the island are the remains of an extensive
town which boasted two masjids.
The destruction of this town comes within the range
of tradition. The superior masonry shows it to have
been a Persian colony, and the legend is very possibly
correct which relates that it was destroyed by an Arab
plundering expedition.
At the south end of the island is a small village of
pearl-fishers, containing about 200 families of the Beni
Yass from Debai, near Sharkah, as fine a tribe of men
as one may wish to find.
We collected specimens of almost every insect in
the island, to the number of 140;* my two native
boys soon becoming expert enough both in collecting
and preserving to save me much trouble. But the
geology and mineralogy of Henjam are unique and
interesting to the last degree.
The huge salt-caves are very wonderful. There
is one especially fine near the centre of the island.
Externally it is a tolerably lofty hill, of a rich deep
crimson. But as you approach the eastern side you
see it cut down the middle, and you face a straight
wall of rock-salt, flecked out with boulders of crimson
and yellow limestone.
As you climb up to the opening you scramble over
masses of iron pyrites, specular iron ore, large bright
green stones, yellow stones, and debris of all colours.
* This collection was entirely spoilt in transmission to England.

CURIOUS WELL. 125
The blocks of specular iron ore are very heavy, and
used by the pearl-divers as sinkers. Forcing a way
down the narrow and tortuous cavern, which winds
away under the hill, one cannot help feeling that this
may have been one of the originals of the beautiful
Arabian Nights caverns.
Iron pyrites, in the dull light of a lamp, looks very
like gold, and the jet-like iron ore like splendid jewels.
At the end of 200 feet or so is a beautiful cave,
where are not only huge stalactites of rock-salt, but
all the roof and walls are covered with a beautiful salt
efflorescence like the softest, purest snow.
Two officers of one of her Majesty's ships once
accompanied me down to this grotto, and on their
return spoke so highly of its beauties that two more
men were fired with zeal, and went off with their
lanterns to make the descent They had, however, a
mistaken idea of the grotto's size, and almost suffocated
themselves in the attempt to let off" a blue light in it
Except at the pearl-fishing village, there are only
three wells in the island, very deep, arid rarely holding
more than a bucketful of brackish water at a time.
One on the south-west coast is rather a curiosity. Its
water is strongly flavoured with bitumen, and its
mouth extremely narrow, and yet, when your eyes
become accustomed to the darkness, and you peer
down the 1 20 feet to the bottom, you are astonished
to find it full of pigeons. I only discovered this well
just before leaving, or should have thoroughly explored
it. It is probably connected with the cliff" of the sea,
about 200 yards hence, by a fissure, through which the
pigeons find access.
It would not be right to leave Henjam without

126 PETRIFIED DATE-TREES.
mention of the curious phenomenon generally called
"the petrified date-trees," In some banks of salt
calcareous earth are a forest of curious natural
pillars of very hard and heavy mud. It was long
before I realized that they could not really be petrified
trees, I quarried up one "tree," and sent it to the
political agent of Maskat, but we remain in the dark
to this day as to its origin.
The hot weather at Henjam is fearful. I had no
less than five beds in dififerent parts of the island,
adapted for any winds should ever any arise. Per
haps the most used were one by the sea, and another
on the edge of a cliff; but it was weary work trying
to sleep with heavy warm dews, the air poisoned by
the smell of seaweed rotting in the warm sluggish
waves, and the wet-bulb thermometer rarely under 96°
all night
However, with the exception of one man who went
out of his mind, we got safely through the year, and
it was, I remember, in August, 1876, just after my new
artificial horizon and two chronometer watches had
arrived from England, that I received orders to move
off to Bushire.
The few remaining sheep I had wandering about
the island were soon sold, baggage made into camel-
loads, and Jellal despatched across to Kishm Island
to get camels.
The Henjamis have a curious way of getting camels
across the strait ; they take two at once, and first
compelling them to kneel down side by side, they tie
every limb up as tightly as possible, then run a boat
on shore in between them, and fastening them on
outside the boat, they shove ofif and set sail. Camels

HAJI AHMED S GARDEN. 127
will travel like this for hours, though constantly suf-
feririg almost total immersion from the waves.
The surface of Kishm Island consists principally of
salt plains, intersected by low limestone ridges. It
looks now just exactly as it must have done wheri it
first emerged from the sea, and the traveller who
crosses it in August without a tent, cannot but wonder
for what high destiny it ever did emerge. At this
time of the year, too, the inhabitants all go and live
among the date groves at Minab, on the main-land,
and both camels and men are very difficult to obtain.
On the night of the 20th I was ferried across the
straits, and after trudging three or four miles through
complete darkness and over rugged trackless rocks,
I stumbled upon my " camp " on a small mound near
the village of Diristan, We had a sulky lot of camel
men, and I could not even get a few camel-droppings
to keep the fire up, so we were a prey to mosquitoes
and jackals.
Next morning I sent the caravan ofif at 6 a,m,, and
started to walk ; but almost immediately lost my way.
However, after a great deal of hard walking I arrived
at a fine date grove, the owner of which, Sheikh Haji
Ahmed, made me very welcome, and gave me a mat
under a shady kahQr tree, where I drowsed away the
heat of the day. There was a well and small tank
not twenty feet away, and as the stifling hot noontide
came on, the birds arid beasts all rouud got thirsty.
It was curious to watch them. Each kind came, so
to speak, at its appointed time. First ringdoves, then
doves and blue pigeons together, then sparrows, then
bulbuls, and last of all, crows. And it was most
ridiculous to see how each kind bustled its predeces-

128 OLD MAN AND BULL.
sors away, with apparently the greatest indignation
at their presumptiori. Soon it was the old men's turn,
and tying their turbans round their waists, they one
by one descended into the water in true biblical style.
The cows, it appears, were to follow the men in due
course, and they could no more manage the matter
without a squabble than their predecessors the birds.
One very old man remained after his companions,
only his clean-shaven head above water, either lost in
contemplation or perhaps half asleep.
An old bull who was leading the herd, came noise
lessly along the soft dusty path, and put his nose
down for a refreshing drink. But suddenly a round
cocoa-nut-like appearance in the water caught his eye,
and putting his nose down to within an inch of it, he
gave a most stupendous sniff".
A yell escaped the old man as he bobbed under the
water and presently re-appeared at the other end of
the small tank, coughing, gurgling, and spitting, and
abusing the bull in the most horrible language. " Oh,
may a wolf tear you to pieces," " Oh, burnt up
soul," " Oh, particularly illegitimate cow," etc., etc.,
and I roared with laughter.
The bull meekly, but with dignity, elevated its nose
and chewed calmly till the excitement he had so un
wittingly aroused was over.
Just now, however, a tall Persian in a clean shirt
appeared, bringing in a large copper tray my break
fast. The usual two or three sorts of curries, a fowl
cooked to perfection, buttermilk, curds, fresh dates,
sugar, raisins, and pieces of thin wafer bread about
two feet across, which serve as plates. All were soon
despatched, the servant squatting politely a little out

A DELICATE QUESTION. 129
of sight that I might not be bashful. I had been
wildly hungry, and I suppose my face must have
expressed some remorse at the havoc I had made of
the good Sheikh's viands, for the man took upon him
self to gravely assure me that I had not eaten enough
to support a little child.
Breakfast over, and still scorching noon. Nothing
for it but "broadback exercise" under my tree, and
there I lay, sometimes scrawling these notes on the
roof of my pith hat,- for I had forgotten my note-book,
and sometimes lazily lighting a pipe and letting it go
out after a couple of whiffs, watching the ants carrying
off" the datestones I had pitched about, and I believe
not unfrequently asleep. I was agreeably aroused by
a tremendous chattering and much not unmusical
laughter, and turning over, found the tank and well
surrounded by a bevy of damsels who were the ladies
of my host's establishment, and — who evidently wanted
to bathe !
As I became aware of their presence, they were
holding an animated argument as to whether I could
understand their speech or not, and it was settled that
I looked fairly intelligent and would probably get
some idea of their meaning if they spoke very loud.
The difficulty was who would bell the cat
I cut the matter short by assuring them that as
soon as I could get on my coat I would seek another
tree, and they thanked me, laughing merrily at the
adventure. I picked up my rifle and trudged ofif under the
shady trees of the garden to where I found my host,
also just roused up from his siesta, and we had a little
coriversation about the crops, taxes, etc. Wheat was
K

130 A THIRSTY WALK.
little grown, as it generally came up smutty. Tobacco
was rarely used, such as was, being imported. In the
winter the gardens would all be deserted, and the
people all go to the cities or stone-built villages. My
host was very intelligent, and gave me much informa
tion. At five we had dinner, and though the sun was still
intensely hot, yet I had over twelve miles to go, so
I trudged ofif with a man to put me on the right track
for Suza.
Issuing from the garden on to the burning desert
was like going from a hot-house into a furnace, and
Kishm in August is miserably barren. We recrossed
the limestone ridge I had wrongly crossed in the
morning by a curious semi-artificial cutting, and then
had miles of breathless scrambling over scorching crags
and plains a foot deep with fine salt-dust Such a
journey as we were now making would be impossible
but for the existence at every two or three miles of a
dome-roofed tank of rain-water.
The first of these godsends will never be forgotten.
We had started too early in the afternoon, and in
about an hour after dismissing my guide, all the blood
in my body was boiling, and my brain seemed ready
to burst my skull,
I was obliged to stop every hundred yards or so to
avoid a sunstroke, which I knew from experience to
be imminent.
At last a friendly dome-roof caught my eye, and
I rushed up to a deep circular tank and seized with
trembling hands the earthen pot used for drawing
water. Will it be believed, the rope was so old and rotten

A DRINK OF WATER.. 131
that the mere jerk of letting the pot down broke half
the strands through. How my hand shook as I
gently drew it up again, with painful self-denial, only a
third full. That drink seemed like pouring the water
into a dry bag somewhere in my inside. The second
drink was better, and after a third I positively sat
down half crying with delight, and patched up the
rope and boldly drew up a full pot All this will
never be forgotten. If I had fallen there, nothing but
jackals and hyaenas would have known anything about
me for at least three days.
It was pitch dark and far into the night by the time
I reached the fishing-village of Suza and found my
camp, Ghulamshah had tea for me, but the camel
men had been obstreperous, and utterly refused to
fetch wood or water. Prompt measures were necessary,
so after questioning the men themselves, I discharged
them all on the spot without a fraction of wages. They
went off" threatening all sorts of things ; but the sequel
proved that I was right. Their master had ordered
them to come to Suza to take himself and family to
his country quarters, and they had engaged to take
me to Kishm, hoping to pick a quarrel at Suza, get
paid up to date, discharged, and be at their master's
disposal next morning.
All next day I sweltered under a barren fig-tree,
the only shade I could get The village was quite
deserted, everybody having gone to the date harvest
at Minab, and my men wandered vainly about inquir
ing for camels. Towards noon, hearing that there
was a head man left in the village, I called upon him,
and after some haggling he promised camels in three
hours.

132 SULKY .CAMEL-MEN OUT MARCHED.
We waited patientiy till lo p.m., when I determined
on a personal investigation. Lighting a couple of
hurricane lamps I started with all my people, and after
getting to two or three wrong houses in the dark night
and narrowly escaping a fall into a limepit in a hasty
jump out of the way of a horned snake which lay in
our path, we got to the head man's house. He affected,
and possibly fek, considerable indignation, but I had
done with the suaviter in modo as regards this trans
action, and by a X\Vi\.^ fortiter in re we soon found our
selves inside the courtyard. Here, behold, were our
three promised camels ! The old man only delayed
to get increased hire for them. We rather got the
better of him, however. He had a new kind of mad
man to deal with now, and I don't suppose camels
were ever loaded quicker than these were. We were
off" at 10.45, 3-iid did not stop moving on till we un
loaded at Kishm at half-past eight the next morning.
And the old man, the sheikh, was still more disgusted,
when, by the merest chance, just as we were leaving
his stables, I observed his own pet riding donkey and
promptly ordered it out too.
It was a frightful road, and pitch dark, but with one
lamp in the van and another in the rear, and myself in
the middle wielding a long stick, we were bound to
march. The camel-men proposed to make two and
even three stages to Kishm, but somehow they never
managed to get halted. At about eighteen miles one
was left crying in the track. Soon after, another lay
down, declaring he was dying, and without even
heart to reply to my jeering offers of a mount on
the camels. These Kishm rnen walk no better than
old women, and my BalQchis, who had been at a dis-

EXCITING MOMENT. 133
count while inactive at Suza, and had had to submit
to much chaff on their helpless and camelless con
dition, thoroughly enjoyed the turn of th,e tables,
I had only one camel-man left at last, and him I
had kept up by mounting him on the donkey, which
I never rode myself. This march brought out the
character of these people. One might travel a long
while with BalQchis before seeing one leave behind a
tired and crying comrade.
Just before dawn it was as dark as it is possible to
imagine, and we had the most difficult piece yet to
come. We had approached the sea, and were travers
ing a flat shore of slippery mud often fatal to camels
and intersected by deep slimy creeks.
It was a weird and animated scene, and all petty
annoyances were soon forgotten in the excitement.
The flashing lights, the splashing water, the yells of
the men, and their ruddy eager faces as they tore
madly through the deep water from one camel to the
other, beating this one, hauling at that, while the huge
beasts staggered about roaring hoarsely and getting
deeper and deeper every moment, and all around us
spread the dark sullen water. We got so deep at one
time that the horrible thought came into my head that
in the struggles with the camels we had altered our
course, and were heading out to sea. I strained my
ears to hear from which side came the sound of waves,
but they seemed to boom all round us, I was glad to
see that the thought had not occurred to the men, and
I had sufficient presence of mind to say nothing, thus
preventing a panic that would probably have been fatal.
Nothing could pierce the gloom that enveloped us, and
the two hurricane lamps did more harm than good.

134 .ARRIVE AT KISHM.
Though I racked my brains, I could find no clue as
to the course we were going or the state of the tide.
All I could think of was to put my two watches into
my turban, fasten my rifle to the saddle, and keep on
the alert for anything that might occur.
We were, however, too busy to feel the full weight
of the suspense at the time, and after about ten
minutes the water gradually shallowed and we reached
sand again.
We had one more bit of bad road before us, which
involved forcing the camels round a bluff against
which the sea was surging with an apparently lazy but
really irresistible force. The men's blood was up,
however, from their late excitement, and they would
have driven those camels through anything, especially
as their owners, the Kishmis, were not present. The
gray morning broke upon us plodding through a
ruined village, and three miles afterwards we reached
the sea, and passing under a high cliff to our right,
two more miles landed us under a mimosa tree at
Kishm, Little or nothing need be said of the town of Kishm,
The bazaars were poor but clean, and the one im
posing building was the mansion of Sheikh Sagar, the
Governor, The only fruit obtainable was a curious-
kind of almond called Gurumzangi, of which one ate
the succulent outside skin and threw away the shell
and kernel. The flesh was bright red, and the taste
exactly that of a pear. Mangoes, melons, and barley
are grown in the little oases which form the habitable
portion of the island. Wheat, as I have said, almost
invariably comes up smutty. Three kinds of truffles
are common, and the leaves of a tree called Murt

THE WRECKERS. 13 S
are powdered up and applied to the skin for prickly
heat. As I could not obtain the unpowdered leaf I
was unable to identify it.
I remained at Kishm for two days being unable to get
a boat ; for though the sea here was calm, there was
said to be such a surf on the Bandar Abbas shore that
landing was impossible. I usually spent my mornings
in wandering about the bazaar and chatting with the
captain of a 1 80-ton dhow; which was hauled up on the
sand for repairs.
This boat ran short of water on a voyage from
Bombay to Bushire, and was coming into Henjam to
beg, borrow, or steal some water from our tanks. By
the merest carelessness she was stranded not a mile
from her intended anchorage. The weather was calm,
and some men from the island were employed to un
load her on payment of a third of the cargo. Then
Sheikh Abid from the pearl-fishing village on the
south end arrived, and forbade the unloading until the
captain should agree to pay half the cargo. Arid
while matters were thus under discussion and the boat
gradually breaking to pieces, up comes Sheikh Sagar
and prohibits all unloading until he shall have re
ceived two-thirds. Now the boat was under British
ownership, and the captain, a fine picturesque old
Arab, with a white beard such as one reads of more
often than one sees, telegraphed to the Political Resi
dent at Bushire, whereupon promptly arrived H,M.S.
Arab. Then we had a grand judicial investigation ;
I being as it were counsel for the captain (for the
conduct of the sheikhs was a sheer piece of piracy),
and translator between the captain and Sheikhs Sagar
and Abid.

136 UNFRIENDLINESS OF THE SHEIKH.
I had further to translate all the captain's "manifest"
of cargo, which was written here, there and everywhere,
on hundreds of dirty bits of paper. What a work it
was ! He had hundreds of logs of wood. Every one
was of a different shape, size, quality, and species from
every other one, nor would he let me off a single
measurement. Then he had 680 baskets of tamarinds,
pepper, ginger, cocoa-nuts, and each basket had a dif
ferent consigner and consignee, and was of a different
weight from any other basket. Then the sea was
covered with his cocoa-nuts, and were these to be
written down lost or saved. Altogether we had some
hours of hard work.
As matters went very decidedly against Sagar, and
I had to translate the captain's severe strictures on his
conduct, it may be imagined that he did not care to
show much hospitality on my arrival, and I remained
under my tree all the while as I did not choose to
accept the hospitality of any one of inferior rank. It
was not, however, such a good berth as the barren fig-
tree at Suza, for the shadow of the tree was so small
that when I took my noonday siesta a man had to sit
by me and poke me gently round as the sun descended,
Sagar was " asleep " (that is, " not at home ") when I
called at his palace, which presents a curious appear
ance, owing to a bright green cast-iron staircase join
ing two portions of a ramshackle mud-built house.
I bearded him, however, in the evening, by joining,
in company with my friend the captain, the majlis
or council, which sat every evening on a raised and
carpeted square near the shore, where Sagar sat in
state, and where I had enough to do to maintain con
versations in three languages at once. The talk was

START AT LAST 137
mostly of pearl-fishing, taking salt to Maskat, bringing
back silk headdresses, and the probable amount this
or that man could pay for this or that monopoly.
A case of this latter was instructive, Fdur mer
chants had exhausted nearly all their funds in the
construction of a bugia or dhow, Sagar sent orders
that "the usual tax of 3,000 krans" (,1^125) must be
paid before the thing could be allowed to start. After
much deliberation, i.e., haggling for a week and bribing
people in the majlis to take their part, the merchants
agreed to this sum. But their haggle had not been
long enough, and they had failed somehow to impress
Sagar sufficiently with the idea of their poverty, and
he raised the amount to 4,000. And the matter pro
gressed thus until, at the time I was there, the tax
was 10,000. The bugia, not yet masted, was anchored
off in charge of Sagar's men ; and I met in the majlis
two of the unfortunate merchants.
In the afternoon of the second day, through the
kind offices of the old captain, I got a boat. But the
artifices of Sheikh Sagar induced three of the men to
desert at the last moment. The wind, however, was
fair, and we were just strong enough to hoist the huge
sail, so I decided on a start, I sent word to Sheikh
Sagar that I was travelling on duty on behalf of the
British Government, and that he should be held
responsible for any mishap that befel me, and we got
under weigh. We narrowly escaped running aground
on the now deserted island of H ormuz, but with a fair
wind we arrived towards evening off Bandar Abbas,
The surf was running mountains high, and landing
was impossible ; but the steamer I wished to catch for
Abou Shihr would arrive to-morrow, and with much

138 AMONG THE BREAKERS.
difficulty, owing to our shorthandedness (all but myself
and the crew were sick), we managed to get our un
wieldy anchor overboard, and rode out the night near
three cargo-boats which were also waiting for the
steamer. It was an eventful night. We dragged our anchor,
and getting into the surf shipped sea after sea, wetting
every morsel of food and rag of clothing we had.
Suddenly, excited shouts came through the darkness,
and the next minute we crashed into another boat
We cleared again, though I don't know how, and luck
turned. Just as we had got our sail half hoisted, a
strong puff came off the shore and carried us out to sea.
Our reduced crew of three behaved very well, and
showed great activity and fearlessness. We got out
again to near the three cargo-boats, and waited, wet
and uncomfortable, for the steamer.
About ten she came in sight. The cargo-boats
immediately weighed anchor and hoisted sail. We,
alas ! had received so much damage in the night that,
try as we would, we could not hoist. We heard the
hoarse rattle of the steamer's cable, and I thought I
could even make out the white figure of the captain
on the bridge, but we could not get ori board.
The mail-officer passed us with the mails, and we all
joined in a despairing hail without success. I should
think his time was fully occupied with steering, and
indeed it was surprising that he dared venture in that
sea in such a cockleshell. On his return journey he
came nearer than before, and we once more hailed with
all our might, without success. I hoisted my pith
hat (the only European article I had) into the rigging,
but the steamer left us behind. At half-past twelve

BANDAR ABBAS. 139
(I knew that steamer's hours) those people sat down
to a luxurious lunch, with clean table-cloth, glasses,
plates. We were soppy and hungry, but we could not
bridge over that three or four hundred yards.
We set to work to repair damages. Ghulamshah
perked up a little, saying with a half-miserable smile,
" This is the way we enjoy ourselves on pleasure-
trips." Towards evening we set sail and ran down
the coast to Suroo.
Here we grounded about three miles from the shore,
and half- waded and half-swam the remainder of the
distance through stuff it was impossible to call de
finitely either mud or water. The number of wading
birds here was enormous, and indeed at first sight they
seemed to be the only inhabitants of the country. It
was a flat, low, sandy shore covered with salicornia.
But there were date groves on ahead, and marching
doggedly along, our clothes and boots saturated with
perspiration, mud, and salt water, we soon found a hut,
where an old man was busy separating a heap of
freshly gathered dates into three qualities for the
market. It seems that we had landed three miles from Suroo,
a small village where the wealthier merchants of
Bandar Abbas have country houses, and about nine
from the Bandar ; so after a hearty meal off dates, and
some delicious icy-cold well water, our host got us
camels, and once more we were on march for Bandar
Abbas, and about the middle of the night we were
being royally entertained by Messrs, Gray, Paul and
Co.'s representative at that port.
Bandar Abbas has been often described, and a short
notice here will be ample. As must always be done

140 MINAB.
with oriental towns, there should be taken for granted
an amount of filth, decay, raggedness, and bad smells
incredible by one who has not experienced it The
general aspect of the town is a long, irregular collec
tion of oblong, flat-topped mud houses, of which every
fourth one is in ruins.
The old Dutch factory, now the Governor's house,
strikes the eye, and the town gains considerably by
the six or seven tall wind towers which the wealthier
men build. As one nears the town, the houses seem
to acquire ears. These ears are large funnels or wind-
catchers, without which no house would be bearable.
The climate is hot and very unhealthy. Behind the
town is a sandy desert, a salt-water river, and the
huge Jebel Ginnoh,
But Bandar Abbas is, as its name expresses, only
the port, and must not be separated from the perennial
river, the picturesque scenery, and lovely shady
gardens of Minab,
Minab signifies muddy water, but should convey no
reproach to the river, for the gardens are due to the
mud it has brought down. The place is about fifty-
four miles over fiery desert from Bandar Abbas, It
is the sylvan retreat of the merchants of the Bandar,
and during the date harvest draws to itself all the
able-bodied men of the country for a hundred miles
round, Mirza Abdulla, the locum tenens of the Go
vernor, was at Minab ; and after being three days at
Bandar, my host and I got camels at ten o'clock
one night, and at seven next evening arrived among
the date-trees, three or four miles below the fort
Here we turned in, and next morning sighted Mirza
Abdulla's summer-house under a huge banian in a

A BALUCH ARMY. 141
luxuriant garden of pomegranates, henna, vines, cotton,
limes, oranges, and almonds. While breakfast was
getting ready, a bathe in the river refreshed us im
mensely. Here we were at the foot of a range of low
hills, and the river debouched from a rugged amphi
theatre of rocks with a full, strong stream. Just
opposite us, on the east bank, it had cut a bed two
hundred feet deep through a deposit of mud and
shingle. Along the top of this hill were the lofty remains of
what had been an enormous fortified camp, and here,
in tolerably spacious bazaars, is held a grand fair every
Thursday. Having climbed up into one of the loftiest watch-
towers of the fort, under guidance of a BalQch match-
lockman posted there, we saw from the top the curious
and almost unique sight of a BalQch army. Let
me here premise that when I talk of Baluch I mean
always Mekran BalQch, a race far different from and
finer than the men of Eastern BalQchistan. At first
they had been hidden in the river bed, and as they
poured up over the bank they resembled nothing so
much as a swarm of ants. Over two hundred tall
lithe fellows were perched on the extreme ends of as
many donkeys, their long, silver-mounted matchlocks
nodding behind their backs, their silver- handled swords
dangling from their left shoulders, and at least one
pistol and a knife stuck in the waistcloth. Amongst
these men were some fifty others mounted on camels.
These are the intelligence branch, and they can ride,
if necessary, riinety miles in a day. Here and there
amongst this many-coloured cavalcade were nine or
ten horses bearing the chiefs ; and I was surprised to

142 ABDUL NABL
make out with the glasses the tall but bent form and
huge white turban of that restless, hoary old intriguer,
Abdul Nabi, of the Jask district, about a hundred
and twenty miles down the coast.
I found afterwards that he had taken advantage of
the fact that there was no definite governor of Bandar
Abbas, to pretend to offer vassalage to the locum tenens,
on the condition that the Jask territory which had so
long been a bone of contention between Mir Yusuf and
himself should be ceded to him. He had of course
brought every man he could raise to impress the Mirza
with the importance of conciliating him.
From my elevated post I noticed that with con
siderable ingenuity water from the river had been led
through a canal underneath the fort and irrigated other
beautiful gardens behind it, and we spent the heat of
the day in their shade sucking limes and oranges, and
regretting that the pomegranates and the guavas were
not yet fully ripe. There is, as nearly as I could gather
from many careful estimates, an annual export of over
1,500 tons of dates, and at this season the mouth of
the river is full of native craft.
The henna too is an important crop ; a good deal
goes to Bombay by sea, but more to Kirman and Yazd,
Bandar Abbas is the port for Kirman and Yazd ; at
Isfahan the greater portion of the English goods come
vid Baghdad and Kirmanshahan. A loaded caravan
will reach Yazd in twenty-seven days, and Kirman in
twenty-four. In the evening we went back and had a good dinner
about 10 p,m, with the Mirza, small brass cups full of
the white blossoms of the fragrant double jessamine
being placed all round us.

ABDUL NABI.

GOVERNMENT DONKEYS. 145
On inquiring for our camels great search was made
for our camel-man, but unsuccessfully. The Mirza was
full of condolences, which were unusually hearty, con
sidering that the old gentleman had himself annexed
our beasts to make up a caravan of dates he was
sending to Bandar Abbas,
We could not afford delay, however, and in about
an hour some donkeys were produced which the Mirza
assured me belonged to the Persian Government, adding
that I should find relays along the road.
It was half-past eleven and pitch dark when we
started, and after stumbling along for about six miles
our donkey-men proposed to get fresh donkeys, I
gave orders, however, that the present set should not
be abandoned until their reliefs came, for to the best of
my belief we were somewhere in the middle of a desert
We nearly came to blows over this, but eventually out-
bragged the opposition, and they went off in the dark
ness, I rather believe we all dozed off for about half
an hour when I was awakeried by voices, " I cari't go,"
" You must" " My doukey's lame." " Government
orders." . " I've only one donkey, and three weeks now
it's been carrying wheat, and it's only two years old ; it's
perfectly dead," etc., etc. It was not a cheering pros
pect, but I had promised to deliver up our donkeys on
production of substitutes, and as I had not stipulated
fpr good substitutes it had to be done. Our new four,
which it was proposed, I found, should take us the
remaining forty-eight miles of hopeless desert, were
probably the most wretched donkeys in the world.
On putting a leg over their backs they one after
another sank down before they got even my moderate
weight of eight stone on their backs. We accepted

146 A LONG MARCH.
the situation, for we had to catch a steamer and could
not wait But another difficulty arose. The three
" donkey-men " were one big boy and two little ones,
all perfectly ignorant of the way. I managed to make
it their interest to procure a guide by starting off
straight into the darkness at random and driving the
donkeys before me. I had not got far when I heard
the eldest send for his father, who after much hard
swearing saw that he must go and consented to start.
I need not detail the march. Any one can imagine
a pitch dark walk over a hillocky tussocky plain of
loose sand ; it is enough to say that dawn found us
wandering aimlessly about having taken a course at
an angle of 45° with the one we should have made.
However with light came a landmark, being the
tops of a date-grove far away on the horizon, while
before us as far as we could see stretched a dusty
plain. At 5 p.m. we reached the date-trees of Kalan-
gong, and all had a " square meal " of curry and rice
and tea. I had found out on the way that the wretched
donkey-men had the impression that all this journey
was made for the Persian Government, and as they
never dreamt that I should be so weak as to pay
for what I could get done for nothing they were pro
portionately sulky.
Immediately on discovering this, I assured them that
nobody had to work for Feringis without pay, and
at once offered them double hire on the spot This
had a grand effect, and by six o'clock we were on the
march again. But at 10 p.m. we had lost the way, or
rather the direction, for there was no track, and had to
lie down where we were. Next morning we were off
by daybreak and got to Bandar Abbas by eleven, thus

ON BOARD THE STEAMER. 147
completing one of the longest marches on foot I had,,
up to that time, ever made ; the distance being 5 1
miles as the crow flies. The smaller donkey-boy
could not have been more than eleven, and yet by
two in the afternoon that same day these fellows were
well on their way back ! Over and above their double
wages I had given them a present especially for a
good hearty meal, but they would not spend more than
sufficient to buy a lump of dates each.
Next morning I was steaming up the gulf in a first-
class English steamer. Lingah, the first halting place,
is a long straggling line of houses and palm-trees
fringing the shore for about two miles, and backed
up by the enormous mountain Bostaneh, the top of
which is now hidden in white fleecy clouds. It used
to be under the rule of Sheikh MathkQr, a fierce and
truculent old man who was much feared. His son
now reigns, and the Persian Governor of Bandar Abbas
has recently been feeling his way to a more definite
submission and more regular taxpaying in this part .of
the country. I believe no European traveller has ever
traversed the country from Bushire to Lingah. The
natives say it is very barren, without water, and overrun
by a fierce tribe of robbers called BehlQs, who are of
Arabic origin and who kill even darvishes, " Native
information" has its value with those who doubtless
know better than I, so I give it, though my own
experience shows that it is very rarely trustworthy.
But we shall have more on this subject hereafter.
Mulla Hussein, the steamer agent here, has rather
an original turn of mind. He was induced to accept
the postmastership some two years ago. His duties
as agent made it necessary for him to come on board

148 CURIOSITIES OF POSTAL DELIVERY.
every steamer ; so Her Majesty's mails, instead of being
sent ashore by an English officer with a red ensign
trailing over the stern of his boat, were delivered to
the Mulla in the saloon.
Here all those who expected letters were in attend
ance. " It was their own look-out if they were not,"
our postmaster would say pointedly, and he would dive
into the bag, fish up a letter, and cry out, " Here's a
letter for Khajah Abdulla with eight annas to pay."
If the eight annas were forthcoming the Khajah got
his letter, but if he even ventured to suggest that the
letter was fully stamped, or even to lessen the sum by
haggling, it was promptly torn up, thrown aside, and
another letter proceeded witlj. Such a system of postal
delivery could not of course go on long, and he was
soon suspended from office, though declaring naively
that that was the best kind of post-office he could
afford to keep on the paltry remuneration of fifty
rupees a month.
Leaving Linjah we steamed away for Bahrein, the
two seas, where the great nucleus of the pearl fishery
is. There are but few large houses in Bahrein, one
rather good one was formerly the residence of a British
agent, but is now irihabited by a Parsee postmaster arid
steamer agent.
Towards, evening we went to see this gentleman, and
picking our way through two courtyards piled twenty
feet high in pearl shells, we ascended to the rather lofty
upper room. We found to our surprise that the roof
was covered with Turkish soldiers straggling about in
every possible attitude, and most of them snoring to
such an extent as to suggest sawing wood. They were
the escort of the taxes just forwarded by the Governor

BAHREIN DONKEYS. 149
of Katif and to be taken to Bussorah by our steamer.
We hired some of the enormous Bahrein donkeys —
many of which, though I have never measured them,
I should say were at least fourteen hands — and trotted
off to one of several lovely fresh-water basins for a
bathe. We were a jovial cavalcade scampering along
that night in the cool air and under a brilliant moon.
Who that has gone from the glaring scorching sun
light to the cool pure moonlight can help wishing that
the moon system of illumination was more generally in
use ? I know I thought so, but soon dismissing the
notion as unscientific I rode on with the rest.
We had gone on in a very decent way hitherto, but
mischief was brewing, P  was our gay first officer
and rode like a sailor, and could not regard an expedi
tion of this sort as complete without a race. Now the
jovial but botuliform Ff  , though anxious to gratify
everybody, did not see his way to this. He was not
used to donkey riding, his stirrups were only about six
inches long, and he had every reason to believe that
his girths were merely adapted from some portion of
his attendant's garments. The matter, however, was
not quite under his own control, for the mixture of iron
chains and bandages which represented the bridle
generally came out of his steed's mouth when he pulled
it An accidental discovery by J  settled the
matter. His attendant had constantly walked along
by the side of his donkey, with his hand on the animal's
back, and J— — - soon noticed that this operation ma
terially improved his speed. So at last he suddenly
seized the hand and behold it was grasping a sharp
peg ! This was fastened by a short string to the saddle,
in which was a socket for the peg when not in use.

ISO A RACE AND A BATHE.
This was enough for P  , whose speed had only
been restrained hitherto by his ignorance of arguments
adapted to his steed's comprehension, and in a minute
we were all flying over the plain only to bring up at
the tank. A strong spring gushed out at one end of
a large basin hewn out of the limestone rock and made
a perfect bathing place.
When we arrived, it was full of men, women, and
children, who sometimes spend the whole of these
lovely nights in the water like so many hippopotami.
They did not seem inclined to move at first ; but as
one white form after another bounded into the air and
disappeared headlong into the water, they fled pre
cipitately, one aged damsel being frightened out of her
wits by P  's coming up from his dive just behind
her. It was a delightful bathe, and a jolly ride home ;
and next morning we were steaming away for Bushire.
Our course led us through a fleet of about three
hundred boats engaged in pearl-fishing. Each boat
had anchored, and the ten or twelve oars were placed
half on each side projecting over the edge of the boat
in a horizontal position. Each oar had a rope dang
ling from the end, and to these ropes the divers clung.
As we passed through them we saw sometimes the
whole ten black shaven heads bobbing about at the
end of the rope. Then first one would disappear,
then another. Soon they began to reappear, hand up
their bags, and prepare for another dive. I have
examined and timed many divers, and cannot but think
Mr. H, Emmanuel's statement as to the length of time
these men can remain under water much exaggerated,
I never yet met one who could remain longer than

ABOU SHIHR. ISI
one minute, and forty-five seconds is a good dive.
They are a hard-worked and badly paid class.
Bushire, or Abou Shihr, the father of cities, is by
far the largest town iri the Gulf, and I should think
contains more filth and strong smells in proportion to
its size than any other town, the ordinary use of streets
being quite secondary to their use as sewers. The
town is of tolerably moderri fouudation, placed on a
peninsula which is said to be gradually rising from the
sea. The Armenians, of whom there is a strong
colony, and the wealthier merchants, have all country
houses and gardens at from three to six miles from the
town, and during the famine two or three tolerable
roads were made for about this distance, enabling
them to drive in to business. Bushire is the port for
the Shiraz and Ispahan districts, and much opium is
sent to China, and sugar imported from Batavia,
called by the natives Patoua.
Here I received from England the completion of
my equipment of instruments, and with these, and a
load of enormously thick felt coats and blankets, I left
Bushire for Jask, my old station in the Mekran,
All the way down I was either taking sights or
working them out, and soori got pretty handy with my
sextant. After a prosperous run, I arrived at Jask
and renewed acquaintance with many old friends.

CHAPTER VI,
Western Baluchistan,
Geigen.' — The caravan. — Jellal stays behind. — "Marro assuchi." —
Buying camels. — Honesty of the people.— " Great expectations."
— The Tang-i-Duhl. — A crisis. — Alishah. — Rain again. — An
elderly man. — A bad day's sport. — A swarm of locusts. —
Rumours of disaffection. — Difficulty in keeping dead reckoning.
— Pitch plaister. — Dazaka.
IN a short time my equipment was ready, and on
the 29th October, 1876, I left Jask for Geigen
with ten hired camels under an engagement to go
as far as Anguhran, the capital of Bashakard, At
first we camped near Geigen village, a picturesque
place, situated amongst fine mimosa trees at the foot
of the huge sandstone Geigen bluff, and we remained
here two days. Here we witnessed a curious BalQch
ceremony of sacrificing a sheep at the commencement
of the sowing season to propitiate the " nadr lillah,"
a corruption of some Arabic phrase, of which no
BalQch could tell me the origin. Then we marched
round the bluff, and camped under the shade of some
trees, in a valley near the Geigen river-bed. Here
we spent four more busy days, making triangulations,
taking sights, experimenting on different ways of
carrying the big chronometer, doctoring the natives,
and, last but not least, buying camels. After much
consultation and questioning, I had decided that I
could do better with six picked camels of my own than
152

THE CARAVAN. 153
ten hired ones, and I accordingly, with much haggling,
possessed myself of six beautiful " liros," as the full-
grown camels are called. All had splendid reputations
for having done marvellous journeys with unheard-of
loads, and I had a personal knowledge of the powers
of two of them. Before we finished our journey I
was very fond of my camels. They were splendid
specimens of their breed, and there are more numerous
and more widely different breeds of camels than of
horses. No one could help admiring their massive
shoulders, colossal forelegs, and smooth shining brown
coats. First came the leader of the caravan, the Jamaiti
liro, an old camel, but one of proved strength and
endurance, and my readers may possibly recollect him
as " Old Eblis."
Then the beautiful mahri, or riding camel (mahr, a
rein), a powerful three-and-a-half-year-old, and the
youngest of the troop. He was almost intelligent,
and used regularly to invade my tent in the evening
and nose out the date-bag.
The big Jaski came next, who carried the cook's
heavy boxes ; and it was grand to see him swing
away with them with a stride nearly a foot longer
than the others. His only fault was that he was
" nesh," i.e., he had cut his canine teeth, after which
a camel's strength and endurance no longer increase,
though they do not yet begin to diminish. There
were no special points about the other three. They
all did their work admirably, though some perished in
the attempt
The men of our small party merit a slight descrip
tion. First Brahim Mahomed, a line-guard in the

1 54 THE CARAVAN.
Government telegraphs, was granted leave of absence
by the authorities to accompany me as my head man.
He was a tall handsome fellow, of good position and
a thorough gentleman. Excepting that he was hardly
severe enough with the men, he served me well ; alas !
only too well, for the poor fellow never returned to
his beloved country, and his bones lie buried in a
strange land. He was a good comrade, and I should
like to have seen him before he died, and know
that he did not remember any severities I may have
used towards him when exasperated by delays, dis
obediences, sicknesses and other incidents of travel.
But as a brighter picture let me draw Tajoo — Tajoo
the broad-shouldered, the colossal-legged, Tajoo the
preternaturally dirty and the naturally goodnatured ;
whose ready chaff and hearty laugh never failed, how
ever bad our destiny — Tajoo who, however fierce
might be my humour against the men, would always
come and coax for a bit of meat, a little curry stuff,
or some little luxury ; who was staunch in mutiny,
and in his broken Arabic, of which he was so proud,
more than once warned me of an intended desertion,
for Tajoo had travelled with us before and knew our
conditions, which the other men had yet to learn.
Next on the muster roll come Brahim Khamis and
Dad Arrahim, whom I bracket together. They were
two high-spirited young fellows of good property, and
of the same high family as the Jemadar Brahim, In
fact, the latter had persuaded them to come more as
companions to himself, than as actively useful to the
caravan. They were wild flighty youngsters, and
gave a good deal of trouble before they fairly settied
down to the collar. Poor Dad Arrahim died also,

THE CARAVAN. iSS
and was buried not far from Brahim Mahomed.
Abdulla Daduk, the next man, was a curious little
fellow with a hooked nose, small twinkling black eyes,
and a curly black beard. He did his work steadily,
but had a sharp tongue, and had more share in spread
ing discontent than I was at the time aware of
Hassan was a tall powerful old man, of low family
and unrefined manners. He was a good camel- man
and understood firing, but his chief peculiarities were,
a voice of extraordinary power, and a persistency in
using it that beggars description. He still retains the
name I hastened to give him, of Hassan Kharawazi,
or Hassan of the donkey's bray.
Kasim was a little wizened old man, who might
have been cut out of a piece of wood, for his arms
and legs were all the ' same size throughout their
length. He was an extraordinary pedestrian, and is
said, I believe truly, to have done two hundred and
fifty-four miles in five days,
Alishah was a curiosity indeed, a little short, fat,
round young fellow, without an atom of dignity or
solidity of char9,cter of any sort He was very clever,
had been a line-guard, but a more utterly careless,
good-for-nothing ne'er-do-weel never existed. His
tongue was never still, and he would talk, laugh, sing,
lie, brag, tell anecdotes, and chaff from morning to
night. He would admit ignorance on no single sub
ject, and, though despised for his barefaced lies, he
was a valuable addition to the party owing tq his
splendid accomplishments as a mimid and a minstrel.
Ghulamshah, whose honest brown face grins at me
now as I write this, is a strong-headed, careful-handed
boy of from fourteen to sixteen. He is a BalQch of

156 JELLAL STAYS BEHIND.
good family, and spent all his childhood wandering
over the country about Rudbar and BampQr.
Some idea of his value may be gained from the
following summary of his performances. He accom
panied me during a journey of seven months, and
crossed the lofty snow-clad mountains of Kurdistan in
the depth of winter. During this time he cooked all
my meals for me, packed and unpacked all my instru
ments every day, and took charge of and wound the
chronometer when I had to leave camp. He never
broke anything, and never but once left anything
behind. He was trusty in mutinies, never tired, and
never frightened.
Such was the permanent staff of our expedition,
I had some years' experience in the country to guide
my choice, and had I to repeat the journey I would
not alter a man. My old Bampur friend, Jellal, at
the last moment elected not to come. The conflict
between his allegiance to me and desire to share in
such an adventurous journey on the one hand, and his
growing old age, his new wife and pet son on the
other, fairly convulsed the old man's mind ; and when
the die was cast and we actually started without him,
he rushed about like a madman, beating those who
had advised him to stay, and abusing even his own pet
son. On the fourth of November I weeded my stores,
and sent back two camel-loads. I then had a farewell
review of all my patients, to one of whom I had
the satisfaction of completely restoring her eyesight
It was a young girl, daughter of one of my old shi
karries, and her eyes were so bad that though the
solution of nitrate of silver was four times the usual

BUYING CAMELS. IS7
Strength it did not produce the least effect at first I
told her that when it began to burn her it would be a
sign that she was getting well. On the fourth day
I noticed a decided improvement, and .immediately
I dropped the solution into her eye she screamed,
" Marro asuchi ! Marro asuchi ! " * and putting her
arms round my neck sank almost fainting on the
ground. Both she and her mother were so profusely
grateful afterwards, that, fearing scandalous tongues,
I handed her over to my medical assistant, Ghulam
shah, who completed the cure. To-day also I bought
my last camel from Brahim's uncle. The following
is the recognised form of dialogue for concluding a
purchase : —
Seller : "Now have you taken this liro for thirty-
five kursh (;^8)."
Buyer : " I have taken it"
Seller : " You have taken it, and if it be blind, lame,
diseased and useless you have bought it for thirty-five
kursh," Buyer : "I have."
Seller: "And I take God's oath, that as far as I
know, this liro is perfectly free from any blemish, that
it is a good strong beast, and that I have not concealed
anything from you."
Chorus of bystanders : " It's not lame, it's not blind,"
etc., etc. " You may put seventy mans on its back,"
etc. And we shake hands solemnly.
I had here an instance of the scrupulous honour
amongst BalQchis. I wanted to send a large sum of
money back to Jask, and as I was on the point of
* Baliichi for " Imroz misuzad " (It burns to-day).

158 HONESTY OF THE PEOPLE.
sending off Brahim with it, he happened to look out of
the tent " There's a man," he said, "just going ; he'll
take it," and he ran out and called to a man just
disappearing, among the bushes. This was a perfect
stranger to all of us, but he duly delivered the money ;
and when in secret I hinted to Brahim doubts about
its safety, the tone of his reply, " He's a BalQch," made
me feel quite ashamed. One tribe of BalQchis will
"chapao," or plunder, another tribe directly they get
a chance, but petty theft is unknown among them.
We had not much difficulty in getting a guide, as
H ammal provided one of his henchmen, Gazo by
name, a good-natured whimsical fellow with a great
turn for taking things coolly, and making quaint
remarks when in any difficult circumstances. Every
thing was in perfect order by the evening, and I
turned in to bed with my mind full of pleasurable
expectations. Next morning, the never-to-be-forgotten fifth, I
was up betimes, and simply putting on my huge hat
prowled out with my gun and butterfly net It may
be that I have not experienced many pleasurable sen
sations, but I certainly know of none to compare with
mine on this morning. The cool air, the tamarisk
trees covered with dew, and the gossamer webs more
brilliant than strung pearls ; from every bush the
cheery ringing note of the partridges; the complete
feeling of solitude and self-dependence, the proud feel
ing of proprietorship as I see the white top of my tent,
and watch my string of camels being led down to
drink ; the, exulting thought that for months I should
be passing through new, and strange countries seeing
much that no white ,man had ever seen before ; — I

GREAT EXPECTATIONS. 159
cannot describe the happiness of that morning. It is
a feeling reserved for explorers only, I think, and
more than balances the losses, delays, illness and
troubles, which specially befall them.
At noon on the fifth, Brahim returned from Jask,
whither he had been sent for the mails, bringing some
English letters, and a mackintosh from my friend P  .
His arrival was the signal for loading up, and in half
an hour the tent was struck, and we were heading
straight at the impracticable- looking wall of mountains.
A river-bed, however, is a guarantee for a passage of
some sort, though of course it sometimes presents
obstacles by jumping over precipices. In our march
of to-day we were warned of an extraordinary funnel-
shaped pass, which in rainy seasons rendered the road
impracticable for about a week, I thought, however,
but lightly of the warning, for as yet there were no
signs of rain, besides which we had received so many
warnings that they ceased to have effect All the
Mekran streams are highways, in fact the only means
of communication between the interior and the coast.
We wound about up this most tortuous road, walled
in on either side by lofty overhanging crags of every
weird fantastic shape, and evening waned and found
us still struggling along and beginning to wish for
some chance of pitching camp. Presently huge dark
clouds begin to mass themselves overhead, and an
enormous roar echoes throughout the cliffs,
" Hakal kun, hakal kun " [drive along). " Oh, my
brothers," shouts Gazo, far away in advance, "hakal
kun, for if we don't get through the Tang-i-Duhl
first  ." The alternative was too awful for him,
but the nervous energy in his voice was convincing.

i6o AN AWKWARD POSITION.
As the sky darkened over us a few big drops
splashed sullenly into the water at our feet, for the
torrent bed had narrowed considerably, and contained
a foot or so of water with awkwardly deep holes at
frequent intervals. Darkness came over us so fast
that by half-past five we had but the gleaming strip
of water to guide us. At times the thunder roared
sullenly, and twice the lightning showed in intense
relief the lofty crags that hemmed us in on both
sides and the small insignificant handful of men and
camels wet and struggling along at the base like
ants. But there was some courage in our little handful, as
we were soon to prove, or but little would ever have
been heard of the expedition.
Suddenly from the front came back the shout of
" min, min " [qtiicksand). In a minute I was on the
spot, and found my riding camel plunging hopelessly
about in a deep pool with a bottom of soft adhesive
clay, Gazo was " mined " too. We had to be quick ;
the men all left their camels, and with a long pull and
a strong pull the " mahri " was literally dragged across
the bad place to firm standing ground, " Quick, my
children," shouted Brahim ; " Betach ! Betach ! " [tread
it down) and the men began trampling backwards and
forwards, treading a path for the camels. One by
one, all the men helping, these were rushed across,
while with the busy excitement we almost forgot the
ever-increasing storm and the dreaded Tang-i-Duhl
still unattained.
And now, before we recognised it, we were at the
entrance. It was not fifteen feet wide, and the walls
of smooth sandstone would have defied a cat Our

THE TANG-I-DUHL. i6i
impatience became a fever, and with remorseless blows
the camels were urged along.
According to Gazo's earnest assurance, at any
moment we might meet a blinding roaring torrent
of water which would sweep men and camels down
the gorge, like chips in a mill race. At last we came
to the Duhl itself The danger of being caught in the
pass was evident, and I did not know at the time how
short the really dangerous part of it was. The bed
of the stream here had at first been a mere fissure, the
surface rock hard, but that underneath soft. Conse
quently the water had hollowed out a tunnel about
fifteen feet broad (the word " duhl " means pot, or
cylinder). Just above this on the left the stream was
augmented by a cascade which was silent when we
passed, but in about fifteen minutes afterwards was
pouring down tons of water.
The bed of the stream in the " Tang," and for some
hundred yards below, was quite smooth and free from
boulders, showing the force of the water. We plunged
into the Duhl, and after a few anxious minutes the
hitherto almost breathless caravan was shouting, talk
ing, and laughing as if it were a relief merely to hear
their own voices. We were out of danger now, for the
torrent bed immediately opened out and there were
at the sides numerous " kuches," or flat ledges, above
high water mark on which we could take refuge.
Most of us were too thankful for our escape to care
much about reaching any particular " kuch," and loud
were the remonstrances at the imperturbable Gazo
as he stolidly struggled and scrambled up the gorge,
though the lightning, which was now almost incessant,
revealed to us place after place suitable for camping. M

1 62 HEAVY RAIN.
Gazo, however, had in his eye a certain corner which
yielded firewood and camel-fodder, for he was deter
mined that his first day as guide should be a success.
But the rain was upon us. Above the thunder roar
came another sound, hoarser, persistent, and steadily
increasing. " Howr an ! Howr an ! " [It is the rain),*
cried the men, whose experienced ear told them more
than mine told me, and we tore on for the next kuch,
and at ten minutes past seven, for I had time to look
at my watch, we were perched on a high corner of
rock overlooking the ravine, down which already
began to rush a swirling angry stream, a foretaste of
what was now imminent. For a while we all stood
stationary on our rocky refuge. The thunder and
lightning were incessant The wind blew a tornado,
now from this side, now from that, and this mysterious
rushing roaring sound, which I had never heard before,
got louder every moment. The noise approached, and
in less than four minutes our road was a maddened
torrent ever increasing in depth and speed.
While we were yet looking at it, down came the
rain ; and it rained torrents.
The men, at first dismayed, now knew the worst
They were quickly stripped to the skin, and with
many a jovial jest and laugh were setting up the tent.
In half an hour the rain stopped, we had a fire, and
in spite of some little anxiety about the still rising
torrent around us we slept the sleep of the righteous,
only being awakened once by the strariding on our
rock of a good sized tree.
* The same word is used by these people for the rushing torrent
and the rain that produces it, showing how closely the two things are
associated.

ALISHAH. 163-.
On the sixth we did not strike camp till afternoon,
as I wanted to sketch the "Tang," and also to get
a meridian altitude, for it may be imagined that I did
not make a very good dead reckoning of the course
from the last camp, I was amused at Alishah this
morning. He had appointed himself table servant,
but on coming in to lay the table he found it covered
with sectional papers, compasses, etc., to avoid disturb
ing which he carefully arranged everything on a sack
on the wet muddy ground. He could never restrain
his fun, and would sometimes stop at the tent door
with a basin of soup he was bringing to me, and finish
at his leisure a furious chaff with the camel-men.
While at breakfast a caravan of three Bashakardis
came by with ten active little donkeys. They eagerly
asked how we had spent the previous night, and I
accompanied them back as far as the Duhl. The
gorge was still impracticable for camels, but the active
little donkeys clambered round pools through which.
camels would be compelled to plunge. On the way
we found a solitary duck, which one of the party shot
with a bullet from his matchlock, and which was after
wards identified by Professor Newton as the common
shoveller. In explanation of the extraordinary suddenness with
which the streams become full, it may be remembered
that the hills are all perfectly barren rock, and the
water runs off them as off a slated roof Then the
Geigen near its mouth, where we were, receives nearly
all the water from an area of hills about forty miles
broad and seventy long.
In the afternoon we marched to Marrick, for which
place we had been making when overtaken by the

1 64 RAIN AGAIN.
rain, and here again we endured a most tremendous
storm. In spite of our being well out of the bed, we
had to dig a bank round the tent, and in a short twenty-
three minutes the cooking-place, where a comfortable
dinner had been simmering, was a muddy stream, the
creek half full, and every two or three minutes a bore
coming down made it three feet wider. Hailstones
rattled about us an inch long, which had all a small
black nucleus, so I collected a few for the purpose of
scientific investigation. These having melted, Alishah
drank, afterwards industriously polishing up the tum
bler on a corner of one of my blankets.
At 5 p.m, the sun was shining brightly again, and
I enjoyed a delicious evening sitting out by a big log
fire, with the pleasant thought that camel-fodder was
good and plentiful, and the dreaded "jQr" or oleander
entirely absent Camels are the legs of an expedition
like ours, and always demand first attention.
As long as the soft warm climate lasted, I always
used to have my dinner by a fire close to the camel-
men's fire, and enjoy their jokes, chaff, and absurd
stories. Baluchis are the best fellow-travellers in the
world. In times of difficulty they get excited, shout,
and work like demons. In camp they were always
merry, and their conversation cleaner than any similar
set of men I ever heard. They have a strong appre
ciation of the ridiculous, and inexhaustible good nature.
Next morning (7th), it was all six men could do to '
hoist the tent, heavy with wet, on the camel's back,
and almost immediately after starting we came to a
difficulty, A waterfall from the rocks above had
scooped out a large basin in the solid rock ; and this
was not only full, but its sides were coated with slime.

MEET TWO BALUCHIS. 165
We had to cut down tamarisk bushes and tread them
in as a path for the camels.
About II a,m. we emerged from the hills, and felt
as if we had at last got inside the country. Before us
stretched a salt mud-plain, so cut up by deep water
courses, as to force us to take a most roundabout road.
There were many short ranges and clumps of barren
red hills in front, and we aimed for a bluff of the Sihr
Koh or Crimson Hill, As I was on ahead of the
caravan I suddenly came upon two men with camel-
loads of pish.
Now I happened to be just then in, to a Baluchi's
way of thinking, a most undignified condition. Ghu
lamshah with the " mahri " was behind with the
caravan, which, by the winding nature of the road, was
hidden from view.
Here was an extraordinary apparition in preposter
ous and unsanctified clothing, and with a thing on his
head two feet in diameter. Imagine the astonishment
of these tall sinewy fellows with their aquiline noses
and curly black beards. They had never seen, and
possibly never heard of a Feringi, but to them I was
evidently first a human being, and secondly totally
unarmed. They, of course, were armed to the teeth ;
in fact, the sword, shield, gun, knife, bullet-pouch, etc.,
formed the major part of their dress, which was merely
supplemented by a scanty cloth round the waist, grass
sandals, and a skull-cap, I verily believe that had
they " spied " me before I saw them they would have
stalked and shot me, not from any malice, but just to
See what I was, I had, however, a note-book and
prismatic compass, of which last I had previously ex
perienced the effect; and as they came near I took

«66 SALUTATIONS.
a round of bearings, and ended by fixing the leading
man and ostentatiously making a note of him.
Though the men were not superstitious, the steady
gaze through an unknown instrument as usual rather
disconcerted them, and they made a slight detour and
would haVe passed on their way. This, however, I
did not wish, for I was eager to ask questions about
the road, camping-places, etc., before us ; and assuming
great authority I called them up.
At being spoken to in BalQchi they got a fresh
access of confidence, and, muttering to one ariother,
grounded their guns close in front of me, and com
menced a torrent of questions : " Who are you ? "
" What are you ? " " Where do you come from ? "
¦" Why do you speak Baluchi ? " " We are Baluchis."
" Where's your camel ? " " Where are you going to ? "
etc, etc.
I waited quietly until there was a pause, and then
said in a slow and dignified manner, " Salaam aleikum,"
It took at once. Their self-respect and politeness
were both touched. Their intense curiosity had led
them into a serious breach of good manners, for even
the commonest Baluchis will exchange salutations in
a most punctilious manner. The one false step was
irretrievable, and with the loftiest politeness I could
assume, I pursued my advantage and went through
the entire salutation.
" Peace be with you."
" And on you be peace."
" You are welcome."
" May you be in safety."
" Are you well ? "
"Is all your house well ? "

AN ELDERLY MAN. 167
" By God's kindness all is well."
" Give news."
" I have none ; and am interested only in your good
health." We were just beginning all over again, for it is
impolite to be the first to stop, when the caravan hove
in sight. As camel after camel came round the cor
ner, each led by one of our jaunty devil-may-care
fellows fully armed, the faces of my two heroes went
through a series of dissolving views, and I heard one
say to the other in a resigned and awe-struck tone,
" Well, I've lived nearly 3000 years, and I've travelled
over the whole of BalQchistan, but I never saw a man
with so much property as that in all my life ! "
tjis intellect had to receive another jolt, however,
for I took out my note-book and wrote a note to a
friend at Jask announcing the success of my expedition
so far. He had never seen a book, paper, or writing.
As he fingered the leaves his surprise was very quaint.
" Oh, what thin, thin, thin ! " and " how white, white,
white ; white as milk. Wallah ! " " And he just rubs
it a little with that stick, and it makes black foot-marks.
This is indeed a wonderful thing ! " Then on exam-
ing the pencil he detected the lead, and with glee
showed it to his friend, saying, " There you see, that's
how it marks, its heart is black."
As the caravan had now got some way ahead, I
harided my friends over to Brahim for a cross-examin
ation, and mounting the mahri which Ghulamshah had
made to kneel close by, I rode on to the front,
I have not, I believe, explained that the mahri had
a double saddle. In the front seat rode Ghulamshah
with the big aneroid, telescope, thermometer, binocu-

i68 HALT ON THE SH ARIEL
lars, pocket sextant, and my dinner or lurich. I
invariably walked, for the convenience of taking bear
ings, botanizing, etc., and Ghulamshah kept close by
me ; and if my investigations delayed me till I fell far
behind, I could jump into the hinder seat and in a few
minutes regain my lost ground.
We swung past the caravan at about six miles an
hour, and reaching a sort of cave where there was a
shade, proceeded to lunch. The inevitable rain, how
ever, overtook us, and at 3 p.m. we camped on the
banks of the swollen Sharifi Khowr as shivering and
well-soaked a band as it is easy to imagine. The
Sharifi here flowed through a broad well-treed valley,
and the camels had a good feed off Kahur (a species
of acacia) which they had not seen since leaving
Geigen, It was disappointing on boiling the thermometer
that evening to find that after all our struggles
through the rocks and hills we had only made 600
feet of ascent. We had seen so many ibex, hill sheep,
and other animals worthy of hunting that I was easily
persuaded by Gazo to halt for a day's sport We
could dry the tent too, and as the camels had a long
journey before them, they would be all the better for
the rest.
Next day we awoke to a lovely morning. I was
quickly dressed, and soon hauled my little arm-chair
out of the damp tent and sat bver the fire impatiently
watching preparations for breakfast It was one of
those mornings worth years of one's life. Every sense
was full of the most intense enjoyment. The contrast
of the smell of burning wood with the clear cool air ;
the incessant scream of an old woodpecker from an

1 69

A POOR SHIKARRI. 171
adjacent tree, apparently the only bird in the country ;
— every little detail impressed itself deeply upon my
memory. It was a picturesque camp, there on the
banks of the brawling muddy Sharifi which was to
guide us for the next two marches. The tent was
pitched on a patch of green spring grass, and at our
back was the purple and red range of hills called
Oushdahndarri. A few feet off, round the remains of their fire, lay
the men, still wrapped in their huge felt coats, which
they called " Balbalaks," or " hairy-hairies," They'
refused to acknowledge the Persian name, saying,
" No, no ; we're BalQchis, and we call them Bal
balaks," Ghulamshah soon had some eggs and tea ready,
and Gazo was set to work on dates and bread. I
took for myself the old double Westley- Richards that
Brahim carried on the march, and gave Gazo, as my
second gun, another double Egg, which it was Dad
Arrahlm's privilege to carry. We started just as the
sun rose over the hill and flooded everything in its
warm grateful light Striking up a steep ravine into
the Oushdahndarri hills, we soon found traces of game
plentiful. But I also soon found that my friend was
but a poor shikarri. He was dreadfully clumsy with
his feet, and made as much noise as two ordinary men.
Added to this he was afflicted with a violent cold in
the head, and at a critical moment, when everything
depended upon absolute quiet, he would be convulsed
with paroxysms of coughing. He appeared to cough
with every part of his body at once, and produced
noises that a hippopotamus would despair of emulat
ing. When I add that he had a slight cataract and

172 A SWARM OF LOCUSTS.
was partly blind, it will be clear that he was not likely
to be a very valuable assistant. It was impossible to
be angry with the old fellow ; and though we frightened
away two herds of hill sheep by the noise we made, I
enjoyed an exhilarating scramble, added considerably
to my botanical collection, and obtained some valuable
bearings for to-morrow's route. This district is per
fectly uninhabited ; we had only met five men on our
route from the coast and for two days afterwards we
saw none.
The morning after our unsuccessful hunt we started
up the Sharifi river, a tributary to the Jagin. The
bed was just here much confined, and full of huge
boulders, so we were glad to climb up the steep clift
and cross a flat shingly plain, which cut off a consider
able bend.
Here we encountered one of those extraordinary
migrations of locusts which have so ofteri been
described in the East These insects were so thick as
to produce a shade over the earth like that of a thin
cloud. They were all of the red edible kind, and as
fat as possible. The living in our camp was so good
that the men disdained to eat them, though I saw
Abdulla squeeze out the yellow fat of one or two and
eat it with great relish. All the men seemed to regard
them more as luxuries for the table than as destructive
to the vegetation. They however rapidly devoured
the spring grass that covered the low-lying patches,
and the leaves of the shrubs fringing the watercourses
that here and there intersected the plain. These
locusts, by constant travelling, can at this season keep
themselves supplied with food; but as the hot weather
comes on, and every green thing is burnt to a cirider,

BED OF THE SHARIFI. 173
I think they are probably all starved to death. I
remember something of the kind happening in Hen
jam, Some sustained themselves by eating camel
droppings, and many more by eating the dead bodies
of their neighbours, but by June there was not a locust
to be seen.
There were numerous charz [obara), flocks of sand
grouse, and sussi, the yellow-legged partridge, and I
wasted a good deal of time stalking some of the first
At 2,35 p,m, we again struck the Sharifi. It had
here cut itself a bed three-quarters of a mile wide,
and the perpendicular banks of mud and shingle were
sixty feet high, the stratification being much contorted.
The bed was full of zahren karrag [calotropis gigan-
tcsa), and the beautiful but cordially detested jur
[nerium oleander). It may be worth mentioning that
coast camels are peculiarly apt to eat this poisonous
shrub, as they are frequently fed on timmr (mangrove
bushes), and cannot tell the difference. Karsh (pam
pas grass) flourished luxuriously, and the pish [chamce
rops Ritchiana) though small was of good tough
quality. Succulent lorti [Taverniera Spartcea), that
prince of camel fodder, was abundant, though trat
[caroxylon fcetidwm) was absent. Trat is the camel's
Worcester sauce, and without it, or some similar bitter
shrub, no Mekrani camel can keep his full health ; but
we were destined to see no more trat
At about three miles from where we had entered
the river we came upon a small patch of date palms,
near which was a solitary hut, and here we pitched our
camp. The owner of the grove was busy lighting
clumps of karsh, that the smoke might keep the
locusts away from a small plot of wheat he had farther

174 RUMOURS OF DISAFFECTION.
up. He was much terrified at our cavalcade, but
eventually condescended to sell us some curds and
eggs at an exorbitant price. Here also we killed the
last of the three sheep we had brought with us from
Geigen. This sheep had in point of fact to be killed
to save his life. As long as he had company he would
walk along with the caravan ; but when his two breth
ren disappeared he wandered so much from the track
and so obstinately refused to be led, that he was tied
on a camel, and a rope pressing on his gullet he was
discovered in extremis and his throat promptly cut
During the march I had noticed much earnest con
versation between Brahim and the two young fellows,
and here the first signs of faintheartedness appeared.
This was owing to the beautiful and copious rains that
had fallen. These two men, being of good position,
could command a great deal of labour. The rain this
year had been more abundant than for many years
previously. Now, in Mekran the amount of wheat
that can be sown is regulated by these two things, the
amount of labour procurable and the amount of rain.
The position therefore was this : These men had
started on a long and arduous journey into unknown
and hostile countries, and just as they left, and while
yet close at home, came the opportunity of living in
affluence at home without going any dangerous jour
ney at all.
All these things were duly reported by Brahim, who
added that should these two go back the whole cara
van would be broken up.
I revolved matters carefully in my mind for some
time before coming to a decision. One thing, here
hard measures were out of the question, A single

DISAFFECTION QUIETED. 175
rough speech would have been ample justification in
everybody's eyes for their going off home in a huff,
and we were still uncomfortably near home.
Again, to yield to the hints thrown out by Brahim of
promises of extra pay was equally out of the question,
as lowering to my dignity, and by creating a precedent
indirectly compromising the success of the whole ex
pedition. No, I would refuse to believe it; and calling
up Brahim I told him vehemently (for it was necessary
to impose upon him, too, to a certain extent) that I
could never believe it ; that I had known Baluchis
for years, and as for their ever doing such an un
manly* thing as giving their words* to accompany a
man and then running away at the beginning, it was
impossible. If, now, it had been Alishah (object of
their special contempt), or any of the common herd,
why they perhaps might do such things, etc., etc.
It had the desired effect, at all events for a time,
and every stage farther from home made my position
safer. Next day we had before us what at this early period
of the journey we considered a stiff march, for we
were nine hours en route, and for the last two and a
half were picking our way up and down tortuous rocky
watercourses in utter darkness, in great uncertainty
about the right direction, and anxiety about the poor
camels' feet.
However, we must not anticipate the somewhat
eventful journey which actually landed us within the
boundaries of that wonderful country, Bashakard.
* Both literal Baliich idioms, "Na-mardi" (««OTa«//ww); "Lafz
deaga" (Jo ff,ve onis word); also, "Wati lafz awart" (lie eats his
words).

176 ANTICIPATED WONDERS.
We were, " according to native information," to find
many astounding things here. Much of the country
was impassable, being entirely in possession of huge
hairy demons called " Hirsh," in form like men, but
endowed with stupendous strength, enabling them to
tear up trees and use them as clubs. Then, again,
there were forts of massive structure, built actually by
Rustam himself in the olden time. We were to see
many other objects of interest, and such things as we
did see are faithfully described in the following pages.
It was at least a virgin country which, though it has
been marked on the map since the days of Pottinger,
had never yet been entered by white man. Even
Major St John's map, which I found published when
I came home, places the capital, Anguhran, at forty
miles from its true position.
On the morning of the 9th we were delayed some
time by the camels. They had been hoppled behind
and before, for fear they should get access to the
oleander, , and in their struggles they had pulled out
of their noses the wooden knob to which the rein is
fastened. This, though generally tolerably easy of
remedy, was with my huge beasts fully half an hour's
work. They were in pain about the nose, especially
the big Jaski, who flung his powerful neck about, and
made such savage bites that it was all five men could
do to hold him.
These matters having been arranged, we started up
the river-bed, passing a small patch of young wheat
which my men recognised as " Sunaiti," a kind only
suited for the hill country.
Our route was pretty enough, through groves of
the feathery tamarisk and flanked by most picturesque

DIFFICULTY IN KEEPING DEAD RECKONING. 177
rock scenery. We missed in the mornings the cheery
note of the " Kofinjah " partridges ; the sussi, or
yellow-legged bird, has no note ; and we had not yet
arrived at the country of the kabg, or red-legged,
with their steady going, low toned kuk kuk kiik, kuk
kuk kdk. I noticed to-day the curious fact that camels
perspire only at the back of the head — that is, male
camels do ; females are said not to perspire anywhere,
but as mine were all males I could not verify the
assertion. Dead reckoning when travelling in this hilly
country is excessively troublesome, owing to the
impossibility of getting any good distant landmark.
To-day from 10,15 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. I find noted
forty-four accurate bearings with a prismatic compass,*
and on comparison with other days I find this hardly
as much as the average ; there are also seven altitudes
of hills, each with a paced base of from half a mile to
a mile. At 2 p.m., on arriving at a spot where the Sharifi
received three large tributaries, we left the main bed
to follow the easternmost channel. Here, on rejoining
the. caravan after a round of bearings, I found a
general halt, and the men all consulting over one
camel. As I got near there was a general shout, " Hi,
waja ! Hi ! come along quick in the name of God,
The medicine's broken, and it's burning the camel
and all to pieces,"
This was of course absurd, but I could not for
the life of me guess what could be the matter, and rode
* On plotting out, only three of these were found to be unnecessary. N

178 PITCH PLAISTER.
up full speed to where the men were standing. Two
sticks of pitch plaister in the saddle-bags had been
melted by the noonday sun, and were dripping down
over everything and giving forth a tolerably powerful
aroma which had alarmed the men. They were always
in a great fright about my medicines, for Hasan had to
carry in his hand a leather bag containing strong nitric,
sulphuric, and muriatic acids for testing, minerals.
Though these were carefully packed, the bag slowly
charred away day by day, and the men saw this and
expected all the other medicines to burn things too.
Beyond finding all my spare socks hopelessly
gummed together, there was no damage done, and we
resumed march. There was a curious shrub here,
called by the natives pQn, and probably allied to the
Vincetoxicum. Hundreds of straight, fleshy green
branches grew up from a common centre. They had
no leaves, and exuded an acrid white milk. When
the shrub died, these all broke off from the root, and,
radiating from the centre, resembled an inverted tassel.
Evening found us still winding up the torrent bed,
and soon the walls converged together and we were
threading our way at the bottom of a deep chasm.
The walls were about 300 feet high, of laminated blue
clay with occasional lamina of quartz. The strata
were vertical, and the edges being towards us presented
the appearance of having been streaked with a fine
tooth comb. The water was strong with iron, and
either that or some other ingredient turned the clay
in the bed into a hard blue stone.
Soon Gazo began to hunt for a ravine leading out
of this chasm, and up which he said lay our route.
We found two or three, and at last halted, lit the

CHAPTER VII.
On Foot to Anguhran.
An embassy. — A durbar. — An Arab in difficulties. — Guides and the
route. — A horrible murder. — Bashakard politics. — Negotiations.
— En route for Anguhran. — The Rais All's mountain stronghold.
— Bashakard scenery. — A horned snake.— A night in a Basha-
kardi hut. — Demons at last.
NEXT morning I was up very early, anxious to
see what my new domain was like. There
were traces of the hand of man in the shape of an old
wall which had probably at one time enclosed a" patch
of wheat. Close by, too, was a huge old male date
tree, sole survivor of all the female trees which had
at one time filled the plot of ground over which he
now stood sentry.
While enjoying a breakfast of cold leg of mutton,
pickles and cocoa, for hitherto we had retained all
the luxuries of civilization, Alishah announced the
arrival of an embassy from Rais Ali, the ruler of
Bashakard, whose establishment I learnt was at the
foot of the lofty Aphen-i Band, near which we were
encamped. Anxious to produce a good impression,
I had a scarlet cloth thrown over my arm-chair,
ordered coffee and kalians or water pipes, and then
summoned my visitor. There entered with a some
what proud salaam a tall BalQch, who, _to judge from
the quality of his arms, and especially the quantity
of silver plating over the barrel of his long gun and
iSo

AN EMBASSY. i8i
the handle of his sword, was a person of some con
sequence. Though careful not to show it, he evidently felt
considerable astonishment at my well pitched tent,
comfortable carpet, and, more than all, the ring of
double barrels round the tent pole.
My men had ranged themselves on my right hand
and on my left, and affecting not to understand the
language, I set Brahim to converse with him.
He was evidently duly impressed with our greatness,
for he was content simply to answer questions ; and
when he did pluck up spirit to ask whence we came,
Brahim was too well trained to answer.
The coffee was not much appreciated, as coffee
though highly esteemed as a mark of politeness, is
not much liked from its bitterness. Nor was the
kalian, which was prepared with good Shiraz tobacco,
much liked, as it was too mild for the BalQch taste.
Like Arabs, BalQchis smoke extremely acrid pungent
stuff, and cannot appreciate a delicate flavour,
Flis mission was a pressing invitation from Rais Ali,
whose encampment was only a mile off, and thither he
had come to guide me. Having ascertained this, I,
rather to his surprise, took up the ball, and told him
that I had some business with the sun about noon,
after which, should things be favourable, I might think
of his proposal ; I hinted also that as I had not had
the honour of seeing the Rais himself, it might be
advisable for me to pay my first visit by deputy,
and with that Brahim took him off to talk over
the real business of the meeting. My observations
for a meridian altitude excited great interest, and I
had often afterwards occasion to notice the difference

i82 TAJOO'S ARABIC.
between the effect on these ignorant but fearless-
minded Baluchis, and that 'on the more civilized but
more superstitious Persians.
Brahim then came with his report, which was favour
able to our immediate departure. Mir Yusuf (of
Jask) was at Rais All's, as also Mir Shahdad, a brother
of the first-named, and with both of these chiefs
Brahim was "dastgrift," that is, each had sworn an
oath to protect the other.
As far as danger to be apprehended from Basha
kardis, Brahim repeated what he had said all along, that
one Mekran BalQch (or BalQch par excellence, as he
is rightly considered) was worth six men of Bashakard,
and that the men would only look to me for protection
in the unknown regions beyond.
At half-past twelve we loaded up and scrambled
over the rocks for about a mile and a half due west
On the way my attention was drawn to Tajoo, who
was walking alongside my camel behind the caravan,
and indulging in the most extraordinary and uncouth
gesticulations, from which I gathered that he had some
communication to make to me. Seeing that I appre
hended his object, he commenced to dig up word by
word, from the depths of an extremely chaotic memory,
a sentence of Arabic, in which language he had
acquired fragments of some fifteen or sixteen words.
Had I not had at Henjam an opportunity of studying
the Batinah dialect with some quondam pirates from
that coast, who were windbound for nearly a fortnight
all my Arabic studies of four years would have availed
me riothirig; arid as it was, a conversation such as that
upon which we now entered had in it many of the
features of a game of " Buz," With some patience,

A DURBAR. 183
however, I melted down his communication to " Gy
yesIrQn, al ithnain, yabghQn fulQs" [They are going,
those two, and want their pay here).
This, however, did not disturb me much. We were
going to be three or four days in camp, during which
all men would draw full pay. My two friends would
of course stay for this. Probably they would never
have the pluck to tell me they were going and then
go. They would wait until the very moment of start
ing, when it would not be worth my while to take any
steps of retaliation. Thirdly, though they had pre
sented three extremelj^ plausible reasons for wanting
an advance of pay, I had, without arousing their sus
picion by a refusal, always been unable to attend to
them just at that moment.
Soon we rose to the top of a high " Bir," or smooth
laminated blue clay mound, and slipping and sliding
down the opposite side, found ourselves in a deep
gorge, which we followed right up to the very foot of
the Aphen-i- Band, towering 3,000 feet above us, and
here our guide showed us almost the only flat place
where it was possible to pitch a tent Until the tent
should be pitched, my carpet was spread on the
ground, and my arm-chair placed at one end, and thus
we awaited the Rais and his friends.
First came Shahdad and Yusuf, Mekrani chiefs from
the coast ; and some of my men, who stood in one
or other of the various degrees of vassalage to them,
hastened to acknowledge it by kissing hands.
These two tall powerful-looking young chiefs were
very much esteemed for their liberality and manliness,
and the greetings between them and the men, though
tempered on the one side by graciousness and on the

1 84 A DURBAR.
Other by cordial respect, were more like those of old
friends than of lord and vassal. There is something
in the wild hand-to-mouth life these fellows lead,
which inevitably brings the real man into his right
place, and refers the imitation man to his.
Our swarthy friends were soon seated on my left
hand. We had met before on the coast, but years
ago, and it was not until Brahim had explained that
it was " Falower " (the Baluchi for Floyer), that we
became really friendly. We talked of old ibex hunts
in Geigen and Parkoh hills, and I ascertained that the
chiefs were here to negotiate an alliance with the Rais,
the main point of which was that the latter should
lend them some men to assist against the perfidious
Abdul Nabi, whom the reader may remember at Minab.
Presently our ambassador of the morning, Durrgosh,
or the " Pearly-eared One," arrived, and said that the
Rais would be here immediately, and in fact at that
moment a body of men were seen scrambling up the
precipitous path, and after some hand-kissing the great
man was seated at my side. But he was a very
singular kind of great man, and Brahim's stories of the
pusillanimity of Bashakardis were in a fair way to be
realized. On my left the black- bearded, bushy-eyebrowed
Mekrani Mirs, with huge turbans, handsome scarlet
cloaks with silver fastenings, and waist-belts positively
stuck full of pistols and knives, to say nothing of the
sturdy henchman waiting on each with his lord's
sword and shield.
But on my right what a contrast, A gross fat man
of sallow yellowish complexion, without beard, mous
tache, or any other manly attribute, a very Emperor

BRAHIM AND THE TENT PEGS. 185
Claudius, wearing just a cloth round his waist, and a
long, not over-clean white shirt, without even a particle
of scarlet silk embroidery, the badge of royalty, down
the front. His manner was boisterous cordiality and
cringing self-abasement The kaHan, when offered
to him, was refused, " No, no, he was a plain old
man, and didn't understand such fine things," A plate
of barley sugar is handed round. With ostentatious
humility he begs that he may take two pieces for
his little son, and when presented with a bottleful is
uproariously grateful. Abdulla comes up and says
that the ground is so rocky that the tent-pegs won't
enter it He is off ! " I'll knock the Sahib's tent-
pegs in," and in a minute he is squatting on the ground
with a tent-peg between his legs, hammering away
with a very moderate-sized stone, amid the laughter
and gentle deprecation of my men.
In the middle of the tent-peg dilemma, up swaggers
Brahim Khamis with a bundle of camel-reins in his
hand. He has been letting the camels loose to graze.
On hearing the difficulty, his scorn is too great for
utterance. It actually swells him out, Brahim the
Jemadar takes him by the arm, and picking up a
peg, quietly places it in the right position : " Strike,
my child," The " child " stalks up to the massive
mallet and picks it up, his legs perfectly rigid with
indignation. Carefully measuring his distance, he
whings the heavy mallet back over his head at arms'
length, and whack, whack, until at the eighth stroke
the peg head is fairly buried. Still scornful he goes
the round, and drives every peg in exactly the same
waj'-, and then with lofty indifference stands by and
lets the common herd tie the ropes.

1 86 THE MUHASSIL.
It was always a treat to see this sturdy young
fellow drive a tent-peg, a thing by no means so easy
as it looks. Brahim Jemadar was good, but was so
tall that, unless with a specially long-handled mallet,
he had to stoop at each blow. To look at the little
Brahim you would think that he was simply swinging
the mallet round his head. It never seemed to stop.
As soon as it had done its work with a thundering
crash on the peg, it was dexterously twisted off, and
before you realized it, was again on the upward swing.
More than once, in elastic shingly ground, I have seen
large three-foot tent-pegs fly from fifteen to eighteen
feet in the air under the doughty strokes of this young
hero. As we laughingly resumed our seats after this in
cident, there arrived at our Durbar a man whom to
my astonishment I recognised as a Persian, When I
heard him welcomed as the Muhassil, or tax-gatherer,
I began to see more how matters stood. Here, no
doubt, was the key to the Rais' extraordinary be
haviour, his aping of poverty and humility, intended
of course to impress the Muhassil with the idea that
he had beggared himself to supply the amount of
taxes required,
Mahomed Beg was as evil-looking, foxy-faced a
man as I ever saw ; but I had hardly time to greet
him, when down came a torrent of rain and hail, and
we hurried into the tent en masse, as fast as we could.
The tent, however, was not as comfortable as it
might have been, for the wind blew down the gorge
with such violence, that while the storm lasted four
or five men had to sit outside and hold the tent-
ropes.

AN ARAB IN DIFFICULTIES. 187
When the storm cleared off, my visitors took their
departure, the Rais providing for all our wants in the
way of dates, flour, etc., and saying that he would
come and see me again shortly. The rest of the
afternoon was spent in receiving visitors of inferior
rank, and doctoring patients, chiefly ophthalmic.
I must not, however, forget a visit from an unfor
tunate Arab, rather a singular person to meet in these
mountain fastnesses. He was a horse dealer, from
Maskat, and what extraordinary chain of circum
stances had brought him here, where there were only
two roads practicable for horses, I could never find
out. His servant was ill with fever, and he himself
had had toothache for three weeks. Just as he was
showing me his mouth, which was terribly swollen, we
heard outside the rink-a-tink of the iron pestle and
mortar in which Ghulamshah was pounding coffee.
His whole bearing changed at the old home sound,
now so trebly dear to him from long absence.
" Sidi," he said, nearly biting my finger off. " Sidi,
had tha kahwa ? " (Is that coffee ?)
We rejoiced his heart, by giving him as much as he
could drink, and by sending after him a small bagful.
Towards evening the Rais was ushered into my
tent, with a certain degree of secrecy, and accom
panied only by the faithful " Pearly-eared One," who,
I found, had married his sister.
This looked like business, and after tea and kalians
(my tea and kalians were, by the way, the only things
of the kind in the country), I duly propounded my
necessities, — guides to Anguhran, and should the road
prove impracticable for camels, as I had heard it
was, donkeys, for which I would pay well.

1 88 GUIDES AND THE ROUTE.
The Rais was no longer the buffoon of the after
noon, but a shrewd practical man, and laying his hand
on my arm, and speaking in a rapid impressive
manner, he answered thus :
" Waja," he said, " I don't know who you are, or
where you come from. You may be as you say, a
Feringi, merely going on a visit to the Governor of
Kirman ; or you may be an agent of the Feringi
Government, of which I have heard, and come for
some purpose, I know not what ; or you may be a
messenger from Maskat, for you are said to be an
Arab, I do not know what you are, but you shall
have my safe conduct as far as Anguhran,"
This was good so far, and I professed my gratitude,
and Brahim incidentally placed a tin of gunpowder in
the " Pearly-eared One's " hand, I then asked about
the roads, and his answer was equally decided, and,
though I didn't think so at the time, equally sincere.
He said : " It is perfectly impossible for you with
your ' dashti ' [plain) camels, to go by the Anguhran
route. It is true that the Muhassil is going that way,
but his case is very different. He rides a trained and
practised horse, and he has only six donkeys, the
whole of which do not carry as much as half the
burden of one of your camels. The only path
possible for you is by Telling, and I will give
you a guide for that route, and you shall go by no
other. And if you insist upon going to Anguhran,
I will give you a guide thither, but you must go
no farther, for beyond that are a bad people with
whom I am at war, and with whom my safe con
duct would be your death warrant, even were it not
enough that you have come from my country ; for

BASHAKARD POLITICS. 189
seeing that I have not plundered you, they would
knpw you for my friend,"
We then chatted on other subjects, and soon after
wards he took his leave, begging that in the morning
he might bring a friend, who was suffering from
ophthalmia. I will here give a slight rdsumd of the political
events in Bashakard during the last two years.
The six provinces of Bashakard were under six
governors, who, until the end of 1874, paid allegiance
to a clever and fierce old man called Seif Allah Khan,
who had, about twenty-five years ago, consolidated his
position by building a huge fortress at Anguhran in
the centre province Daroser. Early in life, in one of
his innumerable fights, he had incurred a blood feud
with the tribe of Ghulam Abbas, ruler of Daroser.
This, however, had been expiated by many deaths on
both sides, and all seemed tranquil. Seif Allah
Khan's power, won by the sword, now seemed firmly
established, peace reigned for some years, and many
date groves were planted. The subordinate provin
cial governors were in a state of unwonted unison, and
an unfortunate tax-gatherer, ill-advisedly despatched
from Kirman, was murdered off-hand.
But the proud intolerant mind of Seif Allah Khan
still rankled under the loss of a near relative, who had
fallen in the blood feud with Ghulam Abbas. The
sore was kept open by the father of the dead man, by
whom he was constantly urged to wield the great
power which he had acquired. Yielding at last, Seif
Allah Khan resolved upon a foul and horrible deed,
a crime which has no parallel in the annals of Mekran
or Western BalQchistan,

X90 A HORRIBLE MURDER.
He had been on a journey, and on his return,
Ghulam Abbas, with all the leading men, came to
visit him. In the great gateway they were received
with a volley which stretched, it is said, seven of them
lifeless on the floor,
I was told that Seif Allah Khan alleged as a reason
for this diabolical act, that Ghulam Abbas had been
intriguing with the Persians, However that may be,
the whole country was raised upon him, and the
Kirman Government, who always keep a watchful eye
for cases of dissension among the chiefs of Bashakard,
professed great indignation at the murder, and sent
down thirty horsemen. In a country where none but
chiefs ride horses, this of course was regarded as an
almost invincible army. These horsemen, though a
month before they dared not have put a foot in the
country, were enabled, now that the master hand was
gone, to penetrate to Anguhran. Seif Allah Khan,
however, had shut himself up in his fortress, and they
could do nothing. Rais Ali, governor of Pizgh, where
we now were, ivas chosen from the other governors
as being of the Ghulam Abbas family, and he was
promised the governorship if he could deliver up Seif
Allah Khan. This last he of course would not do,
as one BalQch would never deliver up another to
the hated Persians.
Making a feint of acceptance, he gathered men, and
in a half-hearted way besieged the fortress for nearly
a year. At the end of this time, the water in the
wells became undrinkable, and terms were made. It
was then found that there were only two or three of
the besieged left, the rest having one by one escaped.
Those remaining were allowed to go unscathed, Seif

NEGOTIATIONS. 191
Allah Khan fled in safety to Marz, the province of
which he had once been governor, and Rais Ali re
turned to Pizgh. So far, so good : Rais Ali was suc
cessful, and governor of Bashakard. But the position
had its penalties. Soon came the Persian tax-gatherer,
saying, " Now you are governor of Bashakard, where
are the taxes ? "
Early next morning, while I was still brushing my
hair, an operation which always excited unqualified
astonishment, the Rais and his son were announced.
The latter picked up a copy of Hafiz which was lying
about, and began to read with great glee, while his
proud father almost burst with self-gratulation. The
latter had come, he said, to take leave of me for
to-day, he was going to see the tax-gatherer off. His
little son, however, an exact reproduction of his father,
was deputed to supply all my wants. He repeated
all he had said yesterday about the roads, and took
his leave, saying that Mahomed Beg was going to call
on me, and that that gentleman wanted something to
make him drunk. Mahomed shortly after came in,
and in a circuitous manner asked for spirits. I had
not a drop of anything of the kind, and said as much,
but in an indirect way, and followed it up by questions
as to the real state of the direct route to Kirman, thus
giving him to understand that he might get what he
wanted if I got what I wanted, namely, the truth as
to the road's practicability for camels. He answered
that if I was really an Englishman, and going to see
the Governor of Kirman, it would be his pleasure to
assist me in every way ; but he added, with what he
meant for a crafty smile, he had seen me reading Per
sian books, and if I were a naib, or perhaps a sultan.

192 NEGO TIA TIONS.
we should be brothers. He would get my camels
through for me somehow, and we should go along
together, I replied coldly that the Governor of Kirman would
be able to judge as to whether I had been misled or
not as to the nature of the direct road, and begged
him to confine himself to a simple statement on that
head, could my camels travel it or not ?
He was here supplied with a glass of liquor am-
monise and water flavoured with essence of pepper
mint, which fearful mixture he appeared to relish
vastly. He then began a rambling speech, saying that
I could not expect to travel anywhere in this country
with " dashti " camels, that my men were on the point
of leaving me, that my baggage was enormously
cumbrous, etc., and ended by advising me to sell the
camels and hire donkeys and accompany him. On
the whole, his main idea seemed to be that I should
accompany him, doubtless with visions of prospective
brandy. He was bowed out, and, I heard afterwards,
made Brahim a small present to see if any spirits were
to be had.
My next visitor, in the middle of breakfast, was
an unfortunate old chief, Mahomed Mir Khanjan,
governor of the province of Marz, and almost blind
from ophthalmia. This was the man of whom the
Rais had spoken, and I very quickly determined how
to steer with him. My answers were rather curt at
first, and I went on eating eggs as if unaware of
his presence. But the poor old fellow would stand
a good deal from one who might, restore to him his
eyesight, and at last he implored me to do something
for his eyes. To this I replied, somewhat bitterly, that

NEGOTIATIONS. 193
it seemed as if the BalQchis of this country were not
BalQchis at all, that it was all beg, beg, beg, and that
when I just asked for a small thing, such as guides
for the Anguhran route to Kirman, I was met by what
was worse than a flat refusal, namely, equivocation ;
and with that I called for more of the flat unleavened
cakes which were our bread.
The old man was thoroughly roused. Seizing the
arm of the faithful fellow who guided his steps, he
said angrily, " This my own servant shall guide you to
Anguhran, or anywhere you will. You shall pay him
nothing, but you shall give him a paper to me when
ever you discharge him, saying whether he has served
you well or not. Only," he added, " if your dashti
camels cannot go through, and if you are obliged to
abandon all your baggage, it is not his fault You say
you can get them through, and you may try ; all I can
say is, that no camels, even hill camels, have ever yet
done the journey."
This was enough for me. I rose and took the old
man's hand : " My father," I said, " we two are trust
worthy ; I will not take your servant, nor will I take
the Anguhran route." After some more conversation
I examined his eyes, and made him a solution of
nitrate of silver, and told him its use, and, putting
my hand on his shoulder and looking full into his
almost sightless face, added, " As you have spoken
truly to me, so may my medicine cure your eyes."
Just then a tall active young fellow named PirQ looked
in at the tent door, and announced that the Rais had
sent him to guide me to Anguhran,
This was rather sharper work than I expected, but
I soon decided to start, as on my return I could easily
o

194 EN ROUTE FOR ANGUHRAN.
re-open the question of routes, and should have much
additional experience to guide me. Brahim was duly
instructed in the careful winding of the chronometer,
and also told to make all inquiries about the country
he could think of Ghulamshah packed up a couple
of mackintoshes, a small portable kettie and saucepan,
tea, flour, and dates, Australian beef, tobacco, aneroid,
max. and min. thermometer, prismatic compass, sketch
book, notebook, and a dry pair of socks. Gazo took
a spare pair of saiidals, and in spite of all delays, by
10.30 that forenoon we were fairly on the way to
unravel the -hitherto unfathomed mystery as to the
existence, position, size, etc., of Anguhran.
We had a stiffish climb before us, and as we loaded
the donkey with our baggage, I heard the old Rais,
who appeared to be always going but never gone, come
up to Piru and warn him solemnly not to deviate from
the track he had told him to go, for we were certain to
be robbed, and he had a great dread of being called
over the coals by the Feringi Government, of the
powers of which he had a very exaggerated conception.
For the first half-hour we were climbing up and down
steep rounded mounds of brittle laminated blue clay,
which ran from three hundred to five hundred feet
high, and which sustained no vegetable life whatever.
Turning round towards the huge Durini hill,* under
which we had been encamped, Piru pointed out, almost
at its summit, twb or three little green thickets nestling
in its cavernous irregularities. Here was the Rais'
eyrie, and hither in the frequent times of disturbance
he collected the flocks and inhabitants of all his
* Local name for the end of the Aphen-i-Band or range. ,

THE RAIS ALPS MOUNTAIN STRONGHOLD. 195
little outlying villages, Piru waxed quite enthusiastic
in describing his lord's lofty castle. Here was a
perennial spring of the sweetest water, the source in
fact of the stream in whose bed lay our camp ; here
were green kunar bushes for the young goats, and
patches of wheat Here the Rais had planted pome
granates, and there were three orange trees, and in
fact it was quite a little paradise.
" Ah," I answered, " please God, when I return
from Anguhran, I will go up there and see this
lovely place."
" Yes," he replied, " but you might wander about
many months without finding the road ; and, indeed,
should you not kill yourself by falling down, the
watchers would not know you, and would throw rocks
down upon you. But if the Muhassil has gone, and
you are very active, like an ibex, perhaps the Rais will
let me show you the place. And there you will, if
there are no clouds, be able to see the sea."
This last was probably true, for about twelve miles
to the east there was, in this same range, a peculiar
notch which was visible from Jask, and of which before
starting I had taken bearings, and by latitude observa
tions we were only sixty miles distant from the coast
as the crow flies.
Soon we got again amongst the old sandstone rocks,
and into a broad and deep dry water-course, where we
found a small village of three or four families and as
many mat huts, all the property of the Rais. Here
PirQ tried to hire another donkey, and I at first agreed
to wait. But as he commenced the negotiation by
sitting down to smoke some of the tobacco I had
given him, I carried him off without waiting for the

196 BASHAKARD SCENERY.
end of it, and we trudged along up the river-bed.
This was, where possible, dammed up by solid stone
dams sixteen feet high, and the oblong patch of rich
soil thus produced planted with numerous date-trees,
the fruit of which is said to excel all other dates. I
believe, too, that it is not usual for date-trees to grow
at such an elevation as they do in Bashakard, where
they are found 2,770 feet above the level of the sea.
These patches of soil were covered with long grass,
which presented a most curious appearance, being
almost buried in masses of hailstones. Each hailstone
retained its individual shape and size, something that
of a sparrow's egg, and the whole resembled masses
of frog spawn. After crossing more shurs, and still
keeping a general course of N, 20° E,, at 1,47 p.m,
we topped a high cliff and found ourselves over
looking the most magnificent view that even this
picturesque country had yet shown us.
Far below at our feet sparkled a brook of crystal
clearness, rippling and splashing along over a bed of
jet black stone relieved by a network of white quartz
veins. The brook was fringed on either side by a
narrow belt of tall graceful date-palms towering from
out of the rich green setting of a thicket of bistil *
bushes. At the back rose sheer 600 feet a frowning
black cliff, on the edge of which was balanced an enor
mous block of pink stone, and all around were rugged
hills of all colours. I have been found fault with in
England for not sufficiently admiring the beauties
of nature, and I had been brought to think that I
was incapable of thoroughly appreciating fine scenery.
* A kind of pepper.

BASHAKARD SCENERY. 197
The grand sight before us, however, drew admiration
from all. " This," said Piru, exultingly, " is Shahr
Baghi.* Have you any such place as this in your
country ? "
I sent the men down to the foot of the cliff to make
tea and get our noon meal ready, and sat myself down
on a flat rock to meditate upon the extraordinary coun
try I had entered upon. Behind me, as far as the
eye could reach, lay what might be called a purgatory
of chaotic scorched-up rocky crags, range after range
of which we had laboriously toiled across. Before
me ran a stream of clear rippling water fringed by
green trees and long grass, making a little garden of
paradise. As slowly and meditatively I filled a well-
earned pipe, a slight snort attracted my attention ; and
looking round, I became aware of a flock of fourteen
beautiful mountain sheep, regarding me some with
indifference and some with curiosity. They passed
slowly on within sixty yards of me, one grand old
fellow who had been leader remaining to continue his
scrutiny until far behind the rest. As he trotted off
with a couple of complacent little snorts, I could not
help thinking of the old Bashakardi, mentioned in my
sixth chapter, who had lived 3,000 years but never seen
such an astonishing thing as my caravan, and I won
dered whether the old ram would go off to his family
with a similar observation. While thus musing, a
small avalanche of rocks was displaced to my left, and
there appeared the good-natured face of Ghulamshah
announcing that tea was ready, so I slid and scrambled

* Shahr Baghi (the garden city), a name common in many corrupt
forms, as, Shahr Bawegh, Shahr Babeg, etc.

198 BASHAKARD SCENERY.
down to where an armful of branches had been placed
as my seat on the brink of the rushing stream.
Tea and dates were soon despatched in a bower of
fine alder trees forty feet high, and on a carpet of a
diminutive wild peppermint, and in twenty minutes we
were again on the march after registering the barometer
at 26'6 (3,246 feet). Here, where except in the torrent
beds there is no soil, the stratification of the rocks is
everywhere exposed to view, and in some cases most
curious. The Rastu mountain, which we were now to
cross, resembled nothing so much as an enormous
tortoise, while across the torrent bed just ahead of us
ran a succession of natural terraces of which the natives
had availed themselves for date groves.
From the top of Rastu we had a very extensive
view. Across the northern horizon in the farthest
distance ran the lofty Marz range, which, with the plains
on its northern side, forms the province of Marz. To
the east as far as the eye could reach, ran range after
range of low hills, • These were the Gavr and Parment
provinces, the least hilly of the whole country and pro
ducing good camels. Around us were three or four
tall rugged peaks rearing their heads about 1,000 feet
above our present level, where the barometer indicated
26 (3,858 feet). As we pressed on, another herd of
twelve mountain sheep wandered carelessly by. They
looked very beautiful with their ruddy fawn-coloured
hair, and I own this time the sporting instinct was
very strong. But business had to be attended to, and
I had no gun.
At 4 p,m. we were picking our way up a narrow
chasm, the sides of which were beautiful blue and
purple marble veined with white. Soon afterwards, we

BIR JAMAL. -. 199
crossed a small valley in which were the remains of
thirty or forty date-stick huts, and this, Piru informed
us, had been the camp of Rais' army when on the war
trail to capture Anguhran, Then we struggled up a
huge Bir, as I shall in future call the mounds of lami
nated clay which I have before described. This was
Bir Jamal, a name undeniably Arabic, though PirQ
indignantly denied it, and at its summit the barometer
marked 25*82 (4;o7i feet). It began to get rapidly
dark, and PirQ, who with characteristic quickness had
soon discovered Gazo's easy-going nature and given
him the donkey to drive, began to call back to him to
hurry on. Poor old Gazo struggled on bravely though
he was pretty tired, and he had at times to almost carry
the donkey round corners and hang all his weight on
its tail going down steep places. He would only
soliloquise in his whimsical way, " Ah, if only Tajoo
and Alishah were here just to see a little of this kind
of luxury, I should be quite happy," Tajoo and Ali
shah had made him their especial butt always in camp,
and he would dearly have enjoyed seeing them in the
same predicament as himself, with a tired donkey, a
dark night, and a road full of precipices. And if they
had been there he would have laughed at them and
done all their work. The donkey, like all these Basha
kard donkeys, was preternaturally active over the hills,
and seemed to have equal parts of monkey and ibex
in its composition, but it was getting tired and hungry.
Just as the darkness closed in, we were rather startled
by an incident which might have had serious results,
I was picking my way down a chasm close behind
Piru, when suddenly with a loud yell he flew into the
air, I then became aware of a loud hissing somewhere

200 A HORNED SNAKE.
close in front of me, but I couldn't for the life of me
make out where, " Snake ! " yelled PirQ, and / flew
into the air, — backwards, — knocked down Gazo, and
we both slid, rolled, and scrambled down over the
exact spot whence the hissing appeared to come, PirQ
came to the rescue, and before we could struggle to
our feet he was dangling triumphantly the bruised
and mangled body of a hideous horned snake.
At 6 p.m. a light was seen below us, then the
barking of dogs was heard, and we were led by Piru
to the hut of one Jaafir, one of the Rais' head men
and now in charge of this village.
After a free fight with a quantity of savage dogs, we
effected an entrance. Where walls and doors are all
made of ragged matting, it is difficult in darkness to
ascertain which is which, and we made considerable
havoc on a wrong side before a gruff roaring voice
from inside explained our mistake. When we arrived,
the mother of the family was just preparing supper of
thick slabs of unleavened bread baking on a broad, thin
flake of sandstone. Three pretty little girls and two
thin-armed but vigorous-looking little boys watched
the operation with considerable interest, while the burly
old paterfamilias, a very gorilla of a man with a broad
good-natured face, was blackening his eyelids with
antimony and in a general way dressing for dinner.
The father and two sons wore simple homespun
kilts, while each had a sort of coarse cotton plaid which
he bestowed about him with much natural grace. It
would appear that the plaid pattern is the easiest to
weave, for it has been the first effort of the Highlanders
both of BalQchistan and Scotland, We received a
hearty welcome when Piru had explained who we were.

A NIGHT IN A BASHAKARDI HUT. 201
The old mother squeezed out of the skin a profuse
allowance of ghee in our honour, and a little boy was
set to work with a stick to dig out more dates from
the mass in the basket Presently old Jaafir said to
'Piru : " The waja knows of course that he is very
welcome to share our meal, but he knows it is very
coarse food ; and if he have with him any of his own
food, let him cook it, I shall not be ashamed,"
It was a delicate piece bf politeness on the old
fellow's part, and had I been unwell I might have been
glad of it. As it was, however, the only thing I begged
permission to add was a bowl of tea sufficient for all
parties. This, when diluted with hot water to the
condition of eau sucrd, was much appreciated. Then
came a great luxury, in the shape of a handful of a
small dried fish called Metoot, which the old man with
conscious pride instructed his wife to produce. It was
curious to see the politeness even over this rarely
attainable delicacy. The guests positively refused to
touch another fish when they were half finished, and
the host had to distribute the remainder in small
bunches all round.
During the evening the married daughter came in
to see the stranger, and we had one or two other
visitors, all announced by a furious onslaught by the
dogs. The biggest of these was a very fine shaggy
animal answering to the name of " Chambur," derived,
according to his owner, from cham or cheshm burl-
dan, " the cutter-out of eyes."
At about 9 p.m. we all turned in where we
were, and then our difficulties began. The hut was
only fifteen feet long, eight feet wide, and in the
centre seven feet high. All round the wall were

202 A NIGHT IN A BASHAKARDI HUT.
Stuck little young branches of kunar bushes, and
tethered opposite these were over thirty little baby
goats, who were practising eating on the young leaves.
Then there were four old mother goats, who bleated,
snorted, and were otherwise troublesome all night.
One end of the hut was of course occupied by the
host and his wife, with their children and the miscel
laneous assortment of spinning wheels, old saddles,
and cradles which form the furniture of a Baluch hut.
The other side of the fireplace, that is, the other end
of the hut, was devoted to PirQ, Gazo, Ghulamshah,
myself, the goats, and a stack of firewood. In accents
of the most venomous sarcasm, I said to PirQ, " Don't
you think that poor donkey had better have been
brought inside too ? " " No," said Piru reflectively,
" I think he'll do where he is," I have often found
my sarcasms fall flat, but never so fearfully flat as
this, and I felt very abject We got through the
night somehow, though I had to get up once and tie
Gazo's legs up to the wall. He was so fearfully
reckless with them, that had this ingenious idea not
occurred to me we should have got up in the morning
and found " we were all dead men," or something of
the kind. The goats, too, " sucked all the goodness "
out of the lappet of my mackintosh collar.
When I awoke, the old mother was already cooking
more slabs of bread. The keen misty morning air
came pouring in at the open door, where peered in
at least twenty hairy noses belonging to as many old
goats just released from their stable, and come to
look after their young ones. Of these, however, some
were still too young to go, and it was amusing to
watch the selection. The smallest girl planted herself

DEMONS AT LAST. 203
gravely in the doorway. She was a plump littie
thing, not three feet high, and very active with her
hands, hardly missing a kid that her brother inside
shouted to her to stop. The fondness of the two
boys, too, for the quaint little goats was very interest
ing, and often before letting them go they would take
them up in their arms and give them a hearty kiss
on their snub noses. There was an air of hearty
good nature all round, which made the recollection
of this camp very pleasant in our minds.
At 7 a.m, I strolled on ahead of the others, enjoy
ing the still morning air and wonderful rock scenery.
The camp of last night was a small village of six
mat huts, placed as usual in the bed of a water-course.
They and their inhabitants all belonged to the Rais,
and they appeared contented and simple people.
Our road to-day was down a torrent bed instead
of up it, and after a brisk walk, at 9 a.m., from the
top of a small Bir (bar. 26*3, 3,552 feet), we sighted in
the distance the imposing fort of Anguhran,
I own to a feeling of satisfaction at actually seeing
this place. We had not had a long or arduous journey
to it ; still, in a perfectly wild and unexplored country,
many accidents may happen to prevent one's reaching
any one particular spot.
We pressed on in high spirits, and were trudging
along a wet stream bed, when I suddenly noticed
some to me quite new footprints. "Ah! ha!" said PirQ
and Gazo in a breath, " perhaps you'll believe us now,
those are the pugs of a female hirsh and its baby.
There, don't you see ? it's been walking on its hands and
feet, and (pointing a little farther on) there it wanted
to look about, and stood up straight," Here was a

304 DEMONS AT LAST.
wonderful discovery I There was something in these
demons then, after all, and I eagerly asked questions
about them. Had PirQ and Gazo ever seen them ?
How tall were they ? etc., etc., for the idea seized upon
my mind that it was a kind of ape, and to find apes
here would indeed be a discovery. The gist of my
friends' information was this: They were originally
descended from a cross between the donkey and the
human race. They were extremely fierce, and much
more cunning than men. They opened the caves in
which the grain was stored, however cleverly they were
hidden. They climbed up the date- trees and picked
the dates. When seen by man, they stood up erect
and did not run away. They would tear up a tree
as a weapon. Finally they were the size of a well-
grown man ; they were covered with long black glossy
hair, and had no tails,
I took a careful sketch of the footmarks, and that
was all I could do at present.
As we marched on, more pugs were seen, and then
more, until at last there must have been twenty hirshes
passing along this path. At half-past nine we arrived
at Shahr Pahtik, a place where the torrent bed
widened, and where, a quantity of silt having been
deposited, cultivation was carried on. Here in this
little green oasis grew figs, limes, mangoes, maize,
alder, willow, and Koh-i-Sang, a handsome tree I have
been unable to identify. Following up the torrent
bed, which widened rapidly into a. broad valley, at
10.30 we arrived amongst the numerous date- trees of
Anguhran, and camped beneath the hill on which the
fort was placed.

CHAPTER VIII.
Seif Allah Khan's fortress. — The river system. — Baluch marriage
difficulties. — Nightmare hysenas. — The Kagar Koh and ancient
fort. — Leave Rais All's. — Watched ofif the premises. — Fowls and
eggs. — Geological researches unappreciated. — Partridge shooting
extraordinary. — More murder. — Stealing the guns of the watch.
— The demons are bears. — Camels in trouble with bears and
snakes. — Start for the spring of oil. — -The Khan lectures on
botany.
IHAVE forgotten to mention that about an hour
after leaving Rais All's, a man had come running
after us with a letter, which he gave to PirQ ; and now
while the kettle was boiling for tea, Piru left us to
deliver this missive. While I was shaking the dust
and shingle out of my shoes, I observed that first one,
then two, and gradually several, armed men began to
appear among the date-trees, and, after inspecting us,
to quietly disappear again.
However, I did not at present see my way to
taking any notice of them with effect, so we peacefully
continued our meal, Gazo supplying a luscious addition
by climbing up the tree under which we sat, and
cutting a solitary branch of dates which were still
hanging. Presently loud and angry voices came along the
path. "I won't go; he has escaped. He left last
night Where shall I find him now ?" etc., and soon

2o6 FORT OF ANGUHRAN.
PirQ appeared accompanied by two strangers, who
saluted shortly and continued their argument
It seemed that the letter Piru had brought was to
the head man, warning him to be careful of my safety,
and instructing him to pay the Muhassil some money
when he should arrive. The two men were the Mu-
hassil's servants, who were protesting that they had
not been instructed to detain the head man, who had
left, and that now it was too late to pursue him, PirQ
explained that the armed men were merely watchers
looking out for Seif Allah Khan, should he endeavour
to return.
The massive but now partly ruined fort of Anguh
ran, which would hold two hundred men easily, and
four hundred in time of war, is perched on the very
apex of a narrow tongue of land or cliff formed by the
convergence of two broad and deep torrent beds.
These two rivers come from S.S.W. and N.N.W.,
and after confluence go off to join the river Jagin with
a S.E. course. It is a coincidence that on the pris
matic compass the bearings are 135°, 235°, and 335°.
The hill on which the fort stands is about 360 feet
high, and, being formed of a conglomerate of clay and
shingle, is not quite perpendicular, though only acces
sible on the S.W. side, in which, near the apex, is the
only entrance and the only well. The ordinary path
up is narrow, tortuous, and very steep, and would be
rendered very difficult by the destruction of some
artificial steps which now make it practicable.
The walls are lofty and very massive. From the
base about seven feet upward they are built of large
boulders of rounded stones, and above that of a
tenacious clay.

SEIF ALLAH KHAN'S FORTRESS. 207
The citadel and chief quarters ran across the fort
rather nearer the apex than the centre, and are still in
fair repair.
Behind this is the main court, to which no one was
allowed access but the soldiers. The walls are pierced
for matchlock men, and a platform for them to stand
upon is contrived in the way usual in this country, by
a kind of thick inner wall about eight feet lower than
the main wall. Outside the northern wall is a dry
fosse, about twenty-five feet deep and twenty broad,
cut straight across the peninsula, leaving only a narrow
passage between each end of the fosse and the cliff.
In both courts, which are overlooked by the chief's
quarters, are the remains bf neat rows of mat huts in
which the soldiery lived.
The food of the fort lies all around in immense date
plantations which fill the valley, in elevated spots in
which are also grown wheat, maize, pomegranates, etc.
The well, which is near the entrance, formerly
reached to the bed of the river. It was choked up by
the besiegers on the capture of the fort, and is about
the only effective piece of destruction they perpetrated,
as they could do little harm to the strong walls.
The fort is of roughly triangular shape, about a
hundred and eighty yards long by sixty broad across
the centre. At the foot of the S.W. face are two
buildings which formerly served as masjids, or mosques,
and which would afford good cover for a small attacking
party. Such was the almost impregnable stronghold of the
fierce old Seif Allah Khan, which only yielded after a
year's besetment, and it is now so little damaged that
should his family and adherents wait patientiy and

2o8 THE RIVER SYSTEM.
accumulate wealth by their flocks and agriculture, he
will reign again, and from the centre keep the whole
country in strict order.
There is but a very small channel of water in the
torrent beds which here meet, and the contrast
between the bed and the stream is throughout this
country very marked.
In some cases the stream has evidently followed
natural valleys, while in others a now small brook has
equally evidently forced a road a quarter of a mile
wide through solid rock, while in the case of the
Sharifi river, up which we marched, it had cut for
itself through amalgamated mud and shingle a bed
sometimes a mile wide and from sixty to a hundred
feet deep.
It might be said that the rivers did their work in
the rainy season when flooded, and the Tang- i- Fanoch,
described in a former chapter, as also the Geigen river,
which had shown us the road from the coast across
the mountain belt, may be instanced as cases of this.
In the former, high-water mark may be seen fifteen
feet above the summer level, and in the Geigen river
we ourselves saw the floods. But in many other cases,
such as the Sharifi, the Gaz Shirai (sweet tamarisk),
and the two other streams which join at Anguhran,
cultivation is carried on in the river-beds down to the
very verge of the channel. It would seem that either
at some previous time there has been enormous rain
fall, or that the present outlets to the sea have not
always been open. The theory that the water which
originally cut out, e.g., the huge bed of the Sharifi
river, has since been diverted to another channel, will
not hold good ; for the whole out-turn of water from

BALUCHI MARRIAGE DIFFICULTIES. 209
this country, from the Rapsh, in longitude 59° 25' E,,
to the Minab river, in longitude 57° 5' E., even when
multiplied by ten to compensate for the enormous loss
while crossing the sand strip from the mountain belt
to the sea, would hardly fill the Sharifi bed.
But it is time to get on the march again, for the sun
is over the meridian, and I have determined to return
to Pizgh by a new route called the Sardasht route.
There seem to be difficulties in the way, for I know
nothing of the route but its name. Piru protests
vehemently that there is no such road ; that any de
viation from the road by which we arrived will lead us
into a waterless country inhabited only by " demons ; "
and that should we escape these creatures, the best
fate that awaits us is to fall into the clutches of
Alaroussan Khan, who will rob me and kill him (PirQ)
offhand. It came out by degrees, and with much cross-
questioning, that PirQ had married a daughter of that
family, and that afterwards he had either been unable
or unwilling to make up her price, so her parents
had indignantly reclaimed her and commenced a hunt
after Piru.
This would be the commencement of a blood feud :
for should they succeed in killing Piru, PirQ's relations
would commence a hunt after his murderer ; and so it
would go on until the matter would become so serious
that overtures would be made about paying the extra
amount This kind of marriage is not uncommon,
Ghulamshah's brother had to be left behind in Jask,
as he could not enter Bashakard, He had married
a woman of Pizgh, and paid for her completely, but
when he went down to the coast she refused to follow

2IO THE SARDASHT ROUTE.
him SO far from her friends. He demanded repayment,
and her friends demanded that he should come and
live in Pizgh, Ghulamshah himself, who was recog
nised as belonging to Ghulam Htissein (the brother),
would have got into trouble on the matter had I not
been very 'peremptory about it Most Bashakardis
go about with their lives in their hands on account of
matters of this kind, and an instance will occur in the
sequel. However, I had during this discussion definitely
ascertained that there was a Sardasht route, and when
I assured PirQ that no one would dare to touch any
one under my protection, he reluctantly consented, and
by 2 p.m. we were fairly on the march up the Pahtik
river-bed. There is nothing like persistence in these
matters, even when there are hardly any grounds for
it, as in the preserit case.
At the commencement I had only an indistinct re
membrance that some months before, while prosecuting
inquiries about Bashakard, the Sardasht route to
Anguhran had been mentioned, but had I not been
firm, I should have had to go over the same ground
twice, which is always an unpleasant thing.
Presently we came to an encampment of three huts,
and were in the process of hiring a donkey for Ghu
lamshah, who was footsore, when who should appear
but the Muhassil with fifteen or sixteen men, among
whom was my blind friend Mir Mahomed Khanjan
of Marz,
They had come by the Sardasht route, and seemed
very much surprised at my having come by any other.
They were in ecstasies at the performance of the
rough, wiry pony on which the Muhassil was mounted,

NIGHTMARE HYENAS. 211
and said I should now see for myself how far the road
was practicable for my camels.
The Muhassil promised to announce my arrival to
the Governor of Kirman, and we trudged on our way.
Soon we turned out of the river and entered upon a
long valley of salt clay, which was a great relief to our
feet after the incessant climbing over rocks.
Little need be said of our walk henceforth. We
turned aside once to inspect a warm and intensely
bitter spring, a sample of the water of which I much
regretted being unable to bring away.
At 4,25 p.m, we crossed another neck of the Bir
Buland, where the barometer marked 28 (1,820 feet),
and at 4,55 we reached the bottom and prepared for
camp. Night closed in rapidly, and we got into a
snug little dell and set fire to three or four tall karsh
bushes [gynareum argenteum). By the lurid blaze of
these grand torches, we cut grass for the two donkeys,
collected firewood, and finally had a hearty meal of
tea, bread, and dates, and then turned in one on each
side of the fire under a beautiful starlit sky.
I remember even now the quiet beauty of that night,
for I was sleepless, and two or three times I replen
ished the old familiar " G.B.D," All was not, how
ever, as peaceful as it seemed, and as the fire waned,
the donkeys, tethered near, began to be uneasy, and
snort distrustfully.
Fatigue, however, gradually overcame me, and. I
slept the sleep of the weary.
Soon it seemed that out of the burnt and blackened
karsh bushes there peered the grinning mouth and
powerful fangs of an old hyaena, I shouted to drive
him away, but his shoulders and body gradually

212 NIGHTMARE HYENAS.
emerged, and he came straight towards me with the
horrid open-mouthed teeth-showing snarl habitual to
these brutes. Indignantly I seized a half-burnt log
from the fire and hurled it at him ; but it seemed to
vanish as it left my hand, and the brute still stealthily
approached. As I looked in astonishment and almost
anger, behold another close behind him, and another.
There is a rustling in the reeds, and the whole karsh
thicket seems alive with them. Suddenly behind me
rises slowly and gradually, more and more distinctly,
a low, thundering sound, and then, — can that be the
ring of iron ramrods ? — with an almost superhuman
effort I rise to my feet, seize a half-burnt log from the
smouldering fire, brandish it round my head, and —
awake 1
It is a dream ; dates and half-baked ' bread for
supper will have their way. The ringing of steel
ramrods, however, still continued in the thicket to my
left A thought flashed upon me, — my saddle, that
was my pillow, is gone,
I plunged in the direction of the sound with a shout
Three or four dark forms slunk away growling from
my saddle. The steel stirrups ringing on the rocks
as it was dragged away made one part of my dream,
but the rest, I fear, was wholly attributable to my
hearty supper,
Gazo and. Piru lazily looked up, asked, " what's the
matter," and decided to have a pipe, and in ten
minutes more all was peace again, and thus we re
mained till morning.
Nov, 13th, 6,40 a.m. Again on march, after noting
the minim, thermometer at 55, The "demons "had
prowled about us in considerable numbers during

THE KAGAR KOH. 213
the night, and I reflected a good deal on the extreme
shortness of their toes, which did not correspond with
my theory that they were apes.
About 9 a.m,, after good honest walking over hills
and plains, we sighted a most remarkable hill. This,
PirQ informed us, was the Kagar Koh, and on it are
the remains of a massive fort, built in the ancient
bygone times by Rustam and the Pehlevis, It is
totally unlike all other hills near it, most of which are
stratified and have a definite dip and strike.
This has the appearance of a huge white pillar,,
1,000 feet in diameter, projecting up from the crater
of a volcano. On the top are seen old walls and
three trees.
I at once determined to ascend this at all hazards..
There was, of course, the usual opposition from Piru,
who at first said the ascent was impossible ; then that
on the top was a very sacred shrine, and that if any
one heard that he had taken me there, they would
kill him ; and many other good and solid reasons, until
I got angry, and told him roundly to keep his lies to
himself, and to do what he was told.
Those who have never lived among an extremely
ignorant people with no written language, can form
no idea of the difficulty of obtaining correct informa
tion from a wild BalQch, even when he has the will
and the knowledge.
Take an ordinary guide who has travelled the route
for to-morrow perhaps a hundred times, and who is
extremely anxious to oblige you. You might be
tempted to sing out to him, " Oh, Hussein, how is the
road to-day ? " " Oh, the road's all right, Waja."
"Is it a long stage or a short one ? " That is too

214 THE KAGAR KOH.
intricate for him, and he says, " Eh ? " " Is it a long
stage ? " " No, it's not a very long one." " Is it a
short stage ? " " No, it's not a very short one, but we
shall get there this evening all right, I know the way."
Now travel through whatever kind of country you
might, — and there is a considerable variety in Basha
kard, — you would get the same answers to these ques
tions. Should the road lead over a sandy plain, or
through broken hills and down rocky water-courses,
you would get but one answer to your questions.
The man would willingly describe the road if he
could ; but he cannot project his mind far enough
ahead of the real present Put him on his memory,
aud you will have more success. " How long ago
was it that he travelled this road ? " " Who was with
him ? " " What load had he ? " etc, and such like ques
tions as may stir up a sluggish memory.
But the only way to get useful information about
the road, is to sit with the men while they talk and
chat about the next day's stage,
I believe no primitive uncultivated mind is to be
trusted in the least on any abstract subject It would
be difficult to find a parallel for this inixture of totally
unroused reasoning powers and high moral character.
This is a long digression, and it must be remembered
that I had just silenced PirQ's scruples about ascend
ing the Kagar Koh, and that now, after a severe
scramble, we have reached, as it were, the rieck or
rim, where the perpendicular part rises from the cone.
It seemed a tremendous height now we were close
under it, and some ravens, jackdaws, and hawks, the
only birds we had yet seen, looked like swallows as
they soared out from the cliff above.

THE KAGAR KOH. 215
But an insuperable objection to our getting higher
soon became apparent. It was the only one which
PirQ, experienced in my manner of treating objections,
had omitted to mention — it was impossible. The
next twenty feet or so were perfectly impracticable ;
and an avalanche of huge water-worn boulders was
all that remained of a stone staircase which had for
merly given access to this wonderful natural fortress.
We were now about 500 feet above the ground, and
the summit could not have been less than 500 more
from where we stood. >
Away nearly east, and some fifteen miles distant,
was a similar hill, which Piru said also contained
remains of fortifications ; but I could nowhere hear
the vestige of a tradition about their builders. They
were attributed to the ancient times, " the age of
Rustam and the Pehlevi."
Due south, a thin, spiral column of smoke rises from
the chaos of ridges and peaks stretched out below us,
and we gird up our loins and start for where Gazo
and Ghulamshah are making tea.
Henceforth it was merely a matter of hard walking
and taking bearings, both of which are sufficiently
explained on the map. Suffice it to say, that at 4.30
p.m, we were receiving a most hearty and cordial
welcome from the men, and all the kettles in the camp
were boiling in preparation for a tremendous wash.
The chronometer was all right — that was the first
thing ; but the thought of it had so preyed upon
Brahim's mind, that he declared he had been unable
to sleep, for fear something should happen to it
My two young malcontents were very sick indeed,
unable to work or do anything but lie wrapped up in

2i6 LEAVE RAIS ALTS.
their " hairy-hairies " and moan. After a careful
examination of their tongues and pulses, I assured
them of my intense sympathy for their sufferings, and
gave them each a rousing dose of Warburg's fever
drops, which is, I suppose, without exception, the
nastiest stuff in the whole world.
Next morning we bade farewell to the Rais, obtained
from him two guides, and after getting a meridian
altitude at noon, we left by a desperately hilly road
for the province of Jangda. Soon after starting, our
good-natured, much-enduring guide Gazo left us. He
had fulfilled his task of guiding us to Anguhran, and
was all anxiety to return to his recently married wife
at Geigen, He took a handsome bakshish in addition
to his pay, and a letter to a friend at Jask who had
kindly undertaken to act as my agent. This contained
instructions to pay none of my two sick friends' allot
ments to their families until further news ; also, should
they arrive without proper certificates of discharge, to
seize them " and cruelly entreat them,"
Having thus loaded my gun, I was careful not to
weaken myself by firing it off prematurely, and con
tented myself by darkly hinting that I had written
letters to Jask,
Meanwhile my two sick friends were mounted on
camels, and I spoke of them always in low tones, as
of men who would probably be afflicted with a grave
illness on account of their conduct in promising to
accompany a sahib on a journey and then wanting
to return halfway.
At 2 p.m, the disadvantage of having two guides
became very apparent ; my guide having taken one
path, and the one with the luggage having taken

WATCHED OFF THE PREMISES. 217
another, and we were compelled to get upon the tops
of hills and hoot.
They had got on ahead when I was taking bearings,
and we followed along a very picturesque valley.
During the struggle between Rais Ali and Seif Allah
Khan, the hills to our right and left had been lined
with little walled places for sharp-shooters, and these
were still numerous, and in good order ; and at one
time, happening to turn and look behind, I saw no less
than three black heads bob down.
The " Pearly-eared One " was walking and talking
with me at the time, so I had nothing to grumble at,
but it did seem at one time as if there might be
something in the Rais' instructions to follow only one
particular road.
At 3.10 we clambered out of this water-course, and
after two or three terrific hills, scrambled down into
the broad well-wooded valley of the Sharifi river.
Here was a beautiful valley, and it contained such
abundance of camel-fodder, that I determined to halt
for a day.
This evening I put four inches square of canthar
ides blister on the back of the necks of my two
patients, and next morning both were up and bust
ling about, leading their camels to water. Thus this
affair was settled for the present, and harmony was
restored. On the 1 6th we marched along, up rocky water
courses, winding amongst endless barren hills, and
camped near the Barahing hill. It was very absurd to
hear the BalQchis boasting how terribly the Bashakardis
were afraid of them. On the road to-day we had met
a man who stuttered dreadfully in his speech. This

2i8 ON TO BUN KER AM.
complaint is unknown on the coast, and was at once
ascribed to intense fear.
The " Pearly-eared One " was a great delight to us.
He was gradually proving to be the prince of guides,
and by far the most intelligent man in the country.
On leaving one camp, he would point out the bearing
of the next, and this, as checked by a back-bearing
from the second camp, so accurately as never to be 5°
wrong. The value of such a man was of course
inestimable to a traveller lost, as it were, in a maze of
high hills. He was a great scholar too, and carried
with him a large and well-thumbed Persian manu
script, from which in the evenings he would chant in'
a high droning voice for hours, a most odd medley
of the religious, superstitious, and meretricious. This
was at times inconvenient, as he considered himself
personally responsible for my safety, and invariably
slept across the door of my tent, and before going
to sleep he would always refresh himself by first
singing, and then translating to the admiring BalQchis,
a few gems from his repertoire.
On the 17th we moved on to Bun Keram, the
stony road telling frightfully on my poor camels, four
of whom were lame, two badly. To-day we turned
out of the Telling route, and went in a more northerly
direction, for I began to be much exercised about a
mysterious fountain of grease said to exist in the hills,
and to be used for lamps as well as to be a specific
for the mange in camels. After much discussion,
I persuaded Durgosh to diverge from his intended
route, though he declared that we were all risking our
lives, as the place was inhabited by men of the Seif
Allah Khan faction.

FOWLS AND EGGS. 219
Our camp to-night was in the broad and fertile
valley of the Gaz Shirai or sweet tamarisk river,
which reaches the sea at Sirik, The jungle was very
dense in some parts, and was delightful after the
barren hills. There was, too, a small village near,
and as I stood on the small smooth spot which I had
chosen for camp, and watched our camels gradually
filing up the ascent and kneeling round me to be
eased of their loads, I was electrified by hearing first
one, and then three or four distinct clucks. Not
a doubt about it, it was a hen, and Brahim was
immediately despatched to secure her, and as many
eggs as possible. It is a curious thing that BalQchis
look upon the idea of eating an egg with the greatest
disgust, regarding it in the light of a foetus or embryo.
With me, however, the case was different, and very
often my stomach totally refused all food but milk
and eggs. For some days now, mutton and dates
and bread had been my fare, and though that sounds
luxurious enough, still, when one is unable to eat any
of the three, orie yearns for other things.
There were here many acres of fertile alluvial soil,
and I noticed that it was so light, that the bullocks
required no goad while ploughing.
The encampment here belonged to Rais Ali, but
the men were very uncivil, and refused to sell any
thing. They were, however, sorry for their refusal
when they learnt that I was a doctor, and I eventually
got from two ophthalmic gentlemen, two fowls and
eleven eggs (all there were) for two small quantities
of solution of riitrate of silver,
I met here with the first cases seen in the country
of consumption and tapeworm. Nor must I omit

220 GEOLOGICAL RESEARCHES UNAPPRECIATED.
to mention that here we found the first vestiges of
fossil remains in Bashakard, namely, the cast of a
scallop shell ( ? Terebratula sufflatd) and a lump of
dark purple stone, which close examination proved to
be a kind of coral,
I find here noted in my note-book some rather
unkind reflections on the total want of appreciation in
the BalQch mind for geological researches.
This evening, on arriving at camp, I had as usual
my pockets full of specimens, and as ill luck would
have it, before I could disembarrass myself of them,
Durgosh came up and asked for the matches. To my
dismay, they are under the specimens, and I slowly
begin to turn them out He looks rather surprised at
the first, more so at the second, examines carefully
the third and fourth ; at the fifth he sits down opposite
me, as if prepared for any number more ; but at the
seventh he bursts into an uncontrollable roar of
laughter, in which he is joined by all the camel-men,
who, attracted by the extraordinary spectacle, were
standing breathless round me.
My pocketful of rocks was altogether too much for
them ; and weeks afterwards one of them would recall
the circumstance to hfs friend's memory, and they
would all go into fits of laughter.
Next day, the i8th, I had to wait for a meridian,
and we did not get off till 1,15 p.m,, and even then
we had not a very bright look-out I had four camels
out of six badly lame; before us lay a fourteen mile
stage over rough angular boulders ; and, as we were
to-night to arrive at the stronghold of our warlike
friend, the relative of Seif Allah Khan, to-night was,
according to the " Pearly-eared One," our last night of

PARTRIDGE SHOOTING EXTRAORDINARY. 221
life, Dar Pahan or " the open country," did not belie
its name, and as we travelled on, the hills gradually
got lower and the valleys wider.
Durgosh to-day distinguished himself in a re
markable manner as a sportsman. He began with
a " kabg," or red-legged partridge, which he killed
" fatally ded " at twenty yards, with an A A A wire
cartridge ; shot another at sixty- four yards, with an
old brown Bess (three or four of which I had pur
chased at three shillings each) which was loaded with
a miscellaneous assortment of shot of all sizes, gravel
and other things ; he got a third with a gun which
I assured him was not loaded ; and towards evening,
when it was too dark to see, he banged the head
clean off a "sussi," or rock-partridge, with a 12 -bore
bullet from my old Westley Richards. He always
presented arms at the first cluck, and with gun at
shoulder, finger on trigger, and body bent double,
would tear recklessly over hills and rocks, until he
fairly ran the wretched bird to earth.
As the darkness closed in upon us, and the rocks
and hills began to assume the weird fantastic shapes
always produced here by night-fall, this man called
me a little way off the track to show me a little nook
in the rocks where, but a short fortnight ago, he and
his brother had perpetrated a most bloody murder.
It was of course in pursuance of one of these
dreadful blood feuds. The murdered man had been
travelling alone from Jangda, and his two assassins
had followed him carefully for five days. Very early
on the morning of the sixth day, they came upon him
still asleep, and carefully withdrawing, Durgosh's
brother loaded his gun with twelve bullets, all the

222 MORE MURDER.
two men could muster between them. Then with the
utmost precaution they crept back over the rocks, and
drawing their swords in readiness, the brothers fired.
The wretched man was almost rolled round by the
shock, rose, staggered a few paces, and fell and was
immediately hacked to pieces.
All this my companion not only related to me with
much gusto, but actually acted for me — creeping over
the rocks, stealthily pointing his gun, — then, reversing
his position, he lay on the ground, started at the
imagined shock, rose, staggered forward, and fell with
a groan. This relation, with the wild scene, the
solitude, and the eager lifelike way in which the
acting was performed, made a powerful impression
upon me, and I could only wonder at the perfect
indifference to death these fellows displayed. Soon
we were disturbed by distant shouts from the men
crying for the guide ; and indeed well they might, for
such a trackless chaos of hills could hardly be found
in any other country than this, and we hurried on to
put the caravan in the right way.
It was not till 6,15 p.m, that Durgosh decided that
we had arrived at the village of Hussein Khan, and
though we could see nothing of the village, we camped.
At the sounding stroke of the mallet wielded by
little Brahim, and the flashing of my two hurricane
lanterns, which were invaluable on such occasions as
these, the inhabitants were aroused. There seemed
to be a considerable number of the men ; nor was their
appearance over friendly as they came and looked
suspiciously at us, speaking amongst themselves in
> undertones. We were evidentiy in the land of thieves, and here

STEALING THE GUNS OF THE WATCH. 223
any one moving about at night was sharply questioned.
The men all turned in under arms, with their guns
under them, and I hoped fervently that they might
shoot neither themselves nor the camels. I was busy
with the stars till late, when Durgosh came in
reporting that the chief recognised me as an old
friend and was coming to visit me to-morrow with
a large present.
Just as I was going to bed, in came Tajoo nearly
bursting with suppressed laughter. He had stolen
from under the men every single gun in the camp,
and now deposited them by my side in a bundle,
I hesitated at first whether to wake Brahim and
make him set a watch, but he was very unwell and
the men were so tired that we might have set as many
watches as we liked but could not have kept them
awake, so I decided to trust to Durgosh and keep the
guns in the tent for fear some outsider should imitate
Tajoo's feat
When daylight came, we found as usual that we
were in a broad river bed or valley much of which was
under cultivation, and close by us ran the river, while
at a little distance were about thirty mat huts.
While at breakfast, Brahim came in with a dreadful
report of the camels. The four that had been lame
were lamer than ever, " Seif kuta " was the ex
pression, meaning that the horny sole of their feet was
worn through, and in truth they left bloody marks
wherever they put their feet Nor was this all. The
big handsome Jaski liro had one leg swollen the
size of an elephant's, and the Jamaiti liro had got into
trouble with some wild beast during the night and had
received a fearful clawing in the neck.

224 THE DEMONS ARE BEARS.
This last was unanimously put down as the work of
a " hirsh," and there gradually dawned upon my mind
a suspicion as to what this mysterious animal was.
Had he a tail ? Yes, a very short one, but hardly
visible owing to the length of his hair. My hope for
ape discovery was a mistake. It was a bear.
It was odd that the Persian word " khirs," a bear,
had never occurred to me, but I was led astray by
the great insistence on his walking upright and
his wrongly imputed absence of tail. The Jaski lire's
swollen leg, however, was a most serious matter, I
had not the faintest idea what was the matter, but to
exhibit my ignorance would have been fatal ; so I did
what I could to promote discussion, and then authori
tatively decided the majority to be in the right.
With much solemnity we administered two table
spoonfuls of strong liquor ammonia, and whether it
was snake bite or not, the camel was able to march
next day, and the case was added by my men to my
list of marvellous cures.
Soon a body of men approached, amongst whom,
Brahim whispered, was Hussein Khan ; but which he
was I was at a loss to make out, for all were in exactly
the same dress. However, I put myself at the head
of the procession and led the way to the tent. Here
it soon becaipe apparent that the leader was even
worse dressed than the men, and indeed his men
murmured a good deal to mine afterwards that their
chief had not even a turban to put on when he went
to see a stranger. And yet this man was wealthy,
had many men and plough oxen, and was nearly
related to the late ruling family. But this is the way
here ; when a family meet with reverses, they live

START FOR THE SPRING OF OIL. 225
quietly, and by agriculture and a little trade they
gradually accumulate the sinews of war, and when
prepared, strike another blow for supremacy.
Our short interview was mainly about the ancient
forts and this fountain of oil of which I had heard.
He mentioned one fort, at the base of which was an
inscription, but it was merely " Turn to the right,"
in modern Persian, and hardly seemed of much in
terest He spoke also of having heard of another,
which gave a list of prices of dates, ghee, and other
things ; but he seemed vague as to where it was,
and refused point blank to entertain the idea of taking
me there, nor could any offer induce him to alter his
mind. It seems probable that the country about 58*30 E,
long, and 27 N, lat is inhabited by a Persianized
race in a much higher state of civilization than the
men of Bashakard, who make carpets, but not having
the dyes, are confined to black, white, and brown, the
natural colours of the wool. There are three villages
of the name of Seit, all more or less known by repute
to Baluchis, and all of which are said to produce
these carpets, suggesting the idea that the word " Seit"
has some meaning bearing on the subject
Hussein Khan, however, readily promised to show
me the oil fountain, and at 9.35 a,m, he, I, and
Durgosh with his donkey, started across the river in
a northerly direction.
The river was full of small fish of two kinds, and
a small crab of a dull greenish brown above and a
dirty white below.
Three or four hundred yards of very large shingle
thickly studded with tamarisk brought us to the steep
Q

226 START FOR THE SPRING OF OIL.
bank. Kabg, sussi, common partridge, Goa sand
pipers, and blue pigeons abounded, and we left the
enthusiastic Durgosh behind engrossed in the sport.
He missed something, however, for we crossed soon
afterwards about twelve acres of marshy meadow
land and flushed seven ducks. One of these was
afterwards bagged, and was identified by Professor
Newton as the common teal.
The rest of the way was hard scrambling, and it
came on to rain like a waterspout. I had a spare
mackintosh, and with some difficulty managed tb get
Durgosh manoeuvred into one, but much as he ad
mired its wet- resisting qualities, the confinemerit of
the garmerit was quite too much for him, and in less
than ten minutes he struggled out of it with a sigh
of intense relief
Wet always adds much to rock scenery by deepen
ing and softening the colours, and I was admiring
the desolate grandeur of the scerie, wheri, as we topped
a hill, we came upou life iri its most picturesque arid
harmonious aspect A tall powerfully built old
shepherd with a handsome white beard was leaning
in a very fine position upon a long and gnarled staff.
Round him crowded innumerable sheep and goats,
the glossy black hair of the latter contrasting well
with the snowy wool of the former.
Much as we admired the contrast between the
white-bearded old shepherd with his homely flock
and his rugged wild surroundings, the importance of
getting fresh meat for the camp was obvious, and we
made a descent upon the old man. He was, how
ever, exorbitant in his price, and I was obliged to
acquiesce in my companion's decision not to purchase.

THE OIL SPRING. 227
I was often obliged thus to go without meat when I
would have been glad to have given double the price
asked, for my reckless display of money would have
roused endless suspicion and trouble.
At last we struggled up a steep torrent bed full of
pampas grass, and the increasing size of the boulders
showed us that we were getting near the fountain
head. The regularity with which the stones gradually
decrease in size from the head to the embouchure of
these streams is very remarkable, the smallest pebbles
being of course carried farthest down by the water.
A curious instance of this on a gigantic scale will be
described further on.
Soon the gorge narrowed, and the pools of water
were covered with a sort of iridescent scum. The
rocks at the bottom were coated with a black deposit,
and now and then ornamented with white feathery
fungus, such as is seen in coal-pits. I could not pre
serve specimens of the fungus, for when picked it col
lapsed in much the same way as a sea anemone when
taken out of water. My guides, on seeing the quantity
of water in the torrent bed, began to exclaim that we
should see no grease ; and they explained that the
grease fountain being just in the stream course, the
least rairi washed away all the accumulated pool of
grease. We gradually became aware of a very old
and powerful smell of rotten cabbages, which affected
the natives' noses horribly.
At last we came to the " fountain," which would
be better described as a source. A huge boulder of
hard sandstone, the size of a railway carriage, jutted
out of the side of the hill into the water-course. One
end of this was quite black and greasy, and from no

228 THE KHAN LECTURES ON BOTANY.
one particular place, but as it were from every pore,
there oozed a kind of oil the colour of sherry.
But little oozed out in the cold weather, and what
there was was carried away by each freshet. But in a
dry summer, as far as I could gather from various
native accounts, as many as eighteen gallons are
collected and carried away to Minab to be burnt in
lamps. The ground underneath the stone was black and
saturated with the oil ; and pieces of earth, when once
lit, burnt freely, but with much smoke and a strong
bituminous smell.
Very little research satisfied my friends, who soon
adjourned to a neighbouring rock and there sat, a
most ludicrous spectacle, with their eyes blinking,
their noses grasped convulsively, and barking out,
when the coughing would let them, " Ai kih buash
ziadi giran ! " [Oh, but its smell is most fearfully
heavy !)
I bottled off a pyretic saline bottle full of specimen
stqne, and we took our way homeward, receiving, as
we climbed along the rocky path, a lecture on botany
from Hussein Khan, who had something to say about
every plant and shrub we passed. I unfortunately
lost the specimens of the only plant of much value,
which was one, the root of which was used as soap,
and which, without any preparation whatever, pos
sessed the most wonderful bleaching properties. It
was a littie round, flattened bush with pinnatifid
leaves, having a white silky gloss upon them. The
root was like that of a carrot, but fibrous.
As we neared our camp, we passed through the
Khan's extensive date groves, where were also many

RETURN TO CAMP. 229)
very large pomegranate bushes, which the Khan
said, with some pride, had been brought from Bam by
one of his ancestors.
When we got home, we found the camels so much
better that, to-morrow's stage being a short one, we
resolved to start.

CHAPTER IX.
We enter Persian Territory.
A ruined village. — Welcomed as traders in fish. — Bivouac stories. —
Ancient burying-ground. — Telling.' — Another postal curiosity. —
More doctoring. — Mutiny again. — Successful tactics. — Our new
guide Hussein. — We try to become Persians. — The " wide vnde
world." — Difficult passes. — Manujan. — Quack doctoring. —
Bustards. — Bargah.— Red-legged partridges. — Kahnu.
NEXT morning we followed the Dar Pahan
river, and camped on a small, well-treed plain
called Zamin Mulla, There were only two things
worthy of note on the road, one of which was the
remains of a very large village which had possessed
several water-wheels for grinding corn, and other signs
of wealth.
The river that had supported this village had, it
appeared, during a heavier flood than usual, broken
through some obstacle that had previously kept it up,
and now left the village three, miles to the south.
The other was an extremely steep and sharp-pointed
cone of shQr clay running up more than 600 feet
high, and exceedingly regular in shape. This was
called the Safit Gunj, and was a most remarkable land
mark, Zamin Mulla is the most westerly village but one
in Bashakard, We were now on the caravan route
between Minab and Bashakard, and the people at a
small village here took us for traders, and rushed

WELCOMED AS TRADERS IN FISH.

231

up making most importunate inquiries for dried fish.
The men entered into the joke at once, and made the
poor people's mouths water by eloquent descriptions
of the beautifully salted fish that my boxes contained.
There was a capital minstrel at Zamin Mulla, and
we sat up very late singing, playing, and telling
stories. Our new musician played a fiddle of peculiar

BALUCH MINSTRELS,

make, and both his choice of music and his execution
were so excellent, that I offered him a large sum to
accompany the expedition. Two of his tunes in par
ticular ran in my head for days afterwards, and will be
found with one of Alishah's melodies in the appendix.
There is about them to my mind such a jovial rhythm,
that they were doubly delightful after the weird.

232 BIVOUAC STORIES.
mournful flute to which we had so long been accus
tomed. It was to-night, too, I remember, that one of my
anecdotes over the camp fire fairly brought down
the house. Many extraordinary instances had been
related of the climbing powers of the Bashakardi
donkeys ; and at last I was appealed to as to whether
the donkeys in my country could climb as well as those
of this, I was obliged to say loftily that in my coun
try we didn't ride donkeys, but that an acquaintance of
mine had once turned his horse out to graze, and had
found him in the morning, after a very long search,
quietly sitting up in a date-tree eating the dates, *
The men quite caught this as a satire upon the
incredible yarns of the Bashakardis, and went into fits
of laughter. The great Hussein of the donkey's bray
was occasionally permitted a solo, which was the only
painful part of the concert He had a wonderful
power of sustaining a note for a long time, and the
men would sometimes sit perfectly breathless with
anxiety to see whether he would think of a fresh note
before his breath was exhausted over the last one,
I often thought it was rather like a lot of children
watching a humming-top just " dying," They know it
must break down soon, but ever as they put out their
hands to pick it up, it gives another lurch and spins
away again, A Baluch song is more a series of vocal
gymnastics than anything else ; and yet I have sat and
listened to some of them for hours, Hussein, how
ever, was a bad specimen of a soloist.

* It would never do to admit in such company that our country
was not a mass of date-trees.

BIVOUAC STORIES. 233
Another amusement is a relation, half recitation
and half anecdote. Some story, generally of a journey
or a shooting expedition, is .told with great rapidity
and vivacity of manner, and every other sentence is
made to finish with some kind of refrain or chorus,
" Man goftum ting," " La mahu kathdlik," or " La
hani dilum ha abu," * that has no meaning as bearing
on the story, but sounds ridiculous from being brought
in in such incongruous and unexpected positions.
Next morning we were all very ill. I felt quite
knocked up myself, and Brahim could hardly move.
On consideration we unanimously decided that the
sheep Hussein Khan had given us was bad.
We were evidently leaving the hills fast, and I had
a quarrel with Durgosh for bringing me back to the
coast It appeared, however, to be true that this was
the only practicable path. Meanwhile he assured me
that we had only one more westerly stage to make
when we should start north. It was evident from the
features of the villagers, from the vegetation, and the
birds, that we were close to the sea coast.
Next morning we made a rapid march over smooth
plain to Telling, a large and flourishing village, under
the governorship of the Pearly-eared One's father. On
the route we passed through much fine and diver
sified scenery, sometimes in a well-treed plain, some
times winding amongst hills of grotesque shape and
most brilliant colours. At i.io p.m, we crossed the
Sindrik stream, which gives name to a very large

* Persian: "And I said ting."
Arabic : " No, not Uke that."
Baluchi: " Oh la 1 and now my heart is happy,"

234 ANCIENT BURYING GROUND.
village on its banks higher up, and which joins the
Dar Pahan stream a few miles south. At 1,35 p.m,
we reached the boundary of the GurrQ district, the
westernmost limit of Bashakard, Here was a remark
able collection of ancient tombs, extending over more
than four acres of ground. The tombs were oblong,
square, or circular enclosures, formed by strong walls
about six feet high, the only entrances being very
small doorways from two to three feet high.
Scattered among these were many other graves,
ornamented in the BalQchi fashion with red, white,
and green pebbles, and about the centre of the whole
were the remains of two well-built plastered houses
which may have been masjids (or mosques). This
graveyard was generally attributed to the " Gours,"
which in the Baluch mind means foreigners of any
kind. As far as I could judge, it was the burial
place of a former race of BalQchis who had employed
Persian masons to build the masjids. The graves
Seemed to be of two distinct periods, those pf the
second having been put there owing to those of the
first having invested the place with a certain amount
of sanctity.
But; I was at a loss to discover any traces of a town
or village such as might have produced this burial-
ground, for neither Persians nor BalQchis carry their
dead far from their houses except under special cir
cumstances. It happened, however, that the strange
regularity of what appeared to be the strata on the
neighbouring hills struck my eye, and going to the
spot I found distinct traces of very old but very
extensive fortifications. In another hour we were
riding through the fertile fields of Telling, where indigo

ANOTHER POSTAL CURIOSITY. 235
and castor oil seemed to thrive wonderfully, and at
3.15 were encamped in what might almost be called
a park. It was a beautiful place in the midst of fine
tamarisk, kiinar and kahur trees, and though the tallest
was not forty feet high, still it was years since I had
seen any taller, and everything goes by comparison.
Soon we had a visit from Durgosh's father. There
was much to tell on both sides, for during the son's
absence in Bashakard there had been wars and
rumours of wars. The Persian Governor of Minab
had sent thirty horsemen and carried off one Abbas,
the chief of a neighbouring village ; and Durgosh's
father, ever ready for an encounter with the hated
" Gajars," had collected his men and gone after them.
Shots had been exchanged, but the rescue party had
been obliged to return empty-handed ; and fearing
retaliation in the shape of a night attack, they had
driven off their flocks and herds to a neighbouring
mountain, whence they had but just returned,
I had a busy evening's work in altering the packing
of various boxes as experience had shown me would
render the contents more readily available for use.
The camel-men had some grand games at wrestling,
etc., and for once in the journey there ensued a
quarrel. They were living too well, eating meat
every day, and I stopped the supply of that article,
though not altogether unaware that a storm was
brewing. I was much amused by a villager coming in to
show me a letter he had got, and of which he was
immensely proud. It had been entrusted to him,
he said, months ago, for conveyance to KariQn, and
when I naturally asked why he had not delivered it,

236 MORE DOCTORING.
he said, " Oh, he had not had occasion to go that way
yet ! " It was too absurd. Letters travel about this
country for months, exciting a sort of reverential awe
in the minds of those permitted to see them, and a
pride in the bearers. As to who they are for, and what
are the contents, no one ever seems to dream of forming
a conjecture. We had a laugh, too, over the Illustrated London
News, which Durgosh was never tired of poring over
with Ghulamshah as showman. They came to the
picture of the Prince of Wales' diminutive pony, which
Ghulamshah correctly enough explained. " No, no,"
said the men who were looking over Durgosh's
shoulder ; " that's a wolf" " But it's a pony," ex
postulated Ghulamshah, indignantly ; "go and ask the
waja if it isn't." " Not a bit," they replied ; " that's
all very well for you. We're BalQchis, and we call
that a wolf" That was enough for them ; it might
be whatever it liked, but they had settled it was a
wolf, and it was a wolf
Next morning we were busy with astronomical
observations, after which came innumerable applicants
for medicine, Spleeri, a witheririg of the limbs, arid
ophthalmia, were the commoriest complaints among
the men, whilst among the women I had patients
suffering from various ailments.
Owing to Durgosh's representations that I never
gave medicine for nothing, all came provided with
a fowl, and it was the funniest sight to see before the
tent door a sort of avenue of old men, each squatting
down and holding an old hen by the legs. Then the
women's great aim was to have a private interview,
and many were the stratagems to get me away quietly

MORE DOCTORING. 237
behind the tent, or into a thicket, where they could
explain their special ailments. There were many
pretty girls, always accompanied by an aged grand
mother or aunt, between whom and themselves there
seemed to be a good deal of sympathy and affection.
The main difficulty we experienced was to provide
some receptacle for the solutions of nitrate of silver,
for all my spare bottles were gone long ago. They
brought gourds, cocoa-nut shells, and all sorts of
things, and I had to put a great many doses into small
sections of reed in which the joint formed the bottom.
One poor old fellow was a sight to touch any one's
heart He was quite blind, and had no one to take
care of him, but, guided by the voices and helped by
a long stick, he was slowly making his way towards
the tent. As he approached he stumbled, and in
the effort to recover himself, the fowl which he had
hitherto been grasping escaped. There was a slight
laugh at his expense, as he made an awkward snatch
in the direction he conceived it to have gone. He
stood for a moment with a hopeless expression on his
blank face, and then said with a sigh, " Well, now I
may go home again," Meanwhile I had asked his
name from Durgosh, whb was standing by me, and
just as he turned round I called him by it " Come,"
I said, " my father ; by the decree of God your fowl
has run away, but He is merciful, and your medicine
shall not be wanting," Then two of my men brought
him up to me. His gratitude was very fervent, and
I remembered it for a long time.
But there was a storm brewing in the camp, and
from what I could hear it was open mutiny, the only
difficulty being who should bell the cat, Durgosh,

238 MUTINY AGAIN.
who was quite au fait with matters, and whose
friendship was most sincere and valuable, came and
talked the matter over with me.
The upshot of it all was this. I had been very
harsh with the men for any trifling derelictions of duty,
and at the present the remembrance of this obtained
the ascendency over that of many little kindnesses
received. They were going to a country of ice and
snow, to which Baluchis had never before been, and
where it was impossible for them to live. It was
known that the people there were hostile, that there
was no camel fodder and no dates. Finally, that on
setting out I had promised them warm clothes, and as
yet they had received none, and they had decided to
demand money, and send two or three of their num
ber to Minab to purchase clothes. Such was Dur
gosh's view of the case ; but he had no advice to give,
and in fact paid me the compliment of thinking that I
could manage best myself
I determined to bring matters to a head at once, for
I was very angry, and calling Brahim in, I proceeded
to give him instructions for to-morrow's march,
Brahim was an excellent fellow, but he had not
sufficient firmness or independence of mind to elect
definitely to serve either me or his comrades, or, as
they ought to have been, his subordinates. He should
have known that in the position I had made for him
he could have led them with a thread had he but
been resolute, and that if, when the first man broached
the subject of desertion, he had treated it properly,
it would never have been discussed again. As I ex
pected, he was taken aback when he heard my inten
tion to march to-morrow, and with many excuses

SUCCESSFUL TACTICS. 239
stammered forth much of what I had previously heard
from Durgosh,
I took his statements one by one. As for my
harshness, I said that the men had yet to learn what
discipline was ; at the same time, it was not for me to
call to mind many kindnesses done to them. As for
the cold in the country we were going to, it was more
cold than it was possible for them to conceive, that
they were mere children, and could know nothing
about it, nor was there any one here who could tell
them except myself. As for my promise of giving
them warm clothes, that had been fulfilled by my
giving them the felt coats and carpets ; and in this
matter I asked, " Was it true that the men wished him
to tell me that if I did flot give them warm clothes
they would return and leave me ? "
He reluctantly admitted that this was, in point of
fact, what they did say,
" Very well," I said, getting warm, " then I'm to be
servant and do what they tell me, and if I don't they'll
punish me ; that's how it is to be, isn't it ? and perhaps
I'd better load the camels too ! Whose woollen coat
is Brahim Khamis wearing ? Is it mine or his ?
Whose cloak is Dad Arrahim wearing ? and to whom
do the things that Hasan and Kasim are wearing
belong ? Do you think for an instant that I will
negotiate on such a footing as this ? Send all the
men here at once. Do you think that I don't know
how cold it will be, — that I don't know that those felt
coats don't give any warmth,* not any more than
* These felt coats are very stifif when new, but after having been
worn fit themselves to the body and give great warmth. Our
Baluchis had hitherto only slept on them, and not wom them.

240 SUCCESSFUL TACTICS.
boards ? What sort of a master am I that you
should have found this out and not I ? " and I again
told him to send the men here.
The men, however, had all gone to fetch the camels
in, and Brahim began to reason the matter, which,
as he commenced by putting himself entirely in my
hands, it was only politic to let him do.
" But," he commenced, " you did promise the men
warm things, and I never thought you referred to the
felts ; and I have always told the men that you would
give them all sorts of clothes ; and what are the poor
fellows to do with their thin cotton shirts and
drawers ? "
I replied, but in a milder and more placable tone,
that so long as the men threatened to abandon me
and break their promise, it did not matter what
promises I had made, for I would be bound by none
of them,
" But," he urged, " you did say once or twice that
they should none of them ever be cold. If they
promise to go with you, will you give them clothes ?"
But I refused to make any promises whatever,
" The men," I said, " shall come with me uncondition
ally. What I have promised shall be performed so
long as what they promised shall have been carried out,"
" But," he repeated, " you did promise that they
should never feel the cold, didn't you ?"
" Yes," I answered ; " and you should know whether
I generally do more or less than I promise. The men
shall behave to me like men and like Baluchis. They
shall trust me fully and unconditionally, and if they
can't do that they may go "  1 am afraid I said, " to
the d  1,"

OUR NEW GUIDE, HUSSEIN. 241
With that he went off, leaving me outwardly calm
and master of the situation, but inwardly fuming with
rage and uncertainty. I had but one card left, which
was to hold out the terrors that awaited them at Jask,
should they return without a written permit from
me. I might, after all, have to come down from the high
horse on which I had mounted, and use measures of
conciliation. That would indeed have been a bitter
pill. But I knew the men I had to deal with
thoroughly, and my instinct did not fail me. That
evening I ordered Brahim to kill a sheep and invite
to the banquet all who were coming with me, while he
was to warn solemnly all those that were not coming
that they had better not be found about the camp
next day.
What Brahim did say I do not know ; but the tent
was never struck nor the camels loaded up with more
cheerfulness, alacrity, and thorough good humour than
it was the next morning. The fellows had made up
their minds to trust me, and there were no half
measures about it.
The result was the more gratifying in that the place
was so situated that desertion would have been quite
simple and easy had they decided upon that course.
Never was I so rejoiced in my life ; but my only
confidant was Ghulamshah, for had I exhibited my
delight it would have betrayed that I had been
anxious about the matter,
Durgosh accompanied us a good way on our road,
and afterwards entrusted us to the care of a guide
called ' Hussein, of whoni more anon. He gave me
the marvellous donkey on which he had ridden, and I
R

242 WE TRY TO BECOME PERSIANS.
gave him a good old Colt's revolver which he much
coveted. Our course was nearly east, and at 3.45
p.m. our new guide brought us to a halt, saying that
we should not be able to reach Sarnay that night. It
looked a bad beginnirig for our guide, for the day was
yet yourig to camp, and I noted the time till sunset
carefully, with a view of comparing it with the time
we should take in reaching the proper camping place
the next day.
Hussein was a middle-aged man, about thirty-five,
with handsome features and a black beard. He was
the most singularly stupid man I ever had to do with.
Had he been made of wood, he could not have shown
more complete indifference to everything around him.
To questions about the road he had but one answer,
which was that it was all rightj and that he would
bring us to a good camping place, where water, fodder,
and firewood should be abundant. He speedily
became the butt of the whole camp, and his simplest
action would bring down storms of chaff. Did he
even go' to cut firewood, a shout from Tajoo or some
other wag would announce his return : " Ah, poor
dear Hussein, poor creature ! look at his firewood.
Green! green as an onion!" The chief labour of
the camp was speedily put on his shoulders. Did the
wood run short, Hussein had to rouse out and get
more ; was water wanted, or did one of the camels
stray, it was all the same, until I often felt inclined to
interfere on behalf of the unfortunate stupid.
On leaving Telling we had received instructions to
say that we were of such and such a tribe and family,
and already the men began to make the most ridicu
lous attempts in jest to behave like Persians,

DIFFICULT PASSES. 243;
I hear Brahim call out in Baluchi, " Oh, Hussein,,
go and fetch the donkey ! " *
Chorus of men, " No, no ; you musn't speak like
that We're in the country of RQm now. You must
say, ' Bring the quadruped ! ' " f
" No, no," sings out Tajoo; " animal — animal — that's
what we must call it," %
Here is a difficulty at once, and they consult on
this crisis. Then Alishah, as spokesman, calls out
in a -firm voice, as of one delivering an ultimatum,
" Oh, Hussein, sit down the donkey ! " §
And the wretched Hussein, who was a genuine
coast Baluch, was henceforth assaulted in every
conceivable kirid of mangled language.
Our next day's march was a most interesting one
to Jagin, a village with a fort belonging to Chiragh
Khan, a gentleman whom we shall meet further on.
Soon after leaving camp we passed through a nar
row defile, on either side of which were remains of
considerable fortifications. We were informed that
here, about ten years ago, there had been a grand
battle. A large band of BampQri Baluchis and Per
sian soldiers, accompanied by what Carlyle would
have called a Tolpatchery of Lasharis, under Mir
Ahmedi, had got thus far on their way to plunder
Minab. Here they were met and signally defeated
by the Minabis, assisted by levies from the ships in
the Minab creek. It was a curious natural pass, the
bed of the stream being from one hundred to one
* Baluchi : " Karra biar.''
t Persian : " Charwar biar."
% Arabic : "Haiwan."
§ Mixture of Hindustani and Persian : " Charwar bito."

244 DIFFICULT PASSES.
hundred and fifty yards wide, and just here cutting
through a perpendicular wall of rock a hundred yards
thick and about thirty yards high. We were surprised
to find here a cormorant and two specimens of a
snipe. The valley which we were ascending gradually
opened out, and instead of scrambling over rocky
ground covered with shingle, we were tradging over
a fertile alluvium, and constantly meeting with proofs
of man's presence. Now it was a herd of cows crop
ping the sweet grass along the stream edge ; and
once we passed a party of men beating out the seeds
of indigo plants.
At 11.22 a stream called the Seruken joined ours
from the east, making at the junction a large triangular
area of the richest land. Soon we reached the date
plantations of Sarnay, and crossed a valley of fertile
grass of the kind called " kik," or, in some parts,
" female pampas," This is only fit for cows to eat, and
just here the few inhabitants are large cow-owners.
There are here some fine, tall spreading trees, called
bythe natives "jam" trees, which, I regret exceed
ingly, I was unable to identify, and which I never saw
again. They are the finest trees in the country, and •
in the distance resemble ash-trees. The fruit is
described as black, edible, but full of stones. We
met one camp " flitting." There were six men, four
women, and over a hundred cows, while the mat
huts and other property were bound upon two or
three steady old bulls. They stared immensely at our
caravan, which, though small, presented an imposing
sight. Every man was armed to the teeth (except
myself), and each walked at the head, and held the

GOOD FEELING IN THE CAMP. 245
rein of, his own particular camel. Abdulla led the
van with the big Jaski, and each camel followed in
his proper turn. No straggling was allowed ; and
the man whose load required adjustment on the march,
involving a quarter of an hour's stoppage, generally
heard of it afterwards.
These and many other little details of march the
men had now learnt, though not without difficulty ;
for they were a wild set, and had never obeyed any
one before.
There was now, too, a general good feeling through
out the camp, far better than had been before the
decisive affair at Telling. The men were pleased
with themselves for having chosen the right course ;
the road seemed so much easier, and the country so
fertile, that they had ceased to dread the journey, and
began more and more to rejoice in the prospect of
visiting Kirman, So there was a general nose-in-the-
air, defiant kind of aspect as they swaggered along,
and a tendency to depreciate the new country we had
entered upon, and to ridicule everything it contained.
On this head they got delightfully snubbed in camp
to-night They had from the outset identified the
wretched Hussein with the country through which he
was guiding them, and always held him responsible for
everything wrong. To-night the water was not to
their taste, and they immediately attacked Hussein,
" Ah," he said, coolly ; " you must put up with it to
day. Further on it's all right; nothing but melted
snow." There was a general groan and collapse, and it was
some time before they attacked him again. Stupid as
the old fellow was, he now and then decidedly turned

246 MEET THE FIRST ILIAUTS.
the tables on my impetuous youngsters, and the men
tion of snow generally sobered them down.
To resume our march, however : at 1,45 the valley
opened to about twelve miles in width, mostly studded
thickly with kahur trees. We rode through over two
hundred acres of newly ploughed land, which was so
good as to yield fair crops every alternate year,
though most corn-land in this country is only sown
once in three years. Further on we passed a drove of
over two hundred donkeys, who seemed to thrive very
well indeed on the rather dry grass. We passed also
to-day the first of very many flocks of snow-white
sheep and goats. There were about three thousand,
all covered with the same thick glossy hair, the goats
only being distinguishable from the sheep by the
different shape of their horns. They all produced the
soft, long down called kurk, which is exported in
small quantities from Bandar Abbas for the purpose of
mixing with the wool of which Kashmir shawls are
made. Even at Bandar Abbas ,it realizes from two
shillings to half a crown per seven pounds. This fine
silky down grows out amongst the wool, and can be
combed off with the fingers.
The men in charge of these sheep were the first
Iliauts we had yet met, and pointed out as their home
a little green clump of date palms, just visible, nestling
at the foot of the mountain range that fringed the
western edge of the plain upon which they pastured
their flocks.
At 2,50 p.m. we reached a large rain-pool, and find
ing fodder for the camels plentiful, we camped, I shot
here starlings identical with the English species, as
verified by Professor Newton, and larks which ap-

"THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD." 247
peared to be the same as the English skylark. The
fort of Jagin was on the skirts of the hills, and out of
the line of march.
Next morning,, loading up at 7,50 a.m,, we passed
through the Jagin village of about forty houses, ofthe
same shape as thatched cottages in England, and saw
nearly a hundred men engaged in reaping about thirty
acres of millet.
From where we were now, the plain, down the
middle of which we were travelling, seemed to be oval-
shaped, and our course to point to the thin end of it
We were hemmed in on the right by the lofty hills of
Bashakard, and on the left by a similar wall of hills,
which had no definite name. I was amused at the
reply of one ofthe shepherds, of whom I had asked,
"What is there behind that range?" "Oh," he
answered, " there's another country " ; then, evidently
expecting' that I was under the impression that the
range was the edge of the world, he added : " The
world is very broad here."
We were off by 8 a.m. on the 26th, and en route
for Manujan, of which place Hussein had long been
singing the praises. As yesterday we had com
menced the march over fine earth and ended on
coarse sand, so now we began on coarse sand, gradu
ally increasing to fine shingle, and then large shingle.
At 1,28 p.m, we entered the thin end of the oval I
have before mentioned. The pass was about two
miles wide and very hot, while the shingle, which
would seem to have all come from these rocks here,
became absolute boulders, very trying to the camels'
feet The pass gradually narrowed, and at last we
had to climb through a narrow cleft in a wall of rock.

248 MANUJAN.
As we emerged we saw a most lovely view. We
were on a sort of island of bare massive purple rock.
Before us lay, as it were, an oval lake of rough boul
ders, quite flat, and unrelieved by tree or shrub. But
to the right was a broad green line of feathery
tamarisk, fringing and hanging over a beautiful dark
blue river. The blue sparkling water, and the soft
green of the trees, formed such a contrast to the rocky
plain, and was so refreshing that I sat till my caravan
was far ahead ; not exactly staring at it, but feeling a
sort of enjoyment at the knowledge that it was there.
We crossed this lake of boulders, having some
bother with a huge dry water-course, fifteen feet deep,
and with very steep sides ; and by another cleft in a
second natural rock barrier, we got into another but
smaller boulder lake, about half a mile in diameter.
Out of this we struggled through a path which
without blasting materials would fairly stop any artillery
unless carried on camel back, and which, though widen
ing a little at about four feet from the ground, proved
a severe trial to my boxes. It was a narrow winding
fissure in the rock, with lofty jagged sides, and about
half a mile long. The donkey came off worst, for the
fissure was hardly a foot wide at the bottom, and the
camels' height raised them well up into the broader
part. The tent stuck fast for a long time, but we
eventually got through on to a valley covered with
kunar trees and passing round to the south of a small
volcanic-looking mountain we camped upon the lovely
plain of Manujan. Behind was a date grove and a
handsome little wood of kahur, while in the stream
in front of the tent I found the English potamogeton,
which I had not seen since I had left Lincolnshire. I

MANUJAN. 249
received visits from the head men of the huge ruined
fort, and after they had got over their astonishment I
found them civil and intelligent.
There are three roads hence to Marz, and thence
they join and make one to Anguhran ; probably the
one by which the Muhassil had travelled.
After the interview I got one of the men to come
with me up to the top of the rock and name for me
the various mountains.
It was a grand view. The plain, here green with
waving grass, here brown with ploughed land, and
there yellow with the stubble of last year's crop,
stretched away to the east for twenty miles. Beyond
that ran the Ginou mountains, looking at this distance
like a continuous range, though in reality this is a long
and more or less fertile valley reaching to Bampur.
With the Sweetwater Manujan stream running across it,
besides the Hallr and others, it was a noble patrimony,
and it all belonged to that clever drunken scoundrel
Chiragh Khan. I thought that with a couple of
thousand a year this would be a charming place. I
would purchase sixty or seventy miles of this valley,
repair the old fort, keep a small army, preserve the
neighbouring mountains for the shooting, and with a
cargo of books now and then from Minab one could
begin to enjoy oneself The wheat here is a good
sample, the wool is unsurpassed, and the already fine
quality of the dates might be much improved with a
little attention. The only difficulty would be to arrange
matters with the present possessor.
Next morning, the 27th of November, we wound
past the fort, and across much cultivated ground and
immense thickets of stunted kahur which here grew

2S0 QUACK DOCTORING.
like oak scrub, and after a short march we camped
literally in a twenty acre " plough-field," studded like
a park with magnificent kahQr trees, the branches of
which swarmed with wood-pigeons.
The few people were a fat Persian-looking race, who
could do nothing but grumble at the heavy taxes and
beg for medicine.
I was very busy mapping and writing that afternoon ;
so I put a guard at the tent door, with instructions to
make every one wait till evening. When the appointed
time came, Ghulamshah brought out my armchair
and medicine chest, and I proceeded to examine my
patients. As usual, they were nearly all perfectly well
and hearty, and had only come for medicine from a sort
of feeling that it was a good thing to have and that it
was gratuitous. One man indeed did tell me that he had
" a boil upon his soul," and two others were ophthalmic ;
but after that, the remainder, to the number of fourteen,
were in such case as I myself could only envy hope
lessly. So we made the fourteen squat in a row, and
I made them a little speech. I began by pointing out
that they all appeared to be suffering from the same
disease, and all from the same cause. They had all
evidently overworked themselves, they had too much
taxes to pay, and they did not get enough to eat. To
this they all assented eagerly, murmuring among them
selves, " He is a doctor without doubt." I then went
on to say that this sort of thing was unknown in my
country, and we had consequently no medicine for it
(how the faces fell !) ; but that during my last visit to
Mekka, the holy and sainted man Syed Abdulla, of
whom they had doubtless heard (they would not own
that they had not), had given me a small bottle of an

QUACK DOCTORING. 251
elixir which he assured me was made with the water
of Zemzem, and was infallible in such cases as theirs.
I explained that this was too holy a thing to be sold,
and that I should give it them free as I had received it,
only I begged that they would not pollute it by touch
ing it with their hands, but would simply open their
mouths. There was some discussion at this, and I
nearly spoilt the whole by laughing outright as I
caught sight of Brahim peeping from behind the tent
in a state of perfect coma from astonishment Ghu
lamshah had a sore tongue for two days afterwards
from trying to keep from laughing ; but at last the
consultation came to an end, and our patients had
decided to accept the holy remedy.
They were got into a row with their mouths open,
and Ghulamshah went gravely round with a bottle of
croton oil and a match. Dipping the match into the
bottle, he dropped a drop upon each man's tongue.
I never saw such a variety of expressions in my life.
There was the man whose turn came next with his
mouth wider open than ever, and snorting with anxiety.
The man who had just had it, squeezing his lips
together swallowing it down, and looking round at all
the other faces to see what they thought of it ; and
there was one lanky goat-bearded old man who came
up just as it was beginning, and who consequently did
not understand the operation, and who would peer into
the bottle each time, and then peer into the man's
mouth as he received it and then plant himself opposite
him and watch him curiously, as if he expected him to
burst or come out all over spots,
I believe we all enjoyed this each in his own peculiar
way, and always afterwards the mere mention of Ab-i-

25?. QUACK DOCTORING.
Zemzem [water of Zemzem) sent the men into a broad
smile, I have forgotten to mention that I had brought from
Jagin a poor unfortunate young fellow the whole of
whose right arm was one running sore. He could not
sleep for the burning pain, and his stomach revolted
against even the best food that could be procured for
him. His mother described, with tears in her eyes,
how but a year ago he was the most active man in the
whole camp ; and now, for no fault, there he was rotting
away before her eyes. On examining the sore I found
nothing that looked very fatal, and thought that could
the blood but be brought right it would heal. On
looking at his tongue, however, I was horrified to find
his whole throat eaten away, and began to fear I had
done wrong in touching him. But it was no good
abandoning the case now ; so I took off a lot of foul old
bandages of lime and ghee, washed him carefully, and
bound him up with lint and abundance of zinc oint
ment He was much exhausted by the pain of the
operation, but by the aid of an opiate I gave him he
had a good night's rest, and appeared so much stronger
in the morning that I was encouraged to allow his
request to accompany me ; and after a tolerably hearty
meal on four eggs, " rumbled," he mounted an old black
donkey which had had one ear cut off for trespassing
on corn-fields, and a,ccompanied our caravan. The
man was so little trouble and so very grateful, and
began to heal so well, that when two more men pro
posed to accompany me from Sar Kahur I willingly
agreed, and I afterwards had reason to know that I
had been more indebted to my cripple troop for con
fidence, civility, and even forbearance from attack, than
to all our guns and shields put together.

BUSTARDS. 253
On the 28th we were on march by 8,12 a.m., and
striking nearly east across the head of the plain in
order to get round a spur of the range to the west.
The plain seemed to be alive with charz or bustard,
and I mounted the mahri and made a detour to get a
shot ; but they all cowered at my approach, and I
could neither see nor flush a single one, I got a
handsome old fox though, who was probably sneaking
about on the same errand as myself
At noon we entered a small range of high shingly
mounds which ran across the north erid of the plairi,
arid at 1.40 p.m, camped amongst some very extensive
date-trees, just in time to get observations for lon
gitude before the sun got behind clouds for the rest
of the day.
There were no people or huts at Bargah, the owners
of the date groves having probably, now that the date
harvest was over, gone to plough up their wheat land.
There is a picturesque rapid stream running through
the place, and the number of kabg [partridges) was
something astounding. They were kuk-kukking away,
just fifty yards from the tent, like so many young
guinea fowl.
Presently, in peeped the good-natured, black-bearded
face of Tajoo, who looked significantly at me, and
showed a gun in each hand,
I was obliged to turn out, and found about thirty
fine males in an open space, strutting round, bowing,
and behaving generally like the pinnated grouse do in
a " scratching place " in America : I do not know
whether this has been observed in any of the " per-
drix " tribe before. The kabg is identical with perdrix
rufus.

254 KAHNU.
After shooting a brace as they ran before me like
barn-door fowls (nothing on earth will flush them
towards evening), I left him to provide supper and
returned to camp.
Next morning when we started, the thermometer
standing at 47° warned us that we were getting into
colder regions. Soon after leaving, we crossed a
curious low ridge called the Ab washur, or turning
of waters, and hence it is credibly asserted that water
flows south to Minab and north to Kahnu.
At 10 a.m, we passed the Garaki hills, of whose
inhabitants we had been constantly warned to be on
our guard. They are professional robbers, and work
with impunity, being of the same family as Nur-eddin
Khan, governor of Kahnu,
The Garaki hills are an imposing mass of rock
about six hundred feet high, about two miles long, of
a rusty iron colour. The strike is north and south, and
dip east about sixty degrees. There was one solitary
tree visible near its summit ; but otherwise it looked
utterly desolate and inaccessible to man.
After a steady easy march with occasional showers,
at I p.m, we struck a low-lying shingly plain covered
with petto bushes, which we had not seen since leaving
the coast, and at 3 p,m, we passed some curious green
marble tombstones, of which more hereafter, and
finally pitched our tent a little below the large village
of Kahnu,

CHAPTER X.
Kahnu. — " Your is have some spirits." — A poor slave. — Irrigation. —
Difficulties as a doctor. — The Haliri river. — Butter unex
pectedly. — Washing clothes. — Dosari. — Camp in a graveyard. —
Nasir Khan. — His brutish secretary. — Persian tax-collectors. —
An indigenous pointer dog. — Our new guide. — The " exalted
places " are unable to make good their position.' — Thoughts of
home. — Dasht-i-Kuch. — Persian carpets.
KAHNU is a place of considerable importance,
being, as the governor expressed it, " on the
road to everywhere," It lies at the confluence of
three broad shallow valleys from the north, south, and
west. If the reader will imagine himself in the middle of
the junction of the valleys, and will face due east, he
will see dotted thickly over the face of the slope before
him some four hundred good-sized oblong yellow reed
huts, in the centre of which near the top he will
observe a large space enclosed by a mud-wall, and
containing the three or four somewhat bigger huts
of the chief himself Quite at the summit of the slope,
and in a most imposing position, stand the ruins of a
considerable fort
The whole valley is, as is natural with such an
admirable drainage, very fertile indeed, and produces
besides wheat, mulberries, and dates, the valued red
dye Runask, The houses are large and strongly
built, the frame-work being of fasces of strong cane
like reeds, and the whole covered with pish matting.

25 6 CHIRAGH KHAN.
It is a somewhat busy place, supporting three
traders, who, however, generally come here from
Kirman on their way to the coast for further stores,
and the goods they sell here are mostly such as will
not go down anywhere else. The result is that young
fellows go about in a perfect burlesque of the ordinary
Persian dress. I saw one who had dressed himself
up to visit me, a description of whose costume will
suffice. He had the ordinary white calico trowsers,
but his coat was of bright pink broadcloth, embroidered
with black imitation lace, and he had managed to
make the full skirts stick out almost horizontally all
round him, presenting much the appearance of an
overgrown little girl of forty years ago, with a new
dress on. The men here wear the same sort of two-
thirds Persian dress that seems universal throughout
the whole of this long valley, running between the
high table-land of Persia and the mountain range along
the coast.
Supplies were difficult to obtain at Kahnu, and I
find in my note-book an indignant remark, " Pay a
halfpenny for an egg, and if you want it under a month
old you must take reserved hens."
Very late in the evening, when busy working out
dead reckoning, Chiragh Khan was introduced. He
had a fine, intelligent face, and was very tall and well-
made. He was accompanied by a tribe of servants,
and one man, a kind of secretary, was a pink and
pimply creature in complete Teheran costume. The
Khan spoke BalQchi very well, and entered into con
versation with Brahim, in which he showed such
intimate familiarity with all and each of the extremely
intricate degrees and kinds of feudal clanship or kin-

"YOUR IS HAVE SOME SPIRITS." 257
ship, that I at once decided that he must have been
a Baluch, While this was going on, what was my astonishment
to hear from the pimply man in broken Hindustani,
" Sahib, have you got any spirits ? " * I chaffed him
a little by pretending not to know what he meant ;
when suddenly his master said in an aside, " Pour
out," and he quickly drew from his pocket a large
quart bottle of brandy, and a brass saucer, in which he
poured out for his chief a liberal peg.
When the Khan had drunk this, he received a large
piece of gauze as a handkerchief, and then a sweet
meat. The secretary then proceeded to help himself,
and then it was offered to me.
This was too much. Not content with boring me
by calling in the middle of the night, they must come
with a bottle of brandy in their pockets, and give
unmistakable signs of intending to finish it in my
tent I got up, and I said they might go. And wheri
they rose to go, I told them what I thought of them.f
I am afraid the Kahnuites must have thought me
a very violent-tempered creature, for next morriing I
had a blow-up with the old man Nur-eddin Khan
himself I found out afterwards that it was fever that
had made me so irritable, though of course at the time
itself I thought that I was calm and even-tempered.
But Nur-eddin Khan had arranged for me to visit
him at 9 a,m. And I was anxious to be as punctual
as possible, so as to get some observations of the sun
* Verbatim: "Tumhare daru pas hai." [Your is have some spirits)
\ " Nur-u-Din's brother, Chiragh Khan, is an open and unmis
takable drunkard." — Extract from a paper read before the Royal
Geographical Society, by Sir Frederic Goldsmid, Jan. 27, 1873. S

258 NUR-EDDIN KHAN.
before starting. After 9 a,m, the sun rapidly got so
high as to be of little use. Of course, however, as the
hour approached, the mihmandar [guest-receiver), who
was to be introducer, began to make excuses, " The
Khan was asleep," etc., etc. " You had better go and
rout the son of a burnt father out," I said ; " for if I'm
not in the majlis by 9 a.m,, I shan't be there at all,"
and I sent him off to the Khan,
The desired effect was produced. In less than five
minutes, down came another mihmandar, much more
respectably dressed, and evidently of much higher
authority, who said that the first man was a fool, and
was now being beaten for his impertinence (a lie), and
begged me to come to the majlis at once.
It was but a short interview, for I was ill-tempered,
and snubbed the Khan in every way, and moreover,
I was anxious to get back to the sun.
With reference to last night's affair with his brother,
he made a kind of semi-apology, sayirig that he
thought the Feririgis drank spirits, I replied curtly
that the lower classes and the women did. He men
tioned the visit five years ago of Ma-jor Gen-eral
Goulmit, a name he had evidently taken much trouble
to learn, for he pronounced each syllable as a separate
word, I acknowledged Sir Frederic, but affected to
disbelieve the visit* After a little more of such con
versation, a fat, jovial merchant, who sat on the
Khan's left hand, and who was anxious to obtain from
me a bottle of eye-wash without payment, whispered,

* I had now struck, and for four or five days I followed the route
taken by the Mission of 1872, under Major-General Sir Frederic
Goldsmid,

A POOR SLAVE. 259,
"His heart is black, they used him very badly last.
night" I had made my point, which was to show my dis
pleasure at my treatment last night, and became more
amiable, gave a sketch of the Russian and Turkish;
nations (between whom war was at this time impend
ing), and before the Khan had time to recover himself,
bade him farewell, put myself at the head of my pro
cession, and marched off to my camp. Orders were
given to load up smartly, while I took the sun and'
received four or five of the leading men of the place,
I cannot omit to mention one poor fellow, a slave
of almost pure African blood. He was so fearfully
emaciated that he could hardly stand ; yet he had
no appearance of disease. He said he was dying of
starvation, and I really believe he was. His story was
that he had belonged to Ahmed Khan, a relation to
Chiragh Khan, Ahmed Khan had come to Kahnu to
hunt with Chiragh Khan, bringing this boy as his groom..
The boy fell ill, and failing in some feat of activity
which seriously affected Ahmed Khan's chance in the
hunt, he had been beaten so much that he could not
stand. When he could walk again, he found Ahmed
Khan gone. He was perfectly destitute. No one
would employ him, for he was still Ahmed Khan's
slave, and no one would give him food without work^
I referred to my friendly merchant who was standing
by, and was still friendly, his bottle of eye-wash being
as yet in my pocket. Save that he did not know
what fault the boy had committed, he substantially
corroborated the story.
And I said, " Do you mean to say that this boy is
dying quietly before every one, and not one will give

26o IRRIGATION.
him a piece of bread ? Verily and by God, you are
Muslims every one of you, and if you don't get to
heaven and enjoy its fullest delights, then there is
neither faith in God nor His prophet" I shouted to
my men, who by this time had loaded the camels and
stood around, each one at his camel's head waiting
for the route, • " Oh BalQchis," I said, "now we have
indeed left behind us our own country, and entered
that of the noble and powerful Gajars, Last night
you saw the chief of this country as drunk as a female
pig, and now you see a son of man starving in
the midst of strong fat men because he is too ill to
work." ',' Ah, miskin bichara [Ah, poor helpless creature),
I've got some bread," said two or three immediately,
producing their food for the route. But the poor
fellow couldn't eat bread, so Ghulamshah fed him
with alternate sips of tea from my road bottle and
bites of a hardboiled egg. In five minutes Brahim
was holding him on in front of him on his camel, and
we marched out of Kahnu,
We passed down the valley through numerous
plantations of date-trees with extensive and good
irrigation, I got into conversation with a rough old labouring
man whom I found regulating the water supply, by
damming up this rivulet and cutting open that with a
long-handled spade. He lived in a hut near which
we afterwards camped. He had never been into the
town, as he called Kahnu, and looked upon its in
habitants as altogether a superior race, amongst whom
he would be quite out of place. He and his two sons
were, responsible for all the water leads of two or

DIFFICULTIES AS A DOCTOR. 261
three miles of date-trees, not having only to keep them
in order, but to lay out and plan the whole system of
irrigation. It is curious what a low place agriculture,
or any employment requiring unskilled manual labour,
holds in this country.
At 3 p.m. we came to a plain covered with the
most luscious trat [caroxylon foetidum), which was such
a' find for the camels that we halted at once and
canlped on the spot that they might get a good
stomach full.
Here the agriculturist brought me his daughter.
She appeared to have a kind ,of phlegmasia dolens, and
both her legs were swollen and as hard as wood,
while a pain in her chest was such that she could
never sleep, I could do nothing with her but give
her an opiate to get her one night's rest The poor
parents were profuse in their gratitude, and left
praying that I might eventually arrive at the unspeak
able bliss of being buried at Karbala,
I must here explain in self-defence, that over and
over again I had to give medicine, and even receive
payment for it, in cases where it was perfectly useless.
It was impossible to persuade people that I did not
know what was the matter with them, or that I had
no medicine which would do them any good. It was
in vain that I would point out as forcibly as possible,
thus : —
" You admit that you have been suffering from this
disease for tweuty years, and yet you come to me and
expect me to cure it in one minute. The God that
has afflicted you with this disease, has not given to me
the power to take it away by merely looking at you
or touching you."

.262 THE HALIRI RIVER.
It was impossible to make them believe a word of
this or anything like it, and they would go on praying
and beseeching for "just one little drop of medicine,"
" Orily just give oue look at him or touch him," in
a way that made one miserable.
Then they would go away and bring perhaps a bowl
of sour milk, very probably all the food the family had
for the day ; and if I persisted in my inability, they
would say sorrowfully, " What can we poor things
do ? we can bring nothing else." The only reason to
which they could ascribe my refusal was that I wanted
a higher price.
I found at last the only way, in cases beyond my
reach, was to say that I feared I could do no good,
but they should have the best medicine I had, and we
would remember that God was merciful.
The man with the rotten arm, who had come from
Jagin, was now fairly convalescent and with many
expressions of gratitude he started back home. He
took a note to the doctor of the telegraph staff at
Jask, explaining the treatment that had been pursued,
and two others to friends in England. Either his
gratitude failed him, or he had a relapse and could
not undertake the Jask journey, but the letters never
arrived, and are I suppose to this day wandering
about BalQchistan, the wonder of all beholders.
Next morning we were en route by 7.30 a.m., and at
I p.m. crossed the famous Haliri river. It was now
a .rapid rushing stream thirty yards wide, with an
average depth of \\ feet. It was a beautiful river,
fringed on either side by dense thickets of tamarisk,
willow, pampas grass, and reeds ; while the scene was
enlivened by numbers of magpies, cormorants, and

THE HALIRI RIVER. 263
tall Stately herons, while innumerable black partridges
filled the bushes.
Where this fine stream goes to, as also where the
BampQr river goes, has still to be determined. It only
remains for some one to travel direct through the
Rudbar country, say from Kahnu to Bampur, with a
slight detour south, to disclose this mystery. Mean
while I may be allowed the theory that they unite
and reach the coast by what is there called the Sadaich
river, which I know for certain originates north of
the mountains through which it comes by the Shimsani
pass. The extent of the sandy desert about latitude
27° and longitude 59° has, I feel sure, been very much
exaggerated, it being generally described as spreading
over much country which I have reason to believe is
very fertile. Two such streams of sweet water as the
Halir and the BampQr could not be lost in the sand so
near together without producing an immense area of
fertile swampy country. One of my people spent the
whole of his childhood in wandering about the Rudbar
country, and remembers well both the rivers far
beyond the present limits of European exploration.
I would not wish to quote his reminiscences as an
authority in matters requiring scientific accuracy, but
had these two streams both sunk underground in or
near the same place, the result must have been a
swamp, fertile ground, or anything but a desert. His
notion agrees with mine (though perfectly indepen
dentiy formed), that they find their way to the sea
either by the Gabrig or the Sadaich.
To-day was a long march, as we had started at 7.30
a.m,, and it was not till 5 p,m, that we camped by the
side of an underground stream, under a huge kunar tree.

264 BUTTER UNEXPECTEDLY.
Here we discovered that a skin of fresh milk which
we had purchased at Kahnu, had, from the jolting
motion of the camel, turned to butter. By adding
a little warm water to the contents, and giving it
a vigorous shaking, we not only obtained about a
pound and a half of beautiful butter, but more than
a gallon of delicious buttermilk.
It is curious that while the only luxury a BalQch
has is milk, he should never use it in any of the three
forms of it which we do. Fresh milk, cream, or fresh
butter, a Baluch will never touch, except, perhaps, he
might use the latter to grease that pride of his heart,
his hair. Fresh milk he instantly " bunds," or turns
into a sour jelly. He does this either by putting into
it some sour milk from a former brew, or by the juice
of various herbs which he knows by experience.
Milk thus prepared is call " mast" It only be
comes properly sour on the second day, when with
a little salt and pepper it is the most nourishing food
that can be desired. We used, each and all of us, to
eat immense quantities when we got a chance.
Now in the present case we had fresh milk and
bunded it ourselves ; but,, having to travel in the
middle of the operation, the milk was no sooner
bunded than it got churned too. This was the
first time we had got beyond the mast stage. The
mast was always too tempting, and was immediately
devoured. However, in this case, we churned it
Now, we ate the butter, but a BalQch would boil
it down to roghan (better known by the Hindustani
name " ghee "), keep it in a leather skin, and squeeze
a littie into his dough when making bread, or into
anything else he may be cooking, Roghan is the

WASHING CLOTHES. 265
grand luxury of BalQch life, and of any country where
hot suns and dry winds have to be encountered. To
welcome a friend, a man opens the string of his
grease skin. It is the first thing that goes empty
in hard times, and the first thing he gets filled when
fortune begins to shine again. To be without it, is dry
bread and water. To have it, is bread and butter,
buttered toast, tea with cream in it, etc.
But from the butter manufacture is left the butter
milk, called " dogh." This is boiled, and the remainder
is " luch " ; this is pressed and dried, and becomes
" shilanch," or in Persian, " kashk," a hard white biscuit
of very sour cheese. This is powdered, and, boiled
with savoury herbs, is very palatable.
These are the main divisions of BalQch dairy farm
ing, but there are many other stages, each called by
some local name, and the pride of some special camp,
just as in England each dairy wife has her own
peculiar way of arriving at universal results.
We are, however, still camped under a spreading
ziziphus, near a stream or line of water-holes, which
divides the districts of Kahnu and Dosari.
This evening, Brahim Muhammad set the example
of washing his clothes in the stream, and the rest,
fearing unfavourable comparison, were compelled to
do the same. A BalQch of the highest family will
wash his own clothes, but it is the manner that makes
the difference. With him, there is no squatting down
on haunches in an undignified position, and rubbing
awkwardly with both hands. No. His garments are
four in number : strong cotton drawers, fitting close
from below the knee, and neatly embroidered in red by
his eldest wife ; over these, a long cotton shirt, also em-

266 WASHING CLOTHES.
broidered at the neck, breast and cuffs ; a large turban
and a thick cotton plaid complete his equipment, while
for the march he puts on gun, sword, shield, pistol and
sandals. In his saddle-bags are a duplicate of each
garment, but unfortunately it is so long since we have
camped near a suitable stream that all want washing.
The mode of .proceeding is this: each chooses to
himself a pool, always near enough to his comrades
for friendly conversation and banter, and tying his
turban round his waist, he puts his clothes over his
arm, and descends into the water. Standing erect, he
takes the extreme end of some garment in his harid,
and swinging it over his head brings it down flop,
with all his force on the water, A party of these
fellows make a noise like a general engagement.
When sufficiently clean, they squeeze "the garment
tolerably dry, and at once put it on. And even
further north in the cold weather, they took a pride
in keeping up this custom ; and sometimes afterwards,
with the thermometer at 45°, I have found them going
about with simply their wet cotton garments on.
Here was plenty of ardQr, and had we but known
it, this was the last really good feed my camels were
destined to have. While passing through a small
thicket of kahur, we suddenly came upon a small herd
of mokt magnificent looking camels. Their huge
bodies and short colossal legs, and more than all, their
tremendous shaggy coats of tawny wool, took us all
aback with astonishment. To our unaccustomed eyes
they were perfect polar giants, and I looked askance
at my tall lanky smooth-coated wiry-haired animals,
and wondered how they would stand the tremendous
cold we expected, I lagged behind, and got into con-

DOSARL 267
versation with the herdsman. These monsters were
mere youngsters, not yet put to burden ! They were
from Kirman, and whole troops more were shortiy
expected. It was the custom for all up country camels
to spend the three or four spring months in the plain
of Jiraft, eating the succulent ardQn
" Would my camels eat dough ? " he asked, " they
would have to be fed upon dough as soon as I crossed
the mountains,"
I questioned him closely.
" Was there no place where any surag, mihishk, or
other salt grass grew ? "
" No," he said, it was all " dirmonah," (a wretched
little strong scented plant which nothing but doukeys
will touch), I might find some " puzhelle " (a caroxy
lon ?) ; but in that country the seasons were different,
and everything died in winter.
The man's conversation was not cheering, and I
gave him a kran and rode on.
Next day we were at Dosari by 2 p.m., a very
Persian-looking village, one house boasting a " badgir "
like a church tower. A badgir is for the most part
a plain square mud tower, but the topmost twelve
feet require more description. All four sides are open,
so as to allow of the freest access to wind from any
quarter. Thin mudplastered walls are built across
diagonally from corner to corner, and the wind, thus
confined in a V, goes of necessity down into the room
below. This is the most expensive kind of wind
tower. Others are made in the form of a hood, or
the orifice of a snail-shell, with the open end facing
whence the prevailing summer wind comes.
We camped near the graveyard, under some broad-

268 CAMP IN A GRAVEYARD.
spreading kiinar trees, and close by some gardens and
thickets of calotropis. The tombstones were of the
same stone as we had seen at Kahnu. Each was
a coffin-shaped monolith of a pellucid seagreen stone
laid horizontally over the grave and covered with in
scriptions mostly of an orthodox Shia nature.
I noticed that when two stones were wanted to
form a fireplace, a villager unhesitatingly brought two
fragments of tombstones, and I thought to myself;
what a fuss there would have been if / had sent for
two tombstones for such a purpose.
The green marble was quarried in the hills, and
exported to Kahnu. Dosari is a small village of huts
and date-trees, scattered in a long line along the foot
of the huge snow-clad Jamal Bariz range. The
governor, Mir Nasir, lives in a burnt brick enclosure
with the badgirs before mentioned, I had purposely
camped some little distance from him ; but he soon
found me out, and sent me a quantity of roghan, two '
sheep, and some flour, I sent him a pound of my
best " Bygnauth mixture," and a five-pound packet of
coffee, here considered a great delicacy. My men
made very merry over camping in a graveyard.
" Well," said Brahim Muhammad, " I always knew
we should have to sleep in a graveyard some day."
"Oh," cried Alishah, "but this is a perfect enjoy
ment ; we can get buried without being dead ! "
" Ah," said Tajoo, " you remember, when you used
to say you would die of the cold, the sahib used always
to answer, ' Oh, there are plenty of burying grounds.'
Now, you know, this is really extremely convenient,
and you'd better not lose such an opportunity,"
Three or four very amiable men from Kirman, now

DOCTORING AGAIN. 269
visitors to Mir Nasir, came and called upon me in the
afternoon. They were very polite, and exhibited none
of the staring astonishment I had met with at Kahnu,
and asked no impertinent questions.
I was busy all that evening doctoring, and was much
troubled by an Iliaut family, who were encamped out
side the village, in black goats'-hair tents. The father
and mother brought me the daughter, a fine, handsome
girl'of about sixteen, with rosy cheeks, and altogether
looking the picture of health. It wds, according to
the father, a case of the inevitable " bad grifta ast."
All natives have their peculiar way of expressing a
sickness. Even in England, the Lincolnshire " He's
nobbut badly," expresses much more than is seen at
first glance.
Among BalQchis, anything the matter with the legs
or arms is expressed, " My foot is dry," " My bone is
dry," If altogether out of sorts, he will say, " My
heart is dry," " My heart and body are dry ; " but if
his stomach is out of order, he has " bad gipta" [taken
wind), an expression which is invariably used as an
all-sufficient and complete statement of the case : and
I used to be utterly exasperated when, in reply to all
my queries of " Where does it hurt ? " " What's the
matter ? " etc., I could get only a complacent, "Oh,
bad gipta." The expression may have arisen from the
great prevalence of indigestion and flatulency induced
by the coarse food.
However, in the case of the damsel in question, I
gradually localised the disease to her right arm. This
I examined carefully, but could find nothing wrong
with it, and indeed could only wish I could show such
a good arm myself Appetite was good ; but I could

270 NASIR KHAN.
not get rid of the old couple. After endless perse
verance, I got them to show me some small, roughly
circular patches where the skin had simply undergone
depigmentation, and which, though of no importance
(and even common in BalQchistan), were a- bar to her
being sought in marriage. How these people ex
pected me to find out these spots from their telling
me first that she had " bad gipt,'^ and then that she
had a bad arm, I cannot say, but they did expect it
Next morning the Khan came to call upon me on
rather a screw of a horse, but with its mane and tail
knotted in the most accurate manner. He was im
mensely polite, said but little, and said he was very
deaf, a statement which might or might not have been
true. A young fellow with a handsome open face and
brown curling moustache accompanied him, and did
most of the talking. This was a lieutenant who had
brought a message from the Wakil-al-Mulk at Kirman,
whither he shortly intended to return. He readily
gave me much information about the road, but said I
should take weeks to get my poor camels there.
There was, moreover, no fodder after Dasht-i-Kuch,
and unless my camels could eat chopped straw they
would starve. He himself was travelling with one
servant, and both were well riiounted on strong horses.
The matter of no fodder was rather awkward, as
every one agreed that the only camels that ever came
across the mountains came and went empty merely for
a run " at grass," and that these camels were all trained
to subsist on balls of dough, which none of my camels
would touch.
The conduct of my men here was gratifying. They
heard that all camels required warm clothing for the

HIS BRUTISH SECRETARY. 271
mountain journey, and as they were led to water I saw
each man had strapped his " balbalak," or hairy-hairy,
on the back of his camel, thus voluntarily depriving
themselves of one of their two felt coverings just when
they began to warit them. It was partly from pride
roused by the idea that their cherished Baluchi liros
could not go where other camels did ; but I was grate
ful to them, and shook old Brahim warmly by the
hand. They began already to feel something like a
countryman in London, and while being extra truculent
and scornful in their bearirig towards the Persians,
were more than ever willing and devoted to their
" waja," myself
We had a short audience with the Khan, and saw
something of "splendour and barbaric gold." The
walls of the room we waited in were covered with the
most beautifully executed mouldings in the finest
plaster of Paris, But here and there in niches a small
bent piece of copper had been stuck full of stinking
castor oil ; these lamps making above them a huge
black smear, and below them a sort of permanent
dribble of oil.
The cook came in to make the tea, and did make
it with great swagger. He had begged, borrowed, or
stolen a new green coat for the occasion, but he had
not taken off his old shirt, the filthy state of which
language is feeble to describe. Some of the servants
going about the yard were in absolute rags.
We had to wait some time, and were much bored
by the governor's secretary, who came and. sat with
us, evidently with the idea of getting some infor
mation about us. He was the last man I should have
chosen as a confidant, being an uncouth brute who

272 PERSIAN TAX COLLECTORS.
spoke always in a kind of yell. He set upon me first
with a brutish impudence ; but after listening in silerit
scorn to a string of questions, such as " Where do you
come from ? " " How much money have you ? " " Are
those your camels ? " etc., I turned from him and ad
dressed the assembly. "And where," I asked, "did
you discover this kind of beast, with a voice like an
ass and a smell like a camel ? " That choked him off
for a time, but soon he was asking Brahim how much
pay I gave him, Brahim was very modest on 'such
subjects, and readily confused ; so I had to snub him
again, saying that, judging from the appearance of the
present company, Brahim was much better off than
any of them.
Soon the Khan came in fresh from the bath, paring
his nails and bowing in every direction. He sat at
a large open bay window looking over the courtyard,
an arrangement which enabled him to receive private
communications from one side without the people on
the other hearing. He seemed immensely busy, open
ing note after note, and either writing answers himself
or dictating them to the braying secretary. The notes
were all simply accounts of taxes paid in or not paid
in, and generally ran as follows : — After compliments,
" Mahomed Taki has paid in nine tomans more, and
promises three tomans more when his brother comes
back from Kirman," " Ah," says the Khan to his
secretary, " Mahomed Taki — thirty-seven tomans, isn't
it ? Tell him the Diwan requires the money imme
diately, (To the assembly) What am I to do ? The
Government insists on my paying twice as much as I
can, and these men must pay up,"
By attending to the conversation, I find that my

PERSIAN TAX-COLLECTORS. 273
friend the lieutenant is the third messenger sent from
Kirman to get the annual tribute from him. The first
two have failed, and he fails also. The wily old Khan
with his deaf ear for ever puts them off. But he is
playing a deep and dangerous game. He has got a
year's taxes secreted somewhere, and declares he hasn't
a penny. But he has a wise man to deal with in the
Wakil-al-Mulk, and must play his cards carefully and
well. If he can get away with this money, he will be
able by its power as a bribe to obtain another and
a far richer governorship, perhaps from the Wakil-al-
Mulk himself, who will accept the inevitable and wait
till his turn comes. Mir Nasir knows his own game,
but plays with his life in his hands. The Wakil-al-
Mulk will get the hidden money as a bribe, and the
very success of the stratagem will prove its author's
fitness for a higher post But should he fail, let him
look to himself
This is an ordinary every-day occurrence, and, in
fact, fairly well represents the process by which the
taxes are levied, A Persian will suffer anything
sooner than pay money. There is a feeling of shame
connected with it, a feeling of being outwitted. It is
quite a taunt to tell a Persian he has paid money away,
and he never boasts of how much money he has spent
on anything. " Base is the slave that pays," would
be rendered in Persia, " Fool is the slave who
pays." And if it is difficult for the accomplished petty
governor to get the money out of the more ignorant
agriculturists who live under his thumb, how much
more difficult is it for the governor of a province
to get his money out of his subordinates who live a

274 AN INDIGENOUS POINTER DOG.
hundred miles away, and who are as skilled as he is
in lying and all arts of intrigue.
I shall show in a future chapter how the system
affects the agriculturist himself
There were six or seven well-to-do looking farmers
sitting round the majlis, and the lieutenant, though
maintaining the utmost courtesy towards the Khan,
now and then held whispered conversations with one
or other of them. These farmers, with whom the
petty governor communicates direct, lend seed and
bullocks for ploughing, and in general lead all the
operations. They have a blunt clumsiness of manner,
much like some of their representatives in England.
I was much surprised to see lying in the yard what
was to all appearance a genuine English liver and
white pointer. On inquiry I found that he was in
digenous to the country, of a distinct breed called
" tolah,"* and used for the same purposes as an English
pointer. He was a handsome dog, but looked as if
he would train soft.
Guides were promised to Kirman, and returning to
camp we prepared for march. Poor old Hussein, the
much-bullied and long-suffering, was sent back with
his waistband full of krans, and a letter to Durgosh,
giving him a good character, which he showed great
disposition to tie round his arm as a " tawiz," or
charm. ' Our new guide did not turn up, so we started with
out him over a sandy plain covered with trat, petto,
and kahur, and with an occasional patch of wheat
* "Tolah," corruption of "tora," a jackal, which animal in
Baliichistan is called "tolag."

OUR NEW GUIDE. 275
and barley. At three our guide joined us, breathless
with running, and driving before him three or four
donkeys. He was such a specimen as is rarely seen out of
Persia, Apparently about seventeen years old, he
was nearly six feet high, immensely broad, with huge
fleshy limbs, and a round pink and white face, as of
a somewhat dishonest cherub. This fellow in
England would have been a lout, but here not
a bit ; he had a fine free movement, and though
regarded by the men as an overgrown infant, he did
our trifling six hours' walking a day with the greatest
ease. We were now marching up a sort of arm
of the plain, about forty miles broad, and heading for
a spot north-west, were we could commence to climb
the huge wall of the Jamal Bariz hills.
During the march, we crossed two or three foot
paths, betokening an amount of inhabitants which we
were quite unaccustomed to. But indeed this whole
fertile plain of Jiruft is inhabited at, from a rough
estimate, the rate of about a village of 200 people to
every ten miles square.
At 3.50 p.m, our cherub called a halt in a thicket
of kahur trees, by the side of a clear artificial rivulet
of sweet water. It was rather a short march, and
a little bird whispered that our friend had business
of his own at a village near, arid I called him up and
warned him of the consequences which would ensue
on his trying to deceive us. His speech was absurdly
flowery. I was never less than a " majesty of ex
alted place," and even the men were all " exalted
places," a thing they chuckled grimly over. When,
however, they tried to assume this lofty position with

2/6 THOUGHTS OF HOME.
regard to him, in such matters as fetching wood and
water for the camp, our clever frieud left them very
far to leeward. They always chose their times badly,
just wheri he was on the point of saying his prayers.
The men were thoughtful to-night The sandy
plain, the thickets of tamarisk and kahur, swarming
with partridges and francolins — all made it seem like
home. It was Bahomadi ; — it was Jagin ; — it was
SQrag ; and each man called to mind some particular
part of his own dear sandy desert, and imagined,
himself to be camping there.
To my mind, there is nothing more cheery than the
ringing note of the kofinjah [partridge), and nothing
more homely than the regwar [francolin), and I could
easily believe I was back again at old Jagin, camped
in the thickets on the river banks, with M  y the
other side of the camp-fire, and a day's fun in prospect
for to-morrow. Without these two birds, camp-life
in BalQchistan certainly would lose some of its charms.
In the breeding season they both cry all day, but at
other times only mornings and evenings, the kofinjah
getting up first, and the aristocratic regwars following
about 8 a.m.
Next morning we were away at eight, making very
good going over the plain. At 10.30 a,m, we passed
a village called Tihun, where I saw some fine cows,
which reminded me strongly of the breed called
Bahrein cows, in the Persian Gulf
It may have been a coincidence only, but our
cherub, without my mentioning my idea, gave a long
and circumstantial account of these people, stating
them to be Arabs from Bahrein.
The word Arab is of course often used in the sense

DASHT-I-KUCH. 277
" wanderers," but the presence of the cows was
curious. Here also I noticed several handsome
nearly white hawks, of which I could not procure
a specimen. Due west, , apparently about forty miles, were the
Isfanaka hills, whence the river Haliri is said to rise,
It joins the river Shur below the village Surjaz, the
Shur being the water outlet of the mountains to
W,N.W, of us.
At 12.40 we camped at Dasht-i-Kuch,* a small arm
of the plain running into the hills.
Here we found many men who remembered Sir
Frederic Goldsmid's mission, and spoke in very kindly
manner of the " old but active man who understood
the language,"
Here they brought many carpets made on the
Jiruft plain, but the patterns were all the simple
zigzag, the easiest to weave, and the colours were not
brilliant. The dyes are brought from Kirman, and
we were sorry to find that the cheap non-lasting Eng
lish dyes, which will sooner or later ruin the Persian
* Since my return I have seen this place mentioned by Sir F.
Goldsmid as Dasht-i-Kusht. This, probably more correctly " Dasht-
i-Khushk," would mean " the dry plain." With all deference to so
eminent an authority, I will retain my own version of the name. It
is as I heard it, and its meaning, " plain of the corner," or " corner
plain," is more in accordance with its position. Dasht-i-Kuch is in
a corner, but is by no means a particularly dry place. While on the
subject, I may mention that we dififer on the name of the next camp.
My guide called it " Sagdir," a word meaning " blackberry," and the
name seemed perfectly satisfactory, for here, as nowhere else, the
blackberry was twining over every rock, and was, in fact, almost the
only shrub in the place. Sir Frederic has " Sakhtdar," meaning " a
difficult country." But in an interview he preferred my version of the
name.

278 PERSIAN CARPETS.
carpet trade, were here well known. The only points
by which the Persian carpets could hope to maintain
a place in the English markets, are the intricacy and
peculiarity of pattern, and the brilliancy and lasting
quality of the dyes which by slow and tedious pro
cesses they extract from the Runask and the Zarili,
The provincial governors are introducing English and
French patterns, and cheap English dyes are so com
mon that, go where you will now to buy carpets, the
red colour at least must be carefully tested.
Our friends here prognosticated the worst results
from our attempt to cross the mountains in this weather
and with such transport ; but indeed we were so used
to this, that we should have been uneasy had they
failed to do so.
What was more to the point, they told us of three
or four kahur trees in amongst the hills, and the men
were despatched to cut what would give the camels
two days' feed.

CHAPTER XI.
We cross the Mountains.
The climb commenced. — Sagdir, — An inhabitant, — Mountain scenery
by starlight. — The Ushteroon Gudar. — The Bag-i-asp-i-Ismail
Khan. — We see our way out of the mountains. — The cherub
exhausted. — The Mahri's misadventure. — Flat ground again. —
Antiquarian discovery, — Our first caravanserai. — The camels too
tall for once. — Snugly ensconced. — Poor Ghulamshah duped
once more. — A mill. — The cherub gives trouble. — Puzzling the
Persian. — The young lieutenant. — No camel-fodder. — Ridicu
lously large radishes. — " La, hani dilam hd abu." — Hospitable
reception at Raiiin. — An amusing incident. — The camels break
down. — Poison. — -A weary delay. — Raiiiii. — Kirman illuminated
in honour of the Shah having purchased Baghdad. — Persian
steel-workers. — Glass-blower. — Remove to the old fort. — En
route again. — The end of the cherub.
NEXT morriing, it was December 5th, we were
away on the road by 6,40 a,m., winding along
the foot of the hills with a gradual ascent Soon we
travelled along the northern bank of a tributary of the
Shur river, which in spite of its name was sweet
enough, and, judging from the flocks of large white,
and black and white herons, contained numerous fish.
At 8.17 the Surjaz village bore 210, distant 10
miles, and after a laborious two hours' crossing the
talus of a huge hill we turned up and the steep ascent
began. The road was a shingly stony water-course,
flanked on either side by grand cliffs and masses of
rock, sparsely covered with shrubs.

28o SAGDIR.
Here I had reason to be grateful to Dr. Shaw's
" What to observe ; " for, acting on his precept, I care
fully observed the vegetation on this side of the range,
though I never thought of finding such marked and
characteristic difference between this side and the other
as I did.
One of the shrubs looked exactly like majgQk (capital
camel fodder), but it was as bitter as a bitter almond,
and useless to us. At 12.27 ^e reached the first
summit, 5,770 feet Across a shallow valley, and
at I p.m, reached second summit (bar, 24*45), 5>523
feet. Halt to breathe camels, who snort rumble, and
groan in most heartrending manner. There is a huge
mountain just on our right about 1,500 feet higher
than we are, covered with snow. Across another
valley, and at 2 p.m, the third summit (bar, 24*5),
5,469 feet. Then we crossed a sheltered valley
swarming with droves of kabg [partridges). I con
tented myself, however, with shooting three, being
anxious to pay every attention to the road. At 2. 30
we forded a rapid rushing, bounding torrent, which, in
the reckless way it dashed itself about, seemed to.
harmonize well with the wild desolate grandeur of the
scene around, I got wet through in trying to jump
this, for I had stayed behind and was on foot, and I
was not sorry when half an hour afterwards our cherub
called a camp at Sagdir, A misty rain or rainy mist
made everything dim and wet, and our position on the
very brink of a chasm forty feet deep was not without
its difficulties. Two ibex reluctantly vacated the spot
as we arrived, flying like shadowy spirits at a bullet
from my Westley Richards, This was the usual place
for halting, and two deep but low caves close by had

MOUNTAIN SCENERY BY MOONLIGHT. 281
often been used as sleeping places. My men, however,
scorned the idea of making jackals of themselves, and
slept in the open. There was no fodder, the only tree
being an occasional " Ban " (much like pyrus terminalis)
and the shrubs being blackberries and the omnipresent
" badam." To our surprise, we found little patches of soil cleared
of rocks and sown with wheat. The people, it ap
peared, lived in the plain during the winter, and camped
here among these grand hills in the summer. One
would think that the very fact of spending half one's life
in such scenery and air as this would tend to ennoble
the men both physically and mentally ; but a specimen
who arrived clad in a mass of woollen rags, and who
whiningly expostulated with us for letting my donkey
crop the young wheat, was not by any means a startling
exhibition of physique or intellect
We had slaughtered a sheep, and as this patch of
wheat was the only piece of ground where it was
possible to pitch a tent, we compounded with him by
giving him a lump of meat for the hire of it He was
much pleased, and left for Maskun, where he said lived
the Katkhuda,
The weather cleared up towards evening, and we
had a glorious night, I turned out of the tent about
nine to look at the thermometers, and saw a scene I
shall never forget Above us, the deep blue sky and
clear shining stars ; all around, huge black mountains
without sign of life, and only awful in their desolate
blackness and shadowy immensity. What a contrast
to the little nest of warm-hearted, eager-tempered life
at my feet There, in every conceivable attitude, lay
my companions ; while on the other side of the now

282 THE USHTEROON GUDAR.
smouldering fires knelt the six sturdy camels who had
carried our burdens so gallantly, and who were now
peacefully " romasting," as the natives call chewing the
cud, of their somewhat scanty feed of kahur. I came
out with the common practical idea of simply reading
the thermometers and making up my mind whether
to take a " polaris " or not, but ,1 clean forgot both, and
went and turned into bed as happy as possible without
doing either.
That night the min, thermometer registered 36°, and
the camels, in spite of their felt coats, were shivering
with cold.
We were on march by 8 a,m,, and at 8,35 reached
the summit of the Ushteroon Gudar, or the Camel's
Pass, called, I imagine, on the lucus a non lucendo priri
ciple, for it is fearfully steep for camels. Here the
barometer showed 6,780 feet At 9,30 we passed a
sort of oasis in the endless miles of rock in the shape
ofthe Bag-i-asp-i-Ismail* Khan, It is a large grassy
mound, and it is related that when Ismail Khan, father
of the present governor of Kirman, levelled and
widened this road across the mountains, he personally
encamped there for many days. As for the road, it is
impossible to conjecture what kind of animals travelled
it before Ismail Khan's engineers took it in hand.
Here the barometer showed 7,250 feet, and away to
the west stretched an endless sea of mountains, range
after range gradually softening away into distance.
We resisted the cherub's longing to camp at Maskun,
but I called a halt just before noon, and in spite of the
* "Bag" is Baluchi for a "herd" of camels, etc., but I never
heard the word in Persia.

WE SEE OUR WAY BEFORE US. 283
clouds managed to get a very fair meridian observation
for latitude, and an hour and a half afterwards one for
longitude. Between the two I took a gun and strolled
off after some kabg. These exasperating birds, how
ever, would not rise, and ran up all the steepest hills
they could find, kuk-kukking away in the oak scrub (as
if delighting in my fatigue), and quite using up my
patience, I was amply rewarded however, on reaching
one hill-top, by finding the whole of that arm of the
Jiruft plain up which we had marched from Dosari
spread out before me, and I got some capital cross-
bearings of hills which I was fortunately able to identify
from outline sketches made when I first saw them.
Higher and higher we went, the barometer at 2 p.m,
showing 8,070 feet; at half-past, 9,250 feet; and at
three, 9,260 feet ; while wet and dry bulbs were 46°,
51°, and a strong cold wind set in from the south-west
At half-past three we reached our highest point,
9,310 feet, and at last saw our way before us. The
road ran north down a short steep descent, and lost
itself in the thick oak scrub, Theu far below us it
re-appeared a dim liue leadirig away across a broad
desert plairi runriing east and west behind which rose
a faint purple range called the Darzin hills.
About thirty-five miles to the west, half hidden in
the clouds, ran a long dark-blue ridge of mountain.
This is the Sardu route from the low-lying Jiruft plain
to the high plateau. It joins our route at RaiQn, but
owing to its immense altitude above the sea is only
practicable in summer, when it is generally preferred
as being cooler, more direct, and having two or three
caravanserais. Behind, softened by the mist, lay the ranges we had

284 THE CHERUB EXHAUSTED.
just crossed, a sea of hills, here slightly clothed with
oak scrub, and spotted now and then by a tall dark
cypress tree.
I was on foot, far in advance of my caravan, and sat
down to sketch the fine prospect. Presently up came
our cherub — but what a cherub I pale, hollow-eyed,
languid and breathless, he flung himself down on the
ground, and called God to witness that I was killing
him, " But, cherub," I said, half-amused and half-indignant,"
" you the big, the strong, thus exhausted by a little
hill like this ? "
" Ah," he said, " but the illustrious majesty doesn't
know that this is the second day I have fasted, and
that neither water, tobacco, nor bread have gone into
my mouth since Dasht-i-Kuch."
I gave him a good " talking to," about the absurdity
of keeping fasts on a journey, quoted for him the verse
of the Kuran by which fasts are not compulsory on sick
people, travellers, etc, and while thus engaged the
meris voices were heard and Tajoo appeared leading
my riding camel.
We halted here to cut firewood, for the cherub said
we should find none at the next two camps, after which
Tajoo and I marched on ahead.
It was very steep, and I soon left Tajoo behind.
Presently I heard the camel roaring tremendously, and
immediately afterwards, to my intense surprise, Tajoo
shouting with laughter.
I hurried back, wondering what could possibly have
happened, and strugghng up the hill I found Tajoo
almost speechless with laughter, sitting on a rock with
the camel's rein in his hand, while there was the camel

FLAT GROUND AGAIN. 285
prone on his nose, roaring piteously, the saddle on
his neck, and all my dinner, instrument cases, tea
bottle, etc., which had been slung on the .pommel,
hanging in graceful festoons on either side of his
head. " Well," said Tajoo, when he recovered his speech,
" this is the most extraordinary illegitimate hill / ever
saw," This is the part of the pass that gets blocked up
by snow, which it is easy to imagine gets drifted into
the ravine representing the road, and renders it im
passable. At half-past four we finally " landed " on flat ground
again, at a small grassy corner of the plain, which was,
of course, fertile just in the immediate neighbourhood
of the mountain, I was casting about for a suitable
place for the tent, when my eye caught a mound that
was evidently artificial. Here was a chance ! Was I
about to discover the remains of an ancient temple ?
I rode up — evident remains of domes buried in a
large tumulus of clayey mud, I turned a corner.
Here was a brick wall and an arched doorway. With
considerable misgivings I got off, lit a match, and
descended into this dark and subterranean abode, and
this was our first introduction to a caravanserai. Here,
in this howling wilderness of rocky mountain and
barren plain, was a dry water- and wind-tight building,
about thirty yards square, capable of holding men,
camels, baggage and everything. True, it was almost
underground, had neither chimneys, windows, nor
doors, and smelt considerably of the stable; but it was
all the warmer, and we were uncommonly grateful.
The Baluchis were in ecstasies. " This, then, is a

286 THE CAMELS TOO TALL FOR ONCE.
beautiful country! Wherever we go they make big
houses ready for us. Well, the tent's done for now ;
this is better than a tent, isn't it, waja ?" Ghulam
shah produced a candle, and we went in and made a
more detailed inspection. Two broad main passages
crossed in the centre, while each corrier was a little
private room, stable, or pigstye, as the taste of the
observer might lead him to consider,
A plan of operations was soon arranged, A fire in
the centre, the camels in one arm, I in a second, and
the men in a third ; the fourth was the passage to the
doorway. A difficulty, however, arose at the outset. The
camels, even unloaded and with their packsaddles off,
were just about six inches too tall to enter the door
way. The stupid' creatures would not stoop or abate
one inch of their now unnecessary height.
We made them kneel, and tried to get them to
shuffle along on their knees, a thing they can do very
well if they please, but they would rise suddenly and
bruise their humps against the roof, and I could not at
all afford to have my camels with sore backs.
We got out pick and shovel, and started digging
away the floor of the passage, but the terrific smell of
the manure of ages warned us to leave that alone if
we ourselves wished to be able to sleep inside, and we
were in the absurd predicament of a man arriving at
his house on a cold wintry evening and then being
too big to get in.
It was the aged Kasim who got us out of our diffi
culty. He had been tired out on arrival, and had
been sitting down by the baggage rubbing his poor
old stiff legs. The old man's age and sagacity had

SNUGLY ENSCONCED. 287
soon procured for him this exemption from camp work,
and directly he saw the difficulty he was as usual up
to the mark. He replaced the packsaddle on the
mahri, the smallest camel, made it kneel down as
far inside the doorway as he could get it ; then, with a
battery of blows from behind, the unfortunate animal
rose, knocked a brick or two out, and struggled in.
The rest followed without difficulty, their humps being
protected by their saddles, and we were all snugly
ensconced in our dwelling.
It was the first time that many of them had had an
opportunity of examining a house, and their remarks,
as they examined the vaulted brick roof and peered
into the little corner rqoms, were very amusing.
It was unanimously decided to be a " mazani
sowab," * and equivalent to at least ten pilgrimages
to Mekka for the man who built it At this point,
however, their enjoyment was considerably damped by
Ghulamshah recollecting an occasion when, at a place
north-east of BampQr, the roof of a caravanserai fell
in during the night and severely injured his parents
and their cattle.
We soon began to find serious inconvenience from
the smoke, but at last, tracing its peculiar pungency to
some sticks of cypress we had brought, we rejected
them, and afterwards managed better. The camels
had only half an appetite for their kahur, and would
evidently be in a bad way should we not find fodder
or some change of diet on the morrow.
About the middle of the riight I was awakeried
* " Mazani sowab " (or " thowab "), a great act to be rewarded
in heaven hereafter.

288 GHULAMSHAH DUPED ONCE MORE.
by strange voices in the place. But whoever it was,
was holding an amicable and even affectionate con
versation with Ghulamshah, so I turned over and
slept again.
In the morning, we found a stout old Persian had
arrived in the night, and was now saddling up his four
or five mules to cross the mountains. In voice and
feature he was exactly like Ghulamshah's father, and
that ingenuous youth, having in the course of conver
sation found out that his visitor's name was Ghulam
Reza (the name of his father), had made him some
tea, and opened his heart to him completely.
When we were starting, about an hour afterwards,
behold ! Ghulamshah's pagri (turban) was nowhere to
be found ; and what a chaff there was when the theft
was clearly traced to Ghulam Reza, " Wash gap
bita," " To manni pit i," * etc. And the unfortunate
young fellow, whose goodness of heart and unwilling
ness to suspect people was constantly bringing him
into trouble, was thoroughly roasted. It was also
remarked as ominous that we were robbed the first
day we got into Persia, The thermometers were 47°
and 43°, and it hailed violentiy as we left camp and
proceeded north down a mountain stream.
After about an hour and a half, during which Tajoo
and myself "potted" over a dozen kabg and sand-
grouse [Pter. arenar.), we came, to our great joy, upon
some tamarisk bushes. These, though not of much
use to the camels, would at all events change the taste,
and enable them afterwards to finish their kahur. So
we stopped, and while the men cut young branches I
* "It was a sweet and beautiful conversation." "You are my
father."

THE CHERUB GIVES TROUBLE. 289
took sights both for latitude and longitude. Then we
wound our way down the stream, which grew wider
every minute, and made a pleasant shrubby path
amongst small sandstone hills.
At noon we passed a little stone hut containing a
mill and miller. The mill was of most ingenious and
unique construction, and the same kind as we after
wards found in Kurdistan. The water was taken
from about a quarter-mile up stream, in a small canal,
and thus the necessary fall was obtained. The cherub
here began to give trouble. After his two days'
religious fast he had set to work and actually eaten
everything he had been able to lay hands upon, and
drank quarts of cold water. The result was he was
quite unable to keep up, and we, who were utterly
ignorant of even the name of our next camp or the
direction in which it lay, were frequently brought up
and delayed until he pleased to come up and do what
he was engaged for. As long as we were travelling
over dry ground we could get on by keeping the same
general direction, but down in a tortuous river-bed
even that became impossible. At half-past two we
debouched into the plain and followed its gerieral
direction north-west. We did not fairly go out into
the plain, but kept so near the hills on our left as to
be constantly going up and down hill crossing the
huge talus. To our right stretched the smoothest,
barrenest valley I have ever seen, simply a sea of sand,
the opposite coast of which was formed by the Darzin
mountains, behind which we were told was another
sand ocean formerly inhabited by bands of plundering
Baluchis, who alone knew the secret of the few and
hidden wells. u

290 TAJOO AND THE PERSIAN.
I overheard Brahim ironically thanking God that
we had at last arrived at the land of rose bowers
and nightingales. At 4.15 we camped on the rocky,
barren ground, the town of Bam being just visible
nearly due east.
The caravanserai and two or three mud huts, com
prising the village of Sarvistan, were visible when we
camped, but a few heads of puzhelle (a salt, grass)
induced us to halt, considering that a bird in the hand
is worth two in the bush. Little stinking bushes of
dirmonah [wormwood) about a foot high grew between
every rock and stone, and with puzhelle formed the
entire flora of this part of the " rose garden."
Next morning was very cold. The men were
striking the tent and loading up while I was sitting
over a fire a little distance off drinking my tea.
Suddenly, to our surprise three Persians bandaged
rather than clothed up to the eyes, and mounted on
mules, came trotting and jingling up. The leader,
seeing our camp, found an opportunity for smoking a
kalian, which he carried ready with him ; and riding up
to the first man he saw (by chance Tajoo), called out to
him in a bullying authoritative manner to bring him a
light, and quite unnecessarily swearing at him to make
haste, Tajoo had never been spoken to in that tone
before, and seemed to feel only contempt for the man
who could use it He looked him quietly up and
down, and then turned round to us with his most
whimsical face and said, " Now this, indeed, is an
excellent Persian man. If they're all like this, we shall
have some extraordinary enjoyment," *
* " In diggar zabri Ajjam mardi an, agar drustan cho abi ma baz
lizzat agindoii,''

PUZZLING THE PERSIAN. 291
The man did not of course understand a word,
but just then caught sight of Brahim, who looked
very imposing in a big ulster, " Come here," he cried ;
" are you the owner of this caravan ? Come and give
me a light"
" You had better go and make your salaams to the
waja, first," said Brahim, and I then called the man
up. He was a genuine Persian, and in a moment
changed from bullying those he considered his inferiors
to servility to one who might perhaps be his superior.*
He was, he said, going to Dosari to get the tribute
from Mir Nasir. " Ah," I said, " and these are the
bags to carry it in, I suppose. It's something like
getting blood out of a stone, I should think, for the
miserable creature doesn't look as if he had ever seen
a thousand tomans in his lifetime. However, you'd
better make haste, for you're about the tenth man we
have seen going to get the tribute from Mir Nasir."
He was rather disgusted, but did not quite under
stand my off-hand mention of such a sum as one thou
sand tomans. Brahim offered him the wished-for light
and I heard him say, sneeringly, " I suppose the sahib
has enormous quantities of money : all these boxes are
full of it, eh ? "
" No," said Brahim gravely, " these are all full of
sand, which the sahib has brought as a present for the
Governor of Kirman, whose country hasn't got any."
The three men jangled off, not quite knowing what
to make of our incomprehensible caravan, and we
finished our loading and got on march,
* I was dressed for riding this morning, and probably owed this
estimate to my enormous riding boots. They were often valuable in
this manner.

292 THE YOUNG LIEUTENANT.
At about TO a.m, we marched into Sablistan, a small
village of thick walled, square mud huts, with very
small doors and no windows, arguing great cold.
There are two or three mills here driven by water,
the millers of which charge five per cent, i.e. grind
twenty mans and take one. Another feature of the
village is "pies," of cut straw, which is preserved in
winter just as wurzel is in England, Soon after
arrival, my friend the curly-whiskered lieutenant
arrived on a powerful white horse, shortly 'followed
by two or three lightly loaded mules.
He came to visit me, and chatted unreservedly over
his tea. Mir Nasir of Dosari, and Nur-eddin Khan of
Kahnu, were, he said, utterly faithless people and no
power on earth could get the tribute out of them.
This was the fourth fruitless journey he had himself
made, and he was now going back to fetch the general
and some troops.
He said that Chiragh Khan was governor of Bash
akard, and was amused when I told him that the
Bashakardis knew nothing about it
Imam Ali Khan, he said, was the man who had
subjugated the BalQchis ; first taking Bam, then Nur-
manshir, and going thence to Charbar. He died about
seven years ago. The young lieutenant spoke almost
enthusiastically on his military qualities, and afterwards,
at Kirman, I was surprised to find that there was a
good deal of truth in what he told me.
To-day was the third day since the camels had
had a " square meal," and we were beginning to get
anxious about them. They would not touch dough
lumps, or barley in any form, and we did not know
what to give them. Once more, however, our good

RIDICULOUSLY LARGE RADISHES. 293
fortune did not desert us, A large troop of camels
from Kirman passed on their way to eat the spring
grasses on the Jiruft plain. One of the men told us
that under the hills about three miles away we should
find trat and ardQr, so three of the men went off with
the camels, and our minds felt easier.
But they got but a very miserable feed, for every
thing was dead and withered. The cHmate on this
side of the mountains is like that of England, and
everything withers in the winter ; while just across
them, on the southern side, the winter is the sign for
rain, and for everything to become green.
In the evening I heard a great chaff and laughing,
and presently Brahim brought me in what he called
a specimen of the radishes of this country. The men
were always eagerly on the look-out for anything new,
but, far from admiring or wondering at it, they would
uproariously chaff its owner. In the present case they
had been having great fun with a native about the
ridiculous size of his radishes. They went to great
trouble, and in the most absurd broken Persian, and
with shouts of laughter, they told him that it was
quite preposterous for him to grow such radishes, that
if he wanted to see proper radishes he must come to
their country, and much more to the same effect.
Now the things in question were turnips. There
never was such a confusion. The men had not
seen turnips before, nor could they learn the name,
and the native did not know what " Gurgu " (the
Baluchi for radish) was, nor did he know the miscon
ception they were under, and he fairly gave it up and
bolted amidst yells of laughter. I afterwards bought,
a quantity of turnips at the rate of 77 lbs, for \od.,

294 CAMP IN THE RIVER BED.
and for ^d. I got thirty-four eggs. The camels ate
the turnips freely, but it was a mistake to give them,
and nearly all were sick afterwards.
Next day, December 9th, we had an uninteresting
march up the barren plain which has already been
described. We were surprised at seeing very good and well-
baked tiles laid along the road for walling in the
Kahns ; they were short sections of a cyhnder, about
two feet in diameter and six inches deep.
The cherub was very ill to-day, and I had again to
put him on my riding camel, and at one we camped
in the bed of the Tahrut river. The place was pic
turesque enough in amongst the trees, but it was
bitterly cold, and the poor camels ate but sparingly of
the tamarisk.
Next morning we were away at eight. All the still
water was frozen, and in order to regain the road we
had to cross the five or six little streams which com
posed the river. It seemed hard on the men to
commence a thirty mile march by getting their boots
and stockings * wet through, and the small donkey
Durgosh had given me was told off to bring them over
by twos. Only Brahim Khamis despised this method
of crossing, and driving his camel into the first stream
made a bound to get on to its back behind the load.
Unfortunately he missed, and after a hard struggle fell
flat on his back in the icy cold water.
But was he abashed ? Not a bit. As he picked
* It was very absurd to see these fellows swaggering about in
Bushire shoes and home knit stockings. To the last also they
never reahzed the importance of putting on the stocking first and the
shoe afterwards.

"LA, HANI DILAM HA ABU.'" 295
himself up, the moment he got his breath, he was out
with the old quotation, " Oh la ! my brothers, ain't I
happy now ! " *
It was a long dreary march that day, and it did not
improve matters that the plain sloped upward towards
evening, and we saw our destination hours before we
reached it
Towards evening I was delighted to come upon
some patches of salt grass. The men were overjoyed,
and congratulated themselves that now their camels
would have a fair chance, and cut large quantities.
It was nearly five o'clock and quite dark when our
caravan slowly wended its way amongst a quantity of
mud-brick houses. The inhabitants were all safely
shut up from the cold, and after a few fruitless efforts
to find a caravanserai, I was compelled to call a halt,
and commence a determined attack on about the only
house which seemed at all inhabited.
Soon a stout old gentleman came bustling out, and
with many expressions of delight at finding a sahib, he
found a place for the meri and camels among the ruins
of a house.
After seeing men and camels safe for the night, I
followed old Kabala Hassan to his own house, and
was soon comfortably installed in a small mud-walled
room without window, but comfortably lighted by a
blazing wood fire.
Our host was a jovial, ruddy-faced fellow, the de
voted and willing slave to three strapping buxom
* An old story he often told over the camp fire, where a man gets
into all sorts of ridiculous and unpleasant positions, but always brings
out that observation " Ld, hani dilam hd abu !" (Oh la! and now
my heart is happy !)

296 AN AMUSING INCIDENT.
wives, and four jolly, rosy cheeked little boys, the
image of himself
We had many callers, in spite of the lateness of the
hour, and all were very polite and decorous.
One Muhammad Reza, who had married a daughter
of Kabala Hassan, and lived next door, did with many
cautious questions produce a bottle of wine, very much
the best wine I ever tasted in Persia, and like hock ;
we made some kebabs on a ramrod, had a kalian, and
turned in.
The houses of RaiQn are divided by a court, the
rooms facing south being for winter use, I was in the
now empty summer rooms, and next to me was a room
used as stable or lumber room, and in this it appeared
some of my men proposed to sleep.
Now, Hassan, in a very characteristic manner, had
gone to bed first, and just as I was dropping off to sleep
I heard a whispering and scuffling outside his door.
The doors of the rooms here had intricate wooden
locks, far beyond the ingenuity of a BalQch, who never
gets farther than tying his door (should he have one)
with a piece of goat's-hair string. Kabala Hassan
had locked Hassan's door upon him, thinking no one
else was coming. Here then were these shivering
men, dying to go to sleep, not only unable to get in,
but baffled by ^ome mysterious and unseen contrivance,
and mortally afraid of making a noise and waking me.
Hassan was at length awakened and made aware of
the state of affairs, but he soon found that he couldn't
open the door any more than they could. His despair
was most ludicrous, but so were the remarks of the
men outside. " Oh you poor Hassan ! " " Oh you're
quite dead now ! " " After all this long journey, and

THE CAMELS BREAK DOWN. 297
then you make a grave in a Persian house ! " "Oh
now you are quite sealed up ! "
Old Hassan stumbled about inside, making various
ineffectual scratchings at different parts of the wall (I
believe he never found the door) ; but at last it seemed
to occur to him that if any one had an interest in per
severing until the door was opened, it was his friends
outside, and to their intense amusement and aggrava
tion he abandoned the pursuit, and was soon snoring
as loud as ever.
At this point I got up, and had a try at the door,
but being unsuccessful we started to shout for Kabala
Hassan. This deceitful old gentleman we found had
been listening the whole time, and gloating over the
success of his lock.
Next morning I was up early and picking my way
down the frosty lane to where my camels were. Alas
for our marching to-day ! the Jamaiti liro, and my poor
mahri were too evidently ill. The drooping head and
dull eye showed only too clearly that the journey had
been too much for them, and I knew by hard experi
ence in former days that a camel that once gets ill, or
is a little over fatigued, seldom or never recovers.
And my head camel-man and right-hand man,
Brahim, where was he ? Ill too, worse luck ; and to
my rapid questions as to what I had better give them
he could only answer languidly, "the sahib knows
best" But the grave aristocratic Dad Arrahim, and
the fierce, rebellious little Brahim Khamis came to the
fore. How they buried all old scores and differences
when I appeared to be in a difficulty, the reader will
readily gather if I have been at all successful in
sketching these men's character.

298 POISON.
We had a consultation, and agreed that, judging
from the state of the bowels, the camels had been
poisoned. Yesterday, while on the march, they had cut a
quantity of salt grass exactly like trat, and this they
had fed to the camels. Only these two had eaten it.
They were favourites with their attendants, and had
often been given bread and other unusual things, and
so had learnt to waive their own instinct, and eat
whatever their master gave them.
But a close examination of the grass by daylight
proved that it was anything but trat, and Kabala
Hassan and Muhammad Reza, who came up presently,
assured us that odalik (undetermined), was fatal to all
animals, should they eat it before drinking of the water
of the country where it was found.
The long and short of the matter was, we were
here ten weary days, literally sitting and watching
the bowels of these camels. And then there was no
fodder in the place, and Brahim got very ill, and
Kasim, poor old man, game as he was, began to fail,
I will not inflict upon the reader a continuous diary
of our prolonged residence at Raiun, but merely give a
brief account of the place, and beg the reader to bear
in mind that we were rather anxious-hearted all our
stay, RaiQn is a large well-built thriving village, not
crowded together, but each house standing on, roughly,
a quarter of an acre of well kept, fertile garden, sur
rounded by high mud walls ; and in summer, when all
the vines, poplars, figs, walnuts, etc, are green, it must
be a delightful place.
There is a small but busy working bazaar, shaded

RAIUN. 299
during summer by two huge plane trees. The streets
of the town are cleaner than usual, from the fact
that numerous rivulets, constructed for irrigating the
gardens, run rapidly down them.
The village is on a slope, so that these rivulets,
which are on the surface, about the middle of the
village, are, at the upper end, sixteen feet under
ground, and only accessible by kahns.
The arrangement of the gardens is generally the
same, A row of tall, slender poplar trees, a tree con
sidered next to the cypress in point of beauty, runs
round the garden, inside the mud wall. Between these
a few willow bushes, and, if the man be rich, an occa
sional rose. The garden itself is, at this season, full
of lucerne only, grown in oblong beds. This is at fre
quent intervals cut down to about an inch from the
ground, but the roots soon send forth a new crop.
Grapes are said to be excellent ; Kabala Hassan
declared, however, that the jackals devoured great
numbers, saying that when the grapes were unripe
the jackals howled all night, but that when they were
ripe they " gobbled " in silence.
The women are fine strapping creatures, and it is
curious to observe that, though wearing the white
Persian dress in the streets, they wear in the house
the multiplicity of short petticoats and exhibit the
handsome bare legs of the Kurdi women, whom they
closely resemble both in face and stature and their
charming freedom of manner.
It is a very contented little community : they make
their own felts, glass bottles, wine and soap and
knives. The governor is a Shahzada as usual, and
invited me to dine with him ; but as the messenger

300 KIRMAN ILLUMINATED.
naively observed that all the party would get drunk
as quick as they could, I did not care to risk the
effects of "bad-masti," I went, however, one evening
to have a game at chess (in which I was beaten
hollow), and was amused at the systematic way in
which the doors were shut and his excellency pro
ceeded to acquire an appetite for dinner by various
glasses of wine and imported brandy.
The Persians drink always before eating, and I
observed that he never called for a glass, but made
a motion with his hand, which was sufficient for the
single servant who attended.
There were great rumours that Turkey was at war
with Russia and getting beaten, and a courier arrived
on the 1 2th announcing that the Shah had purchased
Baghdad, and that the town of Kirman had been
illuminated in honour of the glorious acquisition of
the Persians' most revered shrine.*
The Shahzada's son was a fine young fellow, very
fond of hawking, and I was glad to be able to com
pletely cure the damaged wing of one of his finest
hawks, for which he was very grateful.
The Shahzada is only a " warming-pan " for a young
scion of the hereditary governing race, Kasim Khan,
who was just of age and about to take up the reins
of government.
I was credibly assured that as many as 1 8,000 lbs,
of opium were produced here yearly,
I think that should Persia ever increase its wealth to
any considerable amount it will be through its opium.
* I learned at Kirman afterwards that the illuminations had been
in honour of the governor's birthday.

PERSIAN STEEL WORKERS. 301
The cultivation commenced at Yezd, which place,
though known to European fame chiefly by its silk,
owes now most of its wealth to this plant Pro
fessional cultivators were imported to Isfahan, where
the area growing opium increases yearly ; and Kirman
shahan, which a few years ago knew it not, has many
promising plantations. However, Persia and its
prospects do not belong to a book professedly about
wilder and pleasanter countries.
Here we found some remnants of the ancient
Persian art of working steel. I had ordered some
knives, which when brought proved quite useless from
the softness of the iron. Whereupon I fell to taunting
the man, until his wrath arose, and he went away
saying that that very night he would bring me a knife
which should cut my Baluch axe-head, of which I
had been boasting, into two pieces. And he did
bring me such a knife, .which I have now, and the
axe-head is cut and gashed all over by exhibitions
of its quality to friends.
It is an odd coincidence that I am just reminded
of this knife as I sit in my tent at Mazar in the Syrian
desert (where we are emulating the Israelites) and
through the tent door I see Ghulamshah split a sheep's
head down the middle with it preparatory to "sousing"
that luxury.
We paid a visit to the glass blower, a perfectly new
experience to all my men, but it was odd how they
immediately seized the ludicrous aspect of the opera
tion, Brahim Khamis went into screams of laughter
at the bursting cheeks and distorted expression of
the glass blower, and at night afterwards used to
" brino- down the house " by mimicking the operation.

302 REMOVE TO THE OLD FORT.
What makes RaiQn more cheerful than usual is the
absence of ruined buildings, which so invariably i"orm
the major part of a Persian town. The reason is,
that up to the last thirty years the people all lived
in an enormous fort, the remains of which, in a fair
state of preservation, still crown the top of the hill.
The fort contained 3,000 families, and the houses of
the governor and the great men were very large and
neatly plastered. The woodwork, however, has now
been removed, and the roofs in most cases have fallen
in. On the sixth day the two sick camels were a little
better, A stiff " rik," or diaphoretic, composed of
a whole sheep boiled to rags and poured down their
throats, had at last cleared their stomachs, but the
poor things were a piteous sight, quite blind and
hardly able to stand.
We would have given anything now for just a little
lorti, a handful of trat, or any other of the sweet
shrubs of their own country with which to tempt their
appetites, but in this inhospitable land even the little
scraps of ardur were all withered up by the cold.
However, there were some little patches in shady
places in the fort; so, as soon as the camels could
stagger along, I removed there and took possession
of the very extensive range of stables.
Here we remained four more days, taking sights
and meteorological observations, and wandering about
the old fort, and never failing to bring back an armful
of the greenest and most succulent ardur we could
find. At last the mahri's constitution pulled him through,
and he looked fit enough to start if not loaded. The

EN ROUTE AGAIN. 303
Jamaiti liro, however, was old, and could not im
prove. Their blindness we had cured. I had
treated the mahri with a very strong solution of
nitrate of silver, while Kasim had cured the other by
the native remedy, which is remarkably quick and
efficient for this kind of blindness, which is called
" spool," and consists of a thick white film over the
eye. We burnt some shells (some precious fossils I
had collected) and ground the unslaked lime to
powder. A quantity of this was put into a tube (a
reed) and blown suddenly into the eye. The lime
combining with the moisture burns the film away, but
before it can have time to burn further and injure
the eye, the eye waters so much from the pain that
it washes the lime out
The Jamaiti liro would not die, and I could not
make up my mind to desert him, I felt a kind of
sympathy for my Baluchis when they indignantly
refused an offer from the business-like Muhammad
Reza of thirty krans for his hide.
In my dilemma, old Kasim and Hassan of the
donkey's voice came to my rescue. Give them, said
they, a sufficient store of firewood, rice, flour, and a
cooking pot, and they would remain till the party
returned. I gratefully accepted, and our spirits rose
a hundred degrees at once, at the thoughts of once
more getting on the march.
We left with them the tent also, as we were now in
the land of caravanserais, and would no longer require
it. Our guide the cherub, whom we had not seen
since arrival at RaiQn, was not to the fore. He lay
dying, we were told, the result of his imbecility in
fasting during a hard day's march, and then gorging

304 THE END OF THE CHERUB.
quarts of water, raw turnips, dates, and any stuff he
could lay hands upon. These soi-disant Muslimeen
of Persia have no business to fast on the day's march,
and the Kuran is sufficiently explicit on the subject,
if they would only take the trouble to read it, instead
of so much Hafiz, Sheikh Saadi, and other obscene
authors. Seeing that, after having been paid to guide
us, he had invariably been at the rear of the caravan,
I sternly refused all appeal for bakshish, even to
defray his funeral expenses.

CHAPTER XH,
We reach Kirman.
A troop of Persian officers. — Ragged rascals. — Hanaka. — The first
ice we saw. — Mahun. — The menagerie. — An obstinate cow. —
Al hamdu lillah. — Kirman at last.
ON the 14th December we struck camp, and
wended our way down the hill, from the foot
of which, looking back, we got a striking view of
RaiQn village, crowned by the imposing old fort.
We crossed a valley containing the stubble of
several acres of wheat, and a host of recollections of
" the marsh," and Lincolnshire generally, were aroused
by a snipe getting away from a small unfrozen rivulet
with a genuine " scaape" that made my heart thump.
Then a steep and rugged ascent followed, and about
half-past two an incident occurred which opened my
eyes to the necessity for further adaptation to the
customs of the new land we had now entered.
I was trudging along on foot, anathematising an
icy wind which blew straight in our faces, and having
been poking about, trying to grub up what was to
me a new plant, I had fallen far behind the caravan
and was left alone with Tajoo. Just- after we passed
a small barn-like stone building, which we had been
told we should see, and which was a caravanserai
without water, there broke upon our astonished gaze
30s X

3o6 RAGGED RASCALS.
a large cavalcade of Persian soldiers, mostly officers
and their servants, splendidly dressed and capitally
mounted. Directly on spying us, the leader — who
turned out to be a " Bimbashi," and as the word
implies, nominally in command of a nominal thousand
men, — sent a young officer to demand my presence.
Now directly the cavalcade appeared, I had suddenly
become conscious that neither Tajoo's nor my own
personal appearance was very imposing. It was some
years since I had been within a thousand miles of
an European tailor's shop ; — again, I had been tra
velling for months in the wildest countries, and had
distributed my wardrobe amongst sonie fifteen or
sixteen men, I was painfully aware of a large reddish
leather seat to a very old pair of Bedford cords,
which years of jringle washing had made about seven
inches shorter than usual.
These everlasting cords are still a joy to Ghulam
shah ; and I am sometimes tempted to instruct some
of our Bedawin to lie in ambush and strip him.
Please pardon this digression, but a detailed
description of our appearance would be too harrowing
to Mr, H, Nicoll if to no one else, and I prefer to
gently suggest it in this manner. Any way, we were
sufficiently conscious of our shortcomings to make
us all the more anxious to stand on our dignity, and
to the naib's civil request, that I would "come and
see the Bimbashi," I replied with much pointedness
of expression, that if the Bimbashi wanted to see
me he might come here. The matter, however,
was pleasantly settled, by the arrival of my curly-
whiskered friend on his white horse, who rode up,
and by his extreme kindness of manner, and insisting

HANAKA. 307
on my riding on his horse, that I might appear in
a fitting manner, entirely changed my mind.
The Bimbashi was a gentleman and very civil.
His curiosity was much aroused by my caravan, which
of course he had passed. He easily believed that
I was the owner of it but as for my travelling through
these deserts for my own pleasure, my using camels
instead of mules and horses, and my bringing those
fierce ignorant BalQchis with me instead of intelligent
Persian servants, these were things that he could not
understand. He however was civil, but his young
sters annoyed me very much. It seems the expedition
had been sent from Kirman, to rout out our old friend
Nur-eddin Khan at Kahnu, and thinking they might
entrap Tajoo into an admission, two of them swore he
was well known as one of Nur-eddin's men. Others
swore that they had known me last year in Kirman,
that I was a Russian, and used to ride a black horse,
I promptly lost what little temper I had ; told the
Bimbashi that his youths couldn't lie worth sixpence,
and they had better go back to their old disgraceful
trade, and I shook hands cordially with the man on
the white horse, and strode off over the plain.
I have often laughed over the matter since ; it
seemed so natural to go and have a quarrel with a
well-dressed man, because we were ragged.
It was nearly dark before the handsome new brick-
built caravanserai of Hanaka appeared before us,
beautifully situated among high snow-covered moun
tains. These caravanserais are the one institution
of which Persia can fairly boast I have not yet
visited any land where, even on little frequented roads,
you find at intervals of twenty miles warm stabling

3o8 THE FIRST ICE.
for any number up to lOOO mules, and clean water
tight little rooms for their owners.
The cold weather was intense. The thermometer
marked 21° in the morning, and Brahim, disgusted at
the complaints of one or two of the men, gave them
every rag he had and slept in a thin cotton shirt
sooner than the Baluch reputation for hardihood
should suffer at their hands. The fact may stand by
itself without embellishment
Next morning was fine and sunny. The merciless
north wind gave us a respite, and we started cheerily
enough, though the thermometer stood at 32° and the
barometer showed 9,330 feet above the sea.
The way was down a little mountain stream. This
was the first ice the men had seen, and the fun and
chaff over first walking on the water put every one
into a good humour. It was amusing to watch the
different characters of the men as they attempted this
new risk; not that they feared the getting wet, but
all Easterns have an intense horror of being done or
looking foolish, and the mari who fell in would never
have heard the last of his ambitious attempt to walk
upon water. To see the stately grave Dad Arrahim
balancing himself in ungraceful attitudes, and pawing
away at the ice with one foot and with the other on
the bank, was enough to send us all into fits of
lauofhter. It was an opportunity to correct a bad impression
which had arisen about a perhaps too frequent refer
ence to burying grounds. Our cherab, though in his
own country and over a route he had often traversed,
had once or twice declared that he was dying, I had
replied that he was at liberty to die when he liked, but

" THE WILES OF MANKIND." 309
that he had better wait till we came to a burying
ground. This, partly from the men being down
hearted at the time, and partly from their not under
standing Persian, was regarded as anything but a joke,
but even almost as a prophecy. So I seized the op
portunity when their spirits were high, and catching
little Abdulla Daduk behind I shouted to him,
" Hurry up! hurry up! Hussein (the cherub) says we're
all going to die of the cold, so we must get along to
a burying ground." There was a hearty laugh at
Hussein, and a little ridicule was successfully thrown
over an idea which might have brought trouble,
but which was thereby completely extinguished,
"Wallah," I used to think to myself sometimes,
"Heilat i beni adam bisiar and" [The wiles of man
kind are very great). This, a quotation from old
Jemait the shikarri, belongs to a story which often
made the men laugh, especially when told in his well-
known drawling bass voice. Once, while shooting in
the mountains, I heard from behind a hill most direful
howls and screams. Thinking that a wolf or leopard
had seized a child, I rushed to the spot To my
surprise I found a little shepherd girl peacefully driv
ing her flock before her. As I looked, she gave
another scream, and I turned to Jemait for an explan
ation, " Ah ! " said the old man with an air of
paternal wisdom, " don't you see what she's doing
that for ? The goats think she's a wolf, and hurry
on to get out of her way," " Ah ! " after a thoughtful
pause, " the deceit of the sons of man is very
profound ! " * The road was through barren hills
* The Syrian Bedawin use the same trick.

310 MAHUN.
and a barren plain, but at 2 p.m, we sighted a
large village, and at once distinguished the green
glazed dome and lofty, slender minarets of the great
mosque of Mahun, This is, I believe, one of the
finest buildings in Persia, As long as you see it
from a distance, you cannot but admire it as a single
idea simply but grandly carried out but when you
approach nearer, the amount of elaboration, often in
glaring bad taste, destroys your first impression en
tirely. There is a capital caravanserai here, and I encamped
there at first, but an old gentleman soon came and in
sisted on my going to the Wakil-al-Mulk's rest-house,
so after seeing the men all comfortable (we had to buy
firewood here instead of cutting it as usual), I went next
door and was inducted into a most charming house.
The great room was lofty, well plastered, and car
peted with the beautiful felts that this country pro
duces. The large window looked over a long garden
railed in from the road, and down the centre ran
briskly a babbling shallow brook. Here at last was a
rose garden, and although I could not help a feeling of
effeminacy at sitting on carpets and living in a clean
house, I managed to bear up, ordered a dinner to
match, and bullied Ghulamshah till it was ready.
Meanwhile, however, a strolling menagerie arrived,
consisting of a newly caught and very savage lion, and,
without exception, the most hideous monkey I ever
saw. The lion, a magnificent tawny beast, was held
by eight men with ropes all pulling in different direc
tions. The men crowded round from the caravanserai,
and were hugely delighted at the two animals, both
new to them. The monkey, however, "fetched" them

AN OBSTINATE COW. 311
most The lion was evidently regarded as an assump
tion of superiority over their country by the Persians,
for there are now no lions in BalQchistan, But the
monkey took them by storm altogether, "Wy, wy,
wy, wy, there is no God but one God, This is won
derful, this is powerful ; it is the son of a man com
pletely, verily ; this is very much too heavy " (unbear
ably wonderful). But the scene changed like magic
when Ghulamshah arrived with three fowls. The lion
got their wind, and in a flash from a majestic tawny
statue he was a raging fury. The men, howeyer,
stuck to him bravely, all except one at his neck, who
paled and wavered at the furious roars and bounds
made apparently directly at him. But the master of
the menagerie, whose nice attention to dress, suave
manner, and Teherani hat had led me to misjudge him,
stepped forward quickly and took the rope from him,
saying calmly, " never mind, never mind," and the
animal was pacified.
Next morning a short twenty miles over a flat,
sandy country brought us in sight of Kirman. But on
the way an incident occurred that showed the extra
ordinary obstinacy of cows. I saw a man ploughing
in the light sandy soil with a pair of oxen in pretty
fair condition. As I passed, one of the cows fell down
as if exhausted. After wearing himself out by beating
it with all his might for nearly five minutes, the man
commenced a series of the most revolting cruelties.
It makes me angry even now to think of them, but I
will just mention that one of the least barbarous was
forcing his iron-pointed goad with all his force into its
nostril and wriggling it about there. Still the cow lay
as if dead. I was alone and on foot, so I scrambled

312 AL HAMDU LILLAH.
over the heavy sand, hastening to interfere. But to
my surprise, as I approached, the cow jumped up and
set to work pulling hard. It was a perfectly healthy
vigorous young creature, and for a mere caprice en
dured most barbarous ill-usage sooner than work. I
talked to the man about the matter, and he said it
was one of the best cows he had, but took fits of
sulkiness which required the methods he had adopted.
My cow riding in the BampQr country had given
me an insight into a cow's capacity for obstinacy, but
I never saw anything like what this cow endured,
and I am quite sure that though a mule's obstinacy
has become proverbial, a cow's far exceeds it In
BalQchistan we sometimes burn a camel's head with
a hot iron and make him eat a white cock, but this
is when the camel is not obstinate, but completely
exhausted, and life and death depend upon getting him
up on his legs again.
Mahun is a pleasant little village with a rapid stream
down its main street, bordered by trees and festooned
with yards of green and scarlet calico fresh from the
dyer's hands (the chief industry here seems to be dyeing).
It is to Kirman somewhat as Brighton to London,
or Poonah to Bombay, and the road was thronged.
Towards evening we wound our way for about three
miles through the ruins of old Kirman, guarded by the
remains of a huge rambling fort perched on the ridge
of hills to the east, and sighted the fair smooth battle
mented mud- wall of new Kirman, At 5 p,m, on an
icy cold evening, on December 21st, we filed slowly
through the huge gate. When inside, I turned round
to the men with a fervent " al hamdu lillah," which was
chorussed by all of them with a will. We were at first

KIRMAN AT LAST. 313
confounded by the streets and houses, and we knew
not where to stay the night. But I had heard much
of the generosity and nobleness of the Wakil-al-Mulk,
and, having hired a guide, insisted on being taken
straight to his palace. We prowled along through
endless streets and narrow bazaars, whose lights
frightened our camels out of their wits, and at last
were told to stop in a huge " maidan," or walled en
closure for exercising the troops. I refused, how
ever, to stop anywhere, and swaggered and bullied the
unhappy guide until he offered to take me to the
sentinels at the gate of the palace. He remained
behind quaking. I walked up to the sentinels, said I
was an English traveller, and had come to stay with
the Wakil-al-Mulk. They were rather staggered,
but said they would send for the Nazir, or chief
of the household, I, however, refused to wait, and
accompanied the soldier into a large oblong garden
surrounded by quarters. Here we seemed likely to
come to a stop again, but luckily a man came by, a
servant of His Highness' doctor, a man who had been
nine years in Paris, In effect he came and examined
me, reported to His Highness* that I was without
doubt an English gentleman, and I was welcomed with
the utmost cordiality. My poor camels were unloaded
and stabled by the Shuturdar (the Wakil has many
hundreds of camels). The Wakil sent me a gracious
message, saying how gratified he was that I had
thrown myself so trustfully upon his hospitality. We
had dinner, and turned in to sleep before a blazing oak
fire, having completed the first stage of what proved
to be a most eventful journey.

CHAPTER XIII.
Life at Kirman.
A Persian palace. — Interview with the Wakil-al-Mulk. — His know
ledge of English. — Alleged discovery of coal. — I nearly put
my foot in it. — Comfortably installed. — Persian carpets. — Daily
routine in Kirman. — The Commander-in-chief of the forces. —
The box sextant. — Topics of conversation with the Khan, —
Irrigation and windmills. — ^The Bazaars. — The Mint. — Kashmir
shawl manufactory. — The College. — The Dungeon. — A prisoner
released. — The Hindu colony. — Our mess. — The Khan's
treasurer comes over. — Parting with my Baliichis. — Take leave
of the Khan.
NEXT morning we received visits from numerous
officers of the household, and were enabled to
take a survey of our position. The palace was like
most Persian palaces, an oblong enclosure about two
hundred yards long by fifty yards wide. At either
end are the royal quarters, the one suite being used
in summer and the other in winter, Down either side
of the oblong are the quarters of the principal officers,
each having from two to four smallish rooms ; and
the space in the centre was occupied by a few untidy
shrubs and trees now languishing with thc cold.
This oblong was the nucleus of the court, there being
all round ranges of stabling for camels, barracks,
prisons, guest-houses, baths, harems, and new gardens
in course of being laid out.
However, this is enough of bare description for the
present We were soon summoned for an interview

INTERVIEW WITH THE WAKIL-AL-MULK. 315
with the Wakil-al-Mulk, whose curiosity had been
excited to the highest pitch concerning the unknown
European who had forced his way into the palace
at night, accompanied by a horde of savage-looking
BalQchis, who came from places the very names of
which had never been heard,* and riding on camels
hairless and shaped like greyhounds. I was ushered
into a long room handsomely carpeted and curtained,
the produce of native industry, and leaving my slippers
among a number of others at a sign from my intro
ducer, I pushed up the curtain that served as a door
and walked into the reception room.
The Khan had evidently meant to make an im
pression. He had got on four thick coats of hand
some broadcloth, and over all a coat of the beautiful
tawny fur the Persian nobles import from Russia, and
which, lined with expensive Kashmir shawls, makes a
coat fit for a king. He had also seated himself on a
tall chair, minutely inlaid with pieces of different
coloured wood, and I often smiled afterwards, when
we became more sociable and all sat together on the
floor, at the amount of ceremony thought necessary to
overawe poor me.
The commander-in-chief of the forces and other
pillars of the State were sitting on either side of the
room. The Khan motioned me to a smaller chair on
his left hand, and we went through a round of bows
with the utmost politeness. A few questions and
answers served to assure him that I was what I repre
sented myself to be — merely an English traveller.
* These fellows never said they came from Mekran, but each gave
the name of his own village, and with considerable pride. I suppose
none of them had ever heard the word "Baliichistan."

3i6 ALLEGED DISCOVERY OF COAL.
He spoke highly of Major-General Sir Frederic Gold
smid and Major St John ; and as I had had the
honour of serving under the first-mentioned officer, I
found at once an excellent introduction and guarantee
of respectability. The Khan knows four words of
English, or, as he counts them, two. They are,
"Major-General Goldsmid" and "parliament" It
was really amusing to hear him pronounce the first.
He paused before commencing it, halted on the second
syllable for breath, then dashed off the rest without a
trip. As for " parliament," he would never let me refer
to " Mashwarat Khana " * without interpolating with
a grave complacency that nearly upset my gravity.
" Ah, parliament" He asked much of the countries I
had come through, and was, like all Persians, anxious
to know if I had found any mines. I explained that
I had seen indications of mines in several places, but
thought that they could never be worked owing to
difficulty of transport and absence of fuel. He eagerly
interrupted me, " We have found the stone of coal."
He said that specimens had been sent to Teheran,
and offered to send horsemen with me to investigate
the place where it was found ; but I never succeeded
in getting there. While talking about his conquests
among the BalQchis in the south, I nearly " put my
foot in it" I was relating a thing that occurred some
years ago : the Telegraph staff at Gwadur had been so
reduced by incessant fever that out of eleven Euro-
pearis hardly orie could rise from his bed. Teuts were
promptly sent up by Government, and we established
a camp in a comparatively healthy, elevated spot
* " Council house,"

COMFORTABLY INSTALLED. 317
The appearance of so much canvas, coupled with the
knowledge that a similar camp had been erected at
Jask, gave an impression that the English were going
to occupy the country ; and, to snuff out promptly any
such presumption on our part, the BalQchis commenced
to build a fort in a retired place called Ras Tiz, where
there were plenty of convenient stones, I related this
story as funnily as I could. The Khan said : " Yes, /
ordered that fort" " And / built it," said a member
of the circle.
The Khan gave me a detached house in a garden,
with ample accommodation for myself and my men ;
he also attached to me two servants, and a man to
precede me when I walked in the streets, I then
made my adieus full of gratitude, while he professed to
be much charmed with my conversation ; in fact, he
either sent for me for an hour's chat every morning,
or strolled round to my house with his handsomely
attired suite to watch me taking observations of the
sun, I was charmed to be installed in a house of my
own, for constantly being exposed to irruptions from
strangers at all hours, day or night, was tiresome;
and I opened my boxes, took out all my instruments,
books, writing materials, .sketch maps, etc., set up my
little table, and furnished the room most comfortably.
While thus engaged, twelve servants arrived, and each
placed in the large reception room a huge tray of
fruits, sweetmeats, pistachio nuts, etc, made a solemn
salaam and exit We had a roaring oak-wood fire,
and a capital breakfast was served from the Khan's
own table, his cook taking the opportunity to bring it
himself to inspect me. The carpet of this room was

3i8 DAILY ROUTINE IN KIRWAN.
curious and characteristic of modern taste in Persia,
It was a large arid valuable one, the pile was of the
richest, and the colours and arrangement of the border
were beautiful ; but the centrepiece was an ugly
representation of an English coach and four.
The Nawab came soon after, i.e., the doctor whom
I have mentioned as having been nine years in
Paris, He had most polished manners, was always
handsomely dressed, scrupulously and daintily clean,
and as jovial a boon companion as I have met He
introduced to me all the callers, and they were
numerous ; but I shall only mention the most interest
ing. The Nazir, or chief of the household, came to
see that my firewood supply was ample (and not
wasteful either I found), and I could not have been
treated with more royal generosity. If in after- pages
I have to write unkind things about the Persians, the
Wakil-al-Mulk must always be held a golden excep
tion. Our stay in Kirman was most pleasant though
the daily routine varied little. In the morning, early,
a stroll through the somewhat dreary snow-covered
high mud-walled gardens. Then observations and a
visit to the Khan, breakfast, callers, and a stroll in the
bazaars, finishing off with a tremendous wine party,
often prolonged into the small hours. The doctor,
who, I believe, will not mind my saying that he had
but little medical knowledge, devoted his energies to
the manufacture of wine, in which he excelled all the
inhabitants of Kirman ; and it is said that odd bottles
of the choicest brands found their way into very good
society. Of our callers, the most amusing was the com-

THE BOX SEXTANT. 319
mander-in-chief, who had received instructions from
the Wakil to learn from me the art of using the box
sextant He was a short bull-necked fellow, in a
handsome fur coat, rather blind, and with a whimsical
expression of face, and a way of prefacing every
observation by " F'arz bukunam " [And I beg to
represent that). A pocket sextant requires practice
to hold properly, and more still to see through, — and
the commander was short-sighted, and his fingers were
all thumbs. He persevered gallantly, for the Khan
made daily inquiries, and I believe was only playing
a joke on him all the while, but he never attained
much result. Despairing of making him understand
the theory of measuring heights, I translated him a
simple table of multiplicators for each angle with a
base of 100; he could sometimes work out this on
paper, but when it came to the practical observing,
he was always at fault. We used to give an hour
a day to it and practise on a tall poplar in the garden,
I think nothing in the way of scientific instruction
could be funnier than this. After going over our
previous day's work on paper, we would adjourn to
the garden. The old commander would then labo
riously measure 100 feet with my measuring tape from
the base of the poplar tree, pettishly cursing the snow
and mud, and being scrupulous to a quarter of an
inch. He would then take up a position irrespective
of the end of his base line, and try to see the tree
through the sextant The contortions he went through
in endeavouring to effect this were ridiculous enough,
but he would sometimes actually stalk the tree, sextant
painfully grasped in both hands, with much the action
of a " chasseur " going to shoot a wagtail. On one

320 TOPICS OF CONVERSATION.
occasion I inconsiderately laughed out loud, and he
detected me. The next day he brought to his lesson
a French logarithm book. This he could not read,
but it was evidently meant to check undue levity on
my part, and inspire proper respect for his scientific
attainments, I am to this day unable to tell the
reader the height of that poplar tree.
On an inspection of my aneroid barometer he
achieved to his own satisfaction a great triumph over
me. After turning it over and over several times
close to his nose, he held it out just in front of him,
and looking me full in the face with his head a little
on one side, said, " Now, if I might make an obser
vation, where does the high in place wind up this
barrowmeeter ? "
The high in place loq. : " But I never do wind it
up." Comm.-in-chief loq. (cunningly) : " Do you never
wind it up ? "
The H. I. P. loq. : " Never."
Comm.-in-chief loq. (pointing to keyhole at back
used for regulating it, and looking round triumphantly
for applause) : " But, if I might make the observation,
what then is this for ? "
The daily talk with the Khan was always looked
forward to with pleasure. He threw off all reserve,
would invite men skilled in various crafts to meet
me, and excite free discussion on all subjects. Taking
the chief topics according to their importance, the
irrigation system comes first
Roughly to describe this, the reader should imagine
a round basin with a smooth sediment of earth in
the bottom. The sides of the basin represent the

IRRIGATION AND WINDMILLS. 321
hills, and the earth the detritus of the hills washed
down by the rain of ages which forms the soil of
Kirman, If the rocky bed under Kirman were as
uniform as the basin, the rain from the hills would
slide equally down to the bottom as it were of the
basin ; and it is to find out the irregularities that taxes
the ingenuity of the kahn diggers, who are a craft to
themselves. The deepest kahns at Kirman are about
eighteen feet, and the tools used in their construction
are, a short-handled broad-bladed hoe ; a very rude
windlass for pulling up the mud, which is not even
worked by a handle, but by pulling round the
circumference by hand ; and a water level called a
" shuturgulu," of which no one would show me a
specimen. The kahn diggers guard the secrets of
their craft carefully, and that is I think all their craft
consists of
I proposed pumps, and .laboriously described the
Lincolnshire windmill pump ; and seeing my listeners
interested, constructed a working model, using the
brass case of a broken thermometer as cylinder.
They recognised the model, and I was rather mortified
when after all my trouble they quietly said, " Oh yes,
we got one of those from Bombay," I found on
inquiry that they had actually got up pumping
machinery from Bandar Abbas, but the wisest man
in Kirman could not erect it, and it was treasured
up somewhere. The Khan had been "bitten" once
in the matter of windmills, and one of my expeditions
was to visit a huge structure which an engineering
genius from Khorasan had induced him to erect at
considerable expense. The axis of the sails was
vertical, about twenty feet high, and the sails were
Y

322 THE BAZAARS.
made of mats, while side walls were built to guide
currents of air on to them. It appears that the
friction was so great that no Kirman wind could work
it, and it had remained stationary ever since its
erection. The chief export of Kirman worth mention
ing is " kurk," previously described as being the long
silky under down growing between the wool of certain
sheep and goats commonly called Kashmir goats.
It is made into good gloves, socks, felt, carpets, and
" Kashmir shawls," The Khan exhibited specimens
of all these, and we made arrangements to inspect his
factories. He is, like most governors in Persia, the
principal manufacturer, camel and mule-owner, and
general merchant. The Khan's agricultural arrange
ments seemed simple. He had a minister of agri
culture, a stout farmerly looking man, who kept the
government granaries, gave out seed, lent ploughs,
oxen, etc., and took care at harvest time that he got
a fair return on his outlay.
My walks through the bazaars were interesting, and
made under unusually propitious circumstances, ' The
bazaars are lofty, well built of burnt bricks, and fairly
clean, I was preceded by one man, well known to
be of the Khan's followers, who cleared the way, and
another man followed to prevent mounted men or
laden donkeys running over me. Thus I could always
make my inquiries leisurely and without being crowded,
while the answers I received were invariably respect
ful and as far as possible true. The foremost man
handed down any article I wanted to look at, and if
necessary purchased it at a reasonable price. There
was every appearance of a wealthy town. We passed
many well mounted cavaliers, handsomely dressed in

THE MINT. 323
rich velvets, silks, and Kashmir shawl or European
broadcloth coats. There were very good saddles
and bridles, black patent leather slippers that could
be worn in England without exciting comment, and
the brass and copper working was very good. I fre
quently passed my men in the street They had been
given a portion of their wages, and purchased the least
Persian-looking kit they could find, but still excited
considerable astonishment. The Khan had wanted
to disarm them, but I undertook the responsibility
should they be allowed to keep their weapons. The
Khan yielded this privilege graciously, and I was glad
of it, for the alternative would have been to the men
an eternal disgrace before the " Gagar," or Persian.
One day I visited the Mint, a fine dome-shaped
brick building ; but the grubby, ragged appearance of
the trusty men in charge was curious.
The Khan buys up dollars and old krans of other
mints than his own, and melts and restamps them.
The Mint was in full blast when I saw it. On one
side the silver was being drawn out into a thick wire
by a clumsy wooden apparatus. On another, a man
was chopping it up into short lengths, with a rapidity
and exactness that could only have been acquired by
very long practice. The next process was weighing
the lengths (and nearly all were right). They were
then thrown into a charcoal brazier near the die cutting
anvil, and here was the smartest operation of all.
The anvil itself was a hard steel spike bearing one
face of the die. One man stood by with a pair of
tongs, a second with a small hammer bearing the
second face of the die, and a third with a huge
hammer. The first man seized a " dab " of silver

324 KASHMIR SHAWL MANUFACTORY.
from the brazier, and with unerring certainty placed
it on the centre of the narrow anvil. Almost at the
same instant man number two placed his hammer
exactly on it, and thump came number three with a
blow which flattened it and imprinted the die on both
sides. They struck thirty-three or thirty-eight per.
minute, I am not sure which, as the second figure has
become blurred in my note-book.*
A very interesting visit was to the Khan's shawl
manufactory, and to many other private manufactories,
which, however, differed only from the first by being
smaller, darker, and dirtier.
The first thing that strikes one is that the actual
workshops where the shawls are made are without
doors or windows. The entrance is effected through
a small square hole in the wall, about three feet from
the ground, and light is very sparingly admitted
through small holes in the roof When you have once
scrambled inside (a process involving loss of dignity),
and when your eyes have become accustomed to the
darkness, and your nose to the smell of a number of
filthy little saucers of stinking oil with burning wicks
in them, three or four of which hang about each loom,
then you see before you the sort of Black Hole in
which Kashmir shawls are made.
There were eighteen looms in the first " workshop "
I entered, and at each one stooped two or three
misera]3le, sallow, half-naked children, their preter-
- — .  i 
* In the quarterly statement of the Palestine Exploration Fund,
July, 1880, I find quoted from the Zeitschrift of the German Pales
tine Association, an account of some coins discovered in 1872 in
Jerusalem, among which is one struck in Kirman in 311 of the
Hegira] i.e., about 947 years ago.

KASHMIR SHAWL MANUFACTORY. 325
naturally thin hard fingers going nervously, and their
noses almost touching their work even while I engaged
them in conversation.
At first the interest of actually seeing Kashmir
shawls woven overpowered all others, and I worked
slowly down each loom. All were the same in prin
ciple, but there were only about six distinct patterns
among all, there being many variations of the same
pattern, A wan skeleton of a man, who only seemed
galvanized into energy by my foremost servant's
presence, showed us round. He was the head pattern
maker, and explained all we asked. Some of the
children were working by memory, others were nearly
perfect, but had to have small grimy patterns tacked
up on the loom in front of them, which to my eye
were rnost difficult to uriderstand. Our guide made
the patterns and submitted them for approval to the
owner or director of the loom. Then children were
hired to learn them. Some can only recollect one
pattern at a time (and quite enough I thought), and
when that pattern was no longer in demand, were
out of employment and off pay until they learnt
another. Some clever boys could recollect two at a
time. I asked why there were no windows to the
place, and the skeleton replied that it would be too
cold. I said, " Not if the children were decently
clothed ; the place would be warm enough with all
these human creatures packed together like this, even
if you took the roof off." But he said with these lamps
the place was warm enough without clothing. It was
just this : glazed windows and clothing were dearer
than lamps without either. The last answers this poor
man gave me were : "Yes, they are beaten often, for

326 FELT CAP MANUFACTURE.
mistakes in the pattern," and, "they die soori." It
seemed iricredible that any one could strike these
sallow, half-naked children ; and yet I suppose, should
any one wearing one of these shawls examine it
closely, he might safely infer, that for every fault in
the pattern some defenceless creature has been beaten;
I went through several of these shops. Some were a
little lighter and some a little less light, but the main
points of. all were the same. I afterwards went to a
sale shop, and found here a totally different scene.
We were ushered into a well-furnished saloon in a
fine large house, lounged on carpets, while shawl after
shawl was spread out for our inspection, and we drank
coffee, and rolled in our palms the fragrant quince,*
and ignored how the beautiful fabrics were made. I
was given a full account of the number of stretchings,
moistenings, rollings, etc., that a shawl has to go
through after leaving the loom before being fit for sale,
but they were only what all woollen manufactures
require. The felt cap and felt carpet manufacture is simple
but interesting. The workman has a wooden block,
like a wig block, the shape and size of the cap he pro
poses to make. On his right sits a boy " twanging "
wool with a bow, and reducing it to a coarse fluff.
Next sits a boy with a bowl of soapsuds before him.
This latter takes up handfuls of the wool as it is ready
and >kneads it ancl soaks it in the soap and water until
it holds as much soap as it can retain. It is then
handed to the workman, who pulls and hammers it out

* A pleasant Persian custom is to give a visitor a fragrant quince
to hold in his hand.

THE COLLEGE. 327
into a flat flake, as large as the palm of a man's hand.
This he sticks on the block and pats and smooths it
down tight. When a complete layer has been put on
the block is set to dry, and another block proceeded
with meanwhile.
The carpets are made in much the same way, the
patterns being produced thus : a mat of hard unabsor-
bent reed is laid oiit flat, and the various coloured
patterns arranged in their proper respective positions
upon it ; over this a prepared flake of the brown felt
is placed. The whole is then rolled tightly up round
a thick stick, and three or four men stand on it rolling
it backwards and forwards until the patterns adhere to
the ground flake. Then more flakes are added, and
each tightly rolled by men standing on it until a suffi
cient thickness has been attained.
In the Wakil's workshops I saw some absurd
patterns laid out on mats ready to receive their
grounds, — among others, grotesque copies (?) of pic
tures in the Illustrate4 London News.
A visit to the great Madrasa, or school, was interest
ing ; I had previously made the acquaintance of the
great Sheikh in the Khan's society, and he kindly
allowed me the privilege of walking about as I liked,
and questioning the students. The school is a fine
building of burnt brick, and its tall minaret carried — of
all out of the way things to find — a large blue figured
turret clock. It was more thari an hour and a half
slow on apparent time ; but I was assured that it was
going and never stopped.
Many of the students were really intelligent, and,
had the curriculum provided for them been of any
practical value, and had a fraction of the industry and

328 THE DUNGEON.
patience tiiey now bestowed on finding out subtle
meanings in words probably written at random, been
expended on practical science, Kirman would, under
the present ruler, give birth to a second French revolu
tion. The tafsirs on the Kuran are, however, as
reasonable as the English commentaries on Shake
speare, where a page is written to explain the hidden
meanings of some word which was probably used
merely to fill in the jingle ofthe rhythm, I put one or
two of the most forward pupils through a chapter in the
Kuran, which they read well enough, excepting always
the effeminate Persian pronunciation of the Arabic,
but — the old story — with utter indifference as to the
meaning of what they read, I tried the old argument,
that if this was the word of God it should be under
stood and acted upon ; but they prefer to use it as a
charm, as it is given them by their teachers, and as the
Bible was given to us in Latin formerly by ours. For
general rules of life the Persian is provided by custom,
and the Kuran is only quoted by the learned as a law
book is quoted by a lawyer, to bring in some old pre
cedent in order to, generally, defeat the end of justice.
One day I visited the dungeon, for such really it is,
an underground prison. We entered first the barracks,
and then a heavy door was unlocked for us and we
entered an enclosure of thick mud-built walls, where
lay or sat four middle-aged prisoners, wearing light
irons on their legs only. The place was simply a
courtyard where the prisoners passed the day, and in
the corner was a hole in the floor which I peered
into. A short ladder led down into a sort of cellar,
in which the men were confined at night There was
absolutely no light, and I could see nothing, but as

A PRISONER RELEASED. 329
the men spent the day in the open, and a jailer gave
one a half-handful of tobacco as if it was a most
ordinary matter, I conclude the imprisonment to be
pretty merciful.* They were all "in" for highway
robbery, the only thing that in Persia requires
serious punishment. Highway robbery can be com
mitted with such impunity, and the escape of the
robbers to the mountain fastnesses is so easy, that
when an offender is caught the most terrible punish
ment has to be inflicted, to have the due deterrent
effect on his comrades. And I found afterwards cases
of robbers being plastered up alive in mortar on the
side of the road where their plunder had been made.
The men were very apathetic, and I could ehcit no
response to my inquiries.
A day after this visit, I saw one of the prisoners
being released. He had been dressed entirely in
white and mounted on a camel, also caparisoned in
white with bells and large tassels. He was thus led
through the town, accompanied by some ragged
minstrels and little boys, and (I was told) set free
outside the city gate. He had a fixed sullen look, and
appeared to feel his position a good deal, being pro
bably a chief in his own district. I one day made a
visit to the colony of Hindus, who being Her Majesty's
subjects and thankful for it, and who having heard that
I was a sahib from India who spoke Hindustani, kindly

* I have seen prisons of a diflferent kind in Persia, witness in Abu
Shihr (Anglice Bushire), men kept bareheaded in the broiling sun
day after day, with their feet beaten to a jelly. Also a long log
with sockets cut in it, into which men's legs were placed and kept
there by a long iron bar, while chains kept their heads down to their
knees.

530 OUR MESS.
sent to say that they would be glad to see me. They
are a thriving and numerous colony, thanks to the
liberal-mindedness of the Khan, and all the import
trade from the coast is in their hands. They live, or
rather the business places of a great number of them
are, in a large caravanserai. They are most of them
half Persianized and have been here a very long time,
I have yet to introduce to the reader our social
circle at the dinner table. The nawab was the host,
and the two young princes and myself made up the
guests, supplemented once or twice by some young
fellow of sufficient rank to dine with us. Every
evening the nawab used to send round his servant,
a handsome young fellow as dapper as himself, with
a message that the " high in place " his master had
discovered an unusually good thing (i.e., some capital
wine), and that he begged that my magnificence would
illuminate his quarters about an hour after sunset
Thither I would duly repair, and probably be the
first arrival. We would while away the time until
the other guests arrived, in trying to put together an
enormous and most expensive microscope, which the
ci-devant doctor had brought from Paris, and never
yet succeeded in using. From this we would be
aroused either by a barbarous love-song chaunted by
the two brothers, who would swagger in arm in arm
and threaten to break the machinery, unless we im
mediately came and commenced drinking ; or the
doctor's servant would come quietly in, and say,
"They've come, arid are finishing the pickles ;" when
in self-defence we would adjourn to the doctor's snug
dining-room, and commence the business of the night

OUR MESS. 331
The two princes, younger brothers of the Wakil,
were much of an age, " young bloods," and of great
wealth. There was an English dining table, plates,
dishes, knives and forks, etc, but the food and manner
of dining was essentially Persian, We began with
minute wine-glasses of raki, red wine, purple wine,
white wine, and other wines, interspersed with morsels
of pickle, sweetmeats, fried melon pips, etc., and had
I not been pretty well seasoned, Mr, W, Ellis, of the
Greenwich Observatory, would have found some of
my observations of Polaris after midnight more diffi
cult to work out than he did. After a sufficiency of
small trifles, the real substantial dinner was brought
in from the Khan's kitchen. None of the officers of
the household were allowed to dine until the Khan
had commenced, I have read of some famous ancient
king, who caused a trumpet to be blown when his
dinner was served, and this trumpet was the signal
that his staff might commence. This was our case, and
there was a good sound reason for it too, for if we had
got only five minutes' start in our mess, we should
have got the pick of the whole kitchen, and the Khan
would have gone supperless to bed. This the Khan
and the ancient-monarch above mentioned probably
fully understood. It was almost like dining on the
stage of Drury Lane Theatre. The two princes came
in new dresses every night ; crimson velvet and satin
were the least expensive articles of their costume,
while they wore richly mounted daggers at their belts,
and heavy gold chains round their necks.
We had occasionally a devotional element introduced :
young Prince Hassan had something on his mind
one night, and before touching wine must needs say

332 THE KHAN'S TREASURER COMES OVER.
his prayers. So he put his tasbiah or string of beads
on the carpet before him, and knelt down and made
the necessary rekaats or obeisances, though his brother
was stuffing pistachio nuts down his neck ; and he also
managed during his devotions to return with interest
a considerable amount of chaff from the doctor.
In sooth it was a goodly time,
For it was in the golden prime
Of good Harun Arrashid.
I have omitted to mention that the Khan, unasked,
sent his cashier over to me to know if I would wish
for any money. He brought with him a small sack of
silver, of which I took i,ooo krans (,1^40), and gave
him a cheque on Teheran. I do not know whether
he does this for every visitor, but am inclined to put
it down to respect for the Englishman, as inspired by
Sir F. Goldsmid and his mission of '72, who spent
some time here and left golden reputations.
I had been now a week at Kirman, and enjoyable
as it was after the somewhat hard journey from the
coast, I began to feel the traveller's restlessness to get
on. The observations had been satisfactory, the men
had made what small purchases they wanted to make,
and I only waited for a convenient moment to ask the
Khan to help me to find transport to Yezd. But he
forestalled my wishes as usual, and I found he had
a capital caravan of several mules and two stout
travelling ponies all ready to start
I had left a considerable balance of money with
my old friend George White* Sealy, at Jask, for the
payment of the men's wages, and I made out a pay-
sheet which they took with them. They picked the
best of the camels, which they bought at their own

PARTING WITH MY BALUCHIS. 333
price, and I provided them with a firman from the
Khan to ensure their being unmolested. One very
cold morning I bade them a rather sorrowful adieu.
They were not sanguine about ' getting safe back
home, and begged me earnestly to come back with
them, which was of course out of the question,
Ghulamshah, who remained with me, was much affected
at the parting, and his voice faltered as he urged them
not to forget to give his best love to his father,
mother, brother, sister, and in fact everybody in Jask.
The men swung themselves on to their camels, and
got on march, disappearing like spectres in the grey
morning light I had to clap Ghulamshah on the
back, and cheer him up a little ; and we agreed that
we should get along very well together.
Our future travels, however, were of a very different
nature to those we had been enjoying : no more leading
a band of good-natured, hardy companions through
new and wonderful countries, picking out our camping
places, going fast or slow as we liked, lunching en
route in picturesque nooks, at night joking and chaffing,
chatting over camp fire, etc. No more self-depen
dence or judgment required. Here we had a coarse
boor of a mule-driver, who would go long or short
stages according as he was paid, and would be rude
if you were civil to him, and a straight uninteresting
hackneyed track along a flat shingly desert between
two barren ranges of hills, and fixed halting places
at pretty regular intervals.
In the afternoon, I took leave of the Khan with
much gratitude. He gave me a small but exquisitely
fine Kirman carpet (not to be confounded with the
Karmani or Syrian carpets) and accepted a pair of

334 A FAREWELL BANQUET.
hurricane lamps and a tin of kerosine oil which I
frankly assured him was,, excepting scientific instru
ments, the only thing worthy of presentation. In the
evening we had a farewell banquet at the mess, when
a gallant Circassian captain of troops became so
uproarious, that we were in fear of a message from
His Highness, but I slipped away about midnight for
a last observation of Polaris, and to see that nothing
had been omitted in the packing up.

CHAPTER XIV.
En Route for Yezd,
Our new caravan. — Muleteers and mules. — Ghulamshah's introduc
tion to a horse. — Our garrulous friend. — He is pounced upon
by the Charvadar. — Extraordinary affection of mules for leading
pony. — Night in a caravanserai. — " Kum Karda." — The Kash-
uweUi. — Value of bells on the march. — Commissariat arrange
ments. — Our soldier escort and his steed. — Night marches. —
A dwarf camel. — Persian way of "bitting" a camel. — Bahra-
mabad. — Designs on my Westley-Richards. — A pun in Persian.
— Feeding camels. — The wall and the masjid, or two strings to
the bow. — Anar Fort, and the deputation of distressed agricul
turists. — Annoying curiosity of natives. — The sextant capsized,
— We reach Yezd. — Neglected by the authorities. — Our fanatic
friends. — Syeds. — Their gold mine discoveries. — Their murders.
— Trade and silk manufactures.^ — The gabrs. — Brobdingnagian
beet-root. — The present city getting gradually buried as the
former one has been. — The soldier gets my gun for his horse.
— We leave Yezd.
NEXT morning very early we started on our
way for Yezd, with a hearty farewell from the
nawab arid the princes. Our cavalcade consisted of
a very strong useful white pony, which was my mount,
and which I often wished afterwards I had bought
A good chestnut was provided for Ghulamshah, so
covered with trappings and large brass bells as to
make a noise like an ambulatory battle of Prague,
This animal was the leader of the caravan, and it was
quite extraordinary to observe the affection the mules
all had for him. Our muleteer Meshedi was a tall
335

336 MULETEERS AND MULES.
powerful fellow, with his feet swathed in endless
woollen rags, and who used six feet of an iron chain
as a whip for his six mules, whom he drove before
him with incessant oaths and cursing. Last but not
least, was a mounted soldier sent by the Khan, whom
from the magnificence of his moustache I dubbed the
Padishah, The road from Kirman to Yezd is about 220 miles
of uninteresting desert, with an occasional clump of
mud houses surrounded by mud-walled gardens of at
this time leafless mulberry trees.
At the villages marked on the map are good cara
vanserais for freight caravans, and chapar khanas
for people riding post. It was very cold, the ther
mometer at 8 a.m, ranging from 29° to 33° Fahr, We
started at 7,30 a.m. over a barren slightly undulating
plain, with barren hills on either side of us. That
sentence might be stereotyped as describing our pro
ceedings for the next few days, *
* I was often surprised at the long distances old decrepit men
would undertake in this country. They think nomore of riding 200
miles across desert on a lame donkey, than an English farmer of
going from London to Edinburgh by the express train. On one
occasion thirteen donkeys, laden with beet-root covered carefully with
sacks, accompanied us for four days, and on the fourth day what
was my surprise to find one of the loads of beet-root sit up, and after
a violent fit of coughing and spitting blood, call in a querulous
voice for a drink of water. I asked his friends what was the matter
with him, and found that he was suffering from an intermittent
fever, which always came on at the time when they loaded up. So
they used to put him on a donkey's back, put a leg in each saddle
bag stuffed full of chopped straw for warmth, lay him prone on his
face, along his donkey's neck, and then cover him with sacks. I
may add, that this coughing fit was the only sign of life the old
man made while I knew him, and but for that, I should up to this
day have regarded him as beet-root.

OUR GARRULOUS FRIEND. 337
I was amused at Ghulamshah, who had not had
much acquaintance with horses, spurring his jangling
steed up alongside of mine, and exclaiming with joyful
surprise, " Sahib, this is a horse," " Ah ! " said I,
" how did you find that out, butcha ? " " Oh," said he
naively, " I asked the muleteer." It was great glory
to him to be on a horse, an animal reserved for ameers
in his country.
Not long after starting, we were overtaken by a
chatty old gentleman, who had heard of our intended
departure for Yezd, and resolved to accompany us.
But as we came from the Khan's palace, we were such
great people that he could not ask leave to start
with us, and so prepared to overtake us after we had
left. He had, however, waited at the wrong gate of
the city, and thus nearly missed us, and being a
choleric old gentleman was actually indignant with
us for "goirig out of the wrong gate,"
He asked many questions about my religion and
general habits, settled for himself that Ghulamshah was
a eunuch presented to me by the Khan,* and finding
that we were of much the same stamp, proposed
eternal "sohbat" or friendship. His garrulity, how
ever, received a sudden check, Meshedi the muleteer
had been on ahead, but as we were talking dropped
behind to see after the rearward mules, and detected
the old man. Now it seems that recently the old
man had hired one of Meshedi's "yaboos" or large
ponies, and ridden it most unmercifully, and Meshedi
* There were some grounds for this idea, as I had had the good
fortune by a timely surgical operation to save the life of one of his
harem guardians. The cure made me rather a reputation, and in his
gratitude the Khan had offered me the patient as a gift. Z

338 THE CHARVADAR.
was very prompt to tax him with the matter. The
row that ensued lasted some miles, and relieved the
monotony of a considerable part of that day's march.
We spent a comfortable night at the large village of
Baghin, and started early the next morning with the
thermometer at 33° Fahr.
This being the commencement of our mule travel
ling, I must say a few words about it. The charvadar
(charwardar, quadruped owner) or muleteer is the
locomotive of Persia, and I think must be about the
hardiest of the human race. Not only gifted with
extraordinary powers of walking on the most meagre
food, he has such strength, that unaided he can reload
a mule whose burden has gone crooked, and though
the day's march may be only thirty miles, he often has
to double the distance running after this or that mule,
which has deviated from the path. He is a stalwart
brute, with a keen eye to the main chance, and his
language to his mules beggars description.
The Persian mule too is a unique thing. They are
always led by a yaboo, or large sized pony, which is
covered with as many bells as his owner can muster.
They will follow that pony in the most docile manner,
as long as he has all his bells on, and show a ludicrous
affection for him.
There are some great strong mules and some small
ones, but all seem to carry equal burdens, and though
in some cases the small ones were badly lame at
starting they always made the distance.
Camping at night too, in the caravanserais, was a
new experience for us. We slept in close proximity
to the mules, and though they were not my own
property, as the camels had been in the first part of

NIGHT IN A CARAVANSERAI 339
this journey, I took a keen interest in their loading,
feeding, state of their backs, and general welfare, as
indeed every traveller must do in his transport
On first arrival, the dalan-dar, or door-keeper is
hunted up, and firewood, eggs, and sometimes a fowl,
are purchased at not exorbitant rates. In some cara
vanserais there are rooms for the traveller, but in
some he accommodates himself on a raised dais in the
stable — the most convivial place unless he has mapping
or writing to do.
The mules on arrival are at once given their nose
bags, containing whatever was left from last meal,
stirred up to pi-event them from finding out that they
have smelt it before. They are then unloaded, and
their saddles taken off, and then ensues a babel of
sounds. All the mules wear a few bells, and immedi
ately set to work scratching themselves vigorously.
Ghulamshah's yaboo was accustomed to be scratched
by a very strong young white mule, whom we had
named Kerimdad, after one of my servants in Jask,
famous for great strength, stupidity, and exuberance of
spirits. It may sound absurd, but on more than one
occasion when Kerimdad was delayed in any way,
I have heard the yaboo impatiently call him.
The barley is next doled out accurately propor
tioned by the muleteer. Some mules require very
little barley, and their price is accordingly high, as the
same amount of work is done by all.
The muleteer is very careful to give all the mules
their corn at the same time, but I did not notice this
until several weeks afterwards, when at a caravanserai
in Kurdistan I saw the charvadar stabbing the palate
of one of the mules with a large "jui duz " or pack-

340 KUM KARDA.
ing needle, and squeezing out quantities of blood with
his hand. On inquiring what this was for, he com
menced abusing his assistant, a younger brother, for
carelessness in having omitted to give this mule his
corn at the same time as all the others, in consequence
of which it had " kum karda," i.e., got a swelling full
of blood in the roof of its mouth, which rendered it
incapable of eating. I found this actually to be the
case, and it constantly occurred en route ; every native
whom I consulted, and I made exhaustive inquiries
on this interesting subject told me, and implicitly
believed what he said, that it was simply owing to a
watering at the mouth, and could be produced at any
time by delaying the barley of one mule or horse
while others all round him are feeding. This theory
has met with a good deal of disbelief, but I believe
that a Persian muleteer knows as much about mules
as any one, and that there must be some truth in it.
The swelling is, on the march, lanced with a packing
needle, and while stationary the animal is fed upon
hard dry beans, whiph burst the swelling.
The muleteer takes a hurried snack of very hard
dry bread, often six months old, and then sets to work
with the curry-comb, or kashuwelli. This is a simple
but effective instrument, and could be made as follows :
Take six inches of an iron pipe, say three inches
in diameter, and cut it longitudinally down the middle.
Serrate the sides, and stretch across the arch at inter
vals in its length two or three stout wires, on which
string loosely a number of iron disks, like halfpennies.
These, when the curry-comb is used, jingle and add to
the music of the mules' bells, and also, by the persis
tency with which they are heard, tell the muleteer

VALUE OF BELLS ON THE MARCH. 341
whether his assistants are scrubbing their animals
down properly or not.
Travelling with mules in Persia is inseparably asso
ciated with the jangling of bells, and the traveller's are
soon teaches him to attach a meaning to the various
kinds of jangling. There is the steady jogging of the
march, the violent irregular jangling of the scratching
when the saddles are taken off, and the steady busi
ness-like quiet jangle when the noses are deep in the
barley. These bells are of infinite use. They cheer
the animals up on the march, and at night enable the
mules to follow the leading yaboo without any trouble.
They are of all sizes from a walnut to an English
bucket. The largest size are generally used on camels,
and are not fastened round the neck, but outside the
load, one on either side, and their solemn tolling as you
pass a large caravan on a pitch-dark night is most
impressive. We got on very well for food on this section of the
route between Kirman and Yezd, and never had any
of the starvation times that we had experienced in
Bashakard, We carried pieces of raw mutton with
us, and this boiled with onions, and pepper and salt,
formed our almost invariable food. Ghulamshah
commenced cooking as soon as the " cookhouse," or
large box containing the cooking implements, could
be unpacked. I had purchased in Kirman a copper
basin with a very tight fitting lid, called a Kabulima,
and in this such a quantity of the meat and onions
as was left from our dinner, without the soup, was
enclosed for my morning meal, which I usually took
on horseback, there being no trees or sheltered nooks
in this barren part of the route. Our soldier escort

342 NIGHT MARCHES.
the Padishah, was a cheerful conversational fellow.
He generally rode by my side, and gave me much
untrustworthy information respecting the government,
trade, and wealth of the country. I thought he had
been sent with me as a sort of guard of honour, but
found afterwards, that he had a mission to obtain, on
behalf of his master, my sole remaining gun, a much
cherished Westley-Richards of the most perfect work
manship. He was mounted on a spare wiry white
horse, which, in spite of a pensive or thoughtful aspect,
could always muster up a canter at the end of the
march, when his master, with his rifle banging about
his back, rode forward to announce our coming.
Meshedi, our tall muleteer, very soon evinced an
anxiety to travel at night. This however did not
suit me, as I wanted to survey the country. The
animals certainly travel better at night, and both they
and their masters do go fast asleep while on the
march, Meshedi's idea of enjoying a journey, was to
start between one and two in the morning, and finish
the stage at about ten, when he would spend the
whole day bargaining for fodder, trying to " swap "
mules, etc, I made a few journeys like this, when I
was assured that the country was absolutely without
a single point of interest, and we certainly got over
the ground wonderfully, and had more time to spend
in the halting places, where lay the only interest that
existed. I also learnt to sleep on horseback, but on
more than one occasion the cold was so intense that
I had to get off and walk at frequent intervals to
restore circulation, and it is hard work to go twenty-
eight to thirty-five miles night after night through
bitter cold and darkness.

A DWARF CAMEL. 343
We passed several caravans on these night marches,
and the men of two of them at least were all utterly
sound asleep, for though we all shouted to know
when they had left their last camp, in order to form
an idea as to how much farther we had to go, we
could get no reply. As far as could be seen in the
darkness, all had their feet in their saddle-ba:gs, and
were lying flat on their mules' necks.
Once we ourselves got off the track, and I was
rudely awakened by Meshedi seizing my horse's
head, and turning him round so suddenly that I nearly
fell off. We had got on to a side path leading to a
village- off the road, and spent a weary hour and a
half stumbling over loose shingly mounds full of holes
until we recovered the main route.
Two days' good travelling brought us to Bahramabad,
after having passed through the small village of
Baghin, the larger village of Riiban containing 300
houses, and the caravanserai of Kaftar Khan,
Between these places we had crossed nothing but
shingly desert. We had daily passed and been
passed by a caravan of thirty large camels carrying
henna to Yezd, each camel carrying about 320 pounds.
They were colossal shaggy brutes, and realized the
camel of my early picture books. Among them they
had an extraordinary dwarf camel, who though only
the size of a horse had the strength and temper of a
demon. It objected equally savagely to being un
loaded or loaded, and would bite any one or anything
within its reach like lightning, darting out its head
like a snake. In this country they do not attach the
rein to a wooden stud fixed in a hole bored through
the nose, as in Baluchistan. They have a worsted

344 BAHRAMABAD.
band about four inches long, which passes over the
nose, being kept in place by a halter; at each end are
attached strips of iron, one strip has a chain attached
to it and the other a ring through which the chain is
passed, so that by pulling the chain the iron sides
are pressed together and form two sides of an acute-
angled triangle with the woollen band for a base.
By shortening the base and sharpening the side-irons,
you can almost cut a camel's nose off by pulling at
the rein, and this wild camel, who was called mad by
the men, had, judging froiri his scars, been often rather
near suffering this amputation. I believe the nature
of camels differs more widely than that of any other
animals. One may see any day a small boy doing
what he likes with a string of twenty huge camels,
but it took five skilled and plucky men to load this
little roaring brute.
Bahramabad is a considerable town of 4,000 houses,
fairly clean, and evidently thriving. The caravan
serai was a good one, the rooms having for the
first time, if I remember rightly, doors and windows ;
but it was quite filled up by a large caravan. of more
than a hundred camels, with their burdens and atten
dants, and I was about reluctantly to seek the dignified
solitude of the chapar khana, or post house, when,
by some occult means or other, our gallant surbaz
arranged the evacuation of one of the best rooms, and
I took possession,. Once installed here we were
promptiy called upon by the governor, who had evi
dentiy been instructed by the wakil, that my old
Westley-Richards was to be got from me by any
fair means available, I began to realize that the good
old weapon must go, but for the present staved off

FEEDING CAMELS. 347
matters with profuse politeness. We then received
the sarhang, or commander of the detachment of
troops placed here. He was a fine handsome ener
getic Circassian, and said he was a slave of the
Shah's, and had been educated in the college in
Teheran, From the moment of our arrival it had rained
incessantly ; so much so that Ghulamshah, with the
diffidence of a boy offering his first pun, asked with an
ill-concealed smile, " Is this Bahramabad [the village
of Bahram), or Bairamabad [the village of rain) ?"
After dinner I wandered about among the camel
men. The fact of my having been a camel-owner,
and knowing something of camels, was always a pass
port to the sympathies of these rough fellows, and they
would chat freely about routes, trade, etc. In spite,
however, of their goodwill (sometimes propitiated by
a stick of pitch plaster for a sore back, with instruc
tions how to apply it), it took many questions and
answers before one could get enough information on
which to base a definite truthful statement
I was up early the next morning, and it was interest
ing to watch all the camels get their morning feed.
They quite filled the square enclosure, and were
divided into messes of from five to eight members.
Their attendant spread out his mashQk, or woollen
cloak, and then poured on it their rations of chopped
straw and cotton seed, which latter made a peculiar
crumbling sound as it was munched up. Some messes
were very harmonious, and merely munched their food
up as fast as they could, but one ill-tempered camel
would spoil a whole party, and one brate close under
where I stood, would abandon his whole breakfast

348 THE WALL AND THE MASflD.
soooer than lose a chance of biting his neighbour in
the back of the neck,
I found that the horse I had been riding was not to
go any farther, he in fact belonged to the governor
here and was only on his return trip. I had then
three choices, the gallant soldier's white horse,
Ghulamshah's yaboo, or the muleteer's pet riding
mule.
• The gallant soldier's horse was out of the question,
as the Padishah's only value lay in the effect he
produced, and that would be reduced to nil were he
mounted on a humble mule. It was a shame to take
Ghulamshah's horse from him, and the muleteer's
mule seemed a very willing locomotive-engine kind
of animal, admirably adapted for going mechanically
over long dreary distances. So I took the mule, and
was very sorry for it afterwards. For I could not bear
the number of bells on it, and had them taken off, in
consequence of which the mule sulked all the way to
Yezd, This resulted on one occasion in my getting
off and abandoning him in the desert, to the dismay of
his owner, who spent the whole night in search of him.
The next place of importance was Anar, two
marches farther on.
The country became a littie less sterile, and we
passed one or two small villages of one-storey mud
houses and a little meagre corn. It will be seen on
the map that there is a slight depr.ession in the level
here. Near Hurmuzibad a lofty mud wall ran a consider
able distance at right-angles to the path, and without
any apparent design. Close by it was a small masjid,
and I asked what they were for, Meshedi explained

DISTRESSED AGRICULTURISTS. 349
that the village was exposed to the danger of being
buried in the sand, so the wall was built to keep this
off, "But," I asked, "what is the masjid for?"
" Oh," said Meshedi, who had a cheerful kind of
cynicism, " that's for them to pray that the sand shall
not be blown over them ; you see, they're sure to
manage it one way or another."
We had rain every day, and the fine caravanserai
of Biath was approached in a slough of mud. Leaving
Biath we crossed a belt of shingle, then one of sand,
and then one of mud, there being about two miles
of each. Here we met a cafila, or caravan, of fifty
camels carrying opium and asafoetlda, and after a
tedious struggle through mud, reached Anar on the
sixth January,
Anar consists of a fort and sixty houses. It is
important as being the place where the trade route
from Bandar Abbas to Yezd joins the Kirman route.
This route, called the Sinjan or Rapsinjan route, was
described as being all hilly, the road running along the
beds of streams about twenty days' march, and pro
vided with camel fodder along its whole length.
Here I was waited on by a deputation of distressed
tradesmen and agriculturists, who deposed that they
had been driven from their native homes in Shahri-
Babeg* by the rapacity of the governor there. I do
not know what idea they had of my power to help
them, but they begged me to represent the matter
to the governor of Yezd. I pointed out that it
was none of his business, Shahri- Babeg belonging to
the province of Shiraz, but I undertook to deliver any
* Corruption of Shahr-i-Baghi, "garden city."

350 THE SEXTANT CAPSIZED.
letter they might write, which I duly performed, with
the results one usually gets for meddling in other
people's business.
Both from inquiries and from personal observation
I think they were a shiftless, idle people. Their irre
pressible curiosity annoyed me exceedingly while I
was taking observations, but they got a ridiculous
fright once. The sun was very low, and I had almost
to lie on my back to see its reflection in the mercury.
I was in this position waiting for the sun to come from
behind the clouds. When it did emerge, I quickly
seized the sextant and presented it, as they thought,
straight at them, on which they dispersed in horror.
We had a laugh, too, at an impetuous youth, the son
of the dalan-dar who sold us firewood, eggs, etc.
He commenced worrying Ghulamshah for payment
Ghulamshah was unpacking the instruments, and the
youth's observations ran something as follows : " Now
then, pay me what you owe me. I'm in a great hurry !
Oh ! but there is neither strength nor power except in
God ! " — this on his eye catching the sextant " You
owe me three krans, and this is only two and a half
Oh ! merciful Lord ! " — this as a large map was un
rolled. Next day it snowed hard, but after twelve hours in
the saddle we reached Kirmanshahan, where a few
soldiers levied black mail on caravans for protecting
the route. We were exempt, our mules being known
to belong to the Zabit of Bahramabad, Here the
muleteer carelessly capsized the box containing the
sextant, artificial horizon, etc., and I was much dis
mayed at finding them all in a chaotic heap. No
harm was done except to two plates which we carried.

WE REACH YEZD. 351
more as a guarantee of our respectability than for use.
The road here is a steady descent to Yezd ; another
twelve hours brought us to the village of Sar-i-Yezd,
and villages began to thicken along the route. We
stayed here at the chapar khana, and had a pleasant
evening with the host, who was a most intelligent
fellow, asked innumerable questions, and finally, posing
with his head one side and looking fixedly at me,
said, " Now your loftiness in place has made many
journeys, and seen many countries. Have you ever
seen any country like Persia ? " A murmur of gratifi
cation went round our little circle, as I assured him
with fervour that I never had.
Next morning, soon after starting, we saw our
destination. The very large and important city of
Yezd lay in the far distance, stretching right across
the horizon. Its lofty minarets seemed innumerable,
and it was years since we had seen a city nearly so
large and important. Without any exaggeration the
approach to Yezd is very fine and impressive. You
see its whole size spread out over the flat plain, and
nothing interrupts the view.
I had procured from the chapar khana a showy
but incurably vicious horse, and Ghulamshah, Meshedi,
and myself rode cheerily on ahead through apparently
interminable winding streets, and finally landed in a
large caravanserai, which led off from one of the main
bazaars. I was not at all well treated by the authorities of
Yezd, in spite of a letter of introduction from the
Wakil-al-Mulk which the surbaz duly delivered, but
the effect of which was I suspect counteracted by the
letter from the distressed people of Anar.

352 SYEDS.
The governor sent for me the next day, and I went
and waited in an ante-chamber for an hour or more ;
but he had just gone into his ante-room or private
apartment and I had to leave without seeing him.
He sent after me then, begging me to come the next
day. I went again, but after waiting half an hour I
sent him an angry message, which I do not suppose he
ever got, and made up my mind to see all there was to
be seen by my own resources,
I missed very much the courtesy of the governor .of
Kirman and his genial associates, but though I was
often hooted at in the streets, and more than once had
stones thrown at me, I managed to see all there was
to be seen. Not being able to get into polite society,
I fraternised with such as I could get, and found much
edification in the society of an intelligent drug-seller,
whose stock-in-trade consisted in an extraordinary
assortment of brbken-up leaves of unrecognisable plants
and various strong smelling powders, I was much
annoyed by the fanatical nature of the people. Young
students would come and argue and declaim for hours
at a time on nice theological points, and quantities of
little boys would at one moment be begging for money
with outstretched arms, and the next shouting at the
•top of their voices the " izan," or call to prayer. Every
second man or boy was a Syed, and I never was so
tired of Muhammad's family in my life. Again, mys
terious men would wake me up in the dead of night,
and, after exasperating me to the utmost by intermin
able pledges to secrecy, would produce a bag full of
pebbles, bits of copper ore, lead, etc., and say they
had found them, and ask what they were worth, they
being always under the impression that they were gold

THEIR MURDERS. 353
ore. Sometimes one of the party would beckon me
out of the room, and point through the crack in the
door at one of my self-invited guests, and inform me
in a significant whisper that he had found a gold mine
of immense value.
One man, who never appeared in person, sent num
bers of urgent messages for me to come and dine with
him, always stipulating that I should go at night-time
lest the people should see me. This invitation I
invariably refused, and have no doubt that I should
have been murdered had I accepted. Just before I
arrived, the leading Gabr merchant had been riddled
with bullets and hacked to pieces for nothing else than
not being a muslim. This the people related with a
sort of pride, as exhibiting how religious they were.
The governor, however, took some slight measures to
stop this ; for though in the case just mentioned no
punishment had been inflicted, seven men had recently
been beheaded for a riot in which several similar
murders had been committed.
Yezd bears every mark of a thriving business place,
and might I think be called the Manchester of Persia.
Its chief industry is silk weaving, arid next, perhaps, in
importance is opium growing.
Yezd is surrounded by villages, the main part of
whose industry is growing tut or mulberry trees for
feeding silkworms, and in addition to this, large
quantities of silk are brought here from Meshed
and Herat to be woven. I went into many of the
manufactories, the finest of which, as at Kirman,
belonged to the governor. They were fine, clean,
spacious rooms, some containing seventy looms all
busily working. The chief patterns were broad
A A

354

THE GABRS.

Striped sheets for the ladies to wear, and black-and-
white silk handkerchiefs.
Some smaller workshops made a special kind of
head-dress for export to Arabia via Charbar and
Maskat The silk looked to me poor in quality, arid
not much better than alpaca ; but the weaving was
undeniably close, regular, and good, and the colours
brilliant. The trade is mostiy in the hands of from
six to seven thousand Gabrs or Persians who have not
adopted Islam, One man, a frequent visitor and who
always brought his poor idiot brother, pathetically im
ploring me to cure him, owned more than a thousand
camels, who carried goods between here and Bandar
Abbas, twenty-four days' march. Three or four of the
Gabrs are British subjects, and I was assured that they
had a school in the ancient Zand and Pazand language.
I noticed here some enormous globular beet-root The
diameter of one was just the breadth of a page of the
Illustrated London News, and I procured a quantity
ofthe seed,*
A peculiar feature about Yezd is the number of
large tanks far below the surface of the ground. They
are neatly domed in, and approached by long flights
of steps. Also many of the houses are far below the
level of the street and are approached by similar long
flights of steps. After leaving Yezd, I crossed at about
ten miles north the very extensive remains of ancient
Yezd, buried in sand ; and it appeared reasonable to
think that present Yezd was gradually being buried,
but the process was so slow, if indeed it was going on,
* It came up a fine shrub in England, all top and no root to,
speak of.

WE LEAVE YEZD. 355
that no one could give me any information on the sub
ject, though they seemed interested in my conjecture.
On the 14th our gallant soldier took his leave, with
a good present and my last gun. He gave me in
exchange his wiry white horse, thus gaining the only
end with which he had accompanied me. The " Padi
shah," as we named the horse, was a good willing
beast, and came into Baghdad as fresh as he left Kir
man. Also to-day, to our great satisfaction, we found
mules to take us to Ispahan, and joyfully commenced
packing up, Yezd is a very thriving money-making
place, but far from pleasant for a solitary European,
whose presence the local authorities ignore. In our
new caravan were not only good mules and com
panionable muleteers, but we had for our travelling
companion the celebrated Haji Katirchee, or Haji the
muleteer, who, together with his horse, merits a fresh
chapter.

CHAPTER XV.
Yezd to Ispahan.
The Haji and his horse. — Our new caravan.— A stirring gallop. —
Desertion by the muleteer. — Disaster to the chronometer. —
Worst fears confirmed. — Night march back to Yezd. — The
Haji at home. — Maibut.— The weaver's beam of the Bible
explained. — Minimum thermometers at night.-— More Syeds. —
Warmer weather. — We part company with the Haji. — Difficul
ties ahead. — Snowed up. — Mulberries and vinegar as a diet. —
Thermometer i8° Fahrenheit and no roof. — Fishark. — Attempt
to deceive. — Its consequences.^ — -Triumph on my part. — View
across the Ispahan valley. — More night marching.— " Hinges "
upsets the butcha., — ^Wild fowl on the Ispahan river. — A tire
some finish.^Ispahan at last. — Meet a white man. — Bass' beer.
NO one could see the Huff's burly figure and
round jovial face without at once taking a liking
to him. Bustling, hearty, and an indefatigable traveller,
he was one of the honest men in Persia, that is, of the
English standard of honesty. He had a horse, too,
on which he had seven times ridden to Mekka and
back, a great bony, vicious animal that could walk
6^^ to 7 miles an hour from sunrise to sunset. He
made the arrangements for me, and though from the
first day's experience I argued the worst possible
results, we all, with the exception of an occasional
" swap," landed safely in Baghdad. We had five
mules, and a lame donkey, a horse for Ghulamshah,
which afterwards became celebrated under the name
of " Hinges," while I rode the " Padishah."
3S5

A STIRRING GALLOP. 357
On the morning of the fifteenth we got en route
for Ispahan, and splashed down the muddy streets of
Yezd for as we hoped the last time, headed by the
Haji enveloped in an incredible number of coats and
seated on such a pile of baggage as almost eclipsed his
big horse.
On leaving Yezd we passed through sandy culti
vated ground and numerous villages. I had been
laughing at the Haji's multifarious saddle-bags and
garments, and asking him how he proposed to get on
if he wanted to canter, when he gave a tremendous
bellow and set off at full gallop ; I of course followed
suit, and we had a stirring gallop of about a mile.
How the Haji ever kept all his goods together, I could
never imagine. He was the most ludicrous sight,
sometimes on one part of his horse, sometimes on
another, arms and legs, coatskirts and bundles all
flying about and banging about him in all directions,
while the old horse pounded along in a way that can
only be likened to Smiley's fourteen-minute mare, in
Mark Twain's "Jumping Frog."
And now an accident occurred which gave me more
annoyance at the time than it need have done, had
I known how really unimportant it was. We waited
after our gallop to allow the mules to come up, and
when they arrived found the muleteer absent and the
baggage in charge of a young boy only about the size
of Ghulamshah. I was told that the muleteer was
only just behind, but we never saw him again.
Now Muhammad was a ruddy-faced, broad-
shouldered, sturdy young fellow, very willing, good-
natured, and anxious to be of any use he could. But
he was not strong enough to put a crooked load

358 DISASTER TO THE CHRONOMETER.
Straight, and the mules were fresh, continually stam
peding and shifting their loads. The result was what
I might have foreseen. The mule with the chrono
meter bolted, shifted his load, got frightened, and
eventually came heavily to the ground, I was furious,
but that was no use ; we all jumped off our horses, and
after about half an hour got things straight. So many
passers-by had collected that I did not like to open
the box, which contained also my bag of money,
and I hoped for the best, knowing how carefully it
was padded up, but I could think of nothing else all
the rest of the journey. It seemed miserable, after
hundreds of miles of really difficult travelling, to come
to grief in this way.
When we arrived at Himmetabad I eagerly opened
the box, and my heart really seemed to sink down
when I found the faithful old chronometer stopped.
The Haji sympathised , with my distress in the
kindest manner, and when I proposed to go back to
Yezd that night to take a fresh set of observations in
the same place as I had observed before, he volun
teered to accompany me.
It was piercing cold, pitch dark, and the hail drove
in our faces, and I was tired and dispirited. We got
to Yezd by daylight, however, to the surprise of our
friend the druggist and I 're-started the chronometer
and took a long and very careful series of sights, and
we started back again hopeful, and reached Him
metabad for the second tirrje, after nearly thirty-six
hours' consecutive travelling under very difficult
circumstances. I often wondered how Ghulamshah, who was only
a youngster, stood such marches as this, and many

MAIBUT. 359
Others still longer we had to make afterwards, but
I never saw him tired, and after the longest, coldest
march he would unpack the instruments, cook the
dinner, etc., and never omit anything.
The next day was only four hours to Maibut, for
the Haji's horse at a walk kept ours in a shambling
canter. Here he was enthusiastically received into
the bosom of his family, after a long journey, and half
the inhabitants crowded round him, while he good-
humouredly shouted at them to get away and not
make a fuss. He left me snugly installed in the
chapar khana, and went off to his own house, having
extorted a promise that I would remain one day, and
come and dine with him,
Maibut is a large thriving village of one thousand
houses, a considerable acreage of mulberry trees, and
a manufactory of " zeylis," or strong cotton carpets, and
coarse pottery. The mail arrived from Teheran while
we were here, being carried by two men in two bulky
pairs of Saddle-bags.
Maibut is best described as having been hewn out of
solid mud. Everything is a friable mud — houses, walls,
ground, and roads all of the same material. I noticed
that the walls of the gardens, which were very high,
got thinner and thinner towards the top, and found
this was done on the same principle as loose bricks are
placed on the tops of our prison walls, i.e., to make it
impossible to scale them. In watching the manufac
ture of the zeylis, or cotton carpets, we saw a good
illustration of the biblical weaver's beam. The large
bole of wood round which the carpet is wound by a
capstan-bar-like arrangement as fast as it is woven, is
made of the largest trees in the country ; and I saw

36o MORE SYEDS.
very few capable of supplying such timber except
the plane trees, which are few and far between,
Ghulamshah was amused at the keeper of the
chapar khana asking him naively where I had bought
him. His being so very dark, combined with his
more than regulation enormous Baluch nose, invariably
led to his being mistaken for my slave. The ther
mometer here was io8° in the sun, and 35° at night,
with a slight frost With reference to the taking the
minimum thermometer at night, I may mention an
absurd incident that took place about a fortnight after
this. It was always necessary to select a place for
the thermometer which should fairly expose it to the
air, be safe from prowling cats, and also from curious
natives. And on this occasion I had put it in such a
singularly safe place, that in the morning I could not
find it at all, and eventually had to leave without it.
We went and had a bountiful lunch with the Haji,
who treated us with boisterous hospitality. I should
think his house, which corresponded in some way to
that of a .country farmer, was always well filled with
good things ; but now, on the return of the master,
the fatted calf was killed, and great were the rejoicings.
The people seemed a peaceful, contented com
munity ; old men sitting out in the sun in batches
picking cotton, others better off appeared to spend
their time in smoking outside the masjid, while the
able-bodied made carpets and pots, cultivated their
mulberries, and the women cooked the dinner, ground
the corn, etc.
We were not yet free of the Syeds, One old man
forced himself into my room three times, in spite of
being put out forcibly by Ghulamshah, and would seize

WARMER WEATHER. 361
me by the coat and grin in my face, saying simply
" Money, money." When remonstrated with, he said
indignantly, " But I'm a Syed ! "
When I mounted next morning I found fourteen old
men calmly seated outside, each confidently expecting
a considerable present I lost all patience, and abused
them roundly, saying I had not come all this way to
throw away money on idle Jews who dressed them
selves up in green turbans, and profaned the holy
name of Syed.
I have forgotten to mention the fat little son of the
Haji, who sat for hours decanting chopped straw from
one of his little boots into the other, with a super
natural gravity and importance of manner. He
thought he was winnowing barley, as he had often
seen his father do.
After leaving Maibut the range of snow-covered
hills which had fringed our route so far ended, and
the temperature became much warmer;
The next stage to the good caravanserai of Arja-
nun was without interest, save that the underground
canal, which supplied the water, contained fine fish ten
inches long. We passed over shingly plains past the
small villages of Syed Muhammad, Zearat, and Shum-
sabad, and put up at the chapar khana of Aghd,
where was an immensely polite dalan-dar. The Haji
had stayed behind at Maibut to complete his domestic
arrangements, but caught us up here, and was joyfully
welcomed by the people. He was a most generous
fellow, and had always his capacious pockets full of
bread, sweetmeats, and small coin for any one who
wanted them on the road. The weather now became
bright and sunny. We had as a result flies and

362 DIFFICULTIES AHEAD.
musquitoes, and there were a few small date-trees and
patches of wheat in ear.
Next day we went on to Nou Gumbaz. Here was
a very large caravan of camels from Tabriz, if the men
told me truly. They were still shaggier than those
we had seen before. They were worked nine months
a year, and were shorn once a year, and then greased.
They were all fed on cotton seed, and the " crunkling "
noise of so many feeding together sounded curiously
on the still night air.
There was also an old watch-tower built before the
caravanserai. In old times watchmen used to keep
guard against marauding hordes of BalQchis, who came
from beyond the, to other people, impassable deserts
on the east Ghulamshah was grimly pleased at the '
continual evidences of the fear' his fellow-countrymen
had created among the Persians,
The Haji to-night was very strong on the very
heavy taxes he had to pay — six tomans per annum
per mule — and had made up his mind next time he
went to Tiflis to become a Russian subject We
parted with him here, as he went on due north to
Teheran, and I Jaranched to the west for Ispahan.
We bid the good Haji God-speed next day, and
started on our comparatively lonely march. We felt
the loss of his cheery conversation very much. More
over, there was no defined track on our route^ nor any
caravanserais, and I felt certain misgivings about
taking the caravan (for it was evidentiy all on my
shoulders) across, as I had heard much of people
being lost in snowdrifts.
The first day was very uncomfortable ; it rained
hard the whole march, and the mules continually

SNOWED UP. 363
scattered all over the country. However, we reached
Pudaz at last, persuaded some people to turn out of
their house for a consideration, and made ourselves
snug over a good fire, I may mention that I was
taken in by a man who sold me a man of green
mulberry wood, which gives no heat, splits, bursts, and
flies out of the fireplace with astounding reports.
The next morning, January 23rd, we were snowed
up, and could with difficulty open the door. We got
out, however, but any observations were out of the
question, I never saw snow come down so thick,
Pudaz was a small village of mulberry gardens, and
the people were covered with white sores, which
they attributed to their living in the winter on mul
berries and vinegar, with a few dates. They brought
round the stuffed skin of a remarkably fine white and
brown wolf, for the exhibition of which the shooter
asked for bakshish, which I willingly gave, for the
poor fellow must have sat in the cold a good many
nights before he made the successful shot The
people seemed comfortable enough. The cattle were
all warmly stabled, and had plenty of fodder ; while
the general occupation was spinning wool or weaving
woollen garments.
We got on march at half-past nine, but I could not
help feeling in rather a ridiculous position. Here I
was with five mules — one badly lame — and a lame
donkey, and for my companions two boys, neither
over eighteen, if as much. Muhammad certainly pro
fessed to know the road, but it appeared that he had
only been over it twice, I knew nothing of it, except
that it seemed to be a winding valley, that we were
six thousand feet above the sea, and had made two

364 TODESHK.
thousand of that in the last stage; and that if we
continued rising two thousand feet per day, and it
continued snowing, we should find some difficulty in
getting through.
We stumbled on to Todeshk, though the snow
increased hourly. On either side were' hills about
three hundred feet high, and the valley we were going
up contained every few miles a snowed-up village, with
its accompanying walled enclosures of leafless mul
berry-trees. All the villages were called "laghari,"
and I did not at first realize that the word meant
thin or in needy circumstances. At 4.15 p.m. the
snow mercifully stopped. We crossed a level plain
studded with walled mulberry gardens, and at 6.7
p.m. camped in a deserted and roofless stable, at an
apparently deserted village called Todeshk, The
thermometer was 38° when we camped, but went
down to 18° in the night, and everything in the cook
ing pots was frozen as hard as stone, I got good,
clear observations of Polaris, and the barometer
showed that we had only risen two hundred feet
that day, so I began to hope we were as high as
was necessary.
We found in the morning that there were forty
houses, and that two of the men could read.
Our troubles were over for the present ; the weather
was milder, and we marched over a shingly plain
studded with plantations.
We began ascending the slopes of a lofty range of
mountains. Villages were numerous, always dead and
buried in snow, and only inhabited, as far as one could
see, by numerous pert and incongruous magpies, and a
few solemn hooded crows, while the everlasting square

ATTEMPT TO DECEIVE. 365
mud-walled enclosures of mulberry-trees became
exasperating from their continual iteration. It was
late that night before we got into camp, and in the
darkness we missed one another, and lost our way more
than once, and we were glad to get into the large
thriving village of Fishark, I noticed that we rode
through a large masjid, and was surprised to find
myself welcomed most cordially, and provided with a
large house, swept and garnished, a good fire, and all
necessaries, Muhammad the ruddy-faced came for
ward and bashfully explained that this was his house,
that his foot was now upon his native heath, and that
he hoped I should be comfortable, and forgive any
faults he had committed on march. Fifty willing
friends helped to unload the kit, I thanked Muham
mad, told him to be sure to load up early, and went
sound asleep without any dinner.
Next day I took my morning sights, packed up the
kit, and sat expectant for my muleteer.
After waiting some time I went out into the street
and meeting a man whom I recognised as having seen
the previous night I asked where was my muleteer.
He answered, " Oh, he's gone to his uncle's,"
" Well," I said naturally, " when is he going to load
up?" " Oh," said he coolly, " you're not going to load up
for two or three days. Don't you know it's the Ashra,
or feast of ten days ? "
I was intensely disgusted ; all this civility had been
shown simply to trick me into halting. Had I been
asked, I would willingly have halted a day or so, but
to be cheated into it was unbearable. I inquired
where the uncle lived, and sent a man to call the boy

366 TRIUMPH ON MY PART.
at once. Then I inquired where the mules were, and
found them locked up in a stable at the other end of
the village. I procured a guide to the house of the
muleteer, Muhammad's elder brother, and I walked in,
and after a tremendous row with all the members of
the household, got the key, a thing like a wooden
tooth-brush, and got into the stable. While I was
saddling my horse, the people locked me in. But I
took off the top door socket, and emerged, still trium
phant Then the mule-owner arrived, Ali Akber,
Muhammad's elder brother, and he had a stock of
indignation to express on his violated household and
dismantled stable door, I stuck to my point that the
contract expressly provided that no halts were to be
made without my express consent. The row became
general, and the whole village assisted. The aged
mother was set on as a last resource, but in vain. I
would give them a week if asked, sooner than they
should cheat me out of one hour. We were on the
march at 2.15 p.m., and did the forty-three miles into
Ispahan by 2 p.m. next day,
Fishark is a healthy little village perched up among
fine rocky scenery on the side of a lofty mountain
overlooking the broad plain in which Ispahan lies.
The view was grand from the immense region which
the eye took in, but it had no peculiar features. The
ground sloped down to a broad brown green plain
dotted with many villages, the smoke from the houses
of which going straight up in the still air reminded me
of so many " latQrs " or sand-spouts, and pleasantly
contrasted the air we were now breathing with the
recollections of the burning fiery climate of Mekran,
Across the broad valley rose another high range of

"HINGES" UPSETS THE BUTCHA. 367
mountains, and far up the valley to the right we saw
a shimmer of water, which turned out to be the shallow
lakes caused by the Ispahan river losing itself We
picked our Way down the mountain, and started along
the level plain at a good pace. We cheered up
Muhammad, who had been reduced to tears by the
abusing I had given him, and Ali Akber bore no
malice. We stopped for a smoke at a village called Wartun,
at some time in the night, and starting again we lost
our way in the pitch darkness, until day dawned and
showed us that we had not made a very bad hit
Ispahan lay before us, and leaving the baggage, Ghu
lamshah and I cantered on ahead, knowing that our
horses would have a good rest for a week at the end
of two days' march. There is nothing fine in the ap
proach to Ispahan from the east, as the traveller has
to go through at least ten miles of ruined mud houses,
which are on slightly higher ground than the inhabited
part of the town.
We had special interest in getting to Ispahan, for
from there we could telegraph to know how our Balu
chis had got on, and we could also telegraph to Lon
don for the sinews of war. While cantering along the
muddy plain, Ghulamshah had the most pronounced
and undeniable spill I ever saw. He was, as I have
said, riding " Hinges," a horse so called from his hav
ing apparently an extra joint in the right foreleg, which
caused him to stumble. When he caught his foot he
had a way of hurriedly recovering it with a loud stamp,
like a sailor marking time in a hornpipe. We liked
him though, as he was an untiring brute and never
actually fell. But to-day, perhaps reflecting that it

363 MEET A WHITE MAN.
was rather hard to canter a horse who had been on his
legs so long, he came down. I was cantering a littie
ahead when I heard a scramble and a thump, and look
ing round saw the butcha describe a complete somer
sault in the air, and Hinges, after ploughing up the
ground with his nose for a minute, fall heavily on his
side. No one was hurt, and we rode on through
swampy lakes which swarmed with wild fowl.
Soon we began to enter fields, each field containing
a large turreted tower, round or square, and painted in
many cases in gaudy colours. These were pigeon
houses. After that we got among a network of deep
canals, with some awkward plank bridges to cross.
Then came a most disappointing and vexatious part
of the ride. When we found the first houses were
ruined, we made up our minds for a mile or so, as we
had found this at Kirman. But who could be prepared
for eleven miles ? Again our goal was the English tele
graph office ; and we did not know that this was not in
Ispahan at all, but in the Armenian suburb of Julfa,
right the other side of the town and across the river.
However we rode on and on. At last, just as I was
beginning to despair, and Ghulamshah had handed
me my Kabulima * full of cold meat and onion, I saw
an Englishman in riding boots, swinging a big hunting-
crop, and followed by four dogs, I need not detail the
interview, it is enough to say, that in about ten minutes
the tired horses were stabled, Ghulamshah installed in
the kitchen, and myself seated at a table with a hearty
English lunch and a bottle of Bass' beer, sent for in
honour of the occasion by my new friend Fillingham,
* Kabulima, a covered copper vessel.

Two OF THE EXPEDITION WHO NEVER RETURNED

CHAPTER XVL
Ispahan.
Sad news of our Baluchis. — Defeat of the Customs authorities.— Ispa
han and Yezd.— Destruction by the Affghans. — Chehil Situn. —
The shaking minarets. — The governor. — The Ispahan river and
bridges. — Persian carpets. — Julfa. — Its cheapness of living, etc.
— The Armenians. — Starting for Baghdad. — I buy a new horse, —
Get a new groom. — Start for Kirmanshahan. — Ali Akber. — Cu
rious device of caravanserai doors. — Attempt to levy black mail,
¦^Muhammad the ruddy-faced deserts us and returns home. — An
old shepherd. — Nearly a row at the village of Husseini. — Deh
Hak and the cold. — Slatedoors. — Ungrateful ophthalmic patients,
— Terrible cold, thermometers below zero. — Durr Kokah. —
Heavy snow. — Kokah and the magpies' parliament, — Caravan of
wheat from Kirmanshahan. — A miserable march to Khomain. —
Hadi turns out a trump. — Difficulties as an amateur charvadar. —
Narrow escape of falling into river. — We reach Khomain.
AFTER a hearty lunch, during which to my great
surprise a tall gentleman in the accurate black
coat of an English clergyman dropped in as if it was
the most ordinary matter in the world, we went
over to the telegraph office, where by the courtesy of
Mn Hoeltzer, the superintendent, I was enabled to
speak to George Sealy at Jask, and learnt the sad
story of my Baluchis. Exhausted by fatigue, privation
and exposure, the men fell easy victims to small-pox,
Brahim was dead. Dad Arrahim was dead, and three
others (who eventually recovered) were very ill at
about sixty miles from Jask, and almost within reach
of their homes. Every care was taken of them by
369 B B

Z70 ISPAHAN AND YEZD.
my friends at Jask, and the tent was burnt where it
lay so as not to bring infection into the station.
On returning to the house at half-past four we found
the baggage had arrived, Ali Akber and Muhammad
being in a furious temper owing to an attempt at the
Custom House to exact dues for the baggage. In
order to settle the matter, they had taken the somewhat
original method of bringing the customs officer with
them. After they had taken so much trouble on my
behalf it would have been cruel to have paid anything,
and I pointed out to the officer that an English traveller
could not be supposed to pay for his luggage as if it
was merchandise, and after a feeble resistance he went
away. He was an absurd person. He had been
dragged nearly five miles, arguing incessantly, I ima
gine, the whole time, and now he had to go back five
miles empty-handed,
I was glad to get off my heavy riding -boots and
moleskins, and appear once more in a clean shirt and
collar and decent clothes.
Life in Ispahan, or rather in the Armenian suburb
Julfa., was very pleasant. Although I had a bad attack
of my old enemy dysentery, I rode out every day with
one or more of the Europeans, who showed me all
the sights, and were most hospitable. There were an
English clergyman and his wife, three sergeants of
the Royal Engineers, who worked the telegraph, and
a German superintendent.
Just as Yezd gave me the idea of being a thriving
go-ahead place, so Ispahan left the impression of being
a crumbling rich old town. I have already spoken of
the great number of ruined houses, and the next thing
worthy of note was the number of lofty well-built

CHEHIL SITUN. 371
bazaars now deserted and partly in ruins. They were
two storeys high, and of well-made, well-burnt brick,
which looked so new that I was puzzled to know
whether the buildings had been arrested in course of
construction or thrown down after completion. In
answer to my inquiries I was invariably told that they
were destroyed by the Affghans, who must have indeed
cost Persia dear, for in most of the towns I afterwards
passed through were examples of the same thing.
There are many old ruined "palaces," remnants of
the time when Ispahan was the capital, and the court
resided here. Chehil Situn is the palace generally
visited by travellers, and we rode there one day to see
it. It is on the same plan as that already described at
Kirman, an oblong enclosure with a tank in the middle
and the royal quarters at either end. Near the tank was
a lofty reception-hall ; and over the water, so that
their reflections could be seen, were twenty tall pillars,
which with their shadows made the forty indicated by
the name Chehil Situn [forty pillars). The hall was
carpeted with the remains of a very ragged carpet,
which I was told was 300 years old. Such of the
pattern as could be made out showed it to be the
design of Venetian artists, whom the nobles of old time
imported to decorate their houses with mirrors. The
walls were covered with pictures, painted, I believe,
on the plaster of the wall, — ^hunting scenes, banqueting
scenes, and court scenes. The colours were very rich,
but the attitudes and the expressions were very quaint
Some of the side pieces were unmistakably Venetian :
Cupids riding on golden cars and guiding furious
horses with strips of blue ribbon, which served at once
for traces and reins.

372 THE GOVERNOR.
On leaving the palace we went to see the two
shaking minarets, which are curiosities of almost world
wide celebrity. They are two tall brick towers. A man
may ascend to the top of one, and on his rocking him
self to and fro both pillars rock to and fro with him.
It was proposed that I should go up and rock, but I
did not, I had come on an exploring expedition to
recruit my health and survey the country ; this seemed
a feat of hardihood by which nothing could be gained.
Moreover, if one did go up a tower to take bearings
or for any other useful purpose, it seemed reasonable
to choose a solid one, not one admittedly shaky, I
suppose some one will break his neck some day on
these shaking minarets. The governor here is the
" Prince, the Shadow of the Sultan," He keeps con
siderable state, and stains his horses' tails red, an ap
pearance which at first sight is ridiculous enough, but
with time loses its absurdity. He is a violent atheist
and sometimes horrifies the worthy padre here. A fine
broad river runs between Julfa and Ispahan, which is
crossed by four or five good stone bridges. One new
bridge is an especially fine structure, and would be
considered a well-built bridge in England. The river
bed is occupied by colonies of dyers, and anchored out
in the running stream are carpets being washed.
This system of washing will soon be no longer in use
in Persia. The two things that caused Persian carpets
to be esteemed were the lasting quality of their dyes
and the intricate and unique nature of their patterns.
Now cheap European dyes are carried into the re
motest villages of the country, and European patterns
are being everywhere introduced, witness the coach
and four at Kirman. The red and yellow colours of

JULFA. 373
all Persian carpets should nowadays be tested by
wetting the handkerchief and rubbing the colour hard.
The old-fashioned "runashk" red, the "zarili "^ yellow,
and the duller yellow made from pomegranate skins,
will never leave a trace on the handkerchief, while the
European dyes, though more brilliant, come off freely.
The chief exports from Ispahan are opium and tobacco,
and I noticed nothing new in its manufactories. Still,
however, I believe it is the only place where calico is
printed in colours, this being very coarsely done. I
spent fourteen very pleasant days here, repairing every
morning to the site of the Venus transit expedition,
which was marked by a large stone, and taking careful
observations to rate the chronometer, Julfa is a quiet
orderly little village of neat houses and straight streets,
with a row of trees down either side of the road.
The cheapness of everything — house- rent meat,
bread, wine, etc, is marvellous, and they are very
good, Mn and Mrs. Bruce had a large school of chubby,
rosy-cheeked boys and girls, and there were also
smaller schools of various other sects, none of whom
seemed to agree very well together, Mr. Bruce was
endeavouring to get a bell-tower on his church, and
had been fighting for months against the most deter
mined opposition, instituted on the same ground as I
have known consuls quarrel about their flag-staffs, viz. ,
that his church would then be higher than the churches
of other denominations. The Armenian girls are
pretty and rosy-cheeked while young, but rapidly be
come fat and ungainly when married. Many families
^ " The Golden,'' a yellow flower from Khorasan,

374 STARTING FOR BAGHDAD.
have a son or two employed as clerks in a bank or
merchant's house in India, who, such is the cheapness
of living, can keep the family by remitting a portion of
their pay.
Here were abnormally large sheep, also cabbages
of which it was common to see only two forming a
donkey-load, and of which I took seed to England.
We took one cabbage with us, and ate of it for ten
days, when my horse got at it in the night and spoilt
our enjoyment of it
I had been doubtful which way to turn my steps
from Ispahan. The road to Teheran was out of the
question, as being utterly hackneyed. But to go
through Kurdistan via Kirmanshahan, and thence to
Baghdad, was new, and I decided on that route, I
was glad to find Ali and Muhammad willing to come
with me, and by the help of the British agent an
influential Armenian gentleman, I got a very good
contract drawn out and signed.
These fellows, however, gave a lot of trouble at
starting, Ali Akber had picked up three or four more
of his mules, and calculating that he could load and
look after ten as well as five, he decided that I must
wait until he had got a freight for his empty mules.
This was very reasonable if he had only told me of it
but he did not, and kept promising to start day after
day, causing me to sit some time with my boxes all
packed up, and to say good-bye to all my friends three
times over.
Just at the last I bought from Mr. Bruce, for the
extremely small sum of seven Napoleons, a beautiful
little chestnut horse of indomitable pluck and great
sinew. His coat was like satin, and his legs as hard

GET A NEW GROOM. 375
as iron. Only one fault he had, a big thick neck and
large obstinate head that showed him, what he was
admitted to be, an incorrigible bolter. He had recently
thrown a worthy gentleman head first into a tobac
conist's shop, and several people told me such desperate
stories about him, that I half fought shy of buying him.
But I reflected that the journey I was about to under
take was sure to tame him, and even if he did bolt in
the open, it did not so much matter where there was
plenty of room as it did in streets full of archways.
We called this little horse [pace Mr. Bruce) the Padre.
I intended to have him led out of the town, and mount
him after a day or two, but Ghulamshah begged so
hard to be allowed to ride him that I reluctantly
assented. I owe eternal gratitude to Mr. Hoeltzer who recom
mended me a groom, Hadi by name, who was worth
his weight in gold.
It was February the 3rd when I got the caravan on
march, and about 10 p.m., after a hearty dinner at the
house of the kind missionary * and his wife, I mounted

* Mr. Bruce is among other things an accomplished Hebrew
scholar, but I could not persuade him to adopt my pronunciation of
the sacred words " Eli, Eli, lama sabacthaiii." A modern Arab
would use just the same words, but would pronounce them as fol
lows : " Illahi, Illahi, lima sabaktani." " Oh Allah ! oh Allah ! for
what cause have you abandoned me"; or, more literally, "have you
gone on before and left me behind ?" Nor would he accept my
theory that Elijah was fed in the desert by the Bedawin, and not
by ravens.
In Arabic there is only the difference of a dot between "'urban,'"
Bedawin Arabs, and "ghurban," crows or ravens, and the dots are
often missed out or misplaced. In Hebrew the words are almost
exactly alike.

376 START FOR KIRMANSHAH.
to catch up the baggage, which had gone on ahead to a
caravanserai called Robat (a generic term for walled
enclosures in this part of Persia), I was glad it was
only a short march, as the night was dark and cold,
and my dysentery troubled me very much.
The next morning Ali was nowhere to be found,
having gone back to Ispahan to get some more freight.
I found that a hundred mule-loads of tobacco were
leaving for Baghdad, and it was part of this that he
was anxious to secure, and it was with this caravan
he privately intended I should march, which meant
marching all night, and resting all day ; but of course
his attempt failed.
By the help of Hadi we loaded up, and made a
short three hours' march to Ain Shirwan, a fine, large
caravanserai of hard black stone.
We were now fairly embarked on our arduous
journey to Kirmanshahan. I had taken a tracing on a
thin half-sheet of note paper of this part of the coun
try from a map of the world in the Ispahan telegraph
office, but it naturally gave but little information.
What was of more use was a list in Persian of the halt
ing stations, and the approximate number of farsakhs
between them. But a farsakh or parasang varies in
length from three to four and a half and even five
miles in different parts of Persia, and our calculations
were often very much out. When prepared for a
short stage we found a long one, and vice-versd. Nor
could we halt when we liked, as we did in BalQchistan;
it was a caravanserai or nothing, or at most a village
hut, for we had no tent, and the cold was extreme.
We were constantly warned that " Yakh mikuni," [you
will freeze) and we very nearly did once or twice when

ALI AKBER. 377
the thermometers went below zero, and the mercury
retired altogether into the cistern.
Ali Akber got himself up like Bill Sikes. He was
a coarse, powerful fellow, with a long black curl down
each cheek. He had two or three red and white
handkerchiefs round his neck, and over many other
garments a drab coat of very thick cloth and volu
minous skirts. He carried a thick stick seven feet
long to beat the mules and defend himself from village
dogs, and this stick he generally stuck through his
waistbelt, whence it projected from under his coat
tails and as he walked wriggled in a most absurd
manner. His favourite oath to his mules was, " Oh may the
grave of your owner's father be defiled," and when I
said that he was abusing his own father's grave, he
coolly said : " Yes, but as he isn't dead yet I don't see
that it matters either to him or any one else."
The caravanserai at Ain Shirwan was well built of
huge stones, and I noticed a curious and ingenious
device for keeping the massive doors either wide open
or close shut, the only positions it was necessary they
should assume. The upright beam on which the door
swung, pivoted at top and bottom in stone sockets,
instead of being placed exactly vertical, was slanting,
the- base being brought out about a foot from the wall.
The door had thus a tendency to swirig towards the
stable. When open it was stopped by the wall, and
when shut by a stone, placed for the purpose in the
middle of the doorway. There were half a dozen
mounted soldiers, and about sunset one of them
started the " izan," or call to prayer, in a style most
unorthodox, and I should think peculiarly his own. It

378 ATTEMPT TO LEVY BLACK MAIL.
lasted nearly an hour, and contained injurious reflec
tions on the character of his comrades.
Our road hence wound along under the foot of Koh
Salah, while on our right was a broad plain studded
with numerous villages.
The country for the next five marches, i.e. to Khur-
umabad, may be described in a few words thus :
Perfectly flat plains studded with villages, and broken
up by irregular masses of mountains, or like a calm
sea full of irregular rocks and small islands, which
have to be crossed or gone round to get from one
plain to the other. The numerous villages argue of
course considerable cultivation, but at this time of the
year not a blade can be seen.
Some goats here produced an inferior kind of
" kurk," and I can see no reason' why the goats bearing
this very valuable wool could not be reared all over
Persia. The caravanserai at Chal-i-siah was built out of
blocks of a hard black stone, many of which were
7 feet long by i^ thick. Here some soldiers at
tempted to exact black mail, which, in spite of Ali
Akber, who sided with them, I not only successfully
resisted, but by ostentatiously taking down their
names, I extorted from them humble apologies. Now
here we were in the region of a British agent, and
I noticed that, while along the route from the coast to
Ispahan a man was only so much a man as his own
individual pluck and energy made him, here he was
a Feringi, and the title properly used means a great
deal. The affair resulted in my giving the men a small
present of tea, and the charvadar paying about a penny

MUHAMMAD RETURNS HOME. 379
each for his mules, which must have been a just charge
or he would have remained haggling over it till now.
Here for once the muleteer successfully deceived
me. Muhammad of the ruddy face was to return,
being too young for the severe journey we had under
taken. It was probably true, and a sick man would
have been a heavy encumbrance on the long marches
before us. But I venture to think that Ali would
have made his young brother come, had he not found
in my new groom a willing, strong-armed, good-
natured fellow, who would help him to load his mules ;
and after all, who knows Hadi did not profit by the
arrangement ?
However, we will suppose that Ali Akber's rugged
heart was touched at the idea of taking his young
brother this long journey. It is at all events a likely
version of the matter, and the kindest. At Chal-i-siah
we were in the middle of a wide shingly plain, dotted
with small shrubs, which supported small and widely-
scattered flocks of sheep. This plain appeared to be
nearly circular, and about forty miles in diameter.
Having succeeded in sending home his brother, Ali
proceeded to expatiate on various robberies and
murders that had recently taken place on this route,
and to insist upon our travelling with the large tobacco
caravan I have before mentioned ; but I had secretly
taken Hadi into my confidence, and made it worth his
while to tell me the truth. The result was that I
travelled independently, starting when I felt inclined,
and not obliged to pass through the country in pitch
darkness, and half asleep on my horse.
Next day we were crossing low broken hills, partly
covered with snow and scattered with tussocks of

38o AN OLD SHEPHERD.
grass, and we passed during the day about 3,000 sheep,
I stopped once and " interviewed " one old shepherd,
about the ruggedest specimen nature ever produced.
He spent his whole life out in the air, winter and
summer, snow and sunshine, with half a dozen very
savage but intelligent dogs, and enveloped in a perfect
husk of woollen rags. I could get no information
out of him, but he ate greedily of some bread I gave
him, and never stopped spinning yarn the whole time
I was talking to him, though I must have been the
most extraordinary spectacle he had ever seen, and
I seemed to get the impression that if he stopped
spinning he would disappear, together with sheep,
mountains, and everything.
Our stage to-day was to Deh Hak, and at 2.45
p. rri, we arrived at a large village, with a fine-looking
but ruinous caravanserai. Ghulamshah and I took
it for granted that this was Deh Hak, and dismount
ing prowled about the ruined caravanserai for a
part with a sound roof Ruins in this country never
look venerable, and there was the same difficulty in
deciding whether this place was unfinished or ruined
as we had experienced in the ruined bazaars of
Ispahan, The villagers, a truculent-looking set,
thronged round and were eagerly civil, would kill a
sheep, give us warm stables, and do other hospitable
things, Ghulamshah went off to see the warm
stabling, etc., and soon came running back rather
horrified. They had been deceived by his wearing
Bedford cord riding trowsers and huge boots, and had
spoken freely before him. Here were two lone
travellers, who must have money in their pockets, and
rode good horses. They would kill a sheep and be

THE VILLAGE OF HUSSEINI. 381
hospitable, but the next morning the horses could be
removed, and so on, I was intensely indignant, for I
had been thanking in my mind their kind hospitality,
and I took my heavy " chapar " whip, and went down
to the " warm stabling," and demanded fiercely the
" Katkhuda," or chief of the village, A row was im
minent, but I was too savage for them. A crowd got
round us with big sticks and " shispars," or sticks with
iron maces at the end. I cursed every mother's son of
them, asking them if they thought sons of dogs like
they could deceive Feringis with impunity, and after
an anxious moment the Katkhuda (or somebody
representing him) arrived, I believe the real Simon
pure had been in the crowd all the time, but just now
I heard the jangling of the mules' bells, and im
mediately afterwards All's hoarse voice, " Chi mikuni
inja Sahib, In bad jai bust," [What are you doing
' here, sir ? This is a bad place) At the same time
Hadi rammed his horse through the crowd up to us,
crying hastily, " Where are your horses ? " The
crowd fell back, and we mounted our horses. The
village was not Deh Hak at all, but Husseini, and I
warn any future traveller against going to Husseini
with any appearance of being solitary and unpro
tected. Our road from here was a steady ascent ; to our right
close by hills about 500 feet, and on our left about
twenty miles distant a snowy range 2,000 feet high.
We went on getting higher and higher, until at 4 p.m,
we entered the cultivation and suburbs of Deh Hak,
a village appropriately named as far as we were
concerned, for it meant " the real village," and we had
had a narrow escape of the false one Husseini, We

382 UNGRATEFUL OPTHALMIA PATIENTS.
passed a very extensive graveyard — one always enters
a Persian village through a graveyard — and noticed all
the headstones were slabs of fine slate. As we entered
Deh Hak itself, the main street was simply the out
crop of a thick vertical stratum of slate. All the
doors of the mudwalled gardens were solid blocks of
slate. One I measured was nine feet high, seven feet
broad, and about ten inches thick ; yet it was so
admirably balanced that one man alone could open
and shut it The cold was intense, the village snowed
up, and we could arouse no inhabitant, so had to wait
about in the cold dark evening till the mules came up,
and Ali inducted us into a miserable stable, where we
spent the night. We rose early, being unable to sleep
for the cold, and found ourselves in a village of about
I, ooo houses, with a shahzada or descendant of the
Shah for a governor, called Rahim Khan. A lot of
people crowded round wanting medicine, mostly for
ophthalmia. I had treated one man, and was mixing
a stronger solution of nitrate of silver for a second,
when I overheard the first cursing " those d — d un
believers who had all the good medicines," and so I
sent the whole lot to the right about. The maximum
and minimum thermometers here became useless for
showing the temperature at night, as the quicksilver.
descended altogether into the bulb. But at 8 a.m. this
morning the dry bulb marked 2° Fahrenheit* Taking
observations of the stars at night, when the ther
mometers actually will not mark, is terrible work ; and
had not Ghulamshah been always ready to prepare the

* The verification of my thermometers at Kew Observatory will be
found in the meteorological appendix.

TERRIBLE COLD. 383
artificial, sextant, etc., I should simply have omitted
them. But he never failed, and would get the instru
ments ready, arid if the sky was cloudy would sit out
and watch, and call me when there was a chance of a
sight. He knew all the chief stars, and I can only
wish the traveller an assistant such as he was.
Next day was an eight hours' bitterly cold ride to
Durr, The road led over small level plains, frequently
intersected by low ridges of vertical strata of slate.
About half way we passed a deserted caravanserai,
the walls of which were riddled with bullet holes, I
have often seen a party of travellers while away the
time in a caravanserai by practising at a mark, and
believe this to be the case here, though the three or
four men living here said they had been plundered,
and that the bullets had been fired at their families.
The bullets were all directed at some three or four
definite centres, and there was no evidence of any
random firing.
At Durr we had much the same cold as the previous
morning. Therm, 2° at 8 a.m., 15° at 9 a.m., and
35° in the sun. Though we were four men, six
mules, and two horses in a hermetically closed up
small stable, everything liquid overnight was solid ice
in the morning. On our next march to Kokah the
ground was covered with snow frozen hard. The
tracks too had been spoilt by a caravan of forty
donkeys, who had made a narrow path about a foot
deep, against the icy edges of which our mules and
horses cut their legs. To walk out of the track was
even more difficult, as the animals continually plunged
into deep snowdrifts. There is great danger in a
terrified horse plunging wildly about out of his depth

384 THE MAGPIE'S PARLIAMENT.
in snow, and it was much heightened by the kriow
ledge that the ground was full of kahns or deep pits
now snowed over.
We were now entering the fertile plain of Julfugan,
of which we had heard much. We met a caravan of
fifty camels and about fifty dorikeys carrying wheat
from there to Ispahan.
Kokah is a large village of 1,000 houses ruled by
Yahia Khan, a shahzada. We put up here in a fine
warm stable ; and so entirely do the people shut them
selves up in the winter, that the two men who brought
us fodder and firewood were the only inhabitants we
saw, I must have seen over a thousand magpies here.
They were in noisy flocks on the roof of every other
house. They seemed determined to keep the place
alive, and all day held an endless series of animated
public meetings, now on the roof of this house, now
on that, and it did not require much imagination to
fancy that they were passing resolutions of indignation
at the slothful conduct of the inhabitants in persis
tently remaining indoors. They were bright cheery
fellows, and by far the most amusing things on this
part of the journey. It snowed heavily all night, and
I was awakened, or rather aroused, for I hardly ever
slept in the proper sense of the word, by the solemn
booming of large bells, and looking out I counted in
the blinding snow more than a hundred huge camels
stalking past in the darkness, I called out several
times, but could get no reply, I think the only man
awake must have been at the head of the caravan,
which had passed before I got up.
There was something grand in the resistless way
these great brutes stalked doggedly on through dark-

MISERABLE MARCH TO KHOMAIN. 385
ness, blinding snow, and cold, with unchanging swing
of leg, and each carrying his 350 lbs, of burden.
The next march, to Khomain, was one which none
of those who made it will ever forget, and I did in a
fit of passion what I hope is the cruellest thing I have
ever done.
To a small caravan like ours there was considerable
danger from robbers in the next march, and that it
was not exaggerated was evident, for Ali, whose one
idea was to get on, here wished to halt until another
caravan came up, in company with which we might
travel in safety.
But the morning was so exceptionally fine, therm.
55° at 9 a,m,, that I persuaded him to start
We passed through about five miles of cultivation,
nearly every field containing an oblong well-built
pigeon house for collecting pigeon's dung. The water
here was plentiful, and on the surface, and we crossed
a rapid stream running north-east, the bed of which
was one hundred and fifty feet broad, by five deep,
and the stream twenty feet by three. The bridge
was a good brick and stone structure of five arches,
and evidently built to resist great floods.
At II a.m, we commenced a laborious ascent up
the Hassan Falak mountain, and an icy west wind
blew into our faces. Then it began to snow harder
and harder. At 2 p.m, it was hail driving in our faces,
and the pleasant morning turned to freezing. The
cold became fearfully intense. We were each wearing
heavy riding boots over two pairs of English woollen
socks, and one pair of Persian socks as thick as a
double blanket, but it was impossible to remain on
horseback, and we had to walk a bit and ride a bit.
c c

386 GET A FRIGHT.
Thus we struggled on against the driving hail, with
our heads down, and in a grim silence until the even
ing began to draw in, Ali was evidently uneasy
about the track, which was simply a blank waste of
snow sprinkled with boulders of rock, Ghulamshah
was riding the Padre, not a whit tamed by his journey,
but as ready to break away as ever. He rode or
walked close behind me, and when I mounted I
generally looked round to see that he was safe up, for
the Padre sometimes gave him some trouble, encum
bered as he was in heavy clothing.
On one memorable occasion towards evening I
mounted as usual, but on turning round and looking
back I could see nothing of Ghulamshah. I shouted
into the storm, but no reply. With an undefined
dread I rode back to the top of the nearest hill. Here
my worst fears were realized. There, already far
distant, and but just visible through the sleet, was the
boy galloping at frightful speed back to Kokah.
I put spurs to the old white horse, and in a kind of
despair galloped after him, crossing at full speed many
dangerous places, which on coming I had led my
horse over.
Nothing could exceed the misery of that ride. At
every corner, and at every dangerous place, I expected
to find this faithful fellow either dead or maimed. I
thought of all sorts of things — all he had done for me ;
what I should do if he were dead, what if a leg broken ;
whether the doctor would come from Shiraz, and how
soon he could arrive ; what I should say to his father
and mother, against whose wish I had brought him
with me. Thought after thought of this crowded into
my mind, and I felt wretched. After about an hour's

REACTION. 387
riding the old horse began to show signs of exhaustion,
and I felt that I must husband his strength or I should
have to camp where I was, and probably get frozen
to death.
Soon after this, what was my intense relief on
mounting a slight hill to see the boy quietly trotting
towards me,
" Thank God," I cried out " Are you all right
butcha ? How did you stop him ? Didn't you fall
off?" " No," he answered simply. " He did not bolt with
me ; I rode back after that rug you lent me, and which
I dropped somewhere on the road."
The reaction of feeling made me almost beside my
self " Good heavens," I said, " Why couldn't you have
said so ? Here I've ridden all this way back after you,
dreading at each turn to find you dead or maimed ; "
and I added, " now you've gone back so far, you may
go back until you do find it."
He said : " Very well, sir," and turned his horse's
head and rode off.
He had hardly been out of sight a minute, when I
realized what a hard thing I had done. It was getting
dark ; the icy wind and driving sleet were unabated ;
there was little or no track over the mountain ; and
the place was infested by robbers, who would probably
note his leaving Kokah alone ; also he had already
ridden about 38 miles.
I turned round and rode gloomily back, having to
go through the tedious operation of mounting and
dismounting every two or three hundred yards, and
picking out the way with difficulty. After an hour or

388 HADI TURNS OUT A TRUMP.
so of this wearisome travelling, my horse suddenly
pricked up his ears and gave a low whinny. I could
see no one, but not knowing whether it was friend or
foe I drew him away from the road, held his nose,
and anxiously waited, I revolved in my mind dozens
of stratagems in case of robbers coming, — I was un
armed, — but fortunately had not long to wait. In
the distance I heard the tinkle of a bell, which re
assured me, for I reflected that a dishonest man would
hardly go about with bells on his horse. Soon, to my
inexpressible relief, I found it was Hadi, who after
seeing the baggage safe to Khomain, had become
anxious about us, and set off to see what delayed us.
Not only had he come back, but with extraordinary
forethought he brought with him a bottle of raki,
six bottles of which I had brought from Ispahan, and
a long pull at which revived me immensely, I told
him what I had dorie to Ghulamshah, and he proposed
to go after him, I offered him my horse, which though
tired was better than the pony, and he mounted and
disappeared into the darkness,
I with some difficulty got myself on the back of
the pony, which was loaded with saddle-bags contain
ing various things. These same saddle-bags were
destined to form part of my punishment for my fit of
passion, and as will be seen formed no slight addi
tion to the miseries of this miserable day.
I had not ridden far before my feet as usual got
frozen, and it was imperative to get off and walk.
But the detestable animal would not he led. In the
most exasperating manner he backed and backed with
his stupid head straight out and his tall between his
legs. Then I tried to drive hini before me, and he

DIFFICULTIES AS A CHARVADAR. 389
kicked me and very nearly broke away. Then his
load got awry — I tried to put it right, but it was too
heavy. The fall was inevitable, and in another hun
dred yards down came everything in the snow, I had
to take out every single thing seriatim, put the saddle
bags on his back, and then put back each article one
after another. There were some twenty things — a
bag of blacksmiths' tools, bags of barley, bags of flour,
spare bits of bridles and bells, All's " store clothes,"
etc., etc.
I take credit to myself for considerable patience
and determination when I say that three separate times
I went through this operation without omitting a single
detail. The fourth time they fell off, I gave them
a kick, got on the pony's bare back, and abandoned
them in the snow.
It is a long lane that has no turning, and looming
ahead I was pleased to recognise the mountain for
which we had been heading when. I turned back after
Ghulamshah, I could make out that I was descend
ing irito a plain, for the rocky ground stopped, and
we were evidently near cultivation, for I as nearly
as possible rode into a kahn. This gave me great
uneasiness, for when all is snow it is impossible to
distinguish these deep holes from firm ground, I was
wandering about trying everywhere for some vestige
of a track, when the pony neighed, and to my joy and
surprise I heard Ghulamshah talking to Hadi con
siderably to my left and ahead of me. If it had not
been for the pony they would probably have passed
me.*
* Even camels have the sense of hearing in the dark very acutely
developed. I have often seen my camels stop feeding and listen

390 NARROW ESCAPE.
The invaluable Hadi had picked up the saddle-bags
which had been so troublesome to me, and all three
united we went on happily once more. But our
troubles were not yet at an end. It appears that Hadi
had not gone all the way to Khomain, and this piece of
the road was new to him as to us. At last we struck
a rapid swirling stream, and went up its bank expecting
to find a bridge. We did find a bridge, a steep massive
masonry structure with no parapet I was riding fore
most when suddenly the bridge stopped abruptly ; it
had been carried away by the stream, I was so close
and so horrified that I pulled the horse violently on
his haunches. He backed to the side where there was
no parapet, and when close there made a bad slip on
the icy stones. By some instinctive presence of mind
I sprang off, and he recovered himself just on the edge.
It would have have been a fitting finish to this day's
work to have fallen into an icy cold stream, even if it
had not been deep enough to drown us.
Our case now seemed rather hopeless. I made a
solemn vow never to travel at night again, and we
were discussing the possibility of walking about till
morning, when we heard a dog bark on our side of the
river. Hadi immediately set off in the direction in
dicated, with instructions to offer even loo krans to a
man to come and show us the way over this accursed
river. He returned after, to us, a weary time, bringing nd
guide but instructions for the route. He said loo
attentively, when even by putting the ear to the ground I could hear
nothing, Baluchis have a peculiar word " Bramshi," When they
see the camels stop feeding, they say, " Bramshi akait : " " bramshi "
being, a sound inaudible to them but audible to the camels.

WE REACH KHOMAIN. 391
krans would not induce a man to stir out in such a
night, but that we were close to the stables. A small
temporary bridge of logs had been made just under
the broken one, and there it was, within twenty yards
of where we were standing. We crossed with some
difficulty, and soon afterwards found the caravan.
Never in my life have I been so thankful for a
warm stable (though crowded with mules) and a fire.
Ghulamshah made some soup, and we turned in for
the best-earned sleep we had had for some days. It
was not the distance that told so much as the intense,
pitiless cold and the anxiety — anxiety about Ghulam
shah, about the robbers, about the road, and about
falling into kahns.

CHAPTER XVIL
The charvadar and his best clothes. — We -halt. — Deputations from
the natives. — Discovery of America. — The house on fire. —
Bakhtiaris. — Haft Lang and Chahar Lang.-^March to Khurum-
abad. — Terrible snow pass. — A real hardship. — Icy cold west
wind always dead in our teeth, — No caravanserai, — The Kursi.
— Difficulties in engaging house room. — The village system. —
Persians essentially nomads. — " Please God, we shall capture
Baghdad this time." — March to Imaret — Delightful village. —
Our hard times past. — The lake. — The " Ab bazi " and the fish
shooter. — A new kind of wall, — Capons. — A new epoch in the
journey, — Mysterious horsemen. — We strike the telegraph line.
— Dowletabad,
NEXT morning Ali roundly declared that his
bundle of best clothes was missing from the
saddle-bags. He got out those, to me, hateful things,
and placed them before him. Then he got a bundle and
accompanied his haralngue by a practical demonstration,
at each period seizing the bundle and packing it firmly
into a safe corner of the saddle-bags. He thus gave
me to understand that there was not the least doubt
that he was speaking the truth, as he could describe in
detail the way in which the bundle was stowed.
I was induced to give a man a kran to go and look
for this bundle ; but he never found it, or, if he did,
he wisely kept it — and the kran.
The Persians are judicious in such matters.
By reason of this delay, the tired condition of the
horses, the reported fact that the next stage was a very

DEPUTATIONS FROM THE NATIVES. 393
long one ; as moreover the villagers were fairly intelli
gent, and it was possible to secure a private room for
myself, I decided on making here a " lang " or halt of
one day.
Accordingly Hadi arranged for my exclusive posses
sion of the room over the stables where we had spent
the night, made a small fire in it, and I took possession.
Ghulamshah set to work washing our flannel shirts,
and I to writing up the road-book, calculating bearings,
etc. Our room was of good size, of sundried brick and a
mud floor, while the roof, as usual in Persian houses,
was constructed of beams close together, covered with
strong mats, over which came a layer of mud a foot in
thickness. Two iron door-bolts, of which the pro
prietor, a carpenter named Joseph, was very proud,
were evidently of Russian manufacture. But the most
noticeable feature of the room was that walls and roof
were studded thickly with wooden pegs about five
inches long. These I found were for drying bunches
of grapes, which thus prepared retained the flavour of
fresh grapes throughout the year. Ina small side-room
were stored about tweuty wooderi casks, just the shape
of, but smaller than, London milk-cans. These con
tained swarms of bees hibernating, and this was the
first instance of bee-culture I had seen in Persia,
Numerous visitors were announced, but after receiv
ing very courteously three or four of very mixed rank,
and finding many more waiting, I saw the thing must
be done by method ; and appointing Hadi master of
ceremonies, instructed him to sort the people out
and introduce them in batches.
First came the Akhoorids, or learned men of the

394 DISCOVERY OF AMERICA.
village. They were five intelligent, well-mannered old
men, and gave me much information. The American
nation will be interested to learn that the discovery of
America was just at this time commencing to excite
the attention of these worthies. They puzzled me at
first by asking questions about some " yeng-i-dunea,"
and it was not until after some cross-questioning I found
it to be a corruption of Yeni Dunea, or new world.
The people here are fair-haired and light-bearded,
and they speak with the tips of their tongues, and can
not pronounce any gutturals except the p (ain), I
attach a note of a few words which I think peculiar to
this district, which is just on the border of the Bakh-
tiari country, which commenced one farsakh to the west.
The list is not long enough to trouble the unphilo-
logical reader, and the terms belong peculiarly to this
place, Ja'ada : a road.
Tahnaf : rope for tying mule-loads,
Wasut : corruption of biust (Baluchi, Busht), stand still,
Tigh : beam,
Sirr : stony, gravelly ground.
Su : the Turkoman word for water, here meant the earthenware
vessel containing it
Wakhin : make haste.
The river we had crossed the previous night and
that of Kokah have their origin in the Ashnar Kur
( ? Koh), and join together and go to the holy city of
Kum, The huge snow mountain we saw in the
distance, bearing 131 (south-east), was Elwind. The
chief cultivation was wheat, holur (not known), lentils,
marsh ( ? galium), cotton, A little opium was grown,
it having been introduced about twenty-seven years
ago by planters from Ispahan, They had water-mills

BAKHTIARIS. 395
to grind their corn, but uo other mechariical contriv
ances. Snow here lay three months on the ground ;
but in three more stages we should get into the
" garmsil " (garm sir) or warm region around Dowlet
abad, The conversation was interrupted by a very ener
getic deputation from downstairs, who discovered that
our fire was burning their roof; so we contented
ourselves with a small blaze in a baked earthenware
jar. We gave our friends coffee and kalians, which
purely Persian form of entertainment confirmed their
suspicions that I was an enterprising agriculturist of
Ispahan, anxious to spread the cultivation of opium,
and we . then received another deputation — this time
of Bakhtiaris,
These were wild-looking, freespoken fellows, more
like Baluchis or Affghans than courteous, cunning
Persians, but I could not draw them out about any of
their grand forays, of which the Persians complained
so much. They had, at all events, adopted a quiet
agricultural life, and were living side by side with the
Persians, a dangerous enemy for the latter to nurse in
their midst, I should fancy, in case of their friends
over the border planning a raid.
They were very proud of belonging to the " Haft
Lang," and explained that their race had in olden
times split into two factions, one party of seven
brothers taking the country of the Haft Lang, or seven
streams, the other of four brothers, that of the Chahar
Lang or four streams. We had other deputations, but
uninteresting. The houses at Khomain are of the
Basreh pattern, square with a courtyard in the centre ;
the women are short, ugly, and very fat-legged.

,396

MARCH TO KHURUMABAD.

It was annoying to find that the day we had chosen
to halt and remain indoors was comparatively fine and
warm. To-day the thermometers stand as follows : —

wet.

DRY.

max, in sun.

BAR.

9 a.m.

36

40

"

40

— •

23-8
Noon
38
43
69
I p.m.
40
45
• 83
3
36
42
4 ,.
36
40
23-8
4-5° »
36
39
23-81
6
3S'5
37-8
23-84
7
35
36
23-85
8
35
36
23-85
I got capital observations, both of sun for longi
tude, and Polaris for latitude.
We left next morning for Khurumabad, and perhaps
I may be allowed, at the commencement of this
eventful march, to extract a few notes verbatim from
my riote-book : — 8'4i 40 , 68 9 40
w 7-17 i4's Ch, 12 56 o
Feb. nth, 8 a.m., d 18 w frozen. Bar. 2378
b C. W., very cold.
8.30 a.m., left Khomain.*
course 270 (west), through fine ruined bazaar built by Haji Khan
fifty years ago, after two or three forays by the Bakhtiaris, eventually
destroyed about fifteen years ago. This everlasting west wind, cold
as ice, makes fearfully bitter travelling, while, if it came from the
east, weather would be delightful. 9 a.m. course 300, aiming for
* At 8 hrs. 41 min. 40 sec. p.m. by the watch, the altitude of
Polaris was 68° 9' 40". In the moming the watch showed 7 hrs.
17 min. 14-5 sec. as compared with chronometer 12 hrs. 56 min.
o sec. ; at 8 a.m. dry bulb thermometer was 18, the wet frozen, sky
blue, rather cloudy, wind from west very strong and very cold.
TERRIBLE SNOW PASS.

397

north face of Elwind mountain, 9.20 a.m., back bearing to

Khomain, 115.

Elwind 

119

Mushroom-shaped hill ,

200

Peak of huge hill /K , . .

80

* z Huge hill 

• 5° 38'

Z Mushroom hill ....

6° 20'

Thermometer exposed to wind

¦ 25°

At 3,15 we entered a snow pass. On either side
were lofty perpendicular hills covered with snow, which
was drifted off like spray into our faces by an icy cold
hurricane of wind. The lofty snow mountain Elwind
towered over us on our left, and as we entered the
pass, about a mile wide, the snow got deeper and
deeper, the icy wind cut us to the bone, and the blasts
of snow dust filled every interstice in our clothing. It
was like wading up a broad river of snow of uncertain
depth, and progress would have been impossible but
for the recent passage of two or three very large
caravans. These, however, had abandoned their loads,
and we passed half buried in the snow heap after heap
of bales and boxes which they would return and
recover when the weather moderated. I being best
mounted (on the Padre) went first, and narrowly
escaped some bad falls from the plunging little horse,
who over and over again found himself over his head
in snow crossing some nullah or another, and made
the most frantic efforts to get on to terra firma. I
remarked that he never wanted to turn back, but the
deeper he got the more tremendous efforts he would
make to get through. The mules constantly fell, as,

* .Z = angle taken by pocket sextant for purpose of obtaining
approximate height.

398 NO CARAVANSERAI
owing to the nature of the track, they naturally would.
Our endeavour was to follow the almost entirely
obliterated track of the preceding caravans. On this
track, which, when visible, was about a foot wide and
three feet deep, the snow had been trodden hard ; but
it was like walking on the top of a wall, and when a
mule put a foot a little on one side he went down into
soft snow from eight to fifteen feet deep. It was an
exhausting march, and it was not till 5,30 p.m, that we
reached Khurumabad, a small and dirty village of
about forty houses. Here there was no caravanserai,
but the inhabitants came out to meet us, begging us to
hire their houses, and assuring us of warm stabling,
I referred them to Hadi, and was soon installed in a
warm but dirty house, vacated for the time by the
family. Here was the commencement of a real hardship,
perhaps the only real one we suffered : it was lice.
The chief feature of the houses here was the " Kursi,"
which needs a full explanation as connected with those
loathsome parasites. In the centre of the chief room
a hole is dug three feet in depth and two in diameter.
This is clayed round and a fire of wooden logs kept
constantly smouldering in it Over it is a wooden
framework three feet high and six or seven feet square.
On this are piled all the rugs, carpets, and clothes,
rags, etc., that the family can muster, and round it they
squat all day long with the overlapping edges of the
carpets drawn over their knees and arms. When they
sleep, they simply turn round and lie down where they
were sitting, getting as much of the rugs over them
as possible. Such is their winter life, and their con
versation is mostly squabbling as to who shall get up

DIFFICULTIES IN ENGAGING HOUSE-ROOM. 399
to do such trifling domestic work as feeding the mules,
getting eggs, etc.
It is as difficult for one who has not endured the
misery of these kursis to imagine it, as for one who
has endured it to describe them fairly and impartially
and without breaking into open vituperation.
The family consists, perhaps, of twelve people, who
have inherited the rags they wear without change year
after year. These all crowd into the one small room
where the kursi is, and there they eat, drink, and sleep
under a mass of filthy blankets so swarming with
vermin that once, when Ghulamshah showed me the
pot in which he had boiled our two shirts after one
night under a kursi, I could easily have believed he
had been cooking some small white grain.
We had another annoyance on entering this part of
the country where there were no caravanserais and we
had to hire people's houses. The real owner of the
house could never be found. As a rule some wretched
child was produced, generally diseased, and always
repulsive. It was invariably an orphan, whose sole
possession in the world was the house you had occu
pied, and you were given to understand that whatever
extortionate charge you paid was simply banked to
your account in heaven. If the establishment could
not raise a sufficiently wretched child, you had to
succumb to a lone female with a pathetic cry of " Mard
na daram " (/ have no man — to speak for me),
Khurumabad is the property of Haji Ahmed Husni,
of Sultanabad, a considerable town near here. Haji
Ahmed owns about a hundred and fifty villages, and a
slight sketch of the system of village farming may be
appropriate here.

400 THE VILLAGE SYSTEM.
Villages are created and abandoned as follows. A
wealthy Persian commences by building in some place
where there is good soil and plenty of water a
" Robat," or large walled enclosure, with cells all
round and a pair of large folding doors. He builds
very slowly, employing, perhaps, only three or four
men at a time for a few months in the year. As soon
as the outer wall, doors, and a few cells are finished,
he establishes there a family, and charges no taxes.
Other families are attracted, and as the village grows
he appoints a Katkhuda, or head man, and gradually
commences taxation. If he is a wise man, or, what is
more important, if he is accurately informed as to the
resources of the village, he waits until they have got a
"strong haunt" before taxing much, I say, if he is
accurately informed, for it is manifest that over-taxa
tion means cutting his own throat, A rival speculator
will at once commence a robat near the village and
attract away the inhabitants. It is not from tyranny
that over-taxation occurs ; it is from want of system
and inaccurate information, A village properly man
aged soon becomes large enough to emancipate itself
from the protection of the robat, which then falls into
decay, I venture to make another statement, founded on
long personal knowledge and intimate acquaintance
with the people. The Persians are essentially nomads.
Their houses are simply storehouses, and they live in
the open air. Rich Persians, such as the Wakil-al-
Mulk, governor of Kirman, will sit in the depth of
winter with every window wide open, and practically
in the open air. Their furniture consists simply of
carpets, mattresses, pillows, and cooking pots, all

PERSIANS ESSENTIALLY NOMADS. 401
equally adapted for the march, the open air, a cottage,
or a palace. They have no idea of home,* and hence,
have the remedy against over-taxation in their own
hands, I have several times seen whole villages
deserted, and villages just being deserted ; and had I
not inquired carefully into the matter, I should have
come home with graphic descriptions of grinding
oppression, a long-suffering peasantry driven from
their hearths, their poor remnant of property strapped
on the back of the remaining cow, the mother with
toddling babe, etc., etc. On inquiry, I invariably
found that the taxes demanded were very light, — that
they were going to virgin soil somewhere close by
where was water, no taxes for a time, and a robat
built by some opposition village owner to shelter them
and their cattle at nights. When a Persian villager
has worked three months in a year, he can generally
sit the remainder in the sun or shade spinning and
smoking, while his harem weave carpets. This, how
ever, is a long digression, and I would go back to
Khurumabad. After dinner I joined the extremely dirty family
circle in the next room to mine, and ex'cited discussion.
It was an odd sight, so many blank round faces with
chins resting on the kursi edge and their bodies
hunched up as near to the side as possible.
We had, for a wonder, a topic of conversation.
This day a sultan, or lieutenant, had passed through
on his way to assist in the capture of Baghdad, The
reader probably knows that Baghdad contains the
Persians' most revered shrine, and it is always a sore

* They have a strong love for their country.

D D

402 "THIS TIME, WE SHALL GET BAGHDAD!"
point with them that it should be in the hands of those
accursed Sunnis, the Turks, Now, while Russia was
engaging Turkey on the north, was the time to slip
across the frontier and capture the much-coveted
shrine. Such was the crafty scheme, and I, in my
involuntary character of an Armenian from Ispahan,
gained great popularity (which did not, however,
reduce the bill) by a fervent " Inshallah In daf Bagh
dad migirim," [Please God, this time we shall get
Baghdad), which produced a chorus of " Irishallah "
all round. The reader will hear more of this army
further on. The soldiers had left their mark on the
place, a man and a boy, in some quarrel about pay
ment, having been severely cut about the head and
arm by the short broadsword the Persian soldier wears
as a side arm.
No trees would grow here, there being only about
two feet of soil over a stratum of gravel. They all
died after reaching this, which they did in about two
years. The cold this year had been slight, as in other
years caravans often were detained ten or fifteen days.
There were three hammams here, and I found all
these villages had them, and that their number formed
a good guide to the number and importance of the
population. On the 1 2th February we left Khurumabad much
disgusted with the harpies there, and in the teeth
of the everlasting icy west wind before mentioned.
We followed up a broad snow-bound valley. To our
right snowy hills six hundred feet high, and to our
left snowy hills twelve hundred feet high, the valley
being about a mile wide, gradually decreasing in
width.

IMARET. 403
We passed a caravan of dates and fifteen bales of
Manchester goods from Baghdad, and, after a short
four hours' march, we reached the delightful village of
Imaret Here the snow was only a foot deep, the sun
came out, the west wind moderated ; there were trees,
running brooks innumerable, and two or three decent-
looking two-storeyed houses, with walled gardens, full,
as usual, of our cheery friends the magpies.
Here we got capital quarters with the Katkhuda, a
mild-mannered, unassuming young fellow, who was full
of the Shah's recent passage through here on his way
to Kerbela, and who proposed to treat me as a second
Shah, and, as I afterwards found, that I should pay like
one.* Imaret will always bear our most grateful remem
brances. Situated in the throat of the pass, at an
altitude of 6,440 feet, it is the pleasant firiish of exces
sive cold, arid the commencement of warm sunny
weather, the line between barren, shingly plains and
fertile valleys, between ignorant boors and intelligent
people. '
Our affable young Katkhuda, with a smile some
what of the " Heathen Chinee " order, led us into a
nice, clean, white-plastered upper room, with luxurious
carpets and glazed windows, looking over a mud
walled garden on one side, and a courtyard on the
other. He made us hot sweet tea in a Russian
samovar, and served it in Russian glasses like custard
glasses. He then courteously withdrew, promising to return
in half an hour, and show us round the village. I
* N.B.— I did not.

404 THE LAKE.
had a welcome change of kit, and was ready for him
when he returned, and we sallied out together. The
first thing to be seen was the " daria," or sea, a name
given to a deep, rocky margined pool, 300 yards long
by 60 broad. It was a most picturesque pool, full
of bright green water-weeds and cresses. There were
numerous springs bubbling up all over its surface, and
also pouring into it from a rocky granitic hill on one
side. At one end, built right over the water, was
a masjid, and at the other the water escaped by a
natural waterfall, and supplied the irrigation of the
whole district, for it was some feet above the level of
the surrounding land. Waiting for us on the borders
of this beautiful pool was an " Ab bazi," or " player in
the water," who had exhibited his feats before the
Shah, and who, without more ado, stripped off his
clothes and plunged in. He performed the ordinary
acts of swimming pn his chest, on his back, etc., and
was regarded as a wonder, being the only man they
knew who could swim; and seeing that the temperature
was dry bulb 41°, wet 37°, I thought the man deserved
something for his pluck. But the refreshing green
ness of the water-reeds seemed incompatible with the
temperature and I found by experiment that of the
water was 61° Fahr, !
At the sluice or waterfall end was another per
former anxious to display, and who had also exhibited
before the Shah, He was armed with a long old
" Tower " musket and, stationing himself over a deep
part of the pool, he shot at the fish which came near
the surface. They were so numerous that at each dis
charge he killed two or three. The stunned fish were
always carried down the waterfall, and the perform-

A NEW KIND OF WALL. 405
ance was as follows : The " shikarri " would poise
himself, with gun at the " present," for as much as ten
minutes, until three or four fish came near the sur
face close together. Then he would fire, and watch
anxiously for the result. If one turned belly upwards,
down went his gun, off went his boots and stockings,
and helter-skelter down the waterfall went he to secure
his prize,
I made a careful sketch of the fish, which, owing
probably to some fault in my drawing, could not be
identified. Our youthful Katkhuda related that this pool was
in olden time inhabited by " Asp-abi'' or water-horses,
but I could form no conjecture as to what they
were. It was more easy to understand the existence
of " Sag-abi " or water-dogs, which, being said to live
upon fish, and make burrows under the roots of willow-
trees by the water side, I put down as otters.
We strolled about over " the farm," and saw many
acres of young wheat, A curious thing was the tops
of the walls round the gardens. At Maibut we had
seen the walls so thin at the top that any attempt to
get over them must have resulted in a breakage and
consequent detection. Here a different device was
used. Across the top of the wall, which was of stone,
was placed a -row of sticks close together, and project
ing about a foot on either side. They were kept in
their places by a line of clay down the centre. No one
could get over this wall without disturbing the sticks,
and the device was effectual; for when I asked if people
ever did get over, the reply was, " No, they would at
once be discovered,"
There were many acres of young wheat, opium was

4o6 A NEW EPOCH IN THE JOURNEY.
grown, runask* (madder), the red dye, and cotton
and grapes. Many carpets were woven here, some of
the women and children of every family being experts.
They bring indigo from Shuster (probably from India,
vid the Karun river), and make a yellow dye from vine
leaves. There was one family who could weave a
carpet two yards by one in from fifteen to twenty
days, but the general time was two months.
The Armenians had a small trade in fox-skins,
which they bought from the villagers at two and a half
krans each.
There were rumours of two Europeans travelling
about the country, buying up old carpets of antique
pattern, and having new ones woven like them, and
the Katkhuda was very anxious that they should
come his way.
We had tea in Russian teacups, bread and cream,
and capital fowls, which I found were caponised by the
Katkhuda, who professed to have originally discovered
the operation, and was the only man I met who knew
ofit We left next morning for Hissar, and, as I have
said before, from here dates our third epoch of travel.
The first from the coast, with BalQchis, camels and
tents, across the landstrip of Mekran, the hundred-
mile belt of rocky crags and steep watercourses and
wild scenery of Baluchistan, the gradually rising plains
to the huge Jamal Bariz range, and arrival on the high
plateau of Persia. The second, with Persians, horses
and mules, across the barren shingly plains and snow-

* I found this word always pronounced " Runask," but Johnstone
gives it "runas."

WE STRIKE THE TELEGRAPH LINE. 407
covered mountains of Persia proper. And now
through fertile valleys, studded with small towns and
villages with semi-civilized inhabitants. We passed
down a valley about five miles broad, all good wheat-
bearing soil, though now a quagmire of mud and half-
thawed snow, and heavy travelling for the cattle.
As evening drew on, a mysterious horseman ap
peared stationary on a hill to our right Soon after
another was observed, then another. They watched
us carefully, and seemed to be estimating our forces
with a view to plunder, but I had had so many scares
of robbers that we pkssed on unconcerned, though Ali
explained that it was all very well for me to feel
secure when I was not the owner of the mules, the
only part of the caravan which he regarded as of any
value. To-night was the end of our monster cabbage,
and the charvadar bought forty eggs for half a kran
(fivepence), and, I believe, finished them all at a sit
ting. The next day's march was to Parri, over a blank
plain of snow and mud, studded with snowed-up
villages, and flanked by waste snowy hills, without a
shrub or blade of grass. On this march we struck, to
my profound astonishment, a telegraph line. I saw it
in the far distance, the poles being little black dots,
half buried in the snow, but at such regular intervals,
that, though the charvadar positively denied it, I could
not be mistaken.
It was the Persian Government line between Tehe
ran and Baghdad, built by English engineers but
worked by Persians.
Following this, and passing numerous villages and
hourly increasing signs of population, we arrived at

4o8 DOWLETABAD.
the fine town of Dowletabad, which must be given
a chapter to itself, not only from its being at the
cross-roads from Hamadan to Shuster and Teheran
to Baghdad, but also for the incidents that occurred
there.

CHAPTER XVIII.
Dowletabad,
Dowletabad. — " Sweep your steps, sir ?" — Shuster and Dizful. —
Attempted expedition there. — Difficulties. — Hadi and the cork
screw. — The charvadar 'and the popguns. — The post from
Teheran. — The most mendacious man in the country. — The
Telegraph office. — Muhammad of the ruddy face once more turns
up. — The Shahzada arrives. — Grand reception, illuminations
and band. — Load up for Kirmanshahan. — Parrispar. — A useful
bridge. — Grinding oppression. — Pilgrims from Karbala. —
Summer weather at last. — Mistaken for the post.' — -A courteous
Frenchman (?) in disguise. — "How shall I go outside? Am I
not a Darwish ? " — A rainy march to Sahna. — Commencement
of Kurdistan. — More soldiers going to capture Baghdad. — The
little boy whose father was sick. — Bisitun. — Shah Abbas and his
999 caravanserais. — Musuks. — Dogs. — The Kurdi women, —
We arrive at Kirmanshahan.
DOWLETABAD is a large and pleasant civilized
town. It coritairis a public square planted with
trees, a telegraph office, and a well-built bazaar.
It is situated in a fertile valley, witla a high hill
about three miles to the south-east Water is plenti
ful about six feet below the surface. The people used
no windlass, but let themselves down into the wells,
and it was odd to see in the middle of streets heads of
men engaged in drawing water bobbing up and down
on a level with the ground. The water was deep
enough down to remain unfrozen throughout the winter.
Gangs of boys paraded the streets with wooden shovels
and baskets to dig away the snow from doorways and

410 VERMIN!
courtyards. Jews brought huge ancient coins for sale,
and were much disappointed at our indifference. I
had half lost my sight from snow-blindness, and four
days before would have given much for a pair of dark
spectacles, or even for some means of making my old
ones (which had been trodden on) serviceable, and
here when the snow was finished I found them plenti
ful in the bazaar at one kran each.
We got a room in a fairly comfortable mud-built
chapar khana, and had a good fireplace which did not
smoke. But there certainly was what Carlyle calls the
" oldest smell in the world " in it somewhere, but
where we could never find out, and the lice were
fearful. I remember Ghulamshah one night — -he had
huddled himself into his " abba," or cloak he wore at
night, and after taking off all his clothes (he would do
this, however cold), and going through the usual in
vestigation, he put them on one side, and then looking
pensively at his "abba," said with a heavy sigh, " Now
I wonder if there are any in that."
These loathsome pests, against which there is no
remedy, were the only things we grumbled at on the
march, though, among other things, we had fever, ague,
sunstroke, and small-pox.
The chief thing that gave an interest to Dowletabad
was its being the starting-place for caravans to Shuster
and Dizful,* These two places are here always men
tioned together as one. They are the halfway-house
for trade between Basreh vid the KarQn river and
Ispahan and Hamadan. This trade is mostly in the

* Diz, a fort ; ful, a bridge. A place on a river large enough to
have a fort and a bridge over the river.

SHUSTER AND DIZFUL. 411
hands of the famous Haji Jabr, who lives in a mud
fort at Muhammerah, the farthest point to which our
troops went in the Persian war in 1856-57.
Shuster and Dizful had always had a great interest
for me ever since an adventurous journey made there
from Ispahan by Mr. George Mackenzie with six good
horses and very light baggage ; and finding there was
a route, I determined, if by any means possible, to leave
my baggage here with Hadi, and taking only Ghulam
shah and a prismatic compass and an aneroid, to make
a careful dead reckoning survey, at which I was now
pretty skilful. So I proposed this to Ali Akber, and
it is not easy to imagine the storm of indignation.
" Verily, there is no God but one God. You have
arrived here by the hand of God only. My mules are
dead beat. You have got to go through Kurdistan
and through Turkey, and now you want to go into
this fearful country, where the snow is such that ele
phants could not pierce it, where there are no houses
nor fodder, and the inhabitants are so savage that no
caravan ever dreamt of passing except two hundred
strong, with an escort and mules to carry fodder."
I expected this, and argued the case the whole day.
Ali brought the naib, a little dried-up sub-lieutenant
with the lining of a uniform coat on, who was in charge
of the chapar khana. The naib doubled the horrors
of the country, and brought all sorts of people to cor
roborate his statements. I sat on one side of the fire
place, and they all squatted in a row on a carpet I
spread for them on the other side. They all declared
that once a year in the summer a number of caravans
collected and travelled in company and with soldiers
as far as a town called Khurumabad (not the village

412 HADI AND THE CORKSCREW.
we had passed through). There they waited until
another caravan was collected at a place called Dastfil,
on the opposite side of some very robber-infested
desert and crossed at the same time. I offered double
fare, even treble, but without result However, I had
time to argue, so dismissed the subject for the night
The next day, February the i6th, was very cold,
and I lay under my rugs till late. I was amused at
hearing the following dialogue.
Hadi, who has become carpenter to the expedition,
calls out from the far end of the room, where he is
mending some of our boxes : " Throw me over the
corkscrew, my child."
Ghulamshah, busy with his cooking, throws it over.
He appears afterwards to consider the matter, and on
reflection says : " What do you want to do with the
corkscrew, O Hadi ? "
Hadi : " I am mending the black box,"
Ghulamshah becoming interested : " But what have
you to do with the corkscrew when you are mending
the black box ? "
Hadi : " Oh, the Sahib told me so."
Ghulamshah, sotto voce : " Now what does this idiot
want with the corkscrew, and it is the last one," Aloud,
contemptuously : " What did the Sahib tell you ? "
Hadi : " Oh, I must not use nails, but always screws,
and I must always bore holes for them."
Ghulamshah hastily : " But you can't bore holes with
a  Explanations follow, and Ghulamshah rescues his
corkscrew, Ali Akber seemed at his wit's end to know what to do
with himself during this halt He sat for hours in the

THE CHARVADAR AND THE POPGUNS. 413
sun in the porch, bullying little boys, enticing dogs to
come within reach by offers of bread, and then chop
ping at them with his sword, and bargaining for
wooden popguns, a new sign of civilization which he
had never seen before, and which amused him im
mensely. We had several visitors, and a chief topic of con
versation was the magnificence of Shah Abbas (a
former ruler), and the number of caravanserais he had
built I found that the regular road for caravans to Shuster
crossed mine at Khurumabad, the small village before
described, and that most European goods came from
the north vid Tabriz, not from the shorter but more
difficult route from the south vid Shuster,
The carpets made here were the best we had yet
seen. The woof was of cotton, not as in former
carpets, of wool. The cotton woof carpets are not so
suitable for travelling as the others, but He flatter on
the floor, and the pattern can be made more regular.
During the afternoon I noticed a man deliberately
taking away portions of the mud roof in bags. On
inquiry I found that he proposed to mend his own
roof, which had suffered from the weather, and that he
was related to the " naib," who probably considered the
Government roof fair plunder.
There is a superstition here that lice produce a sore
in the nose. This was so generally insisted upon by
my visitors that I think there may be some connection
between the two things, but they could not produce
a man afflicted as described.
The whole day was spent in receiving people, ac
quiring information about the Shuster route, bargaining

414 THE POST FROM TEHERAN.
for carpets, writing down Baluchi and Persian folklore
stories, and last, but not least, taking Incessant obser
vations on the roof, where I established a regular
observatory. On the 1 7th a chapar of five horsemen arrived from
Teheran, and to my triumph and All's discomfiture
were going to Shuster. They were such mountains of
sheepskins, wolfskins, felts, and blankets, that they
evidently expected a cold trip, and they laughed good-
humouredly when I suggested that, in case of an
attack, they would have to take off most of their
clothes before being able to get at their weapons.
They said that the road was very bad, but that they
were safe, as it was kriown that they had nothing but
the king's mails, and that the chief would be heavily
fined should anything happen to them. They called
the country Arabistan, or land of wanderers. The
road leads by Orojet (same as Burujird), there are
chapar khanas for five stages, after which only chadar
nisheens or dwellers in tents. I tried to get these
fellows to let me go with them, but they would not
hear of it I offered all the money I could afford, but
it was no use. They said they rode eighty miles a
day, and this I could not do ; that they had been
trained for it, I had not ; that I should fall ill and have
to be left behind ; that the dwellers in tents would not
shelter me for love, and if I showed money would
murder me and plunder me, and the responsibility
would fall on them. These men were from Teheran,
were familiar with Englishmen, and knew me for one,
and feared the difficulties with our ambassador should
anything befall me.
I argued hard and produced some result, for I over-

THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE. 415
heard an animated discussion on the subject, but it was
no use. What weighed with most of them was that I
was so thin and small, for I was much pulled down by
constant recurrence of dysentery.
I went to see the governor about it, but he was a
crabbed, uncivil old fellow, and I believe the most
mendacious man in a very mendacious country, and
after some time, when question after question had been
answered by a palpable untruth, I got up in a huff and
left him, saying that I had done nothing yet to show
I was such a fool as to believe the things he said, but
was not sure whether he was not a fool to say them.
His was the only house glazed in the town, the glass
being said to have been made at Hamadan,
On going home after this, I decided to call at the
telegraph office, hoping that I might get some truth
from a brother of the craft.
The office was a nice clean upstairs room, and the
telegraphist, a portly old gentleman, was seated majes
tically on the floor, writing a message which was read
out to him by a wretched little mirza or clerk, who
wound up the instrument (an old Morse embosser on
its last legs) and gave the reply.
To my disappointment the old gentleman had but
recently been sent here, — considered himself banished,
and would admit no knowledge of the people or the
country, I:Ie told me that a general officer was shortly
arriving to make a conscription, and that there would
be grand illuminations, and I left after the ordinary
civilities of tea and kalians.
I went home, and again attacked Ali about the
Shuster route, and after much argument he consented
to go ; but at what a price— six pounds a day ! and

4i6 MUHAMMAD ONCE MORE TURNS UP.
this after all the money I had already spent and should
have to spend before getting to England, It was
most disappointing, and I took a night to sleep
on it I suppose it was under the influence of this
disappointment that I made the following observation
in my note-book — a general summing up of Persia in
one sentence !
" Persia, a barren country ; — a country of mud
walled plantations of mulberry-trees, willows, and
poplars ; — a country of mud-domed houses ; — of chopped
straw, barley, and brown bread."
It rained heavily in the night, and a large portion of
the roof fell in, but fortunately no one was injured.
It was with a heavy heart that I resigned the trip to
Shuster. I had the barren honour of having, to a
certain extent, made my point, for I believe that All's
offer was genuine, and that he would have seen me
through, and that even in mid- winter a caravan could
go to Shuster. I resolved, however, not to announce
my decision until the very last moment, but an incident
occurred to-day which reduced my chances to zero.
The caravan of loo mule-loads of tobacco arrived,
and five of the mules were the five of All's that we
had left behind, and of whom should they be in charge
but that ruddy-faced scamp Muhammad ? So much
for All's tenderness to his poor younger brother.
I had been determined to go to Shuster, but the
difficulties were too tremendous. Robbers who shot
from behind bushes, impassable snowdrifts, etc, could
be dealt with, but alas ! the sinews of war were
wanting. The young pidar sukhta (son of a burnt
father) Muhammad had managed to get his five mule-
loads as far as here, the other muleteers having helped

A STIR IN THE TOWN. 417
him on the condition that Ali Akber should join them
at Dowletabad, and thence help them in turn. This
made All's prices still more exorbitant, I could not
however, bear to be controlled in this way, and ordered
a halt until further orders, so that Muhammad and the
tobacco caravan should get so far ahead that Ali could
not hope to join them.
On the 19th a great stir appeared in this always
busy little town. The general was hourly expected,
and an " istikbal," or reception, was to be immediately
prepared. The poor little naib was galvanised Into
activity, and was hunting for his uniform trousers, and
the remainder of his uniform coat and abusing his
family for their loss, when an excited crowd rushed In
and demanded all his post horses instanter. This
finished him, and he came to me imploring advice.
" What can I do ? There's a chapar coming in from
Kirmanshahan, and there will be no horses, and then
they will report me," But I had enough to do to look
after my own horses, as Hadi and Ali were in the
town, and could give him no assistance. They cap
tured the naib's horses, which soon appeared in a garb
very different from that in which they went out, cash
mere shawl saddle cloths and bright saddle carpets
having been put over their rough but serviceable
leather saddles.
The chapar khana was at the extreme edge of the
town, and from the roof I overlooked a long stretch
of the Hamadan road, while beneath me collected
the istikbal, or reception. Soon the party came in
sight, a broad line of horsemen with a nucleus in
the centre. At a given sign off started our party full
gallop, with left hand outstretched and head almost
E E

4i8 THE SHAHZADA ARRIVES.
level with the horse's head. They did some graceful
evolutions by the help of a very cruel bit and a big
pommel to hold on by, and after shooting rapidly two
or three times across and across the path of the advanc
ing cavalcade they quietly joined its ranks. But every
half-minute one horseman on either side of the nucleus,
which I could not yet clearly distinguish, shot rapidly
from the rank, and crossed over to the opposite flank.
At last the servants and baggage began dropping in
in twos and threes. The baggage consisted of twelve
mules loaded with fine large carpet saddle-bags, eight
more with large white leather- covered boxes, and eight
more with large gaudy japanned boxes. Then came
the horsemen scampering along, and all endeavouring
to avoid a huge puddle just in front of the chapar
khana, and jostling one another in the most undignified
mariner. Then his Serene Highness himself on his
war-horse, while his palfrey was led by him with a blue
and white satin pad on its back. One great feature of
the procession was the bobtailedness of the horses.
The long flowing tail is much prized in Persia, and
when the road is very muddy the grooms tie them up
into a tight bob which looks most grotesque.
There was not much excitement among the popu
lace, I saw one old woman on a neighbouring house
top and a few old men sitting on the sunny side of
a wall, but the dogs in enormous numbers barked
themselves hoarse. In the evening the bazaar was
"illuminated," and a deafening band of drums and
bagpipes played in it. I put on a Persian cloak and
strolled through it, but it was an ordinary Persian
crowd, and the noise and jostling were so great that I
soon came away, There were no games or fun of any

LOAD UP FOR KIRMANSHAHAN. 419
kind. The deafening noise, and, to them, unusual
light seemed to be all their senses required.
It was a good, clean bazaar, half a mile long, about
one-third newly built of brick, and the illumination was
well done so far as wicks in cups of oil can do it I
was told that any one lighting less than one hundred
lamps would receive two thousand sticks and pay
forty-five tomans fine. This might be a hint for our
corporations. The Manchester goods men had the
best of it, for they had but to hang out some gaudy
handkerchiefs to assume a most festive aspect
Long after we had turned in, Ali came in exulting
greatly at having outstayed us and seen the shahzada
go through the bazaar in procession with three troops
of soldiers.
That evening, to the intense delight of all, I gave
orders to load up for Kirmanshahan, thus removing the
greatest anxiety from all* minds. I never appreciated
the comfort of a good servant so much as when load
ing up early on cold mornings. You wake up early
under warm rugs and hear a whispering. You ask
the time, " Seven o'clock, sahib, and tea ready." You
find a good fire, and everything packed up and half-
loaded, and have nothing to do but eat your breakfast
and get on your horse.
Our stage to Parrispar was twelve hours, and we
did not arrive till 8,30 p.m., when it was dark and
dangerous travelling.
The country was little changed from that already
described, — level mud and snow plains interspersed
by islands of rocky hills, while all around in the far
distance were snow-covered mountains which were
difficult to distinguish from the clouds.

420 BREAKFAST AT DUMB-I-SHATIR.
In all the hills were outcrops of an iron-hard brown
clay, strike north-west and south-east, and dip about
forty-five degrees. The dust of the watercourses was
sometimes coaly and sometimes slaty. We crossed
fertile plains with many villages, and at about fifteen
miles we crossed a level inundated plain ten miles
broad, in the middle of which were massive stone
causeways, each about two hundred yards long, and
placed about one hundred yards apart I suppose in
the dry season the existing inundation would be
confined to a channel somewhere about here ; but at
present the place was no deeper than anywhere else,
excepting some dangerous eddies near the abutments.
The rest of the march was .a struggle through deep
mud and numberless muddy creeks. After gettirig
across this plain I stopped for breakfast at a large cara
vanserai called Dumb-i-Shatir (the clever man's tail).
This was intended to be the commencement of a vil
lage, but as yet only one family were there, and a very
miserable condition they were in. There was the in
evitable agriculturist, with his long-handled spade and
greasy felt cap, enveloped in strips and bandages of
home-made woollen stuff which would appear to defy
any attempt at classification, but to each of which he
gave a name with confidence. There were three or
four ragged women, and a few sheep and fowls.
At 4.30 we were still drudging on past the large
village of Halimabad, and found a little "bahar," or
spring vegetation, growing through the snow. Then
we had a steady pull up an apparently interminable
hill. Then an anxious time wandering about in the dark
among steep ravines and watercourses, and at 8,20 p.m.

PARRISPAR. 421
we crossed a good bridge, of five arches, over a rapid
stream, twenty feet wide, called the river H elwind,
and soon after reached the village of Parrispar, where
we got stabling and a room in the house of a " lone
woman." I was struck here with the curious meanings
of the word " haft " or " seven," A Baluch, speaking
of the antiquity of his chief's family, will say that he
is " haft pusht," i.e., has " seven at his back," or an
indefinite number of ancestors. Also if you ask for
anything from your box or saddle-bags which is down
at the bottom, and difficult to get at, he will say it is
" haft pusht," and will use the same expression if you
ask if anything is securely tied on a camel.
To-night I made Hadi insist on a tremendous
sweeping out of the room I was to occupy, but he said
pathetically, " In sheppishha haftbala migirdand."
[These lice wander seven upstairs, or, wander every
where) Parrispar was an ordinary village of 1 50 thick, mud
walled, square flat-roofed houses, with small court
yards in the centre containing firewood heaped up for
the winter. Inside the houses are one or two round
half-baked cylinders of clay full of wheat, a spinning-
wheel or two, and a hand mill, with the inevitable
vermin-breeding kursi in the middle.
Parrispar is si1:uate at the foot of a high slate hill,
crowned by the remains of the robat or fort which
had been the origin of its existence. To the north and
south-east stretched a fertile wheat plain for about
seven miles, and near the village itself were many
acres of grapes. In the morning I went up to the
top of the hill, and took a round of bearings, and
made a sketch map of the country, while the principal

422 GRINDING OPPRESSION.
inhabitants thronged round me and fully answered
all my questions.
They, it appeared, lived in one of the unfortunate
villages ground down by taxes, and were shortly going
to abandon their homes and go elsewhere.
I inquired closely and at length into this matter.
The taxes here were (please read francs for krans) five
krans per head, six krans per house, and six krans per
jivar (jerib) shahi of land. A jerib here is one hun
dred yards long and fifty yards broad. So that a man
with three wives, three children, a house, and a jerib
of land, would pay forty-seven francs per annum.
His women would make in two months a carpet worth
thirty krans, of which I think it fair to say fifteen
would be net profit and his jerib grows enough wheat
to feed him.
These people were not quite brought to despair.
They were going to wait quietly, and get in their
wheat and grape crops, and leave in the nou roz, or
new year, for a new robat, not far off, where was
virgin soil and no taxes. Some of the land here was
" Khallsa," or belonging to the Shah, and some
" raiati," held from farmers.
Next morning we left for Kangiwar at 9.30 a.m.
The huge mountain Khangir Marz was in sight all
day, and I was told that It was almdst inaccessible,
that its summit was frequented by lions, and that
murderers took refuge there ; and that when the Shah
passed here on his pilgrimage, he halted, and had two
days' unsuccessful hunting there.
We met a large party of pilgrims, all with white
turbans, who were returning from the sacred shrine of
Kerbela, I noticed here a practice I have already

MISTAKEN FOR THE POST. 423
alluded to in my account of Baluchistan. Those of
the pilgrims on foot continually picked up big stones
in the road and threw them on one side, and it was
acknowledged here to be merely a primitive system of
road making, and a " sowab " as easing the weary
pilgrims' feet.
There are two pages of bearings and other scientific
observations in my note-book, but they will be found
in the appendix. The great feature of to-day's march
was that here we actually entered the garm sir, or
warm region. First crocuses began peeping through
the snow, then dwarf irises, and at 1.30 p.m., on the
2 ist of February, we came on a considerable expanse
of genuine English greensward, the first of the kind I
had seen for four years, and shortly afterwards a herd
of English-looking cows peacefully cropping it, as if it
were the most ordinary thing in the world. At first I
wanted to dismount and pick each new flower I saw.
This was impossible, but we did sit down and have a
glorious lunch in the middle of the meadow until the
" bar " came up, when we had to resume business.
The approach to Kangiwar was absolutely park
like compared to the country we had been travelling
through for so long. We crossed a low range through
a pass, and on rounding a corner found ourselves in
a green valley, with plenty of water, and no snow,
while at the extreme end, nestled under a huge hill,
lay our destination, I cantered on ahead with Ghu
lamshah, we saw larks and other birds, herds of cattle,
and at last drew rein at the caravanserai. This, how
ever, was full, and the people, who mistook us for the
" chapar," as was very natural, seeing only two horse
men, one with two large bundles slung across his

424 A COURTEOUS FRENCHMAN Q) IN DISGUISE.
saddle,* kindly and even eagerly directed us to the
chapar khana. This also was quite full of Georgian
pilgrims. In their tall black sheep-skin caps, returning
from Kerbela. But the pilgrim who occupied the
best room, and whom I strongly suspect to have been
a Frenchman in disguise, most courteously made us
some tea and evacuated his quarters for us.
This gentleman certainly was not a Georgian.
Although all the separate items of his dress were
Georgian, they were not such as a genuine one would
wear all together. He made one or two short and
uneasy visits during the evening, and seeing him look
ing at my books, I handed him " Maunders Treasury
of Botany," but without result. If, as I suspect was
the case, he was an European who had been to Ker
bela in disguise, it was very wise of him to hold his
tongue, for here at a chapar khana, with constant
communication with Teheran, I was of course an
acknowledged Feringi.
Kangiwar was a most pleasant little town, the air
mild, and the people very civil, though a littie dis
appointed at our not being the post, as there was
great excitement about the war between Turkey and
Russia, The chaparchi, or post-house-keeper of
Sahna, our next stage, was here, and promised to go
on ahead and prepare everything for us, I have a
note here, connected I suppose with the civility I re
ceived, that " Feringis command respect here because
they have money, are accustomed to use It, and are
not afraid to own possession of it."
* These were our clothes of the previous day, which we always
carried ahead with us to have them- boiled and dried in time for next
day's wear, so great was the plague of lice.

A RAINY MARCH TO SAHNA. 425
At 7 p.m. the barometer showed 6,020 feet. Ther
mometer : dry, 46 ; wet, 42 ; rather misty and very
cloudy, and on the morrow we got the benefit of those
clouds. I was amused here at a little ragged boy who
had somehow climbed upstairs and invited himself
to assist in Ghulamshah's cooking, Ghulamshah had
" shu'd " him twice, but he always returned, oozing
slowly into the room rather than walking in. The
third time, on being told to go outside, he said in his
childish voice, but with great indignation : "How shall
I go outside ? Am I not a Darwish ? "
Kangiwar is situate under a lofty snow-topped
mountain at the west-south-west corner of a fertile
plain about ten miles square.
The next stage to Sahna was over a mountain range
by a well-engineered zigzag road made to enable the
Shah to drive all the way to Kerbela in carriages.
Along the left side ran the telegraph line, and if one
only disregarded the somewhat outlandish garb of
himself and companions he might easily imagine him
self in Scotland. We wound up and up through in
cessant torrents of rain, which, however, well protected
as we were by mackintoshes, we thought a welcome
change from the terrible icy west wind and driving
snow we had battled with so long. The highest point
we reached was 6,760 feet, though it seemed much
more, and at 12.45 commenced a winding descent
The scenery was grand ; for though the actual heights
were under 2,000 feet yet half hidden in rain and
magnified by mist, which lifted at times, now here and
, now there, and showed unexpected mountains whose
tops were snow clad and indistinguishable from the
clouds, it was a very striking picture. On getting to

426 COMMENCEMENT OF KURDISTAN.
the foot of the hills we had a most muddy ride, still
in incessant rain, to the comfortable chapar khana of
Sahna, where we found everything ready for us, thanks
to the proprietor, whom we had met at Kangiwan
We had now reached a pleasant land indeed. Inces
sant rain, though disagreeable, was at least a change
from the burning heat of Mekran and the freezing
cold of the Khurumabad pass.
Here we found much to interest us. There was
an old mulla, or schoolmaster, keeping school in one
room, I suppose the most ignorant of his tribe, and
that is a strong assertion, I attended school after
dinner, and observing me listening critically, he put on
an extraordinary amount of self-complacent superiority.
He was teaching five or six children a verse of the
Kuran, and not knowing anything of its meaning,
ran over the stops and put a pathetic emphasis on
any good-sounding word that seemed able to bear it
Here also was a new type of face — big nose and over-
hanglrig eyebrows, and a stiff, bristly moustache and
slight beard being the main features. All here spoke
Kurdi in preference to Persian, though they knew the
latter language well, always, however, avoiding the
letter "w;" e.g., "birraid" [yott will go), ior " blra-
wid," There were also here two distinct kinds of
dogs, both good and intelligent, and not at all parias.
One kind, long-bodied, long-nosed and bow-legged, I
can only call " Boonders," from Bret Harte's famous
" Boonder," The other was a good specimen of a
long-haired wiry Scotch terrier. Though the breeding
of these dogs was never attended to in any way, they
never intercrossed, nor was there any medium between
the two distinct varieties. The same thing was seen

SAHNA. 427
more markedly further on. Here the houses showed
evident preparations for much rain. They were still
mud, but the rafters projected beyond the walls three
or four feet, making a verandah, and each house had a
porch, so that the proprietor could enjoy the open air
without being rained upon. Here also the reign of the
kalian was at an end, the pipe .being invariably a
small red bowl and thick wooden stem a foot and a
half long. The people here had bare legs and feet,
and their drawers were tucked high up to keep them
out of the mud. They make here woollen carpets,
but only woven and in zigzag patterns of two or three
colours only. Here it is a great mark of respectability
to give a guest white crystallized sugar, which, from
its rareness, has acquired medicinal virtues in the eyes
of the inhabitants.
Some visitors came and sat with us in the evening ;
and I noticed a curious transmutation of letters in a
story one of them told of getting lost in the mist on
the mountain. After two days' wandering he had only
one small piece of bread. His expression was, " Bas
yek galantam bita" (// was only one mouthful for
me). In the BampQri dialect of Baluchi that would
be " Bas yek galampam bita," showing a transposition
of " mp " and " nt"
Next morning an intelligent son of the chaparchi
took me on to the roof and named all the hills as I
took their bearings,
I got capital sights, and at 9.30 a.m. we were on
march to BisitQn.
We were making a gradual descent, the barometer
showing 5,580 feet; thermometer: dry, 49-5; wet
45-5 ; blue sky, misty, cloudy, and variable mode-

428 BISITUN.
rately strong west wind. I was interested at starting
to see the chaparchi's married daughter come out in
the rain with her baby to meet her husband, who just
then arrived from Kirmanshahan. The village of
Sahna was a thriving one of about 1 50 houses. Hadi
had fortunately bobtailed our horses, and we crossed
without inconvenience a brawling torrent which ran
through the middle of it The streets, however, were
knee-deep in slush, and we were glad to get out into
the open. We passed several dyers' shops where the
wool for carpets was dyed, and a magnificent caravan
serai in process of construction at the sole expense of a
certain Haji of Nerwan. It had already been two
years building, forty or fifty men working at it for
about two months a year at the rate of fivepence a day
each. The brickkiln was two miles away from the site.
We overtook three or four scattered detachments of
horse soldiers " going to the front," and I tackled them
about their proposed capture of Baghdad, They were-
from Khurassan, and to my inquiries replied indig
nantly, " Do you think we won't go to Baghdad ?
Here are the Turks being tyrannical ; and now that
the shahzada has twenty regiments and cannon, who
is going to fight against him ? "
Green tender grass was springing up on all sides,
and was in itself a luxury to our unaccustomed eyes.
We trudged on over a muddy and uneventful march
until we got close to the huge bluff of Bisitun, which
had been our landmark all day. Here we crossed a
rapid 'stream six;ty feet wide ; and as our horses had at
times to swim, it may be imagined that our loads got
somewhat wet How the charvadar got the lame
donkey across I cannot say, and I suppose no one but

SHAH ABBAS AND HIS 999 CARAVANSERAIS. 429
himself with his long pole and extraordinary powers of
vituperation could have done it
I have forgotten to mention a very little fellow we
overtook on the way much overweighted with a large
earthenware pot of sour milk which he was carrying to
Bisitun to his father, who had been very sick for a long
time. I was struck with his childish earnestness (he
could not have been ten years old, and had walked by
himself about twelve miles there and twelve back for
this milk), and I offered to mount him on one of
the mules. This he declined, so I gave him a kran,
for which he thanked me with dignity, and begged me
to make his father's house my own while I was at
BisitQn and dine there to-night He treated me
throughout the conversation as his equal, I suppose
because I did not speak loudly or bully him.
To-day I rode all day without my woollen gloves,
the weather was so much warmer, and at 4 p.m, we
crossed a good brick bridge, and arrived at the clean
chapar khana of Bisitun, While things were being
arranged I strolled over to a fine large caravanserai,
close by which were some fifty huge camels being fed
with large balls of barley, slightly bruised and soaked
in water. I found the keeper of this place a chatty
old gentleman, who had been in Kirman when our
troops took Bushire, and who had plenty to say about
the matter. I asked who built the caravanserai, and,
as I expected, "Shah Abbas." "Shah Abbas," he
resumed, " built 999 caravanserais." " And why," said
I innocently, " didn't he make it a thousand while he
was about it ? " He was greatly pleased. " Because
he wished people to ask just the question you ask ! "
He was as proud of the BisitQn bluff as if he had

430 MUSUKS.
made it himself, and I believe that he had brought
himself to believe that he was in some way responsible
for it, and really the way the monstrous mass of hard
blue stone towered over the village almost made one
feel that if he made much noise it would fall down
and crush everything.
Here was another sign that we were in a warm
country. The people drew water from the well with
a leather " dhole," and carried it away in musuks
(waterskins). Ghulamshah was so charmed at this
reminiscence that he immediately went and had a long
pull from the mouth of a musuk, " No more melted
snow, or making tea from junks of ice, now," said he
delightedly. To him, that drink out of the musuk was
the first real drink he had had since we had abandoned
our camels at Kirman,
The dogs here were surprising ; they were very
numerous, but of four perfectly distinct varieties.
There were little neat liver-coloured retrievers, with
the silkiest ears, and long fringe behind the forearm.
There were great black-and-white wolf dogs, with long
fur. There were what any one would call genuine
setters, long-backed, wavy-haired, and wavy-tailed
fellows, with most sagacious-looking noses ; and a kind
of black, smooth-haired, shiny-coated terrier, with very
small feet.
On returning home to the chapar khana, after a
friendly farewell to my chatty friend, I found the
chaparchi had provided me with a cook, and the dinner
was in a state of active preparation. The said cook
being a charming young Kurdi lady, I acquiesced in
Ghulamshah's temporary abdication, and we had a
very comfortable dinner.

THE KURDI WOMEN. 431
I think the Kurdi women are some of the finest
produced by nature. Of fine, upright stature, they
have rosy cheeks and dimpled chins, while their man
ners are naive to the last degree. They wear an
akkal like the Bedawin Arabs, with a diadem of beads
across the forehead ; a tight-fitting shirt and a short
thick embroidered jacket, and from eight to fourteen
petticoats, according to their wealth. Their arms are
bare from the elbow, and their legs from the knee
downwards, and they are of magnificent physique and
of most sociable manners.
I stayed at BisitQn all the next day writing up
journals, taking sights, etc., and on the 25th February
left for Kirmanshahan, with lovely weather, and over
a cheerful country of young growing wheat Carved
in the face of the bluff, were some huge stone figures ;
they were, however, so high up that I could not de
scribe them. Lower down was a modern Arabic in
scription, setting forth the terms on which the cara
vanserai was bequeathed to the people.
As we left the hill I noticed the extraordinary
echoes produced by cows lowing or donkeys braying,
and the effect of this was most singular. The warm
air was delicious, and we rode without gloves and
without overcoats. On the way we interviewed an old
agriculturist, who was breaking up some new ground.
He was working on, to me, a new principle, which he
called "Sakko Kali." He described It thus: He
received the seed (wheat), and the land was of course
free. He paid yearly one fowl, six eggs, seven donkey-
loads of cut straw, five krans for each pair of bullocks
he used, and one load of wood. After that he kept
for himself two-thirds of the crop he raised.

432 WE ARRIVE AT KIRMANSHAHAN.
At 12.50 p.m. we crossed a rapid stream one hundred
yards broad, and entered the long-looked-for gate of
Kirmanshahan, and were most hospitably received by
Agha Hassan Khan, ex-governor of Kirmanshahan,
and British agent

CHAPTER XIX.
Kirmanshahan.
The ivory binoculars. — Agha Hassan. — More languages than one. —
Spirit rapping. — The little horse distinguishes himself. — Autumn
manceuvres. — Water under the grass. —The Hissam as Sultana.
— Drives in the Agha's carriages. — Muhammad Khan. — Haji
Mulla Hussein. — Kurind. — The graveyards of the Ali Allahi
sect. — A Kurind interior; — Horse-hair veils for ladies. — An old
man in difficulties. — From plateau to plain. — A sporting Turko
man telegraphist. — A herd of brood mares. — Toby and the
cows. — Mahmud Bey, our new master of horse. — We cross the
frontier into Turkey. — Difficulties with the Quarantine authori
ties. — Cavalry escort. — Sunstroke. — A puzzled stork. — The con
cert interrupted. — Death of the Bey's horse. — Baghdad. — The
plague. — Basreh. — Marseilles. — London.
ON entering the narrow and muddy streets, Ghu
lamshah and myself, who were as usual far ahead
of the " Bar," inquired as we had been instructed,
for the " Wakil-al-Dowlat," for by such title was the
hospitable Agha best known. After passing through
many thronged bazaars we reached a tall house, at the
door of which we dismounted, conscious all the while
of an inspection through a pair of ivory binoculars
from the upper storey. We mounted the steps and
were ushered into a long room, where were seated
three or four Persian young gentlemen, to whom I
made the customary salaam, and by whom I was
courteously received, but with a certain amount of
indifference, as if it was a matter of ordinary routine.
433 F y

434 AGHA HASSAN.
When, however, after the usual salutations had been
gone through, and coffee had been drunk, I began to
explain that I was an Englishman, a traveller, and
provided with a letter from the British agent at
Ispahan, things assumed a different aspect, A young
fellow who had resumed his gazing out of the window
with the ivory binoculars, hastily turned round, and
after inspecting me narrowly, sent for a certain Mu
hammad Agha, the eldest son as I found of the Agha,
and a prince of good fellows. We had more coffee
and kalians, and a young scribe who had been to India
was sent for to read my letter of introduction, which
was in English. While we were in conversation as to
the journeys I had made and the countries I had seen,
I heard All's hoarse voice shouting for me in the street
below, and orders were immediately given for the
admission of my baggage. Then Muhammad Agha
turned up and ushered me into a spacious room, which
was to be my own special apartment. He explained
that his father was now absent, but would come soon,
meanwhile I must be tired and want to rest, so sending
in a copious supply of clean water he left me to myself,
and I had a good tub and change of raiment. The
room was well carpeted, but without any furniture save
an iron bedstead, from which four of the nine bottom
laths were missing. It was also over the stable and
over another place, so that one had one's choice of
smells. There was a capital fireplace which " drew "
well, and shortly after my installation a roaring fire of
oak logs.
I had hardly got myself into decent costume (I had
just one good coat left, for, between Kangiwar and
Sahna, a pint bottle of Warburg's fever-drops had

MORE LANGUAGES THAN ONE. 435
broken over my black frock-coat) when Muhammad
Agha begged to be admitted, and we had a cosey chat
by the fireside. Later on, by invitation of the Agha,
I went down to his majlis. He had a suite of apart
ments in a remote part of the house, and received me
in the most cordial manner, and introduced me to
numerous friends sitting round in a large well-painted
saloon. He was rejoiced at my knowing Persian, but
when I found him making side remarks about me in
Arabic, and I felt bound to tell him I knew that lan
guage also, he was still more interested.
He was a tall fine man, of remarkably good pre
sence, looking haughty, as if accustomed to command,
but utterly kind and courteous In his manner. When
he found that I knew also the Kurdi dialect, he
elected me to sit next him and eat out of his dish, and
even went to the length of secretly ordering some
arrack, which was brought in an old Johann Farina
bottle. The conversation was general, but the whole
household were, at the time of my arrival, much
exercised by a case of spirit rapping. Stones, as large
as an orange, had for three nights running been
pitched by supernatural hands into the Agha's inner
courtyard, and though he had put soldiers on guard he
had discovered nothing. I saw two of the stones, so,
as Mark Twain might say, I am bound to believe it
We had a capital dinner, and I soon afterwards turned
in for a well-earned sleep in the almost lathless bed
stead, under which Ghulamshah arranged two of my
boxes, Kirmanshahan is a large city of about 40,000 people,
containing houses of from one to three storeys, and
situated near low hills on the north side of a broad

436 THE LITTLE HORSE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF.
undulating plain, which is to a great extent sown with
corn. From the window of the topmost room, our com
mon drawing-room, one looked over a wide plain partly
green with young corn and partly yellow with gravel,
and three or four miles distant, in a large garden,
was the huge but unsightly Imaret, a kind of fancy
palace, uninhabited. In a long line in front of this
were hundreds of white tents, the camp of the Hissam
as Sultana, the uncle of the Shah, and known as the
conqueror of Herat Far away was the bold bluff of
BisitQn, and the range of which it was the head, the
upper half still being covered with snow.
We had a very pleasant time at Kirmanshahan * in
spite of incessant rain, and a large party of us rode out
almost every day.
On these occasions the Padre distinguished himself
The little horse, with plain, much-worn English saddle,
did not show to advantage among the big showy
horses and gorgeous trappings of our friends. The
first time we went out their head groom was just
breaking in a very fine young Kurdi horse, and want
ing to show off, suggested a gallop. The little horse
was wild with delight, and in less than a mile the
whole party were hopelessly in the rear, puffing and
blowing, and totally disordered as to their trappings.
The Padre was quite uncontrollable, the slightest
slackening of the reins being sufficient to start him off
at full gallop at one bound, while his previous hard

* I was puzzled at first at hearing this place always spoken of as
Kirmanshahan. I believe that this is correct for the town, and
Kirmanshah for the district.

WATER UNDER THE GRASS. 437
work had put him in such condition as the other
horses could not hope to rival.
One day we went to the camp and had an interview
with the commander-in-chief On riding there our
route took us over a muddy field of young wheat. On
my remonstrating at the damage we were doing to the
tenant's crops, Muhammad Agha replied with great
naivete, " What can he have to say, he's got plenty of
it" The camp was well arranged, so far as details
were concerned. Each subdivision of troops was well
defined, and its head-quarters marked by a pole bear
ing a square of bright tin, which blazed in the sun
most brilliantly, and was decidedly better than a flag,
which would during the rains have drooped miserably.
But the conqueror of Herat was not happy in his
choice of situation. He had pitched his camp on the
banks of the river (the Kara Su or black water) which
had overflowed its banks and inundated the surround
ing country. The result was that the mud was knee
deep, and that the soldiers had all taken off their
trowsers and presented a most unmilitary aspect
We sent an ambassador to the commander-in-chief,
and, while waiting, left our horses in the charge of the
grooms, and took coffee in the tent of the " sartip " or
general. The water was here as everywhere, but the
sartip had spread a quantity of chopped straw on the
ground and put his carpets over that. The result was
that though we were sitting on mud and water we
were quite dry, and I thought to myself that this
might be the origin of the saying, " like water under
the grass"; the chopped straw being dry, hard, and
springy, absorbed no moisture, and though water was
running under us, we sat as if we were on the roof of a

438 THE HISSAM AS SULTANA.
house. Our credentials having been presented, we
ploughed through the mud from the sartip's tent to
that of the commander-in-chief, which was gorgeous
and well guarded, no others being allowed within forty
yards of it
The commander-in-chief was very courteous, and
we had coffee in cups of silver studded with turquoises.
He did not omit to remind me that he had been to
England, and been presented to Her Majesty. He
was dressed as an European, possibly in honour of my
visit, and we conversed freely. Observing a prismatic
compass sticking out of my pocket, he asked various
questions as to its use, and sent for a " kibl-nama " of
his own. This on arrival turned out to be an old
French prismatic, with a clinometer included, for the
use of which he begged me to write him out a paper
of instructions, which I readily promised to do.
On another occasion we made an excursion to the
Tak-i-Bustan, a place made celebrated by Sir Henry
Rawlinson, who has minutely described it. At the
foot of the range, which terminates at Bisitun, are
some huge clumsy carvings of ancient heroes, some on
horseback, and some wrestling, cut into the live rock.
Near them is a small summer-house, which looks over
a large square pond surrounded by trees. This is a
favourite summer resort for picnics, but the time of the
year was against our enjoying it fully, and the inces
sant rain affected our spirits.
On our way back we visited the Imaret We
entered the long garden attached to it by a gate at the
south end, and cantered down a long gravel walk bor
dered by shrubs and flowers until we came to the
Imaret Muhammad Agha's presence readily pro-

DRIVES IN THE AGHA'S CARRIAGES. 439
cured us admission. It was a large palace, the rooms
of which were profusely ornamented by elaborate
mouldings in plaster of Paris, the work of Italian
artists. The interior is much more interesting than
the exterior, the prominent feature of which is that the
window frames have been " glazed," If I may use^ the
expression, with plates of tin — some are natural and
some painted red.
In sketching our life at Kirmanshahan, I must not
forget sundry drives with the Agha in his carriages.
These carriages had been part of the Shah's equipage
on his pilgrimage, and had been left behind broken
down. Of the seven or eight existing, the Agha, as
became his rank, owned three.
Sometimes of an evening he would propose a drive,
to which I, taking the compliment as it was meant to
be taken, would readily respond. We would then at
the appointed time wade down endless narrow streets
ankle-deep in mud to the outskirts of the town, where
the carriage awaited us. Our progress was always
considerably retarded by the respect in which the Agha
was held by all, great and small. It was one in
cessant series of polite salutations, and I can never
sufficiently admire the tact my host exhibited. The
amount of cordiality was dealt out to each in exact
proportion to his position, and the humbler people
formed themselves into procession after us to such an
extent that we materially interfered with the traffic,
and often had two or three hundred people collected
to see us embark. The drive itself was not without
its " discrepancies," for a road practicable for carriages
led but a short distance from the town. After this
came muddy lanes and fields saturated by rain. We

440 MUHAMMAD KHAN.
generally went at a very slow pace, but the driver was
a courageous fellow, and the horses but imperfectly
broken to harness, so that at times we went much
faster than was safe, and there arose in my mind the
question, "On which side shall we fall when we upset?"
I must not leave Kirmanshahan without a short
mention of the Agha's familiar friend, one Muhammad
Khan. This was an old gentleman who had formerly been
the possessor of great estates. He had, however, lost
his wits, and I believe the Agha had constituted him
self Commissioner of Lunacy, and taken charge of the
estates and the possessor, Muhammad Khan was in
stalled in the house as a sort of tame rabbit and great
deference was shown to him by all. He was the most
consummate and irritating bore I have ever met He
would come and sit with me for hours, asking over and
over again the most impertinent and disgusting ques
tions ; and I once went straight to the Agha, begging
that he should be placed under restraint. I may add
that I had grave doubts whether or not he was the
poor idiot he represented himself to be, and up to the
present cannot help thinking him the original of
Lever's famous Terry DriscoU in " Davenport Dunn."
It was a cold morning on the fifth of March when
we left our kind host and, escorted by Muhammad
Agha, commenced what proved to be the last section
of our long journey. We were bound for Baghdad by
the road which had been made practicable for carriages
on the occasion of the Shah's pilgrimage to Kerbela
We crossed the range beyond Kirmanshahan, and
after an uninteresting march over bare plain, arrived
at Mahi Dasht, a small village with a caravanserai.

HAJI MULLA HUSSEIN. 441
The people here seemed poor and wretched. They
had no flocks, and consequently the almost universal
employment of spinning was wanting, and they sat
listlessly about the muddy streets, doing nothing and
waiting for the spring.
Many of the rooms in the caravanserai were plas
tered up with mud covered with various devices In
whitewash, as a seal which would lead to the detection
of any attempt at burglary. The caravanserai was
built of small burnt bricks, but the spouts were pro
digiously heavy stone troughs, five feet long and a foot
thick, the result being that the wall in which they were
set was in all places giving way.
We found here a very noisy Persian merchant, by
name Haji Mulla Hussein, who was in a great state of
exasperation at what he called the unmanly conduct
of our late host Agha Hassan.
The Haji had, it appears, been for a considerable
period the Agha's guest and the latter had given him
a letter to a friend in Baghdad. The bearer regarded
this as sufficient to pass him across the Turkish frontier,
but found on arrival at the first stage that it would do
nothing of the sort, and that he would be arrested the
moment he attempted to enter Turkey without the
proper firman.
He took it for granted that I was in the same diffi
culty as himself, and detailed at length the manner in
which my luggage would be confiscated, and I should
be plundered and kept waiting for days in the open air.
But I read him my firman, and showed him the seal of
the great Hissam as Sultana, and this produced a
marked change in his manner. He immediately pro
posed that we should be companions, but this I firmly

442 KURIND.
refused, as I had taken a great dislike to him. After
several attempts to gain over the groom to plead his
cause, he begged to be allowed to accompany me as
my head groom. This also I refused for many reasons,
and left him to make his way as best he could by
bakshish. The next march, to Harunabad (the place of Harun), ,
was alternately over barren rocky ridges and small
plains of fertile silt Here was a good caravanserai,
and I noticed a decided change in the features of the
people. The men had fine striking faces, hollow
cheeks and eyes, and huge moustaches, but no beards.
They formed a striking contrast to thc sleek, rounded
Persians, and impressed me with an idea of fierceness
and manliness.
As we marched on to Kurind, the capital of Kur
distan, the scenery gradually got more rugged and
mountainous. The hitherto barren rocks became
covered with stunted oak scrub. We passed several
small villages perched on the slopes of hills, and all
showing signs of activity in the manufacture of woollen
carpets of a zigzag pattern not very handsome. About
noon the stunted oak scrub gave place to trees twenty
feet high, and we travelled up a picturesque valley the
sides of which were lichen- covered terraces of yellow
limestone from six to even fifteen feet broad. Streams
trickled and leapt down the crevices, the air was bright
and sunny, and we ended our march by arriving at the
most picturesquely situated town we had yet seen —
Kurind, The traveller approaches Kurind up a broad valley,
now green here and there with young corn. The
range on the north side has been cleft as with an

KURIND. 443
axe, and in this gigantic cleft, hardly distinguishable
from the rugged boulders of the mountain, nestle the
houses of Kurind, Opposite the cleft and half down
the valley is a low grassy hill of earth covered with
gravestones. Near this some of the wealthier people
have built their houses. The greater number of the
inhabitants, however, seem to prefer the mountain
gorge, a preference probably to be ascribed to its
greater security from plundering parties, which, report
says, were frequent not long ago, A full head of
water tumbles and dashes itself down the gorge, and
has such great natural wildness and vigour that it
can be tamed and made to drive corn-mills without
losing in dignity,
I was so interested in the rugged scenery and
unique position of Kurind that I willingly agreed to
stay there a whole day to examine it more closely.
On the morning after our arrival I set out on foot to
explore the place, I took a bird's-eye view from the
top of the caravanserai, and noticed that the whole
valley was more or less cultivated, even partly up the
sides of the hills, where huge boulders of limestone
well adapted for lithographic purposes, were so thick
that before the land could be tilled they had to be
piled up in miniature castles four feet in diameter
about the same height, and twelve feet apart.
On leaving the caravanserai we were pestered by
journeyman tinkers, ironmongers, etc, who manu
facture all sorts of handy travelling implements for
sale to the pilgrims who pass here ori their way to
Kerbela, I bought orie or two small things, partly to
encourage the idea that I was a pilgrim ; but they
were quite worthless, I was told that this year two

444 GRAVEYARDS OF THE ALI ALLAHI.
thousand pilgrims had passed, all of them Russian
subjects. On the earthen mound or hill we found numerous
gravestones, many of which bore gaudy pictures of
horses, showing that the person buried there had been
wealthy and owned horses, and all bore the Muslim
Declaration of Faith — " There is no God but one
God," Tall slender pillars marked the graves of very
great men. Finding the inscriptions on the grave
stones different from any I had seen before, I ques
tioned one of the bystanders, a tall, fierce-looking
Kurd. He proved an intelligent and civil fellow, and
I willingly accepted his services as a guide. I give
here, however, only such of his information as I had
opportunity to verify.
Kurind contains about one thousand houses, and the
inhabitants are mostly employed in agriculture. They
belong to a sect called Ali Allahis, and are divided
into four clans or tribes, viz., the Zarday, Shuar, Nou
Darwan, and Nou Chem [Cheshm, fountain).
Chatting with our new friend, who was proud of his
native place, keenly appreciative of the grand scenery,
and pleased with our interest in it, we walked
towards the gorge, and soon came within hearing of
the plashing torrent and the hum of the numerous
mills it condescended to turn. Very soon our walk
became a climb, and the path difficult even for a
pedestrian. On either side rose almost perpendicular
cliffs of limestone, and before us was a steep narrow
ravine choked with boulders of all sizes. The houses
with their flat brown roofs looked like card houses, for
the flat thin roof was the only thing that caught the
eye. The back of the house was always the cliff, and

A KURIND INTERIOR. 445
the walls very often huge boulders. The inhabitants
had, for the most part, merely roofed in a space be
tween two rocks.
I peeped into one house and saw an odd juxtaposi
tion of nature's grandeur and dirty domestic comfort.
Three frouzy old women were baking bread, and two
more sifting flour, while two dirty children rolled about
on the mud floor, idly hitting at the women's hands
every time the slow motion of the sieve brought them
within reach. The back of their house was a 'sheer
cliff with an unbroken front for 200 feet. One side
was artificial, and the other a slope of live rock, while
across the middle of the floor was a deep crevasse
down which rushed a rapid stream which drove the
mill. The mills deserve a slight description. A con
venient spot is chosen whence to take the water, and
a wall, the top of which is plane with the horizon and
trough-shaped, built to lead it to the mill.*
A thick block of wood in the shape of a truncated
cone is suspended underneath the fall of water. This
cone is provided with flanges going diagonally down
its side in such a way that the effect of the water is to
make it revolve rapidly. Under this is a trough to
catch the water after it has done its work. The bush
is connected by strings to the upper grinding stone,
which consequently revolves, and is so hung as to work
lightly on the lower stone.
I examined several of these mills, but all were
clumsily made, and involved great waste of power.

* On visiting Clovelly, in Devon, after my return to England, I
was strongly inclined to describe it as a miniature and civilized
Kurind.

446 LEAVE KURIND.
At about the middle of the ascent we came to an
almost level place, through which the stream ran
slowly, producing dense rank grass and tall weedy
-shrubs. On the east cliff were narrow terraces cut
In the rock, and planted with pomegranates, walnuts,
plane-trees, lilacs, grapes, apples, almonds, figs, cherries,
quinces, and other fruits. Nor must I forget a patri
archal old plane-tree, whose hollow trunk served for a
firewood warehouse, A little above this level place
is an enclosure said to be sacred, but no one could
explain for what reason.
On returning to our quarters, which were just by a
fine but ruinous caravanserai, built by Shah Abbas, we
found the Haji Mulla Hussein in a state of profound
despair. He had had difficulties with his muleteers,
and they had left him in a body with their beasts.
This seemed to be entirely owing to his own violent
and niggardly conduct, and I felt less inclined to help
him than ever ; nor did my men show him any sym
pathy, though he sat up a great part of the night
trying to win them over.
On the 9th of March we left Kurind and travelled
up the broad valley before mentioned, along a tele
graph line belonging to the Persian Government
This line has since been placed under European super
intendence, not a moment before it was necessary.
We constantly passed straggling parties of soldiers,
all proceeding to" a great " camp of exercise " or
"demonstration" on the frontier. We had a bright
warm sun and blue sky, and were in great spirits, I
overheard an animated conversation between Hadi
and Ali Akber, from which I gathered that the former
had accumulated about three pounds weight of horse-

AN OLD MAN IN DIFFICULTIES. 447
hair from the manes and tails of my stud. This he
had sold for four krans (or francs), I found on inquiry
that it was used for the manufacture of women's veils.
On the way we met a very ragged old man driving
four donkeys laden with salt. He was so ill that he
could hardly walk, and seemed quite unequal to his
task, which required considerable activity. We en
countered the donkeys first grazing on and about the
track, and apparently quite unattended. Passing on
we found the owner quite exhausted by fatigue, and
seated, a chaotic heap of rags, on a boulder of lime
stone. We roused him up, but his temper had quite given
way under fatigue and exhaustion, and he abused us
all roundly, but we talked to him kindly, and gave
him some cheese and a piece of meat, which he
greedily devoured. In answer to our questions he
related that, as was his custom, he had gone to a salt
mine in the neighbouring mountains to bring salt to
Kurind.* His nephew had accompanied him, but, at
the salt mines this nephew had accepted a freight more
lucrative than salt, and gone off in some other direc
tion, taking with him the best donkeys. He had not
warned the poor old man, but had accompanied him
one stage on his journey, and then abandoned him in
the night, leaving him with bad donkeys and double
loads. The old man had now, however, not far to go, and
we left him refreshed and good-tempered.
At half-past two we passed a village called Mian
* The salt exists at five days' journey from Kurind. It is worth
!(/. a pound in the summer and 2d. in winter.

448 FROM PLATEAU TO PLAIN.
Jangal (middle of the scrub), which was composed
half of stone huts and half of black tents. A few
carpets were woven here, but none worth purchasing.
Soon after this the stream which we had been follow
ing disappeared into a limestone cave. Then the
prospect before us opened out, and we were at the
edge of the great plateau of Persia. The great table
land on which we had mounted by ascending the
Jamal Bariz range was now crossed. Far below us
we looked down, not yet upon the flat alluvial plains
of Mesopotamia, but upon the low hills formed by the
detritus from the plateau on which we stood. After
sufficiently admiring the grand panorama we began
the steep descent down a rugged zigzag road.
Right down below us was a vivid green valley, and
we saw the small village called Pai Takht (foot of the
throne), which was to be our halting-place. The
descent took us an hour and a quarter, and when we
got to the bottom we found the village deserted.
This desertion, however, was not occasioned by over
taxation, as the people only used the stone huts in the
winter, and were now in tents, pasturing their flocks
and horses on the sweet fresh grass. We made our
selves comfortable in a rough and ready caravanserai.
There is nothing to note in the next day's march to
Sar-i-pul-i-Zohab (head of the bridge of Zohab), We
crossed through a gap in some low hills, and at last
reached the alluvial plains that stretch away to the
coast We noticed to-day the change in the clothing
of the natives. The ragged bundle of woollen rags
necessitated by the cold of the plateau, gives way to
calico garments and cotton turbans. Judging from the
dress only of the two classes of natives, one would

A SPORTING TURKOMAN TELEGRAPHIST. 449,
incline to think that he had arrived at a much wealthier
and more civilized country than that which he had
recently crossed. This is not altogether the case. It
must be remembered that the coarse home-made
woollen garments, loosely woven as they are, cannot
look tidy, though they may be of more value than the
calico shirt, which can be renewed at little cost when
worn out.
At Sar-i-pul-i-Zohab, where is a massive stone bridge
over a rapid stream, we found so many soldiers that
we could not get even an old outhouse to put up in,
and were glad when the telegraph clerk sent and
invited us to stay with him. He was a tall, fine
Turkoman, much given to sporting. At dinner, which
comprised trophies of his skill, such as snipe (?) and
some godwits (?), his three dogs were brought in and
made to sit in a row while fed. He was delighted at
my sympathy with his tastes, and related with great
enthusiasm numbers of anecdotes, in which one par
ticular dog or another had shown especial sagacity.
Two might be described as medium-sized liver-and-
white English pointers, and the way they sat up on
their haunches, side by side, just at the edge of the
table-cloth, wagging the ends of their tails, looking
earnestly first at the food and then at their master,
reminded me forcibly of home. The third was an
especial pet, and allowed great liberties. He might be
described as a small, long-bodied, wavy-haired llver-
and-white spaniel, and could not only find game; but
could fetch and carry, which the two others could not,
and he would take readily to water. His master
called this one the EngHsh dog, and the two others
Persians, G G

450 TOBY AND THE COWS.
On the next march I nearly got into a difficulty, I
was far on ahead, and encountered the camp of the Pai
Takht villagers, scattered over a rich green expanse of
grass. Here was a herd of about thirty brood mares
and five or six stallions, and the Padre instantiy
prepared for battle. He commenced by planting his
fore-feet well in front of him, raising his head, and
sending forth a succession of the fiercest and most
awe-inspiring neighs he could muster.
The challenge was instantly accepted, and in a
moment we were the centre of a prancing, kicking,
squealing crowd of glossy, beautiful, but half wild
horses. Some got before us and kicked up just by
the Padre's nose, while others reared and struck at him
with their forefeet. It was rather an awkward pre
dicament but I had a very heavy thong seven feet
long, and by lashing out at them, shouting, and double
thonging the Padre, I got clear away from them
without injury,
I believe that there was no danger, and that the
horses only wanted to play with us, for I think they
always bite when vicious. This, however, did not
occur to me till afterwards, I was once in a similar
predicament at Jask, I was coming home from a
very hard day's ibex shooting, mounted on a tired
donkey, encumbered by two rifles and accompanied
by my small brown dog Toby, who had been taking
care of the cook while I was away in the hills.
Suddenly we came on a herd of half wild cows,
who evidently mistook Toby for a jackal. In an in
stant they all charged furiously down upon him, heads
down and tails high in air. Poor Toby came to me
for help, and got between the donkey's legs. I shouted.

MAHMUD BEY. 451
brandished the rifles, and kicked the poor donkey into
a sort of three-legged canter. It was the most
exciting donkey ride I ever had in my life, Toby
scampered here, there, and everywhere, but always as
close to the donkey's legs as he could get Rush
would come one old bull from the right and just graze
the donkey's tail, then another would just miss his nose,
and I thought the climax was reached when head over
heels went the donkey and we all rolled on the ground
together. To my surprise this frightened the cows,
and I had time to pick Toby up in my arms, after which
they took no further interest in the matter.
But to return, I got through the horses safely,
and soon afterwards I overtook a tall, well-dressed
Turkoman, mounted on a big-boned brown horse, and
armed to the teeth with long gun, pistols, knife, and
cartridge cases, all plated with silver. He rode well
with a military seat, and barely the tips of his toes in
the stirrup. When I found him he had halted his
horse in the middle of a stream, and to avoid getting
off, which would be a work of time with all his arms
and paraphernalia, he was letting down a small brass
cup by a string and drawing up water. I saluted him,
and received a courteous reply and the immediate
offer of a drink of water. He was a handsome young
man of about twenty-five, and of gentle manners, and
I took a liking to. him at once. His name was
Mahmud Bey, and he was fifty-five days out from
Erzevil, on his way to Kerbela, there to wash away
the stain of some crime.
He was a Russian subject, but had lost his certificate
to that effect, arid was in great perplexity as to how
he should pass the frontier. I said I would do any-

452 KHAN AKIN.
thing I could for him, and after a consultation with
Hadi he begged to be allowed to enter as my master
of horse. I gladly assented, and he was so grateful
that he got off his horse with all his harness to kiss
my hand. Nor did he make a sinecure of his ap
pointment, but scrupulously attended to everything
connected with my horse, and Hadi was too good a
fellow to resent the interference.
We jogged along together over flat plains, passing
through occasional bright patches of crocus, cuckoo
flower, anemone, dog daisies, narcissus, and dwarf iris,
and at 5 p.m. came to the ruined fort of Kasr Shirin,
where, according to some tradition, a lovely princess was
walled up to keep her from a too importunate lover.
Kasr Shirin is a well-built stone village, and here
was another considerable force of troops going through
" Autumn manceuvres."
I went and had tea with the general of the forces,
and arranged for Mahmud Bey's passing unmolested
across the frontier.
We were now 1,048 feet above the level of the sea,
and this evening we entered Turkish soil. The
actual frontier is about four miles north of the town of
Khanakin, and is marked by two neatly built round
towers manned by soldiers, well armed, well dressed,
fierce looking fellows, forming a striking contrast to
the Persians we had seen. Khanakin is a large, busy,
thickly populated village full of European goods.
The letter of introduction from the Agha of Kirman
shahan procured us quarters in a good but noisy
caravanserai, I called upon the governor, a most
civilized man in a fine well-built " muderia " or
governor's office, and attended by soldierly Kowasses

DIFFICULTIES WITH QUARANTINE OFFICE. 453
(orderlies) in smart uniforms, I had to explain a little
contretemps that had occurred at the entry to his
village. Just as we approached a young man emerged
from a hut by the roadside and asked for our certifi
cates. I replied that I had never heard of any certifi
cates, and that I had not got any. He then proposed
to sell me some. I, regarding the matter as an
attempt at extortion, told him indignantly that I was
going to see the governor, to whom I would relate
what had occurred, and to whom I would pay anything
he decided to be legal.
When I related this to the governor, he explained
that the man in question was the assistant quarantine
doctor, who wanted to give me a bill of health. • I
said I was sorry that I had been rude to one of his
officials, and suggested that they should either be put
in uniform or labelled in some way, so that unwary
travellers like myself should know that they were men
in authority.
He proposed to send a Kowass with me to the
Quarantine office, and to this, to prevent any un
pleasantness, I acceded.
Here I found some very good-natured fellows, who
laughed heartily over our misunderstanding. Among
them was a doctor, Szymonski Lubicz, who readily
drew out the necessary certificates. After this I went
over to his house, and inspected some promising young
colts in which he took great pride. Walking back I
noticed wild tulips, and some " lords and ladies," the
inside of the sheath of which was covered with the
same black velvety powder as the stamen. I also
observed that we had got into the land of date-trees
again.

454 ' CAVALRY ESCORT.
Returning to the caravanserai I found the Agha's
agent had invited some friends to meet me, and we
sat discussing agriculture, politics, etc, until dinner
time. The governor sent over an offer of an escort of
twelve mounted soldiers, but these I refused with
many thanks, saying that we had come safely through
many wild countries, and trusted that no such pre
caution could be necessary in a country so well
governed as his appeared to be.
His messenger returned in the evening, saying that
there were Iliaut families in the road who were very
dangerous, I considered that it was merely an
attempt to obtain bakshish, and replied that I knew
the Iliaut well, and spoke their language, and so the
matter rested,
I had strong fever all night, and in the morning
could hardly touch the hospitable doctor's breakfast,
but I was anxious with a feverish anxiety to get on to
Baghdad, where was an European surgeon, and in
sisted on pushing on while I could ride, I remember
on leaving Khanakin we forded a rapid, shallow stream,
and some hundred yards beyond crossed a lofty stone
bridge under which it had formerly run.
As the sun got high I felt very ill, and Ghulamshah
and Mahmud Bey rode close by me, one on either
side. It was fortunate that I took this precaution, for
I suddenly felt dizzy and helpless, and should have
fallen heavily had they not cleverly caught me and
takeh me off my horse, I recollect little that followed,
Ghulamshah squeezed an orange into my mouth, and
twice my head was bathed with water, Mahmud Bey
rode about twenty-eight miles for those two bowls of

SUNSTROKE. 455
water, I next awoke to find myself lying on some
grass. It was evening, and there were a little boy
and girl tugging at some shrubs to make firewood,
I thought I was all alone, but presently some one
said", " He's dead," Then Ghulamshah's voice said :
" Sahib ! Sahib ! " and I turned round and answered
him. Then they carried me into an Iliaut tent Some
time afterwards they gave me some hot tea, and I
roused up. We were in a large black tent and ten or
a dozen swarthy Iliaut were sitting round the fire.
Hadi was there, and Ghulamshah was boiling water
for tea. I soon pulled myself together, and saluted
the assembled company. The sheikh ordered a large
bowl of milk and rice. He then called for a box, and
this he very carefully unpacked. It contained two
custard glasses, and one glass saucer. These he pro
duced with immense gratification and pride for me to
drink my tea in. Ghulamshah had made sweet weak
tea for all parties, and overcome the sheikh's scruples
against adding to our meal the meat we had brought
for the day's journey. Mahmud Bey had galloped off
to Kazrabad, the next station, for soldiers. I ate
a little rice and milk, and then they wrapped me up
and I fell asleep, I was awakened some time after
by the noise of driving tent-pegs. This, however, was
a familiar sound, and I slept again.
About midnight I was awakened by voices, and found
Mahmud Bey had arrived with an escort of cavalry.
On trying to rise I found that a wind had arisen in tha»
night, and that the tent-pegs had been driven through
my blanket, and that I was a prisoner, I was soon re
leased, and after several attempts, was hoisted on to
Ghulamshah's horse, which was quieter than mine.

456 A PUZZLED STORK.
and we marched out into the night We thanked our
host as well as we could, and I gave him some present
but I do not remember what. We got to Kazrabad
about sunrise, and I was put to bed on the roof of
a caravanserai. Here I dozed away the whole day,
I remember nothing about Kazrabad, but two inci
dents that occurred there are still very fresh in my
memory. It is perhaps odd that they are more or
less ludicrous.
On the same roof as that on which I was lying two
storks were building a nest, and close by me were
a number of sticks suitable for the purpose. The old
stork was very tame, but still rather doubtful about
coming close enough to get the sticks. After much
caution he came and took an outside one ; then another ;
then he seemed to me to reflect that as each journey
was rather hazardous, he would do well to take two or
three at a time. So he came, took up one, and gave
it a jerk into the back part of his bill, and then clawed
about for another. Of course his bill was wedged
wide open, but he did not understand that, and he
tried first one stick and then another, naturally without
success. At last I involuntarily burst out laughing,
and said out loud, " You stupid ass " ! He gave one
tremendous leap on to the low wall round the roof,
looked sharply at me over his shoulder for a second,
and then sidled along the wall to a safe distance
and eyed me pensively. Soon he appeared to give
^he matter up, and looking round he found his
wife catching frogs in a stagnant pool down below,
instead of gathering sticks. So he flew off to the pond
too, and was soon as busy fishing as if he had never
wanted any sticks in his life.

THE CONCERT INTERRUPTED. 457
Another thing that amused me while lying there on
the roof was this. Two or three of the soldiers were
talking down in the courtyard, and one of them began
to sing. I could not see them, but I heard what
follows. In the middle of the song one of the mules
began to bray.
Singer angrily : " Are you going to take the very
words out of my mouth ? " All waited gravely until
the mule had finished, when the singer resumed his
song as if it had never been interrupted.
We were now eighty miles from Baghdad, and
Mahmud Bey fearing I was getting worse, volunteered
to ride straight there and tell the English surgeon
how ill I was. He started, but, poor fellow, killed
his beloved horse, and had to walk fourteen miles with
all its heavy harness, saddle-bags, etc., and a heavy
heart of his own into the bargain. At the end of that
distance, however he hired a horse and arrived safely.
I picked up rapidly (this was my third sunstroke),
and next day we marched slowly on to Shahr Reban,
I have many notes here, but they are undecipherable
excepting the figures of the meteorological readings,
which I evidently spared no pains to make clear.
From Shahr Reban to Yakubabad was rich fertile
ground, I remember a " sounder," of fourteen wild
pig, and numbers of francolin, and that we were caught
in a violent shower of rain, accompanied by heavy
thunder and lightning. The mud was excessively
heavy. Here we looked out clean clothes in which to appear
before our English friends. The less said on this
head the better. The mackintoshes were all right,
and covered a multitude of sins. From Yakubabad to

458 BAGHDAD.
Baghdad is a long ride over a barren plain — barren
because inundated entirely every yean But our spirits
rose as we neared the place, and saw the tall minarets
growing nearer, the fringe of the palm trees that marked
the line of the Euphrates growing gradually clearer and
clearer, and at last we fairly galloped up to the gate.
We rode through apparently endless streets, asking
our way to the British Residency, where we eventually
arrived, but only to find it deserted of Europeans.
However, an old Hindoo servant showed me a room
in which I might sleep, and made me an omelette, and
I did what I could to eat it.
Next morning I sought the hospitality of Messrs.
Gray Paul's agents, and at once found myself at home.
I think the general impression Baghdad gave me
was that it was a place of great commercial activity
and intelligent progress.
Midhat Pasha's work has not been thrown away.
At Kirman you go to see a stifling hole in which
Cashmere shawls are made, and a finely built richly
endowed school of learning of doubtful utility. At
Yezd you go and see fine airy Workshops for weaving
and dyeing silk. At Ispahan you go to see a tawdry
old palace, or climb up pillars whose only apparent
feature is that they are not so safe as it might be. At
Kirmanshahan you go to see an army camped in a
valley liable to perpetual inundation, and some rock
sculptures, which are very old. At Baghdad you go
to see a magnificent school of trades and arts. Here
boys are taught carefully and well every trade that
I can think of They are made blacksmiths, copper
smiths, tinsmiths, carpenters, weavers, dyers, printers,
bookbinders, and I believe every trade is represented.

THE PLAGUE. 459
This institution was so admirably established that it
was self-supporting. At Baghdad also, is a fine large
well-built and well-arranged custom house, where the
goods are properly housed and can be got out without
unnecessary delay,*
I spent eleven days in Baghdad very pleasantly
indeed, thanks to my friends Messrs, Coupbara and
Halliday, Still there were one or two difficulties.
Poor Ghulamshah got cruelly beaten and robbed
merely because he was an inoffensive youth, and was
dressed in a strange costume, and the worst was that
I could not get any redress, until I telegraphed to the
Foreign Office, to whom I was grateful for a prompt
reply. From our start from Jask up to Baghdad, not a man
of mine had ever had a finger laid on him. And here,
if there had not been a Residency, I would have
bought the men who beat my boy the best bastinado
ing I could get them, whatever it might cost me,
Mahmud Bey was pursued by ill luck, and now fell
ill of smaU-pox, He had but a slight attack, however,
and soon got over the worst. Rumours of plague
were prevalent, and every day we were threatened
with quarantine. We had, however, delightful rides
out of the town among the country houses and orange
gardens, the scent of which filled the air. The
sanitary arrangements in this quarter were not, how
ever, so good as in the crowded city, and when one
drew in a long breath of fragrance of orange the last
few inches of it were not unfrequently dead camel.
This was disagreeable,
* Tobacco from Ispahan, pays here 75 per cent, customs duty.

46o DEPARTURE FROM BAGHDAD.
We went to see the ex-king of Oudh (Oude), a
rather well known character, who draws a large annuity
from the British Government on condition he lives
out of India, and who consequently has attained
an immense age. In the parallels I have drawn in
this chapter, he should be introduced into the sights
of Baghdad as a set-off to the shaking minarets of
Ispahan. One day we rode out along the great dyke which
is built all round Baghdad, to keep the water of the
Euphrates from drowning the city during the inunda
tion. I was not prepared for what was to come, and
was astonished on mounting the bank to find the broad
dusty plain over which we had ridden was one sea
of muddy water as far as the eye could reach,
Baghdad was an island. Along the embankment
were soldiers' tents, and hundreds of men were hastily
repairing breaches and strengthening places threatened,
I made inquiries as to whether any engineering
works existed for controlling and using this grand
fertilising stream, but could hear of none.
On the evening of the 28th the doctor came in after
dinner and warned me that I had better depart as
soon as possible if I wished to avoid being placed in
quarantine for fifteen days, A boat was starting at
midnight, and after consideration I decided to leave
by that more especially as the captain of it was a
friend of mine. Hadi was already on his way back to
Ispahan, taking the Padishah at his own price as part
of his wages, Ali Akber had been paid up, and was
now looking for a new freight Mahmud Bey was
nearly recovered, and ready to resume his pilgrimage
to Kerbela, and I won his eternal gratitude by giving

THE TREE OF THE FRUIT OF GOOD AND EVIL.
462

BASREH. 463
him the Padre and a letter to show to any one he
might meet who knew English,
We packed up in very short time, and by midnight
were trudging down the deserted bazaars to the
steamer, I said good-bye to my two kind hosts, and
at daybreak we were rushing down the tide to Basreh
(often spelt Bussorah), Sometimes during these in
undations hons get stranded on islands and are shot
from the steamer, but we saw none on this trip.
We passed Gurna, the reputed site of the garden of
Eden, and two Effendis, with whom I had got into
conversation pointed out a very lofty tree, enclosed in
a fence, and gravely assured me it was the tree of the
fruit of good and evil. They vowed that it was the
only one of its species known, and I took a careful
sketch of it.
Once arrived at Basreh I was among old friends,
who counted in their number poor Captain Carter and
Cadenhead, both of whom were afterwards killed in
Central Africa.
Having now once made up my mind to go home, I
was all anxiety to get there as quickly as possible.
Fortunately the ill-fated Mesopotamia * was just
starting, and we took our passages. After an unevent
ful voyage we landed at Marseilles, where I got a
huge bundle of letters from home. Ghulamshah, who
now for the first time saw railways, gas lamps, etc.,
was presented with a suit of European clothes, and we
rushed off by express through Paris, Calais, Dover,
and about 5 o'clock on the morning of the 12th of
May we arrived at Charing Cross in one of the
* Afterwards wrecked off Lisbon.

464 LONDON
densest fogs I had seen for years. As the porter
slammed to the door of the hansom, he touched his
cap, and said : " Going to be a fine day, sir," and we
drove off home.

APPENDIX A,

OBSERVATIONS ON SOME DIALECTS OF WESTERN
BALUCHISTAN AND OTHERS AKIN TO THEM.
In October, 1874, Mr. Edwin Pierce presented to the Royal
Asiatic Society in Bombay, a paper in which for the first time the
Mekran Baluchi dialect was reduced to writing, and which contained
an admirable statement of the general laws governing it, and a useful
vocabulary. In this vocabulary he gave the derivations of nearly all the words,
tracing them to Persian, a few to Sindhi, and some to Arabic.
There were, however, a considerable number "undesignated."
During two explorations in Western Baluchistan I collected several
vocabularies, but recently having had an opportunity of getting
north into Kurdistan, I was gratified to find nearly all the un
designated words in common use there. I soon afterwards had an
opportunity of collecting Aughani (Affghanee) vocabularies, and
also some in the islands of the Persian Gulf.
The study of dialects is, I think, a much more interesting study
than that of written language. Where there is a literature, and the
grammarians of a country agree to refer to one standard, it is useful
to keep up a standard, though that should be constantly altered to
keep pace with the constantly changing language. I would suggest
that the dialects in the following pages (and possibly all dialects)
have been modified by two causes. The physical nature of the
country and the occupations of the inhabitants decide what words
are wanted, and the pliability and fineness of the muscles of the
tongue and lips, and the shape of the former, decide the pronun
ciation. The Mekran Baluchis have a separate name for a camel at each
year of its age. At each village there. are almost as many kinds of
dates as there are trees, each with a separate name. Dates at each
period of their ripeness are called by a different name ; when packed
up for transport they receive a difi'erent name. This is the same
46s H H

466 APPENDIX A.
among such Bedawin as depend much upon their camels and dates,
such as those in the Syrian desert. We have only the words
"camel" and "date" to represent nearly one hundred words in
Baluchi. The reverse is of course easy to find, as the number of
words for "house" in EngUsh as compared with the Baluchis' one
word. In the matter of pronunciation I think proof is easy. Many
Baluchis cannot pronounce the letter/ It is to them an unwonted
contraction of the upper lip, the muscles of which are not accus
tomed to the particular direction of movement required. But he
can learn, just as a man's fingers can be taught to write. It took me
nearly six months to acquire full power over the Arabic guttural h,
and nearly the same time over the Devanagari four dotted " ra."
But I found I acquired them gradually, showing that the muscles
by degrees attained the necessary elasticity. The Persians never get
over the dh sound, and the Egyptians the Arabic kaf, because they
do not try ; but they could be taught. I will merely add that each
variety of man has his facilities and difficulties among the con
sonants. The Aughan may be said to find gutturals come natural
to him, and labials almost impossible. To the Bakhtiari gutturals
are impossible, labials difficult, and linguals and dentals seem to be
his sole stock. »
I will but off'er one more suggestion before proceeding to the
actual dialects under review, and this perhaps I should have men
tioned before. It is that the study of languages and that of dialects
should be held somewhat distinct. The language should be studied.
It is the standard, or, as it were, the solidification of the various
changes that language has undergone during past centuries. But
the dialects are the coming race ; they mean so much, and speak
so much, especially if the people have no literature, and cannot tie
themselves down to forms, whose application has very likely gone
out of use. You are not troubled with synonyms. Useless words
drop out of circulation, and only those remain which are necessary.
The copiousness of a vocabulary, the capacity of its verbs for
expressing involved or abstract ideas, whether it is adopting new
words or dropping old words, all aff'ord an insight into whether a
country is progressing or not, i.e. whether its wants and consequent
supply are increasing or decreasing.
With reference to the vocabulary, I would mention that the Per
sian is merely inserted to give, as it were, the standard ; and that
the expressions in that language are not always idiomatic, though

APPENDIX A.

467

always grammatical. The idiom has been departed from in order to
use the word used in the dialects, but it is always given in a note.
The basis of the vocabulary is taken almost without alteration from
Mr. Pierce's book.* I cannot sufficiently regret the destruction of
much of my Bashakard manuscript. That dialect is a more extra
ordinary corruption than any of the others, and has the peculiarity
of retaining some gutturals. Pers. jOurma, for instance, they pro
nounce Khuva. or Rum. One more example. The Persian root
" bin," to see. The Baluchis prefer g to b, and make it " gin." But
n is too light a letter to rest a long t on without an effort. So they
compromise by assisting the n with a d, thus making it easier to say,
but leaving it the same preponderance of sound ; they make it
" gind." But the Bashakardi does not shrink from the "^in,'' I
remember Rais All's observation when trying to see through my
microscope, " Man hich naginan " — " I can see nothing."

Bashakardi, Rra i mail.

I.

Eng,

Come here.

Bal.

Ingwa bia.

Kur

. Rra li men.

Bowa li men.

Pers

1. Inja bia.

Affgh. Rasha.

2.
E.

Come near.

B.

Nazik bia.

K.

Bowa nazik.

P.

Nazdik bia.

A.

Nazdi Rasha.

3-

E.

Come inside.

B.

Thar bia.

K. Bowa na.
P. Dakhil bia.
A, Danana Rasha.

Bash., Budu ba-dil : go to the heart
of ; also used thus : Are you
going to Anguhran? — Ba-dil-
i-anguhran arai ? "

* Mr. Pierce has since nearly completed a perfect grammar and dictionary.
The first book, h.owever, notwithstanding the extraordinary difficulties of putting
into writing the language of a wild illiterate people, was so carefully done that it
will always be valuable.

468

APPENDIX A.

4-E.B. K. P.
A, 5- E.
B. K.P.
A. 6. E.
B.K.P.A. 7-
E, B.K. P, A.
8.E. B. K.P.
A. 9-E. B. K,

The English "bang," onomatopoeic,
b becomes gw, and d.

id. Jinjal makun. Bang zadan is
a book expression.
i.e. Be silent ; conf. Urdu chuprao.

^ becomes a>
i.e. Be active.

Do not take from your heart.
Do not be without thought.

Don't make a noise.
Gwanka majan.
Dang makan.
Bang mazan ;
Chiipkau ;
Be careful.
Habardar bu.
Hushyar bah ;
Khabar dar.
Khabardar waussah.
Don't forget.
Dila mabar.
Behayal mabu.
Faramush makan.
Faramush makun.
May ra ghwara.

Remember what I say ; or, whatever I say, remember.
Mani habara haiyal bedar,
Har che man agweshin hayal bedar.
Owa ki man yeusham to yad Note gw of Bal, agweshin be-
bigir. ' comes y.
Har chi man miguyam tu yad bakun.
Har chi zowaim yad-i-kowa. b into z, and g omitted.

Do you remember ?
Tura haiyal in ?
Hala fikarat?
Yad mikuni ?
Yad-i-Kawa ?
I do not remember,
Man behaiyal un,
Balad nim.

West. Bal., Tura yad abi? — Is
there to you remembrance ?

Balad in Bal. is a guide. Balad
nim or nistam — I am not a
guide, don't know.

APPENDIX A.

469

P. Yad namikunam ;
A. Na yad a kunan.

id. yad nadaram.
As in Bal, the m
comes n.

of kunam be-

10.

E.

Come back.

B.

Pada bia.

K.

Bo dua.

P.

Pas bia.

A.

Rustar rasha.

Pusta rasha.

II.

E.

Go home.

B.

Loga boro.

K.

Bishua rummal.

Bishu rummal.
P.
Biro khana.
A.
Warza kurta.
12.
E.
Light the lamp.
B.
Chiraga rok pekan.
K
Chiragh bar roshan bakan,
P,
Chiraghra rushan bakun.
A,
Chiragh wala kowa.
13-
E.
Put out the lamp.
B.
Chiraga pukush.
K.
Piffkan li chiragh.
P.
Chiraghra bukush.
A.
Chiragh murakka.
14.
E.
Turn to the right.
B.
Rasta bitar.
K.
Dast i rast bichii.
P.
Dast i rast biro.
A.
Khil las warza.
Bashakardi, Rra lahar. " Jade "
is homestead ; "lahar, "a single
hut, " Pja " means " come "
or " go," according to context
Ar. jj^j war, he lit.
d becomes /, and
omitted.
t of "dast'
47°

APPENDIX A.

15-
E.B. K, P.
A.

1 6.
E,
B. K.P.
A. 17-
E,
B. K,

A, 1 8.
E.
B.

Give my compliments.
Mani salama birasan.
Salami man birissan,
Salam i man birasan.
Az man salam waia.

Be silent
Towar makan.
Shur makun,
Jung mukowa.
As I say so, do.
Hanch ki man
hancho pekan.
Owa ki man yeusham chine
bakan ;
Hamchunan ki miguyam
chunan bukun.
Harchi zowaim to wukowa.
Mind your own business.
Wati kara pekan.

Pers. root " guy," g becomes w,
and there is no prefix for im
perative.

K, Kar i Mwat bakan,
P, Kar i Mudut bakun,
A, Khpiil kar wukowa.

agweshin West. Bal,, "chosh pikan,"

lit. That which I say.
Pers. root "guy " becomes "gwe,"
" yeu," and " zow."

The Pers. for "own" is ^Md,
spelt ji«e> khwud. Persians
in pronouncing omit the w.
Bal, omit the kh and make
d, t. Kurd, retain both, open
the u Xo a (like "fat"), and
put t instead of d. They reject
also the prenominal affixes
" my own," " your own." Pers,
khudum, khudut.

This seems improbable. I merely
suggest/ and/and b and v and
w are always interchangeable,
and, as in No. 14, (^ often be
comes /, which makes khwud.

APPENDIX A.

471

19,
E, B,

P.
A,
20.
E,B.
K, P,
A 21,
E.
B,K,P,
A. 22,
E.
B,

23-
E.
B.K.
P.
A.

Bring drinking water,
Waragi apa biar.

K. Yitki aba bar, bukhwum.

Ab i-khwurdan biar.
Khougi oubou roura.
Bring water for washing hands.
Dast shodaga apa biar. '

Persian root " to eat," khwurdan,
^lSj) »^; same olpservations apply
here as in No. 18, re omitting
kh. Here is Bal. infin. term.
on Pers. root.
Bring a little water that I may
drink it. Bukhwum = bukhu-
rum, r omitted.
Kh retained and r omitted.

Yitki aba dam sho bashiiram ;
Ab biar ki dast bishuiyam.
Oubou roura che las yinzim.
Go slowly.
Wash washa biro.
Yowashta bichu.
Ahista, ahista biro.
Ro ro za.
Don't let hini go,
Aira mail roaga.

"r" of Pers. root shur, "wash
becomes d.
lit. That I may wash.

K, Mail bichut ;
P. Maguzar ki birawad.
A. May prida chi zi.

When are you starting ?
To kadin sark agiri ?
Kay towa bichit ?
Kay rah migiri ?
Kala bat to zi ?

Query from Pers, khwush, " plea
santly, gently."
In the verb " to go " Bal. take
some tenses from Pers.root"ro"
and the rest from Kurdi " chi."

Root yele with Per. neg. prefix ;
lit. Don't allow him to go.
lit. Do not allow that he go.

When do you take the road ?
When do you take the road ?
"bat,'' corruption of wakt fc=-«jj
Ar. ; in Bal. wakt becomes
wahdi and waht.

472

APPENDIX A.

24.
E. We go to-morrow early.
B. Ama soba mahala 'roan.
K. Dami su chimen.

P. Ma subh mirawim ;

A. Subah sohr azum.

Here the bh of subh disappears.
Note the verb chimen and
Aflfgh. azum.
pronounced suhb. Ar. ---w^ by
metathesis. Many Arabic
words in which a final guttural
follows a jezmated consonant
are unpronounceable except
by metathesis, conf. naf' ^^
pronounced na'f, "profit." daf,
«Aj pron. da'f, " repelling."

25-

E.

Who are you ?

B.

To kai e.

K.

To kai it.

P.

To kisti.

A.

To tsoki.

26.E. Where have you come from ?
B. Ash kuja atkage ? West. Bal., Handagi. See prelira.
obs.
K. La ku hatita ?
P. Az kuja amadi ?
Bas. Katam mail wokho ? Pers. kudam, " which " ; Ar. mail,
" inclination. "
A. Kum zana raghali ?

27. E.
B.K,P.
A. 28.E.B.

Where have they gone ?
A kuja angu shutagan ?
Rra kou towa bichit ?
Anha kuja rafta and ?
A Mulk chirta lara ?
What do you want ?
To che loti ?

APPENDIX A.

473

K. Che towait ?

P, Chi miMwahi ?
A.

29.
E.
B. K,
P.
A. 3°-
E.B. K.
P.A. 31-
E.
B. K.
P.A.

32-E.
B. K.
P.
A, 33-
E,'B.K.
P,
A.

Note the w of Pers. root ai^
"wish" not pronounced in Pers.
Here kh is lost,
towait — twait — khwait — ^khwahud.

Where do you live ?
To kuja ninde ?
La ku nishit ?
Kuja nishasta i ?
To chirta nasti ?

or, kuja minishini

All from Pers.
root nishin, " sit."

Where are you going ?
Kujanga aroi (or arai) ?
Rra kou chit ?
Kuja mirawi?
To chirta zi ?

When will he return ?
A Kadin pada 'kait ?
Kay galow akhwait ?
Kay pas miaiud ?
Agha ba kala rashi ?

He will never return.
A izhbar pada na ait.
Hargiz galow nakhwait
Izbar pas namiaud
Agha na rashi.
What is the use of that ?
A che kar akait ?
Yeh wa che kar atait ?
An ba che kar miaiud ?
Da shay du che kar day ?

The termination gha appears to
be affixed to d "this;" and
da, "that," whenever those
pronouns are subjects, or other
wise require emphasis.

lit. That, what work does it come.

474

APPENDIX A.

34. E,B.

35-E,B.

Why do you do thus ?
To parcha chosh akdni ?

K. Rra chino akait ?
P. Chura hamchi mikuni ?
A To tsilora hay dassi ?

What is the matter ?
Che buta?

K. Cha piat?
P. Che biid ?
A, Tziddi ; or, Tzo wushu ?

36.E.B. K.
P. A. 37-E.
B. K.
P. A.
38. E. B.K.

P.A.

What do you call this ?
To eshira chi 'gwashi ?
To in chiz chi meguyi ?
Deday chiz to tso wai ?
What is the name of this ?
Eshi nam che ?
Nami chi ast ?
Nam-i-in chist?
Deday niim tsiddi ?

Parcha, "why" = Pers. barai che —
"for the sake of what," "why."

lit., What was it? West, Bal.,
Che bid, by common inter
change of 5 and l and u and i,
as, nusf, "half :" nisf.

T-. f understand ?
D°y°Mknow? To sarpad abi? Na man
sarpad n'abain ;
Zanit ? Na, nayazanum.

Mifahmi ? Na namifahmum.
Tato malum di ? Na, nay
payjanum.

No I don't.

lit. Are you informed ?
Conf. Bal., Azani ? Na nayazanun
— Do you know ? No, I don't
know ; and Pers., Mi dani ?
Na namidanum.

Conf. Urdu, Nai pachanta.

APPENDIX A. 47 S

39-

E.

Make him understand.

B.

Aira sarpad kan. West. Bal, Aira haii bukun.

K.

HaU bukun, Conf West, Bal., Haii bi— Do

you understand ?

P,

Halush bukun Vulgar,

A,

Da samjou wukowa. Conf. Urdu Samjana — to cause

to understand.
40.
E.
Listen to me.
B,
Mani habara gosh dar. West. Bal, Mana gosha bikash —
Pull to me your ear.
K,
Gosh bia ; lit. Bring your ear.
P.
(Vulg.) Gosham bidih.
A.
Az ma khabara woura
41. E.
What you say is true.
B.
Hancho ki to agwashi rast an.
K,
Owa ki to ayushi ras an.
P.
Hamchi (or an) ki to migiiyi rast ast.
A.
Da to che wai tol rishtia di tol, Ar. J^, " length."
42.
E,
Say it again.
B,
Noka bagwash.
K.
Hambiish bezan.
P,
No bugu.
A,
Bia owaia.
43-
E,
I will give you ten rupees a month.
B, K.
P,
Man tura maha da kaldara dein.
Man tura dah rupia midahim mahi (or, ba mah).
A,
Zii tata lass rupia dar miashti dar kowuma.
44
E.
Very good, sir,, I agree.
B,
Sak shar Waja kabul in ; Sak for sakt, " hard, vehemently."
K,
Khasa kaTjoul deyrim.
P,
Khub khwaja kabul daram.
A.
Khadtha kabul di.
APPENDIX B.

BOTANY,

The following is a list of the plants collected en route. I owe my
best thanks to Professor Oliver and Mr. Spencer Moore, of the
Royal Gardens, Kew, for the great trouble they took in identifying
my specimens collected iii the desert island of Henjam.
Arnebia sp. ?
Anagallis ; English Pimpernel.
Astralagus corrugatus Bert,
Antirrhinum orontium, L.
Capparis spinosa, var. Leucophylla.
.^luropus Isevis, Trin. ; Baliichi, Ban.
Hehanthemum Lippii, Pers. ; Baliichi, Rukh.
Erucaria Aleppica G.
Picridium tingitanum, Desf.
Cuscuta globulosa ; English, Dodder; Baliichi, Roganii.
Urospermum picroides, Desf.
Geranium, sp. not determinable.
Cometes Surattensis, B. M,
Gymnocarpus sp. ?
Farsetia Heliophila ? Bunge ; Baliichi, Darispeet.
Senecio gallicus ; English, Groundsell ; Baliichi, Siiriiwahing.
Ononis, English Restharrow,
Caroxylon foetidum, Moq'.
Herniaria Hirsuta, Lam.
Rumex vesicarius ; English, Sourgrass ; Baliichi, Turushuk.
Spergula pentandra ; English, Cornflower.
Abutilon denticulatum, Pl. ; English, Mallow.
Lericostoma Katschyi, Bth.
Iphiona scabra, D. C. ; compare Asphodelus.
Frankenia pulverulenta.
Senecio dubius, Led,
Boerhaavia plumbaginea. Car.
Crotalaria furfuracea, Bois, ; Baliichi, Yellow darispeet
476

APPENDIX B. 477
Kcelaria Phleoides ; Baluchi, Kah-i-gandum-gia,
Andropagon foveolatus, Del.
Parietaria alsincefolia ; English Pellitory ofthe wall,
Erucaria linearifolia.
Mesembryanthemum nodiflerum ; used in making powder.
Jygophyllum album, L,
Cleome trinervia ; Baluchi, Rogardish, i.e., revolving with the sun,
Reseda canescens, L.
Taverniera spartea, D.C. ; Baliichi, Lorti, the famous camel-grass ;
Persian, Khurus.
Oligomeris glaucescens, Camb.
Lotus frigonelloides, Webb.
Acacia Nubica, Bth.
Abrua Javanica, L. ; Baliichi, Gurmanuk.
Heliotropium rotundifolium ; Sieb. vel. sp. aff.
Lavandula, a dwarf English lavender.
Microrhynchus nudicaulis. Less.
Anclusa Milleri, W. var. ?
Ephedra campylopoda, C. A Meq.
Stipa tortilis.
Polycarpaea spicata, Arn,
Triticum sp. ?
Lotononis sp. ?
Indigofera Arabica ?
Pennisetum cenchroides, Rich. ; Baliichi, Sivr,
Solanum sanctum, L.
Scrofularia marginata, Boiss ? Baluchi, Mughir ; Arabic, Ghauban.
Stipa pennata, a lovely grass like miniature ostrich feathers.
Blepharis edulis, Pers,
Crozophora tinctoria,
Sahcornia sp. ? ; Baluchi, Trat, the famous camel appetizer ; Arabic,
hamth (^iuo), or sourness,
Heliotropium undulatum, Vahl,
Vincetoxicum sp. ? Baliichi, Bishdar,
Periploca aphylla.
Haplophyllum furfuraceum, Bge.
Reaumuria Floyeri. A new species ; a small upright plant with a
flower something like a convolvolus, and varying in colour from
white to pink and purple. It has the power of condensing on
its leaves large crystals of salt, which, on being removed, are
rapidly reproduced.

478 APPENDIX B.
Extracted from The Journal of Botany for October, 1877.
"Reaumuria Floyeri, sp. nov,
" Erecta, ramis ad angulum prope rectum divergentibus, folii
planis sparsis spathulato-oblongis quasi subpetiolatis obtusissimis,
anillaribus nullis, ramorum floralium reliquis subconformibus, bracteis
erectis foliis subsimilibus (basi paullo latioribus) calyci subaequilongis
margine minute undulatis, calycis pone ad basin partiti laciniis erectis
oblongo-linearibus, petalis fere oblongis calycem sequantibus lobo
altero obsolete, filamentis basi integris, placentis circiter 7-ovulatis.
"Habitat. — Ad Henjam, prope Sinum Persicum. " Coll. E. A. Floyer."
"Planta quippiam misera. Folia i'o-i'4 cm. long., sub apice
o'2 5 cm. lat. Petala foliis subaequilonga ob paucitatem materiei
infaustam ovula exactius numerare non potui.
" Ex affinitate R. Stocksii Bons., et R. hypericoides, L. Ab ilia
abhorret inter alia equidem foliis planis sparsis majoribus basi mani
feste angustatis, ab hae vero forma, foliorum diversa, calycis laciniis
angustioribus et longioribus, petalis fere oblongis."
Polygala erioptera, D.C.
Arnebia hispidissima, D.C.
Euphorbia chamse ?
Ochrademus baccutus, D.C.
Pimpinella sp.
Filago Germanica.
Plantago villosa. var ?
Spinacea ; Baliichi, Gastak.
Malva.
Zizyphus' vulgaris : Baliichi and Persian, Kunar; Arabic, Nabk, I
have here taken the liberty to diff'er from Professor Oliver, who
named this Capparis Spinosa. The plants are much alike, and
possibly my specimens were not large enough for accurate
identification.
Aizoon canariense.
Trifolium ; English Clover.
Trianthema pentandra.
Trigonella.Crotolaria ^gyptiaca.
Convolvolus glomeratus.
Ipomoea sescaprae.

APPENDIX B. 479
Cressa cretica.
Eragrostis megaslachya. The following were collected in Bashakard.
Astragalus, Acacia. Iphiona. Forskahlia.Chenopodiacea ?
Potamogeton natans. Found at Manujan.
Zizyphus lotus,
Lycium ; Baliichi, Dihir.
Carthamus. Ephedra; Baliichi, Majguk.
The following from Persia and Kurdistan.
Caroxylon sahcornicum. Persian Odalik poisoned my camels at
Raiiin.
Muscari racemosum. Used for dyeing eggs.
Erodium, near E. cicutanium.
Iris reticulata.
Colchicum bulbocodioides.
Ceratocephalus falcatus.
Ranunculus calthsefolius.
I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Dickie, of the British Museum,
for identifying the following seaweeds collected at Henjam.
Gelidum corneum, Huds.
Acanthophora delilei, Lamour.
Champia Kotschyama, E. and D.
Laurencia obtusa. Huds.
Sargassum latifolium, Turner.
Dasya lallemandi, Mont.
Ulva reticulata, Forsh.
Chaetoniorpha Indica,
Cladophora albida, Huds.
Gracilaria corticata, Jaq.
Hypnea valentise, Turner.
Ulva latissima, L.
Cystoseira myrica, Grev.
Sargassum Acinaria, L.
Sargassum Boreanum, Jaq. ?

APPENDIX C.

GEOGRAPHY,
The instruments used for the following observations, were artificial
horizon and a large sextant ; a large ship's chronometer by Frod-
sham and Kean, and a chronometer watch. For heights I had a
large boiling-point thermometer and a five-inch aneroid barometer,
made by Stanley, which gave very good results when tested at Kew
Observatory on my return.
The astronomical observations were submitted for examination
and discussion to William Ellis, F.R.A.S., ofthe Royal Observatory,
Greenwich, who has furnished me with the following report thereon.
The astronomical observations made by Mr. Floyer consist of (i)
meridian altitudes of the sun, and altitudes of Polaris out of the
meridian, for determination of latitude ; and (2) of observations of
altitudes of the sun, before noon and after noon, for determination of
local times, and differences of longitude.
As regards the results for latitude it will be seen that at some
stations the latitude has been found, both by observations of the sun
(south of Zenith) and of Polaris (north of Zenith), and the good
agreement of the two results in all these cases shows that the obser
vations are trustworthy.
No observations for absolute longitude were made, and in the
absence of any good determination of chronometer rate, the observa
tions for differences of longitude have been treated as follows : —
The whole journey between. Jask and Baghdad was divided into
three portions : — I. Jask to Kirman ; II. Kirman to Ispahan ; and
III. Ispahan and Baghdad ; and longitudes of Jask, Kirman, Ispahan
and Baghdad assumed as follows :

0

'

It

h.

m.

s.

Jask , .

• 57-

46-

2

3-

51-

4

Kirman .

• 56-

59-

0

3-

47-

56

East from

Ispahan .

• 51-

40-

9

3'

26-

41

Greenwich

Baghdad .

• 44-

25-

0 480

2"

57-

40 J

APPENDIX C. 481
Then, for the stations included between Jask and Kirman, apply
ing the difference of longitude between Jask and Kirman (3 m. 8s.)
to the chronometer error on local time as determined at Jask, the
corresponding chronometer error on local time at Kirman is ob
tained. The diff'erence between this result and that given by actual
observation at Kirman was assumed to be due to chronometer rate,
and this diff'erence being divided by the number of days intervening
between the observations at Jask and Kirman, the daily rate to be
used in deducing the longitudes of all the stations included between
Jask and Kirman was found. The longitudes of all stations in the
first portion of the journey thus depend on the assumed longitudes
of Jask and Kirman.
The longitudes of the stations in the second and third portions of
the journey similarly depend on the longitudes of Kirman and Ispa
han, and on those of Ispahan and Baghdad, respectively, the chrono
meter rate for these portions of the joumey having been determined
precisely in the same way as the first portion.
The method of reduction adopted assumes that the chronometer
rate is uniform throughout each portion of the journey. The rates
(gaining) actually found in the several portions were i'37s., 5'77s.,
and I "Sos,, respectively. If the assumed absolute longitudes of the
terminal stations, above giveu, are to be depended upon, it would
appear that the chronometer rate, in the second portion of the
joumey, was much larger than in the first and third portions. It
may be mentioned that at Yezd, in the second portion of the joumey,
the chronometer error, through an accident, became altered, but
observations obtained at Yezd, both before and after the change,,
gave the means of determining its amount.
For reduction of the time observations at places whose latitudes
are not found in the annexed table, latitudes were adopted as fol
lows : O t tl
Jask ,  25- jS- o North,
Aghd. ch. Kh  32" 28* o „
Pishark or Fishark ... 32" 50* 30 „
Ispahan  32- 37' o »
Kokah  33' 30- o »
Sahna  34- 28" 30 „
Baghdad  33- 19- o „
The whole of the results deduced from the observations are con
tained in the following table : — I I

482 APPENDIX C.
Table of Concluded Latitudes and Longitudes,

Name of Station.

Geigen Village
Geigen Valley
Near Marrik
Camp Rais Ali
Sharifi River
Head ,
Bun Keram
Dar Pahan
TellingManujan
Bargah Kahnu
Dosari
Dasht-i-KuchMaskun .
3f miles north)
of Diarbekri >
Caravan . )
Bam Plain . .
SabUstanorSar- \
vistan . . \
Tahrut River
Fort Raiun
Kirman .
Ruban . .
BairamabadAnar , ,
On road from")
Anar to Kir- [
manshah , )
Kirmanshah , ,
Yezd . , , .
Maibut . . .
Arjanun Cara- )
vans . . . /
Aghd. ch. Kh. .
Todeshk i. , ,
Pishark or Fis- \
hark . . . (

Latitudes as deduced from
altitudes of

Sun.

25 48 2
25 49 6
25 S3 5°
26 26 10
26 26 20
26 34 34
26 40 28
26 54 33
27 23 43

Polaris.

27

S6

49

28

57

0

29

5

IS

29

16

36

29

35

56

30

17

39

30

25

23

30

53

22

31

2

5

31

54

40

32

14

21

27 38 21
28 26 47
28 40 50

29 12 16

29 25 44
30 18 7
30 19 42
30 24 46

31 17 38
31 55 8
32 14 24
32 20 39
32 43 43

Concluded Latitude North.

25 48 2
25 49 6
25 53 5°
26 26 10
26 26 20
26 34 34
26 40 28
26 54 33
27 23 43
27 38 21
27 56 49
28 26 47
28 40 50
28 57 o
29 5 IS
29 12 16
29 16 36
29 25 44
29 35 56
30 17 %?,
30 19 42
3° 25 5
30 53 22
31 2 5
31 17 38
31 54 54
32 14 23
32 20 39
32 43 43

ConcludedLongitude East from
Greenwich.

57 36 47
57 33 2
57 35 32
57 38 2
57 36 32
57 30 2
57 31 47
57 9
57 24
57 35
57 38
57 51
57 47
57 47

57 52 2

57 49 47
57 39 47
57 21 17
56 II o
55 55 30
55 16 30

54 17 30
53 58 15
53 45 45
53 36 o
52 34 30
52 IS 45

Positions on
wliich the
Longitude depends.

ani

ni

T) %

S
3

APPENDIX C.

483

Latitudes as deduced from

Concluded Latitude North.

Concluded

Positions on

Name of Station.

altitudes of

Longitude
East from

which the
Longitude

Sun.
Polaris.
Greenwich.
depends.
0 \ II
Ofn
0 / II
0 f It
Ain Shirwan or )
Sharun . . }
\
32 45 24
32 45 24
'SI 33 54
1
Chali Siah Cara- )
vans . , . J
32 52 22
32 52 22
51 23 39
Dey Hak .
33 7 21
33 7 21
50 56 24
-s
TJ
Durr . ,
33 18 29
33 18 29
5° 37 54
Kokah , ,
50 20 54
Khomain ,
33 39 20
33 39 20
50 2 39
t3
Khurumabad
33 48 29
33 48 29
49 42 9
Imaret , .
33 52 35
33 52 35
49 33 39
Parri , .
34 7 45
34 7 45
48 57 39
a
Dowletabad
34 18 23
34 18 25
34 18 24
48 47 39
-a
Kangiwar .
34 29 54
34 29 34
oia,
Sahna , ,
47 33 24
Bis Situn*.
34 23 4
34 23 4
47 21 24
Kirmanshahan .
34 19 14
34 19 14
46 59 24
Garind or Kurind
34 16 56
34 16 56
46 II 9
Pai-i-Takht , .
34 25 12
34 25 12
46 12 39
The position of Jask was determined by of&cers of the late Indian navy. That
of Kirman by Colonel St. John, Political Agent at Kandahar. In the work edited
by Sir F. Goldsmid, ' ' Eastern Persia, 1870-72," Colonel St. John, (then Major) has
devoted a whole chapter, pp. 1 1 i-i 15, vol. i., to the position of this place, but by a
mere printer's error it was given twice over as 59° 59' 60", instead of 56° 59' o" as
marked on the valuable map recently made by Colonel St. John for the Foreign
Office. The position of Ispahan was determined by the German transit of Venus
expedition, and the result kindly forwarded to me by the Astronomer Royal at
Berlin. The position of Baghdad was determined by officers of the late Indian
navy. The latitudes of Aghd, Pishark, Kokah, and Sahna are adopted from a
very carefully plotted-out dead reckoning from the last place of observation.
Every precaution possible was taken in carrying the chronometer ;
I believe, without exaggeration, I could have taken two babies in
arms with less anxiety. All sorts of methods were carefully experi
mented on before starting, and the one found best was that it should
be placed on the same side of the same camel, and placed at such
* Bis Situn means twenty pillars ; Bi Situn means without pillars. My inform
ants differed as to the correct name of this place.
484 APPENDIX C.
an angle in the box that when loaded it was horizontal, and that the
number of marching and stationary hours should be noted. It was
kept at a uniform temperature by being vreapped in my spare clothes.
After my return home I found Sir Frederic Goldsmid's book
on Persia just published, also Major St. John's fine map, on which
much of the country which I surveyed is marked " unexplored,"
and Anguhran placed, at a guess of course, about thirty miles from
its true position. It was gratifying to find, during the short piece
of country where our routes were identical, the results corresponded
very closely. I beheve I am wrong in putting the name of one
place Diarbekri, and that Major St. John is right in writing it Deh
Bakri, or the village of Bakri ; but I believe I am right in putting
" Kahnu " for " Khanu," " Dasht-i-Kuch " for " Dasht-i-Kushk," and
"Sagdir "for "Sakhtdar,"
"Kahnu" is I think derived from "Kahn," the underground
watercourses there, Dasht-i-Kuch means the plain in a corner or
angle, which is just the situation of the place indicated. Sagdir means
a blackberry bush, which is particularly abundant at the place thus
named, and nowhere else that I saw. Sir Frederic Goldsmid said
in conversation that he thought I was right in my version of the
last of these three places, '
An interesting problem would be solved as to the disappearance of
the Haliri and Bampiir rivers by a short journey from Fanoch
through the Shahri district, and another following up to its source
the Gabrig river.
The Bampur river cannot I think be that of Bint, nor that of
Maskhiitan, nor, as has occurred to me, does it split and form both.
That of Bint comes from the Rimish country, and forms a perennial
tributary to the Rapsh, That of Bampur comes from the N,E.,
and the Halir from the N.W., and the two would probably meet in
the fertile plain of Shahri, This plain receiving, as appears inevitable,
two large perennial rivers, also the drainage from the northern side
of the Band-i-Marz, must either contain such a lake or marsh as we
must have heard of, or its water find an outlet southward. There
are, I believe, three possible outlets : —
(i) The water may choose either of the huge torrent beds which
meet at Anguhran, and go to Jagin; or (2) It may be turned
eastwards along the foot of the Band-i-Marz, until it reaches the
Shimsani pass, whence I am assured the Sadaich river comes, and
thus find its way to the sea ; or, (3) It may form the western tribu
tary of the Bint river at Fanoch, and come doAvn with it.

APPENDIX C. 485
To be considered with reference to these three possible routes are
the following things : —
The Bampiir-i-Khaur, soon after leaving Bampiir, goes through a
vast sandy desert. The eff'ect of this may be illustrated by the
Sadaich-i-Khaur, which in the hills is a huge river bed, with at all
tirnes a considerable stream equal to that of Bampiir at Bampiir, but
which, when it emerges from the hills and passes into the sand-strip,
is nearly lost, and nearly dry in the summer season. The Bampur-i-
Khaur might, in like manner, arrive at the northern mountain
boundary, a very insignificant stream. The Hahri river would,
however, arrive at the Shahri plain about as large as when I crossed
it in Lat. N. 28, and Long. E. 5 7 '40.
With reference to possible outlet No. i, the torrent bed after the
junction is nearly a mile wide. But from the number of date-trees
planted in it, it has not been filled for at least thirty years. The
bed, however, is very flat, and the channel on the south-west side
could convey an enormous flood, but I could not gather from the
natives, after repeated inquiries, that such floods did occur. On the
whole, I think the third or Gabrig outlet to be the most probable.
It is always spoken of as a very important river. No one has ever
traced it up into the hills, and its size there cannot, as I have before
explained, be conjectured from its size in the sand-strip.

APPENDIX D,

METEOROLOGY,
The following observations were made as regularly as consistent
with incessant travelling.
Prefixed to them are the Kew certificates as to the condition ot
the instruments after the journey.
The letters used to describe the weather are adopted from Inskip's
navigation, and are as follows : —
B Blue sky, whether with clear or hazy atmosphere.
C Cloudy, but detached opening clouds.
D Drizzling rain.
F Foggy.
G Gloomy, dark weather.
H Hail.
L Lightning,
M Misty, hazy atmosphere,
O Overcast, the whole sky being covered with an impervious
cloud.
P Passing temporary showers.
Q Squally,
R Rain, continued rain,
S Snow.
T Thunder,
U Ugly threatening appearance of weather.
V Visibility of objects, whether sky cloudy or not.
W Wet, dew.
The use of italics for any letter emphasizes the letter. Use of
capital doubles it.
Kew Observatory. — Certificate of Examination.
Mountain thermometer (ranging from 190° to 212°), by Stanley,
London. Corrections to be applied to the scale readings, determined by
comparison with the standard instruments at the Kew Observatory,
486

APPENDIX D.

487

At 190°
195°200°
205° 212°

—1-7 —1-6
 1*0
— 0-6
 0"2

Kew Observatory. — Certificate of Examination.
Mountain thermometer, (ranging from 170° to 190°), by Stanley,
London. Corrections to be applied to the scale readings, determined by
comparison with the standard instruments at the Kew Observatory.
At 170° .... — 0-2

175°
180° 185°190°

—0-4—07—0-9— I-I

Kew Observatory. — Certificate of Examination,
Thermometers, Sixes. Scale divided on boxwood, by Stanley
London. (Verified unmounted and in a vertical position.)
Corrections to be applied to the scale readings, determined by
comparison with the standard instruments at the Kew Observatory,

Maximum,

Minimum.

At 32°

. . .  0'2

At

32°

. . . —0-4

42°

. . .  0-2

42°
. . . —0-5
52°
. . .  0'2
52°
. . . —0-4
62°
 O'I
62"
. . . —0-6
72°
. . .  0"I
72°
• . • —0-5
82=
. . , -l-o-i
82°
. . .  0-2
92°
. . . -l-o-i
92°
. . . — O'O
Note. — I. When the sign of the correction is -1- , the quantity is to
be added to the observed reading, and when — to be subtracted
from it.
II. . Mercurial thermometers are liable, through age, to read too
high; this instrument ought, therefore, at some future date, to be
again tested at the melting point of ice, and if its reading at that
point be found diff'erent from the one now given, an appropriate
correction should be applied to all the above points.
G, M, Whipple, Superintendent.
Kew Observatory, /««!?, 1877.
488

APPENDIX D.

Kew Observatory. — Certificate of Examination,
Aneroid barometer, by Stanley, London, No. 5,449.
Compared with the standard barometer of Kew Observatory
(reduced to 32° Fah'), with the following results : —

Pressure Inches.

Correction
in English
Feet.

Correction to
Aneroid with
a pressure
diminishing.

Correction to
Aneroid with
a pressure
increasing.

Correction
in. English
Feet.

3029 28
272625 '
242322

- 64
— 75
— 59
— 42
— 42
— 54
— 68
— 24
— II

-t- o-o;
+ 0-09
-(- o-o6
+ o'04
-f ©•04
+ 0-05
-(- o-o6
-1- 0-02
-1- o-oi

-t- 0-I2 *
+ 0-13
-1- 0'12
-f- 0'12
-1- o-ii
+ o-io
+ 0-07
+ 0-03
-1- O'OI

— 109
— 121
— 117
— 121
— "5
— 109
— 80
- 36
— II

Note. — When the sign of the correction is 4- , the quantity is to be
added to the observed scale reading, and when — , to be subtracted
from it. (Signed) G. M, Whipple, Superintendent
Kew Observatory, _/««« 13M, 1877.
Kew Observatory, — Certificate of Examination.
Thermometer, Mason's Hygrometer. Scale divided on boxwood,
by Stanley, London. (Verified unmounted and in a vertical posi
tion.) Corrections to be applied to the scale readings, determined by
comparison with the standard instmments at the Kew Observatory.

D,

W.

At 32° . . .

¦ —3-0

At

32° . .

. . -3-8

42° . . .

—3-0

42° . .

• • —3-2

52° . . .

—3-0

52° . .

. . —27

62° . . .

—2-8

62° . .

¦ • —2-5

72° . . .

—27

72" . •
• • —2-3
82° . . .
—2-6
82° . .
.  2 '2
92° . . .
—2-5
92° . .
. .  2'I
• It is probable that this correction wUl have become reduced to that first
obtained after the instrument has remained at the normal atmospheric pressure for
a few days.
APPENDIX D. 489
Note. — I, 'When the sign of the correction is -t-, the quantity is to
be added to the observed reading, and when — to be subtrcuted
fron) it.
II. Mercurial thermometers are liable, through age, to read too
high; this instrument ought, therefore, at some future date, to be
again tested at the melting point of ice, and if its reading at that
point be found different from the one now given, an appropriate
correction should be applied to all the above points.
G. M, Whipple, Superintendent.
Kew Observatory, _/«««, 1877.

1876,

November. — Geigen^ to Kahnu.

Place.
Date.
Time.
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar.
Max.
Min.
Sky.
Wind.
Remarks.
Str.
Dir.
Geigen
Nov. ist
9.30 a.
II a.
93-5
100
80-5
29'95
m.
0
3
S.E.
'
Noon
91-5
90-5
30-
...
m.
4
S.E.
3-30 P-
91
82-5
29-8
...
...
0
6 p.
84
76
¦82
IOI
66
c.
0
Distant thunder and
9 p.
78
73
•86
...
0
lightning to N.E.
Mid.
73-S
71
•86
...
...
0
Nov. 2nd
9 a.
89
-9
. ..
I
S.E.
3-30 P-
91
82
¦79
m.
3
S.E.
Distant thund., vivid
6 p.
87
72
•82
IOI
65
m.
0
lightning to N.E.
9 p.
80
72
•87
...
m.
0
Nov. 3rd
6 a,
70
63
•86
. . .
m.
0
Noon
101-5
80
•80
IOI
65
m.
I
S.E.
Solar-radiation; ther
3 P-
98
84
¦77
...
m.
3
S.E.
mometer at 2 p.
6 p.
84
78
•79
106.
9 p.
75
72
•82
Nov. 4th
9 a.
85 -s
75
•84
...
65
3 P-
87
80
-74
gl-
Th. and Itng, squalls
5 P-
• • •
•75
of rain and wind
6p,
83
79
from all quarters,
raging storm.
6.30 p.
.• •
...
...
...
...
Vivid lightning to W.
Nov. sth
6.30 a.
79
78
•91
. . >
4
Storm abt. 12 m. away,
th. shakes ground.
0

1876, November, —

Geigen

to

Kahnu (continued).

Place.
Date.
Time,
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar.
Max.
Min.
Sky.
Wind.
Remarks.
Str,
Dir.
Geigen
Nov.
Sth
9.30 a.
75
72-5
29-92
,
gi
Gloomy, th. to N.W,
3 miles N.
Nov,
6th
Noon
7 a.
74
66
71
66
•88•66
gi-
gl- b.
Q
,..
Thunder to S,W,
of Geigen
9 a.
75
72-5
•68
0
ioa.
76-8
74-5
•66
...
b.
0
10.30 a.
77-5
•64
• • .
c.
4 p.
78
70
•42
gi
4
Thund. tremendous.
4.20 p.
6.40 p.
72
68
•45
gi-
raining irregular
70
68
¦42
gl-
0
blocks of ice, i in.
Oushdan-
Nov,
7th
8 p.
6 a.
69
67
67-5 6o's
•46
•44
62
00
00
\
by 1 in.
darri.
6 p.
7.40 p.
7371
6968-5
•29
¦32
0 0
00
Stormy, rain all day.
Nov.
Sth
5-3° a-
63
61-5
-36
59
0
0
9 a.
73
70
¦41
Sharifi
4 p.
82
75
28-9
b.
2
River
7P-
9 p.
79
70
66
66
•96¦9
Dazaka
Nov.
9th
6.40 a.
9 a.
6868-5
6073
29- •I
.,.
63
c.
2
N.
9P-
68-5
63
27-26
c.
2
W,
Nov.
IOth
6 a.
58
56
-25
,..
55
c.
I
W.
Rais Ali's
Camp
9-3° a.
6 p.
74-5
66
66
62
•26 -07
b.
0
Streaky clouds.
(3
VO
492

APPENDIX D.

i

y
elds. s,
thun., vy
rain, d gusty E,dur- ill 9 a.m.

fl §
"
1
Min. at
night air. Solar radial p.m.,
io8°.
Slight streak Heavy cloud Itning,
hea strong
col wind
from ing night. Strong mist
t
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: WW
Pi3 W : : i
c
Q
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•z 'Z
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'i
cn
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CO
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¦a ID 0
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c
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yn : 00 : : : :
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lO . lO . . . .
: -irt . \rt .... \0 - vo
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t8
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Hlz;
:2
M
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Tj- .^ t~ t^OO 00 00 00 iH iH «
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rl
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f^
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p
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in mvo vo vo VD vo r* t-..vo *—
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o
OOO o
OOOO o
lz;
•z 'z 'z •z "Z
cn
13
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bo -Ja
,
•j3
.5 .h ..
8
ais
A Camp ir
Bui Shari Rive
Barah GazSh Rivei
|«
pq
1876, November. —

Geigen

TO Kahnu (continued).

Place.
Date.
Time. ,
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar.
Max.
Min.
Sky.
Wind.
Remarks.
Str,
Dir.
Gaz Shirai
Nov. 20th
80
65
29-18
b.
0
Nov. 2I,St
7 a.
60
55
•26
55
m.
0
...
Heavy dew at night ;
Zamin
4.30 p.
84-5
70
•2
...
c.
0
morning cold.
MuUa
6 p.
72
67
¦25
Nov. 22nd
7 a.
68-5
60-5
¦3
...
63
c
I
S.E.
Mackerel sky.
Telling
6 p.
9 p.
71 72
67-S66-5
•9
...
* •. .
0.
I
S.E.
Nov, 23rd
6.30 a.
65
62-5
•92
57
m.
0
3-3° P-
82-5
70
•76
88
m.
3
S.E.
Gusty,
Nov, 25 th
6.20 a.
68
56
•68
65
m.
I
N.
Jagin Fort
4 p.
9P-
80
63
63 57
•15
•25
m.
2
N.
Nov. 26 th
6 a.
52
48
-29
. . .
49
m.
Manujan
4.30 p.
76
62-5
28-86
...
...
...
Streaky clouds.
Nov. 27 th
II a.
85
78
-95
...
48
Sar Kahur
8.30 p.
67
62
•87
..
Nov. 28th
6.40 a.
52
50
-91
50
m.
,.,
...
Heavy dew.
Bargah
3 P-
77
dry
27-84
...
...
c.
7 P-
-9
. • .
c.
2
E.
Gusty irregular cold
9-30 P-
66
...
•92
. • •
c.
0
clouds going to S.
Nov. 29th
6a.
58
...
¦9
47
c.
Kahnu
5 P-
65
62
28-25
. . •
0.
,..
Muggy & rny. all day.
Nov. 30th
6.30 a.
59
58
¦3
57
c.
2
S.'
Cold damp raw mng.
5-30 P-
73
64
¦27
...
O.C.
3
S.
8.30 p.
70
63
¦3
m.
4
s.
Cold wind.
1876, December. -

-Kahnu

TO Kaftar

Khan.

Place. -
Date.
Time.
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar.
Max.
Min.
Sky.
Wind.
Remarks.
Str.
Dir.
Kahnu
Dec. ist
6.20 a.
63
59 -
28-4
60
c.
0
Mild morning.
Mahmudi
6 p.
65
62
27-99
0.
I
S.'
8.40 p.
65
61
-99
...
0.
0
10.40 p.
65
61-5
28^
...
0.
0
% . .
Raining lightly, stdly.
Dec. 2nd
6.30 a.
8 a.
59
63
58
61
-I•15
55
0.
...
...
Steady rain for three
hours.
Dosari
Dec. 3rd
7-30 P-
7-30 a.
9.15 a.
60 51
65-5
58
SO62-5
27-82 -9
51
c.b.
0
Jiruft
6 p.
59
55
-9
m.
0
Dec. 4th
7 a.
49
47
-97
40
Dashti
4 p.
73
...
-51
...
...
Solar radiation, 82.
Kuch
7-30 P-
65
56
-57
45
Sagdir
Dec. 5th
SP- 7P-
56
51
24-45 -47
0.
Heavy clouds.
Dec. 6th
7.30 a.
46
43
-45
36
0.
Deh Bakri
2.40 p.
51
46
22-65
0.
3
S.W.
6.30 p.
51
48
23-
...
0.
3
S.
9 p.
49
47
22-99
...
0.
I
s.
Light rain.
10.15
50
48
• i.
0.
0
Light rain.
Sablistan
Dec. 8th
2.30 p.
60
S3
24-13
c.
4
w."
6.30 P-
59
52
-18
c.
0
Tahrut
Dec. ¦9th
3P-
63
54
23-81
c.
2
N.E.
10 p.
47
43
-87
...
b.
I
N.E.
Dec. IOth
7 a.
,..
...
29
. * •
All the IOth cloudy,
strong cold wind.
Raiun Vil
Dec. 12th
9 a.
47
40
-12
b.
3
N.W,
lage-
Noon.
56-5
45-5
-11
b.
2
N,W.
iith,cl, sun stg., cm.
vO
1876, December, — Kahnu to Kaftar Khan (continue^.

Place.

Date.

Time,

Dry bulb.

Wet bulb.

Aneroid Bar.

Max.

Min.

Sky.

Wind.

Remarks,

Str.

Dir.

Raiun Vil.

Dec. 1 2th

3P-

60

47

23-8

b.
0
Sun hot.
Raiun Fort
Dec, 14th
3P-
52
42
22-84
. . ¦
b.
I
N.W.
Gusty.
6p,
51
43
-89
...
b.
0
Dec, 1 6th
9 a.
Noon
3P-
48 52
52-5
41
42-5 42-5
-95•87-83
29
c,
0.
0
0
Dec. 17th
I p.
48
42
-85
58*
21
...
...
* In sun.
Dec, i8th
10 a.
Noon
43-5 48
39
•88
3P-
50
42
-85
62*
b.
4
E.
* In sun.
Kirman
Dec, 23rd
Noon
46-5
45
24-12
...
0.
0
...
Raining all day.
3P-
44
43
•I '
...
0.
3
W.
Stopped raining at 2
*
6.30 p.
44-5
42-5
-17
0.
0
p.m.
Dec, 24th
9 a.
I P-
42
488
4242-8
¦24-17
34
b. b.
0
3P-
49
44
•14
...
b.
0
6p,
46
42
-17
...
0
Dec. 25th
3P-
5°
45
-23
27
b."
0
9 p.
40
37
-3
b.
0
Dec. 26th
Noon
48
44
-32
28
b.
0
Dec. 27 th
Noon
6 p.
51
48
4441
•3-28
25
b.
0
0
Dec. 28th
8 a.
35
32
-33
5°
25
h.
0
Ruban
Dec. 30th
Dec. 31st
6.30 a.
3P-
5-30 P-
3 a.
33 575139
46-5
-30
•4
24-
0.0.0.0.
KaftarKhan
8 a.
51
41
•45
0.
4
S.W.
StrongS.W.4p.to6p.
Pl
b
]

[877, January.—

¦Bairamabad to Fishark,

Place.
Date.
Time,
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar,
Max.
Min.
Sky,
Wind.
Remarks.
Str.
Dir.
Bairam
Jan,
ist
8 a,
44-5
37-S
24-86
0
abad.
10.15 a.
Noon
6 p.
60
61 58
48
48 -5
48
•86-83 •86
0
I
Fitful breeze.
Jan,
2nd
9 a.
48-5
45 -S
25
43
0
0
.¦.
Light steady rain in
morn., stopped at
10 a.m., then b.
Noon
53'5
49-S
24-91
0
0
sky, then overcast.
3P-
52
49-5
•90
0
...
...
Light rain at 2, 15 p.
6 p.
5°
49
24-90
0
0
...
Small steady rain.
Jan,
3rd
8 a,
42^1
41-9
25-1
0
0
Heavy rain all night,
9 a,
44
43
•25
0
0
morn, thick mist.
I2.45P-
52
5°
24-95
0
Clearing,
3P-
56
S3
¦91
b
0
6p,
55
52
•95
Jan.
4th
• • •
...
Rained heavily all
Kashku
Jan.
Sth
7.20 a.
48
...
2S^i6
0
night, and in morn
ing snowed.
Biath
Jan,
6th
7 a.
46
44
-3
0
4
N
Rain steadily.
Anar
4 p.
6p,
46 44
44
41-5
•34
•37
0
0
0
Jan.
7th
3 a,
9 a.
2 p.
4042
42
39-2 40 39
-39 -4
•31
00
Snowing,
vo ov
APPENDIX D.

497

tn

learedat3p.forfew minutes,
then rain.

1 1
uU
sky. [ear, no
clouds, ew
clouds, uring
night
violent gustywind,
rain, and
snow.
Constant clouds. Clouds. Icy
E. wind
till sun rise,
then
hazy,
in-
is
o ci
clear,
calm
evening. hin clouds,
sunny warm
morning,
hght W.breeze, whispy clouds.
U
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1877--

—January. — Bairamabad

TO Fishark (cont

inued).

Place.
Date.
Time.
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar,
Max.
Min.
Sky.
Wind.
Remarks.
Str.
Dir.
Maibut
Jan. i8th
9 a.
50-8
47-8
26-26
b
0
Light clouds.
Noon.
53
49
-24
lo's*
• • >
b
0
...
* In sun.
4.30 p.
55
51
-2
35
...
Slight frost at night.
Jan. 19th
8.15 a.
45
43
•3
...
...
Slight frost at night.
Arjanun
5P-
7P-
10.15 p.
59-2
56-5 54
50
50-5 51
25-85 -87 -87
...
b
I
w.
Jan, 20th
8 a.
49
dry
-83
42-5
Aghd
4p,
63
53-5
•92
b
I
N.w.
Thickpassing clouds.
5-30 P-
57
52
¦94
0
I
N.W.
Jan, 2 ist
6 a.
55
53
-96
42
Nau Gam-
6.15 P-
55
50
26-5
0
baz
7 a.
49
dry
25-42
46
0
Pudaz
Jan, 23rd
8 a.
45
23-48
Todeshk
Jan, 24th
8p,
7 a,
8 a.
38 18
21
23 frozen
-27 -31
Maskinun
Noon
56
-53
Fishark
Jan, 25th
9 a,
34
...
•92
10,30 a.
39
37
-91
^ ^^^^ ^^
APPENDIX D.

499

(2

Light snow. Frost.

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cocoO-cococoPncocofprt t:i Ti
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1877, Februar\

'.—Ain .

Shirwan

TO Baghdad (continued

.

Place.

Date.

Time.

Dry bulb.

Wet bulb.

Aneroid Bar.

Max.

Min.

Sky.

Wind.

Remarks,

Str.

Dir.

Khurum

Feb. 1 2 th

9 a.

26

23-01
m c
6
N.W.
Driving sleet 12 feet
abad
above ground.
Imaret
5 P-
6 p.
41 38
3737
-4
8 p.
37
34
•42
hv
0
9 P-
35
33
-45
...
hv
0
Feb. ISth
8 a.
18
...
-45
...
5
Dowlet
Feb. 1 6th
9.30 a.
43
41
24-125
...
m
I
N.W.
Roof of chapar khana.
abad
Noon3 P-
8 p.
48-2 51-2
45
43 45
41-5
-08
•06-JO
77*
...
b vc
2
N.W,
* In sun.
Feb. 17th
8 a.
45
42
•08
34
m
0
Drizzhng v. fine rain.
9.30 a.
45-5
42-5
24
..
m
I
N.W,
^
11.30 a.
45
43
24
0
I
N.E.
Raining since 11 mo
Noon
44-8
43
23-98
0
0
derately. — Faster.
I p.
43-8
41-2
-975
0
3
N.W.
Rain.
2 P-
44
42-3
•98
0
0
...
Steady rain.
3 P-
43-5
42
-98
0
12
N.W,
Steady rain.
4 P-
42-5
41-3
-99
0
0
,,.
Rain very light.
5 P-
42-8
41-5
-98
0
0
6 p.
43
41-5
-98
0
...
Rain light.
Feb. 1 8th
7 a.
8 a.
40 41
37 37
24-03 -03
31
m c
bvc
0
9 a.
40-8
38-2
-03
bvc
0
/

1877, February, — Ain Shirwan to Baghdad (continued).

Place.

Date.

Time,

Dry bulb.

Wet bulb.

Aneroid Bar.

Max.

Min.

.Sky.

Wind.

Remarks.

Str.

Dir.

Dowlet

Feb, 1 8th

10 a.

24-035
abad
II a.
42
39-2
-035
0.
12
nV
Noon
42-5
40-2
•04
0.
1a
N.
1 2.40 p.
42
-39
•02
s.£?.q.
5
N,W.
I P^
41
38-2
¦02
%.o.q.
4
N.W,
2 p.
41-2
39-2
•02
...
m.
I
N.W.
3 P^
41-2
38-2
-°3
q.m.
3
N.W,
4P^
41-2
38-S
•025
...
b.v.C
3
N,W.
5 P-
40
38 ^
•06
b.c.
3
N.W,
6 p.
39
37
•06
b.v.^.
I
N,W,
8 p.
38-5
36-5
-07
Feb, 19th
9 a.
37
dry
-II
25
h.v.c.
I
E.
II a.
37
34
-12
b.v.C.
3
N.W.
Icy cold wind.
12
37-5
34-2
-125
...
q.b.vf
4
N.W.
Icy cold wind.
I P-
37-5
35-5
•125
q.b.vf
4
N.W.
Icy cold wind.
3 P-
39-5
35-5
•I
57*
q.b.vc
4
N.W,
Icy cold wind.
5 P-
39
35
-12
...
b.v.C.
2
N.W,
* In sun.
7 P-
37-8
35-2
-14
h.e.
i|
W,
Feb, 20th
7.30 a.
34-5 _
frozen
-195
24
m.
0
9 a.
, . ,
b.v.C.
I
N.W,
On road.
V
Noon
40
b.v.C.
,1
•^2
W,
On road.
Kangiwar
Feb. 2ist
6 p.
7-30 P-
46
42
4240
24-95 •98
...
ra.c.
0
.,,
Max. and min. stolen.
9 P-
42
38
-95
...
...
m.
0
I
1877,

February. — Ain

Shirwan to

Baghdad (continued).

Place,
Date,
Time.
Dry bulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid Bar,
Max. Min.
1
Sky.
Wind.
Remarks.
Str.
Dir.
Kangiwar
Feb.
2ISt
10.40 p.
37-5
36
24-98
m
0
Feb.
22nd
7 a.
9 a.
3942
3840
•95-96
C0
0-
...
Rained hard 8.30
a. to 4 p.
Sahna
6 p.
48
45-5
25-15
0
0
7P-
50
45
-15
0
I
S.W.
8 p.
50
44
¦17
c
I
S.W.
Feb.
23rd
8 a.
9.30 a.
4849-5
42 44-5
•28
•28
bmvcbmvc
0 2
w.
Bisitun
9 p.
10 p.
47
45
43-542
¦53
-54
bc bc
0
0
Feb,
24th
2 p.
6p,
59
55
4845
¦5•49
.
hc
0
Feb.
2Sth
6 a.
6 a.
4040
38
38
-53 ¦53
.
8 a.
41
43
-56
. . .
m
0
Kirman
Feb,
26th
II a.
51
50
¦39
m
0
,..
Max. and min. reco
shahan
I P-
57
50
-39
m
0
vered, quicksilver
3-30 P-
57
51
-33
m
I
N.w.
split, shook it to
5P-
56-5
50
-34
bc
0
N.W.
gether, and the
10.15 P-
54
49
•40
m
0
max. and min. ob
Feb,
27th
7.15 a,
9 a.
52-5
54
4849-5
-36
•365
mm
00
servations, com
mencing 27th, 1. 15
1. 15 p.
60
52-5
•3
58-5
50
m
0
p.m., are taken with
3-52 p.
68-5
50
-24
57
SI-2
m
0
it in that state, to
5P-
57-5
55-5
-245
57
51
see if any regular
error could be
established.
1877, February, March. — Ain Shirwan

TO

Baghdad

(continued).

1
Wind.
Place.
Date.
Time.
Drybulb.
Wet bulb.
Aneroid,
Max.
¦\J:« 1 Cir.r
"Xi 0m 0 v1^ e
IVl
ill. ork^.
Str.
Dir.
i\.ClllarKa.
Kirman
Feb, 27 th
5-30 P-
59
54
25-23
57-8
5
I c
0
shahan
11.30 p.
59
51
¦25
58-51
5
0 C
0
Feb. 28th
II a.
56-2
52
-235
58
50 \ ro
0
Rainingsteadily since
1.30 p.
56-5
53
57
5
D ro
0
daylight.
3P-
58-2
54
-2
58
49-5 chy
0
...
Sun came out, rain
5-15 P-
58-8
53-8
-185
59
49 ch
0
stopped.
7 P-
57-5
53-2
-2
58-2
49-8 c
March, 1877
Mar. ist
10.30 a.
I p.
3-iS P-
555655
51 52
51-2
-175 -18
-18
56
roro
r 0
0
5-45 P-
55
50
•19
c
0
...
Stopped raining.
9-45 P-
55
51
•23
.. bc
0
Mar, 2nd
7.30 a.
53
49
•29
m
9.30 a.
54
5°
-32
...
.. hc
0
Noon
55
51
-29
b m
0
2 p.
56-8
52-2
¦26
m
3-3° P^
57
52-8
-255
m
5^3° P-
60
55
•26
m
II p.
57
52-5
-31
57
m
Mar. 3rd
8.30 a.
II. 10 a.
I-I5P-
56-S 59
58-8
53 5554-5
•35
-325 -315
xm
mrmr
3P-
58
54
-305
.. rmo
0
ft]
504

APPENDIX D.

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APPENDIX E.

Firman from the Hissam a Sultanah, the Commander-in-chief
of the Persian Army, and uncle of the Shah of Persia,
(Translation.)
H. H. the Prince of Persia,
To all those in high official positions, officers, scheikhs, and
officials of the town of Kirmanshahan, officers of the public high
ways in Persia, etc., etc.
Mr. Floyer, a British subject, is leaving for Baghdad, and about
to make a voyage in Persia. We request you all to prepare for
him comfortable lodging in the different places he may pass through,
and to render him every service, so that he may be comfortable and
contented; therefore, on receipt of this, you will prepare to assist
him and to render him every assistance, and to accompany him
from one place to another, for his proper protection and safety.

(Translation.)
Memorandum of an Agreement
made this 1 5th day of Moharam el Hkram 94, between Mr. Floyer
on the one part, and Ali Akber, muleteer, of Isfahan, on the other.
It is agreed that the said Ali Akber engages to hire a saddle
horse and three mules to Mr. Floyer, for himself and baggage, from
Isfahan to Kirmanshahan, for fifteen days, for the sum of eight
tomans (;£2 r6s.), being at the rate of two tomans each, half of
this sum to be paid in advance before starting, and the remaining
half at the termination of the journey.
It is also agreed : —
ist. In the event of any delay taking place, no allowance will be
made for such delay. SOS

5o6 . APPENDIX E.
2nd. Should Mr, Floyer make any stoppages on the journey, he
agrees to pay 3 krans per day for fodder.
3rd. At the termination of the journey, providing this contract
has been fulfilled, and Mr. Floyer is satisfied, he will pay Ali Akber
two tomans (igj-.) as a present, (L. S.) Ali Akber.

APPENDIX E.

507

DARPAHAN AIR,

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$

TELLING MINSTRELS' AIR.

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Butler & Tanner,
The Selwood Printing Works,
Frome, and London.